My third Entry in the blog series
dynam3's Road to Europe
Sorry this blog is really late, Ive been a bit preoccupied with school. Hopefully you guys are still interested.
Servus Austria *enter the sound of music Soundtrack*
As me, my family and the Tour enter the borders of Austria, you can already see how beautiful the countryside is, the mountains and lakes are just breathtaking. This country is my idea of a beautiful winter paradise.
We than arrive in Innsbruck, a quiet little town where people are very friendly and nice. We than viewed the glorious golden roof and we marvelled at that for a little while, after that we went to the famous Swarovski shop where Austria's famous Crystals and jewellery are there, I think my mother and sister appreciated it more than me. After that we did a little bit of shopping and saw some good souvenirs like for example there was a shirt say "no Kangaroos in Austria", LOL *I see what you did there*
In the Afternoon we went for a walk along the normal streets of Austria where the mountain side was in view, we soaked up as much of the atmosphere as we could and called it a day.
Overall Austria, even though I didn't spend much time in Austria, it still was a great experience and a relaxation stop from the busy trip.
Tschuess Austria
Buongiorno Italy *enter the Godfather Theme*
Venice
The First Destination in Italy was Venice, I was really looking forward to Venice since Assassins Creed 2 is set there, looking at Assassins Creed 2's gameplay Ubisoft were spot on, on recrating Venice for the game.
Ok to enter the City, we had to ditch our tour bus, and go on a Taxi boat for obvious reasons being...that there are no roads in Venice. *where were going we don't need roads*
We all than arrived at St Marks Square overlooking St Marks Basilica which was a church we went in to have a look, it looked pretty good for 1000 years old. We than crossed a number of bridges across the canals of Venice. We arrived at a Glass blowing factory and had a demonstration. The man who did the demonstration made Glass blowing look easy.
After we felt hungry and craved some traditional Italian Pizza, we ordered 2 pizzas, Magarita and Procuutto pizza and some drinks. And then that infamous Bill came, and you all know how much that was. 80 Euros = $160 AU. Rip!!!!!!
In Venice there is like an infestation of pigeons, you hold your arm up, and no kidding at least 3 pigeons will land on you. After we killed some time by looking at the hundreds of stalls and shops flooding the square, the plan for the afternoon was a peaceful authentic Italian Gondola ride.
The Gondola ride was the highlight for the Venice, my family went in the same Gondola and we all drank champagne. We expected a peaceful ride, but the thing is the Gondolier a very friendly man named Alberto was the most talkative Italian we've seen. Making conversation with the other Gondoliers like we weren't on board, It didn't bother me I actually liked it.
Rome
The Next day it was off to Rome the most powerful city in Europe. As we entered the big gates of Rome, you could already imagine this what this place would of been like 1000s of years before.
The first historical place was the Spanish steps which we was like a marathon going up, the place was just crowded with tourists since it was summer in Europe. Next we saw the Spectacular Fountain Di Trevi, it's hard to believe this was done 1000s of years ago. It looked amazing. The fountain is famous for throwing coins in the water, 1 coin you will come back to Rome, 2 coins you will find love, 3 coins you get divorced. I threw 4 coins in for lols. There are a lot of fountains in Rome, each of them unique and breathtaking.
Next we went and saw the Panthanon, there was a service being held so we couldn't go in. No matter, the outside was so much more awesome. For the rest of the day we walked around and soaked up the atmosphere and history of Rome and ended it off with a Gelato.
The Next day in Rome we had a big agenda, first stop the Tivoli gardens, the gardens of Rome were so clean and peaceful, and it wasn't crowded so that was great.
We than headed to St Peters square in the Vatican, Where we were lucky enough to hear the Popes address, That was a great experience, he also very surprisingly at the end of the speech singled my family out saying "And I'd like to welcome the family all the way from Australia who could join us today". My family and I were the only ones cheering. No jokes.
After the Vatican we went to the highlight of Italy, the Magnificent Colosseum in all its glory. Words can't explain how awesome that was. Just imagining the Gladiators and games that took place there made me anxious. Inside and out was amazing, I felt like watching Gladiator so badly then. We also saw the arc of Constantine, but the Colosseum stole the show.
We than ended our last night in Rome, with our whole tour in a famous authentic Italian restraint with Entertainment of Opera singers.
The Next day we had half a day in Rome left, we entered the Vatican Museum which was great with the ornate ceilings and tapestries on the wall. The Sisteen chapel followed, I was blown away by this place. Michelangelo is truly a genius painting every detail on the wall with some hidden message or meaning. We couldn't take photos so that was a bummer. It was a beyond a masterpiece I thought, it felt very angelic and majestic. The most famous one was in the middle of the ceiling, the one with god touching a man with his finger. later than we Went in St peters Basilica which was just wow, I do not know how back than they built this religious monument it was just wow., It was nice to end of Rome with this.
Florence
Later that day we passed The Florence which was just beautiful. I and my mother climbed the thousands of stairs to the bell tower where we had a glimpse of the beauty of Florence. We than Went shopping for the rest of the day.
Pisa
We started the next day by heading off to Pisa. It was just full of junk stalls and cheaply made Italian stuff probably from China. Of course we went and saw the Leaning tower of Pisa and wow, Someone had too much Gelato building it. It was a great sight to see, I loved it. And that was the end of Italy.
Overall Italy was the Best Country of Europe. I had a fantastic time with my tour. It was the highlight of my trip and will always remember it. I recommend everyone to go to Italy, the beauty. History and awesomeness is just such a great experience.
Arrivederci Italy, End part 3
Next: Switzerland + France
Preveious parts