The Luck of the Irish

My phone has this cute habit of dying when I’m having adventures and want to take pictures.. but I have gathered the few pictures I do have from my Irish adventures! (In hindsight though this is one of the most picture heavy posts I’ve written.. Sorry)

To preface this post about Ireland I should mention that my mom’s dad was from Ireland and his whole family is Irish. I know next to nothing about the Irish culture which is what made this trip all the more important to me — there will be a post coming soon just on my perception of the Irish and how I feel about my experiences with its culture. But for now I’ll just do my “week in pictures”!

 

To start with I fell in love with Dublin from the moment we left the airport to get to our hostel. It was big, rustic, and lively. I can’t ever recall a time that a city that I’ve envisioned in books coming to life in a way that Dublin did for me that first day! The streets are lined with pubs, shops, and there were so many people out and about despite the chilly weather and gray skies. Absolutely. Stunning.

 

I think we can all agree that traveling is the worst part of travel. The buses, the plane rides, the number of hours of just waiting is absolutely exhausting and I almost always count that day as a lost afternoon just because of how we tired we all are after transporting our bodies across borders. So the first day we just settled in and made some plans, went to dinner at the oldest pub in Ireland, and agreed to be up bright and early the next morning!

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On our second day in Dublin we found ourselves on a free 3 hour walking tour provided by our lovely hostel! Ohmygoodnessgracious. Day 2 and I was coming up with plans to obtain my Irish citizenship and figure out how I could move to this wonderful city.

 

Our guide had that dry sense of humor that initially took me by surprise but which I quickly came to enjoy. I learned more in that 3 hours than I ever have in a history class just because we were walking around and heard from someone directly impacted by Irish history. It was at this point that I started to get a taste of what a hard past Ireland has gone through. Our guide would have been scolded back in the States for his controversial commentary on the politics, religion, and culture of his country. I loved every bit of it. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t separate the reality of his country from the pretty scenery and the nice monuments. He made it clear why the monuments held significance, or didn’t.

   

We had delicious pot pie during our break halfway through the tour and it was such a nice afternoon just sitting outside and listening to that brogue accent and watching people going about their business!

 

One of the most captivating things I saw on the tour were these statues scattered across Dublin featured in the far right picture above. Everywhere we went we would see these depictions of too-skinny and meek citizens who represented those who were forced to emigrate during the Irish Famine. It’s really easy to dismiss that entire part of history as someone else’s generation and no longer relevant. (Guys, I promise I’m not vapid or careless, these are just things that don’t really plague my mind at nights!) But after hearing our guide’s first hand recount of his family’s history with the famine and the impact it had on the entire nation.. and effectively the rest of the world due to the massive emigration, I had a whole new respect for what the Irish people had to endure.

Following our amazing tour around Dublin we went to the Guinness store house! I was telling my dad that Guinness is probably my favorite beer out of all of them so it was appropriate to visit the place where it all started!

I’m not a fan of partying back in the States on account of the law, the gross environment surrounding alcohol in Gainesville, and because it’s never been on my list of priorities.. but going to this store house and hearing about the story of Guinness definitely made me appreciate all the time and effort that went into building the “perfect” beer. It was an unexpected education I gladly received!

  

The top floor of the shop featured a panoramic view of Dublin and I loved sitting down with my friends and taking all the views in! I had to finish about 3 other girl’s drinks because they apparently did not appreciate the dark beer. Dad would be so proud.

   

So.. that night I followed in my oldest brother’s footsteps and got my front helix pierced in a nice little tattoo shop about 5 blocks from our hostel. Because why not?

 

DAY 3 WAS A MAGICAL DAY. We went on an all day tour to Cliffs of Moher. Now you may be thinking, as I was, that I spent about 12 hours to go see a cliff. And honestly I had kind of expected that too. Because the tour was just called “Cliffs of Moher” tour and we just kind of went for it.. BUT NOPE. Our guide, Joe, to start off with, was the most outgoing and energetic adult I have ever met. He was singing the entire way, telling stories, and recounted the history of Ireland. He was an absolute joy to drive with and I appreciated all the commentary he provided!

We first stopped at St. John’s castle in Limerick. It was a quick stop but I liked the view and felt like I was experiencing more than just the Dublin scene in Ireland, which is great because I’ll be moving there soon and need every bit of exposure I can get.

Then we just went straight to the cliffs and whoa holy moly. When we first arrived the fog was so thick you really couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you. I was a little sad. I could even feel the bitter words coming out that “maybe we shouldn’t have come after all..” right before the fog lifted. People always write that in books, but I swear it was like the fog was on a string that someone just tugged up on. Within the span of 2 minutes we had a spectacularly clear view of the cliffs.

I could probably spend an entire day talking about the cliffs and just reflecting on its size and shape, but I won’t because I value your sanity. Suffice it to say, the entire experience was absolutely breath taking. Every time we walked a little further up a cliff we were exposed to a new view from our angle and I never got tired of looking down at the waves crashing against the shore. We threw a rock down and lost sight of it about 300 feet to go.

 

After we went to the cliffs we stopped by several places. First up, another set of cliffs. These were smaller but no less beautiful. Remember Joe? He’s a little nuts. He went bouncing from rock to rock and invited us to join him.. apparently only Michelle and I were interested in following in his footsteps because out of the 50 people nobody else was comfortable sitting on the side of the cliff with their feet dangling off and leaning over.

I could see how people become adrenaline junkies. We followed Joe from rock to rock and got down into crevices and nooks and sat looking down at the rocks and waves. Every time we got a little further out I could feel my heart beating a little faster and was reminded of my own mortality.

Next up, we visited a pub! On the way we met a rowdy group from a bachelor party! They were a fun time and when we stopped in the pub we all ordered a Guinness (because Ireland) and cheered to the Bachelor. It was a fun afternoon, followed by a quick stop at a chocolate factory.

 

The next day Renoli, Michelle and I went on a Game of Thrones tour in Northern Ireland! I am a big GoT fan so I was fangirl-ing a little bit whenever our guide pointed out scenes that were filmed where we were standing. It was such a cool experience!

 

More than anything I was appreciative of Northern Ireland’s stunning landscapes. It was absolutely beautiful and even writing about it makes me miss it, despite the fact that I was only there for a few short days. Sigh.

   

On our last day in Ireland we just tried to use all the time we had left in this wonderful country. So of course we went to a place called “Queen of Tarts” and had the most delicious lemon tart and chocolate chip cheese cake I have ever had in my entire life.

There were more of the incredible statues, a park on a sunny day, and St. Patrick’s cathedral.

I almost didn’t go in, but I’m so glad I did. I know Catholicism and Protestantism is one of the biggest sources of tension between the Irish people and I regret that any institution is capable of bringing so much pain and suffering to its followers, religion especially.. but for all the negative religion has provided the people of Ireland, it’s also offered something of a haven to some.

St. Patricks was a beautiful cathedral that honored the fallen Irish people throughout various wars and hardships. The art and architecture inside was absolutely beautiful. While I was there the choir was running through rehearsal so as I was sitting in a quiet chapel tucked in the back of the church I was listening to the sounds of gospel music and it echoed throughout the entire cathedral.

It was a perfect way to end my trip to Dublin. I absolutely fell in love with Ireland and I am dead set on making a return trip in the near future! Sorry for the ridiculously long post.. believe it or not this is the condensed version.

It was bittersweet leaving Dublin but I am happy to be back in Rome, where I’m having a much slower love affair, and to throw myself back into the Italian culture!

Good Bye London!

To start with Michelle and I knew we wanted to milk the last bit of our London pass for all it was worth so we went with the Kensington Palace, Tower of London, and the zoo.. And my Lord did we fit it all in.

 

The first stop was Tower of London. I would like to be able to gush about the place and rave about my experience there but the reality was that we just weren’t that into it. It was a large castle type place with walls enclosing it.. and yeah they had these great exhibits demonstrating what life must have looked like back in the day but to be honest I wasn’t really all too excited about it! I’m not sure if it was just because it was swarming with people or I put myself in a position where I had high expectations – But I just couldn’t enjoy the experience. In fact it took Michelle and I an hour to figure out how to get out because they only had one exit in one of the castles! But hey – I’m happy I tried it. It was good to realize what I do and don’t enjoy and I’ll remember that next time I try and plan a trip!

  

Next up was Kensington. Honestly I knew nothing about Kensington palace prior to going on the trip but I am so, so happy I was persuaded into making the trip. It was a rather far tube ride, taking us about 45 minutes to get there but when we arrived I felt like I was in another world. We started off walking down this street where all the international embassies were. We then entered into the garden/park where there were so many people just lounging around and soaking up that rare England sunshine. It was stunning. Immediately we felt at peace – we’d been feeling a little rushed because we were trying to fit in so many different activities and both of us were a little sweaty and a lot of frazzled. However once we walked into the Palace the receptionists were sweet and calm and immediately put us at ease.

 

 

The rooms were a muted pink and the carpet was so thick that although there were a number of people the noise level was muffled and it was such a peaceful atmosphere. Both of us just kind of floated through the whole experience in a state of calm and I loved seeing all the British people there to support their royalty. It’s such a fascinating part of their culture that I, as an American, will obviously never understand. I loved hearing little girls getting excited in the “dress” room and I don’t think I’ve ever appreciated the special place the royalty (especially modern royalty) has in the hearts of the English people.

  

 

So a somewhat random stop on our trip was the London zoo. Michelle and I just stumbled upon it in our booklet of free stops with the London Pass and we just decided we had a mutual interest in animals and it would be better than a stuffy castle or snapping a picture in front of Big Ben. So we went!

 

Ohmygod the zoo. It was incredible. I don’t remember the last time I went to a zoo but this place was so stinking awesome. It had GIANT gorillas, tigers, zebras, giraffes, and penguins! They had every type of animal you could want to see. I saw my first porcupine. No big deal.

The two highlights from my zoo adventure was
1)   I touched a donkey
2)   A butterfly landed on me in a butterfly garden

This was such a fun and unexpected stop during our London trip and I’m so happy I got the opportunity to go!

 

On our last full day in London we were set to go to Stonehenge at about 1 in the afternoon, leaving us with only half a day to venture out into the city.  So knowing this we slept in because we’d had a pretty fun wine night the evening before.

 

After we woke up and did our typical egg breakfast we headed over to the London Eye and went to Trafalgar Square. We had an absolute ball in Trafalgar Square watching tourists like ourselves trying to climb on top of the lion statues situated around the large monument.. and then we proceeded to climb on top and take pictures too. The hypocrisy.

And then we were off to one of the wonders of the world.

  

Remember when I mentioned expectations? Well Michelle, Renoli, and I decided it would be one of those things that we regretted if we didn’t see Stonehenge while we were England. To be perfectly honest my expectations didn’t even exist. I knew they were rocks. There’s no arguing that. I was paying a small fortune to see a pile of rocks. The logic just wasn’t there for me.

 

However when we got to the place I was absolutely blown away. It helped that I had the option for an audio tour and so before I even reached Stonehenge I knew about its history and significance – When we arrived a small part of me wanted to cry a little bit. I have never appreciated the size of this “pile of rocks” or the history behind it. It is a standing formation that is thousands of years old, and at some point in humanity’s time, people gathered in the very spot I was standing to partake in some ceremony or another that had importance to them. I’m not sure what it was but I felt a massive amount of respect for their genius for being able to assemble and create something of that scope and exactness (the rocks all aligned to be situated around the sun to create effects with shadows). We took our time and we laid out on the grass surrounding the rocks and learned about the culture of the people who built it. We learned about what must have gone into it, speculations on the meaning of the rocks, and just took in this giant, beautiful peace of humanity’s history.

It was one of the most stunning things I have ever seen and I could not be happier with this pile of rocks.

That night the USA was playing against Belgium.. Spoiler alert: we lost.

It was fun to go to an English pub with Michelle and Renoli as our last hurrah before we were off to London and I think one of my favorite moments was when a stranger at the bar thumbs upped me for ordering a Guinness. I think I must have made my dad proud in that moment.

After we left and cried a little bit about the state of the world, we headed back to our apartment.. and then we went for our last round of McDonalds. 20 nuggets, medium fries, and a large milkshake please.

 

 

Ugly Americans

So I’m absolutely rushing through these next two posts because I’m in LONDON, ENGLAND and I can’t wait to share all this trip’s adventures! So in no particular order here is a recount of my parents’ stop in Rome last weekend.

 

Here are a couple pictures from the Colosseum from when the ‘rents were visiting. I was really surprised by the size – the pictures had led me to believe the place was gigantic but when I actually got there it wasn’t nearly as big as I’d had in mind.. like as big as The Swamp. That being said the sheer history that took place there was incredible. It was both horrifying and unbelievable that the games (aka battles) lasted for hundreds of years before they were halted. I am thrilled that as each generation grows we are less and less satisfied with our quality of education/entertainment/politics and feel the need to change it as every new generation comes into power.

  

Afterward we went to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum and whoa dang. It took me right back to Pompeii. I loved seeing the ruins because it was definitely a flash back to the past. I also loved that during all of these trips I was visiting with my parents! After so long in Rome on my own it was nice to give up the reigns and let the ‘rents pick the time and place. No complaints on that end.

   

After that my dad took up a modeling career. This is him featured in the top left with a classic cowboy hat,  chic shorts, and a pose Tyra Banks would kill for. Ladies and gentleman, I introduce Dave.

In all seriousness we went to a really great museum that I can’t remember the name to. Which is pretty typical. All I know is I was that person who didn’t see the sign to turn off the cameras.. but I kind of can’t even regret it because I captured a shot of the Michaelangelo’s Cristo della Minerva which I really enjoyed.

    

I think these two pictures deserve their own caption.
Day 2 or something we go out for dinner. I’m excited, right? Parents finally come to town which means I can eat for the first time in weeks. My dear mother who at some point in my life valued the safety of her children had us walk to Travestere. For those of you unfamiliar with the Rome geography, Travestere is its own stinkin’ district. Long story short we walked the wrong way on a highway and almost died. Seriously, no big deal. I promise.

We finally found a restaurant and went straight in. Mind you this was not a place for tourists. The gentleman taking our order really didn’t understand too much of what we were saying. I think okay no big deal, I’ll go for the pizza. Problem is I think maybe I was a little shaken up from the near death experience because I see “pizzicheria” and think YUP that’s pizza for sure. I’ll take the formaggio. I’m so cultured.

30 minutes later, I’m dying of hunger, the wine is gone, and I had made a hike just to get there. Out comes our food and on my plate, 4 pieces of cheese. Yes. I ordered cheese for dinner. The shock was overwhelming but I had no choice but to enjoy it because the manager looked so proud of me that I felt like I was overcoming cultural divides with these 4 pieces of cheese.

So I ate with gusto and that was my story with the cheese.

 

This is mom, dad and I practicing our serious time in front of the Vatican. This is a sarcophagus we saw in the National Museum of Rome.

   

I have never done so much in one weekend. One of the better places we visited was the National Museum of Rome. I feel like at some point I’m probably going to become desensitized to all the statues I see (I mean come on, how many different ways can you sculpt an old dude), but for now I’m still on that statue high.

I loved visiting the place and it’s one of those things that if I hadn’t had my parents along I probably wouldn’t have made time for it!

One day we went to two churches. I’m going to be embarrassing and wait to say the names of them until I can text my mother and ask for a reminder.

Either way we saw the really great Bernini sculpture of St. Teresa of Avalon. A lot of the time here I get frustrated with my lack of knowledge of art, religion, or politics of the day. This was an exciting sculpture to see because I had a background understanding of who St. Teresa of Avalon was, I read the Dan Brown book where it mentioned the sculpture, and I had previously read up on what the significance of the sculpture was. It definitely made the viewing process a lot more enjoyable.

 

The ‘rents and I at the Eatery. Need I say more?

  

To wrap up the wonderful weekend with my parents we randomly took the metro one evening and my mom decided to pick the San Giovani stop to find us some dinner. After we spot a pizza joint we look across the street and see a massive building. We saw a couple people coming out so we decided to check it out.

I’m so glad we did. It’s called the Basilica of St. John Lateran and we found out after our visit that it’s actually considered to be the highest ranking basilica above all others in the Roman Catholic church. The fact that we casually stumbled into this just goes to show how incredibly unique Rome is turning out to be!

It was a magnificent basilica with every nook and cranny stuffed with some form of art or another. The ceilings were ornate, the walls had niches crammed with statues, and every other foot was a chapel tucked away into a little cubby. It was absolutely stunning and I was so glad to see it!

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Throughout the weekend, every time my parents or I would do something outrageously embarrassing, my dad would hiss “ugly Americans”, just to really solidify our rank as the lowliest amongst all the countries. Every time my mom whipped out the map with expert skill and ease, my dad would whisper “ugly Americans”. If I complained about my dad’s cowboy hat, UA. If I forgot how to ask for the check in Italian, UA. If I pushed a door instead of pulled it, UA. At every point we were committing some serious cultural no-nos but it was humbling to recognize that I really can’t “unamericanize” myself. I can do everything in my power to assimilate to another culture and respect the place I’m in, but at the end of the day I probably laugh a little too loudly, my map probably crinkles a lot when I open it, and I’m sure my excitement over gelato and coke is offensive to someone somewhere.. But that’s okay. So hey, here’s to the rest of my life as a proud, ugly American.

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My weekend was made so much better just with the presence of my parents. I’ve definitely missed my American culture and a lot of us have just adapted here and done our best to “fit in”. Having my parents come made me feel like it was my first time in Rome and I was happy to be able to experience a part of Europe with them. It was pretty great.

Tomorrow I need to put up pictures from last week so I can fast forward to my current trip to London and Dublin! Stay tuned for more of my travel adventures!

 

My Monday to Thursday job

Getting off that France high wasn’t really much of a challenge when I got to jump right back into all the fun happening in Rome.

I am sitting here going back through my pictures from last week and I am continuously awed by the sheer amount of history and life here in Rome. I was speaking with my mom last night (more about the ‘rents in a later post!) and I was saying how much I love being surrounded by people. Every day there are kids, puppies, older couples, and young business-y type people walking the streets of Rome. It definitely makes you feel guilty if you allow yourself to be cooped up inside all day because you just know there are people  seeing something cool and exciting right outside your window!

Anyway.. Here is my “typical” Monday – Thursday

   

First up.. My Monday adventure back to the hospital! I had to go get my booty problems all cleared up so after missing my bus stop and waiting for 2 hours, I finally got to see a doctor and he gave me the all clear!

Earlier that day I had a quiz to study for so my friend Mercedes, Michelle and I walked 10 minutes to Piazza Cavore where we all studied for our various classes. It was a beautiful day with birds chirping, dogs barking, and kids screeching at the top of their lungs. My favorite.

The picture in the middle is my face of joy when I realized I’m never going to conquer Italian. We must have sat out there for 20 minutes slowly panicking over our lack of Italian and just praying our teacher, Ms Ipolita, didn’t come over and quiz us.

Tuesday was something of a blur.. really the most important part of Tuesday was when I finally watched an episode of Game of Thrones and captured this stunning smile on Arya’s face. Arya doesn’t smile. This was maybe the highlight of my Tuesday — I don’t even feel bad.

WEDNESDAY DOE. We started off the day going to Galleria Borghese with the program I’m with. This is one of those museums all the guide books say to do and it was absolutely filled to the brim with sculptures and stunning artwork. During our walk to the gallery we passed through Piazza del Popolo and had a great view of Rome once we reached the top at Villa Borghese, a huge park in the middle of Rome.

Once in the museum I quickly established that my favorite sculpture was The Rape of Persephone. I was blown away by the life like quality of the marble and where Hades hands dug into Persephones thigh it looked like her skin was actually stretching out. It was absolutely remarkable and I enjoyed the minor fact that I recognized enough of ancient mythology to understand what was being illustrated.

  

We continued through the halls of the gallery and seeing all the paintings and sculptures gave me a huge appreciation for the patience and creativity of the artists back in the day. It definitely saddens me that up until this trip I had no preference one way or another for art. However after being in Rome for even just 3 weeks I am definitely being challenged to reevaluate my previous attitude toward art!

After our trip to Galleria Borghese my Italian teacher took us to Eataly to identify all the different food types in Italian! Whoa man, Eataly is big. They had every food group you could possibly think up and it was 4 floors of a foody’s heaven.

I mentioned my new obsession with brie but I think I’m expanding my addition to encompass all types of cheese. I about died when I found the “formaggio” section of the place.

Thursday was hands down my favorite day this whole week. My priest from Tampa, Florida was in town. Yup, he just swung by Rome before he jetted off to a bunch of other countries in Europe. He knew I would be studying here this summer so he invited me to celebrate a private Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica. Wow.

I actually didn’t take any pictures because I wasn’t really there for the scenery aspect, more just for the Mass but take my word that it was beautiful. I did figure I should take a picture as I was leaving St. Peters but there are definitely more to come when I go back!

We celebrated Mass in one of the side chapels within the Basilica itself. Before we actually made it to Mass though my priest invited me back into the Sacristy which was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in my short time here in Rome! It was quiet because it closed off to the public but you could hear the slight murmurs coming from priests all around the room as they prepared to deliver mass in various chapels. We were also led back into a room not opened to the public and I wish I could recall the name of it. We walked in and it was empty. It was dead silent and also one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve ever been in. The ceiling was ornately decorated and there were seats around what appeared to be some kind of altar or another. I was informed that there are priests who live in Rome and their full time job is to go in this room every day and pray.

After the quick tour of the room and Sacristy we went and celebrated mass. It was so, so lovely to hear Mass in my native tongue and from a priest I admire and know.

After Mass I headed over to Villa Borghese. I knew from Wednesday that the park was massive and I wanted to explore it a little more.

I got lost. That was to be expected but I was definitely a little surprised by just how big it really was. I ended up finding a map and wandered around. This park has everything. I found a lake, a dog park, and a fountain where I read my book for a few hours. There were musicians, go carts, segways, bikes, and trolleys. There were restaurants, museums, and casinos.. And I’m not kidding when I say I could spend the rest of my summer just in that park and be completely satisfied.

 

I could not think of a better way to spend a Thursday before Italian class.

It was an amazing week and one filled with new discoveries and a lot of fun. Friday is when my parents stopped by Rome to start off their 3 week adventure in Europe and we had a great time! More to come on that later.

Day 1 – Baguettes and Brie

An advance warning of the next 4 posts .. There will be a lot of pictures.

  

I think I’m always a little nervous that something is bound to go wrong in any given airport, bus, or any type of public transportation.. But we made it! It was so fun to sit around with 3 girls I met just 2 weeks ago and realize we had effectively made our way to Nice, France. It was a #proud moment. I think the saddest part of getting there was watching Easy Jet ruin the lives of people who didn’t realize that “one bag” meant. one. bag. All the poor women with purses and men with briefcases never stood a chance. Anyways we arrived and since our hostel had messed up our room arrangement we immediately set out exploring our home for the next few days.

These are my gal pals above who made this trip as wonderful as it could possibly be! The top left is a picture of a beautiful park smack dab in the middle of Nice and every single time we walked past the park throughout the week we would see a million children playing and adults picnicking on the grass.

  

The streets were something straight out of a movie set. There were tons of little shops and the buildings were squeezed so tightly together you could barely fit three people in side by side. You’ll notice the BATHTUB on the top left. The hostel that had previously screwed up our room situation generously upgraded us to two private rooms and we got our own bathtub.. it was basically like a Four Seasons at that point.

 

We made our way to the beach and OH MY GOSH the French Riviera! It was stunning. I have more pictures from the beach in the posts to come but this was our first glimpse of the colorful coastline and we spent most of our evenings out there just sitting on the rocks and admiring the view.

    

This was a pretty central plaza to everything. In it you could find street performers, children, dancers, and more backpackers than I have seen in my entire life.

  

To wind down our day the girls and I grabbed a bottle of wine, 4 baguettes, and a slab of brie. It was perfect. We started off in the giant park we had visited earlier and then made our way over to the beach where we watched to moon come up and tried to wrap our minds around the fact that we were in one of the most stunning places in the world.

Day 1 was a complete success! It was a ton of exploring, a lot of negotiating with the hostel, and I spent the entire day admiring the charm of this beach town. I would need all the rest I could get because day 2 was filled with sharks and hikes!

 

Pompeii

In my defense I am in Rome, Italy so at least I have a valid reason for not updating the blog! However at the request of my mother I am uploading my travel pictures on here because I absolutely hate Facebook albums. There is a big pressure to have great lighting and pretty hair. And let’s be honest.. I just got bangs so the pretty hair thing is out the window. So here are some pictures from my weekend trip! Our group from St. Johns and the University of Florida went on a 3 day excursion to Pompeii, Paestum, and Naples.   I think the easiest way to separate these pictures are just by places visited – So up first, Pompeii!

Please excuse the formatting on this. I’m not a professional blogger or even remotely competent when it comes to WordPress.. so please bear with me. LOOK HOW COOL THIS IS. We started off our weekend trip with Pompeii and it. was. amazing. I’d never heard the story of how Pompeii was preserved over thousands of years and it was simultaneously heartbreaking to hear of the horrific death of thousands of residents and amazing that nature could preserve the color and structure of tons of art despite the age.

We were fortunate enough to have a tour guide and as we were walking through this entire village that used to house 20,000 people I found it was relatively easy to envision the lives these people lived. It was crazy to be reminded that people still had relationships, “fast food” vendors, art, and an idea of what happiness was. It really made history “come alive” in a way I’ve never experienced and I absolutely loved it!

 

I mean look at this scenery! Absolutely breathtaking. I’ll be posting pictures sometime today or tomorrow from Paestum and Naples so stay tuned!