ROME

In Rome we were taken on a Vatican Tour which, despite my lack of enthusiasm on religion and history, was actually really good  :)

It was huge and took 3 or so hours & I still didn't see everything. There were also lots of 'shushy' guys when you got into in the actual Sistine Chapel.

Saw the pope (live) - he blessed me (& 5000 others). Also checked out St. Peter's Ballister (used in the ending of the Davinci Code movie). Also saw the Colloseum and a few other random stuff that I can't quite remember.

Surprisingly didn't get lost as me & Stacey made our way back home on public transport alone. also got off lucky as one girl's wallet got stolen and another girl flipped her lid when she caught some guy going through her bag.

Was locked out of room (didn't have the key) so decided to get drunk by the pool with Stacey and Ilks. Had quite the interesting site as some guy fondled himself across from us while on the phone??? Wtf?

Did a ton of laundry that night and had a few drinks in between.

PISA & FLORENCE

Spent all day driving before stopping off at Pisa (the smallest most insignificant town ever). I had assumed it would be like the Eiffel Tower in the middle of some huge touristy city, but no - Pisa was this tiny, in the middle of nowhere town.

Made it to Florence with a 3hr walking tour (talk about exhausting). Saw lots of cool statues with decapitated heads and naked men  ;) 

Was exhausted so had an early night.

The next day Oliver and Michael went to the domey-thing with me (Cupola del Brunelleschi). This was a huge old church thingy in the shape of a dome that had 434 steps. Loving a challenge, I  leaped at the opportunity to scurry up and around old, rustic, small stone steps. There were gruesome paintings upon the domed roofs as well. The higher you looked up the more angelic it became. Some gross stuff along the bottom of the paintings were people getting sodomized (mwahahaha - gross).

Views were stunning from the top and you could walk 360 degrees around the top as well.

We later shopped for water paintings for Ollie's collection which was fun, and I down my 1st Calzone (yum).

Venice

We spent all day driving today (getting used to the long hauls).

Rained a bit and my hair looked surprisingly awesome with natural (rain-induced) curls. Saw the balcony of which Romeo and Juliet was inspired. There was a statue of Juliet with her left breast exposed – to touch it is good luck, so naturally we all queued up for a grope.

Had my first gelato: tiramisu and white chocolate (I naturally went for the 2 scoop option). We had an amazing dinner by the Topdeck site chefs (as we did in Switzerland). This was followed by a... TOGA PARTY!

By the end of the night I’d been dancing and prancing around so much that everyone now practically knows what my butt looks like – shame... lol. I didn’t ‘go commando’ like a few others did though. Luckily I still had a bit of class and extended a hand down to cover my bits whenever I a photo was taken lol.

2 tequila shots, 3 Bacardi breezers, half a bottle of wine and a few sips of other people’s drinks. We danced up on the bar and with other touring people (not with us). Was hit on in the first 5mins of entering the bar and met a few nice guys from the UK and Canada  ;)

Had to sleep in the garden for an hour because I didn't have the key but it was all good :)

Went into Venice today and had a gondola ride with a few of the girls. It was very relaxing and great for taking pics. It's uncontrollable that you 'will' get lost so apparently it's best to just let your feet do the wandering and just catch a boat back to the start.

We also saw a glassblowing demonstration which was AMAZING! This guy shaped a rearing horse out of glass in 5mins! He also made a small jug – handle and all. It sounds boring but it was really fascinating and worth watching. My expensive taste shone through as my favourite glass item in the shop was a striking black and gold vase, valued at 600 Euros.

We went to a lace-making shop which was actually quite interesting. There was, of course, your typical frilly napkins and doilies but I actually quite fancied a table cloth we were shown. I knew I’d never use it but I was tempted to buy it for mum. When the lady explained the price I quickly decided against it (800 Euros).

Had an expensive Italian lunch (that mum can make so much better). The service was also bad and the toilet is pretty close to that Singapore ‘squatting pan’ I saw.

Nice & Monacco

We arrived in the afternoon and by the time we wrangled our way upstairs (to the best accommodation we’ve had yet) we headed out for dinner. Dinner was awesome and at a restaurant ;)

Most people headed out to a bar afterward but I was determined to recover from the previous night (Barcelona).

Woke up the next morning feeling happier than I can remember (amazing what a good long sleep can do).

Nice is all beach - pebbled beach (very pretty with its aqua waters). Took it easy today. Had Chinese for lunch, went for a run and dipped my toes in the ICY waters. Pebble beach = pain (wear shoes!)

We all got dolled up tonight for a night in Monaco and its casinos. The views are stunning and are strictly for the rich and famous. It’s apparently $40,000 per square meter of land – yikes! Didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d thought. ‘Everyone’ pervs on you and there was a 12yr old (looking) girl with a baby and an old man for a husband.

I got ‘bustled’ by a group of hot young (but drunk and scary) French guys. Nothing dangerous they just group hugged me as I tried to walk past.

Went into the Grand Casino to use the loo and to say we’d been there but avoiding the entry fee. Got rained on, ruining our efforts to look hot.

We got kicked out of a bar restaurant because we’d already had dinner and just wanted a bottle of wine (some of the other girls had ordered food though). After closing his little black order book and saying: “No, sorry.” We get up to leave and he creates this scene saying: “So you don’t want the wine now?”

We left and with a snotty huff and flick of my hair I snatched up the complimentary piece of bread. After going to a free-entry casino, we had an expensive glass of wine and got ogled by all of the rich old men. We looked very ‘gold-digger’ ;)

In my attempt to snatch up anything free, I reached for what I ‘thought’ was a little cube lolly. Upon shoving the entire ‘lolly’ in my mouth and chewing, I discover that it is in fact – a cube of individually wrapped; raw sugar.

Switzerland!

Spent 2 nights in Switzerland. It’s absolutely stunning and exactly like those famous photographs. We stayed in a small town called Lauterbraunnen. As much as I wanted to, I ‘didn’t’ skydive like a fair few others did (and for good reason). Everyone complained of stiff/sore backs the day after. Had a quietish drunk night where I woke up freezing in a random cubbyhouse (which we couldn’t seem to find again the next morning). Played (poorly) fussball and a wierd hammer game where you have to one-by-one hit your nail into the wood stump (the hammer was hollow/missing the middle-bit).

The cabins were pitch-black so I woke up a few times and panicked because I couldn’t get out and had no idea where I was lol.

Spent half a day doing laundry seeing as it was cheap and I was already running low on clean clothes. Went on a ‘supposed’ ½ an hr walk to the Trummelbach Waterfall – which ended up being an ‘intentional’ (*cough*) 3hr scenic hike (the sign posts literally said we completed a marathon track).

Was super hot in the sun but was practically parker-worthy in the mornings and evenings. I didn’t go up the mountain (which I regret). It cost $150 to go up but it was apparently awesome: snow, scenery, ice sculptures, etc.

Overall it was excellent in terms of scenery and money (was nearly dollar for dollar in comparison to AUS). The village/town was extremely quiet though so it’s not exactly somewhere you would live. I don’t get bored easy but there is absolutely nothing to do. Would ‘defiantly’ go back but you wouldn’t need more than 5 days to do everything (explore, rest, laundry, drunken night/s, paragliding/skydiving, go up the mountain, etc).

P.S. Absolutely EVERYTHING is photo worthy so be prepared for a lot of snapping of cameras.