In honor of going back to Europe in two short weeks, I thought I would reminisce on my last trip! We started our trip in Paris and after we headed on an overnight train to Venice, Italy. For me this was my first train experience and it was even better then I had expected. We had one little stop in the middle of the night because a student lead group was also on the train and some boy liked some girl, and one thing led to another, and the train actually came to a halt! It was actually quite a scene. Thankfully we made it to Venice and headed to our bed and breakfast to check in. I will say Venice is one of the more difficult places to navigate especially when lugging a suitcase on ferries and through tiny streets! After we checked in we headed to Basilica di San Marco and the Campanille. Both were beautiful and the weather outside was gorgeous. What we witnessed outside of the Basilica is something I will never forget.... A man got down on one knee and proposed! Here's the kicker, she said no and made him put the ring back in the pouch! Yes it was a drawstring pouch not even a box, and by this time a crowd had formed, lets just say we made a quick escape after the whole ordeal.
Later we went to the Peggy Guggenheim Museum which was such a fun garden and museum to go to and had a beautiful view!
I can't wait to go back to Venice next spring for Carnevale and possibly track down the most delicious Gelato of the entire trip, it was absolutely delectable!
Next stop was Florence. I am going to start off by saying I could probably write a whole novel about Florence because I fell in love with the place! Everything about it appealed to me! And I absolutely loved that you could walk virtually everywhere, because I am not exactly a mastermind when it comes to public transportation... especially when it's not in English. My favorite part of the trip was climbing up to the top of the Duomo. Lets just say it is not a climb for the weak, but after facing a mere 463 steps we made it to the top! (picture below says it all)
The view from atop the Duomo was spectacular! I probably took 100 pictures. I loved how you could see the entire city, and the countryside that surrounded it! It made me even more excited for when I could call Florence home for 4 months next spring!
The following day we went to the beautiful Uffizi Gallery, Statue of David (much bigger than I had imagined) and walked along the beautiful Ponte Vecchio. For dinner we ate at a very quaint restaurant and stayed for probably three hours. We started the meal with the freshest bruschetta and a bottle of wine. Did you know often times wine is cheaper then water in Italy? I can't complain. Then for dinner I had the best pasta al dente I have ever eaten. Needless to say the plate was most definitely empty along with our bottle of wine. What made the evening even better was the people sitting next to us, the couple had just gotten married and was on their honeymoon, and it pretty much was a table for four that evening (it helped that our tables were probably 8 inches apart to begin with). As I have said I could go on for days about Florence, but I'll keep it short considering in less then a year I will be there every day! Only 256 days left!
Continuing our journey through Italy we headed to the adorable seaside town of Cinque Terre. It was straight out of a postcard! Each of the 5 villages were so unique and extremely colorful! It was also nice to sit down and enjoy the beach in Monterosso considering we had been non stop walking the past 10 days! For dinner we ate in Vernazza, which was where we were staying the night. The highlight of the dinner was the Anchovy salad. Yes ew anchovies, but this wasn't your run of the mill canned anchovies. These were so fresh and actually had been caught that day! They were drizzled with lemon olive oil and garnished with cherry tomatoes and greens. By far one of my favorite meals of the entire trip!
The last stop on our itinerary was Rome. My dad has boasted how great
Rome was and how it was his favorite city in the entire world so I
couldn't wait to explore it for myself! Right from the start it was
blistering hot, which made seeing the Ruins and Coliseum a short lived
trip. I even had people coming up to me asking me where I got my mini
fan or if they could use it! Let's just say I coveted that fan with my
life. Overall Rome was beautiful and we saw just about everything! From the Spanish steps, The Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Fountain of the Four Rivers, but the most memorable visit was the Vatican. I have done countless reports on the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica so I couldn't wait to see it in person. It was GORGEOUS! I even snuck a picture of the Sistine chapel! Regardless of our record fast talking tour guide, pretty sure everyone put her on mute, everything was spectacular! When I go back to Rome the Vatican most definitely will be on the list of things to do!
