Château Monfort,Milan

第二天换去住Château Monfort,这风格三年前的我或许很喜欢。这家网站效果图渲染的很童话，实景没那么夸张。对浴室很满意。而且离购物区近多了，打车去火车站也只需十几欧。事实证明当车站和商店不在一起时要选择离购物近的。前台清一色的帅哥，看来米兰人对奋斗在服务前线的外貌标准毫不含糊

好喜欢这个浴室

Neuschwanstein Castle

抵达新天鹅堡的时候是下午两点，进入城堡的门票居然卖完了。不过无所谓，我们就走了旁边的路爬去另外一端山顶，山路崎岖不好走，有雪有冰，不过登高望远后映入眼帘的，真的是我那日思梦想的景色：迪士尼睡美人原型的城堡那么真实的屹立在那里！低头有点晕眩！下山沿途还能鸟瞰秀丽的巴伐利亚田园风光

With love, from Florence

I didn't fall for Florence at first sight when the train was slowly approaching Santa Maria Novella station, but I was spellbound while our taxi wove into the city's famous Piazza della Repubblica. Our taxi dropped us off at one of the medieval buildings and I couldn't wait to soak up the utterly characterful city centre..

I found myself standing next to one of the popular cafes,  bathing in the golden Tuscan sunlight and watching the blue of the sky grows into a deep velvet twilight.  Street artists were selling canvas to tourists and children pitched up around the carousel,  I know it might look a bit touristy, but this is how I find the city alive and dynamic. 

There are many cafes, chocolatiers, gelaterias as well as some mid-range priced fashion boutiques lined up around the Piazza della Repubblica.  After a generous dose of window shopping I ventured into Eaterly, an independent food store that selling everything from Italian made aperitif to fine confectioneries. It's such a gourmet emporium that every food lover will adore, and I really hope we can have something similar here in Australia. 

I couldn't get my eyes away from Gilli's beautiful Christmas display window. This is an old-school cafe dated back in the 1730s. Frequented by visitors to Florence through the ages, it's one of the most historic cafes in town.  The antique chandeliers and wooden walls ensure the cafe retains its charming ambience as an elegant 18th century salon. 

After a stroll around Piazza del Duomo we arrived at the unmissable Florence Cathedral : Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, the icon that was captured in a million post cards...  Its impressive dome and intricate facade made up with marbles left me speechless.  Can you imagine the construction begun in 1296 and took 7 generations to complete ?!  It's surely the most beautiful Gothic style architecture I have ever seen ! 

Hammer & Tong,412 Brunswick St, Fitzroy

3 days in Rome

食过早饭，开始探险罗马！这天不冷，加上被酒店暖气快烤熟，短裤上阵也没问题。清晨的罗马，只有三三两两的人。走到酒店门口的广场再顺着巷子走下去，看着窄窄的街道和建筑，因为是落脚的第一个欧洲城市，罗马给了我特别多震撼。我真的在电影里那种场景了吗？

按照酒店的指示，从酒店出来没几分钟就来到Trevi fountain, 也几乎没有什么人。倒是有少许警察在巡逻。嗯。。其实罗马没有想象的那么乱哦。这就是冬天和出发早的好处。再晚一个小时来，就看见了三层人！

简直不敢相信万神殿几乎是我一个人的。

整个罗马都像是一部历史教科书。随便一处遗迹都有上千年历史。参观到罗马斗兽场的时候，再次感恩自己没有投胎到远古时代。人类和猛兽的决斗，实在太残忍了。。

每个笼子里关着猛兽，为了增加游戏的残酷性和血腥程度，被搏斗的人毫无预知这猛兽从哪个笼子里出来，而猛兽也是被饿了好几天的。。

见过没人的西班牙阶梯吗？说好的里三层外三层人头呢？没错，我们把名胜古迹都清场了。。