Mambo Italiano

It has been a very, very long few days.

It took two entire days of train rides (11 hours one day, 9 hours the next, including train station time) to get to Florence. While I did meet a few people and have a couple of nice chats on the way, my time was filled largely with nothing. I did some thinking, and I now think I have the rest of my book mapped out (by the way, when I talk about writing a book, I mean a novel I'd already been working on before I left. I am not writing a memoir about my travels). I was somewhat stuck as to where I wanted it to go, and now I think I have it figured out. I also listed to my iPod until it died, and read about half of my last book. Still, I tried not to gobble the whole thing up, so I ended up sitting around twiddling my thumbs for around ten hours total. Then last night after the train pulled into Florence central (around 645), I had a felt-much-longer-than-it-really-was three mile hike to my hostel. I was in by 830, and I crashed shortly thereafter.

Today I ate a meager breakfast, because that's what they served at the hostel. By meager I mean two pieces of bread, coffee, and some OJ. Then I did laundry (I'd run out of clean and even sorta clean clothes). When that was finished, I wandered in the general direction of town, getting there about an hour and a half later. Florence is very beautiful; it is reminiscent of Paris in design, but the colors and roofs are wholly Mediterranean. I had heard, way back in London, that Italians were aggressive, and because of that, the guy I was talking to didn't enjoy Italy all that much. I don't know that it's true as a rule, but I have come across a variety of self-absorbed people not able to share the tiny sidewalks along the streets here. It wasn't long before I was in a rather foul mood.

It was at that point that I realized that I hadn't had a real meal in several days. In fact, for the last two days all I've had is breakfast. So I stopped at a McDonalds's and tried this burger that I think is only found in Europe; it is something like a Big Boy, but on a delicious type of bread. I think Arby's uses the same bread for their chicken sandwhich things. Anyway, after that I went and got a Belgium Waffle. My stomach didn't quite know what to do with all the calories, but I'm feeling much better now.

My sightseeing in Florence was somewhat abbreviated. I saw the Ponte Vecchio, which is a bridge that feels like a city street packed with all types of ridiculously expensive jewlery. I also saw the Duomo, an incredible cathedral with the the largest dome in the world constructed without scaffolding. Finally, I went to the Galleria dell'Accademia, which houses Michelangelo's David. Now THAT was fantastic. I'm not a huge sculpture fan, but this piece was simly exquisite.

And that's it. Florence is really just one large sprawling museum, work of art, and tourist trap. The one big thing here that I missed was the Uffizi, which is an art museum that seems like it's a lot like the Louvre; big and focusing on renaissance art. So for me, that isn't a huge loss.

Tomorrow, I can head to Rome whenever I feel like it because it's only a three hour train ride (hallelujah), so I'll probably just sleep till I wake up, eat, shower, and hike over to the train station (about an hour). I'll get to Rome in the early afternoon, go to whatever place I'm staying in, and stay there. I have an idea of buying a fresh baguette, some cheese, and an entire bottle of wine and sitting around in a hotel room all night. I know I haven't actually been doing anything really strenuous until last night and today, but I just feel like it.

I am starting to hit my wall. In the beginning and middle of the trip, my legs and feet would be sore by the end of the day but I'd be fine the next morning. Now, after only a couple hours of walking my legs and feet start to complain, and one of my toes on my right foot is yelling at me. Also, I think I have just about hit my limit for solitude. I definitely have a big loner streak, and so at the beginning of the trip it was great, then fine, then tolerable. But now I find myself looking at my watch every hour or so to see what day it is, because every day brings me closer to home and companionship. Don't get me wrong, this trip has been fantastic, I can't wait to get to Rome, and I feel like I have learned and grown a lot, but I'm done now. Five weeks is probably all I could handle by myself.

I have something of a game plan for Rome. I plan on devoting one entire day to the Vatican and it's museums (it houses the Sistene Chapel!!), and perhaps at least a half day to the Roman Colloseum and Forum. I also want to take a little half-day trip out to Pompeii. Aside from that, I don't really know. That will probably take up all of Thursday and Friday, but that leaves Saturday up in the air. So I'll probably do everything else (the Spanish Steps, non-vatican museums, etc.) on Saturday. Or I may switch up the order of those days and save something for last, I don't know.

Ok well I'm running out of time on the internet, and I have at least an hour's trek before I get back. It's not even five yet, but it feels much later to me. I'll be back on here perhaps Thursday or Friday with my first impressions on Rome, and then definitely again Saturday night with my very last blog entry. That'll be a long one.

See you soon!

-Swag