It's just so... beautiful!

My first morning in Italy, I woke up early and glancing out the window, I couldn't help but notice that there is something different about the sunlight in Italy. The view wasn't just beautiful, it was refreshing. The colours, the architecture, the light: such a nice change from the view around me here in Korea.



Jen and I wandered down for a coffee and a cornetto and then headed to the post office to pick up some stamps. In classic Italian style, there was a large, slow-moving line of people, just sort of aimlessly hanging out and waiting. We ended up wandering around looking for a tabacci to speed up the process a bit. After that we bought day passes for the buses with a plan to take a bus anywhere.



Lunch was the obvious first step - after all, when asked what I wanted to do with my short time in Italy, my response was that, having already done a week of touristy Rome, all I really wanted to do was eat. I wanted to spend hours just eating and chatting and drinking good wine. Aside from that particular quality of the sunlight, the thing I like best about Italy is the experience of eating, not just the food but the entire experience. We had some fabulous pasta and white wine before heading out to take pictures, buy postcards and a hilarious Michelangelo's David apron for J3 as a hash gift.



While wandering, we found a gelato shop and I had a fantastic cone of chocolate peppers and we discovered the most awesome souvenir I have ever come across: the rainbow pope lollipop. We stumbled across the Trevi Fountain at one point.



In an attempt to cool off, we went looking for an air conditioned coffee shop. Turns out, they don't exist, so we popped into a McDonald's so that I could use the washroom and we could appreciate the chill and I ended up in absolutely the longest bathroom line ever. I had been waiting at least twenty minutes when a man waved the girl at the front of the line into the men's room - she refused to go, so I hopped in myself. I have to say I found it odd that no one used it after I did.



Late in the afternoon, we took a bus to a random piazza. When we arrived, it was rather full of soldiers/policemen, with some old buildings, though nothing spectacular. We stopped to have coffee outside, watching nuns and other people wandering by. We took a bus back to the hotel after and rested for a bit before heading out for another fantastic meal. Jen wanted to return to a restaurant she had been to before and it was well worth the trip. The appetiser was a mix of fava beans, artichokes, and peas. Then we had a caprese, eggplant Parmesan, peppers and absolutely the best spinach I have ever eaten. Dessert was a chocolate almond torte Caprese.

After dinner, I was completely exhausted and all I had the energy to do was go to bed.