Italia, ti amo.

No Rome this time around, but I'll get there soon enough. Anyway, this picture is from Venice, obviously. Because I'm stupid, I forgot to take a picture of the bridge from which I took this shot.

I haven't yet expressed how thrilled I was when I realized I was going to go to Italy after all. Coming to Europe, my top 3 cities to visit were Paris, London, and Rome. But after a few months and realizing how hard it was to match up schedules, it looked like Italy wasn't going to happen at all. Even though I told myself that I already had so many great trips and wonderful experiences that should have been enough, I was still really disappointed that I wasn't going to have a chance to go to Italy. But a couple of weeks ago, Lacey brought up the idea and we were able to pick dates and make this happen. I was surprised by how quickly and how hard I fell in love with Italy. It's so beautiful and seeing Italian, hearing it everywhere, and trying to speak it was really an interesting experience. It was just incredible.

The traveling part of getting to Venice wasn't particularly noteworthy. The only thing that caused me any worry was the fact that my tram pass had expired and I was feeling really guilty for not paying for the ride on our way to the airport. We had a layover in Lyon, so now I can say I've been there.

Thanks to Lacey who had all the flight and transportation information written down in her moleskine, we were able to get around pretty smoothly. We got on the number 5 bus at the Venice Marco Polo airport to head to Camping Jolly (the campsite that we booked). There was some confusion with the bus system, but after getting to our stop and walking for about 15 minutes, we finally reached the campsite where we met up with our third travel buddy, Denise.

It turned out that Camping Jolly was overbooked so they sent us to their other site, Camp Alba D'oro, which had much better access to Venice so that worked out really well for us. After settling in our little 3 person ensuite cabin, we got headed out to the Venetian island.

Getting to Venice and seeing a canal with gondolas and boats for the first time? Amazing. I couldn't believe that I was actually in Italy and walking around a city I had wanted to go to for so long. That first night, we just wandered around and got very lost, but had so much fun in the process.

The next morning, the first thing we did when we got to the island was go to S. Lucia train station to get our tickets for Florence. Then we got a 24 hour pass for the bus system, or since it was Venice: waterbuses!

We headed out to [Murano], a separate island maybe 30 minutes from the main Venetian island, which is famous for its tradition of glass-making. On our way there, we passed another island which, I believe, was a cemetery.

The waterbus ride was amazing! It was so fun being out on the water and watching the islands go by.

On the island of Murano, we saw a glass-blowing demonstration and the rest of the time there was spent ducking in and out of shops and walking around the alleyways.

After a few hours on Murano, we headed back to Venice and got off at the San Marco stop. Our first stop then was the [Doge's Palace] which was really interesting, especially the dungeon.

After the Doge's Palace, we spent some time at Saint Mark's square which was really nice because it wasn't very crowded and just fun to hang out in. We did our photo-ops there and then went to look for dinner. After dinner we headed back to Saint Mark's for some night-time photos. Then it was time to head back so we went back onto a waterbus. Because it was impossible to take pictures of the waterbus ride at night, I took a [few] [videos] (six total); unfortunately, my camera has no sound.

Let me just tell you that a night-time waterbus ride along the Grand Canal was one of the most enjoyable experiences ever.

Sunday was more souvenir shopping day and we headed to the [Ponte Rialto]. After stopping in a couple of shops around there, we found a random small bridge on a little canal and had lunch. We sat there for about an hour as gondolas passed by underneath us, some with singing gondoliers. It was pretty great.

After lunch, we went back to Saint Mark's to visit the basilica. It was gorgeous inside but of course, no pictures allowed so I made do with a postcard.

We then headed towards the Accademia, stopping on our way at a church that was having a Vivaldi/Violin exhibition.

As we walked around, we also found a Borders-type bookstore. One of the major souvenirs I wanted to get in Italy was either a book or DVD. I figured if I got a book, I would get Harry Potter, which is what I did with French as well. But then I found the most beautifully illustrated Pinocchio book and fell in love with it. However, it was € 30 and I couldn't bring myself to get it. Then I told myself if I found it in a bookstore in Florence, I'd make my final decision there.

We got to the museum shortly after, but at that point, Lacey and I were so tired we ended up just sitting for long stretches of time in the various rooms. The paintings were great, of course, but I was too exhausted for much interest.

One thing about Italian museums is they don't discount unless you're an EU or art student. So that kind of sucked for us.

After the Accademia, we bought slices of pizza and ate them in a random square in front of a church and then headed to a gelateria for dessert and tea after. It was really peaceful just sitting there and watching people roaming around the square. After we finished our dessert, it started to rain so we decided to head back. We got rather lost trying to get back to the Piazzale Roma where the bus station was. While wandering through all the random alley ways, Denise and I rounded a corner and almost stepped right into a canal.

That was pretty much it for the first half of the trip. Rome and Venice were the cities I wanted to go to most, and I'm so happy I at least got Venice. I adored it so much. The idea of building a city on water and having only either boats or walking as the only means of transportation is brilliant to me. I also just love the fact that it's water water water everywhere. Granted the canals actually looked kind of gross, but who cares? Living in a lagoon? That's the dream, really. Venice was just an absolutely gorgeous city.

There were a few sights that I missed in terms of picture taking, but there are some scenic photos in there. If you want to see the Venice pictures, the [album is here].


The train ride to Florence took about three hours and since we left a little after 10 in the morning, we still had quite a large part of the day to explore.

Our hostel was very close to the Santa Maria Novella train station and also a very short walk to the [Duomo]. Our first stop in Florence was the Duomo and in front of it is the Baptistry with the famous [Gates of Paradise] by Lorenzo Ghiberti. My Art History prof last summer spent the better part of a week (which is a long time, considering summer sessions are only six weeks) talking about these doors, so it was really cool seeing them in person. Well, maybe 80% cool as those were only copies.

After that, our next stop was the post office at the [Piazza della Repubblica] to send packages. Back at Murano, I had bought some glass figurines for mom so I wanted to send those to her.

The post-office was huge and actually kind of pretty, but rather confusing. Eventually I did figure it out and got my little ticket with a number. When my number was called up, I went to the desk with a scowling lady. I asked her if she spoke English, and she didn't. Now, one of my major goals when I arrived in Italy was to have a conversation in Italian, so I was almost excited when post-office lady said she didn't speak English. However, in the end, she turned out to be kind of a bitch so I decided after that the conversation didn't count. To be honest, from my experiences, French people have been a lot nicer in these types of situations than in Italians. Anyway, the point is I got the packaged sent out, but whether or not it ever reaches my mom is still in question.

After that, we found a little place called Corona's Cafe and had lunch and gelato (their gelato was so good we ended up just going back there for our daily gelato). Then we headed back to the Duomo to visit the museum located behind it. There was plenty of cool stuff there, of course, but the most notable things were the original Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise [panels] as well as Donatello's [Mary Magdalene] wood sculpture. I must say that I never liked this piece when I learned about it in any of my art history classes, and I disliked it even more when I saw it up close. To be honest, I didn't even get that close to it because [her face and the dead look in her eyes] creeped me out too much.

When we left the museum and headed back to the hostel, we passed by a Mel's Bookstore, which is also Borders-ish. And guess what book we found there? The same copy of Pinocchio that I found back in Venice. I still couldn't bring myself to drop the € 30 on it, though.

We rested at the hostel for a bit and then after nine, went out to dinner. A few other UC girls were traveling in Italy as well so we met up with them for dinner. And that was pretty much it for Monday.

The next day, we headed out intending to go to the Uffizi gallery. We got there and saw [Fake David] at the Palazzo della Signoria. It wasn't even 11 am when we reached the Uffizi, but the line was so long we decided to go back the next day.

Instead, we headed to the [Bargello] which was pretty cool. The only thing I felt was really worth pictures was Donatello's [David], but first of all, no pictures allowed, and secondly it was currently undergoing restoration anyway. They had a set up in the middle of the room so you could watch them work on the statue. However, it was actually kind of weird seeing this work in such an undignified, face-down manner.

We went back to the Duomo afterwards to visit the inside. Because it is so gorgeous and intricate on the outside, the inside was actually a little underwhelming. The [dome] was gorgeous, though. Inside, the gift shop was located downstairs next to the ruins of the original Duomo, I guess. Also, [Brunelleschi] tomb is there.

After that, we visited the Baptistry which also had a gorgeous [domed ceiling]. That's pretty much all there is to say about that.

Then we split up because Denise wanted to see the interior of the [Medici Chapel] and Lacey and I did not want to spend the money. We walked around the street market instead until Denise was done.

Then we headed towards the Accademia where Real David is located. The Accademia itself is really not that impressive. From the outside, it almost looks kind of like a warehouse or something. And really, the only draw is David, but [he is magnificent]. Rounding the corner and entering the corridor that leads up to the David and seeing him for the first time is now one of my most visceral memories. Words cannot describe how much I love the David.

Getting a photo of David was a bit of a drama in itself. Photos aren't allowed and we had just witnessed one of the women working there running around yelling, "NO PHOTO! NO. PHOTO!" But there is flaw in the system as they only guard the area in front of the David, but there is a whole other area to the side out of their line of vision, so it's actually quite easily to take pictures. I was too nervous at the time so I only got a few, but next time I'll know better. Anyway, I couldn't not take photos of the David; it actually pained me not to until I took my first [sneak-attack photo] with the little camera. Then I couldn't resist and against the advise of Denise and Lacey, I took one photo with the big camera.

After the Accademia, we went back to the train station to get our tickets back to Venice (we were flying out of the Marco Polo airport). At the train station, I asked the ticket guy if he spoke English to which he said, "A little." But at this point I was so desperate to try to have a conversation I just decided to speak in Italian with him. And it worked! He answered me in Italian and we got our train tickets and all was right with the world.

We went back to the hostel after that to rest, then went out for dinner. Then we got gelato and ate it strolling around the Duomo and I got my [night time shots].

On Wednesday, we got up bright and early so we could get to the Uffizi gallery before the line got insanely long like it was the day before. We waited for about an hour and then spent almost 5 hours in there. Highlights were Botticelli's "Primavera" and "Birth of Venus" as well as Da Vinci's "[Annunciation]."

After the Uffizi, we walked around a bit and then went to visit the synagogue. No pictures allowed inside. Then we walked around some more and saw the [Santa Croce basilica] but it was closed at the time. It was a loss, as I would have liked to visit the inside because Lorenzo Ghiberti, Galileo Galilei, Niccolo Macchiavelli, and Michelangelo are buried there (among lots of others).

We made our way across the Arno River on the [Ponte Vecchio] to visit the [Pitti Palace], but it was so close to closing time and we were so exhausted we didn't do it. Instead, we ended up wandering around a bit before heading back to our hostel.

On our way to the hostel, we went back to Mel's Bookstore where I agonized over whether or not to get Pinocchio. After much internal debating and pleas to Denise and Lacey for help, I ended up getting Harry Potter e i doni della morte (the 7th Harry Potter book). I had my reasons. After that, we stopped at another little store that sold pretty scarves, and Denise and I each bought one.

That night, we found a nice little restaurant with a waiter that Denise and I took a fancy to. Simply put, the waiter was hot. And since it was our last night in Italy, we all had a little too much wine followed by a too-strong limoncello.

I may have preferred Venice, but I loved Florence as well. I think I lost my steam though when it came to taking pictures as most of them are of the duomo. I don't have very many scenic pictures of the city itself, unfortunately. But if you wish to see them, the [album is here].