Honey, I'm hoooome! In Rome, that is! And I'm so excited to talk about the past two weeks I've had. But before I go into the juicy details of the beginning of my trip, let me tell you how good it feels to be back in the Eternal City. I ran around the whole city and said 'bonjourno' to everyone and of course had lunch at my favourite pizza shop. Then I ventured over to Frigidarium for dessert (for a mix of raspberry, coconut and sour cherry gelato with hot nutella on top, of course). The family is still away on their vacation and won't be back until Saturday, which gives me a few days to do whatever my exhausted little heart desires. They went to the mountains for Christmas, but its the dad's 50th birthday, so they decided to extend their vacation and go to Paris. He loves Paris, and they have an endless cash flow, so why not?
By the way, when I say 'exhausted', I really mean it. Travelling takes a lot out of a person, and when I came back to Rome, all I wanted to do was curl up under the covers into my fresh bedsheets and have a 12 hour long snooze fest. I decided to do my laundry and unpack first.
Day 1 - Wednesday, December 21st:
I got a taxi to the Ciampino airport with a driver who appeared to be the long lost twin brother of Albert Einstein. Which was quite fitting, considering I was on my way to Germany. I've always liked flying, but ever since I had to do everything on my own, airports are no longer my friend. I celebrated this by ordering a small plate of pasta and a tall bottle of cold beer before my flight. A weird combination, but I wanted something Italian and German.
When I got on the plane, I fell in love with this flight attendant whose name tag said "Joao". The flight was fine, and when we landed I was very excited to see that Germany was blanketed in snow. And when it was time to collect our luggage, guess whose bag was the first to pop out? Mine! Oh, happy day! After that I was able to go find Magda, and we played 21 questions on the drive home.
Her house is roughly half the size of my old high school with cedar wood interior design and a view of the mountains. My bedroom was a big beautiful art loft with a huge bed and a bright orange blanket. I felt happy and energized just looking at it. I had a window right above my bed where I was able to watch the fresh snowflakes fall.
Day 2 - Thursday, December 22nd:
Salzburg is a really classy little city filled with perfectly preserved sculptures and houses literally built into mountains. Being there made me want to break into song and run around
the city singing The Hills Are Alive like Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music. Austria is famous for their Christmas markets, and I got to eat so many tasty Christmas treats. Mini apple cookies, hot cider, and don't even get me started on the fudge... One of my favourite things that I got to do in Salzburg was see the house where Mozart was born. I got to see the building where chocolate cake was invented. Later that night we came home and drank mulled wine, which is hot wine with cinnamon. Her mom has a bunch of travel albums that we leafed through, including Rome.
Day 3 - Friday, December 23rd:
We went to the Christmas markets again. I had another pretzel. It was a good day.
Day 4 - Saturday, December 24th:
Today we took the dog, Ella, for a walk by the mountains and lake. I think I've definitely become accustomed to the weather in Rome, because I was freezing. I guess I forgot what a real December is supposed to feel like.
Day 5 - Sunday, December 25th:
We drove to Upper Austria to celebrate with the family and it was so much fun. I especially loved Magda's opa (grandfather), and this man really loved me back. He kept telling Magda that he thought I was so sweet, and he reminded me a bit of my own papa at home in Canada who I'm extremely close to. Magda's uncle and his long time girlfriend recently did some travelling through the U.S and also went to Toronto and Niagara Falls, and brought their photo album along which was really exciting for me.
After we all had dinner, we went over to Magda's friends' house who owns a small bar built in. Eventually we went to Lust House. Of all the clubs I've ever been to, Lust House was the best. This isn't good considering it wasn't in a big city and I'm over here living in Rome. I'll have to talk to Alfredo about that.
I felt out of place at first because I didn't know we were going clubbing, and so I just wore a pair of jeans, black ballet flats, and a rumpled pinstriped long sleeve polo while all the other girls were wearing 5 inch heels and tight dresses. I was pulled up on top of a stage and danced with these lovely people. I got really hot because 1) I was dancing, 2) I was smushed between 2,000 other sweaty people's bodies and 3) I was wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt. A bad combination in a sweaty setting. So, I kicked off my shoes and tied the bottom of my top and tucked it into the top Western style. Those two Austrian girls pulled Magda aside and asked her if 'this was normal in Canada'. Magda defended me and told them this was normal all over world.
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