Ti Amo, Italia!

We were in Italy last week and it was absolutely amazing! Other than a couple crappy rainy days, it was a lovely trip where we walked the same streets as Julius Caesar and Michelangelo!! I kept telling Umair when we first got to Rome that we're walking the same streets Julius and Brutus probably did. How cool is that?! I've never been a history person but I remember back in Grade 6 or 7 when I was in Qatar, we studied about Ancient Egypt, Greeks and Romans....and I loved it as a child and really wanted to visit these places. Egypt I still gotta go but Rome is off the list! Although I wouldn't mind going back. And just an fyi - we did walk the streets of Julius Caesar and even saw his ancient ruins of an apartment!

I will probably do a series of blog posts about the various places we visited in Italy because there's A LOT that we saw. Our itinerary was something like: Rome - South Italy (Sorrento, Amalfi Coast, Capri Island, Pompeii and Herculaneum Ruins) - More Rome - Florence - Venice.

Yes. All of that crammed in one week. Which meant our legs were dead by the end of everyday. We walked and we walked and we walked. And we took down 800 ancient steps. And we climbed up cliffs. But I do believe that a city is best felt and seen on foot. We've mostly walked all the cities we've done, even big ones like Paris, London. 

Apart from all the walking, I also fell in love. With Italy. In the past year, I think I've fallen in love at least a dozen times. First with Edinburgh. Then Vienna. Then Prague...Paris, Bruges & Ghent, Zurich, Mauritius...I don't even remember anymore. All I know is that I've become a love faller. Is that even a word? Well it should be. 

There's so much to do and see in Italy. Our trip included gorgeous scenic coastlines, ancient ruins with lots of history, a peep into Renaissance art, charming canals and gondolas and much more.

A sneak peek for now, and detailed posts later:

Trastevere neighbourhood of Rome

Colosseum - it's so much more magnificent in person, I couldn't take my eyes off it.

Inside the Vatican Museums 

Venice is so picturesque

Amalfi coast

Herculaneum ruins - Inside a house. these ruins are so well preserved, and so insightful into the lives of the ancients.

Michelangelo's David - or well, the fake one! Shot between a lion's legs. The real one is a masterpiece.

(all photos by me)