Italy Holiday 24th January to 12th February 2018

So it’s off to Italy in the Winter. Yes it was cold and you needed to wrap up warm, although in the main dry. We saw beautiful cities and amazing architecture, and being “off season” we did not have to queue!

The trip was originally just to go to Rome and see the England v Italy Rugby match, tickets being a Christmas present. However to go to Italy and do nothing else seemed a missed opportunity…. 

So below is our winter travels. We start in Venice, then onto Bologna, Florence, Rome, Pisa and Milan. All the travelling between the cities was on Italian railways, which were comfortable and reasonably punctual.

A great winter holiday and I hope you enjoy our memories. 

Travelling - Wednesday 24th January

So off we go, train to the airport and then at about 2:30pm uneventful flight to Venice.

On landing at Marco Polo airport we enquired how to get to our hotel, and was told the best way was Water Bus, and so got our tickets. The trip to our hotel was a slow one - 1 hour 15 minutes. I guess if it was daylight it would have been quite interesting, but as we couldn’t see anything it was a bit long, and we didn’t really know when we had to get off, but we made it, and our hotel was directly in front of the landing stage, which was a huge bonus.

We checked in, and then went out for a short stroll to find something to eat. We went down a couple of small narrow alleys, and found somewhere to have a pizza to share. Very nice. We walk into St Marks Square and we will do a lot more exploring, the next day.

Venice - Thursday 25th January

After breakfast we set off along the waterfront from our hotel towards St Marks Square. We carried on by staying along the waters edge as far as we could, passing rows of of gondolas tied up to the poles sticking out of the water.  We meandered our way through the maze of ‘streets’ more the size of alleyways. Every little while would be a bridge over a canal,  steps up one side and down the other, or small Squares, always with a large church. Seeing people wheeling their suitcases along, and having to lug them over the bridges made us very grateful our hotel was on the waterfront by a stop. We also popped into a music museum, lots of violins, mandolins and double base plus other stringed instruments

We stopped for coffee in one of the small Squares, and then carried on towards the Grand Canal. We crossed over the Grand Canal, but unfortunately couldn’t see anything as the bridge was covered in scaffolding and covers, blocking any views. We meandered across the peninsula and back around the waters edge, looking across at the other islands, and then back towards St Marks and the way we had started out this morning.

Back across the bridge and we headed for St Marks, stopping off for lunch on the way. When we reached the Basilica, we were surprised there were no queues, as we had read so much about getting ‘skip the line’ tickets. There are advantages to coming in January! I had to go and deposit my bag, for free, in a small cloakroom that wasn’t well sign posted, had to ask twice where to go... and then we went inside St Marks. No photography allowed. It is a huge building, very high and quite square, decorated with intricate mosaics on walls and ceilings. The walk around didn’t take long, and we were soon out again, into the large Square. 

We decided to leave going up the Campanile Tower in the hope tomorrow or Saturday might be a bit clearer and give us better views, as it had become even greyer and murkier this afternoon. So, having walked for most of the day we made our way back to our hotel, and sat on the covered area in front and people watched while having a drink.

After dinner, which we had at the hotel tonight, we went for a short stroll in the other direction,

Venice - Friday 26th January

This morning we had booked with the hotel, to take advantage of our booking package, to go to the island of Murano. We met in the lobby for 10am, and 9 of us were then led off to a private boat hire. He had pulled up at the waterfront, not tied off, and it was quite choppy, with the small boat bobbing up and down. The first lady who went to get on was obviously quite sceptical she was going to make it, so he moved the boat around to the comparative stillness of a canal entrance. We all got on, and set off for Murano.

On reaching the island we were met by a lady from the Glass factory, and had a short demonstration of the glass blowing and sculpting, a small vase, and a horse. It was all done very quickly, and we were soon ushered on, to look at the showrooms, where there was no photos! There was a huge variety of glass for sale...... all sorts of colours, sizes, uses...... and no prices!! They informed us that we were welcome to ask about anything and anything could be bought and shipped for us. 

Once outside again, we were told to go down the alley, and turn left for the boat back or right if we wanted to go for a walk. Asking about a ticket for the boat back, we were told we could get it on the boat, and it was at this point we realised our trip only took us to the island, and we had to make our own way back! So we went for a stroll down the side of the canal, and then back again.

There was no ticket machine or kiosk at the boat stop, and others waiting also said they had no ticket, so when the boat came we got on. Three stops later, we were back at Venice, and decided to get off and walk across, rather than go around the peninsula on the boat. So we did, having not been asked for a ticket at all, so still not sure what we were supposed to have done.

We strolled along the narrow alleys, towards the Rialto bridge, passing houses and shops along the way. I had meant to jot down yesterday about the shops..... yesterday in particular most of the shops we saw either were food outlets or selling glass, or were high end clothes and shoes, - Versace, Dolce and Gabanna,  Chanel, Prada etc. They were dotted along the alleyways, and presumably people found them and bought things, but we didn’t see anybody in buying! 

To day there were more ordinary shops, along with stalls for the tourists in the more open areas. The Rialto bridge is much larger than others we had seen, with 2 rows of covered shops and steps up and down between and outside each row.

After looking around for a time we decided to catch the Water bus back to St Marks Square. We bought our tickets, didn’t think we would get away with it a second time, and boarded the boat, managing to get seats at the the front which gave us good views down the Grand Canal. 

Back at St Marks, we decided to try and find the way up to the terrace outside in the Basilica, so dropped off our bag again and went back in. The way up to the terrace was quite obscure, so realised how we had missed it yesterday. The steps up were very steep, but it was worth it. The view out over the Square was good, and it’s great that not all countries have gone health and safety mad like at home, and you’re allowed to walk along a roof terrace with very little to protect you.

Next stop was St Mark's Campanile tower. We even had to queue for our tickets, the sun was out and there were a lot more people about this afternoon. You go up the tower in a lift and the views from the top were great - definitely the right decision yesterday not to do it then. There are 4 very large bells hanging in the viewing area, and we were glad they didn’t ring while we were up there. 

Venice - Saturday 27th January

We started today with a gondola ride - choosing the medium route, about 45 minutes.  We were our gondoliers first trip of the day, so he uncovered his boat and helped us in. It was very enjoyable, going under the Bridge of Sighs, and around some of the small back canals, seeing Venice from a different perspective. The canals were busy, gondolas, cargo barges, Water taxis and private boats all vying for space. And then there would be very quiet parts, with nothing else around.

The time went quickly, and we soon completed the circle and came back down under the Bridge of Sighs and into the main stretch of Water at the front. We got our gondolier to mark on our map where we had been.

We then strolled through St Marks Square - much busier today, with queues for The Doges Palace and St Marks Basilica. There were a few people wearing masks, in anticipation of Carnival, starting this evening. We walked on towards The Rialto bridge, finally finding a small alleyway to go down, that led us out to a jetty with a good view of the Bridge.  We then stopped at a small place for coffee and cake.

Next we wanted to find a Tower. It is depicted on the magnet we bought yesterday, and looks like the leaning tower of Pisa - a sight to see later this trip! However, although we looked it up last night, thinking it must be famous if it is on the magnet, we couldn’t remember the name of it..... however we did finally find it, the spiralling Bovolo staircase, on the outside of the Contarini Palace.

We walked back to the waterfront in front of St Marks Square and caught the vaporetto - waterbus, to take us right along the length of The Grand Canal. It was a good trip, again seeing the buildings from the water, being a bit further away from them than walking the alleyways. Once we had gone under the Rialto bridge we were in an area we hadn’t visited before. After a while we came to the Train station, very large frontage to the canal, and then the Bus station, with a large much more modern bridge connecting the ‘mainland’ and the bus station to the islands.

As we started walking back towards the area where the Carnival was to take place we saw signs directing us for it, which we followed. This took us through what seemed to be back yards of flats, and after the initial sights there were no more.... but eventually we came out at the right place. We found ourselves a spot up on a bridge over the canal, and stayed there for the long wait as already the crowds were building. However, after standing there for about an hour, and with still about another hour to go, Marshalls came along and moved everybody off the bridge, which was rather a blow.

So we managed to find a place to stand on the edge of the canal behind a couple that were sitting, obviously pros, as they had brought chairs! As time went on the crowds grew even more. We were based near the end of the canal, and it became obvious this was the start point for the parade. We could see various barges, some with props on, and eventually the costumed people came out and got on their barges. Start time was 6pm, now dark.

The Carnival parade was based on a film set by Fellini - whoever he might be, and involved a circus theme. With music over loud speakers, and spotlights piercing the sky, the various barges went past. All in all there were about 10 floats, and it lasted about half an hour. I’m not really sure it was worth the 3 hours we stood, getting cold, although it was something quite different to anything we have seen before.

Once it was over, we followed the crowd, towards an exit sign, again through back alleys, and onto a long stretch beside a canal. We didn’t really know where we were going, but kept following the crowd. Eventually we came to a much wider street than we had seen before, with lots of shops on it, and stopped for some dinner. We were on the ‘main street’ of Venice! Back quite near the Rialto bridge. We soon came to a part we recognised and made our way back to our hotel.

Venice to Bologna - Sunday 28th January

So, following on from yesterday, what I thought was the ‘mainland’ at the bus station - wasn’t! - as we went around the other side of it this morning in our private water taxi, provided by the hotel to get us to the train station. We thought we would be going up the Grand Canal, but we didn’t....this could have been because there were lots of gondolas, mainly with about 4 people in each, in costumes looking like they were going to be racing, at the entrance to it. I think this was something more for Carnival - but I hadn’t looked into what was happening this morning as I knew we wouldn’t be there.

As we left the station, we went across the long causeway joining to the mainland,  train tracks and a road. Although the weather this morning was reasonably sunny, as we progressed in land it was quite foggy, and for the start of our journey we couldn’t see very far at all.

Once we got past the urban area, we were in very flat agricultural land, huge expanses with small drainage ditches, no fences and no animals. The colours changed from greens and browns, depending on if the land had recently been ploughed, had been harvested and just had dead remnants of crops, or was just sprouting new crops or was grass. Occasionally there were a few vines.

On reaching Bologna, about an hour and a half later, our hotel was literally just across the road from the large train station. We checked in, and decided to do the City Bus Tour this afternoon...... just as well as it is only running on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at present. We had some lunch, and then waited for the bus, it was a bit late but we had a good tour with commentary. The old part of Bologna is quite small, and the tour was interesting.

Later we went out to get some tea, and walked down the Main Street, part way down this was pedestrians only - weekends only I think. We were surprised how many shops were still open, and how busy it was - it was about 6:15 by then.

Eventually we found a small restaurant - there didn’t seem to be that many around, and went in. We were asked if we had booked, no! So, were sent to try downstairs, and found a table. The food was very nice and the restaurant soon filled up. When we came out, taking a photo of it, a couple walking by told us it was the best restaurant in Bologna!

We carried on walking down a little way, and were soon in the main square, which this afternoon was very full of people, not so many now.

Bologna - Monday 29th January

We left our hotel this morning, in bright sunshine, to walk down the Main Street, towards the main Square, Piazza Maggiore. The pavements were busy, with shoppers, workers and students, but it didn’t seem many tourists. As we got to the Cathedral of San Pietro, doors were open so we went and had a look around inside. It was very large, a service was taking place in one of the side chapels, lots of the Confessional boxes had priests in, waiting for business, and there were others like us looking around.

Outside again, we continued further on, coming to Neptune’s fountain, although there was no water coming out. The very large Square has magnificent buildings on all sides, the City Hall, with clock tower, and of course the Basilica of San Petronia. When they started building this the plan was to build it much bigger, but the Pope of the time determined it wouldn’t be bigger than St Peters and diverted funds to a large building beside it, now housing the Library, and part of the University, so that the original plans had to be altered. The front facade has never been finished, as a design could not be agreed on. I think it actually looks rather good with the fancy marble at the bottom, and rough brick work at the top.

Inside, was magnificent, very high and open, and much lighter than many old churches. The Meridian line, the longest marked stretch, runs through the church, and is well protected. We paid €2 to allow us to take photos inside, all money going to the restoration fund. Shafts of sunlight were coming through some of the top flower shaped windows, making good effects inside. The building was well protected, with 2 Police officers outside the door, on guard all the time, and an army guard, complete with gun, on the corner!

Our next stop was the two Towers. In Medieval times there were over 100 towers in Bologna. There are now 20 still standing, and the Two Towers, side by side are the tallest. One is much taller than the other, as the shorter one started to lean as it was being built, and was lowered during that time. Looking at the base of it, the lean is very apparent. You can climb up the taller one, but we decided 498 steps was rather too much!  So we went for a coffee and cake instead!

The main part of Bologna is not very big, although all the buildings are! Again there are lots of churches, museums and posh shops. Bologna is known as the Fat One, because of the food on offer here, and there are certainly lots of places to eat, and lots of food on offer. We went for a meal, later in the afternoon, Tagliatelle with Bolognase ragu for Phil and Tortellini with Parmesan sauce for me. It was very nice. We then returned to the cake shop we had visited earlier for our pudding..... a glass of wine and a cake - they had a fantastic selection. Good job we’re having to do a lot of walking! 

Bologna  to Florence - Tuesday 30th January

This morning was quite foggy, and we thought we wouldn’t see much on our train trip to Florence.....well, regardless of the weather we wouldn’t because the vast majority of the 35 minute trip was in tunnels! We were obviously going through a mountainous region, from the 2 or 3 glimpses we had.

Arriving in Florence, we got a taxi to our hotel, although it wasn’t far we didn’t know where we were going. We checked in and set off back to the train station to catch the hop on and off tour....

There are two routes around Florence, and we did the blue route today.  It was rather chilly sitting on the open air bus, but very informative. We crossed the River Arno, and went up to Piazza Michaelangelo, which gives a great view back over the City.

After doing the circuit we walked back down the Main Street to the Duomo, or Cathedral. This is very impressive, clad in white, pink and green marble. In front of the main facade, there is The Baptistry, the oldest place of worship in the city. At one time all the children of Florence were baptised here, but now only a few are, as they hold services on the first Sunday of the month, with room for just a few Baptisms. Beside the Duomo is the Bell Tower, also very impressive.

We stoped for a coffee and cake... including a calloni to remind us of Rach and Carlos Bakery in New York! Then we went inside the Duomo, and although impressive, the outside outweighs the interior. Again there were army men with guns guarding outside, and a scanner and bag search inside. 

After a meander around, both inside and out, we returned to our hotel. We went back out for dinner, and the Duomo is just as impressive in the dark.

Florence - Wednesday 31st January

Today was grey, a bit misty and developed into rain for most of the day. Still, it didn’t put us off completing the hop on and off bus tours. We walked up to the train station and caught the first bus of the day, on the route we completed yesterday. We stayed on this up to Piazzale Michelangelo, where we got off to await the first bus of the other route - the only place where they coincide at a stop. At this time it wasn’t actually raining, but the views weren’t brilliant, and we were hoping they might improve by the time we returned... not to be! 

We got on the second bus, and started the 2 hour tour. Some of the first part followed the same route as the other line, but in the opposite direction. Then we started heading out of Florence, towards Fiesole, up in the hills. By now the rain was coming down, and it was getting mistier as we climbed. The bus stopped for a 15 minute break at Fiesole, a small town with ancient Roman connections. We did get off for a quick look at the Town Square, but not for long.

On returning upstairs on the bus, the lady informed us we needed to move downstairs, as she was shutting down the hatch over the stairs to stop the rain coming down into the bus.... no sense of adventure! Therefore the rest of the trip was somewhat limited in what we could see. On returning back to Piazzale Michelangelo we got off and went for a coffee.

We walked down from this look out to the River Arno, quite a steep, sometimes stepped path that zig zagged down the hillside. Then along the river towards the Ponte Vecchio, the most famous of the bridges over the river, and the oldest, with shops and houses lining both sides of the bridge. On one side there is a covered walkway over the top of the shops that connects to the Pallazo Vecchio and was built so that the Medici family could cross without mixing with the common people!

On the corner of the bridge was a small cafe, with lots of different ice creams, one of many we have seen, and we decided to go in for an ice cream. Not really knowing what we were doing, we managed to order the most ginormous tubs of ice cream, ending up with 2 flavours each - tiramisu and mixed berries for Phil, and tiramisu and hazelnut for me, huge and so filling!!

As we crossed the bridge, it became apparent that all the shops are jewellery shops, all selling the same sort of high class items. Not sure how they survive! Walking up the other side of the river, we came to the Uffizi - the main art museum / gallery of Florence, and decided we ought to have a look. So, after the commentary on the bus tour, giving a lot of the history of The Renaissance, and then the art museum, I remembered why I gave up A level History!

We then walk into Piazza Signoria with the large building and tall tower. Next to this square was Palazzo Vecchio which was the political area for the 5 years Florence was the capital of Italy.

From there we went towards our hotel via Piazza Del Repubblica, The Duomo and back.

Florence - Thursday 1st February

So today we strolled around Florence enjoying the city and also taking in a couple more churches.

The first was the San Lorenzo church, attached to which are the Medici Chapels. We decided against paying to go inside this one. And so, back through the Square by the Duomo, and onto the Piazza San Croce, and the impressive church in that Square. This church has a front facade of marble, similar to the Duomo, mainly white but with the green and pink as well. It is however just on the front, and the rest of the huge building, and all the cloisters etc behind are brick.

We paid to go in here, and it was an unusual interior, very large, but with the smaller Chapels, off the front rather than down the sides. Inside are the tombs of many artists, sculptors, some we had heard of, Michelangelo, most we had not! There was some restoration work going on, so some areas were restricted in what you could see.

Having finished here, we strolled along the narrow streets until we came back to the  Piazza Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio where we stopped yesterday. Here we went for a snack and to people watch! Very fascinating it was too..... lots of groups of Japanese, Chinese etc, all seemingly in a hurry to get to their next port of call. We also saw all the different types of Police, the Polizia, the Calliberi, and the municipal police. The first two branches are State, one connected to the army, and cover much the same areas. The last is the local force, that deals with traffic offences etc. There is a huge presence of all, and the army in all areas - and they all carry guns! There was also a big presence of road sweepers, litter pickers etc. And the place is definitely clean and litter free.

Florence to Rome - 2nd February

So today we left Florence, in the rain, and with the train running late! However, the train journey was good, fast and smooth. We started off going through plenty of tunnels, but later were back in mainly agricultural areas again, although very little animals.

On arriving in Rome we decided to follow the instructions we had to get to our hotel, taking the metro. It was cheap, and reasonably straightforward, apart from the ticket machine not working. We found our hotel and checked in.

We are very close to Piazza del Popolo, and had a snack overlooking the Square. We then went for a wander, down to the Spanish Steps, where it started raining again. On we went and found the Trevi Fountain, which was packed with people. The building and sculptures were much cleaner than we remembered. It was 13 years ago when we came to Rome.

Wandering back we passed the Parliament buildings and various impressive buildings and columns. We had pasta for dinner in a small restaurant next door to our hotel.

Rome - 3rd February

A mixed day for weather today, some sunshine and showers..... and the street sellers here, are the same as Florence, as soon as there are a few drops of rain are touting brollies and ponchos! Once the rain stops they go back to selfie sticks.

Breakfast was on the rooftop terrace, undercover, but in the sunshine. We walked to the Metro station, and caught the Underground to the Colosseum. When we arrived it was raining, but not for too long. We wandered around the outside of the Colosseum and then got tickets for the hop on and off tour.

Going around Rome on the tour was good, some bits we remembered, some we didn’t. I recall being able to see the Vatican from the tour before, but we didn’t today, so maybe they have changed the route... or I dreamt it!

By the time we finished the tour, we got the metro back to near our hotel, and managed to find a pub that was showing the Rugby.......first thing we were asked was had we reserved....No! But they managed to find us a very small stool type table with a view of the screen, so we had some food, a couple of drinks and watched Wales v Scotland. The place was packed, and the 4 bar staff were kept very busy throughout the afternoon.

We didn’t go exploring at all after this, and got a pizza for dinner later this evening.  Not an overly busy day.

Rome - Sunday 4th February

We’ve had a very busy day today, and the weather has been great - waking up to a sunny, but chilly day. We had decided to make use of our 24 hour hop on and off ticket, so got up in good time and caught the metro to the main train Station and finally found where the bus was starting from.

We sat on the other side of the bus today, so could photograph the Colosseum and Circus Maximus easier. It was great to see the sights in the sunshine, they look so much better than in the rain! However, it was rather cold!

One of the selfie stick sellers made a sale to a bloke at the front of the bus, when we were stopped for quite a while, but obviously didn’t get all the cash he was expecting, and so chased the bus for quite a distance , over a couple of stops in traffic, to get what he was due! He somehow managed to keep up with us and not get run over.

After a coffee to warm up back at the station......well, that was the plan, but not really as we only managed to order espresso! One mouthful and it was gone - and very strong! But still, caught the Metro back to our stop, where we changed to the Tram for the trip out to the Stadio Olympico. From the time we left the station, there was a sea of white England supporters, and so this continued. We followed the crowd from the tram stop, not really knowing where we were going, but soon found the stadium.

Once through a very brief bag search area there was lots of room to mooch around... drink and food stalls set up, and porta loos. For once the queues for the gents was by far the longest! The general consensus amongst the women was they were drinking too much!  We had something to eat, and people watched, soaking up the atmosphere.

After a while we decided to find our way into the stadium itself, and eventually found the right gate. Luckily once through a helpful steward explained all the different numbers and letters on our ticket, so we got the right seats. The England players were out warming up, at our end of the pitch, so we got some good shots of the players.

The game was good, and the atmosphere great as well. It always amazes us at these events how many people can’t sit down to watch! There are constantly people on the move. There was also people going up and down the steps selling beer the entire way through the match.

After the game was over, we made our way back to the tram stop.....more by good luck than knowing exactly where it was. The queue was huge, but moved fairly rapidly. Back at the Square near our hotel we managed to get a table for something to eat which was great.

We had been thinking of trying to get to see the Vatican and St Peters Square in the morning, but thought we probably wouldn’t have time.....so decided to go and have a look this evening. One stop on the metro, then a 15 plus minute walk, glad of apple maps to help us, and we found it. It was good to see it, lit up and only a few people wandering around the Square. A brisk walk back to the Metro and back to our hotel - with aching feet!

Rome to Pisa - 5th February

Well, we left Rome today, bit grey, but dry. We had made our way to the main Train station by underground. We showed our tickets and got through to the Platforms - all 30+ of them, and ours was 28! So a very long walk later finally found our train.

We had opted for the regional railway today, as this followed the coast up to Pisa, not the high speed railway that would have taken us back to Florence. So we didn’t have reserved seats this time, but it was not a problem at all, as the train wasn’t very full at all. It was a double decker one so we went upstairs. The first half hour or so, we literally circumnavigated Rome, but at last we were out in the countryside, and going through very rural areas, much the same as before.

Then we reached the coast, and the track followed the coast for quite some way, with glimpses of sea, boats and small towns. During our journey, some 4 hours, we passed 3 large Power stations, small towns, a large port, a small airfield. We saw one area with 2 or 3 very large cruise ships moored up, and out to sea at various times there were several large tankers.

As the afternoon wore on, we went into dark skies and eventually heavy rain. By the time we reached Pisa, it was drizzly, and so we got a taxi to our hotel, as we didn’t really know where we were going. Tomorrow its the leaning tower!

Pisa - Tuesday 6th February

With the forecast not looking good for today, we set off to find the Leaning Tower! To get there we walked out to the River, Arno - the same as in Florence. Just before we crossed over, there is a small church, Santa Maria della Spina. This has been rebuilt a bit further up from the banks of the river, but is still very close.

Crossing over the river, we carry on to the Piazza del Miracoli, the Square of Miracles. Nearly there and we catch our first glimpse of the leaning tower, not looking very high amongst all the buildings around. It is the Bell Tower for the Cathedral next to it, and the Baptistry a bit further down. 

Well, it certainly lived up to expectations...... it leans and looks as though it ought to fall over!  After the obligatory poses of trying to hold it up, we went and bought our tickets to go up it. It was certainly a strange thing to do, first of all you can feel yourself being pushed one way, and then as you go around a bit more you feel like you’re falling the other way. The spiral steps up were at least not too steep, and every now and then there were ‘resting’ areas, where you could also pass those coming down. We climbed the 251 steps and then had wonderful views over Pisa, with snow on the mountains in one direction. The final climb was a very small spiral stairs up to the Bell Tower itself. A really unique experience, and well worth the effort.

Back on terra-firma we looked around the Cathedral. It was quite different to the others we have seen here, narrower and different in design inside. There is quite a lot of work going on, inside and out, and we saw a lady very painstakingly renovating some wooden seats.

Back outside and we looked around the Square area, and then went for a coffee, just before the rain started! We planned our route back to our hotel, via the Piazza del Cavalieri, a very large open Square. Although getting quite wet now, the walk back was interesting, and we returned to dry off and warm up - there was quite a chilly wind!

Later we went out for some dinner, and as it had stopped raining, decided to go back and see if the Tower was lit up. It was good to see it in the dark, and with very few people about.

Pisa to Milan - Wednesday 7th February

Well a day of travelling today. We checked out of our hotel and walked to the train station, it was dry and reasonably sunny. Setting off on the train for our 4 hour journey, we realised that Pisa was a larger place than we first thought.

We travelled through some quite industrial areas, lots of stone quarries and yards with stone ranging from very large blocks, to smaller ballast type piles, to chippings. 

Soon we were at the coast, and went through several small towns, hugging the coastline, and going through lots of tunnels as well, getting glimpses of the sea every now and again. Up in the hills every now and again there were pockets of brightly coloured houses, a change from the creams, peaches and terracottas we have seen so far this trip.

At Genoa we left the coast and headed in land, up though the mountain range, more tunnels, and into snow. Then all of a sudden we were leaving the snow behind and going through very flat countryside again. Eventually we started coming into a more industrial and urban area - the outskirts of Milan.

Most of the journey our Carriage wasn’t very full, but at Genoa lots of business people, mainly men got on, and so all of a sudden it was noisier and fuller!

On reaching Milan we got a taxi to our hotel and checked in. It is very nice, and has recently reopened following some upgrading. We were told about  welcome drinks and nibbles on the lobby, so went down to sample this - prosseco and nibbles - very nice. After a coupleofroomissues we were upgraded to a suite, very nice! So we are now on the 10th floor, instead of the 5th.

Milan - Thursday 8th February

Well, a busy day in Milan......... we left our hotel and walked to the main train station. Having bought a 48 hour metro ticket, we went into the old centre of Milan, looking for the hop on and off bus. Our guide said it was near the Castello Sforzesco....which we found easily, we then walked nearly all the way around this large castle, and eventually found the information centre and bus stop.

We got our tickets and almost immediately a bus turned up, so we got on, and completed the red route. This took us around the old centre mainly. So we saw the Castle, with a lovely fountain in front, and Garibaldi’s statue, the Duomo, La Scala (the opera house) and the church where Da Vinci’s Last Supper painting is housed.

When we had completed the circuit, we changed onto the green route, which took us further out of the city centre. The main focus of this route was to visit the San Siro stadium, where both AC Milan and Inter Milan play. En route we also passed Casa Milan, a new HQ for AC Milan. At the stadium we got off and bought tickets for the museum and stadium visit. It was interesting, and great that for the stadium tour you just followed a route at your own pace. There were plenty of guides dotted along the way to answer questions if you wanted.

The timing worked out well, and as we finished our tour, this coincided with the next bus arriving at the stadium. We completed the green route, and decided to visit the Duomo, thinking it would  be busier over the next few days. So we walked down to the large Square in front of the Cathedral and admired the many spires. Having got our tickets, we first went into the Cathedral, quite different from the others we have visited.

Having completed our tour inside, we made our way to the lift, having decided that was a much easier option than the stairs! This took us up to The Terraces, on the roof! This was really great, up amongst all the spires and statues, and even though there was a lot of work going on in some areas, with scaffolding and areas out of bounds, there was such a lot to see. The views out over Milan were good as well.

Returning to terra firma we went for a drink, in a small place at the edge of the very posh shopping area off the Square, Galleri Vittori Emanuel. The restaurant was quit posh, and specialised in Campari drinks.....which seem to be a specialty here, so we tried one. We tried to order this with a piece of cake, but were told it came as an aperitif, i.e. with nibbles! Which was ok.....olives, crisps, and some small pastry bites. So we didn’t bother with the cake.

We returned to our hotel, via the metro again, getting a pizza for dinner on the way. A some what busy and tiring day....

Milan - Friday 9th February

So we had a slightly less hectic day today.....setting off from the hotel a bit later

and taking it a bit easier. We caught the metro into the centre, getting off a stop earlier than yesterday, and made our way to the hop on and off stop.

Our first route was the Blue one, which we didn’t do yesterday. This took us back out towards the station, and into the area being redeveloped, with smart, mainly glass, high rise buildings. There was also a high rise building that had lots of trees planted on every level, Bosch Verticale, or vertical forest. The concept behind it is to help mitigate smog and produce oxygen.

Outside the station there is a sculpture of an Apple..... and I looked this up, The Apple made whole again..... is a symbolic work where the artificial and natural worlds are united! We got some photos of this from the bus.

Another sculpture we saw, today and yesterday, is the Needle, Thread and Knot, ..... a colourful and large sculpture ..... the three colours represent the three Metro lines, and the needle and thread represent Milan’s fashion culture.

On completing the Blue line, we stopped off for a coffee, and then got back on the Red line....  just for three stops, thinking we would visit the Leonardo Last Supper painting. However, when trying to get tickets were told, the next available ones were next week! So, that was that.... so we carried on walking down the street towards La Scala, the Opera house. We debated going into the museum, but decided against it.

After a stroll around this area, we thought we would try catching a tram, and got on one, that happened to be one of the older, original styles. We weren’t exactly sure where we were going but got off at the Repubblica Square and then walked back to our hotel. We went out a bit later for dinner.

Milan - Saturday 10th February

A more relaxing day today, setting off for the train station again to catch the Metro into the Duomo, to see how busy it was on a sunny Saturday morning...... lots of people, and lots of pigeons!

We strolled down the side of the Square, past the posh shopping gallery, and onto a posh department store...... 8 flights of escalators and onto the roof terrace, with a view over the roof of the Duomo, for a coffee. The top floor seemed to be devoted to food....and a lot of chocolate – fashioned into shoes, handbags, coloured flowers!

We strolled around this whole area a bit more, stopping again at a street cafe for a drink - the Campari spritz again - it seems to be a local specialty, very orange and a slightly bitter taste.

We returned to the hotel, to watch the Rugby, hoping it would be on the tv, but couldn’t find it so had to make do with the Ipad. Went out to get dinner in the New York bar again.

Milan - Sunday 11th February

Last night we decided to visit Lake Como today....and went online and got train tickets. So we set off this morning, a train journey of about 40 minutes, mainly through scruffy urban areas, and reached the town of Como, at the southern tip of the Lake.

We wandered through to the lakeside, passing the Hand sculpture, which is dedicated to disabled service people. We walked out on a causeway to another sculpture, the Life Electric.

Although it was sunny, it was quite misty, and dark in places, which made looking down the lake at the many villages nestled on the hillside not very clear. We got tickets for a boat trip that lasted about an hour and a quarter, and called into 5 or 6 different places. It was quite pleasant sitting outside at the back of the boat, I think it was probably chilly in the front.

After a late pizza lunch, we then went along to the funicular railway, that goes up to Burate. Unfortunately it was too hazy to have good views from the top. Intriguingly you could walk onto a lighthouse from here, still don’t really understand why there is a lighthouse on top of a hill!

Walking back through the town at the bottom, and past the main church, there were lots of people about, and lots of ‘confetti’ which children seem to have bag fulls of and throw around for no particular reason! We have seen this all over during our trip, but more so here, so not sure if we had missed a special occasion!

Back to our hotel, after a lovely day visiting scenery as a change from cities - churches and architecture.....

Milan to Home - Monday 12th February

So the day started rather early, with a text from British Airways, about 5:30am, telling us our flight was cancelled! Phil spent quite a while trying to see what was happening,  on the website and ringing the number, but lines didn’t  open until 6am, UK time. So, at 7 am here he tried again......and eventually, after being on hold for about half an hour, got to speak to someone. Well, another 20 minutes later, and we were booked on a similar time flight to Heathrow, instead of London City, as City airport was shut due to finding an unexplored WWII bomb in the Thames nearby!  

So we were down to breakfast much earlier than intended, and out of the hotel on our way into the centre. We had decided to look around the Castle this morning, which was good, some big courtyards, a large, dried up moat, and didn’t take very long to see.

We admired the fountain at the front, which on our bus tour we were told was supposed to resemble a wedding cake. Then we walked around Parco Sempione, a large park behind the Castle. We saw the Arco della Pace, a gateway that reminded me of the Brandenburg Gate.

After this there really wasn’t a lot more we wanted to see, so went back to our hotel, to wait for the car we had booked to take us to the airport.