Florence
So Florence seems like it was forever ago..but was one of the most memorable..I finally completed my BOOT MISSION, and have successfully taken a pair of dark brown leather size 39-ers into custody. Very happy thanks to Megan, John and Ryan for the assisstance :) I got them the last day of the saldi..which is the "sale" that all of Italy has throughout the month of January.
But the first day we ate lunch at the bottom of the Duomo, and also climbed the 400 something steps to the top of the dome where we were able to look down on all of Florence.
We also got to see the DAVID statue in Florence which was very cool, it was so big, and I tried to take it all in because I knew that it was probably the only time I'd ever get to see it. The 2nd day it rained a lot, but we trooped around with our rain boots and umbrellas, Vyt and Marina wouldn't let anything stand in our way. While we were walking we walked by a store called, "North Sails..." and for those of you who sail, or know me..probably know the face I made when I started jumping up and down in disbelief! So cool, so many people in Italy walk around wearing North Sail hats and jackets..coolest color was the dark purple and stripes for sure.
Vyt and Marina also took us out to dinner our last night in Florence, to a STEAK HOUSE! I was very excitedddd! Well..not really being Vegetariani and all.. but I had some nice Simon, and it was a really cute place across a bridge that had tons of little house looking-shop things hanging off of it. I liked Florence though, the street right outside of our hotel was lined with vendors selling everything from leather bags to David statues, Coats, soccer jerseys, scarves, and jewelry.
And the breakfast at Florence was pretty good too! But the Duomo and the statue of David will be very hard to beat i'm sure!
Bologna
So we got on the train for Bologna pretty early, and everyone fell asleep, and woke up to a sea of white outside. Mountains and mountains covered with what looked like a thick layer of powdered sugar. We had lunch, and walked down Strada Maggiore. Aidan, Megan, Steph, Hillary, John and I decided to walk down the street taking pictures of the quiet town. It was freezing out! And the snowflakes were huge! We walked for about an hour outside, and then decided to duck into a book store to get warm. We looked through architecture books, and read in italian all of the children's books..like "il piccolo principe" and "l' albero" by Shel Silverstein. Venezia
Venice was the place that I was the most excited to see! I missed the water, and the summer and sailboats..and being there really made me feel at home. The water was so blue, and all of the streets had hanging white christmas lights. When we left the train station we walked out onto wide steps and bridges, with gondolas, and other water taxis hitting the bulkheads. There were so many people strolling back and forth, and the lights hitting the water made it so surreal. Better than I could have imagined. San Marco was beautiful, and the Palladian Church was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Outside of this church there was a boat yard with dozens of sailboats, and the familiar sound of ropes hitting the masts in the breeze.
Vicenza
I didn't know that much about Vicenza, other than the fact that the Villa Rotunda was built here..so it surpassed my expectations. It was very quaint, and every building was a shade of orange, yellow, or faded red. The first night we went out exploring, but after about an hour or so had to go back because I could no longer feel my nose. The first night at this hotel was ridiculous..we were one of the rooms that had no heat.. and I spent the night curled as tightly into a ball as possible. When the morning came..we basically had to flip a coin to see which one of us HAD to take the shower first..because it was so unbelievably cold and neither of us wanted to leave the thin blanket for fear of hypothermia. The bathroom had no shower doors..So i wont the second shower spot, but was forced to walk across puddles of ice water to get under the shower head..I have never showered so fast in my entire life..and gotten dressed so quickly..I doubt Houdini could have one upped me.
Villa Rotunda was amazing, and so beautiful in the snow. The streets and hills we weaved through to get to it were also beautiful, and the views of the snowy fields gorgeous..
Verona
In Verona we saw the infamous "Juliet" balcony, and this city was closer to what I thought we would find in Paris, rather than in Italy, but beautiful nonetheless. The Piazza Erbe was lovely, with its arcades and street vendors, and such. They had very good pizza, and caffe lattes :)
Como
In Como we had the best food, and the BIGGEST snowflakes I have ever seen! We had pizza, and creme puffs at this little bakery, and I spoke in ONLY italian..yeah yeah..best 3 euro i've ever spent :) I stood outside in the street and tried to catch snowflakes in my purple mittens and I could only hold about 3 in my hand!
Milan
Milan was way different than I had expected..Very cold, and very similar to New York City..We had so much fun at our group dinner, and I had risotto for the first time, and it was so so good :)
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