as is so often the case with things like that, italy wasn't what i expected. i saw glimmers of that mythic italy that so many people are in raptures about, and i won't deny that it was surreal to be surrounded by landscapes that i've heard about all of my life... but italy was humble. it was just another country in reality. of course it had it's unique elements, and yes italian is a charming language to listen to, but i found myself feeling like it was a little overhyped. i won't deny that i felt a little teensy bit let down, but i will assure you that those sentiments did not ruin my time there. italy was beautiful, and i had wonderful experiences there. it was impossible to not have an amazing time there, really, given that i was traveling with erik--finally together again after months apart. i knew that no matter where we went or what we did, that this trip would be something we would always remember. and it was.
we started in venice, arriving in the foggy, freezing cold city at 6 am after taking a night train from innsbruck. we walked out of the front of the train station and were met by deserted streets and the sound of lapping water; the fog was thick enough that we could only make out the vaque outline of an enormous and enormously beautiful bridge over a canal: it was totally surreal. are we really in venice?? we dropped our bags at the hostel, and then spent the morning wandering. we found narrow alleys that clipped your elbows and alleys you had to duck down in to walk though, bridges, and churches, and lots of dead ends. the great thing about venice is that you probably will get lost, but eventually some alleyway will dump you out somewhere big... like the piazza san marcoso, which we found entirely by accident. being out before the crowds was amazing, because we got to watch this beautiful city wake up, gradually filling with the chatter of the local fish merchants and veggie stand owners, before the entire city braced itself against the tourist onslaught. it was wonderful to get a glimpse of the real venice.
other highlights of our time in venice included being accosted by a rose-seller in san marcoso after dark, our first taste of gelato from a backstreet gelateria, taking long walks on the waterfront, and repeatedly getting lost in the mazes of streets. venice was my favorite place in italy. i loved it's packed little alleys, tiny coffee bars, hidden piazzas, and of course the canals and gondolas. it is haunting in it's slightly decrepit beauty; particularly in the hours before visitors to the city lift their heads from the pillow, and the narrow lanes are full of the chatter of old friends and neighbors and not camera lenses.
foggy canal view on our first morning in venice
a nearly deserted piazza san marcoso
picturesque gondola ranks along the waterfront
piazza san marcoso with a pigeon
how bizarre and beautiful: a city built on waterflorence was our next stop in italy: more of a stop-in really, as we were on our way to cinque terra for the remainder of our time in italy. but, we spent an enjoyable afternoon and evening there.
florence is in the heart of tuscany, and it was there that i saw brief glimpses of the fabled italy of the guidebooks and travel shows. the city is surrounded by rolling hills, topped with olive groves, open fields, and those tall narrow trees you see growing in windrows along roads in photos of the tuscan countryside. the city itself was overwhelming after the intimacy and car-less-ness of venice. the buildings were huge, the cars and mopeds fast and loud, the people imposing in their fashionableness. but, we enjoyed wonderful hospitality in our hostel, splurged on a traditional italian meal with all four courses, and played i-spy with a gorgeous tuscan sunset when we took a long evening walk. and then there was the cheerful man in the gelateria we paused at on said walk who dug extra long to find me a pink plastic spoon for my cone, giggling all the while. :)
cherry red moped!
this street was really steep, but lead to a pretty hilltop lane
picture of the sunset through a hole in a gate: i was too short to see it over the walls that unfortunately lined our hilltop walk
florence is in the heart of tuscany, and it was there that i saw brief glimpses of the fabled italy of the guidebooks and travel shows. the city is surrounded by rolling hills, topped with olive groves, open fields, and those tall narrow trees you see growing in windrows along roads in photos of the tuscan countryside. the city itself was overwhelming after the intimacy and car-less-ness of venice. the buildings were huge, the cars and mopeds fast and loud, the people imposing in their fashionableness. but, we enjoyed wonderful hospitality in our hostel, splurged on a traditional italian meal with all four courses, and played i-spy with a gorgeous tuscan sunset when we took a long evening walk. and then there was the cheerful man in the gelateria we paused at on said walk who dug extra long to find me a pink plastic spoon for my cone, giggling all the while. :)
cherry red moped!
this street was really steep, but lead to a pretty hilltop lane
picture of the sunset through a hole in a gate: i was too short to see it over the walls that unfortunately lined our hilltop walkour final destination in italy was the cinque terra coast, where we had booked a hostel that was in fact a full apartment--something that erik and i were really looking forward to. we would have a chance to go to the market, and bring home our bounty to create our own meals. we would have a space to call our own for a few days, one that we could use as a platform for adventuring, and as a warm haven to spend lazy evenings whiling the time away. our time together there was full of relaxation, stormy mornings, steep stairs, wandering walks, and seaside air. it was the perfect ending to a long trip, a long period of displacement that had simultaneously torn the ties i had in england and begun strengthening the ones i felt to home.
the principle impression of cinque terra that stuck in my memory is how old it was. the town of riomaggiore, where we stayed, was full of old plastered buildings clinging to the sides of even older cliffs, over an even older sea. the steep hillsides above the town were domesticated as terraced farm fields (reminiscent of peru, or maybe china), full of oranges and grape vines. the streets were steep and their stones were rough; the boats near the little harbor were wind, salt and sea-worn but still carefully painted in bright blues. the demographic of the town was almost entirely over the age of 40. this was a place that had been there for a long time, and you had the impression that the way that life is lived there has changed little over the years. this town lived in isolation until the years just after WWII, when a footpath was built to the neighboring town of manarola. people here grew up together, married each other, and were buried in clifftop cemeteries by their children who married each other. the flavor of this little town was rich and hearty, and i felt lucky to sample it.
because of the reality of traveling in the off season, many of the wonders of the cinque terra weren't available to erik and i: we had planned to do a lot of hiking between the towns, but almost all of the trails were closed. luckily, on our second to last day the "via dell'amore" was open, and we paid our five euro to walk along this richly historied path, marveling at both the sea view and the human traces (in the form of grafitti and padlocks) that lay in layers along the way.
we left the cinque terra feeling like it is somewhere we should come back to: sometime when the air is warm and the gelaterias are open, and windows are flung open to crystal blue skies, not shut to chilly grey winds. when we can spend an entire day (not 25 minutes) climbing stairs and pausing for views along the trails linking the towns.
someday, we'll be back.
looking up at riomaggiore from the tiny harbor
looking north along the cinque terra coastline
hanging out on the tiny rocky beach just south of riomaggiore
a glimpse of the grafitti along the "via dell'amore"
it's a tradition to lock a padlock with you and your love's initials on it at some point along the via dell'amore: the result is long chains of locks all linked together. kind of beautiful really.
a view of manarola from the via dell'amore
all of the defining features of the cinque terra in one photo: blue and white boats, sherbet colored cliffside homes, and terraced fields above
the kind of views you get when you wander off the beaten/legal pathway (this is manarola)
the principle impression of cinque terra that stuck in my memory is how old it was. the town of riomaggiore, where we stayed, was full of old plastered buildings clinging to the sides of even older cliffs, over an even older sea. the steep hillsides above the town were domesticated as terraced farm fields (reminiscent of peru, or maybe china), full of oranges and grape vines. the streets were steep and their stones were rough; the boats near the little harbor were wind, salt and sea-worn but still carefully painted in bright blues. the demographic of the town was almost entirely over the age of 40. this was a place that had been there for a long time, and you had the impression that the way that life is lived there has changed little over the years. this town lived in isolation until the years just after WWII, when a footpath was built to the neighboring town of manarola. people here grew up together, married each other, and were buried in clifftop cemeteries by their children who married each other. the flavor of this little town was rich and hearty, and i felt lucky to sample it.
because of the reality of traveling in the off season, many of the wonders of the cinque terra weren't available to erik and i: we had planned to do a lot of hiking between the towns, but almost all of the trails were closed. luckily, on our second to last day the "via dell'amore" was open, and we paid our five euro to walk along this richly historied path, marveling at both the sea view and the human traces (in the form of grafitti and padlocks) that lay in layers along the way.
we left the cinque terra feeling like it is somewhere we should come back to: sometime when the air is warm and the gelaterias are open, and windows are flung open to crystal blue skies, not shut to chilly grey winds. when we can spend an entire day (not 25 minutes) climbing stairs and pausing for views along the trails linking the towns.
someday, we'll be back.
looking up at riomaggiore from the tiny harbor
looking north along the cinque terra coastline
hanging out on the tiny rocky beach just south of riomaggiore
a glimpse of the grafitti along the "via dell'amore"
it's a tradition to lock a padlock with you and your love's initials on it at some point along the via dell'amore: the result is long chains of locks all linked together. kind of beautiful really.
a view of manarola from the via dell'amore
all of the defining features of the cinque terra in one photo: blue and white boats, sherbet colored cliffside homes, and terraced fields above
the kind of views you get when you wander off the beaten/legal pathway (this is manarola)we left the cinque terra on a sunny morning that promised far better weather than any of the past few days. too bad for us, but we were able to take advantage of the rays in pisa. we arrived at pisa's train station just before noon, and didn't need to be at the airport for a couple of hours. and what else do you do in pisa in a few hours, but visit the leaning tower? so, erik, myself, and all of our bags trekked to the other side of town for a sunny picnic under the leaning tower. we passed time laughing at tourists, eating the last of our italian salami and bread, and soaking up the warm sunny rays. a perfect end to italy: even better, given that we spent our last euros on enormous gelatos on the way back to the train station. yum. :)
we contented ourselves with taking a picture of the tourists taking the classic leaning tower picture... and i think we were the only people in a 200 meter vicinity who weren't taking this picture, minus the guy who was asleep on the steps nearby
it's a tower and it leans. wow. it's one of those anti-climactic things...
but the sunshine was wonderful :)
as was the view on the flight back to england. farewell europe!
b
we contented ourselves with taking a picture of the tourists taking the classic leaning tower picture... and i think we were the only people in a 200 meter vicinity who weren't taking this picture, minus the guy who was asleep on the steps nearby
it's a tower and it leans. wow. it's one of those anti-climactic things...
but the sunshine was wonderful :)
as was the view on the flight back to england. farewell europe!b
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