Florence, Milan and then home, but not for long...

Somehow I made it back home to the States for Christmas. A hard move, I know, to leave such a beautiful country that prides itself in art, food, and style; Italy is truly a special place. It was great to be with my family for the holidays though.

Within the two weeks I was there, I started to really enjoy the Italian culture. Every evening around 6 o'clock, the streets fill with Italians getting off of work. However, its not like rush hour in the States. They are leisurely walking around with each other taking in the views, the nice night, and checking out the newest window displays from the fashion designers. There are street performers filling the air with wonderful music, and people strolling about with a hot Panini or a delicious gelato; the place is just vibrant and alive --what a great way to bond with the people of a city. Back in the US, it seems to me that we are always in some sort of hurry or on a mission. In congested areas, people are frustrated.

(A Prada window display in Milan)

(Out in the streets of Florence)

My first impression of the food in Florence was surprisingly, not good. I soon figured out that I was eating at the touristy places that didn't actually serve authentic Italian food. I was finding lots of reheated pizza, panini, and pasta. I also found every shop had the same things.

(Some good panini)

My frustration was quickly flattened thanks to my Italian friends Mossi and Cassandra, Eva, and Cristina. They took me to pure Italian places tucked into the nooks and crannies of Florence and therefore perfectly preserved. The food at these places was excellent (ah, relief!). Italian dinner is what you would expect for a European dining experience. They eat a small portion, have some wine, talk, then repeat. Dinner can last up to 4 hours and starts with an antipasti, primera, and then a main course, and finishes with an espresso (no matter what time of night), and a small glass of frozen limoncello (a lemon liqueur).

(Antipasti)


(With my friends Cassandra and Mossi enjoying limoncello)

Milan is the industrious city of the North of Italy which is refreshingly different from Florence. You can certainly feel this when you step out of the huge train station into the thick of the city. Although more modern and spread out than Florence, Milan still glows style. Its here and Paris that all the biggest fashion shows are every season highlighting the native styles of Milan, like Prada. I spent only one night here, but was still able to see some of the sights.

(Milan's Central Train Station)

(Milan's Duomo. The right shows the door to the Duomo and also some damage from WWII)


(Milan's gorgeous town center, with a beautiful Christmas display under the covered mall)

(A video showing the covered walking mall in Milan)

I also had the chance to visit the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Although this is really the only thing to see in the small city of Pisa, it is truly a marvel. It's so strange to see something so large and permanent like a building leaning at an angle looking like it's going to fall over. You think that it's an illusion, that it's not really leaning, but then you walk up to the base and see how far one side has sunk into the ground. Its crazy. The tower is not alone, it is neighbored by the Duomo and another building. I stopped here for lunch and had some amazing raviolis and a glass of Chianti. Ah. How relaxing.

(Leaning Tower of Pisa)

(Pisa's Cathedral)

So after some initial frustration, I found Italy very hospitable and warming with great food and lots of art. The appreciation for art is far more than back home, it is one of their main values in life, a societal perk which I have always wanted to experience. No wonder the Italian passion, spice, and fire for art and style have given the world fashion, food, Ferraris, and fine art.

(Florence)

All these experiences in Italy caused my head to whirl, to think, and start to dream. Initially, I was so excited about Italy that I was going to stay for the winter, but I realized that winter is a slow time here, there are less people, less jobs, and the weather is rainy and cold. Not to worry, however, because I've not only come home with great memories from my experience there, but I've come home with a plan. I'm going to stick it out in Montana for the winter learning all the Italian I can and saving money. Then...Italy for the summer! Florence will be my new home for a few months.

Lost in Florence

"...I now find myself wandering the narrow streets of Florence (Firenze) in a state of both awe and intimidation. Around me I hear the percussion of Italian tongues as I try to move with the flow of foot traffic on a sidewalk half the size I'm used to. You can venture off into the one lane street beside you if you like to avoid oncoming people with umbrellas, but I wouldn't advise it. Italians whiz by on vespas at a crazy speed, and buses that we would think obviously were too big for the street don't hold back either. However, I still feel safe in the street, as Italians, although at first impression appear to be wreck less drivers, they are actually very alert drivers. I sense that this behavior is a fabrication of the bigger culture here: Flowing chaos. It seems that everything is disorganized, but somehow it works and flows and sings. It is Italy."

(The streets of Florence, Piazza di S. Croce in the distance)

I am in a place of immense history, creative arts, fashion, and style. It's here that many fashion brands start and beam style to the rest of the world like a beacon in the fog. Tucany is home to Gucci, Diesel, and Giorgio Armani as well as amazing Chianti and Italian leather. I feel grossly under dressed here in the streets. I'm also very content to be in such a culture shock and sometimes I try to imagine if I'm ever wandering the same path as Leonardo Da Vinci once did, or Michaelango, or the Medici family.

(A Gucci store)

(Florence)

Florence is a labryinth of narrow streets, where a lot of the buildings look the same. You keep walking and every once in a while, the street opens up into an amazing Piazza (plaza) home to an architectural icon or two, or perhaps a sculpture crafted by one of the greats dipicting a Roman leader. One such place is the Piazza del Signorina, full of sculptures and the original home to Michaelango's David, which is now in a museum: Galleria dell'Academia.

(Piazza del Signorina)

There is also the beautiful Duomo of Florence, which is the biggest cathedral in the city. According to historical Italian law, each city has a Duomo which, by definition, is the biggest cathedral in the city, rests at the center, and also is the tallest building in the city, at least from what I understand.

(The iconic Duomo of Florence!)

(Breathtaking detail)



(Beautiful white marble)

(You can see how the Duomo is the tallest building, look at the shadow looming over the city)

After you experience the Duomo, there are several cafes you can tuck into and join the fellow residents for a scalding hot espresso, but in a lot of places here most people enjoy their caffe or breakfast while standing.

Italians seem to stand a lot. They also work a lot, some 6ohrs and 6 days a week. This came as a surprise for me as I always got the impression that everyone in Europe works less than the US. However, I just don't get the feeling of stress here, as Italians are very laid back, they don't worry as much as we do. It seems like everything is done on a handshake and there is a vague concept punctuality.

Yesterday I paid a visit to Michaelango's David. I joined several other tourists in a reverent silence as all you can do is just stare in awe. He is so elegantly poised and polished staring off to his left with a humble pride. He is amazing. I just relaxed here and took it all in for the better part of an hour. Seeing such a famous icon of art like that is quite a rush. You see him everywhere in pictures and books, but finally getting to see him in person was amazing.

More on Italy soon...

The Scottish Highlands

Stu and I took a nice trip up North for a few days. The Highlands of Scotland are probably the most famous place in all of Scotland. These mountains are the magical place that was home to the Picts and Scots, the beginnings of Scotland. Rough and rugged mountains showered by torrential rains and bitter cold, these are the lands of the tough. Additionally, this is where Whisky was invented and still thrives today (notice that we don't say Scotch. Here, there is no other whisky!).

We had a rainy, but beautiful trip up North, visiting the small village of Crinan for lunch and then staying the night in Oban, gateway to the West Isles. Near Crinan, there are several boat lochs in which you can run your boat or canoe through in the summer. Its very rustic here, but nice, well off the beaten path. Oban was a great town, small, but full of life. Quite touristy because of its access to the island ferry boats and its famous single malt whisky distillery.

(Loch Fyne)

(Boat lochs at Crinan)



(Road to Oban)

(Stu and I at Oban)

(Oban)

(Bridge at Clachan, near Easdale)

The next day we drove through some of the most gorgeous country consisting of ocean bays, pristine lakes, rugged mountain peaks, and rushing rivers. In New Zealand, several of the mountains and valleys are named after Scottish locations. Now I see why. It is strikingly similar to New Zealand here.

(Loch Leven, near Glencoe)

(Loch Linnhe, near Ft. William)

We visited Ft. William for lunch, which seemed to be a mecca for mountain climbers, as Scotland's highest peak, Ben Nevis (1334m), loomed in the background. Skiing is also popular out of this small township. On we went through Glen Coe twisting through narrow mountain roads surrounded by snowy mountain peaks. This drive was so similar to the road to Milford Sound in NZ, or Glenorchy NZ, or maybe Glacier National Park in MT.

(Ft. William)

(Near Glencoe)

Driving through here sure brought back memories of good old NZ and especially hanging out with my mate Stu. We were up to our usual shenanigans...

(High mountain Ninja action!)

So as you guessed, I had a great time in Scotland and I will definitely be back, next time when the sun is out so I can engage in some outdoor activities. Stu and his family were nothing but generous and lovely. They wouldn't even let me wash up after dinner. Ever. Thank you to the Byer's family!! I had a great time.

So now its off to my next adventure: Italy--a place I've been wanting to visit my whole life! I'm quite intimidated by the language barrier, but I'm sure it will be OK. I just found out that another one of my best mates from NZ, Angelo, will be moving back to Italy the same week as I arrive! How perfect. I'm also quite unsure about this next part of my journey because instead of being the relaxed tourist, I'm going to try to get a job here. It sounds impossible, especially because I don't speak Italian, but with a little luck we'll see what happens! If this doesn't work out, I'll go back to being that tourist and enjoy the sights before coming home for Christmas. So with that, I leave you with a nice Christmas tree from Edinburgh. Cheers!!

(Christmas tree, Rose St., Edinburgh)

Scotland: Loch Lomond, Glasgow and Edinburgh

I arrived at Glasgow airport Wednesday night to find my best mate Stu waiting for me. It was so great to see him after a year since NZ. I am staying with Stu and his family in a small town on the West Coast of Scotland called Fairlie, near Largs if you google it. Largs is a quaint little town with everything you need and well off the tourist path which is nice. As you'd expect its very cold and wet here now which is hard to adjust to. It seems there is no escape from damp cold and the wind is freezing! This is also the most Northern country I've visited as well, the days are very short and the sun is low in the sky. When it sets, the sunset is across the whole South horizon, not just in the West, what a trip!

(Largs)

I'm finding Scotland very nice thus far. It seems a bit more polished than Ireland and definitely the most disciplined and socialistic country I've visited. The trains are strictly on-time, litter is scarce, and people just seem to have a social responsibility to care for the greater good of their community. Its interesting after coming from a place like America which seems to promote greed, collecting assets, and looking out for only you and your family. There is more personal responsibility here; things are not as obvious. For example, pedestrians don't have the right away, there are no warnings near the train tracks to keep away, and getting on and off the train takes some paying attention, as they don't make it so obvious (I didn't press the open door button in the allotted 10 seconds of stopping, so I rode the train to the next stop! haha)

I took my first day trip up to Loch Lomond, a beautiful lake just North of Glasgow. I arrived there by train for only about £8 (yes, it is so connected here, I can ride the train from out in the sticks all over Scotland). The setting here was amazing and complete with a castle built about 1000 years ago.

(Loch Lomond, Ben Lomond in the background)

(An old church with an erie graveyard at Luss, a town on Loch Lomond)



(Ballock Castle)

This land was inhabited by clans dating back to the 600's and the castle was built to guard the Loch. I just can't fathom how old this land is and I try to imagine the people walking on this soil long ago and it brings a magical presence to this place. An excerpt from my journal if you wish to read it:

I went down to the water at midday. The brisk, cool wind was at my back as I grimaced a smile for my camera positioned faithfully upon a mossy rock in the wind. I climbed up the mossy exposed tree roots to the path on hard earth protected and fought over by Scots 1000yrs prior. This reverence hits me and gives me the fortitude to brave the cold wind longer and somehow embrace it. They had it so much worse. They were so much tougher. I can't seem to thoroughly feel with my body how historic this soil is. I try to imagine the burly men and resourceful women that lived at this Loch long ago. The smell of smoke of coal fires in attempt to keep warm in the damp cold. Its not light for long here in the winter either.

(Braving the cold at Loch Lomond)

The Scots have kept their land well. One of the few places in this region to never fully been taken over. The Romans, even at the height of their empire couldn't gain complete control. Hadrian's wall was built to keep these savages out of the Roman empire (now close to the present day border with England in the South). The Scots were crazy and the Romans were afraid. The Vikings, known for their fierce raping and pillaging of villages were held off at Largs. The English defeated many times by William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.

The Scots must be proud. The must be pure. You'd expect an arrogance rivaling that of the USA or France, but instead I'm finding a humble, mature society that support each other, a true socialistic society. I wish I could have this history in my blood, or at least live here for a while to let it soak in. I guess with this small visit, I will remember this every time I get cold.


Over the weekend, I got a chance to visit Glasgow city. There are several museums there with free admission as well as lots of shopping, cafes, coffee shops, and sights. Glasgow is Scotland's biggest city, but Edinburgh is the capital.

(Wet Buchanan St., Glasgow)

(Museum of Modern Art at night)

(Glasgow)

(Kelvingrove Museum)

I took another day trip to Edinburgh and wow, what a gorgeous city! Second in my mind only to Barcelona, this city is full of old buildings, art, history, and culture. A well-preserved mixture of Medieval, Gothic, Roman, and Baroque style architecture with a bustling cosmopolitan population at its feet. The gem of the city, Edinburgh Castle, sits atop the highest point reverently looking over the city.

(Edinburgh)

(Buildings along the street called the Royal Mile)

The history of this city dates back to around 600 and first served as a stop-over place for warriors during battle. It was called 'Din Burh' and eventually a castle was built here which housed all of Scotland's Royalty from the 1330's on and continues to be a center of Scottish Royal affiliation. The Royal Honours are kept here: the crown, the sword, and the scepter. I couldn't believe I was seeing the actual crown worn by Robert the Bruce in 1334! It was beautiful. These honours were lost for over 120yrs at one point and were also hidden during WWII.

(Edinburgh Castle)

The rest of the city is laced with ancient buildings amongst new ones, like the modern Scottish Parliament buildings. I walked up and down in awe all day. It's like walking through a painting.

(Good night, Edinburgh!)