So let’s see, there is so much to tell right now. I just had the absolute best week of my entire life and I take back my saying that I might become super bohemian and move to Amsterdam. I now would like to move to Italy, specifically to Florence. It is the new love of my life, I really think that I would be happy day in and day out for the rest of my life if I could begin to learn the basics of Italian and move to Florence.
But I will start from the beginning of the trip. We flew out really early on Wednesday morning into Venice. Our hotel was actually in Mestre, which is across the bridge and about a 10 minute trip to the centre of Venice. No big deal since we were only there for 1 day, but it did take us quite a while to find out where the hotel was. We made it to Mestre, and called the hotel from the bus/train station. They gave us directions which included a few turns, a Blockbuster and a huge fountain. Needless to say we had some troubles but once we found it and settled in, we were out for the night! We had no idea what was coming our way… When I say we I mean me, Ally, Danna and Emily. Rebecca met us later that night around dinner time and we were able to spend the week the 5 of us. It was purely fab.
In Venice, we went to a Saint Mark’s Basillica, Piazza San Marco, Galleria de Accademia, tried our first authentic Italian gelato (to die for!), the Rialto Bridge and walked through the winding small streets surrounded by canals. Thought it was a good idea to buy a day but pass, that you could use for the busses and for the water taxi busses also. It was def. a cool thing to do but we learned that no one ever checks your tickets so it was kind of a waste of a few euros. But we did ride down the Grand Canal on the boat, which led to some great pictures. Wine was calling our name as we were waiting for Reba to get there so after searching we settled on a nice crisp bottle of Pinot along side the Grand Canal. Once all 5 of us were there, we chose a cute place also by the canal for some classic pasta (gnocchi..so tasty)! After a pleasant dinner, we got back onto the boat to see the city from the water’s view at night. Emily took a turn for the worse. With the combination of heat, exhaustion and motion sickness let’s just say that she got ill. We had to get off of the boat at a random stop that was completely dark, no people or businesses around and we had no idea where we were. We were far from the hotel but eventually found the bus stop and ventured back to Mestre. The bus did not help Em’s condition and it got worse. She dealt with the embarrassment super well and we put her to bed with a throbbing head and upset stomach among other things. Luckily the feeling wore off in the morning.
We woke up early, to go straight to the train station and get our tickets to Florence. While waiting we got some breakfast and began planning the rest of our day. The train ride was quick and easy. It gave me time to read my book about Italy, which was attached to my side throughout the entire trip. It told us the monuments, museums, galleries and churches to see (and gave us a little bit of background info. On everything). I used this to the full extent and became somewhat of a tour guide.
The weather everywhere throughout Italy was spectacular. We did not have a drop of rain and we were walking around in temperatures at least 92 degrees… probably closer to 95 during the hot hours of the afternoon. It was greattt!
In Florence, we struggled once again when searching for our hotel/apartment. It was located at the heart of Florence, very close to the designer clothing shops. The apartment we stayed at was two floors (kind of like a loft) with a kitchen. Someone came up with the great idea to cook our own Italian dinner.. Rebecca made some great pasta as the rest of us feasted on appetizers of mozzarella, bread and olive oil, and vino! It was great. During the day we walked around and saw some spectacular sites. We went to the Galleria del Accademia in Florence as well. Saw Michaelagelo’s David. It was breathtaking. The fake copy stands in the Piazza Signoria, along with a bunch of other statues. This was a really cool square that was busy with people, statues, pictures, etc. Il Duomo, a cathedral was breathtaking in a different sort of way. It was one of my favourite churches that we went to. The use of different coloured stones and marble made both the outside and inside simply spectacular. Every building kind of runs together, but it was amazing to think about how old everything was and yet it is still standing, and more beautiful than anything I have ever seen before. The Pantheon was one of these mind boggling buidlings. The Babtistry was closed when we were near, but the bronze doors, which were actually a reproduction were very cool to see.
After our dinner at the apartment, we took a walk and sat on Ponte Veccio, the famous bridge. It was so pretty at night. At midnight we sang a bunch of American patriatic songs to start the celebration of the 4th of July. Everyone that walked past us on the bridge thought we were crazy, I’m sure but it didn’t seem to phase us. The shopping was fun throughout the entire trip, but I thought the jewellery was especially pretty in Florence. (Everyone should be looking forward to the great gifts I have been picking up along the way!) The atmosphere of Florence was just perfect. I could seriously see myself living there for a little while. It was perfect, and everything I could ever ask for, dream of, imagine, etc.
We also saw Santa Croce, another spectacular church…among other amazing sites. The gelato tradition continued, and I managed to try one every day in Italy. In Florence, we went to the place that my beloved book recommended and they were right…! It was superb. Literally was a party in my mouth.
Friday afternoon we hopped on the train to Roma. This was a bitter sweet moment for me. I could have stayed in Florence for the rest of my life but was so excited to see all of the historical sites in Rome. Definitely glad that we decided to spend almost three full days in Rome. There is just so much to see and as our new friend Leonardo said “A lifetime is not long enough to experience Rome.”
Danna should be a travel agent. Our hotel in Rome was just awesome. It was a standard hotel but the location was to die for. We were a 10 minute walk from the Colosseum. Jealous yet..? First thing we went to The Paletino and the Arch de Constantine. We learned that you could get tickets to both there and the Colosseum and beat the lines. This was a great idea. We go to see a ton of ruins, which you would think would get old but really didn’t. It was interesting to see and made for a fun time imagining what once was there. The Paletino used to be where an emperor lived and there was a bunch of historical stuff I read in the book about it. There were awesome views from the top of the hill of the city and of the Colosseum. We then continued the afternoon at the Colosseum. What an amazing structure. Kind of made me think that we should be more advanced with our stadiums now-a-days. If they could create a stadium as advanced as the Colosseum then…what have we been doing for the past hundreds of years…?
After freshening up after the Colosseum visit, we went for authentic pizza. Seriously, Italy knows what they are doing. Gelatto, pasta and pizza…perfection. The pizza melts in your mouth. So good. We ventured to the trevvi fountain with a bottle of champagne (prosecco actually) to celebrate 4th of July American style. We sat and enjoyed the overwhelming appearance of the fountain for a while, threw coins and made wishes. All five of us will eventually return to Rome now that we threw coins into the huge fountain. Cross your fingers..!
Saturday morning we started at St. Peter’s Basillica. Words cannot even describe. We then toured the Vatican. I was unaware how huge of a building the Vatican museum actually is, with a crazy amount of galleries inside. The building is mind boggling when thinking about the amount of art, sculpture, tapestries, historical pieces, etc are there. It’s crazy. The sistene chapel was the final stop of the tour. Def. worth waiting in line and meandering through the crowds. Very cool.
We took the afternoon to do more sightseeing. With a square (Piazza) on every corner, there is something to see no matter where you are planning on going or where you end up getting lost. We saw a ton of fountains, monuments and squares and then we ran into Leonardo. He took Rebecca on a trip on his motorcycle around the block which then led into a 24 hour tour of Roma. Ally was jealous but we were all so happy she got to have such an awesome experience. While Reba was with the cute Italian man, Danna, Ally, Emily and I saw a not so pretty field that used to be used for chariot races apparently. During the evening, it was still only four of us (Reba was falling in love and working her magic with Leo). We went for calzones and canollis and had a lovely evening. (Of course it was lovely…we were in Rome!) It was almost hard to believe that we were actually there.
Sunday morning we listened to Rebecca’s love story, and lived vicariously through her and Leo’s night. We started off the day at the St. Angel Caste, and then did some shopping. We also walked through a pretty park/garden that Leonardo took Reba and went to the Spanish steps. They were thoroughly unimpressive. The shopping was actually unsuccessful which was a bit depressing but we fixed it with an amazing multi-course Italian dinner.
The things we saw in Rome are difficult to list off, because there are so many. I would consider the group to be A+ travellers. If we had made a physical list of everything that all of the girls wanted to see and do while in Italia, I think that there would maybe be like 3 things that we couldn’t check off. I don’t know what they would be, but I figure someone would put some random thing on there or something that we just overlooked.
I know I have said it a million times, but I am in love. With Italy. Best trip ever… it didn’t even matter if anything went wrong because the cities were so perfect. This is getting super long but there was just so much to say about the week.
While in Rome, on Saturday we saw about 5 weddings taking place and the brides getting their pictures taken at the Colesseum. On the flight on the way to Venice there was a couple that was getting married in Venice on Friday. I have wanted to have a get-away wedding, and now I think I decided I would like for it to be in Italy. Maybe on the coast of Florence. No shoes. Dad, you can start saving up for that once I pay you back for all of these travels in Europe.
We stayed up Sunday night as long as possible looking at the Colesseum that was lit up in the dark, and sitting with vino next to the Arch de Constantine, with Leonardo. Ally finally got her wish and rode on his motorcycle for a little. I cried, for one of the first times this entire summer. It was beautiful, and I didn’t want to leave being the main reason.
So we flew out early on Monday morning, and by early I mean we left our hotel at 4 am (the busses were on strike on Monday in Rome, the nice man at reception told us) so we taxied it up to the airport. Went straight to work, luggage and all and as much as that sucked, it was sooo worth it.
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