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Took the tramvia to Cascine Park. Had planned on having a picnic--which I would NOT recommend.
Random notes.
I´d gone to the shoppes and got food, as I had wanted and had planned on having a picnic in the park. How difficult could that be--mind you apparently not the done thing in many countries. In Norway, where I live, at least in Bergen area, it is not just ok but done often, and no problem to do so, and the parks even have picnic benches and clean grass if you want to actually sit on the ground as most of us do. It is clean and safe, but ok I digress. We are in Italy, and I hate to be negative, but:
1) There was no where to sit. The grass everywhere was not grass but very lively stingling nettles, which I usually like for picking for steeping in a tea or infusion. But stinging nettles, STING, so you can not sit on them. The rest of the "grass" which was not mostly the huge patches of huge stinging nettle leaves, was muddy, marshy or dirt.
2) or worse: fresh dog poop. Huge cupcake swirls of poop--which I always think the cupcake frosting done in long swirled logs of frosting look like:(.
Dog owners do not pick up their dog´s poop here, and apparently no one else does either, and the grassy areas seem to be more for outdoor potties for the dogs than for people and kids to actually use:(. I was not happy with that...
But ok, I tried to make the best of it. Cascine Park is the largest park around, and there were some benches, but it was windy, so I found a really pretty area near where the tramvia dropped me off, to sit.
It was by a type of grotto (?) above and slightly below ground, with a pretty pond, the water dripping and gurling and generally making noises was soothing. Hardly any birds were around, nor people.
Near the ground, near this water pond grotto, were several very interesting, lovely ground seating made from stones. They were surprisingly comfortable, so low on the ground just above the main ground, wide and protected from the constant wind.
I´d gotten delicious cheeses, ham and focaccia bread to make a sandwich, and had a pear yogurt, etc. Was hungry and looking forward to enjoying the views, the gurgling relaxing pond, and having my picnic.
It was not two minutes I was sat down, before some guy came up and started bothering me, apparently wanting to know if I wanted sex. YES, I am NOT exaggerating! I was very annoyed, VERY.
Finally got the guy to leave me alone, started eating my sandwich, QUICKLY, just to hurry and finish my picnic, which also annoyed me...when ANOTHER guy came up and started bothering me, a few minutes later, again wanting SEX. W T F. It was broad daylight, and granted it is not tourist season so hardly anyone, but there were random people walking alone or in pairs, or on a bicycle, or running or jogging. And the tramvie was literally within sight, and two minute walk away! I was hardly even in the park, ffs. Sorry, but all of this really annoyed me!
The other side, in front of me, on the river side, was a kids play area and tivoli, with the workers actually at work, though the rides (tivoli) were not yet open. It was not as if I was in the middle of the dark, deep park, I had literally only just gotten off the tramvia and walked two minutes from it.
Finally got this guy to leave me alone, finished my sandwich quickly, decided I´d had enough picnic, but that I had come out that far to see the damn park, and was gonna see it! So, I stayed on the main path, with other few people, walking, running, alone or in pairs.
Twice, I barely deviated from this main path, to take a few photos. More more more of the stinging nettles, which apparently had an amazing habitat as I´ve never seen stinging nettles so large before! More dog poop. Everywhere. Fresh and just waiting to be stepped in, or sat in or played in. Gross! I would NOT take our kids here, nor let them play anywhere in the "grass". 90% stinging nettles, and about 5% dog poop, mud, bits of grass and weeds.
OH the beautiful crocus, those tiny pretty spring flowers, and daisies, were in bloom, so that was pretty, and I took photos. I really am trying to not be negative:(. I was really looking forward to a day in this park!:(
I finally found the pyramid I had wanted to see. It has a long history, which I won´t go into now that this post is making me annoyed again, but it is a large pyramid which I thought was pretty. Now it is used for a potters shed for the park, to hold tools or whatnot I suppose. I took photos.
I am still annoyed with this park. I did not feel safe here. At all! I am annoyed about that.
And, unfortunately all the trees and hedges looked as if they are dying of disease and bugs eating them. The poor trees often had holes and such, other signs of decay and dying, near the ground to about a foot or few above the ground. The bay leaves looked full of bugs holes and other disease. It´s a shame, as the park is very lovely, and large, it could be a wonderful place for an afternoon for enjoying a park, if only.
This is the same park my friends and I went to the flea market the other day. It runs along a river, is vast, is connected by buses and the lightrail, etc. It has so much potential, but as an outsider, as much as I tried to see the positive aspect, as much as I love trees, and parks, the outdoors, etc....as much as I appreciate everything in this park, and all the positive points, the bottom line is I did not feel safe there, and I would NOT bring my kids there.
I hate that, but this is the post. And I will add photos as soon as I have time.
I would go back to Cascine, but not alone, and not with my kids, and probably only in the daylight, with other people, or with a large group of people, or for the flea market.
There are a few other things I saw there I´d like to see what they were another time: a large cube building, some old traditional buildings /neighborhoods?, near one end.
From there as it was getting dark soon, I took a 60 bus further out to see that area. I was a bit worried about getting the bus back, about finding the bus stop for that direction, so did not take it all the way out (wasn´t sure if it made a loop), stepped off at a conad, got groceries, as I saw a stop in each directions right outside that grocery store.
Quickly got groceries, was hassled a bit by not beggars but the guys who try to demand you buy something from them, then the bus 60 back to Cascine was along soon.
Back at Cascine, I took the lightrail to its farthest stop outside the city, and back. The last stop was a beautiful, lovely colored falling down villa with orchard, and lots of land covered in grasses, then mountains. Maybe what all this used to look like.
This far out it was like being in the sprawl of the US, cars, large parking lots, large McDonalds. one of the restaurants on the list to go to (Iliaopesce or something), more rural and bucolic mixed with Home Depot sized stores here and there. Large blocks of flats in tall buildings, not much really for a tourist to see, but worth the visit out once, if youvé the time. It was so warm and cozy out in the actual weather, if there had been something to do, I´d have stayed, even though by then it was dark. Two elderly Italian men, friends, had come out to see it also. They used to live out there...long ago before things got built up. We exchanged smiles, pleasantries, hellos and chatted a bit. They seemed to have enjoyed seeing it again, the 3 of us all by ourselves at the end of the line, just there to see it, waiting for the tram to come back to take us back to the sentrum. The small rounded hill beside the tracks, was covered in wild flowers, crocus and daisies etc, the lovely low mountains in the near background, skies purple nearly darkened to black. Lights of the station stop came on brightly. Pretty much nothing out there, a few things here and there. The old villa had some people at it, not sure if they were putting it right, or stealing bits and pieces from its fading gloriously old crumbling walls, courtyard, gardens.
We 3 got on the tram together, sat together, watched out the window, the fading landscape we were leaving, heading back to sentrum.
Done and dusted. Probably the only time. Shame. The weather was so wonderful, the air so clean, scented of flowers and rain. The sentrum yesterday seemed to me suddenly very polluted, dirt hanging in the air, breathing in grime. My eyes hurt, itched, were stinging from nearly the moment I stepped out. I felt like the air I was breathing in was full of smog, dirt, car fumes. A glum greyness seemed to barely show, hanging over the streets, water, lower half near where we walked or waited for the bus. It was not pleasant, and a little bit scary--feeling like I could not get clean air to breath:(.
I had so been looking forward to my picnic in Cascine and riding the light rail into the countryside.
(Yes I have been out to Fiesole etc, but I wanted to ride the tram out...)
