When in Rome

When in Rome:

1. Take Sarah Lembke
2. Throw three coins in the Trevi Fountain
3. Ladies - Wear a dress. Every day.
4. Get a tour to skip the lines at the Colosseum and the Vatican
5. Do the Spanish Steps Pub Crawl

Two weeks ago Sarah Lembke, my new bff, and I hitched a plane to Rome, Italy. When we arrived we had no plans, no reservations, and most importantly no children to look after. It was the perfect way to end my au pair year. Sarah was a good sport with my travel style so when we got to Rome we had to find somewhere to stay. Once we found a place (I highly recomment Hostel Beautiful to anyone who wants to travel to Rome) we freshened up, put on our cute dresses, and started to adventure Rome.

What is great about Rome is that the sites are relatively close in relation to one another making it easy just to walk around. No matter where you look you see something that is thousands of years old which almost forces you to throw your plans out the window and just see where the city takes you. Sarah and I just had a map from the information desk and an idea of what we wanted to see but once we started walking we ended up on getting side tracked at just about every corner. On the way to the Trevi Fountain, for example, we stopped for lunch, ended up stumbling onto rubbles from ancient Rome, and then wound up in front of the Colosseum.

The Colosseum

Ancient Rome

By the time we finally got to the Trevi Fountain it was already dark. As it was a highly touristic area we had a great time wandering the streets, popping into various stores (looking for shoes of course), and people watching.

The Trevi Fountain

Sarah found an artist painting on the side of the street so we stopped to watch and admire his work. In Rome it is difficult to find any artists or souvenirs that are authentic, but after talking to the artist for about 30 minutes about his life as an artist in Rome, we knew without a doubt that his artwork was original. For the past 12 years Piazza Steffano had painted on that street corner while watching coppiers and scammers rip off tourists right across the street. He said that original painters are hard to come across in Rome nowdays since foreigners selling copies and replicas for much cheaper have become more and more common. We watched Piazza paint a picture of the Colosseum from memory since he was born and raised in Rome (he even had the papers to prove it) and had painted it thousands of times before. Sarah picked out the most beautiful of his watercolors, and for a mere 30 Euros has not only a gorgeous souvenir, but a memory of a conversation with a nice old Roman painter.


After purchasing the art, Sarah and I kept wandering the streets, taking pictures, until we yet again, accidentally stumbled upon another Roman treasure: the Pantheon. Even though the building was built over 2,000 years ago the it still stands today with the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world. They say that the Pantheon is such a masterpiece that the structual engineering inspires people to become architechts. As an interior designer I was amazed to see the raw construction methods that are visible due to the fact that the marble was all stripped off for the construction of the Vatican.



When Sarah and I finally made it back to the hostel we were disappointed to find that someone else had reserved a bed in our room. As there is only one key per room, whoever is first in the room is the keeper of the key. We were told that "Roger" was already in the room and that he would let us in. We went upstairs to sleep for the night...only Roger wouldn't open the locked door to our room. After knocking, pounding, asking, then near yelling for entrance to our room, a foggy eyed, annoyed guy finally came to the door. We apologized for waking him up and went inside. Then we realized that the room and bathroom were trashed and there were two people crammed sleeping in the same twin-sized bed together. The next night they went to bed at 8pm. I always find it interesting the people you meet while traveling and they were the strangest roommates I have ever had in a hostel.

The next morning Sarah and I slept in a bit (it is vacation after all) and didn't have anything to do until 1pm when I had scheduled my tour of the Vatican and St. Peter's Bascilica. We decided that instead of walking all the way to the Vatican that we would take a try at the public transportation. I would like to welcome you to the good new/bad news portion of the blog. Line 64 is the bus that runs from the main train station to the Vatican and is known for pickpocketing. The good news is that I did not get pickpocketed. The bad news is that the bus was so crowded people could barely move and the old salt and pepper haired man standing behind got arroused and decided to take advantage of the situation and pleasure himself on me. I have to admit that it took me a minute to realize since I was being bumped and jabbed by everyone else standing around me. It wasn't until the woman sitting by me told me what was going on that I realized what it was that was jabbing me from behind. Luckily I was able to snag the next available seat and notified all other women standing around the man of the situation until the man was embarassed enough to just get off the bus. After being defiled, we finally made it to the Vatican.

I seriously cannot describe the Vatican. All I can say is that I am super glad I took a tour but I would like to go again without a tour so I could spend time on the things I really enjoyed and skip over other things I did not find as interesting. My advice is that if you have never been before - do the tour. It is beyond worth it! Even though pictures never do justice, here is a teaser to get you interested enough to put this on you list of things to do before you die:





St. Peter's Bascilica


After walking around the Vatican and St. Peter's Bascilica all day our feet were about to fall off and our stomachs were growling louder than the crowds were talking. We decided to head home to freshen up and then go back to the Trevi Fountain area for dinner. Of course on the way we stopped for Gilatto and threw a few coins in the fountain. Sarah has hopes of falling in love, while I went all in with hopes of getting married. Then we picked our restaurant based on the prices...and cute waiters and after sharing two pastas and a bottle of wine we felt up for adventure. The next thing we knew, we found ourselves at a bar immediately making friends with the bar tenders, getting free shots and discounted drinks. After one too many and making a couple priceless videos we went back to the hostel to catch some Z's before the next day.

1 Coin: Return to Rome / 2 Coins: Fall in Love / 3 Coins: Get Married

On Sunday morning we slept in since we had no set plans of what we wanted to do. We decided to go to the Colosseum and while looking for a reasonable tour to go on we took a short photo op with the Gladiator men standing outside. While I thought 5 Euro was a bit steep, I have to say that the pictures and memories were 100% worth it. Eventually we ended up booking a tour that included skipping the line and an extended tour of the Ancient Roman Ruins. I have to say that even though we got a great discount on the tour (only 25 Euro), we unfortunately got stuck with a large group and guide that was difficult to understand (the risk you take I suppose). Regardless we got to see the Colosseum, which was pretty spectacular and made us want to go home and watch Gladiator.




Sarah's Gladiator Moment



After spending a couple hours in the Colosseum we had mustered up quite the appetite for some lunch so instead of catching the tour of the ruins directly after the tour of the Colosseum we decided to take a lunch break. After replenishing our nutrients we headed back to the entrance of the gardens to discover that the next tour had left without us. While frantically wondering what we were going to do we were approached by a couple of very attractive english speaking boys promoting the Spanish Steps Bar Crawl. We got the flyer and then resumed our search of how to get into the gardens, as our departed tour guide had our tickets. Luckily we came across a couple nice guides from another tour company that said we could tag along to their tour. And off we went.

Ancient Rome

The tour of the gardens was quite amazing and am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the empire that Rome once was. I was also saddend to hear that one of the reasons the ruins look so crumbled and destroyed today is because all of the marble siding and statues that once decorated the area was all pinched to build the Vatican, ensuring that the Vatican would be as wealthy as it is today (a little too scheisty if you ask me).





















By this point Sarah and I were practically limping from doing nothing but walking for the previous three days, but still had enough energy to make the best of our time in Rome, which meant only one thing - We were going to the Bar Crawl. Quickly we headed home, showered, changed clothes, and caught the metro to the Spanish Steps to meet fellow crawlers. For 25 Euro we got unlimited free drinks until 10pm, a free game of beer pong (in which we named our team the Pro Fessionals), and discounted drinks and two free shots at the next two bars. You can only imagine what happened...We made a lot of new friends!

The next morning was quite a doozey. We slept in (for somewhat obvious reasons) but had to wake up to catch our flight back to Switzerland. We took a bus to the airport...only to realize that we had 5 minutes before the gate closed for our flight. Honestly, I don't think I have ever run so fast in my life. Sarah and I managed to run to another terminal, go to the check-in desk, through security, and to our gate (which happened to be on the far end of the terminal) in 5 minutes. I have no idea how many people we mowed down on the way, but we made our flight just barely. I swear never to repeat that kind of addrenaline rush again. Ever.

But Rome? Oh, I would definitely do Rome again.

The Weekend I Bushwacked and Trespassed France

German, French, and Swiss Flags

A couple weekends ago I set out on another lone weekend adventure on a mission to see the Vitra Design Museum, one of the leading interior design companies in the world. Famous for their flawless construction of classic modern chairs, the designs of legends like Charles and Ray Eames and Mies van der Rohe are displayed,  honored, and even built in buildings designed by famous architects such as Frank Gehry and Antonio Citterio at the Design Museum. For a design guru like me "paradise" would be an understatement. So off to Germany I went to have a design experience of a lifetime. Check out the slideshow of the museum!



I have to admit that after I walked through the design museum and into the gift shop I was like a kid at the candy store. I bought a coffee table book for someday when I am lucky enough to have a coffee table, a keychain, a pair of shoes, and a model of the Panton Chair, my favorite of all classic chairs. I may have spent about 150 Euro on it all, but I think everything was beyond worth it. And for the record, those shoes are so comfortable!

The day after I went to the Vitra Design Museum I had another mission: walk from Switzerland to Germany to France and back to Switzerland. Not many people can say they have walked to three European countries in a day, but luckily for me Basel is a city that is right on the border of Switzerland, Germany and France so it was all possible. The whole journey would have taken about two hours...if it weren't for the fact that I am prone to mistakes and "whoops" moments along the way. This journey was no different.

Walking to Germany was no hassle. It took about 15 minutes and along the way I was able to make a short video greeting while in all three countries at once:


(I apologize that you can't actually see the flags and that I lie about not telling you exactly where I am because that is exactly what I am doing. The next time I make a video I promise to be more accurate.)

After making the video I crossed over into Germany and as it began to rain I decided there was no better use of my time than to go into a local bar and have some German beer. Once the rain stopped I resumed my mission and walked across the bridge into France.



For the next stage in my three country trek my thinking was that my best chance of making it back to Switzerland through France without getting lost was just to walk along the Rein river along the French border until I came to a bridge taking me back to Switzerland. Brilliant! ....Or so I thought.

In hindsight, maybe I should have done a little more research or looked closer at a map to plan my route, but that is just not my travel style. I figure that I am a start enough woman to just figure it out along the way. Well, this time my sense of adventure and lack of information actually got me into a dicey situation. The long the road I had been walking eventually had been reduced to this little path...and then into a giant dead end into a huge thorn bush. I was in flip flops so I couldn't really whack my way through the bush and I was already about a 45 minute walk down the coast of France and far to determined and stubborn to fail my mission. I was so close to the Swiss border I knew there had to be something I could do. I have wiggled out of difficult situations before, so why would this be any different?





So I crawled my way through a hole in a fence...








Into an oil yard.

                                                         Whoops!

The first clue that there had to be a way out through the fence was that the hole was already there, so it wasn't like I was the first person to have done this. With the evidence of blatent tresspassing on my hands I decided to tuck my hands in my pockets and walk around like I owned the place until I found my way back to Switzerland...as quickly as possible...without getting arrested. Eventually I stumbled upon a security center and, with no other options or ideas of how to get myself out of my predicament, I poked my head inside and simply asked "Excuse me, how do I get back to Basel?" All three security guards just stared at me with confused expressions and in slow motion pointed in the direction where I should go. I smiled cheerily, thanked them, and then walked faster than I have ever walked in my life to get the heck outta France.

Once I was on Neutral land again I spent the rest of the day giggling to myself about how ridiculous my day had been and how I should never do something like that again. But I am definitely glad to have the memories!

Swiss Independence Day

Yesterday marked the 720th birthday of Switzerland. Whenever I bragged about the age of Switzerland (as if a country gets better with age like a fine wine), I always received the same two questions: What year did Switzerland declare independence and who did Switzerland become independent from? So let me take this opportunity to share a little fun facts about the birth of this grand country (and to set the story straight because I told some accidental lies yesterday).

First of all, if you can do simple subtraction, Switzerland became its own country in 1291. To be honest, after reading multiple Wikipedia sites, I am more confused as ever about the actual start of Switzerland. After the death of Rudolf I of Germany (but really he worked for the Romans) the three Cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden signed the Federal Charter of 1291 basically founding the Confederacy. Around this time comes the cool story. Some people claim that it is only a legend, but it is entertaining nonetheless.

Wilhelm Tell.

You may recognize the name from The William Tell Overature, the common horse racing tune we all know so well today. Well I bet you didn't know the guy was Swiss! So here it goes. Basically there was this horrible Austrian man named Gessler who had reign of the Cantons of Uri and Schwyz. He raised a poll in the middle of the Altdorf square, put his hat on top and made people bow before it. Wilhelm Tell, an expert marksman, wouldn't bow before it so Gessler had him arrested. As punishment Tell was forced to shoot an arrow at an apple placed on his own son's head otherwise both would be executed. If Tell successfully shot the apple off his son's head he was promised freedom. On November 18, 1307, Tell successfully shot the apple off his son's head with his crossbow. Gessler, who had noticed the Tell had taken two arrows out of his quiver (yep, googled that term), asked Tell why. Tell replied that if he had killed his son he was going to immediately kill Gessler. Clearly this angered Gessler who had Tell bound once again to be taken to the castle dungeon in Küssnacht (not the town I live in). On the way, a huge storm broke out on the Lake Luzern and the feared soldiers asked Tell to steer the boat, in which Tell took the opportunity to escape. He quickly swam ashore and as Gessler passed by on land to meet the boat, Tell assasinated him with his bow and arrow. His defiance sparked a revolution that led to the formation of the Old Swiss Confedaracy, which also included the Cantons of Glarus and Zug as well as the city states Zurich, Luzern, and Bern. Thus Switzerland is now Switzerland and we can all celebrate now.

(I hope my story was informative though I really don't understand how the Austrians and the Romans actually fit into this whole schindigg.)

Ever since I was a kid my family has celebrated Swiss Independence Day. Every year I get to celebrate a holiday that no one else I know celebrates, I get to set off fireworks (a luxury my mom won't agree upon on the 4th of July), eat delicious bratwurst, and for the following week I get to eat pie for breakfast. Great is an understatement. Over the course of the past 10 years after meeting a few more Swiss people and visiting the country a couple times, I have been told on numorous occasions that, from the sound of it, my family celebrates Swiss Independence better than Swiss people actually living in Switzerland do. I merely brushed it off thinking that these people were just being humble as always. So as the 1st of August 2011 neared and my opportunity to experience the holiday in its originiating country got closer and closer, my excitement grew exponentially. Maybe I set my expectations too high or maybe I should have actually believed the feedback, but I have to admit: My family does Swiss Independence Day better than Switzerland.

First of all, no one even knew what festivites there were other than scattered fireworks that evening. So with no plans during the day and the fact that I am known to be lazy on a day off, I didn't leave my bedroom until 6pm. Finally I got my act together and went into the city to meet up with some friends. I even went all the way to the other side of the lake to watch the fireworks, which was cool, but nothing out of the ordinary from your average firework show.

Saraya, Ayana, and Me

While I had an absolute delightful time wandering around Zürich with some of my favorite ladies, eating a delicious dinner (Kebob is FAR from Swiss, but sooo delicious), and watching fireworks on the lake, I can't help but feel a little homesick over missing the festivities back home...in Boulder, Colorado. I wonder if I just miss the unusual-ness of being Swiss since it is my everyday life now, but somehow "being Swiss" just isn't the same without my family and you can see for yourself why:

Left: Dad, Second Cousin, Aunt

Mom, 100 Year Old Grandfather, Aunt

It seems as though I have learned that in life there are some things that just can't replace family. I love you all!
(Special thanks to my cousin, Anya, who provided these pictures)