Monday 19th September 2011 – Nice to La Spezia

Up quite early again and on the road, out of Nice, out of France (au revoir) and into Italy (Buongiorno).  Stopped just out of Nice at a roadside service centre where there were views down across Monaco – lots of huge boast in the harbour.  On the A12/E80 there were hundreds of tunnels.  As we were driving along we were able to catch glimpses of the countryside in between.  There were glasshouses everywhere and the mountainsides were terraced.  When we saw large villages the houses were clinging to the hillsides and cliffs that ran down to the sea.

Monaco

The A12/E80 through the mountains

At La Spezia, we parked the car and took the train back to the Cinque Terra (terra now means earth but once meant villages, hence Cinque Terra = Five Villages = Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Over centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside.

We bought a ticket to Vernazza (the fourth of the five villages).  It has a little harbour where the sea was a little wild today.  Lots of tourists there today.  We then caught the train back to Manarola (the second village).  It was just delightful.  Not as many tourists and lots of brightly coloured houses clinging to the cliffs leading down to the sea.

Venazza

Manarola

Back to La Spezia and we had a little fun!! Finding the B&B for the night.  The GPS didn’t recognise the address.  My phone had a French sim so it was useless.  Thankfully Jill’s phone has a Travel Sim which has been working very well so we were able to use it to call Robert who suggested we drive to one of the suburban railway stations and he would escort us from there.  Rather than ring him again, we spoke to some local youths who couldn’t speak English but managed to draw us a ‘mud map’ to Robert’s which worked.

No food at the B&B and a little out of town so Robert suggested a local restaurant.  Their English was about on par with our Italian but we did manage to order some dinner.  Mine was spaghetti with mussels and prawns (quite reasonable) and Jill’s was veal and salad.  We had managed to get the message of no gluten across but the veal came swimming in butter.  She tried.

The B&B is very comfortable.

Tuesday 20th September 2011 – La Spezia to Florence

Had a nice chat with Robert over our 8am breakfast.  His English was quite good so was nice to chat about things Italian.  His mother usually does breakfast but she must be away so it was left to him – bread, jam, juice, cake and coffee.  He was quite proud of his Kiwi fruit and has to show them off to us.  He also had a vegetable garden but he explained that he let retired people have gardens on his land in return for a few vegetables.

From La Spezia, we drove to Pisa to see the leaning tower.  We were very impressed.  It is very beautiful and is only one of a number of beautiful buildings on the site.  In actual fact, the tower is the freestanding bell tower, of the Cathedral of Pisa.

Pisa Cathedral

The height of the tower is 55.86 m from the ground on the low side and 56.70 m on the high side. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001 (to stop it from collapsing), the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but now only leans at about 3.99 degrees.

Even though there were hundreds of people there, because it is such a large open space, it did not detract from the beauty of the tower – gleaming white in the sunlight.

The Leaning Tower

We then drove on to Florence discovering another disadvantage of relying on a GPS and not understanding Italian. (don’t know what we would have done without it though!).  We ended up at the wrong 59 rue Famatina didn’t we!!  That corrected we ended up at our hotel in time for a quick snack before invading Florence.  Jill opted to stay at the hotel and have a rest so I was on my own.

Florence

The destination for the afternoon was to be the Galleria Degli Uffizi (The Uffizi Gallery).  Now I know that the Lonely Planet had warned me about crowds in Florence but this was the second half of September, wasn’t it!!  I got to the gallery and there were people queued up everywhere.  It would have taken 2 hours just to get a ticket, then I would have had to line up to get in.  The Uffizi just wasn’t to be.

The 'replica' David

After crossing that off the list I decided to go to the Accademia Gallery to see if we could get tickets to see the museum (and Michelangelo’s statue of David) for the morning (our original plan).  No luck there either.  The earliest tickets available were for 2pm.  It seems the closest I was going to get to David was to see the replica in the public square, outside the Palazzo della Signoria (David’s original position before being moved to the Museum) - even that is pretty impressive.  There’s no doubt that Florence has some beautiful buildings, the cathedral (the Duomo) in particular, but because there is so little open space, I found that the crowds impacted so much more than anywhere else we have been.  I guess I was disappointed that I was unable to get into the museums too!  There is a message there for others.  If you want to get into a Florence Museum, book early.

The Duomo, Florence

Back on the bus to the Ibis to find that Jill didn’t even have a sleep.  She had been Facebooking and reading – guess that’s still a rest.

Dinner tonight was downstairs in the hotel as there are no restaurants handy.

Wednesday 21st September – Florence to Cave (Rome)

A beautiful day today with the sun streaming in the window of the hotel.  Breakfast downstairs and then off to Poggibonsi.  Because we couldn’t get into Florence Museums we decided to spend a little time in some of the Tuscan Villages.  The first was San Gimignano just west of Poggibonsi.  San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town and is mainly famous for its medieval architecture, especially its towers, which can be seen from several kilometres outside the town.  It’s also is known for its wines (particularly its white, Vernaccia di San Gimignano).  I purchased a bottle of red for dinner. (very nice it was too!!).

San Gimignano

The view from Castellina in Chianti

Next, it was back to Poggibonsi and east to Castellina in Chianti in the Chianti Hills.   It was a lovely drive up the mountain – lots of grapevines and olive trees.  Bought a tuna and fresh cheese salad and a fruit salad to share for lunch, which we ate on the steps of the church watching the passing parade.  Then found a sorbet shop before returning to the car and heading towards Rome.

Huge clods in the cultivated land near Castellina

Tonight we are staying with Mario, Stephania and Sebastiano (age 10) at Cave near Valmontone (not too far out of Rome).  They have bees and restore antique furniture.  We have a little semi-detached room out the back.  Mario is pretty handy and they have built quite a bit of the house themselves.  They have lots of fruit trees and also have geese, chooks, a calf, 2 dogs, a number of cats and a tortoise. – quite a menagerie.

We had a chat over dinner and then off to bed.

Thursday 22nd September 2011 – Rome

After breakfast this morning we headed for the railway station at Valmantone.  All the parking was taken at the station car park so we ended up parking up on top of the hill and walking down (a bit of a walk).  At the station, we found that we had a 1hr 20min wait for the next train to Roma Terminal.  Some lovely Italian ladies explained (in Italian) that if we took the next train the other way for one station we would be able to get a train into Roma sooner.  In the end, they just said “Come with us!” which we did.

When we got to the next station there was an announcement to say because of track work there was a slight delay and that the train wasn’t going to Roma Terminal after all  (we had heard that Italian Trains were unreliable).  The three women were discussing the situation and apparently how to convey to us the problem when a young woman (university student studying political science) spoke to us in English explaining that we would have to take the Metro B train to get to Roma Terminal and if we followed her she could take us there.  But for her assistance, we might still be lost in the Italian train system.  Even though there are a lot more signs in English than there were in France, somehow it doesn’t seem to be as clear.  Our guide showed us where the information centre was at the railway station and off she went.  Very nice of her.

The information Centre couldn’t provide a map (or tell us in English where we could buy tickets for the Sistine Chapel without queuing) and as our plan was to do the HoHo bus circuit we bought tickets knowing that we would get to the Sistine Chapel eventually.

We travelled past the Piazza Squilino and the Basilica Di Santa Maria Maggiore and on to the Foro Romano (the Roman Forum – once the showpiece centre of the Roman Republic) the Colosseo (The Colosseum – built between 72 and 80 AD) and the Circo Massimo (where they had chariot races) on to Vatican city and San Pietro (Saint Peter’s Basilica) where we got off.

The Colosseum

The Tiber (Fume Tevere)

Had a look at St Peters which is often described as the largest church in the world.  It’s certainly pretty impressive.  The current building was constructed from 1506 to 1626 and the accompanying St Peter’s square was completed in 1667. We went to the information centre where we found for an additional €4 we could buy tickets for the Vatican Museum (including the Sistine Chapel) for 2:00.

Saint Peter's Square & Basilica

Off we went and had some lunch then fronted up to the museum at 2:00.  We went straight in and followed the arrows (with lots of other people) through various rooms and corridors full of impressive statues and artworks.  The walls and ceilings of all these rooms were richly decorated with paintings and relief works.

The Vatican Museum

The Vatican Museum

When we finally got to the Sistine Chapel it was almost an anti-climax.  The light was subdued and the chapel was packed with people talking and taking photos (after being asked to treat it with respect and not take photos – it’s amazing how rude some tourists are) – and the guards telling everyone to be quiet and stop taking photos did nothing for the ambience.  The artwork was beautiful but so was the artwork elsewhere in the museum.  I guess what makes it famous is the fact that it was done by Michelangelo. The chapel was originally built in 1484 and Michelangelo was commissioned to decorate it in 1508.  The most identifiable piece, Genesis (1508-12) is just one of the hundreds of scenes over the ceilings.  You certainly do wonder just how he managed to do it.

Inside the Vatican Gardens

From there it was back on the HoHo and back to the station where, after visiting the railway information person to find out what platform we needed, we were on the train back to Valmontone.  We walked downtown to buy a few things for dinner and then climbed the hill back to the car.

No chats tonight.  Mario was in Rome and Stephania and Sebastiano were late home (had to sit outside their gate and wait for them for a while, while we ate our tea) and had things to do when they got home.  Jill wasn’t 100% so she went straight to bed.  I caught up a little on the blog.

Friday 23rd September 2011 – Rome

After 2 nights with Mario, we moved a little closer to Rome today to spend the night at Ibis Roma Magliana.  Jill’s still a bit off-colour so plans to spend a day resting while I take a closer look at some of the sights we saw yesterday.

The Colosseum

I caught the shuttle bus into the city and spent some time around the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.  The Colosseum (originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre) is quite an amazing sight.  Built in 72 AD it had a capacity of 50,000 spectators and was used for the entertainment of the people of Rome.  While gladiators certainly fought among themselves and against wild animals, contrary to Hollywood folklore bouts between them rarely ended in death and there is no evidence that Christians were fed to the lions.

The Roman Forum and Palatino Hill, next to the Colosseum, were once the showcase centre of the Roman Republic.  They are now a collection of ruins including temples, basilicas, meeting places, market places, law courts, all in various stages of ruin or excavation.

The Roman Forum

Not far away is the Circus Maximus (Circo Massimo).  There isn’t a lot left now but this was the largest structure ever built for spectators, measuring 600 metres by 140 metres, it had a seating capacity of  250,000 people and was used for chariot races and other public games.  

From here I hopped on the HoHo bus for part of the circuit and got off near Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi).  The fountain, designed by Nicola Salvi in 1732 depicts Neptune’s chariot being led by Tritons, with sea horses representing the moods of the sea.  The water comes from the aqua virgo, a 1st century BC underground aqueduct.  I was surprised at how large it was and at the number of people who were just sitting around looking at the fountain.  

The Trevi Fountain

The next stop was the Pantheon, the best-preserved of ancient Rome’s monuments.  In its current form, it dates to around 120 AD when Emperor Hadrian built over a previous temple.  The dome is the largest masonry vault ever built.  Apart from the impressive pillars at the front, the outside of the building is quite unexciting but once you go inside all that changes.  It is still a beautiful building.

The Pantheon

Was about 6:30 at this stage so while waiting to get the shuttle bus back at 8:30 I did what all Romans do, I went to a footpath café and had pasta and beer sitting watching the passing parade opposite Complesso Monumentale del Vittoriano.

Complesso Monumentale del Vittoriano

Time came to catch the shuttle bus back and there were too many people to fit on the bus.  Lots of discussion between the bus driver and her company (which must also hire out limousines) because eventually two limos arrived to take the extras back to their hotels.  Had a nice ride back in a BMW limo.

Saturday 24th September 2011 – Rome to Urbino

Had a nice lazy start today.  Breakfast at the hotel and Skyped B,C,A and N at 9am (5pm in Australia) before heading east across the Apennine mountains towards the east coast of Italy.  They were all very chatty this morning, including Nate.

Our destination was Urbino but we made a slight detour about lunchtime to visit Assisi (of St Francis of Assisi fame).  In the “old days” when we taught moral lessons each week, St Francis was featured as the patron Saint of animals and the environment.  The founder of the Franciscan order, Sir Francis shares honours with St Catherine of Siena as the patron saint of Italy. He is remembered by many, even non-Christians, as a lover of nature. 

Bacilica di San Francesco, Assisi

Assisi is a very beautiful and very clean city (which is often not the case in Italy).  No doubt some of this can be attributed to the fact that it was UNESCO listed in 2000 (which presumably means additional funds) and that massive repairs to the city were needed following two devastating earthquakes in September 1997. Whatever the reason it appeared a much-loved city.  

'Downtown' Assisi

We visited the Basilica di San Francesco, built in the early 13th century (beautifully presented) and had a wander around the streets before heading off to Urbino, with a little difficulty we might add, as there has been a lot of roadworks done in this area which just does not feature on the GPS.

We drove through some very scenic countryside.  It would have been quite spectacular but for the haze which seems to have been with us for most of our time in Italy.  Not sure if it’s caused by pollution or not but it’s certainly hanging around which is a real shame.

We booked into our hotel at Urbino and then walked to the old city for dinner – another walled city.  It’s notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482. The town, nestled on a high sloping hillside, retains much of its picturesque medieval aspect – and another clean Italian city.   Dinner was risotto sitting on the edge of the Piazza watching the passing parade.

Urbino

Sunday 25th September 2011 – Urbino to Revenna

Headed off this morning for the smallest republic in the world, San Marino.  We took a ‘shortcut’ from Urbino which meant we were on secondary roads up through the mountains.  This is really lovely looking country and as I said yesterday would be spectacular but for that haze that blurs any distant views.

San Marino was a fascinating spot.  The old city is perched high on a hilltop that looks down over newer development.  Had a coffee and a walk through the old city.  Bought some San Marino postage stamps, send some postcards and tried to get some San Marino money in some change but the lady didn’t have any at the time.  They still have their own currency which they use alongside the Euro, the Euro being the predominant currency.

The view from San Marino

It’s amazing to think that a country can exist when it’s only just over 61 square kilometres and has a total population of around 30,000. Not only is it the smallest republic but also the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world.  It was founded on 3 September 301.  Its constitution, enacted in 1600, is the world's oldest constitution still in effect.  The country's economy mainly relies on finance, industry, services and tourism. It is one of the wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP (per capita).  It is considered to have a highly stable economy, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, no national debt and a budget surplus.  Incredible!!

San Marino

Drove from San Marino down out of the mountains to the coast and the Adriatic Sea.  We called into the seaside town of Cévia and had a delicious seafood lunch (grilled fish, prawns, squid and salad with a little vino).  It was little wonder it was good, as the fishing boats were tied up in the river less than 20 minutes away.  Beside each fishing boat was a little stall so I can imagine it would be a hive of activity here when the boats come in.

Fish stalls at Cevia

We went for a walk along the beach.  The beach is effectively divided up into sections which is run by a hotel, a bar, shop, resort and such like.  Each establishment has its locker rooms for people to change in and obviously hire equipment like deck chairs and umbrellas.  Some provide volleyball courts, trampolines, bowling rinks, children’s playgrounds and other entertainment activities.  Their piece of the beach stretches right down to almost the waterline, although there was room for us to walk along the foreshore.

Cevia Beach

A bit further along something was happening with kites.  A radio station had its outdoor studio set up and the whole sky was full of kites: little ones; giant ones; and some amazing strings of kites doing acrobatics in unison, diving down to just over people’s heads.

Kites at Cevia Beach

Found a sorbet shop and then headed off for our hotel for the night at Revenna.  The hotel is right in the centre of town so after a bit of a rest, we went for a walk to have a look at some of the mosaics that Revenna is famous for.  Found that we had to buy a single ticket for a number of museums which we didn’t have time for (only about 30 minutes before closing time) or for that matter the inclination.  Instead, we had a bit of a wander around and had kebabs and chips before heading back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

Revennia

Monday 26th September 2011 – Revenna to Venice

First stop today was Bologna, famous for Bolognese sauce and Bologna (bolony) sausage aka mortadella.  Interestingly classic pasta dishes such as tortellini and lasagne were also invented here.  Downtown is quite fascinating, with lots of one-way streets and wide footpaths.  The footpaths are all covered with archways incorporated into the buildings on each side of the street.  This is one European city you could walk around in the rain without the need of an umbrella.

Amazing covered footpaths

... and amazing cobbled streets

We came to see the leaning towers (the Due Torri).  They are nowhere near as beautiful as Pisa but their history is fairly remarkable.  Two aristocratic families expressed their rivalry by competing to build the tallest tower in the city.  One of the towers is now only 48 metres having been shortened for safety reasons in the 14th century and is leaning more than 3 metres.  The other tower stands 97 metres high and leans more than a metre.  So much for foundations!

The Leaning Towers

Back on the road, we called into a service centre to have our lunch of crackers, salami, cheese and semi-dried tomatoes (the tomatoes we bought in Bologna and came from Australia of all places).  Unlike France, there are no roadside picnic places along the autostrada so the service centres are the only place to get off unless you exit completely to towns.

There are lots of trucks on the autostrada today.  It’s interesting how you get used to travelling at speed.  When we first picked up the car I was reluctant to travel at the 130 with everyone else.  Now we keep up with the crowd -  not everyone though, the trucks are obviously limited to something less than the 130 and there are those that ‘fly’ past at something much greater.

Tonight we are staying at the All Season Venezia-Marghera on the mainland from Venice.  As we arrived here around 3:30 we’ve had a nice restful afternoon.  Tomorrow we will catch a bus into Venice and explore.

Tuesday 27th September 2011 - Venice

Caught the bus into Venice this morning crossing the 3.8km Liberty Bridge ( Ponte della Libertà) and then bought a 12-hour ticket on the waterbus enabling us to travel all day along the major canals.

This is an amazing city.  It stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers.

Venice from the Campanile

The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important centre of commerce (especially silk, grain and spice trade) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period. Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi.

Initially, we caught the waterbus from Piazzale Roma along the Grand Canal to Piazza San Marco which appears to be the place that everyone has to go.  And everyone was there. Venice was very crowded today.  They say that the Basilica di San Marco is impressive and would have been good to have a look but the queue (about 200 metres long) was enough to frighten us off.  The queue wasn’t too long to go up its bell tower, the Campanile, which is in the middle of the square (it’s actually a replica as the original collapsed in 1902).  The views from the top (100m up in a lift) over the city were pretty amazing.

more from the Campanile

The Grand Canal

We had a coffee at Caffé Florian, a haunt of people like Wagner, Thomas Mann and Hemingway.  It was special and an orchestra was playing but €30 for two cups of coffee??

Coffee at the Florian

At the top of the other bell tower in the piazza, the Toree dell’Orologio, we watched (and heard) the Mori (Moors) figures strike the bell to inform us it was 11 o’clock.  That was cute.

There is a lot of talk about Venice drowning.  I guess they aren’t too impressed with global warming!! And certainly, while we were in the square water was flooding certain sections as the tide rose – it actually came up through the drains.  People had to use ‘duckboards’ to get into the Basilica.  There was information up describing what they were doing to address the problem.  I feel they might have a challenge ahead.

High tide at the Basilica

We wandered through the streets admiring the architecture until we came to the Grand Canal again just near the Ponte di Rialto (built in the late 16th Century), the bridge you see in all the photos of Venice.  Had some lunch and then caught a waterbus to Lido, the island south of the main island.  We noticed on the map that it had some beaches so decided to have a look.  The beach was pretty popular today too, with lots of people enjoying the sun.  It’s a pretty warm day and the beach did have sand (brown sand).  It was Jilly’s sort of beach – very small waves.  There were little huts on the beach but nothing like we saw the other day.

Gondolas were everywhere!

Caught the waterbus back to the main island and then the bus back to the motel.  We were a bit worried that we might not know where to get off but the bus driver was quite helpful.

There’s a laundry at the motel (free) so we did a bit of washing before having the hotel's buffet dinner - and very nice it is.

Today is our last day in Italy.  We call into Verona tomorrow but after that, we are on our way to Austria (for one night) and then on to Germany.