We left Austria early as usual and drove straight into Italy. We arrived into Venice in the early afternoon and took a boat into the city. Venice was a really pretty city with really old buildings and awesome scenery. We walked around San Marcos (St. Mark's) Square, into the cathedral, and up the bell tower for great views. San Marcos Square was pretty nice with the exception of the hundreds and hundreds of pigeons. EVERYWHERE. Pigeons are rats with wings. Dirty, unhygienic, and... dirty. Ugh. They just eat and poop everywhere. So gross. But apparently, according to history the pigeons were the ones that lead the sailors to the marshland that is now Venice. So they're sacred... but still gross. It's also €100 if you kick a pigeon... even accidentally. Gross things. Ugh. Anyway, Tracee, Al (our Canadian friend), and I walked around Venice to explore a bit. I bought a few murano glass necklaces as gifts, a pendant and ring for me, a cute cheap brown leather bag from this cute store called Carpisa (it's a chain! really cute and cheap stuff), and a fake Burberry. All over Italy they have these shady guys that show fake bags on a blanket in the streets. They had a really cute fake Burberry bag and the conversation with the shady man went like this:
Me: How much for that one *points*
Shady Man (SM): €120
Me: NO WAY
SM: How much do you want to pay?
Me: €25
SM: €75
Me: €25
SM: €40
Me: Forget it.
SM: OK OK, €25
I realize that €25 is pretty pricey for a fake, but whatever. At least it's not €120. If people really paid €120, I feel very very sorry for them. The bags are only worth €20-25 at the most. Yeesh. I should've said €20. Oh well. So after our long day in Venice, we went to our hotel for the night and watched The Simpsons in Italian. Very nice. :)
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| EuroTrip 2007 Venice |
Day 7 & 8 - Rome, Italy
Ahh Rome. Possibly one of my favorite cities on the tour. We arrived into Rome around 3 pm, and had a mini walking tour with our group. We saw the Spanish Stairs, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and then dinner at this really cute restaurant (antipasto, pasta, bruschetta, tiramisu... very yummy!). After dinner we (the tour group) checked into our hotel in the outskirts of Rome, relaxed a bit, then took a 20 minute walk to a sports bar down the road. It was pretty fun... but I had the worst mojito I've ever had. Which is my fault since I shouldn't have ordered a mojito in Italy. We hung out at the bar for about an hour or so, then a small group of us left a bit early (everyone else stayed until like 2 am... we left at like 12 am).
The next morning, we woke up bright and early and took the train back into the heart of Rome. Our tour manager, Ali, took us all right to San Pietro's Square (St. Peter's) in Vatican City and straight to the Vatican Museum. Usually the line for the museum is super long, but LUCKILY on that day, the Pope was giving an audience in San Pietro's Square so the line for the museum was pretty dang short (score!). We got into the museum around 9:30 am (even thought it usually opens at 10 am... we got lucky) and walked around for awhile. A small group of us (me, Tracee, Pete from Seattle, Doug from Toronto, and Breanne from Calgary) walked around the museum together and looked at all the amazing sites. We saw the Sistine Chapel which was totally amazing and all the other beautiful artwork in the museum.
After the museum, we got a few slices of pizza and walked into St. Peter's Square to watch the end of the Pope's audience. After the speech was over, we walked around near St. Peter's Square and then met up with the tour group around 1:00 pm. As a group, we headed near the Coliseum to begin our guided walking tour. The tour was... well it was mostly a blur because I didn't pay any attention. It was like 90 degrees and I was just concentrating on not sweating. It didn't work... I still sweat like a pig. But it was cool to see the sites. We saw the Forum, the Coliseum, and... well that's all I can remember. The walking tour ended around 3 pm and our little group decided to go see the Coliseum. The Coliseum was amazing... you can see the cells down below where the slaves and animals used to be held. It was surreal to be in this place that's stood for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. It was also a bit humbling to know that I was standing in this ancient building that has stood the test of time. So crazy. It's hard to describe without sounding cheesey, but overall it was amazing.
After getting our fill of the Coliseum, our small group walked around the shopping area and had dinner at this cute little hole-in-the-wall restaurant. We all ordered pasta, of course, and had a really nice meal. I got this penne that was a bit spicy. Yum. After dinner, we walked around some more stores... I got myself some gelati (probably my third or fourth cup since being in Italy) and just relaxed. We met up with other people in the tour at the Spanish Stairs and all took the train back to the hotel at 9 pm. After getting back to the hotel, I just passed out.
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| EuroTrip 2007 Rome |
Day 9 - Florence
Ahhh Florence. It was so quiet and serene in Florence, as compared to the other Italian cities we had visited. It was much more laid back and not quite as hustle-bustle as Rome or Venice. We got into Florence around 11 am and were given a cool leather demonstration. The guy told us how to tell between real and fake leather. Which was kinda cool I guess. After the demonstration, we had another guided walking tour which was fun. The tour guide was this older lady that was really cute and a bit glamorous. After the tour, Tracee and I walked around the city to explore. I bought a cute cardigan from Zara and we got a few presents (a nice leather wallet for my Dad, a belt for Tracee's bf). We were also able to go to a cheap internet cafe to catch up on emails and news (aka, TheSuperficial.com, WWTDD.com, etc.). We were back on the bus around 3 or 4 pm to head to the hotel.
Once we checked into the hotel, we showered and relaxed a bit before our big Tuscan dinner! The dinner was pretty fun. There was a guy that played the piano and sang while we ate. And then this awesome opera singer came out and performed a few songs... she had a really strong and amazing voice. There was quite a bit of cheesiness (chicken dance, etc.) and the food was only mediocre, but it was good fun. After dinner, almost the entire tour group went clubbing at this place called the Space Discotheque. So funny!! It was pretty cool tho... downstairs they had karaoke (where the DJ was being a bitch because she just wanted to sing instead of letting the patrons sing) and upstairs they had a dance floor. Tracee and I stayed for awhile... probably until like 1 am? Then we headed back to the hotel to pass out. Florence clubbing = FUN!
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| EuroTrip 2007 Florence |
And now I am tired of updating. To be continued!!
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