on the way to somewhere
..you're only lost if you know where you're going..
Our Roman Holiday
Mar 19th
Rome really surprised us. It wasn’t as dirty or tacky as we expected, we didn’t have to fight off the gypsies like we thought, and there was a totally unexpected, beautiful central park (Villa Borghese) that we loved spending time in. All in all, Rome was a great destination for another short trip.
We arrived at Rome Termini and had an easy 6 minute walk to our accommodation, Macao Rooms, where we were greeted by the owner. We stayed in a pleasant bed and breakfast that we luckily didn’t have to share with any other guests, so it essentially felt like staying in an apartment. The location of the room was in perfect walking distance to many of the attractions and, for us, in walking distance to all the attractions of Rome. On our first day we just explored the local area, including the Villa Borghese which was not too far up the road.
Day 2 started slowly as we made use of the free internet to try and get ahead in our booking of accommodation for our next few destinations. Unfortunately our sightseeing was further delayed by a trip to the Australian Embassy as we had learned that we had not been taken off the electoral roll, despite filling out forms in January, and needed to try and organise something to not be fined for not voting in the upcoming State election.
After a bit of mucking around we were on our way to the Spanish Steps to meet our friend Chad, an American studying in Italy who we met at a hostel in Vienna. He had kindly agreed to tour us around the city. The tour was a lot of fun and it was nice to have some extra company for the day too. Chad was able to share some of the information he has been learning about Italian history while studying abroad, and this made for a more interesting tour than we could have done ourselves. We saw all the famous Ancient Roman sites including the Colosseum and Roman Forum, and of course many fountains, statues and churches too. My favourite site of the day was, hands down, the Pantheon. It was so beautiful, highly decorated, well designed and well presevered – a very impressive building indeed. After saying our goodbyes to Chad at the Trevi Fountain, another amazing attraction, we made our way back to our room to have dinner and rest our tired feet from the day’s walking.
Another full day meant we were able to take our time walking from our accommodation to the Vatican City. As we headed up the road to Saint Peter’s Square a dozen tour guides flocked to us like seagulls to hot chips, trying to convince us to pay for a tour or express entry into the basilica. Of course we said no to them all, I didn’t really see the point of paying for something that has free entry, and the line moved quite quickly considering to volume of people, the metal detectors and the x-ray bag scans. The fuss outside was definitely worth the effort as the interior of the basillica was just amazing. In my opinion it’s magnificence is only rivalled by Saint Mark’s Basilica in Venice. I coud not believe how detailed every inch of the place was, and it was just enormous! After soaking in the sunshine and having a snack break in the square we made our way back to our accommodation via Castel Sant’Angelo. The afternoon saw us once again enjoy the sunshine at Villa Borghese before we went out for dinner and admired the Trevi Fountain at night.
We have really enjoyed our time in Rome. The relaxed pace, sunshine and constant surprises have made it a great 3 days. To my surprise, Jason has even said that, while different, it is on par with how much he enjoyed Vienna.
1 Day in Florence
Mar 17th
We only had two nights in Florence, and only one of the days were really useable – the day we arrived we made the 2.5km walk to our accommodation and finally had time to stop and think about the family we had just left, and today we had a train departing at 9:13am.
Nevertheless I think Florence was another very successful short visit. Yesterday we left our comfortable bed and breakfast and began our walk back to central Florence. From the centre everything was an easy walk away (for us anyway), and the warm weather meant we were able to walk through the city without jumpers, although the locals still managed to dress in more clothes than we did in Stockholm.
As with most cities, the major attractions come with an inflated entry fee, however we only had one day so there was no point. In fact our somewhat “frugal travel” is a lot of fun for the two of us as we usually end up seeing things that aren’t in the guidebooks and crowded by tourists.
While viewing the Orsammichele from the outside we saw many people paying to visit the church, yet when we walked around the corner we saw an entrance to a building across the road that offered free admission to a display on the second floor. We climbed the stairs, crossed the road via a walkway and entered the Orsammichele. Inside were numerous statues, all very impressive, not to mention the view that we also had of the Florence rooftops.
We made our way through the busy yet skinny streets, stopping frequently to see the famous sites along the way. The Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, Basilica di San Lorenzo, Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, Ponte Vecchio and so on.
Finally we had made our way to Fiume Arno – a river that makes it’s way through Florence. We had been told that there was a good view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo, and we were not misled! With the sun shining we sat outside on a bench and watched the other tourists walk by for about an hour. At one stage a Japanese couple even arrived in a chauffeur driven Bentley for wedding photos in front of the view. Perhaps a little bit more of an extravagant honeymoon than us!
In the early afternoon we made our back to the centre via the scenic route. If anyone is ever looking for something to do in Florence I suggest walking along Viale Galileo Galilei. The road was one of the nicest we had seen, dotted with trees the entire length, and provided views of both city and “country” Florence, perhaps providing an insight of what country Tuscany would be like.
We returned to our accommodation via the supermarket, picked up some supplies and cooked dinner. Exhausted yet satisfied it was an early night, all packed and ready to leave in the morning.
Mia Famiglia in Udine
Mar 17th
It is with great difficulty that I write this post. In fact, this is attempt number 2 at blogging on Udine. Never did Jase or I imagine that we would become so emotionally connected to near strangers in an unknown land, yet after not even spending half an hour with our family in their house we felt like we were at home with people we had known our entire lives. So, as you can imagine, emotions are running high as I reflect on our time there.
We arrived at the Udine bus station after a bus trip through breathtaking countryside. We caught a train from Vienna to Villach, a town on the border of Austria and Italy, and from there the bus. Upon our arrival we were warmly greeted by Daniele and his daughter Serena and then driven to their house in the village of Zompitta, not too far out of Udine.
Over the next 10 days we relaxed, ate, drank and toured the surrounding countryside. But our stay in Udine was never about tourism. Yes, during those days we were driven around to many beautiful villages however it wasn’t so much the sites we were seeing that made it an amazing experience, more the people we were sharing our time with. Whether it was watching Daniele make use of his Italian/English dictionary, listening to Claudio speak Italian and Andrea do his best to translate, or enjoying the beautiful scenery of the mountains with Giuliano, sharing time with the family was the most wonderful time we have had on our trip so far.
I have so many fond memories of our 10 days in Udine that I am finding it difficult to gather my thoughts and articulate them clearly. I close my eyes and remember. I can see Serena sitting on the couch using her laptop, or Ombretta standing at the stove making us more tea. I can hear us all sharing a laugh over “terramoto”, “ecco” or any of the other little jokes we had. I can feel the strong embraces of everyone as they greeted us at our welcoming dinner and as they said goodbye on our final night. I can taste all the coffee and vino we drank and all the tears we shed as we said our final emotional goodbyes at the train station.
The sense of belonging and attachment Jase and I feel towards the people and town we have just experienced has completely taken us by surprise. My words will never adequately explain how I am feeling or our time in Udine, so for now a rough quote from a conversation we had with Claudia on our final night will have to suffice. As we spoke about how connected we felt to everyone and the country, Claudia said that it’s as though there is a part of your heart on the other side of the world. And I guess that does sum up what I am feeling. As I sit here with tears swelling in my eyes, thinking of the father, mother, sister and extended family I have left behind, I really do feel as though a part of me will always belong in Udine.
To my fabulous Italian family; thank you so much for opening up your homes and your hearts to welcome both Jason and I into your lives. We feel so privileged to be able to experience Italian living first hand with you all, an experience we will always treasure and hold close to our hearts. We look forward to seeing you all again and want you to know that just as you were so generous with us, we will be with you. If we don’t see you in Udine first we await your visit to our home in Australia.
It snowed in Venice…
Mar 13th
… And we got rather wet from all the snow soaking through our clothes as we walked the streets trying to head back to the train station. But as they say, everyone gets lost in Venice!
We arrived in Venice via train from Udine, midmorning, and were greeted by snow covered paths and the cool air. It was pleasant, however, and we were eager to begin exploring. Perhaps because I have been so relaxed at “home” with the family, I didn’t put much effort into researching what to see and do in Venice. Thankfully, a sign pointing the way to ‘San Marco’ triggered my memory and we began to follow what became a long maze of narrow alleyways and ambiguous signs.
We eventually arrived in Saint Mark’s Square, after crossing the disappointingly famous Rialto Bridge, and were blown away by the beauty and magnificence of the basilica. The detail and effort that went into the building and decorating of the cathedral was amazing. While exploring we also saw several other impressive churches and wandered round a free exhibit dedicated to Antonio Vivaldi.
Despite the length of our visit and the bad weather that saw us leave Venice, we had a really fun time. Lots of laughs and lots of sandwiches (thanks to my Italian “mum” Ombretta!) meant that even the worst weather couldn’t have put a downer on our day trip.
Snowboarding at Tarvisio, Italy
Mar 12th
A picture is said to speak a thousand words, so here’s my 6000 word post on Snowboarding at Tarvisio in Italy.
I all seriousness though, Tarvisio is a great place. Although others insisted on paying for the snowboard hire and lift pass for us, I don’t believe it was too expensive for the day. I do know that for 4 hours on the slopes it will set you back 24EUR.
It was just over an hours drive from where we are staying in Zompitta, (Udine) and very close to Austria and Slovenia. It’s surreal for us to be an hour away from the snow, and an hour away from the coastline. Let alone at the corner of three countries!
If you’re looking for a place to go skiing or snowboarding, definitely check out Tarvisio. There were very few people around which made it a lot easier for us to keep learning in confidence – Jess and I are really starting to link our turns well!
