It was our first real adventure, traveling on our own, booking train tickets, making hotel accommodations, and venturing out into the great unknown. We had arrived in the foreign city, Pisa, the night before and checked in, went out for a real authentic dinner, had some wine at a local bar, and met a few nice Italians who gave us some tips on where to go when we arrived in Lucca, our next destination. After a relaxing Saturday afternoon, Alice and I headed back to the train station on the LAM BLU bus. After only a few minutes, we were buying our tickets to Lucca and managed to squeeze McDonald’s French fries, which shamefully tasted disgustingly delicious.
While boarding the train, I asked an official in lousy Italian if this train was going to Lucca, he replied, “You don’t speak Italian? Why not…you are in Italy now…hahaha.” He was a very funny and nice man and made sure when it was time to get off, we knew it was our stop. After searching the station for a restroom unsuccessfully, Alice and I decided jump in the first taxi that was available. We looked through the guide book for restaurants that sounded appealing and asked the taxi driver to drop us off there. It was a short ride, for the city of Lucca is very small and manageable, but extremely unique and breathtaking at the same time. We entered the restaurant but to our surprise we did not have a chance to wine and dine because it was reservations only. So with no map and no sense of direction, we turned the corner and found just what we needed, a hotel. I said to Alice, “I bet we can get a map in there.” The man at the front desk was very helpful and showed us how to get to the next restaurant on our list.
The restaurant was easy to find and as soon as we stepped in we knew it was perfect for the evening. It was family owned, pictures hanging, and extremely busy. We asked if they had any openings and they said no. We were so disappointed. But after a long pause, the hostess said we can get you in at ten. We agreed and left for the hour to explore more of the town. We first ordered a cappuccino, bought a few post cards, and found some teenagers singing at a talent show.
Dinner was so delicious, we first ordered a pasta dish, and then had a secondi which had meat and potatoes. One of the best meals since we arrived in Rome, and the olive oil is to die for. By the time we were done with dinner it was almost time to catch our train back to Pisa for the night. We had no idea what direction the train station was, so we decided to go back to the hotel to ask the nice man if he would mind calling us a cab. When we arrived he seemed a little surprised to see us but said he was willing to call the cab. He dialed a few numbers but neither one answered. Then he reached someone and spoke Italian, so Alice and I did not know exactly what was said. A few minutes later, two guys arrive at the front of the lobby. I asked if that was for the cab and the front desk guy said no, those are my friends. We thought that was somewhat strange but did not think too much about it. The friends soon were asking us if we wanted to go dancing that night, we said no we had a train to catch, by the way when is the taxi coming? The man replied five minutes, five minutes every time we asked. The train was at 12:34 and it was almost 12:15 by this time.
All of a sudden, a big black van pulls up in front of the hotel. I asked if that was the taxi and the man replied yes. After taking a look at the van and the man driving it, I suddenly got creeped out. The van had no taxi sign, no meter, and the entire scenerio seemed a little fishy. Alice and I looked at each other and motioned to go. I asked why there was no taxi sign and no meter, but all the man could say was 7 euro get in. It was then that we knew what we had to do…run and run very fast. With no idea what direction the station was in, Alice and I took off in a full fledge sprint, stopping once to only ask in a loss a breath where the station was, with a point of a finger we kept on truckin’. Alice had hurt her foot the night before so she was limping but it was a sure fact that we would miss our train if we did not keep running…only a minute to go before departure. We managed to make it on the train but not a minute to soon, as soon as we sat down we started moving. We both were very thankful on the way home that we did not get in the big black van and safely made it home for the night ready for our next adventure to start in a few short hours.
Journal Entry
While writing this piece I learned a few things. First, I had to remember to talk in first person because I have a tendency to want to talk in third person and would often catch myself in the act of writing in third person. Secondly, I have forgotten how long it has been since I wrote detail by detail to describe a certain event. It was fun for a change.
Reading Response
The two authors portray themselves quite differently in their writings. Benvenuto writes in a more ancient sounding time with deep descriptions of his family and past. Acimen writes with ease about things he sees, daily occurrences the reader can relate better with. I feel like Acimen is more conscious of the reader in that he wants his piece to be an easier flowing autobiography, whereas Benvenuto wants to astonish the reader with all his fancy wording and descriptions. I feel like Acimen is more believable because it seems more everyday, real life situations that many individuals can relate to. It is easy to picture Acimen’s descriptions as something you might come across in Rome.
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3 comments:
Kali--
I love this story, even though it is pretty disconcerting. For this assignment, I also wrote on a strange experience of mine while traveling in Italy, so it was easy for me to relate to your experience in Lucca. I thought you did a good job of building suspense, and I like how the man who worked at the hotel starts out as only a side character but later takes on a larger role. I also liked how you included the dialogue of some of the characters you met along the way, such as the train official, the restaurant owners, and the hotel worker. An example of this would be when you write, "While boarding the train, I asked an official in lousy Italian if this train was going to Lucca, he replied, “You don’t speak Italian? Why not…you are in Italy now…hahaha.”" These moments brought some playfulness to your piece.
My main critique is that there were some typos or grammatical errors in your writing. Probably just a few more edits of your piece would make the story flow better and work out some of these kinks. For instance, you write, "With no idea what direction the station was in..." This should really say something like, "With no idea where the train station was," or "With no idea in which direction we would find the train station," as this gets rid of ending a phrase with a preposition. Edits like this would provide an improved flow that will help your reader follow your piece more easily and enjoy it even more.
Overall, I really enjoyed your story-telling, and could see some of your own voice showing through your writing.
Good job!
Katie
You have to love the scary Italian travel stories. I like how you introduced the story as your "first real adventure," it sounds exciting but foreshadows the negative twist that makes this a story. I'm glad you mentioned the McDonald's fries. They stick out as non-Italian, but they ground the story as an American adventure. I definitely felt the suspense build, especially when the "nice" hotel man calls he scary friends.
I think this story would be better if you smoothed it out a little. The dialogue worked, I liked it, but the rest of the story seemed pretty choppy. There were a few distracting typos, too, but all in all it was a strong story.
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