Milan, Italy

April 18, 2015

We left Tuscany, Italy this morning with 1050kms ahead of us before arriving back in France. We stopped in some beautiful little villages on the way, however, their beauty was about the only enjoyable part. 

The port was absolutely stunning, but expensive! It cost us €11.00 for 1 hour of parking, and €44.00 for a lasagna (which was only two noodles) and a small piece of chicken. I really liked a specific scarf, when I asked how much it costs the answer was... €550. Fair to say we didn't stay very long. 

We enjoyed relaxing by the ocean with a nice mist and then made our way to Milan, Italy! There were two main reasons for traveling to Milan: shopping and the massive basilica! 

The photo does not do this basilica justice, for its beauty and mass are truly unique! There was a lot of people in Milan, but this was probably the first Italian city we hit that was pleasant and more or less relaxed. 

The city centre was massive and there was an amazing selection of stores from super expensive to average prices. Italy is definitely great for clothing and style and was a nice experience that slimmed the wallet haha. We enjoyed our time in Milan, however, on our way back to the car, which was parked about 25 minutes away, we were caught in a horrible storm. At first we had hail and then an intense downpour. When we got to the car we were so soaked I had to remove my shoes to empty them. I actually quite enjoy the rain and being caught in it was a nice experience... definitely refreshing.  

We were so eager to finally be heading back to France and permanently leaving Italy. The mountains were a sight for sore eyes when we finally reached them again! From this trip I definitely learned I am more of a country girl than a city girl. When i'm out in the woods and mountains I feel so at peace and tranquil. 

The journey across Europe may be completed, but there is still much to do on our itinerary in France and its surrounding areas. We enjoyed a gorgeous sunset for our return home, and we're welcomed with open arms when arriving.

Stay tuned for more awesomeness in the coming days! Let's hope the good weather follows me back home to Canada!

- San

Rome, Italy - Part II

April 17, 2015

I woke up this morning still feeling quite under the weather, but I was determined not to let last night's traumatizing experience keep me down. Most of the swelling went away, but it is still visible that I am more swollen than usually. My lips look like I have a bad case of chapped lips and many of the boiling rashes remained and now look like bad mat burns. I've got some bruising on my behind from the needle and my body in general is tender. However, I'm grateful to be alive and breathing this morning, and that's all that truly matters. 

Determined to make the most of our time in Rome we hit the Vatican first thing in the morning.

I'm really happy we booked tickets through our hotel, because the waiting line to buy tickets was insane, and the line to get in even worse! In the photo above is the line to get tickets, the line goes around the entire Vatican and then into the streets. The Vatican Museum sees approximately 25,000 people every day (that's insane)!

Beautiful historical statues stand along the walls of the Vatican Museum interior, all with a tale to be told. There are also many statues of She-wolfs as they were a grand protector in Ancient Rome and are a big part of Roman legacies.   

More statues can be found in many of the great gardens and resting places found throughout the Vatican. Once again, if Roman history interest you, there are so many stories to be read and the Vatican is definitely for you. 

This clear hallway is the only clear shot within the Vatican that I was able to get without people, and thats simply because this area is gated off for tourist (I took the photo in-between bars).

The Vatican is phenomenal for breathtaking architecture and beauty everywhere you turn. Looking at these pieces of history and art makes me wonder how they did so in ancient times without the technology we have today. In modern society we have advanced technology and never do we see beauties such as these, nor do any of the monuments or building compare in mass. 

The Vatican was a nice experience, but it is one I would never do again. We are herded through the museum like sheep and the design does not allow you to exit before going through the entire museum which is absolutely massive! Picture yourself being herded through Ikea with the amount of people you see on Canada Day and the experience is pretty accurate. There are times that it was so crowded I could not even access my water bottle from my side pocket. Pictures were allowed but for the most part it was so crowded, so many people shoving that it was impossible to take a second to click let alone see the beauty it had to offer.  

I've never been so happy to run down a large set of stairs like I was to get the heck out of the Vatican! I wanted nothing more than to run outside and breath in the polluted air of Rome! We had lunch (I had plain rice as I am now terrified to eat), and we toured some surrounding site. After about 2 hours we had taken in all we could of Rome and decided it was time to hit the road! 

On our way to Tuscany, Italy, where we decided to spend the night, we toured the city. This tour of Florence did not last very long... Rome, and Italy in general does not have very pleasant people, the majority of men are very macho and just down right arrogant. Of course their are a few gems amongst the population, but they are rare to come by. The city itself is very stressful, excessively dirty and poor and the pollution is incredibly terrible. The Country of Italy is absolutely beautiful, but the remainder of the things that comprise a country tarnish and jade its beauty like no other. I plan to never return to Italy, unless it is for some sort of martial arts competition where I am there simply to kick some butt! 

I hope you are all still enjoying these entries, even if they were inactive for a few days! I thank you all for continuously checking in and reading along, as I know some are lengthy and time consuming. Know that I appreciate you reading along and sharing the excitement. 

- San  

Rome, Italy - Part I

April 16, 2015

After traveling 528kms we finally arrived in Rome, Italy! This for me was another childhood dream being realized, however, by the end of my stay it was more along the lines of a nightmare taking place in a beautiful landscape. It took us about 2 hours just to get to our hotel in Roman traffic, and was a miracle that we made it there alive. 

Now I don't like to judge people nor their abilities, but Romans drive like maniacs... Roads are made for 2 lanes of traffic, and why they even bother painting lines on the road is beyond my comprehension, as no one uses them. Most of the time when there are two lanes, you see 4 lanes worth of traffic. In Rome, if you don't own a vehicle, you own a scooter! you will see dozen weaving through traffic in every direction which makes it very stressful to drive. Cars then park one both sides of the road or right on the line in between both lanes if there is no more room to be found. People will parallel park and if they don't fit they simply leave the remainder of the car sticking out. Smart cars can park in which ever direction they wish, vertical or horizontal. Pedestrians (which there are a ton, never seen so many tourist in one place in my life) then run across whenever they please as cars never stop even when it is the pedestrians right away (the only way to cross a street is to force the car to stop and let you pass by). Turning signals... I don't even think they know they exist. I can't even begin to express the relief we felt when arriving to our hotel. Small nugget of advice for those who plan on traveling to Rome... DON'T EVER DRIVE IN ROME! Take a hotel outside of Rome and bus instead.       

Although driving into Rome was a tad traumatizing we were still very eager to start touring the city as we saw so many beautiful things on our way in. Our first stop on the list would be the Coliseum! 

When we arrived there was a 4 hour minimum wait to buy tickets and another 2 hour wait to be let in to the Coliseum. We got really lucky and one of the English tours asked us if we'd like to join last minute for a fraction of the cost. Total wait time for us was 15 minutes. If you plan on visiting the Coliseum or any historical building in Rome buy your tickets online, you'll get to skip the lines and it is way cheaper.   

The inside of the Coliseum was exactly as expected, maybe a tad less glamorous as so much has been destroyed (the building is currently being revitalized, you can see both the new and original materials). 

The Coliseum has been demolished but also suffered much damage due to earthquakes. When the building was constructed this was not taken into account. The gladiators would enter through the large archway in the front, and from the sides large animals such as elephants would enter. In the original flooring were trapped doors where animals such as lions would enter the Coliseum. The circular maze is where the servants would work and at each end is where the lions would be caged until battle time. High above is where the men would sit and the ladies would stand. 

The Coliseum was a place for business dealings. while the men watched the battles, their women would go seal their dealings. There is a specific location in the Coliseum called the "Fornicata" which translates to fornication (easy enough to understand what it was used for). One particular timbit of information we acquired that I found fascinating was that originally people came to the Coliseum to see the extraordinary animals not so much the fights. The Coliseum was truly a combination of what we consider today a sports stadium, a zoo and a trading centre. 

Next up was the Roman Forum, a place where the people of Rome reunited to trade goods and services, or to conduct economical and political business. Today the site is mostly ruins, but is being reconstructed. 

This large building was opened in 1925 and is approximately 70 meters high. It was constructed as a commemorative to Victor-Emmanuel II and serves as a museum today dedicated to art, science, religion and rights of early Italian culture.

The sun would soon begin to set, and the beauty of Rome would simply multiply. During the day you see a lot of cranes, road blocking, wires and all the typical construction site gibberish, but at night it is so dark that these elements hide in the shadows even though they are in plain view. We saw many of the same building on our way back to our hotel that we had visited earlier in the day, but they were 10x more elegant and awe worthy. As the sun begins to set the people diminish, however, there are still more people wandering at night than there are during the day in many cities.

This building is known as the Trajan Forum and was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. During the day this building doesn't look like much due to all the construction surrounding it, but at night, the lights illuminate it just perfectly!

Here are the surrounding columns, which have such beautiful architecture embossed upon them and once again the lighting adds a touch of elegance. I took a course in Roman and Greek Architecture during my last semester of school and I must say, although I did not enjoy the course, I learned a lot and it was very cool to be able to identify so many of the things I learned.

The merchandise sellers never seem to sleep! The above photo was taken around 10pm at night, and they were still hard at work harassing traveller to buy their stuff! Every corner you turn to in Rome someone is trying to sell you something. One thing I can say is the next merchant seller that offers me a selfie stick is going to have a sore bum!

We walked down a quiet ally while attempting to make it back to our hotel and found beautiful lit streets with amazing restaurants all lit by candle light.  My photo taking skills were slowly diminishing as I felt very ill. Something I ate earlier in the evening for dinner did not sit well and with 1.5 hours left to walk before arriving to our hotel it was starting to be quite a challenge.

There were so many amazing monuments to take in with captivating stories and years of history attached. I have always been a huge fanatic of Roman and Greek history that I could not be happier to be exploring the city of Rome! Rome, however, will now be forever changed and always have a piece of Sandra! After walking for about 1.5 hours of feeling ill I was brought to my knees with massive pains and was of course sick all over the side of a corner building in Rome.

I knew after being ill that there was something going on with me that went far beyond feeling ill from food. We spotted this beautiful church so we made our way inside, sat had some water and took a breather. There are so many beautiful churches in Rome and they are actually used unlike most churches across Europe that we saw. Each one we entered had enough people to conduct a mass which was pretty cool to see.

This above photo is simply another beautiful street we wandered through (lost) while I desperately hoped we would just arrive to our hotel! By this point I had been sick multiple times and now was having problems breathing and experiencing massive pains. 

This ladies and gentlemen is the last picture I took Thursday night, and is the last moment of joy/city life I enjoyed that evening. We were about 10 mins from our hotel and everything went down hill and well I'm lucky to be alive! 

When we arrived at our hotel I striped down my clothing and jumped directly in a freezing shower! All along I had been having an allergic reaction, without knowing (as this never happened to me before). My ears swelled up super thick, my eye lids swelled so big they were almost shut, my lips swelled so bad that they cracked and bled. My entire body was on fire and bubbling. I looked down at my arms and legs, stomach and backside and red rashes covered me everywhere. The scary thing was they were not just rashes... they were boiling my skin and were moving. My hands swelled so bad that the ring on my right hand that is excessively loose had to be removed as it cut my finger, and my shoes could barely be removed. My air way had almost closed and my heart rate was around 88/100 (suppose to be around 60). My blood pressure crashed and out the lights began to go. Fair enough to say the experience was a tad traumatizing (especially when all the doctors and people helping you only speak Italian), I never want to see or hear an ambulance again, nor do I want to sit in a hospital bed. I was given some heavy drugs and a needle in the bum! The above photo was taken about 3 hours after the meds started to kick in and I still look pretty terrible!

This blog entry is obviously very behind, but given the circumstances I think it makes sense. Almost dying in Rome was quite an experience, one I hope to never experience again! Thank you for everyone who checked in to see how I was doing. I'm eager to hug you all again!

- San   

Venice, Italy

April 14, 2015 - April 15, 2015

We left Hallstatt at 10am and made our way to Venice Italy. The entire voyage was a series of lakes, forests, rocky mountains and open road. The difference between Austria and Italy was drastic, the scenery changed very abruptly, but was nonetheless stunning! We arrived in Venice, Italy around 3pm, settled quietly into our hotel and decided to go for a quick tour of the city (so that tomorrow we would be pros). 

We took a rail train from our hotel to the Venice city center and upon arrival my heart filled with joy and excitement. Venice was absolutely everything I thought it would be, which was pretty spectacular. I find often when we grow older things we envisioned being amazing as a child aren't so amazing. Venice, however, was exactly like the movies. 

The city streets (water roads) are absolutely captivating, and run for miles in every direction. We walked for 4 hours straight through what seemed like the biggest maze ever. After seeing a few streets they quickly all look the same (still beautiful though) and the only source of direction you truly have is which way the current flows. The good thing about Venice, any time you are lost you simply keep walking until you hit a main road, hop on any city boat and they will lead you back to the city center. 

In the mornings the city streets are calm, quiet and empty. However, most tourist tend to keep to the city center out of fear of getting lost (happened to us once... we all know my sense of direction is amazing), but if you wander a tad farther, most streets resemble the one above. 

However, this is not the case in the city center (RUSH HOUR EXIST FOR BOATS TOO)... The city during the day is infested with tourists, what is crazy is that we are not even in tourist season yet!

While we were in town we got to witness a speed chase Venice style. An unofficial gondola boat had ripped some tourists off and been reported to police. When the police arrived and put the sirens on he paddled like I've never seen anyone paddle before. He fled down a small road where the police motor boat would not fit. We later past and saw him in cuffs and his gondola being towed. I won't lie I could not help but laugh.   

The size of ships which go through Venice is impressive! everything from tiny gondolas, to cruise ships to cargo ships enters the canal. Above is one of the bigger ships we saw go through today, but definitely not the largest, nor the only one. 

Venice is home to some pretty spectacular monuments with fascinating stories. The city goes for miles and has many more small islands which surround it but they all look similar. Everywhere you turn there is another captivating monuments luring you in to read it's exciting tale! 

This photo made me smile and rather amused me. I watched this man parallel park his motor boat and I must be honest I was impressed. So many people in this world cannot parallel park their car let alone a medium size boat, but he was a pro (dude in red)!

Everywhere you can walk in the city, there are clothes lines above your head! I thought this was very cliche, but truly the only reason I took a pic was because I felt I had to... after a Double D bras attacked me from above (who ever that belonged to I kindly tucked it on the sidewalk)! 

A large majority of the important buildings in Venice are under construction which wrecks the beauty of their exterior a tad, but they are still amazing to see. Italy is often under construction and for large periods of time. One local explained to us that when a building is under construction they are excused from paying taxes, fair to say they like to take their time to complete the work and to ensure the process is legit and lengthy, they conduct multiple project at a time (according to a random dude, I don't think he would lie to tourist for fun haha)..

The gondolas are quite special, and truly a piece of art and tradition. I really wanted to take a gondola ride, but the rate starts at 100 euros and for what they offer, I just could not justify it in my mind. Most people who ride the gondolas do it in groups and get better rates, two people wasn't enough to get a discount.  

The remaining photos below are shots which I thought were beautiful and that you may enjoy seeing. 

We finished our day off by watching the sun set, watching all kinds of artist paint, charcoal, and sketch landscapes and characters. We observed merchandise-men creating stock for the next busy day, or packing up to leave for the evening. Village people dressed up in Venice tradition with mask unravelled themselves and the city steadily quieted. We sat with the sun setting along the canal horizon and enjoyed a Venice meal. When we completed our evening we took a rail train back to the hotel. 

Now that i've completed this blog entry it's time for me to hit the hay! Tomorrow morning we wake at 6am and make are departure for Rome, Italy (since we are 5 days in advance on our itinerary we have added a few more cities throughout Italy and of course Rome was the first suggestion) shortly after :)

Thanks for reading! 

-San