ITALY PART I

ITALY PART I:

Out of appreciation for the people that actually take the time to read about our trip (mostly our mums, but still) we have decided to split Italy into two posts.

Rome, Italy:

Day 19: Our first stop today was The Vatican. St. Peter’s Square is so beautiful, and so big! We would have liked to have visited the Vatican Museum to see the Sistine Chapel; however it was a 3hour wait to get in and we’re not THAT into art. We wandered through the Vatican City for about an hour then headed off to the Colosseum. The metro station stops right outside of the Colosseum and it really is so amazing! There was security everywhere as the day before there had been an incident where a man held a knife to a girls throat threatening some sort of terrorist attack for religious purposes. We didn’t know the full story but we felt super safe knowing everyone was on full alert. The line to buy tickets was about an hour, and for 12euros each we got entry into the Colosseum and the Roman Forum (located just across from one another). The Colosseum was amazing! We were both so impressed by it, particularly the size (it is much bigger than we expected it to be). There’s lots of information provided about what went on in its glory days, all really interesting and in spite of what Trent says, I thought it was worth reading. We had lunch at a gay restaurant/ bar called ‘Coming Out’ right next to the Colosseum. The carbonara is too good, but my calzone was pretty meh. The atmosphere was so much fun, and the staff were amazing. I’d recommend a visit! We then spent the rest of our afternoon wandering through the Roman Forum. We didn’t realize how big it was and should have allowed more time. We probably spent an hour and a half there but still didn’t get to see everything properly. It is definitely worth a visit! The history in Rome is just so amazing! By the end of our first day it was easily our favourite place so far.

Day 20: Today we just wandered the streets of the city. I had completely run out of clothes to the point where it was actually kind of gross, so we stopped in at Brandy Melville for some cheap basics (definitely recommend shopping here, really cheap but still really nice!). Rome’s shopping is amazing! It was so hard to say no to things but we’ve both been so disciplined in our spending up until now, so hopefully we can stick to it! We got some gelato near the Spanish steps, and while it was SO SO delicious, it was 7euros for one cone with two flavours which is super, super overpriced! Probably wouldn’t recommend going there! We then went to the Pantheon. So impressive! But you only need to allow a small amount of time here. There’s nothing to read and it’s relatively small on the inside.

Day 21: Today we spent the entire day inside. Suffering through 45degree heat the last two days really got to us so we spent today planning the rest of our time in Italy. I was SO excited for the Trevi Fountain so we both got all dressed up to go and get some nice photos then head out for dinner after been cooped up all day. It was still 35degrees at 7pm! We walked for AGES looking for the fountain and eventually found it. Actually what we found was the Trevi Fountain drained and covered in scaffolding with a huge barricade around it. Apparently it’s been like this for the last 2 months and will be like that for the next year. I don’t know why. Trent didn’t even realize we were there! To try to make up for the disappointment we went to a beautiful restaurant called ‘Life’. Great food, great service, definitely recommend. My favourite thing about Italy is that you can have pasta as an entre (primi piatti)! We had some mediocre gelato at a place I enjoyed so little, that I didn’t bother trying to remember the name, somewhere near Piazza Venezia. I'm totally a gelato connoisseur now days. 

Day 22: Today we dedicated entirely to eating. But first we wandered through Piazza Venezia. It’s huge and really beautiful! The view is amazing as well. You can go to the very top via lift for 7euros, but 7euros is like 4gelatos…. So we prioritized. Italian is my favourite cuisine and mum had given me a book entirely on Rome so we used that as a guide. However, the waiter at Life the night before had recommended Della Palma (near the Pantheon) for gelato claiming it was the best in Rome, so we decided to go with local knowledge on that one. We started with gelato, Della Palma has 150 flavours of gelato!!! Trent got too overwhelmed and ended up having a tiny cup of some fruity flavoured thing, I got Pistachio and Ferrero Rocher, it was all amazing! And surprisingly cheap! All up it cost around 6euros (huge saving since our gelato experience near the Spanish Steps!). Could not recommend coming here more! Then it was off to try the ‘best’ coffee in Rome for Trent. The book said the best in town was at ‘Sant’Eustachio Il Caffe’(also right near the Pantheon). There was a metal cover over the entire coffee machine to make sure no one discovers the ‘secret formula’. Apparently the water comes from an ‘ancient aqueduct’ and ‘the brew is presweetened. It was nice coffee however Trent, the coffee connoisseur, wasn’t overly impressed. He misses Australian coffee so much. Finally we finished with the best pizza. We waited two hours at a bar for Pizzeria da Baffetto to open and boy do we wish we could get those two hours back, plus our money. My pizza, no word of a lie, tasted like soap (should have asked what the four cheeses on the four cheeses pizza were!). Trent said his was fine and claimed he would eat it again if he were hungry, which really doesn’t mean anything, the man would eat anything if he were hungry. Unfortunately. a disappointing end to our amazing time in Rome.

Florence, Italy: 
Day 23: Today we caught a bus from Rome to Florence. We arrived in Florence around 1pm, our host was an amazing local man who provided us with a map and suggestions of how to see the best parts of Florence in a day and a half. It was incredibly hot so we decided to spend the afternoon relaxing at the house. Around 6pm we headed out for dinner. Our host had suggested a place called ‘Soul Kitchen’ for aperitivo (as far as what I understood from his explanation, you pay for a drink then receive access to an all you can eat style buffet, which is the experience we had but I’m not sure if it works like that everywhere, definitely clarify, because 'apertivo' is a cocktail or something with chips or olives- I don't know, it's all very confusing). We left our accommodation, map in hand, with high hopes of finding the restaurant but when you’re tired and hungry, of course nothing works out. We got lost, as always. We stopped to ask for directions, but eventually just got on a random bus and hoped we could get off at a stop close to where we wanted to be. We got off nowhere near where we wanted to be, but still closer than where we were before. Then the rain came. SO SO MUCH RAIN! We were running through it in looking for shelter. Birkenstocks and torrential rain are not an ideal combo. We finally found Soul Kitchen! Wringing wet! I wish I was being dramatic, but I’m not, we were saturated from head to toe! Everyone stared at us. It was the worst. We sat down to eat and that was when I realized that the buffet was vegetarian. I was fine with it, but Trent is practically a T-Rex and already being cold and wet he was not impressed. Whoops! I personally would recommend eating here, it cost us 8euros each for all you can eat and the food was beautiful! Once we left the restaurant the rain had stopped so we wandered the streets to try and further dry off. The sunset was picture perfect, just like the rest of Florence.

Day 24: Today was allocated to seeing as much as we could in Florence in one day. We decided to try again with the whole map thing and after a few wrong turns made it to Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore. We agreed it is easily the most impressive building either of us have ever seen. SO detailed and beautiful! You can go into the museum for 10euros, and/or catch a lift to the top of the dome to get a view of the whole city for 10euros/person but we were intending to go to Piazzale Michelangelo (which is free) to see the city so decided not to bother. We wandered through the city and over Ponte Vecchio, a bridge crossing the river that has jewellery shops built into it. We had lunch at a restaurant called Tavernetta Della Signoria, it was pretty average but also pretty cheap. Wouldn't recommend. We then set off to find the Academia Gallery to see the statue of David. We always have great intentions of going to galleries but neither of us are particularly arty and eventually don't bother. We stumbled across a replica of the statue and decided it was a sign we didn't need to keep looking for the gallery. We then set off to Piazzale Michelangelo, the walk is easy and the view is 100% worth it. You can see the entire city and surrounds and it's so so beautiful! 

Venice, Italy:

Day 25:

It was Trent’s idea to come to Venice, I wasn’t that bothered, but I’m so happy we did make the trip! In spite of 15,000 tourists per day, the beauty of Venice is like nowhere we’ve ever been!

We left Florence at 4.30am to catch our bus to Venice. Every time we move from place to place I have the worst time. I bought bags for us that could be carried or wheeled and neither option is better than the other because they’re both crap. I always give it a go for as long as possible but sometimes (and by sometimes I mean most of the time) it gets too much and Trent has to step in.

We got dropped off literally in the middle of a shipping yard and after an early start and uncomfortable 4hours of travelling the last thing we needed was to have to think too much about getting to our accommodation. But we made it! We spent a couple of hours just relaxing once we arrived and met our host. Then set off in the afternoon to explore Venice. We bought fresh-fruit cocktails and just wandered all afternoon through the streets and canals. We had dinner at a very touristy, over-priced, mediocre restaurant on the Grand Canal, whilst it was nice, we wish we hadn’t of let our stomachs get the better of us, and had continued searching for something else. After a huge day we left the restaurant, got gelato (obviously) and started walking home. At least we thought we were walking back toward the bus. Once we got to the end of the canal and realized we weren’t where we had intended to be, we asked a waiter at a restaurant for directions. His exact words were ‘keep walking in the opposite direction until you can’t walk any further’. We eventually made it to the overcrowded bus and headed home.

Day 26:

When we first arrived our host mentioned to us that her friend had a boat that could take us through the canals and was much cheaper than the gondolas (100 euros for 30minutes!!). We messaged him hoping he was available for an hour or so to give us a tour through the canals, what we got was so much more.  For 100 euros we had the most amazing day! We met Victor and his girlfriend Valeria at 12pm and they took us through the maze of canals that make up the main island of Venice, for about an hour. They pointing out a number of landmarks and shared with us the history of Venice. We then left Venice for a tour around some of the surrounding islands including Vignole Island, where Venetian farmers grow their crops. We stopped at Bancan Island (which is really just a sandbar about 2meters wide) and dropped our anchor to have a swim and some lunch. Valeria and Victor made us a lovely lunch with local cheese, bread and meats, fruit and snacks and some Italian beer. We then set off heading toward Burano and Monastery of San Francesco del Deserto island; however it started to rain so we were forced to turn around. We travelled on Canale della Giudecca and saw San Troves Square where the gondolas are made. Then on through Canal Grande and Rialto's bridge. Trent had a turn to driving the boat and is now set on getting a boat when we get home (so now that's a dog, a boat, a Range Rover and an apartment on the list of things he wants when he gets home... What next!?) We stopped in the Jewish Ghetto for a coffee. I asked for an iced coffee and got a cappuccino with two ice cubes? Haha.. We then helped Valeria and Victor put the boat away in it's storage shed. It was so amazing to see Venice through the eyes of a Venetian rather than a tourist and if you ever get a similar opportunity, jump at it!  

TIPS:
Book with Megabus: it cost us 2 euros each to travel with Megabus from Florence to Venice- I’m not sure where Megabus travels/ what countries it is available but the app ‘GoEuro’ has been so handy for us (it gives you bus, train and flight options for each trip).

Eat in the backstreets: we’ve found that it’s usually half the price and twice as good. The service is often better too because they seem to be more grateful for business. We’re backstreet only eaters now!

Eavesdrop on Tours: If you don’t have enough money to do guided tours through places like the Colloseum and the Roman Forum, just listen for English speaking ones then stand near by and listen in. We learnt so much from doing this all through Rome.  

Pack something small to cover your shoulders (sometimes your knees): When we went to Duomo I was forced to buy fugly scarf because my dress didn’t have sleeves and my shoulders needed to be covered. This went for guys as well, we saw guys with singlets that had thin straps being turned away, Trent only just got in with a ‘muscle tee’.

Tickets for the Colosseum/ Roman Forum: Buy your tickets for the Colloseum and Roman Forum at the Roman Forum, the line is much shorter. I read this in my guidebook after we had already been.

Piazza de Baffaeto: if you’re going to put yourself through this note they only take cash.

You’ll never enjoy Rome properly without Della Palma: I swear it.

Rome can be condensed: we could have squashed Rome into three days.

Allow time for Florence: Florence is amazing! We wish we had allowed more time to see Florence too. We only allowed a day and a half and it deserves more time. We’re thinking destination wedding to Italy so maybe then?  

Allow time for Venice: again, we only allowed a day and a half for Venice and wish we could have stayed longer. I think four days is a good amount of time. Also we didn’t stay on Venice Island, we stayed on the mainland that was about a 15minute bus trip. Whilst the bus was ALWAYS overcrowded, return tickets cost us 3euros each and we saved about $200 a night not staying on the island. Plus you don’t have to cart your luggage over 10,000 bridges!

There’s a fake David: If you can’t be bothered queuing and paying to see the real David, there’s a replica in Piazza della Signoria that is plenty good.

Power points spark: there’s no on-off option with powerpoints in Italy (Spain was the same), they’re always on, so everytime you plug something in it sparks. Also, there are two different plug sizes, you can get an adapter for the smaller fitting for about 2euros. The smaller is usually found in bathrooms.

Service Fee: most restaurants add a service fee between 2-4euros to dine-in. Some gelaterias charge too. I don't know how to avoid this but we'll let you know! 

Be prepared to pay for toilets: many places charge you between 50cents and 2euros to use the bathroom!