Archive for July, 2008

England apparently haven’t had much of a summer this year, but it was 28 degrees when I arrived this morning from Bergamo! I am staying with my friends Hilary and Keith in Keyworth, a village near Nottingham and we are heading to the Lakes District tomorrow morning. It does promise to be a little cooler and damper up there!

Bergamo was a very pleasant city. I was really only able to look briefly around the old town which is perched on yet another hill! The newer city sprawls on the plains below and is a very pleasant modern city with nice wide tree-lined roads. I took the funicular up to the old town, being far too lazy to climb the stairs and had a wander around the streets. It was lovely and quiet, and I like the duomo; lots of lovely tapestries hanging on the walls.

I stayed over night in a B&B in an apartment, and my host, Alex, picked me up just before 8am this morning to drive me to the airport (part of the service he offers for a modest fee) to catch my Ryanair flight to Luton in England. Can I just say here, that yes, Ryanair is a cheap airline, but that doesn’t mean we have to behave rudely people! What a bunfight. It was as if people were afraid they might not actually get a seat! Oh, and teenagers around the world are rude and thoughtless, excluding my lovely students of course – the passports might be different but the hormones are all the same…

So after a lovely meal prepared by Hilary (strawberries on the sponge cake prepared by Claudia) I am ready for a good night’s sleep, and a lovely visit with my friends!

I am in Vernazza, one of the five villages of the Cinque Terre on the west coast of Italy. I have been here before, loved it then and still love it!  One day I will come here for at least a week, longer if I can manage it, and just hang out!  The food is good, the accommodation is good, the views are lovely and the people, inspite of all the tourists are welcoming!

I am staying at the quiet end of town which suits me; no trouble sleeping here!  My room is lovely; I am staying at Camere Fontanavecchia. Just up the lane as you head out of town is my favourite cafe, Il Pirata delle 5 Terre, which is run by two Sicilan brothers who make the most wonderful pastries for breakfast and serve fresh fruit slushies, such as fresh strawberry and fresh peach. Divine!

Last night I sat near a Canadian couple who turned out to be teachers and we shared a fantastic conversation. Today I wrote out the postcards for which my English Studies class are waiting anxiously (apparently – I got a ‘hurry up and send them’ email from Sarah this week), sat on the beach and read for a while, had a bit of a nap, ate fish and chips as I watched the sun set, and generally relaxed.  I am sunburned and well-fed and not really looking forward to leaving tomorrow!

I am taking the train to Bergamo tomorrow morning, and will be flying to Luton in the UK on Sunday morning.  I will pick up my hire car and drive to Nottingham where I will be stayng with Hilary and Keith, some teacher friends of mine. While it is sad to be leaving Italy, I am looking forward to company and conversations in English with people I have known for more than 30 minutes!

So now I can tick this one off!  Yes, I have seen the leaning tower of Pisa and can verify that it is indeed on a lean!  Acutally it is quite pretty, a bright pure white that contrasted beautifully with the surrounding emerald of the grass!  It was being cleaned while I was there so had a band of scaffolding around it (scaffolding is something you accept as normal when you travel Europe!). 

What was far more amusing was the sight of dozens and dozens of tourists posing strangly for photographs, every single one of them pretending to be propping the tower up.  Even more amusing was the lone security man shooing hundreds of people off that emerald green grass; no one ever thinks those bright red ‘keep off the grass’ signs apply to them.  While it wasn’t the highlight of my trip, the leaning tower is beautiful and worth visiting.

I have just spent two tiring days in Florence and am not really ready to leave to go to Pisa tomorrow.  Yesterday I began with a wander around the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore.  I had been here before but this time decided to take my time with the audio tour so I actually knew what I was looking at!  Not the nicest of the churches I have visited, but interesting none the less.  I decided to climb to the top of the bell tower beside the Cathedral and continued my unintentional but pleasant habit of being near or at the top of a bell tower at midday and getting to hear the bell toll from close up!  This particular bell tower does not have that lovely invention, a lift, so I got my workout from climbing the 414 steps.  The view, and even more so, the breeze, made the effort worth while.

I walked down towards the Arno, passing the Uffizi gallery and taking a wander along the Ponte Vecchio to admire all the jewellry stores.  Frankly all a bit bling for my taste… although perhaps if I could afford something…  I had yet another icecream (so far I have tried melon, strawberry, pannacotta and chocolate chip… lots to go yet!!) and then made my way to what is probably my favourite church of all the ones I have seen in Europe, Santa Croce.  I love it because of its design, its history and its features.  Again I did the audio tour and learned ever so much.  I can’t always be bothered with the audio tour, but occasionally it is worth it.  This church was built by the Franciscans and has a lovely simplicity about it: terracotta tiles on the floors and a simple gothic structure.  The frescos were planned to teach the illiterate people of the community the Bible stories, and Florentines chose to be buried under the floor so their tombs could be trampled on, a symbol of humility.  Several notable Italians are buried here, including Machiavelli, Galileo and Michelangelo, and there is a memorial to Dante, who is not buried here. There is a lovely relief by Donatello called the Annunciation.  Its all a bit overwhelming really!

Today I decided to tackle the Uffizi Gallery, and the rumours of three hour waits are no exaggeration, I can assure you.  I was thankful for my novel and a few text messages from my dad (thanks for the brief respite Dad!).  However the wait is well worth it. I was able to see ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Botticelli, ‘Annunciation’ by Da Vinci and paintings by Raphael and Caravaggio.  I think that means I have done the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with a few hangers on!  Its all a bit overwhelming really, seeing these paintings ‘in the flesh’ that you are sure are only in books. I had forgotten to mention in my earlier posting that in Venice I went to see the Peggy Guggenheim collection, so got to see works by Jackson Pollock, Francis Bacon and Picasso, although I think I needed someone to explain their significance to me to better appreciate what I was looking at.

So I have run out of time. I would liked to have explored a little beyond the city centre, but nevermind. Perhaps another time. So tomorrow, its off to see that dreadful architectual bungle, the leaning tower of Pisa!    

Venice had a festival last night. This is one of the cool things about travelling in the summer: you are far more likely to stumble across such things, especially on the weekends.  This festival was held on the harbour near St Mark’s Square.  The idea (I think) was that a temporary bridge was built between two of the islands, and anyone who had a boat (or other floating device – I saw everything from ridiculously large expensive yachts to transport barges fancied up with strings of paper lanterns and flowers to kayaks) loaded it up with friends and party supplies and headed for the harbour.  It was one big water-based party!  The rest of us had to admire from the shore, where there was not a great vantage point really!  At 11.30pm the fireoworks began, and lasted for no less than 45 minutes.  A very impressive display that included the tolling of the bell in the bell tower at midnight.  While I think not much can top my experience of New Year’s Eve on the Sydney Harbour in 2000, this came a solid second!

This morning all of Venice had something of a hangover, and I pity the fool who had to clean up the mess; I personally saw at least three glass bottles smash on the pavement… 

So today I am in Florence and feeling a little sleepy.  Time for a rest day anyway!  Off to see the sights  tomorrow!