Rome Pt 2

14th January 2013
Exchange dude had highly recommended that I visit Capuchin Crypt.

It contains the skeletal remains of 3,700 bodies believed to be Capuchin friars buried by their order.

It was creepy (human remains used as art) but also incredibly underwhelming and I left the place so disappointed.


Upside to the torrential rain. 

Roman Forum



I went to the Coleseum again with the intention of entering it. Since I was travelling in low season, the line was only 10 people long, but when I actually got there, I just lost interest. And that was basically how I felt the entire time I was in Rome. I ended up wandering around looking at all the attractions listed on my map.

I don't have a photo of it without me there. Also don't want my face on the internet either hence the cloud.

One of the places that I always wanted to visit since I was in primary school was Bocca della Verità and it was really awesome, probably the highlight of my trip to Rome. I also visited the church attached and spoke to the guy (or more accurately, the guy started to talk to me) and then we somehow got onto the topic of the Australian bushfires.










Exchange dude had also recommended that I visit this 'amazing' restaurant, an alleged hidden jem. Oh it was hidden all right. I had actually tried to locate it the night before and couldn't find it. I tried again and there was no one there. Literally.






Super fast, but I was worried the owner/ waiter/ chef would actually catch me.

The pasta was homemade and it was lovely, but I also picked without thinking. I ordered a cream based pasta sauce which was so rich and sickening after a while. I only ate 1/3 of it. Also, one my biggest gripes / cultural shock with Europe was a) the fact I had to pay to use bathrooms (although I usually got around this by not going to the bathroom or visiting a Maccas) and b) that water is not free! The idea of "tap water" isn't, I guess, really a big thing and I kept on forgetting about that.

Florence Pt 2

12th January 2013
On the second day, I joined the free walking tour offered by the hostel. But just before that, the breakfast was amazing! It was buffet style and it had a considerable variety. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee, cereal, fruit, etc. An amazing spread and the hostel was in a great location as it was near the station. I stayed at Archi Rossi.Originally, I was tossing up between a few significantly cheaper hostels but reviews seemed to be quite dodgy so I splurged on Archi Rossi (I believe I paid $20 AUD/ night not including city tax and every other tax imaginable).

I didn't include any photos of the duomo (Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) in the previous entry because it was gloomy.







Actually really hard to illustrate how amazing the building was using my photos alone.


NOT MY PHOTO. Credit.


The tour was informative and as it was free, I couldn't complain! I went back to the Duomo and decided to climb to the top.




On the inside of the dome.


Look closely. Hmm. Can you spot it? Look at the torches held by the devils.


If that is what hell looks like, I sure don't want to be there. I went to Catholic school and to church for many years and I really don't remember learning about a 3 faced creature in Hell. .

The view was breathtaking and the weather was gorgeous!








My typical lunch. Of course. Back to the present, I bought 1kg of Twiggy sticks and I believe I am 20% through and I am dreading the rest. I love salami and other cured meats, but my biggest issue is the fat pockets. It honestly grosses me out and in my Twiggy sticks they are becoming quite a significant issue.






My Overall Thoughts
Florence is so gorgeous and so incredible. I loved the street stalls selling every leather product imaginable. If I wasn't so conscious about the weight of my luggage, I would have loved to splurge on a leather handbag or satchel. I love the smell of leather. It was a lot busier and crowded than I imagined, considering that I was travelling in low season so I can't really imagine being there during peak season in the summer.

My experiences in Florence always make me smile. It was an incredible city, coupled with Pierre (the man I met on the first night).

Would I re-visit?
Yes. Yes. Yes. Florence is my favourite city out of all the places that I have ever visited (places in the USA, Canada, Europe and Australia). I had never really thought of visiting it until my Student Flights travel agent (who by the way, was so lovely and I will have a random post at some stage about him) recommended me to visit Florence as it was his favourite city after Barcelona. And I completely agree. It is a place that I would recommend to everyone. I would also love to explore more of Florence (I didn't have time for the galleries) and Tuscany at some stage in the -hopefully- near future.

Next stop: Rome. 

Florence Pt 1

11 January 2013
Florence is an hour train ride from Pisa. After disembarking at Centrale, it was immediately obvious that Florence was a much larger city than Pisa.

One of the first stops in Florence was the supermarket and once again, I stocked up on salami, cheese and bread. I also bought a iced tea drink however I couldn't open the bloody thing! Normally I am pretty good, but this lid was just glued on. I actually asked two male Korean tourists if they could open it for me but they couldn't. I was actually really close to throwing out the drink (although that would have been such a waste of €2). On my way to the duomo, a middle aged gentleman was walking in the opposite direction and I stopped him and with my incredibly limited Italian (which consisted of "Hi, excuse me" and then motioned towards my drink lid). He struggled and I tried to tell him that it was okay but he insisted and actually - and this was so adorable- he got out his keys and basically pried off the lid from my bottle and I thanked him profusely.






The Duomo was incredible. Absolutely incredible.





Eventually, I stumbled upon Arno River and Ponte Vecchio. On the bridge as I was taking a photo of Florence, an elderly Italian gentleman - Pierre- approached me and asked me if I wanted him to take my photo. After the experience in Pisa, I was a little hesitant and I told him that it was fine. But he was persistent so I caved. He started to ask about my background and he commented on the fact that I was travelling by myself ('My daughters would never do that') and offered to give me a quick tour of Florence. So off we went. He talked about the history of the city, the Medici family and the palace. We stopped off at Chiesa di Santa Felicita which had this incredible painting (and the guy said it was very important, but I can't remember what it was. Whoops). We must have walked for an hour or so and it was so enjoyable since he was so knowledgable. We talked about the city, his home and his family. He also showed me the "most romantic spot" in Florence and it was incredible. When we parted, he gave me a proper cheek kiss and such a lovely, lovely hug. What a sweet man.






Ponte Vecchio

Pisa

10-11th January 2013
Pisa! The country that I was most excited to visit was Italy. I think I have mentioned it in a post previously, but in primary school from Year 2 to Year 5, I used to have Italian classes. It was a combination of learning the language as well as the culture of the country. The flight from London to Pisa was so incredibly short; it was still hard to wrap my head around the fact that all the countries in Europe are geographically so close together.

Quick review of my hostel, Walking Street Hostel. It was so dodgy; when I arrived the guy at reception told me that my bed wasn't ready but it would be after an inspection (I am guessing that there was probably some sort of law regulating the number of people in the room) and I had to leave my bag right next to the front door. Hmm. The people who worked at the hostel slept in the living room. Hmm. Ah well, it was relatively cheap and I was only there for one night so it didn't bother me too much.








First stop: the Leaning Tower of Pisa! It was incredible and I didn't actually imagine it to be that tall or impressive. When I was in NYC, my issue with the places that I visited was that I was underwhelmed, but seeing the Tower and the piazza, I was just overwhelmed.





At the base of the tower I met a gentleman. Cue story. He offered to take my photo with the tower and I handed over my camera. After the photo, he introduced himself (can't remember his name anymore) and offered to give me a quick tour which I accepted. He started talking about the history of the piazza and the city/ town and finally offered to take my around the city. Apparently there was a 'beautiful' garden that many tourists didn't visit and off we went! It was €5 ($7ish AUD) entrance fee which the guy paid (and the woman at the desk looked at my oddly). The garden was beautiful. Not. I don't know why it didn't occur to him that we were in the middle of winter therefore there wouldn't be anything growning. It was actually really hilarious.


The fabulous garden.

We then went to another piazza and truth be told, not entirely sure where we went, but the town really isn't that big so I roughly knew where I was. Unlike the Irish guy in London, this guy was borderline creepy. I was wearing my thick woollen coat and I wasn't entirely sure if he was brushing or touching my chest/ arm/ side of body area. I just wasn't sure if it was intentional or accidental since it wasn't a clear deliberate action. I don't know. After a while, it became a little creepy so we parted. Right before we did though, he gave me a hug and then what I thought was going to be a kiss on my cheeks. Rather to my surprise, he (and this is why I just don't know if he was a perv or not) kissed 1/3 of my lips. So it wasn't on my lips completely but definitely not normal either.

My Overall Thoughts
Pisa was very interesting. It was the first country I visited where English was not the first language and combined with the guy that I met and the incredible UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was a memorable day.

Would I re-visit?
Nope. The only thing to see (in terms of tourist attractions) is the Piazza del Duomo and as gorgeous as it is, it doesn't really justify a day trip.