Erin: Day 15: Rome, Italy to Milan, Italy

Today ended up being rather uneventful actually.  The plan was to wake up early and go to the Sistine Chapel and the Castel St. Angelo but we slept through the alarm and decided not to rush over there.  By the time we did get there though, the line-ups were so long that we decided not to wait. Turns out, according to CTV, the Pope was actually holding a meeting in the Sistine Chapel so THANK GOD (haha - literally) that we did not wait in line.

So, we walked back, had some lunch (lasagne and a cannoli) and then headed to the train station.

It’s now 2:35pm and we’re on our way to Milan (spelt Milano in this part of the world).  I’m excited as this is the fashion capital of the world but I’m even MORE excited because I booked us into a Starwood Resort Hotel and for the next three days and two nights, we’re going to be relaxing, working and just generally decompressing.  I’m hoping that we can find a laundry service in Milan – I mean, you’d think if anywhere in the world offered laundry service, it would be there…  They probably have more pieces of clothing per square inch than people!

Okay, so enough of my discussing clothes and the dirty state my laundry is in… LOL  I’ve realized something that will make all girly-girls everywhere gasp…  I don’t actually need a lot of clothes to survive!  Or shoes!  Or handbags!  Or accessories!  However, it doesn’t mean I’m going to go home and trade in all of my stilettos for Birkenstocks and my silk dresses for chinos… On the contrary, it makes me appreciate them more and realize that I need to wear my nice clothes every day! LOL  Especially since I could end up in a time (three weeks in Europe) when I only have three measly (and all black) outfits to choose from.  I am so in need of some color that I think I’m going to ask Steve to bring me a colourful scarf from my closet just so I can “do” a splash of color.

Another thing I’ve come to appreciate and miss is the general comforts of home.  What I mean by that is being able to run to a Wal-Mart when you  need one…  Having your favourite perfume accessible and not having to worry about the bottle being over 100ml.  Being able to eat food out of your pantry instead of guessing and wondering if the food at a particular restaurant is any good.

Lastly, and I hope this doesn’t sound rude, I really miss everyone speaking a language that I understand.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love hearing French, German, Spanish, Italian, the language that the Czechs speak, etc. but after three weeks of not being fully understood and not fully understanding people, I’m ready to go to a place where English is the first language.  I love culture and learning about new things but sometimes, it’s just good to be able to say, “Where’s the nearest ATM?” and be completely and fully understood on the first try.

That being said, I’ve realized that we as North Americans (and I am totally generalizing here so hold your fire!) are ignorant when it comes to adapting to other societies.  We do not make as much of an effort to learn more than one language (some people do but those who do are few and far between) whereas other cultures from around the world make the effort to learn English.  I was speaking to an Italian woman on the train who said that some people believe English should just be the world’s language but she disagreed – she’d rather every culture keep their language as that is what makes us different and I totally agree.

So, with that being said, I’m going to have Ashlee (my personal assistant) research language classes for me when I get home so that I can do some language courses.  I want to learn French and Spanish first and then move into Italian and German.  I think with those four languages and English, I’d be set for the majority of places that I would go to often.  I think it would be really amazing to be able to converse with people in their mother tongue as opposed to them conforming and communicating in mine alone.  Makes me feel rather selfish really to expect everyone to speak English.

What am I going to miss from here?  Well, so much but let me summarize.  The first thing I will miss is the culture and the history.  Every single place has such amazing history that it’s hard not to get completely swept away when you are in the different cities.  There is so much to see and do and you often forget where you are and who you’re with because you’re just taking it all in.  I’ve found that to be true a lot.

The second thing I will miss is the ease of transportation.  You can walk into a bus station or train station with no prior reservations and just say, “I’d like two tickets from Rome to Milan please” or “Rome to Paris please” and you’ll be on the next train out.  Booking in advance saves you a bit of cash but still, the flexibility and ease of rail travel is something I totally appreciate here and will miss A LOT when I’m back home.  Canada is so big, it’s just not as easy to jump provinces or cities without it taking you forever and a day.

The third thing I will miss is being fully taken care of by hotel staff.  When you’re on the road and you need new towels, you call down to the lobby and they send housekeeping up with more towels.  Run out of shampoo?  No problem there either – the hotel lobby always has a full stock.  That’s just the tip of the iceberg…  Premade ice, fresh blankets every day, room service and the ability to just sprawl out, relax and have a little home away from home is definitely appreciated while hotel hopping across Europe.

I will also miss the cappuccinos, the gelato, the desserts, the pasta, the goulash (just not Prague’s goulash), meeting random people on trains and buses, the odd stares at my Uggs, hand washing under garments in bathroom sinks, waking up nearly every day in a new city or country (or both!), swiping my Visa (yes, it got lots of use and tons of points!), chatting on my web cam to my parents and my husband back home, updating photo albums on Facebook, writing travel blog entries, falling asleep in random places, being on a whirlwind trip and already looking into / planning the next one, taking thousands (and I mean thousands) of photos, etc.  This has been a trip of a lifetime and I can’t believe we’re winding down toward the end.

(Side story: with all the extra points garnered from this trip, I invested it into a reward for my RRSP’s (Registered Retirement Savings Plan).  So, this trip helped me get a tax break, more savings into my RRSP and of course, the trip of a lifetime and an experience like no other!)

I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to YOU!  If you’ve been following along the journey and you’ve been reading these blog posts, I want to tell you that I really, really appreciate that.  Writing is one of those therapeutic things for me and when I know that other people are reading it, enjoying it and taking something away from it, that makes me really, really happy.

Don’t forget to comment if you read something of interest and otherwise, drop me a line if you yourself are planning any travel in the near (or distant) future.

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