#5 - ROME: FAMILY TIES

Our final stop on Eurotrip was the epic city of ROME, from there were hit a few different places.

ROME is home to many a great site, the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, countless ruins & statues and ofcourse the best restaurant around Enoteca Corsi (no relation). My dad gave us the "whirlwind tour of Rome in one day and on the next day we toured the Vatican. It's a great city.

We spent a day visiting the Corsi Family hometown of MAENZA, this was particularily important for my father and I as we would be visiting the grave of my nonno for the first time. The grave was beautiful but it was still a sad moment for me. We had a monstrously huge lunch in a typical Maenza restaurant, saw countless relatives and made the long journey back.

If ruins are your thing, there are two fantastic Italian sites worth checking out, the legendary Pompeii or the ancient port city of OSTIA ANTICA. We spent a sunny afternoon touring the city streets which are in amazingly great shape, store fronts, theaters, palaces, walls, doors, there is a ton to see. It was a touch weird since it was so quiet there, walking along the cobblestone roads in utter peace gave you a really cool feeling almost like you were back in time while the town was vibrant. Well worth checking out.

My family lives in the seaside resort town of OSTIA DI LIDO, this was also our homebase during the final week of our trip. The best part of seeing my family is how loving and hospitable they are and my Aunt Ida is by far the best cook I know, each of her meals was a masterpiece. It was a great place and way to relax on the final days of the trip. One downer was that I got a "stomach virus" on the very last night so I spent an evening and a plane ride in the toilet but it didn't ruin a thing for me, my Family and Italy was awesome.

The family ties are strong in Italy.

#4 - FLORENCE: BELLA FIGURA

We hit our first "snag" of the vacation when we came to FLORENCE. We couldn't remember the name of the hotel we loved from our Honeymoon, so we thought we'd take the chance and book it once we arrived there... bad idea. Turns out it was Labour Day Weekend so all of Italy wanted to visit Florence that weekend, so our Hotel and virtually all others were booked. We finally found one for double what we had budgeted for but at least we had a roof over our head along with the dent in our wallet.

Florence is a great city, we spent five days here on our Honeymoon and it was nice to come back, especially for the food. Our favorite three restuarants were re-visited, TRATTORIA ZA-ZA, LA GROTTA GUELFA and ENOTECA COQUINARIUS and they all still tasted fantastic. We didn't do the Museum or Palace circuit this time around but we did get a little but of our "Shop On", Michelle got a jacket and some boots while I got a wallet and some shoes. May not seem like much but it was for us.

Anyway, if ever in Florence, be sure to visit Piazzale Michelangelo at sundown, the views of the entire city are breath-taking. The shopping here is impressive and as I mentioned, so is the food. We learned a cool term while we were traveling meaning "italian chic" and that sums up Florence quite nicely.

FLORENCE... Bella Figura!

#3 - VENICE: STILL THE BEST

Three years ago when Michelle and I got married, VENICE was the first stop on our Italian Honeymoon and it has always held a special place in our hearts, coming back only solidifies how much we love this city.

We spent four nights in Venice and frankly we were a little worried that we may have set the "expectation bar" a bit too high for the Forbzez since we talked about the town so much, luckily they enjoyed it as well. We rented a 2 bedroom apartment in the Santa Croce district which turned out to be a fantastic homebase (Thanks Craigslist) and from there we hit all the sights: San Marco Square, the Basilica, Rialto Bridge, the Doge Palace, the resort isle of Lido and the glass-blowing isle of Murano.

We also hit two great restuarants, MURO (a kick ass pizza/pasta extravaganza) right by our place and IMPORTUCAFE (a funky little eatery) in the Dosoduro District (the university area). The food overall was fantastic and the coffee... wow, I think I had 5 a day.

On the day we arrived, it was raining extremely hard but from the next day onwards we had sun. There was little to no flooding anywhere in the city and despite some sewer work here and there, there was very little of the legendary "venetian stink" to be smelled.

Michelle and I still love this city, so much so that on our last night while we were standing on a bridge overlooking the Grand Canal, Michelle shed a tear and said she didn't want to go. I laughed at the time and said "we'll be back" but now I can't wait to go back, it was the most relaxing and enjoyable part of the trip for us.

VENICE... still the best.

#2 - PRAGUE: BRILLIANT HISTORY, BRILLIANT CITY

PRAGUE is a beautiful city, it's that simple. Cobblestone roads, ancient architecture, pubs beside pubs beside pubs and more meat than a T-Rex can handle. The Czech people like their meat: Sausage, Goulash, Duck, Ham, Chicken, Ribs and a surprising favorite... Pork Knee. Yeah that's right, Pork Knee.

We spent five full days in Prague visiting majestic sites like Charles Bridge, the Astronomical Clock, the Castle, the Powder Tower, the Jewish Quarter, Squares, Plazas and ofcourse Pubs. Beer is ridiculously cheap in Prague, a glass costing you about a buck canadian, a pint about a buck and a half. Food and accommodation are also reasonable but shopping is where things get pricey but really who goes to Prague for the shopping, it's all about the city itself.

The people are friendly, always smiling and very helpful especially if you make an attempt to speak Czech which always gets a laugh. They are very happy to show their city off to tourists and I'm glad they are, there's so much to see but the further out from the city center you go, the less touristy and more old world Czech it gets. There are still some old Communist ghosts lurking about throughout the city and there are still alot of Russian paraphernalia about (including the pilot cap I picked up) but with each passing year Prague gets a little more "modern", hopefully never too modern.

PRAGUE, brilliant history, brilliant city.

#1 - AMSTERDAM: SEX, FRIES & BIKES

Our trip through Europe was bookended by stops in the classic city of AMSTERDAM which I can sum up in three words: Sex, Fries and Bikes. The RED LIGHT DISTRICT is the same as it was 16 years ago when I visited it in 1992, dingy, smut-filled and full of red lights. There are more BIKES in Amsterdam than people and they are everywhere, there are parking garages dedicated to bikes, four storey structures filled to the rim with bikes, seriously. The FRIES seem to be the national snack food of the Netherlands and they are awesome, a big cone of fries smothered in some type of sauce (usually Mayo, Sambal or Statay for us), it's a great treat especially after a few pints.

Our Favorite restaurant in Amsterdam was the mexican joint LOS PILONES located in the Leidensplein district", honestly it was some of the tastiest Mexican food we've ever had, all four of us agreed that it was worth a return visit.

If there is a darker side to our time in Amsterdam it's that the city is expensive, decent rooms and meals cost a bit but transit is cheap and the metro gets you everywhere. The Heiniken Museum was closed for an upgrade and I got a wicked stomach flu on our last day in Europe, so I saw our Amsterdamian Hotel Room for 24 hours instead of the city... awesome.

AMSTERDAM... sex, fries and bikes.

WE'RE BACK!

Total Days: 23
Total Countries: 3
Total Cities: 5
Total Pictures: 1650+

We are tired but happy and just starting to slog through all the pics before posting, stay tuned for the recap on EUROTRIP!

MISS YOU MOM

We are on the final leg of our trip through Europe and it's great times but it is also May 1st and 13 years ago today my mom Angelica passed away suddenly at 49 years of age. I miss her lots and my memories of her always make me smile but it's always a little tough, especially today.

I miss you Mom and love you!