Lena's Traveler's Talk

Post 2 (written in 2023)

As i edit this Italia post, I read what I wrote in 2015 and laugh at myself a bit for my writing style. Tempted to edit but I won’t as it was authentic to me  back then and let’s see if I have really even changed. So here we go.

Last week, my family returned from a 15 day trip to 6 cities. I was the only one who had been there before and while I wasn’t as jazzed to return to the big cities, I realize that this experience was so different because I actually had a budget of more than 10-20 Euro which meant I got tour guides to learn the history and ordered the food I really wanted to eat. Before I get into each city we visited, let me set the stage for you as to what kind of travelers we are so that you can decide if taking our advice matches your style. My kids are now 6 and 9, we have been out of the country almost annually since they were babies and by no means are they travel pros. They fight, a lot, complain, a lot, all of which you would expect for boys this age. They love to swim and because my husband is Greek and we go to Greece most often, that is their gold standard. In Greece they swim every day, visit with local family and most importantly don’t have to walk much. Last time we went to cities was Budapest, Prague and Vienna when they were 3 and 5, we had a stroller which helped in some cases (albeit was a pain in others). So this trip, we knew that we would make them walk a lot, pack up a lot because of the 6 locations and go days without swimming and just do touristy things. We don’t like to go fancy for the big cities and prefer airbnbs in central locations but are willing to spend a little more in “relaxing” stops. Our kids are fairly adventurous with eating in that they love sushi, Indian and we can always find something on the menu each of them will eat albeit will never be the same item. We like some touristy things but love to get off the beaten path and we keep the kids up late, typically not getting to bed until 11 (and even later when in Greece). When we put together this itinerary, we wanted a blend of city and scenery and we rented a car to get around. My husband drives stick (you can rent automatic) and he’s comfortable navigating tough driving environments albeit we found Italy to overall be much easier to navigate than Greece. So let’s get into the details!

Rome

Post 1 (written in 2015) Hello, I’ve been meaning to write a post for a few weeks now but I’ve been a bit distracted. I was going to write about my recent trip to Asia,  but in light of the upcoming Traveler’s Talk Dinner on Italy, I decided that this should be the topic. For those attending the dinner or those that can’t, please feel free to add comments on the post with your own thoughts and suggestions. This will be the best repository to exchange ideas outside of the dinners. Thanks for your support!

Italia!!!

Italy and I have met 3 times and each time on very different terms.

I’ll breeze through the first time as I don’t remember much. I was around 6 years old, my family was immigrating to America from Belarus and Rome was a pit stop. We hung out for a few months waiting for the necessary paper work and then off to Chicago we went. Cool to have said that I lived in Rome for 2.5 months but its not like we were living the good life.

The 2nd time was in 2003, while studying abroad in Madrid, some friends and I decided to make Rome our first weekend trip. I looked for the hotel where we stayed back in ’89, but it was nowhere to be found. It was time to see Rome with a fresh pair of eyes, those of a curious college student. Given that I was a broke college student, our choice of accommodations was a bit on the “cheap” side. A hostel with about 10 people sharing 1 bathroom, you can imagine how fun that was. We had about 4 days to roam the city and hit up a few pretty fantastic historical sights. A few things that stuck out..

– Trevi Fountain is charming and crowded but right near it is the best Gelateria http://www.ilgelatodisancrispino.it/ I have ever been to. They keep the gelato in tin canisters and don’t use artificial coloring, which in it of itself doesn’t sound too exciting, but trust me, it is. Read some reviews if you don’t believe me!

– Well it so happens that we were there on the exact day that all of Italy lost its power http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Italy_blackout some more evidence in case you need it ;). Needless to say, our options were limited and I distinctly remember that every restaurant only served tomato and mozzarella sandwiches, cold, because that was the only thing they didn’t need power for. That got old quickly but luckily the power resumed and we carried on.

– Vatican City – Home of the Pope, smallest city within a city with its own zip code, you know that one. The museum leading to Sistine Chapel is worth dedicating a lot of time to. I should’ve taken a tour to learn the history a bit more but as mentioned previously, it was on the cheap. Some people argue that the museum is better than the Chapel itself, its a  bit of an “eye of the beholder” thing there but I personally LOVED the Chapel. My experience this time was very different from the following time I returned. The guards were very serious and yelled “Silencio” as the crowds entered the Chapel, and the peacefulness allowed time for everyone to soak in the fact that they were in the precense of one of the biggest accomplishments and well recognized pieces of art, by Michelangelo. I must admit that I never admired art until I traveled to Europe and that is when I realized how much of an impact it can have on you. Sitting in the Chapel for 10-15 minutes in complete silence with hundreds of people around you was powerful. However, when I returned a few years later on Trip 3 (more to come below), the guards were not as strict and it was complete chaos. It changed the experience drastically and was not the way I would suggest anyone sees it.

– Spanish Steps – Are they hyped up steps? Well maybe from an architectural and design perspective, I can’t say that I was that impressed. However, what was impressive was the scene and people watching. Local teenagers sitting on the steps with their mullet hair cuts, tight jeans and that laughter that radiated all around them..oh and yes I was refering to the boys when I said tight jeans. You don’t have to dedicate an entire night to it, but I would suggest taking a stroll and stopping for a bit with a bottle of vino.

– Coliseum – Well, had an interesting experience here as well. From the outside, it was overwhelmingly exciting. On the inside, it was under construction or being renovated, whatever the right phrase is. The bottom line is that there were wood panels that went across the inside and you couldn’t see inside the arena. I’ll cut the Italians a break as they have to keep it in good shape, but I just, once again, had bad timing.

Let’s move on to Italy trip part 3. This one is a bit fresher in my mind as it was in the summer of 2005, my friend and I went backpacking for 21 days to 11 cities, in 4 countries (Spain, France, Italy, Greece). The other countries will get their own chapters, but for now I will focus on a few highlights of Italy.

– First stop was Genoa. Frankly, I hadn’t even heard of Genoa before but when I sent my University of Madrid class an email “Hey everyone, I am coming to Europe this summer, so who’s in region and wants to meet up?”, I got a few nice responses and was able to meet up with my Brazilian and Japanese friends in Madrid (I actually just visited by Japanese friend in Tokyo but that’s also a tale for another day), and my Italian friend in Genoa. He was generous enough to host us in his parents’ home and we feasted on a 6 course meal prepared my his mother. Naturally, a bowl of pasta was the first plate..home made pesto, I can still taste it. Did you know that the first bank in the world was established in Genoa? Fun fact, well maybe its just fun  for me because I work in banking.

-From Genoa, we took the train to Cinque Terre (meaning 5 towns) in the Italian Riviera. To say this is one of my favorite places in the entire world is a bit of an understatement. 5 small towns tucked in a cliff with pastel colored houses built up as high up as the cliff can go. You can hike across all the towns, but we didn’t. We just stayed in the second town, Vernazza for a day and a half. (Fun fact, I often see pictures and paintings of the views of Vernazza at art festivals in Chicago, so I must not be the only one that feels this way). It’s a small town that is one block long which pours out into a triangle shaped beach. You’ll find a few restaurants, gelaterias and an internet cafe (if those still exist!). My favorite memory was sitting on the steps of a gelateria (gelato in hand), listening to a group of Italian tourists singing what we assumed was old Italian Folk Music. Life made a lot of sense in that moment…

– Off to Venice we went. Gondola rides and Piazza San Marco are the two most recognizable icons of this unique city. Indeed we found another pair of folks who were willing to share the Gondala ride with (to make it cheaper..you see the theme here?). Our guy told us stories of how he came from a long line of Gondola men and he carried on with such pride. It is touristy and cheesy but necessary. Do NOT leave Venice without a ride because you’ll miss out. As for Piazza San Marco, I just remember a lot of pigeons and hand blown glass vendors. Probably one of the nicest Piazzas in all of Italy. We had the unfortunate experience of staying at Camping Fucina, a campground which was a ferry ride away from Venice. It was hot, humind and just unfortable but we got this idea from another backpacker that we met in Spain, and well, it seemed like a good one. a.k.a – it was cheap! In my humble opinion, you don’t need more than 24-36 hours in Venice. In and out, but there’ll come a day when that city will be under water, so enjoy it while you can.

– Florence – I am absolutely ashamed to admit this but I did not soak in all that Florence has to offer. I think we missed a few of the key sites (statue of David, inside the Duomo) primarily because of the long lines. Instead, we did a lot of walking and looking around at architecture, and oh yeah, there was the background noise of California Valley Girls. Not sure if this was summer abroad time for these girls, but I couldnt take a step without hearing English, particularly spoken in that tone that makes your ears burn. (Kristin – you remember how much that took over our experience in Florence?). I know it sounds silly that I would pay any attention to this but the truth is that people are affected in the most unique ways when they travel and this is why travel tips are always nice to hear, but its important to know who they are coming from. Everyone is drawn to cities for different reasons. I do recall a magical evening sitting at a nice dinner where a hot young Italian chick pulls up with a helmet on a “Vespa-esque” mode of transportaion, and takes off her helmet, swings her hair back and forth and yells “Papa. something something” which we interperted to mean Happy Birthday. Isn’t that nice, the owner’s daughter popped in to wish her father a Happy Birthday. Well, wine on the house for the entire restaurant because of this little visit. Sitting at a table outside, with a great friend as we ate lobster/crab or some sort of shell fish with bibs on was pretty priceless. (yes, I know what you are thinking, this one wasn’t on the cheap..we splurged!).

– I’ll be brief on Rome as you’ve heard plenty on it before. Kristin and I did a lot of the same things that I had seen in trip 2, and we had a great time. Another hostel experience meeting really intriguing foreign world travelers added a little zest as well.

– Bari – Fun Fact, a lot of people in Chicago are from Bari. They are very nice and get pretty excited when you tell them that you’ve visited their city. Our purpose, sole and very functional purpose for visiting this city was to get onto a boat to take us to Patras, Greece. I fully intend to give very detailed description of my travels to Greece in a seperate post. Given that I am now married to a Greek, I might have to write a small chapter on it! Anyway, back to Bari. Quaint, small town, with a charm that many port cities possess. I liked my experience there (half a day) but wouldn’t necessarily say that you have to make a seperate visit unless you are going on a Ferry or visiting family/friends.

Well, turns out I had a lot to say about Italy and this isn’t even all of it. I probably have typos and run on sentances but it’s Ok, because you should be smiling when you are reading about Italy, not paying attention to my grammer.