Spring Break Part 3

And now, we come to the last leg of the Italian adventure: Rome

Note: the internet is really bad here at the moment so there are only a couple of pictures with this post, but I will add more soon.

We were so excited to get out of Naples and get back to Rome, a place we had felt good and comfortable, that we headed to the train station early. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a train until around 12:30, getting us into the city at about 3. We hadn't known when we booked the trip, but we were going to be in Rome for the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. There were celebrations taking place all over the country, and when we arrived and started walking around, we saw tons of people walking around dressed in green, white, and red and carrying Italian flags.

After we checked in to our hostel, we went to the Colosseum to meet up with Patrick and Connor, two other Champlain Dubliners who had been traveling in Germany for the beginning of the week. It was so exciting to see some friendly faces, and to be next to the huge ruin of the Colosseum, and after telling each other about our trips so, Patrick and Connor told us that they were meeting up with Greg and Brittany, two other Champlain students who were studying in Rome and could show us around. We got some gelato while we waited, and saw some amazing things just on our walk to our meeting place.

When Greg and Brittany found us, we followed them through crowds of people in the shopping district, looking into tempting clothing and jewelry shops. It was really nice to be lead around, and not have to stop to check a map every few blocks. They brought us to the Spanish Steps which, surprise surprise, were pretty much just steps (still very cool though). We climbed to the top, and after walking only a little further, made it to a park that overlooked not only Piazza Navona, which is considered one of the most beautiful piazzas in Italy, but the whole city.

  After our walk, Greg and Brittany showed us one of their favorite restaurants, a small place near their apartment. They told us that any place that had a person outside beckoning customers inside was bound to be touristy and not very good. We went in for dinner, and it turned out to be my favorite meal of the whole trip. Connor, Patrick, Ian and I ordered a bottle of red wine for the table and took our time eating and talking. I had lasagna made with homemade pasta, and tiramisu for dessert. Feeling happy and full, we met up with Greg and Brittany again for a few drinks since, in addition to Italy's 150th anniversary, it was also St. Patrick's Day! We went into a pub and were surrounded by tipsy Italians wearing festive Guinness hats and guzzling from table taps. Little had we known when we first entered, but this was a karaoke bar, and soon the sounds of the Italian national anthem filled the room as everyone around us started to belt it out. Then the tone switched to Italian pop songs and we tried to sing along with the words on the screen. Ian and I went back to our hostel and felt truly relaxed for the first time on our trip.

The next day we met up with Patrick and Connor again for a pizza lunch and a trip to the Vatican. We ignored the many, many offers from people trying to get us to go on expensive tours and instead jumped in line for the museum. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day so we didn't mind the wait. Once we got into the museum, we were overwhelmed by the beauty of everything we saw. Everything was so elaborate and there was so much to look at that we could hardly take it in. The Sistine Chapel was definitely a highlight, and even though the room was packed with people, we could barely stop craning our necks to gaze at it.


After the museum we got in line for St. Peter's Basilica. It was enormous inside, again with so much to see that it was hard to take it all in. We saw the giant archway the Pope stands under and found out that the remains of St. Peter were directly underneath. I'm not Catholic, but it was still a very spiritual place. There was a men's and boy's choir in the corner singing and adding a mystical quality to the whole place. We also went under the basilica to see the tombs of the former Popes.

Before dinner we headed to the Parthenon. Ian expected it to be a tribute to the Roman gods, but it was taken over by Christianity early in its history and was just another fancy building, so we went to have dinner. For our last dinner in Italy, the guys decided to do the traditional Italian dinner. There was bread, wine, a pasta course (which I stopped at), a meat course, and dessert. The restaurant was a little awkward because it was still early for dinner in Italy, but overall it was good.

The next day it was time for Ian and I to leave, but our flight wasn't until 8 at night so we still had a full day. We bought tickets to the Forum and the Colosseum, but didn't get to go inside the latter because the line was too long, and after Pompeii, the Forum wasn't as impressive. But it was still a good day. We had lunch (pizza for me again), headed to the hostel to pick up our bags, and went to the train station to catch our bus to the airport after one last gelato (mint for me, mango for Ian). The airport, it turns out, was a lot less sketchy than we originally thought once we passed through security.

We waited for a couple hours for our plane, and groaned as we saw that our flight was fully booked due to a class of about 50 teenage Irish girls all wearing pink and purple 'I <3 Roma' sweatshirts and caked in makeup. I was so tired and ready to go home that I kind of flipped out on some of them who were trying to get in front of us on the line to get on the plane (RyanAir doesn't assign seats).

But we finally made it home around midnight. The trip was fun, challenging, exhausting, and thrilling, and an experience I will remember forever. I'm ready to face the next weeks in Dublin and can't wait to see what else will happen!

Spring Break Part Two (Or, Why Scooters Should Be Outlawed)

Moving on to Part Two of the Italian spring break adventure: Naples.

Actually, we didn't go right to Naples from Alghero. Because of the way it worked out with costs, we decided to fly to Rome for one night and then take a train. RyanAir flew us into the sketchiest looking airport I have ever seen, with old military planes scattered everywhere and a run-down looking interior, and then we had to take a shuttle bus to the city center. In front of us and to the sides was a group of middle-aged Italian women who didn't shut up the entire trip, and one seemed as though she had had a little too much fun on the plane. The shuttle bus took about an hour because of all the traffic, and as we reached the train station, I was unimpressed. So far Rome just looked like a city.

And that's one thing I learned on this trip. Even though foreigners may have romantic and idealistic perceptions of a place, to the people who live there, it;s just home. It's a city full of people like any other, and just because there are some fantastic tourist attractions to see doesn't mean there aren't also creepy shops and back alleys and a homelessness problem. But learning to embrace the individual rhythm of each city is just as important as seeing the sites.

But we had just arrived in Rome, tired from our day of traveling and overwhelmed by its size. We trudged to our hostel, not too far from the train station, and couldn't even comprehend the size of the guide map. There were so many tiny, twisting streets and nothing seemed to lead anywhere. After our not-so-positive start to break, we wanted to see something cool, so we decided to head to the Trevi Fountain because it was so close to our hostel. It was definitely awe-inspiring to step around the corner, hearing rushing water for a few steps before, and see this massive fountain.

 After that, we were still feeling a bit homesick, and we saw a British-owned pub so we decided to stop in for a couple of Guinnesses. We felt a little guilty that we were sitting in a British pub in Italy, but, except for the Italian being spoken around us, it was a nice taste of home.

After dinner in a touristy restaurant that was nevertheless tasty, and a couple gelatos, we went back to the hostel feeling much better and excited to move on to Naples in the morning.

The next day we made our way to the train station and had to watch the natives to figure out what to do with our tickets. We climbed aboard a train that reminded me of Harry Potter because of the compartments and, not realizing that our tickets had listed seat and compartment numbers because we couldn't read the Italian, just found somewhere empty to sit. Soon a young Italian man joined us and proceeded to talk on his two cell phones the entire trip (he got off about an hour before us, but it was still kind of annoying. He could end every conversation with "ciao, ciao ciaociaociao.")

In Naples, we saw the same any-city vibe we had seen in Rome, and thought that if we got towards the more touristy areas things would take shape. Our hostel was down a side street on the second floor of a building, and it was really weird because you had to leave your key with them whenever you went out, and the managers smoked inside all the time (we got used to inhaling secondhand smoke in Italy, but it as still strange to have it inside).

Our plan was to go to the National Archaeological Museum and see the artifacts that had been discovered at Pompeii, because we were headed there the next day. After going back to the train station to get a map because the hostel owner said he had run out, we walked through the city to get to the museum. The sun was shining and extremely warm, almost hot. As we walked further into the city, we didn't notice it improving at all. Garbage lined the sidewalks, street vendors selling really weird items fought for position, and there were run-down buildings and strange shops everywhere. As we walked, we literally had to dodge out of the way of people on scooters who seemed to think that they could go wherever they could fit. The cars barely obey the traffic laws, but the scooters don't obey them at all. People were constantly honking and revving their engines.

We were relieved to finally get to the museum, until we walked up to the door and saw this sign:

Closed on Tuesday. Guess what day it was. Of course.

So, with our whole day's activity impossible, we consulted my guide book to look for other things to see, but our afternoon mostly consisted of wandering around in the hot sun. At one point Ian very nearly got hit by a car and, because he was feeling shaken and we were both hot and tired, we stopped for lunch. It was in a tiny pizzeria, and Naples was supposed to be the place where pizza was invented. The waitress didn't speak any English whatsoever so we both ordered margherita pizzas as best we could and ate. I had actually gotten quite good at communicating with waitstaff. Besides pointing, I actually used a lot of Italian words over the course of the week. But there's always that barrier of not knowing exactly what the other person is talking about.

After lunch we had no idea what to do. We were getting creeped out by Naples and wished we could go back to Rome. We walked to a place on the map labeled "Orto Botanico," Botanical Gardens, and headed there. It was gated. Closed. Nothing was working for us. We sat on a rusting bench in the middle of a rotary surrounded by trash, pigeons, and somebody's shoe. We were defeated. We went back to the hostel for the night. Here are a couple of pictures of the nice things we saw in Naples, but they don't encompass what the city really looked like.

The next day was our trip to Pompeii, the ancient city destroyed yet preserved by the volcano Vesuvius. We were both really excited about this trip. I had been once before and couldn't wait for Ian to see it.

It was raining. The day before, when we had nothing to do, blue skies. Today, rain. We didn't let it dampen our spirits, though, as we headed for the train station to take the public transportation to Pompeii. We had to listen to a trip of men play the violin, guitar, and accordion in our faces for about 15 minutes of the trip, but overall it wasn't too bad.

Pompeii itself was incredible. It's one of the highlights of break for me. There was so much history, and I couldn't believe I was walking through what used to be a busy, thriving city. We rented audio guides and listened to the information about what various buildings would have been used for--we saw everything from courts, temples, stadiums, and government buildings to markets, bakeries, laundries, and brothels.

We spent upwards of six hours in Pompeii. The sun came out intermittently (after I had bought an umbrella from a vendor), and we had so much fun wandering around the ruins. We didn't want to go back to the city, but eventually we got back on the train and headed back to our hostel.

I'm not proud of where we went for dinner. I don't condone it. It's embarrassing to think about. But between the bad area we seemed to be saying in, getting hounded by people trying to sell us things on the street, not being able to find an open restaurant, and being exhausted from our long day, we ate at McDonalds. And you know what? Almost everything is the same in Italian as it is in English there. Big Mac. McChicken. It was easy, and it was deliciously American.

Coming soon: Rome! Stay tuned.
 

Spring Break Part One (Or, Why the Off-Season is Called the Off-Season)

Well, I did it. I saw the sites, ate the food, spoke the language, braved the public transportation, and did the whole thing with only the plans made by myself and my travel buddy/boyfriend.

Even though I went on this trip to have a good time and see some cool things, this spring break was one of the most challenging things I have done. The last time I was in Italy I was on a cruise with my family where every sightseeing trip, meal, and activity was planned for us and we just had to follow along. This time, Ian and I had to figure everything out ourselves from how to order food to how to get to Pompeii. The end result was a fantastic (for the most part) trip that I feel has made me not only a more confident traveler, but more fully appreciate what I have in Dublin.

So here is Part One of the tale: Alghero.

 We arrived in Alghero, a town in Sardinia, late on Friday night. All of our flights were booked through RyanAir, an inexpensive airline that flies to semi-obscure places around Europe. we had chosen Alghero because it was very cheap and would be a relaxing start to out trip. Our hotel room was nice, breakfast was included, and we even got a complimentary bottle of champagne.   

Complete with bidet.

But the next day, we started to see why everything was so inexpensive.

When we woke up the sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm. We walked around  for a bit just to enjoy the weather and see what there was to do around town. It wasn't too early--about 9:30--but we felt like the only ones around. It was like the town hadn't woken up yet.

Our plan for the day was to visit Neptune's Grotto, a natural cave with really cool stalactite formations that you can only reach by boat. We bought our boat tickets and climbed aboard the uncovered front of the boat, ready for a leisurely, pleasant ride.

But as soon as we got past the wave breaker, the sky turned an ominous swirling gray and the waves started rocking the boat. At first it was almost enjoyable--like a roller coaster. There were two little girls who looked like they were having the time of their lives and everyone enjoyed watching them. But the closer we got to the Grotto, the worse the rocking got, until the waves were crashing over the side of the boat where we were sitting. Ian got soaked, and I almost got flung overboard. Everyone who was sitting outside had to go to the covered part as we held on to anything we could to stay in our seats.

The area we were supposed to dock at was this little niche on the side of a cliff, but the boat was in danger of crashing into the rocks. As we were tossed side to side, the crew still, for reasons I will never understand, attempted to land the gangplank on the shore.

Then it plunged into the sea.

So we turned around and went back. No grotto for us.

By this time everyone was feeling pretty seasick, and people were yelling at the crew in Italian. We had to be on the boat for another hour, cold and wet with churned stomachs. When we finally got back to shore, everyone stumbled off the boat and headed right over to the ticket window to get our money back. The owners silently handed it over to everyone one by one, and we wandered off to find lunch.

We came upon a little pizzeria and sat down at the outside tables (because, oh yeah, it was sunny on land, just not at sea). Here, during out first meal in Italy, we learned the art of pointing. We encountered very few waitstaff, especially in Alghero, who spoke English, so ordering food was a stressful and nerve-wracking process.

I ate a lot of pizza in Italy. A lot. But this was the best one I had.

Paying was also stressful in Italy. There was no consistency in how to pay: sometimes they brought the bill to the table and you paid there, sometimes they brought it to the table and you paid at the counter, and sometimes you had to ask for it at the counter. And we never knew which one it was because we couldn't ask in Italian. But we always figured it out somehow.  We also had our first of many gelatos--lemon for me, hazelnut for Ian.

During lunch we had kept seeing people walk by in costumes, and they all seemed to be heading in the same direction, so we followed where they were going and saw that everyone was getting ready for some kind of Disney-themed parade. We couldn't ask what was going on, and it was really bizarre to see.

I don't know if it was something I ate, or leftover seasickness, but I spent a lot of that night awake with a stomachache until it culminated in the bathroom. It was a signal for how the rest of that next day would go.

We wanted to rent bikes and explore the area, but it was raining. Down-pouring and windy. We went out to walk around, but it was pretty miserable.

There was nothing to do. It was raining, and it was Sunday. Everything was closed, even the tourist office. Our many pamphlets were mocking us with outdoor activities, and we couldn't even find the aquarium that Alghero was supposed to have. There was nothing for us to do but sit in our hotel room and watch BBC World News report on the Japanese earthquake over and over again. We left for dinner--creamy seafood pasta--but the restaurant was awkward because there was only one other family in there and they seemed to know the waiter, so we were ignored while they jabbered away in Italian.

We couldn't wait to leave the next day. We had planned on taking a cab to the airport, but the hotel gave us free bus tickets. We were nervous about not knowing what to do, but we figured it out and eventually made it to the airport. Of course the sun was shining without a cloud in the sky while we waited in the terminal.

Kind of a negative start to the trip. We hoped things would improve from here as we headed to Rome for one night to catch a train to Naples. Alghero just wasn't for us, and it was clear why the plane tickets and hotel were so cheap. But we had high hopes for he next part of our trip--coming soon! 

Up, Up, and Away! (Or, Why There Won't Be An Update For Awhile!)

Today is Thursday, and Thursdays are my busiest, longest days of the week. I have a double session of Writing the City in the mornings and then two lit classes later in the day. But this Thursday is dragging particularly slowly because it is the last day of classes before I leave for spring break!

Kilmainham Gaol. ttp://tinyurl.com/65vlclc

To add to the snail-like pace of the day, first on the agenda was a field trip to Kilmainham Gaol, a jail that has an important role in Irish political history because many leaders of rebellions were held and executed there, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising. It was interesting but freezing cold in the prison, and we had to take the bus which is always scary because there is no timetable and there are tons of busses with dfferent numbers and you never know which one to take or how much it will cost and you have to stick your arm out or the driver won't stop and you have to tell him where you're going or he also won't stop. Luckily, I don't take the bus too often.

But after today, I'm not going to update until I get back from ITALY because I don't want to bring my laptop for fear that it will get lost or stollen or broken. Our first stop is the relaxing Alghero, a seaside town on the island of Sardinia. From there we visit Rome and Naples, both places I have been before but am so excited to experience again. Ian and I will be gone from Friday til next Saturday. I can't wait for warm weather, gelato, pizza, ruins, and the Mediterranean!

Passing Through the Past (Or, Why Today Was One of the Highlights So Far)

I know, I know...I haven't updated for awhile. But that's because I haven't been doing anything you would be interested in! I'm sure you don't want to hear about my trips to the Writers Museum and the James Joyce Center, or the short story readings I attended at the Dublin Writers Center...really, none of that was very entertaining.

But I'm updating now because today has been one of the coolest things I've seen so far! My Early Irish History class took a day trip to Bru na Boinne, the Boyne Valley, to visit the prehistoric sites of Newgrange and Tara.

We have been learning about these areas in class for a few weeks now, and all of the buildup had me really excited to see the sites in person. Taking this history class has reawakened a passion I had when I was young for archaeology. We've been studying things that used to fascinate me, and that interest has been rekindled the more I've learned. I almost felt lik I was going to meet a celebrity when we walked up to Newgrange. I apologize for the history lesson that's about to follow, but this trip really excited me, and it's more meaningful if you know what you're looking at!

Newgrange

Newgrange is a burial tomb built in the Neolithic era of prehistory(3100-2900 BCE, predating the pyramids and Stonehenge by 500-1,000 years) . It is called a passage tomb because inside there is a long stone passage that splits off into three chambers that housed the cremated remains of the dead. Stones on the inside and outside are adorned with some of the most fantastic examples of Neolithic rock art in Europe, and there is a roof box over the entrance that aligns with the winter solstice, indicating some kind of religious significance.

The white stones on the outside of the tomb are not original; they were restored when the site was excavated in the 60s and 70s. However, the inside of the tomb has remained completely intact since it was built. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, but it was one of the coolest experiences of my life. The inner passage was long and narrow; a lot of people had to duck to walk inside, but it opened up into a large inner chamber that was about 6 meters high. It seemed impossible that people could have built such an enormous structure--the stones they used all had to be brought many kilometers and shaped into the correct form. Being inside Newgrange was surreal and wonderful--I couldn't believe I was touching stone that people had touched over 5,000 years before me. Here are a few more pictures of the outside:

The famous entrance stone covered in Neolithic rock art. The triple spiral is characteristic of Newgrange.

Hannah outside of Newgrange

More rock art on one of the kerbstones surrounding the mound.

More rock art

Newgrange surrounded by a circle of standing stones that were added about 1,000 years after it was built. 

After Newgrange we headed to the Hill of Tara, the traditional seat of the High Kings of Ireland. Although there wasn't much to see here besides some remaining ditches and mounds, it was still interesting. Tara holds an important place in the Irish psyche and has many myths and legends associated with it. Here are some pictures!

The Mound of the Hostages, where hundreds of cremations were discovered.

Hannah outside the entrance to the Mound of Hostages

 There's a stone at Tara and if the true king of Ireland hugs it, is is said to emit a noise, so of course we all tried.

A rag tree where people say a wish or a prayer and tie something on the branches.

An area known as the "Banqueting Hall," but that is actually a ceremonial cursus or pathway. 

I've said I was sick of walking around looking at history, but this was different. Today was more than staring at a kind of old building in Dublin where something kind of famous happened. This was real history.