Enjoying Italy...

Judy and Greg

Ciao everyone! Here are some more pictures from two places we have recently visited near Naples. Above are some pictures of us and our friends Judy and Greg at Caserta Vecchia (old Caserta). We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in this beautiful town situatued at the very top of a mountain. Once again, anywhere you go in Italy there are amazing views of the city! The pictures below are from Baia and Pozzuoli. Jason and I spent this past Saturday visiting an old castle and archaeological museum, and then had dinner with our friends in Pozzuoli. That night we also visited the church of San Gennaro. San Gennaro is the patron Saint of Naples, and every year the people of Napoli hold a week long festival in his honor. This church was not only where San Gennaro was beheaded in 305 A.D., but is also where a vial of his blood is kept. Every year the people of Naples watch to see if the blood liquefies. If this happens, it is said that the next year will be good! And lucky for us, it liquefied this past week!

Overlooking Baia

Our Pozzuoli pals, Laura and Karl

The Happiest Day Ever!

Just wanted to share the great news with all of our family and friends that Jason has passed his board exam! After 5 years of residency and many years of studying, he is now certified in Orthopedic surgery! Yeah!

When in Rome...

Hello again! This past weekend Jason and I took a wonderful day tour to Rome. As you will see in the pictures below, this city is amazing. Bright and early Saturday morning we chartered a bus and headed on our way. The first stop was to the Vatican city for a guided tour of Saint Peter's tomb (St. Peter was one of the 12 Apostles chosen by Jesus to be his disciple). Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but it was amazing to see the actual tomb. After that we grabbed some lunch and then headed on to a walking tour through the streets of Rome to see the sights. The Spanish steps, Roman forum, and of course, the Colosseum were unbelievable! Every corner you turn you see some ancient building or artifact. Though we only visited for a day, we will definitely go back to wander around and see more. Other than that, we are thoroughly enjoying Italy. We just got a car (a 1993 BMW, pics soon to come) and have been out exploring and driving around. Our Italian class is also going well, our teacher is the best and we are slowly starting to learn the language. We miss all of you back home and can't wait to start getting some visitors out here! Until next time, take care and thanks for reading our blog! xoxo Jason and April

On our way to Rome!

Our friends and neighbors, Jenny and Alan

The beautiful Vatican

Swiss guards (don't you love their outfits?!)

Outside the Vatican waiting to see St. Peter's tomb

Another beautiful view

This building is where the Pope lives!

Our eccentric tour guide, Alessandro

Jenny and I on the Spanish steps

Looking down from the top of the steps

A fountain!

The spectacular Trevi fountain!

I got to wave the tour guide's red and yellow flag!

Rome's political office

Roman Forum

More ancient Roman buildings

Every corner you turn, this is what you see

And finally, in all its glory, the Colosseum

The newlyweds in front of the Colosseum...we've waited our whole lives to experience this!

Our Week in Sicily...

Hello again! Jason and I returned from our week in Sigonella, Sicily, and I must say I was sad to go! Sicily is absolutely beautiful...countryside landscapes, stunning views of Mount Etna, and the hottest weather you could ever imagine. We left last Friday and took an 8 hour train and ferry ride over to the island. As you can see in the photos below, we saw many amazing sites. Since we still don't have a car over in Naples, Jason and I wasted no time in hopping into our sporty little Alfa Romeo rental car and hit the road! With maps in hand, we set off on our 1st official Italian road trip. We got on the "tangenziale," which in Italian means "crazy highway," and drove an hour north to the town of Taormina (just kidding about the crazy highway, the "tang" is actually a 2 lane highway that can be pretty scary at times to drive on). Taormina was as beautiful as any town can get, and it's where the rich and famous hang out while in Sicily. My husband and I , neither rich nor famous, still managed to do a little window shopping and get some fabulous Italian food. We then drove for what seemed like forever to the top of the mountain and took some wonderful pictures of the scenery below. The next day we drove south to the towns of Siracusa and Ortygia, where again we saw some pretty amazing sites. For anyone wanting to visit Italy, I must say two things. If you have the time, try to head over to Sicily, because it truly has some amazing sites and stunning beaches. With that bit of advice, I highly recommend you never ever go in the dead of summertime! Southern Italy is hot. Not like Florida hot or Arizona hot, but like I-can't-breathe-and-I-can't-stop-sweating hot. Sightseeing in 104 degree heat just wasn't as fun as I'd hoped, so when visiting the South of Italy again, I will make sure to go in cooler weather (if that even exists down there!). All in all, we had a wonderful time and I must give my hubby credit for his great driving skills while visiting Sicily. He managed to get us where we needed to be safely and didn't run over any people on motorino's. Or sheep (see below). And I finally, after 13 years of driving, learned how to read a map! Anyways, we had tons of fun driving around the island and can't wait to go back. Hope you all enjoy the pictures! Ciao!!!

Looking down over Taormina from the top

How beautiful is this!

This ancient theater is still used today for concerts and plays...We just missed Liza Minelli!

Taormina's Duomo (Cathedral)

Me and a fruit stand

Amazing ruins of an ancient Greek theater in Siracusa

Ancient funeral temples

"Orrechio di Dionisio"-Ear of Dionysius
This is the cave where the ancient ruler Dionysius kept his political dissidents imprisoned and listened in on their conversations. It is legend that this artificial limestone cave was carved in the shape of an ear so it could amplify the screams of tortured prisoners. Don't you just love ancient history!

Beautiful Ortygia

Ortygia's Piazza

Ortygia's Duomo

A typical Italian sidestreet

Who's that hottie? Oh yeah, that's my hubby!

HOLY SHEEP!

Italian traffic jam

We were driving along the highway when a massive herd of sheep and goats decided to cross over to the other side of the road! They were so close to our car they could have climbed right in the passenger side!