2 WEEK BREAK!

Alright. Here it is! The much awaited 2 Week Break blog. Sunday I got back from our 16 day whirlwind break. It was absolutely the best two weeks of my life.  I wish I could go back and relive those two weeks over and over and over and over. I could go on FOREVER about how great of a two weeks it was but no one would read all of that (as if very many people read this blog regardless…) so I have decided to bullet point each city to hopefully make for a quick, bearable read.

Rome-

Catherine, Charles, Jessica and I roamed around Rome for the first weekend of our break. I absolutely loved Rome. It is nearly impossible to state which city was my favorite but Rome is definitely a top contender (after Cinque Terre, which was hands down my #1). The mix between history and amazing food made for such a fabulous trip. 

Some highlights-

Vatican Museum- my favorite museum on the trip!

Sistine Chapel- I cannot say enough how amazing it was to see this.

Coliseum- We saw this at both dusk and in the day. Simply breathtaking.

Forum- Thank you Rick Steves for walking us through this bit of history.

Dar Poeta- Absolute best pizza of my life.

Mass at the Vatican- An experience everyone needs to have in their life. However, ask me to tell you about how Jessica and I ruined mass at the Vatican. It’s quite humorous after you get past the initial shock of it all. Oh, and we saw the Pope!

Trevi Fountain- One of my favorite spots. Its breathtaking. We sat here at night and ate gelato. I could have sat for hours!

Florence-

Bethea, Jessica, and I went to Florence. The first day we were there, it rained the whole time. But we made it through by eating lots of gelato and sitting in the Duomo for a while. However, the next day was absolutely gorgeous! Loved this city!

Some highlights-

La Giostra- Known as the “best restaurant in Italy.” While I do not know who said that quote, I believe them 100%.

4 Leoni- Best pear and asparagus pasta of my life. (Florence wins the food category!)

Duomo- Pretty sweet.

Ponte Vechio- We sat here in the sun one day for hours and just enjoyed people watching and being warm.

San Miniato Almonte- A beautiful lookout over the city. Once again, we sat here and enjoyed the view and the warmth for hours.

Uffizi Gallery.

Cinque Terre-

The three of us went to Cinque Terre next. It was sunny and beautiful and I cannot even describe to you the views. We hiked along the cities and sat out in the sun simply enjoying the view. We even made friends with the sweetest couple on the trail who we later ran into and they bought us wine and bruchetta. That night, we ate dinner while watching the sunset and I had some of the best, freshest seafood pasta of my life. This day was hands down my favorite day and I wish I could have spent more time here!

Thursday-

This day gets a header of its own. We spent 12 hours on 6 different trains. We also caught a 3-minute connection in one of the largest train stations I have ever seen! Lucky, lucky tourists.

Aix en Provence-

Some of our best friends are studying abroad in Aix so we absolutely had to make a stop. This is where Jessica, Bethea, and I met up with Susanna and Elizabeth (and Lizzy in Paris).

We spent most of the time hanging out and getting to know where our friends were studying. It was so quaint and homey. Tons of shopping and small stores lining the streets. Oh, and there was the BEST macaroon store ever. It was simply to relaxing and fun to take a break and have them show us around. One night, Kyle, Jocelyn, and Catherine’s French roommate, Reda, made us all crepes. Absolutely delicious!

Paris-

Paris was somewhat sad. While I could tell the city was beautiful and had a certain magic to it, it was hard to see because it rained the ENTIRE time and I would average the temperature at about ZERO. So that was somewhat of a letdown. But we still enjoyed climbing the Arc de Triomphe to get an amazing view of the city. We had many looooong coffee breaks and even had one fabulous fondue dinner! Notre Dame was stunning and my favorite part of Paris, by far, was the Eiffel Tower at night. On the hour, the tower shimmers and it was simply stunning! Oh, and we went to the Louvre too. Duh.

Oh, we also went to the Monet Exhibit. Apparently, it was the largest exhibit of Monet ever and it was FABULOUS. I was somewhat museum-ed out but I could have spent even more time here!

Madrid-

Bethea, Jessica, Lizzy, Susanna, Elizabeth, and I were all so happy to get to Spain where it was WARM. Madrid was nicer than I had even imagined it being.

Some highlights-

Plaza Mayor- We watched a traditional play/dance thing the first day.

Palacio Real- Beautiful Palace with fabulous gardens.

Churo and Hot Chocolate- “Hot Chocolate” is a misleading term. I should say “hot fudge sauce.” We went to a famous hot chocolate place that Lizzy knew about and it was absolutely fabulous.

Prado Museum.

Barcelona- 

By Barcelona, we were all pretty tired. However, tons of our friends were studying abroad in Barcelona so it was fun to see them on Thursday night. Charles and Catherine also met us in Barcelona, which was a ball! Barcelona was one of my favorite cities we visited. I would love to study there except for the minor detail that I don’t think I could keep up. They don’t eat dinner until about 10 and don’t go out until 1 or 2. Meaning they don’t go home until about 5 or 6. That is a little intense for me! But was great for a weekend!

Bocaria- The Market. Candy wall. Chocolate wall. Gelato. Enough said. We visited every day.

Park Guell- Gaudi’s park. Cool! (I’m out of good descriptive words for this trip. I need a thesaurus.)

Beach- One day, we went to the beach and just sat there and enjoyed the view. We were just so happy to be warm and in the sun.

Montjuic- We took a gondola up to the top of a mountain where an old fortress (maybe?) sits. It was beautiful and a great last hoorah for the trip!

FC Barcelona vs. Villareal Futbol game- Such a great memory! This was a great last night thing to do. People in Spain get so in-to futbol games and it was such a fun experience to be a part of it all!

Okay, so I left TONS out of that recap but those were some highlights. I haven’t uploaded my pictures yet so I know the blog is somewhat boring now but I’ll add some soon.. promise!!