Italia!

Ciao bella...someone actually said that to me in Italy! I also heard a few people say "mamma mia." Since that is what I stereotypically picture when I think of Italians, I was quite excited.

A benefit of studying abroad in France is that I have easy access to many other European countries. There are a lot of low-cost airlines that provide efficient service to many destinations, so if you are ever in Europe, I suggest Easy Jet or Ryan Air.

We had a week break from classes, so I went to Italy with some friends (Greg, Kristel, and Mary...all American). We went to Venice, Verona, Florence, Pisa, and Rome. It rained and rained and rained at the beginning of the trip, but Rome had beautiful weather. (Great way to end the trip.)

It was really interesting to see the culture of Italy and compare it to France. I even learned a few Italian phrases while I was there. My friend Kristel had an electronic translator, so at meals or on the train we always practiced some Italian and learned a new "phrase of the day." Here are some of the things I remember...

Mi capisci = do you understand me?? Think Capish??  

Querto va bene (it's going good...loosely translated)

bonjourno, ciao, por favore (self explanatory)

prego (from personal experience, you can have a whole conversation using prego and grazie)

I also went to a lot of sweet museums. Italy has so many historical sites, and all of the old architecture gives the country a unique atmosphere. The people in general were very friendly, especially ticket sellers at the train station. Usually they spoke English, so we had little trouble despite our limited vocabulary. Once we had the nicest lady ever...we wanted to get from Verona to Florence. Initially it would have been 50 euro, but when we weren't too keen on that, she found something for 34. It still was a little more expensive than we wanted, so she went one step further and found us regional trains for 18 euros! It was great.

Early on in the trip I learned a key phrase "quanto costa," which means "how much does it cost." I used it as much as possible to try to sound Italian, but I ran into some issues. For example, whenever I asked "quanto costa," the vendor would respond in Italian. Had I known my numbers, I'd have been fine, but I only learned one through ten, so my attempt to act Italian ended with a blank stare signifying my lack of comprehension. Oh well, it was still fun to use the phrase.

Now on to some specifics of the trip!!!

Venice:

For those who don't know, there is a network of canals going through Venice. Although there are small bridges everywhere to cross the random waterways, they also have water taxis and gondolas for getting around. Something interesting I learned is that the houses that are on the waterways have the front doors facing the water, and the back door is on the street. Near a big plaza in Venice (Piazzo San Marco) I found a cute little violin museum where I learned all about Vivaldi and violin making. They also had examples of old instruments, which were really cool to see. I wanted to take a gondola ride, but just looking at them I felt seasick, so I decided to forgo the opportunity knowing I would soon be spending two hours on a train to Verona. In Venice I met up with my friend Mary and we had fun walking around. There are signs leading you to the main Piazza and the Rialto Bridge, so luckily it wasn't necessary to rely on our extremely confusing map. After Venice my next stop was Verona where I met up with my friends Greg and Kristel.

My first view of Venice!

One of the cute little bridges

I think I'll walk down the street...or maybe swim...???

Rialto Bridge

Hello Mr. Gondola Man!

Verona:

Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Juliet's famous balcony is in Verona, and we made sure to stop by. The area was crawling with people. If you have seen the movie "Letter's to Juliet", I'm sad to report that they stopped putting letters in the wall in 2004.We also visited Piazza Bra and Piazza Erbe, which had cute little markets and lots of activity. I bought some boots in Verona, so now I can say that I bought boots in the boot! hahah. My friend Kristel is really into fashion, so we spent a lot time secretly taking pictures of well-dressed Italians...which pretty much describes every Italian. The next stop after Verona was Florence aka Firenze...

Tower in Verona

Cute Italian People

Words of love written on the walls to the entrance of Juliet's Balcony

There it is! The infamous balcony!

Locks of Love

Kristel and I in front of the Juliet statue

fashion alert!

Harry Potter-in Italian!

Verona at night

Florence:

There is a leather market in Florence, and I was not prepared for how vast it was! Belts, wallets, and jackets galore. Also, the well known “Duomo,” was magnificent. I always thought duomo meant “domb”, but it actually means “cathedral.” Who knew. Florence was a beautiful city, and I loved getting to walk around and explore. We contemplated going to see the statue of David, but the museum was so expensive! Perhaps another time...

Street view from our hotel!

Leather market in Florence

Garden in Florence

duomo

Pisa: 

On our way to Rome, we took a pit-stop in Pisa. It would have been highly enjoyable if it wasn't raining. At one point it even started hailing! I was afraid my umbrella was done for. The rain didn’t stop us from getting the classic Leaning Tower of Pisa picture. I chose to hold it up, my friends chose to push it over. To each his own. My friend warned me that Pisa was a really run-down town, but I actually thought it was cute. The main street we walked down to get to the tower had many cute shops. Also, there were umbrella men EVERYWHERE trying to bombard us into buying umbrellas. That part was a little annoying. We scheduled a short amount of time in Pisa so we got there, walked to the tower, took about ten pictures, walked back and hopped on the train to Rome...

Rome:

AMAZING. Probably my favorite city we visited. The first night we explored the town a little and learned that if you order coffee and drink it right at the bar instead of sitting down, you can save a few euros. The next day we went to Vatican City and I really felt like I was in the movie “Angels and Demons” at one point. The Vatican Museums were much more interesting than I expected, and I got to see the infamous Sistine Chapel. Near the Vatican is a gelato place that a friend recommended, and we stopped by on our way back into the center of Rome. It is a small little run down looking establishment that has the best gelato I have ever tasted. We also visited the Trevi Fountain, and it was buzzing with people from all over the world. The fountain is illuminated in such a way that it looks majestic. Yes, I threw the traditional coin over my shoulder into the water. We made some friends from Barcelona in front of the fountain. They were so friendly and we even ended up taking a picture with them!

The final day we went to the Coliseum and Roman Forum. From a guide book, we got a tip about an alternate location to buy tickets, so we ended up bypassing the hour long line in just five minutes. Inside we experimented with our camera settings and had a fun time exploring. All of the ruins reminded me of my travels in Greece. We saw the place where they used to have chariot races. Expecting something amazing, we were disappointed, because it was just a grassy field that had construction in one section. Actually, come to think of it, there was construction all over Rome. Pantheon, churches, Piazza Novella.....

Trevi Fountain

Our friends from Barcelona!

First day in Rome

Pantheon...theres a hole in the top for prayers to go out up to the heavens

it was a nice day at the vatican

Don't worry, no passport necessary to enter the Vatican

Garden in Vatican Museum complex

Mary, Me, Greg (Restaurant = Wanted....recommended by my friend and SO delicious)

Chilling at the Coliseum

Coliseum

Roman Forum

Pizza!!

I had two friends who have studied abroad in Italy in the past year, so I received a lot of helpful tips from them! 

I still can’t believe that I am studying abroad in France, and that I just took a trip to ITALY during the school break. I am so fortunate! Even though the strikes have inhibited my travel plans slightly, everything has been amazing and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the month has in store!