Welcome! Thanks for visiting!
I just got back from Italy and boy was it different! The three main areas we visited were Rome, Florence, and Sorrento; in order from largest to smallest as far as cities go. Rome and Florence were surprisingly covered from head to toe in graffiti. We didn't really take pictures of it but I did like this specific one so I took a picture of it.
But Sorrento, which was probably my favorite was BEAUTIFUL. It's located in southern Italy on the coast. It's a little ways down from
Pompeii, about half and hour by tram. At the edge of the city are beautiful cliffs and we could see Mount Vesuvius looming in the distance. There were lots of street vendors selling all kinds of things, sometimes guys would approach us on the street trying to sell umbrellas when it was raining out, which was pretty much the whole trip. We went to museums and saw famous paintings and statues like "David" which was really amazing. It's 20 ft. tall!
We went to a Sunday meeting though it took forever to get there and we missed most of the talk but the people there were all so different and from so many different cultures. We walked everywhere and by the end of each night we were beat! But I got to try all sorts of different drinks which was really fun. Champagne, wine, mixers etc. The best wine I had was actually flying from Naples to Paris on an AirFrance plane. They gave us kuskus and scallops (can't believe I actually loved it!) a small bottle of white wine, a beget and cheese. It was to die for. I was so happy!
I bought a lot of different things, a watch, bracelet, wallet, shirt, boots (with heels!!) and lots of chocolate. Gelatos were AMAZING. Had pear, yogurt and Nutella, strawberry, and some other ones I forget.
Here's a picture of some brothers who were standing outside the train station at 7 a.m. handing out the Watchtower and Awake in all different languages.
I really enjoyed saying the little Italian phrases I learned. I didn't know "Ciao" means hello and goodbye. It was so similar to Spanish too that it was easier to understand than other foreign languages, like Norwegian. It sounded like a cross between Spanish and French.
Famous places we visited:
Trevi Fountain
Colosseum
Museo Nazionale Romano
Mouth of Truth (from "Roman Holiday")
Ancient City of Pompeii
Statue of David
And we had a 19hr layover in Paris too so Dad and I climbed the Eiffel tower. It was only 4 euro to use the stairs! (about 7$) It was 2 to 3 times more for the elevator. It was freezing cold that night in Paris and we walked about 5 miles seeing famous sites. I think all our faces had wind burn the next day. We started at Notre Dame and walked the whole way down to the Eiffel Tower. We passed the Conciergerie, Palais de Justice, Louvre (where the Mona Lisa is at), Invalides, the Grand Palais and finally the Eiffel Tower. We never made it to the Arc de Triomphe. It got way too late. All the buildings were beautiful and the courtyard of the Louvre was stunning. Everything looked beautiful at night time and the Hotel de Ville had bright flashing lights all over it. So did the Eiffel at the top of the hour.
I'll post a link to view more photos later, but for now, ciao everyone!
