Ciao Italia

One of the first things that amazed me once moving to the east coast was how easy it was state hop in a relatively short amount of time. I was visiting my boyfriend in Connecticut and we decided to to go to the beach. I was very excited but confused when he told me Connecticut beaches were no good and we wouldn't be going to one. How, then, were we able to go to the beach? We just hopped into the car and drove a mere 45 minutes to a beach in Rhode Island!

Now that I am in Europe this novelty has once again impressed me, on a much larger scale....country hopping! First I went to Monaco, although being so similar to France I hardly felt like I was in a different country. This past Friday, however, I traveled from France to Italy. I say "traveled" when really all I did was get on a train (only €13 round trip!) and less than an hour later I was in another country! In America I can't do this. Even living in Washington State it would be a few hours drive for me to visit Canada, ditto living in Southern California and wanting to visit Mexico. Being able to go to another country so quickly and easily is still blowing my mind.

When I say how easy it was to go to Italy from France I really do mean easy. With the creation of the European Union and the implementation of the euro, travel around Europe has become a snap. I didn't need my passport to get into Italy and I didn't have to do any currency exchange! It almost didn't feel like I was in a different country until I realized I spoke even less Italian than I do French! Mon dieu...or should I say mio dio! Luckily my few words of Italian (always know your pleases and thank yous no matter what foreign country you are traveling to!) broken French and English and the friendly people were able to get me through the day.

A small group of us decided to go to Ventimigia, Italy, which is just over the border from France (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventimiglia). We visited the most wonderful food market filled with fruits, veggies, flowers, meats, fish, pastas, and many other delightful goodies. I only wish there were daily markets like that in America! 

After we had our fill of the sights of the food market we went to the shore to an even bigger market that sold everything you could ever want. Clothes, shoes, bags, kitchenware, cheese, cured meats, sun dried tomatoes, toys, jewelry and on and on and on! The market seemed to go on forever and my friends and I spent a pleasant few hours browsing the market. We each came away with some souvenirs. I got myself a beautiful red beaded necklace and a purse for my sister. I had to hold myself back from buying out the market, though!

Later that afternoon we walked along the beautiful shore, had some authentic Italian pasta, and made our way back to the train station. All in all a wonderful day! 

 

Coming up: French Medieval Villages and impressionist painters