Our (Amy, Yvette, Elise, Renee, and I) trip to Italy started off pretty interesting. The taxis were late picking us up so we were late to the train station...we had to get a late train which got us to the airport with only 15 minutes to check into our flight. Thank god they called out our flight and let us queue jump in front of an awful lot of people or else we would have missed our flight. When we got to Italy we checked into our hostel and got something to eat. Then it was fairly late so Amy and I went to bed while the other three girls went to walk around the city. Sunday - We showered, got ready, ate breakfast, and went to the Vatican. On Sundays after mass the pope comes to a window and speaks to the crowd. There were so many people there and it was really neat. He talked in several different languages greeting all there different nationalities of people. Afterwards we met Renee's cousin, Joe, who is in Seminary school at the Vatican. We all went to lunch and then he gave us a personal tour of the Vatican while explaining what everything meant. It was actually really neat and interesting to learn about. Afterwards we walked around to see a few different sites and then went to dinner. The food so far has been really good by the way and I am pretty sure Italian is my favorite type of food! After dinner we walked back to the Hostel...it was actually really nice to walk through Rome at night. The city has a good feel to it. Monday - We woke up very early and caught a train to Venice. On the way there was an accident (AKA a suicide on the track) so we had to divert and reroute which got us to Venice an hour and a half later than expected but oh well. When we arrived we took a water bus to central Venice, found our hostel, and went off to explore the city. We ate, got some gelato, and started shopping. Venice is known for its glass (murano glass) so it was everywhere and gorgeous. We went to San Marco square where there were a million pigeons everywhere and if you feed them they basically attack you. Elise and Yvette both did it but the rest of us were too freaked out. It was hilarious. Then we got dinner and dessert as usual. After eating we found a very low key bar where we just sat, had a drink, and talked. It was a nice day. Tuesday - We showered and packed then went to do some more shopping. I ended up spending a large amount of money today but figured I may only get to be in Venice once so why not. We ate lunch and dinner...both meals were good. And of course we got Gelato twice because its too good to resist. Then we got our baggage and caught a train back to Roma. We didn't arrive until late so we went to our room and basically went to bed. Wednesday - Today we had to get up extra early to get to the Vatican by 8 am. Renee's cousin Joe had a couple of his brothers get us tickets to see the Pope again. First let me tell you that they two priests in training were extremely hot! Haha. It was super neat though because where we sat, the Pope rode by in a white car just a couple feet from us. Not many people can say they experienced that so it was cool. After the ceremony we went inside the Vatican museum and Sistine chapel. It was really nice but the Chapel wasn't what I was expecting so it was kind of a let down. We then got pizza for lunch and walked to the Trevi fountain which was absolutely amazing. We got gelato and then we walked to the Roman ruins, the Collesseum, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier building. All of which were really awesome. Next we took the metro to a Church where underneath is a cemetery and exhibit of monk's bones. It was pretty eerie. Then we met Renee's cousin for dinner and had the best Italian meal we've ever had. It was gorgeous. And of course we got Gelato for dessert. Afterwards the metro had already closed so we started the long walk back to our hostel...we decided though to see the rest of the monuments at night which was fun and really interesting. At one point Yvette and Elise wanted to walk in one of the fountains. We all thought it was shallow like most are but they both attempted to put a foot down and fell completely in the water because it was like 3 or 4 feet deep!! It was freezing out and we were far from the hostel so we walked really fast to get them back. Despite how cold they were, it was hilarious. We didn't get back to the hostel until late and didn't go to bed until around 4 (we have to get up at 6:30 the next morning). Thursday - We woke up nice and early, got breakfast, and caught the bus to the airport. We got there extra early to avoid possible complications like we had getting to Rome. I was extremely tired so I layed on the ground in the airport and slept for about an hour. The flight was ok and went fast but we were delayed about a half an hour. We then got a train back to Reading and everyone is packing for home and showering. Italy was absolutely amazing and I truly hope everyone gets an opportunity to see it...mostly for the food and Gelato! The men are a little too aggressive if you ask me and they love Americans (especially blondes like Amy). Rome had a very good feel to it, the architecture was amazing, and everyone was really friendly. Venice was just awesome because it is so different from any other city. I'm so happy I got the opportunity to go!