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Italy Turkey Greece 2025 Traveler
Vatican Museums part 1
September 25, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Made it to the Vatican Museums and my brain is overflowing with beauty! The collections here are absolutely staggering. Room after room of priceless art and artifacts. You could spend days wandering these halls. What an incredible display of history and artistry! 🤯
Fun Fact: The Vatican Museums complex contains over 70,000 works of art, spread across 54 galleries. It is one of the largest museum complexes in the world!

That being said, a museum this big won't fit into one post. See part 2 for more...Read more
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Vatican Museums part 2
September 25, 2025 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
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Sistine Chapel
September 25, 2025 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
The Sistine Chapel is a masterpiece unlike any other. Even the space right before you enter (the only area where we were permitted to snap a photo) is beautiful, but what's inside is absolutely unforgettable. Respecting the no-photo rule inside, the other 2 photos in this post are not my own, and are images from the internet to give you an idea of what we saw.

Fun Fact: The famous "Creation of Adam" scene on the ceiling is one of the most replicated religious artworks in history, but it only takes up a small part of the massive ceiling area!Read more
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St Peter's Square
September 25, 2025 in Vatican City ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
You really don't appreciate the size until you're standing right here. It’s an incredible meeting of architecture and history. A great place to pause and reflect on everything we saw today!
Fun Fact: The huge colonnade (the rows of columns) surrounding the square was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini to look like the "maternal welcoming arms of the Church" embracing the world!Read more
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Pizzeria della Madonna dei Monti
September 25, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
We officially hit the wall today! 😴 After a huge day of touring, we were too exhausted to eat out, so we grabbed pizza al taglio and suppli from Pizzeria della Madonna dei Monti and brought it back to the Airbnb. (Our original pizza spot was closed) Thus pizza was good, but the pizza from Tuesday was better. Nonetheless pizza and a couch was the perfect end the the day!
Fun Fact: Suppli are a famous Roman street food! They are fried balls of rice, often mixed with tomato sauce and filled with gooey mozzarella cheese. The name means "surprise," because when you bite into it, the stringy cheese is a surprise!Read more
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Piazza Navona
September 26, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Hello, Piazza Navona! We came to see the stunning Baroque fountains that dominate this square. The fountains here are absolutely gorgeous—especially the Fountain of Four Rivers by Bernini. Such a grand, beautiful space to start the day!
Fun Fact: This massive square was built on the site of an ancient Roman stadium (the Stadium of Domitian) and actually retained the oval shape of the track!Read more
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Mr 100 Tiramisu
September 26, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Tiramisu taste test time! We stopped at Mr. 100 to fuel up. I went for the strawberry Nutella with cookie, while Matt went classic and Tammy went Nutella Pistachio. They were decent, but we've definitely had better on our Roman trips! No matter what, it's still a perfect little pick-me-up. 🍓
Fun Fact: Tiramisu literally translates to "pick me up" or "cheer me up" in Italian. It was originally named this because of the caffeine from the espresso and the sugary components!Read more
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Pantheon
September 26, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
The Pantheon is absolutely one of the most stunning buildings in the world. Even just looking at the columns and the massive bronze doors from the outside is impressive. It’s crazy to think this building has stood for nearly 2,000 years! What incredible history.
Fun Fact: The Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome, and the hole in the center (the oculus) is the sole source of light!Read more
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Wandering the City
September 26, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Just wandering and soaking up the final Roman vibes before we head off on our cruise! The atmosphere on these narrow, winding streets is totally unmatched. Every turn is another photo op. Loving these last few moments!
Fun Fact: Rome is known as the "Eternal City" (Città Eterna) because ancient Romans believed that no matter what happened to the rest of the world, Rome would always endure!Read more
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Galleria Alberto Sordi
September 26, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
Just a little window shopping stop in one of the most beautiful malls I’ve ever seen! Galleria Alberto Sordi is an architectural masterpiece with its gorgeous ceilings and columns. We didn't buy anything, but it was worth it just to wander through. 🛍️
Fun Fact: The stunning, ornate interior of this gallery was part of the inspiration for the magical Galeries Gourmet set in the recent Wonka movie!Read more
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La Taverna Madonna Dei Monti 16
September 26, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Our final dinner in Rome already! Found a nearby spot, La Taverna Madonna Dei Monti 16, for a classic Italian meal. Enjoyed some fresh bruschetta and then dove into a delicious plate of La Gricia. So happy to say I've now conquered all four of the classic Roman pasta dishes! Time for a good night's sleep before we move on!
Fun Fact: The four essential Roman pastas are: Cacio e Pepe (cheese and pepper), Carbonara (egg, pork, cheese), Amatriciana (tomato, pork, cheese), and Gricia (pork, cheese, pepper).Read more
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Goodbye Rome
September 27, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Saying goodbye to our Roman home base! 👋 This beautiful little street where our Airbnb was is officially one of my favorite corners of the Eternal City. Time to head to the train station and off to our next adventure, but we’re taking all these amazing Roman memories with us! Ciao for now, Rome! 🇮🇹Read more
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Mercato Centrale
September 27, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
TravelerI will have one of everything! Please and thank you!
9/29/25Reply
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Train to Civitavecchia
September 27, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
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Cruise Day 1
September 27, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
We've officially boarded and settled into our home-at-sea! 🚢 The unpacking is done, and we kicked off the cruise the traditional way: with an epic lunch from Guy's Burgers on the Lido deck! We finished the evening with some cards and a totally relaxing night. Cruise life has begun!
Fun Fact: The Lido Deck is usually the hub of the ship, named after the famous Lido Beach in Venice, Italy, known for its glamorous resort atmosphere!Read more
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Cruise Day 2 (part one)
September 28, 2025, Tyrrhenian Sea ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
So cool to trace our path on the map today! We sailed past incredible geography, moving between Italy and Sicily, and got to see Mount Stromboli rising right out of the sea. A little rain 🌧 couldn't dampen the view, and the rainbow that followed was beautiful! 🌈
Fun Fact: Mount Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth! It has been erupting almost continuously for over 2,000 years, earning it the nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean."Read more
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Cruise Day 2 (part two)
September 28, 2025, Ionian Sea ⋅ 🌙 24 °C
What an amazing night at sea! We had a lovely dinner, then caught the piano show, 88 Keys. To end the evening, watching Wicked on the big screen with the sea air blowing was pure vacation bliss. 🚢🍿 Nothing better than a quiet night on the ocean.
Fun Fact: Cruise lines often call their outdoor movie setups "Dive-In Movies" because they are typically set up right above the main pool, giving guests the option to watch a movie while taking a late-night dip!Read more
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Cruise Day 3
September 29, 2025, Mediterranean Sea ⋅ 🌬 23 °C
Day 3 was all about the slow life! ☀️ No schedules, no rushing—just soaking up the sun and the slow pace of life on the water. We spent the day generally enjoying the gentle rhythm of the ship. Sometimes the best sightseeing is just staring out at the open sea. Fully recharged and ready for our first port day tomorrow!
Fun Fact: The body of water we were crossing is the beautiful Aegean Sea, which is actually part of the larger Mediterranean. It's home to nearly 1,400 islands!Read more
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Cruise Day 4 - Kusadasi, Turkey
September 30, 2025 in Turkey ⋅ 🌙 17 °C
Unbelievable day in Türkiye! We toured the magnificent ancient city of Ephesus, and it completely blew us away. Walking the marble streets and seeing the Terrace Houses was incredible—it gives you such a realistic view of how people actually lived. After all that walking, we learned about carpet weaving, grabbed a little snack and drink, then wandered the lovely streets of the port town. What a blend of past and present!

** Today will be split into multiple posts due to photo limits per post**

Fun Fact: The Library of Celsus in Ephesus, which you saw, was built to hold over 12,000 scrolls and was the third-largest library in the ancient world, after Alexandria and Pergamum!Read more
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Ancient Ephesus
September 30, 2025 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
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Terrace Houses
September 30, 2025 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
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Carpet Demonstration
September 30, 2025 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
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Cruise Day 4 continued
September 30, 2025 in Turkey ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
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Cruise Day 5 - Mykonos
October 1, 2025 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
From first light to last light, this day was a winner! We caught both the beautiful sunrise as we approached Mykonos and the colorful sunset as we sailed away. This was a tender stop for us today, meaning we stepped off the large ship onto a smaller boat to get to shore. Had a great dinner again, and rested up before the fun night activities began. Land activies from the day will be separate posts.
Fun Fact: When you use a tender boat, it often means the port wasn't originally designed for large cruise ships. The tender allows the ship to safely anchor in deeper water while preserving the historical and natural environment of the shallow, charming harbor!Read more
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Wandering around Mykonos
October 1, 2025 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
Lost (in the best way possible!) in the winding, beautiful streets of Mykonos Town. The iconic blue doors, bright white walls, and pink bougainvillea are just picture-perfect. Everything is painted the purest white to reflect the sun and keep the buildings cool! 💙🤍
Fun Fact: The famous maze-like street pattern in Mykonos Town wasn't designed for beauty! It was historically designed to confuse raiding pirates who came ashore, making it difficult for them to find their way out!Read more
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