Howdy.
So I have already complained a lot about the ridiculous prices of travelling in Italy now compared to how they were in the past. I spent 210 euro for a plane ticket to Naples and the train comes to 150 euro for the same trip.
Since I make this trip many times a year, I have been looking into some other possibilities that would be easier on my wallet. I found AirBee, a new tiny little airline that flies from Brescia to Naples, but still costs about 150 euro, and I would still have to get to Brescia. I looked into car rentals, but embarrassingly enough, I can't drive a stick shift. (I know that is horrible, I have been living here for 5 years, but hey, I live in Venice, and most of my Italian friends do not even have licenses, but I'm ashamed). Renting automatic cars is much more expensive, as is leaving the car at a different point, meaning dropping the car off in Sorrento and renting it for only one day is the same as renting it for three days and bringing it back to Venice--but then I have to pay for parking, and gas, and repairs for the almost guaranteed damages I will cause.
Lastly, I came up with the idea of flying RyanAir to Rome from Treviso, taking the bus from the airport to the train station, and then taking the train to Naples from Rome. This whole ordeal, round-trip, is about 120 euro. Yey! Now we're getting somewhere... even if it is a bit round-about.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Back in Action--- Kinda
I had a friend visiting from the States for the last 10 days. We spent 5 days here in Venice and then 5 down in Positano. This was her first time in both places, although she has been to Italy twice before. We had a great time--she was here for the famous Redentore Festival and then got to visit my favorite place in the world with me. Yey! We had a great time in Positano. We lucked out and my usual pensione gave us a great room with a fantastic balcony and the weather was perfect. I was sad to make such a quick trip, especially considering the airplane prices, but was was relaxing and special nonetheless. We ate good food, went on nice boat rides, sunbathed, ate many a caponatas, and partied until late.
View from the balcony at sunset.
Most special and important of all, I met two of my very favorite bloggers-- Niki and Annika. Niki lives in Positano and I knew from her blog that Annika would be there at that time. On my last evening I saw them in the square near the beach, and I probably scared them half to death when I introduced myself. I was starstruck! I never read blogs before running across Niki's about 6 months ago. I read it from start to finish in a shockingly short amount of time. Gius made fun of me as I would laugh over the pictures she posted of friends of mine in Positano. From there I got into a couple of other blogs (NYC/Caribbean Ragazza, Michellana, Bell'Avventura and dove mi porta il cuore) and have been making my way through the expat world in Italy ever since!!
Tomorrow I have another friend coming for 12 days. I love that I have friends who want to come and visit, but I admit its hard not having a moment alone or with Gius for so much time---especially when there are three of us and a cat living in 30 square meters. Uffa. I hope to make it down to Posi again as 5 days is not nearly enough, but we'll see how work and plane tickets look.
View from the balcony at sunset.
Most special and important of all, I met two of my very favorite bloggers-- Niki and Annika. Niki lives in Positano and I knew from her blog that Annika would be there at that time. On my last evening I saw them in the square near the beach, and I probably scared them half to death when I introduced myself. I was starstruck! I never read blogs before running across Niki's about 6 months ago. I read it from start to finish in a shockingly short amount of time. Gius made fun of me as I would laugh over the pictures she posted of friends of mine in Positano. From there I got into a couple of other blogs (NYC/Caribbean Ragazza, Michellana, Bell'Avventura and dove mi porta il cuore) and have been making my way through the expat world in Italy ever since!!
Tomorrow I have another friend coming for 12 days. I love that I have friends who want to come and visit, but I admit its hard not having a moment alone or with Gius for so much time---especially when there are three of us and a cat living in 30 square meters. Uffa. I hope to make it down to Posi again as 5 days is not nearly enough, but we'll see how work and plane tickets look.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Rude
I live in Venice, which is in the Veneto region of Italy. I have, however, travelled quite a bit throughout the country, lived briefly in Tuscany and I visit Campania regularly. My boyfriend is Pugliese and my closest friends and from Alghero, Brindisi, and the Amalfi coast.
For those of you who also live in Italy you can appreciate the vast differences in character between the people in the different regions. For those who are less familiar with the country you might be surprised to know that Italians are hugely different among themselves. Obviously there are some generalizations that have been made about Southerners being more friendly and open, but I think that even within the north and the south there are some stunning inconsistencies in how people behave, react, think and decide.
I choose to live in Venice and have thus far refrained from complaining but I think it is time that I let on to one of my biggest peeves about the Veneto. The people here are SO RUDE. Yes, this is an obvious generalization and I have of course met many lovely people in the 5 years that I have lived here, but I gotta say that never in my entire life have I come across a group of people so racist, bigoted, xenophobic, touchy, aggressive and out-and-out IMPOLITE as here in the Veneto. Sounds great, doesn't it? This is not to say that I do not like living here-- I do. I choose to. I lived here long before meeting my boyfriend, so it is not as though I live here to be with him. My career here is very flexible so it is not as though I must stay in Venice for that. I stay here because I love the way of life. I love jogging at midnight and walking everywhere. I love the mix of culture and small town feel. And strangely enough, the whole "rude" thing is growing on me. (Not, I must say, on Giuseppe, who has lived in Venice for 4 years and does not like it. This though, is also typical of many Italians who have trouble accepting the people and ways of life of other Italians not from their region. I laugh a bit at him for this.)
Back to the rudeness. I live near a teeny tiny narrow little street where people can only walk in one direction at a time. The length of this street is a mere 7 meters. If someone is coming from the other direction you must wait about 15 seconds for him or her to come out at your end before you can enter. Today I was walking down the calle (and I am a fast walker) and at the other end I saw a neighbor who was waiting to pass. Behind the neighbor was a Venetian couple in their forties. I arrived at the end of the calle and said "ciao" to the person I knew. The woman of the couple (so often it is women who are snappy, why is that??) then snidely mocks me by saying "ciao" and making a "che palle" hand gesture as if to indicate that I took way too long to walk the last 3 meters of the calle and how dare I waste an extra half a second to say ciao to a person I knew instead of running by and saying excuse me. Why are her panties in such a twist? Why are some people so unhappy that they can't even be civil?
This is just an example. Store clerks and shop assistants are another noteworthy example. I have never witnessed such bad sales methods as those of the Veneto's commesse who see customers as an interuption and become offended if you choose not to purchase. When I lived in Padua I used to pretend not speak Italian so that they would think I was a tourist because GOD FORBID I was some type of immigrant. How many times while house hunting in Padua did I get told to my face that they would not rent to me because I was a foreigner, or even worse, not told to my face but being led on for weeks and ending up with a vague "no" and phones calls without responses. Venice is a little better on this front as they are a bit more used to foreigners.
People do not smile here.
Everyone pushes by without saying excuse me and invent crazy laws and rules just so they can have something to complain about. Tobias Jones hints at this in his book, "The Dark Heart of Italy" noting that Italy has more laws than any other Western country, most of which can easily be broken without any consequence.
I have many clients who arrive with some story about the ticket-seller or parking attendent who was unbelieveably rude. They are shocked that a city based on tourism could treat it's livelihood so horribly. Other places in Italy are not like this and I do not want to exaggerate--there are plenty of wonderful Venetians and the city is an absolute must-see. I would never discourage anyone from visiting Venice, but I just had to get this out.
Most frightening, I see myself becoming a bit like them. I smile less (and I notice better results form smiling less--as though people take me more seriously). I brush by someone without necessarily saying "scusi". I give stern looks when people block the streets or the water bus entrances. It's horrible! I need to stop! I don't want my (non-existent) children to be like this! I am becoming too Venetian!
For those of you who also live in Italy you can appreciate the vast differences in character between the people in the different regions. For those who are less familiar with the country you might be surprised to know that Italians are hugely different among themselves. Obviously there are some generalizations that have been made about Southerners being more friendly and open, but I think that even within the north and the south there are some stunning inconsistencies in how people behave, react, think and decide.
I choose to live in Venice and have thus far refrained from complaining but I think it is time that I let on to one of my biggest peeves about the Veneto. The people here are SO RUDE. Yes, this is an obvious generalization and I have of course met many lovely people in the 5 years that I have lived here, but I gotta say that never in my entire life have I come across a group of people so racist, bigoted, xenophobic, touchy, aggressive and out-and-out IMPOLITE as here in the Veneto. Sounds great, doesn't it? This is not to say that I do not like living here-- I do. I choose to. I lived here long before meeting my boyfriend, so it is not as though I live here to be with him. My career here is very flexible so it is not as though I must stay in Venice for that. I stay here because I love the way of life. I love jogging at midnight and walking everywhere. I love the mix of culture and small town feel. And strangely enough, the whole "rude" thing is growing on me. (Not, I must say, on Giuseppe, who has lived in Venice for 4 years and does not like it. This though, is also typical of many Italians who have trouble accepting the people and ways of life of other Italians not from their region. I laugh a bit at him for this.)
Back to the rudeness. I live near a teeny tiny narrow little street where people can only walk in one direction at a time. The length of this street is a mere 7 meters. If someone is coming from the other direction you must wait about 15 seconds for him or her to come out at your end before you can enter. Today I was walking down the calle (and I am a fast walker) and at the other end I saw a neighbor who was waiting to pass. Behind the neighbor was a Venetian couple in their forties. I arrived at the end of the calle and said "ciao" to the person I knew. The woman of the couple (so often it is women who are snappy, why is that??) then snidely mocks me by saying "ciao" and making a "che palle" hand gesture as if to indicate that I took way too long to walk the last 3 meters of the calle and how dare I waste an extra half a second to say ciao to a person I knew instead of running by and saying excuse me. Why are her panties in such a twist? Why are some people so unhappy that they can't even be civil?
This is just an example. Store clerks and shop assistants are another noteworthy example. I have never witnessed such bad sales methods as those of the Veneto's commesse who see customers as an interuption and become offended if you choose not to purchase. When I lived in Padua I used to pretend not speak Italian so that they would think I was a tourist because GOD FORBID I was some type of immigrant. How many times while house hunting in Padua did I get told to my face that they would not rent to me because I was a foreigner, or even worse, not told to my face but being led on for weeks and ending up with a vague "no" and phones calls without responses. Venice is a little better on this front as they are a bit more used to foreigners.
People do not smile here.
Everyone pushes by without saying excuse me and invent crazy laws and rules just so they can have something to complain about. Tobias Jones hints at this in his book, "The Dark Heart of Italy" noting that Italy has more laws than any other Western country, most of which can easily be broken without any consequence.
I have many clients who arrive with some story about the ticket-seller or parking attendent who was unbelieveably rude. They are shocked that a city based on tourism could treat it's livelihood so horribly. Other places in Italy are not like this and I do not want to exaggerate--there are plenty of wonderful Venetians and the city is an absolute must-see. I would never discourage anyone from visiting Venice, but I just had to get this out.
Most frightening, I see myself becoming a bit like them. I smile less (and I notice better results form smiling less--as though people take me more seriously). I brush by someone without necessarily saying "scusi". I give stern looks when people block the streets or the water bus entrances. It's horrible! I need to stop! I don't want my (non-existent) children to be like this! I am becoming too Venetian!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
What's in a Name
For those of you who don't speak Italian, I thought I would explain the name of my blog, "Girl in Giro". "Giro", literally, is a "turn" but "in giro'' in Italian means "about town" or "out and about". "Sono in giro" means "I am out and about". Do any of the Italian speakers have a better way of explaining? Something to add? Sometimes the most obvious translations escape me....
Monday, July 7, 2008
Happy July
Yesterday morning we got back from a lovely mini-break at Milano Marittima. I highly recommend the destination for anyone looking for a relaxing weekend escape. Many things about Milano Marittima are like any other Adriatic bech destination: Rows and rows of characterless three and four star hotels, a long white beach plastered with chairs and umbrellas, loads of teenagers, but Milano Marittima, unlike Rimini or Cattolica, has a great little town with heaps of trendy little spots that allow for ottimal people watching, fabulous little boutiques, bikes to rent, and a nature park nearby!
The first night we went into the old town of Cervia and walked around the night market, looking at a range of goods from organic honey to local ceramics. The second evening we lounged outside on a big sofa at a posh cafè that served us a chocolate fondue with fresh fruit, and the last evening we went for a walk on the beach after dinner. Nothing super crazy, but MM just has a nice feel to it. Sure, it's full of people and can feel a bit generic, but I admit that something about that is refreshing and fun. MM attracts the ''bella gente'' and Gius got a kick out of looking that the Lanborghinis, Maseratis and Ferraris parked illegaly all over the town. sadly, I have no pictues of the trip to share. We took the camera, but it never left the hotel room. I promise to be better in the future!
The first night we went into the old town of Cervia and walked around the night market, looking at a range of goods from organic honey to local ceramics. The second evening we lounged outside on a big sofa at a posh cafè that served us a chocolate fondue with fresh fruit, and the last evening we went for a walk on the beach after dinner. Nothing super crazy, but MM just has a nice feel to it. Sure, it's full of people and can feel a bit generic, but I admit that something about that is refreshing and fun. MM attracts the ''bella gente'' and Gius got a kick out of looking that the Lanborghinis, Maseratis and Ferraris parked illegaly all over the town. sadly, I have no pictues of the trip to share. We took the camera, but it never left the hotel room. I promise to be better in the future!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Ticket Booked
Well after this post it is going to seem like I take a lot of vacations, but actually, I am just doing all of my vacation planning in one evening! Milano Marittima is three nights staying with a friend and a interregionale train ride away!
I spent about 52 hours on the Alitalia website booking my ticket to go down to Positano with my friend who is visiting in June. In the end the plane ticket cost 65 euro more than the train, but the train require about 8 hours more than the plane each way, so we are sucking it up and taking the plane, for a total of $334.70 USD which is OUTRAGEOUS. I blame it on Alpieagles, gas prices, and the weak dollar.
So now I am on the hunt for the least expensive room with a view in Fornillo. I have stayed pretty much everywhere on that side of the town. I have my favorite places but I feel that if I search harder I will find an overlooked pensione that will give me a room for 70 euro a night. Does anyone know of anything? Right now I have quotes for 90 euro a night, but I'm feeling nauseous after booking my plane ticket. Help!
I spent about 52 hours on the Alitalia website booking my ticket to go down to Positano with my friend who is visiting in June. In the end the plane ticket cost 65 euro more than the train, but the train require about 8 hours more than the plane each way, so we are sucking it up and taking the plane, for a total of $334.70 USD which is OUTRAGEOUS. I blame it on Alpieagles, gas prices, and the weak dollar.
So now I am on the hunt for the least expensive room with a view in Fornillo. I have stayed pretty much everywhere on that side of the town. I have my favorite places but I feel that if I search harder I will find an overlooked pensione that will give me a room for 70 euro a night. Does anyone know of anything? Right now I have quotes for 90 euro a night, but I'm feeling nauseous after booking my plane ticket. Help!
Milano Marittima
The day after tomorrow Gius and I are heading to Milano Marittima for three nights. MM is a beach resort on the Adriatic coast, north of Rimini. I had actually lived in Italy for a long time before ever even hearing about it, but it is really quite nice. I like to think of Milano Marittima as the Nantucket of Italy. It is a little more upscale than the Jersey shore, although it is still just another long crowded beach on the Adriatic. There are many families riding around on their bikes. It is also known for its very trendy nightlife. I prefer it to Rimini and Jesolo which are filled with teenagers, trashy looking tourists, restaurants with picture menus in 6 languages, and characterless souvenir shops. MM is also right next to Cervia-- a quaint little town that contrasts nicely to the beach atmosphere.
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