VENEZIA ... ancora!

Well, Friday, Courtney and I decided to go to Venice again. I had a credit for going there again from the last time we went, which was during Carnevale. Anyway, it was still packed, but not nearly as packed as the day we went to Carnevale. At least, this time, we could see our feet when we were walking. And it was ridiculously nice weather. I didnt even need really the sweater and jacket I wore, and most people were just chilling by the piers. Anyway, heres some more pics, and hope you enjoy.
(1) Me on some random bridge with the gondollas in the background. (2) Another view of the hundreds of boats and gondollas throughout the city. (3) Another shot of the canals. (4) The people here know how to make some really pretty terraces and balconies, but I think all Italians in Italy know how to do that. (5) Statue in one of the churches we went in. My favorite thing in Italy besides the architecture, then the landscape, are the statues. (5) This is an altar inside the museum we went in. It actually used to be a church - I think - then a school and now a museum.

...FYI...

So I found out yesterday that we sprang forward an hour on Sunday. I found this out in the afternoon after I had already been functioning through the day an hour behind. Anyway, there is 7 hours difference between me and you guys again. Miss you all and ciaò!

!!!FIRENZE!!!

Florence ... absolutely, my favorite place that I have been to since I have been in Italy. The buildings are incredible and the artwork is amazing and the city is not too big and not too small to get around in. I definitely want to go back here again before I leave. Anyway, here are the pictures: 1) This is Il Duomo of Florence. This church is absolutely huge that the only want to get an entire picture of it is to buy an aerial photo that they sell in the shops and on the streets. This is the hugest and prettiest man made monument I have ever seen! 2) This is a statue in Piazza Vecchio of Perseus after he beheaded Medusa. I thought this was the coolest statue there. One note though, most of the statues in the piazzas are actually replicas of the real thing which are in the museum in Florence. I did not go into the museum while I was there but I will when I go back. 3) This is Piazza Vecchio, and that building is the building from the movie Hannibal when Hannibal guts the guy and hangs him from the balcony; thats the balcony! 4) This bridge (I cant remember the name) goes over the river in Florence. People live on this bridge and there are shops all along the main street of it. It was really cool. 5) This is a picture of the river and the distant scenery from the bridge. Florence was by far my favorite place, and yes, parentals, if I ever lived here indefinitely, this is probably where you will find me.

!!!ROMA!!!

Alright, so, on Thursday, Elizabeth, her friend Laura, and I went to Rome and Vatican City. Rome is absolutely huge. We got lost on the bus for an hour and a half, otherwise, we would have gotten to see more. Vatican City was really pretty, but it wasnt as big as I thought it would be. The first picture is obviously me in front of the Colliseum. The second picture is some public building (what it is, I dont remember, but I do have a book from Rome of all the historical buildings and ruins and what they were and all that good stuff). The third picture is just a random building on the street. Rome was really pretty, even the apartment buildings where people lived were some of the prettier ones I have seen in Italy. The fourth picture is me in front of the fountain that is in Vatican City. The inside of the city walls was really pretty. And the last picture is where I think the Pope lives and where the museum is at. We did not have time to go in the museum because it closes up early. I have a million more pictures of Rome and I really want to go back one more day before I leave. Hope you all enjoy!

... GET READY! ...

Well for those who check my blog every 4 seconds (i dont think any of those exist but its fun to pretend), I will be posting pictures and information about my 2 day adventure I had this week. I went to ROME and FLORENCE back to back. Anyway be looking for pictures in the next day. Ciaò!

THE TATTOO IS HEALED!

Well, it was exactly 2 weeks ago today that I embarked on one of the more physically painful endeavors of my life. For one hour and half, I invested in one of my newest favorite parts of my body...my tattoo!! Ha ha! I crack myself up. So, anyway, as you can see, it has healed quite nicely and I am very pleased with the results. I keep running into the lady that works at the tattoo shop. She says I need to go back in one more time to have Nicola look it over and see if he thinks I will need anymore touching up or whatever, but she said it looks perfectly fine and that it looks like he did a good job. It doesnt itch anymore, I can sleep on my left side again, and the "scab"/ink has dried and gone away, leaving it presentable to society. White trash? I dont think so. Work of art? Indeed.

... Milano ...

Well, I went by myself to Milan on Saturday. It was either go with the girls to Florence for a few days, which I am not up for yet, or go to Rome with James to a gay rights civil union protest. Yeah, I dont care how legal I am here, not gonna risk being deported by protesting for rights in a country that I dont even live in. Anyway, Milan is actually one of the less exciting cities/towns I have been to here. I would say that if you were only going to visit 2 or 3 places if you ever came that I wouldnt put Milan on the list. It was spread out more and cleaner than Bologna. Lots of tall buildings, kinda reminded me of cities back home even in Oklahoma. However, there isnt really anything wow spectacular to go and see. I thought the train station was actually the most interesting looking monument there ha ha! Oh, in the plus margin of things though, if you want to get some awesome shopping done, hit Milan. I got some new shoes there and some sunglasses and a coat blah blah blah. Anyway, enjoy the pics and hopefully i can put some captions with them as I go.

Alright, the first picture is the trainstation. The trainstation is massive. Biggest one I have been in since I have been here. And I will point out that the advertising in Milan is pretty much every International Marketing majors dream. Everywhere theres a place to put something, theres advertising. And knowing the Europeans, some of it comes off a little explicit. When you get off the train in the station, there are dozens of huge hanging banners for Dolce & Gabbana and i think the whole time I was in town, I never saw the same advertisement twice. Second picture is a view from the wall of the inside of the train station. This is looking out the direction the trains come in and leave out of and this is only half the station. Theres still much much more of this one. The third picture is a pretty apartment building on one of the streets. The apartments here were really well kept on the outside and for being a metro city, they all have a warm Italian feel to them. I saw alot more plants for outdoor decorating here than I have anywhere else. The 4th picture is a random office building, just to point out all the advertising and the fact that this is a real CITY. The last picture is one of the churches I walked by in Milan. It was closed so I couldnt go in.