Sorry that it has been so long since my last post. This is the end of my spring break, so I was busy taking midterms before mom and dad arrived on Saturday to start off my spring break. They arrived early saturday morning, we ate lunch at the famous pizza restaurant Dar Poeta, and then we had a private guided tour of the Vatican with the Keims on Saturday around 2 pm. It was so nice to have th guide take us through all of the museum area of the Vatican to point out specific pieces of artwork and then through the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basillica. She was very knowledgable and a great guide! Saturday night, we ate at my favorite restaurant in all of Rome so far (and it just so happens to be in my neighborhood), Da Gildo. We ate with the Keims and the Oates, which was very entertaining, and as always, the owner of the restaurant gave Ellis and I huge hugs when we left because she is so used to seeing us haha. (she also now gives us a discount!) Ellis and I then led the crowd to our Chocolate bar for chocolate shots! Couldnt believe all of the parents would be willing to take one too, but when in rome... Then we capped the night off with toasts at the cheap bar.
Sunday, mom, dad and I slept until about 12:30pm! I guess they were catching up on the sleep they had missed in the previous 30 hours. So we had more of a lazy day sunday. We ate a late lunch at a restaurant in Campo de Fiori and then walked down Via del Corso to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish steps.
Monday we had to wake up super early to catch the train to Florence. But it was worth it to have a full day in Florence on Monday. The only down side was that it was raining most of the day Monday, but that didnt stop us from doing or seeing the things we wanted to see. Our first stop was to Santa Maria de Fiori which is the Basillica with Brunelleschi's Duomo. The outside of the Church is just as magnificent as the duomo! There is a tower on the church which has over 400 steps to the top. For some reason, mom and I thought it would be a good idea to climb all of those steps to the top of the tower! Dad just played along. Well we didnt end up making it all the way to the top, I am sad to admit, but we got about 2/3 of the way. There was a great view of Florence and the Duomo from the tower.
Next we walked down to San Lorenzo for the church and the leather market. I have never seen so many leather goods in one place! The whole street was lined with vendors on both sides! Mom and I had a great time shopping down that street hehe. After that, we headed towards the Ponte Vecchio. This bridge is famous for all of this gold, coral and jewelry in general. The stores are all built on top of the bridge, which was neat to see. We did a little bit more touring on Tuesday before catching the train from Florence to Venice.
Of the places in Italy that I have seen so far, Venice has been my most favorite! There is no other place in the world like it! As soon as we stepped off of the train we were looking at the Grand Canal with all of the buildings and shopped with little docks and boats in front of them. We took the water bus down the canal to San Marco, which is the main island of Venice, to our hotel. Even our hotel was decorated in the antique Venetian style with chandeliers and fabrics on the walls.
We got back on the water bus to go over to the island straight across from us which has the monastery on it. This monastery also has a tower that you can ride an elevator to the top of. At the top, you could see almost all of Venice! It was stunning and the weather was perfect since it was sunny and warm! We then set out to find somewhere to eat dinner. We ended up picking a restaurant on the Grand Canal, right down from the Ponte Rialto where we could sit next to the water. All of the boats, stores, hotels and such along the canal were lit up at night, so it was the perfect place to eat with a great view!
The next day, we toured Saint Mark's church on San Marco. I have never seen so much beautiful mosaic work in my life! The entire walls and ceilings on the church, inside and out, were covered in mosaics which gold backgrounds! We then toured to Doge Palace right next to Saint Mark's. It was interesting to see how that palace was set up and used as both a place for the sort -of governor to live and also as a political assembly building. The prison that is connected to it was a bit creepy but I guess that is common for a prison haha. Last stop in Venice was shopping on the Rialto bridge and market for Murano glass!
Then back on the train to Rome again. Thursday, we woke up and headed to the Colosseum, Palatine hill and Roman Forum. Again, the weather was perfect for us to be touring these outdoor places. It was about 70 degrees and sunny. Friday was more of a relaxing day as well. We went in and up to the top of the Castel Sant'Angelo to look out over Rome and the Vatican. We also bought artwork from a local artist in Piazza Navona. We enjoyed drink in the Piazza de Santa Maria in Trastevere and dinner before calling it a night and week!
Mom and dad left for the airport early this morning (saturday). It was hard to say goodbye since we had such a wonderful week together! I am so glad and thankful that they came and I could share my spring break with them. I could not have asked for a better way to spend my spring break than traveling to Florence, Venice and Rome with them.
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