History - Pedestrian Only

Travel

Wandering Rome, Italy, Part III: Departure

dez

Sunday the 17th. My last full day in Rome. I managed to sleep until 8 a.m. but again had to cancel the wake-up call; I prepared myself and made my way to the breakfast room, where the morning’s sugary diet awaited. The woman who worked in the breakfast room spoke a few words of English, and I spoke no Italian. Lucky for us, a cappuccino is a cappuccino. I started leisurely because I’d walked so much on the previous day that the muscles in my legs were a little tight. I decided to explore the vicinity in which my bed & breakfast

Travel

Wandering Rome, Italy, Part II

dez

At 7:30 a.m. on Saturday the 16th, I was awake. Perhaps it was jet lag, excitement, the people coughing in the courtyard below the open window, or all of the above; I can’t be sure. I ducked my head out to let Matthius, the front-desk attendant, know that I was cancelling my 8:30 a.m. wake-up. Matthias is the only staff member of the B&B whose name I got to know, and he was as jovial as when I’d met him at 11 p.m. on the 15th. He assured me that they could make room for me in the breakfast room

Travel

Walking in the Rain in Riga, Latvia

dez

I left Rome, Italy, for Riga, Latvia, late in the afternoon, leaving beautiful weather behind. And entered a small storm. Landing in Riga felt hazardous. The wind toyed with the plane, pushing and tossing it around on the lap of turbulence. It was raining heavily, but shuttles waited nearby when we landed. We made our way across the tarmac to the airport, which felt ages away. I waited for my luggage, happy to have a hardshell suitcase, as I watched people pick off their soaking cloth luggage from the conveyor. A long-time friend, J, whom I hadn’t seen in years, was

Travel

Wandering Rome, Italy, Part I: Arrival

dez

On a Friday afternoon in August, 2014, I landed in Rome, Italy. I had been abroad with family in the past, but this was my first time travelling solo. I was 25. Shortly after take-off from Toronto, I fell asleep listening to Bon Iver on repeat. I woke eight and a half hours later, with a gain of ten minutes thanks to a favourable tailwind. Upon landing, all passengers were shuttled through the 30-degree sunshine from the tarmac to the airport’s main building. The airport was a lot smaller than I expected for an international airport. I waited an hour