italy – Megan Gilman

Welcome back! It’s definitely been a while, but I’ve been spending lots of time in Madrid recently and taking some time off from traveling every weekend. I spent Thanksgiving here last Thursday with my entire program, who put on an amazing dinner for us all. Even though I couldn’t be at home for the holiday, it was nice to spend it with so many special people in Spain.

The following day we had a very quick turnaround – early Friday morning we flew out to Rome! I’d only been to Italy for one dinner before back in September, so this was really exciting. We spent lots of time deciding which city we should visit, since there’s really so much to do in Italy, but Rome seemed like the best weekend option.

When we landed Friday morning, we first made our way to breakfast. We walked up the Spanish steps, and then found our way to a small cafe where we had spinach and mozzarella sandwiches. We had some time before checking into our apartment, so we walked around the area we were staying in, visiting the Pantheon as well. I studied Latin all four years of high school, so I spend LOTS of time studying Ancient Rome. Therefore, seeing all of these sites and monuments in real life was so interesting for me.

After checking in that afternoon, we decided to spend the rest of the day in the Vatican City. Even just walking around outside in the city was so beautiful, and they were setting up Christmas decorations which made it even more special. Walking through the Sistine Chapel as well was amazing. This is definitely one of the most intricate and beautiful things I’ve seen so far, for every wall is lined with famous artwork and designing, and it all tells a story. I am so glad I was able to experience this place, and I would highly suggest a visit here at some point.

For dinner that night, we went to a very small, intimate restaurant which our renter recommended to us. I had spaghetti with a pepper and cheese sauce, and it was by far one of the best meals I’ve ever had. Italy definitely knows how to make pasta! We spent the rest of the night trying a couple different bars in the area as well, as Rome has a much more relaxed nightlife scene.

Saturday was our second and final full day in Rome, so we made sure to hit all of the rest of the city’s sites. We started at the Colosseum, which was probably my favorite part of the weekend. Not only had I studied this in SO much depth in high school, but the structure itself is so immense and breathtaking (it’s one of the seven wonders of the world!). By now we were all starving, so we found a local pizza shop and had a little picnic outside. I don’t know if it was the fact that we were in Italy, or just that I was so hungry, but this pizza was amazing!

After lunch we headed back toward the Colosseum to explore the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill. Everything we saw here was straight out of my high school Latin textbook, so I had another wave of excitement. There was so much history to see in the Forum, and all of it was preserved so incredibly.

Once the sun began to set, we made our way to the Trevi Fountain to toss in some coins and make a wish. We shopped around this area for a bit, and then got ready for another pasta dinner. This time I got fettuccine with pesto, and this was definitely my favorite meal of the weekend! We explored another bar that night (Scholars’ Irish Pub), which was so much fun, and then went home before we had to catch our Sunday morning flight home.

This weekend was for sure a quick one, but I’m so glad we were able to see such a beautiful city. The weather was great, and I was with so many close friends, so it turned out to be one of my favorite trips of abroad. Now that I only have a few weeks left, the traveling is starting to slow down while the school work is picking up (today is my last day of school before finals!). I have one more trip planned this upcoming weekend, and then after that my next flight will be back to Boston!

I hope you’ve all been enjoying my weekly updates, and I hope to keep this going in some form or another once I’m back in the States! Please subscribe below to be notified of new content, and I’ll see you all next week 🙂

xx,

Megan

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I just returned early Monday morning from the South of France, and quickly unpacked and packed again to head to school. This weekend I spent most of my time in Nice, France, with a couple of day trips to other nearby cities.

My friends and I left Thursday morning for Nice, and we spend the day walking around and exploring the city. We got crepes and waffles at an outdoor cafe and they were SO delicious. We checked into our AirBnb in the afternoon, rested up for a bit, then walked a couple blocks down to the beach. The beaches in Nice for the most part are all pebble beaches, but it really wasn’t that uncomfortable. We all took a nap on the shore and then hung out and watched the sunset. For dinner we walked about a mile into the center of town. We ate at Bazar Cafe – I got spaghetti a la carbonara and for once here I felt uncomfortably full after a meal.

More of our friends flew in Thursday night, so once they arrived we headed back past the city center to an American-style pub called Wayne’s Bar. As packed and hot as it was, the music was great and we all ended up having a really good time.

Friday had the best weather of the trip, so we made this our beach day. We found a pebble-less beach in Villefranche-sur-Mer, and the view here was BEAUTIFUL. The water was so clear and so warm, and all around us were mountains with colorful houses. We ate lunch at a beach club called Deli Bo right next to us, and I had the most refreshing quinoa-veggie bowl. We walked around a bit and explored the Hotel de Ville of this area. The old architecture and the views from the top were so amazing. Friday night we went to a nice pizza place back in the center of Nice, and then went back to Wayne’s Bar (it was so much fun the first night!).

Then came Saturday, which might have been the coolest day of my life so far. We started the morning with breakfast in Nice at another small cafe called Marinette, where I got potato pancakes with tzatziki sauce, smoked salmon, avocado, a poached egg, tomato, and greens on top. I never would have imagined this combination, but it was one of my favorite meals so far. We then hiked up Castle Hill to see a waterfall and a beautiful view of the mountains on one side, and the French Riviera coast on the other.

We headed back to our apartment to change, and quickly hopped on a train to Monte Carlo, Monaco. Never in my life would I have expected to visit Monte Carlo, but it’s only 20 minutes on the train from Nice, and it is SUCH a cool place. We walked around the city for a while, which is pretty small so this wasn’t hard to do (except it’s VERY hilly!). We climbed up to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco, which, like most sites we’ve seen so far, also gave us a beautiful view of the city and the coast (and all of the major yachts). We then went to the Casino de Monte Carlo, opened in 1863, and so of course we had to gamble. We only spent a little bit of time here, but the experience was so unbelievable.

The day has already been insane, and to top it off, we then got on another train…to another country. One of our friends got a few recommendations from a local on his train ride to Nice, which really came in handy. One of these was what he named the best pasta in Italy. So we went to Italy for dinner. We took the train from Monaco to Ventimiglia, Italy, and walked to a local restaurant on the water called Pasta & Basta. I had never been to Italy before, but so far this was the best pasta I’ve had in my life. Everyone warned us about the big portions, so we started off by splitting pasta dishes. I shared a pesto fettuccine with potatoes and green beans, and this was definitely my favorite. However, one we all finished, we still wanted more. So we got another round of pasta, and this time I shared a four-cheese fettuccine. Both dishes were so amazing, and so was the tiramisu for dessert. After spending the day across three countries, we finally headed back to France for the night.

Sunday was our last day in Nice, and it was rainy, so we spend the day walking around Old Town. We got crepes again for breakfast, then tried another recommended restaurant that has the most well known gelato in Nice – Fenoccio. The gelato was amazing! We tried macaroons as well, and then shopped for a bit before heading back to the apartment. Once it stopped raining, we ordered a few pizzas and some wine, and had a picnic on the beach. This was the best way to end our vacation – it was so relaxing to sit by the ocean, and it was nice to just spend time with each other before our early Monday morning flight back to Madrid.

This weekend’s trip was definitely on the longer side, so I’m excited to have some time back in Madrid this week to get organized again. On Friday I’ll be heading out of the country again, so I look forward to updating you all then!

xx,

Megan