Wrapping up our 6 week European Vacation in Central Italy and Portugal

During our 6 week European summer vacation, we sailed on a boat or ferry 4 times, flew on 5 planes, rode 7 trains, hopped on 12 buses, took over 40 metro rides, and took countless tours. We walked well over 100 miles during the 6 weeks. We had not weighed ourselves until we returned to the USA and were surprised to see that we all lost weight.

We wrapped up the vacation in Central Italy and Portugal — this blog covers that time. If you want to see our other adventures, you will find them here:

• French Chateaus and Burgundy Wineries
• 5 Interesting Things We Learned in Paris France
• Summer in Barcelona Spain and 3 Surrounding Areas
• Running with the Bulls in Pamplona Spain
• Summer in Northern Italy and the Italian Riviera

Florence Italy

This was our second visit to Florence. Florence has a picturesque river that flows through and is nice for an afternoon walk. One of the biggest attractions here is to see the statue of David. The statue is huge, it must be 20 feet tall.

Florence Italy

The statue of David

The Duomo

How do you like this bicycle?

Tuscany Italy

When planning our European trip, Ryan staked out what he really wanted to do. He wanted to experience a Chianti wine tour in Tuscany. This turned out to be our favorite wine tour that we took during our trip. The Tuscan hills are mesmerizing, full of vineyards and castles. The tour provided plenty of wine (4 bottles for our table), Tuscan food, and great conversation with other people on the tour.

Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany

Tuscany

After the tour, we went into the town of Chianti to a wine bar that offered over 100 wines. It was really cool, you put money on a sort of debit card (as much as you like) and use that card to activate a machine that pours either a small taste or a full glass of a wine. What a cool machine — I wonder why wine stores in the states don’t have this, it would be great.

Wine tasting by machine

Rome

After leaving Tuscany, we headed down to Rome (Ryan said we took the time to “roam” around). We had also visited Rome a few years ago but never had the time to visit the Colosseum, so we took this opportunity to tour it. The outside is pretty well-preserved but we were a bit disappointed in the interior. It suffered a major earthquake many years ago that left much of it in ruins. Similarly the ruins of Rome are also similar to this — worn and many landmarks are hardly recognizable as to how they once were. But it is incredibly rich in history and fun to visit.

Rome

Rome

Rome

Rome

Rome

Rome

Rome

Rome

As we were walking around Rome, we came across this guy.How does it do it?

Wanna ride?

Pompeii Italy

A few months ago we saw the movie Pompeii — a cool story about the Italian town that was overtaken from a volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Because lava never reached Pompeii (only burning ash), people in the town that died in the eruption were preserved in the state in which they died — the carbon in the ash had that effect. The ruins are in pretty good shape, you could see bath  houses, homes, and areas of the town. It was a big area of ruins and was (in our minds) more impressive than the ruins in Rome.

Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii

Pompeii dog frozen in death

Pompeii person frozen in death

After visiting Pompeii, we hiked Mount Vesuvius. It  is a steep 45 degree hike to the top rewarded by great views of Naples and the craters left by the eruption.

Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius

Capri Italy

Just outside of Naples is a trendy island called Capri. We took a day trip and experienced the island. It has a very Mediterranean feel, initially inhabited by Greece. It is also home to The Blue Grotto — an ocean cave that lights up the vibrant blue water as you enter via row-boat. Ryan and I swam there as well, it was very rocky but the water was definitely refreshing.

Capri

Capri

Capri

Capri

Capri

The Blue Grotto

Ryan preparing to enter the Blue Grotto

The Blue Grotto

The Blue Grotto

Blue Grotto

The opening of the Blue Grotto

Lisbon Portugal

Our final stop in Europe was Lisbon Portugal. We could have spent more time here, there are lots of places in Portugal to see. Lisbon is a coastal city that is rich in history, clean, and better maintained than many other European cities we visited. We noticed that many buildings have a tile facade which is very distinct to this European nation.

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon Portugal

Well  that concludes our summer vacation, we hope you enjoyed following along with our travels. The trip was a blast and it was great traveling with Ryan — we have not traveled together in a few years. We just wish our oldest son, Cameron, could have joined us as well.