This post's soundtrack will consist of:
(For Rome's Section) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IEHc33agZs
(For whenever you desire) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frK0o8WCBC0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkWhkKVvqHU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnFlx2Lnr9Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ryzx-QPnNPQ
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears.....
I have always dreamed of going to Italy. Always has it been my one and only go-to spot. Goodness gracious did it deliver. And more so. I'm going to need to spend a lot more time there. My Italian journey consisted of three cities. The first was:
ROMA!
- We got in to Rome really late at night, around 11 or so. The airport is a ways away from the hotel we were staying at so it was taxi time. I'm the only one who speaks Italian so guess who got put in charge of basically all communication for the rest of the trip? Which honestly I was fine with, and somewhat excited, but somewhat terrified. Mostly terrified for this taxi ride. I may have freaked out a little bit, so the directions I gave to our driver consisted of "...dove...*point*" or something like that. Basically I mumbled and stuck a shaky finger at a somewhat crumpled map in dim light.
We finally made it to our little hotel that looked like it was at the back of a deep, dark alley that mafia members would most likely congregate. (I've discovered my imagination at night in foreign countries runs rampant. I'm working on controlling these new found tendencies.) But it was now time to communicate with the taxi driver. It was quite broken, and I made several mistakes, (he even corrected me once), but the job was done effectively enough. He was very kind, and I can say I was not upset to leave him. We finally entered our little hotel and was greeted by an incredibly delightful Italian man who (thankfully) spoke fantastic English. He basically was the Italian Jerry Stiller.
So we chatted with him a while, swatting away his cigarette smoke when possible, and headed to our room which was literally directly adjacent to the welcoming desk. After a long days travel, it was time to get some sleep.
- I woke up the next day quite leisurely; taking a nice shower (MUCH overdue) and eating a free! breakfast before heading out. That is after the majority of the group got back from their "walk". Idk. Having only one day in Rome, we decided to take a "Hop-On, Hop-Off" bus tour around the city which was defintiely the way to go. But before our tour we took a little stroll and made it to our first historic site (which happened to be just up the block from us.)
Stop 1: Santa Maria Maggiore. The oldest Christian church standing.
A pretty view from the back. (The sky looks dark because it was; It absolutely down-poured for ten minutes as we left the hotel. then it stopped for the entire day. Go figure.)
- After this was my first Gelato stop in Italy! I quite succesfully spoke to this Italian gentlemen with perfection. He thought I was fluent. ACTUALLY NAILED IT!
Here's the picture of our little gelato place with delightful gelato man:
Here are some pics just walking around:
This is literally the scene I saw when looking down an alley. An ALLEY! A man washing his car, in a suit, under a giant golden statue. Only in Italy I suppose.
A nun walking down the street. I had to.
Stop 2: The Trevi Fountain! It was in walking distance from our hotel!
The fountain of love
You better believe I made my wish and tossed my coin. True love, here I come!
Stop 3: The Colosseum!
We walked up and around the beautiful ruins that surround the collosseum. This was a lovely little "chiesa" or church we happened upon.
Stop 4: Court Maximus
This is where chariot races were held, and the very first Christian martyrs were eaten alive by beasts.
Stop 5: The Mouth of Truth
- You might recognize this from Roman Holiday! The Mouth of Truth is, according to legend, will take the hands of those who have lied. Many natives take this very seriously; couples will come before being wed to see if the intended spouse has been faithful.
I was scared my hand would be taken. Thankfully, I have still have ten fingers!
Stop 6: Piazza del Campidoglio
- This court was designed by Michelangelo. No big deal.
Recognize this?
Stop 7: The Capital Building
It was GIGANTIC
Nicknamed "The Wedding Cake" by American soldiers in WWII because this statue looked like a wedding cake topper.
- Can I just ask: who in their right mind would want Haagen-Dasz with Gelato on every corner of the city?
Stop 8: Vatican City
Gaurding the city's enterance
Stop 9: St. Peter's Basilica
I. Was. So. Happy.
Everything was GARGANTUAN.
Stop 10: Spanish Steps
Sky from atop the steps
Stop 11: Trevi Fountain at Night
- After the fountain, we went to get, you guessed it, gelato. The workers in the shop were two young Italians and as adorable as could be. We had great fun chatting with them, it was the perfect way to finish up the evening. Also - my gelato looked like the Colosseum.
- And these were my Roman adventures - a quick peek through pictures
FLORENCE
- The following day, we woke up, did a bit of tourist shop shopping, and took our train to Florence. We got quite lost on our way to our hotel. Apparently taking a taxi to walk 10 kilometers was not an option so we decided to walk and got horribly lost and after several miserable attempts at communication, figured out a bus to take and walked across the highway to our hotel. Let's just say I was very excited to get to the hotel.
- We went to a VERY delightful dinner at a restaurant recommended by the woman who checked us in. I had my first plate of pasta. (I had had LOTS of fantastic pizza prior to this.) It. was. fantastic. Then I happily returned home and got a fabulous nights' sleep.
- The next day we had plans to go to the city and see as many sites and museums as possible with the little time we had. I really wanted to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus. But guess what! We got lost. For two hours. On the bus. Two. Hours. Which left us a measly 3 hours to walk around the city. This is how I felt.
With an endless supply of plates.
- And yet, I was still determined to make the most of this trip to Florence and see SOMETHING. Oh my goodness, did I see something...
The Duomo. It was absolutely breathtaking.
- I just stood and gaped for a very long time. It was absoltuely incredible. Just gorgeous. The colors were astounding! I had never seen anything with the same hue of blue/green and pink... I don't even know what colors they were! And it's incredible to me that the colors and all of the detail have withstood so many sunsets. Absolutely incredible.
This little guy just walked right up to me and sat beside me while I was looking at the trinkets. We became friends.
I'd never seen anything like it. Just magnificent.
By the way; Florence looks like it must have been the inspiration for Pinocchio. I could have walked around for days.
- We didn't have time to get to the David statue, so a friend and I decided we wanted to try and get in the Uffizi gallery to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus. The line was pretty long and frankly, confusing, so we didn't go in. But luckily enough, there was an outdoor gallery. I can't believe they had such famous statues just hanging out outside in the open! Look below!
The Rape of the Sabine Women
Perseus and Medusa
And guys, I. LOVE. STATUES. So I was quite, quite content!
- After looking at the outdoor gallery for a time, we decided to just continue strolling. We went through a Piazza just to the right of the gallery and what did we happen upon? Oh just this!
It was the most picturesque piece of land I had ever seen. We literally just ran into Ponte Vecchio!
Oh I was in heaven. We carved our initials just on the stone you see in the above picture. One day I hope to go back and find it again. But one of my favorite experiences of my entire European trip happened just after this.
- On our way back through the Piazza, we found that many street artists were setting up their easels and artwork. We took a spin and viewed everyone's, but our favorite work was by this very sweet woman. She didn't speak any English, but much to my joy, I could understand her almost perfectly. We talked for a solid 15 minutes, solely in Italian. (I. FELT. SO. AWESOME.) She told me all about her artwork; what's easy and what's hard, the canvases she likes to work on, etc, and as she's speaking, these little birds came up and started eating the bit of baguette and cup of water set out. She stops and goes "Oh, mi amici." She continued by saying that these birds come by every day because they remember she has bread and water. We continued talking, and she asked if I was from Italy. (Success!) And we talked a bit about my schooling adn such. We ended up buying some of her work, and she could not have been more pleased or greatful. She was telling us how it was God, God had sent us, because business had been bad recently. Not only did I have a great story to tell and beautiful artwork, I actually felt good about myself. I felt I had done a good deed that day. It literally was the most extraordinary experience. Something out of a story book. (I swear my entire European experience is straight out of a storybook. And I could not love it more.)
Her "amici." There were three little guys.
Carmela and her artwork. (The one on the right is hanging in my Grammie's house as we speak.
Basically this is how I felt about the entire thing:
And it literally made the entire Florence trip worth it. The whole week worth it.
- After our incredible experience, with a bit more time than anticipated, we stepped inside the Duomo. It was suprisingly bland, considering the outside. That is until we looked up.
Some of the portraits, particularly at the top, looked like they were crawling out of the walls.
- After going through the Duomo, it was sadly time to leave Florence. Off to Pisa we went!
PISA
We went solely just to see the tower and fly back. The tower was actually smaller than I anticipated, but it didn't particularly surprise me, if that makes sense. What did surprise me was the skill this super creepy Italian man had in pick pocketing. He successfully took my iPhone out of my purse (in which I was holding with my hand), but he did NOT succeed in stealing away my joy!
"The Teetering Tower of Paris" according to Lori ;)
We literally came just to see the tower.
Apparently I took the tower's picture only from this angle.
- And this was the last excursion of my travel week. I've had some miraculous experiences here, and not so miraculous, but overall it was an absolutely miraculous experience. I can't wait to go back to see more of the sights and enjoy more of this incredible country!
But happily we away back home to England!
