Day 7 - 12: Italy

The last few days have been quite hectic - awesome and fun-filled but still hectic.  Hence why I have not had the opportunity to make an entry for awhile.  There's no way at this point that I could describe everything I saw and experienced in Italy without devoting pages and pages, so I'll make a few comments here and put the rest on my photos when I get back home and post them.  OK?  Well, this was another one of those rhetorical questions as there isn't much you could do to change it now is there? lol

I've always said before that one thing I love about European cities is how the "old" and "new" is smooshed together... well its even moreso over in Italy (especially Rome).  Rome is like a giant archeological dig site!  Did you know that they've been trying to extend their subway lines for many years (and don't expect to finish anytime soon) because ecery couple of feet they dig, they hit another ancient ruin that needs to be excavated.  The whole city is built above the old one... in some places its 8m higher than 1000 years ago!

I also found that (aside from the ancient ruins) I wasn't all that impressed with Rome.  The ruins were fabulous, but as a modern city, it leaves something to be desired.  It seems that the government spends money to maintain the tourist areas and leaves the rest of the city to its own devices.  For example, large parts seemed run down and the pavement was extremely uneven.  I guess my point is that I loved to visit it, but wouldn't want to live there.

In contrast, Venice was the Italian city that impressed me the most... so many windy roads and criss-crossing bridges and canals.  I was half-expecting there to be a smell, but there wasn't... also the mosquitoes weren't nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe.  Only a few bites :).  It was easy to get lost in though, but I managed.  Oh!  And those masks - they were so cool and every second shop seemed to be selling them.  Of course I purchased a couple examples for my collection :).  You do have to be watchful of your belongings - one of the group members lost his wallet!  Fortunately he seems to have got things sorted and didn't lose anything irreplacable.

There's not much I have to say about Florence... it was quite beautiful and I had a great time there as well.

The things I'll remember most about Italy is probably the food (and wine ;).  They have a bit of a "minimalist" approach to cooking... they use a few ingredients and bring their full flavour out.  The pasta and sandwiches and pizza and coffee.... mmmmm.... The weather has also been superb so far.  Let's hope it countinues as we travel into Austria and Germany.