Venice

Tuesday 14th November

The train travel to Venice went well - a direct trip on a fast train. There was a lot of snow on the mountains (it was very cold yesterday) and around Bologna there was snow on the rooftops and right down to the train tracks. Entering Venice, in sunshine, was a bit of a shock to the senses. People everywhere of course, buildings

in shades of pink and cream with water lapping at the stone foundations and lots of boats. Ferries, gondolas, work boats, transports, families in small boats, all criss-crossing the Grand Canal as we travelled down to St Mark's Square - it was like Bourke St. St Mark's Square is huge and our hotel is only 5 min from the Square in a small quiet cul-de-sac. It was a shock at first sight, just a large door with a sign above in a fairly decrepit looking building. Behind the door were 30 or so steps, 'oh no, it could be the end of me carrying two cases up there', but there was a man coming down to help and it wasn't long before we were settling into our small but clean and bright room. For the afternoon we just wandered the streets, getting lost and then finding ourselves, gazing in awe through shop after shop window at the high fashions, expensive jewellery and glassware - we have seen plenty of high fashion clothing shops in Rome and Florence but Venice seems to have street after narrow street of 'we could never afford that' things. We really enjoyed walking everywhere with no vehicular traffic - no cars, bikes, scooters or skateboards and also no need for footpaths. At home, after dinner our evening was soured somewhat when I could not find my mobile phone. I figured I had left it on the desk at the Florence hotel, and the hotel here rang them but it had not been handed in and they would ask cleaning staff in the morning. Merilyn reminded me that getting of the ferry she had noticed that a zip on my shoulder bag was half undone. This rang a few alarm bells as I also remembered that as we were standing near the front of the boat, taking in all of the sights, we were crowded by others from behind, particularly when a group of men boarded and stood very close to us. I became quite sure that I had become the victim of a pick pocket. I consequently spent several hours trying to get on to Telstra in Australia via their website, then the hotel phone but all to no avail, finally went to bed exhausted and somewhat worried.

Wednesday 15th November

Three months since we flew out of Melbourne! Woke very early, found our old phone which I had brought as a spare, charged it up and was able to get on to Telstra and the Banks and went to breakfast feeling much relieved. After coffee we were in holiday mode again and did a very interesting and informative tour of the Doge's Palace. Called 'Secret Itineraries' it concentrated on the secret government stuff that literally happened behind closed doors and the tour started in the basement prisons and ended in the highest rooms, all connected by secret passageways and doors, where the Secret Service of the time operated. The imprisonment and escape of Casanova made an interesting tale. We also saw the official part of the Palace which was lavishly painted and furnished and included collections of somewhat horrendous weaponry. The Florence Hotel had called and the phone had not been found so we made a report to the Police - they must hate 'stupid foreigners' who allow themselves to be pick pocketed and then make a report knowing that the item(s) will never be recovered - what a waste of time, and yet more paperwork! My form in English had to be translated into Italian for his report and he hardly had any English. I have a copy of the report in Italian, which I had to sign, and I cannot understand it - all good fun! The day ended on a high note with a concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons in a lovely Concert Hall - it was very good and we were in the third row. Tomorrow is our final day before the long flight home.

Florence

Saturday 11th November
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Moving on again. Train from, sad to leave, Monterosso to Pisa then another to Florence - all smooth. We saw quite a lot of snow on distant mountains. Only a 15min walk to the hotel but it was through the Central Market at 3.00pm on Saturday afternoon! - pretty busy, but we got through without buying a leather handbag or a leather jacket. Our booked hotel room was on the third floor and as there was no lift we were offered and accepted a room on the first floor which is much smaller but will be easier on the tiring bodies (Merilyn counted twenty stairs between each floor). Further up our narrow and busy street - mainly pedestrians, motor scooters and bikes, we found a lovely café for a very rich hot chocolate and yet another Mericano de-caff. Our first impressions of Florence are that there are plenty of people around, but not like in Rome, and it is much flatter than Rome, Siena and Monterosso.

Sunday 12th November

Off early to see the 'David ' statue by Michelangelo and many other statues and paintings. Because we had a pre-booked ticket and were there before 9.00am we went straight in and had easy movement through the galleries (when we exited 90 mins later the queue outside was about 200m long - apparently you can expect to wait for two hours in summer). The 'David' statue is massive and as good as you expect - quite amazing really. I appreciated seeing some unfinished Michelangelo statues  and understanding how the figures were being formed out of the marble blocks. All of the major art pieces were from the 15th or 16th Centuries and although obviously masterpieces, were too much of the same old same old for this Philistine. Still, I was very glad we had visited the Museum.

We had clear blue skies and warm sunshine as we then followed Rick Steve's  Renaissance walk through Central Florence and marvelled at the dominant Duomo Cathedral, the interesting building surrounding several Squares, the palaces, the statues and particularly the Ponte Vecchio bridge which concludes the walk.

 

 

The weather was still good so we decided to walk (not catch the bus) up to Michelangelo Plaza, which we had planned to do tomorrow but the forecast is for max of 7C and wet. So, 45 mins later and after many, many, stairs we were breathlessly enjoying the view over Florence, although the sunshine had gone.

At the bottom of the hill we enjoyed a lovely lunch and as we left it started to rain. A quick walk alongside the Arno river and over the Ponte Vecchio got us to the Uffizi Museum (somewhat wet) and our pre booked tickets once again got us in quickly. We enjoyed the statues and artwork but it was a bit too much and too similar - Madonna and child, saints, etc . Some wonderful masterpieces by Leonardo De Vinci, Michelangelo and many others but we were a bit overcome by the crowds and were too wet and too tired to really appreciate it all fully. So we returned to our hotel in steady rain to find they had moved our cases and bags to a new room, still on the first floor, and boy, what a room it is. Twice the size of the other room with a larger bed, a painted ceiling, and a large window overlooking the street. Merilyn immediately opted for an afternoon nap and after waking her at 7.00pm we had a very yummy dinner just around the corner. Another very full and enjoyable day



Half the ceiling from the bed

 

Monday 13th November

 

Found it hard to wake up this morning but breakfast (and coffee) got us going. Light rain and very cold outside but we rugged up, borrowed an umbrella and were off. We walked through the nearby Mercato Central Market, a huge and busy covered space with a large number of fresh food stalls, on our way to buy tickets for tomorrow's journey to Venice. We then visited the Medici Chapels and Crypt which were quite fantastic. On display down stairs in the Crypt are some of the reliquaries collected by the Medici's over many decades from all around the Catholic World. You couldn't help but marvel at the fine work using silver, gold and precious stones even if it was to house a finger or leg bone, or sometimes even a skull, of some Saint. Above the Crypt is the chapel, truly amazing and as of now, unfinished - the fantastic floor using coloured stone from many different places wasn't finished until 1966. It will probably never be finished because there is no Michelangelo to do the statues and no more Medici's to pay the bills.

 

We went to find a café/bakery I had found on the Internet where all of the food is gluten free. It was difficult to choose from the absolutely amazing range of delectable items on offer - the French vanilla slice was delicious (as was the strawberry doughnut I took home for afternoon tea). Nearby we spent over an hour in the Galileo Museum where there is an amazing collection of very old pieces of scientific equipment. It include terrestrial and celestial globes, telescopes and microscopes, clocks, all sorts of brass and timber measuring devices, equipment for making electricity - the list goes on and on, it was really quite fascinating and many videos in the rooms explained how the devices worked and the contributions they made to scientific understanding. The collection had been gathered by members of the Medici family in the 15th and 16th centuries - this elite family certainly used their wealth to benefit the Arts and Sciences.

 

On the way home we paid a quick visit to the Duomo Cathedral and then called in to the Medici Palace which is only just down the street from us - thought they might like to come up for afternoon tea. Dinner tonight was in a restaurant where they can do every meal gluten free and the restaurant was in a house with remains of a 14th Century frescoe on the walls and which used to be lived in by Pope someone or other. The dessert was home made cheese cake on a chocolate base, topped with slices of banana covered with a caramel sauce with cream on the side. If I stay in Florence much longer I will become one big boy!

Courtyard inside Medici Palace

Wonderful Cinque Terre

Yesterday' s departure from Siena was smooth as were the train changes at Empoli and Pisa. We passed through a variety of landscapes - Tuscany hilly country with vineyards all turning yellow, past the very high Apuan Alps with snow capped mountains and through the Carrara Region where it seems whole mountains are being removed for the valuable marble. We also went through many large towns, several with large industrial areas - not so attractive. Closer to our destination, Monterosso in the Cinque Terre Region, much of the trip was through tunnels with only very brief glimpses of the coastline until we eventually reached the much anticipated Monterosso Station, disembarked, and it was raining! - we had left Siena in sunshine! It was so wet and cold we took a taxi instead of doing the 15 min walk from the station to the old part of town. The driver called the B&B owner to say he had us on board, dropped us off at the end of a very narrow lane and told us to wait (what else could we do?). After about 5 mins a beaming young man appeared out of another lane, introduced himself, and took us via two lanes and up some stairs, to our accommodation which is a very modern room with beautiful fittings in a home that was built in the 1500's. Parts of the outer wall were built with stones brought up from the sea, hence the name of the home Petre di Mer. The rain did not look like ending so we dressed ourselves appropriately - long johns, normal clothes, extra jacket, waterproof trousers, coats, hats, scarves and gloves, and we were off (not very quickly). We walked along the breakwater, then around a point beneath a small castle to the New Town, along the Esplanade and back and eventually returned to the old town with its colourful buildings, narrow winding lanes, bars and cafes everywhere - most closed because here the tourist season is officially over, a church and two Oratories - one Black and the other White. These are now churches but originally were fraternities formed by people who were part of a movemeny that was against the growth of Protestantism. The Whites looked after the sick, homeless people, abandoned women and the like, whilst the Blacks looked after the dying and conducted funerals. The churchs sculptures actually include skeletons and skulls - seems very weird.


Our laneway

 

 

Today we planned to explore three or four of the other towns which make up  the Cinque Terre and are linked by the railway, but a train Strike put a spanner in the works. So, dressed appropriately, with all of the afore mentioned gear on except for the waterproof pants, it was not raining when we went out for breakfast, we set off to explore further the town of Monterosso, the coastline, and at least do some of trail between this town and the next - Vanezza. We had been advised not to attempt the whole walk because it could be quite hazardous after yesterdays rain. So, we had not gone far when we realised a)  the sun was shining and it was hot! and b) that was a train that just went past! So, we headed for the station and "Yes, there is a Strike, but they keep essential lines running and the 11.20 train 'might' come. They will know 10 mins before it is due". So, we went for a 15 min walk, found a toilet (one Euro to go in) so I could take off the long johns, back to the station with 10 mins to spare, the nice lady was on the phone but gave a 'thumbs up' whilst she printed out the tickets and we caught the train for the 4 mins trip to Vanezza. Another lovely old town, more compact than Monterosso but still with high buildings of various colours, lots of steps and winding laneways. We enjoyed a picnic lunch on a stone bench next to the church alongside the harbour and returned to Monterosso on the 2.45 pm train which thankfully was 'not on strike'.

 

After coffee (de-caff Americano) for M and hot chocolate (with cream) for B on the Esplanade in the New Town we headed for home but went up and up steep stairs to a lookout and church, and then down to home via back lanes and steps, for a rest before dinner. We have loved the sea views, terraced hill sides and quaint towns of the Cinque Terre, off to Florence tomorrow.

Monterosso Old Town

Monterosso New Town

Monterosso bay with Vanezza in far distance

Some sun in Siena

Wednesday 8th November

We have slept in two days in a row until 9 o'clock!! and not been on the streets until after 10.30 - we're showing our age, and loving it! Yesterday was cloudy most of the day with a shower later in the afternoon but today started with fog which had cleared to some lovely sunshine by lunchtime - a good chance to take some photos. The Duomo Pass we bought yesterday enabled us to see the Duomo (cathedral) and the Duomo Museum, which contains much of the original artworks, statues, and a large circular glass window - they are in the museum for preservation reasons and there are copies in the Duomo. We were also able to enter the Crypt, the Baptistry, and today the Santa Maria Della Scala Museum which is a huge maze of buildings which operated as a hospital for centuries. Everything has been most interesting but we are feeling a bit Romanesque'd out. Amazing to experience, fascinating to see such skill, talent and gifts being used, but at times difficult to comprehend the costs involved and the emphasis on relics and Mary the Immaculate.

The Duomo was supposed to be twice as big as it is so that it would be larger than Florence's cathedral but construction was stopped because it was very difficult building on the top of a hill and also because the Black Plague decreased the population by so much. I was able to climb to the top of the unfinished Duomo's wall for some good views over Siena.

 

Over the two days we have walked several miles marvelling at the buildings - sometimes a tower next to a palace next to a villa, the high fashion shops, the squares, and the people - we have been told that it is very quiet because the tourist season has finished but to us the place is buzzing. We have also visited the Sanctuary of Saint Catherine - right next door to us (more Romanesque), and today we strolled through the weekly street market - full of locals and only a

few obvious tourists. Overall it has been a very lovely couple of days - we haven't tried to do too much and we are ready to move on tomorrow.

  

Siena

Monday 6th November

Arevadelci (?) Roma: An early rise and smooth trip to Siena - final hour by bus which was most interesting as we climbed into the Tuscan hill country. Very surprised to see that the sides of steep hills are used for cropping with large areas recently ploughed. A taxi took us to the door of our hotel which, although it doesn't look much from the street, is in a building built as a large family home in the 1500's and converted to a hotel with only 10 rooms, in the 1800's, and has fantastic views across Siena. Our room is large with a colourful, patterned, tiled floor and shuttered windows with a lovely view.

 

 

It is only a short walk to the main street which, in medieval times' was the main road linking Rome with the rest of Europe and which is now lined with very fashionable shops and some amazing buildings.

 Just off this road is Il Campo - the main square, reputed to be the best square in Italy where an exciting horse race between the town's 8 or 10 districts is run twice a year. Despite constant rain we walked a lot, dined fairly late, and generally tired ourselves out. Hopefully a sleep in tomorrow!

Slower but fun catch up days

Saturday 4th November

Energy level quite low (both mine and the computer's) so entries will be brief. In the morning Merilyn slept and Bruce wandered, marvelling at the number of illegal ways cars can be parked and also the skill needed to get cars into and out of tight spaces.

Ended back at the Spanish Steps where they must have learned I was coming because they put on a brass band who played well known Italian songs such as Volare. It was great sitting in the warm sunshine, the happy crowd sang along for some songs and vigorously clapped along with others

 

Back to the hotel to pick up the now bright eyed and bushy tailed Merilyn and off to the National Museum for the afternoon. This Museum, one of hundreds, features the history of Rome in the centuries when it changed from a Republic, with a Senate elected by the people, to a dictatorship ruled by an Emperor. Statues and frescos recovered from homes of the different ages were the main features of the exhibition. It was all quite interesting. After dinner we had a short stroll to a square to listen to some of the music, dodge the vendors, and have another gelato ! - 8 flavours down and about 10 to go -can I keep up the pace?

 

Sunday 5th November

 

Merilyn has needed to replace her nearly full container of sharps for a new one - very easy to do at the Chemists in Australia, and also in Ireland and Britain, but not so easy in Italy. The 3 or 4 Farmacies (Italian spelling), we visited had no idea and had never seen a sharps container. Finally one Pharmacist ( English spelling) suggested we try a hospital - probably because they would be dealing with drug addicts. So, this morning we found a hospital, entered by the Maternity Ward and followed signs through a maze of corridors and stairs to get to the Farmacia, which is not open on Sundays. We got thoroughly lost trying to get out, no one was around, but finally down in the bowels of the building, a nice young man took us to a lift which got us to Reception (un-manned) and we escaped through the front door. A bus trip took us to the San Callisto Catacombs where we had a very interesting visit which included going quite deep underground and walking past many graves, including family ones which were actually a room with  graves of various sizes (not one size fits all) dug into the walls which often also had frescos telling Christian stories. Our guide was very informative and we learned that the early Christians did not actually hide in the catacombs, as many people have thought, the were just used for burials. We saw the tombs of the first 5 bishops of the church - they were not called Popes then. Apparently there are about 20 km of tunnels and thousands of graves in this part of Rome - outside the walls to keep diseases away from the residents. .

 

We came out from underground into a mighty storm - very dark, much lightning and thunder and torrential rain - we thought we were back in Singapore! It lasted for over an hour but finally we were able to bus and train it back to our favourite restaurant and then home to prepare for our train journey to Siena tomorrow.

 

St Peter's and the Pantheon

Friday 4th November

Cloudy but 19C forecast and only 10% chance of rain, so we left the coats in the hotel. As we came out of the station and headed for the Vatican the rain started. "Won't be much" says Bruce, but it was. We put on our ponchos but our legs and shoes  were quite wet by the time we reached St Peters Square. Thankfully, because we were very early, the queue was small and we were through security in about 15mins. The Basilica is awesome, there is no other word for it. The largest church in the world full of art, statues, gold and many treasures but the best there thing by far, for us, was the Pieta by Michelangelo. It is absolutely beautiful and seeing it was very moving. To see it was the reason we had gone to St Peter's and we were able to view the statue without crowds and for as much time as we wanted. How a man 24 years old could create such sensitive, emotional sculpture out of a block of marble is a true wonder, what a gift! When we left the Basilica after about an hour and a half the queue to get in was more than half way around the Square and the rain was starting to come down in earnest - I reckon the poor folk would be under their umbrellas for at least an hour. ( It was amazing that the vendors who continually confront you as you walk down the street were now clutching handfuls of colourful umbrellas whereas yesterday it had been selfie sticks). As it was also quite cold we decided to miss the 2 hour wait to get into the Vatican Museums and head back to the hotel to dry out and change clothes. We might try for the museums tomorrow.

Refreshed and changed, and the rain had also stopped, we headed out for yet another late lunch and then completed the Heart of Rome walk from Rick Steve's book - we had done the Spanish Steps to the Trevi fountain section previously. Highlights were the Pantheon, several squares with fountains and statues, and the amazing 'Italianate' colourful buildings. The Pantheon surprised us because from the front, with its columns and triangular roof, it is very much like a Greek or Roman Temple, which it had been, but inside, it is now very much a Roman Catholic Basilica. The massive ancient dome forms a circle (ocular) at the top which is open and when it rains the floor in the middle of the building gets wet. It was designed so that the water would then flow to a central drain. As we were returning to our favourite 'That's Amore' restaurant for dinner, we passed through the square in front of the Pantheon, a busker was singing and had drawn quite a large crowd, so we stopped to listen. His operatic baritone voice was magnificent - I am suspect some ladies leaning out of the windows of a nearby hotel were sure he was singing to them. After one song I reckon about 30 Euro were put in his tin - he could be quite well off after a nights work - I wish I had brought the ukulele. Our favourite hostess greeted us warmly "Hello Bruce, how was your day", and after another lovely meal we staggered up the hill - cobblestones are quite difficult to walk on, especially when wet, and had a quiet evening in. Merilyn is feeling very tired. She has had hypos three or four nights in a row, which takes a lot out of her, and has decided to have tomorrow morning in bed.

Trevi Fountain

Inside the Pantheon

Outside the Pantheon