Advertisement
Published: August 6th 2007
Munich
Our really brief layover in Munich. We took this picture just to say we had been there. We're also slightly obsessed with self timed pictures. These men in the background were not thrilled with our antics. German efficiency and whatnot.Sorry this entry is so late getting up. I had to wait to get the pictures downloaded and then I went on a paper writing rampage and forgot about travelblog for a bit. But now I’m trying to think of every way possible to put of writing papers (only 30 pages to finish in 6 days!) and I remembered travelblog, so here you go. I wrote it on the 20 hour train voyage back home from Italy whilst in a car full of the most annoying teenagers possible…so please forgive me for this craptastic piece of writing.
Italy was absolutely amazingly super incredibly fantastic. It was seriously one of the best vacations I’ve ever been on. Maybe tied with Costa Rica and Alaska. There is no way this entry will be able to do the trip justice. Words just can’t capture the feeling of St. Peter’s tomb, or the basilica, or staring up at the Sistene chapel or looking at the Duomo…
Day 1:
Day one mostly consists of travel by train. Note to all those thinking of traveling more than twenty hours via public transportation: it is really not a fun thing to do when
you
Austria
Proof that I was in Austria. are getting over a nasty cold. Twenty hours in a confined space isn’t the best fun under the best of conditions…but it is definitely not fun when you’re sick. It is absolutely impossible to get comfortable enough to sleep and make the trip go by faster. So I was awake and stuffed up all the way from Amsterdam to Munich. I actually spooned paprika and cayenne pepper into my mouth in order to ease some of the stuffiness. Luckily for me, the cold didn’t linger and I was able to enjoy the rest of my trip sniffle free. BTW, ICE trains are super nice. Spiffy wood paneling and sweet dining cars. I dig.
Also worth noting that Europeans really don’t care too much for deodorant. Trains get stinky.
From Munich we took an overnight train to Rome. This was my first overnight train experience and it wasn’t horrible. We made friends with some American guys who were in the cabin next to us and played some card games. It wasn’t the greatest sleep I ever had, but we at least got pillows and blankets…luxuries that we would not be afforded on the way back. Regardless, even after
a
Classy train
Italy could really learn a thing or two from Germany's trains. THIS was the classy ride we got to take to Italy. Our accommodations were only slightly better than this. twenty hour train ride where I was forced to basically snort cayenne pepper to breathe comfortably, I somehow managed to go straight into the next day with nary even a shower. My amazingness astounds me sometimes.
Day 2:
We somehow navigate ourselves through the metro system of Italy with all our stuff intact and find our way to the hostel (again proof of our amazingess…we figured out the subway system that was explained in another language and took no less than four modes of transportation to get from the station to the hostel without getting pickpocketed. On of the guys we met on the overnight train was not so lucky however. Within five minutes of getting on the subway, his wallet was stolen right out of his pocket). The hostel we stayed at was amazing. It was more like a five star camping resort than it was a hostel. There was a swimming pool, a restaurant, a beer garden, free internet access, hot showers, a convenience store, and a super easy check in process. If any of the two of you that actually read this thing plan on going to Italy, then check out the Tiber Villiage campsite.
The
20-something hours later
We all look a bit rough. amenities are great and the grounds are gorgeous. Lots of jasmine blooming. Mmmmm.
We briefly met our roommate (and our roommates overnight guest) when we got there, but didn’t really hang around. We had Rome to see. Our first stop was the Vatican to see the Sistene chapel. I’ll say it again…words cannot do the experience justice. I cannot possibly explain what its like to take in all that ridiculously ornate grandeur or what its like to be confronted with hall after hall of masterpiece paintings…where every single little panel is an amazing work of art and there are hundreds and hundreds of panels in each hall or what its like to put your hand on the original marble floor that dates back to 1100 AD. It’s also trippy to think that I might have been stepping on the same spots that little nine year old me stepped on eleven years ago.
After the Sistene chapel we had our first of many gelatos. I had a cream flavored scoop. Delicious. As we made our way to the Pantheon I also got my first taste of the adorably quaint Roman alleys. I think I’m in love with Rome.
It’s
Tiber Village
I'm not sure why I'm wearing a sweater around my shoulders. so adorable and romantic. I loved looking down twisting cobblestone streets that were lined with ramshackle apartments painted in peaches and warm browns and yellows, with gardens on top and coffee houses and little botiques on the bottom. It was in one of these botiques on one of these alleys that I bought a fun little summer dress that I’m absolutely in love with. Somehow our wanderings led us to the Panthoen, the Trevi fountain, and the Spanish steps. Again, I’m not even going to bother explaining my feelings about these thins since it seems that words cheapen my memories. I’ll just say this…the Romans did fountains right.
Besides, it wasn’t the sights so much as it was the overall feeling of Rome. Maybe it had to do with the weather (not a cloud in sight) or my excellent traveling companions, or just the general happiness of being twenty years old, in good health, and roaming around Europe, but I felt that Rome had an incredible aura. It was warm and friendly and inviting and historical and cultural and beautiful.
Sidenote: Does anyone have any clue what it is that makes Americans stand out so much? I
can
First bite of italian food...
I've noticed a trend in my eating/drinking pictures...I always look concerned. be on a crowded subway and easily pick out the Americans on it. Is it how they look? How they act? They just stand out like a sore thumb. I’ve finally stopped trying to attempt to distance myself from the American “look”. People know I’m American and there’s no way to hide it. The best I can hope for is that after encounters with people, I leave them with the thought “What a nice American.” I’m trying to make up for all the rude, embarrassing, very privileged fellow countrymen I see that give us a bad name.
Day 3:
St. Peter’s Basilica. I’m not even going to bother. Too amazing. I’m not a religious person and I was moved. Incredible. See it. So worth the long line and all the people that cut in front of you despite your passive aggressive attempts to embarrass them into going to the end of the line.
Note: Do not bad mouth Mother Theresa or throw a rosary in the City of God. People do not appreciate.
Also saw the resting place of Pope John Paul II (or Papa Juan Pablo if you are a certain mural artist in south
Los
Sistene entracne
Big ole pinecone. Angeles) . Again, I’m not a religious person and I was deeply moved. Also got to see the final resting places of St. Peter, Innocent, Urban, Hadrian (I could be making this one up) etc. It was a weird and somewhat uncomfortable feeling to see the final resting places of these great men infiltrated by hordes of picture taking tourists.
After spending a half day oohing and ahhing over the best sights of the Vatican, we made our way to the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. Lucky for us, it was Rome appreciation week and we got into the Coliseum for free. There wasn’t even a line. We seriously lucked out with our timing of viewing Rome. Speaking of ruins….I really like how the Romans approach ancient structures. They basically don’t. We saw what are supposedly ruins ALL OVER Rome and they didn’t have so much as a sign or a tourist snapping pictures. I guess when just tilling a garden can unveil ancient artifacts you can afford to be picky about what which ruins to give attention to. I just thought it was funny to see a huge old dome in the middle of the city that
didn’t
Snazzy floor
Even the floor was awesome. It really puts a strain on your neck to look up then down, then up, then down, up, down, up, down, up, down... seem to garner even a second glance from people.
Back to the coliseum. Very snazzy. I tried to imagine it filled with Romans in their Sunday best giving thumbs down to luckless gladiators. Its awesome to think that the dirt I was stepping on could have been the same dirt that a Roman gladiator had stepped on years and years and years ago. We also got some great pictures. The sky was unbelievably blue…it almost looks like we photoshopped the sky in.
The last part of our day was spent at the Borghese gardens. We found an adorable bar that had the best view of Rome EVER. I’ll let the picture explain. It was such a happy moment in my life…the caption would read something like “sipping bellinnis and eating stuffed grape leaves in the Borghese gardens next to the Medici villa looking at the sun set over a 180* view of Rome.”
Day 4:
Took a train to Florence to meet up with family.
The thing that struck me most about Florence was the amount of Americans. I know that Florence is a hot spot for study abroad, but I swear there were
more
Americans than there were Italians. Everywhere I went I heard English. It was strange. It got me thinking how much I was going to miss being in a country where 96% of the time I’m unable to understand the conversation going on around me. It allows you to have a lot more alone time because your mind isn’t constantly distracted by something that it recognizes. In Florence I got a taste of what it would be like back home. It was almost to the point where I couldn’t hear myself think because I was so distracted by all the English speaking going on around me. It also made me appreciate studying in a country where there aren’t that many abroad programs. We got a campus map of Florence and there are at least ten universities that have satellite campuses in Florence. As far as I know there are only two companies that study abroad through Amsterdam.
We also got to check out the famous flea market. If I had the money I could have gone crazy there. The leather is pretty good quality and there were no shortage of bags. Luckily for me, I’m not a fashionable person
and
Hall of utter amazingness
I can't believe the number of paintings in this hall and the amount of detail. suffer immense guilt if I spend money, so I wasn’t too tempted to blow all my cash on a leather handbag from Italy. I did buy a wallet however. It’s green and need a wallet so the choice was easy.
Also say the Duomo. *drool* Again, no words. So massive. Made me feel small.
Day 5:
GO TO ANZIO!!!!!!!!!!!
We decided that we had enough time to fit in a daytrip, and what better place to spend a day than at the beach….especially a beach on the Mediterranean sea. Seriously, if any of you have the chance to explore outside Rome a little, then please please please go to Anzio. It’s only an hour away and there’s no trainhopping. And you can’t beat the area.
Imagine: Perfect beachside town. Part beach resort and part beach bum. Million dollar homes next to badly aged villas. Old fishermen mending nets right next to expensive restruants. Crumbling town squares where children play soccer. All set against the backdrop of an impossibly blue ocean guarded by palm trees and dotted with white sails.
I’ll let the pictures do the talking.
It was also nice getting out of
the
tourist hub for a bit. We were the only tourists we encountered.
Anzio made me never want to leave Italy.
Day 6:
Apparently I am on a zoo/ aquarium tour of Europe. I’ve seen zoos in Amsterdam, Norway, and Germany, so of course I had to check out what Rome had to offer. Unfortunately, it was super crowded and we didn’t have too much time, so we decided that the turtle pen on the zoo grounds, but outside the entry, still counted as a zoo experience. Today we mostly wandered around Rome and got our final fills of gelato. We also got the bestest final Italian dinner of crusty bread with vinegar, pesto pasta, house red, and tiramisu. Over dinner we had one of those amazing, deep girl talks that I can’t write about here.
Notes about Italy:
-Don’t haggle with the foreign guys selling bags. If you haggle, they think you’re going to buy, and when you don’t, they get very angry. The last thing you want is an angry man yelling at you in a language you don’t understand and making threatening gestures at you at a subway stop.
-Keep your hand
on
your wallet in the subways.
-Eat all the gelato you can possibly eat.
-Sit on the Spanish Steps at sunset.
-Splurge on classy drinks and get free finger food at the nice cafes.
-Make sure you wear modest clothing in case you happen to go to a church. They won’t let you in if your shoulders aren’t covered.
-Get lost in Rome so you can enjoy the little hidden alleyways.
-Throw money in the trevi fountain so that you find your way back to Rome.
-Don’t actually go in the fountains….the police don’t like that.
Entries on Berlin, Queens Day, and that island I went to but cant pronounce or spell will come soon!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.115s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 12; qc: 61; dbt: 0.0716s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Bill F.
non-member comment
I love your writing and you
Lorpie: You are the best. I'm obsessed and check your blog many times a day. I threw money in the Trevi fountain back in the seventies and returned with you when you were nine almost thirty years later. See it works. All my love, DAD