Charlie's Thoughts

So this weekend I took a whirlwind trip of Italy which included Rome, Florence, and Verona. I probably didn't get to do everything in the cities, but here's my travelogue from the weekend (At least what I can remember at the moment.

EDITORS NOTE: Photos can be found on facebook here. It's not a complete collection, and it's also missing all the processing I normally do. So the HDRs and panoramas I attempted will follow in another album.

Getting There
The plan was to take a train from the station by my office to Verona, then to take a short train to Padova, where I would stay Friday night. I planned to get in around 10, and get up early to head to Rome (A short 2 hours from Padova). However, I found out a few hours before my planned departure that the train wasn’t going to go past Innsbruck. After going to the station, I found that in fact the entire Italian transport system was on strike till 9PM.

In a state of panic, I frantically checked flights and alternative options. Luckily one of my co-workers pointed me to a cool site called: http://www.mitfahrgelegenheit.de/ (Literally, passenger opportunities or something like that). The site is essentially the German ride sharing site which allows people to select where they are going from and where to. I was surprised to find a ton of options to Italy, and the closest I could get was Padova. So I called the guy and found myself in a cooper-mini with three strangers on the way to Italy.

Driving is certainly different than the train. There was traffic, radio, and other people to talk to. The driver was apparently from Rome, and the other two passengers from Spain and Munich. We managed to speak a combination of German, Italian, English, and Spanish along the way. As we wove through the mountains, radio stations faded in an out about once per song.

It was very apparent once we crossed into Italy. No sooner were we over the border, than I noticed the incredibly annoying comic-sansesque highway font. On the upside, it was about 15 minutes into the country that I saw my first Lamborghini…awesome.

The first region we traveled through in Italy was fascinating. There were still large mountains like in Austria, but now the side of these mountains was lined with vineyards. Literally everything that wasn’t stone or a house was filled with grapevines. The Italian explained that this was characteristic of the region. After 6 hours of driving, we ended up at Padova station.

I ended up with an hour long wait for the train (The first option was full from the strike), so I took a regional train. While I waited, I got my first taste of Italian food: McDonalds. Unfortunately this didn’t quite live up to the hype people always give Italian food, but unfortunately, it was my only choice as the station is in a fairly remote part of the city.

Upon arriving in Padova, I discovered that public transportation there stopped at 10PM. I also discovered that taxis of a minimum charge of about 7 Euros. Double whammy. Anyways, long story short, I slept, got up, and went to Rome. I arrived about noon and began my travels.

Rome
To say it was hot this weekend would be an understatement. I nearly died 6 times (twice per day), drank water at the rate of about 1L per hour, and am never going to be able to wear the four shirts I took with me again. (Side note: Wearing the Crew 180 shirt reminded me of how hot it was in Trinidad…I’m not sure which of the two was worse). Despite the heat, I managed to navigate myself off the train platform and to the appropriate bus to my hostel, which I was told was 4 stops away.

After vigorously counting bus stops, I disembarked to find myself in the middle of nowhere. As it turns out. Italians have sub-bus-stops. So when I passed University (the stop before my stop), there were actually still three more university stops to go. The hostel was actually fairly nice and after a quick 5 minute email check, I went out to go sight-seeing.

Having despaired in the bus system, I tried my luck with the subways. All the stops were listed, and there were only two lines which form an X in the city. The subways stations themselves are very dark and creepy, and the cars from one line are heavily graffitied and don’t announce stops. Despite this, I was headed to a park which was actually listed on the subway stop list, so it was fairly easy to find…the stop that is.

Turns out the park (which is listed under the stop) is actually an unmarked 3km walk down a street which does not have sidewalks. Along the way I met a dad-daughter pair who had similar mis-fortune. Turns out she lived in CT and studied in MI, so we chatted for awhile till we finally got to the place.

This road “Via Appia Antica”, is where a lot of the catacombs and other cool old things are. It’s also fairly far from the center of town, so it was my “try something no one else does” thing. I purchased an expensive tour of one of the catacombs which turned out to be really cool (that’s a pun, because they were neat, and literally much cooler than the 100 degree weather outside).

After wandering the area, I took the bus back for a Gelato break. Gelato is awesome.

After resting, I checked out a few out of the way sites which I wouldn’t be able to get to the following day. This meant Spanish Steps and another Plaza. They were both cool. Spanish steps were very very touristy. I walked down the road a bit and found the stores-I-could-never-afford street. Later I wandered to a fountain, Fonta-di-trevi. Around the corner, I stopped in at a restaurant which I hoped would serve me the famed Italian pasta I had heard so much about. I think the waiter was supposed to be off shift when I arrived, because the food arrived about 3 minutes after I ordered, and he is the only waiter in Europe who has ever given me the bill without being asked to (How rude). Turns out the 3 minutes were probably used to microwave the food, because it sucked. Major. Disappointed, I went to the hostel to rest.

I figured since I only had one night in Rome, I had to get my night photography in, so around 9 I started photographing the Colosseum and worked my way through a lot of the other central sites before heading back for the night.

A few things to be said in favor of Italy, the busses and subways were all about 50 degrees because they were air-conditioned, which was awesome. My hostels also had A/C, which was a lifesaver.

Sunday, I set out to finish what I had started. Starting again at the Colosseum (well kind of) I started knocking down the sites. It turns out the line for the Colosseum is 2-hours long, but since I had done my research, I walked 200 meters to Palatino (A big park of ruins basically) and purchased a ticket there in about 2 minutes. I wandered the park for about an hour (see pics) then headed to the Roman Forum. Unfortunately, all I could think about while wandering the Forum was that it reminded me of the Western Plaugelands…so I headed to the Colosseum. I literally laughed at all the people in line as I walked past a 2-hour line to the entrance. Best move ever.

The Colosseum was nice…not much to be said on that. I finished up there and worked my way over to the Pantheon. Like all other tourist sites ever, it was under construction. The inside however was just like ever picture you’ve ever seen. There’s the big hole where sun comes in, and it’s cool. (see pics). After this, I stopped at a random restaurant on the plaza where they offered a 12 euro drink, bread, pasta menu. I wasn’t expecting much after yesterday’s troubles, but this was literally the best pasta I’ve ever had. It was so, so, so good.

After eating this miraculous pasta and wringing out my shirt, I forged on to Piazza Navona, Castel S. Angelo and the Vatican. The Vatican was actually one of the coolest churches I’ve visited in Europe. I didn’t pay to go up to the top. But some of those popes have really pimped out tombs and the church is just fantasticly cool. The floor appears to have some sort of sun map whereby you can tell where the sun is currently setting in various cities based on where it is on the floor. (Sundials are still magical to me)

Unfortunately, it was time for a quick pizza dinner and a trip to Florence (Firenze).

Florence
I actually never took public transportation in Florence as everything was fairly close. I walked to my hostel to find that the power was out and the guy to give me my key wasn’t there. I called the guy to give me my key and while I waited managed to flip the circuit breaker and become the hero of every girl staying on the second floor. I then headed out to watch the evil Spanish soccer players beat the Netherlands (Deutschland Eurocup 2012!!!)

Monday in Florence was not entirely note-worthy. I basically toured all the sites quickly and took lots of pictures (see pictures). Florence is quite nice and I enjoyed being able to walk everywhere. After dinner a friend showed me what Limoncetta is (check it out), so that was fun. Eventually I headed back to the hostel and slept.

Verona
In the morning, I took two short trains to Verona. Since the last train left at 3, I decided to give myself a few hours in Verona. I managed to find the bus in fairly quickly and saw the outside of the Arena, Juliet’s House, and a few other areas. In comparison to the other places I visited, I was actually extremely charmed with Verona. Something about it felt more Italian than the other cities. Perhaps it was just because I was there for such a short period of time. In any case, it was a very enjoyable stop.

Finally, I headed back to the station and boarded by 5:30 hour train all the way back to Munich.

Wrap-up
A few notes about my experiences, Italy is very hot. It is also very expensive. Despite being a total cheapo, I found most attractions to cost significantly more than comparable ones in Germany. I also lamented the lack of student prices.
I discovered along the way that certain Italian toilets don’t have seats. They apparently aren’t supposed to. I guess they are a distant cousin of the infamous squatting toilets of China. Almost as inconveniently, I discovered they use different plugs than the rest of Europe.

I’m still annoyed by people who can’t use cameras. This has to stop. So you know how when you buy a camera sometimes it makes that beeping noise when it focuses? You are supposed to turn it off. Not only should people not be using flashes in churches, but it’s even worse when that focusing sound keeps going off. I felt so bad because we were in a church with 5 people or so and a nun praying, and this one person walks up to the alter and keeps making the focus-beep sound. GAH! Stupid Americans.

…Or are they? I also was talking with a Scottish guy recently, and he informed me that as soon as he speaks English, people ask him if he’s American. He also claims he usually says yes, since he is particularly poorly behaved. So maybe it’s not us after all! Next time you’re in a foreign country. Behave terribly and blame Canada!

Anyways, that’s my weekends travels. It was altogether overwhelming, and I’m sure I’ve forgotten certain details, but perhaps those will follow in a second post!