The Church in Orvieto
Joe and I in Florence
Last spring break, Joe and I were (for clarity's sake, I'll add) figuratively married. We had a lovely time in the great hat of Canada. During my weekend in Rome, it didn't take Joe long to say, "This is our honeymoon". And, in fact, it was. While our trip to Toronto was classy, Italy was full of romantic walks, bike rides in new cities, the gorgeous Italian country side, amazing meals, bed and breakfasts, small Italian cities, sharing beds, and wine. I'm pretty sure you're jealous at this point (unless you're Joe). And you damn well should be!
Italy was just plain awesome. I ate like a maniac (starting with a random decision to b
uy and cook a whole octopus before going out our first night) - Rabbit, escargot, meats, cheeses, pizza, pork sandwiches, kabobs, gelato, it goes on. The coffee was fantastic. And I completely lucked out on the weather. What was supposed to be a cold and rainy weekend was gorgeous and sunny - a much needed change from the snow and cold of Oslo (though I can now see little patches of green grass!). So with the context and setting established, the plot:
Arriving in Rome, I immediately noticed some major differences from Norway. First, people speak very little English. The essential people do (directions from the airport, hostel owners, etc), but shop owners speak very little, and people on the streets had no clue I was asking for directions. But eventually I made my way to my hostel and got a hold of Joe. He and Matt (One of his roommates) met up with me and we went to the Vatican to see churches, eat well-known gelato, and talk about Italian culture and how the semester in Rome's going for both of them. We then made our way to their student residence, sneaking past guards like ninjas, aimed to get ready and go out and see/meet other Temple friends and new friends from around the US.
After the first night of Octopus and a 5-liter jug of wine, we decided that we would continue
make our way to Florence despite a city-wide Italian-laziness-driven public transit strike. So we (Joe, Matt, and I) met up at the Colosseum, got some food, and made our way to Termini (The central station). We found a slow train that we hoped would leave successfully, paid 16 euros, and ran down the platform to hop on and move slowly through the countryside. When we got to Florence, Matt had to meet up with one of his classes and we figured we'd meet up with him the next day. Little did we know that he'd get food poisoning that night :' (. But Joe and I began our
romantic journey. We got a room in a hostel with a double bed and clearly the much better half of the painting. And after a nice dinner of wine, bread with real olive oil and balsamic vinegar, tortellini, and chats about living together freshman year, we wound up at a bar drinking dragon ale and ultimately buying late-night kabobs.
The next day, it was 11:30. So we opened up the windows, realized it was actually day time, slowly packed our things, and made our way to the outdoor Fl
orence markets. Wary of pick pockets, I weaved my giant weekend-bag through leather-jacket salesmen, belt stands, Italian shoe makers, and tourist-trinket stands. We saw an awesome church and kept walking around Florence on the warmest day I've felt in months. We soon rented bikes and rode through the windy streets, taking turns leading and making stops to buy water and bike in circles in a small park. After we returned the bikes, we walked around the rest of Florence for a bit, seeing the fake David statue (the one that didn't cost 8 euros) and the Jeweler bridge. Then we made our way to the train station to make our way to see Karen in Orvieto.
A good family friend, Karen made Joe and me feel right at home as we toured the unbelievable 1000+ year-old house in the hills outside of Orvieto. And as
soon as we finished seeing the house (including an ancient wine cellar, three stories, and super comfy beds), Karen's friends Jeff and Robin arrived to take us to a favorite rustic Italian restaurant for Jeff's birthday dinner. The meal was delicious (and 4 hours long - the Italian way!) - a local specialty lard on toast, onion soup, and rabbit, followed by a dessert of fresh ricotta with coffee, a sweet cake, and a great custardy thing. The entire menu/meal/experience was translated by everyone else at the table for me (since the only words I know in Italian are Grazie, Prego, Va Bene, Ciao). If you ever find yourself anywhere near Orvieto, make the trek to
Lo Spugnone. Absolutely amazing.
After a beautiful night sleep, Karen then took us to the heart of Orvieto for lunch. She came to Italy to study Italian for a few weeks and get the amazing house we stayed in ready to start renting out. I recommend checking out her great
blog about her experience! Joe and I really just had an awesome and relaxing time.
Soon enough, we found ourselves back on the train, bound for Rome. We made our way back, wound up in a small smallwoman-run restaurant eating pizza and watching soccer. And as the night progressed to beers, karaoke, being where Julius Caesar was killed and it being the Ides of March, we snuck back into Joe's place to pass out.
My last day in Rome, I just walked around and saw the Spanish Steps, The Trevi Fountain, old Roman stuff, The Pantheon, the Synagogue in Rome, the Circo Massimo, and wound up at the Piazza de Popolo to visit Joe and Kelsey at Temple Rome's campus to eat pizza and fried rice balls. Deciding to end my trip with a bang, we went out (just the two of us, of course) for a traditional Italian meal - a
ntipasta, primi, secundi, dessert 3-hour meal. Meats, nosh stuff, and a whole pizza first. Pasta in a red sauce with veggies for primi 1, pasta in a spicy sausage sauce for primi 2. And since we chose the meat, we got pork with roasted potatoes, meatballs, and roasted artichoke for secundi. And for desert, frozen espresso shots, tiramisu, and a spread of little finger desserts. We passed up the espresso at the end in order to make the train to my flight, and waddled back to Joe's place to pack up and head out.
The conclusion: As I laid on a park bench outside the airport having been kicked out at 12:30 and waiting until it opened again at 4, I couldn't help but appreciate how lucky I was being in Rome visiting friends while studying abroad. This experience of going abroad and traveling around the world while you're already around the world is just so cool. There are so many practical reasons that a lot of people don't do this, but they're really missing out. I've been in 6 countries in 10 weeks...
The View from Karen's House
Where Julius Caesar was Killed. Also now a Cat Sanctuary. 
Joe Biking Away.
Way Cooly,
Jonathan
Turtles in the Madrid Train Station
Home-made Brumost
und a farmer's market in Oslo. In it, I tried a moose burger, homemade brown Norwegian cheese (Brumost), elk sausage, and horse (didn't know it until after I'd eaten it, guys). Full of free samples (one of my favorite things in life) of things I've never tried, the market was one of my favorite finds in the city. After that, we finally explored the awesome Norwegian fort that was far too icy to explore even two weeks ago! Grass is apparent, and snow is turning into mudmudmud. Definitely an awesome thing to watch. This Norwegian winter is unbelievable long, so any inkling of change is great!
So Madrid was a lot of fun. But we also went on a nice little day trip to Toledo, the old capital of Spain. Unlike Toledo, Ohio, it was gorgeous, historic, full of stone buildings and windy streets, and specialized in selling decorated knives, scissors, and letter-openers. I bought the most ornate pair of beard-trimming scissors that I have ever seen. Other than that, we (my roommates Chris and Grant, Grant's girlfriend Sarah, and I) roamed Toledo stopping to check out rolling hills and great architecture in weather that will never reach Oslo. You can check out more pictures here.
Holy Toledo!
