Note to self: Visiting touristy locations to see touristy things during the peak of tourist season is not your happy place.

I recently had the opportunity to go to Italy for work, with the bulk of the travel costs covered by a third party—pretty much a dream situation. As is the case with most European countries, Italy wasn’t at the top of my list of places in the world to visit next. At this point in my wanderlust journeys, countries in Africa and South America have more of a draw for me. But, a free trip to Italy isn’t something to say “no” to, so off I went with a bunch of friends and colleagues.

I spent about a week in Turin (Torino) for work. Turin is a lovely city nestled into the foothills of the Alps that is like the Detroit of Italy – a historical hub of car design and manufacturing (Fiat most notably). Like Detroit, most of the car industries are gone and the city is struggling to build a new future. My colleagues and I were there to help their city government explore ways to create a thriving low-carbon community that is resilient to the impacts of climate change like heat waves and flooding.

My colleagues and I, along with some of the folks we were working with in Turin.

Glenn flew over mid-way through my trip and met me in Rome. This sounds more romantic than it really was.

I was envisioning a “Sleepless in Seattle” sort of reunion (insert emotionally uplifting rom-com-style movie music here) with the crowds parting as we ran into each other’s arms. In reality, Glenn was disoriented, exhausted and sweaty after 18 hours of travel. We nearly missed each other in the crowded Rome train station while trying to avoid pickpockets and being bowled over by witless tourists lugging 400-pound suitcases to and fro.

Glenn and I spent a little over a week doing a whirlwind tour of some of the most notable sites in Italy – Rome, Venice, Florence, etc. Two days here, three days there. It was the exhausting type of travel that gives you only a taste of a place before it’s time to move on to the next location.

I hated it.

It was a good reminder that I’m most content traveling when it involves exploring, hiking or biking off the beaten path. I gave a presentation at my work after I returned from our 6-month trip around the world and a colleague remarked that I didn’t include a single picture or story about a city I visited. I hadn’t realized until that moment that, for me, visiting cities is mostly a necessary evil in my transit to the more interesting sites and adventures beyond.

When I think back on the Italy trip, my favorite memories aren’t of seeing the notable tourist attractions like the Roman Forum or the canals of Venice. Those places, all overrun with thousands upon thousands of tourists, felt like Disney Land. The landscapes seemed artificial and it was almost impossible to gain a real appreciation for the history that lay beneath the commercialized veneer. Seeing many of the sites felt like a chore where I was doing it to check the box, rather than have a life experience. At one point, before heading to the Roman Colosseum, I heard myself saying aloud “let’s get this over with.”

Trevi Fountain – Rome’s most iconic fountain. A beautiful sight to behold…

…if you can fight your way through the crowds to see it.

Rome’s famous Spanish Steps are under there…somewhere.

I think it’s akin to the difference in my experience seeing a polar bear in the zoo versus seeing a polar bear in the wild. One experience passes through you, while the other curls up deep in your soul and sticks with you forever.

I’m worried my comments make me sound ungrateful. I’m not. Having the opportunity to travel to Italy for work was a true honor, and being in a position to leverage that into a mini-vacation, however touristy it may have been, is a privilege that I don’t take for granted. More than anything, this experience just gently reminded me of how I prefer to travel when possible.

I got the opportunity to see some amazing things and had several fun experiences. I’d love to go back and explore Italy again…but during the shoulder-season, with a lot more adventuring and a lot less touristing. Hiking hut to hut in the Alps and the Dolomites, biking through Tuscany – those adventures sound right up my alley. I’ve collected a few of my most favorite memories below…

Fond Memory #1: Exploring Turin.

As part of the work portion of my trip, we spent a great deal of time getting to know the city and the local leaders in Turin (Torino). It was fascinating to explore the similarities and differences between our two cities (Portland and Turin) in terms of history, future hopes and dreams, and the inner-workings of city government. The experience reminded me of the value of finding ways to view my work (and my life) through the eyes of someone with a different perspective. I learned as much, if not more, from my Turin colleagues than they (hopefully) learned from me. The experience also helped me to forge much stronger relationships with my Portland colleagues, which will serve me well as we work together to address some of the biggest challenges we face here at home.

Great work, great people, great food!

Taking a bike tour of Turin to learn more about their efforts to create a sustainable city.

One of my favorite parts of the bike tour was visiting the old industrial area where many of the cars and car-related parts (tires, paint, etc.) were once made. The factories are long gone, the contamination has been cleaned up and the area has been redeveloped into housing and other uses. They kept much of the skeletons of those factories, which made for a fascinating landscape that served as an homage to what was there before.

The structural beams of an old car-related factory were left standing and were repurposed into a park. If you look closely you can see me in a red shirt riding a bike along the elevated walkway. (Photo Credit: Denver Igarta)

For dinner one night we visited an old public bathhouse that had been reclaimed as a community center. For a few Euro they gave you a beer/cocktail and a little paper plate. You then elbowed your way into the potluck-style buffet line with the rest of the neighborhood. Children ran circles in the yard and couples were learning to dance the jitterbug in an adjacent room. Everywhere we went, Italians demonstrated a knack for breathing new life into repurposed public spaces.

Gabi, Denver, Art and Kyle enjoying a nice evening in the plaza after work.

Fond Memory #2: Quiet time in Rome.

Following our time in Turin I traveled with several of my work friends to explore Rome. The crowds of tourists there quickly overwhelmed me. I knew that was going to be the case before I got there. “Suffering through the heat and crowds” is a common refrain you read about in any guidebook or online travel forum about Rome. For our second full day in Rome, Glenn and I opted to join some friends on a day-trip to Pompeii, if for no other reason than to escape the city crowds (turns out there were crowds there too!). My favorite memory of my time in Rome wasn’t seeing the Roman Colosseum or the Spanish Steps, but it was finding respite and sharing a home cooked meal with my fellow travelers in our quiet apartment at the end of the day (thanks for an amazing dinner Leah!).

Leah, Michael, Susan, Kyle and Glenn…and a great home cooked meal in the peace and quiet of our apartment!

Fond Memory #3: Getting personal.

As a tourist, not to mention an introvert, it’s often hard for me to connect personally with locals…even though doing so is always some of my most treasured memories.

Glenn arranged a ghost tour when we were in Venice. He loves doing ghost tours of cities we visit because the stories of murder and mayhem often give you a subtler twist on local history than what you can read about in any guidebook. This ghost tour included a gondola ride, which in my opinion is the epitome of a tacky tourist activity that I normally wouldn’t be caught dead doing. But…when in Rome (or Venice?), right?

Glenn learning the haunting stories of Venice from our tour guide.

It was dusk and threatening to rain, so almost all of the gondoliers had packed up shop and many of the tourists had left for the day. It felt as though we had the place to ourselves. In our gondola, we were able to peacefully slip through the maze of canals with the sounds of the oar dipping into the water and thunder in the distance making the silence that had settled over the city that much more acute. This silence was occasionally pierced by the banter between our driver and other gondoliers we passed, most in the process of covering up their boats for the night. I don’t understand Italian, but it wasn’t hard to discern that their interactions with each other are often filled with good-humored teasing and a fair bit of machismo.

Me, Glenn and our gondolier (who could easily pass for a Portland hipster).

We also got to learn some of our gondolier’s personal story, which was fascinating. There are about 400 licensed gondolas in Venice, and all of the gondolas are beautiful, handmade and privately owned. The licenses to operate are limited in number and are a prized possession that is often passed down from fathers to sons for generations. Our gondolier’s uncle passed down his gondola license to him, and he plans to pass it down to his daughter. Our guide was surprised by this and commented as such. The gondolier laughed and assured us that his daughter wouldn’t become a gondolier (apparently, a penis is required to have any hope of successfully steering a boat?!?), but she could hire a gondolier to run her boat for her…and then take 80 percent of his profits. Better than nothing, I guess? I enjoyed getting a little glimpse into the inner-workings of the iconic gondola scene in Venice.

Fond Memory #4: Bumping into little vignettes of real life.

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is to seek out places where you can find everyday people going about their daily lives. I find myself constantly scanning the scene for these moments…people sitting in the park, carrying groceries home or hanging out clothes to dry. I often don’t take pictures (as that can seem intrusive at times), but I catalog them in my memory like little sweet treats I can savor at the end of the day. It did capture a few of these moments, below:

Romans enjoying a bit of sand and sun on the beach in the little fishing port town of Fiumicino.

Kids playing tag in front of the (~2,000 year old!) Palatine Towers forming the old city gate in Turin.

Italians eat dinner around 8 PM, which made for a late night for this little girl (and me!). She slept like this through the entire meal. Adorable.

Neighborly chats, hanging laundry and fancy hairdos. This scene had it all.

Watching the traffic go by. This was clearly a daily event. Occasionally a new person would show up, chat a bit, sit a bit, then move along…only to be replaced by another.

I don’t know where they were headed, but they sounded like a pack of chattering birds as they swarmed past.

Locals buying dinner at the fish market.

Friends.

Protesters and police taking up their respective stations at city hall in Turin. They seemed more interested in chatting and laughing amongst themselves than anything else.

Two pals keeping a weary eye on the world beyond their front door.

Fond Memory #5: Life on the farm.

Before leaving for the trip my friend Alisa suggested we look into visiting an agriturismo. “An agri-what?” I responded. I did a little online research and discovered a magical world of old farms dotted across the Italian landscape that welcome overnight visitors. Depending on the farm, you can do everything from relaxing by the pool, to riding horses, milking cows, feeding goats, harvesting olives or making cheese. Nearly all of them offered traditional home-cooked meals, often prepared from food grown or raised on the farm. After the crowds and tourist sites of the cities, it was a true joy to find ourselves as the only guests at a farm several miles up a potholed dirt road in the Tuscan countryside.

The cute little farmhouse we stayed in. It was REALLY old, although the language barrier between us and our hosts meant we couldn’t quite discern exactly how old.

The view from our farmhouse.

A few of the farm’s friendly horses, always looking for a treat or an ear scratch.

This sweet pup regularly came around to check on us and make sure we didn’t need anything during our stay. She was a great host.

Our delicious home cooked meal…the best pasta I’ve ever had.

Fond Memory #6: Driving to nowhere in particular.

We traveled predominately by high-speed rail while in Italy, but did opt to rent a car in Bologna. Even though the experience of returning the rental car to the Florence airport was nothing short of a logistical nightmare that will leave Glenn and I scarred for life (urban Italian street signs and drivers are not terribly forgiving), having the freedom provided by a car was worth it. We spent two days aimlessly driving the serpentine single-lane roads that crisscross Toscana (Tuscany). No guidebooks, just local road signs signaling the way to random old churches, broken-down castles and beautiful overlooks as our only guides.

Our fun little rental car.

Where should we go? Let’s just pick a road and see where it takes us!

One of the countless beautiful vistas Tuscany offers visitors.

Old castles and churches dot the countryside.

Some castles were in great condition and fun to visit.

Fond Memory #7: Night run in Florence.

Glenn and I have done a couple of running races in other countries, most notably Croatia and Southern Australia. These are typically events dominated by locals, which makes participating in them as an interloper all the more fun…even if we always end up at the back of the pack.

Glenn and I running in the “Roo Run” in the little town of Anglesea, Australia. “Our Americans have finally crossed the finish line” is what they said over the loud speaker at the end. Yay!

Glenn and I finishing a half-marathon…almost dead last…in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Glenn discovered there would be a night race through the streets of Florence when we were there, so he signed us up…in Italian. Given the language barrier (Google Translate can only do so much), we weren’t entirely sure what we signed up for but trusted we’d figure it out when we got there. The event welcomed thousands of Florentines, a handful of Australians, and seemingly only two Americans (me and Glenn). The roads and major plazas were closed to all but the racers, which had the effect of pushing the hordes of tourists to the edges. It was a privilege to be in the middle of all of those Italians as they reclaimed their city streets, if only for a couple of hours.

That moment when you realize that Italian runners don’t wear ball caps. Can you spot the Americans in this photo?

Getting a glimpse of our competition at the starting line. There were lots of different running clubs running, all with matching tank-top outfits.

Running through the nighttime streets of Florence, the famous cathedral dome in the distance.

Although it looks like dusk in the photos, the run actually happened in the dark. It was fun to see the iconic structures and statues lit up at night.

Glenn about to cross the finish line.

When I returned from Italy and people asked me how my trip was, I found myself recounting the parts I didn’t like (mostly crowds of tourists). Working on this post got me to dig a little deeper and identify those experiences that have curled up inside of me, taken root and will eventually become precious memories of my time in Italy.

Warning: Vacation Photos Ahead!

I took lots of photos from our trip, including: Rome, Venice, Pompeii, Florence. The rest of this blog post takes on much more of a “vacation pictures slideshow” sort of a feel – something I always try to avoid. Sorry! Feel free to abort now if that isn’t your thing. For those of you that have been to Italy, hopefully these photos bring back some of your own fond memories. For those of you that haven’t been there, maybe this will inspire you to visit someday.

Rome

Kyle opening the hysterically huge doors of our apartment building.

View of the Roman Forum, once the center of day-to-day life in Rome (dating back to the 7th century BC).

Standing below the Arch of Titus – listening to the Rick Steve’s walking tour. (Roman Forum)

Pilars from the ruins of the Temple of Castor and Pollux. (Roman Forum)

Statues lining the courtyard near the house of the Vestal Virgins. (Roman Forum)

Me and Kyle at Trevi Fountain.

Gelato break! (Michael, Susan, Kyle, Leah and Glenn)

The Column of Marcus Aurelius. Such a fascinating way to tell the story of someone’s conquests.

Glenn, Susan, Kyle and Michael taking in the outside of the Roman Colosseum.

The inside of the colosseum. Such a depressing place – I couldn’t help but think about how it represents the worst of humanity in terms of what we do to animals and to each other.

Touring the inside of the colosseum. (Glenn, Michael, Leah, Kyle, Susan)

Obligatory tourist site selfie…as you can see, Glenn LOVES these!

Positano, Amalfi Coast

We spent an afternoon in Positano, a quaint cliffside village on the Amalfi Coast.

The roads getting down into the village were no joke!

Pizza on the beach – can’t beat that. (Me, Susan, Glenn and Michael)

Pompeii

Glenn and I decided to tag along with Susan and her son Michael on a day trip from Rome to Pompeii. It was a great opportunity to get out of the city and visit a place I never thought I’d see in person. I didn’t really know much about Pompeii before visiting, other than a vague familiarity with a volcanic explosion that wiped everything out.

Mount Vesuvius, as seen from the main plaza in Pompeii. Imagine what this scene looked like in 79 AD when the famous eruption happened. It’s still an active volcano, last erupting in 1944.

I had seen photos of the body casts, but seeing them in real life was mind blowing – particularly the details on several of them, like this man’s sandal straps or the drapes of this clothing.

I didn’t realize before visiting that the body casts still have the skeletons inside. Although disturbing, seeing these bodies before visiting the rest of the ruined city helped to humanize the whole experience.

A beautifully detailed tile mosaic floor of one of the fancy houses in Pompeii.

Some of the art on the walls of homes and businesses are in remarkably good condition. Hard to believe this painting is nearly 2,000 years old.

Beyond learning more of the details about the fateful eruption, there were two things I was most struck by in Pompeii. The first is how much of our modern-day existence embodies Roman engineering. I had always heard this, especially related to roads and aqueducts, but it was amazing to see the tiny little details that still show up today. For example:

This is the oldest known remaining Roman amphitheater. It was amazing how today’s sporting arenas look the same, even down to the signs proclaiming corporate sponsorship.

The changing rooms at the public bathhouses looks just like today’s gyms and pools – complete with benches, little locker spaces and even graffiti on the walls.

Fast food restaurants. Residents would walk up to the counter and order their lunch – which the chef served out of the pots inlaid into the decorative counters.

Paved roads, complete with ruts and potholes from chariot traffic, sidewalks on both sides, curbs with channels for managing stormwater, and even on-street parking facilities (notice the hole through the curb to tie your animals to).

Pedestrian crosswalks, with stones set just far enough apart for chariot wheels to pass through.

Bollards. No chariots allowed!

The second thing I was surprised to learn about Pompeii was how it was a hotbed of sex trade activity. Although, in reality, I’m guessing prostitution wasn’t necessarily any more prolific in Pompeii than any other port town at the time. The evidence was just nicely preserved by the volcano. Looking for the phallic objects around the town became like an Easter Egg hunt with a twist.

Need help finding the brothel? Just follow the signs.

The inside of a brothel, festooned with several images on the walls outlining the menu of services offered – although, I’d argue that the reality of the bed didn’t live up to what was promised in the picture. I couldn’t help but feel sad touring this building, though, knowing that the women that worked there were most likely slaves.

Venice

I’ve always been fascinated by Venice. Why’d they build there? How’d they build there? It was a treat to get a chance to see it in person. It’s lovely in pictures, but I think Venice is best seen in motion…so, I made a short little video to give you a flavor of what it is like.

Florence

By the time we reached Florence we were exhausted — but we pushed on and spent a couple of days battling the crowds to see the sites, including various art museums. The art was interesting…but if I never see another painting of the “Madonna and Child” it’ll be too soon.

More often than not, Glenn and I had no idea of the significance of most of the artwork we saw. I could usually only tell a painting was important based on the number of people taking pictures of it.

I enjoyed seeing Leonardo da Vinci’s half-finished “Adoration of the Magi” (painted around 1481). It was interesting to get a glimpse of how these paintings came together. This is a zoomed-in photo, the full painting is quite large.

There were rooms full of plaster statues like these. Glenn and I finally realized these were the models used by the artists to carve the real ones out of stone. The little dots were used to scale the proportions up to the larger size of the final stone version.

This is a zoomed in portion of one painting for which the caption read “the scenes unfold with such liveliness and attention to detail that the panel could have been taken from a modern illustrated children’s book.” A children’s book of horrors, maybe!?!

This was my favorite painting – “Judith Beheading Holofernes.” I love the calm determination on her face. Painted in 1620, by a female artist! (Artemisia Gentileschi)

We also climbed to the top of Brunelleshci’s Dome of the Florence Cathedral – which provided an closeup view of the frescos painted on the inside of the dome (the depictions of Hell are quite twisted!), and an amazing 360-degree view from the outside of the dome. I like to think of myself as fearless…but I need to admit that I’m more than a little claustrophobic. The hike through the twisting narrow passageways to the top of the dome almost did me in!

Food

No vacation pictures would be complete without documenting all of the wonderful and fascinating food!

A fish market never disappoints.

Glenn standing in line to get one of the Florence central market’s famous tripe sandwiches.

It turns out tripe isn’t for me. Glenn liked it, although he said it was a bit saltier than he was expecting.

A most impressive gelato display.

Black truffle pasta. Yum!

Spaghetti with clams.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina. In Italian I think that means “steak the size of your torso that you and three of your friends could never hope to finish in one sitting.” This meal led to Glenn and I spending nearly an hour looking at photos of Chianina cows on the internet. No wonder these steaks are so big. (Google the cows, you won’t be disappointed!)