Le vacanze di Pasqua: Roma, Parigi, e Vicenza

Phew. My body is unhappy with me. Unhappy might be the wrong word. My body feels vindictive, and I have been sick for the better part of a week. I blame my break entirely and traveling, but it was so worth it. My break was amazing! I went to Rome, Paris, and then back to Vicenza! The weeks in-between were busy with midsems and art trips within Parma. The break was extremely welcome.

Though my Easter Break started on Wednesday 27/3,  I think I need to mention the previous Saturday.

I SAW ONE OF MY FAVORITE GRINNELLIANS EVER IN MILAN. My friend and her mom were spending two weeks in Italy, and I saw them again in Rome! Seeing them was so nice, and I’m beginning to realize I am feeling some homesickness, though I don’t want to admit it. We did some shopping (in a fashion capital of the world, nbd), had some lunch, and got gelato, obviously. We made plans to meet up in Rome and see the Vatican together. I got back to Parma later that evening and got to spend some quality time with my host brother.

<3

Officially, my break started on the 27 when I took my first InterCity train from Parma to Rome. I was in a carriage with 5 other people, and I’m positive the two girls across from me were from Naples ­– I eavesdropped the entire way down (save your judgment) and could not understand one word because of their southern accents. Sheesh. Roma Termini was MASSIVE, and Rome was WARM. Parma’s puny six-platform station couldn’t even begin to compare. I was so happy to feel the sun and warmth on my skin. It feels like Parma is never going to get spring weather.

My friend Marian (from Maryland!) gave me directions to meet her by a specific platform, and I managed to go in the exact opposite direction. Remember, I have a great internal map. Last time I’d seen her was in January…at her going away party. We caught a bus to Trastevere, a youthful area of Rome near the Vatican, and I settled into her loft before heading out on an impromptu tour of Rome. I was surprised to find the bus trip hadn’t completely worn me out, and I got see the American University of Rome’s campus, which is much different than Pitzer’s.  Marian had to go around Rome and take pictures for her photography class, and being the fantastic art history major that she is, gave me an oral history of Rome as we walked around. Our evening was relatively quiet started out in Trastevere and ended near Piazza Navona.

 

MUMMY

  Day two of Rome started out at the Vatican! Sadly, it was rainy. Marian dropped me off at the Vatican a little while before my scheduled appointment (Note: IF YOU ARE EVER GOING TO THE VATICAN BOOK AN APPOINTMENT ONLINE OR SUFFER IN THE ENDLESS LINE). Once we arrived, I realized Lizzy and I had severely underestimated the so-called entrance, and I couldn’t find her anywhere. I began to accept the fact that I would have to walk through the entire Vatican on my own.

I spent so much time looking for Lizzy that I was actually late for my scheduled appointment. Marian gave me directions on how to meet with her and her friends later. Thankfully, the guard didn’t hold it against me, and I went inside to get my ticket. And guess who I saw? Haaaa. Oh, Lizzy and I have the best luck in the world. Lizzy and her mom were right by the biglitteria, waiting to see if they could find me. Long story short, the Vatican Museum was amazing, and the Sistine Chapel was ridiculous. Once again, no pictures allowed, but with the sheer number of tourists inside, it would have been next to impossible to take a photo without elbowing someone in the face.

We left and found a huge crowd on one side of Vatican City’s walls. We hung around a while and hoped to catch the Pope, but he's not around, apparently. We headed to one of the many tourist information offices and purchased a Roma Pass, which gave us free access to two attractions on their list and unlimited public transportation for two days! Great decision. Our first free entry was at Castel Sant’Angelo. We could see so much of the city from up there, but boy oh boy my feet were unhappy. We relaxed for a bit before separating for the night. I got to take an evening stroll from Sant’Angelo back to Trastevere, and it was nice. Justin Timberlake’s 20/20 album was my soundtrack for the walk, and I made the correct decision.

Inside a castle with San Pietro behind me!

How gorgeous is this?

Finally, I got to see Marian after the long, long Friday! We got some dinner at a great pizzeria in Trastevere and spent the rest of the evening at Marian’s favorite places in Trastevere and ended the night in Campo de’ Fiori – so many Americans! The weirdest thing about Rome was the amount of English I heard EVERYWHERE. I got to practice some Italian (mostly with Marian lolz), but I probably could’ve gotten away with never speaking a syllable.

I spent most of Saturday with Lizzy and her mom at the Roman ruins in the south part of Rome. Our first stop that morning was the Colosseum, which was free thanks to the Roma Pass! I knew it was big, but I definitely underestimated the size. Afterwards, we walked around the other ruins for free, too. Everything was so large and old and overwhelming, and we were exhausted by the time lunch rolled around. We found a cute little restaurant and sat down for a long time. Our last stop for the day was at the Mouth of Truth, as we were on a Roman holiday, and it was appropriate. We went our separate ways after that, but I made plans to see Lizzy that evening. Lizzy and I had dinner with Marian and her visiting family! Lizzy, Marian, and I spent the rest of the evening together with some of Marian’s program friends and had a great time at Campo with a quick stop at the Trevi Fountain!

Channeling Audrey

Makin' a wish!

Colosseo con Steubs!

Sunday morning was Easter, so Marian and her family went to mass at St. Peter’s while I spent the morning packing to leave for Paris. After they got back, I completed my sightseeing of Rome. First, we had some breakfast (cappucini e brioche) near the Pantheon, then Piazza Navona, and some souvenir shopping. We ran back to Marian’s loft for a little while before grabbing a cab and dropping me off at Termini to catch my train to the airport. The airport was almost entirely empty thanks to the holiday. I lingered in the waiting area for at least an hour before boarding my flight to Paris.

It was ridiculous that it takes the same amount of time to fly from Rome to Paris as it does from D.C. to Chicago. My flight was fancy, and relatively easy. I had some issues with my ears on the flight, and my hearing wasn’t great upon landing. Thankfully, I was able to find my family very easily – once again, I was recognized because I happen to resemble my dad so greatly. It was the first time I met my uncle, aunt, and cousin face-to-face, and it was so strange to be speaking so much English after months of so much Italian. We drove by the Eiffel Tower to see the lights before heading back to their flat for some dinner. I went to bed immediately after.

Bastille

Place de la Concorde

Day one of Paris was COLD! I did not bring the proper clothes and spent a good part of the day shivering. My uncle drove me and my aunt to Place de la Concorde, where Marie Antoinette was killed, before dropping us at the Louvre. Unfortunately, the line was insane thanks to the holiday weekend, and he picked us up again and left us near Notre Dame. The Gothic church was beautiful, but I was waiting to see another church that Marian recommended before placing my final judgments on Notre Dame. Next up was the , not to be confused with the one in Rome. This one contained a number of tombs for some significant French figures such as Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Alexander Dumas, Louis Braille, and Marie Curie. My uncle came to get us again and we drove by the Bastille, which was infamous for being sacked during the French Revolution (Thank you IB Euro!).

Inside the Panetheon

Notre Dame!

Costumes!

Gorgeous lights

Next up was Palais Garnier, the famous opera house of Paris! It was massive and reminded me of Parma’s! We walked around downtown Paris for some time too, and I got to witness the insanity that is Paris fashion and shopping. Our last big stop for the day was Montmartre, a hill in the north of Paris where the Sacré-Cœur Basilica (also colloquially referred to as ‘the White Church’) stood. The evening was quiet, but I got to see one of my most awaited sights: the Moulin Rouge! It’s no secret that I adore the movie (please judge me, I don’t even care), and I got to spend the night having dinner with my cousin and getting to know him better. Sadly, I couldn’t do much sightseeing with him, as he had some monstrous exams coming up in June and July and spent the majority of my visit in the library.

Unfortunately, Paris became a little less fun after day one as I woke up with a massive ear ache the next day. After getting some meds from my aunt, I fell asleep again, but I realized something had happened to my ear when I’d flown from Rome. We made plans to see a doctor before I got on my plane back to Italy, but the sightseeing continued! The morning started off with my trip all the way up the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing to see the entire city from the top, but COLD. I met a really nice American family from Washington, and they were nice enough to take my picture at the top! I gave my uncle a call after I got down, but since I had some time to kill, I grabbed a crepe and the worst cappuccino of my life and sat in a park by the Tower. Not a bad way to start the day, despite my failing immune system. Our second  and last big stop for the day: VERSAILLES. I can’t even blame the Revolutionaries after seeing that place. My favorite was the Hall of Mirrors, obviously. I also bought a gorgeous Parisian coat to keep me warm for the duration of my trip.

Montmartre! aka the White Church

Hall of Mirrors!

Golden entrance

Started from the bottom

Now we on top

My health wasn’t at its peak on day three either, but that didn’t stop us! Maison de Victor Hugo, Shakespeare and Company (swoon), and the Louvre finished my day. I took an insane amount of pictures, but only posted half of them online. It was such a joy to see the Mona Lisa and many other Italian artists! My aunt and I also walked over to the Lover’s Bridge, and despite being a local, she didn’t know much about it, which didn’t surprise me since it’s a big tourist stopping point. We swung by Sainte Chappelle, two minutes after it closed! Gah, that was dumb. We returned to the house for a little while before my cousin and I went out for dinner at his favorite place together.

Where Victor Hugo was miserable 

Inside the Louvre!

Dieeeeeed

Lover's Bridge

My last day in Paris was a busy one, too. First, I finally went to the doctor, who gave me some medication for my ear and suggested that I not go on a flight for a while. Well…that was not going to happen, but we thanked him for his time and picked up my medicine before stopping by the Arc de triomphe (it's insane that people just drive by this CONSTANTLY) and Sainte Chappelle, which had much better stained glass than Notre Dame.

Sainte Chappelle!

Arc de Triomphe

Once I landed in Vicenza I spent the weekend bumming around with everyone. I got to do some shopping, eat incredibly well (Italian and Sri Lankan food alike!), and I was thoroughly prepared to go back to Parma at the end of the weekend.

With everyone!

I only have a little over a month left in Italy, and I’m planning to spend a lot of my time in Parma…with weekend trips with some Grinnellians and other friends, of course.

Il tutto di Veneto

This weekend we traveled to Venice for an art history trip with the program.  Unfortunately, it was extremely wet all weekend, but that seems to be the consistent weather report for Venice: damp. The first day was filled with many activities. I feel like every corner we turned we encountered yet another stand for tourists. I was also constantly freaking out over the canals. After we arrived we went to our hotel that was extremely close to Santa Maria Novella. I was furious to find that my beautiful camera decided to stop working (it could turn on/off and take video but would not take a picture – I was convinced the lens was cracked or something) and had to settle on using my iPhone to document the entire weekend, but more on that later. We had some lunch, and then headed to the Chiesa dei Santa Maria dei Frari. The church holds Tiziano’s Assuzione della Vergine and Pesaro Madonna, many tombs, and a sacristy.

Chiesa di S. Maria

Assuzione delle vergine

Next was the big stop: the famous Piazza di San Marco! It war ridiculously crowded, and it wasn’t any better inside the Basilica. I couldn’t get a great picture inside, but the mosaic title EVERYWHERE was magnificent and so unique to the rest of the churches I’ve seen in Italy so far. We were also wondering if we could go up the Campanile di San Marco, the bell tower, but figured it was probably impossible. After Bologna, I’m going to avoid towers for a long, long time. Our teacher told us that foreigners were never actually allowed up the tower in the past because Venice’s main advantage (pre-Napoleon, anyway) was how difficult the city was to navigate. If a foreign trader, for example, was able to get up the tower, they could have drawn a map and Venice would have lost its main military advantage.

Ponte di Rialto!

The Tower (aka massive library inside)

Zodiac clock in Piazza S. Marco

TILES INSIDE

From the second floor of the Basilica :)

Ahhhh gondolas but at 30 euro way too much ahah

We were all surprised to learn that these two stops were the only two we had to make for our class trip! From here on, we had a day and half to do whatever we liked in Venice. Additionally, we had Monday off from our classes, so I made travel plans with a friend to hit up as much of Veneto as we physically could.

Just about died (via Instagram) 

A while before dinner I decided to get something to eat because I was staring, and I found an amazing calzone somewhere in the heart of Venice. We dined at a restaurant near our hotel, and afterwards, gelato, of course! Peach and mango, to be specific. AMAZING. For day 2 of Venice, most of us decided that Palazzo Ducale had to be our main destination. It had dungeons that did not disappoint. Neither did the museum! So many weapons and a few other interesting things…ie. A medieval chastity belt. Ouch.

A scarier version from Men in Tights

dundundundundundungeons

Palazzo Ducale took up most of the day, but after that we all parted ways, and the real adventure began. Rach and I went to San Marco and purchased 24-hour tickets to use the water taxi in and around Venice. Our first stop: Murano, an island which is famous for its hand-crafted colored glass. We ended up splitting a miniscule lunch at a small restaurant here, much to the chagrin of the owner. #sorrynotsorry

Insane glass!

Murano was tiny, and unlike Venice, virtually empty of tourists. It still had the feel of Venice, but the lack of crowds was fantastic. We walked around the island for a while, and I got some great souvenirs for my friends in the form of small, glass animals. There were many large glass sculptures around the island too!

It didn’t take long for us to great through Murano before hopping on a water taxi and headed to the night’s destination: Lido di Veneto, a larger island on the south side of Venice. The taxi seemed to take FOREVER, and we had to change at Piazza San Marco. While this was a great, wholly unique experiences, I do not wish to repeat it. Tooooo breezy. We had some trouble finding our hotel when arriving in Lido, but after some bad directions on my part (I blame Google Maps and my inherent lack of direction) we arrived! We were shocked to find how nice our hotel was for how little we paid for the night. The receptionist was also lovely, and she spoke 3 languages! She told us that practicing with clients help, and I can completely understand her decision to immerse herself - the same method is helping my Italian! I can call the ProntoBus pretty well now, but I’m a bit upset that I only have my literature class at the University to look forward too. I loved my grammar classes with Francesca and definitely want to continue studying Italian grammar on my own when I get back to the States.

Once we settled into the hotel we checked in with our families with our limited internet access. Rach and I basically sat in silence for our few precious minutes of paid internet, haha. My parents also recently got iPhones, and oh man. I feel bad for not being at tome right now to help them with the transition. Soon enough our internet ran out, and the receptionist gave us a recommendation for a restaurant. Lido, like Venice, was wet, but like Murano, virtually unpopulated with tourists. We couldn’t find the recommended restaurant but found somewhere else. This restaurant was super crowded, but the food was fantastic, and the service was awful, so there was a strange balance. We walked around Murano for a little bit before heading back to our hotel, taking showers, and watching Honey Boo Boo in Italian before falling asleep.

In the mornin'

:)

 Our water taxi and train the next morning were fairly early, so we got up, had the BEST free breakfast ever before heading out to the coast of Lido and experiencing the Mediterranean. I don’t even go to the beach very often when I’m home, and yet, I’ve missed it since seeing it in Viareggio. Lido seems like it would be a beautiful place to spend a summer vacation, and I’m definitely making a mental note of this for the future. Thankfully, our water taxi took us all the way back to Santa Maria Novella, and we got some great canal shots of the inside of Venice!

Our train was relatively on time, and after 20 years I was back in the place where I was born: Padova :)

Again, it took us some time to find our hotel, and when we passed a pretty church we saw a man with a broken nose inside and proceeded to walk away very quickly. We also saw a homeless man that was on our train and were marginally concerned. We stayed at the Best Western Birri Hotel, where my dad worked when I was a baby. I met some of his old friends, who were all surprised to see me, haha.  Two of my dad’s other old friends also agreed to show us around Padova, which was extremely handy because after two full days of walking we were exhausted.

Downtown Padova was precious, and had few cars! We saw the Piazza dei Signori, Palazzo della Ragione, Prato della Valle, and the Basilicia di Sant’Antonio, which was my favorite. Like most (if not all) churches in Italy, it was beautiful. It’s also one of the most popular places for pilgrimage by devout Catholics. Sant’Antonio (or Saint Anthony) was well-known for his powers of healing. His tomb still erests inside the Basilica, and it’s said if you touch the tomb and are ill, you will be healed. Obviously, no photos were allowed inside, but we got to touch the tomb! We also saw a short film about the Basilica in a different part of the Church, and after seeing the gift shop I remembered how so many churches were also great businesses. By the end of the day, we were even more exhausted, and my dad’s friend was kind enough to get us dinner, and we ate in the hotel bar before turning in early. (For some reason I never uploaded my Padova pictures....but w/e this is the best one anyway!)

Basilica di Sant'Antonio! via my Instagram

The next morning, more of my dad’s friends came to see us, or rather my dad’s friend’s sons, Niccolo and Mattia. They visited us in Maryland back in 2007, and I almost didn’t recognize them when they came to pick us up. I was super nervous about having to use my Italian around them, despite my many improvements. The drive from Padova to Vicenza didn’t take very long, mostly because the boys were speeding, but shh. It was strange to be reintroduced to their mom and aunt, whom I met before, but it was great to see everyone again. Unfortunately, my dad’s friend was out of the country at the moment, so I made (unspecified) plans to return and visit them before the end of my semester.

Remember my broken camera? Yeah. Not so much broken as filled with cheap batteries. I’m a genius, clearly.

We had a delicious home-cooked meal before exploring the town of Vicenza. The family gave us a book of Vicenza (in English!) to decide what things to go see. The boys and some of their friends showed us around Vicenza, but of course it was Monday, which is the equivalent of a Sunday in the States, therefore many places were closed for the day. Even so, it was still beautiful! We went to a beautiful church first, and I definitely felt like we were getting many stares for being some of the only tourists around.

All of Vicenza!

The villa that was closed :(

 After we got a nice tour of Vicenza, we went to Verona for the last leg of our 4-day weekend. Verona was really cute. We saw the Colesso, the third oldest colosseum in the world, and met some Romans, La Casa di Giulietta (take a guess), and explored the nearby Piazzas. Our hosts were nice enough to put us a Freccia back to Parma, so we could make it back in time for our classes. I felt bad that we had to cut the weekend so short, and I couldn’t say goodbye to everyone, but I’m sure I’ll see them again.

Guess whoooo?

Romeo's POV, probs

Arena di Verona!

Inside the Arena!

Chillin' with some Romans

To come: EASTER BREAK!

Mantoooooova

EVERYONE GO TO MANTOVA.

This little town in Lombardia is beautiful, small, and absolutely perfect for a day trip!

My journey was a little more personal as I was planning to two with two family friends who hadn’t seen me since the age of 5. My ‘aunt’ recognized me more or less as soon as she saw mw on the platform of the train station in Mantova and took me to her house, which was a grand total of 2 minutes away. After getting acquainted with my other aunt, we sat down for dinner. They weren’t sure what I ate, so they more or less prepared everything available. I was super tired and had a quick shower before sleeping in the comfiest bed ever for 8 straight hours.

I got up the next morning and went to the train station to pick up my friend, who was coming to stay with us. We went back to the apartment and warmed up a bit before heading out to go around Mantova. We saw the Basilica di Sant’Andrea (which was still going through massive renovations because of last year’s terrible earthquake), La  Rotunda di San Lorenzo and Torre Fancelliana, Il Duomo (just the outside), Palazzo Ducale (THE MOAT WAS INSANE), and a lake (whose name escapes me atm) before lunch.

Basilica di Sant'Andrea

La Rotunda - an extremely appropriate name

Inside the Rotunda

The Tower

I WANT A MOAT

Il Duomo

Inside the Duomo

We had the best pasta con panna for lunch before heading to the best gelato across down on Corso Garibaldi and then, we finally went to the infamous Palazzo Te, which might be my favorite place with some of the most ridiculous artwork that I’ve seen since getting to Italy. We couldn’t take pictures, but I think it was better to just be forced to really look and appreciate the insane frescos.

Grounds of Palazzo Te

La camera di amore e psiche

La camera dei giganti

Saturday night was spent having the LARGEST possible dinner at my aunt’s restaurant — mortadella to start, 3 plates of pasta, and (literally) an entire chicken in the form of cotolette. And dessert. And two bottles/things of wine. Insane. My friend and I were convinced we were going to explode.

My I'm-clearly-too-excited-but-am-gonna-regret-this face

Sunday was simpler. We got up, found a pretty secret, small canal, went to see the inside of the Duomo and walked around the open market. My friend found a great new piece of jewelry and I found a handmade ceramic Mantovian plate for my parents! We also bought a small picture frame for my aunts (which they berated us for) and proceeded to take dozens of pictures together to remember the trip. Once we told them they could use one of the photos for the frame they were much happier.

I feel like this is a great preview for Venice

:)))))

We ended up having some foolish train problems on the way back to Parma but eventually made it back safe and sound. Next week = Venice, Padova, Vicenza, and Verona! Thanks for reading!