It’s been a long week and I have had a lot of fun.
Last Friday at 6 am I walked to the Ascoli Piceno bus stop and with a sore throat I boarded the bus en route to Rome. I was very tired and not feeling so well, so I quickly drifted off to sleep and woke up around 9:20 a.m. in Rome at the START bus station I had waited at when I first arrived in Italy for my study abroad.
I walked around for a few minutes trying to find a cab that would bring me to the Marco Polo hotel that my family and I would be staying for three nights. Within a few minutes I spotted a taxi stand and walked over to ask a driver for a ride. I showed him the reservation for the hotel with the address on it that I had printed out the day before. He looked at me and shook his head, pointing straight ahead. From what I could understand, he told me I was about five minutes away from the hotel and he wouldn’t drive me because we were so close. And he was right.
Quickly I found the hotel, a few steps away from the Termini train station in Rome and hopped on the elevator to the third floor. The guy at the reservation desk, an American from Philidelphia that had moved to Italy with his mother a few years back, told me my room would not be ready for a few hours and let me leave my bag in the lobby.
I ventured out on my own around the train station area in Rome. There wasn’t much to see. I had to stop a few times to load up on cough drops and water. My cold had just started a few days before and was only getting worse.
I went back to the hotel around 2:15, and was told by the guy from Philly that my room was still not ready. It would be ready around three and I could wait in the lobby or go back out. I decided to wait, and soon enough I was led into the room. It was a small quad, but fortunately very clean.
I was hoping that the hotel would offer some channels in English, but I had no luck: all Italian. So, I surfed the internet for a bit with my laptop, and then took a nap. Soon there was a knock at the door and I ran to open it to discover my mom, dad, and grandma, fresh off the plane with traveler’s tales of their own.
Over the next few days we went around Rome.
The day after they arrived, we bought tickets for a “Hop On Hop Off” bus that took us to all the really important must-see things in Rome. We spent half a day at the Vatican Museums, and the next day we toured the Roman Forum and the Coliseum. We also went to the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and went for a few good dinners during our time in Rome.
Rome is a beautiful city. It's everything you have ever heard or read about. It sinks into the bones, a blanket city of Italian iconography.
The next stop on our trip: Ascoli Piceno. We had planned to spend the full third day during the trip in Ascoli. I had planned for us to take a 9 a.m. bus from Rome to arrive in Ascoli around 12:00. We all got our stuff packed and were at the bus station to buy our tickets and hop on the bus.
The ticket agent, however, told us that there was no 9 a.m. bus to Ascoli and that the next one would leave at 2:30. Apparantly, I had read the time table wrong, and the bus would leave Ascoli at 9 to come to Rome, not Rome to Ascoli. So, we spent a half day in Rome around the Spanish steps and had overpriced coffee at a nearby café and sandwiches and gelato sitting at the Fontana della Barcaccia (Old Boat Fountain) at the bottom of the Spanish Steps.
We did make it on the 2:30 bus to Ascoli and a few hours later were eating dinner at Lalivia, a tratoria next near Piazza Arringo. The food there was delicious. I actually just found out that starting next Thursday, I'll be taking cooking classes there with my fellow UNHers. I'm very excited about this.
The next day we walked around, had coffee at Café Meletti and a round of drinks at The Murphy’s, a bar in Piazza Arringo run and owned by a Polish guy. Since Murphy is my brother-in-law and sister’s last name, we toasted to them and to our trip in Italy.
That night we went out to Cantina dell’Arte (or The Art Cellar) for another great meal.
In Ascoli, my parents and grandmother stayed at Hotel Guiderocchi. It was a beautiful hotel and the staff was very nice. Even though I was not staying there, they let me eat breakfast with my parents and my grandmother. Their room was very beautiful and I spent a while watching American television on the Skye cable they offered.
After Ascoli, we took a train to Venice for a few days. It was my second trip to Venice and the city was no less stunning this time around. Piazza San Marco has always been a favorite of mine and seeing it for the second time was amazing. A person really feels the weight and power of the Venetian empire when they stand in the square, dwarfed by the massive and imposing buildings and the unique beauty of San Marco’s Basilica.
After Venice, we hopped on a train to Bologna and soon were relaxing at a café overlooking Piazza Maggiore. Nothing has changed since I have last been to Bologna. There is stuff to see and do, but it doesn't quite compare to other Italian travel destinations that are scattered throughout the peninsula.
We walked around, saw the couple of things that are there to see, and then went for a nice dinner at an osteria near the hotel. An osteria is an inn that also has a restaurant. The food was really good and it was an excellent way to spend the last night of our Italian vacation.
The next morning at 5 a.m.I wished them good bye as they headed back home. I went back to bed for a few hours and hopped on the 9:29 train to San Benedetto and then hopped on another train to Ascoli. This time, the train ride went smoothly. Five hours of not panicking is always a good thing!
When I got back to my apartment, I unpacked and then walked around the town for a little bit and then went to bed a little earlier than normal.
Sunday, I walked around Ascoli Piceno. In Piazza Arringo and Piazza del Popolo the antique market was going on and I was lucky enough to have my camera with me. I walked around for few hours talking photos and then I bought some cheese and olives in the specialty food market held in Piazza Roma. Also, at the antique market, I bought an Italian grammar book from 1948 for 3 euro. After that, I brought my clothes to be cleaned, read a little bit, made lunch and rested.
I want to thank my mom, dad and grandma for coming to see me. I hope you all had a wonderful time here, I know I did and I am so happy that you came.
Alex
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