So to start off with Thanksgiving here was a great time. We had some amazing traditional American dishes and it really made me feel at home! I have met some truly amazing people throughout my stay here so far. And my birthday was last week! Wee!! To start my roommate surprised me with Funfetti cake!! She knows the way to my heart. It was the one of the best birthdays that I have had. We all had holidays that week (Tuesday for Constitution Day and Thursday (my birthday) for The Immaculate Conception... since they had Thursday off they also took Friday off) so it was a really easy week. Since most of us were flying out Thursday on my birthday for the long weekend, we decided to celebrate on Wednesday night. A group of us went to a Thai restaurant (one of my favorite restaurants here) and had a large dinner... they surprised me with a desert and then we went out for drinks afterwards it was the most uneventful fun night that I have had for a long time. We literally just sat and laughed and planned upcoming group trips :) It was an earlier night than usual but still made my day. Then on Thursday Melissa and I flew to Italy. I would like to share a quote with everyone that I have recently discovered. It has been especially helpful with the events that have been going on the past month in my life. Besides the fact that my roommate has been a blessing in disguise and has taught me how to keep my head up again, this quote proves to me why I really came here. "Life isn't about finding yourself... it's about creating yourself" I think that everyone should do a little bit of both but it's is so much more fun and honest if you create yourself as the person that you truly find yourself to be!! On that note I have decided to start creating myself on my journey throughout Europe. So Italy was obviously a great way to start this. We started in Rome and although we were only there for a short period of time everything I encountered gave me chills. I think a person only realizes that there is something bigger than their own life once they have seen things that make them silent and think and give them chills. Which is what happened in Rome. We started our first night with the Trevi Fountain and of course I gave in to superstitions and threw some coins in the fountain and made a wish! :) Then we had some amazing pasta (which is a recurring theme in this post). We called it an early night because we knew that Friday was going to be an early and long day. We started with The Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palantine which you can see in my pictures. I must say though that none of the pictures on this trip will do anything justice. Only my eyes could show you the real photos. We took a quick metro ride to the Spanish steps where we got a great view of Rome! After this it was on to the Pantheon and amazing pizza for lunch (with wine of course). Then we went to Piazza Navona where they had a cute Christmas market set up and we also just happened upon Grom (one of my favorite Gelatto chains that we discovered in Paris)... After this we walked across the Tiber and visited the Vatican Museums (which includes the Sistine Chapel) and St. Peter's Square and Basilica. The Sistine Chapel was very noisy but obviously the painting "The Creation of Adam" is breathtaking. The Museum had some of the most amazing Egyptian art exhibits. I must say that I am not the most religious person and I am not Catholic but St. Peter's Basilica is absolutely amazing. It is huge and the architecture is stunning. After this we walked to Castel Sant Angelo (from Angels and Demons- at night it is lit up and is where the secret passage way is near the end of the film) and then finished the night drinking some wine with some new friends in the hostel before catching our train to Florence.
Florence is very different from Rome... when I think of current Italy with its country side Florence is what pops into my head. It was much nicer to just walk around and look at the markets. We did a lot of shopping here at Piazza San Lorenzo since Florence is famous for their leather. I got a nice leather clutch that I'm in love with!! The rest of the day we went to the Cathedral (Duomo) and saw the Bell Tower which is what Florence is famous for! We also of course had to cross over the Ponte Vecchio and get a view of the river. There were amazing jewelry stores here... literally thought to myself "Frost Yourself" if only I had that money!! We had some wonderful restaurant recommendations from my little (thanks Kristi) and enjoyed amazing pasta at Osteria de Benci and amazing pizza at my favorite restaurant ever (Pizzeria Dante) For sunset we took the long trek up to Piazza Michelangelo but the weather was horrible as you can see in picture but you still get the most amazing view of the city.
Our last day we traveled to Venice which has now become my favorite city thus far. It was amazing to just get lost and walk around. One thing I've learned about myself is that I like to control situations and know where I am going but I have started to figure out it is much more fun to just let go and get lost and see what happens. So this is exactly what I did. I didn't worry about a map. We went and saw the Piazza San Marco to see the basilica and clock tower but other than that it was great to just walk around and really experience Venice. Maybe this is why it is my favorite. Who knows but it definitely made me want to spend the rest of my days not stressed and just wandering around and letting whatever just happen! While wandering we happened upon Grom twice so we couldn't pass it up a second time and of course had some more of Crema di Grom (my favorite flavor)
The end of our trip was a bummer because we had to wake up early and catch a train (which of course was late) back to Rome for our flight. Once we finally made it to the airport we were notified that our plane was delayed for 6 hours!!! Are you kidding!! I hate you RyanAir.. but now that I am home safe and getting ready to spend my last weekend in Madrid before coming home I am realizing that life is good :) See you all in 10 days!! Get ready to go crazy Kalyn Laughridge because I miss you like no other (saw so many gorgeous Italian men that I couldn't choose which one to slip in my pocket and bring back to you... I would have gotten hot flight attendant Ricardo but I wouldn't have been able to give him away) CAN'T WAIT... USA GET READY because this Fletcher is about to arrive!
