Italia

To quote my economics professor here at Charles University, “north of Rome they drive like crazy Germans; south of Rome they drive like crazy Egyptians.” I guess that means you have to be a crazy American to attempt to rent a car in Italy. Well what else are 21 year old college males good for? Don’t worry Mom, I made it home in one piece. It was actually that very same economics teacher who told us to scrap our plan to take trains city to city and pick up a car, so before I get to my trip I owe a shout-out to Petr. Once a week Zander and I have a three hour class with this guy, and he usually only makes it 45 minutes before getting sidetracked with travel discussion. He has been to just about every square inch of Europe, mostly by hitch-hiking. In fact, not long ago he hitch-hiked to Iran where the people were “very nice,” so we were slightly nervous he may be a little crazy himself. As it turns out he was right on the money with this idea.

Lago di Garda

Our $12 flight dropped us off at a small airport outside of Milan where Zander and I met Ross Leder, picked up the car, and hit the road. For the first leg of our drive it was pouring rain and we spent much of our time on the motorway so we didn’t see a whole lot. I think we were driving along side some mountain ranges but it was so foggy I couldn’t tell. Our only stop on our way to Florence was in Sirmione, a small peninsula town on Lago di Garda.  The town couldn’t have been more than 100 meters wide, (that’s right, I’m on the metric scale now) brimming with restaurants, gelato stands, shops, and the lake on both sides. We ate our first authentic Italian meal here, and then continued on our way to Florence. As we were walking into our hotel in Florence, Glotter and Neili had just gotten in and were looking for the hotel as well. It was unbelievable timing, must be some sort of extraordinary roommate sense.

The next morning we got up bright and early to return this car so we could pick up an automatic for the drive to Rome. Right before we dropped it off, we pulled into some 1920’s style gas station. We paid ahead and went to fill it up, but couldn’t get the gas cap off for the life of us. As we were fiddling with this thing for a good ten minutes, an Italian pulled up and started filling his bike with the other side of the pump. When we finally got the cap off and tried to fill up our car, the credit was gone. We all looked at each other thinking the same thing; “Wait, did he just steal our gas?” The guy who was supposed to be working in the booth was nowhere to be found, so we left taking the loss. When we were waiting for the bus, this guy finally rolled into his little hut so we made a dash to get our money back. You know, for how much we had heard about crazy Italian driving, getting the gas cap off and getting the car in reverse—in a way other than throwing it in neutral and pushing it— were our only problems. We spent the day walking around Florence. We climbed to the top of the Duomo, saw some renaissance art, and enjoyed the nice weather.

Florence from the Duomo

All semester leading up to this trip I had been taking photos in restricted areas in preparation for the security of Michelangelo’s David.

We met up with Andy Stein who gave us a personal tour of the city and took us to a great lunch spot, home to the best lasagna I’ve ever had.  Andy showed us around Florence for the rest of the evening.  Thanks again if you are reading this.

The next day was the sole reason we rented a car instead taking a train to Rome. Our route took us on a small winding road through wine country in Tuscany. We stopped for a tasting at a small winery along the way and after one glass-worth of wine they were able to convince us to stay for lunch. We got back on the road and made our next stop at Castellina. After walking around for a little, we were headed to Siena. To be honest I didn’t know a thing about Siena, but it turned out to be one of the coolest cities I have seen. I liked the city itself more than Florence, although a lot of that was because it wasn’t crawling with tourists.

Siena

The town square was very unique; it was round, completely enclosed by buildings and had a bowl shaped ground. It wasn’t so much for walking through, but more of a central hangout place. There were several outdoor cafes and people sitting in the center socializing.

It was on the way to Rome where we learned what Italian drivers were all about. We would be driving 100 miles per hour and getting passed. Their go-to move is to race up behind you, flash the brights and swerve around you. It’s all just a game to them: every man for their self, no enforcement, and the most creative driver wins. It’s a lot like Mario Kart. Oh, note to the east coast, I had an Italian pronounce M(ah)rio for me, so I’m not buying this M(air)rio’s Pizza in New York pronunciation logic. It was on this stretch to Rome where Ross graduated from the Italian school of driving, which was absolutely crucial to our mission to return the car by midnight. I wish I could go into more detail, but there is no possible way to put it into words or pictures. Let’s just say the attempt wouldn’t have been a success in any other city.

We got an early start the next day to make the most of Rome. Our first stop on our walk was the Vatican. I should mention that this was the day Obama was speaking in Prague, and I was really disappointed to be out of town for it. But as we made our way into the Vatican, there were thousands of people gathered in the square. As it turned out I had accidentally stumbled upon a speech being given by the Pope. I guess that was decent consolation.

The Pope's speech at the Vatican

We continued our walk stopping by the castle from Angels & Demons, the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, as well as several other ancient structures. The thing I really liked about Rome was the amount of cool stuff sprinkled randomly all over the city.

I met up with Lauren and spent the rest of the day with her at the ruins: the Colosseum, Palatine and the Forum.  It’s surreal to be surrounded by bits and pieces from over 2,000 years ago.

The Colosseum

The Forum

Some people think Rome is a dirty, overcrowded city, but I thought it was nothing short of incredible.  The day I spent in Rome is without question one of my top few favorite, and certainly most memorable, of my stay in Europe.