Nice is Nice

Around 2 am we arrived in Nice. Its funny looking back just how lost and confused we were, unknowing how the city would become such a large part of our trip. We finally made it to the hostel with the help of some local French teens and their limited English skills. We all passed out on our beds to get up for the free breakfast (oh yes, we were excited) in the morning and headed out to stroll along the beach. We stared, walked a bit, stared, walked a bit more. We then found some rocks, climbed on them, and stared at the water some more. We then decided to actually do something that consisted of more than just staring at water and climbing on rocks. So we took a little stroll into the Old Town, where I found a pastry shop (I’m starting to think I have an inner GPS that just directs me towards them) and I got myself a little quiche.

We then walked around a bit more, strolling through a cute little park and eventually making our way back to the beach, this time with some food. We sat and stared some more until finally we made ourselves some pigeon friends. It turns out, pigeons quite like French fries. They will do just about whatever it takes to make sure they get these French fries. It was interesting, to say the least. We walked more along the beach and finally found a good place to watch the sunset. It was an okay sunset, mostly due to the clouds that had been hovering over the city all day. It was then back to the hostel for free Pasta and Beer night. We got a plate of delicious, homemade pasta and either a glass of wine or a beer. It was really nice, and really delicious. We stayed up and talked a bit, then hit the sack for a good night's rest. Little did we know what was to come.

The next day we started off with laundry. Taking our time, meeting some new people in the laundry mat, we were having ourselves an unusually fun time despite the fact that we just running a load through a washer and dryer. We were then off to reserve our spots on the bus for that night to Barcelona. We took our time, taking some pictures of the beach and strolling along without a worry in the world. We got to the bus station and the panic began. The bus was full. And the next bus out wasn’t until Monday. Oh, and the bus station we were at was closing and the other Nice location was an hour’s walk. We ran to the train station to see how much a ticket out would cost us. Our conclusion: way too much. At this point, I was in full panic mode. We hurried back to the hostel to jump on the internet and explore our options, whether they be through air, water, or land. We finally figured out that we would just have to ditch one city and stay in Nice for a few more nights until Monday. We booked two nights with the hostel we were staying at and one with another one, because our current hostel was full. At this point, we thought everything was fine. We relaxed, strolled on down to the beach, and I took another 48203984 shots of the same thing. We then walked down to one of the lighthouses, climbed on some more rocks, and stood in awe of the sea, yet again. We walked down around the port and found a lovely spot to sit on more rocks and watch the waves crash in. Somehow staring at the water never really seems to get old. It’s just so relaxing and calming. I love it! From there, we headed to a nice lookout spot where we could watch the sunset. It was gorgeous, as we could see the whole city and all of the beach. We just hung out there, listened to a bit of music, and enjoyed the scenery. Somehow, though, the officials working there didn’t notice us at the lookout place and locked us inside the park. To get out, we had to climb over the side railing and around these spikes. Not to worry, though, everyone was fine. 

It was then back to the hostel, first grabbing a bit of dinner at our favorite, Pita Break (so cheap, so filling). We picked up a cheap, but nice bottle of wine, and headed back to hang out with some new friends at our hostel. It was so interesting talking to everyone there. People were from all over the world and found themselves in Nice for a variety of reasons. Eventually we all went out to a local place that one of the receptionists actually took us all to, danced a bit, and then (again) headed to the beach to watch the waves crash into the rocky shore at night. Finally we went to bed to deal with the wonderful bus situation in the morning.

The Girl who has Practically Memorized the Nice Coastline,

Jessica

Arrivederci Italia

We got into Florence around 10 at night and went to check into our hostel. It was an interesting hostel, to say the least. We then went to walk around the city a bit before hitting the sack. I got a pastry (what’s new), and we passed by the Duomo, along with a few other sites. It was then time for bed.

That morning we woke up and headed to check out the sites. We started off by going to look at a church (at this point we weren’t completely sick of them yet), but the fee to get in made us change our mind. So we ventured off to the massive Duomo, which is free. The outside is quite insane. There are all sorts of tiny pieces of marble pieced together along the entire exterior. However, Quinn’s guide book did let us in a few secrets. Apparently the original exterior of the church was never completed and during the 19^th century it was torn down and replaced with the exterior that you see now. The other secret: its not actually covered in marble, but another material. Those two facts make the structure a little less impressive, but it still is beautiful. We then stepped inside, which cannot compare to the inside in any way. The marble floor is beautiful, but the walls were bar and one solid color. Yea, I’m starting to sound like a church snob, but I’ve seen enough at this point, I have developed certain standards for churches of this size. The church does have an interesting 24 hour clock in which the 1 is on the bottom and the rest of the numbers follow in a counter-clockwise rotation. At the front of the Duomo, there is the large dome that is masterly painted. That was gorgeous.

We then went to wonder around a bit, heading in the direction of the famous Florence bridge that has shops and houses practically falling off it. On the way, we ran into the old Florence town hall, now museum. Unfortunately, the tower was closed, so we couldn’t go up, but the outside looked pretty cool. Outside is a plaster mold of the David by Michelangelo which stands in the statue’s original place. There was also a little plaza next to It with some molds and originals of various statues from different times.

 At this point, my camera died, which was sad because some of the things we saw during the rest of the day were pretty cool, but what can you do? We finally made our way to the bridge, which was beautiful. The only odd thing is that all the shops only sell jewelry, which I found quite unusual. We then made a spur of the decision to go to the museum which houses the David, along with other pieces of art and statues. We sat through the two hour line and got into the museum with an hour to explore. You  begin by looking at a few other pieces of art and statues, some of which were unfinished pieces by Michelangelo. These unfinished pieces really help you see just how difficult it must be to chisel away at a giant piece of stone until you get a work that looks like what you had envisioned. You then approach the David, which is massive and insane. We stood there, observing it and discussing it (along with snagging a few illegal pictures) for a good twenty or so minutes. It was interesting to me how some people waited in that line for two or more hours, breezed right past all the first pieces of art, looked at the David for about two minutes, and left. It was so inspiring and…well, perfect, honestly, that we could not just take a short glance at it. It deserved a lot more than that. After that, there were a few more paintings that led into a room full of plaster copies of hundreds of statues and busts. These were all done by students when the building used to be an institute. There were nails in many of them that were used as reference points. Even though these were plaster, I still could not imagine carving them out with so much precision and detail as these students did. With only a few minutes until the museum closed, we ran through the art exhibit on the second floor, and headed out.

We grabbed some sandwiches, a bottle of wine, and headed to the Piazza di Michelangelo, which is basically on top of a giant hill. There was a hill, that led to steps, that led to more steps. When we were on the top, it made it so worth it. From there, we could see the entire city. It was one of the best views I have ever seen. As the sun set over the city, we enjoyed a nice glass of wine and remarked about how our last night in Italy could truly not get any better than this. It was a moment I know I will never forget. Truly amazing. I, unfortunately, had to head back too early to see the lights go on in the city to get back to the hostel in time for an interview. At the hostel we talked with some new people from Canada and Iran, then headed to bed to wake up early.

First thing in the morning we went to ensure we knew all we needed to about our bus and the time it left, grabbed some breakfast, and went to stand in the epically long line for the Uffizi Art Museum. A little under two hours later we were inside. Although I had been in the Uffizi before as a kid, I didn’t remember quite so much Medieval and Renaissance paintings. There were so many portraits of Jesus, Mary and other saints that it honestly got kind of old. Every once in a while there was a painting that caught my attention. There was a room full of statues that was not only architecturally beautiful, but caught my attention. The statues were all in distress as they were about to be killed because of something (which has slipped my mind) there mother did. Their mother was also there, looking guilty and attempting to save them. What intrigued me the most was, first of all, that the sculptor was able to capture the despair and distraught in the expression and eyes of the individuals without really bein g able to put expression into the eyes like a painter can. Secondly, I found it intriguing that all of the “children” looked to be adults and the only thing distinguishing them from their mother in age was their size, as they were smaller than her. After the Uffizi, we stopped a place that had 2 courses and a coffee for 10 euro. I got some good pasta and salad. It was then off to the bus station to hop onto our bus to Nice, France. Suprisingly, the 8-turned-10 hour bus ride was quite pleasant, as I was rather excited to be exploring somewhere new.

Your New Michelangelo Expert,

Jessica

The Roman Forum, I got a real good shot of that

On Saturday I finally got into Rome around 4ish. I met up with my friends Quinn and Santiago and, after dropping off my stuff at the hostel and grabbed some pizza, we wondered around a bit. First, we walked by the Colosseum. We walked down the road, passed Julius Caesar, where a took a shot with my bff, and strolled around the city, looking at all the ruins that are literally everywhere you look. We thought we found the Spanish Steps (we totally didn't). Finally we found our way to the Trevi Fountain. I threw my coin into fountain, just as you're supposed to.

We then roamed around a bit more, wound up a bit lost, but eventually found our way back, and sat at the hostel and had a few glasses of wine. There we met one of the most...interesting people I have come across. He was a mid-twenty-something from Chicago who was backpacking across Europe in the most literal sense of the word. By the end of our conversation with him we had some of the best quotes. He chose sleeping in a train bathroom over a hostel room. My favorite quote:
Quinn: I think we're going to try and go to the Roman forum tomorrow.
Guy: The Roman Forum? What's that?
Quinn: All of these Roman ruins.
Guy: Oh yea, The Roman Forum. I got a real good shot of that today.
It was kind of ridiculous.
The next morning it was off to do just about everything there is to do in Rome in one day. It was INTENSE. We started the day off at the Roman Forum. Lucky for us, it was Italian Culture week, so literally everything was free. It was awesome. The Roman Forum was crazy cool. We only had half of an idea of what exactly we were looking at, but it was awesome to try and imagine what it would have been like to be there at the time that the structures were all completely standing. It was also incredibly interesting to see the different pieces from various times throughout the empire's rein. Its interesting how one can tell so much about a culture's history through their buildings. Since I had been to the forum before, I also found it interesting to reflect on how I had seen it when I was 10 or so. I feel as though, even though I appreciated it at that age, I had an even better understanding of it now.

After that we found some food and then made our way to the Colosseum. You walk through the outside for a bit, then finally enter the magnificent structure. It was truly insane looking at this massive stadium that is so old and now having the understanding of structures and forces that I do. The stadium is enormous, bigger than some modern stadiums. And yet, it is still standing after all this time. I can only imagine just how crazy it would have been to walk into that stadium for the first time during its prime in complete awe.

After the Colosseum we found our way to the Pantheon, an old Roman temple turned church. The marveling thing about this structure, aside from its age, is the massive dome in the center. I still am baffled as to how it was constructed and was able to stand for so long without caving in. I will say this, the Roman sure knew how to build massive, strong structures that could withstand just about anything. Inside the Pantheon also lies Raphael's tomb, which was interesting to see as well.

We then hightailed it to the Vatican to see if we could get in before it closed. As we approached it, there was absolutely no line. We ran through, walked past the Vatican museum, into St. Peter's Basilica. That was a mistake. Because we chose to roam through the Basilica first, the museum, which houses the Sistene Chapel, was closed. However, the actual Basilica was amazing. It was insane how detailed the entire thing was. The little side chapels, as I think they call them, all have beautifully painted ceilings. The main hallway is coated in gold and other beautiful colors. You walk in and feel almost inadequate to be in the presence of such beauty. The Basilica also houses Leonardi DaVinci's statue of Mary and Jesus. It was insane.

We then strolled over to Rome's castle to see if it was open. Unfortunately, we missed the last entrance by about 10 minutes. However, we did get to watch a beautiful sunset over the Vatican while sitting by the river that runs through Rome.

We then strolled back to the hostel, stopping at our favorite pizza place where I ordered the most amazing pizza I've ever had (sundried tomatoes and rocket...yum!). We then went to an Irish bar to meet one of Quinn's friends who was studying in Rome. The Irish bar in Rome, Italy was full of Americans. It was kind of an unusual experience, but what can you do? It was then off to bed to get up in the morning for the train to Sienna.

Practically an Ancient Roman,
Jessica