finally, here it is! this is several days of blog all in one big post, beginning with when I returned to Europe a week ago. More pictures and blogs will be coming soon, as I have now found an excellent internet place AND Luca has given me a memory key!
Enjoy! xox
*****
I’m in Rome!!!
Things here are amazing. Incredible. Awesome. Fantastico!
Where to begin? Well, Pooh Bear would say that you should begin at the beginning … so here goes.
Thursday April 17, 2008
I arrived at Charles de Gualle (CDG) airport in Paris at 12:30pm Europe time – so 6:30am at home. My flight over the Atlantic was relatively uneventful aside from a screaming “bambino” and the snobby 22 year old Queen’s nursing grad who sat beside me and clearly thought that she was number 1. Everything went quite smoothly when I arrived … got my passport stamp and looked at the clock – 1:30 – which meant that I had about 2 hours to kill until my shuttle would arrive to take me to Beauvais airport for my Ryanair flight to Pisa. Things were going so well!
And then life happened. My shuttle to take me to Beauvais (1hr 15 min away) didn’t show up. To cut it short, there were many phone calls and repeated instructions to go stand outside again, followed by a lack of shuttle and an increasing feeling of panic. When I phoned for the fourth time at 5pm, I knew it was too late. My shuttle was supposed to come at 3:45, and my flight was at 6:30. There was NO WAY I was going to make it.
I allowed myself about 3 minutes of meltdown and panic in the waiting room, and then set to work. I lucked out and found a last minute deal for a single ensuite in a hotel located about 20 min (by taxi) from Gare de Lyon station. I also found a train leaving the next morning at 7:45am and arriving in Roma at 19:30 (7:30pm). 12 hours on the train? No problem! At least I would still make it to Roma the same day!
The night went smoothly – dinner in a café and then a few hours of sleep before I had to get up and head to the train station.
Friday, April 18
Paris streets in the early morning are filled with trucks – delivering freshly baked croissants, picking up bundles of laundry, picking up garbage bags … busy busy! I found my cab, stuck on a street about 3 blocks from my hotel, and I was on my way to the station!
As a side note – Paris driving is INSANE. I think that to be able to attempt it – and be successful – takes nerves of steel. Well .. this was my impression BEFORE arriving in Roma.
I found my train and even had time to grab a pain de chocolat for breakfast (sooo good!). Everything went smoothly and I slept for a couple of hours. Around 11:30, the train stopped at the last station in France – Modane I think. I didn’t really think much of the train being turned off – they do that sometimes. I didn’t really pay any attention until about ½ hour later when an announcement was made (in French and Italian) that there were technical difficulties and that it would be another 40 minutes until we would be back on our way. Well, I definitely wasn’t going to make 10 minute connection time to catch my 3:00 train from Milano to Rome! I wasn’t particularly distressed, as I had been half expecting a brief delay and anticipated needing to take the next train. So I befriended some English speaking passengers and even a fellow Canadian, Meredith, who saw my flag and yelled “Hey, Canada! Where are you from?” Turns out she is from Hamilton!
After about an hour it became clear that the train wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon! All of a sudden some people from SCNF showed up with cases of boxed meals … a pasta salad with chicken, “cardboard” (crackers), some sort of meat spread, apple sauce, and an ever-lasting cake that made me nervous and tasted like preservatives. The best parts of the food were the bottle of water and the napkin (handy for train restrooms lacking tp!). Oh, and the fact that they kept trying to give us two or three boxes each – attempting to appease us, I think.
Anyway, I am babbling on here – but it was quite an adventure! See the picture of me + mountain + broken down train.
It was around 3pm when buses showed up to take us to Turin. By this time it had started to rain and many people were angry. There was a massive rush to get onto the buses, as you can see!
Eventually we all made it on to a bus, though in a rather uncivilized fashion. By this time I had met Melia and Maurizio, both of whom turned out to be great companions! So the three of us chatted away and Maurizio told us about the tunnel (about 20km) through the alps that we were going through. It seems that there was a massive fire just a couple of years ago, and about 25 people died in a matter of seconds when the heat suddenly blasted up to 4000 degrees! When we got to Turin, someone escorted those of us bound for Milano (most of us!) on to a commuter train. It was pouring and everyone was damp and tired – by this time it was about 5:30pm – but Melia, Maurizio and I were just happy to be on a train and going somewhere!
When we got to Milano, it was clear that there was no way Melia and I would make it to Roma that night. As I said, Maurizio was amazing, and he took us to the conductor of the train leaving for Firenze (Florence) in 10 minutes. After a quick explanation and a look at our tickets (Milano to Roma), they told us to hop on to car 7. We were SO relieved! It was nearly 8pm and the last thing we wanted was to be trapped in Milano for the night. It’s a very expensive city, and there happened to be a festival going on … which meant that we would have had great difficulty finding somewhere to sleep, and even more difficulty finding something affordable! So we said goodbye to Maurizio and hopped aboard.
We pulled into Firenze station at 11pm and were quickly approached by a man with a brochure for his hotel – hotel serena. He offered us a room with two beds and a full bathroom (meaning complete with shower) for 60 euros. Seeing as we didn’t have anything booked and had no idea if there would even be any rooms left in any hostels in the area – AND 30 euros each was acceptable – we took him up on his offer. This turned out to be an excellent decision, as the hotel was just 5 minutes walking from the train, AND it was really nice, very clean, loaded with clean towels (yay!) and complete with balcony to enjoy the WARM weather (though we were too exhausted to do more than say “wow it’s so warm here” and then pass out).
Saturday April 19
Melia and I got up around 8:30, showered, and packed up our stuff. We headed to the train station, put our luggage in the storage area, and bought tickets for a noon train to Roma. Then we set out to wander the streets of Firenze for a couple of hours. It is a beautiful city and though we got a little lost (not too bad, we did have a map!), we managed to stumble upon the statue of David! In fact, the courtyard was full of amazing statues. And near to David was a banner that said “Human Rights in Tibet” …
. The whole experience was touching and exciting.
We boarded our train to Rome (we didn’t buy our tickets together, so we were in separate cars) and I dozed and looked at the beautiful countryside for the 1½ hour trip (high speed EuroStar train). By the time we pulled into Termini station in Roma, I was nervous!
I quickly found Luca (au pair dad) waiting with Giovanna and Paolo (6 year old twins). We were all so excited to finally meet! Giovanna especially was very excited – she kept looking up and smiling shyly at me. They took me to Alexia (mom) and the car and we were on our way home! My hands were quickly covered in sponge bob stickers and the children – especially Giovanna – were soon chattering away in both Italian and (some) English.
We had pasta for lunch – SO GOOD – and salad and meat and fruit for dessert. This was my first taste of a real, home-cooked, Italian meal, and it was delicious! Here we eat things one at a time, rather than all at once. So we had bowls of delicious pasta with butter and parmesan cheese (which is quite different from the parmesan at home). Next we had meat – delicious beef – followed by a salad (lettuce, carrots, fennel, and raddichio with balsamic vinegar and olive oil). And fruit for dessert. Oh, and what I learned is a typical Roman bread – I think it’s called rosa (it looks a lot like a flower). It’s delicious too!
After lunch Luca, Giovanna, Paolo and I went for a walk so that I could start to learn my way around the neighbourhood. This is an excellent area – three metro stops from Termini station (the very centre of the city) and full of banks, stores, a post office, gelateria’s (I haven’t been yet but I may just do that tomorrow!) and pretty much anything that I could need. The children’s school is just a 5 minutes walk, and Luca’s work is 10. The city is very green – tress, grass, flowers, and parks everywhere. The air smells of flowers and the sun shines almost constantly.
For dinner we went out to a real Italian Pizzeria. Saturday night is pizza night in Rome and we were lucky to find a table as soon as we walked into the favourite restaurant. The pizza was fantastic, as was the other food that they ordered (I can’t remember the name). It is essentially rice, meat, and mozzarella (real mozzarella, which is different than what we eat at home!) all breaded and then fried in the shape of a ball/egg (you get the picture). It was delicious!
After dinner we took a short drive into the medieval center of town and I saw the Colosseo!!! OMG! Everywhere I turned there were ancient ruins and Luca told me about all kinds of things I was seeing. I haven’t been back yet but I will be going there in the next couple of days!
Sunday April 20
After breakfast (mmm cereal with chocolate!), Luca, Paolo, Giovanna and I went to the park. The weather was incredible – at least +25 and cloudless. Giovanna held my hand the whole time we were walking and Paolo had overcome all shyness and talked excitedly – telling his dad that he (Paolo), was going to give me a lesson in Italian.
These kids are so freaking cute! The whole family is wonderful. Loving, friendly, kind, and so happy that I am here. The children are affectionate and playful and eager to learn and also to teach me Italian. They will say: “In Italian, this is ______.” Sometimes Paolo will start talking away in Italian and Giovanna will stop him and say, “Paolo, in Inglese!”. Or he will catch himself and I can see his brain working, trying to figure out exactly how to translate what he wants to tell me. My hands are always getting new Sponge Bob stickers and I so many hugs and kisses and giggles, I actually look forward to being with them.
By the time we left the park we were all hungry and tired, but also happy. And I had a light sunburn! Woot! After lunch I had a nice long nap and we spent the evening together.
Monday, April 21
Each day I am learning more about the family’s routines and how I fit in as an au pair. This really is an amazing experience. It is the complete opposite of the experience I had in Spain (thank goodness!) and I am so happy to be here. Alexia had to leave early, so Luca and I took the children to school. I had one on either side of me, holding my hands, and it was so sweet. After we took them to school, Luca was off to work and I headed off to see the Vatican Museum (Vatican City).
Now I didn’t know this before arriving, but Roma only has two metro lines – A and B. They meet in an “X” shape at Termini station. This is because of the constant archaeological work happening (Yes, dad, you were right about that!). It’s impossible to build any more metro lines because every few feet something new is discovered. SO this means that the metro is very crowded – ESPECIALLY at 9am. I was a little dumb and didn’t quite think of the fact that 9am is not the ideal time to try to go somewhere by metro in Roma …
However, I made it to the Vatican. The lineup to get in was massive – thousands of people – literally. Having learned a thing or two about living in Rome, I walked along the line for about 10 minutes before I found an ideal opening and “merged” into line. That is one distinct advantage to traveling alone! It’s much easier to “blend” into a lineup or worm my way through a crowd without too much fuss. Hahahaha … I had to chuckle at my own strategic blending …
Anyway, I pulled out the good ol’ ISIC (international student identity card, for those of you non-students) and paid my 8,00 euro instead of 14,00 to get into the museum. Woo hoo for student discounts!
The Vatican museum is quite amazing – beautiful and full of art, statues, architecture … even Egyptian mummies!
Really, it is too much to get into right now. However, before I actually wandered through the museum I managed to merge with a tour group (I think german) and make my way outside onto the grounds. I broke off from the group as soon as I was outside and started to wander. The Vatican gardens are amazing!
At least they seem to be, judging from what I saw before I was stopped by a grounds security person and realized that I didn’t actually have the right ticket to see the gardens … Damn! Anyway, I snapped a few photos before that happened and it was pretty uneventful – I just had to go back to the museum.
By 12:30 I was exhausted and made my way back home, where I met Julianna (the housekeeper) and made myself some lunch. Talked to mom (hi mom!) and had a nap before meeting Luca at the school at 4:30 to pick up the children.
I am amazed at how easily I am thinking of different ways to entertain and teach the children. Right now I’m working on letters … they “know” the alphabet (they know the song, etc etc) but still have some difficulty associating some letters with their English names (for example, the way we pronounce “E” is the way they pronounce “I” – when saying the name of the letter). So I devised some games and activities to help with this. It’s more enjoyable than I could have ever anticipated – Julia, sweetie, I understand what happened with you when you taught English in Ecuador!
The children are so thrilled that I am here. We were playing in their room after practicing letters and when Luca suggested that they watch some TV to calm down for a few minutes, Giovanna responded by saying that no, being with Candice is much better than TV! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!
So … that is a rather extensive recap of the last few days, since I left home on Wednesday. It’s now Monday night, a bit after 10pm, and I need to sleep soon so that I have lots of energy for children and exploring tomorrow! And I almost forgot about my homework assignment from Luca – to start watching Italian TV to help with word recognition.
I hope to get this posted very soon – ideally tomorrow (Tuesday). Fingers crossed!
Much love
Xox
Candy
Tuesday April 22
Well, obviously, no memory key yet. I have eight pages (in word) of blog and no way of posting it. But I will continue to write and tonight I will ask Luca where I might be able to buy a memory key!
The weather wasn’t that great today – mild but not especially warm, and occasionally drizzling. I spent much of the morning sleeping. Though I don’t feel particularly jet lagged, I haven’t quite convinced my brain that it needs to go to sleep by 11pm so that I am not completely exhausted when I wake up at 6:30. So I napped, even though I am fully aware that napping only makes insomnia worse. So hopefully tomorrow is a nap-less day!
I went to the post office today, finally, and sent off a bunch of postcards. I won’t say to whom, although I sent eight today and bought ten more stamps. I have about 30 postcards from the places I’ve been since the end of Feb, and I plan to get more (more! more!) this week to send off lovely touristic images of Roma. :) Want a postcard? Leave a comment with your address and I’ll send one to you!
I think I’m going to take a couple weeks of intensive Italian classes. Unfortunately, it’s pretty freaking expensive … 400 euro for 2 weeks (20 hours/week). But I know that it will give me a base from which to really start to learn the language. And I NEED to learn Italian. So I will let you know how that goes. And if you feel particularly generous and kind, feel free to donate funds towards the “Candice desperately needs to learn Italian” fund. I promise to send postcards and keep you up to date on my increasing Italian knowledge as a reward. Hahaha. :)
I’ve been thinking lately about writing a blog along the lines of a survival guide to being a long-term tourist in Roma. It’s brewing and I am taking notes, so stay tuned!
For now, I say “ciao”!
Xox
Candz
... And now it is Wed April 23 and I have just returned to my neighbourhood after starting my exploration of the ancient parts of the city. Stay tuned!!!
