Italy Day Four: Hello, Tuscany

On day four, we left Rome to go to the Tuscany region. Rome had been interesting, and from a historical point of view, it is undeniably significant, but it was very crowded and full of tourists. When we left, it was a nice change of pace to be someplace that was less busy. 

We went from Rome to a town in Tuscany by train. I'm pretty sure it was my first train ride, and riding a train made me think of being on the Hogwart's Express :) We ended up traveling by train frequently to different cities - a very handy way to travel. I wish we had a more similar system here in the United States. 

We arrived at the town of Chianciano Terme in the early afternoon where we stayed at the Ave Hotel. We wanted to get lunch, but many of the stores and cafes close during the afternoon. After a bit of a walk, however, some friends and I did find a little cafe that was open. 

Later in the afternoon, most of us went up to the outdoor pool that was on the roof! We played pool games and enjoyed the amazing view. 

the view from our balcony window 

the view from the roof 

sunrise the next day - my friend Devin woke up early and borrowed my camera 

The area was absolutely beautiful. I even enjoyed riding the bus to different places, just looking out the window. 

After our busy days in Rome, I enjoyed having a more relaxing time :) 

italy day three: rome wasn't built in a day (and if you tried to see it all in one your feet might fall off)

Okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration. We certainly didn't get to see everything in Rome - not anywhere close, I'm sure.


Since we were only in Rome for two and a half days, however, we really had to cram in experiencing all of the "must see's" during that time. The result was a walking tour of Rome that lasted about eight hours, during which we saw the Pantheon, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, the Trevi Fountain and numerous other significant monuments and buildings. We could have spent a number of days seeing all that, but there just wasn't time. I'm definitely glad we were able to see all of those things, but at the time I was quite exhausted!

Trevi Fountain
I tossed a coin into the Trevi Fountain, which according to tradition means that someday I will go back to Rome :) 

Arch of Titus 

The Pantheon 

The Colosseum

One reason that the long tour of Rome was enjoyable was that we had a great tour guide. Sylvio was rather crazy - in the best way possible. If you're ever in Rome and see a man in a hat who seems to know everybody and is drinking an energy drink, that might be him.


When the tour was finally over and I went back with three of the girls, we ended up having quite an experience. Since we were so tired of walking, we decided to take the Metro back (we had ridden some on the Metro the day before so we fairly familiar with the system). Unfortunately it was apparently the time of the day when the Colosseum closed, and it was unbelievably crowded. When it pulled up for us to get on, it was already crowded but we got on and people kept pushing to get inside. We were so smushed and closer than we wanted to be with strangers. When we finally got off, we decided that it was quite the cultural experience (and one that we'd really rather not have again).

Italy Day Two: Visiting the Vatican and Exploring Rome

On our first full day in Rome we spent the morning at the Vatican. Our trip included a guided tour of some of the Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, Saint Peter's Basilica and Saint Peter's Square.

Standing in front of Saint Peter's Basilica!

A ceiling in one of the museums.

The Sistine Chapel was absolutely amazing to see! I don't have any pictures from inside because we were not supposed to take any - although most people were completely ignoring that rule. It was kind of disappointing how most people were disregarding that rule as well the rule that requested silence. Our tour guide was very upset about it, and I think it would have been more moving had the chapel actually been quiet. In any case, I loved seeing Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam. I've seen it in books and such countless times, but I just stood there a while gazing at the ceiling and tried to take in the fact that this was actually it. 

Saint Peter's Basilica was also breath-taking and contains Michelangelo's Pietà.


After we returned back to Rome from the Vatican, we were free to walk around Rome in smaller groups. Some friends and I went to the Spanish Steps and then spent time exploring around Rome a bit.

Italy Day One: Don't Fall Asleep!

I got home just a few days ago from my trip to Italy with my college. To say the least, it was absolutely amazing. My goal is now to recount my trip through blogging so that other people can hear about it if they wish (and also so that I can keep somewhat of a record of my trip while it is fresh in my memory). Each day for about the next two weeks I hope to post about a day of my trip.

The first day is a bit of a blur - we had been flying all night and arrived in Rome in the early afternoon. It had been my first time flying! I didn't really mind it very much - although I had a very difficult time sleeping. I am not someone who does well on little sleep, but somehow I managed to stay awake for the day. I knew that I should not nap if I wanted to adjust to the time change more easily.

Even in our sleep deprived state, however, we were certainly excited to have arrived in Italy. Unfortunately, our luggage had not arrived. I had not packed a change of clothes in my carry-on (which I realize now was a mistake) and figured that I could always borrow a change of clothes if I had to. Of course, no one had expected that all of our luggage would be delayed. Thankfully it all came the next day, but it was rather unnerving to have just arrived in another country and not know when we would get our things.

Anyway, we arrived at our hotel and had a little bit of free time before going on a group walk. I went out with some friends to get euros from the ATM and get a bit of food. I think we were a bit overwhelmed and not quite sure what to do, but we found some sandwiches. I had a baguette with Nutella. Ah, Nutella! I discovered my love for it while in Italy. I know we have it in the U.S., but it was very popular in Italy and I enjoyed it frequently.

Then we went on a walk around Rome to become more acquainted (and to keep us from falling asleep).

We ended our day with dinner at the hotel. Then at last we were able to sleep... such sweet sleep.

Strawberry Sweet

This week has been quite busy. During the day I have been trying to do assignments before my leaving for Italy, and then most nights I have had to work. It hasn't really given me much occasion to dress up since I'm either at home or in my work uniform :( So today even though it's not for very long, I decided to wear one of the outfits that I got on my shopping trip a few weeks ago.

Here is a closeup of the print. Such cute strawberries! 

 This shirt is from Urban Outfitters and is on sale! Seriously, I love the sale section of Urban Outfitters.