Hey everyone,
I hope you have had an amazing weekend!? I have just returned home after spending a week abroad with my father and brother in the open air museum city called Rome! Those days where one of the best days of my life, it really felt like a holiday to me and my brother. Because my father is Italian we have a house in Rome and we went there of course. The weather wasn't so good unfortunately, the first few days it rained a lot (just as we landed in Rome ;) but the last few days it got better.
Make sure to read last weeks post about the must visits in Rome here.
Thursday: The day me and my brother went on holiday by plane together for the first time(I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous too... ;) After putting everything in our suitcases we took a taxi to Schiphol airport. Packing always takes very long for me because I don't want to forget anything at home like my glasses, hair ties, headphones, toothpaste etc.. all those small things together. It's like bringing your whole house with you! Do you also know that problem? But besides that we managed to not forgot anything and when we arrived at the airport it was the beginning of a big journey. We said goodbye to our mom and after the security check I wanted to look at some shops because I love shopping if you didn't know that already. :) We also bought a small gift for my father to thank him we can stay there in Rome with him eventhough he has it very busy with his work and his parents are really really sick. ;( We bought him a big Lindt milk chocolate bar because it's his favorite chocolate. A while later we went to our gate and stepped in the airplane, I slept the whole flight haha. When we arrived at Fiumicino Airport late in the evening and hearing everybody speak Italian it was like feeling at home. I just love the Italian language so much! Our father stood behind the babage pick up and when he saw us and we him we were so happy! :)
One orchidee I bought in Holland for my father has now over fifty flowers!
Friday: The weather was really bad with thunderstorms and rain so we went to a shopping outlet called Valmontone half an hour away from Rome. It has shops like Nike, Calzedonia, Liu-Jo and many more. The first store I went in was the Nike store because I needed to have a cute outfit for the gym. I came across the new Spring collection and really loved the white dry-fit t-shirt combined with a black and white colored dry-fit running legging. (Like all brothers he hates shopping haha...) I also needed a pair of tennis shoes so I thought these were perfect. Than we went to the Superga outlet store where all the Superga were around twenty five euros! I bought only one pair because I still have a few from last year. Than my father suggested to eat something because the time flies when you're having fun.;) We ate some delicous pizza and an ice cream. Than I thought we were going home and I had to close my eyes but we went to the Twin-Set shop! That's my favorite brand and I wanted to buy everything.. I choose three things, A t-shirt with floral beading on top, a shirt with short sleeves and ruffles on the back and a white top with beading. I was so happy and I thanked my father way too much..
Saturday: During the night from Friday to Saturday my grandfather on my fathers side in Rome felt really bad. My father visited him almost every two hours at night in the hospital. He didn't recognize his family anymore and couldn't eat. The next morning when I woke up I heard the sadness in my fathers voice when he said to me and my brother he wasn't alive anymore. It's so sad because I really loved him very much and to see my father this way is really not fun. My father started to call everybody and to invite people to the funeral. We went to buy some flowers with our names on them. The funeral was two hours from Rome in San Pellegrino close to Norcia in the mountains. It was in a small church where my father got baptisted. Basically this day no one had energy to do something, so we only went out for a pizza and watched a movie at home together to not think about the sad news for a while.
Sunday: The day of the funeral. We went earlier than the other to Norcia because my father wanted to do something fun for us to before it started. We got a sightseeing tour by car in Norcia. Norcia is really pretty, the mountains are really beautiful and it's a place with no wifi and just to relax. You have hiking routes, mountain bikers and a river that's well known for rafting. We visited Norcia's square and the church and went out for lunch to eat pasta. A few hours later, the funeral started and all our family arrived and friends. It was all very katholic, with singing and I wasn't used to that but it was nice. It was so sad to see my father cry the whole time, luckily we were there for him and it was like it had to happen when we were in Rome during our trip. We hugged him and were there for him because that's what he needed. Than after everything we were al, really tired and went home.
These suddenly walked on the street....
Monday: To throw all the sadness away Monday was the day of the football match AS Roma - Napoli. Although I'm not a big football fan I enjoyed it very much. It was especially for my brother because the shops where more for me and this for him. We had vip tickets and were sitting just before all the journalists. Before the match started we had our own table in the VIP lounge and with all sorts of pizza, pasta, fruits and deserts.This was the part I enjoyed the most! ;)
Tuesday: In the morning we went to a bar close to our house for breakfast. Than we went to the center of Rome and walk there for a little bit. We went to a few museums, walked next to the colosseum and went to a bookstore. I love going to bookstores abroad because there are so many new books and magazines. I really recommend when you're in Italy to buy the TuStyle and the Gioia magazines. They are my favorite ones and they are filled with stories, inspiration and you can discover a lot of new brands. In the bookstore I bought a book from Zoella which I wanted to have for a really long time. It's the book called Girl Online In Tour in Italian. Another thing that I bought was a VanGogh color book called Color your own Van Gogh with real paintings that you can color or paint the way you like.
Wednesday: The last day! It went by all too fast! We went to another shopping outlet called Castel Romano near Rome. They have a Woolrich outlet and if you come there when it's sale on top of the outlet price you can get some really good deals. I bought a sweater at Tommy Hilfiger which I really love because of the red bow in the back. In combination with the sweater I bought a plaid scarf also from Tommy Hilfiger. We ate some ice cream and a pizza, packed are bags and went to the airport again. Although it was a trip with mixed emotions, I enjoyed spending time with my family. When your father lives far away it makes you appreciate the moments you spend with him even more. After a two hour flight we arrived at Schiphol airport and our Rome trip was completed.
Makeup Brands I discoverd while in Rome
Things I realized after this trip
This trip just made me fall in love with Rome even more! It made me realize that I defenitely want to study abroad in Rome in the future.
Because life never goes as planned some things just happen. And life goes on and this trip made me realize that family is very important.
Songs I discovered in Rome
*Zucchero Partigiano Reggiano
Thank you so much for reading my post and I hope you really enjoyed it! Have you ever been to Rome/planning to go?
Have a lovely day,
Isabella ❤