HOLLAND
GERMANY
AUSTRIA
ITALY
TUNISIA
Nights were spent in italicized locations.
2000 October 03 : Tuesday
| Sep 20 |
Portland |
| Sep 21 | Charles
de Gaulle, Delft |
| Sep 22 | Amsterdam,
Delft |
| Sep 23 | Delft,
Rotterdam, Stromberg |
| Sep 24 | Dinkelsbühl,
Munich |
| Sep 25 | Schloss
Neuschwanstein, Munich |
| Sep 26 | Munich,
Solnhofen, Rothenburg ob der Tauber |
| Sep 27 | Rothenburg
ob der Tauber, Salzburg |
| Sep 28 | Berchtesgaden,
Salzburg |
| Sep 29 | Salzburg,
Vienna |
| Sep 30 | Vienna,
night train |
| Oct 01 | Venice |
| Oct 02 | Venice,
Verona, Florence |
| Oct 03 | Florence,
Pisa, Cinqe Terre (Monterosso) |
| Oct 04 | Cinqe
Terre: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso |
| Oct 05 | Cinqe
Terre (Monterosso), Rome: Coliseum, Forum |
| Oct 06 | Palestrina,
Rome: St. Peter's, Vatican Museum |
| Oct 07 | Rome:
Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountaine, Palatine Hill, etc. |
| Oct 08 | Santa
Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta, Naples |
| Oct 09 | Pozzouli,
Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Caserta, Naples |
| Oct 10 | Positano |
| Oct 11 | Mt.
Vesuvius, Pompeii, Positano |
| Oct 12 | Paestum,
Positano |
| Oct 13 | Positano,
Amalfi, Ravello, night train |
| Oct 14 | Taormina |
| Oct 15 | Catania,
Palermo, Trapani |
| Oct 16 | all-day
ferry, Tunis |
| Oct 17 | Tunis,
Thuburbo Majus, Zaghouan, Kairouan |
| Oct 18 | Kairouan |
| Oct 19 | Mactaris,
Sufetula, Kairouan |
| Oct 20 | Kairouan,
Monastir, El Jem, Houmt Souk |
| Oct 21 | Ajim,
Medenine, Ksar Hadada, Tataouine |
| Oct 22 | Ksar
Ouled Soltane, Douirat, Chenini, Foum Tataouine, Matmata |
| Oct 23 | Matmata,
Douz, Chott El D'Jerid, Tozeur |
| Oct 24 | Sidi
Bouhlel, Chott El Gharsa, Tozeur |
| Oct 25 | Chebika,
Tamerza, Mides, Seldja Gorge, Tozeur |
| Oct 26 | Sidi
Bouhlel, Chott El D'Jerid, Tozeur |
| Oct 27 | Chott
El Gharsa, Chott El D'Jerid, Sidi Bouhlel, Tozeur |
| Oct 28 | Chott
El D'Jerid, Sidi Bouhlel, Tozeur |
| Oct 29 | Dougga,
Sidi Bou Said, La Marsa |
| Oct 30 | La Marsa,
Rome |
| Oct 31 | Rome,
Atlanta, Portland |
|
|
|
| ©2001-2008 by Mitch Darby - all rights reserved. | |
Due to my aggressive schedule, I was only able to spend the morning in Florence, so I got up with the sun.
 01) FLORENCE | Piazza della Signoria: original location - not the original "Dave." |
02) FLORENCE | The
Ponte Vecchio bridges the Arno river.
03) FLORENCE | I
can't quite tell if it's one building, or several fighting for river frontage.
04) FLORENCE | The
view from the Ponte Vecchio.
 05) FLORENCE | The Duomo. The scaffolding is being used by cleaners. The dome was designed by Brunelleschi. When Michelangelo went to design the dome for St. Peter's in Rome he reported said, "I go to build a greater dome, but not a fairer one." |
 06) FLORENCE | The baptistry, Duomo, and campanile. |
 07) FLORENCE | The view from the top. There was already a long line to get in when I arrived around 9:30am, but once I got in (after 30-40 minutes) the climb to the top didn't seem that long. The top is covered in graffiti if you're curious (most of it in Italian). |
08) FLORENCE | Coming
back down, I paused to take this shot - not expecting it to come out.
 09) FLORENCE | The real David currently resides inside the Galleria dell'Accademia. |
 10) FLORENCE | Carved by Michelangelo from a single block of marble when he was 29 years old. |
11) FLORENCE | Not
so long ago, a man entered the gallery, walked up to David, and he threw
acid on the left foot of the sculpture.
 12) FLORENCE | Pallazo de Medici. |
13) PISA | The
baptisitry.
14) PISA | The
Cathedral.
 15) PISA | The famouse "leaning tower." Well that doesn't look so bad. I don't know what all the fuss is about. |
 16) PISA | D'OH!!! |
17) PISA | It
started leaning during construction. If you look closely at the top (previous
photos), the uppermost floors are actually at a different angle than those
below them.
18) PISA | The
grand plan to straighten the tower - BUT NOT TOO STRAIGHT! After all,
the drawing power of this tourist attraction must be preserved too!
19) PISA | The
cathedral and the tower. Note the angle of the flag pole on top of the
tower.
20) PISA | Shot
of the day.
Next stop was the Cinqe Terre - 5 picturesque villages along the Mediterranean linked only by train, ferry, and goat path. I arrived at the first one (Riomaggiore) around 4:30pm. No rooms available. I hopped from village to village and back again for the next few hours trying to find a room. Around 9:30pm it was completely dark and I was completely tired of looking. I found myself on the train platform at Corniglia thinking I would grab the next train to Genoa (an hour or so to the north) and then turn around and jump on the next train to Rome. On a whim, I hopped aboard the next train to Monterosso (the northernmost Cinqe Terre village) and found a room just like that! Where was it when I had been here hours earlier?!