I guess the thing I love most about working now is that I have money to spend on adventures! Our first being a trip to Italy (Rome, Florence & Venice) and Austria (Salzburg & Vienna) which you all know we took just over a month ago! One of my favourit-est friends in the world, Miss Kara J Jones, flew all the way over from Australia and after spending a fun filled week with her in London (including Centre Court tickets to Wimbledon to watch the Fed...I KNOW!) the three of us plane-d, train-ed, boated and automobiled our way through a wonderful pasta, pizza, gelato, wiener schnitzel filled adventure!
The plan (or lack thereof) went something like this...
Roma, 36 degree heat, just the way I like it! We stayed in a little hostel near the Vatican and our three days were quickly filled with all the sites...The Collosseum, Vatican City, Pizza, The Spanish Steps, Pasta, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Parliament, more pizza, Sistine Chapel, more pasta, St Peters Basilica AND between the 3 of us- over 100 scoops of decadent gelato. Best combo? Lemon and Chocolate. YUM
My favourite part...Waking up at 4:30am to see the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps- people free and as the sun was coming up. I must admit that when the alarm went off at 4am I wondered how worth it this expedition would be, but I am so glad we did it, not only because there was no one around, but also because it gave me the opportunity to GET IN the Trevi Fountain. I've since found out that I could have been arrested and I'm therefore quite glad that the policeman guarding the site, just on the other side of the fountain did not catch a glimpse of my spirited frolicking and splashing about like a 5 year old.
From Rome we made our way by Train to Florence, where we popped in for a quick visit, after a 1hr line up mind you, to see old Davo, then back on the train and on toward Venice.
So we're on the train from Florence, we're hot (still 36degrees and had been for four days now), tired, and resting our sore and dirty feet...outside the window, as the train speeds along, the green hills, dotted with cows and the occasional vineyard blur into a backdrop of blue sky. Outside it's bright, the sun is shining and the golden fields glow in its warmth, this is Tuscany, this is what I had always imagined it would be like. Every now and then we pass a cottage, perched on the edge of a rolling valley, washed in shades of terracotta, draped in vines and laced with flowers,..I rest my head against the warm window and watch the beauty passing by whilst Andrew and Kara sit back and play games on their iphones beside me. As I sit quietly, feeling so very content, my eyelids get heavy and I begin to fall asleep....eyes open, eyes close, eyes open, eyes close, I fight to stay awake, to take in more of the beauty outside the train, eyes open, the afternoon sun falls warm on my face, eyes close..........
I'm not sure exactly how much time passes here, but after I nod off to sleep it feels like only seconds until I'm awoken with a shock as Kara flies from her seat over the top of me and toward the window, she points in a flurry of excitement and pastry crumbs that fly from the croissant she is half way through eating....
”Erts Fwwwainig” she shouts with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old on Christmas morning.....
Half asleep I rub my eyes and look at her.
What?
Look! She laughs out loud as she waves her hand toward the fields outside and brushes the pastry crumbs off her and everything surrounding her.
I look out the window and no longer does the sun shine, no longer do the valleys glow, no longer do the cows look happy...it's raining, and not just raining, it's pouring and the sky is black, and the clouds grow ever thicker, the trees are fiercly blown about in the wind and the cows tuck their heads into their chests trying to find some shelter. Where this storm came from I do not know, but it was a nice relief after the many days of hot hot weather and it led to one of the most entertaining moments of our travels as we were just about to pull into our station, backpacks, bags, shorts and t shirts and a train platform with no shelter. We get our stuff together and as we stand at the doors, we make a somewhat detailed plan. ..Get off the train and run!!! Where to? We're not actually sure, but we'll just see what happens?
The doors open, and as a massive gust of wind and rain hits us square in the face, we clumsily jump off the train laughing and screaming. We run...at first in three different directions but eventually all ending up at a set of stairs, heading down to a tunnel underneath the platform. A torrent of rushing water fills my shoes as I do my best to get to shelter without falling on my face, or using the stairwell as a water slide. Amazingly (for clumsy little me) I make it with no scratches to the bottom of the stairs, surprisingly dry given the circumstances, and well chuffed with our achievements!
That is until we realise, this is not the right station, we got off the train too early? Nooo? Did we? Surely not? We have to go back up there?
I hear a train approaching on the platform above? And with a quick glance at the timetable on the wall, we see it's going to be the last one for a while, so again we RUN! Back up the stairs, up the torrent of raging water that continues to fill the tunnel below..at this point I feel like I'm on an episode of wipeout as I trip and fall and stumble my way up the stairs...Kara and Andrew speed past me, onto the platform into the dark, into the rain. They run towards a tiny information booth to use the shelter of it's tiny eaves while they wait for the fast approaching train...Kara nestles her head under Andrews arm and they both squint and watch as I run toward them through the bucketing rain, laughing all the way.... I reach them at the same time the train does, but the train is not stopping, it's not even slowing and almost as in slow motion it's approaching lights pierce through the wall of glistening raindrops and hit me in the eyes, blinding me....
Aggghhhhhh
I call out to the others and as the train flies by it not only drowns out my cry but literally drowns us all in a sheet of rain, propelled from it's every angle. The look on Kara's face as she tries to hide behind Andrew and the look on his face as both her and I are literally blown around like leaves in the wind will be etched in my mind forever. Priceless....and so dripping with water, and trying to stay upright we laugh, so hard we can hardly walk....We are cold, tired, hungry, soaked to the bone and still have a couple of hours to our destination but this was one of my most treasured moments on this trip and will always be one of my favourite memories...
We eventually made it to Venice....aaah Venice. I looooved Venice....
BUT
more about this trip to come later.....when I actually write it Hah! In the meantime, Andrew and I are off to Barcelona tomorrow!
