Italy - part 2

This time around I visited Rome, Pisa, Florence, Chianti and for the second time - Venice.
The thing I remember most about Rome is inhaling cigarette smoke with every breath. I tried to dodge, hold my breath, use a handkerchief .. but there was no escaping it.

Rome:
My stay in Rome was close to the Roma Termini (train station) and from here I could take quite a long walk to the Colosseum, Trevis Fountain, Spagna (Spanish Steps), Pantheon and Piazza Navona.
Spagna and Pantheon were definitely top of my list - representing the Rome of my imagination - cobbled streets, pizzerias everywhere, lots of places to shop and petite cafes.
Trevis Fountain was a great place to sit down at the end of a long walk and just relax with thousand other tourists and selfie sticks :)
Sadly, I did not opt to ride the red Vespa they were renting next door to my stay in Rome. They were quite expensive and I decided to indulge in some restaurants instead.
Few places send the chill down my spine and the Colosseum was one of them (the other is Dachau in Germany).  If ever one thinks of the current generation as the smartest, this is reality check. This structure represents architectural and strategic brilliance. Laid out in many floors, it starts at the bottom with a passage leading from the prisoners' city outside, from where potential gladiators would be brought in and ejected a level up on stage. This level was where the shows were conducted. Animal cages opened onto here from carefully managed secret lifts. Next to this is a half level (only half built) which symbolizes religion and prayer. All the levels above housed viewers of different social statuses. Everything in the design of the Colosseum leads up to showmanship. Having been on stage quite a bit, I had to bow to the one that rules them all.

Colosseum

Spagna

Trevis Fountain

The Vatican:
The Vatican, a country on its own, is an interesting place. The city walls face streets that neither belong to this era or that. Most of my time here was spent in the Vatican museum, St Peter's Basilica and eating pizza and pasta.

St Peter's Basilica

Florence/Tuscany:

Michaelangelo's David

From Rome, we took a flight to Florence. Firenze, as it is locally known, this city was a hidden jewel. I loved the Il Duomo, Michaelangelo's David in the Galleria dell'Accademia, Palazzo Vechchio, and most of all Ponte Vechchio. Ponte Vechchio is Florence's answer to Venice's Rialto Bridge. This bridge connects the old and the new city and is lined with jewellery shops, the backbone of which is use to project art and movies in the nights. People line up on the streets from where they can view the bridge screen and it makes for a great conversation place. I had never seen anything like it before.


Chianti:
The best part of my time in Florence was a day trip by car to Chianti. It proved to be the beautiful vine country that it is known for. I stopped at the most beautiful mini-castle I had set eyes on - Vichchiomaggio - for vine tasting and bookmarking (for a future stay).

Chianti

Il Duomo

Ponte Vechchio by night

Pisa:
Yet another day trip from Florence took me to Pisa. I have to say I was not extremely blown away here. The tower itself is commendable, but it proved too expensive to visit/climb it, and it does stand in the middle of nowhere.

Tower of Pisa

Venice/Venezia:
This time of the year (December), Venice becomes the perfect setting for a serial-killer-thriller. The train from mainland Italy chugs to a stop in Santa Lucia station and you set foot into a surreal world. Fog limits the visibility and as the boats wade through the thick layers on the famous waterways, you do feel transported into fiction. On this visit, I managed some time on Rialto bridge which had eluded me on the first visit. I also paid a second visit to the Doge's palace (Palazzo Ducale).

Venezia