Hello, New York City!!!

I AM BACK IN AMERICA. Reunited, and it feels so good.

Seriously though, if you want to renew your appreciation for the ol' Stars and Stripes, go to Europe for a few weeks. Europe is awesome, but I am so so thankful to live in America. Yeah, we have issues - but we always will. That's never going to change. Our government may have problems, but our founding fathers were smart enough to realize that we should just keep changing up the government every couple of years. That's one of the reasons we're so strong - we constantly evolve, we ebb and flow. It's beautiful.

Also beautiful? A few items from my list:

-water is complimentary at restaurants
-you get actual service at even the smallest and most casual restaurants
-street signs are posted visibly OUT in the street
-our signs and symbols make sense (for the most part)
-we do things in a timely fashion and work on a schedule
-we use 120V in our wall outlets (okay, so maybe that's personal, as is 4G coverage)
-TEX-MEX
-Dr. Pepper
-normal sized soda bottles
-no cobblestones
-better television options as earlier movie release dates

...the list goes on and on. It's just good to be back.

My trip back was nice and smooth, thank goodness. I was really proactive with Dramamine and I make it a policy not to stand up on a moving plane. It makes me too sick! Which is fun on 10 hour international flights...but is rather feel like I really have to pee than like I'm about to throw up. Wouldn't you? (A glimpse into my mind when traveling...)

One thing that's awesome about international flights? Movies and TV shows and music provided (at least on US Airways flights). Best part of the flight was finding this one with 4 hours to go:

So perfect!!! I barely cleared customs and got to the other side of the airport in in time for my connecting flight from Philly to NYC...that was fun. The side lf a strap on my big purse broke. And then when my luggage appeared at baggage claim in Laguardia, the handle that pulls out was stuck half way and it was basically broken. Guys, I am SO glad the universe waited until the end of this trip to destroy my luggage. That would have been a nightmare. I guess I did put it through hell and back, though. Oh well.

I met up with Kali and we grabbed dinner at the Stumble Inn, and then met up with a friend of hers before heading home. Then the next day (yesterday) we planned on coffee and Central Park - and then it rained all day. Sweet. Rent a movie? I suggested The Avengers because she still hasn't seen it, but it was out of stock at EVERY Redbox. Ridiculous. So I just bought it at Best Buy - I mean, we all know I was going to do that when I got home anyway.

I caught these guys' act in the subway after parting with Kali when she went to work:

They were pretty good. The rest of the day, I just explored. I went into FAO Schwarz, which had some awesome Hunger Games merch. I also heard two employees in the corner heavily discussing the parentage of Jon Snow, which was probably a highlight of the evening. I then went to the Ape store, which, let's face it, is really really cool. I played around with the iPhone 5 and ended up buying a cable that basically gives HDMI output to anything with the Apple 30-pin connector. So cool. #nerdalert

I hit Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barnes & Noble... I just wandered midtown Manhattan and relaxed. It was wonderful. And it was rainy the whole day, so the buildings would disappear into fog and clouds. How cool is this picture?

Anyway, it was a fun stopover on my way back to the great state of Texas. Today will (hopefully) involve Central Park and more hanging with Kali before flying back to H-town, where my trip will conclude on Saturday. So one more post! Can't believe it's already over!

Rained Out in Rome

So, today's plan was to walk around the gardens of the Villa Borghese for a good while and continue riding on my bus tour to see the city.

And then it rained.

All day.

So what did I do instead? I did what any red-blooded American girl would do in place of sightseeing on a rainy day. I went shopping.

This actually turned out to be a lot of fun, as there were a lot of odd European styles to try on. I had a lot of fun with that... :)

Observe, the outfit I would never ever pay money for:

And the outfit I would (...and did) pay money for:

Right? That shirt is ridiculously comfortable and the skirt is amazing. I love it. And yes, for those of you wondering....I bought those shoes as well. "When in Rome," right? ...right?

I made my way down Via Corso ducking in and out of shops until I came to Piazza Popolo, one of the things on my list for today. At least I got that one. Here is a picture of the entrance to the piazza:

Pretty cool. And that was right by the entrance to the Villa Borghese, which was also on my list. However, it was still raining. So I scratched my stroll through the gardens. :(

I wanted to stop by the Santa Maria Maggiore before dinner and heading home to pack, but when I got off the subway, it was raining even more. All day the umbrella salesman had crawled out of the woodwork, and I'd said no to at least 15 of them, and that's not counting the ones I managed to avoid completely (not exaggerating at all). The church was still a few blocks away, so I found a nice little restaurant for dinner. Last night in Italy - obviously, I ordered lasagna!

The rain never let up and it was getting dark (and chilly) early, so I gave up and headed on home. Not exactly what I had planned for today, but it was a nice lazy last day in Rome. Oh, and I spotted some "football" players on the metro:

Now it's time to pack and head back to New York City. Next time I post anything, I'll be back in AMERICA!!! What's up!!!

Inside the Colosseum

So, I'm really glad I gave myself so much time for Rome. I'm loving not having to run around all day to squeeze everything in. Also, I'm getting pretty burnt out on being a tourist, so it's perfect timing.

That said, I was pretty touristy today. More than usual. I did a hop-on/hop-off bus tour (that I'll continue tomorrow). It's good though; there is so much stuff in Rome that I mostly just want to see and take a picture of. This allows me to stop and explore where I want to and enjoy a nice, breezy ride through the city in between places. It's nice to see what I'm passing by (and hear about it's history) instead of blitzing underneath it using the metro. Don't get me wrong, I still prefer doing my own sightseeing and subway-ing it up with a marked up map in my purse, but this was a refreshing change of pace. I "hopped on" after my visit to the Colosseum - yes, I FINALLY made it inside. Third time's a charm! Check it out:

Right?! How awesome is that? I walked around inside here for a good hour or so. It was just fascinating. Every time I see something like this, my mind wanders into the engineering behind it all (of course it does). Seriously. Think about the amazing feats of engineering that happened so long ago - the Colosseum is perfectly concentric. It's insane. And it's built to where they could simulate different environments for different varieties of games and animals - even flood the underground passages for a simulated naval battle. Seriously??? That's freaking awesome. And it's also very "Hunger Games" of the Romans.

It really is amazing though. This kind of stuff is mind-blowing, and I love traveling to other places and seeing just how much man has accomplished across the globe and across time. If you've been to the Eiffel Tower - did you not look at that and wonder who was crazy enough to decide that it would work? And be stable? Look at all of these cathedrals and all this stone and marble and stained-glass work...honestly? Can we get a round of applause for history? It just blows my mind, so much that I'll say it more than once. When we were in Toledo looking at the church there, Syd told me she read that the reason the arches above the entrances cascade inward is due to structural reasons - otherwise the cathedral would collapse in on itself. Who figures this stuff out? (Engineers. That's who.)

Anyway, it was, as everything else has been this past month, a truly amazing experience. Oh, and the photo count right now is 3,711 pictures. That's not bad for 3 weeks of straight sightseeing every day. ....right?

The bus tour was very nice, and we went by lots of stuff - Circus Maximus, St. Peter's Square, Piazza Venezia, Piazza Popolo, the Villa Borghese, Castel Sant-Angelo, Piazza Repubblica, the Tiber several times, the mausoleum of Caesar Augustus, Piazza Barberini...it just goes on and on.

Tomorrow marks my last full day in Rome - and Italy...AND Europe. Woah. But I'm so excited to come back to America!!! And to get back to Texas soon to share my stories and give all my presents that I bought. :) But FIRST...my last tourist-y day. I plan on hitting up the Spanish Steps and spending a lot of time in the Villa Borghese, riding the other half of that bus tour, and visiting Santa Maria Maggiore. Then packing...again. I've been keeping notes on my Back To America list and other "wrap-up" stuff for one or two posts once I'm back from Europe. I'll still be in NYC for about a day and a half and the Houston for another 2-3.

By the way, if you're reading this - thanks. It has really helped keep me sane to write in this blog. It gives me someone to talk to at the end of the day without paying for international calls (even Skype gets old). I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it!

Getting "Cultured" in Rome

Yes, today I absorbed a lot of "culture" to hopefully make me a better and more worldly person.

I also went to a gelateria with over 150 flavors of ice cream. So then again, maybe not.

First thing for me this morning was this nice note from my host at my B&B with my breakfast place all set up. She hopes I'm having a great time and told me to give her a call if I need anything. Too nice! I'm liking this place - and not just because they keep a giant jar of Nutella in their "guest" spread for breakfast.

The first half of my day was my first dose of this "culture" I spoke of. I spent a good long while in the Vatican museums and then checked out St. Peter's Basilica/Square. This place was mind-blowing my huge. The Oby reason I could process how much was there was probably only because I went to the Louvre and Versailles last year. There was some pretty crazy stuff in addition to the normal collection of statues and religious artwork. Like an actual mummy, partially uncovered. Creepy and gross and really, really cool. Also, tapestries reaching far and wide, at least 20 square feet, if not more. Ceilings that looked like this down most every hallway:

Oh yeah, and the Sistine Chapel. No big deal. As per my usual behavior, I used some sleight of hand to score you guys a picture. See if you can pick out Creation of Adam!

Yes, it was insanely awesome. Sometimes, I still can't believe I'm even on this trip. Also, go to the Vatican in the morning. And be prepared to push through tons of tour groups. I didn't feel like spending all day in there, so I just reserved tickets online (also the way to go - you skip the big line to get in) and walked myself through the museums and that was entry good enough for me.

I came back to drop off something expensive I purchased while there, and decided to take a little nap, which was almost as good as seeing the Sistine Chapel.

After that, I headed towards the Colosseum to begin the sightseeing portion of the day! ....except it was closed. Why? The guards were on strike today. What?? What is it with Europeans and striking? Oh well, I adjusted my schedule and moved on. I walked to Piazza Venezia, then to the Pantheon. I then came upon the gelateria I mentioned earlier, which was suggested to me by my Canadian friends from Florence See? I wasn't kidding about those 150 flavors.

I went ahead and got the medium sized cup, and had Nutella, Strawberry Yogurt, and regular Yogurt (which had this awesome border-line cream cheese sort of thing going). It was sooooo good. Is it sad that the thing I think I'll miss most about Italy is the gelato on every corner? And no, fro-yo is NOT the same.

Next, I came upon the wonderful Trevi Fountain! It's interesting, because I always thought it was in some big square. It's not, by the way. It's in the middle of a bunch of buildings with a street running alongside it, and kind of comes out of nowhere. People were obviously crowded around it, though. I got pictures, watched it glowing in the twilight, threw in a coin and was on my way.

Finally? The other really "cultured" part of my day. My friends, I attended the ballet at the Teatro d'ell Opera di Roma.

I read that you can get discounted tickets the day of AND for being 25. So I went for it. Second row in the middle for 45€. Normally 120€. Suck it, Europe. I'm saving money left and right.

As you can see in my picture, I saw Romeo and Juliet (or "Romeo e Guiletta" as they say it here). Luckily, it was a story I already knew, so following my first ballet wasn't too difficult. It was interesting, as I'd never seen this particular brand of theatre before. I've seen dancing of course, but never an actual ballet. It was lovely, though odd at times, since there is no dialogue. A synopsis is included in the program, I guess to follow along and infer what is meant by the expressions and lighting and music changes. It was very interesting indeed.

I was right behind the pit, and the music was just as enchanting as the dancing (if not more so for me). Again, I found myself tearing up. It was just beautiful. Here I was, in the heart of Rome, watching a ballet in their most established theatre. What an experience.

As for the dancers, you could tell which ones were the performers and which were the dancers. Tybalt (or "Tebaldo") was easily the most intense, which makes sense. He was dressed in all black, and would at times be dancing as an expression of his emotions and how he cannot help but be controlled by his anger ad need to fight. Also, there was a lot of choreographed swordplay. It was pretty cool. Juliet ("Guiletta") was the most graceful. Again, also fitting. She would leap and glide about the stage with a huge smile on her face, constantly brought down and subdued by Lady and Lord Capulet ("Capuleti"). However, the best ACTOR (who was a pretty insane dancer as well) was Mercutio ("Mercuzio"). Also obvious. He had such an attitude and made fun of Tybalt and taunted him, and did all his Mercutio-y stuff. But he wasn't just dancing with an expression on his face. This guy was actually acting, which I appreciated. He was hilarious and easily the most entertaining to watch.

It was just a very cool experience. I'm so glad I carved time out for it. Tomorrow, I'll do some hardcore sightseeing, and give the Colosseum a go again. Hopefully the guards will have gotten over themselves by then.

Frozen In Time: Pompeii Day Trip

Already time for another day trip? You betcha! Today I hit Naples and Pompeii (mostly Pompeii), which was an amazing experience. There I was, standing in the middle of a place I'd been taught about for years in school, just a few miles away from active Mount Vesuvius. I wasn't sure what to expect, but it did not disappoint.

FYI, I highly recommend going in the morning. I caught a 9 o'clock train out of Rome and then the Circumvesuviana train to Pompei Scavi (Scavi means ruins, apparently, and the regular Pompei stop lets you off in a sketchy neighborhood). I had my ticket in hand and was ready to go by 11am. Lucky for me, I had my Rick Steve's book on Italy, which included a self-guided tour of Pompeii (and really every major city). It was a great tour, gives lots of good, interesting information (but not too much), and made it easy to go at my own pace and make my own stops. I successfully toured Pompeii on my own time - and saved a heck of a lot of money in the process. It's not hard to get there and self-navigate. Honestly, I recommend skipping organized tours and day trips. It was super easy. And there are fountains throughout the site you can refill your water bottle on! Plus a cafeteria in the middle so you can fuel up for the rest of your expedition!

It is truly amazing what is still preserved when you see how much was destroyed. You can see statues, mosaics, frescoes, grooves worn into the streets from chariots, decorated columns...it's insane. And with Vesuvius looming in the background, you can imagine what it looked like as a mountain before it blew - and the eery experience of imagining what it was like when it erupted. Check it out:

Right? It's creepy. There were some casts of people out on display, too. Even more creepy. They're still frozen in their final moments of terror...you can see their bones on the hands and feet, and even the skull and teeth on a few of them. It's surreal. Apparently, they noticed cavities in the ash when excavating, and the bodies had been compressed and then decomposed, leaving people-shaped holes in the rock. *shudder* They poorer plaster into small holes to create casts of the people. Weird.

I saw the Forum, baths, dining rooms, a brothel, temples, fountains, piping and aqueduct system components, fast food joints (I'm serious), ovens, the sea port... Overall, it was just an amazing experience. I highly recommend it - just be prepared for lots of walking and picture taking! I was leaving around 2:30 or so and as I came back out the front there were hoards of tour groups beginning their journey - with the sun nice and high. GO EARLY. SO WORTH IT.

Naples, however, was the exact opposite of Pompeii (deserted and open). It is extremely crowded and busy, and crossing the street is even more of a feat than in New York City. Both motorists and drivers find red lights to be mere suggestions, and police are constantly trying to keep everyone in check. To be honest, I mostly just wanted pizza, and I was very tired. And, honestly, I felt like I had to be constantly on my guard with my purse (more than normal). It was just tiring being there. I did wall around some, enough to take in the intense Italian atmosphere (I hear it just gets more and more "Italian" the further south you go) and get a feel for the middle of the city. It does have a church and a royal palace, but it was on the other side of the city from the train station. I wasn't sure how long I'd stay in ol' Napoli, as Pompeii was my main goal, so I went ahead and cut my stop down to walking around for about 30 minutes, pizza, and heading back. (This also puts me going back home in Rome MUCH earlier than anticipated, which is a plus.)

Now. The pizza. Oh, the pizza. I ate at L'Antica Pizzeria Da Michele, a famous pizzeria in the heart of the city where the food started. It is quite small, and I was seated with two other customers there by themselves to save space. There are only two choices - margherita or marinara. Apparently pizza is down to an art form at this place. That and a Coke from a glass bottle made for a nice "Napoli" pizza experience. Needless to say, it was absolutely and positively delicious. And cheap. My favorite combination.

Before......

And after.......

After grabbing a postcard, I decided to head out early from Naples. I probably would have enjoyed walking around, but I've now been traveling for over 3 weeks and I still have to finish up Rome. Gotta choose my battles, save my strength. I'm not gonna lie, I'm running out of steam. But only 3 more tourist days!!! I can do this!

Until tomorrow, I'll leave you with the view from the train ride back to Rome:

Roma!

Well, people...I'm on ROME!!! Transit was smooth, but its getting tiring lugging that luggage around. Packed for a month, and then weighed down with souvenirs and presents...I must really love you guys back home. :) I'm starting to get a few blisters on my hands. :/ Luckily I'm basically done hauling my bags around metro and train stations!

My place in Rome is a stone's throw from the entrance to Vatican City. What!! And it's spacious, too. It's an actual B&B, but I'm the only one here until Friday afternoon. And they have breakfast food for us - among it is a jar of Nutella. Bring on the delicious.

Anyway, I was pretty tired and needed to orient myself a bit, so I studied my map and had a small siesta before exploring. :) I went back to the train station to pick up my Roma Pass, then went to the main opera house, where a ballet is playing right now - Romeo and Juliet!!! Except I got there just after the box office closed. Apparently there is an under-25 discount (25%) and a day-of discount (25%)...so I'm definitely hitting that up soon!! Might even spring for a box. I'm feeling worldly enough to do something like that now. We'll see.

I grabbed a solid pasta dish somewhere on Via Corpio, enjoyed a nice tiramisu, then popped into a few shops on my way to the Colosseum. No big deal. Speaking of.....

Back to my place to plan more and prepare for my day trip tomorrow - I'm off to Napoli and Pompeii! Short post due to my nap and I uneventful travels this morning, but I feel like I usually make up for that. :)

Day Trip: Siena, Pisa, and Back Again

Blog 9/25: This morning was exciting. I overslept a bit and barely caught the bus to the train station. Then when I got there I walked quickly across the street to the station, and saw I had TWO minutes until the train to Siena left (the next one would be another hour later). I ran through the station to the opposite side (of course, it was leaving from a platform on the opposite side...) and stepped onto the train, immediately before the doors closed and it began to pull out. What's up!! The train ride was nice, aside from the couple that literally every few minutes for an hour and a half kissed each other. In random places all over their faces. It was weird.

But, finally, I arrived in Siena! Using the Rick Steve's Italy guide on my Kindle, I made my way to city centre. Again, it was as if I'd stepped into another world and another time. Italy is very charming in that way, with its cobblestone streets and old balconies and piazzas and palazzos, its markets and fruit stands and narrow walkways. I'm definitely enjoying the constantly changing scenery as I move from place to place. It's an adventure of a lifetime!

I made my way to the main square, Il Campo. The civic museum is here, with its landmark tower climbing high above the old ref rooftops of Siena. It was a busy place, and I found a wonderful shop full of ceramics handmade in Tuscany. May or may not have dropped a few euro in this shop....people at home will find out soon. :)

I move on to Siena's Duomo, which was beautiful. As expected. All of the cathedrals around here seem to be white, green, pink, and gold - but each is still stunning and uniquely exquisite. I was going to go inside, but the line for tickets was absolutely nuts and not moving very fast; I didn't have the time to wait that long, as I have a lot to do today. So I sat and took in the exterior, took pictures, and bought a postcard with the interior on it. That works, too, right?

Lunch was around the corner of the Duomo at a pizzeria. I know, I know...I'm eating a lot of pizza. I'm I'm Italy, give me a break. Besides, wouldn't you if your pizza looked like this?

4 Formaggi (4 cheese). So so good. And this was my cute little view for lunch:

Very delicious. I moved on to the Church of San Domenico on Rick Steve's recommendation, before heading back to the bus stop to go catch a train to Pisa. The walk to San Domenico turned out to be incredible. Lots of stairs, but it was worth the views. I didn't realize Siena was so hilly - check this out:

Right? So cool. And San Domenico was very interesting as well. Again, no photos allowed, but I got a few for y'all anyways:

Next, I flew by the seat of my pants figuring out which bus to catch back to the train station. I must really be honing my travel skills, because I was at the station in less than 10 minutes. From there, I caught a train to Empoli and from there to Pisa Centrale. I also accidentally bought carbonated water before getting on the train. Worst moment ever when I took my first swig from the bottle.

Pisa! What can I say? You go, get your picture, buy a postcard (if you're me), then leave. If I had more time, I would have tried to explore a little more, but I kept it to the triad - the Tower, the Duomo, and the Baptistery. Getting there was fun too - I accidentally caught the bus in the wrong direction and went to the airport first. Just getting the lay of the land, you know. I like to get to know the cities I visit, okay?

Yup. There it is, in all of its angular glory. There were, of course, tons of tourists. One of the most fun parts of this stop was to see everyone taking their Leaning Tower pictures. I'm not gonna lie, this is the one part of this trip where being alone isn't just inconvenient - it downright sucks. Not because I'm lonely, but because it's REALLY hard to get good Pisa pictures taken by strangers. I don't know them, so I can't just have them sit there for 30 minutes taking pictures of me. Yeah, I asked a few, but I just didn't get as good of pictures as I wanted to. Oh well - guess I'll just have to come back someday with someone. :)

Also interesting, though closed today for some reason, was the Duomo and Baptistery. I'm told the Baptistery has amazing acoustics, and that you could sing a tone and it would echo for a good 10 seconds. So cool. Unfortunately, I was very pressed for time. :( Again - I'll just have to make a return trip someday!

(Skyline picture)
Next, I returned to Florence and walked to the Galleria d'Accademia, where the David lives. No photos allowed again. But it was surreal to see the ACTUAL statue, not just a replica, right there in front of me. Is this real life? Oh, and as usual...I snuck some photos for your (and my) enjoyment:

I was running out of time, but thankfully the Accademia and Uffizi were both open late tonight. I perused the Uffizi and snapped some pictures before heading back to my place for the final time.

In short (okay, not so short), Florence has been absolutely wonderful. Tomorrow, I hit up Rome!!! 5 days and then I'm headed back to the good ol' U.S. of A. And honestly, I really can't wait. I'm ready to be back in my own country of course (evidenced by my "Back to America" list), but I'm really just excited to start sharing my experience with people - pictures, presents, stories....it's going to be awesome.

Plus, I'm excited to be reunited with my wonderful, soft, spacious, perfect bed. And house. And chips and salsa. And Dr. Pepper. And you guys, of course. :)

Best View In Firenze

Today I spent some time exploring the city some more and doing a little sightseeing. My Firenze Card is nice for checking out churches and museums that I wouldn't have otherwise wanted to pay for.

I grabbed a mini pizza to go and walked to the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, where I stopped for dessert at a gelateria in the piazza. ...Yes, gelato again. There are too many flavors and I must try them all!!! This time I had bacio again and combined it with amaretto. MM MM GOOD.

P.S. I love that you can basically walk everywhere in this city. Especially since the buses are super annoying to use effectively.

Then I moved to Basilica di San Lorenzo, followed by the Capelle Medeeci, which is right next door. On the bottom floor of the Capelle, there are several artifacts from this "princes' chapel", all extremely ornate and beautiful (and expensive looking). Then I went to the second floor - this is where the real sight was. Under the dome of the capelle, I was surrounded by marble work. Literally every inch if this place was decorated with and covered in marble (or similar material), some so intricately designed and laid that it seemed like a painting. There was an altar as the focus of the room, of course, and places for each prince with statues of them around the room, as well as crests and columns and just all sorts of ridiculousness. It. Was. Fascinating. Pictures weren't technically allowed, but I managed to sneak a few on my phone to give you a feel of the place:

Next, after getting hit on by a younger Egyptian fellow in the Piazza del San Lorenzo, I hit the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (obviously belonging to the Medici family - hugely prominent in Florence), which was also incredibly ornate and stunning.

I was going to go to the Garden Bardini and Porcelain Museum (for the view of the countryside...not the porcelain), but apparently they close an hour early on the last Monday of the month. What is this business where everything randomly closes at random times on Mondays? Add it to the "Back to America" list. And yes...I have an actual list. I started it the day of the pigeon fiasco (see the Milan post for a recounting of the pigeon affair). Top of my list? Right above 4G coverage and free water in restaurants? Street signs posted OUT IN THE STREET where you can actually see them.

Sorry, I got off an a little bit of a tangent there. Anyway, this allowed me some more time to sit down at a nearby restaurant for dinner, where I had a big, cheesy slice of pizza (for veteran Rockwallians...think Bella's). Dessert was a caffè macchiato, described in the menu to include coffee and chocolate, but it leaned a little more on the chocolate side of things. Still good, though, and pretty looking:

Finally, I headed for Piazzale Michelangelo! It was a little bit of a climb, but by now I'm used to such things. As area calves.

Basically, it's the best view in Florence and you can see the whole city from up there. The popular thing is to go up there and watch the sunset over the city and the hills surrounding it. Check it:

Breathtaking, no? Great end to a great day.

But now, I must rest. Tomorrow holds for me another day trip. Destination: Siena! Then to Pisa from there for the obligatory Leaning Tower visit before heading back to Firenze to hit the Accademia (David) and Uffizi (Birth of Venus, among others). Both of these places are open until 10 on Tuesdays - fits in perfectly! Then on Wednesday, it's off to Roma!!!

Also...in one week I'm back in the greatness of America. Hollaaaaaaa :D

Florence. Tuscany. Italy.

Today I took on Tuscany, up close and personal - but not without breakfast in Piazza del Republica first. That would be a bignè cioccolata (which is both topped and filled withbdelicious chocolate) and an authentic Italian latte you see pictured below. They brought the steamed milk out in that glass, and then you pour the coffee in from the little baby pitcher on the far right. I wish I could start every morning like this.

Next stop was off to the stables in Chianti, Tuscany! I did a horseback riding tour through the company Florencetown, which I highly recommend. I also met two American girls and two Canadian girls on the tour (which was a small group of 7), and we all hit it off from the beginning and had a blast! As fun as traveling alone is, it was nice to hang out with girls my own age for a while.

This was the view from the stables:

Right?! It was incredibly gorgeous. I took tons of pictures of the Tuscan countryside while we rode through the vineyards owned and operated by the Corsini family, who is apparently very prominrnt and filthy rich.

They gave me one of the more stubborn horses since I have riding experience, and using my grandpa's wisdom I put my heels down, sat up straight, took charge of Cheyenne and had a blast! (Even if I was stuck riding English style..)

The leisurely ride ended at a small villa up in the hills of Tuscany. This was where we were served a "Tuscan" lunch using vegetables grown from their garden, and olive oil and wine produced right there in the vineyard. I'm not that into wine, but it was a pretty awesome experience. Here is just a small portion of our lunch:

After lunch and the wine tasting, we went on a tour of the winery and learned about the process for making the wine for THIS vineyard (apparently there are several). According to our guide, the Corsini family makes the best wine in Tuscany! (He could be biased though. I honestly wouldn't know the difference.)

These jars are anywhere hetween 200-300 years old with wine frok then. Hikes!

The view from the garden outside the villa. No big deal.

The last stop of our day was a small gelateria on the way back to Florence, where I got the two flavors "bacio" (chocolate hazlenut) and "pinoli" (pine nuts - very interesting and very delicious). All the gelato at this place is made fresh daily. Yeah, okay Italy. You're kind of awesome.

After returning from my day trip, I decided to do a little sightseeing. First up with the famous Duomo. Guys, it's huge. I looked around inside for a bit and then did the popular thing: climbed up tto the top of the tower. By the by, that was 414 steps to the top. But this view was unbelievably worth it:

Here you can see Palazzo Vecchio.

And here we have the landmark dome of the Duomo. Stunning.

I continued my journey and headed to Basilica de Santa Croce, where there is a statue of Dante out front. Also, Machiavelli, Galileo, and Michelangelo all have tombs there. What.

Moved on to the Galileo Science Museum. Nerd alert. It was crazy cool and I took a billion pictures thst I'll probably look at with my dad later.

Next? Palazzo Vecchio. Which was beautiful inside. It was a castle of sorts and has that big tower you always see in pictures of Florence (like mine earlier in this post). You CAN climb the tower...but I had had enough stairs for one day.

In the evening I sat down in my room to plan out my last two days in Florence, then hesded out to meet up with the two Canadian girls (Jenna and Alice) to hang out for a bit at their hostel. We ended up talking for a long while with their new roommate Patrick, an artist from southeastern London. We made plans to go together to climb up Piazzale Michelangelo to eat dinner and watch the sunset over the city tomorrow night. I cannot wait.

Traveling is awesome, people.

In Transit

Today was setup to be an easy trip to Florence... as you might guess from my use of ellipses, it wasn't. I hadn't heard back from my host on where to leave her key, and the little bistro was not yet open. But I picked up their wifi and saw an email reply from my host (interesting, considering her place has no Internet) to contact her sister, who was staying nearby. However, this was last night, so when I contacted her sister she was in the middle of Venice. This meant tsking vaporetto 1 (which goes to EVERY STOP) to meet her. By then, I'd lost a good half hour and all hope of making my train. Lucky for me, I'm travrling by Eurail pass so I only needed to fork over another 10 € for a reservation instead of 45. Yikes. So instead of leaving at 9:30 (original plan) or 10:30 (sold out), I was set to leave at 11:30. Oncr everything was sorted out, i plugged in my headphones and watched The A-Team on my phone. Finally, two hours behind schedule, I was on a train headed for Florence! Well... it was headed for Rome, technically, but Florence was on the way.

Home-free! Right? Nope, not yet. After finding my way tto my airbnb place here, no one answered when I rang the buzzer. Perfect. I had called them after the train fiasco to let them know, but never heard back. Finally someone coming out of the building let me inside. I finally got a hold of Alessandro and Azadeh and found out which apartment was theirs (top floor...meaning lugging my stuff up 3 flights of stairs). However, they werent home (since I had been running way late) and neither were their other guests. So... I tapped into their wifi and jumped on Facebook for half an hour until the other guests showed up.

The other guests, by the way were insanely cool. They were a couple from Bolivia named Mauricio and Adela, and they were on their way to Venice. We exchanged advice, suggestions, and maps on Venice and Florence and talked forfor a good hour before they left to catch their train. But not before we exchanged emails - they told me to let them know if I ever travel to South America. :) Plus one for traveling. They were awesome.

When Azadeh did arrive, she was extremely nice anand helpful. It turns out that they own a few apartments throughout Florence and rent them out to travelers such as myself and the Mauricio's. She set me up with suggestions, keys, information, and my own area for groceries iin the kitchen before heading back out.

So, by now it was early evening and I still needed to plot out where I would go and when. I ended up deciding kn dinner around here based on Azadeh's suggestions, gelato (I passed like six gelaterias on my way in) and walking to a bridge to look out at the Ponte del Vecchio.

Dinner was at the "open bar" of a super nice restaurant kn the Arno called The Golden View. And by "open bar" they mean one drink and an all you can eat buffet of appetizers and finger food. I ordered the most delicious mojito ever (those would be raspberries and a cherry you see there) and snacked down on the buffet. Half the time I wasn't sure what I was eating, but it was pretty good food. Here is my mojito and a few of the favorite buffet pickings:

Basically, today was a transition day - which is fine, because it meant I got to chillax for a bit before I literally bring it home with Florence and Rome sightseeing adventures.

Tomorrow? Why, I think I shall ride a horse through Tuscan vineyards and watch the sunset from Piazza de Michelangelo. What say you? (Doesn't matter, I'm going anyway.)

Getting Lost In Venice

Ciao from Ponte de Rialto! (Rialto Bridge)

Day 2 in Venice did not disappoint. I slept in a little again in preparation for the feats of sightseeing awaiting me in Florence and Rome next week. I ended up not visiting Murano/Burano/Torcello, and opted to simply wander the streets in the City of Bridges. What a great choice the turned out to be. Instead of turning left from my apartment, I went right and got busy on getting myself lost in Venice (everyone's suggestion). It was such a nice feeling to just turn on random streets with no destination. Venice is pretty small, so it's not like I'd veer too far from where I needed to be. I found a lot of small piazzas, canals, churches, and gelaterias (one of which I stopped at for chocolate hazlenut gelato - with little hazlenuts in it!). I ended up at Ponte de Rialto, crossed it, and continued my expedition on the south side of the Grand Canal. I finally sat down for a late lunch at a small pizzeria offering free wifi, where I published my post from yesterday. Observe the deliciousness below:

I don't have a lot of commentary on my day, as much of it was spent wandering and taking in the city. It is truly another world entirely, right down to its mode of transportation. Venice is exactly what you see in tthe movies and pictures - every single inch of it.

I found a small piazza with a big church and a museum, as well as a street musician. However, this guy was rocking Simon & Garfunkel, John Denver, and John Lennon in his thick Italian accent. And he was tearing up the guitar. I spent a good 15 minutes filming and listening to him.

Then I went inside a museum I'd heard about called Scuola Grande di San Rocco, where the walls and ceilings were covered in paintings. Here is a staircase before you get to the room where they yell at you for taking pictures:

I eventually found myself at Piazzale Roma, at the "mouth of the Fish", where I hopped aboard a vaporetto. I quickly realized it was one going in the opposite direction of the Grand Canal, but I stayed on anyway. Why? This direction would take me around the southern edge of Venice and back around to my San Marco stop anyway. This was a wknderful experience. I basically took a little cruise around the city. The horizon was constantly stunning and i soaked in the sea air (which isn't that ocean-y smelling, surprisingly).

By the way, I'd like to point out that I have yet to get sick on this trip, including in the busy Venetian waters. Anybody who has ever traveled with me knows that this is an extremely exciting piece of news. Also, I just knocked on the table in front of me so as not to jinx my good luck. (For those that are unfamiliar, traveling is always a gamble for me as I can get terrible cases of motion sickness at the drop of a hat if I don't play things right.)

I decided to continue splurging (as I expected to do in Venice) and ate dinner inin Piazza del San Marco next to one of the little orchestra groups. I had the richest, thickest hot chocolate in my life, and a small "toast quadri" which had prosciutto ham and mozzarella on toast. Observe:

Yep, right up in the music. It was an exquisite setting, where everything came on a silver platter and more waiters in white coats and bow ties catered to you. The music was just wonderful, and the three or four music groups in the square would trade off every ten minutes or so. Just perfect.

Now I'm back at the little bistro by my apartment using their wifi and sipping a Coke. Venice was wonderful to me, I found some wonderful gifts for people and a few for myself!), and I am ready to hit the sack. Early train tomorrow...next stop: Florence!