Europe Welcomes Us — Part I: India to Athens and Italy
Less than seven weeks ago we set foot into Europe, the promised land that we had viewed as a glistening tower on the hill of Asia’s at times rocky landscape. It’s not Asia’s fault, many of the difficulties were entirely interpersonal and had nothing to do with where we were in the world. You can’t always be happy, that’s not reasonable, especially when you’re being challenged.
But, the roughness wasn’t entirely our fault either. You have to adjust to a more relaxed standard of living in even resort areas. Cleanliness isn’t as much of a priority there as it is in the West. There’s trash everywhere, you just get used to it. Scraggly, stray dogs and cats may look adorable, but suffer shortened lifespans because they lack the care we give to our animals. Overall, the guilt of being a “have” in a sea of “have nots” ate slightly at my soul while simultaneously enlivening it. It made me alter my own perspectives on what happiness looks like. I’m glad that I have some new found perspectives here, even if it’s almost entirely witnessed through my own personal lense and not necessarily garnered from speaking to locals. Regardless, it’s some serious white privilege for me to complain about my guilt. That sort of thinking only lends to the negative sides of the experience. It would be harmful and cruel to you, my dear reader, and also to my own self, to say I didn’t have some of the best experiences of my life in Asia and I would not trade it for the world. I’m grateful, always, and glad that I went, fully and completely.
Six months in Asia was eye-opening on a million levels, but it’s enough for us for a while. Maybe one day I’ll go back. I’d love to see Myanmar and The Philippines, once Duterte is out of power, and go back to Borneo before it’s logged to death. For now, we’re in Europe and it’s as nice as we pictured! When we make our next big future travel plans it’ll be for Central and South America!
On April 19th, we landed in Athens after an epic travel adventure from Mumbai. Our flight was scheduled for departure at 6:00 a.m., with a two hour layover in Istanbul. We arrived at 3:00 a.m. at the Mumbai airport, of course after not having slept at all, and it was packed! They say arrive 2 – 3 hours early for an international flight and almost every time that advice is overblown. Airports in Asia and Europe have been a total breeze compared to the mess that is the US. For Mumbai though we are very grateful we heeded the 3 hours early advice because we used all of our time getting through immigration and security before making it to the boarding gate. The airport itself is clean and beautiful in the sea of Mumbai’s madness, a city that stuns with its sheer volume of everything: people, animals, street vendors, vehicles of all sorts, trash, smog, smiles. Glad we saved Mumbai for last because it would have been a little tough adjusting if we’d gone there first.
Greece was our first stop for one big reason — there we were meeting Rachel and Milton for a few days of family adventure time! This bright fact was a huge motivating factor during the darkest days in Asia, “We’ll be in Athens in April, spending time with family, so we can make it through whatever this is.”
In total, we got to spent four days with Rachel and Milton during our week in Athens. Right from our first hug and hello we took a crazy top-down car ride with Milton’s accommodating and gracious cousin, Stylianos, to the place where Poseidon ruled and his temple still stands. Stylianos also took us on a whirlwind sunset scavenger hunt, looking at some of the lesser visited parts of downtown Athens and snapping as many pictures as I could as quickly as possible.
During another day, we explored the Acropolis with Milton’s other cousin, Paul, and that night ate a huge plate of meats and cheeses while listening to traditional Greek music on a patio in the center of town. We also went to a fun German styled beer bar and spent some nice, quiet times talking and catching up at Stylianos’s place too. On our last night we had drinks in a secret bar (we’d never have found it on our own) that was stunning and had yummy cocktails. I know I speak for Jason when I say we couldn’t be more grateful for the time we had and the memories we’ll carry.
After Athens we hopped on a flight to Rhodes, or Rodos if you’re from Turkey, or Rodi if you’re getting really obscure and speaking Latin. Once upon a time, the world had seven ancient wonders, all of which were located within a few hundred miles of one another. No one else made any other wondrous things in the world at that time, such as the Great Wall of China or Angkor Wat… but I digress. Rhodes is where Colossus, one of those seven wonders, was born and perished. A statue of the Greek god Helios, Colossus stood over 100 feet tall (about the height of the Statue of Liberty) and was hailed as the tallest statue in the ancient world. It was tragically destroyed by an earthquake just 54 years after construction was completed and never was again rebuilt. Sad for Rhodes, but still marks an important claim to fame for the island that was never lost to history.
Picking a Greek island was tough, there are so many beautiful ones to choose from. We figured a Greek island would be within our price range because Greece itself is fairly affordable right now (Thanks, Greece!) and we knew one more week in the country would help extend the budget while giving us more great food (Olive me some feta!). We picked Rhodes basically on flight prices alone and thank goodness we did! It’s breathtaking, medieval, and tasty!
What we didn’t realize before we made it there is that the waters all around the Greek islands are this bright aqua blue that looks unreal unless you see it. While we didn’t swim, we did spend a day on the pebbled beach, playing with stones, reading and relaxing. Every night we watched the sunset from our balcony. Rhodes is only 11 miles from Turkey, so we could gaze longingly at Turkey from the sea shore slightly saddened that we couldn’t visit due to visa restrictions.
We did little research into Rhodes before arriving, opting to learn as we went. We knew there was an Old Town that we’d get to explore, but what we didn’t know was that it felt like going to a real life Renaissance Festival! The Old Town is walled, complete with a castle which was once occupied by invading knights from Jerusalem. This caused the island to be nicknamed The Island of the Knights. How medieval! The walled city is huge, with restaurants, gelato parlors, and various souvenir shops lining the cobblestone streets. Narrow alleys and quiet passageways lead you on a choose your own adventure through the old city. We loved every visit we made.
Although we didn’t do much during our week in Rhodes, at least not going further than we could walk, we still had a fulfilling time. We missed a temple dedicated to my dog, Apollo, and a butterfly sanctuary. We also opted not to island hop and just stay put. Still, throughout our time I kept wishing I could take a family vacation here; it’s perfect for a week of beach hanging, good eats, and fun activities. Maybe someday!
After Rhodes we went to the greatest place on Earth: Rome, Italy! Rome stuns. Every turn is a trip back in time. Here and Athens are where Western history was born. Democracy, the Republic, Christianity, modern plumbing, it all started here! We spent three days in the Eternal City, as it’s so aptly named, and went as hard as we possibly could touring and exploring. The flight in and out were at terrible times so we stayed in Ciampino, a Roman suburb, at a little B&B one the buffering days during our time there. We thought we’d save time and money, but it was a mistake and cost us more than it should. Oh well. It was nice to see another side of Italy, since we didn’t get to go to Venice, Florence, or any other cities, and the Italian grandmother who checked us in the second time, talking our ear off in full Italian, was adorable, even if she was just slightly frustrating. She ended up giving me a hug and a traditional cheek kiss <3
Rome moved me to the thought over and over, “This person would love it here! Oh, wouldn’t it be great if this person was here! Oh, I wish I could share this with this person!” Insert my mom, aunts and uncles, and many friends. It’s a place everyone should visit and I’m so grateful we had our few days where heaven lives on Earth.
When in Rome, go to the Vatican. We spent a full day here. Seeing where Catholicism was born helped put a few pieces of the religious puzzle I was raised in perspective. St. Peter’s Basilica sits in the middle of the Vatican. It’s the largest church building in the world, designed in part by Michelangelo himself. In the adjacent Vatican museum you can see the Sistine Chapel, painted in association with another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Raphael. We opted for night tickets to the museum, the first of the season available, and while we were dog tired by the end we still felt like we didn’t get to absorb it all. The map room was a huge favorite of mine, with enormous maps of all the regions of Italy lining the walls in one long hallway. The maps themselves are surprisingly accurate for their time, speaking to the rebirth of intelligence Europe was involved in that gave the Renaissance it’s namesake.
Being in Italy was a bit of a relief after Greece. Italian is a Romance language (Rome… Romance… you got it) and so while much was not in English we had an easier time understanding what was around us, whereas in Greece we were often lost. We felt similarly lost in Bulgaria language-wise, but picked it back up again in Romania which is, again, based on a Romance language. Italy gives us penne, pesto, pizza, parmigiana reggiano, spaghetti carbonara, tiramisù, cannoli, cappuccino, espresso, and so on. Foods that require no translation. Ordering from a menu, even entirely in Italian, is possible. Not that this happened too often, but we were up for the challenge! We also made sure to eat often, because Italy has some of the world’s best food. For all the weight we lost in Asia we’re making it up in spades between the carbs, cheeses, cured meats, and delicious beers of Europe. We’ve both probably fluctuated 10 pounds off and on and off and on again during the last eight months.
An ounce of travel magic worth sharing was Jason’s spectacular discovery of a Steelers Bar in the middle of downtown Rome. We were hunting for a place to eat during our last night in town, walking down endlessly enchanting tiny streets, when we stumbled upon a bar that listed Sierra Nevada as one of their craft beers. Intrigued, we take a closer look and Jason nearly yips for joy, “There’s a Steelers sticker!” Of course, even though I had decided that night I wasn’t having a drink, I had to oblige him one at this little piece of home in Rome.
The bar, La Botticella, is over 100 years old, but hasn’t been a Steelers bar for that long : ) While there, we chatted with the owner and made friends with some folks who were living in San Francisco, but had family in Pittsburgh. Jason found a few folks who used to live basically in Severna Park (the world is tiny) and that worked at a school in his mom’s district. He chatted with them for quite a while and as they were leaving they gave me hugs because Jason made them feel like they knew me too. Adorable! It was a special treat.
In part II of my European update I’ll tell you all about our first impressions of Eastern Europe, where we’ve been for three weeks thus far. By the time this is published we’ll be in Hungary, Budapest, a place I’ve dreamed of going for so long! We’re taking a 12 hour night train to get there in a couchette that sleeps 6 in total. For about $35 per person it’s a steal! (Spoiler alert: we got the entire cabin to ourselves. Score!)
Ciao!