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Monday 20 October 2014

Rome

I don’t know how people survived driving into strange cities before GPS. With our cellphone using Google Maps it was just feasible, though it often lagged behind reality, not telling us which way to turn till we had passed the point of no [re]turn. As we drove south from Viterbo we were lolled into a false sense of well-being, on quiet country roads through a forest. Even when we joined a motorway to enter Rome itself the traffic was light, but once we neared the drop-off point for the hire car near Termini railway station things got a little chaotic. We had to drop the car off on the 5th floor on an un-signposted parking building with lanes only suitable for mountain bikes and parking spaces 2mm wider than the cars. Or so it felt.

We had a few hours to kill before we could go to our Airbnb apartment (a downside to Airbnb – you have to wait for the owner to be available). After seeing the queue at the left-luggage counter in the railway station we decided to take our bags with us for a couple of hours. This seemed sensible until we hit our first cobbled street. We decided to impress the girls with the “big one” by going straight to the Colosseum, by way of San Pietro in Vincoli, the church with a good Michelangelo statue and the chains that (allegedly) bound St Peter. Not surprisingly (he says belatedly!) it was closed for lunch. The Colosseum is spectacular though even with its growing cloak of scaffolding, which we'd witnessed last year.

It was Joan and Julie's first trip on an underground when we took the Metro to our apartment. Though the Metro is in good order it was very crowded so they probably didn’t enjoy the experience. Coming out of the Metro station it was very quiet so, after checking which exit we needed with my cellphone and Google Maps, I then put the phone in my pocket before lugging a bag up the stairs. A group of men suddenly appeared and one helped Vicki with her bag. After saying thank you I found my cellphone had disappeared – the bag-helper was the distraction.  We were very lucky to have an Airbnb host like Claudia – she took us to the nearest police station to help us report the theft (for insurance purposes). There are several different types of police in Italy: Carabinieri (originally the army police), local police, traffic police and financial police. Claudia decided that the best was to report it to the Carabinieri as they were most likely to be the quickest. We had to take a bus ride to another suburb and then walk to an obscure building on a side-street and be buzzed in through a locked door.  Once inside though they were brilliant as an officer took a statement immediately and printed out a form for me. They didn’t look at all busy as everyone else seemed to be chatting and smoking in another room. A couple of lessons re-enforced:

  1. Always keep your valuables in a safe place. We are normally very good about this and my “man-bag” is a special one that is reinforced with wire and special locks. My wallet and phone live in it or, occasionally in a zipped-up trouser pocket. However, in this situation I popped it in an unsecured pocket while I carried a bag up a single flight of stairs when I thought no one was around. No - never let your guard down!
  2. Secure your phone! How many people even bother with this? With a smartphone it isn’t just the cost of losing the phone (insurance should pay for most of it - less the excess) but it is all the personal information you have on it or the access to various websites, e.g. Facebook, email, Skype, etc. – all with no need to input a password each time. Personally I have a PIN number on the front screen that comes on if the phone hasn’t been used in a matter of seconds (i.e. by the time any thief has had a chance to look at it), I use a (free) antivirus security package that puts a PIN on some applications, and I have tracking software enabled (in my case Prey). My assumption is that they won’t be able to readily get at my data – except what is stored on my memory card - or even use the phone. If they ever manage to fire it up and connect to the internet then Prey will let me track them and control the handset, but to be safe I immediately changed all my passwords on my web accounts. A hassle for sure but potentially saving a much bigger hassle.

Anyway, back to Rome …

Last time we were here we choose to look around the Roman and Renaissance parts, knowing that the Vatican is a Big Day Out in itself, and best left until you have lots of energy. This time we were all up to it and got there about 8:30 in the morning – the ticket office to the museums opens at 9am. There appear to be two main options: walk around St. Peter’s square and then queue for seeing inside the church (all free), or queue for the museums (including the Sistine Chapel) at a cost of 16 euros each. Our plan was to queue for the museums first before the queue really built up and afterwards go for a walk around the square and pop into the church if the queue wasn’t too big. We hadn’t been prepared for the ticket touts and their very heavy sell. The queue was very long even at this early hour and moved very slowly once the ticket office had opened. So we were standing targets for the touts who were offering tours which give you preferential entry. And they were insisting that we had another 2 hours to go in the queue. Being cheapskates we hung on in the queue and got to the entrance in 45 minutes or so. Here we saw how it all works – they would let in all the groups with preferential entry followed by a group from the commoner’s queue. This meant our queue moved very slowly, however when we got inside the foyer it was relatively quiet and only half the ticket booths were occupied and there was no queue. So, as clearly they can handle a greater number of people entering at a time, the scheme seems to be to constrain the main queue to encourage people to pay more for preferential entry. Undoubtedly an un-Christian thought of mine ..

The museums are in a building shaped like a U – a very long corridor of interconnecting rooms containing the various museums, the Sistine Chapel at the end, then a return to the start via another long corridor of rooms. Only those who have paid for the preferential entry tickets are allowed to sneak out at the Chapel and head straight into St. Peters, the rest have to walk the return leg of the building and then walk back its length on the outside to St. Peters. Several kilometres of walking in total. Hence the first half is an absolute nightmare until the crowds thin after the Chapel. It is very hard to stop to look at anything and full of tour groups surrounding all the best bits. I found it like trying to read a good book with someone else turning the pages just a bit too fast. All of which is a pity as the sheer immensity of the buildings, the richness of the paintings, and the number of objects which they have purloined over the centuries is mind-boggling.

The Sistine Chapel is impressive but, embedded in so many other wonderful rooms, doesn’t stand out as much as expected. Clearly it is the highlight as it is packed with people all looking at the ceiling and strictly controlled by guards who rigorously enforce the “no photographs” rule. As we arrived we witnessed an angry young American (wearing shorts and a cap - both not allowed) delete his photos from his cellphone and then get directed to the exit by the equally angry guards, who added he was disrespectful.  We're inclined to agree with the guards - the rules are clearly stated - if you don't like the rules, don't go there.







Back near the start we found a cafĂ© with seats outside in a garden, cheap prices, and quiet – where were all those thousands in that queue? Joan and I decided to relax there while the girls went back for a second go at some of the rooms. I was very impressed by what was in the museum and that it was all immaculate, but I didn’t enjoy the experience: far too many touts, far too many people, too rushed through the wonders, too much to take in.  We did walk around to the square and saw the church from the outside, but couldn’t face another queue to get in.

With limited time there is a temptation to walk around and try and see everything, with the result that you get very tired and don't enjoy the experience or really appreciate what you see. Unfortunately with limited time there are limited choices, you could sit in a cafe and enjoy life going past but then it is a long way to come to just do that. So we walked and walked and made it to the Trevi fountain even though we knew it was covered in scaffolding. Though you can't now appreciate how beautiful it is nor the scale, the crowds were smaller and they had built a bridge right up to the front of the sculptures so it did give a different view. My two (other than the Colosseum) favourite Roman sites are the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona. The Pantheon impresses both for its size and sheer age: 1900 years old. It had rained the previous night so the centre of the dome inside was roped off as it is open to the sky and water drains off the slightly concave floor.

The Pantheon
The Piazza Navona contains three beautiful fountains. I didn't take any photos this year so some from last year will have to suffice.






 


As it was our second to last night together we went out for a Roman meal, trying suppli and numerous other dishes our over-enthusiastic waiter/chef decided we ought to have, regardless of what we had actually ordered. We were completely stuffed by the end. Certainly an experience to remember but we weren't keen on all the staff smoking nor watching the restaurant rubbish being wheeled out through the restaurant! The following night we kept it simple and had Chinese in a very hygienic restaurant ...

Joan and Julie's Italian holiday was now over and we accompanied them to the airport train with a few tears in all our eyes. They were very easy to travel with and it was so good to share their wonder and excitement. We will certainly miss them and it reminds us that traveling is often best when you can share the experience.

Friday 17 October 2014

Viterbo

Just another town on the way ...
We continued our theme of village sightseeing by spending a few days at Viterbo, about 1 hour’s drive north of Rome, before finishing our holiday in the busy-ness of the ancient city. This was partly because Vicki had seen some amazing images of villages in this area, and secondly because that was where we found suitable Airbnb accommodation.




Grapes on the way ...
Driving down from Tuscany was glorious and I regretted having arranged to meet our Airbnb host at 3pm as we could easily have spent hours and hours more on the road, or, more precisely, standing next to the road taking pictures. The southern Tuscan scenery is full of rolling farmland with big stone farmhouses and long lines of trees flanking their driveways. The picture at the top of the previous post is a great example. Just after taking it we remarked that all it needed was a red car on the driveway. As we then drove past the entrance we saw three red Ferraris driving up it for a photo shoot!! Needless to say there was nowhere for us to stop …

Viterbo has a nice old walled centre surrounded by a larger modern town. Our apartment was in a newish block just a short walk away from an entrance gateway to the old town and turned out to be beautiful and modern inside. The best accommodation we have had to date.

Only one way in ...
Our first day trip was to Civita di Bagnoregio. Though 2,500 years old its population dwindled to just 6 a few years ago as bits of the town keep falling off due to erosion, though personally I think it is more to do with having to carry your shopping up the hill. It is now an island reached only by the long toll bridge (3 euros for entry and we were all puffing by the time we got to the town). Inside it is quaint and very neat with nothing modern, if you excuse the numerous cafes. Tourism is its only chance of survival.
Momentarily tourist-free
Starting the walk



Gelati on the beach



Driving down to Viterbo we passed the largest volcanic lake in Europe, Lago di Bolsena.  As it looked so pretty from the hills as you drive past we decided to return. The town of Bolsena is built on the lakeside with a small harbour and a good swimming beach. It has some very upmarket villas that we imagine are owned by wealthy Romans. On a warm day we sat beside the beach at a near-empty restaurant drinking cappuccinos and eating gelato, watching the fishermen, and not wanting to leave. A delightful spot though I imagine on a hot summer 
weekend it would be anything but.


Yet another picturesque village on our itinerary for the day. Vitorchiano is spectacular and not overly touristy. We walked up to the tourist viewing point overlooking the town (why are there no footpaths on these narrow roads?) for the obligatory snaps and I was surprised to find in the carpark the only Easter Island statue outside of Easter Island! At least the placard claimed that was the case. Outside of the main gate into the town were three gentlemen who took a shine to Julie (or was it the other way around?), especially when she asked for their photograph and was invited to sit with them. Inside the town was tourist-free with just the friendly locals out for their evening walk.

Irresistible?
Unexpected

















As the last afternoon in Viterbo looked a bit dodgy weather-wise we decided not to venture too far. Indeed we were treated to a spectacular thunderstorm later that evening. We had read about the various hot springs in the area, well-known to the Romans. Some may well now be inside posh spas but the three that we found were very basic and un-signposted.  The first was in a field past a Roman ruin down a dusty gravel road and was fenced off with a carpark that deteriorated into an area full of campervans, possibly full of Germans. We had a wander around the various pools (not too hot) and there were a few people in them. Five euros admission gave access to the 'portacabin' change rooms and a toilet. We declined the offer and went in search of more. The next two we found were in fields next to an airforce base. Both were free but had no facilities at all, just a few Italians lounging in the warmer pools. Both had a central fenced-off area where the water was bubbling to the surface which was then channeled into a race that filled the various pools. Not all of them looked clean. Once again we declined the experience.


As we departed Viterbo to drive to Rome we said goodbye to our lovely host Elena. She presented each of us with gifts: handmade (by her mum) crocheted cacti in terracotta pots. Hard to know what to say.

Thursday 16 October 2014

In Tuscany


It is not surprising that Tuscany is the area that tourists and expats flock to. It hosts many of the famous towns (Florence, Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano) that feature on many travel itineraries, as well as beautiful varied countryside from high hills down to the sea. There is also a lot of industry in this area so it is a wealthy province, as you suddenly notice when you head over the border south and the roads instantly crumble!

The larger towns can be explored easily using the good – and cheap - train connections. Indeed, having a car is a liability in these places as, apart from the traffic chaos, finding a park is near impossible. Which might explain why so many have small cars that seem to be abandoned on corners, median strips, and across pedestrian crossings!  But to sample the countryside and see the smaller villages a car is a must, so we duly picked up our Fiat 500L (“L” must be for “Large” or “Long” as though it looked like a Fiat 500 from the front, it had room for five adults and bags – more family estate size). 

Using our Google maps on the phone (better than piles of maps, but a satnav would have been MUCH easier!) we steered south to the wonderfully-named Poggibonsi.  Though the name was the best thing going for it, our accommodation was up in the hills nearby with glorious views across the countryside of olive groves and vines and ploughed fields.  The swimming pool was very inviting too, but all pools we have come across here are unheated and it was getting a bit chilly by this time of year.

When checking the rooms Vicki discovered a snake which promptly stopped sunning itself and slithered out the window of Joan and Julie’s bedroom. We decided it best not to tell them until we were leaving! Also on the “cons” side was the number of mozzies, but then we seem to have had them everywhere we have been in Italy and have been bitten virtually every day. But on the positive side the other wildlife here was a red squirrel that kept up its hunt for acorns in the trees on the property, promptly hiding them in all sorts of nooks and crannies for trees to start sprouting later.

The nearest town of note is San Gimignano, photogenically built on top of a hill and featuring 14 remaining tall brick towers. Unfortunately we weren’t the first tourists to “discover” it as we had to drive around and around the base of the town looking for a space in one of the many public car-parking areas. With all the tourists there is money so the town was well cared-for and has expansive views.  Unfortunately the town itself is best viewed from afar and it is difficult to find a good place to photograph it from.
Detail of a foyer ceiling outside a bank


The other well-known destination nearby is Siena. Driving there on the auto route was not pleasant as the lanes are quite narrow and the road surface in poor condition. Surprisingly the speed limit is only 90 kmh and, more surprisingly, most people kept to it. Siena is large but we had no trouble getting a park near the entrance to the “Centro Storico”.   Like Florence there 
were flocks of tourists and expensive shops, with most people congregating at the Piazza del Campo, the large central square famous for the twice-yearly horse race, the Palio di Siena. You may remember it as the backdrop to a scene in Casino Royale. On the day we visited there was a less exciting human running race starting. We did have a “wow” moment when climbing the steps at the back on the Cathedral thinking “this looks quite good” and then walking around to see the front – it is truly amazing. Built in 1380 it intended to be the largest cathedral in the world before the money ran out.

Time for the beach
You can only be a tourist for so many days in a row, so it was off to the seaside for us. The drive across Tuscany to the sea is fabulous but you do wonder at the wisdom of a steep climb up numerous hairpins so that the road can go through one important town and then back down the other side – a prime case for a bypass to be built, though I am sure that the local business people would put a stop to that. There are many good beaches on this western coast, but finding one on a hot Sunday afternoon with a free carpark was a real challenge. The sand was white(ish), the sea was warm(ish), there was plenty of room, only a few hawkers selling rubbish to bored kids and parents – not a bad spot for some R&R.

Ancient historic masterpiece ...
Passing through a small village in the hills we noticed the gathering of many Italian classic cars outside a bar. Numerous immaculate Fiat Bambinas and Alfas. More Italian historic treasures!







Vicki had a deja-vu moment while in Tuscany. We had driven up a hill past a village and I had got her to stop so I could hop out and take a photo. No one else was particularly interested in the scene so I wandered past a carpark and what looked like a social club for elderly gents and took this photo. A few days later when I was processing it Vicki saw it on my screen and recognised it immediately. A few years ago friends of ours, Glen and Irene, had been given an image of an Italian town that they asked Vicki to “fix up” so that they could print it and hang it on their wall. The image was taken from exactly the same location and we can now confirm that the town is Colle Val D’Elsa.











So our final thoughts on Tuscany just confirm what all the tourist guides say – it contains many of the pretty historic towns and cities, all set in picturesque countryside.  A beautiful area to explore by car.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Florence

Vicki’s favourite city. Possibly mine too. There is so much to like about this city starting with the lack of modern buildings which makes the whole place (mainly 5-storey brick or stone buildings with tiled roofs) look much as it must have hundreds of years ago (if you excuse the traffic and TV aerials) and with just the major churches standing out.  Hard to imagine a better film set. Everywhere you look there is another museum, statue, 15th Century Palazzo, or tourist. There is very little traffic too with only taxis, service vehicles and emergency services being allowed in, plus the numerous locals out on cycles competing with the foot traffic. And what foot traffic – the downside to being a place that people want to visit is that people want to visit. As well as the hordes of young foreigners attending the various international art schools, there are tour groups everywhere. It is hard to walk in a straight line down any street without avoiding a tour leader waving a flag and speaking into a microphone, followed by a herd of lemmings with their earpieces firmly attached.

We were lucky in having an Airbnb apartment just a few metres away from the Arno river near the centre of town. The apartment was in one of the old buildings with 14th Century “features”, though lucky these didn’t stretch to the amenities - these were tastefully modern. “Lucky” is relative as we found that there was a nightclub underneath us plus the noise of traffic reverberating between the stone buildings kept us awake most nights.

The ceiling of the Duomo
We had hoped that Joan would accompany us up the 400-odd steps to the top of the dome of the Duomo and had encouraged her to get herself fit for this over the last few months. As it turned out she was a little worn out by the previous travelling and left us to it, which turned out to be a wise choice. For a bargain 10 euros you get a 24-hour ticket to see inside the Duomo, climb to the top and also to ascend the neighbouring bell-tower.










 


Though last year we had climbed 
Giotto's Campanile (bell tower)
completed 1359
the dome we were keen to redo it with Julie so, avoiding the lengthy queue to enter the cathedral (apart from its immensity there isn’t much to see inside) we took the side entrance and climbed up inside the dome. The steps are narrow and at times you have to wait while others squeeze past in the opposite direction. Luckily there aren’t many wide people attempting it! As an attraction there are several highlights: one is walking around the balcony inside the dome looking way down at the people on the floor below and being able to admire the ceiling paintings very close up – and the large cracks too! Coming from Christchurch we just think “one good earthquake …”. The next highlight is squeezing up the steps between the two layers of dome – to reduce the weight the dome is actually two, an inner and an outer. And the views from the top, as it is the highest point in the city, are wonderful. As we were feeling so good after this climb we finished by climbing the 414 steps of the bell-tower! We were very ready for lunch by this time.

Just another room in the Pitti Palace
Napoleon's bathroom
Luckily we have already toured the Uffizi so we weren’t tempted to spend hours queuing followed by hours wandering eternal corridors of Renaissance paintings … so this time we tried the Pitti Palace, a very imposing stone building that turned out to be elegant inside. Each succeeding invader had added their own touches, from the Medicis to the French and the Austrians. As you wander the corridors each state room has grander and grander painted ceilings. There is a rather cold looking bathroom made for Napoleon with a (short) marble bath in it. And as well as all the Renaissance paintings adorning the walls there was an incredibly good “modern” section, principally 19th Century French and European artists.

We had arranged to take Marina (our host from last year) out to dinner to her favourite pizza restaurant, where she had taken us on our last evening in Florence. She was staying at her townhouse so we met her there for aperitifs (with her son Lorenzo) which was very interesting for Joan and Julie to see inside one of the grand old houses. Last year we had learnt that less is more, i.e. the simple pizzas have so much flavour, like a Margherita, that adding more ingredients doesn’t help. On the way home Marina drove us up to the Pizzale Michangelo for the beautiful views over Florence by night. Like all in Italy who grow olives, Marina is concerned about this year’s crop. There is so much olive fly about most of the Mediterranean is doomed to have poor crops. They have been advised to pick very early while there are still a few olives left on the trees. Once the fly has laid its eggs in the olive they ripen very quickly (turn black) and fall off.

Despite the numerous historic attractions of Florence, the girls probably enjoyed the markets most. Florence is famed for leather and, alongside the numerous high class shops selling coasts and bags and gloves, there are many market stalls offering goods at very reasonable prices. Vicki came away with (only) a leather jacket and belt, to go with her leather gloves from San Remo (where the gloves were much less expensive than those in Florence).  She's [almost] looking forward to returning to cooler climes so she'll be able to wear the jacket and gloves!

So after a noisy and crowded sensory experience in Florence it was time to pick up a hire car and escape to the Tuscan countryside.