Far from home

I am currently in Siena Italy traveling with a friend. I landed in Venice and from there took a train to Florence. Venice was interesting because of the location on the water, there are no cars and you travel everywhere by water taxis. The only thing is that the Euro is so expensive now! Its about 1.70 to every 1 euro. The people in Venice never smile....excuse me anywhere in Italy they never smile! I was looked at like I was crazy because I smiled the first few days. It didn't take me very long to find out the reason. The water taxis take forever to come so its very frustrating and freezing. There streets are so small and full of so many people that your constantly feeling like a sardine. Water is not free and with the exchange your sometimes paying 4 to 5 dollars a bottle. Florence was worse. I stayed in the heart of Florence down town next to the Duomo. Unfortunately the window of our hotel room was facing a bar! Ah yes one other important detail of Italy, the bars don't close until 3 or 4 in the morning. We were told that the food in Italy was very good and portioned healthy. This is just not so. In restaurants they serve you huge pizzas that are nothing like American Pizzas. Salads are piratically no where to be found and usually are much more expensive. Walking around can be frustrating because the streets are very small and easy to miss. Using a map can be dangerous because its a give away that your lost. Gypsies are in everytown begging and steeling what they can. Its my opinion that I will need a vacation after this vacation.