First it was off to Vienna! While I have been there with
friends previously, it was a completely different trip with the parents. For
one- it was HOT! No snow! No Christmas trees or chunks of snow falling off the roofs onto passer-byes (I know, I shouldn't be entertained but come on,
picture the image!). While Dad had a conference to attend, Mum and I made
ourselves at home in the city. After a bit of a disastrous start to the
re-jogging of my directional memory, I managed to get us around the city. Most
times without a map! We did however have a few adventures while trying to find
a specific street or a particular museum. All in all it was pretty fun just to
relax. Being there over the weekend, of course we had to check out the shul- an
amazingly beautiful building that survived World War Two by being the base of
the Viennese Gestapo. After a quick Friday night service, we ended up meeting
up with a friend of mine who was also travelling around Austria (hey Daniel
Segal) for dinner. 
Last time I was in Austria I was very disappointed that we
did not make it to Salzburg so I could get my Sound of Music on. This time it
was priority NUMERO UNO! Mum and I hopped on a day trip to visit the town so we
could walk and sing as we explored, and after over 5 hours of driving we
eventually made it. One place that I always find interesting to visit in a town
is a cemetery, and the cemetery in Salzburg was no exception. They have these
amazing grave markers that are really ornate, and the whole city has a
beautiful background being surrounded by the hills and mountains. It is kind of
hard for someone who has seen the movie to not dance around the fountain in the
Mirabel Gardens or jump up and down the stairs singing ‘Do-Re-Mi’ as you walk
past. Needless to say while I did not particularly enjoy the tour (although our
guide entertained us by wearing different coloured shoes), visting Salzburg was
a definite highlight. A tick on places I have wanted to visit!
My final day in Vienna could be counted as a ‘cultural class.’
We headed out to see the Hundertwasserhaus, and apartment building made up of
crazy colours and expressionist style as well as checking out an opera and
string concert in the Musik Varien, one of the many music halls in Vienna-
completely decked out in gold paint and other designs. While there are a lot of
design features throughout Europe, I thought Vienna to be a bit too decadent,
and especially seeing this music hall made me feel it was a little bit over the
top. I still think the city looks amazing covered in snow though- a definite
winter preference for me!
After spending the week back in Milan trying classes, it was
off to meet the parents again in Rome. Being as this was my second time to the
city, and my parents have also been there before it was a lazy weekend with not
much we needed to rush to see. We tossed a few coins over our shoulders into
the Trevi Fountain (it clearly works, since I did so earlier this year),
explored the street market stalls and ate our gelati by the Pantheon (most
amazing gelato store ever is right near there). Ever since I arrived in Italy I
have been trying to see The Pope. Finally got it right this time, as The Pope
was giving a large outdoor Mass in The Vatican square, we joined the thousands
of others there for a close-ish look and to fulfil my curiosity. A quick
weekend in Rome was soon complete as I unfortunately had to head back to
classes.
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| As viewed from the giant screen! |
My final trip with Mum and Dad came in the form of visiting Sicily.
While we didn’t quite make it to the heartland of Mafia Country, we at least
made it to the island. Having a car and our lovely GPS to direct us to various
towns, we spent much of the weekend driving from one town to the next trying to
find a restaurant that was actually open! It seems that a lot of southern Italy
shuts down when the tourist season ends, and many of the people who work around
these areas head elsewhere over winter. We made it just towards the end of the
period, but there still was not much available for us.
Dad and I were expecting to find old ruins all over the
place, but instead they were limited to archaeological sites far off the main
route- but when we did find them some of them were amazingly preserved. There
is like a mini Parthenon on a hill in Segesta- practically fully constructed,
and an old castle in Erice that overlooks the town below and a gorgeous view of
the Sicilian coast. Personally wasn't such a fan of Sicily, but I suppose you
win some- you lose some. Either way I can say I have been!
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| Nup, we're not in Greece |
When saying farewell to Mum and Dad, I sent them home with a
bit of extra luggage- almost 30kg to be exact. Why not laden them down with
extra bags instead of having to try lug it all home myself! After all, we didn't get very much shopping done while they were here, I am going to have to re-stock
everything before I leave…
