I Fell in Love with an Italian Boy on the Train Ride to Florence...

    Okay, okay...so before everyone starts Facebook inboxing me and writing on my wall asking if Adrian and I broke up...we did NOT. But a two year old Italian boy did steal my heart on the train ride to Florence. His name was Bonyo (or at least that is what I heard his 11 or so year old sister referring to him as) and he provided me with a real look into the Italian culture and what it must be like growing up in it. I sat across the isle from him, his mother, grandmother and his sister sat directly across from me on the train. He was learning the Italian Alphabet and numbers, from his mother, who was writing them on a tablet of paper in front of him. She spoke softly in his ear, while pointing at each letter or number and in return he would yell them out on the top of his lungs.
    He was so cute with his big brown eyes so wide with wonder, tiny little lips, a mop of brown hair on his head and a contagious laugh. I learned on the train to Florence quickly, there are three things that are most definitely the same in every culture: The way a child cries, the way a child laughs, and the way a child plays. Bonyo did his share of crying on the train, especially when his mother got up to go to the bathroom. He did his share of laughing, especially when his sister was playing Peek-a-boo with him. And he did his share of playing, especially when his sister sang to him the American song by Selena Gomez, "Love Song". She sang to him in perfect English, "I-I love you like a love song baby. I-I love you like a love song baby" and Bonyo clapped and laughed, throwing his head back repeatedly. He tried several times to run up and down the isles, was scolded by his mother (that also looks the same in every culture!) and drove his older sister crazy. I absolutely loved observing this little family and was quite sad having to depart them. Unbelievably enough, about four hours after getting off the train in Florence, we were at the famous statue of a Boar called il Porcellino. I saw the little boy and his family again!!! I kept telling Adrian it was meant to be. They totally made my day and maybe even my trip.

      On the other side of me on the train to Florence sat an elderly couple. I sat next to the woman and the man sat diagonal from me. They were probably in their mid-seventies. They did not enjoy Bonyo's company quite as much as I did. In fact, the woman whispered something to me in a Italian that I do not think was very nice by her tone of voice. I looked at her like a deer in the headlights and shrugged my shoulders, "Uhhh no Italian, sorry." She chuckled to herself and turned back to her magazine. The magazine she was reading reminded me of a People magazine, but in Italian. I found it so amusing that the majority of celebrities in this elderly woman's magazine were American. George Clooney was actually one of the highlighted articles. On one side of me I have a little girl singing Selena Gomez and on the other side of me I have an old woman reading a magazine that highlights George Clooney. The American influence here amazes me.
    Well, to backtrack a little, the night before we left for Florence we went out to dinner at Grotto Azzurro a restaurant fairly close to campus. I had my first Italian Ravioli experience and it was delicious! Despite my glass of red wine being made by the restaurant, I wasn't much of a fan. Though, I enjoyed the fact it was the restaurants actual wine.

   
   Adrian and Nora got an interesting clam and crab dish that ended up being surprisingly good as well, I snuck a bite of Adrian's! I told the waiter he made a delicious Ravioli (same thing my mom does every restaurant we go too! lol) and his face lit up. A few minutes later he brought out free Limoncello for everyone! I mean I don't want to take credit....but c'mon!

    After dinner we spent a few hours out in the city at Sloppy Sam's, but we all got tired fast. A few stayed out while a bunch of us went and got Gelato and Crepes instead. I had the most delicious Crepe I have ever had (haven't had many crepes but it was still great) I ordered a Nutella Crepe with Banana. Aka...Heaven. 

     The next morning bright and early our trip to Florence officially began! I guess I can skip most of my train story because I was so excited I had to tell it first. The trip to Florence was semi-chaotic, but definitely a learning experience. It was frustrating trying to find the right places to go (train, metro, bus, etc) and the language barrier was no help at all. Once we started sight seeing it definitely all seemed worth it. We unloaded all of our stuff at a hotel right out of the city center of Florence called, Quadra Key Residence. It ended up not being such a bad place, especially when we paid eleven euro per person for the night. The three girls, Vanessa, Nora and myself had a huge bed to ourselves in a private room. Carl and Danny had a huge bed to themselves in the middle room and Adrian, Ricardo and Anthony shared a huge bed in another private room. We all shared a bathroom, but it was only one night and only the girls ended up showering anyway. 

     After we all took a short nap we toured the city. Though I have been to Florence before it is still absolutely breath taking. One of my most favorite sites of all time is The Basilica, Cathedrale Di Santa Maria Del Fiore. In other words, one of the most gorgeous Basilica's I have ever seen. 

   

    We walked through a lot of shops in Florence, privately owned shops and stores that are also in America such as H & M. We saw a lot of beautiful artwork and paintings being done by artists. One of my favorite was the painting being done on the side of a road by a male artist. I usually never give money to these sorts of people, but this artist I could not admire without doing so. His work was absolutely astounding. 

   We also went to the famous square in Florence, Loggia Della Signoria. It is filled with many different statues including a replica of the famous statue of David. Museo Di Palazzo Vecchio, at the heart of this Piazza, is a famous ancient building in Florence that has lasted over seven centuries.

 
    Lastly, we also went to Piazza della Repubblica. Another one of my favorite spots in Florence because it is where the carousal is located. A lot of different vendors and shops are around this area too.

   
     For dinner we went to a little tiny restaurant on a side street. The restaurant seemed crowded with locals and because we were only in Florence for one night we definitely wanted that sort of environment. The restaurant was called Birreria Centrale Firenze. For those that do not know, Firenze is Florence in Italian. Inside the restaurant it literally felt like a whole in the wall. I felt like a local Italian eating inside this place.

    I ordered a Spagetti like pasta with hot sauce (weird but I couldn't resist hot sauce! though my mother probably wouldn't approve!) and it wasn't too bad. The middle-aged couple next to us must have been regulars at the restaurant. When they came in the owner came out and kissed them both. They were greeted with a bottle of wine as well, and the biggest wine glasses I have ever seen in my life. The wine must have been expensive because when the owner opened the bottle he was smelling the cork and then nodded his head at the couple if to indicate this was a good one. The wine was purple in color and each time the man or woman went to drink it they would repeatedly swish it around in the massive glass and then also swish it around in their mouth. I wish I could tell you how many courses they ate...but I lost count. From mozzarella balls to bread to chicken to fish to pasta, the food and wine seemed endless. I was satisfied with my pasta dish, but I got a lot of enjoyment watching them. 

   After dinner we were ALL were exhausted. Despite Florence apparently having an amazing night life, we opted out. We had a long day of traveling and sight seeing, so it really didn't seem in the cards for us. We got up early this morning and began the trip back to campus. It was once again confusing and slightly frustrating to navigate the train system, but we thought we figured it out once we were on the train.
     It was not until half way through the train ride, when the conductor came to stamp our tickets, we were informed we were supposed to have our tickets verified. Meaning, even though our tickets were all paid in full, we were supposed to bring them to some machine and get them "verified". We had NO idea of that and the ticket was in Italian which did not help at all. The conductor said he usually has to fine each person forty Euro, but because we did not know any better (aka STUPID AMERICANS) he would only fine us five Euro each...HOW NICE. Other then that though, the train ride home was beautiful. I got a window seat and spent a good two hours just looking out the window and admiring Italy's beauty.
   The train ride home really gave me a good sense of Italy as a whole and I spent a lot of time thinking. Rome is a lot like NYC and the country side of Italy between Florence and Rome is a lot poorer. In fact, the countryside reminded me a lot of the movie War Horse. The part specifically, for those of you that have seen it (those of you that have not should go see it, I recommend) is the little girl and Grandfather that live on the farm in France. Well, obviously this is not France, but the countryside of Italy looked a lot like that. There is nothing for miles and miles. There is no such thing as getting in your car and driving to Wal-mart or Target or even a market in general. The people live off the land. I saw Chickens, Goats, Sheep, and  Horses. Miles and miles of crops. People plowing land, riding in tractors and cutting wood in their backyards. It was hard to even tell if a lot of these places had electricity. A lot of the houses look the same too. Here is an example of the view from our hotel, which a lot of the houses and apartments resemble:

    As you can see, they seem sort of "poor". The houses in the countryside, like the apartments in Florence, all have close lines on their porches and that Italian feel you see in movies. Yet, there is something sad about these living conditions. The resources, even in Florence, seem so limited. I am obsessed with Italy and love every last detail of the architecture, history and people...but I can't help but think that I am so lucky to have been born in the United States. My options and opportunities are limitless in America. I always grew up with more then enough and that is all I have ever known. I felt, watching the houses and apartments go by while on the train, these people probably have JUST the necessities to survive.
       It is hard to imagine a lot of these people getting out of these sort of situations. The United States of America truly is the place where dreams can be made. You can come from nothing and become someone with the proper education and work ethic. In a place like the Italian countryside, I personally feel, your options may be much more limited. You grow up on the land and you die on the land. You spend your life, for the most part, just laboring, harvesting and farming. There is no such thing, at least in the countryside, as waking up and going to the office. Who would have thought sitting in an office would be a blessing?
     This weekend has left me with a lot to ponder and even more to be thankful for. Florence is another great experience and another great adventure. Thank you all for reading. I hope your weekend was great!


XOXO Shann