Leaving Antibes was hard. Sure I was still in denial about it until yesterday, but if anything is a good distraction, a trip to some of the most famous cities in Italy is sure to fill the prescription.
Two girls (Ladan and Haley) are also studying in Paris with me and seen as we had several days in between programs we decided (ok well they decided, I just invited myself along haha) to trip it to Verona where we would stay and venture out from there. We had the opportunity to make day trips and visits to Verona (obviously), Venizia and Milano (that's Venice and Milan for you non-italians). I'm sure most of you have heard me complain about it by now, but holy catfish it gets HOT in Italy!!! I mean REALLY REALLY HOT! And I'm climatized! I've been living in the French Riviera for over a month and Italy is too hot to handle. Whodatunkit? So I guess here's a quick snapshot of my mini vacation to Italia : (facebook is giving me grief...hopefully I will be able to upload pictures... if not, sorry it will have to wait until I get home)
Verona
Romeo, where for art thou Romeo? Right? The town made famous for it's connection to one of the most famous romances in history (albeit a fictional one...but then again aren't they all?) There is the massive "Arena" which we hoped to have caught an opera in (Madame Butterfly) but it ended the night we got there and so we missed our chance. Nevertheless there are quite a few things to see in this beautiful and quaint city. Casa di Guillietta is obviously one of the most famous landmarks in the entire area. And YES there is an archway plastered with notes to her. Everything from asking advice to pledging one's undying love. Before you ask, YES I jumped on the hopeless romantic's anonymous bandwagon and stuck a note on the wall myself. I'm never one to pass up good luck, especially in the HEART department (we all know I need LOTS of it!) That's also why I groped poor Guillietta's statue along with 5000 other people that day. So funny because the paint is wearing where people's hands have been. All in the name of LOVE! There are also a few cathedrals in the area worth exploring (or at least standing outside and taking pictures of them) and the shopping is really good here too. I won't lie, my card was bouncing out of my wallet the second we stepped onto the shopping strip! Hot day, but bearable.
Venezia
Up bright and early to catch the train to Venice. Everyone wants to go to Venice! It's one of those places famous for being famous in my opinion. I'm no different from anyone else, I WANTED to go see it for sure! TOURISTS TOURISTS and more TOURISTS! Not my cup of tea. Venice is different. It's interesting and cool to see but not beautiful or charming like Verona or many of the other places I've been to. It's VERY touristy - kind of like Mackinac Island only with thousands more people. NO SHADE! It was sooooo hot that day and no real relief from the heat except in San Marco the massive cathedral. It along with its museum were definitely the highlight of my trip to Venice, even if I had to wear a papertowel shawl to cover my shoulders - at least I didn't have to wear one to cover my legs too - my dress was long enough - SCORE! There were pigeons EVERYWHERE and souvenir carts as far as the eye could see. We did take the water bus and thanks to a nice american lady who gave us her left-over transit cards, we saved quite a bit of money by only having to buy 1 pass instead of 3. Venice is one of those places you want to see to say you've been there and seen what it has to offer, but I definitely didn't feel the romance that is often attached to it. I'm very glad I went and San Marco alone was worth the trip but lets just say I won't be planning my honeymoon there.
Milano
OH SHOPPING! Another day of bright and earliness to catch the longer train ride to Milan. Not much of a game plan this time but by now we can get around Italy fairly well on very little knowledge of Italian. The train/bus/metro station is ENORMOUS in Milan. It's a mini city! I had no idea Milan was that big - but then Ladan reminded me of the mula that circulates in one of the world's financial capitals. DUHHHH!!!! To say the least, if the metro station has us swooning, we were only a little excited to see what the rest of the city had to offer. We hopped on the metro and came out in the centre walking out on the largest Cathedral in all of Europe. We didn't even have time to GASP in AWE however as we were tackled by creepy men trying to turn Haley into a pigeon lady (think Home Alone 2) and take Ladan as a wife. Surreal, as if people actually force themselves at you like that. I was worried I might have to get violent with the man covering Haley with pigeons but luckily he didn't follow us when I grabbed her away. The guy after Ladan was selling (but it's FREE he says) string bracelets. You've GOT to be JOKING right? Good LORD! Speaking of which - time to go into the Cathedral. I bought a scarf this time to cover my shoulders - did I mention it's still TOO HOT for sleeves? It's too hot for clothes! It's just too hot!!! Anyways... Haley and I visit this masterpiece and as amazing as San Marco was, this one appealed to me more - probably because it was more traditional in style. The CEILINGS are phenomenal and trully a work of mastery. It's amazing and unbelievable when you learn how OLD these buildings are and you try and figure out HOW they built that - we couldn't do that now with all our modern technologies - how did they do it with NOTHING? This is why I love history! AND SHOPPING! Yep, of course, you can't go to Milan without taking a tour through the "shopping district" conveniently located next to the Cathedral. Happiness - and AIR CONDITION! We made it out of Milan fairly early, but not before catching what we thought might be a protest of sorts but it was a dressed down mixed choir singing in front of a marked off section on the road. No idea what it was all about but they were GOOD!
Obviously there is so much more to tell but it's getting late and my coherency factor is non-existant right now. Not to mention you are all probably yawning by now. I know I am. Next up - the trip Verona - Paris and then Paris days 1 and 2...DUN DUN DUN!!!!
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