Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Weekend and Day Trips

Over the summer my roommates and I went to:

Barcelona, Spain
Split, Croatia
Rome, Italy
Venice, Italy
Pisa, Italy
Cinque Terre, Italy
Portovenere Beach, Italy
Viareggio Beach, Italy
The Siena Palio (Horse Races) in Siena, Italy
Montepulciano, Italy
and various areas around the hills of Tuscany


P.S. We went through an awesome student travel agency called Bus2Alps for the majority of our trips! 

http://www.bus2alps.com/en/







BARCELONA:


Lauren and I walking out the door!


Standing on top of Castle Montejuic looking out at the Mediterranean. 

 One of the cathedrals in Barcelona! Gaudi's Sagrada Familia.


Barcelona was a complete mix if super modern and super old. This photo captures that well.







CINQUE TERRE, ITALY:


This photo of Vernazza won 2nd place for the 2011 Study Abroad Photo Contest! 





PISA:
Oh, it's leanin', tell ya what.







CROATIA:
Jumping off the boat into the GORGEOUS Adriatic Sea! Me, Katie, Matt.






Cliff jumping!

Our hostel!

Alyssa and I (and the rest of the gang) eating dinner beachside in Split, Croatia.
All of us hanging our feet off the edge of the deck boat that we took on an island hopping tour.

When we first got on the boat.










ROME:
Hanging out with the gladiators at the Coliseum!

This is the restaurant with best lasagna EVER.

Call me crazy, but I even have the address:

"Trattoria Tritone" 
Via dei Maroniti, 1
Roma, Italy
Inside the Coliseum!

The Vatican!



Outside of the Pantheon--a grand temple dedicated to the Roman gods.
Inside of the Colosseum.

Ruins from the Roman Forum.



David Guetta concert!

Guess who else was in town?!

Trevi Fountain.


Inside the Vatican.










TUSCANY:










Montepulciano!








SIENA:
At the Siena Palio--the famous horse races in Siena! THIS IS A BIG DEAL TO THE ITALIANS. The race itself is only 90 seconds long and it's one of the biggest events of the year! There are 17 small districts in Siena. It's all about the pride and the bragging rights for the district that wins! Sometimes the Siena Palio is also held in the fall. If it occurs while you are in Italy that semester/summer, you must go!

Check out the intensity!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNFdGJKh4gA



 Watch the race!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvc38A0EmiE&feature=related

The race starts at about 1:30 seconds on the video above.



Here is another of the race with the cheering instead of music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ5kEvKKrUs














PORTOVENERE BEACH:
















VENICE:


Every single inch of Venice is drop-dead adorable and picturesque. 





















2 comments:

  1. What a lovely post on Rome ! You make my heart to go back to Italy ! You have a stunning blog ! I have always dreamed of visiting Italy!
    I would love to enjoy Florence Full Day tour!! Thanx for sharing excellent informations.
    ................................................................................
    Pompei and Naples Full day Tour

    ReplyDelete
  2. Omg I love this blog. I can't wait to try the pasta in for favor restaurant in Italy

    ReplyDelete