Italy - Rome & Naples/Capri

There are so many stories from the Italy trip, so I'll just keep this to a quick run through of what we did and save the stories for later.

Sunday the 15th, Cassie and Maddy came down to spend the night here since we had a really early train to catch. I showed them around Alicante and the beaches and then we had Mac & Cheese that Maddy had with her for dinner. Yummy!

Monday, we got up and took the train (business class tickets - that was an interesting experience!) to Madrid and then the metro to the airport, where we eventually met up with the other students. They could be divided into 3 groups: those I remembered, those I remembered but not the names, and those I didn't know. So we all got introduced or re-introduced. Then we caught our flight to Rome.

Once in Rome, we found our bus, went to eat dinner and then headed to the hotel to get settled in.

Tuesday began the actual tour. After picking up our guide for Rome, we started with a bus tour hitting the main sights: some old Roman baths, the Circo Maximo, the Colosseum, the Forum, Palatine Hill, etc. Then we got off the bus and walked around on foot and passed through the Trastevere neighborhood and the Jewish quarter and we saw some more ruins (they're everywhere), the place where Caesar got killed, and the Castel Sant'Angelo. Then we rushed to make it to lunch on time, so we would have time to get into the Colosseum. After lunch we went back to the Colosseum and we went inside. It was amazing and a dream come true, to be there. After the Colosseum, we went around Rome a little and we saw the Arch of Constantine, the Forum and Palatine Hill up close, Trajan's Column, the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and we had our first gelato! Then came dinner and the night tour of Rome's plazas and fountains. We went to the Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Four Rivers Fountain and Plaza Navona. At the Trevi Fountain, we all threw in the coins to come back to Rome.

Caesar got killed somewhere in here.

Inside the Colosseum.

In front of the Trevi Fountain.

Wednesday, we actually went to a different country. But since the Vatican is basically a giant museum, I don't know how it can be a country but it is! haha
The Vatican wasn't that interesting but that's because we spent most of the time looking at statues, mosaics, or paintings, but they were kinda cool. We saw all the Popemobiles from the different epochs, we got to see the Sistine Chapel (Amazing!), and we went into St. Peter's Basilica, which is enormous, and we saw Michelangelo's "Pieta" statue too. And we saw some Swiss guards.

The Pope's balcony, from St. Peter's Square.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica.

After the Vatican, we had a free afternoon, so we split up and my group went back to see the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon with less of a rush. We also did some shopping and tried some famous "death by chocolate" gelato, which was good but not that rich.

The next day, Thursday, was a day trip to Naples and the island of Capri. Really it was a trip to Capri, because we barely spent any time in Naples, which I didn't like, because I really wanted to see Pompeii, which is right next to Naples. But Capri was beautiful, even though the weather was a little chilly.

Naples and Mt. Vesuvius.

On the island of Capri.

We ate lunch on the island and then wandered around Naples for about half an hour before returning to Rome to spend the night.
Next: Asis and Florence!

Currently listening to:
Song: Not A Man
Artist: Celebrity Chimp
Album: Celebrity is the New Royalty