|
  | |  |
Last hours of Rome and first hours of Milan
Entry 25 of 36 | show all | print this entry |
Our last evening in Rome was supposed to begin with Andrew and I heading to a restaurant, da Luigi, recommended by my friend's cousin. However, due to some miscommunication, and probably some basic differences between Andrew's and my priorities on this trip, what resulted was a short argument and me having a brief breakdown, while trying to order dinner at a restaurant across the street from our hostel instead of the one we were supposed to go to. As my family can probably attest to, after two days of major pain and having to miss out on things, this was much less about a dinner restaurant and far more about me just being frustrated with myself and my physical pain. However, I got over myself, and Andrew nicely paid for my dinner, and we both got on with the night.
After dinner Andrew and I met up with Tania (an Aussie bar tender at the hostel bar who is also a professional softball player), Buck (a hostel guest from CA) and Mark (hostel guest from New Zealand). Buck's friend David was also going to join us, but never made it out. We had originally planned to go on another pub crawl, but decided to hang out at the hostel bar instead and play beer pong all night. We joined up with a couple guys from Hawaii (Ryan, who I think was also from San Diego, and another guys whose name I can't remember) and some young guys - Ramses, Andrew, and Max. This Andrew was a serious moron (not even counting his lame hit worn up and slightly to the side with the brim pointing way up) who has some major life lessons to learn still and had some basic issues dealing with girls. He did a lot of pathetic trash talking and I honestly thought about punching him at some point just to make a point. Ramses wasn't much better, and insisted on playing most of the game with his shirt off so he could try to show off. (Although his moronicness came up more later.) Max seemed to be the only decent one of the bunch and spent a lot of the night just chilling and talking with Tania. Although he was wearing skinny jeans and I think that is at least a small cause for concern.
We decided to teach Tania how to play, and for her first time, she wasn't too bad. She and I couldn't seem to win a game though. Andrew went and woke Scott (same guy as from the other night) up and he eventually came down to play some too. The evening turned out to be a lot of fun although we did lose the Kiwi at after a couple of shots and too much beer sent him running towards the bathroom. (For those who will get this reference, think of Sceric's projectile from my party one summer!) After a lot of beer (both drunk and spilled on the floor) closing time rolled around, and the night ended with Ryan and I on a 2-0 winning streak and me hitting the final cup. A nice way to redeem myself since I played like shit the rest of the night. Another positive outcome of the evening was Scott, Buck, and Buck's friend David, deciding to come to Milan with us the next day.
With the beer gone and the bar closing, Andrew, Tania, the three young boys, the Hawaii guys, and I, all decided to go in search of food and another bar. After following Andrew around and worrying that it was another endless trek of his, we came across food and eventually more beer. The food was great (not sure what it was called but I think it was some sort of chicken gyros)! The Hawaii guys decided to head back after food, and despite some flirting with Ryan I didn't follow since the idea of playing drunk babysitter was not appealing enough. The rest of us went off in search of our bar and didn't find it too far away. Tania and Max went off to some fountain for more talking (yes, actual talking) and Andrew and I sat down with young Andrew and Ramses. Ramses at this point was trying to show off his knowledge of women and relationships by throwing his numbers at us, which wasn't doing much to convince either Andrew or I. I will say to his credit though, that the boy can deliver some serious poetry. No idea if he can write it or did write it, but his delivery of the spoken word was quite impressive.
After another beer or so, everyone decided it was time to head home and Andrew and I walked Tania towards the bus station so she could head back to her place on the other side of town. After about a minute at the bus station, it became clear that we were not going to let Tania take a bus home alone, so we walked her back to the hostel so she could crash with some of her co-workers who were staying across the street. By the time Andrew and I headed back to our rooms, I think it was about 3am.
All those bound for Milan gathered in the morning after checking out of the hostel and headed towards the train station. After getting our tickets to Milan easily, Andrew and I decided to take the time before the train to get out tickets for Barcelona. After about an hour of waiting in line, we get to the counter to find out that the train we wanted to take didn't exist or was full or something and we were left wondering about some other options that we didn't have time to deal with before our train to Milan left.
The train ride to Milan was fine and uneventful after one short, random stop in the middle or nowhere. We arrived in Milan and Scott, Andrew and I headed to the house of Andrew's family friends while Buck and David stayed longer at the train station to get their tickets for their next stop in Chinqueterra. The apt for tonight is an amazingly gorgeous and decked out with beds, couches, a huge kitchen, and a washing machine. We are all basically in heaven tonight! Scott and I tossed in a load of laundry while Andrew did some computer work and then while I tried to research some alternative travel options to get to Barcelona, Andrew and Scott headed to the grocery store to buy the makings of dinner and some wine. By the time they got back, Buck and David had arrived from the train station after having to wait an hour themselves to get tickets for their next destination. The guys cooked a fantastic dinner of tortellini and fresh tomato and mozzarella and we coupled that with some wonderful Chianti. (I was still researching trains to Barcelona and trying to email a potential course schedule to my adviser. Way too much stress for me for one night!)
Dinner was amazing and now we are all just chilling, listening to music, drinking some great wine, and showering in preparation to head out to relax in downtown Milan. Tomorrow we will do some quick site seeing and then head out for the long, multi-train and million hour trek to Barcelona.
Note: Andrew would like to add that the Yello bar shot ¨Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick to the Face¨is seriously deadly!
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from Lombardy, Italy or try a new search. |
| |
| Table of Contents |
| 25. | Last hours of Rome and first hours of Milan - Milan, Italy Jul 18, 2008 |
|
|
|
|
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
