We were blessed with an extra-long spring break this year and took advantage with an adventure in Italy and Istanbul. After a half-day of work, we rushed to the airport to catch our flight to Rome, with a layover in Jeddah. Everything was looking smooth as we approached Jeddah. The many religious pilgrims to Mecca were changing into their white Ihram in preparation. Each screen showed the distance to Mecca, and we were getting closer and closer- 18 km…17km…16 km…17 km…16 km…17 km. Wait, what is happening? The pilot came on and told us we were waiting for permission to land. After about an hour of circling, we were told we would reroute to Madinah, as the Jeddah Airport was closed. But shortly after he came on again and announced we were going to land in Jeddah after all. Phew!

As we started our descent, we noticed a huge fire- billowing black clouds of smoke not so far away. As we landed, we saw another fire, quite close to the airport. We had no cell service to find out what had happened but we later learned that there had been a terrorist attack by Houthi rebels. The fires we saw were oil refineries set ablaze. At first, we thought we had missed our connection, but they reissued our tickets and allowed us to board. The airport was a ghost town, as most employees had been sent home, including the luggage handlers, unfortunately. We sat on the runway for about two hours until finally we were given clearance to take off. Sadly, our luggage did not make it since there was no one to load the plane.

So, we arrived around 3 am to a cold and drizzly Italian morning. Our kids were dressed in shorts and t-shirts but happily borrowed my sweater and Simon’s flannel. We spent our first day in Rome shopping for new clothes and toothbrushes before we hopped on a train to Genoa where we planned to meet our friend Jenny. If you knew Alden when he was between the ages of 2 and 5, you probably recall his fascination with trains. We could still see a little twinkle in his eye as the train approached.

We were all excited to see Jenny! The kids had been plotting an alliterative adventure with her; They were going to have Gelato in Genoa with Jet-Legged Jenny! Jenny arrived late so we skipped gelato our first day, but the next day we had our first of many gelatos. Before gelato, we strolled along the UNESCO-listed street Via Garibaldi lined with 16th-century mansions and palaces and then took an elevator up the hill to a viewpoint of the city and harbor.

After our gelato break, we checked out the harbor including the Spanish galleon which we thought might be something interesting and historical but turned out to be a set for a 1985 Roman Polanski film about pirates. We didn’t go inside, but did have fun pretending to be pirates! While in the harbor we connected with the delivery guy who had our luggage- hooray! Before dinner, we walked to the Piazza de Ferrari, the main square of Genoa.

From Genoa, we caught the train to Levanto, a town about an hour down the coast on the edge of the Cinque Terre National Park. It was a sunny day and the forecast suggested rain might foil our Cinque Terre hiking plans in the next few days, so we decided to take advantage and get in a hike. After a tasty pasta lunch, we hiked from our AirBnB to the start of the trail leading to Monterosso, the northernmost town of the five villages of Cinque Terre. The hike boasted beautiful views and meandered through the countryside, past homes, small farms, and guesthouses, and in and out of the forest. It was quite the climb, and a bit rough on the old knees in our crew. The kids’ knees were fine, but it was a challenging hike for them as well. Despite the challenge, when we asked them their favorite part of our trip, this hike (and the gelato) was a highlight for both kids, and for us as well.  When we finally made it back to flat ground, we relaxed on the beach. Mila and I collected interesting pebbles to make some beach art and the girls all dipped their feet into the chilly water. We ended the day with our afternoon/evening trifecta- Gelato, apertivo (a drink and a snack), and dinner- before literally running to catch the last train.

It rained that night, a soothing sound that I have missed living in the desert. We decided it made more sense to explore the villages by train since the trails would be slippery and our knees were still feeling yesterday’s hike. We took the train to Riomaggiore, the southernmost town and then worked our way back, walking and eating our way through each town – sweets and cappuccinos in Riomaggiore, lunch with a view in Manarola, gelato in Corniglia, and apertivo in the harbor of Vernazzo. Each village boasts magnificent views – the turquoise Ligurian Sea, the verdant mountains and vineyards, and the rainbow collage of homes nestled into the cliffside.

Our last day in Levanto was quite rainy, so we opted for a chill day. We read, played games, and went on some walks in the town. We had pizza for lunch at a local spot, La Picea, which turned out to be our favorite pizza of the trip. The next morning, we walked in the pouring rain to the train station where we parted ways with Jenny. She headed back to Milan where she was catching an early flight and we spent the day on the train from Levanto to La Spezia and then onward to Naples.

Naples! We had debated how much time to spend in Naples, but are so glad we took the time to explore the city. As we rode in the taxi from the train station, Simon chatted up the cabby getting tips for restaurants. We gazed at the changing surroundings-wide boulevards home to ancient fountains and squares leading to narrow alleys coated in grafitti on both sides as high as an arm could reach.  I am not sure if I have ever seen so much grafitti and I couldn’t quite decide how I felt about it. The street art culture was interesting and we had fun hunting for hidden gems amidst the more generic tags. But seing historical buildings, churches even, covered in tags was sad. 

Our rental was lovely and right in the middle of the bustling old town. We walked all around the city, exploring old buildings, fountains, and statues and checking out the local shops, markets, and restaurants. The Via de Presepi, full of shops dedicated to the art of the nativity, was fascinating. Traditional creches mixed with more modern village scenes, many with moving parts like a barber cutting hair or a chef sliding a pizza into the oven. We had the most delicious ragu at a little restaurant in our neighborhood, one of the best pastas of the trip.

On our rainy day, we visited the archaeological museum, witnessing lots of ancient art and pieces from Pompeii. The Secret Cabinet (erotic pieces for adult eyes only) was closed but there was an interesting exhibit about gladiators. Each time we were caught in the rain, we were targeted by the many umbrella salesmen. We saw the rain as a good excuse to hop into a cafe for some gelato. Our final morning, we decided we couldn’t leave Naples without having pizza so we went to the pizza shop that had been recommended by 1. our friend Conner, 2. The cabby, and 3. my mom (who had eaten there in the 90s with my dad).

The forecast continued to disappoint with more rain and storms predicted for the next two days that we had hoped to spend in Pompeii. But we didn’t want to miss out, so we hopped on the local train for a short ride to Pompeii. We were greeted on arrival by a hail storm, so we darted to the first cab we saw and checked in early and soggy to our rental. The kids were tired from all our Naples sightseeing, so we lounged in our room for a bit before I noticed sun peeking through the blinds. We weren’t sure if it was a sucker hole or if the weather was defying the forecast, but decided to take our chances and go to Pompeii. The next day was a free admission day, so we figured if we got rained out we would just return the next day to see what we missed. Our rental was just steps from an amazing view of Pompeii with Vesuvius in the background, covered with snow and fresh hail.

Crowds were light, perhaps due to the forecast and also due to coming late in the day. We hopped around the ancient cobbled streets, tracks from chariots worn into the lanes. We saw the ruins of old homes, a bakery, and streetside cafes and were impressed by the mosaics, paintings, and statues that survived.

We were on our way to the brothel when it started to rain, thunder, and then hail. We took cover for a bit and then decided to make our way out of the park and into the town to grab some coffee and gelato. The staff seemed concerned at our state, and kept suggesting Mila go dry her hair with the bathroom hand-dryers. We returned to Pompeii the next morning to see a few more spots that we had missed including the brothel and the Villa of the Mysteries with its impressive frescos.

We were relieved that the rain did not follow us to Rome! On our first full day in Rome we broke our daily step record – around 25,000- exploring many of the parks, plazas, and ancient architecture of the city. We started in Borghese Gardens where we saw seagulls brunching on turtles and listended to a harpist playing 60s folk and rock hits.

I was craving some arancini so we found a cozy lunch spot to rest our legs and indulge my craving. We were near the kitchen and Mila was spying on the cook. When our server learned she was interested in cooking, he whisked her off to the kitchen where he and the cook taught her how to make “donuts” which she served to us for dessert.

After lunch, we enjoyed seeing the Colosseum and imagining the history of the area as we strolled around Palatine Hill and the Forum. The kids’ stamina was waning, but fortunately, it was Gelato o’clock so we eeked out a last burst of energy to make it to the gelato place. Then we headed back to our rental for a break before dinner at our friend Katie’s favorite neighborhood restaurant from her time living in Rome.

The next day was another day of close to 25,000 steps, exploring first the Spanish Steps and Trevi fountain and then the Vatican, Saint Peter’s Square, and St. Peter’s Basilica.

On our last full day, despite some kid grumbling, we checked out a few more “old” sites we had missed on my Rick Steves audio tour- highlights being the Pantheon and Piazza Navona.

Then we checked out the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art. They had an interesting exhibit called Intertwingled which focused on modern rugs and tapestry. Alden was curious about the piece Mappa, as he has become a bit obsessed with flags of the world. I was surprised to see a photograph of the Arch of Constantine by Italian photographer Gabriele Basilico that seemed to be taken in the same spot within the Colosseum as my own photo.

Initially, we planned to spend our whole break in Italy, but a few weeks before the trip we learned that our friends Kelly and John would be in Istanbul for a month. John was our hallmate at ISK and Kelly was Mila’s teacher. They had both recently left ISK as have many of our colleagues from the school. We decided to stop in Istanbul for a few days to see them, eat Turkish food, and check out the city.

On our first full day, we met John and Kelly at the pier on the European side of the city and took a public ferry across to the Asian side. We walked around a hip neighborhood, ate a tasty meal, and had some turkish ice cream before returning back at sunset on the ferry.

Our next day we reached almost 20,000 steps as we explored the sites of old Istanbul. We wandered down towards the river along streets adorned with interesting street art past the Galata tower and many juice and souvenir vendors.

We took the tram across the Golden Horn where we explored Sultan Ahmet Park, the Blue Mosque, the Mosaic Museum, and the Hagia Sophia. The Blue Mosque was under construction so our view was quite limited but the small nearby Mosaic Museum was impressive to see, full of Byzantine period mosaics discovered at the site of the Great Palace of Constantinople. The Hagia Sophia, built in 537 as a cathedral was converted into a mosque in 1453 after the fall of Constantinople. In 1935 it became a museum and remained such until 2020 when it was converted back into a mosque. It is still a stunning space, but we were disappointed that we weren’t able to see many of the Christian mosaics or any of the upper gallery. It’s possible that much of the Christian art in the Hagia was obscured due to the fact that we were visiting during Ramadan. Most of the marble floor was covered in a turquoise prayer rug, although the omphalion where many emperors were coronated was still visible. As we were exiting the mosque, we saw a mosaic of the Virgin with child.

We ended the afternoon at Tokapi Palace where we took a guided tour of the opulent pavillions, the treasury, and the Harem.

With all the walking, of course, we had to reward our little troopers with some Turkish ice cream! This guy was our favorite vendor entertaining us all with his shenanigans.

On our final full day in Istanbul, we started off in a nearby neighborhood with an amazing Turkish breakfast. We hoped to visit the Grand Bazaar, but sadly it was closed. There seemed to be some sort of celebration happening, as we had observed a ceremony at a Taksim Square monument near our rental and witnessed a military jet decorating the sky with colors. However, the local we asked about why the market was closed could only tell us that “Turkish people sleep today.” After visiting and enjoying the views from the Suleymaniye Mosque, we walked around with John, Kelly, their friend Tanya and her toddler Tristan. We explored the Egyptian market, walked across the bridge, revisited our Turkish ice cream friend, and had another amazing Turkish feast for lunch.

We were happily exhausted from all our adventures. We were so grateful for the reunions with friends, interesting history, beautiful sights, and scrumptious flavors that we were able to enjoy on this trip.