TravelStream™ news feed for member travelprincess1 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/travelprincess1 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:23:41 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221172800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221172800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221172800/tpod.html Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:23:41 -0400 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

9/11/08
8:30 PM (US time)
~Somewhere over the Atlantic

Hey! I'm on a plane bound for Rome! I'm so excited!! This is my first trip to Italy! I am once again traveling with Grandma and Granddad and I'll be gone for 10 days - 2 days to get there, a week of touring Rome and the Amalfi Coast, and a day to get back home. I'm going with a group of 14 from home and we make up the TSOH. Yes, not only am I the youngest one on the tour, but I'm the youngest one on the plane. (Oh, how I love off-season travel.) It took about 2 hours to get to PIA by bus but security was a breeze (typical if you want to get out) and then I sat in the airport for a couple hours before our plane arrived. I had a nice late lunch at the airport and walked around many of the same places I walked around last year while waiting for a plane to take me to Spain and Portugal. I did a crossword puzzle or 2 at the airport but before I knew it, my plane had arrived to take me to Rome! I'm flying direct from Philadelphia Int'l to Rome (no six-hour layovers in Heathrow like last time). I'm so happy - I'm going to Italy!! This trip I'm going to try to take tons of pictures, take some video (I'm borrowing mom's video camera), try every new (and tasty) food, buy cool things, and write down every minute of it. I hate airplane food (it's certainly not "tasty"). Well, it's closer to 9:00 now and I'm getting tired, so I'm going to try and sleep. It's not that easy when you're in a middle seat, but I'll attempt to sleep anyway. What I'd do to see the world...


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221694200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221694200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221694200/tpod.html Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:22:08 -0500 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Capri, Campania, Italy

9/17/08
9:32 PM
Wow! What an amazing day! I had a typical European breakfast and headed out at 8:10. We then took a short drive to Salerno's port which I can see very easily from my balcony. This morning was quite chilly - I was cold even in a sweatshirt. As a group, we boarded a ferry bound for the Isle of Capri. I got a window seat, but the windows were too dirty to get pictures of the Amalfi Coast, but they were clean enough to take video. It was a 2 ½ hour ferry ride, which made me sleepy; I had to stay awake otherwise I might miss the stop. So at around 11:00, we arrived at the posh yet touristy Isle of Capri (pronounced: caw'-pree). Our boat docked in Marina Grande and that's where we met our fantastic guide, Sabrina, for a tour of Capri. (By this time, it had begun to warm up.)
We started by taking a "funiculare" from Marina Grande to Capri (the small city, not the entire island). Grandma and I then took an optional tour led by Sabrina around Capri to see the Gardens of Augustus "on the other side of Capri" which was only a 20-minute walk because Capri is not that "thick". When we arrived at our destination, we saw some fragrant gardens and took pictures of the "guardiano" (guardians) or "lighthouses" of Capri - giant rocks off the coast of Capri. The weather had turned to beautiful - undeniably wonderful. Clear blue skies, 83° degrees out, a gentle breeze - the most perfect weather we've had in Italia. After I took some pictures and video, we walked through the posh streets lined with Gucci, Armani, Fendi, and many other high-fashion shops. We then met up with Granddad at the piazzetta ("small square") and then drove to Anacapri.
"Ana" is a Greek prefix which means higher, we headed up to Anacapri. The ride was definitely much scarier the Amalfi Coast, let me tell you. A regular bus would be too big and bulky to drive along the twisting cliffside roads, so we took 2 minibuses.
I got to ride shotgun. (Gary, our Collette tour guide, told me that the seat's view terrified him, so I thought I'd give it a shot.) Boy, was that an experience! I'm sitting there, taking pictures of the Bay of Naples, when Gary tells me to get out my video camera and hold on tight. I oblige, and as soon as I hit the "record" button, I start flipping out. The road just drops 600 ft to the sea - and there's only a thin guard rail to keep you on the road!! Now, mind you, this is on a 75-degree turn, in which the driver is going 60 mph in a minibus with no seatbelts and big open windows which is filled with now freaked-out-of-their-socks tourists - and he doesn't even slow down! He was nearly as insane as the taxi drivers in Rome. The view - terrifyingly beautiful. I loved it but I was relieved when finally left that brief section of highway. We were in a minor fender-bender with an oncoming vehicle but no one was going fast and no one cared anyway.
Then we finally made it to Anacapri - in one piece, no less. Anacapri is the highest town in Capri and doesn't have the designer shops that Capri had. Grandma, Granddad, and I first ate lunch (yay for a tuna sandwich with no mayonnaise) and then took a sky-lift ride to the top of the highest mountain in Capri, Mount Solara. Each seat held only one person and it took about 12 minutes to get to the top. It was about 15 feet off the sloped ground (we were going up again). At first, I was really nervous but I got used to it pretty fast. When we made it to the top, we walked up to a small terrace and enjoyed the view. SO COOL!! I could see for (at least) 100 miles up there! I saw the entire Bay of Naples, Sorrentine Peninsula, Isle of Capri, and many miles of the blue Mediterranean Sea. Fabulous!! I loved it! It was definitely the highest I've ever been (airplanes don't count). After many pictures and much video, we headed back down the mountain which wasn't so bad because I knew what to expect. We then had some gelato (mine was chocolate chip today) and did some speed-shopping before boarding the mini-bus to go back to Marina Grande. The drive wasn't as scary as the way up.
When we arrived in Marina Grande we had a much better boat that we quickly boarded. It was an open-roofed one, so I took a lot of great pictures of the Amalfi coast on the way back. I love boating and that was a wonderful ride in perfect weather. The ferry made brief stops in Amalfi, Positano, and Minori before we arrived in Salerno. I'll tell you a bit more about the boat ride. It was a gorgeous day anyway, which gave us smooth sailing. The Mediterranean was a brilliant blue color which contrasted the pale blue sky. Since the ride lasted 2.5 hours, I stayed on the top deck the whole time and met some nice British people. As the sun set behind the Apennine Mountains, I took some gorgeous shots and just enjoyed the day. I loved today - it was my favorite day of the whole trip.
We got back to our hotel and got ready for dinner at the hotel. It wasn't that great, but I hear tomorrow's will be good. I'm writing this on my balcony, lit by the full moon and whatever light hits my pages. I love it here. Definitely the most perfect day ever.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221346440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221346440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221346440/tpod.html Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:34:26 -0500 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Rome, Italy

9/13/08
Midnight
You know it's been a long day when your first and only entry is at midnight. Thanks to jet lag, I didn't really sleep last night and I have barely slept since we left the US. I'm pretty much running on adrenaline and espresso. Yippee. When morning finally came at 6:30 via wake-up call, I was more than ready to do something. So I went to breakfast. It was a very nice buffet but my favorite part was the coffee machine.
I've already mentioned that I don't really drink coffee back home, but I do enjoy specialty coffees while on vacation. This coffee machine was amazing! It could make espresso, cappuccino, latte, latte macchiato, "richetto", and many other types of coffee with just the push of a button! Awesome!! So I had a cappuccino and an espresso. Now that you know why I'm still breathing, I'll go on with what I did after breakfast.
We boarded the bus at 8:00 and rain was gently coming down - enough to make it cool outside, but not enough for me to grab an umbrella (I'm waterproof). We met our guide for Rome (Gabriella) and she gave us these weird headset things that made me feel like an FBI agent.
Our first stop was the Trevi Fountain. It is such a beautiful fountain. The white marble sculptures contrasted the pale blue water like clouds against the sky. Of course, I threw a coin in the fountain. I'm going to return regardless - Rome is amazing! Plenty of pictures later, we returned to the bus and took a nice driving tour of Rome. Next time I come, I'll walk the streets and see a lot more - there's too much to see in just one day!
Next stop (and a dream come true): The COLOSSEUM! However, before we went in, we saw the Arch of Constantine and had a short break. During this time, I took pictures with the gladiators! So much fun!! I got some great pictures from it! Awesome! Afterwards, we finally entered the Colosseum. IT WAS MASSIVE! So great in it's infamous history, so beautiful in it's architectural design, so powerful in it's past life. It's 2,000 years old - and it still looks great! SO COOL!! To see it as the ancient Romans did must have been breath-taking. Many, many pictures later, we got back on the bus and drove to the Vatican City. (Time at this point: 11:30)
Those who were taking the optional tour, "Treasures of the Vatican Museums", got out while the rest stayed in the bus and went back to the hotel. Just Grandma and I went out of the Mervine's. After ice cream (not gelato, but it was pretty good) for lunch inside VC (Vatican City), our tour began. There were so many people there! Probably close to 3,000 when I was there - at least! Once again, Gabriella was our guide and we had the CIA communicators. Following Gabriella, we walked from one gorgeous room to the next, like little Secret Service duckies following the mother.
Vatican Museums in one word - ...nope can't do it. I'll use several: awesome, beautiful, gorgeous, splendid decorations, gilded, full of wealth, awe-inspiring, historical, powerful, and just plain cool. Rome in a day: difficult. VC in 4 hours: impossible. There is so, so much to see, do, and eat in Rome and Vatican City that I would need a week to do only ½ of it! I saw Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, his pieta, and his crazy Swiss guard's uniforms (hysterically bright and utterly ridiculous, I must say).
I was in the biggest Catholic cathedral in the world today. St. Peter's Basilica took a big chunk of sky, put it in a box, and decorated the box so ornately that the sky doesn't miss the stars at night. I really enjoyed all the different works of (non-religious) art. Greek statues, renaissance paintings, tapestries made by ordinary men who made extraordinary things, and Roman columns were watching me every step of the way. I loved it, but by the end of the tour, my feet were killing me! I'd had enough walking by that point and enough church to last me a very long time, so we went back to the hotel.
I was running out of time in Rome by 4:30 when we got back to the hotel. Although I was exhausted, I still needed (or wanted) to do some shopping in Rome before I left for the Amalfi Coast. I took a quick shopping spree in which I bought some small souvenirs and the best gift I've ever bought myself: a "Roma" sweatshirt. I had to nearly sprint back to the hotel to get ready for the next optional tour.
This optional tour was called "Dining with Tenors" which involved great Italian food and opera music. Taking the tour bus, I and several other couples drove to "Le grotte dei emperors". The first course was antipasta, the second was spinach and cheese ravioli, and the third was rice with asparagus. My entrée was eggplant parmesan - so yummy! I wished I would have had more room to eat, but I was saving it for dessert. Dessert: GELATO!! J Italians think it's just ice cream but that's where they're wrong - gelato is 10 times better than ice cream! It's not as heavy as American ice cream, and it has a creamy sherbet-like texture. Strawberry and vanilla - delicious!
Now that I've covered my favorite part of the night, I'll elaborate on the opera music. Um...it was a definite cultural experience. I felt more Italian but I definitely felt like an awkward teen as nearly everyone else was engaging in it while I just went along for the ride. It was a good idea but it's not exactly my type of music. I'm a typical American teenager.
So after that crazy experience, we saw Rome by night via the magic carpet (aka - bus). It was really neat to see the Colosseum and the Victor Emmanuel Monument lit up against the dark sky. We only got out of the bus once and that was to take pictures of St. Peter's all lit up a night. I got some good pictures before I got back on the bus and headed back to the hotel. It's 1:20 AM right now, so I'll go to bed. Yay...sleep!

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221259320/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221259320/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221259320/tpod.html Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:32:04 -0500 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Rome, Lazio, Italy

9/12/08
10:37 AM (Italy time)
~Rome, Italy

Hey! I'm finally in Italy! After enduring the very long flight on only an hour of sleep, we gently touched down in Rome's airport and progressed slowly through the airport. I've only been in Italy for a few hours and I've already noticed how Italians are never rushed to accomplish anything. Driving to the hotel was an experience though. It seems like the Italians are only rushed when driving and they do so as if there are no rules. It took a bit to get to the hotel, but I enjoyed passing the Roman ruins that seemed to be on every street corner. More later.

12:00 noon
Okay, I'm back. Rome is awesome. Everywhere you look there is something that is picture worthy (sometimes it takes a bit of a photographer's eye). Just wait until I bring out my camera - there will be no end in sight. I soon arrived at Hotel Mediterraneo. It's a nice hotel. While Granddad waited at the hotel for the room to be ready, Grandma and I went to exchange USD for Euros and pick up a phone card. We were going to call as soon as we got the card, but I remembered that Italy is 6 hours ahead of the US and my parents would not like to receive a phone call at 6:00 AM. Okay, I'm off to Aunt Elena's for lunch! Ciao!

4:37 PM
Elena is Grandma's cousin who lives in Rome, so we stopped by for lunch - an Italian lunch. We took a taxi to her apartment. Taking a taxi in Rome is crazy. All of the drivers are playing a never-ending game of "Chicken" with each other and no one seems to obey the painted lines on the road. Crazy people on mopeds weave in and out of lines of Smart Cars while going 50 mph and everything else is grid-locked. It's not worthy of video taping, but it's certainly entertaining. We eventually did get to Elena's apartment in one piece and I had to quickly apply all of the Italian I learned over the last 6 months. For most of the time, it was only Aunt Elena and her husband Uncle Rigardo, but Cousin Fausto (their son) did show up and say hello and chat with the "American cousins". I had the best food at Aunt Elena's!! (She made and fed us the best Italian I had during my entire trip to Italy.) We had scrumptious pasta, yummy meat loaf (the best I've ever eaten, even in the US), salad (Uncle Rigardo taught me how to eat it properly), peaches, berry tartlet, and EXPRESSO!!!
These Italians definitely know how to cook and eat! I love espresso - so much better than American coffee! I was flying! No more jet-lag for me! (Unfortunately, this buzz didn't last forever.) Served in a thimble-sized cup, espresso is an Italian staple that one can not miss out on while in Italy.
We talked for a while (I in my broken Italian, Grandma spoke it fluently) and took a few pictures before we said "ciao!" and headed back to our hotel. I'm so tired. I barely slept in 24 hours. Need sleep. Must nap. So dizzy. Ugh...more later.

10:28 PM
Hello! I slept for an hour (yay) before heading to a briefing of what I'd be doing for the next 2 days. It'll be crazy and hectic, just wait. I met the others in our group and there are 36 of us (that's a lot of names). We then boarded the bus and drove 20 minutes to the restaurant. It was a short bus ride, but I saw so much! My jaw hit the floor when I saw the Roman Forum. The look of excitement in my face could've been seen from space. We also drove by several churches, Roman ruins (they're everywhere!), and went over the Tiber river. Apparently it's dammed up or they haven't had much rain cause it looks like a creek. When the bus stopped, we all got off and walked a bit to the restaurant.
The restaurant was underground, but it didn't feel like you were eating in someone's basement. I ate so much food - but it was only a small portion of what they fed me! We had some really good antipasta (I loved the fried zucchini flowers) with a variety of good Italian food. The second course was the pasta course but I didn't feel it necessary to eat it - I ate all of Elena's pasta. But I did eat the salad before the entrée. Of course, there was olive oil on it. They use this "Roman Gold" for nearly everything over here - yum! My entrée was pork. It was pretty good, however the dessert was the best. It was a mixed berry cake with CAPPUCCINO!! SO good!! I don't usually drink coffee but this Italian coffee is great!
So after a great meal, when we're just about to leave, it starts pouring. The clouds just dumped water on Rome. After waiting for a bit to walk back to the bus, it starts to calm down and we carefully made out way to the bus. However, I did not bring an umbrella, so I ran back to the bus in stilettos over wet cobblestones while taking pictures. I did make it back to the bus in one (slightly damp) piece and we drove back to the hotel. Exhausted from a never-ending day, I finally called it a night. Oy.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/3/1226434560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/3/1226434560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/3/1226434560/tpod.html Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:21:28 -0500 Random Map Pins

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Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

Summer camp in Canada 08...way too much fun! Cliff jumping, vertical mountain climbing, nose-diving pontoon boats, freezing to death in Canada, getting eaten alive (at the same time), and running out of your gas and everyone's emergency supply 4 times in one trip alone...oh, for the love of youth group summer camp!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/3/1226434440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/3/1226434440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/3/1226434440/tpod.html Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:16:01 -0500 Random Map Pins

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Grayling, Michigan, United States

On way to Canada...stopped here twice (on way there and back)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221607560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221607560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221607560/tpod.html Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:10:59 -0500 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Paestum, Campania, Italy

9/16/08
10:10 PM
Hey! Wow what an awesome day! We slept later than usual due to the cancellation of the ceramic factory tour, but I've already seen dozens of ceramic shops so I didn't really mind. We got on the bus at 8:30 and drove to Paestum.
Paestum is quite a small town with only one very impressive yet often unnoticed tourist destination. We started out at a mozzarella factory. I saw the men pulling and stretching the curds until they were soft and smooth balls of mozzarella cheese. However, we not only learned about the water buffalo which make the cheese (yes, there's actually herds of water buffalo in Italy), but also about every use for water buffalo. I stopped at a leather shop (this is all on the farm grounds) which made water buffalo purses from the leather. I also saw how to make yogurt using buffalo milk and also some tools that were used to milk the water buffalo 150 years ago. Then I finally got to see the actual water buffalo. First of all, it smelled like manure, which my hometown smells like for most of the spring and summer, so I thought it smelled like home. Others might have been a bit distraught by the overwhelming pungency, but I'm a country girl and I didn't really care about it.
These water buffalo live better than some people do. They have a rubber mattress for each of them, a personal backscratcher, and a shower once a week. They do work though. Twice a day, they all line up outside a milking machine to be milked on the way to meals. These animals are about the size of bulls, but they might taste different (unfortunately, they don't kill them for buffalo burgers or wings). So as the interesting tour came to an end, I was able to sample fresh (only one hour old!) mozzarella cheese. It was so yummy! I love the sweeter taste of the squishy white cheese. We had a bit of free time to check out the yogurteria. Several people (including myself) got gelato. It was made with buffalo milk with has 10% fat which is more than the typical cow's milk which only contains 2.6% fat. I had chocolate - delicious!! So creamy and good, I don't know how I'll ever go back to eating American ice cream again.
After finishing the gelato, we boarded the bus and drove to a small part of the town for lunch and some shopping. After I did some shopping, Granddad, Grandma, and I had prosciutto with melon and frozen drinks. I liked the combination of ham and melon - Italians do it best.
We then met up with the rest of the group for a tour of the best thing in Paestum - ruins of Greek temples and the surrounding ruins of the town. There were 3 skeletons of 2,000 year old temples dedicated to Athena and Hera. SO COOL!!! LOVED IT!! It was so, so neat to see the ruins of the magnificent and intact temples. Walking around the foundations that made up ancient Paestum was pretty cool too. I walked around and took pictures while listening to the tour guide dump tons of information on us via earpiece. I got some great pictures before we said "ciao" to Paestum and headed back to the hotel. Once again, I don't remember the drive back because I fell asleep and I had to be woken up when we arrived at the hotel.
It was a gorgeous day today. It was about 85° degrees out with a nice breeze - the second best day so far. I've always wanted to swim in the Mediterranean Sea and today I accomplished that dream. Let me describe the beach. There was a fine type of gravel made of volcanic rock instead of sand. There are no shells, only rocks and the occasional piece of sea glass and some worn pottery. There are no waves; it's more like a large lake than an ocean. The water temperature was perfect: warm, but not hot; cool, but not cold. I did a bit of swimming before I went over to chat with other members of group who also went to the sea after the tour. I looked for shells, but to no avail, so I picked up a couple pieces of sea glass and some pottery instead.
I went up to my room and showered before I had to run into town for AA batteries. When I got back, we readied and left for dinner early to avoid the threat of rain from the dark clouds. It never actually rained, so we hung out with many other members of our group outside the restaurant. We got in a 7:30 and were fed quickly and efficiently at "La Sosca". We had some awesome bread before eating gnocchi for our pasta course. A side salad was served shortly thereafter and then I had pizza as my entrée. Yum!! I really enjoyed it. We had an angel food cake with lemon cream filling for dessert. After a tasty dinner, we quickly walked back to the hotel to get out of the windy coldness that had suddenly come over Vietri-sul-Mare.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1222039440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1222039440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1222039440/tpod.html Fri, 07 Nov 2008 22:47:54 -0500 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Vietri sul Mare, Campania, Italy

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]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221433860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221433860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221433860/tpod.html Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:36:27 -0500 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Naples, Campania, Italy

At 8:00, we left Rome and began our journey south toward the Amalfi Coast. It was a pretty drive (when I was awake) - plenty of Apennine mountains and small towns seen from a bus. We took a neat stop in the outskirts of Naples to visit a cameo factory. Cameos are made of shell or coral and then intricately carved by masters of the dying art. They were quite lovely to see! I loved looking at and admiring them but they had a hefty price tag - too much for a teenager like me.
I saw Vesuvius today. A looming and dangerous giant, the volcano demands respect from Neapolitans and tourists alike. Imagine; for centuries, people have been building towns and cities around a time bomb - yet they ignore the ever-present danger. Pompeii did it and paid dearly for it.

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221954540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221954540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/travelprincess1/5/1221954540/tpod.html Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:30:09 -0400 Rome and the Amalfi Coast - my first trip to Italy!!!

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

9/20/08
Hello! We woke up at the crack of dawn this morning (5:30 AM!!) in order to have an early breakfast. However, many other people also wanted an early breakfast and thus there was a really long line to get in. We waited for about 10 minutes outside before we finally got a seat and eventually food. I'm so not hungry anymore - Italians eat so much! We later left Hotel Circone for the airport 45 minutes away outside of Rome. Check-in was easy and I did some last minute shopping before we boarded US Air flight 716 for PIA, USA. The flight took 9 hours and 45 minutes but I had plenty to watch on my mini-screen. I got to see Italy, Elba, and France from the air! But then I returned to my center seat and thanked the gentleman from TSOH who let me borrow his seat for a short time.
I love Italy - the good and the bad, the peaceful and the crazy, the simple and the dangerous, the old and new. That's Italy for you - the land of dreams and hopes.

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