Three Italian Cities - Rome, Florence, and Venice: Part I

From the looks of it, this was long overdue. I figured I could have started recording the highlights of my '09 summer trip to Italy the day (or day after) I returned to the States, but I turned out to be too disgustingly exhausted to function. In a span of ten days, I don't think I have ever walked a total distance greater than I have done so while I was in Italy. Sure, the experience was great, it was indeed fun and interesting, but hell... it was horribly tiring.

For this segment, a.k.a. simply "Part I," I will chronicle the first few days of the trip, primarily entering, staying in, and leaving the city of Rome. "Part II" will cut in between the stay in Rome, since it is split between Rome and Vatican City. If all goes well, "Part III" and "Part IV" will talk about Florence and Venice, respectively.

New York to Rome
The departure was set for August 6th at 4:00 PM EST. John F. Kennedy Airport. Seems reliable. Delta Airlines. Seems reliable. Oh, how mistaken. First of all, when you think about delays - even relatively short ones that range from half an hour to an hour - you usually imagine they are caused by mechanical issues with a plane that forces it to stay on the ground until everything is settled. Or you imagine a freak storm was prohibiting any takeoffs... usually. But for some reason, everything was fine when I was boarding the plane with my family. Everything was on time. We found our seats and settled in easily, we stowed away our carry-ons with speed, and we were ahead of time. So we waited for the planned takeoff time. 3:45 PM. 3:50 PM. 3:55 PM. 4:00 PM. 4:10 PM. 4:30 PM. ...What the hell? Cue the PA that delivers this paraphrased dose of info:

"Sorry for the delay, folks, but some suspicious luggage were found on board the flight. We are currently handling this issue and we should resume takeoff shortly. We apologize for the delay."

So around 4:45 PM, the plane's PA system returned with a gleeful message stating everything is settled and we can go along our way. Well, that's fine, it was only a 45-minute delay. I can handle that. But of course, being delayed only 45 minutes is absolutely no fun at all, so fate decided to halt the flight yet again - mind you, we were just about to enter the runway when this happened - with a medical emergency. Really?! A medical emergency?! Yes, someone decided to flop out right before taking off. Supposedly it was some form of restlessness or uneasiness that weakened said someone to a point where said someone was unfit for flight. ...Huh...? Okay...

5:30 PM. So, there goes another 45 minutes. You know, when we resumed the long, melancholy process of taking off, I was ready for another delay. What could it be this time? Someone smuggled a rabid chihuahua onto the plane? Or could it be an evil chain letter that spreads through Flight 187 like a wildfire, putting all the passengers into a state of ridiculous unrest, forcing the plane to yet again delay its takeoff?

The chihuahua would have been interesting, but the flight finally took to the skies after a 1.5-hour delay. Now all I had to do was stall for about seven hours before landing in Rome, Italy.

I think sunset photos turn out pretty when you're 20,000 feet up in the air. This was a 6 PM EST sunset facing the rear end of the plane. As soon as the plane struck somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean probably a good four, five hours later, I turned to look to the front side of the plane and this was what I saw:

If I think about it, night never really came for me. There goes the sun. Wonder where it went? Turn around... Oh, there it is! Surreal. Too bad the ugly plane wing was in the way of my shot, or else this sunrise photo should have turned out majestically.

Rome, Italy
Around 3 AM EST, after going through the process of disembarking the plane, claiming my baggage, finding a chauffeur to escort my family to a hotel, etc., etc. I finally got into Rome. Boy, was I tired. Come on, it's past three at midnight...

No. More like, it was about nine in the morning. I love time zones. Can you say, I was a straight up victim to jet lag? But for the sake of battling this curse, I had to force myself to stay awake long enough to sleep at an appropriate time, something like 11 PM or something. Tempting naps were naturally forbidden and even a simple bench must be resisted.

A solution to keeping myself awake could be coffee and other sources of caffeine, but since I was to be in Rome for a mere four days, I might as well make the most of it. However, recall that I mentioned that I felt that I have never walked as much in my life as I did throughout my stay in Italy. Well, it all started in Rome. Since the day was to be short, due to my fatigue that felt like near-death, my family and I decided to just visit one landmark for the time being.

This area is known as the Spanish Steps, the longest and widest staircase in all of Europe. At the bottom of the steps, around the base, is the Fountain of the Rotten Boat. Why it is named that, I do not know. Likewise, there is something interesting at the top, which is the Church of Prinita Dei Monti:

There will be a ton of churches throughout Italy, not just in Rome. Nearby is the sacred Vatican City, which I will get to later. But after I trudged up and down the Spanish Steps, I was ready for bed at 5 PM Central European Time (CET), or six hours prior - 11 AM EST.

I particularly enjoyed the second day in Rome, highlighted by the visit to the famous Coliseum, the Roman Forum, and the Pantheon. Another long day started at 7 AM CET and ending at 11 PM.

Left to right: Coliseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon

Among other visits for the second day included the Fountain of Trevi and plenty of snack stops. Oh, food. I have a ton to talk about when it comes to food in Italy...

Everything in Italy, as the rest of Europe, is purchased with euros (€). Though not exact and due to the constant fluctuations in the world of currency, for the sake of simplicity, a euro is approximately 1.5 times the worth of a US dollar. Given that information, you would think that $8.00 in the United States is reasonable for a plate of spaghetti in a random restaurant. Well, the Europeans think €8.00 for a plate of spaghetti is reasonable for them, as well. So for us sad Americans, we look at a menu in Italy and cry a little when converting the €8.00 to $12.00 for a plate of spaghetti. On the flip side, a native Italian may cry a little - albeit out of happiness - when converting the $8.00 to €5.33 for a plate of spaghetti in the United States.

I never liked The Price is Right since I was never that fond of Bob Barker, but let's play anyway. For a family of four, we ordered three plates of pasta, a side dish, and four gelatos (Italian version of ice cream). What was the final price?

It turned out that everything we ordered was the same price: €8.50. Do the math, and the grand total for an afternoon "snack" ended up as approximately $98.25. Almost triple digits for a snack. If you went over this amount, you ought to visit Europe since the prices may suit you. If you went under... well, no surprise there. Just to add more info, water is pretty hard to come by in Italy. And because it's so scarce, the prices skyrocket. A bottle of water in a restaurant averages around €4.00 and those in grocery stores can range from €1.50 to €3.00. Kill me. Kill me again when I mention that there is rarely any ice in drinks.

I've written a lot here. I may come back to add or edit this entry. However, for now, I will stop here. The next day in Italy takes place in Vatican City, which is a completely different experience on its own. Of course, I plan on sharing such an experience, but that will have to wait.