2008 Woodie Awards
European Life-Culture Shock
Part 3: Italy
Caryn Connolly
Issue date: 2/9/07 Section: Opinion
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This is the final week of coverage of the Stevens trip to Europe over Winter Break. The weather had been perfect all through Spain and France. The weather even held as we took a rather long detour through the Cinque Terre region of Italy. This series of five towns is connected by train. We visited only two: Montorossa and Riomaggiore. Once again, the views were spectacular and the beaches rocky. However, the towns were very small, each only offering a place to eat. The decided lack of crowds made it doubly apparent we were visiting in the off-season. After about a half hour of exploring (in other words walking up the mountain and then turning around and walking back down), several members of the group climbed to the top of a massive rock adjacent to the beach. A short while later we all took the train back to La Spezia, where we would be spending the night. The meal that night was a delicious pesto pasta. The restaurant also included, for some reason, turkey and a plate of French fries. I have to admit: those were the best fries I've had in a long time.
The next morning was cold and dreary. We visited Pisa, which consists of the Leaning Tower and about twenty souvenir stands. There was not much there, and we did not stay too long before ending up on the road to Florence. The distances were great between the cities we visited, and we sometimes drove for six or eight hours in one day, the vibrations from the bus lulling us all to sleep. Every two hours, Marco, our driver, gave us a rest stop.
By this point in the trip, most of us were tired and the weather did not help at all. It had turned drizzly and foggy. A souvenir photo was scheduled for our arrival in Florence and was taken despite the fog that obscured most of the skyline. But the countryside behind us was beautiful, filled with Cyprus trees and expensive villas with their ubiquitous red-tiled roofs.
We were given two days to explore Florence. Sad to say, we never did make it to the other side of the bridge that now houses tiny jewelry shops. Our hotel was right around the corner from the museum that houses Michelangelo's David. Going around the block, we were assailed by street vendors attempting to sell us knock off prints of Botticelli's work at inflated prices. I was able to get them down from 25 Euros to ten, and I was not even interested. I cannot imagine how low I could have gotten the price if I had really tried to bargain with them. After navigating the maze of vendors to get inside, we were humbled by the magnificence of the towering statue of David. From odd angles, the statue seemed alive, the rippling muscles realistic.
The next morning was cold and dreary. We visited Pisa, which consists of the Leaning Tower and about twenty souvenir stands. There was not much there, and we did not stay too long before ending up on the road to Florence. The distances were great between the cities we visited, and we sometimes drove for six or eight hours in one day, the vibrations from the bus lulling us all to sleep. Every two hours, Marco, our driver, gave us a rest stop.
By this point in the trip, most of us were tired and the weather did not help at all. It had turned drizzly and foggy. A souvenir photo was scheduled for our arrival in Florence and was taken despite the fog that obscured most of the skyline. But the countryside behind us was beautiful, filled with Cyprus trees and expensive villas with their ubiquitous red-tiled roofs.
We were given two days to explore Florence. Sad to say, we never did make it to the other side of the bridge that now houses tiny jewelry shops. Our hotel was right around the corner from the museum that houses Michelangelo's David. Going around the block, we were assailed by street vendors attempting to sell us knock off prints of Botticelli's work at inflated prices. I was able to get them down from 25 Euros to ten, and I was not even interested. I cannot imagine how low I could have gotten the price if I had really tried to bargain with them. After navigating the maze of vendors to get inside, we were humbled by the magnificence of the towering statue of David. From odd angles, the statue seemed alive, the rippling muscles realistic.