Leaving Italy

Tonight Brit and I hop on a night-train to Munich, from our current city of residence: Venice.
This will be our second experience with trains of these sort, and I can't say I'm too stoked about it, but at least I am prepared this time with ear plugs and flashlight!
Italy has been a great time, especially the 3 days we chilled in Lucca. I've probably eaten more than my fair share of pizza and gelato (surprisingly little pasta, tho), and I've even learned to enjoy a few olives! I didn't think that was possible.
Italy has been a totally different experience from France. For one thing, it is just so much more laid back! Also, there doesn't seem to be nearly as much emphasis on fashion or appearance (I expect it might be different in Milan!) as we found in France, especially Paris. The architecture is much more along the lines of what I'd expect to see in Spain...when the train was pulling in, I was reminded of a peach. The houses are every shade of orange, ranging from reddy-pinks to terra-cotta, to sunny yellows. Window frames and doors are often dark green, and there are a lot of beautiful flowering shrubs everywhere. The plaster on the buildings is usually peeling somewhere to reveal a lot of brick underneath...Brit and I were discussing how weird it is that everything still looks so beautiful while it is so run-down! 
We've had both hot sunny days (I'm getting a tan!) and rainy downpours...sometimes both in one day. Today we were at the beach in Lido (Venice's tiny neighbouring island) and got roasted. It was nice. I'm hoping it keeps up while we're in Germany, but then again, most of my "hot weather clothes" are in dire need of a wash now...there are downsides to light packing! so far though I have been super glad that I took my 30L pack, because its about as much as I can handle! I actually wouldn't change too much of what I packed.

I can't get any pictures up today unfortunately, but maybe once we reach the Czech Republic I can get some decent internet. I don't think we'll have a computer at our place in Munich. Anyhoo, I think we've pretty much reached the halfway point in our trip...hard to believe, but at the same time it seems like we've been on the road for a long time!
I'm taking a ton of pictures, so I hope to do some more in-depth blogging when I get back...if possible. It will happen eventually...I promise :)

Ok, gonna go now.