What travel wouldn"t be complete without a few minor set-backs? Some highlights:
Planes, Trains, and (eventually) Automobiles:
After getting a feel for Rome, Jon and I decided that we would attempt to book train tickets from Florence to Paris--an over-night experience. Unfortunately, upon reaching the ticket window, we were told that there was no way we were taking a train to Paris at any time of day, anywhere near the dates we needed. No local trains. Nothing. We knew that we would be able to work something out, although I admit I had unnerving visions of us flying above the French Alps in a cargo plane full of chickens and crates... Long story short, we were able to book tickets to Paris, but our travel will be longer than expected. We are leaving tonight (Dec. 28th) from Florence and we are taking an over-night train to Geneva. We should arrive around 9:30am and we will have a few hours to hang out before leaving for Paris. What a miserable detour, right? Oh well, I suppose we will survive in a country best known for it;s beauty and chocolate...:) Once we get to Paris, we will more-than-likely have to take a cab to our new hotel, since the one we had booked originally is closed for construction.
Afflictions:
I would love to say that I was able to keep my cold to myself, but unfortunately, I cannot. Jon came down with a massive head cold the day a day or two before we were supposed to leave for Florence. He has been a great sport about it, but no one likes to be sick, especially on their honeymoon, especially thousands of miles away from home. He is feeling better now though, so pray that his health continues to improve.
Why we Never Went Back to the Pharmacy in Rome:
Jon was having trouble sleeping because of his cold, so we decided to take a short walk to the pharmacy near our hotel to get some Nyquil or Tylenol PM in order to welcome some much needed Zs ( I honestly cannot find the apostrophe on this keyboard--so no possessives and no contractions). This particular pharmacy was not like one that you would find in the U.S. Everything was either behind the counter or behind glass, making it absolutely necessary for us to use our broken Italian/English to ask for what we wanted. (Sigh). So we tried to explain our request to the woman behind the counter, who pulled some Aleve off of a shelf, then some cough syrup, etc. until she had about 4-5 medicines on the counter for us. Since none of them were what we were looking for, we tried to politely thank her and leave, but she stopped us with a loud and abrupt, "You don't WANT?" Had there been a hole to crawl into, I think we would have... After leaving, we were convinced that we were surely black-listed, and we resolved never to return to that pharmacy, and Jon toughed out his cold symptoms without sleep aid.
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Considering the amount of time that we've spent here, our set backs have been few and far-between. The great thing about all of this is that nothing is familiar. Nothing. The lifestyles are different, the language is different, the food is different, transportation is different. When so much is unfamiliar, we tend to cling to things that are familiar. God is familiar--and He has really blessed us with hang-ups and gifts like brief interactions with familiar things. We have met some very friendly American, Canadian and Japanese tourists, and the language barrier really hasn't been insurmountable. The Italian people we have spoken with have been very friendly and helpful. We have definitely made some great memories here--and to think that we leave for home in just a few days!
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