Stuck in Bari/ Longest Ferry Ride Ever

We got up this morning. Checked out of the hostel, skipped "snackfast". We caught the Metro, then an early train to Caserta. Then had an hour between connections. Then a 3 hour train to Bari.

Once in Bari we took the bus to what we thought would be the harbor. 40 minutes later we were told we were on the wrong bus. We were on #20 and we wanted #20/ ... so we had to get off and wait for the #20 going back to the station. We waited for 30 minutes and got back on the same bus we started on, but it was now going to other way.

Got back to the station waited another 30 minutes for the #20/ to the harbor. Took that bus and got to the harbor 15 minutes later.

Got off the bus and went to the port terminal, about a 10 minute walk. Found out it was the wrong side of the port. Walked 15 minutes to the right building. Waited in line for a while then booked our tickets for the ferry.

Turns out due to a 3 day strike the daily 20:00 ferry wasn't leaving til 23:30!!!! So it was only 15:30 and we had nothing to do. We asked about luggage storage while we waited for 6 hours until we boarded. Turns out they were back at the first building! Ugh!!

Once we finally stored our packs we had about 5.5 hours until we had to be back. We decided to explore Bari, with no information and no map. We found a castle and went through it. It was being restored so you could only go through two rooms for €1,50. We were bored so it was worth it.

Then we ate some dinner at a small café. Bari is a port town, but not really touristy being on the east side of Italy. We had a wonderful dinner, beer, and gelato for €16!! It was awesome.

By this time it was only 18:15. We walked around found a pretty church and a park. We sat around and played 20 questions for a long time before going back to the harbor.

We still waited an hour before getting our packs. Then we sat around and waited some more until we could board.

We had to go through a security screening before boarding which caused some stir seeing as Heather has a pocket knife, dagger and sword. I also have a pocket knife. So that was a huge to-do. It was rather funny trying to communicate that the blades were souvenirs.

We FINALLY got on board at around 21:50. Our Eurail pass only got us free deck passage. If we wanted to stay in a recliner seat or a cbin it was very costly. The recliner seats were €50/ person! However, deck passage meant we could only sit on the deck chairs or in the lounge for the duration of the journey (which was supposed to ne 15.5 hours) Luckily, the guy checking our tickets just gave us two recliner chairs.

We were supposed to leave at 23:30, but we didn't embark until about 1:00! I slept most of the night, Heather apparently. Didn't get to sleep for a while.

I slept in, which was impressive since we were in airplane-type chairs! Woke up at about 9:00 and went out on deck. Spent some time exploring the ferry, then came back to wake H up about 11.

We did a lot of sitting around. Played some cards. Heather played Gameboy. I took a shower (thank goodness they had a shower!) Ate lunch about 13:00. Sat around more. Took a nap.

Then FINALLY we got to Patra, Greece at 18:30!! 21 hours on a freaking ferry!! So boring! Ironically, the company was 'SuperFast Ferries' LOL

So here we are in Patra! We are staying at a super swanky hotel, because things are super cheap in Greece right now. We have a great balcony overlooking the sea! It should be gorgeous in the morning.

Tomorrow we are going to explore Patra then head to Athens!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

Capri

We got up early to do laundry. The laundry room opened at 8:00 so we started our load then went to breakfast. If we thought Florence breakfast was bad...Naples was ridiculous. You got one 5oz drink and 1 croissant filled with jam. If you want another drink it cost €1, no telling how much another pastry would cost!

The washer took an hour and 20 minutes and the dryer took over an hour (because the first cycle didn't dry our clothes!) The rooms have a lock out period from 10:00 -14:00 for cleaning but by the time we were done with laundry it was about 10:45. We snuck back in our room to drop off our clothes and hang the ones that were still damp.

We ate sandwiches from the Metro vending machines again. It was much more filling than our snackfast. We got to the train station and exchanged our tickets for tomorrow for an earlier time. The ones we booked originally would not have given us enough time to get to our ferry. Luckily they exchanged them with no issues.

With our chores done, we headed to Capri! It was overcast but not cold. So we had high hopes. We got to the harbor at about 12:40 but we were told the next ferry left two hours later. Or we could take the really slow ferry that also takes cars and it was leaving in 20 minutes. We opted for the slow one and ran to 3 different ticket counters until we found the right company. We bought out tickets at 12:58 and departed at 13:00!

Our ferry was pretty empty, as to be expected on a weekday afternoon in late October. We sat up top to enjoy the view, but it started raining almost immediately after departing! We still sat outside, we just chilled under a overhang for the rest of the ride.

By the time we got to Capri it was pouring down rain. Luckily, it still wasn't cold out. I pulled on my poncho and Heather put on her jacket and we set off to see what Capri had to offer. We browsed souvenir shops and tasted homemade Limoncello, along with chocolate candies with Limoncello centers (so good!) Then we found a little business that does boat tours around the island, including the 3 famous grottos. We booked two tickets and went to enjoy some homemade gelato while we waited for our departure.

We came back when it was time to depart but they decided to cancel the tour due to rough seas and the weather. We got a refund, but then had absolutely no plans. We asked the tourist office what there was to do in the rain and he reccomended the villas on the other side of the island. However, they closed in an hour. We decided to save our money and went to a rocky beach area next to the harbor.

I at least got to touch the water! Which, despite the rain, was really warm. Perfect swimming water!! All I wanted to do was swim on the beach of Capri!! >:(

As if Mother Nature were laughing at us, the rain picked up and it started to thunder and lightening. We opted to head back to Naples, completely defeated. So we only spent 2 hours on Capri, doing absolutely nothing except getting soaking wet. :(

We got back to Naples and the storm had followed us. We walked back to the train station, only stopping once for a donut. I have been craving donuts for about a week! We found a little café selling donuts from a display case on the street. For a typical glazed donut here it is usually €1,50! Highway robbery! But this café had enormous donuts and they were only €0,60! It was the single best donut I have ever eaten. It was so good that after having a bite of mine, Heather went back and got her own! Those donuts were easily the best part of the whole day.

We got to the station and asked the tourist office for a resteraunt reccomendation. She pointed out a pizzeria on the map, which was back where we had just come from. So we went back out in the rain and went to find it. We didn't make it to the one she reccomended because we were hungry, wet and grumpy.

We ate at Pizzeria D'Angelo instead. Heather had spaghetti carbonara, which was completely different than what you get in the states. I had a thick pasta with bolganase. The sauce had carrots, basil, and onions in with the pork. But I was very hungry and didn't care to be picky. I ate it all! We got a pizza to-go for lunch tomorrow. It is divided up in quadrants with olives, mushrooms, proscutto, and artichokes. Hopefully it will be good cold!

The rain finally stopped by the time we got to the hostel. They don't offer a kitchen, but the reception guy let us keep our pizza in the staff fridge. He's such a sweet guy!

We packed up our stuff and now its time for bed! Tomorrow will be an extremely long travel day. We start with an 8:02 train to Caserta, 10:02 train to Bari. Spend 5 hours in Bari, then take the 15 hour ferry to Patra, Greece.

The one good thing about going to Greece while there is political turmoil, is that hotels are way cheap!! Our hotel in Patra is a 5 star facility and only cost €85 for the night. :) at that rate we may stay somewhere nice in Athens for the final leg of our epic journey!!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

Napoli & Pompei

We got to Napoli this morning after a nice train ride through the Italian country side. Time flies on the trains because there is always something beautiful to see.

We went to our hostel, which is about a 15 minute trip on the metro. Its on the outskirts of town, but it has spectacular views of Naples since it is up on a hill. We left our packs and went out to explore.

We took the Metro to the station then caught a regional train to Pompei. The train took 40 minutes, which I spent napping. Despite the robust Italian family sitting near us and arguing most of the way.

The ruins of Pompei cost €11, but there is SO much to seee! Pompei used to be an important city in the ancient days. But in 79 A.D. Mount Vesuvious erupted and encased the entire city in over 15 feet of ash & lava. The inhabitants were petrified under the ash before the lava destroyed the town. The entire city is amazingly preserved with original buildings, items, art & more. There are even corpses of the victims, perfectly preserved in ash. Almost like mummies, but instead they look like sculptures.

The ruins of Pompei are open to the public to explore. You have to remember, this is an entire city! When we go in they offer a map, so you don't get lost. We opted to just free roam, as we usually do.

Street, after street, after street of amazingly preserved buildings. It was gorgeous! There is an entire ampitheatre, bath house, brothel, and multiple temples among the best kept buildings.

It was really fun to get to roam around the city at our leisure. There were tons of group tours but they didn't seem to do much of the side streets. They just did a tour of the main roads. Some of our favorite places ended up being way off the beaten path!

We took 4.5 hours to walk the city!  by the end of our exploration we were beat and hungry. We stopped by the cafeteria (which is in the forum! Haha) and bought some dinner. They were closing so the guy gave us about €26 worth of food for only €14!! We got a pizza and a half, fruit cup, fries, and a soda! Score!

We made our way back to the station and made the long journey back to the hostel. Walking back to our hostel we found a family of stray cats! There were even some kittens. :) automatically adds to the hostel's "cool score".

We're in a 4 bed female with only one roommate. The hostel is a HI hostel, so its very nice. The only thing is they only have 2 showers for our entire floor! So we showered tonight to beat the morning rush.

Tomorrow we are going to the romantic island of Capri! I'm so excited!!!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

Vatican City aka The Pope's House

Woke up feeling slightly rested. The hall bathroom proved to be noisier than expected. Ugh! And our bed was so uncomfortable. Took my Aleve first thing this morning!

The hotel breakfast matched everything else. A bit of a let down. It was just bread and cereal, which would be acceptable at a hostel...but this is a hotel! I'm spoiled and want hot foods for breakfast to give me fuel for a long day!

We had 11:30 tickets to the Vatican so we left about 10:15. Good thing too, the Metro was crazy busy because it is Saturday. Luckily we planned for this and we still made it to the Vtican with time to spare! We couldn't help but feel bad for the hundreds of people in line when we got there. We just cut in front of all of them with our online tickets!

If you have never been to the Vatican museum, it's size is comparable to that of the Louvre in Paris. If you have never been to the Louvre...then just imagine a really, really big museum!! There are SOOO many galleries!! From sculptures to paintings, the Vatican museum has a bit of everything! It was extremely impressive. You start in a court yard, then go into a hall of marble busts & sculptures. From there you go into a room of statues. Then up a set of stairs to rooms of sculptures. Through another courtyard of raman baths & statues. Then a gallery of granite sculptures of animals. Then 2 more rooms of sculptures. Then a round room with huge sculptures of granite and bronze. Then through another long hallway with paintings covering walls & ceiling. Then another staircase to a section of Egyptian art & mummies. From there you go on an outside passage to another 5 galleries of painted walls & ceilings. Up a staircase to 6 rooms of Roman vases. Then down some stairs, through 2 more halls...and now you arrive at the Sistine Chapel.

Let me say, if you see Michelangelo's work sometime in your life (which I hope you do)...don't see David before the Sistine Chapel! It puts the massive painting to shame. Michelangelo was firstly a sculpture, that is for sure. The Sistine Chapel is beautiful, but it does not ellicit the admiration that David does. Also, you are being moved around like heards of cattle in the tight space...so that loses some effect too. Of course it is still a Holy place so you aren't allowed to talk, although everyone is. And they don't allow pictures....but somehow I have some that magically appeared on my camera! After all of the other art you spent 3.5 hours looking at prior to the Sistine Chapel....it is truly hard to take it all in for the infamous piece of art that it is. It was sad!

After the Sistine Chapel, there were still 3 galleries before the exit!! What an incredible collection!

When we left there was a ridiculously long line to get in. We are so happy that we bought in advance!!

We walked over to the actual Vatican and toyed with the idea of a tour. However, the line to get in there wrapped 2/3 of the way around the plaza!! I took a video of it, it takes 45 seconds to scroll the entire line!! Heck no.

We instead headed back to the other side of the city to sxee if the Colliseum was open today. No such luck. Today the sign read "Closed due to technical issues" haha! Not sure what that means. Oh well. While we were hanging out around the Colliseum we met a stray kitty!! She came right up to us and rolled over for belly pets. She didn't have fleas or look sickly, so we indulged her. Makes us a little less home sick, I think. We sure do miss our babies!!

We had dinner by the Colliseum at Cafe 183. I had some tortillini with cream and ham, and Heather had a mushroom pasta. Delicious!!

After dinner we went souvenir shopping and Heather found a wonderful Roman short sword for her weaponry collection!! Its simply gorgeous. She is beyond ecstatic with it.

With all of our money spent, we headed back to the hotel early. We stopped by the internet cafe to look up some info we need for Greece then settled in for the night.

Rome is simply amazing!! There is so much history and so many reminders of the ancient world!! This is easily one of the top cities we've seen.

Tomorrow we leave for Naples! Which means Pompei & Capri. :)

Safe Travels,

- Kit & Heather

When In Rome

We got to Rome early this afternoon. Immediately we were in awe. There were ruins all along side the train tracks and ruins visible everywhere outside of the train station!

Our hotel is across the street from the station, but that's all it has going for it. It's the Hotel Marsala, and it is possibly the most run down hotel we've ever stayed in. Our room is on the fourth floor, right next to the shared bathroom. We booked a room ensuite, but for the guests who don't have a bathroom in their room...they use the one outside our door. All night. Our bathroom looks the same as it did probably 40 years ago. The toilet tank is on the wall near the ceiling and it takes 10 minutes (of really annoying dripping sounds) for it to fill back up after you flush. The bath/shower looks like it should be in a retirement home. It is a sit down basin with a hand sprayer. No curtain, so you have to try very hard not to soak the bathroom when you bathe. The sink only has hot water sometimes. The bed is essentially springs and a sheet. Its too big for the room so you have to climb over the bed to get back and forth from the bathroom. There is a cabinet/closet but the door is falling off of its hinges. The tv works great though. And we have a phone...which doesn't even ring reception. Our front door is paper thin, as are the walls. We could hear someones cell phone ringing two rooms down...and our room doesn't connect to anyone else's!! All in all its a really funny situation. But,its clean and its safe. So that's all we care about.

After checking in we bought a map and went on a Roman adventure. Maybe we are crazy, or maybe we were just excited...because we saw A LOT today!!

We started at the Culture & Heritage National Monument. Its the most massive building I have ever seen. Its pretty much all granite and done in ancient Roman style. Its really awesome.

Then we walked along the ruins of the Roman Forum. Best quote, "There are so many ruins! I don't know where to look!" That was Heather's reaction as soon as we came upon the forum.

At the end of the street we walked around the Colliseum. Unfortunately, it was closed today. I guess it has been closed for two days, but no one seems to know why. There was simply a sign that said "The colliseum is closed due to reasons outside one's control" We overheard someone saying it was due to rain over the last few days. It makes sense that if it were wet and lots of people walked around it would worsen the condition.

So heavy hearted we went back to the national monument and wandered around. Then it was off to the Pantheon. Which is REALLY big!! Wow! We walked around inside and enjoyed its ancient wonders.

Next stop was Trevi fountain. The infamous fountain for good luck. We each threw in a coin. The fountain is incredible!! There were so many people there though, we didn't stay long.

We went over to the Spanish steps and tooks pics. We didn't climb them, because there were (once again) too many people. Its ok, my knee was not interested in climbing anyway.

After all of the walking around we stopped for dinner. Every resteraunt offers a menu out front so you can decide if you want to eat there. Anytime we look over a menu Heather asks "Is there something you'd eat?" To which I always reply "Are we still in Italy!?" I mean pizza + pasta are my specialties!!

We finished dinner and made the long trek back to our hotel. We watched some CNN, (HURRAY FOR BRINGING THE TROOPS HOME!!). Then we were too tired to even journal for the day!!

At least I blogged...but now it is time to PASS OUT!!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene...

Woke up early, to the dismay of our roommates. We were at breakfast as they opened. Ate and made a 7:33 bus to the station.

Headed to Bologna first. The train was about an hour, since it was a regional train. But that means it was less expensive, so we weren't in a hurry. We spent the train trip catching up in our journals, as we so often do. My journal for this trip is a 70 sheet composition notebook. I write front & back, so 140 pages....but I'll be lucky to make it to the end of the trip!! I think I only have about 30 pages left!

We got to Bologna and it was raining. Of course. I didn't even think to grab my poncho this morning, so I had to improvise. I put my back pack on under my jacket and zipped it up so I looked like a hunchback. It wasn't comfortable, but it kept everything dry.

Our book didn't have too much to say about Bologna. We followed the walking directions to the fountain of Neptune...but it really wasn't that great. The fountain of Neptune in Vienna or Florence are both much better. However, this fountain had mermaids who shot water from their nipples. It was a peculiar sight!! But I guess if there are peeing boy fountains...a lactating mermaid isn't too far off.

We were going to go to another square that is supposed to be cool, but we didn't have time. So essentially we walked 30 minutes in one direction, just to turn around and walk 30 back to the station.

Our train to Verona was fairly quick. It took another hour. We got off in Verona and realized we had no information about the city! Its not in our book and we didn't look up directions to anything. We bought a tourist map from the station, which had all of the essentials marked on it.

Once again, it was raining. It wasn't nearly as bad as Bologna though. We walked to the center of town and were shocked to find a massive Roman arena! Who knew!?

We stopped for lunch at a self-service resteraunt. It was really nerve racking because each item cost a different amount and all of the signs were in Italian. I was so worried I was going to end up spending €20, that I only got a small bowl of noodles and tomoato sauce. Heather had the same, plus a mushroom tort. Then we got to the cashier and my card didn't work! We forgot to stop by an ATM and were out of cash. Luckily they ran it a second time and it worked fine. I stressed over nothing, all in all our lunch was €11. Cha-ching!

After lunch Heather navigated our way to Juliet's house!! Its just on side street with a beautiful portico entry with a stone placard that says "The house of Capulet, whence came Juliet" (or something like that, its in Italian) Through the portico you find thousands of names written on the brick walls with whatever color or medium people had at the time. Names and dates of lovers, fans, or simply visitors.

The portico opens into a small square atrium with Juliet's balcony on the right and a bronze statue of Juliet in the middle. Supposedly, if you touch her breast it will bring you good luck. So obviously I did just that.

After we enjoyed the atrium we went up stairs to the Juliet Club. Its a group of women who write back to all the people who send letters to Juliet. They operate out of a small room that overlooks Juliet's atrium. It was set up just like the movie "Letters to Juliet". I sat at Juliet's desk and wrote her a letter myself. :) There are binders and binders filled with some of the letters that have been written over the years. The oldest ones were from 15 years ago! It was a very cool place to visit.

We then decided it was only fair to go see Romeo's house. Unlike Juliet's his is down a narrow ally and has no decoration or tourist hoards around it. It is a simple stone walled house with a balcony. The door on the balcony was overgrown with ivy and some of the wall showed where doors had been plastered over. Poor Romeo, no one visits his home.

We wanted to visit Juliet's tomb but half way there we realized it cost money to go in, and you wouldn't see anything outside. So instead we bought some post cards and sent them out.

We took a leisurely stroll back to the station, since the sun had finally come out. We found a part of what seemed to be a medieval wall on the outskirts of the main city center.

Heather had an authentic Italian canoli while we waited for our train. She says its unlike any canoli she has ever had before. She thouroughly enjoyed it.

Our train back to Bologna was a commuter train so it took 2 hours. Luckily it wasn't busy at all though. We played dots, tic-tac-toe and hangman to pass the time.

Back in Bologna we walked around and found a resteraunt for dinner. We split a pork chop (since Bologna is famous for their meats) and I had tortellini (which was hand made) in a bolganase sauce. Heather had cheese filled pasta in a butter & sage sauce. All of it was delicious!! I had never had hand made pasta...it certainly makes a difference.

We took our final train back to Florence and now we are heading back to the hostel for our last night. We leave in the morning for our tour of southern Italy, starting in Rome!

We have covered a ridiculous amout of ground since we arrived a month ago!! We only have 11 days left in Europe, but still have a lot to see. Can't wait to see the wonders of Rome!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

The Day of David

Slept in today! (Until 8:45!) Ate breakfast and set out to explore the wonders of Florence.

We started at the station because we needed to book some tickets, but the line was super long so we decided to wait. We walked to Duomo near the center of old town.

Duomo and all of its splendor is...astonishing!! Its so massive and there is simply so much to look at!! We walked around it and every sight was so gorgeous! The building is magnificent! We could have gone to the top of the dome, but we wanted to spend our money elsewhere today. I don't think you could fully appreciate each detail of Duomo if you had a lifetime. (Probably why we visited it other times throughout our walking tour!)

We then walked to the Academic Gallery. The line (as to be expected) was wrapped down one side of the building. I held a spot in line while Heather went to investigate pricing. She came back with two tickets for the next entry time! Score! So then we only waited about 10 minutes instead of 3 hours.

We viewed some beautiful art and sculptures, but nothing can compare to Michelangelo's Davis. Standing at 17 feet, he holds the attention of the main gallery. There are no words to describe such a masterpiece. Davis is the most detailed sculpture I have ever laid eyes on. Heather tried to snap a photo, but the gaurd caught us and yelled "No photo!!" (However the picture is of the lady's hand...but David is fully visible in the background)

We sat and enjoyed his many splendor. And of course, sneeking photos from every angle. Everytime you look at him you notice another minute detail that you hadn't seen before. It is truly awe-inspiring. We spent almost 2 hours at the museum with maybe an hour and fifteen minutes in front of David alone.

With rumbly tummies we left and found a small café that had handed out flyers while we were in line. We each had a pizza (yes, I know I eat pizza everyday! I'm a conissuer, what can I say!?) Heather had a mushroom and ham pizza and I tried the 4 meat pizza. It had ham, salami, hot dogs and bologna. And it was awesome!

With food in our stomachs we went back to Duomo and walked around a little bit. Then we visited  Palazzo Vecchio and Galleria Degli Uffizi. There was a gorgeous fountain of Neptune and lots of sculptures. Of course, it is where David originally stood. Now there is a smaller replica (made of granite instead of marble) in his place. It was sad to overhear people talk about the statue and think it was the real one. He's probably 5 feet shorter than the real one!

We enjoyed gelato (as per the treaty) as we took in the sights of Florence. What an amazing city!! We wandered around in the old town a little more before heading back to the station to book the previously mentioned tickets.

After getting our trips booked for the next couple of days (which ended up being much cheaper than expected!) we adventured to Piazzale Michelangelo. Turns out it is a wonderful view of the city from on top of a hill! Not to mention the third David is there. This one is made of bronze. We spent a while taking pics of the city at night and listening to street performers play. I bought a gorgeous necklace and Heather bought a minature David. :) We split a Peroni then grabbed a bus back to town.

Ate some dinner at McDonald's, because we still have buy one get one coupons. (Its cheaper than eating anywhere else!!) Then went back to the hostel.

Florence is a wonderful city! Its my 2nd favorite Italian city that we have seen, after Venice. Even the bus rides have offered spectacular view. Florence should be a must for any Italy itenerary!!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

Venice & Romance

Woke up early this morning to have breakfast before heading out. Well that was a joke! Our breakfast from the hostel was corn flakes in mugs (no bowls), white bread (no toaster) and weird jelly flavors from plastic containers. Oh and orange juice from a machine that makes it from powder. It was terrible!! I had a couple of helpings to get slightly full. Oh well, not everything can be perfect.

We took the first train to Venice to spend the day in one of Italy's most romantic cities. The train ride was nice, we spent the whole time napping. Haha

As soon as you exit the train station in Venice you find a canal, gondolas, canal taxis and a hoard of tourists. The thing about Italy is, it never really has a down season. Its always full of tourists and most of them are really dim-witted.

We got a map from the tourist office. We paid €2 for it, but we needed it. To try and navigate Venice without a map...is like being Lewis and Clark when the navigated the Louisiana Purchase. Its really outrageous. All of the streets have about 3 different names and a street name will change sides of the street, even if you are walking straight. Not to mention if you try to "follow the water" you'll get all sorts of turned around. There are hundreds of canals in Venice and they are just as confusing as the streets.

Heather was Sacagewea and led our expedition to Piazza San Marco, which is where the good stuff is. Its mainly an open square surrounded by a giant cathedral, a bell tower, a huge museum, and a palace. Its truly a sight to see. Not to mention there are hundreds of pigeons more than willing to help you finish that biscotti.

We had lunch at Bierreria Pedavena, a small resteraunt behind the square. I had the 4 cheese pizza and Heather had lasagne. We're in Italy....you guess how the food was. ;P

After lunch we wandered along the harbor on a mission. We were looking for a particular shirt for a particular set of twins we know. But we couldn't find it in the color we needed! We stopped at EVERY souvenir stand to check...that's about 1 souvenir stand every 25 feet.

We gave up and decided to explore more of the city. We got a little confused but ended up finding a Gondolier who was looking for a fare. He even cut us a deal! We only paid €60 for 30 minutes, for our own gondola! Usually its like €80 for a gondola and they fill it up with whoever walks by and wants to split the bill. So we ended up taking a super romantic gondola around some quite canals, away from the tourist hubs. And Anthonio, our Gondolier, even pointed out historical buildings along the way. He was very sweet.

With a new lease on the day we went back the way we came to figure out where we were. With some luck we found the shirt we were looking for!! We also tried on many carnivale masks, which was really fun. They are hand made in Venice and are so beautiful.

When we were cutting back through Piazza San Marco I lost Heather in a throng of tour groups. I stood in one place and frantically looked in all directions til I found her. She came strolling up and handed me a beautiful red rose, which she had bought from a street vendor. It was such a spontaneous, romantic surprise!! :) I loved it.

We meandered through the city, window shopping as we went. Venice is simply beautiful. There are no cars (as far as we could tell there may not be any at all! They have a water bus system, and everyone else walks!) so its quit. The canals offer a serene atmosphere everywhere you turn. Everything about today was gorgeous.

We got to the train station early. We sat on the steps and watched the canal boats and gondolas. I made a vase for my rose out of an empty plastic bottle and some napkins. And we simply took in the city, as the sun set.

Now we're on our way back to the hostel. We are exploring Florence tomorrow, so we don't have to get up super early! Should be a nice, relaxing evening.

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

The Gelato Treaty of 2011

We got up at 6:00 to catch a 6:30 bus to the station, to catch a 7:28 train. I'm telling you, not being within walking distance to the train station is killing me! Not only does it take almost 25 minutes to get to the station, the buses are never on time here and round trip costs €2,80 which adds up! Not to mention all the trains in Italy require reservations. Which means we spend about €20 a day (per person!) to go on any day trips!! Our daily budget is only €60...so yeah. €20 to eat/see attractions/buy souvenirs/ etc. Italy is too freaking expensive!! Because of this and the fact we left the hostel before breakfast hours, for breakfast we had a banana and split a granola bar.

It took a train change in Pisa and about 3 hours train time to get to Genova from Florence. Its a beautiful harbor city, stretching along the coast and up the surrounding hills.

We didn't have any directions to the aquarium, other than knowing it was in the harbor area. So we just winged it and walked toward the smell of ocean. Sure enough we found the harbor!

I stopped and had a little personal pizza at a café. It was alfredo pizza and it was delicious! My first Italian pizza!

We found the aquarium and coughed up the outrageous €19/ person for tickets. (So much for today's budget!) It is built along a long dock right in the center of the harbor. The building is rather oddly shaped from the outside, but once you get in you realize the odd compartments outside are huge fish tanks inside!

The aquarium is the 2nd largest in Europe and I think 9th largest in the world (by gallons). They had sea cows (manatees), sharks, dolphins, seals, penguins, a sea turtle, and the general array of fish. They even had a 'Finding Nemo' tank!

It was really cool to see sea cows and dolphins in an aquarium! I love manatees, I love them even more by their other name "sea cow". :)

You can only walk one way through the aquarium and there were absolutely no benches! Personally, when I go to an aquarium I like to sit and watch the tanks. Its peaceful and beautiful. Here you sort of felt forced room to room by the flow of traffic and the distinct route you had to follow.

We got to see the dolphins get fed and do a couple of tricks. Then we watched the sharks get fed squid and fish. After that we left. It really isn't that BIG of an aquarium...they just have big tanks. Totally NOT worth €19/ person.

We went back to the café I had visited earlier so Heather could get some pizza too. And I had a second piece. She tried the olive pizza and I had a cheese piece with fresh tomato sauce. They were very good for a cheap price!

It was while we were sitting on the harbor eating our lunch that we reached the Gelato Treaty of 2011. Everytime I have pizza, Heather can have gelato or vice versa. Knowing we will each indulge in our favorite Italian snacks on a semi-regular basis over the next week, made this the best agreement. To mark the passing of our treaty Heather had chocolate chip gelato.

We got back to the train station by wandering around. However we thought our train was at 17:28, but it wasn't until 17:48! So we sat around for an hour til it arrived.

Due to some sort of issue with one of the passenger cars (the one we were booked on) the train official told us to go to another car but sit in the same seat numbers. We followed directions but there were already people in our seats. We told them we had a reservation and the gentleman got up, apologized, and went to another car. The woman, however, very rudely refused to move! I'm not entirely sure she even had a seat reservation to begin with! So I sat in the one seat and Heather had to stand in the hall...getting shoved around ever few minutes by passers by and the food cart. I wasn't going to have that, since I had napped the first train and she hadn't. I switched her and spent the next hour sitting in the hall glaring angerly at the rude woman. (And she knew it too, she kept nervously playing with her hair and side glancing at me) when she finally got off we took our rightful seats for the rest of the trip.

This is NOT the first rude person we have encountered. We have been in Italy for only two days and most of the people we have dealt with have not been very friendly. From people at the train station, to people at our hostel, to people just shoving you on the bus... it has not been a welcoming environment. Perhaps I am jaded by the bright eyed, eager to help, smiling faces of Scandanavians or something. But even the French and German were more friendly than this! I never thought we'd have ill-will from Italians. Who knew?

Made it back to the station in time to use our BOGO McDonald's coupon. Yeah that's how we roll! Then grabbed the last bus back to the villa.

Allbeit an expensive day, it was fun. Tomorrow will be glorious, since we are going to Venice!!!!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather

Italy!

We got to Florence this morning at 6:20. It took about 30 minutes to figure out the bus system and where to get a ticket. We got on our bus...going the wrong direction! So it took 45 minutes to get to our stop...instead of 15. Oops!

Our hostel gate is right at the bus stop, then its a 0.3 mile walk to the actual hostel. It is an actual villa! Situated in the woods, overlooking a vineyard...it is the picturesque Italian villa! I'm so excited to stay here for 5 days!

We couldn't check in yet, but they allowed us to stow our packs. So then it was back to the train station for our first Italian day trip! Today we went to Pisa!

They really aren't kidding, that tower is leaning!! Forget every picture, movie, illistration, etc. until you are standing in front of it, its hard to comprehend the angle of the tower! Its really crazy.

We paid the €15/ person to climb the 300+ stairs to the top. It was awesome! As you go up the spiral staircase you feel the gravity change on the side that's leaning. Once on top its an adreniline rush to look over the leaning side and see where you would land if it finally toppled.

We spent time laying in the grass beside the tower and taking lots of silly tourist pictures. You truly look photo shopped into them! The tower is stunning.

We also went into Pisa Cathedral, whose architecture and beauty match that of the tower. The entire square is gorgeous and we had absolutely lovely weather today!

After Pisa we headed back to Florence for dinner. Real Italian dinner!! Our hostel serves dinner for cheap each night. Tonight it was homemade lasagna, chicken breast, roast potatos, salad and bread. :) Good meal to end a long day!

We have a VERY early morning tomorrow so looks like we'll be turning in early tonight. Off to Genova to see the 2nd largest aquarium in Europe! They have close to 1 million gallons!!

Safe Travels,
- Kit & Heather