March 2 – 14, 2020
My mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and I left Eugene at 10:22 a.m. (Eugene local time) on the second of March to arrive in Rome at 12:09 p.m. (Rometime) on the third. For us, it was actually 3:15 a.m. because Rome is 9 hours ahead of us. We had been worried about the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) because Italy already had multiple cases in the North. Our concern was not contracting the virus as much as being forced to stay in Italy because of travel restrictions. We decided that we would still continue on our trip to Italy because the disease was still mostly in the North and we were not going to be anywhere near there. Also, the flights we paid for would not be refunded if we decided to not go.
The first night in Rome on the third we went to dinner with my cousin who lives in Rome and had some of the best food I have ever had in my life. We went to Italy to celebrate my mom’s 50th birthday and the dinner was so she could meet her family in Italy for the first time. I also found that wine is cheaper than water in most restaurants. After shortly walking around Rome and seeing the amazing architecture including an incredible castle named Castel Sant’Angelo, we boarded a bullet train early the next morning headed for Florence. On the train we noticed that there were abandoned castles everywhere and other most likely medieval ruins. My sisters were still in Oregon because they were busy with college so we had two days in Florence before we had to go back to Rome to pick them up from the airport.
The first day in Florence we took a scenic walk to the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore where we climbed nearly 500 steps to the top of the duomo. The view was as incredible as the architecture and the enormous mural on the inside of the duomo. The mural on the dome was made by Giorgio Vasari and Federico Zuccari from 1572 to 1579 and was the largest dome in the world at that time!
The second day in Florence we went to Galleria dell’Accademia and saw amazing artworks such as the David by Michealangelo. The paintings were all incredibly detailed and many were highlighted with gold leaf, making them even more astounding. Next, we went to the Duomo museum and in the catacombs saw the tombs of multiple saints, we saw the bones of a couple saints, and an old rusted sword. The last museum we went to was the Uffizi gallery where we saw beautiful B.C.E frescos and sculptures. The Uffizi gallery was so impressive because the ceilings were all intricately painted.
On the sixth, my family and I boarded a train back to Rome to pick up my sisters. On the way, we saw huge abandoned castles high on hilltops and tiny villages tucked under towering mountains. It was truly an unforgettable sight. When we arrived at the airport, we picked up my sisters and headed straight for our Airbnb and as my sisters slept for a bit because of the long flight, the rest of my family and I went to explore the streets of Rome. We saw amazing churches that looked so squished between tall apartments. We also saw wild parakeets that I had never seen before. After that, my parents, my grandparents, and one of my sisters went out to get dinner while my other sister and I stayed home and slept because traveling is exhausting. Because my grandma was fluent in Italian and Sicilian, we were able to get around very well.
On the ninth, my sisters flew back to Eugene and the rest of us flew to Catania, Sicily. We arrived in Catania, but only stayed for a short while because our Airbnb was in Siracusa and we had to check in. We drove a rental car from Catania to Siracusa in less than an hour and checked in to our Airbnb. Our apartment was remodelled from a 13th century castle, which was pretty cool. Having the ocean always within walking distance in Sicily was great because the water was beautiful and we saw lots of fish because the water is so clear.
At this point, things were getting crazy because everything besides restaurants, grocery stores, and pharmacies started closing. The streets were empty and only people who had a reason to were allowed out of their houses because tourists were gone and people were staying inside. It is a good thing we did not get stopped by the police! Only two people were allowed into a store at a time and in restaurants, you could only sit three to a table unless you were family. At this point, all museums were closed also.
On the tenth, we went to meet more family in Augusta. We got a full tour of the main parts of Augusta and got to see the homes and a city hall that my great relatives built. After our tour of Augusta we drove back to Siracusa and on the way back we saw wild flamingos and the incredible beaches of Sicily. The next day we went to a town on top of huge mountains called Taormina. The view from the top of the mountains was incredible because it overlooks the ocean. Here we learned that all restaurants and shops were only open from 6:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and that Italy was enforcing martial law by only letting people out of their houses to get food and medication. You could get a large fine if you did not have a reason to leave your house.
In the early morning, my parents received news that our flights to our next location, Sardinia, had been cancelled and that the borders from Europe to the U.S. were being closed. That is when we decided we had to leave. My parents found a train that went from Messina to Rome where we could catch a flight to the U.S., however, the train ride was eight hours long and we would have to rush to get there. Also, we still did not have a flight from Rome to the U.S. Luckily, we were able to make it to the train station and be on our way to Rome on time. The train stations were practically empty except for military officers which were everywhere due to the coronavirus and an active terrorist threat that had been going on for years. After the eight hour train ride, which I mostly slept through, we arrived at the Roma Termini station so that we could take another train directly to the airport.
When we tried to board our train, we were stopped at a police checkpoint who wanted our papers stating where we were from, and why we wanted on the train. The line was so huge that we missed our train. I suppose now that we had an angel watching over us the entire trip, because the staff at the station let us use the same ticket for a later ride. We arrived at the airport, but no staff were there so we decided to sleep in Rome for the night and try to book a flight tomorrow morning.
My dad took a shuttle to the airport in the early morning to see if he could get us a flight home. He managed to get us a flight to San Francisco so that we could fly to Eugene. My dad came back and reported the news and the entire group of us went to the airport and got on our flight home.