Livorno: Sick of Italy and Feeling Fat
During our time in Pisa, Andy and I tried to see as much as Tuscany as we could. We worked during the week and took day trips or overnight trips on the weekends to places like Lucca, Siena, and Cortona. On one weekend, we decided to change things up by going to the seaside city of Livorno instead of another typical Tuscan village. We loved those Tuscan towns, but we thought it might be nice to do something different. We were wrong.
I’m sure Livorno has some redeeming qualities, and we actually thought it was nice enough for the first hour or so. We wandered through a market, we walked by the water, we saw some interesting architecture, and we walked through the somewhat creepy ruins of a fortress. But then things went downhill.
We had a hard time finding lunch, and we were starting to realize this was not a Livorno problem, but an Italy problem. I love Italian food, but after being in the country for almost two months at this point, the customs of what kind of food you can get at what time of day was wearing on me.
Our lunch that day ended up being pizza. But at lunchtime you can generally only find the crappy square kind, which is different in taste as well as shape. (I’m sure there are good ones somewhere, but I have yet to find one like this that I like.) It didn’t quite do it for me, so I continued to look for something small to hold me over.
Eventually we found a cafe that had bruschetta in the display case, which sounded perfect. But no, that was for apertivo later in the day. The woman behind the counter would not sell me bruschetta at 2pm. There was a pane of glass and an annoying woman between me and a decent snack, and I suddenly found myself crying out of frustration at the table.
Meanwhile Andy was overdue for a haircut, so as we wandered around, we looked for a hair salon or barbershop for him. But at this point, it was mid afternoon and everything was shutting down. Spain isn’t the only country that does siesta – it applies to almost all of southern Europe. It sounds over-dramatic, but we were starting to feel like everything was failing that day. We gave up and went back to Pisa early, where Andy found a real barbershop, which he loved.
Then I wanted to go shopping because I needed a new bra. It’s worth noting that I don’t like shopping under normal circumstances, but I especially don’t like shopping in Italy. A few weeks earlier, my one pair of jeans developed holes in the thighs. I couldn’t find department store type places in Pisa, and the one store I recognized from home was located an hour outside of Florence. It would’ve taken me two hours to get there.
On top of that, the Italian sizes are smaller than in Germany, which makes it even harder for an overweight woman to find anything. All the little boutiques sold tiny sizes and expensive clothing. Eventually I went into a secondhand store, and the only thing the owner could find for me was a pair of men’s jeans. These jeans made me feel awful, but at least I had pants.
On Livorno day, when I was back in Pisa shopping for bras, I saw myself in the mirror in those men’s jeans, and I felt frumpy and fat. It was depressing. Luckily I found a couple of bras, but that wasn’t going to cheer me up. I was practically in tears in the middle of some trendy little shop surrounded by girls in skinny jeans. I’m not obese, but Italy was starting to make me feel like a whale.
I was so happy when, a few weeks later, we arrived in Barcelona. The store that was an hour outside of Florence? Barcelona had two locations right in the middle of the city, and their sizes were in line with what I’m used to in Germany. The first thing I did after we checked into our hotel was buy a pair of jeans that fit me properly, and I felt so much better.
Italy, I love you, but I think we need a break. Between the rigid food timing issues, the teeny tiny clothing sizes, and the general feeling that nothing is all that reliable, I think it’ll be awhile before we return.
You might also enjoy:
- Unconventional Italy Guidebook: 100 Locals Tell You Where to Go, What to Eat, and How to Fit In
- Which Food Tour in Rome Should You Take?
- How Much We Spent Living in Pisa and Traveling in Tuscany
- Exploring Syracuse, Sicily
June 16, 2015 @ 4:05 AM
I totally feel you on those weird eating/shopping times! I was starting to get used to it in Spain… but then it was time to leave! Always the case 😉
June 16, 2015 @ 10:56 AM
Yep, that is about how it works! I guess for us it just felt like it was in such contrast with what felt like a laid-back culture. Why such strict rules on when you can eat what? I normally go with the flow when I’m traveling because your really do have to adjust to the culture you’re in, but by the end of our almost two months in Italy, I was ready for a change.
June 16, 2015 @ 5:01 AM
the market in lavorno had great things for a picnic.
compound lunch problems with traveling solo and the problem is even worse……..large grocery stores also offer sandwiches, prepacked salads etc.
finding food is a constant solo travel problem…have worked it out in Florence and now have to manage the other cities
please share the store you suggest for regular people sized clothes
June 16, 2015 @ 11:00 AM
The market was interesting in Livorno, as they are in most cities. Had we realized what a hard time we’d have finding lunch, I’m sure we would’ve gotten something there instead. But they were closing up when we walked by later in the afternoon. It was just one of those days when everything seemed to be going wrong, you know?
As for the clothes…I wish I had a good suggestion for you! I think if we had been in a bigger city like Rome or Milan, it wouldn’t have been so hard. But Pisa was just too small to have more than a few dozen boutiques. I probably should’ve bought a pair of jeans in Germany before we left for the trip, knowing that the other ones were close to wearing out.
June 16, 2015 @ 11:05 AM
The food timing is really weird indeed. Like bruschetta is all that complicated to make at 2 PM vs 6 PM.
June 16, 2015 @ 11:27 AM
Right? Especially since she didn’t even have to make it, she just had to take it out of the case and hand it to me. Oh well, it was a bad day for a bunch of tiny reasons, and really just a sign that we needed to move on to someplace new.
June 22, 2015 @ 5:16 PM
Oh, Ali, I totally get you on the feeling fat. We spent nearly 2 years in Asia and although I thought I had made my peace with the fact that I would always have a “big boned” western silhouette, whenever I had to replace clothing—particularly bottoms—I would often find myself on the verge of tears. I also wound up trying on what were probably men’s jeans while we were in Thailand and at one point, when I had ripped my one pair of long pants, wound up having to wear a pair of Tony’s while motorcycling in Laos until I could find a replacement pair. I share a lot with my husband, but I never thought I’d be wearing his pants… Definitely not great for my self-esteem, and although I know I could stand to be healthier, it sucks being somewhere where you are made to feel ashamed of your body. Now that we’re in Mexico, I think I’ll have an easier time of it since many of the women here are quite—ahem—curvacious.
June 25, 2015 @ 11:34 AM
Ugh I can’t even imagine having to deal with that kind of stuff in Asia! It was hard enough in Italy! I agree, not so great for the self esteem to have to wear men’s pants, no matter what the reason. I’m glad Mexico is a little easier for you! I didn’t feel like the women in Spain were any bigger or curvier than the women in Italy, but somehow it was just so much easier to find the type of store I needed, right in the center of Barcelona, and the sizes made sense again.