Naturally, this is copied from the typed-up copy as I didn’t have a blog until 2010! This bit goes from Vienna to Paris, but we didn’t write much about Paris, apparently.
There will eventually be a slideshow…
Link to Part 2.
Link to Part 3
Date:
Friday, November 17
Location:
Sydney International Airport
Weather:
Warm and Sunny, 22°
Notes:
Waiting in Departure Lounge. We are both nervous and a little tense. This isn’t quite what we should be feeling before our first ever European adventure. The check through Customs was much quicker that expected. The hanging around only adds to the tension.
Date:
Saturday, 18 November
Location:
Heathrow Airport
Weather:
Sunny but cool
Notes:
Arrived at 6.10 a.m. after a long flight. Both of us only managed five hours of sleep each. No one ever speaks much about the journey to, only about the arrival. This was a journey we could have done without. However, it was a beautiful sight to see to see so many beautiful places lit up at night as we flew over. We are awaiting our flight to Vienna and hopefully a better night’s sleep. Note to selves: to purchase duty free grog on way home. It is amazingly cheap.Quick flight to Vienna with Nicola waiting for us. Had a much-awaited shower and then visited the Christkindlmärkte. Beautiful lights, Christmas stalls, rich big food and punsch. Chris loved the apfelpunsch, flavoured with schnapps and wine.
Date:
Sunday, 19 November
Location:
Vienna with Nic and Dunc
Weather:
Cool and dull
Notes:
After a glorious twelve hours of sleep, we got up and walked to the city centre to do a recco for our sightseeing. Visited the Augustinkirche for 11 a.m. mass. This was no ordinary mass. It came with a complete choir and orchestra playing Mozart’s PiccolominiMesse. The church was extraordinarily beautiful as were the mass and music.Had lunch in a cafe and then visited the Hofburg Palace. The Silver Depot was beautiful and opulent as were the imperial apartments. It took a bit longer to tour than we expected. We feel that the Viennese are a tad obsessed with Empress Elizabeth (Sisi). Will they ever let go of the days of the Empire?Finished off the day with a walk through the main shopping area. Had a lovely meal with Nic and Duncan at the Palmenhaus (the Hofburg’s tropical conservatory.
Date:
Monday, November 20
Location:
Vienna
Weather:
Cold and wet
Notes:
We began the day with our routine 1-hour walk. We walked from Nic’s and Dunc’s along Mariahilferstrasse towards West Bahnnhof. Stopped at the beautiful Mariahilferkirch.Nic then accompanied us to Karlskirch, which is spectacular. Amazing frescoes on the ceiling, which are in the process of restoration. Caught a lift to the top of the dome: amazing!We then went to Stefansdom, a gothic cathedral. Amazing… Caught lift to the top of the belfry for a spectacular view of Vienna. We moved on to morning tea, sachertorte, etc., at a beautiful cafe, where you can watch handmade chocolates being made.Our intention was then to go to the KunstHistorischesMuseum, but it is closed on Mondays! Very disappointing. Went instead to the Albertina for the Picasso exhibition. Final visit to the Christmas markets. Yummy home cooked meal (Nic’s soup).
Date:
Tuesday, 21 November
Location:
Train to Venice
Weather:
Foggy and 10°
Notes:
Farewelled Vienna at 6.30 a.m. with the train trip to Venice. We left with some regrets at not seeing everything we wanted to, but comforted ourselves with the knowledge we would return.The train trip was extraordinary. As we climbed into the Alps, we saw some spectacular sights. Picture postcard Heidi-houses and rugged mountains. We can only imagine the area with snow. Castles, churches, ruins… We then moved into beautiful lakes areas (not sure of the name) that are obviously the summer resorts.The scenery changed once we entered Italy. Lots of plains, vineyards, farm areas and walled towns: an unusual blend of the old and the new. The Venice train station sits on the Grand Canal. Very busy, full of ferries, gondoliers and trading boats. Caught the vaporetto to San Samuele and walked to the hotel. Venice is very commercial and lively – a stark contrast to the order of Vienna.
Date:
Wednesday, 22 November
Location:
Venice
Weather:
Wet, windy and cold
Notes:
Woke up early to discover it had rained overnight. We went for our usual early morning walk to discover the streets were beginning to flood, but San Marco’s square was under water. Duckboards had been set up to allow easier movement around the streets.You could tell the locals by their stylish gumboots—some were even hand painted. The Venetian merchants were sweeping out water from their shops as the Asian tourists purchased waders to have themselves photographed in the flooding Piazza. This town is built around tourism to the point where you can buy bags of pigeon food for huge numbers of fat pigeons that flock in the square.We had a strict itinerary planned beginning with a tour of San Marco’s; but his went awry as we were approached by an elderly gentleman giving away free water taxi rides the island of Murano to watch the glass blowers. Before we knew it, we were dispatched to the island by a water taxi driven by a mad Italian who made Sydney taxi drivers look like a bunch of nanas.The lagoon was very choppy and he drove very quickly. All the time I worried that he would stop the boat mid way and demand Euros (lots) to continue the journey.When we arrived, a salesman met us with good English who bustled us into a room, where we watched the ‘master’ give a demo of glass blowing. He was one of eight masters in this factory. As we discovered, they had adopted this fairly “aggressive” approach to marketing in response to an argument with local authorities, who taxed them heavily to sell on the main islands.He took us up to the showroom, which had the ‘artistic’ pieces (translation: nothing under €500) and worked hard to make a sale. He eventually had to agree to release us to the floor that housed the ‘souvenir’ pieces, but followed us around until we purchased. Fortunately, we had intended to buy—not sure what would have happened if we didn’t. Some good Christmas pressies resulted!After depositing our goods at the hotel and having lunch, we headed off for round two of sightseeing. The flooding of S. Marco had receded.The basilica was simply breathe-taking and all the more amazing when we explored the museum to look at the construction and restoration work. The horses of San Marco are in themselves amazing to Australians like us—even the idea that their age is unknown but us very ‘BC’!The Venetian habit of collection—or, if necessary, theft—of objet d’art means that one quickly became overloaded and overwhelmed. The Godden Screen alone was worth a couple of hours of educated study, not the 15 minutes we gave it; and the was no way that we could do any more than glance and wonder at the mosaic narrative above us.The best value of the day was the Palazzo Ducale. The amount of restoration is significant (and a tribute to the dogged Venetian spirit), but nothing is thrown away, as even the worn out sculptures and masonry are retained in the Opera, the works museum.It was a great value admission ticket, as the apartments, chambers and prison could take days, if not years. After a while, one goes into fine art shock—it is impossible to get any sort of perspective when faced with so many Titians and Tintorettos… let alone the fact that so many are just mounted on the ceiling. The Great Council Chamber was stunning: big enough to hold three thousand people.We ran out of steam by about 4 p.m. (Paula had hurt her back lifting suitcases) and made our way back to the Art Deco, after getting lost and ending up at the Rialto. After a nap, we did some e-mails and had a great meal up towards the Rialto. We found somewhere with nice seafood and had a bottle of suova which was ok. The Aquita Nera will be worth another visit.It was an amazing day, full of superlatives (far too many for the diary), one that started with St Nicholas of Tolentine and had surprises as well as wonders. We are struggling to pace ourselves.
Date:
November 23
Location:
Venice, Hotel Art Deco
Weather:
Warm and sunny, about 14°C
Notes:
A beautiful sunny day, the first time we had seen the sun since London. Made the most of our 24-hour vaporetto ticket by taking a trip around the Grand Canal. We saw gorgeous sights that we had missed when we first arrived in Venice (including Browning’s palazzo opposite the San Samuele vaporetto stop). We visited San Giorgio, the island and monastery opposite San Marco. Beautiful artworks, with a spectacular view from the bell-tower. We could see across the lagoon and out to the Dalmatian Mountains.Grabbing a quick sandwich, we left the piazza near the hotel and walked over the Academia Bridge to the Dorsaduro island. Less crowded than San Marco: it was the traditional area for the English upper class. We spent some time in the Academia, which gave us a fantastic overview of how Venetian art evolved and fitted together.We took a break at the internet café. Revived, we returned to Dorsaduro and the Baroque church, Santa Maria della Salute. Masses were being celebrated every hour! It was the festival at the Church that had made our first day so busy.Walked back to the Rialto area—a very twisty journey. We made a few purchases, visited the markets and at pizza, washed down with beer and house wine. We made a final visit to Piazza San Marco for the obligatory night photos, then returned to the hotel exhausted but pleased that we had seen so much of Venice such a short space of time.
Date:
24 November
Location:
Florence, Hotel Martelli
Weather:
Cloudy, 12°
Notes:
After a frustrating start to our journey (trying to find the vaporetto at San Samuele while wheeling heavy bags through a maze of streets, we barded the train to Florence. It was very comfortable, the scenery was beautiful and we were entertained by the conversation of a retired couple from England who sounded like Hagrid from the Harry Potter films and spent the entire trip bagging Bush and Blair.We arrived in busy Florence at about 1.30 p.m. and set out from S.M. Novella Station to find our hotel without our map and guidebook, which we had left on the train, along with Chris; prized Italian in 15 minutes book. Fortunately, we didn’t have to go far, because the hotel is positioned right in the centre of Florence and only 5 minutes from the station. The bonus for us the lift to our spacious room and the double bonus is the wonderful view from the veranda on the roof, where the room is, including a view of the Duomo. After a brief recce, we headed off through the markets surrounding San Lorenzo.We decided to explore the Cathedral of Santa Maria del’ Fiore, which had been rebuilt in 1296 to replace the earlier Cathedral, whose ruins and foundations are still in the crypt. The building is huge—Chris had trouble capturing on camera the sheer size, beauty and history of the cathedral. There are the many important works of art, by Ghiberti. Ucello and Buggione. The octagonal cupola is an architectural triumph. The frescos of the dome show a final judgement and the stained glass was magnificent. This was the Florence of our studies, reading and dreams.We climbed the 478 steps up to the top of the dome to be rewarded with an awe-inspiring panorama of Florence in the late afternoon. The views over the Arno have not changed since the Renaissance.Later in the evening, we found a cheap restaurant with a set menu and wine. A rare find, considering the prices in Venice. We wandered back through markets selling many cheap leather goods, pursued by persuasive market sellers. We finished with the world’s largest gelato and collapsed into bed to watch the first English language TV in a week. A big day’s touring lies ahead.
Date:
Saturday, 25 November
Location:
Hotel Martelli, Firenze
Weather:
Sunny morning. 14°, then a shower p.m.
Notes:
We slept well, although the noise of street sweepers woke us just before six. We had a morning walk to locate things we’d missed the previous afternoon and decided on our itinerary—Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio and Altr’Arno, then a few things to catch up with in the afternoon. We are never anything but ambitious.Who can describe the Uffizi collection adequately? In such a setting, the walk through the best of Florentine art, and some choice pieces from elsewhere was an experience not to be missed. Ironically, amidst the memories of Italy’s Renaissance, one of the highlights for me was Cranach’s Luther, seen so often in history textbooks.As we tried to avoid the hordes of Yellow Perils, complete with their radio-controlled guides, we found pleasure in unexpected places, often in lesser-known works of the masters. Everyone looked at Venus, but elsewhere in the room—in corners while the tour groups’ backs were turned—were delicate moments that should be equally celebrated. An Annunciation showed as much of Boticelli’s master as the centrepiece of the room.Both of us feel more comfortable in Florence that in Venice. I loved talking pictures in Venice that Canaletto would have recognised, but Florence has something more than the visual. The Italian genius exposes itself with greater humanity in this city. The sheer volume of people on the streets is still unfamiliar, but the people seem more open. The Tuscans are a lovely race, well dressed and well mannered.The proliferation of knock-of hawkers is surprising, but we simply did not have the time to really get involved in the life of the markets. In the afternoon, after a pleasant open-air lunch on our secret balcony, we found an internet café, but it was dodgy and frustrating. We booked our train to Rome and checked the route to San Gimignano. By mid-afternoon, we were in the Baptistery, marvelling—as Dante had before—at the marvellous mosaics and the perfect dimensions.We ran out of steam: three hours in the Uffizi and over the Arno was too much. A nap allowed us to venture out for a last walk, with a view and a prayer of lovely Orsanmichelle.Tomorrow, mass in S.M. Novella before packing small bags for San Gimignano. We have eaten too large a meal (a delicious tourist menu), but this a better place from the hip-pocket point of view than Venice. Florence is a city to savour and this taste has not been enough.
Date:
Sunday, 26 November
Location:
San Gimignano
Weather:
Warm and sunny, an amazing 20°C
Notes:
We began the day with 8.30 mass in la Chiesa Santa Maria Novella. A church built to hold 2,000 could barely muster 40 for the Feast of Christ the King. Welcome to Italian Catholicism, version one. Despite the long homily (in Italian), we managed to have a spiritual experience and also escaped the €6 tourist entry fee. We did a last work through Florence and by chance ran into the Florence Marathon. Thousands of people running—including most of Chicago for some reason—and even more enthusiastic Italians cheering them on. Standing at the Pitti Palace, across the heads of runners we spotted the house where Elizabeth Barrett Browning lived and died.Rowdy Italian soccer supporters, who celebrated their arrival at each station by smashing beer bottles on the platform, entertained our train ride. We arrived in Poggibonsi (the biggest hole in Italy) to discover we had to wait over one and a half hours for the bus to San Gimmis—but it was worth it.An amazing walled city in spectacular Tuscan countryside: we could hardly believe the location and the sight as we walked up the street, through the square and along to the monastery. Father Ian and Father Brian gave us a warm welcome and we met Connor (Brian’s young cousin) who is visiting from the U.S. We spent the afternoon playing tourist, enjoying a glass of wine in the square and wandering around the walls. A lovely light meal prepared by Brian and enjoyable conversation over dinner finished the day. Tomorrow, we hope to experience rural Tuscany and soak up as much sun as we can before winter hits.
Date:
Monday 27 November
Location:
San Gimignano
Weather:
Warm in the sun but cool in shade (17°C)
Notes:
We woke to a glorious Tuscan morning and dashed out to enjoy the sun before breakfast. We had another great meal with Brian, Ian and Connor before walking around the walls and visiting the Duomo and Rocha. The view and the ever-changing light were inspiring (and very camera worthy). The town was endlessly surprising—Antonella the harpist, who we found near the Wine Museum; the former Dominican convent from which Savonarola left to challenge the Medici in Florence; the hall where Dante recruited troops for Florence’s wars…After a delicious lunch, we tried to complete Ian’s walk—down the hill and around the ridges back the convent. We only made it to the bottom of the old Poggibonsi road. With the walk back up the hill, it took two hours. Ian told us that it took a lot longer to go round than he had told us to begin with and that, when he had last done it twelve month ago, he had been knee-deep in snow. We were tired after bits of family gift shopping on the way home. Mass and dinner completed our day.It has been a lovely day; perhaps the most relaxed we have had since we left home. To be in the countryside and to share for a little while in the life of and Augustinian community has been so restful after the bustle of the last few days. While we are becoming used to the travelling, we will not be in such control again until after London.Paula thinks she could retire here—perhaps I could run the Internet café!
Date:
Tuesday, 28 November
Location:
In transit to Rome, and later in Rome
Weather:
Sunny, 19°C
Notes:
It was with great reluctance that we left the beauty and peace of San Gimignano to head to Rome. We spent a great deal of time experiencing the various types of Italian public transport: bus to Poggibonsi, suburban train to Florence, national train to Rome, subway to the Prati (and miles of footslogging in between).We heard our first Aussie accent for some time on the train to Rome and sat next to two (rare) overweight Italian women, who set a record for the most food consumed on a single European train trip. Miss Euro-obesity 2006 even fought her mother for an extra piece of chewing gum.The metro took some figuring out and poor Chris had to carry the heavy bags up and down stairs. We were pleased to arrive at the Hotel Prati, which is located less that ten minutes walk from the Vatican. Perhaps the only problem is the dodgy plumbing which makes using the toilet a matter of planning and negotiation.The Pope must have heard we were coming because he buggered off to Turkey. We walked to St Peter’s Square and were amazed at its sheer size and extraordinary architecture. We then continued our walk through the busy streets of Rome. The streets are wider than in Florence but the traffic and drivers are worse. Forget the warnings about the gypsies, worry more about the drivers. Just because you set foot onto the crossing doesn’t mean you can feel safe. The cars might stop, but it is the Vespas and pushbikes that you really have to worry about.It didn’t seem to get any better at night, because then they simply park on the pedestrian crossings. We enjoyed a lovely drink at Piazza Navona. We encountered a cheaky waiter who kept us entertained who borrowed the camera for a quick photo opportunity.Later, we headed off to dinner at a restaurant about ten minutes from our hotel. A beautiful meal of hearty soup, pizza and house wine, then a desperate search for gelato, to no avail. Fell into bed exhausted, historical sights tomorrow…
Date:
Wednesday, 29 November
Location:
Hotel Prati, Roma
Weather:
Beautiful autumn, sunny 15°C
Notes:
We woke to a chilly but beautiful morning and hit the streets as early as we could. By 8.45 a.m., we were over the Tiber and looking at the Mausoleum of Augustus. 200 years before, the Students had drilled and the Divine Augustus—along with Livia, Tiberius and anyone else in the Imperial cult—had ascended into heaven. Now it stood before us, a grass-covered ruin, swallowed up in renaissance fortifications.We tried to be conservative but still could not resist popping in to S. Maria dei Miracolo in Piazza del Popolo. Small and gorgeously baroque, it was a good introduction to seventeenth and eighteenth century Rome. To the left, the Pincio was our only glimpse of the Medici Gardens as we turned around and headed for the Spanish Steps.As well as a pit stop for downloading photos to CD and lots more photos, we paid homage to Keats and Shelley at the museum housed in the house where John Keats died. Poor JK: to die in such cultural wealth and in such disappointment.We had a similar problem. We dashed to the Trevi, where Paula restrained her urge to dash into the fountain, and then on into the breathtaking Pantheon. It was interesting to see the classical temple, turned church of martyrs, turned royal mausoleum.Driven by our fountain-challenged bladders, we staggered like a pair of octogenarians to a bar, where we paid our 50¢ to the old nonna in charge to use the facilities. Relieved in more ways than one, we were then able to enjoy the ruined temples in the middle of the piazza Argentina. The cats, all abandoned and desexed, were constantly amusing as they basked on millennia-old pavements. See this site.Our one sacred stop of the day turned out to be one of the great religious and aesthetic experiences of our lives. Not only is the Gesu a baroque masterpiece, it is the centre and soul of the Society of Jesus, complete with the bones (and the spirit) of Ignatius and the right arm of Francis Xavier. We bought a book because it was simply overwhelming and then lit candles at the shrine of St Ignatius for safety and inspiration.Lunchtime found us in the forum and, while we refused the robbers who ran the Coliseum, we walked as much of the ruins as we could. We had to leave the Palatine because the time was moving on, and went back to Piazza Navona, did our laundry and internet, then found a nice little trattoria for a tourist meal.Both exhausted, we are lying in bed marvelling at the history and energy of Rome. Already the city is on the ‘do again’ list, and we have the Sacred City tomorrow.
Date:
Thursday, 30 November
Location:
Hotel Prati, Rome
Weather:
Sunny and cool, 14°C
Notes:
The day began prematurely early with a phone call at 4.30 a.m. from St Pat’s regarding the later payment of Liam’s school fees. Damn the ex! It also interrupted Chris’s fabulous dream about making a documentary with Michael Palin set in a warehouse, viewing Austrian sub-machine guns. Palin was a witty as ever, even in dreams.We began with business: a phone call to Liam and one to arrange our airport transfers tomorrow for the trip to Paris.We set off at 8 a.m. for the Basilica on Father Ian’s instructions and encountered no crowds. The basilica was massive but lacked the humanity of the Gesu. After our triumphs in Florence, we opted to climb the dome—a mere 330 steps after the lift. We have made a pact to do stair-climbing at the gym prior to our next overseas trip! The view was extraordinary (of course) if a little smoggy. The winding staircase is not for the more portly visitors. We then set off for the tomb of the popes, which was a more spiritual experience. We saw the remains of many popes, including that of John Paul II, which was the focus of a crowd of the pious. The area outside St Peter’s remains was beautiful.We then began a long tour of the Vatican Museum with a audio guide (wchi was a huge success). The Egyptian display was extraordinary as were the ancient sculptures from Greek and Roman periods. Our attention was often interrupted by radio-controlled groups of school children and Asian tourists. We became a little blasé as we mover through the thirty odd rooms. Chris commented that he would have preferred to walk on carpet than look at it, while wandering through the hall of tapestries, and I felt the need to whip out my trusty highlighter when we got to the map room.The Sistine Chapel was the highlight. It would take hours to appreciate the artwork, and not just that of Michelangelo. Some of the human behaviours there were , however, a little disappointing!Heading off for lunch, we found the most ordinary Italian meal we have eaten so far but the beer and wine went down well. Returned to the hotel just before 2 pm for a well-earned nana nap.We finished off our last day in Rome with a walk to the Piazza del Fiores and the Farnese Palace. It will be worth a longer visit next time, particularly for the happy hour drinks. It was more like the ‘real’ Rome that most of the inhabitants experience and a pleasant last walk in a more peaceful part of Rome. We won’t miss the Rome traffic but do want to spend more time in Tome next visit. We’ll enjoy a a return visit to Tuesday evening’s restaurant and a ½ litre of wine.Arrivederci Italia! A presto! Bonjour Paris.PS: RememberRibollita soupLingua Lunga Restaurant
