Lisbon, Portugal

Don't miss Lisbon when in Europe 

Lisbon was honestly the best city I've been to thus far in Europe, although I would consider Morocco my favorite experience abroad, Lisbon still holds the title as the best city in Europe (I'll discuss Morocco in my next post since I've been busy lately therefore I'm a little behind on my blogging). I enjoyed just about everything Lisbon had to offer, such as, the food, the culture, the people, the replica of the golden gate bridge (Lisbon is the sister city of San Francisco).  I never thought it was possible to visit a city and instantly feel connected to everything but that's how I felt in Lisbon.  Also, Lisbon is a completely underrated city in Europe and at the same time is considered the culture capital of Europe.  I went with a great group of girls, stayed in the very best hostal, ate the best sea bass i think I'll ever have all while spending under 60 euro the entire weekend!  I feel  the most efficient way to explain my trip in Lisbon is through photos so here we go!

Granada, The Alhambra and Arabic shops

The Alhambra in Granada, Spain 

The Alhambra in Granada is a palace that used to be a Muslim fortress during the Muslim rule in Spain from 711-1492.  This former fortress symbolizes the major influence of Arabic-Muslim architecture in Spain.  Granada was the last stronghold of Muslim rule during the christian reconquista.  The Christians believed that the Alhambra was to beautiful to destroy when they conquered the city, therefore it still stands today.  I have never seen anything like the Alhambra before and was memorized by the magnitude of it.  The Sierra Nevada mountains set off in the background were breathtaking.  In order to have the perfect view of the Alhambra you have to visit the look out point "St.Nicholas" about 10 minutes outside of the city center.  We visited the look out point on the first day in Granada then went inside the palace the next day.  Everything about the Alhambra was perfect, except for the horrible weather....freezing rain and ice cold temperatures was definitely something I could have done without during this trip but I still had an amazing time at the Alhambra and Granada.  

View from the top of the Alhambra

Inside the Palace 

 The Arabic Shops

The Muslim influence in Andalusia, especially Granada is extremely predominant in shops, restaurants, and boutiques.  The shops were really beautiful, and one of the restaurants we visited had Arabic tea and pastries where you can smoke shisha out of a hookah while enjoying some tea and a pastry.      

   

Roman Holiday

Italy

I cant even begin to explain my trip to Rome because so much  happened. Hmmmm...where to start?  Well we arrived in Rome on a Thursday night, looking forward to three full days in the city.  After arriving in Italy we had to have Italian pasta and pizza, so we headed to the first restaurant that happened to be open.  I had a plate of Gnocchi and my friends ordered pizza with pumpkin sauce, which was actually amazing.  Dinner the first night was a success.  The hostel we stayed in was much much nicer than Madrid, it actually had hot showers, making this hostel a luxury hostel!  Early start the next day to visit the Colosseum, Roman forum, Trevi fountain, and the Spanish steps. Ate more pasta and pizza then on saturday we went to Vatican City to see the Sistine Chapel, St. Peters Basilica, and the Vatican Museum.  After a busy day of sight-seeing we had an amazing dinner experience at a 5-star restaurant in downtown Rome.  Last day, shopping at the market and tasting the best cannoli's I've ever had.  I know it's so cliche to eat cannoli's in Italy but, "When in Rome"

The Colosseum

The arch of Titus 

 The Roman Forum

breathtaking view of the Roman Forum

Visiting Rome only made me want to travel through all of Italy.  It is so beautiful here!!

The Trevi fountain 

Legend has it that if you toss a coin into the fountain it means a return to Rome, a second coin leads to a new romance, and a third coin leads to marriage! 

Vatican City

While in Italy we actually visited another country, The Vatican City, gotta love the catholic church!

The Vatican City Museum.  This was one of the many sculptures in the museum of Roman gods.

The Sistine Chapel

At the Sistine Chapel there were no cameras or talking allowed, but how can you travel all the way to the Vatican and not take pictures of the Sistine Chapel? It was too much of an amazing sight not too! 

St. Peter's Basilica, one of the largest catholic churches in the world and considered the Pope's principal church.  Two days after visiting St. Peter's Basilica the pope announced his resignation...crazy right?

Bottega Restaurant

Stumbling upon this little restaurant was probably the best decision we made in Rome.  The food was absolutely amazing, our chef was the nicest Italian I've ever met.  Andres, the chef originally from Columbia who moved to Rome to pursue a career in culinary, opened his restaurant to us and served us the best authentic Italian dishes; including prosciutto with fresh mozzarella, eggplant parmesan, tortellini, and this picture of homemade chips with ketchup, which wasn't real ketchup but a delicious, sweet dipping sauce which I loved, not to mention the (free) champagne, and wine.  

Tortellini with a cream sauce and red wine reduction....so good!

Latte with a prosciutto sandwich, did i mention how amazing the prosciutto was in Rome? They eat it with everything!

Ahhhh the cannoli's were to die for.  So fresh and delicious, I can honestly say those were the best cannoli's I've had in my entire life

Oh-Uh, shit happens and I missed my flight back to Sevilla, Spain and ended up stuck at the Rome airport.  But luckily I met people who were in the same boat as me and made some new friends at the airport.  So happy I had people to spend the night there with.   Might want to think twice before you plan a trip with Ryanair, it's not exactly the best airline service in Europe.   

What a way to end a perfect trip: sleeping on the floor at the airport. Anyways.....

You live and you learn!