Napoli, Sorrento, Pompeii

(picture 1: view from where we hiked down to in order to see the shore
picture 2: the view outside the gates at Pompeii)

Tuesday after waking up and making our way via taxi to Victoria station and then to Gatwick via the Gatwick express, the Manzullo travel luck struck again. We got their the recommended 2 hours in advance, only to realize our gate wouldn't be broadcast until oh, 30 minutes prior to take off. Once the gate was finally announced, we found it and were bused out to the plane pretty quickly…only to find out that they had failed to detect the ice on the wings the night before. So de-icing set us back about 30 minutes. Aside from a scary “we’re going to be struck by lightning and/or land ON that mountain any second” sort of landing, the flight was smooth, baggage collection was easy, and customs was non existent. We waited for about 10 minutes to catch a bus to take us into Naples, and the bus ride was uneventful. From the bus station at Piazza Garibaldi, we walked to the train station, and after some confusion, found the Circumvesuviana train station, which is somewhat separate from the main station. We bought tickets, hauled our bags down to the platform, and jumped on what we took to be the 1:05 train to Sorrento (sign said: “Sorrento via Pompeii”). Well, as I’m scarfing down goldfish on the train (breakfast was oh, 7 hours ago), I realize our train is no longer going towards Sorrento, it’s going towards Salno. After panicking, I realized we’ll have to get out, change trains, go back ot Barra (a station a few stops prior) and get on the train to Sorrento. So we get off, get back on, and procede to wait nearly an hour at Barra for a train to Sorrento. The first few are going someplace else, the next one doesn’t even stop, and finally, a train pulls in and we’re assured it’s Sorrento by some locals. Finally, around 4 we end up in Sorrento, and luckily we found the hotel really easily. Thanks to Meredith (no really, we owe you big time), we were in a great hotel called Hotel Michelangelo—an adorable, medium sized hotel with beautiful decoration, big rooms, big bathrooms, terraces, and breakfast. The man at the check in desk gave us a map and we set out exploring. We walked for quite a while, doing some shopping for ourselves and people back home. We also walked down the shore, which involved a nice easy ramp on the way down and a crazy set of stairs on the way up—nevertheless, the views were worth it. We took our purchases back to the hotel, then ventured back towards the main square for dinner. We found a nice, relatively empty restaurant (we eat early, Italians do not) and proceeded to get a lot of attention from the wait staff, who were very friendly (maybe on account of our attempt to speak legit Italian). Following the London pattern, we gave into exhaustion and went to bed by 10, especially since we’d been up since 4am.

Today we slept in a little, then took advantage of the breakfast at the hotel before preparing to lug our bags all over Sorrento and Pompeii. We made it to the train station in time to catch the 10am train, so we got to Pompeii by 11. We got tickets and checked our luggage and began a 4 or 5 hour exploration. Mom and I had been before when I was about 16, but really liked it and wanted dad to see it. With a map and guidebook in hand, we decided to opt out of the expensive guided tours and made our own way around, mostly tripping on the ancient stone streets. Around 2 we finally gave up—there’s just no way to see everything—and went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. After lunch we reclaimed our bags and hopped back on the circumvesuviana train to Naples. I convinced the train ticket man to put us on an earlier train to Rome in the hopes of getting in before it gets too dark tonight, so I’m writing this from the seat of the Eurostar train whole hour earlier than planned. The view from the train is worth the 25 euro price—we’ve been speeding through the mountains, roughly following the coastline of western Italy. Aside from having a hard time stowing our massive bags on a train meant for what seems like baggage-free travel, things have gone smoothly and hopefully finding our hotel in Rome won’t be too difficult in the semi darkness!

ps-pictures coming soon
pps-if any of you are reading this, mr. manzullo's 5th grade class, he's definitely missing you guys and i know he's worried so you better be being good for your sub!

mind the gap

Friday was the official first day of break for me and it started off with the usual Manzullo family travel luck. I planned on taking the 9:45 vaporetto from near the house to the bus station, where I would take a 10:20 train to catch my 11:45 flight. At 9:50, the 82 vaporetto blew by without stopping and I commenced a very hurried dash to the bus station with a packed suitcase to lug over the infinite bridges in Venice. The bus luckily left on time and I got to the airport in time to see a very long check in line. The check in line moved decently quick and I then landed in an even longer security line, but mercifully found my gate with about 30 minutes to spare before boarding was set to start. And after all that rushing, my flight was delayed. Mind you they didn’t exactly announce this delay, they just subtly changed it on the display at the gate, so I called mom and dad’s hotel in London since they had arrived at 7am and had planned on waiting in the lobby for me when I was due to arrive. Despite leaving late, the flight pretty much landed on time and I made it through passport control in time to catch the next Gatwick express, hopped off at Victoria station, hopped on the underground up to Kings Cross station, and popped out and started walking in what I thought to be the proper direction. Turns out I was heading in the complete wrong direction, but happened to run into mom and dad, who had been out walking around before I was due to arrive. Everyone was tired, but we decided to do a little exploring before completely giving up for the night. We back to Kings Cross, bought 3 day travelcards, and went to Harrods. We poked around for a while, but ultimately gave in to the hunger and exhaustion and went back to the hotel. The concierge suggested walking up a few blocks to Watney’s Dollar Grill. It was a really cute place with a downstairs martini bar and a nice upstairs, where we had hamburgers and tuna burgers. After that, we pretty much passed out.

Saturday we went to the little cafe across the street from the hotel, called EuroCafe, to have a proper English breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast, tea) and coffee. Then we took the tube to Westminster Abbey, which I had never gotten to go to when I lived in London two summers ago as it has really unusual opening and closing times. We walked around and got to see everything from the coronation chair to monuments to tombs—I felt especially English-major-esque strolling around poet’s corner. Near Westminster are Big Ben and Parliament, which are some of my favorite London sights. We then walked across the Thames and found a riverside walkway, which took us past the London Eye (a giant, capsule-like Farris wheel that, for a chunk of change, provides views of the entire city). We walked a good ways down the river to the Tate Modern, which is Britain’s major modern art museum, where we saw some interesting exhibits and slides that took you from the fifth and fourth floors down to the basement (sadly they were fully booked or dad and I were going to give it a go). We had hoped to eat on the 7^th floor restaurant since it has excellent views of the river, but the menu wasn’t great and they apparently book up months in advance. We ended up going back to Young’s Founders Arms, a quasi pub on the river where we could get pub style food (better tasting, however). We then took the footbridge across the river to St. Paul’s Cathedral, which I had visited before with Alicia but wanted to visit again (this time without walking the hundreds of steps up to the top). Next we hopped on the tube down a few stops to the Tower of London, which we opted to skip going inside of on account of the exorbitant cost and drizzly weather. We did end up walking down around the Tower along the Thames to the Tower Bridge (often mistaken for the London Bridge). A hotel mom stayed in on her first visit to London is in the shadow of the bridge, so we poked around the area by the hotel called St. Katherine’s Wharf. There are some apartments, a little marina, and a few pubs and restaurants in the area, and the weather was finally improving so it was nice to wander around. Again we sort of gave into hunger and exhaustion and headed back towards the hotel for dinner, this time at Strada, an Italian restaurant near where we ate Friday evening. It was also excellent and not too expensive (if you don’t double the value stated and just kind of ignore the exchange rate, that is).

Sunday we got on the tube and went all the way up to Hampstead, which is a little north of the Worrell House, which is where I lived a few summers ago. We walked down the street for probably about a mile, but it was all downhill and shops and restaurants lined each side, so it wasn’t obnoxious and it gave mom and dad a good idea of what my summer was like. Sadly we were too early for me to get a crepe at Alicia’s and my favorite crepe stand, but I knew I’d be back the next day, so we walked on. It was definitely strange to see my old “stomping grounds” but even stranger to walk past the flower stand where I had bought flowers for our professor the morning of the tube bombings and then past the tube station where I first learned of what had happened. While we were in London, there was a lot on the news regarding current court proceedings for the terrorists, so it was a bit like reliving that whole experience. After making our way down the street, we found the Worrell House and luckily a Wake student currently living there was nice enough to let us in so I could show mom and dad around. Then we walked down towards Primrose Hill, which is just up another nice shop/restaurant lined street. At the peak of the park, you can see the entire skyline of London (for free, unlike the London Eye) and then back down towards the Chalk Farm tube station that I used almost daily that summer. Because it was Sunday, the local Camden Market was in full swing, so we braved the crowds and saw all kinds of crazy street vendors selling anything and everything you can imagine. We then hopped on the tube up to Covent Garden, where we had lunch and shopped around a bit before walking to Leicester Square. We happened upon a movie premiere for the new Mr. Bean movie and as we were trying to find our way to Trafalgar Square, none other than Mr. Bean came peeling into the square driving a painted little MG. We walked through Trafalgar Square and along to Picadilly Circus (London’s Times Square). We then found our way to Oxford Street, where we did some shopping, then got back on the tube to Green Park, where we walked through the park to Buckingham Palace. We were too late for changing of the guards, so we just walked around a bit, then made our way to Hyde Park. We walked through the park along the Serpentine, then up towards Lancaster Gate, where we caught the tube to the St. Paul’s area and had dinner at Cafe Rouge.

Monday mom went into the office, but dad and I kept being tourists. We went down to Victoria station to buy our tickets for the next morning (super early flight to Naples) for the Gatwick express. Then we went back to Harrods and did some more exploring, but eventually ended up in the gift area, where I bought myself an apron (apparently I can cook, but I’ve been wearing Brad’s apron—Michelangelo’s “David”—backwards for a few weeks now). Then we took the tube up to the British Museum, where I hoped to see the Reading Room again (a huge, multiple story, circular room full of really old books…yes, I am a nerd). Sadly it was closed, but we got a peek when a worker opened one of the doors. Then we looked through some of the ancient Egypt and ancient Greece exhibits. Next we hopped back on the tube and went up to get the crepe I didn’t get on Sunday. I talked dad into one, too, so we sat on a bench on the street and ate dark Belgian chocolate and peanut crepes for lunch. I still can’t put my finger on what makes them so much better than any other crepe (even the ones I had in France), but there is a reason the stand has been there since the 1980s. We got back on the tube and took it to Chalk Farm, where we walked from to get to Primrose Hill again in order to walk through Regeant’s Park—another place I never made it to a few summers ago. It was a beautiful day—finally—and we spent about an hour walking through the park and gardens before taking the tube back to the hotel to drop off my apron. We then headed off in the direction of Charing Cross Road, known for it’s profundity of bookstores, because I’ve had a hard time finding English books and London is the first English speaking place I’ve visited this semester. We took a wrong turn and ended up at Trafalgar Square, so we took the chance to pop into the National Portrait Gallery, another thing I never had time for on my first visit. It was cool to see everything from 1400s paintings to modern portraits. After that we finally found Charing Cross Road and walked down it quite a ways to find a few big bookstores. I spent about 45 minutes picking out enough books to get me through the semester, and by then it was time to meet mom at her office. So we hopped the tube again, got off a few stops early, and walked along the river to her office. We then took a cab to the St. Katherine’s Wharf area again and mom and dad had a drink at the pub while we waited for the Indian restaurant to open. Mala, the restaurant, was a place mom had eaten on her previous trip and liked it so much that we wanted to try it too. The waiters were really helpful at suggesting dishes to try and combine, so we all ended up with something different that we could share. After that we pretty much rolled home, we were so full and tired. Plus we had to be up at 4 am for our early flight to Naples…

belluno e bolzano

[[Pictures: 1. Robert and I in the field where we stopped to eat, 2. an example of the uphill trail we climbed (this particular one was directly after lunch), 3. the very narrow, very rocky, very scary path that eventually just plain ended, 4. one of many water troughs (we decided they were originally meant for horses back in the day), & 5. a view of Montagna Serva from a field along the trail]]

Yesterday Robert and I decided to go to the Dolomites and arbitrarily picked Belluno out of the travel book since it was the closest town by train. We caught an early train and quickly got yelled at by the train ticket collector for some reason that I'm still unsure of (she only spoke Italian...), but we didn't get kicked off, which is fortunate. We got into Belluno around 10 am and quickly got lost trying to find the tourist office (we ended up back at the train station). Since we ate our lunches on the train at 9am, we stopped at a little bakery to buy food for lunch. When we finally got to the tourist office, the lady told us we should just walk down around the river since it'd take at least an hour by bus to get anyplace pretty. Well, we couldn't find the river side path that the woman described, so we marched back into the office and demanded a bus. She told us Bolzano was only 10 minutes away (why she neglected to tell us this earlier is beyond me) and sent us towards the bus stop.

The bus literally dropped us off on the side of the street in Bolzano and we found one of the two walking trails the tourist office woman described. And we walked. For about 3 hours uphill (Robert estimated it was about 2 or 3 miles). I know...not exactly Jenny-style...I can imagine the shock/disbelief this is causing! We stopped for lunch in a field and kind of got that "we're the only people on the face of the earth" impression since it was so quiet. Until the walk back down, we didn't see a single person, which was really strange compared to the tourist clogged calle of Venice. After hiking as far as possible (at least as far as I could possibly go), we walked back down and caught the bus back into Belluno.

In Belluno we walked around a few shops (I nearly accidentally bought a $400 pair of boots) and found a pasta shop where you could buy cool pasta (made with things like lemon, cocoa, or pepperoncino) that they made on site. Then we got gelato (Robert owed me...we made a bet...he lost), hung out in the park in the center of town, and headed back to catch our train home.

Today I pretty much can't move on account of the intense hiking, but it was totally worth it for the chance to see some green after spending so much time in Venice!

Parigi

(Pictures: Sarah and I dominating the rain at the gardens, at the Eiffel tower, and in our matching scarves eating crepes--can you tell I miss her??)


I'm hanging out in the CDG airport, having said goodbye to Sarah, then Cat, and it feels a bit like Thursday evening, when I got in to Paris at 5, but Will, Cat, and Sarah didn't arrive until around 10 or 10:30. Today I ate breakfast at the airport with the girls, then did a little shopping, but Thursday was a little more of an adventure. ...

I got to the airport early since Professor Chiari cancelled our second art visit, so I logged about 3 hours in the Venice airport (I like airports, but I like not worrying about being late even more). I got some serious work done, found my gate, and had a relatively smooth flight to Paris. In atypical Italian fashion, we got in early (I think it's because Air France and not Alitalia actually operated the flight). So I navigated the incredibly massive terminal 2 of CDG to collect my bags and then find the Sheraton hotel Will advised me to wait at for him. Unfortunately it would've been painfully obvious that I wasn't staying there, especially if I just sat in the lobby til 10pm. So, I continued downstairs to a waiting area, and whipped out my computer to keep doing work, but my battery was near death, so I spent some time lugging my bags around until I happened upon a room with a bunch of business men hunched over their computers, which were miraculously plugged in. I plopped down and took advantage of free wireless and free electricity to work on a powerpoint, do some debate research, and do some art history paper research while downloading some tv episodes off Itunes to keep me occupied later in the evening. Quite a few people came in and out of the room, however as time wore on, it ended up being just myself and a relatively toothless man who kept trying to look at my screen. Then a security guard with a bomb sniffing dog accosted me, demanding to know why I left my bags over on the other side of the room. I explained (in English, I discovered this weekend that I absolutely cannot speak French) that my bags were sitting right next to me, which pretty much convinced him I wasn't trying to do any harm to CDG, but then I realized that abandoned bags meant someone might be. After canine dog man descended upon and disposed of the bag, it's owner re-emerged and wondered what happened to his bag. My toothless friend explained in French to him, then decided he wanted to chat with me, and although he seemed to think he knew English, I could not understand a single word he said and spent most of the time nodding and trying to scoot further to my right, since he and I were still the only two people there and it made me nervous. He was having computer issues, and wanted my help, especially when he was trying to find google.com but kept typing coogle.com (and wondered why it wasn't working....) and then wanted to watch a movie on my computer since his wasn't working. Luckily, Kristin and I had set a skype date, so I escaped to the bigger, busier area outside the waiting lounge to have some privacy and get away from the slightly scary man. Outside, I got hit up for coins from at least 3 people and started to feel quite alone, especially since I still had 3 hours to go all by myself. But talking to Kristin, watching Desperate Housewives, and doing work got me through, as the canine dog man kept strolling past me looking at me angrily. Reunionizing with Will first, then the girls was GREAT....completely worth the wait. Will knows just about everything there is to know about Paris and is fluent in French, so he saved me in terms of navigating and seeing Sarah was so so so worth the wait. I've missed her so much and had been looking forward to this trip since I booked it in January. And her friend Cat was delightful...she fit right in with Sarah, Will, and I, which was good since the 3 of us have known each other since freshman year and I worried she might feel left out. Will had to get to his ex-host family's apartment before it got too late, so Cat, Sarah, and I had to get to our hotel alone, but we managed pretty well all things considered. Despite our exhaustion, we stayed up talking til maybe 3am, despite the fact that Will was planning to meet us at the hotel at 10.

Friday Will showed up right on time, but the girls needed more time, so he took me to a little pastry shop right around the corner where you could buy 3 pan au chocolat for 2 euro or 4 for 2 euro 30, which is a huge bargain, plus they were absolutely amazing. Then we took the metro to Notre Dame, which was even more impressive in person than I expected. The stained glass was beautiful, as was pretty much every other part of it. Then we walked to the Louvre, where we were going to visit later, just to see it, and it (as the ex-castle of the kings pre-Versailles) was also amazing. From there, we went through a garden area as we walked on to the Arc du Triumph, which appeared to be really nearby but was actually 1 1/2 km (about 1 mile). It wasn't so much the 1 mile, but the rain that made it rough, but it was worth it...the beautiful buildings on the way and the Arc itself were really impressive. Will then took us someplace for lunch where they slightly overcharged (14 euro omelets, 5 euro small coca colas) and got mad at me for only wanting soda and not lunch despite Will's fluent french, but it was an adventure and everyone except for me was famished, so they were willing to pay. Then we went to a handbag wholesale place, which was overwhelming to the point that I may or may not have almost spent WAY too much on a bag, but Will convinced me to wait, and took us on to a French department store, which was huge and constructed in the 1920s in an new-art style. We wandered and window shopped, as it was a little pricey. Will then left us to go rest and change before dinner, but Sarah, Cat, and I hunted down the local H&M and the likes and bought some more affordable basics (leggins, scarves, a shirt for me, etc) and then met Will back at the Louvre (it's free for students from 6-9 on Fridays) where we saw the typical--Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus di Milo, etc--and some less visited art such as Egyptian sculptures and the Medieval Castle ruins down in the basement area. After that, Will took us to a really trendy, reasonably priced restaurant in one of his favorite neighborhoods. He ordered us the house wine, which was excellent and inexpensive. Since it was Friday, I had to bite the bullet and eat fish, which I don't care for, but I got salmon and vegetable lasagna. It was possibly my favorite meal so far in Europe. The salmon didn't taste overly fish-y, the cheese was not overpowering, and the vegetables were delicious. For probably the first time ever, I didn't have food envy! We then tried to get gelato at a nearby store, but it was closed, so Will took us to a wine bar in the area that he also really likes and we each had a little more wine before we called it a night.

Since we were tired, Will agreed to start our Saturday at 11, and he and I went for pastries again while the girls got ready. Then we took the metro to a famous basilica built on a hill/mountain on the outskirts of the city. Will pointed out a few sketchy metro stops in the famous Moulin Rouge area where a lot of drug deals turned into murder scenes, but promised it had gotten much safer since the 60s, plus it was day time. Anywho, we walked up about a million steps to get to this church, but it was 100% worth it. Not only was the church beautiful, you could see the entire city. We then wandered around that part of town, which is even more picturesque than the city proper, in my opinion, We saw the famous boarding house where well known artists lived when the area was dominated by artists. Then we found another of Will's favorite restaurants where everyone could get an appetizer, entree, and dessert for 11 euro, but again, I just wasn't hungry, so I got soup while everyone else ate a full on meal. I made up for the money I saved when we came across a cute little dress shop on the way to the metro and I tried on and bought two dresses. Ooops. Then we tried to go to the Museum of Modern Art, but by using Will's french, we realized there were no good exhibits, so we went to the Luxembourg Gardens since it was such a beautiful day. Sarah and I got crepes, and proceeded to end up with Nutella ALLLLLL over ourselves. There are pictures. It was so not Parisian, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we went to a really cute, really inexpensive wine bar in the area, and Will took us to the metro line that goes above ground so we could get one of the best views of the Eiffel Tower (in the daylight) in Paris. After that, we all went home, got dressed up, and met back up with Will to go to an authentic Italian restaurant called Paparazzi, which was absolutely delicious and cheap. He introduced us to a rose wine, which was probably some of the best wine I've had yet (it's actually Italian, not French, so I fully plan on looking for it in Venice). Then we went to the Eiffel Tower to see it lit up, then took the obligatory tourist pictures, and hopped the last elevator to the second level (the highest you can go past like 10pm and it was 11). The views were again absolutely amazing, plus we were on the tower when the hourly light show started, which was cool. The elevator rides up and down were a little scary, but being able to see the city at night from the Eiffel tower was worth it. Then Will walked us to a trendy college student area where they had wine and beer and I had Jack Daniels, for which the bar charged me SEVEN euro! I was so put off that it was that expensive (Will and I were both under the impression I ordered the 3 euro version). But, the bar was absolutely adorable and we had a good time people watching on our last night in Paris, so I didn't mind much.

We said goodbye to Will in the Metro station since he doesn't leave until 7 tonight, and came back to our hotel and ended up talking and packing until 3 again! Despite basically bleeding Euro and not getting a ton of sleep, this was one of my favorite trips, hands down. Paris is just inexplicably beautiful and Will was an excellent tour guide and I adored Cat (and of course seeing Sarah). It's probably my favorite trip so far...the combination of people AND the place was just perfect. It's so hard to be sitting in the airport to leave. I still am completely obsessed with Venice and anytime I'm away, I think about how much I miss it, but this trip really couldn't have been any more perfect...it was worth every last Euro.