UGH! I just spent ages writing a post only for it to delete itself!

Anyway, back to the title… It’s pretty bad that one of the only phrases I remember from my highschool Italian classes is ‘bring me the pen’. Thanks Mr. Burrell, that one really came in handy!

So since the last update I made my way to Venice. Got myself lost, had fun finding my way back again, all was good. The hostel I stayed at was pretty cool, it was setup in a way that meant everyone ate breakfast and dinner together around one big table which forced everyone to be social, it was good to have a big friendly atmosphere. Probably one of the most unprofessional and run down hostels I’ve been to but it was hella fun!

San Marco

Turns out I picked a good time to go to Venice, it was the weekend where they hold the annual celebration of the end of the plague (and something else I forget) so basically it’s an excuse for the Venezians to throw one massive fiesta, get drunk and party. Fireworks and all, it was a spectacular sight. Speaking of Venice, I remember overhearing some American kid bored out of his brains asking his parents “What’s there to do in Venice besides eat and buy stuff.” He kind of had a point, there really isn’t much to do but it was fun to go for a wander, get lost through the maze of streets and canals and then try and find your way back. I also found a rad sweets store that sold coloured chocolate… I bought some mint and lemon flavoured chocolate.

On my second day I went for a day trip over to Trieste, where dad comes from… To be honest it was a little boring, everything was shut since it was a sunday, but it did have a few picturesque piazzas and the view over the water wasn’t too bad. I spent most of my time trekking around and up the hills to get a good vantage point to checkout the town.

Ruins of a Roman amphitheatre in Trieste

Ruins of a Roman amphitheatre in Trieste

After 5 hours of day tripping it to and from Trieste, I then spent another 5 getting from Venice to Rome (where I am currently). Rome is definitely up there with Munich and Bern as one of my favuorite cities so far. Great scenery, interesting stuff at every turn and AWESOME food. Yesterday I went aout the city by foot and saw most of the big places of interest; The Forum and Paletine Hill, Colosseum, Fontana Di Trevi, The Pantheon and Piazza Del Popolo.

Collosseum

Colosseum

 

I may look like a massive goon, but that toss of the coin means Ill be returning to Rome, suckers! (actually that was my second toss, the dude taking the pic for me buggered up the first one... so Im returning to Rome AND I got to make a wish. Total win!)

I may look like a massive goon, but that toss of the coin means I'll be returning to Rome, suckers! (actually that was my second toss, the dude taking the pic for me buggered up the first one... so I'm returning to Rome AND I got to make a wish. Total win!)

It also turns out I had good timing for comnig to Rome too – last night being the 40th anniversary of the moon landing they threw a free party in Piazza Del Popolo, headlnied by Moby… But before we got to that I decided to join in on a pub crawl and socialise a bit. Met some pretty cool people, had a few comlpimentary beers and cocktails, then moved on to another bar where I paid almost $10 aussie for a pint of tap beer. Talk abuot expensive! Anyway it was still all a bit of fun and we headed for Moby who put on an ok show. Can’t say I’m much of a fan but it was free and the company was good fun, in fact we ended up kicking on till about 4am and today I’m a little buggered.

Had to wake up early, actually, just so I could beat the crowd to get to the vatican (I just couldn’t wait to see some churches!). Actually there was some cool stuff in their museums, particuarly the egyptian stuff like heiroglyphs and mummie/sarcophagi. Not sure what any of that has to do with Catholocism but whatever. Also ended up meeting some chick from Coogee who was travelling alone so we became sightseeing buddies for the day. Finished up at the vatican, got some rad lunch (gnochetti, mmmmm) and headed for Piazza Bocca Della Verita where, thankfully, I didn’t lose my hand. Indisputable proof I’m not a liar!

AmIdoinitright?

AmIdoinitright?

Tomorrow I think I’ll go checkout the catacombs and I really want to hit up the beach, the weather is so perfect for it right now. In the night I’ll probably catch an overnight train or a plane to Paris and spend my last few nights in Europe up there. It’s sad that my Euro adventures are coming to a close but it has been fun.