A 13 yr old's trip report of Italy
Dec 15th, 2005, 07:24 AM
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A 13 yr old's trip report of Italy
Our family just returned at the end of November. Although I figured I'd eventually get around to writing a trip report,my 13yr old daughter is in a teen journalism workshop for our local newspaper, and she had this published a couple days ago.I asked if she would like it on Fodors and she said sure. We got a lot of ideas from this site so it is nice to give back to it.
I am,of course, really proud of her,but also figured it might be fun for other teens and adults to read it and see what captivated her. (It is probably better written than mine would be anyway!)
Remember this was edited to fit a space so some of the places we went just didn't make the final cut--- but this is a good overview of a really special trip. So without further ado,here it is:
European vacation
by FEDORA COPLEY
SAN GIMIGNANO, Italy - For several years, my family and I had been saving our change in a pasta cannister we christened the "Italy Jar," hoping we would eventually have enough to fly to the country my mom's grandparents came from.
When we finally did go to Europe, the cash from the Italy Jar was divvied up between the five of us - mom, dad, my 19-year-old sister, 16-year-old brother and me - for spending money.
We scheduled our trip for mid-November, although we knew the days would be cool and nights would begin early. But there would also be fewer tourists and my sister could get out of college more easily.
Small town in Tuscany
This was my first time flying overseas, so everything from getting on the plane to seeing cities from up in the air was new. Not to mention coming into a foreign country.
After landing in Milan on Sunday, Nov. 13, we picked up our Renault minivan and hit the road. My father immediately got lost. But he kept driving south, found his route again and eventually we reached a town in Tuscany called San Gimignano (pronounced "gee-mee-NYAH-noh"
.Looking back on it, it seems like a classic Italian town, with red ceramic roof tiles, stone buildings, olive trees, closely-knit townsfolk, little coffee bars and wrinkled old men smoking pipes. It felt traditional, old-fashioned.
But funnily enough, in the downtown it was a happening place. A small network of stone roads held many shops selling an array of things - ceramic dishes, watches, clothes, postcards, calendars, Asian-influenced knick-knacks.
Here I had my first taste of classic Italian food: salami, formaggio (cheese), roasted vegetables and bread. All through the trip we would have several meals like that.
Glitzy shops in an old town
One of our nights in Tuscany, we drove to Siena, about a half-hour drive away. We parked our car just inside the old wall of the city and walked through winding, narrow streets to the center of town.
Anyone could tell this was a hip place. The women wore fashionable sweaters, jackets or fur coats, with high-heeled or flat-bottomed boots. It was a lot like San Gimignano, just bigger and flashier.
It was like a mall in the center of Siena - there were so many shops. One we stepped into was a paper shop, called Il Papiro.
The store sold gorgeous sheets of marbled paper, and items covered in marbled paper - boxes, picture frames, pencils, journals.
The woman behind the counter spoke pretty good English, like many people in Italy. I'd say out of every five people we talked to, three spoke at least comprehensible, if not good, English. More than I could say about my Italian. Still, we got by with simple words when need be.
Rome and Vatican City
After three days in Tuscany, we drove further south to Rome. Before this trip when I thought of Rome, it was grand, ancient ruins like the Coliseum that came to mind. But actually seeing the city was a lot different.
Rome is dirty, polluted and crowded. There's a lot to Rome that isn't ancient and grand. For a foreigner, being in Rome was similar to being in New York City; I felt like I was in a whole different level of the word "city."
On the streets, vendors try to make a living. On one stretch of the huge stone wall around Vatican City, there was a purse-seller every six feet, selling exactly the same purses as the men next to them. And not once did I see someone stop and look at a purse, much less buy one.
We drove into Rome during rush hour and at night. That was my first impression of Rome. The next day we saw the Vatican Museum and the Sistene Chapel ceiling, St. Peter's Basilica, the Coliseum and glimpses of the Roman Forum.
We saw the Coliseum by moonlight, and the Forum after that. The Coliseum was very, well, big. There were a lot of arcades and columns, all the oatmeally color of stone. It struck me as funny that there were streets right next to it - cars whizzing past this famous ancient structure like it was an everyday sight. I guess, for Romans, it is.
Into the countryside
The Amalfi Coast, which we visited after Rome, was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Steep mountains roll into the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Switchback roads wind among towns perched on hillsides. White houses speckle the coast, but there are no beaches here - the mountains plunge into the sea.
After five days of unusually warm weather on our trip, temperatures dropped and the wind turned bitter. We stopped for an afternoon in Pompeii - the famous, old Roman city buried in volcanic ash when nearby Vesuvius erupted.
As we entered the historic part, I saw a sign that said in English "Do not climb on walls." This was unfortunate for me, because I love to climb things. But I like to bend the rules when I can, so I held onto the railing on the ramp leading up to the city, and slid along using my feet on the wall. I figured it didn't count as climbing.
Not having studied Pompeii very much, I suppose I couldn't fully appreciate it for the archaeological find that it is, but I still thought it was thoroughly awesome. Everything - temples, houses, streets, shop counters - was made of brick, stone and mortar. It was a gray ruin, still being dug out and explored. I was surprised that it held so much culture and art - mosaic countertops, original frescoes and painted signs in Latin on walls that survived the volcanic ash.
Near a large amphitheater, in the shadow of oak trees, bright green acorns littering the ground, crumbling structures surrounding us, my brother and sister and I went running about in the ruins of a temple. It was very ethereal.
The land of my people
Basilicata is an arid, hilly region, but still grows olive trees and grapes. Small hill towns are quiet, isolated and fairly traditional. My mother's grandparents grew up in two of them - San Chirico Raparo and Montemurro.
On a cold, windy Sunday, my family had a picnic of bread, meat, cheese and roasted vegetables in San Chirico Raparo, a cone-shaped town built on a hill with steep stone steps leading everywhere. It felt a little like a ghost town - not many people were out.
We found some cats wandering around, and fed them cheese. A woman opened her window above us and yelled something in Italian, but in a friendly tone. We smiled up and hoped she understood we meant the cats no harm.
Glitzy Venice
We stayed two nights in Venice. We arrived after dark (again; we arrived at all our hotels after dark) and took the vaporetto - basically a boat-bus - down a big canal into St. Mark's Square, which our hotel was near.
The next day, we walked to St. Mark's, just a few minutes away. Right away, I noticed the women's outfits - all gorgeous, usually with long fur coats, some sort of hat and boots. Very classy.
One of the highlights of Venice were the pigeons in St. Mark's Square. There are great flocks of them, all hanging around the tourists and locals. If you stand and hold out your arms, they instantly fly onto you. That entertained me and my brother for hours.
I thought Siena and San Gimignano had a lot of shops, but that was nothing compared to Venice. There are endless tiny, winding streets with small shops selling paper, party masks, glass, sculpture, watches and fashionable clothes.
Snowy Alps
We said goodbye to Venice and drove north to Switzerland. With the north came cold and snow, which I didn't mind. Switzerland is often portrayed as a snowy place, so it fit.
We stayed in the house of my uncle's cousin, Christa, who very hospitably hosted us. It was great to bed down in a home again, after being in hotels all the way through the trip.
Our second night, we had raclette, a traditional Alpine dish. In a small oven on the table, we melted little pans of cheese. When the cheese was thoroughly bubbly, we took small wooden scrapers and pushed the cheese onto boiled potatoes; the scraping motion is called "raclette" in French.
After dinner, my family went to see "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" in a nearby town. The movie was in English and had French and German subtitles. In the lobby, before the movie started, crowds of teens and adults mingled. Groups of girls gossiped and giggled in French, while sulky geeks slouched in a corner, reminding me of Jeremy in "Zits." I also saw a young couple making out, oblivious to anything else. It wasn't so unlike America.
I was ready to leave, ready to be in Hagers-town again. The next day, we drove through the Alps and back to Milan and, after being bumped from our flight and detoured through London, we returned home.
Now, two weeks after our return, my family's adventures and mishaps, treasures and burdens in Europe almost seem like a dream. I'm already looking forward to the next trip.
Copyright The Herald-Mail ONLINE
Dec 15th, 2005, 12:16 PM
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Thank you all.
I am quite proud. So is her Dad. Also the photos that go with the article are great but I am not sure how to post them. (Fedora standing in San Marco wearing pigeons is my favorite)
We do have a flickr account so I could post the link but then folks would have to wade through the pictures...suggestions?
I am quite proud. So is her Dad. Also the photos that go with the article are great but I am not sure how to post them. (Fedora standing in San Marco wearing pigeons is my favorite)
We do have a flickr account so I could post the link but then folks would have to wade through the pictures...suggestions?
Dec 15th, 2005, 12:22 PM
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Lanz: we'd be happy to host a photo show here on fodors.com -- check out this link to get an idea of how it might work.
http://www.fodors.com/wire/archives/001382.cfm
best,
Peter
http://www.fodors.com/wire/archives/001382.cfm
best,
Peter
Dec 15th, 2005, 01:42 PM
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And proud you should be, lanz! Wonderful report! If Fedora is willing, I'd appreciate her perspective on planning do's and don'ts for a trip to Italy we're thinking about next summer with our 13 year-old. Our son won't be coming, so I'm a little concerned about keeping our daughter engaged, when she has only the company of her old fogie parents.
Dec 15th, 2005, 05:49 PM
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Great job! Looking forward to more reports from you, Fedora.
Lanz: I laud your supportive parenting, clearly a success factor here.
We took our 14-year-old to Italy in October'05 under similar circumstances. No better reason to skip school than an "educational vacation".
-e
Lanz: I laud your supportive parenting, clearly a success factor here.
We took our 14-year-old to Italy in October'05 under similar circumstances. No better reason to skip school than an "educational vacation".
-e
