travel experiences from the summer: Emilia Romagna
@ 11:20 pm In the beginning of summer, we were planning on driving up to the North Cape up in Norway. It is the northernmost point in Europe. As the time drew closer and closer, the more uncertain things looked. We decided to browse in the Internet to see if any of the Finnish travel agencies had any last minute vacation packages. We were primarily interested in Madeira, because of good experiences there in the past.
What jumped out at me though was Riccione, in Italy. I was in Cattolica in 2003 for a weekend and liked it. It is the next town south of Riccione. The vacation package was 340 EUR for a week per person, so we changed our minds from Norway to Italy.
We read that it is expensive to eat in Riccione. We also read our hotel had no cooking facilities and was only 2 star. I thought about bringing cooking equipment with me, but ended up bringing only a thermoelectric cooler box, which really was handy. We kept wine, salad, cheese, snacks, etc. in it.
Eating out was indeed very expensive. Italians seem to generally eat 2 or 3 courses. The antipasti and salads were about 3-10 EUR each. Then the first courses were 7-15. The second courses were again 7-20. Then there is the wine and dessert. We ate a lot in piadinerias and pizzerias, which had better prices. The pizzas are better in Finland, though, and you get more for your money. A piadina is a flat bread thingy that is stuffed with vegetables and/or cheese and/or meat. If you do want to go to Italy, I recommend getting a place that has a kitchen so you don’t need to eat out. However, do eat out for some meals. Italian food is good, some of the best in the world.
The grocery store prices were similar to those in Finland. Some prices deviated quite drastically, though. A good bottle of local Sangiovese wine was 2 EUR. Very good was 4 EUR. And the wine was right there in the grocery store, not in any childish monopoly government owned liquor store. You didn’t have to go to many different shops to have wine for your meal. You can eat quite reasonable with food bought from the grocery stores. There is all kinds of good pasta, meats, cheeses, and tasty fresh vegetables. The tasty tomatoes were a pleasant change from the green gassed ones I get at the work canteen here.
The location of Riccione is north of Ancona, south of Rimini, on the Northern coast of the Adriatic. It was about a 4-5 hour train ride to Venice. Venice is worth seeing. We had about 6 hours there, which was a frustratingly miniscule taste of that fantastic city. I won’t bother posting pictures of Venice, since everyone has seen pictures from there.
While I was in Venice, I heard the gondola operators talking to each other in some language that did not sound like Italian at all. I looked it up when I got home and found out it was probably Venetò. Venetò is not a dialect of Italian, but a separate language altogether, which decends from Latin, as does Italian, Romanian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, etc. It has some things in common with Catalan and Spanish that are missing in Italian, like the word “calle” used for street. There are many other languages spoken in Italy, like Emiliana-Romagnolo, Piemontese, Bolognese and so on.
The feeling there was good in Riccione. I never once saw people walking around drunken or acting aggressively. Whole families were walking around late into the evening, pushing little kids in strollers. People were laughing, talking and having fun. It is a place where Italian families go for holiday. While I was there, however, there was a bit of sad news. One 1 and a half year old drowned when he fell into a massage pool. The parents must have been devastated. Not a nice end for their holiday.
San Marino, the oldest republic in Europe, is located about 30 minutes away from Riccione. The oldest part of it is a fortress on top of a mountain. The view from there is spectacular. There are all sorts of interesting little shops up there as well. It has been a tax haven with tax free or low tax shopping, but it is not so much so any longer. It is definitely worth seeing.
Here is a picture from San Marino:
And Gradara, south of Cattòlica:
And a pretty back street scene in Riccione:
Not to ruin anything but:
1. “The feeling there was good in Riccione. I never once saw people walking around drunken or acting aggressively. ”
and 2.
“A good bottle of local Sangiovese wine was 2 EUR. Very good was 4 EUR. And the wine was right there in the grocery store, not in any childish monopoly government owned liquor store.”
I doubt 2. would do much good for 1. in Finland(besides the fact the wine growing conditions here are not exactly optimal).
Also you’re a scared whitey pussy boy if a bunch of drunken people and pools of vomit scare you. Hollywood.
Pizza is indeed better.
Comment by philtard — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 8:57 am
“The pizzas are better in Finland, though, and you get more for your money…”
Amen… I have had countless discussion with people and even Italians themselves and they all think I am crazy when I tell them that Finnish Pizza is one of the best pizzas I have ever had in the world, including self proclaimed pizza Meccas like NY, Chicago, Boston, Rome, Florence and Milano.
Comment by chic sheik — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 9:28 am
I was on a holiday in Rimini/Riccione in the late 70′s and there had my first pizza. It was excellent, even though I only braved a Margarita on that trip. I also ate an excellent lemon gelato in Venice on that trip. I think it was made from goat milk, but I’m not altogether sure.
In the early 80′s there were very few good pizzerias in Finland, but the best I ever ate in was called Mamma Mia in Jyväskylä. Lately I have enjoyed Koti-Pizza’s Kotzone Mexikana with chili sauce. I think it’s one of the best concoctions ever, especially with extra onions and cherry tomatoes, oh, and garlic.
Comment by Fat Bastard — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 11:22 am
The pizzeria on Iso Omena does some outstanding pizzas.
I do have a problem with some of the combinations found here in Finland. For example, I just dont think that corn or arangula belong on pizza.
Others combos are great and yes, far better than anything I have ever had in Italy
Comment by bullshiite — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 12:47 pm
http://www.corriere.it/english/articoli/2008/06_Giugno/12/finland_pizza_berlusconi.shtml
Comment by bullshiite — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 12:52 pm
http://www.corriere.it/gallery/Cronache/vuoto.shtml?2008/06_Giugno/pizza/1&3
And here is a photo
Comment by bullshiite — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
@1 its the presence of lots of people that keeps the problems away, I think. It has nothing to do with whether or not wine is in the grocery stores. When everyone is out enjoying life with their families late into the evenings, it discourages drunkenness and misbehaviour.
Comment by Tapani Pallomeri — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 1:08 pm
I was in Italy this summer too. Not too far from where you were
With my Italien friends I discussed the matter of getting drunk in public. One explanation given to me was that people are too ashamed of making a fool out of themselves in public and in fromt of their freinds or relatives. Besides, if you are a member of the mafia, camorra, or other criminal organization in Italy, honor is even more important. They were laughing out loud, when I told them what a Finnish friend once told me, when we were in a pub and he was ready for the second beer, while mine was almost full: “Are we here for drinking or talking?!”
And you are right about the tomatoes. They have definitely more taste than the ones you get in Finland. As for the pizza and where it tastes better, I personally disagree. But since tastes are different, I will not argue.
Comment by Katso Merta — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 4:00 pm
Sounds like a nice place, I’ll have to keep this in mind for my trip in Italy.
Comment by Jhua — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 4:03 pm
San Marino — cool! The oldest republic in the world. Home to beautiful Mount Titano.
Did you buy any stamps? That’s their biggest source of export earnings AFAIK.
Comment by v.i.lenin — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
Italy! cool! I have a friend, who’s cousin’s mother’s sister once went to Italy, and wrote about it in a otherwise interesting blog about politics, current events & culture in Finland & United States.
But that blog entry wasn’t as good as this. Please! Tell me more! I am dying of curiosity.
Comment by Someone — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 6:27 pm
@10 While stamps may be one big source of earnings, I think the real money maker is offshore business and banking. Statistics show that a LOT of money is moved between Italy and San Marino.
Comment by Tapani Pallomeri — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 8:40 pm
@11 Was she deported from there? Tell me more about your friend’s cousin’s mother’s sister. I am certainly curious!
Comment by Tapani Pallomeri — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 8:53 pm
sorry but have to agree : Finnish Pizza just sucks..
keep it up Phil
Comment by Em — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
anyone here to debate Finnish Coffee? is there room for a debate?
Comment by Em — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
Oh how I love these personal holiday trip stories with ‘Try and find 25 mistakes in the text’, especially on Phil’s blog, which is primaly to address some of the political, cultural, and current event issues in Finland and the United States!
Comment by Hanzel Wegelstam — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 9:54 pm
In the book “Uncommon Grounds” it states Finnish Coffee as one of the best, far better than the over roasted Starbucks coffee that Americans drink.
Comment by chic sheik — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 10:54 pm
In the book “Uncommon Grounds” it states Finnish Coffee as one of the best, far better than the over roasted, bitter Starbucks coffee that Americans drink.
Comment by chic sheik — Wed, Aug 6th, 2008 @ 10:55 pm
Tapani Pallomeri – “lots of people that keeps the problems away, I think. It has nothing to do with whether or not wine is in the grocery stores.”
Finland’s drunkeness and violence problem is mainly due to the socialist welfare state, which ensures that there are always a plentiful losers and dirtball underclass in Finnish society. And that Finnish state liquor monopoly, Alko… What a joke LOL!
Finnish pizza is pretty good though. But thanks to that same socialist welfare state, everything is overpriced in Finland. That’s probably why you don’t see many people outside, or eating in restaurants, like in Italy.
Comment by Libertaer — Thu, Aug 7th, 2008 @ 12:39 am
“I think the real money maker is offshore business and banking”
It would be interesting to know how much Finnish money is hidden in San Marino. It is my understanding that Finland has lots of problems with financial privacy, so people put their money in other countries.
Comment by Libertaer — Thu, Aug 7th, 2008 @ 12:42 am
@19 Hey I paid €9.00 for a great pizza in Iso Omena. How much is that in nice sit down place in Rome. I bet not that much different.
Also, in Italy there is that “coperto” thing they always add to your bill.
And oh, every law abiding country on earth has that problem with financial privacy you mention that is why there are places like San Marino, Bermuda and Mauritius to hide your money.
Comment by chic sheik — Thu, Aug 7th, 2008 @ 8:32 am
@19 I don’t know if I agree 100%.
There was a sense of people being connected to each other. There were families out having fun in the nights. People were always quite polite and considerate to each other. If you stop to look around with a map in your hand, chances are someone will offer help. It is a positive experience to be around Italian people. It feels good to be around them, even if they are strangers.
In Finland, when I go to the city, I feel hate and hostility coming off people. People stare straight ahead and don’t acknowledge the existence of other people around them. There is not much of a sense of connection between people, even if there is a sense of sameness everytwere. One doesn’t feel so bad about smashing a beer bottle or destroying things in a city where you don’t feel good living and don’t feel good about the people you live around. Out where I live in the country, it is different, people are genuinely friendly there.
Comment by Tapani Pallomeri — Thu, Aug 7th, 2008 @ 11:39 am
@22
People stare straight ahead and don’t acknowledge the existence of other people around them.
ha ! Remember about that guy that was found dead after two years in Punavuori ?
I guess we now know why
Comment by chic sheik — Thu, Aug 7th, 2008 @ 12:30 pm
chic sheik – “And oh, every law abiding country on earth has that problem with financial privacy”
No other country has this problem:
http://www.verosirkus.net
Comment by Finns-R-Fools — Fri, Aug 8th, 2008 @ 6:47 am
@19: I think that every culture has this, a big difference between big town and small town ways. But in Finland, maybe the big town ways really are quite a bit colder than in most cultures.
Comment by v.i.lenin — Fri, Aug 8th, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
Oh darn, I was going to refrain but now that I know there will be someone eager to whine over travel pictures, I’ll do one of my trip to Paris. Though what I was originally going to do is reflect on the similarities and differences I found… and maybe link to some maybe not so bad pictures… like in culture and society. But I’ll just go on about tapas and the Basque restaurant’s hot waitress.
Just need to get about 30 rolls of 6×6 film developed and heat up the scanner.
Comment by Hank W. — Fri, Aug 8th, 2008 @ 3:49 pm
#24 Just because you are so ignorant doesn’t make it true. Actually people who know things could tell you that in Sweden and Norway you could get the information off the Internet.
Comment by Hank W. — Fri, Aug 8th, 2008 @ 8:36 pm
@27 So what’s your point Hank…
It still makes this verosirkus exactly what it is… a violation of your privacy
Comment by chic_sheik — Sat, Aug 9th, 2008 @ 10:43 am
@15 The light roasted Finnish coffee give me diarrhea. Dark roasted Italian espresso or French style dark roasted café au lait does not. I found a coffee in Finland I quite like, “Extra” brand coffee from Sale. It is dark roasted coffee, and when I drink it, it makes me feel good, like coffee is supposed to. I was once told that when coffee is roasted dark, it burns off a lot of the poisons. Coffee beans contain many poisonous chemicals, like cyanic acid. Many plant seeds contain it to deter critters from eating them.
Comment by Sirkuspelle — Sat, Aug 9th, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
@28 In Sweden you need to provide a valid reason to get someone’s tax information.
In Norway the tax records are available in the Internet for 2 weeks a year.
In Iceland, they are public as paper versions in the tax office 4 days a year. There is an man in Heimaey who makes sure he is the first person there each day, and sits there for the full four days out of protest. He is quite a hero for privacy protection, in my books.
In Italy, the idea was tried and caused quite an uproar, from which the backlash is still being felt. The mafia got their shopping list, if not from Italian Tax Authority web site during the few hours it lasted, then from e-Mule. I wonder how many people will be endangered from that bit of stupidity? I suspect the idea had a corrupt (mafia) background there in Italy, as well as many Italians I have talked to. It could have been the press wanting it as well. The press goes into a shark feeding frenzy in Norway and Finland when the tax circuses begin.
Comment by Sirkuspelle — Sat, Aug 9th, 2008 @ 12:24 pm
Hello,
I am going to be in Helsinki for a week starting September 11th. I’m visiting my brother who is studying at Helsinki for the summer. Unfortunately, I’m not quite sure what to do while there. I know blogs are not the place for this kind of comment but I’m trying to find any avenue for information. I don’t swim so that may take out alot of possibile Finnish adventures. You can email me at rayuku@yahoo.com …Thanks for this blog.
Comment by Selina — Thu, Aug 21st, 2008 @ 10:59 pm
#31: This blog will without doubt advise you to stay indoors with closed curtains and drink vodka all day long. I would, however, take at least a boat cruise and visit Suomenlinna if the weather permits. Speaking of adventures, swimming in the sea in mid-September might turn out to be the last one.
Comment by Freeridin' Franklin — Fri, Aug 22nd, 2008 @ 9:59 pm
Berlusconi is healing Italy,but the previous left Gov has left much trouble!
The people are with Our right party,cuz there are many real things to do ruling the alien immigration,cleaning the towns,keeping taxes low and helping the youth and the simple workers to marry and make ends meet
Comment by Andrea Fuzzi — Sat, Aug 23rd, 2008 @ 12:58 pm
Selina, you can visit Ateneum art museum, Korkeasaari (zoo), and as Freeridin Franklin suggests, definitely go to Suomenlinna. (it’s almost free to go there) There is also Heureka science museum with its 360 degree theatre. Kiasma modern art museum is OK sometimes. Walk along Esplanadi. Go to Kauppahalli. You can take an overnight cruise to Stockholm. You can go to Tallinn, Estonia in 1.5 hours by boat. Maybe avoid downtown on Friday and Saturday nights if you don’t want to see people puking, peeing, and smashing bottles all over the place.
Comment by Sirkuspelle — Sun, Aug 24th, 2008 @ 9:38 pm