003. Italy Summary [Pictures]
Seeing as we did a lot of things and went to a lot of places it's easier for me to split things up based on location. I have a bad memory so I may skip things but I'll try and include as much as possible. I didn't take many pictures though but I included some of my favorites and others I found interesting.
Milan
We started out in Milan! It was the first time I'd ever been on an airplane by myself but I managed okay, got through security just fine and all and the flight wasn't to bad. Seeing as I got to the airport about two hours before Megan and her family did I just bummed around for a while reading. I figured I should get some lunch but I was too nervous to eat. I met up with Megan and her family at the gate. It was so strange to see her after so long but I was really happy too. We took a bus from the airport to our hotel and the room was super fancy. I feel kinda bad that I didn't get any pictures of it.
The next morning we were toured around the city by a friend of Megan's family. Well, actually I think it was more like a friend of a friend or something but we went to a few different places, his driving was a little scary though. In the end we wound up at the Duomo which was quite beautiful and you could go up to the roof too. Me and Megan stayed up there for a while drawing. The view down below was quite impressive and I got a few photos of the statues on the spires too.
After we decided to take the underground back. Seeing as the tickets were dispensed from machines we got a little confused as to which ones we needed and ended up buying about three pairs of tickets. We found the right ones in the end and made it back safely. That night we went to dinner in this Mediterranean restaurant I think. I ended up having calamari and scampi which was really good. When we were walking back I noticed flashes in the sky. When we got back to our hotel room we could better see that it was actually lighting but it was just within the clouds, not making contact with the ground. We sat and watched it for a while. I tried taking a video but I don't think it came out too well.
We only spent two nights in Milan so the next morning we had to go catch the train to Venice. The view from the window that morning was very pretty though.
Venice
We came into Venice by train which was pretty cushy. Then again we were traveling first class. We had to get a boat bus from the station to our hotel and we got to see around the main canal. venice is a really beautiful city. Although with my awkward hands I make it look wonky.
I think for the first day we wandered around Saint Mark's Square and the alleys in between. There were so many people though, all tourists. It was somewhat unsettling. I forget what we did for dinner that night but the hotel we stayed in was quaint. It was a really tall room with like a little upstairs that was more like a balcony. I remember the next day me and Megan went to the Academia art gallery. I have to admit, I'm normally not too fond of old paintings but it was interesting none the less. We went to look round one of the churches as well.
Dinner that night was fun. Instead of eating out in a restaurant we went to the grocery store and had a little picnic by the side of the main canal. It was very pleasant and a lot of fun too. We took a lot of photos. I noticed that the street lamps were tinted pink which I thought was rather cute. The looked really pretty when they were lit too.
On the day we left for Florence we visited a small museum. I forget exactly what it was based on, I think it was around artifacts from this cathedral but I'm not sure.
Tuscany
We took the train to Florence but we didn't stay long, instead we rented a car and drove up to this little holiday home place. It was like a group of apartments and it was very beautiful. Once again I feel it's a shame I didn't get pictures. We'd been doing a lot and Tuscany was the first time we really relaxed. They had a pool which we took a bit of a swim in, unfortunately there were always a few insects buzzing around. In fact insects were a bit of a problem. Seeing as the room didn't have air conditioning we slept with the window open and seeing as it was just opposite this small spotlight it attracted so many mosquitos. Every time one came near I'd try and bat it away which according to Megan sent me into small fits of flailing which was apparently very funny to watch. Both of us got bitten all over unfortunately.
The view from the windows was stunning though. We were surrounded by trees and vineyards and you'd get the most beautiful sunsets as well.
We didn't go many places as the roads were so windy and Megan got a little motion sick. We did go to Sienna one day but that was fairly uneventful because we were both grumpy from the heat and didn't want to do much. I did get a photo of some pigeons in little holes in the wall though. Actually over the course of this trip I sort of found a new love for pigeons. Megan influenced this a lot.
Not to mention this little poster. The problem with Hetalia is after a while you can't help but see it everywhere and smile to yourself.
Florence
I think Florence was one of my favourite places. It was very pretty and there was lots to do. Not to mention I think I got my drawing spark back, if only for a little while. There were lots of galleries full of statues. Our favourite was the Bargello (I think that's how it was spelled). There were so many statues which were really fun to draw. And as we went in the morning it was fairly quiet. I should update my sketch blog with all the drawings I did in Italy sometime. Another gallery had quite a few statues outside, including a replica of David. We went to see the real one but I think we were both a little exhausted so we didn't stay in the gallery long.
I'm not sure what's going on with this one but it was one of my favourites.
There were a lot of horses about. I think horse and carriage rides may have been a nice little tourist thing. Megan tried petting one of them but I was a little worried about setting them off and getting run over.
And while walking around we found this little store. I'm not sure what it is but I think it was meant to be a jewelers.
The hotel we stayed in was actually on the fourth floor of this building. I don't mean that we stayed on the fourth floor I mean literally the whole hotel was on the fourth floor. It overlooked this square and it was situated right next to the Ferrari store. One thing I noticed is that often there were a lot of stores that had car brands selling clothing. There was a jacket in the Ferarri store I liked but it was 140 euros so there was no way I was buying it.
In the square though was this beautiful little carousel which me and Megan rode together on our last night in Florence.
When we were leaving the hotel on our last day this cute little bus passed by. This has nothing to do with anything, I just thought it was a cute bus.
Rome
Rome was our final destination and it was somewhat hotter than the other places. It was the only place I'd been to before. When I went to Sorrento a few years ago a day was spent in Rome. On the first evening we went down to the colosseum but we didn't go inside. I forget what we did on our first whole day there. I think we went down to another gallery with all these old roman statues and pottery and everything. I do remember that me and Megan had dinner in this Japanese restaurant that we'd seen on our first night there which was very nice. We also went there for lunch on our last full day.
The second full day we had I remember we went down to the Vatican. We'd seen it the first night off in the distance.
We took the bus there. it took us a while to figure out how to do the tickets though as it's different from in England and Canada. You have to buy the tickets beforehand. When we finally got on the bus a little bird had hopped on with us. Megan tried to catch it but it flew out of her hand. A few other people tried to catch it but eventually one man caught it and managed to release it outside. Everyone cheered afterwards.
We went through the church and everything. We also went through the tombs of the deceased Popes. It was very crowded in there and the atmosphere was very heavy so it wasn't too pleasant. We went to the museum at the Vatican which was very interesting. I don't really remember it from last time, even though we went to see the Sistine chapel ceiling. It seemed different from last time. The other exhibits were interesting though. There was one, not sure what it was meant to be but it was pretty fascinating. It was out in the courtyard and it would rotate.
Also walking around the museum was a woman who was dressed in the same colours of the Italian flag in the same order only flipped on its side. I don't know if it was intentional but I found it amusing.
On our last full day me and Megan wandered down to the Spanish steps. Personally I didn't find it too interesting. I'm not actually sure why they're a landmark. We had to pass a fountain to get there though and there were a group of pigeons taking a bath which was cute.
For our last night we went down to another large square. We had a nice dinner and the dessert was cute. We ordered strawberries. We thought we'd just get strawberries and cream but we ended up getting strawberries topped with vanilla ice-cream that had wafers and a little cocktail umbrella in it. We also spotted an advertisement with a man who looked vaguely like Tetsuo. We found it even funnier that the light was being reflected off the area where his forehead was.
There weren't many Hetalia referenced in Rome (besides one in the Vatican) but there were a few Pokemon ones.
The morning we left was the only time it rained. We had to get the the airport pretty early on. Luckily our flights left at almost the same time. They were only ten minutes apart so I got to spend most of the morning with Megan. When we finally said goodbye it wasn't as hard as the last time but it was still very sad. I hope to see her again soon.
Apologies for the wall of text. Congratulations to you if you read all the way through.