Buongiorno Roma!

6/20/2012

The most satisfying thing after taking two flights with extremely long layovers is arriving to your final destination and finding that all of your suitcases have made it there with you. Remember I told you (briefly) about the flight where I threw up on myself? Yeah, my bag didn't make it with me that time. But again, we're not talking about that trip. 


Rome was hot and sunny and so hot. We arrived in the afternoon. Too late for lunch, too early for dinner. So instead we all took naps and showers and eventually it was time to go to dinner. Because my mother and I were just in Rome last year it was our job to select all of the restaurants for dinners in Rome. Our first choice was L'Archetto. I believe I wrote about it last year. They have over 100 types of spaghetti sauces, and it's really quite delicious. I'm sure it's not the most authentic thing you can eat in Rome, but the food is great and who doesn't want a plate of spaghetti with any imaginable sauce ever. Last year I had basic bolognese, but this year I had cacio e pepe (a new favorite in my pasta spectrum).

Everyone seemed to like it there, but of course we were all exhausted and sweaty so it was hard to be completely pleased. L'Archetto is extremely close to the Trevi Fountain where I was so happy to meet my roommate Dana, who had already been traveling through Europe with some of her friends and happened to be in Rome at the same time as I was. We were very excited to see one another as it had been well over a month (she left graduation day, 5/12). We threw in our coins with the hopes of returning back to Rome (and I wished for something else, but you know, I'll never tell).

We had gelato all together at San Crispino which is by far the most interesting and delicious gelato I've had in Rome so I recommend it (it's even marked on my map, officially).

It's always nice to walk around a strange city at night, but surprisingly even after a whole year, Rome didn't seem that strange to me. Not that I've explored much beyond Via del Corso and the Spanish Steps after dark, but it was nice to not feel completely lost (well, most of the time).

Return to Europe

6/18/12 - 6/19/12 

Today we began our journey.

For me this was a different kind of journey. Although we were going to many places where we would have cultural experiences and meet new people and learn new things, I had something else in mind for myself. Well, a few of things.

1. To learn how to be independent in my heart.
2. To find out if my relationship with my sibling has failed or triumphed.
3. To learn to live without the internet, the cellphone and my connection to the rest of the media-world for two weeks.

As I am writing this now at the conclusion of my trip, I have figured out many aspects of these things and I can say that I enjoyed my journey fully. I just figured I would forewarn you before I go on writing, so that you'll understand why I may say the things I say in the future.

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Every time I get on an airplane, I tell myself that everything is going to be alright. I've been on many many flights in my life, and nothing horrifying has ever happened to me (except for the time I threw up on myself, but there's no vomit in this story). Yet once I sit in my seat, get my stuff together and buckle that seatbelt, I instantly have butterflies. Out of the five flights on this trip, I sat on four of them without someone that I know, and subsequently with four very different male passengers. I think there's something to be said for flying with people you know, yet not being able to sit with them. I usually like to hold the hand of someone else for takeoff and landing, but I was unable to do that on this first flight, and three of the other four. You get the picture.

Unfortunately, the butterflies I had on this first flight lasted for almost two days. After flying alone last year when I went to Europe (and then I had no one else on the flights that I knew of) I knew I could handle the take-off and landing alone, but when there is any sudden quick dropping or even occasionally ascending I get sick to my stomach. Thankfully, no vomit, just hours upon hours of appetite-less pain.

Our first stop was in New York where we had somewhere between 8 and 10 hours. We went into the city to meet with one of my mother's oldest friends and we had breakfast together. I couldn't eat the most basic thing (scrambled eggs and white toast). This made me miserable, not because I knew I was really hungry and should eat, but because my plan for this trip was to eat everything, and many new things to expand my palate, and I wasn't getting off to the best start. It was really nice to see Lynne (my mother's friend), she has one of the most beautiful spirits of anyone I have met.

We took a stroll through south Central Park which was really nice, but I was still feeling pretty horrible. Soon we returned to the airport and spent a few hours there. Lucky for me, my parents were flying business class and had access to the "Admiral's Club." Did you know they have showers there? I took a shower in an airport (new experience #1). Our next stop was Zurich, Switzerland.

Not including eastern cities in Italy, Estonia, Finland or Russia, Zurich is the most Eastern European city I had ever been to (of course after this trip that has changed). We were there for several hours, but not enough time to actually leave the airport and explore the city. The airport itself was actually quite interesting. I took this picture of the tram we rode on, the car behind us was empty...

Even though I still felt quite ill on this flight as well, I slept through most of it so by the time we arrived in Rome I began to feel normal.