OT: Back from Italy honeymoon

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 1:47 pm

Well my wife and I are safely back from Italy honeymoon after two weeks of overdosing on stunning scenery, stunning art, stunning architecture, making new friends, and being completely spoiled by absolutely mind-blowing incredible food! Only ill effects are some remaining jetlag and a monster head cold acquired a couple of days before we left.

We arrived in Venice November 3 to find the skies clear, weather warm, and the water thankfully gone from St. Mark’s Square. The hardest part of Venice is trying to find your way to whatever destination you’re trying to reach. Usually, the directions sound like “walk the opposite way, cross the bridge over the little canal, follow the narrow streets for a few blocks, cross the big bridge over the grand canal, wind your way through a couple of small squares – and voila (only in broken English and Italian).

Venice is a friendly though slightly reserved place, with a more serious outlook than some of the other areas in Italy that we visited. We stayed in a little hotel by a small canal about 10 minutes walk from St. Mark’s square. There’s no breakfast room or restaurant so you get served breakfast on a little table in the room.

St. Mark’s square, the basilica, and the palace are the major attractions in Venice. The square is quite large and there are throngs of tourists, artists, vendors, and cafes in and around the area. The Basilica is the dominant structure in the square and I really cannot due justice to either its beauty, vivid mosaics, or exquisite craftsmanship. Here, as in the rest of the areas we visited, its easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer sense of history of the place. Inside are beautiful mosaics dating back almost 1000 years, as well as works of art looted from Constantinople during one of the last crusades. From the bell tower near the basilica you can go to the top and get a view over the entire city of Venice and the surrounding lagoon and countryside.

We thought Venice was amazing but nothing prepared us for Florence. Of the cities and areas we visited Florence and Tuscany are our undoubted favourites. On the train to Florence we met some friendly American women who recommended a Trattoria (small restaurant) to us and suggested we ask for the maitre d by name. It was just around the corner from our hotel and the welcome we received at the restaurant was fantastic. I’d heard that Italian service can often be slow and dispassionate but this was anything but. “Franco” ushered us in to the restaurant with cries of “The Canadians are here” each time we went in to eat. The food was absolutely amazing and I’d have to say that Florentine cuisine is my favourite. Pastas were absolutely perfect with incredible tasting cheese sauces while the meat was so delicately cooked that it was absolute perfection.

Along with the culinary delights of Florence we also experienced the artistic and visual delights. A trip to see Michaelangelo’s David, a half-day in the Ufizzi Gallery looking at a virtual endless array of Renaissance masterpieces including works by Carravaggio, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Rafael etc. etc. etc. etc. Before long we were practically overwhelmed by the art and I’d go into yet another gallery room and think “ah, there’s another Rafael”! The duomo (basilica) is an absolutely amazing structure with a dome that took 150 years from design to final completion. We didn’t go up inside the dome but we did climb the 414 odd steps of the external bell tower for a spectacular view of Florence and the surrounding countryside. We took a day trip over to Sienna which is perched at the top of a couple of hills. If anything, The Sienna Cathedral is even more impressive than the one in Florence, with beautiful vivid ceiling frescoes inside and a brightly coloured dome interior.

From Florence we proceeded to Rome, which can be summarized in one word –overwhelming. Whether you spend time walking about the ruins of ancient Rome and marvelling at the vast scale and of the imperial palace or the colloseum or whether you head to the Vatican and St. Peter’s Basilica to view the art and historical treasures (Sistine Chapel, Raphael painted apartments), it is virtually impossible to come to grips with the span of time and human development represented in this single city. You almost cannot round a corner without coming to another massive beautiful church with priceless paintings and frescoes inside and spectacular marble and stone decorations. I can now appreciate the saying that “when Rome falls so will the world”. If I had a hundred years and the eloquence of Byron or Ovid I couldn’t begin to write in way that would do justice to the place.

Our last few days were spent in Sorento just south of Naples. We managed to Avoid the pick-pockets and other riff-raff on the Circumvesuviana train. Our hotel room was on the 4th floor and our balcony had a direct view of Vesuvius across the Bay of Naples from us. We travelled to Pompeii and Herculaneum and had the eerie experience of walking through ancient Roman streets and neighbourhoods and into their (mostly) intact houses and public buildings. Perhaps the most personally moving experience of the entire trip was seeing the plaster casts of the Pompeii victims in what represented their final seconds of life some 2,000 years ago. I wondered who the parent and child were who were clutching one another and what the man, whose individual toga’s folds were easily seen, was thinking as he faced his death.

We flew out of Rome Thursday and got back early Friday morning tired but quite elated by our trip.

I’ll see if I can find a way to upload some pictures so that I can link to them. We took just over 300 of them so it’ll be a few days at least before I can sort out which ones I’m going to show people.

Finally, thanks to Jackdog and the rest for the suggestions and best wishes prior to the trip. It truly was a great honeymoon. Now back to reality!

Best wishes,

Doug

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:00 pm

I'm one jealous bastard. Sounds like a wonderful trip -- glad you guys had fun!

Out,
PK

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:08 pm

PK,

You and your wife owe it to yourselves to get to Italy at some point. The churches alone are worth the trip and then there's everything else. The churches were inspiring to me so I can only guess the effect they have on people who are Catholic.

best wishes,

Doug

Jackdog · Post by **Jackdog** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:09 pm

pk500 wrote:I'm one jealous bastard. Sounds like a wonderful trip -- glad you guys had fun!

Out,
PK

DITTO!!

Bastard.

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:30 pm

Sounds amazing. I want to do something like this before I finish school, get a real job, and start dying.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:37 pm

Sounds great doug.

Sounds like the weather didn't hamper your trip at all. Must have been worth it to go in the offseason then

Airdog · Post by **Airdog** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:41 pm

Has anybody been "backpacking" across Europe? Just wonder how much roughly that would end up costing from a realistic standpoint.

Thanks.

Oh, and sorry if I'm threadjacking but I guess it's pretty relevant.

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:47 pm

I'm jealous Doug. Before I die I will make it to Italy. My wife spent a semester in Italy when she was going to Loyola. I have always wanted to go and see where my Grandpa Bruno grew up in a small village outside of Venice. One day I will make it there. Congrats to you and your new bride as you start your new life together.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:50 pm

wco81 wrote:Sounds great doug.

Sounds like the weather didn't hamper your trip at all. Must have been worth it to go in the offseason then

Definitely worth going off-season, but probably would have been better if we'd gone 2-3 weeks earlier. We didn't have much rain, and most of that occurred on the travel days when we were on the train for a couple of hours, but the weather was a bit cool - especially the last part in Florence and 1-2 days of our Rome stay. Felt like my hands were going to freeze when I went up the Sienna bell tower to get a couple of pictures from the top.

The tips we got about pickpockets were very useful, so thanks to everyone who chimed in on that issue. I carried the valuables in a pouch securely under my shirt. I imagine there would be many more pickpockets at the height of tourist season as we did not really experience the swarming by little kids that some have obviously experienced.

One problem I had was that I had planned to use my bank debit card to get cash out of bank machines. Unfortunately I had a 7 digit code and the European bank machines have a limit of 6 digits. Ouch!

Best wishes,

Doug

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:55 pm

I haven't but there are a lot of hostels where you could save money.

There are also agencies which package such deals for first timers to Europe.

Of course, you don't expect the nicest accomodations.

But the part that kind of turned me off was that you had to take your belongings with you when you went out for the day in many places. Because a lot of places wouldn't have places to secure your stuff.

So you would literally be backpacking most of the time. And on an extended stay where you had to take more stuff, that would be a major drag.

If you want to see a lot of places and move around, hostels make sense since you would have a lot of short stays in many places. If on the other hand you choose a central location and maybe plan a lot of day trips or 2-day trips, you might rent an apt. which often costs less per night than a hotel if you negotiate say a 2-week stay.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:58 pm

ScoopBrady wrote:I'm jealous Doug. Before I die I will make it to Italy. My wife spent a semester in Italy when she was going to Loyola. I have always wanted to go and see where my Grandpa Bruno grew up in a small village outside of Venice. One day I will make it there. Congrats to you and your new bride as you start your new life together.

Thanks Scoop! You're lucky since your wife will already have a head start on the culture and places to see.

BTW, before the trip I'd wondered about how we'd be treated given certain political events around the world - if we were mistaken for Americans. I have to say that Americans really don't have anything to worry about the reception you'll get in Italy. The Americans we met, and there were quite a few Americans in Italy, were all having a wonderful time and thankfully there was no sign of any animosity towards them.

Thank goodness people are still able to distinguish between individuals and governments!

Best wishes,

Doug

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 2:59 pm

That's too bad about debit cards. The first time I went over, I looked around for the best exchange rates.

But turns out that if you use an ATM card (Cirrus and Plus networks usually are all over the world), you get much better rates than any retail currency exchange rates.

Same with most credit cards. I don't use my Amex over there or my Citibank, because these "premium" cards don't give the best exchange rates (because they're giving you miles or rewards points instead). But an MBNA no-fee card and my credit union cards give the best exchange rates.

JRod · Post by **JRod** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 4:42 pm

Doug

Europeans know how to live. I'm sure you've seen this since you went in the off-season. This is even more so in Italy. Start work at ten, take a long lunch and then close shop in the early evening.

I wouldn't trade living in America for anything but I would wish we could take some of their culture and put it over here.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 5:08 pm

Jrod,

I definitely agree that we could teach us a thing or two about stopping to enjoy life more, rather than continuously engaging in the rat race that is so popular over here. Mind you, if we had the food available to us that they do at virtually every small restaurant or snack bar then I think you'd see people taking pretty long lunches here as well

I also think, however, that there are some things they could learn from us about getting things done more efficiently and being more attentive to detail. I wasn't all that thrilled with the lack of attention paid by the hand luggage screeners to the x-ray screens monitoring the carry-on bags in Rome.

Best wishes,

Doug

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 5:13 pm

I hear Spain's tradition of siestas are gradually going away as they try to raise productivity.

Americans can boast about high growth rates productivity and low unemployment. But by other measures, some European countries rate higher for productivity per hour worked. It's just that a lot of them work fewer hours each week and usually get at least a month of paid vacation.

There was some recent survey which put the Finnish economy of all things above the US.

Some Europeans can't comprehend the fad diets in this country or vegetarian/vegan streaks. But OTOH, there is supposedly an anti-smoking movement which is gaining hold over there. Ireland for instance has outlawed smoking in pubs.

davet010 · Post by **davet010** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 5:28 pm

Over here, pretty soon smoking will be outlawed in all public enclosed spaces (offices, pubs etc).

And quite right too. I don't see why I should go out for a few beers and come back with my jacket stinking like I've rolled round in an ashtry and feeling like I've just smoked a packet of 20.

The comment about paid holidays is interesting - do US workers usually not get many ? Most people over here are on at least 20. I was on 30 when I worked at KPMG, and now I'm in education, I'm on 35. If I was a lecturer, I'd be on 40.

I did see an article today that said that the country with the highest number of hours worked annually per person is Australia. I found that somewhat difficult to reconcile with my time there, where the weekend basically started about 2pm Friday.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 5:37 pm

Most professional jobs start with 10 a year and then build up every year to maximize at 30 work days (or the equivalent of 6 weeks including weekends).

American corporations carry those as liabilities so they encourage people to take them, often letting them cash out vacations. But a lot of jobs won't allow people to take more than 2 weeks (10 days) of contiguous time out, if that.

Yeah Europe will be a more pleasant place to visit for nonsmokers. When I was in Cork, Ireland a few years ago, some restaurants had non-smoking sections but those were afterthoughts and not really free of smoke.

For the Irish to prohibit it is something unexpected. However, I hear now they just leave the pubs early and inflict the smoke on their kids.

dougb · Post by **dougb** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 6:09 pm

I was really surprised to see that smoking had been abolished by legislation in 1978 (if I was reading the sign in Italian on the Circumvesuviana correctly).

Best wishes,

Doug

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sat Nov 20, 2004 8:14 pm

Dave:

I've been a full-time salaried employee of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway since July 1, 1998. I was a contractor for the company from Jan. 1-June 30, 1998.

I get 10 vacation days per year.

"Two weeks vacation" is the popular phrase here.

Take care,
PK