Posts Tagged ‘Italy’

Lake Como Italy

Sunday, November 11th, 2007

November 7
This morning we caught the 9:14 train to Milan where we will change trains and go on to Como. Our ten days in Florence were delightful, we both feel that we know Florence and it is a wonderful city to know. Our host, Bill was delightful, always going the extra mile to see to it that everyone was enjoying themselves. Our memories will be highlighted by the people as well as the places; evenings on the roof, the view of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo, the delicious Italian food, the magnificent art, and the meandering through the web of city streets and plazas.

Our train arrived in Milan ten minutes late and what was suppose to be a twenty minute connection turned into a ten minute connection. By the time we got off the train we had five minutes to find our train and board. I had asked Nita to look on our ticket and tell me what compartment we were in on the next train and she told me 314. I thought this strange because it had always been under 20 on the other trains that we had boarded. We each had a roller bag and a backpack and were headed for the terminal when I looked at the train on the adjoining track and saw compartment 312, we stopped and I stuck my head into the door and asked the conductor, “Is this train going to Como?” He responded with a “Si”, we ran back two cars and boarded with 45 seconds to spare. “Life is good in Italy.”

Como is to Italy as Petoskey, Michigan is to the U.S. It is a beautiful old lake town with good weather and magnificent scenery. We didn’t do much more then get settled into our hotel, the Albergo Treminus, and old hotel on the lake that had just expanded and we ended up with an ultra modern room (#420) with a lake view; life is good in Italy. About five o’clock, after exploring the town, we stumbled into a McDonald’s, (OK we’re weaker then you thought) and had a Coke and fries. About 7:45 we found what appeared from the outside menu to be a good Italian restaurant that featured fish. I had the best sea bass, served whole and filleted at the table, what a show. It had been baked in olive oil, butter and parsley, and then served with diced potatoes, black olives and tomatoes; I accompanied it with a bottle of Orvieto Blanc…FANTASTIC. Nita had baked prawns in olive oil and butter which she enjoyed. We headed back to the hotel anticipating a day on the lake.
November 8
This morning we rode the cable train up the side of the mountain to Brunate, a small city that looks over Como. Most of the view was blocked by the homes built on the side of the slope, but what we could see was spectacular. At 12:45 we boarded a hydrofoil for a boat ride up the lake. The trees have turned yellow, red and orange so the fall colors were a marvelous accent to the pastel houses and the blue sky.

Lake Como is not like anything that I have ever seen. The shore line is dotted with little villages each presenting their town halls and churches to the passing boater with pride. They looked like Christmas villages in a department store display. We got off in Varenna hoping to tour a Villa that I found on the internet, but like most else in this area it had closed down for the winter as of November first. We did have a good lunch, spaghetti with clams, a tomato salad (their tomatoes are better then US tomatoes) and wine. Then we walked back to the boat dock along the shore line and caught a boat to Bellagio. I will guarantee there was more going on at the Las Vegas Bellagio then at the one in Italy. Most of the hotels and shops were closed, but the day was beautiful the air was clean so we took a romantic walk down the promenade and recalled that forty-one years ago we were honeymooning in Nassau. It’s now 7:30 in the evening and Nita just asked me what we were going to do about dinner. We went to Rieo a trendy Pizzaria with a speed boat theme. Pizza here is always thin crust, odd shaped because it’s hand made and seldom with more then two toppings. Tonight’s was good but not great.
November 9
Today we discovered that most Italian cities have more then one rail station. In Como we found a second station much closer to our hotel so we went there rather then walk up the hill to the one that we came in through. It was then that we discovered that Milan has three rail stations and we could not get to the one close to our hotel without making a transfer. That was OK until we discovered that the rail station close to our hotel was not the one that we had to be at the next morning at six-thirty to catch a bus to the airport. The day was a day of learning relative to the particulars about getting around Milan. We left our baggage at our hotel and caught the #3 trolley downtown to make our city bus tour at 2:30, half way through our journey the trolley driver stopped and threw everyone off, explaining that he “was not going to Milano Centero, so get off”. Everyone was confused but we all did as he demanded. A young Italian girl offered to take Nita and I to another trolley line that would go to Milano Centero, so we followed her through the streets for fifteen minutes. At one point I feared that she could be taking us to be shanghaied, but this wasn’t China this was Italy. She did drop us at a pick-up point and told us to catch trolley # 11. Eight minutes later trolley #11 showed up and we got on only to be put off after a five minute ride. “I am not going to Milano Centreo, get off.” Everyone got off. Luckily I recognized the Palace three blocks away and with the aid of my map we found our way to the tour office. I told the tour people what had happened and she explained that the city employees had called a strike and we were luck that we had made it as far as we had. It seems the new mayor wants to change the city employees retirement age from 58 to 65 to align with all other members of the European alliance. The tour took us back to many of the sights that we had seen on our own two weeks earlier, but did answerer some questions, give us new information and get us into The Last Supper. First I learned that Bartholomew, one of the twelve Apostles, was skinned by people who didn’t like his preaching Christianity then crucified upside down, thus he is the patron saint of tanners. This explained Marco d’Agrate’s statue (1562) of Bartholomew in the Duomo di Milano. (I have several on my photo site) Second there is a Synagogue in the Galleria Vittorio Enanuels, thus the Medora on the windows above the McDonald’s. Third John sitting on Jesus’ right in Leonardo’s painting of The Last Supper was the youngest and meekest of the Apostles. This is why Leonardo painted him with female features causing some to believe it was Mary Magdalen. (ya, right. Leo was a real trickster.)
November 10.
We made it to the Milan airport and are waiting for our 10:40 direct flight to Atlanta. Nita and I are both ready to come home. The flight was easy, we watched three movies, made it through customs, are in the Delta Crown Room having a drink while watching the Georgia/ Auburn game and waiting for a seven o’clock flight to Birmingham. This is where having the AXP Platinum card pays off. We made it home at 7:00 PM Birmingham time, thus starting from Nita getting up at 4:00 AM in Milan we had a twenty hour travel day. It’s good to be home.
November 11
We were up at 7:00AM and met Avie, Rebbecca, Jeffery, Phil, Bert, and Tommy at the Crestline Bagel Shop for coffee, then at 2:30 we took the granddaughters, Haileigh and Emma to a family track meet at Sanford University. Haileigh, Emma and I each ran the 50 meters and 100 meters, a relay and the girls participated in the long jump. The girls both won trophy’s, Emma’s first ever, and we had a great first day back in Birmingham.

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Montecantini, Italy

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007

November 5
Today was a day out of Florence, Nita and I caught a train to Montecantini, while the rest of the group caught a bus to Siena. Montecantini is thirty kilometers north of Florence, known for it’s mineral waters and associated treatments. It is the best spa area in Italy. We went in hopes of a massage and other spa treatments such a mud bath or a facial. We arrived at 9:00 AM to an open green city with new buildings but in keeping with Italian architecture, with an emphasis on Roman influence. We inquired at the Excelsior to discover that they had only one body massage available for the day at a price of 110 Euro ($160 US). Thirty days ago I had a full body massage that lasted for sixty minutes for $13 in China, so I wasn’t too upset that they were not able to fit us in today. Rejected but pleased we walked the open parks and enjoyed the beauty of the city and it’s architecture. Finished with Montecantini we caught a bus and headed for Lucca.

Lucca is a walled city northwest of Florence, and is the largest Italian city that still has it’s medieval city walls fully intact. As we walked through the city we saw evidence of its existence as far back as the forth century. Unlike Florence the narrow streets are traveled mostly by locals on bicycles and pedestrians moving within the city. We stopped in a small restaurant adjacent to a plaza and were soon found ourselves next to a group of twenty men from the city holding a luncheon meeting about the city and its needs. Communication was a greater challenge here but we kept it simple and had a nice lunch. We finished our walk of the city viewing the Anfitheatero and several old churches in need of restoration (they obviously do not have the funds available in Florence) and caught a train back to Florence. This evening we revisited a restaurant that we had eaten at last week, La Spada, and I had Osso Buco which was excellent. Before going into the restaurant we met a young couple who were in Florence for their honeymoon; Bill ordered them a bottle of wine from our table and we all toasted Nita and my forty-first anniversary. It was a good day in Italy.
November 6, 2007
Today is a do little day cold and overcast, we are leaving tomorrow for Como and have seen everything that we wanted to see in Florence. Nita and I both like the idea of coming to a city like this and spending a week to really get to know the city, we’ll probably try to do something like this again next year. We found an English Used Book Store so Nita went and traded in some used books for some new used books. While she was doing that I went out to the square in front of the Duomo and watched the cat and mouse game that the illegal vendors play with the police. The vendors have large white sheets that they display their knock off merchandise on along the side of the street. When a police car approached the word was passed and they grab four corners of their sheets, gathering up all their merchandise and hightailed it into an alley. Once the police car turned the corner they were back on the street opening up shop. Well today must be a slow day for crime in Florence because the police would go and show back up every five minutes, it started to look like a movie loop replaying the same scene over and over. Finally the police just parked in front of the Duomo and stood outside the car. Just for kicks I walked around to the side of the church and there were the vendors setting up no more then thirty yard from the police but out of sight. These vendors are for the most part from Africa, a lot of the waiters and waitresses are from Eastern Europe. Our waitress this afternoon was Poland, she had been here for two years, couldn’t’t have been over twenty three, and spoke Italian, English, Polish, and Spanish. The Italian newspapers address an immigration problem and a strong movement to run them out of the country, sounds very familiar. This evening we ate at Trattoria Sostanza which serves authentic Italian food located around the corner from the Grand Hotel. The food is amazing! Nita and I both had the pollo al burro and then we walked across the pontevecchio to burn it off avoiding the temptation to have our last gelato in Florence.

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Florence, Italy

Sunday, November 4th, 2007

October 28
My day started at six AM with a two mile run along the Arno River; I was able to run further then ever before, it must be the Italian air. With no food in the apartment our first order of business this morning was to visit a local supermarket. This is always interesting in a foreign country not being able to read the labels, the food is recognizable but the labels are not clear. We were able to find the wine, some cheese, and salami so our evening hors d’ oeuvres on the roof was a big hit. That’s right we have a rooftop patio, but what would you expect in such a first class establishment. (The Home of Unclaimed Italian Art.) Climbing to the rooftop patio requires us to pass through what I have chosen to call “Mary’s Room” where Mary guards a collection of miniature marionette stages; just another unexpected feature of our very unusual apartment. I have also included a photo of the picture that greets us as we enter our front door. Donn, Linda, Nita and I took a long walk across Florence to find the only Jewish Synagogue in Florence, built in 1882, which was an impressive building. There are only 200 Jewish families in a city of 965,000. We also found Enoteca Pinchiorri the only Michelin rated restaurant in Italy, and plays a role in my novel, The Stock Lord. I looked over the menu but not being open Sunday night and the fact that it appeared that one could not get out for less then $200 per head, not including wine, we were not able to fit it into our busy schedule.
October 29
Florence is only partially open today; many of the museums and such are closed on Monday. We headed out to the train station to get information for our Wednesday excursions. As we passed a governmental building that is being renovated to house a new museum Bill pointed out a series of sculpted medallions on the side of the building Dalanno dated 1451. We then stopped at Santa Maria Novella Monastery that dated back to 1381 and distinguished itself for its bottling and selling of rose water as a disinfectant during the period of plague (Black Death). The friars upgraded their efforts starting in 1612 to where their efforts offer some computation to the Body Shop today.

We then went to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy. The basilica is notable for its dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi its exterior facing of polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. Although beautiful it does not hold a candle to the Duoma of Milano, if you can only see one choose Milan. We then meandered back to the Piazza della an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. The square is also shared with the Loggia della Signoria, the Uffizi Gallery, the Palace of the Tribunale della Mercanzia (1359, and the Uguccioni Palace (16th c.) (with a facade probably by Raphael). Located in front of the Palazzo Vecchio is the Palace of the Assicurazioni Generali (1871, built in Renaissance style). The various eye-catching statues in this square include: At the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, a copy of David. The “bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I” by Giambologna (1594) The Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1575) “The Lion”, referred to as “il Marzocco” with a copy of the “Florentine Lily”, originally made by Donatello “Judith and Holofernes”, by Donatello “Hercules and Cacus”, by Bandinelli (1533).
October 30
Today was a soft day, a light rain 60 to 70 degrees, perfect weather for museum hopping. Our first stop was the Uffizzi to make reservations for Friday morning. Reservations are the way to go because you avoid the ques of all those that don’t know about reservations. While we were there we made and afternoon reservation for the Accadamia, the home of David by Michale Angalio.

Our first stop was The Bargello, which in the past served as the home of the Justice of Pease of the city. The requirements of the Justice of Pease was that you be Catholic and a non resident to Florence. Apparently, they felt that justice could not be delivered by a fellow resident. The current museum houses a variety of sculpture, ceramics (Della Robbia), weaponry, and church relics, as well as treasures of the Medici family. We then, with rain coats and poncho, walked to the Accedmdia Gallery to view Michelangelo’s David, which has been displayed here since 1873; moved from the Plazza della Signoria in an effort assure it’s preservation. (This is the David that slayed Golith with the sling.) There is a copy of David in Plazza della Signoria today. The Accedima also displays three other worked by Michelangelo as well as paintings by other residence artists. The day ended with a fabulous meal at Trattoria La Sostanza an off the beaten path family restaurant that served the best food that we have eaten thus far. We attempted to make reservations later in the week but found they were closed Thursday through Monday for All Saints Day.
October 31
Today Donn, Linda, and Joyce took the train to Venice for a day trip, and Nita and I rented a car for an outing through Chianti Country south of Florence. The difficult part of our trip was getting in and out of Florence. The traffic is hectic and the drivers are aggressive and unforgiving. Within three minutes of pulling the car out of the garage I found myself going the wrong way down a one-way street. The bus driver and his passengers that were trapped behind me as I did a 15 point turn-around were very unforgiving. It may have had something to do with my inability to figure how to get my little Fiat into reverse. Ten minutes later I missed a turn and incurred a twenty minute penalty as a result of the route required to double back and get on the right road. Once we got on the right road with the assistance of a kind Policia the scenery was beautiful, it is fall in Chianti Country and yellows, oranges, and reds against a blue sky were second to none that I have seen. First we drove to the top of the mountain at Lamole, arriving as the church bell rang to call the farmers in from their fields at noon. Then we drove back into Greve and had lunch, I had one of the specialties wild boar, and purchased wine in their wine museum. We then went further south to Castellina, a Milldle Aged city that dates back to the 11th century.
Strolling the narrow streets we were both taken with the cleanleness and crispness of the city, here also their main products are wine and olive oil, I bought more wine, passed on the oil. Like many rural cities its population is rapidly declining as the younger generation gets pulled from the farms.
Chianti is the wine produced in the Florence area. It dates back to the 1700’s and is always made from the sangiovese grape, it had allowed for the blending of the malvaisa grape in the past but this is no longer done. There are seven Chianti regions surrounding the Florence area, we traveled in the Classico Region which is the original Chianti region. The other six were added in 1967 so as to assist other areas in the marketing of their wine. Many of us remember Chianti coming in a squat bottle wrapped in a straw fiasco (flask), only a few wineries use this any more.
Donn, Linda, and Joyce enjoyed their trip to Venice. They took in all the sights including the Rialto Bridge, Saint Marks Square, (smaller then imagined), The Doge’s Palace (no furnishings but the walls and detail work beautiful), Basilica dell San Marco Salute, and a water bus ride (vaporetti) on the Grand Canal.
Their enjoyment deflated as they attempted to make their way back to Florence as they were caught up in a delayed train schedule, full trains and rowdy college students thus did not make it back to the apartment until 1:45 PM

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November 1
The day started at 10:00 AM on the south side of the river, that meant climbing and the day offered strong winds and cool weather to increase the new challenge. We were off to see San Miniato, one of the early Christian Churches. Legend has it that an Armenian marter was condemned by the Emperor and had him beheaded in the Ampatheater, his body picked up the head and ascended the hill, where he dropped the head the San Miniato Church was built in 1013. The inside of the church was a photographers paradise with Frescos, sculptures and a tranquil atmosphere. The church sits on the highest point of Frloence so it offers a good view of the old city. This is a sculpture that I found in the back of the church. The sun was coming in through a small window that caused the dramatic shadow on the wall, as well as the blue reflection on the floor.
Nita tried a thick chocolate in a cup and has found a new daily treat adding it to her gelato addiction. Just below the church is Piazzale Michelangelo which offers the best views of Florence. Our next stop was the Pitty Palace built for the Pitty family, who were rivals of the Mediccis. Years later it became the treasure house of the Medici family’s art collection. It offers worked by Raphael, Filippo, Lippi, Tintoretto, Veronese and Rubens. The restored apartments gave us some idea of the lie style of the wealthy, but it lacked furniture. Nita and I felt that The Biltmore and Varsailles had a better presentation of life of the wealthy. The Boboli Gardens, the backyard of the Pitti Plaace, are an example of Renaissance landscaping including pools, fountains and a stadium which could seat up to five hundred. We then attempted to see two more churches both were closed or all tickets had been sold so we headed back to the apartment for antipasto, cheese, sliced apples, crackers and Chaianti, on our rooftop patio. (Donn told me to stop calling our snacks hors d’ oeuvres and call them antipasto.) The sunset was magnificent providing a closing memory of our week in Florence that none of us will forget.

Dinner this evening was at Il Latini, what appeared to be a small side street establishment with seating for no more then fifty. When we arrived there were over 200 people waiting outside for the doors all claiming to have reservations. As it turned out they all did have reservations and we all did get seated. It was a fixed menu of six courses with a main course that offered a heaping tray containing steak, pork chops, lamb, rabbit, chicken, and wild boar, all tender and well seasoned. The Chianti and food kept coming; the meal ended with cantuccie vin santo followed by a glass of moscato. We all left full, happy and arguing about what had been out best meal of the week; Il Latini was first or second on everyone’s list.
November 2
Today we were up early and had a stand-up coffee; it’s about half the price if you don’t sit at a table. Nita and Joyce had the Chocolate, a heavy cup of melted chocolate; a bit to rich for me. We then went to the Uffizi Museum, the top museum of the city. I didn’t get into much of the art, a bit too old for me, although good painting, I like the newer stuff. I also found the museum to be poorly lit making it difficult to see many of the paintings because of the suns reflection coming through the windows. This is All Saints weekend and the streets are shoulder to shoulder, thus we have curtailed our sights visits for today.
November 3
Today Don and Linda and Joyce left and Claudio and Sharon, his brother Eddie and Bill’s friend Mare arrived. Nita and I went to the Basilica of Santa Croce the largest Franciscan Church in the world started in 1294 completed in 1857. It is a shrine of 14th century frescoes and the burial place of Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Gentile, Rossini and Dante. As you walk through the church you see that the floor is paved with worn tombstones. It seems that everyone wanted to be buried with the prior mentioned celebrities. So the wealthy paid to be buried in the church and thus the tombstone floor. Michelangelo, the most famous resident, died in Rome in 1564; the Pope wanted him buried in Rome but a group of Florentines stole his body and brought it back to Florence to be buried in this church. By the looks of the floor of the church it was a good investment to steal Michel. The balance of our day was spent walking, looking, eating, drinking and walking and eating.
November 4, 2007
Florence is totally different early in the morning, the streets are empty except for the men and women sweeping the prior days trash into the streets two be swallowed up by the truck vacuum and washer. There is an occasional Policia watching over as the Restaurantia owners actively fill their showcases with pastries and ready their sidewalk tables. I am able to run in the streets which are smoother then the sidewalks as the stone buildings on either side echo back my slapping feet on the pavement. Each day I choose a different route so as to better familiarize myself with the layout of the city.
Back at the apartment I searched the football scores, and yes Ron I did see that LSU pulled another one out in the fourth quarter, I’m sorry it had to be against Alabama. Today being Sunday, Claudio, Sharon, Eddie and Mare went to the Duomo for 10:30 mass, while Nita and I searched for an art studio where we purchased a painting ten years ago on our last visit to Florence. This was after Nita had her morning Chocolate. (Joe speak to the Manager at Bruno’s about adding Chocolate to their morning enticements.) We then met up with the faithful and toured the Baptismal in front of the Duomo.

We then went to the Medici Chapel which is a mausoleum for the Medici family dating back to the 1600’s. The Medici Family was the most powerful family in Florence from the 13th through the 17th centuries; they produced three Popes and led the birth of the Italian Renaissance. In addition they are accredited as the facilitators of the art and architectural prominence that Florence enjoyed while they had control of Florence. From the outside of the chapel you get the feeling that this structure was a mistake, then as you enter you find a display of replica, ornate gold and silver statuary containing small bones of saints. Upstairs is s tomb fit for a king, many kings, the Medici’s. Adjacent is a separate chapel designed by Michelangelo, I guess to hold funeral services. The marble statues in here are some of Mike’s best work; he even left drawings on the walls for the contractors to follow as to how he wanted the chapel built. I’ll bet less then 10% of the tourists that visit the Academia to see David see this place, it’s a must see.

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Milan, Italy

Saturday, October 27th, 2007

October 26, 2007
We arrived at our hotel, the Sheraton Diani Majestic, in Milan. It is an older building as is most of Milan on a beautiful square. After checking in Nita, and I set out to see the city in a light rain. We walked down Corso Buenos Aires towards the center of the city. Milan is not what I had expected being one of the largest cities, with a municipality population of 7.4 million, in Italy and the commercial center of the country. I expected to see skyscrapers and busy streets. Instead I found beautiful old buildings none over eight floors tall, the streets are not so crowded that j-walking is a problem. Milan has a terrific public transit system including a subway, electric trolleys and a bus system. Milan’s history is complicated in that it has been to position of the Roman Empire, the Spanish, the French, and the Austrians before it became a part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.

 Milan is a shopper’s paradise; the streets are lined with beautiful stores and shops displaying the highest fashion in their windows. I expected that from the Prada, and Gucci, but their high class influence has extended into the everyday clothing stores as well. That being said with the cost of the euro at $1.46 it’s tough to buy anything but food in Europe today. As we reached the center of the city my eye caught the top of the Duomo di Milano, one of the world’s largest churches, being second in size within Italy only to Saint Peters Basilica in Rome, and the second largest Gothis Cathedral in the world, after the Cathedral of Seville. It’s construction started in the 1400’s and continues today, having never reached completion. It is huge, it is ornate, and it is something to see. In 1805 Napoleon ordered the Façade to be finished so that he could be crowned the King of Italy inside the Duomo seven years later. You can find his stature atop of one of the spires.

Adjacent to The Duomo is the Galleria Vittorio Enanuels in the Plazza Duoma, the worlds oldest shopping mall. It was completed in 1877 the street below is covered with a steel and glass arched root four stores above. We made a special trip to Santa Maria Delle Grazie, a famous church in Milan and the home of the mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Having read the Da Vinco Code Nita and I wanted to see for ourselves who was sitting next to Jesus. The world will have to wait; the workers at the museum were on strike and thus the building was closed. “How do things like this happen?”

After five hours of walking, and a glass of wine, Nita and I decided it was time to learn the subway system. We found ourselves back in our room at six, decided not to go out for dinner and went to bed exhausted. It’s now 1:50 in the morning and I am wide awake (6:50 PM Birmingham time). I’ll go to bed and try to fall asleep, we’re heading for Florence tomorrow afternoon after some photo opportunities here in Milan; the sun is supposed to come out.
October 27, 2007
I was wrong, there are a few skyscrapers in Milan, in what I would call the mid-town area. We caught the subway to the Duoma area this morning and I was able to get some good pictures as the sun came out and the sky turned blue, it’s a beautiful day in Milan. (I’ll be posting my pictures on my Google Picasa sight if you are interested kjohng@gmail.com/picasa)

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