Wrapping up at Home!

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So, I have made it, I am home, I am alive, I am rested, I am feeling pretty great. It is strange to be home but it also feels really good. I think I have pushed my limits of tolerance for living out of a bag and changing locations so frequently. I have to write about Rome and Florence and my last stop in Amsterdam. I have lots of pictures to upload, and then lastly I want to sort of decompress and maybe give some fun facts about my trip along with some of the videos I shot that I couldn't take the time to upload abroad. Fun facts and videos may be in a second and final blog.

ROME: I arrived about 5 in the afternoon on Sunday the 11th. My first priority was to get to my hostel and get a plan. The hostel was really close to the train train station where I arrived from the airport so that was really nice.

Rome is a really beautiful, amazing city. I walked down the streets amazed first of all that I was even there, and astounded by how old the city felt. It felt like every corner I turned was an archeological dig. All the other cities I had been in felt old, but they had the sense of going back to like the 12th or 13th centuries, and Rome has the sense of B.C. time frame. It was pretty mesmerizing. There was a night walk listed in the Rick Steve's book that I had so I thought that would be a great way to spend the evening since it was to late to go to any real sights and that way I would begin to get a feel for the city.

My walk to the starting point took me past several geloto stops so I had to stop and get me some. It is amazing how good they taste. Over my entire stay in Italy I probably tried 15 different flavors and none of them were bad. The gelato in Florence was particularly delicious, but I digress.

The first amazing building I came across was the Capitol building which is enormous and gorgeous and almost overwhelming. I wasn't really looking for it or expecting, I just rounded this corner and there it was in all its glory. That's when it really set in that I was really in Rome. Hard to deny when you see a building like that, that is so typical Rome.

From there I made my to the starting point of the night walk which began in Campo de'Fiori which was a very happening square. This was a particularly busy night out on the street and around because it was the final game between Spain and Holland so the game was on in every store and restaurant, and people were out in droves, which made for a fun night of exploring. From the Campo de'Fiori I made my way up and around to the Piazza Navona which was jam packed with artists and performers surrounded by lots of places to eat which was definitely on my agenda. There were several really cool fountains in the center of the Piazza.

I had dinner at the famous Tre Scalini which was really delicious. I didn't go completely all out on my meal like I would the next night and in Florence because this place was particularly expensive, but I did splurge on their world-famous Tartufo "death by chocolate" ice cream. I asked to have it to go since it costs 10 euros to eat it in the restaurant and only 5 if it's to go. I think the waiter/host must have had the hots for me because he gave it to me to stay for the to go price. That wasn't really the clue that he had the hots for me, it was when he offered to give me his email address so that I could get in touch with him when he moved to Miami at the end of the year. I didn't take it, but I gladly took the cheaper price on the ice cream, which was really delicious.

From there I made my way over to the famous Trevi Fountain, which was packed with people and was really quite beautiful at night. I was definitely going to have to come back during the day so that I could get some day pictures, but it was amazing being there at night. Lots of people throwing coins in and just having a good time. It was right after the Trevi that Spain won the championship and the streets just kind of went a bit crazy with celebration (though I did see a few Holland fans throwing temper tantrums). I made my way up to the Spanish Steps and that place was really jammed with people and the celebration was just getting into full swing when I arrived. I sat down and just enjoyed the sights and sounds, it was really great for just people watching. It was getting pretty late, so I made my way back to the hostel which was a pretty straight shot.

Monday 12th: I got up and had breakfast and begin my planning for the day, while I was going over my maps and book some guy in the room gave me a pass to a couple of museums that was still valid for the next couple of days, so I decided I would start there which was the National Museum, just around the corner. I headed over and found this really amazing church that was free to go in, and the murals and painting were really astounding. I came out and had someone point out the National Museum, and I went to only find it was closed on Mondays so that wasn't going to happen.

I took some time to buy some postcards and fill them out and then went to the post office which turned into a 20 minutes experience. I thought waiting for the Detroit post offices was tedious. After that was done I headed north to the Villa Borghese which was this huge green area on my map and looked to be pretty amazing to explore. It was. I got what I think are some pretty amazing photos. It was quite beautiful. And the western edge of the park was high above the city so there was some amazing vistas of the city below.

I exited the park into the Piazza Popolo which was a beautiful square with an Egyptian Obelisk in the center, and made my way down this long straight street. I diverted over to Trevi fountain for my day pictures and a chance to refill my water bottle, which by the way was a really cool feature of Italy, they had all these places everywhere for you to get water, it was delightful. Then I headed for the biggest archeological park in the city called the Palatino and the Roman Forum. My ticket also included the Colosseum. I spent quite a long time in there, as there was lots to see. It was really hot, so I was really grateful for all the places to fill up on water. It's quite amazing when I realize that I am walking among the ruins that have been around since 200 and 300 years B.C. Sure makes you feel pretty small and insignificant. At about 5ish I was getting really worn out and burned out, so I found a nice cool area of grass where there was a nice breeze in some shade and took a short little snoozer, it was really perfect and refreshing. My battery was dying on my camera (I know, sounds like a broken record, I think I realized that it runs down so fast because I use the panorama feature so much on my camera because I like the pictures it takes) so I headed back to the dorm, and took some to time to check my email, and I think that is when I finished writing about Paris and Berlin.

After I had some charge in my camera I headed back out. It was early enough that I decided to head back to the Spanish Steps to get some daylight pictures. Then headed across the river towards the Vatican to get some night pictures there. I stumbled across a street market on the west side of the river which was fun, there were some musicians out and they had a bunch of ping pong tables and foosball tables where people were playing. The walk up to the Vatican and St. Peter's was pretty cool, nothing like feeling you are on the set of The Davinci Code. There was a young girl on the Piazza singing opera which was pretty awesome. I had all these plans of walking a really long way home, but by that time it was pretty late and I knew I had a long day tomorrow, so I just took the most direct route home.

Tuesday 12th: This morning first thing I headed right to the Vatican. The wait was abominable. The line was really long and 3/4 of the time was right in the baking sun. For some reason I didn't put sun screen on that day, and I was too cheap to buy anything from the umbrella/fan vendors that were weaving in and out of the line, so I just dealt with it. As soon as we turned a corner though the rest of the time was in the shade so it wasn't so terrible. It was probably just shy of 2 hours waiting to get in. But of course it was totally worth it. The place was really amazing, and the rooms themselves which housed all the art were extraordinary on their own before you even consider the amazing art that is in them. I am glad I put up the money for the commentary because I learned so much more that way. The Sistine Chapel was just so impressive. I of course spent most of my time there, just really being amazed by what Michelangelo had done, considering he didn't consider himself to be a painter. We weren't supposed to take any pictures but I saw a few people sneaking them, so like a stealthy ninja I snapped a few myself.

After the Sistine Chapel, I wanted to go to St. Peter's Basilica but as I came around to where the line was, I quickly lost all desire. The line was massive and it was right in the dead of the heat. I shot a short video of it just as proof, and having already done 2 hours in the blazing heat, I was not that interested any more, so I bagged it. When I read up on the Basilica after getting home I am a little disappointed that I didn't stick it out and just do it, because apparently it is pretty impressive and I missed seeing Michelangelo's Pieta which is there on display behind bullet proof glass. 😞 It is what it is.

From there I decided to take the long walk that I had thought about the day before. My first agenda however was food. Rachel, in Berlin, had warned me about restaurants closing down in the late afternoon, and I didn't think it would matter to me, but it sure did today. I was starving and everything that I wanted to eat at was closed until 5:30 or later, so it would be a few more hours before I could sit down to a proper Italian meal. Off I went on the walk which was really lovely. It took me to this park area which was on a hill above the city and gave some really beautiful vistas of the city and some mountains to the north. I found a cool statue to chill by and and just enjoy the view. Part of my path took me past the Roman Forum and the Palatino which I had been to the day before and it was cool to see what it looked like from the outside and get the sense of just how massive it is.

As my walk was winding down my thoughts again turned to food. But it seemed that the neighborhood I had wandered into the restaurants were closed even longer, so my stomach was really cursing me as it was taking me even longer to find a place I could sound down and have my proper Italian meal. Finally at about 15 minutes to 7 I found a place that the menu looked amazing and would be opening at 7 pm so I just plunked down on a chair and waited. Boy am I glad I did. When they started serving I was the only one there so it was very personal. It was definitely a family business, the husband brought me my water, and the wife took my order, and the son showed up a little later on his motor scooter and started to help. The food was outstanding. I knew I was going to do all the courses that they have in the menu, so for my antipasti course I had two different kinds of bruschetta which were delicious, then for four my first course I had spaghetti carbonara which was out of this world delicious, and my final course was a pizza which I took pictures of because it was so amazing looking and tasting. I definitely ate well that night, it was fantastic. Everything I had heard about Italian food was exceeded. I was in heaven.

From there I walked on to a park that was just around the corner of my hostel and just hung out watching people. There were lost of people around that were hanging out because there was a summer film festival that took place in this park and the shows for that evening were about to start. I almost thought about going, but the idea of watching "It's Complicated" or "Remember Me" with Italian dubbing didn't really appeal that much to me, so I passed and retired to my hostel for the night.

Wednesday 13: I had all these intentions of being up and out early to catch the National Museum before I had to get on the train, but it never worked out. I used the time to prepare how I would spend my time in Florence and make sure I had everything packed and ready to go. The train ride to Florence was really cool, train was very smooth, I read a little and dozed a little. I helped a young woman with her luggage who happened to be from Ann Arbor, Michigan. The world really is pretty small when you think about it.

As soon as I pulled into Florence I grabbed the bus to my Hostel, the directions I had weren't that clear so luckily there were some people on the bus heading there too, so I just followed them. The hostel in Florence is really beautiful. It would have been a nice place to hang out at. It was the cleanest one I had stayed in and they served a lovely breakfast. Too bad I only got to be there the one night. I dumped my bag after checking in and hopped the bus back into the city. It was about a 20 minutes bus ride each way.

My first goal was to hit the Uffizi Museum before it closed. I was really nervous about being able to get into any of the museums, well particularly the two big ones (Uffizi and Academia), because apparently without a reservation, which I didn't have, it was sometimes impossible. I arrived and hopped in line which wasn't terribly long and about 45 minutes later I was inside. It was a great museum. There was some really lovely renaissance art, and a beautiful painting by Michelangelo. They also had one of the largest collection of Russian Icon art outside of Russia so that was pretty cool, even though I am not the biggest fan of Icon art. The commentary that I paid for was a bit disappointing because rather than having commentary on specific pieces of art it was for whole rooms, so often I would want to know more about a specific work but there was nothing to be had, so that was a bit sad. I have no pictures either of any of the museums I went into in Florence because pictures were strictly forbidden.

Florence was just a real joy. Had I known it was such a pleasant place I might have planned more time there. It felt a lot more like what I pictured Italy to be, where Rome was so touristy. It was just so laid back and the city was a real joy to walk around. It was really manageable, too. After the Uffizi I just wandered about the city looking at the churches and other places that were on my list to see, but were closed because it was late in the evening. There are some really beautiful building there. In the center of the city is the Duomo, which is this beautiful, enormous cathedral. Across from it I found a small restaurant that looked like it had a really amazing menu, and it was too early to eat so I just remembered where it was and promised to come back. That was a great choice because the food there was just simply palate perfection. I had this really great view of the Duomo, the sun was setting, there was this old Italian dude playing an accordion and singing Italian songs, and the food was exquisite. I had picked out two items in each category and asked my waitress to tell me which of the two was the best and all she heard was "which is best" and so she recommended these really amazing dishes. For antipasti I had prosciutto that was stuffed with ricotta cheese on a bed of greens with tomato's. First course I had a noodle dish with zucchini and salmon in a really light cream sauce and then finished off with grilled chicken on a bed of greens and tomato's and cheese melted on the top. I was sated and I was happy.

While I was eating my second dish there were two older American women on the other side of a row of hedges that I was sitting by, and the one was trying to whisper to her companion that whatever I was eating smelled delicious, but she wasn't hearing and she kept repeating, and I whispered through the hedge, "it is really delicious". They thought that was pretty funny and we chatted on and off through out the meal. After my last dish my waitress brought me a shot of liquor which was complimentary, and I whispered to the ladies on the other side of the hedge if they would like it so my waitress wouldn't be offended. They took it, said it was awfully strong, and dumped it in the bushes. Crisis averted!

After dinner I just walked around, it was beginning to get dark so I just enjoyed the city and night life of Florence. I managed to wander back into the Piazza surrounding the Uffizi museum and there was a guy playing music that a lot of people were watching. Square was crowded with people and lots of cool statues. From there I made my way to the Ponte Vecchio which is this pretty famous bridge that crosses the Arno River and still has all the shops on the bridge that was typical in Medieval Italy. I got some night photos. I had planned to walk on the west side of the river for quite a while but I was getting tired. You could say I was coming to the end of a very long trip and my stamina and desire for really long adventures late at night were waning quite a bit. I made my way back to the bus station and caught the bus back to the hostel.

Thursday 14: I had to pack up all my stuff and then went down for breakfast. I caught the bus to the city and checked my bag at the train station and headed directly for the Academia Museum. I got there just as they were opening. The line wasn't terribly long for those that didn't have a reservation. There were a couple of Americans in line with me so we spent the next hour swapping traveling stories, and then we were in the museum so it was great.

I was particularly excited to see Michelangelo's David statue. It made everything about this trip worth it. The pictures and descriptions of it never have done it any justice. Seeing this magnificent sculpture in person was indescribable. I was moved in such a strong way with the power of it. I spent a very long time just staring at it and walking around it. I was recalling the description in Irving Stone's "The Agony and the Ecstasy" of the feelings Michelangelo likely had while carving this amazing piece of art. It was really so visceral and emotional being there in person. The rest of the museum was cool, but by comparison I was good.

From there I went to the Duomo which was free to go into, and was pretty impressive. There was a dome I could have climbed but it was 6 euros and I had 3 so that was out. I did go get some money out of the ATM for later, but I walked north to the Lorenzo Medici cathedral and decided not to pay the entrance fee there either. The road that led to the Santa Croce, which I would pay for, was lined with all sorts of shops selling lots of leather products and goods. It was fun going down that street. Santa Croce was really amazing. This church was also the burial site of Michelangelo and Galileo. They also had a leather school inside which was cool to see. The courtyard was really beautiful, so I definitely felt it was worth the entry fee.

From there I went back to the Ponte Vecchio to get some day photos. All the shops that are on the bridge are pretty much jewelry stores and art stores, so there was no chance I would be spending any money there. On the other side of the bridge I stopped at a pizza/pannini shop and grabbed a bite to go and then headed onto Pitti Palace which is just south west of the river. It was a magnificent building but didn't attract me enough to pay the nearly 10 euros to get in. Besides it was getting late enough that I wanted to just make my way to the station and make sure I was going to get to the airport in time. I had no troubles flying to Amsterdam. I decided it wasn't worth the effort to take my whole bag with me to the hostel if i was just coming back in the morning, so I locked up half my bag in a locker at the airport which made walking to my hostel a lot more pleasant.

I checked into my hostel and locked up my bag and then headed into the city for dinner and a final walk around. I had wanted to go and see a bunch of things, but my flight out of Florence had been delayed by over an hour and a half so I didn't get there until almost 8 pm, and so dinner was happening at close to 10 pm. I just wandered around the red light district which was a lot more insane than when I had been there before which was during the day. I actually felt really sorry and pitiful for the workers who are behind all those windows. It started to make me a little sick, so I had to leave.

Friday morning I was up early enough for breakfast and then off to the airport. I am glad I got there real early because the check in line was ridiculous, and I found out I had locked up my bag in the wrong part of the airport, so it took going through security and passport control 3 different times in order to get it and made it to my gate just in time to walk onto the plane and fly away. It was really good to be going home. I had an amazing, enlightening, delicious, awakening experience, but I was tired and ready to be home. Thanks to everyone who had a hand in making this trip possible, and thanks for reading and following along with my adventure.

There will be one more to come as I finish calculating how many miles I walked over the 46 days, and will also upload some of the videos I shot. Also this one has pictures from Paris and Berlin as well as Italy, so don't get confused.

Ciao!

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Photos

Louvre 2
Oldest artifact at the Louvre

Louvre 4
Under the Louvre

Louvre 6
one of the crowd to see Mona Lisa

Louvre 7
It's really there!

Pantheon 2
An amazingly huge clock in the middle of the floor

Sacred Heart 2
The view from

Sacred Heart 5
View from Dome

Comments

[pegi]

great shot!
very creative and lucky shot nice work!

[pegi]

fun!
too fun...