One Day: Four Cities

AHM DCT #5 - Michelangelo's last pieta

Were there awards for outstanding efforts in touristing, we would have taken at least the silver today.

We left Venice first thing in the morning, stopped in Verona for a couple of hours, then stopped in Milan to see the castle, the La Scala opera and the duomo and then drove to the lake district to land at our hotel.

These epic feats of sightseeing are our tour guide's conscientious efforts to make sure we get the most out of our short time in Italy. 

We do get a lot done in a day.

This is purportedly Juliet's balcony in Verona; we could not make our way through the tourists to see this. This photo was taken by Kevan MacRow.

Verona, unlike the historic city in Venice, is a real place. Bruce and I wandered off on our own through the narrow streets. The city felt lively and engaged in more than just visitors from out of town in new shoes sporting cameras.

Milan also had a lot going on, including the building shown above. The "living exterior" idea may catch on.

More than any of the other cities we've visited, I felt like I'd like to come back to Verona and Milan.

Inside the duomo in Milan, the fourth largest church in the world, three of which I have been in: St. Peter's in Rome, St. Paul's in London and this one.

In case you're wondering where all the marble for the church came from, it came from this mountainside, as seen from our hotel in our fourth city today, Baveno, on the shores of Lake Maggiore.

Thanks for reading!

Karen

Venice is Sinking

The bridge of sighs: just one way to have a last look at Venice

There were two opinions about Venice among the people who talked to me about it before I left. A couple of people said they really didn't like Venice. Having gone once, they said they would not go again. A couple of other people told me they really liked it. One had visited several times. They thought it was historic and beautiful.  

Venice is beautiful, but it has some issues.

Long since past its prime, with only one fifth of the population it had in its heyday, the historic centre of Venice is in some respects as much of a ruin as Pompeii. Its local economy is skewing toward tourism just as much. And it is inundated to the point of peril by tourists.

Our day started with a stop at the Murano glass factory for a glass blowing demonstration and some high pressure sales tactics.

After we spent some money on pretty glass, we launched over to the old city. We were on our own recognizance until about quarter to two. We wandered among the shops on our way to the Rialto bridge. When we were most of the way there, it started to rain. Hard. 

Soaked to the skin, we did make our way to the bridge. It was almost deserted, which made getting wet worth it.

We stopped at a reasonably decent place for lunch. I ordered a glass of the local beer. Then I remembered how hard it is to find a washroom and let Bruce drink most of mine.

Around 2 p.m. we met up with a "local expert", a charming octogenarian named Anna. She took us through St. Marks - so crammed with tourists it was almost impossible to move - and then led us to some pretty squares far away from the touristy city centre.

Anna spelled out Venice's dilemma. The fine old homes are falling into ruin because no one can afford to maintain them and pay all the taxes. Ownership reverts to the city, and then the homes are either bought by hotel companies or converted into convention centres, galleries or some other kind of enterprise - but people no longer live in them. 

Nice old home long since boarded up and crumbling into the canal.

People who do live in Venice deal with the challenges of a non-self-sustaining city surrounded by water. Real estate is very expensive; groceries have to be purchased on the mainland. The historical preservation restrictions on the city make it expensive to upgrade buildings to accommodate different needs as demographics change. 

Our guide Anna on a tiny canal next to picturesque homes

And just about everyone works in the tourism business.

I understand the two opinions of Venice better. People who like it see what Venice once was. Those who don't see what Venice is becoming: a theme park.

Thanks for reading!

Karen







  

A Long Drive Into Venice

Mosaic, Church of St Appollinairis in Classe, Ravenna

Before we left Assisi, we stopped at the big basilica there to see the little church originally given to St. Francis. It's tucked inside, like a nested Russian doll and complete in all its parts, right up to someone reading scripture at the altar. 

The little church

The big church

We stopped in Ravenna for lunch. The lasagna was supposed to be something special.  Instead of eating, I opted to walk over with a small subsection of our group to look at the mosaics at the Church of Saint Appollinaris. I heard the lasagne was not all that good. The mosaics were amazing.

1500-year-old mosaics - as bright and sparkly as the day they were made

We drove straight into Venice after that. Along the way, the landscape changed dramatically.

The south is all rugged limestone outcrops and volcanoes. In the middle of the country, along the Apennines, the landscape is more ancient, more rolling. But the uplifted old beyond belief stratified limestone, cranked at crazy angles, is still visible.

After that, the land goes dead flat, the soil turns into sand and suddenly there are lagoons everywhere.

The road stops. Then you're in Venice.

We took water taxis to where we boarded gondolas to wend down some small waterways while a man played the accordion and another man sang Italian standards.

After a quick stroll through St. Mark's square, we boarded another boat to take us to Lido, the island where we are staying.

We have the whole day in Venice tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading!

Karen

On the Way North: A Cemetery and Assisi

Under no pressure whatsoever this morning to get ahead of the crowds, we took our sweet time leaving the comfortable and accommodating hotel we stayed at in Sorrento. 

Our ultimate destination is Venice, 765 kilometres away. We will not do the trip in one day and will spend the night in Assisi. We stopped by Cassino to see the war cemetery there.

Hundreds of Canadians died in the terrible campaign of Cassino. Here they are, lined up for one last time, forever.

The change between the north and south of Italy is palpable. The south is quaint, under developed and not always prosperous. The north is still quaint, but well developed and prosperous.

In Assisi, we stopped by the basilica and got an eyeful of spectacular proto-Renaissance artwork; the overall impact was devotional, but less gaudy than St. Peter's Basilica. The town and surrounding countryside of Umbria were the most beautiful I've seen in Italy so far.

I'm not sure of the age of this passage way in Assisi, but it is across the steep narrow street from a home dated 1624.

 Our hotel was built recently as a monastery and ended up as a hotel instead. The rooms are spare, comfortable and modern. As you can see, the Wifi is strong. Click here to see the photos I couldn't load yesterday.

When supper is included on the tour, it's a sit down affair with the whole group. The food is good, the wine's included and the room always gets very loud.

Thanks for reading!

Karen

Nerves of Steel

Capri and Sorrento were today's congested, sunny locales. In the evening we visited a farm, all of four acres big. Most of the food we ate for dinner came from said farm. 

The beautiful and charming four acre farm featured a watch goose that hissed at us when we came onto the property, more than 200 olive trees, livestock, mozzarella making demonstrations and a fine, five course meal. And this dog, sleeping on the roof.

Today I learned that the island of Capri is not volcanic. It is a massive outcrop of limestone slowly dissolving into the sea. In the meantime, it offers spectacular views, several interesting grottos and a view of the road engineering of the German steel manufacturer, Alfred Krupp.

Road closed: private road built for beach access by the father of the man who built arms for Hitler.

Our tour guide had us out of the hotel and onto the bus before 8 a.m. The bus took us to the port at Sorrento where we boarded a half-empty ferry bound for Capri.

Some members of the tour group while Capri was still not crowded. That changed.

Off of that boat, we boarded another that took us about a third of the way around the island and back.

Capri from the sea: so beautiful, so fragile, so destined to return to the sea.

Back on dry land on Capri, we rode the funicular up to where the pricey shops were. Fun fact: on Capri, one family runs the public washroom business. Every trip to the loo costs .50 euros. 

Sea arch just below the Giardini di Augusto. This shot is remarkable in that there are no other boats in the picture.

We followed along with the crowd of our fellow travellers on the included tour past the fancy shops and down to the Giardini di Augusto. 

We ate at the restaurant recommended by the guide: caprese salad of course.

I'm getting used to how the trip works: we do lots of things in the morning and then get a short break mid-day and then do lots of things from about 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. The trick is to actually get some rest during the mid-day break or the second part of the day is exhausting.

Southern Italy has no tillable soil left alone: there are olive and lemon and orange trees; there are tomato plants and fennel growing. Any soil the least productive is producing something. These olives grew on the grounds of our comfortable and charming hotel. I bit into one to see how it tasted. It tasted very bad. 

Nerves of steel are what the drivers of the buses and mini-vans that carry us around have. Narrow streets, steep inclines, harrowing drop offs, hair pin turns, oncoming traffic and scooters zipping in and out like bees mean nothing to the men navigating these beast machines. 

Thanks for reading!

Karen

Pompeii and Positano

Before its destruction on the [disputed] 24th of August AD 79, Pompeii had a population of 11,500.

Now, after its exhumation and subsequent addition to cruise ship itineraries, Pompeii is, according to some, being ruined again. But its population is back up, as shown in the photo.

I've learned that the wifi is weak no matter where I go in Italy, and will restrict myself to two photos a day.

The one above shows the quintessence of my experience of Pompeii.

And here's the Amalfi coast.

Our second full day in Italy began with a three hour bus ride from Rome to Pompeii. As we sped along the autostrade, Patricia, our guide, filled us in on failed government attempts in the 60s to revive the southern economy and on the continuing influence of the mafia in these parts.

As everywhere, the traffic was intense, the crowds oppressive. We stopped at a spot on the hairpin-turn-rich highway for a photo opportunity. It teemed with selfie-taking Japanese tourists. 

Our destination was Positano, a touristy little town built up the hill side. Its pretty cathedral holds a famous icon (the Black Madonna). Positano meets the ocean at a tiny beach 100% covered by young members of the ruling class.

Bruce and Kevan stayed in a pleasant cafe halfway up the hill drinking beer and eating cannoli while Kim, Carol and I ventured down to aforesaid church and then down to the Mediterranean. Kim and Carol got their feet wet as I preserved the moment.

OK, three photographs.

Thanks for reading!

Karen

336 Photos

The "eye" in the Pantheon - an art history major's dream come true

Today's itinerary was intense, ambitious. We headed out from the hotel before 8 a.m. to get to the Vatican Museum in time for our fast track admission. We went outside to see Michelangelo's dome, then inside to get a "Trafalgar Tours only" view of the Bramante staircase. Spoiler alert: there are no stairs. 

Then we scooted through the Etruscan art display and joined the sea of humanity surging down many galleries - of tapestries, of sculptures, of maps - on the way to the Sistine Chapel. Three mind-boggling things going on: the staggering beauty and quantity of the artwork, the staggering numbers of people. Our tour guide said 20,000 people a day; six million people a year see the Vatican Museum. I think the whole six million were there today.

You're not supposed to take pictures in the chapel, so I just cranked my neck and looked at the vast masterpiece, pretending I wasn't in a relatively small room crammed with a thousand or more people. Some of them took pictures.

Then we went to St. Peter's Basilica. I've been in big European churches before: Notre Dame, Strasbourg, West Minster Abbey. They all seem a bit understated and plain compared to St. Peter's. 

Michelangelo's Pieta: Another AHM dream come true.

Bernini's Canopy: AHM DCT #3

Michelangelo's dome: AHM DCT #4

All this was just the beginning. We bussed to the colosseum after we left the Vatican Museum. By this point, the thing I was most impressed with was the thousands and thousands of people who were doing exactly the same thing we were.

The crowds were unbelievable. 

After a couple of hours back at the hotel drinking frascati and eating pizza, we headed out for a walking tour. We saw thousands of people on the Spanish Steps, thousands of people in front of the Trevi Fountain and thousands of people in the Pantheon. It was getting late, so there were only hundreds of people in Navona square where we finished our tour and had frascati and pizza for supper.

I'd show you pictures of these thousands of people, but the hotel wifi is weak. 

I'll end with this shot of the "five Canadians," which, apparently, is our travelling name.

Tomorrow, Pompeii.

Thanks for reading!

Karen