So it's nearing the end of my second week in Italy and, considering my knack for forgetting things, I figure I might as well write about it. It's been a beautiful two weeks, and despite
recent events, this probably would have been the greatest vacation ever. It is finally raining today after a pretty good run of perfect weather, though even the rain is perfect here. It's the type of sky that typically invokes a rainbow, but I haven't been outside to try to catch one.
Our itinerary so far is: 3 days in Rome, 14 days in Perugia (for the Perugia Music Fest, a [poorly-run] summer piano program), 3 days in Florence, and 2 days in Venice. Considering the fact that this Music Fest is not what it had claimed to be, and the fact that they've moved Gus' final performance date to the 11th (and our other two travelers Brett and Ai-Ying are not performing past that date either), we are all thinking that we might just get an early start on Florence on the 12th, and cut out the last two days of this program.
During the 14 days in Perugia, there were several concerts featuring Gus and his friends that I had planned on seeing. They were dispersed throughout the two weeks, and I had therefore been planning trips
between the concerts. Two trips in particular: one south of Perugia to Naples and Pompeii, and one north to Pisa, Milan, ...possibly some others, I hadn't quite figured that one out yet. Anyway, the point is that when I learned that Dylan had died, I became a crying wreck anytime that I was left alone, and so I decided not to do any of those trips. I have torn feelings about this, but I'm glad that I chose to stay. I am constantly reminding myself of those famous Dave Matthews lyrics "Turns out not where, but who you're with that really matters", and it really rings true in this case. So I could have seen a bunch of buildings and paintings...would I have had fun if I weren't surrounded by friends? I can come back some other time and visit those things - they'll probably always be there.
So because this trip has been too much to talk about in one LJ entry, I think I'll break it down by location. I'll do Rome today, and then Perugia, Florence, and Venice once I finish those places. So here's what happened in Rome:
We left Boston at 10PM on Friday July 27. Work let me out a few hours early, which was really nice of them (and very necessary, since I had barely started packing). After a layover in Frankfurt, we arrived in Rome at 2PM on Saturday (6 hours time difference). 12 euros each got us directly to
our hostel, which was convenient. The accomodations were great - our room was relatively comfortable, it had a terrace/balcony sort of thing, and we got it all at a very good price.
As soon as we got there, we were up and running in the ancient center of the city. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, and it was so weird to think how much history had taken place there. I live in a country that has only been a country for just over 225 years. But Rome...thousands. It used to be the capital of the entire world. The Holy Roman Empire was huge at a point, and Rome is where it all happened.
The first day, I honestly don't have much to talk about. We took a ton of pictures, but we didn't really bother to find out what exactly we were looking at. Mostly because it was all just so beautiful, and we were really excited to see it. I do know that the huge church we saw was the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and that at night we saw the Trevi Fountain, and Piazza di Spagna, including the Spanish Steps, and the Barcaccia Fountain. I tried to take photos, but for our entire stay in Rome, it was hot and extremely sunny, so daytime shots were difficult. But I think I got some great night shots. Haven't had a good chance to look through them all thoroughly, so we'll see.
The second day we went to the Vatican museum. It happened to be free that day, but to see it, we had to wait for over two hours in the blistering heat. We had met two girls in our hostel that morning at breakfast, and they were also going to the Vatican that day. We had made a joke like 'oh, maybe we'll see you amidst the thousands of people in line' and both laughed about it. Turns out that they were right next to us in line... so we at least had some good conversation while we waited. When we finally got in and had to put our stuff through a metal detector, I realized that my laptop was missing from my bag. Immediately, I freaked out because I had been warned of the gypsies and their pickpocketing talents. I started running around like a crazy man to try to file a police report so that I would have a chance of getting reimbursed through my travel insurance. But Gus, knowing my
propensity to forget things and assuming that I had just left it in the hostel, convinced me to tour the Vatican first, since we had waited so long to get in. (The laptop was in fact in our hostel room ::face turns red::) Anyway, I'm glad I was able to put the laptop situation out of my head, because the Vatican Museum was crazy beautiful. Room after room of incredible artwork. Oh, and I loved how every room had signs that made it look like the Sistene Chapel was in the very next room. In fact, we had to go through at least 30 or 40 of them to finally get to the Chapel. I feel bad about it, but when we finally got there, I was exhausted and thirsty, and I needed to use the restroom, so Ai-Ying and I (we had lost Gus and Brett around the 5th room) didn't spend near as much time there as we should have. But I did take the obligatory picture of God's Creation of Man (the one where God and man are almost touching fingers), even though you weren't supposed to take pictures. Ai-Ying and I left and went home, met up with Gus and Brett later, and that night I don't think we did anything else, as we were all exhausted.
Day 3 we reserved for the Colosseum. We got a little lost on the way, but finally found it early in the afternoon. Some really hot Australian guy convinced us to take a tour for 21 euros. We were kind of disappointed that he wasn't our tour guide, but rather it was some old Italian gentleman (makes sense...). At least we got to skip to the front of the line, and we got to learn a little bit about what the Colosseum was all about. We went around as much as we could and took a ton of pictures. After we left, we went to a small (gay?) bar and had fruity drinks outside. We went up a neighboring hill to a very pretty church. On our way back down, we plotted a path home. It included the Theater of Marcellus (of which I took some beautiful dusk photos), Piazza Navona with its beautiful fountains and gypsies who tried to tie my hands together to take my wallet (Yes, they do that in Rome...thank God I knew about it beforehand), the Pantheon, and Piazza Argentina (?), which was basically a square with a giant set of ruins about 30 feet deep in the center...that had been taken over by cats. We ate at
Rossopomodoro, an Italian chain restaurant, and then we took the bus ride from hell back home (why 'from hell'? ...suffice it to say that you should not try to communicate with a grumpy bus driver the fact that the token machines are not working, and when riding along cobblestone --which is basically all Roman roads-- do be sure to sit, rather than stand).
The next morning, Ai-Ying and I got up early to go back to the Vatican, as we had realized that we completely missed St. Peter's Square, and the accompanying cathedrals, etc. So we took the subway, and I learned a little bit of Italian from the station announcements ("Prossima fermata - Barberini. Uscita il lado...destro" ...which amused me because the recording sounded like he was asking a question: "exit side...right?"). My Italian is actually doing alright, but I'll tackle that issue in a later entry. Anyway, St. Peter's Square is huge, and very pretty. We tried to get into the cathedral, but Ai-Ying was wearing a tank top, and she got the boot. Apparently, tank tops and short shorts are not good enough for God. Anyway, so I ran in, took a bunch of pictures, and ran out in about 10 minutes' time...far too short to actually see anything. But when I came out, Ai-Ying decided to get a silk scarf for ~5 euros to cover her shoulders so she could actually get in. Went in for another go, and I was actually able to take in all of the amazing artwork that is actually in that place. It's like...seeing it... I realized why people like being Catholic. It's very glamorous, and still very personal. Everything means something. It was very inspiring. So we finished up there, and then went to the place where all the dead popes are buried. Very interesting, but we rushed through it because we were running out of time (Ai-Ying, Gus, and Brett had to catch a bus at 2PM to get to Perugia). We ran to the Vatican post office so Ai-Ying could purchase some of the Mozart stamps, which she had seen two days before when we went to the Vatican Museum, but they had closed before she could purchase them. She quickly wrote a postcard to her family (which I just found out the other day read something like: "I don't have time to write a long note, but look at the stamp!" ...ahh, musicians!), and then we started running out of the Vatican so we could see the star-shaped Parco Adriano, parts of the river, Via di Condotti (which seems to be the Roman Newbury Street), and the Spanish Steps once again before we took the subway back to Termini. It was too funny, because we are both addicted to taking pictures, that we were literally running, snapping shots of all the pretty scenery. I have no idea what I was taking photos of, and I probably never will...but it was all just so beautiful.
We got back to the hostel and Gus and Brett had already checked out and were waiting for us. We were a little late, so we went rushing to the train station. As the Music Fest was going to charge me ~20 euros for the bus ride, and it was going to cost an extra ~12 euros to get to the bus (it was at the airport), I figured it was just as good a time as any to start using my Eurail Italy pass. I mean, I had 10 days on the thing, and didn't really think I was going to need all ten, so why not save some money. We said our goodbyes, and I went to go get my ticket validated. Turns out that the line to get an international ticket validated is the same line that clueless 20-somethings use to
buy said tickets. Even though I had already bought mine, I had to wait for over 2 hours in the 40-person line for the 30-second transaction of writing down my passport number and stamping my ticket. I was pissed. While I was waiting, I missed 3 of the trains that I could have taken... was finally able to leave around 5PM. The train got me there around 8 or 9, after a train change in Foligno. The scenery for the most part was not that great...very dirty. Kind of like the trip from Boston to Providence on the commuter rail. Anyway, I was looking for a stop called Perugia...makes sense right? Well I passed a stop called Santa Anna, and then as the train was pulling away from that stop, the very last sign said "Santa Anna - Perugia". But I'm not concerned because the guy across the aisle from me had told the ticket lady he was going to Perugia, and he hadn't gotten off at that stop. So the next stop is strictly called Perugia (thankfully), and I got off at that stop.
And since this is beyond the scope of Rome, and since I've been in the process of writing this entry for over three and a half hours (with breaks, of course), I'll stop here. Stay tuned to hear about why taking that extra stop was a
huge mistake, and to learn of my eventful ascent up the mountain that is Perugia, and the events that followed.
Ciao!
PS - Once again, Dylan, this entry is for you. As evident from
entries past, you're one of the only people who actually take the time to read my crap, because you care so much about me. I miss you so much.
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