Following the Bacons spending a week in Italy and a nice island week in Malta, it was time for BJ's parents to make their voyage for an Italian holiday. Despite fears of a catastrophic plane failure stranding them on a deserted island, they arrived in one piece. In order to return in the same condition, they had to endure being dragged around Rome, Genoa, and the Alps during the midsummer heat. Over the course of the week they walked countless miles, got yelled at by numerous museum employees for touching exhibits, read every single historical sign (whether it was in English or not..), and experienced the tiresome struggle between sleeping with the windows open - and hearing Italians yelling all night - or windows closed - and being reminded of how Americans take air conditioning for granted.
The week started out in the most historical city in the world: Rome. The first day was dedicated to exploring the ancient history and the buildings which can still be seen. Namely, we were able to visit the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the Roman Forum where the ancient city center used to be, and the Paladine Hill - home of the emperors. From there, we were able to see other architectural buildings whose brilliance were rivaled only by the sunburns and blisters we acquired. The second day was devoted to the exploration of Vatican City. Although we intentionally scheduled our visit to avoid the Pope having his weekly appearance in front of St. Peter's Basilica, this allowed us to see the Vatican Museums without the usual unbearable crowds. It was pleasant to navigate the museums without the claustrophobic rivers of people and even more pleasant to be out of the sun for a day. Overall, we were able to see some great art and fancy painted ceilings.
 |
| Mom and Dad in front of the fountain which stands in front of a church design by Michaelangelo. |
 |
| Touristing in front of the Colosseum |
 |
| Taking in the sights |
 |
| Ruins of the Colosseum where you can see the underground structures |
 |
| View from the Colosseum of the Arch of Constantine |
 |
| Happy that we found bottles of water outside |
 |
| Roman Forum - center of ancient Rome |
 |
| In the Forum |
 |
| All of us inside the Forum |
 |
| Track near Paladine Hill used for chariot festivities |
 |
| In front of the giant memorial to Italy's first king Vittorio Emanuele II |
 |
| In front of the gates |
 |
| Mom resting her bandaged feet on the cool marble. |
 |
| In front of the Trevi Fountain |
 |
| View of St. Peter's Basilica through a Vatican courtyard |
 |
| The first courtyard within the Vatican Museums - home of the "sphere within a sphere" and the "pinecone" (not in the picture). |
 |
| Hall of statues containing statues of Athena, Hercules, Caesars, and Emperors. |
 |
| A portion of the hall of animals. |
 |
| One of the many painted ceilings we were able to see. |
 |
| This one is actually a flat ceiling painted to appear three dimensional. |
 |
| In the Raffael Rooms |
 |
| More of Raffael's work |
 |
| Staircase exiting the Vatican Museums |
 |
| St. Peter's Basilica |
 |
| Us looking burnt, but happy. |
 |
| Mom looking happy to be out of the museums and back in the sun. |
On the way back to Torino from Rome, we road the train along the coastline and stopped for a quick visit in Genoa. We didn't know what to expect from this town, but were pleasantly surprised by the amount of Baroque architecture and harbor views we found.
 |
| Baroque courtyard |
 |
| Random scene of Genovese buildings. |
 |
| Very impressive architecture near the fountain in the center of the city. |
 |
| Celebrating our youth with a dance by the fountain. |
 |
| Celebrating our maturity with a solemn pose by the fountain. |
 |
| Inside the Gothic era church of the city. |
 |
| Outside view of the entrance - reminiscent of Florence Renaissance architecture. |
 |
| Arrrrgh. Pirate shipped docked in the harbor. |
 |
| Harbor with Italian hillside background. |
 |
| Americans posing under Christopher Columbus. |
Finally, after spending time "resting" in Torino for a few days, we took an afternoon trip to hike through the Alps. All of the snow had melted from the winter and the foliage was blooming, providing the perfect setting for walking on hurting feet and trying to avoid getting lost in the mountains.
 |
| Stream of melting ice. |
 |
| Dad's favorite part of the entire trip: cows. |
 |
| Don't be fooled by the faces, the cowbells were music to their ears. |
 |
| An overlook off the beaten path that we managed to find. |
 |
| Us posing for a quick picture - unaware of the imminent danger presented by the bear behind the nearby bushes. |
 |
| View of the cattle from above |
 |
| Hiked all the way into France! |
 |
| Across a border marked only by a small stone "F" |
 |
| Enjoying the scenery. |
 |
| Anna avoiding the walk down. |
 |
| We noticed in the distance there was a cave with trolls in it. |
 |
| Alps |
 |
| Anna on the ledge |
 |
| From the top of our trail looking back to where we walked from |
 |
| Getting a quick nap before the descent. |
 |
| Exhausted, sunburnt, and hurting - but world travelers. |
