Thursday, March 21
It's finally spring break! After a harrowing set of midterms and papers, it's amazing to know that I'll get to see my mom and my aunt and travel to some amazing places! My train left at the awful hour of 7:30am and pulled into Rome at about 9. I found Mom and we had a touching reunion in front of a bunch of strangers. It was so good to see her! We found Aunt Julie (who it was also great to see!) and trekked to our hostel. No one answered the buzzer so we dropped our bags off at the hostel they had stayed in the night before since they had come a day earlier. Then we hopped on the metro straight to the Vatican City. The walls surrounding it were huge! We got into the museum and wondered why we had chosen to do this at noon. The crowds were killer, but the art was incredible. Apollo Belvedere, Perseus and Medusa, Laocoön and His Sons, ancient Etruscan art, and of course, the main man himself: Michelangelo.
The Sistine Chapel is known by everyone and I expected something less than all the hype (similar to how I felt before seeing the leaning tower of Pisa), but I thought it was incredible. Sure the security guards telling you to be quiet and the millions of people weren’t exactly great for setting the mood, but I could kind of tune it all out looking at the paintings. After, we wandered through St. Peter’s Basilica, marveling at how immensely grand and truly beautiful everything was. Then we went to the top of it, taking an elevator halfway then climbing the rest. Definitely easier than Florence’s Duomo. It was strange walking up though because the domed roof was so slanted that you had to lean sideways as you went. The views at the top were incredible, showing all of the Vatican City and surrounding Rome.
In the evening we took the metro over to the Spanish Steps. We saw the house where John Keats and Percy Shelley lived during their time in Rome. A lot of people were lounging on the steps as we walked to the top. I found a restaurant online that was supposedly really good at the top of the stairs, but it turns that it was closed. We tried another restaurant but that one was full, and we finally ended up just getting gelato before making our way over to the Trevi Fountain. You could hear the rushing water a few blocks away. It was gorgeous, especially at night all lit up. We each took turns tossing our coins in the fountain--with your back turned, throw the coin with your right hand over your left shoulder. I guess we better start planning our return trip to Rome! By the time we got back to the metro stop near our hostel, it was about 11pm. I still hadn't eaten dinner so we went to the nearest restaurant. Thank goodness Italians are late eaters. I had spaghetti alla carbonara--a Roman specialty. Finishing at around midnight, we were exhausted and ready to sleep.
Friday, March 22
We left our hostel at about 8:30am and took the metro to the Colosseo stop. Can you guess where we're heading? We climb the steps up to surface-level and are immediately confronted with the ginormous Colosseum! We took a long walk around it, half looking for the entrance and half just admiring it. We made our way inside and, with the help of Mr. Rick Steves, got a good tour of the place. It was insane how old it was but also how impressive of a structure. Imagining the floor and the stands intact and teeming with bloodthirsty Romans was an intimidating thought. All in all, I give a thumbs up to this architectural wonder.
We reluctantly exited and made our way over to the forum--the place I'd been most looking forward to going. At noon, the crowds were fairly rough and the temperature felt hotter than it should have for spring, but the massive temples of the forum made you forget about all of that. With Rick as our guide, we meandered through the many ruins dotting the landscape. Temples, baths, basilicas, arches, you name it. It was so interesting picturing what this place must've looked like in its prime. It was like walking through a history book in the coolest way possible. We wanted to go up to where we saw people on top of some ruins on a hill overlooking the whole forum so we walked around back of it to a place I hadn't seen in pictures with absolutely giant buildings, so much larger and more intact than anything I had imagined. We had walked so much already and were exhausted but we kept exploring and finally made it to the overlook. It was so worth it. The view was absolutely incredible and seemed to encapsulate all of Rome in one look. It was unreal.
Feeling dead, we took an Uber to the Pantheon instead of walking. Thank goodness. We passed by the Pantheon on our short walk to the oldest gelateria in all of Rome--Giolitti. There was a line out the door, but it was worth it for some delicious gelato. We sat on a curb to eat it and were serenaded by a violinist. Then we walked back to the Pantheon (or Parthenon as Mom would say). It was absolutely bombarded by tourists but still a very cool building. Inside we saw the giant hole in the ceiling and the tombs of the first king of Italy and Raphael (who at one point lived in the building across from mine in Florence). Afterward we had an early dinner nearby at La Ciambella. I got another Roman specialty--cacio e pepe, or cheese and pepper--and Mom got the best spaghetti alla carbonara of her life (which I got to finish off). They were both delicious! Afterwards we got another Uber back to our hostel, picked up our bags, and then headed to the train station. We picked up some sweets and then hopped on the train. I had a typical Roman sweet called maritozzi con panna--a sweet bun filled with whipped cream--yum! We arrived in Florence at 10:30pm, I dropped Mom and Aunt Julie off at their hostel, and then headed home for the night.
Saturday, March 23
We got to the Medici Chapels early but there was still a decently long line. We entered into the crypt which housed the tombs of many members of the Medici family and display cases with relics of saints. Up to the main floor is the Chapel of the Princes with a huge frescoed dome and the tombs of six Medici Grand Dukes. Since I've been here, I can't count how many times I've heard the name Medici. These guys were seriously powerful and seriously wealthy in Florence during the Renaissance. Even my school is named after one of them: Lorenzo de Medici. Part of the room was under construction, but the marble work was beautiful. We almost missed the entrance to the New Sacristy, but the droves of people lead us to it. The inside was rather small and absolutely filled with tour groups, but we managed to get some good views of the sculptures inside: Dawn and Dusk, and Night and Day, both incredible works by Michelangelo. Afterward, we headed down the street to the church of Santa Maria Novella. The grounds were very peaceful and the artwork inside was beautiful. It contains a crucifix painting by Giotto and a wooden crucifix carving by Brunelleschi. Brunelleschi carved it in competition with Donatello, whose crucifix is in the church of Santa Croce. It was cool comparing the two. It was also really nice getting to visit these two places since I hadn't seen them yet.
After that, we were all pretty hungry so we went to the Mercato Centrale for some lunch. I got pesto pasta which was yummy and Mom and Aunt Julie shared a pizza which they said was really good. Then we went to the Galleria Accademia and waited in line again. We got inside and immediately looked for David. It was as incredible the second time as it was the first. We then made out way up to Piazzale Michelangelo for sunset. It was gorgeous up there at dusk with the orange and blue sky and the lights of the city coming on. On our way to dinner we passed by the Mercato Nuovo and the bronze Porcellino fountain. We all rubbed the wild boar's nose to ensure a trip back to Florence. We had dinner at Osteria Cicalone. We had bacon-wrapped mozzarella to start (yum!) and I had gnudi (like gnocchi but made with spinach and ricotta instead of potato) for my main. So good! And Aunt Julie said her beef stew was amazing.
Sunday, March 24
We got up early today to go to the Palazzo Pitti. Unbeknownst to us, it was a free admission day! I'd seen most of this museum before, but they had a new exhibit called Female Perspectives. I loved this exhibit, which had much great art and even a section dedicated to female photographers. We spent some time wandering to each of the museums in the palace, then wandered the Boboli Gardens a bit. We got lunch at the Cafe degli Artigiani. We each had piadine which are like flatbread sandwiches. I got mine with cheese and ham and it reminded me of a quesadilla which I very much missed. We got gelato across the street at Gelateria della Passera. I've been here before and had amazing gelato, today was no exception. After, we crossed the river and headed to the Uffizi Gallery. What luck--it's free today! Rick Steves guided us around to all the best works. The first time I came here it was without any context, so having the audioguide and learning about some of the works in class made this experience a lot nicer than I had thought it was going to be. At 7:30 our train left for Venice! It was only a two hour journey this time so we got in at 9:30. We took a water bus and walked only a short way to our AirBnB. We could not figure out how to pull out the sofa bed so I just slept on the sofa (which turned out to be comfier than the bed anyway).
Monday, March 25
At about 9:30 we took the water bus over to the Accademia di Belle Arti and saw some beautiful paintings, like from the Venetian painters Titian and Tintoretto. Unfortunately, da Vinci's Vitruvian Man was undergoing restoration. In search of lunch afterward, we wandered the backstreets of Venice, very calm and quiet and peaceful. One of my favorite things about Venice is the ease in which you can escape the crowded touristy areas and find yourself off the beaten path. We ended up getting a sandwich on our way to the Cannareggio district where we were to meet our gondolier. We ended up in the area where the oldest Jewish ghetto had been. Luca, our gondolier, showed us his boat, which had been handed down through generations (with handmade cushions by his mother). We had a half-hour tour around Cannareggio, and, although his accent was quite strong, learned interesting facts and details about many of the buildings we passed. He even sang us a traditional Venetian gondolier song. It was such a peaceful ride, away from the busy Grand Canal. After, I got gelato (with a macaron on top!) before we headed back to our place for a little nap.
Just before sunset, we went to the rooftop terrace of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi which used to house German merchants but is now a sort of designer mall. The views from the top were gorgeous in the evening light. We could not for the life of us find the restaurant our AirBnB host recommended so we went to one we stumbled across. It had just opened so we were the first ones in. I tried the soft-shell crab appetizer which isn't bad, had pasta with shrimp for the main, and panna cotta for dessert. Our waiter was really nice and brought us s-shaped cookies afterward (the shape of the Grand Canal) and wine that was apparently a bit less-than-legal due to importing restrictions. Don't ask. It was a really nice dinner, but we had to run back to our place in a downpour.
Tuesday, March 26
We slept in today, then went over to St. Mark's Square. We went inside St. Mark's Basilica, and then the Doge's Palace. It was beautiful inside with many huge, ornately decorated rooms. I loved the art exhibit that was on display. Most of it showcased Venice in all its glory. We toured the many rooms and then crossed the Bridge of Sighs to the prison. We looked out one of the tiny windows onto Venice and each released a sigh. We got lost in the prison (maybe that really was our last glimpse of Venice?), but a helpful American family led us back to the bridge and into the palace. Afterward, we saw the bridge from a different perspective, got gelato, and then just wandered a bit and hung out. We went to bed pretty early, dreading the early morning ahead of us.
Here's the video!
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