Italia: Firenze Edition

Ahhh Firenze (that would be what the Italians like to call Florence). What a beautiful place. Before Florence I was sure Prague was my favorite city (besides Budapest of course; Budapest is the best). Now I cannot be certain. I loved them both, but in different ways. Prague was more cultural and fun. Florence was just beautiful. The people were friendly, the views were spectacular, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Here's some information about my stay in Florence:

Here's where I tell you about the funny story about missing my train. This was material worthy of a movie. So we headed to the Roma train station with plenty of time to spare. What we didn't realize was the train station was essentially the size of a small airport. Well we still had time to spare, no worries, right? Wrong. Meg's ticket wouldn't print from the self-help machines. We tried to wait in line so she could talk to someone, but the line was rather long. Before we knew it we had ten minutes to find our train. The board said our train was on platform 2. Well we find platform two and the train looks like it's about to take off! Naturally Alanna and I start banging on the doors. The conductor, laughing at us frazzled Americans, opened the door and spoke with us. We frantically said, "Firenze right??? This train is going to Firenze???" His reply?

"Ah...no."

He looked at our tickets and imagine our surprise when he told us we needed Platform 2 West...not Platform 2 East. WHAT TRAIN STATION HAS MORE THAN ONE PLATFORM TWO? Not cool, Roma. Not cool. So he takes us through these back alley paths and shows us the direction. We sprint, and I mean sprint to our platform. Like suitcases flying, backpacks swaying, sweat pouring down our faces, sprint.

So what happened when we finally reached the platform? Silence. Absolute and utter silence. I half expected a Wild Wild West brush to fly by. So we took a breather and decided on our next course of action.

We found the ticket office and run up, again franticly, to the man at the desk. We were talking a mile a minute: we missed our train we missed our train!! Is there another?? Do we have to pay?? What do we dooooo?

Well much to our surprise he laughed at us and informed us we had an all day ticket. We could literally hop on any train that day. No wonder why the train ticket didn't have a time...Alas we had a good laugh about it and within the next hour and a half we were on our way to Firenze.

By the time we got to Florence and found our hostel, it was early evening. Our hostel was close to everything and was really nice (although we had to share the room with four other people which I could have done without). Walking around Florence at night was something I could never tire of. Unfortunately my camera does not take great shots at night but I managed to snap this beauty:

This guy was an amazing guitarist. He was playing all the classics, from the Eagles to Pink Floyd to Nirvana. We sat and watched him for a while. 

CAN WE TAKE A SECOND TO VIEW THIS MAGNIFICENT PHOTO? I'm quite proud of this one if you couldn't tell.

While walking around Firenze we snagged some cool photos of street art

It's not difficult to tell this was my favorite. Kudos to whomever added the 3/4. If you don't catch the reference, we can't be friends. 

The next day consisted of more walking around and exploring the city. We set our sights on the Duomo whose name is actually the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. This cathedral is like nothing i have ever seen before. It was officially built in 1436 and is beautiful decorated in white, gold, and teal colors. Many churches in Europe look similar, but this is unique and in a league of its own. Today it remains one of Italy's biggest churches and the dome is the biggest brick dome to ever be constructed! 

While we were there Kenny and Meg were sucked in by a caricature artist. 

After taking in the Dumo we headed for the Academia, home to the Statue of David. While waiting outside in line, this adorable old man was playing the accordion (at least I think that's an accordion...). He was so happy and you could tell he did not do it for the money but just genuinely enjoyed playing. He even played Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I loved him.

After a thirty minute wait, we made it into the Academia. Thankfully unlike the Louvre, this museum was very relaxed and it was easy to see and enjoy everything. I was surprised at how huge this statue was (insert any and all inappropriate jokes here). No but really, the statue is 17 feet tall and is considered one of Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces. It's not difficult to see why, especially when you see it in person. It became to stand for the civil liberties of the Republic of Florence and was a warning to Rome when much of Italy was independent city states.

This beauty was taken from a monastery in Florence:

After the Accademia we took in the sights of Firenze. I could never tire of this beautiful city. 

The last day in Florence, I flew solo. The other three who went with me went hiking. Now while I love hiking, my hips were hurting me like crazy so I decided to skip out and hit up the Uffizi Gallery, among other things.

Here were some of the things I enjoyed the most at the museum:

Antonio del Pollaiolo's depiction of the Labours of Hercules, one of my favorite Greek myths.

Oh my damn. Finally saw this masterpiece. Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus is something everyone should see in their lifetime. 

Another must see by Sandro Botticelli: La Primavera 

This beautiful room is the Tribuna of the Uffizi, designed by Bernardo Buontalenti for Francesco I de' Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany. 

Sleeping Ariadne:

Oh you know, just a painting done by the one and only Michelangelo. 

A centaur: 

Medusa by Caravaggio. Another one of my favorite Greek myths.

After walking around the museum for a couple hours I walked around to some of the Piazzas. All by myself no less! I didn't even get lost! It was remarkable to see such a lovely place. 

A street performer:

Before I knew it, it was time to return back to Budapest. My Italia vacation was something out of a fairytale. I really would not have been able to enjoy it without help from Mom and Andy. I'm so grateful and fortunate they were able to help me, and I could enjoy such a lovely place (and still have enough money to eat when I got back to Budapest). A million thanks to you, Mom and Andy.

It's not difficult to see why Florence was one of my favorite cities. Such a beautiful place. If you go to Italy, be sure to go to Florence. You would not be disappointed. The food is great, the sights beautiful, and the people are lovely. I especially enjoyed walking around the city by myself for the day. Not that I don't love the people I was with, but it was such a liberating experience. Try traveling by yourself one time! Now that I've made my way around Florence by myself, I know I could do it anywhere.

Moral of the story: go to Italy. Go travel. Go enjoy the world. Italy was a remarkable place and you should all add it to your bucket lists. If you read this entire post, you deserve a reward. There was lots of share and lots to talk about. Thanks to those who stuck with it!

xoxo, Taylor. 

Italia: Pisa Edition

Hello, everyone! Sorry for the delay in the blog posts, I've been off enjoying my life in Europe. Here's the second part to my Italia adventures: Pisa!

Although we stayed in Florence for four days, we took a day trip to Pisa which was an excellent decision on our part. What a fun day! It was only an hours train ride away (and we managed to make our train...funny story about that in the Florence edition). 

We got off the train and this was one of the first sights we saw. Just look how beautiful it is! I love all the architecture in Italy. It looks like something right off of a postcard. 

So we continued to walk for about ten minutes and out of nowhere we see it: the leaning tower of Pisa!

This was a church next to the tower. Beautiful area! 

Now of course we had to get our tourist photos. That was essentially the main reason for going after all. Another bucket list item for the books!

We wanted to go up the tower, but it was...wait for it...18 EUROS. 18. THAT'S A ONE FOLLOWED BY AN 8. We decided to pass on that because we're poor college kids. And no they did not even have a student discount. I asked.

After the tower we decided to get some food. On our way we met this very sweet German family (we ran into them because they had dogs and well we are major dog lovers). Both the husband and wife were lawyers and they were very interested to hear about our studies and our travels. They were so sweet. One of my favorite parts about traveling is meeting new people and sharing experiences with them. Their dogs were cute too. 

Then we got a nice lunch and found this hilarious photo in our restaurant. It was essentially Meg reincarnated. Needless to say we have been giving each other this look for days now. 

After having a delicious meal, we decided to walk around the town until we had to catch our train back to Florence. I came across this street jeweler (yes, I was trapped by jewelry. Shocker, I know). He makes all of his jewelry out of silverware! How cool is that? I was reluctant to spend my money on it, but it was so beautiful. He was such a nice man. He let us try stuff on without overly encouraging us to buy anything (which is rare from street vendors in Europe let me tell you). Of course we all ended up buying something (don't regret it) and he insisted on taking photos with us! 

Apparently this was my reaction about taking photos with a stranger. Oh well he was hilarious and the bracelet was a great souvenir from Italy! 

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Florence. I managed to snap this beautiful photo on my way. One of my favorite pics I've taken thus far. Looks like Paradise. I never want to leave Europe.

Well there you have it folks. This was a brief, but enjoyable day trip to Pisa. Stay tuned for a longer description about my stay in Florence, arguably one of my favorite cities visited thus far. 

xoxo, Taylor. 

Italia: Rome Edition

My trip in Italy consisted of 3 days in Rome and 4 days in Florence, one of those being a day trip to Pisa. Our first night we arrived later in the evening, so we were set on finding our hostel. This was more of an apartment than a hostel. We had one room in an apartment and we shared a bathroom. However, we never saw or heard anyone else, so we essentially had the place to ourselves! Thankfully it was only a 10 minutes walk away from the Colosseum. It made for a good stay in Rome!

And talk about a beautiful view:

 

That night we went to bed early so we could wake up and enjoy the day. Our first stop? The Colosseum, of course! We walked about 10 minutes before we set sights on it:

We waited in line for about 40 minutes, and 11 euros later we got to go in! It was a minor price to pay for such a beautiful historical landmark, but I would have appreciated it if Italy gave out discounts to International Students. We walked around and got some great pictures!

This was a sculpture that was excavated from the Colosseum from 2008-2009. They are still finding artifacts to this day. How cool is that? It made me want to pull an Indiana Jones, grab my hat and whip, and go exploring. Alas I would probably be arrested if I hopped the boundary line, so I decided to stay on my best behavior.

Now of course we wanted some photos. We paid the 11 euros and wanted our stereotypical photos. It was a bit crowded, and Meg managed to capture these gems:

But no worries after a bit we managed to get some good ones:

After shenanigans in the Colosseum we walked to the Roman Ruins, which are right beside the Colosseum.  

Got a snap of this little guy before he scurried away.

Just look how beautiful that is!

The next day we took a trip to the Vatican, which is a city in and of itself. It is the smallest internationally recognized state both in terms of land area and population. Thankfully we got tickets ahead of time. The line to get in was like Disney line long. Because we got them ahead of time we got to bypass the line. Woohoo! We were able to go in the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. The Vatican Museums house some of the world's most precious artifacts that have been collected by the Roman Catholic Church (although I question how fairly these items were collected over the years). I got some good pictures of my favorite items in the Museums. Then we went to the Sistine Chapel whose celling was painted by the one and only Michelangelo. Now unfortunately you are not allowed to take pictures inside the chapel seeing as how it's a holy place and all. But take my word for it, it's beautiful. Bucket list --> check!

The view looking out from Vatican City. 

This statue depicts Arno the river god. If you look closely you can see a tiger in the vase. The tiger is thought to mean that the statue was known as the River Tigris of Ancient Mesopotamia.

Peek-A-Boo!

This tapestry, The Death of Julius Caesar, depicts exactly what its name suggests: the death of Julius Caesar. This originated in Brussels in 1549. The tapestry is huge and was nearly impossible to get a picture of the whole thing, so I captured the good part for you guys. Below you'll see poor Julius being assassinated.

One of my favorite parts of the Vatican museums was the Gallery of Maps, which again is exactly what it sounds like. This hallway contains topographical maps of Italy. This hallway is so extravagantly decorated that it took three years to complete. I could have spent all day in this Gallery alone.

Here are some other parts of the Museums that I particularly enjoyed:

Ha just look at the face on this painting. She's not impressed. I love it. 

Thus concluded my trip to the Vatican. Another Bucket List item checked off!

Later that afternoon we wandered to Piazza di Spagna, which is one of the most famous squares in Rome. As you can see it was a popular place to visit, and a beautiful sight to see!

These pics were taken in an area a little down from the Piazza di Spagna. So beautiful! 

Rome was a blast, but I have to admit I do not think I would enjoy it for more than a couple days. It's a big city and very crowded, especially with tourists. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. So many cool things to see, but as for the city and the overall atmosphere, Florence takes the cake. Stay tuned for details of Pisa and Florence, two more amazingly beautiful Italian cities.