Rome, Florence, and Pisa

After finals, we had 5 days off from our hectic schedule of going out every night in London to enjoy a break in Italy. 4 of my friends and I headed out to Rome for a day, Florence for two, and Pisa for a day. I took something like 700 pictures because it was all so beautiful.

ROME

The city view outside of the Sistine Chapel

The Vatican

The Vatican courtyard

Jesus says what's up.

There were so many ruins everywhere!

And here's the Coliseum..

We spent 2 hours inside taking dumb pictures on the fallen columns and pedestals

The Trevi Fountain in Rome. I forgot to take a picture of the Spanish Steps.

The next day we took a train to Florence. This is what the Italian countryside looks like.




FLORENCE
There was this GIANT hill you could climb that took you to the best view of the city. The climb was a drag after the extreme sight seeing/lack of sleep that had been going on, but it was worth it.

Florence at dusk

Florence was beautiful. This is the Ponte Vecchio bridge (its actually full of jewelry stores and covered in tourist's graffiti).

The view from the bridge.

The Santa Maria Novella

The front of the Santa Maria

The second day we bumped into a youth Communist rally in front of the church. There were thousands of minors waving signs and playing music. Really, I think they just wanted an excuse to skip school.

That night we decided to act our age and took a carousel ride. Pretty much after a while "When in Rome...." turned into "When in Italy..." and then just an excuse to do everything.

Like eat a whole lot of gelato. At every meal, whenever possible.




We also saw all three Davids, the original and two copies, in addition to a whole lot of other famous stuff (the Sistine Chapel, The Birth of Venus, Da Vinci's Annunciation and Adoration of the Magi, etc.).

The first one we saw was under scaffolding. You could only see two parts of the statue because the rest was covered up. Here's the family-friendly visible part.

The second one was made of bronze and on the previously mentioned giant hill above Florence.

And here's the real one. This is the only illegal photograph I took while I was in Florence, because you can't take pictures anywhere. But I figured that since I spent 20 USD to see one statue, I'd better get my money's worth.



PISA

The next morning we went to Pisa. We were so tired by then so Pisa was perfect. It's a very small area with a little market and more awesome gelato.

Oh, and a tower.

Peek a boo. Um..just kidding. But seriously, it's leaning a whole lot.

Since I was sick of gelatos by the fourth day, I decided to branch out and get an "Ice Burger." It was actually really good.

So there you have it....my last big trip (other than that whole London thing) before I come home.....in 2 months!