Italy

Bonjurno and hello from Italy. We stayed in ltaly for two weeks and visited many cities’ including Venice, Florence, sienna, Pisa and Rome. As a monkey, I usually only eat bananas but since we were in the country of food, I thought why not try something different. My favorite food of those I tried was gelato.

            After a long drive in Meghan’s bag from Switzerland, we finally were in Italy. All of my monkey friends that had been to Italy told me how amazing it was.  I was so excited. We first went to the city of Venice. Did you know that Venice is an island? There are canals that run all through the city and there are boats and gondolas that can bring you where you want to go. Meghan explained to me that the gondolas are fancy wooden boats with one man standing up with an ore paddling.  They are famous in Venice. We walked all around this wonderful city and went to the Saint Mark’s Square. I was told about the Italian delicacy gelato so I was eager to try some. Even though it was a cold and rainy day, nothing stopped me. I think they should add something to monkey’s diet of bananas. I think that gelato would be a marvelous meal. Venice was a great start to our Italian experience.

The Gondolas 

            The next stop was Tuscany, Florence, Sienna and Pisa. We were staying in a little Tuscan villa with an amazing view of the countryside. One the first day, we ventured into the city of Florence. The day started with a warm cup of hot coco and a scrumptious cream filled pastry, yummm! Then we ventured to a leather factory that a family friend had recommended. In Venice, I noticed there were a lot of leather stores, so I was very interested to see how they made the various items. My people family love to go to markets, to see the local crafted items. To top the day off, we went out for a traditional Italian meal.  I enjoyed some bruschetta, pasta and gelato. I had a perfect day in Florence and I bet all of my friends are jealous.

The girls enjoying there meal

            In sienna, we went to the famous zebra stripped Duomo. A Duomo is a church. There were no animal’s allowed in the church, but Meghan snuck me in. I was amazed by all of the detail put into the church. The entire floor was inlayed marble and there were statues of all of the popes. If you have ever been in a church, you know how much detail they put in the altar but in this church, there is that much detail in everything. I was so impressed with this church. We also visited a square where they used to have horse races. Sienna was well worth the stop.

Inside the Duomo

            We also visited the city of Pisa.  This is the home of the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. When we walked around the bottom of the tower, I was afraid it would fall and crush my little monkey body. Luckily it did not. I am glad we were not there in the summer time because it would be so crowded. I really enjoyed Pizza I mean Pisa.

The leaning tower

            The last stop on our Italian adventure was Rome. We were met by our hosts Franca and Maro and they treated us to some more Italian food. The olives, cheese and toasts were delicious. Sadly, the first two days it poured rain, so I stayed tucked into the little camper trailer with my bananas. Finally, on the third day, we went out and explored the city. We visited the Forum and the Coliseum. I was amazed by the effort that was put into the Coliseum It must have been so difficult to make it so big without machinery. We also went to a church service lead by Pope Francesco at the Vatican.  Even though it was not in English, I could understand some parts. It was much different than the church services I have been to before.  After the service we visited an amazing gelato store called Geolitti.  The gelato was so delicious and on the top, they put a scoop of whipped cream. I thought the other gelato was good but nothing can beat Geolitti. They even had a banana flavour!  We liked it so much that we went back three times over the next week. I didn’t know that one place could have so much history.

The Coliseum 

            I had an amazing time in Italy and can’t wait to go back. I wonder what adventures are to come in Spain.