payung.

Stage fright. I think it's something everyone gets. 

And till today it's not something I've gotten rid of. I wouldn't say I'm a seasoned performer, but I have had my fair share of having to perform in front of large crowds. From my annual ballet concerts to performing in KDU or even cheering, till this very day I get this horrible feeling of wanting to throw up about an hour before my performance.

Even going in for piano exams or competing in ballroom competitions. Basically anything which requires me to do something in front of people who are going to judge me. 

But no one judges a performance you say? Wrong. The moment you step onto that stage you're up for review. How you compare to other dancers on the stage. How you compare to past performances that the audience has seen before. 

I've even had instances where for those 5 minutes just before going on stage I feel as if my mind is blank. Like I can't even remember what the first move of the dance is. Thankfully, once the music comes on my body can sort of sort itself out. 

This Saturday night I will once again have to get through this stage fright thing. Can't even remember the last time I actually performed on stage. Probably some time in secondary school. That being 4 years ago(woah am I old), hopefully everything goes well for Mnight(Malaysian Night). I do miss being part of a big performance. 

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smile

And it's the last of Italy.

Got up early to go to the Uffizi Gallery. Seeing as I already had tickets for 9am there wasn't much of a wait.

One problem. A ton of Japanese tour groups were going in at the same time as well. So I had to time myself well to get closer to the paintings as the tours tend to crowd round the painting. And since I'm not exactly tall I could barely see anything.

I spent a little over two hours there. Which I felt was too much yet not enough. It's like in each room I probably only looked at a select few paintings but yet it still took me so long. The Birth of Venus by Botticelli was a little disappointing. Didn't give me the same 'wow' factor as when I first saw The Last Supper. Though I did like one of his earliest works which was the Virtues (Faith, Hope, Charity, Temperence, Prudence, Fortitude and Justice). Da Vinci's Annunciation just reaffirmed the fact that he was a master.

Wandered around Florence for a bit before heading to catch the bus to go up to the NYU campus.

Pretty right? That was in the sort of hidden garden of one of the main villas. 

Grabbed some lunch and headed back down into the city for me to catch my train. The thing is I bought a cheap train ticket so I had to make my way to another train station. Bought my ticket to that train station only to realize that train was delayed by 10minutes which meant I had to find another way to the train station. And quickly. 

Ended up in a taxi and running to the platform. But as it was Italy, my train was late as well. Gah. All this inefficiency. 

Back in Milan. Went to the hotel and dropped my stuff off before heading out to wander around. Oh how I love wandering. 

Final two scoops. Earl grey tea and pick guava. 

Really liked the earl grey flavour. 

Spent my last night just walking around the park and people watching. 

And that was the end of my week in Italy. 

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blade.

Day trip to Siena! 

By bus it was only an hour and a bit to Siena so quite ideal for a day trip. As soon as I got off the bus I spotted a flea market nearby. And of course how could I resist wandering around a market. Haha. Wandered around for almost two hours as it was a pretty big market with all sorts of stuff. They had clothes, shoes, plants, birds and food. However, by the time I reached the end of the market I didn't quite know where I was.

Thankfully, there were a couple of tour groups around so I just followed them from behind. Sure enough, they were heading towards the town centre where most of the main sights in Siena were.

Honestly you could probably see all the main sights in a couple of hours since there isn't much and everything is so close to each other. Most people go there with a tour but I'm glad I didn't as it meant I had more freedom to choose my sights. The crypt near the Duomo was an interesting visit and since there was almost no one in it it had their slightly eerie feeling.

Got back to Florence around 5 and decided to go to San Lorenzo market where I picked up a new leather wallet for myself. Found it amusing how most of the stalls sold the same thing for different prices. For example in the bigger stalls my wallet was going for 20euros with the stall owner willing to let it go for 18euros whereas I looked into a smaller stall where the owner was really friendly and I got the same wallet for 15euros.

After dinner headed out for a drink with some people from the hostel. Way jealous of all the traveling they've done. Oh how I wish I could take a gap year. Backpack around Europe alone. One can only hope. 

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take.

Florence. The birthplace of the Renaissance.

First thing was to go and check out my hostel. First time ever staying in a hostel. First time staying alone as well. Overall I would say I enjoyed my hostel experience. The place just has this energy about it where everyone is quite gungho about everything. And the stories you hear. Makes you feel like you haven't seen enough of the world at all, haven't really experienced life. 

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page" ~St. Augustine. 

Second two scoops. Strawberry cheesecake and fondent(dark chocolate like)

After that it was a slight trek up to Piazza Michelangelo. Supposedly the best view of Florence, it did not disappoint. Kinda wished you could have a picnic up there. Haha. 

The view. 

Had a stroll around Florence for a bit only to realise that it isn't very big. You could walk from one end of the city to the other in almost no time at all. Quite a crowd as it was the start of the tourist season. Can't imagine what it must be like during summer. Gonna have to give up a lot of personal space I suppose. 

A full day of exploring the city alone was next.

Got to the Uffizi Gallery at 9.30am only to see this super duper long line outside for people who didn't reserve tickets. When I asked the guy manning the line what is the earliest time I could expect to go in looking at the length of the line he told be 12.30pm. What!? A three hour wait. No way. So I just went to buy a ticket for Thursday in which they charge you an extra 4euros for 'reservation'. Lesson learnt. ALWAYS prebuy tickets. Otherwise half your holiday will be spent waiting in line. 

So with the change of plans I ended up going to the Boboli Gardens instead. Also went to check out the Silver Museum and Costume Gallery since it was included together with the entry ticket to Boboli Gardens for 7euros. Quite interesting I would say. 

Not much of a chess player.

But I think I would like to own a pretty chess set. 

Wish I could buy that ring. 

Tons of accessories in the Silver Museum I wish I could buy. 

All I thought of when I was in the costume gallery was whether the dresses would make a nice Latin or Ballroom dress. Dancing is consuming my thoughts. Haha. 

Part of the Boboli Gardens. 

The garden was pretty huge. In my two hours there barely managed to cover half of it. 

Wanted to go see the statue of David at the Accademia after that only to be greeted by yet another wonderfully long line. Thought I'd just chance it since I had nothing else to do and after an hour of standing under the hot sun only made it halfway through the line. Gave up and just went to meet Caroline for lunch. 

After lunch went to the Basilica of Santa Croce where some pretty famous people are buried. How famous? Well Michelangelo, Niccolo Machiavelli and Galileo Galilei are buried there. 

Galileo's tomb. 

Dropped by the Accademia and was surprised to see almost no line. So I suppose if you don't want to prebuy tickets then going later during the day is another option. Got to see David who is a lot bigger than I imagined. Seriously. Definitely a sculpture you should go and see as well. 

Not much else to see in Florence so went to chill at a park for a bit. Wanted to check out the synagogue but it was closed =(. 

Dinner! Nothing too special I suppose. Except...

How is this soup??? SOMEONE *coughcarolinecough* told me it was spinach soup. 

That is totally not what normal people consider soup. 

Some pretty good crepes after that before some more walking around. I swear the amount of food I ate and the amount of wine I drank over in Italy. Was pretty sure I put on weight. Haha. 

Two more posts till the end of my Italy trip. Then it's on to blogging about Amsterdam. 

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farmer.

Second installment of my Italy trip.

Woke up at some forsaken hour to catch the train to Bologna. Which we almost missed. Mehh. First ever time cutting it so close. Unfortunately not my last.

Three hours later finally reached Bologna at about 9.30am. Dropped our bags off at the B&B and then went looking for breakfast. Waking up so early does tend to make one hungry. First impression of Bologna was quite nice. Not too crowded and small enough to easily walk from one point to another.

Neptune's fountain. Can you see where the water is coming out from? Haha.

Felt so atas having breakfast.

Not much in Bologna just your usual churches. That is basically what all of Italy is about. 

So slightly creepy exhibition about the beauty of death. 

View from Asinelli's Tower.

Like the Leaning Tower in Pisa, the tower is also slightly slanted. 

498 steps up. Talk about a workout. 

Though a bit lesser known, Basilica of San Domenico is one of the major churches in Bologna. And one of the prettier ones. The art in it was really top notch. Surprised it isn't as famous. 

Chapel where St. Dominic is buried. 

Dinner posed a slight problem. Didn't feel like eating at the restaurant we picked out so had to wander around the city of quite a bit. Most of the places were only serving aperitivos seeing as they were catered more to university students. So after a good hour of walking around the world, okay fine more like the whole of Bologna, settled on buying some crepes and sitting on the steps. 

Supper! Some dove shaped cake-ish(Colomba) thing that is only around for Easter.

Super duper yummy. Wish I had bought some back to Manchester. 

Next morning set off to visit the Archiginnasio of Bologna. It used to be the main building of the University of Bologna but now it houses the library instead. Why is it so important? Well, the University of Bologna is the oldest standing university in the world established in 1088 so that was pretty cool. 

Had lunch and made it to the train station with time to spare(way paranoid after the previous close call) for the train to Florence. 

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leaves.

Recap of Italy!

Milano. Or Milan as non-Italians would say. As I would find out everything in Italian has to end with a vowel cause it sounds better. Haha.

Landed in Milan Bergamo which is like an hour away from the actual city centre of Milan. But with Ryanair what more could one expect. Then got met at the station by Caroline who I haven't seen in like a bajillion years. Fine, more like a year and a half. Which is agesss.

Then it was off to dinner in a random restaurant on the way back to the hotel.

Three things I learned:
1. Food is not that expensive. You can get a pizza(of a large decent size) for 7euros or less.
2. Transport is cheap as well. Much like Paris where one-way on the metro only costs 1euro.
3. It is Italian law that they must serve you fresh food. Otherwise there's a massive fine.

So different from the UK. Don't understand why everything here is more expensive =/.

Next morning got up pretty early to go to the tour meeting point. Honestly I would never opt to go for a paid tour. It's just so boring and I detest walking around the city with the earphone in my ear which just screams TOURIST.

My first ever espresso. Can totally see why people are addicted to it. 

Wish I had a better pic of the Duomo so that you can see just how pretty it is. 

Fully covered in marble it was definitely the prettiest Duomo I've seen. 

The sole reason for taking a tour.

Since only 25 people are allowed into the room where The Last Supper is, tickets sell out the moment they go on sale(bout 4 months before). Being in Milan, how can one miss the opportunity to see such a masterpiece. And what a masterpiece it was. I'm not much of an art person so for me to say that standing in front of it took my breath away is quite something. Definitely one thing that should be on everyone's bucket list. 

After that it was on to lunch. Went to find a place called Panzerotti Luini just knowing that it was a must go to in Milan without even bothering to find out what kind of food to expect. 

Basically it sold this bread/doughnuty like thing. 

As soon as you turn the street corner the line you see is for the place. That was the view from the halfway point of the line. Bout half and hour wait. 

Pretty good for the price I suppose. Only 2euro50 for one which can be lunch. Their savoury ones are better than their sweet ones though. 

Spent the rest of the day just wandering around as there isn't much else to see in Milan. 

Oh and there were these water fountains around the city. If you didn't know any better you'd be tilting your head and trying to drink the water from a way awkward position getting a neckache in the process. The trick is to use your finger and press it against the flow of water. There's actually another opening on the top where the water will come out through making more of a drinking fountain. 

First two scoops of gelato. Pistachio and mixed nuts.

They say that you should have gelato everyday while visiting Italy. So let's just see what my total count will be at the end of the trip. 

After that it was aperitivo time! Where you pay for a drink(6-10 euros) and you get to eat from a buffet style finger food spread. Could be a substitute for dinner but really a proper dinner is better. 

That's the end of Milan. Bologna next =). 

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