So, a few weeks ago, Javi and I decided to visit a European city outside of Spain. Paris seemed too expensive, and we found really cheap flights to Milan. When I realized how small Italy was, we stretched out the trip a bit and planned to take trains from Milan to Venice, then to Florence, the back to Milan to catch a flight back to Granada. We would make a triangle and get to see 3 very distinct Italian cities, plus eat lots of pasta. It sounded like the perfect plan until . . . Iceland decided to get involved.
If you are the cave-dweller sort, European airspace was shut down last week due to ash from a volcano in Iceland. There were no flights to and from the US or within Europe for a few days. We didn't find out this news til we arrived in Milan on the first day of our trip. We overheard a lot of British people talking about travel plans, and then saw it on the news. We figured things would clear up before we had to fly home, since we had 6 days to travel by train, as planned. We were wrong. I'll recap the highlights of the trip before I tell of our epic journey home.
Venice
This was the most beautiful place I have ever been and it was way better than Venice Beach. Everything looked fake, like Disneyland. It's tiny; you can walk the entire city in less than 1 day. Well, not the entire city because to get from one side to the other you have to take a boat. I expected it to be like some canals and some roads, but it is literally all pedestrian and boat accessible. Even the buses and taxis are boats! I wondered how people kept their off-leash dogs from jumping in. Swimming was not an option though, as it was super dirty. Too bad, because it might have been faster. From here, I could see how Italians get the stereotype of being late! We stayed off of the main island of Venice on a smaller island, Lido. Yes, like the song. The first good luck came when the hotel guy took about 40 Euros off of our bill! We visited another smaller island, Murano, where they are famous for their blown glass. Of all we saw, the Piazza San Marco was one of the most interesting, since it had a beautiful church, Basilica San Marco, and it was slightly flooded! Trying to get out of Venice to take the train to Florence, we first noticed the effect of the plane issue. Everyone being grounded, trains became very popular, which in turn made standing in line to get tickets popular. Luckily, the automated ticket machines were overlooked and we were able to book our seats. It seemed that people wanted to stand in the lines to talk to an actual person because they didn't actually know where they wanted to go, but just wanted to try to get closer to home.
Florence
A much more commercial city, Florence was faster-paced compared to Venice. We had 2 days here as well, and there was a lot more to see. We got lucky with hotels again, as the girl where we were originally booked made a mistake, so we were upgraded to a nicer hotel nearby! Florence is famous for its leather, so naturally we went shoe shopping. We also had to pick up a large chunk of Parmigiano to take home. We had some really good food and wine (Chianti) in Florence. It's much easier to be a vegetarian in Italy, since about half the pasta doesn't involve meat and the salads are amazing. Don't worry though, we still had gelato about once a day and got to try tiramsu as well! In Florence, we saw the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) that had shops ON the bridge, the Medicis' tombs, a museum with interactive models of Da Vinci's inventions, some beautiful churches, and a monk on a bicycle. The cathedral is amazing; it looks like a dollhouse with its pink and green outside! We continued following the news, which finally said Milan's airport was open. This led us to abort our Plan B (train to Rome, which had a functioning airport, then fly to Spain, where all airports were open).
Milan
We got a late train to Milan (they were booked all day), only to realize that they RE-closed the airport! The news said it was expected to open the next day, which, like fools, we trusted. We only had time to visit the cathedral and fancy mall. I was wrong to think Florence was commercial, there were a total of zero stores that I could afford in Milan. All the fancy designer stores were represented in Milan. We took a shuttle to the airport, where a shuttle for the hotel would meet us. While we were waiting for the 2nd shuttle, I peeked inside the airport, which was frighteningly empty. All the flights were canceled for the night, but still predicted to go out in the morning. Unfortunately, not much changed in the next few hours. We came back to the airport early the next morning, and of course our flight was canceled and no one had answers. I learned that “anullado” means canceled in Italian. We asked around to see what our best option was, and apparently we weren't even allowed to MAKE a reservation til the 25th, which meant we would be flying out even later than that. I am coming back to the US on the 28th, so that was obviously not an option. Cars were too expensive to rent, so we went back to the train station to see how close we could get to Spain.
We skipped the lines by going to a travel agency- it was worth the commission. 1 hour later, we were on a train to Marsielle, France. I must say, the European train system is very impressive. It was at full capacity and still able to transport people efficiently. I'd like to see Amtrak in this same situation! After 8 hours on the train with about 5 minute stops in Ventimiglia and Nice, we stepped out to the beautiful views of Marsielle. We weren't able to get a ticket towards Barcelona til the next morning, so we got a cheap hotel and fell fast asleep. To sell as many tickets as possible, they sell the last ones with no seat assignments, which basically means you sit on the floor or stand. This is an exhausting way to travel. We felt like refugees, fleeing Italy!
France/Spain
The next morning, we were off towards Spain. After a canceled train, we caught the next one heading more or less in the same direction. This led us to a stop in Avignon and a “layover” in Montpelier. I got to have a real French crepe with Nutella! I found their accents ridiculous and had a hard time not laughing when they talked. In Italy, I felt like I at least understood a little bit, since the language shares some similarities with Spanish, but I was totally lost in France. It didn't help that not everyone spoke English. Still, I managed a few make-shift sign language/made-up French conversations with people on the train. These trains were less crowded, so Javi and I were able to at least find seats, but not together. Leaving France, there was a passport check at the border. The officer asked Javi, who speaks French, if I was Spanish too and Javi answered that I was American. The officer then said, “OK, never mind,” which brought a good laugh from the rest of the passengers. I didn't really understand, but apparently they don't care at all if Americans are overstaying visas and such! Another 8 hours on a train later, we arrived in Barcelona. It was so nice to be in a place where I could eavesdrop on people again!
Javi's Dad's cousin picked us up and let us stay at his apartment. His wife made us dinner and breakfast, and then he drove us to the airport in the morning. They were so nice! We had a flight out of Barcelona, which had been functioning all week, so there was no more chaos and lines. We finally made it back to Granada only about 2 days later. The Milan airport opened up the day we made it home, and with all the people who stayed to wait for their flight, I'm sure we actually made it back earlier than if we had waited for the plane. Plus, it was nice to see the seasides of Southern France and Italy. Everyone traveling was much nicer than normal. We chatted with Polish, Spanish, Italian, Australian, and American people who were stranded just like us, all trying to get the hell out of wherever we were. It was exhausting and expensive, but Javi and I enjoyed our little trip “extension” as much as possible. I'll post Javi's Flickr account here soon so you can see pics of Italy, France, and Spain!
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