¡Hola amigos! On día 84 I had my phone stolen, which was the day before my spring break. My friend helped me a ton to try and get it back, but people steal phones for a living in Barcelona so it was long gone. Thank God I could text people from my iPad, but the next day I had to navigate getting to Venice without a phone.
I luckily got to Venice, Italy safely on día 85, but my parents’ flight was delayed and they missed their connecting flight in Zurich. They were supposed to arrive 2 hours before me, but instead arrived 6 hours after me. They brought me a phone and all was right with the world. We headed off to our Airbnb for the night.
On día 86 we got breakfast and walked around the beautiful streets of Venice. We went on a gondola ride through the narrow waterways and it was amazing! We got gelato and enjoyed the views of the city. We went to some cathedrals and saw the intricate architecture. We ate lunch at St. Mark’s Square and listened to a live string band. We got on a ferry to Murano and my parents bought some authentic glass fired glasses. We went back to the main area, went out to a bar and listened to the music for a while before heading to sleep.
On día 87 we headed off to Florence, Italy. We took a train and it was very comfortable because we slept almost the entire ride. We checked into our hotel, which was right around the corner from the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. We walked around and saw the cathedral, the Baptistry di San Lorenzo, and the Palazzo Vecchio. We tried to see the statue of David, but it was closed to the public when we went so we saw the exact replica in the Piazza della Signoria. We walked through the main market area and there was Italian leather everywhere. We walked to Ponte Vecchio and sat on the bridge for a while just taking in the view. There was someone singing on the other side of the bridge so we sat and listened. Eventually the gelato place across the bridge caught my eye so we went to grab some. We had to wait in a line, but it ended up being the best gelato we had the whole trip, so it was worth it!
On día 88 we got ready and headed to Tuscany, Italy on a wine tour. The bus ride was included so we drove off with some other people on the tour to our first stop at a small, organic, family-owned vineyard. We tried a few types of wine and some of their olive oil and balsamic with cheese and bread. It was all so delicious and the other people on the tour were fun to talk to. We boarded the bus and drove to another vineyard where we learned about the history of how they make their wine. We saw the giant clay pots and barrels and a breathtaking view of their vineyard from above. We tried more wine and got bread and cheese again. People started getting a little rowdy and it was obvious that the snacks were necessary to keep trying the different types of wine. We finished up and headed back to where we started the tour. We went back to Ponte Vecchio and walked around the city more.
On día 89 we got a delicious breakfast at the place down the street. We packed up and headed off to Rome by train. We slept again on the train and arrived quickly. We checked into our Airbnb and got ready to head out for the day. We walked around the city and saw the area we were close to. We – of course – ate pizza and pasta for dinner and were so exhausted that we went back to the Airbnb early to rest up for the next day.
On día 90 we headed to Vatican City after settling into our Airbnb. We had a tour of the Sistine Chapel and the surrounding area of Vatican City. After the tour we were starving so we found a restaurant right outside of Vatican City and it ended up being one of our favorite dinners. We walked around the city at night and visited Piazza Navona.
On día 91 we got a delicious breakfast near our Airbnb and walked to the bike tour we set up. It was really chaotic to get through the busy streets of Rome on a bike, but our guide was very helpful. We had a lovely group and we became friends with a lovely family from the UK. We saw almost every main attraction in Rome and a few extras that I had not seen last time I was there. For dinner we went to Hostaria del Roody, which had amazing food and even better service.
On día 92 it was raining, but we got breakfast and walked around some of the shops. My dad ended up buying a pink suit for the Kentucky Derby while in one of the shops. We did a lot of window shopping and eventually went home to get ready for our food tour. We met up with the group and walked around to different small shops, learned about the history and significance of the food, and got to try tons of different food that we may have never tried. We had such a great time trying new food and the people in our group were so fun! We ended the night walking to the top of this lookout point near our Airbnb and we could see almost all of the city. On día 93 we got a taxi to the Airbnb, said our goodbyes and parted ways after an amazing spring break.
¡Comí demasiado pan, pero Italia fue increíble con la familia y ¡ya quiero volver!
