Home Sweet Home

Nothing can quite compare to being at home! The last week in Ossaia went by in a flash. It was filled with lots of on site digging and finally closing the trenches by mid-week. They were closed earlier than planned. The university had originally hoped that this year would be the last one on this site. It has been running in Ossaia for about 13 years. But unfortunately (and fortunately), they found a wall that began running east and right into the scarp... so that means that they will continue next year and most likely a few more years after that! On the last day of work, I was selected to help chemically restore the floor mosaic in the 1st century AD villa! On my last night in the dig-house I stayed up past everyone else, and used the peace and quiet to write my essay. At about 3 in the morning, I guess the creatures of the dig-house decided I was no longer a threat and started to creep and crawl -- good thing it was my last night there, because had I known that some of these creatures were currently living in the dig-house with us... On Friday, my friend Marie and I said goodbye to everyone and began our journey to Rome. We arrived at our 3 star hotel... well, for certain it was a step up from the dig-house, and we were minus about 13 people in our room, but what the Italians consider "3 stars" is considerably different than what we here in Canada would consider quality lodgings! There indeed was a shower, but it was merely just a showerhead in the corner of the bathroom. There was no curtain, or any other indicator that it was a shower. Water fills the entire bathroom floor. Anyway, we shrugged off the "hotel" and head out on the town. We had one plan for the evening: to see the Pantheon. This proved harder than expected as it is one of the only monuments without tourist signs indicating the directions. It took us close to an hour, but we finally came upon it. The building was very impressive. As we continued walking along the streets of Rome, it was becoming dusk. We walked past the forum and towards the colosseum. I would have to say that the colosseum was my favorite ancient site in Rome! The next day was Saturday. I had the longest Saturday of my life... quite literally actually! It was 32 hours long! The Rome airport was chaotic! Marie and I had a rushed goodbye, and my gate was changed 3 times. By the time we loaded on the plane (45 mins late) most of the passengers were angry. This delay meant that my connecting flight in Frankfurt was going to be a close call. I did end up having to run across the Frankfort airport, and funnily enough got a Frankfort stamp in my passport (but I still never got an Italy stamp!) haha, oh well! Anyway, the Frankfort airport was special in the it had an underground walkway that had changing coloured lights - pink and blue and purple! Then after I reached Toronto airport, I had about an hour before my flight to Edmonton. So I walked to my gate... and guess who I found at the next gate over... Marie! (my friend from Ossaia!). Her flight from Rome had been delayed and she'd missed her connecting flight to Vancouver. It was unfortunate for her. But also it was a nice end to the trip. It had come full circle. (Marie and I met in the Rome train station, both in a panic to locate our train to Ossaia!). We decided to get some dinner, and we officially ended the trip with a toast to Ossaia! The entire trip was an unforgettable experience. Yes, it had its ups and downs. But it was ALL worth it!