Travel Guide Part VII: Strikes!
This topic is particularly relevant right now. Italy just went through a major strike over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend- the long weekend for the program- most of the people traveling were probably affected. The trains, buses, and even the airline AlItalia- or something like that went on strike.
Strikes are very common in Italy. They are both very annoying and very easy to plan for. Pretty much all the transportation in the country cooperates with each other, so when one branch of workers decides to strike for a pay raise or whatever, all the others will too. This means everything. Trains, buses, taxis, subways, anything- except airplanes. This makes traveling very difficult because there is no transportation and it causes the country to pretty much shut down for a day or so, but the strikes are planned and publicized so the public always knows that they are coming. Because of this, you can plan your travel times around the scheduled strikes and not get caught in travel hell. When trying to plan around strikes know that the hours before and after the strikes will be incredibly busy for all facets of transportation because all the Italians do plan around the strikes and crowd the last buses and trains before the strike.
Strikes usually don’t last all that long, they are just reminders that the people that work in public transportation do have significant power, so planning around them isn’t difficult, it is just frustrating at times.
Group Dinner at C&O
A couple of weeks ago, thirteen of us got together for dinner at C&O Trattoria in Venice Beach to get to know each other and have some good fun Italian style. We got all the pasta we could eat, met the Air Force water polo team, got to sing That’s Amore with the whole restaurant, and had so much gelato after the meal at a place in Santa Monica.
Thanks to everyone that came, and if you missed out on this dinner, we are planning to have another, probably more low-key dinner before finals. Details to come at a later point. I was already excited to be going without know anyone who would be over there with me, but now that I know more of y’all I can’t wait! Only like 9 and a half months to go!
Travel Guide Part VI: Eating Out
Eating Out is simple enough once you get the basics. There are only some minor differences in European restaurants when compared to American restaurants.
The first thing is that Europeans eat later that Americans. Most places won’t even open for dinner until about seven, and even then all the staff won’t be there and the restaurant will be pretty much empty. This, of course varies by country, but is a general rule. Spain is the one real outlier- it is rare for the locals to eat dinner out there before ten.
Next, don’t plan on ordering, eating, and leaving. Real European, especially Italian meals will take you about two hours to finish- beginning to end. Italians take their time with most everything, and eating is no exception. If you want to rush the process along like a true American, you’re still looking at a good hour, at least for a dinner at a restaurant.
In general, you don’t have to tip the waiters, but because it is pretty easy for most people to tell Americans from Europeans (the language and clothes are key), waiters will expect you to tip. You can go either way. If you are in a touristy part of town, then try to pass yourself off as a European and don’t tip, but if you’re off the beaten path, then tip. But you can look at this from the opposite angles too- tip in the touristy parts and don’t in the parts mostly frequented by locals. It’s up to you.
When you order a drink anytime in Europe, don’t expect to get hardly any ice in it like we do here in America. Usually, when you order a soda or water you will get one piece of ice, if any. Should you want more ice, you’ll have to ask for it.
Traditional Italian meals consist of three or four courses, and if you go into a restaurant it will be the same story. You have to order everything separately, and it may come separately. One example is if someone in your party orders pasta and another a chicken dish, the person that orders pasta may get their food a good ten to fifteen minutes before the person that ordered chicken. This is not always the case, but it does happen. Another thing– it is not required that you order all the courses of a meal, just know about them.
When you want the check, don’t expect your waiter to bring it to you in most places. Italians take their time with everything, so they won’t bring the check until you ask for it, and you may have to do so several times.
That’s about it as far as eating out goes. It isn’t hard to pick out the places that are aimed at the tourists- they are the ones with a lot of English around. While some of these places are good and convenient, the best places are the local treasures that are sometimes a long way out of the way. Best piece of advice I can give is to explore and find a place that looks inviting for a local.
Travel Guide Part V: Trains
Honestly, the train system could be a whole book, but I’m just going to give the abbreviated version and try to touch on all the basics. Here goes...
Major train stations are usually at the center of Italian cities, but like every travel rule, there are some exceptions. What is true it that the train stations are the centers of transportation for most cities. Most, if not all of the bus lines will have a stop at the station, there will be taxis there around the clock, and should the city have one, a subway stop nearby.
When trying to figure out what ticket to buy and which trains are going where, there are several things you can do. The first is to check times and destinations online at
www.trenitalia.it this will give you a general idea as to when the train you’re looking for will leave and arrive. The next thing you can do is, once in the station, look at the big schedule board that will be in the main part of the station. On this board, there will be all the available information on departure times, arrival times, departure tracks, and any information on delays, etc. Even if you check your times online beforehand, it is a good idea to look at this board anyway because Italian trains are famously late. So always double check. When you are finally ready to buy a ticket, you can either go to a ticket window- most of the people working there will speak English, or you can go to a machine that will have a variety of options and languages available to you. This machine is usually the way to go. You can check times, prices and everything else from these machines, and then, when you’re ready to buy a ticket, they take cash or credit cards and will then print your ticket off for you when you are done. You can also buy your return ticket at this machine, and know that it will print on the same ticket as your first ticket- it will just be a little different. A one way ticket will only say "andata" but a round trip ticket will say "andata e ritorno." That one ticket can be validated twice and will be your ticket for the entire journey, even if you have a day lay over of more. If you are making a trip that is within about fifty miles of your starting point, you can buy your ticket from a newsstand in the train station. This is useful when you are in a hurry because the newsstands are hardly ever crowded and very quick to use.
Once you have your ticket, you need to find out which track your train is leaving from. In Italian, the tracks are called "binarios" you will need to look on a schedule to see which binario your train is leaving from and head to that track. At the head of each track, there is a little yellow machine that will validate your ticket. You need to make sure that you validate your ticket prior to boarding the train as a ticket that has not been validated is useless.
The next piece of travel by train that is useful is the different classes of trains. There are three main types of trains in Italy. The most expensive and fastest is called the "EuroStar." This line of trains will only stop at major cities- Milan, Florence, Bologna, Venice, Turin, Rome, and Naples. Tickets for this train are expensive, but the travel is nice and times are very fast. You generally need to make a seat reservation before hand to buy a ticket and have a place on the train. The next class of trains are known as the Inter City or IC trains. These trains will stop at both major and mid-major cities- which means take the list of cities listed above and add all the Empoli’s, Pisa’s, Siena’s, etc. of Italy to that list. These trains run frequently and are usually accessible without reservation, tickets are much cheaper than the EuroStar tickets are, but travel times are longer- although not all that much longer. Whenever available, these trains are the best balance of speed and cost efficiency for college students. The next, and worst line of trains stop at any place that could be considered a train station- it will stop in the middle of nowhere at a station that is one track and pick up nobody, but it still stops for some reason. It seems that as soon as you get going fast, you’re slowing down again. You will sometimes stop at three different stations in a single city- Florence for example- you can stop at three separate stations going through the city. These trains are cheap, kinda sketchy, but essential if you want to go to any of the tiny towns of the Italian countryside. And, if you can sacrifice the time, they are cheaper than all the other lines, so if you want to save some money this is the way to go.
There are some special types of train cars- like overnight coaches and dining coaches. The dining coaches are self-explanatory. The overnight coaches require reservations. They are coaches with beds, usually three per "room" so it is a good idea to book with your friends. When traveling on an overnight train, it is always a good idea to go with a buddy, and a better idea for one person in a party to be awake at all times to guard against theft. While it doesn’t happen all that often, it does still happen often enough for it to be considered a major problem.
Other things to think about when booking tickets or traveling by trains. There are both smoking and non-smoking compartments, so if you have a choice be sure to specify your preference because it can be a long ride in a smoking car if you don’t enjoy smoke. There are also different classes of tickets on the EuroStar and Inter City train lines. Tickets range from first to third class and, the higher the class, obviously the more expensive. With a first class ticket, you can sit pretty much anywhere on the train, but you’re gonna want to look for a first class compartment- they are much nicer than the other cars. Second class is similar, but generally not used as much as first or third class. Third class is the standard class, and with a third class ticket, you have to sit in a third class car. Of the third class cars, you’re gonna want to look for a car with your smoking preference which can be tricky at times. Just be aware of that.
Should you be in the situation of being on a very crowded train, know that in the connecting compartments of the cars, there are seats that pull out of the wall, and on some trains, these seats are available in the corridors as well.
Every hour or so, or at least after a major stop, a conductor will come by and check tickets. At this point, you show him your validated ticket. If you managed to get on a train without a ticket, you can buy a ticket from the conductor, but here, you have to pay with cash and the prices are more than they would have been in the station. Its also a bit of a hassle if you don’t know Italian because not all of the conductors know English.
From Florence, it is about a three hour- sometimes more train ride to both Milan and Rome, Pisa is an hour away. Most cities are accessible by train in Italy, some in Sicily aren’t, and there are some tiny towns that are only accessible by bus or car. It is possible to go anywhere from Prague or Vienna in Eastern Europe to Brussles to Paris and down to Lyon fairly easy in a normal weekend by train. Anything that is farther is tough to manage. You may want to think about flying.
I have not talked at all about Eurail passes, but will do so and explain all of the stuff associated with those and all the variations on the passes in a later section.
I know I’ve probably missed some things about train travel, either because its been a few years since I’ve done it myself or because I just don’t ever have to think about doing it anymore. Please do let me know if I have left anything major out.
Note- Each European country has their own versions of the classes of trains, but they are usually comparable. For instance- the EuroStar’s French equivalent is the TGV.
Travel Guide Part IV: Ryan Air
Ryan Air is pretty much the South West airlines of Europe, although there are some major pluses and minuses. As far as tickets go, they are dirt cheap (most of the time), and the flight, well its pretty much normal. There are just some oddities with their whole system which makes traveling on Ryan Air something that you have to plan for.
Quite often, they will give away "free" seats on their airline, but you have to read the fine print. The ticket actually does cost one Euro cent or one British pound cent because they can’t technically be given away, but that’s not the problem. The taxes are the problem. There are usually taxes on the ticket (airport tax, EU tax, etc.) that run about fifteen British pounds or twenty to twenty-five Euro. This is always a bit of a surprise the first time you fly Ryan Air because the tax is quite often more than the ticket itself.
Another problem with Ryan Air is some of the weird rules they make. For instance- you can carry as much as fifteen kilos total, seven onboard and then another eight checked. They charge like two British pounds per kilo above, and that tallies up fast. Another rule is that if you don’t check in at least one hour prior to take-off, they can re-sell your ticket and not give you a refund, so you have to be sure to be early. This hasn’t happened to me, but they say it does happen often and that you need to prepare accordingly.
The last, and most problematic part of flying Ryan Air is the airports they use. In Europe in general, it is a hike to get out to most airports, but Ryan Air is kinda outrageous. For example, they advertise Florence as a destination, when in fact, the planes bound for Florence land in Pisa which is an hour train ride from Florence. This is the case with most of their airports- they don’t use major airports, and because the airports are in the middle of nowhere for the most part, they can charge like ten Euro to get into the city. Not only do you have to pay for the ticket into the city or find another way into the city, you have to plan on taking another hour or more in your journey than you originally thought. While this process isn’t impossible to get through, it is fairly tough, especially if you don’t speak the native language so you can figure out what you are doing, where you are, and where you are going.
Having said all this, I still think Ryan Air is a great way to travel. You can get to London, Dublin, Barcelona, Norway and Sweden by Ryan Air, where as, on trains, that is nearly impossible to do in a normal weekend. It just takes a bit more planning than the trains do.
Travel Guide Part III: No Pedestrian Right of Way!
This one is particularly significant for me. You have to look both ways whenever crossing a street in Europe, even when in crosswalks. Drivers there are crazy, do not recognize any kind of pedestrian right of way and will not slow down for you. It is your job to get out of the way for your own safety. Many of the streets are narrow, so that makes the cars all the more dangerous. I have been on the sidewalk many times, and still have had buses honk at me because they are so close to the curb that their mirrors would have hit me, even though I was "safely" on the sidewalk. Just pay attention, especially on busy streets and when crossing streets.
Another thing that will get you is mopeds going the wrong way on one way streets, or else driving on the sidewalks. This is technically illegal (I think), but everyone still does it and it seems to never be enforced. Always be on the lookout for those things.
I have no idea how many times I’ve been honked at or almost hit by a car in the streets of Florence, even while paying attention to what I was doing. The drivers are crazy and, while they know what they are doing (for the most part) they still have their fair share of close calls. On a similar note- jaywalking is technically illegal, but not enforced, so you don’t have to find a cross walk, but it is usually a good idea for your safety- although the crosswalks are not all together safe themselves.
Travel Guide Part II: The Grocery Stores
For the most part, the grocery stores are similar to those in the United States. There are just a few little things that set them apart. Most are relatively minor and unimportant, but several are rather important.
First, when buying produce in a grocery store, there are two things that you must do. The first thing is to put on a plastic glove that are located near all the plastic bags to put the produce in. If you want to touch anything, you must do so with this glove on. Health reasons or something... Next, there are little computers that will weigh, calculate the price for, and print off a receipt that you will then give to the cashier when you check out. The cashier will not be able to ring up the total for you without this receipt from the produce computers- don’t forget it.
Next, milk in Europe isn’t the fresh, pasturized stuff we have here- it is milk that is made to have a shelf life of a month or two. Don’t look for it in a cooler unless you want the expensive fresh stuff, just go to the milk aisle. It’s there.
Lastly, you have to pay for bags to carry your groceries in. They are only like two or three Euro cents, but it is kinda annoying at first. To get around this, you can bring your own bag with you and use it to carry your purchases, or you can buy new ones every time. Up to you...
These are all the major differences I can think of in the grocery stores. If I forgot anything that anyone can think of, let me know and I’ll put something in about it.
Florence Map
This is a map of a lot of Florence. The Duomo is located near the middle of the map, the Arno river is in the South West corner, the train station- Santa Maria Novella is in the North West section, and the villa is not on this map, but would be located almost due north from the center of the map. I put this map in to illustrate the point I made earlier about the streets being angled and hardly ever straight. There is one section in the center of the city where the streets are more block like and in a more American style. Anyone want to guess why?
My Travel Guide- Part I: Transportation in Florence
So, the first comment on my blog was a piece of pretty good advice, and well, it does give me something to write about, so I guess I will become an 18 year old Rick Steves and write a simple travel guide full of things that are just a little bit different about Europe. My first entry in this guide will be about getting around Florence.
Florence is a small enough town where, if you wanted to, you could walk anywhere and everywhere in the city, but at the same time, it is still large enough where you may want to think about alternate modes of transportation. I would recommend just walking, getting lost occasionally and, in the process, learning your way around the city. Florence is not like an American city at all, hardly any of the streets go in a straight line, they tend to be strangely angled and go in random directions, so it is quite easy to get lost or end up somewhere without having any idea how you got there, all you can do is learn your way around these complicated streets and learn all the short-cuts. A great way to learn your way around the city is to take a run through the streets and go random directions and then try to find your way home from there (that's what I did for the most part).
When you need to get somewhere, and don't want to walk, the public transportation in the city is very good, there are bus stops all across town, and it is cheap too. Buses are easy to use once you know how. You must first purchase a ticket from a bar (not in American sense of bar, like a coffee bar), ask them for the ticket- "vorrei un bigletto per autobus." They cost a Euro, or maybe a little more, and they are good for one hour- not one trip, but one hour from the time they are validated. This means you can transfer lines and take as many trips within that hour as you like on that one ticket. To validate a ticket, there is a machine on the bus that will stamp a time on your ticket and then return it to you. You are then responsible for keeping that ticket and showing it to a conductor when asked. While I don't recommend this, it is possible to travel occasionally without tickets- most of the locals do and there are very rarely ticket checks, but because they are so cheap, it is best to go ahead and buy one to save yourself the potential trouble. You can also buy multiple use tickets that are good for a day, or two, or four individual uses- it is helpful to pick these up to have them always with you for when you really need them.
The buses are very useful, but like I said- you can and probably should walk everywhere. From Fiesole to Piazzale Michelangelo, Florence is not that big of a city, and it is more than possible to walk (or run) anywhere you want in a reasonable amount of time. Just ask Eryn about getting around- especially when you want to go to Fiesole or Piazzale Michelangelo.
That is all I've got for my first "travel guide" entry for Europe. If you have any suggestions about what I should write about, let me know and I'll try to do that at some point. I am already planning to write on trains, Ryan Air, the grocery store, eating out, strikes, and the lack of the pedestrian right of way. I still need more ideas, so let me know.
A little history...
So, here is a little of my history in Florence. I've lived for almost a year of my life. I lived there, in the Pepperdine house in the fall of 1997, and then again in the fall and winter of 2003-2004. I don't remember a whole lot from my first trip, but while I was there last time (03-04), I picked up a lot of what I learned the first trip up very quickly and then learned a ton about Florence and the rest of Europe. It is going to be very different for me this time because both my family and the rest of the people that make Florence the great city that it is won't be there (except for Elizabeth and the other permanent Villa residents).
By the time I get back there next fall, I will have completed two years of Italian and will be pretty darn good at speaking it. I'm going to minor in the language, so hopefully I'll become fluent at some point.
I will talk more about my history in Florence and be sure to keep the memories frequent for all y'all in the 03-04 group that are going to be reading this site.
(Pictured above: 41 Viale Milton aka The Pepperdine House. The 4 lights out front welcome us home every night. Picture taken by Eryn)
Going Back!
I'm going back to Florence! It's official! Now I have an excuse to create a blog and tell about all the stuff I've done with my life. Much more to come, but for now just know that I'm going back!
(Pictured above: Overlooking the Duomo and most of Central Florence in the snow. And, no it doesn't snow all that often there. Thanks to Matt Fuentes for the pic... at least I think he took it)
