The Italian Job!

I was away last week in beautiful Italy... where I took in Rome and Naples, along with day-trips to Pompei and Capri.

I should be Ten-Ton-Tessie by now with the amount of Pizza and Pasta I consumed... but rest assured I burnt off all those calories with a massive amount of walking. I'm a big fan of sight-seeing and I literally wore holes into the soles of my shoes!

There are awsome buildings and sights at every turn in Rome and I could easily go back and see many more interesting things, as well as retracing some of my footsteps to see certain sights in a more relaxed manner. I just missed the Pope apparently - he gave a mass outside the Vatican but I had the wrong time and so the majority were leaving as I arrived! That's me pictured above amongst all the empty seats. I did however, see the tomb of Pope John Paul II (the real pope!). That attracted so many people that a sort of traffic jam formed and hence the security guard got a bit impatient with me as I didn't have my camera 100% ready... mind you, he spoke in Italian so I couldn't understand him anyway!

The highlight though, for me was Rome's Trevi Fountain... it's so spectacular! You just round a corner and there it is at the back of a building.... over-run with tourists of course, butI'm sure it's much worse in high season. Managed to pick up a pair of gorgeous shoes in a shop directly accross from the fountain too... well, a little retail therapy has to be indulged, doesn't it? And Rome is famous for its bags and shoes... what's a girl to do?!

The island of Capri was also beautiful... you get to see how the other half live with all the villas up the hills... and all the designer stores... NOTHING is cheap in Capri, so it might be wise to bring a packed lunch! You'll see photos everywhere of famous people who have visited... Catherine Zeta Jones, Michael Douglas, Elizabeth Hurley, Jackie Onassis, Audrey Hepburn, Uma Thurman, Sylvester Stallone... and so on. The paparrazzi musn't have recognised me... sniff!

I was blessed with lovely weather throughout my trip, sort of like nice summer days in Ireland 23/24 degrees celcius, getting slightly chillier at night. I was told it rained there on the evening I left so I timed it well. Naturally it was raining here the moment I arrived back... always such a welcome (not).

Below are some photos from Capri... those gorgeous blue, tourqoise seas... so beautiful!