Here are a few snippets from emails I sent to various people, mostly family, about the many famous cities, and some less-known little towns throughout Italy and France. It is a general overview of the incredible time I had to experience other cultures and sites. I am very blessed to have the time and resources to visit many places that I have always dreamt of visiting, and that I didn't know I would have a chance so soon to be able to go to. It was an incredible month of sight-seeing and busily walking around the cities, and a little bit of relaxation. Pictures will hopefully be coming soon, but for now I just wanted to fill you in on what I am up to.
First I went to Paris with my fellow volunteer, Chiara:
Yes it is very cold. We are visiting everything, including the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Musee D'Orsay, Montparnasse Tower, Monmartre where Sacre Coeur Cathedral is, and Notre Dame. We are taking the underground everywhere, and it is very complicated, it has 14 lines! Anyway, everything is great and we are doing well."
"Yeah our flight was cancelled. We got to the house at 10pm. Thankfully we were able to leave today. I am exhausted, we spent all day in the airport!
love you!!"
"I left Geneva on the 14th and went to Paris for a week, it was great, we saw everything we could possibly see, but very cold and we missed Geneva and were ready to go back."
Then off to Torino & Milan with my fellow volunteer, Chiara:
"So, then I went to Italy, Milan first then to Torino for the week of Christmas. I stayed with one of the girls that was with me in Geneva. It was very nice, but i missed my family, of course on Christmas."
"I had a fantastic time with Chiara's family, they were very nice and welcoming. Some of her family members spoke English well, so that was nice I was able to talk with them and get to know them. The food was delicious and it was nice to be in a home with a family for Christmas. Her sister has a new-born, and he was adorable, so we played with him on Christmas day. I also got to meet some of Chiara's friends and went to the Italian masses for the holidays."
After Torino, headed on the train down South:
"I made it to Rome. I guess the plan is to go to Ornella's near Naples tomorrow and come back to Rome for New Year's."
"I am leaving soon to go eat dinner...I know, its almost 9! But I went to Caserta and am staying with Ornella until the 31st. The train ride was great and very easy to take. We will go to Naples tomorrow. Her house is beautiful and family is very nice."
"I got to eat the REAL pizza from Naples, and it was definitely the best pizza, and the cheapest (3 euros for a whole pizza) I have ever had! I walked around the city and saw the famous Napolitan streets, then the sea and Mt. Vesuvius. I also saw all the garbage on the streets, which in the last three years has become very famous. It is pretty unbelievable that all that garbage is just sitting out on the streets. But other than that, it was a beautiful city. As they say, now I can die because I have been to Naples."
On to visit Rome:
"Back to Rome yesterday for New Year's! It was great. We were at a concert by the Coloseum. I am staying with another girl who was in Geneva and her boyfriend. Anyway, it has been crazy and very fun, but tiring because of all the travelling, and listening to Italian all day long is still hard, but I have picked up quite a bit."
"Went to see the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and Piazza del Popolo on my first day. Then to the Vatican to see the Pope give his Angelus to the crowd. I then visited the Basilica of St. Peter and went to the top of the Vatican to see the Rome landscape. I also went to see all the other famous Squares and had some more pizza."
Assisi:
"I made it to Assisi and am in the Hostel, there is basically no one else here. I have my own room, the first time since Geneva, it is great!
And I absolutely love Assisi! It is beautiful and amazing! I went to the San Francesco Basilica, Santa Maria Delgli Angeli (where St. Francis died), Maria Maggiore (where he took his clothes off and renounced his wealth), and a lot of walking. There was a little choir concert at the Angeli church I listened to, and I went to vespers in St. Francis' tomb, which was amazing! It is probably the most peaceful place on earth.
Tomorrow I am planning to go to Basilica of St. Chiara, San Damino, and a place that St Francis prayed a lot. There are many things going on like the concert because tomorrow is Epiphany and it is a big celebration. I am trying to plan to go to some other little towns in the hills over the weekend because I really think I would love them too."
"The mass at Santa Chiara was great! And I saw the church Francis was baptized, very beautiful too. Then I went to San Damino and there was a mix between mass, singing vespers, and veneration of baby Jesus. I loved it!"
Perugia:
"My plan is to go to Perugia, the bigger city close by and stay for the weekend in a hostel...I went to the National Gallery Art Museum, then just walked around to the other old monuments and squares in town. I missed Assisi though."
Orvieto:
"Orvieto was great. I went to the famous places, like an old well that was built to get water to the city, I think around the 8th century. Then to the famous cathedral, but I didn't see the famous paintings that inspired Michaelangelo's The Last Judgement, because I had to pay for it. Then did a tour of the underground city."
Rome Again:
"So I just bought a ticket to Rome, and spent a few hours in Spoleto, a town on the way here. I didn't really see the town, I just sat out in the square and read and looked at the view, it was a beautiful day."
"I went to see the Sistine chapel today and the Villa Borghese Park. One of the girls at the hostel is traveling alone so we went together all day. It was nice."
"My last day of sight-seeing in Rome was going to the Coloseum and the Foro Romano to see the old city. The Coloseum is probably the most incredible structure and my favorite site of Rome. It was great to see the history of such a powerful and influential city."
All in all, a fabulous trip. Please ask me if you want to know more, this is a very summarized overview of all I did for the last month.
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