A Collette Tour

Italian Vistas

September 29 – October 8, 2021

The Set-Up

 The Collette land tour, “Italian Vistas” starts in Rome then visits Sorrento, Florence, Venice, Stresa, and finally, most people fly out of Milan.  Again, a map of the tour might help in visualizing it.

Collette “Italian Vistas” Tour itinerary

The tour had officially started the evening before our arrival into Rome with the “Welcome and get to know each other” dinner the evening of Sept 28.  Because of the “withdrawal” of the preferred Collette tour, we had to join this one a day late.  In addition, the tour group would be leaving the hotel for the day of touring before we could get there from the Wind Surf, even using a private transfer.  I had communicated extensively with the tour manager, Massimo Ragusa, and he was very helpful.  He let the hotel (Hotel Rome Kolb) know we were coming and what the circumstances were and we agreed on a place we could meet up with the tour group.  The main tour that morning was of the Colosseum in Rome and we would join the tour as they exited from the Colosseum.  The hotel was only about a 15-minute walk from the Colosseum so we should be able to get there early and have time to look around some.

Sept 29: Joining the tour and hiking in Rome

We walked from the hotel, past the Circus Maximus (although I didn’t realize what it was at the time), and toward the Colosseum, coming first to the Arch of Constantine, which was impressive itself.

Arch of Constantine

I got the impression that you could study the arch and the meanings of all the carvings and artwork on it for days and not really understand everything about it.  Just beyond the arch was the Colosseum and it was even larger than I had imagined.  I was reminded of our visit to the Grand Canyon: no matter how many photos and videos you may see of it, until you actually see it in person, you cannot truly appreciate the scope of it. 

The first photo I took of the Colosseum

We wandered around the area for a while, sometimes listening to an orchestra on an overlooking plaza, apparently practicing for a concert later in the day.  Of course, we had to get a photo of Susan in front of the Colosseum, just to prove that we were really there.

Susan in front of Colosseum

After about 30 minutes I got a text from Massimo that they were exiting the Colosseum and he would meet us by the arch.  I texted back that we were standing next to a light pole in front of the arch and, not 30 seconds later, there he was.

Christiano, our local guide, and Massimo with the green Collette flag

We met the rest of the tour group and there were 15 of us in total, a relatively small tour group, which was fine with us.  We loaded up into the Collette tour bus and drove around a bit until we stopped and got out in a different area of the city.  We walked around the streets with Christiano pointing out the more famous buildings, including historic buildings, government buildings, and sculptures and monuments.  Massimo, however, pointed out something else that was very interesting, stores offering goodies like pastries, fruits, ice cream (gelato) and other tasty looking treats.

One of the store windows Massimo pointed out

It turned out that Massimo had good reason to focus on such stores: when he is not managing tours, he is a pastry chef in his family bakery. 

One of our longer stops was at the Pantheon, an old Roman temple dedicated to all the pagen gods of ancient Rome.  Built in 125 AD, it is the oldest building in the world that is still in use today and the engineering and technical aspects of the structure is amazing, considering when it was built. 

The Pantheon from the front

We did not go inside (long line for that) but Christiano got us up close to the structure and gave us about a 15-minute talk about the history and some of the amazing structural details, such as the huge unreinforced concrete dome, still the largest in the world, 143 feet across.

Looking at the “front door” of the Pantheon

As we were leaving the Pantheon, Susan and I were rather surprised to hear someone call out “hey, Somerset”.  (For those of you who don’t know, Somerset is the name of the subdivision that we live in.)  That seemed a bit strange but we turned around and there was two of our Somerset neighbors!  He and his wife live about two streets over from us and we usually see Ben while we are taking our morning walk and he stops to talk on his way to work.  Although we had talked numerous times, he didn’t know our names so just used the “hey, Somerset” to get our attention.  We talked for a few minutes, amazed at the odds of seeing someone we know from home, somewhere so far away from there.  After we had said good-by, I realized that I had forgotten to get a photo of the four of us together in front of the Pantheon.

A short walk from the Pantheon we came to a fairly large plaza, the Piazza Navona, with several rather significant sculptures and monuments.

The Piazza Navona

Christiano gave a good description of the significance of the largest sculpture/fountain, the Four Rivers Fountain.  The complete story is a bit long, but the artist’s intent was to represent the four largest rivers of the known world (in 1648) with four men, one on each corner, each of which with some form of flowing water.

The Four Rivers Sculpture/Fountain

One interesting tidbit is that one of the figures in the fountain has his head covered by a cloth representing the fact that the river he represented, the Nile, had not been fully explored and its source was not yet known.

Time for lunch, and of course Massimo knew of a good place.  Throughout the tour, when it was time for a meal that was not included in the tour, Massimo would say something like: “There are several very good places to eat here and you can go to any of them you like.  I like this one over here and am going to eat there, if you want to join me.”  Of course, almost everyone always went where Massimo went and he never steered us wrong.

Massimo, and most of the group, ate on the pink tablecloths.

After lunch, Massimo (actually, Collette) bought everyone some gelato.  It was warm that day and it did taste very good.

At this point the official Collette tour was over for the day.  Massimo explained that anyone who wanted to could accompany Christiano on a short walk back to the bus and then ride back to the hotel to relax the remainder of the day.  Or, anyone who wanted to could accompany Massimo as he just walked around Rome, visiting some of his favorite places.  Since Massimo is not a licensed local guide, he cannot act as a full guide and would not be giving a lot of information, but could point out some sights.  (He had explained this option to me previously in some of our email exchanges.)  Most of the other members of the group were either older or not in very good condition for an extended walk, but I was a little surprised when Susan and I were the only people who elected to accompany Massimo on this walk.  I didn’t realize it at first, but the fact that there were only three of us made it easy for us to look like three people just walking around and not some kind of “improper” tour group.  We ended up having a rather “Grand Tour” that lasted about 2.5 hours and covered a lot of Rome.

A street with many expensive shops and our first stop in the distance

One of the streets we walked had many rather expensive “boutique” stores: the kind that I find interesting to look in the window but don’t even bother going inside.  At the far end of the street was our first significant stop, the “Spanish Steps”.

From the bottom of the Spanish Steps

Of course, we had to climb the steps, although we only went part way, not to the top.  The steps were built in 1725 to link the Bourbon Spanish Embassy and Trinita Dei Monti church, at the top, to the Holy See and Spanish Square at the bottom.

We went a little more than half way up the steps.

Our next major stop was at the Trevi Fountain, probably the most famous and recognized fountain in Rome. 

Our first view of the Trevi Fountain

This is the “three coins in the fountain” fountain and it was drawing quite a few people and coins when we visited.  Shortly after we arrived, we heard a commotion and then some cheering on the right end of the fountain where we noticed a young couple.  Apparently, he had just proposed to her at the base of the fountain and she said “yes”.

The Trevi Fountain

Since Susan and I had already fallen in love and married, we didn’t bother throwing any coins into the fountain.  

This building really isn’t a building in the normal sense, but a monument to a person.

Victor Emmanuel II National Monument

The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (or the Vittoriano) was constructed starting in 1885 to honor the first king of a unified Italy.   Truthfully, at this point, all the buildings, monuments and churches were starting to run together for me.  I think I was getting saturated, but we were not done yet.

We visited one of the beautiful churches in Rome, the Basilica di Santa Maria d’Aracoeli.  It is on the top of a hill and apparently off the normal tourist track and was virtually deserted.

The main part of the Basilica di Santa Maria d’Aracoeli

Just outside the basilica was a pretty square, the Palazzo dei Conservatori with several historic statues and monuments.   The stairs leading down for the plaza were a bit unique and are said to have been designed so that a chariot could be driven up the steps.   The hilltop area also overlooks much of the ancient Roman Forum, which we would explore the next day.

The Roman Forum from close to the basilica

From there we wound our way around a little and arrived at our hotel after about 2.5 hours walking.  We were glad we had taken the hike with Massimo, but we were ready for a rest.  We rested until about 6:00 PM when the tour group was to meet up and walk to a serenaded dinner together.

On the way to dinner, we crossed the Tiber River.

After we had walked for a while, Massimo had to occasionally encourage the others to continue by telling them “just a little further”.  We came to a courtyard with a church (Basilica Santa Cecilia in Trastevere) at the other side and Massimo suggested we take a look.  Normally the church would have been closed at this hour, but the choir was practicing so, if we were quiet, we could take a look.

Interior of the Basilica Santa Cecilia in Trastevere

From the church we walked “just a little further” to arrive at the restaurant.  Here we were one of several groups seated at long dinner tables in a outdoor garden area with a three-man band playing and singing. 

The entertainers were playing and singing at other tables when we arrived.

We ordered our meals from a limited menu and soon the servers brought the first course (salads) and bottle of wine.  I was a bit surprised at the choice of wine, a Merlot, in Italy, as that is not exactly considered a traditional Italian varietal.  As we ate our way through several courses and drank multiple bottles of wine, the band worked over our way and played several Italian “standards”, like this video’s “That’s Amore”.

When we were finished with dinner and it was time to head back to the hotel, Massimo politely suggested that perhaps some of the group might want to get a taxi for the trip back, instead of walking, but no one took that option.  Of course, by the time we did walk back to the hotel a couple of people were quietly grumbling about the long walk.  Susan and I just thought “They should have been with us this afternoon!”

It had turned out to be a rather long day and we slept well that night.

Sept 30: Rome – Colosseum, Palatine Hill, and Forum tour

As mentioned previously, our late arrival from the Wind Surf meant that we missed the group tour of the Colosseum.  This day the Collette itinerary offered either a complete independent day or an option tour to the Vatican and related points of interest.  We had decided we’d rather see the Colosseum and vicinity rather than the Vatican, so I had arranged to join a local tour for the day.  We joined the tour of about 10 people on the far side of the Colosseum from its main entrance.

Good view of the back side of Colosseum

This guide, an interesting young woman, explained much of the history and reasons why the colosseum was built, as she led us around to enter the huge structure.

Inside the Colosseum on ground floor

She described some of the rather ingenious methods of construction that the Romans used in building such a structure, finishing it in 80 AD.  The holes you see in many of the large stones used in the structure were actually there as part of the method they used to lift the heavy blocks into place. 

You can see the many holes in the blocks of stone.

We walked around the base of the Colosseum, looking at the structure and how it was constructed and then got to one of the entrances into the Colosseum arena floor.

The arena exit that the gladiators did not want to use

This was the exit the gladiators did not want to use, because this was the exit that the wounded and dying gladiators were carried out through.   The victorious gladiators marched out the exit gate on the other side of the arena.

We used that gate to enter the arena at the ground level, where all the “action” had taken place. 

Entering the Colosseum arena

From the deck that had been built at the level of the arena, we could also see down into the underground area, which looked a bit like a labyrinth.  This is where a lot of the “magic” of the Colosseum occurred.

The extensive underground network of tunnels and “elevators”

From these tunnels men and animals could be lifted in human powered lifts or elevators to trap doors to the surface of the arena.  Our guide explained just how the mechanisms worked and how they were used but, unfortunately, I could not absorb it all.

Some of the best seats in the house were reserved for the Roman Senators and parts of the seating area have been partially restored.

Senators had seats on the tiered area in the center of the photo.

We left the arena level and went back inside the structure and up to the second level.  There were many exhibits showing how the structure was built and explaining the underground elevators which were each powered by eight men using capstans.

Models of the elevators and how they worked

This level offered some impressive views of the arena floor as well as the underground areas.

We had been on the platform at the arena floor level.

Another view from the other side of the Colosseum

We walked around the circumference of the Colosseum at this second level, looking at the seating areas of the various types of spectators (nobles down low and commoners up high) and where the emperor likely sat.

We will soon be on this walkway to the Roman Forum.

After spending about two hours in the Colosseum, it was time to leave it behind.  Our next area to investigate was the Palatine Hill, where Rome was initially settled and then where the nobles and Emperors lived.

Looking back at the Colosseum from that walkway

Of course, there were multiple monuments and another Victory Arch on the way.  Like the Arch of Constantine, this Arch of Titus represents another Roman victory and the sculptures and figures on the arch have many meanings. 

Arch of Titus

Although it was built in memory of the Jewish-Roman war, it has several Jewish symbols included in the figures.  You can see the obvious Menorah in the panel shown in the photo below.

Note the obvious Jewish Menorah in the panel of the Arch of Titus.

Besides the homes of the noble citizens, there were also governmental buildings, including some where the common people were welcomed to participate in the governing of the city.  Most of the older buildings, such as the homes of the emperors have only a few ruins left, but a few structures are reasonably well preserved.  One such area is the remains of a theater where you can see the stage and even the open area under the stage that was used in some of the plays.

A theater, with the stage to the left

The best-preserved building, the Horti Farnesiani, probably doesn’t really belong there as it was built in the 1500 – 1600s, but it is a beautiful building.

Front of the Horti Farnesiani

The plaza in front of the Horti Farnesiani did look out over our next area to cover, the Roman Forum.  The first large structure you would see is the Basilica of Maxentius with three large arches facing the main road through the Forum.

The Basilica of Maxentius in the Forum

One of the more imposing structures was the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, with six large columns in the front.

The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

There were so many structures and historic sites that you start to lose track of what is what.  I did recognize a couple of structures that we had seen during our walk the day before.

The Temple of Saturn on the left and arch of Septimius Severus on the right

One of the smallest sites was, to me, one of the most telling of the Roman population.  It was the site where Caesar’s body was cremated, mostly by commoners, to prevent it being desecrated by some of the politicians (or so the story goes). 

Site of Caesar’s cremation

By this time, we had been on the tour over four hours, more than 30 minutes more than the schedule.  Our guide had said this was the first Colosseum tour she had given in over a year and I think her excitement enhanced and lengthened the tour significantly.  The tour concluded close to the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina, so we took an exit to street level close by.

The reader will probably not be disappointed to learn that I completely forgot to take any photos for the rest of this day, so you will have to just read along for a while.

After exiting the Roman Forum area, we realized that it was after 1:00 PM and we were a bit hungry.  We were at a fairly busy intersection just outside the forum and we saw a couple of restaurants close by.  We were looking at the posted menu of one of them (Ristorante Pizzeria Imperiale) when a hostess or server encouraged us to enter, so we found a seat under some umbrellas and settled down.  Unfortunately, that server and all the others seemed to forget about us for quite a while.  We were about to get up and leave when a waiter finally stopped by leave us a menu and take our drink order (water and a bottle of wine).  We were not planning to have a big meal and had already had several pizzas on our trip, so we decided on a charcuterie board thinking it would be a light meal.  When the board did come, it was anything but a light meal.  We were amazed at the amount of cheeses and meats with olives and bread.  We ate all we could and still took about a third of it with us to enjoy later.

When we left the restaurant, we looked at the map we had and it appeared that we could just walk around the northwest end of the Forum and get to our hotel very quickly.  We should have known better.  Somehow, we managed to retrace about the last 45 minutes of our walk with Massimo the previous day.  It finally took us almost an hour to get back to the hotel so we relaxed and rested for a while.  That evening we just went downstairs to the restaurant in the hotel and, this time, did have a fairly light meal out in their garden area.

October 1: Rome to Sorrento with a stop at Pompeii

The next morning, we packed and set our luggage out for the porters to pick up, then had breakfast at the hotel.  When everyone was ready, we loaded up the bus and headed out.

Our home for much of the next week, the Collette bus.

Today we would be heading south to Sorrento with a stop for a tour of the Pompeii ruins just outside of Naples.  It seemed to take a long time to get out of Rome, but then, Rome is a pretty large and spread-out city.  All of our bus trips were timed so that we would have some kind of stop every 90 minutes or so to allow for “nature stops”.  This also let anyone who wanted it the time to get something to eat or drink.  Most of the better roads in Italy appeared to be toll roads, so there were quite a few complexes they called “Auto-Grills” that had gas stations, restrooms, restaurants, and some general merchandise.  I noticed at the first Auto-Grill that they had wine on sale for what seemed good prices.  I especially liked the looks of a Barolo for 10 Euros.  Decent Barolos in the US are typically $40 or more, so I decided I had to try it.  When we opened it the next day, it was very good, especially for a roughly $12 bottle of wine.

During World War II, one of the key battles in Italy was the battle of Monte Cassino.  Monte Cassino was an abbey on the top of a ridge line with views of the surrounding countryside.  During the battle, the abbey was largely destroyed, although it has been rebuilt even larger since then.  We passed by the abbey on the way toward Pompeii as Massimo told us the whole story.

The Abbey of Monte Cassino at the top of the ridge

We arrived in the Pompeii area, the bus parked in a bus parking area, and we walked the short distance to the plaza outside the Pompeii entrance.  There were lots of vendors in this plaza selling souvenirs and food.  I was continually surprised at the amount of citrus and other semi-tropical fruits apparently grown in this region.

One of the several fresh fruit vendors

One of our first stops within the Pompeii archaeological park was at a small (or, not so small) Roman style theater.  The center or stage area had a very pretty mosaic floor that had survived almost 2000 years, much of it under volcanic ash.  The theater and mosaic floor may be more visible in this short video clip.

The theater: you can see some of the mosaic floor

As we made our way around the ruins, the description of the buildings and such was interesting and informative, but I continually looked at Mt Vesuvius and wondered about the many people who lived here.

Mt Vesuvius always seemed to be lurking in the distance.

We learned about the multiple fountains that were spread around the town and the bakeries and other stores arranged around the very carefully laid out streets.  Some of the streets had been used so much that they had wagon wheel ruts worn into the stones used to pave the streets.  Some streets were designed to carry off rain water and even featured stepping stones to allow people to cross the street when flooded.  The stepping stones were spaced so as to allow the wagon wheels to pass through them without problems.

One of the larger/wider streets

Although most of the buildings were relatively plain compared to the ones we saw in Herculaneum, there were some structures with ornate frescos and mosaics.

One of the more ornate and better preserved buildings

One “feature” that was pointed out to us that we had also seen in Herculaneum and Rome were the pipes to contain and transfer the running water to the homes and fountains.  The catch is that the pipes were all made of lead.  Today we know what lead contamination of our drinking water can do: there is apparently some debate whether this lead may have had any influence with some of the questionable behavior of some Roman rulers.

{Adult discretion advised} Of course, no visit to Pompeii would be complete without a visit to the assumed “Brothel Of Pompei” with its paintings on the walls that were said to function of a menu of available services for visiting sailors.

A couple of paintings of the services menu

While we were touring Pompeii there was a production crew making some kind video.  The crew did not seem to mind people hanging around and watching, but when they started actually filming a scene, they did not want anyone taking a photo or video of what they were filming.

Some of the people involved in the video crew

We finally got to a large open area like a plaza with several statues and columns which were probably some kind of temple.  If you take a look at this video that shows the whole plaza, note that Mt Vesuvius is lurking in the distance.

Part of the plaza with Mt Vesuvius in the distance

There were some buildings that housed items recovered from the ruins, like clay urns and pottery.  There were also a couple of castings made from the places where people were over taken by the volcanic ash.  The skin and bones of the people were destroyed over time by the volcanic ash so there were hollows formed where the bodies had been.  A plaster material was poured into those hollows to make the forms that we now see that look like people.

One of the plaster forms and some of the recovered pottery

One of the statues in the plaza

After about 90 minutes in the “Antiquarium”, we were probably unable to absorb any more and it was time to leave.  After exiting the park, itself, we stopped for lunch at one of the restaurants in the plaza in front of the park.  And, again, we all ate at the restaurant where Massimo said he was going to eat.  After a nice lunch (pizza, of course) we loaded up on the bus and headed toward Sorrento.

It was another hour to get to Sorrento where we checked into the Hotel Michelangelo and unpacked our stuff.  It was a couple of hours before the group was to meet and head to dinner together, so Susan and I decided to take a little sightseeing walk since we had been unable to do so when were here on our cruise.

Garden and overlook of a waterfront hotel

There were several very nice hotels along the cliff above the waterfront, including a couple with little gardens where we could get a good view of the sea.  Looking back toward Naples the view was very nice, but I was a little surprised to see Mt Vesuvius rising so high above the surrounding terrain.

The view is beautiful and Vesuvius is very imposing.

This evening we were walking to dinner together and, again, Massimo kept saying the restaurant was “just a little bit further”.  Along the way we made a planned stop at a store that featured beautiful inlaid wood products of various kinds.  I liked one piece in particular, a large dining table ($26,000) and a nicely carved eagle ($2500) on top of the table.

This table would be too beautiful to eat off of.

At this point we didn’t know whether our dining table at home would be salvageable from the fire or not, so I told Susan that I was going to tell the store manager that we would buy the table if he threw in the eagle for no cost.  I don’t think Susan liked that idea.  They gave a short demonstration of how they do the intricate inlay work, but I still don’t really understand it.  I just know it was beautiful.

From there we continued on toward the restaurant, passing through a major marketplace area.

Part of the Sorrento Market

One of the major products being sold almost everywhere was Limoncello.   We had seen it previously, but Sorrento seemed to be the home of Limoncello. 

Any kind of Limoncello you could imagine

We eventually made it to Ristorante Parrucchiano Favorita and it was a bit different.  It was a large restaurant with multiple rooms and levels, but it was basically almost like a jungle.  There were plants everywhere and a true “rain forest” environment encircled the dining areas.

This kind of “garden” surrounded much of the dining room.

It was one of the better group dinners we had, with several choices and some good wine.  After dinner we headed back to the hotel and called it a night.

October 2: Sorrento and Isle of Capri

Today the group would be boarding a boat and going to the Isle of Capri, about 10 miles from Sorrento.  We boarded a good size “people ferry” boat and headed toward Capri, enjoying some nice views of Sorrento and the Italian coastline on the way.  We passed in front of a small town a little west of Sorrento, Puolo Beach, and you had to notice the ziz-zag walkway down the cliff to the beach.

A very picturesque view, but the walkway stands out.

It was a pleasant ride to Capri and we entered the harbor where there were other ferries coming and going.

The main area of Capri above the harbor: we would use this ferry for our trip back.

We were scheduled for a boat trip around the island, but had some time to kill before our appointed time, so we wandered around the town and harbor area. 

Small shops and cafés lined the waterfront street.

There were many small row-boats pulled up on the shoreline of the harbor and we found out later that these were the boats that would normally be used to take people to the famous “Blue Grotto”.  The entrance into the Blue Grotto is very small and low, so only small boats can enter and even then, the people have to practically lay down on the bottom of the boats.  Today, the tides and waves made it too dangerous to try to enter the grotto, so all the boats were sitting idle.

The boats were lined up and ready, but could not go to the grotto today.

The time came for our boat ride around the island so we all got on board.  Susan and I claimed seats on the open upper deck, although there was some threat of light rain.

The figure on the rock is a sculpture intended to welcome people to the island.

Our first “stop” on the water tour was at a multi-level cave (really just a couple of indentions into the cliff).  The water was very blue here and the waves were splashing up into the lower cave. 

 

The caves are bigger than they look in this photo.

The captain turned the boat so that the stern was toward the cave and started to back in.  I was a bit surprised at how close he got the boat to the rocks, considering the rather rough water.

You can see the people in the stern of the boat.

A few minutes later we “visited” another similar rock formation.  This time I managed to get a video of the visit to give a better idea of how close the boat was to the rocks and how rough the water was.

We continued around the island, looking at all the cliffs and rocks lining the water.  At the south eastern tip there are three large rock formations jutting out of the water about a hundred yards off the main coastline and one of those large formations had a hole in the middle of it at water level. 

Approaching the rock formations

As we came up to the rocks, I was trying to figure out if our boat could possibly fit through that hole in the rock.  I was very glad to see that the captain agreed with my opinion that we could not fit.  Although we didn’t go through the hole, we did take a very close look at it, as you can see in this video . Notice also how blue the water is in some areas around the base of the rocks.  This brilliant blue effect is what gives the Blue Grotto its name as the blue light from the water bathes the inside of the grotto in bright color.  

We continued around the island, now mainly looking at the very fancy (and very expensive) resorts

One of the larger resorts around the island

There were several places where the water practically glowed that bright blue color.  In one of them, the brightness of the water illuminated the shape of a heart on the back wall.  You were supposed to kiss your spouse while looking at the heart to bring you good luck. 

I don’t need an excuse to kiss Susan!

We cruised slowly past the entrance to the blue Grotto.  Normally there would be rowboats lined up for their turn to enter the grotto, but the entrance was too small and dangerous this day.

The entrance to the Blue Grotto is even smaller than usual.

We continued a few minutes further and reached the harbor again just as some rain clouds threatened the island and those of us exposed on the boat.  Thankfully, we beat the rain into the harbor and shelter.  It never did really rain enough to worry about.

The clouds do look threatening.

Our next scheduled “event” was a ride up the cable car/incline railway up the side of the mountain.  We gathered at the station at the lower end of the railway and awaited our turn, although without much “social distancing”.  We had to wait and watch several trains come and go until our train arrived.

Here comes our train to the top of the mountain.

There was a nice view from the top.  We could see all the harbor and lots of buildings that had been built on the side of the mountain.

Massimo is checking in with our local guide.  I’m looking at the view.

We walked around the part of the town at the top of the hill, checking out all the very expensive shops selling about anything (expensive) that you might want.  Almost all the expensive brands and boutiques were represented.

I’ll give you one guess why I have a photo of this shop.

We walked through the town to a botanical garden situated on the top of the cliffs overlooking the sea. 

Part of the botanical garden

Although the botanical garden was nice, the views of the sea were even more impressive. 

Do the rock formations in the water look familiar?

And in the other direction, another beautiful view.

We looked around for a while and it was time for lunch.  Massimo announced he was going to a small restaurant in the upper part of the town and anyone who wanted to accompany him could come along.  I think we all followed him.  It was a very nice lunch with some good wine.  After lunch we were on our own for a while so after another brief look around, Susan and I headed for the incline railway station to go back down to sea level. 

The plaza by the railway station even included a map of the island.

We had a little problem finding the proper entrance to the top station, but finally found our way and headed back down to the sea-level part of Capri.  We wandered around for a while and picked up a few supplies for supper in a small store.  In part of our wandering, we came across some kind of sailing school or club that had a pretty good fleet of Laser sailboats.

Some of the Lasers at the sailing school/club

If we were going to be around for a while, it would have been fun to take one of these out into the harbor and surrounding area.  Lasers are fun to sail: a bit “twitchy” and very responsive.  If you tip one over, they are very easy to pop back up again and that is a good thing, because you will almost certainly tip one over.  A little later we were sitting on a bench by the harbor and saw five of these lasers sailing out into the bay.

In addition to the many “Blue Grotto row boats” there were a lot of small boats that were very similar also moored in the harbor.

I think these must be fishing boats.

The all had some kind of fan looking device toward the stern, but I think these were fishing boats and these mechanisms were a kind of reel that would pull in the nets or long fishing lines.  The time soon came to get on the large ferry and head back to Sorrento. 

Sorrento harbor from the ferry as we pulled in

Since we had a large meal at lunch, Susan and I decided that this would be a good time to finish off that leftover charcuterie from Rome as well as the cheese and crackers we picked up on Capri and the Barolo wine we got at the Auto Grill.  It all made for a simple yet excellent meal.

October 3: Long bus ride from Sorrento to Florence

We would spend most of this day on the bus as we traveled from Sorrento to Florence.  There would not be a lot of sightseeing stops along the way but there were some nice views.

Sorrento Bay as we are leaving: does this look a little familiar?

Most of us spent quite a bit of time reading or looking out the window.  I also occasionally double-checked our location and route by using Google Maps on my phone.  (I had downloaded the maps before leaving home to avoid extra data charges.)

Yes, we are on the correct road as we pass to the east of Rome.

There were several hilltop towns, some still with high defensive walls, that were obviously built there to make any kind of attack more difficult.

One hilltop town as we drove past.

We arrived just outside of Florence about 3:30, allowing us enough time to visit a park overlooking the city before our next appointment.  This park is known for the views of Florence and an “enlarged” copy of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David.  The views were very good and, looking back now, I can identify several landmarks in the photographs where we walked while touring the next day.

Multiple landmarks are included in this view.

While the enlarged statue of David was impressive, much of the effect was lost because it was undergoing a major renovation and had scaffolding and other equipment all around it.

David: what it looks like now and what it should look like when completed.

But now it was time to go see the “real David”.  We had an appointment at “The Academy” where Michelangelo’s David is displayed and protected.  There was some road construction that caused us to run a bit late, and then some confusion about the tickets we had, so we had to wait in line a little while.

Waiting in line outside the Academy

When we got inside, I wasn’t sure just how they would have such a famous sculpture displayed: perhaps behind a protective glass case?  But there it was, in the open, surrounded by many other works of art, mostly sculptures from the same timeframe as David.

Approaching Michelangelo’s David with many other pieces around.

There is really not much to say about this artwork, so I’ll just put in a few photos and let them speak for themselves.

David

 

A plaster cast “prototype” and the final product

Men, women, and children subjects seemed to be treated equally.

There was also an antique musical instrument part of the museum, as well as many paintings.

We left the Academy Museum and headed to our hotel on the bus. After a little time for a rest, we all joined up and walked down the street to a restaurant.  Either the meal was not memorable, or I drank too much wine, as I really have no memory of that meal.  Perhaps everything is starting to run together.  After dinner Massimo said he was going to take a walk around town and anyone who wanted to, could follow him.  We walked around with frequent stops to look at the sights for probably about 90 minutes and got a preview of many of the sights we would see in daylight the next day.  (Of course, I didn’t bring my camera with me on this walk.)  All of the large churches and buildings were impressive, but one of the most interesting stops that night was on the “Old Bridge”.  Somewhat like the Rialto bridge in Venice, the Old Bridge has lots of shops and vendors as well as some open spaces for meetings and concerts.  On this evening, there was a true Rock & Roll concert in progress: open air, on the bridge, no charge.  The band was good and there were lots of people dancing and keeping time to the music.  The thing that I thought strange is that it was all American hit songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s, all sung in English and the band was very good at sounding like the original recordings.  But, all American/English songs, here in Florence, Italy?  Really?

October 4: In Florence

The next morning, we, as usual, had breakfast in the hotel restaurant.  But, in this case, the restaurant had a very nice and commanding view of much of the Florence skyline.  We could see many of the sights we would visit this day, although we did not know about them yet.

One view out the restaurant windows

After breakfast, out group met with Massimo and out local guide for a couple of hours of touring through Florence.  Our first stop, and probably the largest “sight” in the city was the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in the Piazza del Duomo, commonly referred to as just “The Duomo”.  

The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore:  Large and imposing, but “pretty”?

It is a large cathedral with a domed section and a tall bell tower.  It was covered with sculptures and carvings of all types and everything was done in a kind of white marble.  Oh, it was HUGE.

The front of the Cathedral

About a 5 minute walk from “the Duomo”, the Piazza Della Repubblica is one of the most important squares in Florence can be entered via an arch.

A major arch at the Piazza Della Repubblica

Another close-by monument is much more recent. In 1993 five people were killed in an attack by the “Italian Mafia” in Florence.  An Olive tree was initially planted on the site of the attack, but more recently the living tree was replaced by a bronze memorial in the shape of an olive tree and its roots.

A fitting memorial at the site of a deadly attack

From there we went to the riverside where we got a good view of the “old Bridge” over the Arno river that we had visited the night before.  Bridges on this site were built and washed away several times and the current version was initially built in 1345 but modified several times since.

The “old Bridge” over the Arno river

Close by, the Uffizi Gallery was built between 1560 and 1580 and contains one of the largest collections of ancient sculptures and paintings in the world.  It is the most visited museum in Italy.  That is what the literature says, but we saw very few people around it, especially compared to the The Academy where Michelangelo’s David is displayed.

A truck was unloading more artwork to display in the Uffizi.

Our next stop was the Piazza della Signoria, where many sculptures, both original and copies, are displayed.  In addition to the copy of David, there were numerous other sculptures.

Some sculptures were protected within arched roofs.

Other sculptures were out in the open.

After a several more stops, Massimo led the group to a gold shop for a tour and opportunity to purchase a few gold souvenirs.  There were some very pretty items, like the gold bracelets that had a spring-like effect that acted almost like an expansion bracelet.

Some of the gold items

This was to be the final stop on our “official” tour, so Susan and I left the rest of the group in the gold store and headed out on our own.  We made our way back to the river and crossed the first bridge upriver from the Old Bridge.  We did notice one “fisherman” as we crossed the bridge.

We did not see this “fisherman” catch anything, but he seemed very patient.

We stopped at a street café for lunch (sandwiches and coffee) and then visited a food store for a couple of items, like wine, cheese, and bread.  The food store was interesting in that there was a very small storefront, but the interior of the store wound around and enlarged until it was really pretty good size.  You had to wind your way through the store, almost like a maze, to reach the cash registers and the exit.

We returned via the Old Bridge where we had enjoyed the rock concert the night before.

The band had been set up in this empty space on the bridge.

We wandered around a little more and headed back to the hotel where we continued our explorations.  The top floor was an open area with a garden and several additional levels going further up.  It offered both a good view and an opportunity for photos.

Susan, with the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore behind her

By now it was getting to be mid-late afternoon but we decided that we still had time for some more exploring.  Massimo had mentioned that a large cathedral close to our hotel might be an interesting place to visit, and that turned out to be an understatement.  We actually found two interesting places, the Basilica Santa Maria Novella and the very pleasant plaza in front of it.  We checked out the plaza a bit and then entered the basilica to look around.  It turns out that this basilica was the first great Basilica in Florence and it was much grander than we had imagined.

The front of the Basilica Santa Maria Novella

The front was nice, but the inside was really impressive, not just for the artwork and its size, but also for the extent of the surrounding buildings and grounds.

First view of the interior of the basilica: impressive

There were statues, large paintings, and many frescos decorating every wall and many ceilings.  There were extensive frescos on all the walls surrounding the alter area and even on the ceiling.

Just a part of the artwork surrounding the alter

Besides the main building, there are several other important chapels and multiple buildings and courtyards: it is really a very large complex with surprising artwork almost everywhere you look.

Even the “hallways” were impressive.

We could have spent much longer exploring the complex, but we were hearing announcements about the coming closing time so we headed back to the plaza (Piazza Santa Maria Novella).  After a quick look, we decided that this would make a good place for a picnic dinner.  We made a quick trip back to our hotel to gather up the goodies we had purchased earlier and returned to the plaza to eat.  We had a very nice simple picnic of wine, cheese, fruit and bread while sitting in the middle of a beautiful plaza with a historic basilica behind us.

Susan enjoying our picnic dinner

After returning to our hotel, we went up to the bar area on the open area part of the rooftop to perhaps have a final glass of wine.  Surprise…  Most of the rest of our tour group had also thought of the idea and had a head start.  We enjoyed some wine with them for a while and watched the darkness settle over Florence.

 

October 5: Florence to Venice via Pisa and a winery

Florence was wet with a chilly drizzle as we loaded into the bus for our next ride.  Although we would end up in Venice at the end of the day, we started off in the opposite direction, heading toward Pisa and the famous leaning tower.

Thankfully, the weather cleared the further west we went and as we watched numerous plant nurseries, vineyards, and agricultural crops pass by the bus windows. This is obviously a very productive area.  When we arrived at the area of the leaning tower, we had to transfer from the bus to a small road-train for the final mile to the plaza where the tower and related building are located.  I did not realize there were several other major structures in the same complex as the tower. 

Entering the Piazza del Duomo with multiple structures

Susan and I were going to walk the wall around the area but, apparently because of COVID considerations, that was only allowed on Saturdays and this was a Tuesday, so we just explored the area at the ground level.

The Battistero di San Giovanni seemed a bit lonely by itself.

The largest building was the Cathedral di Pisa in the middle of the Piazza.

The cathedral with the tower next to it

Of course, we had to get the standard and rather silly photo of the tower.

Susan saves the tower from falling over.

The tilt of the tower was even more evident when you looked closely at the base of the structure.  Just looking at the foundations made me wonder just why it had not fallen on over.

I thought this was especially dramatic.

It seems that whenever there is a major religious or historical site, there will also be a number of lesser, but still interesting buildings close by, so Susan and I wandered around and explored a bit. 

One of the interesting buildings close to the tower

After an hour or so of looking around, we reboarded the little train back to the bus, then onto the bus for a fairly short ride to Lucca where we would visit a winery.

Not very large or impressive, but definitely friendly

The Tenure di Badia winery is definitely a true family winery.  Most of the tour was led by the son, probably because he was the most comfortable speaking in English, but both his mother and father were also there. 

After a nice tour of the winery, we went inside to their dining room for a tasting of their wines, served along with lunch. 

The son discusses one of their wines prior to lunch.

After tasting several wines, they served us a very nice lunch of the local cheeses, meats, breads and, of course, olives.  The mother had made much of the meal and it was delicious.  Between the good food and some free-flowing wine, everyone was definitely enjoying the day and feeling good by the time we left the winery.

Our group at lunch, with Massimo in the background

The winery is a bit small to he able to export wine to the US, but they can ship wine that is ordered at the winery, so we ordered enough bottles of wine and olive oil to make up a case quantity.  (It arrived in Marietta about 6 weeks later, as promised, and we have enjoyed a couple of bottles.)

The son and his mother were very friendly and gracious.

Then, back into the bus and a fairly long ride to Venice.  It was a little over three hours to get to Venice and it was starting to get dark as we arrived.  Since the bus could not get close to our hotel, we pulled up to one of the docks in the main port area and we got out on the dock to await our water taxi transfer.  I soon realized that we were very close, the next dock over, from where we had more or less started our journey by boarding the Wind Surf.

The sun had set and full night was just around the corner.

In the photo above, the building in the distance is where we had our COVID test prior to boarding the Wind Surf.  In a little while, the chartered water taxi showed up and we all climbed aboard for what turned out to be a rather short trip.  We got out of water taxi at a dock where we would take a 10 minute walk to our hotel. 

Night had fully come by the time we got off the water taxi.

There was no organized dinner this evening, so once we were settled into the hotel, Susan and I wandered down the street looking for a simple place to eat.  I should have known better; we soon ended up at a nice restaurant and the hostess seated us at a table for two right next to and overlooking the Grand Canal.  Of course, I had not brought my camera with me.

October 6: All around Venice

The next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and then had some time before our next group activity was scheduled, so Susan and I wandered around the immediate area a little.  There was a bridge over the Grand Canal close by that provided interesting photos and views.

The Ponte degli Scalzi bridge over the Grand Canal

One thing that struck me is how the nature of the boat traffic on the canal changed over the course of the day.  In the morning, it was about exclusively the large “water busses” and lots of work boats, many probably carrying supplies to the hotels and restaurants much as trucks would in a normal city.

The work boats are busy in the morning.

Our first activity of the day was to take a nice boat ride to Murano Island, famous for its beautiful glass products.  One story says that the glass factories used to be in Venice but they caused too many fires and were forced to relocate to an island where they could not cause problems.

The glass factory we would be visiting.

There was a little viewing area where we could all watch as the glass blower demonstrated his trade by creating a couple of works of art.  I really have no idea just how he created some of the effects in the glass, but it was amazing.

This glass vase had many different colors in it…  How?

Then the glass worker took a blob of molten glass and, before our eyes, created a glass horse.  It was really amazing to see what he could do.  I won’t attempt to describe it, but you can watch it in this video.

This was the finished product.

Of course, after the demonstration, we were taken to the showroom and invited to purchase any of the items on display.

This was only one room of probably 6 or 7 rooms full of beautiful glass.

 

A closer view of some of the beautiful items

Several people in our group apparently did make significant purchases, to be shipped back to their homes.  Susan did pick out a couple of jewelry pieces.

After the glass tour, we took the boat back toward Venice and it dropped us off at a dock probably 100 yards from St Mark’s Square, where we met a woman who would be our local guide for the next two hours or so.  She took us on the “back streets” of Venice, pointing out buildings of interest and providing a bit more about the history of Venice and how it came about.

One of the stops along the walking tour

The weather had been threatening much of the morning and we did have to briefly resort to taking shelter under a awning along a small canal for about 15 minutes.

It didn’t rain hard, just enough to make us seek shelter.

We found out that young people (under 21) were limited as to what kind of boats they could drive.  They were limited to relatively slow boats of less than 25 horsepower to avoid “hot rodding” through the canals.

“Street parking” of a mixture of slow and fast boats

Can you imagine the issues of teenagers going on a date and taking the “family boat”? 

This morning was expected to have a rather high tide, and it was already becoming visible in some of the areas as the water in the canals seemed to be higher than normal.

This boat garage looked more flooded than it should be.

We eventually ended up coming back around to the waterfront area, close to Doge’s Palace which Susan and I had passed by several times before.

The water on the ground was not necessarily from the earlier rain.

The tidal water was almost flooding the walkway at Doge’s Palace.

We also got the proper story about the name of the bridge called “The Bridge of Sighs”.  Contrary to what it sounds like, it is not a romantic name. 

Prisoner’s sentenced to death “sighed” as they crossed the bridge to where they would be executed.

The sea water was now lapping at the pavements along the edges of the seawalls.  Any little wave would splash water onto the walkways.  You can see the effect of the bow wake from a passing boat in this video.

Crews were busy putting together the elevated walkways so people could walk from one side of St Marks Square to the other because the sea water had come into the square.

Water and elevated walkways in front of St Marks’s Basilica

The water was not deep yet, but the tide was still coming in.

After saying good bye to our local guide, most of our group once again followed Massimo to a restaurant he preferred.  It was very busy and a bit crowded, but the food was good and the price reasonable.  After lunch, we had free time until some of us had signed up for a serenaded gondola ride that was to happen at 3:00.  By the time we had finished lunch, the tide had receded slightly and the square was not quite as deep in seawater as previously.

At 3:00 we joined up with others from our group for our gondola ride.  I had assumed that it would be a basic gondola ride with our gondolier singing as he propelled us through the canals, but no…..

There were eight of us for the gondola ride.  We were divided up into two gondolas with three of us (Susan, Wanda, and myself) on one gondola, and 5 others on the other gondola.  Then the “musicians”, an accordion player and a singer, boarded our gondola.  As our gondolier started us on our ride, the accordion played playing as we passed other gondolas parked along the canal.  The other five tour members boarded another gondola.

The other gondola with five tour members

We didn’t think much about this until the singer opened his mouth and sang… wow!  We were immediately mesmerized.   If you know the song “The Piano Man”by Billy Joel, you may remember one line in the song: “Man, what are you doing here?”.  That was the immediate thought I had about this young singer.  He really belonged somewhere else.  Make no mistake, the accordion player was excellent and you could tell they had practiced together, but the singer was the star.  If you don’t watch any other video on this report, you have to listen to this guy sing Volare.  Note the people on other boats and on the bridges as we passed by: he got a lot of attention.

We had a chance to talk to the singer at the end of the gondola ride (he spoke excellent English).  It turns out that he is going to a music school in Venice to learn to sing opera and this was not surprising, other than he did not seem to need much more “schooling”.  What was surprising was where he is from….  Costa Rica, of all places.  In addition to his singing talents, his native language is Spanish, he sang in Italian as though a native, and spoke English very well, and he is a very pleasant young man to speak to also.  Needless to say, we were impressed.  I put the video up on YouTube with the title Future opera star serenades gondola passengers in Venice”. 

After the gondola ride and serenade, some of us took another “walk around town with Massimo”.  As before, he led us around to many of the sights of Venice, discretely showing us some of the “out of the way” places and things to see.  We crossed the Grand Canal a time or two (I may have been slightly “disoriented”) and explored the area around the former “Customs” building.

Looking along the “Grand Canal at the “Customs House”

About this time, we were starting to watch the clouds and the weather as it was not looking very friendly.

Stormy Weather!

We did get to the “factory” where all gondolas were made.  Each one is essentially identical, with only very slight changes for the individual gondolier. 

All the gondolas are produced at this small “factory”.

We walked around the Customs House and by this time the wind was blowing at least 25 MPH so it was chilly and the water was very choppy

Looking toward St Mark’s Square from the Customs house

We decided we should call it a day before the apparent storm hit, so we boarded a ‘water bus” back to the area of the hotel.  Susan and I found a small food store where we bought a couple of staples and then had a picnic in our room.  Afterwards, the storm had cleared out and we could take a walk around the area. 

Venice can be very pretty at night.

October 7: Venice to Verona to Stresa

After checking  out of the hotel, we retraced our steps of two days prior, boarded the water taxi and rode back to the dock where the bus was waiting for us.

From the water taxi on the Grand Canal

From Venice we traveled east to the city of Verona where we would find some interesting buildings and other history.  The bus dropped us off a little outside the central part of the town and we walked over a bridge and then along the old city walls.

The city walls seemed to be in pretty good condition.

A little further on, close to the center of the city, we came to the roman style arena.  This looked like a small version of the Rome Colosseum and it is actually used today for various productions.

The Verona arena, a very Roman looking structure.

The city hall, other official buildings and a small but nice park is also in this part of town.  Walking down a fairly busy street, we came to the market in the middle of town.

A well organized and interesting market in the town square

A short distance from the market we went into a small square where there was a bronze sculpture that represented Shakespeare’s Juliet.  There is a balcony just above the statue that is supposed to represent the balcony where the famous Romeo & Juliet exchange took place.  By coincidence, I believe, there was a young woman up on the balcony at the time.  I had to wonder if her name might be Juliet.

Is that Juliet on the balcony, or only below?

Dante spent seven years in Verona and wrote some of his most famous work there while he was exiled from Florence.  Naturally, there has to be a statue of Dante!

Dante seems to be taking on a “Thinker” pose.

Like several other Italian cities, Verona has a good-sized river flowing through the middle of it and it was flowing pretty good the day we were there.  We noticed a couple of large buildings with well kept gardens across the river and on the top of a hill. 

One of the large buildings and gardens along the river

After walking part of the city, Messimo left us on our own for lunch and several of us settled on what turned out top be an excellent choice on the edge of the market square.  Although much of the old Roman structures were gone, one section of a ancient Roman wall is maintained between two more modern buildings.

An ancient Roman wall in the middle of the city

The group met up with Massimo in front of the city hall and then walked back to the bus parking area.  We loaded up onto the bus and headed for Stresa, about two hours away.  There was some very nice scenery along the way, although I did have to get the photos through the bus windows.

Fields of fruit trees and vineyards

As we approached Stresa, we got occasional views of Lake Maggiore.

Lake Maggiore from the highway well above the lake

In Stresa we had the option to upgrade to an (extra cost) room with a view of the lake and I had selected that: it was a good idea.  We had a beautiful view of the lake as well as a better than average room.

One of the views from our room and balcony.

After unpacking, Susan and I took a walk along the lakefront to stretch our legs and limber up a bit.

Our hotel: Our room was on the fourth floor in just about the middle.

There were several statues and monuments along the waterfront, including one in memory of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the US.  The sun was setting as we walked and we got some nice colors in the sky that evening.

“Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” promised a good day tomorrow.

That evening, we enjoyed a nice dinner in the grand dining room of the hotel.  It was nice, but as with most group dinners, the food was somewhat bland and unexciting. 

Our table at dinner: a nice group

Oct 8: Stresa, Italy

Our first mission the next morning was to get our required COVID test to enable our return to the USA.  Massimo had found a pharmacy close to the hotel that gave the tests and we had a 9:00 appointment.  We got there a little early, waited a few minutes until they had the little tent set up and invited us in.  The results of the test should be ready in 15 minutes and they would even provide a printed copy if we would like.  Yes, we would like!  Requirements like the test always make you a bit anxious, but they always seem to go well.

Our main group activity this morning was a boat ride the short distance (2 miles?) to the island of the Borromeo Palace and a guided tour.  On the way to the island, we took a little detour to take us by another, smaller, island, Isola Madre which is known for its unusual mix of trees and plants for this area.

Plants and trees you would normally see much further south

 It was created as a private garden but is now a public botanical garden.  I was amazed that there were citrus trees growing happily this far north in Italy.  Apparently, being on an island keeps the winter temperature high enough for the cold sensitive plants to survive.  After all, there was snow on the mountains not far away in early October!

Snow capped mountains not far away.

On the way to the Borromeo Palace, we passed by Fisherman’s Island, so named because fishermen used to live on this island to keep them closer to the fishing grounds (and to keep the fishy smell away from the land-dwellers).

Fisherman’s Island has grown a bit.

We would return to the Fisherman’s Island for our dinner this evening, but now, on to the Borromeo Palace.  It was indeed a “palace”.  The building and the whole island was intended to impress the guests with how rich the owner was. 

The grand entry was indeed impressive.

We went through several entry rooms, each seemingly more ornate than the prior ones. 

Not especially impressive, I just like this photo.

There were several rooms where the walls were covered with large and small paintings and other artwork.

This was only one room of several like it.

This part of the house/palace could put many art museums to shame.   Wherever you looked, there was some form of artwork or intricate finishes.  One guest room was almost in the middle of the “art gallery”.  I believe the one below is the one that Napoleon is said to have stayed in when he visited the palace.  I understand the visit was not a “friendly” or social call.

A guest bedroom at the Borromeo Palace.  (Napoleon’s?)

I did not count how many place settings were set at the main dining table, but quite a few.  Susan said that the dishes on the table actually could have used a dusting or washing.

Main dining room in Borromeo Palace.

The palace was initially built as a “summer home” for the Borromeo family to escape the heat of southern Italy.  The Boromeo family still owns the palace and several other islands on the lake.  Part of the family actually reside in the palace on the upper floors where visitors are not allowed to go.

One room which was primarily intended to impress the visitor

Most of the floors were various kinds and designs of inlaid marble, sourced from many different countries to get the different colors.

One of the ornate inlaid marble floors

There were many “one-of-a-kind” pieces of art spread around the palace: some of them must have required multiple years for the artisan to create.

This not a painting but a wood inlaid table top with many kinds of wood.

For days when the weather kept the residents inside, there were various entertainments, such as several dioramas that were used for puppet shows.

Look closely and you can see some puppet strings.

 The lake is subject to seasonal flooding so the palace was built with the bottom floor, the basement, made out of water proof materials like concrete with embedded sea shells, rocks, and volcanic stones.

Part of the “water proof” basement

They didn’t try to keep the water out, they just made sure there was nothing on that floor that the water would harm.

Connecting the main palace to the extensive garden was a large hall with painted tapestries along one wall with jungle scenes as accurate the artists could draw them (not very).

The hall connecting the palace to the gardens.

The artists painting these scenes had never actually seen the wild animals they depicted and, of course, this was long before photography, so most of the paintings include some animals that never existed.

One of the more “inventive” jungle scenes

Outside the palace, the grounds and gardens were worthwhile by themselves for a trip to the island.  There were Peacocks wandering around, many species of plants that were brought form distant places, and many flowers.

The main plaza or square of the garden

Looking back over the plaza from above the structure

From the high points of the garden, there were wonderful views of the lake in all directions.

Looking across the garden and over the lake

There was even an aviary with colorful large parakeets.  One section was set up and maintained as a more formal garden with perfectly trimmed hedges and colorful flowers.

The formal garden, with some lemon trees.

After a good tour of the garden, we found the exit and it led us through a small market area set up there to catch the tourists as they leave.

Lots of color in the little market

We made our way through the market and onto the boat which took all of us back to Stresa.  It was now time for lunch and once again, we followed Massimo to his favored restaurant. 

Somehow, pasta and pizzas never got old.  Our table at lunch

There were no planned activities until around 5:00, so Susan and I walked around “downtown” Stresa for a while, then took a walk south along the lakefront.  Like most Italian towns, there was a market area and many open stalls selling some things that I did not recognize.

Downtown Stresa with a market square, restaurants, and retail stalls

The walk along the lake was interesting: we saw a number of remnants of buildings and monuments that we had no idea what they were supposed to represent.

 

Some pillars/columns overlooking Lake Maggiore

We even found a miniature golf course squeezed between the road and lake.  It appeared to be very under-utilized.

About 5:30 we met and walked to a local wine shop for a “wine tasting”.  Well, it was more of a sales pitch for the shops wine and accompaniments, but we did get to tase a little wine and a little sample of their snacks.  We were actually joining another Collette tour group at the wine shop, so it was a bit crowded.

Waiting for the tasting to begin

I knew that Barolo wine is supposed to be the wine of the Italian wealthy and, in this shop, I found proof of that.  Remember that a few days ago I paid 10 Euro for a bottle of Barolo, then check the prices on the shelf in the photo below.

The prices are in Euros and are per bottle.

Several Barolos from other wineries had similar prices.  I later checked prices for these Barolos at online wine merchants and the posted (shelf) prices were right on the mark.

After the tasting we headed to the boat that would take us to Fisherman’s Island and a final group dinner.

Approaching Fisherman’s Island at dusk

We all sat down to enjoy a “Farewell Dinner” and this relatively simple restaurant served probably the tastiest of the group dinners we had on the tour.  I had turned into sort of the “unofficial official photographer” so I took multiple photos of each table and then photos of each couple with Massimo and our driver.

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Our table: They were a little stingy with the red wine, or perhaps we drank it too fast.

When it was our turn to have a photo with Massimo and the driver, I could not, of course, take the photo so I will use that as my excuse for how Susan and I look in the photo.  It had NOTHING to do with the amount of wine we had consumed.

I was trying to tell the substitute photographer how to use the camera, and….

Finally, we set up a total group photo on the steps of the restaurant.  Again, I just set up the photo but did not do the final framing or click the shutter.

All of us together

All of the photos in this restaurant were taken in very poor light.  I was able to use flash for some of them, but even those were not well lit, so the images were very dark.  I used two different photo editors and quite a bit of time to make them come out as well as they did, but they may look a little “off” because of all the image manipulation.

After the final photo, we took the boat back to shore and retired to the hotel for a good night’s sleep before heading home.

Returning to the Regina Place:  Good night!

October 9: Stresa – Milan – Home

In the morning, we had breakfast and about 8 of us boarded the bus for the ride to the Milan airport.  The organization of the Milan airport was very confusing, plus the airport seemed to be very large in size, but with relatively few people in the terminal.  We got there fairly early, so we had to wait for our flight to New York’s JFK airport.

At JFK, we cleared immigration and customs quickly and wandered around a bit to find our departure gate, then settled in to wait the two-plus hours until time for our flight to Atlanta.  Both flights were on time but by the time we got to Atlanta, about 9:30 PM, we were getting tired.  We had been up since before 7:00 AM, Stresa time, or 1:00 AM Atlanta time: that was a long day.