Hey! So it's been awhile since I've updated this thing!!!
The last time we talked was at the beginning of October, and it's already November! Boy, does time go by fast!
We had October break from Oct 7-18th and it was amazing!! Where do I even begin? Why don't we start from the beginning...
MADRID (Oct. 7-9) "Loco"
Madrid was absolutely amazing. Jess and I stayed in a really cheap hostel with Daven and Ashley, 2 other girls from the program. Even though it was cheap, it was a very nice hostel. It had a balcony that overlooked the street we were on, so we were able to see all the nightlife that was going on. The 1st night (Thurs. the 7th) we went out for churros and chocolate (it was warm, melted chocolate, but not too sweet...it was perfect) We went to bed fairly early because the next day we had a long day ahead of us! We went to so many museums (The Prada Museum and then the Reina Sofia Museum). We saw a lot of Picasso's artwork, which was pretty legit!! The 2nd night we ate dinner and guzzled down 2 bottles of wine. Later, we got into a really big, but fun club. It had so many people and we ended up meeting some Spaniards on the dance floor! The headache I had from the wine the next morning was not so much fun, especially because we had to get up early for our train to Salamanca...
SALAMANCA (Oct. 9-11) "Espana Antigua"
By far, this has been my favorite place that I have traveled to and by far the most emotional trip I have taken. Salamanca was definitely an experience within its own. My cousin Emily studied abroad here when she was in college, and I can definitely see why she chose here. There were times when I thought to myself, "Why didn't I come here to study for a semester?!" Anyways, Jess and I got really emotional when we went inside all the various cathedrals. They were so beautiful and we just don't have iglesias like that in the states. Jess and I fell in love with the city and we saw so much within the 2 days we were there. I am so glad we visited there instead of Toledo or staying in Madrid for a longer time. We saw the Museo de Salamanca, a couple other museums and San Esteban Cathedral. We also went shopping and ate a ton of food!! There will be a piece of my heart in Salamanca forever, and I already know I'll be visiting there again someday.
ITALIA-PISA (Oct. 12) "Simple"
We were delayed through RyanAir (yet again) because of the huelgas (strikes) in Paris, which backed up the transportation. When we arrived in Pisa, we only stayed for a few hours to see the classic "Leaning Tower of Pisa." It's beautiful there, but we had enough of Pisa after the torre. I bought a new leather purse (I really needed one, you can even ask Jess). After a few hours in Pisa, I was ready to visit Chris and his friends in Florence...
ITALIA-FLORENCE/"FIRENZE" (Oct. 12-14) "Rico"
I am in love with Italy. It is SO gorgeous and just like what you see/hear in movies!! The food is delicious, the culture is rich and the Italians are crazy and do actually speak a lot with their hands. We stayed with Chris in his apartment that he has for the semester and we slept on his love seats (not too shabby, by the way)! His apartment was actually really nice and they had their own kitchen and told us they cook a lot of their meals. Although I can't cook to save my life, I think it'd be a lot of fun to be able to do that. He has 3 other guy roommates who are all pretty sweet! Derek, Dave and Pat were their names! The first night they took us out and I spent 4 Euros on a beer (I can't keep doing that). The next day we went up the Michael Angelo steps and saw the beautiful view of the city! I took a lot of pictures! We also saw the huge Italian market and then went out to lunch. Trust me, it was definitely real Italian food. We spent 8 euros for a 3 course meal. It was delicious...consisted of pasta (obviamente), chicken with a sweet tomato sauce ontop and then steamed broccoli. We wandered the city afterwards and saw the gorgeous cathedrals too. Florence is simply a taste of Italy and I knew Rome would be even more intense. It was great to see Chris, a familiar face from home!! It was sad when I had to say goodbye :(
ROMA (Oct. 14-17) "Romantica"
The first thing Jess and I did upon arriving in Rome was get gelato. It is so popular there! We had it twice yesterday and twice today. 2 Euros for a small is definitely worth it! The first day we saw the Colosseum and met David and his brother, Jon. We walked around the city a bit and eventually met up with other people from our program to get pizza at a really popular (and absolutely delicious) pizza place. We got a 4 cheese pizza, a margarita pizza that is really popular there. It was so thin, and SOOO good! Later, we went back and relaxed at hour hostel (which was right by the Vatican by the way). We got gelato again on the way home :) haha The 2nd day, Jess and I did a lot of walking around!! We went to the catacombs with David and his brother. Other places we went in Rome were:
-Plaza Navona (fountain, pizza, gelato)
-Trevi Fountain
-Spanish Steps
-San Carlo Quattro Fountain
-Barberini Plaza
-Republican Plaza
-Tritone Fountain
-Costatino Arc
-Pietro Vincoli
-San Giovanni & Paolo
-Circo Massimo
-Vatican
We did a tour of the Colosseum too and I'm so glad we did it!
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