I’m sitting in a couchette in an overnight train from Venice to Lyon; the first time in a while since I’ve really had the time to sit down and write.  A boat load has happened in the last four days.  I’d say I’ve seen more in these four days than I ever have in any four day span in my entire life.  I was going to try my best to remember it all and tell you about it but I think it might be easier if I just told you one story (and maybe some of my impressions) from each place that I’ve been in these four days.  Otherwise, I’d have to write a short novel. 

1. 1)Rome
   If I wrote an entire book about Rome, I wouldn’t do it justice.  There is so much in Rome.  So much history and unbelievable ruins.  To think that these magnificent buildings were built so long ago completely blows my mind.  The tour guide at the Coliseum mentioned something like tens of thousands of workers, thirty elephants and ten years to build it.  It is truly one of the most  spectacular feats in human history.  Or take the engineering and calculation that was required behind the building of the geometrically perfect Pantheon.  Or perhaps the multitude of statues carved from marble and limestone, the details so fine you wouldn’t believe.  And I’ve already talked about Vatican City.  All these things have left a great impression on me but I think the most overwhelming thing that I witnessed was not these man-made things but the display shown by mere sparrows dancing in a dusk sky.  Watch this video.  All the beauty and culture in Rome doesn’t compare to the natural beauty of these common birds.  Nary a sparrow need worry about a thing for the Lord takes care of them.
   

2. 2)La Spezia/Cinque Terre
   Shazeen and I stayed in La Spezia for a night, which is on the south end of Cinque Terre on the northwest coast of Italy.  Although it isn’t part of the five cities that make up Cinque Terre, it has it’s own beauty.  We met a nice kebab shop owner named Ali Baba (seriously) who was from Pakistan.  He speaks six languages and he chatted with us about his time working with the United Nations and UNICEF.  The reason we were eating kebabs is because we’re limited to what we can eat as Shazeen doesn’t eat pork and also allergic to gluten.  You wouldn’t believe how many things have wheat in them.  Anyway, chicken kebabs are one thing that she can eat.  The next morning we took a local train to the north most city of Cinque Terre.  Cinque Terra is made up of the following five cities (North to South): Monterosso, Vernessa, Cornelia, Manarola, Riomaggiorie.  We got to Monterosso and it was pouring rain.  The coastal walk was closed and we were left with not much to do.  So we hopped back on the train and stopped at each city to spend a little time in each.  Not exactly the way to do Cinque Terre properly, but we were left with few options. 
   

3. 3)Pisa
   On the same rainy day we headed towards Florence, stopping in Pisa to see the famous leaning tower.  We got there, took the typical tourist pictures and hopped back on the train to Florence.  Go Eurail pass!  Pisa was fun...for about two hours.  You really don’t need to spend more time than that in Pisa.
   

4. 4)Florence
   We stayed in a hostel called PLUS in Florence.  It was a really nice place and it was set up so that we could meet a lot of new friends.  This is what we did, meeting people from all over the world.  Australia, Italy, Brazil, Spain, etc.  It was a lot of fun and we had some pretty fun nights...:)
   David by Michaelangelo, as many of you know, is housed in Florence.  It’s in the Accademia Gallery.  The gallery, other than David, is nothing great and you have to pay 6.50 Euros to get in.  Cameras aren’t allowed in the Gallery and you can see my sad face in one of my belly pics as I had to settle with a picture with the replica in one of the piazzas.  However, they were doing some construction on the replica so really I only got a belly picture with a picture of David.  Oh well.  You win some, you lose some.
   

5. 5)Venice
   You may have heard that Venice is flooded.  We heard it too so we stayed in Florence for an extra night and made a day trip out of Venice.  It’s a good thing because you can easily see Venice in a day.  It wasn’t flooded but it was still wet and there were a lot of remnants of the flood.  The most interesting thing for me about the city is the lack of roads.  I’ve heard that Venice is made of canals but to actually witness it is something special.  It really speaks to how knowing something doesn’t necessarily change your standard views of it.  To me a city is a place of roads and buses and other of these standard types of transport.  At most, sea transport would compliment an already existing transport system.  But in Venice, sea transport is the ONLY type in their transport system.  That and maybe walking but the streets are even poorly designed for that as evidence of Shazeen and I getting lost...:P.  The problem, like most of Europe, is that the streets are incredibly narrow and aren’t well labelled.  It makes it fun for tourists who don’t really have anywhere to be but must be relatively frustrating for those who do need to be some place at certain times.  I guess if you’ve lived there for a while then it wouldn’t really matter.
   

Italy was fun.  France here I come!