Week 3 Update: Bern baby Bern... and Italy

Before I say anything, a massive massive thankyou to Greg and Silvia for the weekend in Bern. Thanks heaps guys, it was a really enjoyable weekend!

Bish's Precis:
- Bern
- Bologna
- Venice
- Pisa
- Florence
- Rome

(sorry, was that too wordy?)

A quick update of my happenings in the last week or so since I left Paris. I've clocked up three countries since then.

First I got a train to Bern, from where:

I explored the sleepy but gorgeous old town area. The whole town in sleepy actually, but its setting is very picturesque.

We headed out into nearby Interlaken, to he Rhone Glacier, had a muck around in the snow, enjoyed some breathtaking scenery (which Greg and Silvia took for granted mainly - they're so spoilt!) and got some great grub too.

Greg and I also climbed Stockhorn (well the top part anyway). It made for a bit of a challenge and a good opportunity to work off the swiss chocolate (although I had a steak at the restaurant at the top).

Also visited a very swanky ski resort town, Gstaad, Montreux on Lake Geneva where I hung out with Freddie Mercury, and Gruyere for some excellent cheese. Ended up seeing a fair bit of the country!

Thanks again guys!

On Monday morning I headed into Italy for he first time. I got the train to Bologna. For the second half (from Milan) I was joined by an old Italian lady who spoke ... well, at me for a while in Italian. I tried to tell her I didn't speak Italian ("no Italiano" was about all I could muster). she kept going. I tried telling her in English. She just stopped for a second, took a breath, and said "no comprendo" before prattling on. She stopped eventually. I hope it wasn't health related.

Anyway, from Bologna, itself a lovely town, I headed on day trips to:
- Venice - also a lovely town, which had a couple of nice surprises I didn't expect. The first was the smell of the ocean, which was most welcome after three months. The second, and in hindsight it goes without saying, is that there's no traffic there. It was a day spent walking around. My favourite bits were the Arsenal, Rialto bridge, and the southern coast of the island.
- Pisa - what can I say. Colette, Dexy's Midnight Runners and Pisa. All one-hit wonders. Anyone going there, you don't even need a half day. Nice town, just not really special.
- Florence - a real highlight. A stunning city, and walking in the hills south of the city afforded some amazing views of the city and some lovely Tuscan villas. I also saw Galileo's telescope. But the highlight was of course Michaelangelo's David. I'm pretty sure it's my favourite work of art now (a pretty short list - I am a philistine). The detail of the form is ... well, breathtaking. It's very well lit also. Highlights were the right arm, his shoulders and ... his balls.

Yeah, you read correctly. If Michaelangelo can make the human scr0tum look like a work of art, he really is a genius.

Anyways, moving along, I'm now in Rome. Last night I caught up with Alessandra, my wonderful former housemate who now lives in Roma. I'll be seeing her and her fella Alessandro more before I leave. They took me out to dinner last night and we saw the Colosseum at night afterwards. Great to see you bella!

Today I met up with Lauren again, who (you will remember) I totally randomly ran into in Paris, and today we spent the day with her bro Dave in the Vatican (that would be the third country), seeing St Peter's Square and basilica, climbing the dome, looking at the tombs of the popes (including JP II), and strolling through the Vatican Museum which includes the Sistine Chapel. Pretty impressive all around.

We spent the rest of today walking back towards our hostels (near Termini station), which included Victor Emmanuel Bridge, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Foro Traiano, the monument to Victor Emmanuel, and the Colosseum. Other than ten mins for lunch, we were on our feet from 10am to after 6pm. I'm knackered now!

Thanks to all for the excellent suggestions so far. I'm in Rome until Tuesday, when I head to Sorrento, then to Dubrovnik, Athens and Istanbul. Any ideas on what I should do there?