Italy: The Somewhat Grand Tour

Take a humorous journey with the author as he embarks on a Somewhat Grand Tour of Italy. Your trip will start in Rome with a visit to ancient sites such as the Coliseum and the Roman Forum. You will journey to the spot of the assassination of Julius Caesar, now overrun by three-legged cats, and then visit more churches than you thought could even exist in one city, each one more magnificent than the last, give or take. You will learn all about Italian restaurants, public toilets, scams and con-artists, and maybe even risk your hand in a famous manhole cover. Your journey will continue with a visit to Pompeii, annoying other tourists at the unearthed brothel and wishing the city would just repave the streets already. Returning to Rome you will spend a day at the Vatican and the Vatican Museums, home of the Sistine Chapel, where the author risks his immortal soul on more than one occasion. From Rome you will head to Florence. When not exploring this city filled with Renaissance art such as Michelangelo's David and Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, you will also visit Galileo's middle finger and one of the scientist's teeth thrown in for good measure. Those are strangely not in his grave, which you will also visit. Your Somewhat Grand Tour continues on to Pisa, home to multiple leaning towers, actually, and some other leaning buildings thrown in for good measure. Instead of just getting off a bus, taking a picture, and leaving, you will get to explore the town. From Pisa, your journey takes you to Venice during Carnival hitting all the highlights, most notably the library from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. There may be other stops, plus you will get a tutorial on how to navigate that maze of a city. After Venice your tour continues to Milan, home of many Leonardo da Vinci works, most notably The Last Supper (along with a poor, ignored painting on the opposite wall). At least in Milan they had the foresight to install an elevator to the roof of their cathedral and while you will not get to see the views, you can still read about them. Finally, your Somewhat Grand Tour ends back in Rome with a visit to an ancient crypt, the Spanish Steps completely devoid of people (it helps to show up early), an abandoned ancient city on the outskirts of Rome, and then stumbling upon a painting of England's Henry VIII far from home. All along this journey you will also get your fill of churches and art, art and churches, and churches filled with art. So take this Somewhat Grand Tour to make sure you do not miss out when you visit in person, or perhaps just to get annoyed with the things you missed when you previously visited Italy.

• | Author: Skipp Galythly
• | Publisher: Independently published
• | Publication Date: Aug 16, 2018
• | Number of Pages: 287 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1718162766
• | ISBN-13: 9781718162761