Post by LHR02 on Sept 2, 2003 17:41:57 GMT -5
Tuesday, 2 September 2003
Italy - reneissance style
So after two glorious nights in Gimmelwald we hopped on a train bound for Italy. Needless to say the contrast in between the two places was like night and day.
First there was the scary passport guy at the border. He looked completely rough around the edges and practically barked to have our passports. Then he said "Where are you going?" in the scariest accent ever. Anywayz he quickly scurried away to harrass some other poor souls.
The train we took went from Interlaken - Brig (I think) - Milan - Florence. As soon as we crossed into Italy you saw an identifiable difference in the type of architecture and in the colours of the homes. They were definitely brighter and much more Mediterranean looking.
Going through Northern Italy you cross the lake region which at least from the train looked very lovely. There were these huge villas, palm trees, and obviously beautiful lakes. It all seemed very decadent and would no doubt be a lovely place to explore.
Milano Centrale was overwhelming. It is the busiest station I've been to so far. The people there (and almost everywhere we went in Italy) did not speak any English so I was forced to use my barely there Italian. In the process I discovered that I can communicate better than I thought.
Eventually we got on the train bound for Florence and it was completely ghetto. For the first time on the trip I found myself wishing I was in first class instead.
The train had no airconditioning and really bad circulation; it was also unusually rickety and rattled all the way to Florence. Supposedly it was a non-smoking car but some men were smoking and got into a fight with other passengers when they asked them to stop.
And then there was the lady who sat there yelling at the ticket collector and two security officers for about an hour and a half. Maybe it's an Italian thing but I don't understand why they let her go on and on and on. Whatever she was arguing about it couldn't have been worth the hassle.
It was also an incredibly hot day and we had drank all our water so we were forced to buy Oranginas at 4 Euros a pop.
Eventually we made it to Florence. We were staying in a studio apartment in Oltrarno that I had found for a great price on the internet. It turned out to be just as lovely as the pictures on the net had promised. It was also incredibly spotless and really well equipped.
That night hungry and tired we made what turned out to be the discovery of Italy for us. It was August and late at night so we wandered the streets. We found this little restaurant and decided to go in. WOW!!!!! We had the best Italian food ever - we both (Mohammad and I) had appetizers and a main course, a pitcher of the house wine (the best red wine I have ever had) all for under our budget of 15 Euros/person for dinner. We were in some sort of Tuscan paradise! We were in Florence for a total of 4 nights and ate at this place 3 out of 4 of them. The one night we strayed it only made us realize what a find this place was. Yum yum!
Aside from the food in Florence I got to go to some pretty fantastic museums. We saw Il Duomo in all of its glory - we also visited the Museum of the Duomo. Probably the most famous things in that museum are the Baptistry Doors and a Pieta by Michelangelo. I had fun explaining Bible related things to Mohammad - it made the place come alive for both of us.
We also had one complete marathon day of the Uffizi and the Accademia. The Accademia had some fantastic sculptures; among them are the prisoners also by Michelangelo. They basically look like men trying to escape from slabs of stone. It's particularly cool 'cause it really gives you a sense of the creation of a sculpture from a chunk of rock. And of course the most famous thing in the museum is David himself. Let me tell you that is one awesome statue!!! I don't know if it's just me but it was a lot bigger and much more detailed than I ever thought it would be. It's almost human and that is a scary scary thing.
At the Uffizi there are lots of really famous paintings. We had bought Rick Steves' MONA WINKS - it's a guide for Europe's best museums and here I found it particularly usefull. It took you on a chronological tour of the evolution of art. It was great 'cause it got you to see things that as a non - Art History person you would not normally appreciate. By the end of the day we were noticing things on our own and feeling quite fulfilled.
By our last day in Italy we felt like we needed a break from the controled chaos that is Florence - so we ran away to Cinque Terre (the Italian Rivera) in first class upgrade seats on Eurostar Italia. We basically spent our entire day in Riomaggiore - the place was beautiful and totally different than Florence. We strolled around lazily, sat on the beach, went in the salty sea water, and had some fantastic focaccia and pizza. Before leaving we strolled the Via Del'Amore and took a train back to Florence for our last night in the city and a final meal at a restaurant that we will always think of as ours.
The next day we were off to Geneva for one night to pick up our luggage before heading off to Paris for our final tourist stop and my ultimate destination.
But that my friends is another story for another time . . .
Ciao!
Italy - reneissance style
So after two glorious nights in Gimmelwald we hopped on a train bound for Italy. Needless to say the contrast in between the two places was like night and day.
First there was the scary passport guy at the border. He looked completely rough around the edges and practically barked to have our passports. Then he said "Where are you going?" in the scariest accent ever. Anywayz he quickly scurried away to harrass some other poor souls.
The train we took went from Interlaken - Brig (I think) - Milan - Florence. As soon as we crossed into Italy you saw an identifiable difference in the type of architecture and in the colours of the homes. They were definitely brighter and much more Mediterranean looking.
Going through Northern Italy you cross the lake region which at least from the train looked very lovely. There were these huge villas, palm trees, and obviously beautiful lakes. It all seemed very decadent and would no doubt be a lovely place to explore.
Milano Centrale was overwhelming. It is the busiest station I've been to so far. The people there (and almost everywhere we went in Italy) did not speak any English so I was forced to use my barely there Italian. In the process I discovered that I can communicate better than I thought.
Eventually we got on the train bound for Florence and it was completely ghetto. For the first time on the trip I found myself wishing I was in first class instead.
The train had no airconditioning and really bad circulation; it was also unusually rickety and rattled all the way to Florence. Supposedly it was a non-smoking car but some men were smoking and got into a fight with other passengers when they asked them to stop.
And then there was the lady who sat there yelling at the ticket collector and two security officers for about an hour and a half. Maybe it's an Italian thing but I don't understand why they let her go on and on and on. Whatever she was arguing about it couldn't have been worth the hassle.
It was also an incredibly hot day and we had drank all our water so we were forced to buy Oranginas at 4 Euros a pop.
Eventually we made it to Florence. We were staying in a studio apartment in Oltrarno that I had found for a great price on the internet. It turned out to be just as lovely as the pictures on the net had promised. It was also incredibly spotless and really well equipped.
That night hungry and tired we made what turned out to be the discovery of Italy for us. It was August and late at night so we wandered the streets. We found this little restaurant and decided to go in. WOW!!!!! We had the best Italian food ever - we both (Mohammad and I) had appetizers and a main course, a pitcher of the house wine (the best red wine I have ever had) all for under our budget of 15 Euros/person for dinner. We were in some sort of Tuscan paradise! We were in Florence for a total of 4 nights and ate at this place 3 out of 4 of them. The one night we strayed it only made us realize what a find this place was. Yum yum!
Aside from the food in Florence I got to go to some pretty fantastic museums. We saw Il Duomo in all of its glory - we also visited the Museum of the Duomo. Probably the most famous things in that museum are the Baptistry Doors and a Pieta by Michelangelo. I had fun explaining Bible related things to Mohammad - it made the place come alive for both of us.
We also had one complete marathon day of the Uffizi and the Accademia. The Accademia had some fantastic sculptures; among them are the prisoners also by Michelangelo. They basically look like men trying to escape from slabs of stone. It's particularly cool 'cause it really gives you a sense of the creation of a sculpture from a chunk of rock. And of course the most famous thing in the museum is David himself. Let me tell you that is one awesome statue!!! I don't know if it's just me but it was a lot bigger and much more detailed than I ever thought it would be. It's almost human and that is a scary scary thing.
At the Uffizi there are lots of really famous paintings. We had bought Rick Steves' MONA WINKS - it's a guide for Europe's best museums and here I found it particularly usefull. It took you on a chronological tour of the evolution of art. It was great 'cause it got you to see things that as a non - Art History person you would not normally appreciate. By the end of the day we were noticing things on our own and feeling quite fulfilled.
By our last day in Italy we felt like we needed a break from the controled chaos that is Florence - so we ran away to Cinque Terre (the Italian Rivera) in first class upgrade seats on Eurostar Italia. We basically spent our entire day in Riomaggiore - the place was beautiful and totally different than Florence. We strolled around lazily, sat on the beach, went in the salty sea water, and had some fantastic focaccia and pizza. Before leaving we strolled the Via Del'Amore and took a train back to Florence for our last night in the city and a final meal at a restaurant that we will always think of as ours.
The next day we were off to Geneva for one night to pick up our luggage before heading off to Paris for our final tourist stop and my ultimate destination.
But that my friends is another story for another time . . .
Ciao!