The rest of our tour of Italy was absolutely incredible, minus the mishap of almost getting off the train at the wrong station. Verona was beautiful, with cobblestone streets in one area and high-end shops in another. Sadly, you cannot write letters and stick them on the wall of Juliet’s house anymore like in the movies, but it was still very nice to see in person.
From Venice, we went on to Florence, where we climbed up the Duomo, walked across the Ponte Vecchio, visited museums, including the Galleria Dell Accademia, which houses the statue of David, and took a day trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower.
To finish off our break, we went to Rome, which was by far my favorite city I have ever visited. In the three days we were there, we saw the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and the Vatican City.
While it was crazy running from one monument to the next, the experience was altogether amazing. I have no doubt that I will return to Italy in the future, preferably in the summer, to see it all again, plus more.
We only spent four days back in London, but we did get a chance to see the Christmas lights in Covent Garden before running off to Paris.
Once again, we wanted to see as much as possible before heading back to school so the running didn’t cease. On the first day, straight after dropping our bags off at the Airbnb, we went to Notre Dame and the Catacombs. The next day, we walked up and down Champs-Elysees, stopping to admire the Arc de Triomphe. On our way to the Paris Opera House, or Palais Garnier, we stumbled upon an adorable Christmas market with crepes, handmade ornaments, and hand-woven hats and scarves. The Palais Garnier was just as amazing as I was expecting, if not better. As a dancer, it was a must see on my list. Lastly, we went to the Louvre, which was free for students after 6pm. On our last full day, we took a train to the Palace of Versaille and the gardens, then came back and went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We ended up being there when the twinkling lights went off. I have to say, they may look cute from the ground, but from a few feet away, they look more like extra large strobe lights. Perfectly enough, by the time we got down to the ground and bought some souvenirs from the shops, an hour had passed and we got to see the lights from the ground. It was a perfect way to end our trip.
With both of those trips over, we sadly only have one more country planned to see while we’re here.