Chasing the sunset in Venezia
Our arrival in Venice was greeted by a sight almost reminiscent of Penang. Fear not as the view within the island was actually too charming for words. Knowing that most first-timers will get lost in Venice even with a map, we set out to search for our hostel, hoping that we can find it quickly to waste no time of catching a proper sight of the city. And we were lucky. The hostel was family-run with an extremely beautiful interior design. Having dropped off our luggages, we went to the owner to get direction on places of interest only to be told not to ask for road names as the road names changes every few steps. No wonder people get lost.
We spent most of our time walking around, locating important landmarks, finding the perfect murano gifts and chasing the sunset. The weather was quite a let-down as there seemed to be more gloom than sunshine. Nevertheless, the chase for murano glass gave us most of the fun. I believe we visited at least half of the murano glass shop in Venice. The best part was me passing the same store thrice. The first time, having spotted some EUR0.21 postcards, I decided to wait before making my purchase. The second time was to buy the postcard and the last time was to get some murano glass jewellery. We never got onto any gondola due to its price tag (EUR80 for an hour ride). That was a big too much.
Unimpressed in Firenze
We got lost in Florence!!! Only because we were given a useless map. In the end, we had to turn back to the train station to purchase a map (the next day we discovered that we were cheated as we could have gotten a free map from one of the tourism office nearby some attractions).
Our sunset chase in Venice continued in Florence. This time, the weather was better. However, the wait on top of the bell tower was just crazy and my friend, being so engrossed in capturing the perfect sunset moment, forgot to enjoy the moment itself.
On the very next day, we met the famous David for the first time after lining up for half an hour. He was magnificent. Such a huge sculptor. For the next few hours of the day, we met David (a copy) again in a piazza and later a green David at the Piazale Michaelangelo. But the first David is the grandest among them all.
The best thing ever happened to us in Florence was the food. First was the stop for dinner in Marione (via della spada). Our original plan was to eat in the highly-recommended Il Latini. However, upon arrival, we found a whole group of people waiting for the restaurant to open. That's how famous the restaurant is. Due to our hunger and also the slightly more expensive price tag, we decided to eat in the other recommendation, Marione which turns out to be amazing. First, we shared a plate of pecorino with pink mustard which had a fruity taste. Our next course was ribollita, a local soup which was amazing (I can't describe the taste but it remains in my mind). Finally, we were served the juicy, crispy house special bistecca, Florentine-style beef steak. It was totally worth the price we had to pay.
This dinner cost us most of our allowances for the rest of the trip that we had to survive on free breakfast from the hostel and cheap dinner also from the hostel everyday. No lunch. But it wasn't that bad. For the morning breakfast, we were given a choice to pick from a range of set menu ranging from french toast to scrambled eggs and toast to croissant. On top of that, we get buffet consisting of pasta, fruits, cakes, chips, salads and biscuits. The most wonderful breakfast I had for the entire trip. For dinner, we opted for the super menu consisting of pasta, pollo arrosto and a dessert for EUR6. It was rather surprising to have such delicious food coming from a cheap youth hostel. 
On our final day in Florence, we finally managed to find a lampredotto stall (largely because we spotted a sign saying roti perut lembu. I was wondering how I suddenly managed to understand those words. anyway...). We ordered one to be shared and it turned out to be one of the most amazing roti perut lembu I have ever tried (actually the only one I have ever tried). Cost us EUR3. Why are we being so cheapo? That was because we just spent almost our entire allowance on food again when we stumbled upon a market selling local specialties. The owner from a stall named perrini was such a great salesman. He kept stuffing us with free samples till we couldn't resist from falling into his trap and ended up with pecorino and fruity mustard. Further strolling took us into some pasta shop with us emerging out with pasta sauce and italian monument pasta.
Free in Roma
Rome was...huge and uphill with lotsa people and dangerous drivers. We checked into Alessandro Downtown which is on facebook and situated in an area with lotsa asian shops. We thought we were in chinatown. Our first stop in Rome was the Spanish steps which was hardly visible amid the sea of humans. That was rather disappointing. The same phenomena was spotted at the Fontana di Trevi. There were just TOO MANY tourists in Rome, tainting our first impression of Rome. Luckily, our trip turned out better later when we found out from our roommate that due to the cultural week, we could go into any museums for free!!! It was then we realised our free entry into Galleria dell'Accademia was not because we were early. So, our mission for the next few days was to hop on, hop off any museums (including the Coliseum) along our way.
On sunday, following the daylight saving thing, we overslept and arrived pretty late at the Vatican City, causing us 1 1/2 hours wait before we could enter. Nevertheless, the trip was another saving as entry is free every last sunday of the month. The place is really huge as we had to walk past many rooms before finally reaching the Sistine Chapel to see Michaelangelo's great painting. By about 1.30pm, we were done and ready to leave when I felt a sudden urge to grab a postcard and send back home. It felt like once in a lifetime chance at that moment to get something sent from within the city. And the guard was kind enough to let me in even though they had already put up a barrier to prevent entry into the post office. I conclude that people from the Vatican City are very nice (also from experience on the following day).
Monday was our final day to roam around Rome and we just did a bit of walking as we overwalked the previous day. The main itinerary was to see St Peter Basilica. It was also the final day of the cultural week which started on 25 May. We ended the day early to take proper rest before our long journey back to London on April's Fools. Also, to wait for the free pasta party offered by the hostel i.e. rock bun (known as rosetta) and overcooked pasta.
Wrapping up
There's been ups and downs on our trip to Italy. Some general observations:
2. Old Italian men are so impatient. In Venice, we were looking at some murano glass plates and the owner came out to tell us to hurry as he doesn't have all day (it was only 11 plus in the morning!). In Florence, the waiter in Marione tried to hurry us too. Geez. Went into a tabachi to ask for direction only to be chased away by the owner when he found that we are not interested in buying anything.
3. Entry to toilets are expensive! In Venice, we have a choice to buy a Venice card which allows us to get discounts for certain attractions, unlimited ride for the water taxi and best of all TWO toilet entry per day. We opted to walk back to our motel during midday as we stayed on the island.
While there's more attractions here, the place is not as tourist-, student-, and foreigner-friendly as in Germany. If I ever go back, it will be to Venice for its small town charm and generally nicer people and also back to Mercato Centrale in Florence for the super amazing food.
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