Greece Spring Break!

For the past 20 years my life has been molded, squished, reshaped, smashed again, and formed again once more. I have been thinking, lately, though, that I am developing into a more stable human being. Finally, I am coming to terms with who I am, who I want to be, and what I want to do with my life.

Then I ship myself off to Rome. Smashed once again.

Now I want to travel. I have been exploring and learning my whole life, but only in the small little bubble of southern New England. Do you know how cool it would be to jump off a canyon in Interlaken? Or ride a camel in Cairo? In my eyes, there are waaaaay more than seven wonders of the world. I want to see everything earth has to offer, and experience every culture I can find. I want to visit every state and every continent. Actually, I want to visit every country. This dream, while quite unfeasible, has been taking shape mostly since my return from my spring break in Greece.

My roommates and I booked our spring break trip to Greece back in January. Spring break in Greece with my roommates? What could be better? Then I found out that smelly little Mor was coming along- JUST KIDDING!!! I promised I'd make a verbal shrine to her, so I better talk her up, huh? Well my darling friend Mor bought one of my roommates tickets who couldn't go, so you can imagine how pumped I was to find out she would be joining. (I was indeed very excited, this isn't sarcasm here.) You could probably also imagine my screams over seeing Hillary after I found out she was the surprise Mor had for me. I mean, c'mon, the trip was already off to a great start. Not to mention Greg was also along for the ride as well. As a matter of fact, he is sitting right next to me, writing in his journal about Greece which made me kinda jealous that I wasn't blogging. You can thank him for this new post. Anywho, as I mentioned before, I am in love with my Italian class and to have THREE of them with me really made my whole spring break. I even loved the 16 hour ferry ride! ...not. Well, I did love Mor, Hillary and I toasting the spring break with a bottle of wine. And I loved the dinner. Ferry food is actually delicious... but highly overpriced.

Once we finally arrived in Greece, we had to take yet another ferry to Corfu. But let me tell you, watching the sunset that night over the Ionian Sea was absolutely worth it. And that food, oh dear Lord the food was well worth the ferry rides. We were staying at this hostel called the Pink Palace. It was painted completely blue. No, just kidding. It was completely decked out in Stephanie Martone pink. Everywhere. My sister would LOVE it there. But anywho, back to the food. That night for dinner we went down to the banquet hall area for one of the best chicken, potato and green bean dinner's I've ever had. Greek food, you ask? Well... not exactly, but it was still heaven on a plate. The next day we walked out of our room and were greeted by shiny helmets and keys to a four wheeler. We spent the whole day riding around Corfu, finding scenery that pictures couldn't do justice, tasting one-of-a-kind liquor, and pulling Mor out of a ditch. Yup, that's right. Faith and I were waiting for Hillary and Mor to catch up to us, but when they weren't coming, we turned around to look for them. Well, I saw Hillary, and she just pointed down... off the road, where low and behold we found Mor!! All she did was shrug and giggle. We managed to get her out of there, and continued along our journey. We stopped at this cafe where we found this liquor only distilled in Corfu. Its made with the branch of a Kum Kwat tree, and one you're finish drinking the bottle, you pour vodka back into the bottle (because the branch is still in there) wait 10 days, and poof! You have the same liquor again. You can refill the bottle 3-4 times. Coolest thing ever? I think so. Of course I bought some. All I need to hear for my wallet to come flying out is, "There is no where else in the world you can get this." We drove around for a few more hours until we realized that we needed to head back soon. Except we were half way across the island. With no idea how to get back. I admit, I have a good sense of direction, but not good enough to get us back to the Pink Palace. But somehow - I don't know how - we took EVERY right turn. And shortly enough, we were face to face with our barbie pink buildings once again. That night was the toga party where we wrapped ourselves up in shiny pink fabric and hit the dance floor. Faith, Mor and Hillary were thoroughly jealous of my sweet dance moves. Why else would they be pointing, staring and laughing, right? The next day - and our last day - at the Pink Palace we went on the booze cruise. It's pretty self explanatory. You go out on this rickety old boat and drink all day long. Let me back up for a second, though. At the Pink Palace, every day you have three options of things you can do: rent ATV's, go kayaking, or go on the booze cruise. The ATV's were a must, kayaking was pretty interesting, but the booze cruise offered jumping off a 50 foot cliff. So, we hiked into the ice cold water to reach a ladder leading us up to a pink (a little overplayed if you ask me) boat. The first stop we made was to the cliff jumping. Very smart, considering most people probably arn't too drunk that early into the ride. After we jumped off the boat into the colder than ice cold water, we climbed up the cliff. All the way up I was thinking, 'Ok, I'm gonna turn around, just one more step and then I have to turn around.' But I got to the top and realized there was literally no way I could get back down. In fact, no one has ever turned around because it is impossible to climb back down the cliff. You would slip and fall trying to get through the cracks and crevaces you jsut limbed up. So, I watched Hillary jump, Faith jump, Mor jump, and then came my turn. I was scared out of my mind, so much so that I couldn't even enjoy the view of the island. But all of a sudden, I was falling. How I got to falling, I don't even know. But when I tried to begin to think of what made me jump (or really walk off the cliff), I hit the water. Genius me didn't have time to think to tuck in my arm so I had a nice big water welt on my left arm for the rest of the day. But to begin to describe the jump would be impossible, so I'll just leave my recommendation for all of you to one day, jump off a cliff. Don't think, just do it.

Then, came the final goodbye dinner and we were off on an overnight bus to beautiful Athens!!!! I mean, one would think Athens would be beautiful... right? Hmm... well either someone lied to me or I ended up in a different town... that happened to have the Acropolis in it. Let me just start by saying Athens is not worth the hype. Unless you're a history major who loves not feeling safe and loves being constantly surrounded by sketchy people, you won't like Athens. It's good for a day trip. Actually no, it's good for a few hours in the day, and thats it. But you know what is worse than walking around Athens? Walking around Athens after just having had the worst night sleep of your life on a bus and waking up with a cold on top of it all. Hillary was in the same boat as me. So we were two grumpy gills that day. Well, two sick grumpy gills. My favorite part of the day though, was when we finally got a chance to sit down at the Acropolis. Hillary and I were lounging when I asked her what the building was in front of us. Neither of us knew. It wasn't until we left and were walking to lunch that Mor told us it was the Parthenon. Just goes to show how non-exciting it was. Then again I will always and forever find the ruins of Rome ten thousand times more interesting than the ruins of Greece. One thing about Athens, however, that I give an A+ to would be the food. We went to this unbelievable dinner that night where we had traditional greek food complete with taziki, greek salad, baked feta and moussaka. How do you say delicious in Greek? That night Mor, Hillary and I walked home because we didn't feel like going out. It was the greatest 20 minute walk ever - largely thanks to Mor. But it was also the scariest. In Rome, there are sketchy guys left and right. They give you the I'm-undressing-you-with-my-eyes look, but never anything more. The guys in Greece gave us the look of I'm-gonna-follow-you-down-a-dark-alley-where-there-will-be-no-witnesses look. I never thought I would actually prefer the skeezy Italian creeps.

The next day was significantly better. I felt a little better, and we were going to Aegina!!! Off we sailed on another ferry (surprise, surprise). Mor, Hillary and I spent the day eating Greek food, laying on the beach - well, actually THEY laid on the beach while I searched for pina coladas. Anywho, we then got some baklava, and departed back for Athens. That night, we spent in the bar of the hostel and ordered dinner and ate over a lovely chat. Friday morning we got up and left for Rome. Saturday night we arrived back home. Travel fail.

The moral of the story is that Mor, Faith and Hillary are the loves of my life. And I want to travel to every country. Il fine.

Mia famiglia!!!

Friday, March 5th, 2010: Current status of my family: Mom can barely keep her eyes open as she strolls over to her bed. Auntie is yelling at her to not play with the thermostat when she goes to bed, Nick and Steph are bickering about whether or not she should smuggle a wreath into her suitcase. (Steph is for against it, Nick is for.) Ahhh…. It’s good to have them here.

I have been visiting the “anticipation building” all week which finally led to today! The day they arrive!! I woke up to a bright and sunshiny day. I went to the catacombs of San Callisto and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls with API. It was so nice outside that I didn’t even need a coat! How excited was I to walk on over to see my family? Uber excited. So, after going back to my apartment, packing, cleaning and getting ready to meet the fam, I planned on no rain. Although, I figured I would pack my spiffy knew umbrella that I bought from the guy at the Piramide Metro stop yesterday. Oh wait a minute, where did it go? That’s right, I left it in Italian class last night. My umbrella count is up to 3. My mom just brought me a new one. I give me a week before I lose it.

Anyway, I have impeccable luck and it DOWNPOURED the whole trip over to see mia famiglia. My pants were soaked, toes were frozen, and my jacket was drenched. I was in a foul mood, as Whitlee would say. But then I got a dozen massive hugs from Steph and my mom, held back the tears reuniting with those two, hugged Auntie, and hugged Nick. After yours truly got dry and significantly happier, we went out to dinner, found mom her pastry, and are now sitting back here, listening the Cheryl and Susie stories from their pastime. Auntie just got to the story of when my mom locked my auntie’s dresser draw and threw the key down the sewer. My mom is sleeping, but she just said, “I can hear you!” Now it’s the story of how my mom put a small, small braid in her hair in the middle of the night and she played dumb in the morning when she found it. (My moms just said, “What did I do?” She still plays dumb quite well.) Side note: Nick has a LOT of energy at night. My sister, on the other hand, is falling asleep. He is currently flying around the apartment, trying see what he can take home.

Besides the joy’s of my visitors, I have had a pretty good week. I was the first foreigner that a little boy on the tram ever met which I’m pretty sure was as fascinating to him as finding big foot. (We’ve moved onto the game where Nick and Steph are timing themselves to see which one can get themselves unlocked from the bathroom the quickest.) Other than the boy, I saw a movie crew in Santa Maria in Trastevere. Wouldn't that be cool to be watching a random movie and suddenly see that piazza? I think so. (I think Steph may have won, due to significant cheating on Nick's side.)

Unfortunately, no internet. Therefore, I shall save this and post it later.

Saturday, March 6th, 2010: Today was a very eventful day of filled with laughs and smiles. We went to the Vatican and got literally mobbed by a thousand tour guides asking if we speak English and want an English speaking tour. One guy even asked Nick in english if he spoke spanish and would like a spanish speaking tour. We got sick of it after the first two, and there were at least fifteen more. Steph and Nick went to the Sistine chapel because Nick had never seen it before, and mom, auntie and I stalked just about every market we found. We found this open market that my mom went into for the sole purpose of buying oranges and cheese. We walked out with oranges, cheese, bananas, meat, pesto, balsamic vinegar glaze, sun dried toamatos, olives, bread, eggplant, nutella, and ricotta cheese. Lets just say we had an amazing lunch. After we ate, we went BACK to the Vatican to walk around the basilica.

We went into the side museum were we saw what? Two thorns from Jesus’s crown of thorns and 6 fragments of wood from The Cross. No big deal. Now how they autheniticate that, I have no idea, but it is believed to be true. Afterwards, Steph mentioned to Nick that we could walk up the cupola, but the mere thought was more than enough heights for him. So instead, we went down. Under, actually, to the tombs of the Popes. Let me preface by saying there were NO signs saying no pictures. I had no right to get yelled at for that. Anywho, as it turns out, all those sarcophagus’s, (sarcaophagi?) upstairs in the basical don’t have any bones. St. Christina of Sweden is actually buried down in the tombs! All this time I thught I was taking a picture of her bones. I saw the burial sight of Pope John I and Pope John Paul II which I am sure Cory Larkin would love to see. Look at that, ANOTHER blog mention.

After our lovely excursions, we went back to the room where I slept like a baby for a whole 45 mintues. I woke up and my family already went through a bottle and a half of wine. We departed for the Spanish Steps, and Steph, Nick and I climbed to the top. As it turns out, the Spanish Steps has only 3 more steps than it takes to get to my apartment building. Fascinating, huh? We went to a FABULOUS DINNER at a lovely restaurant. I got an articoke pasta dinner and after we all shared 2 bottles of wine, I left with a big smile and the phone number of our waiter, Kamal (You're welcome, family, for getting you all a free bottle of wine).

We had a lovely stroll back home and after a drink of limoncello, I said goodnight to my mom and aunt as they went to bed and find myself back here, sitting with Steph and Nick – the exact same way we ended our night last night. Now, Steph is trying to teach Nick Italian. She is trying to get it out of him that “Molto bano” does not mean very good, but very bathroom. Now, he combining bueno and bano to bu-AAAH-nyo. It’s quite hysterical. And now it is waaaaaaay past my bedtime. Buonanotte.

Alright, so maybe I only made it to posting Friday and Saturday night, but I'll fill you in of the rest of the week as well:

Sunday was known as "Christina day." I took them on over to Trastevere where they saw my apartment and we went to the open market. Steph and my mom were a little rusty with haggling, but Nick completely made up for the two. I think he was about to bust out his Italian curse words when the guy wanted 10 euro for a belt. He stormed off, and found a guy who custom made a belt he wanted for only 6 euro (Nick's price). Afterwards, we went to dinner at this place called "Spaghetti." They're famous for their meat. Just kidding. They literally had 50 different kinds of spaghetti, and delicious pizza. I got an eggplant spaghetti dish (surprise, surprise), and we all split a pizza as an appetizer.

Monday was Tivoli day... which could have gone a lot better. For the record Steph, my friends just went to Tivoli and said they loved it. We arrived three hours after we left our apartment to a beautiful swamp in the middle of nowheresville, Italy. After walking around for a bit, crossing the bridge, and asking for a bathroom, we found ourselves in a lovely place for lunch which my mom claims was worth the ride over there because she had the best calzone of her life! My pizza was delicious as well :) Then we walked around for a bit only to stumble upon a breathtaking view of the Italian countryside. We did, however, realize that we only had about 15 minutes left before we had to go and catch our train back, so we left.

But not before my mom bought half a leather store. The man working there was apparently a fabulous salesmen because at one point I looked at my mom and she had four purses and 2 wallets in her hand. Nick chased her around saying, "I gotta keep an eye on you so you don't get screwed by this guy!" I also found my sister torn between three different colors of the same bag. The guy was finessing her as well. When we left, my sister and mom were 2 purses, a wallet and a belt richer, though their bank accounts were a bit feisty the rest of the day. What you ask, did we do for the rest of the day? Not much except I GOT TO SEE KEARA!! Again :)

Her and Joe left from Rome for their spring break so they came out to dinner with us and spent the night in our apartment. We had oodles of fun. Though I felt awfully bad about the amount of candy in the apartment and how Keara could have absolutely none of it. Sorry again, love!

Tuesday it rained. I walked outside and had my umbrella open for a solid 2 minutes before it broke. Why have I not just been wearing a rain coat this whole time? So after we walked over to Guiseppe's meat and cheese place and Campo di Fiori I parted ways with my mom and auntie while Steph and Nick went to the Colosseum. I went to class, and after I joined back up with my now tipsy family again who enjoyed 2 bottles of wine while I learned curse words in my Italian class. Whose 2 hours were better spent? I find that one arguable. We went to the glorious Antonio's where we had glorious food and glorious wine and a glorious waitress- oh wait, no we didn't. She was the most unpleasant person of our life. But other that her the meal was great!

Wednesday *sigh* was the most amazing day spent in my entire time in Italy. We took a lovely train ride over to Montefalco, where we went to Antonelli's wine vineyard. After driving through quite a few acres of their vineyard, we arrived at the main building and had our own private tour with Wendy, an Australian-turned-Italian who is just the sweetest thing. After the tour, we sat down for the most delicious meal I have ever eaten in my life. I will repeat this, because I am not lying. I ate the MOST delicious food ever! All thanks to Teresa, the chef I wish I could take back to my apartment. We had saltless bread that she topped with literally the best olive oil I've ever tasted and salt. Saltless bread sounds strange I know, but it was heeeeeeeaven. Then we were served a scrumptious array of meats and cheeses with sun-dried tomatoes and homemade jam. Then, the pasta. Oh the pasta. Oooooooooh dear, that pasta was amazing. It was this thick, spaghetti like noodle (Steph, what's the name again?) that she tossed in sausage, mushrooms, truffles and cream. My taste buds are still on cloud nine from that pasta. The sad part came next, when I couldn't finish all of the prosciutto wrapped lamb with roasted potatoes and turnip heads that I was served. My taste buds were NOT happy to hear they could wrap themselves around all of that wonder. The dessert was a traditional Umbrian dessert that was this thin pastry dough wrapped around raisins, apples, and I forget what else but it was good. Not heavenly, but merely good. Oh shoot! I forgot about the wine! Hence the whole part of us going to a wine vineyard, duh. The wine was fabulous. We were served 1 white wine that I later bought, and 3 different kinds of red wine. The dessert wine that we were served was by far my favorite, though. It was so think and sweet it was almost like drinking syrup. After the vineyard, our plans for that night were to go back to the restaurant that I got our waiters number (where I would avoid the waiter) to eat dinner, but we were filled to the brim. So we settled for a dinner of wine and gelato at Giolitti's which - dare I say - is BETTER THAN OLD BRIDGE! It is seriously phenomenal.

Thursday was a shopping day. We went to the kitchen store, as the family calls it, and walked around piazza Navona a little bit. We sat down for a drink and got the WORST tasting beer I have ever had. Then I parted their presence for Italian class and rejoined for the last supper at Baffetto's, aka the best pizzeria ever. We sipped our wine, enjoyed our pizza, and found our way over to the bakery with a mortadella wheel almost as tall as me. We polished off their last remaining desserts and we back home to enjoy them. After a couple intense rounds of rummy, it was time to say goodbye. My mom had told me earlier in the week that I was already too dehydrated so she didn't want to see any liquids coming out of my eyes. Well, that was hard for me, her and my sister to do as I said bye to them. BUT I have my special chamomile tea that I am ordered to drink only when I am very stressed and want my mom their to calm me down. My loving mother also bought me a murano glass heart shaped necklace that she told me I can wear and know that for how close that glass heart is to my heart, that's how close we'll always be, no matter the distance. And this woman really expects me not to cry? She also brought me Hersey's Hug's kisses because I told her I miss hugs and kisses. So whenever I need a hug or a kiss, I can just have one and it'll be like getting a hug and kiss from my mom. :) But I'm only allowed one a day so that by the time the bag is gone, it'll be time to get a real hug and kiss from her. The greatest mom ever? Yes, yes I would have to agree 100% with that statement. But as I was saying, when Steph and mom walked my to the taxi, there was not a set of dry eyes. Well, I guess the taxi cab driver didn't cry. I was really hoping, though, that I would be sick of them by the end of the week so it would be easy to say goodbye. Really though, the second after I hugged them hello I had to hug them goodbye. A week wasn't long enough. But at least I got to see them. Unfortunately, my dad couldn't come at all. Which - despite the absolutely glorious time I had - made me still a little homesick. But I suppose having two of my three pillars in life come to visit is better than having none at all, right? Right.