Adventures in Italy!

This blog is coming to you a bit late, but I have been spending a considerable amount of time traveling recently without my laptop or even a working phone for that matter. The most extensive trip I have embarked on during my time in Europe was spending a solid nine days traveling one of the most beautiful countries in existence, Italy. My travel companions varied from city to city, but always by my side was the lovely Ally Shuell, my sorority sister and good friend. I'll link to her personal fashion blog at the bottom of the page!

Deja vu all over again. When I was fortunate enough to travel abroad my senior year of high school, Rome was hands down my favorite city. Being able to walk down the same streets, see the same landmarks, breathe the same air, was like something out of a dream. It was surreal. The Colosseum was still proudly standing. The Spanish Steps were still covered in Asian tourists. The Trevi Fountain was still full of the loose change that had been someone's deepest wishes once upon a time.

Apart from the places mentioned a moment ago, I also got to see the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, the Alrare della Patria (better known as "the wedding cake") the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona. I met up with a good friend of mine from home, Samantha Spangler, who happens to be studying in Rome right now and she took me to her Roma, known as Trastevere. I know that I've been here once before, but seeing Rome as an independent traveler, was seeing Rome through a whole new set of eyes. Everything was more vibrant.

We all ate too much pasta, drank a bit too much cheap wine and met a ton of other awesome travelers in the strangest insane asylum hostel on the planet. Needless to say, Rome was an amazing time,  but it was still only the first two days.














Next stop, Perugia. If the first thing that comes to your mind is Amanda Knox, go straight to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200 (no pun intended...okay, maybe pun intended). Ally and I said goodbye to her roommate Kaitlyn, who had joined us for the first leg of our Italian tour, and hopped on a cheap train Northbound. Nothing like a bit of Italian countryside to lift your spirits when you're sad about leaving such a gorgeous city. We met another one of our sorority sisters, Allison, at the train station while she was on her lunch break from school. She took us on a short tour of Perugia and to the chocolate festival. That's right. Chocolate festival. How did we happen upon such perfect timing? She was also kind enough to put us up for two nights and let us sleep on her couch. She introduced us to her awesome friends and even took us out on the town.

Despite the reputation that Perugia may currently hold in many parts of the world, it is more of what Italy is truly all about. It's situated on top of a beautiful hill that overlooks Italy for miles and miles. No one there speaks English and, despite Amanda Knox and the very intrusive chocolate festival, it was still light years away from being as touristy as anywhere else that we went in Italy.




Two days of too much chocolate went by entirely too quickly. We left Perugia and hopped the next train to Florence. It's a city to die for, my friends. There is a rich history of the Medici family, so much amazing food, surreal architecture, blah, blah, blah. In one word, beautiful. Ally and I happened upon some familiar faces from Regent's College as we checked into our hostel which turned out to be an awesome stroke of luck. We went to the Duomo, Medici museum and the markets together. The highlight of my food tour of Italy so far happened that afternoon, with a really lovely cheese plate served with a dish of thick honey. Heavenly. We followed up our rainy day in Florence with a "wine tour" in our hostel where we talked about everything and nothing over a few bottles of cheap vino. It was the shortest leg of our tour, but it definitely holds some of my fondest memories.

Last but not least, we ventured another three hours North to Milan. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting before I arrived, but my heart was mildly crushed. It was neither the buzzing fashion capital some said that it was, nor was it overwhelmingly historical. No offence to anyone who loves this city, but I wasn't impressed. Everywhere else we had been seemed old, cultured and sophisticated. 

So certainly the highlight of Ally and my last stop was meeting up with another sorority sister, Stephanie, the day we arrived. We met up with her two hours later than planned (due to an inconvenient train strike) at the cheapest hostel money could buy, which was hilariously named the "Hostel California." Oh, yes, my friends. If I'm lying, I'm dying. How bad was it, you ask? Steph and I shared a bed. What kind of a hostel does that? I mean, everyone seemed nice enough and the place was clean, but why in the world would they have two queen beds and three bunk beds in a room? So awkward.

Feeling the need to escape this strange city, we jumped a train to Lake Como the day before we left. It's on the border of Switzerland and surrounded by the most gorgeous mountains I've ever seen. Photo credit in advance to Steph, who has a really fabulous camera. The entire day was an awesome vacation from our vacation. I felt so spoiled.

Overall, Italy was one of the best experiences of my life. It pushed me out of my comfort zone and forced me to make my way through a foreign country where I had no knowledge of the language. It was intense, amazing and occasionally very frustrating, but I wouldn't have done a minute of it differently.

Until next time! Love always!

Ally's Fashion Blog!

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