ROMA
On Friday, April 3rd our little group landed in Rome at 10:30pm. Our flight had been delayed by about two hours, putting us into the city later than we had originally planned. Instead of taking the train to our hostel from the airport like we had originally planned, an extremely "persistent" (that's code for annoying) taxi driver finally lowered his prices enough to talk 7 college students on a budget to hop into his 9 passenger van. We had been driving for a while when he told all of us to close our eyes. I whispered to Sydney that I'm pretty sure closing your eyes for a stranger in a foreign country tops the list of things white, American college students are NOT supposed to do...but we did anywaysn (Sorry mom and dad!) About thirty seconds later he told us to open our eyes and we we looked out the window to realize we were driving by the Colosseum at night. It looked absolutely magnificent all lit up and it was a great introduction to Roma! Even though it was late, we decided to go exploring anyways and after some delicious pizza from a restaurant across the street from our hostel, we began a lovely night time stroll through Rome!
After walking around for a bit we finally found the Trevei Fountain. It was absolutely gorgeous and my pictures definitely do not do it justice.
The next morning, on our way to the Vatican, we noticed what appeared to be some sort of street fair with ballons and music a little ways away from our hostel. Interested in "soaking up the culture" (that one is code for free food) we decided to take a detour and partake in the festiviites. Walking through the "fair" we noticed some strange looking symbols and a whole lot of red shirts and realized our "street fair" was acutally a full blown communist rally. Whoops.
Once we veered away from all the political activity, we saw some more of the city on our way to the Vatican.
One of many piazzas...(incidentally, I think "piazza" might be one of my new favorite words.)
By far the most creative human statue I've seen!
We were in Rome at just the right time and those purple blossoms were everywhere!
Entering Vatican City!
The Vatican!
St. Peter's Basilica was gorgeous and I did manage to get some decent photos!
After visiting the Basilica, we headed over to the Vatican Museum where the Sistine Chapel is located. Here are some pictures from the museum...
I couldn't believe how intricate the paintings and tapestries decorating this coridoor were. Definitely a sensory overload!
Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel. BUT I still managed to sneak one, albeit blurry, photo of the Chapel's most famous work of art. Look familiar?!
After our Vatican fun and lunch, we headed back to visit the Trevei Fountain during daylight. I still liked it better at night though.
Two coins thrown with your right hand over your left shoulder is supposed to bring you good luck. We shall see!
The next day after walking around the city some more we climbed the steps of some kind of "capitol building" for some views of the city AND the Colosseum!!
I know it is a tad bit cliche to go to Rome and gush about the Colosseum but I absolutely LOVED it. I could not get over how old this amazing building is and all of the history surrounding it!
A little historical irony for kicks. ;-) Peace!
For you dad! Some remains of the Colosseum's causalities of the animal kind. Yikes!
I'm no photographer, but I still think I desserve some props for this photo!
After we pryed ourselves aways from the Colosseum, we walked through the Forum, also known as Palatine Hill. The Forum was where all the buisiness and politics took place back in Rome's glory days. There were also gardens and palaces on the outskirts of the main area.
Can you imagin living here?! (Er...circa Ancient Rome, not circa now).
I was a little shocked - and delighted - to find a cactus in the middle of this beautiful Roman garden.
The following photos are where all the action happened!
The Arch of Titus...
Where Ceasar died/was buried. (The plaque was in Italian and we could only make out certain words--Ceasar and death).
Just outside the Forum is Peter and Paul's jail cell. Visiting this site was definitely a little sobering and demonstrated the crueler side of Ancient Rome.
The very narrow stairs leading down to the cell...
The cell. I couldn't stand to be in this room for more than a few minutes, as it turns out I'm a little claustrophobic. I can't begin to imagine what it was like being imprisoned in this dungeon.
After Peter and Paul's cell, I took a page out of Audrey Hepburn's book and visited "La Bocca della Verità " or the Mouth of Truth. This is the site of one of Roman Holiday's most famous scenes and I made sure to visit it, as promised to my wonderful roommate Beth. :-) The Lion was originally used with legal documents. Before a contract was signed, it was tradition for it to be placed inside the lion's mouth. If the document was dishonest the lion would bite down on the document and the dishonest arm holding it. ;-)
After I was done pretending to be Miss Hepburn, we visited the Pantheon. This temple was originally built in 126 A.d. to serve all the gods of Ancient Rome. It is the oldest standing domed structure in Rome and one of the best preserved buildings in the world. Another fun fact about this bulding is that today's architectural engineers are unable to recreate the dome design and have no idea how the struture stands.
Overall we had a blast in Rome, and it was definitely my favorite city of the entire trip. After spending 3 days there we hopped on a train to Florence with our handy EURail passes. :-)FIRENZE
One of the first things we saw on our first day in Florence, or Firenze, was the Duomo. Construction of this gigantic Cathedral began in 1296 in the Gothic style and was completed finally in 1436.
Katie and me being cute!
The amazing dome! 
The painted ceiling depicts hell, earth and heaven.
We were able to climb 483 steps to the top of the dome for some spectacular views of the city, Unfortunately, my camera died. But take my word for it, the view was awesome. :-)The next day we took the bus into a town called Fiesole, right in the heart of Tuscany. It was beautiful and I wish we could have spent more time in this quaint little town.
We ate dinner at this restaurant. So cute!
After dinner we watched the sun set.
The next day we spent back in Florence. That morning I woke up early to beat the lines and see the David. I was a little skeptical at just how much I would appreciate this giant marble statue but I loved it. And though I wasn't brave enough to attempt at snapping a forbidden picture, my photography skills wouldn't have done the statue justice anyways.
Later that morning Sydney and I visited the Basilica of Santa Croce where some of Italy's most famous Italians are buried like Michelangelo, Galileo, Da Vinci and basically the entire cast of the Ninja Turtles.
Leonardo Da Vinci's tomb.
Michelangelo's tomb. 
Syndey being cute. :-)
And nerdy me showing some Dante love! Dante's Inferno was one of my favorite readings in highschool so I was very excited to see his tomb.
Later we walked around the city some more and of course, stopped for some yummy gelato along the river. 
Later that afternoon Katie and I visited Piza. It was only an hour train ride away and I'm so glad we made the trip! The classic Piza Pic...
Isn't it just the cutest?! Apparently it leans a full cenitmeter more each year but massive renovation projects are currently under way to preserve the world's most comical tower. 
The next morning all of us hopped on another train to Cinqu Terre, or Five Cities. This region is one of Italy's top tourist spots and it was absolutely breathtaking!
CINQUE TERRE
The first day we visited Monterosso visiting the beach and just relaxing.
The next day we put on our hiking shoes and hiked the five villages, the popular tourist thing to do. We started in Rio Maggiore and ended back up in Monterosso. The hike was over 11 miles long and took us all day, but the views were amazing and so worth the work out!
I wish we could have spent more time in Cinqu Terre exploring each of the villages, but after two nights there we hopped on another train to Venice!
VENEZIA
Venice, apart from being very touristy, was beautiful. The travel books said that to really experience Venice, or Venezia, you just had to get lost and walk around, which we did. All two days. The canals and unmarked street made it nearly impossible to navigate where we were exactly on the map, but we still had a great time!
Gondola rides were going for about 50 Euros, so we didn't ride in any gondolas, but we sure took a lot pf pictures!
St. Marc's Basilica at the famous Piazza San Marco.
The delicious restaurant, with some very cute waiters, where we had our last meal of pasta and wine. 
The Jewish ghetto. 
Later that night we hopped on an overnight another train to Vienna, and yes. The ride was just as uncomfortable as it sounds. 
Stay tuned for part 2! I promise, it is not nearly as long as part 1! :-)
