Verona & Firenze!

After our evening in Venice, we left at 7 the next morning (Friday) we took the 8 am train to Verona. Verona is supposed to be the city of love, mainly because Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet were based there. Interestingly enough, Shakespeare had never been to Verona when he wrote Romeo and Juliet…he just thought it would be a good place.

This picture is of Unaiza (pronounced ew-neh-za) and me in front of their baby Colosseum…it’s just called the Roman Arena there. They usually hold operas and concerts..crazy enough the next night JUSTIN BEIBER was there! I’m not a huge beebs fan, but I still thought that was cool.

Here is the fake house of Romeo and Juliet…yep, I said fake. And yet this place still attracts hundreds of people a day. I guess if you pictured it back in the day, this is what it would look like, but no…that isn’t the famous balcony. Couples still go up there and recite Shakespeare to each other and kiss though.

I guess the thing to do at Juliet’s house is to defile her by grabbing her boob…everyone does it. I found it quite strange. Also, my brother in law Austin pointed out that her right boob is much shinier than her left…truth.

When you walk through this stone tunnel to get to Juliet’s balcony, there is a massive wall covered in people’s signatures and professions of love. Because I love my sister, I added us to the wall J

Aren’t I precious?!

By 1:30pm we were all POOPED (we had to carry all our stuff with us for the weekend) and ready to go. We actually chilled by a fountain for an hour or two, then Rebekah and I decided to go check out a castle that was only a few minutes away. We walked to bridge, and got a great view of Verona!

So this picture may seem insignificant (and a little blurry at that) but this is a picture of TRIUMPH. From Verona we took a train to Florence, and Caroline, Ryan, Lauren and I all had the same ticket. It was cheaper than I thought, and we had to make a connection, but we thought it was okay. Unaiza and Rebekah had a different ticket that was more expensive, so we were kind of freaking out by the time we got to our next train. We got to the connection, and had 15 minutes before the next train left. After haggling with the ticket guy, Unaiza and Rebekah thought they had their ticket sorted out, and we jumped on our next train with 3 minutes to spare. At this point we know our tickets are severely screwed up, and have NO CLUE what to do about it. We get on the train and its super nice and we realize its assigned seats…which we do not have. We wait in one of the connecters between cars and PRAY that we don’t get kicked off. A ticket guy comes and realizes we are all messed up, but he was super nice, didn’t fine us, and only charged us an extra 8 euro each (which was definitely cheaper than it would have been). So, this picture is the picture of FINALLY WE MADE IT TO FLORENCE!

After the train fiasco, we made it to our hostel relatively pain free and had just set down our stuff when the other group staying there said we had to meet up for dinner and to go out. Really we just wanted showers and to rest, but hey, when in Florence…We had a great meal and then I rewarded myself with a drink with Maddie, Emily, Stuart and Taylor on the steps of the Duomo…I know that seems wrong, but everyone was hanging out there! (plus there are no open container laws...we "cheers-ed" the cops when they drove by lol)

Well a bottle of wine turned into an Irish Pub, and we had a GREAT first night in Florence. I walked home with the girls, and honestly, felt really safe. I love Florence already!

The next morning (way too early if you ask me) we climbed up 450+ steps to the top of the bell tower that is right next to the Duomo. The weather was overcast, but the views were INCREDIBLE. Definitely one of the top three cathedrals I have ever seen! (Notre Dame and Saint Peter's Basilica being the other two)

This picture doesn’t even do it justice. The details are incredibly ornate, and the whole cathedral seems to have a pink and minty color about it. After the Duomo, we had 11:00 am reservations for Academia, where the statue of David is held. We got there and the line wasn’t too long to just wait in the normal line and not pay the extra four euro, so that’s what we did. In Florence, we didn’t like to rush.

So photographs of David are super illegal, hence its not my best camera work. But he was absolutely BREATHTAKING. We stayed in the room just staring at him for at least 30 minutes. Every few minutes we would find another place to sit so we could have a new angle of him. I wasn’t expecting David to be so big either…he is over 20 feet tall. Fun fact- Michelangelo was only 26 when he sculpted him. Crazy.

After David, we went back to an outdoor leather market we passed on the way to Academia. We were there over two hours, ended up getting separated, and spent too much money- but it was well worth it. Florence is known for their leather market, and I got a new purse, wallet, & belt, among other things.

That evening we had an evening cruise on the river that runs through Florence (Arno River). The weather was beautiful, and we had a great time.

This is one of the gondola guys…he is 80 YEARS OLD! It was crazy, you could see his muscles when he was pushing the boat. I swear, these Italians are the healthiest people I know (minus the chain-smoking…bleck).

We actually did a pub crawl Saturday night, but my camera died so I don’t have any pictures. It was really fun, it just made for an early morning Sunday morning. We decided to take the bus back with the rest of the CIMBA kids at 3pm on Sunday, so we basically had 4 hours to go around Florence some more. We sailed under this bridge (Ponte Vecchio) last night on the gondola ride, but we wanted more pictures of it when the lighting was pretty. If you are wondering why I look like a complete and total nerd in my glasses, my allergies got BAD while I was out on the pub crawl. I actually threw my contacts away and stuck with glasses the rest of the weekend.

We went to the Ponte Vecchio, back to the leather market (more $ gone…) and then to Grom for gelato. The other girls had this gelato the first night, but I opted for wine instead. According to Rick Steve’s, it is the best in Italy. I would have to second that. It was the best gelato I have had hands down. I had dark chocolate on top, and a scoop of crema di grom on bottom. I have no clue what was in that one, but it was so delicious I don’t want to think about it too much.

After a 4-5 hour bus ride, we got back to school around 8pm. We all actually decided to grab a pizza, then go back to hit the books. After this weekend, we had finals! My next blog will wrap up my last week at CIMBA…I was just too busy to blog during the week. I am actually writing this blog in a word document on the train to Germany to see my sister Carissa presently. The next blog will be about saying goodbyes! (sad face). Ciao!

Possagno, Asolo, Pizzeria, Sports Bar & Venice!

Last Monday I was the RA on a day trip to Possagno…The picture of the crazy Roman looking temple is on the hilltop in the town. It’s a tiny town, and if my memory serves right, this temple was actually modeled off of architecture in Rome- either that or it was directly transported from there (I think it was the latter)…a really amazing temple though- we couldn’t go inside, it was closed =/

Tuesday night I was the RA (when I say this, I mean every RA has to attend so many of the day/night trips) to go to Asolo. I have been there before for the faculty BBQ, and one other time just for fun. I know I have talked about the town before, but just to reiterate…the graduate campus for CIMBA is located there, and it is a town with a LOT of history. In the main square of the town, Ernest Hemingway used to sit out, drink coffee, and write. The town is actually on 1,000 places to see before you die. It is definitely the most scenic town around Paderno- I would look into graduate school there if they offered something other than an MBA!

Apparently Italians are serious about their boccee ball- nothing like dad and the fam playing in the backyard at the lakes. It was really entertaining to watch…they were intense!

View of Asolo near dusk…just a beautiful mountain town.

After the fun at Asolo, a bunch of us went to the local Pizzeria, Al Sole (the sun). I had a pizza with cream cheese (always referred to as philadelphia here) with grilled zucchini…it was FANTASTIC! 

We actually got our pizzas to go and walked to the sports bar…in the five minute walk, all of us girls were done with our pizzas- they were THAT good! It is going to be strange to go back to America and not order a whole pizza for myself….

This picture is of my Italian friend Diego and my South Carolina friend Jacob (say that in a southern drawl and you have him pegged) and one of the RAs, Abbey. Diego is actually fairly good at English…he used to be a professional cyclist.. he cycled for 14 years! 

For our last long weekend, we decided to hit up as many places as we could. I went with Unaiza, Carolina, Lauren, Rebekah and Ryan. Thursday after classes we went back to Venice because Rebekah and Ryan hadn’t been there before. I took a few more pictures, because I realized I didn’t name some things the first time I went there. The first picture is of St. Mark’s Square.

We hit up St. Mark’s Basilica, the square, Doge’s Palace, then grabbed some wine and sat by the water (my favorite part of course!) This MASSIVE cruiseship was leaving port…it was fun to wave to all the people on the decks- they looked like ants!

We also met up with my friend Lonneke that I met in Rome! How crazy is it to have a friend from New Zealand that you met in Rome that happened to be in Venice the same time as you…small world. In order in the picture it is Lonneke, Ryan, myself then Rebekah.

I take puppy pictures everywhere I go…just look at this guy. He is precious.

What a beautiful sunset on the canal…We watched the sunset then caught the 8:40 train back to Bassano, and got back to campus around 10:40 after the taxi ride. The next morning at 7am we headed to Verona! I am going to stop this blog post here, then pick up with Verona and Venice in the next one…Ciao!

when in rome....

When in Rome, you plan like crazy, walk everywhere, sleep a little bit, and wonder why the heck America isn't this cool! Truth. Last Thursday Ashley, Janani and I all departed on our adventure to room. A guy associated with CIMBA set up a bus there, since 60+ students were headed there....after an 8 HOUR BUS RIDE we finally got dropped after 9pm at night in the middle of a parking lot outside of room at a train station. We all just stood there for a minute like, what now?! Me, being the super traveler/ momma ellie, along with Ashley who rocked the Metro in Rome, herded everyone and got on our way. We got to our hostel by about 10 pm, and finally started to get settled. We walk into our room and were talking loudly when we noticed we had a room mate- some Indian guy who was passed out cold and snoring....sleeping on the bottom bunk of my bed. Sweeeeeet. We unpacked and mapped out our plan of attack for Friday, and passed out. From here, I think pictures will tell the story best :)

Random Indian guy at our hostel...once again lucked out with the hostel- it worked out well!

First thing on our list was of course the Colosseum...what an incredible place. We bought a Roma pass for 30E, which gave you free admission to two places, able to skip the lines, and free transportation for the weekend. I felt like it paid off. The Colosseum was one of my favorites... you walked out of the metro station and literally BAM it's right there. So much history.

If you read my previous blog that had my english paper regarding the Colosseum, you will understand how overwhelmed I was- so many things have taken place here. For example...the middle part used to be filled with water and they would practice naval battles- pretty cool eh? 

If you can't tell, the weather is absolutely beautiful. It was a great day for sightseeing.

After the Colosseum we headed across the way to the Palatine and the Forum. This is a picture of the Arch de Constantine and the Colosseum.

This was at the Palatine and the Forum...most beautiful fountain I have seen thus far... there were orchids growing out of the top- see the white things?? They also had goldfish- so cool!

The Forum! It would have been an incredible place to see a thousand years ago... I can't even imagine.

After the Forum we headed to see the Capital building- man it was MASSIVE. Notice the flower bed is made to look like an Italian flag...I thought that was cute lol

On to the Pantheon! I thought this was one of the coolest buildings EVER. It is extremely well preserved, and is really right smack in the middle of things. We were wandering aimlessly (well I think in a general direction but all the same) and then there it was! 

After the Pantheon we decided to follow our trusty guide Rick Steves and do his "Heart of Rome" walk (on the way to Trevi Fountain). We saw these nuns walking in front of us, and I was fascinated with the colors they were wearing. I thought nuns usually wore all black, but these wore mostly white with a bright blue sash... any clue what that means? Ya, me neither....

Trevi Fountain! It was PACKED.

I made a wish!

On to the Spanish steps.... although I couldn't really see them...they were covered in people.

Some festival was going on honoring the 160 years of the Italian Police force... no clue what that was about, I just loved this car! 

At the end of Day 1, Friday, we were all EXHAUSTED. By the time we got home from dinner, we had been touring for 12 hours! There is so much to see and do in Rome! We all went back and passed out, and when I woke up at 10 pm my eyes were ridiculously itchy and on fire. I am super allergic to Italy, and I was looking pretty bad....really puffy and  really painful =/ I tried to suck it up, but I caved and Ashley and I went to a pharmacy at 11pm....it was pretty sketch, but I got eye drops and they seemed to help!

The next morning we decided to get to the Vatican area early  just to check everything out. This is the Castel de Saint Angelo, a pretty cool castle/fortress thing. We opted not to go in, and headed to the Vatican instead. You can see the dome in the background!

Saint Peter's Basilica! They were actually holding some kind of service while I was in the square...notice I am rocking the glasses (stupid allergies). I actually had to buy the hat because the sun was super intense and my glasses were only magnifying the rays. 

In total to see the Vatican, I believe I spent close to 30 E...but I would say its worth it. I spent 19 E to reserve ahead of time and skip the line (totally worth it) then 7 E on an audio guide....I would say take it only if you are a history/art buff. I did enjoy it, but at some times it was a bit much.

I thought this ceiling was pretty beautiful. I took tons of picture of statues and paintings, but I was afraid those would bore you....the highlight was the Sistine Chapel of course, and no pictures are allowed in there.

After 3 and a half hours in the Vatican, I needed a pizza. And man, I got a good one. Those are fresh salami slices on there- delicious!

After fueling up we headed back to Saint Peter's Basilica to try to tour the church before it closed. After waiting 45 minutes, we were in! It was well worth the wait...look how ornate the alter is!

Then we paid 8 E (notice how the money disappears in Rome) and climbed the billion stairs to the top of the Dome. It is said that after it was constructed they made a law that no building can be taller...and none appear to be! This is looking out over the city...notice the ominous clouds in the background...

Example of the super tiny and sketch stairs we had to climb- man they made me DIZZY. Can't figure out how to rotate the picture once it is uploaded. Oh well.

After touring for 9 hours that day, I decided to go on my first pub crawl that night...I mean, when in rome right?! I had a BLAST! This is my new friend Lonneke from New Zealand, and Helen from Brazil! 

On Sunday we had a few hours to look around some more, and we decided to go to the Museum Capitolini... I just really liked this statue.

View from the museum overlooking the Forum... WOW.

Everything circled in blue we went to.....23 hours of touring, I would say we did work!

This is kebob...at first I was thinking of our version, but this is actually very similar to a greek gyro, except with spicy sauce. It was FANTASTIC.

We stocked up on fruit at the supermarket for the 8 hour bus ride home, and I just had to take a picture of these shopping carts...They actually have wheels on the bottom- so crazy!

This past week I had papers and tons of reading, as well as planning for this travel weekend and two day trips. My next blog will be about the two towns I visited on Monday and Tuesday, and then about this weekend. Today my group went to Venice, then tomorrow we head to Verona, then to Florence for the rest of the weekend. I am sure lots of pictures will be up by Sunday. Next week is my finals week- the program is coming to a close! Ciao!