Gems of Italy, France and Spain – 19 Days – Cosmos Tour – A Journal of the Tour – Part One
Rome to Venice then on to Paris
“……It was a lovely, magical, memorable experience and I couldn’t help but think how romantic the moment would have been to share with one’s partner……”
28TH. SEPTEMBER – A meeting at 5:30 pm in the hotel conference room with Tour Guide Christian marked the start of the next tour and there’s only 23 in the group this time. Perhaps there’s a chance others will join partway through as Cosmos added and subtracted people along the way last tour as mini tours started and stopped. Cosmos must advertise the longer tours then when they’re not full; offer shorter option trips to fill spaces. Not in Australia though. Christian is our new tour director and he knows Gianpaolo from my first tour well as they both hail from Sorrento, Italy. Christian has lived in England for 13 years and whilst there studied history. Christian says he doesn’t quite have a macaroni accent now. Giorgio is to be our new driver and we will meet him and the new bus tomorrow. The first day of tour two for us tomorrow is to the Vatican, St. Peter’s, the Colosseum and the Roman Forum then many in the group are heading out to dinner.
We went to the Vatican and Colosseum at the start of the last tour, Southern Italy and Sicily, so Alan, Naomi, Dean and Liz, who signed up for both tours like I, are heading to the Vatican by bus then we are walking into town to spend a full day in Rome without the others. We will miss the night optional excursion too, both extra tours being 58€ each, as although I didn’t do them, all of the others did both of those options last tour. We are going to walk to the Pantheon and have a good look around Rome. With a long day ahead, it’s off to bed.
MONDAY 29TH. SEPTEMBER – Early start this morning so I set my alarm last night for 6:00 am and the wake up call followed shortly after.
European breakfast again, juice, cereals, yogurt, tinned fruits, a selection of different breads, sourdough, rolls, Turkish bread, cheese and sliced meats, and the addition of Moroccan fresh fruit salad, scrambled eggs and grilled prosciutto. Ten different coffees and ten different teas. It is a beautiful buffet at this hotel, and the staff go out of their way to fuss over you. It’s lovely!
Yesterday I asked the sexy Italian waiter if he was married. “Today I am not married” the silky words rolled off his tongue. “But when I go home tonight I am married signora. If you like signora, I can be not married with you today”. Big smile and cheeky grin. Well I guess he’s married.
I hopped on the bus taking our new tour group to the Vatican at 7:20 am and went to the start point of the Vatican City tour with the group. Christian, our new guide, talked meeting points and times on the way and Giorgio our new driver, safely escorted us past early rising Romans fighting for parks on the roadsides, curbs, pavement, street corners and anywhere they see fit to leave their little smart cars or scooters. We arrived at the Vatican around 7:45 am and Christian walked with our small group who were not doing the tour, to St. Peter’s Square.
From there Alan, Naomi, Liz, Dean and I set off on a tour of our own to discover some new Roman sights on the way to the Pantheon. First we walked to the Tiber River, about ten minutes away, and briefly stopped at a small makeshift market selling religious items and trinkets.
The Tiber River was a picture in the early morning light and I took some photos of the bridges that span it’s width and the beautiful sculptures that adorn them. It was still cool, about 19 degrees Celsius, and many people were strolling, riding bikes, and hurrying on their way to wherever they were going. We saw two men dressed as Gladiators heading off to “work their patch of turf” with the tourists that visit near the Spanish Steps. These characters pose with the tourists for a photo in exchange for money.
Couples have started putting padlocks with their names and the date on it on the bridge we crossed but there were nowhere near as many padlocks to be seen here today as there are in France on their bridges I was told by Naomi. We continued on strolling leisurely in the direction of the Pantheon and asked a taxi driver for directions when we thought we were reasonably close. Left after the big bookshop two streets down apparently. Never mind that he neglected to mention that TWO streets are streets that have traffic AND in between there were about ten streets with pedestrian traffic or parked cars. Got to hope the taxi driver knows where to go, as he certainly made it a guessing game for us. I am constantly surprised by the cars and parking in this city. Romans just pull into any space, facing any direction and even use footpaths, driveways and corner kerbs as makeshift parking bays. We passed a McDonalds and the golden “M” was quite small and insignificant. Commercial signage laws over here must be different to Australia as our signs are often huge. We had been told Gucci had bought the McDonalds in town nearest the Spanish Steps. He is supposedly renovating the building for his own private apartments.
As we neared the Pantheon we passed along the side street Via dei Cestari, a street filled with the most amazing array of pope, nun and priest shops. Clothing, chalices, rings, decorations, Jesus and Mary statues, rosary beads, crucifixes, religious paraphernalia, bookmarks, priest carry bags, jackets to fit over robes, nuns’ habits, shirts, clothing, shoes. It was all there, spread out and very tantalizingly displayed for the priests and nuns that visited. There was, in fact, a priest inside one shop browsing as we walked past. I paused to wonder if he needed to mask his pleasure at shopping for something beautiful, something necessary or something completely frivolous? I noticed there were only four colours of shirts for the priests, all with a white collar insert, but there were dozens of beautifully coloured and embroidered robes for them. And I was fascinated by the idea of a priest shopping for clothing to “display” to his congregation, and what he might be compelled to buy.
We found the Pantheon a short distance away and it is a magnificent building. Commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BC – 14 AD) the building was completed by the emperor Hadrian and dedicated around the year 126 AD. I was enthralled with this ancient monolith and it’s stunningly simple design and beautifully preserved architecture. It was unlike anything I’ve seen yet. It was free entry and we spent about half an hour inside marveling at the beautiful symmetry of the building and its dome. Swiss guards, like the ones outside at St. Peter’s, are on duty inside.
Time for coffee so we sat in an outdoor restaurant within a stone’s throw of The Pantheon where latte macchiato was 5€. Dearer to sit but it was nice to stop, relax and enjoy the moment, the bustle of the streets, people walking by, shop owners going about their day’s business. And to admire the ancient giant, sitting proudly only a few metres from us.
We found the Baroque style St. Mary Magdalene Church 1699 AD with its Rococo 1735 AD facade nearby and decided to go inside. A stunning church with some beautiful fresco paintings, all artfully preserved and in pristine condition. Each church we visit is beautiful, but very different from the last seen, and although I don’t have a particular favourite, some stand out in my mind as being exceptional. St. Paul’s Basilica in Rome, the Royal Palace Chapel in Palermo and St. Peter’s Basilica (all seen on Tour One), also in Rome, are all amazing works of architecture and adornment.
I found a tiny jewellery shop nearby and bought several beautiful pieces. Whether gifts or personal purchases, I think they are gorgeous and they’ll be a nice reminder of my trip.
Nearby we stumbled across a patron filled gelato shop boasting 150 flavours including unusual flavours like prickly pear, Nutella, profiteroles, mandarine, guava, lavender, olive, basil, meringue, avocado and Irish coffee to name but a few. It was very busy and we all selected some flavours as yet untried for 2,50€ for two scoops, 3,50€ a three scoop cup, and so on. Delicious!
Strolling along further we then found other shops and nearby those Rome’s Parliament building which is quite grand and sits in Parliament Square on the edge of the exquisite central shopping district of Rome.
Shortly after we found our exact bearings and realized we were not far from the Spanish Steps. The fountain Fontana della Barcaccia near the steps had just been finished as a restoration so we headed there. The square at the fountain was filled with tourists and entertainers and the man dressed as a gladiator we had seen this morning was posing for photos with tourists nearby. Buskers, beggars and gypsies were there plying their trades or just lingering so we kept up a good pace and continued in the opposite direction to where we’d been on earlier trips hoping to discover new things along the way. We passed designer clothing and many shoe shops, all items inside pleasing to the eye and beautifully presented.
We walked along a street being revamped with men laying new cobblestones on a cleared existing roadway. They were working within the guidelines of fresh new curbing then we stopped for a pizza lunch inside a street side restaurant with the promise of free wi fi. Honestly restaurateurs will say anything to get you in the door. Yes you guessed it, no wi fi. And from there we trekked our way into Piazza del Popolo, home to the 24 metre Flaminio Obelisk, in its centre.
Sculptures flanked either end of the square and a long staircase was to one side, across from the obelisk. We crossed the square and found, tucked away, the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum celebrating possibly history’s most influential figure, Leonardo Da Vinci 15/04/1452 – 02/05/1519. It was 8€ entry to look at a collection of reproductions celebrating Da Vinci’s life’s work. Most of his original drawings absent, it was still a detailed cataloging of his life’s works and many inventions, with modern reproductions on display from his original designs. I remember going to a Da Vinci exhibition in Adelaide, South Australia many years ago. Many of Da Vinci’s actual sketches, tiny, were at that exhibition. The museum I visited today had very little of his original work on display but the volume of work represented was enormous. Leonardo Da Vinci truly was a genius of mind and creativity and the museum was well worth the visit.
We followed the staircase flanking the square up to a road, then followed the road up to the Villa Borghese Gardens. At the top of Piazza del Popolo, in a square in the gardens high above at their edge, you could look out over Rome and the view was simply breathtaking. We spied St. Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel easily. It wasn’t as hot today, maybe 28 degrees, so it was delightful strolling around looking at history so different to our own in Australia.
From the gardens we trekked to down to the large Popolo square again and across to a market we’d seen from above, then we headed towards a taxi rank on the other side of the square that we’d passed earlier. We caught a taxi and fifteen minutes later and we were at our hotel, around 3:30 pm. Drinks down in the courtyard with leftovers from Liz and the other’s lunch from the day before including wine, Italian prosciutto and antipasto. It was a really interesting and most enjoyable day, but we were glad to get back and rest before dinner as we had notched up about ten kilometres today on foot.
9:00 pm – Dinner was a no show tonight with most of our new tour group going on the optional tour which included dinner for the 58€ fee. Alan, who is Naomi’s husband, and I however went to dinner at the hotel at 8:00 pm and had cold meats, cheese, bread and olive oil with salt and cracked pepper, then ice cream for desert for 23€ instead. I’m ready for bed now and very much looking forward to Florence tomorrow.
30TH. SEPTEMBER – The wake up call was at 6:00 am this morning. Plenty to do. Packed my large suitcase and put it out for the porters and then it was out the door to breakfast by 7:45 am.
“Are you single today, signor?” I asked the sexy Italian waiter this morning. Very expressive with his hands he sort of bowed and looked me in the eye. “For you signora I am never married. Come with me today. Do not go on your holiday……stay with me instead!” His eyes twinkled with mischief and he broke into a huge smile that said he was really, really up to no good. I laughed. And felt like a teenager again, flattered, as well as who I am today, a much wiser woman of fifty five.
Breakfast was a reasonably rushed affair today as there really wasn’t many from our group there. They had all headed down earlier eager to be on the road. I ate quickly but as I was leaving I said “Arrivederci signor, I’m leaving. I’ll not see you again.” Quick as a flash he replied, “Do not get on your bus this morning signora, come away with me instead. We will be together!”
OOOOOOOHHH I love Italy.
We traveled to the ring road around Rome and passed chaos in the form of early morning Roman traffic before we actually joined it as resident Romans headed to school and work. I videoed the confusion for a bit and have evidence of some of the driver lunacy that prevails here. Surprisingly I am told there are few accidents as everyone expects the same thing and drives in like manner. Drivers simply muscle their way in and through. If you have four inches advantage you assume the other driver has realized and is in agreement you that you have the advantage so they will stop. Not so for scooters. If they can squeeze through, they do. Any gap, any side of the road, any opportunity. If you are a pedestrian you wait for a gap in the traffic, looking both ways first, and yes there are always cars where you least expect them because as an Australian cars are coming in the opposite lane to what I’m used to. Then you start walking.
Do not hesitate, do not stop, do not step back, as the drivers have already calculated how close they can go behind you without stopping their fastest, most direct passage through the crossing. As Christian said “A red light in Italy does not mean stop, it only means it is………a possibility.” Cars were parked everywhere, in every direction, so close they couldn’t maneuver an exit out once parked as other cars come in from behind then box them in. They park on the road, the pavement, in people’s driveways and on corners.
I saw a small van trying to park yesterday between a Mercedes and a small car. There was actually a large space the other side of the small car but no, laziness or maybe arrogance dictated the van needed to be directly in front of the post where the guy trying to park was planning to set up a stall. (He wasn’t Italian.) He attempted three times to park when his friend gesticulated madly then took over and jumped in the van to “do a better job”. Had they stood there and visually measured the van and the space they would have realised the space was too small. Instead with Liz, Dean, Alan, Naomi and myself watching, he too attempted three times to park without success. I called out, “there’s a park there”, only ten metres behind the space, directly behind the car that was at his rear. He yelled, “no good”. “I want to park there!” They tried again then they gave it up for a bad joke but not before he had actually slid his van’s nose along the current model Mercedes’ rear bumper. I can only imagine the car owner’s anger when he returned to his new Benz.
Apparently to get out of the tight parks the technique drivers employ here is to nudge the car in front and then the car behind to widen the gap they have for maneuvering. The cars nudged stop when they actually hit the cars to the front and rear of them. All the Roman cars seem to have scratches on their bumpers. It is a horrid practice but what is expected here. And most taxis have scrapes, scratches and dents down their sides from tight maneuvers and misjudgements as well.
We are traveling through Tuscany. It is quite hilly even mountainous in the distance but again the road is elevated and we are following valleys. The foliage is thick by the roadside so it’s difficult to near impossible to shoot any images through the windows. It’s beautiful with higgilty piggilty buildings everywhere, early autumn leaves turning and falling, and Italian villas dotted here and there.
The glimpses of the region I see indicate it is quite rich in terms of farming and produce but I believe the farmers are not necessarily wealthy as many homes and outbuildings appear run down. Hilltop towns are dotted across the landscape and often have high defensive walls. A legacy of the wars hundreds of years ago when towns preferred to locate where they could monitor an enemy’s approach. Villas and houses are surrounded by vines and olive groves, and the trees here are not at all familiar to me. It is very green.
Christian’s voice booms over the microphone and he tells us a story. Then adds some anecdotes…….”Here if you feel like work,” he says “sit down and rest, and it will pass” he pauses……there’s a lot of laughter from his impromptu audience, then he continues…….”The bed is sacred. Italians love their rest”…….
5:15 pm – Arrived in Florence or “Firenze” as called in Italy at 12:00 pm and we strolled into one of the plazas where we congregated before going to a leather outlet and there we were given an opportunity to buy at discounted rates. Free time now until 2:15 pm when our guided tour to Florence’s jewel, the Basilica of the Holy Cross “Basilica di Santa Croce” with our own “Leonardo” today’s guide, was due to start.
We walked down the narrow cobblestone streets of this city and saw buildings and squares some eight or nine hundred years old including the Piazza Santa Croce, Piazza Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio, Loggia dei Lanza and the Piazza dei Duomo with its cathedral housing the Giotto Campanile and the gorgeous East Doors of the Baptistery loosely called the “Gates of Paradise”. The Basilica di Santa Croce’s exterior was a work of art with its giddy height, stonework and elaborate carved and patterned adornments. So flashy on the outside, but so stunningly delicately understated, almost sombre, on the plainer interior. A recording requesting silence was loop playing, and although there were a hundred or more people inside, the atmosphere was relatively subdued. The “Gates of “Paradise” adorning the Baptistery I’d learned about in High School and were beautiful but hard to get near so I used the zoom lens on my camera to both view them better and take a photo.
Our guide Leonardo was an encyclopaedia of information. “…..The Baptistery is one of the oldest buildings in Florence and was constructed between 1059 and 1128 AD in the Florentine Romanesque style…The stunning bronze relief east doors, by Lorenzo Ghiberti were dubbed by Michelangelo as the “Gates of Paradise”…The Basilica di Santa Croce’s ground breaking was between 1294-1295 but it was completed in 1385 AD…It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce and the site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls… The cathedral is the burial place of several instrumental Florentine historical figures including Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, Gentile and Rossini…Santa Croce is also known as the Temple of Italian Glories and the floor plan, an Egyptian or Tau Cross, is 115 metres in length with a nave and two aisles separated by lines of octagonal columns…The bell tower, the Giotto Campanile was built in 1842, and replaced an earlier one damaged by lightning……..”
We also saw a replica of Michelangelo’s David and several other statues in a nearby square. The real statue we were told, was repeatedly damaged by vandals and is now housed in Florence’s Museum, so a replica sits in a square in the weather allowing people to view his masterpiece in the open. Upon reaching the 4.34 metre replica marble statue of Michelangelo’s David 1501 – 1504 AD, the tour concluded and we again had free time to shop, eat or find coffee, until 5:45 pm. Ice cream again for most of us and we also visited an ATM to replenish our resources.
Then from the heart of the square we bussed our way to an impromptu stop, the Michelangelo Lookout, driving past the Ponte Vecchio on the way. The view over Florence from the lookout was superb. Light cloud and 25 degrees max and buildings in three directions almost as far as the eye could see. To celebrate the spot, there was another replica statue of David.
We are presently heading for our overnight destination in Tuscany, at Montecatini.
7:20 pm – Best hotel of the last tour and this one so far. The Bella Vista Palace. And drinks upon arrival at our hotel was a welcome touch. The hotel is old worlde yet sort of modern. Fixtures are comfortable, sumptuous even, and all either European modern or heritage. Chandeliers, large mirrors, wide corridors. The entry, lounge areas and near the lift were decadent. The room I’m in was unusually spacious, and my second floor room has a window with shutters which open out onto trees and a richly coloured Tuscan countryside.
It’s early evening and the sun has set. And the distant hills are deep blue verging on purple. Montecatini is about forty minutes out of Florence and on the way here we passed typical Italian suburbia and some stunning, verdant green country. There were also hectares and hectares of landscaping orchards, with rows and rows, plots and hectare after hectare of garden trees and plants. Pines, palms, deciduous, shaped hedge trees, mop tops, topiary trees, you name it and I’m sure there would have been a plot with your selection in it. I would imagine this place might supply further afield than Florence, so large was the industry as it followed the autostrada for many kilometres.
10:00 pm – A four course dinner and water was included tonight. Lovely meal, starting with appetisers of mixed antipasto buffet, entree was Penne Pasta alla Bolognaise, mains roast pork Wellington with kifler potatoes and dessert was tiramisu. I was impressed that the chef actually came out to observe his dishes being consumed and to say hello.
1ST. OCTOBER – Breakfast in the dining room at the Bella Vista Palace was at 7:45 am. I was lagging behind the others this morning as I’d woken to thunderstorms and spent a few minutes enjoying the brewing sky before lightning had started. It had been beautiful weather for the last two and a half weeks and we’d been in high humidity areas so I guessed at some point it would rain with storms. I had slept with my window open all night as there had been no insects, and it had been extremely mild. A gorgeous fall night. The view this morning was lovely with trees and hills and no real sign of civilization.
The drive through Tuscany this morning was stunning. Rain for a start then low slung clouds hovering over the marble rich Apennine Ranges, the mountains that form the backbone of Italy. I managed to take only a few photos out the windows on today’s drive and photographically it would be better to go into the smaller towns and do drives for pictures as the Autostradas really have no where to stop for a good shot even if it were a possibility on this bus tour. But tours are essentially snippets of this and that, the very best of only a handful of local sights so you need to make the most of every opportunity presented if you are wanting great photographs.
We stopped for coffee and to “scratch our legs” (Christian laughs), appalling English when Christian says the word stretch with an exaggerated Macaroni accent, and headed towards Parma for a walking tour before continuing the drive onto Venice. The Parma region is well known for Parmesan Cheese, Prosciutto and Balsamic Vinegar.
3:15 pm – Local guide Christina took us on a walking tour starting with the unfinished Palace and ending in one of the city’s squares. Highlights were Palma Cathedral and the Baptistery.
I have seen a number of Italian churches now and each is uniquely different however they are all grand and are decorated with the finest art. The Parma Cathedral is an important Italian Romanesque cathedral and was consecrated in 1106 AD but was later heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1117 AD. It was then restored. I was wandering taking pics when somebody kindly put money into a machine which turned on the lights and I managed to get some photos with the additional lighting I badly needed. The frescos in the cathedral were stunning. The dome in particular, is captivating and was decorated by a highly influential Renaissance painter Antonio da Correggio.
Coming out of the cathedral it was raining so I purchased an umbrella from an African street vendor. The vendors or gypsies appear when it starts raining, selling umbrellas, or outside churches selling scarves for women to cover their shoulders, and at popular attractions selling armfuls of items like beads, necklaces, and trinkets. Some of us lunched at a restaurant in the square. We all had pizza, except Liz who had pasta. The Italians make amazing “pizze”. I had tomato, mozzarella cheese and prosciutto, Parma’s most renowned cured meat and it was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. Bellissimo!!
The group met at 1:30 pm after lunch in the square and are now on track for Venice. Christian has invited us, to recline our seats, close our eyes and enjoy an Italian opera. It’s very poignant.
It’s 17 degrees Celsius outside and raining so a good day to be traveling a lot of kilometres in the bus. The countryside is now flat but the roads are still elevated. We are in cropping and vine country. The paddocks are tiny, no more than fifty to one hundred acres. Mostly ten to twenty. The vines are turning, burgundy in places. Settlements are not far apart and industry appears here and there. About twenty kilometres on and the paddocks are getting bigger, up to about two hundred acres. I just saw two headers, the first large agricultural equipment I’ve noted. Mostly its tiny tractors. I have seen very few birds and no animals except dogs and cats at all since I’ve been in Italy.
I asked Gianpaolo on the first tour “Does Italy have animals of their own as I haven’t seen any?”
He replied with his extremely pronounced Macaroni accent. “……We have a whittee fox. And a whittee bird. And a whittee cat. We also have a whittee viper and a whittee bear …….” And so on. I replied astonished, “JP why are all your animals white?” He said “whittee, wwwhhhittttteeee.” I repeated “White. Why are they all white?” “No no” he said “How you say, wwwiiillllddd”. Oh “wild” I said. We all laughed. Macaroni accent’s!
We passed just outside of Parma, a most amazing bridge shaped like a harp and a kilometre from it an ultra modern train station shaped like an accordion, both were designed by a modern architect, Calatraba. We had passed them before I realized so I don’t have any pics, but they were amazing additions to the landscape. Calatraba is also famous for designing the modern buildings in Valencia, Spain.
4:15 pm – Short stop about fifty kilometres from Venice. The weather forecast is for no rain Thursday or Friday but it’s an Italian forecast Christian adds, “it’s most probably completely inaccurate”.
Christian starts our lesson on Venice as we drive, and following are some of his pearls of knowledge offered on the famous water city. “Venice has 118 islands in its lagoon and it’s very sheltered from the open sea…Venice has water ambulances, water taxis, water ferries…It has 150 canals that crisscross the city, the Grande Canal being the most famous…Venice is sinking, and has been from the time it was founded…The first houses were built in solid foundations by hammering wooden pylons into the ground…The Venetian ground was bad for farming, so they had to invent a new way of living so they started fishing, which became a very important part of their economy…Fishing is a great passion of Venetians still today…Invaders couldn’t reach the lagoon so Venice was a very safe place in terms of housing its population…The first Basilica dates back to the 11th. Century…The whole city of Venice is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece…A plague during the 14th. Century killed over half the population…Summers are very, very hot and Venice is very cold in winter, sometimes it snows due to the proximity to the Dolomite mountains…Every few years they have to restore and repair each canal. They close it off, empty it then repair it…Over 50,000 tourists a day visit Venice in the peak season. Cruise ships often stop there…It is very expensive…To use the public toilet it costs 1,50€…Venice is known as the city of bridges, the city of canals and the city of gondolas…The most important buildings in Venice are St. Mark’s Basilica, St. Marks Square, the Palace, Il Campanile, Cafe Florian…Coffee in the square is about 25€ per cup as there’s a band service, and live music is playing, which if you sit and eat in the square near the orchestra’s, music attracts 40€ band service charge on your bill…………..”
Our accommodation tonight is at the stunning Antony Palace Hotel, not in the Port of Venice but the port is only a short drive away and we make ourselves comfortable or change before heading out for the optional evening excursion.
11:00 pm – I am in Venice on a boat seeing the sights and it’s just too dark for decent photography. The buildings are poorly lit. Street lights few and there’s little lighting inside the buildings. I had the ISO set on 5000 at one point, shutter speed 1/40 sec and exposure +2. I cannot see how I will have anything worth salvaging from attempting captures in such ridiculously dark conditions, on a moving boat.
Tonight’s optional tour was 70€ to do the night boat trip, which included a walk around seeing the sights as well as a gorgeous Venetian four course dinner, then return boat ride back to our bus, then bus to our hotel. So I packed the camera away when we got to the restaurant and just enjoyed dinner, wine and conversation with the group on my table. The meal was delicious. Seafood salad starters, ravioli for entree, white fish with vegetables and potatoes for mains and tiramisu for dessert. Wine was included tonight and there was a nice red for a change. So looking forward to tomorrow, a full day in Venice, including a Gondola ride and visit to the Murano glass factory. Venice looks amazing, what little I saw tonight. The camera will shine tomorrow………
2ND. OCTOBER – Today was to be very busy with two optional excursions. I rose this morning excited that the hotel we were in was beautiful and it featured some stunning Murano glass elements in its decor. I headed down to breakfast and was delightfully surprised by what I saw and took a few photos of the beautiful buffet the hotel had laid out. It was a lovely selection of really excellent choices. After taking some pictures however the waitress asked me if I was with the Trafalgar Tour staying at the hotel. My heart sank. No I said I was with Cosmos. I was then told to leave and that the Cosmos breakfast was in another room so I headed across the lobby to where the Cosmos buffet was laid out. It was, in my personal opinion, the most disappointing included meal of the trip, which is saying something as the meals have all been good if not outstanding to date.
We bussed to the Port of Venice by 9:00 am and caught a boat with another Cosmos tour to the Venice waterfront near St. Mark’s Square. We then walked the four blocks to the square crossing foot bridges over canals which criss cross the city and replace streets where you’d normally expect to find car traffic. People were thick in the area even at that early time of day, so I could only imagine the masses of people that would arrive over the next few hours.
St. Mark’s Square with its period architecture was beautiful, especially St. Mark’s Basilica and the queue to go through the church was growing by the minute. There were platforms placed about today as a huge tide was expected to potentially flood St. Mark’s Square by up to 15 cm and these platforms would enable people queuing to enter the church to stand above the waterline. The queue when we arrived was around one hundred metres long, and several people deep.
Apparently to help control the height of the sea in the area at times of high tide, Venice has implemented a system to reduce the risk of this happening. The project has cost 7 billion dollars, was started in 2001, is 80% complete, and it is expected to be finished in 2016. The lagoon where Venice and its 118 islands lies has three entry points for tidal current. A total of seventy eight gates, all situated below the sea which control sea current. These are air locks and they are opened at times of high tide and filled with water; the system can reduce the sea levels within the lagoon by up to three metres. A high tide was expected today but it never flooded the area as the system was successful in reducing the water height at high tide at the water’s edge next to the beautiful St. Mark’s Square.
In the square there was melodious orchestral music being played, on two different sides of the square, and we were told it wasn’t free to sit down and just listen. Il Campanile was in front of but to the side of St. Mark’s Basilica and it was 8€ to either climb the stairwell to the top of the tower or you could take the lift. I could imagine the view would be breathtaking from up there though as it towered over the square but the line to enter the tower was long and our time in the square limited.
By chance I photographed two Venetian weddings today. A beautiful place for a wedding.
We were advised by Christian that the “magicians” would be hard at work today and to be careful of your pockets and belongings. We were initially given twenty minutes free time and were to meet at 10:20 am to go to a glass blowing demonstration. We had a quick look around then went to the demonstration. It was fascinating watching the artisan turn out a vase complete with handle in less than five minutes, then a beautiful horse in a similar amount of time.
We left the square at 11:30 am to walk to the wharf for our gondola ride. Each boat held four passengers and I was a little dubious about risking the camera as the boats move a lot from side to side in the water and look quite precarious. But the experience turned out very well. In fact it was probably one of the highlights of my Venice experience, regardless of my fears for my camera gear. It was a lovely, magical, memorable experience and I couldn’t help but think how romantic the moment would have been to share with one’s partner.
The gondolas are beautiful sleek black constructions with touches of ornate carving lightly embellished with gold. The oarsmen all dress in a striped shirt with black trousers and some wear a flat brimmed straw hat. The group that was going in the gondolas were divided into fours then we were launched boat by boat. We left the wharf area however as a group, all at the same time following each other in a line. One of the boats, the one with the lightest weighted people in a group of four, had two extra people with them, a guitarist and a singer. Then the entire party set out down the Grande Canal. The churches and buildings flanking the canal looked absolutely beautiful from the upon water and church bells sounding in the distance carried melodiously across the water. (I think I will remember Venice most for the sound of its chiming bells, I videoed for a time here, and the bells are so clear and soulful in the background when I replay it.) The water in the Grande Canal is clear and a deep blue tending to turquoise and the air smelt fresh with humidity and sea salt.
We trekked down the canal for a pace, then each of the oarsmen maneuvered each gondola up a tiny adjoining canal. Here the air was still as the buildings restricted the air flow, and the water was murkier and a little dank. The air also smelt sort of musty or perhaps, ripe is the word. It wasn’t unpleasant however just odorous.
The oarsmen are very skilled. They guide the gondolas using a side to side sweeping motion, and they can be seen turning the boats at times in tight spots with one of their feet splayed against the side of the canal corner or bridge they were maneuvering around or under. One by one the boats slid silently, effortlessly along the canal and at no time did I hear the sides of the beautiful boats scrape the canal walls. The singer sang four songs on the boat ride and all to soon the trip was over and the boats were back at their mooring points.
The group split up for lunch and headed in all directions to shop and enjoy an hour and a half strolling the streets absorbing the stunning Venetian sights. Shops set in cobbled lane ways were brim full of glass ware, lace, Venetian puppets, masks, period costumes, lights……beautiful images everywhere at every turn and my camera was kept busy capturing all the beauty and grandeur of this wonderfully magical place…….
Part of our group were going to Burano after lunch so we boarded a boat then headed off for another leisurely cruise, Christian’s voice booming over the microphone with his History Major anecdotes telling us even more about Venice in the hour on the water this afternoon than any of us ever though we knew. We cruised past Santa Elena, San Michele and Lido. We also passed between islands here and there, some tiny and some deserted, others tiny and settled and the largest, eleven kilometres long that allows cars. One had a deserted ruin on it, and the island was barely bigger than the tumble down building it housed.
We arrived at 4:00 pm and Christian said we could stay til 5:00 pm either going on a short tour to see how Venetian lace is made or shopping among the quaint shop fronts of the main streets of Burano. The small settlement of Burano was gorgeous with its unusual bright house colours. It was laundry day and clothing hung from windows, stretched across streets and snugged the sides of the buildings. I chose to wander on my own as I was completely enamored with the towns’ unique buildings. Yellows, greens, reds, blues, mauves and whites. Like jellybeans, lined up in a row, distinct colours, looking quaint and uniquely surreal, well lived in; the small settlement really was a breath of fresh air. I found a tiny restaurant and bought my favourite, latte macchiato, then I simply sat and enjoyed the peace of this boutique Italian settlement.
On our return to Venice we passed between islands in the Lagoon then we headed for the pick up point near St. Mark’s Square for the other tourers. The sun was setting by the time we left the Port area and headed for our hotel.
Dinner was included at the Antony Palace Hotel tonight. Spaghetti for entree, pork with a slice of ham and grilled cheese, green beans and potato wedges for mains and an apple torte pastry for dessert.
Looking forward to Verona and Milan tomorrow.
3RD.OCTOBER – Heading to Verona this morning we were out the door by 8:30 am. Christian is going over the itinerary and the tour’s optional excursions sound amazing. They total about 635€. Well I’ve come this far and I may never come this way again.
At Verona by 10:00 am one of Italy’s oldest cities. Buildings as early as 2 BC. Some Roman ruins, and a defense point for early Italy which was run by Austria until 1861 when Giuseppe Garibaldi led the movement to unite Italy and take Verona back. Venice and Rome being the exceptions. Venice joined three years later and Rome by 1870. Consequently there are a lot of military buildings here.
The travelers not doing the tour today went with Christian to spend time in the city centre. Manuela hops on board and we start a city highlights panoramic tour. We get out by the Adige River and crossed one of the bridges heading for an older section of the city stopping at various spots including a memorial to Dante, Romeo’s house, the Piazza Erbe, then Juliet’s house. The small court in front of the house and Juliet’s famous balcony was used in the movie “Letters to Juliet” but the court was slightly changed for the movie. There is no wall where letters are squeezed into cracks but since the movie made the practice known everyone leaves letters, so the powers that be put up a wooden board and people now write on it, stick notes and letters with gum, sticky tape, band aides and so on. (No pins or holes). There’s hundreds of notes there and it looks better from a distance. Especially the notes stuck with chewing gum. There’s also a statue of Juliet where all the people touch her left breast as a good luck charm for happiness in love.
We returned to the Piazza Erbe and some of us went to a fruit still where we purchased cups of fresh sliced fruit; watermelon, grapes, pineapple, strawberries and peaches with two generous pieces of fresh coconut on top. It was autumn ripened and absolutely delicious.
The tour ended at the arena, a Roman Colosseum ruin right in the centre of town, which was surrounded by modern shops and restaurants, almost to its edge. Except for one tiny section, the entire outer wall of the arena was missing due to an earthquake but the inner walls were intact and in very reasonable condition for being around two thousand years old. The crowds were thick in the centre of Verona and it was hard to move without bumping into people. A pickpockets paradise, as Christian had warned. With caution, we weeded through the crowds
looking around, then headed off to a restaurant for lunch before meeting at 12:45 pm to continue our journey onto Milan, the next leg of our trip.
Christian’s anecdotes on Milan began about fourteen kilometres out from the fashion capital after a twenty minute comfort stop at an autostrada roadhouse. “…Milan is closer to Zurich in Switzerland than Rome…It is in the region of Lombardy and the region has nine million people …Milan is known for money and glamour, and is a real power behind Italy…The city of Milan has 1.3 million people…It is the capital of the fashion world…The female police actually wear high heels…Milan fashion houses are known world wide, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Zanotti, Prada, Dolce and Gabana…The city was devastated during the Second World War, has since been rebuilt and is now very cosmopolitan…The city is all about lifestyle and enjoying the pleasures of lifestyle, like fashion, shopping, sport…The tour is to take us past La Scala the most famous Opera House in the world and the Milan Cathedral…Milan is also famous for Leonardo Da Vinci’s work as he worked and lived here for a time…He painted the Last Supper in 1498 here…The region is also a large rice growing region and risotto is a major dish…The Milan region also produces a lot of Polenta here as well……………….”
We arrived in Milan and began with a tour of Castello Sforzesco circa 15 century, with a new tour guide. The castle is large, relatively plain building that overall has a Spanish influence. The fresco work on the court’s ceilings and walls is gorgeous.
We walked around the castle buildings then out to the edge of its adjoining gardens which used to be the hunting grounds of the palace and were some 47 hectares in size. As we head back to the bus, we pass two rather good looking police officers, dressed in fashionable uniforms with boots that snugged neatly below their knees. The police are simply not that fashion conscious in Australia!
From there we were taken to the centre of Milan where we walked to La Scala on the edge of a large square. La Scala is the famous Milan Opera House. And a short distance from there on the opposite side of the square were the city chambers and the offices of the Mayor. A third side of the Square was the home of the very first Prada Store tucked away in a beautiful building rather like a modern day shopping centre called Galleria Vittorio Emanuele 111. Restaurants and designer stores were at home in there and we saw the creme of the famous Milan fashion houses as we strolled through the gallery.
On the other side of the building was Milan’s amazing Cathedral, Duomo di Milano, which is a work of absolute genius. Principal architect of the cathedral was Leonardo da Vinci. The cathedral is a soft pink marble and the entire building is a frenzy of sculpture, soaring spires and elaborate detail. It is just mind boggling how the architects dream up these outstanding masterpieces of beauty and symmetry.
Our city tour finished a short time later and a few of us went for coffee in one of the restaurants back among the fashion houses. It was 4,50€ a cup and served with a little too much North Italian shortness and disinterest. Southern Italians, I’ve found, are most personable.
The hotel this evening is very nice and contemporary. I had dinner in the restaurant with two American sisters who are hilariously funny and we chortled all evening. Everything, absolutely everything is a joke to them, from the older man sitting with his much younger partner across the restaurant, to the way the barman came out and personally demonstrated mixing cocktails at our table, from the food we were eating to what we do in life. It was a great evening.
4TH. OCTOBER – Andiamo. We are on the road again, this time traveling through northern Italy from Milan towards France. The sun is on my left, which is South and we are heading west. This would normally be quite wrong but somehow I’ve got my head around the concept of the sun being in the south in the northern hemisphere and I feel we are driving in the right direction.
Milan is a huge rice growing region and the crops are presently being harvested or are lying ripe in the fields. There has been a thick fog all morning and I’ve been trying to take some pictures through the windows. So frustrating. I not only have reflections in the windows from inside the bus to contend with, the rivers we are crossing have block out paneled sides over the bridges or mesh screens, and the roadway is elevated yet again, which means side barriers, making any image not even remotely easy to get.
There was an amazing sky this morning but no nice foreground. A farmhouse silhouette would have been great! We are in a relatively flat region now and the only elevated areas are the man made autostrada embankments as one road bridges another at right angles. Crops are in small fields up to fifty acres in size.
12:30 pm – Rest stop this morning was in the last of the flat country. From there we traveled west to our lunch stop just near the Italian side of the border between Italy and France. The drive until lunchtime was through the mountains and it was a very scenic trek. We are bypassing the Cinque Terra, one of Italy’s most picturesque areas, staying on the autostrada and we are not stopping. I am HUGELY disappointed. I had dearly wanted to see this place.
As we near the Italian / French border the elevated roads so popular in southern Italy are making an appearance again and there’s many, many bridge like structures joining the natural land forms to make best use of the steep landscape as the road smoothly points the way.The landscapes outside the bus are breathtaking.
3:00 pm – Drove to the border of Italy / France which is actually in the middle of a tunnel on this road. Viva La France! I am here. Just the other side of the border is the tiny principality of Monaco and the French Riviera coastline, the Cote D’Azur. It was quite a stunning view from the main road but again it was difficult to get photos as there were buildings, trees and road barriers to contend with, as well as twists and turns. We drove to Eze and the Fragonard Perfume Factory where we given a guided tour. Did you know that it takes three tonne of rose petals to make one litre of essential rose oil? I bought some authentic French soap and some small French perfumes as gifts for family back home.
Gorgeous day today 19 degrees this morning 23 degrees Celsius this afternoon. We have two nights here and an included dinner tonight. Managed to get the free Wi fi hooked up, but as usual, I’m half a world away and nobody at home will be up. Might ring the girls later.
5TH. OCTOBER – Departure this morning was at 9:00 am and only twelve of us drove down the street in the bus adjoining the English Promenade where a major foot race was being held. Part of the adjoining street was cordoned off and competitors were doing laps along a course which followed the Promenade. Giorgio kindly stopped the bus and allowed us to take pics of the beautiful pebble beach, part of the Cote D’Azur, and beach front. We also photographed Nice’s pergolas and developed beachfront area. A yacht regatta was also taking place and the boats looked resplendent in the soft morning light. An unusual sky today. Storms ahead.
Opposite was the Negresco the most expensive hotel in Nice. Christian said he has a surprise for the group tonight. Somebody called out, “Is that the surprise tonight Christian? We are staying in the Negresco hotel?” Laughter. I guess not.
From the Promenade we headed for St. Paul de Vence a medieval Provincial village set on a spur, surrounded by well preserved fortifications. The trip took us about half an hour. This serene setting was once the haunt of famous artists such as Matisse, Chagall, Prevat and Picasso and was instrumental in the development of the early Fauvism movement. Here the artists felt the light was unsurpassed in the whole of France, indeed the world, and many of them lived and painted here for years. Chagall is buried here. For the duration of the visit I am back at uni, recalling my art history. Whilst I loved the Renaissance masters, I also loved the impressionists, fauvists and modernists.
The town was exquisite and certainly a place to visit again. Streets hand decorated with pebbles rather than cobblestones, in beautiful patterns and designs including flowers, starbursts and sun shapes. The buildings were made of hewn stone and cement fill and the dwellings and buildings are randomly situated in the town forming curving and crooked streets wide enough in most circumstances for only foot traffic. And the entire town is surrounded by a high stone wall which starts many metres below but because the town is so elevated, the wall’s actual top is around waist height. You can walk next to the town perimeter and you can easily see astounding 360 degree views.
This beautiful dainty town has winding streets with steps, rises and falls, nooks and crannies, and there seems to be a surprise around every corner. The walkways sort of beckon you to explore, they are random, and they wind and twist, have T and H and K intersections at their junctions amongst other forms, and are altogether entirely quaint and haphazardly unplanned. The town has a peaceful, safe and calm atmosphere and I enjoyed my time meandering on my own very, very much. No thieves here. No anxiety being a tourist. No time pressure to rush. Shops and galleries were plentiful and the art work in them is reflective of the centre’s historical past, with most art modern or some deviation of the fauvism masters. Sculptures, prints, paintings, all beautifully displayed and spilling out of the shops around their doorways, onto window sills and into the streets. Restaurants, some tiny boutique clothing shops and outdoor dining were also there.
I spent three hours discovering the hidden delights of this town and everywhere I looked there was a picture. The early morning light was kinder than the light at lunchtime giving the alleyways even light as the sun was still low. By lunch it was shining almost overhead and the streets were bathed in harsh dark shadows or brilliant sunlight creating a deserted feel to the village even though there were people everywhere. The air was clean and fragrant. Like the town’s elevation was above the thicker air of the city and its population below. I stumbled upon a toy shop with Pinocchio and other exquisite wooden toys and bought a couple of small gifts. It was a gorgeous shop and quite unexpected. “I am not a shopper. I am not a shopper,” I tell myself. Well I wasn’t a shopper before I came to Europe. I have never been quite so compelled to purchase such wonderfully beautiful things as I am right now and this knowledge absolutely surprises me.
Lunch was at a small takeaway nook, peanut chicken salad and fresh fruit. The lady put in with it some balsamic vinegar, dressing in a small container, olive oil, crusty bread, and utensils in a paper bag like a picnic lunch. We farewelled St. Paul de Vence after lunch and drove back to the seven kilometre English Promenade then back into Nice. St. Paul de Vence was definitively one of the most amazing highlights of this tour and a truly inspirational place to visit.
Everyone changed into their best clothes for tonight’s outing to Monaco and we met for drinks in the bar at the hotel before leaving for the tiny principality at 4:45 pm. Christian and Giorgio had a surprise planned so we headed off to the Cote D ‘Azur, the French Riviera, and we stopped for some breathtaking photos at a roadside stop. Whilst we were taking pics, Giorgio set up a mini bar and the group arrived back to nibbles and champagne. It was a really relaxed impromptu moment for everyone.
A vast thunderstorm cell was brewing over Nice whilst we were at the stop and we saw several water spouts in the distance forming over the Mediterranean. A short while on and we stopped again near Eze for more photos of the storm and the dramatic French coastline. It was quite surreal.
Monaco is a tiny principality and is two and a half miles by two and a half miles in size, has forty thousand inhabitants and its residents are nearly all millionaires. They are mostly Russian, Chinese or Arab and it has the highest density of population per square metre in the world. We drove on some of the streets that formed the Monaco Grand Prix track as we headed for the tiny island where the Grimaldi palace stands. And from there we trekked to our restaurant walking past Princess Caroline of Monaco’s pretty pink and white residence, and numerous other grand homes. Monaco cathedral, a short distance away, is a modest but regal building. It is where Prince Rainier married his Princess Grace in 1956. Both are buried in a crypt at the back of the cathedral and Prince Albert is now reigning monarch of the tiny principality.
We arrived at the restaurant and were seated. It was modest. Three courses, a prawn and avocado cocktail for entree, salmon with rice and vegetables for mains then chocolate mousse for dessert. There was one glass of wine included, and further drinks were to be paid for by cash. The evening cost 90€.
We headed to the Grimaldi Palace for photos and some night captures of Monte Carlo which was lit up like a Christmas tree, glittering, charming and very very pretty. Then it was onto a bar for a drink, included, and to see the casino at Monte Carlo; entry an additional 10€.
6TH. OCTOBER – Travelling to Lyon today via Avignon. Driving through country that is well wooded and there’s not a lot of farmland. The French Alps are to the north of the bus as we head west. We pass nearby Cannes, where the film star elite congregate each year in May for the Cannes Film Festival, and Grasse, the perfume centre of France. St. Tropez is also not far away but we bypass, staying on the Autostrada. Christian says most people reach the summer resort by yacht. Heading towards Avignon there is not a lot of population by the sides of the road, and it looks like poorer soil, so perhaps farming here is not as good. Some of the hills are quite rugged and are popular for hiking and rock climbing.
Avignon’s St. Benezet Bridge, a medieval bridge built between 1177 – 1185 AD has four spans only and was costly to rebuild after damage caused by flooding of the Rhone River. It was abandoned in the 17th. century and sits next to The Palace of the Popes.
We went to The Palace of the Popes, a castle, and browsed. Stunning outside but I personally found it not as inspiring inside, except for the church. The tourist and modern art theme was everywhere, a little like in Milan’s Castello Sforzesco, and it seemed to spoil the historical simplicity of the castle. We have been doing a lot each day, also walking good distances and keeping long hours so fatigue probably found me unfairly critiquing the castle today. Or maybe I’m super spoiled by all that I’ve seen so far, so I did a quick tour then wandered down through adjoining market stalls and art displays to one of the squares on one side of the castle to enjoy a relaxed lunch with the two American sisters Cathi and Angie. I tried authentic French cuisine today, chicken liver pate and the girls had salads.
Heading towards Lyon we pass through Nimes which is famous for Denim jeans material and Nieves which has France’s largest Roman amphitheatre. We pass through more fertile county, stone fruits and nurseries growing trees. There are small paddocks of five to twenty acres, more houses and a higher population. Four lanes each direction on the main road so it’s a significant road we are traveling on. But it’s not elevated all the time like the roads in Italy. Corn, sunflowers, pumpkins, olive trees, grape vines, lavender are some of the crops and occasionally horses, some of the livestock we have passed by. Closer to Lyon the paddocks are slightly larger and there’s occasional industry. The farmlets are as I had imagined, small acreages with a two story stone farmhouses, rectangular in shape. Few outbuildings. French Provincial. I guess I’ve watched Tour de France enough to notice. France so far is very picturesque. Dry in some areas though, as it’s fall. It’s cooler too, 20 degrees today. Rocky outcrops here and there. Autumn is well underway. Red grape vine leaves and deciduous trees are starting to turn yellow. I’m seeing plenty of trees. Sorghum, vegetables and other crops closer to Lyon. The Alps are no longer following us on the north. Not much opportunity to take pictures as we travel today. Dinners included tonight and I don’t think we are doing anything special when we get to Lyon today, but there’s a walking tour first thing in the morning which should be great.
Room’s really nice again, small but funky. Chupa Chups and Evian water in the room on arrival, a warm welcome. Modern decor. Zany downstairs decoration as well. Dinner was pumpkin soup for entree, chicken breast in a delicious sauce with creamy mashed potatoes for main, creme brûlée for dessert. It was served in 24 mins and they were bringing mains out before we’d finished entree and dessert out before we’d finished mains. I supposed they were keen to shut the kitchen and go to bed. All the included meals are economical, not expensive, and the courses were served one after the other. I can understand the psyche behind it, but as a previous owner of a large gallery / function centre where you are in the business of providing a quality service, you shouldn’t do that your guests. It’s just not polite. The dinner table is often where most of the interaction within the group occurs too, so a more leisurely meal would have been great.
Up early this morning to wash my hair and dry then straighten it as our night out in Paris will mean no time later. I strategically grabbed the front seat this morning hoping for good pics of Paris later in the day when we arrive. The front seems to be the best spot for shooting out the windows. Less reflections from other windows and a larger glass area. I’m often hunting photos between passenger seats and at the edges of windows. It’s frustrating. Always keeping the shutter speed high to factor vehicle movement, but my biggest frustration is not being advised of a major sight or place until it’s upon us.
That gives me absolutely no time to figure which side to be on in the bus, nor what to expect regarding settings on my camera to grab a decent capture as we fly by. With such a small group I can move about the bus without upsetting anyone.
7TH. OCTOBER – It’s cool and sixteen degrees. The tour of Lyon this morning started with an 8:15 am departure from our hotel. We picked up our tour guide Claude (a lady) at the largest square in the city, the second largest square in France. It was paved, had trees and some statues. Lyon has 1.8 million people and is France’s second largest city. It’s very well placed, close to the French Riviera for the summer months and the French Alps for skiing in winter. We toured the streets looking at different points of interest before heading uphill to Roman archeological finds dated 15 BC. These were discovered when nuns digging in the garden of their convent found ruins of significance. Apparently digging occurs every time a new building is planned to determine what’s underneath before council permits any building to proceed. Lyon’s church on the hill “Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fouviere” was built in 1872 and took some thirty years to build. It sits in a dominating position in the city on a hill. The site it occupies was once the Roman Forum of Trajan, the old forum, thus its name is an inverted corruption of the French, Vieux-Forum. We toured through the inside of the church and it was beautifully decorated with gold leaf appearing throughout each if the elaborate wall artworks. We also went to the lookout behind the church which afforded amazing views of Lyon. It’s a stunning city from above. 
We bussed to the Renaissance section of Lyon built by Italians in the 1500’s and did a street walk to the cathedral passing through tunnels along the base of buildings. The tunnels were used a lot during the Second World War as bomb shelters but were primarily built to access the apartments within as the buildings in the area are extremely large in terms of dimensions at ground level. The area was popular as there were no taxes here at one point in history so extra stories were added to buildings which added to the need for the tunnels as the population grew. We were warned about pick pockets but at 10:30 am people seemed to be barely stirring and with only a few shops starting to open, the streets themselves were almost deserted.
Restaurant owners were putting out chairs and tables, shop fronts were being quietly fussed over and generally the Lyon day seemed to be slightly yawning as it started. The Lyon Cathedral was in the Renaissance area and we traversed several streets to find it. It is a regal building. It was completed in 1480 AD and is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Lyon Cathedral is below the hill from the basilica of Notre Dame de Fouviere and you can easily see it above the rooftops and tree line. The tour ended in front of the cathedral and we didn’t go inside. From the square at the cathedral we headed back to the bus past Bonaparte Bridge and the Court House called loosely “24 Columns” as there are twenty four columns on its facade.
Then it was onto the bus and on towards our next overnight stop, Paris, the “City of Lights”.
We are presently heading to Paris some 500 kilometres away. The ground seems fertile and is not unduly hilly an hour into our journey. It has started to lightly rain, so the bus is a good place to be right now. Crops in the area look healthy and dense, the soil seems a better colour than the coastal area being a rich earthy brown. Small paddocks are now often fenced by short manicured hedges. We are in cropping country with maize, green paddocks or fallow paddocks plentiful. Pockets of woodland appear regularly. I just saw some cattle for the first time. I think the area must have good rainfall as there’s plenty of green grass and lush vegetation. More cows, honey. France has over 450 different cheeses so I’m starting to see evidence of the industry, finally! Reindeer sign, next 5 kilometres.
1:00 pm – Stopped briefly at the centre of a black Sauvignon vine region for some photos and to
“scratch our legs” or stretch our legs. The macaroni accent he puts on as a joke makes it difficult to determine exactly which is which when Christian asks us to disembark. The view was quite beautiful across hundreds of acres of vines turning yellow, with quaint French buildings and settlements dotted throughout the panorama ahead.
3:45 pm – Weather’s closed in and it’s raining. It’s 13 degrees. Probably a good day to be driving so many kilometres. So the front seat is no advantage now. We stopped for lunch at 2:05 pm at a roadhouse there were a lot of excellent choices. I had hot roast ham with pepper sauce, buttered potatoes and zucchini with pumpkin, as well as a raspberry torte for dessert. Australian roadhouses do not have this range of fare, so today’s lunch was a surprise.
Seeing some beautiful scenery but frustrated as the Autostrada is no place for great photography with rails, and traffic, and speed. Sunflowers just now, in a field but the rain’s set in, gorgeous French buildings dotted around the countryside, green fields with hedges here and there, woodlands and tiny hamlets of cottages. Six days to see France is not long enough I realize. If the bus would just leave the Autostrada for an hour in the morning OR an hour at lunch OR and an hour in the afternoons, travel through some Provincial towns and do a coffee stop or lunch break in a small town where we could enjoy real French coffee or cooking, this trip would be not just great it would be brilliant.
It would be nicer to stay and drive, I’m thinking, although the left hand drive vehicles and driving on the right side of the road is a skill I don’t feel confident in mustering. I am told, not just Italians but the French also have their own road rules. Giorgio is doing a great job. He is skilled and knows the perimeters of the bus to the last inch. I have no idea why we haven’t had any scrapes as yet as some of the turns he does are so tight, or are so close to other vehicles it’s not funny. Giorgio’s expecting Paris’ traffic to be busy tomorrow so we are not going back to the hotel between optional tour’s. Christian says it’s quite normal in Paris to be caught in bad traffic for hours.
“Paris, the city of Lights, was founded by the Celts in 300 BC but by 7 AD it had become a very strategic Roman stronghold…Paris has 2.2 million people but in the immediate area around Paris there are 12 million people…It is a centre of fine food and fashion, is a captivatingly beautiful city, and is home to Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Seine River and Galeries Lafayette the world’s most famous shopping mall…Paris is also home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa…Paris is the second most expensive place to live in the world, Singapore being the first…” recites Christian.
4:30 pm – Just went through a toll way on the road that takes us to Paris. It’s 111€ for the bus one way, 75€ for a car. Wow, don’t live in the countryside and work in Paris I guess. We are 55 km from Paris and the rain has stopped, tentative sunshine at present, and it’s 14 degrees.
Land by the Autostrada is predominantly cropped corn, canola, sunflowers, or fallowed fields and woodland. Not a lot of cars on the Autostrada, too expensive? Wow! they have McDonalds and IKEA in Paris!
11:30 pm – We started the cabaret night with a night lights drive to the show and Christian pointed out many of the sights on our way. The second highest building in Paris, churches, the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe. Many were lit up and I managed to snap some hasty pics through the bus windows.
We arrived at the Lido to attend the Cabaret show. The setting itself screamed old worlde France, chandeliers, rich red velvet drapery, curved burgundy leather bench seating around tables, seating around the stage, glittering crystals and lights. We arrived at 8:30 pm with the show to start at 9:00 pm but three quarters of the venue was already filled when we walked in.
The show tonight was a Cabaret performance and the costumes were completely decadent and totally revealing. Often you’d be looking at the dancers only to realize their gown’s bodice had see through light gauze material or, taking it one step further, some girls were completely bare breasted. No breast implants here. There were also some scantily clad but costume rich male dancers as well, all wearing g-strings, and a singer who performed all night with the dancers but somehow managed to keep her clothes on. Jewels, huge headdresses with feathers or handheld gigantic pom-poms, high heels and body stockings which suggested nudity. There was a French scene, an Indian scene complete with a life like mechanical elephant, Egyptian scene, a waltz with some women dressed in full white suits whilst others wore beautiful white flowing gowns, or theatrical dress. The stage had a drop down floor and at one point a pyramid with dancers was raised to floor level. Shortly after it disappeared and a new platform complete with water fountains appeared. The mechanical elephant was very realistic, and there was a live performing horse, two ice skaters with an ice rink , a clown comedian, a juggler and a man doing gymnastics on a swath of material cascading from the roof. It was riveting and I had to pinch myself that I was there, time and again, in Paris watching a live Cabaret show.
Frustratingly there were no photos allowed so I had obediently left my camera on the bus but was not surprised to find photographers inside taking pictures of people, to sell to them to the guests later. I had wanted photos and would have taken my own but there were no cameras allowed, so no thank you to yours.
To continue reading about this tour please go to Gems of Italy, France and Spain – Cosmos Tour – A Journal of the Tour – Part Two
Paris to Madrid
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