Bonjourno, Ciao, Hola, Hasta La Vista

  Two Words... Spring. Break. 


I just got back from my spring break vacation in Italy and Spain! A group of friends and I spent 10 fun filled days in Florence, Rome, and Barcelona! 


There is no possible way I can recall every little detail of what we did but let me try to give an acceptable recap of all major events and my experiences in general.


1. REAL PIZZA IS THE FOOD OF THE GODS. 

Alex enjoying the typical meal...Pizza!

       The first day that I was in Florence I had to order a margherita pizza, basically just a cheese pizza, but its Italy so they get fancy on ya and call it margherita. Literally, the most delicious thing I've had while being abroad. It didn't taste like I expected it to- more of a vodka sauce type of flavor and the crust was thin, yet fluffy and just all around delicious. I was THIS CLOSE to ordering an espresso or cappuccino but then I decided to NOT be a jittering, fidgeting mess and stuck with water instead.  


2. FLORENCE IS BEAUTIFUL.
  
      For some reason I never felt the need to go to Florence because Rome had always overshadowed it in my mind. But let me tell you, Florence is the best. The buildings and countryside around the city are really amazing. There aren't many taxis in Florence because its much smaller and is so walkable. We walked everywhere the entire time we were there. There is so much to see and eat in Florence. I saw the David statue, the Ponte Vecchio, Il Duomo and the Tuscan countryside when our group took a half day tour of the Chianti Wine Country!

Il Duomo, Florence

A Ginger on the Ponte Vecchio

   Even the streets of Florence were adorable. Every day we walked through the  San Lorenzo Market outside the Medici Chapel. This market sells a lot of leather goods like belts, purses, bracelets, wallets, anything that could be made out of leather...its in this market. There were some ceramic products too that had the Firenze Fleur De Lis all over the place. 


3. ROME IS AMAZING, BUT IT MAKES YOUR HAIR SMELL.
    I don't know why this was the case in Italy, but everyone's hair, including my own, smelled funky after being out in the city for a few hours. Even after a shower and scrubbing my hair with shampoo, there was still a faint smell of pollution and none of us could figure out a way to avoid it. 

   Aside from smelly head syndrome, Rome is really cool. I took the typical tourist route and took a bus tour of the city. I can't remember the names of the half the things I saw while on that tour but I took a copious amount of pictures of stuff that looked important or might at some point be on the Travel Channel. 


    My favorite sight to see in Rome was the Colosseum. I had to try really hard not to constantly quote Gladiator or Ben-Hur...I struggled- all I could think was:

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions..." "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!"            People looked at me funny - oh well. Haters gonna hate.  Where's Paolo?      Another favorite spot of mine was the Trevi Fountain. Even though it was by far the most touristy spot and swarming with people, I got to throw a coin over my shoulder and made a wish! I kept my eyes peeled for any Italian boys who may mistake me for their Italian Pop Singing Partner but no luck. I just don't have one of those faces I guess. It sucks to.. because, hey now, hey now...I thought this is what dreams are made of.   So I went back to singing THIS SONG everywhere I went while occasionally stopping to say "Mi scusi, where's the gelato?"  3. THE VATICAN IS HUGE     After a really busy day in Rome, we all passed out pretty early after another delicious Italian meal and prepared ourselves to wake up early to get to the Vatican City the next morning.  So we woke up earlier than we had the entire trip and got ourselves to the Vatican. Since it was a Wednesday, the day that the Pope does his demonstration, Rome was full of people and it was difficult to find a taxi. We arrived at the Vatican a little later than planned but luckily it was a beautiful day and we hung around St. Peter's Square while the Pope spoke before heading towards the Vatican Museum for our tour.      The tour was very interesting and let us skip the line so we wouldn't be waiting for hours and hours. The Vatican Museum is a maze of statues, tapestries, paintings and murals. If we didn't have a guide, I guarantee you I would still be wandering through the halls looking for the Sistine Chapel... and more gelato.  4. PEOPLE WILL SELL ANYTHING ON THE STREET.    The amount of street vendors and just randos that will walk up to you on the street is nuts. We were approached by countless Bangladeshian (yeah?) men selling flowers. They followed us into stores and restaurants just because they heard our American accents and assume that we have money...FALSE. We're in college. We have no money...money is an illusion.  5. BARCELONA MAKES ME WISH I LIKED SEAFOOD.      I don't do fish.. but Barcelona made me wish I could appreciate it.  6. THE CHEETAH GIRLS MOVIE MAKES ME WANNA FLAMENCO DANCE.     Amigas, Cheetahs, friends for life! 7. I HAVE NEVER SEEN COLOR LIKE I HAVE AT THE GAUDI PARC GUELL.   My favorite thing about Barcelona was the Parc Guell. The artist, Gaudi created and designed this park with a mosaic technique. The entire park is built into the side of a hill... it made me miss URI a little bit..but anyway- As you climb up the stairs of the park you see more and more of Barcelona. The paths are lined with palm trees and stone arches that made me feel like I was in paradise. BUT the coolest part of the whole park was the twisted tiled benches that hung over the entryway of the park. So many colorful pieces of tile and glass are set into this bench and I just couldn't help but be an artsy hipster for a moment and take pictures!    If any of you are ANTM fans like me, you'll recognize this picture as the runway location for Caridee and Melrose's season where they were the screaming brides during the finale show!    Where's Tyra?.. probably talking about herself. Entrance to Parc Guell  This was the best Spring Break I've ever had! I got to see so much, eat some of the best food and experience new things with my friends, I will never forget this trip! Back in London now, a little less than two months until the program is over and it's back to America! But don't worry- many more London adventures to come soon!  -Marn