Selfie Sticks in Italy

When you haven't had to full-on travel plan in a while, you shouldn't be surprised when things don't seem to go smoothly. Well, the start to our Italian adventure wasn't as creamy as risotto. We flew from Houston to Istanbul to Milan on Turkish Air. Overall, good flights and no real complaints. We got into Milan after midnight and had to figure our way to get to the airport shuttle bus.  The bus would drop us close to the airport hotel we'd picked for our short stay. Well, it did drop us off somewhat near the hotel, but upon getting off the bus on a dark street, we realized the wheel to our big suitcase was broken. Great, two weeks of intense travel ahead of us and our 65 pound suitcase only has one good wheel. We set out in the morning to the airport to file a complaint with the airline, and then make our way to Venice. The complaint process was a bit frustrating, red tape, etc. Finally, we made it to the train we needed, and off to Venice we went. Well, we ended up going one stop too many, had to take another train back to the other stop, and then once we got to Mestre (the town outside Venice we stayed in), we had to figure out which bus to take to get to the hotel. So, already we'd experience planes, trains and automobiles. I'm thinking, next time, travel agency!!! We settled into the hotel before making our journey to meet Dana for dinner. Ah yes, the first introduction in this post of Dana, our great friend from our time in Singapore. Her fiancé, Zach, and her decided to get married in Italy, and when we heard, we immediately tried to figure out how we could go! Fast forward eleven months later and dinner is upon us at a restaurant at the Hilton hotel. Very nice view of the waterway, great conversation and a ravioli I hope to never forget. It was ravioli with beef inside and meat sauce on top - I used bread to mop up every bit. On top of that, the balsamic vinegar they had was delicious. After a few drinks, we adventured back to the hotel which included a bus ride that reminded me of a Singapore MRT at rush hour - loads of people, no space and some ripe smells. It worked though, getting us where we needed to be. ----- Saturday was excellent. We decided to go on a free walking tour. It took us through Venice's Jewish Ghetto (talk about Jewish guilt, walking by a synagogue with people praying on Shabbos, while Amanda and I simply tour. Must go to confessional, oops, right country, wrong religion).  After, our tour guide took us across the many squares and bridges, she explained the Carnival masks that were worn and the history of the city. We found it to be a great tour lasting about two and a half hours. From there, we got lunch, first attempting a fried cheese snack (good until hitting the sardine in the middle), and then getting two slices of pizza at a stand and eating them on one of the bridges. This brings up something that bothered me a bit - the cover charge to eat at a restaurant. I understand the city's main income is tourism, but it just felt like there was a charge for everything - the restroom, a seat at the gelato shop, best not to cough, there might be a charge. I get why it's done, but still, frustrating. Turns out, the cover charge occurs all across Italy. Following lunch, we walked through the small streets to get to St. Mark's Square. The square doesn't look like any other part of Venice. It was our first taste of the beautiful and massive churches in Italy. From there, we meandered around, getting lost through the streets as we made our way to the other side of a waterway to visit a recommended gelato shop. Then, perhaps my favorite and Amanda's least favorite moment of the day. We stumbled into a showing of an opera movie. It was so weird! At first, it showed men being strapped into devices by women, and then the women were holding on to animals with different anatomical parts (a dog's head on a lizard body). Amanda quickly left, fearing nightmares, and I kept watching just for the sheer oddity of it all. We found a spot for dinner and headed back to the hotel for an early night. At least, I thought it'd be an early night. Trying to improve on my travel skills, I attempted to book our ticket to Florence for the next day. On accident, I booked the wrong day. Trying to change it online was a headache. Frustrated, we just went to bed and hoped we could figure it out the next morning at the train station. Fortunately, we were able to change the ticket at the station and off to Florence we went! ------- Our arrival into Florence was much smoother than Venice as it only took us five minutes or so to walk to the hotel. After a quick nap, we set off to lunch before a walking tour. Lunch at McDonald's was a failure. For the first time at any of the McD's we've been to around the world, they charged for ketchup! Being the cheapo I am, I opted for no ketchup. Turns out, food from there needs ketchup. Our walking tour was centered around the Medici family, which ruled Florence for three centuries. All in all, the tour was fairly average, but it gave us a sense of where everything was including the Duomo, three Medici palaces and the city hall. As our tour wrapped up, we decided to visit the David. It's a must see right? We enjoyed seeing the statue, but probably didn't appreciate all the other art work on show. Amanda and I just aren't art enthusiasts (which is obviously a huge part of Italy's tourism). From there, we bargained in a cheap shop for a suitcase (a lovely Asian woman, made me feel in my element haha. The suitcase was made in China. "Please work," I prayed). Our dinner was in a nice restaurant the hotel suggested. Amanda ordered gnocchi, which was delicious, and the cheese helped me as I accidentally ordered a cheeseless pizza! It was a simple mistake, and truthfully, it was still tasty with great dough and marinara sauce. After, we got the early night we'd been seeking. ----------- On Monday, we took a day tour to Cinque Terre, a beautiful area with five seaside towns on the coast of the Mediterranean. We'd seen pictures before our trip and didn't think we'd have time, but the day tour made it possible. The views are stunning. I would love to know what the first settlers were thinking.  "Eh,  there's some land that could be tough to cultivate. Screw it, there's nothing better to do!" We had gelato in one of the towns (better than our first experience) and then a nice lunch in another (pizza again- this time with cheese, yeehaw!). Shortly after, we went swimming on the beach for a little. I've always loved the water and a short little boat trip between two of the islands hadn't been enough! The bus ride back to Florence provided some excellent views of vineyards and mountain sides. For dinner, we again took the hotel's recommendation, and it was spot on for the second night in a row. The trattoria we ate in gave us a really nice dining experience. The tripadvisor reviews had all suggested the food was good, but it was geared for tourists. Well, good thing I'm a tourist!  We had to wait for a table, but the host gave us prosecco while we waited. The waiter's English was excellent. The food was all very tasty (we shared a caprese salad, vegetable soup and spaghetti bolognese).  The best part was the host. He understood customer service. We talked about how he's visited Houston, he gave us a discount since the hotel referred us and also gave us some chocolates on the way out. It just shows little bits of appreciation, leaves customers with a good feeling. ====== On Tuesday morning, we got a train to Lucca, a town in Tuscany, and made our way to the Airbnb we were staying at with our friend, Ben (a French friend of ours from our time in Singapore who also came in for the wedding).  Here, we realized google maps works without your phone being connected to the internet, talk about a lifesaver! The apartment was inside Lucca's city walls. The town built walls in the 15th century as a means of protection. We met up with Zach and Dana and the rest of their party for lunch near a beautiful church in the center of Lucca. Amanda and I both got bruschetta sandwiches, with the difference here being cheese was melted on the bread and then the tomato topped it off. Yes, that could be considered pizza in my book, and yes, it was delicious. From there, we went with a group from the wedding up to a tower and climbed the steps to get an awesome view of the city. This really is a cool city, and for us, a real respite from the packed tourism areas of Venice and Florence. After strolling back to the apartment, stopping wherever we chose, it was nap time. We met back up with the group for dinner and enjoyed a great evening of food, prosecco and conversation. Traveling is fun, but sharing the experience with others is special. The next day, Ben and I took a nice walk through the city, seeing a street market and just figuring out things as we went. We picked up Amanda for lunch and found a quaint spot on a small street to have pizza and bruschetta. To walk it all off (or at least two bites), we walked through the city and around the city walls. It was just nice and peaceful, and it was fantastic to catch up with Ben. Wednesday night was wedding night. The ceremony was gorgeous, set in a villa overlooking a vineyard. Being a part of a wedding is a blessing in my eyes, as it's a chance to see moments of happiness unlike any others. With only about 50 people or so, the vibe was fantastic. The only downside, towards the middle of the night, I developed a headache. I tried to stick it out, but once 11 o'clock came, that's as much as I could stick around for. Thank goodness the pain subsided shortly after we got back to the apartment. Thursday, we went back to the villa for brunch with the wedding party. Because of the limited amount of people there, it really felt like everyone got to know each other well. Saying goodbye was tough, but we ripped the bandaid off so to say and can look back knowing we had a great experience and met new friends. Next up, train time again, and away to Rome. -------- Walking through Rome is unlike anything I've experienced. You look one way, you have late 19th century buildings, you look the other way, and there's ruins from more than 2,000 years ago. We first got a taste for this by walking from our hotel to dinner in Rome's Jewish Ghetto area. We met up with a friend from our time in Singapore named Lorenzo. He's an Italian, originally from Milan, but has been working in Rome with a documentary production company. Our dinner with Lorenzo and some of his friends was great. The food was nice, but getting to eat with three Italians was the best part. It was cool to hear how they talked to each other, ordered, their passion for the area, etc. Following dinner, Lorenzo played tour guide while walking back to the hotel. He knew so much about the history - very impressive. If someone came to visit me in Houston, I wouldn't be able to do nearly as well. Friday, we started with a walking tour in the morning. It took us from the Spanish Steps over to Saint Peter's Square by the Vatican. The guide pointed out one of the very cool things about Rome, it's a changing city that keeps adding to its history and was never fully abandoned. She showed how in one square, there could be four very different buildings from four different generations with completely different styles. The stand out moment for me on this day was seeing the Pantheon. It's the first domed structure of its type in the world. Incredibly, it is still in extremely good condition 2,000 years later.  The interior is stacked with marble and beautiful tribute areas to two former kings of Rome and Raphael. Truly, this is on the list of most amazing things I've seen in the world. We finished the tour by the Vatican, and of course, you have to be impressed by the size. After people watching for a bit in Saint Peter's Square, we walked back toward the hotel, stopping for lunch.  As we sat down, it started to pour. That felt like a sign that we should take it easy the rest of the day, and so we went back to the hotel and recharged with a nap. For dinner, we met up with Andy and Sierra Clark, two fellow Mizzou grads. They have spent the last year traveling the globe. Truthfully, it is one of the most amazing undertakings. Amanda and I had a hard enough time with two weeks of traveling and organizing, a year seems impossible. It sounds like they've had their trials, but in the end, they've seen things many of us will never get to. Dinner that night was also fun because the manager took a liking to Andy, constantly calling him "Mr. Andrew." Saturday morning, we made our way to the Vatican Museum. The rain hit just as we were standing outside. We tried to wait it out under an awning, but decided to buy a cheap umbrella.  Good thing, because after thinking the rain had passed, down it came again.  Amanda and I squeezed tight under the umbrella - those are the moments traveling brings, a push out of the ordinary. Once inside, we went to the spot where we were going to meet Andy and Sierra, but we couldn't find them and had no way to contact them. We decided to walk into a cafe hoping for wifi and guess who walks in, Andy and Sierra! Maybe miracles do exist inside the Vatican?!? Now that we had our buddies, we made our way through the museum. The place is majestic with artwork from head to toe, literally. In a way, it's a sensory overload. In each square of each room, there's art considered to be some of the best in the history of the world. There's statues, mosaics, busts, paintings, tapestry, ceiling decorations and more. For Amanda and me, the Sisteen Chapel was very impressive, but we didn't feel more blown away than some of the other rooms-it's just incredible. What I struggle with art is, it seems some group has decided what's good and what's not, and now the rest of us have to see it. Like I felt about the David, it's awesome, but why is it better than the sculpture of Hercules in the Vatican? The Sistine Chapel is gorgeous, but why is it so much better than the decorations in the previous three rooms? The one continual truth - what these artists did is remarkable and should be appreciated. From the Vatican, Amanda and I went on a tour that would end at the Colosseum. Unfortunately, the Trevi Fountain is being restored, but we were able to get an idea of how beautiful it is. The Forum area is quite impressive, and then the Colosseum. As a sports fan, of course this is a site to behold. Our stadiums are all built off the example set by the Colosseum. We watched the sunset from a bridge overlooking the structure and then went to dinner. Okay, now time for a dinner description. We'd passed a place each night that seemed to be packed, so we decided to try it. The wait was about thirty minutes, but we could tell this wasn't a place just aimed at tourists. The vibe in the restaurant was really good. I had a glass of prosecco while waiting for the table, and once we got to our table, the meal was worth the wait! Amanda went for an eggplant parmigiana, and I had lasagne. Holy smokes the lasagna. It was the best thing I'd had since the first night in Venice. Seriously, I may not ever order lasagna again because of how good it was. When dessert time came around, we were both full, but hey, this is vacation (plus, we'd walked about 10 miles that day, we'd earned it).  We got the "chocolate salami" - deeeelcious. It was a chocolate fudge with what I believe to be some cookie dough mixed in.  Let's just say, right choice. In the morning, we saw some sites with a local family. My fraternity brother, Jordan, set me up with his cousin, Stefano. Stefano brought along his three kids to show us around the forum area, giving us some great knowledge about the Arch of Titus' Jewish links, and then we also went to a museum's roof to get a birds eye view of Rome. It's a stunning way to see the city from four different directions. From there, we went inside a church, where of course, the decorations are mind blowing - perfect ambiance for the wedding taking place there. By that point, we were very close to the Jewish Ghetto, so Amanda and I said goodbye to Stefano and the kids, and went to Rome's Jewish Museum. The museum did a very nice job showing the roots of the Jews in Rome as well as some modern day aspects. There was a special section to a man who had been Chief Rabbi for about 50 years and passed away earlier this year. For lunch, we stopped in a Kosher hamburger joint called Fonzie. To me, this is the type of place that can succeed as a Kosher place in the U.S.  When you go in, it's not easy to tell it's Kosher. The menu and logo are well designed and trendy. Most of all, the food is really good and reasonably priced. Next, it's time to go to the train station and head to Milan. ----------- By this point in the trip, truthfully, Amanda and I were quite ready to go home. Bouncing from city to city, in and out trains, one hotel to another is fun, but also tiring (yes, it's hard to feel sad for us vacationers, but it's the truth). In Milan, we decided to relax a bit more. Sunday night, we simply went out to dinner and then came back and watched some television. In the morning, we were lucky enough to arrange a meet up with our friend, Chloe. She still lives in Singapore, but was in Milan briefly to watch a Formula 1 race. Our reunion was wonderful. As we'd experienced a couple times on this trip, being able to pick up where you left off with friends is fantastic. We really enjoyed catching up with Chloe and getting updates on Singapore life and the people still there. Of course, it made both of us miss living there, but that's just how it is. Leaving Singapore has been, and always will be tough because of the friends we had to say goodbye to. Enough sap though, getting to see Chloe was the highlight of our Milan visit. After meeting her for breakfast, Amanda and I planned on going on a walking tour. Too bad that like many others expecting the tour, for some reason, no guide showed up. We made the best of the situation, walking with an Australian couple to see a statue of Leonardo Da Vinci, the Galleria shopping area and the Duomo of Milan. This church has one of the most amazing outsides to a building I've seen. Built in gothic style, there seem to be steeples everywhere. From there, we walked around a bit before grabbing a quick lunch at McDonald's. My bad feeling from our first experience in Florence was quickly dissolved as this one had far better service. Yes, I gave in and paid for ketchup - just had to do it. One thing definitely sticking out about Milan, the fashion. Easily, this is the best dressed city I've seen. All the men seemed to wear these fantastic suits. In all reality, I'm glad my life doesn't require suits on a daily basis, but man, it's fun to think about. We got on the train to head out to the airport area. The hotel we were staying at for the night (we had a 6:45  AM flight the next day and the airport isn't close to Milan's center) was about 10 minutes drive from the airport in a small town. What was great is they offered an included car service to get us to and from the airport. For dinner, we found a pizzeria a short walk (along a little farm road, because that's how Amanda and I do) from the hotel. It was very nice and a good final meal in Italy. We went back to the hotel and went to sleep early. That folks, wraps up our Italian journey. Six cities  in 13 days. Final notes: - I love pizza. It's always been my favorite food, and we had pizza 8 times on the trip. The Italian pizza normally has a thin crust, but one of my favorites came in Milan where the restaurant served big slices with a thick crust and plenty of cheese. - Cheese, oh cheese. In addition to pizza, we had three or four caprese salads with delicious mozzarella. It's funny to think that only four years ago, I never had cold cheese. - In some restaurants, our service was excellent, in others we were clearly a nuisance to the staff's very important lives. It was kind of amazing how drastically different some restaurant people were from city to city. Rome's waiters clearly take advantage of not working for tips. - "Beware pickpockets." That message came up every time we bought train tickets. Apparently, it's a pretty big issue. Fortunately, traveling together, Amanda and I are pretty good about looking out for each other. One thing I hated in the train station were people hanging out by the ticket stalls trying to "help." These people are clearly trying to get a tip, or maybe have something else going on to take advantage of tourists. Why isn't there more security staff to keep these people out of the station? - Cigarettes weren't nearly as bad as I'd expected. Yes, people have no problem letting their puffs fly right near your face, but it didn't seem as prevalent as I thought it would. Plus, my expectations were for the hotel rooms to all stink from the smoke, but none did. - We reached Fitbit levels we've never seen before! Amanda and I walked an average of 18,000 steps a day (roughly 9 miles or so). Not sure my body was quite ready for it, as I got blisters on two of my toes, and by the end, my ankles could feel it as well. We just pushed on through though. Come on, had to offset all that pizza! - Last but not least, the name of this blog, selfie sticks. We haven't been in intense tourist areas in a while, because apparently the sale of cheap selfie sticks are everywhere. At every tourist site, men (apparently from Bangladesh a friend said) sell the cheaply made selfie sticks to the all too willing customers. Everywhere you turn, "Selfie stick? Selfie stick, sir?" I get it, everyone needs to make a living, but it can really take away from the trying to let a site sink in. Alright, enough rabble rabble - a great trip overall with lots of friends, food and experiences. Would I have planned a few things better? Absolutely, but that's how traveling goes. Sometimes, the most memorable parts of trips are when things go wrong. Best to just enjoy, ciao!