Study Abroad in Granada, Spain: An Italian Getaway

In Spain, they have celebrations and processions the entire week before Easter. It is called Semana Santa, and luckily, our program has no school for that week, similar to a spring break. My friends and I decided to have an Italian vacation including the cities of Rome, Florence and Venice. We were scheduled to leave the country on March 29th, but it just so happens that there was a nationwide strike that day and almost all the public flights were cancelled in Spain. Therefore, my friend Meg and I were naturally very upset! We had to refund our flights and then buy all new ones for the entire trip. It was kind of frustrating, because we had to leave two days later, but if we're being honest, it was totally worth it.

We arrived in Rome on Saturday. We stayed at the Yellow Hostel, which is specifically for young people, mostly Americans. It was basically a night club, bar and hostel all in one. Right when we got there, the other girls that already arrived were ready to take us out and show us around. We went to an authentic Italian restaurant and had wine, bread, chicken Parmesan, lasagna, pizza and gelato. It was quite a feast, and I was very satisfied afterwards. A few of us then went to see the Trevi Fountain, the one that is famous for throwing in coins in order to guarantee that you'll return to Rome. It was enormous! I didn't realize how big it would be.

The Trevi Fountain.

Throwing some coins over my shoulder into the fountain.

Little chill time in the Colosseum.

Nice view of the Colosseum.

The next day, we went to the Colosseum. It's amazing to see this building that I've known about all my life. I never imagined that I would be able to visit all these places. It was amazing, to think about all the people who had been in this building and how important that building was for their history and heritage. After touring the ruins of the Roman Forum, we were off to Florence!

Florence is my favorite Italian city, because it was absolutely beautiful but not imposingly large. It was also similar to Granada and I loved that about it. We checked into our hostel and we all got to be in the same room, with a computer and private bathroom! It was really nice. The hostel also had a bunch of terraces and free breakfast which were phenomenal. Over the couple of days that we were in Florence, we saw the Plaza Michelangelo, the Duomo and the Ponte Vechio! We also had some amazing cuisine and bought some lovely leather pieces!

Kokaale and I having some wine in Florence.

The Duomo.

The Ponte Vecchio, filled with jewelry shops.

The view from Plaza Michelangelo.

Our final stop was Venice. It was such a different city, all built on water. There are no motor vehicles which is actually really nice. We took a water bus to our bed and breakfast, which was basically a palace. It was definitely the nicest place we stayed. The beds were memory foam and the bathroom was marble from ceiling to floor. We got a recommendation from the owner of the B&B and went to an amazing restaurant, which had my favorite foods in one dessert: tiramisu and nutella. Naturally, I had to eat it! We went to San Marco's Basilica, went on a gondola ride and ate a lot, naturally. It was an amazing, romantic city.

San Marco Basilica.

Gondola ride with the ladies.

Tiramisu with Nutella, best dessert of my life.

Sitting by the Gran Canal on the last day in Venice.

We returned to Rome for our flight and saw the Vatican Museum, St Peter's square and the Sistene Chapel. It was beautiful and really was a great end to our amazing trip!