Back from Italy!

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I'm back from Italy! Despite being tired and wet most of the time, I loved it. We did way too much to talk about everything, so I'll sum up each city as best as I can.

Milan-We arrived at night and spent a good two hours or so in the train station asking nearly every worker how to get to where we needed to go...we had specific directions by metro and bus but didn't know where to find the ones we needed. Every answer was "I don't speak English. Talk to the next one." We finally randomly bumped into a young guy who spoke English and he was headed the same way as us so he helped us out. Our hostel took a while to find too because it was in some obscure, shady street with hookers. The staff was all pretty rude too, so we were just in a bad mood by bed time.

It rained the entire time we were there, so we went to Milan Castle because it was indoors and the basilica. The basilica was gorgeous and some of the most amazing architecture I've ever seen. Other than that, all we did was window shop because every time we went in a store, we got dirty looks since we were so wet and tired looking. I think I'd have a better time if the weather was better and I wasn't so new to Italy.

Venice-We arrived to absolutely amazing weather. We had to wait a while for a bus, but our campsite was incredible. It had a bar, restaurant, minimart, and internet point and the trailers were really nice (and I liked having to share it only with Al). We were able to take a 15 minute boat ride to Venice, and we'd spend the entire day there. It did rain one of the days but it wasn't that bad. We went to St. Mark's Square and in the church there, but other than that we mostly walked around, ate gelato, and looked at all the cute shops. I'd love to go here for my honeymoon!!

Florence-Again, our first day there was amazing. Our bed and breakfast was really cute and Rolando (the owner) was really nice and helpful. He gave us a map with all the good sites and some tips on where to eat, so we explored a lot of those and enjoyed the sun. We saw David the next day which was really cool, but the museum overall was small and not that great. I wanted to go to the other big museum there but we ran out of time, so I'll have to go back some day!

Rome-Rome was really awesome. We saw so much...the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Mouth of Truth, Trevi Fountain, Vatican City, Coliseum, lots of churches, piazzas, and other fountains...and I still feel like I missed out on some stuff. We ran into a couple other friends while there randomly so we ate with them and did the Vatican together. Our hostel was so cool and full of really fun people. If I went back to Rome I'd probably stay there again. We also were there for All Saint's Day, so we went to mass in a nearby church (I forgot the name, but I have it on my map). Even though I don't speak Italian and I'm no longer Catholic, it was a very nice mass. The motions seemed so much more dedicated and less about the motions themself and more about the meaning behind them. I was really glad we went. The last couple days were really sunny and gorgeous so I spent the last day with Al relaxing by the river and exploring side streets while the other two went in the Coliseum (which we couldn't afford after the Vatican).

As much as I loved the trip, 10 days got to be too long and I was so glad to be back. We had to spend Saturday night in the airport, so by the time I finally got to bed I had been awake for about 40 hours. I am still exhausted so I will probably sleep a lot tonight. Only 40 days and I'll be back home! I can't wait!

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