Europe 2008 Part VI — Oxford

On the morning of Tuesday, May 6^th we left the nicest hostel of our journey so far, boarded the metro and took the RER B toward Charles de Gaulle Airport. After being legally robbed for the LAST time in Europe (we had to pay a hefty ticket to get into the airport because we had not known to buy one earlier….) we picked up our boarding passes for Bristol, England.

The flight was brief. English had become the primary language once more and the euro had become the pound. At the airport, we picked up our bags and boarded a bus to the local train station. I threw my backpack into the bus luggage storage, which was probably a very bad idea.

Once we arrived at the Bristol train station, I discovered why this was a bad idea.

A Truly Inconvenient Truth

 

+

 

 

=

Europe 2008 Part V — Ciao Italia, Bonjour Paris!

The following morning Caleb and I had breakfast once more at the little cafe before making the arduous trek uphill to the car. We were scheduled to drop off the Panda at the Milan Malpensa Airport later that afternoon. We decided to take the scenic route and soon found ourselves winding and weaving through narrow mountain roads, hoping not to hit a motorcycle or car just around the bend. The road was beautiful, passing through deep pine forests, emerging now and then for a glimpse of the glimmering Mediterranean far below.

We realized that we were running a bit late, so once we left the scenic path we were forced to get on the Autostrade and pay the toll. Arriving in Milan was tricky; we got turned around a couple times before finally spotting a sign for the airport, which is north of the city. At this point, we were over an hour late.

Searching for a gas station entailed more wanderings through unknown villages.

Europe 2008 Part IV — Cinque Terre

The morning dawned mistily with a crisp breeze. Dewy spiders’ webs clung to the hedges and trees. Below us La Spezia lay nestled in the great bowl-shaped valley. Just a few minutes down the winding road we would find our destination — Riomaggiore.

It was the most beautiful morning of the trip thus far; and we had awoken early, before the towns had come to life. On the way down, I spoke with an old Italian woman in her night gown (she spoke no English); yet I was able to glean from her that the only way to park for free would be to find a spot just off the road outside of town. This proved difficult, but we eventually managed to squeeze in behind a line of cars. The Panda’s rear was hanging on to the road a bit, but we hoped it would be alright.

At last, having put all the necessary belongings into a single bag, we marched down the hill into Riomaggiore.

Europe 2008 Part III — Roma and Pisa

The majority of our sixteen hour ferry ride was spent catching up on some long-needed rest. A walk on the deck at night was quite peaceful. Off in the distance one could make out tiny pinpoints of light that must have been cities or towns. The boat slowly sliced the Adriatic, going no faster than 20 kph.

We arrived at the port of Bari on the morning of Wednesday, April 30th. Hailing a taxi, we headed for the car rental company in the midst of town. We were not-so-pleasantly surprised to find that our driver didn’t exactly know how to find the place, seeing as he had to ask a couple people for directions on the way. In the end, he dropped us off right in front of our destination.

It took us about twenty minutes to get the car (and fortunately there was no penalty for arriving a day later than scheduled). Finally we laid eyes on the little orange Fiat Panda