A friend suggested to me the other day that people following my travel blogs may think i'm still in Italy seeing as I haven't posted an updated blog in over 3.5 months. Belated apologies for this but to fill you in on my long absence from my blog, since my return my days have consisted of; work, sleep, seeing friends and family and more work. My life can be described as back to the boring mundane pre travelling era. To be honest, this travelling malarkey feels like a whole distant dream that I once lived. But for those still interested here are the much anticipated (don't kid yourself Ames) Italian blog posts, there will be 4 in total :)
Leaving Salzburg drew to an end stage one of mine and Jens European adventure, while at the same time starting leg 2; Italy. Somewhere we had both wanted to visit for a long time, somewhere we had penciled in 2 weeks of our travels for to explore this country. On our train journey somewhere between Salzburg and Padova, we traveled through a snow storm! Snapping away with my camera, trying out different settings to try and capture some of the nicest snow covered scenery I have witnessed kept me entertained. When our train became stationary at a random station I was itching to get out and play in it! We opted not too because well knowing our luck the train would have left without us. In hindsight we wish we did as we were stationed at this station for a good 30-40 minutes.
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| Snow pretty |
Upon arrival into Padova, our base for the next 5 nights, we found our b&b. Welcomed by the host, shown our room and given a detailed history of the area, we were tired but excited. By now we were hungry so ventured out for pizza then called it a night. The following day still lethargic from the long day of travel the day previous we decided to take it easy. This meant a day exploring the city of Padova. Map in hand we just set out in search of all the places of interest that our host had circled for us. Well that was until I lost our map, meaning we were wandering around without a clue where we actually were haha. Heavy rain and sore blisters made this adventure all the more interesting. We made it back safely to our b&b though so alls good :)
Day 28 of our travels took us to Venice, a half hour train ride from Padova. Despite constant rain all day I really enjoyed Venice. For once I enjoyed being lost, not knowing which street or canal we were following. We walked our way through this maze city for hours, still happy despite raining. We found a lovely little restaurant called Ginos to eat in. A menu stating which dishes were vegetarian pleased Jen while free wifi pleased me. Infact we ate here for both dinner and lunch :) No gondulas were experienced by us due to the expense; however with the downpour of rain we wouldn't have enjoyed it anyways. Instead we enjoyed wandering inside souvenir shops, found some gifts for friends and just enjoyed the vibe of this unique city. Jen was also on a mission to find some new shoes seeing as hers had fallen apart. This was a success and the new pair lasted the whole remainder of the trip :)
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| Venice was lovely even in the rain |
Still raining, we were still determined to explore. Day 29 saw us board another train, this time to Verona. Verona was also a very nice day trip. lots to experience including a lovely waterfall situated next to a small amphitheatre; marble covered streets which although looked impressive, weren't practical in the rain causing slipping; Castelvecchio Castle and its bridge over the river and Julietts balcony to name a few.
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| Verona |
Finally on our fourth day in Italy the sun decided to make an appearance :) Italy was where I planned on topping my tan up so out came the shorts :) We spent much of the day sunbathing in Italy's largest square Prato delle Valle. This area was buzzing with different sports; tennis for the youngsters, zumba, an organised pink run (presumably like our race for life); music, dogs, couples, street sellers, etc. The vibe was just lovely :) We also ate at a restaurant where the served food was most likely an expensive microwave meal on our behalf. Before leaving we decided it would be a good idea to use their free loo. Jen went first and on her return informed me it was literally a hole in the ground. I decided to pass on experiencing this and waited until return to the b&b haha.
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| The tractor reminded of me home! |
The first stage of my trip to Italy was wet (stupid rain), busy but enjoyable and from what I have seen of Italy soo far, I like it :)
Amester x
