Italia!

As I arrived in Italy, it was like an out of body experience. That moment was something I had been waiting for my entire life. We had an insanely long travel day that involved two bus rides, a plane, and a train, but we finally made it to Florence around 3 a.m. The next morning we were all anxious to see the city and of course eat the food! As we made our way into center city, we stumbled upon one of the most famous leather markets, San Lorenzo. It was amazing; tent after tent of leather goods and vendors trying to bargain with you to get their items sold. 

A few purchases later, we found The Dumo, Florence’s main attraction. The huge terracotta dome that sits on top a gorgeous church just radiates Italian culture and beauty. Although some of my friends climbed to the top of the Dumo, I enjoyed going to Michelangelo Piazza, where we got an incredible view of the entire city including the Dumo. 

 We headed to a wonderful dinner where I stuffed myself full of delicious pasta and then of course ended with gelato. The next day we were fortunate enough to find a tour to Tuscany. We took a five-hour long bus-tour that eventually ended at the Chianti vineyard and we were able to do some wine tasting. Tuscany is so beautiful that it doesn’t look real. Even in the off-season, the colors were so vivid it was breathtaking. The wine tasting was a lot of fun. I completely felt the Italian culture as we sat in a dimly lit room with a table of various wines and prosciutto and brushetta to snack on. 

Our last day in Florence was spent just wandering the cobble stone streets, and of course making some last minute leather purchases. One of my favorite parts of Florence was the Ponte Vecchio river. Each picture I took truly looked like a painting. I didn’t know if Rome could top Florence but I was about to find out. 

Getting to Rome was much easier as we only had a quick hour and a half train ride. However, we did arrive late so we went right to sleep. The next day was a Sunday so we headed straight to the Vatican. We waited for a while and then finally the Pope came out of his window and blessed us in many different languages. It was quite an experience! Not to mention the extraordinary grandeur of the Vatican itself.  

Afterwards, we headed to my favorite part of the trip, the Coliseum! I will never forget getting off the subway and seeing it for the first time. It is something so strange to see huge ancient ruins next to modern buildings. As we toured the inside, my amazement continued and I imagined all that used to go on in the building so many years ago. We then got dinner in the beautiful Piazza Novona and then headed to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon.

Our second day in Rome, consisted of some aimless wandering which led us to my favorite place in the city, Trastevere. Trastevere could not be more of an authentic Italian area with the narrow cobblestone streets, sidewalk cafes with red-checkered table clothes and clothes hanging outside to dry. It was wonderful. Afterwards we ventured to a market piazza called Campo di Fiori and then to the Spanish Steps. 

On the last day I began to feel a little sick and run-down from all the traveling. We took it easy and just explored the beautiful Italian streets and enjoyed the amazing food until our flight in the afternoon. My trip to Italy was something I will remember forever.  

Barcelona & Madrid!

Spain was my favorite trip by far. I truly felt the dramatic culture shock that I was hoping for. My weeklong excursion was divided into two cities, Barcelona & Madrid. As our plane from cold, rainy Ireland touched down in Barcelona, I was immediately in utter excitement as I saw the beach to my left and palm trees all around. Making our way to our hostel was a little bit of a challenge, as English is rarely spoken. My friends and I had finally appreciated all the years of foreign language classes we were forced to take in school. 

After getting settled, our first day consisted of going the Barcelona football (soccer) game. It was really cool to experience a soccer game like this, as it is such an important sport to the rest of the world. It seems as though Spain’s soccer is like America’s baseball or football. It was even more exciting since Barcelona won the game!

The next day, following the exciting win by Barcelona, I was ready to explore the city. We saw it all, from La Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, The Gothic Quarter and of course the gorgeous beaches and architecture. Seeing the beaches of Barcelona is where the city won me over. I loved the contrast of the hustle and bustle of the city and the serenity of the beautiful beaches. The bluish-green of the water was a peaceful tone that met the white puffy cloud-filled sky all against the rugged tan sand.

Getting to Madrid was quite a challenge. We had to sleep in the airport until our 6am flight on hard benches. When we made it to Madrid, I was a ghost. Getting off the plane and to the hostel all seems like a dream because I was so tired from our rough night’s sleep. But we pulled ourselves together and explored the majestic city. Madrid was a much older Spanish-feeling city. There were many different plazas with outdoor restaurants and street vendors. The architecture was breath-taking. 

Spain was an extremely exhausting trip, but nonetheless, amazing! I loved getting to see the differences of the two cities. Barcelona, a younger, more modern, beachy city, however still true to its Spanish culture, whereas Madrid embodies the old Spanish culture. Both wonderful cities that I hope I will be able to return to one day.