While studying Tourism at the University of Queensland, I was lucky enough to take a summer study abroad course in Italy. Because it was summer break, I also wanted to visit my home (California), so it made the most sense to travel one-way around the world, from West to East. This knocked out a bucket list item – Around the World in 80
30 days (June 22 – July 21, 2010). These 30 days also marked a transition from living with two friends in Brisbane for the past year, and moving into a hostel for my final semester at UQ.
June 22
Goodbye Australia – view from the plane of Sydney Harbor. Due to a volcano in New Zealand, many flights were delayed or cancelled.
June 23
Aloha! I was hoping to go to the Pearl Harbor exhibit in Honolulu, but because I lost a couple hours in Sydney, I only had time to take a taxi to the beach, have lunch and watch the waves for an hour, before heading back to the airport.
June 24-July 3
Home in California to visit family and friends – split time between LA and the Bay Area. No photos.
July 3-7
Rome – One day alone before I met up with my class. Because of jetlag, I slept for the entire day and barely left my hotel room. The class did all of the standard sites around Rome and I quickly remembered my war around the city. I even tried to get lost once and ended up at the Spanish Steps.
July 8-9
Florence – A few days in Florence and I am even more in love with this walk-able city and great nightlife.
July 10
Day Trip to Siena – Just a week after the Paleo and we were treated to a parade from the winning neighborhood.
July 11-17
Venice – We spent the most time in Venice, studying the effects of tourism on the city. It’s still beautiful in its own right, but most of the magic is lost on me as I feel sad that it has become more of a tourist trap than an authentic Italian city.
July 14
Day trip to Verona and Juliet’s Balcony, overrun with gum, love locks and wishes for love.
July 16
Day trip to Burano and Murano, which were beautifully colorful!
July 18-19
Dubai – 23 hours in Dubai meant that I had lunch by the Burj Dubai and then went straight to the Burj Kalifa and spent the rest of the day walking through the enormous mall and watching the biggest fountain show in the world.
July 20-21
Traveled via Singapore back to Australia. Arrived 2:30am on July 21st and checked into a hostel downtown, where I lived for a few months while writing my thesis.