Reminiscing of Italy - April 2005

My in-laws are currently traveling around Italy. Part of their voyage will take them to the stomping grounds of distant relatives....I'm interested to see if they will be able to track down the correct Bacciagaluppo (can you get more Italian than that?) family. I love learning about family history! We also have some friends who just returned from an Italian adventure, so all this talk of Italy has had me thinking of my whirl-wind trip there in 2005.

I would love to go back some day...there is something just so charming about Italy, it captures you! These are just a few of the photos I randomly found on my computer today.

This man practically begged us to take a photo with him, so after a few minutes, we obliged and then we started walking away. Bad move on our part...we heard yelling, so we turned around and saw him following us through the crows by the Trevi fountain...then we ran...we kept hearing, "you pay! you pay!" He somehow caught up to us and grabbed us, so we coughed up a few Euro and paid him, he was creepy.

The Spanish Steps...

The Trevi fountain is beautiful, and it really is romantic.

Aaaaah, Florence! It is the picture I had in my head of Italy.

What's a trip to Italy without the typical, "I'm holding up the leaning Tower of Pisa" picture?

Yes please! I will take a cappuccino and a croissant :-)

We were in Rome at the beginning of the trip and the end. The first time we were there was Easter Sunday and the crowds were crazy at the Vatican, so we didn't go in. We figured we would wait until the end of our to do that. Again, bad move. The day we got back was the day the Pope passed. The picture below was taken fairly early in the day, so all of the crowds had not arrive. The square was packed with people praying, chanting, and singing! So, I've been to Rome two separate times and have not seen the Sistine Chapel...maybe some day.