September 23-24, 2019

September 23-24, 2019

Our Italy Adventure has come to an end. One thing we all noticed in northern Italy and especially Milan is how fashion conscious Italians are. It seemed both men and women were competing to be the best dressed. A related phenomena is the selfie. Everyone was posing for pictures to post on social media. I want to know where people today learn to pose professionally.

Now we need to start the long process home. We took the express train to the Milan Airport, just barely dodging a bullet. The train union had a one-day strike yesterday. Unlike France, the Italian unions plan their work stoppages and publish the dates to minimize confusion. Dealing with strikes is an inevitable part of travel in western Europe.

This time we decided to break the exhausting journey home by stopping overnight in Miami. Our 10.5 hour flight path takes us northwest over the French Alps that form the border between France and Italy. They seem impenetrable. This physical separation of cultures is one reason relatively small Europe has so many languages. While it was mostly cloudy, We could see snow-capped Mont Blanc, Europe’s tallest peak, rising above the cloud tops.

The Miami Airport Hotel is super convenient. It is in the terminal, mere feet from the customs exit. With a good night’s sleep, we are up early for our dawn flight back to Tucson, of course with a stop, this time in Atlanta. On our way west, I am amused to see this banded cloud formation. A Meteorology course I recently watched gave me some insight into the cause. These clouds reflect the rippled pattern of the wind flow across the country. It's also the reason we had turbulence as if we were flying over over a washboard.

Once over west Texas the sky cleared and strange repeating landlines drew my attention. Since we are over oil country I presume these are wells of Texas’ Permian Basin. The fracking revolution has multiplied the number of wells needing to be drilled. This new technology has made America energy independent once again.

We land in Tucson before noon happy to be home.

September 22, 2019

September 22, 2019

We are up and out of the hotel early today. Months ago we awoke in the middle of the night to snag popular timed tickets to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s iconic painting of the Last Supper. I especially wanted to see it on this trip as this is the 500th anniversary of his death in 1519.

The painting is in the former dining hall of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. We are early so we first peak inside the church. The limited Last Supper entry is controlled by a number of sliding doors that open and close automatically slowly advancing each wave of visitors. The Last Supper graces one end of a rather large barren rectangular room. The painting is huge and fills the entire wall. We have a long fifteen minutes of observation. Unfortunately Da Vinci used an experimental fresco technique that failed. The painting deteriorated quickly and has been restored several times. Who knows how much of the original painting really exists.

The other end of the dining hall has another mural of the Crucifixion. In adjoining rooms we learn about the damage the convent suffered during WWII. The Last Supper was sandbagged to protect it, but the building took a direct hit destroying it. Little but the two end walls survived.

At a nearby Metro station, we picked up a day pass and took the subway to the Duomo, arriving in time for a Sunday Mass. It is in Italian. With my high school Latin and Altar boy training, I can make out the gist of most of the writing in the missal handout.

After Mass we buy tickets to tour the Cathedral. We start by climbing the tower to the roof. Wow! It is a forest of decorated marble flying buttresses. It is a cool blend of art and ancient engineering and stone masonry. We marvel at the statuary detail that was rarely seen by parishioners. We walk down one side and then up and over the central nave to the other. The second side seems to have newer marble than the first. While the Cathedral was spared during WWII, it didn’t escape unscathed. Industrial Milan was the most heavily bombed of Italian cities.

The return stairs ends in the interior. The Duomo is the fourth largest Christian church; it is cavernous with lots of massive columns. Like the exterior, it is richly decorated with sculpture. Every column near the top is ringed with statues. Like the mall next door, the floor is a beautiful mosaic.

We walked around admiring the perimeter chapels and crypts filled with exquisite statuary. The most interesting is St Bartholomew, the martyr who was skinned alive. While the basic structure of the Duomo is late Gothic, since it took hundreds of years to build, different styles are apparent in the decoration. We also notice support bracing across the columns. This is probably another result of the shaking the Duomo received from WWII bombing.

We accompanied my relatives while they shopped in the Galleria. We exited to the north into La Scala Square where we encountered preparations for a Fashion Week event. Security and Polizia are out in force. Unfortunately one of the events is occurring in Teatro alla Scala so it is not open for tours. La Scala is the most famous opera house in the world. In compensation we stop at nearby Verdi cafe for a drink and lunch to honor this most famous of Italian opera composers.

After lunch we shopped some more. Humorously one of the hottest trends is scuffed tennis shoes. Similar to jeans with knee holes, apparently buyers don't want to go through the tiring practice of active living needed to produce “worn” clothing. When I get home I am going to investigate selling my ‘tennies’ that were scuffed walking the fashionable streets of Milan.

For dinner, we took a trolley west to Porta Ticinese, an ancient gate of Milan. It is also the dock and entry point for the Naviglio Grande Canal that connects Milan with the Po River Valley. With the help of da Vinci and his invention of the modern Miter Gate, this Medieval canal allowed marble quarried in the Alps to be transported here for the Duomo. Today the canal district is a trendy art and dining area. We had our farewell dinner at a restaurant along the Canal. We toasted our Italy Adventures with Prosecco, the Italian version of Champagne.

September 21, 2019

September 21, 2019

Our pocketbook can’t handle a sustained Villa lifestyle so after three days, we pack up and ferry back to Varenna, where we catch the train to Milan. After this mini-vacation we are ready to play tourist again. Checked into our downtown location, we stop next-door at a deli for a not so quick lunch. We then walk the periphery of Milan’s Cathedral or Duomo. This all-marble structure glistens in the sun. Its wide multi-spired facade is unique and filled with sculpture.

St. Ambrose is the patron saint of Milan. That was also our family parish as children, so it is appropriate that my sisters and I visit his Basilica a mile to the west. The present day 11th century Romanesque basilica was built atop St. Ambrose’s original 4th century church. Unfortunately it took a direct hit during WWII, so much of it has been reconstructed. St. Ambrose was a Roman who converted to Christianity and was a leading proponent of the early Roman Catholic Church. For Aimee the highlight was the wedding that started just as we were leaving. We watched the bride walk up the aisle.

We strolled northeast ending up at Sforza Castle. This Renaissance fortification is the largest brick structure I have ever seen. Outside the castle I bought some fresh roasted chestnuts to try. I recently read that prior to the introduction of the blight, the chestnut was the most common tree in the Eastern US and was a major foodstuff of early Americans.

From the fort, we strolled down the pedestrian promenade Via Dante. We stop for a beer break and a heavy dose of people watching. The Milanese must be the most fashionable people I have ever seen.

Revived, we continue our walking tour checking out Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. This 150 year old three-story shopping mall is gorgeous. The four entrances are Triumphal Arches. The ceiling is iron and glass and the floor is a beautiful tile mosaic. Each wing of the mall has a medallion from the capitals of old Italy: Milan, Rome, Florence, and Turin. The bull symbol of Turin is a crowd favorite, especially his private parts. This mecca of Europe’s fashion capital is home to iconic retailers, Gucci, Prada, Versace, and Armani. The crowded mall is named after the first king of Italy.

After resting at the hotel, we head out to a restaurant for another Italian meal. Not surprisingly we are eating lots of pasta. On my first trip to Italy 35 years ago, I was always comparing it to my mother’s spaghetti. Apparently I have a more refined taste now and I appreciate the local cuisine much more.

September 20, 2019

September 20, 2019

Aimee really enjoyed the cooking class we took in Barcelona, so we signed up for the Italian version today. We took the ferry across the lake to Varenna, where a local chef picked us up and took us to his restaurant up the steep cliff-side. There we joined nine others for the class. Not unexpectedly, our first lesson was making pasta. It is simply flour mixed with eggs. It then needs to be kneaded, rolled into sheets, and cut into shape. Contrary to the last class, this was all lecture, no hands on.

The chef then prepared the filling, mixing ricotta cheese, spices, and a little Parmesan. The red sauce was a blend of whole tomatoes, tomato puree, basil, and garlic. After adding a dollop of the filling on each square of pasta, the class got to work folding them into Tortelloni, a twisted dumpling shape.

The chef also made Veal Scallopini and served both dishes to us along with wine. We finished with a shot of Limoncello. We are stuffed by the time we leave.

We spend the next couple hours working off the meal walking down the lakeside promenade of Varenna and then up hill to Piazza San Giorgio. We peek in the three medieval churches facing the square and then window shop back down to the ferry dock.

Back in Bellagio Aimee and I walk south along Bellagio’s promenade running across a confusing artistic memorial to JFK. It was erected only a month ago but is already surrounded by a makeshift barrier to prevent people from climbing on it.

September 19, 2019

September 19, 2019

Our time on Lake Como is really feeling like a vacation after our power tour of Spain and Italy. Aimee and I get up late with no pressing schedule of tourist sites. I spend a lazy morning having coffee on our private terrace while soaking up the scenery. I can see why the rich and famous like having villas on Lake Como!

Mid-morning we gather with my relatives and buy a day pass for the commuter boat that traverses the mid-lake area of Como. We take the next run west getting off at the village of Lenno. There we walk a mile further west to the little promontory that holds Villa Balbionello and buy tour tickets.

We watch part of a film about the last owner of this estate. An avid mountaineer and explorer, he left this property to the National Trust of Italy. We take a guided tour of the interior spaces. It is mostly a museum of his expeditions. Besides being decorated with artwork, there are artifacts from his travels, including the sled used on his trek to the North Pole. He was an avid collector of statuary from places he visited. This included a huge collection of Inuit walrus tusk carvings and funerary figures from indigenous tribes around the world.

The most prominent building is the Loggia, or gallery, with its vine-wrapped colonnade with views in both directions. It is flanked by the library and map rooms. Interestingly he added a couple secret passages ostensibly for protection against Red Brigade terrorists. Aimee thinks they were more likely for late-night trysts.

While the interior spaces were interesting the highlight was walking around the elaborately manicured garden, candelabra trees, and statuary surrounded on three sides by water. It is so unique it has often played the part of a wealthy estate in movies, including Star Wars and Casino Royale. I was hoping to take a photo of me sitting on the lawn as 007. Unfortunately there were signs to stay off the grass.

From Villa Balbionello, we walk into Lenno village peeking in the 11th century church before having a delicious pasta lunch. Less than a mile away is the spot where Mussolini was shot in the waning days of WWII as he tried to flee north from Milan. Back in Bellagio, we window shop before walking to The Point where Lakes Como and Lucca join.

I buy a couple bottles of wine and we pretend to be Villa owners and have a soiree on our hotel room terrace. Ahh! Living "La Dolce Vita". We are in good company as Mark Twain and the composer Franz Liszt once sat in this same spot contemplating the universe.

September 18, 2019

September 18, 2019

Our group is tiring of the steep steps and big crowds of Italy's Cinque Terre so we decide to move on. We pack up and drag our luggage down the 120 steps to street level. We wheel them up the main street to the train station. The pavement covers a river that flows underneath down the center of town. It was once crossed with multiple small bridges giving it the nickname of Little Venice. There are photos on the wall about a flood in 2011 that overflowed this river and devastated the town.

We retrace our journey north along the coast to Genoa and inland to Milan. We liked the wine made from the grapes that grow along the Cinque Terre slopes, so we buy a bottle of white and have a picnic on the ride along with the leftover cheese and crackers from last night. We toast my brother-in-law's grandfather Dominic who may just have once been one of those guys hauling grapes down the steep terraced slopes.

After a couple weeks of power touring, Aimee and I need a vacation, so our group takes a third train north to the Italian Lakes region. These long narrow cliff-lined lakes at the foot of the Alps are inland fjords carved by glaciers during the Ice Ages. We follow Lake Lucca to its intersection with Lake Como at Varenna. There we walk to the dock and take the next ferry across to the town of Bellagio. Our hotel accommodation is just feet from the dock.

After checking in, we have a delicious lunch on the hotel's terrace. Our hunger sated, we stroll the small town, reveling in the crowd-free environment.

September 17, 2019

September 17, 2019

We planned on sleeping in a little this morning. But we are awaken by the several sets of church bells that surround our hotel. We have our coffee and breakfast on the hotel’s terrace perched over the sea cliff. There are so many awesome views in Vernazza, Italy!

We have two more Cinque Terre cities to see so we take the train to the southern end at Riomaggiore. We head to the harbor for the iconic view of this city. We then walk around the city window shopping. Finished we return to the marina and climb to a vantage point on the north end. Nobody is interested in climbing anymore stairs, so we walk back down and take the next ferry north.

We disembark at the fourth city of Manarola. We window shop again and then have a delicious lunch of Lasagna and sauteed vegetables. After lunch, we walk up to the viewpoint on the north side for this city’s classic shot. Unfortunately the overlook bar is not open today. We should have brought a beer to go up here. The trails both ways out of Manarola are closed for repairs, so we punt and return by train to Vernazza.

After a big lunch, we decide to go European for dinner. My brother-in-law and I shop in the local deli for a couple bottles of wine and a hard and soft cheese. We bring it back up to our hotel and have a picnic on one of the several terraces clinging to the sheer eastern cliff facing the Ligurian Sea. So romantico!

September 16, 2019

September 16, 2019

All five towns in the Cinque Terre are little villages tucked into the steep cliffside. They are linked by trails that traverse the National Park surrounding them. This morning we chose to hike north to the town of Monterosso al Mare, the northernmost of the five villages. It is a steep continuous set of stairs. Our thighs and lungs are burning from the workout. It takes two hours to reach Monterosso. In the last half hour downhill we run into a solid line of hikers just starting the trail south. The crowd takes some of the pleasure away. But we are rewarded with a beautiful view of this largest of the five villages. We re-hydrate with a small beer on the beach.

We can take the coastal train back but choose instead to try the commuter ferry. Fifteen minutes later we step off in Vernazza harbor to a horde of tourists. Arrggh! We find an open table at a harbor-side restaurant for a light lunch.

After spending an hour in town and getting gelato for energy, we set off on a second hike south to the third town, Corniglia. This trail was supposed to be easier, but it didn’t feel like it. Maybe because we are in the sun and it is sweaty hot. Plus we didn’t bring enough water. Miraculously at the halfway point we find an oasis that has beer. As a bonus our table has a wonderful view of Corniglia perched atop a promontory.

The last half of the hike is downhill in the shade so it is a pleasure. In Corniglia, I search the backstreets for a view toward the fourth city of Manarola. Corniglia is high atop the cliff so it is not connected to the ferry system. The train station is only a few blocks farther south so we choose to walk to it. What we didn’t realize is that the train is at sea level. The path down has 33 brick switchbacks with 382 steps!

Back in Vernazza, I am in dire need of rest and a shower. But before I can, I have to hike up the cliff north of town so I can get the iconic photo of Vernazza. The light this morning was in the wrong direction. The work of a photographer is never done!

For dinner one of my sisters managed to get a reservation at a cool restaurant perched atop part of the defensive works of Vernazza. All five towns have these watch towers because Muslim Barbary pirates terrorized coastal residents taking them into slavery never to return. We are serenaded with a beautiful sunset from our table. The meal was delicious topped off with an awesome dessert of ice cream with caramelized strawberries.

September 15, 2019

September 15, 2019

Our new travelling group is on the move. We taxi to Milan Central station and board our train west. We hit the coast at Genoa, birthplace of Christopher Columbus who we have run into multiple times this trip. We follow the Ligurian coast south past Portofino to the Cinque Terre (Five Lands).

We transfer to the local coastal Cinque Terre train and get off at the second town of Vernazza. It is a madhouse of tourists walking down the single street of this small village tucked in a gap in the cliff. We check into our hotel and are escorted up more than a hundred stairs to our room. I guess that is the price to pay for a cliff side hotel. We manage to find a restaurant with open seating to enjoy lunch.

Afterwards four of us walk up the cliff south of town looking for a good view. We found a tiny bar/restaurant perched on the ridge. We instantly decided to enjoy the ambiance and bought a bottle of wine and sat for a couple hours. We thought about staying for dinner but found all the tables were already reserved. We got beaten to the punch!

September 14, 2019

September 14, 2019

With our Spanish tour complete, we are up early to grab a taxi to the Barcelona airport. Thirty minutes later we are at the gate. We could have slept in another hour. We board our EasyJet flight to Milano, Italy. These intra-European flights can be surprisingly inexpensive, but the passengers are much noisier than in the US. Partly because we are seated in front of a ‘hen party’. The bride-to-be is dressed as a bright pink flamingo and tasked with some kind of scavenger hunt on the plane.

In Milan, we take the hour long train downtown where we find our next set of travelling companions, two of my sisters and their husbands. They are 'rarin’ to go on a 'Mike tour' so we take the Metro to the train station. We just miss our desired train. We hang out for an hour and take the next train to Bergamo, a hill town northeast of Milan. In Bergamo, we walk to the funicular that carries us up to Citta Alta, the Old Town situated high above the new city.

Citta Alta is a World Heritage site because it is part of the Defensive Works of the Venetian Empire. From the funicular we walk to nearby Porta San Giacomo, one of the fortified gates of the walled Old City. This overlook provides great views of the new city below.

We then walk to the main square, Piazza Vecchia. We stop for gelato and wonder why this town off the beaten path is so crowded with tourists. Surprisingly there are three churches on the plaza right next to each other. As we approach, we meet a new bride and groom leaving the Cathedral. They whisk away in a vintage Porsche. The facades of all three churches are highly decorated but nothing like the interiors. The first is the Colleoni Chapel built as a tomb. The second is the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and the third is the Cathedral or Duomo. The interiors of all three are stunning and in strikingly different styles of Baroque. The richness of the adornments must be a testament to the wealth the Venetian Empire earned from controlling the spice and silk trade coming through the Eastern Mediterranean.

We have nice dinner at a private table in a restaurant in the Old City, and then begin the long process back to Milan. After a funicular and bus, we just miss the next train again. Two hours and a taxi later, we arrive late, back to our Milan accommodations. I fall fast asleep.

September 13, 2019

September 13, 2019

We are up early again and out of our hotel for a visit to Park Guell. All the Gaudi sites are very popular and require pre-purchase of a timed ticket. I can appreciate the limitation of visitation to enhance the experience but it definitely imposes a rigidity on my tourism style. After a late dinner last night, I would have hoped to sleep in this morning. Oh well.

A short metro ride and we catch the Park courtesy bus up this northern hillside of Barcelona, Spain. This public park started life as a Gaudi-designed upscale housing development on a hillside with great views above the city pollution. Unfortunately it was a commercial failure.

Only the park's central core requires a ticket. It consists of a couple community common areas with connecting walkways. Below are two houses with colorful mosaic tile exteriors that look like giant gingerbread houses. The space is very whimsical and would play well in Oz. Leaving the monumental area, we walked around the park walkways checking out the views. It was a nice respite from the gritty big city of Barcelona.

We are ready to tackle the narrow confines of the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. We start at the Cathedral. It is mildly interesting and rather austere compared to other churches. There is an attached cloister that has a flock of large white geese that have commandeered a fountain.

Strolling the narrow winding lanes around the Cathedral, we see a lot of evidence of a long history. We spot several columns from a Roman temple, the remains of a Roman gate and a short section of aqueduct. Nearby we pass medieval buildings. To learn more, we explore the Museum of Barcelona History, An elevator takes us below ground level and back in history 2000 years. There, underneath the street, we find an entire archeological complex. For me the highlight of the ruins are the factories. Aimee and I were amused to run into our second fish salting plant this year. Roman Barcelona (Barcino) was a fish processing center. There are large spherical pots used to make Garum, a fermented fish condiment (the original Worcestershire Sauce!). In another section there are a similar group of pots for making wine.

Going up a layer, we encounter a Visigothic Catholic church constructed atop the Roman ruins. And above that a late Medieval Bishops residence. Everybody built over the previous foundation reusing materials where it was convenient.

The long history was fascinating but tiring. We take a break and eat a grilled cheese sandwich around the corner. Rejuvenated we go up one floor to explore Barcelona’s later history.This exhibition is in medieval Tinell Hall. This large arched space was where Columbus debriefed Isabella after his discovery of America. This section mostly covers how Barcelona grew as a Mediterranean trading port and then faded when trade switched to the Atlantic.

Barcelona must have languished for centuries because there is little Renaissance architecture. The remnants of the medieval walled heart of Barcelona is surprisingly intact. Outside the Gothic Quarter is almost all Art Nouveau construction from the late 19th century when Barcelona became rich again centuries later with industrialization.

We worked our way through the Jewish Quarter west to the Ramblas. We followed it south to Columbus Square. The lower Ramblas is filled with café seating and street performers.

We rested for a couple hours and then had our Farewell dinner with our Spanish travelling companions. It was seafood Paella again. Aimee and I have decided we prefer American style Paella with sausage, chicken, and lots of shrimp.