Today is Sara and I's third day in Firenze. We didn't exactly plan on having a third day in Firenze, but a third day here makes for a more interesting blog entry than a day-long scenic train ride to Paris would. This morning Sara and I headed to the train station to attempt to book tickets on the same train Yiting and Rosie were taking to Paris, the same one I tried to book last night before they closed in my face. Conveniently, there was only one ticket left aboard this scenic train. Sara and I opted instead to book tickets aboard the overnight train to Paris, which would get us to Paris first thing the next morning, and would give us a third day to explore the amazing city of Firenze.
With this plan set, Sara and I checked our luggage at the train station and said goodbye to Yiting and Rosie before heading back out into the city. We weren't too sure of what to do, but we walked around the city, exploring a lot of the merchant stands. The area around the Basilica of San Lorenzo is lined with hundreds of merchant stands, so it makes for an entertaining walk through. They alternate between aggressively trying to sell you merchandise to practically ignoring you. Nearby was a restaurant that we were recommended to go to for lunch, but had been closed the past two days due to the Easter celebrations. Thankfully it was finally open on our extra day in Firenze, and its quality was demonstrated before we even went in by the line of people outside. You put your name down and they called you in, often seating you with other people simply because there is just not enough room inside. Sara and I sat at a four person table with two other people. My meat pasta dish was excellent, and were both very pleased with the place. Sara's friend's recommendations of where to eat in Firenze turned out to be great.
After lunch, we headed to the Bargello, a museum we had passed by several times but hadn't a chance to enter. It is inside an barracks and prison, which is ironic seeing as it is an art museum. While there aren't as many famous statues in there as there are at the Galleria dell'Accademia (namely the David) it still had quite a few interesting works of art, probably more than the Galleria had, simply because the Galleria makes its name off Michelangelo's David. It was definitely worth the visit, and took up most of our afternoon. For dinner, Sara and I headed to the Santa Croce plaza, where the church was unfortunately closed. There we dined on fine cuisine of bread and Nutella before deciding to go to a nearby pizzeria for a real dinner. After dinner we slowly made our way back to the train station where we grabbed our luggage and boarded our train to Paris.
In quite an interesting twist, we were in a six bed compartment with four other people, all American, and three of them having spent the night with Yiting and Rosie on the night the two of them spent extra in Roma. It made for a fun night of card games and talking before finally going to bed. It made the world feel like a small place, which I suppose it kind of is. Anyway, tomorrow will be our first day on the grand adventure of Paris, but I am going to miss Firenze; it is an incredible city.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
Firenze, Day II
Our second day in Firenze was quite exciting, too. Yiting and Rosie finally joined us after enjoying a second day in Roma, and there's still so much for us to see here. We checked into our new hostel, where the four of us would be staying, before hitting the city again. The two of them wanted to see the David, so while they went up there, Sara and I got in line to go inside of the Duomo, seeing as the Galleria dell'Accademia doesn't take particularly long to see. The inside of the Duomo is amazing, huge and grand, although we weren't allowed into the altar area, which would have been amazing. I could only crane my neck and try to see up the dome. I wish we could have taken the tour of the dome, or done the walk up the Campanile, but that would have taken more time than we had. Inside, there was a staircase downstairs to a basement portion where a gift store was, so I stood there reading a bit of history about the Medici family. I especially like Lorenzo de' Medici, a brilliant statesman and patron of the arts.
After seeing the Duomo, we walked slowly south, passing again through the Paizza della Signoria, but this time we actually went into the Uffizi Gallery. It is an art gallery with many impressive paintings, particularly the one of Venus on the shell. The museum is also rather large, comprised of three or so wings. After the museum, which took most of the afternoon, we headed to the Ponte Vecchio, which we crossed, and headed towards the Piazza Michelangelo, a large plaza overlooking the city. The hike of the large hill wasn't the most enjoyable, but it felt good and the view was incredible. The city just spread out before us, with the Ponte Vecchio and the Palazza Vecchio to our left, the Duomo looming over the city in front of us, and the Basilica of Santa Croce to our right, which houses the tombs of many famous scholars, including Michelangelo and Galileo. Unfortunately we never got to go inside of it. But the hike up the hill was definitely worth it.
Afterward, we needed to head to the train station so that Sara and I could book tickets for the scenic train to Paris the next day that Yiting and Rosie had tickets for. We walked slowly, and stopped in this neat art gallery, with an interesting picture of the Duomo as if riding on water, and a rather interesting spinning item on the wall. While walking, we decided that Rosie and I would go get the tickets while Yiting and Sara headed back to the hostel to drop stuff off, and would then meet us at the restaurant for dinner. Fortunately for Rosie and me, the ticket booth was still open. Unfortunately for us, there was a long line, and right before we got up there, after waiting half an hour, they closed promptly at nine. How very nice of them. And when I say promptly at nine, I mean it. So we hustled over to the restaurant where Yiting and Sara were waiting, and got another delicious meal and a bottle of Italian wine.
We then headed back to the hostel, but not before stopping in a little convenience store, buying more wine, and having our picture taken with the Indian guy working there. They were very friendly, and apparently it is popular amongst them to have their picture taken with foreigners. It was rather entertaining. But tomorrow Sara and I will have to head to the train station early to try to book tickets on this scenic train, which doesn't go as planned. (Does it ever?) Anyway, it was a great second day in Firenze, which is an incredible city.
After seeing the Duomo, we walked slowly south, passing again through the Paizza della Signoria, but this time we actually went into the Uffizi Gallery. It is an art gallery with many impressive paintings, particularly the one of Venus on the shell. The museum is also rather large, comprised of three or so wings. After the museum, which took most of the afternoon, we headed to the Ponte Vecchio, which we crossed, and headed towards the Piazza Michelangelo, a large plaza overlooking the city. The hike of the large hill wasn't the most enjoyable, but it felt good and the view was incredible. The city just spread out before us, with the Ponte Vecchio and the Palazza Vecchio to our left, the Duomo looming over the city in front of us, and the Basilica of Santa Croce to our right, which houses the tombs of many famous scholars, including Michelangelo and Galileo. Unfortunately we never got to go inside of it. But the hike up the hill was definitely worth it.
Afterward, we needed to head to the train station so that Sara and I could book tickets for the scenic train to Paris the next day that Yiting and Rosie had tickets for. We walked slowly, and stopped in this neat art gallery, with an interesting picture of the Duomo as if riding on water, and a rather interesting spinning item on the wall. While walking, we decided that Rosie and I would go get the tickets while Yiting and Sara headed back to the hostel to drop stuff off, and would then meet us at the restaurant for dinner. Fortunately for Rosie and me, the ticket booth was still open. Unfortunately for us, there was a long line, and right before we got up there, after waiting half an hour, they closed promptly at nine. How very nice of them. And when I say promptly at nine, I mean it. So we hustled over to the restaurant where Yiting and Sara were waiting, and got another delicious meal and a bottle of Italian wine.
We then headed back to the hostel, but not before stopping in a little convenience store, buying more wine, and having our picture taken with the Indian guy working there. They were very friendly, and apparently it is popular amongst them to have their picture taken with foreigners. It was rather entertaining. But tomorrow Sara and I will have to head to the train station early to try to book tickets on this scenic train, which doesn't go as planned. (Does it ever?) Anyway, it was a great second day in Firenze, which is an incredible city.
Firenze, Day I
Today, Sara and I woke up really early to take the 7:12 am train from Roma to Firenze. On another note, it is Easter Sunday, so happy Easter everyone! I was rather scared that Sara didn't make the train, but apparently she just made it on, so I didn't have to go to Firenze alone. Our goal was to make it to Firenze and be at the Duomo, the cathedral there, by 9:30 – 10ish, as there is a rather large Easter celebration in front of the Duomo. We arrived in the city around 9 am, checked into our hostel, which was really nice, and we finally weren't staying in separate hostels. I probably shouldn't have waited so long to book my Roma hostels. Woops. After checking in, we headed outside to a nearby cafe that the hostel receptionist recommended, where we then got breakfast.
After breakfast, we made our way down the streets of Firenze to the Duomo, there a crowd was already starting to gather. Thankfully there was more than enough space so Sara got right up to the ropes and I stood a few rows back. We had to wait maybe half an hour, fourty five minutes for the ceremony to begin, but it was incredible. The Duomo itself is unbelievable to see, a massive and unbelievably decorated cathedral that is just huge. Towering. Not to mention the baptistry right next to us and the Campanile next to the Duomo that is just as tall. The ceremony consisted of marching groups of people dressed in Renaissance clothing, followed by the bishop and clergy of the cathedral in a procession giving out holy water and branches. After this, they wheeled out a giant... box. A very large and ornate box, which they planted in the center of the plaza between the Duomo and the baptistry and covered it with fireworks. Then they lit them all. The fireworks went on for a good fifteen minutes, and the ceremony overall was incredible to witness. I'm very glad we took the early train. Firenze knows how to celebrate Easter.
After this amazing event, we headed up to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where the statue of David is. Upon seeing the line and reading the sign, we realized that we could head a few blocks to the architecture museum or something like that and get tickets there, bypassing yet another line. We did this and got into the Galleria rather quickly. There were some rather neat statues there, and a lot of paintings and religious items that I did not particularly enjoy, but the David was much larger than what I was expecting and pretty impressive. They also had a collection of old instruments, including a harpsichord, and a Stradivarius violin and viola, both of which were amazing to see.
Lunch our first day in Firenze was a quick meal at a small pub-like lunch place where we grabbed pizza slices that were actually pretty good. But for dinner we went to a restaurant a friend of Sara's had recommended, which turned out to be pretty incredible. So incredible that Sara asked for reservations for the next night to come back with Yiting and Rosie, who decided to stay in Roma for one more day as they had only been there for the previous day. After dinner, we walked down to the Ponte Vecchio where we got ice cream before walking back up to the hostel. We got to see the Paizza della Signoria, where the town hall Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Loggia dei Lanzi are located, the latter being an open-air museum of sorts with a bunch of statues and sculptures, all of which are pretty interesting. The rain was a bit heavy, but it wasn't really a problem. We did have to walk back to the Ponte Vecchio to get Sara's hat, but I could live with that. Firenze is definitely my favorite city so far on our trip.
After breakfast, we made our way down the streets of Firenze to the Duomo, there a crowd was already starting to gather. Thankfully there was more than enough space so Sara got right up to the ropes and I stood a few rows back. We had to wait maybe half an hour, fourty five minutes for the ceremony to begin, but it was incredible. The Duomo itself is unbelievable to see, a massive and unbelievably decorated cathedral that is just huge. Towering. Not to mention the baptistry right next to us and the Campanile next to the Duomo that is just as tall. The ceremony consisted of marching groups of people dressed in Renaissance clothing, followed by the bishop and clergy of the cathedral in a procession giving out holy water and branches. After this, they wheeled out a giant... box. A very large and ornate box, which they planted in the center of the plaza between the Duomo and the baptistry and covered it with fireworks. Then they lit them all. The fireworks went on for a good fifteen minutes, and the ceremony overall was incredible to witness. I'm very glad we took the early train. Firenze knows how to celebrate Easter.
After this amazing event, we headed up to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where the statue of David is. Upon seeing the line and reading the sign, we realized that we could head a few blocks to the architecture museum or something like that and get tickets there, bypassing yet another line. We did this and got into the Galleria rather quickly. There were some rather neat statues there, and a lot of paintings and religious items that I did not particularly enjoy, but the David was much larger than what I was expecting and pretty impressive. They also had a collection of old instruments, including a harpsichord, and a Stradivarius violin and viola, both of which were amazing to see.
Lunch our first day in Firenze was a quick meal at a small pub-like lunch place where we grabbed pizza slices that were actually pretty good. But for dinner we went to a restaurant a friend of Sara's had recommended, which turned out to be pretty incredible. So incredible that Sara asked for reservations for the next night to come back with Yiting and Rosie, who decided to stay in Roma for one more day as they had only been there for the previous day. After dinner, we walked down to the Ponte Vecchio where we got ice cream before walking back up to the hostel. We got to see the Paizza della Signoria, where the town hall Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery, and the Loggia dei Lanzi are located, the latter being an open-air museum of sorts with a bunch of statues and sculptures, all of which are pretty interesting. The rain was a bit heavy, but it wasn't really a problem. We did have to walk back to the Ponte Vecchio to get Sara's hat, but I could live with that. Firenze is definitely my favorite city so far on our trip.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Roma, Day III
Today is my third and last official day in Roma. Yiting and Rosie finally joined us on our grand adventure to the Roman ruins, including the Forum, Palatine, and Colosseum. The area was another metro ride from the train station to get to, but that wasn't a problem. Walking out of the metro station, you just look up and looming over you is the Colosseum. It's quite the impressive sight, and that's just from the outside. But first, after reading the signs and seeing the massive line to get into the Colosseum, we walked 100 yards down the path, past the Arch of Constantine, which is impressive itself, to the entrance to the Palatine, the Roman ruins on Palatine Hill, one of Roma's original seven hills. Getting in took about half an hour, not even, and it was much quicker than waiting to get into the Colosseum – plus the tickets got us into both. It's amazing that people don't read signs and see that seeing less popular attractions first often let you get into the big sights quickly and easily. We spent a long time walking through those ruins, which are pretty incredible. Ruins of buildings, pillars, and pits are everywhere. The weather was great too, which made walking around ruins outdoors very enjoyable.
After exploring the Palatine, we wandered down the hill into the ruins of the Roman Forum, which was amazing. The ruins of buildings, the intact temples, the Arch of Nero, and just the ability to look around and picture what used to stand there thousands of years ago is awe-inspiring. We walked around both these areas for about two or so hours, and we then walked a little ways out of the ruins to go to a little cart and get lunch, sit on the steps nearby to eat, and then get ice cream at the store next to us. (They are everywhere.) After lunch, we walked back down and went to the Colosseum.
The Colosseum is obviously quite amazing. I'm not sure how many pictures I took in there, but it was quite a lot. Getting in was easy, and I can actually say I got to walk around inside of the Colosseum. For a structure built two thousand years ago, it's condition is amazing. Kudos to Roman architecture. Walking around the upper rings, you can see the areas where people would have sat, the lower boxes, and of course the arena floor and catacombs. Half the floor is covered by a modern wooden floor, designed to show what it would have looked like. The rest is left uncovered, showing the catacombs below the Colosseum, which are really cool to see. Overall, the Colosseum is one of the most impressive buildings I've seen, on par with the Vatican City for beauty. Alas, it was our last day in Roma, and the next day we took an early morning train ride to Firenze. I am very happy with the way our Roma trip turned out. It is an incredible city!
After exploring the Palatine, we wandered down the hill into the ruins of the Roman Forum, which was amazing. The ruins of buildings, the intact temples, the Arch of Nero, and just the ability to look around and picture what used to stand there thousands of years ago is awe-inspiring. We walked around both these areas for about two or so hours, and we then walked a little ways out of the ruins to go to a little cart and get lunch, sit on the steps nearby to eat, and then get ice cream at the store next to us. (They are everywhere.) After lunch, we walked back down and went to the Colosseum.
The Colosseum is obviously quite amazing. I'm not sure how many pictures I took in there, but it was quite a lot. Getting in was easy, and I can actually say I got to walk around inside of the Colosseum. For a structure built two thousand years ago, it's condition is amazing. Kudos to Roman architecture. Walking around the upper rings, you can see the areas where people would have sat, the lower boxes, and of course the arena floor and catacombs. Half the floor is covered by a modern wooden floor, designed to show what it would have looked like. The rest is left uncovered, showing the catacombs below the Colosseum, which are really cool to see. Overall, the Colosseum is one of the most impressive buildings I've seen, on par with the Vatican City for beauty. Alas, it was our last day in Roma, and the next day we took an early morning train ride to Firenze. I am very happy with the way our Roma trip turned out. It is an incredible city!
Roma, Day II
Our second day in Roma still consisted of just Sara and I, as Sara's roommate Yiting and friend Rosie weren't getting to Roma until our third day there. My move to my second hostel was a very easy affair; it was literally one floor down from the hostel I was in... same building, just 10 seconds down the stairs. This made me very happy, as I didn't have to lug my bags down the street to a far location. We decided to make our way to the Vatican City and see that for the day, which was definitely worth the trip. We got directions to get there, which involved us using the metro. Metros in Roma are nice, easy enough to use.
We arrived in the area of the Vatican City and decided to grab lunch before heading in. We wandered a few blocks away from the walls of the Vatican, where we found a little pub where we grabbed sandwiches at half the price of restaurants closer to the Vatican. That's an easy tip for anyone trying to find cheap food – take the extra five minutes to walk away from the tourist attractions, prices will drop drastically. After lunch, we walked to Saint Peter's Square, which was incredible. We did see and hear a few things that made us cringe, though. A security guard came up to a group of girls to yell at them as they decided that Saint Peter's Square makes for a good location to put out towels, lay down in bathing suits, and tan. That's right, tan. In the middle of Saint Peter's Square. People. And we also overheard a woman telling her family that this was the place that Tom Hanks was at in that movie. Cringe.
On the plus side, we went to the information booth in the Square and found out we could purchase tickets to the Vatican Museum there and bypass the line. I cannot express in words how much time this saved us. The wait at the information center was roughly five minutes, the line into the museums snaked around the wall for half a mile. The man there also recommended that if we wanted to see Saint Peter's Basilica to come at seven a.m., when it opened.
We went to the Vatican Museums, using our wonderful tickets to walk right up to the doors and get in instantly. This was a trend we found to hold true nearly everywhere in Italy. READ THE SIGNS. There is usually a place you can buy tickets for a museum without going through the really long line. We bought tickets for the Galleria Academia in Florence, where the David is, at the Architecture Museum, which no one was at. We walked right into the Galleria Academia. Very nice.
The Vatican Museums were quite nice, though. It is full of statues and paintings that the Church stole over the years, including Egyptian works, which I found particularly interesting. I do love Egyptian statues. Of course, the pinnacle of things to see in the Museums is the Sistine Chapel, which is unbelievable. A giant room with every centimeter of wall and ceiling space painted with religious murals. The painting of God reaching out and touching Adam's hand was right above my head. We ended up going back to it after the crowd had worn down. We also got a quick drink in the cafe, where I purchased a 7-Up drink, which amused me.
After the museums, we grabbed a delicious dinner at an outdoor pizzeria a few blocks from there, which was less than half the price of the restaurant right outside the museums. Hah. It was a bit sketchy to me, though, as the restaurant itself consisted of a room barely large enough to stand in, and presumably a kitchen tucked somewhere. Or at least a stove. But the food was delicious and the price was fair, so I was quite happy. We then walked back to our hostels, which was quite a hike, but totally worth it. We saw a dozen different sights on the way home. Quite an amazing second day in Roma.
We arrived in the area of the Vatican City and decided to grab lunch before heading in. We wandered a few blocks away from the walls of the Vatican, where we found a little pub where we grabbed sandwiches at half the price of restaurants closer to the Vatican. That's an easy tip for anyone trying to find cheap food – take the extra five minutes to walk away from the tourist attractions, prices will drop drastically. After lunch, we walked to Saint Peter's Square, which was incredible. We did see and hear a few things that made us cringe, though. A security guard came up to a group of girls to yell at them as they decided that Saint Peter's Square makes for a good location to put out towels, lay down in bathing suits, and tan. That's right, tan. In the middle of Saint Peter's Square. People. And we also overheard a woman telling her family that this was the place that Tom Hanks was at in that movie. Cringe.
On the plus side, we went to the information booth in the Square and found out we could purchase tickets to the Vatican Museum there and bypass the line. I cannot express in words how much time this saved us. The wait at the information center was roughly five minutes, the line into the museums snaked around the wall for half a mile. The man there also recommended that if we wanted to see Saint Peter's Basilica to come at seven a.m., when it opened.
We went to the Vatican Museums, using our wonderful tickets to walk right up to the doors and get in instantly. This was a trend we found to hold true nearly everywhere in Italy. READ THE SIGNS. There is usually a place you can buy tickets for a museum without going through the really long line. We bought tickets for the Galleria Academia in Florence, where the David is, at the Architecture Museum, which no one was at. We walked right into the Galleria Academia. Very nice.
The Vatican Museums were quite nice, though. It is full of statues and paintings that the Church stole over the years, including Egyptian works, which I found particularly interesting. I do love Egyptian statues. Of course, the pinnacle of things to see in the Museums is the Sistine Chapel, which is unbelievable. A giant room with every centimeter of wall and ceiling space painted with religious murals. The painting of God reaching out and touching Adam's hand was right above my head. We ended up going back to it after the crowd had worn down. We also got a quick drink in the cafe, where I purchased a 7-Up drink, which amused me.
After the museums, we grabbed a delicious dinner at an outdoor pizzeria a few blocks from there, which was less than half the price of the restaurant right outside the museums. Hah. It was a bit sketchy to me, though, as the restaurant itself consisted of a room barely large enough to stand in, and presumably a kitchen tucked somewhere. Or at least a stove. But the food was delicious and the price was fair, so I was quite happy. We then walked back to our hostels, which was quite a hike, but totally worth it. We saw a dozen different sights on the way home. Quite an amazing second day in Roma.
Roma, Day I
Well, this is quite overdue for an update, so here goes, my trip to Roma, to be followed by my trip to Firenze, and finally Paris.
My trip to the great city of Roma began very early in the morning, catching the 4:50 a.m. Train from Freiburg to Basel, took a connection from there to Milan, and a second connection from Milan to Roma. The train ride was nice enough, and comfortable enough that I got a little sleep. We arrived in Roma somewhere around 2:30 in the central station. Thankfully our hostels were relatively nearby, five minute walks each, so we didn't have far to travel with all of our bags. Packing for an extended trip isn't fun, but I stuffed all my clothes in a big travel bag and it worked out well. For getting to Roma at 2:30, we managed to see quite a lot.
We grabbed a quick lunch at a little pizza restaurant near Sara's hostel before we began the day. We decided to walk from the train station to the major sites of the city. We walked by the Republic Place and saw several fountains, all of which were really nice. It's weird seeing elaborate sculptures and statues in the middle of the street. Our main destination of the walk were the Spanish steps, and we ended up coming upon them from the top of them. Right near them, though, we saw an old church that we peaked in and got to witness a Mass being recited in Latin, which is something I've always wanted to see.
The Spanish Steps are quite an interesting place. I would have enjoyed them even more if it weren't for the very awkward event that caused us to hurry down them in embarrassment. A man came up to Sara as we began to walk down the stairs and told her she was very pretty while handing her a rose. He continued to to follow us, giving Sara a total of three roses and telling me how lucky I am. It's weird to travel alone with Sara, simply because everyone will pretty much assume that you're a couple. To have a man give her roses and tell me how lucky I am was just too much awkwardness. But oh well, we survived.
After the Steps, we made our way around the city, seeing some mausoleum and seeing the Pantheon, which unfortunately is half-covered in scaffolding (a trait common to nearly every single structure that you'd like to see in Europe) and was closed at the time. We finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, which was where Sara really wanted to go. It's quite a beautiful fountain, and the illumination at night made it even more so. It made for a good ending for our first night in Roma. We got dinner at a little Italian restaurant where I got delicious salmon pasta. We then made our way back to our hostels and called it a night. Not a bad first day at all.
My trip to the great city of Roma began very early in the morning, catching the 4:50 a.m. Train from Freiburg to Basel, took a connection from there to Milan, and a second connection from Milan to Roma. The train ride was nice enough, and comfortable enough that I got a little sleep. We arrived in Roma somewhere around 2:30 in the central station. Thankfully our hostels were relatively nearby, five minute walks each, so we didn't have far to travel with all of our bags. Packing for an extended trip isn't fun, but I stuffed all my clothes in a big travel bag and it worked out well. For getting to Roma at 2:30, we managed to see quite a lot.
We grabbed a quick lunch at a little pizza restaurant near Sara's hostel before we began the day. We decided to walk from the train station to the major sites of the city. We walked by the Republic Place and saw several fountains, all of which were really nice. It's weird seeing elaborate sculptures and statues in the middle of the street. Our main destination of the walk were the Spanish steps, and we ended up coming upon them from the top of them. Right near them, though, we saw an old church that we peaked in and got to witness a Mass being recited in Latin, which is something I've always wanted to see.
The Spanish Steps are quite an interesting place. I would have enjoyed them even more if it weren't for the very awkward event that caused us to hurry down them in embarrassment. A man came up to Sara as we began to walk down the stairs and told her she was very pretty while handing her a rose. He continued to to follow us, giving Sara a total of three roses and telling me how lucky I am. It's weird to travel alone with Sara, simply because everyone will pretty much assume that you're a couple. To have a man give her roses and tell me how lucky I am was just too much awkwardness. But oh well, we survived.
After the Steps, we made our way around the city, seeing some mausoleum and seeing the Pantheon, which unfortunately is half-covered in scaffolding (a trait common to nearly every single structure that you'd like to see in Europe) and was closed at the time. We finally made it to the Trevi Fountain, which was where Sara really wanted to go. It's quite a beautiful fountain, and the illumination at night made it even more so. It made for a good ending for our first night in Roma. We got dinner at a little Italian restaurant where I got delicious salmon pasta. We then made our way back to our hostels and called it a night. Not a bad first day at all.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
This is not an update.
This is simply a list of places I've been since I've last updated, for the sake of doing something. Come Thursday or Friday I shall have a full write-up of at least the first leg of my travels so far, Rome, Florence and Paris.
But here we go:
Rome
Florence
Paris
(Freiburg)
Nimes (let's not remember this one)
(Freiburg)
Ludwigsburg
(Freiburg)
Berlin
(Freiburg)
So yeah, this is not a real update, but oh well.
But here we go:
Rome
Florence
Paris
(Freiburg)
Nimes (let's not remember this one)
(Freiburg)
Ludwigsburg
(Freiburg)
Berlin
(Freiburg)
So yeah, this is not a real update, but oh well.
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