You are here: Home / Archives for Our Travelers / Summer

Italy 4 – From Sorrento To Capri

September 24, 2011 by 5 Comments

Being an Italy lover, I have to admit I have never heard of either of these names before.

We left, as most tour groups do, in the early morning. Sitting inside the air-conditioned tour bus, the sunshine outside the window almost blinded my eyes. Our group guide played some Italian music, and the spirit was high.

For those of you that do not know, Sorrento is a small town in southern Italy. Facing the Mediterranean Sea, the climate is a little like here in Vancouver, and late June was the perfect timing for a visit.

Our first stop was a lemon stand on the side of the highway. Sounds strange? Apparently lemon constitutes a large portion of traditional southern Italian diet, varying everything from lemon gelato to liqueur made of lemon peel (called Limoncello and tasted funny). But it was not your average lemon from the supermarket – these ones were huge. I think they had another name, but I can’t remember. Anyway, they cooled me down instantly, and we still had a half hour more to go.

 

Looking down from a lemon stand on the side of the Amalfi Drive – and yes, those yellow footballs on the left are lemons. - Photo by myself

 

From Sorrento, we got on a ferry and headed to a close island – Capri. According to our group leader, it was quite a popular town among the rich and famous, who were willing to pay outrageous amounts of money for the land and the sunshine. And I have to admit: it would be worth it. There are few places where you can find a blue ocean and gorgeous sunshine better than Capri.

We set sail in a ferry that was just big enough for the group. The heat from the sun and the ocean breeze achieved a perfect balance between hot and cold, but as an inexperienced sunbather from Vancouver, I still got burnt. Lesson of the day: just because you feel awesome, doesn’t mean the sun’s not burning you.

 

Even with the hat and sunscreen, I still got burnt. Travelers there, be aware. - Photo by myself

 

We had the afternoon free on the island. I joined a small group of newly acquainted fellow travelers and set out for adventure. Despite being a small and somewhat isolated (ferry access only) island, it was filled with world-famous brands. Chanel, Louis Vuitton, you name it. After hanging around and failing to spot a celebrity, we went on to have our daily gelato. According to our Italian tour leader, you had to have at least 2-3 “doses” of gelato per day during the summer to stay healthy in southern Italy.

The sun dried us out quite quickly, and the town wasn’t very big. After that short yet thorough tour everyone was just dying to dive into the water. So that was what we did. The ferry took us snorkeling. We didn’t see a lot of fish, but we did see tons of coral reefs. In fact there were so many coral reefs it was sometimes hard to swim around them.

We had a few swimming spots planned for us that day, but being somewhat athletically challenged, I was among the first few people to surrender. We waited on the ferry while the others kept on swimming, joking about how much we’d charge them for their cloths and towels once they got back onboard.

 

Summer swimming campaign. I wish I had come prepared. - Photo by myself

 

If I had to conclude the day, I’d say it was pure relaxation. And yet I was exhausted when I got back to the hotel, mostly from the sun. After a hot shower, I headed straight to bed. I had to get well rested and ready for what was to come. Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri were all wonderful towns and great tourist spots, but I was not about to forget why I was here. The next day, we were heading for my favorite city in my favorite country: the home of many of the greatest artists and musicians, the birthplace of the Renaissance, the city that had been described as an “art of itself” – Florence.

I could barely sleep.

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Europe, Italy, Our Travelers, Summer Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Italy 3 – A History Lesson in Pompeii

September 17, 2011 by 13 Comments

I’ve always been bad with numbers.

Don’t get me wrong – my math ability has not yet failed my Asian stereotype. But there’s something about numbers that does not stick in my memory. As a result, history has never been my thing. As much as I would like to quote dates and statistics as if they’ve been printed with invisible ink on the back of my hand, I couldn’t even tell you the price of my favorite purse. As much as I love stories and random facts, this kept me out of history, at least for many years.

They say good teachers don’t just teach, they inspire. A great Social Studies teacher I had back in high school taught me how interesting history actually was. Listening to his lecture was like watching the latest TV show. Of course he didn’t act things out, but the drama was never missing, and the stories were true. Despite still not being able to tell you what year World War I start, he got me hooked on history. And history was one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with Italy in the first place.

History has a charming side. – Photo by Matthew Kirkland

Our first stop as a tour group was Pompeii. It was sunny; the temperature was over 33 degree Celsius; and we were walking in streets built more than two thousand years ago. Few things can be more ‘Italian tourism’ to me. Our tour guide spoke slow but clear enough English, and my tour mates were just starting to remember each other’s names. I had made myself acquainted with a couple of people, but I was actually more interested in something I had never dreamed of being able to bear – the history of the abandoned walls.

With thousands, if not more, archeological sites across Italy, what makes Pompeii special is not how it started, but how it ended. According to Wikipedia, Pompeii was destroyed in year 79AD by an eruption of a close volcano, and was buried under dust until 1749, when it was rediscovered. The volcano destroyed all the lives in this ancient city, but left the city intact for over one and a half millennium. It’s as if the city has traveled through time, leaving its occupants behind, taking their stories to the future.

A man died in the volcano eruption. After the body had decomposed, it left an empty hole in the dust, which archeologists filled with gypsum and created this image. He appeared to be a shopkeeper. - Photographed by myself.

If I tell you exactly what I had learned that day, it would become a history lesson. But the fact is that being able to walk on the same ground people walked on two thousand years ago gives me a very deep feeling, as if I have somehow connected with these people who had no clue about my existence. I wonder hundreds of years from now, will there be another person thinking something like this about me?

It reminds me of some days ago, I answered a call from the Census office, asking some very general questions about me. At the end of the conversation, she asked whether it would be okay for people to use this information 97 years from now. I remember thinking: why 97 years? Why not simply “after you die”? Anyway, I said yes and a picture of me being a part of a big number on an old, yellowish page popped in my mind. I wonder how many people are able to remember that number.

Despite making me think about these existential questions, Pompeii was a decent tour. It really showed how smart we were and how we have not been evolving as fast as we think we are.

For example, like all ancient cities, Pompeii was centered on a sanctuary – in this case, the Apollo Altar. Visitors had to dip their fingers into the holy water and touch their foreheads with it before entering into the altar, as a way of purification. Does this ritual sound familiar?

Pompeii was also a very metropolitan city. Merchants from many places, speaking dozens of different languages, all came together in this multicultural capital. Stores, spas, even bars had been set up to entertain the visitors. Symbols were carved into the walls of stores in order to diminish the language barrier. Crosswalks and ‘parking’ places (i.e. where you can tie your horse or cow) were also set up along the sidewalks.

You guessed it – this was an ancient bar, serving beverages and snacks to the tired shoppers. - Photographed by myself

 

With all these history lessons I learned from the two-thousand-year-old streets, I guess there isn’t a moral of the day. As I sat with the evening breeze and my delicious dishes with unpronounceable names, I consider it a good day. The next morning we would leave these brown walls and head south. With stronger sunshine, higher temperature, and more history lessons to come, I couldn’t wait to hit the road.

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Europe, Italy, Our Travelers, Summer Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Italy 2 – Saying Hello To Rome

September 10, 2011 by 7 Comments

It happens. I’m sure of it – things like this happen. You never really know when or how or why it happens, but it does. Everyone must have experienced it at least some time in their lives, and it just so happens I experience it a bit more often than others. Not a big deal, really.

At least that was what kept me from panicking when I found myself alone, on a train slowly, but steadily taking me away from Rome, that apparently did not stop at every station. I had a map in my hand, but it was official – I was lost.

This was the closest station from our hotel. - Photo by myself.

In my defense, I was very well prepared: I took a picture of the station name where I got aboard the train, and even though I could not find our hotel on the map, I still decided to take it, just in case. One of the main reasons I like trains and subways is because they stop at every station, and you can always get off, walk across the platform, and go back. But clearly I was wrong to make assumptions based on limited data. Next thing I knew, I was on a train that didn’t stop at empty stations and I could see empty fields and forests outside the window. Not a good sign.

I did find a red button with the word “stop” on it, but I wasn’t sure if it meant “stop I want to get off” or “stop there’s a robber holding a gun to my head”. I pressed it anyway. A woman was looking at me curiously, but she couldn’t speak English. Just as I was expecting to have a panic attack and end up having to fly back to Rome, the train stopped. I got off, walked across the platform, and went back. Later back at my hotel, I found out the that the train station wasn’t on the map, because it was technically not in Rome. Words of wisdom: maps are our friend only when they’re big enough.

Piazza del Popolo - Photo by myself.

I finally arrived at my first stop of civilization – Piazza del Popolo. It was a plaza hidden behind a small, arch-like building that had a construction site in front of it. In short, not the most impressive entrance I’d expect a plaza to have. But of course, we all know too well not to judge a book by its cover, right?

It was my idea of Garden of Eden, or it was what Rome was supposed to be like: people moseying under the gorgeous blue sky, streets with yellow colored buildings that didn’t look like stores. It was quiet; no cars around and no advertising signs. If I ignore those street lamps I might actually imagine myself to be in the 16th century.

On the other hand, there were modern stores. I saw H&M, Fendi, and many other brands written in Italian that I didn’t quite recognize. It wasn’t as modern as I’d expect a capital to be, but it was fairly appealing in its own European kind of way. It was relaxing. It was how a vacation was supposed to be.

Does it look like a government building? A museum? Well, it was actually a shopping mall, Roman style. - Photo by myself.

Although I almost got lost in the morning – all right, I did get lost in the morning and was lucky to find my way back – I was glad to be able to spend an extra day by myself in Rome. I’m sure there were a lot of places I didn’t get a chance to see, but walking along the rather empty streets of Rome, venturing into Piazza del Popolo, it felt like a way of saying hello to Rome. It was my first stop in my dream country, and we were only beginning to get to know each other.

 

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Europe, Italy, Our Travelers, Summer Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Italy 1 – First Day In My Dream Land

September 3, 2011 by 5 Comments

If you ask me what are the top 3 travel destinations I simply can’t get enough of, Italy is definitely on the list. Interestingly enough, though, I can’t quite recall the reason. One day, some years ago, having been to Europe only limited times, and never to Italy, I just decided to myself that Italy was to be one of my favorite places on earth.

With this in mind, you can imagine what it was like for me to finally get a chance to actually visit the land last summer. As usual, I went by myself. But since I don’t speak any Italian or related languages, I joined a tour agency called Contiki, which only serves people from 18-35 years old. No disrespect for the older and the younger, but with this arrangement we were able to move at a similar pace and have some really nice conversations that each of us could relate to.

It took me 3 visits to the consulate to get my visa granted. In their defense, it was because I always forgot something, and the staff was very nice. But on the other hand, it was also an unusually long and exhausting list of things I had to remember, ranging from my birth certificate to the exact hotel contact list of each and every night of my stay in Italy.

The consulate in itself carried out a scent of Italy – classic Middle Age styled oil paintings hanging on the golden walls, old-fashioned mail box decorated with delicate embossment. I’m no art and design expert, but having been to so many consulates, this was the best so far. Not too many complaints about their bureaucratic style in handling visitors, I was looking forward to this trip more than ever.

This is what I expected to see in Italy. With suits and ties, of course. - A painting by Raphael (1483-1520), adapted from Wikipedia.

It took me a little over 4 hours to fly to Toronto, and less than 7 hours to fly from Toronto to Rome. If you think about it, it really isn’t that far. My newly bought iTouch got me through the journey. It wasn’t until the plane started to descend, I saw the field and the trees glowing under the sunshine, did it really hit home. I finally was here.

So what was my first impression of Rome?  Not the cleanest washrooms I’ve ever seen in an airport.

It might have been a warning; that I should throw all the social codes I learned in Canada out the window and start fresh. It wasn’t my first time in Europe, but it was my first time alone here. I wasn’t meeting my group members until the next day.

I have had quite some experience walking out of an airport by myself now, but it still feels kind of awkward. Especially with hundreds of hopeful eyes staring at you, people holding signs and carrying flowers, waiting for their loved ones or loved clients, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for not being the one they were waiting for. They really should have a “loner door” for us solo travelers to worry about our solo ways of getting around in peace.

I think all international airports are alike, but the fact that the ads are in Italian just makes it 10 times classier. - Rome airport, photographed by Lawrence's Lenses.

I think I got ripped off.

As I was dragging my luggage alone, trying to find my ways around this new world full of Italian, a guy walked towards me. He was in his 50s, not very dressy, and he kept saying “taxi? Do you want taxi?” with his heavily accented English. With my traveler’s instinct, I ignored him first, but he was very persistent and followed me for quite awhile. That was when my mind stopped working and I thought, hey, maybe this is how Italians do it. It would be very embarrassing if I finally walked outside and everyone was taking taxis like that.

So I stopped and gave him the address of the hotel. He said “80 Euros”. I then suddenly remember, on the first page of the very long manual the travel agency gave me, it says “the ride from airport to hotel generally takes 40-60 Euros”. So I told him that, and without a second of hesitation, he said: “sure! 60 Euros! Follow me!”

Damn it, I should have said something lower! I thought.

My mood started to ascend again while I was sitting inside his smaller-than-taxi-sized car. Sure, I may just get ripped off, but it wasn’t ridiculously high and it was just a ride. In fact, he was a quite friendly guy and tried to start a conversation despite his poor English skill. Most important of all, I was here. I was in Rome for the first time. The yellow buildings and empty streets outside the window didn’t look very promising, but I remained optimistic. It was a hot summer day and the city seemed asleep, but I wasn’t going to give up until I find the glamorous side of Rome.

It was a hot, sunny afternoon and the city seemed asleep. It was exactly my stereotype about a European summer. - Photo by myself.

 

Filed Under: All Aboard!, Around the World, Europe, Italy, Our Travelers, Summer Tagged With: , , , , ,