Solo Living, Travel, Mom Blogs!

Written by: Katie Berger 3/23/2006 9:13:49 AM
Wow Italy was amazing! I spent 6 days traveling for 23.5 hours on trains, 4 hours on planes, 1.5 hours on buses and 1 hour on boats and it was nonstop excitement all along the way...

My trip began with an early a.m. departure and a long day of traveling to get to Brussels, to Pisa, and finally to Florence. I found Alexandra, looking very Italian-chic, waiting for me at the Duomo and we walked to Ashli’s apartment. We arrived to a room full of Ashli’s friends including her 3 other roommates (who will be mentioned later), Ali Landorf (who’s also studying in Florence) and Catrina who, like me, was making a cameo appearance in Florence (for her spring break). We all went out to dinner to their local favorite restaurant, then after to some trendy European disco, “Universale” (said in an Italian accent- accent on the é), with expensive drinks (that we got for free of course) and men in tight pants and big sweaters (don’t they get hot?). We got home in time for me to catch a few hours of sleep before waking up the next morning to head to Roma!

I had made some tentative plans to meet Amy and Andrew Cirocco in Rome because they were going to be there with a school trip and had a free afternoon...I figured that a train ride to Rome from Florence would be like going from NY to Connecticut for the day, right? Unfortunately, there was some mis-communication and long story short, after waiting for an hour at the station in Rome (which is about the size of MSG), I called Mom to try to call Susan (in Kansas) to see if we could track down A&A. It didn’t work out... and I’m sorry to Mom (and probably Susan) for the gray hairs I caused on that one!

Being that I was in ROME (!!!), I had to explore for a few hours before going back to Florence. I decided that Rome would be my solo-city since two years ago I’d been there alone and had had a blast! It was great because I’d already seen the touristy sights, so this time could just wander around in the perfect weather. The city has an incredible vibe to it that can’t be explained. Literally, just about every corner I turned uncovered something was extraordinary. I made sure to get some gelato, and my last stop before getting back on the train was the Trevi Fountain where I made a wish for Dad (as per his request) and one for me so as to secure my fate of returning to this amazing city.

On my ride back to Florence I mistakenly hopped on the “local” train (which was 4 hours instead of 1.5) but sat next to an amazing little old Italian woman who entertained me the entire ride– she spoke no English, but we were able to communicate because she spoke Italian and I replied in Spanish (they are really similar). We had an intense conversation about how she believed we’d lived together in our past lives in Australia and I explained to her that in my past life, I believe, I was a fish so it’s entirely possible about Australia because duh– the Great Barrier Reef! From them on she referred to me as “mi amore.”

When I finally got back to Ashli’s apartment there was chaos– since it was St. Patty’s day, Ashli and her roommates had gone out for a few celebratory drinks while waiting for me to get back for dinner. Well, since I took much longer than expected (because of the stupid local train) they drank way more than planned and when I walked in her two guy roommates were being sick all over the living room. Ashli, Audrey (her other, more sober, roommate) and I decided to leave the boys to take care of themselves and went out for dinner without them (I should mention that we had a free dinner thanks to some wonderful Italian police/military men named Lorenzo, Vincenzo or something...). Ashli and I called it an early night, but were awakened around 5am when Audrey and her Italian quasi-boyfriend, Stephano, were having a major screaming fight in the hallway/street. It was actually quite amusing...

The next morning I got up to get on yet another train, and this time was headed for Venice! I have dreamt about going to Venice since my 3rd grade teacher showed us pictures– so I was thrilled to actually be going. I was going to meet (and stay with) Josh (my friend from Amsterdam) and some of his friends who were also there but unfortunately, there was something seriously wrong with trying to get ahold of him. When I arrived at the Venice train station and still hadn’t been able to reach him, I panicked and in a lack of judgement, called Mom (I have since learned it’s not the best idea to call a parent when you’re alone, slightly lost, and hysterical, in a foreign country). Dad took over the job of trying to reach Josh, which included calling an International Operator to figure it out (sorry for the gray hairs on that one too!). No luck. I decided (with some grand parental guidance) to just check my bag at the train station for the time being and enjoy the day in Venice. I would find Josh’s hotel, and inevitably him, later.

So that’s what I did. I walked all around, got completely lost, saw San Marco square, a gazillion carneval masks, breathtaking Venetian canals, a man playing guitar who stood out for some reason (so I sat and enjoyed a few songs and gave him a euro), etc. When I was sufficiently relaxed and overwhelmed at the same time, I decided to find my friends...

I discovered that Josh’s hotel was in Mestre, a city outside of Venice and figured how to take a bus there. I found the hotel, but Josh wasn’t there so I left him a note to call me ASAP and decided to go explore Mestre for a bit (instead of just sitting around wasting time). What an amazing little place– there was this huge piazza in the middle of the town with shops, restaurants, artists displaying their works, and tons of people doing you-know-what (strolling...it’s my least favorite word on this earth). And guess what...? I ran into my friend, the guitar player (from earlier), who’d relocated to Mestre for the end of his “work” day. I still hadn’t heard from Josh by 8pm so went to see a movie to kill some time– “The Producers” in Italian! Afterwards I was exhausted from the dramatic day so just decided to go to the hotel and shower and wait for them...and of course just as I was getting out of the shower they walked in and were completely startled to see an unexpected person standing there in a towel! Haha, it all worked out though (but I did have to sleep on the floor).

The next morning Josh and his friends were leaving Venice early (for Florence), but I decided to stay and spend some more time exploring– I wanted to see Murano, the glass-blowing island that’s a half hour boat ride from central Venice (population 4,000). It was amazing– there were demonstrations and explanations about the different techniques, colors, and history of how the entire island is supported by the artesian industry. The weather was once again perfect and I wandered the tiny streets for a bit, bought a tiny glass frog family, and then got back on the boat to head back into the city. Maybe it was all the romantic Italian air catching up to me, but during the ride I had one of those moments where you realize how lucky you are. Under the sunshine, looking at Venice, surrounded by the bright blue water I suddenly felt happy and secure beyond words. It made sense that I took this adventure on my own because I was able to tap into something that will be sacred to only me. I was reminded of Lucia, from my favorite movie, where she decides, “Voy a vivir sola; sola con el sol.” Later I headed back to Florence once again...

Alexandra met me at the train station and proceeded to give me her stylized version of an art-history tour of Florence which included an amazing explanation of the Duomo and Basilic that I’ll never forget. We walked across the Ponte Vecchio, got cappuccinos and some amazing berry torte, and climbed up to the Piazzale de Michelangelo, which is apparently the most romantic place in the world (and who better to be there with!?! haha). We stopped by Alexandra’s place so that I could meet her host-parents who were absolutely amazing. Vada and Manilo greeted me with open arms, champagne and cookies! Alexandra’s room is straight out of an Italian interior decorator’s book– warm red walls, big art posters hung up, a paper lantern, and fabulous antiques (Manilo is an antique dealer). It would be hard to feel anything other than extraordinary living there. We chatted for a bit, then left to meet up with Ashli & co. and went to dinner which lasted until almost 1am!

I had my last whole day to explore Florence– I went to the San Lorenzo market, inside some churches, to an adorable antique market, saw some classic Florentinian paperies, and just wandered the streets trying to get a feel for the city. It’s a beautiful city with the most amazing style and fashion and lots and lots of things to do at all time– one minute you can be in a huge tourist spot, but then turn a corner and suddenly you’re walking down some narrow cobble-stoned street with flower boxes and “Pace” flags hung in every window.

For my last night, Alexandra, Ali and Josh & co (who’d been in Florence since Venice) went out for dinner (Ashli had class till 9pm so wasn’t going to make it). We had a great time, and afterwards Alexandra, Ali and I decided the only way to top off my amazing Italian vacation was to get some (more) gelato...so we did.

All in all, it was such an amazing trip, thanks to some great friends who never cease to inspire me, and some parents who can at least pretend to be calm when I’m flipping out half-way across the globe! Again sorry for the gray hairs. Thanks!

I’m now back in Amsterdam, my love, where the air is beginning to smell like spring...!

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a romantic trip to Italy, solo of course!

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