“City Life Anymore…?”

Well apparently I missed Tuscany/Umbria so much that I came back. I’ve done so much in the last few days that it feels like it’s been weeks. After arriving at Lago di Trasimeno, I set out my plan for the next few days. Since I liked the hostel and it’s one of the few places (actually only) I’ve found in the area for cheap, I decided to stay a total of 5 nights! But, that includes daytrips to Cortona (Thursday), Siena (yesterday) and Assisi (today).

The lake itself is on the border of Umbria and Tuscany so I’m sure you could imagine how nice and peaceful it is. I’m actually staying in Torricella which is tiny. During my first full day I decided to rest and not do much of anything since I was exhausted from the last few days. But not being able to sit still, I took the bicycle out into the next town 5 km down the road and ran a few errands. I came back, ate, slept and rode again, but this time I rode the opposite direction along the lake for a few hours and snapped a little over 2,445,287 photos. So much for not doing much of anything…but I’d probably relax better that way than actually laying aroung watching TV all day.

Cortona
Cortona the next day was amazing! And yes I did see Frances Mayes’ house and her too and her husband. The house is quite famous but I guess many tourists don’t know where it’s at or how to get there. I found it but sticking to my main principle on this trip of not giving up! I kept walking down the road…and walking and walking and sure enough I was able to smell the flowers from around the corner and there was her house. Her house is on the wrong side of the mountain so after 3pm she’s no longer “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Nonetheless it’s an amazing house…well it’s a two storey place, but it’s location is off the street and built into the mountain. Not to mention the fact that it’s decorated with millions of flowers and is in a very, very quiet spot just outside the city walls. And she was even outside writing, sitting under a gazebo…it was so stereotypical of her, the fairytale writer sitting under the sun writing about how good life is.

The rest of Cortona is contained in centuries old walls and has commanding views of the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside as well as the lake. It’s very charming as usual and though there were tourists, there weren’t a lot and the city (or village) had a more peaceful feeling than other tourist cities its size. I wouldn’t mind having a house there.

Siena
I’ll explain what happen the next day after Cortona when I tried to go to Siena. Of course I was not going to leave Italy without seeing Siena and it was my goal to see it! Being in Torricella which has a population of about 70, I had to make a few transfers just to get to Siena. So first I get to the Cortona station and then have to wait 1.5 hours for my next train to Chiusi. No problem. I then get to Chiusi where I have to wait another 1.5 hours to get a bus that takes 2 hours to get to Siena. By the time I would have got to Siena I would have had only 2 hours to see the city before my one and only train departs back to Torricella!!!

But back at the Chiusi station I get upset for about 30 seconds before my further evolving relaxed nature kicks in. So making the best of the situation (which is what I’m becoming better and better at), I decide to walk around and see the tiny city. I do. And then I decide to eat lunch there as I still have time. For some weird reason, the trains to Siena where substituted by busses this day. But quickly into the bus ride I realize this isn’t going to be any normal bus ride. Besides being in a nice coach with AC, we take the long, back route into Siena all through the countryside. It was far and away the best bus ride I’ve ever been through. The bus driver even told us of spots where a lot of those postcard shots are taken from. It was amazing!

Once in Siena I knew I only had 2 hours so I blitzed the city and saw most of it’s sites. It was probably the most stylized city I’ve seen thus far. Everything from the locals to the architecture had class and style. Another amazing city. So in the end I get back to Torricella exhausted but happy. I took the whole day as a packaged deal. I saw 2 cities and an amazing countryside. Most people only see that countryside as part of an organized tour which costs heaps of money and consists of annoying fellow tourists and an equally annoying tour guide. I got it all for very cheap.

Assisi
Assisi is famous for its favorite hometown boy, Francesco (Francis in English). This do-good son of a wealthy merchant gave up the good life and shuned materialism in return for a career in religion. Obviously he did do well and is now the patron saint of Italy. So obviously the Basillica of St. Francis is going t be amazing and it was. The rest of the city though was just as rewarding for me. Though the city is tiny and on a hill, it still retains its tranquil nature despite all the tourists, even more so than Cortona I think. The houses though are what I enjoyed the most. The tightly knit stone and brick houses where no further than 15 ft. across from each other on the streets, and each was decorated with random flowers and mosaics. When I get some photos, I’ll post them.

In other Assisi news, I almost got ran over by a NUN!! Yes a nun….and by the way you could stop laughing now! I literally had to jump off the street cause this lady whose head barely peaked over the driving wheel didn’t want to stop, slow down or look in front of her. And did she stop, say sorry, wave her hand or anything? No. She kept on racing down the street like a madman (or woman). It looks like one of Assisi’s followers wasn’t getting any help from the big man during driver’s training. But I did kinda feel a bit embarrassed about it and joke about it. I wazn’t mad, though cause I know St. Francis saved my life from one of his followers. Thanks Francis. And with any religious site, you have an abudance of nuns, priests, etc. So it was pretty funny to see a group of nuns or priests standing right next to a group of teenagers (if even that) smoking, cussing and hanging their pants of their asses.

On this trip I’ve made it a point to never give up. Whatever the situation is, either continuing to walk down a street to find a certain house, or finding a way to visit a certain city that has no more accomadation, I’ve stuck to my principle of not giving up and have been rewarded handsomely every-single-time!

And on that personal note, I’ve picked up, or actually modified, a few habits. I never really stressed before, but I would get pretty aggrivated at certain things. For example, at the Chiusi station when I found out I had to wait another 1.5 hours, I would have probably been aggrivated for the rest of the day, but that rarely happens to me anymore. Any problem or annoyance flys outta my head within seconds, if it is even there. I also walk much slower now too. Again I never walked super fast, but I never walked super slow either. I was in Positano last week when I was walking back to my hostel from the market. I soon realized I was walking at the same speed as the 80+ year old men on the street. I’ve since payed attention to my walking and yes, I still walk slower than I did before. What else…oh I’ve come to respect the siesta! I’ve always took naps before if I had the chance, but it wasn’t until I got here to Spain/Italy that I realized how important the siesta is if you want to have a great day, all day long. And lastly, I’ve always talked with my hands, but now it’s even more pronounced as I’m Italy where everyone speaks with their hands. Before my hands would just fly everywhere, but now certain vocal expressions elicit certain hand movements. The same exact ones most Italians use.

But for now time is precious as I’m at an internet cafe and have to pay for my time. I’m in Bologna now and tomorrow I go to Padua, and around that area like Venice and Verona. I fly outta of Milano to Madrid on the 11th to see the rest of Spain I missed the first time around.

Ciao tutti,

Now the inevetiable happened in Positano, or in general, southern Italy. There was a train strike yesterday. So waking up early to get to the circumvesuviana line (that connects Sorrento to Naples), I take the bus to Meta and get off in hopes of getting the next train, but then it happened. “No trains today. Strike.” So me and a group of others think to ourselves, “What are we to do now?” We are then told that there’s a bus at the church that goes to Naples. So we wait, and wait…and wait. We then seperate ourselves into groups; those going to Pompei, those going to Naples and those going elsewhere. And since the group I was in was going to Naples and no bus was in sight, we ask a taxi. They want over 200 euros so we say no. We then decide to take a local bus to Sorrento where we hope our chances of getting to Naples are better. And thus we get to Sorrento and walk to the bus station where we wait around and talk for a few mins. A few mins. later luck turns and a man asks, “You guys trying to get to Naples?” Yes. “Well I’m leaving at 12 and it’s 7 euros.” I guess he had his own private coach. So we all pile in and next thing we know we’re in Naples…finally.

At the train station I ask for a ticket to my destination. And since it’s so far away and a bit “out there,” the guy tells me to go to window 7. I go to window 7 (2 windows away), where I cut off a line of Italians (well…I was told to). Sure enough I hear the grunts from behind me but I don’t care. I get my train ticket which was 55 flippin euros and had 4 transfers!! Oh well…next thing I know I’m on the fast train to Roma. And in Rome for some reason I felt more comfortable…probably because I’ve been there and have navigated that station before. While on the train from Roma to my next stop, Chusi, I strike up a conversation with the lady sitting directly across from me as I realize she is going to the same place I am, nearly. Next thing I know she tells me, “I just talked to my husband and he’s just going to pick me up in Chusi and if you want, we can drop you off at your ostello.” I guess this lady, Christiana, and her husband David owned a house in Umbria very near my hostel. With a bit of trepedation, I say yes as it’s been a long day and I would love to take a 45 min. car ride through the Tuscan and Umbrian countryside. Next thing I know I’m at my hostel and am very relieved!

There are times when I’ve just met the right people at the right time. People that have helped me out more than they should have, or people who have said just a few words, but those words just so happened to be of immense importance and help for me. And I think to myself, “Man I’ve been lucky on this trip.” And though I have been lucky, I also think right away, “Well, it must be karma because there’s so many people I’ve helped on this trip.” The first few days in Madrid where difficult for me and 3 mins. after arriving at my hostel I met this Mexican guy called Alex. He invited me out right away and during the next few days helped me out tremendously. A day or two before I arrived I guess he had gotten beaten up and robbed in Madrid and had nothing, no passport, money, etc (he only had a pair of crutches). A few nights later he had no money and no place to stay (he had already payed for the first few nights before hand) so I hooked him up with some money to stay another night. The next day I transferd hostels and he never got a chance to pay me back though he did call me but I was at the bullfights with Elem and couldn’t really meet up with him. And just the other night in Positano, I gave 5 euros to a girl who couldn’t pay her restaurant bill. She was staying at my hostel and payed me back, but the point is I’ve done things like that all throughout my trip.

So do I deserve all the help I got in Madrid, Granada, Valencia, Torino, Firenze, Lago Trasimeno, etc.? Well I would like to think so. As I’ve written before, I’d do the same to anyone that came to California, and I’ve helped many people during my trip. So I like to see it that way as I believe in karma. And now that I read this entry I just realized how short and stubby each sentance is. Sorry about that…my writing style changes from time to time. And on that note are the pictures in this blog oversized? I think with some browsers the pics. are rezized automaticaly while with others they are not. If not, I apoligize in advance as I can’t resize them overseas. I’ll try to do it when I get home.

Ciao!
Daniel

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