I'm off to Firenze (Florence) and Venezia (Venice).
All of my friends who have already been have raved about the shopping (leather in Firenze, glass jewelry in Venice) so I'm all ready to shop til I drop!
I also am super excited to take a gondola ride in Venezia!
This will be our first experience traveling by train (Thank God! No more flights for a bit!) and we are taking an overnight train on the way back.
Ciao!
Friday, June 26, 2009
St. Peter's Basilica- Lifechanging
Yesterday, I had the amazing opportunity to visit St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.
View from St. Peter's Square
Papal Residence
Once I entered the building, I was in awe. The sheer beauty of the church is enough to take your breath away.
We wandered through the tomb of Popes which was a bit creepy, but still amazing to see. Walking past Pope John Paul II's tomb was incredibly eerie and saddening. We were shepherded through quite quickly and no photos were allowed, but no one could take their eyes off the tomb. Some people even tossed letters and photos into the area.
After seeing the tombs, we headed into the main church and saw Michelangelo's famous Pieta and Bernini's Baldacchino. Beautiful.
Main church.
Pieta.
We went into a chapel just for private prayer. It was amazingly beautiful and I felt chills just being in the room.
Afterwards, we headed to the gift shop and purchased some beautiful and reasonably priced rosaries for our family members.
I had a great experience visiting St. Peter's and might even head back there on Monday when I go to see the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel!
View from St. Peter's Square
Papal ResidenceOnce I entered the building, I was in awe. The sheer beauty of the church is enough to take your breath away.
We wandered through the tomb of Popes which was a bit creepy, but still amazing to see. Walking past Pope John Paul II's tomb was incredibly eerie and saddening. We were shepherded through quite quickly and no photos were allowed, but no one could take their eyes off the tomb. Some people even tossed letters and photos into the area.
After seeing the tombs, we headed into the main church and saw Michelangelo's famous Pieta and Bernini's Baldacchino. Beautiful.
Main church.
Pieta.Afterwards, we headed to the gift shop and purchased some beautiful and reasonably priced rosaries for our family members.
I had a great experience visiting St. Peter's and might even head back there on Monday when I go to see the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Fabulous Barcelona
I really loved Barcelona!
We arrived in Barcelona on Saturday early afternoon and headed to Urbaney Hostel. We were pretty happy with our 6 person dorm room hostel. It was very nice and a good place for young people to stay.
Reilly and I on the terrace of our hostel with the Torre Agbar in the background
To see the city, we purchased a pass for the tour bus that lets you hop on and off as you please. We rode around on the bus for a few hours checking out the city and stopped off a few times.
Some of the highlights we saw: La Sagrada Familia and Gaudi's architecture.
La Sagrada Familia
People in Barcelona generally don't eat dinner until very late, so we ate dinner around midnight. We ate at an amazing restaurant. The sangria was awesome!
Delicious sangria at dinner
After dinner, we headed to a bar called Chupito's that my friend Sarah recommended to me. The bar specializes in shots that involve fire. I had a "boy scout" shot where I roasted a marshmallow over a fire on the bar and then took a shot. Another shot that we did had us dipping our thumb in the alcohol, the bartender lighting out finger on fire, sucking our thumb and then taking the shot. This bar was definitely an experience to say the least.
On Sunday, we headed to the beach (my favorite!). It was a beautiful day, and we spent hours relaxing and reading on the beach. The beach wasn't as clean as I thought it would be, but we were on the first beach near the city, so maybe that's to be expected.
Beach
Sunday night, we went out for another great dinner. I had steak which was really great considering I don't eat a lot of meat here in Rome. After dinner, we headed to the "Magic Fountain" to see an amazing show of lights, fountains, and music. It was great.
Fountain show
After that, we wandered down La Rambla, a pretty happening street full of bars, clubs, and restaurants.
Barcelona was great and I had so much fun. There are definitely some things I didn't get to see, but overall, I think I was able to catch a lot in the short 2 days I spent there.
Have you ever been to Barcelona? What was your favorite part?
We arrived in Barcelona on Saturday early afternoon and headed to Urbaney Hostel. We were pretty happy with our 6 person dorm room hostel. It was very nice and a good place for young people to stay.
Reilly and I on the terrace of our hostel with the Torre Agbar in the backgroundTo see the city, we purchased a pass for the tour bus that lets you hop on and off as you please. We rode around on the bus for a few hours checking out the city and stopped off a few times.
Some of the highlights we saw: La Sagrada Familia and Gaudi's architecture.
La Sagrada FamiliaPeople in Barcelona generally don't eat dinner until very late, so we ate dinner around midnight. We ate at an amazing restaurant. The sangria was awesome!
Delicious sangria at dinnerAfter dinner, we headed to a bar called Chupito's that my friend Sarah recommended to me. The bar specializes in shots that involve fire. I had a "boy scout" shot where I roasted a marshmallow over a fire on the bar and then took a shot. Another shot that we did had us dipping our thumb in the alcohol, the bartender lighting out finger on fire, sucking our thumb and then taking the shot. This bar was definitely an experience to say the least.
On Sunday, we headed to the beach (my favorite!). It was a beautiful day, and we spent hours relaxing and reading on the beach. The beach wasn't as clean as I thought it would be, but we were on the first beach near the city, so maybe that's to be expected.
BeachSunday night, we went out for another great dinner. I had steak which was really great considering I don't eat a lot of meat here in Rome. After dinner, we headed to the "Magic Fountain" to see an amazing show of lights, fountains, and music. It was great.
Fountain showAfter that, we wandered down La Rambla, a pretty happening street full of bars, clubs, and restaurants.
Barcelona was great and I had so much fun. There are definitely some things I didn't get to see, but overall, I think I was able to catch a lot in the short 2 days I spent there.
Have you ever been to Barcelona? What was your favorite part?
Saturday, June 20, 2009
In Barcelona
I'm currently in Barcelona!
Get ready for a picture-filled update when I return!
Has anyone ever been to Barcelona? What was your favorite part of the city?
Get ready for a picture-filled update when I return!
Has anyone ever been to Barcelona? What was your favorite part of the city?
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Barcelona Bound!
I'm heading to Barcelona early on Saturday morning until Monday morning.
Since I have such a short time there, I really want to make the most of it.
What are my Barcelona must-sees?
Since I have such a short time there, I really want to make the most of it.
What are my Barcelona must-sees?
Weekend In Paris
Check out my guest blog post on Wandering Educators about my weekend in Paris.
Click here to read my post!
Click here to read my post!
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