The last two weekends me and my friend Uuljan made trips to Italy. The first weekend we went to Florence and this past weekend we went to Venice with a quick stop over in Milan.
Florence was gorgeous. I loved how small yet busy it was. We spent all day friday on the train and arrived Friday night and walked around for a bit before hitting the hay. We saw the Duomo and the Medici chapels all lit up at night and walked around the San Lorenzo Market. Went to a yummy dinner (fresh pasta with mushrooms! and bruschetta which is a florence favor) finished it up with a pistachio gelato and went back to our hostel.
Our hostel was incredible. It was really more like a guest house. Me and Uuljan had our own room with a closet, sink, computer and flatscreen TV. We shared a bathroom with a few other rooms but not that many people. It was a great experience and the people were very helpful and it was a great place to stay.
The next day me and Uuljan hit up all the rest of the major sites.We started at the Galleria dell'Academia where the statue of David is held. I had no idea that the statue was that big! The museum was packed with tour groups, mostly Americans. I think I ended up hearing more English in my stay in Italy than Italian. We then took our map and explored all the major sites. My favorites included the Pitti gardens and the Piazza Michelangelo where you got an incredible view of the entire city. Actually, on our way there we ran into a friend from Marshfield (she is studying south of Florence) with her parents. Very small world. Of course, Florence is also known for its shopping, and me and Uuljan hit up several of the outdoor markets and bought many souvenirs for our friends and family. We ate lunch at a little cafe right at the Piazza and enjoyed the view some more. We saw many beautiful churches in the afternoon and then headed back to our hostel for a little rest before dinner. We went to a little local place for dinner that was recommended by our guest house and then crashed back at our hostel.
The next morning we went and got a little breakfast and went back to explore the Duomo (fantastic cathedral built with white and green marble) Unfortnatley the cathedral was closed both Saturday and Sunday so we weren't able to go inside. However there was some crazy parade going on around the chapel with Italian politicians and costumed military etc. We went back to catch our train at noon and spent the rest of the day on the train. Long day on the train but I had a cannoli and a panini to keep me company.
This past weekend we went to Venice. We caught our connecting train in Milan and instead of going right away we took a few hours to go see the Duomo (cathedral). It was probably the most incredible church I've ever seen. We took a cable car/tram twenty minutes and arrived. On the way I made a little friend in a three year old Italian boy. He was adorable. Anyways, while the Duomo was gorgeous, Milan was a very modern city. If you are looking for Italian/European charm it is not to be found in Milan. Tons of shopping however. We stopped for a quick dinner in what looked like a very cozy and adorable cafe but actually just reheated the food. Kind of a let down but thats okay. We went back and caught our train and arrived in Venice around 9 and went straight to our hostel.
Our hostel was right near the Jewish Ghetto and was run by a Jewish family. It was a very clean place and we shared our room with two students from William and Mary. We had our own bathroom which was great and our roommates were very nice (they were study abroad students living in Lyon).
The next day we explored the city. I took my Grandpa's advice and we did not pay attention to the map and just allowed ourselves to get lost in the city. We saw the beautiful San Marco's square and Basilica, went to the Galleria dell'Academia where Leonardo DaVinci's Homo drawing is held and all in all just tried to see every inch of the city. What I loved most about Venice was the lack of cars, and how the city was not modern in the least. Florence and Rome both stradled the line between old and new but Venice was all about embracing the old with the hundreds of canals and pittoresque bridges and piazzas. We ate a deliciouss lunch on the canal (fresh pasta with wild boar and mushrooms) and continued to wander. We got so lost trying to get home but again per my grandfather's advice we just found our way to the nearest vaporetti (water bus) stop and made our way home. Dropped off our stuff at the hostel and went out to a little place and got some wine, bread, cheese and tomatos and ate a little late night snack (no dinner...we were still too full from our late lunch!). We then went back to the hostel and talked with our roommates for awhile and fell asleep.
The next morning we had a couple of hours until our noon train. We got a quick breakfast and proceded to explore the Jewish ghetto. It was the oldest ghetto in Europe and today is a center for Jewish culture in Venice. I was upset because we were there too early for any place to be open for me to find matzah ball soup. Oh well. We picked up some sandwiches and pastries to hold us over on our train back and headed back to Nice. I was sad to leave Italy for the last time, some of the most gorgeous and exciting places I've ever been.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment