Spring Break Part 1
This past week was undoubtedly one of the busiest, most
exhausting, but all around best weeks of my life. Italy was pretty fantastic to
say the least. The food, the culture, and the views were all great, but the
people on the trip definitely made it even better.
Getting to Italy started off a little rough. Apparently if
you don’t check-in in advance, you have to pay an extra 50 euros… That kind of
sucked, but at least now we know now, right? Someone also forgot to take out
his switchblade from his backpack which made for an interesting encounter at
security. The same person also sat in a seat with at least two lighters buried
underneath. Both were not his, but they fell out during the flight, and the
stewardess seemed a little questioning. However, our seats on the plane were in
the exit row, and there was SO MUCH leg room. It was heaven.
Our first destination was Milan. Our air bnb had a slight
odor of cat poop. Aside from the smell, the place was in a great location. We
spent our time in Milan seeing the cathedral, the shopping center, some
‘canals’ and a castle. First, we climbed to the rooftop of the Duomo Milan. It
was so sunny at the top; we all just laid out and took an unnecessary amount of
pictures. Then we walked through the shopping center, Galleria Vittorio
Emanuele II. If you can’t tell from the name, there are some of the most
expensive stores there...Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada etc. All we could afford
was gelato. Blake mentioned some beautiful canals in the area, so naturally we
wanted to see them. However, to our dismay, the ‘canals’ were almost all dried
up. I think there was more water in my water bottle. We then walked through a
castle. It was huge and had a gorgeous courtyard. There was one room that was
shaped like a violin; it brought back memories of my middle school days in
orchestra…
Our next stop was Florence. I really enjoyed Florence, or
Firenze I should say. The Tuscan atmosphere was spectacular. The Italian
Cypress trees are so beautiful and give the landscape a very country-side feel.
Some highlights from Florence included seeing the cathedral, some real canals, and
an overlook of the whole city. The cathedral in Florence was unlike many of
those I have seen in Europe thus far. The entire exterior is covered in white
and green stone; it’s a beautiful sight. We climbed all the way to the top to a
great view of the city: red roofs atop every building and the Italian Alps in
the background. I took my sweet time making it up to the top, taking in the
view as I ascended. We then saw the inside of the cathedral itself and the
baptism building. Later, we saw some actual canals! They were quite picturesque
with cute bridges spanning the water. The next day we walked to the vantage
point, which had the most breathtaking view of Florence. The panoramic view was
surely unforgettable.
Next stop was Roma….
No comments:
Post a Comment