May 2007

Venice, the gone to be city which is sinking by 30cm each century. Though floodgate had been built, it's not a permanent solution. Thank god that i'm still able to see this charming city in this century. Before we reached Venice, we stopped by the balcony where Romeo looked for Juliet. It was believed that if you touched the right breast of Juliet's statute, you will have a good love life. The walls are guled with bubble gum written with mushy love notes.

At night, we have a sumo wrestling competition which is so funny coz the participants have to dress up in big siyed rubber jacket. once u are hit down, it's difficult to get up by yourself. It's like a turtle overturn and waving its legs to get up. haha

One whole day of walking under the intense sun in Roma is such a torture that so much that i want to give up. It had such a rich history that one day is not enough. We went to the vatican city, the smallest country in the world early in the morning. This is also where the pope speak and wave to the people from the balcony we often seen in TV. The pope who passed away in 2005 was buried in St Paul. Inside Vatican, the one that worth a look is the Sistine chapel. After this, we went for a historical tour on the empire of Julian Caser and Colosseum.

there is so much to write about Roma that i can't possibly write it all out..
go borrow books on that.

All roads lead to Rome and here we are now!
How should i describe roma? It's part of Italy but the sights are completely different from Florence. Florence is like an old town in a countryside. Roma is citylike filled with graffiti but clattered with ruins. In some way, they do have smiliaries. When the pope saw how talented Michael Angelo and Leonard Da Vinci were, he invited them to build Roma. Michael last piece of work before he passed away was the Vatican City. He spent 7 years to build it but didn't have a chance to complete it which is a bit of a regret for us. On the way to Roma, we stopped by San Gimignamo. Smiliar to Florence except smaller. It's also has more winery shops as it's near the vineyards. In general, the wine in Italy is cheap if it's produced locally. One bottle of red only costs ard 4 euro. Gan Bei! At night, we have a walking tour to the Trevi Fountain, the amazing pantheon and pizza navona.

People in Florence are very artistic. on the streets, musicians, painters and street performance are everywhere! one thing to be aware is that italians are very 'warming'. they will come over to hug and kiss u even u have no idea who they are. unfortunately we are one of the victim. some of the attractions that we have visited are the pizza della signoria and santa croce. i climbed up 463 steps in the duomo to get an birdeye view of florence. it was worth the climb. the interior roof of the cathedral was painted and the cathedral was lit up by the stained glasses. We also went up the hill to see the replica of David bz Michael Angelo. He took 9 ÿears to complete the statue!

We reached Florence where artists like Leonardo Da Vinci, Michael Angelo, Botticelli have built this city into an arty hub. This is also the home for the statue David. Theÿ have indeed done an excellent job! On the way to Florence, we visited the leaning Pisa. it's 15.5m. each year, the pisa will move by a cm instead of 3 inches before the rescuing project took place. as time ïs tight, we didn't manage to climb up. So disappointing! Italian loves their gold and leather and i love their Gelato. some cafes have more than 20 favours to choose from! If you are in italy, be sure to try their Gelato, pizza, pasta and florentine. Florentine is a big slice of beef weighing at least 500g which they will drain away the blood before grilling it. Excellent taste!

After dinner, we went to town for an english 'Karaoke' sesssion. there is only öne hall and one man band. You will sing and dance on the stage to heat up the dance floor. some really sucks but thank goodness our 2 korean friends saved the night. good job, guys!