The last of our extreme sports experiences in the Alps was Via Ferrata. For those of you unfamiliar with it, here's a brief explanation: one attaches oneself to cables (using a harness & a system of carabiners), which have been attached to the side of a mountain, & uses the cables, footholds, handles, and often only the mountain itself to climb & cross areas of the mountain. I was SUPER EXCITED about doing it...until I got onto the mountain & up a little way - then I was sure I was going to fall off the mountain and die. Really, when people say don't look down, no matter how not-scared of heights you think you are and no matter how cool you think the view might be, DON'T LOOK!!!
What also didn't help matters was the fact that there were teams of us attached to each other as an extra safety precaution, & the space between Caleb & me was insufficient. We only slowed everyone down because we couldn't really move independently & kept nearly pulling each other off the mountain. While we were still "safe", it was extremely scary & way more difficult that it needed to be, so our guide moved me to the front where there was more rope.
That was the scariest part of the entire experience because he attached me to himself - NOT THE MOUNTAIN! Basically, that means that if he fell (assuming he was still attached to the mountain, which sometimes he wasn't), I'd fall twice the distance because of how the harnesses work. It was more enjoyable (sort of) after that, but I didn't really enjoy the entirety of the experience. The zip lines down were fun, along with the rush of having actually accomplished something like that, but at this point, I have no plans to attempt something like that again.
Pictures:
Watching another group go up before us.
Some of our group getting ready to go up.
Trying to joke around but really thinking that I'm going to fall.
Jessica showing the mountain who is boss!
(She was ridiculously good at it.)
Image of my feet and most of the equipment.
The pink is the harness, the red are our lines with carabiners on the end to stay attached to the mountain, the gray & black contains the safety rope which releases to catch you if it receives a shock (like a fall), the yellow & blue-black is attached to a pulley type thing for the zip lines.
Not pictured: the carabiner used when still or "resting", which is currently attached to a handle on the mountain.
Julie on 1 of 3 zip lines.
I ran out of water.
No bueno.
(Thanks for the use of your thumb in this pic, Sarah!)
Kaitlyn & I after it was all over - helmet hair & all.
The following day was the last day in Barcelonnette. We spent it doing what laundry we could - a lot of hand-washing for me - and going around to our favorite places for one last visit & to buy souvenirs.
That night was the farewell dinner to which we invited the people from our internships for aperitifs (Kir) & a French-style, sit-down, barbecue. François & Flo came from the Centre Equestre (unfortunately, Marine couldn't come because she was out of town with her parents), and we were able to hang out and talk one last time. After dinner, all the Ubayans sang a farewell song to the tune of Auld Lang Syne. That's when the cryfest started. I was able to hold it back long enough to exchange contact information, goodbyes, & bisous, but after François & Flo walked out, I really started crying. I didn't realize how attached I'd gotten to everyone, especially the Ubayans we met while hanging around Barcelonnette.
(Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures.)
We left Barcelonnette on Saturday at 7am amid more tears from nearly everyone & returned to Avignon to await our trains. Everyone left at different times, so it was a very sad afternoon of saying goodbyes to our LSU "family".
My train to Lyon (to eventually get to Rome) was already the last to leave, but then it was delayed by 50 minutes, meaning I'd have to take a later train from Lyon to Dijon. That would put me there arriving much closer to my departure from Dijon to Rome that I really wanted.
I happened to meet and American family on the platform in Avignon who was making the same connections as me to get to Rome. I helped them understand the timeline of our trains a little better (& the station announcements) so we could figure out our new connecting trains together.
We arrived in Lyon with NO TIME to waste, & because a conductor told us we didn't need to change our ticket for the new train, we ran straight for the train to Dijon. We encountered another conductor there, & I ended up having to explain the problem & essentially talk our way into being allowed to stay on the train. I don't know how, but IT WORKED!!! We arrived in Dijon with about 30 minutes to spare & discovered that the train from Dijon to Rome was delayed by 30-50 minutes, so we waited.
Once the train finally arrived, I found my compartment which had 3 other people in it - 2 spoke Italian, 1 was a girl my age or a little older from Australia. We spoke for a while then went to bed since it was already pretty late.
I got off the train the next morning and went in search of transportation to our hotel. The taxis didn't want to talk me since it wasn't far enough (although it was still pretty freaking far), so I had to hunt down the ticket booth for the buses and my correct bus. I found it all quickly, and the bus left the station about 2 minutes after I got on. I almost missed my stop because no one needed to stop before my stop, so I had nothing to warn me when it was coming up. Luckily, I'm farsighted and saw it at a distance. I was able to push the button to be let off the bus just in time. After that, I searched out our very hidden hotel & waited 2 hours for mom to arrive.
On our first day in Rome, I made mom try pistachio gelato because it's so good, then we went and saw the sites on my list: Trevi Fountain, the Colosseum & the Ancient Roman Ruins (including the Circus Maximus where they used to hold chariot races. For dinner, at the suggestion of my cousin Megan who had studied in Rome, we went to Trastavere and found the restaurant that I think is the one she suggested for us: La Piazzetta. (If it's not it, it had a really close name. And it still had really good tiramisu!) It was a good day!
Mom & the pistachio gelato.
Trevi Fountain.
Trevi Fountain - around where I threw in my coins.
THE COLOSSEUM!!!
I had to touch the Colosseum.
Place we had dinner! It was yummy!
The next day, we started with breakfast at the cafe downstairs and headed to the Vatican. We took a tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel , & St. Peter's Basilica with a really awesome guide. After the tour, mom opted to climb the dome of the Basilica. While I wanted to, I was still sore from Via Ferrata, carting suitcases all over creation, & walking everywhere, I decided to sit that out, write postcards, & walk through the grottoes to see where all the popes had been buried. There were a lot of people praying at Pope John Paul II's tomb, which the tour guide had said would probably be the case.
We returned to our hotel around 6pm, and I opted to stay in, sit on the balcony, & people-watch while mom went and explored a little more that night.
Pretty cappuccino. :)
Our guide in the courtyard explaining the Sistine Chapel since you can't talk inside of it.
Lots of people in the Vatican Museum.
Hercules - the cursed, bronze statue.
The thing in the middle is believed to be the bathtub of some emperor (but I forget which).
St. Peter's Basilica.
St. Peter's Basilica.
The next morning was our last in Rome. We wandered around a little bit to see some things that we had missed the days before - like the Campo dei Fiori. We had pizza for lunch (YUMMMM!) then went back to the Vatican so I could mail somethings using their post (much more reliable than the Italian Post, we found out). Wednesday is a day when the Pope has an audience in St. Peter's Square, and I was kind of hoping I'd catch of glimpse of him. We were a little too late though, and he had already finished.
We completed the day by returning to Roma-Termini to take the night train back to Paris.
We arrived this morning, and I am so happy to be back! I love Paris AND I can speak and understand the language here! :-D
