ciao for now: MK & Ash (Nancy and Annie) take on Italy

The day had finally come; I had been awaiting this visit practically since I walked out of the door in January. Not only was I so excited to see my mom after 10 whole weeks, but I was also excited for 10 days of nice hotels, good meals, and not having to pay for anything (but more excited to see my mom obviously...).

My mom arrived Friday morning and I met her at her hotel and after she got settled we were off, and I finally got to show her around the place that stole my heart 2 months ago. We strolled around Florence, enjoyed a coffee outside overlooking Piazza Signoria, and then we were back to the hotel to meet Nancy before dinner. We took advantage of the gorgeous night by buying a cheap bottle of wine (sorry guys...) and hiking up to Piazzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset before dinner.

YAY!

First night :)

The next morning we got up early and hopped on the train to Venice, but first Nancy and Mom had to face the busy and cobblestone streets of Florence with their rolling suitcases...

Venice is one of my favorite places, and every time I go I still cannot get over the gorgeous waterways. I don't care if everyone says its the most tourist-y place on the planet, when the sun is shining and the blue water glistens perfectly, it is really beautiful. We were greeted as soon as we stepped off the train with our own personal boat and "taxi" driver to take us to our hotel.

Water taxi ride to our hotel

Our hotel was right on the water

Room complete with bed(s) fit for Queens...I got the couch...

Cheers, to the wine drinkers of the week!

We spent the weekend strolling through the alleyways and tiny streets exploring Venice in a new way (and getting lost here and there), but we of course had to start the weekend off with a gondola ride...

Gondola ride!

St. Mark's Square

Doing the "Asian"

After our fab weekend in Venice, we were back on the train to Florence for the week. Mary-Kate and Ashley had plenty of time to explore Florence while I was in class, so much so that they befriended the local panini shop owner and started to refer to Florence as "their neighborhood." Here is their week summed up in pictures...

We met Jordyn, Abby, and Allison Monday morning for a quick breakfast before Jordyn had to head back to the states.

Then, MK and Ash spent the rest of the week off own their own exploring "their new neighborhood." They even climbed hundreds of steps to the top of the Duomo...

Pro shoppers in the market

On top of Firenze

Their main man Pino

After a week of wining and dining in Florence (and exploring for the girls) we were off to Rome!

Rome was amazing. Although the site seeing was a bit long, there is so much history and beauty in Rome and it was wonderful to learn so much and see everything that we did (considering my last trip to Rome, in middle school, I was more about the gelato than the information...). We had an amazing tour guide and we were able to see so much in just one day. The pictures are much more interesting than me blabbing on, so enjoy!

The Colosseum

The Forum

Nancy with the synagogue in the Jewish Ghetto

The Pantheon

The Vatican

Our tour guide, Fausta!

St. Peters

Oh, did I mention Mom got a "golden ticket" for confession with the Pope?! Of course, though, she couldn't figure out how to use the camera so these are the only pictures she managed...