Hey all,
 
 Here's some travel snippets and pointers from my
 adventures in Italy (Rome, Cinque Terre, Venice)!
 
 ROME:
 
 For food, Rome's pizzerias are really good -
 especially these places called Pizza Rustica, a good
 one is near the Vatican.  Otherwise, pasta wasn't so
 hot there, and steak is generally bad everywhere
 Iīve been to.  Pasta still rules in Florence. 
 Personally, I prefer anything that doensīt use tomato sauce -
 too much of a reminder of my fringe days in school.
 
 Pizzaīs also the way to go to save $$$ - Another
 good money saver: I sneaked into a hostel in Rome at
 night, just found a bed and saved :)
 
 A cool little place in Rome is this church with a
 crypt made from the bones of 4,000 monks.  Creepy
 epitaph: What we once were, you are now.  What we
 are now, you will become.  
 
 I also recommend making your way to the top of the
 Vatican, to see all of Rome... just make sure you're
 in good shape.  The stairs bend inward as it's built
 around the dome structure, and the final winding set
 of stairs are so narrow and steep that there's a
 rope hanging in the middle to help you.  The actual
 Vatican is good too - crazy detailed art all over, and the
 Sistine Chapel is really nice - kind of a neck
 breaker though.  I got pretty tired from Rome though īcuz I
 pulled 15 hour street hiking days trying to see (and
 enjoy) everything.
 
 CINQUE TERRE:
 
 This place is not to be missed!  Itīs a combo of
 five quaint coastal villages which you hike from one to
 the other.  The third town (Venerezza) has a cheap
 hostel nicely located along the shore - cold showers
 though.  A close by town for better quality, cheap
 acommodations is La Spezia (no crashing waves at
 night though)  Some highlights:
 
 - amazing scenery
 - fireflies at night
 - I caught a snake just like that Crocodile Hunter
 guy does - pick it up by it's tail!
 - did some nice free climbing along the cliffs
 - gelato is cheap.  Food (esp. seafood) is good and
 cheap in La Spezia - quality is best in Monterosso,
 but is overly priced 'cuz it's the tourist town
 amongst the five Cinque Terre villages.
 - saw a funky automatic toilet seat cleaner.  When
 you get off, an arm comes down, picks up the seat,
 rotates and cleans the seat...
 - hitchiked to some towns to save the hike time.
 - cool wine cafes here
 - Iīve been trying to flatten coins on railroad
 tracks here, but I always lose the coin after the train
 runs over it.
 
 VENICE
 
 My book says Venice is overrated, but I think not. 
 Itīs very different, and really fun to walk around
 everywhere with no cars in the way.  I had trouble
 finding a place to stay, and ended up in the attic
 of some Hotel at a pretty reasonable price.  A bunch of
 other students are here too, and our "rooms" are
 defined by hanging bedsheets, kind of like in a
 makeshift hospital.  Kind of funny when I go to the
 washroom though, 'cuz my head sticks out of the roof
 skylight and Iīm looking out at the city.  I wish I
 came here when the Carnevale masquerade party was
 going on.  It seems like it'll be really fun.
 
 For better chances at accommodations (and MUCH
 cheaper), head to the town of Mestre - only 5
 minutes away by train.
 
 Venice is good only in sunny weather.  It rained
 non-stop on the last day, and everywhere's wet, some
 canals flood, etc.  Also, when the wind dies, note
 the still waters of the canals have been havens for
 mosquitoes, and I woke up with 40+ bites...!
 
 
 Jesse