It has been forever since I have update this blog, so I thought after my week long trip to Italy I should write a post about it. Italy was by far my favorite trip, for many reasons, but the fact that it was flawless really helped. We made every train, bus, and plane, effortlessly, which never happens. It took only 3 months and 7 trips to master this whole traveling without my parents situation, but I believe I finally got it. Ok back to the trip, so our first stop was Florence. We hit up all of the most beautiful parts of the city, except seeing the real David statue... the other two duplicates were free and near the leather markets. Florence is where I began to learn that our Italy trip transferred from "No Carb Left Behind" to "No Step Left Unstepped." We started off our first excursion in Florence to climb the 467 steep steps of the Duomo. We huffed and puffed up every stair then when we finally so light at the top, we stepped out and the beautiful panoramic view of the city took away my breath even more than the stairs. Once you looked past the beautiful overhead views of the city, you were taken back when the beautiful mountain seen scaled the sky. After the Duomo, we headed over to the Piazza de Michaelangelo just before sunset so we could sit on the stairs and watch the sunset over Florence. Yet again we walk and up see that we yet again face a huge hill/staircase. We climbed and climbed, and were yet again completely blown away by another beautiful view from the top of Florence. This time we had the gorgeous and vibrant sunset to make the setting even more perfect.
While in Florence we went on a day tour of Tuscany through the Chianti Vineyards. We happened to come during the only two weeks where the leaves change colors, so we were lucky to get a little taste of autumn with the bright reds, oranges, and yellows. Every mile driven was prettier then the next. I found myself constantly just taking more and more pictures to try and capture the full scene. I learned that no photograph can actually do the vineyard justice, but trust me I tried.
Our last day in Florence we decided to take a trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I can honestly say it is one of the coolest buildings I have ever seen. It does not seem physically possible for the building to still be standing with such a dramatic tilt. I am so happy I made it out here because it really blew my mind.
After our amazing trip to Florence, we hopped back on a train and made it over to Rome. Every step you take in Rome is more historical then the next. The magnitude of the history is overwhelming in Rome. We would turn a corner and bump into the Colosseum which dates back to 80AD. Rome was the one city where I decided I would start spending the extra cash to take actual tours of the monuments instead of walking around and reading the signs that are given. My favorite tour was by far the one I took through the Vatican. Our tour guide explained every inch of the Museum, Sistine Chapel, and the actual Church. I enjoyed hearing all the ins and outs of the Vatican. (Fun Fact: the City has their own currency and one ATM that is only in Latin). At the end of our tour, the stairs came in again. In the Vatican you can walk to the top of the dome, which is about 550 stairs. The worst part of these stairs is that the higher you get, the more narrow the stairwell gets. All six of us climbed, hunched, and climbed some more until we eventually got to the top. We were rewarded by a full 360 degree view of Rome. It was honestly magical you could see everything.
Looking back on this whole Italy trip I realized that if I chose to skip out on walking up any of those stairs I would have missed my favorite parts of each city. I know now to never let my fear of heights stop me from climbing up every staircase I can.
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