Still alive!

Ciao!

Just a quick note to let you know that I'm still alive and well and in freezing cold, drizzly Milan.

I was abandoned by the tour group this morning as they head back to Australia, by way of Dubai, and I've just spent a frustrating and fruitless couple of hours at the central train station trying to locate the lost property office - I left my red leather Columbina mask on the train from Venice yesterday! I was told "Down the stairs and to the right" by many different station staff, but it must be invisible or something - it's definitely not there! I wll go back with Rita or Mia in tow tomorrow and they can help me break through the language barrier. One phrase I will definitely not forget now is "dov'è l'ufficio di bagliato perduto?" Argh!!

I'm feeling quite at home in Milan though because they have trams, just like in Melbourne! I am spending three more nights here before flying off to London very early on Monday morning.

What else is news? Since I last posted from Rome, we've been to Sorrento (spending the day at Pompei in the pouring rain), Orvieto (Google it - the duomo in particular is just AMAZING), Florence (David! The Uffizi!!) and Venice. The day we arrived in Venice was the day it flooded - the highest acqua alta in 50 years! We arrived at the station at 12.00 and weren't able to get into our hotel until the water dropped at 16.00. Venice is so gorgeous though, I felt the most at home there than any other city so far. I'd really like to go back there (once I've finished paying off this trip!) and spend a semester or two studying at their university.

I did some serious shopping in Venice too - I bought a pair of gorgeous, soft, cashemere-lined red leather gloves, a red leather mask (now trapped in the non-existant Ufficio di Bagliato Perduto...grrr), a print of my favourite painting in the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, and a cute navy blue leather purse from a shop I just happened to stumble into on my roamings through the lanes and streets.

I'm sorry for the lack of pictures, too - I'm in an internet cafe, and my USB cord is in my suitcase back at the hotel. I'll post photos soon, I promise!

Here's a photo of the print I bought at the Guggenheim, though - it's called Solidità Nella Nebbia (Solidity Of Fog), painted by Luigi Russolo.



Until next time....

xoxoxo