Day Trips
Not to Miss
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Day TripsNot to Miss
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Juliet's Balcony From Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet |
Verona, capital of the province with the same name. A city rich in art and architecture is about 50 miles from Venice and the Adriatic Sea. We only stopped here for a couple hours, but you can probably stay a whole day to see all the sites. One of the most well known historical sites is the Arena, one of the largest of its kind. It is currently used as an open air theatre and hosts many cultural events. If your familiar with Shakespeare's work, than you won't want to miss Casa di Giuletta, a 13th c. building purported to be the home of Juliet Capulet Romeo & Juliet fame) with the famous balcony. For a small fee, you can tour the family home. The cobblestone streets are very quaint, and you will find many small boutiques for your shopping pleasure, along with cafe's and gelato stands. |
 Bapistry View of the Cathedral and Tower |
Pisa, capital of the province of the same name located in the northern Tuscany region. Pisa's claim to fame is the Leaning Tower. The Leaning Tower is located in the Miracle Fields, along with the Baptistery, Cathedral and the Campo Santo(the most famous cemetary of its kind.) To get to the Miracle Fields, all tour buses must park at the designated area, then you will take a Tram to the perimeter of these monuments. If you decided to walk from the parking lot, its 15 minutes. There is a fee for all monuments at this site. There are package deals for these monuments and you can spend the whole day here. However, the Leaning Tower tickets must be either reserved or sold first come first serve in the morning, as they have a limit on how many people can walk up the tower. Our ticket package did not include the Tower, which was unfortunate, however we did walk up to the bapistry which is almost the same level as tower. Here you will get a fantastic view of the Miracle Fields. The streets on the perimeter of the Field are aligned with flea market type shopping, along with the intrusive peddlers who walk up to you with watches and sunglasses. This is a worthwhile day trip, again if you want to go up to the Leaning Tower, reserve tickets in advance. |
 A View of Francescan Monestary |
Assisi is 9 miles SE of the city of Perugia in the region of Umbria. Recognized as one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Italy, was the birthplace of St. Francis born in 1182. |
 The Forum the principal square in Pompeii |
Pompeii is 12 miles SE of Naples, an ancient Roman city destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius in 79AD but eerily preserved. This is an extrodinary archelogical site, in which you can spend the whole day touring. As we were only here for a few hours, we were unable to see alot of the sites. However, what we did see with a guided tour was well worth the visit. |
 The Island of Capri |
The island of Capri is the most beautiful and most visited island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Capri lies at the southern end of the Gulf of Naples. There is regular ferry service from Naples, as well as Sorrento(which we took), Pisitano, Amalfi and Ischia. The day we went the sea was very rough and was considerably cold for late March down there. Due to the inclement weather we were unable to venture to the Blue Grotto, the most frequented tourist attraction on the island. So if the seas and wind are calm, try to visit this extrodinary cave. Instead we went to AnaCapri and toured the main shopping area and also visited Villa San Michele, you will find a breathtaking view of the sea and cliffs of Capri from this mansion. You can also take a chair lift to the highest point of Anacapri, but again this was closed due to high winds. Veneer jewelry boxes as well as Lemoncello liquor is widely sold on Capri. You can tour a Lemoncello factory and sample the liquors and other delectables made with lemons. Our trip was cut short as ferries were being cancelled because of rough seas, and we had to make a 1:00pm departure. I might have enjoyed this visit more, but only if the weather was nicer. |
