A dime a dozen

I've spent a few days in Florence now, and its been wonderful! Instead of going to see all the museums and famous statues, I decided to go against the flow. Whereas one might plan an early morning at the Accademia and an afternoon at the Ufuzzi (sp?), I shopped around from street markets to lounging at piazzas, to people watching the day away!

From all the cities, towns, and tourist traps I've been to, I've noticed just about ALL street vendors sell the same crap. You always get the Asian people doing the calligraphy writing of peoples names that look like animals, you always get the black people selling "Gucci" bags and "D&G" sunglasses, and you always get the random assortment of people hasseling you to buy x/y/z junk! You might think I hate street vendors, but actually, I thoroughly enjoy wandering between shops just to blow some time!

Now you might have wandered why I didn't visit any museums. Well, for one, I don't know about artwork and history. Secondly, I think I have already visited too many museums and churches in my lifetime...its to the point where everything looks the same! Don't worry, I did get to see the fake David statue though! Instead, I sat around and wrote in my diary, and attempted to draw sketches in the many piazzas I sat in. To me, that was much more relaxing and unique than fighting through lines in order to see some art work! I may loose a lot of friends by saying that, but oh well =)

Rick, the author of my guidebook (we are very close and on a first name basis now) recommends Gelato in Florence. As a matter of fact, he states that the best gelato is found in Florence. Well, that is some solid advice in my opinion. I obviously have taken his advice and ate at some of the more popular ones around the city. My feeling is that...gelato is just a super rich form of ice cream. Its very good, don't get me wrong, but at the same time, I think McD's ice cream is just as good (if not better!). Don't take my word though, try it out, but then, do let me know what you think.

I had plans to leave Venice and make way to Salzburg, Austria. Well, after writing my last post and actually checking for hostels, I noticed that most of it was already full. I think being close to Easter holidays, most Europeans travel. After a few minutes of freaking out, and a few more of looking on my map to figure out a logical location, I settled on Munich! I have no clue what is there, but I have heard they have good beer, and is part of the "Free Europe Tours" group that I did in London. If they are there, that alone is worth the trip!

That is all for now. Oh, who won the NCAA tournament? I have no clue, and no one here seems to care about basketball!