Exploring Cities

Hello all! I'm trying to expand a bit and get a few more posts out before the heavy travelling begins - both to keep me entertained and also to get more into the swing of blogging. I figured I'd build off of something I mentioned in my last post - trying to feel like a resident of Perugia and not merely a tourist. It got me thinking about what much of my travelling around Italy will be like, trying to see everything I can in just a long weekend. 

Being in Chicago last weekend opened my eyes to the logistics of exploring a city in a limited amount of time. We visited my brother, saw his new apartment - which is awesome, by the way - had a taste of local cuisine (Deep Dish Pizza!) and hit up some tourist spots: Millennium Park, Wrigley Field, sightseeing of skyscrapers and the lake front. We got to delve a little under the surface with a hole in the wall burger joint that brought nostalgic flashes of Cook Out minus the extensive menu and then saw a hilarious comedy show. But even so, as most of my travelling through Italy will be, it was a blitz trip. In Italy I'll have an extra day or two to explore, but for the most part it will be the same formula - hit up the must see tourist attractions, take in some local flavor, and partake in an enjoyable night life experience.

So many of the cities I'm used to visiting have not had that feel at all. Philadelphia was always just a short hop on the Northeast Extension away. New York would be insane to try to cover in a weekend, but I was lucky enough to be able to see a bit here and a bit there with various day trips and stays at my Grandparents' - and even still there's so much of the city I have yet to see. I've been to DC more times than I can count, mostly for soccer games so I've never really had that touristy feel when I'm there, despite being able to see everything I've cared to at one point or another. I've also been down to Detroit quite a bit since moving out here, and I'm getting a better feel as more of a "local" than a visitor when I'm walking around there. I still need to explore Atlanta and Charlotte while I'm at school, but again they have the feel of being so close by that there is no rush to see everything I want to in the limited time I'm there.

London I was in for a week, and I was also young enough that I wasn't really sure what I wanted to see. I was just happy to take in everything that was shown to me, and I had an amazing experience there. We hit the major spots, got out of the city to see Warwick Castle and the Prime Meridian at Greenwich, and spent a weekend on the coast, away from the hustle of the city. Looking back, it was still a tourist hotspot - but the major difference was, they were all British families getting away for the weekend, not foreign tourists living out every stereotype you can imagine. It was there that I got the greatest feel for what life in England really is, outside of taking in a Premier League match which I would absolutely love to do one day.

On a side note, I have recently started FourSquaring...it was something that caught my interest after Dr. Baker kept mentioning it in Marketing 301 lectures. It's more for me, I enjoy looking back at the places I've been, and I admit all the stats and badges are appealing to the nerd in me. But in addition, it's a great way to find cool unknown spots and get a few anonymous tips from both fellow travelers and locals. When I got my iPhone, I downloaded the app but could never get it working and soon gave up on it. I decided to give it another go this week and so far so good. I would love to keep it up while I'm abroad, it would add very nicely to my repertoire :P