So officially we are all back home in our various homes. The last 48 hours have been a bit rough, but we made it and now we're all wiser. Actually, not wiser, but definitely fatter. Before a complete trip wrap-up, I'll take you on a brief journey back in time.
After another afternoon of strolling around Sorrento on Sunday, we readied ourselves for our last night out as a group. We started with prosecco at a place called English Inn, which Rickalicious had recommended. It was nothing to write home about, but the bartender was hot (though ironically enough he barely spoke English) and the mini prosecco bottles were 3 benjis each. I seriously don't think it's possible to drink much better and much cheaper than you can in Italy. We had planned to have dinner at another place recommended by Rickmeister (and Ann the Aisan's slow food guide) but it was closed so our bartender recommended a place that turned out to be quite delicious. We spent a lot of the evening dicussing stock shorting and the financial crisis. We've had some really smart, really great convos on this trip ("have I talked to you about my sister?"), and we are always "looking things up." Like veal vs. baby lamb; and who was in Love Actually; and whether Kobe cows get back rubs and sake (they do).
After dinner, there was no denying our next stop: back to Chaplins for one last dance party. We had walked by earlier and our buddy Luigi hollered "Hey girls! You recovered from last night yet!?" He and Maria were SO excited to see us, and immediately put on Single Ladies and then joined us on the dance floor. I seriously want to be those two when I grow up.
So dance party, dance party, blah blah blah. You know I can't give details. Ol Rabbit Fur slash sex slaverton merchant of doom stopped in too, and it was nice to feel like we had made an impact on this tiny little tourist town. I know it will probably never be the same now that we've been there. We stopped back by and saw our guy at English Inn for one...last...night cap, during which E-Roc made every attempt to finish an entire olive. Over the course of an hour she ALMOST did it (these were the most ridiculously fresh, plump, green olives I ever seen or eaten in my life).
Fids rolled out with Tony in a cab in the morning (and I hope to god took a picture of him), and LJ followed soon after to get to Rome for her flight to Brussels (which apparently is a whole other story in itself). The rest of us packed up, stored our luggage, did the fastest souvenir shopping work of our lives, and then went to catch the bus to the Naples Airport. Tony had told us he'd drive us for $100. When we discovered we could take the bus, Liza said, "Why wouldnt Tony mention there was a bus?" Turns out Tony is not the BFF we thought he was.
An hour on the bus to Naples, then waiting in the Naples airport, then two trips to the baggage counter to pay for overweight luggage, then all the hassles of flying, then landing at the Milan airport which is an hour outside of Milan...pardon my French but it was a butt++++ing day. By the end of it we were all hungry, and grumpy and tired, and ready to just get it over with...which is when we arrived at the Hotel Eva.
None of us remember how we found this place or why we decided to book it (I'm sure beverages were involved). It was a shithole in a sketchy area. And better yet! The elevator was broken and the hotel was on the 5th floor! YESSSSSSSS!!! In order to keep from murdering anyone, we just dropped our stuff and headed out to eat the last supper, which none of us were all that interested in anymore. We wound up at a place near the Duomo (our last RickyRickRecommendation). It did the job, and we can officially declare that the best gnochi in Italy is on the Piazza Bra in Verona. We took some pics of the Duomo at night, and then headed back and passed out while watching Law and Order in Italian. The complete list of American shows we have watched in Italian stands as: Ally McBeal, My Wife and Kids, L & O, Gossip Girl, Faith and Hope, Without a Trace, and (me and E-Roc's personal favorite) MacGyver. We also saw the hit early 2000s film "A Time To Dance." Can't wait to know what that movie is really about!
We rose early this a.m. to go BACK TO THE AIRPORT HOORAY HOORAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had some weinerschnitzel in Frankfurt, and when I went to spend my last five euros on a snacks at the newstand, the woman started speaking to me in German. That's when I quit. I didn't even try to communicate in her language, I just gave her the money said thank you in English and walked away. Then we watched the greatest movie of our generation "Australia" on our flight into Dulles, and plop, bling, blong we are back in America. I'll have a full trip wrap-up in a little bit, but hot damn it was an amazing time. We are a little bummed that we ended on kind of a bum note with yesterday's traveling nightmares (note to self: always take the train in Italy), but I really couldnt have asked for better traveling mates (except for maybe Tina Fey, Michelle Obama and Beyonce) or for a better place to travel through. We're already talking about walking the Lord of the Rings trail in New Zealand next summer...but I'll only do it if I can pull my luggage the entire way.
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