A place I have always wanted to go but have never been is San Francisco, which is in Northern California. It seems to be a great place for a California vacation. It is the second most densely populated city in the US after New York. I think I would like it because although it is a city and there is a lot to do, it’s laid back. There are a lot of festivals, restaurants and neighborhoods to walk around. It’s also a manageable at only six miles square.

From what I have read, there are a few things as a first time visitor to do.

1) Take a cable car ride

2) Bike across the Golden Gate Bridge

3) Walk around the mission district

4) Alcatraz tour

5) Walk around Fisherman’s warf

6) Go on a wine tour

7) Take a walking tour around Chinatown

8)  Go to Coit tower for the views

9) Take the stairs up telegraph hill

10) Go to the Explatorium

11) Go to a baseball game at AT&T park

Tips from friends who have lived there

1) Don’t rent a car, plan on walking

2) If you’re going to be there a few days but a city pass for $67 for unlimited city transportation and entry into some places to go.

3) Best time to visit is from September-November, there is warm weather and fewer crowds than the summer.

There are also a bunch of websites that help with lodging, transportation, restaurants and nightlife.

I found this site particularly helpful. http://www.sanfrancisco.com/

If you’re bringing kids this article has 10 great places to go http://www.huffingtonpost.com/colleen-zarate/10-san-francisco-hidden-h_b_3368916.html

I became entirely too bored with my day to day life. I needed to be a little scared again, a bit excited, and most importantly I needed to be inspired, so I did what any middle-aged male director would do – I drove myself to the airport, and booked a ticket on the next flight to Rome”
– Woody Allen

It’s only natural I begin writing this blog about one of my favorite places that I spent the most time visiting outside of Michigan…ROME, ITALY. I spent January-May 2012 studying abroad in Rome at John Cabot University.

My top 7 things to do in Rome

1) Colleseum – Pre-buy tickets to skip the line, go inside and do the tour

2) Pantheon – Stroll the streets around there. It’s a quick and must see

3) Trevi fountain- Quick but must see

4) Vatican-
Museum: if you want a guided tour schedule it ahead of time, must have a tour to see the the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Notes:

• If you want to walk around outside the Vatican you can do that and just see the building
• Pope does a blessing every week if he’s in town, look up times, usually happens wednesday morning

5) Church of the Immaculate Conception (aka the Church of Bones). The churches decorations are made out of human bones! It’s eerie but really cool. Located on Via Veneto, near Barbarini Square.

6) Go to the top of Gianicolo Hill, amazing views of all of rome

7) My favorite way to see Rome was to wander the little streets and get lost, you see so much more of the “real” Rome and how the Italians live

Things I loved about Rome-

• The history, well preserved landmarks, cheap wine , happy and relaxed people, amazing food and gelato, the neighborhood I lived in (trastevere)

Things I didn’t like/missed

• The train system, very few pools to swim in and cool off, pick pockets, language barriers, buying food in bulk, driving groceries home, sometimes the culture was too laid back/lazy

Tourist advice
A word to the wise…DON’T eat in any restaurants that are right inside the piazzas (in any city in Europe). They might have menus in English but 99.9% of the time their food is garbage!

Here are some pictures I took of the views (and food) in Rome

I would highly recommend visiting Rome, it’s also a great starting point to visit all the other wonderful places in Italy such as Venice, Florence, Almalfi Coast, Sorrento,Cinque Terra & Capri.

I think it’s safe to say I’m Romesick…go visit Roma! Ciao!

Welcome to The NMDL Blog Network. I am a student of the New Media Drivers License at Michigan State University. I will be blogging here soon, please check back.