Day 9 Glass, Lace and Mask for Carnivale, Oh my!

 

Another early morning in Italy!

After heading down for some breakfast we all walked over to where our taxi boat was waiting to take us to the Glass blowing factory on the Island of Giudecca. On our way Chris gave running commentary regarding the surrounding islands, including the fascinating hospital island where people were stopped for quarantine before arriving in Venice.
When we arrived (around 8:30am) we were greeted by a lovely, little Italian man who took us into the glass blowing room. It was absolutely fascinating to watch the first and second master create beautiful glass pieces right in front of our eyes. First, we watched the second master (the first masters' son) create a glass bottle with handles.

It literally took him 5 minutes, while the older Italian man talked us through the process. Once finished it was explained that normally they are cooled in an oven from 600 degrees to room temperature over about 2 days. The real Murano glass will stay in one piece during this cooling time, however if there are any imperfections the glass will break, and these pieces are destroyed. The pieces they were demonstrating today were made from broken Murano glass, which leads them to break very easily. The second master left his creation on the table, and within 5 minutes it had shattered into pieces. Following this demonstration, the first master (the father) created a beautiful horse standing on its back legs… in ONE MINUTE! Seriously! He started with a red hot ‘blob’ of melted sand, and within a minute he had created a stunning sculpture, that was able to stand on its own. Amazing.  

 

Following the demonstration we were escorted into the show room and had a brief lecture by the older Italian man who had greeted us at the start. He discussed the importance of buying REAL Murano, and how to tell if it is real Murano. We were then left to shop (yay!) in the amazing gallery rooms filled with stunning original, handmade glassware, jewellery and sculptures. Oh, and of course the absolutely breathtaking chandeliers adorning the roof space. After putting a bit of a dent in my wallet (yes, I bought things! It’s Murano, I’m allowed!) it was time to get back onto the taxi boat and head over to Venice proper. Here we had about 3 hours of free time to explore this fabulous city, prior to our walking tour.

Walking through the streets of Venice was amazing. I would happily come back here, to the hustle and bustle of the streets, the multiple bridges you cross to get anywhere, and the way you can easily get lost in your own world of Venice. I thankfully found a camera shop, and met a fantastic Italian guy who tried his very best to speak English to explain the cameras he had! So nice! He set everything up for me, and ensured I knew the best way to use it…. YAY! This means my photos will no longer have black lines from the lens cover not opening properly! Yay!

This city is amazing! You can easily get lost in the many alleys, and happily wander through the city past the many “glass” shops (they’re not real!) and small pizza/restaurant/tratorrias. There are only 5 places in Venice where you can buy REAL Murano glass, and they display a special (AUG) symbol in the window and on all of the tags. However, it is still fun to shop the ‘not-so-real’ glass!

I had a slice of pizza (it was delicious!) from a cute, little pizzeria which was quiet when I arrived, but suddenly filled with lots of people ordering pizza slices, wine and standing at the serving section eating. In Italy you ill generally be charged more if you plan on sitting down, therefore in the majority of places you will see the locals simply standing at the place where you are served. It is very communal in Italy. You simply find a place to set you food down and give a bit of a smile, and start eating! It’s fantastic!

I met up with the rest of the group that were doing the walking tour at a small café/bar in St. Marco’s square, where we all had an included Spritz (not as good as the one sampled in Roma). Following our drink we donned the sexy, Trafalgar red radios and red sets, and headed off to the church. It was a stunning church. In the arches of the front fascade there are images of the story of St. Marco to the Basilica. The four images are stunning, and so intricate, making a fantastic entrance to this amazing church. Inside, the roof was covered with gold. Hundreds of gold tiles (24ct) intricately arranged in pictures and designs. The floors, although now uneven due to it settling, were amazing as they were covered in mosaic designs. It was incredible. Check out the pictures!

Following our tour of the church, we walked through the less travelled (by tourists) Venice alley ways. While walking, our guide discussed the architecture of the different periods that could be seen throughout Venice as well as the many churches that could be found. The alleys wound their way through the city, and we walked over bridges and through Piazzas until, somehow, we ended up back at the taxi boat stop. Here we met up with the other tour group members and got on a boat over to the isle of Burano, a photographers dream! All the houses on this beautiful island are painted in various colours, including blues, bright pinks and yellows. Here we had a seafood meal at a local restaurant as a group. We all celebrated the 25^th anniversary of a couple on our group, including all the lights going off and special cakes with a candle in each for the happy couple coming out of the kitchen. Chris is fantastic for things like that!!!

After this Chris showed us a mask shop that makes all their masks on the premises, in the traditional way, and supplies the masks for the Venice Carnival in February. Carnival in Venice used to last for approximately 6 months of the year, and was a time when everyone wanted to be unrecognisable, allowing them to mix with lower or higher classes of people (e.g. servants could kiss the hand of a high society women, with no consequences. After putting another dent in the wallet in this amazing shop (again, totally allowed because it’s a keepsake and will be displayed at home!!! No a knick-knack!), it was time to head back through the main street of the island to the taxi boat. We went back to the hotel on the Lido and relaxed in the outdoor bar, watching the world go buy while sipping a Rossini (like a Bellini, but with strawberry and prossecco) and later having a gelato. It was a strange night though, as we had to put our bags out the front of our rooms prior to 10:30pm to be collected and loaded onto the bus, so that Michele (our fantastic driver) could get in the line for the ferry across to the mainland at 5:30-6am tomorrow morning! THANKS MICHELE!!!!

After packing my bag, getting the clothes I need for tomorrow and getting into my pjs, I put my bag out to be collected and fell onto the bed, exhausted! Early start tomorrow, off to Verona, Milan and finishing in Lake Maggiore! Ciao!

Day 8 - Churches, Churches everywhere ... oooh a Gondola!

 

We set off bright and early (how unusual for us!) from Assisi this morning. We waved goodbye to the beautiful rose coloured city, sitting half way up the mountain, and set out towards our first stop, Classe. We travelled through beautiful Umbria countryside, and then through the Appenine mountains to the Paduan plateaus. More stunning countryside!!!! We arrived in Classe and visited the church of St Appollinaris. We had a quick look around this nice, Romanesque church. It was beautiful, with large marble pillars holding up the roof, all hand carved! Chris advised us to run our hands around the pillars (which we did) as you can still feel the lines of carving in the marble. This church was  ‘plain’ compared to any of the others we have visited, however it was still stunning! The nave of the church was surrounded by sarcophagi's of past popes, however they are now empty as the bodies were all taken back to Rome. We then had a gelato to cool off from the warm Italian sun. It was yummo! Delicious pistachio and lemon, yum, yum!

 

From here we travelled further north to Pomposa to visit another church and to have a padina (local flat bread) with tomatoes, prosciutto and local mozzarella. We then looked around some of the small shops and I bought a tea towel (yes it’s touristy but meh, one thing!). It was then back on the bus to continue our journey up to Venice. We went across the lagoon bridge. It was enormous! Water, water all around.... but I  wouldn't drink it! We could see a lot of the fishing boats still out on the lagoon catching seafood for dinner that night, or for tomorrow! Unfortunately, when you drove past the lagoon you couldn’t help but notice the pollution in the water, and the dirty colour. It was kind of sad. After crossing the lagoon, we stopped just before the grand canal and disembarked our Trafalgar bus and boarded 6 water taxis which took us up the grand canal.

 

With Trafalgar radios and headsets in hand, and Chris (travel director) in the middle boat, we toured up the Grad canal, like a great boat convoy. It was a fantastic sight to see (and to be a part of!). The buildings of Venice were beautiful, all sitting right on the water’s edge in light colours. It was amazing! We past by many of the beautiful museums and the palazzos. We arrived just outside of Saint Marco’s square. Chris walked us through some side streets so that we could enter the square with the best view of St. Marco’s basilica. It was breath taking! The beautiful old basilica at one end of a large piazza, surrounded by large arches with high end jewellery, clothes, glass and mask shops under them. There were also a few cafes on the square, where there were cream canvas umbrellas and a small quartet playing. The musicians were at the “musicians café”, a café favourite throughout time by famous musicians. We walked through the square and out the back to where 9 gondolas were waiting for our group. We all boarded them in fours and sixes and with two sets of musicians we travelled through some of the small canals of venice, and then out into the grand canal, and back. We spent the next 30 minutes just sitting back and listening to the closest musicians serenade us with famous Italian songs, while the tourists took photos of our group as we travelled through Venice champagne in one hand and camera in the other.

After our gondola ride, we moved back through St. Marco’s square (over four bridges- which was reinforced by Chris as the tomorrow we need to meet at the boat after our free time) to where our taxi was waiting to take us to the Lido, a long island of Venice that sits between Venice and the Adriatic sea. This island is fantastic, as it allows cars and buses to drive onto it (they have to get a ferry, which is what Michele our driver did while we were relaxing on the gondolas- he even unpacked our bags from the bus!). It has a supermarket on the island (theirs is only one in Venice proper, but you need to get there by boat making it difficult to really shop. However on the Lido there is a large supermarket and many, many shops. It is kind of like Burley heads in QLD, with lots of shops and a beachy feel. We went to our hotel, where our bags had already been put in our rooms, and freshened up for the included dinner at the hotel restaurant. The dinner was delicious, with a panacotta dessert! Yum!

Chris informed us that we would be out early tomorrow to catch the boat to the Glass blowing factory for our glass blowing demonstration, so it was early to bed for me! Night!

Day 7 - Peaceful Italy

 

Another early start to the day! I think the travel director is right! I'll need another vacation after this one!

We set off from our lovely cliff side hotel around 8am, towards our next stop – Assisi. We travelled along the A1 back towards Roma and into Umbria. As we drove (due to seat rotation I got the front seat! Woohoo!) through the beautiful Italian countryside it began to change from low lying towns to hill top walled towns. As Chris explained we were now entering the Medieval times, with hill top towns that were their own city states, which used to fight with the surrounding city states. The mountain top and high walls were used as protection against invading armies. The countryside was beautiful. When you think of Tuscany, the rolling hills and sandy coloured buildings dotted throughout is what we were travelling through today.

 

Our first stop for the day was the Commonwealth War Memorial in Monte Casino. A solemn place with hundreds of soliders from the Commonwealth that served in WWII. This beautiful garden broken up by rows and rows of tomb stones with symbols of their country on them was very moving. Although there were 46 of us slowly walking through the area all you could hear were the soundings of the wind moving through the trees, and the birds chirping. Set at the foot of a large mountiain that had a monastery at its peak, it was a truly beautiful place, and beautifully kept. It was a sight to see. It was truly moving.

 

 

We all boarded back onto our bus, a little more quiet that before, and set off for our next stop- Assisi. On the way, Chris  discussed with us the history of this beautiful town set half way up a mountain. This was the home town of Saint Francesco (the saint our current Pope has decided to be named after). He was a saint who was said to be a friend to the poor and to the animals, and is said to have performed many miracles. After his death artists from all over Italy came to make and decorate a church dedicated to him, under which he was buried (one of the wishes he had). Another basilica was built above this one, and another. This amazing structure was made using the local pinkish stone, like the buildings surrounding it. Therefore, when we arrive late in the afternoon, the light from the sun made everything glow a soft rose gold colour, creating a warm, welcoming and calm feeling. It was stunning, and so peaceful! The feeling there was just one of peace and tranquillity, as you were surrounded by warm rose coloured stone buildings that are hundreds and hundreds of years old, and in suchbeautiful condition. As the basilicas are a religious spaces you could not take any photos inside (sorry!). Let’s just say, they were beautiful! They had walls of frescos which were still really bright with colours, despite being hundreds of years old. After a small guided tour of Assisi we had about an hour to wander through the windy streets of Assisi town. It was gorgeous to simply walk from shop to shop, completely different to the feeling in Sorrento or Rome. The cobblestoned streets led us back down to the bus parking lot, where we enjoyed a cold drink and a gelato. We then board our bus once again and went to our accommodation for the night. It was a beautiful old lodging building where visiting clergymen would stay when they came to visit the basilica. It was an old building that was made from the local pink stone, with a lovely inner courtyard with seating and a large marquee roof for protection from the sun (yay! Because my sun rash was rearing its ugly head again! Grr!

 

Our room was simple and functional (it had my two main things – bed and hot shower, although the water pressure was not great, it was a shower! Good enough for me!). We had a dinner at the hotel, with lots of local ingredients. It was a delicious three course meal with a rigatoni with fresh tomato sauce (yum!), a hot chicken a rocket salad with garlic and rosemary baked potatoes (yummo!) and then an apple struddle type thing with a light chocolate caramel sauce (divine!). With our tummies full and our eyes drooping we all headed to bed, where I basically crashed. Goodnight!

Day 6 - Island of the rich and famous

NOTE: I'm sorry it has been so long since I last blogged - it has been very hard to find internet/time in between the racing from church to church, eating pizza, visiting ancient places, eating pasta, looking at amazing art, eating gelato, and bus travel!! I have however written my blog each day, and am now going to try to upload as much as I can today! Hope you enjoy reading through some of my adventures (now that they are finally up!)

Isle of Carpi and Sorrento exploring

It was another early start today to get the 8:10am ferry across to Caaapri with our local guide and Chris  our travel director. After a short mini-bus ride down to the doc we all boarded the large ferry to head over to Capri. The boat ride was fantastic! The early morning sun on your back and the sea breeze in your hair as you watch the Amalfi coast go by, and the Isle of Capri growing closer! The water was a beautiful Azure colour and reflected the sun like it was dancing. Stunning!

We disembarked our ferry and boarded a smaller local tour boat, which was completely open except for the cloth shade sail over the back. I sat under the shade as I had suddenly come out in a sun rash! Devastated! Next stop would be a Farmacia!

We were taken around the Island to see the amazing limestone structures built over hundreds of thousands of years. Unlike around the Napoli bay, where the ground is mostly volcanic, the Isle of Capri is made from limestone, deposited in the middle of the bay. The formations are stunning, with trees at the top of the sheer cliffs, and with natural arches, through which you can see the blue sky above!

We were taken inside some of the grottos to see the famous red coral that grows under the water level here. Stunning flashes of red could be seen through the crystal clear water, surrounded by the white and grey of the limestone. We saw a grotto full of Stalactites and stalagmites, and when you get in close enough the roof turns a light blue colour (check out the pics!). We also saw a small blue grotto, which when the sun hits the white floor under the water it reflects up through the water as a brilliant, electric blue colour out of the darkness of the grotto. Stunning! We went around to see the exclusive villas owner by the rich and famous, Sofia Lauren for example, who was picked up by helicopter and taken over to the mainland while we were there. All of the stunning villas were perched high, up on the cliffs overlooking the mainland of Italy and the Mediterranean. Not a bad view, however I wouldn't like to have to carry the shopping up the steep steps to the house from the boat!!!! Still, perhaps that's how they work off all the pizza, pasta and wine...??? In that case...

Once we had been around the island we headed back to the port and went via funicular to the actual town square. The funicular took us up the steep hillside, providing beautiful views across the port of Capri and the blue Mediterranean. The town square was full of small boutiques (expensive!)  in beautiful cream buildings. From here you can either simply take in the stunning views  or you could walk down to the gardens and the view points on the other side of the island. It was a lovely, lovely spot, and you could see why people would want to live here, despite the tourists! They were everywhere, taking heaps of postcard perfect pictures (I was too!) and filling up the pizza restaurants and sandwich bars. I sat at the Funicular restaurant and looked out over the port of Capri and across the water. Absolutely beautiful! Just watching people go by and the boats moving around the port. It was a mad house down there! Ferries coming and going, and small local tour boats constantly arriving and leaving full of tourists headed for the grottos. It was nice to sit in the calm at the top of the hill and watch all the craziness below.

After a bit of shopping (I gave in and bought a new watch- it’s for going out I swear, and therefore, a necessity!) I headed down, via funicular, to the port of Capri and had a look around. Due to my sun rash I had to buy a cover up so that I could protect my skin from the sun, and a wide brimmed hat. It’s really cute! And definitely wearable back in Australia, so again another necessity! Not a souvenir!  Anyway… after a couple of hours in Capri, new hat on head, new top on to cover the rash, cortisone tablets taken, and anti-inflammatory gel on rash (yay! very attractive) I met the tour group at the port and we all headed back onto the ferry for the trip back to Sorrento! It was soo hot outside on the deck, in the sun, so many of us sat inside in the air-conditioning.

In about 25mins we were back in Sorrento and at Hotel Corallo. We had two hours for free time and a nap (thankgod!). At 4:30pm we met back up in the foyer and headed to Notturno, an inlaid wood work factory, where we watch a fascinating demonstration of how they make the intricate inlaid wood designs. I got a music box with stunning inlaid wood designs on the top, and jewellery storage inside. It is beautiful! I was very tempted by a small dining table, covered in an intricate design of inlaid wood works. The top flipped over and had a backgammon board inlaid in it. This could be taken off completely to reveal the green velvet of a gaming table top, set into the table. This could also be flipped, once you’d lost all you money, to form a chess table. This top could be taken off and two sides slide out to reveal a roulette wheel and boxes for pieces, and the sides would become the roulette table for betting. It was amazing! I was very tempted, however the €3,800 (€3,300 if you paid cash!) price tag put me off a bit. Devastated! Oh well, I’m happy with my music box! It’s very cute made from black ebony and inset with a violin, music notes and flowers it will be a fantastic edition to my room when I get home!

From here we walked into Sorrento town square for more shopping (stay calm, I did not buy anything – points for me! Although we did have a delicious boysenberry gelato while wandering).

On my walk I discovered my camera is on the way out L the lens covers won’t open completely so please excuse the dark shadow in many of my photos!  Shattered!

After an hour of wandering up and down the gorgeous alleyways, with so many limonccello stores (and sampling many of the local varieties), it was time to (Stumble) hop back on the bus and head to Riccardo's Tratorria/ restaurant (the tTble of Lucullus) where we ate too much food and drank to much wine! Chris had booked the whole back yard area, that was surrounded by lemon groves and lovely greenery which made a fantastic atmosphere. The chef (Riccardo) came out and discussed our lengthy menu, with five appetisers (seafood salad made with fresh baby octopus, Eggplant parma- which was to die for, Caprese salad, a plate full of muscles, and finally ricotta ravioli in a fish and shrimp sauce), a main of local fish oven baked with thinly sliced potato over the top and a small salad, and finally a lemon cream cake that was divine. It was full on! We sat at tables and enjoyed our food while listening to three sisters (who had recently been on Italy’s got talent) sing Italian and old American crooner tunes. It was fantastic. We then had a show by Pulcinella and his assistant, who was hilarious. His character was made following the plague, during which people had to wear masks around to be protected, which then became obsolete following the end of the plague.

 

He was funny to watch as he moved through the group having a joke with some of the people, and pulling people up to dance with them.  The night ended with a conga line that went down through the main restaurant, and out onto the street (the Vespas just dodged around us-thankfully!). It was then back onto the bus and back to the hotel where everyone crashed in bed! A great way to end a great day!