departure morning in Florence 7,8 Jun2017

We spent the morning getting ready to take the Veuling flight to London. I went out and scrounged up a little breakfast – the usual coffee and pastry. We were ready early and I got a bit of nostalgia while waiting which is why I took some black and white photos as I did. I hated walking up the stairs of this apartment, it was the toughest one of the ones we stayed at, but I like the feeling of the apartment. But did I hate that long climb up the stairs lol. The worst part was there was a point where you felt that you were there only to find you had another flight to go. Brutal… But for that hour or two it felt good, liking that attic room and feeling good in Florence. And then another good, uneventful flight to London Garwick. Found our way to the hotel (wow our only hotel while in Europe) and did a little exploring. Oh well just a short walk to a petrol station for some snacks with Ashley. Managed not to get run over while crossing the streets. We caught our Westjet flight back to Vancouver the next day. Enjoyed using the IPad for viewing movies on the flight and wishing I had noise cancelling headphones. I should get a pair before the next trip.

YVR and home…

The complete album is here.

Firenze and the Uffizi 6Jun2017

Our tour of the Uffizi was later in the afternoon so we had the whole day to walk around again. But first there was breakfast at the Diner.

Then we just wandered around the city. Walked through the outside (free**couch*cough**) courtyard of a museum, to the Mercato Centrale again, past by the duomo which we seemed to be walking by most times, to the Piazza Signora

The two girls wanted to go back to the Mercato Centrale which we did.

These two guys were cool, illegal street vendors with their collapsible vending tables which they could fold in seconds and keep from getting arrested lol.

We keep walking by the duomo which was so central to the part of the city that we walked.

We didn’t get a chance to explore the Piazza dell Repubblica other than that we walked by it.

Il Porcellino is the local Florentine nickname for the bronze fountain of a boar. The fountain had a function that was mainly practical, but also decorative: it provided water to merchants who traded under the balcony. At that time these merchants specialized in the sale of luxury fabrics such as silks, brocades, and wool cloths. The base is octagonal and is enriched by a representation of the environment of the marshes where the boar lives, with plants and animals such as amphibians, reptiles, and mollusks, all of remarkable realism.

Tradition has it that you had to put a coin inside of its mouth and slide it down hoping that it ends up in the grate. As the coin descends, you had to make a wish! A little trick was to put the coin on the tip of the tongue, so that it would have less momentum and would be sure to fall into the grate. Another thing to know is that if the coin did not fall into the grating on the first shot it was forbidden to take by the coin and try again … a double whammy! According to popular belief, the female wild boar is an animal associated with good luck. As such, all the women who wanted a son would rub its nose.

Another explanation for this ritual could be that the fountain, as giver of water, was in itself considered a source of well-being to drink. However, you had to lean on the nose of the animal, so that its face would shine, even in the past, given the constant rubbing of hands. Many people, however, say that according to the original tradition, rubbing the nose of the Porcellino before leaving Florence made sure the return.

I “designed” a walk using the GPSMyCity app crossing the Point Vecchio to the other side of the river. I should have done this throughout the trip but didn’t realize how easy it was to make up a custom walk from the sights that one would encounter along the way. And we stuck to it this time and I found it easy to walk and identify the sights along the way.

One of a couple of the weddings we ran into while we were in Italy. So lovely, happy and romantic.

Lunch time along the way.

We continued walking after lunch. Walked by the Palazzo Pitti but just wandered a little bit in front of the palace.

Our visit time to the Uffizi finally came and so inside and up the stairs we went. One of the great museums of the world, the Uffizi houses the premier collection of Italian Renaissance art, featuring works by such masters as Botticelli, Titian, Michelangelo and da Vinci.

And a great dinner to end the day.

Firenze Walks 5Jun2017

We went to an “American” breakfast place which was actually run by an American lady who went to Florence years ago but on her last day went to a bar and ran into a bartender who became her husband and now she is living in Florence permanently. Our apartment on Via Torta was a few blocks away from this restaurant and just across the street from Piazza di San Croce. This “Diner Florence” is located on Via dell’Acqua and Via dell Vigna Vecchia had the usual bacon and eggs and to be had by the excellent expresso coffee that I wish I could replicated here in Vancouver.

Then is was back through the alleys to the Piazza di Santa Croce close to us. We were looking for a leather shop but got talked into going to another shop by a Filipino tout. I doubt we got a bargain but Ashley was happy with the leather jacket she purchased. She and I talked about returning to get the red leather one someday. And so while they browsed around the shop, the Old Florence leather factory beside the chruch, I wandered around close by.

Then it was off to the Mercato Centrale.

And then back towards the apartment again passing by the duomo and stopping by a restaurant for some chicken caccotoria before calling it a night.

The complete album is here.

Firenze 4Jun2017

We got into Firenze and took a taxi to the flat. Of all the apartments we stayed at in Europe this one had the most brutal set of stairs. I hated going in and out of the apartment as the steps were so hard. I was always perspiring quite a bit by the time I got in. And yet in the end I kind of liked the apartment. We went straight to the duomo – Duomo – Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore. The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (“Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower”) is the main church of Florence, Italy. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style with the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris. The cathedral complex, located in Piazza del Duomo, includes the Baptistery and Giotto’s Campanile. The basilica is one of Italy’s largest churches, and until development of new structural materials in the modern era, the dome was the largest in the world. It remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.

From the duomo we then walked towards the Piazza della Signora. The Piazza della Signoria has been the center of political life in Florence since the 14th century with the prominent Palazzo Vecchio overlooking the square. It was the scene of great triumphs, such as the return of the Medici in 1530 as well as the Bonfire of the Vanities instigated by Savonarola, who was then himself burned at the stake here in 1498 after he was denounced by the Inquisition as a heretic. Sculptures are displayed prominently in the Piazza.

Then it was to the Ponte Vecchio and the gold shops. The Ponte Vecchio (“Old Bridge”) is a medieval stone closed-spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River noted for still having shops built along it, as was once common. Butchers initially occupied the shops; the present tenants are jewelers, art dealers and souvenir sellers.

The complete album is here.

Venezia and Murano 3Jun2017

A long day today which started with a walk to a closeby vaporetto taxi pickup and to another close piazza to pick up some breakfast. Unfortunately it was coffee and croissants with which I was getting a bit tired of but it was the local fare.

Went back to the flat and then it was off to the Mercato di Rialto. The market was a bit disappointing but I guess it would be difficult to compete with the Mercado de La Boqueria in Barcelona.

Then it was a vaporetto ride to Murano. Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon. It lies about a mile north of Venice and measures about a mile across with a population of just over 5,000. It is famous for its glass making. It was once an independent comune, but is now a frazione of the comune of Venice.

And after getting back to Venice doing a walk from the GPSMyCity app – the Cannaregio walk. the Cannaregio district is the most northerly sestiere in Venice and is characterized by its picturesque waterways and narrow pedestrianized walkways, some of which are wide enough for just one person. This is where many of Venice’s residents live. There are street markets and stalls piled high with vegetables and popular seafood such as small octopus and crabs. It has the Jewish Ghetto, which was founded in the 16th century and made famous by Shakespeare in the Merchant of Venice. Although only a handful of Jewish residents live here today, the area is still an important focal point of Jewish life in the city. There are two synagogues, kosher food shops, a bakery and a Jewish library. There are historic buildings, including the medieval ‘skyscrapers’ which consist of several floors. A notable ancient site is Madonna dell’Orto, a domed Gothic church with a striking façade and a collection of important religious artworks. There is more Gothic architecture to appreciate at Ca’ d’Oro, a 15th-century palazzo along the Grand Canal. The waterfront palace with its loggia and arches was once the home of Baron Giorgio Franchetti, and now contains his private art collection of paintings and sculptures.

The rest of the album is here.

Venezia 2Jun2017

We were to take a train to Venezia so we first tried to drag our suitcases to the Roma Termini. Bump, bump, bump… the cobbled streets of Rome does not make it easy to drag your suitcases and even walk at times. You really need to be careful as it is quite easy to turn an ankle. We tried for a couple of blocks but it was slow when a taxi showed up and we piled in with all the suitcases and then it was a five minute drive to the station. Quiet, fast ride through Tuscany. Dreamed about driving through Tuscany but I guess that would just be a dream. Arrived at the Stazione di Venezia Santa Lucia. Took the vaporetto to the nearest stop S. Angelo. What an interesting ride through the canal.

We then walked around a maze of streets until we found the flat at Campo San Maurizio.

We dropped off our luggages and headed for Piazza San Marco.

We continued walking to the Ponte dei Sospiri and further on. The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) is an enclosed bridge made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, and passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove) to the interrogation rooms in the Doge’s Palace. It was designed by Antonio Contino (whose uncle Antonio da Ponte had designed the Rialto Bridge) and was built in 1600.

The complete album is here.

bocca della veritas 01jun2017

This was our last day in Rome and we seemed to have seen just about all the major sites we planned to see. Breakfast at Millano Cafe and then it was to the Roma Termini. One of our ireasons was to see where it was as we needed to take the train to Venezia tomorrow morning. Another reason was to report the pickpocket incident to the Polizia. I was hesitant to do it as I figured it would be difficult to do based on internet writings. I used an online translator to create a “police report” in Italian. It went over quite easily and not as long as the day long ordeals I read about on the internet. In the end I was glad to have done it as I managed to get some $ back from our insurance company. It helped to defray the costs of getting a new IPhone 7.

We then walked to the bocca della veritas (Mouth of Truth). The Mouth of Truth is a marble mask in which stands against the left wall of the portico of the Santa Maria in the Cosmedin church, at the Piazza della Bocca della Verità, the site of the ancient Forum Boarium (the ancient cattle market). I found out about this when I stumbled on a write-up on the movie Roman Holiday starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. The boca della veritas happened to be one of the shooting locations and hence became a must see on this vacation. Other movie locations included the Roman Forum, Piazza Spagna, Fontana Trevi and a few others. I also tried to do this in Paris on another Hepburn movie-Charade and the Harry Potter shooting locations in London. With a long lineup it was seconds in front of the mouth to take a quick photo and then om to a quick tour of the inside of the church.

We then went towards Piazza Venezia. A rather long walk on Via del Teatro di Marcello but the ruins along the road made it interesting. We passed the Portico al Foro Olitorio on the right and the Teatro Marcello on the left.

It took a little convincing but finally got everyone to climb up the hill to the Campidoglio. After looking around we went down the hill and continued towards the piazza.

Tried to get everyone to get up to the top pf the building but no luck this time. So we continued on but not without having another gelato.

I planned on going to the Piazza del Popolo the last of the bigger piazzas that we still had not seen. We saw some interesting sights – the building that housed the National Anti-Corruption Authority. Piazza Colonna, art on the sidewalk.

And then on to the Piazza Popolo.

And then back to the flat.

The complete album is here.

Day at the Vatican 31May2017

I woke up early as usual and as the girls were still all sound asleep decided to do a photography walk as I sometimes do. Mornings are nice for that, the light is soft, the air is cool and a photographer has the location to himself as the more sensible portion of the population is doing what is sensible…sleeping. But in spite of not being a morning person, I do enjoy the time/place to myself. This was a spur of the moment kind of thing and the location I chose was Fontana di Trevi. I never thought of going somewhere where the morning sun would be more beneficial for photography and in reality it just occurred to me as I write this blog entry.

Went back to the apartment to pick up the girls and from there we went to our go to breakfast place Millano Caffe (via Palermo and via Milano).

Continued out walk to the Roma Termini to catch a train to the Vatican and early on had an unfortunate encounter with a pickpocket who made off with my IPhone, camera batteries and memory cards. Slick and swift and I was lucky it wasn’t my wallet or something really valuable. We went back to our apartment and changed all the passwords and locked the IPhone. I should have been more careful considering all the warnings we’ve been given but it was one careless moment and done. After feeling a little more secure that all was now protected we went back to our original intention – the Vatican. We arrived to line-ups but as we had bought tickets online we were able to cut through the long lines. And then it was just a matter of staying ahead of the masses of tourist as we went through the Vatican Museum. The sculptures and paintings weren’t as impressing as other museums other than that the collection was huge. We eventually made it to the Sistine Chapel which was a disappointment in that photos were not allowed, I have museums that do that. We then left the museum and went inside the Basilica di San Pietro. We were able to see all the famous pieces but the canopy didn’t seem as impressive as other visits. It could be the lighting but it didn’t seem as impressive. The Pope was not there to preside over a mass so we didn’t have the fortune of catching a glimpse of him.

Then is was out and about Rome again. We walked across the Ponte Sant’Angelo just off the Castel Sant Angelo.

Colosseum and Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II 30May2017

The Colosseum, we discovered, was within walking distance from the place we stayed at. These Roman ruins stretch from the Colosseum to the Foro Romano. It seems that in the past I’ve only explored a part of the ruins and while we tried to see most of the area I feel like we missed a bit of it. We started at the Colosseum and toured the structure by walking completely around the arena and also doing the 2 levels there. The stairs were not that easy to climb.

After completing the tour of the insides of the Colosseum we headed outside towards the rest of the ruins.

After the ruins we continued our walk outside the area and headed towards Piazza Venezia. Looked for a place to eat and found this sandwich place called Smart Food on Via Cavour, 254. We’ve gone to the Via Cavour in previous years for shopping but not this section of the street on the other side close to Via dei Fori Imperiali. After lunch we continued our walk towards Piazza Venezia. My eldest had seen a store the other day and wanted to go back. So along Via del Fori Imperiali we walked and saw the Fori Imperiali along the way. Those ruins looked quite interesting but appears to not have been opened as a tourist site. We got to the Piazza Venezia and I decided to climb the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II. Not the most difficult climb but there were enough steps and it was quite hot so I took my time. After so many visits to Rome, this was the first time I thought of climbing up and it was quite nice up close to the top.

And the Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II

At about the time I got to the highest spot, the girls called me and back to the flat…but not before a little gelato at the Antica Roma. By this time we’d pretty much decided that we would try every gelato we’d get a chance to.

Then continued back to the apartment and to decide on a place for dinner. Our choice for the night was La Carbonara which was quite close to the apartment. Our best dinner on our trip to Italy.

The complete album is here.

Ciao Roma 29 May 2017

We had a 6am flight from Barcelona to Rome and so we had a taxi arranged for 4am to take us to the airport. The taxi was a few minutes late and worried I called the taxi company and in broken Spanish attempted to find out where our taxi was. A hilarious situation for which my daughters will not let me live down as they keep reminding me of how funny my Spanglish was ola… Oh well…

It was a uneventful flight spent napping. When we landed in Rome we tried to find our way to the train station but was intercepted by a taxi service. We found the taxi fee to be reasonable seeing as we would have to pay for 4 passengers on the train so we took the taxi to the Airbnb flat on Via Panisperna.

We were early and with all the suitcases we were lugging decided to ring the host’s bell at the apartment. The lady who opened the door wasn’t too thrilled to see us as we were a few hours early but after a bit of conversation she let us leave the luggage at their place …which was all we really wanted. We then took off to have a bit of breakfast nearby at the Millano Caffe a block away on the corner of Via Milano and Via Palermo. After the usual croissant and coffee breakfast (oh how I miss my oatmeal and fried egg) we headed for the closest sights we could get to… The first place and closest was the Fontana di Trevi. The Fontana di Trevi is in English the fountain at the junction of tree roads (tre vie). It is the terminal point of one of the aqueducts in Rome and dates back to 19BC. The fountain was initiated in 1629 and constructed from 1732-1762.

There was certainly a lot of people there when we arrived as it was in all of the tourist places in Europe. From the Fontana di Trevi we walked to the Piazza di Spagna. Again there was a lot of people there and this time there were even two photo shoots. The Spanish Steps (Italian: Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti) are a set of steps climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The Via dei Condotti runs into the Piazza di Spagni. Well known as the street with all the first class clothing shops, I never got around to walking through it. At this stage in life, food places are preferable walks!

We stopped for lunch (Sugo d’Oro on Via Propaganda) after which we went back to the flat to get into the room.

We rested a little bit but still had energy (enthusiasm) to get out again. It finally struck me that to see Rome is to see the piazzas. This album has photos of all the piazzas we went to. So it was off to visit a few more piazzas. We first went to the Pizza della Repubblica. The Piazza della Repubblica is a semi-circular piazza at the summit of the Viminal hill, next to the Termini station. On it is to be found Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. It is served by the Repubblica – Teatro dell’Opera Metro station. From the square starts one of the main streets of Rome, Via Nazionale.

And then to the Piazza Barberini… a large piazza in the centro storico or city center of Rome and situated on the Quirinal Hill. It was created in the 16th century but many of the surrounding buildings have subsequently been rebuilt. At the centre of the piazza is the Fontana del Tritone or Triton Fountain (1642–3) sculpted by Bernini. Fontana delle Api (Fountain of the Bees) is a fountain located in the Piazza Barberini in Rome where the Via Veneto enters the piazza. It was sculpted by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and completed in April 1644 (we missed seeing this).

We then cut through the Fontana di Trevi and to the Piazza Colonna. The piazza is rectangular. Its north side is taken up by Palazzo Chigi, formerly the Austria-Hungary’s embassy, but is now a seat of the Italian government. The east side is taken up by the 19th century public shopping arcade Galleria Colonna (since 2003 Galleria Alberto Sordi), the south side is taken up by the flank of Palazzo Ferrajoli, formerly the Papal post office, and the little Church of Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi (1731-35). The west side is taken up by Palazzo Wedekind (1838) with a colonnade of Roman columns taken from Veii. Our next stop was the Pantheon. The Pantheon is a former Roman temple, now a church. The building is circular with a portico of large granite Corinthian columns (eight in the first rank and two groups of four behind) under a pediment. A rectangular vestibule links the porch to the rotunda, which is under a coffered concrete dome, with a central opening (oculus) to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon’s dome is still the world’s largest unreinforced concrete dome. And then Piazza Navona. I didn’t realize we made is far as the Piazza Navona but we did on that night and it took a bit of sleuthing using my photos and google map to figure out. With its showy fountains, baroque palazzi (mansions) and colourful cast of street artists, hawkers and tourists, Piazza Navona is central Rome’s elegant showcase square. Built over the 1st-century Stadio di Domiziano, it was paved over in the 15th century and for almost 300 years hosted the city’s main market. Its grand centrepiece is Bernini’s Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, a flamboyant fountain featuring an Egyptian obelisk and muscular personifications of the rivers Nile, Ganges, Danube and Plate.

From the Piazza Navona we cut through the Piazza Venezia and back to our flat on Via Panisperna.

The complete album is here.