The final day.....

It was sad to think this was the last full day we had in Italy before flying home tomorrow.

But we weren't going to waste it: our last hurrah was a day spent driving through Tuscany and Lazio to get to Bracciano , 50 kms from the Rome Airport.

But before we collected the car I went in search of Siena panforte to take home: a great idea except that it weighs a lot more than most souvenirs and I was a little concerned about the weight limit for luggage!
(PS. Turned out we were 1.6 kgs under weight so I could have bought more!

We piled everything into the litlle blue Fiat Panda and headed for the countryside.

You'll be thrilled to hear that the tuscan countryside looks exactly like the photos: green rolling hills, symmetrical rows of grapevines and olive trees, tall thin cypresses and lots of ochre and pink coloured farmhouses in various states of repair. The sun was shining and the roads quiet.

We passed through lots of little, and some surprisingly large, towns with very italian names - Grosseta, Albinia, Canino, Tuscania, Manciano, Vetralla. All of them appeared to have a solid stone ancient town wall with some sort of fortress or castle perched at the highest point. Relics of times when protection was paramount.

We had some chuckles about our appalling timing. Having been in some larger tourist towns for the past few days we had totally forgotten that the rest of Italy closes down completely from about 1 till 3-4 pm every afternoon. I was hoping to buy a specific chocolate that I knew was available at one of the supermarket chains here, called Coop. When we arrived at one of these towns I suggested to Ewan that we buy some proscuitto, chees, bread, etc for a picnic lunch and find a spot on the beach to eat it  (my ulterior motive was to find the chocolate I was after). So, we locate the supermarket and off I go thinking about all of the required ingredients for a feast, only to find that the supermarket closed at 1pm and it was now 1.09pm. Damn. Not to worry, I think, we'll go to one after 3pm when they will probably be open. Lunch at the local pasticceria instead of the picnic and a few towns later we locate another Coop. Looking good, as it is 3.30pm:until I reach the door and realise it's not open until 4pm. Damn again. Finally located the chocolate when we reached Bracciano in the evening. Honestly such a performance!

And of course the two castles we were hoping to have a closer look at weren't open either, just to add insult to injury!

Nevertheless we had a very pleasant day off the beaten track. It's a very different experience when you aren't in the tourist traps. It took us ages to locate a restaurant for our last dinner as most of them aren't open as it's mid-week, and few tourists around. Fortunately it was a lovely restaurant and we had superb food and wine: prosecco, mussels, gorgonzola and pear tortellini and fish morsels. Fantastic.

We'd booked a B&B which turned out to be the size of a huge flat in a modern house. Plenty of room to swing a cat, which was lucky because the owners have 23 of them and one poor dog - an Australian cattle dog no less!

Over dinner we discussed the last 6 weeks and all that we have seen and done. It's been a great combination of seeing the famous towns and cities of Italy interspersed with spending time in the country enjoying the mountains, lakes and scenery. We've seen some  amazing historical, religious  and modern art , and probably more churches than we really needed to! And that applies to Madonna and Child paintings , and paintings of the Crucifixion. There's definitely a limit to those.

Staying in one country for an extended period is a great idea as you get a better understanding of the culture , the nuances of the language and the everyday lives that the locals lead.

But there is so much more to see, so we will have to return some day and fill in the gaps. 

Your contented- to-be -going-home traveller signing off,

Dianne

Homeward bound....almost

Monday 14th October

Today we started to head in the direction of Rome and home. So sad as there is so much more to see!

We started the day queuing up early to see the Duomo or St Mark's Basilica in the Piazza San Marco . The last time I saw it, 35 years ago, I was amazed by the gold mosaics, so I was determined to go back to see if it was as beautiful as I remembered. It is currently being renovated so the outside is partly covered but the inside was magnificent.

Despite the large signs clearly comunicating that no photos were allowed most of the tourists were snapping away happily, which I find very annoying. I didn't take photos inside but I did manage to take some of the entrance . The height of the domed ceiling, the finely detailed marble mosaic floor and the amazing frescoes composed of tiny mosaic tiles, with backgrounds made from real gold  make it one of the most impressive Duomos, and just as beautiful as I remembered it.

Having ticked that off the list, we headed to the Train station on the first legs of our trip to Rome so we can depart for home on Thursday. Firstly we caught a Frecci Argento train to Florence: it only took two hours as the train reached speeds over 200kph. A very smooth ride indeed. Ewan has been keen to experience all of the varieties of Freccio trains but unfortunately we haven't managed to get on the fastest: the Freccio Rossa.Then we caught the regional train to Siena where we will spend a couple of nights wandering around the hills of the old town.

Later.....
When we arrived we had to make the big decision about getting from the Station to the Locanda ( little hotel) where we were staying. Usually we rely on good old Gloria and Google maps to give directions and then wheel our cases if it's not too far or get a taxi or a bus if we can work out how. Ewan's wheels on his new case have been getting overheated and one started to squeak so he has been using soap to grease the wheel before we set off. When it started to rain in Como as we headed for the station I was a bit worried that his case would start to froth and leave a trail of bubbles! But it was fine. Mind you the italian cobblestones are enought to test any set of wheels - and legs if it comes to that!

Anyway  Gloria said it was going to take 34 minutes to walk to the Locanda, and we knew that Siena was hilly so we made a VERY good decision to catch a taxi. If you had seen the twists and turns the taxi took, up hill and down dale, in and out of alleyways that were mostly one way and on rough stone streets you would agree that it was 10 euros well spent. When we finally fell out of the taxi we had no idea where we were or which direction was north.

After getting some directions from the Receptionist, and aided by a detailed map, we had a quick wander around the Piazzo del Campo : a huge round sloped Piazza , and had a quick look at the Duomo from the outside, but we'll explore more of the old town tomorrow. Dinner at the local Osterria was pasta and risotto , and much cheaper than Venice tourist prices too.

Tuesday 15th October

We awoke to grey skies but hopeful of some sunshine to warm the day as we walked, strolled and climbed our way around the attractions of the old city of Siena. This is another Unesco rated city and has many well-preserved buildings dating as far back as the 14th century . As usual there is a large old city wall for protection, a huge Duomo and a very high tower just waiting to be climbed. We had to wait until 10.30 before purchasing our OPA pass which gave us entry into 6 sites around the Duomo.

Asyou can see from the photos the outside of the Duomo is definitely Gothic wedding cake design and made from pink and white marble which has been sculpted into fine lace. The inside was just as amazing and for once we had timed our arrival perfectly. The feature the Siena Duomo is known for is the intricate marble floors, unlike anything we had seen elsewhere. There are 56 panels depicting historical and religious events and such intricate work. But the floors are only uncovered for about 8 weeks every year in rder to preserve them, and we were lucky to be able to see them.

The pillars and walls of the Duomo are striped with dark and light granite/marble, and there are enormous frescoes and lots of stained glass. I particularly love the ceilings we've seen in lots of churches where the ceiling is painted a deep blue and gold stars are scattered across them, as they were here.The overall effect is stunning. There's not a plain piece of wall or floor anywhere, so if you like busy, then this is the Duomo for you. Very ornate and colourful, both inside and out.

One of the other special features is the Libreria Piccolomini (small library) which had huge hand written and hand painted books from the 14th Century: such bright colours and in good condition.

Then we visited a number of buildings that are part of the Duomo complex,  filled with statues, plans for the mosaic floors, more frescoes, paintings and even one room where there were 10 Madonna and Child paintings (Ewan counted them!) I find it surprising that the madonnas never seem to look happy, they look blank or mysterious or smug, and occasionally have a glimmer of a smile, but never happy!  Some of these were really beautifully crafted  with lots of gold haloes and finally textured gold 'fabrics'.  Superb craftsmanship.

One of these buildings was the Cripta, a room underneath the main church which was only discovered in 1999 and filled with frescoes about a pope whoc came from Siena. We also climbed to the top level of one of the church buildings to get a view of the terracotta rooftops and crowded buildings of Siena.

Although that view wasn't good enough for Ewan. He  had been eyeing off the Torre del Mangia at the Palazzo Communale, the old civic buildings of the city. As you can see from the photos, it's very high and has more than 500 steps to reach the top. I decided to forgo the joy of climbing to the top and go shopping for the best panforte in Siena. Ewan was only allowed to take a camera and no other items with him, so imagine his delight when the batteries in the camera were exhausted after he took about 10 photos and, of course, I had the new batteries. He exchanged a few texts with his friend Andy in Australia from the top as the phone reception was great. He sent me a text saying "Batteries in camera exhausted, but not me!".

Meanwhile I had purchased some very nice panforte which is a traditional sweet from here. It's a mixture of dried fruit, spices, nuts and sometimes  chococolate. Very chewy and undoubtedly good for you as it has fruit in it. Notice how I can justify any sweet and sickly treat as somehow being a good thing!

Needless to say Ewan's Achilles tendon didn't appreciate the strain, so after a few more lanes and alleys we returned to the hotel for a rest, and ice for his foot. Brilliant timing as there was a downpour just after we arrived back.

Once rested we headed off to the same restaurant as the previous night - not very adventurous I know, but lovely food! - and had some  grilled  pork and veal braised in chianti with vegetables. Excellent rainy weather food we thought.

Off towards Rome tomorrow for our last day.

Your panforte expert

Dianne

The idiosyncracies of Italy

Here's my list of the weird and wonderful:

Queuing:
You can spot the tourist a mile off because they will be the ones in a nice neat line waiting patiently. The locals just hang around looking innocent somewhere in the vicinity and then merge into the front of the queue when there is some action. And we are all so polite noone complains!

Change:
At every shop, stall, ticket office etc etc the staff never have any chnage! If you present them with a 50 euro note they look horrified (regardless of the price of the object you are purchasing!) Then they  put their hand on their brow and shake their heads and ask if you have smaller money. Then they shrug their shoulders and laugh and say "No change!!!" It's quite a performance. If it looks as if you won't be able to buy the item unless they find some change, magically they can !

Police:
I have never seen such a range of different types of Police, and so many of them as I have seen here. There are local police, financial police ( fraud, taxes, corruption) regional police, city police ( the only ones without guns !), transport police, carabinieri.. ...and who knows what else. They all have very impressive uniforms with lots of badges, gold braid, piping and snappy hats. And they are usually impeccably groomed. At the football match they were equipped with batons, helmets and shields and they were frightening. If you were thinking of being a hooligan you'd take one look and think twice! They drive Alfa Romeo police cars too.

Smoking:
It's no surprise to hear that lung cancer is the most common cancer here, as many of the locals smoke , particularly the younger population. Whilst smoking is banned inside  buildings, you can smoke in outside restaurants, so we became fairly adept at trying to sit near tourists in outside venues, as they were less likely to smoke than the Italians. There are cigarette machines everywhere and tiny Tabacchis ( which sell a huge range of cigarettes).

Interestingly, there are also lots of electronic cigarette shops with enticing names, selling the new alternative to cigarettes. They are a sort of pretend cigarette that use steam and herbs to give you the feel of smoking without the actual tobacco. We saw lots of the stores, but never anyone in them.

Pedestrians:

I have already commented on driving in Sicily and, having driven through more of Italy now, my comments pertain to all of Italy too. Being a pedestrian in Italy is a tricky business. To cross a road takes a certain amount of courage, and some local knowledge about the possibility of the local drivers adhering to, or totally ignoring, the road laws about giving way to pedestrians.

In Como I watched a woman walking a small dog step on to the pedestrian crossing totally oblivious to a 4WD bearing down upon her. She merely held up one hand towards the driver and kept going, whilst the car screeched to a stop. Such bravery! I have been more willing to just go across roads than Ewan, who keeps shaking his head and muttering. Otherwise you can stand there forever and the drivers who do comply have no idea what you are going to do. All very confusing.

Greetings:

Trying to determine the right greeting for the right time of day is fraught with problems . There is the more formal Buongiorno  (good day) which is usually used in the morning, but can be used all day. Then after lunch there is Buonsera which really means good evening but can be used in the afternoon. I was listening to a guy greet two people at about 3pm and to one he said Buonasera and to the other Buongiorno! Good grief. And then there is Ciao which can mean hello or goodbye and is more informal. If you see what I mean it's enough to make you say hello and be done with trying to speak italian!!!

One of  the joys of traveling is experiencing all of the idiosyncrasies out the country you're in, and their peculiar ways!

At any point there is usually someone happy to help you work out what' s going and the Italians are no exception. We've loved it!

Aaaaaah..........the food!

As we approach our last few days in Italy I feel it would be very remiss of me to not mention the food as it has truly been a highlight of the trip.

There are endless possibilities for places to eat, even in the tiniest towns. Trattorias and ristourantes are the formal restauranst , but there are also Osterrias where local simpler food is served, or enotecas for snacks, or bars for coffee and pastries for breakfast, or Spritzs later in the day. And so many other options as well. Unfortunately MacDonalds are everywhere... but here they have the title 'bar pizzeria'.

All of the locals disappears at lunchtime for a full dinner at home. In some small towns everything including shops and eateries close down completely and the choices are very limited. You know if you are in a tourist town when more eateries stay open for the 2-3 hours in the middle of the day.

Coffee rules,  and everyone drinks lots of it. Usually standing up in a local Bar. Yeterday we went into a tiny Bar at about 8.30am and ordered coffee. A local elderly mama came in , ordered an espresso , drank it in one gulp and left - her daily ritual. Ewan has been drinking espresso macciatos: a shot of hot espresso sometimes with a slug of cold milk and sometimes hot. I started drinking caffe lattes but they were sometimes so much milk and so little coffee that they were tasteless, so I swapped to cappucinos which have more coffee and less milk. Here in Venice the lattes are not so milky so I've changed back again. It's a fine art getting the coffee you want, but the locals drink a lot of it and all day long.

Breakfast is usually a coffee and a cornetto - an italian version of a croissant - or some type of pastry. Often eaten standng up at the Bar.

Late in the afternoon is apertivos time : beer or wine or campari, or in Venice a Spritz. Often served with hot snacks or bruschettas, olives etc.

We have sampled lots of local delicacies, especially where they involved desserts (there's a surprise!). The sicilian ricotta cannoli was delicious and they go for very lurid bright coloured cakes there. The polenta cakes, fig bread and tortes in Bergamo were great and the almond tarts here in Venice superb. And tiramisu everywhere! The tripe in Florence we could live without, but the genoese basil pesto and pasta was great.

The pizzas here are made on a very thin crunchy base with a simple range of toppings. Much lighter than the Australian version.

And the pasta: salmon ravioli and gnocchi with scallops, green basol pasta with genoese sauce, trotellini and porcini lasagne....all fantastic. As was the risottos, often made with few ingredients. Pear walnut and gorgonzola was the favourite.

And the gelati - you will see from the blog we have tried lots of flavours, and when we are exhausted from sightseeing it has been a great pick-me-up. Nociella, baci and pistachio were the favourites. Very creamy and fresh.

The tomatoes here are small ripe and have so much flavour. The peaches and nectarines are huge , juicy and sweet.

As for the salami and proscuitto it's soft and delicious and cheap! We've had lots in piadinas, panzorettis, calzones and lots of other  hot pastries with fillings inside. Often with porcini mushrooms and buffalo mozzarella - all fresh and flavourful.

Ewan considers me a poor travelling companion as I won't help hm drink a bottle of red wine, but he's sampled some great reds and has even managed to get me to drink - and enjoy! - some Valpolleco red wine.

Enough raving : here's some photos , some of which are a bit odd as I was trying to take them quickly in restaurants!

Weight watchers here we come!

Dianne

So cultured.......us and the Venice Biennale

Sunday 13th October

As it happened, our visit to Venice has coincided with the Venice Biennale which runs for 5 months every two years. It is a massive event with most countries of the world displaying some of their best modern art in modest pavilions scattered across the largest Gardens we had seen in Venice.  For those without their own pavilion they exhibit in larger pavilions in  II Palazzo Enciclopedico and the ancient Arsenale overlooking the Grand Canal. We had also seen some Biennale artwork in old churches, museums and galleries across the city: everywhere you look there are big red signs with the Biennale logo and the name of the Country exhibiting.

So today we spent all day strolling around the gardens, wandering in and out of  all of the pavilions proudly bearing the name of the country represented. When we first arrived I couldn't see Australia on the list and was disappointed: but I wasn't looking at the complete list and we did have a pavilion.

As we approached the exhibitions area we realised how little grass we had seen since we arrived in Venice. The city is so compact and full of paved laneways, stairways and canals there is little or no space for greenery, except the occasional planter box in a window or in a pot outside a hotel. Some of the dogs and kids we saw probably never get to stand ( or wee or pooh - the dogs I mean!) on grass at all. The kids use the local piazzas or squares to run around in and play ball games, and we've had to duck a few times when a soccer ball goes whizzing past.

We spent many hours viewing so much modern art that we were completely overwhelmed by the end. The art ranged from beautiful to extraordinary to horrifying to completely mystifying. Some of it consisted of enromous scupltures and some were tiny miniatures, and everything in between. And there was only one Madonna and Child painting in the whole exhibition!

One of the first exhibits was a few groups of rocks which we weren't too sure could be classified as art: Ewan commented that it looked as if we had arrived at a Garden Supplies place (!). 

The topcs ranged from a comic book version of the new testamant to sculpture depicting the psychotic symptoms of patients in a psychiatric institution, to light rods through furniture (NZs contribution) to multimedia videos about everything. If you really read every word of explanation and watched every multimedia installation I think you could be there for weeks. The best I can do is put in a few photos so you can judge for yourselves! Check out the first one: this exhibit was sculpture carved from old books: fascinating and clever.

The Australian pavilion was partly open air and had a nice feel to it. The work displayed consisted of some pieces constructed from words from newspapers and some aerial shots of the open cut mines in WA that looked very golden. Not startling but interesting.

Alhtough there were people from all over, judging by the range of accents, it wasn't too busy and we saw everything we wanted to.  I do have to apologise to Sarajevo and Azerbaijan as we ran out of puff by the time we got to them!

The Arsenale building where some of the artwork was housed has a long history beginning when Venice was a wealthy trading port and could produce a ship a day. Three huge long buildings reflected the size of the wealth and the importance  of Venice in the 13th century, and are perfect for the Biennale now.Very impressive. A huge rusty old crane is all that's left of the machinery: alhtough initially we weren't sure if it was a work of art or a piece of history!

On the way home we noticed a couple of very sleek private yachts morred on the shore. We had a alaugh when we saw the name of a very glamourous black one: it was called My Trust Fund! Very cute.

We headed for home and revived ourselves with spritz and a snack on the way at our favourite bar. After some quiet time at home (trying to finish our Venice-based murder mysteries) we wandered back towards the Grand Canal and found a small trattoria where we sat outside to enjoy the Venetian ambience on our last night. We enjoyed some fabulous tender mussels in a tasty tomato sauce. Ewan had some corn linguine with anchovies and cinnamon. A very odd combination but  delicious.

We have become very proficient at navigating the lanes to find our way home, although once it gets dark everything looks so different. Every walking trip to anywhere involves lots of twisting and turning lanes and stairways which can all look the same in the dark. You soon learn to look for particular touch points to assist your navigation - a planter box, a shop selling white masks, a letter box and even a rubbish bin. My advice is to definitely stay on the islands that make up Venice as you become part of it. If you were staying on the mainland and just visited every day it would be a very different experience.

When we reached home, Anna, the woman who owns the apartment was there: we had been trying to catch up with her so she had popped around to see if we were in. She is a very vivacious older woman who is an art historian and tour guide. We had a long discussion over a cup of Earl Grey tea and she answered lots of our questions and gave us lots of information about Venice. She thoght we were very observant tourists and was very impressed with our 'passion' to gain knowledge.

A good day was had by all.

Your arty farty correspondent

Dianne

Out and about in Venice

We got off to a slow start this morning after a busy day yesterday.

We were trying to second guess the weather as it had rained during the night and was supposed to be a 'mainly cloudy' day, just for a change. That seems to be the only weather forecast available for this region. Of course as the day progressed the sun came out and the clouds disappeared.

After a walk along our bit of the shoreline and past the Ospedale, we jumped on a ferry and headed to Murano, the island famous for its hand blown glass. I hadn't realised but the imressive bulding and brick fence on a tiny island just off the Ospedale shoreline was the cemetery: not such a great spot so close to the Hospital!

Having seen lots of glassware in Venice we were hoping that we might be able to pick up a nice piece for home in Murano. We wandered in and out of the showrooms and got caught in a very large two storey one with a very persistent salesperson. Anything that we would even consider was thousands of euros so we came away empty-handed. Most of it was too lurid and multicoloured for me , but we could appreciate the artistry required to produce such unique pieces.

The Glass Museum had some interesting displays of some very old glass starting in the1st century AD, and through the centuries.

After a few more shops my head started to spin with all the colour and choices. The vases I would have loved, and had been admiring in Venice, were more than $400 each so I thought I'd survive without any. (And being very practical I tried to work out how many new kitchen cabinet doors that would be! Our kitchen needs renovating badly, but Italy seemed a better option.....).

Sustaining our interest with an almond tart, we caught a ferry to Burano which is a very cute island famous for its lace making. Most of the lace on offer and affordable was definitely not made in Burano. A visit to the Lace Museum didn't really help our understanding of how lace is made, althogh there were beautiful samples of lace from many centuries. Ewan kept asking me about the  lacemaking process, but the closest I have been to lacemaking is to embroider my name on the gym bag I made in Form 3 Needlework! Not much help. Finally in one of the shops we saw a lace maker in action and could see how the intricate patterns are created. So much time and patience required.

It seems as if it's a dying art in Burano as the young girls don't have the patience to spend hours on one tiny item, and prefer to move away from the island.

The island has very beautiful bright coloured houses which makes it very picturesque, but most of the lace on sale came from China or elsehere. So we left empty-handed again!

The boat trip back provided the opportunity to rest and for Ewan to have a siesta. As we headed off to our apartment for a cup of tea I veered off and went to a tiny leather shop that I had been admiring in the laneway near us. Without Ewan there to assist with my purchases (or get in the way depending on whose viewpoint you are coming from!) I bought two leather bags : a coffee coloured one and a red and black suede one. Both very nice and simple, and not too expensive. The problem with italian clothes and accessories is that they tend to be a bit glitzy for me: bits of gold or lace , a gold chain or two, some sequins etc etc: just not my style. But this shop had some simple well-designed leather so I was pleased with my purchases ( but there goes a kitchen cupboard door!).

After a reviving cup of tea and venetian biscuits, we went for a wander to go to an art gallery that had been recommended. Most of them stay open until 7pm but of course this one closed at 6pm which didn't give us enough time for a good look so we didn't bother. Instead we wandered around the narrow alleyways checking out the endless souvenir shops full of glassware and venetian masks next door to exclusive stores such as Louis Vuitton, Zegna, Prada etc: such an odd mix!

As we hadn't participated in the venetian tradition of a 'spritz' pre-dinner drink we went to a tiny bar and ordered one. They are very drinkable and bright orange. On offer are a range of fried bits - arancini balls, stuffed zuccini flowers,  crumbed crabs claws- and mini pizzas, bruschetta etc. A very pleasant way to wind down after a hard day of sightseeing.

Before finding a trattoria for dinner we wandered along the shore, to see another huge cruise liner departing, this time minus the italian opera at full volume. It's estimated that 22 million people visit Venice each year, and up to 150,000 per day at peak times. I'm sure most of them pour out of these ships as they are HUGE!

We seem to have spent a lot of time in Venice just wandering around , and getting lost occaisionally. The narrow laneways can sometimes be smelly and dark, but often open out into a square with a church and kids playing , or they run into a set of stairs and a tiny bridge to cross one of the endless canals. It's never dull, but can be very confusing. And the buildings are always interesting and in various states of disrepair . Those that look the best-kept tend to be the hotels rather than the residents homes. Living in Venice would be a challenge for a family with few open spaces and an expensive cost of living. For tourists it is magic though!

Your tired but happy correspondent ( not a religious painting in sight today!)

Dianne

We found a nice little trattoria and had some pasta before heading back to the apartment to plan our last few days in Italy. Very sad.