Indulging in Italia

Indulgence is an understatement. The last month is Italy has been downright gluttoness. And although my pants feel a little bit tighter, I can't say that I didn't enjoy myself. After all you're supposed to gain weight in Italy right? While I don't plan on giving up wine any time soon (or ever) I can say with some certainty that I won't be eating pizza, pasta, or gelato for awhile. 

[arancini in Palermo, Sicily]

[Gelato topped with a cannolo shell and dipped in dark chocolate]

After bumming around Sicily for almost two weeks, we headed back to the mainland and stopped for a few nights in Naples before returning to Rome. Thanksgiving was spent in Catania (Sicily) arguing in Italian with the receptionist of our hostel over a minor discrepency and then erasing it from our minds with two liters of wine and a whole lot of food.

[Somehow Meg always ended up with a smaller glass than me]

In Naples we focused once again on eating. Being the birthplace of pizza and sfogliatella it would be a shame not to taste test. 

[Doppia mozzarella aka double mozz, cheese please!]

Once back in Rome we cooked our own healthy meals and went to yoga and tried to good in anticipation of the following two weeks with my family.

[Borghese gardens overlooking Rome]

[Seeing the colosseum at night from the back of a motorbike has always been on my bucket list]

My aunt, uncle, and uncle's daughter came to visit us for two weeks which we divided between Florence, Venice, and Rome. It was strange how normal it felt for them to be there and how accustomed I became to traveling in a pack of five. To sum up our two weeks together I'd say we spent them eating, walking, drinking wine, and eating some more. And we had a hell of a time doing it. Wine tasting in Tuscany, playing tour guide in Rome, and cruising along canals in Venice, my life really is like a dream sometimes. And sometimes that dream is hard to put into words, so I think pictures are the best way to capture it:

[Fam on the Ponte Vecchio]

[View of the duomo from Piazzale Michaelangelo. Playing around with the filters on my camera]

[Wine tasting in Montelcino, Tuscany. Looking forward to a bottle of Brunello when I get home!]

[David at the Galeria dell'accademia in Florence]

[Why not drink beer at an Irish pub in Italy?]

[My favorite of Rome's sights]

[Found some more relatives in the eternal city!]

[Couldn't be in Rome and not visit my old residence!]

[Colosseum]

[Gondolas in Venice]

[Gondolas docked at St. Mark's square, Venice]

[Taking a break]

[Venice]

[Grand Canal, Venice]

[Evening gondola ride]

[Our favorite, and the absolute cutest street musician in Florence. He's here from sun up to sun down 7 days a week!]

[The last supper! Per usual, we were the first ones in and the last ones out]

The past month in Italy was the best so far and I have a feeling it is only getting better. Meghan and I are currently in Barcelona and spending the next month in Spain. Leaving Italy was bittersweet. I am so in love with the country- the people, the language, the culture. And I was so close to becoming fluent in the language, one more month and I think I'd have it. We were both really sad to leave. But also so excited for a month in Spain. Barcelona was my favorite of all the cities I visited the last time I was in Europe and I've been dying to get back for 5 years. Now I've just got to forget all of that Italian and start thinking in Spanish! So many exciting plans on the horizon for me, I'm trying hard not to let the excitement of the future overshadow the present moment. After all, how lucky am I that I get to celebrate the holidays in España?! Looking forward to the Christmas feast that Meg is preparing and ringing in the New Year in Barca!