Ciao Bella!

So this weeks blog is about Italia!!! And it may very well be in storybook form... because I just figured out how to add pictures! haha

 I just got back from a VERY exhausting yet amaaazing week in the land of pasta wine gelato and oh yeah all that history and stuff too!

We stared the week of in beautiful Venezia (Venice). Its such an amazing little city for a lot of reasons. for one its a city completely built on water and there are as many bridges and canals as there are sidewalks. Which comes in handy when you are going on a gondola ridge through it , which we did! 

That was one of my favorite parts so I'm glad I took the plunge and we split the insane cost it is to ride in one of those. Im also glad we made it into the boat without falling into the Grand Canal, which knowing me was probably more likely to happen then not. 

Another very fun part of venice is that it was Carnevale!! So we saw all the masqueraders around St Marks Square in their very VERY intense costumes. And of course we bought masks so we could fit in :) LOTS of people had them 

sorry its sideways!

and here is my mask! 

While in venice we also climbed the bell tower! You really have no concept of the city as a whole until you see it from above so im so glad we did this. Heres a view!

andddddd

(I really wish i knew how to flip them on here....)

I think thats all the big stuff we did in Venice .... (im trying not to make this a complete novel) 

SO THEN we went to Firenze!! (Florence!!) 

Florence was also very beautiful but COOOOLLDDD brrr. 

we started our andventures exploring the leather markets and then walked toward the Arno River which was really pretty. On the river is the Ponte Vecchio; a line of shops that are kind of made into a bridge over the river. 

it looks so much prettier in real life......

and This is the river Arno!!

THEN we toook a very adventuroys little walk and discovered the Michelangelo Piazza  and saw the MOST breathtaking view of florence at night. Too bad it was extremely windy and ice cold up there but it was very much worth it. 

so we froze a little bit thennn 

found fake david!! you might think this is the real one... youd be wrong.

But the next day... WE SAW THE REAL ONEE!!!!

And I definitely was not allowed to take this picture.... snapped it real quick then got yelled at in italian. I donno where the guard lady even came i swear they have camera radars or something! 

Anyways David is amazing he is 516cm tall and beautiful! No really, hes not bad lookin! There is a quote by the statue that says after seeing david you neednt see any other sculpture because you will never see one as perfect as this one..... I think I might believe that. 

From there we went and saw the Duomo which is one of the coolest churches I have seen as of yet. Purely because the outside is really colorful and not like anything else I have seen its greens and purples and white and beautiful. 

Thennn we climbed 414 steps to the top of......

this tiny picture doesnt make it seem very impressive.... by anyways it was a tiny staircase with lots of turns and twists which makes it a little difficult cause not only are you hiking up the tower but you are also trying not to fall all the way back down the 414 steps.... 

BUT WE DID IT! so worth this view....

Okay so then... (are you still with me? is the storybook version helping you get through it? I hope so...)

We headed off to a small and ADORABLE little town called Greve which is in Chianti. 

Now all you wine freaks out there I expect you to know what this means! Vineyards!! This may very well be one of the best parts of the trip. Greve was amazing and so cute such a quintessential tuscan town and to top it off it was one of our best days weather wise. So we wandered around the town and then found a vineyard got a tour and did a wine tasting!! (Im not classy enough for stuff like this....)

But heres the vineyard!

theres lots of wine in that building..... yummmmm

 i want to sit in those chairs out there!

PS- im writing this blog while my friend Devon cuts my hair. Fingers crossed!

Back to Italy....

So after that we returned to good ol Florence for our last night in our second city of Italy and of course ate more pasta and gelato (as we did quite a bit) Before we woke up and headed off to Roma!!

Tursday morning arrived and ROMA HERE WE COME!!

Now I did love rome, just like i loved all the places I saw in Italy but I do have to say the city itself was not my favorite. Florence and Venice were so amazing to me because they are so different then any other city id been to at this point in my life and the culture was different and a really great experience. Dont get me wrong, I loved all the things I saw in Rome but to be honest It was my least favorite place of the three. However nothing will replace the feeling I got when I walked out of the rome metro station (they have NOTHING on london tubes.... just sayin...) and seeing the colosseum just right there!! IT IS AMAZING. its just such a larger then life feeling being by it, walking around it and thinking about all the history you are surrounded by. I LOVED THE COLOSSEUM. I know its very typical touristy...but for a very good reason! 

did you know... Colosseum means "the thing next to the colossus" Which was a giant sculpture next to the amphitheater that we now call the colosseum. Seemingly they cared more about whatever that thing was then the colosseum....wish i could see it! But its gone.... 

ANYWHO so with your ticket to the colosseum (which I got a discount on by the way... it pays to be an EU citizen!! I got a few handy discounts along the way!) you also get into see all of the ruins for free!

It was fun to walk around and imagine what all of these things looked like when they were in full form and what they might have used it all for and the kinds of people who lived here.... 

Other things we did in rome....

Found the Trevi fountain! 

When im rich Im going to have this put into my backyard.... 

Made my wishes!! Yes mom... i made one for you! Just like you asked!! (I really did, im pretty sure its the one in this picture too because I asked my friend to document it!) 

i dont know what this fountain is called...but we found it too haha

                                      

this one will be in my foyer 

Our last day in Italy was sunday, and we decided since we had until 6 to catch our flight, that we would use this day to see the vatican! No better day to go then sunday!! Its pretty much just fake life in there. Its amazing that its its own country with its own laws ruled by the pope. And its beautiful!

st peters square 

and an added little bonus about going on a sunday, we saw the pope! He gave his service...

.... then spoke to "his pilgrims"

this is a very zoomed picture because he was VERY far away in one of his many high high windows. He wished us a blessed day in rome, Thanks pope!

So this brings my Italian trip to and end! I dont know if this seems too short or too long for a weeks worth of stories in italy but I tried to keep it bearable! 

It was an amazing adventure and amazingly exhausting! 

Came back to life in london (I missed it! It feels like home!) and went straight back to work! Now I have a lovely haircut (Thanks Devon!) and am going to the Royal Hospital tomorrow with work! Then the spring dinner with capa (the program I am in).... WAIT that means its spring! I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS HALF OVER!!! 

Got to see my lovely aunt and her children (students) on tuesday and again on friday! then off to see my lovely Nana on saturday! busy busy!!

Cant wait until my next adventure when I get to go see KELLYYYY in Ireland WITH MEGAN AND KATIE!!! (I did the caps so you would all notice your shout outs in my blog hah)

Until next time everyone! If you made it this far and are still reading I give you a lot of credit!! 

<3 Lea