I've just gotten into this writer's block of sorts. I'm really trying to live in the moment, which forces me to neglect my writing and just soak everything in. Basically, that's an apology for not blogging in a while.
While I was busy not blogging, I was enjoying the sights, sounds, and smells of Florence. Florence is an absolutely gorgeous city, kind of like the in between of Genoa and Rome. There weren't as many tourists as Rome, but the streets were definitely more crowded than Genoa. We stayed in a hotel just a little ways from the train station, which was a little more on the quiet side of town. Within the first few hours of our stay we understood the basic layout of the city, and by the third day we were pros at finding our way back to the hotel from the main action of downtown Florence.
Within the city limits there were several piazzas that housed restaurants, markets full of colorful vendor booths, and beautiful,sometimes ancient, architecture. Out of all the places I've visited I did the most shopping in Florence. It was almost unavoidable because of the vast amount of stores and little boutiques. One of the coolest places we visited was a perfume shop which has been in existence since the 1500's. It was featured in Hannibal (I have no clue why since I've never seen it) so that's pretty interesting. It smelled great and expensive. I felt out of place walking around in there in my flip-flops, jeans, and t-shirt. I guess I can't justify spending 80-150 euro on a small bottle of perfume, but people do it and I have no qualms with that. You'd smell super nice if you did.
Florence is also home to the David. As you might have seen on my Facebook, I snuck a photo because our tour guide said it was okay. Apparently taking pictures was only banned within the last 15 years so as to keep tourists interested in coming to see it, as well as to not take away from the business of vendors selling post cards and other memorabilia with David on it. It seems like that is the case in any historical place we visit, but as long as you act like you were ignorant to the fact that you weren't supposed to take pictures, they let you keep your photo.
David was absolutely spectacular and impressive in person (he's also got a nice butt). David is also a good example of why Italians hate vandals--especially Americans who blatently disrespect their history. David used to be an outside sculpture, but after his middle finger was cut off he was brought inside for greater protection. Mind you, they are totally fine if you mark up the sides of buildings with graffiti, but if you touch the statues, you pay. Also, if you try to flip over a police car like some American students did, you probably won't be to popular. The moral of the story is: do unto others, and don't act like a snotty, disrespectful American.
I can't seem to find a good transition from vandalism to my birthday--they thankfully have no correlation--so I'm just going to move right along and write about something completely different. The day before my birthday we went on a winery trip and it was AWESOME. We got to taste fancy wines and munch on cheese and bread, my two favorite foods. Fun fact, they dip their cheese in honey, and Italians don't actually dip their bread in olive oil and vinegar. I did buy some wine, so a lucky few of you will be able to sample some authentic Italian wine with me. Also, dessert wine is not Moscato or Riesling as we commonly call it here. Dessert wine is thick, with a raisin and honey taste to it. Really delicious and a little overwhelmingly sweet. But still good. The Tuscan countryside is unbelievably beautiful, the movies can't even do it proper justice. The pictures are only a glimpse of the beauty I saw. And our your guides were pretty great too.
On my actual birthday we traveled to Siena, the home of the Shewolf. We toured a church, ate some pizza, and stayed for a couple of hours before heading home. The bus ride was long. I slept and woke up to drool hitting my arm...it was my drool in case you were wondering. Real attractive, but I'm not ashamed. I sleep hard.
When we got back we freshened up and hit the town for some shopping and dinner. We hung out in this cutesy cafe and drank beer and wine and had a merry good time. After dinner we walked down to Gelato Fest. Yes, that's right folks, Gelato Fest 2013 was possibly one of the greatest things that's ever happened to me. My favorite part? Gelato Cocktail. Imagine Bailey's, coconut, and gelato all mixed together to create creamy alcoholic goodness--it was heaven. We sampled some other good gelato, but it was so filling we couldn't even use up all our tickets so we decided to come back later. Sadly, we never made it back because...
Wine Fest 2013. Live jazz music, lots of hipsters, and an open booze law all rolled into one created a perfect distraction from eating my own weight in gelato. We also walked across the famous Ponte Vecchio and took beautiful pictures looking out onto the water. It was one of my favorite nights ever on this trip. Thank goodness for good company and good drinks :)
The day after my birthday we traveled to Venice. It's beautiful here and is the most aesthetically pleasing city we've been in thus far. More to come about here, but I think this is a pretty substantial blog for right now!
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Rome: The Quick Version
I'll be honest, I had this really great blog planned and written out for my experiences in Rome. And then I got bored with it, meaning you would too. So I will simply go through and recap my experiences there:
First impressions: Rome is smelly, crowded, and overall a disappointment. Yes yes, go ahead and cue the jawdrops. I was over Rome the instant I got off the train. However, I was severely tired, and had just arrived from a very quaint, quiet, and non-touristy area of Italy...so of course I was a bit overwhelmed. We then arrived at the hotel where I had to pay a ridiculous amount to get wifi and then upon arriving in my room I saw the bathroom. I looked around for the shower, quickly realizing my worst fears were being confirmed. That small shower head posted up in the corner of the bathroom with a small drain & slight platform was my shower for the next three days. No curtain, no walls, just an open corner of showering hell. Needless to say, I was gross and only showered once--and I was a little bit tipsy to dull my senses enough to forget about the lack of confinement of the water around me.
Rome's Second Chance: Our first visit was St. Peter's Basilica, aka Vatican City. As we drove through the streets of Rome I began to accept that Rome is pretty freaking sweet. You can instantly see why Rome is the eternal city, the ancient feeds into the Renaissance, and the Renaissance feeds into the new--all of what we see today is built up from the ruins of Rome. Rome was in ruins because of people though, not earth, wind, and fire like most people assume. The Vatican is a perfect example of this. Romans would steal marble, metal, and pillars from various ancient Roman structures to build all of the beautiful structures we see in Rome today, like St. Peter's. The Pagan relics and buildings were destroyed to make one of the holiest places we recognize today--now if that doesn't blow your mind I don't know what.
The Colosseum and the Forum were great, and our guide was fantastic. We also had another fantastic guide take us around St. Peter's and Oscita, the original and most important port for Rome.
The best part of Rome as far as non-touristy attraction is concerned, was finding an Irish Pub where the bartenders all spoke English. The people were so nice and having a beer with gregarious Brits we didn't know was fun. Oh and they had free wifi which was also a major draw.
My suggestions for a visit to Rome:
Go. It's definitely worth it just to see the history. However, I was quickly over being there because of all of the inconveniences. There are about a million and one gypsies looking you up and down to see if they can pickpocket you easily, and if they don't try to chase you down you also have incessant gypsy men trying to sell you roses, creepy dolls, or worse yet, weird electronic stuffed animals...kind of like a furby? Rome is constantly filled with tourists, so you will also have to deal with the overpriced food, overcrowding, and being taken advantage of to gain access to wifi. After being in a place like Genoa, it was hard to not want to go back there.
Which leads me to why I'm in love with Florence. It is city life, and while touristy, it isn't as jam packed as Rome. It's my favorite city yet, actually. It's young, vibrant, decent pricing, and great shopping. More to come from my experiences here, but I think that is a long enough blog for now :) hopefully I can update again tomorrow!
Happy Tuesday everyone, and buonanotte :)
First impressions: Rome is smelly, crowded, and overall a disappointment. Yes yes, go ahead and cue the jawdrops. I was over Rome the instant I got off the train. However, I was severely tired, and had just arrived from a very quaint, quiet, and non-touristy area of Italy...so of course I was a bit overwhelmed. We then arrived at the hotel where I had to pay a ridiculous amount to get wifi and then upon arriving in my room I saw the bathroom. I looked around for the shower, quickly realizing my worst fears were being confirmed. That small shower head posted up in the corner of the bathroom with a small drain & slight platform was my shower for the next three days. No curtain, no walls, just an open corner of showering hell. Needless to say, I was gross and only showered once--and I was a little bit tipsy to dull my senses enough to forget about the lack of confinement of the water around me.
Rome's Second Chance: Our first visit was St. Peter's Basilica, aka Vatican City. As we drove through the streets of Rome I began to accept that Rome is pretty freaking sweet. You can instantly see why Rome is the eternal city, the ancient feeds into the Renaissance, and the Renaissance feeds into the new--all of what we see today is built up from the ruins of Rome. Rome was in ruins because of people though, not earth, wind, and fire like most people assume. The Vatican is a perfect example of this. Romans would steal marble, metal, and pillars from various ancient Roman structures to build all of the beautiful structures we see in Rome today, like St. Peter's. The Pagan relics and buildings were destroyed to make one of the holiest places we recognize today--now if that doesn't blow your mind I don't know what.
The Colosseum and the Forum were great, and our guide was fantastic. We also had another fantastic guide take us around St. Peter's and Oscita, the original and most important port for Rome.
The best part of Rome as far as non-touristy attraction is concerned, was finding an Irish Pub where the bartenders all spoke English. The people were so nice and having a beer with gregarious Brits we didn't know was fun. Oh and they had free wifi which was also a major draw.
My suggestions for a visit to Rome:
Go. It's definitely worth it just to see the history. However, I was quickly over being there because of all of the inconveniences. There are about a million and one gypsies looking you up and down to see if they can pickpocket you easily, and if they don't try to chase you down you also have incessant gypsy men trying to sell you roses, creepy dolls, or worse yet, weird electronic stuffed animals...kind of like a furby? Rome is constantly filled with tourists, so you will also have to deal with the overpriced food, overcrowding, and being taken advantage of to gain access to wifi. After being in a place like Genoa, it was hard to not want to go back there.
Which leads me to why I'm in love with Florence. It is city life, and while touristy, it isn't as jam packed as Rome. It's my favorite city yet, actually. It's young, vibrant, decent pricing, and great shopping. More to come from my experiences here, but I think that is a long enough blog for now :) hopefully I can update again tomorrow!
Happy Tuesday everyone, and buonanotte :)
Friday, May 10, 2013
Food Rant
You know what America's problem is? We lack the ability to appreciate food in its natural and intended state. We insist on adding sugar, salt and grease to EVERYTHING, which inhibits our taste buds from experiencing the simple & beautiful taste of food. We also eat excessively fast. I, personally, can attest to this. Food is better when it is savored, when every bite is treated as a new pleasure and not only as a comfort or supplement for happiness. Food can change your life if you let it.
Believe it or not, the girl who eats everything in sight did not just come to Italy to indulge in a large amount of eating. But I also won't lie and say it was a major draw. I didn't know what to expect in when the first Italian pizza was placed in front of me, but after the first bite I knew I was in good heaven. Tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozerella cheese and oregano--the simplicity of this pizza was its perfection. So, sorry Pizza Hut, I will never eat you the same way again.
Another favorite part of Italy is the importance of coffee, especially espresso. The coffee in Italy puts the finest American coffee maker to shame. The espresso causes such instantaneous heart palpitations and the richness of its taste is incomparable--and honestly I only need a small size to get a buzz. A small sized cup costs a maximum of 1 euro--quickly putting the insane amount I spend on Starbuck's in perspective--we may or may not be getting ripped off. The coffee culture is so different here too. No one plans a coffee date with the intention of chatting about the deep meaning of life for hours, coffee instead is meant to be an on the go occurrence. You walk into the shop, order, and then stand up the entire time you drink the coffee so you don't get charged an extra fee. Coffee normally happens in between breakfast and dinner, usually right after lunch.
Dinner by far is the most important meal of Italian culture--it has several courses, all loaded with carbs and yummy vegetable goodness. Families eat dinner late here, usually not sitting down to eat together until 8:30pm-9pm. The meal courses are supposed to be enjoyed slowly--no one should ever have to feel rushed. Bread, wine, and water must always be on the table. I had my first full-course Italian meal. And while I had to unbutton my pants and waddle home, it was so worth it.
Food is great.
I'll be talking about the rest of my Genoa adventures tomorrow. I'm a little behind as I'm in Rome now, but trust me, you don't want to miss the story about the water polo men in little bathing suits. It's a classic.
Ciao
Believe it or not, the girl who eats everything in sight did not just come to Italy to indulge in a large amount of eating. But I also won't lie and say it was a major draw. I didn't know what to expect in when the first Italian pizza was placed in front of me, but after the first bite I knew I was in good heaven. Tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozerella cheese and oregano--the simplicity of this pizza was its perfection. So, sorry Pizza Hut, I will never eat you the same way again.
Another favorite part of Italy is the importance of coffee, especially espresso. The coffee in Italy puts the finest American coffee maker to shame. The espresso causes such instantaneous heart palpitations and the richness of its taste is incomparable--and honestly I only need a small size to get a buzz. A small sized cup costs a maximum of 1 euro--quickly putting the insane amount I spend on Starbuck's in perspective--we may or may not be getting ripped off. The coffee culture is so different here too. No one plans a coffee date with the intention of chatting about the deep meaning of life for hours, coffee instead is meant to be an on the go occurrence. You walk into the shop, order, and then stand up the entire time you drink the coffee so you don't get charged an extra fee. Coffee normally happens in between breakfast and dinner, usually right after lunch.
Dinner by far is the most important meal of Italian culture--it has several courses, all loaded with carbs and yummy vegetable goodness. Families eat dinner late here, usually not sitting down to eat together until 8:30pm-9pm. The meal courses are supposed to be enjoyed slowly--no one should ever have to feel rushed. Bread, wine, and water must always be on the table. I had my first full-course Italian meal. And while I had to unbutton my pants and waddle home, it was so worth it.
Food is great.
I'll be talking about the rest of my Genoa adventures tomorrow. I'm a little behind as I'm in Rome now, but trust me, you don't want to miss the story about the water polo men in little bathing suits. It's a classic.
Ciao
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Day 3: Operation Don't Look Like A Tourist
I like to take pictures. And I'm sure most of you like taking pictures too. It's an exhilarating and satisfying feeling to take that one super artsy shot with your fancy iPhone camera, post it on Instagram and watch those little white and orange hearts appear to tell you people like your creativity and sweet picture-taking skills. So why am I suddenly self-conscious to reach into my purse, aim my phone at some cool thing and take a picture? I have realized I look nothing like an Italian, nor do I dress like one, nor do I speak like one--which is the biggest giveaway of all. I instantly appear like a tourist when I try to take pictures of architecture people in Genoa witness everyday, and goodness knows when the actual camera appears it's even worse.
When I draw attention to myself in this manner or walk around in a large group, as is practice with any study abroad, I subject myself to the relentless appeals of "gypsies." They are the people who are just trying to "make a buck" as my roommate Katelyn says (and yes we spell our names the same because we are awesome). They sell cheap suveniors and will do anything to sell them to unsuspecting tourists. For example, today as we were receiving a historical tour of Genoa, a group of gypsie salesmen spotted our group. They must have given each other those little nods and glances in our direction, forming a silent and cohesive plan, and then one by one formed a square around us displaying obviously cheesy and highly tourist-y Genoa magnets. After several times of saying "no gratzi" and then doing our very best to ignore the trapped circumstances we faced, they began to slink away. They are relentless at first, but if your forceful in whatever you say to them, silently or not so silently, they will leave you alone.
I guess I am also easy to spot as an outsider because Genoa is not a large tourist attraction. If you asked me a year ago for a list of major Italian cities, I don't think Genoa would have made the cut. It should have though. Many people don't realize the rich history here. Genoa is home to Christopher Columbus (his dad was a gatekeeper here), it has the largest preserved medieval portion in Italian cities, and also is one of the major port cities--has been since the 800s. If you pay attention to international news you would have seen Genoa's port being recognized for a tower collapse from a boat collision; it's been a catastrophic event in Genoa, I would equate it to the Space Shuttle explosions we've seen happen twice in the US.
A lot of the people residing here don't speak English, which is another tell-tale sign of a lack of tourism. For example, all of the stores I went into today had no experienced English speakers, thus forcing me to break out my translation guide so I could try and articulate my point of being there. It's been a challenge, but a welcomed one because it's forced me to learn the Italian language at a more rapid pace. At least this makes me a less ignorant tourist. I think the shop owners appreciate that I make an attempt to speak to them in their native tounge--all have been so friendly and understanding of my lack of Italian speaking skills.
I also bought pants today. Why? Because I made the mistake of wearing shorts. I may have said in my last blog, but I will reiterate, no one wears shorts here...apparently ever. They also believe in the onion principle. It's all about the layers. It's cool in the morning; you need a jacket. It's hot in the day time; you take off the jacket. You stuff the jacket in your large purse and wait until the evening when it gets cold again. And repeat.
Mind you, I've still said nothing about the food. I'll give you a preview to the blog I will write exclusively about Genoese food...IT'S SO GOOD. So many carbs. But also a good amount of veggies too. This makes life as a vegetarian pretty easy in Italy, thank goodness. I've been fed very well so far, obviously, or I would not be dedicating a whole blog to it.
I'm finally finding myself sleepy though, which is good. So cheers to sleeping better tonight!
Ciao :)
When I draw attention to myself in this manner or walk around in a large group, as is practice with any study abroad, I subject myself to the relentless appeals of "gypsies." They are the people who are just trying to "make a buck" as my roommate Katelyn says (and yes we spell our names the same because we are awesome). They sell cheap suveniors and will do anything to sell them to unsuspecting tourists. For example, today as we were receiving a historical tour of Genoa, a group of gypsie salesmen spotted our group. They must have given each other those little nods and glances in our direction, forming a silent and cohesive plan, and then one by one formed a square around us displaying obviously cheesy and highly tourist-y Genoa magnets. After several times of saying "no gratzi" and then doing our very best to ignore the trapped circumstances we faced, they began to slink away. They are relentless at first, but if your forceful in whatever you say to them, silently or not so silently, they will leave you alone.
I guess I am also easy to spot as an outsider because Genoa is not a large tourist attraction. If you asked me a year ago for a list of major Italian cities, I don't think Genoa would have made the cut. It should have though. Many people don't realize the rich history here. Genoa is home to Christopher Columbus (his dad was a gatekeeper here), it has the largest preserved medieval portion in Italian cities, and also is one of the major port cities--has been since the 800s. If you pay attention to international news you would have seen Genoa's port being recognized for a tower collapse from a boat collision; it's been a catastrophic event in Genoa, I would equate it to the Space Shuttle explosions we've seen happen twice in the US.
A lot of the people residing here don't speak English, which is another tell-tale sign of a lack of tourism. For example, all of the stores I went into today had no experienced English speakers, thus forcing me to break out my translation guide so I could try and articulate my point of being there. It's been a challenge, but a welcomed one because it's forced me to learn the Italian language at a more rapid pace. At least this makes me a less ignorant tourist. I think the shop owners appreciate that I make an attempt to speak to them in their native tounge--all have been so friendly and understanding of my lack of Italian speaking skills.
I also bought pants today. Why? Because I made the mistake of wearing shorts. I may have said in my last blog, but I will reiterate, no one wears shorts here...apparently ever. They also believe in the onion principle. It's all about the layers. It's cool in the morning; you need a jacket. It's hot in the day time; you take off the jacket. You stuff the jacket in your large purse and wait until the evening when it gets cold again. And repeat.
Mind you, I've still said nothing about the food. I'll give you a preview to the blog I will write exclusively about Genoese food...IT'S SO GOOD. So many carbs. But also a good amount of veggies too. This makes life as a vegetarian pretty easy in Italy, thank goodness. I've been fed very well so far, obviously, or I would not be dedicating a whole blog to it.
I'm finally finding myself sleepy though, which is good. So cheers to sleeping better tonight!
Ciao :)
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Day 1 & 2: The Beginning
You know how Kristin Wiig relied on Scotch and heavy anti-anxiety pills to get through (or not get through) her flight? That was pretty much me, except minus the pills and plus the complimentary glass of red wine. I was SO anxious, nervous, excited, emphatic, hysterical, etc. We flew out of Chicago O'Hare Airport and our airline was Lufthansa (kinda like 99 Luft Balloons). Our first destination was Munich and then we would be promptly redirected to Milan. Originally we were supposed to fly directly into Genoa, our first destination, but that's the fun of travel, right? I was hoping to at least be in Germany long enough to grab a beer, but I was sadly only there long enough to enjoy a complimentary tap water from the bathroom. The Munich airport was surprisingly not as German as I thought it was going to be. It lacked the strong and delicious smell of bratwurst and sauerkraut and instead was packed full of little boutiques and an organic market (which was cool enough).
Things I learned on the first plane ride:
Jet lag is real, and it sucks. And it really sucks.
However, there were some perks to this first plane ride:
1) the movie selection--not too shabby Lufthansa, not too shabby. Free movie selections, most of which were in English. I watched The Great and Powerful Oz, it was just ok.
2) the CD selection--also pretty great. I happily discovered a new artist I love on this trip, Leslie Clio. She's so unique that I can't really even compare her to anybody else. But if I had to she would be a mash up between Robyn and Adele? They also had Mumford & Sons which I used (along with copius amounts of German coffee) to keep me awake & pumped up for the rest of the day!!
3) also a thoughtful amenity, a blanket. Especially because I was the dummy who work shorts--everyone is wearing pants here, and when I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE.
- P.S. there was a pillow provided, but it was tiny, mushy, and all-together insufficient to my needs, so no shout out for you tiny and crappy pillow
4) the flight attendants were nice, very blonde, and German
5) by far the greatest highlight of the 9 hour sleepless flight was my uncanny ability--and sixth sense, really--of spotting the beginnings of a sunrise through the sealed shut windows. I was lucky enough to have a window seat, so of course I snapped a few pics. I don't even care if they aren't cool, I like them. I think what also made them spectacular is that it happened over the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.
We stopped in Germany all of 20 minutes. I got free coffee, free water from the bathroom, and got free German chocolate, which I used as both a supplement for lunch and an incentive to stay awake on the train from Milan to Genoa. Needless to say, it didn't work.
We flew over the Alps, as Milan is very close to the mountain range. To see the snow-capped mountains peaking through the immense amount of clouds was spectacularly beautiful.
Also, this smaller jet ride was a little more rough, however, it was more comfortable which prompted a little sleep, but not much.
Even though it would have been far more convenient to take a plane directly to Genoa, it was far more valuable to detour through Milan and take the train through the Italian countryside. I've seen inequality, poverty, graffiti, a fast-paced atmosphere that is city life, and the Italian culture's constant need to appreciate the old with the new. One minute you would be staring at a large, ghetto-like apartment complex, and the next minute you would be viewing a quaint farm snuggled within the large mountainous terrain of Northern Italy. It was breathtaking.
I've appreciated having Professor Britton in the trip with us, and now understand the need to familiarize myself with both the Fench and Italian languages in order to successfully navigate on our own, eventually. Luckily, a few kind people, including a Roman Catholic Priest on the train with us, were nice enough to help us understand where to go in English.
I am now going to dedicate the next blog to Genoa...the food especially, as I feel it deserves a great deal of attention. Plus my thumbs are starting to go numb because I am blogging via iPhone, which requires a skill and patience I have not yet mastered...especially at 4AM Italy time.
Ciao Bellas, I will write again tomorrowZ
Things I learned on the first plane ride:
Jet lag is real, and it sucks. And it really sucks.
However, there were some perks to this first plane ride:
1) the movie selection--not too shabby Lufthansa, not too shabby. Free movie selections, most of which were in English. I watched The Great and Powerful Oz, it was just ok.
2) the CD selection--also pretty great. I happily discovered a new artist I love on this trip, Leslie Clio. She's so unique that I can't really even compare her to anybody else. But if I had to she would be a mash up between Robyn and Adele? They also had Mumford & Sons which I used (along with copius amounts of German coffee) to keep me awake & pumped up for the rest of the day!!
3) also a thoughtful amenity, a blanket. Especially because I was the dummy who work shorts--everyone is wearing pants here, and when I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE.
- P.S. there was a pillow provided, but it was tiny, mushy, and all-together insufficient to my needs, so no shout out for you tiny and crappy pillow
4) the flight attendants were nice, very blonde, and German
5) by far the greatest highlight of the 9 hour sleepless flight was my uncanny ability--and sixth sense, really--of spotting the beginnings of a sunrise through the sealed shut windows. I was lucky enough to have a window seat, so of course I snapped a few pics. I don't even care if they aren't cool, I like them. I think what also made them spectacular is that it happened over the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.
We stopped in Germany all of 20 minutes. I got free coffee, free water from the bathroom, and got free German chocolate, which I used as both a supplement for lunch and an incentive to stay awake on the train from Milan to Genoa. Needless to say, it didn't work.
We flew over the Alps, as Milan is very close to the mountain range. To see the snow-capped mountains peaking through the immense amount of clouds was spectacularly beautiful.
Also, this smaller jet ride was a little more rough, however, it was more comfortable which prompted a little sleep, but not much.
Even though it would have been far more convenient to take a plane directly to Genoa, it was far more valuable to detour through Milan and take the train through the Italian countryside. I've seen inequality, poverty, graffiti, a fast-paced atmosphere that is city life, and the Italian culture's constant need to appreciate the old with the new. One minute you would be staring at a large, ghetto-like apartment complex, and the next minute you would be viewing a quaint farm snuggled within the large mountainous terrain of Northern Italy. It was breathtaking.
I've appreciated having Professor Britton in the trip with us, and now understand the need to familiarize myself with both the Fench and Italian languages in order to successfully navigate on our own, eventually. Luckily, a few kind people, including a Roman Catholic Priest on the train with us, were nice enough to help us understand where to go in English.
I am now going to dedicate the next blog to Genoa...the food especially, as I feel it deserves a great deal of attention. Plus my thumbs are starting to go numb because I am blogging via iPhone, which requires a skill and patience I have not yet mastered...especially at 4AM Italy time.
Ciao Bellas, I will write again tomorrowZ
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