Alright well I know there's quite a few of you who want to here about my big week long trip that I ended exactly a week ago. I'll do the best I can to try and tell ya all the exciting things and my favorite parts. So here it goes:
Me and Marlo set off on our journey Friday the 20th bright and early at 4am. We flew out of Shannon and into London. We got into London mid-morning and were excited to start our weekend there. That excitement soon faded when the weather turned into cold, windy, torrential downpour raining. When we left our hostel it was was nice sunny day and we decided to go take a leisurely stroll around a park and to check out the London Zoo. Well as soon as we got off the tube that nice sunny day was gone. Plan B find the Sherlock Holmes museum and wait it out inside. Well by the time we found the museum we were cold, wet, and our feet were soaked! The museum was very cool to see but by the time we were done it was still raining. So new plan find one of our beloved Pennys (in London called Primark) and get new waterproof shoes so that our feet would at least be dry! After purchasing new socks and shoes we had to decide what next. It appeared to be done raining for a while so we decided to start making our way back towards the hostel and try for a Jack Ripper tour that goes on at night. We ate diner at our hostel, shared a bottle of wine (which we thought was much deserved after the day we had), and then set out on the tube once again to take the trail of the Jack Ripper murders. That night we went to bed not really loving London and hoping the next day would be better. Day two was substantially better. We went on a free walking tour of London and were able to see all the historical sights like Westminster Abbey, the Parliament building, and Big Ben; not to mention the weather was beautiful. After the tour we took a ride on the London Eye and were able to take in the whole of the city from up above. That night was a very chill night since we had to be up by 3am to get to the airport for our flight to Venice. Sunday morning we said goodbye to London and hello to Venice, Italy. As for my favorite part of London it would have to be the Parliament Building and Big Ben, gorgeous architecture! Oh and being able to master the famous London tube, I have to say I had that thing mastered half way through day one!
Alright city number two, Venice, Italy. First surprise to me was that they actually drive on the right said of the road like we do back home. I have been so use to driving on the left that this kinda felt strange to me. We made it to our hotel on the Island of Venice and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. We had no real plans for Venice so once we got checked in we decided to grab some lunch and then just walk the city and see as much as we could. We were able to take in quite a bit of this beautiful city on the water. Stopped in at many different shops and of course had our first taste of gelato! Venice was a very relaxing city, where we didn't have to worry about the hustle and bustle of things, we were able to just take in it at our own pace and we didn't have any expectations so what we were able to see was great to us. My favorite part of Venice would have to be just how beautiful all the buildings built around the Grand Canal was. It is a very beautiful city and the water is such a pretty blue-green color. With only one day to spend there the next day we were off by train to Florence.
So we're at city three now, Florence. Again we had no real expectations for Florence, I had gotten a couple suggestions of what to see from my roommate back home, Kaitlyn, since she spent a semester last year there. We started off by trying to find the Statue of David, which ended up being a fail cause the museum was closed. Oh well, on to the next thing on the list, the Durmo Cathedral. This place was huge and very pretty. With only one day, we took a couple pictures looked around at some of the surrounding statues and were off to find our next destination. Next on the list was the Ponte Vecchio Bridge. A guy from the hostel told us of a good gelato place near the bridge so we of course hit that up first :) and that had to have been some of the best gelato of the entire trip (strawberry and chocolate= so yummy!) The bridge was very neat and we had to cross it to get to our next stop. However, along the way across it we noticed that the entire bridge was lined with jewelry shops. So of course being girls we decided to shop for our dream engagement ring by looking into every single shop window! It was some good girl bonding time :) After dream ring shopping for a while we made our way up to Michaelangelo's Pizza. This is a Pizza that overlooks the entire city of Florence and gives you some gorgeous views. Once we had taken our fill of pictures we decided to check out the nearby palace. Unfortunately the palace was closing when we got there so instead we sat in the sun for a little while outside the palace and figured out what to do next. We figured it was time to head back toward the hostel and find a place for diner. Along the way we did some more ring shopping and then after diner it was more gelato, I think a good combinations of events. We spent the night in the hostel being good students studying and have girl talk. Ok so favorite part of Florence, besides the gorgeous views from Michaelangelo's Pizza, would have to be the engagement ring shopping on Ponte Vecchio Bridge. It was fun trying to find a dream ring in the middle of Florence, Italy. :)
City number four, Rome! We took a train from Florence to Rome and got to our hotel mid-afternoon. With only half an afternoon left we figured we would try to get Vatican city done. Well we got to St. Peter's Bascilla and the line to get in was pretty long, so we went to the Vatican museums instead. This museum was huge! There was so much stuff to see and so many beautiful paintings on the ceilings. We walked through the entire museum ending in the Sistine Chapel. I would have to say I didn't find the Chapel anything too special, but it was pretty amazing at the detail and intricate paintings covering the entire ceiling of the place. Once we were done with the museums it was diner time so we got some pizza and then headed back to the hotel. The night was spent being good students again and studying! The next day we were up early and decided to try and get St. Peter's Bascilla out of the way since we couldn't the day before. Well little did we know the Pope was actually giving a public address there that day so it wasn't open. We thought about sticking around to see the Pope speak but neither of us really cared to so we left and started our day filled with sight-seeing. We pretty much took in the whole of Rome in this one day. We spent the entire day walking from site to site in Rome, starting with the Trevi Fountain. After making a wish in the fountain we made our way to the Pantheon. We spent a good amount of time there taking pictures and walking around the inside. The next site was Vittoriano, some sort of political building. It was a pretty building but we really just wanted to get to the top terrace for the view. Once at the top it was very pretty, with views of the entire city including the Colosseum. That was next on the list, so it was off to the Colosseum, the highlight of the trip really. I'll tell you right now the Colosseum was my favorite part of Rome. We decided we wanted to take a guided tour so that we could get the full history of the place. The tour also included the surrounding Roman Forum, which is where back in the ancients times was the heart of the city. It was so amazing to see all these ancient ruins, knowing that I was standing on the very ground that historical people did 1000s of years ago. After seeing the Colosseum and surrounding area we made our way back to the hotel and had diner and shared a bottle of wine there. We both treated ourselves to a nice juicy steak, something I haven't had in months! Day three in Rome was spent seeing whatever we didn't have time for the previous days. It started with finally seeing St. Peter's Bascilla, which was ginormous and filled with beautiful painting and tombs of popes. Then we went and walked the Spanish steps, something I guess one is suppose to do while in Rome. Once we were finished with that we realized we had done and seen just about everything there was to do in Rome. Therefore, since it was an absolutely beautiful day, and our hotel had a rooftop terrace, we went back to the hotel and spent the day laying out in the sun and studying for finals. It was really just what we needed, a better day spent relaxing in the sun getting tans. Well I got a tan, Marlo got a burn lol. To conclude our last day in Rome we went back into the city to see the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum lit up at night. I have to say this last day spent in Rome was my favorite part of the trip, we had a great day spent in the sun and then two of the most beautiful sites in Rome all lit up at night. We also met a very nice guy from Jersey at the place we ate diner. He was one of the waiters and noticed we were from America so he decided to chat with us a little. I totally called his back story that he was Italian, came to Italy to visit family, fell in love with it, and decided to stay; and that was exactly what it was. Me and Marlo walked away from that diner feeling kinda good about ourselves because it was pretty apparent that Jersey was hitting on us lol. A considerable amount of time was spent taking pictures of the Colosseum all lit up at night. After also seeing the Trevi fountain we headed back to the hotel to get ready for our early flight back to Ireland the next day. In taking in so much of Rome, like I said before, my favorite part was the Colosseum both at night and during the day.
We were definitely ready to head back to Ireland though. Me and Marlo both were so sick of all the crowds and pushing and shoving people. We were ready to be back home in Ireland where everything was a lot more laid back without all the crazy tourist people! That brings us to city number six, Belfast, Ireland. Me and Marlo both wanted to do Belfast at some point in order to see the Titanic exhibit and this was easier going straight from Dublin right off our flight in from Rome. We made it to Belfast late afternoon, found our hostel, checked in, had a BBQ, made some new friends, and that night Marlo taught half the hostel how to Dougie! It was a really fun night. The next day we did a tour of Belfast, learning the history behind the fight between the Protestants and Catholics along with being able to see all the murals painted around the city in tribute to the fight and the peace that came. We then did the Titanic exhibit, which was very cool to see. We were able to take a step back in time and see just what it was like on the ship and learn about what went into building the ship as well as some of the stories of those who died and survived the great sinking.
Saturday the 28th we were on a bus back to Limerick, it was onward to home sweet home. It felt so good to be back home at UL, no crowds, no annoying tourists, being able to sleep in my own bed!
Overall the trip was fantastic! I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to go to and see all these amazing places. My overall favorite place of the entire trip was definitely ancient Rome, mainly the Colosseum. It was a long week, or so, of traveling and eating mainly pizza, pasta, and gelato; but so well worth everything! I took so many pictures and haven't had the time to edit or upload any yet, but when I do I will put a couple of my favorite on here to see. For now though it is down to my final days here. Finals started this last week and I've got two down with two to go. After finals I will be homeward bound, only 10 more days!
