ciao italy...

tonight is our last night in fair italy... we're in milan right now, with "family dinner" to be served in a few hours at our hostel... we waltzed around the city this afternoon exploring and looking fondly at the window displays in the high end designer stores... to be honest, milan does have flecks of beauty, but the smaller spots in italy that i've been to have been the ones to really capture my heart... their architecture, stunning locals, gorgeous parks and perfect environments for aimlessly wandering...

verona and venice were my favourites -- i only wish my brother had been able to see them... rome was extremely busy and lead to tons of walking and seeing some of the most incredible things... and i mean incredible... i still cannot believe that i have set foot in the sistine chapel and even managed to snap a few photos of the ceiling as well... it was breathtaking being in there, even if it was shoulder to shoulder with others feeling the same thing... michelangelo's pieta inside st peter's basilica took my breath away as well, as did the larger than life interior of the basilica itself... it was almost like an overload, as you had to look up, down and at every angle... plus, in florence i stood for a sigificant period of time in front of botticelli's birth of venus, just astonished at the beautiful detail and gorgeous expression he gave the women in his works... my admiration for him as an artist has definitely grown since seeing that piece in the flesh... and the david... oh david... intensely amazing... i gazed up at him for awhile and also visited the two other copies of him that live in florence... masterpieces.

i. am. in. art. heaven.

i've managed to be relatively well behaved on the shopping front, but i have treated myself to a number of things so far... the european fashions are just too irresistable to pass up... yes, there is still room in my backpack... i'm doing very well... i had to curb myself from buying more today, as i decided i need to cap it for italy -- after all i still have france and spain to leave room for...

i can't stop drinking cappuccino and sipping on local wines -- chianti in florence had my tastebuds reeling... it is so hot with temperatures reaching the +30 mark each and every day, if not warmer... i'm already sporting a bit of a tan from being outside all day, every day and plan on working on that even more in nice tomorrow...

ciao for now...