I Wonder as I Wander…

This last trip, was not just a wandering type—it was a major vacation trip of a lifetime. We (Ross, Richard, Bob and I) went to Italy! This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. And then Pastor Heather and Matt went last year and showed their pictures and I was so anxious to go. So….I made the offer to my kids that we would give them airline tickets for Christmas…IF we could come along. We got a ‘that would be great, BUT…’ response. So we let it drop. Then right after Christmas, I said ‘and none of you wanted to go to Italy with us?’ Kara said she absolutely couldn’t because she teaches until June 8 and then starts classes for her Masters on June 12. Ross and Richard said ‘We’ll go’. So they started booking tickets.

The tickets were much cheaper to fly to London and then take Easy Jet from there to Rome. That was great, because three of us hadn’t ever been to London before. We had a day and a half when we arrived to see all the sights in London—and we really packed it in. Did a hop-on-hop-off bus tour, rode the Eye (big Farris Wheel), and watched the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace.

We had an interesting B & B there—a room with one double bed, two twin beds and two chairs and about a foot of floor space around them. The bathroom was out in the hall and really small also. In the shower, if you dropped the soap, you had to do deep knee bends to get it, because the shower wasn’t big enough to bend over in.

Then we flew to Rome and spent four days. One day did pagan Rome, the next did Christian Rome, did the hop-on-hop-off bus tour (I love those—they give you 24 hours to ride all over, complete with narration). Climbed the dome at the Vatican (425 steps), climbed the Spanish steps (200 + steps), sat in piazzas, walked and walked and walked, drank wine, ate and ate and ate.

I couldn’t get over how huge all the monuments, fountains, Vatican parts, castles were. It was as if each Ruler/Pope had to try and outdo their predecessor. I was surprised at how many Pope’s names were on the monuments—so much for being humble.

Then we went to Venice. Rode on the Vaporetto (water taxis) all over the place, plus walked and walked and walked—up and down over canals, through skinny little alleys, visited St. Mark’s square, fed pigeons, took the lift to the top of the bell tower, visited all the little islands (bought lace on Burano and glass on Murano), enjoyed a gondola ride, drank wine and ate and ate and ate. (Do you see a pattern here?)

I love Venice, but it is really sad that the local population is declining. They used to have 200,000 people living there and now have only 65,000. Their only industry is tourism. The city is sinking--they used to have about eight days per year where they had flooding--now they have up to 40 days per year of flooding. Many homes and businesses have abandoned the bottom level of their building. Everything is very expensive, because it all has to be brought in by boat.

Next we jumped on a train to Florence. Again did a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. Climbed the Duomo (464 steps), sat on the 6th floor terrace of our B & B, which had a great view of Santa Maria del Fiore, the Duomo, and Campanile, walked and walked and walked, ate and ate and ate. One day, we had booked a Tuscany Wine tour. We went to two different vineyards for Chianti Classic and drank and drank—man was I tipsy. Then went to Pisa and Ross and Richard climbed that leaning tower while Bob and I sat on the steps guarding the eight bottles of wine that we had bought. The kids waved at us from every level—it made me remember when they were little and used to go on rides at the amusement park and wave every time they would see us.


It’s just so overwhelming to see all the things that you’ve heard or read about or seen photos of. But nothing prepares you for the real thing. Like how massive Michelangelo’s David is, or how the Leaning Town of Pisa looks like it is going to actually fall over, or how every square inch of the Sistine Chapel is covered with beautiful paintings, or how the buildings seem to be right in the water in Venice.

I actually felt like I had 'art overload'. There was just so much to look at. I found myself walking through museums or Churches, just looking for things that I had heard of--a person could have spent an entire day in every museum if they wanted to study every picture and read every placard.

We went back to Rome for a day and a half, back to London for 12 hours (in the airport), eight hours back to Mpls, and a five hour car ride home. The kids (29 & 33 yrs old) had such a good time (even with the old folks) they want to make a major trip as a biannual affair—Sweden next?? Although we have to get Kara out of graduate school, so she can come along!

Some things I learned:
-Pack old clothes or ones you don’t like and throw them away after a few days wear—especially undies.
-Hubby and I can get by with one carryon with wheels and one backpack—clean out the clothes and fill with wine and souvenirs for the trip home.
-I need to keep in shape, so I can get up 300 steps without puffing.
-Bring and wear only tennis shoes and good socks with a pair of moccasins for lounging and long plane rides.
-Book tickets for Scurvy Tour at Vatican, Academia, Uffizi Museum, and other places on-line before you go.
-Get up early to hit the popular places, then check back later in the day for others.
-May is the perfect time to travel—crowds weren’t too bad and temperatures were perfect.
-B & B’s are the way to go for a group, BUT a private bathroom is a MUST!
-On a wine tour—DON’T drink all the wine offered!