Italia: Venice and Rome

Italy has been, by far, my favorite country to visit. Kathleen and I were the only two to go, and we gladly missed our last 2 days of school for it. In addition to how amazing our trip was, we only paid about 125 Euros for 5 one way flights! So I guess that’s where the adventure began…Cheap airfare with Ryanair. We left early in the morning (ie 5 am) on the airport bus to catch our morning flight and had a layover for about 6 hours in Barcelona. Then we caught our first flight intooooooo VENICE! Venice is absolutely stunning. There isn’t a whole lot to do but eat amazing food, drink wonderfully cheap wine, and admire breathtaking scenery every time you turn a corner, so I guess I can see why Venice is a city for lovers. However, as wonderful as it may be for all of the couples, I can not think of anyone better to visit Venice with than Kathleen. As usual, we tore Italy apart. We arrive night one, Thursday night, and checked into our hostel. The hostel experience in itself requires a full novel to do its hilarity justice, but I’ll give the abbreviated version. We check in, and there is a guy with shaggy hair, glasses and a purple puffy jacket on. He asks me to pay the remaining balance for the room, which I did, and for my change he whipped out his own personal wallet. Okay so not that funny, but people would never do that in the states while running a business! Then he tells me he doesn’t have change, and asks whether I’d like him to owe me or me to owe him. Obviously I chose the latter, but it was at this moment when I realized this guy wasn’t Italian and was probably the biggest stoner I’d ever meet in my life. His name? Gustavo, from Costa Rica. He ended up in Italy because he attended Italian culinary school for 2 years when he decided restaurants were too stressful. He’s just about the most laid back, hilarious character I’ve ever met. After checking into our room, which had purple walls, pink lace curtains and 2 playboy bunny posters, Kathleen and I headed out for dinner. We asked Gustavo for his recommendations, which we didn’t take, and thanked him for offering to cook for us. There is a sign in the hostel that says dinner upon request for 10 Euro. We figured we could do better than that. We crossed a few canals, said about a million “oh my god’s” and commented on the beauty of Venice by the time we arrived at our dinner destination. Chosen for its moderate prices and warm dinning area. Kathleen and I sat down and ordered brochette, which became tradition for every meal we ate our entire trip, lasagna and chicken to split. We chose not to order water when we found out you couldn’t have tap and opted for a bottle of wine when an English lady behind us offered us her bottle of water because she was eating alone and couldn’t finish it. We gladly accepted and finished out our meal with the waiter hating us for splitting even though 5 minutes earlier he couldn’t say princess enough. The pasta melted in your mouth. It literally didn’t require chewing, and the brochette was a variety of 3, one having mushrooms and artichoke! The meal was a bit pricy, but well worth it. After that we tucked ourselves in to our playmates room. (haha). The next morning we woke up and decided to roam the city with the 2 other girls who were staying in our room who were backpacking all through Europe for as long as their money lasted and they were only 18!!! Anyhow, we literally walked all over the city and saw more than most tourists probably catch in 2 visits. However, it was freezing, and raining with puddles everywhere because just 3 days before, Venice witnessed it’s worst flood in 20 years. Before heading in to the hostel, the other 2 girls in my room and I caught an over priced gondola ride (Kathleen didn’t join because it cost too much) that was completely worth it. We went past the house of Marco Polo, then the house of his family, under the main bridge in Venice, past an old fish market from the 1500’s and a political building that had a jail cel on the first floor. I found this to be hilarious because Venetians don’t use their first floors in case of flooding, it’s simply an entry way. We had a great photo shoot and our gondolier loved us. After that we decided to cook dinner at our hostel with our other 2 room mates. The four of us ate for less than 10 Euros with a 2 liter bottle of “vino fizzante,” or fizz wine. Somehow I ended up doing the cooking and surprised myself. I always crave veggies here in Europe, so I bought a yellow pepper, tomato and zucchini and grilled them and then added them to the tortellini. I think I now have a passion for cooking because I can’t wait to get home and experiment. First thing I’m going to make is fresh brochette. As we were eating, Gustavo looked like he’d been slapped. He asked us why we didn’t have him cook, and we explained we didn’t want to spend that much, to which he responded, that sign (that says 10 euros for dinner) is just what I’m supposed to do. With that he offered Kathleen and I some of the best brochette I’ve ever had and some pasta carbonara. Slightly buzzed, but more exhausted from touring, we all went to bed. However, it was so cold, I had to ask Gustavo to turn on the heater to which he agreed with, “Iyy knowwwww. Itz like Dicember, itz like one degree” (sound it out to catch on to his accent). Haha. Then he brought us a floor heater and we all slept like babies. We woke pretty early the next and Kathleen and I hopped onto a waterbus out to the island of Murano, which is famous for it’s glass blowing. If you’ve ever bought a piece of Venetian-blown glass, it’s from Murano. We watched part of a glass blowing show from an outside window, so we wouldn’t have to pay, shopped and explored the island, then headed back to the main part of Venice to catch our bus to the airport for our next flight to Rome. We got back to the main island and had nothing to do so we bought a snack and headed back to the hostel, that we were already checked out of but were allowed to leave our luggage in, just to eat Nutella and crackers for free and hang out. Again, nowhere in the states would you be able to do this. We just opened the cupboards and snacked away and chatted with Gustavo! Time to leave: we caught our bus to the airport where we met a group of about 5 American boys studying in Sweden and chatted with them the entire bus ride. None of them were passing their classes, and collectively, they only knew one word of Swedish! I love America! They razzed me like the guys back home, they didn’t hit on me and act all greasy like the Europeans. One of them was super cute! We ended up hanging out with them later that night in Rome, but a LOT happens between then. So we get to Rome and have to go to a different hostel than the one I booked, because of “renovations,” but they emailed me ahead of time so it wasn’t a big deal. As we’re checking in, the guy, who happened to also be from south America, offered us a beer, which we politely declined, when he said, “No, you’re going to need it. Take a beer.” To that we obeyed, waited 10 minutes for him to tell us that they’d overbooked and we didn’t have a room. He told us he’d find us a place to stay and not to worry, but he looked like he was going to cry! Kathleen and I started busting up with laughter at our luck. All he could say after that was how happy he was we were in a good mood. She and I went to get some dinner while he sorted out our stay and returned to his beaming face that he’d found someplace. He and his partner walked us all the way to our other hostel and couldn’t have been any nicer. He even invited us to go out with them that night to, “the best place in Rome” but we already had plans with the Americans. We drop off our stuff and meet up with the guys at a huge church, but as we’re waiting the sweetest 2 Italian boys stopped and asked Kathleen and I to go to a club with them. The one who did most of the talking got frustrated when he couldn’t think of a word in English and was just a doll. We declined that also, and waited for the guys. They showed up and we did what ever good American does and went to a pub for a casual drink. Throughout all of Europe there are always guys walking around through bars and restaurants selling roses or trinkets, and in Rome, this guy was selling singing stuffed animals. Well 2 of the guys in the group were ripped and found it thoroughly amusing to bargain with these Moroccan/African guys. They ended up with the dumb little figurines, they got 5 for the price of one, then they tried to sell them back to the next guys who came around selling things! We he declined the offer to repurchase them, one of the guys told him he’d buy the singing stuffed animal for 6 Euro if the Moroccan man could get it’s sunglasses off. Yes I know this sounds cruel, but something about it was beyond hilarious! We closed the bar down and 2 of the American guys walked Kathleen and I back to our hostel, no moves, no awkward moments, nothing…Just good ole American boys. So refreshing. We woke up the next morning, changed hostels, and headed out to tour by foot, and on my way out I met a guy who plays baseball for the University of Redlands and knows Brenden! It couldn’t help but grin when he double checked with me that Brenden was my EX boyfriend! Then he asked me where I was from and introduced me to a guy he goes to school with who’s from Bakersfield! It really is a small world! That day Kathleen and I hit the Coliseum, ruins of Augustus Cesar, saw the Pantheon, Trevi fountain and lord knows what else! We then had a great dinner with a bottle of wine and a 10% discount coupon from our hostel that we forgot to use. We called it a semi-early night and woke up early the next morning for…..The POPE! Monday December 8 is a Catholic holiday for the “Immaculate Conception of Mary” and the Pope comes out in his Pope mobile. Because of this, the Vatican was closed but we got to see the Pope. He was literally within 5 feet of me! This all took part at the Spanish steps so we killed 2 birds with one stone, and crossed off another monument. After that we saw the Basilica and the outside wall of Vatican City. That night we went to a restaurant, recommended by Kathleen’s friend who studied in Rome this summer and had a wonderful last meal and took a picture with a sign that said, “we love you Chris,” which he loved! On our way there we stumbled upon some ancient ruins, which is no big deal in Rome, and had to practically run home after dinner because we missed the metro. We crawled into bed only to wake up at 3 am to catch our bus to the airport and wind down to wrap up our time in Spain. All in all, Italy was my favorite country to visit, and during my trip I realized just how amazing the people are you encounter across the world. I could never have written the story of Gustavo the surfer, toker, Costa Rican, Italian chef, or the other hostel guy who almost cried because Kathleen and I didn’t have a room. You learn so much more when traveling than just the history of a city, the culture of a country, or a few phrases in a foreign language. You learn about the diversity and sheer amazing personalities of human beings. My experiences have been priceless, so with that thought in mind, I wrap up my last few days in Granada.