Saturday, October 27, 2007

Europe Part I

Well Jimmy and I can now call ourselves world travelers. In October of last year we finally fulfilled my dream of touring Europe for two weeks. We had an awesome time and cannot wait to go back.









Day 1 - Leaving Tampa
Our flight did not leave Tampa until 5:00 p.m. so we were able to get up and finish packing and make certain that we had all the essentials. It is amazing how many items had to be purchased just to be able to go on the trip (money belts to protect against pick-pockets, travel pillows to sleep on the plane, walking shoes for the miles we would be walking, etc.) We arrived at the airport at 2:30 to leave ourselves plenty of time to check in (which was totally unnecessary). After breezing through security we were sitting at a table in the airport bar ready to catch at least part of the Florida-Alabama game. At the point we had to get on the plane the Gators were not looking great and we were hoping not to start off our trip on a bad note. Thankfully many of you e-mailed us the score on my blackberry so were could rest easy that the Gators had beaten Alabama. We flew in to JFK and had just enough time to again go through security. We then boarded an Air Italia flight for our 8.5 hour flight to Rome. I have to say that it was one of the most painful experiences of my life as the seats were so small that my knees touched the seat in front of me (and Jimmy I thought would die from being so smooshed in). The electronics on the plane were malfunctioning so we could not watch movies and the lights over our head would not turn off so there was no sleeping for us. Needless to say it was a very long night (good thing we were so excited for our trip).





Day 2 - Arrive in Rome
We arrived in Rome at 11:00 a.m. Rome time and met up with our tour group to head to the hotel. While waiting for the shuttle we met another young couple on our tour, Eric and Rosa, from Los Angeles. It was so nice to know right away that we would not be the only young couple on the trip and Eric and Rosa became our fast friends. We got to the hotel with the best of intentions to stay awake but having slept not a wink on the plane Jimmy and I crashed. Two things we learned quickly in Europe is (1) most hotels have twin beds - poor Jimmy yet again) and (2) toilets do not work the same in Europe. We were able to catch a quick nap before meeting up with the rest of our tour group for the Welcome Dinner. On the ride to the restaurant we were able to get a quick glimpse of the city. The restaurant served a four course traditional Italian meal and there were singers to keep us entertained (although not very good ones).





When we arrived back at the hotel from dinner we decided to do a little exploring. We found a great café down the street from our hotel and had our first experience with gelato (YUMMY!!!) - without gelato I would have a hard time given my picky eating habits :) We then walked across the street and entered Vatican City. The first pictures you will see are of St. Peter' s at night. It was so amazing and I am not quite sure how to describe the feeling - goosebumps definitely came out. We spent about an hour or so wandering around and taking pictures and just coming to the realization that we were really in Rome. We then headed back to the room to get some rest before our busy next day in Rome.





Day 3 - Touring Rome
One thing about going on a tour is they sure do make you get up early :) We had to meet downstairs at 7 a.m. in order to begin the day. The Vatican has recently decided to allow groups to enter the city prior to individual tourists so we took our place in the group lines at 7:30 a.m. (even though the doors to the museum did not open until 8:30). It was interesting however to watch the locals heading to work and just going about their daily routine. We began our tour of the Vatican by walking through the museum. There were so many sculptures, tapestries and paintings that it was really hard to take it all in. The details in the ceilings and floors along was absolutely amazing. While we were standing in the most impressive hallway we had a little bit of a scare in that one of the tour guides from another group collapsed on the floor. Luckily one of the people in our group (Laura) was a nurse and she rushed over to help. It was amazing to me how most people did not want to get involved (including our tour guide). The security at the Vatican had no idea what to do and had no supplies. It turns out the woman had had a heart attack and was not breathing and had no pulse. Laura brought the woman back to life twice with no help from the Vatican security. Finally after about 10-15 minutes one of the Vatican doctors rushed to the scene and they wheeled the woman away. We later learned from our tour guide that the woman was in the hospital and was doing fine. Laura was dubbed the angel of our group from that moment on. Her and her husband Dennis were the other young couple on the group and so Jimmy and I, Eric and Rosa and Laura and Dennis spent quite a bit of time together. It truly was fate that Laura was there at that moment and we joked that she will be blessed for life having saved a woman's life in the Vatican :)








After the drama subsided we made our way into the Sistine Chapel and words cannot begin to express how awesome it was to stand there and look up at the ceiling. It is amazing that a man who was told to either paint or spend his life in jail could paint something so breathtaking. I cannot imagine sitting there day after day for 16 years. Only as you stand there in person do you realize what a genius Michelangelo was. The room was oddly silent given that there were hundreds of people standing inside it. I only wish that I could have sat in that room alone for hours taking it all in. Unfortunately like all attractions in Europe being alone and spending a long period of time are luxuries that you do not have.







We then made our way to St. Peters Basilica. Again it was so much to take in and the pictures we have do not even begin to do it justice but we tried. The most amazing thing to Jimmy and I was that all of the paintings are in fact mosaics. Each one was made up of hundreds of thousands of pieces of glass no bigger than about 1/4 of your fingernail. Again that artists dedicated their lives to these masterpieces was just unbelievable. The fact that these buildings were built without modern technology is also something I cannot even fathom. The dedication and the faith those people had to have is inspiring.





Upon leaving Vatican City, we headed to the Coliseum to once again stand in line (seriously I felt like I was at Disney World the entire time). As I stood in the Coliseum I just kept picturing Gladiator. Today we think hockey is a rough sport and yet thousands of people stood in the stands cheering on a person's death. Again pictures and words cannot begin to describe the feelings you have standing there in a piece of history. From the Coliseum we headed to the Forum. I am not certain what I pictured when I thought about the Forum but it is in large part still an archeological dig (it seems that most popes simply covered buildings with dirt and built on top of them rather than expanding outwards).






After the Forum it was time for lunch. Jimmy and I found a local self service bar and grabbed some pizza (I have to say that the pizza in Tampa is much better). After lunch we met up with our guide again for a walking tour through the city. First stop was the Spanish steps. There were again so many people sitting on the steps and standing around that it was hard to get the full picture but it was truly awesome to walk down the steps that I have seen so many times in the movies and on TV. From there we made our way to Trivi Fountain and threw in our 2 Euros and made our wish (of course our coin was quickly taken out of the fountain by a bum with a magnet at the end of a long stick). We sat beside the fountain and simply took time to let it really soak in that we were actually in Rome (something I still have a hard time believing was not just a long dream). From there we made our way to the Pantheon. I think for me this was the most amazing sight that we visited. The fact that this building was 3,000 years old and still standing in almost perfect condition was truly phenomenal. Although the inside was much simpler than St. Peters (in large part due to the fact that it had been stripped of its gold and copper by various popes to build St. Peters), I think that I prefer the simple.







After concluding our sightseeing for the afternoon we headed to dinner at a local place that included a mini opera of sorts. The singers that night were actually impressive and Jimmy was serenaded by one of the ladies which was pretty funny. After all that excitement, we went back to the hotel, got a little more gelato and crashed.

Day 4 - Touring Florence
On Tuesday we got up and had a quick breakfast at a local bar (basically a coffee bar where they have fresh pastries). We got on the bus and began the drive to Florence (Firenze). We stopped at a point where you could look out over the whole city. There was a mass wedding taking place where there were probably fifteen couples getting married.



On the way into the city we drove past the cemetery where Elizabeth Barrett Browning is buried. We grabbed lunch at a self service restaurant (gnocchi and a panini-Yum!) in the Piazza San Marco. After lunch we met our local guide who took us to the Academia where we saw the statute of David (as well as several other sculptures by Michaelangelo). David was so much more impressive in person that I ever imagined. He is huge and the detail is absolutely amazing - you can see the veins in his arms and legs. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures of him.



From the Academia we began a walking tour of the city. We reached the Piazza del Duomo and went inside the Duomo church. This was by far the biggest chuch we visited in Europe. It took 140 years to build. The outside was extremely busy and not as beautiful as the other churches we saw on our tour. From the church we were also able to see Giotto's Tower.






We then walked to the town hall where the statute of David used to stand guarding the entrance. Today a replica of David stands in its place. We ended our walk in Santa Croce Square were we did a little shopping and I bought my italian leather Grace Kelly bag from the Misuri Leather Factory (I LOVE THAT BAG!)



That night we stayed at the Hotel Mediteraneo on the river. Instead of eating with the group we decided to venture out on our own and found a restaurant which our friends Kim and Dylan recommended to us - Trattoria Baldorino. We had an excellent meal of filet and followed it up with homemade chocolate cake for dessert - one of the best meals I have ever had. After leaving the restaurant we walked around the city to take some more in before having to leave the next day.




Day 5 - Touring Venice



On Wednesday we woke up and climbed back on the bus to head to Venice. We drove through the Alpines on our way. When we arrived in Venice we boarded a boat to head out to the historic Venice which we all think of (turns out not all of Venice is built on water). It was so amazing as just that morning the streets of Venice had been under water. We visited St. Marcs Square and had to wait to go inside the church because the workers were literally pushing the water that had risen that morning out with brooms. We took pictures of the Bell Tower but did not want to wait in the long line to climb to the top.





We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the city and visited the Murano glass factory. We then went on a gondola ride through the canals of Venice. It was so amazing to glide by peoples back doors. It was amazing how well those boats made their way past one another in such tight spaces.










That night we broke away from the group again (this time with Eric and Rosa) and we went a restaurant recommended by our tour guide - Da Bepi's. This was by far one of the most memorable moments of the trip. Only one person in the restaurant spoke English and he basically told us what we were going to eat for dinner. He also picked out our wine and desserts. He and the other waiters were quite the jokesters and we spent the entire night laughing. As we were finishing dinner a touring choir from Australia came into the restaurant and broke into various Italian songs - the waiters all joined in. One waiter in particular was in awe of Jimmy and his muscles. It was a blast!




Day 6 - Travel to Switzerland
The next day we woke up for our drive to Switzerland (an eight hour drive - ouch). The eight hours went by quickly however as the scenery was amazing. For lunch we stopped on Lake Lugano. We only had an hour and a half but we spent it walking through a beautiful park and decided that rather than wasting time sitting down to eat we would just grab McDonald's and eat on the bus (the only time we ate at such a place but desperate times called for desperate measures).



The next half of the day was spent going up one side of the Alps and down the other. The roads were twisting and turning and it was somewhat scary to look at the bus window and look straight down the side of a mountain. We stopped near the top at a lookout point to take pictures.


Finally we arrived at our destination, Lucerne. We did a quick walking tour of the city and visited the Lion's Monument. We then walked around the center of the town and did some shopping (had to buy swiss chocolate of course). That night we had dinner with Eric, Rosa, Laura and Dennis at Des Alpes - we had some amazing swiss cheese fondue.