Besides the studying, making new friends and exploring the city you currently are living in, the most important part of being abroad is traveling! In the middle of the semester all the students at my university have a week off for “holiday” to travel. I was lucky enough to spend a week traveling the country where most of my family is from, Italy. My seven friends and I decided to stay the week living in a flat in Florence and make several day trips to different cities within Italy. I have been to Italy once before so it was great to be back! I could not have pictured a more perfect week with all of the eating, making of memories and of course, the shopping I did.
Traveling around Europe is very easy so I have a few more weekend trips planned to: Dublin, Athens and Paris and I have already been to Munich for a weekend celebrating Oktoberfest. After settling into our Florence flat my friends and I planned several day trips, which we traveled to via train. It was very convenient to travel throughout Italy to all of our different locations during the week. Here are a few photos of the memories I made on Italian holiday.
Florence
The famous sites I visited were the Piazzale Michelangelo and The Ponte Veccio Bridge. The Piazzale Michelangelo is a famous square with a panoramic view of the entire city of Florence. The Ponte Vecchio is a famous bridge over the Arno River that has beautiful shops filled with jewelry and art to buy.
Rome
Despite having been to Rome before, being back to a city with amazing history is just as exciting as the first time. I loved taking pictures in my favorite monument, The Coliseum, with my friends and going back to visit my favorite parts of Rome such as the Spanish Steps.
Venice
Venice was nothing but a dream. Riding on a gondola was such a fun experience and quintessentially Italian. Eating pizza and drinking wine by the water reminded me how much I love my Italian background. When I stepped foot onto the Piazza San Marco, it took my breath away. The white church of St Mark and the Italian music playing in the square felt like I was living in a movie. Venice was definitely my favorite city of our trip.
Cinque Terra
Cinque Terra translated to “ The Five Lands” is located right on the cost of Italy and divided up into five towns that are all easy to visit by train, boat or even walking. The villages are built on cliffs and tourists are able to hike to the highest point that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. We were lucky to be there on such a beautiful day and swim the ocean and lay in the sun for a few hours. We visited two villages, Monterosso al Mare and Riomaggiore both places had views that photos just can’t do justice.
And of course the food!
What is Italy without a week of indulging in the most amazing pasta, pizza and gelato?