Another VERY long post - enjoy!

Italy

Venice

Our first experience of Italy was Venice. All you ever hear about Venice is how fantastic it is, but I have absolutely no idea why. Yes, the photos of it are very pretty, but they don’t show you several things about the place – it smells (the water in the canals stinks in some places), it is full of Gypsies trying to trick you out of your money in various different ways, and it has absolutely no soul whatsoever – it is just a tourist city and nothing more. I would hate to be there in summer when it is so crowded you can’t move – and the smell would be much worse, too.

Don’t get me wrong – it is very pretty and I did enjoy the Gondola ride, but its not all its cracked up to be, that’s for sure.

This is the very famous ‘Bridge of Sighs.’ The buildings around it are being cleaned and restored – hence the big blue plastic covers. The bridge got its name because prisoners walked across it when transferred between prison buildings and, as they got a rare glimpse through the small window of the beauty of Venice, they let out a sigh, “ahhhhhhh.”

Rome

After Venice we moved on to Rome – Rome was 10 times more enjoyable at least, but you have to understand that Romans are crazy. Everything is so absolutely disorganized. Nothing makes any sense, and this is typified in the way they drive – it is absolute madness. It is a completely the opposite to the strict orderliness of Germany.

The first thing we did in Rome is get Gelato, of course. Yum… drool…

Then we went and checked out the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built as a temple to all the Roman gods, but was then transformed into a Church in the early days of Christianity – it is still used occasionally today for weddings.

I've somehow misplaced the photo - I'll show you later. Oops

On our way back to the hotel we did a scenic drive through the famous sites by night.

The next morning the first thing we did was leave the country … and go into the Vatican. The Vatican was an experience, but I didn’t really enjoy it (surprise, surprise). Everything in it is completely overdone.

The roof of the Sistine Chapel is no exception.

But the outside of St Peter’s isn’t too bad.

After the Vatican we went on a guided walking tour (and it absolutely poured down with rain – the only time we have been rained on so far in the trip) through the ruins of the Roman Forum (including where Julius Caesar was killed and where he was cremated)

And the Coliseum.

They have replaced some of the floor of the Coliseum so you can imagine how it would have looked when it was still in use, but they have kept much of the “behind the scenes” structures still in place as well.

Then we had free time to explore the city and we decided to hit the Trevi Fountain.

This photo has also gone slightly missing - dont worry it is still safe and sound on the computer.

And the Spanish Steps

And the Monastery of the Cuppacine Monks. The Cuppacine Monks were a weird bunch – they bought back some dirt from the Holy Land to bury there dead in, but they quickly ran out of room so they decided to dig them back up again (so far not too strange), but when they got out all the bones and were wondering what to do with them, this is what they decided on!

I didn’t take these photos (you weren’t allowed to) so we downloaded them (yay, for google pictures) – sorry about the quality, but at least you can see what we mean. We have postcards which are better quality so you can see them when we get home if you want to.

Florence

Florence is the capital of the Italian region of Toscana (or Tuscany for us English speakers). It is beautiful and, unlike Venice, still has soul and was quite an enjoyable place to be. We went on a walking tour around the town centre.

This is a Catholic Church designed by a Jew - notice the Star of David

There are some very famous people associated with Florence, including Da Vinci

Also very interesting is this chapel – originally it was a Roman temple, and (here is the interesting part) it is well over 1,000 years old!

Right next to it is this Church – it is the 4^th largest Church in the world (or in Europe, I can’t remember – I’ll have to look it up later), it was also the first Church in Europe with a dome in it (I am sure of that part), this is the dome that St Peter’s in Rome is based on, and it took over 100 years (and 5 architects) to finish it. Its pretty impressive, but when you go inside it is even more impressive – unlike every other Cathedral we have seen, it is gorgeously simple inside. That is, except the roof of the dome – which is very, very impressive, but the photos don’t really show just how impressive.

Switzerland

Switzerland is exactly as advertised – lots of mountains, stunningly beautiful, breathtakingly cold, and superbly organized and orderly. We love it! None of the craziness and nonsense of Italy here – yay, everything makes sense again! And in Lucerne they speak the sensible language of German. The only issue with Switzerland is that it is a very independent country and they do things differently to the rest of Europe – including having different money. Some of the shops will accept Euros, though, which made things easier.

Just look how pretty everything is.

Of course, you know that Switzerland is famous for three things.

Swiss Watches

Swiss Army Knives

And Swiss Chocolates – but you can’t see a photo of this because I ate it all J

The hotel we were staying in was interesting, too. Up until 1998 it was the prison. Yes, a prison. We spent the night in a Swiss prison cell, and with the exception of the addition of a shower (yay, a shower- the one in the Florence had no hot water) and a wall around the shower and toilet it was hardly any different to the original prison cell. So Rob, very proudly, told Mum that I had spent the night in a Swiss prison cell (but didn’t tell her that he had as well).