Spring Break Week 1: Italy

Spring break 2012 was:

-2 weeks

-2 countries 

-1 duffel bag

-5 friends

-1,174 photos on my camera

That being said, there is no possibility of me relaying all that happened nor enough space to put up even a fraction of my photos, so I will do my best and give a general outline of where we went & what we did!

Pisa

Flew out of Girona to Pisa, Italy.  Arrived at night & quickly learned that buildings are not necessarily numbered in an intuitive/sequential way.  Taxi driver dropped us off on a street, unsure of where our hotel actually was.  Eventually found it, and spent the night at this "hotel," run by a cranky old Italian man. 

Sugary waffles for breakfast, followed by a walk to the Leaning Tower of Pisa to take the touristy photos!

Cinque Terre

After Pisa, the group split up for the day.  Heidy, Danisha, and Kevin took a train up to Venice, and Jackie and I took a train to Cinque Terre, a rugged coastal region on the Italian Riviera.  Its name means "Five Lands," and is made up of the small towns of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  Jackie and I visited Vernazza and Manarola.

I had the best pesto gnocchi of my life in Vernazza, along with the best wine (a local white wine).

Florence

Jackie and I took a late train to Florence on Saturday night (March 31st) and stayed with my friend Arielle Y., who is studying abroad there and lives right by the Duomo.  

Our hostel in Florence was very cute and colorful:

Food in Florence treated us well: cappuccinos & paninis. 

Jackie and I (and later Kevin, too) bought leather jackets from a man named Johnny at the leather market.  I wish I had his sales skills; he was able to fit all three of us almost instantly, complimented our skin tones while showing us how they complemented the leather tones, and made all three of us happy with our purchases.

We saw the replica of the David, and then met up with the rest of the group (the Venice-goers) at the Duomo.  Notice the baby guest in the background...teehee.

Meanwhile, back at the hostel...

Danisha: "European smile"

The next day, we went inside the Duomo and climbed up to the top.  We got a great view of the frescos on the inside of the dome, as well as a panorama of the city of Florence.

That night, we met up with my friend Kathrina, who is also studying in Florence for the semester.  She took us to an "aperitivo" for dinner, where you buy a drink and with it comes an all-you-can eat buffet of finger foods!

Rome

Tuesday morning, we headed to Rome.  The Colosseum is probably one of my favorite historical sites that I've visited.  It's HUGE.  Walking through the corridors and under the arcs, you can imagine all the chaos and excitement that occurred almost 2000 years ago.  It's amazing and at the same time kind of eerie to think of how violent and brutal the Roman "entertainment" was.

Next: wish-making and coin-throwing at the Trevi Fountain.

Then a visit to the Pantheon.

And a yummy aperitivo dinner with Kevin's friend, Caitlin, who is studying in Rome.

Our hostel in Rome was called "The Yellow," and it was extremely social and "hip."  You could tell from the snazzy doors (below), the weekly beer pong tournament, the free drinks for "liking" them on Facebook, the herds of American college students dressed in bro tanks and crop tops, and the fact that we were given bright yellow wristbands as tickets to get in to the bar at night.

The next day, we went to the Vatican.  Apparently, the Pope leads some general assembly every Wednesday, and - lucky us - we went on a Wednesday!  We actually got to see the Pope in person (from a distance, but still), and he appeared to be like a celebrity: he would talk and wave, and crowds of people would cheer and applaud.

We went inside St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.

My favorite photos though, are of silly time in Rome:

Naples

To sum it up: sketchy neighborhood, good pizza.

Our hostel, and the abandoned/boarded up building next to it:

Castle in the rain:

Delicious pizza dough:

Pompeii

Back to Rome - the Outskirts/Woods, that is...

We decided to book "The Country Club" for Saturday night (April 7th), since it was close to the airport we would be flying out of early the next morning.  It was remote, silent except for creepy noises and our faucet mysteriously turning on at night, and in the woods.  This was our friendly neighbor right outside:

On Easter morning, we flew to Athens, Greece.