There is simply no way to do this post justice, so I am just going to give a little summary of each city and do my best to capture the incredibility that was my entire Easter vacation week.
Stop #1: Paris
Andy and I were early to rise on Friday morning to catch our first train of the trip from Bordeaux to Paris. We got in to the city by 10:00, found our hostel which was less than desirable (we couldn't even get into our room until after 4:00), and then set out to give Andy a whirlwind tour of the city of lights. We climbed the Arc de Triumph, went up to the top of the Eiffel Tower in true couple fashion, and even did some shopping on the Champs Elysees. The day was packed full, and we finished it off with a spaghetti dinner with our friend from Bordeaux. The next morning Andy and I were up before the sun because we had to catch a bus to the Beauvais airport (word to the wise, pay the extra money and fly Air France- the savings is not worth the headache!).
Stop #2: Venice
Our flight landed in Venice Saturday afternoon, and we were thrilled to find Leah in the airport! We got our bearings and headed over to the island of Venice via bus. The first day, Saturday, we explored Venice and San Marco square and ran into a friendly high school face, Josh Weiss (life is just too funny sometimes). Sunday we started off the day with an unexpected Palm Sunday Mass in San Marco Basilica; it was beautiful Then we day tripped to the glass making island of Murano for a glass blowing display followed by a short stop over to the colorful Burano. Venice was unassumingly in its beauty, and it was the ideal start to our adventure. Monday we were, once again, up early after a bit of a train scare to catch our next train!
Stop #3: Florence (Cinque Terre and Pisa)
We passed the train ride with some quick power naps and then were ready to take on another city. It was absolutely perfect seeing Casey- it just further solidified our unspoken bond and mutual understanding of one another-, and it was just what I needed at the time. She was the perfect tour guide, and she showed us around her gorgeous city like a lifelong resident. She has just truly blossomed there, and it was lovely to witness. One of the highlights of the trip was running into so many friends from home- Cece, Annalise, Emily, and Mary Taylor were all in Florence when we were! We spent some time catching up with them over gelato and apperativo (the greatest Italian invention- you order a drink, any drink, for 5-8 Euros ad then you get a buffet dinner!) My favorite sight has to be Piazelle Michelangelo- we climbed it twice, and there is something so moving about feeling like you are on top of the entire city. Casey and I had a mind clearing run up here one night, and it is a moment I absolutely treasure. We also went inside the Duomo, saw the David at Academia, and crossed the Ponte Vecchio. I honestly fell in love with Florence, and I cannot wait to return. It has so much history and is a sort of little, big city. On Tuesday of our stay, we trained in to the Cinque Terre- a series of five Italian cities carved into the coast-, and the beauty we saw while walking Lovers Lane cannot be explained. Next it was a quick stop in Pisa to take the infamous "leaning tower" pictures before returning back to Florence. We left Casey on Thursday morning as she headed to Greece and we boarded the train to Sorrento (well kind of).
Stop #4: Sorrento
We arrived on the coast lying city of Sorrento in the middle of the afternoon on Thursday after taking the train from Florence to Naples and the transferring to a local train to get to the city of Sorrento. The first day we just stayed in the city after braving the street from our camp ground “hut” into the city. The next day, we went to the port in the morning for our boat ride to Capri. Once on the island, we took a boat tour around and then went to explore the blue grotto- a sort of cave that appears to be blue because of the way the sun strikes the entrance. It was a sight to see, and I am glad we all did it together. After the boat tour, we spent some time in the town of Capri and, while walking, Leah and I ran into Amanda Oates from UT and her friends! We spent the afternoon catching up before heading back to Sorrento to get our train to Naples (where a necessary stop was made for the infamous pizza) and then to Rome.
Stop #5: Rome
Late Friday evening, around 11:30, we set foot in Rome. It was so unreal being back in the city that I visited almost three years ago with my family on my first visit to Europe. After getting off the train, we had some difficulty navigating to our hotel, and we didn’t make it there until almost 1:00 in the morning. Wrecked from the day, we slept soundly in our oasis of a hotel to rest up for the days ahead of us. Saturday we hit the ground running, starting the day at the Vatican, getting lunch at Rosciolli’s near the Pantheon, and concluding the day with a tour of the Coliseum and a coffee across the street. It was all as beautiful as I remembered, and I just wanted to make it as special for Leah and Andy as it was for me. Sunday, Easter, we made our way to St. Peters for Easter Mass said by the Pope. These few hours were some of the most surreal of my life. I felt so blessed to be there and to be in the company of such incredible friends. After our religious experience, we did some necessary exploration of the city, popping into stores and picking up souvenirs like Andy’s Italian cookbooks. Following lunch, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain where we met Ben from UT! We caught up very quickly and then he walked us to the Roman Forum where we walked through the ancient Roman ruins of Nero. As the sun was setting, we found ourselves atop the Spanish Steps- things couldn’t have been better. We ended our stay in Rome with some Italian pasta and gelato for Leah.
I had the trip of a lifetime in one week and the company of two of my favorite people. Grazie Italia.