So it appears that it is my turn (Ron) to write a blog about our latest adventure in Italy. When we left off we were in Nice, France.(And my apologies for the vast word count on this post...)
May 11.
Today we had a very early start. We had rented a car in San Remo, Italy, and wanted to catch the train from France to Italy via the train before 10am, so we could enjoy the costal drive through the French and Italian Riviera down to Florence. (We opted to take a short train from Nice, France to San Remo, Italy because it was much less expensive to pick up and drop off a car in the same country.) The train ride out of France was fairly uneventful until just before the last stop which took us into Italy where we would transfer. We all had Euro Rail passes which allowed us to travel a certain amount days in a certain few countries of your choice in Europe. Now we had observed already that they rarely come by to actually check your tickets. We thought that possibly we could get an extra day out of our train tickets by not filling them out, since we were almost at our destination just inside of Italy. Now with that said it does however state that you must fill out the trip details on your pass. So we thought we had just got a free day’s travel. We were 1 stop out and almost good to go. Then as luck would have it, the porter came into our train car. We quickly came to the conclusion that although he was there to check tickets our stop would be any moment, so if we put our bags on and went to a different train car we would dodge him. Well we were wrong. It was not long after we had left our seats to sneak off that the porter meet us in our hiding spot (which was obviously not a very good one). He did not seem too impressed by our antics and charged us the full fare for our train tickets. I guess if there would be a moral to the story it would be that next time you should find a better hiding place... I mean... do not run away from the man who comes to check your tickets. With our fines all paid up we arrived moments later in San Remo.
Once we got there Robin and I set off by foot to the rental agency about two kilometres down the road to retrieve our car. Once we got there, the friendly man behind the counter informed us (in poor English) that they did not have the class of car that we reserved and would have to give us a lower/smaller class of vehicle. That was a problem because the car he was trying to give us was the Fiat Panda. Now this is a great little Italian car. It is sporty, good looking, cheap, and in most cases quite practical. However in this case it would not cut the mustard. The thing that was lacking in this lovely car was.... room. It would have been a laugh just to see Keith and I in it, let alone the four of us with our travel packs. This then prompted a phone call to the manager (who did speak better English). He informed us that he did have a luxury Mercedes that we could rent, however we would need two credit cards for security purposes. This presented us with a problem. Robin and I only had 1 credit card, and Keith and Lauren were a 20 minute walk one way where would could get an addition credit card to secure the car. Before we could make that decision though the gentleman on the phone informed me that due to a recent accident by a Canadian tourist, this particular rental agency would not rent us a car in Italy without an International drivers license. This left Robin and I to do the 20 minute walk back to the train station to break the news to Keith and Lauren. Once at the train station we called every other rental agency in San Remo to no avail. We had only one alternative. It was a 10 hour train ride to Florence. We had spent so much time attempting to organize a car that when the decision was made, we were literally sprinting to catch the train. Needless to say we made it to the platform in time, and to pour salt in the wound the train was also late. I had opted not to get my Panini heated up for fear of missing a train, only to have it be late. When we arrived in Florence we were all tired and hungry. We checked into our Hostel and maybe it was the hunger, but we believe we had one of the best meals on the trip that evening. Robin raved about and craved the tortellini with cream sauce and pears and walnuts the rest of the trip.
May 12
Today was to be a sightseeing day. We woke up and went strolling looking for breakfast. What we did not expect to find was breakfast and a friend. We had stopped at a little sandwich/coffee shop where Robin and Lauren instantly grew attached to “Nono” (we don’t actually know this to be his name or even his nickname, but looking to be in his 8th decade, we called him Nono) behind the counter in his sharp looking sweater vest. After some light fare we set off to see the Duomo, and figure out our train tickets to Rome. Afterwards we made our way to the Accademia Gallery which was where the famous Michelangelo sculpture of David was. It was quite a sight to see with very great attention to detail. Pictures do not do it justice. With that behind us we had some lunch and then the girls set out shopping while Keith and I lingered behind. Shortly after that all 4 of us wound up in a very nice shop that specialized in selling leather products. Lauren was the first to eye a leather coat. Shortly after Keith had picked up a piece of hand luggage, I then got some shoes, and Robin a leather jacket. The nice thing is, in Italy the sticker price means nothing. It is merely a suggestion. The more you buy the better the discounts. We were able to get a fantastic deal on all of our products. We left with a tip from one of the employees at the cash register saying that we “had to go to this one bar to have a Negroni.” This is apparently a very popular local drink. Later that day before dinner we headed out there for the Italian version of tapas and Negroni. The girls were brave and each got one. Keith and I opted out, which was a very good choice. Those drinks were pretty much pure gin with some colour. I guess it is not too bad if gin is your drink of choice, however to call it a local legend seems a bit odd. After our Negronis were finished we headed out to a square for some proper Italian food and then back to the hostel for some cards.
May 13
Today we had a “Best of Tuscany” tour booked. It was an all day affair with a few stops. The first stop was in the town of Siena where we had a walking tour. On the bus ride over the tour guide told us some facts about Sienna while an American who was no taller than me wined like a baby about how small the seats on the coach bus were. The tour guide also told us about the most famous Italian festival called the Palio. Now this Palio is apparently a big deal. The town of Siena is split into 17 different communities or districts. Twice a year there is a Palio in the center of town, where each community is represented by its own horse and jockey. It is a big deal in this town of 56,000 people. There is a lottery to match up horses with districts and then a 3 day festival leading up to a horse race where 10 horses race around the town square three times and the winner gets bragging rights for their district until the next Palio. After Siena we were back on the bus to head to our lunch destination. This was a wine tasting/tour/lunch at a totally organic family run winery in the hills of Tuscany. It was very nice to see the winery, but the best part was the wine tastings and the lunch. After lunch we were back on the bus to head out to San Gimignamo, a small town on a hill which happens to hold a shop which boasts the Guiness world record for the best gelato. Not sure who the board of judges is for that, but I think they are all sadly mistaken. The best ice cream is found on Stuart Road at a place called Avondale Dairy (and yes that is my personal bias shinning through.) After everyone else enjoyed their gelato we set off for the last stop of the day which was none other than Pisa. We could not actually drive the coach bus to the location of the legendary leaning town, but we could take what our tour guide kept calling a trainino. I found that word quite entertaining. Upon arriving I was not let down. The trainino is a modified car that looks like a train that pulls two coaches behind it at moderate city speeds. This fine piece of engineering brought us to the square where the leaning tower of Pisa resides. It was very neat to see. There were shops and street vendors pedaling their merchandise as we took pictures of us pushing over the leaning tower. To be honest it is a neat landmark to see, however I would not make a trip out of my way just go and visit. After Pisa we were back on the bus for our ride back to Florence. We got in later in the evening and were very hungry and looking for dinner. There was a restaurant we were meaning to try however we stopped in only to find that they were full. So we set out down the street to a restaurant called Frescobaldi’s. We sat down and asked the waiter what wines he had, and explained to him that we had been on a wine tour, I even showed him some of the bottles that we bought, however this seemed to make him uncomfortable. He ensured us that he only had Frescobaldi’s wine. Shortly after the waiter left, two elderly people probably in their late 70’s at the table beside us got up and left. They did not ask for the bill, did not say goodbye to the waiter. They just left. That seemed a touch odd. The waiter then came back to explain to us that the people sitting beside us were the Frescobaldi’s that owned that restaurant, that also owned the famous winery, and were also the 2 people in all of Italy to be invited to the Royal Wedding just a few weeks ago. Upon finding this out I was distraught that we had not befriended them, and also felt a little awkward for pulling wine out of my Roots backpack to show the server. I guess next time I meet them I will know better. Dinner was excellent, but it was the kind of meal where you after leaving the restaurant you go in search of the nearest street meat vendor. That is exactly what Keith and I did as Robin and Lauren headed back to the Hotel.
May 14
Today was a travel day. At noon we would be on the train headed towards Rome. We did however have the morning to enjoy Florence. Robin and I set out to Ponte Vecchio, which is a famous bridge that has very high end jewellery stores and boutiques on it. That meant window shopping only as I am not in the market for a Rolex, (I am sure I still have the fake one that I bought in New York a few years back.) After looking around for a while we made our way to the train station and set off to Rome. We had a nice hotel not too far from the train station, and very close to the metro lines that could take us downtown. Later that evening we set out to another fantastic dining experience at “Mama Angelas”. Upon showing up we got complimentary prosecco – the Italian version of champagne - , fantastic service, good food, and at the end of it all complimentary lemoncello. After that we headed to the Hotel to end the night off.
May 15
Today was an early morning for Keith and I. We had devised a “best of both worlds” scheme. It entailed seeing all of Rome’s attractions, the colosseum, the pantheon, the Spanish steps, etc ... However we were going to do all this by scooters. So Keith and I walked down early in the morning to the scooter rental facility and got two 50cc scooters (the only size they had currently), and extra helmets for the ladies. We ripped up Rome before getting seriously lost when we were supposed to meet the girls for breakfast. Eventually we ended up at breakfast and then set off to the Colosseum. However both Keith and I were drastically mistaken when it came to estimating the head size of our spouses. That meant a quick stop at the rental agency to get them smaller helmets. As we were parked outside waiting for the helmets to be exchanged I happened to spot some 125cc scooters. We asked if we could exchange and a few minutes later we roared off on our powerful cruisers. I can’t speak for Keith but I was beside myself! We headed to the Collesium where we were greeted with a 2 hour line. However there is a way to bypass all of that waiting. Tour agencies walk around asking people if they would like to join a guided tour and in turn get to skip the line. We signed up and within 15 minutes were inside this beautiful building admiring the architecture. We learned a great deal about it. The two things that stuck out to me were the meanings behind the expressions “I do not see your name on that seat”, and “getting the wrong end of the stick.” If you want to know what it means I will tell you in person. Also the Collesium was not just used for fights and gladiators. After the fall of Rome there were not enough residents to fill the collesium and make the games worthwhile. It has taken on various inhabitors over the years including a short stint as an apartment building. After and informative and enjoyable tour we headed out for some lunch. Even during lunch the sky was threatening rain, however what were the chances that it would rain in Rome, it had been beautiful in Europe for the past 2 months, we would be fine. Needless to say very shortly after, we were soaked to the bone driving our scooters over slippery cobblestone in the crazy streets of Rome. From there we went out to see the Trevi Fountain which is beautiful regardless of the weather. If anyone has ever seen the movie “Roman Holiday” with Audrey Hepburn, and Gregory Peck they may recognize it. At this point it was pouring even more. Our scooters were soaked, we were soaked so the only logical thing to do was go for ice cream. After some ice cream we headed out to the next destination, the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps is the widest staircase in all of Europe, despite the fact that they are beautiful, I am sure that some people in North America have a wider set of steps in their homes. After the steps we decided that with the rain it was getting out of hand. We headed for the closest Mcdonalds for shelter. Fun fact despite popular belief that Mcdonalds may be the most prominent restaurant internationally, it is not. In fact Subway has the most international locations of all fast food franchises. So here we are in Mcdonalds just hoping that the rain will let up. After a light snack and disassembling a happy meal toy to see how it works we headed back outside. It was beautiful out. The sun was up and it was getting hot. Excited we headed to the scooters for a ride over the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a beautiful building that was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa as a place of worship to the gods of ancient Rome. It is really quite lovely inside however we did get to see one of the neat characteristics of its design. There is a large hole in the roof. At the time we were there the center floor was roped off due to water on the floor. After that historical blast from the past we went for a nice long scooter ride. We reluctantly dropped off our wheels and then headed back the hotel to plan out our dinner.
May16
Today we had one thing on the agenda. We were going to the Vatican to do a tour of the Vatican museum and see the Sistine Chapel. We managed to latch onto a tour which was leaving in “15 minutes”. I suppose that is part of the sales pitch to get you to sign up. About an hour and a bit later we set off for our tour of the Vatican museum. Our tour was entirely in English but was done by a Scottish chap who had been living in Italy for 8 years. It was very educational and such an experience to see and learn about all the art and hear all about the Vatican and its functioning. Apparently you can add the Pope on facebook. At just about the end of our Vatican tour we went into the Sistine Chapel. Words can not describe how beautiful that was. We had been educated on the paintings on the ceilings and the relationship that Michelangelo had with the pope at the time he was commissioned. Michelangelo never wanted to do the Sistine Chapel and was never actually a painter as he was a sculptor by trade. From the Sistine chapel we then made our way over the St Peters Basilica. This is quite the sight to see. St Peters is said to have the largest interior of any Christian church in the world. It was an architectural marvel. After a long day of tourist we found a beautiful restaurant run by a son and his parents. They had 2 menus for the entire place, the wine was poured out of what looked like moonshine bottles, and the only server there was the son. Regardless of all of that it was quite the place to eat. The food there was amazing. After dinner we headed back to Mama Angela’s for dessert. We had been so impressed eating there that we had to go back and experience it one more time. After that we headed back to the hotel to wrap up our Rome portion of the trip.
May 17
Today we took the train to Venice. Both Robin and I were felling a little under the weather so took the afternoon to lay low in our hotel while Keith and Lauren explored the city. Later on that evening we had a dinner overlooking the grand canal and wandered the streets orienting ourselves. It is a relatively small city, but it is very easy to get lost with the high buildings and narrow streets.
May 18
Today was a new day. After a quick bite at the hotel we set off with St Marks square in mind. We just started wandering and saw all kinds of beautiful sights. We passed through a very nice fish market which Keith especially enjoyed. After a few hours of wandering we had made it St Marks. It really was a beautiful sight to see. We wandered along the water for a while before selecting a lunch location. The only menu at that restaurant was the waiter and his memory. It sure does make it hard to visualize it when it’s only recited to you. Later on in the evening prior to dinner we were booked for a canal boat tour. This was a 45 minute tour that was done in a taxi boat. Along the tour the lady Ziggy who was a 65 year old American pointed out a great deal of the large buildings, as well as the famous movie locations such as “The Italian Job”, “The Tourist”, and “James Bond Casino Royale”. Along with that sightseeing tour we did also see one of Sir Elton John’s vacation homes. Following the tour we headed out for our last dinner together in Europe. We had a lovely meal, ordered way too much food, oh yeah and one of the waiters spilled a glass of red wine on Lauren/her white sweater. I am not sure Laurens take on it, but I still felt that it was a lovely evening and meal. It was great to travel Italy with friends.
May 19
Early this morning Keith and Lauren set off to catch a train to Geneva, Switzerland. That left Robin and I to our own devices once again to do Europe. We had decided to stay in Venice for one more day, however we did have to switch hotels as it was not previously planned and our current hotel was full. We had a very nice last day in Venice. We wandered for a while just taking it all in, went for a nice lunch, and took a romantic gondola ride. At dinner we thought for once we would order from the fixed menu which is also called the tourist menu. We proceeded to take our seats outside on the patio right next to the water, but were told that because we were ordering from the fixed menu we would have to move over one table. I guess they were like to save the nicest tables for the non tourist menu travelers (no one did end up taking that table, in fact the patio was rather empty). After dinner we went back to St Marks square to listen to a concerto. The symphony that we saw was Vivaldi Four Seasons, one of Robin’s favourite pieces of music, and was in a hall that was acoustically designed to mimic where Vivaldi composed the Four Seasons. It was a beautiful show.
May 20
We started off that morning by getting on our train to Verona. The ride was rather uneventful. We arrived in Verona and checked into our very basic B&B with the intent of planning our Greek Island trip and just enjoying a few sights. What we found out upon arriving was that because the building was under construction the internet was currently not available for the next few days. That left Robin and I in search of an internet cafe. It was a nice excuse to get out and tour the city though. We set off and along our way stumbled across a May long weekend Wine, Beer, and Food festival near the Roman Arena that reminded Robin of Fiesta Buckhorn at the cottage. We enjoyed some of the best Verona had to offer and then spent the next 3 hours in the cafe planning our trip. On our way back to the B&B we stopped back in for a quick bite before a nice tapas dinner at a wine bar. We called it an early night and watched a movie at the B&B to set off early again the next morning.
May 21.
We set off on the train to get to Bergamo. This was the town which our flight to Volos, Greece was flying out of. We got to Bergamo and realized that there was absolutely nothing there. No joke, we were in the middle of nowhere. That is though one of the reasons that Ryanair can fly for so cheap. They do not exactly do the hot spot busy airports. After checking into our hotel we found a local pizza place, which seemed to be the only food in town and went back to hotel to kill time before our 5:30am taxi to the airport.
That’s about where Italy ends and Greece begins!
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| Florence`s Duomo |
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| statue of David |
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| the four of us outside the Duomo |
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| walking over one of the bridges that span the Arno river in Florence |
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| BFF |
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| eating gelato in Sienna |
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| vineyards in Tuscany |
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| winery and farm tour |
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| leaning tower of Pisa |
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| an artistic shot of the tower of Pisa from the bottom |
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| taking in the sites |
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| the ritzy jewelry shop bridge |
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| scooters in Rome |
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| colosseum |
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| inside the colosseum |
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| view of the Roman forum from inside the colosseum |
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| all of us outside the colosseum |
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| Trevi fountain |
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| Pantheon |
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| Sistine Chapel |
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| St. Peter`s square |
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| lemoncello |
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| scan through any robin-lauren facebook album and you`re bound to find a few pics with us making weird faces |
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| backpacking...outside Rome`s trainstation |
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| Venice at night |
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| Venice in the day |
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| boat tour with Ziggy |
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| where Casino Royale was filmed |
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| BFF |
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| last dinner together... |
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| Venice bridges from our gondola |
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| gondola ride |
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| smooches |
