Farewell to Tuscana, Hello to Roma

7th July, 2009, AEST 7:06pm

So I’m on the train currently, in pursuit of the city of Roma. But, I thought before I get there, I might just sum up the last few days properly as my last entry didn’t do justice to my thoughts. Not necessarily about the iconic tourist places we went to, but more the place in which we stayed. We actually didn’t stay in Firenze, but it’s easier to say that when you’re hurried to write an entry. We stayed in an area on the outskirts of Firenze, about an hour or so drive out of the city to the mountainous village of Vernio. We stayed up in the mountains there in a farm house-esque place which dates back to the fifteenth century (though refurbished in the last hundred years). In a strange way, it reminded me of home which is something I find really odd. Where I live in Australia it’s mountainous, and we are backed up against a bush though since we moved in the area has started to be built up more, you know, acreage type blocks. Where as where we stayed it was surprisingly not very built up and unlike home, we actually stayed on a mountain. Well, the main difference was the trees. That’s something that I’ve noticed since we’ve been away. Actually, that was the first thing I noticed in Singapore. In Australia, the plants are a paler shade of green and are small leafed to deal with the environment (lots of sun, lack of water, lack of nitrogen in the soil, ect) which causes plants like Eucalyptus to thrive in our country, where as overseas the trees are darker shades of green and have larger leaves and in general are more luscious looking. Ok, I’ll stop my overly simplified observation. But they are different. Very different.
Ainslie just read what I wrote and thinks I’m retarded for writing so much about leaves. Oh fail on my part. Anyway, so to stop my rambling; in Vernio we were backed up against a forest of such different trees compared to my home in Brisbane which is backed up against a bush.
Let’s try for a subject opposite to trees shall we? How about cars. Oh god, cars. One thing to note for anyone thinking of going to Europe, beware of the road. When we got to London, I was amazed at how dangerously they drove and how dangerous it was to be a pedestrian. When I got to Paris, I decided London roads weren’t that bad but still feared for my life when I crossed the street. However, when I first stepped foot onto a street in Milano, well, that I thought would be the end of me. For the first time we were actually at the wheel of a car this time in Firenze, and you know what, I’ve decided that although Australian laws are extremely anal, especially when it comes to driving, well, I’ve decided from this experience that they are there for a reason. Dad drove. It’s been four years since Dad drove a manual. So that helped. But it was worse because Dad had never driven left hand drive before, and he certainly didn’t know the way around the city, and he certainly was not fussed on driving in the traffic of Firenze. In a rent car. Well, I’m alive, so that’s a good thing. But a handy tip, if you aren’t a competent driver or don’t have good reflexes, take the bus. It was still fun though in a strange way. I almost wanted to be driving and not a passenger. Anyway, I know I rant and rave, so I shall depart now from this entry, and away I go to play solitaire.