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Published: November 18th 2007
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We begin this story at the train station in Vienna, where we are waiting for our night train to Venice. Ryan glances at his watch and sees we have a few minutes before the train leaves so Russ runs to pick some things up at the store. While Russ is out Ryan sees a light blinking next to their train and realizes his watch is 5 minutes slow. Loaded up with what feels like 100 pounds of baggage we gallop through the train station (try to run while giving someone a piggy back and you'll know what we are talking about) and push our way past a conductor who we think was trying to tell us it was too late. We got into the last train car and the train began moving 45 seconds after we got on. It was a 12 hour journey, but after the ridiculous bus rides in Vietnam, this was a breeze. We got a few naps since we were constantly interrupted by Italians yelling, "tickets!" After arriving in Venice we wandered around and found a little hotel that was near the train station. We searched out a cafe to grab some breakfast...some eggs, bacon, a coffee...ANYTHING!!!
We are pretty sure that the definition of breakfast in Italy isn't the same as in the US. All we could find were these tiny croissants and coffee the size of small shot glasses. We were hungry like a hostage since we hadn't really eaten much, so we finally just settled for these microscopic pastries. We explored the many street/alleys in Venice most of the time we were there, getting lost the majority of that time. The weather was a bit warmer than some of the places in Germany so we were trying to soak it up. The canals, gondolas and old buildings gave the city a really cool vibe, but we saw more tourists than Italians and most of them were our parents age. All in all the city was cool to see for a couple days, but not sure if we'd go back. There wasn't much to do especially for two men without girlfriends, but even with women we think there are a lot more romantic places to go that aren't quite as cliche. Since we had been there and done that, we decided to get a taste of history and visit Rome.
After arriving there you
Hailing a Taxi
When I looka in your eye, like a bigga pizza pie... definitely you felt like you were in Italy. Everyone was dressed better that we were...even the workers at the train station. The station looked like a bunch of worker ants scurrying around beneath giant Gucci and Versace advertisements. That day we searched out a few sights, however after we finally got to the Colosseum it was closed. We wandered around and snapped a few pictures of it at night. That night we ended up running into a few Australians that we have seen in about 4 or 5 cities while in Europe. We decided to get some wine talk about what the plan was for tomorrow. The girls had a great idea that we would save money and get one large jug of red wine...know that no decent wine comes in a jug... hey it was 5 euros for 5 liters. After muscling some of this gasoline down we gave the rest of it away and decided to check out Vatican city in the morning. The Pope speaks every wednesday or something like that and we tried to catch a glimpse, but ended up getting off at the wrong stop and missing it by about 15 min. We decided to
Nightlife
The Grand Canal at dusk head to the Vatican Musuem and the Sistine Chapel instead. On the way to the Chapel there was a procession of hallways and rooms that were filled with a ridiculous amount of art. Not just hanging pictures, but on the walls, ceiling, floors...everywhere. If you stared down the halls and let your eyes go out of focus it looked like it was part of the architecture, but in looking at it closer, you realize that it is made up of hundreds of tiny paintings. We ended up in the Sistine Chapel, but since security was tight we couldn't take pictures..sorry. Since this was the main thing we had come to see in the musuem, we took off and headed to St. Peter's Basilica. We wanted to climb it so we could get a scenic view of Rome. The line was really long and instead of wasting a beautiful day in line, we decided to part ways with the group and took off to the Colosseum. We were confused at first because half of the floor was rebuilt to recreate what the spectators saw and the other half was open so you could see the dungeons where the gladiators and animals
St. Mark's Square
These pigeons think they own this place were kept. It definitely would have been an intense place with gladiators fighting to the death, tigers trying to eat them to the roar of thousands of crazy Romans. After walking all of the entire city we were wiped out and headed back to the hostel. Our plan for the next day was to head back to St. Peter's Basilca early to beat the lines and check out the spanish steps. Not really sure what they were, but someone said Italian models and we looked at each other and said...sold. While inside the basilica we were overwhelmed with art once again...paintings, sculptures, etc. We went beneath the basilica to check out the tombs of all of the dead popes (none of which we knew of except John Paul) and then got a little cardio on the 522 steps to the top of the dome. The panoramic views of the city were really amazing. We then headed to the Spanish steps to check out some of the city's finest talent...supposedly this is where the models hang out. After sitting on the steps talking about nothing for a while and not seeing a thing we went on a hunt for supposedly the
Under Attack!
Let's get 'em best gelato in Rome...which, by the way, I am surprised that we haven't mentioned the food yet. We have had pizza and gelato once or twice a day for almost a week and need to leave Italy as soon as possible so we don't die of a clogged artery. We were unsuccessful in finding the shop so we had to wait until later that night when we could go with the rest of the group to the most famous pizzeria and gelato shop. After dinner we found ourselves inside an Irish pub that offered specials for American students only so we instantly became students again and the Aussies started practicing their best American accents that sounded like horrible versions of a backwoods redneck. To our dismay, the Aussie's decided they should order shots of 140 proof Absinth...who does that? That stuff is terrible, but just a little better than the gasoline wine we bought a few nights before. We looked down and realized that this bar actually knew what an irish car bomb was so we returned fire. We'd be lying if we didn't admit to feeling a bit of satisfaction while watching them choke down their drink (they had
Colosseum at Night
This is postcard material never done one or knew what to do). After having a few laughs while listening to the most ridiculous drunk dissertation of what to look for in wife (we ran into a couple on their honeymoon from N. Carolina)...boiled down to if she laughs when you fart, better scoop her up...we headed home. Our last day in Rome we planned to check out the Pantheon..which was pretty cool and we wanted to search out the catacombs. Apparently strikes are part of everyday life in Europe because Rome's rail system was striking that day and there was some sort of political protest. This is the third one we have hit so we hopped a train to Naples, just in case it hit the fan. Talk to you soon...
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Nicole
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Buon Giorno
Birthplace of pizza, Napoli is a good time!!! Antica Pizzeria da Michele is one of the most famous, near the train station. They only have two types of pizza....And don't foget the lemoncello.... and pack food with you when you go to Pompeii. The food they sell roadside is crap. You're blog makes me want to go back....Nickel