Categories
Travel

Italy Part Two

Welcome back and Happy Wednesday!

I can’t believe August has come to an end. School is back in session and fall will be here before we know it. I typically save the last Wednesday of the month for my Currently post, but that will be pushed back a week, so I can shared part two of my trip to Italy.

At the beginning of the month, my family and I embarked on our first big international trip and went to Italy. I shared part one last week and you can read about it here.

Today is all about part two. We left off with our day trip to Venice.

Day Six was a calmer day after a day of travel. My brother and I started the day with a run which was such a good way to start the day.

We then got breakfast at the hotel and packed up our things for the next hotel. After breakfast we did some more sightseeing.

I’ll be missing these Italian breakfasts

We started the day at St. Mary Major, one of my favorite churches from the last time I visited.

I loved the architecture and the fact we could walk there.

The gorgeous church

After look at the church, we took an Uber to the Keyhole where you can get a unique perspective of the city.

A unique view of Rome

It was also near where I stayed when I came in college. We got to see some of the churches near Saint Anselmo and saw some incredible views of the city too.

After spending some time in a quieter part of Rome, we made our way back to the city to see the Tomb of the Unknown Solider.

We then walked flights of stairs and took an elevator to see some incredible views of the city. 

An overview of the city
More views
And even more views

After, snapping some photos, we made our way to the Pantheon.

Then made our way to the Piazza Novena for lunch at a Mediterranean restaurant where I got a delicious chicken and hummus wrap.

At this point, we switched hotels for our trip, we stayed in Rome but moved to a quieter part of town.

Our new neighborhood

The hotel was gorgeous and the best part was the pool which was much needed after several days in scorching temperatures!

We relaxed and cooled off by the pool and then got cleaned up for dinner.

We walked to a steakhouse nearby. We split some appetizers and I enjoyed their fresh salad and meatballs and tiramisu for dessert. It was so nice to walk back after dinner.

We then called it a night since we had a big day planned. 
Day Seven started early as we had to catch a 6:00 train to Naples.

Early morning views
With breakfast
Arriving in Naples

Once we arrived, we took a 7:30 ferry to Capri for the day!

Our ferry

We arrived at 9:30 just in time for our 10:00 boat tour of the island.

First sights of Capri.

A lot of early morning travel but it was so worth it.

This was one of my favorite days of the trip! Capri was packed with lots of tourists.

Our boat driver told us over 20,000 people visit every day! The island is very small but there’s so much to see. We spent four hours on the boat and got to see the whole island. We got to go swimming twice, once near some cliffs and then in some caverns. It was such a cool experience. It was so hot out that the water felt so refreshing and it was so clear too. This was an experience I’ll never forget.

After our boat ride, we did some shopping and eating.

We got their traditional lemon sorbet, which was lemon sorbet in a lemon, it was so refreshing in the heat.

After some more window shopping, we made our way back for a 4:30 ferry back to Naples.

Gorgeous views

We had to catch a 6:30 train to Rome. We enjoyed some snacks on the train and before we knew it, we were back in Rome.

It was a long day full of travel, but so worth it! It was one of my favorite days of the trip.

Pictures don’t do it justice
Simply stunning

Day Eight had a slower start due to how busy the previous day was. I started the day with a walk and then we went to church at an American church near the Vatican.

After mass, we went to to do some shopping and went to get our items blessed and listen to the Pope give his weekly address.

Seeing the Pope again

It was so cool to see Pope Francis twice in one week alongside thousands of other people.

After spending time at the Vatican, we went to the Jewish Ghetto for lunch and to see the spot was Julius Cesar was killed.

We split lots of snacks for lunch and I got a Chicken Caesar salad too.

Lunch
And lots of snacks!

I also indulged in a pistachio cannoli for a treat! It hit the spot.


After looking at some of the ruins, we made our way to the Olympic stadium which was so cool to see in person even if it had been decades since they were last played there.

My mom and I did some window shopping at a few high end stores and got one last gelato to cool off.

I went for snickers in a cone, the perfect afternoon treat.

We went back to the hotel and cooled off in the pool and then got ready for one last Italian dinner.

We walked to a spot nearby where I order bucatini and tiramisu for dessert, they did not disappoint! We walked back to our hotel and enjoyed the beauty that Rome had to offer at night.


Our final day started with a a walk in a nearby park followed by breakfast and getting to the airport to head back home.

One last walk in Rome
One last breakfast

The ride home was long but books and movies kept me entertained and then we were back home and back to reality. 

Back to the states

I had such an incredible trip to Italy with my family. As we endured 100 degree days and consumed lots of water, and walked dozens of miles, we enjoyed delicious food, rich history and made an abundance of memories.

It’s truly time I would not trade for anything. We are all getting older and continue to go in different directions, which made this trip extra special. 

Ciao Roma, I’ll be back. 

Categories
Travel

Montreal in a Day

Hello everyone!

Happy Wednesday! We are in the middle of the first full week of August. At the moment, I’m on vacation with my family, it’s a well-deserved break for all of us and we are making some quality memories together. I’ll be sharing more of my trip in the coming weeks, but until then, I have another travel post to tide you over. One that I couldn’t wait to share with you all! 

Several weeks ago, my boyfriend and I took another one of our crazy day trips. My boyfriend is a great trip planner, especially ones that are affordable and unique too. We also like to do our trips in a day, even if it means being up for more than 24 hours. 

Last summer, we did NYC in 13 hours, you can read about it here. We also did Toronto in a day, which you can read about here. 

This summer, we did Montreal in a day! It was one of our furthest destinations, but we packed a lot in, and I fell in love with the city and the culture. 

Here’s a recap of our trip.

We left in the evening and drove to Burlington, Canada where we caught a train into Toronto. The car ride was about 2.5 hours and then the train was about an hour. After making our way to Toronto, we hopped on an overnight bus into Montreal.

Arriving at the border
Arriving in the bus station the next day

We arrived bright and early before 6:00 in the downtown area, since most of the city was still asleep, we freshened up and dropped off our bags. My boyfriend discovered a gym that you can store your bags for the day, this was a huge help to us. We could still pack what we needed for our travels without having to worry about carrying them during the day.

After getting ready, we started exploring the downtown, metropolitan area and then ventured into the Old Port and historic Montreal.

This was one of my favorite parts of the day. The sun was rising, the city was quiet, and we could just take in the city.

We got breakfast at a little bakery and ate in the town square.

Between the French signs, old architecture and French being the most common language spoken there, I truly felt like I was in a different world, and I loved it.

We walked down by the pier and then made our way back to the old part of the town to tour the Notre Dame Basilica.

More views from our walk

It was a gorgeous church filled with vibrant colors and details. We went when they first opened so there were no lines. 

After our tour, we made our way towards the downtown area where we climbed up Mount Royal.

A look at what we had to climb

We walked everywhere through the day, so we definitely got our steps in. The hill was daunting and climbing up flights of steps was challenging at points, but the view was worth it.

The view from the top

We could see the entire city from the top. It was breathtaking, especially in the sunshine. 

After enjoying the view, we made our way to a park in Mount Royal where we rented a rowboat and enjoyed some time on the water. It was picturesque and VERY dreamy. I felt like I had my own “Notebook” worthy moment.

Such a beautiful park!

We spent some more time in the park and then made our way down the steps and hill, the walk down was much easier.

The homes were gorgeous!

We stopped for lunch at a little shop and enjoyed our food in a nearby park.

Lunch in a park

 We walked back down to the water and enjoyed some more time in the city.

A look at the city from the water.

We also popped into a few shops, bought some souvenirs, and enjoyed some music in a town square too.

All the shops were so cute and quaint!

 We grabbed our bags and then made our way back to the bus station where we began our journey home.

Back at the station

Here’s a look at our final stats of the day when it comes to the mileage. 

There were some delays for the return trip, but that was all a part of the adventure. We got back very early in the morning and took the day to catch up on sleep and get our lives back in order. 

Although there was a lot of travel involved and many different modes of transportation, it was so worth it. My boyfriend and I love exploring new places and traveling, especially on a budget. He does an incredible job at planning and truly thinks of everything. I’m not sure where our next adventure will be, but I’m sure it will be a whirlwind. 

Until next time, Montreal!

Tell me: where are some of your favorite places to travel to? Bonus points if they can be done in a day! Although, I will be still away, I will have  a Friday Favorites post for you! I hope you are having a great week! See you back here on Friday! Happy August!