ITALIA
First stop: VENEZIA!
A sinking city stretching over 117 small islands, connected by 455 bridges and 177 canals in a marshy lagoon, welcoming 50,000 tourists a day. Venice is without doubt the most unique & mysterious city I have ever visited.
Leaving the train station you are welcomed immediately by the Grand Canal and its multiple water taxis (or vaporettis)- as there are no cars in this city boats & your two legs are the only forms of transport. Although being a huge tourist trap & expensive city to live in, I fell in love with this romantic city from first sight: this is a big deal by the way as I have only ever said that twice in my life- the other city being Sevilla. I don't think my camera left my hand that first day- I just couldn't get over the beauty and uniqueness of the city with its picturesque and winding streets lined by canals. And don't forget to GET LOST IN VENICE! It's easy to do as most street signs seem to lead to different places than they claim and at times you will see arrows pointing in two directions for the same destination.
It's no wonder Shakespeare, Thomas Mann & Ezra Pound found this city so inspiring & enchanting that they based novels, plays and poetry on it; I too fell under its spell the moment I left the station.
The Gondoliers certainly take advantage of their famous city by charging 80 euros for a 30 minute ride in their velvet seated narrow boats with persian rugs. This city entrances you & you part with your money without a second thought; whether it be paying a Venetian to serenade you along the Grand Canal or purchasing that must-buy Venetian mask souvenir- this city eats your centimos! But its such a unique & enrapturing experience. Our Gondolier, Diego, was well informed on & proud of the history of his city and as Christen quizzed him he began to take us back in time whilst cruising down the narrow canals and shared some of his knowledge with us. Furthermore, he not only discounted our ride to 50 euros but allowed Christen and I to have a go at rowing the gondola- which is actually extremely difficult & requires a lot of skill. The oar was heavy and the tight, winding canals made maneuvering the Gondola almost impossible. However our reliable hero Diego held on to us and assured us that he wouldn't let go & guided us through it...how sweet of him ;p -He certainly enjoyed it when Christen was up there with him haha!
St Mark's Basilica and Piazza San Marco were fun places to hang out with a gelato or ice cold drink. NB: If you're looking to sit in the square's cafes you should come prepared to pay the steep prices. 20 euros for a slice of cake and a coffee wasn't really within my budget! It wasn't until the evening when we went for a late night stroll that we realized that it floods at night when the tide comes in!
Although we didn't have time to visit the glass blowing factory, (which is a huge part of their economy with hundreds of shops selling glass-made products) we DID shop for Venetian masks. The humorous thing was that, whilst chilling in Piazza San Marco one afternoon trying to cool down from the intense heat, Kate interviewed me (on camera) about my 'ideal' mask. My description was along the lines of: I want a woman with pert lips, you know, not one of those scary masks or joker mask things, and I would like her to have a hat with feathers, and some sort of music theme, perhaps musical notes on her cheeks or something...I think colour-wise I'd go for something neutral, like beige.
Well, 5 hours later I stumbled across 'the one': I think it fits the description quite well!
My only other souvenir was a beautiful painting by a student who attends the University of Venice. Hundreds of artists line the streets of Venice displaying their work. Christen too invested in some art work earlier that day, and finally I found an artist whose work was different, quite like Monet & so I committed & purchased this painting:
The colours and brushstrokes were what caught my eye and his flirtatious, Italian mannerisms persuaded me to part with my dinero. He actually seemed a little sad to see this particular painting go. He explained to me that it was one of his favorite & most unique works. I assured him I would take good care of it! After exchanging emails I paid him the discounted 30 euros, thanked him and waved goodbye only to hear him mutter 'Bella Bella!' as he watched us walk away & get lost in the crowd. Oh Italians!
Day 2 in Venice was a scorcher and so we took a boat over to Lido for the day. A beach island- we stayed out relaxing in the sun and swimming in the sea for a few hours before returning to the historic island feeling sun-kissed, tired from the intensity of the sun, with windswept, dry and salted hair from the Adriatic sea & skin smelling like a mezcla of sunscreen & sweat...sounds gross but we were left feeling so relaxed. One of those 'Life's so great' moments.
One amusing observation whilst at the beach for the day was the vast quantity of speedos that could be spotted: some more welcoming than others! Kate and I childishly sneaked some photos discreetly & compared. This guy won the award for 'best speedo of the day':
So our short but sweet trip to Venice was incredible & I would certainly recommend this breathtaking, but expensive destination to any lovers out there....just save up for it!
FIRENZE
Capital city of Tuscany and considered as the birthplace of Renaissance, it is home to Michelangelo's masterpiece 'David' & the Uffizi Gallery which displays two of my favorite works of art: Botticelli's 'La Primavera' (which has been displayed on my bedroom wall in Chester since my last visit to Florence at the age of 10) and 'The Birth of Venus'. The impressive & gothic Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, built by Filippo Brunelleschi and the Campanile offer the most incredible views of the city. However be warned that it's quite the climb with its 463 steps and steep ladders to the summit, not to mention the breathtaking (literally as Kate and I suffer terribly from vertigo!) view of the 'Ceiling Fresco' painted by Giorgio Vasari
& Frederico Zuccari depicting The Last Judgment.
I naughtily sneaked a photo of David and was scolded for it by the observer lady. Here it is:
The 5.17 meter (17 feet) marble statue portrays the Biblical hero David during a moment of contemplation. The most widely accepted interpretation is that the statue represents David immediately before his battle with Goliath, unlike previous depictions which portray the hero after his victory.
Firenze is a beautiful, medieval-style city boasting some of Europe's most important and impressive art and architecture from the Middle Ages & Renaissance. Its artistic, historic and cultural heritage are what make this city the art capital of Italy & gives it the name of 'la culla del Rinascimiento'. (Cradle of the Renaissance).
Walking across the Ponte Vecchio (and over the River Arno) with its numerous jewel shops that appear to be held up by stilts, took me back in time and I remember feeling as if I was in a King Arthur film set. The bridge also carries Vasari's elevated corridor (built in the 14th Century!!!) linking the Uffizi Gallery to the Medici palace.
Aside from doing all the cultural 'touristy' things, we also managed to meet some fun locals. Our first night brought us to a little Italian restaurant near our hostel. We showed up rather late (well, our body-clocks were still on Spanish dinner time-10pm and apparently the Italians eat a little earlier at 8ish) so we almost had the restaurant to ourselves. The only other table was a party of 10 middle-aged italian men, feasting and drinking leisurely, filling up their well fed bellies. After our main meal of tasty pasta we decided desert would break the budget and were about to ask for the bill when one of the italians from the other table offered us some champagne and cake! It was his friends birthday and so we joined in singing happy birthday to him and accepted with gratitude the slice of fruit cake & a glass of deliciousness. After a little chatting (half in Spanish and half in English, as half the table understood a little spanish and the other half enjoyed practicing their english on us), they wished us an enjoyable stay and went outside to smoke. We sat and waited for our bill and after 15 minutes we were informed that it had already been paid for by the birthday boy! What gentlemen- I mean, their 'feast' probably came to over 300 euros and so our skimpy 30 euro bill was little extra to add to theirs but still we were so grateful and actually found ourselves lost for words! A nice surprise & great first impression of Firenze!
The following evening we decided it was about time we went to a club! So we hit the streets and asked a group of guys where to go for a disco. One of them spoke good english and informed me that he was a cop and would be starting his shift in a couple of hours so had time to walk us to the best club in town- we weren't sure if we should trust him but he turned out to be genuine and once we arrived (having walked 20 minutes to get there)he wished us a good evening and left- two good encounters. The nightclub was a little different from Spanish clubs that we were used to; the music being much more techno & less latino, but we still had fun. The drinks turned out to be a rip-off though and so we danced the night away sober! We met some cool people in that club, especially one guy who told me he was from Verona and would be my Romeo for the night haha. He was sweet though and fun to talk to. He even ended up paying for our hotel room for the night as we lost Christina half way through the evening (carrying the one and only set of keys for our flat that we were in). What a gentleman!
Legend has it that by rubbing this boars nose & dropping in a coin you will return to the city one day.
PISA
Aside from Florence we also took a train to Pisa for the afternoon to take those typical tourist shots of the tower! Here is how ours turned out....
MONTEPULCIANO and Vino Noble!
One of the highlights of the trip as a whole was our day trip to Montepulciano- a small medieval Tuscan hilltop village in the middle of nowhere, 2 hours drive from Firenze, famous for its wine cellars & vineyards. We spontaneously rented a car for the day (manual Fiat panda- so I drove!) and took off with Jane, our Sat Nav, to the hills! Jane and our little panda got us safely to the town (although we were convinced Jane was a little tipsy as she often got confused, having us go round in circles at times!) and we spent a few hours wine & cheese tasting! I know, aren't we classy! The town is impossible to reach by public transport and so we were surprised to find it was rather touristy. Lunch there was probably the best meal i've ever had in my life! Delicious pasta, salad, wine, cheese and bread followed by chocolate mousse. I died and went to heaven. The surrounding countryside and general 'oldy-worldy' atmosphere of the place was enchanting.
Twilight fans: Did you know that part of the New Moon film was shot in this small village in the heart of Tuscany? It's easy to see why it was chosen, with its old churches, piazzas, hills and medieval narrow streets that made driving even our tiny panda a challenge. Although the book was actually set in the nearby town of Volterra (which caters for tourists by offering Twilight tours!), the producers of the movie felt that Montepulciano was a bit more scenic.
Before leaving we all purchased a bottle of wine and some cheese to take home as memories. On the way home we stopped off in Siena to see the main piazza and cathedral.
Well that basically sums up our time in Tuscany. Our final stop was Naples... needless to say all the locals in Florence tried to persuade us not to go... we soon found out why. However we kept our spirits high as we had had an incredible adventure up until this point and so having the last couple of days not go quite to plan didn't bother us too much... I'll explain shall I?
NAPOLI
Capital of Campania with a population of about 1 million people and home of the Mafia, Pizza and Vespas, this historic but dirty & busy city was our 'base' for the final part of our trip. From our hostel by the port we were able to take trains to both the historic and fascinating town Pompeii and exotic town Sorrento along the Amalfi Coast.
Naples is one of the oldest cities in the world and offers both Greek and Roman influence. I'm sure the city can be fun and fascinating, but our experience was far from both of those things. We arrived from beautiful Firenze at the main train station and entered what it said to be the dirtiest and most dodgy part of the city: Piazza Garibaldi. We were welcomed by the stench of garbage, piles and piles of rubbish, bins overflowing with waste, hundreds of black people searching through the piles of clothes left on the side of the roads with blue bin bags, and a bus station that had no ticket office. We enquired about this and finally worked out that we had to buy a ticket at the tobacconist or news-agents. This ticket said 'valid for 90 minutes'. What we then had to do was validate it on the bus itself and then we were good to go. However when there are crowds of people on the bus, feeling nauseous from the stench of dozens of stinking men and trying hard to breathe, squashed against the bodies of strangers, nearly fainting, the last thing you think about is trying to get across to the other side of the bus to validate your ticket. So the ticket guy found me and made me cough up a 37 euro 'penalty'. I wasn't best pleased and found the man intimidating, arrogant and probably not legit. Not the best start to our stay in Naples and later (when stuck on the broken down train to Sorrento in 35 degree heat) Kate took a video of Christen and I summing up our opinions and experience of the city: enjoy. Oh, and when I mention a guy called Carlos, I'm referring to the guy on the bus who gave me the penalty!
(Video soon to be uploaded)
Pompeii
Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in 79 AD. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery around 1592. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.
It was a fantastic and fascinating day trip; experiencing the italian driving, was breathtaking & exhilarating haha! The sun beat down on us that day with no mercy and so walking around the ruins was quite tiring but well worth it. Although there was less to see than I'd thought there would be, I still found some fun stuff like the 'Casa del Fauno' (House of the Faun) where Kate & I began singing our hearts out to the Spanish 2010 Eurovision song 'Algo pequenito..wooooh, algo chiquitito wooooh!' You can probably make the link for yourselves!
This house was built in the second century BC and was said to be one of the largest residences in the Roman Republic, housing many grand pieces of art. Although the 79AD volcanic eruption was devastating, the layers of ash covering the tow
n conserved some art like the mosaic and Latin message 'HAVE' found at the entrance; a greeting for both departing and arriving.
The next day we visited the Archeological museum in Naples to see the majority of the artifacts and the 'original' señor pequenito, otherwise known as the dancing faun ;p
A day trip to Capri was cancelled as we were told the touristy island was a rip-off, although beautiful, and the 40 euros crossing by ferry again wasn't in our budget! So we headed off to the 'beach' of Naples. This entailed a 30 minute bus ride, a 20
minute walk and a lot of steps! When we finally arrived the sun had practically set! We did chill out for a bit on the tiny beach and amused ourselves by observing all the italians. We felt rather out of place to be honest as it was clear we were the only guiris there! Again we delighted in all the hilarious speedos out and about and this one guy who was playing catch in the water- he was very into sweeping his hair off his face in the wind like he was in a movie and flicking it up. We had a good giggle watching him!
Sorrento 'beach'.
Our last day was getting up at 4.30am to catch a taxi to the train station. We arrived a few hours later at Rome Ciampino airport, tired and emotional. We had to say goodbye. Christen & Kate were catching the Ryan-air flight to Ibiza and I, well, I was heading back to scouse land. So it was an emotional moment as I had to join a different line. The queuing took forever and so when we finally got through security we had to run to catch our flights, meaning the goodbyes were stolen from us. Maybe this was for the better though. A hug and promise to keep in touch parted me from two of the most incredible friends I've ever had in my life. It was only when I sat at my gate that I felt tears rolling down my face. An end of an era, the most amazing year of my life and it had now officially come to an end. Again, I was reminded of the nature of my life; TRANSIENT.
And so this marks the end of my 'ERASMUS PLACEMENT IN SPAIN SEPT09-JUNE10 BLOG'. It's been quite the year for me; i've experienced new cultures, traditions, languages, people and been blessed with the opportunity to do lots of traveling. This is the first time i've ever kept a blog and so I hope you enjoyed reading it! Hopefully i've inspired you to take a year out and live in Spain or abroad? If I had the choice I would be back there next year! So thank you to all my readers out there and who knows, maybe i'll feel inspired to continue with another blog sometime. As for now, I'm trying to learn some french before heading back to St Andrews University in September to continue with my 5 year MA Spanish-French degree. After that I think I'm going to pursue my passion of teaching...vamos a ver!!!
I guess all that is left to say is BESOS Y ABRAZOS, CUIDADOS Y ADIOOOOOOS! x0x0
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