Travel Log
Posts Tagged ‘walking’
Florence was my first stop in Italy and I have to admit that it ended up being somewhat of a disappointment. Maybe it was because I had such huge expectations for Italy, or maybe I was just tired, or perhaps I just caught the Italians at a bad time of year. Whatever the reason, I found most Italians to be rude, arrogant, and generally unfriendly. That wasn’t true of the hostel, restaurant, and guide folks but their livelihood depends on being nice to tourists. But people on the street, bus drivers, train attendants, shop owners, and just normal folks were exceedingly disagreeable.
Strolling Through Cinque Terre
One of the side trips I made while staying in Florence was to Cinque Terre (Italian for “The Five Lands”) which are the Italian version of the Rivera. The entire area is located about two hours by train northwest of Florence near the town of La Specia (La Spe-cee-a). I had to change trains in La Spezia to travel into the Cinque Terre area. The tracks twist and turn so much through Cinque Terre that they need narrow gauge train tracks. So, after leaving Florence early in the morning I was in the resort town of Monterosso al Mare by around noon.
The Heart of Italy – Rome
Rome, like Paris, was one of the few cities that actually exceeded my expectations. I found this to be rather remarkable after all of the wonderful things I had heard about the heart of Italy. I got off to a much better start in Rome than I did in Florence. I booked accommodations at the Alessandro Palace Hotel, which is only two blocks from the Roma Termini station (the major railway station in Rome). It was really easy to find the hotel and it is very centrally located so getting around Rome wasn’t difficult.
