Connie ReinglassHave you ever taken a vacation...

Connie Reinglass

Have you ever taken a vacation or holiday, and you shed tears just

absorbing the absolute beauty and charm of a country? That is how I

felt on our recent tour of Italy. The churches of Italy, including

St. Peter’s Basilica and the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, made me

feel as if there cannot be a place any holier. Others in our group

agreed. We, along with a group of 25 people, were able to enjoy such

a vacation.

Our trip commenced in Rome, an awesome place. We, of course,

visited the Roman Forum, Coliseum, Spanish Steps, Pantheon, Trevi

Fountain and a multitude of small, charming streets and shops.

Our tour continued on to Florence, through Pisa -- visiting the

leaning tower -- and then on to Venice.

We thoroughly enjoyed Venice and its history, beautiful

architecture and, of course, our gondola ride. Nothing is more

romantic than cruising the small canals and having your gondolier

crooning, while slowly meandering through the narrow passageways. I

got a little giddy when I realized these gondolas are not on tracks,

that the gondoliers are actually controlling the gondolas. I

discovered that the art of being a gondolier has been passed down

through families for years. Once we walked over the Rialto Bridge and

viewed the canal, and Venice was everything a postcard could show.

Another highlight of our trip was the charming little medieval

town Assisi. Our hotel was on a hilltop overlooking the entire

Umbrian Valley. We enjoyed the afternoon, while traversing the town

of Assisi and touring the Basilica of St. Francis. And along the way,

we ran smack into a medieval parade.

We left the wonderfully religious town of Assisi to move on to

Pompeii and its ruins, which reflect the strife and heartache of the

devastation left by the Mt. Vesuvius eruption in AD 79.

We then embarked on an overnight cruise to Sicily, boarding the

ferry in Naples. The ferry accommodates hundreds of travelers,

including buses and several 18-wheelers. What a lovely way to spend

an evening; even the full moon cooperated with an absolutely

picture-perfect backdrop to the close of our day.

The ferry docked the next morning in Palermo, Sicily, in time for

breakfast, and then we went on to visit quaint Monreale. We spent

four days on Sicily, visiting Palermo, Agigento, with its Greek ruins

in the Valley of the Temples, and Taormina with its beautiful

countryside, shops and beaches.

Our hotel as just outside Taormina, and one evening we were

actually able to see Mt. Etna erupt. The next morning, our bus

excursion took us to just above the 6,000-foot level of Mt. Etna,

while on the way we were able to see the past year’s eruption damage.

To get back to the mainland, we took a short ferry ride, along

with our group, including our tour bus, off the isle in Sicily,

through Messina on the eastern coast of Sicily, up the toe of Italy,

arriving in Sorrento.

The next day we took yet another short ferry ride to the isle of

Capri and braved a small rowboat adventure into the Blue Grotto.

There are only about 90 days of the year when conditions are perfect

to enter the Blue Grotto, and we were lucky to witness this

phenomenon.

The food and wine were divine, to which I can vouch, having gained

five pounds. We also discovered a wonderful after-dinner treat called

Lemoncello, and I lugged back two bottles of the nectar.

We ended our Italian holiday on a bittersweet note, taking a final

bus tour of the night lights of. All in our tour group agreed we

would return, and we will, because we each threw a coin into the

Trevi Fountain.

* CONNIE REINGLASS is a resident of Newport Beach.