Update

There are always things happened unexpectedly, and I always meet nice people during my trip. Angel (a friend of Yi-Hsui) asked me to stay with her 2 days earlier before Yi-Hsui arrives. So I can check out 2 days earlier... so great! And, Yi-Hsui could finally join me to Rome... what a good news!

The owner of hostel told me to pay for one more day as I left earlier (in fact I informed her of it 22 hours before!). Thanks God, finally it was resolved and I'd lost nothing.

I had a private cooking lesson with Andrea in this morning, he said he would be in Hong Kong for a couple of days during Christmas for conducting a training session in Sabatini! Wow, it's the Italian restaurant I've longed to visit since long ago (but still haven't had a try there). What a wonderful experience for me to cook and have lunch with such a professional chef in Firenze!

Bored

I walked to a place which is almost out of the map of downtown of Firenze ─ Cavini. For what? Gelato again! It had tons of choices of favours... yummy!

Then I went to Uffizi Gallery. It was quite disappointing since it wasn't worth 9.5 euros for me... even though it was quite fun to see various version of Jesus and Santa Maria. I just remember "The birth of Venus" which is the picture of Adobe Illustrator... haha... But luckily there was a temporary exposition holding at the same time, "The mind of Leonardo". I was excited by the original sketches of Leonardo da Vinci when he did the lost painting of "The Battle of Anghiari", he really did a lot of detailed research and anatomical study about how a piece of muscle contracted and relaxed!

After the visit, it still kept raining and I felt very cold, I couldn't help having a cup of hot chocolate in Rivoire which is famous for its semi-sweet chocolates. It was tasty and just costed 2.3 euros!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now a man is fixing the lock of my bedroom's door... it's only been repaired after one week!...

Daniel just left in this morning, I don't know who will come next...
Honestly, it's quite uneasy to stay with a strange man in the same bedroom for 5 nights... but if no one cares, who cares?

I've stayed for one week in Firenze already... I start to feel bored... Florence is so small that I think at most 4 days is enough here... but I have to stay one more week...waiting Yi-Hsui to come...

Pizza in Pisa

Today I went to Pisa with my roomate, Daniel. It just took 1 hour from Florence by train.

It was pissing down sometimes, but it was happy to have someone be my companion in this trip. Absolutely, all people would do the same posture beside the Leaning Tower of Pisa - Torre Pendente, including me! haha... ( I kicked it for another photo)

We had pizzas in a restaurant, but it seems that western people seldom share pizza together... so I have a whole big pizza alone... I had stomachache after the lunch even though I couldn't finish it!

Daniel went to Empoli to watch a ball game and I went back to hostel alone. I listened to songs of Leo Koo and suddenly I felt very upset... tears dropped from my face... last time I cried was the 1st day of arrival on Toulon... I discover that I've already been in Europe alone for 54 days...

See the photos

I love gelato!

Colorful combination from Vivoli- one of the best gelateria in Florence.

Found it on Via Isola delle Stinche7r

Shopping Day

Today is my shopping day! I went to the Central Market to buy some fruits and tomatoes, only 1 euro/kg of tomatoes on a vine! Crazily cheap! As I remember, 胡杏仁also went there to buy a huge steak with a chef in the TV programme of 《從世界出發》, haha...

I bought a flattening pastry there for lunch... quiche Lorraine, a quiche made with cheese and pieces of bacon, with 48g fat content for one piece! I hope I won't be suffered from heart disease! For the taste... oh...very salty... it seemed that I was having a bite on a hard salty cheese! Italian people must get used to eating salty food.

Then I went to the seem-to-be largest supermarket, Esselurga, 45 mins away from my hostel to buy foodstuff and shampoo, toothpaste...etc. Cereal is crazily cheap... a box of Kellogg's Special K only costs 1.6 euros...! (It's $39 in H.K.)

It was fully dark when I came out of the supermarket at 5:15p.m... I think I am rather like a local than a tourist here (that's why it's not dangerous for me to stay here...) ... holding 2 large shopping bags, dressing causally with messy hair... :P

Shot a picture at the river (Fiume Arno).

Florence seems to be very small.


See what I've bought! One-week stock!

Pasta Day

I attended 2 Italian cooking classes in a culinary school today. I had tried 4 different kinds of pasta with heavy sauces and 2 fattening desserts made with chestnuts for lunch and dinner. I felt very full but it's good to gain my weight back, haha... since I've lost some pounds after coming to Europe. I think it's easy to achieve this goal, at least you can find gelateria everywhere, like 7-11 in Hong Kong. Every cafe has its own gelato corner as well...wow, I love it.

I wanna try pizza here, but it's not fun to have pizza alone. For me, pizza is something that you have to share with friends...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Met Mariaka from Australia and Hanna from Korea in the hostel. They stayed for 2 nights only and left already. Last night I had a non-stop chat with Hanna for over 1 hour...both of us are talkative :P... it's my first time to meet Korean girl, I think their english is much better than Japanese's! Today comes Daniel, a journalist from Brazil, he will stay for 5 nights. It's so weird to stay in the same room with another man but luckily, he is very nice. However, I couldn't hang up my underwear in the room :P

ALWAYS get bad news!!

Bad news always come to me...

Yi-Hsui said she may have to change 10-day trip to 4-day trip in Italy...

I have to stay here for 12 days waiting for her, and I don't wanna be alone for one more week in Italy after she leaves... but I couldn't change the schedule of train ticket to Paris...

I will be alone for 5 days in London later, too. I've already booked the air ticket from London to HK... can't changed the schedule at such a low price... (HKD 2009 for OASIS HK airline)

:'(

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
God's word is my only source of strength

I used to read Our Daily Bread everyday when I was in secondary school. Now I love to read its online version. I find it more inspiring to read english version, and It even has MP3 that you can listen to.

Exhausted journey

Ended 3-week stay in Paris, took the night train to Florence by 12 hours... Luckily I was the only one in the 4-bed compartment, but it was too noisy and I couldn't sleep on the shaking bed in the compartment... oops, my panda eyes are getting more serious now...

Travelling from Paris to Italy was like having a battle... I had climbed upstairs and downstairs with my heavy lugguage for over 10 times... coz there was no elevator for the metro and train stations in both Paris and Italy!!! My legs are full of bruises again...

Staying in a 3-bed shared dorm in Florence now... only 16 euros per night... just had a chat with a girl from Australia... luckily there is ADSL connection... but no kitchen... I want to have a cup of hot water...

Too tired to write what I've done in Paris...maybe do it later...

Very very tired and sleepy...

Update

Moved out from auntie's home... Thanks for Mish's lovely sofa, I could stay in Paris for 5 more nights.

Planning to move to my dream place, Florence, by night train in this weekend. Before joining Yi-Hsui, I will have 12 days alone in Florence, may God bless me.

No shipping service in France, incredible...
I will take my 40kg luggage to London for shipping...x_x

Miss me or not

Do you?

I have been falling in love with Le Jardin des Tuileries,
Being surrounded by orange color of the falling leaves,
I was moved, in such a Jimmy-styled picture...

but I felt unreasonably cold in such a warm color...