Thursday June 29, 2011
After my cooking class I headed back to the Hilton to meet Alli and her mom Nancy. She's a great mom who is busy with her work, but still trying to make a great effort to be there for her daughter. The floor in the hotel was a little hard to sleep on, but given the circumstances it was a good safe place to be.
Yesterday, Alli and I spent a majority of the day shopping. Firenze is such a great place to shop! So many unique boutiques and it is any leather lovers dream. After spending the morning shopping our hearts out, and debating on which leather jacket she should buy, we decided to venture to the Bardini Gardens just past the Pitti Palace. We should have planned to spend an entire day there! Because it was so spur of the moment, we missed the opportunity to see a majority of them, but either way we made the best of it.
When we first got there we weaved our way through all sorts of trees and past fountains; took pictures by modern garden art and worked our way up to the top where we found a gorgeous view! The pictures will come in a later post! But do enjoy them!
After the gardens closed, we had some time to kill before the next shuttle came to head back to the hotel so we wandered around to find a small trattoria for dinner. It was quaint and perfect for what we were looking for. She had spaghetti with clams and garlic, and I had a meat sauce pasta. They were delicioso!! Not to mention the red wine that we had as well to compliment our dinner. That is one thing I know I will miss, the red wine that is so wonderful no matter where you have it. It's definitely not the same back here in the states! Once we finished dinner, we mosied back to the train station for the shuttle.
It's amazing how fast the days go here! I can't believe it. We spent Wednesday night chatting away while I got my things together. Reflecting on so many great experiences made it hard to get ready to leave. I fell asleep early that night, knowing that I had a busy travel day today. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my bed though! That will be great compared to my little one in Rome, and the few others ones that I have stayed in while traveling along the way!
This morning we got up sort of early so that we had time to eat a big breakfast. Eggs, fruit, cereal and fresh squeezed orange juice! Compared to the other places that I have stayed, it was so great to have such a spread! Most of them were small breakfasts, but the Hilton's sure know how American's like their breakfast that's for sure! We had a gorgeous view up on the deck where the breakfast area was. It was still very surreal that my time in Italia was coming to an end.
Breakfast was over quickly and it was time to head back to the room, gather my things and get downstairs to catch the shuttle to the train station. We waited for the longest time for my train bin number to be posted. It took forever, and I was starting to get nervous that something went wrong, but it finally showed up. Thank goodness Alli was with me to help with my bags! They were a little heavy and awkward to load up, but that was the last of it, except for unloading in Rome and getting to the airport. Goodbyes are hard no matter what, and especially this one. I wished that I could have stayed to hang out with her for a couple more days while they were still in Italy.
As I got settled on the train, I noticed I was next to two stuffy business men that were not impressed with sitting next to a young traveling American girl. Oh well, that made it easy to settle down and sleep for a bit. Before we knew it, the train was arriving back in Rome. I knew it would be easiest to wait until everyone else was off the train to unload my things. It was such a task to get done!
Once I found out where my bin to the airport was, I rushed there and it was at the very end of the station. Could it have been any farther?! I don't think so! But finally, I made it there and was ready to get on. I sat next to a family from Africa with the cutest little kids. I loved seeing them, and it made me miss my little ones at home.
Soon, I arrived at Fiumicino and had some time to kill. Four hours to be exact, so I made camp and waited. Then I started in on some reading, and before I knew it, the time had come to meet my shuttle to Ostia where I would be staying for the night. The hotel I was headed to is called Ostia Antica Park Hotel. It would turn out to be a perfect spot for my last night and very close to the airport.
A cute little old Italian man picked me up in a van to shuttle me back to the hotel from the airport. It was hard to make conversation with him because my Italian wasn't very strong and neither was his English. I wished that I could have chatted with him more so that he could tell me about the area. It was quite industrial yet had more land around it. We made another stop to pick up another couple. Then soon we arrived at the hotel.
My view out the window was perfect! It couldn't be any better way to spend my last night in Italy. There was a small restaurant downstairs, and I enjoyed a great dinner. Most likely the best dinner I had the whole time I was there! I decided that spoiling myself on the last night was appropriate! A big glass of red wine with bread, fettucine shrimp in an orange sauce! It was the definition of delicious! It was also something new that I hadn't tried and I am glad I did! If only I could recreate it that good at home!
While I sat and enjoyed the view of the pool at dinner, I took notice of the family sitting next to me. They were American, and I just chatted away with them. Their Italian adventure was just beginning, and I wished that I could start all over again with them!
After dinner it was time to pack up my things and get ready for my adventure back home in the states. It was going to be a long one but all in all Italy has been a trip of a lifetime, and I can't imagine doing it with anyone else. All the people that I met along the way made it so special, and waiting to go back is going to feel like an eternity, but soon it will happen.
Ciao bella, as they say for now!
