Once upon a time, I had the most incredible opportunity to go to Italy! I had one 4 day weekend, and this was it! Jordan, Rachel, and I were headed to see some sunshine! The 4 days I spent in the country were some of the most inspiring days yet. Italy is exactly like I imagined it would be... so, without further ado...
ITALY!
Our plane left from Brussels South (Charleroi) at 6:30 in the morning. It is an hour drive there, so our dear friend Mindaugas got up early to make sure we caught our flight! We flew (via Ryan Air) to the Venice Treviso airport. We caught a bus upon arrival and were headed to Venice!
I couldn't believe it. I've heard and dreamed of this city, but to see it with my own eyes was unbelievable. The roads were literally canals! Those that weren't filled with water were so small you could walk down them and touch buildings on both sides with ease. There were personal boats all over, and gondolas everywhere! Here is one of the larger canals, and a sweet gondola!
This guy was my favorite. He fit the part perfectly... and he earned a picture on my camera because of the shiny silver swoosh on his shoes! :)
In Venice, I experienced gelato for the first time. Gelato is simply Italian ice cream, but there is definitely a uniqueness to it! Everyone said I had to try the ice cream and the pizza. I did, don't worry. And I had a gelato a day. :) This one is mint... go figure!
Walking the streets was inspiration for movies aplenty. I only wished for a few things: a few cameras (strategically placed), a few guns, and an attractive hero to star in my movie. Seriously, I wanted nothing more than to film a high-intensity gun chase down those streets. We rounded a corner and came upon a dead end. It was pretty. Hence the picture!
One of the coolest things I noticed about Italy was the smells. I walked down these tiny streets and a gust of wind would blow. Instead of a typical "wind" smell (dirt, leaves, something nasty, etc.) it would smell like Oregano or Basil. It was unbelievable!
This is the Grand Canal of Venice. I'm standing on the tourist attraction Rialto Bridge. Notice the sunny day. It was gorgeous! I came home with color in my cheeks!
After spending a few hours in Venice, we headed for Florence! We briefly stopped in Bologna, but saw nothing picture-worthy... We got to Florence after dark, so we checked into our hostel and hung out there for the evening. I met some fun people! The next morning, the hostel offered a free walking tour of the city. Jordan and Rachel weren't interested, so we split and I headed to the tour! This is the river Arno. You'll notice some ripples in the water: There was a rowing team out practicing! If I were ever on a rowing team, I'd want to be the drummer...
The David Statue is housed in Florence. Unfortunately they wanted 8 euros to see it, so I got a picture by the copy that is situated where the original used to stand, in front of the Old Palace.
After the walking tour, 7 of us decided to head and get some pizza and gelato. We had a blast together! Pictured (L-R) back row: Tom (Ohio), Alex (Wisconson), Roxy (Utah), Ian (New Zealand), Brad (Sydney, Aus.); front: Amber (Chicago), and Lauren (Chicago).
About a week before my grand adventure, I got a package from "The Crew!" In it was my flat family. (Some of you are familiar with Flat Stanley...) My mom was smart enough to laminate it for me! They had quite the adventure this weekend! (They even fell out of my pocket and got lost on the train! Fortunately, a nice lady helped me find them, They are currently safe and sound in Brussels!) Here's Flat Dad, Flat Mom, Flat Toph, Flat Daniel, Flat Nina, Flat Midnight and the city of Florence from the Piazza Michaelangelo lookout.
I climbed the famous Duomo in Florence with Tom and Alex (pictured above). This is a view from the top of said Duomo... Gorgeous, huh?
After our grand adventures in Florence, we headed to Pisa to spend the night. :) The highlight: the Leaning Tower. We got there fairly late, but saw the tower in all its glory at night, then real quick the next morning before our train headed out of town!
I was told all there was to see in Pisa was the Leaning Tower. To prove that theory wrong, I took a picture of a bridge we crossed to get there. Pretty, huh?
Yes, the tower really does lean. It is amazing! This is my picture tribute to the movie While You Were Sleeping... its leaning... :) The tower was initially constructed to be the belfry of the cathedral situated next to it. Now it's just a tourist trap, but a fascinating one, for sure!
Here's Flat Family with the tower... Aren't they cute?
After our short stay in Pisa, it was off to Rome! We arrived just after noon on Sunday. We checked into our hostel, and then were off to see the city! This is the Fontana di Trevi. It is said that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, it ensures your trip back to Rome... Don't worry, I didn't hesitate in throwing my one cent piece into the fountain!
The site to see for the day was the Colosseum. It is HUGE!!! Here's Flat Family in the Colosseum. If you look on the left side of the picture, you can see a wooden stage. This is what covered all the cages for the wild animals. Remains of those cages can be seen on the bottom left of this picture. There were trap doors in the stage where slaves would pull up animal after animal in winch-driven elevators. According to the tour guide... "The crowd would go wild with enthusiasm, hoping for more gore and blood!" Hmm....
Here's another shot inside the Colosseum. You can see the cages a little better here...
This is me (in case you couldn't tell...) with the Colosseum in the background.
It's crazy... You're walking down a regular street when Bam! Out of nowhere, there's this huge sports arena that is thousands of years old! It's amazing!
We went exploring the Palatine Hill. It is the most sacred of the Seven Hills of Rome. Ancient legend says this hill is where Romulus killed Remus. (Check out your Roman mythology for further information.) It was at one time the most prime real estate in all of Europe. All the Emperors of Rome wanted to live on this hill. There were exquisite gardens on top. This picture is taken there.
My gelato for the day came from a place called Blue Ice. This one was close to the Trevi Fountain. If you ever go to Rome, get gelato here! Huge portions for very cheap! And it is good gelato! This picture was taken by the Ferrari poster in honor of Tom. :) Ice Cream flavors today: Mint and a dark chocolate. VERY tasty!
Remember how I said I was told to try the ice cream and the pizza? Well, here it is: my Popeye pizza from Italy. It was tasty! Not quite what I expected (silly American...) but still very good.
The next day we explored everything but the south part of Rome. This is the Castel Sant' Angelo and the Ponte Sant' Angelo (Castle and Bridge of Saint Angelo).
We made it to the Vatican! We got there early enough that our line was only about a 45 minute wait! :) It was beautiful, and very interesting to see. We were able to go into the Sistine Chapel and see the famous ceiling. They asked that you not take pictures, so out of respect I kept my camera in my pocket. It was amazing to see, though!
This is a distant shot of the Vatican. This is taken from the Palatine Hill close to the Colosseum.
After exploring the Vatican, we hit a few other highlights. This is me with the Pantheon. This church was built about 2000 years ago for the gods Venus and Mars! There is a hole in the ceiling instead of a duomo (dome). It's pretty interesting!
The other famous site we stopped at was the Spanish Steps. They were pretty sweet. We ate more gelato on them! :)
After exploring the "tourist-ey" sites, we headed up to the gardens in the northern part of Rome. They were absolutely beautiful! It reminded me a little bit of Central Park in New York City. This is a view of Rome from the outskirts of the gardens.
We stopped at a little pond with a small fountain. It was so picturesque, I couldn't help but take a picture! Check out the purple trees!
This was another interesting thing to see... This is a real guy! They are all over Europe, generally at the famous cathedrals. They stand really still, appearing to be statues. When you tip them, they will move. Most of the time they look like Egyptian mummies and will bow when you tip them. This guy was cool because when you tipped him, he would spin his camera around like in an old movie! He was amazing!
My last shot of Italy was on our bus ride back to the airport outside of Rome. The sun was setting peacefully. It was an incredible four days!
I couldn't believe it. I've heard and dreamed of this city, but to see it with my own eyes was unbelievable. The roads were literally canals! Those that weren't filled with water were so small you could walk down them and touch buildings on both sides with ease. There were personal boats all over, and gondolas everywhere! Here is one of the larger canals, and a sweet gondola!
This guy was my favorite. He fit the part perfectly... and he earned a picture on my camera because of the shiny silver swoosh on his shoes! :)
In Venice, I experienced gelato for the first time. Gelato is simply Italian ice cream, but there is definitely a uniqueness to it! Everyone said I had to try the ice cream and the pizza. I did, don't worry. And I had a gelato a day. :) This one is mint... go figure!
Walking the streets was inspiration for movies aplenty. I only wished for a few things: a few cameras (strategically placed), a few guns, and an attractive hero to star in my movie. Seriously, I wanted nothing more than to film a high-intensity gun chase down those streets. We rounded a corner and came upon a dead end. It was pretty. Hence the picture!One of the coolest things I noticed about Italy was the smells. I walked down these tiny streets and a gust of wind would blow. Instead of a typical "wind" smell (dirt, leaves, something nasty, etc.) it would smell like Oregano or Basil. It was unbelievable!
This is the Grand Canal of Venice. I'm standing on the tourist attraction Rialto Bridge. Notice the sunny day. It was gorgeous! I came home with color in my cheeks!
After spending a few hours in Venice, we headed for Florence! We briefly stopped in Bologna, but saw nothing picture-worthy... We got to Florence after dark, so we checked into our hostel and hung out there for the evening. I met some fun people! The next morning, the hostel offered a free walking tour of the city. Jordan and Rachel weren't interested, so we split and I headed to the tour! This is the river Arno. You'll notice some ripples in the water: There was a rowing team out practicing! If I were ever on a rowing team, I'd want to be the drummer...
The David Statue is housed in Florence. Unfortunately they wanted 8 euros to see it, so I got a picture by the copy that is situated where the original used to stand, in front of the Old Palace.
After the walking tour, 7 of us decided to head and get some pizza and gelato. We had a blast together! Pictured (L-R) back row: Tom (Ohio), Alex (Wisconson), Roxy (Utah), Ian (New Zealand), Brad (Sydney, Aus.); front: Amber (Chicago), and Lauren (Chicago).
About a week before my grand adventure, I got a package from "The Crew!" In it was my flat family. (Some of you are familiar with Flat Stanley...) My mom was smart enough to laminate it for me! They had quite the adventure this weekend! (They even fell out of my pocket and got lost on the train! Fortunately, a nice lady helped me find them, They are currently safe and sound in Brussels!) Here's Flat Dad, Flat Mom, Flat Toph, Flat Daniel, Flat Nina, Flat Midnight and the city of Florence from the Piazza Michaelangelo lookout.
I climbed the famous Duomo in Florence with Tom and Alex (pictured above). This is a view from the top of said Duomo... Gorgeous, huh?
After our grand adventures in Florence, we headed to Pisa to spend the night. :) The highlight: the Leaning Tower. We got there fairly late, but saw the tower in all its glory at night, then real quick the next morning before our train headed out of town!
I was told all there was to see in Pisa was the Leaning Tower. To prove that theory wrong, I took a picture of a bridge we crossed to get there. Pretty, huh?
Yes, the tower really does lean. It is amazing! This is my picture tribute to the movie While You Were Sleeping... its leaning... :) The tower was initially constructed to be the belfry of the cathedral situated next to it. Now it's just a tourist trap, but a fascinating one, for sure!
Here's Flat Family with the tower... Aren't they cute?
After our short stay in Pisa, it was off to Rome! We arrived just after noon on Sunday. We checked into our hostel, and then were off to see the city! This is the Fontana di Trevi. It is said that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the fountain, it ensures your trip back to Rome... Don't worry, I didn't hesitate in throwing my one cent piece into the fountain!
The site to see for the day was the Colosseum. It is HUGE!!! Here's Flat Family in the Colosseum. If you look on the left side of the picture, you can see a wooden stage. This is what covered all the cages for the wild animals. Remains of those cages can be seen on the bottom left of this picture. There were trap doors in the stage where slaves would pull up animal after animal in winch-driven elevators. According to the tour guide... "The crowd would go wild with enthusiasm, hoping for more gore and blood!" Hmm....
Here's another shot inside the Colosseum. You can see the cages a little better here...
This is me (in case you couldn't tell...) with the Colosseum in the background.
It's crazy... You're walking down a regular street when Bam! Out of nowhere, there's this huge sports arena that is thousands of years old! It's amazing!
We went exploring the Palatine Hill. It is the most sacred of the Seven Hills of Rome. Ancient legend says this hill is where Romulus killed Remus. (Check out your Roman mythology for further information.) It was at one time the most prime real estate in all of Europe. All the Emperors of Rome wanted to live on this hill. There were exquisite gardens on top. This picture is taken there.
My gelato for the day came from a place called Blue Ice. This one was close to the Trevi Fountain. If you ever go to Rome, get gelato here! Huge portions for very cheap! And it is good gelato! This picture was taken by the Ferrari poster in honor of Tom. :) Ice Cream flavors today: Mint and a dark chocolate. VERY tasty!
Remember how I said I was told to try the ice cream and the pizza? Well, here it is: my Popeye pizza from Italy. It was tasty! Not quite what I expected (silly American...) but still very good.
The next day we explored everything but the south part of Rome. This is the Castel Sant' Angelo and the Ponte Sant' Angelo (Castle and Bridge of Saint Angelo).
We made it to the Vatican! We got there early enough that our line was only about a 45 minute wait! :) It was beautiful, and very interesting to see. We were able to go into the Sistine Chapel and see the famous ceiling. They asked that you not take pictures, so out of respect I kept my camera in my pocket. It was amazing to see, though!
This is a distant shot of the Vatican. This is taken from the Palatine Hill close to the Colosseum.
After exploring the Vatican, we hit a few other highlights. This is me with the Pantheon. This church was built about 2000 years ago for the gods Venus and Mars! There is a hole in the ceiling instead of a duomo (dome). It's pretty interesting!
The other famous site we stopped at was the Spanish Steps. They were pretty sweet. We ate more gelato on them! :)
After exploring the "tourist-ey" sites, we headed up to the gardens in the northern part of Rome. They were absolutely beautiful! It reminded me a little bit of Central Park in New York City. This is a view of Rome from the outskirts of the gardens.
We stopped at a little pond with a small fountain. It was so picturesque, I couldn't help but take a picture! Check out the purple trees!
This was another interesting thing to see... This is a real guy! They are all over Europe, generally at the famous cathedrals. They stand really still, appearing to be statues. When you tip them, they will move. Most of the time they look like Egyptian mummies and will bow when you tip them. This guy was cool because when you tipped him, he would spin his camera around like in an old movie! He was amazing!
My last shot of Italy was on our bus ride back to the airport outside of Rome. The sun was setting peacefully. It was an incredible four days!
1 comment:
Roxanne, I'm living vicariously through you because if there is ONE place I want to go, it's ITALY! So fun to see you and all the fun places you are visiting! Give Rachel and Jordan a big hug from the Hillmans!
PS Loved the Easter Cantata pictures. What a fun event and I'm so glad you Carter clan are still doing your thing!
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