italy – Hello Hayley

In travel on

December 4, 2017

the vatican

The highlight of my brief trip to Rome was visiting the Vatican. The Vatican is located just outside central Rome in Vatican City, which I learned is actually considered a different country! I really wanted to visit in Saint Peter’s Basilica but the line was crazy so we just admired it from the outside. We did do the Vatican museum, which we had already bought tickets for, which I highly recommend doing if you are planning on visiting. The museum was wonderful and there were so many pieces of art I’ve studied in my art history courses that were fun to see in person. The Sistine Chapel was by far the highlight of my Vatican experience. It was so beautiful and awe-inspiring but the part I liked the most was people watching. There are no photos allowed in the Chapel so a docent, who looked a little like Santa Claus, would yell as loud and as sternly as possible “no photo” to unsuspecting people taking pictures. Seeing their reactions was priceless and after every person he scared, the docent would chuckle a little then be off to find his next victim. Here’s a few sneaky photos of the Sistine Chapel I got away with, as well as some other pictures from the Vatican Museum.

// SISTINE CHAPEL //

// RAPHAEL ROOM //

hayley

In travel on

December 3, 2017

a roman holiday

For some reason, Rome was never at the top of my list of places to visit. Sure, I thought it would be fun to see the Sistine Chapel and the Coliseum but when it came to places I dreamt of traveling, Rome never made the cut. But when my friend Ellie came to visit and we had an extra day to spend somewhere, Rome seemed like the logical choice. From the moment we arrived, I fell in love! Most of the touristy sites exceeded my expectations but the best part of the trip for me was the little side streets and places we unexpectedly stumbled on. We stayed in an Airbnb in a very cute, bohemian area with lots of coffee shops and art galleries. Our neighborhood didn’t feel like a big city at all but more like a small town, with it’s narrow streets and cafes at every turn. We spent the day exploring the different neighborhoods of Rome and seeing the sites and taking photos, which I especially enjoyed. After having my Nikon since high school, I bought a leica q the day before leaving for Rome. I felt like a appreciated the sites even more after seeing them thru such a beautiful piece of equipment. Here are some of the photos I took of our adventures in Rome. And stay tuned for a post about Vatican City tomorrow!

// wonderful breakfast at La Casetta a Monti //

// TREVI FOUNTIAN //

// COLISEUM //

// PIAZZA NAVONA //

// PANTHEON //

hayley

In travel on

December 2, 2017

lights of florence

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll probably remember a post I did about the Christmas lights around Nice, France when I lived there five years ago (I can’t believe its been FIVE YEARS!). One of the things that made me the most excited about studying in Florence was being here around Christmas time. This past week, lights started slowly going up around the city. Then suddenly, on Black Friday, all the lights went on! I find it entertaining that Europe seems to be on the same “day after thanksgiving” Christmas schedule as the States. The lights in Florence seem much less flashy and colorful than in Nice. They are understated and classy but oh so beautiful. My favorite is a little side street that has arches of lights stretching as far at the eye can see. If you ever get the chance to visit Florence at Christmas, I would highly recommend it for the magical lights alone!

hayley

In travel on

October 31, 2017

pisa

every few weeks, my school plans a trip for us study abroad students to visit some of the cities surrounding Florence. this past weekend, we got a chance to visit Pisa and Lucca. I’ve never had much of an interest in going to Pisa before because it seemed so touristy but I was pleasantly surprised. the church and baptistry were beautiful and the tower was actually quite interesting and impressive. I learned that the tower wasn’t poorly designed but rather the ground beneath it was marshy clay so it was unstable from the start. about 10 years ago, it was leaning so bad that scientists came in and pumped out the water under the tower which reduced some of the lean and made it stable enough for tourists to go in today. I wanted to go to the top but it cost 18€ so I opted to look on from afar instead.

besides the interesting tidbits about the tower, it was entertaining to watch people take the typical leaning tower pictures. we had a blast taking our pictures and found the best way was to balance on the concrete posts to get a better angle, which led to a lot of fun balancing poses, as seen below. the city was quite small and typical of small Italian towns but we had some yummy pizza and a Pisa specialty called cecina, which was exactly like same as socca, a dish I loved while living in Nice, France. here are a few photos I took during my time in Pisa.

hayley