Europe 2014 Vacation Poem

By: Gemma Cocomello

After months of planning in 2014An eventful vacation that could not have been foreseen

With action packed days and memorable highlightsAnd many events that require their own spotlights

We arrived in Rome on a warm and clear dayGreeted with the ongoing search for Madame DemaraisConstant pushing and shoving through the Eternal cityAnd the search for tartufo with end results not being pretty

The anticipation of seeing historic sites brought us great joyTemporarily hauled by a woman’s proclamation of “ma che cozza voi” For it was only the beginning of tell offs and insultsThat challenged and amused us with (mostly) good results

Bari welcomed with a grabby baby and a luggage to the head And a cramped sweaty taxi ride that brought us to our bedOur excitement to embark the ship kept us awakeAnd proved that’s it’s always a good time to give a good shimmy shake 

The Fantasia was our home away from home for a week In the evenings we dressed to the nines and looked very chicIndulging in beaches, daily pitas and beautiful sceneryEach destination contained it’s own uniqueness and mystery

We soaked up the rays in the port of KatakolonAnd bathed in the waters of the crisp and clear oceanWhether the beach was called “cornuto” or “koutoutu” it really didn’t matterAs long as the great weather continued along with the laughter 

We fell in love with Santorini the moment we stepped off the cable carWalked around and enjoyed a good meal at the “calamari” beach barGorgeous views washed in white with colors of blueBreathtakingly beautiful even with the strong scent of donkey poo

We treated ourselves to a fish pedicure above sea levelAn experience that was fun and very specialWith a country filled with great philosophers and godsBut you’re fine as long as you know the Kardashian broads

Athens the historic city of ruins and symbols of Greek championAnd constant reminding that it has the “Parthenon” not “Pantheon”The city can’t prevent electrical outages that cause us to pee in the darkOr crazy gypsy ladies that curse, hex and bark

Corfu welcomed us with grey clouds and a rude committeeAnd we were reminded that it is an island and not a citySome minor miscommunications and errors of speechLed us to a questionable opinion of a “beautiful beach”

But our opinions of Corfu were quickly turned around As we said goodbye to our last port on Greek groundMore than half way done our sea-bound routingWhich was as exciting as monitoring our pooping

Dubrovnik, Croatia was a short but lovely stopWhere one can easily lose their bathing suit topThe beach though rocky was clear with beautiful coloringHowever a wrong step can result in quite a bruising

Our final port was the floating city of VeniceWhere a shop-owner (bitch) instantly saw us as a menaceAn eventful instance of water flowing and sinking the mainlandA memorable moment on our trip that no one could’ve planned

While in Venice we embarked on a typical gondola rideThat unfortunately didn’t include singing from our faithful guideWe concluded with delicious pizzas to satisfy our hungerAfter all it wasn’t a day without some kind of blunder 

Our nights on the ship when sailing away on the seaWere always amusing on Emm-essa—ceeHallucinations of seeing a whale from a windowAnd learning that “I” stands for aye-aye-aye during a game of Bingo

A lot of our time was spent at airportsWhere no decent panninis were found of any sortA thought that sounds gastronomically obsceneThankfully we were able to find some good patatines 

After the cruise some rest was neededGreeted with plates filled with shrimp eyes that beadedAt least we were able to get some great tasting gelatoAs we took crazy car rides in the town of Spignoooo!

Our final days were spent in the city of lightsWhere we still couldn’t escape a few fightsWe unfortunately didn’t know metro etiquette Or recognized famous djs who are completely irrelevant 

Despite its flaws we marveled at the sights in delightWitnessing the Eiffel Towel glow and sparkle at nightFrom Oohh Champs D’Elysees and locking our love on a bridgeGoing all the way to Paris to learn chocolate needs to be put in the fridge

Two weeks came and went by so fastMuch of our expectations were beyond surpassedWe returned home with tanned skin and stories to bringTo the home of the brave and the land of the air conditioning

Farewell for now the great continent of EuropeWhere we trade pitas and pizza for poutine and maple syrupWe may return sooner than you think and with greater passionBut for now we’ll sing “Kokomo” our official vacation anthem