Ciao!

Oh my gosh I LOVE Rome!! Italy is by far my favorite place I have been on this trip. I didn't want to leave and I am so happy I got to see Italy before going back to the US. I just got back from the trip and am back in Evry again. It was an amazing weekend!

Italy is so beautiful. I think France is beautiful but after this weekend, France is definitely not as stunning as Italy. Every single building was gorgeous and had that rustic, Tuscan feel. It is just like how you would imagine in movies with the cobblestone roads in some parts with the vines growing up the building and the really old structures all around the city made for something breathtaking to see everywhere you looked. We got there Thursday night and found our tiny hotel after tons of searching since our hotel did not have a sign and was just a big wooden door with a little doorbell that had a tiny gold plate next to the door bell that said "Beautiful Place in Rome". The room we stayed in was actually in another building but still owned by that hotel. It was kind of like a penthouse suite because we had a foyer, big bathroom, four bed bedroom, TV, and kitchen. There wasn't air conditioning though which made for some really hot nights trying to sleep. I didn't mind though because everything about Italy is a thousand times better than everywhere I have been. The vibe is so relaxed and the people are so nice. The people in Italy don't give you attitude or think lesser of you for speaking in English like they would in France; and not to mention that Italian food is absolutely delicious! Pasta, pizza, and cannolis were everywhere and all of us made sure to try it all. J I can't believe the trip is already over.

The first day we were there, Friday, we woke up to the sound of the hustle and bustle on the streets. Our hotel was right next to the main market. There was fresh fruit and vegetables, clothes, jewelry, blankets, shoes, and a bunch of other random trinkets. It was so awesome!! Of course Erin and I had a hard time walking away from shopping in the market but the Sam and Jack had to keep pushing us along so we could get on with our day. We all bought fresh fruit to eat for later and then, we went to this little restaurant to get Italian cappuccinos and croissants for breakfast! The people were all so genuinely nice and it made for a great first morning in Rome. After breakfast we e all went to see the sights. We bought tickets for a tourist double-decker bus. So, basically you buy a ticket for two days and you can jump on the bus and it has a set route that goes to all of the major sites to see and you can jump off the bus, spend as much time as you want, and hop back on the next bus since they came every ten minutes. It was super convenient and made the trip run much smoother since we didn't have to take the dreaded metro. We first went to the Coliseum and it was so cool! I can't really put into words how crazy it is to see in person. It was even bigger than I expected and the pillars were gigantic! We went inside and went on every level of it. It was surreal to see it in person because it was so beautifully old and so rich in history that it makes it difficult to realize that you are standing where gladiators and people dressed in togas once stood. The architecture of the Coliseum and everything around the Coliseum was so unbelievable. Another great thing about Italy, specifically Rome, is that even when we were all walking around the hills around the Coliseum to see the other ruins, we made a wrong turn and still stumbled upon a really old church about the size of a small house just situated up on this hill away from everything with cracked walls and one or two locals just sitting outside their houses talking. The church was so gorgeous and for a second it made me feel like I wasn't a tourist and that I was just a local enjoying the day to day life of being in Italy. Every inch of Italy was perfect and beautiful and you just have to go and see for yourself. After wandering around the Coliseum and the areas around it, we hopped back on the bus and ended up seeing the Vatican and the Trevi Fountain. The Vatican was incredible but seeing it on Saturday was even better because the sun hit it just right. The Trevi Fountain was one of my favorite parts of Rome. There were so many people and you could just feel the happiness from everyone when you are there. Of course all of us threw in a coin and made a wish but only after we all sat there for awhile figuring out our paragraph long wishes (…and no, I will not tell you what my wish was because then it won't come true!) Erin even filled her water bottle with Trevi fountain water to give to her friends as little keepsakes in cute bottles…but airport security threw it away on the way home. L After seeing some of the sights and being amazed by Italy in general, we all did some shopping and got a delicious pasta dinner. Everything about the day was PERFECT! That night, we went to this bar called Yellow Bar and had a few drinks and just had a fun night with other college kids we met there. We even randomly were walking back from the bar in a big group around 1am and this guy came up to us asking for help because his flight from Munich to Florence got cancelled so he ended up in Rome at 1am with no idea of where hostels were. We were a little apprehensive to help at first but then he showed us his business card and we realized he actually was a professor at American University and was not a sketchy person after all. One of the kids we were with actually knew his colleague. So we did our good deed of the day and helped him find the road with all of the hostels and he was so gracious. He even told us that if we are ever near American University or want a recommendation for a job or something for having good character and being a genuinely good person, to give him a call and he would be more than happy to help. It was nice getting to help a fellow American all the way in Rome. J The next day, we woke up around 7:30am just t o make sure we didn't waste any time on our last day! We went back to the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, and saw the Spanish Steps. The Vatican was absolutely stunning. I am so happy we went back to see it again on Saturday because it was a lot sunnier out and the Vatican looked like it was almost a gold color. It was so beautiful and I just loved hanging out in front of the Vatican with my friends just staring at all the details and soaking it all in. Unfortunately we couldn't go into the Vatican and see the Sistine Chapel because Erin and I didn't pack long pants and you had to have your shoulders and knee covered in order to go in. So, maybe next time! Then we made our way to the Spanish Steps (…after searching for somewhere that sold sunscreen since I was getting super sunburnt! Oh the life of being a redhead). The Spanish steps were pretty but my favorite part was stumbling upon the street directly in front of the Spanish Steps that was all very high-end designer stores. It was such a pretty road too with the cobblestone streets, flowers hanging off of the balconies overhead, everyone with their pretty sunhats, and just the overall feeling of being there. Window shopping had never been so fun and beautiful (And I'm not talking about the $10,000 Marchesa dress!) We did a little more shopping and headed to the Trevi Fountain again…and of course we got gelato because Erin and I ran across the famous Crispine Gelato shop. It is so famous and was even in the magazine we read on the flight there. I know it's hard to imagine what the best gelato ever tastes like because they all seem to taste alike, but literally, it was the BEST gelato I have ever had. EVER. You know it's good when the colors of the ice cream are pastel and neutral because that means they don't add coloring or fake anything. If you ever find yourself in Rome, you have to go there! Just thinking about how much of Rome we got to see in two days is unreal! We saw a LOT and I love every second of it! We met back up with the boys and got a lovely Italian dinner. It was on this little side alley that looked like it was straight off of a postcard. It also had the cobblestone streets and the vines, flowers, and old Italian guys sitting outside playing chess. The restaurant was like a mom-and-pop restaurant. I had lemon pasta with milk cream…it was called "Al Limone". Speaking of what it was called, I really tried to learn some Italian while I was there! I can say hello/goodbye, thank you, you're welcome, and excuse me. J I really want to learn more Italian because after this weekend, I am pretty positive that one day I will have a vacation house in Italy because I love it so much, so I will want to speak the language! J

Later that night we all went to the Yellow Bar again and hung out with Sam and Jack's friends from University of Florida. We had a great time and all decided to walk to the Trevi Fountain so we could all see it lit up at night before we left. It was only a twenty minute walk and it was actually fun walking there because the Rome nightlife is great! We walked past a bunch of restaurants, gelaterias, and bars just playing music and people were having a blast. We finally made it to the fountain and it was so beautiful all lit up. I know it sounds cliché to say but it seemed magical. There were so many people at the fountain late at night just like us, and they were all eating ice cream and cannolis and just enjoying themselves. We all shared a real Italian cannoli and let me tell you, they are a lot better than the ones they have at VT. Anyway, Rome is so awesome and the fact that nightlife can include seeing amazing things like the Trevi Fountain while going out it so incredible to me. I wish I lived here! The best part of the night had to be when Erin went down to the fountain to make another wish (this was her 3rd in the past two days J) and while she was making wishes she decided to take pictures with her underwater camera…but, when she stood up, her not-so-underwater iPhone fell into the Trevi Fountain!! The fountain is sloped on the bottom so her phone kept sliding further and further away so Sam basically got completely soaked from getting in the fountain to get Erin's phone - which we are now currently soaking in rice hoping that it is still able to be saved. It was hilarious and quite a story. Our flight was at 6:30am and we had to catch the bus at 4:30am so we all just went back to the hostel, packed our stuff, and just hung out until we caught our bus. I am still so sad I had to leave but I am 100% going back to visit Italy within the next year hopefully!

The second we got back to Paris, the other girls (Nicholette, Amber, Bojana, and Kayla) met up with us and we all went to check out a flea market in Eastern Paris for a little while. We didn't really have much luck though, so we headed to the Versailles Castle and walked around the gardens the entire rest of the day. The Versailles gardens are absolutely beautiful and we took a billion pictures! It is crazy to think that this was actually someone's backyard many years ago; I would definitely have gotten lost in that backyard with all of the mazes, and several fountains and turns you can take…but then again, I'm sure that if that was my backyard, I would be rich enough to have someone guide me around the gardens in a golden carriage! Haha! It was so pretty though and we decided if we ever go back, we are going to kayak on the lake they have in the gardens like some people were doing. We even got to see the fountain music show which was really cool. I took a video of it so I will have to post that soon. J It was an incredible weekend and I just realized how much I got done! I saw all the main sights in Rome AND went to the Versailles gardens. Versailles and France are great but I decided that after this weekend, if I ever come back to Europe, I want to just see everything in Italy from the countryside to the beaches to the wineries, and maybe even take a cooking class. I had a fabulous weekend and I think it is pretty obvious to tell that I LOVE ITALY!

Au Revoir!