Our Road Trip Through Italy!

This past fall (October 2012) we wanted to take a memorable family vacation/R&R, so we decided to take a road trip through Italy!  A few of our friends had done it and raved about it, so we decided to give it a shot.  We started the trip by taking an overnight ferry from Durres, Albania to Bari, Italy.  We were a bit nervous about Asher, and how/whether he would sleep on a ferry, but he did surprisingly well!  Not the best sleep in the world, but we survived the ride.  Asher loved looking out at the water as we were docking in Italy.

Once we arrived, we got our car and started our drive to our first stop on the trip.  On our way we enjoyed the beautiful landscape surrounding us.  Every turn brought a new picturesque scene.  Italy is GORGEOUS!!!

Then we arrived - Pompeii!

I think this was one of the most unique places we have ever visited, and it was absolutely amazing to forsee this city and to get a real feel on how people lived back in the day.  The city was in such great shape for being almost 2000 years old. 



 

The trees in Italy are pretty cool looking.  They had these in Rome too.

Asher chasing a wild dog outside of the old ampitheater... don't worry, Asher's good at keeping his distance even though he like to chase them around and we have good health insurance that would cover Rabies vaccinations/treatments.

 



 

As we were checking the map, Asher had a grand ol' time with nature.  There was a tree stump that was hollow and there were giant pine cones laying around all over the place.  These items made a fantastic souce of entertainment for Asher.  His game: 

 

Find a pine cone.

 

 

Throw it in the hole.

 Laugh maniacally!

 

He had a lot of fun :)

 

On to the rest of Pompeii!  It was amazing to see how the city was preserved. 

 

The paintings and mosaics...

 

 

 

The streets, promenades, pillars and outer structures...

 

 

 

 

 

 

The internal structures...

And of course, the people...

 

 

It's incredible how detailed the remains of the people were.

  

We loved walking aroung the city and Asher loved climbing all over the place.  It was fantastic!

 

Inquisitive little boy - good thing his fingers weren't bitten off!

 

 

It really was fantastic to see this place and sad to know that it was brought down by a volcano.

 

Our active little boy, trying out everything, climbing on everything.  If he couldn't get up he would say, "Too high, mommy.  Too high." and move promptly on to the next one.

 

 

 

We had a great time, and recommend this place to anyone planning on going to the area!