Appreciations of the day

[Dracos]

Rome, Florence, Sienna, Venice, and Milan.

So Milan was definitely the most american vibe... but it also had ostritch burgers which were delicious.  Lots of cars everywhere and more normal roads, but also a pretty functional subway and trolly system.  It also had a church that would go from the most peaceful and good will statues and pictures to popes clad in gold stomping on broken bodies.  It was honestly a little creepy and a 'What are these two very different takes on holy guidance doing 10 feet away from each other'?  But then they had a set of pope statues that made them look like sith lords so uh, may have just been the theme they were going for.  Just massive church though.  Pretty sure my house could fit in it about a hundred or hundred fifty times with room to spare.

Venice was quite a delight and a sight.  Lots of good sea food and iberia ham (yum yum).  Romantic dinners, boatrides along the rivers.  Also, the city floods when it rains.  "Why do you think they have those raised platforms?"  "Prolly to move construction easier." => "Actually to move people as the water rises and the plaza becomes a series of ponds.  They had quite the collection of prisons to show off.  "This is where we tortured this guy who wouldn't talk.  This?  This is where we ran the secret information bureau for six hundred years!  And over here is the glass maker island where people could never leave.  One couple tried, and we poisoned them as soon as they reached France."

Sienna was a lovely sight.  Just a massively hilly little town with this delicious tavern, mmm such boar.  Attempts to try tuscany's special florentine steak just did not encourage.  They leaned toward very rare/low flavor as the approach and it was an unfortunate distraction from the many delicious things they had.  There was much judging.  And then more boar, because that shit was amazing.  The views from hillside cafes were delightful and I couldn't imagine keeping on a lot of weight with such vertical walkways everywhere.  Lasagna and views across sienna.  Would do again. :)

Oh, yes.  There was also the stairs.  The everpresent stairs.  I think we averaged 20-30 flights a day.  Our first hotel room was about ten flights of stairs up.  It was a thing every morning and evening for sure and definitely wasn't fit for it.

Florence was very peaceful to walk around in.  Much golden bling.  The museums were a lot more subdued and welcoming then the ones around Rome.  Delightful sights, sure, but less "Take a 6 minute escalator up, then continue to climb stairs all afternoon through hallways high enough to swing a trapezee from." 


Rome had the vatican, which really felt like a religious version of Disney land run by enormously unhumorous people.  Massive tour groups everywhere.  A museum that seriously went miles between places to rest.  Some parts we failed to see entirely cuz "Okay our tour starts in 10-ish... why is there a 500 person line to get through security?  ...oh show up 60 minutes early to get to the place you can get your tour.  Fuck it, heading elsewhere."  Roman and greek stuff doesn't surprise, but seeing Japanese statues around the vatican museums was a bit surreal and confusing. 

The colosseum was quite a sight and the area around it nice to walk about.  The city reminded me of Jerusulum a bit there, where ruins just sort of flowed right into the city.  Their ticketing system was obnoxious though.

Rome also had an amazing sandwich joint that had like a hundred person line.  Take that sandwich over the first michilen star place I dragged bunny to.  "Here is your fifth course, plum dipped steak." *nibble* "This is not as good as what comes off my grill each week."

There.  Not the best travelogue.

[Anastasia]

All good, still sounds like an amazing vacation.

Stairs will get you like nothing else. Good exercise on vacation, too.

[Anastasia]

I'm still going another year. Sometimes it's nice to appreciate the small stuff.

[Anastasia]

Saw the Super Mario movie. It was firmly okay, like a comfortable 2 to 2 1/2 star movie. Nothing really against it, just wasn't a great fit with a more modern feel I didn't like.

Still, that's a movie 10 year old me always wanted, so I feel like it was worth it.

[Anastasia]

Made it through another summer. Always pleasant to say.

[Anastasia]

Within 15 minutes of each other I found out:

- FF7 remake part 2 has a big trailer out and a confirmed release date in February.
- Tales of Arise is getting a 20ish hour expansion pack DLC.
- Star Ocean 2 Remake got a demo.

Wow.

[Ranma_007]

I live!

[Anastasia]

Oh hey, how ya doing?

[Dracos]

Well, he hopefully still lives.