Black Girls Travel Too | France and Italy | Part 2

This post picks up where the last left off. <-- click

After Paris and Nice, my cousin and I traveled to Italy. We wanted to go straight to Venice but that would’ve made for a long train ride, so we stopped for one day in Milan.

Arriving at the airbnb…this look says, “Oh, we’re there huh?” As concerning as the walk to the apartment was, something this one had the others did not: AIR CONDITIONING!!! My friend had been winding me up about as she’d recently bought a unit similar to those at topwindowfans.com, but at least I’ve got it now!

Due to a late train, there really wasn’t much time to do anything there but I did have the most amazing pizza. And something I grew accustomed to in France and Italy were the half bottles of wine. I did just fine finishing a half bottle on my own!

TIP #4 – Pack light! I didn’t plan to buy much because as I said before, the goal was to view amazing architecture and eat all the food…but traveling from city to city with large bags just wouldn’t have cut it. (View my travel tips #1-3 here.)

*whispers* Packing light is obviously a relative term lol…but in Brittany’s defense she had a wonderful week and a half of traveling planned after I departed Venice!

Being an adult can be cool sometimes. This was my breakfast along with my leftover pizza.

Black lives matter in Italy too (Duomo Cathedral)

This was the inside of a mall…a mall with Louis Vuitton, Prada, and the likes.

A candid shot on the train from Milan to Venice.

We walked the streets of Venice from morning til evening…this is my, “Where does Brittany have us walking?” look.

But the shot she took during our walk was amazing.

Staying on the actual island of Venice was out of our price range, so we found an airbnb just a short bus ride from the island. This airbnb HAD air conditioning but two nights in a row, the power went out. Meaning NO AIR and more importantly, no Wi-Fi. I might’ve shed a real thug tear over this.

It was at this moment, using my cell phone flash light as to not be completely in the dark, that a tear was shed.

We needed the internet in the late night hours to get our next day planned, to connect with our family and friends in the states, and to binge on Facebook and Black and Sexy TV (shout out to the crew of Sexless…I watched your episodes before bed when our residences had no television). And we needed the power in order to charge devices and most importantly FOR THE AC unit!!! But as with missing out on cold drinking water in France, we made due.

TIP #5 – Learn the most important words you think you’ll need before you are out n about without google translator (which needs Wi-Fi or data to work). Words like restroom or your favorite foods – for me it was chicken and vegetables – and maybe even short phrases like “which direction is…” We were lucky in some restaurants because they either had English speaking waitresses/waiters, or they had American menus. That was a blessing after for hours in the heat and desiring a stress free meal. 

The colorful buildings and glass throughout the islands of Venice, Murano, and Burano were simply stunning. The boat ride between the three and lack of cold water was slight torture, but it made me appreciate air conditioning just THAT much more.

Here’s another one of those 4.50 Euro half liters of water *rolls eyes* Oh wait, let me unroll my eyes because this one came with my caprese salad. It was actually on the menu that you’d get a bottle of water with your entree. Cultural differences strike again…

iPhone showing off it’s panorama capabilities once again as in the last post.

San Marco Square

Basilica di San Marco

It was at this point in the trip that we linked up with a soror Brittany knew from the states. She and another soror, both of whom teach overseas, were on a month long wanderlust journey throughout European countries. Talk about black girl magic!

Truffle pasta with rocket (the greens)…it needed seasoning but I blame my Americanized palette because I bet this is extraordinary to those born and raised in Italy.

Since returning home, I’ve tried to fill the void gelato left in my heart but I’ve yet to be successful. I’ll always have the memories though…

 

And of course I was sad to depart my cousin as she traveled on to Rome, Greece, and Santorini (which she says was the best part of her trip). But here photos of her amazing continuation of her summer travels. 

TIP #6 – Never be afraid to put your passport to use even if it means traveling alone!!

Pompeii, Italy

The Vatican

 

The Colosseum by day and night

 

Castel Nuovo in Naples, Italy

Santorini

 

 

My new cell phone wall paper!