Travelog for: Chompers

After our visit in Pisa, we had some wonderfull lunch in the mountains of Toscane. We tasted lots of wine and olives made from the people who live in the farm.

Then it was time to go to Lucca. Lucca is a wonderfull old city with lots of beautiful buildings and old squares.









This square used to be an amphitheater. They build houses on top of it, but it still has the shape of the theater.

Florence is the place to be, lalala Florence has to be the most beautiful city I have ever seen! Did you know that every year lots of tourists end up in the hospital because they are overwhelmed by the beauty of Florence? It's called the Stendhal Syndrome after this man called Stendhal. He is the first person of who it is known he fainted after seeing Florence. His heart stopped pumping and he coulnd't breath. Thank God none of us had these problems but it is such a beautiful city!

Santa Maria Novella



Campanile next to the Basilica San Lorenzo


Basilica San Lorenzo



Duome (Santa Maria Del Fiore)





Saint George (from Saint George and the Dragon) made by Donatello



The tourguide of the trip told us a story about this George. Donatello made this statue and showed it to his master. He asked him if there is anything wrong with George. His master answered: Yes there is something wrong. Donatello of course wanted to know what this was. But his master simply answered: I won't tell you, you have to find out yourself. Donatello wondered and wondered, he looked at George and he could not find anything wrong with him. He got ill of these doubts. Donatello got so sick, that at one point he was actually dying. On his deathbed he asked his master: Please tell me, what was wrong with Saint George? His master said: He doesn't breath. He looks so real, if he breathed he could just walk towards us. And then Donatello could die in peace.
It's a wonderfull story, but in reality Donatello lived happily ever after, after making this statue. But it's a good story

David (waiting for Goliath) made by Michelangelo.



This is not the original David, that one is savely in a museum.
It stands on the Piazza Della Signoria.



Ponte Vecchio

The fifth day was a bit of a travelingday. We went to Siena first, but after that to our new hotel in Fiuggi. First Siena. This is a very old city from the Dark Ages.



It has a very famous square: Piazza Del Campo. The people of Siena call it the most beautiful piazza of the world. It has the shape of a shell.



Every year this Piazza turns into a racecourse. When the 'Palio' (horseraces) takes place, every person from Sienna goes to the Piazza. They stand on the inside of the square and the horses run on the outside.





Every part of the city have a horse in the race. And it doesn't matter if the jockey makes it to the finishline, when the horse makes it, the horse wins. Sometimes accidents happen because the jockey doesn't ride the horse on a sadle.





Duomo di Siena





We walked around the city for a bit and we had some really good pizza! Funghipizza (mushrooms) on the Piazza Del Campo.

After our visit to Siena, we travelled to Fiuggi. From this town we are going to Rome! I can't wait! Here are some views from thr bedroomwindow, looks pretty doesn't it?

Time to visit Rome! Or Roma as it's called in Italy. The bus brought us to Rome. We took the subway to go to the centre of the city. Went we got back at the streetlevel this is the first thing I saw:



The Colosseum! The Colosseum is soooo big!! It was built between the year 70 and 80 AD. The use was an amphitheatre. You could watch fights between lions, between lions and gladiators or just between gladiotors. One way or another, people would die. When the Colosseum was opened the Romans celebrated the opening with a party of 100 days. In these days everyone was welcome in the Colosseum. Everyday the fights and other events happened during the entire day. Romans where very ahead of their time: they already had fast food! You could buy it at stands near the Colosseum. Bread and wine, that sort of stuff.





Forum Romanum, this is the central area which the ancient Roman civilization developed.



The Pantheon (Temple of all the Gods)







Trevi Fountain



Spanish Stairs

The second day in Rome! This day we had some time off in the morning and in the afternoon we went to the St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

On our free time we found a cool Toy Store called Al Sogno.



They had lots of very cool toys.







Too bad Marjolein found the toys way to expensive. But they seem to have a really good life in the store and they will be bought by rich people who will give them a good life

We had pizza again today! After walking around we went to Vatican City to see the St. Peter!



On this photo I am standing on the Bridge of Angels.



The view from the balcony. This is the way the pope always looks at the St. Peter's Square.



The guard of the St. Peter are Swiss Guards. They have to be realy Swiss boys from between 18 and 25 and not married. And of course Catholic.



The inside of the St. Peter's Basilica



The Piéta from Michelangelo.







Saint Peter's Tomb, where the popes are burried. It was not allowed to make photo's of the grave of the latest pope but Marjolein did make some photo's where she was allowed.

Pompei is a town from the first century after the birth of Christ. It was built by Romans.



Years (about 15 years) before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the town was destroyed by on earthquake. The inhabitants of Pompei didn't know it then, but this was just Mount Vesuvius warning them for the eruption.



There where other warnings. The water dissaperead. Because of the hot lava the Vesuvius was making the water turned into steam.



In Pompei lived about 20.000 people. The went to the store



To the bakery



Or to a bathhouse





Or the just sat in there own garden, for example in the House with the Little Fountain



But on 24 August 79 the time stopped. The day turned into night and this lasted for three days. People didn't know what was happening. Some died because they breathed in the ashes of the mountain. Some died because of rocks flying around. Most people died right at the spot.



Almost everybody died in 79. But the city was preserved really well because of the ashes of Mount Vesuvius. So that's good for us, we can learn a lot, about the way people lived and what happened that day. We can go back in time and walk around like the people of Pompei used to do.

On our way our next hotel near Venice, we had a stop in Ravenna. In 409 AD Ravenna became the capital city of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar gathered his troups here. This was in 49 BC.

We went to see a early Christian church famous of mosaics. The Basilica of San Vitale.











We also went to the mousuleum (Mousuleum of Galla Placidia) next to the church.

Time to see Venice! Venice is by many called the most beautiful city in the world. We went here by boat. You could also go there by car but according to our guide you are suppose to go by boat.







We set foot on the land and went into the harbour of Venice after a trip of about half an hour.



On our way to Piazza San Marco we saw The Bridge of Sighs. This bridge passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms of the Doge's Palace. It got it's name because the prisoner got a last look at Venice and their loved one from the brigde before there inprisonment or death and used to sigh there.



On the Piazza San Marco stands the Basilica di San Marco a Venezia.









There also stand two poles on the Piazza San Marco. No inhabitant of Venice would ever stand between those two poles, because people used to get excecuted their. Gulp!



On the left pole stands a lion. The lion is the animal of Venice.



We went for a walk around the city. The first thing we saw was the second most famous bridge, the Rialto Bridge. It's the oldest bridge in the city and build in 1181.



We had the most wonderfull view from the bridge!





We walked on and saw some beautiful sights.









Then we came across the only wooden bridge in the city: Accademia Bridge.





But sightseeing was the only thing we did, we also did some shopping! We saw a great toystore again, this was a Disney store!





Venice stretches over 118 little islands. It has a population of 271.251 people. People have lived on the islands for centuries but it is known as a city since the ninth century.

In the evening after our trip to Venice we took a little walk down the beach near our hotel. I saw the Adriatic Sea in Venice but now I also got to touch it!



Tomorrow it's time to go back to The Netherlands. We will sleep in Germany the next night and by friday we are back in Den Bosch. The trip to Italy was so cool! I certainly want to go back

I hope you enjoyed the updates!

Love Chompers

Hi mum!

I have more exciting news to tell you! Today it's time to leave for our next holiday! Check out the cool van we had to leave for the holiday!



Hugs Chompers

We arrived in Austria the same day. We stayed in a Landall Greenpark near the town Gargellen. The view was beautiful!!





We are going to do really cool things in Austria, lots of walking and swimming! 9th of August we will leave for another country!!

On our way to our next holiday-stop we went through a very small country. Called Liechtenstein! We saw the capitalcity Vaduz. Unfortunately there wasn't much time to make photo's, but look at this one:

The next week of our holiday is in Switzerland! On top of the hill of the village Wildhaus is our very big house. For all of the family of Marjoleins boyfriend Kasper. This is a familyreunion! I met everyone!

This is our house:



And this is the view:



The family's name is Paping, so they had their own flag!!