A Few Days in Florence...

DAY 1

If Rome was great for its culture and history, Florence is definitely great for its beautiful architecture and artwork. Yesterday was our first full day here. After a quick stop at a supermarket for a breakfast of fresh fruit and yogurt (SO refreshing after all the pizza and pasta), we headed into the center of town, stopping at an Internet Cafe on the way to buy tickets for some museums for the next day. 

First stop: Duomo Square. None of us really knew what we were getting ourselves into; on the way we got to have a first look at all of the crazy beautiful buildings in Florence. According to Nick, "This city feels a lot like Austin, versus Rome, which feels like Dallas or Houston." It definitely feels much more relaxed. All of the sudden, we turn a corner and see this:

We go inside the cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, and are amazed yet again by another beautiful church. Then, we decided to go up in the "Duomo" (the dome of the cathedral in the background). After about an hour long line and a 463 step climb up a very narrow spiral staircase, we made it to the top. On the inside, there is a huge painting by Giorgio Vasari of "The Last Judgment," and the outside has an INCREDIBLE view of Florence and other areas of Tuscany off in the distance. 

After lunch (more paninis), we walked over to the Basilica di Santa Croce, another church that also contains the burial sites of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and other famous Italians. It was, just like all the others, beautiful, and so interesting because it contained another art museum and the graves of all of those people. 

Then we needed a break, so we walked outside to the Piazza della Signoria, which has all kinds of cool statues, and obviously got more gelato. We were sitting on some stone steps by the statues when Nick made a new friend. This ADORABLE little half-french, half-italian two-year-old girl, Elizabeth, basically climbed onto his lap and kept looking up and smiling at him. It got even better when she turns to Micah, who was sitting next to Nick, gives her the DIRTIEST look, and crosses her arms. She then runs off, grabs her balloon that is attached to her stroller, and tries to wave to Nick to show it to him. He smiles and waves, but that is not enough for her. She decides to push the stroller by herself all the way over to him so he can see the balloon. SERIOUSLY. CUTEST. GIRL. EVER. We chatted in very broken half-english, half-italian with her dad, laughing about her little crush. 

Finally, we ended the day with a trip to Ponte Vecchio, a bridge over the Arno River, to look out over the water and hang out. After a stop for dinner, we went back and finally went to sleep!

DAY 4

Today was more a day of looking at artwork. In the morning, we went to the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo's statue, "David". We weren't allowed to take any pictures in the museums today, or I would upload them! After that, we decided to grab lunch and walk around the markets for a bit, where we had some great and really embarrassing moments because we were all SO exhausted to the point of delirium. Then we went to the Galleria Uffizi. Even Mukul and Nick were tired during this one, and they LOVE to take their time in art museums. We did see some pretty cool statues and sculptures, though.

We ended the day with a nap back in the Piazza della Signoria, then went back to Ponte Vecchio as the sun started to set, then got dinner and more gelato (you'd think we'd be sick of it by now!). All in all, it was a "chill day" where we didn't have to do tons of walking and got to see some really cool artwork! However, I think we won't be visiting any other art museums for awhile...nothing could compare and we have seen SO much art. 

Anyways, Florence was amazing,  but I think I like Rome better just for the history! Tomorrow starts a whole new adventure-We're off to Venice!

Days 3 and 4: The Roman Forum and Coliseum

DAY 3

Day 3 was a flood of ancient Roman history. After we slept in and ate another Hotel Verano breakfast, we made the trek down to the forum: the political and cultural center, marketplace, and basically heart of the Roman Empire. After buying our tickets, we saw lots of ancient artifacts like jewelry and pottery, but the architecture was the most incredible.

We saw where the town used to be, including public bathhouses, the main marketplace, and ruins of other old buildings. Right in town we also saw remains of Temple of Saturn, Arch of Septimus Severus, Arch of Titus, and Arch of Constantine (lots of the former emperors built arches in predecessors' honor). 

Overlooking the forum is the Palatino ("Palace") which contains the House of Augustus (Caesar) and huge, gorgeous gardens. We saw where Augustus and a few other emperors lived; the house contained beautiful mosaics covering the walls and ceilings. The Palatino also used to possess the Temple of Apollo, and the gardens are home to the stadium of ancient Rome, where the citizens used to go to race, play sports, etc. Just down the street lies Circo Massimo, the location of Rome's chariot races and a model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. You can really see how crazy cool their culture was-the buildings were all covered with art just because it is beautiful.

After a quick break for lunch (we actually ate at a normal time yesterday, thank goodness). We headed towards the coliseum. On the way there, I discovered my ticket had fallen out of my back pocket! A guard approached us and asked if we had tickets, and I explained that I had lost mine. He told me that the line was an HOUR long, or I could walk all the way back to the forum and buy a ticket to the coliseum, which would also take a long time. I was so ready to just let Nick, Mukul, and Micah just go in without me since they could just go straight in, but instead we decided to try and pay the ticket people to let me in, because the guard suggested that as another option. However, the ticket people were actually being strict about scanning tickets. Because I didn't want to make them wait with me, I desperately decided to let go of my morals and cut in front of some very lost, very confused-looking tourists in line.

So, I only had to wait in an hour-long ticket line for about 5 minutes. We went in the coliseum, and it was so worth it! The stadium was home of the infamous gladiator fights in ancient Rome, and I learned that very rarely did gladiators actually choose to fight; most of them were prisoners or criminals who were given a death sentence. When a gladiator lost a fight, he could either choose to die or ask the emperor (who presided) to spare his life. Sometimes, they brought in animals to fight too (elephants, big cats, bears, etc), and sometimes they even flooded the bottom of the coliseum and had naval battles, which I thought was really interesting. I also made friends with some college students from the University of Georgia.

After the coliseum, we decided to visit San Giovanni, another Papal church. When we walked over, they wouldn't let Micah or I in because we were wearing shorts, so we had to sit outside while Nick and Mukul decided to have a look. It started pouring rain, but it was awesome because seeing the huge marble statues outside against the contrast of the dark sky was so ominous/cool-looking. 

DAY 4

Today was a definite "chill day." We went back to San Giovanni so Micah and I could see it, and it was so worth it! It was almost as beautiful as St. Peter's. I just need to stop saying the word "beautiful" and its synonyms, but I can't because literally everything in this city is SO beautiful. 

Anyways, then we found a few more random churches and a Piazza, so we just hung out and ate lunch outside. Then we went to Campidoglio, the city's capitol building, where a bathroom attendant yelled at Micah in fierce Italian for we-have-no-idea-what, and I got kicked out of a museum for entering in the exit. Not being able to understand when you're being yelled at is a wonderful thing because we can't even know what to feel guilty for/don't have to listen! It was a great and very relaxing day!

Anyways, Ciao Rome, we're off to Florence! 

Day 2 in Rome: Vatican City

We started out the day with breakfast at the hotel; because all we eat here is carbs (pizza and pasta...yum) and gelato, I had granola and yogurt, but italian yogurt is GROSS. It doesn't have any sugar and is really milky, in case you were curious-ew. Anyways, then we took a quick bus ride out to Vatican City.

Seeing the Vatican was the thing I was looking forward to most about Italy, and it did not disappoint.

 

(the sun was in our eyes haha-super attractive)

We started out in the museum galleries and saw lots of beautiful paintings dating hundreds of years ago. My favorites were the Renaissance paintings of different scenes from the Bible--it's so amazing to see the famous scenes depicted in such great detail. I also enjoyed learning a lot of stories about the different popes and saints (which Nick definitely helped with since he grew up going to Catholic school). After the dozens of different painting galleries, we saw rooms filled with stone busts and statues and tons of historical artifacts from ancient Egypt to ancient Rome to basically ancient everywhere (except, obviously, America since our history, which I do love, isn't even history compared to this). Artwork was everywhere: on the ceilings, all four walls, and even the floors. 

Everything was great, until we had been touring for FOUR HOURS with no breaks, and Micah and I were wearing sandals, so our feet hurt SO BAD. No matter how many passive aggressive comments I made about stopping to rest (which I'm sure everyone enjoyed), Nick and Mukul insisted on seeing EVERY piece of artwork in the probably 80+ rooms (some of which were huge). 

After even they got tired, which I think literally took centuries, we went into the Raphael rooms and were BLOWN AWAY by all the beautiful, and incredibly busy, murals that covered the huge walls and ceilings. Finally, the moment came that we had all been anticipating, and we had definitely saved the best for last; we entered the Sistene Chapel and saw all the Michelangelo paintings. I definitely thought it was 

beautiful, but I wish we had gotten to see it without so many tourists inside talking (they were supposed to be silent).

(Raphael Room Wall)

When we finished touring the museum, we took a much-needed break for lunch. We all couldn't even make it to a restaurant because we had been walking so long (around 8 am to 4pm nonstop), so we took a break on the Vatican wall and regained energy, then went to a little cafe for lunch. 

After lunch, we went and saw St. Peter's Basilica, the largest church of Christendom. This church was definitely the most beautiful place I have ever seen and will probably ever see. I teared up a few times because it was so glorious. 

Finally, we decided to take it easy and rest for awhile, so we rested on a wall near the Castle San Angelo (from Angels and Demons), which also was right on the river:

Finally, we just ate dinner and went to sit on the Trevi fountain and relax for awhile at night, complete with gelato of course. Rome is wonderful but I do miss everyone at home! Hope summer in d-town/southlake/austin/wherever is great!

Welcome to Roma! Day 1

After a 2 hour flight to Chicago, another LONG 9.5 hour flight (Micah and Mukul were on mine, Nick's arrived a little later), a half-hour train ride, and a long walk through the city with huge backpacks and suitcases, we finally made it Hotel Verano in Rome! We were so excited to start exploring the city, so we literally dropped our bags, sat down and decided what we wanted to see first, and then hurried out. Everything here is so beautiful; there is LITERALLY a cool thing on EVERY single block. So as we started walking towards the landmarks, we made numerous detours. We were all starving, so we stopped at a small cafe for some salami paninis. The bread here is so salty! None of us knew how to order in italian (we've since learned how: "Prendo...pizza per favore...Grazie!"), which was hilarious because we can say "pizza" and "pasta" or read the italian off the menu, but as soon as they ask us a question we have NO IDEA how to respond. Each of us hopes we won't be the first one to order because we will inevitably embarrass ourselves; I know why Europeans make fun of Americans. However, we eventually got our delicious sandwiches. First thing after eating lunch, we looked down the street and saw an enormous white building, so we decided to investigate:

This is Italy's version of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (like the one in Washington D.C.) but much bigger. The Italian National Guard guards the tomb just like in America. We climbed hundreds of steps to the top, where we got a great view of the city:

Then we went an saw lots of various Piazzas and walked through the streets some more, until we found the Pantheon, built in 126 A.D. as a temple to all the gods of ancient Rome. It has since been used as a Roman Catholic church and contains the largest dome in the world:

Next, we had to visit the Trevi fountain because we were all dying to see it after seeing the Lizzie McGuire movie (...so cultured, right?!). It is HUGE and so beautiful. We stopped and sat down for awhile, ate some gelato (I had Nutella and mint chocolate chip), and rested by the fountain:

Finally, we walked by the Spanish Steps, one of Rome's main tourist attractions. They were so gorgeous as well. We ended the night by eating dinner at a nice restaurant right underneath the Coliseum and then taking a walk to see the city lit up at night!