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.