October Break (Part 2)!

Written 10/26

Friday night (23^rd Oct.)

I described us as a stampede of drunks. Yes, I did a pub-crawl in Rome. We all walked to each bar, every trip getting crazier than the next with loud singing, laughing and uninhibited conversation. This one girl kept asking me where I was from and what my name was, like each time she had met me for the first time. It was fun until we got to the last bar and my friends left before me. I was dancing so hard and I had been walking all day so my legs were hurting to an unbearable extent. The dance floor was completely packed and I was getting incredibly tired and fed up with being pushed aside carelessly every second by horny drunks. I didn’t even feel that buzzed even though they gave us a free shot at every new bar and I had about three beers other than that. So anyway, my friends left before me and I had to walk home at three in the morning with suffering feet. At least I had my map, which was very reliable. I got to the hostel and took a shower in a dirty bathroom, then went to sleep.

Moving backwards in time, I met some people before the pub-crawl. One of the guys in my hostel was from Stillwater and went to the same high school as I did! That blew my mind. I didn’t talk to him that much though. I asked him if he knew Mr. Lindsay. He said, “Yes I do know Mr. Lindsay. The bald white guy?” Hahaha so weird! I also met two people from Brazil. They said they wanted to go to the pub-crawl. They came with me to meet Cody and Ricky. Then they ditched us when we got to the first bar. Who knows?

Further backwards in time, before the night came, I walked around Rome for nine hours, saw the Colosseum, the Vatican and all sorts of beautiful buildings. It was an amazing experience. At the end of my journey when I could almost hear my legs whining for the first time that night, I stopped at a fountain that was enormous and decorated with Roman statues and threw a ten cent coin in it. I made a wish.

Saturday night (24^th Oct.)

I will return to a normal flow of events now. I left for Florence in the morning. The woman at the hostel was very nice and told me some places to “please go to” as she put it. I was charmed by how sweet and willing to laugh she was. She told me about a place to go to for the sunset (Piazzale Michelangelo) and raved about how it was so high up and gives you a good view of the town. I lit up and said, “I’m going now!” cause it was close to five. I put my stuff on my bed and walked to see Michelangelo’s David. Ok, I was NOT prepared for my reaction to this art piece. I had just seen the Vatican and was aware of how talented Michelangelo was but oh man, this was different for me for some reason. When I turned the corner in the museum and saw David lighting up the room with its brilliance, I involuntarily gasped and walked up to it with great anticipation to see it more closely. The moment I saw how detailed his hands were, with veins and everything, I became incredibly emotional. I couldn’t stop staring at it and thinking about how I believe I had just seen the most amazing art piece in the world. I felt like I was in the presence of a higher power, the higher power of the art world. My heart sped up and I was so amazed of Michelangelo’s ability to touch me like that. I felt almost depressed that this is what I would have to live up to with my music. I wanted to touch people for thousands of years. Wow.

The sunset from the hill was brilliant. There was a guitarist and hand percussionist playing by the steps I was sitting on and it created a great ambiance. I met some French girls and also found a lost camera. I held it up and asked if it was anyone’s. The French girls just told me to keep it cause it would be taken if I left it. I said that I couldn’t do it but one of the girls took it from me and said, “Ok it’s mine. And now I’m giving it to you.” So I did take it. And I feel really bad about it actually. I should have given it to the hotdog vender guy but what would he have done? :/

I walked home, actually quite lonely. I couldn’t stop running into couples kissing and holding hands, families laughing together and I was alone, walking the streets of one the most romantic cities in the world. I wanted to go to the hostel and go to sleep but at the same time I knew I would be lonely if I did that. I stopped at a pizza place that was empty. That didn’t make me feel too good. I tried SO hard to fight the feeling cause I knew I was in a great city and wanted to enjoy it. But here’s the rub. When I got back to the hostel after sort of getting lost in Florence a little, I met some of the coolest people I’ve ever met in my life: Nerese, another girl named Shelly, a guy named Matt and a girl named Phoebe. At first I was all flustered and I could not find the door that the nice hostel lady locked my big clothes bag in with my computer and everything. They were all chilling in the main area and started laughing at me cause I was pacing pack and forth, looking for something. I told them I was looking for a secret door. This was the start of our friendship. Phoebe offered me some wine. There wasn’t much but it was the beginning of me feeling comfortable again.

Phoebe told us that she literally was tone deaf. She doesn’t listen to music and basically can’t hear differences in notes. It was interesting to the point of scary. We talked til about 12:30am and Nerese and Shelly invited us to go with them to Cinque Terre and Pisa in the morning. I said yes right away. Matt had to do some adjusting with his schedule but he worked it out. Phoebe nicely denied the invitation. But that night was the most fun by FAR I have had on this trip. We had to get up in four hours but we were laughing like crazy and they were giving me the warmest feeling. I felt at home with them and I had just met them. I went to sleep with a smile. It was incredibly nice. Thanks so much new friends. If you only knew how truly lonely I was feeling before I met you.

Sunday (25^th Oct.)

The next day we woke up at 4:30am but then found out once we were all ready to leave for the train station that there was a time change so we got there an hour early. So we sat on the floor at the front of the train ticket line eating breakfast. No one was in the train station. We took pictures of each other and bonded even more.

Cinque Terre was unbelievably beautiful. Tall mountainous cliffs dropping off into the water. It was better than Mykonos in terms of being “breathtaking”. We walked on trails right beside the cliffs, climbed rocks, sat with our feet in the water and ate gelato. We stopped by this place where people had put locks on this gate on the cliff. I figured that iw as people’s way of coming to each other and remember when they traveled tot his great place. I used the lock that I happened to have from the last hostel and put my lock on someone else’s lock cause it didn’t fit around the bars on the gate (so am I committed to someone random out there? Haha). I scratched with my pencil sharpener on the lock, the word, “Yes,” and locked it on the other lock. This was my way of saying how proud I was with myself for really going for it and living my life. It was my commitment to myself and me being proud of how much of a yes man I’ve been. I mean hell, to go to these foreign places alone, forcing myself to make friends is not easy at first. But it’s really MORE than worth it in the end. So I was very proud of myself. It felt good.

We all had some ticket problems. I almost had to pay 50 euros because I forgot to write in the date on my Eurail pass. But he guy gave me a break and had me only pay for a regular ticket, which was like 14 euros. At least it was so much less.

At the last stop in Cinque Terre, Shelly and Nerese starting singing about the “Accordian Girl” cause they had supposedly seen a girl playing accordion for money in Greece when they visited there. But this was the funniest thing ever cause they did exactly what my family does. They just started singing and making funny noises, making up a story about the accordion girl. I joined in and I was in heaven. I couldn’t believe I met these people. Matt was quiet at this point haha. He was a little overwhelmed by the weirdness I think. But don’t get me wrong, he and I joked around in our own way. He’s funny as hell. So the girls and I made up all these songs, one about the boy who ate the ocean, a song about how wonderful rocks are (haha) and one about a guy made of bricks I think. Hahaha it was unbelievable. Oh man, later in the day, Shelly said, “Stoddy you are hilarious. And I mean that genuinely.” She has no idea how nice that is to hear. No idea.

We went to Pisa later that day and saw the leaning tower!! It was awesome. Then we ate the best pizza I have had in Italy yet. After that we finally headed home. I was about to nap on the way home when Matt asked me, “So what was it like growing up?” so I decided that it would be a talkative trip home. It was a great, deep conversation and I really appreciated it.

I about died when the girls started talking about how it’s fun to just make weird faces. I joined in gladly haha. My kind of girls. Oh and they’re from Toronto, near Buffalo New York. That’s not too far from Boston! I mean, not REALLY far. Maybe I can visit them in the future! Oh and then we started talking gibberish cause I said I liked to do it. That was really fun too.

So I decided that I will meet the girls in Bologna on Tuesday and stay at their hostel for a night. I miss them already and having friends in a time like this is really what I need. We’re gonna go out and have fun. That’s all I know. Bologna is supposed to be the party town of Italy.

Monday (26^th Oct.)

I woke up today, saw some more of Italy including the Duomo, which is this circular part of this huge church. It was cool cause there were paintings of heaven and hell on the ceiling but I was in a rush to get back down and the steps were incredibly narrow all the way up so I was a little anxious with how cramped I was with other tourists. I got back down and met Shelly. We were going to see this big house with secret passage ways but it was sold out. We got gelato and the chocolate chip was the best ice cream I have ever had in my life. Honestly. Then we went to this market area and looked around.

I’m on a train now and I have a bad feeling in my gut. I’m thinking it has to do with the fact that I still had to pay 18 euros for my ticket but I thought I would get it free cause of my pass. It was too late to go to the “other” station that supposedly would be the correct one for my pass so I had to stay here. Ugh, it upset me. But whatever, I can’t get stressed about it now. I’m on my way to Venice and am about to see the love duet opera. That is if I make it in time. I hope so. And I hope I meet people at least HALF as cool at this next hostel. After that, instead of going to Paris cause it’s so far out of the way, I’m going to Nice in France. I’ll spend a night and a day there and then go to Barcelona to see the film festival before going home.

I have to say, this break has been a great learning experience, completely worth it for the views, the art, the friends and the ability to travel anywhere but what it’s also doing to me is making me really appreciate my home back in Athens. It’s so familiar and I will be happy when I get back. It’s just that, traveling like this, alone, is a day-to-day thing. One moment I’m having the best experience EVER and the next moment, I feel terrified like a little eight-year-old boy. Sometimes for no reason. But it’s funny. I think it’s true that I am growing up from all this.

Written 10/27

Last night I saw the invisible opera in Venice! That’s right, I never saw it. I could not find the church or opera house that it was supposedly playing at. I even called the place and they told me to go to this church. I got to “the church” and it was closed. At least I didn’t pay for the show. All I did was put my name down. But I kept finding myself making up melodies to a new song I just started writing last night in my head called “Running the Grand Canal”. I ran around for close to two hours through the maze of Venice streets and ended up in this stunning area called Piazza Saint Marco. A long shopping building with hundreds of windows and a tower that beat every Venice building I had seen yet in height. Eventually I gave up when I was already about thirty minutes late and I just watched a string group play some contemporary and older classical songs in the palazzo, which was nice. It was also nice that it cost zero euros rather than fifty! Then I ate dinner at Hard Rock Café. I thought it would be cheaper than the other fancy Venice restaurants. It was cheaper cause I got free refills! That’s right, the sodas were also called Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi instead of Coke Light or Pepsi Light! It was nice to feel American for a little while even though I felt guilty that I was doing it in VENICE. I got a bargained ticket for the water tram home and it was the best thing I did that night. Seeing the view all along the Grand Canal was unbelievable. I’ve always wanted to go to Venice. It was beautiful, otherworldly, slightly smelly, hard to maneuver but so so worth it. Kids, this is what you call “Inspiration”! Write it down! Johnny! Especially you.

Now I’m in my hostel awaiting a message from Shelley to tell me (rhyme!) what hostel they booked me in. I will most probably just have to take a train there and find an Internet café to see if they facebooked me by then. If they still haven’t done it by then, I’ll just have to book a hostel when I get there which probably isn’t the best way to do it. That’s what I’ll do at 11 if no messages show up. It’s past 10:30 am now.

I am now in a hotel in Bologna. I ended up taking a train and then going to an internet café then chatting with Shelley from there. We couldn’t find anything cheap for three so I just got a room for one and they’re doing their own thing. I reserved a ticket to Nice, tomorrow (only eight euros cause of my Eurail pass) and then walked out of the train station, asked about the bus schedule but then was told that the hostel was a walking distance away. I actually got a single room finally at this hostel. I think it might actually be a hotel. But yeah, there is a bathroom that I have to share with someone but other than that it's only me! Oh man it feels good to have my own room. I haven’t had my own room since I left home in Maine! It’s so nice to not be living in the same room as five other people. Or even one other person cause I have a roommate in Greece! So it's been since Maine that I've had my own room. I’m relaxed in here. My bags are just strewn on the floor. Ahhh. Feels good. My socks smell also. And I’m hot. But who cares! I’m waiting for Shelley to get back online so that we can plan a place to meet up at and hang out all night. Tomorrow I have to get up at six in the morning to catch a train (at 7:41) to Nice, France. Yes, I’m going there instead of Paris. It’s along the coastline so it won’t take as long to go form there to Barcelona. And it’s on the coast! And someone at the last hostel in Venice said that there was a great hostel there with nice people and people my age. That's very important to me. But yeah, if I stay out with the girls tonight for a long while, I’m fine with just walking back here at 5:30am, getting my stuff together and walking to the train station which is only like 25 minutes away by foot. We probably won’t stay out that late but I really don’t care. I’ll have a total of seven hours to spend on the train. Yes, I have to change trains at one point but still. Does sleep really matter in cases like these? No. I mean, last night was the first night that I've gotten about eight hours but that was eight hours of torture, sleeping on a mattress divided in three segments, which were set on a metal frame that was not level with the ground and had only like three horizontal rods in it, one of them pushing into my back the whole night.

My favorite city so far? Rome.

My least favorite hostel so far? "The Yellow", Rome.

My favorite hostel so far? "David Inn", Florence. 95% because of my new friends and 5% because of the nice painter lady running the hostel.

The best thing I've seen? Michaelangelo's David in Florence and the view of Rome from Palatine hill, next to the Colosseum.