Italy
Happy to report that our exit out of France went without any major problems. The first place we went to in Italy was a charming village called Le Cinque Terre because it's five ("cinque") villages ("terre") connected together.
Supposedly, pesto originated from Cinque Terre (so guess what we had for dinner).
Quite popular with backpackers because it's got a great hiking trail with beautiful scenary and gorgeous rocky beaches.
When you're in Cinque Terre, all you do is kick back and relax. Not too bad a life huh?
Rome was...Rome. Chaotic, noisy, polluted (hey, I'm from New York - I'm an authority on chaos, noise and pollution). Because of its parking problem, everyone and their mother has a scooter which makes it hard to be a pedestrian - your lungs suffer and you are always at risk of being run over.
To me, Rome's redemtion lies in its history (and maybe also in the influence of this guy they call the Pope) - the Colisseum, Forum, Vatican, Pantheon, Spanish steps. Those things I enjoyed very much.
And although the natives weren't too nice nor polite, we did meet very nice fellow backerpackers.
Pose for the camera!
At the Spanish steps, I bump into two college friends: Jimbo and Becky. What a small world, huh?
Besides learning not to climb statues by the Capitol building because one can get arrested by the police (that was a scary moment!), G and I learned another valuable lesson in Rome: Don't try to be anything more than a tourist. When we tried to take care of some personal business (ie. plane tickets), it brought a lot of tears and frustration.
Here is where Gretchen and I parted ways. But let me tell you, it was a mission and a half to get out of Rome. After being thrown out of our hotel room 3 times because of overbooking, G and I got fed up and hailed a taxi to spend the night at the airport.
Smooth sailing from here, right?? Hah! More tears and confusion later (being thrown out of the first cab, almost rejected by the second...) we are dumped off at the airport where we meet this couple who's experiences and troubles made ours seem minute. We felt slightly better afterwards.
Florence...On my own...
Missing G already...I joked about having a picture of her with me at all times so when I saw something interesting I could take her picture out and talk to it as if she were the right there. But we didn't think that would be normal, even for me.
Birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, Florence was just full of artsy stuff to partake in. And it had pedestrian only zones where I could get away from all those annoying scooters. Free performances by the Palacio Veccio (Town Hall), an interesting outdoor art exhibit of brass scultures, Michaelangelo's David, and the wonderful Ponte Veccio (Old Bridge). The bridge was just store after store after store of exquisite (and expensive!) jewelry. Pearls of all different hues, gem stones galore. Wow. Some day, when I'm rich...
Just like Paris, I found Venice to be a very romantic city. So happy to be away from scooter mania. And no, the canals did not smell when I was here. Really loved just wandering in and out of streets and not consulting my map.
There are lots of cool stores to look at all different designs of Venetian glass and Carnival masks. Since I ran out of Italian Lira, most of my time in Venice was spent people watching by the Doge's Palace. Fun and free.
