Back on the road...

So Sunday at 7:25 I flew out of Ney York City. I had a great time getting to know the city, Mario's family and I got to see Kobe play! I got to hang out with 2 of my good friends from Alaska and saw sides of NY that most visitors dont get to see. NY really is an amazing city, with the most European feel of any US city I have ever been to. The thing for me that stands out about European architecture (besides the age) is how the builders always seem to put in the extra detail and every house and building doesnt look the same, NY also had a diversity of design and detail that reminded me of Europe. Europe doesnt have anything like the height and size of NY buildings, which make you feel like you are entering some strange world when you come in over the bridges. I loved how (especially in Manhattan and Queens) how you walk for 5 or 10 minutes and you are in a completely different cultural section. NY would be my second choice, after anywhere in Europe, to spend the rest of my youth. Marios family gave me an experience I will never forget, from Mario showing me around to his Mother making me feel at home, to His aunt giving me a taste of her Queens famous tiramisu, his grandma making me laugh with her mischievious sense of humor and his little tough guy brother Gianni with his mohawk. I love traveling and flying is a part I dont mind too much, although I always think about what kind of person I will be siting next too. My least favorite isnt the obese guy or the baby or any of the other annoying possibilities but the sick people. Having some stranger coughing next to you for 8 hours is no fun, especially when you are stuck in a big can. Its like a guarantee you will be blowing your nose and taking medicine in a couple days. Everyone always gives the sick person dirty looks, even more than the lady with the crying baby. I was lucky this time tho, I sat next to a pretty normal guy and because the flight wasnt very full i got to go sit by myself - in a middle row no less so I got to stretch out. I dont sleep on planes so I read a book Ian and Christen got me called "the omnivores dilemma"  which is very good and about the food industry in America. I recommend it so you know its good. The flight was very quick - about 6 1/2 hours which actually turned out not to be in my benefit. We got in at about 8AM Germany time and my flight to Rome wasnt until 8PM. So I had about 12 hours to kill. I had to take a bus to a smaller airport so I got my baggage and tried to find the bus stop.  There was a USO station that let me use their internet and gave me directions. It was good to be back in Europe, it seemed more familiar to me that NY had. I got on the bus, which was 10 Euros and  slept about 20 minutes out of tthe hour and a half ride. I got to the Frankfurt - Hann airport around 11:30 and walked around for a while. I was pretty tired and a little disoriented from the time change but still had about 8 hours before I borded. I found a little corner out of the way and put my bags all around me and watched Evil Dean 1. Pretty stupid movie but funny stupid so it was ok. I had a bunch of movies downloaded onto my hard drive, along with some seasons of tv shows like Lost, Californication (good), nip-tuck, Entourage and a few others.  I started getting really tired so I slept on the floor for a while which was very uncomfortable but I had to sleep.  I got up and went to check in and discovered that I had to pay 40 Euro for my luggage, which was over weight by a 5 kilos. Ryanair is a discount airline so they allow you only so much weight. That sucked because Im poor but what can I do, I need my things. The plane we boarded by walking onto the tarmac (something almost every european flight does) and up into one of two staircases into the plane. It was a choose your own seat flight and wasnt full so I had plenty of space. The flight to Rome was quick, about 1 1/2 hours and I could see the Colosseum lights when we were descending. Good ol Rome. When I got off the plane and went inside I was happy to see the new AK traveler so-star, my poppa, Gary Walklin. We hadnt really set up concrete plans so I wasnt sure if he was going to be there. It was very surreal to be in Italy with my poppa. Im so used to strangers and people Ive only known a few months that It was good to be with someone that I grew up with. We got my bags and headed for the bus that would take us to our hotel. I used my rusty Italian, which felt good.  We made it to the hotel, which was a discount one but very nice and welcoming and perfect for travelers.  Hotel Lodi was the name. It was very close to the main Metro lines  and had free wireless, both of which earned it points.  It was also right next to a large chain of the aquaduct, which was in great shape.  The next morning we went downstairs and had cafe and croissants with honey. We walked in the wrong direction for a while before I got my bearings. I was excited to show him what I knew about Rome because I had had such a great time when I went. We took a tram up to the central station (called Rome Termini) and started walking from there. Termini is a huge transportation hub with bus lines, the subway, trains and taxis all there, plus the top level is a large mall.  We were planning on looping south through the city to the ancient Rome area that contains the Colosseum, Arc of Constantine, Roman Forum, Palatine and others.  We both got Roma passes that were good for three days and allowed you on any form of transportation and gained entry into many of the museums and landmarks. When I had came to Rome with the school we walked through the city alot but it was always walking TO somewhere, we were just walking to walk.  It was fun walking around with my dad because he is an engineer so he had a different perspective than I did (he loves the aquaduct that is near our hotel) and he enjoyed all the architecture. We walked through some beautiful gardens and down through part of the financial district. We had a quick lunch at a middle eastern cafe that was pretty good. The Roman kabob has nothing on Firenzes tho. After that we went on pretty much a straight line to the Colosseum which is always impressive. When I had gone before we just looked at it but my Dad and I went inside. You really get a feel for the size when you go in and it really is in good shape. We walked up to the top level and looked down on the area where the action used to be. Alot of the stadium had been gutted for building materials but you could still imagine what used to happen here and couldnt help but think about how many people had died there. You could see the lower chambers where the animals and gladiators were kept until they were raised up by pulleys and also where the seats used to be. It was great to see inside and it is very comparable in size to the stadiums of today.  After the colosseum we walked by the Arc of Constantine and up through to the Palatine, which was where the massive imperial palace was, from which Rome ruled over a large part of the world. Again we got to see tons of stuff that I hadnt seen previously (a theme that would continue through the rest of Rome). We walked up roads and side streets that were full of gardens and churches. We used our Roma passes to go into the Palatine ruins and I was surprised by how massive they were. We walked by where the Emperors throne used to be (it was raised 2 meters when it was there) and to the courtyard where they had games and races for all the rich and important people. We then continued down into the Roman Forum which is pretty broken up but still impressive. There are some very old churches and impressive arcs scattered through the ruins.  It was hard to imagine what things used to be like and to even imagine how old they were. Over 2000 years old and still standing. Do we make anything today thats going to be there in 2000 years? Besides plastic?  My dad saw somethings that he remembered from his elementary school books, which i thought was cool. I dont even remember much from my highschool books, let alone elementary school. We took some steps out of the bowl like depression that held the forum and moved onto the street. From walking in a field of ruins, using your imagination to put yourself back in time to walking across a busy Roman street, trying to avoid cars, is a jarring transition.  We walked along a tree filled park that had metal statues of ceasars to the front of the large white palace that had the chariots on top. It started raining kind of hard so we stopped into a cafe so I could buy my dad his first Italian beer. Birra Moretti is the kind I usually get and they are about a euro each for about 30 ounces. Its very good beer and we sat under a patio outside for a little while before putting the last into a plastic cup and heading out. A year ago I never would have imagined that I would be walking through Rome drinking beer with my dad. I took him up Via Corso to the Pantheon, which he really liked and showed him the tomb of Raphael that is inside. After that we headed to Piazza Navona which is an open courtyard that holds three famous fountains. We stopped for some pizza before heading over to the trevi fountains. The trevi fountains are beautiful and lighted up very nicely in the dark.  Although we had been walking for a long time already we headed up to the modern capitol building and around to the spanish steps to look over the city. I thought there would be a great view at night but its acually much better at night. Rome has few buildings over 4 stories so there wasnt much to look out on. We headed down the steps and took the subway home.  The next day we woke up at about 7:30. I talked to Brittany a lil bit on Skype (Meadow Bill, Mom, you need to pick up the slack and Ia you need a microphone) then we headed to the Vatican. The subway stopped about a block away from the massive Vatican walls and it was only a couple blocks to the entrance. Going throught the museum I thought I had seen everything but it turn out the tour guide skipped alot of rooms he didnt think were that important. We went through an ancient Middle Eastern and Egyptian section (i saw my first mummy) and two long hall ways that were filed with hundreds of statues.  It was great going through again at my own pace, as there is so much inside that I could go 10 more times and it wouldnt be enough. The Sistine chapel didnt hit me as hard as it did the first time and I was able to appreciate it a little more for what it really was instead of just looking around in awe.  Still very powerful and amazingly beautiful I could spend hours inside. We got a bite to eat in the Vatican cafe before heading over To the massive St.Peters.  This was also good to see again and there were areas that had been closed off that were now open.  We were exhausted from walking (the Vatican takes about 5 or 6 hours to walk through). And headed home with a Birra Moretti and canoli's. We turned on a movie but we both fell asleep in about 2 minutes. I woke up really early and dad got up about 7 and we got ready to head out. We set off in a defferent direction than normal and it turned out to be a good thing because we found a great little market with fresh fruit and veggies. We bought some clementines and had coffee and fresh, hot creme filled pastry. I also got him a bomboloni (italian doughnuts filled with creme) and those are so goo. My dad has a book about walking tours in old neighborhoods in Rome so we set off to do one.  We took the subway to a stop near the Tiber river and after a little while of searching we found the starting point. The book gives street by street descriptions of all the important buildings (there were alot) and historical happenings on the streets. We started near the Caesar Augustus mosoleum and headed into this ancient Roman neighborhood. Suddenly after a few drops it started pouring rain. Really pouring. It was really warm and not windy so it wasnt bad and was actually a nice vibe to explore ancient Rome. The rain in a way drowned out the city noise and made it easier to get into the exploration of the neighborhood. These buildings were not ruins. They were inhabited residences and businesses that happened to be hundreds or in some cases a thousand years old. Very beautiful and powerful houses we walked through street after street seeing beautiful churches, doors, windows and all kinds of things.  It finally stopped raining and we stopped into a grocery for some lunch supplies. We got some fresh cheese, bread, prociutto for me, mixed olives, a bottle of wine and some mustard.  We walked down to the river and sat on the bench and made paninos and drank the bottle of wine. Like true Alaskans we peed under the bridge. Next we finished up the walking tour and came out looking at
a large castle that sat against the Tiber river. Castle San Angelo it was called and the bridge that led to it was rowed with statues. We used our Roma passes to get in and started exploring the ancient castle. It had rooms that were complete covered in paintings and filled with old weaponry, armor, crowns and other historical objects.

The best part was the top, which offered a 180 degree view down on Rome. An amazing view. To the right was St.Peters and the vatican. A little to the left of the middle was a diagonal row of the Pantheon, the palace with the chariots and the Colosseum. The sun was coming out and turned rome golden. It was now very warm and sitting on the marble seats looking over Rome was very relaxing. After enjoying the view for a while we walked across a bridge to the other side of the river to see the Spanish steps in daylight.
On the way we stopped at the Piazza di Popolo, or Plaza of the Pope. This had two large, twin churches and many fountains with an obelisk in the middle of the plaza. We then continued on towards the Spanish steps, only stopping for espresso, gelato and water. At the top of the steps was a beautiful view of a sunset over Rome. Reds oranges and blues mixed beautifully and we looked over the city for a while. We then headed home on the subway, stopping to pick up different cuts of pizza some Peroni (a different kind of Italian beer) and clementines. We found a park next to out hotel and had dinner and talked for a while. Once again when we got to the room we immediately fell asleep. And this morning I wrote the blog! Today we are heading out of Rome, South to Napoli by train then onto a Ferry to Catania, Sicily and then by bus or train to Palermo,
Sicily and then if everything works out a ferry to Tunisia, North Africa. Yes Africa. Hopefully by my birthday I will be sitting on a nude beach drinking something cold! If we make it to Africa I think we are planning on staying there for about a week before heading up to Florence. I dont know how much internet they will have in Tunisia but I have the journal Bill and Meadow game me so Ill keep everything fresh and take notes. A special thanks to Brittany for the Birthday money, which I am going to use to buy a bike in Florence.