Florence

So, Florence. We arrived in Florence a day earlier than planned because I realised (luckily) that I had accidentally booked one night less than I should have in Rome.. 

Before we left for Florence we had one more day in Rome & being pretty sick of the heat we decided to head to Euroma2 the closest (and apparently best) shopping centre in Rome. Ahhhhh the air conditioning... Bliss. The main reason for our visit was actually that on our way to Rome from Venice we had a casualty.. Dean's pack broke. Secretly I was cheering because I have come to a quick conclusion that backpacking is really not my style, or probably anyone's who loves a sneaky shop.. 

Anyway, we got a new suitcase which is this awesome big black boss looking suitcase. It's one of those hard case ones and it actually locks itself with a combination which I am super impressed with... Can you tell? A whole paragraph about the suitcase.. Ha! We did buy a few other bits and pieces too! 

A final sleep in our cute Rome apartment & off to Florence. Our train was delayed a good hour, which seems to be the standard here.. Not one train has been on time so far! 

Our extra night in Florence actually worked out well as when I was checking my bank to see if I had paid when I booked months ago, I noticed they debited me twice so it was already covered. Gotta be happy with that.. 

We spent our first afternoon in Florence looking around, visiting Duomo & Ponte Vecchio. Unfortunately no purchases at the gold stores, or Rolex :(  one day! I did however buy a beautiful faux-Celine bag at the markets, its beautiful soft Italian leather.. Then I seen it in another colour a few stalls down so I got that one too... Whoops! I'm now not allowed to buy another bag for at least 5 years according to Dean. 

The bags... 

We had an absolutely delicious dinner, pizza for Dean & for me some prosciutto, mozzarella, & bruschetta... It was so fresh, the mozzarella was deliciously fluffy and covered in olive oil, one of my favourite meals so far! 

After dinner we headed to a highly recommended cocktail/karaoke bar called Red Garter. We never intended on having a big night but managed to meet a few other Australians & stayed until about 3am & way too many cocktails (free-poured as well)! 

A huge huge sleep in and the only thing that cured my horrendous headache was a decent lasagne & a coke. Other amaaaazing Italian meal. I really need to brush up in my cooking skills when I get home. 

So after dinner we looked at the markets for a while and headed back for more sleep. After an hour or so of online surfing, catching up on Facebook etc we both decided we were hungry again, so got dressed and went out for second dinner. Haha. Yes, second dinner. Another pasta for me & pizza for Dean. It was great! I love holidays! 

So today, we woke up ready to head to Cinque Terre via Pisa.. On our arrival to Pisa (two trains later because the first one broke & we had to turn back?) it was absolutely bucketing down with rain so we skipped the outdoor tower activities and boarded our next train. 

Finally, more train delays later we arrived. We found our apartment easily, the only downside is it is up a million stairs (I'll try to count tomorrow between my gasps for air). It's a beautiful little apartment about 300m from the water, with our own outdoor patio area, water views, kitchen, lounge room etc! I'm glad it's really equipped because after our weeks of heat & looking forward to this amazing beach time, you guessed it- it's raining! And it's supposed to storm for the next three days! Boo you Mother Nature (but not really, please please send me a little sunshine)!

The view... 

I'll take some photos tomorrow and hopefully we will visit some of the other little villages of the five :)

Oh, I almost forgot I promised photos of the gelato... Here you go.. 

The starting product.. 

 Ahhhhhh bacio & choc mint!  

The standard line at all times of the day... 

We are missing the dogs but enjoying our updates, thanks Mum! 

This one's for you Nicole... We seen them in a pet store! So cute! 

Ciao! 

The last two days...

Well, we have done lots but it really doesn't seem that way. I guess because the heat here is crazy you do one thing and you're exhausted. Our days have pretty much played out as you would expect in Italy... Wake up late, pizza, walking, gelato, shopping, pasta, gelato, sleep. Maybe another gelato if we can fit it! 

We found theeeeee best gelato place near our apartment (convientiently about 200m away) that has so many delicious flavours and they even dip it in chocolate at the end.. It's amazing. My favourite so far has been the combo of bacio (choc-hazelnut with choc and hazelnut chunks) and after-eight (choc mint with chocolate chunks), all dipped in delicious milk chocolate...I'll try and take a photo tomorrow so you can be even more jealous! I'm pretty ashamed to say (LOL NOT, it was the best day ever) we had gelato for breakfast yesterday. It was 12am so technically maybe lunch but it was our first food of the day..... Whoooops!

Anyway, enough about gelato. 

First yesterday we headed to the wedding cake & went up the top for the best view in Rome...

Following we did a little shopping & headed to Chiara's house for dinner with a few of her friends. They cooked us a delicious pasta and then we headed out for an evening drive to Vatican City by night. We also visited the Castle of St Angelo. 

Today, we went to lunch with Chiara & Simona and ate the most delicious traditional Sicilian food. We stopped via their sister Roberta's work to say hi and headed off on our own to Vatican City to visit the basilica & the museum. Photos were strictly not allowed in the Sistine Chapel & I'm still a little go-pro illiterate to take indoor photos of the basilica. I much prefer to not crowd my time in these special places with photos anyway, I feel like I don't experience it properly unless I am 100% there and not otherwise occupied. But here's some photos out the front.... 

I was a little annoyed that basically the entire square was shut off so no going close to the middle to stand in that one magical spot where everything aligns. 

And now, I'm writing this blog to kill an hour before dinner because dinner isn't really appropriate before 8/9pm here... I think we will stay close to home for dinner as yet again, my feet are sore... Boo. Here's us at the only fountain that actually has water in it in Rome currently, Piazza Navona..

Hope you're all staying safe & well! X 

Roma <3

We arrived in Rome after a 5 hour train ride from Venice. 5 hours because a) the train way delayed an hour, and b) because I accidentally booked the long way round trip via Florence..... Whoooops! 

Anyway, we survived. We arrived in Rome & were kindly greeted by my cousin Chiara who pointed us in the right direction and off we headed to our apartment. I am so glad I spent countless hours researching & finding the perfect accommodation because it really is prefect. We have this great mini apartment where we have space to make our own breakfast annnnd most importantly, wash our clothes! Yay for clean clothes! Our apartment is really central, about 2 streets from one of the major Piazza's- Piazza Navona. 

So after a quick nap we headed out into the Piazza for dinner & after met up with my cousins Chiara, Simona & Simona's partner Marco. Marco was a fantastic tour guide & blew us away with his historical knowledge of Rome, we had a really nice evening looking around & taking in all of the great recommendations!

We started today at the Collosseum where we did a guided tour for €25 each. I am so glad we paid the extra it's amazing how much more you can appreciate something with a little more knowledge. We both really enjoyed the tour & learnt loads! 

I swear every dodgey scam artist picks us out of the crowd as stand-out tourists because of Dean's singlet and thongs... Haha. Could he be more Australian? Go on, say it again in Chandler's voice ;) 

After the Collossuem it was getting pretty late in the evening (as we didn't wake up until around 11am), so we wandered around the Roman Forum briefly, attempting to appreciate the historical overload that had turned our brains to mush (Ceasar who?). 

We then made our way to my very favourite place in Rome which was unfortunately shut. But never mind, we'll be visiting tomorrow :) 

The gopro does not do this building any justice- it is absolutely gigantic. (Sitting to rest my poor feet)

After a quick rest and rejuvenate we headed back out for dinner near Piazza del Popolo, and tracked via the Trevi fountain on the way back. It was so sad to see the fountain looking so dull, no water, covered in scaffolding. They had set up a tiny bath with a poster of the fountain behind for you to toss your coin. Fingers crossed it has the same effect! 

We walked back home, I've just finished soaking my feet as I have had the worst foot pain for maybe the last week... I just can't shake it and being on them all day doesn't help. I even got myself new Nikes to help with some support & no improvement :( 

If anyone has any suggestions/remedies I'd love to hear them, at this stage anything is worth a try! 

Tomorrow I think we will tick off a few more things including the Spanish steps & maybe some markets! 

Buonanotte 

Venice #2

We did the tourist thing and booked ourselves onto a tour of the islands surrounding Venice.. Best €20 I've spent. 

We started the day where we ended yesterday, at the Piazza. 

Popeye... 

And then it started raining.... We ran back to H&M for a cardigan (looooove a trusty H&M) and jumped on our boat to the first island Murano. 

Murano is famous for its glass making which we had the opportunity to experience first hand.. The man was saying to become a glass maker you remain an apprentice for 10 years!!! But when you see them in action you understand why, it's so intricate. We watched one of the pro's make a little horse in about two minutes flat. This was the end product..

Next, we visited Burano- famous for it's lace. We watched a little old lady stitching and moved along pretty quickly. I'm not sure why all of the houses are painted bright colours but it was really pretty! 

Lastly, we visited Torcello. I don't think it's famous for anything but it was stunning! 

Yogi..

When we got back to the mainland we sat for some delicious lunch. We walked towards the piazza and scoffed at a few people walking around bare-foot before we realised the piazza was covered in a good 5-10cm of water and impossible to cross without getting wet. So, with the few hundred people doing the same- off came our shoes and across the refreshing water we went... I'm not sure why or how this actually happened? I'd love to think its a beautiful rarity but if anyone knows more i'd love to learn.... 

Then had our own Gondola ride which was really fun! The winding canals are so so beautiful & the gondola man was surely the best gondola driver around navigating his giant boat around the squishiest corners. 

We're off to Rome tomorrow morning... Yay! 

Bonjourno!

Finally, we have arrived in Italy & our first afternoon in Venice was enough to fall madly in love with it. It has certainly overtaken Amsterdam on the favourites list. 

As we arrived around midday it was the perfect time for our first Pizzas & they certainly delivered. We followed that by a look around Piazza San Marco (the one with all the pigeons for those playing at home). Here's some photos.....

I think our gopro & selfie stick are possibly the best things we've ever purchased! 

I have no idea what this photo of Dean is but it's pretty hilarious... Maybe it's his alter-ego "Tail" ? 

G