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.
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| <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.
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| 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.
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| Inside a castle with San Pietro behind me! |
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| 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!
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| Channeling Audrey |
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| Makin' a wish! |
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| 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.
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| Bastille |
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| 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!).
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Inside the Panetheon
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| Notre Dame! |
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| Costumes! |
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| 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.
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.
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| Sainte Chappelle! |
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| 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.
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| 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.
