Day 14- First Real day in Rome

Today was our first real day in Rome. We began our day by meeting our tour group and heading into the City. We took the metro like system right into the city and started our walking tour with the Spanish steps They were pretty but not exactly quite I imagined. They were just steps but later at night I realized it was an awesome view of all the lights. After the spanish steps we walked towards the Trevi fountain. It was sooo much bigger that I thought. Nick and I took some pictures and continues on our tour. We forgot to throw coins in (but later we were able to a night).We then walked to the piassa novena (spelling?)Half the group had some Gelato and then we saw the Pantheon and had so Pizza right by it. The pizza was delicious, I got Pizza margarita and Nick got some broccoli pizza. Then we were able Upon advice from Jess we did her top things she recommended. After the Pantheon we met back up with the group and walked to the vatican. We thought that we would be able to just walk right up and go inside but we were very mistaken. The line to get into the museum was 1 hour long and had no shade. I thought we would be able to skip the line with the group but the 1 hour long line was the group line. After being offered many different hats,umbrellas and post cards we enter the building where it looks like a terminal for an airport with the amount of security there was. After we get through the gate we met up with our Australian tour guide to guide us around. The view was amazing. The amount of art and the intensity of the paintings was surreal. I was constantly taking photos and pictures every chance I could. We ended up taking about 300 pictures in the Vatican and we were not even allowed to take photos in some. The sistine chapel was beautiful. It was like better than I pictured it would be. The view and the story behind it was great as well. We finished up the tour and went to St.Peters basilica. That was another sight that I will not forget. After that I walked through the square and went off and bought some rosaries from the vatican before leaving. We ended up walking forever and went to back to the hotel to relax because we were meeting up with Ashley's friend Sarah. Sarah lives in Rome but goes to school with Ashley at UVA. We walked all the same places we walked earlier today but were able to get a local point of view. She showed up an amazing gelato place where only the local go and it was literally a hole in the wall. Jenny came with us as well. She is another girl on the trip so it was the 4 of us just walking the town. We threw coins into the Trevi Fountain. After that we went to Campo de Fiori. This area was full of bars and young people. It was the place to be. We went to a couple different bars to see the different locations. While we were sitting town a magician was doing a show and the show was soo funny. He kept saying "watch me" in Italian. The show was very cheesy and quite hilarious. His final trick was that he took off his toupee and everyone put coins into his hair. We relaxed and then went to a euro dance club with all the locals. I have never seen so many guys with tight jeans in my life in the club. We did not stay long and decided it was a good idea to go out and get crepes with nutella before we got a cab ride home. The night ended with a crazy cab driver getting us back to our hotel after driving speeds of 100km/hr. The night was over and Sarah went home.

Day 13- First Day in Italy

Well after we finally landed from the overnight ferry we took a nice 4 hour drive to Pompeii. When we were not sleeping we were able to enjoy the beautiful Italian country side and admire all the green a beautiful hills. We eventually got to Pompeii and began our guided tour of Pompeii. There we were able to see the enormous city that was destroyed by Mt. Vesuvius. The city was huge, both Nick and I were amazed by how big it was compared to what we imagined. The volcano was a few miles away and the town was completely in ruins. It was very neat to be able to see the old center of town and the baths and fountains that still remained. The site even still had a body preserved there in glass, (well the remains of it). Then we finally got to Rome. After a full day of traveling we just relaxed in our hotel room.

Day 12- Leaving Corfu...off to ITALY!!

So today was our last day in Corfu so we decided to explore Corfu town. The central location of the island. We were able to see the ancient fortresses from our lunch table and do some shopping. We saw again tons of knock offs, it was amazing how many there were. We also got to try some of the famous Kumquat liquor and some Limoncello. Both not too bad. In Corfu town I bought a sterling silver ring with three little pearls that I love. Then Nick and I came back and hung in the lobby for a couple of hours downloading things off itunes to prepare of our 5 hour car ride AFTER the overnight ferry to Italy. Around 7 we loaded the bus and headed to our first ferry to the main island and then at about 1AM we boarded our overnight ferry. It was an hour late! I managed this ferry ride great! I was able to use the sea sick path and not be affected by the motion!

Day 11- Exploring Corfu

Today we went exploring the island. We decided to rent a car but it was definitely harder then it needed to be. Every place was sold out and scooters seemed to be the only form of transportation. Ashley and I felt that scooters did not seem safe by the way the Greeks seem to drive. We were correct because someone in our groups scooter broke down and had to get someone to pick them up. After going to all the rental places looking for a 7 person car we were out of luck. Two guys who were going to go with us decided to scooter so it went down to 5 total people. This allowed us to try again and look for a 5 person car. Ashley went into our first place with a mission and was able to get us a very nice 5 seater car with plenty of space for everyone for a great price. Because we were not used to the driving Ashley was the only one that drove the car. Luckily Ashley was able to drive stick shift because every car was manual here. Our first destination was the blue caves. It was on the other side of the island but only took 15 mins by car. As soon as we begin to pull closer to the water. The view was amazing. The water was crystal clear and a true deep blue. Also there were a great deal of caves that we were able to swim or get too. The five of us decided to rent a paddle boat and go exploring the water and caves. The paddle boat guy wanted Ashley. He asked if he could come with us and steer and paddle. We nicely declined the greek gentleman. We were able to explore the water and relax as well. We also explored a cave but also ran into some rocks. I took over steering because Ashley and Michael seemed to be having some trouble steering the boat. After the boat ride, we docked and went to lunch. We got a pizza and french fries with ketchup! It was quite exciting. Soon after lunch we went to Sisi's Palace which was the home and shrine for Achilles. The museum was full of great artwork and very beautiful outdoors as well. The gardens and statues were quite amazing as well. Also there was a picture of an epic battle seen too. The view of the sea was amazing too. I really loved the museum. We left the museum and went on a journey back to the hotel and it was quite the journey. We got lost 3 times and ended up passing a sheep herder along the way. Luckily I was able to navigate us back to the hotel safe and sound. Ashley returned the car and went to a nice itailian restaurant with live music and a great atmosphere. Ashley and I split a Hawaiian pizza and got dessert as well. After dinner we just relaxed in the hotel and played cards and spent time talking and uploading photos to the computer.

Day 10- Landing in Corfu

Well we landed in Corfu at 7AM after a long day of traveling we landed in Corfu. We had a nice breakfast at a cafe and then started to explore the island. We checked out the beach which on one side of the island is rocky (the side near our hotel). Then we shopped all around the little town of Gouvia. We have discovered that it is the island of knock offs. We had some super gyros (or at least Nick did, I just had a slice of bread) for lunch. Then we sat at a coffee bar and had some iced cappuccinos. We then had a some nice dinner at an restaurant called o2 where I could finally eat something I was not scared to eat. I had pesto pasta :) Nick had chicken fajitas it was a nice change from always eating Greek food since it is all we were eating for 3 days. At night, the whole group went out to a bar/disco which was fun but again full of smoke. I had to leave because after inhaling smoke I cannot breathe. Overall it was really fun. The day was long.

Day 9 -Delphi

We went started our morning by checking out of our hotel in Athens and driving to Delphi the temple of Apollo. And then it started to pour and we had to run soaking wet into Museum where we could get to see the partial chariot that was able to be recovered during one of the excavation. Then we loaded back into the bus and stopped at an impromptu beach stop which was beautiful but super cold. Then we took the terrrrrrrrrible boat ride to Corfu but I survived :) It was a major travel day.

Day 8- Athens

** Note the picture above icecream in Germany. Nick and I at the super windy beach near our hotel in Athens the wind was blowing our shirts.

Today we went to the downtown part of Athens but first we started the day off with a delicious Greek breakfast provided by the hotel and it included a great cheese, tomatoes and bread. After breakfast we went on a panoramic tour of the ancient part of the city to see the Olympic stadium as well as Zeus' palace and some old Greek architecture. We were able to get off the bus at certain locations and take up close picture and had a great tour guide from Greece to navigate us. After the panoramic tour we went by foot and climbed from the bottom of the acropolis to the top while we received information along the way. We also were able to take amazing pictures of the city and of the ancient stones at the top. It was really nice and the weather was perfect. After we finished with the acropolis we went into a work shop where they had jewelery and handcrafted pots and authentic greek design. After that we continued with the walk tour and saw more of the old district and saw many shops and statues. The scenery was quite amazing. We finished the walking tour and then went with a group of people to go eat gyros in Greece. It was amazing and much better than I thought. Ashley and I continued to walk around the shop and try and haggle for deals but we only bought small items and some art as well. After 3 hours of walking around we met up with the group and went on the tram which is a small train and it was packed. I felt like I was on a New York City subway. Now we are just relaxing and plan on going with the group for the Greece v Argentina World Cup game in the town we are in and probably grab some dinner before the game.