Rome:
I rode on a night train for the first time on the way to Rome. It was nice to be able to lie down in a bed and catch up on some reading while on the way to Italy. It's also a little strange to go to sleep hearing one language and wake up hearing another. We got into Rome and immediately
bought a map (which would come in handy for the next few days), found our hostel and met up with the rest of our group. We decided to buy some 3 day metro passes and head to the Vatican. 
We were accosted by a tour guide as soon as we left the metro, he appeared to have a good deal for us. For 40 euros we got to skip the lines for the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica, and had a personal tour guide. It was nice for a while having a tour guide for a small group, but assoon as we left Vatican square and headed into the museum, our group nearly tripled in size. It was nice to hear the background of some of the more well-known pieces in the museum. I'm not sure I would have appreciated the art as much without knowing the artist or current events of the time it was made. The Sistine Chapel was by far my favorite part of the tour, however pictures were not allowed. That night we walked around the Colosseum, had a look at some ancient bathhouses, visited the Trevi Fountain (threw in two coins, one for me and Brittany), had some more gelato, and walked around the Popolo Piazza.The second day we toured the Colosseum and Roman Forum. It was interesting to see all the ancient Roman's old buildings and imagine daily life. I am still amazed how much time they would dedicate to a building; hundreds of marble statues peppered all over with precise detail work applied to each one. It's awe inspiring. The Colosseum alone took over 30 years to complete. Can you imagine working on one building for your entire life? We later walked by the
capital building which resembled an ancient building (as far as fine details and statues are considered) only covered in pearl white marble. We had a light dinner that night and went to visit the Spanish Steps (where Chase, Austin and I bought laser pointers) and the Trevi fountain again (I had to toss two more coins in to renew another visit for Brittany and I). While at the Spanish steps, I saw some street art from a relatively famous street artist who goes by the name: Space Invader. I think the name explains itself with the picture.
The last day, we visited the Pantheon , the St. Angelo's Castle, and just walked around a park for the most part of the day. Our hostel had a free wine and pizza party Monday night, where we met some cool folks. We went on a bar crawl that night, but those details are not appropriate for this blog. The next day, we caught a train to Florence.
Florence:
On the train to Florence, we ran into a cool guy we met at the pizza party the night before, Ben. He'd been travelling for the past 9 months and makes his money from an online business. He had some really interesting stories! His journey through life definitely took him around the world. The first day in Florence we went to the Uffizi museum and ate at a really nice Italian restaurant that night. By the time Uffizi was over, I was all "art-ed out." I mean, the museums were nice and really interesting, but at this point I'd rather spend my money on something else. The food in Florence was all around better than Rome, by far. We ate at this organic farm/winery in San Gimano, which took my taste buds to places they've never been before. It was great! We also visited the leaning tower of Pisa and a replica of the statue of David. Florence was amazing, and the food was delicious, but there's still more to come.
Barcelona:
Chase and I caught a flight out to Barcelona and stayed two nights there. The first night, we met up with other students from the Biosciences group who had been there for the entire week and went to a bar for some drinks. The next day was the epitome of Spanish lifestyle. We woke up around 11, cooked breakfast, went to the beach, got a tan, drank beer, walked around, took a siesta, ate lunch around 5:30, took a nap, ate dinner, then our night began and didn't end until around 6am. The sun was coming up when we went to bed. I have never had a day like that before in my life, but I could probably get used to it. I was enjoying Barcelona so much, I barely took any pictures. I just wanted to enjoy the moment without trying to capture the moment.
Anyways, this is just a quick synopsis of the past 10 days. Much more happened (that may or may not be allowed to discuss on this blog), and I'll keep these stories with me for the rest of my life. It's been a great semester so far, but it's sad to think it's almost over.
Until next time...
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