Toledo is an old and beautiful city. It is known as the “city of the three cultures” for it’s history of Muslim, Jewish and Christian peaceful cohabitation for centuries. There are churches, palaces, castles, fortresses, mosques and synagogues behind the medieval walls that surround the old town on the hill. Toledo, a World Heritage Site, is like an open-air museum, you don’t even need to venture inside the plethora of historically significant structures...
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We met a beautiful, young couple in Tanzania. She was from Spain, he was from South Africa, they were living and working in Oman, and on safari for their honeymoon. Scott and I were watching the sunset over a coffee plantation, talking about possibly visiting Spain on our next trip, when like a sign we heard the newlyweds discussing their wedding and how their parents were...
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Our last day in Sorrento (and Italy) was spent visiting Mt. Vesuvius and I say visit because I don’t know what else to say. We had considered hiking Vesuvius on a whim after we finished our Pompeii tour, since there were a few hours of daylight left and we were close, as evidenced by all of the Vesuvius Tours advertised at the train station in...
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Today was definitely a day for the books. It was like we fell down the rabbit hole early in the morning and didn’t emerge all day long until after a late dinner. We took a tour of Pompeii our first full day in Sorrento and our tour guide recommended the Path of the Gods or Sentiero degli Dei along the Amalfi Coast. Scott did a...
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We went to Capri to visit the Blue Grotto. Capri is a twenty five minute ferry ride from Sorrento, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, and has been a resort town since the Roman Republic. There is evidence that the island has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age, that’s 10,200 B.C. folks, and that is a long time ago and makes the Roman Empire seem like...
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We visited Pompeii today. I am learning a lot lately about all kinds of things, one of them being history, and the other is that sometimes a good tour guide makes all of the difference. When we planned our trip to Italy part of the draw was the historical smorgasbord. The kids are both studying World History, which I seemed to have missed in school,...
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I speak no Italian and I can understand a little Spanish, so with this knowledge I would guess that Cinque Terre has something to do with the number five and land, but after spending three days hiking the trails in Cinque Terre, I am convinced that it actually translates to “Land of One Million Steps.” In reality, Cinque Terre translates to “Five Lands” because there are five...
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When we told the kids we were going to spend a couple of weeks in Italy, Ashley immediately asked if we would see the Tower of Pisa. Since it was on the way to Cinque Terre we stopped for one night in Pisa and while we completely underappreciated the city, we enjoyed the tower. The Leaning Tower of Pisa or Tower of Pisa is the...
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Rome is a multidimensional city that has a lot to offer to all kinds of travelers. We had a great visit, but didn’t even begin to get to know this gorgeous, history rich metropolis. It always surprises me which memories become the standouts from a place and the thing that is surprising is the best memories are the unexpected moments, not the things on the list....
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I did find that Vatican City tour I was looking for in a Dark Rome Tour which was a “Highlights of Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.” I really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel but after reading a little bit about Vatican City and that whole circus I was having major anxiety about doing it on our own. I wasn’t worried...
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