I’m back from an enjoyable 11-day trip in Italy, but it feels good to be back home in New York. Take a look at a recap of my trip through photos taken with the Nokia N85. Twitter followers have seen these photos immediately after I uploaded them through Nokia Share Online.

The places we visited in Italy were based on recommendations by our handy Rick Steve’s book. We saw a lot of tourists carrying this book too. We found it very useful and will never go on another vacation without it.

Milan

We landed in Milan and checked out the Cathedral’s rooftop. The view was great, but the combination of hot sunny sky and staircases did not match well. Across the street, the Galleria Vittorio was a walk away.

We didn’t stay long in Milan because we didn’t want to check in at our hotel in Venice late at night. The train ride was about 3 hours, but we were comfortable.

Venice

We stayed in Venice for four nights. I have to say this was my favorite city from the trip. It’s so different from any other places we’ve visited. I loved walking through the alleys and along the canals.

Sights. We checked out St. Mark’s Bacilica, Doge’s Palace, and Campanile Tower, which were all within St. Mark’s Square.

We also visited Burano island which was 45 minutes from the main Venetian sights. It is known for its brightly-painted houses.

Florence

Also known as Firenze, we stayed in Florence for three nights. There were tourists everywhere and it is a small city.

Sights. We climbed the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, saw Michaelangleo’s La Pieta and David. Photos were not allowed inside, but it’s possible.

Pisa

We visited Pisa from Florence. It was only an hour train ride away. We were lucky the weather was nice.

Orvieto

To get away from a lot of other tourists, we decided to visit a city called Orvieto on the way to Rome. It is on top of a hill with a great view.

Rome

We stayed in Rome for 4 nights. I wanted to see as much of the places shown in the Angels and Demons movie.

Sights. We went to St. Peter’s Square, took a tour of St. Peter’s Basilica, walked through Piazza de Popolo, went inside the Pantheon, looked at Michaelangelo’s paintings at the Sistine Chapel, sat at the Spanish Steps, and awed at the Coliseum.

Food

We pretty much ate croissants for breakfasts with cappuccino, paninis for lunch, gelatos in the afternoon, and pasta or pizza for dinner with wine.

Internet

I complained about staying connected in Italy because of problems with pre-paid cards. I bought two sim cards. One from Wind and another from TIM, both offering about 2GB of data for 30 days. However, the connection would end within minutes and I would kill my credits to zero even after recharging. I gave up halfway through the trip and just relied on wifi from our hotel. I tried asking for help from a couple of TIM and other mobile shops, but failed because of the language barrier.

Ivan?

Something really interesting I need to ask is who was the guy who said hello to Sheila at Roma Termini station? I stayed near the train with Sheila’s backpack while she went to the booth for tickets. She was in a rush to catch our train, but Sheila said a guy in his 20’s asked her if she was “Mark’s wife” and that he’s seen us online (maybe Twitter or through this blog)? Wish we weren’t late for the train so I could have said hi!