Rome, Italy

So I crashed with a guy who happened to live 2 minutes walk to the Vatican. And, as it turned out, the Vatican museum is free the last Sunday of each month--the day after I got to his place. I could not pass on such luck. Expecting a massive line for the freebee I show up at 9am to a 4 block/.25 mile line that dropped my jaw. Expecting this, of course, I had no intention of waiting in line for the museum to close in front of me at 2pm. So I stepped in about 10 mins away...as you do...
Again, I am not one for art, but the shear size of this place, fully encased in art, was mind boggling. The scale of the art, filling entire rooms, entire hallways, was quite impressive (impossible to capture in camera).




The jesters guarding the joke...


Went to the Di Vinci musuem. Man that guy was ingenious. He designed a self enclosed octagonal mirror that lets you see yourself forever in all directions. What better way to watch yourself dance! Cause I know he was just waitin for glow sticks to be invented with this one.


Ok, so I am one for ice cream and I really came to Italy to see for myself what the hoopla was about with their 'Gelato'. But, after at least 20 samples in 30 days, I gotta say, between Spain and Italy, I think Spain takes the cone. Blasphemous, I know.
Rome

vs.
Spain

For the most part, though, I just walked around the city, as I have been for a month or so now....

Florence, Italy

On the way to Florence, I stopped in Pisa...for a few hours. It was on the way.

Got lost in the rain without a map (keep forgetting to pick 'em up in the train stations) trying to find my CS host's house. Fortunately he was officiously nice and made me feel welcome when I finally got there, because the weather outside did not.
The next day, with still soggy shoes, I headed into the throng of tourists and well-dressed chimneys that are the Italians.
From outside the (wet) Duomo.

From within the Duomo (a hellish part of the domes interior--from very close up ;) ).

From atop the (100m, 463 step nave of the) Duomo.

Lucky me, this weekend in Florence it was free to go to any of the state museums. I went to the Uffizi. I ginourmous gallery of mostly renaissance sculpture and painting that I couldn't begin to appreciate.

Cinque Terre, Italy

A series of 5 towns perched along the Mediterranean, the Cinque Terre was just the Italy I was looking for. Quiet, beautiful, small. Although heavily touristed and ideal for couples, these romantic towns were just the break I needed from the many cities Ive been through.
Starting in the northern most town, Monterosso, I stayed for 2 nights in a little coughin of a room; but for €25/night, the best deal in town. There were real beaches this time, crystal clear water (perfect for my new €5 mask) and real sand. Monterosso is quite an idyllic little Italian beach town.

The real glory of this area, though, is the walk between the 5 towns.
here seen behind me.

I met an Italian girl at the beginning of the hike and we stuck together the rest of the way; much nicer to have someone to share the views and the little towns with--especially with someone who speaks Italian. It turned out to take us about 6 hours. And with my 25-30 pound pack, the climbs up and down were a good old fashion "hello, how ya doin" for my legs. I loved it though, besides I've been walking almost everyday anyway, so the all day walk wasn't much new.
The landscapes were great.




But the best views were of the little towns, perched precariously on the side of the cliffs.
Vernazza:

Corniglia:

Manarola:

Riomaggiore:

Torino, Italy

Crossed over to Italy on an overnight train that, like a 13 come 26 train ride I once did in India, took a lot longer than it should have--going real slow and stopping for no apparent reason. To my favor, though, I met a bloke from Venezuela about my age who I got to talking with in Spanish and we set off to kill some time before we caught up with our respective hosts. We did a good 6-7 hours walking about, talking in both English and Spanish--practice for both of us.
Come nightfall I met up with my couchsurfing host and we went off to dinner with another couchsurfing guest/host pair. Twas nice, I got a good lesson on Italian food and costum, and for my part, they were keen to hear about Chinese medicine and my experiences with it so far.
The next day I met the others living in the flat and had a blast walking over to the local market, the Porto Palazzo--what i am told is one of the largest markets in Europe.
Here, a vendor of only the stinkiet of cheese.

My hosts were most amicable and, with no shortage of knowledge of Italian/European history/culture, gave me some insight into where I was: The strong and rigid fascist makeover Mussolini gave the Center of Torino in the 20s, the influence of Moroccans on Italy, the shroud of Torin (which covered Jesus on his death bed and is said to hold an impression of him) held in a church we stepped in (only a copy is on display)....

Many thanks to Simona, Alvise and Paola for a great stay in Torino.