Spring Break: ROMA

We got off our train from Florence around noon on Friday and were astounded by the beautiful warm city of Rome. We checked into our hostel, the "party hostel" according to Hostelworld.com haha I just liked it because it was on Via Urbana. This hostel is definitely one for the books. It was the first time I had to be in a dorm setting, but we lucked out on our roommates being boys from Notre Dame that actually knew some people studying in Dublin with us. 

After unpacking, we headed over towards the main drag of Rome, and went straight to the Colosseum. We paid to go inside and walk around and explore. Inside, it is a bit renovated, with a museum wrapped around the edge, detailing its history. 

The Colosseum was definitely the highlight of my Rome trip. There is so much history that happened in such a tiny area, I really liked the museum, helped fill in some knowledge gaps and definitely gave our tour more meaning. Directly next to the Colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, the largest arch in Rome. Really it looks like every other arch in every other city Ive been to, but it was still a cool sight.

After that area, we made our way over to the Trevi Fountain, which was undeniably gorgeous, however was PACKED with tourists. We each grabbed a piece of pizza and ate lunch on the steps of the fountain. There is an actual drinking fountain connected to the Trevi that you can drink out of, however if you so much as touch the water in the actual fountain, you will, at least, be slapped on the wrist by a policeman nearby. 

 After some more sightseeing, we grabbed a kebab for dinner, streetfood that is super popular in Europe, but most so in Italy from what Ive seen. Its kind of like a gyro, but with fresh veggies and chicken. Anywho, we met up with people from Illinois studying in Rome for the semester and they took us out to a club for the night. On our way there, we casually strolled near the Trevi again, and since it was the middle of the night, we were one of the only ones there. 

The next morning, we slept in a little bit and headed across the river to Vatican City. Our friend Bridget was the only catholic in the group and insisted on going in to see everything. We were fine hanging out in the square in front of St. Peters for a little while then leaving and meeting up with her later. The line to get into the Basillica wrapped around the entire square and was a two hour wait at minimum.

So we left Bridget behind in Vatican City and went to Piazza Navona, where the Four Rivers Fountain is located. The piazza was filled with families and children running around snacking on pizza and gelato. We grabbed something to eat, and then made our way to the Pantheon, a roman temple nearby. The pantheon was definitely really cool, had a large opening in its roof, so when it rains only a solid colomn of rain comes into the temple. We had gorgeous weather so didnt get to see that, but it sounds pretty sweet.

After the Pantheon, we were all so exhausted, so we rushed back to the hostel to take a much needed nap. We made plans to go to Dar Poeta for dinner, a pizza restaurant that was recommended to us by a ton of people, and after dinner, we met up with the Rome Illinois kids as well as my boyfriend Ryan and his dad, who was visiting Italy for the week.

We went to an Irish bar for the night, it was great to see Ryan and Mr. Gately again. Me and my friend Marykate made plans to meet up with the two of them the next morning, since I would be heading to Verona with them that afternoon. That next morning we made our way to the Spanish Steps, which in essence is a giant staircase in the heart of Rome. What makes it unique is that there is constantly hundreds of people sitting on the steps, eating and relaxing in the sunlight. We met up with the Gatelys and went for lunch.

After saying goodbye to MK, the three of us walked back to the Colosseum and took a casual nap in the sunlight. Is this real life?

Spring Break: FLORENCE

After a day of exploring Venice, we jumped on a 2pm train to Florence. I honestly tried to sleep the entire way, but the views from the ride were too stunning. Tuscany is a gorgeous place, full of hills and mountains and vineyards. We reach Florence, and realize that none of us have a map, and the directions that we wrote down to our hostel are super vague. After asking a dozen people for directions, we were led to this door. Does this look like a hotel to you?

This hostel seriously had the best location ever, It was right down the street from the leather markets and the Duomo, a cathedral in the center of Florence. Our view from outside our "penthouse apt" in our hostel was breathtaking.

Our first day in Florence, we decided to climb the top of the Duomo. Its real name is the Basillica di Santa Maria del Fiore, and is the cathedral church of Florence. It was finished structurally in 1436 in the gothic style, the exterior of the basilica faced with marble panels in various shades of white, green, and pink. The cathedral is known for its giant dome and facade.

With a dome 90 meters high, we decided to climb the way to the top. This might be my favorite part of Florence. Climbing up to the top was very very claustrophobic, with spiral staircases with windows looking out over the city.   Something that I love about touristy places in Europe is that people bring padlocks with them, sign them, and lock them on various places across the continent. This is a "lock-spot".

After one of the most exausting climbs of my life, 463 steps to be exact, we finally get to the top. The views from the top of the Duomo were absolutely breathtaking. You can walk around the whole dome, and look over literally the entire city. Red rooftops, churches, and the river are all in sight.

After the Duomo, we headed to a restaurant in the center of the city, and were catered hand and foot by our waiters. We lucked out and found a restaurant that lovess Americans, giving us free glasses of wine, bread, and shots of Lemoncello. After dinner we headed back to the hostel to get ready for our night out in Florence. We were originally planning on heading to a discoteca called Space, however on our way there, we passed another club that we had heard of, and since it was closer to our hostel, went into Yab instead. 

We quickly learned that Italian clubs are much different than those in America, London, or Dublin. They let you in for free, first of all. No cover. But that doesnt mean you dont pay. They give you a little card, that gets punched every time you purchase a drink at the bar. All the drinks are the same price, the first is 11 euros. While that sounds so terrible, the second one was 2 euro i believe. However, if you lose that little card, you can end up paying over 60-100 euros. I hid mine deep deep deep into my purse that night. We also found it hilarious that none of the Italian men at the club spoke english, however, they can all sing along to the top pop songs in America. I suppose its the same as all of us knowing the words to "Vamos a la Playa" but we still found it funny.

The next morning, we made our way over to Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio, which is located in the center of historic Florence. It is most famous for having a copy of Michelangelo's David.

We then walked along the Arno River, and passed over the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio was Florence's first bridge across the river, and is the only surviving bridge from Florence's medieval days. The bridge is lined with shops selling gold, silver, and gelato.

After crossing the river, we climbed our way up to Piazza del Michelangelo. We were recommended this place because of its breathtaking views of the city. While climbing the Duomo offered great views, this was overlooking the city from a tall hill. The five of us brought some wine and spent our afternoon hanging out looking over the city of Florence.

After Piazza del Michelangelo, we headed over to Santa Croce, the largest Franciscan church in Italy. Santa Croce is located in Piazza Santa Croce and holds the tombs of Michelangelo and Dante, who both called Florence home. 

For dinner, we put our tourist hats back on and went to O'Vesuvios Pizzeria, where the cast of Jersey Shore worked during the season that they shot in Florence. This pizza was delicious, but we were just blown away at how much these people loved Snookie and JWow. This pizzeria was literally a shrine to the cast, each member having their own specials written on the walls, even their clothes were hung up on a clothesline. 

All in all, i must say that in two days, I saw so much of Florence. I might even say it was my favorite city in Italy. While it is rather large in size, we saw mostly everything in two days, and were not rushed at all.  We spent our last night in, ready to board our 9am train to Rome the next morning.