Blogs from Italy, Europe - page 1574

I think every body, at least from this side of the ocean has the dream to have an adventure in europe, experimenting, smelling, get the picture from knowing real people, so this was my opportunity, planning a clasic low budget, backpacking extreme travel to as manny countries you can in Europe. I plan this travel with my best friend, ,making a lot of research before departure, buying the travelguide for the low budget traveler "Let's go Europe" and planning every penny. So first of all having a cheap flight from Mexico City is difficult so the best way normally is making some stops so we book United Airlines MEX-IAD-Milan a very beautifull almost 24 hr journey. The first stop in Washington Dulles was a nightmare and a very new concept for me 6 hour delay of ... read more

Ciao! Yesterday was a beautiful day because I got the afternoon off! The weather was absolutely perfect so we hiked up the huge hill behind the Castle. Many, many steps lead to the "Rocca" (Castle -- another one!). It was closed when we reached the top though. Those Italians and their siestas! :) Speaking of Italians, I am learning more about their culture by having two Italian students as my teammates for a group project. We have a paper and presentation due tomorrow and we've hardly started! Now you all know me, so you know that I've been trying to light a fire under them! But they are so relaxed and laid back --and, of couse, completely nice. Looks like I will have a long night. But the weekend is right around the corner! Our dinner ... read more

Today I awoke to the sights and sounds of spring. The valley below was dappled with early morning sunlight. An adjacent hillside was being mown for hay. The neighbor’s cattle are once again standing atop a nearby hill. They must also like the view because the hilltop is barren, with only grass on the lower slopes for grazing. Each morning when I awake I can hear the clanging of the bell wrapped around one of their necks, and track their progress up the hill by its sound. It’s quite an intricate footpath they follow with many switchbacks to reach their perch overlooking the valley. Each night they retrace their steps as they are herded back to the valley floor. The groundskeeper, Tuddi, is cutting the long grass on the slope just below my room. He pauses ... read more

I have uploaded pictures to this website, they aren't all there, but most of the good ones are: http://community.webshots.com/user/rickrainy Today we saw the statue of David and went through the Uffizi Museum (one of the top art museums in the world) and thats it, because the lines were so long for both (2 hours for David, and 3 hours for the Uffizi). David was a bit overrated, just because it took so long to wait, it cost like 8 euro, and its only for that one statue (nothing else in that museum is worth it), but I understand how important that statue is in terms of the history of art and the Renaissance, so it was worth it, I think. The Uffizi was so huge, and we had little time since we waited most of the ... read more

Hello - Sorry it has been some time, but I have had echnical difficulties getting on-line. We left Venice and went to Florence, Italy two days ago. We stopped in Bolgna for lunch and a walking tour, and learned that Bologna was known as the "Fat City" and that it was also a city full of arches. In the afternoon we went to the University of Bologna where we heard a lecture from a doctor and two nutritionists - on the benefits of the Mediterranean diet and olive oil. Afterward we had cookies for snacks!! When we went to Florence, we had dinner with some friends of mine, Lucia and Simone, who explained to our group about life in Florence. It takes awhile to save for a place to stay in Florence, because it is very ... read more