Week 10-Week 11

ITALY. The most disgusting food I have ever tasted, the worst art I have ever seen, the buildings are all modern and gross, the language is atrocious, and the men are so respectful.

But in all seriousness, Italy was remarkable. The English language is seriously lacking in words, because as fun as Amsterdam was, Italy was as beautiful. Words like breathtaking, awe-inspiring, stunning, gorgeous, and impressive come close, but are still not quite there.

On Thursday night, we slept in Orly which was surprisingly comfortable. Our 7:00am flight on Friday landed in Rome around 9 or so, where we checked into our hostel. Right off the bat, we realized that we were going to have some communication difficulties as the owner spoke absolutely no English or French for that matter. Somehow we figured it out, and set off to explore the city! We saw the Trevi fountain, the Spanish Steps, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, in addition to many churches and monuments. We also ate real Italian food for the first time which was delicious! After a long day and a lot of walking, we returned to our hostel to take a nap. Upon waking up, I noticed a small insect on the wall and I thought to myself "hm that's kind of gross." Then I found another one on the floor. Then another on my sheet. Then about 10 more on my sheet. BED BUGS! Sooooo gross. I immediately showered, shook out my sleep sheet, and called a manager of the hostel who actually spoke English. He apologized profusely, and moved us to another hostel ten minutes down the road, which actually ended up being nicer and in a better location. Still, a disturbing experience (I still kind of feel like I have bugs crawling all over me...)

Saturday we went to the Vatican, saw the Sistine Chapel, saw so much art that I got a headache, saw JP2, ate gelato and pizza, and continued exploring the city. I ran into my friend from Denison randomly outside of St Peters which was really fun! By the end of the day, we had literally seen everything on the map of Rome, and decided to go to Piazo de something or other for dinner where there was live entertainment in the square, and amazing gnocchi.

Sunday we headed off via train to Florence. Our hostel there was much nicer- everything was in English, very clean, computer and flat screen TV in our room. Very high-end as far as hostels go. We saw the Birth of Venus, the David, ate too much Italian food per usual, and went out. Sunday night we continued exploring, I bought some leather boots (I guess Florence is known for its leather) for which i had been looking for quite some time, as well as some Italian lingerie (had to do it). I also went to church at the Duoma in the middle of town which believe it or not- was in Italian and so I understood very little, but it was a cool experience.

Monday we went to the highest point in Florence which was absolutely breathtaking. It was truly one of the most magnificent views I have ever seen. That evening we went out with my friend Melissa's college friend who has an apartment there and hung out with some locals. Italians are so different from the french- very expressive and open. Sometimes too open, I don't know if I could live there, but fun for one night!

Tuesday morning I headed to Milan where I explored the city for about 4 hours; like everyone says, there is not a whole lot to see there. It is like any other industrial large city, although the train station and the cathedral were beautiful. I had my last real Italian meal of Canolloni and bread with olive oil and headeso d to the airport for my flight back to Paris and then ultimately my train back to Nantes!

I definitely want to go back to Italy at some point in my life, and definitely for a more extended period of time. I want to go horseback riding through Tuscany, take all the guided tours in the Roman museums, go to Venice, explore little villages off the beaten track. I threw a euro in the Trevi fountain, but even if that alone doesn't ensure my return, I will find a way to make it happen. This was an unforgettable weekend to which words and even pictures cannot even begin to do justice!

Ciao!