Reunions in Rome

We spent our last weekend of travel in Rome! It was a four day weekend, so we flew down on Thursday night. I was so excited all week to see my Mom and Aunt, who I hadn't seen since January! And it just so happens to be where Alex is studying :) We were exhausted from our long day and fell asleep pretty soon after our arrival, but Friday we woke up early to head to the Vatican! We had a reservation for the museum (definitely worth the extra 4 euros) so we were able to bypass the line and head right in.

Square at the Vatican

Swiss Guard

After the museum we stood in line to see St. Peter's basilica. The square was very crowded, but it was a gorgeous day so we didn't mind waiting. This was my favorite area in Vatican City. The square and the church are both beautiful. I didn't realize until the visit that this is the burial site of the apostle Peter. It was a great reminder to be joyful that Jesus conquered the grave! 

After our tour of Vatican City we went to lunch at a restaurant on Alex's street that he visits frequently (to say the least). It was fun to see where he lives, it is a very cool part of Rome! 

Raimundo! 

After lunch we finished our sight seeing of the day with the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and the Trevi fountain. It is incredible how much there is to see in Rome! 

 If you toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain it means you'll come back to Rome!

 Spanish Steps

Pantheon

The next day we took the train to Pompeii, which is located right outside of Naples. The town was destroyed and buried in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted, and was rediscovered on accident in 1749. It has been excavated ever since! The site is huge, and our guide did a great job giving us a sense of what life would have been like for the people that lived there all those years ago. I would definitely recommend the trip! 

 Body that was preserved from the ash

 Beautiful colored floor in what used to be a home

 Alex talking history with our guide

We walked by Piazza Venezia on our way back to the hotel, which is in the center of Rome. We had a great night just hanging out and having a long dinner. 

Piazza Venezia

On Sunday we went to the Colosseum, and the just walked around the downtown area for awhile. We had reservations for Easter dinner, and the restaurant was very authentic and a great last meal in Rome! 

 Maps of Roman Empire

I had an amazing time in Rome, it was an awesome city that I got to explore with some of my favorite people! I am finished with class for the semester, I can't believe we move out on Friday. This has been the fastest 3 months! It is definitely bittersweet going home, I can't wait to see everyone there but I will definitely miss Europe. Saturday we head to Dublin, then London, and then DALLAS on the 22nd.

-Megan

Long-overdue spring break post

What a crazy busy 2 weeks it has been! Spring break was March 17th- 24th, but school has been dominating all of our free time as we wrap up the semester (so weird).

Scroll down for Hannah's blog post about the week with her parents!!

My spring break was spent with Alex in Berlin, Munich, and Lucerne. Go here to read all about our adventures in Germany: http://italiannunnsense.blogspot.it/2012/03/spring-break-part-1-germany.html?spref=fb

Alex graciously allowed me to write about Switzerland, my favorite part of the week. We took a train from Munich to Lucerne, and it was a beautiful train ride through the mountains and the small towns surrounding them.

A taste of home

Lake Lucerne

Lucerne is situated near the center of Switzerland, and offers gorgeous views of the Alps as well as a huge lake right in the middle! Switzerland is unique in that it has absorbed a lot of the culture from the countries around it, there are 4 national languages. Our first full day in Lucerne was spent on Mt. Titlus! There are a few different mountain excursions you can do from Lucerne, but this one seemed the best for us. We took the train to a little town outside of Lucerne and ventured up the mountain in 3 different gondolas. The view from the top was breath-taking, I never wanted to leave.

It looks like a postcard!! 

We ate lunch on top of the mountain, and then reluctantly got in the gondola to head down the mountain. As we waited for the train we experienced the famous Swiss chocolate!

That night we found the Hunger Games movie playing in English, and we were beyond excited to see it. We had both read the books and were highly anticipating seeing the movie! It was a fun experience seeing it with French and German subtitles. Also, they had an intermission at the middle of the movie. America needs to start implementing that!

Our last day in Lucerne we gave ourselves a walking tour of the Old Town, and saw the famous "Dying Lion of Lucerne". The city is the prettiest town I have ever been to, and I definitely wouldn't mind a return visit in the summer time! Switzerland is very expensive though, so it may be awhile...  :)

Looking back at this semester I am still in awe of the places I have visited. I am determined to make the most of my last 3 weeks abroad, it has been such an amazing experience so far.

Next up... meeting my mom, aunt, and Alex in ROME for the long Easter weekend!!!! Beyond excited.

-Megan

My Parents Came for a Visit!!!

I wrote this last week, but the picture uploading wasn't working so just pretend you are reading this last Monday...

Oh, what a wonderful, wonderful week it has been. This past week, we ventured out for our second travel week of the semester. My parents, knowing that I would have a week off to travel the same week as spring break back home, decided to come for a visit and tour around Europe with me. They came a week early, while I was still in class, to visit Rome and Florence, and then worked there way up to the Veneto region to pick me up and head to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland!

I was so thankful to have them come visit. They arrived on Saturday night by train and we spent the evening at the local pizzeria in Paderno catching up and sharing stories. I can't describe how amazing it was to see them after being away. We talked the night away. 

The next morning, I showed them around the tiny, cute, town of Paderno and my campus. Then, off we went to the nearby town of Bassano to catch a train to Salzburg, Austria. First, stopping in Venice for a quick look around and lunch. This was our long travel day, and it was such a beautiful ride through the mountains. We had a nice cappuccino and some toblerone during the ride...to help us take in the sights :). 

Venice

Salzburg is a quaint, beautiful city, and is most famous to me from the musical The Sound of Music. We went on the tour that takes you to all the famous sights from the movie and gives a little history about the town along the way. Unfortunately and fortunately it was raining. I say unfortunately because some of the views weren't as grand as they would have been without the rain. But fortunately because this was our only day of rain, and a lot of it was spent on a bus transporting us to and from various sights with information along the way. All in all it was a wonderful tour! 

The estate from the movie

Skipping to reenact what Maria did with the children :)

That evening, we went to a restaurant recommended by our hotel for some real German cuisine. It was delicious! I had spinach dumplings, tomato soup, and a crepe-type dessert filled with ice cream and topped with chocolate. Yes, it was to-die-for! We enjoyed people watching on all the locals in the restaurant. 

The next day, we hiked up to a fortress, walked around a little more and then headed to Munich, Germany! 

Munich was a pleasant surprise. Not that I wasn't looking forward to it, but it was the one place I didn't know much about and therefore I didn't know what to expect. When we arrived, we jumped right on sight-seeing. We walked through the central town area and over to the British Gardens, which is a lot like Central Park. It was beautiful and bustling with people taking advantage of the gorgeous day. We ate at another fabulous German restaurant and headed in for the night.

British Gardens

The following day, we woke up early to catch the first train out to Dachau Concentration Camp. It is hard to say with a sight like this, "Oh, that was awesome!" But I will definitely say I am glad I went. It was very interesting, and I think, a very important place to visit. 

Following Dachau, we hopped on the metro to Olympic Park. First, stopping to eat at the BMW Museum cafe, and then walking over to see the Olympic stadium. Such a cool thing to see. I once again didn't even know what to expect, but I loved walking around looking at all the different arenas and spaces. Also in Olympic Park is the BMW plant, museum, and world. It is crazy. And obviously, really cool. We went on the plant tour which was extremely interesting and then headed back to the area where our hotel was for dinner. 

BMW 

Thursday morning we decided to lay low before boarding another train and went to Starbucks...the best place to relax when traveling. Once again we enjoyed another scenic train ride from Munich to Lucerne. We had planned a dinner with Megan and Alex for the night we arrived in Lucerne, so once we arrived, we met up with them and had a wonderful Swiss dinner! It was so much fun hanging out with them and hearing about what all they had done during the week. 

In Lucerne, we gave ourselves a little walking tour, went in many neat shops, and enjoyed taking in the breathtaking views that Lucerne has to offer. It was a great place to end the trip because we didn't have a big agenda, and there weren't a lot of "sights" to see. But we enjoyed each others company in one of, in my opinion, the most beautiful cities there is. 

Our final leg of the trip was a train ride to Zurich, where my parents would fly home from and I would catch a train back to Italy. It was sad seeing them go, but I will be back with them in less than 4 weeks! Crazy how time has flown. This was definitely a week with them that I will cherish forever. I am blessed.