My 10-day Trip to Northern Italy

米蘭大教堂: 16 years have passed. I revisited Milan and realized I had set foot in many European cities and I was no longer surprised by the church there.

名店街 / Theft in Milan is less rampant after 16 years. Nevertheless, visitors are advised to stay fully alert.

Venice

Venice is definitely one of the most romantic and beautiful cities in Europe. I felt totally chilled.

聖馬可廣場被拿破崙稱讚為「歐洲最美客廳」。

Gondolas are beautiful. It was a pity that there was no singer on mine.

前往拉士碧芝區，特別安排乘火車暢遊五鄉鎮 Cinque Terre。五鄉鎮又稱為「五漁村」。它於 1997年被列入世界文化遺產；1999年獲闢為國家公園。鎮上房屋層疊依山勢而建，色彩鮮豔保留了純樸民風。

Pisa: 建於1173年、歷經約200年才完工的比薩斜塔，是到意大利不能不看的傳奇建築，它以每年一毫米的速度傾斜，曾在1990年停止對遊客開放，花了 11年時間修繕，將斜塔扶正約44厘米，專家稱可屹立300年不倒塌。

Making pasta haha!

St Gimignano: 前往有「優美塔城」之稱的聖吉米尼亞諾古城。在中世紀鼎盛時期，城內合共有大小塔樓72座，是各大家族權力財富象徵，但數百年後只保存了13座。

Siena: 以賽馬節聞名於世的小山城

Under the Tuscan Sun

Perugia

亞西西: 踏足建於1228年的聖方濟各大教堂。天主教偉大聖人「亞西西的方濟各」，遺體便安放於教堂的墓穴內。

梵蒂岡: 被拉丁語稱為先知之地、全球領土面積最小的國家。在梵蒂岡博物館內，細賞古希臘及古羅馬時期雕刻珍品。其後於選舉教宗的西斯汀教堂，欣賞米高安哲奴驚世之作《創世紀》及《最後的審判》。

Holy light

I really like this photo.

白露里治奧古城 Bagnoregio 建於山丘上。又名天空之城，收納了古代伊特魯里亞人遺跡。它曾荒廢近幾百年，一度被稱為「鬼城」。動畫大師宮崎駿遊歷時，於清晨見城堡像飄浮於霧中，便產生創作天空之城的靈感。

Recommended cities: 
Venice, Cinque Terre, Assisi, Vatican, Rome, Pisa, Siena, Perugia & St. Gimignano

Famous products: pasta, wine, vinegar

The Italian English accent is difficult to understand.

Southern Italy is HOTTER than Northern Italy.

Some Italians are unfriendly to Asians.

Some Gypsies and black people are pickpockets.

I do love traveling. Every traveling experience is an eye-opener and, more importantly, an energy booster. It relieves my stress and reinvigorates me, probably because I have to run and smile a lot. As a consequence, endorphins are released and blood circulation is facilitated. Indeed, serving as an English teacher is very stressful. I am feeling burnt-out at work. That’s why I go traveling once every year. This is one of the keys to happiness.

My next target: Balkan Peninsula (東歐巴爾幹半島)