Alright, Episode 2!
Sunday night in Rome Randy and I realized we were leaving the next day and had no idea where we were going. So on a whim we decided on Naples, known to the locals as Napoli! Which is how I prefer to say it. It fits the atmosphere....but it just doesn't have the same effect in text. I'll tell you in person next time and you'll see =)
So Monday morning we went down to the train station got our reservations, and were on our way. Napoli is the birth place of Pizza, and they're very proud of it. And they should be, it was probably the most amazing thing I've ever eaten. The people there were amazingly kind, but I've never been more scared in my life to walk down a sidewalk.
Traffic was an adventure everyday. You know that stressed feeling you get driving on the freeway in rush hour traffic? We got that walking down the street. People swerving and honking all over the place! Plus, when motorcycles can't get around cars, they just drive down the sidewalk. And they'll beep at you like they own that sidewalk. Which, when we first got there, we thought they did. But after a while, you get calloused like the locals. By day 2, when someone beeped at us we were throwing our arms in the air and shouting like we were Neopolitan. And we thought we were. We owned that city, and everyone was in our way, not vice versa. It's pretty much the only way to survive.
Randy found the equivalent of an Italian Taco Stand. They're everywhere and they sell these mini pizzas for €1. They're ok...just like pizza with no cheese....so like dough and sauce. For me, it was enough to sustain life. For Randy, it was love at first sight. But they were only in Napoli, so he's been crying about it ever since we left. It's quite pathetic really...
The shops were full of people, and the haggling was impressive. There was even a whole alley devoted to figurines. They sell them year-round and they get especially busy around Christmas. People buy nativities and then come to the figurine shops every year to add to them. It's a great tradition, and I almost bought one just so that I'd be forced to come back every year, but I resisted =)
We stayed at 2 different hostels, the first one was crazy, expensive, and sucky. The second one was amazing! It was a monastery converted into a hostel. The people were very chill, and I was really sad that we only stayed one night. But alas, after 3 days there, we discovered that 90% of the city smoked (including children under 12), and the large quantities of cars and traffic produced an equal amount of exhaust. Which meant that my body was recieving much less oxygen than it was used to. So the stress, mixed with the lack of sleep, topped off with polluted lungs, was leaving us quite tired and slightly sick. So we were ready to move onto small town Pisa, located in the open fields of Tuscany.
Aside from the large amounts of traffic and pollution, Napoli has been my favorite. Tune in next time for Christmas in Pisa!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Italy Episode 1: Rome
Alright kids. The series you've been waiting for: Italy. It begins!
It all started off quite well. I had everything packed (I thought), and had a ride all arranged to the airport (thanks to Larena and her amazing last minute good-heartedness). I had a layover in Detroit and stopped for lunch with a good friend. I had 3 hours so I thought all would be sufficient and I'd have time to get back and on the plane, especially since I only had a carry-on.
However, as I returned back to the airport, they told me it was far too late to check in and I couldn't actually go to Italy. Of course I freaked, and then the lady said that as long as I wasn't checking any luggage I could still get on the plane. So she handed me my boarding pass and I ran to security, which thankfully had no line. As I was about to walk past the security guy I was tackled by some small asian lady demanding that my bag was too big to take on the plane. How is that possible when I clearly got it from Salt Lake to Detroit without ever having to check it!? Apparently someone in Salt Lake had lost their mind.
So Asian Lady rushes me back to the check-in line where she tells the other lady (we'll call her unhappy lady) that I need to check my bag. Unhappy lady doesn't even look up my flight, just looks at me and tells me it's impossible. I can't go to Italy. What do these people have against me going to Italy? The she looks at the lady next to her as if to get confirmation that I'm an idiot for even thinking it was possible to take my bag on the plane. Lady #3 is petrified by the fact that Unhappy Lady will eat her if she doesn't concur, so she, of course, agrees and looks at me like I'm dumb. Great.
However, just at the moment I thought I was doomed to be stuck in Detroit with some extremely unhappy individuals who think I'm an idiot, a large black woman comes shoving through from the back. She starts yelling about calling people, and rushing my bag to the plane and makes it known that Unhappy Lady is incompetent at her job. I like Big Black Lady :) In the midst of her screaming she stops, looks at me and says "Sweetie, go get on you're plane, I'll take care of your bag." Yes ma'am! So I book it to the plane and just make it as they're threatening to take my luggage off the plane (Ha! It wasn't even on there!).
It was eventful. A simlar event happened in Amsterdam, almost making me miss my flight to Rome. I still had no idea if my bag was on the plane or not. I love adventures :)
But, I made it to Rome, my bag made it to Rome, I found a train and made it to the hostel where I was reunited with Randy. He showered, I took a nap, and we went for a walk. A 6 hour walk. The best thing about Rome is getting lost. The city is so crammed together, and so full of amazing famous things that you're bound to stumble upon something old and cool. We had no idea where we were for 6 hours, and it didn't matter! We just kept walking and magically we were next to the Trevi Fountain, then we were at the Colosseum, then the Spanish Steps, and then we trekked up this amazingly long, steep hill until we saw the most beautiful view of the city! It was gorgeous. All lit up, and you could see St. Peter's Basillica....it was amazing. It made the crazy hill completely worth it.
We of course went and saw all the sights, the Colosseum, Roman Forum, amazing cathedrals. We walked along the river, found some great markets, beautifully lit alleyways with the neatest little shops ever. The people in the hostels were amazing. We made lots of new friends, played Presidents and Scum, and experimented with fun italian desserts.
Rome was amazing, and kind of feels a bit like home to us. We rode through it on the train on our way up to Pisa the other day, and it felt so nostalgic. I will forever love Rome.
Next installment: Napoli!
It all started off quite well. I had everything packed (I thought), and had a ride all arranged to the airport (thanks to Larena and her amazing last minute good-heartedness). I had a layover in Detroit and stopped for lunch with a good friend. I had 3 hours so I thought all would be sufficient and I'd have time to get back and on the plane, especially since I only had a carry-on.
However, as I returned back to the airport, they told me it was far too late to check in and I couldn't actually go to Italy. Of course I freaked, and then the lady said that as long as I wasn't checking any luggage I could still get on the plane. So she handed me my boarding pass and I ran to security, which thankfully had no line. As I was about to walk past the security guy I was tackled by some small asian lady demanding that my bag was too big to take on the plane. How is that possible when I clearly got it from Salt Lake to Detroit without ever having to check it!? Apparently someone in Salt Lake had lost their mind.
So Asian Lady rushes me back to the check-in line where she tells the other lady (we'll call her unhappy lady) that I need to check my bag. Unhappy lady doesn't even look up my flight, just looks at me and tells me it's impossible. I can't go to Italy. What do these people have against me going to Italy? The she looks at the lady next to her as if to get confirmation that I'm an idiot for even thinking it was possible to take my bag on the plane. Lady #3 is petrified by the fact that Unhappy Lady will eat her if she doesn't concur, so she, of course, agrees and looks at me like I'm dumb. Great.
However, just at the moment I thought I was doomed to be stuck in Detroit with some extremely unhappy individuals who think I'm an idiot, a large black woman comes shoving through from the back. She starts yelling about calling people, and rushing my bag to the plane and makes it known that Unhappy Lady is incompetent at her job. I like Big Black Lady :) In the midst of her screaming she stops, looks at me and says "Sweetie, go get on you're plane, I'll take care of your bag." Yes ma'am! So I book it to the plane and just make it as they're threatening to take my luggage off the plane (Ha! It wasn't even on there!).
It was eventful. A simlar event happened in Amsterdam, almost making me miss my flight to Rome. I still had no idea if my bag was on the plane or not. I love adventures :)
But, I made it to Rome, my bag made it to Rome, I found a train and made it to the hostel where I was reunited with Randy. He showered, I took a nap, and we went for a walk. A 6 hour walk. The best thing about Rome is getting lost. The city is so crammed together, and so full of amazing famous things that you're bound to stumble upon something old and cool. We had no idea where we were for 6 hours, and it didn't matter! We just kept walking and magically we were next to the Trevi Fountain, then we were at the Colosseum, then the Spanish Steps, and then we trekked up this amazingly long, steep hill until we saw the most beautiful view of the city! It was gorgeous. All lit up, and you could see St. Peter's Basillica....it was amazing. It made the crazy hill completely worth it.
We of course went and saw all the sights, the Colosseum, Roman Forum, amazing cathedrals. We walked along the river, found some great markets, beautifully lit alleyways with the neatest little shops ever. The people in the hostels were amazing. We made lots of new friends, played Presidents and Scum, and experimented with fun italian desserts.
Rome was amazing, and kind of feels a bit like home to us. We rode through it on the train on our way up to Pisa the other day, and it felt so nostalgic. I will forever love Rome.
Next installment: Napoli!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)