I could talk all about my exciting day (class...the grocery store...), but I don't think anyone really wants to hear about that. If only I had something else interesting to write about, something exciting I did that had around 353 pictures or so to use as supporting material...
Oh, right. I went to Rome!
A few "warnings" before I begin:
1) This will take a couple of posts, hence the "Part I" in the title. I get tired thinking about writing this all in one post, and you would get tired of reading it.
2) This blog will be a great way for me to record what I remember about the trip for both y'all and for myself, so I can read it in a few months and go, "Oh yeah! I forgot about that!" I apologize in advance if I ever start to get too detailed. I will try my best to stay away from stories like "And then I bought a Sprite...and then I drank it...and then I threw the bottle away..." I do want you to enjoy reading this and not get bored!
With that out of the way, here we go:
Rome: Part I
a.k.a. How I traveled from Amsterdam to the center of Rome all by my little self, and then spent the rest of the night in a fantastically relaxed state
Among those of us going to Rome together, most had their last exam of the week on Tuesday and plans to fly out on Wednesday. I, sadly, had my last exam on Wednesday and a ticket for Thursday afternoon. Not too sadly, though, I was going to Rome, so I was thankful for what I got.
On Thursday morning I packed up my backpack, headed over to the tram stop, took the tram to the train station, took a train to the airport, and WAITED. Traveling alone is more boring than anything, and since my parents taught me well to be at the airport very early, I had quite a bit of time to spare wandering around in the airport lounge.
Lucky for me, there was a duty-free store! Believe it or not, duty-free stores carry a plethora of fascinating items. One of my favorites:
Have you just spent a wonderful vacation in Amsterdam, only to realize at the airport that you remembered to buy souvenirs for everyone EXCEPT the person who took care of your pet??? Well, never fear, because the duty-free store has you covered! Buy either the "Thank you for looking after my cat!" or "Thank you for looking after my dog!" deluxe fudge tins, and your pet-sitter will thank you forever for finding you such an appropriate yet non-Dutch gift.
Oh, I take back the statement that I was flying alone - Obama was with me, and after all the time in the duty-free store, he was ready to go.
Time to experience easyJet, the airline where you get what you pay for (and you don't pay much).
The great thing about easyJet is that the flights are cheap. And on the way to Rome, I had no problems with the flight (more on the story back later). The boarding process, though, is somewhat of a social experiment because there are no assigned seats, meaning all passengers begin behaving like a herd of wildebeests when it comes time to board the plane. I managed not to get trampled and even scored a window seat for the 2 hour flight. Being next to the window was especially great for the highlight of the flight: flying over the Alps.
Then, towards the end of the flight, I looked out and saw that the landscape had become very, very green, and all of the buildings had red tile roofs. Italy!
Once I got off the plane, I knew I had to catch a train (the "Leonardo Express") to Roma Termini, the main station. I knew the train left at 4:36, and if I couldn't catch that one, I ran the risk of missing the window of opportunity I had to meet up with my friends. I walked OFF the plane at 4:15, took a bus to the terminal, found the train platform, bought a ticket, and made it on the train by 4:27. Oh yeah.
The train ride was beautiful! The setting sun hit the yellow and pink buildings at just the right angle to make them look...delicious. I took everything in so much that I forgot to take pictures, but I will say that it reminded me most of the Amtrak ride I took through California. Green hills, palm trees, vineyards, and a fair share of graffiti too.
After 40 minutes it was off the train and to the station, where I met up with Anna and Eric without a hitch. I am so, so thankful that my trip over there from start to finish went smoothly!
But now it was time for the fun to start. Eric and Anna had spent the day seeing things, while the others of our group there (Nick, Adam, and Adam's brother Matteo) had gone to the Colosseum and going to meet us for dinner. I checked in to our hostel, and then Eric, Anna, and I went to Piazza Navona and quickly found the other three guys.
Piazza Navona
Here's a picture that I didn't take, but it will give you a feel for the place:
How do I begin to describe this night? The piazza is filled with hundreds of people, artists and tourists and everyone else. Dozens of restaurants line the square, with two imposing fountains in the middle (One of them, Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers, was the first thing I checked off on my things-mentioned-in-Angels-and-Demons checklist!). The church of Sant' Agnese in Agone looks over it all.
And we sat there, under the warmth of heat lamps, enjoying the view from our table right on the piazza for at least three hours. Bread with olive oil. Tortellini. Red wine. Limoncello. Good conversations, pointless conversations, deep conversations. And roaming guitar or accordion players who would stop outside the restaurant for a while and add music to our meal.
If you can't tell already, the slow, relaxed pace of an Italian dinner was one of my favorite things on the trip. Although we were in Italy, I would dare call the dinneres gezellig in every sense of the word :)
After dinner we found a Frommer's-approved gelateria, Giolitti.
I will say that, yes, we did get gelato here each of the three nights and, yes, it was that delicious. Thursday night I had tiramisu and white chocolate (just to make you all jealous). Yum, yum, yum.
The night ended with a trip up the nearly-empty Spanish steps, and a spectacular view of the Eternal City.
I went to bed that night thinking, have I really only been here for seven hours and done all this? But the trip was just beginning...
That's Part I, folks, more to follow!
No comments:
Post a Comment