May is here! So is summer!

So, way too much was done in Italy for me to sum it up other than what I already wrote and what I'm about to write. Pictures, I took over 600 there, are helpful, check out the 180 of them that I'm uploading.

Milan was OK. The Duomo, second largest church in the world, was the most incredible thing I've ever seen. See pictures (I'll be doing that A LOT).

I only spent the afternoon in Milan, and that was enough. I didn't have that love for Milan that some have- but that's OK, I hear that from lots of people.

The next morning, we took the train to Venice to see Scott. The girls (Meg, Alli and Kelly) were in Venice visiting, so they all picked us up at the train station. It was very close to our hotel and Scott's apartment. Venice was the most incredible and unique city. The weather was perfect our entire vacation, first off- so that's always good. Sun and warm- just how I like it. There wasn't one thing that made me love Venice, it was the ambiance in general that made me fall in love. I can't wait to go back. But not only were the sites great, it was the tour guide that made it! Scott, no surprise, is an excellent tour guide. His way with words ("They slapped shit on the buildings, see!"- of course not LITERALLY shit.) and his overwhelming knowledge of one city is remarkable. I'm so glad he took the time out of his days to tour us around. It would've been much more difficult and less enjoyable without him. He also cooked us a delicious dinner of chicken, pasta, vegetables and plenty of Prosecco (bubbly Italian white wine). We certainly ate very well while in Italy. I didn't skimp on gelato at all- I averaged 3 gelatoes per day, I think. (Seriously) Thank G-d we did so much walking!

After Venice, we went to Florence to stay with Meg, Kelly and Betty in their awesome apartment. Florence was so beautiful. I loved the stones in the streets and the Duomo there too! It almost looked fake! So much marble (not like Venice, since it's too heavy and would sink into the Lagoon) but the inside was pretty plainly decorated- but just check out the pictures of the outside! The Ponte Vecchio was cool, but not as special as the Duomo or the Piazzale Michelangiolo, this place higher up overlooking all of Florence and Tuscany- breathtaking. Meg and Alli did such a great job taking us around- Thanks! We went to the Academia to see the David, which was really impressive. We tried to go to the Uffizi, the other wildly famous museum of Florence, but in Italy (don't even get me started!) they have some stupid ass rule where you need a reservation to see a museum- great for tourism, the next reservation was not until Saturday- so needless to say, we had to skip it. But we didn't skip the markets!!

After Florence, we went to Rome. Rome was SO cool! I loved how the Ancient was right next to the modern (or "modern", 1700's). The ancient ruins were the coolest thing to me! We took a bus tour and saw all of the sights. See Pictures. The next day, we went to the Vatican City. We paid for a tour, and waited 3 hours to get in! The tour was supposed to SKIP the lines! We were not happy. But the Vatican was the most incredible place! The wealth of the Roman Catholic Church is quite stunning. The "Musei Vaticani" (Vatican museums) hold some amazing artwork. The museums themselves are spectacular, the way they are decorated and painted. But, the Sistine Chapel, out of this world. No pictures allowed, so google it to see why it's the most amazing thing ever. The talent required for that, just awe inspiring. After that was the Basilica of St Peter. Also amazing- see pictures. The next day we did the Colosseum and ancient Roman ruins. Those were one of my favorites too. All in all, I just loved Rome and Italy too. The one thing I can't STAND about Italy is their "customer service" or lack thereof. I yelled at waiters (in Italian) twice, in one week. Ridiculous. (AND LOST! That would never happen in France of the US). Anyway- the last day, the girls had an earlier flight, so I sat outside by the pool at our hotel and soaked up the sun- which was very nice. Then I flew back to Paris (with a layover in London). I must say, British AIrways really impressed me! They were really really super. Can't wait to fly with them again!

Anyway, I'm starving and it's time for dinner- so check out the pictures!
I'll write more when I get back from Valencia; I'll be there from tomorrow (8 May) to Monday, 12 May. Keep your fingers crossed for me that the weather is good there!

Love you all! Ciao!