Of Cobblestones and Airports
David Bertschinger is a KWC junior majoring in physics. He is spending the Spring 2010 semester studying in Rome. He will be providing regular updates to KWConnect. Check the KWC in Rome page for a compilation of all his updates and photos.
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Tuesday, January 26
Tuesday, January 19, was the last day I woke up in the United States until this spring. Once we arrived at St. Louis International Airport, I got my baggage checked into United, said goodbye to my parents and headed through security. It was hard saying goodbye, but the reality did not hit me in full until much later.
The flight to Chicago was uneventful and sunny once we rose above the low cloud ceiling. At O’Hare it was a very long walk to my gate, which was thankfully not in the international terminal. It struck me as I plopped down at my gate, that for all the car, train and plane riding I had done in the past 24 hours, I still had not left the state of Illinois. It also hit me that this terminal was the last sight I would have of America until May. Once on the plane, I got comfortable and was served dinner. The cabin lights were significantly dimmed afterwards, and I slept on and off for the next four hours.
We were woken up at 0630 GMT (0030 CST) when the cabin lights came on and breakfast was served. Then, as we began our descent into Heathrow International, I watched the plane fly right into the sunrise. It was so beautiful to see the light break across where we were going as we left the darkness behind us. Unfortunately, this sight was not mine to see for very long as our descent took us below London’s thick cloud cover.
Once we landed, I met up with my AIFS hotel representative who had already wrangled three other girls, with me being the last on his list to shuttle to the hotel. The drive over there was long, but I enjoyed every minute. London itself is a fascinating city, albeit rainy and cold at the moment. Motorcycles zipped in between and in front of cars, reckless driving by any American policeman’s judgment, but commonplace and very acceptable here. Our hotel is quaint and small. The lifts (elevators) carry on the crisp politeness of its citizens, announcing the floor and door openings and closings.
After chilling in my room, eight of us set out for some real British food. We found a small pub and enjoyed salad, sandwiches and burgers. There was a meet-and-greet social at the hotel bar/restaurant, which was fun, I met a lot of people and I even remember a few of their names. I met another group of kids and we went exploring the area around our hotel in search of some good London food.
The typical London tourist photo ...
Thursday began after a short night of sleep (still pretty jetlagged). The entire group met down in the lobby for a coach tour of London’s main tourist attractions. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace, where the Union Jack flag atop the huge building told us that the Queen was not there at the time. We drove around the city, around Trafalgar Square with its statues, fountains and sizable art museum. Other sites on our tour included St. Paul’s Cathedral, Parliament, Westminster Cathedral, the Tower Bridge and Covent Gardens.
Buckingham Palace
Tower Bridge
Westminster Abbey
After the tour, we were free to explore London on our own. A convenient all day pass for public transportation (buses and “the tube”) was available for us to purchase, which I did. I bought a pasti for lunch, and it was delicious! Me and a few other colleagues made our way back over to Trafalgar square to get some better pictures and explore the art museum. Afterwards we headed south towards Big Ben and Parliament. After asking a few “bobbies” (policemen) for some guidance, we found the visitor entrance to Parliament and, after going through security and turning over our cameras, purses and cell phones, we were able to sit in on a debate of the House of Lords. Unfortunately, none of us were caught up from jetlag, so sitting in one place for any length of time remained incredibly sleep-inducing. Also, no photography was allowed in either the art museum or any part of Parliament, so I apologize for the complete lack of pictures to go along with this section.
Once outside, we boarded a double-decker bus just for the heck of it, and to find somewhere else random to go. Some of us headed over via London’s Underground to King’s Cross, the train station made famous by Harry Potter as having the magical entrance known as “Platform 9 ¾ .” The “tubes” are extremely crowed at the end of the work day, and I became very “close” to many Londoners on the way back to the hotel that night. And yes, I had fish and chips for dinner.
Going to Hogwarts, anyone?
0430 came was too early and the bus ride over to Heathrow did not afford any extra relaxation. Walking through Heathrow with more sleep under my belt made me appreciate just how modern it looks and how cool it actually is. I believe I have a new favorite airport. Apparently, at Heathrow, they do not list the gate of a flight until under an hour before take off, and even so, the gate is only open for check in for half an hour. The flight to Pisa was beautiful, as I got a clear view of the French countryside and, later, the Alps. The airport at Pisa was small; I was surprised it had ever seen an Airbus 321 like ours before.
First view of the Alps and Italy
The Italian landscape was beautiful, but I wanted sleep so I took advantage of the two hour ride to Florence. Our hotel is a four star relic, very upscale and very old. My particular room is not large, but has two levels, with one bed and a bathroom on the first floor, and two beds and another bathroom above. The city’s modern stores are housed in ancient architecture; the streets are canyons with solid walls of four-story buildings that range from shops or eateries to offices and apartments.
Saturday morning, we walked to a 17th century mansion where we gathered in a large common room for icebreaker games. Yes, they were lame. However, during the course of this, I met a girl from Kansas State University who is majoring in chemical engineering. It was so refreshing to talk to someone who is both from the Midwest and a major science/math nerd like me. Lunch was an amazing three-course meal, with lasagna, chicken (again) and a delicious dessert that seemed part coffee cake, part pudding. The early afternoon consisted of various members of the AIFS Rome staff going over policy.
Once all this was over, we had the rest of the afternoon free until dinner at the hotel at 8. I went off exploring Florence for the entire time, finding the cathedral, other churches, pastry shops, some yummy gelato, and finally accidentally stumbling across the Statue of David. Time advanced so much more slowly than it ever had for me before. Every time I checked my watch after what should have been over half an hour in my mind, was never over ten minutes. Italy is wonderful…
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