This weekend is Memorial Day, the official kick off for summer (even though it barely feels like spring in Chicago). And after looking back at my Italy photos to recap my trip, I’m slowly getting ready to start looking ahead to my next batch of travel adventures!

Yes, since I started my travel adventures a year ago, I have officially been bitten by the travel bug. I love Chicago, being here with my friends and enjoying my surroundings but the urge to get out there and see new things is SO strong.

So to keep the momentum going, I’ve made a list of places I plan to visit during the rest of 2011 and early 2012. Why make a list? Well, I’m a planner so me and lists are BFFs. Plus, it helps me organize my vacation time and figure out when I need to start budgeting.

Let’s take a closer look at solo travel 2.0:

Summer/Fall 2011:

Los Angeles - Most of my California travels have taken me to San Francisco but this time, I’m off to LA to visit the lovely Jenn and be a tourist (proudly!)

Seattle/Vancouver - I’ve NEVER been to the Pacific Northwest but I hear it’s gorgeous! And I’ve never been to Canada so I’m excited to see two new parts of the country (and our neighbor to the north)

London or Paris - That’s right! I’m going back to Europe. I haven’t decided which one I’m going to yet but it I am so excited!

Early 2012:

Hawaii – Another place I’ve never been! And the history buff in me is dying to see the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu and get lei’d (TWSS)

Europe - Potential locations include the South of France or Barcelona

Yes, this is a bit ambitious but I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen. And the one thing that will be different from these other trips? I won’t be going for another two weeks or if I do, I won’t do the entire thing alone again.

Going alone to Italy was such an amazing time and a great challenge, but it was also VERY lonely at some points. I don’t regret it, but I learned a lot from it, including how I would do things a little differently next time.

What about you? Any big travel plans this weekend, summer or over the next few months?

Yes, I promise this is the last part of my three-part Italy adventure. Hopefully you aren’t sighing dramatically as you see another update about it in your Reader. Kidding!

Anyhow, after Florence, I entered the last leg of my trip, which was two nights in Venice and then returning to Rome for a final day before flying home to Chicago.

In talking to friends before I left, the verdict on Venice was split. Some said they loved it and one friend in particular said she hated it (she was very vocal about it too). But I’ve wanted to see St. Mark’s Square for a long time and, well the city is on water so I wanted to mix up the places I was visiting throughout the country.

Here is my verdict: Venice is beautiful but really, two nights there is enough (partially because it is so expensive)

I’ll get back to the cost stuff but first, let’s focus on beauty. Living in the Midwest, along Lake Michigan, I love water. I have always loved looking out at it because it’s soothing for me. And Venice has LOTS of water. When I walked out of the St. Lucia train station I was greeted immediately with a) burning hot sun and b) the Grand Canal. Yes, it’s not natural but it is stunning.

The main way to get around the city is by water too (or walking). I rode the Vaporetto several times down the Canal to sight see and get to my hotel. It’s a little nerve wracking at first (and bumpy) but it is a great way to see the city, especially the Rialto Bridge and get a great view of St. Mark’s Square/Doge’s Palace.

Here is the other thing about Venice: it’s very narrow. The streets are narrow and windy and honestly, you feel like a hamster running through a maze sometimes, but it’s awesome. I loved wandering around, getting lost, and finding myself sometimes going in a circle. The architecture of Venice isn’t as stunning as Rome (in my opinion) but it is very beautiful and fairly clean. But the canal does smell badly at times so I can only imagine how bad and crowded it is in summer.

Let’s get a closer look at the sights!

This is literally the only picture of me in Venice. Grabbed it while at a vaporetto stop en route to the train station

Gondola rush hour on a side canal

St. Mark’s Basilica/Square (so crowded)

Doge’s Palace (look closely and you can see it’s white and pink!)

View of St. Mark Basilica’s roof and Venice from above

View of St. Mark’s Square and Venice from above

Lovely live evening music from Quadri in St. Mark’s Square

Postcard Venice scene: gondola, bridge and bright buildings

Doge’s Palace (to the left) and prison (to the right) with the Bridge of Sighs in the middle. It’s currently under reconstruction and ads placed over the restoration scne

Approaching the Rialto Bridge on the vaporetto

View of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge

Wedding party in St. Mark’s Square. Why they want to put pigeons on themselves, I don’t understand

As I mentioned, Venice is VERY pricey. Holy cow. And it’s not just hotel that’s expensive, everything is. Coffee, bottled water, food (especially) and entrance fees to museums. But, it was worth it and I’m glad I got to see it in person. And if/when I ever have money to literally burn (w/o consequences), I will go back!

So that is the end of my Italy journey. I’m still uploading a lot of photos from my trip to Flickr and created an Italy set for them. Some things that will be posted there that aren’t here are: day trip to Siena and my cooking class in Chianti. Those (and more Venice photos) are being uploaded tonight and more from Rome are coming soon.

Movie Review: Bridesmaids, time for some gross girl humor

While I was editing more photos tonight, I decided to mix it up a bit and make this post solely about Florence because I have MORE than enough photos to share! The next installment will be Siena/Venice and the end of my trip. Okay, let’s get started!

The second leg of my Italian adventure included getting from Rome to Florence and testing my skills at reading European train station signs, something I haven’t done since 2000. The whole Rome Termini experience and getting on the correct train (and being in the correct seat) for Florence was a little dramatic, but it all worked out :) Leaving Rome was tough but I was ready to slow down on the all-day, force march tourist stuff and relax.

Well, that didn’t totally happen because once I was done sight seeing, I went in to full on eating mode.

Literally, I ate in Florence like I have never eaten before.

Here’s a sample of my daily eating schedule:

• Light breakfast (cappuccino and croissant)
• First lunch (sandwich or focacia)
• Second lunch (same as above – but from a different place)
• Mid-afternoon snack (gelato and/or red wine)
• Dinner (appetizer, pasta and optional dessert – plus red wine)
• Post-dinner treat/second dessert

Yep, that is literally how I ate almost every day for five days in Florence. Sure, I was still walking around a lot but not as much as Rome, so I got a little tired at times :) I blame the red wine on that.

There was great food in every place I visited but I definitely sampled the most in Florence.

Oh yeah, and in between eating, I also saw some gorgeous sites. Let’s take a closer look.

Me at the Duomo – Yes, it makes me look MORE petite

Full frontal Duomo. The beauty and size of this place literally knocked me back

View down Via dei Calzaioli (main road in Florence), love the flags!

Palazzo Vecchio (which greets you at the end of Via dei Calzaioli), I mean, wow

Hi postcard scene at the Piazza San Marco, I mean, really?

Me in front of the Ponte Vecchio (yeah, it’s gorgeous)

The hill of stairs to climb for San Miniato – aka where I got sunburned

Me at the Piazzale Michaelangiolo (oh yeah and a killer view behind me)

Yeah that view is so gorgeous, let’s get a closer look (without me in it!)

Yeah that’s pretty damn gorgeous

And then when I got back from the Piazzalo, I ran in to a random parade, literally.

See!

The vibe between Florence and Rome was totally different. Rome is very fast pace, big city, lots to do and see and Florence is a bit more laid back. Things open later, it is smaller and honestly, more crowded with tourists. This isn’t a bad thing, but I found it harder to find those little off-the-beaten-path places I wanted.

But, similar to Rome, it was tough to say goodbye when I left. I found some amazing places to eat and saw some really beautiful things, but alas, it was time to move on.

Side note: Jersey Shore is filming their latest season in Florence right now, which has been VERY unpopular with the locals (even the American students). Sadly, I missed their arrival by four days (actually, I’m not sad). Next time Snooki, it is ON.

Yes, that’s right, I’m back from Italy! Okay, to be fair, I’ve been back since Monday afternoon but jet lag was kicking my a** and I had so many photos to upload and edit, I haven’t had time to write.

But I do now!!!

So let’s recap quick what happened: as part of my solo travel adventures, I decided (almost a year ago) to go back to Europe and visit the one place that alluded me in 2000 – Italy. Later, I decided I was going for two weeks to visit three cities: Rome, Florence and Venice.

Lofty goal? Yes. Slightly insane? Yes. Concern-inducing for someone I’m related to? Yes.

But I did it and had an awesome time.

Italy is a very beautiful place. Like, walking around the cities during my two-week adventure, I literally couldn’t believe some of the beautiful things I saw. Thinking about it almost brings me to tears because it’s just so unlike anything we have in the Midwest. Sure, Chicago  has some great sights, but not the raw history that Italy does.

So to give everyone a recap of my trip, I’ve broken it in to three posts: Rome, Florence (and day trips) and Venice/Rome (where I ended my trip).

Below is the first installment – Rome.

The purpose of only visiting three cities over two weeks was to spend several days in each, explore, see the sights and also get a sense for the city. Getting in and out of a city in 2-3 days is fine and allows you to cover more places but you don’t get to really SEE and experience it.

I spent a total of five days in Rome and absolutely, 100% loved it. Maybe it’s because it’s a larger city and similar to Chicago in some ways but I just felt really connected to it. I did a lot of touristy stuff but also took time to explore the different neighborhoods, sample the food in each and get a sense for the whole city.

Plus, let me tell you, when you’ve done that much touristy stuff and history 101, you get burned out fast, so exploring gives you a break and let’s you see things off-the-beaten path.

Let’s get to some pictures!

Colosseum – I spent my first and last day in Rome there. So gorgeous and HUGE!

Trevi Fountain – Yes, it is much larger than the one in Vegas :)

At the Fountain of Four Rivers in Piazza Navona – Yes, that’s the new man in my life

Roman Forum – There are so many ruins in Ancient Rome, it’s amazing to imagine the history here

My favorite street in Central Rome (Via dei Coronari) – Full of gorgeous buildings, art galleries and off-the-beaten path shops

Spanish Steps at dusk – This place (like the Trevi Fountain) is jammed ALL THE TIME. But gorgeous

View of Rome from a massive hill I climbed. Sadly, it wasn’t a nice day, but the view was still stunning

During my day at the Vatican/St. Peter’s, I got to have my picture taken in the garden with the dome in the background

Full view of St. Peter’s from the square. The crowd at the bottom was gathered because the Pope was taking visitors that day. Naturally.

The Pantheon – It was right by my hotel so I got to walk by it every morning. Not bad!

I saw a lot of random things in Italy, including a Ferrari parade in Rome (40 Ferraris went down the street one day). I called this, the midlife crisis parade :)

No, I didn’t get a souvenir that said this, but by the end of the trip I was telling everyone how much I loved Rome!

Amazingly, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of images I took in Rome but I don’t want to bore you with the insane pictures I took so I’ll be uploading more of them to my Flickr account throughout the week. Seriously, I took more than 1,000 photos, it takes time to get through!

I could literally talk about Rome all day, I loved it that much. It is so beautiful that you just feel in awe of the things that happened there years ago and how connected it is to so many things.

This sounds cheesy but it’s true, every time I try to describe how beautiful the city is, I start to tear. When I think about the gold radiating off the buildings at sunset, I just don’t know how to describe it. I miss it, but I’m still glad to be home.

Movie Review: That’s right, I’m also seeing movies again now that I’m home! Tonight’s recap, one of my favorite books: Water for Elephants.