Italian Conversations and the Kindness of Strangers

Florence

“You may have the universe if I may have Italy”

- Giuseppe Verdi

It was that time of year: Easter, which means only one thing in my book... Holiday! What is a travel hungry girl like myself to do but find a new adventure. And what better place to do that in than in the land of pizza, pasta and gelato!

Deciding to go to Italy for Easter seemed a little crazy. I could have stayed in Murcia; the city celebrates Bando de la Huerta after Semana Santa - a very popular celebration in the region which is part of the spring festivities. Instead I took the opportunity to travel and what better way to do that than by going to Italia.

Travelling alone has not felt daunting for the longest time but something I crave as you meet so many interesting people this way. Without the comfort of friends, you're forced out of your comfort zone to meet new people. I found myself having the sweetest conversations in the most arbitrary of circumstances.

Milan

Duomo di Milano

My second attempt at Couchsurfing was quite successful. Putting faith into a system that had let me down in the past was intimidating but that night I met such captivating people. Our host had 5 surfers that night and we were quite a mix of people too; a South African, a Belgian, a Thai and two Latvians. After being kicked to the curb at 7 in the morning, we spent a cold Milano morning together. With coffee running through our veins and our hearts set in different directions, we went our separate ways.

Venice

The highlight of seeing this city weren't the famous canals or magnificently made Venetian masks but an enjoyable 15 minute conversation I had with a lovely old man; a mask maker. In one of the side streets, I walked into a mask shop, completely in awe of the quality and artistry of each of the wares displayed. In an entertaining combination of Italian, Spanish and English, we spoke of his life as an artist and how outrageous it was of me to come to Venice alone. "No boyfriend? But why? You are so pretty." Suffice it to say that in true Italian fashion, this delightful man charmed me through and through and I left his shop smiling.



Florence
My favourite stop. The city is absolutely magical and left the biggest impression on my heart. I wish I could have stayed there longer but at least the time spent there was memorable. I struck up a conversation with another girl that was also doing the free walking tour alone. And just like that, I had made a new friend. That's the most wonderful thing about travelling though; meeting amazing people that are on a similar journey to you. Epi is from Argentina and I would never have met her otherwise. And I am so happy that I did.

The view from the top of the Basilica in Florence

Pisa
It was time I made way back to Milan to catch my flight back to Barcelona. Fortunately I had a pit stop in Pisa. Epi and I decided to meet up again to see the leaning tower. I have such good memories of laughter and smiles with a soul that I had known for less than 3 days. Travelling. "A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles."



Bergamo
The end of my holiday was definitely an experience. Alone in Bergamo in the dead of night with no phone, no money nor a place to stay. I had expected to spend the night in the train station as I had done in other cities but Bergamo's train station was under construction. Between that, the bus station and every shop and restaurant closed, being harrassed by over-friendly, drunk Italian men, as well it being a cold April night, I was at my wit's end by the time I found a hotel.

The first hotel wouldn't let me in (as I mentioned, I had no money left after travelling for a week in very expensive Italy) so by the time I found this one, I was on the verge of despair. I didn't want to spend the next few hours on the street. I asked the receptionist if it would be alright if I just sat in the farthest chair in the lobby, out of sight from anyone that would see me, although it was completely empty and remained that way until 5 am. "No", he sternly replied. That was it for me. Tears started to fall. He asked me what my problem was. I proceeded to tell him about my night before he cut me short and told me to take a seat and not move. Never have I been so grateful in my life!

This man was short and blunt with me and pretended I didn't exist for 4 hours while I sat in a chair and did not make a sound; dozing when exhaustion took me. The fact that he let me stay was a true act of kindness; the hotel was 4 stars. He let an unpaying, ragged-looking foreigner into his hotel at the risk of his job. My faith in humanity restored.

My bus was at 6 in the morning but I offered to leave an hour early so as to make sure no one saw me in his hotel but he refused and told me to stay until it was a safer hour for me to leave. When it was, he showed me where the restroom was so I could freshen up and gave me some fruit to take with me. The rest of my journey home was long but sailed smoothly. Thanks to this man, this stranger, I was able to go home feeling safe and say that, although this vacation had a few bumps in the road, I had an amazing trip. Thank you sir.

Upon reflection, Italy didn't leave me with conventional memories of beautiful sites or feelings of wistfulness. Instead, I gained moments of clarity; both in positive and negative circumstances. That's what travelling does to the soul. It teaches you to appreciate everything that comes into your life and how to roll with the punches.

Florence

Alles Amsterdam

Easter weekend, this year, I decided on going to Amsterdam. Travelling solo has added a different aspect to the trip. Boy, was I in for an awesome surprise :) This city is the epitome of sex, drugs and rock and roll.

I sat in a shoe!

 On the Thursday, I headed to Warsaw to spend the day with my friend Erin. My flight was only at 6 am the following morning but I wanted to see more of the city as it's so beautiful. It was absolutely freezing though so we huddled in various places to keep warm. I didn't want to spend money on a hostel so I watched a movie before catching the last bus to the airport. At the airport I napped and waited (along with losing yet another pair of stupid gloves) until my flight. Surprisingly, many travellers do this if their flight is early; just sleep at the airport!

The view from one the many bridges

It only takes two hours to get from Warsaw to Amsterdam so I was there in no time. I found my hostel, checked in and off I went to explore the city. I stayed in a hostel outside the city so I had to get used to the train stations really quickly. As I stepped out of Central Station I was bombarded by the most amazing sights :) Amsterdam is a bustling metropolis and for some reason the atmosphere struck a cord right from the get go. I was overwhelmed with everything about the city.

Clogs... Clogs everywhere...

Some awesome street graffiti of
Einstein and Lady Liberty

I had a free walking tour at 11 am so I found my way to the Dam Square that was the checking point. Free walking tours are my favorite thing about being in a new city. The guides show you the big, important things to see but also add a touch of localism that you just can't find alone as a tourist. In two hours you are jam packed with new facts and general information. For example, Amsterdam is named so because a dam is found along the river Amstel that runs through the city. It is a relatively young city, only founded in the 1200s AD comparing to others in the east that were created in the 900s, but Amsterdam has been a metropolis for hundreds of years and boasts having the largest amount of varying nationals in the city. Stopping there, I learnt a lot and my brain was content with the knowledge I absorbed :)

As it was Easter weekend, it was super busy in the touristy sections of the city that I of course had to discover. The streets are alive with coffeeshops (these are the legitimate places to smoke weed) and souvenir as well sex shops. I had previously asked the tour guide to where the best coffeeshops were located and headed in that direction and had my first space cookie. Never having tried eating weed before, I was expecting the same sort of high you get from smoking it. Funny! A body high is totally different to a mental one. By the time it properly kicked in, I was high as a kite! Best, most amazing, scariest high I have ever had. I'm a little thankful I decided to go home and take a nap (sleep deprived) because I was not functioning at all. I thought I was going to swallow my tongue and at one point I was pretty sure I was dying. Time slowed so still that ten minutes felt like hours! I was KO by about 9 pm and I still woke up high the next day. The stuff was good shit is all I'm saying :)

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Saturday I spent with a friend looking at the prettier areas of Amsterdam. We went to the local flea markets that sell the most amazing everything; from food to clothes to antiques. It is tradition to go to the markets on a Saturday morning and have apple pie afterwards and so we did exactly that :) The nine streets and Jordaan district are really quaint, picturesque areas that made me just fall in love with the city even more.

Coming from South Africa, hearing Dutch was quite interesting. To those that are wondering if Afrikaans is at all similar to its mother language then yes to a certain extent you are right. I could understand a bit but a lot is not the same. Pronunciation is completely different and so is spelling. Though reading signs etc I found easy enough to do. 

The only thing that took real getting used to are the amount of bicycles on the road. Photos just cannot truly justify how many there are. I heard a "tring tring" every 5 seconds from a cyclist that wanted one pedestrian or another to "move bitch, get out the way". Not in those words but you catch my drift. Cyclists rule the streets. They are at the top of the transport food chain. Screw the cars, who needs one when the whole country is so tiny.

That night I went out to discover the Red Light District. It's actually a good and respectable district; just as safe (which is very) as the other districts. Rule number one though: do not take photos of the women. They will leave their booths and kill your camera.  The women range from gorgeous and young, to "I'm pretty sure that's a man". A session lasts 15 minutes and you can pay up to 90 euros. Peep shows, live shows, gay bars, you name it and its pumping with tourists. 

Sunday I spent outside the city in a beautiful little town called Haarlem. This place truly stole a piece of my heart. Shops are closed on Sunday but that didn't stop me from exploring. It seemed almost like a ghost town with no one about and when the snow started falling, I truly felt in a little fairy tale for a second.

All the alleys in Haarlem look like this

Monday came and went as I checked out the hostel and spent my last day out in the city. The Sex Museum (some things just can't be unseen), the Bloemenmarkt (flower market) and Leidseplein are just a few other things I saw before going home.

If you don't secure your bike, there's a strong possibility someone
will throw it into the river :)

I think I'd like to live here one day. There is something about the Netherlands that captured me and hasn't let go...

You find some odd things in the city