Italy

Over the course of five days we stopped in two ports, Civitavecchia and Naples. With only one day between Italy and Croatia I’ll just quickly try to write about the things I did.

Day One

I awoke to find a new view outside my window – the small port-town of Civitavecchia. We spent some time navigating the city trying to find a post office, then after waiting in line for an hour we mailed some post cards and purchased train tickets. We met some friends back at the ship and rushed back to the station to catch the train. An hour and twenty minutes later, I was standing on a street in the middle of Rome. Walking around trying to find our hostel, I couldn’t help but wonder why we were surrounded by Chinese street signs and stores full of 5-Euro sunglasses; apparently Rome has a China Town as well. We eventually got to our hostel, which was run by an almost stereotypically warm and charming Italian woman; I didn’t figure out until next morning that there were two of them – twins, in fact, and I could never tell which one I was talking to. After dropping our stuff off we headed out to see the city. How can I describe Rome… to say the very least Rome is a city that’s full of surprises. Walking down the street you never know what you’re going to see when you turn the corner. Enormous buildings, obelisks, statues, fountains, and historical sites are there everywhere you look. The feel of the place reminded me of New York City; but it looks much, much older and more beautiful. After wandering for about 40 minutes I walked across a street and saw in the distance, the Coliseum. It’s really strange to suddenly see something of that size while walking in a city. We rushed to take a tour and after admiring it from across the street, we stopped for a quick meal (I didn’t eat because I didn’t want my first Italian meal from a tourist vendor) and then went inside. When we got to the Coliseum we noticed the dark clouds gathering above, and sure enough it started pouring and lighting began to flash in the sky; for me this made the experience even more exciting. We toured the Coliseum on our own, getting drenched and slipping everywhere – it was incredibly fun. After getting soaked we headed back to the hostel. Some of us wanted to rest but I was ready for dinner, so four of us sat down at a restaurant just down the street. Beneath an awning on the street, we sat down at a table draped in the red and white-checkered cloth. After we ordered, a random guy started playing the accordion next to us, and again I felt like I was in a movie. The meal was everything I wanted it to be. I had penne all’arrabbiata, a pasta dish with a sauce of tomato, onion and hot red pepper: infinitely better than any pasta I’ve had at home. After showering at the hostel we headed out to the Spanish Steps, where we heard people were gathering for a Pub Crawl celebrating Canada Day (I guess any excuse would do). We arrived at the historical site to find about 300 people sitting on the steps; from there we were divided into three massive crowds that stormed the streets walking from pub to pub. Over the course of the night I stopped at three bars in completely different parts of the city. On my inebriated stroll to each one, the typical sights of fast-food restaurants and apartment buildings were replaced by breathtaking Roman bridges, statues and fountains. After our third stop I called it a night and took a taxi back to the hostel, leaving half of our group to move on to the next pub. Once we got there we realized we left our room keys with the others, and three of us passed out on the floor in the hostel locked outside of our rooms. About an hour later the owner found us and let us in. It would have been embarrassing but I was too tired to care.

Day Two

We woke up around 10am for breakfast – the owner made us fresh cappuccino and croissants. We took the subway down to the Trevi Fountain, which is a major tourist site. They say if you throw in a coin you’ll come back to Rome some day, so we all did it and then had a sandwich nearby. Next on our itinerary was the Vatican. We avoided the long lines by getting our tickets online and entering from the museums in the back (thanks Lisa for the tip). Needless to say the museum was incredible; it was packed with religious artwork, the significance of which I could never fully appreciate. I learned a few interesting things along the way by standing near the tour guides and listening in. We walked through a few buildings and across the courtyard, admiring the countless statues and art that filled every surface; the most amazing paintings were the ones done on the ceilings. I saw the School of Athens, and of course the Sistine Chapel – my neck was killing me by the end because I spent the whole time staring at the ceiling. Everything I saw in the Vatican was surreal. Next we took a quick stop for sandwiches then walked to St. Peter’s Basilica. When I saw the cathedral in Seville I remember wondering if I would ever again in my lifetime see something so incredible – but this was beyond even that. The sheer size of this structure is baffling; but what you see when you walk inside cannot be captured with words or photographs. I was prepared for what I saw at the Sistine Chapel but I had no idea such a place existed - if you ever go to Rome go see St. Peter’s. We also took a tour of the tomb where many popes are buried, then rested outside at the famous plaza. We decided to head back to the hostel but we stopped at a restaurant for dinner along the way. A few of us wanted to see the Pantheon, so we walked there but it was closed. Instead we bought gelatos and wandered around, seeing the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps once more. We took the subway back to the hostel where we stayed inside and drank until about 11pm. We hung out at a pub and spent the rest of the night on the street, then returned to the hostel around 1:30.

Day Three

On our last day in Rome we woke in the morning and headed out to the Pantheon. On the way there we saw the Roman Forum and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – both incredible sites that I didn’t know existed. Had a quick lunch and hung out in front of the Pantheon talking to people who were leading the pub-crawl from a few nights ago. We spent time inside admiring the architecture, then walked towards the hostel, stopping along the way at Trevi Fountain once more and sitting down to enjoy a crepe. We picked up our stuff at the hostel and said goodbye to the owner, and took the hot, stifling train back to Civitavecchia. I had dinner on the ship and spentthe night relaxing and going through the two hundred (no joke) photos I took in Rome.

Day Four

While I slept on the ship that night the MV Explorer arrived at our second port in Italy, Naples. I got up at 7:10am to meet some people I met the night before, planning to hike Mt. Vasuvius, a famous volcano that erupted and buried nearby cities about two-thousand years ago. We got directions on the ship and left for the train station. A friend described Naples to me as “a dirty old city,” and she was right. Walking to the station I felt like I was in Vietnam, not Italy: the streets were littered with trash, the buildings were decayed and countless birds hung in the air. To be fair I found the other side of town to be much nicer later, but that morning we hurried to get to the next town. We ended up in a small town called Ercolano with no directions and no map, having been told to get off there and take a bus to the mountain. We walked through the city wandering aimlessly, looking for something resembling a bus station. Ercolano was not the Italy I had gotten used to in the past few days; the people didn’t speak English, street signs were scarce and tourist offices were non-existent – navigating through this town was impossible. After spending about an hour trying to get directions we figured out that we were in the wrong town, and we still had no idea what station would get us to Mt. Vasuvius. So, we changed plans and got back on the train to see Pompei, a city a few stops down the same train line. Pompei is famous for its ruins, which are the remains of a large city that was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vasuvius, which is 45 minutes away. We arrived at the quiet town of Pompei and walked in a random direction hoping to find the ruins. As we strolled along we found a pizzeria with tables that lay in the shadow of thick vines overhead – an inviting sight after hours of walking in the hot sun. Here I had my first authentic Italian Pizza: pizza alla romana, consisting of cheese, tomato, herbs and anchovies. It was nothing like American pizza; it was thin, made with a few simple ingredients and little grease. The anchovies were an interesting addition but it was delicious. We continued on and with some help, finally found the ruins. This place was massive; hundreds of ancient buildings had been excavated since the late 1800’s. We spent a couple of hours exploring, taking in the sights of the remains of a civilization that perished thousands of years ago. The whole town had a very quiet feel to it – stray dogs lay still in the shade and the people walked by lazily – it was hard to believe we were in Rome just a day ago. After the ruins we stopped for gelato and walked back to the train station to return to the ship.

Day Five

I somehow managed to get myself out of bed at 6:40am, determined to make the most of my last day in Italy. We had heard of ferry trips going to the nearby island of Capri, and we planned on getting last-minute tickets early in the morning instead of going with a massive organized tour group. We got down to the station around 7:30 to see a paper sign on the ticket window that felt like a slap in the face: “Capri Completo” – the tickets were sold out. Wondering if we should go back to bed or try to salvage our day, we scrambled around the port trying to find another ferry. After running around and waiting in line for about an hour we finally managed to get tickets on a hydrofoil. About an hour later, we got off on what I might concede to be the most beautiful island I have ever seen. The small island of Capri stood towering above from the dock, with rugged green cliffs and colorful houses lining the mountainside. We quickly walked away from the crowds at the dock and sat down at a restaurant overlooking the rocky beach. There I had a pizza marinara, a simple pizza of tomato, garlic and basil. This pizza didn’t even have cheese and it was one of the best I’ve ever had. After a long lunch admiring the view of the crystal clear waters below, we were ready for a swim. The water was perfect; we waded around in the turquoise water, taking in the view of the island soaring into the sky. We decided that we needed to see the view from the top, so we endured the stuffy long lines to take the tram up to the town above us. We got off the tram to see a spectacular view of the ocean and the rest of the island. There was a whole town carved into the mountain; up-scale restaurants and luxury stores lined the streets and tour groups ambled along the narrow sidewalks. We walked to one end of the town admiring the view, then walked back and rested on a bench in the plaza. I sat down with a chocolate gelato in one hand and a lemon granita (an Italian slushy of sorts) in the other and simply enjoyed the moment. We took the tram back down to the dock and spent our last hour on Capri back at the beach. I sat upstairs on the boat ride back, sitting in the sun and reluctantly watching the island fade away. We returned to the boat for a barbeque on the deck, and I spent the night going through pictures and trying to record everything I did in the past five days. Civitavecchia, Rome, Naples, Ercolano, Pompei, and Capri: I couldn’t be happier with what I saw and experienced in Italy.