Italy as it Happened...Reflections

Italy as it Happened...Reflections

Wednesday, April 10th thru Thursday, April 25th

Taking a vacation away from home, away from ones comfort zone, gives us the opportunity to ponder on the experience and hopefully learn something that will last us for the rest of our days.

I learned a lot from our Italian adventure and I am going to take a few moments here to share my thoughts (and contemplations) with you. I will start with a reminder of why we decided to tour Italy. This is what happened.

As you may remember, from an earlier blog posting, Kerry and I were booked on a Carnival cruise around the Mediterranean. We were going to see some wonderful exotic places like Croatia, Ephesus in Turkey, Rhodes in Greece and Sicily, to name a few). This 16 day adventure was going to start in Venice on April 10th and come to a glorious conclusion in Barcelona on April 26th. As I write this reflection piece I am looking at the check Carnival sent me to cover our out of pocket expenses. Yea, right, like that is going to make us feel better about having our vacation plans ruined, destroyed, crushed. Enough said about Carnival and the 30,000 people that were forced to find other vacation plans. That's right, 3000 passengers per ship and 10 ships having their cruises cancelled. That is a city's worth of upset people.

Kerry and I were blessed to be able to come up with a Plan "B" and being flexible enough to implement it. Italy as it Happened was our Plan "B" and by now most of you have read the entire story. If you missed the earlier postings, look over there on the right where the previous postings are listed; click on the month of April and then click on the Day 1 posting to read our story from the beginning.

As I wrote each days journal (blog posting) I reflect upon that memory and the emotions I experienced during those events. I am sure some were forgotten but others have been etched in our memories, to last us a life time. For example, there was a day when we were visiting the Vatican (on the Sunday when we went to church service in St. Peter's Square). Kerry has a friend who wanted us to purchase a bunch of rosaries for her to donate in Africa. Kerry and I had a great time searching (and buying) these items. I didn't blog about it but it was (and always will be) a great memory. The smells and tastes we experienced cannot be put to word and still do it justice. So Kerry and I will keep those memories to ourselves.

There was a lot of things that we did not enjoy, such as those mean, complaining ladies on our Amsterdam bound flight, or the constant trouble we had trying to figure out which train was on which track. Sharing a bathroom with others is not a "Kerry" favorite either, but it was something we had to endure, on occasion. We decided to focus on the big picture and not the individual pixels.

Kerry loves to travel and so do I. We have traveled to many faraway places and being able to do that makes us feel grateful and sometimes unworthy. For me, flying is not my favorite thing to do. I get nervous in tight spaces and even the "BIG" wide body air buses seem a little confined at times (especially during rough air). But I endure. Will we continue to travel? Obviously the answer is yes, as long as God gives us the ability, opportunity and means.

Usually when Kerry and I go somewhere, we like to keep the planning to a minimum. That was the main attraction of taking this cruise. All we needed to do was show up at the ship and sit back and enjoy the ride (and food, and theater, and atmosphere, etc). Unpack once and be done with it. Our other cruises were perfect in so many ways. We were anticipating the seeing of places we had never been (especially Ephesus in Turkey). So, having our trip cancelled, and being thrust into Plan "B" mode, we were able to turn that mountainous lemon into semi-sweet lemonade. Was the Italy trip perfect? No way. Would I (we) do it again? Probably not. There were some things we saw that we always wanted to see and there were things we saw that we could have done without.

What was the positive side of this trip? Seeing the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the ancient Roman ruins, walking around Venice and the walled cities of Florence and Assisi were obviously the highlights. Tuscany in general was a very memorable place to walk around and we did walk many dozens of miles. I would not trade those experiences in for anything. If we did take the cruise we would have missed most of what we had done. I guess you could call that lemonade.

What did we not like about our vacation? I would say the one thing that pops to mind is how Rome feels as a city. Sure, there is a great metro that will take you anywhere you need to go, but for a big city (over 4 million population) it just doesn't have the same feel to it as London or Paris or Montreal or Beijing, to name a few. Instead, when we arrived in Rome, we were greeted with graffiti like we had never seen before. Literally every surface was covered (tagged) and it was not attractive. We made the decision to spend three days in each place (Venice, Florence and Assisi) and the final five days in Rome. Our thoughts were wrapped around the idea that since Rome was a big city there would be so much more to see and do. Wrong! We could have done all we wanted to do in Rome in just a day or two. In retrospect, we would have reversed our Plan "B" and gotten Rome out of the way first, spending only a day or two there while working our way to Venice, a nice place to end a vacation.

Now I can clearly see that there was a Plan "C" and a Plan "D" and so on. Plan "C" could have been our arriving in Venice and working our way to Madrid and spending a week or so travelling around Spain. Our original return flight was out of Barcelona so that would have worked out just fine. Plan "D" would have us doing northern Italy into France. I visited the French Rivera years ago on a business trip and it would have been pretty cool to show Kerry the wonders of Nice and Marseille. We even considered not going to Europe at all but instead doing India (April in India is too hot and humid). The options were endless but for whatever reason, we selected the option we did and there was no turning back. Maybe we made this option selection because there were only a couple of weeks from the time our cruise was cancelled to the departure date, and by just changing the return flight from Barcelona to Rome gave us a leisurely opportunity to wonder around northern Italy, staying at various B&B's along the way.

On a scale of one 1 to 10, 1 being the worst and 10 being the most awesome, I would rate the Italian vacation a 7. My reasons are obvious, as stated above. Maybe I subtracted a point due to the bitter taste in my mouth called Carnival. When I asked Kerry what her likes and dislikes were along with asking what her rating would be she said she loved Venice and all of the canals. She especially enjoyed the water bus rides and the day we spent at the glass blowing factories on Murano. She marveled at all of the antiquities and the pulse of Tuscany. She appreciated the small grocery stores and how the locals only shop for what they need for the day. Then she focused on the down side. Her biggest regret was having her dreams crushed by Carnival. She didn't like having to drag luggage around (even though it was only a carry on with wheels). She thought that not having a rental car restricted us in a small way. With a car we could have visited many wineries, something she would have enjoyed. I guess we could have booked a wine tasting tour but it just didn't fit in with our tight schedule. Kerry finished off with her dislike list with her impression of Rome as being dirty and overcrowded and over all, not that impressive (although some of the places we saw in Rome were). It was interesting getting Kerry's point of view as they were very much in line with my own. Her rating was a point lower than mine, giving the Italian trip a 6.

So, in summary, I (we) look at this trip as another great vacation where we got to eat and sleep with the locals, a culture far separated from ours by unique customs, habits and history. Given the opportunity we would have made a few alterations to the way we laid out our schedule but for the most part we are better people for the experience.

I want to thank all of you for following this story and sharing the experience with us. There is no greater satisfaction compared to when a friend like you sends us a message or walks up to us and revisits some of the experiences they read about in our Blog. I am pleased that you found our silly little adventure entertaining. Kerry and I were extremely entertained living it, just as we were sharing it, with you.

As I checked this morning on the number of followers my blog has so far, I am pleased to announce the number just passed 4000 (4075 to be exact). So far I have told four stories (our Italian vacation, my P90X 3 months of extreme physical exercise and the story of my father-in-law, his cancer and his death). I also shared with you on my Hunter Ink Blog the daily journal of my mission trip to Senegal. As other adventures come our way I will be sure to take notes; lots of notes. And when they get collated into proper composition form and posted, you'll see my posting on Facebook, inviting you in to explore my, no our inner most thoughts.

BONUS MATERIAL...

These short video clips will give you a taste of what we saw, heard and lived during our brief Italian vacation. 

Venice...

Murano...

                                     

Florence...

Assisi...

Vatican Museum (Vatican City)...

St. Peters Sq. (Vatican City)...

Street Church Service (Rome)...

                                         

May you be blessed and those who love you be blessed and those who love those who love you be blessed, in a very special way. 

Italy as it Happened...Day 16

Italy as it Happened...Day 16

Thursday, April 25th

A funny thing happened to us on the way to the airport. Kerry and I figured out my cell phone alarm and as we planned, it went off, causing both of us to hit the floor running. We had enough time to shower, dress and eat and put the last of our things into our bags. We were now mobile and ready to go. As the apartment door closed behind us, we made our way down the stairs and quickly arrived at the nearby metro station. The metro starts running at 5:00 am and we were there by 5:15 am.

Just like our practice run a few days earlier, we arrived at the main metro terminal (Termini) and with a quick step driving us, we arrived at the train station, and the platform where we would catch our express train to the airport. It was almost 6:00 am and that was when our train would depart. We had a few minutes left to purchase the tickets and get them validated before boarding and relaxing for the brief 30 minute journey.

Of course, when it comes to trains, Kerry and I had this little black cloud following us. Here was what happened this time. We found a ticket machine and went through the entire data entry process (date, qty 2, from Termini to the International Airport, time of departure 6:00 am, payment method...) When we went to make the payment, this machine would only take credit cards or rail passes. We had calculated this phase of our vacation and planned on paying with cash. Euro's have no use to me at home so I had put aside 35 euros to pay for the train and now this machine was telling me I had to use a credit card. Right behind us Kerry noticed another machine, one that indicated it took cash. Great; we were using the wrong machine. I hit the cancel button and as I spun around to re-enter all of that data (date, qty, destination, etc) I could hear the overhead speakers announcing our trains approaching departure. We had to move quickly, and we did. Within a few minutes the tickets were in hand and my 35 euro's spent. The train was right there and as we ran to it I inserted the tickets into the validation machine. Done. Up and onto the train we go. Now, find a place to sit and we can relax. Finding a place to sit was easy...there was no one else on the train; no passengers, no employees, nobody. Kerry wondered if we were on the wrong train and as we walked forward, car after car, we saw nobody. We couldn't believe that we were the only ones heading for the airport. We weren't.

Sitting right across the platform from us was another train, with doors closed and people on board. Could it be? Kerry suggested that we make a run for it and so I grabbed the bag from Kerry so she could run easily and together we exited the train and crossed the platform while hearing the announcement, "Train number 712 is now departing for the International airport on track number 19." We were on an empty train on track number 20." "Opps!" Here we go again.

As we approached the train we noticed that all of the doors were closed. We had no choice, but to leap forward and push the "door open" button and see what happens. If the door does not open, then we would have missed the train by minutes. We would have to go and find a cab or some other means of transportation. I could hear the brakes being released. I thought we were toast. As I pushed the door button, the door latch and air release could be heard as the hydraulics activated the door and with a quiet swoosh, the door slid open. We jumped on board. We must have been very entertaining for everyone on board to watch. It was the "Rick N' Kerry Comedy Hour" and we were performing live.

As soon as we boarded another swoosh could be heard as the door slid closed behind us. The very moment the door was secured the train started moving. We bounced our way up ahead until we found a nice spot for the two of us to sit. Hopefully we were on the airport bound train. We weren't sure. A man sitting across from us looked up from his pile of paperwork and smiled as we asked, "Airport?" He said, "Yes." Now we could relax. We struck up a conversation with him and he was a wealth of information. He was a tour guide heading to the airport to meet a group he was going to tour around Italy with. When we told him about our mishap this morning and almost missing the train he said that there would probably be no conductor checking the tickets and so if we had to we could have just boarded. He added that if there was a conductor, we could have purchased the tickets directly from them. Good to know (for next time).

Just then, the conductor came by to punch the passenger tickets. As I handed mine to her I asked what would have happened if we didn't have time to purchase the tickets at the machine. She told me that she could have sold the tickets to us (just like our new friend said) but then she continued, "But you would also have to pay a penalty." I asked how much. She said that it would have been the price of the ticket plus an additional 50 euro's per person. Yikes, that would have cost us 135 euro's. Our new friend was drop-jawed. He learned something new about rail travel in Italy. We were told by various people we met during our trip that it was not a good idea of taking a chance in getting caught without a ticket...if you did get caught, it would be expensive. I guess they were right.

Kerry came up with a plan, one that would save us a little energy during the trip home. Once we arrived at the airport, we caught the shuttle to the international terminal. Kerry wanted to check our two carry on bags. Since the vacation was over, if the bags got lost, no big deal. We had no other luggage with us since we only travel with 2 carry on bags. I thought it was a good idea. 

As we checked in at the Delta/KLM counter I watched as our faithful bags disappeared on the conveyor, heading for that mysterious place where bags go. We were now, for the first time since we left Tucson, travelling bag free. For today at least, we didn't have to drag those carry on's around with us. So far so good. I think we had enough excitement for the day. We were hoping that everything else would go smoothly for us. Through security we went (with a total body scan---not sure what I think of that technology, but if it keeps crazy people off of my plane, then scan away; and enjoy the show).

Once we arrived at our departure gate I spent my last few euro's  (coins) on an espresso for Kerry, a decaf Americana for me and a few unique candy bars for the trip. Done. All of my euro's were now gone. The next time I would need money would be in the good old U.S. of A., and I had plenty of U.S. dollars on hand, if needed.

Our flight would be a direct one from Rome to Atlanta (11 1/2 hours), then after a 5 hour layover we would fly from Atlanta into Tucson. Once we boarded and found our seats, I immediately looked behind me, just to make sure there were no crazy ladies sitting there. A small person was sitting there and so I was glad to know that my reclining would not be an issue. During the entire flight the girl in front of me did not recline once. That gave me a very roomy area during this long flight. I was grateful for that.

I love the A.V. technology they have on these flights now. Every seat has their own T.V. and remote control. You can watch HBO or Showtime shows and movies, various regular channels and of course the in flight movie channel. This gave me a selection of dozens of movies or hundreds of other programs to watch during the trip home. There was even a channel where you could track the plane with statistical data being displayed (fuel consumption, distance flown, distance from destination, temps, speed, altitude, etc). I enjoyed it. It took 3 movies, 2 sitcoms, 3 meals and various snacks for us to touch down on American terra firma. God Bless America.

After checking through Atlanta's Customs and Immigration we found our way to the Tucson bound gate, parked ourselves on one of those dual seats with plug ins and started playing some computer games. We would take turns getting up and walking around, just to keep the blood circulating. We even phoned home when we were boarding our last flight, just to let them know we were on schedule. We were almost done, almost home.

Just after 8:30 pm on April 25th (16 days after we left for Europe) we touched down in Tucson. I was ready for this trip to end. Kerry agreed with me when I told her what I was looking forward to. I said I was looking forward to my own bed, my own pillows, my own house and of course my own dog (Rosie) as well. After being picked up at the airport and enduring that quick 30 minute drive home, my dreams (and Kerry's too) came true. It was finished. Our bed, pillows, dog and home were waiting. It was good. When I finally unpacked a couple of days later, I found 1/2 a dozen Italian candy bars in my bag. BONUS....yummy!

What did I learn from this Italian odyssey? Many things. Tomorrow I will make one last posting about our Italy vacation and will share with you my final thoughts and insights. Until then.

Italy as it Happened...Day 15

Italy as it Happened...Day 15

 

Wednesday, April 24th

It was a lovely day. We listened to the birds chirping as we woke up from our slumber. Pulling back the drapes we were introduced to what would evolve into a sunny and warm day, perfect in every way.

 

Kerry and I now had a routine and today was no different. First thing we did was start the day with a yummy breakfast (kiwi juice, granola cereal, an apple and an energy bar. There was something about the apples in Italy; they just seemed to taste fantastic (crispy and juicy). We had at least one apple each day since arriving in Italy. Since neither of us got the least bit sick during the entire vacation (considering we drank tons of tap water every day and we did spend that day walking around Rome in the cold, wet weather) maybe there is something to that saying, "An apple a day...Keeps the doctor away." We washed down our breakfast with a couple of home-brewed coffees (we had the coffee brewing thing down by now) and of course, we stared each day with our 8oz dose of Emergency drink.

By 8:30 am we were heading out for our first walk of the day (there would be others). I had a hankering for a pastry. We had been really good this entire vacation and so it was time for us to splurge on the calories. Stopping at a neighborhood bakery we purchased two biscotti. By purchasing two, I would get to have one all to myself, with no obligation to share. "Mine-all mine...waahahaha!" <--- my impression of a villain laughing.

As Kerry and I continued our walk we both bit into our post breakfast snack. We both looked at each other and could instantly tell that we were both in agreement once again. "That was the NASTIEST biscotti either of us every had." The texture was off, the flavor was bitter and the hankering for a fresh baked goodie diminished to a learning lesson. I hate it when a hankering for a fresh baked goodie is diminished to a learning lesson. I can make a far superior biscotti if I do say so myself. Kerry agreed.

 

We picked up a few groceries to get us through the day. It is a European thing to have small fridges and go out each day to buy your daily groceries (meat, veggies, etc). Only in America do we buy half a cow and stuff it in our freezer for the meal we are planning on 8 months into the future. While we were shopping we came across the biggest peppers either of us had ever seen, These things were the size of our heads (photo op). Yes, we were the only ones in the grocery store with a camera, taking pictures of the produce.
 

 



We headed back to the apartment to put our feet up and play some computer games (that Candy Crush Saga game is addictive). I laugh thinking about Kerry watching me play a level. If I lost (and I did often), she would yell out, "You lost. My turn," while grabbing the iPAD out of my hands before the level was even over. I should talk (I did the same). We had a lot of fun killing time and resting (naps), something we haven't spent much time doing since arriving in Italy.

 

After a hearty lunch we headed out again to hike some miles. We ended up going further than planned. Looks like we had travelled 8 miles before realizing that we needed to turn back. Up ahead we saw a metro station. Once we read the name of it we realized that we walked 3 stations from our neighborhood metro. We stopped to buy Kerry an espresso before turning around and heading back. We did zig and zag up and down some smaller side streets, finding some really cool areas (parks, family markets, schools and a convent).

 

By 5:30 pm Kerry and I were back home. While I started putting together our stuff for the final re-packing Kerry was in the kitchen making a great pasta dinner with a side salad and red wine (very authentic). After eating I stood at the balcony and watched some of the neighborhood kids play football (soccer) using a giant acorn as a soccer ball.

 

Later on after all of our bags were packed up, Alessandro (our host, who lives 15 minutes away) came by to take care of a few things for the new arrivals (2 couples) who showed up late the previous evening. While visiting with Alessandro, two of the other guest (the husbands) joined in our conversation. I sat back and thought about how perfect this moment was; strangers becoming friends ( a world apart). I apologized to our flat-mates in advance for the noise they may hear at 5am (the time Kerry and I would be up and ready to leave). They weren't concerned.

By 7:30 pm we were heading to our bed while the others headed out for a night of night club partying.  To us, bed sounded a lot more inviting (I speak for myself).

A couple of days ago, when Kerry and I took the metro to do some neighborhood exploring, one of the things we did was go to the main metro station called the Termini. This is where the metro meets the railroad station. This is where we needed to catch a special "High Speed" train to the airport when we were ready to leave for home. We decided to actually find our way to that Airport Express train platform and time how long it will take us to get there from our apartment.

 

Okay We have it all figured out. It is a 15 minute metro ride from our house to the Termini station. From there it is a 15 minute walk (if we go slow) to the Airport Express platform. The Express we wanted to catch leaves at 6:00 am which means we have to leave our place by 5:00 am to get there by 5:45 am. That would give us 15 extra minutes for fumbling around like a couple of tourist (figure out the ticket machine, get the tickets validated, etc).  

 

Our bags are packed and we tested my phones alarm to insure we know how to use it. Alarm time is set for 4:45 am, which will give us 15 minutes to do what we need to do before closing the apartment door behind us for the very last time. Lights were out at 8:00 pm while we lay there pondering, "What did we forget?"

Italy as it Happened...Day 14

Italy as it Happened...Day 14

Tuesday, April 23rd

God really has a sense of humor when it comes to the weather. As I mentioned in my previous posting, yesterday poured all day. The first  thing I did when I got up this morning was open the window and do a weather check. As I peered out onto the courtyard I saw large puddles dancing with rain drop ripples. Here we go again!

Obviously Kerry and I would have to dress for an encore of yesterdays ordeal; walking (and waiting) in the pouring rain. This was unusual for us. Typically we were very lucky when it came to vacation weather. We have visited Seattle many times without seeing a drop of rain. We've travelled to the Northeast only to be greeted by an unusually mild and dry climate. Even Europe in the Spring usually greeted us with sunshine and mild temps. Yes, for Kerry and me, rain on our vacation was uncommon, especially two days in a row.

When I prepared Kerry's morning coffee I noticed that more than half of my milk was gone. Did it evaporate? I think not. I knew our apartment mates helped themselves and that was a little irritating. When you stay at these B&B's there is a common rule as far as the kitchen goes; only eat and drink your own food and beverage. These guys were leaving today to continue their European vacation in France so I just let it be. No sense crying over stolen milk!

As Kerry and I headed out the door (after a hearty breakfast of granola with fruit) we were sure to dress for what the day had in store for us. Bumble Bee jackets, umbrellas, sweaters or layered "T" shirts, all of these were in place upon our bodies. Since we were doing a walking tour of the Vatican, we decided not to bring our back pack. The security would be intense and having a loaded back pack would just slow things down. Instead, we filled every pocket in our Bumble Bee's with snacks, waters and various other accessories we would need throughout the day (scarves, Lipstick (Kerry's), maps and bus/metro passes). We were set; loaded down but set.

As soon as we arrived at the Vatican the clouds parted allowing a beautiful (hot) sun to shine down on us. That was it for the rain. The remainder of the day would bathe us in sunshine. I think we were over dressed. That was God's joke on us. Funny!

The line at the Vatican was the largest line I had ever seen. It was at least 6 people wide and wrapped around the Vatican starting at the Museum entrance and ended a 1/4 mile down the road. I was expecting our planned Walking tour to be somewhat like yesterdays tour, but I was completely wrong. This tour was just an organized group that somehow bypassed the entire entrance and ticket lines. Together, the 20 of us just walked up to the gate. Our guide spoke with the guard and presto, he allowed us through. Then, once inside she had us wait in a tight group while she went to get us our entrance tickets (another long line she walked around to avoid). Within 10 minutes she was back with a hand full of tickets, allowing us entrance into all of the Vatican museums (and there were many). Once our ticket was received she was gone. We were now free to go in any direction we wanted to. The day (and the Vatican) was ours to explore at our own pace.

The Vatican museum, in my opinion, was as brilliant as any other world class museum. And what we saw was just the tip of the iceberg. I know that the vaults below are filled with unimaginable quantities of art collections, seen by only the chosen (privileged) few. My only complaint was the amount of people flowing through each room or corridor. The congestion was so thick one could barely find a moment to look around and take in all of the beauty. Kerry and I did manage to take the route of the "Salmon" going in the opposite direction of the flow. It made for a more interesting adventure. All of the secondary museums were almost vacant of tourist. We saw (and touched) many fine pieces of art in these not-so-often visited galleries. 

I guess the highlight was arriving at the Sistine Chapel. My neck actually ached from constantly looking up at that amazing ceiling. Michelangelo, after finishing the Sistine Chapel painted a self portrait, presenting himself as an old man in his late sixties or early seventies. He said that even though he was young (30's) when he was commissioned to do the ceiling, after its completion he never felt so old in his life. The stress and backache (and neck ache too) was very taxing on his mind and body. With my aching neck (only after 15 minutes of looking up) I sympathized with him and the painful endurance he must have suffered. I walked away from that experience confirming my opinion that Michelangelo was indeed the greatest master of the renaissance, if not the greatest master ever.

 After walking in and out of various museums all day we decided to end the experience by going inside of St. Peters Basilica. "Spectacular" is the only word that can describe what was standing there before us. They sure don't build churches like that anymore...who could afford it? I would suggest that you Google St. Peters Basilica and have a look for yourself and the amazing artwork. Pictures (and my words) can't do it justice.

By 5:00 pm we were done, home by 5:30 pm and I was preparing dinner by 6:00 pm (and yes, we got to use the kitchen as our apartment mates were now gone). By 6:30 pm we were sitting back with our feet up checking Facebook and e-mails while charging up all of our electronics at the same time.

                                  This is how you out-smart a pickpocket

Tomorrow we had a plan...the plan was to not have a plan. Yes, we were going to see whatever we wanted to see with no schedules and no tours (especially the walking kind). Should make for an interesting day.