First, a couple things about Italy: There are leaning towers all over the place, not just in Pisa. Granted, no others are at the impressive angle that the famous tower is, but many towers are just a little…. off. The food & wine are indeed amazing, and the overall pace of life is… leisurely. Not lazy, just very intentionally Not-Stressed-Out. Especially about work. The Italians do exert themselves in making and enjoying fabulous food, and partake in passionate conversations, expressing themselves with even-more-passionate gestures. There are very clear priorities, and working is decidedly low on the list. Many a ticket window did we wait at, while the ticket agent finished a very animated conversation with a co-worker.
Somewhat related, there are buildings covered in scaffolding all over the place. As our Venetian tourguide told us, it takes 10 years to renovate a building that took 4 years to build.
Italy, by the numbers:
- 1 country, 1 currency, 1 language
- 11 towns/cities where we stayed (Tirol, Padua, Venice, Verona, Modena, Cinque Terre, Florence, Sienna, Orvieto, Sorrento, Rome)
- 5 Towns on Daytrips (Bologna, Pisa, Pompei, Amalfi, Ravello)
- 0 Thefts, pickpockets, stolen organs, or moped-vs-pedestrian accidents
- 37 near moped-vs-pedestrian accidents
- 16 gelatos consumed
- Countless pizzas, panini’s, pasta dishes
Observations, Opinions, & Gross generalizations:
- Italy is certainly the place to go to enjoy life (Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love” gives a palpable depiction) – Italy is the center for pleasure and experience: food, wine, art, architecture, beauty.
- While enjoying said pleasure in Italy, it is very important to drop any American/German/English (etc) expectations of efficiency or service, efficiency is neither a reality nor a goal. They will get to doing their job… as soon as they are done with their cappuccino/snack/phone conversation/ discussion with co-workers.
- Beer is expensive, have the wine – cheaper and better.
- Favorite Italian wine – any Chianti (named for the region)
- Favorite new cuisine – pici – very thick, round spaghetti-like pasta – local specialty in Siena.
- Best city for food – Bologna (wins by a narrow margin over an 8-place tie for 2nd place)
- Most impressive history, biggest/grandest ruins: Rome
- Best-preserved ruins, entire ancient city intact: Pompeii
- Hugest, craziest collection of priceless art & artifacts: The Vatican
o Example: The mile-long hallway to the Sistine Chapel is FILLED with art and artifacts. One such “artifact” is Nero’s Bath, the size of a small swimming pool. It’s made of one huge piece of red marble: the hardest, rarest, most valuable marble on earth. The marble itself is worth $80,000 per pound, and it takes 2 hours to chisel/carve an inch. I don’t know how many tons said swimming pool weighs, but just the raw material is priceless, much less the labor/carving/art and historical value of such an ancient piece – priceless. The Vatican owns a lot of these kinds of things.
- Best city to live in (by our criteria) – Florence
- Next best places to live: Padua, Bologna, Verona, Siena.
- Best place for a relaxing hiking trip if you want a view of snow-capped alps: Tirol.
- Best place for a relaxing hiking if you want a view of coast: Cinque Terre (off-season)
- Best city for global/ancient history – Rome
- Best medieval architecture & Renaissance art – Florence, Venice
- Too many churches to rate, but St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican), Duomo (Florence), Duomo (Siena), and San Marco (Venice) are stand-outs. But really, every town has an incredible old church or five. - Best caves: Orvieto
In a nutshell: we liked Italy.
No comments:
Post a Comment