ROMA!

Rome was by far the most touristy city I've been too. I loved it, but it was just packed with souvenir stands, overpriced entrances and english speaking tour guides constantly offering us their 'best deal'. I didn't have a ton of time in Rome we we fit a TON of sight seeing into a couple short days.

First we went to the pantheon and saw the tombs of quite a few people. After we made a stop at Romes biggest gelato place called Gioletti. It was crazy inside. You went to a separate counter just to make your decision about cup or cone and how many scoops, then you got a ticket and were sent to the actual gelato counter where there was no line, just mass chaos to push your way through. The towers of cones was stacked so high I couldn't believe it. At the same time we were there, there was an american celebrity in the back of the kitchen, so there were security guards all around and people waiting to take a picture of whoever it was... Anyway, the gelato was delicious - one of the best I've had!

Outside of the Patheon

Inside of the Patheon

In Front of a tomb

Gelato!

So many cones

Packed full

We took it to-go and continued walking around the city! We walked passed the ruins and the capital building then made our way to the Colosseum. (We waited to go in until the next day) Afterwards we went to the trevi fountain to make our wishes! tossing the coin over our right shoulders is supposed to guarantee that we return to rome someday :)

Colosseum

Capitol

Roman Forum (Ruins) 

More of the ancient ruins

In Front of the Roman Forum

In Front of the Trevi Fountain

Trevi Fountain

Colossuem

For the sunset we sat on the spanish steps and had some coffee to-go. There were some guys next to us that were playing the guitar and singing while the sun was setting. It was such a relaxing break after running around all day!

Spanish Steps

That night we got pizza (surprise, surprise). Afterwards we went to Scholars Irish Pub for karaoke night. I've learned that its not smart to go to and english oriented place during spring break. IT WAS PACKED. I literally could not move when i got within 20 feet of the karaoke area. After getting shoved around for a couples hours by mostly Americans, we decided it was time to leave! But, just as we were leaving we met these really nice guys from Sweden. So we stayed to chat for another 30  minutes then called it a night.

The next morning we got up early to go into the Colosseum. We took our time reading the signs and walking throughout the entire inside. Very cool to see all the history! (I took a pic of some of the history info in case anyone is interested) 

We then went to grab a quick breakfast at a cafe right outside of the Vatican City. Another lesson I learned is not to eat near the tourist attractions. It was 9 euros for a small coffee and a croissant (should be no more than 4 or 5 in most of Europe). As soon as we walked into the Vatican we saw there were seats all lined up and we realized that the POPE was right in front of us giving a speech. :) We sat down and listened to the remaining portion (unfortunately he didn't speak in English at all, but it was still so cool to see).
We went into the St. Peter's Basilica which was absolutely beautiful and I bought a rosary at the gift shop! Then we saw the Michelangelo painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. (The iconic image of the hand of God giving life to Adam.)

St. Peter's Basilica

The Pope

People sitting in st peter's square listening to the Pope

Inside the basilica

List of all the Popes

Me and Marlee split off from the group afterwards to go in to the Jewish ghetto (neighborhood). We went to a kosher restaurant and yet again, I got pesto pasta! There were signs everywhere with Hebrew writings and also an ancient temple.

ruins of the temple

Hebrew

not sure what this is... but it was sitting outside of a restaurant

The friend I was staying with lives in the same apartment complex and many other students from the University of Illinois. There were also a few other groups visiting from other abroad programs. So.... there ended up being like 30 people from U of I in this one small apartment before we went out to the bar. It was so fun. For about an hour I forgot that I was even in Italy. The next day we went to a cafe, bought some souvenirs and packed up for our luxurious flight home on ryan air :)

Why You Should Forgo the American Dream and Let Travel Transform Your Life

Today I came across an article titled "Why You Should Forgo the American Dream and Let Travel Transform Your Life" 

It's about a family of 7 that decided to make a great change in their lives by leaving their little corner of the earth and expanding their horizon.s I thought it had a lot of great points about traveling. Maybe you'll find it interesting as well!

Here's an expert taken from the end of the story:

"But travel had taught us new skills, new thought patterns, new approaches to life in general. It had also become a part of who we were, a positive addiction, and we couldn't imagine our lives without it. Really, it wasn't about the travel. Travel was the tool, the method to the outcome. The real addiction was to the personal transformation that travel extracts from your mind and your soul. It causes you to be uncomfortable, to step out of the familiar and into the unknown. It compels you to see with new eyes and to consider things you had never been aware of. Travel, like a surgeon, opens you up – mind, heart, and soul – and removes preconceptions, biases, and small-mindedness. In its place it leaves a love for the world and all people; it also entrusts you with a larger understanding of our common humanity and the quandaries we share as a planet."

Here's the link: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/12-04/let-travel-transform-your-life.html

Florence

We checked in to our hostel, Alex House, that evening and we walked around for a bit, then went to a club called Space to celebrate one of our friends birthdays. We mostly spent the entire night running away form creepy italian guys. Definitely not recommending this place to anyone.

The next day we went to gusto leo pizza and watched them make our pizzas right in front of us! They were great! 

We ate them while we were in line at Galleria dell'Accademia to see the statue of David by Michel Angelo. We got there during lunch time, which was perfect because there wasnt too long of a line. Maybe 15 or 20 min. I know other people who waited for 3 hours to get in! We definitely lucked out! 

Statue of David at Galleria dell'Academia 

Afterwards we walked around the city and got coffee and sat out in the sun by the river. One thing that was weird about italy is that they charged more to sit inside to drink the coffee. If you just order it to go, its usually like 2 euros cheaper. 

With Elissa and Holly before we left to just have our coffee outside

Sitting by the river enjoying our coffee 

That night we went to watch the sunset. We sat on steps that were high up and we got a great view of the city! 

breath taking view

il Duomo

I <3  Tuscany

The rest of our time there was just filled with more sight seeing, and eating pizza and pasta! There was an outdoor leather market which had a ton of great purses but due to RyanAirs STRICT policy on only bringing one carry on (including a purse) I didnt even have the option of buying one. That was probably a good thing in the end, considering they weren't exactly cheap...
We tried to go to boboli gardens on monday but unfortunately they were closed that day! So we just had our picnic in a plaza instead. We all bought cute sunglasses from an African and only paid 3.50 each! 

With the girls in front one of MANY statues in the city

Just another bridge...

Sunset #2

I got ravioli and Monica got soup and french fries! Then we got free wine :)

Walking through a park

We spent a total of 3 nights here, then headed down to rome!

Venice

Instead of going straight to Florence like we planned, we made a spur of the moment decision to spend the day in Venice before. We took trains through Italy as we traveled and it was perfect! Super easy, comfortable and stress free. We mostly just spent the day walking around, eating pizza and gelato, and sight-seeing. 

Standing on a bridge with a view down the canal

The girls

The main canal of Venice

Most gondolas charged 80 euros per trip but we talked ours down to 65! Split between 5 of us, it ended up being pretty reasonable! We made freinds with the guy, Giovani, and he even showed us pictures of his 5 year old daughter...or as he said "My sexy little baby" haha (I dont think that translated exactly how he meant it to...)

Giovanni 

On the gondola

I really liked the city because the canals made it different from anything I've ever seen. However, it was small and was FULL of tourists.