Day 19

Palermo to Erice

The heat in Palermo was lurking around every corner from sunrise, by 8am it was 29C. We had breakfast at our hotel and got a taxi to the rental car pick up place at a railway station in the suburbs of Palermo. There was actually a slight breeze but waiting in the foyer of the railway station to do the paperwork for the car there was no breeze, just sweat dripping off us. Soon enough we were in the car with Damian expertly piloting us onto the freeway out of town. We headed weat and got off at a little beachside community called Alcamo Marina where Louise and Damian went for a swim and Kris and I had a beer in the by now 38 degree heat.

 

ABOVE: Alcamo Marina, too hot to be in the sun swimming but not too hot for a beer!

We started climbing after our pit stop and soon were way above the sea, this is the view of Castellammare del Golfo the last major town on the coastal road from Trapani to Erice.

 BELOW: We kept climbing and climbing until we arrived at our village of Erice, 450 metres above sea level. It is basically a village on a masive rock that dates back to Roman times.

We arrived at Erice and were met by our hosts Eole and Guiseppi, they were like old friends as we had stayed at their B&B before. We left the car in a public car park and they ferried us up to our appartment.

ABOVE: Remnants of the outer wall of Erice date back to the Phoenician era so who knows how old some of these streets and buildings are?

ABOVE: Kris found a shop selling Marzipan sweets of lambs, a local speciality.

ABOVE: Our view from the kitchen looking down on Trapani, 450 metres below. As I type this I'm in the courtyard, the temperature is 23C and for the first time in a while I am not sweating whilst doing nothing, it is heaven!

Day 18

Palermo

I finally cracked today. The heat has done me in. What sort of heat are we talking about? You can be in an air conditioned shop, be feeling quite ok then go outside and sit under a tree or umberalla and making no movements the sweat would start dripping down your nose. Kris went for an early morning walk around her beloved Palermo, I stayed in bed, we then had breakfast and Kris and Louise went for a walk, I stayed in the hotel room. When Kris returned it was getting late for lunch so I ventured out into the oven, we found, thanks to Google maps, a lovely little family run restaurant very close to our hotel. From the outside, BELOW: we weren't even sure if it was open but we saw a couple go in and followed.

The waiter was a big balding man that seemed to have a permanent smile on his face, he was also a bit of a joker. When he found out we were from Australia he said "sorry no crocodile or kangaroo or Koala on the menu today" He patiently explained the menu, there were only about 6 dishes. We had caponata to start with, like all restaurants in Sicily, their caponata was a bit different to any we had tasted. BELOW:

Our mains were simple pasta dishes, sorry no photos as we started eating straight away. Mine was sardines and fennel, the sardines tasted like they had been caught just a few hours before. We cleaned up our plates with bread and the waiter then told us that to soak up the juices with bread meant he would have to charge us extra! Oh he was a jolly fellow! We then let him decide which dessert to have, it was ricotta with marzipan and almond flakes. BELOW

When he served it he suggested we take a photo of it ABOVE: to remember our meal in Palermo, he said "Look at the photo on your phone but remember, try not to eat the phone" The whole meal, with 2 beers cost 20 Euros. The cheapest and most authentic meal we've had on the trip. 20 Euros barely gets you two drinks in Venice!

After the meal, we escaped the heat again at our hotel room while and had a long siesta. We slowly woke up and went for a walk to a pen shop that Kris had been eyeing off but was closed whenever she saw it. We went in and came out 70 euros lighter and went to a outdoor bar to celebrate Kris's new pen purchase. BELOW    

After our drinks we went back to Kris's favourite restaurant in the whole world, La Brace. Kris had a Capricciosa pizza BELOW

And I had their signature dish, the rottisere chicken with potatoes. If I'm ever on death row, this is what I'd want as my last meal. BELOW

 

Two night shots of Palermo, BELOW, the famous opera house of Palermo, Teatro Politeama Garibaldi

The forecast for next week is for more of the same weather and we were going to go up the middle of Italy through Tuscany and Umbria, alas, it would not be enjoyable in the heat wave so we are thinking to going up and spending 4 or so days in the Alps, probably in Switzerland. Travelling in this heat is almost a waste of time as you simply don't want to be outside.

Day 16 & 17

Siena - Civitavecchia - Palermo

Italy does three things well: food, wine and confusion. We didn't have much of the first two yesterday and today but lots of the later. The day started well with a yummy breakfast at our appartment in Siena with lots of fresh fruit, homemade yogurt and crossaints. We then went for a walk around amazing Siena before getting a taxi to the station where we caught our train to Grossetto. We travelled on a branch line, single track, not electrified.

 

ABOVE: While waiting for our train at Grosetto I snapped this Siena board diesel railcar.

The timetable said we had one hour at Grosseto so Kris and I went for a walk into town while Louise and Damian stayed at the station with the backpacks. It was Sunday when most things are closed in smaller towns, we were also there during sisesta hours which on any day of the week are usually noon until about 5pm. The town was completely dead, nothing at all was open except for an Lidl (like a small Aldi). No cars, no pedestrians, I think we saw two kids on a bike. So the walk was in 36 degrees and a complete waste of time, there wasn't even anything of architechral significance. We got back to the station to discover that due to a "problem with control equipment" all trains were late. In the case of our train it was one hour late. Another beer in the station cafe, and thgen another and finally our train arrived. About an hour and a half later we were at Civavecchia, the port city where would catch ourferry to Palermo (Sicily) We had planned to have a nice sit down dinner before making our way to the ferry but now we didn't have a much time as we thought so we started walking in the 36 degree heat to the GNV port office. We snaked around ancient roman coastal fortifications, past massive yards full of containers and finally got to the embarkment office. He issued us with our boarding pass and told us to get a shuttle bus to gate 28. I told the shuttle bus driver where we were going and he told us to get off the bus at gate 27. And there it was, our ship to Palermo, named "Tenacia". This was the name on our tickets. The only problem was that Tenacia was at berth 27 and we were told to go to berth 28, right next door, must be a simple mistake we though but no, despite questioning the officials several times we were told our ferry was on berth 28. We got on board and I asked the pursor "are we on the correct ship?" si si, yes, yes, he replied. Curiously our tickets did not say that Palermo was our destination but a place called Termini Imerese. But oh well, we had been assured were were on the right boat. What was disnconcerting was that the boat whose name appeared on our tickets was right next to us! BELOW:    

We finally set sail bang on time at 9.00pm, I'm sure everyone was sick of me saying, "I'm not really sure we are on the right boat" 

ABOVE: Kris enjoying a Messina beer on the aft deck of our ship, the ferry our ticket said we were supposed to be on is alongside.

While standing on the ferry I snapped this building, it could be a power station but I don't really know what it is, it looked nice in the dying light at Civitavecchia.

We settled into our little 4 berth cabin and immediately set about finding something to eat. The cafeteria was a sad little affair with some dishes dumped in the Bain Marie. I had a pasta and broccoli dish which was passable, Kris and Louise had a different pasta dish. After their first bite Kris said "This is cold" and took the two plates back to the servers. Amazingly the servers shrugged their shoulders and pointed in the direction of a microwave oven in the corner of the dining room. Pretty simple concept I guess, if the food is cold, chuck it in the microwave... yourself!

On the plus side the crossing was amazingly smooth. the sea was as flat as a millpond. There was supposedly free internet on the ferry but I couldn't get it to work which is why there was no blog last night.

 I had no idea what was involved in getting from Termini Imerese to Palermo but the dock shuttle bus dumped us at the port's gate with some vague instructions from the shuttle bus driver to get to the station to catch a train to Palermo. We eventually found the station after some directions from a bloke selling trinkets under a bridge. At the station confusion reigned, there were trains sitting at the platforms that were going to Palermo but nothing was moving. There was talk of a fire but whether the fire was on a train or on the track was not made clear. Eventually the departure board showed a bus to Palermo so we clambered aboard. At least the airconditioning worked and soon enough we were dumped at Palermo Centrale. So here we are in Sicily, in a quite nice hotel with good airconditioning and a working fridge.

Sorry that there aren't many photos of the last 24 hours, we were flat out figuring out how to get from Siena to palermo.  

Day 15

Cinque Terra to Siena via Pisa

We were almost locals at the coffee shop in Manarola where we started our third day in Cinque Terra. Then it was time to leave and head back into the real world. Last night was amazing as our appartment was at the top of a cliff and the wind and surf were really pounding us, it was great.

We almost missed our first train from Manarolla to La Spezia as there was a line at the ticket machine and there was an old English couple having trouble with the new fangled technology, Louise's teacher skills kicked in and she helped the old couple navigate the new technology. "Now just press that button" "Lovely" "Now put your card in" "Excellent" It was great. We just made the train for the very short ride from Manarolla to La Spezia. If you Google "most scenic train rides in Italy" the track from La Spezia to Genoa will come up. Don't believe them! The terrain is so rugged that most of the line is in tunnels, the only time you see daylight is when the train gets to a station. We had an hour to  kill at La Spezia and just as Kris's new found French friend told us, La Spezia doesn't have much going for it although it is close to Cinque Terra and a lot of people use it as a cheap accomodation option.

ABOVE: The train on the left is our train from La Spezia to Pisa. The train on the right is one of the trains that runs up and down along the 5 stations of the Cinque Terra. On the trip we saw a massive mountain range quarried extensively, It was the Carrara marble quarries and our train paused in Carrara Avenza where the marble is worked to make it available for retail. There were blocks and sheets of marble everywhere in mason's yards.

ABOVE: After checking our bags at Pisa Centrale we walked to the Leaning Tower, a fairly long, roundabout walk in extreme heat. Yep, the tower definitely has a lean to it! What I didn't realise is if you forget about the lean it is a beautiful structure. I believe that the soil engineer that analysed the soil never found employment again and I would have loved to have heard the arguments between the church and the builders when the tower began leaning as soon as it was finished.

 ABOVE: Kris and I in front of the tower. We resisted the tempation to pretend to be pushing it back straight although Kris had a good idea, she suggested we pretend to be pushing it further over! Photo by Damian.

After the tower we had a welcome cold beer and suprisingly good pizza close to the tower. I can now say I've had a hamburger in Hamburg, A frankfurt in Frankfurt, Spag Bolanaisse in Bologna and now a pizza in Pisa! I now just have to visit Wombat and have a..., oh forget it.

From Pisa we caught a train along the mainline that goes to Firenze to the junction staion of Empoli, where we changed to a diesel railcar for the trip along the non electrified, single track branch to Siena. It was getting late and the directions to our place sounded complicated so we got a taxi. Louise booked this place and it is our best by far, amazing rooms and located perfectly.

Siena is not as famous as many Italian towns but it is amazing, it is in the heart of Tuscanny and it is where Chianti wine comes from. Our host told us about a outdoor bar in a fort above the town. BELOW: the view from the outdoor bar.

 

ABOVE: Kris enjoying a Aperol Spritz and the outdoor bar under the trees. I've drunk at a lot of places in my life but this was was possibly the most perfect. It seems like the locals go up there after work for a few drinks and some snacks. On a a hot day, it was heaven. 

ABOVE: We had a dinner booking at a restaurant that our host recommended, we could have stayed at the bar all night but we headed down the hill and I found this view of Siena.

ABOVE: Probably the most impressive piazza in Italy is the Piazza del Campo in Siena, it is massive, The bell tower has an interesting story. Apparently Siena and Firenze were vying to be the major city of the north. Firenze had a pretty good bell tower so when this piazza was built the main instruction was that it had to be taller than the one in Firenze. It is stupidly tall but incredibly impressive.

ABOVE: Many Italian fountains are busy, this one in the piazza at siena is nice an d quiet, just a trickle of water out of the dogs mouth.

ABOVE: Strolling back to our appartment, we stumbled across this, as you do in Italy! If you get the chance, go to Siena!

Day 14

Cinque Terra

After a coffee and crossaint, Kris and I took the boat from Manarola to Monterosso. The sea was quite rough so the unloading/loading process was quite an ordeal with the boat going up and down about 5 metres. The skill of the deckhands was something to see.

ABOVE: Here I am swimming in the Thrrhenian Sea at Monterrosso al Mare. It was a sort of baptism, after swimming I slowed down, I was finally moving at Cinque Terra tempo.

We had a bite at Monterrosso and then caught the train back to our apartment at Manarola where we had a siesta.  We then caught the train to Vernazza so we could take some night shots. Before the photos we found a little trattoria away from the sea where the locals seemed to be eating, I had a pesto pasta with fresh made pasta. We then did a little hiking to get some shots of the town in the waning light.

 

 

 

BELOW: Last shot of the day was of Kris having a rest hiking back down from where we took the photos above.

Day 13

Cinque Terra

Today was the first day of our 3 day stay in Cinque Terra. 5 seacliff villages that can only be reached by train or by hiking. Some of the trails between the villages are always closed because of the ever present landslides. We had to catch the train from the town where we are staying, Manarolla, to Corgnlia. We have been to Corniglia before and well remember the staircase from the station to the town. It is a switchback of stairs that takes at least 20 minutes to summount. Incredibly hard work in the high temps and humidity. The photo below was taken from abot 3/4 of the way up the staricase, looking down the station where our climb began, it shows a northbound goods train being overtaken by a northbound intercity express. 

After climbing the never ending staircase we arrived at the village of Corniglia where our hike to Vernazza started. It is a hike of about 3 km but it is the most brutal 3km you will ever walk. I was too exhausted to take photos of the steepest parts. But I did manage this snap. BELOW: The closest village is Corniglia where we started the hike, the farthest village is Manarola which is where we are staying

 

ABOVE: Kris on an easier part of the trail. BELOW: Near the end of the trail with Vernazza in sight. 

At Vernazza we went to the same bar we visited after our last Cinque Terra hike in 2017 and the beer after both hikes was amazing. While there we met a French lady from Paris and proceeded to have a good old session with her. We all got on so well we caught the train to Monterosso where we had a most amazing seafood dinner, I had Sea Bass which might just be the best seafood dish I've ever had, Kris had pasta with Pesto, Pesto was apparently invented here and Kris gave it two thumbs up. We then caught the train back to Manarolla.

Day 12

Firenze (Florence) to Manarola (Cinque Terra)

The main topic of conversation this morning was about the fact that under our room there were non stop jackhammers until 6.00am. removing the base that lion lion statue that I mentioned yesterday had been removed from. The 36 degree heat didn't help either.

We made our way to the main station at Florence and commenced our journey to Cinque Terra, so called because it consists of 5 lands, or 5 towns. Whilst waiting for our train I snapped this passenger train with one of Trenitalia's cutest little diesels.  We travelled via the branch line through Pistoia where we had lunch and Lucca, at Viareggio we changed to a mainline train to La Spezia and then to Manarola. 

 

ABOVE: During a station stop I snapped this old nonna sitting on her balcony. She looked quite sad, maybe she misses her husband?

ABOVE: Kris and I at Pistoia about to get on our train to Viareggio.

ABOVE: Kris on the steps near our appartment, our door is the second on the left. Upon arrival at Manarolla we were met with 25 degree temperatures and some rain. for the first time in a week we actually felt cool!

ABOVE: After an amazing dinner of local seaford Kris and I went to the walkway where I shot this pic of Manarola, the town where we are staying while there was still a little light in the sky.  

ABOVE: A view from Manarola looking north along the coast.

ABOVE: Last photo of the day was of a train passing through Manarola from near where our appartment is.

Sadly Cinque Terra seems to have become a place where rich Americans send their spolit kids for summer break. The place is overun by them, zero cultural awareness. Another beautiful place spoiled by the beligerance of Americans. 

Day 11

Firenze (Florence)

So this morning we lined up for entrance into the famous Ufizzi gallery. Whilst in line a bloke came up to us and informed us that it was a very happy day for him because it was his mothers birthday. He engaged us in conversation until the sting, he gave Kris a silver bracelet. Kris immediately gave it back to him and I told him to go away NOW. He left without complaint.

 As an occasional reader of the classics it was time to meet a few old friends.

We ran into old mate Leonardo, he told us that he'd just given Aussie rules a go and had injured his right arm. He told us he is trying to invent footy boots that will give ruckman and high fliers a lift and will try to sell the idea to Asic.

ABOVE: Next up was Macchiavelli, he was deep in contemplation, no doubt plotting some fiendish political act, he wasn't up for a conversation. 

ABOVE: Without doubt, the most famous painting at the Ufizzi is The Birth Of Venus by Botticelli. This painting was rather obscure outside art circles until it was used relentlesly and mercilessly in the production of Monty Python's Flying Circus. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea fully-grown. No doubt a few bottles of vino were downed to come up with this idea!

ABOVE: Next up I bumped into old mate Socrates. He's aged terribly since I last saw him and he was complaining how Da Vinci and all the other notables have full body sculptures wheras he has just this mangy old head sculpture. But in true Socratean style, he was philosophical about it! "The only part of my body that mattered was my brain" he whispered to me. "I wasn't much of a soccer player"

 

ABOVE: One of my favourite paintings was this one. The glow of light into the faces around the baby was amazing.

BELOW:  The Ufizzi gallery is huge and takes at least 2 hours to get through, it was 35 degrees outside and many of the rooms were close to that although some were a bit cool. After a beer in the oppressive heat we came back to our appartment for a siesta. We woke late and went to a trattoria that was recommended to us. The sampler entree plate was amazing, the highlight of which was a pancake thing with a truffle sauce. Our mains arrived. Kris ordered a seafood pasta dish and I ordered a saffron, prawn and zuchini risotto. Both were amazing although I think the risotto should have been a bit more runny. At least that's what Dad would have said.

Day 10

Venizia to Firenze

I was quite getting used to Venice by the time it was time to leave. By day, Venice is a mad house and Mark's travel tip today is this. When visiting Venice, rise early, have one or two espressos and get some photos during an early morning walk in the early morning light. By the time the sun is high in the sky thus making photography useless, the day crowds have arrived, now is a good time to go back to your accomodation, have a beer or two and have a nice long siesta. There is no use being anywhere in Venice when the day tourists are there. Once the sun starts getting low in the sky it is time to start getting ready for an evening walk to take your photos and get something to eat.

We caught a train from Venice to Bologna, where we got off for lunch. For anyone that remembers the Movie Von Ryans Express, Bologna is where they smashed up the signalbox and diverted their train towards Switzerland, only in Holywood! Anyway, Bologna is an impressive railway station and major junction. ABOVE: Is a local train, not the one we caught.   

ABOVE: One of the impressive signalboxes at Bologna. The clock was showing the wrong time but our trains were bang on time.

ABOVE: A high speed intercity Trenitalia train arriving Bologna at the east end of the station. Our train from Bologna to Prato is on the right.

Our train from Bologna dropped us at Prato which is basically an outer suburb of Firenze, we finally got to Firenze Santa Maria station, from there, Damian's great navigation skills got us to our appartment which overlooks Piazza della Signoria, the main piazza in Firenze.

ABOVE: In Piazza della Signoria there is a replica of the famous statue of David. We found out that to get to see the original costs 22 euros and is hard to get tickets to so this maybe the best we can do. I think he looks better with a tan anyway!

ABOVE: One of the most famous bridges in the world and one that I have long wanted to photograph is the Ponte Vecchio which crosses the Arno river.

ABOVE: Some very cool dogs in the square that our appartment overlooks.

ABOVE: Detail of the duomo near where we are staying, the sunlight was reflecting off the halos just right.

ABOVE: Piazza dining, viewed from our room.

ABOVE: Most things look more interesting when photographed at night and so it is with the Ponte Vecchio

ABOVE: The bridge upstream is the Ponte Santa Trinita, I loved the reflections under the left hand span.

ABOVE: After our nightime photos we had worked up an appetite except that it was getting late. We found this street food bar where the two owners were so nice, both spoke English but this bloke had lived in Australia for a year, loved it and get this, he knew where Colac was and had visited it! He was an amazing cocktail maker.  It ended a magical day!

Day 9

Venice

There are many great cities in the world, but to be honest, most of them are quite alike, they have streets and rivers and buildings and monuments, some of which may be distinctive, but they can have a sameness about them. There is only one Venice. No other city comes close. Venice is actualy not that hard to visualise. Just think of a medieval type city but replace the roads with watery canals. Instead of horse drawn carts or cars, all transport is by boat.

ABOVE: A typical view on the Grand Canal.

ABOVE: An entrance to a building from a canal. The top of the green line is where high tide gets up to.

ABOVE: We signed up for a walking tour and whilst waiting at the meeting point I saw this old nun heading into church with some linen. 

Our tour group assembled and the first thing the guide did was ask everyone where they were from. Germany, England, Croatia, Australia. When it came time for anyone from the United States of America to reply they arrogantly said "Oklahoma" or "California" the assumption being that everyone would understand they were from the USA and they would just specify their state. Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill but I found it quite beligerant, like most Americans.   

Anyway, with that off my chest, I can continue. ABOVE: Back in the dreamtime, Venice had to find water to survive as it is surrounded by salt water. These cisterns were the answer. Rain would run into the drain, in the forground, and run down and somehoe re-appear as fresh water at the cistern in the picture. Pretty clever although I will have to investigate how these things actually work.  

A fun fact about Venice that our guide told us. Venice, lacking in land for agriculture or any sort of industry, became a trade powerhouse and for many years was a major meeting point between the east and the west. Cats were encouraged in Venice and it was illegal to feed them, the reason? Their job was to kill the mice and rats that the trade ships brought that were potentially carrying disease. 

Another fun fact is that Cassanova was much more than a stud muffin. He was a musician, a poet, writer and philosopher who ingratiated himself into high society by saving the life of the richest citizen of Venice at the time. 

ABOVE: Our guide explained that as an example of global warnimg, these lion heads were built above the level of the highest high tide and that the top step would never have had water over it. Obviously the lions are drowning these days at high tide! 

During the tour we saw this fashion shoot, obviously I'll have to renew my subscription to Vogue to check it out. Maybe the dress doubles as a tent for refugees? 

ABOVE: After the tour we went for a walk, here are Damian and Louise at the famous Rialto bridge.

And here is Kris, a few hours later, after our siesta, on the Rialto bridge.

ABOVE: No visit to Venice is complete without a visit to St Mark's square. This is the home of 12 euro coffees, 20 euro beers. But clever me found a milk bar just around the corner and bought 2 cans of Birra Moretti and a bottle of water for euro 6.50 BELOW: Who says St Mark's square has to be expensive? We even had a marble table.

 

ABOVE: A final shot, after sunset, of the grand Canal from the Rialto bridge.