Left Lucca and went straight to take a train to Florence. This was a disgusting train ride!!!! crap. so, couldnt find the 1st class cabin so went to 2nd class. Not a full train, and there was this weird guy in my car......he was constantly looking around...so, first thought was that he didnt have a ticket, so being aware of the train conductor. OK, thats normal and I dont care anyways.... BUT, he did have a ticket!!! so..what can it be? waiting for friends to get on or sth....? but NO! at one point he stood up and asked me sth, [View Full Entry]

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So, woke up and it was POURING. expected to view things little greyer than usual.... and I didnt bother to change my plans to go to Lerici since, I realize..it would be the same if I went anywhere else anyways.... So, got on the train to Viareggio..... then had to wait an hour for the train to La Spezia....which happened to be delayed for 45 mins!!!!! ARGH... all this waiting time!!!!!! (well..i guess its good.coz i can be out of the rain?? but...its cold..><) Finally got on the train and got to La Spezia...and changed on a local bus to Lerici. [View Full Entry]

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So night train arrived in Pisa, early 6:50 in the morning!!! Walked out and it was..peaceful. very nice!!! Anyways, headed into town and of course, wanted to see the Piazza od Miracles! The town is nice.....cross the river...headed into the dead shopping street, the market was just starting to open up and you see people and the city waking up!!! haaa... On my way, got distracted by this..church. and ended up getting lost and walking all the way around the city walls to get back in!!!! argh.....><" well, got to the leaning tower by 7-ish..and WOW...it is beautiful!!! for somethin [View Full Entry]

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Since I planned to leave this evening, so I didnt go on trips and just decided to stay and go to the market to get some food famous from Sicily... Woke up late...woke Jen up later....and ended up heading out at 4!!!! went to the big market in Catania....haa....they really have a similar food market culture to Asians!!!! Bought lots of food and realise that time is tight..but I still havent tried those local Catanian fooooood!!! So Jen brought me to this Cafe and bought them all at once for me!!!...one of the was this gelato kinda thing, but not exactly [View Full Entry]

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So, today set off to the most touristy town of the region, Taormina. Didnt expect much..thought it would just be another medieval town... Took the bus there and WOWOW.. Didnt know it was on a hill...and the view was superb!!!!!!!! If I came in the summer...that would be very nice!! There is this island down by the sea and people swim out from the coast...just looks great!!!! The weather was gloomy tho...so the heavy waves were dominating the coast...which made the view more dramatic! Anyways, got up there and was gonna go to the Greek Theatre there... its very famous for [View Full Entry]

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Got up early to catch a bus to Modica today! This was the favourite city of 2 girls in the house so I think it must be gooood! and also, they still have traditional chocolate shop which made chocolate in its ancient way!!!! So, got there, beautiful little town...walked up and this town had 2 very nice churches.....its basically a town in a narrow valley...besides the main road..everything was on a slope and all those stairs!!!! haaaaa... very pleasant walk....not much to see though. So, got the chocolate...YUM!^^ then headed to another city, Ragusa. Waited a long time for the bus....an [View Full Entry]

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Warm weather!!! What I felt within 10 seconds off that train was the warm weather!! So nice!! Arrived in Catania, surprisingly, the tourist office opened at 830!!!! so got a map and went to Piazza Doumo, where they have this nice church there, and I met up with Eva! Met her in Greece and gonna stay with her for the next couple of days! She lives with a SIngapore girl and some other Italians, all nice people!!!! they brought me to the local market, where I found lots of seafood not seen in Europe so far!!!! ooooo...the fish like "lap yue", [View Full Entry]

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So, last day in Rome... Started out to San Giovanni, this church ...that was said to be the official church of Rome for many years... its pretty nice..I love the inside though, they have this...stage/alter thing....with gothic towers!!! haaaaa After that, wanted to go all the way to Vatican City again, so walked to Metro station.....but... got lost!!!!! went to this neighbourhood......saw lots of local activity.....ended up asking my way back to the Metro station..and went up to Vatican Museum directly. There was a HUGE lineup..but it didnt take too long though. The VM is one of the [View Full Entry]

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After a whole morning deciding..either a daytrip to one of those hilltop medieval towns...or Naples... Then the train schedule decided for me..so there I went to Naples! The city is......very different from Northern Italy! I mean..its a lot..older...dirtier..and more immigrants.... But the vibe is nice....! Many small streets...Tons of Churches.......not much big spots to see and I didnt have enough time to see them actually................ Walked around....lots of shopping...cheaper than Rome..so cheap I actually shopped! haaaa! many piazza I walked to all have the same......humm.. [View Full Entry]

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Back in Italy, went to this hostel I emailed but they didn't have my booking!!! ended up sleeping on a matress in the common room for the first night.......and the next day they said they have 2 more nights booked for me. OK. The place was cool with satalite TV! haaaa..... So the next day had to wake up early to give make the room available for breakfast, so I headed out early to start walking around Rome. It was FREEEEZING!!! ><" walked around the Colosseum........and the ruins in that area... then walked over to Transtevere to go to the marketplace....long [View Full Entry]

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