Chao

May 8-14
Italy was amazing! I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. The cities were beautiful and ancient, the gelatin was delightful and the guys were gorgeous. The Italian boys fulfilled every girl's dream guy: tall, dark and handsome!

May8
The excursion began in Nuerenberg where Beverly (Penn.), Katrina (Clemson) and I took a train to Nue. Because we were running so late, we were not able to buy a train ticket before we got onto the train. This is typically not a good decision to make because the fees are ridiculously high. As predicted, a lady came through the train checking for tickets. After explaining that we needed to get on the train because of our flight to Rome, she decided to let us off our fines and pay nothing at all. We were in so much luck! I have to say, it was so much nicer to fly to Rome then spend over 10 hrs on the train. We arrived around 8pm and headed straight to our headquarter...which was a campsite. I know what you are probably thinking now...'Priscilla stayed at a campsite?!' Yes I did! Well, I guess a typical camper would not consider this an actual camping adventure since we had our private room with bunk beds, but it didn't start off that way. When we first arrived at Camp Tiber, which was 20 minutes from the main city centre, we were placed in a complex that always had the overhead light on, had 4 beds in each room that what was closed off by a curtain, and there were bugs crawling on the walls and beds from the windows being open. Beverly headed back to the reception area and questioned about the safety of this type of environment. Way to go BEV! After little discussion, Camp Tiber put us into our own four bunk room with a lock! We were so happy!
That night, we went to the bar/restaurant and got us some beers. We were in need of something after our day. We headed back to our room and played cars the rest of the night. I know...we are so cool!

May 9
We had an early start after walking to our showers and peeling kiwis with our fingernails for breakfast. We headed straight to Rome's main information center, which was a load of crap. Basically, you don't walk into any tourists' information place unless you know exactly what information you want. We had no idea what there was really to see in Italy besides the common knowledge things such as the Colosseum, Vatican, and the Roman ruins. Eventually we got the information necessary to continue with our scavenger hunt through Rome. Our first stop though was good old McDonald's. All I have to say is that we were on a budget and were so hungry. After our lunch, we headed to the main Archaeological area. There we saw the Colosseum and the Forums. As we were walking in the Colosseum, Katrina broke her flip flop so we needed to find a store to buy new ones. After spending 15 minutes walking around, Katrina walked into a store and the lady offered to staple them...that was the best solution we had found and it worked! As we made our way from Capital Hill, we walked to the Pantheon which is Rome's only intact architecturally monument from classical times. It contains the tombs of many famous people including Raphael and kings and queens of Italy. The Pantheon is an open dome where when it rains, little wholes in the floor drain the water. It is pretty amazing to see!
Our next stop was the Fontana Di Trevi, where the three of us three coins into the fountain because supposedly this means that one day we shall return to Rome...which I hope to do! As we were eating our Gelatin, we wandered towards the Spanish Steps. Here many people sit and enjoy the scenery and company of others. At the time, there was some modelling thing going on, where Asian girls were posing with their flag. I wonder if it was for a Next Top Model show!
Anyways, by this time we were all pretty worn out from walking around all day in the heat, so we headed back to Tiber Campsite where we ate dinner, drank really bad beer, and played cards.

May 10
The next day we woke up a little earlier to visit the Vatican Museum. As we approached, we realized that the line was very long. However, the Vatican was a must see and the line seemed to move pretty quickly, so we waited. Later I found out that the Pope blessed the crowd ever Thursday...so the crowd must have just come from being blessed! Schade I wasn't there. Inside the Vatican was nothing that I expected. It was huge with so many different pieces of artwork. You could have been there the entire day and just see a quarter of the artwork! The highlights of the Vatican included seeing the 'Last Judgment' by Michaelangelo, the Sistine Chapel, and many painting by Michaelangelo and Raphael. It was amazing to see such fine artwork dedicated to preaching the word of God.
Next to the Vatican Museum is St. Peter's Basilica, which claims to house the remains of the apostle St. Peter. Besides a statue of St. Peter where one rubs the feet, the superb baldaquin catches visitors' eyes. It was very beautiful. We climbed the Dome of St. Peter's, which was painted and made by Michaelangelo. Going up was quite difficult. The steps were narrow as well as the walls. The walls ever curved inward the farther up one went. It was definitely worth climbing to the top though because one was able to see picturesque views of Rome.
Our next stop was Piazza Navona or Circus Agonale which traced the shape of the Stadium of Domitian. Here was once were naval battles were staged, but now is a place where many artists paint and sell their pieces of work. We then headed back towards the Archaeological ruins to see Circo Massimo, where the chariot races were held. Currently, there is not many remains besides a few stones, but the shape of the area remains. Our final visit in Rome was to the Roman Baths of Caracalla. The remains we saw were hard to really picture what they once looked like, but it was still a sight! Being our last night in Rome, we decided to actually buy a meal. We went to a pizza place and each bought pizza and a dessert. The Tiramissu was delicious, however I think I still like Chicago pizza the best!


May 11
Today we were traveling to Florence, the heart of art and culture in my eyes. As soon as we arrived, I had to make a few stops. First thing was first, I had no more room on my camera to take pictures so I needed to upload all my Rome pictures to a CD. I also needed to buy new sandals, because like Katrina, I broke my sandals that day in Florence. The sandals I bought were the most uncomfortable shoes I ever worn...but they lasted me through the day. Our first must see was the Academy Gallery which houses the famous 'David' statue by Michaelangelo. He was beautiful! Pictures do not do him justice! The rest of the gallery housed busts, painting, and old artifacts, but the David...o the David.



We then saw the Cathedral of Florence, which was amazing both in the inside and outside. Right next to the Cathedral was Baptistery of St. Giovanni with the famous 'Gate of Paradise' doors. While Katrina waited in line for the Museum of the Uffizi Gallery, Beverly and I wandered around. As we left Katrina, Beverly began to haggle with a guy for a copy purse of Chanel. She brought the price down to 15 euros, but we still walked away because we had no money on us. This was probably a good decision because after returning from Italy, we found out that the replica purses that our friends bought were already falling apart. As we saw the Ponte Vecchio, the city's oldest bridge, the next interesting thing happened. I wanted this girl to take a picture of Beverly and I in front of the bridge, but she bluntly refused and this random guy came up and wanted to grab my camera to take a picture. Of course I didn't give it to him...he was so sketchy!

Beverly and I walked around a little more across the Bridge and realized that shopping is amazing in Italy. We had to get ourselves out of there otherwise we were going to be dirt poor. We headed back to where Katrina was waiting in line so we could enter the Uffizi Gallery. The gallery was really nice to see with millions of well-known paintings. There were so many rooms that my feet were actually starting to hurt so I had to take breaks with Beverly. After we finished walking through the gallery, we headed to the Church of San Lorenzo, where the internal facade was done by Micahelangelo. Unfortunately it was already closed so we could not go inside. The outside was plain for Michaelangelo was not able to finish it.
After our long day in Florence we headed to Venice, where once again we would be staying at a campsite called Della Serenissima. This time it was actually a trailer, but it was not that bad besides being really hot!

May 12
This was our first day in Venice and our last full day in Italy. Venice was definitely my favorite city from all the cities we saw in Italy. We took a boat taxi to the main Lagoon. As we wandered around, we came to the main tourist sight, Piazza San Marco. I knew coming to St. Mark's square that I wanted to feed the pigeons like you see in the movies. As I bought the seeds, I immediately was being attacked by pigeons. It seriously freaked me out! I basically threw the bag to Katrina and let her start feeding the pigeons as I prepared myself. Katrina was being swarmed with pigeons so I decided it was my turn to grab the bag of seeds. I attempted three times to feed the birds and each time I was screaming. It was just so weird to have birds sitting on you and eating from your hand. I believe I attracted many onlookers because I just couldn't keep myself from screaming as the pigeons were on me. Once we finished the bag, the three of us headed to St. Mark's Basilica. It was the most beautiful basilicas that I have seen. It was very medieval looking inside.


Walking around in Venice, we knew that it would be impossible to follow a map, so we basically got ourselves lost. We did see many things including the Clock Tower, St. Mark's Basin, The Sigh Bridge, and the theatre. Mostly, we spent money on souvenirs for us and our families. We also witnessed four weddings...but no funerals. It's a joke...Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Anyways, we came back to our campsite and hung out on our porch area eating dinner and looking at our purchasers. Yes, I gave in a bought a mask with Beverly. It's my first piece of really art that I bought!

May 13
After packing up and storing our bags, we went on a boat taxi that taxied around the Grand Canal. Our destination was the island of Murano. Here we went to a glass factory and witnessed the creation of glass products. We also gave in and bought some jewelry. We then headed to a little cafe and ate spaghetti. It was good but nothing special. I honestly do not understand why people make such a big deal about the pizza and pasta in Italy. The best food we ate there was the Galeto...ice cream! Our next stop was the supposedly one of the world's best known beaches in Lido. Too bad I didn't bring my bathing suit, because the beach was beautiful.
After finishing up our time in Venice, we headed to the airport where we flew to Munich...which took about 30 minutes. It had to be the shortest plane ride I ever was on! Unfortunately we missed our last train to Bamberg, so we stayed in the airport until 4am and then took the first train back to Bamberg.
Overall, Italy was amazing and I would return in a heartbeat!



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