Some wierd statue in Bologna

Meeting a new friend from Canada

Europe trip 4: Venice the water city

Venice is one of the most well-known city in the world, not just in Italy, so we had to leave 4 days just for Venice, much more than for Rome and even Paris. Everyone said it was magical so we had to see it for ourselves and indeed, it really was magical. Its just... whoa...

Slack.

Venice and its gondolas

Huge balloon dog-looking structure

Venetian mask. Venetians will wear one of these masks and the costume in the bottom right pic during the weeks of Mardi Gras in February. The scene must be fantastic man....

Some of the goodies we enjoyed in Italy. Gelato and pastries (eg. Apple crumble!)

Rialto Bridge - Considered the true heart of Venice, this landmark bridge, characterized by its 24-foot arch, is built on approximately 12,000 wooden pilings that still support the bridge more than 400 years after it was built.

Taxis, ambulance, buses, trucks... they're all in the form of boats in Venice.

Testing Gwen's fantastic ability of taking self-portraits...

Great view... plus one of the river buses.

An action shot!

Saint Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco)

Campanile di San Marco and view of St Mark's square

These strange people seem to love the dirty pigeons that flood the whole of St Mark's square.Gwen would gladly testify how hateful that bird is, since she got shat on twice in 2 weeks... hee...

A rare group pic in front of pretty Saint Mark's Basilica (Basilica di San Marco).

The girls imitating the statue

more pictures of St Mark's square

Taking a short break at a cafe for its wonderful cuppuccino!

The girls could not resist not taking the gondolas. Although I was reluctant at first (70 euros man!!) but I must admit that at the end of it... it was fantastic!

Me and the pretty pink Doge's Palace

Joanie n YK with the Bridge of sighs in the background. This historic bridge connects the Doge's Palace with its prisons and was named for the condemned prisoners who crossed it to meet their executioners.

Gwen and me and the Bridge of Sighs

Our gondolier skillfully ducking under the bridge as he rows under it

On the Gondola through Venice

Bread clock?

Hmmm...

Day 2 of Venice on our way to the outer islands Murano, Burano and Torcello!

One of Venice's sinking churches... hee..

Also made from Murano glass... cool

Made from Murano glass

Some cute guys the girls picked up along the way...

One of the Murano's Glass Blowing Museums... Murano is known to make the finest glasswares, but most of the souvenirs we see in shops boasting Murano glassware... are MADE IN CHINA. hah!

meow... our 2 girls hidden behind these Venetian masks.

hmmm... there's a leaning tower in Burano as well.. Italian architects... tsk tsk...

One of the pretty scenes in Burano

Posing at one of the colorful houses in Burano... cool hor.

Relaxing in Torcello... the dog is a sucker for under-the-neck rubs... me too!

Day 3 in Venice was spent shopping for souvenirs in the many many great shops they have there... too bad I had no money to shop. hee

more shopping for souvenirs...

Our fav cafe in Venice by now. 2nd time we stop by this tiny cafe for a drink. Hmmm, maybe my companions aren't too happy i stopped by so often...

and we also sipped cuppuccino...

Joanie and Gwen prepared the Risotto (Rice), someone prepared the salad.. and I erm... took out the chicken.. haha... and drank too much wine.

Europe trip 3: The Renaissance Capital, Florence

Firenze. I had much to expect from this city. Hoping to be more informed about great pieces of art and see the city which produced the 4 great names for my Ninja turtles... I came here with great expectations and it disappoint me. Besides, after we were done, we had great many Gelatos to lick on... haha...

Slack

This is the camp which we slept in. Did I mention that that night... it poured damn heavily and we froze in those little tents? It was like 10 degrees out there.haha...

More of our camp and campsite.

Joanie's chomping away our food!! Main thing is... at the start of our trip, our meals were limited to under 1 euro a person... which was soon to balloon... haha

View of Florence from our campsite!

Around Florence

Santa Croce church

Some things you're prohibited to do! At least in Singapore they put the big F-word (fine)... in Italy they just fine you without the warning.. haha... okie, I'm still sore...