Getting a week to travel at the end of my program was amazing. My group decided to sleep in Friday and get in a taxi, then train then plane to go to Italy! We were going to have the opportunity to see so many things we have studied or heard about for years. I must admit, I did watch the Lizzie McGuire movie to prep for Roma.
We first arrived in Rome, and after much stress prior, arrived to an awesome apartment. We needed to get food so we went down to a cute little place about a block from our apartment. Our waitress spoke minimal English, but enough for us to figure out what we wanted, and explain some dietary restrictions. After eating Caesar salads the size of our heads, we turned in for the night to prepare for a day full of religious experiences. The next day we went to the Vatican City and St. Peter’s Basilica. A few tips for the Vatican, order your tickets online well before you go so you won’t be forced to get a tour guide when you’re not sure if the tour guide will make the tour last an hour longer than she was supposed to (ours sure did). The only upside to getting a tour guide is that we didn’t have to wait in a line outside the Basilica that the vendors told us about which we never saw.. Also make sure you have clothes that cover your shoulders and knees (or at least is close to your knees) so that the annoying men selling scarves don’t shake them in your face. Once we started on our Vatican museum tour, it was nice to see everything but I’ll admit I could have Googled the few questions I had. Seeing the sculptures I’ve studied in art history classes was so cool. The Sistine Chapel was a great experience but for those of you who cant go, I recommend going and doing a virtual tour, here.
Going inside the Basilica was phenomenal. We got to walk through the Holy Doors, which are only open every 25 years for the Jubilee. All debts are to be forgiven when you walk through the doors. Inside, we saw La Pietá behind a glass wall and I would be lying to say I didn’t tear up. Overall, the Basilica was beautiful and I would recommend to go, regardless of your religion.
We spent the rest of the day walking back to our apartment, stopping at the Trevi Fountain and for dinner at a very cute restaurant with great people watching and ivy growing up the side of the building. It was very affordable and about a block away from the Trevi Fountain. Yes, Italy can be expensive but if you look for it, you can find cheap but quality places to eat. The next day we had to carry our backpacks, and boy was that a sweaty mess. Although, when we did get to our destination of the Coloseo, it was free! We happened to show up on the one day a month (first Sunday, I believe) entrance is free. I would also recommend going to the counter up the hill by the ruins to get tickets. For us, it just made the line go quicker since we had our own line and security check point. Once inside, it was amazing to see things that have been around for so long. I can only imagine all gathering inside to watch gladiators and animals.
We then hopped on a train to go to Florence. Once we arrived we went to our Air BnB flat and it was so cute. We had a nice back garden with seating and shade as well as a fully stocked kitchen in case we wanted to take cooking classes with the owner. My group rather enjoyed staying in residential areas to get more of the feel of a city and get away from the tourist traps. Despite it having to be about a 20 minute walk, none of us minded when the view is that beautiful. In Florence, we saw the outside of the Florence Cathedral, which is famously known as the Duomo. We wanted to shop around and see the leather market, which we did. It was a lot of the same purses and if you know how to haggle, do it. If you don’t know how, learn. Finding good deals of real Italian leather is always amazing. Since this was Independence Day back home and another travel group from our program was in Florence, we decided to meet up for dinner and gelato. It was nice to have different people to talk to because, after all, once you’re with someone for so long 24 hours a day, you run out of things to talk about. We decided to go to Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge that has shops built onto it. We had to take pictures with the little United States flag we brought. The best part was people saying “Happy Independence Day!” to us as we all were getting pictures with that flag that means so much in a city that is forever imprinted on our hearts. Finding other Americans that were asking if they could use the flag for some pictures was a really neat experience.
As we got gelato for the billionth time, it was then that I knew that I loved this city. We parted ways and our group stayed one more full day of exploring, shopping and falling in love with Firenze. We went inside the Duomo, and that was a breath taking experience, not because it was as ornate at the Sistine Chapel or as modern as some churches back home, but as a place that is one of Italy’s largest churches and felt in awe. The history really hit me, since the church began construction in the 1200s. I mean, how cool is that?!
Wednesday morning, we got up and got a train to go to Venice. Pro tip: get a train ticket to the island, not Venice City. For a city that is going to have water levels rise to swallow it up in 70-80 years, it is fantastic. All the canals were great and the AC in our apartment was not too shabby either. The fact that out our back window was a canal, was hard to wrap my brain around. We did go on a gondola ride and since all the gondolas are regulated by the city, its a flat fee of 80 Euros for a 30 minute ride, with up to 6 people. That meant our 4 person group, it only cost us 20 Euro each for a once in a lifetime opportunity. We learned a lot from our gondolier and was throughly impressed by the skill it takes to drive one of those boats with the little space there is.
All the shops around were adorable and duh, we got more gelato. After eating dinner where my spaghetti was black (no worries it was a black sauce that stained my teeth and lips black for a bit), we just sort of wandered. We accidentally went to the other side of the island but saw a beautiful bridge that we watched boats and reflected on our time abroad. The next day we went and got water taxi tickets to go the airport and then spent our time enjoying the sun. Sitting next to the water with my feet hanging over the edge, I realized I didn’t want to leave. The peace and serenity water gives people is everywhere on this island. I have been on a few islands in my time, but this one was special. Also, no matter what anyone says, the city does not smell bad!
I will admit that Florence and Venice are interchangeably my number 2 and 3 on favorite cities, and I cannot wait to go back.
When in Rome… and Florence… and Vencie Getting a week to travel at the end of my program was amazing. My group decided to sleep in Friday and get in a taxi, then train then plane to go to Italy!