Paris is one of my most favorite cities to travel to. It's a beautiful city with so much to do, see, and most importantly, eat.
Itinerary:
0 Comments
Afterward, we headed to Palazzo Ducale for the Secret Itinerary tour. You definitely get to see and learn a lot more by participating on this tour. I typically don't like tours, so believe me when I say that this is worth it. HOWEVER, be warned that our tour guide was a complete bitch and should get her ass fired. After the tour, we roamed around the general admission area. There is so much gold decorations inside!
If you like to drink, I'd also highly recommend Harry's Bar, home of the Bellini. The Bellini is crazy good, but also super expensive. You definitely can't miss out on the original Bellini though! Other Bellinis just can't compare after you've had this one.
Next to the Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, which is a gorgeous, open door shopping mall. All the shops here are high-end, but even if you don't plan to purchase anything, it is just beautiful to stroll through. We got lunch around this area at Luini Panzerotti, which I would highly recommend. They sell a bunch of bakery goods and panzerotti, which is a calzone-type dish. It's affordable, and everything is very fresh!
Across from Luini Panzerotti, is Cioccolati Italiani. We entered this shop because we wanted some gelato after lunch. We are so glad that we came by! We stopped by here twice during our short stop in Milan because we enjoyed it so much. My sister's favorite is the coconut gelato, but what I really enjoyed was the white marocchino. The coffee was so flavorful and the chocolate was so yummy. The bitterness of the coffee and sweetness of the chocolate complemented very well, which you would expect. You must try a marocchino when in Italy!
We spent the day sampling wine & pesto, and exploring the five islands. It was a relaxing day to just soak in the beauty of this place. While you're here don't forget to try some pesto and focaccia - they're famous for them and they are delicious. They have so many variations of pesto, and we actually bought a few jars to take home! Remember that most stores will actually let you sample, so you can try before you buy!
We arrived at night, and just decided to walk around the city. I was surprised at how early stores closed (around 8-9pm) that it was slightly difficult to find dinner. We stayed near Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge that you definitely won't miss if you're in town. For some reason, everyone takes pictures on the bridge and not of the bridge, which was strange to me.
The next morning, we headed for the Pitti Palace. We didn't spend too much time here since we had to catch our train to Pisa, but it's relatively small for a palace. The outside was also under construction which kind of sucked in terms of taking pictures.
This is also THE best tiramisu I had in Italy, which is crazy considering how many places make it! But you will know what I am talking about if you come here and try it. The tiramisu is so freshly made that it is still hot when you make it! I've never had anything else like it. Plus, the flavor is amazing too. Oh yeah, and at the end of your meal, they give you free shots of Limoncello! Since this restaurant is near Piazza Navona, there is no need to go out of your way to try this place out. So, definitely stop by here if you're visiting Rome!
First thing in the morning, we headed toward the Colosseum and Roman Forum. The lines are ridiculous long to get into the Colosseum, so I highly recommend buying tickets in advance, which puts you in an expedited line. The structure itself is amazing, but the view inside is almost all the same. Then, we headed to the Roman Forum. I was super stoked for the Roman Forum because that's what Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is all about. There were many students on field trips here, and there were tourists everywhere. But the structures made it all worth it. Afterward, we headed toward Trevi Fountain and walked toward the Spanish Steps. I came to the conclusion that Italy is just filled with people and tourists. The Trevi Fountain area was inundated with people either hanging out around the fountain or people standing outside to take a picture of the fountain. It was impossible to capture a good picture. Similarly, the Spanish Steps was also just filled with people sitting on them! I have no idea what people here are doing, but the steps are essentially just a sea of people. We continued our trip by walking down Via dei Condotti, a shopping street with many high-end, designer brand stores. Nothing here is for those on a budget, but what's Europe if we don't check out European fashion. Then, we made our way to Piazza Navona, where our hotel was near, for dinner. We walked by it everyday that I thought to myself "I'll take a picture later", but somehow never did. It's a cute area, but also very touristy (starting to see a trend?). I wouldn't recommend eating anywhere inside the piazza, as they all seem to be tourist traps. The next day, we headed to Vatican City. We were visiting around the time of the conclave, so we were worried that nothing would be open. We were lucky that both St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel opened up a few days beforehand. At St. Peter's, we climbed the stairs to the cupola (dome). The climb requires a lot of stairs and very narrow passageways. It's unfortunate, but there were some who couldn't fit through the passageways and had to turn back. It's definitely a difference experience then just visiting the main hall.
We were in a rush to get to the Sistine Chapel because they were closing early that day. When we finally made it in, I actually hadn't realized that the chapel was inside the Vatican Museum. It was very confusing to me. Also, the museum is only one way so you can't go back! I didn't realize any of this and zoomed through the first half, since I was rushing, fearing that something would close and we would miss something. However, my parents told me that we were lucky though. We made it inside right before they would close the entrance. Apparently, inside had significantly less people than normal because of the closure, which gave us the opportunity to take more pictures. After our visit to the Vatican City, we headed to Florence! |
AuthorHello! My name is Emily, and I love to travel. This is a personal blog I use to capture all my amazing memories, which I hope you enjoy. Safe travels! :) Archives
September 2017
|