European Adventure

After Florence, not much could have impressed to the same extent but boy did Rome sure come close. The history just astounds me coming from a country where the oldest building are less than 250 years old, seeing buildings that were thousands of years old.

I was staying right near the nightmare that is Roma Termini - told by others that it was close to the sights. Well its not, especially if your walking but it does help to work off all the pizza and gelati which were far superior to that up north. I headed off to the Colloseum and lined up for hours to get inside only to realise its much better from the outside! I then walked across to the Roman Forum which I found absolutely fascinating and were I spent hours wandering between the ruins. Then it was a walk up to the Trevi Fountain which has to be my most favourite spot in the entire planet. The beauty of the fountain, the atmosphere of the crowd, not to mention the best gelati I ever tasted meant that it would become a daily ritual to hike down to the fountain and sit and watch the crowd go on by.

But there was more to see and do. The Vittro Emmanuel War Memorial is stunning, and the Pantheon blew my mind away. The Spanish Steps didn't have the same feeling that is in all the movies and I was less than impressed. The National Museum has some great pieces but for a city like that, it felt like it should have been a lot more.

I took a short time out from Rome and headed down to Naples for a few days. The train ride was long and hot and thus the relief of getting to Naples was great until you realise just how bad Naples has got. Their is rubbish along every street, wild dogs running everywhere, and just generally a feeling of 'I shouldn't be here'. I only went down to go see Pompeii so at least that was out of the city. Pompeii is fascinating even if I did spend half the time looking over my shoulder incase the Volcanoe erupted while I was there! But that only filled in one day so it was back to Naples where I found something that almost made me change my mind. the Archeological Museum is outstanding are far greater than its roman counterparts. So feeling somewhat better about Naples I returned back to Rome.

I had timed it so I arrived in Rome for the last sunday of the month so that I could head off to the Vatican and save some money. I set off before 6am and headed off to St Peter's not realising I should have lined up for the Vatican first. While I was checking out the beauty of the Basillica, the line was apparently getting longer and longer for the Vatican, thus it was that I had to spend two hours in line to get inside the Vatican. It was lovely in side although the roof is to high up to see the details of Michaelangelos work. But it did make my day to see that the Pope had a tennis court which still to this day amuses me.

As they saying goes 'a lifetime is not enough' but I still had lots of Europe left to see and I was running out of time, so I left, throwing a coin over my shoulder into the Trevi to ensure my return in the future

I have just spend four days wondering around in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, so much so that it's a shame to leave. Florence has stolen my heart and I doubt that any city can every match it. Florence was my first taste of Italy, the land where my grandfathers family had come from generations before, creating an almost intrinsic link between myself and Italy.

I arrived in Florence in the middle of the night so my first impressions may not have been the greatest, but as soon as the sun rose the next morning I was in love with the city. The streets were filled with character and history, and most of the people were helpful and friendly. And the city has so much to see and do, that another week there would have been great.

I headed first to the legendary Galleria Academia to get a glimpse of the man, the statue of David by Michaelangelo. I had not expected it to be that enormous - imagining it to be lifesize, not that size of Godzilla. It absolutely amazed me and it only compounded my love for Florence. I then headed to the other gallery the city had to offer, the Uffizi, that although not defined by an individual piece, extraordinary just the same, the Birth of Venus a highlight. And then it was off to the Duomo - an extraordinary building with a hell of a lot of stairs! But all 414 steps were worth it for the view alone - I have never seen such a beautiful city from above and the image is emblazened on my mind forever.

While this far north I could not miss the chance to take a day trip across to Venice, but after the beauty of Florence, I had expected so much more and left a little disappointed. The canals were dirty, the sky overcast, and the prices exorbitant. Yes it had the gondolas but a single tourist could never afford to take one, and the city is filled with pigeons which I dont find cute or amazing.

So it was then back to Florence to improve my image of Italy. I hightailed it to the Palazzo Vecchio to check out the ancient powerhouse of Italy and then walked across the Ponte Vecchio admiring all the shiny jewelry. But that was all I had time for. I left Florence for Rome, knowing in my heart that no city could ever match that feeling of being in a place that was close to perfection.