London Calling!

This past weekend for my Thanksgiving break, I along with 8 other SMC girls, headed out to London, England. I have to say, although London is the most expensive city I have ever been to, it was also the coolest city I have ever been too. I got to see so many amazing things I have always dreamed of seeing and got to cross so much off of my bucket list! I really wish I could have shared this experience with my little sisters, Kayla and Kamryn. They are OBSESSED with London, and now I know why! I have also always taken great interest in the Royal family and hierarchy in the UK, so I particularly enjoyed this trip! Enjoy the pictures! It was a smashing time!

The Tube! Our primary source of transportation in London! This amazed me!

Me in front of Buckingham Palace!

Guard!

I have missed Chipotle so much since I have been gone! I had it twice in London!

 

Big Ben!

The London Eye!

View of Big Ben and Westminster Abby from the London Eye!

 

The Tower Bridge

 

The Tower of London

Got to see Billy Elliot on Broadway! It was amazing! So inspitational!

English Fascinatora!

I could have spent hours at Harrods Department Store in London!

Typical London! Big Ben, The London Eye, and a double-decker bus!

Westminster Abby!

Proud moment in my life right here! Standing in front of Westminster Abby with my Princess Kate Middleton Ring on! So obsessed! I felt like a princess!

Tower of London

The Crown Jewels of the the Royal Family! I couldn't take pictures inside, but this was by far one of the coolest things I have ever seen and one of my favorite parts of London!

Sword of King Henry V

Tower of London

Me in front of St. Paul's Cathedral where Prince Charles and Princess Diana were married! Also where the Queen's jubilee was held this past year!

Telephone Booths!

Fisn-N-Chips!

I can't wait to go back to London! Next week = Munich! Germany, here I come!!

The Bucci Babe's take Roma!

From Friday, November 16 to Wednesday, November 21, I was lucky enough to have my beautiful mother, Cindy, and little sister, Kamryn, come visit me in Roma. We had such an amazing time catching up and spending time together. I cherished every single second I got to spend with them. I am so unbelievably close with my family, so it has been hard at times for me to be away from them. Being able to show my mom and Kamryn my life here in Roma was definitely one of the highlights of my journey! I wish my other sister Kayla, my Aunt B, my boyfriend Ryan, and many other loved ones could have joined us!

We spent our jam-packed days touring the Eternal City, eating delicious food, drinking cafe lattes and vino rosso, having long conversations, and laughing.

Kamryn's first Cafe Latte in Italia!

 On Friday, our first day together, I took them to the Pantheon, the closest monument to the Hotel Tiziano where I live. We walked around and enjoyed the streets of Rome, which differ greatly from our home, Chicago. Mom and Kam also enjoyed getting used to the cobble stone streets...just kidding! They are a killer! Sorry guys!

 On day 2, I took them to see Campo de Fiori. We walked around the market looked around in the small Italian shops. There are NO Targets here in Roma, unlike the USA. I later took them to see the Tiber River and Trastevere (across the river).

Kamryn and I at the Tiber River

 On Sunday, I took the girls to Via Del Corso, or as I described it to them "The Michigan Ave. of Roma!" We walked around looking in stores and discovering Italian fashion. From there, I took them to see the Trevi Fountain and  the Spanish Steps, where we took many fabulous pictures.

On Monday, we took a tour of the Colosseum, or as Kamryn called it, "snooze ville!" Trust me Kam, you'll appreciate it when your older! We learned a lot, and I filled them in on all of the extras once the tour was over since it had been my 3'rd time there!

On our last full day together, we toured the Vatican Museum. We enjoyed the art, sculptures, history, the ceilings, and of course each others company. It was great to show them a place so relevant to our faith, our history, and our culture.

The Sistine Chapel

A constant on our trip was going out for delicious meals at authentic Italian restaurants. Kamryn was hoping there would bean Olive Garden, but I thought that I took them to much better places! We discovered a restaurant with delicious pizza, and eventually became regulars there!

 

A special shout out goes out to my mom and Kamryn for making this amazing week possible. It was so great to see you after 2 long months. I would never trade our time or experiences in Roma together for the world! Thank you so much for everything, you guys are the best! I love you so much and miss you everyday! <3

 

Oh! I almost forgot! Liam Payne from One Direction came on the trip as well!

Liam takes Roma!

Southern Italy

As part of my last lectures/tours trips with school, the smick's and I spent this past week in Southern Italy. We visites Pompeii, Napoli (where we stayed at the Hotel Prati), the Almafi Coast, Paestum (and Cuma!), and my favorite, Capri.

As many of you already know, Pompeii is the underground city the was covered by volcanic ash from the famous Mount Vesuvius. We spent the whole day walking around the the city of Pompeii, exploring what it was like back then. We saw many different houses, businesses, amphitheaters and the forum. It was very interesting to see all of this since I had learned so much about it growing up in school. We also got to see the Volcano, Mount Vesuvius! It didn't look like the Vesuvius in my room aka my exploding credenza! All in all, my friends and I had a great and exhausting day!

The next day, we took a 5 hour drive down the Almafi Coast. It was SO beautiful! Almafi is where limoncello is made and was originated. It was such a cute little town! we spent the second half of our day in Paestum, where we visited a mueseum and many ancient excavations and monuments.

Day 3 consisted of visiting the Mueseum of Agriculture. It was HUGE! Fun fact: there are over 1,000 people on the janitorial staff there. It's funny how after listening to lectures about art for 5 hours, that was the only fact I remembered. We later went to Cuma. Cuma is a cave that was once believed to be the enterence to the underworld. It was very cool to go inside of a cave. I had never been in one so I can cross that off my list.

On the 4th day, we had a free afternoon on the coast of Napoli. My friends and I had a nice relaxing lunch, had a photoshoot near the water, and shopped around. It was so nice to do things at our own pace! The last couple days had been super exhausting so we really enjoyed the free time.


Napoli, Italia

On our last day in Southern Italy, we visited one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to, Capri. The town was so quaint and the sights were just gorgeous! We started off our day in Capri is an optional boat ride around the island. We saw all of the gratto's, including the famous and beautiful Blue Gratto! We got into little sail boats right in the middle of the choppy Med Sea (talk about scary!) and sailed into the blue gratto! The water was so gorgeous! It truly was one of the coolest things I have ever done! We spent the rest of the day shopping around and having lunch! I ejoyed one of my favorites, spaghetti with clams! It was to die for!


Capri, Italia

The Blue Gratto in the Med Sea in Capri, Italia

All in all, our trip to Southern Italy was a success! We had a great time, learned a lot, and made many long lasting memories! Stay tuned for my post next week! The Bucci Babe's are packing their bags and hitting up the eternal city! I can't wait! Ciao!

AS Roma Soccer Game

Ciao tutti! Sorry it has been a while since I have posted a blog entry, the wifi at the hotel I am living at has been down. This therefore means I had zero means of communication with the world! As a millenial kid, this was truly a struggle, but I am very happy to report that I am ok and still alive!

Anyways, on Sunday November 5'th I attended my very first Italian soccer game! What an experience! The Italians were so spirited and enthusiastic about Football that it reminded me of home and my beloved Notre Dame football games! The arena was huge and filled with fans waving Roma's flags and singing. They actually managed to sing the whole entire game. My throat hurt for them, but it was so much fun and super inspiring.

AS Roma VS. Palermo! Roma wins!

The new Lizzie McGuire...AKA Karli McBucci!

For all of you millennial kids out there, and/or the parents of millennial kids, you know that back in the day the Disney Channel show "Lizzie McGuire" was a HUGE deal. I, like many other young girls back then, was obsessed! When Lizzie went to Rome for a school trip, I began to dream of the days in the near future when I would study abroad in Rome, just like Lizzy did. Well, those days have come, and I am beginning to notice a few similarities between Lizzie and I. I may not have a TV show or a newborn, but we definitely have a lot in common! For instance...

We do the same poses!

 We both drive mopeds! (Well, kind of...)

 

We both visited the Trevi Fountain!

 

...and the Colosseum, too!

HAHA I wish! This one hasn't exactly happened yet...

We also both traveled to Rome with our best friends, got to go to a red carpet event, ate spaghetti and gelato, and much more! We were also both OBSESSED with Aaron Carter, but that is another story for another time. So, as you see above, Lizzie and I lead pretty similar lives. I think this means that I am the modern day Lizzie McGuire or "Karli McBucci!" 

P.S. We all know who Miss Ungermeyer reminds us of...right smick's?!?!