European Concerts - Second Stop: Italy!
Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:00 am
(This is the next leg of my sojourn after being in Greece.)
Italy!
* September 17, 2008, evening, Florence, Italy: I’m finally here! The flight to Florence (pronounced ‘Furenzee’) had a short layover in Rome (Roma), then it was the last leg to Florence. A very nice couple from Albania sat next to me: Musaka and Christafina (or at least that’s how it sounded). I knew squat of Albanian (or whatever language they spoke) and they knew squat of English. I did get out a map and they pointed to where they live. I couldn’t figure out if they were husband/wife or dad/daughter or whatever. Towards the end of the flight, Christafina almost threw up - poor thing. The picture was taken just before she started turning green.
I landed in Florence, grabbed a taxi with a really nice guy named Luca as the driver. We had a great conversation about Italy and where to go and not to go. He confirmed what Stefano had told me before that Southern Italy has a lot of crime (except for Rome) due to not much money, Mafia, etc. He said Northern Italia is fine though. I asked him to take me to a reasonable hotel and he dropped me off at the Hotel Mia Cara. It was in a back alley, but I noticed everything was clean - no trash! People were walking all around and it was close to some downtown square. I asked how much for the room and I thought the nice lady said $17 Euros, but I was mistaken, it was $70! Holy smoke! To get internet to the room, it’s another $6 Euros though. Odd. She put me in a room with four beds, but everything is modern - sweet! All the beds are still firm as the floor though. And the bathroom has no drain on the floor and has shower doors and a toilet with a seat! It also has this thing that looks like a toilet without a seat for washing off the body parts that rub against each other. Interesting.
I took a stroll and found a place close so snagged some fettucini alfredo, a salad and a glass of house wine. Good stuff. I then took a stroll and found numerous places that served ‘gelato’, so bought some - tasty!
I just turned on the tube and ‘The Great Escape’ is on! It of course is a cult flick to motorcyclists and has one of the all-time best jump scenes ever, plus has riding by Steve McQueen - who was a real dirt rider! It really doesn't matter that the bikes are English twins made to look German. (Legendary rider Bud Ekins actually did the jump scene, and McQueen was pissed!) Wow, the city scenes from the movie are just exactly what I’ve seen in Greece and Italy. There’s also MotoGP bike racing on - things are looking up!
Tomorrow I may be on a bike!
-Tom
Musaka and Christafina - moments before Christafina turned the color of her shirt.
The route to Florence, Italy, from Thessaloniki, Greece, with a layover in Rome.
My first Italian meal!
More bikes we can't have. Notice that the Beta has a Honda mill.
John's evil twin! (FYI, it's a 'bidet' and you can read about it HERE)
Italy!
* September 17, 2008, evening, Florence, Italy: I’m finally here! The flight to Florence (pronounced ‘Furenzee’) had a short layover in Rome (Roma), then it was the last leg to Florence. A very nice couple from Albania sat next to me: Musaka and Christafina (or at least that’s how it sounded). I knew squat of Albanian (or whatever language they spoke) and they knew squat of English. I did get out a map and they pointed to where they live. I couldn’t figure out if they were husband/wife or dad/daughter or whatever. Towards the end of the flight, Christafina almost threw up - poor thing. The picture was taken just before she started turning green.
I landed in Florence, grabbed a taxi with a really nice guy named Luca as the driver. We had a great conversation about Italy and where to go and not to go. He confirmed what Stefano had told me before that Southern Italy has a lot of crime (except for Rome) due to not much money, Mafia, etc. He said Northern Italia is fine though. I asked him to take me to a reasonable hotel and he dropped me off at the Hotel Mia Cara. It was in a back alley, but I noticed everything was clean - no trash! People were walking all around and it was close to some downtown square. I asked how much for the room and I thought the nice lady said $17 Euros, but I was mistaken, it was $70! Holy smoke! To get internet to the room, it’s another $6 Euros though. Odd. She put me in a room with four beds, but everything is modern - sweet! All the beds are still firm as the floor though. And the bathroom has no drain on the floor and has shower doors and a toilet with a seat! It also has this thing that looks like a toilet without a seat for washing off the body parts that rub against each other. Interesting.
I took a stroll and found a place close so snagged some fettucini alfredo, a salad and a glass of house wine. Good stuff. I then took a stroll and found numerous places that served ‘gelato’, so bought some - tasty!
I just turned on the tube and ‘The Great Escape’ is on! It of course is a cult flick to motorcyclists and has one of the all-time best jump scenes ever, plus has riding by Steve McQueen - who was a real dirt rider! It really doesn't matter that the bikes are English twins made to look German. (Legendary rider Bud Ekins actually did the jump scene, and McQueen was pissed!) Wow, the city scenes from the movie are just exactly what I’ve seen in Greece and Italy. There’s also MotoGP bike racing on - things are looking up!
Tomorrow I may be on a bike!
-Tom
Musaka and Christafina - moments before Christafina turned the color of her shirt.
The route to Florence, Italy, from Thessaloniki, Greece, with a layover in Rome.
My first Italian meal!
More bikes we can't have. Notice that the Beta has a Honda mill.
John's evil twin! (FYI, it's a 'bidet' and you can read about it HERE)