Home Sweet Home

Now that I've been home for about a month, I figured it's time to wrap up this blog.

Being home has been absolutely wonderful, but I miss Rome and Greece terribly!

I had the most amazing experience this summer and even though I have way too many school loans to pay off, every penny I spent was worth it.

I have to say my favorite place in Italy is Rome....maybe I'm biased because I lived there, but I loved everything about it. Venice is a close second!

Our 10 day holiday in Greece was also amazing. Lounging on the beaches of Santorini with a drink in my hand and a good book? Nothing can beat that.

But still, as Erica, Reilly and I saw in a little ice cream shop in Athens on a cup, "Home is where your story begins..."

That couldn't be more true, and I'm so glad to be back!

Thank you all for reading my blog and taking this amazing journey with me!

I'm Coming Home!

I know I have a lot to update on (end of Rome, Athens, Santorini) but tomorrow, I am coming home!!!

I will be back in the states around 4:00 p.m.

So excited!

Last Night In Roma

I'm safely in Santorini, but before I start talking about Greece, I have to wrap up a few things about Rome!

On our last night in Rome, my roommates and I decided to go out for a special dinner and then to walk around to some of the major tourist-y spots for a photo shoot and to finally throw our coins in the Trevi Fountain.

We went to a cute restaurant in Piazza Navona (my favorite Piazza!). They gave us free glasses of champagne which was also a plus.

Final toast to our time in Roma!

I finally had bruschette for the first time in Rome (and on my last night nonetheless) and also had the most delicious spicy pasta.

Amazing

After that, we wandered around Piazza Navona admiring Bernini's Fountain of the 4 Rivers. We headed over to the Pantheon and took a few pictures there. We wandered past the Spanish Steps on our way to the Trevi Fountain and then reached our final destination.

I'm sure most of you have heard the story of how if you throw 3 coins into the Trevi Fountain you ensure your return to Rome. Of course, we had to take part!

Roommates at the Trev

Yay! Now I can come back to Roma....next summer, Mom?!

More about the last week in Rome later...

Bittersweet

Today, I leave Roma.

I didn't think I would be this sad, but I really have fallen in love with this city.

However, I am not going home yet!

Tonight, I fly to Athens to spend a few days there and on Monday, I take a ferry to beautiful Santorini until the 14th.

More posts later on my final days in Roma.

Ciao bella Roma!

Florence and Venice

As it's probably pretty clear from my previous post, I had a great time in Florence and Venice. The shopping wasn't the only thing that made it great though!

When we got to Florence, we headed right to see the statue of David in the Accademia Gallery.

Amazing!

Then, we walked over to the Duomo.

Duomo

Sitting on the steps of the Duomo

Later, we had an amazing dinner of Florentine steak and Chianti. After that, we headed to an outdoor music festival for some drinks and dancing.

Girls at dinner

The next day, we took an early train to Venice. I absolutely adored Venice. I thought it was so charming and picture perfect.

Basically in Venice, we were told to just wander and "get lost" in the curvy streets. We wandered around for hours, and took a gondola ride!

Gondola ride

Roommates in Venice

On a bridge

We took an overnight train back to Rome which was not so fun.

I can't wait to go back to Florence and Venice!

Florence and Venice Purchases

I have no money left in my bank account...but I have a beautiful new leather bag from Florence!

Let's just say Florence and Venice were a success.

More tomorrow about what I saw and did while there, but for now, let's get to the important stuff: the shopping. Everyone told me that Florence and Venice were fabulous for shopping and they definitely weren't wrong.

In Florence, I went to an open air market that sold tons of leather (what Florence is famous for) scarves, jewelry and other things.

I bought a beautiful leather bag...it took me 3 hours to pick out because I'm very picky, but I'm definitely happy with it. I also bought a few scarves and some gifts for my family.

Girls with our leather bags

In Venice, I bought a ton of Murano glass (Venice's speciality) jewelry. Everything was so reasonable priced! I bought each piece of jewelry for 5 euros.

Roommates and our rings! Can you guess which hand is mine?

I also bought an adorable 5 euros nautical tote bag with an anchor! Love!

Venice bag

Success? I think so!

Italians In Love

If there is one major thing I've noticed about Italian culture during my time in Rome, it's that Italian couples seem to be way more in love than American couples.

Everywhere I go in Rome, I see Italian couples holding hands at a trattoria, kissing by a fountain, and even snuggling on the metro! At first I thought it was absolutely adorable, but now I'm wondering....are Italians just way more in love than Americans?

Is it something about their culture? In America, if you walk down a street, it's not unlikely to see a couple arguing. In Italy, it's definitely not uncommon to see a couple making out on a street corner.

Is it just me? Am I just noticing things, or is it true? Are Italian couples more in love than American couples?

For those of you who have been to Italy, what do you think?