All Roads Lead to Rome

We got into Rome August 16 and although it was really hot we decided to wander around. Minutes from our hotel was the Circo Massimo (where they had chariot racing) and Palatine Hill behind it (where all the rich Romans lived). We were a little in awe to say the least.

Then we made our way to a view of the Forum.

This is my favourite building. It is the 'Victorio Emanuele II Monument', I still don't know what it is but it really was beautiful. Unfortunately we didn't get to enjoy it for as long as I would have liked because 'O.D.B.' (Old Dirty Bastard) was trying to strike up a conversation with us... but ended up just talking at us in broken English. We were pretty determined to ignore him. 'O.D.B.' was a really old, dirty, stinky guy, with maybe 5 teeth left, carrying all of his belongings in a plastic bag. He was sitting beside Andrew telling him where we should visit in Rome (the Colosseum and the Vatican were a couple of suggestions...). Andrew was doing his best not to engage in conversation. After a few minutes of annoyance we decided to leave to get away from 'O.D.B.'. Before we made a run for it 'O.D.B' asked if we would send him a postcard when we got home, Andrew had to inform him that there were no postcards in Red Deer so it would be impossible (plus I doubt he had an address). As we walked away we couldn't help but turn around to watch 'O.D.B' start to work his next victims.

We went to the Trevi fountain next, where Andrew WASTED 2 cents by throwing it into the fountain. I was appalled and refused to throw any money in. I guess Andrew will be coming back to Rome by himself.

August 17 we decided to go to the Vatican. On our way there an old guy pulled his vehicle over to the side of the road to ask for directions. He had his map out and he was asking us if we spoke English. I felt bad, so I said we did, and he asked how to get to the Vatican. Andrew told him to take a left on the 4th bridge. He was so nice that he offered to give us a shirt and a jacket for helping him. Wouldn't you know it, he was in Rome from Paris (YUCK) for a fashion show. I thought it was strange that he said he was from Paris because he clearly had an Italian accent and it was really strange that he was in Rome for fashion because the clothes he was giving us were disgusting. As we went to take the clothes so that we could continue on our way, he held onto them and proceeded to tell us about how he had gambled away his gas money the night before. He clearly had no intention of 'giving' us the clothes in return for the directions until he had been paid. It is too bad that we didn't care about his imaginary 'gambling problem' or about his lack of gas money, because he remains stuck with those ugly clothes.

Here is the square outside the Vatican. Andrew informed me that this is where Ewan McGregor saved Rome by flying a helicopter with a bomb in it into the sky (Angels & Demons).

Inside the Sistine Chapel... before the security guard said 'NO PICTURES'.

Inside St. Peter's Basilica.

August 18 we decided to spend the day looking at Rome's ruins. Here is part of Palatine Hill.

The Roman Forum, with the Colosseum in the back.

The Colosseum, where Andrew informed me that Russell Crowe killed Joaquin Phoenix and turned Rome back into a republic (Gladiator). He knows a lot about Roman history!

The Pantheon.

We went back to the Colosseum at night to see it all lit up.

Today, August 19... we were lazy. We were going to go to the old Roman port, but it was a long way away. Then we were going to go to the catacombs, but it was far away too. So we decided to just walk around the city again.

The Spanish steps.

Back at the Trevi fountain.

Rome is a beautiful city, especially if you can avoid the touristy areas where there are creepers like 'O.D.B.' and other weirdos who try to give you flowers by resting them on your arm and then demanding to be paid.

Off to Milan next.

Naked Statues & Crooked Towers

Andrew and I got into Florence August 13. After dropping off our luggage at the hotel we went for an evening walk. It seems that no matter where you go in Europe you are no more than 5 minutes from a huge cathedral. Here is the Duomo, one of the biggest in Europe and our favorite so far.

August 14 we went to go and see some sites around the city. We saw the real fake statue of Michelangelo's David. The real one is in a museum on the other side of a 4 hour line-up (summer in Italy...), so we were more than happy with this one, which stands where the real one used to.

We walked across the only bridge in Florence that wasn't destroyed in WWII. It was a really cool bridge because it had numerous little jewelery shops hanging off of it and lining both sides.

Next we went to the castle, where the famous Medici family lived during the Renaissance.

By this time it was pouring rain, so we decided to take a quick walk by the river and return to the hotel.

We were on a mission in Florence to find me a bag because I was tired of carrying this disgusting grocery bag every day (it is way too hot to carry a backpack). We started looking at all the little stands on the sides of the streets and after probably the 4th one, I was tired of shopping and actually found a bag I liked. Before the vendor came and talked to us Andrew turned to me and said 'Ok, now he is going to ask some ridiculous price for this bag and you have to barter with him. Start low, really low so that you don't end up paying too much.' I told Andrew that I hate bartering and that I can't do it. Then I tried to convince him that he should barter for the bag, but he refused, as he did not feel the need to barter for a purse... When the vendor came over to talk to me he said the bag was 65 euros, and that the lowest he could go was 55. I looked at him and started feeling really bad about asking for a lower price and said 'Is 50 okay?' As soon as it came out of my mouth Andrew burst out laughing and said 'No Amy you aren't going to pay 50 euros for that bag. It won't even last til the end of our trip.' So we left, without the bag. For the next few minutes Andrew tried (once again) to teach me the skill of bartering. I think I am hopeless. I will never learn to barter. This means that either Andrew will have to barter from now on, or we will be paying WAY too much for items we buy from street vendors. I did find a bag later in the day, but in a real store, not on the side of the street where you have to barter.

Last night we finally got around to watching the Sound Of Music. I think Andrew has gained a greater appreciation for the movie now that he has seen Salzburg, although he doesn't agree with me that it should still be winning Academy Awards.

August 15 we went to Pisa to see the leaning tower and man is it leaning! It was hilarious.

Tomorrow we are off to Rome.

The Last Of The Vs

We got into Verona August 10 and immediately went to check out the city. It is yet another beautiful European city. Verona has an old Roman arena in the city center which they now us for operas.

The city center has a ton of little crooked streets, some of which turn into pedestrian streets for the better part of the day, making the center even better, according to us.

August 11 we went back into city center to see some of the Verona sites. We visited Juliette's house, from Romeo and Juliette (not sure how a fictional character has a house).

We took a walk by the river to the old castle.

August 12 we took a day trip to Mantua. The town wasn't anywhere near as beautiful as Verona (or of course Venice) but it was cute.

They had a huge market where vendors sold everything from purses to food, but we spent most of our time sitting on a bench by a lake.

Tomorrow we are off to Florence for a few days before we go to Rome.

Venice

August 7 we went walking around Venice. We avoided the really crowded spots and found some nice quiet places, which is hard to do in the middle of the summer in Venice.

August 8 we decided that instead of spending/wasting money on a gondola ride (we heard them asking 80 euros for a 50 minute ride) we would buy ferry transportation for the day. So we got to see the city from the canals. From our pictures it looks like we could have been on a gondola.

We went to the island of Lido because we heard that it had a nice beach. We walked along the shore for an hour or so before heading back to the ferry terminal and continuing with our water tour of Venice.

More of Venice.

That night we decided that we were really going to splurge and we went out for dinner (ok, take-away). We haven't been out for a meal in a while. We found a spot along the Grand Canal and ate pizza.

Once it got dark we got on another ferry for a tour of Venice at night.

We got off the ferry at Piazza San Marco and walked around the square listening to several different bands play.

We decided to walk back to the hotel from the Piazza. We found that in Venice following a map can be really challenging, and instead, heading in the general direction of the place we wanted to go worked better (sometimes). So, on our way back to our hotel instead of looking at the map to figure out how to get home we just started walking. After taking turn after turn and crossing bridge after bridge Andrew and I realized that neither of us were paying attention and instead we had been following a Spanish family. We both thought that we were headed in the right direction to get back to our hotel, so we continued to follow the Spanish family. Following this family was challenging at times: sometimes they would start walking really slowly and they would force us to pass them at which point Andrew would have to stop and take some pictures so that they would pass us. The really awkward moment came when the family made a wrong turn and had to turn around (practically into us). Since we didn't know what we were doing or where we were we thought it would be best to continue to follow them, so we turned around too. I'm so glad that they didn't catch on that we were following them, because that would have been really awkward. We made it back to our hotel... ok the family led us back to our hotel and we missed them the next night trying to find our way back home.

August 8 we took it easy. We were slightly sun burnt from the day before and it was really hot out again. We spent the day wandering around the city.

Our time in Venice was excellent. Now we are in Verona and it is a beautiful city, which made leaving Venice a little easier.

So So Vienna & Beginning of Venice

We were in Vienna for a couple of days (Aug 2-5). Not much to say about it; it was pretty boring. Really beautiful city, but not a whole lot to do there, unless you like museums.

The Hapsburg's city palace.

The Parliament building.

I'm not sure if you know this about us, but we are huge thrill seekers (haha). The sign reads: 'Due to storm entire park area DANGEROUS!'. Still not sure why the park was dangerous, but man were we careful...

August 4 we went to a palace in Vienna and the grounds were gorgeous.

 
We went through a maze and only ran into dead ends a few times.

I wasn't feeling great so we headed back to the hotel early. We figure we spent only 6 hours out of the hotel in Vienna because I was sick (or just a baby). The time in the hotel was spent watching 'The Wire'.

Yesterday, August 5, we spent the afternoon watching 'Inception'. It was a great movie and our favourite part of Vienna (is that bad?). We caught a night train last night and it was deluxe compared to the train from Poland to Prague (had AC, no bugs, got breakfast delivered to us in bed). When we arrived in Venice this morning at 8:30 we were well rested and ready for the day. We immediately fell in love with Venice. It is amazing. Here are a few pictures from this morning.

The Grand Canal.

Us.

We spent a few minutes in St. Mark's Square and although it is very pretty, there were too many people, so we left as quickly as we could.

The rest of the morning and afternoon was spent wandering the streets/canals. We didn't get too lost... yet. We really needed a huge change in scenery after so much Germany & Austria, and this definitely hit the spot.  We have the next 4 nights in Venice and are looking forward to it.

The Hills Are Alive

We were slummin' it in Salzburg, as we were booked into a hostel, but the hostel wasn't too bad and its  always nice to have access to a kitchen. We arrived July 29 and got settled. It was raining so we weren't tempted to go outside.

July 30, it was still raining, pouring actually, but we decided to brave the weather for a few hours for a quick tour of the city.

Salzburg is very beautiful... even in the rain.

We were just wandering around and we came across this:

Anybody recognize it? If you don't, you need to watch the Sound of Music again. It is the fountain and gates that they dance around when Fraulein Maria takes the Von Trapp kids into the city. 

As we were visiting these gardens we saw a group of girls singing 'Do, Re, Mi' from the Sound of Music and dancing around a fountain. When I saw 2 members (a mother and daughter) from the song and dance crew a few minutes later I complimented them on their song and dance and they informed us that they were a team in a race (kind of like the Amazing Race but low key) and that they gathered all the other people to dance and sing with them for part of their competition, but did it around the wrong fountain, so they needed more volunteers to sing and dance around the proper Sound of Music fountain. They asked Andrew and I and we couldn't say no (trust me, I tried) so we sang and danced around the Pegasus Fountain. Unfortunately... the video has been posted on youtube... Andrew looks like he is pregnant because the camera bag is underneath his jacket, and I am mostly hidden behind the dancing daughter (thank god).

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/momdot2310#p/u/4/4uURiXsRvYQ

I think Andrew might be retarded.

We didn't get to see too much of the city because it was really pouring out. We decided to head back to the hostel after a few hours.

July 31 we decided we were going to go to Hellbrunn (just outside of Salzburg) to see the Hellbrunn Castle. This castle is known for its 'trick fountains'. I think it is better known for having the glass pavilion (where Liesl and Rolfe sing 'Sixteen Going On Seventeen') from the Sound of Music in its gardens. 

Getting to the Castle was a huge event. We decided that since it was a beautiful day and because we hate waiting for buses, we were going to walk. It was quite a walk, at least 6 km to get to the Castle, but we were always surrounded by beautiful scenery. 

Here is the famous glass pavilion. It was locked so I couldn't run around on the benches like Liesl did.

Here is a 'trick fountain'. At this one, the owner of the castle would invite guests over and eat dinner at this table. Sometime during or after the meal he would turn the fountain on and a stream of water would be squirted up the middle of all of the seats except his, which is at the head of the table.

August 1, we went to Werfen to see the largest ice caves in the world. 

We were really tired of walking from the day before so we opted to use public transit to get from the train station to the top of the mountain. THANK GOD!! It would have taken months for us to make it up to the top. This picture was taken from our gondola.

The hole is the entrance to the ice cave.

View from the inside of the cave.

The ice cave was amazing. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the cave but they were beautiful. We learned a lot of very interesting facts, most of which we have forgotten or will soon forget. The temperature inside the cave was close to 0, it was really nice to feel cold again. A lot of people got really cold during the 70 minute tour, include a little girl who was maybe 4 and crying before we even got into the caves because she was so cold. We were fine in our spring jackets.

On our way back to the hostel from the train station we walked through the Mirabell Gardens again (the Sound of Music Gardens). This time, it wasn't raining.

We had a busy couple of days in Salzburg but we are now in Vienna (and in a hotel again!) and although there aren't any Sound of Music sites I'm sure we will keep busy.