| A week in Italy | 2005-07-14 15:54 7 comments |
 by Flemming FunchBack from a week in Italy. In part work, but also the closest thing to a vacation with the family I've had for a while. We stayed in a small town next to San Bendetto del Tronto, on the east coast by the Adriatic Sea. A vacation spot where one goes to the beach, and to the market in the castle, and out to eat at restaurants, and where there isn't a whole lot else to do. And we dropped by Rome, Pisa and Genova along the way. I had been in Rome before, but it is a long time ago. As usual it is interesting to see how things are different or similar in different places. The moment you drive from Nice across the border into Italy, it is obviously a different place. Things are built differently, there's a different atmosphere. A very pleasant one at that. If you stop at a French rest stop on the freeway, things are well-organized and clean and somewhat reserved. In Italy things are more buzzing and lively. The Italians don't seem to speak much more English than the French. They just have no hangups about it, so they're easy to communicate with. Twice we had a hell of a trouble finding our hotel to spend the night. In Genova and in Pisa. We arrive late, when it is dark, in cities we don't know. I had printed out maps and directions, but somehow the cities were very confusing, so we had the greatest trouble finding where to go, or even just finding the center of the city. Street signs aren't very good, most of the streets are one-way, and all landmarks are unknown. First, in Genova, I think it took stopping 4 or 5 times to ask for help. And people are very helpful. The first two times nobody spoke a word of English, and I didn't yet speak a word of Italian, so I couldn't even recognize left and right. And to my surprise nobody actually knew the square we were going to, even the policemen. But a few people spoke some French, and we gradually pieced it together, after an hour and a half or so. I still haven't really gotten the moblogging and in-the-moment blogging thing down, and I didn't have more than an occasional dial-up connection, so, as usual, no postings while I'm traveling around. But sooner or later I'll probably figure it out. |