Finding calm

A day in Florence is like no other. A variety of four-wheeled, three-wheeled-, two-wheeled, and human obstacles can stand in your way, even just during a simple walk to school in the morning. The city is very stimulating, be it with the beautiful scenery of the Tuscan hills, the architecture, or the various svelte Florentines that pass you by, and you have to be careful not to let things like the sweet smells from a pasticceria distract you from an oncoming Vespa. Like many things in Italy, life is a balance of fast and slow, urgent and relaxed. Because of this, tranquil places like cattedrali (cathedrals), cappelle (chapels), sinagoghe (synagogues), and moschee (mosques) are great places to take a deep breath and relax. During my time in both Florence and Italy as a whole, I have visited many of these places and found relief from the sometimes stressful life of Italian cities. I don't visit these places for religious reasons, but more for the calm they induce. They are great places to think. The quiet, cool, and beauty of a cathedral or synagogue can help anyone forget about an angry encounter with a taxi driver, a long line at a caffe, or the general claustrophobia of city life. They are great places to sketch, people watch, and admire domes of all sizes. I've visited cathedrals in Rome, Corniglia, Florence, Siena, and Pisa during my stay in Italy as well as well as the Tempio Maggiore (Great Synagogue) and mosque in Florence. All have astounded me with their artwork, architecture, and gilded streams of light, but my favorite so far has been the tiny little church of San Pietro in Corniglia. I stumbled upon it, sweat on my brow and gelato in hand, after a hike in Cinque Terre National Park. The temperature was approaching 41 degrees Celsius and my legs needed rest. I climbed the small set of stairs at San Pietro, and found myself alone in a beautiful and tiny cathedral with candles glowing and music drifting from distant corners. I sat on a pew for a few minutes, and re-energized myself for the last part of my hike.

Ceiling of the Pisa cathedral in late-afternoon light.

So, anytime you are in need of a quiet place away from the chaos of an Italian city, take the hike to San Pietro in Corniglia or just visit the nearest synagogue. Both will do the trick. --Jessica Tierney

Key words: cattedrali (cathedrals), cappelle (chapels), sinagoghe (synogogues), moschee (mosques), duomo (dome), calma (calm)

Advice

Make yourself pack as light as possible. You are going to shop when you get to Florence. Plan on bringing some things that you can wear while you are here and leave behind before you go home. If you are planning on shopping a lot think about packing a suitcase within a suitcase. See the places on your cultural list as soon as possible. You may want to hit up a few more than once. --Sarah Terranova

Parole utili: Per portare via – “to go” like for coffee; Allora – used as frequently as “ummmm” in English; Grazie mille

Saving money

Everybody knows being in Italy isn't free, however there are ways
to save money here and there, and eventually it adds up.  When I was in
Rome, we tried to walk everywhere we needed to go but unfortunately
our hostel was 8 miles away from the center so at night we had to taxi
because the busses stopped running at midnight.  One night Corbin and
I had eaten dinner in the center and needed to get back to the hostel,
but we weren't familiar as to how the busses function in Rome.  They
don't just go around in circles like at KU, or if they do, it takes a
REALLY long time; we learned the hard way.  It was around 11:15 and we
caught the bus going the opposite direction. When his final stop was at
11:40 at the bus station we knew we were in trouble.  Fortunately,
after being booted off the bus, a taxi was waiting for us, as if the
taxi driver and the bus driver planned the entire thing.  He told us
it would cost us 60 Euro to go home... yeah right.  We politely told
him he was crazy and we would wait for the next one.  A few minutes
went by and we were walking towards a more busy area to find a cab and
the same taxi rolls by again and this time shouted "45 euro".  We once
again declined.  Still searching for a cab, a couple minutes passed
and the same cab driver circled around again, this time shouting "35
Euro". I caved in.  He then asked if I smoked and iIreplied "No, but I
don't mind if you do, if you knock the price down to 30 Euro." He
obliged, and we saved 30 Euro on the ride home.  Just be aware of
scams, and if the price sounds too high, it probably is. --Ben Balson

The Streets of Florence

Forget buses and taxis. The best was to see Florence is by walking. Everywhere. You see and experience so much more. But my biggest advice is to take it slow. The beauty of this program is that except for class in the morning, you have nowhere to be! So why walk fast? Enjoy yourself, see everything, walk down streets you’ve never been on, stop into stores and look around, stop and listen to the street musicians, talk to people (in Italian, duh), ask for directions, take in the culture, eat at every gelato place. (Maybe only the last one if you want to be sick by the end of 3 kilometers. There are gelato places everywhere.)

 

I have found too that walking in small groups or even by myself is far better, because it is easier to keep the pace to a light stroll and you can stop into places that interest you with less of a chance of someone not wanting to join, thus splitting the group.

So it is best to enjoy what little time you have in this beautiful country and keep it relaxed and easy. --Corbin Soliday

tre frasi utili:

Dov’è.....? - where is .....?

Buongiorno / Buona Sera - Good morning / Good afternoon/evening

posso accarezzare il tuo cane? - can i pet your dog?

No Italian

I came to Italy not knowing any Italian, so I was really curious to know whether or not this trip was a good idea. Turns out I made a good choice because everyone was willing to help me and after only a few days in Rome I had already learned a lot of Italian. I learned to ask questions about every little detail because it helped me advance in my Italian speaking skills. I didn’t always let others speak for me because I knew little, but I asked how to say it and tried myself. This experience has been an amazing adventure/ challenge for me, but there is nothing I would change about it! Take advantage of every opportunity! --Brittni Counts

Three useful Italian words:

-          Basta

-          Grazie

-          Ciao

Train station

Look for this machine to stamp your ticket!

The not-so veloce self-service kiosk

A new experience in Italy for me was a train station.  In Kansas public transportation is limited to within cities, but in Florence one can get a train to anywhere else in the country.  The train station wasn’t anything like what I was expecting either.  So first lesson is don’t come with preconceived notions about train travel.  Second lesson buy train tickets at least the day before you want to travel.  If you wait until the day you want to depart there is added stress of the line and catching the train at the time you want.  The train station is always a bustle with people coming and going from Florence since it is a hot tourist destination.  I had a bad experience where the self service kiosks kept shutting down while people were trying to buy their tickets.  People became very irate.  When my group finally reached the kiosk for our turn we were preparing to buy our ticket when the man behind us was cursing us out to hurry up because he was going to miss his train.  One must realize that it was not my fault he was going to miss his train.  It was his fault for not being early and prepared; better early than late I always say.  The last and maybe the most important thing to remember about train travel is to validate your ticket.  They always come by and check your ticket once the train is moving, so avoid the hassle of a fine by finding a yellow box, usually located at the entrance of the track, and make sure to validate your ticket!  Buon Viaggio! --Janel Wietharn

3 useful words: Partenza=Departure, Arrivo=Arrival, and Convalida=Validate

il traffico

In Italy, the driving style is vastly different than most of us Americans are used to. Absent are the enforced traffic laws and the streets are a mesh of flesh and metal as pedestrians dash to avoid their metal encased counterparts. Outside the city, people are at the whim of automobiles, but inside the city, it is different. Inside the city, people reign supreme. Le macchine creep behind the people, as shadows at dusk, down every street until the freedom can be achieved by way of open road. Transportation is a nightmare because the buses are overcrowded, Vespas and vehicles remain at almost standstills and le bici wobble with unbalance, the consequence of not keeping speed. I strongly believe the easiest way to get around the city is andare a piedi.

The blur of a racing car when it breaks free from the crowds in the city.