Ross & Kara's Catalan Adventure - Day 6: Accidental Discoveries
We spend our first day in Girona relaxing, but also going on a long walk without even meaning to.
Tuesday 1st November, 2016 - Girona
Eesh! We have gotten so lazy since we got to Girona. It's been great, sat on the couch in our cozy little flat, playing 3DS and watching Brooklyn 9-9 before going out for tea. It does mean that I am now two days in arrears for the journal, but it's been nice to relax a bit.
The first day we had in Girona started with the usual morning ritual; Kara stayed in bed while I went out hunting for food. I followed the instructions that the local guy gave me the night before. After a bit of an extended outing where I overshot my target and found myself wandering in alleyways, I brought home more bread and chocolate croissants. I also had spent a long time attempting to track down a can on Heinz beans for Kara, fearing that a croissant wasn't going to cut it, but with no joy. I had a nice breakfast with my fresh cheeses and sausage along with the fresh bread I'd bought.
Breakfast of champions! (We split these, I should state for the record.)
Girona is full of quirky little places like this creperie with a van parked inside it.
Once we were ready to go out, it was past noon, so we ventured out into the old city part of Girona. Our first stop was at a church hall on the cobbled streets leading up to the cathedral that has been featured in Game of Thrones. Inside the hall was an exhibition of model soldiers, but the strangest thing was that alongside the brilliantly pained miniatures of Napoleon and Spanish soldiers, there were Star Wars dolls, models of Asterix & Obelix, as well as an entire Warhammer fantasy Skaven army. It was quite surreal to find them in a church hall. It turns out that this exhibition was our first glimpse at the festival that takes place in Girona at this time of year.
It was utterly bizarre to find this collection inside a 12th century church.
As we proceeded through the old town, we found ourselves at the start of the wall that enclosed the medieval town. Without meaning to, we'd set out on quite a long walk, surrounded by other tourists on a very warm afternoon. The view from the wall gave us some spectacular shots of the town and the surrounding area. Girona is way bigger than I thought it was!
The gardens and old wall of Girona.
They even had cacti! Very cool.
More of the gardens and walls.
Views of Girona from the wall are brilliant!
After a quick descent through the University area, we found some snacks for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out in the flat. While the food we've had in Barcelona was very good, our reluctance to try Tapas has hurt our options in Girona. We've been "playing it safe", sticking to Italian and western cuisine, and Girona has an understandably thin range of decent eateries that cater to our "child's menu" palates. We set out to go to "Marylin's Diner" and when we arrived, I was already getting the feeling that the food wasn't going to be great. It was basically a burger van where you go in and sit down, but at least we didn't have to pay too much.
The night picked up on the way home, as we walked back via and enormous fun fair that was set up for the festival. I had noticed a giant ferris wheel from the wall in the morning, but the trees had covered the rest of the amusements. The fair was set up along boulevards, with a police presence to deal with traffic. Besides the (often copyright infringing) rides, there were weird lottery or bingo stalls that had the tackiest crap for prizes. There were also shooting galleries, pizzarias and churro stands. To make up for a disappointing dinner, we shared a pizza and tried churros for the first time. They taste quite bland, but they have a nice and crispy texture. I think we'll stick to crepes.
As we chilled out in the flat that night, we heard bands nearby, saw drumming processions and just before bed, a horde of cyclists flew past, ringing their bells and singing. It looked like Girona wasn't such a quiet little place to visit after all.
Girona really was the turning point of the holiday, with Kara and I just deciding that we'd still see all the cool things we could in Girona, but the pace could slow, allowing us to relax and not do very much at all, relatively guilt-free. Of course, this meant sleeping in, watching Netflix & generally just lounging around, but on our first day, we really just wanted to "get a feel" for Girona.
It seemed that we were on the right side of the river, as we were close to the "old parts" of town, with the modern shops and things being across the river. Kara was still quite exhausted from the previous day, and I was at the mercy of my stomach, so I went out for quite a long time to explore the narrow, cobbled streets of the eastern side of the river Onyar. It was a nice sensation to be able to wander around, not looking to buy anything but breakfast (and maybe some Heinz beans) and just get to know the area. While Barcelona is a metropolis, the area we were living in was conveniently placed next to some little shopping marts, as well as little bespoke shops, owned by local artists etc. It was nice to walk along a high street that didn't make me think of the homogenised high streets I've seen so much of on my travels. Girona has personality in spades, and that made the act of just randomly wandering seem much more enjoyable. I know I would have spent longer walking around if it wasn't for the language barrier that stopped me looking in book shops, as Girona has some lovely ones!
I had read quite a few tourist guides that had recommended the city walls as a good thing to view while you visit Girona, and with me being a fan of nice walks and historic sites, it seemed like a no-brainer, but Kara was wearing footwear that wasn't cutting it, and by the time we realised we were on a long walk, as opposed to just a recce around the town, it was too late. It's probably just as well as we saw the wall when we did, as the weather was nice, and although it was quite busy with lots of people milling around, it was never that uncomfortable. The pictures above really speak for themselves in how beautiful and well maintained the wall is around the town. We got very close to parts of the cathedral, including the other side of a curious door half way up a wall, which we eventually got to see the other side of when we visited the cathedral itself a few days later.
The evening was a great experience, with us being quite ill-prepared for the festivities that Girona was putting on. We wandered over to the other side of the river to find food, and discovered that the market stalls extended way past the Placa dei Indepencia, with so much foot and road traffic present just outside the immediate centre of the city. We continued walking towards a loud and well-lit area to discover that there was an enormous fun-fair that had set up across a considerable patch of land. It was much the same sort of thing that you'd get at "the shows" in Scotland, with naff teacup rides, dodgems, haunted-houses & quite a large number of air-rifle and darts-based games.
Prizes at the fun-fair were suitably naff.
Despite a rubbish dinner, we enjoyed wandering around the fair. It actually made me think of American teen movies, where the guy and the girl eat at a diner and then go and do something free and cheap. I don't know if it's the weird hormones they pump into whatever animal I'd just had a burger made from, but I recall being profoundly satisfied with things, just wandering round a strange town with its traditions that I didn't know with the woman I love. When the time arose, Kara decided to try churros, and I decided to buy a pizza from what was presumably a band of travelling folk who set up a three-sided booth where you can see them roll out the dough and make the pizza in a wood-fired oven. It was quite a unique sight, so I decided to give it a go, having my second dinner and firmly underlining how much I was eating on this trip. Still, it didn't matter, as long as I was spending time like this with Kara, I was happy.
Ross & Kara's Catalan Adventure - Day 5: Home Away From Home
A frantic morning and afternoon in Barcelona gives way to a relaxing and peaceful evening in Girona.
Monday 31st October, 2016 - Girona
So I missed a day, but I was so tired last night that there was no way I would be able to stay awake and write. Yesterday was a bit of a mess, all-in-all, so it explains why I was so damn exhausted by the time I made the mistake of lying down on the bed last night.
My back pain woke me up at around 6:30am, and I could tell that my constant turning to relieve it was disturbing Kara's sleep, so I was fully awake in our apartment, with nowhere to comfortably sit and relax as I didn't want to disturb her any further.
With an early start and shower, I headed out into a grey Sunday morning in Barcelona, looking for a bit of breakfast. It was very quiet, and so I had to hunt for a short while before I could find a place that was open, so that I could buy some pastries. So far, I've started every day in Spain with a chocolate pastry, and I'm pretty happy with that. We've done so much walking that I don't feel bad about how well (un-healthily) we've eaten on this trip. While most people on holiday will spoil themselves by drinking beer or wine, I've been enjoying drinking proper Coca Cola without guilt. I'm sure the guilt will kick in once I get home, but for now, it's all good! Kara is still really enjoying the peach iced tea that seems to be popular in mainland Europe.
Because yesterday was our last morning in Barcelona, we took care to pre-pack as much as we could before we left to see the Barri Gotic's sights. Our suitcase and bags were good-to-go by the time we stepped out, and it's just as well this was the case.
Barcelona Cathedral. A lovely backdrop.
On the Cathedral steps, a Catalan folk band.
As we wandered down "Laietana", we noticed that the police had blocked off the whole street. We knew that something important must have been going on, as the street had previously been super-busy. When we entered the plaza that holds the main entryway to the Cathedral, we noticed that a small crowd had gathered around a little band of musicians. They were playing what sounded like traditional Catalonian folk music. After a few minutes of watching them play, we followed the crowd into Barcelona's Cathedral.
Some lovely old fountains in the courtyard.
Just got to fight through the crowd to get in
Ever since visiting Rome in 2014, I've found most churches to be a bit of a let down. The only exception to that rule is the "Sagrada Familia" in Barcelona, but we're hoping to see the building properly on our last afternoon in Barcelona on Thursday. The Cathedral was just finishing mass as we entered, and as it was a Sunday, there seemed to be a large number of the faithful, but the horde of tourists easily outnumbered them. The courtyards around the building were especially lovely, with working water fountains and geese wandering about. One odd thing we spotted was that instead of "lighting" a candle, visitors put money into a machine that would turn on a light in a box of LED candles. While it's more energy efficient than real candles, I found it odd that an institution that relies so much on theatricality would do this.
After a short ramble around the courtyards, we went in search of "Manna Gelats", an ice-cream parlour in the old city that I'd read about for its great flavours and catering to allergy sufferers. We found it and Kara fell in love with their dairy-free chocolate sorbet. I had an ice-cream that tasted like a Kinder Bueno, as well as a scoop of a somewhat disappointing milk chocolate. I love milk chocolate, so I was quite surprised to find myself not enjoying it as much.
Kara was delighted with her sorbet.
Our next stop was the museum of the history of Barcelona. This place was fantastic, with most of the museum being an audio-guide tour through walkways that overlook the remains of the old Roman colony of "Barcino", telling the story of the city's development and evolution from Roman to Visigothic culture and the introduction to Christianity. In traditional Kara style, she told me that her favourite part was a spot where excavators had found a pair of bodies. I was not surprised to hear this.
After our trip to the museum, we visited "Dunne's Irish Pub" so that Kara could get her "fix" of gravy and potatoes. Food service was a bit slow, so we had to sit through quite a lot of an English crowd shouting at the Premiership football on the TV. That showed Kara's devotion to gravy and mash! After lunch, we went to pick up some gifts for family back home. I had read about "Cageners" after hearing the guys on The Comedy Button talk about them. These extremely tacky and poorly made figures are a take on traditional Catalan nativity sculptures that depict a shepherd with his trousers down, taking a dump. The shop we went into had a wide range, from Donald Trump, Lionel Messi and Fernando Alonso to R2-D2, Mario and Darth Vader. We picked some out and I almost had a heart attack at the price. If you ever receive one, count yourself lucky, as they are super expensive for a joke gift.
Between our long wait for lunch and the grumpy guy in the Cagener shop taking ages to serve us, we were running late when we returned to the flat to grab our stuff. Kara's been suffering already after all the walking and daily trips up and down the stairs. I carried a bunch of stuff, as well as our large suitcase as we set out for the train to Girona; the town where we'd be spending our actual anniversary. Between our slight lateness, our slow pace and the labyrinth of "Catalunya" and "Sants" metro stations, we arrived at our platform gate bang-on when we were supposed to depart, only to find an enormous queue of people. I was disgustingly sweaty, having carried our luggage at a marching pace as soon as we got off the metro. As we stepped into the line, our train disappeared from the board, leaving us stressed, standing at the back of a long line of people who didn't speak fluent English, making it hard to listen in to see if they were having the same problem. Despite all the stress, when the guy took our tickets, he just waved us through, allowing us to board a train I'm fairly certain we weren't meant to be on! Despite someone else being sat in the seats that our ticket indicated, we found some seats and nervously glanced around, hoping we'd just get this one as a freebie. Girona was the next stop, so we knew we didn't have to hold on for too long, but I was anxious about being hit with some kind of fee or fine. Fortunately, we made it to Girona without any troubles; in fact I played Zelda OoT almost the entire journey!
After another luggage-laden march through Girona, we met "laura" in front of our apartment in a busy street, teeming with tourists. She led us up a mercifully small number of steps and opened the door to our home away from home for the next week.
What a lovely surprise we got! Arriving just before the sun went down, we found the flat warmly lit, clean and with a gift of a bottle of red wine waiting on us. The bed was soft, with extra pillows and a desk beside it. The place is so tastefully decorated that it feels so wonderfully cosy compared to the functional but bare setting we had in Barcelona. It really feels like the kind of place you want to just settle in and relax, which is the change of pace that we'd been looking for.
After a quick and refreshing shower, we headed into the part of Girona where there's a large number of restaurants; just across the river in the "Placa dei Indepencia". We had a pretty mediocre meal at a place called "Dolce Vita" which was a surprisingly large Italian restaurant. The food was reasonably priced, but not great. Kara's bolognese was mostly tomato, while I made the mistake of trying Roquefort cheese for the first time. The pungent cheese totally overpowered any other flavours, so it was hard to tell if my pizza was any good or not.
On our way home, we walked through a pop-up market, full of stalls selling cheese, meats, breads and jams. I bought a pepper-crusted sausage and some cheeses to enjoy for my breakfast. One cheese is a "Bufala" much like mozzarella, while the other is a goat's cheese. Both are really creamy and mild, but they're both very tasty and distinct.
It was dangerous to have a Creperie across the street. We behaved...mostly.
As we returned to our flat, we stopped off at the creperie across the street; "Crepdeque?" While we waited to be served, we spoke with a local about the local festival and where to get the best food. He recommended some places, one of which I visited this morning and was very pleased with his recommendation. Upon my return home, I ate my nutella and coconut crepe, before collapsing onto the bed, putting it beyond all doubt that I was going to sleep before I even considered opening my journal.
There was definitely no way I was going to stay awake for long after day 5. Between the early start, stressful journey to the train station and time spent hauling a suitcase around, I was so pleased to find that our accommodation was a: only up two flights of stairs and b: cosy and comfortable.
It's weird that we waited until our last day to visit Barcelona's Barri Gotic, but I guess that ties into what I've said about me stressing out about "not seeing enough" while we were there. The Gothic Quarter is full of old buildings, some are beautiful old churches and cathedrals with impressive facades and wonderful artwork inside, while many are simply old residential buildings with the ground floor given over to tacky tourist shops. I can only imagine that living in those buildings must be like to living in the flats at the top of the Royal Mile, with constant streams of noisy tourists coming and going through the day. While I was sad that we only had half a day to see this part of town, I feel like we made the right choice in the end, as we saw just how busy the streets get and how much of the area is just shops selling "hand-made" shawls, hemp bags. beads and earrings. While it wasn't quite as "copy-paste" as Milan was, I was happy to skip right past them to look at some old stuff!
The Museum of the City of Barcelona was more focused on the Roman history of the city than I'd expected it to be, but that was fine. It was very cool to wander around the largely underground complex, with the audioguide telling me about what each room was used for. The brickwork was surprisingly well maintained, and didn't look like it had been tampered with much. Speaking of audioguides, this was the first holiday I've taken where I've spent a lot of time (and a fair whack of cash when you add it all up) on the audioguides for places. Casa Batllo, La Pedrera & Sagrada Familia all use them, and I was happy to be educated as I walked around. As someone who always "reads the plaque", it suited me to just listen to someone tell me the history behind a certain area or object. It can throw off your pacing a little bit, though. I found myself moving faster than I was intending to, then cutting back to look at something again once the voice had stopped telling me about the room.
Once we left the museum, it really was a bit of a stressful afternoon. From a long and football-filled wait for (an admittedly satisfying) lunch to being fleeced by the grumpy Cagener selling guy and sweating like a pig to get to the train (just) on time, it was definitely one of the low moments of the trip. Fortunately, it didn't last long as we got onto the next train and after sitting in what I assumed were someone else's seats, we relaxed once the train set off for Girona. I took advantage of the time to play some Zelda, which Kara had become interested in on the trip. I think the combination of an N64 game (on my 3DS) and having some spare time with few distractions was the perfect set-up for Kara, so I happily let her play for a while.
The sound of our suitcase wheels rolling along cobbled streets and pavement was definitely one of the themes for the holiday, and while at first I was a bit embarrassed to be disturbing so many people with the noise, I was so glad that I didn't have to carry or drag it in the same way I had to in Italy. It was also bright blue and yellow, making it as conspicuous as hell, but it did help both of our AirBnB hosts find us, so I guess that's a positive! Once we'd met Laura and set up in the place, I was so relieved to discover that we had a comfortable place to stay that wasn't just somewhere to sleep and eat. With all its toys and doo-dads tastefully presented around the place, it felt like our home (which is absolutely full of toys and doo-dads. In the end, we did spend a lot of time just chilling out in Girona, which was exactly the change of pace that we needed.
The market in the Placa dei Indepencia was just our first experience of what Girona was going to show us during our time there. It felt like a farmers market, much like we have in Perth or Edinburgh, with local producers coming from nearby farms to sell their cheese, wine, cured meats etc. I spotted that some of them had some from France, which made sense as Girona is quite close to the border with France. I was already feeling guilty that our culinary experience in Spain was limited to "burgers and pizza" which was largely due to us not wanting to spend a bunch of cash on a meal we might not like, so it felt like buying local cheese, sausage and bread was a good way to dip a toe into the local cuisine. Even Kara said she'd try some of the Bufala cheese.
Judging from the line of tourists and locals outside Crepdeque?, it was a sure sign that we'd be visiting them for some after-dinner treats. The art of the crepe seems to be going strong in Girona, with many places offering sweet and savoury pancakes. Our flat had two creperies right outside it, and while I felt sorry for the other one, which was mostly empty, I felt pretty good when we tucked into our pudding. Flakes of coconut and nutella are a great combo!
In the next blog, my timing is a bit all over the place. Kara and I committed to vegging out, which included not keeping a journal as regularly as I did in Barcelona, so it's going to get a little bit all-over-the-place from here, but I will do my best to recap when it comes to it. Suffice to say that we love Girona and want to go back. Read the next blog to find out why!
"Tombs, temples & time travel" - Days 7, 8 & 9: Rome - Edinburgh
A retrospective of our last few days in Rome before we head home.
So this post won't take the form of the previous ones, as it's going to be a retrospective on our holiday. As I mentioned in the previous post, I just didn't have the time to keep up with the journal when I had to cook in the evenings. So I stopped writing after describing the Colosseum at night. It was unfortunate that it wasn't fully lit up, but I guess there wasn't much we could have done about it.
Day 7 had a very busy itinerary, including visits to...
The Trevi Fountain The Pantheon The Palatine Hill & Forum Complex The Crypt of The Capuchin Monks
We managed them all, though. I am glad we did, but by this point the incessant heat and the 8 til late days with a diminished food intake was really starting to weary us both. I was also missing my beloved CPAP machine, as it really helps me to get a good night's sleep. The first stop we wanted to make was the Palatine Hill & Forum as the ticket for the Colosseum included them as well. We wanted to make sure we got in before the ticket expired.
The first mistake we made was by going via Circus Maximus. When we visited Rome, this area was under some serious renovation by the looks of things. From the street beside it, all we could see was a dusty field. What this route also did was put us on the wrong side of the Palatine Hill. After a little bit of confusion with the city map, we'd been out in the baking sun for well over an hour before we were back on the right track to get in. It wasn't a great start to the day, but it got a bit nicer when we found ourselves at the top of the Altare Della Patria, which we had seen from lower down the night before. It was quite ostentatious, but I was just happy to find a water fountain to fill our water bottle from and cool off slightly. From up here, we were able to navigate to the entrance to the Palatine Hill.
There is very little cover on the hill, and it's well...a hill. This made it quite hard going for Kara who darted between the shade like some kind of diurnal ninja. While it was nice to be amongst some of the ancient Roman parts of the city, it was difficult to relax with the heat and the endless throng of tourists that was busy taking pictures of themselves next to things. I'm not one for picture taking, if I'm being honest. Kara is the one who took all of the photos you'll see in this blog (except the ones of her, I would have taken those) as she is much more of a "visual" person, while I enjoy writing down my thoughts. I subscribe to the notion that if I'm busy taking a picture, I'm not really there enjoying the view. As ironic as it sounds, coming from someone who assumes that his thoughts will be read, it annoys me to see people taking selfies with beautiful landmarks before moving on, not bothering to really appreciate what they've taken a picture of. It just seems a little conceited, is all. Anyway, the peddlers were all selling selfie sticks, so I guess that should tell me something about what tourists get up to on holiday. Each unto their own, I suppose!
The Forum was quite impressive, with some old temples and tombs, including one for Julius Caesar. It's a strange notion as a history nerd, to be standing close to something that was built to commemorate a character from thousands of years ago that you've been reading about since you were a child. The only other time I've felt like that, I was in Dunfermline Abbey at my best friend's wedding. I was the best man so we were milling around, waiting on the guests to arrive, so I was lucky enough to get into some of the areas that most of the public do not. Underneath the pulpit, lies the tomb of Robert The Bruce; one of Scotland's most famous historical figures. Gave me shivers just thinking about it, and it was already a nervous day for me! (Truth be told, I was more nervous than the groom seemed to be on the day!)
So our morning had been a bit of a bust, but we had been able to do what we'd wanted to do. From here, we jumped aboard the metro and headed up to the Spanish Steps, which was not only close to our next site, but we also had some business to attend to in this part of town, printing our boarding cards for the trip home on Wednesday! It was here that we spotted some amazing graffiti of the Pope, that we didn't snap a picture of, but I found an image of it online.
Once that was done, and with Kara running purely on gluten-free cereal bars and a couple of kinder chocolate bars that I was force-feeding her, we entered the Crypt of the Capuchin Monks. Now, the museum itself is quite interesting. It shows the origins and some of the distinctions of this particular branch of Catholicism, which extols many of the virtues that many priests don't seem to stick to as much these days; such as poverty and humility. My understanding was that their sect spends a great deal of their time and resources helping the poor and needy, following the footsteps of Saint Francis Of Assisi. As a real bonus for Kara, there was a Caravaggio painting in here, although there are conflicting reports on whether the one in there is his original or not. I will stick some pictures from google in to show you all what the crypt looked like, as we were not allowed to take pictures.
It's a morbid place, as you'd expect. I've never been anywhere quite like it, but my obsession with ancient cultures prepared me for coming (almost) face to face with real mummified remains. Kara is obsessed with skeletons and skulls in particular. She is a tattoo artist and we have a definite "dead stuff" motif in parts of our house, which is quite funny when you consider that the other parts are Star Wars and comic book prints. Part of me wonders if it would be funny to invite Jehova's witnesses into the house just to see their faces when they see all of the semi-satanic imagery that adorns our walls; snakes, skulls, goat's heads etc... Anyway, the upshot was that Kara was fascinated with the display on offer here. I was just trying to picture the kind of psychopath that would literally nail vertebrae into the roof and walls to make the patterns that we witnessed. Kara and I did two passes on here, while Kara soaked it all in. It somewhat kills the ambience when you reach the end as there's a gift-shop, selling notepads and the like.
As we stepped out into the sunlight, I was glad to be back in the modern age. Skulls and skellingtons don't bother me, but the message of the crypt is to emphasise that time is fleeting. They have a tombstone in one of their rooms that reads...
"What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be..."
So, feeling a tad drained, both spiritually (yeuch, I hate to use that term but it feel right in this context) and physically, we headed off to get lunch. We found a place called Pizza Ciro and found the food to be ok, but the service wasn't great, and it was quite pricey. Still, it wasn't too bad, and it was nice to not have to worry about food until we got home.
From lunch, we wandered on towards the Trevi Fountain. This was even more disappointing than Ponte Vecchio, but not because it looked boring. The whole fountain is under renovation. Quite considerable renovation, judging from the scaffolding and dust sheeting that was in place. There were bits of Oceanus that could still be seen, but other than that there wasn't much. There is a small replacement "fountain" that is just a pool of standing water, where people who want to throw a coin into the fountain can do so. The superstition is that those who throw a coin into the fountain will return to Rome. Kara and I threw a coin into the little pool, but it was a real disappointment. The Pantheon was next on the list, and fortunately it isn't too far from the Trevi Fountain. It's also free to enter, which is nice.
As with all of Rome, the piazza where the Pantheon sits is packed with people all the time. The Pantheon is a beautiful old building, and I was very excited to see inside. The exterior is gorgeous, with all of the massive pillars and traditionally Roman architecture that one would expect. The interior is quite nice too, but I was disappointed to find that the Pantheon, like many other ancient Roman buildings, has been converted into a space for Catholic prayer and all of the ancient Roman iconography has been replaced with christian imagery. I just wanted to go outside to see some more of the exterior, as it represented the ancient Roman past that is harder to find in Rome than one might think. It left me with a bad taste in my mouth, but I was happy to have visited.
From here, we headed back home to have dinner and figure out what to do the next day.
Day 8
We had toyed with the idea of visiting the Vatican. If you've read the previous blogs, it's easy to see why this might have stuck in my craw. We were really having to watch our finances and it didn't look like The Vatican would be cheap. We decided to take my Aunt and Uncle's advice and take a day trip to Ostia Antica. Knowing it was our last day before leaving for home, we knew we wanted to at least see the outside of St. Peter's Basilica, so we took a little metro ride to the Vatican, before fist bumping as we saw the massive queues and considered the high price of entry. We were harassed by admittedly, a mixed bag of tour guides, ranging from dodgy as hell to quite charming, as we approached the square where the Pope normally addresses the public. It's a lovely open space, but not when it's filled with a winding snake of tourists, waiting to get in. Kara took a few pictures and we set off for an afternoon in Ostia Antica.
After a 20 minute train ride, we were right outside of the city and it was a nice feeling. Kara is from a very small hamlet in rural Perthshire and Edinburgh is the biggest city I've ever lived in. We are not "city people" really. We don't overly enjoy many of the benefits that living in the city offers, and Rome is humongous. It was refreshing to be back out in the middle of nowhere, which looking back; is something that I appreciated about Maranello. People do say that when visiting Italy, it's important to see the little towns as well as the big cities. They're absolutely right, and Ostia Antica turned out to be a real treat for both of us.
By day 8, I had acclimatized to the heat somewhat, while Kara was still having a really hard time with the heat. Ostia Antica has many old ruins and intact walls, but it's largely open streets and little cover. We had a bit of a hard time while we were there, but there were lots of water fountains and we were able to find the on site cafe, where we ordered Kara some potato wedges. At this point, I was making sure we had sufficient bus-fare to get to the airport the next day, so Kara got food and I tried not to stare at the plate and lick my lips. I wasn't sure how long it would be before I was seeing passers by as giant walking turkey legs, like in Tom & Jerry cartoons. I was saved by one of Kara's more interesting food habits, which anyone who has eaten in her company will be familiar with. The infamous "potato cull" where even the slightest discolouration or "defect" will lead to a "rejected pile" which I hungrily gobbled up.
I really don't have words to describe how incredible the location is. Ostia Antica is an ancient harbour town that used to supply Rome. It has a naval history, plus the site contains remnants of many of the buildings that most Roman towns had back in the period the town is meant to have been at its peak. (400BC - 200AD) There are some incredible building remains that have been uncovered by archaeologists on the site, including bakeries, temples, tombs, houses, baths and I'm guessing the gigantic amphitheater didn't take a lot of digging to discover. This place was everything I wanted from a visit to Rome; a reflection of an ancient culture, with no doubt that what you were seeing was a genuine version and not something that was assembled in the 17th century. There was no graffiti and the sheer scale of the town really shows the layout and function of the place. There are mosaics that I'm guessing operated as advertisements for different shipping companies, while other depicted sea animals and elephants, presumably to emphasize the exotic nature of their expeditions. I think Kara could tell how much I was enjoying the place, as she persevered despite feeling really bad out there in the sun. We didn't quite finish seeing the whole place, but we were there for hours. There really is so much to see, and if you are a history nerd like I am, it's definitely what you're coming to Rome to see. It's cheap to get out there and visit, so do it.
We took the train back home and I did some cooking, before we did some provisional suitcase packing and got an early night. The train to Ciampino got us there on time, and despite a fairly significant setback, we arrived at the tiny airport terminal on time and in one piece. From here, the only other point to mention is that if you get a window seat on the right side of the plane and you're flying back to the UK from Ciampino, you get an amazing view of Rome from the sky. We were able to pick out so many of the sights that had seemed to huge from the ground, including the Colosseum and parts of the Vatican City.
So that was our trip. We arrived back in grey, chilly Scotland a few hours later and I was so glad to feel that cold breeze. We faced issues that were predictable to a point, especially feeding someone who has real trouble with finding food even in their home environment. I don't think gluten-free dining on its own would be particularly tricky in Italy, although it definitely pays to be prepared. It's also very expensive to feed yourself in Italy, even if the quality and quantity of food seemed to be better than in the UK. Just research the gluten-free options and you shouldn't have too difficult a time, although be prepared to have a regular meal that just happens to not include pizza or pasta, just in case you can't find a place. (For all we know, Milan has no places that do gluten-free pasta or pizza!)
I hope you have enjoyed reading this travel blog as much as I have enjoyed recounting our adventures. It's largely a personal project for me, but it's also nice to be able to passively describe our trip to family and friends! From here, it's likely that this blog will take a left-turn into nerdy territory, but I hope some of you might stick around for that.
Arrivederci!
-Ross
"Murder, mayhem and mozzarella" - Day 6: Rome
We tour the Colosseum and Kara finds her dream pizza.
Journal Entry 11.00 pm
Apartment in Roma
As we've been going at full-speed to do as much as possible this holiday, we decided to slow down this morning to plan our day and take advantage of the laundry facilities. At the moment, our flat is strewn with (clean) underpants and socks while our less personal items hang in the courtyard outside. The neighbours seem nice enough, even if my snoring probably keeps them awake, worrying about what animal sacrifice I am making to some dark power. I am sans-CPAP for the trip and I can feel myself becoming more tired as my quality of sleep deteriorates.
I took a walk to the local corner shop today, as Kara had only eaten junk food since Florence and I was beginning to worry. Despite a fair bit of confusion and feeling bad about my "Italiano", I was able to buy some bananas (green - the way Kara prefers them) and some potatoes. If there's one kind of food I know will be appreciated, it's potatoes. I snagged myself some bread and salami, as well as what seems to be Parmesan dairylea. After an approximation on a "continental breakfast" I hunt out the washing while Kara wrestled her hair into place. After discovering how to work the air-con, I was quite happy with the morning.
We stepped out and into the hot sunlight and I could've sworn I heard Kara hiss her disapproval. We wandered up and down via Casilina, looking for bus tickets. Our expreience today has taught us that people just get on and don't care for actually buying tickets. This bus had air-con! Never before have I been so comfortable on a packed bus. There is a couple that we saw at a restaurant last night, as well as on the bus into town today and on the far side of Rome at the end of the day. It's kinda creepy.
From the bus, we went shopping at Termini. Not the best idea as it's hella expensive, yo. We did find some snacks for Kara as well as the basis of some gluten-free dinners, so that's a weight off my mind. Sun-tan lotion was €20 so we resolved to find it cheaper, somewhere else. I hope they do factor 1,000,000 for Kara. She hates the idea of tanning.
After a short stint aboard the Roman metro, we arrived at Colosseo! The Colosseum was one of the biggest factors in me wanting to come to Rome and it's an impressive building that demands your attention as soon as you climb out of the metro station. A quick check online before we left the apartment meant that we had reserved our tickets. I was very glad of this, as the line to buy a ticket looked hellish. We went the wrong way round the Colosseum at first, just trying to glimpse parts of the building that were truly ancient or perhaps catching a minute of an English-speaking tour guide as they described what they were looking at. Many of them seemed to be obsessed with the ancient Roman toilets.
After a little while, we got going in the right direction. The Colosseum hosts some fantastic museums, showing finds from the excavations nearby, as well as descriptions that help to bring the place to life. The place was understandably mobbed, though. It was sad to see such a beautiful old place covered in graffiti. Much like at Giotto's bell-tower, I found myself getting pissed off at other people's ignorance and lack of respect. During the visit, I discovered that the Colosseum was consecrated as a mark of respect for all of the Christians "martyred" there.
As we entered the predictably tacky gift shop, Kara started to feel overcome by the heat and a lack of food. We decided to take a trip to the other side of the Tiber to look for "Mamaeat"; a gluten-free pizzeria. On the way, we passed a great and impressive monument called the "Vittoriano" which is the largest monument in Italy. It is enormous. We found it just as the sun was starting to dip, and the white marble that covers the entire area shone beautifully. We crossed the Tiber on the Ponte Palatino and found ourselves in narrow but busy streets that reminded me of Firenze.
Mamaeat is not particularly easy to find, but if you're a coeliac in Rome, it's a place you have to visit! Kara exclaimed "It's like eating real pizza!" I don't think she'll forget it soon. With the sun setting, we decided to find a spot to see the Colosseo lit up at night. Sadly, it didn't happen. We spent most of our time telling the string and selfie-stick peddlers to go away. It's breast cancer awareness month so a section of the Colosseum was lit in pink, with a large pink ribbon displayed on the side.
The somewhat abrupt end to this journal entry is due in no small part to my transition to becoming the chef for our trip. Our apartment kitchen was tiny, but I was able to prepare a few meals for our later days in Rome. Sadly, this meant that the journal was forgotten as it was late by the time I'd eaten. So from this post onwards, I suppose it'll mostly just be a retrospective as I try to remember the rest of our trip!
Our apartment was quite nice. On our first night, someone had let off fireworks for a full five minutes and it sounded a bit like gunfire. Kara and I were a tad nervous, but the area didn't seem too bad. Rome is covered in graffiti, and our street was no exception, but I don't think it strictly means a rough neighbourhood. Our little apartment complex had three small houses next to each other, sharing a courtyard with a lovely tree in it. The opportunity to do some washing was definitely appreciated. The heat and humidity on our trip had really meant that we were quite gross and had to quarantine some of our clothes in the suitcase. (I say we, but it's mostly me, let's be honest.) It was also refreshing to not be getting up at 8am to rush out of the accommodation, as we had been on the move during the whole trip. Finding out how to work the air-con was like figuring out how to turn the lights on in terms of morale and significance. I suddenly felt so much more comfortable.
Public transport in Italy is very different to over here. The buses in particular were some of the worst experiences of the whole trip. If there's a minimum capacity for a bus, we definitely overstepped it by quite a margin in Italy. It's literally elbow to elbow on there. If you can fit in there, go for it. I saw people trying to navigate towards the exit, only to be blocked by people who wanted to help but couldn't move themselves. Quite a stressful scenario to be involved in! The metro is quite similar, but I guess the London tube is similar. It's not nice to be the sweaty tourist in that scenario, though.
The Colosseum deserves its place in the list of the world's most recognizable buildings. It's an imposing sight, even amongst the many incredible examples of ancient architecture around the city. The only thing that makes me less enthusiastic about looking at it, is knowing that it's been renovated and put back together on numerous occasions over the years. It was very exciting to see little notice boards that told you to look at certain features so you could see that a
particular area was indeed ancient Roman. This included parts of frescos and yes, the toilets. The tour-guides were very enthusiastic to describe how Rome's old sewerage system worked and this made the ancient Roman toilets very popular. This led me to believe that perhaps they were one of very few sections that were relatively untouched since ancient times. The place is wonderful, though. Despite the massive number of tourists and the graffiti all over the place, I still had a great time looking at what the Colosseum had to offer a history nerd like me!
"Mamaeat" is a "must" for coeliacs in Rome. The pizza looked and smelled incredible, with the gluten-free pizza looking the way you'd expect any regular pizza to look. I just had a regular one, but I would never have guessed that Kara's was gluten-free too. Kara tells me that Mamaeat's margherita pizza (she doesn't really do pizza topping either) was the best she had on the entire trip, which makes it the best pizza she's ever had. This is high praise from a very discerning customer.
I will cover the rest of the trip as a retrospective, but don't worry; there's only two days left.
"Ciao Roma" - Day 5: Florence to Rome
We take a break from art to visit a couple of science museums. Then it's on to Roma!
Journal Entry 11.00 am on day 6.
Apartment in Roma
Our last day in Florence was nearly a disaster. We thought that the station had a luggage deposit area, but it turned out that the travel site had lied! We were able to keep our stuff at the hotel, fortunately. We started off by heading to "Star Bene" once again, where Kara stocked up on cake. We didn't even make it to the end of the block this time, before Kara was tucking in. She made some quite distressing animal noises, but she looked very happy to be enjoying some breakfast cake. We then made a bee-line for Accademia, but the queue was the worst that we've seen so far on this trip. Sadly, we knew at that point that we weren't going to see David on this holiday.
Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we headed on to a museum that housed models made from study of Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks. It was a bit stuffy, but it was cool to see all of the models to scale, including his tank and gliders. He also liked to build robotic suits of armour. After the Leonardo museum, we headed for the Galileo museum, along the bank of the Arno river. While fascinating and educational, there was a lot of repetition in some of the later sections. The astronomy areas were great, though.
Ponte Vecchio was rubbish. It's packed with tourists, but lined with jewelers. We had hoped for kitsch, tacky souvenirs but it was all just necklaces and earrings. We got a gelato on the other side and walked to the front of the Pitti Palace. It was enormous, with lots of tourists out front, but we weren't too fussed about going in.
On the way back through town, we stopped for a late lunch at "Hostaria Il Desco", just a few minutes away from Ponte Vecchio. Kara was delighted with her gluten-free pasta, while I got left with the "backup" in case she didn't want to eat what she'd chosen! They brought out an all gluten-free bread basket for Kara, which included the nicest breadsticks I think I've ever had.
After lunch, we picked up our luggage and chilled at the train station, waiting for our train to Roma. Upon leaving Florence, we only had one real regret and that was that we didn't see the statue of David.
Our first night in Roma was...not great. Met off the bus by our apartment's owner, we were informed that everything was closed and because it was a Sunday the next day, we were likely to struggle to feed Kara at all. Much to my eternal shame, our first meal in Roma was from a knock-off KFC establishment called "Chicken Hut". Their motto is...
"We know how to deal with chicken."
...which sounds a bit menacing to me. I immediately pictured a chicken who hadn't paid his protection money, being thrown into the fryer with a breezeblock tied round his ankles. Coupled with the heat and language barriers we encountered, day 5 ended on a bit of a downer.
A mercifully short journal entry for you guys, there. The plan was to cut our food costs in Rome by cooking everything for ourselves. It meant that we had really not planned well for eating out in Rome as I had somewhat naively expected to be able to eat much as we do at home. This turned out to not be the case, but on the first night in Rome, we really did struggle. We went to one place that was still open and turned out to be a restaurant/Karaoke bar. I understand if some readers think that sounds like fun, but as a former bartender, the word "karaoke" still gives me horrific flashbacks. We both wanted somewhere to chill out and eat, and that wasn't it. We also went to one place that our apartment owner had suggested, but it was definitely a place for locals, as everything was in Italian and there were no prices. We tried to pick up a bit of Italian on the trip, but with Kara's food issues and a lot of uncertainty, it ended up being a no-go. It was quite depressing for me too, as so far I had been able to get by on my barely passable Italiano. We also discovered that Italian chefs do NOT do substitutions. If someone says it comes with a side, it comes with that side, nothing else. "Patati" is the Italian word for potato, I believe. (If it wasn't, I was just spouting gibberish) I said it quite a lot on the trip. Kara often refers to me as her "second love, after potatoes". In almost 5 years with her, I've never seen any evidence to contradict that.
"Chicken Hut" actually didn't taste too bad. Kara just had fries that I'm fairly sure would have had some form of gluten-based coating on them, but it wasn't enough to cripple her. We were a bit overzealous in our order, which left us with a lot of fries. It was well after midnight, so it was time for bed.
Not seeing Michaelangelo's statue of David was a disappointment, certainly. It was also the only thing that we'd planned to see that we ended up missing during our trip. It was unfortunate, but we'd have wasted at least half a day waiting in the queue. The two science-themed museums that we went to were fantastic, though. Being a bit of a total nerd does extend backwards as well as forwards, and finding out more about Italy's contribution to the modern world was an exciting prospect. Florence was at the center of the Renaissance, so there were many fascinating things to see in the Galileo museum. Leonardo Da Vinci epitomizes the word "genius" for me, as he was not only a visionary and a scholar, but he was able to take these concepts and follow through to the point where he had an apparatus that was fit for experimentation. The Da Vinci museum contained many different contraptions of his that looking back now, it's easy to see the flaws, while the foundations of concepts such as the helicopter, the glider, the tank and the automaton are present. The museum was mostly filled with recently made wooden models that allowed visitors to see right into the design, often stripping away panels to show how things worked. I think if you had a smart kid, you could probably explain how something worked to them using the models here. The Galileo museum isn't really focused on Galileo himself, but Italy's contribution to science over the years. It displays some of Galileo's telescopes and measuring equipment, as well as a few of his partially
preserved fingers. (I have no idea why, and I have no idea why Kara didn't get any pictures of them for me to show you here.) The exhibition shows equipment from all facets of scientific experimentation; from astronomy to electricity. It's an inspiring and ridiculously peaceful place to visit amid the hustle and bustle of central Florence.
Ponte Vecchio really was quite disappointing. It's a bridge. That's it. It happens to be lined with jewelers. I have no idea
why it's a tourist spot. Still, it certainly seemed quite busy. Maybe the jewelers are really reasonably priced or something. The Pitti Palace and the "Boboli Gardens" behind it were on our list of places to visit but we were really worried about missing our train and these sites are on the opposite side of the Arno and the city from where we were departing from. It was certainly very warm, so the ice cream was pleasant! It was around this time that we really started to tighten our belts, as it was becoming abundantly clear that if we wanted to keep our spending in check, we were going to have to just go an have the look at the front of things for free, instead of paying €15 to go inside.
Kara really enjoyed her lunch at Il Desco. The surroundings were really nice too, with a cozy feel. The waitress that seated us seemed to be referring to one of the women who worked the till as her mother, so it was most likely a family business. It's always nice to see that you're not just supporting a massive chain restaurant. To be fair, there weren't many places in Italy other than Mcdonalds and Burger King that seemed like big chains. Funnily enough, I don't recall seeing another "Chicken Hut". That motto still makes me wonder if it was some mafia front!
"The Patron Saint of Gluten-Free Dining" - Day 4: Florence
Our first full day in Florence.
Journal Entry 10.00 pm
"Hotel Castagno" - Firenze
Firenze continues to impress us both. Not just the layout and beautiful surroundings, but the atmosphere and "feel" of the city is laid-back, with an undercurrent of intensity. That might seem contradictory so let me put it another way. It feels like everyone is in a rush, to get to the pub or a cafe. Much like Milan and Modena, Firenze is packed (often bumper to bumper) with scooters, motorbikes and tiny little city cars. We've seen quite a few weird looking single seaters, as well as "Mr Bean" style minis and Renault "Twizys". The streets are virtually single lane, but buses, taxis and bikes all tear along at breakneck speed, giving credence to my theory that all Italian drivers want to be racing drivers.
It's been a tough day for both of us, but Kara especially. We have done a lot of walking today and it's taken it's toll. We're both in "Pigiami" and ready for bed, really. On the other hand though, it's been great day. Let's start at the beginning.
Another crappy night's sleep. I am covered in what I assume are mosquito bites. I kept hearing them fly next to my head in the night. A damned shame as the bed is quite comfy. Breakfast was the usual Italian "continental" affair; croissant, yoghurt etc. It's pretty nice to have what is essentially cake for breakfast and not be judged. Speaking of "breakfast cake"; we went to "Star Bene" so Kara could get something. She walked out with two cakes and we'd barely crossed the road before one was gone. As we walked into the central part of Firenze, we stopped at two unlikely spots: a "Mail Boxes etc" (Kara works at one over here in the UK) and an Italian "pound shop". *sighs* To be fair, the halloween section was much better than most back home. I will get some naff gifts for the guys at work in there tomorrow!
After our pit stops, we went on to Firenze's "Duomo". While less impressive from the outside than Milan's Duomo, I enjoyed it considerably more. The distinct lack of pushy salesmen and string may be a factor in this. The inside was quite something, too. A fresco that covers the roof of the cupola is astounding, while the crypts underneath speak of an era of history that has only been hinted at so far on this trip. The crypt is built into the bones of an even older church that was falling apart and was replaced by the present church in the early 1400s. Tombs of knights, saints and popes ( I believe) are present. It's very impressive. I will need to read up more when I return home.
The activity I had been dreading was Giotto's "Campanile" or bell-tower. It was a hell of a climb as a "broad man" in very tight spiral staircases. We climbed the first set of stairs and were surprised at how easy it had been. There were three more flights to go, of course. The view of Firenze from the top was incredible. You could see out for every direction as a terrace ran around the top. Sadly, people with no respect for history or craftsmanship had scrawled in pen or carved into the marble, "A ned was 'ere 2014" (I'm paraphrasing slightly here.) Utter twats. One did make me smile, mind you. It just said...
"Russian Hooligans, 2014."
After the bell-tower, we went hunting for "Deanna's gluten-free cafe" to see if we could find Kara some lunch. We found it but the menu wasn't great for Kara. The guy behind the counter was great, however. After apologizing to two bumbling tourists because his "English was bad", he annotated a map with two or three GF places we could try. He is now Kara's patron saint. We went for lunch at one of these places; a little restaurant called "La Gratella". It was very nice, but Kara was still a little short of finishing her bowl of pasta. Italian food isn't cheap, but it's good quality and you get plenty of it.
After a visit to an amazing indoor foodmarket called "Mercato Centrale", which was like a mall foodcourt if Harvey Nicols ran it, we visited "Santa Maria Novello" as it was nearby and on our list of places to visit. It was nice and old, in a Catholic churchy kinda way. I feel like I have been spoiled by the Duomos. I honestly think I should have worked up to them, as I wasn't so impressed here. Just in case we hadn't seen enough pictures of Jesus, we decided to go to the Uffizi gallery. Now I'm no art critic, but the clasical themes of "The life and deaths of JC" are bloody boring after a while. It's like going to read an Avengers comic and finding out that it's just page after page of Hulk dialogue. It's something that warrants some time spent on it, sure, but change it up. Eventually, Jesus images should show him doing cool shit like...smashing helicopters out of the air. I guess Marvel comics were hard to find during the Renaissance.
Ridiculous comparisons aside, the gallery was quite nice. I observed some "HD images" including Boticelli's "The Birth of Venus" and Caravaggio's "Frickin' awesome severed head of Medusa on a shield" (I think that's the correct name, at least.) Kara was quite distraught for a while as it seemed like the Caravaggio exhibits were closed. It all turned out to be fine though, and we had a wander through the town on the way to "Accademia" where the statue of David is. We found a "Scottish Jock" bar that is ran by a Chinese couple. We spoke to a pissed up American woman who told us how good the whisky was, before telling us she'd been drinking Jameson. Urgh.
By the time we arrived, Accademia had closed for the night. We resolved to come and see David tomorrow and went for dinner at the "OK Bar". The name seems apt, as neither Kara nor myself were too impressed with their pizzas. It was fairly cheap, though.
Kara is in bed now, having pushed herself quite hard today. Tomorrow's plan includes sending postcards, topping up the cash-card (Italy is hella expensive, yo.), eating breakfast cake, Galileo's museum, Leonardo's museum, David and the Accademia, Ponte Vecchio and hopefully safe travels to our last city on the trip: Roma!
Definitely a marked improvement from our time in Milan and Modena. Florence is probably my favourite place that we visited. The people are almost universally beautiful, everyone seems friendly, the architecture and city layout makes all of the street seem like back-alleys but many of them are bustling with activity and almost all of them end with piazzas that are filled with some of the most incredibly beautiful buildings and sculptures I have ever seen. The history nerd in me loves that as you walk along, you never know what's around the corner. I know it's cliché but it's a city full of hidden surprises. I have learned to appreciate this aspect in Edinburgh and wished we had more time in Florence to explore all of the nooks and crannies.
There's certainly an intensity to Italian culture that is reflected in how they do things. We saw so many sharply dressed businessmen and women driving around at high speed on scooters, with 1950s racing style helmets on. It was pretty cool, and there's definitely a foundation for the stereotype of the well dressed Italian, showing up on a scooter. As the social hermits that Kara and I are, it was a little bit jarring to see how sociable and outgoing Italy can be. We like to stay in, and while I would like to think that I cook good food for us, we have functional meals then enjoy our free time in a different way; perhaps with a snack and a little drink of juice. Italian eating habits lend themselves to meeting up at 5 for a little bite or a coffee, then sitting outside talking until midnight. It's a romantic notion, but considering Kara can't drink and I barely drink, as well as being on a deadline and trying to stick to a budget, it was never going to be something we did.
Star Bene, at the northeast end of Viale Spartaco Lavagnini, close to Piazza Della Liberta is now Kara's favourite bakery, hands down. We went here again the next day, and Kara raved about this place all through the holiday. It's not cheap, but everything looks good and the range of food runs to savoury tarts too. (Not that it was enough to sway Kara, of course.)
I feel bad that I wasn't able to get anyone any gifts from Italy. We were both living out of a medium suitcase and we were beginning to appreciate that it was going to cost a lot to see everything we wanted to on this trip. The Italian "pound shop" had some cool little halloween things, but at this point we were still buying bottles of water regularly, just trying to keep hydrated due to the heat and the walking we were doing. My Aunt had told us that there are water fountains dotted throughout most major Italian cities that dispense cold, clean water. Milan had one or two that we found, but it was in Florence that we really started to come across them regularly. We saved a lot of money and time, not having to find bottled water to drink all the time. Many of the fountains are quite plain, with a steady flow, while other look hundreds of years old and are works of art in themselves. A great element of travelling in Italian cities.
The Firenze Duomo (Basilica Santa Maria di Fiore) is gorgeous, as well as old. The sculptures and frescos really are something else. It's a strange feeling to be looking at something and thinking to yourself that not only is this painting beautiful, it's also hundreds of years old. The crypt underneath the church was impressive, housing sarcophagi that put me in mind of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade. I don't think they would have been too happy if I'd started prying off the lid to take a pencil rubbing of the shield of the knight that lay inside. There was even a spooky little alcove that looked like it may have been an ossuary as it contained a skull in a case. Kara was immediately interested of course. The floor of the medieval church that had become the crypt was preserved in parts, with mosaics that were basic but still very nice. Parts of the original architecture were preserved, but it was clear that it was very old. It's nice that the church have chosen to preserve what used to lie in here, as many other sites (especially in Rome) speak of them destroying or misappropriating that which they found "heretical".
Edinburgh is a gorgeous city that I would recommend to anyone to visit, but it comes to life at night in my opinion. It sometimes feels a bit like Gotham city; dark and mysterious. Florence, in contrast, is gorgeous during the day and almost seems lit by fairy-lights at night. There are old street lamps that light up the roads in the older parts of town, with the buildings often being soft pastel shades of ochre. The red rooftops that I ran around on top of as Ezio from the "Assassin's Creed" series of videogames dominated the view from the top of Giotto's Campanile. After climbing 414 steps, Kara and I enjoyed the blustery breeze at the top, as well as the view. It's quite a beautiful old city, with a much prettier skyline than Milan. I was disappointed to see the graffiti at the top, but I guess I should have expected it. We visited the Battistero across the courtyard after coming back down. It had several statues accredited to Donatello. Upon seeing them and knowing that we were going to be visiting the Uffizi later, I resolved to complete my "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" collection by seeing a painting or sculpture by Leonardo, Raphael, Michaelangelo and Donatello. Even if this is a travel blog, it's difficult to keep the nerd factor at bay.
Mercato Centrale is an amazing place. It's like a modern version of an old food market. It's full of lots of little bakeries, restaurants, organic food shops, butchers, fishmongers, bars and greengrocers. There was nothing specifically gluten-free here, just a really nice market. I was somewhat glad that we'd both just eaten, as everything looked amazing.
Hamfisted similes aside, I really did find myself getting bored of seeing pictures of Jesus in his different states. I know, I know, it's from a time where the church paid a lot of very good artists to create artwork for them, while wealthy patrons tried to buy their way into heaven by decorating their homes with christian artwork. It's just quite repetitive, with scenes such as the nativity, crucifiction and the resurrection being depicted time and time again. The Medusa shield is incredible, though. The colours seem so vibrant, despite the age of the piece. It's no doubt abundantly clear that I am not the most reverent when it comes to art, but I did enjoy myself at the Uffizi, especially in the small section of ancient roman artifacts. There was a very cool sarcophagus that depicted the heroic acts of Hercules that was exciting to find.
"Forza Michael" - Day 3: Modena to Florence (via Maranello)
We travel to Florence, via the home of Ferrari.
Journal Entry 00.20 (technically day 4)
Hotel Villa Il Castagno - Firenze
So, I finished the last post with a note on how good the crisps were in Milan. I guess my love of crisps and Kara's boundless enthusiasm for potatoes made it "low hanging fruit". I had intended to continue writing but it all went downhill after the last words in the previous post. The train to Modena was a bit jumpy and the general mood dropped when we saw our room. Kara had warned me that it didn't look great in the photos, but it was cheap. The people were nice, but the room had flaky paint and a generally dingy look. The upshot is that I didn't really get a chance to write last night.
Our walk from Modena Stazione to "Hotel San Geminiano" was somewhat hurried, as it was very dark, with many "youths" around. Last night I found myself wanting to just hail a cab as I am sick of hauling the suitcase behind me. I feel like we are "backpacking" as we are always smelly and unkempt. So we had another "Prima Colazione" where Kara had to sit and watch me eat. No parma ham for me this morning, but I had a nutella filled croissant and all was well. Kara didn't sleep very well, sadly, so we were a bit sluggish on the way out the door. After a power-march through downtown Modena, with Kara in full "tifosi" attire, we arrived at the bus station two minutes too late. Disappointed, we sat down and waited for the next one. During the wait, Kara and I discussed how even the students dress better than us! As well as fashion, we also observed a march, relating to the Gaza bombing/occupation etc.
After an uneventful bus journey, we arrived on the outskirts of "Ferrari-town": Maranello. The heat had begun to climb into the twenties by this point and the weight I was dragging was making me cranky. After a short hunt, we found "De Museo Ferrari". Now, I'm neither a Ferrari fan or a long time F1 fan, but the place is impressive. Everything in the town is Ferrari, from the modern Ferraris parked up, waiting to be test driven to the tarmac itself in the carpark of the museum.
Kara was clearly excited and once again, it was great to see her light up at the sight of the Maranello test track from the bus. The museum was spectacular, showcasing elements of the history of Ferrari in F1, modern F1 telemetry and technology, multi-discipline racing cars and a mix of new and classic Ferrari roadcars. We also took a trip to see the "prancing pony" sculpture but we couldn't approach it without running over motorway. The heat had continued to rise and Kara struggled with it. I sweat a lot, but I can go on. I worry what Roma will do to us both.
I think the highlight of Maranello was seeing Kara in the "hall of victories", next to a range of championship winning F1 cars. 40-50% of them said "Schumacher" on the side. I know the reminders of him upset Kara, but I think pride won out in the end. Ferrari have a pit-board in the museum lobby that says...
"Forza Michael."
After almost missing our bus back to Modena, we returned in time to catch our train to Florence. Still a little "ripe" from a day in the sun, we sat in first class, next to a very nosy woman who just stared at Kara's tattoos. I made the mistake of wearing my jacket on the bus to the hotel. I have never sweated like that outside a sauna, gym or fever. Not fun.
The hotel is not too bad. We have a wet room, which is nice. It's still very warm here, so I hope we will sleep ok. We stepped out for dinner, after preparing the maps for the next couple of days. Florence is all narrow streets and beautiful people, much as I imagined it would be. We found three gluten-free spots for Kara and went out. The "Clubhouse" had no gluten-free pasta or pizza, but Kara had steak and (surprise) potatoes. Despite a slightly better diet today, Kara left 1/4 of the meal to finish. I was happy to oblige.
It's getting late. Time for bed. Buona notte!
So that post covers quite a lot of geographical distance. From Modena to Maranello, then back to Modena again so we could catch our train to Florence. We arrived in Modena late and left early, which made it difficult for me to feed myself, never mind someone with Kara's eating habits. I have absolutely no gluten-free recommendations for Modena I'm afraid. The journal doesn't mention the little cafe where we were able to find Kara her breakfast/lunch, which was right next to the Ferrari museum. I was very relieved when we found out that we could do grilled chicken fillet for Kara, as I knew that she hadn't eaten a proper meal since Cookwindow the day before. I'm fairly certain that at this point, she was running on these Nairns Oaty biscuits that I once jokingly referred to as "Lembas" (one for the Lord of The Rings nerds out there) as she only ever seems to manage one before I'm asked to hold onto the rest of the packet. Funnily enough, despite plenty of hunger on Kara's part, we still came home with a packet of them. Anyway, the cafe is just across the car park from the museum and has lots of cool F1 memorabilia on the walls.
The hotel in Modena wasn't that bad. It was just a very sparse 2 star establishment. The people who worked there were very nice and helpful and the breakfast was something that drove home just how much Italians love to have cake for breakfast. It was on this day that I searched for the meaning of the term "La Dolce Vita" which translates as "The sweetness of live" or "The Good Life." During my trip, it became obvious to me that Italians value their free time in a way that lends itself to eating cake, drinking wine and really perfecting what they like to eat. It also became abundantly clear that they will put Nutella in anything. Kara doesn't like hazelnut, so sadly she was unable to join in, but later on in Florence, we find gluten-free cake that made her make animal noises as she ate it. The night that we actually stayed in Modena was pretty rough for us though, with Kara being very hungry and all but the corner shops being closed. She went to bed early, while I went out into a strange town to look for food. In the little corner shop, I spied bread. It would have to do, but what to put on it? It makes me nauseous to think that I went with "Kraft cheese slices" in the absence of anything resembling sandwich meat or cheese. I couldn't eat it. That's when I reached into my bag to pull out two little sachets of Nutella that Kara had mocked me for taking from our breakfast table that morning. Nutella - breakfast and supper of champions.
Kara gets dressed up in Ferrari gear for most big races, and the cap she's had since she was a very young girl is on for every race, but following her through Modena, she was dressed all in scarlet with her Ferrari tattoo on show. You'd never have guessed she was starving. I am normally being berated for walking too fast, but with the suitcase holding me back, I was trying to stay on Kara's heels as the lure of Maranello must have been calling to her. Missing our bus was a pain, and in the end it gave us some stress as we were very short of time in Maranello, but I am so glad we went. The whole experience was very fun for me, despite the baking sun, heavy case and feeling the after-effects of having tried espresso for the first time that morning. (I'm still not convinced that Coffee is as amazing as people say). I have only started enjoying F1 in the last two years, as I thought it would be nice for us to share one of Kara's hobbies. One of the reasons that she's never left the country is that her family would go to Silverstone for the British GP instead. Having visited her family home in rural Perthshire, I struggle to see why you would want to go anywhere else to relax, mind you. The nerd in me was excited to see the mechanical and technological elements of the Ferrari museum, while I knew that I was also going to visit a place steeped in F1 history. As someone who has been watching F1 for much longer than I have, as well as being a Ferrari fan, I can only guess at how special it was for Kara.
The museum is a showroom of sorts, with a progression from Ferrari's early days, through to the modern era. It contains a theatre that shows many known instances of Ferraris in the movies, and has a somewhat creepy Enzo Ferrari statue, sat in his office. There is a cool little display, showing the evolution of Ferrari's F1 cars in miniature form. There's also many concept and prototype cars that look almost space-age. I don't know which one I liked more, as they were all so beautiful.
The reason we were there was to see the F1 exhibit. The "Hall of Victories". It was spectacular, with a semi-circular dais that displayed several of Ferrari's driver and constructor championship winning cars from the last 15 years or so. Schumacher, Massa, Raikkonen and Barichello all had at least one of their cars there. The back wall was taken up with just some of the silverware the team has won during their time in F1, with a display case below it that had a little section for each of their championship winning drivers. Each driver's picture was there, with their helmet on a little plinth inside the case. There was also a small chamber where visitors could stand inside and select specific F1 car noises from particular periods. It was sort of the opposite of a sensory deprivation tank, being assaulted by the sound of these amazing machines. For those reading who might not be aware of why reminders of Schumacher might be upsetting, he is Kara's sporting hero and almost a year ago he sustained a massive head injury which has meant he hasn't gone in front of the public since. Despite no longer being a Ferrari driver, the "Forza Michael" sign in the lobby is just one way of seeing how deep his connections are to Ferrari. He is beloved by Ferrari fans.
The travelling to Firenze wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad either. The cabins were air conditioned and Italian trains are a fraction of the price of British trains. We travelled from Milan to Rome by train over the course of the trip and spent around £60 for both of us. I don't think £60 will get you a return to Aberdeen these days. Italian trains are pretty good.
Ok, so lastly, the gluten-free section of this post. The Clubhouse (Via Dè Ginori, 6, 50129 Firenze) in Florence might well be my favourite restaurant we visited in the whole trip. It's difficult to judge the gluten-free offering as they were all out of both pizza and pasta when we visited. All I can tell you is that my pizza and Kara's steak were delicious. I would not say I'm a big fan of pizza unless it's done properly, and that means the place must have a log-burning oven. This place not only has a log-burning oven, but it has a specialist pizza chef or "Pizzaiolo" that made me an amazing pizza. It's a bit on the premium side, with all of the little extras costing around €5 or so. We spent around €50 in there on our first night, but I think it would have cost more in the UK to have food of that quality. So yes, I mentioned pizza again. I assure you, it's going to come up before this travel blog is finished.
Next up, our first proper day in Firenze. One of my new favourite places.
"Pizza Hunters" - Day 2: Milan to Modena
The hunt for pizza is on. *Spoilers* We find one! Also, contains some pretty mild bashing of religion. Read at your own discretion.
Journal Entry Day 2: Milan to Modena
08.52 - "Hotel New York" - Milan
Not a great night. It seems that the hotel ran out of pillows to we got slabs of granite. Pretty loud outside too, with the Centrale Stazione right there. Italian driving is something else; they don't hold back on the horn and it's just constant bedlam. Also, pedestrian crossings are more risky over here, as it's more of a "go for it" mentality for both driver and pedestrian. Breakfast was delicioso, but we had to settle for a couple of sweetened peaches for Kara. Here's hoping today's outing goes better.
17.50 - Centrale Stazione - Milan
So we've seen the Dumo and some more of Milano. The Duomo is impressive from the outside and quite lavish on the inside. Many of the features inside are geared towards tourists, but there is a confessional that was in operation during our visit.
As well as still being an active church, there are two embalmed bishops/cardinals that lie in one of the corners of the church itself. There was also the remains of a 16th century saint, interred in a crypt underneath. It was a bit odd; walking past an old glass coffin with a dead guy in it. The whole thing is somewhat tarnished by my views on the Catholic church, as there was the traditional "collection for the poor" while they charge for everything. I understand that it's not free to keep a church in good repair, but it bothers me to see such opulence next to such poverty.
We rode the Milan metro to get into town, after yesterday's fiasco and a bad night's sleep. It was pretty damn toasty, what with Mr Jesus' "no shorts, no shoulders" rule taking effect. Kara and I also went into the Ferrari shop, as it just didn't feel right not to. We both looked at lots of very expensive stuff, as well as quite a lot of utter tat...which was also quite pricey now that I consider it.
Milan seems to be a city under renovation. So many crane arms can be seen in the skyline, while many older buildings are covered with dustsheets and scaffolding. We saw a fair amount of Milan's skyline and despite a few steeples, it's mostly boring office blocks and highrise flats. Even the roof of the Duomo is being fixed and it's easy to see the "new " and "old" bits as they are positioned right next to each other. I think I was most impressed from the street level, looking up at Il Duomo. Every sculpture is exquisitely crafted, the doors themselves being works of art.
After Il Duomo, we headed for "San Bernardino Alle Ossa": an old church with an ossuary in the wings. Kara was beside herself with joy at the sight of what must be 1,000 skulls. There are what looks like arm and leg bones in with them, and they form a macabre but impressive sight. I think Kara was able to move Milan from "not for me" to "OMG!", at least for a little while.
We also were able to find Kara gluten free pizza. Sadly, after yesterday's stomach shrinking food shortage, she wasn't able to finish it. I tried to help, but to no avail. After a wee walk on the grounds of the Castello Sforzesco, we took a train back to Stazione Centrale, where I am writing this. I was in the mood to experiment, so I paid €6 for an "aperitivo". Basically, you buy a drink and get a free buffet. I had some amazing antipasti and reminded myself that I don't like beer. Kara looked folorn and hungry, so I went to pick up some crisps so she could pinch them from my plate. They looked just like kettle chips, but they were these incredible hand made gourmet crisps. There was a moment when we both into into a new batch to discover they were still warm and we just locked eyes and went "mmmm!"
Ok, so I apologise that I am complaining about a bad night's sleep. For the sake of a blog, it's not strictly relevant, but it was very much on my mind at the time. The point about Italian driving being a crazy free-for-all certainly holds true throughout all of the cities we visited. I will mention it in later posts, but Italian drivers are all auditioning to be racecar drivers. This extends to the motorbike and scooter riders who whizz past buses at full speed, often with pillion passengers. It makes crossing the road a potentially terrifying experience. A red or green light doesn't mean quite the same over here. It's more of a "if you're gonna go, go now" or "for the love of God, do not even attempt to cross now" kind of deal. This applies to both driver and pedestrian, so you need to be assertive but cautious when crossing the road. For the first few days, I still had a hard time trying to predict Italian traffic, partly due to them driving on the opposite side to the UK, but also because they have tiny little offshoot roads, and Milan seemed to have places where the road was actually two roads next to each other (as in traffic going left, right, left right if you were looking from one pavement across to the other).
I suppose I should elaborate on my thoughts regarding the Catholic church. As we booked our flights and trains etc, I knew that many of the sites we'd want to visit were owned by the Catholic church. My criticisms were undoubtedly nothing that your average Catholic hasn't heard before and I don't want to upset anyone who's reading this. It boils down to me being a cynic about the goings on behind closed doors. I don't think being a Catholic is bad, and I don't universally condemn religion, but the real-life outcome is brought into sharp focus when you visit a country that still feels very Catholic. While we were visiting, we were able to gleam a little bit of the debate in the news regarding the Catholic church's stance on homosexuality. The outcome didn't seem particularly positive, but I suppose it's good to see that the current Pope (who becomes a much more prominent figure once we get to Rome) is trying to discuss it publicly, giving it acknowledgement. I think my cynicism really came to a head when I saw the juxtaposition of the poverty on the streets of Milan, paired with the Duomo's "poor box" right next to the "restoration of the Duomo" box, while we were charged just to climb some stairs to the roof. It just seemed to coalesce with the stories of priests who drive Ferraris but extoll the virtues of modesty and a simple life to form a picture that gets under my skin. I know it's my choice to go in there, and I know there are good and bad examples for every faith (or atheism for that matter) but looking up at the astonishing Duomo and knowing that I was about to give money to an organisation I neither trust nor support gave me pause for thought.
The shops of Milan are many, but from my point of view, there's only maybe 5 or 6 major themes to the shops. We weren't really interested in any of them, as we were on a pretty tight budget (which we only really appreciated in the last couple of days) and we had little to no space at all in our luggage. It felt like walking around a procedurally generated videogame world, filled with the same storefronts. You have gelato counters, bars/restaurants, super-expensive designer clothes that mostly seem to look like they're for old ladies, slightly less expensive clothes shop that sell leather everything (which is ironic, as all of the people in there looked like they had leather skin), sandwich shops that taunted my girlfriend that just wanted a gluten-free cheese toastie and last of all; shoe shops. The only one of these we were interested in was the gelato counter, and Kara's lactose-free diet meant we were looking out for those that sold sorbet (or "granite" in Italian).
San Bernardino Alle Ossa was incredible. Creepy as hell, mind you, but a real marvel. Italy's churches don't hold back the macabre elements of the faith they teach. From the hundreds of skulls on display in the ossuary to the entombed bodies we saw at the Duomo, it's evident that the death element of Catholicism is not overlooked in the slightest in Italy.
The place we went for lunch in Milan was a restaurant that was a little out of the way called Cookwindow at Amatore Sciesa. Kara was pleasantly surprised with her first taste of Italian gluten-free pizza. It gave us some hope for our future travels.
By the end of this day, we had travelled to Modena as well, but for reasons that will be fairly apparent in the next post, I wasn't able to address them until what was technically day 4. I guess the outcome of our trip to Milan was that we made the best of it, and that if you are eating gluten-free then plan ahead for Milan as the city centre makes no accommodations for coeliacs.
"But I've been places!" - Day 1: Edinburgh To Milan
We fly out to Milan. It's...not the best part of the trip.
Journal EntryDay 1: Edinburgh To Milano
10.36 PM - "Hotel New York" - Milan
A red letter day! Kara's first ever flight and my first time abroad in almost 15 years! Kara was visibly bouncing with excitement as the bus approached the airport. Seeing the planes taking off and landing appeared to be too much for her.
Once we got to the concourse, I was hit in the face with the smell of perfume. I'm guessing that it's the smell of "international air travel." After today, neither Kara nor I smell like perfume! At security, Kara's excitement transformed into anxiety as she was faced with rules that were new and scary, but I guess that after a short while, she was fine. Her shipping job has prepared her for this kinda thing.
Once we were aboard, the excitement returned. I was happy just to watch Kara bounce in her chair. She got the window seat, so she had her face stuck to the glass, watching other planes take off. When it was our turn, it was great to see the grin on her face. I had forgotten how it feels to lift off like that. The flight wasn't too bad and we arrived about twenty minutes early. We went through passport control but to our disappointment, we didn't get our passports stamped. Kinda sad about that one. Kara exclaimed "But I've been places!" Still, we're here in Milan now.
So the bus from Malpensa to Milano was kinda depressing. It's very industrial and modern, with lots of factories. Not particularly pleasant. We found our hotel and it's not too bad. It sort of overlooks Centrale Stazione; where we'll be leaving for Modena tomorrow.
Milan itself is...not great, at least for us. We came to Italy for food, art, history and architecture (and Ferrari, some might say). Today's main "quest" was to feed Kara and Milan was extremely disappointing in that regard. I was reminded of the evening early in our relationship where we traveled over most of Edinburgh to feed Kara. Despite the setting, we didn't have a romantic a time as I hadn't eaten since breakfast and Kara had only eaten junk food. We were eventually saved by a young girl who showed Kara she could have...and I'm not joking here; roast beef and potatoes. This is an improvement on the plan that Kara had originally, which was Burger King fries. Milan is a mother-hubbard for coeliacs.
Personally, I had one goal food-wise in Milan: Panzerotti from "Luini's". I achieved that goal...twice! It's a bit like someone made a pizza croissant then fried it. Bellisimo!
While I'm sure Milan has some great art, (The Last Supper is in Milan) I don't think we're going to see it, sadly. I am a tad worried that we never will, as I have no great compulsion to return. As for "history and architecture", the Duomo in Milan is incredible. It is enormously impressive and beautiful. Sadly, it is under renovation in parts which leaves it with scaffolding all over it. To be honest, this pales in comparison to the huge banners for designer shops and perfumes. It's disappointing to see it on such a wonderful structure.
Another unfortunate aspect of Milan which we will undoubtedly encounter again on our trip; is the con-artists and shysters that prowl around the scenic parts, preying on unsuspecting tourists. The like to sell little bits of coloured string by forcing you to take one, then charging you for it. One of them equated me not wanting to take a bracelet to me "hating Africa". The other told me that Glasgow Celtic is his favourite team. I struggle to believe that.
We're back at the hotel now. Kara is trying to sleep so I guess I should too. It's off to see Il Duomo tomorrow, then perhaps a graveyard or a tomb? (Kara would be a curious, if somewhat squeemish Tomb Raider). After Milan, it's Modena as a little "pit-stop" before Maranello. (See what I did there?)
Signing off for day 1. Perhaps I will dream of Panzerotti!
So that was day 1. Looking back now after the trip, I am a tad disappointed that we had such a bad time in Milan. We only ended up visiting as our cheapest flight landed in Milan and we wanted to do something while we were there. I'm glad we went in the end, Il Duomo was beautiful as were some of the other sights that we glimpsed in Milan. We don't have many pictures from the first day, as we were supremely paranoid (and perhaps justifiably so) of someone snatching an iphone or camera from us. I know it makes us sound like typical sheltered tourists, but I want to stress that the worst and most aggressive con-artists we encountered in Italy were working in the square beside Il Duomo. One of them forced us to engage with him by placing a piece of coloured string on Kara's shoulder, meaning she could either shake it off onto the floor or use her hand to pick it up. Before we knew what was happening, the guy had clipped two onto her wrist and was essentially begging for money. These guys hang around in big groups and it was actually impossible to stand still for more than 30 seconds without being harassed by these "string salesmen" as we took to calling them. Combined with a lacklustre dinner and the feeling that eating in Italy might not be so easy, I wrote this journal piece quite downtrodden.
On the other hand, it was nice to reflect on Kara's first flying experience, as well as encountering someone with enough of a brass-neck to claim that Celtic is his favourite football team while he's standing in the middle of Milan (my limited football knowledge tells me that Milan has good football teams) and expect me to believe him. He was from Senegal, apparently. The other positive from day 1 was Panzerotti. Sweet baby Jebus, that is some good food. I did feel bad eating it, especially as Kara was very hungry and we were both in quite a bad mood by this point. When I found this location, I knew I was going to have to stop to have one. Panzerotti is like a miniature calzone, but the ones I had were made from a buttery dough, like a croissant or an Aberdonian "roll". The usual pizza toppings take up the inside, and they taste amazing. Kara must have hated watching me pull away big strings of mozzarella with every bite. I wolfed them down like a starving man.
Apologies that the first post is a bit of a downer, but I promise, things do get better!