Euro Trip: Italy pt. I

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Silvia was nice enough to set up an early 5am taxi for us to go the airport. We talked with the taxi driver about the politics of Spain the whole ride. He said he likes to practice his English. We checked in and boarded the plane. Amazingly, we were the first row so I had excellent leg room again! It was neat to watch the sun rise as we flew over the Mediterranean. The flight wasn't bad, and I read the whole time. When we landed in Rome, we were immediately head hunted by taxi drivers. We started to go with one, but quickly realized it was probably some kind of scam. We ended up just talking a normal taxi, which was expensive but way better than the packed van we had originally planned on taking.

The cab dropped us at our apartment, another airbnb, where we met Emanuele, a really friendly younger guy who spoke perfect English (and French, Spanish, Italian...). We settled in and waited for Bo and Kendall Knox to arrive. There flight didn't get in until later, so I explored around the Coliseum which was literally two streets away from our place! The apartment was really nice with lots of room, but the location made it perfect. We ate at a small pizza place down the street for lunch. The Knoxes showed up, and we walked down to the Trevi Fountain. The walk was beautiful, passing right by the illuminated Coliseum, the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of unified Italy. The Trevi Fountain was spectacular, but it was very crowded. We ate at a restaurant down the street, which was descent, but not the best Italian authentic food.

We strolled back to the apartment and played cards. It was so nice to have Kendall and Bo join us for the trip. We have a great dynamic together, and they are so fun to be with. We had some beer and wine at our place and played some cards. Eventually, we all turned in for the night.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

I woke up early and went to the small market down the street. It was a surprisingly quaint and unassuming area near the coliseum where we were staying. We got ready and walked down to the coliseum where we started a tour. Though I've seen countless pictures of the structure, but it so much more magnificent in person. It really is an impressively large structure. The tour was very informative, allowing us to walk through all the stairways and corridors.
We then walked down through the streets of Rome until we reached the Pantheon, a giant dome cathedral build in 118 AD! Wowzerz. Behind the Pantheon, we ate at a small but delicious pizza place recommended by Brooke Mooney who studied abroad there. Since we knew about from a student, the owner gave us free oranges and strawberry wine. We walked over to Piazza Navorra where a massive Christmas market was being held. It was somewhat fascinating, but the shear amount of vendors, trinket sellers, and gimmicky street artists seemed intrusive and annoying. I had seen it all day, but now I was actually annoyed by it. That is where my simultaneous love and hate for Rome began. Rome is such a beautiful, ancient city, and these street vendors make it seem like Pigeon Forge.

The Spanish Steps weren't too far away, so we walked there and saw the sun set with the Pantheon and St. Peter's Basilica in the distance. Of course, we were approached by street vendors selling laser pointers at least 5 times. We were getting a little tired of eating pizza/pasta/bread, so we bought salad stuff at a local market and made salads at our apt. Sleep soon followed.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Our Vatican City tour started at 9am, so we had to figure out the bus system to get there. Once we arrived, our tour guide took us through Vatican City customs. It wasn't quite as serious as US customs, actually hardly comparable. She led us through the Pinecone Courtyard, but it was pretty fogged in. We were led into a building with many statues. Our guide was really informative about the things we were seeing. We walked through various buildings and saw statues, tapestries, and many paintings. Then we walked into the Sistine Chapel. Wow. Our guide gave a summary of things to look at, what certain things mean, and the efforts Michelangelo went through to make such an amazing piece of art. Even the small amount of art class I have had made me appreciate the amount detail in the paintings.

We continued through other rooms and finally made it through to St. Peter's Basilica. I had seen many churches at this point in our trip, but this church is really mind blowing. It is almost like being in a giant cavern. The morning sun was coming through the windows making pillars of light. We walked out to St. Peter's Square where our tour ended. Imagining the Pope addressing all those thousands of people is pretty powerful, even from the protestant prospective. Julie was wasn't feeling 100%, so we took the metro back to the apt. The tour was informative and exhausting, so we got a quick bite of pizza near the apt, then rested at the apt for a while. Touring is tiring.

It was our last night in Rome, so we found the energy to walk down to a restaurant near the Spanish Steps, another restaurant recommended by Brooke. It was a delicious dinner, but people keep ordering better things than me, especially Kendall! I had what Julie calls "entree envy". We walked through the city a little more and stopped in some shops. We eventually made it back to our place, did some light packing, and went to bed.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Our checkout with Emanuele wasn't until 11am so we slept in a little bit. We were pretty tired. Emanuele walked with us to the metro, and we said our goodbyes. Our train from Rome to Florence wasn't until 1pm, so we thought we had plenty of time. Unforunately, we went to the wrong terminal. We caught the metro back to the right terminal but didn't have much time to spare. We rushed from the station and tried to print our tickets. The old people in line were taking forever, so we ran to our train and BARELY made it, literally seconds to spare.
I journaled and listened to music as we zipped through the Italian countryside at 200 mph. The train ride went smoothly (fast!), and they didn't even check out tickets?! When we arrived in Florence, the temperature was noticably colder. We walked to our next airbnb place which was only about a 15 minute walk. Our host never actually met us there, but rather a colleague of hers. It was fine, but it didn't have the personal feel of others. The apt was really nice with a bedroom and really cool loft. The kitchen was fully stocked and the living area was big. Definitely a great find on airbnb. We walked over the museum housing the Statue of David. I liked not only seeing this statue, but also the other unfinished Michelangelo statues. Seeing an unfinished project was a great perspective to see the sculpting process.

After the museum, we walked over to the Florence Duomo, a giant church made of colored marble. We continued on through the streets until we reached the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge over the river that is full of little shops. It was nighttime and most of the shops were closed. Since it was Christmas Eve, we stopped in for a nice dinner. The food and beer were pretty good but nothing extraordinary. Our server was not very friendly either. Working on Christmas Eve wouldn't make me happy either I guess. We walked back to the apartment and exchanged gifts. We did secret Santa with a 5€ limit, so I got Bo Statue of David underwear. He got me a duomo print and of course a little gimmicky glow in the dark helicopter from the stupid street vendors. We stayed up late laughing and playing ticket to ride. We turned in well after midnight. What a day.

Wednesday, December, 25 2013

Christmas Day started with sleeping in. It was much needed sleep. We got up and cooked breakfast pizza, drank mimosas, and listened to Christmas music. It actually felt a lot like Christmas considering we weren't with family or at home. It was a nice, relaxing morning. Though it was Christmas Day, a good time for relaxing, we didn't want to waste the day by staying inside. We walked back to the train station and jump on a train to Pisa. It was dark when we arrived, but the tower was still illuminated. Like other monuments in Europe, it was much more impressive seeing it in real life. Of course, we took the classic picture and laugh at others taking theirs. Other than the leaning tower, there isn't much to see in Pisa, so we took the train back after a few hours of exploring.

You can always count on Chinese restaurants being open for Christmas, so that's what we had. It was actually really good Chinese food. We walked back to the apt and hung out for a while just talking, and of course playing ticket to ride (or as we call it, the train game). This was a well spend Christmas in Florence.