ITALY: FLORENCE & VENICE

I spent the rest of my spring break in Italy! First stop, Florence! We arrived late after flying out of Barcelona and went to the Airbnb to go straight to bed. The next morning, we got ready and went to find a place to get a good breakfast before our tour at noon. We found a place called Rooster, and I got an eggs benedict, and it was delicious! I could've eaten there for breakfast every morning. 

We had more time to kill before the tour, so we took a scenic walk around Florence. By our Airbnb was the Ponte Vecchio, which was beautiful even with the crummy weather. When you walk across the bridge, there are expensive jewelry shops everywhere you look.

Once we got more into the city center, we met up with our tour guide to tour the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as the Duomo. This is my new favorite cathedral because it is huge and the exterior is stunning. One fun fact I learned on the tour is that they clean it with a brush the size of a toothbrush! 

It was still rainy, so it was nice to be inside the Duomo for a bit. The painting on the ceiling was breathtaking. I learned that the outside of the painting represents the seven deadly sins, with each sin being represented by an animal. I was staring at it for so long that my neck started to hurt from looking up. 

The coolest part of the tour was that we were able to climb up 500 steps to the very top. The steps weren't as bad as I thought, but the rain was terrible. Cold and strong winds mixed with rain while being on top of the Duomo was not a good combination. The view made it almost worth it. 

We went to SimBIOsi to get some pizza for a late lunch once the tour was over. Mom, Dad, and I split two pizzas, but the pizzas were so good, I wish I had gotten my own. 

After lunch, we strolled around the streets of Florence, window shopping and looking at all of the museums and art around the city. 

Before going back to the Airbnb, we stopped to get some gelato at Sbrino. Next door was the cutest photo booth, and you know how I feel about photo booths. So, of course, Mom and I had to test it out.

One thing that I learned about Florence recently is that not only are they known for their pizza and pasta, but also their steak! Nearby our Airbnb was a restaurant named Trattoria 13 Gobbi, which was known for its steak. We forgot to book a reservation, so we waited in line for a bit until they were open in hopes of snagging a table. To our luck, we were able to get a table!

We all split a bottle of red wine and relaxed. Our rule during dinner was to not talk about plans for future days during our trip. We mostly talked about what we enjoyed about each day. 

I got one of the pastas that they are known for, the rigatoni. I'm normally not someone who goes for red pasta sauce, but when in Italy, I had to make an exception. Dad got the Florentine steak with potatoes, and it was amazing. I definitely stole a few bites.

After dinner, we walked around the city center for a bit. We came up to Piazza della Repubblica and listened to live music. The vibes were perfect. One older gentleman was grabbing people to dance with him, and pretty soon most of the crowd was dancing with him. We then went across the piazza to another group of performers. All of a sudden, I turn my head after listening to the music and see my friends Mary Kate, Ellie, and Grace standing next to me. Of all the places to be on spring break, we coincidentally end up on the same piazza. Mom obviously had to snag a photo. She's been my personal photographer while she's been here. 

The next morning, we had our day trip to Siena, San Gimignano, and Pisa. The forecast did not look promising, and we had the worst rain conditions possible in Siena. Siena was a very small Italian town, and there was a lot of history. The last stop of the tour before we had free time was to visit the cathedral. 

I have never seen a church's interior like this! It was super pretty, and I thought the striped stone made it very unique. Cathedrals in general around Italy have been super busy because of Easter. 

There wasn't much else to see in Siena, so we spent the rest of our free time trying to warm up in a cafe. I got a hot chocolate and a chocolate croissant; both were extremely chocolatey. 

Before going to San Gimignano, we took a pit stop at a vineyard for lunch. The rain was slowly starting to clear up, so the day was already looking better! For lunch, we had toasted bread with homemade olive oil, penne pasta with bolognese sauce, pork tenderloin with potatoes, and a tuscan dessert called Cantucci. 

Everything was amazing! We sat next to a family whose daughter also studies abroad in Spain.

The food and service were great, and the endless wine was even better.

Once we got to San Gimignano, the sun was shining!

The vineyards around the town were beautiful. The town was a tourist spot, so we walked around the shops and got really good gelato. 

The last stop of the tour was to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Walking through Pisa did not feel like Italy. All of a sudden, you turn a corner, and boom, it's right there. 

We made a last-minute decision to go up. When we got to the ticket booth, they only had 7 tickets left for the time that we needed, but we were able to get them!

Did you really go to the Leaning Tower of Pisa if you didn't take a cheesy photo?

When you climb up and down, you can totally feel the unbalanced tilt of the tower. It's a continuous spiral staircase, so one side is way easier to go up than the other. We all felt a little woozy after climbing. 

Mom, Dad, and I did a photo contest with Papa Bob. I was the clear winner with this photo. 

Once we made it back into Florence, we went to the first pizza we could find because we were all starving. The pizza was good, but the first pizza place we went to was a lot better. 

The next morning, we woke up and went to see the Statue of David. It is breathtaking and a lot bigger than I thought it was. We came when there was barely any crowd, and after we walked through the other art exhibits, it was packed. 

We spent the rest of our morning in Florence looking for last-minute souvenirs and going to a supermarket to get sandwiches for our train to Venice! 

At 2 p.m., we had our train to Venice. We got to the train station way too early and spent over an hour waiting for the train to arrive. But once we got on the train, we enjoyed a nice lunch while I studied. 

Our lunch spread: chips, focaccia and prosciutto sandwiches, and an assortment of drinks.

After our train ride, we made it to Venice. Right away, we noticed that the weather was a lot better than what it was in Florence. One interesting thing about Venice is that there are no bikes or cars are allowed on the streets, so you either have to walk or take a water taxi. 

We walked from the train station to our Airbnb, but after, we took a water taxi to a more populated area where our dinner reservation was.

The water taxi was so much fun; it's like the metro on water! Once we got dropped off by the water taxi, we walked around to a few bars to get some drinks. In Spain, my drink of choice is a tinto de verano. But this trip, it was a spirtz! 

We got dinner at Trattoria Dona Onestra, and it was amazing! I'm not a big tomato lover, but after being in Italy for a week, I'm slowly starting to like them (especially when paired with mozzarella).

Mom, Dad, and I started off dinner by splitting a caprese salad as an appetizer and I got the carbonara as my entree. For dessert, we got crème brûlée. 

The next morning, we got a quick coffee and pastry breakfast before our tour of Doge's Palace. We had an amazing tour guide who told us a lot of history about Venice. 

One of the most interesting things that I learned is that there are 436 bridges connecting Venice together because Venice is made up of 118 tiny islands. 

The inside of the palace was very pretty and had a lot of history. It was interesting to learn about the architecture. The gold on the ceilings is actually wood painted with 24K gold to allow the palace to not be as heavy. 

We stopped at a pizza restaurant for a quick lunch after the tour by the grand canal overlooking the Rialto Bridge. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent walking around the streets of Venice. I was skeptical about how much we were able to do in Venice, but I honestly just loved people watching and strolling through the streets. You could tell that it was starting to become peak tourist season because people were everywhere!

Later on in the afternoon, I really wanted to try a cannoli. We searched for a bit, and right before our next tour, I found one! It wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was still yummy. I would definitely have another one. 

We ended our afternoon by going on a food tour around Venice. We went on the tour with a family from Tucson, Arizona. They were super nice, and we talked with them throughout the tour. 

We tried a lot of different foods, some of which I wasn't the biggest fan of; however, I was a fan of the aperol spritz and prosecco. 

The tour guide was extremely helpful and even went out of her way to make sure I had an easy way to get to the airport. 

Vegetable risotto!

After the tour, as we were walking back to our Airbnb to charge our phones, I spotted my roommates Katie and Sarah Jane, who were in Venice for the night. What are the odds?!

The night ended with stopping at an IPA bar for Dad to get a beer and Mom and I to get yet another aperol spritz. 

The next morning, I woke up and went to the water taxi to have someone drop me off at the airport. Because it was Easter weekend, trains and flights were extremely expensive. So, I flew to Barcelona and then took a train back to Madrid! It was a perfect spring break!

Best Part of the Trip: I really loved just walking through the streets of Florence and Venice! However, the food might be the cherry on top. I could never get sick of eating delicious pizza and pasta. I also desperately needed some one-on-one family time, so it was great to be with my parents. We kept things pretty low-key, but I was just happy to be with them. 

Worst Part of the Trip: The weather was all over the place! In Madrid and Venice, we had sunny skies. But in Florence and Barcelona, we had lots of clouds and rain. Especially in Florence and during our day trip. It put a temporary damper on all of our moods. Still, we made the most of it. 

Overall Thoughts: Like I said, it was so nice to be able to spend the week with just Mom and Dad. It was Mom's first time in Europe, and Dad hasn't been back in 30+ years. He found himself having deja vu frequently. While it was hard leaving them, I've got a very packed remainder of the semester. And I still don't know when I'm coming home!