Twelve days, seven cities, three countries, ten friends, infinite memories.
MADRID
Madrid was beautiful, small, comfortable, and relaxing. Our hostel was actually more like a really nice hotel. We were within walking distance of everything. We took our time meandering around. We saw some of the big sites like the Palacio Real, Plaza Mayor, Puerta del Sol, Plaza Espana, and the Museo del Prado (speed-walked to all the masterpieces in 40 minutes). We spent nearly an entire day walking through the Parque del Buen Retiro, enjoying the spring weather and sunshine. Madrid food, unfortunately, was not remarkable. We tried paella and churros con chocolate, but the cuisine wasn't really special or amazing. We had heard that Madrilenos might be racist against Asians...but since we knew some Spanish, we got along with everyone and were able to communicate well. Madrid actually seemed kind of quiet; perhaps it is not peak tourist season yet, but everything was very relaxed and mellow.
MILANO
Milan was even more beautiful! Il Duomo exceeded my expectations, and was by far my favorite part. While the church itself was dark and not very interesting, the rooftop was spectacular. The day we were up there was dominated by a sunny blue sky. I just sat up amongst the spires and mused for a good hour. One of the tour groups up there started singing. I sketched a couple of the Gothic spires. Then, we visited the neighboring Galleria for some bull-testicle-spinning and window shopping. For dinner that night, we had an all-you-can-eat buffet of antipasti, provided we buy a drink at the bar. Let's just say, Europeans are hardcore about their alcohol, and mojitos do not taste good. We capped off the night with gelati and a leisurely walk back to our hotels. Milan was very beautiful for the one day we saw it. I reckon one day is just enough, unless you want to see The Last Supper at Santa Maria della Grazie, but that requires reservations months in advance. The bits of Milan that we saw were clean and neat. The only thing I rue about the city is that the view from the Duomo isn't great; the Duomo's spires itself are a sight to behold, but the city is a mishmash of modern buildings that sort of mar the skyline. One thing I adore about Florence's cityscape is its uniformity of rustic terracotta roofs. Overall, Milan was lovely, and the next morning, we were together as a group of ten, about to travel to my favorite city in the world...
FIRENZE
Florence, Florence, Florence! The day we arrived happened to be my birthday. After dropping our things off, I rushed everyone off to il Duomo. I was the designated tour guide for Florence, and I relished my role. First, we toured the inside of the Duomo, but found the cupola was closed due to Holy Week. Instead, we climbed the campanile. Incidentally, it started hailing as we stood in line! When we got to the top, we had a gorgeous view of Brunelleschi's dome and heard the campanile's bells thunder. Then, we did a quick walk down towards the Arno, hitting il Mercato del Porcellino, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signorina, and the Uffizi courtyard. Finally, we walked all the way up Lungarno to Trattoria Pizzaria Vecchio Carlino for my favorite tagliatelli con crema di tartufo e funghi. I had a little surprise after dinner: the waiter shut the lights and brought out a tiramisu cake, courtesy of my friends! I'm not gonna lie, I teared up a little. It was the first time anyone had surprised me with anything for my birthday. It was delicious, and everyone took turns feeding me cake. I didn't like so much being the center of attention, but it was just so thoughtful of them to make me feel so happy on my 20th birthday in Florence. After, we had good rollicking laughs in ...Slurp next door. The next day, some of us waited on a ridiculously long line for the Uffizi. It was around 2 hours long...and a preview of how long lines in Europe can be. The Uffizi was so worth it, though! We saw the old favorites like Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera and Titian's Venus of Urbino...yeah. We Florence alumni also took turns telling stories about pieces of art. It was a lovely morning. Afterwards, we had a quick lunch at Cantinetta dei Verrazzano, where I've been waiting to have foccaccia for two years (last year, I heard about the place and found it...but couldn't brave the language barrier to order a foccaccia sandwich). Then, we had a delicious lunch-dessert at Perche no? across the street. I had my favorite pistacchio gelato. It was rainy by this point, so we went inside...a church! Orsanmichele, to be specific, another place that was closed last year and I intended to return to. After a few minutes in the church and some praying, we went back outside and discovered that the weather was beautiful! Grey clouds had shifted and it was sunny and warm. To Piazzale Michelangelo! We hiked up the hill to the point across the Arno where you can see all of bella Firenze. It was perfect: you could see the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, and all the adorable, beautiful rooftops of the old city. When I got up to Piazzale Michelangelo, I was reminded why I love Florence. We sat up near the church of San Miniato. My neighbor here at Nido studied abroad in Florence last year and told us the story of San Miniato: apparently he was beheaded, picked up his head, and walked up this hill...and is now buried where the church stands. GREAT STORY, so I had to go see it. When we got there, it was just in time for Gregorian chants, which were very beautiful and resounding. We sat outside the church and observed the golden hour just before sunset. Bellisima.
ROMA
Rome was definitely a crazy experience. We arrived on Holy Saturday and immediately went to the Vatican. After waiting on line for a good two hours, we were herded inside the Vatican Museums. It was very grand and filled with all sorts of art. We made a beeline for the main exhibit: the Sistine Chapel! It was interesting and breathtaking to be under the magnificent chapel ceiling. It was also odd because it has turned into such a tourist attraction; people crowd inside and turn their cameras skyward, pushing and shoving one another. Ehh. Afterwards, I really wanted to go inside St. Peter's Basilica but it was closed early to prepare for Easter mass! We decided to go up to Gianicolo hill to watch the sunset...but it was badly situated so the sun actually set out of sight. We just watched the sky get darker. But, it was great, being in the company of nine friends, just sitting at the base of a column and enjoying the atmosphere. That night, we visited Trevi Fountain and tossed in our coins. Hopefully one day we will return to Rome. The next morning, Easter Sunday, poured. We tried visiting the secular sites like Coliseum and Roman Forum because they would be open...but they also happened to be outdoors, which sucked for my sneakers. I think they still haven't properly dried. Anyway...the rain sort of ruined the entire day. We saw the Coliseum, Forum, the municipal buildings, Trajan's Column, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Castel Sant' Angelo, and the outside of the Vatican (so...we can say we were at the Vatican on Easter! woot). Essentially, we walked across Rome in the rain. Finally, the third morning, we visited Santa Maria della Vittoria to see none other than Bernini's The Ecstacy of St. Teresa. My friends couldn't help but giggle and smirk at the innuendo once they read about the statue, but I still appreciated the amazing sculpture-work of Bernini. I've always admired the marble drapery and golden beams of light from photos, but it was awesome to see it in person. I wanted to touch it and feel the smooth marble under my fingers! Then, we walked to the Spanish Steps and wandered around until it was time to depart for...
BARI
We parted ways with the large group to head to Greece. The plan was to take a train from Rome to Bari and catch an overnight ferry to Patras, Greece. When we settled down in the train, the ticket-punch lady told us...the train could not make the journey from Benevento to Foggia, right in the middle of the journey from Rome to Bari. Instead, we would have to take a bus from Benevento to Foggia, which would take an hour. Unfortunately, we only had one hour and fifteen minutes to spare to begin with. After a lot of running and panicking, we got on a bus to Foggia, which took one hour and twenty minutes. Then, we got back on a train that looked like the Hogwarts Express on the inside, which took us to Bari. When we got out of the station, we got into a taxi whose driver was absolutely insane. He took us from the station to the port in 6 minutes. We were about to rejoice when we got to the port...but security told us we had to have tickets. FML. Two of my friends, brave souls, ran to the ticket office about half a mile away. Mind you, this is about 7:40 pm and the boat is set to depart at 8:00 pm. Departure times in Europe are no joke. My other friend and I were left to pace around the security area, flipping out and hyperventilating. Eventually, we see two figures running towards us in the dark, waving tickets! YES. We got on the ferry at 7:55 pm, five minutes to spare.
The ferry journey itself was...uneventful. We didn't have cabins because that would cost more, so we resorted to sleeping in chairs. It was a painful. Fifteen hours later, we were in Greece!
PATRAS
Patras is a small port town, but we absolutely fell in love with it because we stayed in a full-on hotel that was beautiful and comfortable and relaxing. The view from our window/balcony was gorgeous, of the mainland (we were on the Peloponnese peninsula). We meandered around the beach, though it was a bit cold. Then we went into our hotel to have a delicious late lunch. Food was cheap and amazingly good. We had a bit of fun in the free sauna, just us four girls, and then sitting by the empty pool to watch dusk settle. Finally, we had a delicious and affordable dinner and relaxed all night. The next morning, we had an amazing free breakfast buffet...and then we were out the door and headed to Athens!
ATHINA
Again, we had travel difficulties. The train from Patras to Athens couldn't make the leg from Diakonto to Kiato, so we had to take a coach bus. I kind of don't remember these bits because I was getting so exhausted by now.... Eventually, we arrived in Athens, and had to take a bus to our hotel about 17 miles away. When we checked in, we realized we were staying in a bungalow behind the hotel. It was kind of cute, but seemed a little sketchy and...too nature-y for my taste, in that there were lots of bugs in close proximity (we found this out the hard way one night). That afternoon, we wandered around the area of our hotel, Glyfada. We had a late lunch at a cute restaurant, where they gave us free pita bread, yoghurt dip, water, and...limoncello shots! This was totally surprising, since in Italy we were so used to begging for free tap water. Their gyro was a bit dry, but still tasty. The next day, we went to Athens and the Acropolis Museum. It was fascinating to see all the history revolving around the Acropolis, but a bit disheartening to know that most of the real stuff from the Acropolis is lost or in the British Museum. Finally, we hiked up the Acropolis, only to find that it was to close soon, so we only had about ten minutes atop it! Not to worry, that afternoon, we wandered around Syntagma Square and the National Gardens. Finally, we went back to Glyfada for a great dinner at a souvlaki place. The next and last morning, we went back to the Acropolis earlier so we could enjoy the place fully (or, so I could enjoy the place fully). Oh, it was amazing to be in the shadows of the Parthenon. It felt great to achieve something that I've planned to do since sixth grade. One thing finally off my bucket list!
One interesting and unrelated thing about Athens/Glyfada: we met a Cypriot family at the hotel and we just ran into them over and over during our stay. The dad first spoke to us, and then introduced his British-born wife and two teenage sons. They were all sweet and nice to talk to...or, rather, listen to! The dad loved hearing the sound of his own voice, and I loved hearing the sound of the mum's voice. The kids didn't speak perfect English, having been raised in Cypress. Some interesting things struck me. First, the older son is expected to join the Cypress army soon, as it is compulsory for boys. Second, we discussed everything from America to London to Cypress to China and communism. It was funny to have met someone so talkative in a land completely new to us, and though we laughed about it, it made me feel more comfortable too. I kind of miss them now, and I hope that the son joining the army will be safe.
The trip back home was...also riddled with problems. Our flight was originally 7:00 pm out of Athens, due to arrive in London Gatwick around 8:45 pm. When we checked in, they told us the flight would be delayed about an hour. So, we sat by the gate for a while, waiting. In total, it took us three hours and ten minutes of waiting until we took off. Crazy, crazy night. We were back at NIDO at around 3 in the morning. After a bit of unpacking and laundry, I was finally in my own bed at 5:00 am. What a trip!
Overall, everything in my spring break trip went flawlessly. I wish I could include every thought I had during it, but that would take thousands and thousands of more words. See, it even took me...two weeks just to post this!
