“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9

July 7, 2016

Day One: Helsinki to Naples

6th July 2016

Yesterday was a mad rush to get from one place to another, and to try to manage our eating patterns so that we could survive the long day. We didn't completely manage the eating pattern bit, but we did get where we need to go ... 

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The itinerary and things to do for today was basically different types of transportation and trying to get as much sleep as possible :) Along with getting bites to eat and testing how hot it is of course.

So we woke up extremely early at around 4 a.m., and left for the airport. None of us had slept much at all, so we were all pretty dazed. I actually tried on three different outfits, and even asked my mum which would suit the day better, which would have been totally fine if I hadn't have already planned my outfit the night before ...

Transport 1: Car from our house to the Helsinki airport

We had decided to take the car to the airport, and leave it there for the week we would be away for, because it turned out to be cheaper than paying for public transport. It was definitely less stressful, I think, not that the transport in Helsinki is that stressful really ;)

Transport 2: Flight from Helsinki to Frankfurt.

We were all very hungry, since we had no breakfast, and so luckily we bought something small to eat before the plane, because Lufthansa only gave us a piece of cafe for sustenance!! We were expecting at least a sandwich (The Finnish breakfast, usually on rye bread) or some eggs (our breakfast). Thinking back, that is probably where our eating timetable was messed up. Eating all that sugar for breakfast, nonono ...
Frankfurt Airport. There were so many shops, we didn't know what shop to go to. We were in need of some morning tea, and we didn't end up eating (in our two hour layover) until half an hour before boarding ;) 
The food we finally decided on, and the seats we finally decided on. We had to have a view!!

As we passed through the gates before boarding the plane, and after I gave an old boarding pass to the ticket lady by mistake (whoops), we headed mysteriously onto a bus. 

Transport 3: bus from Frankfurt airport terminal to the plane.
The bus took us on a tour of Frankfurt airport, outside. It was very exciting!
In the 7 minutes bus journey from the airport to the plane, I am sure I saw a dozen planes taking off and landing. 
Finally we made it to the plane, but the plane wasn't ready for us, so we had to wait in the bus (staring at the hugeness of the plane) for at least another two minutes. 
Our seats right at the back of the plane :) Harri and I chose the front flight of steps to get up onto the plane, which took us all the way through the plane to get us to our back seats, and Mum and Dad took the back flights of steps, which was definitely the better option ;)
Transport 4: Flight from Frankfurt to Rome.

We then arrived at Rome, and as we walked into the busy airport, we saw countless amazing images of Roman buildings. We will be looking forward to seeing those buildings in real life! My dad was asked many times if he would like some train tickets to get the city centre, and that was while he was walking!! haha. These Romans are very, extremely, friendly!

Transport 5: Train from the Leonardo da Vinci airport to Rome

The train journey from the Leonardo da Vinci airport to Rome. There were so many lovely flowers along the way, that I had never seen before, so I simply had to take a picture. 
When we arrived in Rome we had 30 minutes to find the platform for our next train. Yes, another train ;) 

Transport 6: Train from Rome to Naples.

As usual, apparently for Rome, the train platform was not displayed on the main monitor till 10 minutes before boarding. That really got under my mum's nerves. 

The scenery was lovely on the journey: mountain after mountain. And on top of every 5th mountain there were old looking houses. It was so different, and so lovely.
Today was a big day for Harri, because today was the day the International Baccalaureate published their student's grades, so it was great that Harri had such an awesome distraction to take his mind away from the nonexistent internet on the train (meaning that he couldn't go online to see his grade yet). 
We descended from the train, and had to go and ascend onto the metro. Another transport :) 

Harri and I were quite hungry, so we went to this lovely deli cafe. It is amazing how you can get by when the other person knows limited English, and we knew VERY limited Italian! In the end I ended up having this interesting looking pastry with a huge chunk of nutella inside (way too much in my opinion), and Harri had a pastry with jam in it. We basically made our choices from looking at the pastries, without knowing what was in them. 

Transport 7: Metro from Naples city centre to our hotel.

The final stretch was lovely. Not only for our mentally tired selves, but also for the fact that Harri could find is grades online with the free internet at the hotel. 

The metro was amazing! I have never seen such a luxurious metro. It is like the train in Helsinki, where the metro is very basic. 
When we arrived at the airport, we were ready to have dinner. When we went to the closest pizza restaurant, we discovered that it was closed. When we asked about it, we were told dinner in Italy is not until 7:30 p.m.! A whole hour and a half after our usual dinner time! This usually would have been fine for us, but after such a long day of travelling and sleeplessness, we were very much looking forward to eating early and going to sleep. Oh well ...

In the meantime my dad and I went to a local "market", grocery store, where we got some bruschetta with pancetta and balsamic vinegar to have for a snack. According to my dad, that is what Italians have ;) I think he just likes his balsamic vinegar. Really, he is the only one who has it anyways. I think it is a bit too salty tasting. 

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We did end up getting some pizza, which was amazing. But I was far too tired by that stage to take any pictures, so I will take one tonight.  

Now you are up to date.

Laura 

xoxo

2 comments:

  1. What an enjoyable "read " that was of your DAY ONE, Laura.We could just picture you all and feel your tummies growning. I would not have been able to last it out for such late meals.

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    1. Thanks Grandma. We are now adjusted to eating later, so I didn't know how it is going to go eating earlier ;) haha

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