Italia!

WOW!
Today I just got back from my reading break trip to Italy! I have a lot of catching up to do as far as blogging goes, so here is my plan: nothing eventful will happen over the next week, so each day I will post about one of the days spent in Italy. We went to Pisa, Florence, and Rome, so I will make sure that I only share the most exciting aspects, so as not to bore everyone with every little thing we saw.
I also can't start writing a proper post, as I am currently running on less than 5 hours of sleep. That's what sleeping in an airport will do to you... more on that towards the end of my posts!!
But as a little starter, here are a few things I learned about Italy:
1. Cars don't stop for you like in France.
2. The pizza is UNREAL.
3. There were mountains everywhere we went. I had no idea!
4. Italy must love us. The weather was gorgeous!
5. Italians are very gracious and welcoming.
6. Street vendors are all over the place in Rome... and sell the most RIDICULOUS things. Like splats. Don't even ask.
7. When you go off the beaten tourist path, you discover some beautiful and peaceful scenery.
8. The views are amazing.
9. Americans are everywhere. We met some in every hostel we stayed at! They were all very kind.
10. You will wait in line a lot in Rome. It will be worth it!
11. The Arthur TV show has an excellent song that is great to sing when in Rome: you can find it at 7 minutes 47 seconds in this youtube clip... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaVmzw1scQw. Michelle and I sang it frequently.
12. I will be back someday! You can't stay away from Italy once you've been there.

And here are a few teaser photos from my trip. I have almost 1000 to go through, so look out weekend!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

View from the top of the Duomo-- best view!

It looks like regular pizza... but it is soooo much better!

COLOSSEUM!

The Ancient City... amazing

Inside the Colosseum... imagining the gladiator battles!

Stopping for a photo break on the long walk back from the Vatican.

The Trevi Fountatin.

A Lamborghini!

Going off the beaten path.

At the Vittoria Emanuele II monument

The VE II Monument is nicknamed "The Wedding Cake"

So there you have it, a little taste of my trip. Hopefully after a nice long sleep and some class tomorrow, I will be ready to start blogging about my trip. Thank goodness for my journal!
Oh, and despite the trip being fantastic, it sure was nice to return to Nantes today. It is nice that this city is beginning to feel like home. I really missed the French bread... what will I do when I'm done my stay in France??? :)