Week Eight: Trip To Italy!

Castel Sant Angelo

Most of the titles to my weekly blogs have been directed toward a major city we've traveled to, but this week was a rather special week for me. Week eight was our semester break! For nine days, I stayed in Rome, Italy! It was a mind blowing experience for me especially when I think back as to what I saw, the people I met, and the food I ate! Not only did I see the sites in Rome, but I also made a day trip to Venice and a day trip to Assisi! These places were beyond my imagination and for the duration of the trips I continued to look around in disbelief that I was there! I spent a majority of my time visiting Vatican City as well, and continued to be amazed at where I was!

Gelato Time!

In Rome, I saw several sites including the Castel Sant Angelo! I spent a whole morning there walking around and enjoying the architectural beauty. When I finally ventured inside, I was absolutely astounded by what I was seeing. I walked along the Castel walls and saw several rooms that were painted from the floor up to the ceiling and the paintings continued across the ceiling. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed to be taken, but the imagines were truly unforgettable! There was one night that I did go to the Trevi fountain. I’ve heard the name before, but I had no idea as to what it looked like! While visiting the fountain, I learned that it was good luck to toss in three coins into the fountain! The belief was that through this action good luck will eventually bring the individual back to Rome! I threw in three coins and now I’ll have to wait and see how long it takes before good luck brings me back to Rome! I did see other sites, like the Coliseum, St. Paul’s Basilica, and the Spanish steps, but there is only so much I can write about in one blog.

St. Peter's Basilica

Visiting Vatican City was truly a blessed experience as I visited several of the sites in the city. I climbed to the top of St. Peter’s Basilica, visited the Tomb of the Popes, saw the Vatican Museum with the Sistine Chapel, and attended the audience with the Pope! Vatican City also had some of the best restaurants where I enjoyed Penne Salmon with a tomato cream sauce, Tiramisu, and my all time favorite Nutella Gelato!

Venice

Venice was completely different from Rome! It my understanding that most of the city is surrounded by water, but this was incredible! The city was like little individual islands connected to each other by short bridges. One of the methods of getting around was by taking a water bus and people could even take gondola taxis to cross from island to island for 50 cents! There were several tours on gondolas being offered as well. Everyone has heard the expression “when in Rome...” well I said to myself “when in Venice…” and I took my first gondola ride!  Later, I saw St. Mark’s Basilica while I was there and this basilica made my day when I saw it. I’ve taken several European history classes with the same professor now for two years and have been amazed with some of the places she has gone. In one class, Dr. Woods showed us a picture of this Basilica. I thought that it was truly spectacular and thought that all I could do was dream of going to this basilica, I thought I would never get to see it. I did though and it was truly a wonderful feeling to see something of this magnitude! Venice was truly spectacular!

Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi

Assisi was by far one of my favorite cities that we have visited! I had no idea what Assisi look like, but I remember learning in my Religious Studies course last fall that it was a relatively large city and that was back in the early 13^th century! It was a big city all right, but gorgeous!  I was so thrilled to see Assisi and visit the glorious Basilica of St. Francis!  While visiting the basilica, I visited the tomb of St. Francis and saw the different chapels within the basilica. We were there for a few short hours, and I did not want to leave! If I could learn Italian, I would move there in a heartbeat!

My week in Italy was truly spectacular and someday I hope to go back to Rome and Assisi. If I manage to come back to Italy, I would also like to try and see Florence! What a great semester break!

Week Seven: Trip To Paris!

The Louvre

Arc de Triomphe

Our week in Paris was too short! Paris was more amazing than I thought it would be and I thought it was a pretty cool place to begin with! There was so much to do, so much to see, and so little time! I won't be able to say everything I want to in this little blog, so I will attempt to explain the highlights of the week!
Our first morning in Paris we went to Mass at Notre Dame! What a thing to do on your first full day in Paris! We spent a half hour before mass walking around the Cathedral and looking at the incredible beauty within! When mass started we found out it was an international mass, the gospel was said in three different languages including English! It has been awhile since I heard even part of mass said in English! The organ playing was simply outstanding as well! When mass was finished, we went to this Moroccan restaurant where we had one of the best meals I have ever had! We were severed several platters that had a mix of meats, vegetables, and couscous. To end lunch, we had these fascinating desserts with an excellent mint tea! I was struggling with a minor cold at the time and this tea was just what I needed!

The Eternal Flame under the Arc

Another day we went to the Louvre! I heard that the Louvre was quite large, but this was bigger than I imagined! We wandered one of the halls that eventually led us to the Mona Lisa! It was awesome seeing her, but hard to get a picture because we had to stand at quite a distance from her. After the Louvre we went to the Arc de Triomphe where we had the honor to participate in the rekindling of the eternal flame! We marched under the arc and place a wreath before the flame. It was truly spectacular and a true honor to participate in this national ceremony! I will never forget it!

The Eiffel Tower at 23h00

One night after we were finished with our academic activities, we had some free time to explore Paris! A few us decided to go see the Eiffel Tower at night and take the elevator up to the top! This was one of my favorite activities! The sight from the top was absolutely breath taking as we saw all of Paris lit up! The wait was about 45 minutes to get up to the top, but was completely worth it! After we took the elevator back down, we walked a distance to see the the Eiffel Tower sparkle on the hour! This was really cool, especially since I didn't know it did that! I had a great time in Paris! I hope to return to Paris again to see more of the Louvre and visit the Palace of Versailles just outside of the city! What an unforgettable time!

Week Six: Journey to Paris

After London, we came back to Ambialet for one more week of classes. This week was mid-term week, enough said. Saturday morning we began our journey to Paris! Some of the students drove to Paris because they planned on seeing the Chateau that Sleeping Beauty's Castle was modeled after on their way to Paris. Shane, Dr. Woods, Dr. Lynch, Debbie, and I took the train from Toulouse to Paris. It was a five hour train ride, but along the way Shane, Dr. Woods, and I made conversation with another passenger in French. Shane and I were playing chess on my laptop and the other passenger was watching and laughing at some of the ridiculous moves I was making. Shane and I each played a game with him and then started to converse. It was a good time! We finally made it to Paris and found the Fiap. Later, the rest of the students rolled in after Shane, Dr. Woods, and I stopped for dinner. They had a long day, but I could tell they enjoyed seeing the Chateau!