Roman Holiday

So now that I've had a full week of sightseeing/playing tourist/host for two different guests, I have time to finally sit back, relax, and instead of doing work..update my blog and maybe even upload pictures later.who knows hahaha

BACK TO ITALY!


Florence was hands down the best part of the trip. Everything about the city is just so gorgeous, and simple, and it is a lot of fun. There's also lots of good shopping..but honestly, I spent the majority of my money on food and sight seeing...So when we got to Florence, I discovered my bed bites, and after I finished being grossed out I decided to suck it up and just go explore..We walked around the area, and ended up seeing a lot of the city..The Duomo is definitely the best part of Florence. It is an old chapel, and it is HUGE. We saw that, and what turned out to be a replica of the David, which there are sooo many of them around Florence, but the actual one is in a museum...we also saw a lot of the different other statues and buildings in the area. The reason why I loved Florence so much was for the views. Everywhere you turn there is a building, or statue, or just something so pretty to look at...After walking for a bit, we ate at this really good restaurant, and I had a spaghetti dish with mussels...it was really good, and definitely one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had. We went back to our hotel, which was much nicer than the first one we stayed in..in case anyone was wondering, bed bugs are NOT FUN. I was still super itchy and uncomfortable, and they are much more obnoxious than mosquito bites..which says a lot..needless to say I'm glad they're gone
The next day we got up early and explored some more of the city..We headed up to the Piazza del Michelangelo, which was a breathtaking view of the entire city of Florence. The weather was absolutely amazing too..Sunny, warm, and blue skies! After seeing the view I was able to meet up with a friend from school who is studying in Florence. It's always good to see a familiar face in such a foreign country..She showed us this really cool market, which had a lot of street vendors and stuff that we could buy..We also went to the top of the Duomo, which was another amazing view, and one of the most narrow staircases I've ever been up..For anyone who is claustrophobic it's definitely not the best decision for you to go up it..but it is so worth once you climb to the top. After hanging out with Caitlin for a while, we then went and got on a 4 hour train ride to Rome..We could've taken a speed train, but it was almost double the cost so we decided to save the money..which ended up working well especially for me, because I had to spend extra money on the new hotel so I didn't have to stay in a sketchy hostel while in Rome.
Rome was a really awesome city because there is just so much history within the city. The first day we got up and walked to the Roman Coliseum, which was about 10 minutes away from our hotel. We got to the Coliseum, and whats funny about it is there are a bunch of people dressed up as gladiators lining the street trying to take pictures with you..One of my friends got sucked in, but didn't realize that they would charge money..so it was really funny to watch them pose for pictures, and then have the guy get super pissed when he refused to pay..he tried to take my friend's watch, but failed..just a little tid bit for anyone who wants to take these pictures..its not worth your money, and you're gonna have to end up deleting the pictures anyway..hahaha..it makes for a good story I guess...We walked around the Coliseum, and then headed to the Roman Forums. What was really awesome to see how well preserved all the different buildings and ruins were. After leaving the area, we walked to more of the buildings in Rome, including the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. We also ate at this DELICIOUS restaurant..I had a pesto dish, and it was sooo good. The next day in Rome we got up and went to the Vatican, which was incredible. The entire area of the city is just so well kept, and gorgeous. St. Peter's Basilica is absolutely amazing, and the Sistine Chapel is just one of the most incredible pieces of art I've ever seen. We spent a good amount of time in the Vatican just walking around and seeing everything. After seeing the Vatican we went back into the city of Rome and spent more time walking around the city, and doing more shopping and eating gelato...Once we walked around the city for a while, we accidentally saw a lot of different historical buildings, which was the best part of Rome. Like Florence, everywhere you turned there is some kind of building, completely preserved. I also went and saw the Jewish Synagogue in Rome. I learned that a lot of the Jewish people in Rome had to be in hiding because of the high catholic population in Rome, so a lot of them were afraid to be open about their religion...
We got up the next morning and explored a little more before leaving to go back to London..a lot of the people in our group were trying to go to Greece, but because of the air strike their flights were delayed until further notice so they ended up coming back to London with us.

Italy was definitely a great way to spend my spring break, and I honestly didn't want to come back to London. It is such an amazing country, and I want to be able to explore it more some day...

As for now, I'm sitting in my common room catching up for Grey's Anatomy..which is such a bad show, but I can't stop watching it..if anyone has any suggestions of shows I should watch instead, I'm open for suggestions!