Saying goodbye to a city has never been easy, but one can scarcely protest when the next stop is the “City of Lights.” Truly one of the most beautiful places in the world, it becomes immediately apparent why Paris has always been such a beacon of inspiration that continues to capture the imaginations of millions of people all around the ...
It seems like time moves faster with each passing city, for somehow we now find ourselves preparing to leave Florence behind. The old familiar adage of “time flies…” is my only explanation for the time dilation of which we find ourselves, victims. With all that we've crammed into the past few days, “having fun” would be putting it ...
Rubbing my eyes, awakening myself from the four-hour bus ride, I glance out the window of the bus and, to my surprise, I see what look like Roman ruins! But they aren't like Roman ruins... They are actual Roman ruins! We're in Roma! With a whopping temperature of 102 degrees, we settle into our rooms and let the heat pass before we go on our ...
Located near the Piazza Veccio, the Uffizi Gallery is Florence’s most eminent art museum. It boasts an impressive collection of works by Michaelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli, and Leonardo Da Vinci. The gallery’s top floor, the “Hall of Rulers,” is a long hallway that displays in chronological order the emperors of the Roman Empire. You ...
Today is definitely a bittersweet one. All of us are completely fulfilled with what we've gained from the city of Florence, but at the same time, we don't want to leave. We spent the day packing, cleaning, and hanging out. We made sure to go to our favorite gelato place for the last time. I was walking down the streets of Florence, on my way ...
After an early start on Sunday morning and a three-hour bus ride, we finally arrived in the mesmerizing city of Rome. We checked in, had a quick rest, and then eagerly set off to explore the wonders of Rome. First of all, we went to a fountain that represented the four seasons. After a quick gelato break to re-energize, we headed off to the ...
Yesterday we arrived in Rome, and I love it! Rome is the polar opposite of Florence, so it's very cool and interesting to see the difference between two major cities in Italy. Last night, we got a mini tour of Rome and went to the all the main areas. We also visited the Pantheon, which is an ancient Roman temple that now functions as a ...
Today we took a day trip to Siena, traveling on a winding road through the vineyards of Italy. A little known fact is that the hill country used to be full of wheat fields instead of vineyards and olive groves, but because the population was so greatly reduced by the Bubonic Plague, the Italians didn't need to provide for the masses and could ...
Here we are in Florence, with only half of our program to go! Athens and Rome were both incredible, and I'm sure Florence and Paris will be too. When we arrived in Florence, our first activity was grocery shopping. This was new to us because we had lived in hotels in the past 2 cities. In Florence, we are living in a residence where we must ...
Today we woke up early for our full-day excursion to the illustrious city of Siena and the wonderful art, museums, and cuisine it has to offer. The city is unique in that it is broken up into 17 contrade, a system that dates back to medieval times. Each of these contrade acts like its very own district and comes with it its own identity and ...