Day 62 Salami from Siena

Florence is famous for many things. For hundreds of years Florence has been a centre for leather goods and there is no shortage of markets, hawkers, back street shops and exclusive boutiques. We spent a lazy morning checking out the streets and the shops. We discovered a huge bookshop more wonderful and uniquely Italian than Borders with thankfully a large ‘Inglese’ section.

After a late lunch we decided to head out on the train to Siena for the afternoon. We arrived and found a bus into the old town centre, which is dominated by narrow streets and beautiful old buildings. We meandered through the streets without a map constantly being drawn down the hill. At one point we caught a glimpse of warm sunlight at the end of a darkish alley, we walked towards it and as we stepped out of the alley we found ourselves in the most appealing piazza in all of Italy. Not magnificent because of the over the top buildings, although they were lovely… but because of the wonderful warm and welcoming atmosphere of the place. We noticed that people were sitting on the pavement looking up at the clock tower seemingly waiting for something to happen. We too sat down and waited and enjoyed an afternoon tea of water and biscuits from our bag. We then noticed that many people were lying back on the warm pavement still looking up at the tower. So of course we too lay back on the pavement soaking up the sun and enjoying a view that has not changed for centuries. Nothing actually eventuated and we realised that lying on the ancient sloped square was a reward in itself. Later we read from a guidebook that the slope, the square and the sun has drawn locals and visitors to do the same thing for over 500 years. It is hard to comprehend a very different atmosphere in this same square when once a year it also hosts an annual horse race called The Palio. This famous, bizarre and reckless horse race has only one rule; you can’t pull on the reins of other horses.

On our way back to the station we passed a deli with a hogs head mounted on the door. No words can describe the smells of cheese, meats, olives and the rest that make up this wonderful shop. We purchased salami and cheese thinking it would make a nice breakfast for the next day.

We caught the train about 7.30pm from Siena and arrived back at Florence about 10pm. On our way home we found a risterante filled with locals and at about 10.30pm we shared a tasty pasta carbonara and a pizza with cheese and proscieutto.

We feel like we are ‘going native’ under the Tuscan sun!

Day 61- When reality exceeds expectation

When we arrived in Florence it is fair to say we had great expectations. After a 15 minute walk through the main part of Florence our first surprise was our hotel, the Hotel Dali. This small boutique and budget hotel really is a one off. Set just a few blocks back from the main square this ten room hotel took up just one floor of a seven storey residential building in old Florence. Our host Marcus was friendly and though the room was very basic it was nice and clean. We quickly settled into the heart of Florence and it took little time for Florence to settle into our hearts.

As is our custom we spent the first afternoon in Florence walking and getting acquainted with the layout of the city. Our first discovery was the famous Ponte Vecchio. The ancient bridge crosses the river and was originally lined with butcher shops until the all powerful Medici family had them replaced with goldsmiths in the 14th century and they still exist today as very classy jewellery shops. Still the commerce and tourists could not spoil the view through the arches, which framed the view to the hills of Tuscany like a Florentine artist’s masterpiece. After a stroll across the river we headed up a long staircase and found ourselves in Piazzale Michelangelo, which contains a huge copy of the statue of David. The view was sublime. But a friend in Sydney (thanks Juli) had told us to head further up the hill to the carpark of a church, we actually went further and arrived at the beautiful Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte where the view was even more wonderful. Florence’s famous skyline with the huge dome of the Cathedral, set against the setting sun provided us with an unforgettable view.

Disappointingly after this perfect afternoon something happened to us for the first (and we hope only) time on the trip, we got horribly lost. We seemed to walk around in circles for hours (it was probably only one hour) trying to find a gate through the old walls surrounding the city. We eventually found the gate and the way to our hotel. We headed out for dinner around 9.30pm – which is still early in Italy. Pasta and gnocchi completed a wonderful introduction to a city where reality exceeds expectation.

Day 60 Venice- a one off

Venice is just a 90-minute train trip from Verona and we approached it with mixed anticipation. Some had advised us that Venice was the most unique and romantic city we would ever visit. Some insisted that we should not miss the special opportunity of a gondola ride. Others had warned us that it is a sad, smelly, sinking city that is dying under the weight of the tourist throng. We were also warned that everyone gets lost in Venice. We arrived in Venice not at all sure what to expect.
Firstly Venice is strange and yet wonderful. Built on a series of islands, by a peace-loving group of people who fled persecution, Venice is one of those great accidents of history. It seemed unreal to see a city where the roads are canals and boats dominate rather than cars. We walked through narrow lanes and alleyways and over numerous bridges for about 45 minutes, as we headed from the station to St Marks Square. In spite of the poor signage we didn’t get lost and enjoyed walking past markets, shops and people just going about their daily business. However arriving at St Marks and the famous square of the same name was an assault to our senses as it was packed with thousands of noisy, camera clicking, tour group following tourists. We escaped almost immediately onto a local ferry and headed out of town to visit some of the other islands. Later in the day we returned and enjoyed a long walk through ‘suburban’ Venice where we could see how the locals coped with everyday issues like drying the clothes and kids playgrounds where there is no grass, just pavers and aerial space. Later in the afternoon we again confronted the slightly less crowded tourist centre and checked out the amazing old church and square.

We ended our day with another ferry ride this time we travelled the entire length of the Grand Canal passing gondolas, taxis, private launches and garbage barges. We passed on a gondola ride not because we are cheapskates, but for us it felt a bit too much like a theme park ride.

So… is Venice the perfect romantic destination or just a very old version of a horrible modern phenomenon- a canal development? Well we experienced both. We came away enriched by the visit and yet glad to be returning to dry land and less tourists in Verona.

Day 59 Where for art thou

After leaving Geneva our plan was quite simple, to head east to the unique and exotic city of Venice. However there was a problem. After quite a bit of research we decided that staying in Venice was simply not going to fit our budget. So we decided to find somewhere close by and just do a day trip to Venice by train. After quite a bit more research and the consideration of two or three possible candidates we settled on Verona as our alternative venue to Venice, the legendary city that inspired Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliette.

Upon arrival we discovered that Verona was a great choice. Armed with our Verona Card, the best value three day pass we have come across in any city, we were ready for free transport and free entry into many of the sites and places of interest in this old Roman town. To begin with we visited the first century arena, second only in size to the Colosseum. Our only disappointment in visiting this extraordinary site was that we realised that we had arrived two weeks too early for the Opera Season, which has been staged in this restored ancient venue for over 80 years.

We then visited the home and balcony of Juliette, where Romeo called out to his beloved, “What light from yonder window breaks….” – you know the rest! We left the crowds outside Juliette’s house taking ‘that picture’ in front of her statue touching an intimate part of her body in the vain hope of finding a new lover. This was yet another one of those bizarre tourist myth’s, that seem to exist in every city. After a lovely quiet meander through some exquisite streets and piazzas, we continued our tradition of climbing the highest peak, and decided to tackle an ancient 85 metre bell tower but this time with the aid of a new feature…a lift. We love the perspective gained by looking down on a city as we try to understand its character and geography.

Later in the afternoon we visited the building next door to where we were staying. Castlevecchio is a castle that had once housed princes in the 4th century and had been used and remodelled through the centuries until Napoleon used it as an army barracks. Sadly the Nazis blew up its original stone bridge as they withdrew in 1945. Verona’s layers of history were revealed in the history of this castle, which is now used as an art gallery. At twilight we walked across the restored bridge to visit more Roman forts and ruins

We felt the need to apologise to Verona for only visiting because we couldn’t afford Venice. We were actually very glad that we had not missed this ancient town known as ‘Little Rome’.

Day 58 Cash Management

On a trip that allows us to visit or pass through 15 countries – often multiple times, we are very fortunate that so many countries have adopted the EU’s common currency the Euro. Despite this, so far we have had to deal with the following currencies: Peruvian Solas, Bolivian Bolivianos, US Dollars, UK Pounds, Danish Krona, EU Euros, Polish Zloty, Czech Crowns, back to Euros, Swiss Francs and back to Euros. Before our trip ends we will again use UK pounds, then Hong Kong Dollars before finally reverting back to our colourful and plastic Aussie Dollars.

On our first day in Lima, Peru we experienced the moneychangers on the streets, with their huge wads of cash. In Europe the moneychangers have offices with glass grills but the system of commissions leaves the tourist much the poorer if you ever have to convert money. So the currency plan of this trip is simple, get out as much cash from ATMs in a certain currency as we think we will need and try really hard not to underestimate (or we have to get more out) or overestimate and then have to convert money at the end of our stay and in the process lose a packet. Keeping on top of exchange rates and coins (they all look alike) is also a challenge.

Our system has worked quite well until we noticed the ridiculous lengths we have stooped to as we left Geneva, Switzerland on Day 58 bound for Verona, Italy. We judged our Swiss francs quite well and there was just enough left over to buy some lunch (a couple of frankfurts encased in a croissant – let’s call it a Swiss sausage roll). That left us with only a few coins. We were pleased when we saw a Toblerone for Sfr2.50 (our favourite Swiss chocolate) on the shelf so we dived into our remaining change thinking that it would just about exhaust our Swiss coins (all notes had already gone) and we would leave with yummy chocolate and no coins. Perfect!

Well almost. After frantically searching through all our pockets we had only Sfr 2.45 in coins. We were so disappointed that we walked up and down through the railway station (as we had 30 minutes to kill) looking for a 5-cent (at least we think they are cents) Swiss piece on the ground. Two middle-aged, middle-class educated back packers walking up and down in a railway station looking on the ground for 5 cents must have been quite a sight. After a while we realised exactly what we were doing. We had plenty of money in the bank - we could have got more out- but that would have messed up the system. Sadly we never found 5c but we did buy a smaller Toblerone for Sfr 1.45, which of course left us with one franc left over.

Later in the day we arrived at Verona ready to resume travels in Italy – thank goodness we are back to Euros!

Day 57 A Mountain top experience

When you think of Switzerland you immediately think of mountains…the type of mountains we just don’t have in Australia…tall, rugged, snow capped mountains. So it was the mountains that we were keen to explore during our stay in Switzerland. We had read that you can actually take a train from Interlaken to the top of one of Europe’s highest mountains so on day 57 we set out to find out if that was true.

Many things conspired against this happening. Firstly due to the Euro 2008 football we had real trouble getting accommodation anywhere in Switzerland, which is why we ended up in Geneva, a city which is right on the western border with France. Secondly we knew it was pointless to go to all the effort of getting there if bad weather (which is quite common) meant little or no visibility.

In spite of this we set out from our base in Geneva at about 6.50 am and travelled half way across the country to arrive at Interlaken at about 9.30am. Fortunately we were able to buy tickets and head straight up into the Alps. Even more fortunately the sun shone brightly. After a short train ride through the kind of valley you imagined Heidi living in we changed to a narrow-gauge cog train. A cog train is so named because the track is so steep that a cog system works almost like an extra wheel to keep the train from sliding backwards down the track. After another hour long, slow, uphill journey we passed the tree line and changed to a third train (actually our 5th for the day), which ascended the last part of the trip mostly through a tunnel directly up inside the mountain…hard to believe but absolutely true! We arrived at Jungfrau, 3600metres above sea level, at the highest railway station in Europe. At various places along the tunnel we stopped and were able to take photos from viewing points that had been blasted into the side of the mountain where we were able to look out on a world of snow and ice.

At the top after enduring a fascinating and freezing ice cave we entered the multi-level restaurant, bar and tourist centre. This was a bit of a maze and it took us a while to find our way outside and on to a snowy slope on top of the mountain. It was cold but the sun shone brightly and the glare was extreme. A festive atmosphere in which people of all ages were frolicking in the snow was made even better when it actually began to snow.

Later we found another outdoor area where people enjoyed rides, a small ski slope, a flying fox, toboggan and helicopter rides. We noticed a trail of people walking up a slope to another hut and decided to follow them, but after about 40 minutes of trudging though snow in what began to feel like high temperatures (it was only 4 degrees but it felt like 35) we gave up and headed back for a very overdue lunch. By this time it was nearly 3.00pm

We began out descent at about 3.45pm and after another 5 train changes we arrived back at Geneva at about 9pm. Another huge, huge day made possible by our wonderful Eurail pass. We had enjoyed great weather and a natural world more beautiful than any human design.

By the way you may not know that there has been a third member of the Born to Run 2008 travelling team. Paddington Bear has been travelling with us and making regular reports back to Wendy’s Year 1 class. We have snapped him at various places and emailed his photo and report back to school. Would you believe it…on top of Jungfrau our Paddington met up with another Paddington on a very similar trip – he was pretty excited and had a great time playing in the snow with his new found friend!

Day 56 Calvin, C of E and Chicken

Geneva really is a beautiful city. What’s more on a sleepy Sunday morning after the excitement of the commencement of Euro 2008 we found the city to be very quiet and peaceful. We began our day with a visit to the local Anglican (English Speaking) church. After being outsiders peering in, on some of the most enormous and magnificent cathedrals around the world, it was nice to sit in a normal service and to just be part of the congregation. The people seemed friendly and warm and the curate in charge reminded us a little of the Vicar of Dibley

Geneva is famous for many things but for some the city remains synonymous with one name – John Calvin. Calvin the pastor, academic, theologian and statesman was in many ways the intellectual heart and mind of the reformation. It was Calvin who mentored John Knox who then went on to take the reformed faith to Scotland. So, for a Presbyterian Minister, a visit to Geneva had to include a visit to the old town of Geneva, which is dominated by the church where Calvin preached. Not surprisingly it was an impressive, if not very plain, building. The reformation museum next door was less impressive from the outside, as you could stand if front of a life sized John Calvin cardboard cut-out and place your face in the gap to have the “ This is me looking like John Calvin” photo. Yuk!

To be honest the most interesting part of the visit was climbing the 19th century bell tower to see and hear an incredible Carillon and look out over Geneva’s cityscape and beautiful lake. We have discovered that in most places climbing the tower, or whatever happens to be the highest point, is always worth the view.

With advice from the net (Where to eat in Geneva?) we were back in the old town for dinner at a French Café/Restaurant. We read that the fried chicken was good. What was unusual was the fact that they only had one dish on the menu – half a fried chicken and potato wedges. We confounded the waitress a little when we broke tradition and instead of ordering two fried chickens and wedges – we ordered one and salad. We discovered that when a restaurant has a dish that is so good, you probably only need one dish on the menu. We might add that it was packed with students and other fellow lovers of budget food.

We ended the day with a long twilight stroll around the lake, past roller bladders, bike riders, tourists, local families out enjoying an after dinner walk, boats, the famous Jet d’Eau (which shoots the water an incredible 140m into the air), private Swiss banks and flashy restaurants.

The Church of England, Calvin and fried chicken made for a very pleasant Sunday in Geneva.