Hi Everyone! How are you? We hope everyone is doing well! We are currently on the train on the way back from our last excursion in Europe! We finished our finals on Monday and are glad to be done! We left for Italy around 9:00am on Tuesday April 28 and after stopping in Nice and Genova we finally arrived in Rome around 8:30pm. We took the metro to our hotel from the train station and collapsed in bed after traveling for over eleven hours. On Wednesday we woke up bright and early and took the metro into the heart of Rome. We stepped out of the subway at our first stop, the Coliseum, and we were instantly overwhelmed at how large and magnificent it was. It literally took our breath away! From there we made our way to the Roman Forum, the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Piazza Venezia, the Spanish Steps, and finally to Saint Peter’s Basilica and Saint Peter’s Square. Unfortunately we were not allowed into Vatican City, but we were able to have a tour of Saint Peter’s Basilica. We stopped at a cute outdoor café for pizza for lunch and finished the day off with some gelato and shopping before heading back to our hotel.
On Thursday we checked out of our hotel and walked around the area around the train station. The train station in Rome was one of the biggest ones we had seen; it was several floors and even had an airport in it! Our train to Venice left at 10:45am and arrived around 5:00pm. It was by far the most train ride of this entire experience. We ended up sitting next to two very nice guys, one from Argentina, and one from Italy. The one from Italy just happened to be the number one dancer in all of Italy and was even on Italy’s version of Dancing with the Stars last year! He is friends with all of the dancers on American’s Dancing with the Stars. We didn’t stop talking and laughing once for six hours straight which I’m sure was annoying for everyone around us who was trying to sleep! We weren’t sure what to expect when we arrived in Venice and were completely shocked when we stepped out of the train station and were surrounded by boats and water!
Our hotel was on the outskirts of Venice so we had to take a bus there. The driver told us to get off at the wrong stop and we ended up walking over one and a half kilometers with all of our luggage! We loved our hotel though and it had a nice breakfast for us so it was worth it in the end! We went to bed early and woke up early on Friday and spent the entire day sightseeing, crossing bridges and taking pictures of canals. We saw many interesting sights including Saint Mark’s Basilica, Saint Mark’s Square, Doge’s Palace, Santa Maria di Nazareth, San Simeone Piccolo, SS. Apostoli, and Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and many others. Our favorite part was just walking around the tiny streets and exploring the town surrounded by water. It was crazy seeing police, ambulances, and taxis as boats. They could parallel park better than we can on land! The gondolas were very neat to watch but we were too hot and they were too expensive. We decided to put our money to better us and went shopping and got gelato! The weather in Italy is even hotter than it is in France and we were so hot we felt like we were going to pass out and yet the Italians and Europeans were still walking around in their winter coats. It blows our mind!
Today we took the bus into Venice early and spent the morning relaxing and walking around before catching our train at 1:50pm. We have stops in Milan and Ventimiligia and should arrive in Antibes around 10:45pm. Overall we loved everything about Italy! The sights were beautiful, the people were friendly, the food was delicious, and the accent was one of our favorites! We had a great time but felt bad that Mom and Dad couldn’t be here to enjoy it with us! At least now we can help them plan their own trip here and tell them the best places to stay and see! We are spending the week in Antibes relaxing, going to the beach, and seeing a last few minute things before heading home early Saturday morning. Only six more days and counting, we never thought we would make it this far! We are so excited to come home and see everyone! Hope everyone is doing well at home! We miss you and love you tons but we will see you SOON! Ciao!
Love,
Jen and Em
**1: Jen eating her last real Italian gelati! 2: Em standing in front of the main canal in Venice. 8: Standing in Saint Mark's square. 12: Jen standing in front of St. Peter's Basilica. 13: Spanish Steps. 14: Em throwing a penny over her left shoulder at the Trevi fountain. They say that if you do this you will have a quick return. 14. Em standing in front of one of three statues in the Piazza Novanna square. 15: Jen sitting at the cafe where we ate lunch in Rome. 16: Us inside the Pantheon. 17: Em in front of Piazza Venezia. 18: Jen in front of the Roman Forum. 19: Us in front of the Coliseum.
On Thursday we checked out of our hotel and walked around the area around the train station. The train station in Rome was one of the biggest ones we had seen; it was several floors and even had an airport in it! Our train to Venice left at 10:45am and arrived around 5:00pm. It was by far the most train ride of this entire experience. We ended up sitting next to two very nice guys, one from Argentina, and one from Italy. The one from Italy just happened to be the number one dancer in all of Italy and was even on Italy’s version of Dancing with the Stars last year! He is friends with all of the dancers on American’s Dancing with the Stars. We didn’t stop talking and laughing once for six hours straight which I’m sure was annoying for everyone around us who was trying to sleep! We weren’t sure what to expect when we arrived in Venice and were completely shocked when we stepped out of the train station and were surrounded by boats and water!
Our hotel was on the outskirts of Venice so we had to take a bus there. The driver told us to get off at the wrong stop and we ended up walking over one and a half kilometers with all of our luggage! We loved our hotel though and it had a nice breakfast for us so it was worth it in the end! We went to bed early and woke up early on Friday and spent the entire day sightseeing, crossing bridges and taking pictures of canals. We saw many interesting sights including Saint Mark’s Basilica, Saint Mark’s Square, Doge’s Palace, Santa Maria di Nazareth, San Simeone Piccolo, SS. Apostoli, and Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari and many others. Our favorite part was just walking around the tiny streets and exploring the town surrounded by water. It was crazy seeing police, ambulances, and taxis as boats. They could parallel park better than we can on land! The gondolas were very neat to watch but we were too hot and they were too expensive. We decided to put our money to better us and went shopping and got gelato! The weather in Italy is even hotter than it is in France and we were so hot we felt like we were going to pass out and yet the Italians and Europeans were still walking around in their winter coats. It blows our mind!
Today we took the bus into Venice early and spent the morning relaxing and walking around before catching our train at 1:50pm. We have stops in Milan and Ventimiligia and should arrive in Antibes around 10:45pm. Overall we loved everything about Italy! The sights were beautiful, the people were friendly, the food was delicious, and the accent was one of our favorites! We had a great time but felt bad that Mom and Dad couldn’t be here to enjoy it with us! At least now we can help them plan their own trip here and tell them the best places to stay and see! We are spending the week in Antibes relaxing, going to the beach, and seeing a last few minute things before heading home early Saturday morning. Only six more days and counting, we never thought we would make it this far! We are so excited to come home and see everyone! Hope everyone is doing well at home! We miss you and love you tons but we will see you SOON! Ciao!
Love,
Jen and Em
**1: Jen eating her last real Italian gelati! 2: Em standing in front of the main canal in Venice. 8: Standing in Saint Mark's square. 12: Jen standing in front of St. Peter's Basilica. 13: Spanish Steps. 14: Em throwing a penny over her left shoulder at the Trevi fountain. They say that if you do this you will have a quick return. 14. Em standing in front of one of three statues in the Piazza Novanna square. 15: Jen sitting at the cafe where we ate lunch in Rome. 16: Us inside the Pantheon. 17: Em in front of Piazza Venezia. 18: Jen in front of the Roman Forum. 19: Us in front of the Coliseum.
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