The day after I finished mid-term exams I headed off to the Cinque Terre with 5 German friends from Bocconi: Nina and Anne (from my language class), Nina's housemate Hannah, and two other friends, Christine and Eva. The Cinque Terre are 5 very small villages, set along the beautiful coastline south of Genoa. 'Cinque Terre' means 5 lands. The area's a relatively famous part of Italy for its beautiful scenery; the villages are also classically Italian, and there is a walking path from one end to the other which a lot of people from all over Europe do.
My housemate Cristina and her brother dropped me at the station at quarter to 7 in the morning as they were going to meet their parents there - che fortuna! The seemingly interminable train ride (4 hours - we could have done it in two but it's always cheaper to take the slower trains in Italy) took us to Monterosso, the closest of the Cinque Terre to Genova. The first part of the walk, from Monterosso to Vernazza, is definitely the hardest, and involved a lot of clambouring over rocks and heaps of steps. The path is fairly well maintained but gets very narrow at times - we were all surprised (but I think this is quite common in Italy) that there is no railing, fences or anything to stop you falling if you happened to fall off the path! Quite often there was nothing but a 6-foot drop down into grape vines below. It's nice to be free of public liability paranoia - Italy (probably more through laziness than decision) is very sane with things like that.
Stopped for lunch in Vernazza, a town with a beautiful harbour, and we climbed up to the ruins of the castle at the top of the town, looking right over the water, for some great views. The next leg, to Corniglia, wasn't quite as tough but still involved plenty of steps (and the Germans set a cracking pace!). Most of the walking is through or around the vineyards, which have been cut as layers, each about 5 feet high, into the hills.
We got to the town in the middle, Corniglia, by about 6pm, and mindful of having to be in La Spezia (a town further down the coast than the Cinque Terre), to check into our hotel by 8pm we decided to leave it there and get a train to La Spezia. Wandering around La Spezia that night, we had no idea where to go to get dinner, so Nina decided to ask some policemen we came across - I think they were quite flattered, not only did they chat with us for a bit but they rang ahead to a restaurant to make sure there would be room for the 6 of us! (Even though they hadn't heard us speak English they automatically assumed we were Americans - a very common thing for Italians to do (even though there were heaps of French and German tourists doing the Cinque Terre). I found it quite funny because if I hadn't been there the whole group would be German - not even speaking English!) That turned out to be a very good choice, the food was great and we shared a nutella pizza for desert! (not as bad as it sounds - actually really nice!). We were all pretty tired after an early start and lots of exercise!
We started off our second day with a wander around La Spezia, taking in the harbour, and then headed to Riomaggiore, the closest of the Cinque Terre to La Spezia. April 25th is also a public holiday for the Italians - Liberation Day (from the fascists) - and we heard on the morning radio a mention it also being "l'ANZAC day" in Australia and New Zealand! The whole area was packed with tourists. The walk goes past lots of paths leading down the to the rocks by the sea (actual beaches are virtually non-existent, the whole area is lots of cliffs!). There were lots of people sunbaking and having picnics, it would be a great place to spend a sunny day!
The walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola is Via dell'Amore, famous for having lots of names of couples and love messages scratched into the wall, the rocks or even the cacti. When Italian couples get married it is a tradition to write the names of the husband and wife on a padlock and chain it somewhere (e.g. to a bridge). There are hundreds of padlocks along Via dell'Amore.
Manarola was packed with tourists so we paused for gelati and then headed off again on the last part of the walk. Ended up at Corniglia train station again, where we ended the day before, and with an hour to spare we decided to climb the 382 steps up to the town for a snack and coffee!
We all really enjoyed wandering through the little towns in the Cinque Terre. Common local produce (much like Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast) was lemon stuff (particularly Limoncello, a typical Italian after-dinner drink), crockery and cooking products (always with lots of decoration and ceramic work). We came across a shop in Corniglia selling all that as well as beer and wine variously named after Che, Marx, Lenin and various other left-wing figures, as well as Mussolini and Hitler and others on the right! I found it pretty funny but the Germans couldn't believe it - apparently you could never sell anything like that in Germany. They were a bit offended, I think, and even though they all liked the stuff in the rest of the shop they all agreed they would never buy anything there. Typical I think of the kind of German 'residual guilt'.
The Germans headed back to Milan that evening and I left them in Genova and headed to the HI hostel there, up in the hills looking over the port.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Rome
The week following Easter was 'Culture Week', during which all museums and cultural exhibits in Italy were free! If only we'd know earlier we would have planned a lot more for that week and not paid 10 euros to get into Pompeii!
I left Salerno and the Amalfi Coast for a few days in Rome, where the weather suddenly became beautiful and sunny - I wished we'd had weather like that in Pompeii and on the Amalfi Coast! The hostel I stayed at in Rome (M&J hostel) sucked, don't ever stay there.
After exploring St Peter's Basilica (including climbing all 551 steps to the top) I took in the Pantheon and the Castel San Angelo near the river. I wanted to go to the National Pasta Museum but it was closed for renovations! :(
The morning of my last day away was the beginning of daylight savings, so even though I left fairly early I didn't get to the Vatican Museums until much later than I would have liked. On that day entrance was free, so I had to wait in an enormous queue outside for an hour and a half. It was definitely worth seeing though, amazingly decorated buildings. Also enjoyed wandering around some of Rome's piazzas (I couldn't count the number of Obelisks there are in Rome) and seeing more of the Roman ruins in the area around the Colosseum. Got an overnight train back, again in a packed compartment full of chatty Italians on which I could barely sleep, even when everyone was quiet!
I left Salerno and the Amalfi Coast for a few days in Rome, where the weather suddenly became beautiful and sunny - I wished we'd had weather like that in Pompeii and on the Amalfi Coast! The hostel I stayed at in Rome (M&J hostel) sucked, don't ever stay there.
After exploring St Peter's Basilica (including climbing all 551 steps to the top) I took in the Pantheon and the Castel San Angelo near the river. I wanted to go to the National Pasta Museum but it was closed for renovations! :(
The morning of my last day away was the beginning of daylight savings, so even though I left fairly early I didn't get to the Vatican Museums until much later than I would have liked. On that day entrance was free, so I had to wait in an enormous queue outside for an hour and a half. It was definitely worth seeing though, amazingly decorated buildings. Also enjoyed wandering around some of Rome's piazzas (I couldn't count the number of Obelisks there are in Rome) and seeing more of the Roman ruins in the area around the Colosseum. Got an overnight train back, again in a packed compartment full of chatty Italians on which I could barely sleep, even when everyone was quiet!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Salerno and the Amalfi Coast
From Naples, we got ourselves up very early to get the train to Salerno, where we planned to base ourselves for a few days of exploring the Amalfi Coast. Unfortunately, as soon as we got on the train Jess realised that she'd left her iPod at the hostel and ran back (literally, jogged for 20 minutes there and back through Naples!) to get it. Olivia and I got off the train, but it was still at the platform when Jess got back more than an hour later - it never left. We enjoyed the sunshine for a while sitting on the platform, and left two and a half hours later than we'd originally planned on the next train to leave - by the time we got to Salerno the rain had well and truly set in for the day, and we still had to spend about half an hour wandering around trying to find the hostel in the rain!
The HI Hostel in Salerno is a former convent and a decent place. I looked around in Salerno for a bit in the afternoon - the harbour would have been lovely on a sunny day! For dinner we had the dodgiest kebabs ever - they were in mini pita bread rolls, and they tried to put chips in with the rest of the ingredients! It only set us back $3 though. The search for the ultimate kebab continues... We did, however, find some amazing gelati - at Gerry's, all home-made, and only one euro for 2 scoops!
The next morning we headed to Positano, on the opposite end of the Amalfi Coast. We wanted to catch the ferry but none were running because of rough seas and rain all day (by now this was no surprise). Instead we took the bus, which goes through all the coastal towns and has stunning views of the coastline. It occured to me on the drive that the Amalfi Coast is quite similar to the Great Ocean Road, but in an Italian way - with picturesque villas, tumble-down houses, vine fields, ancient walls and roads that are WAY too small! The bus had to stop on almost every corner to let cars coming the other way go past, and meeting other buses and trucks was a nerve-wracking experience! The water was amazingly blue green, and everything is so GREEN!
Olivia and Jess spent time on the beach (nothing special, but they don't live near beaches!), while I looked around the town and walked to the next beach (via many, many steps!). On my way back I saw Gabe & Brittney (and then Logan and Lauren) on scooters! They had all hired scooters for the day and had ridden around the point of the peninsula from Sorrento (where we'd been 2 days before) to Positano (apparently an amazing drive!). We met up on the beach and the boys went for an (extremely quick) dip in the freezing cold water while the 3 girls decided to drive on to Amalfi.
In the afternoon the three of us and Gabe and Logan went for a walk along the coast and found a path winding through a gully from the road. We followed it a fair way along in and up the hill, and were puzzled by the sound of dogs barking in the distance - we figured it was just someone walking a dog or two in the distance until we saw that there were several dogs, barking from somewhere that was obviously some sort of gate, and a man dressed in shabby, ripped clothing, who opened the gate and let the dogs out after us! We ran pretty damn quickly down the path (that had taken us a good half an hour to walk) back to the road after that! We later asked a local about the guy, and as soon as he realised who we were talking about he had a chuckle. Apparently he's a really nice guy. O_o.
We also found the beginning of the 1700-step stairway to Nocelle and the Sentiero degli Dei (Trail of the Gods), a famous walking path that goes along the entire coast. We only got a few hundred steps up when the heavy rain, tiredness and hunger got the better of us, so we headed back to Positano to meet up with the girls.
Logan and Gabe offered to take us for a 'spin' on the scooters and Olivia and I couldn't refuse - even though by then it was incredibly cold and the rain was quite heavy. We went way up into the mountains above Positano (and the crazy dog-man's valley) - the rain was endless and there were rainclouds everywhere but despite that and the freezing cold, the view was amazing! Gabe and I came off the bikes within 5 minutes in a slide around the corner - but it wasn't nearly as dramatic as it sounds! While we were gone the other girls talked to a few locals about the weather - apparently they couldn't believe the rain, they said it only ever rains 5 days in a year, and never like that! Just our luck. By the time we got back to Salerno that night we were all thoroughly soaked; none of us dried out for many hours (and our clothes stayed wet for days!).
The next morning Olivia and Jess left early for Rome but I stayed an extra day for some walking. Catching the bus to Amalfi I met a nice family from Melbourne - we had a good chat about everything from Italy, the footy, and the drought! Amalfi is another very picturesque town, I wandered around a bit in the rain through lots of passageways under houses and stepped streets - very cool! I was planning to walk from Amalfi (at sea level) up to Ravello (way up in the mountains 350m above sea level) but as it was raining hard and I didn't really know the way, I ended up taking a bus about halfway, getting off where I saw a sign for a walk. Even though I only did about half of it, I was exhausted when I reached Ravello after god-knows-how many steps! The town is very cute, with even more steps that Amalfi and amazing views of the coast, the best of which were from Villa Cimbrone, a villa with extensive gardens which many celebrities have visited (including Winston Churchill and Greta Garbo!).
To get down from Ravello I walked down steps for almost an hour straight - by the end of it my legs were ready to drop off - to another town, Minori, and got the bus back to Salerno. That afternoon the weather was pretty reasonable, not much rain (!!!!). Shared a room that night with an American girl who was also, funnily enough, on exchange at Cattolica in Milan, as well as a German girl whose bags had been stolen the night before when she was camping!
Amalfi Coast is definitely somewhere I'll be returning to - it deserves at least a week, as there is plenty of walking to be done!
The HI Hostel in Salerno is a former convent and a decent place. I looked around in Salerno for a bit in the afternoon - the harbour would have been lovely on a sunny day! For dinner we had the dodgiest kebabs ever - they were in mini pita bread rolls, and they tried to put chips in with the rest of the ingredients! It only set us back $3 though. The search for the ultimate kebab continues... We did, however, find some amazing gelati - at Gerry's, all home-made, and only one euro for 2 scoops!
The next morning we headed to Positano, on the opposite end of the Amalfi Coast. We wanted to catch the ferry but none were running because of rough seas and rain all day (by now this was no surprise). Instead we took the bus, which goes through all the coastal towns and has stunning views of the coastline. It occured to me on the drive that the Amalfi Coast is quite similar to the Great Ocean Road, but in an Italian way - with picturesque villas, tumble-down houses, vine fields, ancient walls and roads that are WAY too small! The bus had to stop on almost every corner to let cars coming the other way go past, and meeting other buses and trucks was a nerve-wracking experience! The water was amazingly blue green, and everything is so GREEN!
Olivia and Jess spent time on the beach (nothing special, but they don't live near beaches!), while I looked around the town and walked to the next beach (via many, many steps!). On my way back I saw Gabe & Brittney (and then Logan and Lauren) on scooters! They had all hired scooters for the day and had ridden around the point of the peninsula from Sorrento (where we'd been 2 days before) to Positano (apparently an amazing drive!). We met up on the beach and the boys went for an (extremely quick) dip in the freezing cold water while the 3 girls decided to drive on to Amalfi.
In the afternoon the three of us and Gabe and Logan went for a walk along the coast and found a path winding through a gully from the road. We followed it a fair way along in and up the hill, and were puzzled by the sound of dogs barking in the distance - we figured it was just someone walking a dog or two in the distance until we saw that there were several dogs, barking from somewhere that was obviously some sort of gate, and a man dressed in shabby, ripped clothing, who opened the gate and let the dogs out after us! We ran pretty damn quickly down the path (that had taken us a good half an hour to walk) back to the road after that! We later asked a local about the guy, and as soon as he realised who we were talking about he had a chuckle. Apparently he's a really nice guy. O_o.
We also found the beginning of the 1700-step stairway to Nocelle and the Sentiero degli Dei (Trail of the Gods), a famous walking path that goes along the entire coast. We only got a few hundred steps up when the heavy rain, tiredness and hunger got the better of us, so we headed back to Positano to meet up with the girls.
Logan and Gabe offered to take us for a 'spin' on the scooters and Olivia and I couldn't refuse - even though by then it was incredibly cold and the rain was quite heavy. We went way up into the mountains above Positano (and the crazy dog-man's valley) - the rain was endless and there were rainclouds everywhere but despite that and the freezing cold, the view was amazing! Gabe and I came off the bikes within 5 minutes in a slide around the corner - but it wasn't nearly as dramatic as it sounds! While we were gone the other girls talked to a few locals about the weather - apparently they couldn't believe the rain, they said it only ever rains 5 days in a year, and never like that! Just our luck. By the time we got back to Salerno that night we were all thoroughly soaked; none of us dried out for many hours (and our clothes stayed wet for days!).
The next morning Olivia and Jess left early for Rome but I stayed an extra day for some walking. Catching the bus to Amalfi I met a nice family from Melbourne - we had a good chat about everything from Italy, the footy, and the drought! Amalfi is another very picturesque town, I wandered around a bit in the rain through lots of passageways under houses and stepped streets - very cool! I was planning to walk from Amalfi (at sea level) up to Ravello (way up in the mountains 350m above sea level) but as it was raining hard and I didn't really know the way, I ended up taking a bus about halfway, getting off where I saw a sign for a walk. Even though I only did about half of it, I was exhausted when I reached Ravello after god-knows-how many steps! The town is very cute, with even more steps that Amalfi and amazing views of the coast, the best of which were from Villa Cimbrone, a villa with extensive gardens which many celebrities have visited (including Winston Churchill and Greta Garbo!).
To get down from Ravello I walked down steps for almost an hour straight - by the end of it my legs were ready to drop off - to another town, Minori, and got the bus back to Salerno. That afternoon the weather was pretty reasonable, not much rain (!!!!). Shared a room that night with an American girl who was also, funnily enough, on exchange at Cattolica in Milan, as well as a German girl whose bags had been stolen the night before when she was camping!
Amalfi Coast is definitely somewhere I'll be returning to - it deserves at least a week, as there is plenty of walking to be done!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Naples, Pompeii, Ischia and Sorrento
On Thursday night before Easter, Jess, Olivia and I headed to Naples on an overnight train. Most Italian regional trains are compartmentalised, and our compartment was full (6 people) until we reached Rome at about 3am. There were two old Italian women who we chatted to for quite a while - initially they were fascinated to hear about where we were from (Australia, Canada and the U.S.), what we were studying, kangaroos, etc etc. Then the conversation turned to how dangerous overnight trains were - aparently there had been some armed muggings on trains - and about how our parents must feel about us girls travelling around Italy on our own. Naturally that made us feel pretty confident.
The conversation continued until very late, probably at least 1am - and Italians do not have quiet conversations - so we were very glad when they finally dropped off to sleep. Sleeping in overnight trains is very difficult if you're not in a sleeper carriage. The cabins are very cramped and although you can move the seats out to be on more of an angle, we were very glad when the other three left us in Rome - we had the 6-seat compartment all to ourselves and pulled the seats forward until they met in the middle - we basically had a bed compartment! Only for a few hours though.
Italy is a relatively young country (united in 1872) and most areas still have very distinct accents and cultures (most cities have distinct dialects, although most are not commonly used). When we got to Naples, Olivia (who speaks Italian as well or probably better than me) and I had a lot of trouble understanding what people were saying to us. Compared to the north, it seemed to us that people pronounced 's' sounds in a very different (maybe soft) way, but the most difficulty came from a kind of slurring that seemed to be really common. After asking for directions or something, we often found ourselves looking at each other saying 'I didn't understand a word of that'!
While our first day in Naples was beautifully sunny, when we headed off to Pompeii the next day the rain had well and truly set in - and wouldn't clear up for about a week! Stomping around in Pompeii in the wet, cold weather wasn't a great deal of fun but I still found it really interesting - didn't even see half of it, you would need to go for a whole (sunny) day to really do it properly. Even so, some of the houses are amazingly well preserved, and much of the town is still being excavated. We were hoping to climb Mt Vesuvius as well but we'd missed the last bus to the summit area (it was about 2.30pm so that was a bit of a puzzle for us!). We tried again two days later but the entire area was closed because of the weather (so we probably wouldn't have been able to do it any time while we were there!). We were disappointed but managed to console ourselves with the best cioccolata ever at the train station in Pompeii!
On Easter Sunday we thought it might be interesting to go to an Italian church service. However, the night before we discovered that a nearby island, Ischia, had hot springs, and all thoughts of church flew out the window, along with misgivings about the weather and any other considerations! We found a place, O'vagnitiello that had a 10 euro deal, made sure that they would be open, and headed off the next morning on the ferry to Ischia. The place seemed impossible to find - we rang three times for directions (and had a lot of trouble understanding what they told us!), asked at least two people on the street and the bus driver. Initially we thought we'd got off at the wrong bus stop so we rang again to be given more incomprehensible instructions. Eventually we found a long and winding laneway going from behind a church ('OH! I thought she said something about a church!'), and after quite a trek we ended up at a place with deck chairs everywhere on 4 levels next to the sea, with three pools, two bars, and even rooms obviously available for staying. The whole place was completely deserted.
We eventually found the guy who was in charge and got into the warm pool (in the rain!) and also the steam room. No hot springs though. The only other people were saw was an Israeli family, who had been living in Italy for years. We all ended up eating at the restaurant there which turned out to be a great idea - we had the best pasta so far in Italy, the Israeli dad bought us a bottle of wine and we had a cake for desert on the house! The whole day should have cost us 17 euros each but the guy in charge only asked $40 altogether! Happy Easter to you too!
We spent the afternoon wandering around Ischia (fortunately the rain cleared up for a few hours) and stealing a few lemons from the trees which were EVERYWHERE! The return ferry ride had been dubbed the 'Ferry Ride from Hell' - the sea was incredibly choppy, the rain returned and the ferry was swaying unbelievably. The previous ferry had been cancelled because of the weather. Good-oh. The boat was moving around in HUGE waves but we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. We were at no stage convinced that the whole thing was under control (but everyone else seemed calm and undisturbed, except for a few people who had to run to the bathroom), the ride took an hour longer than it should have taken, and we were very glad when we made it back to land alive!
After our second attempt at Vesuvius was thwarted we decided to head off to Sorrento for the day. The train was packed with rowdy Italian teenagers being incredibly loud and raucous - we later found out that it was Youth Day or something like that, a day when all teenagers in the area head down to Sorrento. Great timing.
The morning was wet and cold, and the day was looking miserable but things brightened up after lunch, and after spending a few hours wandering around the town looking at the souvenier shops and down on the harbour, we met up with Logan and Katie (friends that Olivia and Jess had met on their ski trip) and three of their friends, Lauren, Brittany and Gabe, all Americans. We went wandering up a hill and somehow found a trail (and a random English guy who gave us his walking map - and completely out-paced us on the walk!) up the mountains. We spent hours spilling around on wet rocks and steps but eventually reached the town at the top, and got some great views both on the way up and down!
The conversation continued until very late, probably at least 1am - and Italians do not have quiet conversations - so we were very glad when they finally dropped off to sleep. Sleeping in overnight trains is very difficult if you're not in a sleeper carriage. The cabins are very cramped and although you can move the seats out to be on more of an angle, we were very glad when the other three left us in Rome - we had the 6-seat compartment all to ourselves and pulled the seats forward until they met in the middle - we basically had a bed compartment! Only for a few hours though.
If you tell anyone in Italy that you're going to Naples (seriously, ANYONE) they immediately bombard you with warnings about being careful of your luggage, watching out for pickpockets and motorcycle thieves, small children who are trained to pick pockets at the train station and in touristy areas.... We didn't feel unsafe at any time but we were pretty relieved when we got to our hostel and got rid of all our stuff! Since we had arrived in Italy (or maybe even starting before) there had been an ongoing strike of garbage collectors in Naples, so the other thing people would talk about was the pictures shown on the news of streets with rubbish piled up in the middle - it looked pretty nasty. We didn't find much garbage in the city though (I think it was much worse in the suburbs) and it didn't seem much dirtier than most Italian cities! Appartently though since then the situation has become a lot worse - people are refusing to send their kids to school for fear of rat attacks or catching disease. I hear Berlusconi has promised to have the situation resolved by 2010. Only in Italy....
Getting out into Naples on Good Friday made Milan feel like a haven of organisation, orderliness and cleanliness - no mean feat! Even getting out of the train station and finding our bus was a nightmare, we asked about 4 different people where the bus left from until one old man (again, only in Italy does this happen) actually lead us the 200 metres or so to the bus stop! The traffic was chaos, and it took us ages to get to our hostel, and the bus was packed. That afternoon we explored Naples on foot - we found a street market (lots of activity!), many narrow streets with washing hanging out every window of the apartment blocks, lots of steps, a fenicular railway taking us up the highest hill, and the Castle of Saint Elmo. We also had our first Napoletan pizza - thicker dough than in the north (but still nowhere near as thick as ours), great tomato paste, and commonly with circular slices of mozzarella (from the balls of mozzarella - often from buffalo milk) placed on the pizza (rather than grated cheese everywhere). Very, VERY nice. Naples is the birthplace of the margherita pizza (which, by the way, is not at all considered boring - it is very common to order just margherita in Italy).
Italy is a relatively young country (united in 1872) and most areas still have very distinct accents and cultures (most cities have distinct dialects, although most are not commonly used). When we got to Naples, Olivia (who speaks Italian as well or probably better than me) and I had a lot of trouble understanding what people were saying to us. Compared to the north, it seemed to us that people pronounced 's' sounds in a very different (maybe soft) way, but the most difficulty came from a kind of slurring that seemed to be really common. After asking for directions or something, we often found ourselves looking at each other saying 'I didn't understand a word of that'!
While our first day in Naples was beautifully sunny, when we headed off to Pompeii the next day the rain had well and truly set in - and wouldn't clear up for about a week! Stomping around in Pompeii in the wet, cold weather wasn't a great deal of fun but I still found it really interesting - didn't even see half of it, you would need to go for a whole (sunny) day to really do it properly. Even so, some of the houses are amazingly well preserved, and much of the town is still being excavated. We were hoping to climb Mt Vesuvius as well but we'd missed the last bus to the summit area (it was about 2.30pm so that was a bit of a puzzle for us!). We tried again two days later but the entire area was closed because of the weather (so we probably wouldn't have been able to do it any time while we were there!). We were disappointed but managed to console ourselves with the best cioccolata ever at the train station in Pompeii!
On Easter Sunday we thought it might be interesting to go to an Italian church service. However, the night before we discovered that a nearby island, Ischia, had hot springs, and all thoughts of church flew out the window, along with misgivings about the weather and any other considerations! We found a place, O'vagnitiello that had a 10 euro deal, made sure that they would be open, and headed off the next morning on the ferry to Ischia. The place seemed impossible to find - we rang three times for directions (and had a lot of trouble understanding what they told us!), asked at least two people on the street and the bus driver. Initially we thought we'd got off at the wrong bus stop so we rang again to be given more incomprehensible instructions. Eventually we found a long and winding laneway going from behind a church ('OH! I thought she said something about a church!'), and after quite a trek we ended up at a place with deck chairs everywhere on 4 levels next to the sea, with three pools, two bars, and even rooms obviously available for staying. The whole place was completely deserted.
We eventually found the guy who was in charge and got into the warm pool (in the rain!) and also the steam room. No hot springs though. The only other people were saw was an Israeli family, who had been living in Italy for years. We all ended up eating at the restaurant there which turned out to be a great idea - we had the best pasta so far in Italy, the Israeli dad bought us a bottle of wine and we had a cake for desert on the house! The whole day should have cost us 17 euros each but the guy in charge only asked $40 altogether! Happy Easter to you too!
We spent the afternoon wandering around Ischia (fortunately the rain cleared up for a few hours) and stealing a few lemons from the trees which were EVERYWHERE! The return ferry ride had been dubbed the 'Ferry Ride from Hell' - the sea was incredibly choppy, the rain returned and the ferry was swaying unbelievably. The previous ferry had been cancelled because of the weather. Good-oh. The boat was moving around in HUGE waves but we didn't seem to be getting anywhere. We were at no stage convinced that the whole thing was under control (but everyone else seemed calm and undisturbed, except for a few people who had to run to the bathroom), the ride took an hour longer than it should have taken, and we were very glad when we made it back to land alive!
After our second attempt at Vesuvius was thwarted we decided to head off to Sorrento for the day. The train was packed with rowdy Italian teenagers being incredibly loud and raucous - we later found out that it was Youth Day or something like that, a day when all teenagers in the area head down to Sorrento. Great timing.
The morning was wet and cold, and the day was looking miserable but things brightened up after lunch, and after spending a few hours wandering around the town looking at the souvenier shops and down on the harbour, we met up with Logan and Katie (friends that Olivia and Jess had met on their ski trip) and three of their friends, Lauren, Brittany and Gabe, all Americans. We went wandering up a hill and somehow found a trail (and a random English guy who gave us his walking map - and completely out-paced us on the walk!) up the mountains. We spent hours spilling around on wet rocks and steps but eventually reached the town at the top, and got some great views both on the way up and down!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Ski Trip!
Bardonecchia: 1312 metres above sea level; host to the 2006 Winter Olympics snowboarding events.
Both ESN and ESEG, the two main exchange student organisations, organise a ski trip, and I'd been wondering for a while about whether or not to go. I'd only been skiing once before and it was a hideous disaster - I spent most of the day lying in the snow, unable to get up after falling over, trapped by the skiis that I couldn't even get off. In the end I sent the ESEG guys an email a week before the deadline to sign up asking if there would be any opportunity for people who didn't know how to ski to learn - and they replied the day before we left, saying that there would be lessons for beginners (run by the organisers) every morning - and if we didn't like that we could always get other lessons from the ski site itself. I decided to go and suddenly I was 250 euros down and had a hell of a lot to organise before leaving the following evening - including buying some ski pants, borrowing some other clothes from a friend, and renting the skis and boots !
The whole affair was 'organised' in typical Italian fashion - I had a lot of friends from our language class who were going but I didn't catch the bus with any of them - the only space left was on the bus later that evening with mainly non-Bocconi people. I met 4 really friendly Brazillians but we spent a fair bit of time sleeping on the 4-hour or so ride - that is, until the bus driver decided to sing along with the radio.... over the microphone. That part really sucked.
Arrived and eventually got my stuff sorted out. My 3 roommates were three Portuguese girls, Renata and Raquel from Porto (both studying Psych at Cattolica, the Catholic University in Milan (apparently there's also one in Porto)), and Silvia (from Lisbon studying design). Neither Raquel or Renata spoke very much English or Italian, but Portugese is more similar to Italian, so we decided we would all try to communicate as best we could in (mainly) Italian - which actually ended up being a really good thing for my language skills! None of them had skiied before either, so we all took the classes together.
The 'classes' were run by Alberto (a former ESEG guy) and his friend Christoph (actually German, but studied at Bocconi and a really good skier - was on his way to professional skiing until he hurt his back). We started off on the baby slope getting our basic skills (stopping and turning) right. Both of them taught us very well, taking us down the slope in a group or individually, or at other times standing at the bottom to watch us as we came down - always ready with some suggestions or scathing Italian witticisms. In the afternoons they went and did their own thing while we struggled on on our own. Others in the beginner group included girls from Latvia and Serbia, and Victor and Andrea, the Brazilian couple from my language class.
Just like my first time ever skiing, that first day was spent mostly on the ground, trying to get myself up after having fallen over. Getting up is a skill that constantly evaded me throughout the weekend - it's a very difficult thing to do when you're not used to skiing! I ended up with some incredible bruises and was really sore for at least a week afterwards!
The first afternoon, four of us tried to tackle an easy (as opposed to baby) slope - we'd gone only about 100 metres when one girl fell over and hurt her knee. Unfortunately she spent the rest of the weekend on crutches and actually had to terminate her exchange and go home for operations which was really sad - and scary for us! They carried her down the slope on a sort of stretcher which two skiiers held between them, we were a bit worried about whether she would even make it down to the bottom! But that afternoon alone I saw at least another 4 people being carried down like that so I gather it's pretty normal.
After the first day of skiing my roommates and I went to the supermarket in the town and got some food, as we were self-catering. I think we saw about half of the rest of the ski trip there as well - in a very tiny supermarket! On the way back we decided to take the (free) bus, and waited for at least half an hour - initially we waited at one spot where we met an old local couple, who were very friendly and suggested we wait around the corner where there were more frequent busses. So we moved over there and met another couple who we (well, Silvia and I) chatted to for a while. All the locals that we met around Bardonecchia were very friendly, and always wanted to hear about the Erasmus students and where we were all from (Erasmus is the within-Europe exchange program).
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights most people went out - Thursday and Saturday to what is apparently the only pub in Bardonecchia (on Thursday I think we were the only ones there, but on Saturday a whole lot of RANDOM people turned up too, including two transvestites! surely the only two trannies in Bardonecchia....), and on Friday to a club which was actually really good (but we were so exhausted we didn't stay for long!).
On the second morning of skiing I was so stiff, sore and tired that I could barely roll myself out of bed - and getting to the shower was a real struggle! That day Alberto lead us down the easy slope that we'd tried so unsuccessfully the day before. It started at 'La Grangia', a restaurant/kiosk up in the mountains (and a good lunch spot!). Even though we'd seen Kate go down the day before, with help from Alberto we figured out a good approach - 'piano piano' (slowly slowly) - to the longer slopes and managed to get down without any harm. From then on we really started to enjoy the skiing!
On the third afternoon Alberto lead a few of us up a ski lift from La Grangia to do another slope. We thought it might be a similar level to the one we'd tried the day before, but watching from the ski lift, Silvia and I soon realised that it was not - not only was it a lot longer but MUCH steeper. We were ready to kill Alberto when we got off the lift - we couldn't imagine how we were going to make it down alive (or at least within 3 days, if we went at the pace we felt we needed to!). But he had faith in us and we all made it down really well, it was amazing. After that we went down the same slope several times, often with other (more advanced skiiers including others on out trip). The only time I fell over the whole day was crashing into another girl who had already fallen over and I couldn't avoid in time! Still wasn't able to get up on my own though.
On the last day we well and truly got the hang of the higher slope, as well as the easy one we'd done earlier. I fell over twice but managed to get myself up again - a big achievement! On one of the runs of the harder slope I had almost made it down to the bottom without falling, and feeling pretty proud of myself, I yelled out to a few of the more advanced skiiers to get going as I headed down the last hill. I heard Alberto say (in Italian) to one of the others 'let her go, she'll fall over within 10 seconds', and no sooner had I started to process that, than I lost control and fell over fairly spectacularly! Naturally the others found this hilarious, and skiied past me really close, splashing me with snow! Funny, but very wet.
On the bus trip back I ran into the same 4 Brazilians (who I hadn't seen for the whole trip!) and had fun chatting to them again. We were all pretty exhausted after 4 full-on days. The bus made a few stops and by the time we got to Bocconi I was one of the few left - and someone had taken my sticks! A few others were also left without sticks (don't really know how that can happen - fixed number of people, fixed number of sticks), and after a thorough search of the bus they found only one stick. I took my skiis and the one stick back the next day, but thankfully didn't have to pay anything as someone had explained the situation earlier that day.
Even a few months later I still speak with the 3 Portuguese girls in Italian - the trip was actually a real boost for my language skills!
Both ESN and ESEG, the two main exchange student organisations, organise a ski trip, and I'd been wondering for a while about whether or not to go. I'd only been skiing once before and it was a hideous disaster - I spent most of the day lying in the snow, unable to get up after falling over, trapped by the skiis that I couldn't even get off. In the end I sent the ESEG guys an email a week before the deadline to sign up asking if there would be any opportunity for people who didn't know how to ski to learn - and they replied the day before we left, saying that there would be lessons for beginners (run by the organisers) every morning - and if we didn't like that we could always get other lessons from the ski site itself. I decided to go and suddenly I was 250 euros down and had a hell of a lot to organise before leaving the following evening - including buying some ski pants, borrowing some other clothes from a friend, and renting the skis and boots !
The whole affair was 'organised' in typical Italian fashion - I had a lot of friends from our language class who were going but I didn't catch the bus with any of them - the only space left was on the bus later that evening with mainly non-Bocconi people. I met 4 really friendly Brazillians but we spent a fair bit of time sleeping on the 4-hour or so ride - that is, until the bus driver decided to sing along with the radio.... over the microphone. That part really sucked.
Arrived and eventually got my stuff sorted out. My 3 roommates were three Portuguese girls, Renata and Raquel from Porto (both studying Psych at Cattolica, the Catholic University in Milan (apparently there's also one in Porto)), and Silvia (from Lisbon studying design). Neither Raquel or Renata spoke very much English or Italian, but Portugese is more similar to Italian, so we decided we would all try to communicate as best we could in (mainly) Italian - which actually ended up being a really good thing for my language skills! None of them had skiied before either, so we all took the classes together.
The 'classes' were run by Alberto (a former ESEG guy) and his friend Christoph (actually German, but studied at Bocconi and a really good skier - was on his way to professional skiing until he hurt his back). We started off on the baby slope getting our basic skills (stopping and turning) right. Both of them taught us very well, taking us down the slope in a group or individually, or at other times standing at the bottom to watch us as we came down - always ready with some suggestions or scathing Italian witticisms. In the afternoons they went and did their own thing while we struggled on on our own. Others in the beginner group included girls from Latvia and Serbia, and Victor and Andrea, the Brazilian couple from my language class.
Just like my first time ever skiing, that first day was spent mostly on the ground, trying to get myself up after having fallen over. Getting up is a skill that constantly evaded me throughout the weekend - it's a very difficult thing to do when you're not used to skiing! I ended up with some incredible bruises and was really sore for at least a week afterwards!
The first afternoon, four of us tried to tackle an easy (as opposed to baby) slope - we'd gone only about 100 metres when one girl fell over and hurt her knee. Unfortunately she spent the rest of the weekend on crutches and actually had to terminate her exchange and go home for operations which was really sad - and scary for us! They carried her down the slope on a sort of stretcher which two skiiers held between them, we were a bit worried about whether she would even make it down to the bottom! But that afternoon alone I saw at least another 4 people being carried down like that so I gather it's pretty normal.
After the first day of skiing my roommates and I went to the supermarket in the town and got some food, as we were self-catering. I think we saw about half of the rest of the ski trip there as well - in a very tiny supermarket! On the way back we decided to take the (free) bus, and waited for at least half an hour - initially we waited at one spot where we met an old local couple, who were very friendly and suggested we wait around the corner where there were more frequent busses. So we moved over there and met another couple who we (well, Silvia and I) chatted to for a while. All the locals that we met around Bardonecchia were very friendly, and always wanted to hear about the Erasmus students and where we were all from (Erasmus is the within-Europe exchange program).
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights most people went out - Thursday and Saturday to what is apparently the only pub in Bardonecchia (on Thursday I think we were the only ones there, but on Saturday a whole lot of RANDOM people turned up too, including two transvestites! surely the only two trannies in Bardonecchia....), and on Friday to a club which was actually really good (but we were so exhausted we didn't stay for long!).
On the second morning of skiing I was so stiff, sore and tired that I could barely roll myself out of bed - and getting to the shower was a real struggle! That day Alberto lead us down the easy slope that we'd tried so unsuccessfully the day before. It started at 'La Grangia', a restaurant/kiosk up in the mountains (and a good lunch spot!). Even though we'd seen Kate go down the day before, with help from Alberto we figured out a good approach - 'piano piano' (slowly slowly) - to the longer slopes and managed to get down without any harm. From then on we really started to enjoy the skiing!
On the third afternoon Alberto lead a few of us up a ski lift from La Grangia to do another slope. We thought it might be a similar level to the one we'd tried the day before, but watching from the ski lift, Silvia and I soon realised that it was not - not only was it a lot longer but MUCH steeper. We were ready to kill Alberto when we got off the lift - we couldn't imagine how we were going to make it down alive (or at least within 3 days, if we went at the pace we felt we needed to!). But he had faith in us and we all made it down really well, it was amazing. After that we went down the same slope several times, often with other (more advanced skiiers including others on out trip). The only time I fell over the whole day was crashing into another girl who had already fallen over and I couldn't avoid in time! Still wasn't able to get up on my own though.
The biggest danger on the slopes seemed to us to be the children - we'd often be overtaken by schools of up to 10 kids who skiied at unbelievable speeds - and what seemed to us as way too close for comfort! We decided by the end of the trip that they must all be either fearless or crazy, and should be eliminated from the slopes for everyone's safety.
On the last day we well and truly got the hang of the higher slope, as well as the easy one we'd done earlier. I fell over twice but managed to get myself up again - a big achievement! On one of the runs of the harder slope I had almost made it down to the bottom without falling, and feeling pretty proud of myself, I yelled out to a few of the more advanced skiiers to get going as I headed down the last hill. I heard Alberto say (in Italian) to one of the others 'let her go, she'll fall over within 10 seconds', and no sooner had I started to process that, than I lost control and fell over fairly spectacularly! Naturally the others found this hilarious, and skiied past me really close, splashing me with snow! Funny, but very wet.
On the bus trip back I ran into the same 4 Brazilians (who I hadn't seen for the whole trip!) and had fun chatting to them again. We were all pretty exhausted after 4 full-on days. The bus made a few stops and by the time we got to Bocconi I was one of the few left - and someone had taken my sticks! A few others were also left without sticks (don't really know how that can happen - fixed number of people, fixed number of sticks), and after a thorough search of the bus they found only one stick. I took my skiis and the one stick back the next day, but thankfully didn't have to pay anything as someone had explained the situation earlier that day.
Even a few months later I still speak with the 3 Portuguese girls in Italian - the trip was actually a real boost for my language skills!
Dogs in Italy
Italians love to have dogs. There is probably at least one dog in every one of the apartment buildings my friends live in here, and (unlike in Paris) there are parks (some with dog-specific areas) in Milan, which are packed with people, children and dogs on most sunny afternoons and weekends. The obsession doesn't end there. It is common practice, everywhere I've been in Italy, to take your dog into shops (yes, even food stores) with you. Some shops have 'no dogs' signs but for most it is accepted that customers might bring their dogs in. Very strange. There are special regulations for bringing dogs (and other animals) on public transport (see my photos for a full translation!). Sadly we have seen a few signs of mistreatment of the dogs around here - not abuse, but just lack of love.
Bocconi and Esselunga
The beginning of classes at Bocconi brought lots of discussion of classes, timetables, textbooks, exams, and many other issues. I have to take 5 classes at Bocconi to get credit for 4 classes in Melbourne, and I am fairly restricted by what I had approved before I left. My five subjects are:
European Economic Policy
Foundations of the European Economy
Management of Fashion and Design Companies
Development Economics
International Trade
The last two are in Italian (but I can do the exams in English); the middle subject is a classic exchange student subject (like 'Australia Now' at Melbourne!).
Each class typically has two one-and-a-half hour lectures per week - and nothing else, no tutorials or any other form of learning. Assessment is typically only by exams; for most, you can choose to take a mid-semester exam, or leave it all until the end-of-semester exam. There are several sittings of each exam, so you can choose your exam timetable like you would a class timetable at home. That part took a LOT of explanations - most of us come from different systems!
Class timetabling here is a basically a nightmare. There are four time slots for classes each day: 8.45-10.15, 10.30-12, 2.30-4 and 4.15-5.45. Only in Italy would you have a two-and-a-half hour break for lunch (as I may have mentioned earlier, lunch is traditionally the main meal and workers often return home for lunch. Most services are closed over lunchtime). Compared to Melbourne where there are about 8 slots per day this means the timetable is very inflexible with clashes fairly likely (and there is usually only one stream per class). On top of this, it is quite common for subjects to change their timetable part way through the semester, or have a week of different class times to accomodate a visiting professor (something common to almost all my classes). Because of my limited choice of subjects I am stuck with a timetable which means that while I should have 10 classes per week, I can usually only go to 6. The first week of May is particularly bad - I should have 13 classes and can only go to 7.
As we were warned, the Italians have a very different culture with uni matters. Most Italians don't work while they're at uni. In class once a lecturer asked how many people worked, and I was the only one who raised my hand in a class of about 50 (that was quite a shock for me!). Lecturers are spoken to in the formal 'you' address of Italian (using 3rd person, not 2nd person).
There is absolutely nothing to do on campus here except for a few sports teams. I guess this could be partly attributed to being such a small university (not sure of the size exactly but it's definitely smaller than Melbourne!), but there is definitely a different culture regarding uni - while at uni, you study. I can't figure out what all the Italian students do all day, but there are always lots of them (especially around exam time) sitting in the cubicles outside almost every classroom with their laptops out, studying together.
As we discovered during the language course, Bocconi classrooms seem to be heated regardless of the outside weather. During winter the classrooms are unbelievably hot, so winter coats and scarves are very quickly removed; when the weather is warmer the classrooms retain the heat and get even hotter than outside - opening windows is not common practice but it doesn't seem to help anyway!
Timeliness also appears to be very important (ironic in a country where otherwise timeliness is not a major priority!). We have one lecturer (although he is definitely not the norm) who gets annoyed if someone is even a minute or two late to class. He will continue to berate everyone who comes in late and has even told people to leave. Once he started class about 3 minutes early and was STILL telling people off who came (in theory) on time. He considers it an interruption but we just find it irritating - he's the one interrupting the class, the rest of us can quite happily ignore latecomers. The worst part is that he himself is often late to class.
Another major component of my life in Milan is Esselunga - the haven of food, only a 5 minute walk from here. Supermarket prices are very cheap here, almost all basic food supplies can be bought for less than 2 euros. Esselunga is enormous, it seems much bigger to me than any supermarkets we have in Geelong or Melbourne, and there is a wide variety of food (except things like sour cream, maple syrup, chips with flavours (not even salt and vinegar!) and a few other basic things that really surprised us!) My favourite part is that the pasta section takes up an entire aisle, both sides. You can usually find a kilo of pasta for less than a euros and there are SO many different types, I don't think I've even tried half of them. I think that generally the food is presented much more carefully here - lots of the fruits, vegetables, salads etc are set out nicely in baskets with greenery decoration everywhere. Almost makes you feel like eating some ;-P
European Economic Policy
Foundations of the European Economy
Management of Fashion and Design Companies
Development Economics
International Trade
The last two are in Italian (but I can do the exams in English); the middle subject is a classic exchange student subject (like 'Australia Now' at Melbourne!).
Each class typically has two one-and-a-half hour lectures per week - and nothing else, no tutorials or any other form of learning. Assessment is typically only by exams; for most, you can choose to take a mid-semester exam, or leave it all until the end-of-semester exam. There are several sittings of each exam, so you can choose your exam timetable like you would a class timetable at home. That part took a LOT of explanations - most of us come from different systems!
Class timetabling here is a basically a nightmare. There are four time slots for classes each day: 8.45-10.15, 10.30-12, 2.30-4 and 4.15-5.45. Only in Italy would you have a two-and-a-half hour break for lunch (as I may have mentioned earlier, lunch is traditionally the main meal and workers often return home for lunch. Most services are closed over lunchtime). Compared to Melbourne where there are about 8 slots per day this means the timetable is very inflexible with clashes fairly likely (and there is usually only one stream per class). On top of this, it is quite common for subjects to change their timetable part way through the semester, or have a week of different class times to accomodate a visiting professor (something common to almost all my classes). Because of my limited choice of subjects I am stuck with a timetable which means that while I should have 10 classes per week, I can usually only go to 6. The first week of May is particularly bad - I should have 13 classes and can only go to 7.
As we were warned, the Italians have a very different culture with uni matters. Most Italians don't work while they're at uni. In class once a lecturer asked how many people worked, and I was the only one who raised my hand in a class of about 50 (that was quite a shock for me!). Lecturers are spoken to in the formal 'you' address of Italian (using 3rd person, not 2nd person).
There is absolutely nothing to do on campus here except for a few sports teams. I guess this could be partly attributed to being such a small university (not sure of the size exactly but it's definitely smaller than Melbourne!), but there is definitely a different culture regarding uni - while at uni, you study. I can't figure out what all the Italian students do all day, but there are always lots of them (especially around exam time) sitting in the cubicles outside almost every classroom with their laptops out, studying together.
As we discovered during the language course, Bocconi classrooms seem to be heated regardless of the outside weather. During winter the classrooms are unbelievably hot, so winter coats and scarves are very quickly removed; when the weather is warmer the classrooms retain the heat and get even hotter than outside - opening windows is not common practice but it doesn't seem to help anyway!
Timeliness also appears to be very important (ironic in a country where otherwise timeliness is not a major priority!). We have one lecturer (although he is definitely not the norm) who gets annoyed if someone is even a minute or two late to class. He will continue to berate everyone who comes in late and has even told people to leave. Once he started class about 3 minutes early and was STILL telling people off who came (in theory) on time. He considers it an interruption but we just find it irritating - he's the one interrupting the class, the rest of us can quite happily ignore latecomers. The worst part is that he himself is often late to class.
Another major component of my life in Milan is Esselunga - the haven of food, only a 5 minute walk from here. Supermarket prices are very cheap here, almost all basic food supplies can be bought for less than 2 euros. Esselunga is enormous, it seems much bigger to me than any supermarkets we have in Geelong or Melbourne, and there is a wide variety of food (except things like sour cream, maple syrup, chips with flavours (not even salt and vinegar!) and a few other basic things that really surprised us!) My favourite part is that the pasta section takes up an entire aisle, both sides. You can usually find a kilo of pasta for less than a euros and there are SO many different types, I don't think I've even tried half of them. I think that generally the food is presented much more carefully here - lots of the fruits, vegetables, salads etc are set out nicely in baskets with greenery decoration everywhere. Almost makes you feel like eating some ;-P
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Finally, somewhere to live!
Moved into my apartment on the 17th of Feb, the day before we started classes at Bocconi. I'm living with an Italian who's about 25, her name is Cristina, she's a lawyer - and she has a cat, Minu'! Minu' is not quite an adult cat and after having Shadow for about 14 years I'd forgotten what it's like to live with an energetic cat! But it's fun.
My housemate is very friendly, and we talk to each other in Italian which is great for me, but we are rarely at home at the same time - she is often still in bed when I leave for class in the morning (strange?), and works until quite late. At night she often goes out with her friends (or if she doesn't, I do), and like most Italians she never eats dinner before about 9pm, so we're rarely around at the same time - and never have to use the kitchen at the same time (which is just as well because we wouldn't fit!).
She's quite involved in politics - the left-wing government recently collapsed in Italy, and there's an election in a few weeks - so at the moment she's very busy and often goes away for the weekend for conferences etc. Her party, Forza Italia, is quite right-wing and is lead by Berlusconi, an entrepreneur who was president for 5 years and did a few shonky things. He lost the election 2 years ago but my housemate's convinced he will win again. I find it pretty funny - I guess for us if you're really right-wing you tend not to make a big deal of it! She's very anti-left - but I gather the left over here is a fair bit more radical than in Australia.
Cristina is also obsessively neat. I'm not a messy person but I have found sometimes she tidies up after me - particularly around the kitchen (she likes to wipe down the sink after every use, which I find a bit unnecesary!). But Minu' walks around on the kitchen bench all the time and she doesn't seem to think that's a problem! Very funny. Things are going fine, though, no problems so far and I don't think there will be!
Cristina's brother lives close by, and I have also met her mother on a few occasions which is great - she's quite a character, typical Italian!
The apartment itself is recently refurbished, and quite spacious for an Italian apartment. I have a desk and huge wardrobe (a bit ridiculous, really, I barely have any clothes to put in it!) and even a double bed! It's really close to uni, just a 5 minute walk across the park, which is great!
My housemate is very friendly, and we talk to each other in Italian which is great for me, but we are rarely at home at the same time - she is often still in bed when I leave for class in the morning (strange?), and works until quite late. At night she often goes out with her friends (or if she doesn't, I do), and like most Italians she never eats dinner before about 9pm, so we're rarely around at the same time - and never have to use the kitchen at the same time (which is just as well because we wouldn't fit!).
She's quite involved in politics - the left-wing government recently collapsed in Italy, and there's an election in a few weeks - so at the moment she's very busy and often goes away for the weekend for conferences etc. Her party, Forza Italia, is quite right-wing and is lead by Berlusconi, an entrepreneur who was president for 5 years and did a few shonky things. He lost the election 2 years ago but my housemate's convinced he will win again. I find it pretty funny - I guess for us if you're really right-wing you tend not to make a big deal of it! She's very anti-left - but I gather the left over here is a fair bit more radical than in Australia.
Cristina is also obsessively neat. I'm not a messy person but I have found sometimes she tidies up after me - particularly around the kitchen (she likes to wipe down the sink after every use, which I find a bit unnecesary!). But Minu' walks around on the kitchen bench all the time and she doesn't seem to think that's a problem! Very funny. Things are going fine, though, no problems so far and I don't think there will be!
Cristina's brother lives close by, and I have also met her mother on a few occasions which is great - she's quite a character, typical Italian!
The apartment itself is recently refurbished, and quite spacious for an Italian apartment. I have a desk and huge wardrobe (a bit ridiculous, really, I barely have any clothes to put in it!) and even a double bed! It's really close to uni, just a 5 minute walk across the park, which is great!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Arezzo, Perugia and Assisi
For the week before we started classes I decided to go on a jaunt to Perugia and a bit of the surrounding area. First stop: Arezzo. For the first (and hopefully only) time, I rocked up without having booked accomodation, only to find that the hostel I was hoping to stay at no longer existed! After a bit of ringing around, I found a B&B nearby which wasn't too expensive.
There isn't much to see in Arezzo. There are some remains of a Roman Aphitheatre and a museum with lots of ancient artefacts (and the change they gave me looked like it had been dug up with some of the exhibits). In the morning I had a walk around and saw some lovely churches, and the remains of the fort on top of the hill, with a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside.
Perugia was much more exciting than Arezzo - a gorgeous hill-top town, once inhabited by the Etruscans and then the Romans, which has gradually expanded down the hill and into the surrounding area over time. There are lots of remains and buildings remaining from - so all the streets wind around the old buildings in no particular system, and are often just steps rather than roads. The ride up in the bus was incredibly awkward - I swear Italians can't drive buses! Standing up with the weight of my pack pulling me around was incredibly difficult, and my ears were actually popping as the road kept winding further up the mountain. The hostel was just out of the historical centre with amazing views over the city and countryside (and 16th century (according to my Lonely Planet) frescoed ceilings) and a great kitchen. It was run by a friendly old couple who have had the place since 1974!
Like most other monuments in Italy, the Duomo of Perugia is covered in scaffolding. I don't think it's really an indication of Italy's commitment to public works, so much as of something that's had works started on it in about the last 15 years.... The tourist office had a booklet with great walks which I followed around (although it was very easy to get lost). The streets in the historical centre seem to be still largely determined by the placement of old medieval buildings and structures - the streets wind everywhere (and of course they're not signed well), and most are pedestrian only (some are just walkways with steps, others are too narrow, winding or steep). One of my favourite things in Perugia was Via dell'Acquedotto - a street which followed the course of an old Roman aqueduct over other streets! Very cool!
Just on the outskirts of Perugia is a chocolate factory called La Perugina - the birthplace of Baci chocolates, and still the only place in the world where they are made. Now of course the whole thing is owned by Nestle, and it's the largest Nestle factory in Italy. I got to go on a free tour around the factory (not as cool as the Cadbury factory in Tasmania though!) and they gave us HEAPS of freebies!
I spent a day in Assisi, the home of St Francis and another beautiful hill-top town - unlike Perugia, though, the whole town seems to be built of this white and pink stone, which is very striking and beautiful. It was another long bus journey to reach the top of the hill from the station, but I walked back at the end of the day, down a very direct footpath (and it probably only took me as long as the bus would have anyway!). Like Perugia, there are streets winding everywhere and lots of steps, but it was (relatively) more spacious! Headed first of all for the Basilica di San Francesco - which is actually two churches (why they needed two was never explained!) one over the top of the other, both very richly decorated, built over the top of St Frances' remains. The hill (right at the end of the town) used to be called Hell Hill - because the town gallows used to be there - until St Francis decided he wanted to be buried amongst the criminals like Jesus was. It's now called the Hill of Paradise. Ha.
There were plenty of churches and museums to see, as well as great views and cute laneways, but the highlight for me was the old fort, Rocca Maggiore, on the very top of Assisi, which offered an incredible panoramic view of Assisi, the lower town and the surrounding countryside. There was a mist everywhere, so no good photos. We were able to wander around the remains of the fort, see where the soldiers slept, where the kitchen was, the look outs etc (now all just empty rooms and corridors). Lots of climbing around in stone passageways, and the most unstable-feeling steel spiral staircase I've ever been on - walking down was pretty scary!
On the way back from Assisi I also discovered Perugia's Minimetro - mini automated monorail-type carriages which run up the hill (almost to the centre of town) from a fair way out of Perugia (via the train station). SO COOL. And I later found out that the whole system had only just been installed, it was maybe a week or two old when I was there! It's an attempt to reduce the traffic problems at the top of Perugia - there is also a system of escalators running up the hill intended to encourage workers or visitors to walk rather than drive.
On the last day in Perugia I took the Minimetro to the Pian di Massimo, the foot of a big hill nearby, in the hope I might find a bit of a walk in the countryside. Turns out there's a market there, selling (like most Italian markets I've seen so far) anything from cheap clothes, meat, cheese, other food, and even a place selling eggs, chickens (in the most cramped cages I've ever seen) and other birds and rabbits. The percorso verde nearby is a set of walking paths - not exactly challenging (or bush-bashing) and it was absolutely freezing so I soon headed back to Perugia - but it was worth the trip just to take the minimetro to the end of the line and back!
I spent that afternoon exploring the Rocca Paolina, a series of old houses which were then built together into a fortress and now partly destroyed and built over, entirely underground. A lot of it was blocked off unfortunately (but I'm getting used to it - we're in Italy, after all), but the part I could see was pretty cool. Some of the escalators up the hill end up in there, so there's a corridor (all underground) which is frequented by people going up to the historical centre of Perugia. Very cool.
On the train trip back I had an interesting chat with a girl who had been staying at the hostel - a Japanese girl who has been brought up in France. Very cool. Unfortunately when I changed trains at Florence I was stuck in the middle of a not so interesting conversation (actually, I would say inane) between two Hawiian sisters and their English friend who lived and worked in Bologna. They asked me all sorts of strange questions about Australia, including the cost of living, the price of petrol, and even if we had an efficient postal service ('How much does it cost to send a letter in Australia?'). They had been in Italy for two weeks and were heading back home after seeing some of the highlights of Tuscany ('We got bored of Florence after a few days'). Oh well. They gave me some chocolate.
There isn't much to see in Arezzo. There are some remains of a Roman Aphitheatre and a museum with lots of ancient artefacts (and the change they gave me looked like it had been dug up with some of the exhibits). In the morning I had a walk around and saw some lovely churches, and the remains of the fort on top of the hill, with a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside.
Perugia was much more exciting than Arezzo - a gorgeous hill-top town, once inhabited by the Etruscans and then the Romans, which has gradually expanded down the hill and into the surrounding area over time. There are lots of remains and buildings remaining from - so all the streets wind around the old buildings in no particular system, and are often just steps rather than roads. The ride up in the bus was incredibly awkward - I swear Italians can't drive buses! Standing up with the weight of my pack pulling me around was incredibly difficult, and my ears were actually popping as the road kept winding further up the mountain. The hostel was just out of the historical centre with amazing views over the city and countryside (and 16th century (according to my Lonely Planet) frescoed ceilings) and a great kitchen. It was run by a friendly old couple who have had the place since 1974!
Like most other monuments in Italy, the Duomo of Perugia is covered in scaffolding. I don't think it's really an indication of Italy's commitment to public works, so much as of something that's had works started on it in about the last 15 years.... The tourist office had a booklet with great walks which I followed around (although it was very easy to get lost). The streets in the historical centre seem to be still largely determined by the placement of old medieval buildings and structures - the streets wind everywhere (and of course they're not signed well), and most are pedestrian only (some are just walkways with steps, others are too narrow, winding or steep). One of my favourite things in Perugia was Via dell'Acquedotto - a street which followed the course of an old Roman aqueduct over other streets! Very cool!
Just on the outskirts of Perugia is a chocolate factory called La Perugina - the birthplace of Baci chocolates, and still the only place in the world where they are made. Now of course the whole thing is owned by Nestle, and it's the largest Nestle factory in Italy. I got to go on a free tour around the factory (not as cool as the Cadbury factory in Tasmania though!) and they gave us HEAPS of freebies!
I spent a day in Assisi, the home of St Francis and another beautiful hill-top town - unlike Perugia, though, the whole town seems to be built of this white and pink stone, which is very striking and beautiful. It was another long bus journey to reach the top of the hill from the station, but I walked back at the end of the day, down a very direct footpath (and it probably only took me as long as the bus would have anyway!). Like Perugia, there are streets winding everywhere and lots of steps, but it was (relatively) more spacious! Headed first of all for the Basilica di San Francesco - which is actually two churches (why they needed two was never explained!) one over the top of the other, both very richly decorated, built over the top of St Frances' remains. The hill (right at the end of the town) used to be called Hell Hill - because the town gallows used to be there - until St Francis decided he wanted to be buried amongst the criminals like Jesus was. It's now called the Hill of Paradise. Ha.
There were plenty of churches and museums to see, as well as great views and cute laneways, but the highlight for me was the old fort, Rocca Maggiore, on the very top of Assisi, which offered an incredible panoramic view of Assisi, the lower town and the surrounding countryside. There was a mist everywhere, so no good photos. We were able to wander around the remains of the fort, see where the soldiers slept, where the kitchen was, the look outs etc (now all just empty rooms and corridors). Lots of climbing around in stone passageways, and the most unstable-feeling steel spiral staircase I've ever been on - walking down was pretty scary!
On the way back from Assisi I also discovered Perugia's Minimetro - mini automated monorail-type carriages which run up the hill (almost to the centre of town) from a fair way out of Perugia (via the train station). SO COOL. And I later found out that the whole system had only just been installed, it was maybe a week or two old when I was there! It's an attempt to reduce the traffic problems at the top of Perugia - there is also a system of escalators running up the hill intended to encourage workers or visitors to walk rather than drive.
On the last day in Perugia I took the Minimetro to the Pian di Massimo, the foot of a big hill nearby, in the hope I might find a bit of a walk in the countryside. Turns out there's a market there, selling (like most Italian markets I've seen so far) anything from cheap clothes, meat, cheese, other food, and even a place selling eggs, chickens (in the most cramped cages I've ever seen) and other birds and rabbits. The percorso verde nearby is a set of walking paths - not exactly challenging (or bush-bashing) and it was absolutely freezing so I soon headed back to Perugia - but it was worth the trip just to take the minimetro to the end of the line and back!
I spent that afternoon exploring the Rocca Paolina, a series of old houses which were then built together into a fortress and now partly destroyed and built over, entirely underground. A lot of it was blocked off unfortunately (but I'm getting used to it - we're in Italy, after all), but the part I could see was pretty cool. Some of the escalators up the hill end up in there, so there's a corridor (all underground) which is frequented by people going up to the historical centre of Perugia. Very cool.
On the train trip back I had an interesting chat with a girl who had been staying at the hostel - a Japanese girl who has been brought up in France. Very cool. Unfortunately when I changed trains at Florence I was stuck in the middle of a not so interesting conversation (actually, I would say inane) between two Hawiian sisters and their English friend who lived and worked in Bologna. They asked me all sorts of strange questions about Australia, including the cost of living, the price of petrol, and even if we had an efficient postal service ('How much does it cost to send a letter in Australia?'). They had been in Italy for two weeks and were heading back home after seeing some of the highlights of Tuscany ('We got bored of Florence after a few days'). Oh well. They gave me some chocolate.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
On cultural and other differences
One of the things people ask me the most about is Australian weather. As we anticipate, most people have this concept of Australia being a haven of hot weather, with sun all year round and sandy beaches everywhere. I try to explain that down south, at least, it's not at all like that. But when people ask me how cold it gets in winter, I have to say that it rarely gets below 8-10 degrees during the day - and for most people that's very warm for winter! It's certainly warm for Milan and Prague, anyway! Just like the kangaroos in Anglesea, I guess it just makes you think that there is often a fair bit of truth to a stereotype.
Another thing that has come up is insects. I don't think I've seen a single window with flyscreen in the whole of Europe so far. One evening I was over visiting Nina and her housemate Hannah (both Germans) when I heard a scream from the kitchen. Nina had just discovered a red bug, about the size of a slater but thinner, and with antannae, crawling out from under the fridge, and she was terrified, as was Hannah. I tried to convince them that the bug was not going to do them any harm but Nina grabbed the flyspray and both of them, somehow convinced that the bug was going to crawl back out from under the fridge in the middle of the night and eat them or something, sprayed enough under and around the fridge to kill a small army of insects. Nina spent the next twenty minutes sitting next to the fridge with a shoe in hand, just in case it came crawling out again - 'I want to be sure it's dead'! I tried not to laugh too hard at them but it did strike me that very few people in Australia would be bothered by that - apparently in Germany there are not many bugs of that size! Now I have to be careful not to tell any of the Germans about finding white-tails in the house or huntsmans in my academic gown, or they'll never come and visit me!
Another thing I've noticed about Europeans in general is that they tend to blow their noses very loudly!
Another thing that has come up is insects. I don't think I've seen a single window with flyscreen in the whole of Europe so far. One evening I was over visiting Nina and her housemate Hannah (both Germans) when I heard a scream from the kitchen. Nina had just discovered a red bug, about the size of a slater but thinner, and with antannae, crawling out from under the fridge, and she was terrified, as was Hannah. I tried to convince them that the bug was not going to do them any harm but Nina grabbed the flyspray and both of them, somehow convinced that the bug was going to crawl back out from under the fridge in the middle of the night and eat them or something, sprayed enough under and around the fridge to kill a small army of insects. Nina spent the next twenty minutes sitting next to the fridge with a shoe in hand, just in case it came crawling out again - 'I want to be sure it's dead'! I tried not to laugh too hard at them but it did strike me that very few people in Australia would be bothered by that - apparently in Germany there are not many bugs of that size! Now I have to be careful not to tell any of the Germans about finding white-tails in the house or huntsmans in my academic gown, or they'll never come and visit me!
Another thing I've noticed about Europeans in general is that they tend to blow their noses very loudly!
Florence
At the end of the language course a lot of people (probably at least 15) decided to head to Florence for a few days. Olivia, Amanda, Jess, Christina (another Canadian) and I got up at 5am to catch the 7am train, in an attempt to make the most of the day (it was worth it but it sucked)! We were joined later by Anne and Lydia (Germans) - we stayed in 2 different hotels but met up (usually in smaller groups) to do things together during the day.
During the first day we climbed 463 steps up countless spiral staircases and through many fairly claustrophobic passages to the top of the Duomo, and it was definitely worth the effort! It is right in the centre of the city and we had a great view - it was a beautiful afternoon and we spent a while sitting up there and enjoying the sunshine. The Duomo has an stunning marble facade but we were really surprised by the inside, which is very bleak and plain - except the dome which is decorated with a huge mural of heaven and hell (and lots of very gruesome images!)
In the afternoon we paid our $6.50 to see the real Michaelangelo's David 'in the flesh', as it were. There are at least two replica Davids in significant public places in Florence, but it was definitely worth seeing the original! It was really impressive, he's over 5 metres high which was a surprise to us, we hadn't expected something so imposing. Photos are forbidden but between us we managed to get a few!
On the second day we started off with the Uffizi Gallery. We only had to wait 20 minutes or so in the queue, and passed most of the time playing hackey, much to the bemusement of those around us! Cost 10 euros to get in! Almost all places in Florence only offered student discounts to EU citizens and we got really sick of paying full price. It's not like it's cheap for us to come here! The artworks are arranged pretty much in chronological order, and I rented an audioguide, which was basically Art History 101, really worth having. Saw the Birth of Venus and Primavera and countless other masterpieces!
That afternoon I found Dante's house (for those who don't know, Dante wrote 'The Divine Comedy' amongst other works, considered the founding work of the Italian language as well as a literary masterpiece), and wandered along the river for a bit (there are lots of bridges over the Arno) and found some sunny spots as well as parts of the old city walls. At night we went to 'The Fish Pub', a place right across from our hotel, and as soon as I walked in I ran into Amy, a girl from my Italian class in Melbourne! So random - we both knew that the other would be in Italy (she's doing a language course in Florence) but never expected to see each other!
Like most Italian cities I've visited so far, the centre of Florence is a pedesrianised area (i.e. car-free: bikes, taxis and public transport are usually allowed but you rarely have to move for them), and I'm a big fan. We found Florence a very calm, relaxed city that you could really enjoy just by walking around in the main streets - you get so used to walking around on the road that it's a bit of a shock to walk on streets outside the centre and have to make way for cars! I have no idea if it actually helps to reduce pollution or traffic problems but it's really nice - they really should do that with Swanston st in Melbourne (and Moorabool in Geelong). In my humble opinion, that is. There are also lots of amazing gelaterias in Florence. Think the most amazing gelati display on Lygon. That's like the minimum in Florence. Amazing. We found one place that had well over 50 flavours - I promise we didn't try them all....
During the first day we climbed 463 steps up countless spiral staircases and through many fairly claustrophobic passages to the top of the Duomo, and it was definitely worth the effort! It is right in the centre of the city and we had a great view - it was a beautiful afternoon and we spent a while sitting up there and enjoying the sunshine. The Duomo has an stunning marble facade but we were really surprised by the inside, which is very bleak and plain - except the dome which is decorated with a huge mural of heaven and hell (and lots of very gruesome images!)
In the afternoon we paid our $6.50 to see the real Michaelangelo's David 'in the flesh', as it were. There are at least two replica Davids in significant public places in Florence, but it was definitely worth seeing the original! It was really impressive, he's over 5 metres high which was a surprise to us, we hadn't expected something so imposing. Photos are forbidden but between us we managed to get a few!
On the second day we started off with the Uffizi Gallery. We only had to wait 20 minutes or so in the queue, and passed most of the time playing hackey, much to the bemusement of those around us! Cost 10 euros to get in! Almost all places in Florence only offered student discounts to EU citizens and we got really sick of paying full price. It's not like it's cheap for us to come here! The artworks are arranged pretty much in chronological order, and I rented an audioguide, which was basically Art History 101, really worth having. Saw the Birth of Venus and Primavera and countless other masterpieces!
That afternoon I found Dante's house (for those who don't know, Dante wrote 'The Divine Comedy' amongst other works, considered the founding work of the Italian language as well as a literary masterpiece), and wandered along the river for a bit (there are lots of bridges over the Arno) and found some sunny spots as well as parts of the old city walls. At night we went to 'The Fish Pub', a place right across from our hotel, and as soon as I walked in I ran into Amy, a girl from my Italian class in Melbourne! So random - we both knew that the other would be in Italy (she's doing a language course in Florence) but never expected to see each other!
Like most Italian cities I've visited so far, the centre of Florence is a pedesrianised area (i.e. car-free: bikes, taxis and public transport are usually allowed but you rarely have to move for them), and I'm a big fan. We found Florence a very calm, relaxed city that you could really enjoy just by walking around in the main streets - you get so used to walking around on the road that it's a bit of a shock to walk on streets outside the centre and have to make way for cars! I have no idea if it actually helps to reduce pollution or traffic problems but it's really nice - they really should do that with Swanston st in Melbourne (and Moorabool in Geelong). In my humble opinion, that is. There are also lots of amazing gelaterias in Florence. Think the most amazing gelati display on Lygon. That's like the minimum in Florence. Amazing. We found one place that had well over 50 flavours - I promise we didn't try them all....
On Saturday morning I went to have a look at the Chiesa di San Marco (like everything else in Italy, it is covered in scaffolding) and the adjoining convent which had significant frescos painted in most of the rooms as well as over the outside corridors. They had an exhibition on illuminated manuscript (as in old bibles) which was actually really interesting. I also went to the Basilica di Santa Croce, which has a marble facade much like that of the Duomo but is much more impressive inside - there are many famous Florentines buried here, many with graves just in the floor of the church (weird) but some more significant people - including Rossini, Gallileo and Michelangelo - have enormous tombs at the side of the church. I felt really uncomfortable walking over the graves in the floor but other people seemed to have no problem!
One of the main sights in Florence is the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge in the centre of town which is stacked with shops in a fairly haphazard manner. The bridge is lined with expensive jewellery stores, but apparently they were ordered there by one of the Medici to replace the butchers who used to work there, and would toss their remains into the Arno river at the end of the day! eeeeugh.....That afternoon I walked with Anne and Lydia to Piazza Michelangelo, a big piazza that overlooks the city and another great photo point! Again, there's a replica David there, looking out over Florence. A little further up the hill we found the Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte, an old church with more frescos and mosaics. We walked all the way back down the hill until we reached the city walls, and decided then to follow the wall back up another hill, to Forte Belvedere, a fort at the top of the Palazzo Pitti which also overlooks Florence at a similar height to the chapel - we did a lot of walking that day! In the end the fort was closed so we went back down to the city and did some shopping.
We found the most amazing shop, which sold just black and white t-shirts with some really funny cartoons on them. Anne and I got chatting to the woman running the shop, in fairly haltering Italian, telling her where we were from and that we were on exchange. She told us that her son (who used to go to Bocconi) had drawn the cartoons and that she ran the shop. The cartoons were hilarious - my favourite was one of a fish in a bowl, looking confused, with the caption 'mi faccio un giro' (2 meanings in Italian - I'm doing a trip, and I'm playing a trick on myself). In the end I settled for a bag with a Roman gladiator and two lions (the caption: the important thing is to participate) - see the photo on webshots! The woman was really lovely, the price included a book of cartoons that her son had drawn, but she gave me an extra 3 books and gave another to Anne even though she didn't buy anything!
On the last day we went to Palazzo Pitti, a former residence of the Medici family. We had a look at a costume exhibition inside and got to see some of the furnishings in the rooms. We also spent plenty of time wandering around in the incredible gardens behind (and found one very friendly cat in the gardens, and another sound asleep on the counter of the souvenier store!). I wandered up to the top of the hill to Forte Belvedere, where we'd been yesterday - but this time it was open! Had a wander through the fort and admired the amazing, panoramic view of Florence and the surrounding hills. It really is a beautiful area!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Venice
After staying with Nina for a few days I went to stay with Olivia, a Canadian from my language class, and her housemates Amanda (also Canadian) and Rossana (an Italian). They have a huge (for Italian standards) apartment right near Bocconi. Technically it has 2 bedrooms and a lounge room but they are using the lounge as a bedroom and rotating every 2 months! They also have 3 couches, and I slept on one for a week. Sounds bad but it was actually a lot of fun - the apartment is easily big enough for 4 (2 bathrooms!), although the kitchen doesn't accomodate even two people very easily! Olivia also had two friends over for a few nights, so we had 6 people sleeping there!
Olivia and Amanda are great company, and they are both from Montreal which was really interesting to hear about. They both speak French really well, and were telling me about the whole French/Canadian thing, they're pretty serious about defending their french over there! Olivia's dad is from Wagga Wagga, and she couldn't believe it when I said I knew where it was - apparently no one outside Australia knows the stereotypical Australian place name! Haha...
One of the funnier things about spending so much time with Olivia and Amanda (and our American (honourary Canadian) friend Jess) has been noticing the differences in pronunciation of words and the phrases we use - it's almost like a different dialect, every few sentences we come across something we say differently. For example, they'd never heard 'Wednesday week' before, and they pronounce 'basil' sounding like 'basal' - I keep telling them it's a different word! Some of the funnier Canadian things include 'sketch', like dodgy ('that was the sketchiest bathroom I've ever seen'), and not pronouncing the 'h' at the start of 'herb' ('Clairol 'erbal Essances'. Seriously). I've also found that a lot of the exchange students who don't speak English as a first language have a bit of trouble understanding my accent (and I don't think I have a particularly strong accent) - I guess they're just not used to hearing Australian accents as much as american and english. There is a New Zealander here who has an incredibly strong accent, I don't know how he can communicate with anyone!
The exchange student organisation arranged a day trip to Venice for us on Saturday Feb 2nd, the main day of Carnevale. As excited as we were, it was very hard to drag ourselves out of bed/couch at 5.30am to make the bus by 6.30 - which left an hour late anyway. Grrrr. After a few hours on the bus we finally arrived, spent ages waiting around in the car park (we don't know why), then at the ferry stop, until everyone finally decided to walk into Venice rather than take the 6.50 euro ferry. At least they gave us lunch (and a free dodgy mask and confetti). On the walk people were throwing confetti EVERYWHERE - a month later we are still finding it in clothes and bags we took to Venice (no, seriously, it's bad). We were really hoping it would be a nice sunny day. Of course, it rained. All day. And it was freezing cold! My shoes took several days to dry out after that!
We took our time to stroll from the top end of Venice (where the bus park is) right down to St Mark's square on the opposite side. We stopped a lot to go mask shopping, and check out all the overpriced souveniers and jewellery we couldn't afford. Most of the masks are pretty generic (like, exciting, but you can buy pretty much the same ones in every shop and stall), but there are some amazing shops who make only masks - expensive, but so amazing! There were people everywhere dressed in amazing costumes (some period, but lots of random things) - even tourists, we heard quite a few speaking English and German.
Apart from the costumes, though, there wasn't much happening, I was a bit surprised. There wasn't much to do apart from wander in the streets and look at the other people and the shops. We didn't make it to St Mark's square until evening, so didn't get to do any sight-seeing inside. I went inside the Basilica when we were in Venice with Sweethearts, but didn't see the Palazzo Ducale, so was a bit disappointed to have been to Venice twice now and missed it!
The main event was at 8pm, when there was a live show on a stage set up in St Mark's Square. Before then there had been a big band playing, and they opened with The Chicken! Exactly the same chart we played in Sweethearts - how funny! The main show featured a DJ who is apparently quite famous, and lots of guest singers who none of us had ever heard of. It was pretty random, suddenly the whole square became almost a dance party (in masks). There were all sorts of people wandering around with strange costumes and masks, and in the middle of it all, somehow, some Hare Krishnas started up a party with lots of singing and jumping around! There was a parade, but it wasn't very exciting, just a whole lot of guys dressed up as geishas.
Eventually we headed back to the bus - took the ferry this time!
Olivia and Amanda are great company, and they are both from Montreal which was really interesting to hear about. They both speak French really well, and were telling me about the whole French/Canadian thing, they're pretty serious about defending their french over there! Olivia's dad is from Wagga Wagga, and she couldn't believe it when I said I knew where it was - apparently no one outside Australia knows the stereotypical Australian place name! Haha...
One of the funnier things about spending so much time with Olivia and Amanda (and our American (honourary Canadian) friend Jess) has been noticing the differences in pronunciation of words and the phrases we use - it's almost like a different dialect, every few sentences we come across something we say differently. For example, they'd never heard 'Wednesday week' before, and they pronounce 'basil' sounding like 'basal' - I keep telling them it's a different word! Some of the funnier Canadian things include 'sketch', like dodgy ('that was the sketchiest bathroom I've ever seen'), and not pronouncing the 'h' at the start of 'herb' ('Clairol 'erbal Essances'. Seriously). I've also found that a lot of the exchange students who don't speak English as a first language have a bit of trouble understanding my accent (and I don't think I have a particularly strong accent) - I guess they're just not used to hearing Australian accents as much as american and english. There is a New Zealander here who has an incredibly strong accent, I don't know how he can communicate with anyone!
The exchange student organisation arranged a day trip to Venice for us on Saturday Feb 2nd, the main day of Carnevale. As excited as we were, it was very hard to drag ourselves out of bed/couch at 5.30am to make the bus by 6.30 - which left an hour late anyway. Grrrr. After a few hours on the bus we finally arrived, spent ages waiting around in the car park (we don't know why), then at the ferry stop, until everyone finally decided to walk into Venice rather than take the 6.50 euro ferry. At least they gave us lunch (and a free dodgy mask and confetti). On the walk people were throwing confetti EVERYWHERE - a month later we are still finding it in clothes and bags we took to Venice (no, seriously, it's bad). We were really hoping it would be a nice sunny day. Of course, it rained. All day. And it was freezing cold! My shoes took several days to dry out after that!
We took our time to stroll from the top end of Venice (where the bus park is) right down to St Mark's square on the opposite side. We stopped a lot to go mask shopping, and check out all the overpriced souveniers and jewellery we couldn't afford. Most of the masks are pretty generic (like, exciting, but you can buy pretty much the same ones in every shop and stall), but there are some amazing shops who make only masks - expensive, but so amazing! There were people everywhere dressed in amazing costumes (some period, but lots of random things) - even tourists, we heard quite a few speaking English and German.
Apart from the costumes, though, there wasn't much happening, I was a bit surprised. There wasn't much to do apart from wander in the streets and look at the other people and the shops. We didn't make it to St Mark's square until evening, so didn't get to do any sight-seeing inside. I went inside the Basilica when we were in Venice with Sweethearts, but didn't see the Palazzo Ducale, so was a bit disappointed to have been to Venice twice now and missed it!
The main event was at 8pm, when there was a live show on a stage set up in St Mark's Square. Before then there had been a big band playing, and they opened with The Chicken! Exactly the same chart we played in Sweethearts - how funny! The main show featured a DJ who is apparently quite famous, and lots of guest singers who none of us had ever heard of. It was pretty random, suddenly the whole square became almost a dance party (in masks). There were all sorts of people wandering around with strange costumes and masks, and in the middle of it all, somehow, some Hare Krishnas started up a party with lots of singing and jumping around! There was a parade, but it wasn't very exciting, just a whole lot of guys dressed up as geishas.
Eventually we headed back to the bus - took the ferry this time!
Torino (Turin)
The day I left for Torino, I experienced my first public transport strike in Milan, and it sucked. Things started going wrong first thing in the morning, when I went to Nina's place to leave some stuff with her. Getting out of the metro, I took the tram the wrong way, walked down the wrong canal and didn't realise for ages. Then the strike started, and trying to get back to Nina's place was a nightmare, with trams coming only every half an hour or so. I got there in the end but getting back to the hostel was even worse - trains were running, but not often and they only serviced the centre of the city, stopping well before my station. So I tried to catch a bus from that station, but that only went a few stops before that too stopped. In the end I walked for at least half an hour just to get back to the hostel. By then I was 2 hours past check-out time, and I think the staff weren't very impressed, but I was too tired and annoyed to care.
So finally I got myself to Central Station, and off to Torino. The hostel there is very cosy and only a short walk from the city, and I met a nice Scottish girl sharing my dorm. Torino is a lovely city with lots of snow-capped mountains nearby - it hosted the winter olympics a few years ago, but I didn't go to see any of the sights because I thought they were further out of the city than they actually were - and by the time I realised it was too late!
The centre of Torino is mostly off-limits to traffic at certain times of the day - there is a complicated system of zones and times during which traffic is not allowed, which, as far as I could tell, was largely ignored by the locals. A nice town to wander in, though. Torino is very proud of its chocolate, and the tourist office offers a booklet called a Chocopass, a 15 euro booklet with coupons for freebies and discounts at various local stores. Of course, I bought it. Biggest RIP-OFF ever: most of the things you could get were 10% off a 30 euro purchase or something like that, not freebies as it was marketed. I got as many freebies as I could (most expensive bloody chocolates I've ever had) and a very nice gelato, but was still annoyed at the whole scam.
Everywhere in Italy, there are streets named after Vittorio Emanuele II (even in Milan, the gallerie next to the Duomo is named for him: To Vittorio Emanuele II, from the Milanese people), who was the first King of (unified) Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, who is credited with bringing about Italian unification. Vittorio Emanuele was born in Torino, so they chose a particularly big street to name after him. Street names in Italy are intense, if it's named after someone, it's not just Emanuele street, you get the full name: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Very confusing when looking up street directories.
Spent a long time in Torino's Egyptian Museum, rated as one of the best in the world. There were literally thousands of exhibits, from statues, tombstones, and books to mummies and jewellery. It was all really interesting. I get the feeling with a lot of these Italian museums that they're gradually (piano piano) modernising them. The beginning of the museum is very modern and well set out, with clear signs and English translation for everything. As you move along, though, things gradually deteriorate until you're in a plain room with a few shelves and some exhibits randomly placed, with maybe a few sentences of explanation, only in Italian. Very funny. Like everything else in Italy, it's a work in progress.
I had dinner at an English pub on the way home - asked the waitress what something was on the menu and she asked me if I spoke English and explained. Turns out she's from New Zealand, we had a bit of a chat! Random! Spoke Italian for most of the weekend (at the hostel and in shops etc), and managed to get around OK which was nice!
On Sunday I went to the Mole Antonelliana, a crazy-looking building which was built in 1863 as a synagogue, then 'acquired' by the city council 15 years later. It's considered the symbol of the city (it certainly dominates the skyline) and appears on Italian 2-cent coins (euro coins have different designs contributed by different countries - Italian has the Mole Antonelliana, Leonardo Da Vinci's famous picture of the man, the Colosseum, etc. There are also French, German, etc). Inside is a Cinema Museum, which went through the history of cinema (from still pictures and those Kinematoscope things (if you don't know what they are, look it up on wikipedia or something, I can't explain it in writing!)), as well as some exhibits of costumes, props and posters from famous films. There also a lift up the almost the top of the building, which meant fantastic views of the city!
Torino's Duomo houses the Shroud of Turin, which supposedly Christ's body was wrapped in after the crucifixion. The real thing is protected in a box but there is a replica on display, with x-rays. You can't make out much from the cloth but the x-ray picks up amazing, one might say unbelievable, detail. O_o. I find it very funny that the words 'according to tradition' are often used with these sort of relics. Milan's Duomo also has, according to tradition, one of the nails of the crucifixion (there are 11 officially recognised holy nails around the world).
I also did a tour of the Palazzo Reale, the royal residence which is very richly decorated. It was a bit of a fiasco, you can only go in with a guide at certain times, and the guide spoke Italian far too fast for me to understand. Fortunately I had an english audioguide, but he moved us through all the rooms so quickly I barely had time to listen to it!
After returning from Torino I spent a few days staying with Nina, one of the German girls from my language class. She had a spare bed because her housemate had not yet moved in. It was great to spend a few days with her, and particularly to have a kitchen! She lives in a cute little apartment on the 7th floor (no lift), not far from uni which was a nice change!
Some general observations about Italian apartments:
So finally I got myself to Central Station, and off to Torino. The hostel there is very cosy and only a short walk from the city, and I met a nice Scottish girl sharing my dorm. Torino is a lovely city with lots of snow-capped mountains nearby - it hosted the winter olympics a few years ago, but I didn't go to see any of the sights because I thought they were further out of the city than they actually were - and by the time I realised it was too late!
The centre of Torino is mostly off-limits to traffic at certain times of the day - there is a complicated system of zones and times during which traffic is not allowed, which, as far as I could tell, was largely ignored by the locals. A nice town to wander in, though. Torino is very proud of its chocolate, and the tourist office offers a booklet called a Chocopass, a 15 euro booklet with coupons for freebies and discounts at various local stores. Of course, I bought it. Biggest RIP-OFF ever: most of the things you could get were 10% off a 30 euro purchase or something like that, not freebies as it was marketed. I got as many freebies as I could (most expensive bloody chocolates I've ever had) and a very nice gelato, but was still annoyed at the whole scam.
Everywhere in Italy, there are streets named after Vittorio Emanuele II (even in Milan, the gallerie next to the Duomo is named for him: To Vittorio Emanuele II, from the Milanese people), who was the first King of (unified) Italy, and Giuseppe Garibaldi, who is credited with bringing about Italian unification. Vittorio Emanuele was born in Torino, so they chose a particularly big street to name after him. Street names in Italy are intense, if it's named after someone, it's not just Emanuele street, you get the full name: Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Very confusing when looking up street directories.
Spent a long time in Torino's Egyptian Museum, rated as one of the best in the world. There were literally thousands of exhibits, from statues, tombstones, and books to mummies and jewellery. It was all really interesting. I get the feeling with a lot of these Italian museums that they're gradually (piano piano) modernising them. The beginning of the museum is very modern and well set out, with clear signs and English translation for everything. As you move along, though, things gradually deteriorate until you're in a plain room with a few shelves and some exhibits randomly placed, with maybe a few sentences of explanation, only in Italian. Very funny. Like everything else in Italy, it's a work in progress.
I had dinner at an English pub on the way home - asked the waitress what something was on the menu and she asked me if I spoke English and explained. Turns out she's from New Zealand, we had a bit of a chat! Random! Spoke Italian for most of the weekend (at the hostel and in shops etc), and managed to get around OK which was nice!
On Sunday I went to the Mole Antonelliana, a crazy-looking building which was built in 1863 as a synagogue, then 'acquired' by the city council 15 years later. It's considered the symbol of the city (it certainly dominates the skyline) and appears on Italian 2-cent coins (euro coins have different designs contributed by different countries - Italian has the Mole Antonelliana, Leonardo Da Vinci's famous picture of the man, the Colosseum, etc. There are also French, German, etc). Inside is a Cinema Museum, which went through the history of cinema (from still pictures and those Kinematoscope things (if you don't know what they are, look it up on wikipedia or something, I can't explain it in writing!)), as well as some exhibits of costumes, props and posters from famous films. There also a lift up the almost the top of the building, which meant fantastic views of the city!
Torino's Duomo houses the Shroud of Turin, which supposedly Christ's body was wrapped in after the crucifixion. The real thing is protected in a box but there is a replica on display, with x-rays. You can't make out much from the cloth but the x-ray picks up amazing, one might say unbelievable, detail. O_o. I find it very funny that the words 'according to tradition' are often used with these sort of relics. Milan's Duomo also has, according to tradition, one of the nails of the crucifixion (there are 11 officially recognised holy nails around the world).
I also did a tour of the Palazzo Reale, the royal residence which is very richly decorated. It was a bit of a fiasco, you can only go in with a guide at certain times, and the guide spoke Italian far too fast for me to understand. Fortunately I had an english audioguide, but he moved us through all the rooms so quickly I barely had time to listen to it!
After returning from Torino I spent a few days staying with Nina, one of the German girls from my language class. She had a spare bed because her housemate had not yet moved in. It was great to spend a few days with her, and particularly to have a kitchen! She lives in a cute little apartment on the 7th floor (no lift), not far from uni which was a nice change!
Some general observations about Italian apartments:
- They are usually small and cramped
- They are usually quite old and have unappealing colour schemes
- The buildings are usually square in shape with a courtyard in the middle. You enter through a door from the street and come through the first building into the courtyard, from where there are a number of staircases leading into the other buildings.
- Heating is usually centrally controlled, and usually extremely over-used
- Locks on the doors often have 3 or 4 deadlocks. Nina has to turn the key about 10 times to unlock the door!
- Bathrooms usually have a bidet. Who uses them?
- Washing machines are usually very small and take AGES (up to 2 hours) to do a cycle
- Hot water tanks are usually very small
- They are usually not very well lit. i.e. not even a ceiling light in the lounge room in some cases.
- There is usually no garden, and people often have little pot plants hanging from their balconies (or just in the corridor)
On the Monday night, Siobhan Stagg (from choir) came to visit me, which was great! We went out for an aperativo, which she really enjoyed, and she told me all about her trip so far. Like Rachel she has been travelling around Europe, mainly in the UK, and getting a few lessons, which sounded really good! She had just come from Venice and was still wearing her mask!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Language Course
The Italian course at Bocconi went really quickly. We did a review of most grammar but I don't think I got enough practice at talking. I still find it quite difficult to think of things I want to say, even though I can understand most of what others say. I think it was easier for those of French/Spanish/Portugese background in our class to participate in the discussions we had in class because the vocab is so similar - my German friends and I found that by the time we'd thought of what we wanted to say, the conversation had already headed off elsewhere!
We did have some interesting conversations, though. The topics ranged from films we liked, sport, and food, to immigration and other more serious issues. Italians tend to eat dinner relatively late - about 8 or 9pm, which for me and the americans and canadians was crazy! But apparently it is the same in South America. We also had plenty of complaining sessions about things that were annoying us about Italy, as we were almost all settling in for the first time. Most of us had at one stage or another been surprised by the lack of customer service here - I had expected it to be good, but it is quite a lot worse than in Aus. Our teacher attributes it to a lack (not necessarily a bad thing) of the 'money-making mentality' - if a waiter wants to watch the soccer match, he won't serve you. People make careers of being waiters or baristas and take pride in their work, but being polite is not a part of that 'work'. There is certainly no 'customer is always right' concept here - which is refreshing and frustrating at the same time.
We did have some interesting conversations, though. The topics ranged from films we liked, sport, and food, to immigration and other more serious issues. Italians tend to eat dinner relatively late - about 8 or 9pm, which for me and the americans and canadians was crazy! But apparently it is the same in South America. We also had plenty of complaining sessions about things that were annoying us about Italy, as we were almost all settling in for the first time. Most of us had at one stage or another been surprised by the lack of customer service here - I had expected it to be good, but it is quite a lot worse than in Aus. Our teacher attributes it to a lack (not necessarily a bad thing) of the 'money-making mentality' - if a waiter wants to watch the soccer match, he won't serve you. People make careers of being waiters or baristas and take pride in their work, but being polite is not a part of that 'work'. There is certainly no 'customer is always right' concept here - which is refreshing and frustrating at the same time.
It was great being in a class with people from such a range of different countries. There were only three or four 'mother tongue' English speakers, we realised, but of course everyone speaks English anyway. The teachers spoke 99.9% of the time in Italian, but when they had to explain a phrase or saying they would tell us the equivalent in English.
Olivia and I really noticed the effects of peoples' accents on the way we speak Italian. For example, the Americans both have really strong accents and somehow hearing them speak Italian was almost like hearing them speak English, it was very funny. The people from spanish backgrounds always had slightly different vowel sounds, the french guy sounds, well, french (as he does when he's speaking English), and the germans always pronounce a word ending with an 'e' as though the 'e' were the german neutral sound. The one thing we could all agree on was that no one could understand what the turkish girl said.
Our class gets along really well and we tend to congregate together when we go out or to a party. At the beginning it was pretty funny to be surrounded by people from such diverse backgrounds, all speaking in English. Now, we try our best to speak in (fairly bad) Italian as much as possible - usually we relapse into English but it's fun. There's nothing quite like watching a brazillian and a czech having a chat in Italian (especially after a glass of wine!).Friday, February 1, 2008
Bergamo
At the end of our first week in Milan there was a trip 'organised' for exchange students to Bergamo, a city about an hour away by train. I say 'organised' because about the only thing they did was buy a group train ticket for us. Bergamo's Citta Alta, the oldest part of the city, is on top of the hill at the centre of Bergamo and is full of cute old buildings. We had a nice walk up there from the train station, and visited a little Chapel, Cappella Colleoni. Within an hour a group of 10 of us, mostly from our class, had been separated from the rest of the group, and we had no idea where they were or what time they were heading back to Milan. Unperturbed, we got lunch and proceeded to wander around Bergamo for the whole afternoon. Half of the appeal in these old Italian towns, I think, is just wandering around, looking at the cute little cobble-stoned streets and the old buildings - and there was plenty of that to see in Bergamo!
The group included two germans, Anne and Lydia, Jenny from the US, Bastien from France, Andrea from Lima, Iiris from Finland and three norwegian guys. We had a lot of fun wandering around and getting to know each other a bit better. We think we counted about 4 bell towers (and we don't THINK they were the same), which seemed like a lot for a town of that size! We saw the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a nice church beautifully decorated with paintings and tapestries (and an enormous organ!). We also ended up in the gardens of a fort, which was fairly high up and had great views of the surrounding area! We thought about going to the Castle in Bergamo, but decided instead to stop for a coffee/cioccolata (it was getting really cold). We headed back to the train station when it got dark and, funnily enough, ran into pretty much the whole exchange cohort waiting for the next train! Most people had spent the day doing their own thing, as it turned out. Classic Italian organisation.
While we were in Bergamo we decided to try something from a pasticceria. For those who have never been to Italy, sometimes it seems like there's a pasticceria on every block. They make pastries, anything from crossaints to tarts and everything you can imagine inbetween. For the first time we saw a polenta cake (didn't look too appealing), and I tried a crostata di cioccolato, basically a sweet tart with nutella as the centre. SO GOOD. Nutella's huge over here, it's a really common ingredient in most pastries and they sell it in enormous packs in the supermarket (like, 1kg jars). Obviously I don't go shopping for nutella all that often but I don't think I've ever seen a jar that size in Australia. It seems to me so far that people tend to snack on sweet things, like these pastries, quite a lot.
I've also never been in a place which (a) lists the pharmacies that are open 24 hours per day in the paper, or even (b) HAS 24-hr pharmacies.
The group included two germans, Anne and Lydia, Jenny from the US, Bastien from France, Andrea from Lima, Iiris from Finland and three norwegian guys. We had a lot of fun wandering around and getting to know each other a bit better. We think we counted about 4 bell towers (and we don't THINK they were the same), which seemed like a lot for a town of that size! We saw the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, a nice church beautifully decorated with paintings and tapestries (and an enormous organ!). We also ended up in the gardens of a fort, which was fairly high up and had great views of the surrounding area! We thought about going to the Castle in Bergamo, but decided instead to stop for a coffee/cioccolata (it was getting really cold). We headed back to the train station when it got dark and, funnily enough, ran into pretty much the whole exchange cohort waiting for the next train! Most people had spent the day doing their own thing, as it turned out. Classic Italian organisation.
While we were in Bergamo we decided to try something from a pasticceria. For those who have never been to Italy, sometimes it seems like there's a pasticceria on every block. They make pastries, anything from crossaints to tarts and everything you can imagine inbetween. For the first time we saw a polenta cake (didn't look too appealing), and I tried a crostata di cioccolato, basically a sweet tart with nutella as the centre. SO GOOD. Nutella's huge over here, it's a really common ingredient in most pastries and they sell it in enormous packs in the supermarket (like, 1kg jars). Obviously I don't go shopping for nutella all that often but I don't think I've ever seen a jar that size in Australia. It seems to me so far that people tend to snack on sweet things, like these pastries, quite a lot.
I've also never been in a place which (a) lists the pharmacies that are open 24 hours per day in the paper, or even (b) HAS 24-hr pharmacies.
Aperativo
There is a wonderful thing in Milan called Aperativo. I believe it is a Milanese tradition, but it is gradually seeping out into other parts of northern Italy. As the name implies, it is meant as a pre-dinner appetiser. From about 6pm most bars offer a 'Happy Hour' (which usually last about 4 or 5 hours), and if you buy a drink (usually 7 euros), you can help yourself to the buffet of finger food provided, which can include anything from cheese, ham, mini pizzas, salads, fruit salads, pasta salads, hot pasta, polenta, bread, fish fingers, chips, bite-sized chicken pieces, and even at one place, waffles with chocolate sauce. The Italian thing to do is to grab a small plate or two, have your drink and then head out to dinner (by about 8 or 9pm). The thing exchange students do is eat enough to make it dinner. Naturally it's cheaper to cook for yourself - but if you were going to have a drink anyway, it's basically a free meal. There are aperativos (aperativi, I guess) at most bars, and we've figured out the good places to go by now. You could easily go to a different one each night for several weeks!
Drinks in Italy, both at aperativo and elsewhere, are very strong - shots are not measured, the bartender just pours however much they feel like (usually at least half the glass). Be warned. And don't believe anything anyone tells you about Italians not drinking to excess. If you believe what you hear, the presence of wine at family meals from the age of 12 means that Italians only drink alcohol to enjoy it, don't have a culture of 'getting drunk' and should be held up as a shining example of tolerance creating an mature attitude in society towards alcohol. In Milan, at least, it's blatantly not true.
Drinks in Italy, both at aperativo and elsewhere, are very strong - shots are not measured, the bartender just pours however much they feel like (usually at least half the glass). Be warned. And don't believe anything anyone tells you about Italians not drinking to excess. If you believe what you hear, the presence of wine at family meals from the age of 12 means that Italians only drink alcohol to enjoy it, don't have a culture of 'getting drunk' and should be held up as a shining example of tolerance creating an mature attitude in society towards alcohol. In Milan, at least, it's blatantly not true.
Language course and second week in Milan
My pre-semester Italian language course started on Monday and so far has been really good. I'm in the lower advanced class - there are two advanced classes, but classes were allocated on on-line test scores, so they combined the two on the first day so that they could divide us based on our speaking/comprehension skills. So, on the first day everyone had to get up and introduce themselves, and talk for a bit (in Italian, obviously). There are lots of people who have lived in Italy, or who have Italian parents, or who have been learning Italian for 5 or 6 years so the standard was pretty high......
At the end of the class the two teachers went through everyone and decided, in front of us all, whether they would be in the more fluent Avanzata 2 or less fluent Avanzata 1. It was pretty intimidating, and the teachers certainly have no qualms about putting people on the spot or evaluating them in front of everyone else! I was considering going down a level to the intermediate class because I didn't think I could keep up with the pace the teachers were speaking at - I've never heard anyone speak that fast! I couldn't understand anyone talking that fast in English, let alone Italian! Now that the classes are separate most of the people are about my level, although most are more competent speakers than me! We cover the same material as Avanzata 2 and have the same two teachers who switch halfway through the day, but our level of fluency is more even so we can have better discussions (but most of us don't talk all that much!).
My class includes 2 german girls, Anna and Nina, who are very friendly, Olga, a Russian who is a big fashionista and goes to all the catwalk shows, a couple from Brazil, girls from Mexico, Peru and Argentina, 3 americans, 2 canadians, guys from Hungary, Czech Republic, Ireland, France and the Netherlands, a girl from Sweden, and a whole mix of other people. The Brazilian guy introduced his girlfriend as his 'fidanzata' - which I (and a lot of other people) had learnt as fiancee! In Italian, apparently, it just means long-term boyfriend or girlfriend, but we spent quite a while under the impression that they were engaged! They are a sweet couple though, they finish each others' sentences in class which is very cute.
Somehow, amongst all these people with such varied backgrounds, being Australian is quite a novelty. In my class there is, for example, a girl whose parents are Spanish, but she lives in the Dominican Republic (never met anyone from there before!) and studies in the U.S. - and the first thing she said to me was 'I LOVE Australian accents! You have to introduce me to lots of Australian people!'. Very funny.
We all get along pretty well so far and have been out for a drink a few times. Had my first Milan clubbing experience at 'The Club', which Olga informs us is the place to be on a Thursday night. Haven't yet been kicked out of anywhere for not dressing well enough, the places we've been to have been pretty relaxed so far and a lot less dressy and fashion-conscious than I expected. There are certainly plenty of activities arranged for exchange students, including a trip to Bergamo tomorrow, apparently a really beautiful town with a medieval centre.
Organising my Italian permit of stay was a PAIN - Italian bureaucracy at its worst (and most expensive). The whole process involves filling out an 8-page form (and much more if you're a worker), which is only in Italian (seems a bit stupid given that only foreigners have to fill it out, you'd think they'd have one available in English at least!), and requires really specific details about where you're from, how you came to Italy etc etc.
It's supposed to be done within 8 days of entry into Italy, and, not realising what a ridiculously long process it was, I only went to get the form from the post office on my eighth day. Following the directions from Bocconi people I tried to find a nearby post office which, as far as I could see, didn't actually exist, and was subsequently sent to 3 other post offices: the first 2 had run out of forms. I tried at first to do it on my own but just couldn't get it all sorted out, and not being able to get any help on the phone or over the internet I decided to risk staying for an extra day without the permit and go to the Bocconi-run session the next day. It's Italy, no one cares.
The session took about an hour and a half (!!) but I finally got the form filled in and handed in at the post office with all the required photocopies (including a copy of EVERY PAGE of my passport!!!), and Italian Stamp Duty (which you can buy from corner stores), and about 80 euros later I am finally in posession of a temporary permit of stay. The full one is confirmed (in theory) at a later appointment at a police station where they review all of the original documents we had to photocopy for the application... ugh. Olga, who was here last semester, tells us that after 4 months she still hasn't had her appointment, so I have a feeling that I just wasted a lot of time and money for something that really isn't necessary. Oh well. Also had to pay 130 euros for the language course, and buy some textbooks, so money withdrawl fees are pretty nasty at the moment.
Did a stupid thing with my travellers cash card - didn't realise before I left that I would have to complete a 100-point ID check before leaving to use internet re-load. Obviously I can't do that over here so I can do nothing to load my card, and have to get Dad to do it from Australia. Bah.
It seems like everything here is incredibly inefficient. Every receipt for a major payment I've had so far - permit of stay and the language course, for example - has to have your name and address on the 3 or 4 copies, and it's all handwritten. It's funny, Australians (as far as I'm aware) don't tend to think of themselves as being particularly efficient, ordered or technologically advanced, but compared to the Italians..... well, it's like we're some super-advanced alien race.
Supermarket shopping in Italy is an experience. The first thing I noticed is that they charge for plastic bags (and I have no objection - but I don't see many people bringing their own, it seems like most pay the 4 cents or whatever it is anyway). The second thing is that they really, REALLY don't like giving change, and will always ask you if you have the 68 cents or whatever. They are very unimpressed if you don't have it (often they don't have enough change themselves. In a SUPERMARKET!). You can also make yourself very unpopular if you try to pay by card in a supermarket. Bizarrely, though, they have embraced these self-service petrol pumps, where you can buy petrol just by putting your money in, no servos needed. Smart idea. Can't pay by card though.
Had a lonely planet day today, following the good book to a few interesting things west of the city. Spent almost half the day in the National Museum of science and technology - lots of interesting exhibits from air & naval transport (including lots of actual boats, planes, and a submarine), production processes and recycling, to musical instruments, astronomy and time. They also had a series of models based on Da Vinci's sketches, lots of things from revolving bridges and war ships to experiments for testing the strength of wire. Amazing mind, even just the bredth of stuff here is amazing to see, without taking into account the paintings and everything else he did. Would like to find out a bit more about him while I'm here, he spent a fair bit of time in Milan and there are a few exhibitions and things about him. I also went to the War Memorial, and the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, the patron saint of Milan. They keep Ambrogio's remains underneath the altar, dressed up nicely and sealed in a glass case along with two martyrs. I think I could see a bit of his skull. I've always found this business of preserving peoples' remains a bit bizarre. All of the 3 guys in this church had been buried once or twice before, then been dug up and moved somewhere else.
I'm still staying at the Youth Hostel, which is fine except that it's a long way out of the city and it takes about 40 minutes to get to uni. It's also frustrating not to have anywhere to cook! At least breakfast is included - I usually manage to take a few bread rolls away with me for lunch too!
At the end of the class the two teachers went through everyone and decided, in front of us all, whether they would be in the more fluent Avanzata 2 or less fluent Avanzata 1. It was pretty intimidating, and the teachers certainly have no qualms about putting people on the spot or evaluating them in front of everyone else! I was considering going down a level to the intermediate class because I didn't think I could keep up with the pace the teachers were speaking at - I've never heard anyone speak that fast! I couldn't understand anyone talking that fast in English, let alone Italian! Now that the classes are separate most of the people are about my level, although most are more competent speakers than me! We cover the same material as Avanzata 2 and have the same two teachers who switch halfway through the day, but our level of fluency is more even so we can have better discussions (but most of us don't talk all that much!).
My class includes 2 german girls, Anna and Nina, who are very friendly, Olga, a Russian who is a big fashionista and goes to all the catwalk shows, a couple from Brazil, girls from Mexico, Peru and Argentina, 3 americans, 2 canadians, guys from Hungary, Czech Republic, Ireland, France and the Netherlands, a girl from Sweden, and a whole mix of other people. The Brazilian guy introduced his girlfriend as his 'fidanzata' - which I (and a lot of other people) had learnt as fiancee! In Italian, apparently, it just means long-term boyfriend or girlfriend, but we spent quite a while under the impression that they were engaged! They are a sweet couple though, they finish each others' sentences in class which is very cute.
Somehow, amongst all these people with such varied backgrounds, being Australian is quite a novelty. In my class there is, for example, a girl whose parents are Spanish, but she lives in the Dominican Republic (never met anyone from there before!) and studies in the U.S. - and the first thing she said to me was 'I LOVE Australian accents! You have to introduce me to lots of Australian people!'. Very funny.
We all get along pretty well so far and have been out for a drink a few times. Had my first Milan clubbing experience at 'The Club', which Olga informs us is the place to be on a Thursday night. Haven't yet been kicked out of anywhere for not dressing well enough, the places we've been to have been pretty relaxed so far and a lot less dressy and fashion-conscious than I expected. There are certainly plenty of activities arranged for exchange students, including a trip to Bergamo tomorrow, apparently a really beautiful town with a medieval centre.
Organising my Italian permit of stay was a PAIN - Italian bureaucracy at its worst (and most expensive). The whole process involves filling out an 8-page form (and much more if you're a worker), which is only in Italian (seems a bit stupid given that only foreigners have to fill it out, you'd think they'd have one available in English at least!), and requires really specific details about where you're from, how you came to Italy etc etc.
It's supposed to be done within 8 days of entry into Italy, and, not realising what a ridiculously long process it was, I only went to get the form from the post office on my eighth day. Following the directions from Bocconi people I tried to find a nearby post office which, as far as I could see, didn't actually exist, and was subsequently sent to 3 other post offices: the first 2 had run out of forms. I tried at first to do it on my own but just couldn't get it all sorted out, and not being able to get any help on the phone or over the internet I decided to risk staying for an extra day without the permit and go to the Bocconi-run session the next day. It's Italy, no one cares.
The session took about an hour and a half (!!) but I finally got the form filled in and handed in at the post office with all the required photocopies (including a copy of EVERY PAGE of my passport!!!), and Italian Stamp Duty (which you can buy from corner stores), and about 80 euros later I am finally in posession of a temporary permit of stay. The full one is confirmed (in theory) at a later appointment at a police station where they review all of the original documents we had to photocopy for the application... ugh. Olga, who was here last semester, tells us that after 4 months she still hasn't had her appointment, so I have a feeling that I just wasted a lot of time and money for something that really isn't necessary. Oh well. Also had to pay 130 euros for the language course, and buy some textbooks, so money withdrawl fees are pretty nasty at the moment.
Did a stupid thing with my travellers cash card - didn't realise before I left that I would have to complete a 100-point ID check before leaving to use internet re-load. Obviously I can't do that over here so I can do nothing to load my card, and have to get Dad to do it from Australia. Bah.
It seems like everything here is incredibly inefficient. Every receipt for a major payment I've had so far - permit of stay and the language course, for example - has to have your name and address on the 3 or 4 copies, and it's all handwritten. It's funny, Australians (as far as I'm aware) don't tend to think of themselves as being particularly efficient, ordered or technologically advanced, but compared to the Italians..... well, it's like we're some super-advanced alien race.
Supermarket shopping in Italy is an experience. The first thing I noticed is that they charge for plastic bags (and I have no objection - but I don't see many people bringing their own, it seems like most pay the 4 cents or whatever it is anyway). The second thing is that they really, REALLY don't like giving change, and will always ask you if you have the 68 cents or whatever. They are very unimpressed if you don't have it (often they don't have enough change themselves. In a SUPERMARKET!). You can also make yourself very unpopular if you try to pay by card in a supermarket. Bizarrely, though, they have embraced these self-service petrol pumps, where you can buy petrol just by putting your money in, no servos needed. Smart idea. Can't pay by card though.
Had a lonely planet day today, following the good book to a few interesting things west of the city. Spent almost half the day in the National Museum of science and technology - lots of interesting exhibits from air & naval transport (including lots of actual boats, planes, and a submarine), production processes and recycling, to musical instruments, astronomy and time. They also had a series of models based on Da Vinci's sketches, lots of things from revolving bridges and war ships to experiments for testing the strength of wire. Amazing mind, even just the bredth of stuff here is amazing to see, without taking into account the paintings and everything else he did. Would like to find out a bit more about him while I'm here, he spent a fair bit of time in Milan and there are a few exhibitions and things about him. I also went to the War Memorial, and the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio, the patron saint of Milan. They keep Ambrogio's remains underneath the altar, dressed up nicely and sealed in a glass case along with two martyrs. I think I could see a bit of his skull. I've always found this business of preserving peoples' remains a bit bizarre. All of the 3 guys in this church had been buried once or twice before, then been dug up and moved somewhere else.
I'm still staying at the Youth Hostel, which is fine except that it's a long way out of the city and it takes about 40 minutes to get to uni. It's also frustrating not to have anywhere to cook! At least breakfast is included - I usually manage to take a few bread rolls away with me for lunch too!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Biella
After my first week in Milan I went to visit mum's friend Chris de Boos, and her husband Allan. They are living in Biella, a town about 1 and a half hours away from Milan by train (not that long to drive though!) which is pretty much at the foot of the Italian alps and near the Swiss border. We had a fantastic weekend exploring the mountains around Biella, Chris and Allan drove me all over the place! On Saturday we had a wander around Biella old town, on the top of the hill, and then went up to see the Sanctuary at Oropa, a destination on a kind of pilgrimage trail through churches in the area. It's a big complex with 2 or 3 churches (in typical Italian style, the 'new' church is not finished!) and lots of other buildings originally for housing pilgrims/monks. They even had a pharmacy up there! (not open when we were there!) One of the churches houses a Black Madonna statue - carved out of dark wood. We also walked along a corridor in the Sanctuary which is covered in all sorts of tributes, photos, paintings, embroidery, and everything else you can imagine, showing things that people have prayed to the Black Madonna for - anything from health, car accidents, soccer matches - it was very interesting! The whole area is covered in snow, and being relatively high up in the mountains it has spectacular views!
Chris and Allan took me to dinner with friends of theirs, the Berchi family, and also Alfredo, another friend who is about my age and lives in Milan. Conversation was in a mix of Italian and English: language skills varied from the mother who spoke virtually no English, to Allan, Chris and I who spoke almost entirely in English with occasional wavering Italian! Very funny. We talked about Australia alot because they are all thinking about coming out to visit Chris & Allan and travel a bit this year. The family were very friendly and even gave me a CD of their daughter's choir, which specialises in early and baroque music. Wish I could find something like that in Milan!
The next day was sunny so after a walk around the centre of Biella (some cute old buildings, all pedestrianised which is really nice!), Allan and I decided to try walking part of the pilgrimage trail, from the Sanctuary of San Francesco, the next sanctuary on the trail, back through the mountains on a trail that includes a tunnel through the mountain to Oropa, where we had been the previous day. Unfortunately the snow was too thick (about knee high, and always getting higher) for our jeans and runners - we ran into people wearing snow boots who told us that the going didn't get any easier further on, and that the pass was blocked anyway! After about 45 minutes (with still over 3km of snow-bashing in front of us) we gave up and headed back - but not before we'd taken some photos of the amazing view! Chris and Allan took me on an awesome drive through the mountains, past the Bielmonte ski resort where I had my very first cioccolata (more on that to come), and also through lots of little towns in the area which are very important in the textile & clothing industry, part of Allan's work. We also stopped for a view of Monte Rosa, one of the highest mountains in the area, in the same range as the Matterhorn. We spent a lot of time that day driving through fog and cloud, and clambouring through snow, but it was definitely worth the effort! When I finally made it to the Youth Hostel in Milan that night it took hours for my socks and shoes to dry!
Chris and Allan took me to dinner with friends of theirs, the Berchi family, and also Alfredo, another friend who is about my age and lives in Milan. Conversation was in a mix of Italian and English: language skills varied from the mother who spoke virtually no English, to Allan, Chris and I who spoke almost entirely in English with occasional wavering Italian! Very funny. We talked about Australia alot because they are all thinking about coming out to visit Chris & Allan and travel a bit this year. The family were very friendly and even gave me a CD of their daughter's choir, which specialises in early and baroque music. Wish I could find something like that in Milan!
The next day was sunny so after a walk around the centre of Biella (some cute old buildings, all pedestrianised which is really nice!), Allan and I decided to try walking part of the pilgrimage trail, from the Sanctuary of San Francesco, the next sanctuary on the trail, back through the mountains on a trail that includes a tunnel through the mountain to Oropa, where we had been the previous day. Unfortunately the snow was too thick (about knee high, and always getting higher) for our jeans and runners - we ran into people wearing snow boots who told us that the going didn't get any easier further on, and that the pass was blocked anyway! After about 45 minutes (with still over 3km of snow-bashing in front of us) we gave up and headed back - but not before we'd taken some photos of the amazing view! Chris and Allan took me on an awesome drive through the mountains, past the Bielmonte ski resort where I had my very first cioccolata (more on that to come), and also through lots of little towns in the area which are very important in the textile & clothing industry, part of Allan's work. We also stopped for a view of Monte Rosa, one of the highest mountains in the area, in the same range as the Matterhorn. We spent a lot of time that day driving through fog and cloud, and clambouring through snow, but it was definitely worth the effort! When I finally made it to the Youth Hostel in Milan that night it took hours for my socks and shoes to dry!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Milan
Finally arrived in Milan from Český Krumlov on a monday morning after almost 24 hours on public transport and at train stations: Bus from Český Krumlov to České Budějovice, wait for 2 hours, train to Linz, wait for another 3 hours, train from Linz to Villach, wait for another 2 hours, and finally a sleeper train to Milan. Met some very drunk Austrians on the way who had just been to some sort of ski jumping competition (Austria came second, apparently - beaten by Finns!) and were very keen on blowing these extremely loud plastic trumpet-type things they'd picked up there. Entertaining for a while but I was happy to leave them behind before Villach! The sleeper train was an interesting experience, can't say I slept particularly well, and I didn't exactly see any scenery either!
The Youth Hostel in Milan wasn't open till the 13th, a week after I arrived, so I spent a few nights in a hostel for girls run by nuns. Pretty funny place, really clean, very central which was handy, and not too expensive. Curfew at 10.30, but that wasn't a problem because it was too cold and I wasn't particularly keen on going out on my own anyway! None of the nuns spoke English, but I managed to negotiate my way through in Italian! I spent most of my first week doing touristy things, seeing the Duomo and surrounding area, wandering a bit through the streets, trying to work out the public transport system.... There really isn't all that much to see in Milan! Most of the major monuments seem to be covered up for restoration, so there haven't been many good photo opportunities. Even the Duomo is half covered as they clean up the place - something which I gather has been happening for a number of years now, in typical Italian fashion! The finished part looks good though. The Piazza outside the Duomo is packed with hawkers (mostly africans) offering books, bracelets, and seed to feed the pigeons with. The pigeons outside the Duomo must be the fattest pigeons in the entire world. I was sitting in front of Duomo contemplating my map when I heard 'Helen?' - Antonio, who was on exchange at Melbourne Uni last semester, was walking past and saw me! Very funny to run into someone I knew in Milan!
I also had dinner with Rachel Landgren and Sarah Castles from choir/college on the Friday night after I'd arrived, which was great - nice to see familiar faces after travelling for 2 weeks on my own. We had a good night, and I only just made it back to the nuns in time for the 10.30 curfew!
In Italy the main meal is lunch, and for most of the country it is customary to return home for lunch. That's not so much the case in Milan, but there is still not much open between about 12 and 2, most businesses, museums etc close up and only the many, MANY cafes and pizzerias are open. So just like in Poretta all those years ago, you can still get caught out trying to do stuff in the middle of the day over here. There are also some restaurants that open for lunch but not dinner. I'm getting used to it, slowly - Milan is a lot better than most of Italy, but everything is still very inefficient and it can be really frustrating trying to get anything DONE over here!
Italians don't traditionally do cereal for breakfast, usually bread, and it's really common to have a panino on the way to work: basically a flat roll with cheese, prosciutto, maybe lettuce and tomato as well, and usually half-toasted. There are sandwich bars EVERYWHERE in Milan, seems like every second shop sometimes, and they are usually pretty close to empty except before 9am and at lunchtime. Most food & drink places have a cashier separate to the actual service part. At most places you pay, then give the people at the bar your receipt and tell them what you want - but at some, you just order, then pay at your leisure at the cashier. It's a bit confusing at first but it's nice to be.... trusted, I guess.
Public transport in Milan is pretty good too, there's a system of underground trains, which run regularly (but finish at about midnight), trams and buses. The routes for the trams and buses are very strange - they kind of meander through or around the city without any sort of order or system as far as I can tell. Most buses don't actually go into the centre of the city, just wander around the suburbs. At least in Melbourne you can pretty easily get into the city if you find a tram line. Not so in Milan.
I heard a lot of reports of Milan from various people before I came. Cosmopolitan, dirty, hustle-bustle, snobbish, etc etc. A lot of people say they didn't enjoy being here much as a tourist, and I can see why, it really isn't an easy city to be a tourist in. Things like the weird tram routes, lack of (English) signage at monuments, not being able to find an internet cafe easily, locals who are pretty brisque - and plus the fact that there's really not all that much to see - all have an influence, I think, on how you experience a city like Milan. The first time I went past La Scala I didn't even realise it was there, just walked straight past it. Milan certainly doesn't have the same charm as most other Italian cities and towns, it's much more modern (by Italian standards). As for being a 'cosmopolitan' city - again, compared to the rest of Italy, yes, but compared to the rest of the world.... Melbourne's more cosmopolitan than Milan. You could even say Geelong's more cosmopolitan than Milan. For those who aren't familiar with Geelong, that's a BIG call. But at least you can find something other than pizza and pasta to eat in Geelong. Not that I object to pizza and pasta.
It's a much better place to live, once you know your way around and get used to the northern Italian ways. I think the snobbish, busy city idea just comes from the way things are done round here - people are very direct, which can probably be misinterpreted as not having much time for you. I've found people here really friendly and helpful. Of course it helps to speak a bit of Italian! As for the pace of life... well I think it's pretty much the same as most other medium-sized cities I've been to.... except anywhere else in Italy.....
The Youth Hostel in Milan wasn't open till the 13th, a week after I arrived, so I spent a few nights in a hostel for girls run by nuns. Pretty funny place, really clean, very central which was handy, and not too expensive. Curfew at 10.30, but that wasn't a problem because it was too cold and I wasn't particularly keen on going out on my own anyway! None of the nuns spoke English, but I managed to negotiate my way through in Italian! I spent most of my first week doing touristy things, seeing the Duomo and surrounding area, wandering a bit through the streets, trying to work out the public transport system.... There really isn't all that much to see in Milan! Most of the major monuments seem to be covered up for restoration, so there haven't been many good photo opportunities. Even the Duomo is half covered as they clean up the place - something which I gather has been happening for a number of years now, in typical Italian fashion! The finished part looks good though. The Piazza outside the Duomo is packed with hawkers (mostly africans) offering books, bracelets, and seed to feed the pigeons with. The pigeons outside the Duomo must be the fattest pigeons in the entire world. I was sitting in front of Duomo contemplating my map when I heard 'Helen?' - Antonio, who was on exchange at Melbourne Uni last semester, was walking past and saw me! Very funny to run into someone I knew in Milan!
I also had dinner with Rachel Landgren and Sarah Castles from choir/college on the Friday night after I'd arrived, which was great - nice to see familiar faces after travelling for 2 weeks on my own. We had a good night, and I only just made it back to the nuns in time for the 10.30 curfew!
In Italy the main meal is lunch, and for most of the country it is customary to return home for lunch. That's not so much the case in Milan, but there is still not much open between about 12 and 2, most businesses, museums etc close up and only the many, MANY cafes and pizzerias are open. So just like in Poretta all those years ago, you can still get caught out trying to do stuff in the middle of the day over here. There are also some restaurants that open for lunch but not dinner. I'm getting used to it, slowly - Milan is a lot better than most of Italy, but everything is still very inefficient and it can be really frustrating trying to get anything DONE over here!
Italians don't traditionally do cereal for breakfast, usually bread, and it's really common to have a panino on the way to work: basically a flat roll with cheese, prosciutto, maybe lettuce and tomato as well, and usually half-toasted. There are sandwich bars EVERYWHERE in Milan, seems like every second shop sometimes, and they are usually pretty close to empty except before 9am and at lunchtime. Most food & drink places have a cashier separate to the actual service part. At most places you pay, then give the people at the bar your receipt and tell them what you want - but at some, you just order, then pay at your leisure at the cashier. It's a bit confusing at first but it's nice to be.... trusted, I guess.
Public transport in Milan is pretty good too, there's a system of underground trains, which run regularly (but finish at about midnight), trams and buses. The routes for the trams and buses are very strange - they kind of meander through or around the city without any sort of order or system as far as I can tell. Most buses don't actually go into the centre of the city, just wander around the suburbs. At least in Melbourne you can pretty easily get into the city if you find a tram line. Not so in Milan.
I heard a lot of reports of Milan from various people before I came. Cosmopolitan, dirty, hustle-bustle, snobbish, etc etc. A lot of people say they didn't enjoy being here much as a tourist, and I can see why, it really isn't an easy city to be a tourist in. Things like the weird tram routes, lack of (English) signage at monuments, not being able to find an internet cafe easily, locals who are pretty brisque - and plus the fact that there's really not all that much to see - all have an influence, I think, on how you experience a city like Milan. The first time I went past La Scala I didn't even realise it was there, just walked straight past it. Milan certainly doesn't have the same charm as most other Italian cities and towns, it's much more modern (by Italian standards). As for being a 'cosmopolitan' city - again, compared to the rest of Italy, yes, but compared to the rest of the world.... Melbourne's more cosmopolitan than Milan. You could even say Geelong's more cosmopolitan than Milan. For those who aren't familiar with Geelong, that's a BIG call. But at least you can find something other than pizza and pasta to eat in Geelong. Not that I object to pizza and pasta.
It's a much better place to live, once you know your way around and get used to the northern Italian ways. I think the snobbish, busy city idea just comes from the way things are done round here - people are very direct, which can probably be misinterpreted as not having much time for you. I've found people here really friendly and helpful. Of course it helps to speak a bit of Italian! As for the pace of life... well I think it's pretty much the same as most other medium-sized cities I've been to.... except anywhere else in Italy.....
Cesky Krumlov
From Prague I made my way to Cesky Krumlov after an annoying morning of missed busses and lots of walking around and catching trains to different stations with all my stuff. Am looking forward to being rid of a lot of this stuff - after Milan I certainly won't be carrying around my laptop, big Italian dictionary and a whole lot of other stuff that I intend to send home or throw out. In the meantime moving around is a bit of an effort. I'm pretty sure I haven't left anything behind yet, though, which is good!
A bus to Cesky Krumlov from Prague costs 180CZK+, about $12. Drove through lots of countryside thinly covered by snow, which was of course very exciting (having only been in the snow once before, I think it will take a long time to lose its charm - if it ever does!). Cesky Krumlov is a picturesque little town near the Austrian border. It's a really beautiful place, and it was all covered in a thin layer of snow when I was there. There was a cat at the hostel - waltzed into breakfast and sat up on the seat, checking out what everyone was eating and enjoying the attention. Very cute!
Went to the Cesky Krumlov Castle, the second biggest castle in the Czech Rep. Unfortunately it's closed all through winter, but it was still worth seeing from the outside - the walls are beautifully decorated and it offered plenty of great views of the town! AND there were BEARS in the moat! (Obviously there was no water in there). Big space but they looked pretty bored.
Had a bit of a look around the town in the (Saturday) afternoon but by about 3pm everything had closed - even the supermarket places. There is was virtually nothing open on Saturday evening or sunday, except for the many pubs and bars (I'm not sure how a town of 15,000 plus a few tourists supports so many pubs. I guess they really like beer). A hearty meal and a soft drink costs about $10 in most places here, which is OK I guess. Self-catering is definitely much cheaper, here and in Prague - basic foods from the supermarket are REALLY cheap.
Trying to figure out how to get to Milan from Cesky Krumlov is complicated. There is no direct train route to Milan from Austria, and any route will require a few changes. I have no idea how long it will take, but could be a fair while and might also be pretty expensive - I also have a feeling I might be spending a fair bit of time waiting for trains in train stations, especially as tomorrow is Sunday.
Getting from here to Linz, the closest major train station (just over the border in Austria), is a major problem. It's about an hour to drive, but there are not direct train routes - you have to backtrack to major town called Ceske Budejovice (incidently, where the original Budweiser comes from - but I think the one we know just uses the name), catch a train from there to the Austrian border and another from there to Linz - takes about 3-5 hours. There are a few shuttle services but they are run sporadically (as this is the low season and there aren't many tourists around). I was hoping to get one today but it didn't end up running, so I had to stay an extra night, but I didn't mind - it gave me plenty of time to wander around in the snow and take lots of photos. This hostel was a pretty social place with a bar downstairs, only costs about $17 per night including breakfast! Might as well take advantage of that while it lasts! Met three aussie travellers here - all from Melbourne uni! There were heaps of aussies at the Clown and Bard in Prague too - I guess for us, it's the time to go travelling!
This year I'm going to try to read a lot of the books I've always wanted to read but never got around to. So I dived straight into the deep end today and bought Crime and Punishment from an English-language bookshop next door to the hostel for about $6. Should be good.
A bus to Cesky Krumlov from Prague costs 180CZK+, about $12. Drove through lots of countryside thinly covered by snow, which was of course very exciting (having only been in the snow once before, I think it will take a long time to lose its charm - if it ever does!). Cesky Krumlov is a picturesque little town near the Austrian border. It's a really beautiful place, and it was all covered in a thin layer of snow when I was there. There was a cat at the hostel - waltzed into breakfast and sat up on the seat, checking out what everyone was eating and enjoying the attention. Very cute!
Went to the Cesky Krumlov Castle, the second biggest castle in the Czech Rep. Unfortunately it's closed all through winter, but it was still worth seeing from the outside - the walls are beautifully decorated and it offered plenty of great views of the town! AND there were BEARS in the moat! (Obviously there was no water in there). Big space but they looked pretty bored.
Had a bit of a look around the town in the (Saturday) afternoon but by about 3pm everything had closed - even the supermarket places. There is was virtually nothing open on Saturday evening or sunday, except for the many pubs and bars (I'm not sure how a town of 15,000 plus a few tourists supports so many pubs. I guess they really like beer). A hearty meal and a soft drink costs about $10 in most places here, which is OK I guess. Self-catering is definitely much cheaper, here and in Prague - basic foods from the supermarket are REALLY cheap.
Trying to figure out how to get to Milan from Cesky Krumlov is complicated. There is no direct train route to Milan from Austria, and any route will require a few changes. I have no idea how long it will take, but could be a fair while and might also be pretty expensive - I also have a feeling I might be spending a fair bit of time waiting for trains in train stations, especially as tomorrow is Sunday.
Getting from here to Linz, the closest major train station (just over the border in Austria), is a major problem. It's about an hour to drive, but there are not direct train routes - you have to backtrack to major town called Ceske Budejovice (incidently, where the original Budweiser comes from - but I think the one we know just uses the name), catch a train from there to the Austrian border and another from there to Linz - takes about 3-5 hours. There are a few shuttle services but they are run sporadically (as this is the low season and there aren't many tourists around). I was hoping to get one today but it didn't end up running, so I had to stay an extra night, but I didn't mind - it gave me plenty of time to wander around in the snow and take lots of photos. This hostel was a pretty social place with a bar downstairs, only costs about $17 per night including breakfast! Might as well take advantage of that while it lasts! Met three aussie travellers here - all from Melbourne uni! There were heaps of aussies at the Clown and Bard in Prague too - I guess for us, it's the time to go travelling!
This year I'm going to try to read a lot of the books I've always wanted to read but never got around to. So I dived straight into the deep end today and bought Crime and Punishment from an English-language bookshop next door to the hostel for about $6. Should be good.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Impressions of Prague
- My brother-in-law Paul said that Prague is a great city to go wandering in, and I couldn't agree more. One day I wandered through a park near the hostel and a few blocks later came across Wenceslas Square and the National Museum. Similar thing happened the day before - I came across Old Town Square, a major tourist attraction, almost by accident. It's easy enough, just go down whichever street appeals, and follow the crowds of tourists if you want something structured....
- The city is packed with tourist groups (especially since I was there over European holidays). I sometimes tagged along with Italian groups for a bit to test out my Italian comprehension (I did pretty badly, should have kept studying after my exam!) - if I get funny looks I just pretended I didn't understand. Which wasn't hard.
- There are a lot of people who don't speak English but I found most people very helpful - it's amazing how much you can get across with gestures and saying very important words (like 'train') very slowly, I didn't have many problems getting by! Lots of people seem to speak German as a second language which I guess is slightly more comprehensible than Czech!
- Lots of beautiful buildings. Even the residential places in the suburbs are worth a look. Every second building is ornately decorated, even if it's just patterns on the bricks, but many have statues above the doors and decorations on balconies etc. Some, especially in the outer suburbs, not well maintained, often with graffiti all over the walls of the ground floors.
- Lots of evidence of dogs around.
- Boots are very popular here - and finally I can understand the practicality, given the weather.
- Gothic style's pretty big in Prague - I don't think the Renaissance caught on as quickly here as it did in the rest of Europe.
- There are Christmas trees EVERYWHERE - churches, public places, inside and outside big public and private buildings. Nice to be somewhere where Christmas actually has some community significance and isn't just an overblown exercise in consumerism.
- Beer is available in supermarkets in fridges alongside Coke and other soft drinks!
- Most common things sold in touristy souvenier shops: Crystal and Glass products; Wooden toys and marionettes; Babushka Dolls; Corny t-shirts with such logos as 'Prague: Czech me out!'. Ugh. Not too many pens but I'm getting there. I tried everywhere to get a T-shirt with something written in Czech (crazy language) but of course everything cool has slogans in English...
All in all - an awesome place to be!
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