The days in between my trip to Venice and Florence were filled mostly with work and some walking around Cascina, but nothing in specific. I went to Pisa one more day and that was on Thursday the 25th. But before I left to have dinner with mostly the AEI (Albert Einstein Institute in Germany) people, I had a little walk around the town of Cascina and found a nice stall selling fruit. I bought cherries for 2 Euros (about 250 gms) and they were ok, nothing spectacular but not too bad either. We had dinner at a local pizzeria in the middle of Pisa and I had a pepperoni pizza. Before you get alarmed that I have turned non-vegetarian suddenly, pepperoni is the term for pepper in Italian. By now my Italian skills were getting better and I could communicate with the waiter without much effort. The night before I had dinner at the hotel, it was some sort of Pasta which was very salty but ok. So I had vowed to myself that I will almost all days eat out, since the hotel was expensive and not so tasty either.
All these days I was planning as to what to do next. So I talked to all the resident Italians like Marialessandra and Laura, who offered me suggestions as to where to go and where to stay. After much deliberation, I decided to go to Venice on friday, spend a day and a half there, get back to Florence on Saturday night and spend a day there before returning to Pisa. So after dinner on thursday I walked down to the train station and bought tickets from Pisa to Cascina and from Cascina to Venice. The walk back was very interesting, since I walked along the major artery of the Pisan heart and it was very lively even at 10.30 pm. There were people mulling around , lots of youth cuddling with each other and enjoying some Italian Gelato, which is the best ice-cream I have ever had in my life. The one thing that struck me was the fact that the only person with my skin colour walking around as an equal to these people was me. All of the other Indians and Africans were selling things on small stalls or on the streets. It was very disheartening, as we Indians tend to do this kind of work all over the world. We work under the Arabs in the Middle East, while they live lives of complete luxury. We run American motels and small shops and are often scared for our jobs and our family to not mess around with the local population. Is it too much to ask that people from my nation start taking up their place in the world as equals and not as petty workers and salesmen? But then this brings me to the fictional character Londo Molari, a Centauri who longs for his race's "good old days" in the tv series Babylon 5. His obsession and patriotism brings him to do terrible things to other people and races and he almost loses everything in the pursuit to better his people. So, while such feelings of ambition and pity are well-founded, they might not be what is needed the most. On a side issue, most of the Indians there seemed to be speaking Bengali. They looked at me strangely and why not, after all most Indians there didnt have enough money to roam around proudly. This is not to say that the Italians were racist or that there was something actively working against coloured people there, but its just stating the facts.
Anyways after I got back to my hotel, I packed and waited for my real vacation (aleit 2 days long) to start.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Day 2 and 3
Day 2 was uneventful, mostly time spent at the conference.
Day 3 on the other hand, was very lively. The first half was once again spent at the conference, but I decided to forgo the site tour of Virgo and go to Pisa instead in the afternoon. So Sanjit, a postdoc at Nice France decided to come along with me and we both walked down to the Cascina Railway station, which is about 2 kms from the hotel. It was a little hot today and so the walk wasn't as pleasant as it was on Day 1. When we got to the railway station, the ticket machine did not accept notes higher than 5 Euros and since we both had only 20 Euro notes, we had to walk around for almost 20 minutes before we could get change from a coffee shop.
The train ride wasnt too bad and then we walked around in Pisa till we got to the leaning tower and the other monuments. We sat there for about an hour and saw the people walking by. A lot of them were English speaking and there were a disproportionately large number of Indians in the crowds. I even caught a couple of words of Gujarati and Hindi now and then. After a brief look at the tourist shops in the area, we walked down to the river and I was bowled over. The sights were stunning and the city was very quaint and nice. The colors that Italians use to paint their homes is just plain excellent. The sunlight was interfering with my pictures and so I didn't take too many snaps. Sanjit then left to catch his train at 6 pm.
I decided to take a walk in another part of town and I ran into this Gelato shop near Garibaldi Piazza (Plaza). The ice cream was divine, and there were atleast 50 different flavors out there. I had 2 of them by the end of the day I hope to have a lot more by the end of this trip. Then I had a vegetarian pizza at a small place near Garibaldi square. The most interesting part of the whole day was talking in Italian with different people and at one point, I was in a supermarket asking a girl which shampoo was for dry hair. The look she gave me was very funny and we both burst out laughing. I needed shampoo because I had forgotten to bring some from the US and the shampoo in the hotel wasn't too good. Another funny incident was when I was asking for directions to the train station. I asked in perfectly decent Italian Dove' il Tren Stazione (Where is the Train Station) and the reply I get is "huh???" , So I repeat the question and at this point start flipping through my Italian book again and see if I made a mistake somewhere; then she looks at me and the book and looks at her husband as says, damn these tourists here, even they don't know English. So I smile and just walk on by, not bothering to correct her romantic notions about Indians knowing Italian and not English.
The ride back was uneventful and I now have a big day ahead tommorow. Arrivederci (goodbye) for now. Ciao.
Day 3 on the other hand, was very lively. The first half was once again spent at the conference, but I decided to forgo the site tour of Virgo and go to Pisa instead in the afternoon. So Sanjit, a postdoc at Nice France decided to come along with me and we both walked down to the Cascina Railway station, which is about 2 kms from the hotel. It was a little hot today and so the walk wasn't as pleasant as it was on Day 1. When we got to the railway station, the ticket machine did not accept notes higher than 5 Euros and since we both had only 20 Euro notes, we had to walk around for almost 20 minutes before we could get change from a coffee shop.
The train ride wasnt too bad and then we walked around in Pisa till we got to the leaning tower and the other monuments. We sat there for about an hour and saw the people walking by. A lot of them were English speaking and there were a disproportionately large number of Indians in the crowds. I even caught a couple of words of Gujarati and Hindi now and then. After a brief look at the tourist shops in the area, we walked down to the river and I was bowled over. The sights were stunning and the city was very quaint and nice. The colors that Italians use to paint their homes is just plain excellent. The sunlight was interfering with my pictures and so I didn't take too many snaps. Sanjit then left to catch his train at 6 pm.
I decided to take a walk in another part of town and I ran into this Gelato shop near Garibaldi Piazza (Plaza). The ice cream was divine, and there were atleast 50 different flavors out there. I had 2 of them by the end of the day I hope to have a lot more by the end of this trip. Then I had a vegetarian pizza at a small place near Garibaldi square. The most interesting part of the whole day was talking in Italian with different people and at one point, I was in a supermarket asking a girl which shampoo was for dry hair. The look she gave me was very funny and we both burst out laughing. I needed shampoo because I had forgotten to bring some from the US and the shampoo in the hotel wasn't too good. Another funny incident was when I was asking for directions to the train station. I asked in perfectly decent Italian Dove' il Tren Stazione (Where is the Train Station) and the reply I get is "huh???" , So I repeat the question and at this point start flipping through my Italian book again and see if I made a mistake somewhere; then she looks at me and the book and looks at her husband as says, damn these tourists here, even they don't know English. So I smile and just walk on by, not bothering to correct her romantic notions about Indians knowing Italian and not English.
The ride back was uneventful and I now have a big day ahead tommorow. Arrivederci (goodbye) for now. Ciao.
Day One
Why is life such that you only enjoy moments of utter triumph after they have passed? After having spent over 3 days of my life behind a document, giving me the right to enter Italy, I was let through after just a cursory glance. The stamp used was barely visible on my passport. If only the immigration officer had made a ruckus; sang a song; doodled over my passport; did something to mark my entry into this country.
I landed about half an hour early at 10.00 am at Milan/Malpensa airport and didn't have to catch my flight to Pisa till 3.30 pm. So with time to kill, I opened up my Italian guidebook and decided to ask someone if I had enough time to go to Milan and be back in time. So my first words in Italian were - Para Inglese (pronounced Paraa Ingleesyay), which meant "Do you know English" ;). She told me that Milan Centrale (Centraalayay) was 40 minutes away and that I shouldn't risk going out there. But I had heard enough warning from the Italians and so I decided to go. The train was very interesting; it had 3 levels not all at the same time, but 3 distinct heights of the windows and seats. I sat on the topmost level and instantly fell in love with this country. It was like home with all the modern amenities of the west (it is the west you might say, but you have to visit Italy to see what I mean)
Milan station was deserted as it was Sunday and most shops/restaurants didn't open till noon. So I just started walking around at random till I came over to an open cafe. Once again I whipped open my Italian guide and asked the lady at the counter to recommend something to me. I fumbled through the words at the first attempt and she cursed her luck for having to deal with me so early in the morning, but after several attempts, she recommended a nice cappucino to me along with a broiche (some sort of sweet croissant). Meanwhile someone behind me heard about the ruckus and introduced himself as Marco, a student who was in his final year studying economics at the university of Milan. We both took up a table and had a hearty discussion of economics, during which I learned that he was going to come to Harvard the following fall to pursue a PhD in economics. Imagine my luck that I run into one of the brightest in the city within 15 minutes of going there. He had some very interesting ideas about China and India. Meanwhile, my cappucino arrived with a seemingly ordinary Broiche. The Broiche was extraordinary with a rich chocolatey flavor. The coffee was too strong for my taste; but then again, as Laura (my mentor) pointed out to me later, even American coffee is usually too strong for me. After this, I walked around for a bit, ran into the building housing the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci and found out that it usually entails about a 2 week waiting time.
After this, I returned to the airport and flew out to Pisa. I was afraid that my bag would get lost, but my fears weren't well founded and I got a taxi with all my stuff to the hotel. The taxi was very expensive and it took about 10-15 minutes to get to my hotel, which is in this obscure place. The nearest public transport is a good 20 minute walk away and the train comes only once an hour. At first the directions to the train station were a bit confusing, so I started asking around for the tren stazione, much to the bewilderment of the Italians. Luckily I got lost into a very nice part of town and saw that the architecture was absolutely stunning. An easy way to describe the city would be to call it a huge Caltech Campus. I ate some pateta (potatoes) and margarita pizza for dinner and had a nice walk back to my hotel.
The receptionist at the hotel complimented me for my Italian and told me that I was already way ahead of most English, Americans and others. He told me that Indians don't even try and that my 'r' s were great. That was the end of an exciting day, my first major visit to a foreign country on my own.
I landed about half an hour early at 10.00 am at Milan/Malpensa airport and didn't have to catch my flight to Pisa till 3.30 pm. So with time to kill, I opened up my Italian guidebook and decided to ask someone if I had enough time to go to Milan and be back in time. So my first words in Italian were - Para Inglese (pronounced Paraa Ingleesyay), which meant "Do you know English" ;). She told me that Milan Centrale (Centraalayay) was 40 minutes away and that I shouldn't risk going out there. But I had heard enough warning from the Italians and so I decided to go. The train was very interesting; it had 3 levels not all at the same time, but 3 distinct heights of the windows and seats. I sat on the topmost level and instantly fell in love with this country. It was like home with all the modern amenities of the west (it is the west you might say, but you have to visit Italy to see what I mean)
Milan station was deserted as it was Sunday and most shops/restaurants didn't open till noon. So I just started walking around at random till I came over to an open cafe. Once again I whipped open my Italian guide and asked the lady at the counter to recommend something to me. I fumbled through the words at the first attempt and she cursed her luck for having to deal with me so early in the morning, but after several attempts, she recommended a nice cappucino to me along with a broiche (some sort of sweet croissant). Meanwhile someone behind me heard about the ruckus and introduced himself as Marco, a student who was in his final year studying economics at the university of Milan. We both took up a table and had a hearty discussion of economics, during which I learned that he was going to come to Harvard the following fall to pursue a PhD in economics. Imagine my luck that I run into one of the brightest in the city within 15 minutes of going there. He had some very interesting ideas about China and India. Meanwhile, my cappucino arrived with a seemingly ordinary Broiche. The Broiche was extraordinary with a rich chocolatey flavor. The coffee was too strong for my taste; but then again, as Laura (my mentor) pointed out to me later, even American coffee is usually too strong for me. After this, I walked around for a bit, ran into the building housing the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci and found out that it usually entails about a 2 week waiting time.
After this, I returned to the airport and flew out to Pisa. I was afraid that my bag would get lost, but my fears weren't well founded and I got a taxi with all my stuff to the hotel. The taxi was very expensive and it took about 10-15 minutes to get to my hotel, which is in this obscure place. The nearest public transport is a good 20 minute walk away and the train comes only once an hour. At first the directions to the train station were a bit confusing, so I started asking around for the tren stazione, much to the bewilderment of the Italians. Luckily I got lost into a very nice part of town and saw that the architecture was absolutely stunning. An easy way to describe the city would be to call it a huge Caltech Campus. I ate some pateta (potatoes) and margarita pizza for dinner and had a nice walk back to my hotel.
The receptionist at the hotel complimented me for my Italian and told me that I was already way ahead of most English, Americans and others. He told me that Indians don't even try and that my 'r' s were great. That was the end of an exciting day, my first major visit to a foreign country on my own.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
