A Quiet Sunday in Cividale

fresco in the small temple

Dad and the kids skipping home from church.

A Quiet Sunday in Cividale
It rained during the night so we had a lazy start to the day. We breakfasted in the hotel before heading out, wearing jackets for the first time since we left home. The sky was overcast but the rain held off.
The town was originally called Forum Iulia and a statue of Julius Caesar still stands in the main square. The Romans were followed by the Celts, then the Longobards (from Germany) and then the Venetians so the town abounds in history.
We visited the Archaeological Museum, the Duomo’s Christian Museum and the Longobards small temple built in the 8th century. All marvellous! The photos just can’t do justice to them.
We watched the people strolling through the town after Mass, all beautifully dressed, on their way out to lunch. The young girls wore smocked and embroidered dresses with white stockings and pastel shoes. Men wore formal suits and ladies were smartly turned out in dresses with jackets, very high heels and stockings. You could tell we were not local by our jeans and t shirts.
We think we are the only English speaking people in Cividale at the moment. It is, however, a popular place for Italians to visit and it hosts many cultural events during the year. We have had a wonderful visit.

The Ghost Under the bridge

The Natisone River divides Cividale (pronounced Chivvydarly) with a huge canyon. The original wooden structure is now replaced with an impressive stone bridge that provides significant views of the river and town.
We found a hidden, locked door and borrowed the key from the nearby bar. We descended stone steps into grotto like rooms deep below the bridge. Scholars are divided on what these rooms actually were used for…… Roman gaol, Jewish bathhouse or Celtic funeral area?
When we looked at our photos, we saw either a mask sculptured into the wall or was it the ghost of Devil’s Bridge?

Cividale del Friuli

Cividale is located in the Friuli region, just a few kilometres from Slovenia, almost as far north east as you can go and still be in Italy.

We are staying in the medieval centre and so far have visited the Duomo, wandered through the Saturday markets and enjoyed lunch in a small trattoria. When we went in to lunch, the markets were in full progress and by the time we came out, they were all packed up and gone.

We plan to visit a number of ancient Roman sites, museums and walk across the Devil's Bridge. Legend goes that to make the construction easier, the devil asked for the soul of the first person to cross it. With their wise astuteness, the Cividalesi allowed a cat to first cross the bridge, thus saving human souls. Perhaps a dog was not a good enough substitute!

We head off for Slovenia on Monday as the bus does not run tomorrow. We remain two days behind schedule.

Window Shopping

The many faces of Venice.

Bling, bling, bling.

Venetian glass in every colour of the rainbow.

Venetian glass chess set.... the cats beating the dogs!

Just as well we watched “Confessions of a Shopaholic” on the flight to Italy!
Venice has enough glass and bling to tempt anyone. The photos are from windows and scenes in Venice.
Our bags are a little heavier.

Old and New

Couldn’t resist this….. the old and the new.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvv Towns

On the Rialto bridge


Vernazza, Varenna, Verona……. this time it is Venice.
We stayed an extra day in the Dolomite mountains and again in Venice so now we are 2 days behind our schedule. Plenty of chances to ‘catch up’ a day later.
It was a long trip from the quiet, tiny town of Castelrotto to the bustling city of Venice. We found the same hotel where we had stayed previously. It has a great location, just off the Grand Canal and the walkway to St Mark’s Square….. but it is quiet.
Venetian glass, carnival masks, the Rialto bridge, gondolas and gondoliers, the Doge’s Palace, the canals and the wonderful St. Mark’s Square….. Venice is a magnificent place.

Hiking in the Dolomites

View from the Alpine Meadow

Wildflowers on the meadow

The two Hikers

After a fortifying breakfast, we set off by bus to the cable car up to the Alpe di Siuse. What wonderful views from the gondola…… simply magnificent. (We are going to run out of superlatives).
From Compaccio, we set out on a long walk in this high alpine meadow.. the largest in Europe. (20 x 8 miles). The views were on all sides. The spectacular Sciliar, the home of medieval witches, was among the best.
We were on the track by 9.30 am and had stops for morning tea and lunch as well as lots of stops in between for photos or just to gasp and catch our breath! Our lunch stop overlooked the town of Castelrotto where we are staying. We could see the church and the bell tower and we think we could see our hotel. We were more than 1000 metres above the town.
After temperatures in the high twenties and low thirties in the past few days, we walked in temperatures of 7 - 9 degrees minus wind chill! We completed the walk in about three and a half hours and back in Compaccio, we caught a local bus out to Saltria with its magnificent views of Sassolungo (3101 m.). We had 360 degrees views of the Italian and Austrian Alps. As good as it gets!
Back inm the bus and down in the gondola, we caught the shuttle bus back to Castelrotto, where we collapsed. Rest, hot showers and baths, wine and chocolate, we were finally ready to go out for our last dinner in the Dolomites.
What a great place! We must come back.

Castelrotto

Our hotel

Walking the Dolomites

Wildflowers

Castelrotto or Kastelruth as the locals call it in German, is a delightful town in the Dolomites. We had a “warm up” hike for our major outing to the Alpe de Suisi tomorrow and have included a few photos of the views and town.
We have excellent views from our room with its large balcony and have consumed German wine and apple strudel.

Meeting the Ice Man

We finally met Otzi the Ice Man. He had waited about 4,500 years to be found , so I am sure that he didn’t mind the extra day’s wait to meet us! All the museums were closed yesterday.
In 1991, this Bronze Age man was found frozen in a glacier in the South Tyrol. After being taken to Austria, he has finally found his home in the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano. This museum focuses on him but includes a number of “bog men”, South American petrified corpses and even Egyptian mummies.
He lies still frozen and his clothes, weapons and possessions are displayed separately. He was found in skin clothing, shoes etc and carried arrows and simple tools.
At 46, he was considered to be a very old man. It was an honour meeting with Otzi.
We left our main bag behind in Bolzano and departed for a few days hiking in the Dolomites. As we sit in our hotel in Castelrotto and look out over the Dolomites, this little town looks like part of Austria….. but located in Italy. The language, houses, food and clothing tell us it is Austria but it is Italy.

Is That Juliet on the Balcony?

There is more to Verona than Romeo and Juliet!
Arriving from Varenna, we found a quiet, central hotel and then headed out to explore the sights of Verona. We visited two excellent cathedrals, the Roman Arena - 3rd largest in the world but somewhat disappointing; the Roman Theatre and Museum - again, a little disappointing and the wonderful Piazza Erbe, with its beautiful fountains and sculptures.
We also climbed the Torre dei Lamberti - well, we actually took the lift so that left us only about 100 steps. (It was over 30 degrees.)
Finally, we visited the House of Juliet (Casa del Guilietta) -= sometimes called the ‘faux’ house of Juliet. We had purchased a combined ticket and this gave us entry to the house. Most of the tour groups congregate in the courtyard and look up at the balcony. When Gail appeared on the balcony, a busload of Japanese tourists were heard to say, “Look! It’s Juliet.”
We returned to the air conditioned comfort of our hotel to recover before eating at a quiet restaurant

Even the Parking Meters Have a Siesta Around Here

Everything closes for a siesta in the old town of Varenna!

The toilet library

Even the books in the toilet library were published in the 1880's and 1890's

Gail with male and female chastity belts

Gail on the snow line

Defender of the Castle

The Fiumelatte

Gail and Rob at the Fiumelatte

Rob Recovering from the Climb to the Castle

Milan Duomo

In Leonardo's Footsteps

Today we headed into the mountains above Lake Como. We walked up a historic mule track, narrow and very steep, until we finally reached the tiny village of Vezio with 20 houses and a
castle dating from 1200’s.
We held no high expectations of the castle but it was great. We climbed the central tower, found armour to fit us and looked at the falcons and other birds of prey. The best part was the view over the lake. It was like the eagle’s eyrie. As we looked across the lake, we appeared to be at the same height as the snow fields on the other side.
The other highlight was the tiny restaurant. We shamefully admit that we fortified ourselves with beer and wine before continuing on our way.
The path deteriorated, becoming such that I doubt if the mules would use it - steeper and narrow but fortunately, mainly down. We were in search of the source of Italy’s shortest river.
Eventually, we found it. The Fiumelatte gushed out of a cave in a torrent and thundered down the mountainside……. with us in hot pursuit.
Our feet were muddy but we had traversed from the source to the mouth of Europe’s shortest river….. all 400 metres of it!
We took the easy lake road back and the two intrepid explorers collapsed on the bed.

Later on reading the guidebook, we discovered that Leonardo had explored the river before we did!

The Intrepid Travellers

Today we headed into the mountains above Lake Como. We walked up a historic mule track, narrow and very steep, until we finally reached the tiny village of Vezio with 20 houses and a
castle dating from 1200’s.
We held no high expectations of the castle but it was great. We climbed the central tower, found armour to fit us and looked at the falcons and other birds of prey. The best part was the view over the lake. It was like the eagle’s eyrie. As we looked across the lake, we appeared to be at the same height as the snow fields on the other side.
The other highlight was the tiny restaurant. We shamefully admit that we fortified ourselves with beer and wine before continuing on our way.
The path deteriorated, becoming such that I doubt if the mules would use it - steeper and narrow but fortunately, mainly down. We were in search of the source of Italy’s shortest river.
Eventually, we found it. The Fiumelatte gushed out of a cave in a torrent and thundered down the mountainside……. with us in hot pursuit.
Our feet were muddy but we had traversed from the source to the mouth of Europe’s shortest river….. all 400 metres of it!
We took the easy lake road back and the two intrepid explorers collapsed on the bed.

Connection Issues

The wireless connection is really flaky around this part of Italy and we have been unable to send any photos. When we move on to a larger place, we will do another photo gallery to catch up.

Zig Zagging on Lake Como

Zig Zagging on Lake Como
We arrived in Varenna, on the side of Lake Como and settled into the delightful Villa Elena. Nothing much has changed in Villa Elena for hundreds of years - well except for the plumbing and electricity……. but even the radio has valves!
We headed out to explore the mid lake district by ferry, first going across the lake to Bellagio at the junction of the two arms of the lake. It is a delightful town so we stayed for lunch at an outdoor café.
Our next ferry took us across the lake to Menaggio, where we walked along the lakefront and visited the 12th century church. One hour later, we were back on the ferry to travel the short distance to Villa Carlotta. We went via Varenna (the town where we are staying ) on the opposite side of the lake and then back again to Villa Carlotta.
Villa Carlotta is one of several grand lakeside villas. It was a gift to Princess Carlotta in 1850. The rooms have beautiful furniture, marble sculptures and artwork. The gardens are extensive so we strolled through them.
The ferry home took the zig zag route - up the lake to Cadanabba, across the lake to Bellagio, back again to Menaggio, not far from where we got on, before finally crossing the lake to Varenna. It was most scenic with the snow capped mountains surrounding the beautiful lake with the historic villages and towns clustering around the shore.
Back to e arrived in Varenna, on the side of Lake Como and settled into the delightful Villa Elena. Nothing much has changed in Villa Elena for hundreds of years - well except for the plumbing and electricity……. but even the radio has valves!
We headed out to explore the mid lake district by ferry, first going across the lake to Bellagio at the junction of the two arms of the lake. It is a delightful town so we stayed for lunch at an outdoor café.
Our next ferry took us across the lake to Menaggio, where we walked along the lakefront and visited the 12th century church. One hour later, we were back on the ferry to travel the short distance to Villa Carlotta. We went via Varenna (the town where we are staying ) on the opposite side of the lake and then back again to Villa Carlotta.
Villa Carlotta is one of several grand lakeside villas. It was a gift to Princess Carlotta in 1850. The rooms have beautiful furniture, marble sculptures and artwork. The gardens are extensive so we strolled through them.
The ferry home took the zig zag route - up the lake to Cadanabba, across the lake to Bellagio, back again to Menaggio, not far from where we got on, before finally crossing the lake to Varenna. It was most scenic with the snow capped mountains surrounding the beautiful lake with the historic villages and towns clustering around the shore.
Back to

No Last Supper for Leonardo or Us

We departed from the Cinque Terre early and stopped in Genoa to see the Christopher Columbus memorial on our way to Milan.
We visited the Sforza’s castle, the original defence site in Milan. It now houses several museums - art, ceramics but we especially enjoyed the huge display of musical instruments dating from medieval times….. hurdy gurdys to harpsichords.
Then off to the church of Santa Maria delle Grazia, home of Leonardo de Vinci’s most famous painting, “The Last Supper”. The church and cloisters were interesting. The painting, however, is housed in a separate building just outside the church and we discovered that we needed to book a month ago to get in!
So no last supper for us.
We did enjoy revisiting the Duomo, the 4th largest basilica in the world. (Can you name the other 3?) It is not only large, but beautifully proportioned with outstanding stained glass windows. The exterior is exquisite in the wedding cake style. The cathedral is located in a huge piazza, allowing you to see the church at its best.
Afterwards, we walked through the glorious, glassed domed Gallerie Vittorio Emanuel with its Prada and Louis Vuitton boutiques to the square where La Scala is located.
Finally, we got our supper - at Sabatini’s

Exploring the Cinque Terre

This morning, we caught the train to the southern end of the Cinque Terre at Riomaggiore and walked to Manarola. This is the easy section of the famous Cinque Terre Walk - called Via dell Amore….. Lovers’ Lane! At one point, people write their names on a padlock, lock it to the fence and throw the key into the Mediterranean as a symbol of everlasting love. Knowing that our love is secure, we kept our padlocks for our bags as we were not so sure about them.
From Manarola, we walked on to Corniglia. On this trip, we have now walked 3 of the 4 parts of the walk. Last time we were here, we walked from Vernazze (where we are staying) to Monterosso. This is the most difficult section of the walk - steep, twisting, very narrow path and hundreds of steps. You should always leave something for next time we thought.
We then caught the train beyond the northern end of the Cinque Terre to levanto and explored the market and the beach before returning as far as Monterosso by train. We have now visited all 5 villages of the Cinque Terre as well as the larger towns at either end. Monterosso is a more typical Mediterranean beach - overweight bodies only partly clad, lots of colourful umbrellas and sun lounges for hire.
Back in Vernazza, we relaxed and enjoyed a swim. Tomorrow, we depart for Milan.

Non introdurre cani

Cats rule supreme in Corniglia and Manarola. Yes, in these towns, dogs are banned and cats are free to roam. This has the full sanction of the Cinque Terre National Park and the UNESCO world heritage listing!
It’s a cat’s life.

Cinque Terre Completo

The famous walking paths link the five coastal villages. On our previous visit, we completed all but one of the walks. This morning, we walked from Vernazza to Corniglia. We have completed the great Cinque Terre walk.
Tomorrow, we will start again.
The photo shows the steep, narrow trail with its stunning views.

Vernazza

Our earlier visit to the Cinque Terre was stunning and we were happy to stay in the same place. We remembered where it was but not what it was called.
We arrived from Florence, changing to the local train in La Spezia and walked down to the village square right on the harbour. The room we wanted was not available and they could only give us 3 separate rooms for the 3 nights we planned to stay.
Finally we found not just a room, but the perfect apartment. It has fabulous views over the harbour and the town. It is huge. The living / dining room has a marble floor and looks like a palace. In the photo, it is the rooms on the corner with the 2 balconies on the top floor next to the church, straight up above the tree right on the harbour.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and strolling through the town.
Tomorrow, we walk

Behold the Ice Man Cometh!

This is not the Ice Man. The Ice Man cometh.

Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradisio

On our first night in Florence, there was a special reading of Dante’s 100 chapters which took place in various locations throughout Florence.
We should have at least gone to the reading of the final chapter, Paradiso in the churchyard of the Duomo. Unfortunately, by the time we had finished our dinner wine, it was over!
Paradise lost!

When a Train is a Bus - A Quiet Day

We headed off on the morning train- the bus from Siena to Florence. Yes the train was a bus. The bus company is called Tran (pronounced train). Perhaps this was to meet an election promise.
We decided on a relaxing first day in Florence. We ended up going to 5 museums, a church and a concert!
We visited the Bargello, the sculpture museum. This was built as a town hall in 1258 and converted to a prison in the 16th century. It became Italy’s first national museum in 1865. The sculptures were magnificent, Michelangelo etc. The special exhibition of Bernini was stunning. There was delicate marble lace, layer upon layer of marble folds and heads looking as if they were about to speak - where the term ‘speaking likeness’ comes from.
We also visited the Anthropology Museum and the Duomo before going back to our apartment for lunch. The benefit of an apartment was a first ‘home’ cooked meal since leaving - escalopes of turkey with brown onion sauce, potatoes, peas, corn and carrots.
In the evening, we visited St Marco museum in the former monastery and while we were there, enjoyed a concert performed by the Florence Conservatorium of Music. It was very good.
Later, we went to the Gallerie Accademia that houses Michelangelo’s famous ‘David’ and also the Museum of Musical Instruments.
Not bad for a quiet day!

Stranded in Monteriggioni

The main square in Monteriggioni

View from Rocca at SanGimignano

View from the top of the tower in San Gimignano

On Friday we headed off by bus for a day trip to Monteriggioni and San Gimignano. We walked up the half kilometre to the most fascinating medieval town that dates from 1203. It is totally walled with 14 towers, all intact. Until the 1960s, it operated as a shared farm but is now back to its former glory.
It is very small - you can walk round it in 5 minutes - but so fascinating, we would love to return to stay.
We were down in plenty of time to catch our bus on to San Gimignano but it did not arrive. We sat by the side of the road settled in for the 2 hour wait for the next bus but were eventually rescued by a Greek couple and driven on to San Gimignano.
This is another walled town but much larger that Monteriggioni. We walked through the gate and up the cobble stoned streets. This is another absolute gem and one of our favourite places we have visited.
We visited several museums and churches and climbed the Torre Grossa, the tallest of the towers still standing. This was a much easier climb of only about 250 steps! We also enjoyed a visit to Rocca with the walls now enclosing a delightful park. Best of all was simply the atmosphere and walking around through the narrow streets.

Mad Artists, Steps and Siena Cake

Siena Duomo - a real wedding cake.

Is that a doggie in the window? More window shopping for food.

Stained glass windows - possibly by a mad artist.

On Thursday we visited some of the outstanding sights of Siena. Started with S.Domenico. This is the resting place for the relics of St Catherine. We saw her head and her right index finger! Later we visited the convent where she lived. It was most interesting and there were great views over the valley.
On the way back, we visited an art exhibition in a gallery near the Duomo. It was titled “Art, Genius and Madness”. All the artists for this exhibition were ‘mad’ and we decided most of them also lacked genius although there were some works by Van Gogh and Munsch.
In the afternoon, we visited St Francis’ church. It was quite austere but with interesting stained glass windows in 3D style. Perhaps they have been designed by some of the artists we saw this morning.
Our final destination was down to Il Campo to visit the museum and to undertake the major challenge of Siena…… climbing up the 330 ft city tower. The steps were very narrow and steep but the view at the top was absolutely stunning.
Back to our hotel room to recover with a cup of tea and some Siena panforte. Later we recovered some more with wine before finding another fabulous little trattoria for dinner.

Photo Gallery

The Siena Duomo

Fresco in the Duomo in Siena

Window shopping in Assisi

Basilica of St Francis in Assisi

Interesting Drinks

We have told the tale of the grappa and the white muscatelle. But even better was our nightcap last evening.

We planned to have coffee, Baileys and Lindt chocolates. The Baileys and the chocolates were fine but the hotel recommends that you don’t drink the water so we purchased a 1 litre bottle. The only problem was that when we came to boil it up for supper, we discovered it was sparkling mineral water. The coffee was like a special Siennese cappuccino!
It all went down well!

What to Do With the Grappa

Our bus from Assisi was almost 2 hours faster than the train option. It dropped us near the elevator up to the old town. Wow! What a place! It is everything you could imagine a Tuscan hilltop town could be.
We walked down to Il Campo, the main square that still has 11th century buildings and found a tiny hotel only minutes away. The only drawback…… lots of stairs….. no lift!
It is far enough from the square to be quiet but close enough to be there in a few minutes.
The square is magnificent. People just sit and take it in - some in the bars, some in the restaurants….. others in the square itself. We are still to sit and fully explore the tower etc.
We headed up to the 13th century Duomo, visited the magnificent Baptistry, the Crypt, the cathedral itself - truly magnificent with lots of frescoes, paintings etc and the
Museo Dell’Opera.

After a late afternoon rest, we had drinks…. yes, our room has a frig…..and then out to dinner at a trattoria recommended by the hotel owner - just 5 minutes behind the tower of the main square but 1000 miles from the tourists. We were among the very few non Siennese. Great local food and wine.

At the end of the meal, the waitress gave us a present of the dregs of a bottle of grappa and a bottle of white muscatelle. We enjoyed the cinnamon infused flavour of the muscatelle but not so of the grappa. Gail had a big slug….. “Isn’t it water?” Then we decided what to do with what remained in our glasses. We could take it home as an alcohol rub for our tired legs; we could use it as fuel for a barbecue dinner tomorrow…. or we could water the nearby topiary hedge. The hedge died instantly!

You Just Can't Avoid Some Things

We departed our accommodation in Assisi and breakfasted in the square. We then walked back uphill to catch the local bus to St Maria Degli Angeli, the place where St Francis died.
With bags in tow, we still had lots of time before the 10.45 bus to Siena so took it in turns to mind the bags while the other viewed the magnificent church, conveniently located right next to the bus stop for Siena.
Before we could decide who stood sentry first, we were visited by some of our long lost friends……. the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They found us a greeting written in English and we gave them an Aussie welcome. They went on their way, the tract went in the bin, Gail stood sentry and Robert took first turn at St Maria Degli Angeli.
You just can’t avoid some things.

A Centenary Remembered

What luck - a row of 5 seats and just the 2 of us, so we managed a reasonable night’s sleep on the way to Rome. On arrival, we caught a train to Roma Termini, then another on to Assisi, reaching there mid morning and found a nice little hotel within 10 minutes of our arrival, so had most of the day ahead of us.
What a wonderful place! The old town up on the hilltop has picturesque, cobble stoned streets and old, old buildings. It deserves its UNESCO heritage listing!
We visited the famous landmarks: - Basilica of St Francis including his tomb, Basilica of St Clare which included displays of robes belonging to both of them, the Duomo of St Rufino, who is the patron saint of Assisi (surprisingly not Francis) and the Piazza del Comune with its Roman Forum and Temple of Minerva. The Duomo was right near our hotel.

The best parts of Assisi were the streets and streetscapes - especially after the day tourists returned to Rome and Florence and the magical lights illuminated all the old buildings. The trattoria where we had dinner wasn’t too bad either.
We could stay for a week but off to Siena on Wednesday morn
My dad (Gail’s) was called Frank to everyone but according to his birth certificate, he was Francis Assisi so this visit had special meaning. He would have been 100 this year.

No Koalas in Kuala Lumpur

As we look out of our hotel room, we can actually see trees and whilst we have checked carefully, we can't find a single koala.

After a lazy start to the day and a HUGE buffet breakfast, we went down to the Bintan Walk, not far from our hotel and we checked out 1000s of shops ranging from modern department stores to hawker markets. As we head off to Europe this evening, we mainly resisted the temptation to buy, but we will be stopping again on the way home.

Robert bought some sunglasses for the trip and I made one purchase....... Imelda made me do it!

Our hotel is well located and we can see the famous Petronas

Twin Towers from our window.

It is nearly time to check out of our room but we are

thinking of having a swim before we head to the

airport. Our flight to Rome leaves just

before midnight.