On Friday we walked around and saw some of the main stops of Rome such as the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. Of course we had to get some gelato on the way and got some next to the Trevi Fountain and it was delicious!
Spanish Steps
Gelato at the Trevi Fountain!
On Saturday we headed to St. Peter's Basilica, walked around inside of it, and saw the beautiful view from the top of it!
We walked around the rest of Rome and explored and then headed to a restaurant that was recommended and said to have "the best pizza in Rome." It's called Pizzeria "Remo" and it was really good!
Sunday we woke up and Melissa and Tom made us breakfast again, it was so nice! I had really missed breakfast, don't get a lot of it besides yogurt and bananas anywhere else.
After breakfast we headed to the Da Vinci Museum which was really cool. It was crazy to see how one man can be SO smart and have so many ideas, inventions, paintings, etc.
First thought of a helicopter and bike
After exploring the museum, we said our goodbyes to Melissa and Tom and Chris and I headed to the Coliseum.
Once we finished at the Coliseum, we walked all through the Roman ruins. It was so neat to see all these ruins that have been around for thousands of years! Its amazing how they are still partially preserved.
That night we did a "night walk" of some really cool places. We went to the Victor Emmanuel Monument, "The Wedding Cake,"the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps. It was really pretty to see them all lit up at night.
Victor Emmanuel Monument
The next morning we woke up early and took a train to Florence, Italy. We arrived around 11 am and didn't realize that we couldn't check in to our hostel until 2 pm so we dropped our stuff out and ventured out for food and exploring. We started off walking through Florence's most famous plaza, Piazza della Signoria. We admired all the different statues and went inside the duomo.
Afterwards we headed to the Ponte Vecchio to walk around and do some shopping. For dinner, we ate at a little hole in the wall restaurant and got some delicious food and wine!
On Tuesday, we did a tour of Tuscany. We took a tour bus to three different areas of Tuscany: San Gimignano, Siena, and Chianti. San Gimignano had beautiful views of the Tuscan countryside, known for their white wine and the best gelato ever, and fun shopping!
I think the gelato may have been the best I ever had, I got a mix of fruity flavors and it was to die for. Chris and I tried a pig sandwich that was also really tasty!
Siena was also a really cool place, we got to hang out in the Plaza where the famous horse race takes place.
Lastly, we went to a wine-tasting in the Chianti region. We tried four delicious wines along with some meats and an olive oil. All the wines were so good, Chris bought a really good one to bring back to the states with him!
On our last full day in Florence, we got some pastries for breakfast and then headed to the Bargello Museum. The Bargello Museum was the recommended museum if you only plan on going to one museum while in Florence because it has a great mix of art such as sculptures, paintings, and artifacts.
After the museum, we headed to Piazza Santa Croce. We went inside the Basilica of Santa Croce and into the museum. The Basilica is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Foscolo, Gentile and Rossini. It is also known as the Temple of the Italian Glories. It was really cool to see the different tombs of all these historic figures!
In the evening we headed back to the Ponte Vecchio to see it beautifully lit up. We also walked by the Pitti Palace on our way to dinner at the Osteria del Gatto e la Volpe.
Next to Pitti Palace
The restaurant was amazing, I would recommend it to anyone! We had the most amazing pasta and steak. The steak was a big portion and was like Morton's level, so good! We also got to watch the new Pope be inaugurated while eating!
The Pope Inauguration on TV
I arrived in Dublin Thursday afternoon, and headed to my first Irish bar that afternoon with a couple of my friends. We got some good beer and some tasty Irish potato cakes!
That night we headed to Temple Bar for dinner and discovered that the place was packed! And especially with tourists. It's funny how Americans get so much more into St. Patrick's Day than the actual Irish do. So we decided to do the more local scene for the weekend and headed to all the local bars. They were great because we got to meet people from all over, listen to live music, and actually walk in it!
On Friday, we did a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher. We stopped at a couple of fun places along the way and ended up at the Cliffs in the late afternoon. It was a beautiful day, just a bit windy!
On Saturday, we started off our "St. Patrick's Day" (it was the day before, but we were celebrating on Saturday since we were leaving on Sunday, and so did a lot of other people), at the Guinness Factory. It's funny because I was never really into dark beer before, but Europe has changed my mind on a lot of things, and I actually really enjoyed Guinness! Especially from the factory/in Dublin, its so good from the tap!
We spent our last night at the local bars again meeting people from Holland, Scotland, Ireland, and more. Then we got up early the next morning to fly back to Switzerland. A bus, two flights, two trains, and 14 hours later, we made it back to Lugano!
Overall, this break was amazing. The weather was predicted to be poor and rainy almost the entire time, and we lucked out like crazy. It was the best weather I have had the entire time I've been in Europe! Barely had any rain, was warm enough to be out without a jacket in some places, sunny, and just beautiful! I also loved being with my family. It was a change of pace from what I've been used to out here and it was great. Also, I just loved Ireland in general. It has a gorgeous countryside and the people are so fun and friendly. It is definitely a place I want to go back and explore more of. Just adding to the list!
