10 Days in Italy

So I'm having trouble with uploading photos from my camera onto the computer that I'm using... so this post will only contain photos from my phone!

Pia and I have spent the past ten days in Italy, starting in Rome and ending in Venice. The past ten days have been full of good things (food, family, scenery) and some not so good things (extreme heat, bugs, and more bugs).

Rome
Our first stop in Italy was Rome, a place both Pia and I have been before. We stayed far from the city center, at the very last metro stop. On our first day there, we took a Vatican City walking tour. This is where we were told where to find the best gelato in all of Rome. So you can only imagine where Pia and I headed next.

That night, Pia and I went out for our first (and only) nice dinner out. We ate dinner at a very nice restaurant with outdoor seating, near Trevi Fountain. We ordered a bottle of the best Shiraz I've ever had, shared the Rigatoni pasta, and shared dessert as well. I don't remember what the dessert was called, but I will describe it as freshly baked creme puffs covered in the richest, most delicious chocolate I've ever tasted. We made friends with the waiters, who wanted pictures taken with us and then wanted to take us dancing when they got off work. Our waiter, Andreas, also told us he had a big place in the middle of the city where we could stay, too! (Don't worry, Mom, Dad, Joe, and Linda, we didn't go.)

the most amazing dessert

our watier, Andreas

After dinner, Pia and I went to throw coins and make wishes in Trevi Fountain. It was a wonderful day!

making wishes in Trevi Fountain

The next morning, Pia and I woke up at 6am because we were going to take a 4 hour train to Pescara, where Pia's family would pick us up and take us to San Valentino. Our train was supposed to leave from one of the two train stations in Rome, connect to the other train station in Rome, then leave for Pescara. Well, we missed our first train by about 3 minutes, so as Pia stood in line to wait to talk to someone, I found the taxis and asked them how long it would take to get to the other train station in Rome (in hopes of catching it in 20 minutes). When I found Pia again, she told me we had to catch a train that was leaving at that exact moment, so we ran to the platform, only to find that it had already left. So then we ran to the taxis and the taxi driver told us he could make it in ten minutes. (We now had about 13 minutes before our train would leave from this other station.) Once we got there, we ran so fast through 3 long hallways to our platform, which of course HAD to be the very last platform. As we turned the corner to run up the ramp in the last hallway, the train started blowing the whistle and they announced that the train was leaving. However, we kept running (we could not even breathe at this point), made it on the train drenched in sweat, and it left just seconds later.

Pescara and San Valentino

After a calm (and very beautiful) train ride through the mountains, we made it to Pescara, where Pia's family greeted us. We drove about 45 minutes to their lovely home in the mountains in San Valentino. When we arrived, there was homemade lasagna in the oven. We sat down to eat and I was already full after the lasagna. Then they brought out chicken cutlets and salad, then fruit, then dessert, then espresso. After lunch, Pia and I walked around the small town of San Valentino. (I wish I could post pictures of this beautiful little town!)

That evening, Pia's cousin, Diana, and Diana's boyfriend (who has a very nice Audi convertible), took us back down to Pescara to walk along the boardwalk and eat pizza and sorbetto. Then we drove back to San Valentino with the hood down (the best way to see the stars in the countryside), averaging a speed of 160 kph. It was such a fun night!

riding in the backseat of the Audi

 Cinque Terre
The next day, Pia and I headed for Cinque Terre, aka the Italian Riviera. We arrived in La Spezia, then took another train to the small village of Manarola. After checking in, we headed straight for the water. We spent the evening eating more pizza and gelato, and walking along the hiking trails in Manarola.

enjoying the Italian Riviera on a hot day

Manarola

The next morning, we got up early to hike the trails between the villages of Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. We spent about four hours hiking, with a lunch break in Vernazza. The views from the cliffs and mountains were breathtaking! We spent the afternoon on the beach in Monterosso.

The next day, I woke up to a backpacker's worst nightmare: bed bugs. I found them in my bed that morning along with 17 bites all over my arms and legs. Pia and I got 50 euros back from the hostel, which we used to wash and dry everything we own. We spent the whole day doing laundry, then switched rooms. We had about 16 euros left after laundry, so we put that towards a nice(r) meal, which consisted of bread, pasta, lemoncino cake, and wine.

Last Thursday morning, while we waited for our train, we spent a couple hours in the main square of Manarola, doing one of our favorite things: people-watching. Then we took a train to Venice, with a very short connection in Florence. Since we have Global Eurail passes, 1st class and 2nd class were the same price, so obviously we chose 1st class. We definitely did not belong there. The train car was full of businessmen and women, and here come two sweaty and smelly backpackers. Then the conductor comes through 15 minutes later, and ONLY checks our tickets. They wanted so badly to put us back in second class.

Venice
Pia and I are currently in Venice and we have spent the past 3 days here (which is more than enough.) We enjoyed walking throughout Venice; it is a very charming and romantic city with beautiful views. We saw the Guggenheim and St. Mark's square (where you aren't even allowed to sit!), but there really isn't much else to do here. The city consists only of tourists, which is a little disappointing. And navigating is sooo very confusing. We tried using a map the first day, but just gave up because the streets go in whichevr way, there are dead-ends everywhere, and it really sucks when you can see your destination across a river, but can't find a bridge to get to it.

Now that we have gotten rid of the bed bugs, we have had mosquitos haunting us for the past 3 nights. I've never seen so many in my life.

can you count them all?

Tonight, we leave Venice at 9pm on an overnight train, for another country which we are very excited for - Austria! We arrive in Vienna at 8am tomorrow morning!

Ciao!

Shea