Home Sweet Home

Well after a 9 1/2 hour and uneventful flight (sitting next to one of the girls on my trip, Jenny :) I made it back to the States via Charlotte. While I thought my parents were going to pick me up, I was totally shocked to see my boyfriend Chris there with roses for me. I had just talked to him on Skype and thought he was in New York where he lived.  Needless to say, he got down on one knee and proposed in the airport with my parents, sister and grandparents looking on. A great ode to our long distance relationship of almost two years. It really was the perfect ending to a wonderful trip. 

Farewell Dinner

Before our group makes it way back to the states or to other countries, we had one last dinner all together. I loved the bruschetta, caprese, gnocchi and tiramisu. It was fun to get to see everyone one last time.

Jen and I 

Bruschetta 

French fries and chicken nuggets. 

Caprese with buffalo mozzarella cheese. 

Foccacia bread with rosemary and olive oil

Varieties of meat

Pasta

Gnocchi

Yummy tiramisu

Meylin and I

Tivoli

On Wednesday, for our last 'field trip', our group made our way to Tivoli, a small town on the outskirts of Rome. Getting there was quite a tour of Rome's transportation systems. Of course there was lots of walking, the subway and (my least favorite) a bus. Thankfully, I got a seat both times on the bus, but it was very hot and let's just say some people obviously didn't find the need to shower or wear deodorant. (gross!)Anyways, we walked about some beautiful gardens in Tivoli. I loved listening to the waterfalls and just seeing all of the sculptures.

Of course, no blog post of mine would be complete without mentioning food. This is what I had for dinner.

Yummy bruschetta. 

Yummy gnocchi with 4 cheeses.

Sadly not very good tiramisu :( We went around 4:30pm for dinner. We were starving. I don't think it had time to set up, so it was very runny. 

Pantheon

The Pantheon is one of the oldest standing structures in Rome.

The center of the Pantheon. One of my friends was inside when it was raining and said it was beautiful. So jealous. 

Raphael's tomb. He is one of the most important artists next to Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo.

Altar

Graffiti Tour & Borghese Gardens

Tuesday morning we walked around seeing some graffiti (more like street art) around Rome. One of the artists painted famous people from all over the world starting with A to Z. Some of my favorites/ones I recognized included Frida Kahlo, Spike Lee (b/c of the Brooklyn hat ;) and President Obama*.

Our fun tour guide

Of course we had to stop and get lunch. Caprese salad with balsamic vinaigrette. 

Later that afternoon, I went with some friends to the Borghese Gardens. I had been to the gardens before, but this time we walked around a lot and I got to see much more of it. 

Row boats

Beautiful views

Gorgeous lake!

*this is not an endorsement, I only mean I like the picture. haha.

Vatican Museum

On Monday, we ventured out into the rain once again to see the Vatican museum. This was one of the things I was most excited to see! Unfortunately, I had a run-in with my roommate's bed the night before and smashed/sprained/maybe broke my pinkie toe :( I do have pictures, but I'll spare you. Long story short, I'm thankful my parents gave me a first aid with some medical tape and gauze and I just taped my last two toes together and off my group went.

The museum was fairly crowded, especially in the Sistine Chapel. However, no one was in the Raphael room. Craziness. My favorite sculpture involved miracles that Jesus performed including feeding the 5000, bringing back Lazarus from the dead, and one of my favorite stories from Matthew 9:21-22. (She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said,“your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.)

I didn't take many pictures at the museum itself. I just walked around and took everything in. Some of my highlights included of course the Sistine chapel, the Raphael room, the mummies, and some neat pieces in the Contemporary Art museum. 

Waiting in line... 

One of the only pictures I took. 

 Of course eating out all the time gets old so one of my roommates Jen made some pasta for us one night for dinner. It was yummy!

So yummy :)

 Yummy alfredo sauce:
1-8 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese
4 tablespoons of butter
1-cup of milk
1-cup of Parmesan cheese

Melt cream cheese and butter together.  Add milk and Parmesan cheese, keep stirring.

Missy Goes To Venice

I've been wanting to go to Venice for a while. There's something so tranquil about a city that doesn't allow cars or scooters. Where the only way to get around is by walking or by boat. When my wonderful boyfriend, Chris, came back from his two month European backpacking adventure, he brought me back a beautiful etching of a Gondola that he had gotten in Venice. So for the past (almost) two years, that picture has been hanging on my wall. Let me just say that Venice is exactly how I imagined it, only more beautiful!

We left on the 8am train for a four hour trip. After being on a plane for close to 9 hours, this trip was a piece of cake. I got to finish 'The Lucky One', which I throughly enjoyed and highly recommend.

Meylin and I waiting to leave on the train! 

The view from the bridge right outside our hotel

Tiramisu gelato

Our first night for dinner, my friends Meylin, Jen and I enjoyed a four course dinner for only 15 euro. A great bargain! And considering their lasagna was the best I've had on the trip so far, I would have paid 15 euro for the lasagna alone!

Course #1- Lasagna

Course #2

Course #3Baked chicken (didn't eat much...full from all that lasagna ;)

Course #4- Coffee

The second day we walked around San Marco's square. It was very crowded and we quickly walked through the piazzo so we could avoid it as much as possible.

Marinara pizza for lunch the next day (yep, no cheese just sauce,  oregano and fresh garlic! So good. )

Dinner-My new favorite pasta gnocchi! So cheesy and good. I've got to try and make this at home when I get back 

Drum roll please....tiramisu for dessert. 

Clearly it wasn't very good at all ;) 

The view over looking the bridge at dusk. Right after I snapped this picture, I leaned over to my friend Jen and said the only thing that could make this trip better was if my boyfriend was with me. Venice is so romantic. Right as I finished, a group of semi-drunk students from South Georgia busted out singing 'Wagon Wheel' complete with several tambourines and some semi on-key harmonies, to which my friend replied to me, "Still feeling all that romance stuff, now?" haha. 

The shopping in Venice was to die for. So much jewelry from Murano, an island off of Venice that specializes in glass. I literally could have bought the whole store. Everything in there was beautiful!


The one thing we wanted to do was ride a Gondola, but by the time we decided to find one, we couldn't. Terrible luck, considering the two previous days we had turned down a bunch for rides. Oh well, just another excuse to come back to Venice :)