So after I got off the computer and fully checked in to the hostel I ran back to Termini to get my train ticket to the airport for tomorrow and to figure out where exactly I need to go (you all know I don't function well in the AM) then I hauled ass over to the Pantheon because we missed it the first time around...what a sight! The building was incredible, I couldn't build that thing out of Legos. I walked back through Trevi grabbed my last real Italian pizza and a beer at a cafe then jumped on the metro at Barberini and ended up getting off at Repubblica because I had nothing better to do now that my backpacking sidekick is back home in Napoli. I saw the Piazza della Repubblica then hoofed it down to the Colonna Trianna (another thing that I studied in art history and totally forgot about), the Mercati Traianei (incorrect spelling on this one?) and the Emanuele II Monument. I got back to the hostel around 8pm, re-packed for tomorrow, showered and here I am.
So this will most likely be my last backpacking trip. I love doing it, but god, I forgot how much I despise the packing, unpacking and purging routine. I honestly am not sure how I did this for 3 months straight! So you might say my love for traveling this way has kind of died out...give me a suitcase people! I am excited to get back home...I know you all must think I'm insane, but I want to get back to my routine of eating normal food and working out. I only hope they let me on the plane tomorrow...I think my ass my be over the weight limit.
More random thoughts I've compiled...
*If you want to go out to eat here, don't be in a hurry. I have yet to meet a wait staff that is on their toes and up to par with the USA. Also, you have to ask for the check, they won't just bring it to you. I guess the idea is to not make you feel rushed. Estimate at least 30 minutes of waiting to take orders and getting the check.
Good thing: you can take your time and no one is pulling your plate out from under you before you're done
Bad thing: Since the wait staff sucks, it takes forever to get your waiter's attention to get the check so you can actually pay and leave (lots of me being impatient)
*Girls in 5-inch stilettos on cobblestone streets. Didn't your mother teach you anything about being sensible?
*Italian children can literally do no wrong and a misbehaving child will not be reprimanded (reference my first Italy blog entry)
*Italy is a world without Cottonelle and Charmin. Wiping your ass over here is like scraping your knees on concrete. Awesome.
* Today I watched a guy disinfect his iPhone with antibacterial soap...he poured a nickel-sized glob on a napkin and proceeded to rub his phone in it. I'm not sure Apple has an app for this.
* A guy smelled so bad on the train today it made me sneeze.
*Barberini and Repubblica metro stops have the longest escalators I've ever been on in my life!
Friday, September 9, 2011
Back in Rome
Today, Brenda and I took the bus back to Florence then took the train to Rome...Brenda kept going and went straight to Naples. Poor girl is sick as a dog and we figured her best bet would be to get home and sleep in her own bed and get some medicine (insert sadface here).
I am staying near Termini Station in a nice little hostel owned and run by two Americans from LA (a Lonely Planet and Rick Steve's recommendation). I have been on their computer for about 2 hours now checking email, Facebook (of course) and catching up on my writing.
While on the bus to Florence today, I was thinking of random things about Italy that I have noticed or things that have happened that are worth noting...they are as follows in no order and I will probably be adding to the list as I think of more things.
* The toilets here flush with authority.
*We were growled at by a guy in Rome while we were walking down the street...like RAAAR! growled at...like he was a dog.
*The mosquitoes here are deadly and I will have battle scars for sure.
*The Italians rival the Japanese in line cutting and "acting aloof" when you say something to them about it.
*Every leather guy in Florence is going to tell you "I make you a special deal. Why? Because I like you..."
*Merde means shit (I think that's how you spell it)
*We watched a guy at a grocery store in Chianti pay for $10 euros worth of groceries with a $500 bill.
*The people that ride scooters here have some serious balls.
*In hindsight, drinking on the Duomo steps is kind of sacrilegious .
*The car you drive here is not a status symbol like in the US. No one cares what you drive here.
*In Rome, don't be afraid to pull out your map and look like a tourist. Everyone in Rome is a tourist and if you look around, everyone has their maps out and there's lots of pointing and gesturing about which way to go at every part of the city.
*I still prefer ice-cream over gelato.
*The Trevi Fountain at 5am is amazing...a definite must do.
*Not all Italian men are out to get you and smack your ass, some just want company on their 5 am morning bread run!
I am staying near Termini Station in a nice little hostel owned and run by two Americans from LA (a Lonely Planet and Rick Steve's recommendation). I have been on their computer for about 2 hours now checking email, Facebook (of course) and catching up on my writing.
While on the bus to Florence today, I was thinking of random things about Italy that I have noticed or things that have happened that are worth noting...they are as follows in no order and I will probably be adding to the list as I think of more things.
* The toilets here flush with authority.
*We were growled at by a guy in Rome while we were walking down the street...like RAAAR! growled at...like he was a dog.
*The mosquitoes here are deadly and I will have battle scars for sure.
*The Italians rival the Japanese in line cutting and "acting aloof" when you say something to them about it.
*Every leather guy in Florence is going to tell you "I make you a special deal. Why? Because I like you..."
*Merde means shit (I think that's how you spell it)
*We watched a guy at a grocery store in Chianti pay for $10 euros worth of groceries with a $500 bill.
*The people that ride scooters here have some serious balls.
*In hindsight, drinking on the Duomo steps is kind of sacrilegious .
*The car you drive here is not a status symbol like in the US. No one cares what you drive here.
*In Rome, don't be afraid to pull out your map and look like a tourist. Everyone in Rome is a tourist and if you look around, everyone has their maps out and there's lots of pointing and gesturing about which way to go at every part of the city.
*I still prefer ice-cream over gelato.
*The Trevi Fountain at 5am is amazing...a definite must do.
*Not all Italian men are out to get you and smack your ass, some just want company on their 5 am morning bread run!
Greve in Chianti & The Chianti Wine Festival
We ended up making it out of Florence pretty easy and we arrived in Greve in Chianti by bus. The ride took a little under an hour so it wasn't too bad. Upon our arrival at the bus station, we call the woman from our hotel to come pick us up. About 10 minutes later she arrives in this total piece of a car that is worse than Brenda's Posh (I know, really hard to imagine). I open the door to the back seat and I thought it was going to break off in my hand. We smash Brenda and the two backpacks in the back seat and I take shotgun. We're driving through town and she's point stuff out to us and then we start to make our journey to the hotel...by dirt road. We pull up to the hotel which is really more like a bed & breakfast and she shows us around and to our room...or should I say villa in a restored barn that sits up on a hill and overlooks the countryside (cue sappy music and roll the credits for the movie Under the Tuscan Sun). It is everything I had anticipated but for some reason I am still in shock that this is actually where we will be staying for the next 3 nights...in the rustic woods with no TV and hardly any cell phone service. I felt like I was in that Sex and the City episode when Aiden takes Carrie out to the cabin and Carrie ventures out into the woods to find service and calls Miranda to come save her. We're going to go out of our freakin minds!
We venture out into the little town of Greve and walk through everything in about 20 minutes. We stop for lunch and then seek out the infamous wine celler that we read about. This cellar has over 300 wines and olive oils that you can taste and sample. Clearly we spent a good amount of time in this place! You purchase a card for $10-$15-$20 euro and the wines are all set up in stations with automatic pourers. When you find a wine you want to try, you put your card in the machine in the station, put your glass under the the little spout and press a button and wham bam your glass is poured. It's a pretty badass concept, but you don't always know what you're tasting and having somewhere there telling you what your drinking is always a plus. We got a pretty good buzz going then we decided to make the walk back to our hotel to hang out and book a wine tour for the next day.
We wake up in the AM and hang out and read (there's really nothing else to do!) then we start our trek to a nearby winery for a tasting and a tour. We're walking to this place and all we see is this gigantic place on a hill and it's about a million miles away...we gulp...hmm wonder if we can hitch a ride with the next person that passes us (where is Carmel the bread guy when you need him most?!) we end up turning around this bend and the winery is actually right there and not up the gigantic hill (thank god!). We end up doing a private tour and tasting with a guy that works at the vineyard. It was really cool, he took us all over and in the cellars and showed us the bottling machines...i took a few pics but will have to post them later.
After the tour we head back to the hotel to get ready for a restaurant opening in town. Oh yes, a restaurant opening...the woman that picked us up at the hotel invited us. She said something like the people that own the hotel are opening the restaurant and we are invited because we are guests at the hotel...really good Italian food, wine and musical entertainment for free...where do I sign up?! We show up to this thing and there are a million Italians and well, us. We kinda hung back and sat on a bench while drinking wine and tasting all sorts of foods that they kept bringing out plate by plate and bowl by bowl. We're watching all of these people arrive and everyone is bringing plants with them as gifts. One guy showed up with a plant resembling some kind of mini palm tree...clearly a custom that we knew nothing about. The food was amazing...except for this one dish that I thought was pasta but it ended up being some type of cold white fish or octopus and it was super creepy. I put it in my mouth, look at Brenda and am like oh, dear god, what the hell did I just eat?! There was some live music with a 100% tone-deaf Italian woman singing (sooo bad) and people were dancing and hanging out...it was such a perfect setting...and a perfect time for someone to get wacked (that didn't happen though). We called it a night then headed back to the hotel so we could get a good sleep for the wine festival the next day!
The wine festival was AWESOME! Picture Atlantic City Beer Fest, but classy and a melting pot of people with accents. We got our wine glass, wine glass pouch and card for all the booths and went to town tasting all sorts of wines from the region. I am a big fan of Sangiovese grapes from the region and was tasting all sorts of great local wines. I didn't buy anything at the festival, but did buy two bottles for the trip home...I am hoping that the Wine Hugs I purchased at QVC to protect the wine bottles when traveling do their job! We will see once my bag arrives in Philadelphia...either soaked in red wine or dry as a bone!
We venture out into the little town of Greve and walk through everything in about 20 minutes. We stop for lunch and then seek out the infamous wine celler that we read about. This cellar has over 300 wines and olive oils that you can taste and sample. Clearly we spent a good amount of time in this place! You purchase a card for $10-$15-$20 euro and the wines are all set up in stations with automatic pourers. When you find a wine you want to try, you put your card in the machine in the station, put your glass under the the little spout and press a button and wham bam your glass is poured. It's a pretty badass concept, but you don't always know what you're tasting and having somewhere there telling you what your drinking is always a plus. We got a pretty good buzz going then we decided to make the walk back to our hotel to hang out and book a wine tour for the next day.
We wake up in the AM and hang out and read (there's really nothing else to do!) then we start our trek to a nearby winery for a tasting and a tour. We're walking to this place and all we see is this gigantic place on a hill and it's about a million miles away...we gulp...hmm wonder if we can hitch a ride with the next person that passes us (where is Carmel the bread guy when you need him most?!) we end up turning around this bend and the winery is actually right there and not up the gigantic hill (thank god!). We end up doing a private tour and tasting with a guy that works at the vineyard. It was really cool, he took us all over and in the cellars and showed us the bottling machines...i took a few pics but will have to post them later.
After the tour we head back to the hotel to get ready for a restaurant opening in town. Oh yes, a restaurant opening...the woman that picked us up at the hotel invited us. She said something like the people that own the hotel are opening the restaurant and we are invited because we are guests at the hotel...really good Italian food, wine and musical entertainment for free...where do I sign up?! We show up to this thing and there are a million Italians and well, us. We kinda hung back and sat on a bench while drinking wine and tasting all sorts of foods that they kept bringing out plate by plate and bowl by bowl. We're watching all of these people arrive and everyone is bringing plants with them as gifts. One guy showed up with a plant resembling some kind of mini palm tree...clearly a custom that we knew nothing about. The food was amazing...except for this one dish that I thought was pasta but it ended up being some type of cold white fish or octopus and it was super creepy. I put it in my mouth, look at Brenda and am like oh, dear god, what the hell did I just eat?! There was some live music with a 100% tone-deaf Italian woman singing (sooo bad) and people were dancing and hanging out...it was such a perfect setting...and a perfect time for someone to get wacked (that didn't happen though). We called it a night then headed back to the hotel so we could get a good sleep for the wine festival the next day!
The wine festival was AWESOME! Picture Atlantic City Beer Fest, but classy and a melting pot of people with accents. We got our wine glass, wine glass pouch and card for all the booths and went to town tasting all sorts of wines from the region. I am a big fan of Sangiovese grapes from the region and was tasting all sorts of great local wines. I didn't buy anything at the festival, but did buy two bottles for the trip home...I am hoping that the Wine Hugs I purchased at QVC to protect the wine bottles when traveling do their job! We will see once my bag arrives in Philadelphia...either soaked in red wine or dry as a bone!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Florence
The past few days in Florence has been great. The hostel we're in is really nice and is probably one of the best I've ever stayed in. I think Brenda thought I was taking her to a a homeless shelter...she was pretty surprised with how nice everything is.
Florence is a really nice city but it's very small and there's not a whole lot to do after 9pm. Last night we went out to dinner with some people from the hostel and then went to the Duomo steps to hang out and drink, which is apparently what you do around here because everything closes so early. Most of the kids we met are pretty cool...there's one guy that's a total idiot and he thinks that he's better than everyone else, but other than that, we met some nice people. We got up today and visited the Duomo which is a pretty much a stones-throw down the street from us. We were standing in this massive line waiting to get in with some of the people we met last night and we got all the way up to the front of the line when these two Italian women with a child walk right up behind us and totally cut the line in front of about 200 people! They acted like they had been standing there the entire time! Brenda and I just looked at each other! Afterwards we went to a local market that sold all sorts of leather goods and we walked around for most of the day.
We found out today that the public transportation is going on strike tomorrow and we are thinking this may throw a wrench into our plans. We are planning on getting up early to get down to the bus station to see if we can take an early bus to Greve in Chianti, which is about an hour away. If need be, we can always rent a car but it would just be an added expense that we didn't really plan for. I am thinking that Chianti won't have much internet access so this may be my last blog until we arrive back into Rome on the 10th. This trip has gone really fast but at the same time, I feel like I've been over here forever. I just realized here that I'll be returning on September, 10th...so September 11th weekend. This should make for interesting travel on my way back to Philly.
Florence is a really nice city but it's very small and there's not a whole lot to do after 9pm. Last night we went out to dinner with some people from the hostel and then went to the Duomo steps to hang out and drink, which is apparently what you do around here because everything closes so early. Most of the kids we met are pretty cool...there's one guy that's a total idiot and he thinks that he's better than everyone else, but other than that, we met some nice people. We got up today and visited the Duomo which is a pretty much a stones-throw down the street from us. We were standing in this massive line waiting to get in with some of the people we met last night and we got all the way up to the front of the line when these two Italian women with a child walk right up behind us and totally cut the line in front of about 200 people! They acted like they had been standing there the entire time! Brenda and I just looked at each other! Afterwards we went to a local market that sold all sorts of leather goods and we walked around for most of the day.
We found out today that the public transportation is going on strike tomorrow and we are thinking this may throw a wrench into our plans. We are planning on getting up early to get down to the bus station to see if we can take an early bus to Greve in Chianti, which is about an hour away. If need be, we can always rent a car but it would just be an added expense that we didn't really plan for. I am thinking that Chianti won't have much internet access so this may be my last blog until we arrive back into Rome on the 10th. This trip has gone really fast but at the same time, I feel like I've been over here forever. I just realized here that I'll be returning on September, 10th...so September 11th weekend. This should make for interesting travel on my way back to Philly.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Rome & Florence
The past few days have been jam packed with sightseeing all over Rome. Our hotel was a few streets over from the Trevi Fountain and we were pretty centrally located. It was a small room but it didn't really matter sine all we did was sleep there. The shower was super small and gave me fits of claustrophobia, but the people were really nice and it was really clean, so I can't complain.
Our first night out we just grabbed some dinner and had drinks. We ended up at some bar for dinner that was totally empty and apparently is open really late...apparently we showed up about 5 hours before the party starts, but we didn't care, we were starving. Afterwards we went around the corner to a place that was right near the hotel. This place had a massive drink list and they had June Bugs on the menu (Williamsport happy hour at TGIF anyone?). So we ordered drinks and made friends with our waiter, Diego. We had a long day ahead of us, so we called it a night and went to bed early. On our way back, we were stopped by a guy at another bar who asked us to come inside for a drink, we told him that we,d be by the next day and that we were going to bed.
We did a 5 hour tour of the Vatican the next morning. No one needs to do a 5 hour tour unless you're studying art history. It was long, but our guide Emma was really knowledgabe and informative and it was really enjoyable once we got inside the Vatican. The Vatican itself was pretty ridiculous and I was totally blown away with all the mosaics. To imagine the amount of labor that went into the place is pretty incredible. After the Vatican we jumped off the metro at Spagna and visited the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain which were total mob scenes with all the people. We were standing on the 3rd tier of the fountain (which runs into the sidewalk) and I watched some lady attempt to throw a coin into the fountain, completely miss and hit some guy...add that to the Trevi Fountain highlight reel.
We headed back out for dinner and decided to go to the bar that we met Diego at to do an easy dinner before we went out. We ended up running into the other guy from the night before and told him we'd be down to have drinks at his place after dinner. So we headed down to the wine bar where he worked and ended up making friends with everyone there (of course!). We ended up waiting for all of them to get done work and we all headed out together. They took us around to a few bars and we ended up hanging out with a bunch of other people traveling. So fast forward to 4am...we're dead tired and everyone is going their separate ways and somehow I manage to get separated from Brenda. I'm walking around looking for some kind of landmark hoping that I recognize something from earlier that day...I'm mapless, phoneless and Brenda-less. I recognize absolutely nothing and I've been walking around like an idiot, so I stop and ask a guy who is loading pastries and bread into his truck from a bakery...Senor, Fountain de Trevi...Via Tritone? (I motion that I'm lost) so he pulls out his delivery papers and gives me a paper that has a street near where the hotel is. Si! Si! I say! So he runs inside of the bakery and brings out a pastry for me, and we jump into his truck and we start making his bread deliveries for the morning. Yes, you read correctly, I delivered bread with the Italian breadman. I read the papers on where we needed to go and Carmel drove and delivered the bread into the stores. I spoke Spanish to him because I can't speak Italian.
So right about now, my mother is having a heart attack..."What were you thinking getting into a car with a man that you don't know! What were you thinking?!" Here's what I was thinking...it's 5am, I'm exhausted and lost and I have no freakin clue where the hell I am. Clearly this is this man's job and he needs to make all the deliveries before the cafes start to open and he has no time to waste. Plus, a free pastry and a ride to my hotel...sign me up.
So we make a few deliveries then all of a sudden, we are driving past the Trevi Fountain...and there is NO ONE there!! It was insane, I make him stop the truck and I jump out and run around for a minute, then I jump back in and 2 streets later I make him drop me off at the corner. I get inside the hotel and Brenda is like, OMG where the hell have you been..."Umm I just got done delivering bread..."
I sleep for an hour, get up then we go hit up the Coloseum for our tour. The African heat arrived that day and it was hot as hell. The Coloseum was everything I have ever imagined and absolutely amazing. I was in absolute awe all day. I think I took a million pictures. After our 48-hour day bender we ended up headed back to the hotel to pack and get a good night sleep.
We arrived in Florence today and have been walking around....the rain came today for the first time since I've been in Italy and it was a total downpour for about 45 minutes. We headed to the Academia to see David and I honestly have no words...what an unbelievable sight. You can study something all you want, but it's not until you actually see it in person to fully understand the time or workmanship that goes into a piece of art. David was absolutely brilliant.
Not sure what's in store for us tonight, and tomorrow is Monday so the museums will be closed. Unless we go now, I don't think we'll get into the Uffizi, but I'm ok with it...Botticelli's Venus is the only thing I really wanted to see. Another time I guess...a reason to come back....
Our first night out we just grabbed some dinner and had drinks. We ended up at some bar for dinner that was totally empty and apparently is open really late...apparently we showed up about 5 hours before the party starts, but we didn't care, we were starving. Afterwards we went around the corner to a place that was right near the hotel. This place had a massive drink list and they had June Bugs on the menu (Williamsport happy hour at TGIF anyone?). So we ordered drinks and made friends with our waiter, Diego. We had a long day ahead of us, so we called it a night and went to bed early. On our way back, we were stopped by a guy at another bar who asked us to come inside for a drink, we told him that we,d be by the next day and that we were going to bed.
We did a 5 hour tour of the Vatican the next morning. No one needs to do a 5 hour tour unless you're studying art history. It was long, but our guide Emma was really knowledgabe and informative and it was really enjoyable once we got inside the Vatican. The Vatican itself was pretty ridiculous and I was totally blown away with all the mosaics. To imagine the amount of labor that went into the place is pretty incredible. After the Vatican we jumped off the metro at Spagna and visited the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain which were total mob scenes with all the people. We were standing on the 3rd tier of the fountain (which runs into the sidewalk) and I watched some lady attempt to throw a coin into the fountain, completely miss and hit some guy...add that to the Trevi Fountain highlight reel.
We headed back out for dinner and decided to go to the bar that we met Diego at to do an easy dinner before we went out. We ended up running into the other guy from the night before and told him we'd be down to have drinks at his place after dinner. So we headed down to the wine bar where he worked and ended up making friends with everyone there (of course!). We ended up waiting for all of them to get done work and we all headed out together. They took us around to a few bars and we ended up hanging out with a bunch of other people traveling. So fast forward to 4am...we're dead tired and everyone is going their separate ways and somehow I manage to get separated from Brenda. I'm walking around looking for some kind of landmark hoping that I recognize something from earlier that day...I'm mapless, phoneless and Brenda-less. I recognize absolutely nothing and I've been walking around like an idiot, so I stop and ask a guy who is loading pastries and bread into his truck from a bakery...Senor, Fountain de Trevi...Via Tritone? (I motion that I'm lost) so he pulls out his delivery papers and gives me a paper that has a street near where the hotel is. Si! Si! I say! So he runs inside of the bakery and brings out a pastry for me, and we jump into his truck and we start making his bread deliveries for the morning. Yes, you read correctly, I delivered bread with the Italian breadman. I read the papers on where we needed to go and Carmel drove and delivered the bread into the stores. I spoke Spanish to him because I can't speak Italian.
So right about now, my mother is having a heart attack..."What were you thinking getting into a car with a man that you don't know! What were you thinking?!" Here's what I was thinking...it's 5am, I'm exhausted and lost and I have no freakin clue where the hell I am. Clearly this is this man's job and he needs to make all the deliveries before the cafes start to open and he has no time to waste. Plus, a free pastry and a ride to my hotel...sign me up.
So we make a few deliveries then all of a sudden, we are driving past the Trevi Fountain...and there is NO ONE there!! It was insane, I make him stop the truck and I jump out and run around for a minute, then I jump back in and 2 streets later I make him drop me off at the corner. I get inside the hotel and Brenda is like, OMG where the hell have you been..."Umm I just got done delivering bread..."
I sleep for an hour, get up then we go hit up the Coloseum for our tour. The African heat arrived that day and it was hot as hell. The Coloseum was everything I have ever imagined and absolutely amazing. I was in absolute awe all day. I think I took a million pictures. After our 48-hour day bender we ended up headed back to the hotel to pack and get a good night sleep.
We arrived in Florence today and have been walking around....the rain came today for the first time since I've been in Italy and it was a total downpour for about 45 minutes. We headed to the Academia to see David and I honestly have no words...what an unbelievable sight. You can study something all you want, but it's not until you actually see it in person to fully understand the time or workmanship that goes into a piece of art. David was absolutely brilliant.
Not sure what's in store for us tonight, and tomorrow is Monday so the museums will be closed. Unless we go now, I don't think we'll get into the Uffizi, but I'm ok with it...Botticelli's Venus is the only thing I really wanted to see. Another time I guess...a reason to come back....
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