Except for a bag full of smelly socks and underwear, travel documents and camera held close to the chest, I came home yesterday morning with literally nothing else. Ipod battery down, camera batteries down, handphone battery flat, and 5 cents in my pockets...
All in all, Italy was a really great experience! We traveled to Rome, Florence, Pisa, Venice and Milan. It started off rough - almost missed the flight (again? curses!), had a sulky and generally unhelpful partner, and freaky weather conditions (hail, or for the shocked Singaporean, ice was falling from the sky). Eventually though, everything went quite well, (I would proudly and un-humbly say), due to my stringent planning and surprisingly o-kay navigational skills.
Rome brought one back to the age of the Roman empire, allowed the imagination to run free, to recreate the gladiator arena, political schemes, historical stories and religious enigmas. It was epic, Roman columns and old ruins, now ruins, many in the process of preservation and renovation. Unfortunately, the two days we had were not enough to explore the entire city. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Florence was more relaxing than Rome, with nice parks for you to stretch your legs out, and plenty of museums for the curious. Although I am ashamed to admit that I did not visit any museums in Florence, partly because of the entrance fee and partly the lack of interest. I do however, like the fact that there are sculptures and statues in every corner you turn to. Prominent figures line the streets; Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Dante, they are revived from history and carved forever onto the land and in the memory.
From Florence, we made a day trip to Pisa. For the sinking, leaning tower. Although it wasn't as impressive as expected, it did make a lovely backdrop together with the cathedral while we spent the afternoon in Campo dei Miracoli, basking in the sun and eating crackers. The cathedral on the other hand, was incredible. Every inch of it, intricately designed and structered, formed a complete and overwhelming picture. And this is not just in Pisa alone, but for most of the cathedrals that we were in. It's fascinating, the precise geometry and symmetry in the architecture
Venice was unique and interesting, mainly because their main mode of transportation is via the canals. A gondola ride would be special and romantic I suppose, but it bloody costs 60-70 euros. We took the vaporetti (water bus) instead which was much cheaper and it was fun observing the city and stopping at different points to drop off and ferry passengers. We were mostly walking through the winding small streets, which were extremely confusing, but somehow I still enjoyed myself despite ending up in lost and isolated corners. The most annoying thing about Venice was the teeming crowd of tourists and street hawkers selling fake gucci. Yes, the guidebook said the best time to avoid tourists was from midnight to dawn, but erm...
Despite somewhat unfavorable comments in the guidebook, I did like Milan. It's a mix of contemporary fashion and old buildings. The Milan design festival was held at Castello Sforzesco. Thankfully, the day we were there was the very last day of the festival. I loved it. The installations, inspired by elements such as water, fire, and earth, were pretty cool and colorful. And fashionistazzz, of course.
Finally, I just have to end off with this: Italian food is DA bomb. (although a hawker centre can easily challenge this claim) Pizza, panini, and icecream. I ate icecream every single day that I was there. For real. As you can see, I was, still am, very well-fed.
more photos can be found
here
