My Dream Vacation in Italy

We all have that dream trip, the one at the top of our list, and for me that was Italy. Something about the rolling hills, vineyards, canals, artwork and history drew me in and made me want to visit this beautiful country. It wasn't going to be cheap, so I wanted to make it count.

I was about to turn 30 and knew that now was the time. I started researching and talking to friends and by the time my birthday rolled around, the trip was booked. The next summer, we set off on a 10 hour flight to Venice. 

This trip actually marked four items off of the list, the first being, of course, visit Italy. We decided to go with a tour group, Perillo Tours, to make it easier on ourselves. Our group started in Venice, then headed to Florence, Pisa, Sorrento, Pompeii and ended in Rome. 

So what else did I check off the list?

I got the chance to see my first wonder of the world: the Colosseum. Even though it was super hot the day we visited, this was still one of my favorite things we got to see. Standing where all of the ancient Romans once stood was a surreal experience. One wonder down, seven to go.



We also had the opportunity to visit the Sistine Chapel and see Michelangelo's famous work of art. To be perfectly honest, the Sistine Chapel wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped. Don't get me wrong, it was neat to see such a famous painting, but the room was packed full of people who wouldn't stop talking (even though no talking was rule number one) and it all just felt a bit underwhelming. Maybe it was because we had been so impressed by the statue of David, maybe I just don't have a great appreciation for art.

Lastly, although it was one of the first things we did on the trip, I got to ride in a Gondola in Venice. This also wasn't quite the experience I imagined. There were so many gondolas in the river we spent most of the ride in a traffic jam. Our gondolier was also on his phone the whole time and kept running us into the wall. Overall, it was still a really cool experience (there was a band singing in front of us so we got to sort of be serenaded). Definitely not what you see in the movies, but I'm glad I got to do it at least once.

Overall, the trip was amazing and I'm so glad I got the chance to go.

For more on our Italian vacation, check out mine and Courtney's travel blog Our McTravels.

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