A Skip Over The Pond

I write this first post some 4433 miles from Pittsburgh, PA, where our journey began. Aboard a small commercial plane, we flew from Pittsburgh into Washington DC to await our connecting flight into Rome. We took our last step on American soil around 4:30 pm as we boarded the Boeing 767. Despite its size, the full cabin still made it feel cramped. I had the pleasure of sitting behind a lady who enjoyed the comfort of the fully reclined seat position for the entirety of the 8 hour and 18 minute flight. Still, the time progressed fairly quickly. One batman movie, one chicken-type dinner, a few hours of attempting to sleep and a light breakfast later, we finally touched down in Rome. I had seen little of Rome apart from the Pantheon, Colosseum and assorted baths and palaces, and was not quite sure what to expect. The Rome airport was far from colossal  but we claimed our luggage and moved through the very little amount of security, anxious to begin the final leg of our journey. Being around 8 am US time, we were all exhausted. After making our way to the buses which would carry us the last 4 hours into Florence, we hit the Roman highway and watched the countryside. Away from the ancient Roman structures, the countryside takes on a very different character. Clusters of buildings are spread out, connected by a "go-cart" track-like highway. Italian Stone Pines distinctively dot the landscape. What stood out to me the most was a lack of separation between what is old and what is modern. Century old Tuscan-style villas sat comfortably next to glass and steel alfa-romeo dealerships. Miles of untouched land would go by, and then a small area with hundreds of buildings practically on top of each other would emerge. Structures left to crumble wore tattoos of graffiti (I'm happy to report that most of the graffiti here is in english), the old and the new coexisted. It was a subtle-chaos. While I may not be painting it as picturesque canvas, it is only the consequence of me finding it so unexpected. I was taught in Architectural Theory never to describe something as interesting, so I'll instead provide the following pictures to convey a similar message. 

I was able to sleep a little on the bus and woke up in time to see some of the wineries and small Tuscan towns before we crossed the bridge into Florence. I instantly understood why everyone in Italy drives hatchbacks or motor bikes (when I say everyone, I mean e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e. Granted they are BMW, Mercedes Benz and Alfa-Romeo hatchbacks, but you would get laughed at driving an Escalade around in this country). The roads were made for walking with buildings placed incredibly close to each other. Our ideas of road etiquette don't apply. Motorcyclists go wherever they fit, cars weave around people, and speed limits tend to not be observed. However, its what the locals are used to and somehow it just works. No one gets upset, they just go whenever they can make space for themselves. For this reason, Italians also seem to have an affinity towards Smart cars. In the bus we made our way into the city center where we would meet with the housing company who would direct towards our apartments. I'll never forget that as I climbed out of the bus, took my first step in Florence, Italy, the first thing I saw as I looked up, built into the old shops and cafes...a Burger King. I didn't even like seeing those in America. Oh well. We were given our apartment keys and some information. The next part went sort of like this: "Welcome to a new country. Here is some money for a cab. Ok! See you tomorrow!"