(no subject)
The next morning we took the train to Interlaken. We wandered the main drag between Interlaken Ost and Interlaken West stations for a bit and bought some souvenirs. We found a street stall that serves chäsbrätel, which is a delicious cheese that is broiled then served over bread. The radiant heat from above forms a nice crust on the cheese and for five CHF it's delicious. We also availed ourselves of one of the many stores that does free engraving of Swiss army knives. We filled ourselves up with Züpfebröt from the local Coop grocery store, from there we were on our way to Zurich.
On the train we inadvertently sat down in first class, which isn't really that much nicer than second. The conductor gave us a bunch of shit about it and didn't believe us when we said we didn't know it was first class. When we got to Zurich it was pouring down rain. Cats and dogs. In a lot of ways Zurich was a reminder of the home we hadn't seen in a month or more. There was an amusing "Queen: The Musical" poster at the station. Zurich Hoftbahnhof has a very large shopping complex underground, which is nice when you have 3-4 hours to kill and are trying to stay out of the rain. We did venture out though, and what we saw was an even bigger reminder of home.
Gap, Benetton, and a whole bunch of other stores made downtown Zurich seem a lot like 4th and Pine. Albeit with streetcars and old clock towers. Still, it seemed a lot like Seattle, only twice as expensive. We wandered into a place called "Pic Nic" for dinner, which served lasagna, stir fry, and of all things kaiten zushi. Unlike Sushiland or Blue C, the cheapest plate at this place was 7 CHF (about $6). That's the edamame. They sold tiny bottles of Kikkoman for 4 CHF. It was scary. Thankfully the lasagna and stir fry were cheaper, if a bit mediocre. But we were thankful to get out of there without paying $20 for kung pao chicken.
On the train to Roma we met some girls from Riverside. They all slept pretty soundly the entire way to Roma, but I got woken up at pretty much every stop. Still it was nice to not have to pay for hotel that night, and we arrived in Roma somewhat refreshed and in bad need of a shower.
We spent the day wandering Roma some more. We wandered through Piazza Navona towards the Fiume Tavere and the Castle San Angelo. We spent a little time in Trastavere before heading back to the hotel for a nap. During our walk we encountered a place which served Ligurian food, which I hadn't had since the Cinque Terre four years ago, so we made a note to come back for dinner. That night we wandered back around 6:30 only to discover that they opened at 8. With an hour and a half to kill, we wandered through Piazza Navona again, watching street artists paint portraits. We got some last minute souvenir shopping done before going back for dinner. I hadn't had salsa di noci since the last time I was in Italy, and it was every bit as good as I remember. We also ordered some rabbit dish in an excellent cream sauce. The portions were light, so I even had room left over to order a lasagnette (hand made pasta sheet) dish with a fresh tomato sauce. It was one of the best meals of the trip, perhaps even better than La Fenice in Sorrento. A good way to end our Europe experience and prepare us for the day of hell ahead.
Fiumicino Aeroporte wasn't bad. The flight out was delayed 20 minutes but we made up the time. Newark, on the other hand, was a different nightmare altogether. Apparently one of the bathrooms on the place suffered from some sort of accident, so the rear of the plane reeked of shit and chemicals. They were debating on switching planes but in the end decided to board. We sat in the plane for an hour while they tried to fix the situation. Then they decided that the smell really was too horrible and we all had to get off the plane, wait around another hour or so, then board a different plane. We didn't touch down until 2am, 2 and a half hours after our scheduled arrival time. Still, having my head on my own pillow that night (albeit at 4am) was worth it.
So now I've been home a week. I've slept in my own bed a few times. Now I'm ready to head out again. Too bad it won't be for a while.