ITALY

The last stop on our trip was Italy. We took an overnight train from Paris to Rome. I never want to experience that again. There were 6 girls and all of our luggage crammed into one room. To add to the crowded quarters, it was hot and noisy the entire night. We had some good laughs though. Our first day in Rome we went to see The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, & The Pantheon.

Another food collage. Gelato, gelato and more gelato. We couldn't get enough. I had to add pictures of Diet Coke. An Italian meal goes as follows: appetizer (ante'pasta), pasta dish, then the main course (meat, potatoes, & veggies), and then dessert. We went to 2 nice restaurants with our tour group and we were rolling out of there after dinner. It was so much yummy food. Of course we still ate more gelato after that. It is a good thing I walked everywhere to compensate for all the food I ate!

We went to The Vatican our 2nd day in Rome. I didn't know it was its own state, crazy! We saw St. Peter's Basilica, and to enter you have to have your shoulders and knees covered. (No problem there!) Michelangelo's Pieta is behind a glass wall because someone broke off Mary's nose already. Then we went to The Vatican Museum where I saw The Sistine Chapel. It was absolutely incredible! You are not allowed to take pictures of the chapel.

We went dancing at a bar one night in Rome and the music was horrible. We had fun anyway.

Our last day in Rome we took a day trip to Pompeii. The Romans built this incredible city and one day Mount Vesuvius erupted. It covered the city and killed everyone. The ruins have been uncovered and remarkably preserved by all the ash. There were brothels all over and "man symbols" pointed the way to the brothels so sailors could find them. Not everyone spoke the same language, so there were pictures on the wall that the men could pick which position they wanted. Look at the comfy stone bed. The Romans were so intelligent. They created the drainage system at The Roman Baths, and it still works. They added broken up marble in the road to reflect the light at night, so the road could be seen.

Our tour group went home after Rome, but we decided since we were so close to go to Florence & Venice. We only had one day in each city before our return home. Our hostel in Florence was at the top of a building and the elevator was creepy and only one of us could use it at a time with our luggage. If I ever travel to Europe, then I am only taking a backpack. And I thought I had packed light, but I got tired of lugging it around on cobblestone. I also got bedbugs at this hostel. On our flight home I started itching and then all these little red bumps started to appear on my arms & legs. Ashley didn't get any. I guess the bugs liked me better. We went to The Uffizi and saw Michelangelo's David. It is huge. We couldn't take pictures of the real one, but I took a picture of a replica outside in a square. I am eating ice cream in front of the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. We also saw the Duomo & Baptistry doors. We took a train the following morning to Venice, and we almost took the wrong train. We were getting off the wrong train as the whistle was blowing for it to leave.

Venice was phenomenal! It is full of bridges that link everything together over the water. Our hostel was crazy. We got no sleep that last night because we shared a room with 20+ girls. Plus everyone else seemed to want to party to techno music the whole night. We went to Murano Island and saw glass blowing and all of the things they make with glass. I wanted to buy so many things, but then my suitcase would have brought the plane down. We saw St. Mark's Basilica, St. Mark's Square, and Rialto Bridge. We also took boat taxis everywhere. It was so surreal. It was an awesome trip. I am grateful for the experiences I have had traveling over the last few years. I hope to have many more.