Well, we finally made it to Italy yesterday!
My Trip to Italy:
I shared a taxi with two other teachers from ASK- we left at 12:30 am for our 3:15 am flight. We got checked in and through security without any issues. Flying Turkish Airlines, we were all looking forward to ordering our first beverage.... who cares that it would be 4 am? On the flight, they had built-in screens to watch movies, listen to music or play games. Under the music section, they had "The Holy Qu'uraan." I found that pretty amusing that you could listen to it while on the plane! Oh, technology. We made it to Istanbul and I found my next flight with about an hour to wait. I was so thirsty and realized I didn't have any money, so I headed to the closest place that took debit cards. I bought THE.MOST.EXPENSIVE coca cola EVER. $4.34 cents. Seriously. I almost passed out. Got onto my next flight, which would take me to ITALY! We ended up taking off about 20 minutes late, but it was a quick flight.
Arrival:
My parents and Julie arrived an hour early and I arrived about 20 minutes late. I was walking to customs and saw my mom jumping up and down waving like crazy through the glass. It was so exciting to see her! After a quick bathroom stop, we waited for my suitcase (which actually made it, wahoo!) and headed outside to find our shuttle to the hotel. My first thought when I stepped outside was, "Oh. My. Gosh. I can see my own breath!" It was cold. And raining. And reminded me of Oregon. I also took lots of deep breaths of the fresh, clean air.... no dust or sand in this air! After a few minutes, mom went back inside to ask where to find the hotel shuttles and came back instead with our driver! He had been waiting at the "Lost and Found" with a sign saying "Mr. Scharlin." Close enough. :) He threw our luggage in the shuttle, we piled in and we were on our way! Except for the little delay getting out of the parking lot.....
Parking Lot Adventure:
Heading out of the parking lot, there was a lot of honking going on. My parents and Julie were commenting on how crazy Italy drivers were. I was laughing and saying this was NORMAL compared to driving in Kuwait!!!! We were waiting in the lines to go through the gate to get out of parking lot, when we realized the car in front of us was not moving. Neither was the car in the lane next to us. Apparently, they did not have the correct ticket to put into the machine to raise the gate. Our driver started honking, the cars behind us and next to us starting honking... then they all started yelling. Our driver got out and started yelling at the car in front of us. The driver next to us started yelling at our driver. The driver of the car in front of us started yelling at our driver. It was hilarious. It really did remind me of Kuwait. Except our driver was yelling in Italian. And then would poke his head back inside the van to tell us what was going on (in Italian, of course), to which we would all respond like we understood what he was saying.... After about 10 minutes of yelling and honking, our driver and the driver of the car next to us went inside and got something figured out, cause they came back and and we finally started to go. It was definitely an amusing start to the day.
Arrival to Hotel:
We took the back roads to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza. It was a beautiful drive and my mom commented that it felt like we were in an episode of "House Hunters, International." It was true! I was in awe of all of the green, after being in the sandbox for so long. Arriving at our hotel, we got checked in and then relaxed for a bit. Dad and I enjoyed some instant coffee (Nescafe... shouldn't that be illegal in Italy?!) while mom and Julie had some tea. They all enjoyed some of the traditional Kuwaiti treats I brought with me and dad got a kick out of the squid-shaped bottle opener I brought from Kuwait. After I changed into my boots that mom brought and got bundled up in the warm scarf and hat, we headed out to walk into the town and find some food and drinks!
Town:
The walk to town only took about 15 minutes. We walked past houses, bakeries and a school. We stopped to take pictures of the church and tower in town. Then we looked for food and drinks. We decided on a pizzeria. After all, why not start out in Italy with the classic? Well. We were seated inside and there were plenty of locals sitting around us. We were reading all of the options for pizza (probably about 30+ choices on the menu) when the waitress came up to us. The first thing she did was apologize for her poor English. Uh, what? We would have been fine with pointing at the menu and she was apologizing for her English-speaking skills? Then she dropped the news on us. Pizza was only served in the evenings. SAD. Although, we did end up finding some edible food on the menu and some good wine to drink. Mom, dad and I started out with a caprese salad. OMG! Yes, I just said OMG. It was crazy good. I swear, the tomatoes were picked from the garden outside. The cheese was so fresh. It was heaven. Julie ordered lasagna for her lunch, mom and I shared an amazing seafood spaghetti dish and dad was happy to order spaghetti with anchovies. We were stuffed by the time we left! We found this wine store next to the restaurant. You bring in your own bottles and fill them up from the different vats of wine! It is super cheap- about $2.00 per liter. Of course we didn't pass up this opportunity. Next we headed to the grocery store to get some cheese and prosciutto. YUM! We returned to the hotel to shower and nap, then enjoyed wine, cheese, prosciutto and some fresh bread from the local bakery.
Now, it's the morning of our second day. We are going to get some pastries for breakfast from the bakery, then take the train into the city! After dropping off our bags at our apartment, we will explore the city and stock up on some basics for food in the apartment. I am already in love with Italy. I will post an update later... Unlike my mom and Julie, I am not going to use my phone while here! Pictures and more blogs will come later....... :) Check facebook for pictures though if you'd like! :)
My Trip to Italy:
I shared a taxi with two other teachers from ASK- we left at 12:30 am for our 3:15 am flight. We got checked in and through security without any issues. Flying Turkish Airlines, we were all looking forward to ordering our first beverage.... who cares that it would be 4 am? On the flight, they had built-in screens to watch movies, listen to music or play games. Under the music section, they had "The Holy Qu'uraan." I found that pretty amusing that you could listen to it while on the plane! Oh, technology. We made it to Istanbul and I found my next flight with about an hour to wait. I was so thirsty and realized I didn't have any money, so I headed to the closest place that took debit cards. I bought THE.MOST.EXPENSIVE coca cola EVER. $4.34 cents. Seriously. I almost passed out. Got onto my next flight, which would take me to ITALY! We ended up taking off about 20 minutes late, but it was a quick flight.
Arrival:
My parents and Julie arrived an hour early and I arrived about 20 minutes late. I was walking to customs and saw my mom jumping up and down waving like crazy through the glass. It was so exciting to see her! After a quick bathroom stop, we waited for my suitcase (which actually made it, wahoo!) and headed outside to find our shuttle to the hotel. My first thought when I stepped outside was, "Oh. My. Gosh. I can see my own breath!" It was cold. And raining. And reminded me of Oregon. I also took lots of deep breaths of the fresh, clean air.... no dust or sand in this air! After a few minutes, mom went back inside to ask where to find the hotel shuttles and came back instead with our driver! He had been waiting at the "Lost and Found" with a sign saying "Mr. Scharlin." Close enough. :) He threw our luggage in the shuttle, we piled in and we were on our way! Except for the little delay getting out of the parking lot.....
Parking Lot Adventure:
Heading out of the parking lot, there was a lot of honking going on. My parents and Julie were commenting on how crazy Italy drivers were. I was laughing and saying this was NORMAL compared to driving in Kuwait!!!! We were waiting in the lines to go through the gate to get out of parking lot, when we realized the car in front of us was not moving. Neither was the car in the lane next to us. Apparently, they did not have the correct ticket to put into the machine to raise the gate. Our driver started honking, the cars behind us and next to us starting honking... then they all started yelling. Our driver got out and started yelling at the car in front of us. The driver next to us started yelling at our driver. The driver of the car in front of us started yelling at our driver. It was hilarious. It really did remind me of Kuwait. Except our driver was yelling in Italian. And then would poke his head back inside the van to tell us what was going on (in Italian, of course), to which we would all respond like we understood what he was saying.... After about 10 minutes of yelling and honking, our driver and the driver of the car next to us went inside and got something figured out, cause they came back and and we finally started to go. It was definitely an amusing start to the day.
Arrival to Hotel:
We took the back roads to our hotel, the Crowne Plaza. It was a beautiful drive and my mom commented that it felt like we were in an episode of "House Hunters, International." It was true! I was in awe of all of the green, after being in the sandbox for so long. Arriving at our hotel, we got checked in and then relaxed for a bit. Dad and I enjoyed some instant coffee (Nescafe... shouldn't that be illegal in Italy?!) while mom and Julie had some tea. They all enjoyed some of the traditional Kuwaiti treats I brought with me and dad got a kick out of the squid-shaped bottle opener I brought from Kuwait. After I changed into my boots that mom brought and got bundled up in the warm scarf and hat, we headed out to walk into the town and find some food and drinks!
Town:
The walk to town only took about 15 minutes. We walked past houses, bakeries and a school. We stopped to take pictures of the church and tower in town. Then we looked for food and drinks. We decided on a pizzeria. After all, why not start out in Italy with the classic? Well. We were seated inside and there were plenty of locals sitting around us. We were reading all of the options for pizza (probably about 30+ choices on the menu) when the waitress came up to us. The first thing she did was apologize for her poor English. Uh, what? We would have been fine with pointing at the menu and she was apologizing for her English-speaking skills? Then she dropped the news on us. Pizza was only served in the evenings. SAD. Although, we did end up finding some edible food on the menu and some good wine to drink. Mom, dad and I started out with a caprese salad. OMG! Yes, I just said OMG. It was crazy good. I swear, the tomatoes were picked from the garden outside. The cheese was so fresh. It was heaven. Julie ordered lasagna for her lunch, mom and I shared an amazing seafood spaghetti dish and dad was happy to order spaghetti with anchovies. We were stuffed by the time we left! We found this wine store next to the restaurant. You bring in your own bottles and fill them up from the different vats of wine! It is super cheap- about $2.00 per liter. Of course we didn't pass up this opportunity. Next we headed to the grocery store to get some cheese and prosciutto. YUM! We returned to the hotel to shower and nap, then enjoyed wine, cheese, prosciutto and some fresh bread from the local bakery.
Now, it's the morning of our second day. We are going to get some pastries for breakfast from the bakery, then take the train into the city! After dropping off our bags at our apartment, we will explore the city and stock up on some basics for food in the apartment. I am already in love with Italy. I will post an update later... Unlike my mom and Julie, I am not going to use my phone while here! Pictures and more blogs will come later....... :) Check facebook for pictures though if you'd like! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment