Italy Recap
For pictures, please - go here and then click the links on the side for each location.
Rome- I went with my friend Lawrence and tore through the city in 3 days and still had another 2.5 days to go with very little to see. Other than that it was amazing. I loved the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Forum. I met an Australian on my plane ride back to London who recommended I watch Rome, and I think I am really inspired to do so now that I have actually been to the city. It has public transport, but it is small enough that it is easily walkable. Still, everything is confusing there and it is easy to get lost. Lawrence sort of led us astray about every time we went somewhere. I do better since I lived in the completely nonsensical Nagasaki for 2 years where you have to remember everything by it being past the 3rd pachinko parlor on the right and then a 75-degree turn. I had heard that places like the Vatican would be overcrowded, but we had no lines whatsoever. December is a great time to go. The weather was cold, but sunny and only slightly unbearable when the winds picked up. I went into some of the really high-end shops like Prada. I guess there was more reasonable shopping around but I didn't really know where it was. No souvenirs for me in Rome. My hostel was a lot of fun, even though I was allergic to the bed. There was free pizza in the evenings and everyone there was so friendly and fun. Most of the travelers were from Australia/New Zealand on their summer break. I think it would kind of suck to have summer break when everywhere is so cold, but I guess the benefit is that nothing is crowded. I just remember Prague in mid-August- what a nightmare.
Pisa- I met a guy who claimed to have helped started the free Berlin tour I went on- crazy or what? He lives in Valencia now. I am pretty grateful though- my friend is coming at the end of this week and we can go on the free London tours instead of having to pay. He also said I was welcome to visit him in Valencia. I am not sure it is a terribly exciting town but it is warm and sunny, which is a plus. I think I would bring someone with me though. I was excited to get to go up into the Leaning Tower. I went in the '80s when it was too leaning to climb anymore and was crushed. It was a little bit outrageous in terms of the price (15 euro), but I still had to do it anyway. This was another thing that was supposed to have a huge line but didn't.
Florence- This was my favorite city by far. It is small enough that everything is quickly accessible by walking and you can't get lost. All the streets were lit up by Christmas lights and there were lots of cute shops. I just bought a scarf though because I had something that made me beep and it got annoying seeing the looks of the rent-a-cops. I should have gotten another scarf at that store though because it had so many pretty colors and I need one for my pink jacket. Again, the big museums were not so crowded. I did not end up going into all of them because they cost roughly 6.50-10 euro a pop and that can really put a dent in the wallet. I met some nice Australian law students about to graduate. They must have been really smart because they had tons of job offers lined up- sigh. They were studying abroad for their last semester and making the most of it. They only have 4.5 hours of class a week- lucky!
Lots of the art I saw was Jesus/Mary stuff. Maybe I am just not that clued in with art, but after 10-15 of those types of paintings, I sort of lose interest. I know it was the theme of the time, but I want something more historical showing life at the time. The Uffizi did had some more modern stuff like impressionist and pointilist paintings, which are more my style. I tend to prefer artwork from the 19th century forward, just because that's when it really moves away from the religious themes.
Perugia- it's a hill town that reminds me somewhat of Nagasaki. There are lots of hills and stair roads that can't be driven on and it seems pretty confusing what with the lack of the road labeling and whatnot. It had an old town and lots of ugly modern buildings- also reminiscent of Nagasaki. Oh the memories. It is not as touristy though and you really get a feel for Italy. It has the siesta hours in full swing, so from around 1-4, the town is completely dead. It is a bit creepy to say the least. In theory I like the idea of siesta because I think it would be nice to go home, eat lunch, rest a while, and go back to work, but in practice when you're traveling, it is not so desirable because the restaurants all close so early and then don't open up again until 7 or 8.
Assisi- the main draw here is the Basilica of St. Francis. It is totally amazing and my guidebook told me to be ready for huge crowds. Whatever- it was totally dead, surprising just 2 days before Christmas. The frescoes were by far the best I saw. Even though the Sistine Chapel is more famous, I liked these better for some reason. I couldn't take pictures, though. I got out of the basilica during siesta and the town was creepily dead. I waited around until I could get a bus to the train station and went back to Perugia.
Rome- I went with my friend Lawrence and tore through the city in 3 days and still had another 2.5 days to go with very little to see. Other than that it was amazing. I loved the Colosseum, the Vatican, and the Forum. I met an Australian on my plane ride back to London who recommended I watch Rome, and I think I am really inspired to do so now that I have actually been to the city. It has public transport, but it is small enough that it is easily walkable. Still, everything is confusing there and it is easy to get lost. Lawrence sort of led us astray about every time we went somewhere. I do better since I lived in the completely nonsensical Nagasaki for 2 years where you have to remember everything by it being past the 3rd pachinko parlor on the right and then a 75-degree turn. I had heard that places like the Vatican would be overcrowded, but we had no lines whatsoever. December is a great time to go. The weather was cold, but sunny and only slightly unbearable when the winds picked up. I went into some of the really high-end shops like Prada. I guess there was more reasonable shopping around but I didn't really know where it was. No souvenirs for me in Rome. My hostel was a lot of fun, even though I was allergic to the bed. There was free pizza in the evenings and everyone there was so friendly and fun. Most of the travelers were from Australia/New Zealand on their summer break. I think it would kind of suck to have summer break when everywhere is so cold, but I guess the benefit is that nothing is crowded. I just remember Prague in mid-August- what a nightmare.
Pisa- I met a guy who claimed to have helped started the free Berlin tour I went on- crazy or what? He lives in Valencia now. I am pretty grateful though- my friend is coming at the end of this week and we can go on the free London tours instead of having to pay. He also said I was welcome to visit him in Valencia. I am not sure it is a terribly exciting town but it is warm and sunny, which is a plus. I think I would bring someone with me though. I was excited to get to go up into the Leaning Tower. I went in the '80s when it was too leaning to climb anymore and was crushed. It was a little bit outrageous in terms of the price (15 euro), but I still had to do it anyway. This was another thing that was supposed to have a huge line but didn't.
Florence- This was my favorite city by far. It is small enough that everything is quickly accessible by walking and you can't get lost. All the streets were lit up by Christmas lights and there were lots of cute shops. I just bought a scarf though because I had something that made me beep and it got annoying seeing the looks of the rent-a-cops. I should have gotten another scarf at that store though because it had so many pretty colors and I need one for my pink jacket. Again, the big museums were not so crowded. I did not end up going into all of them because they cost roughly 6.50-10 euro a pop and that can really put a dent in the wallet. I met some nice Australian law students about to graduate. They must have been really smart because they had tons of job offers lined up- sigh. They were studying abroad for their last semester and making the most of it. They only have 4.5 hours of class a week- lucky!
Lots of the art I saw was Jesus/Mary stuff. Maybe I am just not that clued in with art, but after 10-15 of those types of paintings, I sort of lose interest. I know it was the theme of the time, but I want something more historical showing life at the time. The Uffizi did had some more modern stuff like impressionist and pointilist paintings, which are more my style. I tend to prefer artwork from the 19th century forward, just because that's when it really moves away from the religious themes.
Perugia- it's a hill town that reminds me somewhat of Nagasaki. There are lots of hills and stair roads that can't be driven on and it seems pretty confusing what with the lack of the road labeling and whatnot. It had an old town and lots of ugly modern buildings- also reminiscent of Nagasaki. Oh the memories. It is not as touristy though and you really get a feel for Italy. It has the siesta hours in full swing, so from around 1-4, the town is completely dead. It is a bit creepy to say the least. In theory I like the idea of siesta because I think it would be nice to go home, eat lunch, rest a while, and go back to work, but in practice when you're traveling, it is not so desirable because the restaurants all close so early and then don't open up again until 7 or 8.
Assisi- the main draw here is the Basilica of St. Francis. It is totally amazing and my guidebook told me to be ready for huge crowds. Whatever- it was totally dead, surprising just 2 days before Christmas. The frescoes were by far the best I saw. Even though the Sistine Chapel is more famous, I liked these better for some reason. I couldn't take pictures, though. I got out of the basilica during siesta and the town was creepily dead. I waited around until I could get a bus to the train station and went back to Perugia.