"So I arrived in Italy yesterday. Due to Delta's lameness I travelled sola. That is right, I flew across the Atlantic on a 15 hour flight to a country where I have never been and don't speak the language to visit people I have never met who only speak Italian...alone. Luckily I insist on being to the airport 2 hours early, so we had just enough time to figure out there was no way they would let Cristiano on board, but he did have time to give me his phone that would work in Italy and his small laptop. Then off I went. I arrived in Fumicino which is near Rome at 7:30am and by the time I tried to use Chris' phone unsuccessfully (it's commands are all in Italian and it just functions differently anyway) and couldn't connect to the internet (the homepage was also in Italian and there was no access where I was), I was literally about to cry. Luckily on the plane from San Francisco to Atlanta they had had free wifi so Chris and I had done some quick research and been able to talk and strategize. He was able to contact me by phone as well a couple of times once I had landed, which was great. Then we were on no contact because he had to sleep at some point.
So I went to Rome by train and learned very quickly to ask everyone, "Parla inglese?" Which many people do in Rome. People helped me with my luggage and to validate my ticket etc and I arrived in one piece. Of course I wanted to see the city but that meant I had to store my bags, get some Euro, buy a ticket for Florence, find the tourist bus (which incidently had been moved down the street just this week due to construction), get on said bus and navigate the city to see the sites I wanted to see. Plus apparently I had to avoid gypsies as well. Yes, gypsies. This is not a joke, but true. Rome has quite a few who have been causing trouble, especially with tourists.
This could be daunting. However, I got off the train and literally about 1 minute later an elderly man walked up to me and asked me in English if I needed help. He insisted on walking me all around the train station and helped me do everything I needed. He even walked me partway down the street to the tourist bus. He knew everything about the station and city. He is out of work, but old enough that he has had trouble finding work so he spends a lot of time around the train station. He wouldn't accept any food or money from me but he did take my copy of the Book of Mormon that I had travelled with. At one point he joked that he was my guardian angel. His name was Cristiano. I'm not kidding. It is not a very common a name. Even in Italy.
So I got on the bus and toured the city until the afternoon. It is beautiful and I will post pictures later. It was a quick trip, but I am so glad I got to see things like the Trevi Fountain, the Colloseum, and the Vatican.
Upon arriving back at the station I was supposed to text Chris' dad the info about when and where I was arriving, there is more then one train station in Florence, so he could come and get me. Of course I also had to do this in Italian and Chris had sent me the info via email on how to do this, but I couldn't access the internet no matter what I tried. A really nice guy at the visitors info station tried to send the text but it wouldn't work so he called Chris' dad and spoke with him in Italian giving him the info. I retreived my bags and went to board the train. I had already scoped out the platform it was supposed to arrive at, but was told about 90% of the time it changes at the last minute. I kid you not; I was walking toward the platform, and mind you there are tons of platforms and each train stops at many locations so it is not like it was obvious at all; and a young man walked up to me and asked in English if I was travelling to Florence. What the heck? I said yes and he helped me validate my ticket and walk to the platform. Then he left but reappeared as the train arrived and reassured me in English that it was the correct platform. I got onboard and found my seat, which was assigned on the ticket. I happened to sit next to a very nice young man who was coming back from visiting his girl friend in Naples and was getting off at the stop just after mine. He only spoke less English then I speak Italian, so we practiced Italian for nearly the entire 3 hour trip. He helped me write down a bunch of sentences I could say to Chris' parents and showed me a castle in my guide book in Naples, which he agrees is probably the one grandpa was born by. The guy sitting across from us was from that part of Naples. So funny! Then he helped me with my luggage and made sure I got off at the correct stop.
Chris' dad and I easily found eachother and we went to Empoli. Chris' parents and I had a lovely evening and I am off in a few minutes to get Chris.
I feel like a blogger now.
I know a lot of you were praying that I would be safe and I was definately watched over. Now you can see why my status on Facebook is, 'La gente d'Italia sono simpatici'. The really have been."
So I went to Rome by train and learned very quickly to ask everyone, "Parla inglese?" Which many people do in Rome. People helped me with my luggage and to validate my ticket etc and I arrived in one piece. Of course I wanted to see the city but that meant I had to store my bags, get some Euro, buy a ticket for Florence, find the tourist bus (which incidently had been moved down the street just this week due to construction), get on said bus and navigate the city to see the sites I wanted to see. Plus apparently I had to avoid gypsies as well. Yes, gypsies. This is not a joke, but true. Rome has quite a few who have been causing trouble, especially with tourists.
This could be daunting. However, I got off the train and literally about 1 minute later an elderly man walked up to me and asked me in English if I needed help. He insisted on walking me all around the train station and helped me do everything I needed. He even walked me partway down the street to the tourist bus. He knew everything about the station and city. He is out of work, but old enough that he has had trouble finding work so he spends a lot of time around the train station. He wouldn't accept any food or money from me but he did take my copy of the Book of Mormon that I had travelled with. At one point he joked that he was my guardian angel. His name was Cristiano. I'm not kidding. It is not a very common a name. Even in Italy.
So I got on the bus and toured the city until the afternoon. It is beautiful and I will post pictures later. It was a quick trip, but I am so glad I got to see things like the Trevi Fountain, the Colloseum, and the Vatican.
Upon arriving back at the station I was supposed to text Chris' dad the info about when and where I was arriving, there is more then one train station in Florence, so he could come and get me. Of course I also had to do this in Italian and Chris had sent me the info via email on how to do this, but I couldn't access the internet no matter what I tried. A really nice guy at the visitors info station tried to send the text but it wouldn't work so he called Chris' dad and spoke with him in Italian giving him the info. I retreived my bags and went to board the train. I had already scoped out the platform it was supposed to arrive at, but was told about 90% of the time it changes at the last minute. I kid you not; I was walking toward the platform, and mind you there are tons of platforms and each train stops at many locations so it is not like it was obvious at all; and a young man walked up to me and asked in English if I was travelling to Florence. What the heck? I said yes and he helped me validate my ticket and walk to the platform. Then he left but reappeared as the train arrived and reassured me in English that it was the correct platform. I got onboard and found my seat, which was assigned on the ticket. I happened to sit next to a very nice young man who was coming back from visiting his girl friend in Naples and was getting off at the stop just after mine. He only spoke less English then I speak Italian, so we practiced Italian for nearly the entire 3 hour trip. He helped me write down a bunch of sentences I could say to Chris' parents and showed me a castle in my guide book in Naples, which he agrees is probably the one grandpa was born by. The guy sitting across from us was from that part of Naples. So funny! Then he helped me with my luggage and made sure I got off at the correct stop.
Chris' dad and I easily found eachother and we went to Empoli. Chris' parents and I had a lovely evening and I am off in a few minutes to get Chris.
I feel like a blogger now.
I know a lot of you were praying that I would be safe and I was definately watched over. Now you can see why my status on Facebook is, 'La gente d'Italia sono simpatici'. The really have been."
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