Been Here. Done This.: italy

51 Minutes in Milan

On our way back from Rome we changed trains in Milan. We had a short layover there. 51 minutes, to be exact. So what do you do with 51 minutes in Milan?

Check out the street vendors outside of the train station.

Then buy a bag of dried kiwi for less than three Euros.

Attempt to find gelato. Unfortunately all we could find was two McDonald's a block apart from each other. Sad day.

Then finally, admire the beautiful train station.

I also spent about 10 minutes buying one postcard, because I paid with a 20, but only got a five and change back. I tried to explain, using sign language, that I needed more change. We eventually figured it out. All and all I enjoyed Milan, or at least the train station!

P.S. 8 days until I head back to the U.S.A.

Sign of the U.S.

Just a little post about the slightly American invasion of Italy.

You Know You Are in Rome When...

Pasta and Gelato

You Wonder If You are in the U.S. When...

A McDonald's and an Extra Large clothing store

P.S. The lovely chica over at Wearing Mascara is hosting a giveaway. Go ahead and enter (or don't so that I can win and replace my nearly non-existent supply of makeup)!

Rome: Day II

After a good night's sleep we enjoyed our complimentary breakfast and checked out of the hotel. We began to walk back into the heart of Rome.

Our $80 hotel room, which included breakfast, but did have a shared bathroom.

At this point there were a few random rain drops falling, but over the course of an hour this progressed into huge fat rain drops. The rain was still coming down when we boarded the train, and for all I know, it is still raining in Rome. So this really put a damper on the day. This is what we saw and did, in spite of the rain.

Though you can't tell from this picture there was rain coming in the building.

Jumping photos in the rain.

While we were temporarily lost a very nice Israeli guy stopped to help use. After giving us directions he told us that "to trust is good, but not to trust is even better!" He was referring to the crowds at the big sights. I found it ironic though, because we were trusting his directions, which turned out to be legitimate.

Rome: Day I

So a few weeks ago I decided that I really needed to get out of Switzerland. Don't get me wrong, I love the land of the Swiss, but there are many cool European cities that I need to visit. Last weekend that city was Rome.

We left Geneva on Friday night and boarded the overnight train. We were both on the top bunk of a 6 bunk room. It wasn't as bad as expected, until I realized that our "roommates" had moved the ladder in the middle of the night. I was trapped, which was not as dramatic as it could of been. I consumed just enough water to not die of thirst and just enough not to need to leave my bed.

Here is my friend on the right and our Canadian "roommate" on the left, sitting under my bunk.

After arriving at 9 a.m. the next day we located our hotel, dropped off our bags, and proceeded to walk around for the next 12 hours. We stop for lunch, dinner, and many photo opportunities. Here is what I saw and ate: