travel

Dear Juliet : My Journey to Verona

June 18, 2016

While in Italy, I decided to take a little trip by myself to Verona, Italy.

Verona is where Shakespeare’s beloved novel, Romeo & Juliet took place. I was especially intrigued to visit Verona after learning about Club di Giulietta, or Juliet’s Club.

People from all over the world write to Juliet to share their stories of love and heart break and to ask for her advice. For more information about Club di Giuletta, I encourage you to take a look at this article here.

So although my journey may not be one of heartbreak or love I decided to write this blog post in letter form to Juliet. Happy reading.

Dear Juliet,

As much as I love to travel, I will be the first to admit that the idea of traveling alone is a little frightening. This summer, my brother spent two weeks backpacking through Europe by himself. When he first proposed his idea to me – an intricately planned journey through England and Iceland – I thought he was crazy! But when he came back home with so many amazing stories, I was truly inspired.

As ready as I was to broaden my horizons and set my foot in a new country, I had my doubts. The idea of studying in Italy sounded exciting but the idea of leaving everything I knew behind was a little frightening – and it was a huge step for me.

I have always loved to explore new places, but not often on my own. Just the thought made me incredibly anxious. But while studying abroad in Italy, there were places I wanted to visit. And there just wasn’t always someone to visit these places with.

So rather than wait around and find someone to go with, I decided that Verona was one of the places I would visit on my own.

Verona is located only two hours from Florence by train. Although I wasn’t traveling a long distance, I was doing something that I truly wanted to do and not letting anything stop me.- not any of my doubts, and certainly not my anxiety.

On a rainy Friday morning, I stepped foot in Verona. I checked into my hotel , I received a map from the concierge and headed to Piazza Bra.

Located right in the middle of the piazza is Arena di Verona, a conserved roman amphitheater. It was fascinating to witness something that had been so carefully preserved after years and years.

Then, I headed towards my main destination, the Club di Giuletta, hoping that I could finally respond to at least a couple of the many beautiful letters that are sent to you. Just for one day, Juliet, I was hoping to be one of your personal secretaries!

But my destination was actually a lot more difficult to find than I had anticipated.I asked people on the street for directions, and most of them had absolutely no idea what I was talking about, or they thought I was looking for the house of Juliet. Nobody knew anything about this so-called”club”.. So here I found myself lost in the middle of little Verona.

Yet being lost was an experience in itself that I actually do not regret one bit…

I met quite a few interesting people, and every one of them tried to help me as best as they could. I met one really friendly young Italian woman who spoke English was more than happy to help me. I told her what I was looking for,and as we walked we talked for a while. She was also living in Florence and was currently visiting Verona for the wine festival.

She led me to the House of Juliet. Although it wasn’t what I was looking for, it was really nice of her to take the time to walk me there. I saw the wall where thousands of people have left notes and pictures for you. And of course, your statue that is believed to good luck.

We agreed we would stay in touch, and after we parted ways, I was still determined to find what I was looking for. Later during the day, I wandered back to the street where my map had first led me, and sure enough, I found it! I must have missed it because it was almost hidden, set back from the rest of the street in a stone alcove. I had made it there just ten minutes before it closed!

So unfortunately, while I did not get the opportunity to respond to any of the physical letters, one of the secretaries informed me that the club receives thousands of emails written to you, Juliet.After I told her about how much I loved to write, she encouraged me to leave my email address with her so that she could send me some of these letters and I could respond to them.

I was mostly inspired to visit Verona because it’s where your story took place.As I am beginning to discover new things, people, and places on my own, I couldn’t be more content.

Thank you Juliet for giving me this opportunity to venture out on my own and truly enjoy every moment in Verona.

Yours truly,

Lisa

P.S. Of all the places I have visited in Italy, Verona remains one of my favorites. “Parting is such sweet sorrow.”

Athens : Discovering Beauty Amongst the Ruins

March 31, 2016

Not all of my spring break was spent relaxing on the beautiful island of Corfu. This past week, I was also able to spend some time in Athens, Greece.

For years, Greece has been facing severe economic hardship. These hardships are more evident in some areas than others. While I was in Corfu, I was taken aback by the beauty that surrounded me. While I noticed some abandoned buildings here and there, I wasn’t able to truly witness the devastation until I visited Athens.

Greece currently has the highest poverty rate in Europe – an estimated 20,000 are homeless- and as I walked through the streets of Athens I was able to witness this crisis firsthand, especially during the night time. There were countless people -even young children- sleeping on every side walk and street corner. It was truly heartbreaking and devastating to witness.

So why would anyone want to visit Athens? The city may not be the most beautiful in the world, and is instead poor, decayed, and suffering. But traveling is all about gaining a full understanding of the world in its entirety, both the good and the bad. While it was saddening to witness the crippling poverty and other impacts of the Greek recession, it certainly made me put things into perspective.

Athens is rich in history and culture. The city of Athens is built entirely among ancient ruins. There are ancient temples preserved amid bustling shopping centers.We visited Kerameikos, an ancient cemetery right in the middle of the city.

The ancient ruins are perfectly woven into modern Greek society. The Acropolis- literally – nearly blew me away. Among these monuments, the Parthenon was the most magnificent. It was amazing to visit something that I had previously only read about in textbooks.

We also visited Aeropagus, or Mars Hill, where, according to the bible, Apostle Joseph stood preached Christianity to the people of Athens.

It’s the little things that made Athens beautiful to me. Like how the Acropolis lights up at night, standing proud and tall over the city below. The way the people here welcome you with open arms. Sitting in an authentic Greek restaurant trying new foods – tzatziki, kebab, gyros, and more. Witnessing beautiful street art and walking through ancient ruins that have been so carefully preserved. I am truly grateful to have experienced Athens.

Corfu and the Curse of the Pink Palace

March 31, 2016

On most spring breaks, I head back from school to my hometowm of Smithfield, Rhode Island and spend the week sleeping, watching Netflix, and catching up with a couple friends from home. Nothing too exciting.

This spring break, however, was one for the books. I had the opportunity to travel to Greece with some of my best friends. After a 4 hour bus ride and a 19 hour boat ride we finally made it to our first destination – Corfu!

“Sexy ladies!” is the greeting we received upon groggily stumbling off the boat. Socrates was our enthusiastic, sometimes comical, always crazy bus driver. He would be transporting us from the ferry to the Pink Palace, as well as any day trips we took from the Pink Palace while we were in Corfu. Bus rides with him were a little frightening – he always drove way above the speed limit – and they were never boring – it seemed like he was known by every inhabitant of Corfu.

As we neared our destination, I couldn’t help but stare in awe at the beautiful blue ocean in front of me. It was unlike anything I had ever seen.I knew then that Corfu would become one of my favorite places in the world.

The Pink Palace was unlike any hotel / hostel I have ever stayed at. All of the buildings were pink and if you walked down the 121 Pink Palace steps, you would arrive at the Pink Palace Palladium.

This is where we ate dinner and had our legendary Toga party – We were given ugly satin pink sheets that we each made into toga dresses – this wasn’t as easy as it sounds – and we participated in the traditional Greek plate smashing ceremony. Opa!

Further down past the palladium – and the endless lemon and orange trees- were more hotel rooms, a Jacuzzi, a beach bar, and of course- the beach. We spent a lot of time walking the beach, collecting sea glass, laying on the deck getting our tan – or for me, my burn- on.

After three days at the Pink Palace, we departed for Athens (see my next blog post, as I think my experience here deserves a separate post on its own). Leaving the Pink Palace was bittersweet – I loved spending my days by the beach and our nights dancing away at the Palladium. As we boarded the Pink Palace bus for the last time, I had a feeling that I would someday return to the Pink Palace.

But I did not think that this day of return would be so soon. After spending a night in Athens, we departed early the next morning to leave for Santorini. We got to the port with all of our luggage only to find out that all the boats to Santorini had been cancelled due to extreme wind conditions.

We headed back to our hostel in Athens, Hotel Fivos, sad that we would not be able to go to Santorini but hopeful that perhaps we would be able to leave the next day. Soon, however, it became apparent that going to Santorini wasn’t going to be an option at all. Instead, we would be returning to Corfu and spending the rest of the week at the Pink Palace.

I was pretty upset. After all, Santorini had been my most anticipated stop in Greece. I fell in love with the beach of Corfu, and enjoyed the culture and history of Athens, but I had dreamed of visiting the black sand beach and walking in the same steps as the girls from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. However, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason – and although I may not have the opportunity to venture to Santorini anytime soon, I believe that one day I will make it there.

I began to look on the bright side – I had loved Corfu and it seemed like the best possible alternative. So as we headed back to Corfu, I was determined to make the most out of the rest of our spring break.

Our second visit to the Pink Palace was also an interesting one. There were three other tour groups who arrived at the same time as we did, so the place was packed! The Palladium had to open the second floor in order to seat everyone for dinner, and afterwards we attended our second toga party.

While at the Pink Palace, we also decided to visit the Old Town of Corfu, escorted by the one and only Socrates. We stopped at a cafe and enjoyed some delicious Greek frappes, got fish pedicures, and did some shopping. Bryana and I each bought a necklace with Greek symbols. Mine represents infinity and unity and hers represents eternal life. Most people to go to Greece to purchase jewelry with the Matisma, or evil eye, which is supposed to ward off jealousy and bad luck.

We also stopped for lunch at a small, family-owned traditional Greek restaurant. While veal was the recommended dish, I played it safe and got chicken and potatoes- which were delicious.

After dinner, we had Loukoumades , which were basically small balls of fried dough. Mine were filled with chocolate in the middle and drizzled in white chocolate and pieces of oreo cookie.

Although my spring break trip to Greece took a couple of unexpected turns, it was an amazing week I will never forget. As we left the Pink Palace for the second time, I couldn’t help but wonder if it would actually be my last time leaving that place.