Travel day to Florence, Italy

Day 4 - Florence, Italy 

Today we took the train from Rome to Florence where we quickly checked into Hotel Casci and met up with Cole, Ashley and her parents for lunch. We only had a few hours to make it happen but we did it!!! They met us outside our hotel and we all walked to a beautiful Piazza called Della Signoria. We were able to find a table for the eight of us inside a restaurant located in the middle of the Piazza as we ate pizza, drank delicious wine, and enjoyed each others company. Afterwards we walked and saw the famous Duomo (which means cathedral), but the grandeur of this church is indescribable as you see such unique colors of marble used. Sadly, we had to say our goodbyes to the Sessions, but very thankfully we saw our best friends in a foreign country. As they made their way to the station for their next journey to Venice, we went to the leather market, which is what Florence is known for as well as their paper.  Richard bought a beautiful leather briefcase and I bought a red clutch/wallet. Both items were customized with our monogram, making it a little more special. 

{Just entertaining Ashley during lunch- what I do for this little lady}

That night we freshened up for one of the top restaurants called Trattoria ZaZa. Richard and Leslie and I had pappardelle pasta with a wild boar meat sauce...it was so good!!  I would highly recommend this as a place to eat at least one night while there.  As we walked back to our hotel, we ended the night with gelato (I had banana and mixed fruit).

The Roman Forum and Colosseum

Day 3- Rome, Italy 

Today was filled with many miles walked as we explored both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Leslie booked another private tour with a great tour guide named Hectori. He was a Roman and gave such a neat historical perspective at the famous areas.

We started in the Roman Forum where many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum. People started meeting in the Forum around 500 B.C.

{The picture above is where Julius Caesar was cremated}

Above is a marble statue of a vestal virgin- one of the most interesting stories that we learned.

Young girls at the age of 6 were taken from their homes (usually homes of families of wealth and power)  and had to serve until they were 30 years old. Emperors and other high ranking officials relied upon them to look for messages from the gods to determine important political and social decisions such as what battles/wars to engage in and when plagues were on the horizon.  If they “received” the wrong message and something bad happened to the city, the virgins were the scapegoats and were given three candles and three days worth of food and sent out of the city. They were led to a hole and buried alive.  People would return after 3 days to see if the gods spared them, which was very much like the Salem witch trials here in the United States. However, if these virgins did "receive" the right message from the gods, they were privileged and lived a very lavish life style. 

{One of the many aqueducts we drank out of-- very refreshing, clean, and cold}

{Above is a seat where young boys drew on them of what they were seeing}

 Afterwards we went to the Spanish Steps and had a charming lunch with the best bruschetta that I have ever had.