Better late than never to post about my massive vacation I guess.
If you follow my blog/know me/stalk me you're already aware that I recently came back from a 17-day long trip across Europe with my friend Carly. I've been keeping notes the whole time and I'm going to try and tell you all the fun/strange/interesting things we experienced in a concise and entertaining matter.
These posts are going to work the same as the last trip I posted about. I'm going to blog about 2 cities per post for a total of 3 posts. I'm going to put fewer pictures since there are so many posts BUT I will provide links to my Photobucket account where you can see every single one of my almost 900 pictures :). Let's begin!
Click Read More to start
Rome - March 27 - March 30
The Eternal City! It felt good to be somewhere familiar to start this trip. I've been to Rome before with my Mom about 7 years ago but I was more than excited to tour everything in the city again.
After our plane landed we waited at baggage for our suitcases (which had only just made the weight requirement for international travel). And sure enough, my bag didn't show up on the conveyor belt. I was like:
Turns out the bag never left London (where we had our connecting flight). I was jet lagged and irate that my bag had been lost but I kept it cool while I filed my lost bag claim. The baggage claim receptionist assured me that British Airways locates 99% of lost luggage. Taking her for her word, Carly and I made our way to our hostel. But all is not lost! Being the savvy traveler that I am, I packed 3 t shirts and 4 extra pairs of underwear in my carry on just in case. I can't believe the one time I actually remembered to do that, I needed it! I was very grateful. You'll hear more about my bag drama later on in this post.
Mona Lisa Hostel was...yeah. We were supposed to be in a 8-bed all-women dorm but somehow the hostel owners weaseled 2 other beds in our room making it very cramped. It was superficially clean so if you didn't think about it too much, it was a nice place to stay. We slept the whole first day to get rid of jet lag and then we were up early the next morning to tour!
The first thing we saw was the Colosseum:
Seven years ago, I didn't manage to get inside and see the Colosseum so this was a big deal for me haha. It was really cool to see the architecture that has stood the test of time up close and personal. But I do wish we had a tour guide with us because I think it would have been even better to hear more details.
Panoramic pictures!
Panoramic pictures!
Next stop was the Palatine/Roman Forum. The Palatine was essentially the home of many rich and powerful people in ancient Roman times. And the Forum was like the main square/meeting place of the city. Nowadays, it's overrun with school children so we didn't spend too much time there but I did get some great pictures.
Palatine Hill
Palatine Hill
Forum
Forum
Next, we were off to the Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin (Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin). The basilica itself isn't too famous but a statue in front of the basilica is.
On the way there we passed the Circus Maximus where the chariot races were held.
Inside the basilica was a very ornate mosaic floor (which we saw all over Rome) and the supposed remains of St. Valentine:
His skull adorned with flowers
After this we went to the Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran (Arcibasilica Papale di San Giovanni in Laterano). There are 3 other papal archbasilicas. They are called that because they are the official ecclesiastical seats of the Bishop of Rome aka the Pope. This particular church is the 'mother church' of Roman Catholicism and the official seat of the Pope (since he his bishop, this is his cathedral).
Tomb of Pope Martin V
Closing out the afternoon, we visited the minor basilica Our Lady of Victory (Santa Maria della Vittoria)
this small but opulent basilica is famous for the Bernini statue 'Ecstasy of Saint Theresa'. The statue depicts the account of visions of St. Theresa of Avila.
Contemporaries of Bernini have both lauded and condemned him for this commissioned work. The statue is certainly beautiful and fits perfectly in the baroque atmosphere of this basilica.
We headed back to our hostel to get some rest and enjoy the free dinner provided for us. It was just pasta and sauce but it was free so it was good.
The sun had already set so it was the perfect time to do some more late touring so we went off to the Trevi Fountain
And the Piazza del Popolo
And the Spanish Steps
When Carly and I got back to the hostel we got ready to take showers and get to bed so we could be refreshed for our next big day. While preparing to shower, I put my box of Dove soap on what I perceived to be a wax paper bag that was left on the dresser in our room. I wondered why it was there but didn't think much of it. Not 5 minutes later did one of our roommates stroll in and start complaining to her 6 other friends who were in our room why there was a box of soap on her pizza. "Pizza?" I thought to myself. Carly and I exchanged looks and I chose not to admit the soap was mine not trying to make conversation with this obviously annoying girl. She left the room and I grabbed my soap and headed to shower, the entire time wondering why someone would leave a piece of pizza inside a wax paper bag in a room they weren't even living in. She left the pizza on the dresser.
I was fully prepared to forget the entire occurrence, but when Pizza Girl and her friends returned from a night of drinking, she came into our room and proceeded to whine at the top of her lungs that there were no showers open (at 12am mind you) because 2 of her friends were already in them. I fell asleep knowing Pizza Girl and her beloved snack would be going down tomorrow.
I consider her friends annoying because they began having a conversation about how paying 20 euros to see the Sistine Chapel "just wasn't worth it". And this is why people hate Americans -____-
The next morning I put it in the fridge for her with a 'gentle' note (I know totally against my principles) reminding her that food belongs in a refrigerator and not on a dresser.
St. Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica
The Vatican employs the Swiss Guard as security around the Papal complex.
La Pieta, a masterpiece by Michaelangelo
Interior of St. Peter's Basilica
Interior of the dome
Just your average baptismal font
Bernini's baldacchino. Claimed to be the largest piece of bronze in the world. These structures are build to create a 'holy space' around the table on which the Sacrament is laid for the Eucharist.
The altar
Behind this mosaic of St. Peter (note the hand to the left of the metal lamp) are his alleged remains which were discovered in the 1950's and formally declared as the bones of St. Peter in 1968.
Statue of St. Peter. Its considered good luck to rub the statue's foot.
Vatican Post Office
Making our way to the Sistine Chapel, we were lead down endless hallways of the Vatican Museum. Many of which had beautifully decorated ceilings like this one.
As we were about to turn and head down the stairs into the chapel, this painting caught my eye. I thought the collars on the priests looked familiar so I checked the info card and sure enough it was a painting of St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle! I must have walked right by this painting 7 years ago, having no idea I would identify with it the next time I would come to Rome.
So here it is, the Michelangelo masterpiece, the Sistine Chapel ceiling!
We planned our walk back to our hostel so we would hit the rest of the important places we needed to see. First was the Castel Sant'Angelo. We didn't go inside but we did take pictures because the building is pretty impressive
Castel Sant'Angelo
Danube. His hand is reaching toward the Papal Crest.
Nile. The head is covered because, at the time, the source of the Nile was unknown to Europeans.
Ganges
Plata. The statue is sitting on coins representing the riches of the Americas.
Five minutes east is the Pantheon (not the Parthenon. That's in Greece). Originally a temple to the Roman Gods, built by Marcus Agrippa, it was converted into a Roman Catholic church in the 7th century.
The interior dome with the natural sky light.
Our final location was San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains)
A fresco by Giovanni Battista Parodi showing Peter being chained in Jerusalem
Michaelangelo's monument to Moses
Detail of Moses statue
Reliquary of the chains of St. Peter.
We were beyond exhausted after touring on this day! I was twice as happy to return to our hostel for the day because my bag finally arrived from the airport! It was so relieving knowing that my bag came the day before we were leaving for Venice. All of my stuff was still in there too so that was also good. I couldn't wait to change my outfit into normal clothes and not almost-pajamas.
I slept a bit better that night knowing I had all of my possessions with me and the next morning we went to the train station and were off for Venice!
All photos of Rome - click here
Venice - March 30 - April 1
After leaving the train station we had to take a water bus to our hotel which was on the island of Lido.
Lido reminded me a lot of Long Beach Island in New Jersey because its a thin island with so many cute houses, shops and restaurants. We took it easy the first day and walked around Lido, got some gelato and enjoyed some Italian wine. The next morning we took another water bus to St. Mark's Square (Piazza San Marco) so we could walk around before our half-day tour.
Lace pictures. Each piece is handmade by lace making women and takes hours to complete. Some of the larger wall hangings and table cloths on sale at the lace making school were priced at €10,000 ($13,000)
I managed to pick up a much smaller and more affordable table covering and some handkerchiefs because who doesn't want a fancy lace handkerchief.
Last time on the Loudest Boat Ever and we were back at St. Mark's Square. I was really happy we got to go on the tour because we got to see so many beautiful parts of Venice but I think the 5 languages thing was a bit much.
The last thing we had to see before we left Venice was the Rialto Bridge. It's the oldest bridge across the canal and the most well known. The first dry crossing of the canal was on a wooden bridge constructed in 1181. Construction on the stone bridge was completed in 1591.
All photos of Rome - click here
Venice - March 30 - April 1
After leaving the train station we had to take a water bus to our hotel which was on the island of Lido.
From the entrance of the train station
Campanile
St. Mark's Basilica
St. Mark's Clock
Black & White view of the inside wall of the square
When it was time, we headed to another boat for our tour of the islands of Murano, Torcello and Burano. Each of these islands is significant and you'll learn why as you read. The tour was given by one woman and was to be given in 5 different languages. So when the tour started and the boat pulled away from the dock, we heard a brief history of Venice in Italian, French, German, English and Spanish. As we passes different important places in the lagoon we heard about them in Italian, French, German, English and Spanish. It took us about 25 minutes to reach Murano, our first island, and as we approached, we heard the safety warning, time to be back on the boat and a history of Murano in Italian, French, German, English and Spanish. I was ready to throw this woman overboard by the time we docked in Murano. Understandably, it's her job to inform all paying guests about Venice and the islands but it became too much. And this was only the first stop!
Murano is famous for its glass blowers. The art of glass blowing has been passed down from father to son for hundreds of years so there is virtually no was to enter the business unless you are born into it. Due to the increasing danger of fires, Venetian authorities moved all glass blowing factories and furnaces to Murano in 1291.
Here's one of the master glass blowers giving us a demonstration of the process. It takes about 25 years to become a master glass blower.
And he just whipped up this glass horse with a blue mane like it was nothing!
Afterwards we got to see the show room and I bought a beautiful beaded pink bracelet!
Time was up on our tour of Murano so we boarded the boat, listened to a cacophony of languages and docked on Torcello, the oldest continuously populated island in the lagoon. Ancient Venetians fled to this island in the lagoon to escape the barbarian invasions on the mainland.
This is rumored to be the oldest bridge in Venice.
The Church of Santa Fosca
Interior of Santa Fosca
Back on the Cacophony Boat, we headed to the final island, Burano. Burano is famous for its brightly colored homes and laceworks.
Beautiful!
I managed to pick up a much smaller and more affordable table covering and some handkerchiefs because who doesn't want a fancy lace handkerchief.
Last time on the Loudest Boat Ever and we were back at St. Mark's Square. I was really happy we got to go on the tour because we got to see so many beautiful parts of Venice but I think the 5 languages thing was a bit much.
The last thing we had to see before we left Venice was the Rialto Bridge. It's the oldest bridge across the canal and the most well known. The first dry crossing of the canal was on a wooden bridge constructed in 1181. Construction on the stone bridge was completed in 1591.
The Grand Canal (from on the bridge)
Rialto Bridge
Another busy day had ended for Carly and I so we headed back to our hotel to get some rest. We had a LONG set of 2 train rides tomorrow (or so we thought) so we got as much rest as we could and set off for Vienna the morning of April 1st!
To read about how we almost missed our "train" to Vienna click the links below!
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