Advertisement
Published: January 5th 2011
Edit Blog Post
My original plan for Italy was to live with Michela and Sofia in Rome as an au pair and find some part-time work during the day, but unfortunately, only a few days before I arrived in Rome these plans fell through. I was still able to stay with Michela for the first couple of weeks, but then she would need to go back to Australia to sort out her permanent residency. So I spent most of those first two and a half weeks looking for alternate work and accommodation.
During that time I did have a look at an apartment and had a job trial, but neither turned out to be suitable, although the job trial did provide me one day and night of fun. Then just before Michela and Sophia were due to leave, I found a job as an au pair for a fairly wealthy family, with a big apartment in the centre of Rome. The Marsella family were all nice, but after just one night I could tell that it wasn’t what I wanted to be doing, that I would rather just be travelling at that time. So after only two nights I left and checked
myself into a hostel.
I didn’t actually do much sightseeing in my first three weeks, other than the Spanish Steps, which really aren’t amazing, and the gardens and little zoo at Villa Borgese. After I left the Marsella’s I thought I should probably get down to it. So over the next few days I did a tour of the Colosseum and Roman Forum, the latter for which I had a very good guide who made it very interesting. I also visited St. Peter’s Square and Cathedral, the Porta Portese Market and the Trastevere area, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and I took a tour of the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel.
After this I decided on a whim to head down to Sicily for ten days. First I went to Palermo for three nights, where I stayed in a nice, homely hostel called Ai Quatro Canti. While there I got lost twice in the little winding backstreets, but also saw the Teatro Massimo, I Quatro Canti (the main intersection), the northern and southern gates, and the Catacombs. I also had the pleasure of sampling a local specialty, Sete Veli, a cake with “Seven Layers” of chocolate.
I spent the next four nights in Catania, which is a beautiful city. Unfortunately, however, immediately upon my arrival there I received the very sad news that Great Uncle Bernard had passed away. The next day I didn’t want to go anywhere, but Dad contacted me on Skype and made me go out and explore. So, knowing Bernard had been a big traveller, I decided to take the opportunity to either see the places/things that he had seen or to experience those he hadn’t for both of us.
That day I wandered around the city, admiring the Baroque architecture and visiting the picturesque Bellini Park. The next day I joined a couple of girls from the hostel for a day trip down to Siracusa, and for my last day in Catania I went on a tour part way up Mt. Etna, which was very interesting, but also very cold and windy at the old craters.
I returned to Palermo for my last three nights and spent the days at Villa Giulia, the Botanic Gardens and nearby Monreale, from where there is a great view over the capital city. I also had arancini one day at Bar Touring,
as had been recommended. It was delicious.
After a few days chilling out in Rome I headed down to Naples, but just as our train was about to pull into the Napoli station it stopped and we were stuck inside for nearly an extra two hours with no idea what was happening. Eventually though, we pulled into the station and were able to disembark. So I continued on my way to meet my next couch surfing host.
Gianfilippo and his housemate, Giuseppe, were great company, and they took me to one of the best pizza places in town (the same one featured in “Eat Love Pray”). I had also hoped to visit Pompeii or Herculaneum, but because Gianfilippo had decided to go a day earlier to visit his parents, I chose instead to spend my day wandering around the city itself. There I saw streets lined with stalls selling locally made nativity sets and figurines, as well as an ancient street preserved underground.
Having made a few friends in Rome through couch surfing, I decided to have a little party to celebrate my birthday, but disappointingly, everyone cancelled. I did, however, have a very enjoyable time on
the actual day of my birthday and I was even able to make a couple of extra friends at the same time. After speaking to Mum on Skype, I went with three others to lunch at a nice restaurant, then for a casual wander through town and to a costume exhibition, containing pieces by some of the top Italian designers. And the day was finished sitting in my host, Salla’s, apartment chatting until the small hours.
A couple of days later I left Rome for the northern cities, starting in Florence. I spent the first day meandering around the city to some of the main attractions, such as the San Lorenzo Market, the cathedral, Piazza della Signoria, Ponte Vecchio and Piazzale Michelangelo, this last having a fantastic view over the city and surrounding areas. I had also tried to book for a horseback tour, and was woken at 4am the next morning by a text informing me I could join a tour that day.
The “Tuscany by Horse” tour was run in the Chianti region, between Florence and Siena, and consisted of a ride for an hour and a half followed by lunch in the grounds of a
13th century castle. I would have preferred to ride for a little longer and at a faster pace, but I was happy to just be on a horse again. As for the lunch, it was a very nice sample of the local Tuscan cuisine.
In the days that followed, I visited the Uffizi Gallery and took a day trip across to Pisa. Aside from a few major works, such as Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” and “Primavera”, most of the gallery was full of very religious artworks that held less interest for me. On the other hand, although I had been forewarned how small Pisa is, I was pleasantly surprised by just how beautiful the Leaning Tower actually is and by the lovely Renaissance style paintings that line the inner walls of the cathedral.
I had hoped also to go up to Bologna or Verona for a few nights before Venice, but I was unable to find a hostel with any space in either city, so I decided to remain in Florence. By now, though, I had pretty much seen what I wanted to there and chose to take a few days of rest, including only a trip to
a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition and another stroll through the San Lorenzo Market.
Once I reached Venice I checked in to my hostel, L’Imbarcadero, which I would definitely recommend, then went to meet my friend, Holly, at the station. Unfortunately her train had broken down halfway between Rome and Venice, delaying her arrival by 5 hours. So I spent the evening with the other hostel guests and had a great time.
As forecast, the following day it snowed, giving me my first experience of the fluffy white stuff, although due to the wind it actually wasn’t very fluffy for most of the day. It was the only day we had to explore, though, so Holly and I headed out, joined by Mel, another Aussie girl staying at the hostel. We caught the water bus across to Murano, where they excel in glasswork, and to Burano, a colourful town where they specialise in lace making. From there we headed back to Venice’s main square, San Marco, where I took the opportunity to light a candle in the cathedral in memory of Uncle Bernard.
By then we were all very cold, so Mel led us through the confusing Venice
streets back to the hostel. Then once we were all warm again we continued our chatting, along with dinner and a couple of bottles of wine. It was a fantastic day.
Our Venice visit over, we all headed off in different directions. I was bound for one last stay in Rome before going further north for the holiday season. I spent my last full day in Italy catching up once more with friends and saying my goodbyes. And thus ends my Italian journey.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 8; qc: 40; dbt: 0.047s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb