Readers: This brief European visiting spree from a couple weeks ago was
a mini-continuation of our family’s vacation in Spain, our trip that got cut
short a few weeks earlier. Stay tuned
for our family’s Madrid travelogue from September, coming soon!
Planes, trains, automobiles, and boats. Dabbling in nearly every conventional mode of
motorized transportation was the only way to reach my first stop: Verona, Italy.
It felt like I had already been gone for days. In reality, quick visits to friends in
Edinburg, Leon, and Rome were sadly cut from the itinerary prior to my
seatmate’s
drunken scuffle with airline crews on the taxiway in New York. It was a bummer to waste two whole travel
days when Kathy and Lena were already on their way out of town… we USUALLY
travel together as a family. My goal was
for us all to return home at roughly the same time, so the clock was ticking.
My Venice flight’s emergency return to the gate in JFK had
delayed my arrival in Verona even longer.
Once the onboard hubbub died down, most of my comfy flight time was
spent reading and studying. [
11/6/13: Also see the comment section from
last week’s post]. I should have been
sleeping.
**********
After 20+ hours of driving, flying, and layovers, I hit the
ground in Venice. A ticket lady at Venice's Marco Polo airport directed me to a boat that would supposedly connect with my train to Verona.
I should’ve known there was an easier way.
The boat driver was in no hurry. Now I’m not saying that he was
slow, but at one point I seriously considered diving into the canal and swimming ahead to
shave off some time.
Turns out the entire boat ride in Venice was both unnecessary and
uncalled for. The Italian woman at the
ticket booth heard my request for “Verona” and must have translated it to “Murano.” That’s right, Italian auto-correct in
action. She sold me an expensive ticket
for a water taxi (no destination printed) that I caught at the docks, thinking
that it would take me from the Venice airport to the train station. Nope!
I switched boats. A
nautical hour later, our boat eventually floated into one of the narrow canals
and docked next to a waterfront café.
The amazing race was on: find the train station, and then catch a fast train
to Verona. I wouldn’t be racing
untethered, though…
Euji from the boat christened me as her personal tour guide
to untangle the confusing walkways of Venice.
My expertise must have been determined by me stepping onto dry land a whole
five seconds before she did, right? I
didn’t have the heart to keep explaining to Euji about the American phrase,
“the blind leading the blind.”
After hurriedly helping my enthusiastic Japanese friend
locate a couple of tourist sites, I ran to the Venice station to hop a
westbound fast train. My friend staying near
Verona was patiently waiting, although we had already scaled back our plans due
to my late arrival in northern Italy. A
weekend of hiking, sightseeing, and whatnot was reduced to whatever we could
squeeze into an afternoon and evening.
Carli, the WWOOF farmer, arrived about the same time as I did to
meet me at the Verona Porta Nuova train station.
Sharp readers may remember Maggie's sister Carli and other friends from this
trip being mentioned in previous posts. Maggie's still awesome as always, and her and Carli are the the two sisters
who signed up with Worldwide Workers on Organic Farms a couple years ago to WWOOF
their way through Italy.
Maggie stayed in the U.S. this year as Carli returned to Italy in April for more exploring and
farming, spending the bulk of her current stay working in and above the majestic
Arpisson Valley. Some earlier missteps
this year tragically prevented me from visiting that beautiful countryside near
Cogne. But it was certainly worth the side trip to
Verona yesterday to include her in my latest Italy visiting spree. Maggie and Carli write about their adventures
here, and a widget for
their blog can also be found on
my “Garth’s Blog” sidebar.
Being first time visitors in town, neither of us could tell apart Verona from Khumbu, Nepal. We discovered that fans of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” would find much to appreciate in the historic center, as well as ancient Roman and Gothic architecture
buffs. Some of the monuments and
structures that we walked past dated back to the first century A.D., like the
Arena di Verona coliseum. Checking out
the walking trails at nearby Lake Garda may have been a more fitting activity
than urban sightseeing, though.
The friendly locals were brimming with that famous Italian
hospitality of the region. A helpful
café owner even loaned us an umbrella for a few hours to fend off the rain as
we explored the town. And we weren’t
even his customers!
Refreshing afternoon gelatos, antipasto, tasty pizza, and a
calzone (the only actual meal I’ve had so far) took the edge off our hunger for
the walk back to the train station. If
only I had remembered to grab the leftovers!
By the time I retrieved my backpack from the luggage locker, the last slow
train to Venice was only a few minutes away from nearing the station.
Back in Venice, a boat picked me up in front of the train
station, cruised through the city’s canals in the dark, and dropped me off at
the Generator Hostel Venice around 1:30 a.m.
I’d need to rest up for joining my friend Chris in the morning near his
campsite, and also for hooking up with the gang from the Tuscany region later on.
My exhausting, mostly sleepless string of travel hours
should have sent me immediately into bunk bed hibernation. But a rambunctious party in the common lounge
downstairs tempted me with a more enticing option. Bout in Venice, first round: Much needed sleep vs. bonus fun with fellow
backpackers. Anyone who knows me can
definitely guess which choice won out!
One of these days, I’ll learn.
**********
It remains to be seen if this trip will live up to the “beyond”
section of this post title, as planned.
It all depends on my meager budget, time, and how close my other friends
in Italy are at the moment.
But one thing’s for sure: I can’t wait to get home to Kathy and Lena
soon. Unlike our family trip to Spain
last month, our time off work and out-of-town schedules didn’t line up this time. I’ll be hurrying home shortly,
anxious to whisk them away to somewhere else across the globe!
11/6/13: Rather than further delaying this two-week old post to find free time for updating, I added the intro/pics today and pretty much published it as is. And now that I’m back in the States, I’ll
consider adding a fourth wrap-up post (no promises!) to Part 3 about my less than smooth exit
from Italy.
11/10/13: Part 3: Reunions in Venice was posted yesterday, but it has been removed indefinitely. I'll replace that post with another post that I wrote here in Noordwijk, Netherlands.
And to all of you amazing friends still in Italy whom I had to
bail on AGAIN… Nick, Ben, Jeremiah, Houtan, Eric, Gerardo, and pretty much everyone I know down
south… we’ll have our day in the Italian sun some other time!
Coming this weekend on Garth’s Blog…
Reunions in Venice!
(11/10/13 Post removed)
And then…
Cold water surfing in Oregon with the fam!
And later this month…
Madrid, Spain: Lena
goes from nationwide to worldwide!
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