21-23 Rome
It is just amazing to me how old all of the sites in Rome are. As an American, anything over a few hundred years old gets me excited. We took a hop on hop off bus around the city to see all of the important sites..Colosseo, Vaticano, Piazza Barberini, Basilica of St. mary Major, Trajan's Column, the Pantheon...etc. As a plus we were given head phones and could learn about each place in 15 different languages!
In many of the places we visted during our journeys, being on a student budget, but hungry to learn, we would hang out by the English tours and secretly steal the knowledge being offered to paying customers. This probably makes us the nerdiest thieves I know. We were able to find a tour at the Colosseo and as with much of Rome, it's interesting to imagine the happenings thousands of years ago in the very spot we were standing. It's also mind blowing that something so intricate and technically flawless as the Pantheon could have been built at this time.
Probably my favorite thing about Rome was the people we met at our hostel, The Yellow, known as the sexiest, trendiest hostel around. At the hostel bar we met people from all over the world. When you're traveling it's so easy to meet interesting people. You just sit down introduce yourself and before you know it you're sharing all of your adventures, hopes and dreams...Many of the employees were from other countries, but wanted to live in Rome —so now they do. We also met Australians who are traveling the world for 2 years. It was inspiring to talk to people living the dream and to know that it is possible.
24-25 Florence
While the sites were nice to see in Rome, I prefer the cities where you can simply walk around, sit and have a cup of coffee, and experience the city. Florence was just beautiful—stunning, old, colorful architecture and narrow cobble stone streets.
Our first night we got in late, dropped off our things and went for a night walk. The city was lively at night and not just with tourists, locals too. A man rode by us on his bike singing to himself. As we walked we kept stumbling upon into different sites by accident. Highlights were the Duomo, a colorful, intricate cathedral, and Ponte Vecchio, an old bridge that was quite lovely at night.
The next day we visited the statue of David. We spent a lot of time just marveling the gigantic statue. There are also half finished statues on display, it's interesting to see the process.
In the afternoon we rented bikes and spent the day cruising the narrow streets and dodging the traffic free for all. We made it up the hill to Michaelangelo Park to see the breathtaking view of the whole city.
By this time in our travels, I would like to note that I was hooked on nocciola (hazelnut) gelati eating it whenever I got the chance.
26-28 Cinque Terre
It's hard to pick a favorite, but Cinque Terre is definitely up there. Cinque Terre is made up of 5 colorful villages tucked into the giant rocky mountains that sit against the coastline of Italy. The combination of breathtaking natural sights and the enchanting, cosy villages is just stunning. Walking paths along the mountains connect each of the villages.
Amanda and I stayed in an apartment in Riomaggiore. We had our own rooms, kitchen, bathroom and balcony with a lovely view! A nice change from the hostels. We cooked a few of the nights too which was nice.
The hike through all of the villages takes 5 hours total. One day we did a few of the paths, but ended up in Vernazza in an art shop until it was dark so we had to do the last stretch to Monterosso the next day. The hikes were absolutely gorgeous. It was hard to believe we were even there. It seemed with every few steps as we climbed winding through the mountains with the ocean below us the view became more and more beautiful. See pictures, my words could never do CT justice :)
On the way to one of the villages we found a sign that read "Free beach" pointing to a skinny, steep path down the mountain. Of course we took on the challenge. The hike down was intense, but well worth it when we arrived at the ocean. The tide was too high to go down to the beach. Instead we sat on a ledge and ate our pesto sandwiches as we watched the powerful, stormy waves crash against the rocky shore below us. This had to be the best picnic of my life.
27 Pisa
We had planned on doing the whole 5hr hike today. When we awoke to thunderstorms we grabbed our bottle of wine and ran away to Pisa for the day. Really we just wanted to take a peek at the leaning tower. When we finally found it, all my hopes and dreams were crushed. It is much shorter than I had imagined all of these years. What a let down. Anyway, we made fun of everyone taking the holding-the-tower-up-cliche photo, then took several of our own :)
29-30 Venice
As my guide book says, Venice is a hauntingly beautiful place: a strange, surreal city in which everyday life seems somehow more dramatic than elsewhere. The directions to our hostel alone were magical... always keep canal on right, pass two white bridges, cross the little wooden bridge.. Several bridges later we arrived at Campo Santa Margarita, where our hostel was located and apparently the happening spot for young locals. We dropped off our things and went for a night walk. What intrigued me most about Venice was how exotic everyday life is. That night we saw some kids our age going home from the bar in their pimped out boat.
Most of our time in Venice was spent wandering aimlessly through the maze of canals, narrow alleys, bridges and dead ends just taking in the beauty. The public transportation was almost as romantic as a gondola ride. We tried to hide our sheer excitement from the locals who probably took the "bus boat" everyday to work.
We spent both nights sipping wine in the lively square near our hostel. The last night some locals came over and talked to us. We ended up meeting quite a few Italian boys and a girl (who studied VC design and studied abroad in Berlin-cool!). It was a fun night of drinks, laughs, discussing Italian and American stereotypes...and it ended dancing in a Doner Kabab.
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