I took a cab from my hotel to a market in downtown Cancun called Mercado 28. I wasn't in the mood to shop but wanted to check it out. There were 200+ little stalls of shops in this outdoor market. It was tough to walk through. Every shop owner wanted me to go into their shop and check out their goods. It was frustrating and they tested my patience. I found myself only walking into the shops where I wasn't being bothered or talked to.
After about twenty minutes I was over it. I decided I didn't want to spend another $20 on a short cab ride. So I asked an info desk at the market how to take a bus to the hotel zone. By this time it was already dark, and I got lost trying to find the bus. Dealt with some whistling and uncomfortable moments, but the people that I asked for help with directions were nice. I'm not sure I was in the best area to be wandering around as there were no other tourists or pedestrians, but I was determined to get there the local way.
The hotel zone is a strip between the ocean and lagoon full of high-rise hotels. I didn't get to see the view unfortunately. I got a little lost trying to find my new friends and their hotel, but once I did we all hopped in a cab and headed to dinner. It was a fun night with great food and margaritas.
I miss the sun already but it's good to be home.
P.S. I didn't get sick! I ate and drank everything I wanted to. The only major precaution I took was to brush my teeth with bottled water.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Swim-up bar
Once we got back to the resort after Cozumel we had less than an hour before the wedding started. Determined to enjoy the swim-up bar before we left, and assuming that we might not want a drink before check-out in the morning, we hopped in the pool for a quick drink before getting ready for the wedding. Was fun.
The wedding was really nice, on the beach in front of the resort. Was kind of weird to have lots of random people watching and walking by, but it was pretty. The reception was on the beach as well. Was fun with lots of dancing.
I got up early today and spent a few hours laying out in the sun. It will be rough going back home to the cold and rainy weather we have been having.
The resort food was ok, but still odd that there was not a lot of traditional food. The margaritas were a bit weak and very sweet. So I was excited today when six of us went into town to have lunch before heading back to Cancun. The food was great and the the margaritas delicious.
Niki and I took a bus together to the airport. She´s headed back to SF today and I hopped onto a shuttle to my hotel. While I wanted to stay in a hotel in downton Cancun, my flight is at 6am so decided to stay as close to the airport as possible.
Am heading into downtown Cancun shortly to meet up with four of Niki´s friends for dinner. Will be nice to see the area for a night, as I don´t think I´ll ever plan a trip to Cancun. I also don´t think all-inclusive resorts are for me, but it was nice to experience it.
Random note: the only thing that I wasn´t expecting is that the taxi´s don´t have meters. So every trip you take, once you tell them the destination they tell you how much it´ll cost. I haven´t enjoyed that since I don´t like to haggle. I did however manage to bargain my way down from $100 to $25 for a nice blanket. It´s going to be a challenge stuffing it into my suitcase, but I know I´ll love it when I sit in my San Francisco parks. Or perhaps I´ll just have to buy a large tote in Cancun tonight.
The wedding was really nice, on the beach in front of the resort. Was kind of weird to have lots of random people watching and walking by, but it was pretty. The reception was on the beach as well. Was fun with lots of dancing.
I got up early today and spent a few hours laying out in the sun. It will be rough going back home to the cold and rainy weather we have been having.
The resort food was ok, but still odd that there was not a lot of traditional food. The margaritas were a bit weak and very sweet. So I was excited today when six of us went into town to have lunch before heading back to Cancun. The food was great and the the margaritas delicious.
Niki and I took a bus together to the airport. She´s headed back to SF today and I hopped onto a shuttle to my hotel. While I wanted to stay in a hotel in downton Cancun, my flight is at 6am so decided to stay as close to the airport as possible.
Am heading into downtown Cancun shortly to meet up with four of Niki´s friends for dinner. Will be nice to see the area for a night, as I don´t think I´ll ever plan a trip to Cancun. I also don´t think all-inclusive resorts are for me, but it was nice to experience it.
Random note: the only thing that I wasn´t expecting is that the taxi´s don´t have meters. So every trip you take, once you tell them the destination they tell you how much it´ll cost. I haven´t enjoyed that since I don´t like to haggle. I did however manage to bargain my way down from $100 to $25 for a nice blanket. It´s going to be a challenge stuffing it into my suitcase, but I know I´ll love it when I sit in my San Francisco parks. Or perhaps I´ll just have to buy a large tote in Cancun tonight.
Cozumel
On Saturday morning Niki, Amy, Eric, and I took a ferry to explore the island of Cozumel, which is known for its scuba diving and snorkeling. Getting certified to dive is on my list of things to do, but for now Niki and I ventured on a snorkeling trip once we got there. Amy and Eric opted to rent a scooter and explore the land.
I´ve been snorkeling many times, but this BY FAR was the coolest experience I´ve had. The water was so clear and the fish were so colorful. There were also lots of different types of fish which was nice to see. I definitely felt like I was in a big aquarium. I have no idea what types of fish we saw except for what the guide pointed out - which was a ¨very big baracuda¨. We actually saw two of them. We went to 3 different reefs, and before jumping into the water he yelled for us to hurry in so we could see the ¨very big baracuda¨. I thought he was kidding, but quickly realized he wasn´t once I jumped in.
It was a fun trip, well worth the $25. Speaking of money, the pesos to dollars conversion has definitely been testing my math skills. I just guesstimate how much I´ve been spending. Lots of the little shops and taxis take dollars which is convenient.
After a few hours on the island we had to rush back to Playa to get ready for the wedding.
I´ve been snorkeling many times, but this BY FAR was the coolest experience I´ve had. The water was so clear and the fish were so colorful. There were also lots of different types of fish which was nice to see. I definitely felt like I was in a big aquarium. I have no idea what types of fish we saw except for what the guide pointed out - which was a ¨very big baracuda¨. We actually saw two of them. We went to 3 different reefs, and before jumping into the water he yelled for us to hurry in so we could see the ¨very big baracuda¨. I thought he was kidding, but quickly realized he wasn´t once I jumped in.
It was a fun trip, well worth the $25. Speaking of money, the pesos to dollars conversion has definitely been testing my math skills. I just guesstimate how much I´ve been spending. Lots of the little shops and taxis take dollars which is convenient.
After a few hours on the island we had to rush back to Playa to get ready for the wedding.
Tulum
On Friday morning I got up early and headed to Tulum with four other wedding guests. We took a bus from downtown Playa del Carmen to Tulum. It´s then a short walk into the Mayan ruins of Tulum. Officially it´s a pre-Columbian Maya walled city. It´s right on the water so after the tour we went down to the beach for some swimming and sunbathing.
The ruins were neat to see. I was a bit bummed that you couldn´t go into any of the buildings to see some of the wall paintings. Or at least our guide didn´t take us into any. I have to admit that my favorite part of that day trip were all of the iguanas. They were everywhere. I took lots of photos.
We headed back after a few hours of enjoying the ruins and beach for a cocktail hour with all of the other wedding guests. While I only knew 3 people beforehand, everyone here has been so nice and friendly. The couple are truly great people, as are all of their friends. The groom proposed to the bride in Brasil, at Iguacu Falls which I find cool.
We tried to make it an early night on Friday to save our energy for the wedding on Saturday.
The ruins were neat to see. I was a bit bummed that you couldn´t go into any of the buildings to see some of the wall paintings. Or at least our guide didn´t take us into any. I have to admit that my favorite part of that day trip were all of the iguanas. They were everywhere. I took lots of photos.
We headed back after a few hours of enjoying the ruins and beach for a cocktail hour with all of the other wedding guests. While I only knew 3 people beforehand, everyone here has been so nice and friendly. The couple are truly great people, as are all of their friends. The groom proposed to the bride in Brasil, at Iguacu Falls which I find cool.
We tried to make it an early night on Friday to save our energy for the wedding on Saturday.
Dirty Dancing
On Thursday I slept in a bit with the early rising, long travel day, and late night on Wednesday. When I finally got up I headed straight to the beach to check out the scene. One word - Gorgeous! The sand is so perfect and fluffy and the water is so clear. The beach is so large that you don´t feel crammed into one little section of beach.
After about ten minutes of laying out I got pooped on by a seagull. Not sure what it is with me and foreign birds.
Niki and I had lunch at the buffet and then after more laying out we got ready for dinner with all of the other wedding guests that were already in town. It was fun. They actually had turkey for Thanksgiving, but that was about it. We then hung out at one of the resort bars and I called it an early night which I was very happy about the next day.
One thing I keep thinking about during this entire stay is how much the resort reminds me of the movie Dirty Dancing. This is my first time staying at an all-inclusive resort. Everyone that works here is required to have another talent, like dancing. I was part of a group that got sucked into learning a few salsa moves at the resort bar one night.
They have shows and events throughout the day and every night. The shows are stereotypical terrible but somewhat entertaining. The resort staff walk around trying to get people excited about them and flirt with all of the guests. We even had one of the wedding guests go home with one of the staff, which created lots of drama - he almost got fired! Pretty amusing and reminiscent of the drama in Dirty Dancing.
After about ten minutes of laying out I got pooped on by a seagull. Not sure what it is with me and foreign birds.
Niki and I had lunch at the buffet and then after more laying out we got ready for dinner with all of the other wedding guests that were already in town. It was fun. They actually had turkey for Thanksgiving, but that was about it. We then hung out at one of the resort bars and I called it an early night which I was very happy about the next day.
One thing I keep thinking about during this entire stay is how much the resort reminds me of the movie Dirty Dancing. This is my first time staying at an all-inclusive resort. Everyone that works here is required to have another talent, like dancing. I was part of a group that got sucked into learning a few salsa moves at the resort bar one night.
They have shows and events throughout the day and every night. The shows are stereotypical terrible but somewhat entertaining. The resort staff walk around trying to get people excited about them and flirt with all of the guests. We even had one of the wedding guests go home with one of the staff, which created lots of drama - he almost got fired! Pretty amusing and reminiscent of the drama in Dirty Dancing.
Playa del Carmen
The flights were seamless which was nice. Loved the priority treatment now that I´m back to American Airlines gold card status. I arrived into Cancun at 4pm, went through customs and waited for another wedding guest to share a ride to the hotel. My friend Niki invited me as her date to one of her friend´s wedding. She knew I´d be down with a trip like this!
A few weeks ago I was perusing Facebook and saw a high school friend´s post that she was excited for her Mexican vacation. I asked her when and where she´d be. Turned out that she was staying only 20 minutes away during the same timeframe! So we planned to meet for dinner Wednesday night. I arrived at the hotel, ran through the shower, and headed to downtown Playa del Carmen for dinner. Turns out she married another high school friend so we had a nice little reunion. Then my friend Niki and all her friends met up with us downtown for a rockin´ evening. Ended up dancing at a club on the beach, but by 3am I decided it was time to call it a night.
It took a while for me to feel like I was in a different country. We went to dinner in the tourist zone of Playa (5th Ave) which felt like a large Fisherman´s Warf. The resort that we´re all staying at is in a large gated community of other resorts. It´s all inclusive, which has been nice to not have to bring money and worry about a bill everywhere. However, there´s not a lot of Mexican food at the buffet! Which I find extremely odd. My only complaint.
A few weeks ago I was perusing Facebook and saw a high school friend´s post that she was excited for her Mexican vacation. I asked her when and where she´d be. Turned out that she was staying only 20 minutes away during the same timeframe! So we planned to meet for dinner Wednesday night. I arrived at the hotel, ran through the shower, and headed to downtown Playa del Carmen for dinner. Turns out she married another high school friend so we had a nice little reunion. Then my friend Niki and all her friends met up with us downtown for a rockin´ evening. Ended up dancing at a club on the beach, but by 3am I decided it was time to call it a night.
It took a while for me to feel like I was in a different country. We went to dinner in the tourist zone of Playa (5th Ave) which felt like a large Fisherman´s Warf. The resort that we´re all staying at is in a large gated community of other resorts. It´s all inclusive, which has been nice to not have to bring money and worry about a bill everywhere. However, there´s not a lot of Mexican food at the buffet! Which I find extremely odd. My only complaint.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Mexico
Am headed in a few hours to catch a ride from San Francisco to Dallas to eat a Tex Mex lunch. Then shortly after lunch am skipping over to Playa del Carmen, to experience the real deal.
This is my first Mexican adventure, and most likely not the last. I find it surprising that I've never been to Mexico for two reasons. First, I live so close. Second and most important, I love the food. Now, I know what you are thinking - the food there won't be like Taco Bell or Chevy's. This is true, but I know I'll still love it.
I will admit I'm a little concerned about the water and all the warnings that I will get sick. I say so be it. I will not be scared. I will enjoy the food, the margaritas, and avoid tap water. Kind of a crazy change from drinking out of every source in Italy on every street corner.
Am excited for new adventures!
This is my first Mexican adventure, and most likely not the last. I find it surprising that I've never been to Mexico for two reasons. First, I live so close. Second and most important, I love the food. Now, I know what you are thinking - the food there won't be like Taco Bell or Chevy's. This is true, but I know I'll still love it.
I will admit I'm a little concerned about the water and all the warnings that I will get sick. I say so be it. I will not be scared. I will enjoy the food, the margaritas, and avoid tap water. Kind of a crazy change from drinking out of every source in Italy on every street corner.
Am excited for new adventures!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Note to readers
I purposefully titled this blog "My Travels" to try and force myself to update it whenever I went on a trip. If Italy was all that you were interested in, no hard feelings if you unsubscribe. You'll just miss out on my wonderful anecdotes and life lessons. ;)
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Italy: Goodbye, for now
I have loved everything about this trip-
the endless sights of Rome
the art of Florence
the sillyness of Pisa
the views of Cortona
the streets of Siena
the hikes of Cinque Terre
the spicyness of Milan
the beauty of Lake Como
the canals of Venice
the creativity of Murano
the steep stairwells of Positano
the grottoes of Capri
the ruins of Pompei
the shops of Sorrento
the balconies of Taormina
the humbleness of Siracusa
the beach of Fontane Bianche
the gelato of Ortygia
the convent hostel of Salerno
I thought after five weeks in Italy I would be able to cross it off my list and only see and explore other countries. Well, I have a feeling that the one coin I threw with my right hand over my left shoulder in the Trevi fountain will bring me back to Italy someday.
the endless sights of Rome
the art of Florence
the sillyness of Pisa
the views of Cortona
the streets of Siena
the hikes of Cinque Terre
the spicyness of Milan
the beauty of Lake Como
the canals of Venice
the creativity of Murano
the steep stairwells of Positano
the grottoes of Capri
the ruins of Pompei
the shops of Sorrento
the balconies of Taormina
the humbleness of Siracusa
the beach of Fontane Bianche
the gelato of Ortygia
the convent hostel of Salerno
I thought after five weeks in Italy I would be able to cross it off my list and only see and explore other countries. Well, I have a feeling that the one coin I threw with my right hand over my left shoulder in the Trevi fountain will bring me back to Italy someday.
The Last Supper
Train to Rome from Salerno was not only on schedule, it was early. The air conditioning even worked, was a very fancy trip. So happy that my last day was in Rome. Once I dropped my stuff off at the Fawlty Towers hostel, I walked to the Spanish Steps, then walked down Corso and did some shopping. Bought a few scarves, which felt weird to do in this blistering heat but they will be very useful in SF. Strolled past the Pantheon, enjoyed the music in Piazza Navona. Actually the same band that I enjoyed weeks ago, so I bought their cd. Then I settled into a restaurant on a side alley from Piazza Navona.
Since it was my last supper, I decided to not eat all day. All I had was a piece of fruit, so that I could actually eat officially tonight by having the primo and secondi courses (I normally could only handle the primo). I didn't order an appetizer though, so it probably was not completely legit. My primo was Spaghetti Pomodoro, followed by my secondi of Melanzane Alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmesan), and then my cotorni (side dish) was Zuppa di Fagioli (bean soup). Enjoyed all of that with two glasses of Chianti. I ate at an odd time, it was a late lunch or early dinner, so I was one of very few eating. Which allowed me to become buds with the waiters Alberto & Pino. They were waiters but really should be comedians. They were sad when I asked for the check, so poured me another glass of wine on them, which I did not need but drank anyways. Pino offered to take me around Rome on his Vespa if I waited until he got off work. I sadly told him that I had to get to bed early because of my flight, but that would have been fun! Then I strolled to the Fontana di Trevi to have a gelato and enjoy the fountain from dusk to dark. Was really nice.
While I know it will be nice to be home, I am surprisingly a bit emotional to leave.
Since it was my last supper, I decided to not eat all day. All I had was a piece of fruit, so that I could actually eat officially tonight by having the primo and secondi courses (I normally could only handle the primo). I didn't order an appetizer though, so it probably was not completely legit. My primo was Spaghetti Pomodoro, followed by my secondi of Melanzane Alla Parmigiana (Eggplant Parmesan), and then my cotorni (side dish) was Zuppa di Fagioli (bean soup). Enjoyed all of that with two glasses of Chianti. I ate at an odd time, it was a late lunch or early dinner, so I was one of very few eating. Which allowed me to become buds with the waiters Alberto & Pino. They were waiters but really should be comedians. They were sad when I asked for the check, so poured me another glass of wine on them, which I did not need but drank anyways. Pino offered to take me around Rome on his Vespa if I waited until he got off work. I sadly told him that I had to get to bed early because of my flight, but that would have been fun! Then I strolled to the Fontana di Trevi to have a gelato and enjoy the fountain from dusk to dark. Was really nice.
While I know it will be nice to be home, I am surprisingly a bit emotional to leave.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Back on the mainland
Today was uneventful in the tourist category. I will avoid venting and not talk about the 12 hour trip that was supposed to be 8. I will also not talk about the argument I had last night with a Dutch guy, who tested my patience mocking my lack of eating red meat, and continued by asking me what I was doing in Sicily if I didn't eat a lot of seafood. He tested my last nerve when he brought up the World Cup. That is when I gave it right back to him, shocked the entire table, and went to bed. But we won't talk about that. This country doesn't deserve venting. :)
What I will talk about is this cool hostel in Salerno. It used to be a convent, so has lots of character. Reminds me of when my parents and I stayed in a convent in northern Brasil one night.
Off to Rome in the morning. Of everywhere I have been, Rome is still my favorite. Assuming the train cooperates, I will arrive at 2pm and will have a full afternoon and evening of fun before I fly out on Monday.
What I will talk about is this cool hostel in Salerno. It used to be a convent, so has lots of character. Reminds me of when my parents and I stayed in a convent in northern Brasil one night.
Off to Rome in the morning. Of everywhere I have been, Rome is still my favorite. Assuming the train cooperates, I will arrive at 2pm and will have a full afternoon and evening of fun before I fly out on Monday.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Chillin in Sicily
This morning I walked to the farmers market on the Ortygia island and bought some produce. Then I met up with a guy from Los Angeles staying at the hostel and we walked around the Parco Archeologico Della Neapolis, one of the main tourist spots of Siracusa. It has a Greek theatre, a Roman amphitheatre and a really cool cave. Just got back to the hostel to take a siesta, and ran into the friendly Korean chef (Jung) who is trying to convince me to eat lunch with him. I think I draw the line at anchovies, but I'll probably sit with him and keep him company. Tonight is a lot of people's last nights here, am sure we'll get a big group to go out to dinner on Ortygia.
Speaking of dinner, last night was fun - a girl from my room and I went to dinner right in front of the Duomo. Was very cool all lit up. Then we walked around a bit. Bought a mixed cd off a guy on the street that will hopefully have a bunch of hit Italian songs that are being played everywhere, but I have a feeling it'll also have some stuff from home on there as well. Watched part of a marrionette puppet show. Lots of little kids sitting down watching, was sad I didn't have my camera on me. Watched the monkey puppet do the moonwalk to Smooth Criminal. Was the funniest thing I've seen in a while.
With the direct trains full it is going to take me two days to get back to Rome. So tomorrow am heading out bright and early to take the train, the ferry, and another train to Salerno. Then on Sunday up to Rome. Hopefully it will be an easy trip with few complications.
Speaking of dinner, last night was fun - a girl from my room and I went to dinner right in front of the Duomo. Was very cool all lit up. Then we walked around a bit. Bought a mixed cd off a guy on the street that will hopefully have a bunch of hit Italian songs that are being played everywhere, but I have a feeling it'll also have some stuff from home on there as well. Watched part of a marrionette puppet show. Lots of little kids sitting down watching, was sad I didn't have my camera on me. Watched the monkey puppet do the moonwalk to Smooth Criminal. Was the funniest thing I've seen in a while.
With the direct trains full it is going to take me two days to get back to Rome. So tomorrow am heading out bright and early to take the train, the ferry, and another train to Salerno. Then on Sunday up to Rome. Hopefully it will be an easy trip with few complications.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Fontane Bianche
I spent yesterday sunbathing and swimming at Fontane Bianche, a quick bus ride south of Siracusa. A beautiful sandy beach and bright blue water.
I noticed a few people covered in what looked like really thick white sunscreen. They were laughing and taking photos of each other. I just thought - strange Italians.
But then I saw more and more people walking by me with this weird stuff on. Then I remembered the name of the beach that I was on - Fontane Bianche. So I walked down what felt like the rabbit hole to see where they were coming from. There were tons of people on the end of the beach standing in the water smearing this substance from the rocks on their bodies. I tried looking it up quickly but didn't really find an explanation. I asked the owner of the hostel who is the bartender at night, and he said its some sort of soapstone that is a good exfoliant. Kind of cool. I was hesitant to do that though and rub all my sunscreen off. These last few days have been HOT. My guide book calls Siracusa a "cauldron in the summer".
I noticed a few people covered in what looked like really thick white sunscreen. They were laughing and taking photos of each other. I just thought - strange Italians.
But then I saw more and more people walking by me with this weird stuff on. Then I remembered the name of the beach that I was on - Fontane Bianche. So I walked down what felt like the rabbit hole to see where they were coming from. There were tons of people on the end of the beach standing in the water smearing this substance from the rocks on their bodies. I tried looking it up quickly but didn't really find an explanation. I asked the owner of the hostel who is the bartender at night, and he said its some sort of soapstone that is a good exfoliant. Kind of cool. I was hesitant to do that though and rub all my sunscreen off. These last few days have been HOT. My guide book calls Siracusa a "cauldron in the summer".
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Octopus & Squid Pasta
So, I was completely content with my late lunch and my apple for dinner. I sat at the hostel bar with a beer and my book. And somehow ended up at a dinner table of strangers, all travelling by themselves. There were three Dutch, a Korean, a Brit, and a Portuguese. Ages ranged from 20-69. Not sure how it happened, but it was a lovely unexpected dinner.
Once I accepted and sat down I was a bit mortified to see a pasta dish full of octopus & squid. What to do. I'm pretty sure I am allergic to shellfish. Well, with everyone there and feeling the sweet hospitality of these other hostel goers, I had to just eat it and see what happens. So far so good. The thought makes me nervous, but I think it is all in my head. The guy from Korea was the chef, he left his family to spend 3 months in Sicily eating and cooking, as he is going to open an Italian restaurant once he gets back. Which reminds me, one of my regrets while here is not taking a cooking class. Next time perhaps.
Once I accepted and sat down I was a bit mortified to see a pasta dish full of octopus & squid. What to do. I'm pretty sure I am allergic to shellfish. Well, with everyone there and feeling the sweet hospitality of these other hostel goers, I had to just eat it and see what happens. So far so good. The thought makes me nervous, but I think it is all in my head. The guy from Korea was the chef, he left his family to spend 3 months in Sicily eating and cooking, as he is going to open an Italian restaurant once he gets back. Which reminds me, one of my regrets while here is not taking a cooking class. Next time perhaps.
Siracusa & Ortygia
I'm staying at the LOL Hostel in Siracusa, 50m from the train station. It is so nice & clean. The staff is very helpful and friendly, and they have four computers, a kitchen and bar, and an outdoor garden patio. I need a key to get into my shared dorm, and I have a locker for the first time. This place is fabulous. I just wish the name was less cheesy (LOL as in "laughing out loud"). Written on the chalk board at the entrance is "29th in the world!". I assume that references some sort of rating as the 29th best hostel. Anyways, enough about the hostel.
I got here pretty late last night, because it seems to take super long to get anywhere in Sicily via the trains or buses. Most of the guide books do warn about that. My original plan was to stay here for two nights, then head to Agrigento for two nights, and then up to Palermo. However, since it takes so long to get anywhere I don't want to spend two full days on the train. SO I decided to stay put and booked two more nights at this hostel. While I am bummed not to get to those other spots, I like the thought of relaxing here by the beach. There are also plenty of sights to see in Siracusa and on Ortygia Island. Walked around Ortygia today (it's an island just over the bridge, you don't have to take a ferry which is nice). I parked myself on a platform full of other sunbathers. There was a stairwell to get into the water. No apparent beaches here, so am going to hop on a bus tomorrow to go to a sandy beach a bit south of here.
Very few people speak English which has been a nice change. It's more of a struggle, but a bit fun to try and communicate in Italian and using my Portuguese. All the others in my dorm are from other parts of Europe, mainly France.
Off to find something to eat and sit outside with my latest novel. It's such a nice feeling that I don't have to pack up and leave in the morning.
I got here pretty late last night, because it seems to take super long to get anywhere in Sicily via the trains or buses. Most of the guide books do warn about that. My original plan was to stay here for two nights, then head to Agrigento for two nights, and then up to Palermo. However, since it takes so long to get anywhere I don't want to spend two full days on the train. SO I decided to stay put and booked two more nights at this hostel. While I am bummed not to get to those other spots, I like the thought of relaxing here by the beach. There are also plenty of sights to see in Siracusa and on Ortygia Island. Walked around Ortygia today (it's an island just over the bridge, you don't have to take a ferry which is nice). I parked myself on a platform full of other sunbathers. There was a stairwell to get into the water. No apparent beaches here, so am going to hop on a bus tomorrow to go to a sandy beach a bit south of here.
Very few people speak English which has been a nice change. It's more of a struggle, but a bit fun to try and communicate in Italian and using my Portuguese. All the others in my dorm are from other parts of Europe, mainly France.
Off to find something to eat and sit outside with my latest novel. It's such a nice feeling that I don't have to pack up and leave in the morning.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Adventure to Sicily
Oh where to start. Talking to some other tourists and the people that worked at the hostel, I was told my best option was to take the bus from Positano to Amalfi. Then get on another bus to Salerno, and then a train from Salerno to Taormina. That was the plan and it would have been nice. The day turned out as follows.
I got up at 5:30 and walked to the bus stop to catch the 6am bus to Amalfi. Didn't show up. Then at 6:30 a bus to Salerno showed up (when everyone told me there wasn't a bus directly to Salerno), so I thought my day was going to be seamless. I got on the bus and it wasn't possible to buy a ticket on it (even though people told me I could). The driver was extremely nice and let me get on the bus, and then in Amalfi I hopped off and quickly bought a ticket. Twisted my ankle rushing to the Tabbachi to get my ticket, but all ok. Then I get to Salerno 2 hours before the train was scheduled to leave. Train is full. No seats available. All the direct trains are full, according to the ticket vending machine. So I stood in line to talk to someone that works there. He said "yes all trains are full, not possible to get to Taormina". That was the first time I experienced that, it was always easy to get on any train. Apparently getting on and off Sicily is quite difficult. Which makes me nervous about my trip back to Rome to fly out. Anyways, so then I pull my Italy book out and start playing with the ticket machine, to see what my options are because the guy behind the desk was not going to help me. I decided to at least make it to the town right across from Sicily and see what happens. I book that train that leaves at 1pm, and up walks Vicki, coincidentally also heading to Taormina. Told her about the train, and she was in the same situation, assuming she could just get the ticket that day. So we set out on this adventure together, having no idea where we would end up for the night.
We had lunch in Salerno, walked around asking people for an internet point, but Salerno doesn't get many tourists so they don't really have one. Then we took the train to Villa San Giovanni (something like that, don't have my guidebook on me). As we got off, the ferries to Messina were right there, so we hopped on a ferry to Sicily. And then we took a local train from Messina to Taormina. Why couldn't the man at the train station in Salerno have told us that you can get there, just not on the direct train? So we were so happy we made it. Then we had to take the bus from the train station up the hill to Taormina. That is when looking at my hotel information I realized that they had lied, and that they weren't actually in Taormina, but a town 20km up the coast. I booked the hotel room because I couldn't find a hostel, and told myself that it would be my "splurge" night of a nice hotel. Well by that point it was dark, no buses were going to the town my hotel was in and it would have probably cost more than the room to take a taxi there. So I decided to truck with Vicki to her hostel and hope they have an extra bed available.
We followed the directions to the hostel and had to keep asking locals which direction to go. It was pitch black at this point with few street lights. Sicily definitely seems to be where all of the Italians flock to, to enjoy the beaches and flee from all of the tourists up north. Lots of tourists here, just all Italian tourists.
Walking away from the town, it seemed odd that the hostel was in a neighborhood. Well we found the street and address, and it wasn't the hostel. It was a sketchy little B&B with an old woman sitting on the porch. She said the hostel was "finished" and that we could stay there for 60 euros. We were quite confused so walked a little further down the road and found a hotel and went to ask them. They explained that the hostel moved about a year ago, but that the guide books haven't properly updated the directions and that we walked about 2km the wrong way. Completely desperate, we asked them if we could grab a drink and decide what to do. So we had a beer and tried calling the hostel. None of the numbers Vicki had worked, because they had moved. We asked the woman at reception how much it would be for one room for one night. She said 50 euros. At that point we were so exhausted we said ok. So we both had different accomodations booked but ended up staying there. She definitely gave us a deal because of how late it was, how tired we probably looked, and knowing that if they had told us anything more expensive we would have left. So giving us a deal, they at least made 50 euros that night. So my day from hostel to hotel was a 15 hour adventure...
We then asked if they closed the front door, because we were going to go try and find dinner. She explained how to get in past 11, but said that if we wanted they had a restaurant downstairs by the pool. We looked at each other like "what!? you have a pool!?". So we put our stuff in our room, quickly freshened up, and went to dinner downstairs. Then I threw on my bikini, took a quick dip under the stars by myself which was fabulous, and went to bed. It was the best night sleep I've had in over a week. It was also the best shower I've had in a long time. It's amazing how roughing it a bit makes you appreciate every little detail of a simple hotel.
This morning we had breakfast at our savior hotel, and then trekked back to town and found Vicki's hostel, where I am paying them by the hour to leave my luggage. After a bit of touring Taormina, I'll eat lunch, say bye to Vicki and take the bus down to the train station, destination Siracusa. Hopefully it won't take me that long to get there!
I got up at 5:30 and walked to the bus stop to catch the 6am bus to Amalfi. Didn't show up. Then at 6:30 a bus to Salerno showed up (when everyone told me there wasn't a bus directly to Salerno), so I thought my day was going to be seamless. I got on the bus and it wasn't possible to buy a ticket on it (even though people told me I could). The driver was extremely nice and let me get on the bus, and then in Amalfi I hopped off and quickly bought a ticket. Twisted my ankle rushing to the Tabbachi to get my ticket, but all ok. Then I get to Salerno 2 hours before the train was scheduled to leave. Train is full. No seats available. All the direct trains are full, according to the ticket vending machine. So I stood in line to talk to someone that works there. He said "yes all trains are full, not possible to get to Taormina". That was the first time I experienced that, it was always easy to get on any train. Apparently getting on and off Sicily is quite difficult. Which makes me nervous about my trip back to Rome to fly out. Anyways, so then I pull my Italy book out and start playing with the ticket machine, to see what my options are because the guy behind the desk was not going to help me. I decided to at least make it to the town right across from Sicily and see what happens. I book that train that leaves at 1pm, and up walks Vicki, coincidentally also heading to Taormina. Told her about the train, and she was in the same situation, assuming she could just get the ticket that day. So we set out on this adventure together, having no idea where we would end up for the night.
We had lunch in Salerno, walked around asking people for an internet point, but Salerno doesn't get many tourists so they don't really have one. Then we took the train to Villa San Giovanni (something like that, don't have my guidebook on me). As we got off, the ferries to Messina were right there, so we hopped on a ferry to Sicily. And then we took a local train from Messina to Taormina. Why couldn't the man at the train station in Salerno have told us that you can get there, just not on the direct train? So we were so happy we made it. Then we had to take the bus from the train station up the hill to Taormina. That is when looking at my hotel information I realized that they had lied, and that they weren't actually in Taormina, but a town 20km up the coast. I booked the hotel room because I couldn't find a hostel, and told myself that it would be my "splurge" night of a nice hotel. Well by that point it was dark, no buses were going to the town my hotel was in and it would have probably cost more than the room to take a taxi there. So I decided to truck with Vicki to her hostel and hope they have an extra bed available.
We followed the directions to the hostel and had to keep asking locals which direction to go. It was pitch black at this point with few street lights. Sicily definitely seems to be where all of the Italians flock to, to enjoy the beaches and flee from all of the tourists up north. Lots of tourists here, just all Italian tourists.
Walking away from the town, it seemed odd that the hostel was in a neighborhood. Well we found the street and address, and it wasn't the hostel. It was a sketchy little B&B with an old woman sitting on the porch. She said the hostel was "finished" and that we could stay there for 60 euros. We were quite confused so walked a little further down the road and found a hotel and went to ask them. They explained that the hostel moved about a year ago, but that the guide books haven't properly updated the directions and that we walked about 2km the wrong way. Completely desperate, we asked them if we could grab a drink and decide what to do. So we had a beer and tried calling the hostel. None of the numbers Vicki had worked, because they had moved. We asked the woman at reception how much it would be for one room for one night. She said 50 euros. At that point we were so exhausted we said ok. So we both had different accomodations booked but ended up staying there. She definitely gave us a deal because of how late it was, how tired we probably looked, and knowing that if they had told us anything more expensive we would have left. So giving us a deal, they at least made 50 euros that night. So my day from hostel to hotel was a 15 hour adventure...
We then asked if they closed the front door, because we were going to go try and find dinner. She explained how to get in past 11, but said that if we wanted they had a restaurant downstairs by the pool. We looked at each other like "what!? you have a pool!?". So we put our stuff in our room, quickly freshened up, and went to dinner downstairs. Then I threw on my bikini, took a quick dip under the stars by myself which was fabulous, and went to bed. It was the best night sleep I've had in over a week. It was also the best shower I've had in a long time. It's amazing how roughing it a bit makes you appreciate every little detail of a simple hotel.
This morning we had breakfast at our savior hotel, and then trekked back to town and found Vicki's hostel, where I am paying them by the hour to leave my luggage. After a bit of touring Taormina, I'll eat lunch, say bye to Vicki and take the bus down to the train station, destination Siracusa. Hopefully it won't take me that long to get there!
The Path of the Gods
Sunday was a holiday, not sure if it was national or local. I decided to take a hike called The Path of the Gods. My plan was to hike from Positano to Praiano. The paths however are not marked at all so I got a little sidetracked, and not sure what percentage of the official path I walked. I hiked for about 6 hours and basically walked along the top of the mountains along the coast. It was AMAZING. I didn't see another hiker - I perhaps was the only crazy one to hike there in the middle of August. It was a nice change and very peaceful, compared to the hordes of other hikers in Cinque Terre. On the path was just me and a whole lot of nature. Lots of fluttering butterflies, scurrying lizards, and one slithering snake that was a bit too large for comfort. Luckily he was just as scared of me.
I made it to Montepertuso and then hiked up to the Buco di Montepertuso. Another tourist told me about what the locals believe about this hole in the mountain - something about Madonna and the Devil getting into an argument. In order to settle it, they had to try and blow a hole into the mountain and whoever created the bigger hole won. Well apparently the Devil went first and created a dent. Then Madonna of Positano actually created a hole, that the locals now apparently have a festival around, go up and pray to it etc. Need to do some more research on that.
Then I got back on the trail and noticed I was heading away from the water. No idea where I went, but it was a little set of buildings with people but no real roads. So I backtracked and found another trail. The heat and humidity started to get to me so I headed back down and somehow made it to Positano. I then had dinner by the beach and watched the locals setting up for the big festival. Watched a band play outside of the church, little kids running around with glittery hats, butterfly wings, balloons, and glow in the dark bracelets. Fireworks were set to go off at midnight. They were practicing with those pretty much all day. I had to get to bed early though, to start heading south to Sicily at 5:30am, so I missed that action. When I got up to leave, 6 of my roommates weren't even home yet!
I made it to Montepertuso and then hiked up to the Buco di Montepertuso. Another tourist told me about what the locals believe about this hole in the mountain - something about Madonna and the Devil getting into an argument. In order to settle it, they had to try and blow a hole into the mountain and whoever created the bigger hole won. Well apparently the Devil went first and created a dent. Then Madonna of Positano actually created a hole, that the locals now apparently have a festival around, go up and pray to it etc. Need to do some more research on that.
Then I got back on the trail and noticed I was heading away from the water. No idea where I went, but it was a little set of buildings with people but no real roads. So I backtracked and found another trail. The heat and humidity started to get to me so I headed back down and somehow made it to Positano. I then had dinner by the beach and watched the locals setting up for the big festival. Watched a band play outside of the church, little kids running around with glittery hats, butterfly wings, balloons, and glow in the dark bracelets. Fireworks were set to go off at midnight. They were practicing with those pretty much all day. I had to get to bed early though, to start heading south to Sicily at 5:30am, so I missed that action. When I got up to leave, 6 of my roommates weren't even home yet!
Pompei
On Saturday I headed out to Pompei. I walked around the ruins for about 6 hours. I had a morbid fascination with taking photos of the ruins with Mt. Vesuvius (its destroyer) in the background. My Italy book strongly recommended that you buy the guide to the site book in the bookstore at the entrace. I hesitated as I didn't want to spend the money, but so glad I did. It had photos and descriptions of everything that you are looking at. People actually hovered around me to look at my book with me.
It was extremely hot and you had to step into the remains of houses for some shade. While I know some people probably weren't prepared and didn't bring water or snacks, it was a shame to see food vendors there. I also wanted to smack the parents that were allowing their kids to climb on the ruins.
Overall it was a great day, very nice and peaceful to walk around by myself. While I enjoyed the company of my new friends, it was nice to be back on my own for the day.
While walking around a guard that was patrolling the area whistled at me to head down this little desolate alley. I was skeptical, but he said there was a very beautiful house at the end that is not marked or on the map. I looked down the alley, looked back at him. Looked at his badge and official looking outfit. Looked at my map. Looked back at him. Looked back at the alley and the fact that no one else was around and decided to go for it. If he followed me and was creepy I had my pepper spray that Ang gave me. It was an amazing house with lots of murals on the wall. Glad I trusted him. By the time I got back out of it he was nowhere in sight.
I then took the train back to Sorrento, walked around that town for a bit. It was starting to get dark, so I hopped on the bus back Positano and had dinner with Vicki (the British woman that I went to Capri with).
It was extremely hot and you had to step into the remains of houses for some shade. While I know some people probably weren't prepared and didn't bring water or snacks, it was a shame to see food vendors there. I also wanted to smack the parents that were allowing their kids to climb on the ruins.
Overall it was a great day, very nice and peaceful to walk around by myself. While I enjoyed the company of my new friends, it was nice to be back on my own for the day.
While walking around a guard that was patrolling the area whistled at me to head down this little desolate alley. I was skeptical, but he said there was a very beautiful house at the end that is not marked or on the map. I looked down the alley, looked back at him. Looked at his badge and official looking outfit. Looked at my map. Looked back at him. Looked back at the alley and the fact that no one else was around and decided to go for it. If he followed me and was creepy I had my pepper spray that Ang gave me. It was an amazing house with lots of murals on the wall. Glad I trusted him. By the time I got back out of it he was nowhere in sight.
I then took the train back to Sorrento, walked around that town for a bit. It was starting to get dark, so I hopped on the bus back Positano and had dinner with Vicki (the British woman that I went to Capri with).
Friday, August 13, 2010
Positano
Took a bus to Positano yesterday from Rome, was pretty seamless with a smidgen of language barrier confusion, but I made it.
My hostel is at the top of the very steep hillside town. Walking up & down definitely makes me feel less guilty about all the delicious food I've been eating. Not that I felt too guilty before though. I also felt great when after I hiked up two flights of stairs to get to the hostel, the guy that checked me in offered to take my suitcase up the last flight of stairs and he had quite a hard time too!
This is my first shared dorm experience. Not too bad. Bought a little lock for my suitcase which makes me feel more comfortable. I met a girl yesterday in my dorm room and we hung out at the beach and had dinner together, very nice Aussie also traveling by herself. I luckily packed an eye cover thing (whatever those are called) and earplugs. Because when I woke up everyone had nothing but complaints about a few of the girls turning the lights on in the middle of the night to chat and one this morning letting her alarm go off for about 15 minutes. Blissfully didn't hear a thing.
This morning we picked up two more girls also traveling by themselves. Spent the day on Capri Island with an Australian, Argentine & Brit. Took a boat there, then hopped on another boat to tour the island. And then on a little row boat to go into the blue grotto. Gorgeous one minute experience. Twas fun.
My hostel is at the top of the very steep hillside town. Walking up & down definitely makes me feel less guilty about all the delicious food I've been eating. Not that I felt too guilty before though. I also felt great when after I hiked up two flights of stairs to get to the hostel, the guy that checked me in offered to take my suitcase up the last flight of stairs and he had quite a hard time too!
This is my first shared dorm experience. Not too bad. Bought a little lock for my suitcase which makes me feel more comfortable. I met a girl yesterday in my dorm room and we hung out at the beach and had dinner together, very nice Aussie also traveling by herself. I luckily packed an eye cover thing (whatever those are called) and earplugs. Because when I woke up everyone had nothing but complaints about a few of the girls turning the lights on in the middle of the night to chat and one this morning letting her alarm go off for about 15 minutes. Blissfully didn't hear a thing.
This morning we picked up two more girls also traveling by themselves. Spent the day on Capri Island with an Australian, Argentine & Brit. Took a boat there, then hopped on another boat to tour the island. And then on a little row boat to go into the blue grotto. Gorgeous one minute experience. Twas fun.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Venice to Rome
Yesterday was a nice last day in Venice. A few dinners ago I ordered a caraffe of wine that was way too small. So at lunch on my last day there were two caraffes listed with two prices, no mention of size. So with the past experience I ordered the more expensive one, assuming it'd be the perfect amount. It was a liter. Fun how all of the tables turned and looked at me sitting by myself when that was delivered. Oh boy. So to take it like a champ I didn't say anything to the waiter. Two British sisters (mid-40s) turned around and said "girl after our own heart". That's when I noticed they had the exact same pitcher of house white wine emptied, so I asked them if they wanted to help me out. They did and we had a fun conversation. They talked up England a whole lot and said I must get there someday, to the small towns (not just London). And then we talked a lot about traveling alone and how impressed they were that I could do it. So I gave them both an assignment for when they get back home - go to a meal by themselves. One sister said she was up for the challenge. The other one had her doubts, wanted her sister to do it first and tell her about it. It was fun to sit there at my age telling them that it's a life experience they must try.
Anyways, needless to say after lunch I went back to my hostel and took a nap. Then woke up for a fun last night out.
I decided to spend the night in Rome tonight because the hostel that I booked in Positano didn't have availability, and well we all know how much I love Rome. So will get up bright and early to head south.
On the train to Rome from Venice I sat across the aisle from a nice Australian who just finished college, bought a one-way ticket to Europe and hasn't decided yet where she will land to look for a job. Maybe Spain. How fun. Anyways, she made herself a sandwich on the train, and then handed me the fixings to make myself one. So nice. Then she finished her book (Lolita) and asked if I wanted to take it with me. Perfect because I am most likely not going to have a book for the plane ride home at the rate I am reading. Not that I need to make my suitcase any heavier. I have bruises on my legs from hoisting the suitcase up and down stairs. Next time either way smaller suitcase or backpack. And lifting weights when I get home.
So I'm sitting in Rome at my favorite internet point. Favorite because of the extremely good looking guy that works here. He's sadly not here, must be on vacation. Still conveniently close to my hostel and a few of the sites that I want to revisit tonight.
One thing I've been meaning to include in my blog is that everywhere I have been in Italy, guys on the street ask you to sign a petition "against drugs". No idea if that is what they are actually trying to get people to sign. At first I would reply with "no thanks", which then cleverly moved to the lie "I already did!" to now the annoyed they keep asking response of "But I like drugs". Oh if only I could snap a photo of their reactions. Pretty funny.
Anyways, needless to say after lunch I went back to my hostel and took a nap. Then woke up for a fun last night out.
I decided to spend the night in Rome tonight because the hostel that I booked in Positano didn't have availability, and well we all know how much I love Rome. So will get up bright and early to head south.
On the train to Rome from Venice I sat across the aisle from a nice Australian who just finished college, bought a one-way ticket to Europe and hasn't decided yet where she will land to look for a job. Maybe Spain. How fun. Anyways, she made herself a sandwich on the train, and then handed me the fixings to make myself one. So nice. Then she finished her book (Lolita) and asked if I wanted to take it with me. Perfect because I am most likely not going to have a book for the plane ride home at the rate I am reading. Not that I need to make my suitcase any heavier. I have bruises on my legs from hoisting the suitcase up and down stairs. Next time either way smaller suitcase or backpack. And lifting weights when I get home.
So I'm sitting in Rome at my favorite internet point. Favorite because of the extremely good looking guy that works here. He's sadly not here, must be on vacation. Still conveniently close to my hostel and a few of the sites that I want to revisit tonight.
One thing I've been meaning to include in my blog is that everywhere I have been in Italy, guys on the street ask you to sign a petition "against drugs". No idea if that is what they are actually trying to get people to sign. At first I would reply with "no thanks", which then cleverly moved to the lie "I already did!" to now the annoyed they keep asking response of "But I like drugs". Oh if only I could snap a photo of their reactions. Pretty funny.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Untitled
Without a job to worry about and really without a care in the world, this wonderful country definitely has me walking around in rosy colored glasses.
Keeping me grounded is my current novel that I am loving - White Oleander. Those of you who have read it know what I mean. It's a really good intense story.
I headed out today with the intention of walking straight to the vaporetto (waterbus) stop that would take me the Murano. Well there is no walking straight in Venice. I got lost. And then had to go to the bathroom. So I stopped at a cafe, ordered a drink and used the bathroom. Then someone started playing the piano, which made me not want to leave. So I ordered another drink and a snack. That's when a local noticed that I was alone and sat right down at my table outside. He was very nice, just retired and looking for someone to listen to him. He told me I'd make a great therapist. Was cute. Then when I told him where I was headed and asked how to get there, he offered to walk me there (which was much appreciated!). We strolled and he gave me lots of Venice history along the way.
The locals here that don't interact with the tourists via their job (ie work at a hotel, store, restaurant) are definitely the nicest. They seem to seek out the interaction. It makes me think about being back in San Francisco, avoiding the tourists at all costs, never wanting to talk to them. Am I a bad person? Perhaps. Although I do enjoy helping them out when they look lost map in hand.
The trip has also made me appreciate and rekindle my map reading skills (or realize the lack of those skills). It's actually nice to be without my smartphone and google maps readily available.
One thing I keep thinking about while in Venice is how I want to watch The Italian Job when I get home.
Murano was nice, spent most of my day there. It is an island a short waterbus ride away, full of glass factories and shops. I got to see a short demo. Most of the glass factories are closed in August because it is too hot for them to work (and they are all on vacation). This heat is nothing compared to Rome heat. It is quite pleasant here. I do miss being able to swim though, looking forward to swimming on the Amalfi coast in a few days.
Keeping me grounded is my current novel that I am loving - White Oleander. Those of you who have read it know what I mean. It's a really good intense story.
I headed out today with the intention of walking straight to the vaporetto (waterbus) stop that would take me the Murano. Well there is no walking straight in Venice. I got lost. And then had to go to the bathroom. So I stopped at a cafe, ordered a drink and used the bathroom. Then someone started playing the piano, which made me not want to leave. So I ordered another drink and a snack. That's when a local noticed that I was alone and sat right down at my table outside. He was very nice, just retired and looking for someone to listen to him. He told me I'd make a great therapist. Was cute. Then when I told him where I was headed and asked how to get there, he offered to walk me there (which was much appreciated!). We strolled and he gave me lots of Venice history along the way.
The locals here that don't interact with the tourists via their job (ie work at a hotel, store, restaurant) are definitely the nicest. They seem to seek out the interaction. It makes me think about being back in San Francisco, avoiding the tourists at all costs, never wanting to talk to them. Am I a bad person? Perhaps. Although I do enjoy helping them out when they look lost map in hand.
The trip has also made me appreciate and rekindle my map reading skills (or realize the lack of those skills). It's actually nice to be without my smartphone and google maps readily available.
One thing I keep thinking about while in Venice is how I want to watch The Italian Job when I get home.
Murano was nice, spent most of my day there. It is an island a short waterbus ride away, full of glass factories and shops. I got to see a short demo. Most of the glass factories are closed in August because it is too hot for them to work (and they are all on vacation). This heat is nothing compared to Rome heat. It is quite pleasant here. I do miss being able to swim though, looking forward to swimming on the Amalfi coast in a few days.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Art of Wandering
I like the days when I have it all planned out, but a day like today where I can just wander and see what happens is quite fun. I decided not to go to Murano, because a nice couple I met last night told me that the glass blowers most likely don't work on Sunday. So am going to head there tomorrow.
I covered a lot of ground today, no idea really where I went as I purposefully didn't get my map out. Lots of little alleyways, am sure I went in circles a few times. I wanted to make it back to the Piazza San Marco at some point, cause that is where this internet point is (need to book my next few hostels). St. Mark's Square is the only place where people are actually trying to get pigeons to land on their arms, hands, and even hair by placing bread crumbs everywhere, to take a photo. Reminiscent of those "holding up" the leaning tower of Pisa. I will not be doing that. Or taking an overpriced gondola ride.
Venice is definitely a glass lover's paradise. If only my suitcase was larger and made entirely of bubble wrap. I have purchased a few small items and just enjoy looking at the rest of it. Great people watching too.
I covered a lot of ground today, no idea really where I went as I purposefully didn't get my map out. Lots of little alleyways, am sure I went in circles a few times. I wanted to make it back to the Piazza San Marco at some point, cause that is where this internet point is (need to book my next few hostels). St. Mark's Square is the only place where people are actually trying to get pigeons to land on their arms, hands, and even hair by placing bread crumbs everywhere, to take a photo. Reminiscent of those "holding up" the leaning tower of Pisa. I will not be doing that. Or taking an overpriced gondola ride.
Venice is definitely a glass lover's paradise. If only my suitcase was larger and made entirely of bubble wrap. I have purchased a few small items and just enjoy looking at the rest of it. Great people watching too.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Venice
Hello blog readers.
Last night was interesting. After my blog post I decided to have a beer at the hostel "bar", thought it might help me sleep better. The room I had was fine, all the furnishings from Ikea. All good except for the bunkbed. It was a bit treacherous to climb up, and shook and squeaked all night long. A deep breath made it squeak.
The guy that I ordered my beer from was quite friendly. I was tired and didn't really have the patience for him, but all-in-all he was very nice. He turned out to be part-owner of the hostel. He tried to convince me I should change my itinerary, head back to Cinque Terre with him (where he lives) and he would take me sailing. I would actually have taken him up on it if I was headed that way. Then he tried to convince me to meet him in Naples and we could sail to Sicily, where he is from, and his mama could make us dinner. Oh boy. All this conversation though got me free beers which led to a much better night sleep. Thank you Francesco!
I saw him again this morning when I checked out, quite a character. Gave me his email address in case I changed my mind and he would come pick me up wherever I was. Breaking hearts all over Italy. ;)
Made it to Venice just fine. My hostel was just a 5-minute walk from the train station. It is a university dorm that they use as a hostel during the summer. I headed out with the intention of simply walking around and seeing where I ended up. Ended up at the Piazza San Marco, one of the biggest tourist destinations I believe. It's also where a lot of the gondola rides start from. I sat for a bit watching all of the gondolas go into the entrance towards the little canals. With the rate of how many were going by, it almost looked like a ride at Disney World. One after the other.
Going to eat dinner soon and then try and figure out how to get back to my hostel. First time I have a curfew. Have to be in by 12:30am and can't leave the hostel before 7am.
Haven't planned all of my days here yet, but I'm going to try to go to Murano tomorrow, the island especially known for its glass. Want to try and get there early enough to watch some glass blowing.
Last night was interesting. After my blog post I decided to have a beer at the hostel "bar", thought it might help me sleep better. The room I had was fine, all the furnishings from Ikea. All good except for the bunkbed. It was a bit treacherous to climb up, and shook and squeaked all night long. A deep breath made it squeak.
The guy that I ordered my beer from was quite friendly. I was tired and didn't really have the patience for him, but all-in-all he was very nice. He turned out to be part-owner of the hostel. He tried to convince me I should change my itinerary, head back to Cinque Terre with him (where he lives) and he would take me sailing. I would actually have taken him up on it if I was headed that way. Then he tried to convince me to meet him in Naples and we could sail to Sicily, where he is from, and his mama could make us dinner. Oh boy. All this conversation though got me free beers which led to a much better night sleep. Thank you Francesco!
I saw him again this morning when I checked out, quite a character. Gave me his email address in case I changed my mind and he would come pick me up wherever I was. Breaking hearts all over Italy. ;)
Made it to Venice just fine. My hostel was just a 5-minute walk from the train station. It is a university dorm that they use as a hostel during the summer. I headed out with the intention of simply walking around and seeing where I ended up. Ended up at the Piazza San Marco, one of the biggest tourist destinations I believe. It's also where a lot of the gondola rides start from. I sat for a bit watching all of the gondolas go into the entrance towards the little canals. With the rate of how many were going by, it almost looked like a ride at Disney World. One after the other.
Going to eat dinner soon and then try and figure out how to get back to my hostel. First time I have a curfew. Have to be in by 12:30am and can't leave the hostel before 7am.
Haven't planned all of my days here yet, but I'm going to try to go to Murano tomorrow, the island especially known for its glass. Want to try and get there early enough to watch some glass blowing.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Lake Como
It is a great feeling to be able to head out for the day without a guidebook or map. Apparently I look like I know what I'm doing, several people asked me questions today on how to use the ticket machines and which train they should get on. Fancy!
I took the metro to the train station and headed to Como. Como is a cute little town that I walked around for a bit. Then I hopped on a ferry to Bellagio. It was an hour ride that stopped at several of the other towns along the lake as well. Such a beautiful lake, gorgeous views. I took lots of photos, but doubt any of them will do it justice.
Bellagio is very touristy and very cute. I found a restaurant off the beaten path, wanted a more "local" experience. My charming waiter asked twice if he could spend the next 3 weeks touring with me. Actually, so did an American family I met today.
For lunch I had one of my favorite pasta dishes that I never had before this trip. I've had it 3 times and every time it is divine. It is simple enough that I can make it home as well - penne all' arrabbiata.
Off to Venice tomorrow.
I took the metro to the train station and headed to Como. Como is a cute little town that I walked around for a bit. Then I hopped on a ferry to Bellagio. It was an hour ride that stopped at several of the other towns along the lake as well. Such a beautiful lake, gorgeous views. I took lots of photos, but doubt any of them will do it justice.
Bellagio is very touristy and very cute. I found a restaurant off the beaten path, wanted a more "local" experience. My charming waiter asked twice if he could spend the next 3 weeks touring with me. Actually, so did an American family I met today.
For lunch I had one of my favorite pasta dishes that I never had before this trip. I've had it 3 times and every time it is divine. It is simple enough that I can make it home as well - penne all' arrabbiata.
Off to Venice tomorrow.
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Milan
We got up really early to catch the 5:17am train to Milan this morning. Once we arrived Jenna headed off to the airport while I headed to my hostel. The Zebra hostel.
It was a good day, although it rained the entire time. It is still raining. But since it was my only day allocated for Milan, I headed to the sites anyways and accepted the fact that I'd just be cold and wet all day.
First I went to the Duomo, Italy's 2nd largest church. Very cool to see. I was glad to see that it was open as that was my first escape from the heavy rain. I walked around inside quite a bit, because it was very cool in there and because I wanted to dry out a bit more.
Then I stumbled upon the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a covered mall that has an outdoor feel. I was trying to make my way to the Chiesa di Santa Maria Delle Grazie, the church that houses Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. I knew that it would be a stretch to be able to see that, but since I assumed my itinerary would be changing I didn't want to book a ticket in advance. Once I found it and walked in all excited, disappointment splashed over my face when I saw the sign that said "Sold out for the next 2 weeks". I stared at the sign for a while, and gave envious evil glares at the people pulling out their reservation slips. A few minutes later (which felt like forever), I pulled out my Italy book to see what else I could see around the area. Thats when a lovely woman sauntered over and asked if I was looking for a ticket. She had an extra! For the showing in 20 minutes! Luck of the pigeons I tell you. Bought the ticket from her immediately and was all excited again. They only allow max 25 people in at a time, and for ony 15 minutes. Quite intense, you walk through several chambers to keep the air pure before you get let in.
After that wonderful experience, I had some lunch and then wandered to the fashion district - the Quadrilatero d'Oro. It was a fun day with lots of little surprises that I stumbled upon since the only plan was the duomo and the Last Supper.
Lake Como is the plan for tomorrow. Will see if George has time for tea.
It was a good day, although it rained the entire time. It is still raining. But since it was my only day allocated for Milan, I headed to the sites anyways and accepted the fact that I'd just be cold and wet all day.
First I went to the Duomo, Italy's 2nd largest church. Very cool to see. I was glad to see that it was open as that was my first escape from the heavy rain. I walked around inside quite a bit, because it was very cool in there and because I wanted to dry out a bit more.
Then I stumbled upon the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a covered mall that has an outdoor feel. I was trying to make my way to the Chiesa di Santa Maria Delle Grazie, the church that houses Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. I knew that it would be a stretch to be able to see that, but since I assumed my itinerary would be changing I didn't want to book a ticket in advance. Once I found it and walked in all excited, disappointment splashed over my face when I saw the sign that said "Sold out for the next 2 weeks". I stared at the sign for a while, and gave envious evil glares at the people pulling out their reservation slips. A few minutes later (which felt like forever), I pulled out my Italy book to see what else I could see around the area. Thats when a lovely woman sauntered over and asked if I was looking for a ticket. She had an extra! For the showing in 20 minutes! Luck of the pigeons I tell you. Bought the ticket from her immediately and was all excited again. They only allow max 25 people in at a time, and for ony 15 minutes. Quite intense, you walk through several chambers to keep the air pure before you get let in.
After that wonderful experience, I had some lunch and then wandered to the fashion district - the Quadrilatero d'Oro. It was a fun day with lots of little surprises that I stumbled upon since the only plan was the duomo and the Last Supper.
Lake Como is the plan for tomorrow. Will see if George has time for tea.
14km hike
After a quick breakfast, our day started out with the toughest part of the hike - from Monterosso to Vernazza. We took lots of breaks. Part of it was on the coast which had a nice breeze, but when in the thick of the woods it was really hot & humid. Once we got to Vernazza we went for a swim and then had a nice lunch.
Jenna's knee started bothering her mid-hike to Vernazza, so she took the train the rest of the way and I hiked it by myself. Good practice for the rest of my trip flying solo. Not sure if I mentioned it, but the only way to get to all 5 towns is via train or the hiking trails. Pretty cool.
Corniglia was confusing to get around, and the water was a bit too rough for me to want to jump in off the dock. There is no beach, just rocks and a dock that people jump off of.
Manarola was very cute. I went into a few of the shops, and ended up getting something that says Monterosso in Manarola. When I went to pay the woman in the shop put down her book she was reading, which was in English and the title was something like - How to Understand Your Dog. So I asked her if the book was good and what was wrong with her dog. I definitely caught her off guard and she kind of stared at me with a look for a while, and then broke the awkwardness by smiling and said that she just started it and that her dog was a terror. I told her how I was a dog person with two cats, and how one of my cats I often want to throw out the window. It was a fun and random conversation. She guessed that Buster was going to be even more of a brat when I get back because I left him for so long. I hope she is wrong!
Anyways, the hike from Manarola to Riomaggiore is really a walk, not a hike. It was nice how in between each town the trails got easier as the day went on. The walk between Manarola and Riomaggiore is called Via dell’Amore (Lover’s Lane). The main section of it is full of graffiti of lovers names, locks where I guess they lock in their love and make it official by putting a lock on there? We saw a bunch of locks in Florence as well. Anyways, if I ever make it back there I'll be sure to bring some spray paint, a lock, and oh a lover.
Riomaggiore was my favorite of the little towns. Then I headed back to Monterosso via the train and met back up with Jenna to go to dinner. Close by cause my feet needed a break!
The next day we had another beach day, which was wonderful.
One last Cinque Terre comment - the church really close to Manuel's Guesthouse has a very precarious bell ringer (assuming it's not automated). It would ring at odd times, and every once in a while ring 35ish times in a row. Couldn't figure out the order to the madness.
Jenna's knee started bothering her mid-hike to Vernazza, so she took the train the rest of the way and I hiked it by myself. Good practice for the rest of my trip flying solo. Not sure if I mentioned it, but the only way to get to all 5 towns is via train or the hiking trails. Pretty cool.
Corniglia was confusing to get around, and the water was a bit too rough for me to want to jump in off the dock. There is no beach, just rocks and a dock that people jump off of.
Manarola was very cute. I went into a few of the shops, and ended up getting something that says Monterosso in Manarola. When I went to pay the woman in the shop put down her book she was reading, which was in English and the title was something like - How to Understand Your Dog. So I asked her if the book was good and what was wrong with her dog. I definitely caught her off guard and she kind of stared at me with a look for a while, and then broke the awkwardness by smiling and said that she just started it and that her dog was a terror. I told her how I was a dog person with two cats, and how one of my cats I often want to throw out the window. It was a fun and random conversation. She guessed that Buster was going to be even more of a brat when I get back because I left him for so long. I hope she is wrong!
Anyways, the hike from Manarola to Riomaggiore is really a walk, not a hike. It was nice how in between each town the trails got easier as the day went on. The walk between Manarola and Riomaggiore is called Via dell’Amore (Lover’s Lane). The main section of it is full of graffiti of lovers names, locks where I guess they lock in their love and make it official by putting a lock on there? We saw a bunch of locks in Florence as well. Anyways, if I ever make it back there I'll be sure to bring some spray paint, a lock, and oh a lover.
Riomaggiore was my favorite of the little towns. Then I headed back to Monterosso via the train and met back up with Jenna to go to dinner. Close by cause my feet needed a break!
The next day we had another beach day, which was wonderful.
One last Cinque Terre comment - the church really close to Manuel's Guesthouse has a very precarious bell ringer (assuming it's not automated). It would ring at odd times, and every once in a while ring 35ish times in a row. Couldn't figure out the order to the madness.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Cinque Terre
We arrived in Monterosso yesterday and hiked up several stairways to get to Manuel's guesthouse. They weren't kidding about those stairs. Luckily Lorenzo, the man we communicated with about the reservation, heard me huffing and puffing and carried my suitcase the rest of the way.
Our hotel is in the old part of town, which I'm happy about. Our room has a balcony with an amazing view of the ocean. All of those stairs were worth it for the beautiful view.
Jenna and I immediately put on our bathing suits and hit the beach. We had a bit of time before the sunset to take a dip in the Gulf of Genoa. Perfect temperature - cold enough to be refreshing but warm enough to easily get into it. There are no waves, very serene.
I didn't eat fish at dinner yesterday, but I think it is a must while I am here. There are cute cats (who definitely have homes) roaming the dinner tables asking for scraps of fish.
Today we spent all day relaxing on the beach. We rented two chairs and an umbrella and spent literally all day on the beach. The only time we left was to grab paninis and beer to enjoy on the beach.
I bought a little guide of the hikes around the area and scoped out the one I want to do. That is the plan for tomorrow, to hit the trails after breakfast. My goal is to swim in the water at each of the 5 towns. We are staying in Monterosso because it is the only one with a sandy beach. I have a feeling that I'm going to like the quaintness of the rest of them better, but am glad that we are staying here. It is also not as crowded as I was expecting, which is nice.
Off to dinner. Ciao!
Our hotel is in the old part of town, which I'm happy about. Our room has a balcony with an amazing view of the ocean. All of those stairs were worth it for the beautiful view.
Jenna and I immediately put on our bathing suits and hit the beach. We had a bit of time before the sunset to take a dip in the Gulf of Genoa. Perfect temperature - cold enough to be refreshing but warm enough to easily get into it. There are no waves, very serene.
I didn't eat fish at dinner yesterday, but I think it is a must while I am here. There are cute cats (who definitely have homes) roaming the dinner tables asking for scraps of fish.
Today we spent all day relaxing on the beach. We rented two chairs and an umbrella and spent literally all day on the beach. The only time we left was to grab paninis and beer to enjoy on the beach.
I bought a little guide of the hikes around the area and scoped out the one I want to do. That is the plan for tomorrow, to hit the trails after breakfast. My goal is to swim in the water at each of the 5 towns. We are staying in Monterosso because it is the only one with a sandy beach. I have a feeling that I'm going to like the quaintness of the rest of them better, but am glad that we are staying here. It is also not as crowded as I was expecting, which is nice.
Off to dinner. Ciao!
Sunday, August 1, 2010
I used to like pigeons...
Yesterday was a fun day (& it didn't rain!). We took a bus to Siena, a beautiful drive through what you picture of the Tuscan countryside. The bus is more convenient because it drops you off in the center of town, instead of having to hike up the hill or take a bus from the train station. We couldn't find the tourist office, so we walked towards what we thought was the center of town. We made it to the Piazza del Campo, a scallop shaped piazza. I could picture what it would be like with crowds of people watching the Palio. Maybe someday I'll plan my trip around that. We had a beer and enjoyed watching a bride and groom getting ready for their big day.
Next we headed over to check out the Sienese Duomo, which has a very unique Gothic style. After taking a few photos close to it, we decided to move to the edge of I think a museum, sit on a stone bench connected to the building, and gaze at the Duomo from a distance. This is where the title of this post comes in. Jenna set her sunglasses on the bench. She looked down at one point and saw a little warning shot of pigeon poop. We both chuckled and were relieved it didn't hit us, since the glasses were right between us. Since lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, I didn't feel the need to hop up right away. Well, that's when I took a look at my jacket and screamed. I got the bulk of it. Damn pigeons!
Then we headed back to the Scallop Piazza and strategically picked a place for dinner that had a cheese plate appetizer. So good.
We wandered back to the bus and waited for a bit before we realized that we had read the schedule wrong. So we had to take the train back to Florence, which took a bit longer but all in all a great night.
Heading to Cinque Terre today. Am very excited about all of the hiking, ocean views, and laying in the sun we are about to do. And of course I'm excited to yell 'Manuel!'
Next we headed over to check out the Sienese Duomo, which has a very unique Gothic style. After taking a few photos close to it, we decided to move to the edge of I think a museum, sit on a stone bench connected to the building, and gaze at the Duomo from a distance. This is where the title of this post comes in. Jenna set her sunglasses on the bench. She looked down at one point and saw a little warning shot of pigeon poop. We both chuckled and were relieved it didn't hit us, since the glasses were right between us. Since lightning doesn't strike in the same place twice, I didn't feel the need to hop up right away. Well, that's when I took a look at my jacket and screamed. I got the bulk of it. Damn pigeons!
Then we headed back to the Scallop Piazza and strategically picked a place for dinner that had a cheese plate appetizer. So good.
We wandered back to the bus and waited for a bit before we realized that we had read the schedule wrong. So we had to take the train back to Florence, which took a bit longer but all in all a great night.
Heading to Cinque Terre today. Am very excited about all of the hiking, ocean views, and laying in the sun we are about to do. And of course I'm excited to yell 'Manuel!'
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Under The Tuscan Rain
Yesterday we ventured to Cortona, a small hillside medieval town where Jenna studied abroad via the University of Georgia 14 years ago. It rained throughout the day, but it was a bit more manageable than a downpour. We would stop in for a glass of wine or to peruse a shop whenever it started to rain. Worked out well. Many of you may have heard of Cortona, as it is the setting of the novel and movie "Under The Tuscan Sun". There is a festival starting today in the town, so lots of tourists were heading that way because of it. We missed seeing Sting just by a few days.
We found the new campus and met up with Jenna's professor, who is now the director of the program. What a character he was, spicy and funny old man. He gave us a tour of the campus, seeing all the different art rooms really struck my creative chord. I wish I could stay in Tuscany just to paint. He asked me where I went to school, apparently they just had lots of St. Lawrence students. The UGA program is one that a lot of the smaller American schools piggy-back off their program.
We then went back into the little town and met up with Ivan, a shopkeeper that Jenna was friends with back in the day. He showed us around his store, which used to be a little Tabbacharia, but since then he has dug two stories down and has amazing art on the bottom two floors. He gave us the entire history of the building - how it used to be where pilgrims slept, where a baker used to work, and that when he started digging he found an old Etruscan well. In the well, he has a spotlight at the bottom with beautiful fish swimming in it, and one little salamander. So if you turn off the lights in the shop and turn on the spotlight in the well - gorgeousness. I got a great photo of it that I will share when I get back.
Jenna picked out a little watercolor in his shop that she wanted to buy. He told her it was a gift, and had me pick one out too. So nice. The one I picked was a typical Tuscany scene, and when he saw which one I chose he said it was painted after the road in the Gladiator. Apparently I need to watch that movie too.
We had Ivan call his cousin, Paola, who Jenna was close to during her time in Cortona. We planned to meet back at his shop at 6pm to see her. We decided to take a little stroll through the park beforehand. Before we left I got stuck in Ivan's bathroom, always fun. Apparently it happens quite often to the point where sometimes people need to slide the key under the door for him to open it from the outside.
We had a drink with Paola, I had my first Bellini ever. When I told her about the rest of my trip and route, she couldn't stop raving about Sicily. (Sal smile here) SO I have decided to change my itinerary a bit. While I wanted to go to Genoa, I think I'm going to skip Genoa and Ravenna, shorten my stays in Milan and Venice, and spend more time in Sicily. I've already decided I'm going to have to come back to Italy someday. Especially Tuscany, I really want to do a winery tour.
Well, I should probably go check on my laundry that I left in a machine down the street. We're going to shop a bit in town and then head to Siena for the day. Hope it doesn't rain!
We found the new campus and met up with Jenna's professor, who is now the director of the program. What a character he was, spicy and funny old man. He gave us a tour of the campus, seeing all the different art rooms really struck my creative chord. I wish I could stay in Tuscany just to paint. He asked me where I went to school, apparently they just had lots of St. Lawrence students. The UGA program is one that a lot of the smaller American schools piggy-back off their program.
We then went back into the little town and met up with Ivan, a shopkeeper that Jenna was friends with back in the day. He showed us around his store, which used to be a little Tabbacharia, but since then he has dug two stories down and has amazing art on the bottom two floors. He gave us the entire history of the building - how it used to be where pilgrims slept, where a baker used to work, and that when he started digging he found an old Etruscan well. In the well, he has a spotlight at the bottom with beautiful fish swimming in it, and one little salamander. So if you turn off the lights in the shop and turn on the spotlight in the well - gorgeousness. I got a great photo of it that I will share when I get back.
Jenna picked out a little watercolor in his shop that she wanted to buy. He told her it was a gift, and had me pick one out too. So nice. The one I picked was a typical Tuscany scene, and when he saw which one I chose he said it was painted after the road in the Gladiator. Apparently I need to watch that movie too.
We had Ivan call his cousin, Paola, who Jenna was close to during her time in Cortona. We planned to meet back at his shop at 6pm to see her. We decided to take a little stroll through the park beforehand. Before we left I got stuck in Ivan's bathroom, always fun. Apparently it happens quite often to the point where sometimes people need to slide the key under the door for him to open it from the outside.
We had a drink with Paola, I had my first Bellini ever. When I told her about the rest of my trip and route, she couldn't stop raving about Sicily. (Sal smile here) SO I have decided to change my itinerary a bit. While I wanted to go to Genoa, I think I'm going to skip Genoa and Ravenna, shorten my stays in Milan and Venice, and spend more time in Sicily. I've already decided I'm going to have to come back to Italy someday. Especially Tuscany, I really want to do a winery tour.
Well, I should probably go check on my laundry that I left in a machine down the street. We're going to shop a bit in town and then head to Siena for the day. Hope it doesn't rain!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Negroni no good
Dinner last night was fun, our waiter was quite adorable after Jenna told him it was my birthday. He kept on repeating "Happy Birthday". I think he was practicing saying it. When it came time to dessert I asked him which was the better of two chocolate concoctions. He didn't reply and walked away with a smile. He brought both and treated us to them. Very nice.
Then we hit up the bar right next to our hotel. We ordered one Negroni to share, in case we didn't like it. Oh boy. It is all alcohol - Campari, Martini & Gin. Jenna took one for the team and drank it. I got a delicious Italian stout. About mid-way through our drinks I decided I wanted a birthday shot of Jager (yes, it is my favorite). Jenna refused to join me. I went back to the bar and asked the bartender if he would take a birthday shot with me. I also told him that the Negroni was intense. So he waved Jenna over, fixed her Negroni by pouring some orange juice in it, and then convinced her that they would both take half a shot of Limoncello with me. He treated us to those. These guys are nice! Dad, are you so proud right now?
Speaking of Jenna taking one for the team, she has been amazing. I ordered a dish that I assumed had no meat in it. I have learned never to assume. Luckily Jenna ordered a meatless dish so she swapped with me, even though she was really excited about her dish. And it was apparently way better than the one that I had ordered. She also lets me sit so that I never have to go backwards on the train. True friend that one.
This morning we headed to the Uffizi Gallery. Botticelli's Birth of Venus was what I was most excited about. After our audio tour we hit the cafe in the museum for a quick snack. Right before we were about to leave to head to the train station it started to downpour. I happen to love thunder storms so wasn't too bothered, except for the fact that I left my rain jacket at the hotel. We waited a bit but it wasn't letting up, so we walked back to the hotel and I got completely drenched. Jenna was more prepared with her jacket. I have to say, I a little bit enjoyed the walk. Got to the hotel, picked up my rain jacket, and it stopped raining. Too funny. Took it to Pisa with me just in case. It took us an hour by train to get to Pisa. We didn't take a guide book or map, we figured we could just follow the other tourists, which we did. It is also a pretty straight shot from the train station to the tower. We walked around for a bit, took photos of the original people posing like they are holding up the tower. Saw that you have to pay to get into everything in the square (cathedral etc). We wanted to go up the tower, until we found out it was 15 euros and the view isn't that great. On our way out we decided we should hit the bathroom. 30 cents to use it...Pisa was not my favorite, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Glad I can cross it off my list, been there done that. GOOD thing we paid those 30 cents, because it took us 3 hours to get back to Florence. Track trouble of some sort. Lots of little adventures along the way.
I can't believe it is almost 10pm, where do these days go?
Need to head to dinner. In Rome we were never worried about places closing, but Florence is very quaint, way more so than I was expecting. All of the restaurants close pretty early.
I may have to convince Jenna that we should go back to the pizza place by the Duomo. In general I don't want to go back to places, I want to also try something new - but that pizza was so good!
Then we hit up the bar right next to our hotel. We ordered one Negroni to share, in case we didn't like it. Oh boy. It is all alcohol - Campari, Martini & Gin. Jenna took one for the team and drank it. I got a delicious Italian stout. About mid-way through our drinks I decided I wanted a birthday shot of Jager (yes, it is my favorite). Jenna refused to join me. I went back to the bar and asked the bartender if he would take a birthday shot with me. I also told him that the Negroni was intense. So he waved Jenna over, fixed her Negroni by pouring some orange juice in it, and then convinced her that they would both take half a shot of Limoncello with me. He treated us to those. These guys are nice! Dad, are you so proud right now?
Speaking of Jenna taking one for the team, she has been amazing. I ordered a dish that I assumed had no meat in it. I have learned never to assume. Luckily Jenna ordered a meatless dish so she swapped with me, even though she was really excited about her dish. And it was apparently way better than the one that I had ordered. She also lets me sit so that I never have to go backwards on the train. True friend that one.
This morning we headed to the Uffizi Gallery. Botticelli's Birth of Venus was what I was most excited about. After our audio tour we hit the cafe in the museum for a quick snack. Right before we were about to leave to head to the train station it started to downpour. I happen to love thunder storms so wasn't too bothered, except for the fact that I left my rain jacket at the hotel. We waited a bit but it wasn't letting up, so we walked back to the hotel and I got completely drenched. Jenna was more prepared with her jacket. I have to say, I a little bit enjoyed the walk. Got to the hotel, picked up my rain jacket, and it stopped raining. Too funny. Took it to Pisa with me just in case. It took us an hour by train to get to Pisa. We didn't take a guide book or map, we figured we could just follow the other tourists, which we did. It is also a pretty straight shot from the train station to the tower. We walked around for a bit, took photos of the original people posing like they are holding up the tower. Saw that you have to pay to get into everything in the square (cathedral etc). We wanted to go up the tower, until we found out it was 15 euros and the view isn't that great. On our way out we decided we should hit the bathroom. 30 cents to use it...Pisa was not my favorite, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Glad I can cross it off my list, been there done that. GOOD thing we paid those 30 cents, because it took us 3 hours to get back to Florence. Track trouble of some sort. Lots of little adventures along the way.
I can't believe it is almost 10pm, where do these days go?
Need to head to dinner. In Rome we were never worried about places closing, but Florence is very quaint, way more so than I was expecting. All of the restaurants close pretty early.
I may have to convince Jenna that we should go back to the pizza place by the Duomo. In general I don't want to go back to places, I want to also try something new - but that pizza was so good!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
From Rome to Florence
Our last night in Rome was fabulous. We went to dinner by the Spanish Steps, a restaurant mentioned in my guide book. We were seated at a cute little table and shortly afterwards two guys were seated at the table right next to us. They were speaking a mix of Italian and Spanish. The Italian leaned over and asked if he could suggest a dish, which he did. It was a red meat dish that Jenna said was indeed fabulous. We chatted throughout the dinner off and on. Found out that they had just met that day! Friends in common and the Spaniard was touring Italy. The Italian was very philosophical, spoke about art and culture and asked us what we really thought of Italians and Italy, he didn't want to hear "anything superficial". He also expressed that we had just made him realize how similar Italian and Americans really are, we seemed to have re-established his faith in Americans. After dinner and a gelato with the boys we said our goodbyes. Jenna and I were both in a bit of awe at how fun and random the evening was. Such great conversation. Gregory, if you read this - please do look us up if you ever are back in San Francisco!
The next morning, with a hesitant hand I packed up my belongings. But at least I will be back to Rome. For one night. We took a bus and metro to the train station. Before heading in to the station we stopped at Fawlty Towers, a hostel by the train station recommended by our friend Antonio at the Enjoy Rome tour office. I asked to see a room, it was nice! That reminds me I need to send them an email to reserve my room. A lot of places ask to do that, the ones that aren't set up for you to book online. Even if you call them, or are there in person, you have to email them to make the reservation.
Speaking of emailing hotels, we just booked our hotel in Cinque Terre, called Manuel's Guesthouse. In response to our email reserving the room, the hotel replied with directions from the closest train station. The end of the directions are too funny to not share:
"Almost immediately you will find a wide set of stairs to your left. Look up- the pink house with the balcony at the top is Manuel’s! Anyway, follow these stairs up, they turn to the right, you turn with them. Keep going.. When you reach number 39 on your left where the stairs are, you’ll find the writing ‘Proprietà Privata’ (Private property). This is Manuel’s. Go up the narrow stairway to the very top (his is the only house). There is a gate and 2 dogs. The dogs are harmless. Please close the gate behind you. Then yell ‘Manuel!’- he’ll come out and show you to your room."
I don't know about Jenna, but I am SO excited to yell 'Manuel!!!'. And of course to pet the harmless dogs.
Back to leaving Rome - it took us quite a while to figure out the train situation. Even though we have a Eurail pass, you have to get another ticket for each trip you take. Anyways, we both got windows seats on a very snazzy train. Yes, I just brought back the word snazzy.
Apparently it rained on the way to Florence. As much as I wanted to watch the gorgeous countryside go by, I couldn't keep my eyes open. It was quite a quick trip, we were on a high-speed train that made no other stops. For the short time I was awake, I read the section on Florence in my guide book, and the first chapter of my next novel - The Monster of Florence, true story about a serial killer here. Perhaps not the best story to be reading right now...but interesting so far.
We found our way to our hotel, which we chose because of its proximity to the train station. Our plan for the next 3 days is to take day trips to Pisa, Cortona, and Siena. Everything about our hotel is nicer than the one in Rome. Our toilet works! The only bummer is that we are on the 3rd floor, and the elevator only goes to the 1st floor. We managed. My suitcase will definitely be heavier on the way down, such great shopping here.
Yesterday we wandered across the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence - a pedestrian bridge filled with shops, mainly jewlery. Our plan was to go to the Boboli gardens and then to dinner. But our guide books failed to mention two things - how to get to the Boboli gardens and the fact that they are closed off by a wall. It took us a while to figure that out, and once we did the gardens were closed. So we headed to dinner which was fabulous! We were seated near about 30 Australian tourists, all in their mid-20s. I love the Australians, but I think I can speak for the rest of the restaurant that we were glad when they left. They left by all taking a shot of Limoncello together, you get the idea.
On our stroll back to the hotel, an art vendor Aurturo was working hard to get Jenna to share a bottle of wine with him by the river. I ruined his game when I walked over there after taking several pictures of the Duomo at night. She kindly declined but bought some of his art.
Today we got up bright and early and headed to the Gallery of the Accademia. The line wasn't too long, so our plan for the next few days is going to get up early and visit a museum before getting on the train for our day trip. The Gallery had a lot of great work, but it is definitely all shadowed by Michelangelo's David. My art teacher wasn't kidding, it is massive and so impressive. Once we were done soaking up the masterpieces, we went to soak up some divine pizza next to the Duomo. I love the cathedral here with the Duomo and bell tower (Campanile), the green, red, and white marble inlays almost look fake, like it is painted instead of marble.
After lunch we took a second stab at finding the Boboli gardens. I learned a long time ago that when in need ask for help, so I told a waiter "I need help!". He pointed us in the right direction. No signage indicates that you have to go through the Pitti Palace to get to the gardens. Anyways, once we finally got in we grew a bit flustered by getting turned around trying to find some of the sculptures and fountains we wanted to see in there. The solution? A map? Nope. We took a nice siesta under a tree and woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the gardens. We found what we were mainly looking for, which was obnoxiously right by the exit, a fountain of fat Bacchus riding a turtle.
Then we headed back to the center of town and perused some of the outdoor market stalls while they were closing up. We will definitely be heading back there.
We are now in present time. Sitting in an "internet point" and ready for dinner. How is it that these Italian days go by so quickly! I asked Gregory what the typical cocktail was here, so tonight is the night to try and find a Negroni. Apparently something with Campari, will report back.
All in all, a wonderful birthday spent in Florence.
Ciao!
The next morning, with a hesitant hand I packed up my belongings. But at least I will be back to Rome. For one night. We took a bus and metro to the train station. Before heading in to the station we stopped at Fawlty Towers, a hostel by the train station recommended by our friend Antonio at the Enjoy Rome tour office. I asked to see a room, it was nice! That reminds me I need to send them an email to reserve my room. A lot of places ask to do that, the ones that aren't set up for you to book online. Even if you call them, or are there in person, you have to email them to make the reservation.
Speaking of emailing hotels, we just booked our hotel in Cinque Terre, called Manuel's Guesthouse. In response to our email reserving the room, the hotel replied with directions from the closest train station. The end of the directions are too funny to not share:
"Almost immediately you will find a wide set of stairs to your left. Look up- the pink house with the balcony at the top is Manuel’s! Anyway, follow these stairs up, they turn to the right, you turn with them. Keep going.. When you reach number 39 on your left where the stairs are, you’ll find the writing ‘Proprietà Privata’ (Private property). This is Manuel’s. Go up the narrow stairway to the very top (his is the only house). There is a gate and 2 dogs. The dogs are harmless. Please close the gate behind you. Then yell ‘Manuel!’- he’ll come out and show you to your room."
I don't know about Jenna, but I am SO excited to yell 'Manuel!!!'. And of course to pet the harmless dogs.
Back to leaving Rome - it took us quite a while to figure out the train situation. Even though we have a Eurail pass, you have to get another ticket for each trip you take. Anyways, we both got windows seats on a very snazzy train. Yes, I just brought back the word snazzy.
Apparently it rained on the way to Florence. As much as I wanted to watch the gorgeous countryside go by, I couldn't keep my eyes open. It was quite a quick trip, we were on a high-speed train that made no other stops. For the short time I was awake, I read the section on Florence in my guide book, and the first chapter of my next novel - The Monster of Florence, true story about a serial killer here. Perhaps not the best story to be reading right now...but interesting so far.
We found our way to our hotel, which we chose because of its proximity to the train station. Our plan for the next 3 days is to take day trips to Pisa, Cortona, and Siena. Everything about our hotel is nicer than the one in Rome. Our toilet works! The only bummer is that we are on the 3rd floor, and the elevator only goes to the 1st floor. We managed. My suitcase will definitely be heavier on the way down, such great shopping here.
Yesterday we wandered across the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence - a pedestrian bridge filled with shops, mainly jewlery. Our plan was to go to the Boboli gardens and then to dinner. But our guide books failed to mention two things - how to get to the Boboli gardens and the fact that they are closed off by a wall. It took us a while to figure that out, and once we did the gardens were closed. So we headed to dinner which was fabulous! We were seated near about 30 Australian tourists, all in their mid-20s. I love the Australians, but I think I can speak for the rest of the restaurant that we were glad when they left. They left by all taking a shot of Limoncello together, you get the idea.
On our stroll back to the hotel, an art vendor Aurturo was working hard to get Jenna to share a bottle of wine with him by the river. I ruined his game when I walked over there after taking several pictures of the Duomo at night. She kindly declined but bought some of his art.
Today we got up bright and early and headed to the Gallery of the Accademia. The line wasn't too long, so our plan for the next few days is going to get up early and visit a museum before getting on the train for our day trip. The Gallery had a lot of great work, but it is definitely all shadowed by Michelangelo's David. My art teacher wasn't kidding, it is massive and so impressive. Once we were done soaking up the masterpieces, we went to soak up some divine pizza next to the Duomo. I love the cathedral here with the Duomo and bell tower (Campanile), the green, red, and white marble inlays almost look fake, like it is painted instead of marble.
After lunch we took a second stab at finding the Boboli gardens. I learned a long time ago that when in need ask for help, so I told a waiter "I need help!". He pointed us in the right direction. No signage indicates that you have to go through the Pitti Palace to get to the gardens. Anyways, once we finally got in we grew a bit flustered by getting turned around trying to find some of the sculptures and fountains we wanted to see in there. The solution? A map? Nope. We took a nice siesta under a tree and woke up refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the gardens. We found what we were mainly looking for, which was obnoxiously right by the exit, a fountain of fat Bacchus riding a turtle.
Then we headed back to the center of town and perused some of the outdoor market stalls while they were closing up. We will definitely be heading back there.
We are now in present time. Sitting in an "internet point" and ready for dinner. How is it that these Italian days go by so quickly! I asked Gregory what the typical cocktail was here, so tonight is the night to try and find a Negroni. Apparently something with Campari, will report back.
All in all, a wonderful birthday spent in Florence.
Ciao!
Monday, July 26, 2010
HIGH ON LIFE
...and vino.
The last few days have been glorious temperature wise, locals and tourists are all grateful for the break. One of our tour guides said that they've had lots of tourists fainting on them. It was 95 in our room at night one night, and 82 last night. Fabulous. There is drinkable water all throughout the city constantly running out of taps and fountains. The infrastructure is pretty amazing I think.
One thing I didn't know is that the Vaticano is its own country. That tour was amazing, to see all of the images that I learned about in art history classes. We walked through the Vatican museums, then through the Sistine Chapel which was PACKED, and then the tour ended at St. Peter's Basilica. All was breath-taking. Our tour-guide, Jeannette, was from Orlando, FL. She's been living in Rome for 6 years, she was quite great and learned all 27 of our names in the short time with her. The one thing that upset me during this tour was - you are allowed to take photos everywhere except for in the Sistine Chapel. We walked in to a sea of photo-takers and flashes. I asked our guide why they weren't getting yelled at. Apparently they usually have more security on staff but in the summer months with so many on vacation, they just can't control it all. Rude rude photo-takers. Once we said ciao to our guide, we took the elevator up to the lower roof of St. Peter's where you could walk around the mosaics. A mass had just started which we could observe from I don't know how high up, but pretty high! That was one of my favorite parts, both being next to all of those mosaics, as well as listening to the mass.
Then we walked up several flights of tiny stairwells with curved walls. Was neat. At the top you go outside and get to look out at Rome. We were able to spot quite a few attractions and our hotel area. I definitely feel like I have a good sense of where everything is which has been really nice. Jenna and I can walk around a bit without the map in hand. The tons of tiny cobblestone streets not on a grid are what get us all turned around, in a fun way.
The next day we went to the Borghese Gallery, which was very impressive. It has lots of sculptures by Bernini and paintings by Carravaggio. Then we walked back to the hotel, slapped on some more sunscreen and headed to the pool on the river! Was so nice and relaxing. Our feet definitely needed the break.
Yesterday was the Old and Ancient Rome tour. We met at Piazza Navona, then headed to the Pantheon which was closed to tourists for Sunday mass. Which was ok because I had been in a few days before. Next stop was the Trevi Fountain - legend is to throw coins with your right hand over your left shoulder. If you throw in one coin - you'll return to Rome, if you throw in two coins - you'll fall in love in Rome, and if you throw in three coins - you'll get married in Rome. I'll leave it up to your imagination how many I threw in. ;) Apparently it worked for Jenna, she threw in one coin 14 years ago. Then we went to the Piazza Venezia. The locals call the building there a wedding cake, it's white, huge, and doesn't really fit in with the rest of the structures nearby, mainly ancient ruins. Next and highlight of the tour was the Roman Forum and Colosseum. First we went to the Roman Forum, then the Colosseum, and then once our guide left us we snuck back in a secret way (that the guide told us about) to head up to the Palatine Hill, which has a great view of the Forum and is where the emperors used to live.
After a short break at the hotel to rest our feet & shower & read a few chapters of my book I can't put down (The girl with the dragon tattoo), we headed down to Trastevere, a local neighborhood with no tourist attractions. Felt like a completely different Rome, which was nice to experience. Then we went to the Isola Tiberina, the island in the middle of the river, for another glass of wine. We layed on bean bags gazing up at the almost full moon, was really nice and romantic. We have what we've termed a "sismance" going on (female version of bromance).
Little anecdotes:
1) One morning as Jenna and I were hunched over the air conditioner trying to fix it, I looked out the window, and to my surprise there was a naked older Italian man just peering out the window. He had no tan lines and the windowsill was to his knees... I almost waved but decided not to.
2) Every time we tell an Italian that we are from California, they start singing the Tupac song "California Love", clearly a hit here too.
3) I meant to get an international student card for discounts, but apparently it wouldn't have worked because you need to be a youngster student, under 26.
4) There are havaianas everywhere! Quite popular, which is one thing, but I can't believe how many people are wearing them all day long walking like this. The havaianas are worn by everyone - Italians, Brasilians, and plenty of other tourists. Back in the day you could tell when someone was from Brasil if they were wearing them. Not so much anymore.
5) Regarding sandals, for all of those who know about my broken-ness, my hip & feet are holding up nicely! Knock on wood.
6) Speaking of Brasilians - I think these two countries have a little love affair
going on. Brasilian flags on shirts, hats, bags everywhere. Most of them are Brasilian, but lots are American or European as well. Defintely not seeing any other flags worn so proudly. We also stopped at Bar Brasile for lunch after our Ancient Rome tour. None of the men that worked there spoke Portuguese.
7) I got to witness a woman get escorted away from the Trevi fountain after she hopped in it to cool off. I don't know where the Polizia were standing, but they started whistling and rushing over quite quickly. Apparently I need to watch the movie La Dolce Vita.
8) While we are both very aware of our bags at all times and both pretty well traveled, Jenna didn't get her credit card back after lunch one day. She only realized it later in the evening. We rushed out to ask our friendliest hotelier (Bart) to call the restaurant which he happily did. SO lucky that they had it. We went & picked it up the next day, which was fun because we got to visit our friend Antonio at the tourist office and ask a few more questions. That definitely made us even more aware of pretty much everything. Good reminder at the beginning of the trip.
Headed off to Tuscany tomorrow. We are going to stay in Florence, and take day trips to Siena, Cortona, and Pisa. I can't believe that a week has already gone by. Brings a little frown to my face, cause I think the next 4 weeks are going to fly by way too quickly. I will have two days at the end of my trip in Rome to do last minute shopping and site-seeing of anything I missed. But for now I think we've seen everything that we wanted to, so are headed back to the pool!
Ciao!
The last few days have been glorious temperature wise, locals and tourists are all grateful for the break. One of our tour guides said that they've had lots of tourists fainting on them. It was 95 in our room at night one night, and 82 last night. Fabulous. There is drinkable water all throughout the city constantly running out of taps and fountains. The infrastructure is pretty amazing I think.
One thing I didn't know is that the Vaticano is its own country. That tour was amazing, to see all of the images that I learned about in art history classes. We walked through the Vatican museums, then through the Sistine Chapel which was PACKED, and then the tour ended at St. Peter's Basilica. All was breath-taking. Our tour-guide, Jeannette, was from Orlando, FL. She's been living in Rome for 6 years, she was quite great and learned all 27 of our names in the short time with her. The one thing that upset me during this tour was - you are allowed to take photos everywhere except for in the Sistine Chapel. We walked in to a sea of photo-takers and flashes. I asked our guide why they weren't getting yelled at. Apparently they usually have more security on staff but in the summer months with so many on vacation, they just can't control it all. Rude rude photo-takers. Once we said ciao to our guide, we took the elevator up to the lower roof of St. Peter's where you could walk around the mosaics. A mass had just started which we could observe from I don't know how high up, but pretty high! That was one of my favorite parts, both being next to all of those mosaics, as well as listening to the mass.
Then we walked up several flights of tiny stairwells with curved walls. Was neat. At the top you go outside and get to look out at Rome. We were able to spot quite a few attractions and our hotel area. I definitely feel like I have a good sense of where everything is which has been really nice. Jenna and I can walk around a bit without the map in hand. The tons of tiny cobblestone streets not on a grid are what get us all turned around, in a fun way.
The next day we went to the Borghese Gallery, which was very impressive. It has lots of sculptures by Bernini and paintings by Carravaggio. Then we walked back to the hotel, slapped on some more sunscreen and headed to the pool on the river! Was so nice and relaxing. Our feet definitely needed the break.
Yesterday was the Old and Ancient Rome tour. We met at Piazza Navona, then headed to the Pantheon which was closed to tourists for Sunday mass. Which was ok because I had been in a few days before. Next stop was the Trevi Fountain - legend is to throw coins with your right hand over your left shoulder. If you throw in one coin - you'll return to Rome, if you throw in two coins - you'll fall in love in Rome, and if you throw in three coins - you'll get married in Rome. I'll leave it up to your imagination how many I threw in. ;) Apparently it worked for Jenna, she threw in one coin 14 years ago. Then we went to the Piazza Venezia. The locals call the building there a wedding cake, it's white, huge, and doesn't really fit in with the rest of the structures nearby, mainly ancient ruins. Next and highlight of the tour was the Roman Forum and Colosseum. First we went to the Roman Forum, then the Colosseum, and then once our guide left us we snuck back in a secret way (that the guide told us about) to head up to the Palatine Hill, which has a great view of the Forum and is where the emperors used to live.
After a short break at the hotel to rest our feet & shower & read a few chapters of my book I can't put down (The girl with the dragon tattoo), we headed down to Trastevere, a local neighborhood with no tourist attractions. Felt like a completely different Rome, which was nice to experience. Then we went to the Isola Tiberina, the island in the middle of the river, for another glass of wine. We layed on bean bags gazing up at the almost full moon, was really nice and romantic. We have what we've termed a "sismance" going on (female version of bromance).
Little anecdotes:
1) One morning as Jenna and I were hunched over the air conditioner trying to fix it, I looked out the window, and to my surprise there was a naked older Italian man just peering out the window. He had no tan lines and the windowsill was to his knees... I almost waved but decided not to.
2) Every time we tell an Italian that we are from California, they start singing the Tupac song "California Love", clearly a hit here too.
3) I meant to get an international student card for discounts, but apparently it wouldn't have worked because you need to be a youngster student, under 26.
4) There are havaianas everywhere! Quite popular, which is one thing, but I can't believe how many people are wearing them all day long walking like this. The havaianas are worn by everyone - Italians, Brasilians, and plenty of other tourists. Back in the day you could tell when someone was from Brasil if they were wearing them. Not so much anymore.
5) Regarding sandals, for all of those who know about my broken-ness, my hip & feet are holding up nicely! Knock on wood.
6) Speaking of Brasilians - I think these two countries have a little love affair
going on. Brasilian flags on shirts, hats, bags everywhere. Most of them are Brasilian, but lots are American or European as well. Defintely not seeing any other flags worn so proudly. We also stopped at Bar Brasile for lunch after our Ancient Rome tour. None of the men that worked there spoke Portuguese.
7) I got to witness a woman get escorted away from the Trevi fountain after she hopped in it to cool off. I don't know where the Polizia were standing, but they started whistling and rushing over quite quickly. Apparently I need to watch the movie La Dolce Vita.
8) While we are both very aware of our bags at all times and both pretty well traveled, Jenna didn't get her credit card back after lunch one day. She only realized it later in the evening. We rushed out to ask our friendliest hotelier (Bart) to call the restaurant which he happily did. SO lucky that they had it. We went & picked it up the next day, which was fun because we got to visit our friend Antonio at the tourist office and ask a few more questions. That definitely made us even more aware of pretty much everything. Good reminder at the beginning of the trip.
Headed off to Tuscany tomorrow. We are going to stay in Florence, and take day trips to Siena, Cortona, and Pisa. I can't believe that a week has already gone by. Brings a little frown to my face, cause I think the next 4 weeks are going to fly by way too quickly. I will have two days at the end of my trip in Rome to do last minute shopping and site-seeing of anything I missed. But for now I think we've seen everything that we wanted to, so are headed back to the pool!
Ciao!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Have I mentioned it is hot?!
But I'm not complaining, how can I in a place like this...My fix - I took 3 cold showers yesterday.
Jenna and I had a great dinner last near the Piazza Navona, right behind the Brasilian consulate. What a huge and fabulous looking building that is, definitely had a sense of pride when I saw that.
We spent today walking around seeing some of the sites on the southeast side of Rome. We also went and got me a bus/metro pass and a Eurail pass. Jenna's guide book recommended a tourist office next to the Stazione Termini (train station where we waited in a long line to got my passes). So we went there and met a very sweet Antonio. He was quite a riot telling us about his wild night last night and how he was "moving a little slow today". So of course we asked him where the best nightlife is. It's hard though after a day of walking around in intense heat to try and stay up late. BUT I can sleep when I get home.
We booked two guided tours through Antonio - the Vatican tomorrow and then one called Ancient and Old Rome on Sunday. I've seen a few of the sites for Sunday's tour, but I'm sure it will all be a much better experience with a guide.
Antonio also recommended a lunch spot, the best meal I've had so far. But they have all been delicious.
We're thinking on Saturday to relax on the river in a pool and then heading down to Trastevere, a supposedly up & coming neighborhood. There is also an island (Isola) in the middle of the Tiber river that I am excited to check out Saturday night. Apparently you just sit on bean bags, sip vino, and stargaze.
Back to today - we couldn't enter a few of the churches, need to remember to bring my shawl type thing the next few days. Although my Vatican outfit will be legit all the way. Some of them had shawls outside that you could borrow which was nice. And OH how beautiful they are inside. The ornate gold ceilings, mosaics, and paintings. You can take photos in a lot of them, but they don't do it justice. Coolest church today was the Santa Maria Maggiore.
I will end my blog with - I got shat on by an Italian pigeon. Should have good luck by morning.
Jenna and I had a great dinner last near the Piazza Navona, right behind the Brasilian consulate. What a huge and fabulous looking building that is, definitely had a sense of pride when I saw that.
We spent today walking around seeing some of the sites on the southeast side of Rome. We also went and got me a bus/metro pass and a Eurail pass. Jenna's guide book recommended a tourist office next to the Stazione Termini (train station where we waited in a long line to got my passes). So we went there and met a very sweet Antonio. He was quite a riot telling us about his wild night last night and how he was "moving a little slow today". So of course we asked him where the best nightlife is. It's hard though after a day of walking around in intense heat to try and stay up late. BUT I can sleep when I get home.
We booked two guided tours through Antonio - the Vatican tomorrow and then one called Ancient and Old Rome on Sunday. I've seen a few of the sites for Sunday's tour, but I'm sure it will all be a much better experience with a guide.
Antonio also recommended a lunch spot, the best meal I've had so far. But they have all been delicious.
We're thinking on Saturday to relax on the river in a pool and then heading down to Trastevere, a supposedly up & coming neighborhood. There is also an island (Isola) in the middle of the Tiber river that I am excited to check out Saturday night. Apparently you just sit on bean bags, sip vino, and stargaze.
Back to today - we couldn't enter a few of the churches, need to remember to bring my shawl type thing the next few days. Although my Vatican outfit will be legit all the way. Some of them had shawls outside that you could borrow which was nice. And OH how beautiful they are inside. The ornate gold ceilings, mosaics, and paintings. You can take photos in a lot of them, but they don't do it justice. Coolest church today was the Santa Maria Maggiore.
I will end my blog with - I got shat on by an Italian pigeon. Should have good luck by morning.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Rome Day Due
I had quite a great time yesterday wandering around. My favorite sites of yesterday were the Piazza del Popolo, the Trinità dei Monti and the Fontana di Trevi. Went to bed pretty early as was tired from the trip, but then I woke up at 4am ready to go explore. Had to force myself to stay in bed.
Today I am taking in more of the sites and doing tons of people watching. How fun that is. There are so many tourists that you feel ok keeping your map and camera in hand at all times, which is nice. The Italian women are pretty awesome, especially the ones in their fancy outfits riding their Vespas. It seems very empowering yet feminine somehow.
The one thing I will reiterate - it is HOT. I think gelato might be what I eat the most here. I had to get up twice last night to empty the bucket in the air conditioner. It stops working once it is full, and with this humidity it fills every 4ish hours! I woke up pretty immediately once it stopped working each time.
There are pools by the river that I think you can pay to swim in, but the water doesn't look the cleanest.
I'm excited to have Jenna arrive today. Meeting her at the hotel around 4pm.
Today I am taking in more of the sites and doing tons of people watching. How fun that is. There are so many tourists that you feel ok keeping your map and camera in hand at all times, which is nice. The Italian women are pretty awesome, especially the ones in their fancy outfits riding their Vespas. It seems very empowering yet feminine somehow.
The one thing I will reiterate - it is HOT. I think gelato might be what I eat the most here. I had to get up twice last night to empty the bucket in the air conditioner. It stops working once it is full, and with this humidity it fills every 4ish hours! I woke up pretty immediately once it stopped working each time.
There are pools by the river that I think you can pay to swim in, but the water doesn't look the cleanest.
I'm excited to have Jenna arrive today. Meeting her at the hotel around 4pm.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Pinch me - I'm in Rome!
Salve blog readers.
Flight to Chicago went smoothly, and just had a very short layover. Just enough time to hit the bookstore since I finished the book I hand carried on the plane. Hopefully the other 4 will be enough for the next 5 weeks.
Flight to Rome could have been disastrous crammed with another girl in the two seats with a little kid kicking our seats before take-off. Luckily the plane was quite empty, so the dad and kid behind us moved and the girl next to me did as well. Phew. I managed to cram my 5'11 self into those two seats and was horizontal most of the flight. Didn't sleep much though, I think cause I was so excited!
Landed in Rome and just followed the crowd to baqgage claim & through customs. No custom forms & they didn't even open my passport. I went to hand it to him and he just waved me through. It's my innocent looks.
Then I wandered around for a bit trying to decide if I should take the bus, train, cab, or shuttle to my hotel. I decided on the shuttle and they dropped 2 couples off before me, so I got the grand tour and was able to spot lots of the sites just during that trip. Some weren't on my list but now are! Got a little naseous, the driver had a lead foot, but was very nice.
Then I got to my hotel which I thought was on the east of the river, but not so much. I think the map on the internet a little bit lied. The hotel is closer to the Vatican. I am already realizing how small Rome is, will be able to cover lots by foot in a week, I think. I just did a big 3 hour loop looking for an internet cafe. I asked a few people and they didn't know. I was then approached by an Italian (Simòn) not from Rome, who asked me for directions! That of course made me proud, he was surprised I didn't speak Italian. I spoke Portuguese & English with him. Worked out well, he grabbed my hand and led me about a 5 minute walk to an Internet cafe. Very nice & not too scary. He then said he would come back in a half an hour and we could get gelato. I told him I just had some (which was true - Coconut & deliciously refreshing). He then replied what about coffee. I laughed at that. It's hotter than wasabi over here! I told him thanks again, he took the hint and he went on his way.
Now about the hotel. Based on the price of this hotel & its condition, I'm almost scared to see what a hostel looks like! I can't wait till Jenna sees it. Will take photos. The guy behind the desk, the maid in a see-through outfit, and the janitor fought and bickered at each other while I was waiting for my room. Felt like I was stuck in a comedy for about an hour. All I wanted was water and a shower.
I then took my shower, got dressed and headed out only to realize that I didn't shut the door properly. Yikes! Is this too much info? Are we already bored reading my blog? Based on how much this 20 minute session is, I might learn to keep these shorter :)
Now off to try and find my way back to my hotel. Or perhaps not. I like wandering, especially now that it's a bit cooler out. Already been off the beaten path twice in some neighborhoods. It's fun! Thinking pizza tonight.
Arrivederci!
Flight to Chicago went smoothly, and just had a very short layover. Just enough time to hit the bookstore since I finished the book I hand carried on the plane. Hopefully the other 4 will be enough for the next 5 weeks.
Flight to Rome could have been disastrous crammed with another girl in the two seats with a little kid kicking our seats before take-off. Luckily the plane was quite empty, so the dad and kid behind us moved and the girl next to me did as well. Phew. I managed to cram my 5'11 self into those two seats and was horizontal most of the flight. Didn't sleep much though, I think cause I was so excited!
Landed in Rome and just followed the crowd to baqgage claim & through customs. No custom forms & they didn't even open my passport. I went to hand it to him and he just waved me through. It's my innocent looks.
Then I wandered around for a bit trying to decide if I should take the bus, train, cab, or shuttle to my hotel. I decided on the shuttle and they dropped 2 couples off before me, so I got the grand tour and was able to spot lots of the sites just during that trip. Some weren't on my list but now are! Got a little naseous, the driver had a lead foot, but was very nice.
Then I got to my hotel which I thought was on the east of the river, but not so much. I think the map on the internet a little bit lied. The hotel is closer to the Vatican. I am already realizing how small Rome is, will be able to cover lots by foot in a week, I think. I just did a big 3 hour loop looking for an internet cafe. I asked a few people and they didn't know. I was then approached by an Italian (Simòn) not from Rome, who asked me for directions! That of course made me proud, he was surprised I didn't speak Italian. I spoke Portuguese & English with him. Worked out well, he grabbed my hand and led me about a 5 minute walk to an Internet cafe. Very nice & not too scary. He then said he would come back in a half an hour and we could get gelato. I told him I just had some (which was true - Coconut & deliciously refreshing). He then replied what about coffee. I laughed at that. It's hotter than wasabi over here! I told him thanks again, he took the hint and he went on his way.
Now about the hotel. Based on the price of this hotel & its condition, I'm almost scared to see what a hostel looks like! I can't wait till Jenna sees it. Will take photos. The guy behind the desk, the maid in a see-through outfit, and the janitor fought and bickered at each other while I was waiting for my room. Felt like I was stuck in a comedy for about an hour. All I wanted was water and a shower.
I then took my shower, got dressed and headed out only to realize that I didn't shut the door properly. Yikes! Is this too much info? Are we already bored reading my blog? Based on how much this 20 minute session is, I might learn to keep these shorter :)
Now off to try and find my way back to my hotel. Or perhaps not. I like wandering, especially now that it's a bit cooler out. Already been off the beaten path twice in some neighborhoods. It's fun! Thinking pizza tonight.
Arrivederci!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Italy Itinerary
This will most likely change, but here is the basic plan for Italia.
July 20th - 26th: Rome
July 27th - August 1st: Siena/Florence/Tuscany
August 2nd - 5th: Cinque Terre
August 6th - 7th: Genoa
August 8th - 9th: Milan
August 10th - 11th: Lake Como
August 12th - 14th: Venice
August 15th: Ravenna
August 16h - 18th: Capri/Naples/Almafi Coast/Pompei
August 19th - 21st: Sicily
August 22 - 23rd: Rome
July 20th - 26th: Rome
July 27th - August 1st: Siena/Florence/Tuscany
August 2nd - 5th: Cinque Terre
August 6th - 7th: Genoa
August 8th - 9th: Milan
August 10th - 11th: Lake Como
August 12th - 14th: Venice
August 15th: Ravenna
August 16h - 18th: Capri/Naples/Almafi Coast/Pompei
August 19th - 21st: Sicily
August 22 - 23rd: Rome
Packing
My first blog post while packing, trying to figure out how this works. Am I a blogger? Not really. But plenty of people have been telling me that I must keep a blog for them to be able to keep track of me. I will try my best to update this as often as possible. But no promises. I've also been asked by lots of people to post photos while I am gone. Too technical for me. I also don't want to spend a ton of time on the computer, when I could be out exploring, meeting gorgeous Italians, and sipping some vino.
Packing is an art form I am not very good at. Am trying to fit everything I will possibly need for 5 weeks into one not very large suitcase. I also need to leave room so that I can shop along the way!
Packing is an art form I am not very good at. Am trying to fit everything I will possibly need for 5 weeks into one not very large suitcase. I also need to leave room so that I can shop along the way!
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