May 5 : Florence & Siena

As it was our last day in Florence, we needed to accomplish anything we had not done... before 1 p.m. We headed straight for the Duomo, as we had not been inside yet. As we were standing in line we noticed a sign that stated no shorts allowed... We were both wearing shorts. We left that line and walked around a little bit more. As we were heading back towards the Fortezza Da Basso, a big fortress Conor wanted to check out, we were walking by the Duomo. Right beside the Basilica is Giotto's Bell Tower, 414 stairs to the top. For 6 Euros we were able to experience the view of Florence, in shorts, and include the Duomo in them. Speechless is the word to describe the sights. No words can fully describe the sea of tiled roofs that flood the city. We then headed towards the fortress, that turned out to be banned to tourists. 

We hopped on a train bound for Siena at noon and had to transfer in Empori. We arrived in Siena at 1:30. Our directions that the hostel sent us told us that had to head up to the city (it is surrounded by a wall) to catch a bus to the camp ground. With our packs and a grumpy Conor in tow we made our way up to Piazza Gramsci...

Once we caught the bus and realized that it basically retraced our steps back down the hill and to the train station, I had to deal with an even grumpier Conor. Oh well, now we knew where to catch the bus! The driver was kind enough to let us know when to get off the bus. We were literally staying on a campground. There were RVs parked everywhere and little cabins dotted the premises. We were given the key to cabin 13, a cute very tiny two bed shack. We had out own bathroom and fridge - it was one of the nicest places we had stayed - mainly because of the screens on the windows. It was all we needed to rest our heads on at night. Although it was a little far from the city, it was really cool to be surrounded by trees and rolling Tuscan hills with villas. We figured that we should probably head into town for the sole purpose of finding an internet café to search for a place to stay in Rome. We took the bus back and wandered around a bit. We ended up in front of Il Campo, the big bell tower in Siena. We passed a laundry mat and made a mental note of it as Conor was running low on clean underwear...

We eventually found an internet place and successfully booked a hostel, Les Artistes, which is suppose to be close to the train station. After letting our parents know we were alive we headed back to the bus stop. We stopped and had really good pasta before heading back to our little cabin, the bus ride was about 20 minutes.

Since we were able to chill the sparkling wine in our fridge, Conor and I devulged that and basically passed out... Who knew being a tourist would be so tiring!?

May 4 : San Gimignano

This was the day trip we had signed up for with our hostel, 'The Grape Escape'. Since we weren't going to be able to visit any museums, discovering the Tuscan region was a good alternative. We all met at 9:30 at the reception and headed for our bus. We took an hour long ride winding through Tuscan hills and vineyards and learned about the Chianti "Black rooster" and other small facts about the region. We arrived first at the first wine and olive oil tasting, Tenuta Torciano. It was a really cool, out-of-a-movie setting. We tasted 4 wines and 2 olive oils. We then headed to Pietraserena Winery where we were shown how the wine is made and were given a glass of their white wine. 

As a group we ate lunch in the owners garden surrounded by Tuscan hills and olive trees. At lunch we were served two more bottles of wine (per table) - red and rose. Conor was drawn to the wine store and emerged carrying their white sparkling and Merlot, both have to consumed before the end of our trip...

We boarded the bus again and headed towards San Gimignano, a romanti fortified town that sits atop a Tuscan hill. We were given an hour and a half to look around so we headed first to a torture museum. After a lovely twenty minutes we emerged happier that we grew up in the twentieth century. We walked a little and found the highest FREE tower to climb that still offered exceptional views of Tuscany. It is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL region. It is easy to see how it inspired so much art and culture. We ate some "World Champion" gelato (seriously), took some photos of Piazza della Cisterna and headed back to the bus to head back to Florence.

The day was exceptional and could not have gone better. It was a sunny day and was a definite highlight of the trip so far.

When we arrived in Florence we changed and headed out for dinner. Conor was told about a restaurant "Trattoria 4 Leoni" by someone who bought wine from him in Halifax. Determined we went looking for it. We made a pit-stop along the way to buy reactine for Conor and anti-itch for me, as I had been literally devoured in Venice. Dinner was fantastic as we shared the typical Tuscan dish, Biftecca - a 1.2kg T-bone steak... Fantastic. It is however served rare and I am pretty sure the heart was still beating...

After dinner we took a walk along the Arno and took some stunning photos. We were tempted to go to Piazzale Michaelangelo to climb the tower, but decided against it. Instead we walked through Piazza della Signoria and experienced a Florentine music performer before heading back to our hostel. We booked our stay in Siena and were headed to "Camping Siena Colleverde" the next day. It is safe to say we both thoroughly enjoyed PLUS Florence and would recommend it to anyone.

 

May 3 : Florence

We arrived in Florence at 1:30 and immediately headed for our hostel. As usual, it took us a little time to find our bearings, but as soon as we did we were well on our way. We shortly arrived at our hostel - PLUS Florence. With red carpet leading to the door, we were immediately optimistic. We checked-in and were approached by the PLUS Port staff - a company that arranges tours for the backpackers. We arrived on a Sunday so Monday was going to be our museum day. The PLUS Port guys informed us that all museums are CLOSED on Mondays for cleaning. They swayed us to then go on their organized trip 'The Grape Escape'. So we signed up. He headed up to our room to put our thing down. 

The "David".

Since our one day we had in Florence was not going to turn out the way we had hoped, we had to se some things on the day we arrived. Of all the museums in Florence Conor and I wanted to visit, the Accademia Gallery held top priority. After all, it does house David. The reputation of long lines in Florence had us a bit skeptical but we headed there anyways. The building itself gives nothing away, and the only indication of its resident is a small discolored plaque on the wall. If anything it looks more like a centre for troubled youth because of the graffiti and writing on the walls, a definite contrasts of the art pieces inside. The museum starts by introducing you to paintings, instruments and sculptures. Then, as you turn a corner, you become captivated by this massive sculpture that is David. As there are no cameras allowed we could not take pictures, but the images will remain etched in our memories. It is outstanding that such a sculpture has been granted such attention and survived so much abuse. (I forgot to mention that we walked right in with no line. We also had to go through a metal detector). Every person is captivated with the sculpture, some are jotting down notes while others just stare. It was memorizing. 

Afterwards we walked towards the Duomo and were captivated by that as well. It dominates the square and demands a sense if importance. From there we moved on towards the 'Fiume Arno' - It should be called the 'Dirty River' - to see the collection of bridges. We emerged at the Ponte alla Carraia and immediately searched for the Ponte Vecchio, the bridge with shops and look alike apartments. Decades ago the bridge was occupied by butchers, but since the Medici family crossed the bridge from the Palazzo Pitti to the Palazzo Vecchio they complained about the smell. They quickly had them converted to jeweler shops. We mingled on the bridge for some time and then went to dinner to a little restaurant 'Pino's'. After dinner we ate some famed gelate - waited 1/2 and hour to make sure Conor would make it (severe nut allergy) - and headed back to the hostel. We took a detour and passed by the Duomo (you can't see it too many times) and passed the old "S.S. Annunziata Basilica". Our night was ended with a game of Crazy 8's - we are really good at that now.

Our Grape Escape tour is tomorrow. 

May 2 : Venice

We woke up and looked out the train window to see Italian countryside going by. We had breakfast given to us and arrived in Venice at 8:30a.m. The train ride went by quickly, as we slept for the majority of it. Our sleeps were good, I made Conor take the upper bunk in our cabin, at least he had a railing to keep him from rolling off. 

As we were arriving in Venice, we rode from the mainland onto the island of Venice, driving over a bridge that connects the two. Our plan was to purchase our tickets for the next day to Florence so we would have that already done. Our tickets came to 76 Euros with seat reservations. We had booked beds at a hostel, so after some wandering we finally found our hostel, Absolut Venice. It was reviewed as an awesome and social place to stay in a key location. The location was a definite plus as it was down the street from the train station. We rand the doorbell and were greeted by someone we expected would also check us in. We headed up the stairs - The hostel was on the top floor of the building. We sat at the reception and waited for a staff member for half an hour. It was already approaching 9:30 a.m. and with only one day in Venice, we didn't want to waste anymore time. We asked some of the other hostellers where the guy was and they had no idea. They were still waiting for breakfast. We made a collective decision that this place was not going to do it for us, and we did not want to waste anymore time. The train station had a hotel reservation desk, so we headed there and found a last minute room for 75 Euros just down the street, called San Geremia. 

After we settled that, it was time to see Venice. The train station is right on the Grande Canal so we waited in line for some 'Vaporetto' tickets (Water buses). A 24 hour ticket cost 18 Euros, so we were able to use it to its full potential. We immediately jumped on the #2 and conveniently grabbed seats at the front. We were brought down the Grande Canal for a bit and then along the Canal di Fusina. The skyline of Piazza San Marco teased us the whole (45 minute) trip. I still can't say what was more fascinating - my surroundings of the look on Conor's face as he was trying to absorb his environment. We got off the vaporetto and headed to San Marco (With the rest of the world). Conor was immediately drawn to the Campanile, the huge bell tower that dominates the sky in San Marco. Looking around, it was evident that waiting in line was going to be common, so we stood in the one for the Campanile first. It proved to be well worth it as the views from the top offered a 360 degree view of Venice - an unexplainable beautiful city. Blue water winds through the city and acts as the roads. Waterways are the way to travel - We even saw a water policeboat, ambulance and fire 'truck-boat'. I never saw a car - there would be no where to drive them. There are random beautiful bridges that allow pedestrians to wind their way through the streets. Anyways, I digress. 

Back to to our adventure - We stopped at a café for lunch and had pasta. I don't know if it was the spirit of being in Italy, but Conor claimed it was the BEST past EVER. Since we were still in front of San Marco, we had to see the Basilica di San Marco, regardless of how long we would have to wait. To our surprise, there was hardly a line - compared to that morning. Although it clearly states not to touch anything, Conor needs to touch things. In this case, a small alarm went off - thus only encouraging him to see how many alarms he could set off. After acting like the Paparazzi we left the Basilica and headed on a walk towards the Rialto Bridge. It would be difficult to imagine more people in Venice. Since we travelled in May, there are not too many tourists, but of course the one who are there all went to see the same sites. We fought out way up the bridge and took some mediocre pictures before leaving the crowds. We headed back to our hotel to have some showers and change for dinner. 

We toyed with the idea of taking a gondola ride. We convinced ourselves that it probably wasn't worth it. However, the thoughts were still in the back of our minds. That evening we were winding through the canals on a gondola - we had to! How could we leave Venice and not take a ride! Our guy was great - we named him Alessandro. He told us that in November the gondolas cannot operate because the water levels rise - causing the gondolas to be unable to fit underneath most bridges. When our romantic-Heineken-ride finished we asked Alex where the best pizza in town was. He pointed us to "Casa Mia' - on a side street near Campo dei SS Apostoli. A guaranteed the piazza was fantastic. Complimented by a bottle of wine, our night could not have been better. We returned to the hotel via vaporetto underneath a warm Venetian sky.

The next morning we woke up early so we could return to the Rialto Bridge to take some better pictures. We took some 'frame-able' shots and headed back to pack and head to the train station. Every souvenir place was selling painted masks and we found out that it was because Venice was the first place that hosted the Carnivale - so of course I picked up 2 ceramic masks.

We are on the train now heading to Florence. We have booked a hostel and have high hopes that this one will be more successful than last. We did not get seats together on the train, but we made vows never to complain - We are after all heading to Florence as one of our Italian adventure stops.

May 1.

Our journey begins with a "luxury" overnight train ride from Vienna to Venice. We booked a  private 'sleeper car' (or Schlafwagon) and we were greeted with a little cabin-esque car with fold-out bunk-beds, a sink and closet. Everything we needed - plus the addition of the going awaz present I received from my co-workers. As Conor is brushing up on his Venice tourist points, I made the decision to use this book as the new version of my blog. 

For the next 12 days we are going to be dis-connected from the world, so I will resort to the 'old fashion' way of communicating. We arrive in Venice tomorrow morning for a full day of tourism. 

Neglect

This is well overdue but I am going to use the mayhem of the last few weeks as my excuse. Since I last wrote an entry, Conor and I have traveled from Venice all the way down Italy to Sorrento, we went to Tremblant for a quick visit and I am now back in Halifax for the summer. Pretty hectic.

Although I was unable to make updates online while in Italy, I did keep a detailed journal (So detailed that Conor was not allowed to contribute because I have a method). I am going to copy what I wrote, with some modifications as I have now had the opportunity to reflect on our adventure. I will do it in installments, every city will have its own entry, so the entries are not too long.

I have really liked keeping a blog, and I really hope to continue. I will start a new one for everyday thoughts and little adventures, I will put the link up once I have my life back in order. I am overwhelmed with catching up in class (I missed 2 weeks of school while in Italy) and searching for my next co-op for September.

Anyways, enjoy Italy!

Fast fertig

The big day eventually came – the arrival of Conor. I had this fairytale image of our meeting at the airport and the wannabe princess in me cames out a little bit more after 4 months of being apart from him. I envisioned this romantic movie-like greeting at the airport when I would run and jump into his arms. I had strategically positioned myself so that he would see me no matter what set of doors he came through. Instead, Conor walked through the gates with a look of terrible confusion on him face. He missed me, so I had to chase after him. In the end, I did not have a movie scene arrival greeting, but it was still pretty fantastic to say the least. I do think that the arrival zone of airports is probably one of the happiest places to be in the world, regardless of what airport you are in.

When we finally arrived at my apartment - as good as the Viennese public transit is, the airport is still a pretty hefty journey from anything - Conor was practically a zombie. I could completely relate and remembered how a few months ago I was in the same position as him. After a tasty typical Viennese breakfast, Conor tried to catch up on the sleep he was missing. It is interesting to think that while flying through time zones, you can either gain or lose actual hours of your life. I mean, when flying to Vienna, you technically lose 6 hours of your life because of the advance in time. When we fly back to Canada, we will technically be gaining 6 hours, but not really because the world in fact has not stopped. Something to think about…

Anyways, I let Conor sleep for a little bit, but in order to fully maximize his time in Europe we had decided that we would go to Innsbruck for the weekend, leaving Friday afternoon. I definitely lost girlfriend points that day because not only did he just fly 9 hours to Austria, I was sticking him on a 5 hour train ride - on the same day. I had not bought seat reservations for the train so for the first hour we were separated. With a screaming 3 year old across the aisle from me, I don’t think Conor used the time to catch any shut eye. We were quite impressed with this kid’s endurance. Not only did she not sleep the whole time to Innsbruck, I am pretty sure she screamed 80% of the time. I don’t know who I felt worse for, her or her poor dad.

Innsbruck

We finally arrived in Innsbruck and very conveniently found our hotel directly across the street from the Bahnhof (train station). I seem to always arrive to places at night, and therefore have no clue what my surroundings look like. It was only until the next morning that you realize Innsbruck is a valley surrounded by the Austrian Alps – very cool. Being the qualified tourist that I am now, I know the benefit of sightseeing tours. I know how lame the tourists look in the bus, but seriously, it is so worth it. We found one that stopped right outside our hotel that was more like a hop-on, hop-off bus. We jumped on that and were able to see the Olympic ski jump (Innsbruck hosted the Olympics twice) and skating complex. We decided to de-board the bus at Schloss Ambras and do some touring. Conor has this thing with medieval castles so I am glad that he got to see one up close.

At lunch I was able to use my fantastic A1 level German skills to tell the server that Conor was allergic to nuts. She looked at me like I was crazy because why in the world would there be nuts on a pizza – lesson to all, there are pine nuts in Pesto – a key trigger in Conor’s nut allergies. We sat and ate looking at the famed Innsbruck Goldenes Dachl or, ‘Golden Roof’. I am not exactly sure why it is so famous, it wasn’t that entrancing. We took a little wander through the town and saw the Imperial Palace, Annasäule and what appeared to be a mini Arc de Triumphe.
Upon my request, we headed to the Swarovski Kristall Welten that afternoon. Conveniently they have a shuttle bus that leaves from Innsbruck – obviously at a ridiculous cost but it was worth it. We arrived and did the whole tour, saw that big Swarovski grass head with the water coming out of his mouth (I will put pictures up), and of course took a little stroll through the shop. We had a great dinner that night at the ‘Piano Bar’ in the heart of Innsbruck.

Sunday morning, our last day in Innsbruck, we took the Innsbrucker Nordkettenbahnen (A gondola type thing) to the top of one of the mountains surrounding Innsbruck and the Inn (the name of the river) valley. I saw the snow at the top of the mountain, so I wore a jacket, pants and shoes. The genius that I was with is apparently convinced that all countries other than Canada must feel like summer. He went up the mountain in shorts and flip flops. Needless to say, I was somehow colder than him when we got to the top. After a quick photo shoot and mediocre Schnitzel, we headed back down and to the train station to catch our train. That was the end of Innsbruck weekend.

Conor in Vienna

I have not been able to show Conor around to any places in Vienna yet because I have been working. I have decided that I would take him to the Schönbrunn Zoo and the Belvedere. I send him out on adventures, and I wish I could see the expression on his face when he saw St. Stephans Cathedral for the first time. Still, every time I walk by it I am blown away. Having Conor here is like seeing Vienna again for the first time. For someone who has not been fortunate to travel outside North America, Austria is a pretty good starting point. Conveniently his aunt and uncle are in Vienna right now, so he had some travel buddies yesterday and again today. We met up with them last night and were treated to dinner. They gave us extensive tips for Prague and Italy, as we are heading to those places next week – in fact, on Friday.

In an attempt to convert Conor to the cult of culture that I am now a part of, we are going to the ballet of Romeo & Juliet tonight at the Staatsoper. I am looking forward to it and I honestly think that he is too.

It’s all over

Tomorrow is my last day of work. I have been asked to hand over my key card and ‘handy’ (cell phone), which I am actually sad to do! The past 16 weeks have flown by, and I feel so fortunate to have been able to experience this Euro-adventure. I have been let in on the secret that my colleagues are planning a little good bye party for me. I may not have redone the whole marketing concept at BAWAG, but I have definitely improved their English -something that a lot of people have expressed thanks to me for. If that is the mark that I leave, than at least I will be remembered for something! Part of my co-op report was to summarize, on one page, the company I worked for, the working environment, my goals and how this experience has affected me. On 1 page. I would not even be able to do that in a 30 page report. The skills I have adapted and memories that I have will never leave me. I wish I could hug everyone who has helped me along the way, but it might be awkward as Austrians have a tendency to formally shake hands even in situations where a hug would be way better suited. I had an awkward hug-hand shake yesterday upon saying good-bye to a colleague…

Italy

Although we are both going home on the same day, Conor’s Euro-trip is just beginning and mine is coming to an end – In Italy. I seemed to have forgotten this whole part of my trip because I have been so wrapped up in Austria. Our Italian adventure commences on Friday when we leave for Venice. We have booked one hostel so far, Absolut Venice. We are sleeping in an 8 bed mixed dorm (Conor is WAY thrilled…). Other than that, our sleeping arrangements are non-existent and train tickets have yet to be purchased. I have let go of my organizational and controlling way and am becoming sceptical about this whole ‘Go with the flow’ attitude. We may be sleeping on a park benches (Joking dad).

I will try to update my blog regularly, but I am not making any promises. I do promise though to let you all know I am in fact alive and enjoying life!! 19 days until I touch back down in Canada… At least I am not coming back from Mexico :)

Editor's Note

My last post seemed to stir up some low-key controversy with the comment I made about friendship. In my opinion, a blog is a place to express all feelings and experiences at the exact time it is being written. Throughout my travels, I have made some mental notes about what I want to include in my posts, but it is mostly ad-lib writing and I use random thoughts that pop into my head. When I wrote that post last week, I was having a bummer day and that is how I felt at that exact moment. I am glad I wrote it because I want to remember the struggles and pleasures of living abroad. I do miss ALL my friends and family terribly, and I am immensely looking forward to my return to Halifax for summer and then Tremblant for the end of August. At that specific time last week in my blog, I just wanted to give a shout out to the people who let me know I was missed. I cannot begin to explain how much that was appreciated.

I will be making a one night appearance in Tremblant on May 16th. It is a Saturday night, so I assume you will know where to find me...