1st- Venice: it’s a very small town and quit
expensive. I made the mistake of not booking a place to stay beforehand and had
to pay 70 euros for one night at a hotel. Don’t make this mistake! Book ahead
and you can find a pretty good place, a friend said she paid about 30 euros for
her hotel…there are hostels but not very many. The sea food is supposed to be
great, but of course it’s expensive. A great way to save on money is to find a
hidden bar (it’ll be something around a corner, with none or not many tables)
but offer pasta or sea food medley. On this note, if you order a coffee, drink
it at the bar since they charge for you to sit at a table. The mode of
transportation is my water; I was surprised that their “bus” is a boat. Water
taxi’s are available, but there is also cheaper public transportation. Many places are beautifully decorated with
Murrano glass, from an island off of Italy. Its okay to browse inside the lobby
area of some of the really nice, 5 star, hotels since they’re also greatly
decorated (just don’t be loud, and ask the hotel security for permission
first.) I took a slow train on TrenItalia, one way to Florence cost me 22euros
(with a short layover in the Bologna train station.)
2nd- Florence: In Italian, this city is called
Firenze (this kept confusing me the whole time.) Here I stayed at Plus Hostel
Florence; it’s a good place, I recommend it. I arrived at around 9pm. The next day I made
my way straight to Pisa, which is about an hour train ride for 7.50euros. Note:
once you get to the Pisa station, there are no signs directing you to the
tower; feel free to ask someone who is at the station, they are most likely
coming back from there (if you’re facing the station ticket office, follow the
path that’s to your right.) I was planning to only stay here for about an hour,
but I ended up staying for 2! It’s a very lovely place and since it was a warm
day, many people were laying out on the grass catching some sun. Another place
I checked out in Florence was the leather market Basilica di St. Lorenzo. I
didn’t see the Statue of David located in the Museo Accademia (I was told that
other than this statue, there is not much to see) (it’s 6.50 to get in,) I did
see the other famous museum: Museo Uffizi that holds some Caravaggio among
others, and also Da Vinci’s Venus. I waited for about 2 hours in this line, so
buy your ticket ahead of time online (I tried but every computer I had access
to, didn’t have the correct version of Java needed to buy.) One of my favorite
spots was Ponte Vecchio, which was the only bridge in Italy to survive WWII.
Average price of pizza is about 2euros. A MUST is to catch the sunset at Piazza
Michelangelo! A breathtaking view! (Warning: cute couples will be everywhere)
Many people buy some wine and enjoy a few glasses as the sun goes down and the
city really lights up. Getting lost in this city is fantastic.
3rd – Rome: I took the train straight from
Florence (after my museum visit which I did on day two.) I arrived at around
7pm. Train ride was 4 hours to Roma Termini: 20 euros. I stayed at Sandy hostel on Via Cavour –
great location, bad service. That evening, after realizing that from now on I
need to find the highest point at which to see the city at sunset, I climbed
the steps of Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II –breathtaking. The thing that
makes Rome, Rome, really is its antiquity; at first, I would see the old
buildings and monuments and be like “yeah they’re pretty cool,” but then once I
began to imagine they’re construction – the little technology and tools Romans had
– then I really began to appreciate it. So one thing I wish I would have done
is research on the different places, statues, and historic buildings around the
city, it really does help you appreciate it more (I know this because of how I
felt looking at Ponte Vecchio knowing its WWII survival – it was the only
background I stumbled upon the internet.) The buses are not strict on paying
for a ride; neither are cross walks- people just cross when they can and cars
usually stop. On my first morning there, I headed over to the Vatican (bus 40,
60, or 64,) and got lucky enough to be there on a day the pope was giving and
outside mass. Unfortunately, I thought he would begin at 11am, but by the time
I got there he was already speaking (around 10am.) If you have a chance to be
there when the pope does this again, be there early! Like 7 or 8am early. They
start closing off the gate to enter once it gets too crowded (I saw the pope
from far away, not in the main area.) There will be tons of people offering
tours for you to visit the Vatican Museum (which hold the Sistine Chapel) and
the Basilica. I wasn’t going to go with a group since I prefer to avoid those
too-touristy things, but since I was there on a busy day (and did not want to
wait another 2hours of more for a museum again,) I paid about 36 euros (this
was after sweet talking the representative to lower the price a bit. It was
only like 5 euros less… bring student IDs! I forgot mine and couldn’t get the
student rate anyway.) It was a long tour with the last stop being the Sistine
Chapel; in the end I was glad to go with a tour. I met great people, whom I
exchanged emails with and we plan to share photos from our stay in Rome.
Florence
has more night clubs than Rome (the Vatican is very strict about this) but they
still have a good night life. I went to the Trastevere District, which is an
amazing are to visit! Lots of bars and places to eat. Many tourists. Also good
is Fiore area. I went to few of these bars with my hostel-roomy from Australia.
Other places I visited: Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Tiberina island, the Colosseum
(I didn’t pay the 12.50 euros for to enter,) Trevi Fountain (many many tourists
– there is a significant difference from Trevi in the say and Trevi at night.)
On a final note, to get to the airport, there’s a bus stop about 2 street from
the Termini station that takes you to the airport every half hour (drive is
about an hour.) It costs 6 euros to buy a ticket on the bus, or 4 euros if you
book online – just be sure to do this at least 13 hours from departure, or it
won’t let you buy.
This was my second trip away from Spain (first was Ireland,)
and I learned a lot about traveling and met so many cool people in each of
these spots :)
Carolina Valdizon
