Hello everyone! So I wanted to write one last post telling you that I have arrived safely home! My day started at 3am Italy time, and I arrived in Chicago just after 2 in the afternoon. I'm glad to be back on ground and ready to see friends and family, but I'm sad to leave Italy! I am determined to go back! Thanks for reading:) I hope I gave you at least a taste of my amazing trip experience!
Ciao,
Rachel
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Quando A Roma...
O when in Rome...so I decided before I left that I would probably make Rome my last major stop in Italy! I knew that I definitely wanted to make it to the large and impressive city, and I decided to add it on to the end since I was heading south to Siena anyway! I am glad for many reasons that I saved it for the end because since this was my 4th week in Italy, I was getting a little tired traveling around so much (especially when I went to 4 places the week before), but Rome was just so different that the trip kinda refreshed me making it extremely exciting! I was there for 3 days, but I could easily go back for a week or so! The city is big, and is so full of ancient history! I mean, when I got off the metro I literally came head to head with the magnificent Colosseum.
Okay, so as for the trip itself if this says anything I took over 400 pictures in 3 days...kinda ridiculous! After the 3hour train ride, I got on the metro to reach my hotel, which was in the ancient Rome area. As I said before, my metro stop opened up onto the colosseum! After dropping my stuff at the hotel, I peeled off my layers since Rome was pretty warm (in the upper 70s and really sunny) and then headed to get my combo ticket for the Colosseum,
Palatine Hill,
and the Roman Forum.
The whole experience was so cool! I met some crazy gladiators all throughout this area who all wanted tourists to take pictures with them for a steep price of anywhere from 6-15euros... I decided it was more economical to take pictures of them from afar!
The interior and exterior of the Colosseum was incredible, and it doesn't begin to look the way it did back when it was built! They had full scale models on the inside of how exactly they moved the animals into the arena, as well as, helpful descriptions of exactly where the different groups of spectators would've sat. Everything in Rome seemed to be on such a grand scale that it was almost overwhelming!
I then moved from the Colosseum (where I decided btw that I should become a gladiator), to climbing Palatine Hill.
I again was blessed with such beautiful weather, that it made walking around outside easy! The hill was really interesting because a lot of the ancient remnants I was not sure what they once were, but just to think that people like Caesar once walked throughout these areas is pretty mind blowing. From Palatine Hill, I went down to the Roman Forum,
which was equally incredible! I feel like my pictures will explain more than my actual descriptions.
On my second day, I went to the Vatican basically all day! Many people suggested I take a guided tour through the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St Peters because the whole endeavor can be incredibly overwhelming. After being there for almost six hours I completely agree. I booked my tour through Through Eternity, which was great because the group is limited to 15 people. Our guide, Tyson, was from Illinois originally, but studied in Italy and then decided to stay after college. He has lived in Italy for almost 11 years! He was excellent and very knowledgeable!
I learned so much more than I would've just going on my own (to be honest I think I would've been burned out after 2 hours on my own, but he made it so interesting that he kept us going). I managed the Uffizi on my own, but the Vatican was just so gigantic that it was helpful to have someone give you the history and background! I would highly recommend taking a guided tour through this area, and if you are a student or still have your student ID;) they have great discounts!
My experience was incredible, and I met some really fascinating people as well. In fact, three of us after the tour, decided to find this fantastic gelato place where I tried the rice gelato (sounds really strange, but it was definitely my favorite so far)!
On my third and final day, I decided to make kinda a grand tour of some of the other major sights. I went to the church that had a famous Bernini I studied and loved in class,
I walked down the Spanish steps and grabbed a hot panini,
walked around the Trevi fountain,
walked inside the spectacular Pantheon,
some other churches, and ended on the Navona Piazza
before catching the train to head back for my last day in Florence:(
This post is short for the three days and does not begin to do justice for all that I saw and loved about Rome, but for the rest of the story I'd be happy to talk about in person when I get back to the states tomorrow!
Ciao Roma,
Rachel
Okay, so as for the trip itself if this says anything I took over 400 pictures in 3 days...kinda ridiculous! After the 3hour train ride, I got on the metro to reach my hotel, which was in the ancient Rome area. As I said before, my metro stop opened up onto the colosseum! After dropping my stuff at the hotel, I peeled off my layers since Rome was pretty warm (in the upper 70s and really sunny) and then headed to get my combo ticket for the Colosseum,
Palatine Hill,
and the Roman Forum.
The whole experience was so cool! I met some crazy gladiators all throughout this area who all wanted tourists to take pictures with them for a steep price of anywhere from 6-15euros... I decided it was more economical to take pictures of them from afar!
The interior and exterior of the Colosseum was incredible, and it doesn't begin to look the way it did back when it was built! They had full scale models on the inside of how exactly they moved the animals into the arena, as well as, helpful descriptions of exactly where the different groups of spectators would've sat. Everything in Rome seemed to be on such a grand scale that it was almost overwhelming!
I then moved from the Colosseum (where I decided btw that I should become a gladiator), to climbing Palatine Hill.
I again was blessed with such beautiful weather, that it made walking around outside easy! The hill was really interesting because a lot of the ancient remnants I was not sure what they once were, but just to think that people like Caesar once walked throughout these areas is pretty mind blowing. From Palatine Hill, I went down to the Roman Forum,
which was equally incredible! I feel like my pictures will explain more than my actual descriptions.
On my second day, I went to the Vatican basically all day! Many people suggested I take a guided tour through the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, and St Peters because the whole endeavor can be incredibly overwhelming. After being there for almost six hours I completely agree. I booked my tour through Through Eternity, which was great because the group is limited to 15 people. Our guide, Tyson, was from Illinois originally, but studied in Italy and then decided to stay after college. He has lived in Italy for almost 11 years! He was excellent and very knowledgeable!
I learned so much more than I would've just going on my own (to be honest I think I would've been burned out after 2 hours on my own, but he made it so interesting that he kept us going). I managed the Uffizi on my own, but the Vatican was just so gigantic that it was helpful to have someone give you the history and background! I would highly recommend taking a guided tour through this area, and if you are a student or still have your student ID;) they have great discounts!
My experience was incredible, and I met some really fascinating people as well. In fact, three of us after the tour, decided to find this fantastic gelato place where I tried the rice gelato (sounds really strange, but it was definitely my favorite so far)!
On my third and final day, I decided to make kinda a grand tour of some of the other major sights. I went to the church that had a famous Bernini I studied and loved in class,
I walked down the Spanish steps and grabbed a hot panini,
walked around the Trevi fountain,
walked inside the spectacular Pantheon,
some other churches, and ended on the Navona Piazza
before catching the train to head back for my last day in Florence:(
This post is short for the three days and does not begin to do justice for all that I saw and loved about Rome, but for the rest of the story I'd be happy to talk about in person when I get back to the states tomorrow!
Ciao Roma,
Rachel
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Siena- Bella Toscana!
So, our new roommate Anne (from the Netherlands) and myself decided to head to Siena on Sunday for a day trip. My other roommate Trevor told us that it would be better to take the bus, and so I promptly looked up the schedule, but forgot to look up where the actual bus station was...oops! So bright and early Sunday morning, Anne and I are using our choppy Italian to find out where the station is. I did know that it was supposed to be near the train station, but the buses you take to Siena I found out are not at the bus station connected to the Santa Maria Novella train station, but instead are around the corner a couple blocks. Well, never fear we made it in just enough time to buy our tickets, and catch the bus!
The ride there is beautiful! So, this is what the Tuscany I've seen on so many postcards and in movies looks like! I loved the mix of people on the bus because there were an equal number of Italians and foreigners all taking the day or several days to see the lovable Siena. Oh, and Ellen, I found our Italian villa like I promised! I have no idea who lives there or if they would let our family come and live there;) but I have found it nonetheless on the bus ride there (the picture I took is too far away so you can't really see it but if you see that little road it is the only yellow house out there! Trust me on this one it is beautiful, and has it's own vineyard)
Now, after having been there I understand the rivalry between Florence and Siena. Florence has the Arno river and some of the best Renaissance art, but Siena has spectacular atmosphere and Tuscan scenery. After the bus ride, we got out and went to Il Campo, the city's impressive city square.
These pictures were taken at like 10am, and by the later afternoon this square was crawling with people eating lunch, chasing pigeons, and enjoying the sun that we were so blessed with all day long! We then went to the Duomo, another impressive church with crazy mosaics all in the interior.
The rest of the day was spent wandering where we came across some sort of race that was going on throughout the city so we of course stopped for a moment and cheered the runners on! On our wanderings, I was blown kisses by an Italian gentleman and told that he loved me and then was given a flower just on the other side of the square by another young gentleman. Oh the Italians!
We then grabbed a panini and ate/read by this lovely fountain.
There was this woman who was sitting near us taking in the sun.
I love this picture because it in a lot of ways captures the Italian spirit! I love that people young and old really get outside, and just sit back with no agenda but to enjoy the day.
Siena is great! Hopefully next time I go to Italy (perhaps when the family all come to live in that villa), I will get to explore more of Tuscany and beyond!
Off to Rome today!
Ciao,
Rachel
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The ride there is beautiful! So, this is what the Tuscany I've seen on so many postcards and in movies looks like! I loved the mix of people on the bus because there were an equal number of Italians and foreigners all taking the day or several days to see the lovable Siena. Oh, and Ellen, I found our Italian villa like I promised! I have no idea who lives there or if they would let our family come and live there;) but I have found it nonetheless on the bus ride there (the picture I took is too far away so you can't really see it but if you see that little road it is the only yellow house out there! Trust me on this one it is beautiful, and has it's own vineyard)
Now, after having been there I understand the rivalry between Florence and Siena. Florence has the Arno river and some of the best Renaissance art, but Siena has spectacular atmosphere and Tuscan scenery. After the bus ride, we got out and went to Il Campo, the city's impressive city square.
These pictures were taken at like 10am, and by the later afternoon this square was crawling with people eating lunch, chasing pigeons, and enjoying the sun that we were so blessed with all day long! We then went to the Duomo, another impressive church with crazy mosaics all in the interior.
The rest of the day was spent wandering where we came across some sort of race that was going on throughout the city so we of course stopped for a moment and cheered the runners on! On our wanderings, I was blown kisses by an Italian gentleman and told that he loved me and then was given a flower just on the other side of the square by another young gentleman. Oh the Italians!
We then grabbed a panini and ate/read by this lovely fountain.
There was this woman who was sitting near us taking in the sun.
I love this picture because it in a lot of ways captures the Italian spirit! I love that people young and old really get outside, and just sit back with no agenda but to enjoy the day.
Siena is great! Hopefully next time I go to Italy (perhaps when the family all come to live in that villa), I will get to explore more of Tuscany and beyond!
Off to Rome today!
Ciao,
Rachel
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Vado Troppo Veloce Per Te Lucca?
Vado troppo veloce per te Lucca, which means "am I going too fast for you Lucca" is the title of my post today because I decided to rent a bike this time to explore the city! I would suggest that if anyone goes to Lucca that you rent a bike (only 2euros for an hour) and bike the ramparts! Lucca is Italy's best fortress city where it is completely surrounded by a well-preserved brick wall.
I navigated the trains again for this day trip, and thankfully asked someone after about an 1.5 if the next stop was Lucca because the stops on the way there were not as well marked, and the train was not announcing any of the stops. Once I got off at the right stop, I went under the train tracks and came out on the other side where I was confronted with the most impressive "gated community" that I have ever seen;)
I began my visit by walking around part of the ramparts, but after passing bike after bike after bike, I decided that I really wanted to bike around the city instead (plus I have been wanting to bike since I got to Italy).
Thank goodness I decided to because it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I made it around the city 3 times in my hour (it was SO worth it)! Here are some of the views that I took of the charming city as I biked around the ramparts:
Lucca was really nice because it was not as filled with tourists, and instead I found so many people running, biking, playing chess and dominoes on outdoor tables,
and reading on this beautiful day. I even think I got a tiny bit of rosy color to my cheeks (although I'm sure that will fade before I head back home next week ha).
After my bike ride, I went to their main piazza and duomo, as well as, walked along their main shopping strip.
The highlight for me was definitely just being outside for the whole day, and soaking up some sun and wonderful atmosphere! I love Italy!
Taking a bus to Siena tomorrow:)
Ciao,
Rachel
I navigated the trains again for this day trip, and thankfully asked someone after about an 1.5 if the next stop was Lucca because the stops on the way there were not as well marked, and the train was not announcing any of the stops. Once I got off at the right stop, I went under the train tracks and came out on the other side where I was confronted with the most impressive "gated community" that I have ever seen;)
I began my visit by walking around part of the ramparts, but after passing bike after bike after bike, I decided that I really wanted to bike around the city instead (plus I have been wanting to bike since I got to Italy).
Thank goodness I decided to because it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I made it around the city 3 times in my hour (it was SO worth it)! Here are some of the views that I took of the charming city as I biked around the ramparts:
Lucca was really nice because it was not as filled with tourists, and instead I found so many people running, biking, playing chess and dominoes on outdoor tables,
and reading on this beautiful day. I even think I got a tiny bit of rosy color to my cheeks (although I'm sure that will fade before I head back home next week ha).
After my bike ride, I went to their main piazza and duomo, as well as, walked along their main shopping strip.
The highlight for me was definitely just being outside for the whole day, and soaking up some sun and wonderful atmosphere! I love Italy!
Taking a bus to Siena tomorrow:)
Ciao,
Rachel
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