Italia!

I went to Italy last weekend with Kristen, Lauren and Yessica. Kristen and Lauren are two of my really good friends here and we didn't really know Yessica going into the trip but got to know her and it ended up being awesome! Here goes my longest and most expensive trip of the semester...

We were in Rome for two days, Florence for one day, Monterosso for one day and Pisa for one day. In Rome, day one, we went to the Colosseum and saw the Ruins, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and the Spanish Steps. My favorite was the Trevi Fountain because of how gorgeous and romantic it was, followed by the Colosseum. Day two, we went to the Vatican City and Sistine Chapel. We got tours of the Colosseum, Ruins, Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel. It was extremely helpful having a guide tell us the history and explain to us what we were looking at. We also climbed to the top (551 stairs) of St. Peter's Basilica. We manage to climb to the top of the tallest building in every city we go to and get the best view of the city--great for sightseeing and the muscles in my legs :) We got lunch with Kelly and Emily after our climb to the top of St. Peter's Basilica and it was so great to see them! I always love seeing familiar faces :) On the Spanish steps, we met some Spanish boys...what a coincidence! They were really nice and it was great to practice our Spanish since we had been speaking English all weekend. We hung out with them for a little while then went and got dinner. The pizza and pasta we got while we were in Italy, and especially Rome, was incredible. Italian food is my favorite and I loved experiencing it as authentic as it gets. I looked forward to every meal in Italy...although my stomach did not because of all the carbs!  While in Rome, we stayed in the cutest bed and breakfast...so much more comfortable than a hostel and cheaper than a hotel. I felt very comfortable there and it was really close to everything in the city.

We then went to Florence! When we got to our bed and breakfast in Florence it was nighttime and we were all starving because we hadn't eaten dinner. The restaurants around our bed and breakfast were closing (because they are not on Sevilla eating schedules--11 or 12PM for dinner) so we ended up at McDonald's! I haven't been to a McDonald's since I have been in Europe but I do have to say the chicken nugget kids meal tasted pretty good. It was definitely more expensive than in the States though. The next day we were all pretty tired because of our two 12 hour days in Rome and it was raining and a bit gloomy, but we stood in line for two hours and went to the Galleria degli Uffizi. Even though none of us are big into art, it was really cool to see The Birth of Venus and Primavera by Botticelli, works by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. I also really liked a painting that was called an Open Book. It reminded me of keeping an open mind, especially when traveling to all these different countries in Europe and experiencing all these different cultures. It was a great perspective to keep in mind while I am here. We also got lots of great pics by the Duomo, Florence's cathedral. We then went shopping and met up with Andrea for dinner!! I got to see her apartment after dinner and we were able to catch up. It is amazing how it feels like we've lost no time when we're together because we have been so close since 7th grade. I am truly blessed to have Andrea as apart of my life and it was such a blessing to see her while in Europe!

Then we went to Monterosso and this is where it gets a bit crazy. Lauren and I were told from former study abroad students that Monterosso was one of the prettiest places they visited and of course we bought our train tickets to go there! It is their off season (February = winter) and it was a ghost town! We couldn't even find our hotel when we got there and when we tried to ask people if they knew where it was, all we could understand was something about a landslide! An hour and a half later we found our hotel. We only booked the hotel for 2 people because the price doubled for 4 people and was way out of our price range. Since there was no one in Monterosso, they let us all stay there for the original price! Even though it was a ghost town, it was gorgeous and I'm really glad we went there! We went on a little hike through the mountains and sat outside on the beach for the day. Then at night we went to the cutest little restaurant right on the water. And...this restaurant had wifi which I got very excited about because we didn't get wifi anywhere else in Monterosso...I'm not even sure they had a signal anywhere. But the password wasn't working in the restaurant so I had to wait until I got back to Sevilla to get the Internet..false alarm! When we were coming home from dinner, we got locked out of our hotel. Luckily the lady answered her phone after a while and let us in...otherwise it would have been a cold night on the beach for us.

We left the next morning and headed to Pisa! I loved seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We got some great pics pretending to hold the tower up. I couldn't believe how much it was actually leaning. And then we got McDonald's salads for lunch (una vez más) and headed to the airport to go back to Sevilla. After every time being away, I always love coming back to Sevilla. And I think this is how I know how much I love living and studying abroad here :)

xoxo, Rebekah