Being abroad, abroad: Italy (Part 1)

Hello lovelies,

Today I write to you on my adventures in Italy!

Since there is so much to tell, I think the best way to go about blogging this is to go in chronological order, starting in Rome and ending in Venice. Over eight days, we -- 30 or so classmates and I -- visited seven cities while traveling nearly 700 miles of this intriguing country. What does 700 miles of travel look like? Well here, I'll show you.

**I've put links on certain places mentioned below if you'd like more information about them.**


Day One:  Leaving Spanish Soil


There's not too much to tell you about day one, because most of it was traveling. My class and I went to the Malaga airport around noon and our plane took off at 3:15 pm. We arrived in Rome at 5:40 pm or so and then we made our way to the hotel. After getting situated and tweeting that, indeed, we had made it to Italy, we went to restaurant for dinner. The thing is though that the restaurant we went to was some kind of Latino place and the waiters were speaking to us in Spanish and the whole situation was a bit odd. My first meal in Italy was not pizza or pasta, but some kind of rice dish and tenderloin thing. Don't get me wrong, it was a good meal, it just seemed weird at the moment, considering we were in Rome. After dinner we went back to the hotel and enjoyed some rest after a day of travel. 

Georgia, me, Elaia, and Lucia waiting in the Malaga airport 

Day Two: The Pope's House


On this day we visited many museums and sites in the Vatican City (located within Rome). Such sites included the Vatican Museums, Apostolic Palace, and St. Peter's Basilica. We went to the Sistine Chapel, perhaps better known as the official residence of the Pope. (It's famous for its architecture and its decoration that was painted throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio and others). I don't even know where to begin with all this.

To be in places that people occupied thousands of years ago, and that are still standing and occupied today, is something incredible. The museums were just filled with spectacular paintings, carpets/rugs, statues, and more art. St. Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world and is regarded as one of the holiest Catholic sites. In order to enter, one's shoulders and majority of legs has to be covered as an act of respect. Many of the girls in our group had to go buy scarves real fast to cover their shoulders and legs. This actually happened a lot through out the trip as many churches and sites were strict about dress codes. This may seem a bit ridiculous, but I think it's the least that one can do to respect a holy place. The Sistine Chapel was incredible. I'd show you pictures of the Chapel and St. Peter's, but taking photos was not permitted. You can probably see photos on GoogleImages though. I finally had my first true Italian pizza that day for lunch -- mushrooms and ham all the way. I must say it was delicious. In the afternoon I tried my first Italian ice cream, also delicious. For dinner we had amazing lasagna, and by that time I was convinced that Italian cuisine is the best out there.

A part of one of the Vatican musuems 

Paula, Elaia, Georgia, Lucia, and me in St. Peter's Square

I don't remember where this was, but all of the ceilings were either painted or decorated in some way. 

Me and Lucia in Saint Peter's Square

Saint Peter's Square

The whole group

Me and my lovely English friend, Georgia

Day Three: Rome

On this day we went into Rome with a local tour guide who explained the history and it's significance today of all the sites. In the morning we explored ancient Rome and went to the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Piazza Venezia  In the afternoon we visited "Baroque Rome", including the Piazza Navona (in the Piazza della Rotonda), the Pantheon, and the Trevi Fountain.The tour guide was super awesome and explained some things in English for me (seeing as understanding ancient Roman history in Spanish can be difficult at times). After the tour we went back to the hotel for a while. That night we went back into Rome to have dinner and then explored the city more until 2 am or so. May I just say that Rome by night may be the most beautiful thing I've seen? That night we were able to visit the Plaza de España, which not only happens to be one of the most important Plazas in Rome, but Spain's Plaza.

Yoli, Laura, Lucia, Georgia, me, and Isa in front of the National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

Me at the Trevi Fountain. I made sure to throw in coin to come back to Rome!

The National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II

Some of the ruins

The Colosseum!

Marcelo, Ricardo, the best tour guide ever, Enrique, and me 

The Pantheon

The whole group out during the night

Day four: Pueblos

Sadly, we had to leave Rome that morning. I really wish we could have stayed longer. It was such an amazing place that I know I'll have to return to someday. But anyways, we all got on a bus in transit towards Florence. On the way there we stopped by two cities: Assisi and Siena. Assisi was full of beautiful churches, views, and architecture. While there we went to The Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi (St. Francis) which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. In Siena we didn't stop to discuss much history, but we did walk through the city a bit. We got to the hotel at about 7pm or so, and by then we were exhausted after a long day of travel. Although we didn't go out to Florence that night, we had quite a fun time in the hotel as it was the Spain-Portugal soccer match (Eurocup). We all got out our flags out and showed our Spanish pride. Spain ended up winning so it was a good night.

Views from Assisi

Assisi

Me enthusiastically holding water bottles in Siena

Well that's the first half of my Italy adventures! I'll try to post Part 2 soon. I just got back from Italy on Wednesday (five days ago), and since then I've been relaxing and enjoying SUMMER. The 4th of July is the day after tomorrow and I'm planning on having a BBQ with a few friends to celebrate. Other than that I don't have many plans. June was a crazy month but now I'm ready to chill out with friends and make the most of the time I have left. I'll talk to you guys soon!

Besos,
Josie