Observations in Italy

• Apparently, construction codes are much different in Italy than in the US. We saw several construction workers in San Marino and Italy wearing a uniform of work boots, cut off jeans, tool belt and hard hat and nothing else. Some workers should consider a different profession as they really should not be in public with the described uniform.
  


• Mopeds and motorcycles are the transportation of choice here. It doesn’t matter if you are in casual clothes, a suit and tie or even a skirt, blouse and high heels. Any attire is the right attire for riding your motor scooter. Carrying a cooler while riding a motorcycle is perfectly acceptable as well, apparently. The TV show COPS would have a field day here. Never seen cops on Mopeds. “Hey mister, slow down so we can catch you”.
  


• The second transportation mode of choice is smart cars or even Cushman utility trucks, which have room in the cab for only one driver. How interesting it is to see these small trucks parked everywhere or cruising down the street.
  


• Everything must be paid for here, including the use of bathrooms and beaches. There is nothing free, and woe to he who has not 60 cents for a trip to the bano! That would explain the smell of pee in certain places we have visited. At one restroom we were actually handed an allotment of toilet paper; I guess they couldn’t spare a square. We actually found a bathroom at the Lucca train station (and one or two others) without an attendant.
  


• Speaking of toilets, we ran across a few very different ones. Here is a picture from on in San Siro Stadium in Milan. It was an interesting experience, but when you have to go, you have to go!
  


• Did we mention nothing here is free? We have not found wireless internet free at most of the hotels we have stayed at, but hotels in the states would make it part of staying at the hotel. Our hotel in Florence claimed free wireless service, but it wasn’t working while we were there and they would happily allow us the use of their internet point for a small fee, thus NOT FREE!
  


• There are no STARBUCKS! :( There are no to go cups unless you are a six year old drinking out of a Dixie cup, just ask Valley Ingman.
  


• Beer is whatever they choose to give you. No choices like the Masthead.
  
• Smoking at any age is acceptable, apparently, as we have seen what I am sure are 12 and 13 year olds smoking. And you can buy cigarettes from a vending machine. And everyone (I mean EVERYONE) here smokes. Obviously no Surgeons General here in Italy!
  


• Graffiti is everywhere! It is really sad to see so many things covered with spray paint. And it is not confined to the big cities either, it is everywhere we have seen when traveling by train.
  


• I am not sure if they know what hair dryers are. I have used a variety of electrical devices that blow air, but look more like vacuum cleaners than dryers. The one in our room in Monterosso looked like it was made from part of my mother’s old vacuum, or was a Flo-bee: I have never dried my hair with a crevice tool before.
  


• ATMs must be very serious security threats and therefore not accessible beyond the security check points. Apparently they are required to be well hidden so as not to be obvious for tourists to spot and actually use when needed…at least in the airports.

Italy - Final Days

Monterosso and Milan, Travel Day
We spent our last full day in Italy actually traveling by train from Monterosso to Milan in preparation for our flight home the next day. We decided to splurge for first class tickets for the three hour trip and it was well worth it. For much of the trip we had the six passenger compartment to ourselves and it was wonderful. The coast line from Monterosso to Genoa was beautiful, with splashes of colorful towns and beach umbrellas lining the waterway. It seemed any of these places would have been a wonderful place to enjoy the Ligurian Sea. As we turned from Genoa toward Milan, the countryside became farmland and small villas once again, until we reach Milan which then became an endless sea of city. As we passed row after row of apartment and housing complexes with nary a sight of lawn, we commented how much we enjoy living outside the big city and enjoy the conveniences of the large town. Sometimes it takes being away to appreciate what you have.

We arrived at our hotel via taxi from the Milan train station after searching in vain for a map of the metro (subway) or bus system, or even just a map of the city with no luck. One thing is for certain, if you are not familiar with the city, good luck. Our hotel was on the out skirts of the city near the airport and quite modern. It is one of the few hotels we stayed in that had a pool, so of course we had to take a quick dip to cool off, even if it was in dark skies threatening a thunderstorm. We saw many families with children in the pool and were the only adults just swimming around not playing with kids. We did get a few strange looks, but I am sure no one will remember who we are after we are gone. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant before heading back to our room to back our bags in anticipation of finally heading home. It has been a memorable trip, but all great things must come to an end, and we are ready to reunite with our family once again.

Milan, Madrid, Chicago, Seattle and HOME
The Story of the 50 Euros
Before we left Monterosso, we decided to grab just a bit of cash as we had expended all we had. We thought 50 Euros would get us through to the airport the next morning, putting our dinner the next night on our credit card if necessary. After dinner in Monterosso, we stopped to buy a couple of beers to enjoy in our room the last night (6 Euros, 44 Euros left), bought a set of postcard pictures of the Cinque Terre (2 Euros, 42 Euros left) and bought two Cinque Terre stickers for our water bottles on the way out of town the next morning (2 Euros each, 38 Euros left). We thought we could take either a city bus or the metro to our hotel near the Linate airport from the Milan train station – WRONG. There is no public transit in this direction, only busses heading to the airport but not our hotel.

So, we hailed a cab (after checking the estimated price first) and thirty minutes and 16 Euros later arrived at our hotel. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant and left 4 Euros for a tip (18 Euros remaining). Since the taxi ride from downtown Milan was several miles in distance and only 16 Euros, we figured 18 Euros was plenty for a 4 km ride to the airport from our hotel, with a little cash left over. How wrong we were (again!) The ride to the airport was exactly 18 Euros, which is all we had (minus 21 cents at the bottom of my change purse). We scrounged through our bags rounding up the fair needed, which left us with no cash for buying breakfast. (Sorry dude, no tip for you, not at that outrageous price). We were stunned at the cost of the ride to the airport and probably should have checked out the price the evening before. We could have taken the hotel shuttle for free, but it was leaving an hour after we wanted to leave for the airport. Hind sight is 20/20.

We checked in at the airport and went in search of an ATM to get just enough cash to get us through Milan and Madrid. This turned out to be some sort of sadistic scavenger hunt leading us down dead end after dead end, never finding an ATM outside the security area. We took our chances that we would find an ATM after the security check point, but this was not to be. Apparently the Italians must feel there is some threat to obtaining cash after security. I felt like we were on some bizarre episode of Seinfeld with the money Nazi: “No cash for you!” We managed to buy a meager breakfast using our Visa card prior to boarding our plane: a cappuccino, glass of orange juice and a croissant for only 4.50 euros each (about $7.00 each). This, however, left us with no way to buy snacks in Madrid before our marathon flight to Chicago. Thankfully, Iberia feeds its captors on the plane, and by the time they did, we were both so hungry we would have eaten porcupine balls.

After landing in Chicago and passing through customs (our Tuscan salami was confiscated), we fueled up on fat (McDonald’s) and caffeine (Starbuck’s) and sat in a sort of stupor waiting out our 6 hour lay over before our flight to Seattle. (A lack of sleep and food spikes may have something to do with our state of stupor). We have been up almost 24 hours now and still have another 8 ½ before landing in Seattle, and another 3 to drive home. It has been a great trip, but we are thankful to be back in the United States of America, and looking forward to being home in Washington.

Epilogue: We have since reunited with our girls and are happy to be back to the routine of life in the states. The first morning back we all headed off to Stuffy’s for an American breakfast complete with strong coffee, eggs, bacon and hash browns. It was a wonderful breakfast, as much for the company as for the food. Italy 2009 is officially one for the books.

Dad and Maagie waiting for Stuffy's breakfast

Mom and Lanna happily reunited

Italy - Day 13

Cinque Terre Trail
We took off early in the morning to hike the Cinque Terre trail connecting the 5 towns of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. It was good we headed out early and that we started in Monterosso, as the day became hot quickly and we did most of the steep hiking in the cooler part of the day and under cover or shade (mostly). The trek between Monterosso and Vernazza was particularly grueling and we felt like we were doing a stairmaster workout. But the views we had along the way were spectacular, and for a while, we felt like we had the path to ourselves. You cannot adequately photograph the beauty of the Cinque Terre, pictures along cannot describe the wonder. In a word, it is breathtaking. Hiking the path is more than just the views you get, it is the sounds of the birds and cicadas chirping in the back ground, the smell of the flowers and native foliage, the terraced landscape growing grapes and vegetables, and of course the expanse of blue sea below. It was wonderful to hike between all five towns.

View of Monterosso from the trail (our hotel is the yellow and red dual building in the middle right part of the picture. Our room is the upper right window)

Terraced landscape

Monterosso to Vernazza was 3 km and Vernazza to Corniglia was 4 km, each climbing a couple hundred feet in elevation and then back down again. Corniglia to Manarola and Manarola to Riomaggiore were both 1 km in length and fairly flat. The last section of the walk, between Manarola and Riomaggiore is called the Via dell Amore, the path of lovers. It was a nice walk to the end for us after the tough stretches previous and we enjoyed the easy walk in. Of course, we were not about to take the trek back and hopped the train back to our hotel.

Vernazza (the most picturesque of the five towns)

Town of Vernazza with Monterosso in the back ground

Town of Manarola

Corniglia with Manarola in the background

We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging on the beach, swimming and reading and enjoying our last few days in Italy. We travel tomorrow to Milan for our flight out Saturday back to the States. The Cinque Terre has been nice, but I think we like our beaches in the US just as much.

Dan and Carol on the Via dell Amore

Italy - Day 12

Monterosso, Cinque Terre
We had our last breakfast in the Palazzo dal Borgo, and our wonderful server, Andre, made us each a special cappuccino. It not only was heartwarming, it was the best coffee we have had in Italy so far. We had given Andre (and a few others) an American flag pin and tootsie roll wrapped in a flag, and he genuinely seemed excited to receive it. From then on he took great care of us each morning.

Dan about to enjoy his cappuccino

We left the city of Florence for the resort town of Monterosso in the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, and we were all too happy to leave the hustle and bustle of the big city behind. As we traveled from Pisa through the Tuscany countryside to La Spezia and into the Cinque Terre, we saw the landscape transform from row upon row of sunflowers and houses dotting the countryside with their classical orange and yellow colors with red tile roofs, to hillsides scarred by the mining of marble and granite, and finally breaking through the tunnel of darkness into bright sunshine with the Ligurian Sea greeting us as we clung to the rocky cliffs perched high above the water. In all, we traveled only about three hours by train, but the vast difference in the regional economy was apparent.

We checked into our hotel, which overlooks the Monterosso harbor and the Ligurian Sea, and hiked around the city checking out small shops and tasting the local wine specialty Sciacchetra, a sweet raisin wine which was potent, but very delicious.

View of Monterosso harbor and Ligurian Sea from our room

Afterwards, we took a quick swim in the water outside our hotel and lounged on the beach soaking up the sun and listening to the myriad of sounds around us. We soon realized we were next to a few others from the U.S., a couple from the south that had moved to Hungary eight years ago, and a teacher from California. We had a pleasant visit before heading back to our hotel room for a shower followed by enjoying the wine and anchovies (another local specialty) and listening to a jazz concert from our hotel room. Tomorrow we plan to hike the Cinque Terre trail which connects the five cities of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.

Dan and Carol in Monterosso

Rock sculpture in Monterosso

Boats in the water

Italy - Day 11

Florence: Mercado Centrale, Uffizi Gallery & Accedemia
We headed out to the Mercado Centrale (central market) this morning to check out the market recommended by a coworker. It did not disappoint as we wandered through area after area of fresh meat and cheese, fresh fruit and vegetable stands, home made pasta, spices and a vast variety of wines. It reminded us a little of Pike Place Market, but much cleaner. Later that afternoon, we stopped by to pick up a lunch of provolone cheese (much different than the US version), some salami Toscano (not as good as yesterday’s, but still good), farzanella (risotto with tomatoes, cucumbers, onion and spices in an oil/vinegar marinade – wonderful!) fresh made faccocia bread and fresh grapes. We took this back to the comforts of our hotel room and enjoyed our feast in quiet. We have enough left for dinner tonight as well, quite the bargain.

The Uffizi Gallery was impressive and we saw paintings by many well known artists such as Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Boticelli, Ricci, Ruben, Rembrant and others. Everything was impressive, but we enjoyed seeing in person Boticelli’s “The Birth of Venus” and “Spring”. (I know Mr. Polka is smiling down at me as I remembered works from my humanities class). Only one piece by Michaelangelo was in the gallery, but what a piece it was. We don’t remember the name of the painting, but the colors and vividness of the paints was remarkable. We even saw a painting that had been taken by Goring during WWII and recovered in the 1970’s. We also saw marble sculptures dating from 90 b.c. to 100’s to 400’s a.d. It is amazing to realize these pieces are so old, and still remain today. After a while one becomes “arted out”, but it was a once in a life time opportunity to see these collections of great works.


We headed off to the Galleria di Accademia to see the Statue of David by Michaelangelo and other works of art. The David is very, very impressive and quite large, with an incredible attention to detail. It was more impressive than either of us imagined. We also saw unfinished sculptures by Michaelangelo which appeared to be straining to free themselves from the marble in which they were contained. Also on display were the photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe. We found it questionable as to whether these were actually art. We would not have paid to see these photographs and only looked at them because we’d paid already to get in. The galleria had a book for people to leave their thoughts about the Mapplethorpe exhibit, and one entry we saw put it succinctly by calling it a bunch of rubbish. We concurred and I had to add “Is it art?” (I am sure Polka is turning in his grave over that one.) At 14 euros each, we are not sure the tour was worth it, but at least we can say we saw Michaelangelo’s David.

Dan and Carol with the Ponte Vecchio in the back ground

After three and a half days in Florence, we are anxious to head off to Cinque Terre for our last two days on the Italian Riviera. We have walked many, many miles these past few days and seen many, many great things. It has been a unique experience, but we are ready for a quieter pace and more relaxation before our trip ends.

Italy - Day 10

Pisa and Lucca
We debated of whether to spend the day in Rome or to head to the smaller communities of Pisa and Lucca. Because of difficulty getting an internet connection to check train schedules and tickets for select places, we opted to go north and see sights closer to Florence. We talked with a couple from New York and after their description of how crowded it was in Rome, it seems like we made the right decision.

We headed off to Pisa around 9:00 a.m. and bought tickets at the station. We decided to wing our trips, as so far it has been fine. We arrived in Pisa around 10:30 and headed off with the rest of the masses to the Square of Miracles where the leaning tower and church are located. It was quite the zoo in this location with many cruises in for the day. We toured the site and took pictures of the leaning tower before heading off to Lucca.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

Church and Leaning Tower

Lucca is a small community not far from Pisa which still has the ancient wall surrounding its main town center. More churches, cobbled streets and narrow alleyways in this town, similar to what we have seen already. The highlight of the trip was stopping at a local market for supplies for a picnic lunch. We bought a little of the local salami, and after eating this, it makes me wonder what cheap imitation they are serving in the states. It was so good and flavorful that we wanted more, and I am not a big fan of salami. We also had a pasta salad, a risotto salad and faccocia bread and enjoyed our time under the shade of the trees. The town is impressive, but looks much like many of the other towns and cities we have seen in Italy. One thing we noticed was that it was not as clean as San Marino. That place was immaculate.

Typical Lucca alleyway with the tower and oak tree, symbol of Lucca

Italy - Day 9

Florence
We set off this morning on two separate walks around the city, the first the Renaissance Florence walk, and the second the Walk to Piazza Santo Spirito. The Renaissance Walk started at the Ponte Vecchio Bridge, the only ancient bridge in Florence to escape destruction during World War II. It was constructed in the 13th century and was used as a butcher’s and grocery shop before being replaced by goldsmiths at the end of the 16th century. Today it houses mostly jewelry shops, with smaller vendors all around, and was worth the trip to see.

Ponte Vecchio Bridge

We then traveled on to the ancient deconsecrated church of Santo Stefano al Ponte and then to the Mercado Nuovo, a site on which there has been a market for centuries. This was very neat with many merchants selling leather, silk, wool and specialty hand crafted items. It is a large structure with massive columns that covers the majority of the square, and on the south side is the famous bronze porcellino (wild boar). It is said that if you rub his snout, you will return to Florence some day. Of course we both rubbed his snout.

Mercado Nuovo

Dan rubbing the snout of the porcellino

Not far from the Mercado Nuovo was the open air sculpture gallery and the Uffizi Gallery. We did not enter the gallery, as we have reservations for viewing in a few days. Outside were many statues as well as people posing as statues. Some were so realistic you did not know at first that they were not actually statues. We did see the replica of the David outside the gallery, which was impressive. We traveled on to yet another church, the Badia Florentina, and on to the Bargelio Museum, which used to be a prison. After grabbing sandwiches to go, we headed to the Piazza di San Giovanni and the massive duomo, Santa Maria del Fiore, that dominates the square. All we can say about this is “Holy jumping up and down Batman, that sucker is huge!” This church was incredibly ornate and had so much detail. The pictures we took do not do it justice, we just simply could not get the whole thing in our camera. Being Sunday, we did not go inside, so we plan to revisit it on Tuesday when we are at the Uffizi Gallery.

Santa Maria del Fiore (at least part of it)

We traveled on see Brunelleschi’s octagonal Rotonda and on to the Piazza Santissima Annunziata where we had our first serving of gelato this whole trip. The most notable thing about these two places, other than the good icecream, was the bad smell. Florence is definitely not as clean as San Marino. From here we walked to the Piazza San Marco, the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi and the Medici Chapels. Along our route was an open air market (yet another one) that had even more goods that the Mercado Nuovo. We eventually returned to the Piazza Santa Maria Novella and had a great view of the church. In total, we walked over 2 miles and saw many, many great things. It is too much to try to put into words, so I’ll leave that to the travel books.

Santa Maria Novella Church

After a break in our hotel room for a few hours, we headed back out for a second walk around this city, this time further south in the city. We walked to the Piazza Santa Trinita which marks the meeting of three ancient roads, and then on to the church of Ognissanti which houses Botticelli’s tomb and frescoes by him and others. We entered this church (mostly because we didn’t have to pay) and were awed by the frescoes covering the walls and ceilings. It was neat to see, but we are starting to get burned out on churches. Someone told us before we left to choose our churches carefully because after a while they become overwhelming. He was right.
We crossed the Arno River to see Porto San Frediano, built in 1324, whose massive wooden doors and portions of the wall are still intact. The wooden doors are quite massive, and it’s hard to believe they are actually from the 1300’s. We stopped at a local market to buy something to take back to the hotel room for dinner. It was quite simple, but was a wonderful dinner, something the locals would eat. We wandered a while more before returning to our hotel, satisfied we had seen a good deal of this ancient city.

Porto San Frediano (notice how large the doors are compared to the cars)