http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Tiffany In Italy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Tiffany In Italy en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:13:46 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:13:46 BST I had almost come to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to be able to see Venice during this trip to Italy because it's a very expensive trip from Siena but this weekend I went with Jason Sarah and Ada and I was able to spend one night and two days in Venice for 100 eurosOur trip started out about 930 Thursday when we caught our first train from Siena to Florence. Once in Florence we ha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Veneto/Venice/blog-268705.html Sarah and I left Siena on the 730 a.m. bus Saturday morning and arrived in Rome at 1030 a.m. First we headed straight to the Vatican Museum because we were warned that the line can easily be two or three hours long. Luckily we only waited in line for 15 min We spent about 5 hours at the Vatican where we saw the Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo three rooms by Raphael and a million other artist http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Rome/blog-267314.html Last Friday our class traveled to Florence for the third time. This time we went with our Music History teacher Mossimo to the Academia. The Academia was a very small museum in comparison to museums we've been visiting. We spent most of our time studying Stradivari instruments violas and violins and we also got to see the first and one and only vertical piano. The Academia is also home to Mi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-263330.html I just had to fill everyone in on my experience of Easter in Italy. The night before Easter I attended the midnight mass at Sienarsquos Duomo. The inside of the Duomo is probably the most outstanding building Irsquove ever stepped foot in the walls are constructed of solely black and white marble stacked one on top of the other and the floor is also covered in pink black and white marble d http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Siena/blog-261598.html Saturday I took a 3 hour bus ride along the Amalfi Coast to Amalfi Town. The ride there was something else. The bus goes along very small roads attached to the sides of cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean. I set upfront near the driver and beside a window on the right side because Irsquod been told that was the best seat and it was for two reasons the view of the coast was best from the rig http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Amalfi/blog-258321.html Friday morning I ate breakfast at my hostel and then headed towards the train station to catch the train to Pompei. At the station I ran into Shantal and Megan from KS and we talked all the way to Pompei and I ended up spending the entire day with them.Pompei was a lot larger than I expected. I was only planning on spending 3 hours in the town and then going on up to the volcano but Pompei took 5 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Pompei/blog-258320.html I left Sorrento at 10 a.m. on Thursday and took a 30 min. ferry to the Island of Capri as you'll see from the pictures the island is stunning. When I arrived at Capri's Marina Grande my original plan was to immediately catch another boat to the Blue Grotto but the Grotto was closed so I took a 30 min. bus ride up through the town of Capri to Anacapri which it the town that sits at the top of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Capri/blog-258314.html On Wednesday morning March 12th I took a 6 hour train straight from Pisa to Naples. Once in Naples I transfered to the subway and took a one hour train to Sorrento. I spent Wednesday evening checking into my hostel and exploring Sorrento. I decided to use Sorrento as my base for day trips to Capri Pompeii and Amalfi. Sorrento is about the size of Siena and is located on the bay of Naples no bea http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Sorrento/blog-258309.html Malta is a very very interesting country. Our trip was in the middle of their election and there are two main political parties in Malta the Labor Party and the Nationalists. On the second day that we were there according to one of our hotel workers Malta elected its first democratically elected president. So needless to say there were parties everywhere.Our hotel Hotel Alexandra was locate http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Malta/blog-258057.html Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm back in Siena. I had an amazing spring break and I have over 800 pictures to sort through and stories to tell. So keep an eye out this week as I'm hoping to begin posting entries about my trip to Malta and Southern Italy. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-257047.html Well I've been posting entries about all the places I've visited outside Siena and I felt it was time to talk about what I've seen within Siena's walls. Over the past two weeks I've been to theDuomowhere supposedly they keep one of John the Baptist's armsThe Museum for the Duomowhere I saw Duccio's Maesta the most gorgeous painting I've ever seenThe BaptistryThe Crypta secret room be http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Siena/blog-251637.html Friday my class took its first trip to Florence. We left at 9 a.m and didn't return till after 8. This trip was an introduction and we mostly spent our time looking at some of the very first renaissance pieces and buildings. It'd be hard for me to describe everything here so I'm just going to do more detailed descriptions with the pictures and put them in the best order that I can. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Florence/blog-249520.html This past Saturday I traveled with Kate and John to Bologna home to the oldest university in Italy. The city was very large compared to Siena. While in Bologna I attempted to see their Duomo but bags of any kind were not allowed inside and they did not provide a place to keep your bag while inside so I was unable to go in. I did however get to see the Basilica of Santo Stefano which is one http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/blog-248652.html This weekend 6 of us traveled to Lucca which is known for its food and its great wall I left early Saturday morning and rode the train northeast for about 2 hours. Lucca was absolutely beautiful very different from Siena the city is surrounded by a massive wall which was turned into a park in the 18th century by Napoleon's sister. Saturday we checked into our hostel then walked around the very http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Lucca/blog-245187.html Everything is pretty much the same as yesterday. The sun is still shining Here are some pictures from Carnivale on Tuesday and Siena in the sunlight http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/blog-244165.html Thank you all for your very supportive and encouraging messages Things in Siena seem to improve every day. The weather is also beginning to clear up and today the sun was out all day Our plans to go to Venice this weekend have been postponed because of the expense. However I bought my train ticket to Lucca for this weekend today. Lucca is suppose to be gorgeous and home to some of the best oli http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/blog-243861.html Yesterday and today have been much better. Yesterday we were suppose to have dinner at my professors house at 530 to discuss how our first week had gone but for some odd reason the bus that we are suppose to take into the city did not stop for us. So we took a different bus assuming that it to would go to the station at some point but we were wrong. Instead it took us 20 min. outside the city http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Siena/blog-242758.html As many of you know this past week has been overwhelming difficult for me. I've found myself well in lamest terms depressed. The past couple of days I've been feeling like this isn't where I'm suppose to be and going home has been on my mind almost 247. Part of my emotional doubt is coming from a lack of well God in the people and places around me. Naturally the rest is fear of the unknown fr http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/Siena/blog-242174.html Well so far this week has been a very trying one. Adjusting to life in a new country is much more difficult that I anticipated. Very few people here speak English so it can be very lonely at times. Hopefully things will get better since school starts next week. Today my housemate Ada and I went to San Gimignano in the hill country. The views were breathtaking. We were told by many people and my http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Tuscany/blog-242125.html