Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The house that Weaver built
The House that Mr Weaver built.On the restaurant tables there are little bowls with envelopes of pre-packed sugar. Brown for brown sugar, white for white sugar (we humans need colour codes for we are not very smart) and red ones for artificial sweeteners. Mr Weaver when exhausted and in need of a little substance, it seems does not have the time to read either and quickly grabs in flight – a red one from the table! One or two of the finches have learned through experience that the brown and white ones are of more value and not to judge a sausage by its skin or in this case the envelope by its colour!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Treasures of Milan
From high up in the mountains to Milan is not far.Take a tip from me – if you go to Milan by car be sure to book a hotel which is not in the city centre because parking can cost more than the hotel. It is much more convenient to make use of public transport than to pay the earth for a hotel (room priced per square meter, I am sure) plus parking and then have to take the Metro to get to Downtown anyway. We walked and walked and walked. Do not believe the hotel advertisements –‘within walking distance’ - ! ‘Walking distance’ can mean long walk!
Of course most people visit Milan to go and look at Leonardo Da Vinci’s Last Supper, but as I understood, it is not so easy to get tickets (usually sold out long before. The Duomo is something else. I can not use appropriate words to describe this beautiful church because there is no way I can do it justice. Inside and out.
The greatest disappointment for opera lovers like me who always wanted to see this building, must be La Scala. The outside of the building that is. We never got to see the inside. It (as far as looks go) cannot be compared to the Vienna State Opera or the Opera House in Paris. But just some history – the original theatre was destroyed by fire in 1776 and in 1943 during WWII again seriously damaged by bombing. It was rebuilt and reopened in 1946.
And Oh! To have been there when Arturo Toscanini and Renate Tibaldi performed at the opening concert! This is the stuff that dreams are made of.
The 152 km of historic shipping canals and waterways which Leonardo helped to oversee are falling apart now and experts are fighting to save one of Italy’s lesser-known treasures. (You have to mention Leonardo’s name because da Vinci means from Vinci).
Milan is of course the fashion capital of Europe (also where the money in Italy is), and all the great names (Gucci, Armani, Versace….to name only a few of the greats) we see on the catwalk have exclusive boutiques in the large cities of Italy…but you pay exclusive prices for the ware they offer. But yes, the clothes are exquisite! If you want to know, black, black, black, always black with a fashion color – presently dark plum. I love. And if you are young enough and have fairly good legs , you wear black or dark colored tights with boots and a very short tight skirt which actually looks chic and a black jacket (but of course). An Italian woman is not dressed if she is not wearing a jacket. The jersey, hat, scarf or blouse may be purple / plum. The women probably have much better & more expensive clothes than we have but much, much less (And this is what I should aim for in future). If you have a good outfit you can wear it almost everyday.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
The beauty of Lakes
For the time we remained up in the mountains we went down to two different lakes –and different cities on these lakes. Como & Bellagio in Italy and Lugano in Switzerland. Things at the borders have changed radically, you no longer show a passport, and even though you do not as a South African need a visa for Switzerland .But Switzerland is clinically clean and neat, as beautiful as ever with wide, comfortable, smooth roads. No potholes here. The Swiss’ obsessional behavior. Yes, they do have a gripe with immigrants as you can hear them from when you talk to most Swiss. But this is not for this blog.
The clear blue skies and the mirror-like lake seems to be for picture postcards, pollution has caught up and there is a misty haze in the air over the lakes that makes for bad photos. Unless it had rained properly, which it did not.
We went to Lugano on the Sunday. Many years ago we went to Lugano and the MD bought me a watch which was stolen (no, not in S A but on a secluded beach in the Seychelles) so he wanted to buy me a replacement at the same store. (Faithful Service Reward *g*?) The shops were all closed but it would have made not difference….I would not even dream of having a R40 000 watch even if I was the Oppenheimer’s only child. And the one I am wearing that M gave me last years is pretty cool anyway. Because Switzerland like the rest of Europe is very expensive. VERY! That is for us South Africans.
The clear blue skies and the mirror-like lake seems to be for picture postcards, pollution has caught up and there is a misty haze in the air over the lakes that makes for bad photos. Unless it had rained properly, which it did not.
We went to Lugano on the Sunday. Many years ago we went to Lugano and the MD bought me a watch which was stolen (no, not in S A but on a secluded beach in the Seychelles) so he wanted to buy me a replacement at the same store. (Faithful Service Reward *g*?) The shops were all closed but it would have made not difference….I would not even dream of having a R40 000 watch even if I was the Oppenheimer’s only child. And the one I am wearing that M gave me last years is pretty cool anyway. Because Switzerland like the rest of Europe is very expensive. VERY! That is for us South Africans.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Up in the Clouds
Cities are cities are cities are cities. The MD wrote Como on his itinerary (in the Italian Lake district) but then I found something high up in the mountains about 25 km from Como and it sounded really different – an inn – ‘Albergo Moderno’ @ a fraction of the price of the hotels in (any) city. So from Florence we headed to Fuipiano Valle via Bergamo.
I did not know it at the time, but this tiny, tiny little village is situated right at the top of some mountains, and there is a very narrow road up (and down) the mountain. If there is a line painted on the road, then it means 2 cars can pass. If there is no line it is wide enough for only one vehicle at a time and therefore one has to watch the mirrors on the bends. If a car comes (or the ‘municipal’ bus as in this case) there is usually some kind of sign to show who has the first right of the way and the other one will have to find somewhere to stop even if it means reversing. Italians may drive like maniacs but they can drive. This system will never, ever work in S A.
These snake-like roads really upset Garminia because she saw many of the bends as a U-turn –‘make a u-turn, make a u-turn’. At one stage I thought maybe we got lost because some of the houses in some of the villages on the way were already boarded up for the winter and there seemed to be hardly any people.
When we arrived at Albergo there was nobody in sight except for a cat that got into the car….the doors were open but it almost seemed deserted. I walked round to the back and there was a woman who made a friendly sign that she will call – I think this must have been the owner or the manager. He showed us to our room with a friendly smile but did not say much, I think he could not speak English. After Florence I was a bit apprehensive about hotels but the room and bathroom was extremely comfortable and modern. Somebody spent quite a lot of money building this Albergo.
We usually did not eat at the hotels but here it was so difficult to get up the mountain that we decided to go for dinner – 7:30 – 8:30. A cozy fire was burning and a younger guy (? owner) presented us with a welcome and a menu. We ordered a liter of house wine (by this time the restaurant was filling up – probably a very popular place for week-end guests and a place for the locals to have their celebrations / meals). The food was superb, absolutely *****! The wine was great. They probably order these great vats…..and then decant them into a carafe. And it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening with the best food we ate in Italy.
Just a note on the food in Italy. Anti-pasta is a hors d’oeuvre and pasta is a first course (not a main course like we have here so the meat content is usually limited) and then you have your main course and the salad comes with the main course … I really do not have the capacity for hors d’oeuvre and pasta and a main course… although I do suffer from a condition which my grandmother called ‘Oë groter as jou maag’! (Meaning you eyes are bigger than you stomach, you dish up more than you can eat).So I had the main course and the desert (but of course) only and thank heavens I did not order the other stuff. I really do not know where I would have put it because there were vegetables with potatoes and salad…
For breakfast the Italians always have (apart from some cereal- not always- and yogurt, great, great yogurt,) some fruit juice, breads, cold meat, cheese and sweet cakes! Cakes like we in South Africa would have in the afternoon! And in the nicer places they ask if you would like a cappuccino or …..I’ll take the cappuccino but skip the cake…gracias mucho! Or is it Mucho gracias? Whatever, you know what I mean!
I did not know it at the time, but this tiny, tiny little village is situated right at the top of some mountains, and there is a very narrow road up (and down) the mountain. If there is a line painted on the road, then it means 2 cars can pass. If there is no line it is wide enough for only one vehicle at a time and therefore one has to watch the mirrors on the bends. If a car comes (or the ‘municipal’ bus as in this case) there is usually some kind of sign to show who has the first right of the way and the other one will have to find somewhere to stop even if it means reversing. Italians may drive like maniacs but they can drive. This system will never, ever work in S A.
These snake-like roads really upset Garminia because she saw many of the bends as a U-turn –‘make a u-turn, make a u-turn’. At one stage I thought maybe we got lost because some of the houses in some of the villages on the way were already boarded up for the winter and there seemed to be hardly any people.
When we arrived at Albergo there was nobody in sight except for a cat that got into the car….the doors were open but it almost seemed deserted. I walked round to the back and there was a woman who made a friendly sign that she will call – I think this must have been the owner or the manager. He showed us to our room with a friendly smile but did not say much, I think he could not speak English. After Florence I was a bit apprehensive about hotels but the room and bathroom was extremely comfortable and modern. Somebody spent quite a lot of money building this Albergo.
We usually did not eat at the hotels but here it was so difficult to get up the mountain that we decided to go for dinner – 7:30 – 8:30. A cozy fire was burning and a younger guy (? owner) presented us with a welcome and a menu. We ordered a liter of house wine (by this time the restaurant was filling up – probably a very popular place for week-end guests and a place for the locals to have their celebrations / meals). The food was superb, absolutely *****! The wine was great. They probably order these great vats…..and then decant them into a carafe. And it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening with the best food we ate in Italy.
Just a note on the food in Italy. Anti-pasta is a hors d’oeuvre and pasta is a first course (not a main course like we have here so the meat content is usually limited) and then you have your main course and the salad comes with the main course … I really do not have the capacity for hors d’oeuvre and pasta and a main course… although I do suffer from a condition which my grandmother called ‘Oë groter as jou maag’! (Meaning you eyes are bigger than you stomach, you dish up more than you can eat).So I had the main course and the desert (but of course) only and thank heavens I did not order the other stuff. I really do not know where I would have put it because there were vegetables with potatoes and salad…
For breakfast the Italians always have (apart from some cereal- not always- and yogurt, great, great yogurt,) some fruit juice, breads, cold meat, cheese and sweet cakes! Cakes like we in South Africa would have in the afternoon! And in the nicer places they ask if you would like a cappuccino or …..I’ll take the cappuccino but skip the cake…gracias mucho! Or is it Mucho gracias? Whatever, you know what I mean!
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Home of David
Quite hard to understand why the English had to change the names of Roman cities if they are not that difficult to pronounce. Ferenze because Florence (although to be fancy you would pronounce it Floraanze), Toscana because Tuscany, Roma became Rome… et cetera, et cetera.
So here we were in ‘Floraanze’ and what a beautiful city although not as clean as I remember from many years ago. The hotel was rather lousy; the worst one of the trip although one gets warned time and again of the unpleasant little surprises when it comes to Italian hotels. What you pay for is not always what you get. After we got quite lost even with Garminia (she likes the correct address and postal code) and had a pizza at Pizza Man (thrown in was a glass of champagne) we got back to the hotel to find there was no hot water. Don’t do this to me!!!! So we had to be moved and that was to the room for disabled (which they said was the best in the hotel – hmmm, now we know how good the rooms were) which at least had some hot water.
Although the hotel said it provides parking, that was not true either, you park between blue lines @ €1 an hour, except when they wash the street. And that night they were going to wash the street which means we had to look for parking elsewhere (like everybody else, even residents who may park on the white lines (no, I cannot explain the logic of blue vs. white) and then walk and walk and walk!
Florence is the home of the famous statue of Michelangelo’s David, the marble statue of 5.17 meters housed in the Galleria dell’Accademia since 1873 but some crazy twit attacked it with a hammer in 1991. It is true the proportions are not quite true to human form as the head and upper body are somewhat larger than the lower body and the hands are also larger….. Possibly (though we would never know for sure), because the statue was originally intended to be placed on a church façade.
All over Italy (and Europe), churches are most important and these are of course the most exquisite of all the buildings one can find.
So here we were in ‘Floraanze’ and what a beautiful city although not as clean as I remember from many years ago. The hotel was rather lousy; the worst one of the trip although one gets warned time and again of the unpleasant little surprises when it comes to Italian hotels. What you pay for is not always what you get. After we got quite lost even with Garminia (she likes the correct address and postal code) and had a pizza at Pizza Man (thrown in was a glass of champagne) we got back to the hotel to find there was no hot water. Don’t do this to me!!!! So we had to be moved and that was to the room for disabled (which they said was the best in the hotel – hmmm, now we know how good the rooms were) which at least had some hot water.
Although the hotel said it provides parking, that was not true either, you park between blue lines @ €1 an hour, except when they wash the street. And that night they were going to wash the street which means we had to look for parking elsewhere (like everybody else, even residents who may park on the white lines (no, I cannot explain the logic of blue vs. white) and then walk and walk and walk!
Florence is the home of the famous statue of Michelangelo’s David, the marble statue of 5.17 meters housed in the Galleria dell’Accademia since 1873 but some crazy twit attacked it with a hammer in 1991. It is true the proportions are not quite true to human form as the head and upper body are somewhat larger than the lower body and the hands are also larger….. Possibly (though we would never know for sure), because the statue was originally intended to be placed on a church façade.
All over Italy (and Europe), churches are most important and these are of course the most exquisite of all the buildings one can find.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Rome, one day at a Time
Those open roofed red (or green or greenish) hop-on-hop-off busses are a wonderful way to get an oversight of a city but there is nothing to beat venturing into a city on foot! You can walk as far as you get and take the Metro or (omni) bus back.
Yes! Famous last words!!! That is if you end up close to a Metro station and you know the bus numbers! Yeah, I know!
We, on the first day, headed through (old) Rome, past the Colosseum and the ancient ruins, past the Wedding Cake (Vittorio Emanuel II Monument) towards the shopping district. The only way I could ever get the MD to go to the shopping district is in some devious way. And this time I was not even devious, as it was Hot! Hot! Hot! And we forgot to pack sun block and some antiseptic spray for hands plus a few other toiletries we thought we might as well buy on the ‘other side’. Not a good idea. These things are ridiculously expensive and they have different names. (In Portugal I once bought some what I thought was a body lotion, but it turned out to be shower gel / soap which I only realized after I remained sticky and started to itch long after bed time).
The clothes are to die for! And when we passed Zara, I could not resist. Bought a beautiful jersey. Then my reading glasses disintegrated in my pocket and I had to get another pair because I do need to check a map with minute writing from time to time. The stand said €11.50 but the woman at the counter insisted that her computer says it is €26 and she suddenly lost her ability to understand English completely! So here I have a pair of green rimmed glasses that makes me look like a blond Sarah Palin (ugh!).
The city of Rome is 2750 years old (approx) and what a bustling city it was in its day. Very organized, there were strict rules and regulations which people adhered to because discipline ruled. Give the people sport is exactly what the Romans did to keep the masses occupied, brutal as the sport may be. How they loved the blood thirsty gladiators and death. The women sat upstairs, and on the top there were the seats for the slaves.
And the old Romans were very clever people. Probably much smarter than we are today. For example the Colosseum was designed in such a way that it could be evacuated (50 000 people) within a question of minutes - not like any sport stadiums we have today. And the marble columns of the Pantheon are one solid piece of marble, no joints, and how that was transported and placed into position is quite baffling!
The Via Appia is still in use; let’s face it they built roads to last but
………..if the Romans could see the Italy of today they would freak out completely and utterly!
Yes! Famous last words!!! That is if you end up close to a Metro station and you know the bus numbers! Yeah, I know!
We, on the first day, headed through (old) Rome, past the Colosseum and the ancient ruins, past the Wedding Cake (Vittorio Emanuel II Monument) towards the shopping district. The only way I could ever get the MD to go to the shopping district is in some devious way. And this time I was not even devious, as it was Hot! Hot! Hot! And we forgot to pack sun block and some antiseptic spray for hands plus a few other toiletries we thought we might as well buy on the ‘other side’. Not a good idea. These things are ridiculously expensive and they have different names. (In Portugal I once bought some what I thought was a body lotion, but it turned out to be shower gel / soap which I only realized after I remained sticky and started to itch long after bed time).
The clothes are to die for! And when we passed Zara, I could not resist. Bought a beautiful jersey. Then my reading glasses disintegrated in my pocket and I had to get another pair because I do need to check a map with minute writing from time to time. The stand said €11.50 but the woman at the counter insisted that her computer says it is €26 and she suddenly lost her ability to understand English completely! So here I have a pair of green rimmed glasses that makes me look like a blond Sarah Palin (ugh!).
The city of Rome is 2750 years old (approx) and what a bustling city it was in its day. Very organized, there were strict rules and regulations which people adhered to because discipline ruled. Give the people sport is exactly what the Romans did to keep the masses occupied, brutal as the sport may be. How they loved the blood thirsty gladiators and death. The women sat upstairs, and on the top there were the seats for the slaves.
And the old Romans were very clever people. Probably much smarter than we are today. For example the Colosseum was designed in such a way that it could be evacuated (50 000 people) within a question of minutes - not like any sport stadiums we have today. And the marble columns of the Pantheon are one solid piece of marble, no joints, and how that was transported and placed into position is quite baffling!
The Via Appia is still in use; let’s face it they built roads to last but
………..if the Romans could see the Italy of today they would freak out completely and utterly!
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