What happens when you think up crazy travel plans...and then your friend piggybacks it? Mystery Trip 2011.
We wanted to stretch our travel muscles and improve our orienteering brains, without the stuffy knowledge of where we were going.
Lost?
Long story short, we asked two of our friends to book us a random, cheap flight and hostel this weekend. And so, Friday night we received a text that said to arrive at Copenhagen airport at 6pm, undisclosed destination. No clues as to the weather. No clues on what to pack. Nothing out of those two!
There wasn't much lead up, and no time to really worry, especially since I was late getting to the station, and I basically ran through the streets of Lund, luggage in tow, to make the train. We had about 40 minutes on the train to get used to the idea that we'd be going to a different country (an even different-er country than Denmark), then when we arrived we ripped open the envelope and...
Lots of great stories to tell. Oh, yeah.
- Staying in the shadiest part of town, arriving at pitch black midnight, two lost gals venture to find their hostel
- Walking around Rome, relying heavily on the wonders of the iPhone GPS because maps are wholly inaccurate and missing information, and Italians - bless them - are the worst possible direction givers ever. I found this the case in Milan during the summer and it was doubly reinforced in Rome.
- Great coffee. Amazing coffee.
- Stereotypical Italian males. Stereotypes for a reason.
- Running into my latte dealer/future husband, everyday, twice a day
- Butchering Finnish while, unknowingly by me, a Finnish couple looks and hears on.
- Creepy waiters who try to kiss you. Gross
- Even creepier, overly excited male bus passengers. No. words.
- Police at the Colosseum
- Waking up at the crack of dawn (okay, 6:30am) to catch the sun rise from the steps of...the Spanish steps. (Also, a lesson in reading sunrise times)
- We thought it would be hilarious to see modern art whilst in Rome. The elusive modern art museum. HOAX.
- Finding cheap but amazing food at random restaurants
- Chilling out in Testaccio, trying to find the Market (not Macro!!) and stumbling upon their local bakery. Where everyone spoke rapid Italian, had no idea why tourists were in their store and helped a couple of exchange students buy cookies. Amazing!
There's so much more that I can't write it all down. I'm sure this only makes sense to Julia and I, but isn't that one of the best parts of travelling? Little secrets, shared memories.
Here's a sneak peek.
When in Rome...
...you get a marriage proposal with your coffee
...you see things that don't quite belong
...you order the best coffee drink ever and then forget its name. every. time.
Another plus to the low-season is getting the chance to walk around the Colosseum. With no one around. Just you and almost 2000 years of history. I've never felt quite this awed - how young and insignificant are we compared to buildings that have stood the test of time?
