Reflection

I have one week left in Naples, Italy. One week. Seven days. 168 hours. 10,080 minutes. To some people that might seem like a lot of time. For me, it’s not enough. It will never be enough. I will never be able to squeeze enough hugs and kisses from Chiara and Vittoria in that short amount of time to hold me over until the next time I see them.


As the clock is ticking, I’m starting to panic. Did I do everything I wanted to do? Have I seen everything I wanted to see? Did I take advantage of my ideal location and travel enough? Did I get mad or frustrated with the girls too much? Did I hug them enough? Did I play with them enough?

Will I become just another name..another face..another girl in the long line of nannies they will have throughout their lifetime?

Will they remember me?

Here are some quotes and song lyrics that are especially meaningful to me at this time in my life.

“Know someone as much as you can. Hold onto the moments that define them. Then when their body leaves, they won’t.”

“Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the hurt. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life.”

“In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife. In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes. How do you measure a year in the life?”

“Can I sail through the changing ocean tides? Can I handle the seasons of my life? I don’t know…”

“I never dreamed home would end up where I don’t belong…”

“There’s always gonna be another mountain, I’m always gonna wanna make it move. Always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I’m gonna have to lose. Ain’t about how fast I get there. Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side. It’s the climb.”

“The struggles I’m facing, the chances I’m taking, sometimes might knock me down but, no I’m not breaking. I may not know it, but these are the moments I’m gonna remember most. Just gotta keep going.”

Venezia!

And we’re back! From a waaay over-due but absolutely amazing weekend in Venice! I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it, but I also have to mention that I only have about a week left in Naples and I can’t believe my blogging will be coming to an end! I’m going to try to write a lot this week just to capture all of the emotions and feelings I’m having right now as my wonderful experience is drawing to a close. I don’t want to forget anything :)

So Thursday night I went out with my friend Lucia to our friend Marco’s birthday party. It was a fun time and I got to meet some new people, have a few drinks, and socialize. Although we were leaving early the next morning I wasn’t too worried about staying out late because I knew I could sleep in the car the whole day. I got home around 3:00am and passed out right away!

Happy Birthday Marco!

Friday morning we all woke up, got some last minute things together, and hit the road. We were originally planning on flying to Venice, but ever since that volcano in Iceland erupted, all air traffic in Europe has been at a standstill. We considered taking the train, but they were all pretty much sold out as a result of the ash cloud. So, we hit the road instead! We stopped at a restaurant outside of Florence for a big yummy lunch, and were in a lot of traffic for pretty much the rest of the trip. We finally arrived outside of Venice around 9:00pm, parked the car in a garage, gathered up our luggage and headed for the boats. It was pitch black out and raining a little bit, but thankfully Bruno knew exactly what he was doing so we all just followed him! We made it to the hotel around 10 and got settled. There were two separate rooms; one for Rosa, Bruno, and Vittoria, and the other for me and Chiara. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous (Starhotels Splendid Venice) and I couldn’t wait to dive into my huge fluffy white bed!

We decided to eat dinner at the hotel since it was so late, and it ended up being a great choice. I had spaghetti with zucchini and clams, yum! Although I was exhausted, I didn’t sleep too well that night, partly because I was so excited and partly because Chiara was tossing and turning and hanging on to me all night! It was cute though…I felt like such a mom!

Saturday we woke up early for a full day of sightseeing. Unfortunately, it was raining out, but we picked up some umbrellas and headed out anyways. Venice is such an interesting city! The main area of Venice is basically 117 little islands all on a lagoon, connected by hundreds of little bridges and pathways. There are absolutely no cars, buses, or vespas, and therefore no air pollution. Instead of a public bus there is a public boat ‘bus’ and instead of taxis there are boat ‘taxis’. It’s hard to believe that people actually live there; their way of life is completely different from any other city in the world. Sure, it was packed with tourists, but it was really interesting to see the workers bustling around the city, transporting cargo on their work boats and wheeling carts of goods up and down and across all the bridges and stairways of the city. After walking around for a bit, we took a ‘bus’ down to a garden and let the girls play, then took the ‘bus’ back and walked around San Marco square and by the famous Realto bridge.

We had lunch at the hotel and everyone laid down for a nap, but the sun was starting to come out and I was in no mood to sleep so I wandered around exploring on my own. After a while I headed back to the hotel and met up with the family, and we went out walking again. We made our way to San Marco Square and listened to the live music while watching the crowds. We stopped inside Caffe’ Florian for an afternoon treat. The Caffe’ Florian in San Marco Square in Venice was opened in 1720 and is probably one of the most famous cafes in Venice, if not in Italy. It’s almost like a museum inside; there are several rooms decorated with art and antique decorations and each room is connected by a tiny doorway. The table service is amazing as well! Rosa and Bruno had coffee, the girls had gelato, and I had tea.

Outside of Caffe' Florian

Inside Caffe' Florian

Afterwards we went out into the square to run around with the pigeons. A lady offered me some bird food and I put some in my hand and held it out and was quickly surrounded by tons of pigeons! They were all pecking my hand and eating the food and I was screaming and laughing all at once, it was such a funny moment! The girls were squealing with delight and luckily Rosa caught the moment on camera!

That night Rosa and Bruno went out to the casino and left me to put the girls to bed. We jumped on the bed and had a pillow fight (what hotel stay is complete without one!?) and after a while Chiara easily fell asleep. Vittoria, however, was a completely different story. She had broken out in the chicken pox on our drive up, and this night was probably the climax of her discomfort. She could not stop scratching herself all over, and couldn’t sleep at all. She would fall asleep for a couple of minutes, then right as I started to doze off she would wake up screaming and crying and scratching again. I tried my best to keep her from scratching and to soothe her but I could only imagine the discomfort my poor little baby was in! I paced around the room rocking her, I sat in the sitting chair, I laid next to her in the bed, I spooned with her, I laid her on top of me, nothing seemed to help. Finally I think her exhaustion overcame the urge to scratch and she started to fall asleep, right as Rosa and Bruno returned from the casino. I gratefully passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow, only to be woken up by Chiara, who had wet the bed. I got that situation taken care of and got back in bed to go back to sleep, only to realize that it was already 8:00am! Oh well, time to get up and start the day :) That night was definitely one of my most challenging nights with the girls, but made me grow a lot closer to them and really gave me a new respect for moms!

Sunday we all woke up, had breakfast, and headed out for the best part of the trip: we were going to ride in a gondola! It was sunny and hot as we made our way through San Marco Square to the water. Bruno did all the negotiating and before I knew it we were all stepping down into a beautiful gondola! As our gondolier was getting ready to push off, I got really emotional and just couldn’t believe that here I was, on an actual gondola in actual Venice. This is something that everyone knows about, everyone has seen, in movies, on TV, in books…and I was actually doing it!

The gondola ride was absolutely indescribable. We went along the main canal as well as in and out of little hidden canals all throughout the city.

As we passed other gondolas, our gondolier would talk to the other gondoliers in their Venetian dialect, and none of us could understand a word of what they were saying! It made me realize how much each dialect is really like its own language! In America, you can go to New York or California or Alabama and sure everyone has a different accent but you can still understand each other; in Italy if you go to Naples or Venice or Sicily and listen to the locals speak, it is truly a completely different language. Rosa and Bruno could not understand one word of Venetian, and if they spoke Neapolitan, the Venetians couldn’t understand one word of them. So unique! After our gondola ride we headed out for a big Sunday lunch. The girls were exhausted and fell asleep at the table, so we just let them sleep and took advantage of the quiet and really had a drawn out lunch. We then headed back to the hotel where everyone just wanted to relax, so I went out on my own to explore a bit. I got into a random conversation with a young Italian guy who asked me “do you want to go get a drink and speak together” but because of his broken English and the odd way he phrased the question I thought he said “do you want to go get a drink and sleep together” and we had a good laugh about it!  That night both of the girls slept with Rosa and Bruno so I had my room to myself, and fully took advantage of it, with a long hot bubble bath and enjoying the huge bed to myself!

Monday morning we woke up and headed to Murano, a small island near Venice that is famous for its glass-making factory. We were able to sit in the work room and watch the ‘maestro’ (master) work. It was so interesting and absolutely amazing everything they could make from glass.

Vittoria blowing glass!

There’s a huge store/museum connected to the work space and Rosa and Bruno spent 4,000euro! They bought a beautiful vase, a set of glasses, and a lamp. I tried to keep the girls occupied so that they wouldn’t touch everything – we were surrounded by so much glass and the girls tend to be a bit careless and wild! After spending the morning in Murano, we went back to the hotel to get together our things, have lunch, and check out. We hit the road at 5 and got back to Naples right around midnight.

The weekend in Venice was a beautiful experience and something I will never forget. We had to reschedule the trip three times and I honestly thought it would never happen! I had considered going by myself, but I’m glad to have done with the family so I could be treated to a nice hotel and nice restaurants! There’s no way I would have been able to afford all of that on my own. Venice is truly a fascinating city and something I think everyone should see in their lifetime. It reminded me a lot of Florence, with that ‘old-world’ feel, but the water aspect makes it completely magical.  It was a great weekend, and it was definitely the icing on the cake of this wonderful year I've had in Italy!

J'aime PARIS!

Ciao tutti! Hey everyone! So I’ve been back from my weekend in Paris for about a week now, and wanted to tell you all about the great time I had! Sorry it’s taken me so long to post, things have been hectic around here!
The morning of Friday April 2nd I went about business as usual. Got the girls up, had breakfast, the norm. I mainly relaxed all morning because nobody was here except for me and the housekeeper. Finally I jumped in the shower and got a small weekend bag together, and called a cab to the airport. After boarding the plane, our takeoff was delayed for about 30 minutes because of some luggage mix up. Finally at about 5pm we took off!

And landed in Paris around 7. I had previously researched online how to get from Paris Orly airport to my hostel, so I knew exactly what to do right away. I bought a ticket for the Orlyval monorail and road that from the airport to Antony. From there, I took a train to Gare du Nord, where I bought a 3-day bus/train/metro pass and took the metro to Anvers, which I was very familiar with because I had explored the area via Google Earth. After exiting the Anvers metro station I found my hostel very easily and checked in. I stayed at Le Village hostel and had a great experience there! It was small, clean, cozy, and had a lot of character. The guy working the desk when I came in, Jean Carlo, spoke perfect English with me, perfect Spanish with the girls behind me, perfect French on the phone, and perfect German with some people returning their key. Wow! I had the hardest time finding my room as it was located on the terrace…and the door to the terrace was hidden to the side of the staircase halfway between the ground floor and the 2nd floor! From the terrace there was a beautiful view of the Sacre Cour. I settled into my room, which was a 4-bed all-girl room that included a bathroom. 

It was about 9:15pm at this time, so after settling into my room I went out to find a bite to eat. I heard music coming from down the street and followed it to find Café Montemarte. It was a small, dim place, and I grabbed a small table by the door. I was greeted by a cute young server, couldn’t be any older than 18, who had curly bed-head hair and dark eyes. He thankfully spoke English, and kept joking around with me, saying that I was a ‘cool American’. Hmmm…not too sure what that was supposed to mean!? Anyways, I had ½ a bottle of white wine, trout with almonds, boiled potatoes, and bread. He talked me into the crème brulee for dessert. Was definitely the best crème brulee I’ve ever had!

After dinner I walked around Montemarte, the neighborhood my hostel was located. It’s a bit of a ‘red-light’ district…lots of sex shops, peep shows, strip clubs, etc. Although I do have to say it was all very classy, not trashy at all. Very Parisian! I walked along Boulevard de Clichy and arrived at the amazing Moulin Rouge!

A show had just finished and there were tons of people streaming out, as well as a long line of people waiting for the next show. I looked around and took some pictures, then headed back to the hostel. I was exhausted from a long day of traveling! I was happy to finally be in Paris, surrounded by new sights and a new language, but I have to admit I started to get the same lonely feeling as I did the weekend I was in Liverpool. I love traveling and it’s a great experience to travel alone, but hopefully one day I can share my travels with a significant other…

Saturday morning I woke up automatically at 7:30 although my alarm was set for 8. I got dressed and ready as quietly as I could, as not to wake the other girls in my room. The hostel offered free breakfast, so I filled up on cereal and juice and coffee and yummy croissants as I jumped on the computer to send mom an email. To my disappointment it was dark and dreary and rainy outside, so as I headed out the door I had to stop at a souvenir shop and buy an umbrella. Yup, 4 euro for the crappiest umbrella I’ve ever encountered in my life! I got back on the metro and switched to line 6, which I knew was heading towards to Eiffel Tower. I was just riding along, listening to my iPod, looking out the window (at pure darkness because we were underground), when all of a sudden BAM we were on a bridge crossing the Seine river with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower! Wow! It was so gorgeous and I started freaking out and fumbling for my camera and everyone sitting around me was probably like “yea, whoop-de-doo, the Eiffel Tower, I see it every day going to work.” As we pulled into the metro station I followed the touristy-looking people towards the Eiffel Tower. As I walked closer and closer I got more and more excited...

...and finally I was directly underneath it. That thing is MASSIVE from underneath. And did you know it’s actually brown!? I always thought it was some type of grayish color. There were a ton of people queuing up to ride to the top of the Tower, but there was no way I was wasting my time with that! I’m sure it was a great experience, but it just wasn’t on my ‘to-do’ list.

I started to cross the bridge directly in front of the Eiffel Tower to get some more pictures from further back, but it was extremely windy and freezing cold by the water and was starting to rain, so I decided it would be a good time to get on the sightseeing bus tour. It’s the same bus tour that my parents and I did in Florence and Naples and that I did in Liverpool…I used to make fun of those things, but as a solo traveler with limited time, it is by-far the best way to sightsee! The tour started at the Eiffel Tower, on the side facing the Seine, and the next stop was around the other side of the Eiffel Tower, where the gardens are. I got off and snapped a few pictures, then jumped on the next bus that was coming by. We drove past L’Hotel des Invalides, back to the river and across the Pont Alexander III, and along the Seine towards the Musee du Louvre. I got off here to walk around the Louvre and Jardin des Tuileries and take pictures. The rain had stopped but it was still cold and windy and dreary! The courtyard of the Louvre where the pyramids are is absolutely breathtaking, and reminded me of The Da Vinci Code.

After a while I got on the next bus that was coming by, and we crossed the river and headed for Notre Dame. I’ve seen many amazing churches in Europe, most notably the Duomo in Florence, but Notre Dame is definitely right up there with the best of them. The front façade of the church is so well-detailed I could stare at it for hours!

I joined the queue which was swiftly moving in and out of the church. It’s unbelievably huge inside, really dark, and quite haunting. After looking around, I got back on the bus and we headed down the other side of the Seine to the Musee d’Orsay. After that, we crossed the river, drove through the Place de la Concorde, past the Pantheon, and circled around the Opera, through Place Vendome ("to the right you will see the Ritz Hotel, where Princess Diana left one night to meet her fate!" *chills*), back through Place de la Concorde, and up the Avenue des Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe. I was snapping pictures the whole time.  When the sun peeked through the clouds I rode on top of the bus, and when it started raining or got too cold I went back down underneath the cover. I got off at the Arc de Triomphe with plans to explore and get lunch, but it started raining again so I got back on the bus and rode around, past the Grand Palais, to the last stop, Trocadero. It was definitely time to use the bathroom, eat lunch, and gather my thoughts. I ate lunch at a rather large café, sitting at a small table next to the window with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

I ordered the most delicious salad with shrimp, crab, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, spicy mustard sauce, and a few other things that I weren’t quite sure what they were! I was enticed to order dessert, some type of pudding or crème topped with fresh strawberries. It was absolutely pouring down rain the entire time I was eating, but by the time I had finished and paid, the sun came out. I got back on the bus and rode on top, all the way back around to Champs Elysees. Everything looked so much prettier with the sun shining! 

I spent the next couple of hours walking around and window shopping…and resisting the temptation to buy clothes and shoes and everything else! I stopped for a late afternoon snack of a cappuccino and an almond-topped pastry...

 ...and got back on the bus to ride back around to Trocadero. The sun was beginning to set, and with the rain clouds disappearing, I was able to get the most beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower!

I even ordered a Gran Marnier crepe from one of the crepe stands. After a full day of sightseeing and I was exhausted, so I hopped on the metro and headed back to the hostel. The three girls who were previously staying in my room had already left, and there was a new girl there. After a few awkward minutes of silence, I decided to talk to her, as I had never really talked to any previous roommates in hostels and thought I might be missing out on meeting some cool people. Come to find out, her name was Chelsea, she was from Kentucky, she was a senior in college getting her teaching degree and was currently doing her student-teaching in Ireland, but was on spring break and had just come from London and was now sightseeing in Paris. How cool! She was telling me all about student-teaching in Ireland and I was telling her all about being an Au Pair in Italy. After a while I went out to get some dinner, and have to admit I just settled for pizza because I wasn’t brave enough to try rabbit or duck or some other odd French cuisine! The rest of the evening I just relaxed in my room, writing, listening to my iPod, and talking with Chelsea.

Sunday morning I woke up, got dressed, filled up on breakfast (gotta love free breakfast!), and headed out to see the last thing on my to-do list: the Sacre Cour. This beautiful church was literally one block behind my hostel, and I was actually able to see it from the terrace of my hostel. It was freezing cold and windy and drizzling but I hiked up the stairs anyways.

The view from the top was amazing, it looked right down onto Montemarte and the rest of Paris.  I found refuge inside, where it was warm and quiet, and sat through Easter Sunday mass. The smell of incense and the soft voices of the choir singing in French almost put me to sleep!

After exploring the Sacre Cour, I browsed in a few shops and bought some presents for the girls, and a scarf and a ring for myself.  I checked out of the hostel at about 10:30 and decided to head to the airport.  My flight wasn't leaving until 3:30, but I figured it would take me a couple hours to get to the airport and I wanted to save room in case I got lost or something!  And it's a good thing I did leave early, because getting back to the airport wasn't as easy as I though it would be.  I though I would do everything I did coming from the airport, but in reverse, but with the weird metro system it didn't quite work out that way.  Anyways, I made it to the airport in time to have lunch and catch my flight.  We landed in Naples at 5:30pm and I was home by 6.

Overall, I had an absolutely amazing weekend in Paris.  You know how you always have an 'idea' of what a place is like, even if you've never been there?  I guess I had this pre-determined 'idea' of what Paris would be like, from what I've seen on TV and in the movies and what I've read about.  Well, Paris was better than anything I could have imagined and definitely exceeded my expecations.  The city itself is absolutely beautiful.  The streets and the buildings, and the layout of the city based around the river, reminded me a lot of London.  The architecture had a very British feel to it.  However, Paris is without-a-doubt extremely 'European'.  When I think of what it means to be 'European', I definitely think of Paris.  Clean, classy, artsy, and welcoming.  It's a very busy city with a NYC-ish hustle and bustle, but without the noise and pollution.  And one of the best things I noticed was that every single person I came into contact with was extremely helpful, very polite, and very much appreciated my attempts to speak French.  The common stereotype that the French are rude was definitely debunked for me.  I have got to say that, although Florence has been my favorite city in the world since the summer of 2008, Paris is now in the running towards becoming my new favorite city.  I just had such a positive experience there, and it was so nice to be around a new language and new culture.  Paris is definitely a place I would love to visit again!

Au plaisir de vous revoir!