Italy.

After my adventures in Greece I spent 5 days in Italy visiting Florence and Rome.  I would have liked to visit more cities but I was crunched for time and did not want to cut Florence or Rome short.  I spent my time in Florence with who has become my "sidekick" for most of my trips thus far, Kara.  She has been studying in Florence so I stayed at her apartment and she was my unofficial travel guide throughout the city.  

Florence is an amazing little city, and I must put emphasis on the little.  It is not very big but there is plenty to see.  I visited the Uficci Museum(I don't know if that is how you spell it but you get the idea), Michelangelo's David, The Duomo, and much much more as I walked around the city everyday I was there.  My last night, Kara and I went to this restaurant where I had the best pasta I have had since being in Europe...it was a pear tortellini with some kind of cream sauce, whatever it was it was amazing. And then they had this cheescake that was probably the best cheescake I have ever had. When I go back to Florence my first stop will be that restaurant.  

Rome was my next stop, so I said goodbye to Florence and Kara and took the 5am train to Rome on Tuesday to meet up with an old friend of mine, Ian McCormick.  We tore Rome up!  In the 2 days that I was in Rome we saw almost everything you could want to see...the first day we went on a walking tour of the entire city which included a lot of cultural sights and a great history of the city.  And the second day we went on a guided tour of Vatican City, got to hear and see the Pope speak, climbed to the top of St. Peter's Cathedrale, visited the Colosseum, walked through the Roman forum, and the Palatine!!  We were going non stop ALL day but it was well worth the effort.  Rome is a wonderful place but it is soo expansive that you almost feel overwhelmed by it...I will definitely make a return.

My trip home from Rome took me well over 16 hours on the train...dont ask me for details because it was not an enjoyable trip.  I left at 630am and got back to Montpellier at 1130pm...enough said.  Italy has to be one of the most interesting countries I have been to(I also saw my last name everywhere...I wonder why?!) and it was fitting that it was my last trip of my abroad experience.