Venice, A Wonderland

On my trip to Europe at the end of 2010, arriving in Venice was just as magical as what people say about it. I don't think anything can prepare you for this amazing city in Italy. There I was, walking alongside the main canal in Venice looking for hotel rooms. We had arrived on a busy Saturday afternoon and most of the hotels were fully booked as Italians go to Venice for weekends with their friends and family and of course there were thousands of tourists just like us. As we expected the hotels were very expensive but luckily we found the Biasin Hotel right on one of the many canals. The owner, a feisty 85 year old, was a very clever business woman but a little bit eccentric. Her hotel was fully booked as well but she offered a partitioned off section of the attic, which we shared with several backpackers. We didn't mind as she had promised us a room across the canal in her other hotel, with actual views over the canal. because we were staying four nights, she gave us quite a good deal, too. In the hotel, most staff were students from around who had come to Venice for study were working here part time. The young receptionist who looked after us was actually from India.

I have to admit that Venice is gorgeous; no traffic, nice shops, great food and ice cream!!!! The Italians make the best ice cream in the world, I reckon. Another thing I have to admit is that, even though it was almost winter, I ate at least one ice cream each day we were in Italy.

Over the four days in Venice, we walked around town and it was like a difficult game of chess with the walkways, bridges and canals making it hard to get back to the hotel - or anywhere else for that matter. But I absolutely loved it. We took so many photos and checked out lots of beautiful shops for Venetian specialties like carnivale masks, they are brilliant!!! I kind of regret that I didn't buy one even though I know it's just another dust-collector. Next time!

We decided to visit Murano Island, famous for its glass, which is about 20 minutes by ferry and it was truly worth the effort. The beautiful scenery from the ferry - seeing Venice from a distance - was another time to say "Am I really here in Venice?". I bought some champagne stoppers and other small souvenirs for my friends and they were pretty cheap and very special. We wandered around this small village for an hour before visiting the other islands of Burano - famous for it's incredible coloured houses and Torcello, a more peaceful and spiritual experience.

Back in Venice, we visited the incredible San Marco Square and cathedral. My friends took a trip to the top of the building while I walked around the square and nearby promenade taking photos of the pigeons and gondolas. There were also people dressed in opera costumes trying to sell tickets - it was a pretty special atmosphere, even though it was cold and raining. On the way back to the hotel, we walked over the Rialto bridge and watched the boat traffic as the skies got dark. We used the city's great vaporetto system to get around as well as walking. Seeing Venice from the water is important, I think.

Four nights in Venice was not enough for me as there is still so many things to see and discover but that means I have a reason to come back.

I still have to pinch myself to believe I've been there.

Amalfi Coast - Pompeii

It's hard to believe that it's 18 months since I was in Italy. Time flies but the memories last. After a couple of days in Bari after our trip from Greece, we journeyed across to Naples and then a little further south to Salerno, where we based ourselves for a few days to explore the Amalfi coast and Pompeii. We hired a car to do our exploring, even though this seemed like a mistake when we realised that the Italians seem to park a lot by touch rather than sight!

Anyway, we set off and stopped at a small town not far from Salerno for our standard Italian breakfast of espresso and pastry for breakfast. My shopping habit started at that first stop! I bought some tea towels and magnets for souvenirs and we headed further along the Amalfi Coast. Even though the road was quite narrow and scary in parts, we had to stop quite a few times to admire the spectacular scenery and take photos. We reached Positano, a gorgeous town built into the mountains falling into the sea. Before we walked down to the beach, we had our picnic lunch in a little park on the side of the road; a lunch bought from the deli in Salerno consisting of cheeses, tuna, olives, some lovely salami and a couple of plump tomatoes. We ate like this a lot in Italy and Greece.

Finally, we walked down the 850 steps to the beach, which even though it was nearing the end of the season, was full of activity. We saw some artists selling their paintings of scenes of the local area, a few now framed on my walls in Hanoi. The restaurants were doing good business too as it was such a beautiful day - we popped into one for a local beer and the complimentary dish of green olives.

We also saw Italian guys playing beach tennis which I think I should import to the beach in my home town - Nha Trang. After a relaxing hour or two, we had to climb up those 850 steps! As the day was getting on, we decided that it was too late to continue along the coast to Sorrento, which was a pity because I remember that place from the famous song 'Back to Sorrento'. On the way back to Salerno, we stopped in at Amalfi township for dinner and to take some photos of one of the most beautiful, old Duomos, the Cathedral of St. Andrew. In that early evening light with all the bells ringing, I really had to pinch myself to make sure it was me in Italy at such an incredible place. We walked up and down the old cobbled streets for a wander; to try and buy the locally produced limoncello and some lemon soap as well. That lemon soap was so nice and I've just this last week finished the final bar. Anyhow, we had dinner in a small restaurant that served some very nice pasta and seafood dishes.

The next day we drove inland to see the famous ruins at Pompeii, spending a good few hours there. In general, we thought the Italians don't seem to maintain their archeological sites as well as the Greeks but Pompeii is such an incredible place because of the size of it and the reminder of the power of nature. While it is not quite as large, this place reminded me of Knossos, Iraklio in Crete - another ruin we visited on our trip to Greece in 2008.

After quite a tiring day walking around the ruins, we returned to Salerno and went to bed...but not before I had another ice cream at the ice cream shop next to the hotel, which I reckon serves the best ice cream in town. Absolutely loved it!!!!

Next destination on that trip was Rome
To be continued

Florence

I have all these posts about my 2010 trip to Greece and Italy that I never posted. This one is about Florence.
Florence is my friend's favorite destination as she's been here before and she know this place quite well. We arrived in the rain late at night by car from Frosinone, further south, and we managed to find a small hotel in a huge old Florentine building near the river. The hotel owner, a lovely guy, told us to park the hire car on the Ponte Amerigo Vespucci, one of bridges over the Arno River. Parking in Italy was a night mare as people park by touch and we were very worried every time if any damage had been caused to our rental car. Anyway, we were fine without any drama and we got some excellent recommendations from hotel owners for food and the best way to reach the famous spots. We had a great meal at a small restaurant called Il Contadino in which the chef comes to tell the menu, which is different every night. We each ordered different dishes in each course so that we could try every thing on the menu that night!!!! It was one our best meals in Italy, and very much thanks to local knowledge.

The next day, we started our day by walking up toward the Ponte De Vecchio, one of the most famous bridges in the world, where gorgeous jewelery is sold. We stopped at the shop just over the bridge on the left hand side for ice cream :) which was my idea, of course. Who else would want ice-cream at 9am?

We split up then, with one of us heading to the museum and the other two to the Duomo, an incredible church in one of the squares in Florence. We walked up to the top of the Duomo to see the whole of Florence view. It was breathtaking. It's a quite a few steps up tothe top but it's really worth it. It was a great experience but not so good if you are claustrophobic or a bit unfit or overweight as the passages are very narrow.

We walked to the area near the Uffizi Gallery, which has a square with some amazing statues, including a copy of the famous Statue of David. There was a Japanese couple celebrating their wedding with an Italian priest, something which is quite popular for Japanese tourists, who spend a fortune on it.

We had lunch inside the main market and I had the best squid ever. We couldn't ask any questions to the owner about the recipe as she couldn't speak English. We need to learn Italian if we come back and can't blame anyone but ourselves. After lunch, we walked to the leather market which is something Florence is famous for. There are thousands of leather products hanging and they are real, not made in China :) Also there were lots of African men trying to sell fake stuff even though there are signs around the market to warn against it. I treated myself to a small bag to put my belongings in and it will always remind me of Florence. I wouldn't say my bag was expensive nor my friends' bags and jackest but I found out in the end, when we returned to Vietnam that our stuff was much cheaper than in Vietnam and we are assured of the quality.
Florence is a magical city but that's it for now.
To be continued

Rome

In Rome, we returned the rental car after at least an hour of driving around lost with nothing but a useless Lonely Planet map. We scouted around central station for a hotel, eventually locating one in an old style building on the fifth floor. We bought hop-on-hop-off bus tickets to visit the famous places around Rome and it was really worth the money. It was a good way to get a first overview of the city before we started the real discovery on foot over the following days. I loved the Victor Emmanuel Monument and kept coming back to it. Even though it's way different and not as ancient as other famous buildings in Rome,it was my favourite. It's a magnet for tourists and difficult to get a good photo.

On our second day, we made our way to the Colosseum. And I had to pinch myself because I couldn't believe I was standing in front of it. The surrounding outside wall looked amazing but unfortunately we couldn't make it to visit inside as the queues were at least 2 hours long and Rome is so much more than one building. Good reason to come back :). So we walked around the Colosseum and I did a silly tourist thing and had my photo taken with the guys in Roman costumes. It was fun but expensive (€15, I think). My friends thought I was crazy but how many chances in your life to do that and look at the photo at the end of the trip, it was a highlight :).

The Trevi Fountain was another highlight and, like everything in Rome, it was packed with tourists, particularly Japanese. We threw coins into the fountain before heading to Piazza Navona, an amazing space filled with fountains and artists and restaurants. When I travel, I like to have things to remember places by so I bought some paintings. We sat down in one of the many restaurants for lunch and watched the artists at work. The statues by people like Bernini are, of course, incredible!

The next day I walked past the Lazio football club and I told myself that it would be a be crazy to miss an opportunity to see a match while in Italy. Luckily for me, five days in Rome coincided with the local derby between Lazio and AC Roma. The match wasn't that tough but the fans and the atmosphere was so great. I've watched football in Vietnam alot but I enjoyed this so much more. My friends aren't that keen on football so they went to visit museums and other places which is fair enough and they had a good day too.

There are so many things to say about Rome. It's impossible to know in only five days. Five months would not be enough!

Bari

We arrived in Bari after an overnight ferry from Igounamitsa. As usual, I got seasick but this time wasn't too bad compared to the last time by 'supercat'. After going through immigration, we took a taxi to find a hotel. This was probably a bad idea as he drove us on the scenic route before deciding to turn around and drop us at a B&B which ended up being only 4 minutes walk from the harbor. Anyway, the B&B was very reasonable and cute, the owner was a young woman who couldn't speak English but it worked out somehow with lots of smiles and gestures. We got a good deal for a one night stay. Her husband took us to the cafe near their house for breakfast. The standard of Italian or western breakfast is very much different compared to Vietnam. We had a simple breakfast of coffee/ juice, croissont and sugary donut but it was very nice. I've never been a big fan of espresso coffee but I decided that in italy I was going to try it. In Bari, I had my first but it was by no means my last!

Bari is a reasonably sized city with a gorgeous old quarter which we discovered and got lost in the whole time we were there. We had arrived on a lazy Sunday morning, so there wasn't much going on except for a terrible trashy market selling crap from China. I suggested that we try some pizza even though it was only 10am. But we were in Italy. We had to eat something Italian to start. In the afternoon, we walked around the central square near the old fish market where people were hanging out to listen to some local bands singing. Amongst the cafes and restaurants,there are also several old beautiful churches. We tried some local fried polenta with salt on the edge of the square and sat down listen to the music. Sitting there for half an hour of so, watching the passing parade was really fun. Later at the old pizza shop, we ordered a volcano pizza, a seafood pizza and a margarita pizza and some beers. Again, it was very nice having pizza in Italy. They weren't the greatest but we were sure there would be more to come.

The hotel owner offered to take us to the train station which was so nice of him. We were taking the morning train to Salerno, gateway to the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. Salerno is a medium city with a spectacular old town and cobblestone boulevards, which we walked along on our first evening. It was lined with many beautiful clothes shops, restaurants and ice-cream shops. The mint chocolate and Baci ice-cream proved to be our favourites that night.

To be continued..