Day 8: Auf Wiedersehen and Ciao! Driving from Zermatt to Rome

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221603SEP2015



Benvenuto a Roma!



Again, I am catching up on long overdue entries. Please excuse my tardiness. I hope I remember enough to truly capture my experience. I think I do, I made audio notes the whole way to ensure I didn't miss specific things I wanted to highlight.



In all honesty, I was ready to leave Switzerland. The views were breathtaking and it was clean, but I was not as charmed as I had been when I was in France. I am sure that is because I was in an expensive resort town. It definitely had its charm, Zermatt looks like a Christmas village! But I think my experience would have been different if I had went to Zurich, or if I was a skier. I am glad I only planned on being there for really a day and a half. In that time, I did exactly what I came to Switzerland to do...and that was to see the Swiss Alps from as high up as I could possibly go in a reasonable amount of time. And I did just that, and it was a spectacular, beautiful experience. But Switzerland is expensive, and I was ready to go!



What was interesting about my hotel room was that there was not 24 hour service. Pretty much all the hotels were like that. My front desk closed at 9 PM, and opened at 7 AM. My intent was to start driving as SOON as the sun came up. I had no intention, nor desire, to navigate the curvy narrow rodes skirting the Alps in a coupe in the dark. I looked up the sunrise time, which as 711 AM. I backwards planned the timeline the night prior. To take my belongings to the train station, and take the train back down the mountain...I estimated to be about 35 minutes. I wanted to leave my hotel no later than 630. That is what I did! But no formal check out of course, as the front desk wasn't opened yet. Good thing I had already paid for the room! I left my card in the room and said goodbye to the small, old, charming Le Petit Hotel.



I walked the dark, empty streets of Zermatt. Only movement was the occasional business starting to get ready to open up. I was hoping to run into an open coffee shop. Apparently the town of Zermatt are not early birds. I boarded the train with no issues (I had purchased a round trip ticket previously). There were a few people on the train with me, maybe 3 or 4. All of them were bogged down with luggage, as I was...so I am assuming they wanted to leave early as well. I made it back to the train station, and stopped by the convenience store. I stocked up on snacks and drinks, so I did not have to try and navigate the challenges of ordering food in the countryside again. Of course I bought a whole bunch of swiss cheese, and some coffee to round it out. I walked to the parking garage, where again I was terrified, since the automatic lights do not turn on until after you walk in a few feet. I held my breath, turned on my phone flashlight, and hoped no one would pop out and attack me. I was good to go! Parking was 20 Francs. Fairly reasonable for an over 24 hour stay.



Then I got on the road. It was back down the same way I came up. Through the small mountain towns, where maybe one light existed, but mostly just one roundabout. I was a little more at ease this time around, as most of the curves I was navigating hugged the mountainside. It was still early so traffic was minimal. Any time any one pulled up behind me I pulled off to the side at the many emergency shoulders to let them pass. I can tell who the local people are. They are fearless going around those curves. The speed limit was about 50 kph...but I definitely went slower around the curves. I was not taking any chances!



I made it back to about 600 meters above sea level...and I felt myself relax a little, for a little. It was not long after that that my trip started moving me southeast, towards Rome. Which meant I was to navigate narrow mountain roads again, and climb in elevation. I am grateful it was not raining this time, as this drive was a lot scarier than my last! The curved mountain roads went on forever. People would zoom up behind me, so I would pull over to let them pass. We just kept going higher and higher, hugging the mountain, driving through mountain passes, and over open-air bridges connecting mountains together. I could always see all the way down, and that was harrowing! At least there were guard rails this time! We were driving really high up, and I kept holding an irrational fear of the heights, and the what ifs if something were to happen! The moment that really got me was in one of the covered bridges. The construction the whole way through the mountains was crazy. This bridge is normally a 2-lane bridge. But because of construction it was only 1 lane. We were climbing, probably at about a 7 or 8 % incline. About halfway through the bridge, there was a stoplight. About 10 cars were in front of me, and the traffic was building behind me. Elevation was exactly 1700 meters, which is 5500 feet. Again you can see outside and down. I HATED being on the incline. I had my foot slammed on the brake, and I was terrified to twitch or move, for the fear of rolling backwards and off the bridge! I know, irrational! I'm scared of heights! The light lasted FOREVER. I tried to play happy music, to distract myself from my shaking foot and cramped hands (I was clutching the steering wheel so hard). I was getting so impatient, watching the cars come from the other direction. How long will this light last?! In total, 11 minute light..in the alps, on an incline, looking 5500 feet down. I was so relieved to be moving again. Even talking about it now makes me shake! Remind me to never drive through the alps again! I will say though, the views were incredible! Watching the sun rise, and the clouds clear to reveal the white, then eventually green mountain sides was definitely a great way to spend a morning. I would just rather do it from a balcony with hot chocolate, and not driving with shaking hands and a pounding heart!



Shortly after my excursion through the Alps, I made it to the Swiss/Italian border. Again I did research prior, and again it seemed easy. And it was. There was one guy in a black uniform and an epic Luigi mustache standing under a tall awning. It was a 2-lane, opposite traffic road. We slowed to pass under the awning, which said Italia. All he did was nod, and I kept on driving. I did not even stop! How easy is it to drive through European borders? I thought there might be some hindrance due to the fact Switzerland is not part of the EU, but I just kept rolling along!



So then I was in Italy. About 20 minutes into the drive, I started getting a feel for how Italian drivers drive. The weather I must say, warmed up quickly! First to 23 degrees Celsius (73 Farenheit) to about 26.5 (79 Farenheit)! I stopped at a rest stop, and dropped the convertible top. NOW that is what I was picturing when I thought about driving the Audi through Europe! I will say though, driving in Italy is like driving in New Jersey! I got onto the motorway by drawing my ticket, and that is where I saw it. Lots of Italians, no concern for lines on the road, and turn signals are optional. They will drive down the middle of the highway, between the lines, until they are pushed to one side by an aggressive driver. Traffic was heavier than I thought, but it was a Saturday. It was definitely more stressful than I thought! I am glad I had a little car to zip in and out of the crazy drivers.



I only stopped twice for gas. Italy again is like Jersey, because all their stations were full service on the motorway. I hated it, because I felt inclined to tip, and then I had to speak my best Italian to the attendants. I realized I remembered m Italian numbers a lot better though! One attendant, Salvatore, asked me what pump and I said pompa quatorrdici per favore. I couldn't believe it came out of my mouth! Of course that was about the extent of my knowledge of Italian, besides food. I cruised along with the top down, and my hair blowing all over. No hat, no scarf, nothing. I just wanted to feel the warm Italian air blow. Eventually the air was too warm, and I turned the fan on high. The sun felt so good, especially in comparison to the cold of the Swiss Alps. I listened to music and to Game of Thrones (no where near the end of the first book!). The drive on the Italian motorway wasn't as scenic as I was hoping, compared to France. I saw some of the Italian countryside, which was BEAUTIFUL! There were rolling green hills, water, livestock, and old, warm-colored Italian barns and homes scattered throughout. Elevation dropped to about 50 meters (much better). But about 75% of the drive I just saw tall sound-proofing walls lining the highways and construction. Of course it was busier than the motorway in France, and the drivers were a little crazier..so maybe I was just distracted...



I stayed on course the whole time, and really lost little time. I was projected to get to the Melia Roma Aurelia Antica Hotel in Rome around 1600. The arrival time on my GPS bounced between 1537 and 1605. I got there around 1615. I was a few minutes over just because I got turned around on the very last major turn of the trip. I turned a sharp right on the outskirts of Rome, when it was supposed to be the wide right. It took me down a back alley road behind houses, which I knew felt wrong. The GPS kept having me try to turn in between the houses. I did it once, and it was SO narrow. There was a truck parked in it too, and I was holding my breath trying to get around it to the end of the alley (which had no exit, thanks GPS). I had to do like a 30-point turn to get to turn back around, and get around that darn truck again. Then it tried to turn me down another alley between houses which was marked privato. So I just kept going straight, and made it back to the original turn where I got messed up. I was dumb, because right at that little crossroads was a sign for my hotel. At the time I did not remember the name, although I wish I had! Nevertheless, it was not a huge issue, and I did not lose much time! I got to the hotel, which has a gate you have to drive through (draw the ticket, gate comes up).



There was like a tour group or business group or big group of people (whatever) gathered outside. It looked busy. Outside there were a bunch of international flags. The landscaping was pretty, full of flowers and palm trees. The flags I took as a sign that there would be English-speaking people there. The fact that it said convention center in English made me feel like this is a common English-speaking business hotel. I was ABSOLUTELY okay with that!



I checked in with no issues. The lobby was open, marble, and beautiful! There were sitting rooms with pretty dark wood glossy tables...and a bar right in front! The walls were a cream color and the wood was rich...it was very warm looking...but sleek and modern. I parked my car in the parking garage, and took the elevator up to my room. What a difference this room was compared to my last 3! It was so much bigger compared to the small, efficient European rooms with hidden outlets and thermostats!!!!!! It was a little bigger than the standard American king-sized bed room. And it was beautiful! Looked very business-like. Blue carpet, yellow sitting chair, big desk with a keyboard. The bathroom was beautiful marble, big tub, and a toilet and bidet (never used one the whole time I was here!). The free hygiene products looked and smelled amazing, it was quality stuff for sure (I love free things!). They had razor kits, dental kits, general kit (which had sewing kit, shower cap, etc etc). The curtains were this rich gold, and thick! They opened up to a beautiful view of the outskirts of Rome. You could see all the beautiful green of the trees, and the mountains in the far distance. The sky was a clear blue, so it was gorgeous. You could see the pool as well! Nice and big, with lounge chairs, and a poor bar with a balcony to sit. I was giddy. What a way to be welcomed into Italia!!! I was ready to live the baller life for a few days. Big room to spread out after being cramped in small rooms and a small Audi. An easily accessible restaurant downstairs (there were 2 actually...oh and room service), and bars overlooking a lovely view and the pool! There were pool tables, and a gift shop as well. I did not even bother to unpack and organize myself, like I had been doing. I was ready to pull my swimsuit out and get to the pool, and get a glass of wine.



I got the house white wine, which was tasty (I still am not the biggest fan of wine, but it grew on me here in Europe). I sat by the pool for about an hour and just closed my eyes and relaxed. After about a 9-hour drive from Switzerland, I felt like I deserved this time!!!!!! One thing I didn't like were the bugs though! Mosquitoes, or some type of other biting bug! I kept getting bug bites!!!! But I did not let it ruin my time at all...if that was the worst of my problems, I was living well! (I got eaten alive in Italy!) After the pool, I went to my room, changed into comfortable clothes, and went to the main hotel restaurant. The staff were all so so so nice, and all spoke English (PLUS). The food was delicious, and it was such a great way to come into this country! I had wine, bread I could dip in olive oil and pepper, buffalo mozerella, spaghetti carbonara, and cappuccino. The cappuccino came with various cookies to dip (so tasty!). The waiter took a picture for me, he was so nice. I knew from the short time I had been in the country, I would like Italy!



After dinner I went upstairs and fell into a food and long-drive coma!



Thank you for reading about my long drive. This was a particularly long post to match....so I appreciate your patience in reading my rants about my adventures!



XOXO,



Kayko



221846SEP2015

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Photos

Feeling the Wind through my Hair!
Don't worry, the road was empty before I snapped a pic!

View From My Room
Not bad