May 29th - June 19th 2011
Day 1:
I started out my day running a little late to the airport. Morgan and I set out for the security with excitement pouring out of us. Morgan made it successfully through the line and machines, but my security experience was a little different. I put my large bag on the roller and in it went, barely. I was standing at the end of the conveyor belt watching the man behind the computer look at my bag with worry. Soon, up to three people were at the computer staring intently at my pack. After about 10 minutes I walked up to them and said "I can open it up!" then one frustrated looking man replied "Oh, we will." so, I backed away. That same man slapped on some plastic gloves and roughly grabbed my bag and placed it on a table. He started to un-do every clasp, zipper and buckle there is on my pack. He rummaged for a bit then found what he was looking for... a bar of soap and my headlamp! They had reason to believe that I was transporting an explosive!
Now are in New York!!! Our plane departs in 20 minutes for VENICE!! We will arrive there at 4:30am Denver time!
Day 2:
We finally made it to the Airport right outside of Venice at 11am. We were exhausted, running on low sleep fuel. We followed the flow of the crowd that led right out to the exit of the airport. My calmness that I had on the plane vanished when I realized that after we exit those doors, we are on our own! Morgan and I both began to flounder with confusion and worried faces. Our next step was to get to the hotel… but the catch with that was, we didn’t know where that was, or its address. We were navigating off of gut feelings, intuition, partial memory and the name of the hotel. We began with the very first thing we needed to do, get into Venice. We asked an information lady if she knew of our hotel (she didn’t) and the easiest way to get into Venice. She guided us to a long line where we were to buy tickets for a bus. The bus ride was about 25 minutes, we simply took the bus to its very last stop. On the bus we met a very nice British family, a son, father and mother.
Morgan had a slight memory of the hotel being in San Marco. So with no other option we decided to head that way. We took a $10 boat/bus thing to San Marco, or so we hoped it was heading that way. We arrived at our first stop and Morgan was getting strong feelings that this was the wrong boat, so she proceeded to exit. And meanwhile I was feeling that it was the right boat, so I went to talk to one of the boat workers and asked if it was heading to our destination. The man replied with broken English that yes indeed it was heading to San Marco. So Morgan hurried back onto the boat!
Once we arrived to San Marco we had to once again think thoroughly, were to go next. We had no idea were our hotel was, or even if it was in San Marco. So the Information Station was our best bet, and finding that in and of itself was a hassle! Once we got there the lady spoke great English, that was reliving! She looked up our hotel and showed us how to get there. But to put it simply, it was not as simple as she said it was to be! We wondered up and down canals and streets going in circles. Until we finally, somehow, stumbled upon our hotel. I would have walked right passed if not for Morgan! Our entire time from exiting the airport and arriving at the hotel must have been almost a 4 hour ordeal, when it should have been about 40 minutes. When we got to the hotel immediate relief surfaced! We flung ourselves on our beds and took a nap!
About an hour later we went out and explored the beautiful, daunting, and magnificent, VENICE! We continued our journey through San Marco square, were the pigeons literally land on people’s heads and when the pigeons fly their wings braze your skin. I feel that before I leave Venice, ill surly get hit by a pigeon!
We wondered through the canals, with nowhere to go, nowhere to be! This feeling in and of itself was soothing. That soothing feeling vanished when a man walked up to us, placed roses in our hands, and said “Beautiful ladies, a rose for you and for you. Now give me coin, any coin, one coin, any coin.” we were baffled. Morgan began to rummage looking for a coin, and mine was really tucked away, so I asked her to give him a coin for me. Morgan handed him one coin that was worth 2 euros which is worth about $3, she figured it would suffice. He thought different, “One more coin, any coin, one coin.” Morgan was fed up, she told him no and gave him back the rose and walked. We felt deceived and conned.
Venice is beautiful, there is absolutely nothing like this in the US, maybe even the WORLD!
Day 2:
We finally made it to the Airport right outside of Venice at 11am. We were exhausted, running on low sleep fuel. We followed the flow of the crowd that led right out to the exit of the airport. My calmness that I had on the plane vanished when I realized that after we exit those doors, we are on our own! Morgan and I both began to flounder with confusion and worried faces. Our next step was to get to the hotel… but the catch with that was, we didn’t know where that was, or its address. We were navigating off of gut feelings, intuition, partial memory and the name of the hotel. We began with the very first thing we needed to do, get into Venice. We asked an information lady if she knew of our hotel (she didn’t) and the easiest way to get into Venice. She guided us to a long line where we were to buy tickets for a bus. The bus ride was about 25 minutes, we simply took the bus to its very last stop. On the bus we met a very nice British family, a son, father and mother.
Morgan had a slight memory of the hotel being in San Marco. So with no other option we decided to head that way. We took a $10 boat/bus thing to San Marco, or so we hoped it was heading that way. We arrived at our first stop and Morgan was getting strong feelings that this was the wrong boat, so she proceeded to exit. And meanwhile I was feeling that it was the right boat, so I went to talk to one of the boat workers and asked if it was heading to our destination. The man replied with broken English that yes indeed it was heading to San Marco. So Morgan hurried back onto the boat!
Once we arrived to San Marco we had to once again think thoroughly, were to go next. We had no idea were our hotel was, or even if it was in San Marco. So the Information Station was our best bet, and finding that in and of itself was a hassle! Once we got there the lady spoke great English, that was reliving! She looked up our hotel and showed us how to get there. But to put it simply, it was not as simple as she said it was to be! We wondered up and down canals and streets going in circles. Until we finally, somehow, stumbled upon our hotel. I would have walked right passed if not for Morgan! Our entire time from exiting the airport and arriving at the hotel must have been almost a 4 hour ordeal, when it should have been about 40 minutes. When we got to the hotel immediate relief surfaced! We flung ourselves on our beds and took a nap!
About an hour later we went out and explored the beautiful, daunting, and magnificent, VENICE! We continued our journey through San Marco square, were the pigeons literally land on people’s heads and when the pigeons fly their wings braze your skin. I feel that before I leave Venice, ill surly get hit by a pigeon!
We wondered through the canals, with nowhere to go, nowhere to be! This feeling in and of itself was soothing. That soothing feeling vanished when a man walked up to us, placed roses in our hands, and said “Beautiful ladies, a rose for you and for you. Now give me coin, any coin, one coin, any coin.” we were baffled. Morgan began to rummage looking for a coin, and mine was really tucked away, so I asked her to give him a coin for me. Morgan handed him one coin that was worth 2 euros which is worth about $3, she figured it would suffice. He thought different, “One more coin, any coin, one coin.” Morgan was fed up, she told him no and gave him back the rose and walked. We felt deceived and conned.
Day 3:
Every little corner is packed with its very own unique beauty! Venice is its own unique place with out a doubt! It has a very distinct smell but the beauty overrides the smell. The tourists completely swarm Venice, and trample its beauty. So, needless to say, the locals are rude to Americans or touristy looking people. This put a bit of a damper on the whole experience of Venice. I’m sure if I knew a bit more of their language I would haves very own unique beauty! Venice is its own unique place with out a doubt! It has a very distinct smell but the beauty overrides the smell. The tourists completely swarm Venice, and trample its beauty. So, needless to say, the locals are rude to Americans or touristy looking people. This put a bit of a damper on the whole experience of Venice. I’m sure if I knew a bit more of their language I would have been respected a bit more. We did meet one very beautiful soul in a very tucked away mask shop. She was a young woman, maybe 25. We walked into the shop just out of luck, because there is a mask shop on every corner, and we decided this one! We walked in and simply browsed. A few minutes later our conversation started with little facts here and there about masks and mask making, but then it soon glided into a full blown friendly conversation. She seemed extremely eager to use and practice her English. We talked about the difference of our countries; a normal home life of an Italian; school, life, religion etc. We were talking of how beautiful Venice is, and how unique it is. One thing that she said really stuck out to me “We have the old and historical, you have the new and hip!” I replied “Its always greener on the other side J)
Later in the day we found a pizzeria on another one of those small streets. We ordered take out, and sat on a bridge over a beautiful canal… once again, tucked away! This moment was one of my fondest of Venice!
At the end of the day when all the shops were closing up, I set out to find the perfect painting. One of the last three painters that were still out had beautiful paintings. I approached him and began to drill him with curious questions about his work. He was eager to answer, and began to take on my excitement about his work and started to pull out all his work and spread them all over his space. I was eager to purchase one of his paintings, but I wanted to scope out the other paintings at the other booths. I soon ran back with the decision to purchase his! As we started to talk price, he soon realized I did not have a large budget. He lowered the price and I soon had a painting of Venice, painted by a vineation, in Venice! We parted our ways with a hug… then a… kiss, well, on the cheeks, but non-the less a kiss form an Italian!
ATTACK OF THE PIGEONS!!!!
Day 4:
My motive for the day “Experience with all senses - smell, touch, observe, and listen.” (I love you Mim!)Today we left Venice and caught an hour and a half train ride to Florence or Firenze as to locals would say! (my first ever European train!) On that train ride a sweet old man sat next to me. He hardly spoke any English, (about as much as I spoke Italian, so, not much.) Though our interactions were minimal, they were nice and sweet. About 20 minutes out of Firenze I looked up in the How to speak Italian book, how to say “It was very nice to meet you.” which was surprisingly difficult. I began repeating it over and over in my head, to say it aloud to the elderly man when we parted. Each time I repeated it in my head I became less and less sure that I wanted to make a fool of myself… so I just handed him the book with a big smile, and pointed to the phrase. He laughed and said something in Italian, which I assume it was something of the same sort as what I said. I stood to depart the train and he stood to say good bye, well, arivaderche! He gave me a big hug, and a kiss. Second Italian kiss!
Language is interesting and daunting. But at least a laugh is universal!
After we made it out of the train station, we headed for the bus stops, which look confusing at first, but are actually very well organized. We had a reservation that we set up yesterday, at a monastery. I was unsure about the idea of staying in a monastery at first, but once we got there I fell in love! (getting there is a long trek of confusion, and feeling lost.) The moment we got there only good feelings surfaced. You have to be buzzed in through the extremely secure, 10 foot barrier. Once we were in, their garden took over all our senses, the smell, the beauty and the sounds of the birds chirping! The nun showed us our room and the feeling I have so rarely felt on this trip surfaced - security.
Later in the day we set out for dinner. We once again got lost, but it turned out to be good because we found this sweet little restaurant back, were only the locals know of it! PERFECTO! On our journey back to the monastery, we found this beautiful spot to watch the sun set! We sat there, absorbing the panoramic beauty of Firenze at sun set! Today was probably our best day so far!
Day 5:
We moved out of the monastery today and found a quaint villa hostel, which happens to be extraordinarily big and beautiful!! This hostel is extremely tucked away, but the perk is wonderful service, beautiful landscape, and great amenities!
Today we simply absorbed Firenze to the fullest. We sat in a court yard and ate gelato, while people watching! We met some nice people from Chicago, and it was nice to speak to people who spoke fluent English!!! We simply roamed he streets and truly had a blast! We noticed Firenze was a bit more busy than the first day. Because apparently today was the Florance Festival! We stumbled into a crowed hovering around the sound of drums! I pushed my way through the crowd to see what all the attraction was, when i realized that it as a Renaissance show, with drums, trumpets, gowns, flags... the whole shibang! I went into photographer mode, and went crazy!!! Its one of those experiences where its hard to explain how amazing and lucky I felt! Another beautiful day in Firenze!
Day 6:
We stated out on the familiar bus 11, heading to San Marco Piazza! From there we walked over to the Duomo where we would actually go inside! But first we would have to wait in the hour and a half line! On the positive side of being in the line, we met a sweet woman named Maria Sol, from Argentina. This adorable kind harted young woman and I launched into conversation! From there and all the way up the 500 hundred stairs we climbed to get to the top of the dome, Maria was with us! Maria Sol is living in Italy to study Chemical Engineering, she heads back to Argentina in 7 months. When we arrived at the top of the dome she became very sincere when she said "I can not believe this... that I am here. That I LIVE here! I can not believe this!" When we left the Duomo, we exchanged contact info and parted ways. After the Duomo we went to the Uffizi Gallery, which was breath taking! EVERY corner of Italy (or at least Florance) is beautiful!!!
Day 7:
Today we traveled ALOT! We first took a train to Siena! Siena was MAGNIFICENT, this place is truly a one of my favorite. Once we arrived we were starving so we found the nearest food source. After that we were both at each others necks, so I suggested we explore Siena on our own. We had a total of two hours to adventure out on our own. I had watched a documentary on Siena before this trip, so I wanted to go to the places i had heard about. I found one of the main plazas named Del Campo. In this square they have these horse races every year, were they lay down sand and dirt for the track, and race! This event is the biggest in Siena. As I was sitting in the middle of this renound place, I became so content, yet very shocked that I was actually here!
After Siena we caught a train from Siena to Chuisu, from Chuisu we would have to switch onto a train to Rome! All was very draining! But on the train we met a sweet German girl named Clara, whom was studying Rome!
Day 8:
We began our day at the Colosseum. We were sitting on the outside of it eating breakfast, when I saw a man dressed like a gladiator walk up, so I was going to talk a picture. Until he came up to me, and said "here, come take picture with me!" So with out thinking, I jumped up and posed for a photo with him. Then he took a few with Morgan. After all of that he asked for a tip, which from what we experienced, that was expected. But we looked through our money pockets, and the smallest bill we had was a 20 euro. He said he had change, so we handed him the 20. Unexpectedly he said thank you and began to turn away... with the 20! I started to freak out, I said "WE NEED OUR CHANGE." then he turned back and said "No, no 10 for you and 10 for you." I said "No, no, no I need at least 15 euro's back." He sighed and said "here, i give you a deal (as he handed me 10 euro) 5 for you and 5 for you." I was still unhappy with this forced arrangement, so I said "No, I need 5 more back." He got very serious, and a little scarey when he said "NO! I say 10, you pay 10!!!" then he turned and walked with our 10 euros in one hand and his fake sward in the other. I was so pissed! By the end of that whole ordeal we had several sets of eyes on us.
Besides that uneasy experience with the gladiator, the Colosseum was phenomenal. Its truly a place I believe everyone should see. We took a guided tour through the Colosseum and the Palatine hills. Being submerged in these anchient places makes it feel as if history to me, is as crucial as food, to be here I must learn history! But I want to learn it. Its different than reading about history, its seeing it, right in front of you! I learned so much today, these two places were incredibly interesting, beautiful and so so OLD! I so badly wanted to capture an amazing photo of them and try to express their beauty through a photo, but with the other tourists it was almost impossible, or it felt that way Later in the evening we went to the Trevi fountain. At the Trevi, we tossed a coin to ensure our return to Rome!!
Day 9:
THE VATICAN! What a wonder. This place almost is up there with the idea of gold streets! I walked through the mobs and mobs of people trying to squeeze my way to the pieces of interest. though all the people almost made it unbearable, the ancient artifacts compensated! I was swept away with the crowd down a small, stale hall for at least 5 minutes. When all of the sudden I was being guided into the Sistine Chapel! This room was by far my favorite part of the day! The ceiling was frescoed by Michealangelo... and one of my favorite paintings ever was in that room! To see that painting right before my eyes - the very painting that was painted in 1511 was amazing!
Day 10:
Today we traveled from Rome to Brindisi on a six hour train ride! On the train I sat next to a quiet man who didn't talk for a while, but near the end of the ride we talked generously. Apparently he is a famous ARTIST! Look up Jack Sal he has a lot going for him! Anyways we talked all about his career, how he started as a photographer, then he just became a full blown artist, traveling everywhere for gallery showings! He said he has 2 houses in Italy and one in New York! So he said I can contact him for a critic of my work photography, he possibly could be a very valuable contact!
We found our hostel in Brindisi, which is very sweet, and the people are genuine! At the hostel we had a home cooked lunch and dinner, where we sat with everyone family style! It was nice to have a meal back in that setting!
Today i have been very home sick, I miss my loved ones very much. The home sickness is very physical, im very weary and I have a tummy ache. But tomorrow should be better, its Morgans 18th birthday!!!
Day 11:
Today was a very special day... Morgans 18th birthday!!!!!!! Morgan had the choice to do absolutely what every she wanted to do! We met some really very nice, genuine people at the hostel Carpe Deim.So with that group we went to the beach of Brindisi for majority of the day! It was beautiful, relaxing and a very sweet social scene. We went swimming far out in the sea, and two of the girls became very scared that something was swimming underneath them, so we headed back. The sun was extremely hot today, and silly me, I didn't put on sunscreen... so I became as red as a tomato!
Later in the evening with that same group we went out to dinner for one of the girls departure and for Morgans 18th! It was an absolute blast! I ordered Italian noodles with wild boar meat... yum! For a gift to Morgan the group ordered a cake. Yet the restaurant did not have cakes, so... the manager ran out to the nearest bakery to get a cake! It was extremely special! The whole night was just a phenomenal experience.
Day 12:
We have had a very nice and relaxing day today, lounging by the hostels pool and eating ice cream! Earlier today we went into town with Roberto from Mexico and purchased our ferry tickets, which was a hassle but with much effort we were able to get them. On the positive side of all the hassle we met a lady who knows Paxi (the island we are going to) very very well, and she owns an extension of her ferry business in Paxi. She gave us a card and said to give it to them and they would treat us wonderfully!
Day 13:
Got up early, said our goodbyes to our new friends from Brindisi Italy, then headed to the Dock to get on our Ferry. Morgan, Roberto and I set out doing a few errands first then got on the boat! It was an extremely long boat ride, we made it into Igoumenitsa Greece at around mid night, with no place to lay our weary heads. So we roamed these forign streets of this new country (terrified). We finally found a hotel after stoping by 3 others. We got a room for all of us then crashed.
Day 14:
We took another ferry to the tiny little island named Paxi. We got there and were amazed by the astounding blue water, even clearer than when I went to Belize! We arrived at our sweet little apartment that had a bed, bath and small kitchen.... over looking the ocean!!!
Day 15:
Today we decided to be separate and explore Paxi on our own. So I set out to rent a scooter, so i could go all over the Island! I soon found out that you have to have a scooter license, so that idea went out the window. I then started to move towards a beach. While I was walking I heard my name being called, i looked around and saw no one. Morgan was calling me from bellow on a cliff! She was sitting there reading, and i then joined her, and we stayed together the rest of the day! I got snorkeling gear, and hopped into the warm, blue, clear water!!! All the fish are amazing, just floating in the sea is phenomenal!
Day 16:
Morgan and I both woke up just in horrible moods, and angry at each other. We blew up, over the smallest thing and I left. I stomped down to the town, not really sure what I was going to do. The first store I walked into was a car rental place. I dindt think, i just did. I RENTED A CAR!!! As I was filling out the Paper work i began to think more about how I didnt know how to drive here, or what the rules are, and they all drive CRAZY! But, i just got in and sped away! I was so thankful I knew how to drive stick shift! I drove, drove and drove. I had no idea where I was going but I kept going ( I mean im on an island, I cant go to far) I arrived to one of the three towns on Paxi, Lekka. I parked and walked through the town and to the beach! I loved it! Then I went back and picked up Morgan. We had a looong talk, that was awkward, painful and weird, but it helped. We continued the rest of the day together driving around, then we found this little restaurant over looking cliffs the ocean and the sunset (it was the only place where we could go on the island that offered the sunset)!!
Day 17:
We were trying to purchase our ferry tickets to head to Athens, when we found out that ALL OF GREECE is on STRIKE!!! NO ferry's, no buses, nothing! So... we are stuck, but what a wonderful place to be stuck!
My homesickness is growing rapidly. I began to think, and i realized that in the future we may not all be together like we are now. The thought of someone moving away tares my heart into pieces, but i know it could possibly happen. Because of this possibility, I have decided to cease the day and fully be present with every moment that I have with them!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS, and miss you!
