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Post by tod2 on Nov 2, 2017 9:47:58 GMT
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Post by tod2 on Nov 2, 2017 11:44:36 GMT
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Post by mich64 on Nov 2, 2017 15:25:26 GMT
Enjoying following along Tod! Beautiful photos of the Funicolare! Looking forward to Lucca and Pisa. They were choices we had to remove from our list, I will be happy to see your view and read your impressions of each place.
On our very first holiday on our own, our first night in Europe was spent in Basel. We had landed in Frankfurt earlier in the day and drove to Basel and spent the night in a Hotel that was formally a prison, our room with the Warden's office. We hope to go back someday.
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Post by fumobici on Nov 2, 2017 21:34:46 GMT
Fumobici - May I put a link to your Florence report? Next: A ride on the old funicular to Montecatini Alto and a night of opera. Oh, of course! I'll enjoy your take on Florence I'm sure. I've been through Montecatini Terme on the train a bunch of times as it is on the main line north from Arezzo but I've never got off there and had a look around. Honestly dosn't look like much from the train window, but then again a lot of interesting places look pretty awful from the train. |
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Post by tod2 on Nov 3, 2017 6:03:49 GMT
Many thanks Mich64 - Now you have a reason to come back one day! Fumobici - thank you for letting me introduce your Florence report alongside my very poor account of what we saw in Florence. It is only now when doing this photo-essay that I realize just how many photos I have lost since our camera was nicked.  We did several videos on the funicolare ride and all I can salvage are the two on my phone. Montecatini is a quiet pretty little town and has many more attractions - a zoo, an art gallery, a museum. It is the kind of place one would never consider as a holiday destination unless brought there on an organised tour. |
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Post by bjd on Nov 3, 2017 6:38:32 GMT
Quite a difference in crowds between Florence and Montecatini! It's good you were able to see a bit of other Italian towns than just the most crowded. But why oh why do they allow Segways in such a small, crowded city?
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Post by tod2 on Nov 3, 2017 7:34:29 GMT
bjd - not only Segways tried to assemble themselves around their tour guide, but look at the next photo and you will see 5 horse drawn carriages! Somehow it all works and after that exhausting walk all over Florence's main attractions I now wish I had had a Segway. My legs and feet were positively bright red.
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Post by amboseli on Nov 3, 2017 8:46:30 GMT
Good start tod2.
I've been in Montecatini and all over Tuscany but not in Florence. Shame on me. We might do that one day. It's only a one and a half hour flight away.
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Post by lagatta on Nov 3, 2017 12:06:13 GMT
I don't see how Segways would help much, as standing still can be far more tiring than walking. Of course all those paving stones are hard on the feet. I just go at my pace and sit down for a bit if my feet hurt.
I felt very crowded in the microcentre of Florence, but once out of those few squares it is pleasant to walk through the city. I've been there several times on daytrips or staying overnight with friends as I was studying in Perugia, which is about half way between Florence and Rome, and the train or coach weren't expensive.
Tod, you did well to stay in a smaller, nearby town. I'd like to spend some time in Lucca; I just took at a look with it (stopping off with friends who were driving).
As I speak Italian fluently, it makes a big difference in how I travel there. Though as with everyone, I can't walk for as long as I did 30 years ago...
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 3, 2017 12:32:25 GMT
I'm just glad that you took photos with your phone as well as with your camera! Your phone pictures are very nice. I need to return to Italy more regularly. I used to go at least twice a year, but I don't think I have been there in the last 10 years (those mother problems got in the way of a lot of stuff).
Back in the old days of film cameras, I would always take a few of those disposable plastic and cardboard cameras along with my good camera. At major sites, I would take photographs with both systems, and surprisingly often, the plastic camera provided better pictures than the other one.
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 3, 2017 15:34:46 GMT
Excellent, stalwart Tod! Thank you so much for not losing heart over the lost camera and carrying on with the phone. We are definitely the beneficiaries, as your report is a delight.
Boy, Florence is crowded even in the autumn, isn't it? But looking at what people are wearing, it seems it must have been quite warm there.
What did you think of seeing it with a tour group -- do you think you saw and learned more that way, or would you have preferred to have done it on your own?
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Post by lugg on Nov 5, 2017 9:11:34 GMT
Sorry to read about your camera Tod you must have been gutted, whereas I could not have guessed that your photos of Mulhouse were taken in France , these scream Italy. I was thinking the same as Bixa , did you enjoy being part of a tour group but I guess you must usually as I seem to remember you have done it before ?
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Post by tod2 on Nov 5, 2017 12:48:46 GMT
Firstly - Lugg ( because its right in front of me)..I really enjoy being part of a tour group - that is why it is my third adventure with the same company and the same mode of travel - mostly by train.
First time went to Southwest France (Beziers & surrounds) on my own, Then last year Switzerland, and this year Italy. I have been looking at possibilities in France with the same tour group for next year - we will see.
Bixa - Yes - warm for me but others covered up sometimes when that cruel cold wind blew. No, I decided last year in November that our trip to Italy would be in a group because:
a) I had no idea about Tuscany except everyone talks about how marvelous it is - and,
b) I only had two things I HAD to see and that was Pisa and Venice. Florence..., yes for the COPY of David but nothing else. I say that because one has to be extremely ahead with ticket bookings etc to get into the other gems in churches and art galleries.
c) I would never have seen Montecatini and experienced the Opera evening, the Funicolare and been told a host of other information that our guide knew. Our walking guide-man in Florence knew all the stuff about the Mona Lisa's history and put me straight on a few facts.
As for Lucca - no great shakes. Just ancient of course and Turin- No desire to come back there. Nothing beautiful or interesting. All streets dead straight in grid style (a bit like parts of new York). The "Shroud" was not on display but one could venture into the church where it is kept.
Kerouac - No regrets. I'm sure you have none. You are still so young and the only constraint would be finance like all of us.
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Post by amboseli on Nov 5, 2017 18:30:51 GMT
I agree with your opinion on Lucca. I really liked the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro with the yellow houses but Tuscany has far more interesting and pretty towns.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 7, 2017 9:38:56 GMT
I'm sorting through my Venice photos at the moment so that I can conclude our trip to Italy.
As we both took photos on our cellphones of the same thing, I want to select the best ones.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 7, 2017 11:59:47 GMT
This morning we had two train rides. To Lucca and then on to Pisa, with a return journey late in the afternoon. Our guide Alex walked us from the train station in Lucca to a later meeting place for the next leg before leaving us to our own devices. Some took to walking the ramparts of the 16th century walls - which fully encircle the medieval city, but most headed off to find the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro. This public square is in the northeast quadrant of walled center of Lucca. The ring of buildings surrounding the square, follows the elliptical shape of the former second century Roman Amphitheater of Lucca. The square can be reached through four gateways located at the four vertices of the ellipse. A cross is carved into the central tile of the square with the arms pointing to the four gateways of the square. However several of us got horribly lost trying to find a 'doorway' (archway/tunnel) into the square! It is also quite a walk as it is situated on the opposite side of city to the train station. Some history. The base of the former amphitheater (dating back to the I or II century b.C.) is now some 3 meters below the center. At its peak about 18 rows of amphitheater seats held some 10,000 spectators. Now an urban square (piazza), surrounded by private residences built using the remaining structures of the Amphitheatre, and occupied by several outdoor cafes, created in 1830 by the architect Lorenzo Nottolini who razed some of the buildings inside the oval. It was originally refurbished to be a marketplace. LUCCA imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/mr1Z40.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/0OYM71.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/z1nj45.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/N3eW3P.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/ip8shl.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/oiik2C.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/JjhQIp.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/pTILkM.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/7A5leb.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/cqqEoW.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/YpeVag.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/5u79Es.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/motFmO.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/hngyKr.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/JAU5Fy.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/You7AX.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/vaDx3k.jpgPISA Just a half hour away by train, we meet our walking tour guide. She filled us in on all kinds of facts and figures about Pisa but when we wanted to get cracking and see the buildings in this amazing Field of Miracles, we felt the pace a little slow, so one by one we disappeared to view it all in ignorance. I found a marble seat just outside the Information Office as my legs were becoming too painful. This was great for watching the crowds and their antics. So many styles of getting a 'selfie' with the Leaning Tower next to you! One lady lay lay on the floor with legs splayed wide apart...I could show you more but it's all on the camera The starting point from the station - already visible in the distance is the leaning Tower. imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/KwvzbR.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/XOVAYl.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/uUimBv.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/aBVOQ5.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/dOymA8.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/aq7lJW.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/WkKjee.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/LjmSGC.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/mtZxPr.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/13y7iv.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/GAQcov.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/Jr3yhV.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/pqNeCo.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/V0fhRm.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/U6SVc5.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/k7093J.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/924/Yhh4Yv.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/XvzoYU.jpgBecasue this has a lot more interesting photos on Pisa, I'm taking the liberty of adding Fumobici's Day in Pisa link: anyportinastorm.proboards.com/thread/7365/day-pisaTonight is our final dinner in Montecatini at our hotel. We took a quick peak in the dining room as we made our way to get changed. imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/xNxJHb.jpgThe Menu imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/x4LomN.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/luXcPS.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/922/jG3dls.jpgimagizer.imageshack.us/v2/640x480q90/923/sjhWuW.jpgNext - My dream to see Venice |
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Post by lugg on Nov 7, 2017 19:02:52 GMT
Enjoyed seeing your latest additions particularly Lucca - I adore this place and recognised quite a few of the places in your pics. I'm not sure if you saw much more than your phone pics can show but for me in such a short time it would be almost impossible to see all it has to offer, I was there for 4 days and felt I had not seen it all let alone the surrounds. Really looking forward to your Venice report.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 8, 2017 5:30:42 GMT
I have never been to Lucca so it was nice to discover it. And I have not been to Pisa since 1971!
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Post by tod2 on Nov 8, 2017 7:22:26 GMT
Many thanks to you both.
Lugg - So glad someone has experienced Lucca which I am sure needed more attention than the few hours we were there. I would have loved to walk at least part of the medieval ramparts.
Did you by any chance climb the Guinigi Tower with it's oak tree growing out of the top?
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 8, 2017 14:48:57 GMT
Tod, you have done a wonderful job. I know you're disappointed about the loss of the camera pictures, but only those of us who in the past have been treated to the full breadth of a Tod2 report can see any difference. This one is still a star report!
It does sound as though Lucca deserved more time. I love the big sculptures. Is any part of the amphitheater still visible?
Wow, Pisa, wow! How those blasted selfie-takers can think of interspersing their silly selves between the camera and that elegant architecture is beyond me. Kudos for the great pictures, which couldn't have been easy in those crowds. That guide hould be put out of everyone elses misery! Your group voted with its feet to use the precious time you all had. Was there time to get a glimpse of Pisa besides the Field of Miracles?
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Post by tod2 on Nov 8, 2017 15:18:19 GMT
Thank you for the nice remarks Bixa. The only part of Pisa we saw was the train station and the walk from there into the main street leading to The Field of Miracles.
I will tell you that Pisa is a thieves paradise. Constant warnings from guides and notices abound. It seems the pick-pockets are formed into gangs of young girls (and maybe boys in the mix as well) While we waited for our train at Pisa there was a group of them on another platform.
They eyed us and we tried to ignore them but lo and behold they made their way into the underground tunnel linking the two platforms.
When our guide spotted this he marched over to the steps going down on our side and very clearly and loudly , with hand gestures and all, shooed them back down before they could reach us.
What were they thinking??? 8 or so of them and 42 of us! Can you believe it - they scurried back like rats in a sewer.
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Post by fumobici on Nov 8, 2017 19:22:03 GMT
There's a lot to Pisa outside of il campo dei miracoli! It's got an old, old university with an excellent academic standing, it has a centro more than rich in interesting and varied architecture. It's also got its gritty, working class side (mostly South) which adds layers.
I adore Lucca, the centro inside the original walls is a jewel (with a great and hearty local cuisine probably best suited to the colder months) and it is set amid beautiful hills. Follow the Serchio river upstream to Bagni di Lucca, you will not regret it. There is a truly great local wine they make up the valley too but I can't remember the name of it.
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 9, 2017 8:47:31 GMT
Another lovely report tod. Thanks for including the food! After Indian Italian is a very close second for me.
Looking forward to Venice.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 9, 2017 11:19:03 GMT
Thanks Mick. I try to include the meals we had just so folks can see a little of what is on offer - good or bad. I also like to show the hotel accommodation because that is a huge part of the travel experience.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 9, 2017 12:22:32 GMT
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Post by mickthecactus on Nov 9, 2017 12:46:24 GMT
The last time I was in Venice I was a 14 year old schoolboy and I had my first pizza there which I thought the most delicious thing I had ever eaten.
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Post by kerouac2 on Nov 9, 2017 18:39:01 GMT
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Post by lugg on Nov 9, 2017 18:50:59 GMT
Loved seeing your Venice additions Tod and yes I too enjoy seeing accommodation and food. Looking forward to seeing your visits on the islands next. What did you think re the cruise ships ? My view is probably that there should be a ban on them coming so close - just additional pressure on Venice water levels but maybe that is to simplistic?  Yes I did climb Torre Guinigi ( quite scary in part) it was just next to our apartment when we stayed in lucca - here some way down the report. anyportinastorm.proboards.com/thread/7392/little-pisa-piazza-miracoli-lucca |
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Post by mich64 on Nov 9, 2017 19:07:16 GMT
I enjoyed seeing your photographs of Lucca and Pisa Tod!
I notice from the itinerary that they post that breakfast is from 7:00 until 10:00, I am surprised at that. From most trip reports that I have read about tours the rush in the morning to board a bus or train is what some people dislike, but this tour seems to give quite a bit of time in the morning. I know the early departure times is intended to get the tour to the next stop to give more time to see the next city/town so I understand why there are two different ways to look at it.
Your Venice photographs evoke some familiar happy memories Tod! The last photo of the canal at night is my favorite as it was my favourite time of the day in Venice. The water buses were almost empty and while traveling along you could hear soft laughter, murmurs of conversations and the sounds of dishes and glasses tinging at restaurants along the canal as the aromas wafted here and there.
During the day, it was a totally different experience, the photograph of the alleyway with wall to wall people reminds me of how happy we were to get off the main arteries, it took longer to get places but less stressful.
Wonderful photos Tod!
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Post by lagatta on Nov 9, 2017 20:11:44 GMT
I'm very happy about the giant cruise ships; they threaten even the underpinnings of the city, which was mostly reclaimed from the lagoon and built by driving huge wooden piles into the water's floor. Now a "battipalo" means a pile-driving machine, but in the early days, workers did it - incredibly hard work... www.piovesan.net/Vi_racconto/Il%20canto%20dei%20battipalo.pdf (for the picture if you don't read Italian) I found this version, but it is far too prettified: www.corostelutis.it/content/canto-dei-battipali Mostly for the written lyrics... This is much better: you can hear the guys singing to help themselves carry out their backbreaking work as other people from the labouring classes (including women) join in. Voices in the Venetian dialect about the lagoon... Boats and ships are integral to the history and culture of Venice, but the huge cruise ships are out of proportion. The working ports where they will be directed aren't far removed, in nearby industrial suburbs. |
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