Italian Escapade ~ 201x ~ Tangata

DAY 3

So goodbye to Rome and we left for Florence. We had an early start to get out of Rome and our first stop, apart from a Service Area, was at medieval Siena. The coach cannot enter the old town so we had a considerable walk through the winding stone paved streets to the vast Campo Square, where the Palio horse race takes place twice a year.

Sienna is a beautiful hilltop town, one that once rivalled Florence in influence. Unfortunately we were not the only tour group to discover it!

Despite that, we enjoyed it; the lovely square, the stunning Cathedral and even the preserved head of Saint Catherine, after whom Catherine Wheels were named! 

After visiting the Square we faced a steep climb to the Cathedral which is an odd mix of striped black and white marble with a Gothic frontage.

Grabbing an ice cream for lunch we next visited St Catherine’s and viewed her head, preserved since her martyrdom in the 1300s. A little hard to find, it is built into a side altar.

Then it was onwards once more through Tuscany to Florence, the jewel of the Renaissance and city of leather and gold! We succeeded in avoiding buying either.

We were in another NH hotel, a smaller room than our last but comfortable and well equipped, although there was no facility for tea or coffee making.

Also, in common with older hotels, there were insufficient electrical plugs for our modern life style – but our power bar took care of that and operated the TV and whatever else we needed.

Dinner was fine, but an after dinner walk again confirmed that the idea of Italians staying up late is a myth!

DAY 5

Again we started early and it was a long day. Our first stop was at Pisa and was infinitely better than our first visit in 1999.

We then changed the published itinerary and briefly entered Switzerland to visit the mountain ringed resort of Lugano. We had about 90 minutes there, sufficient time to stroll by the lake's shores and for those who wished, to shop for watches, fine chocolate or whatever took their fancy.

We also had a late change of hotel, announced by a phone call whilst we were at Pisa. We were now staying at the Grand Hotel Bristol in Stresa. The exterior, grounds and Public Rooms are magnificent! Our room was on the top floor of a wing that probably originally housed three or four servants travelling with their employer. However, it is comfortable and we have a balcony with a partial view of the lake. It is also “papered” in Brocade, as are the corridors.

One of the attractions of the hotel, oddity may be a better word, was the “lateral” or “Tunnel”. We had quite a long walk from the check in desk to a large lift. We entered it, about eight of us, the doors closed and we all staggered as it took off – sideways!

At the end of the tunnel it deposited us near a more conventional lift that took us up to our floor.

Dinner tonight was the first included dinner to offer alternatives. As an apology for changing Hotels, Insight bought a round of drinks.

Unfortunately the Internet situation was as bad as ever!

DAY 7

Another early start, is there any other sort?

Our first stop was at Milan, a city where many of us would have enjoyed more time. The Cathedral is being cleaned and repaired, a process that is almost completed and it looked much better than when I last saw it. Entry was free but subject to a security check. The signs said, “No Photos”, but were being ignored.

A major shopping arcade, probably one of the best in the world, was just across the road but many of the shops were shut.

A local Department Store offered views of the Cathedral and the all necessary toilets. Buy of the day, or at least offer of the day, was 75cc of water for €87! Yes, that is water and those are Euros, however the bottles were very nice if you like BLING; lots of it! We asked for two bottles but they didn’t have any cold!

We managed to find an ATM but it limited us to €250 per transaction, not even enough for three bottles of water.

Then it was onwards to Verona, a very busy city with some nice shops and of course, Juliet’s Balcony built 100 years after Shakespeare wrote the play! There is quite a nice river that was all set up for kayak racing. It was a nice place to stop for lunch.

Eastward once more and we were in Venice staying at a hotel on the Grand Canal. Our arrival coincided with some demonstrations against the economic situation. The Police were there in overwhelming force and cleared them out of our way.

Gondolas arrived for the expected ride, but alas without the traditional singing Gondolier! It would have been impossible to compete with the noise of Police helicopters overhead.

Dinner followed at a restaurant across the canal from the hotel. It was a nice dinner but the restaurant was rather hot which drew some complaints.

Then those of us doing “Magical Venice” took a “taxi” down the Grand Canal, an adventure in itself, to Saint Mark’s Square for an expensive drink and a chance to enjoy the music or to just wander around.

Fortunately, as it was rather late, the taxis took a more direct route back to our hotel. Our room is minute and the plumbing limited, but who cares? It is on the Grand Canal!

DAY 9

It was still raining in the morning, though not as heavily. But it was of course the one morning we had to walk a considerable distance to the Coach. Insight umbrellas were available, but they were of course on the Coach!

En-route to the Coach we managed to lose some stragglers, but they were eventually located and reunited with us.

We skirted the Venetian Lagoon and headed south through Fen country to cross two of Italy's most important rivers, the Adige and the Po.

We stopped for lunch in Classe and visited the Church of St Apollinaris, which has some very unusual decorations and another leaning tower.

Then we drove on through the Apennine mountains. We took the new road, but the old road twisted and turned beneath us. I know which road I would prefer to drive, but preferably not in a coach!

Mid afternoon we arrived at the stone built hill-town of Assisi, home of St Francis of Assisi. Unfortunately the rain arrived with us, but we charged off anyway and took the steep road to the Basilica.

We had another excellent Local Guide for our visit to the Basilica of St Francis. It is a shame that they won’t allow photographs, but understandable given the number of visitors.

As we finished our visit the rain stopped!

Our Hotel is Assisi was very pleasant with some lovely views from the garden. It was modern and quite roomy with free Internet.

We had a Buffet dinner that included some excellent fish and chips; for many it was a welcome change from Italian food!

DAY 11

However, all was well next morning as we boarded a ferry to cross the Bay of Naples to the island of Capri.

There we immediately took a small boat and sailed past some spectacular cliffs to view the famous turquoise coloured waters and the white grotto.

We did not see the famous Blue Grotto, which the Maltese consider inferior to their own, so we were unable to form an opinion.

We then took the cable car, or funicular, to ascend to Capri Town. There are some spectacular views, and some nice buildings but we found little else of interest. There were lots of very expensive fashion brand shops, but not really our scene.

Until then we had had excellent Local Guides. On this occasion, whilst adequate, our Local Guide was not outstanding.

Back in Sorrento, we took the optional drive along the famous Amalfi Coast with its clear blue waters and picturesque resorts. This drive was also in minibuses, but not those used the previous evening; several people having made it clear that they were not going if those drivers were used!

We instead had two very steady drivers. Personally, I would have preferred the budding Alonsos! But heaven would be to drive it in an MG or something similar!

The Italians, or at least those in Sorrento, claim this to be the world’s most beautiful drive. Although the claim has some merit, I suspect that many would dispute it!

The drive ended at the artist's town of Positano. I had expected something like St Paul de Vence near Nice, but it was nothing like that, much larger and even more commercial.

At the lower of the churches we encountered a wedding, following which the bridal party and guests had to walk up to the road. A very considerable walk, fortunately custom did not require the Groom to carry the Bride. We wished the couple well and they replied in flawless English, being English.

Back at our hotel we had our farewell drinks party, followed by quite a good dinner in the hotel.