Ciao Firenze..

it's quite a small town. it's walking distance to almost all the attractions.

1. we checked into a nicer hostel this time. we got a room just for us. we finally get to enjoy hot showers and the toilets were clean.

2. oh, i broke the bed but it wasnt my fault. the screw of that bed was loose. it must be the result of karen turning left and right in her sleep the night before. so happened i sat on it and it broke. unlucky and unfortunate sern wei. *i'm innocent #3* marcus agrees with me in this one.

3. we ate traditional italian style pig's stomach at the market near to the duomo. close to asian food but not that good compares to asian food. we left our signature there, too. when you're at florence, remember to look for that shop, look for our names, tell the lady owner we recommended you and you'll get discount. cool, huh?!

4. we visited the oldest church in florence which was consecrated in 393a.c. it's about 1600 years old.

5. we conquered 414 steps to the top of giotto's bell tower. we paid and we suffered. but the view from the top was worth it.

6. the leaning tower of pisa, my third wonder of the world. it's leaning about 4.5m to one side. that's alot. had to wait for few hours before our turn to climb up pisa; about 300 steps. the waiting was dreadful..

wonder at my back and 2 wonderful ladies by my side. u can't get luckier than me ;)

7. we had a wonderful dinner at this restaurant,Golden View Open Gallery by the arno river but we couldnt get a table by the window overseeing the river. but it was a wonderful dinner. the food was delicious, the wine was good and the company was great. a few glasses of wine and marcus was tipsy. haha. sorry to say this but cai mei can drink better than you, marcus. i quote russell peters, "be a man!"

here are some italian words i learned
1. ciao - hello/goodbye
2. buongiorno - good day
3. buonasera - good evening/afternoon
4. arrivederci - goodbye
5. grazie - thank you
6. bella - beautiful
7. grazie - thank you
8. prego - welcome

9. parla inglese? - do you speak English?

ciao bella italia..

p/s: how do you call spaghetti in italian?