Jul 07, 06 | Rome to Devin’s Home

So I did end up staying with the two friendly texans I met at the concert. It turned out that their friend was a privately hired flight attendant who was being put up by her boss in a very nice hotel located just across the street from the coliseum. So, she asked to book two rooms: one for her and one for us. Such Luck! That night we roamed the streets of ancient Rome and found the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. We hung out at the steps for quite awhile and were entertained by locals singing every English ballad from Pink Floyd to Oasis to The Beatles. There was also this nice man who loved Bob Marley and also had the ability to pop his eyes out of there sockets, which he did quite regularly. Good first night.

In the morning we ate the free breakfast on the roof. We were right across the street from Ancient Rome, so it had to be the best view in town. Later that day we walked around some more, toured the colleseum, and found a hostel to stay in that night (the hotel was only booked for one night). At night we walked clear across town and saw the Pantheon and the Piazza Novella. I actually liked sight-seeing better at night as there were far fewer people, and you could carry a bottle of wine with you as you went. After we were done touring, we stopped at an Irish pub (a place where you are sure to find English speakers) where the music was mainstream pop cerca 1999.

The next morning we knew I had to catch a train around 3, so we headed early to the Vatican. Once there, we finally split up because I was going to have to see everything a little quicker than the texans. The Vatican was very impressive; it is amazing how ornate everything is. This would be easier explained in a picture which, again, I will post later.

That afternoon I hopped on a train to La Spezia, the largest town near Cinque Terre. I arrived at the hostel at night, and just in time for the Italy/Germany match. So I went to the only bar in the town where I was staying and proceeded to watch the game with about 10 hostel kids and 50 local, crazed Italians. As you probably saw, it was a great game, and the Italians went wild when Italy scored in the last remaining minutes of the second overtime. I was very glad they won for two reasons: 1. Watching the Italians break a bunch of glass was pretty funny, 2. I definitely look more German than Italian, and I didn’t want to find out what that would imply if Germany won. Fortunately, the locals were excited enough after the game to buy all the hostel people beer before we went back to the hostel.

Cinque Terre is composed of five very small villages all connected by various hiking trails. The view there is amazing because it is right were the foothills of the Italian Alps meets the sea. In the morning I took the bus to the first city of Cinque Terre. The trail was pretty flat at first, though it became much more difficult when I thought it a good idea to take one of the smaller trails straight up the mountain. I ended up walking through vineyards and thick brush following this trail to the top. I would not recommend doing this with one acl. However, the view from the top was definitely worth the difficult climb. I took loads of pictures. When I finally reached the last town, I hung out at the beach, went swimming, and even jumped off a cliff into the Mediterranean. Another great day. That night, we again went to the same bar to watch the France/Portugal match, though this game was much less exciting.
The following morning, I had to get up at 6:00 in order to catch my train for Milan which left at 6:40. The bus from the hostel left at 6:15 and dropped me off about 3/4 of a kilometer from the station at 6:35. Nothing like an awkward one legged jog with a backpack in the morning. Luckily I made the train and was able to catch my next train from Milan to Geneve.

On the second train I met a very nice Australian with whom I talked for about 4 hours. He had been traveling around touring with a jazz group and was headed to the Montreux Jazz Festival. At the end of our long discussion, he bought me a beer, gave me his email and address, and said if I ever end up in Australia I would have a free place to stay. Now all I have to do is get to Australia.

Once in Geneve, I took a bus to CERN and was met by Devin at the bus stop. After dinner, Devin informed me of the toga party the Swedish and Irish students were putting on that night. Though skeptical at first, we decided to suck it up and go. Good choice. Apparently physics students everywhere enjoy partying, though the entire time I was cracking up with the thought that I was drinking inside a building at the largest physics laboratory in the world, in a toga.

Now we are finally to today in which I took the bus back to Geneve and saw the U.N., though really all I could do is take a picture of all the flags in front since they don’t let you in. I also walked around the tip of Lake Geneve, which was very nice. This evening, Devin and his friends left for Munich to be there for the 3rd place game tomorrow. I thought about joining them, but I would have had to sneak into the hostel they were staying at, and I didn’t think I would even be able to get train reservations. Instead, tomorrow I am heading to Nice for two days, hopefully one of them making a day trip to Monte Carlo.

I am excited about the final on the 9th. I guess I am going to have to root for France if I don’t want to be mugged by an angry French crowd (the worst kind).