Jayne's Birthday ~ Rome & Milan

24/06/07 ~ Rome

Sunday saw an early start for us, with a check-in time at London Gatwick of 5am. I had accidentally let slip that we were going to Italy, but at least had managed to not reveal exactly where we were going. Jayne guessed quite easily though ~ Rome. We flew Easyjet to Rome Ciampino and enjoyed a quick flight. On arrival, the next shuttle bus in to the city centre was at least 40 minutes away. We took a taxi to the nearby train station and were shocked to be charged 20 Euros for a 2 mile journey. The train at least was cheap at 1.30 Euros for 10 miles.

The hotel that I had chosen was convenient for some of the historic attractions as well as the central rail station. After a short walk, we found the Hotel Guibileo. We were too early to check in, but left our back packs in their care and set off on foot to start sight seeing. We got as far as a pavement cafe a few doors along the road and sat in the blistering sunshine downing a few beers, admiring the facade of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.

Next we set off toward the Roman Forum. Our expectation was a few remains, but instead we found the remains of many temples, arches, streets and houses. It is incredible that so much is still standing after two thousand years. The heat reached 35 degrees Celsius and we kept stopping to refresh ourselves at public drinking fountains. Nearby we could see the Colosseum, but would save that visit for another day.

After seeing all there was to see, we strolled off further across Rome to the Pantheon. This ancient church is 142 feet wide and 142 feet tall and all original except four exterior pillars. It was built by Emperor Hadrian, but the facade is emblazoned

M.AGRIPPA.L.F.COSTERTIUM.FECIT - 'MARCUS AGRIPPA BUILT THIS'.

The top of the dome is left open, the circle supporting the rest of the roof.

Next, we walked across town to the Trevi Fountain and sat on the edge of the fountain pool, cooling our feet in the water with about a hundred other people. Unfortunately, the fountain police turned up. Whistles blowing, everyone was ordered to take their feet out of the pool. Having stamped their mark of authority on us, they then continued the whistle blowing until everyone had put their shoes back on too. A very dull job, but they seemed to find it fulfilling...

Another stroll took us to the Spanish Steps. I had hoped that this flight of steps would be as romantic as I had heard, but with scaffolding hiding the building at the top, it was not a very spectacular sight. We climbed to the top and took photos and had a drink.

The walk back to the hotel was punctuated with drink stops, the four fountains cross-roads and our evening meal at a pizza parlour adjacent to St Maria Maggiore. Our waiter bore an uncanny resemblance to one of our friends and provided a source of amusement that lasted the evening.

25/06/07 ~ Rome ~ Vatican City

Our day was to be dedicated to visiting the smallest country in the world, the independent city state of the Vatican. With 550 residents and the lowest birth rate for any state (not a surprise when you think about it) we were yet again to be amazed by the wealth of the Roman Catholic church and the good that all that money could do if it were realised.

It took an hour to walk the three miles across Rome to reach the River Tiber and enter the badly named St Peter's Square, which is very much an ellipse. It was however an amazing feeling, with the columns reaching around the square, in an embrace as it were. The queue to get into St Peters Basilica was enormous though and it took 40 minutes or so to clear the security check point, only to be refused entry to the Basilica as Jayne's top was too revealing (for them anyway). Not to be beaten, my trousers had removable legs, so I unzipped them and carefully positioned a 'leg' under the front and back of Jayne's top suitably covering her up. This did the job nicely and we were admitted! Another queue saw us climb 330 steps to reach the roof top of the Basilica and we admired the view in all directions. Descending took us into the Basilica itself and we found that it was truly enormous, although still second to the cathedral in Seville in terms of size. We ventured in to the crypt beneath where numerous former Popes are buried, including the late John Paul II.

Back outside, we stopped for an ice cream and a beer before following the outside of the city walls to gain the entrance to the Vatican Museum. The heat today reached 36 degrees and more in the sun. It was now quite late in the afternoon and if we had left it 15 minutes later, we would not have been admitted. The gardens and statues, paintings and ceilings were amazing. The route through the rooms and corridors lead to the Sistine Chapel, where alongside several hundred other people, we strained our necks to admire Michael Angelo's painting. This was incredible and far larger than I had thought it would be. The word 'chapel' suggests a small place of worship - not in this case.

Our route back into central Rome took us through Piazza Navona, where we stopped for a beer or two and watched the street painters and performers. We carried on, passing the Pantheon again and stopped at a nice looking restaurant for Jayne's birthday meal. We enjoyed primi and secondi plates and three bottles of Pinot Grigio. A couple on the next table were good conversation and having paid our bills, accompanied us to the Trevi Fountain where we were treated to gelato and coffee. They were very pleasant company and like-minded travellers. We walked back to our respective hotels, parting company in Via Nazional. We don't even know their names.

26/06/07 ~ Rome

Our last day in Rome, we were to spend most of it at the Colosseum. After queuing for an eternity we were admitted to one of the most spectacular sights we have ever seen. I did expect to see more restoration, but it had been almost entirely left as it was a thousand or more years ago. A lot of stone had been removed over the years though for building efforts elsewhere. The structure and scale of everything though was very impressive. The floor of the arena was wooden and the under floor passages are all visible. It was not hard to imagine the wild animals and gladiators waiting beneath for their time in the arena.

After, we again strolled though the adjacent Roman Forum and stopped for a drink.

As we were starting to run out of time, we headed back to our hotel, visiting St Maria Maggiore at last. The church was just as impressive inside as out and seemed pleasantly simple in design and appearance. We checked out and caught the train back to Ciampino rail station, sharing a taxi the last two miles with two young guys who were travelling overseas for several months.

Our Ryanair flight to Milan was the grottiest plane we had been on, with chewing gum on the seats and cabin crew that were neither interested in the passengers or pleasant in their demeanour. The only amusement was the bumpy ride. The captain kept turning the seat belt sign on and off and the cabin attendant lost track of whether it was on or off. The captain would turn the sign off and the attendant would tell everyone to return to their seats... At least it was a short flight.

We landed at Milan Bergamo, having been treated to spectacular aerial views of some of the Italian Lakes. We caught the airport shuttle coach into town and walked the mile or so into the town centre. We stayed at the Hotel Star, which was very pleasant and efficient, although the decor was a little tired. We promptly went out to see the Duomo (cathedral) in the evening light and ate at Restaurant Al Mercanti, recommended in a guide book. The food was excellent, but the service was deplorable. Locals were very obviously preferred over tourists.

27/06/07 ~ Milan

Milan was such a contrast to ancient Rome. Most buildings either dated from the 1800s or the 1920s. The town was a maze of tram routes and shops. We visited the Duomo, the third largest in the world and were impressed by its Gothic style and many spires. We followed a self-guided walk through the city centre, taking in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and the Scala opera house. Jayne selected some very Milanese silver jewellery at Berlesconi's for her birthday present. We continued northwards to see the Napoleonic castle. The castle had been built over many centuries, but had been completed by Napoleon. With a threatening sky, we retreated to a restaurant and enjoyed a very nice pizza for lunch. The clouds passed without any rain falling and we settled at a cafe in front of the Duomo where we shared a bottle of wine before catching the metro back to the central rail station. Unable to take a train for some reason, we took an airport shuttle bus, this time to Milan Malpensa, where later we flew back to Gatwick.

We had spent four days away in baking sunshine, where the lowest temperature we experienced was 28 and the highest 36 degrees. At home, England had experienced torrential rain for four days with many towns completely flooded. Great Britain finally had a new Prime Minister and we were glad to have missed both events!

ITALY - Honeymoon in Sardinia

22/09/05
This was our first flight with Easyjet, from London Luton. Cagliari is only two and a half hours from London, but stepping off the plane we knew we were in the Mediterranean. The weather was pleasantly warm and having picked up our car, we followed the directions to our hotel, a luxury 5 star hotel, which we had paid for in advance, half board.
We drove from Cagliari centre to the Quartu Sant Elena suburb. We found the correct road quickly enough but found it hard to believe that this largely residential street would contain our luxurious hotel.
After driving the length of the road a couple of times, we called in to a dubious looking prefabricated concrete hotel from the Best Western chain. The reception staff were very helpful and this turned out to be a good travel tip – hoteliers know their area, have maps and often speak English…
The receptionist immediately understood our problem, because he had seen it before. Easy Hotels had made an error on their web site. The hotel we had reserved was in fact two hundred miles away on the north east coast of the island. We were at the address they had supplied – the Best Western. With no other choice, we checked in here, determined to rectify the problem when we returned home. The hotel staff were very understanding and gave us their best suite. It was not much of a consolation, but things could have been worse. The receptionist recommended a good restaurant and even helped us by ordering our dinner over the telephone, on our behalf.
We strolled to the restaurant and were not disappointed. The food was excellent and we ate our meal in several small courses. We were given an after dinner sweet drink called Mirto, a smooth fruity liqueur, which was great.

23/09/05
Departing Quartu Sant Elena in the south of Sardinia, our next destination was Arbatax, an east coast town almost half way up the island. The mountainous route offered fantastic views and lush green scenery, very different from southern Spain which is on a similar latitude. The drive took a couple of hours, but the views and wonderful country made it worth while. Finding our hotel in Arbatax was not straight forward as the map was not right. The Hotel Poisedonia was about half a mile from the beach. The hotel was extremely attractive, in typical Mediterranean red and cream colours. Our terrace was very large, with views of the mountains behind and the Gennargentu National Park opposite . The bed had the most ornate stone marine depiction for a headboard. We sat outside and enjoyed a beer before heading down to the small cove that was the beach at Arbatax. The multicoloured pink, grey and white stones were very memorable and we swam in the sea and bathed on the sandy beach.

24/09/05
Our next visit was to be Nuoro, a provincial capital town near to the centre of the island. Our information about the town indicated that it was not going to be a tourist destination. The drive across the mountains, was fantastic. We passed near to La Punta Mamora, the highest peak on the island at 1834 metres and visited the Fumendosa Lake high up in the hills. The hills were home to olive trees almost in every direction and we frequently saw prickly pears by the road side, although they were noticeably absent on the higher roads. We stopped at the highest church on the island, Nostra Signora di Gonare, perched literally on the rocky summit of the hill. The road to it was very steep and the last hundred metres of the climb was on foot, on steps hewn from the rock. Jayne had worn wooden sandals just to make it more challenging. The views were breathtaking - an amazing 360 degree panorama as far as the eye could see. The church doors appeared to open on to the vertical hill side and the rock that the church was built on protruded through the floor of the church in places. This was one of the most memorable views of the trip. When we arrived in Nuoro, we found that the guide book had been as kind as possible to the town. It really was uninspiring. The hotel was very tired (it had been the only one we could find on the internet). The town was very plain, the only interesting feature being the tall tree covered hill that overlooked it, with an enormous crucifix on the top. When we followed the road up to the top, we found a gift shop or two (where we bought a typical Sardinian rug). The evening meal in the hotel topped off the anticlimax to the day.

25/09/05
In the morning, we eagerly checked-out and set off for a busy day, where we planned to visit several towns. Our first destination, was the fishing town of Bosa. Situated on the west coast, we drove across country for an a couple of hours. The mountainous country became very flat and expansive. The land was laid out in large fields. Every now and then, we saw the ancient remains of Nuraghi - stone built conical fortress houses, that were built before the Phoenicians and Romans invaded the island. Most of the road signs were peppered with bullet holes - we had noticed this the day before as well.
We arrived in Bosa, parked the car and walked the river side and narrow cobbled streets until we found a cafe and stopped for coffee. Bosa was a very attractive town, overlooked by a castle high up on a hill in the middle of the town. Following the river westwards (which is the only navigable river in Sardinia) we found the entrance and saw fishing boats coming and going, old and new side by side. We stayed with the rocky coast southwards until we came across large expanses of salt flats, home to thousands of flamingos in the winter months.
By mid afternoon, we arrived at Tharros, the remains of a remote coastal town built by the Phoenicians, adapted by the Romans and finished by the Spanish. It was eventually abandoned due to pirate raids. The remaining stone and excavations were almost inexplicable without the aid of information boards. The cove though was one of the most attractive blue water anchorages I have seen, over looking the town remains on the hill side, with Corinthian columns at the foot.
Later, we arrived at Oristano where we would stay the night. We walked the town centre, looking at the cathedral with an unusually tiled domed tower. In the square opposite, a band were setting up for a live performance. We sat and enjoyed a beer before continuing our stroll. We found that most of Oristano had been destroyed and redeveloped but it was a pleasant town. Back at the hotel, we swam fifty lengths of the (very cold) swimming pool. Later, we could not find any restaurants open. The meal we had at the hotel though was fantastic.

26/09/05
Our final day involved a short drive to Cagliari where we parked in the port and walked up the hill, through the new town. We stopped for morning coffee before carrying on up the hill the walls of the old town. We strolled the narrow cobbled streets along the town walls, looked inside the cathedral which had fantastic frescoes painted on the ceiling. The cathedral was undergoing major work though and there was a lot of scaffolding inside the building. We continued up to the northern town gates before heading back to the southern end, overlooking the port. We stopped for a beer in the sunshine, before walking back down the hill through the new town. One shop that we looked in provided us with a traditional style Sardinia mask. The drive back to the airport was brief and we were not ready to go home. It had been a great honeymoon.

ITALY - Pisa & Florence

21/09/06

Our first trip to main-land Italy, we had picked up some cheap Ryanair flights from Bournemouth to Pisa. Our three star hotel had been over-booked and we were upgraded to a four star one, nearer to the leaning tower. What we were not to know until we checked in, was that our room had a terrace big enough to park half a dozen cars on and offered views on three sides, including the leaning tower an cathedral, but also the mountains (the photo was taken from the terrace). With a very late landing, having shared a min-bus taxi to our hotel, there was nothing for it but to hit the sack, after a few beers of course.

22/09/06

The day would be dedicated to the many sights of Pisa, the most famous of course being the leaning tower. Less appreciated though is the adjacent Duomo (cathedral) and Baptistery. The leaning tower is of-course the bell tower for the duomo. It was a glorious sunny day to visit the Piazza Dei Miracoli. The baptistery has amazing acoustics. One of the staff members proved the point by singing a few notes. The first note had not finished reverberating around the dome before the last had been sung, making your ears believe you could hear a chord. The masonry was fantastic light coloured stone, unlike northern Europe. The duomo was built from the same stone, next to the baptistery and again, impressed us. We toured the walled garden cemetery, known as the Monumental Church Yard where massive frescoes have been preserved. Our time slot came for the climb to the top of the leaning tower, an experience that will never be forgotten with the very apparent list leaving me with a distinct sense of vertigo. After a refreshing beer at a street cafe, we strolled the rest of the town, along the River Arno, passing the Santa Maria Della Spina, a tiny chapel on the very edge of the river bank. Further refreshments saw us then climbing the red brick built old citadel. This offered unparalleled views of the town including the famous monuments. An evening real Italian pizza finished off the day. A drink in the hotel bar provided the answer as to what to do the next day: Florence, or Firenze as it should be known.

23/09/06

An early check-out and stroll to the rail station to catch a train to Florence, about an hour inland but still on the River Arno. The train service was a bit grubby, but very efficient and excellent value. Well, it would have been had I have got the tickets stamped in the machine on the platform. At least the fine was only 5 euros! At the station, we promptly purchased a guide book so we would know what were looking at. The short stroll to the town centre brings you to a duomo, baptistery and tower at least as impressive as Pisa, if not more so. We strolled the town while we waited for the opening times to arrive. The squares contain magnificent sculptures, particularly in front of Palazzo del Bargello with the copy of the statue of David. The Ponte Vecchio bridge dating from 1345, spans the Arno and is lined with very shops, mostly crafting and selling gold jewellery. Back at the Piazza San Giovani, we visited the duome before choosing to climb the loggia tower instead of the dome (photo taken from near the top). The baptistery was most notable for the ornate ceiling, in contrast to the plain stone of Pisa. We could not wait for the queue to see the real Statue of David so walked the market and side streets before having to catch the train to the airport. This trip opened our eyes to the usefulness and value of trains outside of the UK!