Paris!

Ah Paris! Such a romantic city: the river, the architecture, the food, the weather & the impossibly chic people. 

I was freezing a lot of the time and the days were extremely short, but the city of lights was nothing short of spectacular. I had my fair share of crepes, macaroons, & hot wine. Spent almost 6 hours at the Louvre and passed through many metro stations. My little rented hotel/hostel situation worked out nicely, I even met a girl from Texas A&M there! Visited famed monuments, bookshops & grocery stores - was even able to find a 136ml bottle of sriracha that I snuck into my carry on (the liquid limit is 100ml)! The Christmas markets were amazingly festive and even featured a santa claus atop a hut of stuffed panda bears. Started & finished the "The Bag Girl" by Mario Vargas Llosa, with all the references to the city of light, Paris was the perfect backdrop to read such a bittersweet love story. 

After a trip through the Paris Metro, 2 Airport buses, 1 Flight, 1 Italian train & a Fiat car ride later... I'm happy to be back "home" in Italy. It was really eye opening to be in both France & Italy in one day, they feel so different! I'm looking forward to next time. 

A Change of Plans...

I was supposed to catch a 6:30 flight from Bologna to Paris this morning. That didn't happen.

I really should have gotten to the airport earlier, considering this would have been my my 1st time at the Bologna airport, and we all know it takes time to figure out where you're going in a new airport, especially in a foreign country! I going to fly with "Ryan Air" a discounted airline, but they have a completely separate building just for checking in, once I figured that out and got on the airport shuttle headed there, I only had 10minutes to get through the massive security line before my gate closed. 

Major Disappointment. This would have been my 1st visit in Paris and I was so looking forward to it! 
I came home, made a cup of tea and some oatmeal, settled down on a blanket next to the radiator and settled with experiencing Paris through the eyes of Woody Allen with Midnight in Paris. A wonderful film that brightened my morning, mom and dad - you have to watch this! Now I've got Cole Porter tunes stuck in my head and on my spotify playlist :) 

I'm going to try again on Nov 30th to visit Paris, I feel like I've already fallen in love with it! You can be sure I'll be arriving really early to my flight next time around. I won't come back to the States until I've seen Paris! 

The Eternal City

Welcome to Rome. 

2 Short days in this magical city, I saw so much and nothing at the same time! Here is a little bit of my trip, I'm planning on going back in November & stopping in Vatican City.  

The top of the dome at The Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs. They have a great tribute to Galileo. Not a big astronomy buff, but this was my favorite church by far. 

The Colosseum & Imperial Rome. We all know about the colosseum and what sorts of things happened here, but to really wrap your head around all of that. Crazy. 

The Pantheon, originally built in 27BC, is one of the best preserved of all Roman buildings. Yes, that is a huge "sun roof". The weather was great while I was in Rome, very sunny, felt like summer during the day. Would be pretty awesome to be here when it's raining to see all the water come inside. 

Ruins of the Roman Forum. The most celebrated meeting place of the world. 

This church was amazing, so many hanging chandeliers. Reminded me of something out of the masquerade scene in Labyrinth. 

Some sort of processional. I'm not exactly sure for what, but nice to watch. 

!!! I found a little grocery store that stocks international foods. No Sriracha, but I did find some "fine chilie sauce" which I definitely bought. 

To be old and in love. 

A wonderful view from Villa Borghese. 

The Spanish Steps 

A beautiful horse. And a pretty little girl, too!

“While stands the Colosseum Rome shall stand; 

When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall; 

And when Rome falls - the World.”

 - Lord Byron

Astonishing.

Thanks, Rome.