Italy - Day 2 (Roma)

To start Day 2 off, we began at St. Peter’s Square inside the Vatican, home to St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, the apartment where the Pope lives, and a measely looking Christmas tree. The square is made up of a semi-circle of columns around the basilica to represent “welcome arms” to the Catholic Church. On top of all the columns are statues of former Popes and Saints.

After walking around the square we went inside the Vatican Museums. Some things I saw:
Roman Statues.
Examples of the first form of writing - cuneiform.


Other miscellaneous sculptures. For the life of me I can't remember the names of them or who they are by, but I do know they are important. Haha.


This one has eyes!!!! Freaky.
A hallway of old maps of Italy.
Inside the Papal Apartments - where the Popes used to live.

Inside the Sistine Chapel (Capella Sistina). We weren’t allowed to take pictures, but I took one anyways, so that’s why it’s not a very good picture. But you can still see how amazing Michelangelo’s paintings are.

Next up we went inside St. Peter’s Basilica, the world’s largest cathedral in terms of floor space. I don’t really remember the Bible story behind St. Peter’s but it goes something like this: Jesus and three people were on a mountain when Jesus asked them who he was. Peter got it right when he said Messiah, and so Jesus said “Peter you are the rock on which I build my church” – hence, St. Peter’s Basilica. St. Peter is now buried beneath the high alter on which only the Pope can preach.

The dome was built was Michelangelo – 448 ft high.

Pieta by Michelangelo – Sculpture of Mary holding Jesus in her lap.

Mosaic painting inside the cathedral.

After we finished up exploring St. Peter’s Square we went to the Spanish Steps.

Me, Emmalee, Liz, Sami, and Allison.

The Spanish Steps were built in 1726 and are known for their combination of straight sections, curves, and terraces. At the top of the steps we saw a beautiful view of the city.

The rest of the afternoon we had free time for shopping along the Via Del Corso, Rome’s main shopping area. Filled with Louis Vitton, Dior, and Gucci, it was slightly out of my price range J

For the evening Tony took us to Trastavere, Rome’s main nightlife and restaurant area. We had supper at a pizzeria and I had a scrumptious eggplant and cheese pizza.

And then gelato for dessert of course! Haha. A few of us stayed in the area to grab a few drinks. Fortunately the bartender spoke English.

Italy - Day 1 (Roma)

ITALY!!!!!!!!!

I've always, always, always wanted to go to Italy. Finally, I did! (and it won't be the first time either... I hope).

This was another trip through AIU and as always, led by Tony. We spent 3 days in Rome, 2 days in Florence, and 2 days in Venice. It. Was. Amazing.

Day 1 - ROMA

Our first day was spent not doing a whole lot because we didn't arrive till late afternoon. Tony took us on a quick little walk around town to get to know the area. The first place we went to was Piazza Navona.There was a carousel and other carnival rides as well as Christmas/market-y stands.
In the plaza there was a gorgeous fountain by Bernini, the Fountain of the Four Rivers. The Church of St. Agnes is in the background.
On each of the four corners of the fountain are statues of gods that represent the major rivers in the world: Nile, Danube, Ganges, and Plate.
We grabbed supper at this cute little restaurant, Ciccia Bomba (which translates to Fat Baby). I had my first dish of Italian pasta - tomato, bacon, and pepper rigatoni... yumm!And for dessert? Gelato. I have never had more of one food in a short amount of time than gelato in Italy. My goodness, I had it literally twice a day. It was ridiculously delicious.Then we kept'a walking and saw the Pantheon, a Roman temple from 126 AD. It's really important architecturally because many famous buildings, such as Westminster Abbey, have been copied from it.
Next we saw this column - Column of Marcus Aurelius, which has a picture story of some war spiraling around it to the top.
Finally we ended our night at the Trevi Fountain - the cities largest Baroque fountain and one of the world's most famous.
If you toss a coin into the fountain from your left hand over your right shoulder facing away from the fountain, then it means you will return to Rome one day. Let's hope. Maybe I should have tossed more than one coin for more luck.

And so ends day one!

The days are winding down....

I have been horrible at updating this lately, I know.

Today is my LAST (full) day in London - I just can't get it in my head that I've been here for 10 weeks and now it's already time to say goodbye. November just flew by!!!

Tomorrow morning a small group of AIU students (including me) are going on a trip to Italy, led by the most amazing tour guide ever, Tony. We will spend 3 days in Rome, 2 days in Florence, then 2 days in Venice.

Then it's back to London, but not for long, because Elizabeth and I are flying down to Montpellier, France, where a relative of mine is living for the year. So we are going to visit her and her husband for the weekend. Then, on our way back to London, we are hitting up Paris for a day!

Finally, I fly back home December 21. So between now and then, there is a lot of traveling involved and needless to say, I know for a fact I won't be updating this soon.

However, during Christmas break I intend to post lots and lots of blogs - museums, recent pictures around London, the differences I've noticed between the UK and US, and of course, Italy and France.

So please check back at the end of the month for the COMPLETE story of my European experience.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays!

It's been awhile.

I almost forgot I had a blog, that's how busy life has been lately!

The countdown is at 18 days till I come home. It seems so unreal that just a little over two months ago I packed my life into a suitcase and backpack, came to London, and started a new chapter of my life here.

This past weekend was my last full weekend in London. I couldn't have had a better last weekend here because my best friend came to visit for the week. With Andrew here, the NDSU student count in London rose from 2 to 3 :) Haha.

London just got its first snowfall a couple days ago. The front page headline of the London Evening Standard read 'SNOWSTORM'. I had to laugh. This snow has got nothing on North Dakota! Supposedly its a lot more snow then they normally get, but being from ND, I don't think its much at all.

Pending snow conditions at the airport, tomorrow I am off to Amsterdam for the weekend. Next week I'll finish up with all my finals and school will be done for the semester. Then its off to Italy and France before I head back to the states. December will be FULL of traveling!

I haven't really taken much for pictures lately other than the ones from when Andrew was here. I'll try to get some up, plus some posts on the museums I've been to, when I get back from Amsterdam. Then next week will be full of studying and shopping before I'm off to travel Europe. I won't be updating my blog while I'm in Italy and France, but I will definitely update this with pictures and stories when I return home!

London's first snowfall of the year.

On November 30th, London had its first snowfall for the year. It didn't last long though, I'm pretty sure it melted by the next day.