Letters From London: fall break

Showing posts with label fall break. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Resting in Rome (A Brief Layover)

Layovers can be fun, but more often than not, for me at least, they're brutal.

This picture really has nothing to do with the post, but it was taken in Rome, and I like it.

At the end of a long traveling day, I just want to rest and refresh. And layovers are the types of things that stand in my way of exploration and rest. Because, really, can you rest during a layover?

Not I.

Our layover began with getting into another black van, this time with three strange Italian men. Then we got into a traffic jam outside the airport. Then it got dark. For a while there, we seriously thought we were goners, and that this...odd, possibly bad decision could be our last.

But it wasn't. We got to our bungalow just fine, and the men promised they would come get us in the morning. After a night in the coldest room ever, the men kept their word. They were back, and they got us to the airport on time, only accepting their payment after their full job of taking us to and from the airport was done.

Shame on me for judging circumstances too quickly.

The campsite where we stayed was huge. During the summer season, it would have been a resort for families. It still was, but many of the amenities weren't open, as it was very cold. We were in the middle of a gorgeous Italian forest overlooking the city, the trees growing to the stars.

It was also cheap, which is always a good plus.

The staff were friendly, if not a tad flirtatious, and the attractive man at the front desk kindly called a van to take us to our bungalow, as it was on the other side of the campsite. The beds were great; Rachel, the early riser, got her own room and didn't have to worry about night owls Kalli and I bothering her.

Our time at the bungalow was all too short, we had to wake up before dawn to meet our van, and our hair was still wet from the night before. But we knew that Spain was coming soon, and that was something to look forward to.

Vivacious in Venice

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amorehhhhh.

A vaporetto

Our next stop, and by far my favorite, was lovely Venezia. When we arrived at Marco Polo airport from Naples, we were exhausted and ready for some good quality sleep in a soft bed.

The beds were great at our fancy Italian hotel, but the wardrobe, er, well, special. It was covered reliefs of people in the throes of passion. And it was just as awkward as you might think it is. At least the humor of the lady behind the front desk was on par. After being paid only coins by one of our little group, she puts on a stern face and says, "I may have to kill you."

Vaporetti stop

The next morning was chilly, and rainy, and gross all around. The hotel provided a shuttle (for a little extra moolah) to the city center. There we had to do what we usually did when we went to a new locale; we sped to the nearest tourist center to ask for directions.

And this tourist center, in fact, was the most helpful place we went the whole trip. They taught us how to navigate the vaporetti water bus line, and told us great places to go in the local area, including the colorful island of Burano and the isle of glass, Murano.

But the first thing we did in the city? Hired a gondolier. Rode through the quiet and quaint canals of Venice, waving to passersby as we went. It was expensive, but very, very worth it. It helped that there were four of us, so we could split the steep cost.

It was a rainy day in Venice.

Next was Burano, an hour away by vaporetto. We shivered on the covered deck in the rain, but the fresh air did us some good. It kept Rachael and I from being seasick especially. Not being seasick is always good.

By the time we spotted the colorful buildings of Burano, we were famished. The first thing on our agendas became acquiring some sustenance for our growling bellies. After searching for a while in the rain, we settled on a cozy cafe...

...that ended up having the best pizza ever. In the world. And the world is a big place, you guys.

Amy, Rachael, and I split a breakfast pizza, while Kalli chowed down on her personal pepperoni. I also ordered a pasta dish with ham and mushrooms. It was so good.

The prison bridge

And for dessert, tiramisu. My second favorite dessert. It was a little square of heaven.

The waiter told me that I shouldn't share with my friends. I assured him that I wouldn't. He told me he was kidding. I told him that I wasn't.

This got a laugh out of everyone in the room. Good spirits and good moods were everywhere. The Italians are really on to something here.

After lunch, we looked around the isle. There were a variety of shops that sold lace, which was Burano was famous for, as well as Murano glass, which is not only gorgeous, but globally acclaimed glass.

It was almost dark when we headed back to the station to wait on our vaporetto. Our bags were full of souvenirs and our hearts were full. It was drizzling, but the cold and the wet couldn't dampen our moods now.

A rather large vaporetto came to collect everyone. We talked away the hour ride back to Venice, where it was only raining harder. Some more souvenir exploration was done, then we trooped into a restaurant for dinner and back out again to catch our shuttle, with bellies satisfied.

The next morning, Rachael, Kalli, and I did some more exploring of Venice while we waited to catch our shuttle to the airport. Amy had an early flight to Spain, so she would arrive hours ahead of us.

We loved Venice, but all too soon, we caught our flight to Madrid with a layover in Rome, which was a whole adventure unto itself.

View from a gondola.

A restaurant in Burano.

A postcard come to life.

Reflection

Deserted square

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Rockin' in Rome

An old adage once said that Rome wasn't built in a day. We took a little spin off from that; we explored Rome in a day.

That day went by pretty quickly as well.

Our day in Rome began with the evening before. Our flight from Copenhagen landed in the late afternoon, so we had to get to the city, and the hostel, quickly for our night tour around the city. However, getting a taxi was nigh on impossible and the airport was a ways out from the city center.

Plot spoilers: We missed the tour. But that's okay.

What we DID do, was climb into a big black van (a car that was hired for us), with a nun and an American couple. Sounds like the beginning of a horror movie, but we made it out fine. Even if our driver decided he was done with Roman traffic and actually started driving on the train tracks to bypass the road.

After missing our tour, we went to a local restaurant recommend by a friend of Rachel's. The pizza was some of the best I've ever had, but our waiter couldn't take his eyes off me. He told me he liked how I flipped my hair, calling me bellissima, winking and blowing me kisses as we left, much to the amusement and horror of my friends; I was blushing all the way home. I may also add that he slightly resembled John Travolta, which made things even weirder.

We arrived back at the flat to find that we had two male roommates: a skinny, quiet one, and an older, more awkward one, just still young enough to still be hosteling. The hostel was comfortable enough. Our original plan had been an AirBnb, but it ended up not working out. In the morning, though, we were refreshed and ready to explore.

Our first stop was the Colosseum. Instead of waiting inside for tickets, we went to the Roman Forum across the street and got a better deal on tickets, we could visit the Colosseum, the Forum, and Palantine Hill, after only ten minutes of waiting, as opposed to six hours.

The Colosseum was surrounded by men in gladiator suits, charging an Euro for a picture. We ignored them completely and charged straight for the magnificence ahead of us.

It was everything that the books promised it would be. History had just come to life. No words I could use could do it justice.

Next was the Roman Forum. Basically, the Forum is a main area. It was a center for commerce, full of important buildings and the ruins of small shops. Palantine Hill sits regally on the cliffs above, shadowing what was once a thriving center of Roman life.

We also saw a cat. Kalli named it Minerva, after the goddess, and Amy wanted to feed it crackers. A day in the life of us.

After trying and failing, as always, at Roman transportation, we took a taxi to our next stop, Vatican City, where we toured the museum beyond the City's walls, seeing art and history around every corner. Growing up with an artist for a mom, I was fully able to appreciate everything I saw. I even cried in the Sistine Chapel, even though we were being herded through like cattle by grumpy security guards.

The Spanish Steps and Trevi fountain were closed that day, to our immense disappointment. We had been hoping, like thousands of tourists from all over the world, to throw coins into the fountain to make a wish.

Our group retired early that night. The next morning, we were taking a train to Naples, and from there, we would be feasting our eyes on even more history in the ruins of Pompeii!