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familyvisionis2020 · 5 years

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Day 4 - Athens (2 of 2)

I was able to sleep blissfully, majestically, and woke up around 10 feeling drowsy but refreshed. I sit up in bed and the first thing I see is Kabir’s smiling face, he says ‘Rise and Grind’ like he always does and Royal says ‘let’s get this bread’ and the day has started. In the daylight the giant purple house we’re staying in is even more whimsical and palatial seeming. There are rocking horses on top of the shelves in the house, hanging decorative bulbs and a campy chandalier and ornate decorations in a transom in the hallway and wrought iron fixtures with silver perforated globes mounted like torches outside the front door and a complicated antique triple-bell thing for a door bell and more chrome globes hanging from the porch ceiling that look like metal lace and whose purpose is unclear to me, stained glass and a 6 foot, ten=-tubed windchime, several hanging swings on the porch, iron patio furniture and a rusty gate and a giant log of pine driftwood suspended from cables and an enormous rusted bell that still dongs and a trellis of ivy and a big boat propeller and something that looks like a 12 foot long abbacus and a half a purple wagon wheel and a huge white vase that looks like white China with blue coi and aquarium scene decorations, a big stone dragon head with highly detailed scales and a cove in the back of its head that allows you to put a middle size candle inside of the head such that when you light it its eyes will appear to flicker from the front, several of those shiny reflective globe spheres, one patterned in swirls like a bowling ball, and tons of plants and small trees andshards of sculpture concrete and folk kitschworks and little benches and birds everywhere and a bicycle wheel weathervane and pinwheel and just generally kooky stuff and its so so homey and lush and expansive and calm here. There are two cats whose name I dont know who live here and a dog whose name is Cocoa but who Royal calls Stanly for no apparant reason which is his humor which I love.

I take a bird bath and we head across the street to the coffee shop, Donderos’ which is architectuarlly quite similar to the house we are staying in actually, its a big old victorian house, pale-rufous salmon-coral siding with dull cream accents, a high gable and new black roofing, and rather than eing surrounded by an enormous wraparoudn porch like our place, it’s surrounded by an asphalt parking lot that itself is surrounded by a stone block retaining wall and hearty wild rosemary. We set up camp inside the cafe for the first part of the day, we all order food, people get grits and a thing called a gritboat and fried potatoes that are like homefries except perfect little rectangular prisms rather than cubes and different sorts of eggs, lots of coffee, I drink yerba mate again instead. I plug in my phone and laptop, check my law school statuses using an automated aggregator and find out that my application to University of Florida Law has gone under its second review which is neither a good nor a bad sign necessarily, just means it’s being actively reviewed, I add this data point to a website to collect law school admissions data points and then eat breakfast. I put so much butter and raspberry jam in my grits that I almost feel like I overdid it.

Kabir and Jeremy are thinking through the status of the tour out loud; in light of the extreme emergency situation that Covid is turning out to be, in light of the pressure Kabir feels from the women in his family to not tour, in light of the handful of venues and bands that have cancelled or dropped from bills on our tour, and in light of the cost-benefit analysis of traveling another 1600 miles through the midwest and back again, in light of the possibility of being cancelled if we continue to heedlessly transmit ourselves like vectors (I have been jokingly calling the band ‘Family Vector’ rather than Family Vision) perhaps healthy or at least symptomless but mobile pathogens, in light of all this there’s just a preponderance of reasons not to keep the full tour on, and between Jeremy and Kabir with some input from John, the decision to severely truncate/abridge the tour solidifies like jello in a sad fridge. I’m actually careful not to give much input in the decision making process here, I have mixed feelings about the ethics of continuing to tour but am honestly not bothered as much from a principled public health standpoint as I am from like selfishly wanting to just have free time in my apartment in Chapel Hill to lay around and maybe read and write and walk around and do yoga and be alone and enjoy quality quarantine quarantime at home and maybe even spend time in person with someone I like who I mostly only ever email whose hand I want to hold who I want to watch scary movies with and talk about feelings with, talk about feelings in a way that for all the lovely blissful amazing things my friends in the band are to me, we don’t hardly talk about feeings much at all. Or actually more likely just don’t talk about feelings in this one particular intense vulnerable type of way that I honesty avoid lost of the time but also like crave to do around someone I feel tender and safe when they’re nearby. Anyways. So I am intentionally passive in the decision making and I think all the reasons they factor in are germane and their reasoning sound and accede to the decision to cut the tour short, the plan now is to play again tonight in Athens at the same place, Buvez, then head out to Huntsville Alabama tomorrow, take a break in Nashville for a day, then play our final show in Louisville Kentucky before driving the van back to Chapel Hill. I offer to give Jeremy a ride back to Ridgewood Queens from NY in an effort to be kind and of service and of use and to share a resource in a situation where, mercifully but somewhat troublingly I have very little asked of me and very little to offer: Kabir and Jeremy have done the lion’s share of the planning, have volunteered to do the driving (and are very good at doing the driving), and so the sort of soft imperative in my life to find a way to be helpful, to be of service, as a mechanism of maintaining sanity and spiritual fitness feels a bit atrophied. So it makes me happy when Jeremy says he will take me up on that offer, and I am glad I am the type of person nowadays to offer a thing like that.

After the logistics are tamped down and tidied we breakdown our various electronics and head to the park which is maybe 300 feet down the street, which is outfitted with polished granite chessboards, baggies of pieces stowed in ziplocks in a small compartment nearby, and also outfitted with a massive polished granite slab made to be a ping pong table, with a metal divider rather than a net. Kabir wants to play me in chess and I almost say no, worrying that the ugly part of my competitive spirit may take over, but I decide to say yes and we play, and the game goes quick, standard queen’s pawn opening but then an early blunder by Kabir puts me on the offensive and rather than try to maneuver back into control of the center and winning chances, which I’m absolutely sure he could’ve done, he just concedes after about 5 minutes and that’s that. I have language for chess even though I haven’t played more than 10 games in the last 10 years because for awhile in 2016-2018 I would put on lectures by chess grandmasters on youtube to calm me down and to fall asleep. I think I picked up some general strategic understanding too. Kabir tells me one time he scholar’s mated his dad and his dad got so furious he almost flipped the table. Kabir will remark later that his dad, a published author and consummate professional writer who logs a minimum of 1,000 words a day, that he is learning the only thing that can shake his dad is a global pandemic, that he’s never seen his dad this worried. Me and John play chess next, it’s a very close game and John stays ahead in material the entire game although I put him on the backfoot early and kept momentum with a string of nuisance checks that I think demoralizes him a little and although he won’t resign and fights tooth and nail until checkmate he keeps saying he should have resigned. I don’t actually know how to checkmate him properly so I use a passed pawn and only with two queens can manage to finish the game. We play a second time, for a long time, and it’s very close again, and I manage to eke out a win, and John is done. And Kabir comes over with his book of The Best of Wednesday New York Times Crosswords edited by Will Shortz and explains that these are medium-difficult and that Saturday, not Sunday is the most difficult, Sunday is Thursday difficulty, just longer. He lays the puzzle down on the chessboard, I notice the crossword puzzle and chessboard are the same shapes and pattern more or less, and I make a joke in a loud Brooklyn-style accent that all I need is black and white squares on a grid and I’m happy. I get a laugh and that makes me feel good and I feel like a smart winner also and I feel smarter looking for clues together with John and Kabir and the weather is breezy and warm and I’m extremely happy just playing and relaxing, glad Kabir wants to play things with me, delighted to see not every game turns me into a monster.

We meet up with Noah, the person whose house we are staying at, and we all pile in the big maroon van and head to the State Botanical Gardens of Georgia. Noah without prompting assumes the role of tour guide, takes the reins and play acts that we are tourists following him, chides us for straggling, tells us to stay with the group, curates our experience. I love this, Kabir can be like this too, a man making decisions in a way that does not feel constricting or cruel or vindictive or violent, just a gentle assertion to let some expert knowledge shine through, which Noah has a lot of; I will learn later today that he is in the process of composing a thesis or dissertation about 19th century literature which focuses on the description of plants as a lens through which to assess and survey that literature, so his knowledge of plants is vaster than I knew. He takes us through the indoor greenhouse garden at first which is dense with lush tropical plants and hundreds of orchids. He explains how orchids used to be rare and expensive commodities, I mention how orchi- is the prefix for testicles and that orchids are named their name because the unflowered bulbs resemble testes. Kabir points at Noah and says ‘FACTS.’ We see a cacao plant, a coffee plant, a vanilla plant, dozens of fragrant flowers which each of the boys stops and politely smells, one by one, so adorable, a very tender stroll. We get a band picture together which Kabir explains will be captioned with a notification that our tour will be canceled. Noah continues to usher us through the verdant corridors, we see a banana plant with leaves taller than me up on a balcony, I think it’s the biggest leaves on a plant I’ve ever seen. There’s muscodine grapes on the ground, i split one open for the boys to smell, they put their faces close to my hand and trust me not to fuck with them, which I don’t. We are in super high spirits, everyone is enjoying themselves. Noah collects us and guides us outside where we enter the massive sylvan grounds of the Botanical Garden proper. Everyone is doing bits about the different plants. I see Spathiphyllums and mention to Noah Swingin’ Spathiphyllums from Mort Garson’s Plantasia, and in response he just hums the tune of the song, which I love. Royal goes and lays on a gigantic rock. We read the placards, tease out etymologies, reference colonial plant histories, see the real life versions of plants like Gingko Biloba and Agave and probably 40 varieties of thyme in the Physic plant section and honey garlic and rosemary and tarragon and lavender and ginger and turmeric and acer palmatum and quercus alba and nephroleptis exaltata, all scientific names I remember from high school horticulture, and so so many other kinds of plants it’s hard to remember them all.

I looked up a list and I’m putting of the ones I remember of them here because to me their name is so beautfiul Anise Hyssop, Arkansas Blue Star, Summer Snapdragon, Buttefly Weed, Rain Lily, Wild Indigo, Crossvine, Million Bells, Athens Sweetshrub, Begonias, American Hornbeam, Japanese Plum Yew, Forest Pansy, Lavender Redbud, Fringetree, Old Man’s Beard, Summersweet Clethra, Coleus, Dogwood, Bath’s Pink Dianthus, Spurge, Mt. Airy Fothergilla, Hardy Geranium, Lenten Rose, Coral Bells, Swamp Hibiscus, Hydrangeas, Inkberry, Ornamental Sweet Potato, Crape Myrtles, Pink Loropetalum, Little Gem Magnolia, Dawn Redwood, Blackgum, Firespike, Fragrant Tea Olive, Phlox, Plectranthus Variegated Japanese Solomons’ Seal, Overcup Oak. Admiral Semmes Azalea, Sacred Lily, Drift Roses, Creeping Raspberry, Three Lobed Coneflower, Double Daffodils, Lady in Red Salvia, Blue Anise Sage, Bald Cypress, Confederate Jasmine, Georgia Blue Veronica, Snowball Viburnum, Chastetree, Amethyst Falls Wisteria.

We find a massive terraced zone with close-cropped fescue like a carpet and a long stone staircase, rectangular hedges capping bluffs of each 8 foot drop, a single concrete obelisk, some statuary, polished stainless steel gate structures, millions of flowers and plants arranged in tidy geometric grids. More than one person, and not just from the boys in the band, mentions that this place reminds them of the film Midsommar, and I agree, the light is bright but not saturated yet the way it gets in summer, so it has a similar sickly kalediscopic sheen to the movie’s colorscape. Noah traipses down the many staircases to a stone stage at the central of the terraced court and starts doing a bizarre interpretative dance that is a little balletic and a little frenetic, eventually he kind of stage dives into a shrub and falls before loping back to us, which we and other tourists respond to with polite applause. He then bounces up and down with me such that our heads are just popping up into the line of sigh tof the boys at the higher level, and we do that for a few minutes and it’s silly and fun. I suggest to Noah that we do yoga on the lawn and he immediately takes his socks off and starts corraling the wililng among the bands to do yoga, it ends up being me Kabir and John, Noah has the right lilt and cadence in his voice to make for a very plausible yoga teacher and he knows a few flows and postures and leads us in a pretty decent 25-ish minute session. Mostly I’m quiet and avoid making jokes and do my best to enjoy the physical benefits of the yoga, but at one point I say “my kundalini energy is through the roof right now’ in a thick mock southern accent which I think is hilarious and Kabir too. Kabir does a bit later where he says ‘come to find out, you simulated your love for me!’ in his thick syrupy southern joke drawl which is a quote from a 1982 song by french coldwave duo Deux which is exceedingly funny to me when I hear it. The sun is hot and someone, I think Paul from Tired Frontier, says ‘first sweat of 2020.’ It does feel like spring switched on the minute I left town, which is such a warm and lovely feeling.

We finish up yoga, gather the boys and Noah suggests we go to the grocery store to get a giant can of beans, some tomatoes, a red onion, a ripe avocado, two jalapenos, and a bunch of cilantro, and two bags of tortilla chips, and make a raw, unpureed bean dip and feast together, which is exactly what we do. I dust bits of dried grass off Kabir’s back that he picked up doing yoga. I do something very close to brunois on both the red onions and jalapenos, not quite the 1/8th inch industry standard but not far off, Noah praises my knife skills. We all devour the huge bowl of dip super quick and between me Jeremy Kabir John and Noah eat all those chips and all the dip in about 10 minutes, and we work further on the crossword puzzle. Jeremy eats a $1 tin of sardines and then goes to take a nap. We just sit out on the porch in the sun and vibe for a couple hours, idle conversation, i nearly fall asleep, but then rally and manage to type a ton on my computer and feel happy to be consistent blogging.

We make it to the venue, Buvez again, and the rest of the night is basically identical to the night before, except this time Polly’s Gone is their usual selves, Surface to Air Missive, they sound almost exactly like The Shins, they play a short set. Jeremy talks to the lead guy, Taylor, and tells me Taylor said ‘yeah we’re just trying to be The Shins,’ Kabir says ‘that guitarist is incredible’ which is saying a lot because I think he’s incredible and has tons of techinical and theoretical and practical expertise. We play second instead of third this time, play a smaller set too, don’t do any joke songs, play to basically an empty room save the guys in the other bands, it’s fine, super breezy, zero pressure, fun, inconsequential. Tired Frontier plays, does some funny Covid-related banter, their set is basically identical to the set the night before. We all hang out on the picnic tables outside the cafe, all ten guys in all three bands, they share stories about getting caught smoking weed as a teenager and epic house parties and getting grounded and dumb stuff like that, and this time I’m happy to sit and put my feet up right in the middle of the conversation, shoulder to shoulder with Royal who is drinking a beer from a rocks glass and Kabir who’s smoking a Turkish Silver, looking at Taylor who yesterday I kind of thought was maybe too cool for us but who now has a kind of reluctant smile in this cute way that reminds me of how my dad smiles, a man used to being austere and stoic and foreboding belied by a cheerful time. The venue people bring out $60 in cash and Taylor tells us and Tired Frontier to split it between ourselves, a very classy move from the leadman of the hometown band, Kabir says if you ever need a show in the Triangle hit me up I got you. Taylor goes home, the Buvez people are bringing in the outdoor furniture again, we breakdown and load out together, everybody helps with everything (like not just drummer gets drums bassist gets bass and bass amp, rather everybody just gets everything) and that feels kind, I love how easy being decent comes to the boys in this band, I feel like every shred of decency and kindness I can muster feels sourced politically or has had been inserted in me only after being pryed open by the crowbar of desperation or like postulated but not fully embodied during therapy or the result of very direct counter-intuitve habit building and coaching and mentoring and although that’s hard for me, materially right now I am matching them, I’m decent too, I am a decent person among decent people, I can live without constantly lying and shoplifting and fantasizing about the next petty crime or act of vandalism I will execute to vindicate an image of elegant, thoughtfully erratic antipathy for authority I was always trying to curate and cultivate in the eyes of my peers. Anyways, everything’s fine, Royal suggests we go to a bar and Kabir uses his casual power as frontman to say no which is something I know he’s doing for him and for me and I deeply appreciate that.

We go downtown in Athens and look for a chinese spot that ends up being closed and then wander into a diner where there’s kids in prom outfits settling up their bills with the hostess as we get seated. John marvels at this weird coca cola ad thing that has a big bottle tilted down with a rotating helictical metal piece the color of coke that makes a pretty plausible optical illusion of liquid pouring into a cup below. Kabir tells stories about his old bands, Sister David, Docking, Reynolds, a bit they used to due during live shows where they’d mix in ‘I’ve Got a Feeling’ by Black Eyed Peas to their spartan angular No-Wave set which we all agree is brilliant, wish we could’ve seen that. I scarf the huge plate of fries i order and basically drink the extra cup of ranch i ordered, it’s fantastic, I love how hungry i feel after playing shows, I share my fries with Jeremy. The Tired Frontier guys show up last minute and we rendezvous briefly before heading home. Not much else happens other than me spending like 15 minutes with the dog Cocoa gaining its trust and comforting it for the purpose of getting her to stop barking, which works and is very calming. I eat an apple and peanut butter out the jar by myself in the kitchen and I do not feel the need to be reading or looking at my phone while i do it, which is rare and very special. I take my medicine, plug in my headphones, and go to sleep.

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sydneytorome · 7 years

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Where the lemons grow

My dearest friends, family and readers

I guess I’ve officially turned into an Italian stereotype: I once again didn’t keep my promise of writing a new blogpost on time. I’ll no longer keep you waiting by writing an unnecessary long introduction, so enjoy reading part two of my Italian journey!

The first week of April started off calmly. I have the feeling all of us are a little bit stuck in a rut right now, so the general atmosphere around school wasn’t all too cheerful. Most of us were going to be on a two week Easter break starting from this weekend and the prospects of seeing friends and family again or going on a nice trip away from Rome probably didn’t help either. With the few of us that were not flying back home over the weekend, we came up with the idea to organise a little road trip to Pescara, a sleepy beach town in Abruzzo. I was more than excited, because I really felt the need to just be on the road with good friends and ‘breathe’, away from the ever so busy streets of Rome. Quite soon, however, we figured I’d be the only one with a legal driver’s license, so I’d be the only one driving. How cool the idea may seem, I wasn’t ready yet to carry that responsibility. There goes my ‘Paper Town meets Eat, Pray, Love’ teen movie scenario.

On Tuesday, I visited the MACRO Museo d’Arte Contemporanea Roma after classes. A lot smaller and not as impressive as the MAXXI, but nevertheless an ideal way to spend a sunny afternoon!

On Wednesday, I booked a spontaneous train ticket to Montecarlo, a Tuscan town right between Firenze and Lucca to visit Allegra and her family in their Italian house from Friday to Saturday. I seriously couldn’t wait and looked forward to just get away for a while, visiting a friend and thus a little piece of ‘home’. Besides, who could say no to a weekend getaway in Tuscany?

On Thursday, we went out for dinner for Claire’s and Florence’s last dinner somewhere near the Pantheon. It’s so crazy how fast time flies – I can still remember Florence’s warm welcome when I first arrived here like it was yesterday, or I genuinely had the feeling Claire had only been here for a week instead of a full month. Florence was like my big sister here, and Claire was a whole lot of ‘woop woop’ fun. Goodbyes are never fun, especially when you’re saying goodbye to people you grew sincerely fond of.

My weekend began early, because on Friday early morning, I was already sitting on the train towards Montecarlo. The three-hour train journey was actually somehow relaxing – a cappuccino, a bottle of ice tea and my travel journal by my side, enjoying the green scenery the train kept riding by. Around lunchtime, Allegra and her cheerful mom came to pick me up at the tiny train station. I got welcomed by the entire family and got handed a glass of divine champagne made in their own fattoria as everyone was busy setting up the table on the terrace to dig into Tuscan specialities for lunch. Little to say, I was so overwhelmed by all this kindness and warmness – something you can really only find in Italy.

Allegra and I spent the day talking about everything and nothing, enjoying the splendid view over the Tuscan valley and walking around the grounds of the house until it was time for dinner. It was so heart-warming and amusing to see how they were all just chatting along and bickering about the latest news; it made me long for my own family yet made me feel so grateful that for a moment I was seen as a part of theirs. After dinner, we drove up to the closest village that still had an open gelataria to enjoy Italy’s best dessert, gelato!

On Saturday morning; Allegra, her mom and I did some shopping in Lucca. I vaguely remembered a few streets, as I had been here with my parents a few years ago, but I had honestly forgotten how lovely and picturesque it was. We were back in Montecarlo at lunchtime and after another nice lunch on their splendid terrace, it was already time for me to head back to Rome.

On the train ride home, I had the biggest smile on my face. I was so proud of myself, because the past two days I had seen a Marie I hadn’t realised I had the potential to be yet. I was chatty, open and enthusiastic; never feeling nervous or not at ease. Moments like these just really show how far I’ve come. One last time; I want to thank Allegra, her parents, her grandparents, her brothers and her cousin to be so welcoming and amazingly kind. This weekend has meant the world to me.

On Sunday; I finally found the time to meet up with Nikolaas, Emma and Jens; who were here on their ‘Italy trip’ with school. They didn’t have a lot of time as their lunch break was short, but it was nice to catch up with them. Afterwards, I quickly said hi to a few of my old teachers before they started the infamous queue to get into the Colosseum. So surreal to see all of them here, in ‘my’ Rome! After saying goodbye to everyone, I hurried to the metro station where I had met up with my friends to go to Ostia where we spent the afternoon picnicking on the beach. A Sunday well spent brings a week of content!

The second week of April already marked my last week in the A2 level, so that meant I’d have to take a level test to go into B1 by the end of the week. Fair to say I’m learning quickly! On Tuesday evening, we went to a dinner/drink/party event on a boat which was part of club called Lian. The food was surprisingly good, the drinks surprisingly cheap and we all had – not so surprisingly – a really, really good time.

On Wednesday, I basically used the free time I had to revise for my level test, which would take place the next day. So yes, EF students do study. Sometimes.

On Thursday afternoon, we explored Monti, a part of Rome right between the train station Termini and the Colosseum that’s known for its more laid-back and alternative atmosphere. We treated ourselves with some pastries and coffee before looking around some thrift shops in search of some edgy piece of clothing. No luck, but at least I had eaten a gluten free brownie, so I wasn’t complaining.

On Friday, we got the results back from our tests, which went well for pretty much all of us. B1, baby! As it wouldn’t make sense to have actual lessons today, the weather was nice and it was Friday; we had both our classes outside today. We did some photography activities around Piazza del Campidoglio and walked around the Ghetto Ebraico di Roma. The nice thing about doing those classes outside is that you find out so much about small, hidden spots in Rome thanks to your teachers – like a stunning rooftop terrace belonging to the Musei Capitolini and offers an incredible view over the city, yet is completely free!

After school, we walked to Villa Borghese and enjoyed the sun for a while. I still remember how wintery the park still looked the first time I went there in February, and now all the trees and bushes had blossomed, turning the park into nothing but luscious greenery.

On Saturday morning; Andrea, Valentina, Thomas and I left for Verona to spend the Easter weekend in the infamous city of Romeo and Juliet. We had our train at seven in the morning, so we got there early enough to still enjoy an entire first day in this beautiful little city. After eating lunch in our AirBnB, we immediately started to explore the city. We walked around the Arena of Verona and Piazza Bra, found our way through the bustling shopping street and made it to Casa di Giulietta. In Juliet’s House, we were overwhelmed with romantic notes everywhere along the outside walls, rusty locks, couple pictures and long-lost love letters. The museum itself wasn’t really worth it in our opinion, but at least we each got our dreamy balcony picture. Has my Romeo already arrived, though? After enjoying a fresh fruit salad at the market at Piazza delle Erbe, we walked alongside the river for a bit until the sky coloured pitch-black and it started to rain like crazy. We had to sprint back home, but the damage had already been done: all four of us were literally soaking wet when we arrived back in our apartment. We were all so tired and just in the mood to curl up on the couch with some comfy clothes that we ended up ordering Chinese take-away. I know, it’s an Italian horror story, but we’re not gonna lie that it felt kind of nice to eat something else for a change. Besides, our apartment is so damn cosy, we just couldn’t not enjoy a nice night inside. It all made us want to start studying and have our own student dorm so badly!

On Sunday, we slept in a little before having a nice Easter breakfast. It felt weird not to celebrate Easter with our family, even though it’s normally not that special of a holiday anyway. Still, at that moment, I just wished I could be enjoying my family’s Easter brunch. Afterwards, we visited the Giardino Giusti, which was absolutely beautiful. It was so calm and peaceful, and the top of the garden granted an incredible view over Verona. It all left us speechless!

In the afternoon, we walked around Castelvecchio before enjoying the sun alongside the river. We spent some time coming up with background stories for the kids who were lazily trying to let the pebbles bounce on and over the water surface, enjoying the serenity of it all. On the way home, we walked past a book store and decided to buy ourselves some children’s books in Italian to start reading. I opted for stories I knew all too well in my mother tongue, such as Peter Pan and Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. The nostalgia is real! In the evening, we had dinner somewhere at Piazza delle Erbe to enjoy our last evening in Verona. Cheers!

On Easter Monday, we took our train back to Rome around noon, so we were back in the city around the late afternoon. Although we were all really happy we’d spent the busy Easter weekend outside the city, we were happy to be back. As nice as Verona is, it’s nothing compared to Rome!

On Wednesday, I had an admission interview for University College Maastricht. I had prepared it well-enough, so I wasn’t all too nervous. I suddenly felt so grown-up having to go through all these things all by myself, though! Anyway, I have a good feeling about the interview so fingers crossed! On Thursday evening, I went to a jazz bar in Trastevere called Lettere Caffè, where each night a local jazz group hosts a small set before the actual jazz jam session starts. I love jazz, but I had never been to such a thing before, so I was completely amazed by the atmosphere and the beauty of the music. Nothing better than enjoying damn good music in the company of damn good friends. To more nights like these!

On Friday morning, I joined an EF activity to Gelataria del Freddo Giovanni Fassi, one of the oldest and biggest gelatarie of Rome. We could take a little peek inside the kitchen where the actual ice cream magic happened as they explained us the whole process of making artisanal ice cream. Afterwards, we could all choose a cup of ice cream with three flavours. I like to call myself an ice cream expert, so trust me when I tell you guys it was one of the most delicious and flavourful ice creams I ever had.

On the way back to school, our teacher Elisabetta got a message from one of the people that work at Fassi that someone had left their IPhone on a table. Panicking, we all checked our pockets and handbags, and I ended up being the one who had been clumsy enough to forget my phone. An ice cream brain freeze, I guess? I ran back all the way to the gelataria, where they handed me my phone back with a big grin. Yes, not my smartest move, I know. Yet I can’t help but think someone is guarding over me, ‘cause I always end up being lucky enough to find either my phone or wallet again. In the evening, we went out for dinner to celebrate Rodolfo’s (Rodolfiiiito) last evening in Rome. I wasn’t planning on going out afterwards, but a few drinks later and I ended up having one of the nicest nights!

On Saturday, I slept in before kicking a hangover work-out and having lunch with Andrea close to our house.

In the afternoon, I met up with Thomas to go to Villa Ada, a park a little further away from the usual city centre, but definitely worth the visit. It was packed with locals enjoying their Sunday afternoon, yet felt a lot quieter than the always-busy Villa Borghese. We spent the afternoon reading, gossiping and people-watching. Productive enough, right?

In the evening, our hostdad Vincenzo taught Andrea and me to make our own ricotta cheese. So easy, and so damn good!

On Sunday, it was time for another day of picnicking and tanning at the beach. This time, we hit Santa Marinella, which is a billion times more relaxed and cleaner than Ostia. I’m seriously so happy I can still go to the beach from time to time now, otherwise the Sydney withdrawal symptoms would be oh so real.

On Monday, the Easter break was officially over and the school was completely packed again. Plus, a lot of new students arrived as well, so let’s just say things got a little bit chaotic. Because there’s also a tiny lack of teachers for the amount of students EF Rome is currently hosting, they combined my B1 class with the B2 class until they will have found an adequate solution. So, as it was the first day after Easter break for a lot of us, our teacher took us on an outside activity all morning. We had to spot some clues all over Piazza Navona and the Campo Marzio area, and afterwards she told us a lot of fun and interesting facts about the buildings and statues we’d never had known otherwise! School’s hard, you guys. After class; Valentina, Thomas and I went to La Feltrinelli to start some sort of small book club. Each week, we’d get together and pick a book for us to read before the next meeting. At each meeting we’d start with discussing the previous book before choosing the next one and starting to read the first chapters out loud. A really good exercise to practice speaking and reading comprehension, and it’s a nice thing to do with friends!

On Tuesday, we had a day off as it was La Festa Della Liberazione D’Italia. Everyone, and by everyone I mean literally everyone, was gonna go to the beach again to have a day of fun and picnicking. Even my host parents were doing something. Somehow, I woke up in the worst mood. I wasn’t up to do anything, let alone do something so social and busy. I felt like I really needed a day to myself. And so; I slept in, had a nice work out and ate breakfast in all quietness and prepared for an essay assignment I would have to take on Wednesday morning for the Hotelschool of Maastricht. In the afternoon, I took my beach towel and my book with me, and walked all the way up to the Gianicolo Hill to sit back and relax in the sun while reading and enjoying the magnificent view over the city. It felt so peaceful to just enjoy sometime being all alone, not having to talk to anyone. This was exactly what I needed to get out of the rut I felt like I was stuck in!

On Wednesday evening, we all went out together in a club in Testaccio, a part of Rome we don’t frequent so often. We tried to change things up a little instead of always going to the same places! I was initially planning on only joining for some drinks – I was even wearing a simple pair of jeans and my oversized knitted sweater – but I ended up joining to the club as well. All in all, I had a really crazy and fun night. You always have the most fun when you least expect it!

On Thursday evening; Valentina, Thomas and I went to The Space Cinema Moderno to watch “Famiglia all’improvviso”, the latest film with Omar Sy. It was honestly one of the nicest films I’d ever seen in a while, but maybe that’s also due to the fact that I was so happy I had not a single difficulty with watching it in Italian without subtitles! And maybe also because I literally had popcorn for dinner.

On Friday, I woke up wishing I could already press forward to the evening, because that’s when Laurine would arrive to spend my birthday weekend with me! I had been waiting for her visit for weeks and weeks now, and I couldn’t believe I’d finally see her again. It was so nice to find her waiting for me when I arrived in the bed and breakfast at night, and to be able to hug her again! I immediately started talking about everything and nothing, about all the things that had been going on here. Of course, she already knew half of those things I had been telling her, as I usually talk to her on the phone weekly. However, I just wanted to enjoy the moment I had to be actually really talking to her. Just two sisters, giggling and sleeping in the same room together, just like when we were young.

On Saturday morning, we started the day early. We had a quick, Italian-style breakfast before hitting the city. And boy, what a day it was! When I think about it, I have no clue how we ever managed to walk so much and so much in one single day. We started with the Museo Dell’Ara Pacis, where my inner Latin enthusiast marvelled at the sight of this beautiful altar dedicated to the goddess Pax and offered to Emperor Augustus. In my fifth year of high school, I’d also done a whole essay about several architectural pieces in Rome which were built in favour of Emperor Augustus, so I was pretty excited I could finally see it in real life.

Afterwards, we walked up the Spanish Steps and visited the neighbouring Chiesa della Trinità dei Monti, where we lit a candle for Oma and Opa, our grandparents who both have passed away. Then, we obviously couldn’t restrain ourselves to do some shopping alongside Via Borgogna and Via del Corso. Girls will be girls! Before lunch; we walked inside the Pantheon, past the Tempio di Adriano and around the Fontana di Trevi before finally ending for a break at Piazza Navona where we enjoyed a well-deserved lunch at the beautiful Vivi Bistrot. It’s an all organic restaurant that serves the yummiest dishes!

Even though I had seen all these places I had guided her through so many times, I never got bored of seeing the ‘same’ city over and over again. Even I discover new things every day, and I notice how I know much more about the city with each passing day. Maybe I could become a tour guide one day, who knows? After lunch, we bought some strawberries for dessert and ate them overlooking Largo di Torre Argentina, the forum where Caesar supposedly got murdered and is now also known as the ‘Cat Forum’, as a lot of cats seem to always hang around the area. Afterwards, we walked around Palazzo Venezia all the way along the Fori Imperiali to end up at the Colosseo. As I personally find it more impressive on the outside than on the inside, we decided to not waist our time and wait in line to get in. We continued our tour to Piazza del Campidoglio, where I showed her some secret spots from where you can marvel at the Foro Romano from above. Afterwards, we took a break on the rooftop terrace of the Musei Capitolini and snacked on freshly-cut melon and ice coffee. Surprisingly, we still had the energy to walk towards the Circo Massimo and to smell the roses in the beautiful Roseto Comunale di Roma. Last but not least, we enjoyed the view over Rome from the Giardino degli Aranci before peeking through the famous keyhole of the Buco della Serratura Priorato dei Cavalieri di Malta, where you have a special view on the Saint Peter’s dome. So, if you wanna see the best parts of Rome in a single day, call me!

In the evening, we enjoyed a really nice and relaxing dinner at Il Margutta RistorArte, that fancy vegetarian place I had already been to once. Cheers to Rome!

On Sunday, we planned on visiting the Vatican. Apparently, there was some sort of catholic gathering going on, so the entire Piazza San Pietro was closed off and we couldn’t get inside the San Pietro either. On the plus side, we did see the Pope cruise around in his Pope Mobile and we heard a tiny part of his speech! Afterwards, I thought we could probably get in the Vatican Gardens for free to walk around for a bit, but they were closed off to the public for some unknown reason. Besides, you can apparently only visit them if you have a ticket for the Vatican Museums as well, but the line to get in there was so mind-bogglingly long we didn’t even bother trying.

Instead, we walked back to the city centre to stroll around the Campo de’ Fiori morning market and have a nice lunch at Ginger, a healthy salad and panino place we usually go to during lunch breaks at school. Afterwards, we walked towards Piazza del Popolo, from where we went to visit the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna. The building itself is so impressive, and the art collection as well! Towards the late afternoon, we strolled around Villa Borghese before treating ourselves to a few scoops of the real gelato artiginale.

In the evening, on the eve of my 19th birthday, we had an apéritivo at Freni e Frizioni, a bar that used to be an old garage and is known for its buffet with all kinds of yummy, atypical Italian food from 19:00 to 22:00. We ordered an Apérol Spritz and joined the many people sitting outside with a drink in one hand and a tiny plastic plate full of food on their laps. For dinner, we went to Tonnarello, a restaurant in Trastevere that’s already been in Rome since 1876. We had to wait outside for a bit before we could get a table for two, but we did get tiny glasses of prosecco to keep ourselves busy. The food was divine, and served in cosy-looking old school pots and pans. Tonnarello’s motto? “Le persone che amano mangiare sono sempre le migliori.” We couldn’t agree more!

After these two really intense days, both of us were so exhausted. So, we decided to go back to our bed and breakfast and fall asleep before midnight instead of staying up to see the date shift from the 30th of April to the 1st of May. One more night of being 18 for me then at least!

On Monday, I woke up, well, as a 19-year-old young adult. How crazy! It’s actually the first time I ever feel genuinely different, so it was the first time I could actually come up with a reasonable reply to the typical question “And, how does it feel to be one year older?” Because wow, it has been a year of a lifetime... I opened up my presents and cards in bed before we went out to enjoy a long breakfast at Ginger. We all know breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, so you might as well do it right! Afterwards, we returned to the Vatican again so that Laurine could at least see the Piazza San Pietro from up close. As we had already done most of the visiting (I mean, all the visiting) on Friday, today was all about relaxing and enjoying our last day together. I had the idea to go picnic on top of the Monte Mario, Rome’s highest hill, around the afternoon. A lot of people had told me it’s really nice there. Unfortunately, due to it being a national holiday in Italy, the public transport network wasn’t running very smoothly and to get there by foot, it takes quite some effort. Besides, the neighbourhood around it is quite sketchy. We both got a little frustrated at the situation and thus at each other, as we were walking around a busy road with no nice place to sit for a long time and it didn’t seem like we were gonna reach the hill anytime soon. It’s a shame I hadn’t looked it up better and that we had lost some precious time together. We decided to turn back and catch the first bus that would bring us to Villa Borghese, where we enjoyed the rest of our afternoon. We had a really fun time watching all the people and families around us, and coming up with background stories for each and every one of them. It even made us a little nostalgic!

Around 4 o’clock, we enjoyed one last drink together at a bar around Piazza del Popolo. While drinking highly-overpriced gin and tonics, I suddenly started tearing up. It felt so weird that I had to be here in Rome on my birthday, and I just wished I could be able to spend it with my friends and family at home. Although I have so many nice people around me here as well, it never ever could feel the same. But hey, I know I’ll see them all again very, very soon!

At 6 o’clock, Laurine took the taxi back to the airport, and so I was alone again. Somehow, the reunion had been less intense than the one in Sydney; because we had such an easier time keeping in touch while I was here in Rome, and maybe also because we had already learned from the previous experience of me being away for a long time. But that didn’t mean the farewell wasn’t just as hard!

On Wednesday evening, I had dinner at Juul’s apartment together with two of his Italian friends. There’s nothing better sometimes than a good pasta pesto and a glass of wine! Talking in Italian with the two girls was still way out of my league, but at least I could understand everything they were saying. And trust me, they were talking at the speed of light! Juul and I also came up with the idea to write a short story together, as we both like writing and feel like it could be a good project to work on during out free time. I’m looking forward to it!

On Thursday, we had a SPIN class outside again. This time, we had to interview random Italian tourists and ask them about fashion. Nothing all too exciting, but I did positively surprise myself by how ease it was for me to address complete strangers. A year, hell, even 6 months ago, I would have never ever seen me doing it so comfortably. Every day, I discover new parts of myself I never thought I could ever recognise myself in. In the evening, I had my very last evening with my roommate Andrea and housemate Jemima. My parents were arriving tomorrow morning, and the girls were leaving this Saturday, so I’d have to say goodbye to them now. For me, it was especially hard to say goodbye to Andrea. She has been with me ever since I arrived here in Rome, so without her it’s not gonna feel the same to live in the house!

On Friday, I woke up extra early to work out (I had forgotten how nice it is to work out in the morning) before heading over to the hotel where my parents were waiting for me. Loaded with an extra suitcase full of winter clothes I’d send back home with them, my tiny suitcase for the weekend and a handbag, I huffed and puffed my way through the city. Although Italians are generally nice and helpful, in a touristic city like Rome you hardly find anyone who’s willing to give you a hand. I often have moments where I miss Sydney terribly, and moments like these definitely remind me of the many things I loved about that city. The friendliness, the surf, the sweet potato fries and avocado toasts; oh how I feel ‘homesick’ sometimes! I arrived at the hotel when my parents just had finished breakfast, talk about perfect time. I felt like their little girl again when the both of them hugged me really tightly the second I entered the room. It had been since September that it hadn’t been ‘just the three of us’, so we were all looking forward to this weekend together. I surprised my mom with a leather jacket she really wanted, and she had brought some Belgian Easter chocolate with her! After a quick catch up; we started the day by visiting the Pantheon and Fontana di Trevi, where we of course threw a little coin over our left shoulder. Afterwards, we walked passed Via Del Corso, where we did some shopping in a store both my mom and me really love. You gotta give dad some credit for his patience. When we were done, we walked around Piazza di Spagna and along the small pavestone streets until it was time to lunch at Vivi Bistrot. We finished off our lunch with a creamy cappuccino before walking up the Spanish Steps and all the way over to Villa Borghese. We walked around the park for a while, which was surprisingly quiet for a Friday, before enjoying the view over Piazza del Popolo on the Passagiata del Pincio. Around the late afternoon, we enjoyed an ice cream while walking back to the hotel. We got ready, because around 6’o clock, we walked over the Ponte Sant’Angelo and to the Vatican. The sun was already turning a little paler, so the Piazza San Pietro was covered in a beautiful kind of glow. At 19:00, we entered the Musei Vaticani, which is only open at night on Fridays during spring. I have no words to describe how beautiful it is to walk around the few parts of the garden while the sun is slowing setting and radiating its golden light over the dome of the San Pietro. The museums itself are also breathtakingly impressive. I have never ever seen such an incredible art collection in such a majestic building! In the Capella Sistina, I could have easily been banned from ever entering the Vatican again, as I started taking a few pictures of the ceiling even though you’re strictly not allowed. Woops, my bad.

Afterwards, we headed to Trastevere to have dinner at Tonnarello. I couldn’t not take my parents to this awesome place. The end of a very lovely day!

On Saturday, we started off a rich breakfast at Coromandel, a cool place close to Piazza Navona that kind of looks like you’ve walked in into your grandmother’s house. At 10 o’clock, we had booked a bike tour that would guide us all the way through and along the Via Appia Antica, one of Rome’s most important ancient roads that led all the way to Brindisi, in the south of Italy. It might ring a bell for some of you who’ve watched Spartacus (or just have a kick-ass history knowledge), because it’s also the road where in 71 BC, 6000 slaves were crucified along the part of the road that led to Capua. In the beginning of the day, the weather wasn’t really that good. It was really humid and we often got a little rain shower. Besides, I had been feeling a little under the weather myself lately, so the biking was harder than expected. But, all along the Via Appia Antica, you come across impressive and very well-preserved remnants of old, old Rome; such as the baths of Caracalla, ancient catacombs and mausoleums. Plus, the area around the Via Appia Antica is absolutely stunning. Giant pine trees are perfectly lined up on both sides of the road, accompanied by beautiful fields filled with poppies. Around noon, the weather finally cleared up completely and we enjoyed the rest of the day biking with the sun on our face and the wind in our hair. Special thanks to our tour guide from Roma for You, by the way!

In the evening, we strolled around Via Margutta, a street known for its many art galleries and exposés. Unfortunately, this time the artists weren’t displaying their artworks, so it was unusually quiet. We found some time to pop by the Trollbeads store, a brand known for being the first to start making bracelets you could personalise with several little charms, where I bought a special edition charm dedicated to Rome: a tiny, silver Colosseum! This way, I’ll always have a little part of Rome close to me. And thanks to a friend in Australia, I’m soon getting a special edition charm dedicated to Sydney as well, representing the Sydney Opera House and the Harbour Bridge! Afterwards, we had a delicious cocktail and apéro at a trendy bar called Salotto 42, which literally means ‘living room’. It did have a really cosy atmosphere! We snacked on homemade sushi (it has been ages!), mini foccacie and bruschette; before going to a restaurant close to the Pantheon, but well-hidden on a tiny square, called Osteria Delle Coppelle. We scored a table outside, close to the heating lamp, and enjoyed a delightful meal. For me, personally, this has been one of the best restaurants in Rome I’ve been to! We enjoyed the special flavours of gelato at Gelateria di San Crispino for dessert, the sweetest and best way to end the day!

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast at Vivi Bistrot. Who can’t say no to a gluten free carrot cake, fruit salad and a cappuccino for breakfast?

Afterwards, we walked around Piazza Navona and the impressive church of Sant’Agnese in Agone. We made our way to Piazza Venezia and Piazza Campodoglio, where we marvelled over the views of ancient Rome before enjoying the smell of roses at the Roseto Comunale. As we didn’t have enough time to visit the Giardino degli Aranci nor the Keyhole, we immediately went to the Colosseum instead. Even though it’s probably Rome’s most touristic place, it’s definitely always gonna be one of the most impressive as well. We headed to Monti for our last lunch together. I had read about a nice panino place, where they make original sandwiches in the shape of a flower, called Zia Rosetta. And the best part? They also make them gluten free! Sadly, it’s more of a grab and go kind of place, so we couldn’t sit there and relax comfortably. We decided to just go for a traditional trattoria, where my mom could finally have a real Italian pizza and my dad enjoyed a good plate of pasta. I, on the other hand, had to settle for a caprese salad, which wouldn’t be enough judging by the fact that I was so incredibly hungry. And knowing that I couldn’t eat the bread that comes along with it, literally made me cry. I’m not kidding. I actually started crying because I miss eating bread, because I’m so tired of having a gluten allergy while being in Italy – the land of the holy carbs – and that I don’t get why people who voluntarily stop eating gluten because they think it’s healthy and cool. Okay, in all honesty, I also started crying because I was gonna miss my parents like crazy. It’s just easier to blame the damn gluten. Eventually, my dad came with the idea for me to just go grab one of those sandwiches at Zia Rosetta while we would wait for out food, and I seriously think that sandwich may have been the best thing that has happened to me so far in 2017. Thank God for carbs!

Before heading back to the hotel, where a taxi would pick my parents up at 4 o’clock, we had one last ice cream together. An ice cream a day… When I came back home, I was all alone. It was so weird knowing that I would have no housemates for the rest of the week! Plus, the clothes I had left out to dry over the weekend were lying on my bed, still moist and smelling like cigarettes. Safe to say I had one of those “God, I wish I was home” moments.

Monday and Tuesday were just regular school days. The weather here is getting warmer and warmed each day. I love how it just feels like summer in the beginning of May! On Tuesday afternoon, we had our second book club meeting at La Feltrinelli, where we ended up discussing our previous book for the entire afternoon instead of choosing a next one to read. Oh well, the conversation was really, really interesting. It’s nice to have such good friends with whom you can be ridiculous yet also serious with when you feel like it. In the evening, we went out for drinks to celebrate the last night of one of our friends. You always realise how much value someone adds to a group when you come to the day they’re gonna go back to their own life. It’s a funny thing, this EF bubble.

On Wednesday and Thursday, we had two Global Career Days at school. It meant we had class from 9:30 until 16:30, with lectures from Italian professionals and workshops with our own teachers in between. Although the days were long, they were really interesting and flew by in no time! One quote I heard during one of the lectures, was the following: “Italia, la terra dove crescono i limone.” The whole poetic sound and the feeling this sentence evokes, couldn’t be more accurate. I think it’s the best and most sentimental way to describe Italy. We also had longer lunch breaks, so we could enjoy our afternoons much more.

The past 2 weeks, I’ve been having some strange and tense pains in my right foot again. I’m hoping it’s not a tendinitis again, like the one I had in my last week in Sydney. I’m trying to cut back on working out and walking, but I get so restless if I don’t do any sports. I’ve also struggled more and more with the feeling that I’m just so tired of everything here. I feel like my time to go back home has come, and I’m constantly counting the days. Let’s just hope all of this negativity blows over quickly…

On Friday evening, I met up with Juul again to go out for dinner at Mama Eat, that one place with really good gluten free pizza’s. We discussed the plot and characters of our upcoming story, but we also talked about life in general. I lately had been feeling the need to talk about a few things with a really good friends, and this night was just the perfect one for it!

On Saturday, we all fled the warmth and humidity of the city centre by going to Santa Marinella. It was the first time since Sydney that I actually swam in the sea, and boy did it feel good! I’m just as much a city gal as I am a beach bum.

On Sunday, I was planning on going to the beach again, but I got quite sunburnt on my back, so I decided to sit this one out. So, Thomas and I had lunch at the Vivi Bistrot restaurant in Villa Doria Pamphilj. Afterwards, we found ourselves a nice bench under the shadow of some trees and each enjoyed the afternoon writing. I was updating my travel journal and he was writing cards to his relatives. A relaxing day in one of the most beautiful places in Rome!

In the evening, I finally met my new roommate, a really sweet girl from Austria. I had a really nice week with my host parents, being just the three of us, but I was happy I finally had someone with me again.

On Monday, we finally started with a SPIN course that’s bound to prepare us for taking the CILS exam. It’s kind of like the Cambridge for the Italian language, so it’s pretty serious. I’m not taking the exam here, as I only wanna pass it at a higher level than B1-B2, but I was allowed to join the preparation course anyway. After the first class, my brain was going to explode. It’s pretty hard stuff! I’m also receiving the exercise and preparation for someone who would take it at a C1 level, even though I’m only in B1. But I have to say I’m pretty proud of myself that it’s going kind of well.

Because we were all so tired after such an intensive lessen, our book club meeting ending up in us trying to read and understand the book we had chosen, but completely failing. Enough Italian for one day!

In the evening, we went out for drinks at Freni and Frizioni for Emma’s birthday. The temperature was still so nice, we even ended up buying our own alcohol and sitting alongside the Tevere at the Isola Tibertina. Once again, another amazing night, mainly because I keep on getting to know people in a much more different way!

On Tuesday, I did nothing more than go to class and relax at home. I was still a little tired from going out, and I wanted to prepare for my admission interview at Hotelschool Maastricht I would have the day after. Fingers crossed!

Before dinner, I did my daily work out outside on the square close to my house. At some point, a few of the toddlers that were playing around there, were starting to work out with me! I couldn’t stop smiling, that seriously was the cutest thing I had ever seen! Maybe it’s a good idea to start my own aerobics class, no?

Today, I woke up extra early to have a nice and calm morning run before I had my interview for Hotelschool Maastricht. All in all, it went really well, so let’s hope I get it! I’m really excited to finally start studying now, so I can’t wait to hear the news in a few days. But that’s not the only thing that makes today special. Froukje, my famous roommate in Sydney, is arriving in Rome this afternoon. I’m finally go see her again! And tomorrow, Chantal, another really good friend is arriving as well. I’m so looking forward to a weekend with my Dutchies. On Saturday and Sunday, Chantal and I are even going to visit Venice together with Reina and Thomas. Safe to say I’m feeling completely energised again to make the most out of my last weeks in Rome!

A presto!

With love,

Marie

#rome

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rossl32123 · 8 years

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From Coffs Harbour to home - 18 Jan 17

We arrived at Coffs Harbour on the 11th. Once inside the inner harbour we motored around looking for the refuelling jetty. It wasn't where it was claimed in Navionics, but that gave me the opportunity to try out close quarter handling, like 3 point turns and curb stops etc. I figured that as long as I went really slowly it would be OK. But you can't go too slowly or you can't steer at all, so we pottered around in the marina looking for fuel and testing out what did what and how much of this or that was necessary. I had briefed Hunter on the likely hood that we would be berthing on the starboard side, and I had set up the longer spring that side, but when we finally found the pump outside the fisheries co-op, we needed to revise everything for portside. It was a bit of a comedy for the locals fishing nearby, first off i stopped the boat a bit short when I had to help Hunter get the port spring through the fairlead and left it in reverse too long, then we lost the head warp when Hunter didn't knot it on the bollard, then we ended up having to move anyway because we weren't close enough to the pump. The real reason for pulling up on the refuelling wharf was to get a chance to find out the lie of the land, make some phone calls, arrange the repairs, see if we could get a berth etc. Getting the sail fixed was easy, although it wasn't going to happen until the following day. Getting the fuel was also easy, although a quick squirt with the high flow pump ended with more on the deck than in the tank. I wasnt to discover the reason for this until the following day, but in the meantime it transpired that due to major works happening on the public dock it was unuseable, and the marina was mainly full and through some unusual circumstances of their own (which sounded more like obfuscation to me) could not offer any berths, but we could stay on the refuelling dock provided we were out of the way by dawn when the fishing fleet returned. We were also required to pull back to the end of the dock, but we couldnt stay there as there was a 100ft schooner due in that evening. Eventually the schooner turned up so we had to go and anchor. It shouldn't have been too hard, after all I had done it the day before. But there was more to learn about anchoring. Because I had used the winch to bring the anchor fully home it had jammed in the housing and I couldn't move it. Hunter patiently drove around in circles while I tried to find tools to get the bloody thing free. So then I thought I would try setting the little anchor, it was tied down with a host of Lionel knots and wasn't going over the side anytime soon, and certainly not while the big anchor was in the way. Finally i got the 50kg Bruce over the side, silly bugger, i hadnt pulled the collar up on the winch. More amusement for the locals. This time I decided I needed to know what scope we had, so I hand pulled 20m of chain out of the locker, and that I decided was the last time I would do that without gloves on. To make matters worse, it appeared we had run out of water so I couldnt get the greasy rusty mess off. Let me tell you that waterless anti bacterial hand wash does not cut it when it comes to rusty grease and mud. The water situation had started to become a bit of an issue. In Southport I had showered after our swim with no problems, but there was no water for Hunters shower. That was a bit strange. After playing with the water pressure switch it came back. By the time we got to Coffs I was starting to think that maybe we were out all together. At surfers we had bought plenty of drinking water, but decided not to replace the brick we started out with (that upended and thereby emptied itself on the galley floor) as we wouldn't be able to carry it back to the boat, and besides we had both tried the tank water and were still alive.. So by the time we had settled at anchor and there was once again no water for cooking or showers I was starting to think that maybe we had used one tank completely and needed to switch to the other, but how? I couldn't remember that part of Lionels briefing, and the recordings I had made were over two hours long! A quick email to Lionel got the valve issue sorted out, and yes, one tank was turned off. That should have been the water situation put to bed, but no, next morning I had just got the shampoo out of my hair when it went off again. So when we traipsed back to the dock to drop off the torn mainsail, I pulled further in to top up the water. That was a performance. The water hose was industrial size and water came out at fairly high pressure which was too much for our system to copy with. I'm sure the air must get out somewhere else normally, but my efforts were causing the air pressure to build up in the filler, then gush out with the last ten gallons of water like a guiser. Needless to say it took ages to get the empty tank filled. And that should have been the end of the water problem, but no! Next time I was in the shower, after having just soaped up my whole body and ready to rinse off... no bloody water again. Now we were running out of ideas and only 1 thing was left to suspect, the pump itself. Apparently they have a habit of getting an air lock in the pressure switch, perhaps this was the problem. And so it seems that if we run out of water now, we just cycle the pump and it seems to get a second wind. The rest of that day we didn't do much as we waited for Pierre to return our sail. Hunter had a swim and I swotted up on the next leg of the route home. By 3pm the sail was ready, Hunter had been for a swim off the boat and the rest of the day dawned peaceful and sunny. Except it wasn't that peaceful, the sail was really heavy and just about did me in, so I decided to leave getting it back on the mast until morning. Then the RIB took off on its own and Hunter had to swim a quick 100m to catch up with it before it got on the rocks. He was quite pleased with himself when he caught up with it, got the motor going and got back to the boat. Funilly enough we had both tied knots to secure it, Hunter the bow painter, and me the stern painter when we were unloading the sail, so it had managed to elude the both of us. More to learn on knots here me thinks. The weather report wasn't good. We were in a bit of a trap situation for the following day. The local weather at Coffs was fine for leaving, but further down the coast the wind was gale force and the options to run for cover few and far between, so we decided to take a break on the Saturday, which meant that the Sunday was also going to be out too, because the weather was going to be awful for leaving.. Oh well. This is what cruising is all about. We killed time on the Friday by shopping and reading, on the Saturday by zipping around Coffs on the two bikes, and by the time Sunday dawned wet and miserable we were really ready to leave. During Saturday we were joined at anchor by Brian in Yolla. He was keen to move onto the moorings by the old wharf so I gave him a hand to pick up the mooring line, and he did he same for me. Interesting guy, he'd spent two years on his boat, but was very jealous of mine. A whole different level of comfort to his little ship. Still, he was doing it, that was the main thing. Next day in the miserable weather he was a great help to us when the tender took off again! Damn thing is determined to leave us. He spotted it on the breakwater and came over to pick me up and helped me retrieve it. Fortunately there was no obvious damage. The jury is out on any slow punctures etc. That evening Spirit of Freya pulled into the marina. We had met the guy when we anchored in Main Beach, when he had come over for a chat. He too had been on his boat for a number of years, and perhaps coincidentally related a story of being cast ashore in northern Queensland and damaging his rudder. Operating on a shoe string budget he had been forced to careen the steel sloop (daggy rust bucket), to fix it. After motoring into the marina, he returned to drop anchor by the southern breakwater, as we knew he would. We had heard him calling marine rescue for advice on entering the harbour and getting a berth, and he had also mentioned having troubles with his running rigging and islands on his electronic charts that weren't there! We knew the marina was full and large parts like the public wharf were just not operational. So when he emerged from the marina to find an anchoring spot I thought I'd just keep an eye on him. No sooner did I decide this, he ran aground over by the marina breakwater, not 50yds behind us. He had been preparing his anchor when I saw him run back to his wheelhouse and start playing with his engine. For a while it looked like he might get off if he just applied the right amount of power just as an incoming swell lifted the boat. But it was not to be, gradually the nose of the boat fell away from the wind and the waves pushed him sideways onto the beach. While I was sitting bemused by the whole drama, without a single clue what I might be able to do to help, Brian gets on the radio and calls marine rescue, whose office is no more than 50yds from where all the drama is happening. Why the skipper of Sprit of Freya, hadn't done so already I dont understand. Anyway, marine rescue follow all the correct protocols, dotting the i's and crossing the t's, and completing all the necessary paper work like registration numbers and weight, height and type of boat, you can hear the frustration building. Eventually marine rescue come on the air to say he is too heavy for them to deal with and they have been told to pass the matter on to the water police. Ages later, a group wanders down the quay, shines a torch on the boat, then goes back home. Their big shiny police boat never even leaves the dock even though it could have more than likely done the job in 5min flat! The following morning when we left Coffs Harbour he was well and truly cast on the beach. Hunter and I felt truly sorry for him and his boat, but we had a weather window and had to get going. Our intention was to get to Port Stephens while the wind was in the east, and before it turned back to the south again. We left under grey miserable wet skies, but by the time we had motored out the rain had stopped, so we hoisted everything we had and got down to some pleasant sailing. Unfortunately it didn't last long. The wind was supposed to back to the north, instead it just died altogether, so it was time for the washing machine again. There were many small pods of dolphins that came by us, and the air was constantly alive with short tailed shearwater, arcing and skimming the surface of the waves. Very occasionally there would be terns, and quite often I could hear the chirp of penguins. But that may have just been something in the rigging, I never actually caught sight of any. I had hoped to see whales, but it would probably have been too early in the season for them to be migrating south. A large bug landed on the pushpit rail, and stayed for a couple of hours. I expect he didn't live long after that. A dragonfly also buzzed the cockpit, I can't say I held out much hope for his future. We motored most of the day hoping to keep ahead of the changing weather and a late arrival at Port Stephens. I wasnt happy about having to arrive after dark to anchor. In fact, I still wasn't happy being out of the cockpit changing sails after dark. Fortunately I didn't have to, as the wind never did kick in from the north, however this meant an awkward night with the rocking and rolling. We motored on into the next day, in fact we did nearly 22hrs on the engine before finally getting a good breeze just after lunch off Seal Rocks. But it was right on our tail, so I left the main down, and stuck the staysail on its boom out to windward. I call it my chicken wing sail plan. It works quite well when you have a respectable breeze, but the Genoa flops around alot when there is nothing to keep it filled. Still, beats motoring. We were initially getting a good seven knots, but by nightfall it was down again. During the day it became obvious that we were to miss our revised eta for Port Stephens, so I revised the plan completely, and decided to spend another night out so as to get to Broken Bay by day break. This had the advantage of avoiding getting stuck in Port Stephens with a worsening outlook for the following day. Night fell as we approached Newcastle, and initially I miss took the lights along the horizon for the shore line. Only when we got closer did I realise that they werent the southern suburbs of Newcastle, but a long row of bulk carriers waiting to enter the port. I didn't feel like mixing it with those guys, so we stood well clear. At 2am I called Lake Maquarie marine rescue to notify them of our position, which I was most pleased to report was as accurate as forecast earlier in the day. We had a modest NE wind pushing us along, still with the chicken wing going, but before nightfall I had swapped to running port side to avoid getting too close to downwind with a windward shore. Since having figured out how to use the auto steering, nights had become alot easier to manage. I felt more comfortable now with Hunter standing a watch, so about 10pm I went below for a break. The wind backed once to starboard and he was pretty quick to get me on deck. I felt confident in going back down again and leaving him to it, but a couple of hours later a wind shift happened quite suddenly and I was out of bed and up on deck before he had time to come down to wake me. It had finally backed to the NW, and by daybreak it was a good 15kt. So we left the main down, put the staysail away and finally made Broken Bay at around 7am. There was something quite strange about that wind. It was to be the start of a very stressful day. The wind was almost hot, at least 10deg warmer than it had been. I had been wearing a light sweater under my waterproof and lifejacket during the night, and Hunter had been hunkered down with the doona off his bed to keep warm. Suddenly we were quite hot, and had to discard it all. It was a great relief to put the sails away and motor up the Hawkesbury river, we had made it! It was the end of a great journey, something the like of which I had never done before, but the start of many more to come. All we had to do now was to find somewhere safe to put Sea Whisper to bed. What a great boat. Not once did I feel apprehensive with her, although she challenges me to work her out and find ways that I can manage her. #journeyapp

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