After leaving Rome I headed north in search of more modern things. Wanted to check out Pisa but just didn’t have the time. I was on my way to Cinque Terre and I wanted to make sure that I check into the hotel at a decent hour. Hopped on a train bound for Florence so that I could go check out the Michelangelo’s statue of David. I managed to get stuck on the train because the door wouldn’t open. Ended up in Bologna for a quick bite to eat before headin back.

Florence is an amazing city. In contrast to Rome it is the sleeping beauty. The streets were cobblestone and lined straight to the centerpiece, the Duomo. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. A huge gothic temple that looked like something out of a comic book. It was absolutely breathtaking.

After walking around the square for a bit I stumbled upon the Galleria dell’Acaddamia where the statue of David was housed. It did take me quite awhile to find the museum. There weren’t any signs that pointed to the location from the street. I must have walked around it 3 times before I finally found the entrance in an unmarked building. Right around the corner of the entrance inside the museum was the 25 ft figure that Michelangelo had created in 1501. The most famous sculpture in history was standing there towering over me. I couldn’t help but sit down and stare at it for a good 20 mins. It was that amazing. If god had created a perfect creature it would have come in the form of Michelangelo’s David. Cameras were not allowed in the museum so I had to sneakily snap off a few photos from the iPhone.

Had a few days to wanderlust so I thought I’d head down to Rome for some sightseeing. It was either that or head over to the french countryside and work my way back to Zurich. It was raining in pretty much all of Europe so I said why knock off another modern world wonder (the Coliseum) off my list. Off to kick it with he Pope.

The train ride was long. It got stuck on the snowy tracks for a few hours so I think it took roughly 12 hours to get to Rome. ThAnk god my hotel was around the corner from the main train station. I would not want to be walking all around that place at night. Checked in and chatted awhile with one of the guys boarded there. He seemed nice but don’t really remember his name.

All I can say about Rome is damn! On a scale of grandioseness you can mark it up there as the old world Las Vegas. I mean tourist everywhere, tons of stuff to gawk at and memorabilia up the ass. I wanted to check off the sights (Coliseum, Vatican. Pantheon) and get the hell out of dodge. For a city that wasn’t built in a day that is all I wanted to spend there. As you can tell I’m not a dan of the big cities.

I got a head start at 6 am to head off over to the Vatican. Hopped on the subway and walked about for a few hour while things opened up. Hung out at St Peter’s for a bit hoping the Pope would come out in his pajamas but he was probably still asleep in his coffin at 7 am in the morning. Perused through the Vatican museum for a bit. Sistine Chapel was amazing. It’s a shame there was no photography allowed cause I would have been all over that shit. The afternoon was spent walking about the coliseum. Did I mentioned it was raining. Fuck rain. It makes me have to clean my lens after every shot. Not cool god. Anyways now i’ve walked all over goddamn Rome. It’s dusk and I’m looking for the Pantheon in a dark ass alley. For such a prominent site they sure made this one hard as fuck to find. I walk in circles for about an hour an a light clicks. iPhone maps! Why didn’t I think o this earlier. Fuck! Found it wihin 10 mins. Checked it off my list and bounced back to he hotel. Rome, you were cool but I can only take 1 day of you without getting annoyed at how many tourists you have.

So I finally made it to Switzerland, land of chocolate, cheese and clocks. I must say it is damn cold here. -15C. I can’t do the math but anything in the negative has got to be surely freezing. I had forgotten my heavy jacket back at home and luckily was able to swing by Sports Basement in SF during a layover to pick something up. Nearly missed my connecting flight by 15 mins.

Let me start by saying Switzerland in the winter is pure bliss. The people are friendly, the countryside is spectacular covered in snow. It’s total winter wonderland. Ski resorts are a skip and a hop onto a train and your at the resort of you choice. I was pretty impressed with the infrastructure that Switzerland has to enable skiiers to get to the mountain. My cousin and I took a side trip to Engelberg which was only about 60 mins from Luzern. I didn’t have my board with me but man did I wish I could have been out there. The views from the top were amazing. It makes Lake Tahoe look dinky in comparison.

Luzern is a quant little city with a central river. I probably could have walked the entire city if it weren’t so cold. Got to experience my first Gluwein which is a warm rose wine infused with spices like cinnamon. It was a treat to drink something warm when it was bone chilly outside. Cousins and I walked about the Central market but we didn’t go far because of freezing temperatures. The family even took me to Zurich to a Vietnamese Christmas party. I felt sorta out of place but hey whatever. I had a good time watching the locals celebrate. I’m gonna have to come back to Switzerland when it’s greener. I hear Interlaken is a backpackers dream.