Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas!
From Rome to Florence to Bologna...and now finally we have settled in Venice to relax for a few days for Christmas! In a way it almost doesn't feel like Christmas for me because I'm still in study abroad/travel mode. It's like I'm just on one big extended weekend trip (visiting ten cities in three weeks instead of one city in three days) and I keep hearing this phrase "Buon Natale" or "Merry Christmas" thrown around here and there! It is weird not being at home at this time of year, but it helps that my mom is traveling with me, and honestly I'm having such a great experience I can't really complain!
Florence was amazing. We got in later than expected on Thursday (because we spent the whole morning in Rome having chatting with our hosts Luca and Nicole before we finally decided we should get ourselves on a train!), but once we dropped our stuff off at the hotel, we turned right around and went back downtown to explore Florence, and then go to the Galleria dell'Accademia.
What's so special about this art Gallery... oh not much, except for this one statue called David, by some artist named Michelangelo. Maybe you've heard of him. Of course, I had heard of Michelangelo, and I had heard of his David... everyone in the universe has. But, let me tell you, I was not prepared for how impressive this statue was... I'm no art expert (although after this week I feel like I'm well on my way), but after walking through halls and halls of amazing statues, with just one glance David blew all of them away. I probably sat and soaked it in for at least 10 minutes. And one of the great benefits of our off-season traveling is that there are no tourists! I can only imagine David is teeming with admirers in the summer, but in the middle of December, at the end of the day, we practically had him to ourself! It was amazing!
Then just after moving down the hall, I ran into my friend Paige! We are working our way separately across Italy in different directions, and we have plans to meet up in the Amalfi coast later this week, but at the time neither of us had a clue we would be in Florence together!
For our next day in Florence, we checked out the Uffizi Gallery, home to the greatest collection of Renaissance art, including one of my favorites, Botticelli's Birth of Venus (I don't think Joan Lynch knows how much her interior decorating has influenced my art education!). Then we popped around the corner to the Galileo science museum! Not a lot about Galileo himself, but they had a killer collection of old science-y gadgets and gizmos, with one room dedicated to Galileo. The Duomo, or Cathedral, was also very impressive, with its huge dome that was the biggest to be built since the Pantheon.
Yesterday, Christmas Eve, we departed Florence for Venice, but not without a visit to Bologna. My aunt Robin studied abroad in Bologna (and she definitely sparked my love for all things Italian) so we had to visit the city that she fell in love with! Unfortunately, this was the one day that the weather decided to be icky, so we had to tour the city in the rain. But if there was one city you'd want to be stuck in while it's raining, it's Bologna with all of its porticos (basically cool "porches" of roofs over all the sidewalks)!! It was a beautiful city nonetheless, without tourist-y crowds, and we were able to find the street my aunt lived on, stroll through the streets, and find ourselves a nice restaurant in which to dine! Bologna is known for fab food (it's also known as "La Grassa" - the fat one), and for lunch I had some typical tagliatelle alla bolognese, aka the most amazing pasta dish I've eaten in my entire life. And that's saying a lot.
Last night we got into Venice just as the sun was going down, found our hotel and took a quick nap before heading out on the town. We wound our way through the narrow, poorly-lit streets, and over numerous canals until we ended up at St. Mark's Square, with just enough time to grab a quick drink and get in line for the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Mark's Basilica. It was definitely an experience... hundreds of people crowding in, a beautiful choir, and the gorgeous gold-mosaic ceiling lit up (honestly, the impressive Basilica itself was my favorite part, I couldn't stop looking up and around at all the details!).
Today we spent our Christmas day strolling around magical Venice, getting lost, having a fancy Christmas lunch, doing a little window shopping, and watching the sunset. We capped it off by skyping my dad and Bridget, and watching our favorite holiday movie, White Christmas!
And with that I shall bid you all adieu. I'm wishing all of my family and friends the merriest of Christmases, and sending my love from the other side of the world! Ciao for now!
From Rome to Florence to Bologna...and now finally we have settled in Venice to relax for a few days for Christmas! In a way it almost doesn't feel like Christmas for me because I'm still in study abroad/travel mode. It's like I'm just on one big extended weekend trip (visiting ten cities in three weeks instead of one city in three days) and I keep hearing this phrase "Buon Natale" or "Merry Christmas" thrown around here and there! It is weird not being at home at this time of year, but it helps that my mom is traveling with me, and honestly I'm having such a great experience I can't really complain!
Florence was amazing. We got in later than expected on Thursday (because we spent the whole morning in Rome having chatting with our hosts Luca and Nicole before we finally decided we should get ourselves on a train!), but once we dropped our stuff off at the hotel, we turned right around and went back downtown to explore Florence, and then go to the Galleria dell'Accademia.
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| NOT the real deal... just a copy in the original location |
Then just after moving down the hall, I ran into my friend Paige! We are working our way separately across Italy in different directions, and we have plans to meet up in the Amalfi coast later this week, but at the time neither of us had a clue we would be in Florence together!
For our next day in Florence, we checked out the Uffizi Gallery, home to the greatest collection of Renaissance art, including one of my favorites, Botticelli's Birth of Venus (I don't think Joan Lynch knows how much her interior decorating has influenced my art education!). Then we popped around the corner to the Galileo science museum! Not a lot about Galileo himself, but they had a killer collection of old science-y gadgets and gizmos, with one room dedicated to Galileo. The Duomo, or Cathedral, was also very impressive, with its huge dome that was the biggest to be built since the Pantheon.
 |
| Galileo's telescopes!!!! |
Yesterday, Christmas Eve, we departed Florence for Venice, but not without a visit to Bologna. My aunt Robin studied abroad in Bologna (and she definitely sparked my love for all things Italian) so we had to visit the city that she fell in love with! Unfortunately, this was the one day that the weather decided to be icky, so we had to tour the city in the rain. But if there was one city you'd want to be stuck in while it's raining, it's Bologna with all of its porticos (basically cool "porches" of roofs over all the sidewalks)!! It was a beautiful city nonetheless, without tourist-y crowds, and we were able to find the street my aunt lived on, stroll through the streets, and find ourselves a nice restaurant in which to dine! Bologna is known for fab food (it's also known as "La Grassa" - the fat one), and for lunch I had some typical tagliatelle alla bolognese, aka the most amazing pasta dish I've eaten in my entire life. And that's saying a lot.
 |
| Tagliatelle alla bolognese = heaven |
Last night we got into Venice just as the sun was going down, found our hotel and took a quick nap before heading out on the town. We wound our way through the narrow, poorly-lit streets, and over numerous canals until we ended up at St. Mark's Square, with just enough time to grab a quick drink and get in line for the Christmas Eve Mass at St. Mark's Basilica. It was definitely an experience... hundreds of people crowding in, a beautiful choir, and the gorgeous gold-mosaic ceiling lit up (honestly, the impressive Basilica itself was my favorite part, I couldn't stop looking up and around at all the details!).
Today we spent our Christmas day strolling around magical Venice, getting lost, having a fancy Christmas lunch, doing a little window shopping, and watching the sunset. We capped it off by skyping my dad and Bridget, and watching our favorite holiday movie, White Christmas!
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| Christmas Eve at Basilica di San Marco |
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