Milan

We arrived in Milan yesterday which is the end of the tour.  We did a walking tour around the city visiting La Scala, Milan's famous Opera House, magnificent on the inside but plain on the outside.   The Milan Duomo (cathedral) is huge with about 3000 statues.  On the sunday people were worshiping the other gods (sport basketball & football)  - hence the large crowds.
It would be great to see these huge cathedrals filled with real worship rather than just tourists.

We also went through a shopping building with all the famous stores.  In the centre square of the building on the four corners were  Louis Vuitton, Prada, Brenasoon & McDonalds.  Sort of spoils the effect.


Last night we said goodbye to most of the tour group.

 Today we did the city tour hop-on hop-off bus, and stopped at a museum of Science & Technolgy.  Exhibits from Leonardo Da Vinci to modern machines, trains, planes etc.   A large section with classrooms for school groups to learn practical science.   Found a great cafe to just sit and relax after lots of walking.

Found a nice place for dinner as there is not much around our hotel.  Walked a bit further and found a shopping street with all the major store - open on sunday night.

We fly home tomorrow.

Lugano & Como

Adventurous drive along narrow winding roads through picturesque villages to Lake Lugano which is in Switzerland so across the border and a different currency (Swiss Francs)


Stopped in Lugano, another church with historic paintings on the walls, otherwise a big town with lots of shops.

Then to Como a huge industrial town at the bottom of Lake Como.  Went up a mountain in funicular railway, a bit cloudy but on a good day you can see Milan one way and Turin the other way.
Back to our hotel on the lake stopping to take a photo of George Clooney's house.  Wish we had more time to just walk along the lake and enjoy the scenery.

George's house is the one closest to the lake.

Verona & Lake Como

We left Venice and headed off to Verona.   Plenty of Roman ruins including an almost complete Roman ampitheatre.  It is still used for Operas and concerts.   And of course the Juliet balcony.



  It has been made for tourists.  The building is a few hundred years old but the balcony was added in the 1930s.



Then off to beautiful Lake Como  George Clooney has a place here somewhere so maybe we will see him.

Venice

Today we had a full day in Venice.   Walking tour with a local guide to show us the main places,  St Mark's square, Bridge of Sighs, Rialto bridge, and all the narrow alley ways.





Easy to get lost especially when the tour guide uses unmarked short cuts.  We came back to the hotel for a rest as the middle of the day is hot and full of day tourist from the mainland.  We went back out after 3 and did a tour of the Doge's Palace, no large crowds.  Fascinating,  apartments, armoury & prison.  We actually walked across the Bridge of Sighs both ways.  This bridge is the link from the courts to the prison, after sentencing most people only went one way.  Can't take photos inside the palace but here is one of the outside.

Walked around St Mark's square at dusk when most of the day tourists had gone.  Even found our way back to the hotel.

Lucca to Venice

We left Lucca and travelled over the Apennine mountains to Venice.  Over a very high pass which often closed in the winter.

On the way we stopped at a small village called  "Portico di Romagna"

on the old border betweenTuscany and Romagna.  

We had a beautiful lunch at a hotel  "Al Vecchio Conventa"  which has a cooking school and Italian classes.  Rain has gone and we have a beautiful fine day again.
Stopped at Ravenne which has a church with fantastic mosaics on the ceiling dome, then on to Venice.   We didn't arrive until about 7:30pm,  dinner at 9pm and then a walk around Venice at 11pm.  We are staying on the island in a lovely old hotel right on a canal.   Venice is lovely but the commercial area on the nearby mainland is huge and unsightly.

Chinque Terre & Lucca

Today we went to the Chinque Terre  a coastal part of Italy where there are 5 historic villages on some very steep cliff.  There is a walking track but it is closed due to a rock fall which injured some Australian last week.
 The best way to see then is from the water but the boats don't always run due to weather. 
We were lucky and the boats were running in the morning.   We  spent about 90 minutes walking around the last village.  The weather closed in later and there was heavy rain as we caught the train back.

We then came back to Lucca and the weather cleared and we were able to walk around the old city and find Pucini's birthplace and walk on the city wall.

Pisa & Lucca

Today we visited Pisa, looked at the leaning tower and church.  We then walked around the old city and learnt more of the history of the Medici family.  We had lunch in the old city.   There were lots of black africans selling fake stuff and junk.  The Italians are trying to stop the fakes by making it illegal to purchase from street sellers.  Fine of 500euro.

On to Lucca a wonderful walled city with a complete wall 40 feet thick.  The birthplace of Puccini.  They have a concert every night of his works. 

Florence

Today we went to Florence.  This was the birth place of the Renaissance.  First we visited Santa Croce, inside were the tombs of lots of famous people such as Dante, Galilaeo and Michelangelo.

Then to the Duomo the 3rd largest cathedral in the world.   Not as ornately decorated as the large churches in German, but very impressive.  This is the one with the famous domeseen all over Florence.    The building in front is the Bapistry.  I didn't realise that people who were not baptised were not allowed in the church (even to be baptised). 

Now they have a door that says tourists only.








Also the many statues such as David.  We only saw the copy out in the square.

And of course the famous Ponti Vecchio bridge.


 



Later there was a festival with a parade of people dressed in medival costume.     Seemed to be for the grape harvest.

Perugia to Volterra

Crossed into Tuscany first stop Siena with the famous square
 where the il Palio takes place which is a horse race around the square between districts of Italy. 



Lunch and afternoon spent in San Gimignano another walled town with numerous tall towers famous for its Tuscan ceramics.

Overnight at Volterra another ancient walled town really high up.

Rome to Perugia

We left Rome and drove north up into the hills. 

The first stop was Rieti the "Umbilicus Italia" the geographic centre of Italy. 

Lunch stop was at Spoleto where we took 8 escalators & a lift up to the Albornazian Castle where we ate our fresh pork panini looking across Umbria and a tall roman aquaduct. 



Afternoon stop was in Assisi the see the 13th century Brasilica built in three level with St Francis'  tomb in the lowest level.  Overnight in Perugia a medieval walled town famous for it's chocolates & a university with 35,000 students.

Rome - Vatican

Today we started of by visiting the Catacombes.  Very interesting to see where the christians were buried about 1800 years ago. The catacombes were excavated about 600AD then forgotten about until about 1600AD.  The stories about persecuted christians living in the catacombes are false, they were just burial places.
Then we went to the Vatican Museums.  Interesting and lots of people, although the guide said that today was not very crowded.   Would not be very nice in peak season.
We enjoyed the art works, paintings, Sistine Chapel and St Peters Brasilica.  By the end we had a bit of information overload and people overload   As non-catholics it does not mean as much to us.
Then we went home via the Circus Maximus which was used for about 1000 years between 500BC & 500AD.
It is now a park used for walking and public events.

Tomorrow we leave  Rome which although very interesting is very crowded and busy.

Rome 2

Last night we met the others of the tour group, did some paperwork then walked a little around in the dusk of Rome.  Then a welcome dinner at a fish restuarant.

Today we started a 9 am and walked with a local guide to some of the main attrations
The forum ruins, Colosseum, the Trevi fountain, Spanish steps and the Pantheon.
The guide who was an entusiastic archeology professor was great and gave a lot of history.  She brought the ancient buildings to life


There are a lot of people going around dressed like Roman Centurians so that you can get your photo taken with them.

Rome

After a good night's sleep we set out to walk around some of Rome.  There was a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition which displays his machines built by people in the present from his drawings. 
Then we walked back along the Tiber via the Colosseum

'A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum'

Today we travelled from Zurich to Rome.  From Swiss efficience to well..the Italian way.

It took 5 hours from when we landed to when we arrived at our hotel.  We had booked a transfer to the hotel.  It was a minibus for about 12 people, first the driver and Cathy rushed off and lost the rest of the group, after they found us again,  they dropped us off last so at least we saw a lot of Rome, mostly traffic and suburbs.  We are staying next to the Nerva Forum.  Had a lovely Pizza dinner.

The Forum Hotel is actually next door

Zurich

We spent 2 days in Zurich with our friends, son of a school friends of Cathy's.
The wife picked us up at the Central station, first took Bruce, Gareth & Robyn to their hotel then took us all home on public transport.  As the public transport is so good they don't own a car.   It meant lugging our suitcases on the trams & buses.  We had a great baked dinner then Bruce, Gareth & Robyn went home to their hotel.
 Both husband and wife work for the Montessori school here in Zurich.  They have been here for about 4 years and are glad to see some aussies.

The next day we went on an afternoon tour arround Zurich and surounding area.  We actually went right past our friends house on the tour as they live near a cable car station that goes up to a lookour "Felsenegg".  It was very overcast so we didn't see anything from the lookout but it was fun anyway.  We had dinner in a Bahnhof cafe and said goodbye to Bruce as he will flying home tomorrow when we head for Rome.

Lucerne day 4

Today is our last full day in Lucerne.  Tomorrow we head off to Zurich by train to stay with friends for 2 days.  The day started of foggy but then cleared to a lovely fine day.

We just had a relaxing day walking around the town and doing some shopping.  A great change from rushing around on the tour.  Actually the tour didn't seem rushed, just a good pace.  But we were organised all day.
 We had a family from Singapore on the tour (mother & 2 daughters) who didn't like all the scenery.  I think they realised they had misunderstood the intinerary.

Tourist shops have great displays out the front.






We also saw an "M&M"  in an upstairs room but we couldn't get up to liberate him.

Lucerne day 3

The tour is now finished and some of the people have gone straight home.  Okay for the USA people as it is only a short plane journey.
The weather has turned cooler and slight rain. We spent the day walking around the city.  The Pilatus mountain we went up yesterday is now enveloped in cloud so we were very lucky yesterday.
We walk around the old city wall & tower & then just enjoyed walking around

Also visited the Glacier Garden - "a journey through time from sub-tropical palm-fringed beaches of millions of years ago to the glacier world of the last ice age"