Venice and Verona

"Ooooh...what a pretty canal!" 

"Take a photo of that canal, it's lovely."

"Ah, sitting beside a canal, drinking spritz and eating aperitivo.  I could do this for the rest of my life!"

And now you have an insight into the main gist of our conversation the entire time we were in Venice!  It was one of the few European cities that was on our list that we had yet to cross off.  Knowing the exorbitant prices, we'd booked months and months ago, so had been looking forward to it for absolute yonks.  And it didn't disappoint!

Arriving late on Thursday night we managed to work out how to get on the Number 1 vaporetto down the Grand Canal to our B&B, then got back on (loved that the tickets were time delimited, not per ride) and went all the way down to Piazza San Marco to see it without the crowds and an obligatory first gelato - who cares that it was nearly midnight!

While in Venice we made sure to do lots of the main sights, including the Doge's Palace, St Mark's Basilica, the Campanile, as well as a quick trip out to Murano to see some glass blowing and to check out the lagoon.  The weather was lovely - hot enough to get a tan and wear some shorts, but not too hot that we completely melted after the cold of London!  I loved just wandering around, checking out the food (I'd done a fair bit of research, which meant we ended up eating at some delicious places, such as La Zucca, which was recommended by two different sets of people, and was an absolutely delicious treat for lunch on our last day) and just enjoying feeling the sun on our faces in the most incredible surroundings.  Another really good foodie thing we did was go to the Rialto fish market at midday on the Saturday where one particular restaurant serves up the dish of the day, plus a glass of wine for only 8 euro.  The day we were there it was a plate of lightly fried fish and other seafood - luckily both Adrian and I have come around to fish because otherwise it wouldn't have been so pleasant!

I loved the whole concept of aperitivo hour as well which, despite some early confusion about what exactly 'happy hour' means (drinks become more, rather than less expensive!), became one of our favourite things to do.  The quality and quantity of the nibbles varied dramatically between different places, but Aperol spritz has now firmly lodged itself as one of my favourite drinks.  We also went out on the Friday night we were in Venice, heading to Campo Santa Margharita which seemed to be where most of the action was, then stumbling across a pop up bar on the way home which was lots of fun.

We also added in two nights in Verona, where, luckily, we lucked in to the fact it was the first Sunday of the month, so all the sights which normally would have cost anywhere between 6-10 euros to go into, were only 1 euro!  Excellent.  This included Juliet's House, the arena (while we were there a school choir came in and sang which was really cool - we'll have to go back for an opera one time) as well as some other museums and the like.  We also walked up behind the castle to get a good view out over the city and could actually look down and see a local wedding which was interesting.

And then, of course, it was again all about the food!  Adrian finally had a horse steak, after wanting one for years, and I had a donkey ragu which was surprisingly good.  The gelato was fabulous in Verona, with my favourite flavour being 'pollen' (a bit random!) and the aperitivo was delicious.  We walked all over town, getting to know the main city area inside out.  We stayed with a super friendly Italian guy at his B&B called B&B Casa Nuvola and it was obvious he'd learned his English in Ireland as there were Guinness posters everywhere and he had the funniest Irish/Italian accent.  

All in all, I loved Venice - it was such a beautiful city and I could have happily wandered there for days.  The sights weren't as breathtaking as Rome, but the city was by far and away one of the most magic places I've ever visited.  

Check out the rest of the photos here!

Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage site in north-western Italy that is home to a series of quaint villages, great swimming, gravity-defying agriculture, and of course (being Italy) lots and lots of tourists.

Between the villages there is a train, but being hardy travellers we opted for the 12km walk between the network of beaches. It was pretty much a stroll in the park though, apart from a couple of pretty steep ascents and the fact that it was absolutely sweltering - I think we got wetter doing the walk with all the sweat than swimming at the beaches!

It was somewhat similar to the Amalfi Coast, but the walk goes right through the villages so we stopped off and had lunch and two swims at the 'beach' (concreted area right to the sea).

While we did the walk we stayed in a town called La Spezia that had a big wine and food night market/festival thing going on while we were there. We couldn't quite work out the system of how you go about buying a festival wine glass, but considering we could understand that it would cost something like 10 euros for each glass of wine we quickly gave up on that idea!

So overall, I think we did Italy relatively well (well, the middle of Italy at least). Highlights would definitely be Rome, Capri and Matera for Amelia and the Blue Grotto in Capri, Umbria and the Cinque Terre for Adrian. But there's lots more to see next time (bring on Venice) so as the coin in the Trevi Fountain says (or is that Arnold Swarzeneger?), we'll be back!

Pisa

Yes, the tower really does lean.

Florence, Italy

After a couple of days relaxing in Umbria, we were recharged and keen as mustard (or should that be pizza) to get back into things, having the worst behind us - or so we thought. Florence had more tourists than Rome, and there was little escaping them, or the inflated prices that inevitably followed. Those tour guides must have some pretty strong arm muscles as they stride through the city at a pace of knots, holding up whatever umbrella, bread stick, or flag they happened to find, trailing sweaty, crazed looking tourists in their wake...


We arrived on their Saint's Day, which was effectively a statutory holiday. We didn't manage to get tickets to the medieval football in the town square, disappointing at the time, but less so as we realised how much money we would have handed over in the heat of the moment. We did however catch the half hour fireworks display, which went off with a bang!


Florence hooked us quickly back onto the museum trail - discovering all sorts of queues. One tour that had no queue though was for the secret passages tour of Palazzo Vecchio, the city hall. It was surprisingly fascinating as we walked up stairwells inside walls and through doors that looked liked walls and cupboards. It was then up to the Duomo to look at the ceiling frescos up close and then onto the dome to get a view of the city, spectacular!!!


After another night at our brilliant campsite right in the middle of town (ok, not so brilliant after walking up all the steps to get to it at night, wonderful in the morning on the way down), we got up at the crack of dawn to get a glimpse at da Vinci's 'David', which is actually worth the hype. They also show about half a dozen half finished creations that lead up to the finished product, so you really see what geniuses these masters were to get such creations out of a block of stone. David is also surrounded by many other fine pieces of work which don't get given the justice that perhaps they deserve (seasoned art critics that we are).


From here it was off to the Uffizi Gallery, to see room after room (that was not closed for the restoration), of famous and amazing artwork - more works by Botticelli, da Vinci, Titian, and Tintoretto (to name a few) than you could shake a stick at. Even trying to pace ourselves it was impossible to retain much enthusiasm towards the end, but as it was our last classical art gallery until Paris we did our best! Commenting on the styles of the various tour guides was an interesting diversion (there was one Australian girl who spoke at her group like a strangled duck and was so agressive in her questioning (was it perhaps an oral exam for these poor, unwitting tourists?) she had spit flying in every direction...).

After another night of overpriced pasta, and a luxury sleep in the tent now that we had found a second thermarest to sleep on, we bade farewell to Florence and headed off to Pisa.

No photos yet, we'll all hang out together in anticipation of disposable camera #2!

Haiku for Florence

Swelteringly hot,
Florence, your art overwhelmed.
Fireworks go boom!

Chilling out in Umbria

Between the helter skelter of Rome and Florence we decided to chill out for a few days in Umbria, Tuscany's lesser known cousin. We were on the Lago Trasimeno where we stayed at a hostel which lent out free bikes, had a pool, hammocks, free internet, a guest kitchen - bliss in other words!

But, as good travellers, we squeezed in a bit of time for some sightseeing to Perugia (Umbria's capital) and Assisi (of St Francis fame). Assisi was all about the Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi, which housed some famous Giotto frescoes that Amelia had studied at school.
Perugia was shut on a Monday, which was when we arrived. It has a GREAT mini-metro though, like something straight out of the movies (try this link for a video of it). Made our day basically!

More time in the pool followed, then back into the hecticness that is Florence.

Cassino, Italy

By our last day in Rome, we were pretty museum and ruined out, and a change of pace to the 'countryside' was exactly what the doctor ordered. Adrian had wanted to go to Cassino on our way up to Rome from Naples, but we ended up doing it as a day trip.

Cassino is a town half way between Rome and Naples and was the sight of a rather large battle during WWII. It is the home of the order of St Benedict and is home to a beautiful Abbey high up on the hill. Our timing was a bit unfortunate (there was a bus up the hill to the Abbey at 9.30 and 3.30 - we got there at 11am), but it meant a few hours of enforced relaxation in the local park. It's a hard life.

Once we were sick of that (well, once Adrian woke me up), we walked down the road to the Commonwealth WWII cemetery. The Battle of Monte Cassino incurred heavy losses for NZ and Polish troops and it was sobering to see all the graves and list of names. The fact that the vast majority of them hadn't even reached their 30s hit home too. The war museum was unfortunately shut, Saturdays being to Cassino what Monday seems to be to the rest of Italy.

The Abbey was a whole other world. I (Amelia) could totally see the charms of a monastic life while you were perched up there on the hill - it was so peaceful and serene. Having to walk around it in Adrian's shorts and jersey didn't add to the experience however, I must remember to always pack 'church appropriate clothing' just in case. (It was worth it just to see Adrian's hairy legs poking out the bottom of my short skirt).

Adrian checked out the Polish cemetery up on the hill. The ages were a bit different, mostly in their 30s.

All in all, a successful day trip and definitely worth a stop on the way up to/away from Rome if you're ever in the neighbourhood. Just don't go on a Saturday!

Next stop: Florence!

Rome, Italy

"A life time is not enough" is what they say about Rome; I (Adrian) would say about four and a bit days and you are not doing too bad. Rome was a great city and easily the best so far with so much to see and do, and boy did we see and do it.

Trevi Fountain, just pops put of nowhere, the Spanish Steps surrounded by bling shops, the Pantheon standing for 2000 odd years and looking strong, and that was just in the afternoon we arrived.

Our first full day was spent at the Papal audience, the Vatican Museum and St Peter's Basilica and Square. The heat was monsterous, but we hung in there to see Pope Benedict, and what a reception he received - it was like being at a rock concert as the Pope mobile did its circuit. He then proceeds to give his speech in no less than five languages. The pilgrim groups were all thanked, our favourite was the the Catholic Mothers' League from Wellington, New Zealand, and an hour and a half later you are all blessed and on your way again.

The Vatican Museum is awesome and surprisingly empty so long as you stay out of the main trunk route, which if you wish to go to the heaving Sistine Chapel you can't avoid. They were all on display here, Michelagelo, Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael and Carravagio (also known as the fifth turtle), and they all impressed.

But just in case you missed them there, the crowds are all waiting for you at the entrance to St Peter's Basilica (including surprisingly sneaky Asian tour groups). What is amazing is that once you are in, you wonder where everyone has gone, the place is massive and just swallows everyone (capacity 60,000 people!). The Pieta by Michelangelo was just amazing, as was pretty much everything in here.

Day 3 (aka the 'day of ruins') was all about the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Palatine. An underwhelming audioguide later, we were left standing in the middle of a whole pile of (admittedly very well decorated) rocks. These ruins just suffered a bit in comparison to those we had seen in Turkey, Ephesus particularly. The Colosseum was another story though. The sheer size of it and the fact that it's still standing is pretty impressive. Amelia really liked the diagrams of the pulley systems that lifted the animals up to the main ground - the plastic lions and tigers just made it.

A bit of a change of plans late in the afternoon meant we visited Rome's cathedral and the 'Scala Santa' - the holy steps that Jesus walked up in Jerusalem. You are only allowed to walk up them on your knees.

Day 4 was a bit of a mishmash. We went to a church which has a big round wall relief sculpture of a face. If you put your hand in its mouth and it chomps down on you it means you are a liar. Luckily both of us escaped unscathed. On the way back from that we walked past the Circo Massimo. Most people think the Colosseum was Rome's biggest stadium, but it was actually this other place (literally translated, 'big circle'). Each competition consisted of seven laps, and at each end there was a structure that dropped a big wooden egg and wooden dolphin respectively after each half lap. Not quite the same as the flag system in Formula One!

Later that day we went to the Borghese Museum, a bit of a strict affair where you have to book the day in advance and are only allowed two hours visit. Amelia loved seeing some famous paintings she had studied at school and uni, and some of the other sculptures (such as this amazing one of Apollo and Daphne). While we were wandering around that night after dinner we saw a big modern art/dance/performance installation thing in town, complete with a boxer, swimmer, and guy rowing strung up and moved across the square above our heads (10m or so). There must have been at least a hundred people involved in creating it, with only another hundred or so watching.

All in all, Rome was great. Staying at a campsite out of town with a pool was a stroke of genius, and we haven't blown the budget too badly (a few expensive dinners out didn't help though). So, if the coin I threw in the Trevi Fountain means anything, I'll definitely be back.

Italy: Napoli

Well, we're right in the heart of our Italian adventure now - two of our three big cities are behind us and it's onto the homeward stretch.

After the Amalfi Coast we headed up the road a bit to Napoli. Despite lots of good things going for it, such as being the birthplace of pizza, it was the dirtiest city we have ever seen. It's the ongoing aftermath of some pretty major tension over rubbish collection (see here for a bit of backstory), but it doesn't seem as if it's too different from the normal cleanliness situation to tell you the truth...

Napoli was our base to do a bit of day-tripping. First stop was Pompeii which was actually way bigger than expected and it was pretty mind blowing that so much of it survived the eruption. The plaster casts of bodies (they poured plaster into the caveties left by the decomposition of the bodies) were interesting to see, that being my (Amelia) main recollection of what I studied at school. It was also great to be there at the end of the day after the tour groups all left and we were free to wander around in comparative isolation.

The next day brought on Capri-dahling! It's an island off the coast of the bay of Naples and well worth a visit if you're ever in the neighbourhood. I felt underdressed just walking around outside some of the shops in the main town (think big fashion label central), but once we'd hoed into our panne cotta and watermelon gelato, all the cares of the world melted away... The absolute highlight of Capri though is the Grotta Azzura, or Blue Grotto. It's something to do with the refraction of light as it bounces off the bottom of the cave, but whatever it is, it made the water inside this sea grotto absolutely luminous blue - kind of like there were big neon bulbs underneath the water even! The water was so clear you could see right down to the bottom of the cave, and so clean there was even coral growing on the sides. It seemed as if it may have been kind of cheesy because there were so many tour groups selling you to go there, but it was one of those things that actually surpasses expectations. Our night finished with pizza at 'Da Michele', the most famous of all Napoli's pizzerias - who knew tomato sauce and bread could taste so good.

Next stop: Roma!

Italy, the beginning

La Bella Italia!

We've been here for a few days now and it is living up to nearly every expectation I have ever had about Italy! I love all the gesticulating, the fashion, the food, and of course, the absolutely, completely, unbelieveably insane driving (we nearly died today on our drive from Amalfi to Napoli...).

Arriving off the train in Bari, we had to do a bit of fence scaling to escape the port complex (they're not big on directions or signs here), but safely over we dragged our tired bodies through Bari to the train station in the surprising 28 degree heat. Saying ciao to Megan, we hopped on a train to Taranto. It was only five minutes after we got on that I (Amelia) realised that we could have got a cheaper train directly to our final destination, rather than the rather long winded and more expensive route I had accidentally picked. Ah well, at least we saw some more of Italy's countryside...

Our first stop was Matera. Yeah, I had never heard of it either. It's in the middle of Italy, about equi-distant from each coast. It's a jumble of old houses, churches, rock churches, and caves built into two valleys called 'sassi'. People were living in the caves until the 1950s, when the extreme poverty came to light and they were all forcibly removed into housing blocks. Not entirely sure it was a better move having talked to some of the locals! The landscape was stunning, although nothing compared to our hostel, Le Moncelle. It was a converted monastery, complete with chapel, bell tower and rooftop terrace - let's just say we're in a different hostel world now we've moved to Italy!

On the way to our next destination we briefly stopped in Salerno. Not expecting much, the Duomo (cathedral) there was absolutely incredible. Quite possibly the best church I have ever seen. Not only was it absolutely massive with exquisite mosaics and decorations, but the crypt which reputedly holds the relics of St Matthew (yes, the one and only) was unbelievable. The whole crypt was painted and the photos here don't quite do it justice (the ones of the crypt are at the end). Definitely one to beat (bring it on Rome).

After Matera we moved on to the Amalfi Coast, home to (and I quote), 'international jet setters seeking sun and romance' (or some such tourist nonsense). However, it was pretty amazing. The sea was startling blue, the narrow roads stomach churning, and the terraced farming on the hillsides something else. We were staying up in Agerola, up in the mountains, where apparently they used to send people with respiratory problems because the air was so beneficial and clean! Compared to the car fumes eminating from the houses near the road, I'm sure it was better up there...

We happened to luck in on Amalfi's saint's day which was cool, complete with marching band, paper mache figurine and fireworks. We also did the 'Walk of the Gods', a 3 hour walk from Bomerano in the mountains down to Postiano on the coast. The views were stunning, the 1700 (I swear I'm telling the truth) steps down at the end to the coast were not so much.

Photos soon we promise!

Next stop, Napoli.