So after multiple hours of driving, seeing the countryside, passing old castles and green fields, we end up in Lyon, driving along the river as the GPS attempts to direct us toward this Subway, which was blocked by gate/code access. After some circling and realizing there was no way we were making it down that street on our own, we gave up. Kind of. We parked in a lot nearby, Adam and I ran in to pick up the sandwiches, and we all ate in the car. Well, that was our visit to Lyon, because immediately after we were done with our sandwiches we got back on the road heading toward Arles (pronounced Arl) where we were hoping to stay in one of the hotels listed in the Rick Steves book. Before we could even get out of Lyon, our stupid GPS had us going in 3 figure 8s along highway entrances because it couldn't make up its mind of where it wanted us to go. Well we finally got off of the GPS path so it could re-route us toward the correct highway, and got out of Lyon. A few hours later, we arrived in Arles, and the roads were so tiny that we had to back up and turn around a few times still not finding the hotel we wanted. We found a nearby hotel, Hotel Voltaire, that was also listed in Rick Steves book and his description was pretty accurate - a questionably clean room with ceiling fans. The guy only had a double room, which meant it had 2 single beds. Well there are 3 of us so guess what that means - squish-tastic! I was able to check out the room before booking it, and although it was certainly not glamorous, it was half decent. The boys didn't necessarily agree but it seemed like we didn't have any other choice. The original hotel we wanted (according to Rick Steves) was closed! Out of business! Operating no more! Thanks Rick Steves. You're a genius.
Erik didn't want to leave all of our belongings in the room without being there, so Adam and I went across the street to pick up some food to take back to eat in the room. Unfortunately, the only food we could take back was pizza, and they had so many other great things on the menu. But we ordered 3 pizzas and took them to go. Once we arrived back at the hotel, we opened up the boxes to discover that NONE of the pizzas were sliced. Fun times! We had to rip apart our individual pizzas and use tissues as our napkins. One of the more budget nights but definitely more fun nights. A lot of laughing and joking ensued. There was absolutely nothing to do in Arles, and we weren't really sure how safe the neighborhood was. I thought it was fine to walk around but these non-NY natives were a little freaked out I think. Erik fell asleep watching Big Brother on his iPad; Adam and I fell asleep watching Indiana Jones on my computer.
The next morning, we woke up at 6am and Adam jumped out of bed ready to roll for the day! Mission - get to Rome. Via many stops along the way and some driving along the coast.
Our first stop after Arles was Les Baux, where we thought we could see a cool old castle, but because we had left so early (by the time we left it was really more like 7:30, because we had to wait for our friend downstairs at the Hotel Voltaire to give our keys back) that it wasn't yet open. We drove to the top of the hill and took some (crappy) photos, and left toward Nice to see the Marc Chagall Museum, which I really wanted to see. I told the guys that they probably wouldn't enjoy it like I knew I would (based on how much time they spent in the Louvre), but they came along anyway. They lasted about 20 minutes before deciding to head out in search of wi-fi to book a hotel in Rome, and I stayed at the Chagall museum for almost an hour and a half. I took tons of pictures, of almost every piece of work, and even got a cute little French lady to snap a photo of me in front of one of his Moses works. The boys picked me up at noon outside of the museum, as promised, and we continued on our journey.
Our next stop was Monaco, which is as big as a city but technically is a different country. The second we got to the coast, we all saw the breathtaking views overlooking the cliffs and the water lapping on the shore. Despite the stress and arguing over whether or not to get food at a restaurant overlooking the water, or at a rest stop on the highway up ahead many miles, we ended up having a beautiful drive and a nice lunch just east of Monaco and before we entered Italy. The restaurant was called "Fellini" and honestly, when we got there, we were so close to Italy that we weren't sure if we were there already! The hostess greeted us in Italian, and we were so used to French (bon jour) that when she said hello in Italian (bon giorno) which was slightly different, we were so confused!
The menu was great and had lots of options for all of us. We each got something different: gnocchi in a creamy walnut sauce, linguini with seabass, and grilled swordfish with potatoes. So we each tasted each other's dishes and quite enjoyed them! It was a cheap lunch considering how nice the food was, and how generous the portions were! We all felt a little less cranky I think, after lunch. So we were moving in the right direction. We went next door to Hotel Victoria to use their wi-fi to book a hotel in Rome. Up until this point, we were really unsure as to whether or not we'd make it all the way to Rome or not. We could have stopped in a number of cities along the way incase we got too tired or it got too late. But once we booked a hotel in Rome, our mission was even MORE clear - GET THERE! After lunch, we only took 2 or 3 very short rest stops for quick bites to eat, bathroom, and gasoline. Through many tunnels, winding roads, naps for some of us, listening to various radio stations, vineyards to our right and our left, and even some rainfall, we finally arrived at our hotel in Rome - the Crowne Plaza! It was like a palace when we finally walked in.
Adventures in Rome begin -- TOMORROW!
No comments:
Post a Comment