View from the Spanish Steps
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
MY FIRST GELATO
I was glad when the plane finally landed in Rome. I was ready to get as far away from Ryanair and start my Italian adventure. We bused it to the center the train station and found out hotel, which was nearby. After checking in and putting our stuff down, we set off in search of food. Everyone wanted to go a grocery store and make peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, but I was not about to eat peanut butter as my first meal in Italy. I wanted Gelato. I spotted a Gelateria, which was not hard to find because there is about 10 Gelaterias on every block. I bought my first Gelato and enjoyed every lick of my delicious frozen tiramisu flavor. Victoria decided to indulge with me and then we went and bought groceries for the week and at a supermercati (Italian word for Supermarket).
After our groceries had been stored back in our rooms and our peanut butter sandwiches consumed, we headed for the center Rome. We walked all the way down town passing some pretty impressive buildings that looked like they had been standing since the dawn of time. We walked through the old Roman forum as the sun was setting. Then we walked to the Coliseum for a night view of the ancient arena. It was beyond impressive. I have seen plenty of pictures of the Coliseum, but nothing compares to being there in person and seeing it. We walked all the way around the circular building taking pictures. It was getting pretty late so we decided we would head back for the hotel and find some little Italiano bistro to grab dinner along the way.
We passed several restaurants, but thanks to our restaurant guru Andrea, who has the ability determine a good restaurant like a six sense, we found a perfect like café with wonderful ambiance. It’s all about the ambiance after all. We never ate at any restaurant that had florescent lighting and no table clothes. The restaurant turned out to be very good everyone ordered well. I had cannelloni and brusscetta and a few bites of a tiramisu we all shared. The restaurant was slightly deserted. We ended up being the only people eating dinner there. Our server invited some of his friends over, and they seemed to be having a food tasting while we were eating dinner. They were trying a variety of scrumptious dishes like calamari, lobster, and pesto. I wished we could have joined the tasting party, but our tummies were satisfied with our dinners.
We headed back to the hotel after dinner. Of course being our first night and everything, we got a little lost, but eventually after walking by several homeless people sleeping on mattresses underneath overpasses we found our way to the train station and our hotel.
After our groceries had been stored back in our rooms and our peanut butter sandwiches consumed, we headed for the center Rome. We walked all the way down town passing some pretty impressive buildings that looked like they had been standing since the dawn of time. We walked through the old Roman forum as the sun was setting. Then we walked to the Coliseum for a night view of the ancient arena. It was beyond impressive. I have seen plenty of pictures of the Coliseum, but nothing compares to being there in person and seeing it. We walked all the way around the circular building taking pictures. It was getting pretty late so we decided we would head back for the hotel and find some little Italiano bistro to grab dinner along the way.
We passed several restaurants, but thanks to our restaurant guru Andrea, who has the ability determine a good restaurant like a six sense, we found a perfect like café with wonderful ambiance. It’s all about the ambiance after all. We never ate at any restaurant that had florescent lighting and no table clothes. The restaurant turned out to be very good everyone ordered well. I had cannelloni and brusscetta and a few bites of a tiramisu we all shared. The restaurant was slightly deserted. We ended up being the only people eating dinner there. Our server invited some of his friends over, and they seemed to be having a food tasting while we were eating dinner. They were trying a variety of scrumptious dishes like calamari, lobster, and pesto. I wished we could have joined the tasting party, but our tummies were satisfied with our dinners.
We headed back to the hotel after dinner. Of course being our first night and everything, we got a little lost, but eventually after walking by several homeless people sleeping on mattresses underneath overpasses we found our way to the train station and our hotel.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
FML RYANAIR
We left the hostel the next morning with a couple extra JMU people that were headed off in different destinations for vacation. Some were catching flights to the Canary Islands and others were going to Morocco. Our flight to Italy was at 9:45 am, so I wanted to get to the airport with plenty of time because Ryanair is not know for their prompt service or understanding. After metroing it to the airport, we arrived in plenty of time to wait in the massive Ryanair line and go through security.
Ryanair has this awesome policy where if you are not checking a bag you are only allowed one carry bag and it can only weigh 10 kilos. Well we managed to get around this rule by dumping stuff out of bags behind the counter and then putting them on the scale.
If you can’t tell by now, I really hate Ryanair. When I bought my tickets for Italy it accidentally bought two tickets under the same name. Any logical company would question why I had bought two tickets under the same name, but not Ryanair. Of course Ryanair does not refund tickets unless a family member dies, so there was no possible way for me to get my money back. Angela offered to buy the ticket from me, but of course there is a name change fee of 100 euros, which was almost as much as the ticket cost. Trying to change the name and pay with a different credit card was also quite a fiasco. Finally I figured out how to maneuver the purposefully confusing Ryanair website and change the name on the ticket, but it was far from easier. I really think Ryanair just tries to the confuse their customers to the point where they can just get their credit card information and book them on random flights. I would not be surprised if Ryanair charged me for a flight to Dubai.
Once we were settled on the plane, which was also challenging because you don’t have seat assignments on Ryanair. It is just a free for all. Everyone pushes to get a seat and an overhead bin for their carry on. We all managed to find seats and bins, just as the plane was beginning to taxi to the take off strip. The flight attendants on Ryanair are equally horrible. The don’t really enforce any plane safety rules. They let all the passengers roam up and down the isles. I am pretty sure I could do cartwheels down the Isles and nobody would say anything to me. I managed to get into a little fight with one of the attendants because she would not let me us the bathroom. She kept telling me we were landing soon, but I am pretty sure she had no idea were we were even flying to because she had been sitting on her ass the entire flight gossiping with the other attendant. I told the lady I was going to use the bathroom and she could not stop me.
Ryanair has this awesome policy where if you are not checking a bag you are only allowed one carry bag and it can only weigh 10 kilos. Well we managed to get around this rule by dumping stuff out of bags behind the counter and then putting them on the scale.
If you can’t tell by now, I really hate Ryanair. When I bought my tickets for Italy it accidentally bought two tickets under the same name. Any logical company would question why I had bought two tickets under the same name, but not Ryanair. Of course Ryanair does not refund tickets unless a family member dies, so there was no possible way for me to get my money back. Angela offered to buy the ticket from me, but of course there is a name change fee of 100 euros, which was almost as much as the ticket cost. Trying to change the name and pay with a different credit card was also quite a fiasco. Finally I figured out how to maneuver the purposefully confusing Ryanair website and change the name on the ticket, but it was far from easier. I really think Ryanair just tries to the confuse their customers to the point where they can just get their credit card information and book them on random flights. I would not be surprised if Ryanair charged me for a flight to Dubai.
Once we were settled on the plane, which was also challenging because you don’t have seat assignments on Ryanair. It is just a free for all. Everyone pushes to get a seat and an overhead bin for their carry on. We all managed to find seats and bins, just as the plane was beginning to taxi to the take off strip. The flight attendants on Ryanair are equally horrible. The don’t really enforce any plane safety rules. They let all the passengers roam up and down the isles. I am pretty sure I could do cartwheels down the Isles and nobody would say anything to me. I managed to get into a little fight with one of the attendants because she would not let me us the bathroom. She kept telling me we were landing soon, but I am pretty sure she had no idea were we were even flying to because she had been sitting on her ass the entire flight gossiping with the other attendant. I told the lady I was going to use the bathroom and she could not stop me.
Spring Break Begins
After putting it off and putting it off I am finally getting to my spring break blog. We did so did so much and went so many places that this might seem a little disorganized, but bare with me I promise this will be another exciting adventure for all my avid readers.
First off Italy is amazing! I love this country. The people, the food, the incredible views, the history, and of course the shopping. I could go on and on about how wonderful Italy is, but I will start with the beginning of trip.
Andrea, Jeanie, Victoria, Karen, and I left Thursday after lunch for Madrid, where we would be spending the night and getting a flight the next morning to Italy. This was April 2nd, yes I know I am about three weeks slow in getting this done. We stayed at quite possible the coolest hostel ever called Cats Hostel. It was decorated like La Alhambra with tiling and archways. There was four floors that all opened up to courtyard, meeting area in the center on the first floor. There was even a two bars and computers in the basement. The bathrooms were clean and the beds were not horrible, a little sinkage but not bad. We had a six-person room so there was some random guy that came in after we were all asleep. We never got to meet him, but I don’t think he appreciated us waking up at 5:30 the next morning so we could make it to airport on time.
First off Italy is amazing! I love this country. The people, the food, the incredible views, the history, and of course the shopping. I could go on and on about how wonderful Italy is, but I will start with the beginning of trip.
Andrea, Jeanie, Victoria, Karen, and I left Thursday after lunch for Madrid, where we would be spending the night and getting a flight the next morning to Italy. This was April 2nd, yes I know I am about three weeks slow in getting this done. We stayed at quite possible the coolest hostel ever called Cats Hostel. It was decorated like La Alhambra with tiling and archways. There was four floors that all opened up to courtyard, meeting area in the center on the first floor. There was even a two bars and computers in the basement. The bathrooms were clean and the beds were not horrible, a little sinkage but not bad. We had a six-person room so there was some random guy that came in after we were all asleep. We never got to meet him, but I don’t think he appreciated us waking up at 5:30 the next morning so we could make it to airport on time.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Vacaciones
I am leaving for spring break on Thursday. We are taking the bus to Madrid and then catching our flight to Rome on Friday morning! I am so pumped. We are spending three days in Rome, three days in Venice and three days in Florence. I can't to try the food. No spanish food for 10 whole days!! I am also really excited about the bike tour we are taking in Florence. We will be biking through Chianti which is the Tuscan wine country. On the tour we stop at a winery, eat at an little restaurant and then tour a town. I am also really excited to see the Vatican and all the famous Roman churches. Italy is going to be fantastico!
Last Day with my Parents
On my last night with my parents, I took them to an Italian restaurant. The food was absolutely wonderful! My mom out ordered all of us by a landslide. Her pasta dish was ravioli stuffed with truffles in a gorgonzola and walnut sauce. It was devine. We also ordered a salad that was mixed greens with goat cheese, pine nuts and olives. I was so happy to be eating something other than ice burg lettuce. My mom was a little sad that the goat cheese was fried, but everything is fried in Spain so it was not really a super surprise for me.
After our wonderful dinner I went back to the hotel with my parents. We hung out in the room for while. I was trying not to think about saying goodbye to them tomorrow, but I knew it was coming.
The following morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. We were the only ones at breakfast, so we had the entire buffet to ourselves. After breakfast I showed my parents the Huerto de Calixta y Melibea. A huerto is an enclosed garden. This garden was named after a famous Spanish legend, Calixta y Melibea. The huerto was pretty with all the flowers beginning to bloom and we could see the river and the city stretched out before us. We left the huerto and headed back to the hotel to get our stuff and check out. I had class at 11 so my parents walked me to class to say goodbye. Saying goodbye was so hard. All I really wanted to do was go home with them. Instead I was stuck in Spain for another month.
Overall I think my parents really enjoyed Spain. The trip to Andalusia was amazing, and I am so glad they got to go into Alhambra after all the confusion we had dealing with reservations and tickets. I am also really happy that they got to see my life in Spain. My mom really liked my Madre. She agreed that our room is the size of a matchbox, and our Madre cooks way too much food for us but she thought we were very well taken care off. My parents loved Salamanca too and thought it was just the right size city for studying abroad. It was wonderful seeing my parents, but saying goodbye just made me want to go home even more. As much as I have loved being in Spain (and some days I really hated being here), it has made me realize that there is no place like home and being with your family. Only one month left. Only 10 more days of classes, ten days in Italy, one week for exams, and then I am outa here!!
After our wonderful dinner I went back to the hotel with my parents. We hung out in the room for while. I was trying not to think about saying goodbye to them tomorrow, but I knew it was coming.
The following morning we ate breakfast at the hotel. We were the only ones at breakfast, so we had the entire buffet to ourselves. After breakfast I showed my parents the Huerto de Calixta y Melibea. A huerto is an enclosed garden. This garden was named after a famous Spanish legend, Calixta y Melibea. The huerto was pretty with all the flowers beginning to bloom and we could see the river and the city stretched out before us. We left the huerto and headed back to the hotel to get our stuff and check out. I had class at 11 so my parents walked me to class to say goodbye. Saying goodbye was so hard. All I really wanted to do was go home with them. Instead I was stuck in Spain for another month.
Overall I think my parents really enjoyed Spain. The trip to Andalusia was amazing, and I am so glad they got to go into Alhambra after all the confusion we had dealing with reservations and tickets. I am also really happy that they got to see my life in Spain. My mom really liked my Madre. She agreed that our room is the size of a matchbox, and our Madre cooks way too much food for us but she thought we were very well taken care off. My parents loved Salamanca too and thought it was just the right size city for studying abroad. It was wonderful seeing my parents, but saying goodbye just made me want to go home even more. As much as I have loved being in Spain (and some days I really hated being here), it has made me realize that there is no place like home and being with your family. Only one month left. Only 10 more days of classes, ten days in Italy, one week for exams, and then I am outa here!!
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