Ok so I'm home now and didnt get a chance to write about any of the 3 places in the title! (Money got very tight and internet access points very few!)
Anyway from Siena to Florence, nice and easy journey on the train. once we got off the train it was a different matter. We couldn't find the bus stop so decided to walk to the campsite...only 15 minutes according to the directions! What we found was it was half way up a mountain on the other side of town so arrived very sweatily. Mind you, the views were spectacular of the city.
Florence itself disapointed me a little. I don't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't it. Don't get me wrong it was very nice but for the capital of the renaissance I expected more from the town in general. Bologna and Siena were far more beautiful for me. One plus point was the statues (or copies!) in the square. Michaelangelo's David was cool and Ronnie seemed to have an avid fascination with the depiction of a rape scene! (Seriously he took about 80 photos of it!) Also the ponte vecchio (old bridge) was impressive.
The campsite was fine, tents were boiling in the tuscan sun and we had Bono singing the night away at a nearby bar keeping me up. He sang a medley of about 50 songs with no break inbetween, literally all merged into one another with more than enough U2. I wouldn't book him for the Irish club!
Travelling from Florence to Genoa we needed to change at Pisa...what better chance to see the leaning tower in the hour and a half we had to wait. So off we trotted, had a quick look, took a few photos and sprinted back to the train station arrive with 30 seconds to buy a ticket. Not that we could get on the train anyway as there were no seats. Somehow inbetween buying a supplement for the next train and getting on it I managed to lose my interrail card meaning I had to pay for the last train from Genoa to Milan...I wasnt too happy with myself!
Genoa is basically a very hilly seaport. There are lots of boats and lots of hills, not a lot to do touristwise (apart from the aquarium where we almost saw dolphin sex...interesting!) but its quite a cool town just to walk around and soak up some culture. The main piazza was nice with a big fountain and there are loads of little alleyways I would avoid at night scattered around. But still I liked it.
We stayed at a youth hostel full mostly of families and middle aged german men. There was one wierdo in our room who decided in the middle of the night that he would sleep on the floor! He also snored!
And so finally, sleep deprived we arrived in Milan for an eventful hour. We got to our hotel only for the owner to announce that he didnt have our reservation and he had no rooms! Despite me showing him the reservation and saying we had payed a deposit he told us that he didnt check his email, it was worthless and we should have phoned! All in italian too. I was impressed with myself for attempting to sort it out but to no avail. In the end, very pissed off we went 30 mtrs down the road and booked into the next place. Slightly more expensive (grr) but very nice and with great air con (essential!)
I wasn't sure what to expect of Milan. So many people had told me it was rubbish and horrible but I really liked it. Its definately more cosmopolitan and modern than a lot of Italian cities but there again people actually live and work there!!! The cathedral is cool and its great to just sit outside it and people watch. Milan seems to be the only place with the most fashionable and the most chavvy in the same street in the world!
And so eventually we returned. Im now skint for university :( but my italian is quite good and it was definately worth the experience.
Goodbye. x
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Siena
Well as I said yesterday, we're now in the beautiful medieval town of Siena and its fantastic. Staying at the soggiorno Sabrina...basically a house where the owner doesnt live. Its the perfect location. Literally a 2 minute walk from the main square, the piazza del campo which is huge and all slopes down from the outside towards the palazzo at the bottom of the square. It was great last night just to sit there in the shade and watch the world go past for a little while.
The other main attraction here is the duomo (cathedral) which looks like it was built for a fairytale or something (somewhat like a gingerbread cathedral). All of the outside is white marble wth fantastic figures and decorations. There's even a black and white striped tower connected to it. Inside is also very impressive. Probably the best of the many, many churches we've seen so far!
To be honest, I'm a little bit churched out now...theres only so many times you can look at statues and paintings of religious scenes and ive reached the end of mine I think. Hopefully there'll be a few less in Florence, Genoa and Milan.
On another note we went up a strange, bridge tower thing which meant you could see right out over Siena and the surrounding Tuscan countryside panoramically, a fantastic site.
I really like this town, very touristy but its easy to see why with its winding little streets which I'm loving ambling along and soaking up the culture. Definately somewhere i could see myself returning in the future!
Tomorrow we're moving onwards to florence where we are again camping similar to rome, although a bit closer to the centre. Think we're going to go to the uffizi (gallery) tomorrow and save the next day for the smaller and more relaxing things!
Ciao
The other main attraction here is the duomo (cathedral) which looks like it was built for a fairytale or something (somewhat like a gingerbread cathedral). All of the outside is white marble wth fantastic figures and decorations. There's even a black and white striped tower connected to it. Inside is also very impressive. Probably the best of the many, many churches we've seen so far!
To be honest, I'm a little bit churched out now...theres only so many times you can look at statues and paintings of religious scenes and ive reached the end of mine I think. Hopefully there'll be a few less in Florence, Genoa and Milan.
On another note we went up a strange, bridge tower thing which meant you could see right out over Siena and the surrounding Tuscan countryside panoramically, a fantastic site.
I really like this town, very touristy but its easy to see why with its winding little streets which I'm loving ambling along and soaking up the culture. Definately somewhere i could see myself returning in the future!
Tomorrow we're moving onwards to florence where we are again camping similar to rome, although a bit closer to the centre. Think we're going to go to the uffizi (gallery) tomorrow and save the next day for the smaller and more relaxing things!
Ciao
Monday, 25 August 2008
Roma
Well hello everybody. We're now in Siena and im making use of the free internet to write about Rome!
We got there easy enough choosing to pay a bit extra and reserve seats which was defiinately worth it as the train was packed. We were in a carriage between a young couple who looked alike but were a bit too close to be brother and sister(I hope!) and another couple. A guy with strange hair and a woman who loved her dog too much...
Once in Rome we caught the metro and then a bus to our holiday camp from hell. It was ok, nice enough if you didnt mind being woken at all hours by rowdy teenagers from scotland/france/australia!But still it was a convenient location and very cheap!
We decided to do what we could of Rome in a day and squeezed in all the sights starting with the vatican at 9am and finishing at the colloseum at 6ish. The vatican was pretty cool, some fantastic artwork but to be honest the Winter Palace in Russia was far better.
Then to the pantheon which was amazing. Its perfectly symettrically round witha 9 metre hole in the roof but no rain ever gets in...incredibile!
The Trevi fountain was cool too although a little crowded its amazing to sit at, so loud and it looks really new!
Finally the colloseum, nice but not that good. In its day it was probably great but now it's just a ruin really. Ive seen better ones in Verona and Orange in France.
Im pleased to report my Italian is going well. I had a small conversation with one of the campsite workers when i wanted to use the internet thereand she commended me on my use. I even helped 2 australians order food!
ice cream is great as expected. my favorite flavour so far has been biscotti!
See you all soon
We got there easy enough choosing to pay a bit extra and reserve seats which was defiinately worth it as the train was packed. We were in a carriage between a young couple who looked alike but were a bit too close to be brother and sister(I hope!) and another couple. A guy with strange hair and a woman who loved her dog too much...
Once in Rome we caught the metro and then a bus to our holiday camp from hell. It was ok, nice enough if you didnt mind being woken at all hours by rowdy teenagers from scotland/france/australia!But still it was a convenient location and very cheap!
We decided to do what we could of Rome in a day and squeezed in all the sights starting with the vatican at 9am and finishing at the colloseum at 6ish. The vatican was pretty cool, some fantastic artwork but to be honest the Winter Palace in Russia was far better.
Then to the pantheon which was amazing. Its perfectly symettrically round witha 9 metre hole in the roof but no rain ever gets in...incredibile!
The Trevi fountain was cool too although a little crowded its amazing to sit at, so loud and it looks really new!
Finally the colloseum, nice but not that good. In its day it was probably great but now it's just a ruin really. Ive seen better ones in Verona and Orange in France.
Im pleased to report my Italian is going well. I had a small conversation with one of the campsite workers when i wanted to use the internet thereand she commended me on my use. I even helped 2 australians order food!
ice cream is great as expected. my favorite flavour so far has been biscotti!
See you all soon
Friday, 22 August 2008
Bologna
Hi everyone!
Am at the campsite in Roma now, It's incredibly hot...luckily there's a swimming pool...unfortunately there are lots of people using it!
Getting here was easy enough. The B&B in Bristol was ok i guess, fattiest bacon sandwich ever at 4.30 am did little to improve my appetite! But once we arrived in italy getting the Bus, then the Train to Milan Station (quite nice and old but being renovated) and then Bologna (bit more modern) was easy. I spoke Italian to get our tickets which was fun (in fact my italians going well!). At least they understood me. We then got another bus to the Hotel in Bologna...or 2 because we got on the wrong one! But the hotel was great! £15 a night, fully airconned thank god and a 15 minute walk from the centre of bologna! What a beautiful town! so old and full of life and not many tourists which was great. I would love to study here. The view from the tower, 140mts high! is incredible. Of course we ate spaghetti bolognese (or ragù) as its known here the first night and pizza ever since. delicioso.
We're getting up stupidly early tomorrow to go to the vatican, the colloseum (sp), the pantheon and trevi fountain etc. Want to do as much touristy as possible tomorrow so we can chill out and explore more on sunday!
Sorry this is rushed but times running out! Hope everyone is well and ill try and update in a couple more days!
Ciao a tutti!
Am at the campsite in Roma now, It's incredibly hot...luckily there's a swimming pool...unfortunately there are lots of people using it!
Getting here was easy enough. The B&B in Bristol was ok i guess, fattiest bacon sandwich ever at 4.30 am did little to improve my appetite! But once we arrived in italy getting the Bus, then the Train to Milan Station (quite nice and old but being renovated) and then Bologna (bit more modern) was easy. I spoke Italian to get our tickets which was fun (in fact my italians going well!). At least they understood me. We then got another bus to the Hotel in Bologna...or 2 because we got on the wrong one! But the hotel was great! £15 a night, fully airconned thank god and a 15 minute walk from the centre of bologna! What a beautiful town! so old and full of life and not many tourists which was great. I would love to study here. The view from the tower, 140mts high! is incredible. Of course we ate spaghetti bolognese (or ragù) as its known here the first night and pizza ever since. delicioso.
We're getting up stupidly early tomorrow to go to the vatican, the colloseum (sp), the pantheon and trevi fountain etc. Want to do as much touristy as possible tomorrow so we can chill out and explore more on sunday!
Sorry this is rushed but times running out! Hope everyone is well and ill try and update in a couple more days!
Ciao a tutti!
Sunday, 17 August 2008
Last minute preparations.
Ok, so here we are...3 days to go and it feels like there's so much to do!
I'm really excited now, tomorrows going to be spent getting my Euro's, printing out directions to the hostels and printing out train times so we don't have to pay E20 to reserve a seat on expensive trains (despite having an interrail card!). I think I'll also be revising my italian seeing as how much I've forgotten since June and thats one of the main reasons I'm going.
In my last blog we didn't have a way to get to Bristol for our flight...well, that's all sorted! My parents have kindly offered to drop us at a B&B the night before. The owner will then drop us at the airport. We told him it would be early but not 5.30am...whoops!
Thing's I want to do...Well in Bologna it has to be seeing the University (oldest in the world) and of course eating real Spaghetti Bolognese!
And Rome... according to Kirsty I have to see the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain and eat at a restaurant outside! Myself, I'd like to be a good Catholic (Haha!) and go to the Vatican!
More generally, I hope I eat pizza and ice cream everyday and the sun shines.
Well that's all I've got to say for now. Hopefully my next post will be from Bologna.
Bye x
I'm really excited now, tomorrows going to be spent getting my Euro's, printing out directions to the hostels and printing out train times so we don't have to pay E20 to reserve a seat on expensive trains (despite having an interrail card!). I think I'll also be revising my italian seeing as how much I've forgotten since June and thats one of the main reasons I'm going.
In my last blog we didn't have a way to get to Bristol for our flight...well, that's all sorted! My parents have kindly offered to drop us at a B&B the night before. The owner will then drop us at the airport. We told him it would be early but not 5.30am...whoops!
Thing's I want to do...Well in Bologna it has to be seeing the University (oldest in the world) and of course eating real Spaghetti Bolognese!
And Rome... according to Kirsty I have to see the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain and eat at a restaurant outside! Myself, I'd like to be a good Catholic (Haha!) and go to the Vatican!
More generally, I hope I eat pizza and ice cream everyday and the sun shines.
Well that's all I've got to say for now. Hopefully my next post will be from Bologna.
Bye x
Sunday, 20 July 2008
One month to go.
Ciao a tutti! Well I know it's technically a little bit early to be starting my blog but there's only actually a month until I head off to sunnier climates. Besides, I was inspired to start after reading Matt, Niki, Kirsty and Michele's blogs of their adventures abroad.
Well here we are then, everything's booked...planes, interrail cards and hostels. Me and Ronnie will be flying from Bristol airport at 6.45 in the morning on the 20th of August and arriving in Bergamo a couple of hours later. How we are actually getting to Bristol could be a problem since both our parents are refusing to drop us there that early...We could be sleeping rough in the airport overnight atm! From Bergamo we are going to get the bus into Milan (about a 40 minute ride costing about 2 euros apparently) before hopping on a train to Bologna for our first stop. 2 days in Bologna staying at a hostel before we move on to the capital city, Rome for 3 more days. From Rome we're heading north again and into Tuscany to Siena followed by Florence (2 days each) before we follow the coast around to Genoa (a beautiful but dangerous town according to some!) With 2 days left after Genoa before we are flying home we're going back to Milan to explore a bit more.
So thats our schedule for 2 weeks. I expect to come back with no clean clothes, a couple of camera's full of photos and a phone full of beautiful italian girls numbers...
Also some more Italian would be handy!
Well that's it for now, a lot still to do before we go...I still need a backpack amongst other things but I really cant wait now! Hopefully I'll be able to keep everyone updated when I'm out there using internet cafes.
Ciao for now!
x
Well here we are then, everything's booked...planes, interrail cards and hostels. Me and Ronnie will be flying from Bristol airport at 6.45 in the morning on the 20th of August and arriving in Bergamo a couple of hours later. How we are actually getting to Bristol could be a problem since both our parents are refusing to drop us there that early...We could be sleeping rough in the airport overnight atm! From Bergamo we are going to get the bus into Milan (about a 40 minute ride costing about 2 euros apparently) before hopping on a train to Bologna for our first stop. 2 days in Bologna staying at a hostel before we move on to the capital city, Rome for 3 more days. From Rome we're heading north again and into Tuscany to Siena followed by Florence (2 days each) before we follow the coast around to Genoa (a beautiful but dangerous town according to some!) With 2 days left after Genoa before we are flying home we're going back to Milan to explore a bit more.
So thats our schedule for 2 weeks. I expect to come back with no clean clothes, a couple of camera's full of photos and a phone full of beautiful italian girls numbers...
Also some more Italian would be handy!
Well that's it for now, a lot still to do before we go...I still need a backpack amongst other things but I really cant wait now! Hopefully I'll be able to keep everyone updated when I'm out there using internet cafes.
Ciao for now!
x
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