Recapitulation II
Am finally back from the ruins of Italy (aptly, a state of ruins, shall explain later why) and Austria. Time to blog after the pervasion of a malodorous blog stench, some accrued from the bad breath of the tag boards/comments. yea i know ardent fans and voyeurs alike can't wait for photos, especially with requests of me in fur and whatnots. haha. I shan't bore you with my words anymore and just let the pictures do the talking, but first I have to comment on the death of a great singer - Pavarotti. I am so absolutely baffled not by his death but the sudden emergence of mourners, who display their dolorous state online through the mutability of their nicks to "MOURN! The great singer has passed on..." I mean I don't mean to be disrespectful, but what's the point of promulgating some news, lamenting about a great passing on as though it perturbs one so deeply when one doesn't even listen to Pavarotti at all? Actually this ramble was long gone but surfaced again when I was blog-surfing just now and read the blog of a foolish youth who blogged about P. and put youtube videos of "Time to Say Goodbye" but, uh a version by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.
haha I think I've kicked up a big fuss almost the intensity of the mourners. So now ...
Italy - Venice, Florence, Rome, Pompeii
Venice
The motorways might be way too overcrowded along the Grande Canal. As I chugged along on a vaporetto at dusk to watch the sunset, the putrid waters, sounds of the ferries' horns, noisy tourists and exclamations of "pronto!" and "Si.. Si si si" could not reconcile my mental construction of the romanticized Venice. I am so sorry haha but perhaps a gondola would have made a difference in 2 ways. Romanticism and a big gapping hole in my pocket. Nevetheless, few cities can claim to be unique and venice is one of them with its thousand and one bridges, waterways and the ever-confusing maze of roads and canals.
Buildings are badly lighted. I reckon that had the lighting been more glowy, the effects would have set me on fire.
Venice in early dawn
Regrets: Forgetting to eat the squid ink pasta is being stupid! urgh!
Florence
Firenze - Birth of Renaissance.
Statue of the fake David by Michelangelo. The real one is apparently housed in some museum. Feeling a little regretful for not visiting the Uffizi Museum where the marvels of Renaissance works by Michelangelo and Botticeli are sanctified. Could have posed in front of"The Birth of Venus" haha
Facade of the Duomo
Up the Duomo!
The Florentine Steak, a highlight of Tuscany cuisine. I like the way where I could order according to the weight of the steak. and the wine tastes great too, costing only 2 Euros.
At Piazza Michaelangelo, the city view is stunning. speechless.
View from Piazza M. at night
Chianti
Bike Tour at Chianti - visit to a winery, olive oil cold compressor, downhill slopes and a bitch of a uphill slope (which I died)
Rows and rows of olive trees. The olive oil is fantastic beyond words.
Rome
City of Machiavellism (way too apt with regards to scene & setting) and abysmal transport. Nearly got cheated twice once at the Tabak Store where I had to buy a 3 day concession card for unlimited transport and another famous trick at the Spanish Steps. To think all Rome has are 2 pathetic railway lines running through the heart of the city and thousands of badly labeled bus stops and worse, no ticketing machines at all. Imagine buying it from a tobacco store, how primitive is that? The woman at the back of the counter passed me a concession ticket of 4 Euros when I paid 11 Euros. Thankfully I was already quite prepared for this trick to occur and true enough it did (read from wikitravel that the Tabak stores love to cheat tourists, not to mention the pickpockets). So I stood rooted for some time, trying to figure out what the other foreign words mean before asking her if she handed me the wrong ticket. Bitch of a woman stammered in English then switched to Italian, asking through hand signals if she had given the ticket to me. I answered "Si" firmly while she ransacked her paraphernalia of rat droppings, concession tickets and whatnots before finally handed me the correct price but with the wrong starting date! I questioned her by pointing at the day, "giorno? giorno?". Whore mumbled sometime like the ticket is validated at the time you start your first trip peppered with tons of Escusi. Somehow I trusted her since it would have been a futile attempt to further clarify with her anyway.
Funnily, the only number other than uno I can remember is cinque that sounds like "chi kuey" precisely because of its similitude to some nonya- sounding kuey.
The famous string scam occurred at the Spanish Steps. As I walk down, I heard scurring steps behind me and it's where this crazy Indian said : "Ni hao! Are you from China?" I spunned around and said "No!", while simultaneously noticing that on his right hand were coloured strings. I quickly ran off while he took chase, shouting at the back "from Tokyo? from Japan?" Crazy! Anyway the scam is that the con man will ask if you would like to play a string game or maybe some friendship band sort of thing with them. Unbeknownst to the victim, they craftily tie the string band around your wrist and in order to release it, you would have to pay them a hefty price of 20 Euros which is utter madness for some silly friendship band.
Tried artichokes for the first time in Rome and it really made me CHOKED.
Notwithstanding ... the Vatican City is fantastic.
as well as the Colosseum, which are all must-views in Rome.
and the Trevi fountains ...
Pompeii
Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on one early morning, 79 AD.
The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire.
haha I think I've kicked up a big fuss almost the intensity of the mourners. So now ...
Italy - Venice, Florence, Rome, Pompeii
Venice
The motorways might be way too overcrowded along the Grande Canal. As I chugged along on a vaporetto at dusk to watch the sunset, the putrid waters, sounds of the ferries' horns, noisy tourists and exclamations of "pronto!" and "Si.. Si si si" could not reconcile my mental construction of the romanticized Venice. I am so sorry haha but perhaps a gondola would have made a difference in 2 ways. Romanticism and a big gapping hole in my pocket. Nevetheless, few cities can claim to be unique and venice is one of them with its thousand and one bridges, waterways and the ever-confusing maze of roads and canals.
Buildings are badly lighted. I reckon that had the lighting been more glowy, the effects would have set me on fire.
Venice in early dawn
Regrets: Forgetting to eat the squid ink pasta is being stupid! urgh!
Florence
Firenze - Birth of Renaissance.
Statue of the fake David by Michelangelo. The real one is apparently housed in some museum. Feeling a little regretful for not visiting the Uffizi Museum where the marvels of Renaissance works by Michelangelo and Botticeli are sanctified. Could have posed in front of"The Birth of Venus" haha
Facade of the Duomo
Up the Duomo!
The Florentine Steak, a highlight of Tuscany cuisine. I like the way where I could order according to the weight of the steak. and the wine tastes great too, costing only 2 Euros.
At Piazza Michaelangelo, the city view is stunning. speechless.
View from Piazza M. at night
Chianti
Bike Tour at Chianti - visit to a winery, olive oil cold compressor, downhill slopes and a bitch of a uphill slope (which I died)
Rows and rows of olive trees. The olive oil is fantastic beyond words.
Rome
City of Machiavellism (way too apt with regards to scene & setting) and abysmal transport. Nearly got cheated twice once at the Tabak Store where I had to buy a 3 day concession card for unlimited transport and another famous trick at the Spanish Steps. To think all Rome has are 2 pathetic railway lines running through the heart of the city and thousands of badly labeled bus stops and worse, no ticketing machines at all. Imagine buying it from a tobacco store, how primitive is that? The woman at the back of the counter passed me a concession ticket of 4 Euros when I paid 11 Euros. Thankfully I was already quite prepared for this trick to occur and true enough it did (read from wikitravel that the Tabak stores love to cheat tourists, not to mention the pickpockets). So I stood rooted for some time, trying to figure out what the other foreign words mean before asking her if she handed me the wrong ticket. Bitch of a woman stammered in English then switched to Italian, asking through hand signals if she had given the ticket to me. I answered "Si" firmly while she ransacked her paraphernalia of rat droppings, concession tickets and whatnots before finally handed me the correct price but with the wrong starting date! I questioned her by pointing at the day, "giorno? giorno?". Whore mumbled sometime like the ticket is validated at the time you start your first trip peppered with tons of Escusi. Somehow I trusted her since it would have been a futile attempt to further clarify with her anyway.
Funnily, the only number other than uno I can remember is cinque that sounds like "chi kuey" precisely because of its similitude to some nonya- sounding kuey.
The famous string scam occurred at the Spanish Steps. As I walk down, I heard scurring steps behind me and it's where this crazy Indian said : "Ni hao! Are you from China?" I spunned around and said "No!", while simultaneously noticing that on his right hand were coloured strings. I quickly ran off while he took chase, shouting at the back "from Tokyo? from Japan?" Crazy! Anyway the scam is that the con man will ask if you would like to play a string game or maybe some friendship band sort of thing with them. Unbeknownst to the victim, they craftily tie the string band around your wrist and in order to release it, you would have to pay them a hefty price of 20 Euros which is utter madness for some silly friendship band.
Tried artichokes for the first time in Rome and it really made me CHOKED.
Notwithstanding ... the Vatican City is fantastic.
as well as the Colosseum, which are all must-views in Rome.
and the Trevi fountains ...
Pompeii
Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on one early morning, 79 AD.
The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire.
Austria
Was quite a relief the moment I arrived since communication would no longer(I was somehow hesitant on typing no longer..haha) pose a problem.
Vienna
Things to do:
- Watch an opera. Buy the standing seats at 3.50 Euros!
- Visit Schloss Schönbrunn, a palace of the Habsburg Empire
- Eat the authentic Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher
- Visit Stephansdom
Salzburg
Visit to Mozart's Birthplace
And take the "Sound of Music" tour ... before the painful realisation befalls upon you that the amount of tours is gonna rip your pockets badly
The cute shop signs!
Hallstatt
Things to do:
1. Visit the saltmines
2. Stay there for one night (biggest regret, and I mean for not doing so)
3. Relax
Hallstatt is so BEAUTIFUL.
Visit the Saltmines!
Fantastic view once the train reaches the top
That's the Italy-Austria 10 Days Tour in a nutshell.
And the total damage *drum rolls* Nervous or expenditure breakdown you decide. NERVOUS for me. goodness I spent so much! Numbers are in Euros. =( As usual, transport is the killer, another is the dilapidated conditions of hostels in Italy, it is abysmal!
Planning, and orienteering business is fun and definitely looking forward to more upcoming trips still in the nascent stage.
Meanwhile school starts and I'm loving it for now, so till then!
Was quite a relief the moment I arrived since communication would no longer(I was somehow hesitant on typing no longer..haha) pose a problem.
Vienna
Things to do:
- Watch an opera. Buy the standing seats at 3.50 Euros!
- Visit Schloss Schönbrunn, a palace of the Habsburg Empire
- Eat the authentic Sachertorte at Hotel Sacher
- Visit Stephansdom
Salzburg
Visit to Mozart's Birthplace
And take the "Sound of Music" tour ... before the painful realisation befalls upon you that the amount of tours is gonna rip your pockets badly
The cute shop signs!
Hallstatt
Things to do:
1. Visit the saltmines
2. Stay there for one night (biggest regret, and I mean for not doing so)
3. Relax
Hallstatt is so BEAUTIFUL.
Visit the Saltmines!
Fantastic view once the train reaches the top
That's the Italy-Austria 10 Days Tour in a nutshell.
And the total damage *drum rolls* Nervous or expenditure breakdown you decide. NERVOUS for me. goodness I spent so much! Numbers are in Euros. =( As usual, transport is the killer, another is the dilapidated conditions of hostels in Italy, it is abysmal!
Planning, and orienteering business is fun and definitely looking forward to more upcoming trips still in the nascent stage.
Meanwhile school starts and I'm loving it for now, so till then!
posted by Christopher | 5:02 AM
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