Hello Readers,
Even though we are in the south of France, this week was the first week of actual nice weather in Aix. We spent this week in class and exploring the many parks in and around Aix. We found two that we really liked: Parc Jordan and Pavillon de Vendôme.
This weekend, Katherine's roommate from home was visiting! Friday night, we went out and had fondu for dinner. It was delicious! Saturday, we went with them to Cassis where we spent the day at the beach. It was windy and a bit cool but beautiful. Carly and Jeff went in the water but the others did not want to. After a nice day at the beach we went back to Aix and got dinner together. Easter Sunday was spent relaxing, doing homework and preparing for our next adventure.
Link to Pictures from This Week: http://imgur.com/a/4kTEQ
That's all for now!
Carly and Jeff
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Week Nine: Barcelona, Sunshine and Poor Planning
Hola Amigos,
This week wasn't very exciting and you don't want to hear about post-midterm classes do you? Well we will tell you a little just in case. We had a project due in our Environmental Politics class and we rocked it. We knew the answers to all the questions people asked and even had a nice back and forth conversation with the class at the end of our presentation.
This weekend we took a group trip planned by a local travel company in Aix. It was very affordable and it included a bus to and from Barcelona, housing while in Barcelona and a bus tour of Barcelona. We would later come to find out why this was so affordable.
On Friday, we awoke early to catch a 6:00 AM but to Barcelona. The bus ride was long and uneventful. We stopped at a small bus station to get a snack and continued on our way; all the while wondering what the accommodations were to be and what was included in the cost of our trip. We arrived in Barcelona around 1:00 PM still with no clue as to where we would be staying. We got off the bus and walked with our group of about 50 people to a small youth hostel. We were given keys to our room and we were told to meet tomorrow at 10 AM for a bus tour of the city. We got to our room and met our three roommates Alex, Lan and Sandra. We were eager to explore Barcelona and immediately took off. We left the hostel into beautiful sunshine. We saw an ice cream stand and, of course, got some. Jeff suggested that we go to the beach so we began in that direction. It took about twenty minutes to get there and when we arrived we couldn't have been happier. We sat for about an hour at the beach until our hunger overtook our joy of the sun. We got some lunch at a restaurant near the beach; the food was delicious! After our meal, we headed back to the hostel where we met up with our roommates. After chatting with them in the room for a while, we discovered that they were all students studying abroad in Aix too! Alex was from Italy, Sandra from Montreal and Lan from the Netherlands. They were very nice and we quickly became friends. Lan then told us that she had a friend from home who was studying in Barcelona for the seamster and she invited us to go meet up with him and tour Barcelona a little more. We wandered around a little bit with them and afterwards, got pizza for dinner.
The next day we awoke in time to get our breakfast which, in the end, left a lot to be desired. Our breakfast turned out to be two pieces of hard-as-a-rock bread, with some jam. After we forced down our breakfast we headed towards the bus. We boarded the bus five minutes before 10, like we were told. However, the second-in-command, Thomas, was no where to be found and we "could not leave without him". So, we waited for about 30 minutes before he finally showed up and our bus tour could commence. On our bus tour, we saw Plaza de España, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, La Font, the Olympic Stadium and La Sagrada Família. We were also supposed to see Gaudi's houses and Parc Güell but the bus driver could not figure out how to get there and so the tour guide decided that we didn't need to see those and ended the tour there. So, our group of five went back to the hostel to relax for a while. After, we went to the fountain again to see the fountain show. We stayed for a couple hours and decided it was time for dinner. We went back to the main street where we sat outside and ate our dinner. Carly had a chicken paella and Jeff had pizza. Once we finished dinner, we found out that Sandra and Carly had never had churros before. Jeff thought that to be unacceptable since we were in Barcelona so we set out in search of good churros...and we found them! We walked into the small restaurant and ordered churros for all five of us. They were delicious!! They had just been cut and cooked and the chocolate that we had with them was so good. After our delicious meal and dessert, we headed back to the hostel to go to sleep.
Sunday, we awoke early with Sandra to go to Parc Güell since we didn't get to see it on our bus tour. We took the metro and arrived at the Parc. We enjoyed the beginning of our day there wandering around and admiring the architecture. When we had seen all we could at the parc, we decided it was time to leave. We found out that Sandra had never been to the beach in Barcelona before so we spent the rest of our day relaxing in the sand and sun. Around 4:00 PM we went back to the hostel, got our bags and boarded the bus to go back to Aix.
Link to pictures from Barcelona: http://imgur.com/a/Iv4Yo
Adios,
Carly and Jeff
On Friday, we awoke early to catch a 6:00 AM but to Barcelona. The bus ride was long and uneventful. We stopped at a small bus station to get a snack and continued on our way; all the while wondering what the accommodations were to be and what was included in the cost of our trip. We arrived in Barcelona around 1:00 PM still with no clue as to where we would be staying. We got off the bus and walked with our group of about 50 people to a small youth hostel. We were given keys to our room and we were told to meet tomorrow at 10 AM for a bus tour of the city. We got to our room and met our three roommates Alex, Lan and Sandra. We were eager to explore Barcelona and immediately took off. We left the hostel into beautiful sunshine. We saw an ice cream stand and, of course, got some. Jeff suggested that we go to the beach so we began in that direction. It took about twenty minutes to get there and when we arrived we couldn't have been happier. We sat for about an hour at the beach until our hunger overtook our joy of the sun. We got some lunch at a restaurant near the beach; the food was delicious! After our meal, we headed back to the hostel where we met up with our roommates. After chatting with them in the room for a while, we discovered that they were all students studying abroad in Aix too! Alex was from Italy, Sandra from Montreal and Lan from the Netherlands. They were very nice and we quickly became friends. Lan then told us that she had a friend from home who was studying in Barcelona for the seamster and she invited us to go meet up with him and tour Barcelona a little more. We wandered around a little bit with them and afterwards, got pizza for dinner.
The next day we awoke in time to get our breakfast which, in the end, left a lot to be desired. Our breakfast turned out to be two pieces of hard-as-a-rock bread, with some jam. After we forced down our breakfast we headed towards the bus. We boarded the bus five minutes before 10, like we were told. However, the second-in-command, Thomas, was no where to be found and we "could not leave without him". So, we waited for about 30 minutes before he finally showed up and our bus tour could commence. On our bus tour, we saw Plaza de España, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, La Font, the Olympic Stadium and La Sagrada Família. We were also supposed to see Gaudi's houses and Parc Güell but the bus driver could not figure out how to get there and so the tour guide decided that we didn't need to see those and ended the tour there. So, our group of five went back to the hostel to relax for a while. After, we went to the fountain again to see the fountain show. We stayed for a couple hours and decided it was time for dinner. We went back to the main street where we sat outside and ate our dinner. Carly had a chicken paella and Jeff had pizza. Once we finished dinner, we found out that Sandra and Carly had never had churros before. Jeff thought that to be unacceptable since we were in Barcelona so we set out in search of good churros...and we found them! We walked into the small restaurant and ordered churros for all five of us. They were delicious!! They had just been cut and cooked and the chocolate that we had with them was so good. After our delicious meal and dessert, we headed back to the hostel to go to sleep.
Sunday, we awoke early with Sandra to go to Parc Güell since we didn't get to see it on our bus tour. We took the metro and arrived at the Parc. We enjoyed the beginning of our day there wandering around and admiring the architecture. When we had seen all we could at the parc, we decided it was time to leave. We found out that Sandra had never been to the beach in Barcelona before so we spent the rest of our day relaxing in the sand and sun. Around 4:00 PM we went back to the hostel, got our bags and boarded the bus to go back to Aix.
Link to pictures from Barcelona: http://imgur.com/a/Iv4Yo
Adios,
Carly and Jeff
Friday, April 10, 2015
Week Eight: Green Birds and Roller-Coasters
Hello Readers,
We had our hardest midterms this week and one of the midterms was for our Economic Globalization class. This class has been the least organized mess of a class either of us have ever taken. We started the class with a teacher who was unfamiliar with teaching english students and was from Eastern Europe and had a very thick accent that was difficult to understand. This teacher would always start the class with a plan for the class. Telling us her plan would take half the class and then we wouldn't have time to cover all of the material she had outlined so we were consistently behind. This teacher was replaced a quarter of the way of the semester and the new teacher came into the class thinking we had covered all the information we were supposed to when we had really covered about half of it. Everyone in the class was very stressed about the midterm because none of us had learned the information we were supposed to. The second teacher is the polar opposite of the first. She goes way too quickly and doesn't really go into enough depth for anyone to get a real feel for the information. We would really just like a happy medium. The positive of all of this is we have good professors for our other classes and we will probably never have to take another class with these teachers.
On top of our scary midterm, this Wednesday Carly's phone was stolen. Which just added a whole lot more stress to an already poop of a day. Carly and I spent the day teaching ourselves the information and doing our best to understand it. We took the midterm that night and we both felt okay about it. We still haven't received the midterms back so we do not know yet, but that is very indicative of how this course has been run.
Friday: After a tough week, we hoped to be able to relax when the weekend arrived and we were not disappointed. We took a slow train to Toulouse. It took us about 4 hours to get there and on the way we saw many great things. During the ride we past a cool castle in the town Beiezers, we watched two episodes from the most recent season of Top-Gear, and we passed Narbonne and Carcassonne (a cool, old, fortified city). We arrived at the station and walked from there to our hotel. We were both starving so we went in search of food. We found a local thai food place and we decided that is what we wanted. The owner was very unfriendly and slightly unkind but the food was phenomenal. We were very happy to finally have some good thai food in France. After food we were full and tired so it was time for bed.
Saturday: We woke up and ate free hotel breakfast. The food was not nearly as good as the free breakfast we had had previously but hey, it was free. It was raining so we donned our raincoats and umbrellas and headed out to explore. We saw a few very cool sights that you can view in the pictures (we did better picture labels this time). We had local pizza hand made in front of us. It was delicious. We took a rainy day nap and watched one more Top-Gear before heading out and seeing a play at the Toulouse National Theater. We stopped before getting to the theater and had a quick meal at an American restaurant. The food again was really good. We got to the theater and got our tickets and some coffee and headed into the play. The play was L'Oiseau Vert. It was captivating. It was completely in French which was a little tough but we both understood most of it. It was a great experience and the play was really well done. After the play we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.
Sunday: We woke up and ate hotel breakfast again. We went and saw more sights and we walked along and across the river. Everything was closed on this day (because Europe closes Sunday and Monday). We walked around a little more then we went to the only open place we could find Haagen Dazs where we ordered a chocolate fondue. This came with a bunch of balls of ice cream, some fruit, some cookies and brownies and toppings for all of this. It was super yummy and terrible for us. We had a great time eating it and after we headed to the train station and headed home. On the train we finished the third season of Sherlock.
It was a wonderful trip and we both really needed a reset after the week we had.
Pictures from Toulouse: http://imgur.com/a/okZ46
Until next time,
Carly Ward & Jeff Popek
Monday, March 16, 2015
Week Seven: The Beginning of Midterms
Hello Readers,
This is going to be a very short blog because this week was spent almost entirely studying for our midterms this week and next week. Jeff went out with Isaac to the Wohoo to watch Wohoos Got Talent after his French midterm.
Friday night it was raining so we got dinner and watched the whole first season of Sherlock a BBC series and Saturday it was raining again so we studied all morning then in the afternoon we watched the second season of Sherlock and ate candy and Oreos. Carly is very on edge about what is going to happen in season 3 and is eagerly awaiting the next installment.
We are planning on going to Toulouse this Friday and we are taking a train so we will attempt to finish season 3 then. We have heard that Toulouse is an enchanting little city and we are sure it will be a great time. We will tell you about it in the next blog!
Tootles,
Carly Ward & Jeff Popek
Week Six: The Return
Bonjour Readers,
We are back in France and thus back in school. Everything has been fairly normal but we both have a small case of post-vacation blues. We both loved Italy and the people were so very friendly so coming back to France has taken some adjustment. Nothing we couldn't handle though.
Thursday was a beautifully sunny day and we went to a park sat in the sun and drank some wine with our friends Isaac and Katherine. It was relaxing and a very nice afternoon. We have decided that wine and sunshine are a very nice combination.
Saturday night we met up with Katherine and Isaac at a local Indian food restaurant and we all got big plates and shared. The food was really bland and spiceless which surprised all of us because Indian food is usually the opposite of that. We left there and started walking to a tea cave called Coco Boheme where Katherine had to meet some friends to work on a project for school. We got to the street of the tea place when Isaac realized he had forgotten his phone. Carly and Katherine went into the tea place and Isaac and Jeff ran back to get Isaac's phone. Luckily the server had recognized that Isaac left his phone on the table and it was a non-issue. Isaac and Jeff met up with Carly and Katherine at the tea place and we all lounged and had a great few hours relaxing and drinking tea. After the tea place we went to The PTT to have drinks. Isaac and Jeff both had pastis (a local favorite) which tastes exactly like black licorice; it was not Jeff's favorite. Katherine and Carly shared a gin spritz which was lemonade with a little gin in it (it was delicious). We sat and relaxed for a while until Isaac looked down and informed us all it was 3 am. We were all very surprised because we had no idea it had gotten to be that late. We decided it was time to go home and go to bed.
Sunday was spent doing homework and catching up on things that needed doing. A lazy but productive day.
That is all for this week,
Carly & Jeff
We are back in France and thus back in school. Everything has been fairly normal but we both have a small case of post-vacation blues. We both loved Italy and the people were so very friendly so coming back to France has taken some adjustment. Nothing we couldn't handle though.
Thursday was a beautifully sunny day and we went to a park sat in the sun and drank some wine with our friends Isaac and Katherine. It was relaxing and a very nice afternoon. We have decided that wine and sunshine are a very nice combination.
Saturday night we met up with Katherine and Isaac at a local Indian food restaurant and we all got big plates and shared. The food was really bland and spiceless which surprised all of us because Indian food is usually the opposite of that. We left there and started walking to a tea cave called Coco Boheme where Katherine had to meet some friends to work on a project for school. We got to the street of the tea place when Isaac realized he had forgotten his phone. Carly and Katherine went into the tea place and Isaac and Jeff ran back to get Isaac's phone. Luckily the server had recognized that Isaac left his phone on the table and it was a non-issue. Isaac and Jeff met up with Carly and Katherine at the tea place and we all lounged and had a great few hours relaxing and drinking tea. After the tea place we went to The PTT to have drinks. Isaac and Jeff both had pastis (a local favorite) which tastes exactly like black licorice; it was not Jeff's favorite. Katherine and Carly shared a gin spritz which was lemonade with a little gin in it (it was delicious). We sat and relaxed for a while until Isaac looked down and informed us all it was 3 am. We were all very surprised because we had no idea it had gotten to be that late. We decided it was time to go home and go to bed.
Sunday was spent doing homework and catching up on things that needed doing. A lazy but productive day.
That is all for this week,
Carly & Jeff
Week Five: Venice
Hello Readers,
We boarded our train in Rome and in a comfortable 3 and some hours we were in Venice. Immediately off the train we were immersed in Venice. We crossed the Grand Canal carrying all our luggage. It was the best walk to a hotel we have ever had. We got semi-lost going to the hotel but we found it and the hotel was in the beautiful Campo Margherita. Venice is a crazy mash of twisty alleys and beautiful canals and it makes finding your way very difficult. There are no straight roads and absolutely no easy directions. Anyway, we found our hotel and it was also wonderful. The owner was there and extremely helpful and friendly and he said that the very best way to see Venice is to just walk. Just wander around and experience it. He said getting lost is part of the experience and after a while you stop thinking of it as being lost and start thinking of it as being in Venice. We found that this was a very true statement. We were famished as we had been on a train for 3+ hours so we headed out to eat. We wandered like we were told and we found a bunch of great little shops and the main, touristy area. We wandered away from there in search of a meal but most places were not open yet. Only the tourists eat meals before 8pm in Venice and we didn't know this so we went to the touristy place right across from our hotel. The food was wonderful and the people were very friendly but we were the only ones there. We ate our meals and had an early night as we were both exhausted from the day.
The next two days we spent just exploring and experiencing Venice. We saw a lot of what it had to offer and did our best to experience it all and we did a good job for just 3 full days but it wasn't enough. You could spend your whole life exploring that town and still find incredible little things you didn't know were there. We saw incredible monuments, beautiful alleys, Carnival inspired masks and clothing, handmade Italian leather goods, gondolas, blown glass, and lit buildings at night shining on the canals. Venice at night is such an experience. The bars and restaurants overflow in to the streets and the people are so jovial and kind. Its the kind of place that is horribly hard to leave. We spent only four days there and truly believe that we left calmer and kinder people. It has an incredible effect.
On our last full day in Venice we took a vaporetto to two of the other islands in the Venetian Marsh. The first island we saw was Murano. Murano is known for the quality and craftsmanship of its blown glass. We walked in and out of hundreds of blown glass studios and stores until we had our fill and hopped onto the next vaporetto to Burano. Burano is an incredibly colorful and relaxed little town. It is historically known for its lace weaving and some of the best woven silks and lace still come from there. It has a deep history of hand crafts and that is still very much alive there. It was one of the most calm and lovely places we have been. The people really make these places what they are. Everyone we met and encountered were wonderful and would go well out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable. We took a vaporetto back to the main island of Venice while the sun set and it was a gorgeous, picturesque ending to a beautiful experience. We both look forward to going back before it is gone.
Ciao,
Jeff & Carly
Pictures of Venice: http://imgur.com/a/AFr1D
We boarded our train in Rome and in a comfortable 3 and some hours we were in Venice. Immediately off the train we were immersed in Venice. We crossed the Grand Canal carrying all our luggage. It was the best walk to a hotel we have ever had. We got semi-lost going to the hotel but we found it and the hotel was in the beautiful Campo Margherita. Venice is a crazy mash of twisty alleys and beautiful canals and it makes finding your way very difficult. There are no straight roads and absolutely no easy directions. Anyway, we found our hotel and it was also wonderful. The owner was there and extremely helpful and friendly and he said that the very best way to see Venice is to just walk. Just wander around and experience it. He said getting lost is part of the experience and after a while you stop thinking of it as being lost and start thinking of it as being in Venice. We found that this was a very true statement. We were famished as we had been on a train for 3+ hours so we headed out to eat. We wandered like we were told and we found a bunch of great little shops and the main, touristy area. We wandered away from there in search of a meal but most places were not open yet. Only the tourists eat meals before 8pm in Venice and we didn't know this so we went to the touristy place right across from our hotel. The food was wonderful and the people were very friendly but we were the only ones there. We ate our meals and had an early night as we were both exhausted from the day.
The next two days we spent just exploring and experiencing Venice. We saw a lot of what it had to offer and did our best to experience it all and we did a good job for just 3 full days but it wasn't enough. You could spend your whole life exploring that town and still find incredible little things you didn't know were there. We saw incredible monuments, beautiful alleys, Carnival inspired masks and clothing, handmade Italian leather goods, gondolas, blown glass, and lit buildings at night shining on the canals. Venice at night is such an experience. The bars and restaurants overflow in to the streets and the people are so jovial and kind. Its the kind of place that is horribly hard to leave. We spent only four days there and truly believe that we left calmer and kinder people. It has an incredible effect.
On our last full day in Venice we took a vaporetto to two of the other islands in the Venetian Marsh. The first island we saw was Murano. Murano is known for the quality and craftsmanship of its blown glass. We walked in and out of hundreds of blown glass studios and stores until we had our fill and hopped onto the next vaporetto to Burano. Burano is an incredibly colorful and relaxed little town. It is historically known for its lace weaving and some of the best woven silks and lace still come from there. It has a deep history of hand crafts and that is still very much alive there. It was one of the most calm and lovely places we have been. The people really make these places what they are. Everyone we met and encountered were wonderful and would go well out of their way to make you feel welcome and comfortable. We took a vaporetto back to the main island of Venice while the sun set and it was a gorgeous, picturesque ending to a beautiful experience. We both look forward to going back before it is gone.
Ciao,
Jeff & Carly
Pictures of Venice: http://imgur.com/a/AFr1D
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Week Five: Rome
Ciao Readers,
We landed in Rome at approximately 1:25 pm and looked for a way to get to our hotel. We had three options. We could take a cab, take a shuttle, or take public transportation. They all cost about the same so we opted for the shuttle. We got to our hotel and were informed that our room had been upgrade for free to an executive suite. This was a pleasant surprise and made for a very good start to Rome. We unpacked, relaxed a little, and then headed out into Rome. We were both starved and ready for a proper meal so we headed down the street to a little restaurant that looked fairly busy. On the way there we saw an incredibly pink Fiat that Carly thought was adorable. As soon as we got inside we felt underdressed. Everyone inside was in their Sunday best and we were wearing plane clothes, but it was too late, we had committed and we were going to eat lunch there no matter what! Carly ordered pasta carbonara and Jeff ordered a parmesan and black pepper pasta. They were by far the best pastas either of us had ever had. They were spiced and cooked to perfection and there was no possible way to make them any better. We decided that with the amount of daylight we had left we shouldn't waste it and we should go see some cool stuff. So we did! We headed out of the restaurant and went towards the Palace of Justice. It was a huge builing that was built in the late 1800s and contains the Judicial Public Library of Rome. The building had very nice fountains out front and many children were playing in its park. We continued onward and saw the Castel Sant'Angelo. This was originally the tallest building in Rome and was built for the Roman Emperor Hadrian to be used as a mausoleum in the year 123 AD. We kept walking along the Tiber River and crossed the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge, heading towards the Pantheon. On our way there we passed Piazza Pasquale Paoli, the Campo de Fiori, and the Area Sacra Largo di Torre Argentina, which was the home to the Republican Roman Temples from fourth century BC to 80 AD. Now it is home to hundreds of kitties! We finally made it to the Pantheon (one of Jeff's life goals) and there we bumped into our friend Matt from school in France. It was really odd running into him in such a large city like Rome; what are the chances! The Pantheon was built in 14 AD and to this day is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. It was incredible to see and to marvel at the building of such a grand place over 2000 years ago. We stayed for a while and when we left there was a Ukrainian protest going on that was meant to raise awareness for their cause. We watched that for a while until our need for gelato out weighed our need for social justice. We found a great little gelato place and Jeff had banana and Carly had mango and lemon. They were all delicious and Jeff is still trying to find an equal to that banana gelato. We left the gelato place in search of the Trevi Fountain. We passed an open church that we toured and passed many other incredible monuments. We viewed the Trevi Fountain which, unfortunately, was under construction. We were so disappointed! After seeing the fountain, we headed back towards the hotel. We walked along the main street, Corso, back towards our hotel. We went through Piazza del Popolo. It was a lively place that late at night. We heard a very loud exhaust note and Jeff was excited because he said he thought it was a v12, probably a Lamborghini and as we turned the corner there it was speeding past. Once through the Piazza we had a gentle stroll back to the hotel. We got there and went to sleep.
The next morning we woke early and got our free hotel breakfast which was much better than the previous hotel. Our plan for the day was to see the Colosseum and the surrounding monuments. We headed out and walked down Corso towards the Colosseum and stopped in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. We didn't want to pay to tour the entire place so we just viewed the beautiful courtyard of citrus trees. We continued towards the Colosseum and stopped at the Altare dela Patria (Alter of the Father Land). This was an incredible monument built for Victor Emmanuel, the king who united Italy. We toured that for about two hours. The building is incredible and houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are many great stories about the monument. We looked all around it and saw as much of it as we could see before buying tickets and taking an elevator ride to the very top of it. You could see all of Rome from the top. It was a very awe inspiring experience and we highly suggest you do it if you ever get the chance to visit Rome. From there we passed the Forums of Augustus and Triano. We went to get lunch at a small pizza place and hung out there for some time before it got really really busy. We left trying to find our way through the crowd that had amassed only to realize we had forgotten to pay. So we walked back to the restaurant and paid. Then we headed to The Colosseum. We got to the Colosseum and took a guided tour that allowed us to skip all the lines and get a more in-depth history of the building. We learned a lot more than we would have if we didn't take the tour and we were really glad that we did. From the Colosseum we toured the Ancient Roman City ruins. They were probably the most impressive part of the trip and the history of them was incredible. We spent nearly three hours wandering around learning about ancient Rome. Jeff now has a fascination with the Emperor Nero. He was an interesting fellow to say the least. It was now dark and we were famished so we headed to dinner. We had more pizza and pasta (when in Rome!). We ate our dinners and headed back to the hotel.
Pictures from Rome: http://imgur.com/a/M3KRK
The next day we took a four hour guided tour of the Vatican. It was appalling how much wealth that nation has acquired over its existence. The Vatican museums were incredibly decadent and impressive. There were many stories of Popes doing incredible things with their power and wealth. The history of Rome is stored in those buildings. It is said that it would take over four years to view all of the art in the Vatican if you only view each piece for a minute. So our experience was only puddle deep but we had a good time and learned a lot of history. Carly's favorite parts were the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica and its catacombs and Jeff's were seeing all the statues depicting the Roman Emperors and seeing Nero's bathtub that he liked to fill with wine and ladies.
We left the Vatican that evening and got to see the changing of the Swiss Guards, purely by luck, as it only happens every 24 hours at 5pm. We did not know this and we were pleasantly surprised. From there we went to an incredible authentic Italian restaurant and had the experience of a life time. There was lots of yelling and happiness and wine and food; more food than you should ever eat in one sitting. We left the restaurant and tried to get on the main road, Corso, to get home but there were cops everywhere blocking the road. We heard a couple of crazy loud exhausts fly past and Jeff thought one might have been the new Aston Martin. Anyway we asked a nice police officer how to get back to our hotel using our incredibly broken Italian and he showed us on a map. We made it home and Carly googled what was going on in Rome and why the street was blocked and we found out that they were filming the new James Bond movie, Spectre! After that neat discovery, we both had begun complaining that our bellies hurt after that huge, giant, ridiculous meal and so we were just lounging about. Carly decided she was going to start throw up in the bedroom and then ran to the bathroom and threw up more. Jeff thought "hey that seems like a good plan" and he sprinted to the bathroom and pushed Carly out of the way to share in the vomiting fun. We both emptied our stomachs, much to our delight. We believe we had food poisoning because once the food was gone from our stomachs we felt much better but it also could have just been too much food. Regardless, we both felt much better afterwards and decided it was time to rest since we had a long day of travel ahead of us the next day.
Pictures from the Vatican: http://imgur.com/a/Iv8hS
We had an absolutely incredible time in Rome and we cannot wait to go back someday. We highly suggest you go if you can.
The third morning in Rome we headed to the train station and caught our train to Venice!
We landed in Rome at approximately 1:25 pm and looked for a way to get to our hotel. We had three options. We could take a cab, take a shuttle, or take public transportation. They all cost about the same so we opted for the shuttle. We got to our hotel and were informed that our room had been upgrade for free to an executive suite. This was a pleasant surprise and made for a very good start to Rome. We unpacked, relaxed a little, and then headed out into Rome. We were both starved and ready for a proper meal so we headed down the street to a little restaurant that looked fairly busy. On the way there we saw an incredibly pink Fiat that Carly thought was adorable. As soon as we got inside we felt underdressed. Everyone inside was in their Sunday best and we were wearing plane clothes, but it was too late, we had committed and we were going to eat lunch there no matter what! Carly ordered pasta carbonara and Jeff ordered a parmesan and black pepper pasta. They were by far the best pastas either of us had ever had. They were spiced and cooked to perfection and there was no possible way to make them any better. We decided that with the amount of daylight we had left we shouldn't waste it and we should go see some cool stuff. So we did! We headed out of the restaurant and went towards the Palace of Justice. It was a huge builing that was built in the late 1800s and contains the Judicial Public Library of Rome. The building had very nice fountains out front and many children were playing in its park. We continued onward and saw the Castel Sant'Angelo. This was originally the tallest building in Rome and was built for the Roman Emperor Hadrian to be used as a mausoleum in the year 123 AD. We kept walking along the Tiber River and crossed the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge, heading towards the Pantheon. On our way there we passed Piazza Pasquale Paoli, the Campo de Fiori, and the Area Sacra Largo di Torre Argentina, which was the home to the Republican Roman Temples from fourth century BC to 80 AD. Now it is home to hundreds of kitties! We finally made it to the Pantheon (one of Jeff's life goals) and there we bumped into our friend Matt from school in France. It was really odd running into him in such a large city like Rome; what are the chances! The Pantheon was built in 14 AD and to this day is still the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. It was incredible to see and to marvel at the building of such a grand place over 2000 years ago. We stayed for a while and when we left there was a Ukrainian protest going on that was meant to raise awareness for their cause. We watched that for a while until our need for gelato out weighed our need for social justice. We found a great little gelato place and Jeff had banana and Carly had mango and lemon. They were all delicious and Jeff is still trying to find an equal to that banana gelato. We left the gelato place in search of the Trevi Fountain. We passed an open church that we toured and passed many other incredible monuments. We viewed the Trevi Fountain which, unfortunately, was under construction. We were so disappointed! After seeing the fountain, we headed back towards the hotel. We walked along the main street, Corso, back towards our hotel. We went through Piazza del Popolo. It was a lively place that late at night. We heard a very loud exhaust note and Jeff was excited because he said he thought it was a v12, probably a Lamborghini and as we turned the corner there it was speeding past. Once through the Piazza we had a gentle stroll back to the hotel. We got there and went to sleep.
The next morning we woke early and got our free hotel breakfast which was much better than the previous hotel. Our plan for the day was to see the Colosseum and the surrounding monuments. We headed out and walked down Corso towards the Colosseum and stopped in the Palazzo Doria Pamphilj. We didn't want to pay to tour the entire place so we just viewed the beautiful courtyard of citrus trees. We continued towards the Colosseum and stopped at the Altare dela Patria (Alter of the Father Land). This was an incredible monument built for Victor Emmanuel, the king who united Italy. We toured that for about two hours. The building is incredible and houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There are many great stories about the monument. We looked all around it and saw as much of it as we could see before buying tickets and taking an elevator ride to the very top of it. You could see all of Rome from the top. It was a very awe inspiring experience and we highly suggest you do it if you ever get the chance to visit Rome. From there we passed the Forums of Augustus and Triano. We went to get lunch at a small pizza place and hung out there for some time before it got really really busy. We left trying to find our way through the crowd that had amassed only to realize we had forgotten to pay. So we walked back to the restaurant and paid. Then we headed to The Colosseum. We got to the Colosseum and took a guided tour that allowed us to skip all the lines and get a more in-depth history of the building. We learned a lot more than we would have if we didn't take the tour and we were really glad that we did. From the Colosseum we toured the Ancient Roman City ruins. They were probably the most impressive part of the trip and the history of them was incredible. We spent nearly three hours wandering around learning about ancient Rome. Jeff now has a fascination with the Emperor Nero. He was an interesting fellow to say the least. It was now dark and we were famished so we headed to dinner. We had more pizza and pasta (when in Rome!). We ate our dinners and headed back to the hotel.
Pictures from Rome: http://imgur.com/a/M3KRK
The next day we took a four hour guided tour of the Vatican. It was appalling how much wealth that nation has acquired over its existence. The Vatican museums were incredibly decadent and impressive. There were many stories of Popes doing incredible things with their power and wealth. The history of Rome is stored in those buildings. It is said that it would take over four years to view all of the art in the Vatican if you only view each piece for a minute. So our experience was only puddle deep but we had a good time and learned a lot of history. Carly's favorite parts were the Sistine Chapel and Saint Peters Basilica and its catacombs and Jeff's were seeing all the statues depicting the Roman Emperors and seeing Nero's bathtub that he liked to fill with wine and ladies.
We left the Vatican that evening and got to see the changing of the Swiss Guards, purely by luck, as it only happens every 24 hours at 5pm. We did not know this and we were pleasantly surprised. From there we went to an incredible authentic Italian restaurant and had the experience of a life time. There was lots of yelling and happiness and wine and food; more food than you should ever eat in one sitting. We left the restaurant and tried to get on the main road, Corso, to get home but there were cops everywhere blocking the road. We heard a couple of crazy loud exhausts fly past and Jeff thought one might have been the new Aston Martin. Anyway we asked a nice police officer how to get back to our hotel using our incredibly broken Italian and he showed us on a map. We made it home and Carly googled what was going on in Rome and why the street was blocked and we found out that they were filming the new James Bond movie, Spectre! After that neat discovery, we both had begun complaining that our bellies hurt after that huge, giant, ridiculous meal and so we were just lounging about. Carly decided she was going to start throw up in the bedroom and then ran to the bathroom and threw up more. Jeff thought "hey that seems like a good plan" and he sprinted to the bathroom and pushed Carly out of the way to share in the vomiting fun. We both emptied our stomachs, much to our delight. We believe we had food poisoning because once the food was gone from our stomachs we felt much better but it also could have just been too much food. Regardless, we both felt much better afterwards and decided it was time to rest since we had a long day of travel ahead of us the next day.
Pictures from the Vatican: http://imgur.com/a/Iv8hS
We had an absolutely incredible time in Rome and we cannot wait to go back someday. We highly suggest you go if you can.
The third morning in Rome we headed to the train station and caught our train to Venice!
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