Italy Day 7 - Roma (day 3)

Last day in Rome! :/ We were excited because today we got to see our dear friend Dima Scotchi and his family. The best part is: they invited us over for lunch!! : D

Before going we decided to stop by the Vatican. It seemed like a shame not to considering it was right across the street. 

Italy is great. There are kinds of little things to hold. 

Hangin out in the shade. 

On the train to Roma - Trastevere (where Dima lives). It was a 6 minute train ride. 

There she is!! Over 5'

Dima!!!! E' un grande!! I was stoked to see this guy. 

We were grateful that he came to pick us up, but we're also always a little on edge when we get in his car. My dad calls him Dima Adretti because he always drives like he's in a race car. 

Lunch was AMAZING. Dima was the best cook out of all the companions I had on the mission. He says that his sister is even better than he is, and his mom is even better than her!! 

His mom prepared lunch. It was really delicious. What a wonderful woman. We had a fun time chatting with them and enjoying the food. 

The annoying thing. 

Mom's first English student. (Dima's cousin is visiting them for the summer). 

Ciao ciao! We'll see you next year Dima. 

I guaranteed it. By throwing a coin in the Fontana di Trevi you ensure your return to Rome. 

We saw a lot of Mr. Bean look-a-likes on our trip. This isn't one of the best examples, but he was the easiest to get a photo of. 

Pantheon.

Piazza Navona. It was nice...but I'm not sure what all the hype is about. I lived in Rome and have been back to visit three times since. This is the first time that I have ever even gone to Piazza Navona. Although it definitely won't be the last time, because it is on the way to this pizzeria:

Da Francesco

Apparently all the best pizzerias are "Da" (translation: From) someone because the best pizzeria in Napoli is "Da Michele" and the best I've found in Rome is "Da Francesco"

I really loved the pizza that we had here. The combination of a wood burning oven and fresh ingredients make for an excellent pizza. I really enjoyed it. 

To finish things off we got some great gelato. They offered free chocolate on top which made for a big mess, but we couldn't resist. 

Today was the perfect way to end our trip. We went to the vatican, we saw Dima and his family (and ate AMAZING pasta), and then we ended with fantastic pizza and great gelato. 

Arrivederci!

Italy Day 6 - Rome (day 2)

Sunday!! Today was exciting because I was able to go back to Roma 2, the ward I served in for about 7 months. Unfortunately the ward split, but I was surprised with how many people I still knew there and how fun it was to see them all. 

Outside our convent

Every last Sunday of the month the Vatican Museums (which are right outside our apartment) are free. Needless to say, the line was cRaZy. 

To get to church we took the 90. I love this bus. It was hard to not start talking to random people on the bus about the church because that's what I'm so used to doing on the 90! I love it. Of course, without Anziano Garvin with me it wouldn't be the same. 

Anziano Visintin is serving in Roma 2!! I was super stoked to see him. He was serving in Terni while I was in Roma 2 towards the end of my mission. He is a stud and I'm glad that he's serving in that ward. Next time I see him I hope to go visit him in Trieste (northerneastern Italy). 

Fratello Canzachi took us to go see the temple site!!! I can't believe how HUGE it is now! I'm super super excited about the progress that's been made. I remember when I was on my mission and we would go look at the big hole where they were laying the foundation! It's really a miracle that we're getting a temple in Italy. : )

I love it!

This picture is actually from Pisa. Someone launched a latern as we walked by. It seemed insignificant at the time....until we found it in Rome!!!!

Woohoo! : D

A delicious Kebab. : ) Italy is great because it has two of my four favorite foods in the world: Pizza and Kebabs. America is also great because it has the other two: IN-N-OUT hamburgers, and Clam chowder in a Boudin bread bowl. I know America has pizza too, but it's just not the same. My favorite Kebabs are actually from Sydney, but my second favorite definitely comes from Italy. 

We tried to visit Sorella Misseri but she wasn't home!

We also went by my old apartment!

And we made it to the Iaconiannis!!! I love that family. They offered us refreshing granitas, and we had a really nice visit with them. It was funny because they totally want to get out of Italy, and I'm dying to get in! Of course, I think it's different having a family here. 

They are awesome!

We had another fun and successful day in Rome. : ) It's a pretty cool city. 

Italy Day 5 - Roma (day 1)

Today we leisurely traveled from Pisa down to Rome. We took the slower train that runs along the coastline and saw a lot of beautiful scenery. It also happens to be about half the price of the fast train, so that worked out really well. haha. 

In the morning before we left Pisa we ran into the Anziani!! We were excited to finally run into some this trip, so we called out to them. They weren't in a rush to be everywhere so we treated them to ice cream and learned a little about the Milan mission. 

Mom washing grapes in the water fountain.

Dad likes to play with his food..

In Rome we booked a room in an old convent. They call it the "Casa di accoglienza delle piccole suore" roughly translated that's the "Shelter of the little nuns"

All the nuns there really were little!! The one that showed us our room is in the picture with me. She's super old, she's from Venezia, he name is Suora Miglia, and she took her time explaining everything to me in great detail. 

Street market!

Although it looks like this column is leaning, it's actually just the angle of the photograph and my pose that are reminding you of the leaning tower of Pisa. 

I think this may be the best little mermaid pose I've done yet. It helps that Triton is in the background. 

Some weird statue that I guess is famous. 

End of the night! We had a good, chill day. Those are the Spanish Steps behind us, a popular hang out point for just about everyone who comes to Rome. 

Italy Day 4 - Cinque Terre

Today we went to Cinque Terre!! We knew it would be like the Amalfi coast, so we were very excited and had our swimsuits ready.  

Street performers. ...well, more like people sitting on the street. We thought that this was an original idea until we started seeing the same thing in other cities.  

Going to the Pisa train station to catch the train to Monterosso

We made it! : D

Monterosso is like the resort city of the five towns. 

There were tons of umbrellas and a long, sandy beach. 

We really love gelato.  

We loved the leaning tower of Pisa so much that we started holding out our hands for everything we could find. Unfortunately it's not always easy to line up with the background.  

Vernazza. This was my second favorite of the five towns.  

Turns out Lia made it on the trip with us!!

Intense shower photo. 

Vernazza from above. 

Town #2, Corniglia. 

Corniglia is on top of a hill. We stopped for a rest on the hike down. There are 365 steps - one for each day of the year. 

Manarola!!! I love this town. It was the most beautiful (if you ask me), and it also had the best swimming!! There were rocks to jump off and it was tons of fun. 

(seriously we love Pisa, and we love posing with stuff now)

I love Manarola!!

Great photo except I don't know what that big white thing is on my arm..

There was a jellyfish in the water so some guy asked me to help catch it with a piece of litter. It made me pretty nervous, but I got it. haha. 

Focaccia was invented between Cinque Terre and Genova. Pesto also originates from this region. We hit two birds with one stone and got Focaccia with pesto on it. Delizioso!

Trail to the top of Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore, the last town of the five. 

Then it was time to head home. 

These girls we met on the train from Milano to Padova. They had a place to stay in Venice, and we talked to them for awhile about there plans and where they're from and everything. They are from Taiwan, and we figured out that they planned there vacation almost exactly how we did! When we said goodbye we said we'll see you around, and then we actually ran into them in Cinque Terre!! Pretty awesome.

We also ran into my friend from BYUH, Clarissa Blanco, except I didn't see her and I guess she saw me and wasn't sure if it was me so she didn't say anything!! So that's why there's no photo with her, but I guess she saw us on the train at Cinque Terre.

I think we still like the Amalfi coast more, but Cinque Terre is another beautiful coastline in Italy.