Selma Questions

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Saturday the Vatican, Sunday the Colosseum: Part Two of My Italian Vacation

Well, all the fun of being a student abroad has prevented me from posting the rest of my Italian tale. (I know, I know, y'all must have been hanging in suspense.) Without further ado, we shall continue with my journey.

So, last I wrote, we had boarded the midnight train from Venice to Rome. We were the fortunate ones: our tickets cost only $36 U.S. dollars, and while it wasn't fun that we didn't have a sleeping cabin, we were at least able to sit down. There were people in the corridor who had to stand or sit on their suitcases for the six hour journey. I was also lucky in that I fell asleep rather quickly, and didn't wake til our train was five minutes away from the train station.

We arrived in Rome at 6:20 in the morning. After stopping at the train station restroom to freshen up a bit, we made our way to the hostel. However, the hostel attendant seemed annoyed that we disturbed his early morning Youtube watching, and gruffily informed us that we could wait in the kitchen until 8, which is when the luggage holding area would open up. He then said that, since he had to start preparing for breakfast, we actually couldn't wait in the kitchen until 7:45ish. Since it was 6:45 at the time, we figured we'd best come back in an hour.

Most of the shops on the street were closed, but we found a cafe that was open. We rested there for about an hour. Jonathan and Veronica bought cappuccinos, and I just bought some water and munched on the trail mix I brought with me for the trip. 

Veronica's cute cappuccino

About forty-five minutes later, the hostel attendant bust through the doors of the little cafe and, after greeting the cafe owner, exclaimed, ‘Where have you guys been?? I was getting breakfast ready for you! I thought you were just getting coffee and coming back. Oh well, don’t worry about it. I’ve got it.’ We were stunned by his proclamation. Was this the same grumpy guy from earlier? He was so friendly now! We didn’t know what to say so, after telling him it was alright and explaining how it must have just been a small miscommunication, we left the shop. However, he ran out after us, exclaiming how he was going to pay for our breakfasts. He stumbled in the street and dropped the euros he had held out for us. He was such a nice guy, and we felt bad for misjudging him from before. We told him we had already paid for breakfast, and that it really didn’t cost that much. He collected his money and returned to the cafe, and we headed towards the hostel.

When we saw how the hostel stored luggage in an unguarded shed in the back garden, we were a bit hesitant about leaving our belongings. Thankfully, Jonathan knew that one of his co-workers was staying literally up the road from where we were, so she was willing to keep our luggage until our rooms were available later in the afternoon. Once we stored our suitcases, all of us set out towards the city, taking the metro to the center.

Once we arrived, we split from Jonathan’s coworker and her friends, who weren’t willing to wait in the half-mile line for...for something we weren’t quite sure what it was. We knew we were in the Vatican City, and, since we saw the incredibly long line, we assumed it was for the Sistine Chapel. (The whole not-doing-research-prior-to-vacation thing really came into play here.) So as we stood in line, Veronica and I decided we needed a quick run to the potty. Since we had already been in line for a few minutes, Jonathan decided to stay and meet us inside.

After a fifteen minute run around to find a toilet we could use, we got back to the spot only to find the line had grown incredibly. We could do nothing but join the back of the line. After about ten minutes or so, we reached the front of the line, which turned out to be security. Once we got through that, we met up with Jonathan, who had been patiently waiting twenty minutes in that spot. We still hadn’t a clue where we were, but we figured we’d find out once we got inside.

When we got to the entrance, however, we were directed by the employees of the place to join the tour group in front of us. None of them were speaking a language we spoke, the employees, the tour group. We didn’t know what we were doing but, instead of raising a fuss, we went with the flow, hoping that we could bypass paying a fee if there was one by standing with the group. We saw different groups of people entering different doors and passing by us; but, since we didn’t know what was going on or where we were, we just followed the group in front of us, who passed out a major door to a back garden, where there was another long line. I snapped a picture of the first sign I saw, so we could look it up later and figure out where we had been.

It turns out ‘cuppola’ means ‘dome’, and the line we were standing in was one that allowed entrance to the top of the dome. We reached a pay desk, where the charge was 5 euros for access to the stairs, and 7 euros for access to the lift. Of course, being the cheap college kids we are, we figured we could handle the stairs and save us those 2 euros. If I could go back...I’d probably choose the 7 euro elevator trip. 

We had seen signs that warned of the amount of stairs, stating that those with heart conditions, pregnant, or elderly, should take the lift. Since we didn’t fall into any of those categories, I foolishly thought I’d be alright. 300 stairs later, a bit winded and feeling slightly dizzy, we reached the inside balcony of the dome. We looked down and saw the doll-sized people below. 

They looked so tiny down below!

After appreciating the art, we reached the hallway and what we believed would be the exit. Following the crowd again, we entered into a narrow hallway, barely wide enough for one person across. Soon, we were climbing stairs again. Climbing, climbing, climbing, until the walls started to slant.

Because we were getting up into the dome, the walls slanted

We just kept going up and up, pausing every minute or so because it was so crowded the line wouldn’t move. My claustrophobia kicked in perfectly on cue. We kept moving forward though, cuz there was no way we could go back. My legs aching, we finally reached a light. The end of the tunnel! Bursting into light, we were on top of the building. All of Rome was before us. Of course, unlike when were inside on the balcony, there was no high barrier stopping people from flinging themselves off the building, so my fear of heights kicked in as well. I clinged to one of the columns, as the crowds of people tried wiggling there way behind and in front of me to get to the other side. Veronica and Jonathan finally convinced me to come to the edge and take a picture with the view

Don't I look so thrilled?

After gazing upon the view, we were starving, so we found the exit (for real this time!), and started our great descent down. Thousands of stairs later (okay, it may not have REALLY been thousands of stairs, but dear Lord, it felt like it), we were finally on the ground. If I stood still with my weight evenly distributed between both legs, my legs spasmed. I think that was a not so subtle hint from my body to start working out. 

Downstairs, we entered the main room of the building. It was a magnificent church, with massive and grandiose art works. Great murals, statues, depicting Jesus and numerous Biblical scenes. A long red carpet led to a fantastic throne. After wandering for a bit, we finally realized where we were. St. Peter’s Basilica. 

St. Peter's Basilica (photo courtesy of Jonathan)

That yellow line with the words in it? Yeah we were standing up there earlier in the day. Want scale? The little bits at the bottom of the photo are people's heads. THAT'S how tall that place is!

 It was beautiful and just breath-taking. After about an hour, however, our stomachs really couldn’t be silenced, and we departed in search of a meal. Thanks to my wonderful mama who researched gluten-free in Rome for me, I had the address to a restaurant that made all of their food gluten free. The restaurant was also on the way to the Vatican Museum (where we learned was the location of the Sistine Chapel), so it couldn’t have been a better located place. The restaurant, Restorante Renovatio La Soffita, was such a cool little place. Our waiter was very funny and nice, and the food was delicious! (A nice change of pace from my diet of cheese and ham.) 

My yummy, gluten-free calzone! 

We headed to the Vatican Museum with time to spare. It wasn’t crowded at all, and were able to purchase our tickets within five minutes of entering. If you are ever to visit Rome and want to avoid major crowds, go in February. The rooms we bypassed with barriers set up for queues just illustrated how hellish the crowds must get in the summer and other peak tourist times. After wandering the museum a bit, we rushed through the remaining rooms so we could get to the main event: the Sistine Chapel. The room was different than I had imagined. For one thing, I pictured the Creation of Adam playing a larger role in the ceiling mural. Instead, it was small and equivalent in size to other, less famous scenes depicted on the ceiling. It was still amazing though. It was very quiet, just the soft whispers of people commenting on the work, interrupted every three minutes or so by loud “Shooooosh!” from the guards. I was able to sneak a picture of the ceiling (not using flash photography so it isn’t damaging anything!) It was so cool to actually see the Sistine Chapel.

sneaky, sneaky

After the museum, we were able to head back to the hostel and FINALLY shower and rest up. We then re-grouped and headed across the street to the little restaurant with which our hostel had a deal: a plate of spaghetti and a glass of wine for 3 euros. Because of my Celiac, though, I couldn’t properly partake in the deal. However, thanks to Jonathan’s Spanish speaking skills and the handiness of my Italian phrase cheat sheet (on which I had written the Italian words for “gluten”, “wheat”, etc.), the owners of the restaurant were incredibly kind and made me a massive (and delicious!) rotisserie chicken salad. They only charged me as much as they would have charged for just the chicken, and they included a glass of wine: it all came to only 6 euros! It was a delightful meal.

After dinner, we decided to wander Rome and try to find the Trevi Fountain. We finally had a map, though, so it didn’t take us a million years to find it. The fountain was beautiful and looked so cool at night. 

So pretty!

We ate some yummy gelato and continued wandering. Since we saw the fountain, we didn't have anything else we needed to see that night, so we just walked the streets of Rome. With our wandering, we also happened upon the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Veronica was certain that’s what the building was, but we debated over whether or not it was the only Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I decided to pull out my phone, even though I didn’t have much data credit, to look up the answer. Weirdly enough, though, I happened to already be connected to wifi. It was pretty strange (though, to answer y’all’s question, it totally ISN’T the only Tomb of the Unknown Soldier).  After seeing that, we were pretty tired, so we headed back to the hostel. Even though we had discussed partying it up in Rome earlier in the trip, all three of us were too exhausted for such nonsense, so we retired to our rooms by 11, asleep not long after.

The next day, Sunday, we were ready, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, by 9:30 AM. Veronica and I had bought our tickets for the Colosseum before the trip, so we had to make our reservations for 11 AM. We took the metro and made it with time to spare, which was fortunate seeing as we were given the run around as to where to cash in our reservations. We made it just in time though, and got our tickets. However, since Jonathan didn’t book tickets for the Colosseum, he had to wait in the long line to buy them. Since Veronica and I had already gone through, we weren’t allowed to exit again, and, because Jonathan didn’t have cell service, we couldn’t leave the entrance area for fear of not being able to find him again. It balanced out the wait from the day before, though, when Jonathan had to wait for us at St. Peter’s, so we sat about and discussed how much like the cast of a Disney Channel TV show the three of us appeared (because Veronica is half Taiwanese/half-white, Jonathan is black, and I’m white). (Veronica and I are quite silly girls). We snuck a few pictures while waiting. It didn’t take too long for Jonathan to make it through the lines, fortunately, so after twenty minutes or so, we met up again, and were able to continue on our way.

The Colosseum was pretty neat, but probably would have been better had we downloaded the audio guides that came with our online tickets. It was fine though, cuz we got many photos inside.

One of the pictures we snuck while waiting for Jonathan

The group!

Like I said, I had time to get in a LOT of photos

It was lunchtime again so, after what felt like enough time inside, we left the Colosseum and headed deeper into the city. After wandering up a major hill where some more ruins lay (and then discovering that we were going the wrong way and would have to find an entrance elsewhere), we returned towards the main roads, where we happened upon a random parade.

We tried to figure out what the parade was for. The date was not anything significant that we knew of (February 17 strike a bell for anyone?), and, upon closer inspection, they were not dressed in traditional Italian dress. We watched the entirety of the parade, looking on in amazement at these different dance troupes that managed to keep dancing while marching down the street. As we walked up the street while watching the parade, we saw a group of onlookers holding Bolivian flags. Turned out it was a Bolivian Pride parade. We are still puzzled as to why there was such a parade on that day (I can’t find anything ANYWHERE about the Bolivian population in Rome), but we decided to look on and enjoy the show. At one point, our favorite costumed person headed into the crowd, so we managed to take a picture with it. Then, the creature grabbed Veronica and skipped her around in a circle before returning her to us. It was so much fun!

Look at how excited she is!

After the parade, we stopped at a charming little outdoor restaurant and ate a lovely and reasonably priced meal. After lunch, we headed to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We made it just in time to see the changing of the guards, which was pretty neat. We then toured the little museum inside and headed to the top to see the view. At that point, it was getting kind of late, so we decided to head back to the hostel. It was also threatening to rain, serving as the perfect motivator for getting us back to the hostel. 

After kicking it back in the hostel for half an hour or so, we left and headed towards the station. I was the first one who had to leave, so Veronica and Jonathan walked me to the bus I was to take to the airport. However, as I learned while standing in the line, I was supposed to buy my ticket at a different location inside the metro/train station. Beginning to get panicky about being late to the airport (which was ridiculous because my flight was not until 8:45 PM and it was only 5 PM at this point), I rushed inside of the station and started looking frantically for the store. When we came upon the train station part, I decided to see if I could catch a train to the airport. I was in luck! There was an express leaving in less than ten minutes. I bought my ticket and we headed to the platform. Once I found my train, I saw that they were about to go. I rushed my good-byes to Veronica and Jonathan and hopped on board.

I got the airport with plenty of time, which was a good thing because, as it turned out, in order to get to my gate, I had to go through passport control with all the other people who were not part of the European Union. Forty minutes later, I got through control and got to rest in the waiting areas. I made my flight and landed safely in Gatwick. Thanks to power outages from earlier in the day, the trains were all delayed, and I was able to make the last one to Brighton (which, had they been on time, I would have missed by half an hour). After a train ride and bus trip, I finally arrived back in my flat at 1 AM, to my lovely flatmates who had been waiting up for me. It was a terrific trip, and I feel so blessed that I am able to travel like this. Italy was great, and I’d love to go again. Correction: I HAVE to go again. I didn’t see nearly enough! 

Valentine's Day in Venice: The first part of a long weekend vacay to Italy

My first trip outside of the United Kingdom occurred on Thursday, 14 February. My friend Veronica and I planned our trip back in December, but that still didn't prepare me for the excitement and anxiety I felt the night before departure. We wanted to get as much out of our trip as possible, so I booked my departing flight for 8:20 in the morning. (Veronica is currently studying abroad in Dublin, so she booked her flight from there.) Of course, I don't live right at the airport, so I then had to plan my transportation there. So that, combined with the whole "gotta be at the airport two hours before your flight" deal, put my wake-up time for 4 AM. Which was cool. Since I couldn't fall asleep until midnight.  But it was fine because I was so excited, I didn't even mind my 4:20 AM taxi ride to the bus stop where I was to catch the National Express Coach service to Gatwick Airport. Oh, except for it was literally just a bench situated in the middle of nowhere, and, in my paranoia of wanting to be on time, I had arrived a full 40 minutes before my coach was due. So, I bundled up, bracing myself against the wind and slight drizzle, and waited out the time until my coach. After the 30-minute coach ride, I arrived at Gatwick, where I made it through security smoothly. After killing another about two hours or so in the various waiting areas, it was finally time to depart!

I have never flown EasyJet before, but I found the experience fine (unlike other friends of mine who have flown them and hated it). The one thing I found interesting is that EasyJet planes, upon arrival to your destination, do NOT pull up to a gate. You disembark from the plane on the runway, and, in the case of Venice, caught a shuttle to the proper airport. Security into the country was a breeze! Upon arrival, all that was required to get through customs was a flash of the passport. No one even came to a full stop in front of the guards; they just flashed the passport and walked through. Crazy! I went to where the luggage was, which is where I met up with Veronica.

We had to take a picture to commemorate the moment!

After briefly catching up, we came to the realization that we didn't know how to leave the airport. Thankfully, most people speak at least a little bit of English, so we went up to the bus ticket booth and asked the lady which route would take us to our hostel. I handed her the hostel reservation, which had the address, and, in her broken English, she promptly informed me that our hostel was NOT in Venice! Well, that sent us into a brief panic. However, after she consulted her co-worker, she informed us which bus number to take in order to get to the hostel (which, as we later learned, was RIGHT outside Venice proper, on the mainland, hence her announcement of our hostel "not being in Venice".

The bus dropped us off in front of the train station, which was just a five minute walk to our hostel. After encountering a not-to-friendly desk attendant at the hostel front desk, we took the cracker-box of an elevator to our room. The room was pleasant, and a good size. We had our own private bath (to share with the other two girls in our room), but at least it wasn't a hall bath. My only issue with the bathroom was the lack of a toilet seat, but we soon discovered that that was more of a trend instead of a single issue with the hostel.

We hurried out of the hostel and to the train station, where we caught a ride into the grouping of islands that is Venice. It was only a nine minute ride, so smooth travel in that regards. Upon stepping out of the train station, we saw this:

The colors, the canal, all of it was just so cool! And a bit surreal. We waiting on a nearby bridge for Veronica's friend, Jonathan. Veronica had met Jonathan last summer when they both worked together in a restaurant in Washington, D.C. Jonathan is currently working at a hotel in Garmish, Germany, which caters to American military and their families. When Veronica and I asked people to join us on our trip, he decided to come as well, but on a train. He asked around his work, and three of his co-workers joined him for the trip to Venice: Terri, Kristin, and Debra. So for Valentine's Day, Jonathan had five Valentines. Aww!

He even bought us all roses...so sweet!

We wandered Venice for the rest of the afternoon, riding the water bus. We found the Piazza San Marco, which has a gorgeous Basilica located within it. 

First arriving in the Piazza. According to Wikipedia, it is one of the few great urban spaces in all of Europe where the sound of human voices prevails over traffic noise.

St. Mark's Basilica

The girls then discussed how they wanted to take a gondola ride. I was beyond thrilled, since that was the one thing I really wanted to do in Venice. Because we were now with a group of six (as opposed to when we planned the trip, it was going to be just Veronica and me), the prices for the gondola ride were much more affordable. We paid 20 euros a piece, and stepped into the gondola for a tour through a residential area of Venice. Our gondolier was really nice, and pointed out the former homes of famous characters, such as Vivaldi and Cassanova. It was a delightful little ride, and I'm very happy we got to go.

It then got dark and, after a decent dinner and some yummy gelato, we headed back to our hostel for some much needed rest.

The next morning, we woke early and departed by 9 AM, for the girls were travelling home on the train by 1:30 PM, and we really didn't need to sleep in. We took the train back into Venice, and caught the water bus to the market. We stopped in a little cafe for breakfast but, thanks to my lovely Celiac disease, I couldn't eat with them. Instead, I headed to a small butcher's shop around the corner, where I purchased a lovely block of cheese for 3.20 euro. The cheese was mild, but pleasant, and it lasted throughout the day. We wandered through the market, everyone making small purchases here and there. We then stumbled upon the same spot we had been the night before. But in the daytime, it was gorgeous!

After the girls left, we continued just wandering around, taking the water bus to wherever it went. We happened upon many churches, all of which were filled with beautiful artwork and design. Once it turned dark, though, it was too cold to be out and about, so we set up base in a nice little cafe that had free wifi. With four hours to kill before our midnight train to Rome, we ate dinner and drank some lovely (cheap) wine. From there, we made our way to the train station and, bidding Venice farewell, we situated ourselves in our cabin (which was NOT a sleeping cabin, but a regular one with upright seats) and attempted to sleep.

Alright, that is all I can manage today. I will attempt to write about my time in Rome within the next few days. Talk to y'all soon!

Hello Family!

I have put off writing a blog for some time now, believing that my experiences thus far were not worthy of an entire blog dedicated to their telling. However, now that I plan on taking some holidays to various European countries, I believed a blog would be the easiest and most direct way to tell of my adventures. Facebook will still act as the main place for pictures and status updates. However, this blog will tell, in more detail, of my trips. I apologize in advance for the use of pictures already published to Facebook, but that's all I've got picturewise. So, without further ado, welcome all to my blog!