Italia

And so it begins...


Over Spring Break we made a 2 week excursion covering as much of Italy as possible...I'm sure we could have done a little more, but not without killing ourselves. Where did we go? Pisa, Florence, Rome, Palermo, Corleone, Naples, Pompeii, Venice, and Milan (although we didn't see much).




Everything started with Florence, I swear I've never seen anything as crazy as the Duomo there...it's huge and decorated so intricately. The whole city is really nice, just because it has those beautiful winding European streets with old buildings around every corner.


In Pisa we obviously had to take the funny pictures of us trying to hold up the tower...and we ate at this really nice restaurant down the street where I had some really bangin spinach and ricotta ravioli.




Rome of course was amazing...we only spend about 2.5 days there and I felt rushed, rushed rushed...but, to make up for that...we were about 20 rows back from the Pope during Easter Mass. Saw the Sistine Chaple, Saint Peter's Basilica, The Colosseum, Palentine Hill, The Pantheon...I guess all the important things that you're supposed to see, and I definitely feel like I could go back there for at least a year seeing the rest of everything...that city is just so big...I guess rightfully so, it's been around for quite a while.



We took an overnight train down to Palermo...nice city...the nicest people we met in Italy...I feel like the south of every country always is the most polite and hospitable...didn't do much there...but we found the most amazing Pizzaria...a beer and a margharita all for just €5...and it was the best that I've ever had. Also saw the theater from the Godfather III and the crypts the have there with over 8000 dead people...there's also the bambina...she looks like a freakin doll...hasn't even changed a bit in 100 years after death.

After Palermo we went to Corleone for the day...and night...shadiest town I've ever seen...and also the seat of the Mafia...definitely a Big Brother is watching you type of feeling anywhere you went...the streets were basically abandoned by 9 pm...Mafia curfew? Who knows...the only thing there was to see was the church where they got married at in the Godfather...but everything was beautiful...we climbed up this cliff thing to see this really really old arabic look out site...pretty sweet.

We went back to Palermo for the day to hang out at Mondello, the most beautiful beach...and then it was up to Pompeii by overnight train...after spending a very rainy day there, we popped into Naples to try some really awesome pizza and then back on a night train up to Venice.


Now, Venice, is where most of my money is...I just went crazy with all the beautiful glass stuff they have there...and it's also with Igor, our gondola driver...while that was definitely fun...and I think worth it...those things cost an arm and a leg.


To finish off our Italian adventure we went into Milan for the day...our flight was out of Malpensa...and we had a quick dinner...calzone for me...I'm kinda sad that we didn't get to see the Duomo there, because I've seen pictures and it looks amazing...but, so it goes...then, it was back to dear old Valencia.
Not too shaby.