Perspectives

Sorry for the delay between posts, I have a great excuse…

I have been travelling for a week through Rome, Florence, Milan and then back to Venice (its alright for some isn’t it?).

However, instead of writing a post for each city, a combination of the three seems easiest, quickest and more interesting for both me and you. This may still turn into a lengthy post though.

So here it is.

What I have learnt from my past seven days is that you can never take enough pictures, I am too invested in using Snapchat location filters and that travelling puts everything into perspective.

It was important for me, a relative newby to Italy (despite my time in Venice), to see the “main sites” of each city.

I have always wanted to go to Rome for all its history and it was our first stop. It was the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and Vatican City which were on my to do list. They just had to be done.

A quick detour sentence on each of these sites seems pertinent at this point.

Despite some initial disappointment not to be surrounded by real life gladiators, the Colosseum was perfect for a historian. A slight anticlimax not being able to see it in its full glory but definitely worth the wander over if you can cope with the hundreds of other people who are also vying to see it.

The Trevi Fountain too is incredibly busy and again, it comes highly recommended (by me). Even with its popularity, there was still enough room for me to squeeze through to throw a coin over my shoulder and make a wish. It hasn’t come true just yet but I am giving it time. Its definitely worth a shot.

The final must see was Vatican City, which offers great views if you are brave enough to climb the dome of St Peter’s. Fears of heights aside, it is worth the leg workout, especially if you are looking for a new profile picture…

Whilst there were numerous other sites we explored on our seemingly non-stop tour (the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps and so on), it is impossible to delve into detail for them all. But you can definitely take my word for the fact that there is enough in Rome to keep you busy for a good few days.

I don’t like to brag but in Rome alone, the pedometer counted over 20 miles worth of steps. That nearly qualifies me as an athlete.

The second stop was Florence – the city that I knew least about before arriving but it was still on my hit list.

Highlights of this particular stop included the “Create-Your-Own” Magnum shop, the Duomo in the centre as well as Piazzale Michelangelo.

There was never any doubt that some form of food would feature in this blog post and the Magnum shop has delivered. Although pretty self-explanatory, it is a must try. There are other stores in places around Italy (including Venice too actually), but sitting eating an ice cream of my own creation next to the Florentine Duomo was a 10/10 experience.

The Duomo itself isn’t too bad either I guess… Although the outside is very different to what is in it! (You’ll see what I mean if you go).

A visit to the Piazzale Michelangelo is the St Peter’s dome equivalent but just in Florence. The corner spot with the best angles has to be fought for but the panoramic views do not get much better.

Finally, it was on to Milan. The last stop. By this point, I was starting to long for my Venice home. As fun as it is to inundate your Snapchat friends with the latest location filter from each city, its also quite exhausting.

To make it a hat trick for panoramic views the Milan Duomo was the place to go. Walking across the cathedral roof was incredibly liberating, even if a little slippy and not ideally designed for a two-way flow of human traffic.

Of course, being in one of the fashion capitals, a bit of shopping never hurt anybody. The Vittor Emannuele centre is great for browsing. Unfortunately, a little out of my price range with Prada, Gucci and Louis Voutton stores but fun to window shop in none the less. Sticking to Milan’s ZARA and chocolate shops was the way forward for me.

Monumental cemetery, Sempione Park and Sforza Castle should also be  on your horizon if you are soon to be in Milan. It is not all about clothes you know.

Whilst that concludes my whistle stop run through of highlights from a six night travel excursion, there is a massive lesson that I learnt. Namely, it made me miss Venice more than I thought it would. It reaffirmed my love for my temporary home city and although I loved being on the move, it is great to be back.

My next post will be a unique one for me, I am hoping to just do a photo collection for each city, which should give you a break from having to trawl through all my hastily put together stories. It may not be of interest to some of you but I have to make my constant picture taking worth while somehow.