I am just back from my fall break! I got back by train this morning at 8:30am, took a midterm at 3:45pm, and have been catching up with email, facebook, pictures, and tv shows ever since! So I thought I'd do a little description of my amazing vacation and post a few pictures!
My roomie Elizabeth and I started took an overnight train to Milan, and spent the whole day there. It has an absolutely beautiful Duomo (cathedral), which is the heart of the city, and an amazing castle that reminded me a bit of Ireland. The city itself is quite pretty, and fairly small. And the shopping is....amazing. If I had a trillion dollars, I would immediately go shopping in Milan. We took a sight-seeing bus around the city, since we didn't know anyone there to show us around, had some incredible gelato and pizza, and then got back on the train to Florence!
Milan's Duomo exterior
Prada in Milan...I was afraid to go inside because it looked so chic.
Me outside of the castle in Milan!
Elizabeth's last name is "Cinque" which means "five" in Italian. Her name was everywhere!
When we got to Florence, we went immediately to the apartment of Elizabeth's friend from Santa Barbara, Bran, who is studying in Florence. Over the next few days we saw everything I had on my nerdy Art History checklist, except for Michelangelo's David, which was closed on our last day in Florence. We saw the Duomo, the Uffizi, the Arno River, the Medici Palace, San Lorenzo's Basillica, climbed to the top of the Duomo for some incredible views of Florence, and shopped around at the San Lorenzo market! I splurged on a leather jacket for myself, and bought a few christmas presents for my family and friends. But the city of Florence was really laid back, a bit touristy, but just lovely. And everyone spoke English...everywhere! Through all of Italy and Amsterdam, there was never a language barrier problem, which was a bit surprising. But I think I was just so excited to see everything I had been studying and finally see what all the hype was about!
Duomo in Florence
Elizabeth and I on top of the Duomo with all of Florence behind us!
Inside the Medici Palace, which I know waaaay too much about for my own good. This family essentially started the branch banking system that we still use today, had control of Papal and governmental funds and therefore essentially ruled Italy and beyond until the end of the 15th century. And this is where they lived!
One of my favorite statues that I studied sophomore year, "Judith and Holofernes" by Donatello, 1460.
My favorite spot in Florence: outside of the Uffizi Museum right on the Arno river at sunset.
Elizabeth, Bran, and I outside of the Bronze Baptistry doors in front of the duomo.
Then we were off to Rome! We were a little discouraged by the torrential downpour that hit as soon as we got there, as well as the horrible public transportation, but as soon as we saw the Pantheon, things were looking up! Afterwards, we found my mom's old dorm that she stayed in when she studied in Rome in college...the Hotel Tiziano. We even ate gelato at a place next to her old favorite cafe across the street. Kind of a cool concept!
We eventually saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Arch of Constantine, St. Peter's Basillica, Vatican Museum, Sistine Chapel, and had more gelato, pasta, and pizza than I thought possible for one person to eat (that goes for all of my stops in Italy)!
Outside my mom's old dorm in Rome!
Elizabeth and I in the Colosseum
The Arch of Constantine with a bit of the Colosseum in the background!
St. Peter's!
St. Peter's interior...pictures don't do it justice.
After Rome, we headed off to Amsterdam to meet up with some of my best friends from Santa Clara, Liz and Meri. It was great to see them and few of my other girlfriends who were in Amsterdam for Halloween weekend. We saw the Van Gogh Museum, which was incredible, as I'm a huge fan! We also went to the Anne Frank House, a very emotional but very cool experience, and walked around Vondel Park. Amsterdam is home to the nicest people I have ever met in my life. Literally from the moment Elizabeth and I stepped off the train to the minute we left, every single person we met including perfect strangers were more than willing to help with directions or pointing us towards cool places to see. We saw the red light district, which was a bit surreal and kind of creepy, but an Amsterdam experience to say the least. And overall had a fantastic time with fantastic people!
The Red Light District (with streets literally lit in red)
Canal near our hostel
And now that I'm back home in Barcelona, I could not be happier! As much fun as I had on break, I am exhausted and ready to get back in the swing of things around here. I have 2 more travel weekends planned, one to London and one to Paris, and then I'm in Barcelona for the last whole month!
I'll be updating as much as I can with new adventures, and I hope that everything back in the States is going alright for everyone.
Love,
Mary
