Backpacking Italy

On my way to Milan, not only was i feeling nautious from the swerving of the train through the Swiss mountains and my ears popping but also, i was taken back by the border control that got onto the train.  They check random luggage and choose a couple peopel at random and ask for documents.  They even had a dog to smell the luggage and search for drugs.  I didnt know what was going on until a boy that i was talking with across from me explained it to me and said that it was normal.  Thats the only time that ive seen that on all of the trains that i have taken so far.  Since i got to Milan much later than i wanted to because my train broke down AGAIN, so i had to change trains again, i decided to stay at a hostel.  I was kind of worried that the hostels would be really expensive since it is Milan but i found one that was reasonably priced.  It was called the Zebra Hostel.  After walking around Milan for a bit and taking photos, i met a group of younger people who were really nice and helped me find the tram stop that took me to my hostel. It was a bit away from the train station so i had to take the metro train.  Luckily, the hostel had free internet and free breakfast in the morning.  I didn't do much in Milan because it was already dark out when i got there and i had to catch a train to Venice around noon.  I definitely did notice that everyone in Milan dresses really well.  They will give you a strange look if you are wearing jeans and tennis-shoes.  I felt like an outsider walking aroudn with my big backpack on.  It was also freezing in Milan so i had on so many layers of clothes too.  The train ride from Milan to Venice was only around three and a half hours. 

The train ride coming into Venice was awesome because you are surrounded by water on both sides of the train.  At the Venice train station, the river is right in front.  Venice was exactly what i pictured it to be like.  The river, gondolas, old buildings with colorful shutters, cobble stone roads, lots of bridges and shops.  My hostel was just across the river near the train station.  It was a little villa with only four beds, a balcony, a tv and a private bathroom.  I liked it a lot.  I walked around Venice for so long, mainly because i got lost a lot.  Out of all the cities that i have been in so far, Venice is so easy to get lost in because the roads are small, narrow and plentiful and the names change every few steps.  Also, the buildings are towering over you so you can't use a landmark as a point to help you know where you are. Walking in Italy is so annoying because everyone just stops in front of you, bumps you, steps on your heals and is completely oblivious to everything and since the roads are narrow, they're always in your way! Venice was beautiful though.  The next morning i walked over to the train station and caught a train to Rome.

  I got to Rome around 2:30pm but it was raining and not a very nice day out and i was absolutely exhausted.  I followed the directions to my hostel that i had written down.  I found it alright, the streets in Rome are much easier to navigate unlike in Venice.  My hostel was called Yellow.  It had a vibrant atmosphere and seemed to be a good place to stay.  I checked in, it only costed 15 euros for my first night.  They gave me a one-free-drink card for the bar lounge that was connected as well as 30 free minutes of internet use on their touchpads a day.  I took my belongings to my room and chose my bed.  I have been on the top bunk in every hostel so far, except in Venice and Prague because the rooms only had four beds in them.  Its not because i have chosen the top bunk either but rather because i have always been one of the last people to check into a room.  But thats okay, i like the top bunk, sometimes.  I was just way too tired to walk around Rome in the rain and my foot was killing me so i took a nap.  Later on i learned that that was not the best idea because i could not fall asleep at night.  After my nap, i went down to the bar lounge area to use the internet and to look at a Europe guidebook that they had.  I hung out there for while and as it got later, more and more people started to come to the lounge to hang out.  I had a cafe latte for free.  The coffee drinks in Europe are good, of course, but they are so small.  At times all that i want is a big cup of hot chocolate or flavored coffee drink but everything is so small.  So, i had to go to Dunkin Donuts, which i never do, to get a large chai tea latte in  Munich.  Starbucks also is where i can get an american sized drink and theres no lack of Starbucks in Europe.  After a while, i met a girl from Brazil who is studying in Paris. We sat and talked for a long time.  The lounge filled up with younger people, mostly everyone staying in the hostel.  Then i went to bed to try to get some sleep.  The next morning i decided to stay another night at the hostel because i wanted to walk around Rome and i wasnt sure how long that would take me.  My second night only costed me 14 euros.  I began my sight-seeing adventure at 10am.  The hostel gave me a map that had all of the tourist sites on it so i knew where to go.  I walked for four and a half hours around Rome.  I literally covered every corner of the tourist map.  I saw everything from the Collesseum, the Pantheon, the Isla something and much more.  I went to the Vatican as well but there are long lines to wait in to get into it and i didnt want to wait.  The same is with the Collesseum which you also have to pay for to go in it.  I didnt go in, i just saw it from the outside which was still cool.  I found a grocery store to buy some food for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I try not to spend much money in restaurants because it can be very costly.  I stopped to rest on the stairs of some tourist site, i forgot the names of everything.  Some tourists, a mother and older son, wanted to take a picture with me, why, i have no idea, im not sure if they thought that i was a local italian girl or what. it was funny.  After i saw the Collesseum, i started to head back towards my hostel.  I finally got back around 2:30pm-ish and i was beat.  I rested in my room for a bit before i went down to the lounge to hang out.  Later on, i ran into my Brazilian friend and we ate our grocery-store dinners in the lounge area.  They had on a Chicago bears football game on which was weird to see.  Then they put on a soccer game and everyone was so into it, of course.  After a while i went back to my room for bed.  There was a boy from South Korea who was staying in my room.  We talked about different things for a long time. He was funny.  I got up early the next morning and checked out.  Check out at hostels are usually between 10 and 12, each hostel has a specific check out time.  I went to the train station to jump on a train to Florence.  I didnt bother waiting in line to ask if i needed a seat reservation or not.  Turns out that i didnt and that my Eurail pass was just fine but in Italy and Spain, usually the trains are pretty full that you need to book a seat, even though i have a eurail pass.  Its annoying and pointless.  It usually costs around ten euros but a few times, there were enough seats open to just sit down so now i only book a reservation for longer distances, over night trains and if the ticket person is completely adament about it.  The people in Europe are not the friendliest people. In Paris, of course, they are known to not like Americans, which they dont and in Italy, they also tend to have huge attitudes.  Of course, there are exceptions.  Usually younger people and a few old people are really helpful.  I have met quite a few really nice locals who want to help me.  In Rome, a cute old lady saw me standing there looking at my map and came across the street to ask if i needed help finding something.  She spoke english perfectly because she was from Denmark but has lived in Rome for many many years.  She was so nice.  Rome was a cool city with a lot to see but after a while everything just seems to look alike.  Very old buildings, churches, stairways, fountains, crucifixes, stores, bakeries, cobble stone roads, etc.

In Florence, i went to a hostel that a someone in Rome recommeded to me.  It was easy to find because it is nearby the Duomo cathedral.  I checked in but this hostel is the most expensive that i have stayed in so far.  It costed 32 euros a night but it is a really nice hostel.  It is very clean, really cool rooms with just 4 beds, a private single bathroom with a clean shower, towels, a kitchen to use whatever we want, free breakfast, tvs with dvds to watch, playstation to use and free internet.  So i guess its worth the cost.  Its nice to stay in a better hostel than just always staying in cheaper ones which are safe but arent the most comfortable and you have to share bathrooms and rooms with up to 12 other people.  I went to the store to get some food to cook in the kitchen.  At 6pm at the hostel, they offer free pasta salad, bruscetta and wine and people sit around and talk which is different and cool.  I like this hostel a lot, i just wish it was a bit cheaper so then i would stay another night.  Im not on a top bunk this time but in our room there are 4 beds, 2 down and 2 up a little stairway on a balcony and i am upstairs.  Its a very contempory hostel.  Tomorrow, im going to go to walk around Florence for a bit and then catch a train to either Nice or Monaco in France.