Rome and Pisa Adventure

          Hello everyone!  I have not typed in a long time because I haven't had access to the internet for a while and I haven't had much free time since I got back from Rome.  Last Wednesday we went hiking on the French Alps during the day.  After we got back, we packed our bags and hopped on a plane to Rome.  We arrived in Rome at midnight and took a cab to our first hotel.  The next morning we got up and took a cab to our second hotel and dropped off our bags.  Thanks to one of my roommate's mom, we got to stay in the Hilton Rome Airport Hotel for the second night for free :) 

         We took the train from our hotel into the center of Rome that morning (Thursday).  We toured the Vatican Museums and went to the Sistine Chapel first. The Sistine Chapel was absolutely breathtaking and although you aren't allowed to take pictures, I took a few without flash and took a quick video.  I will post pictures soon.  The whole Vatican City experience was one I will never forget.  We made our way to the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain that day as well.  Along the way we passed several castles and Roman ruins.  We ended the day with a nice dinner outside then took the Hilton Shuttle back to our hotel that night. 

         The next morning (Friday) we got all our stuff together and took the shuttle back into the city.  Our hotel was about 40 minutes outside the city so we had to carry all our luggage on Friday around Rome which was a bummer.  We went straight to the Colosseum.  What an amazing structure!!! It was just beautiful.  I took many pictures from all levels and angles that I will post later as well.  After the Colosseum we walked around the Roman Forum and saw all the Roman ruins and old arcs.  The history behind all of it was just really cool and interesting to me!!  We hopped on a train to Pisa at 6:00 that evening. 

         We arrived in Pisa around 8:30pm.  We checked into our hotel/hostel and went straight to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa at night.  It was AWESOME!  We took the traditional pictures of us pretending to hold up the leaning tower.  As we were finishing up looking at the tower, a town parade came through including dance performances.  It was great and I really liked the small town feel.  It reminded me of Blacksburg.  We had dinner that night then went to bed.

         Saturday morning we woke up bright and early and ate breakfast complimentary of the hotel.  We then walked back to the Leaning Tower and took more pictures to compare it at night and during the daytime.  Its just so cool haha no other words can describe it.  There was an outdoor market happening too so I bought a genuine leather purse "Made in Italy!"  I felt that it was only fitting and for 25 euros, I couldn't resist.  After Pisa, it was back to Antibes.  I will update this blog post with more details over the next few days so keep checking back for more fun facts!  This was just my first go at it.  Love you all :)