We left at 8 am as usual. The journey to Venezia is 4 hours long. We must use a water taxi to be in Venezia. First, we went to the glass factory. Actually it’s more like home industry. They make products by blowing the glass and use the tools in conventional way. Maybe it’s the reason for the expensive price. They sell a mirror for 9,100 EUR! If I had that kind of mirror, I will stare at my mirror all the time. My mom bought me a half moon shaped necklace for 15 EUR. It looks white at first but then it turns yellow under the light.

After that we went to McDonalds for lunch. I dunno about this island. If you heard about McDonalds, then you’d think about the English speaking guys behind the counter, rite? Well, not in this city. It was so hard to explain to him what we wanted to order. Finished the lunch, we then went for a gondola ride. If you watched Boys Over Flowers drama, then you must be familiar with the scene where JanDi broke up with JunPyo and cried on the boat. That one was taken in Macau, the imitation of the original one in Venezia. I thought it’s gonna be romantic but it’s not. Perhaps it’s because our driver didn’t sing. Instead he chatted with another driver from the nearest boat. When we asked why, he said the he’d sing for a couple. The view was not interesting either. The scene from Madonna – Like a virgin MV was a lot better. It’s a very short journey and cost us 25 EUR per person. You may say that one time ride in your whole life is enough.




 

We didn’t have much time left for shopping after that. There were a lot of stores selling famous Italian designers like Gucci and Prada. Since there’s no discount, I didn’t even dare to step in. So don’t ask about Louis Vitton and Chanel, I never heard those two brands were on sale ever. I only went to Puma and bought shoes. It was nice but eventually I had to give it to my mom. Her shoes were not comfortable at all so in order to survive the two weeks journey, she had to wear mine.

Around 7 pm, we went to hotel and stayed the night there.

We departed from hotel at 8 am. It took 4 hours bus ride to reach Pisa. Pisa is a city located in Tuscani province. I bet you’ve heard story about Pinoccio, yep it is from Tuscani also, specifically Firenze. Every two hours the bus has to stop so the driver and passengers can go to restroom and stretch their bodies. I bought a cup of coffee because I was too sleepy. I also want to taste different coffee while in Italy. You know that most of coffee mix name comes from Italy such as cappuccino, macchiato, espresso, etc.

Around noon, we arrived in Prato, a small village near Pisa. We had lunch there. The restaurant owners were very nice. Unfortunately the food wasn’t that nice. The spaghetti was too bland. All you can taste was just tomato flavor. And the pizza was too thick. There were two interesting statues standing near the table. It is not recommended to observe these statues while eating. However, it is a good spot to take pictures. The picture at the left reminds me of a fanart at DC Minho (picture at the right). LOL

Around 1 pm we arrived at Pisa. I went there last winter. Nothing has changed except the hot weather. I didn’t go up either this time because I didn’t have time. There was a long queue and the number of people to climb the stairs at the same time was limited due to safety reason. We only take pictures here and there with all poses that we can think of, for example leaning over the Pisa, touching the top of the tower with your finger, pushing it back so it won’t fall, etc. After that we wandered around the souvenirs shops. I bought some items, unnecessary things actually. But hell, I’m on summer vacation so it’s okay to spend a little bit money more. Feeling tired, we sat down on the grass with Pisa view while waiting for other people in the group. Some pictures:

Before going to the hotel in Prato, we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. The taste was better than the one we had for lunch. And there’s also fried egg, everyone’s favorite. About 7 pm we checked in at Prato hotel.  I got bad news as the internet was not free. Still, I bought the 3 euro voucher for 2 hours online time. Robber! After getting shower and answering some emails, I went to bed.

Before checking out of Morgana Hotel, I went for a walk. I found a nice store which sells football t-shirts and accessories. I bought Lazio scarf because it’s blue^^. At Termini Station, I checked train schedule to Fumicino Airport. The nearest schedule was 11.52 pm so I went to ticket machine to buy one. It’s in Italian and I didn’t understand any single word. I wanted to ask to a guy who helped two ladies standing next to me. But then..  I changed my mind because afterward that guy asked for a tip. Geez… how could he do that? Luckily I found the English mode machine and bought the ticket from there. I arrived at the airport at 12.30 and waited for my family. The plane was delayed and estimated to arrive around 2 pm. While waiting there were two interesting events happened right in front my eyes. First, a guy arrived at the gate and jumped to another guy who’s waiting for him. Real jump, like when you haven’t seen your lover for a long time and then you ran and threw yourself to him. Second one, a guy also, screamed and shouted like crazy man. Then an ambulance came and two guys ran holding stretched bed. A half hour later they came out with that crazy guy calm already. And I also met and chatted with two Philippines ladies who live in Boston.

Finally I met my family and others who joined a tour around Europe. There were 35 people in total including the tour leader. We took a bus to go around Rome. First stop is St. Pieter Basilica in Vatican City. It was awesome! It’s even more fascinating than the views in Angels and Demons. I didn’t spend much time outside because of hot weather. It’s alright since the architecture and the paintings inside are also interesting. Some pictures:

Next stop is Coloseum. My sister wanted to take pictures with gladiators there but only two were found at the location. You know the scarcity law rite, less supply, high demand yada yada. Yup, it’s getting expensive. Usually it was 1 EUR per person but now it’s 2 EUR. She canceled her plan to take pictures together. I reminded her that she’s gonna regret her decision. When she finally decided to take the price, the time was up and we had to head back to the bus.

After that we went to Trevi Fountain. It’s huge pool which functions as wishing well. So you can throw three coins and cast your three wishes afterwards. Stand with your back to the pool, hold the coins with your right hand and throw them over your left shoulder. Usually one of your wishes is about return back to Europe, particularly Italy. Near the fountain there were some souvenir shops. I bought some keychains and fridge magnets for friends and big sis.

Day 2 was officially over when we arrived at the Ibis Roma hotel. After getting shower, I went to bed and slept peacefully.