I’m writing this blog post 20 years after this trip to Italy. The trip almost didn’t happen, we initially had planned to go a year earlier in 2001 and we all know what big event happened that year.

The camera I was shooting with was an Olympus E-10. It had a fixed mount lens, with a screw-on telephoto adapter, and only had 4 megapixels, but the thing took great photos. No selfie sticks anywhere; I miss those days.

I went with four other friends, one of them my best friend at the time, he lived in Boston and I in Chicago so having this time together would be wonderful to catch up besides he was a great planner so I knew the trip would be all set. I coordinate my flight getting into Rome close to their time of arrival, this would make it easy for all of us to get to our accommodations.

We were staying at what now is known as an Airbnb, back then it was called something else and in my old age, I forget.

I was earlier than my four companions so I got my luggage and stood around waiting for them to show up. I love observing people and this was a great opportunity to take the sounds and sights all in. I had taught myself a few words in Italian, so of course, I thought I could understand everyone; of course, I couldn’t, but hey I figured if I thought I could then I could.

Standing there I couldn’t believe I was in Italy. You know when you dream about visiting a place, then you go it’s hard to really take it in; I was here, we had plans, and ahead of me was 10 days of visiting Rome, Florence, and Sienna. My friends came, they got their luggage and off to find taxis to bring us to our accommodations.

As I wasn’t the most expert traveler, I over-packed, I think I had 2 large bags, a carry-on, and my camera bag. My friends all laughed at me, but I was in Italy, didn’t I need lots of nice shoes? We had to get two taxi cabs to carry us all, I can only imagine what the driver was thinking; “oh you silly Americans”, all those bags.

Zipping around Rome on our way to the apartment was fascinating. My head was turning left, right, back to left, and right again all trying to take in the sights; it was almost too much for the mind to take in.

We spent that first night having an early dinner so we could get to bed early this was to help with getting over jet lag; of course, I couldn’t really sleep that well and it didn’t seem to affect me.

Rome

We were to spend 4 days in Rome, then head to Florence for 4 days with a one-day excursion to Siena, then back to Rome for 2 final days before heading back home. As I am writing this 20 years after the fact, I will only hit on some highlights of the trip. We walked everywhere and would be impossible to relate every detail of the trip.

On our way back to our apt after dinner that first night, we passed the Forum and as it wasn’t very far from where we were staying, we decided this was going to be the place to first visit the next day. The sun was just setting and looking down into the Forum, I could feel this was going to be a special experience.

The next morning we all met and grabbed breakfast and off to the Forum. This cafe was around the corner from where we were staying and every morning we would see this worker outside cleaning and preparing for the day’s business.

there were lots of these small family-owned cafes; to me, they are the epitome of traveling in Europe.

We entered the Forum from the opposite end of where the Colosseum is located and had to descend to get to the base of the floor. The day was beautiful, bright blue skies and with an occasional puffy white cloud passing by.

As I descended, I was trying to take it all in. Looking down towards the Colosseum, seeing it for the first time, still standing there after several thousand years, a little rough around the edges, but there it was, we would get there, but first I wanted to take in what was in front of me.

We finally made our way down to the Colosseum, me lagging my friends. I wanted to just sit here in the Forum and take in the sights but knew I had to finally catch up so off I went to find them.

We got in line to get into the Colosseum and yes I mention this structure a lot, but it’s so iconic for us Americans when we think of Italy and Rome. Gladiators and all. It was very bustling around it, with tourists everywhere and Romans going about their day. I didn’t know what to expect from seeing the inside but was glad we could get in.

As you can imagine from being unused for centuries and pillaged of its marble over the centuries, the structure was pretty rough. There was one portion they were trying to renovate, I think there was a thought maybe they could hold events inside again, but I don’t really remember.

I was standing up on one of the levels in the Colosseum and noticed this wedding couple and thought it would make an interesting shot. At first, I thought the carriage was for the married couple, but as you look closer there are three different scenarios happening, which made it more interesting.

Two places you can’t ignore on your first trip to Rome, are Vatican City and Castle Sant'Angelo. I am not a practicing catholic, but walking up to and through the Vatican was moving; don't get me wrong. I don’t think Jesus would approve of all the pomp, but I’m not Jesus so I guess I can be moved by it.

Like a lot of religious houses in Europe, there were places you can’t take photos even without a flash, oh, and be prepared to wear a shirt. My camera didn’t do well in low light so I often just enjoyed the scenes through my eyes, not the cameras.

You don’t want to miss the Sistine Chapel and plan to stand in line a long time to get in; go early in the day. Obviously knowing about the history of it and the artist makes it a must attraction. You can’t take photos, though now with iPhones I bet lots of people take photos. They try to keep the noise down to zero so people will focus on the ceiling, not congregate and chat. It was frustrating at times, you’re cramped in with lots of people, your neck hurts from looking up and it’s hard to take it all in. What I wanted was for everyone to leave so I could lay down and just look up, but even with the uncomfortable way you have to look at the ceiling, it did bring tears to my eyes; if for nothing else, I was finally here.

Spoiler alert, no Pope sightings.

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle and is now a museum–Wikipedia.

Florence

We boarded a train from Rome north to Florence. If I remember it took a couple of hours, or thereabouts and was a lovely ride. You pass some beautiful landscapes and the hilltop towns are just beautiful. There was one town we passed and a woman and I looked at each other and she said in Italian, Bellissima. It felt like she knew what I was thinking, I think she could see it in my eyes. Trains are a great way to get around Italy. They are fast and not overly expensive and afford you time to relax and take in the views.

In Florence, my friend Tony and I would be staying at his friend’s flat and the other three would be at a hotel. Here we all had more time to come and go by ourselves; once you get oriented, Florence was easy to get around and I spent so much time on my own taking photos and eating gelato. One of the guys we were staying with was a history professor and he gave us a couple of private tours. One of the Medici houses (now a museum) and the other was the Palazzo Vecchio, I feel very lucky to have had that opportunity.

One of the coolest things we got to do was ride on the back of scooters while zipping through the streets of Florence while going out one night.

Florence was very different from Rome. Of course, we stayed within the confines of the city so only really exposed ourselves to the historical parts; it was definitely smaller and felt less cosmopolitan. To me, where Rome seemed to center around its ancient buildings, Florence centered around its art. It did not disappoint.

There were statues everywhere, I came to really love shooting them. They afforded great opportunities for interesting photos and finding different ways to capture them with the light kept me occupied for hours.

Siena

This was a day where the group split up for different excursions and believe me, when there are five of you, make time for people to do their own things. Two people went off to Venice for the day and we went to Siena. The bus ride didn’t take too long, maybe an hour or so. Siena is a small hilltop walled in town and very touristy. There wasn’t a lot to do there, so don’t expect to go there for a few days, unless it’s a hub to visit other places. With that said, it was a very lovely town. Big center piazza where all the narrow streets lead to. A huge cathedral that was beautiful inside. The big attraction of the cathedral is its floors which are covered most of the time to preserve them; though when we were there they were uncovered so I got to see them and no I don’t have photos. I have to say after all these years, it seems some of my photos went missing. 

After we walked around and climbed the clock tower, we spent the rest of the day sitting in the piazza, eating, drinking, and people-watching. It was a perfect day trip.

On one of our last days in Florence, we spent it at the Piazzale Michelangelo. This was outside the center of Florence across the river Arno located up on a hill. It gave spectacular views of Florence and the surrounding area. It’s mostly a place you go to relax, drink wine and enjoy the scenery. We took a bus over to it, and if I remember correctly if you missed the last bus going back it would be a long walk back, but then of course this was before Uber or Lyft, so there’s that.

Rome

We spent the last couple of days mostly hanging out. We had done all the touristy stuff, so finding good cafes to sit in, eat good food and drink great wine was how we ended our trip. I am thankful to my friend Tony for organizing this trip. He was the lynchpin for the five of us and I know he was exhausted trying to make everyone happy, but it was definitely a trip I won’t ever forget.