Day 15 - June 16th
Up until today I have made very little mistakes as a traveler. I have had mostly good luck on my own and the best of people to show me the what to do and where to and when of these foreign places.
Today, the day I leave Rome from a week long stay and move on to the city I have been dreaming about since the first time I heard Ellen Alien, I made every stupid mistake a traveler could. So we begin...
I started my day by waking up and rearranging all of my belongings and cleaning the room I was staying in. I checked all my flight details to make sure I had enough time to get to the Airport and get everything I wanted to get done, done. I then went out and bought some last minute gifts for my Roman liasons and got a quick bite (a calzone from a local pizzeria which was filled with what looked like dog food but tasted delicious).
I came back to my house burned some cds and dvds and wrote notes for all the gifts. Then I packed up all my shit, said my big goodbyes and head out for the airport. In order to get to the airport I was going to (Ciampino) you must take a subway to a bus/shuttle line, pay for the shuttle which will take you to the airport. By the time I got to the shuttle service (called Terravision which sounds like a telemundo station and looks like the inside of a best buy) the woman behind the desk very rudely told me I was not going to make my plane. Flabbergasted I looked at my watch and looked at my flight times and realized she was right. The bitch at the counter said that my only bet was to take a cab which was a 30 Euro flat rate to the airport which is about $50 dollars US.
--pause: Francesco has picked me up during writing this entry and taken me out to a swanky magazine party and now I have come back from a gay bar called Max's. The rest of this entry has been written under the influence of a cute boy and his favorite drink that I adopted for an evening, beer and vodka---
Needless to say my first ever traffic jam in Roma was on the day I needed things to be swift. The tension in the cab was high, especially after I told the cabbie who spoke no english something with the word fuck in it. I got to the airport about 15 minutes after the last reservation time and rushed to the desk to hear the receptionist tell me I would not be allowed on the plane.
Okay, so there must be a higher power out there telling me something. Such a change in emotion in a hour. I cannot tell you how much I have wanted to see Berlin. To be honest, its like everyone I have ever mentioned the city to has raved on and on or their faces immediately turned into some kind of LSD relapse. Its not that I did not have fun in Rome but I just reallllllyyyyyyyy had my emotions in check so that I wouldn't explode with excitement until I got onto the plane I had just been denied. Things went sour and would continue to when I went to the counter to find out that EASYJET was really DIRTYWHOREJET airlines. To change my flight would cost another 50 Euros and the flight wouldn't leave until the next evening.
Next I had to call around and announce my walk of shame which included finding a place to sleep the night and admitting what a bimbo I really am. Afterwards I had to purchase another 10 euro busride to the airport, lug all of my shit back to the center of the city, eat a 10 euro tourist meal and then at that point I had given up any decency I had and I took another cab to my place to stay for the night. Needles to say the cabbie this time didn't speak english either and took me for another 20 Euros when I got to my destination.
Total American dollars spent for the day so far on a circle to nowhere: $170
Francesco picked me up and took me to a magazine publication called Droma's house party in the posh northern part of Rome. It was very quaint and in a beautiful 1950s apartment building fit for the diaries of anne frank. Francsesco aka Phrannypack and I had a great conversation that I think connected us in a way I have not connected with anyone before. It is bizarre how much we are alike. Then he took me to the only gay discotech open on Monday in Roma. It is called The Max's (why are weird gay bars always named after max?). Built in the 1980s and still looking like a gay bar from the 80's Max's has a bizarre ALL mirror theme. Located under a hotel, the bar used to be the lobby for the hotel until it was converted. The bar has different rooms that separate it from its main bar, dancefloor, lounge, and smoking room. EVERYWHERE are mirrors that give the bar a bizarre dissonance and depth. The guys are pretty dull and it has the feel of Badlands. Fortunately there were a couple of hot boys in attendance one of which spoke some English and had a dark redish beard. We chatted for a bit and then he decided he would skip out on his scooter ride and walk me home. Oh great, I miss my flight to meet a cute boy who plays guitar and drums, speaks adorable English and dresses like he's in San Franciscan and going to Trans Am AND is still living his ex-boyfriend and isn't feeling like fucking someone new yet ( OMG he's like SO San Francisco! Ring a bell boys?).
Do I have a couple of pick up lines these days that make boys fall in love with me...
#1 Do you know Horse Meat Disco? Yeah we played there a couple of weeks ago
#2 Do you know Pink Narcissus? You don't, lemme tell you ...
#3 Do you like MGMT?
So this boy (Riccardo) as we are walking in the romantic night light of Roma says: do you know this band MGMT? --Cue the blue balls.
Photos of Forte Prenestino:
Each one of these walkways led either a stairwell
to old military officer quarters now a squat or
living room or to the underground
network of 100 prisons.
Prenestino during the day
Nazi graffiti littered the neighborhood.
The PhagOff Stage by day
Hippie kitchen/canteen with vegan options
The gorgeous BLU mural, humongous!
above: minimal / house legends in Roma
below: Scientology in San Francisco
One of many hot female Electrode Fest performers.
(c) Homochic 2008
Today, the day I leave Rome from a week long stay and move on to the city I have been dreaming about since the first time I heard Ellen Alien, I made every stupid mistake a traveler could. So we begin...
I started my day by waking up and rearranging all of my belongings and cleaning the room I was staying in. I checked all my flight details to make sure I had enough time to get to the Airport and get everything I wanted to get done, done. I then went out and bought some last minute gifts for my Roman liasons and got a quick bite (a calzone from a local pizzeria which was filled with what looked like dog food but tasted delicious).
I came back to my house burned some cds and dvds and wrote notes for all the gifts. Then I packed up all my shit, said my big goodbyes and head out for the airport. In order to get to the airport I was going to (Ciampino) you must take a subway to a bus/shuttle line, pay for the shuttle which will take you to the airport. By the time I got to the shuttle service (called Terravision which sounds like a telemundo station and looks like the inside of a best buy) the woman behind the desk very rudely told me I was not going to make my plane. Flabbergasted I looked at my watch and looked at my flight times and realized she was right. The bitch at the counter said that my only bet was to take a cab which was a 30 Euro flat rate to the airport which is about $50 dollars US.
--pause: Francesco has picked me up during writing this entry and taken me out to a swanky magazine party and now I have come back from a gay bar called Max's. The rest of this entry has been written under the influence of a cute boy and his favorite drink that I adopted for an evening, beer and vodka---
Needless to say my first ever traffic jam in Roma was on the day I needed things to be swift. The tension in the cab was high, especially after I told the cabbie who spoke no english something with the word fuck in it. I got to the airport about 15 minutes after the last reservation time and rushed to the desk to hear the receptionist tell me I would not be allowed on the plane.
Okay, so there must be a higher power out there telling me something. Such a change in emotion in a hour. I cannot tell you how much I have wanted to see Berlin. To be honest, its like everyone I have ever mentioned the city to has raved on and on or their faces immediately turned into some kind of LSD relapse. Its not that I did not have fun in Rome but I just reallllllyyyyyyyy had my emotions in check so that I wouldn't explode with excitement until I got onto the plane I had just been denied. Things went sour and would continue to when I went to the counter to find out that EASYJET was really DIRTYWHOREJET airlines. To change my flight would cost another 50 Euros and the flight wouldn't leave until the next evening.
Next I had to call around and announce my walk of shame which included finding a place to sleep the night and admitting what a bimbo I really am. Afterwards I had to purchase another 10 euro busride to the airport, lug all of my shit back to the center of the city, eat a 10 euro tourist meal and then at that point I had given up any decency I had and I took another cab to my place to stay for the night. Needles to say the cabbie this time didn't speak english either and took me for another 20 Euros when I got to my destination.
Total American dollars spent for the day so far on a circle to nowhere: $170
Francesco picked me up and took me to a magazine publication called Droma's house party in the posh northern part of Rome. It was very quaint and in a beautiful 1950s apartment building fit for the diaries of anne frank. Francsesco aka Phrannypack and I had a great conversation that I think connected us in a way I have not connected with anyone before. It is bizarre how much we are alike. Then he took me to the only gay discotech open on Monday in Roma. It is called The Max's (why are weird gay bars always named after max?). Built in the 1980s and still looking like a gay bar from the 80's Max's has a bizarre ALL mirror theme. Located under a hotel, the bar used to be the lobby for the hotel until it was converted. The bar has different rooms that separate it from its main bar, dancefloor, lounge, and smoking room. EVERYWHERE are mirrors that give the bar a bizarre dissonance and depth. The guys are pretty dull and it has the feel of Badlands. Fortunately there were a couple of hot boys in attendance one of which spoke some English and had a dark redish beard. We chatted for a bit and then he decided he would skip out on his scooter ride and walk me home. Oh great, I miss my flight to meet a cute boy who plays guitar and drums, speaks adorable English and dresses like he's in San Franciscan and going to Trans Am AND is still living his ex-boyfriend and isn't feeling like fucking someone new yet ( OMG he's like SO San Francisco! Ring a bell boys?).
Do I have a couple of pick up lines these days that make boys fall in love with me...
#1 Do you know Horse Meat Disco? Yeah we played there a couple of weeks ago
#2 Do you know Pink Narcissus? You don't, lemme tell you ...
#3 Do you like MGMT?
So this boy (Riccardo) as we are walking in the romantic night light of Roma says: do you know this band MGMT? --Cue the blue balls.
Photos of Forte Prenestino:
Each one of these walkways led either a stairwell
to old military officer quarters now a squat or
living room or to the underground
network of 100 prisons.
Prenestino during the day
Nazi graffiti littered the neighborhood.
The PhagOff Stage by day
Hippie kitchen/canteen with vegan options
The gorgeous BLU mural, humongous!
above: minimal / house legends in Roma
below: Scientology in San Francisco
One of many hot female Electrode Fest performers.
(c) Homochic 2008
posted by Honey | 1:09 PM
2 Comments:
Shit. Sorry to hear about yer plane troubles. Sounds like one of those bad anxiety dreams where you KNOW you only have 5 minutes to get someplace important but keep on having to go back home because you forgot the right shoes or something.
But, hey, sounds like a bit of good came of it?
Also "Do you like MGMT?" hahahaha! I wonder if this works here Stateside, too.
Good luck in Berlin, I await your next journal entry with bated breath. Here's my quick guide:
The new monument to gay holocaust victims in the Tiergarten
The little brass "pink triangle" at the Schoeneberg u-bahn stop
The "Ortes des Schreckens" sign outside Kaufhaus des Westens on the Kudamm
Any cafe in Mitte - "milch kaffee, bitte!"
Maria on Ostbahnhoff - the only club I know that's still going in a former East German office block, lovely view of the Ferhsehenturm from the roof. Also awesome techno.
The dark room in Scheune (Schoeneberg).
I'm so jealous, hope you have a great time, and I'll want to know "Berlin, or Rome?" when you get back.
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