This weekend was my first weekend of traveling. After researching several small cities in the Tuscan region, the final destination was based on the predicted forecast. So, off to Lucca we went!
Lindsay, Chelsea and I were originally psyched at the chance to arrive early and spend the whole day in Lucca . But our 6am train did not seem like a good idea Friday morning, when I woke up at 4:15am and it was dark, cold, and sleeting. My toes were numb as we waited at the bus stop, and the wind still managed somehow to go through all of the many layers I was wearing. But we successfully navigated from the bus to the train, and we were even able to switch trains in Florence despite only having two-three minutes to find the next platform. When we arrived in Lucca , the sun was shining, and all of my grumpy thoughts from the morning quickly melted away. It was a beautiful day, in a beautiful city!
Typical street in Lucca |
After a late lunch, we walked back to the train station, waited only 10 minutes, and then hopped on another regional train back to Florence . We were able to find a hostel for 15 euro a night; I know I was definitely surprised by how clean it was. We stayed in a private triple, and had our own private bathroom connected to the room. The hostel was family run, and it was only a couple of blocks north of the Duomo. At night, we walked through all of the main piazzas, crossed the Ponte Vecchio, and then headed to Pizzaiolo for dinner. The earliest reservation we could get was 9:30pm, but it was well worth it! The pizza was delicious. My feet were so exhausted when we finally came back to the hostel. II really liked Florence , but I’m glad I’m not studying there. Saturday morning we had “Super Breakfast” at a sports bar, and it was really nice to eat a substantial breakfast instead of just a chocolate croissant (I didn’t realize how badly I was craving eggs and pancakes). After, we shopped in the San Lorenzo market. I ended up buying a leather jacket, and while it was more than I was planning to spend, I’m really glad that I bought it. We spoke with a lot of different shop owners, and it was definitely reassuring to have people tell us that our Italian sounded authentic. Lindsay and I spoke with one woman in particular, and she told us all about her experience learning Italian because she grew up in northern Italy in a section where they spoke German. She was definitely encouraging, and she told us that we’ll learn Italian much faster if we fully try to immerse ourselves, because if we continue to go back and forth between English and Italian, it’s going to take a lot longer for us to learn. We headed back to the train station in the afternoon- it took us less than 15 minutes to buy a return ticket and hop on the next train to Perugia . Before you can get onboard, you need to validate your ticket by having it stamped in these little yellow boxes that are all over the train station. Sometimes they check the tickets, sometimes they don’t. On the way back to Perugia , someone was caught without traveling without purchasing a ticket- I’m not sure what will happen, but it definitely was a little unnerving to see police officers walking through the cabin.
The Beautiful Duomo at Night |
When I got back to my apartment Saturday night, I was unfortunately surprised because our apartment no longer had heat or running water. I was very nervous, just cause it was freezing, and I wasn’t sure how quickly things can be fixed in Italy during the weekend, considering that things seem to already be much slower during the week. Luckily, I was able to get through to Mauro, and Zach came by and figured out what was wrong. That night, Chelsea ’s Italian friends cooked us dinner, and the boys even showed me how to properly use the macchinetta (I was so excited that now I can make espresso in my apartment!) After dinner, we went out to a discoteca and listened to two live bands. It definitely wasn’t what I had expected, but I really enjoyed listening to Italian rock.
"All children are born artists, the difficulty is in remaining so when adult" -Pablo Picasso |
Sunday was a relaxing day; I started reading and working on my homework (what, homework?) and I went to Frank’s apartment for dinner. I tried new flavors of gelato on Sunday after dinner- caffè and tiramisu (I had him put a little bit of whipped cream on as well). I know the Italians think it’s crazy that the Americans keep getting ice cream; when we asked Barbara why none of the gelaterias are open, she just laughed and reminded us that its winter, and the only people who eat gelato during this time of year are Americans. I met a woman tonight at Grom (the only gelateria that seems to always be open), and we ended up speaking for awhile. She was in Perugia for the day for a special event, and lives in Rome . I’m all about asking the locals what they like to do and what they would recommend- I know there are plenty of touristy things to do while I’m here, but if I really want to learn the language, I’m a big believer that I need to learn the culture as well. I’d like to avoid the gelaterias that make these big mounds of vibrantly colored gelato for tourists, and instead find the smaller gelateria’s that say, “gelato artigiana” or “produzione propria,” meaning that the gelato is homemade and produced right in the shop. So when I asked her for recommendations for things to do in Rome , she actually gave me her phone number and e-mail address, as well as a few of her favorite places. Her and her husband own a bar, so when I go to meet Mom, Dad, Charlie and Kathleen, I’d like to see if we can stop in for a coffee.
This weekend made me feel a lot better about my decision to select this program. I think when I first arrived in Perugia, I felt very American and was unsure if I made the right decision- I definitely had enough Italian knowledge to start in the full-immersion program, and I felt like I wasn’t doing anything authentic. After this weekend though, I feel like I have the best of both worlds. Some of my classes are in English, some are in Italian. Even though I’m in the American school, I’m still getting the opportunity to talk with Italians and I’ve learned something everyday. Saturday night as I was leaving my apartment building for dinner, one of my older Italian neighbors came out and I spoke to her from a couple minutes. I honestly can’t believe how much my Italian has improved during my time here. I can tell already that it’s going to be strange to not speak Italian everyday when I come home- maybe Mom can learn some Italian this time while they’re here- Ragu!