Italia! Land of carbs, breathtaking views, the friendliest people, and currently where my heart resides. Yes you read that right, I have fallen in love and I can't get up. Well I mean I can and I am back in Spain but you get the gist. Yes Italy was incredible and this past weekend was the best trip I have taken this year. I apologize in advance for the lengthiness of this post, but the pictures of food alone make it worth it! P.s. You probably shouldn't read this if you are hungry. Pt. 1: Roma We started off late last Wednesday by taking a bus to Malaga. Our plan was to spend the night at the airport to be able to make our 7 a.m. flight. Has anyone ever tried sleeping on a tiled floor? It was pretty awful and by the time we boarded, we were all happy to get the heck out of there. Our plane landed in Rome around 9:30 and we took the bus to our hostel. By then we were anxious to get out and explore (mostly eat). After a quick metro trip, we arrived at the Colosseum. Let me tell you, I was not prepared for how gigantic it was. It was incredible to be there and see this monument that has lasted for so long. The rest of the night was spent walking around the area, eating pizza, eating gelato, and stopping at a pub for a beer before returning to our hostel. We had planned to get an early start on our day the next morning to be first in line for the Vatican but our sleep schedule had us waking up at 9 and out the door by 10. The metro workers were on strike so our plans definitely didn't go accordingly. We wandered in the direction of the Vatican and stopped to see the Trevi fountain. I had wanted to go to this fountain ever since I was a little girl and it completely blew me away. I suggest that if you haven't been you go google the image right now because (no joke) it looks exactly like that. The stone sculptures are so detailed and the water is the perfect shade of turquoise (i'm guessing a large amount of chlorine helps with this). By 2 p.m. the metro was still closed due to the strike and we were getting anxious to make it to the Vatican before it closed. We broke down and payed for a taxi but it was completely worth it because it was amazing. I took a tour of the museum, the Sistine chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. I put my camera down during this time to be able to pay close attention so please forgive the lack of photos. After the tour, we headed off for another one, but this time a food tour! Yes I am completely serious. I also don't have many photos of this but take my word for it, if you travel to Italy, it is in your best interests to take a food tour. Our guide was so lovely and she took us to 5 different places tasting cheeses with pestos, cured meats, authentic pizzas, creamy pastas, and "real" gelato. Of course wine was included with all this so by the time it was finished, we were feeling very full and happy. I fell asleep pretty quickly after getting back to the hostel so that I could manage to wake up in time to catch our train to Florence. Pt. 2: Firenze Of all the places we had planned, I was most excited to visit Florence because I had previously gone with my grandparents and it had been my favorite place. Side note: the train trip was so much fun and I loved being able to see some of the country side. First train experience! And through Italy to boot. We arrived around 11 and set off to find our Airbnb. When we were in Rome, we had become used to the fact that walking anywhere took time and that the metro was a good option, but Florence was definitely smaller and it was great to not die on the walk to our accommodation with all our luggage. I was so happy when we arrived at the very top floor of our building because it was the most lovely little apartment. The cream accents with the brick walls and flowery bed spreads were just the perfect amount of home away from home for us. By the time we had all showered and settled in, we were starving and made our way into town for food. My friend Rachel from California is studying in Florence for the semester and she graciously pointed us in the direction of some of her favorite spots. First up was Antico Vinaio, a sandwich place where everything was pretty much 5 euros and if you're a college student abroad, that's golden. Rachel had told me how popular it was but when we arrived, I was still surprised by the line of people out the door. When we finally made it to the counter I was so overwhelmed that I didn't know what to order (also the menu was in italian) that I just went with the one I could identify (porchetta). Let me tell you right now; this was the best sandwich I had ever eaten in my whole life -- and i've eaten a lot of sandwiches. The meat melted over the spiced eggplant and truffle spread and we ate outside sitting on the curb which just made it even better. To top it off, we were sitting across from a group of very stylish and loud italians around our age, so it was entertaining to watch them all mingle and laugh and be boisterous. Think authentic Jersey Shore type group, with no Snookie or J-wow. Afterwards we wandered around for a bit and came accross a Christmas market. It was the coolest thing and we tried hot wine and bought candy and enjoyed the festive atmosphere. Funny enough we saw the group of Italians again and had a good laugh about that. So i've decided to break this post up and finish up the rest of Florence and Siena in the next one. Keep your eyes peeled!
1 Comment
yip
12/17/2015 08:13:06 pm
1) obviously I have been jealous of your entire trip this entire time, but this post made me really envious. in a good way, of course! you deserve every minute that you enjoy.
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Amani P.Last fall I took off for a year abroad. Now I'm back in the states, trying to figure out this crazy thing we call life! Archives
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