La Dolce Vita

I'm back from a ridiculously lavish and expensive vacation in Italy and the French Riviera. Once again, waaaay too many stories to tell in one blog post, but I'll leave you with a few impressions and anecdotes.

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Above all, the weather was ridiculously amazing. After spending weeks under grey skies, low temperatures and frequent rain showers, I was so happy to see some sun, blue skies and temps in the mid-20s (mid-70s to those in the States). Of course, back in the Lorraine, the weather was equally as gorgeous when I was gone. I returned today to, you guessed it, grey skies and rain.

ROMA/ROME
1. I love Rome. To death. What a fantastic city. If you ever get the chance, please go. I love the way it balances its past and present.

2. The Colosseum and the Forum were, hands down, the best things I saw in the entire 10 days. Words can't describe the sheer awe I had for both places. To think that these places were thriving thousands of years before anyone even discovered my continent is mind-blowing. I think the coolest thing about the Forum is that you can see how much Rome has built upon itself since the days of caesars. The Rome that we know is a good 5 meters above ancient Rome.

3. Pizza Buffeta near Piazza Navona and Campo de' Fiori is the most delicious pizza that I have ever consumed. It also happens to be the largest, but I had to finish every bite. I forget the name of the exact pizza, but it had onions, mushrooms, artichokes and sausage on it.

4. I've been in a lot of churches during my voyages through Europe (and I mean a lot), but I've never felt so small and insignificant as I have in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. The sheer size of everything inside makes you realize how much you really are just one person.

5. It is impossible to find bad gelati. The heat of the sun also gives you the perfect excuse for frequent geltai breaks.

FIRENZE/FLORENCE
1. I think I would've liked Florence better if it weren't so overrun with Easter tourists.

2. Michelangelo's David is sheer perfection. Absolutely stunning. It also benefits from what I like to call the "reverse Mona Lisa effect" in that it's much larger than I expected. The rest of the Accademia, for me, was nothing impressive (mainly because I'm not a big fan of religious art), but the 6€50 entrance fee was well worth it, just for the Michelangelo works.

3. The Piazza Michelangelo offers a very Montmartre-esque hike (lots of steep, hilly inclines), and also the most beautiful view of Florence.

4. Trattoria Za-Za on the Piazza Mercato. The service leaves a bit to be desired (especially if you're an American and expect them to check in on your meal every five minutes), but the food and the ambiance is phenomenal.

5. Although its not in Florence, the leaning tower of Pisa is enough for a day-trip. I'm really glad I saw it, just to see it, but if it weren't leaning, it wouldn't be anything spectacular.

COTE D'AZUR/FRENCH RIVIERA
1. This region is expensive. There, I said it. After paying only 6€ for amazing pizzas in Italy, I practically wept thinking about the 10-12€, lesser-quality pizzas in France. Yikes.

2. Nice is lovely, but I loved Cannes. Probably because they have sand beaches there, whereas Nice has rocky beaches. Trying to lay in the sun on a pile of rocks is neither easy, nor comfortable. However, I preferred the promenade in Nice to that in Cannes.

3. Monaco, while a lovely place, is really best explored with a car, mainly because its built completely on the side of a rock. Public transportation, while available, is impossible to find on maps because you don't know if the bus stop is at the bottom of the hill, in the middle of the hill, or at the top of the hill. Don't get me wrong, Monaco is beautiful, but Hollywood could've made a film called Labyrinth 2: Madness in Monte Carlo there. I didn't mind the walking and climbing, but the maps were really confusing.
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Obviously, I had a pretty great time, and am really happy that I got to go to all these places. And yes, I got sunburned, but only a little bit. It doesn't hurt. Back to my last 3 weeks in France...