Firenze - Day 3

Come va!

The weekend in Firenze has been noisy but great, people here are NOT aggressive at all.... they are truly ‘lovers, not fighers’.

We have eaten so much I actually think I may be bursting, luckily we walk a lot so I suppose I could feel worse! We saw the Boticelli painting ‘Birth of Venus’ yesterday at the Uffuzi Gallery. One walk around that gallery (Leonardo, Michelangelo etc) and one starts to wonder……where have all these masters gone (wasn’t there a song like that…. on no.. that was ‘where have all the cowboys gone’) same thing I suppose? Do we really have any artists in the new world that have made such a vast contribution to the world as a whole…..?
Maybe I have just missed them or maybe they just come in different forms/applications?

This city oozes culture….once again don’t come here if you are not into art, food, wine, people and great design. We drove out to a ‘little’ town called Lucca on the outskirts of Florence, but I think everyone was disappointed that the town wasn’t very small at all. I was outnumbered so we made the fatal mistake of driving on, in search of the elusive undiscovered Tuscan village. It kinda reminded me of chasing the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow….. Town after town of industrial kak, we managed a little deviation into the hills that was great BUT when we found a place to eat it was closed because it was Monday!!! So although I am 100% sure that the little elusive Tuscan village does exists, we haven’t got a week to find it!! I realised (after a day stuck in the car) just as we relented and finally stopped to eat somewhere for lunch…. looking at a menu we could not understand…..trying to converse in a foreign language…..at a roadside place that looked just like a truckers stop… that….. I have no patience. I may have to seek help!

So we are back in Firenze again going out for dinner…..I am looking forward to moving on to the Amalfi coast and some fresh air.. and more food (it fascinates me that the human condition is such that we are bored so easily) And some call this progress!

Tomorrow is another Tuscan day… beats work that’s for sure!

Ciao!

Firenze - Day 1

Not sure if any of you have a list of ‘things to do before you die’ if so you HAVE to put gondola ride on the list. How fantastic! Wine (on request), man in stripy shirt with looong stick, wonky boat and in some cases accordion and a Pavarotti sounding okie on the boat as well (we didn’t have the music part but we had the rest). You have to take out a second bond, but it really is cool to see Venice from a different perspective. Very romantic!

Well we are now in Firenze (known to those non speaking Italians as Florence). It was a bit of a mission to get here though, it may have been the Friday the 13th thing, but the trains were on strike for 8 hours and we had to get up at 3.30 am to go to the station (we had initially booked the respectable time of 11.30). The whole station/train was totally filthy… public transport is really not my thing as you know.

The hotel is not as nice compared to Venice (never nice to go backwards on holiday). The rooms are VERY hot and they are apparently only ‘switching the aircon on, on the 1 May’! Talk about false advertising, doesn’t say that on the web!

Other than that, I LOVE the city. Food is really cool and architecture/art is cooler. There is SUCH a vibe here! Music, food, wine......

Sorry to harp, BUT I simply cannot believe the amount of graffiti in Italy generally. People have defaced almost every part of the city from trains to important cultural infrastructure (see picture of the back of a church in Venice). It is really terrible and I wonder if the locals even see it anymore. From a tourist perspective it makes me feel a little robbed of an authentic experience, I almost want my money back!......... Am tired now had a long day..........

Ciao! (Sorry someone pointed out that my mind is always on food with the last blog and me saying 'Chow'!)

Italy - Venice - Day 1

So, the child that screamed was 2 rows behind us on the ‘big taxi in the sky’, but in reality she wasn’t that bad. Some old oke in front of us was worse, snoring so loud that I was sure he was going suck up all the air on the plane. Also, every time he took a breath in his mouth, he let air out his backside because there was a constant stink around him!

Anyway, our stop in Zurich made me realise how much I love S Africa. There is a relative freedom in an unstructured environment. Swiss precision is a little boring, boxed and not really all that colourful. Its not for me (could get used to the chocolate though… A LARGE LINDT SHOP!) Eish heaven!

Venice is a wonderful city that is really different culturally, boats are the cars and the age of the place makes me think that whilst we sleep, the city will slowly sink beneath the surface of the ocean. The problem with Venice in my mind is the number of tourists and the pollution/litter and bloody doves (flying rats) - see picture taken in St Marks Square. I was also horrified to see so much graffiti on ancient buildings. Very sad.

There is something special about Italy, a feeling that kinda makes you feel like you are part of something bigger than yourself. I think it’s the combination of historic infrastructure, religion, romantic notions (Casanova/Venice), colourful/expressionist people, fantastic design/fashion and yummy food. Not really sure what it is, I just love it. We are in Venice for 2 days, I couldn’t do more than that without boredom and bankruptcy setting in and then we move onto Tuscany…..

Will keep you posted!

Chow!

Flying 'high'!

OK, so today I go to Italy, busy sitting at the airport and once again cannot help but think of a VERY large toilet! I think there is something wrong with me……
It just seems it’s the most public place on earth…. A BIG PUBLIC toilet, full of germs and stinky people.

You really do see some sites here, all sorts going about their business trying to waste time (aren’t humans funny). The most captive environment I suppose you can be in – besides a prison! If you are not in a business class lounge you will pay through your backside to eat and drink! Tap water is looking good.

Eish! There is a child currently screaming on top of his lungs, and I am sure that somehow out of all the thousands milling about here, I will sit next to him… or a stinky socked, odd ball that oozes onto my seat! So as you can see I am ecstatic about flying.

OK. Gotta go and squash onto the big taxi in the sky. Looking really forward to that whole communal toilet sharing part , especially cleaning someone else’s toothpaste out of the basin in the morning!

Will try and keep you all posted when I get there (if my Vodaom bloody works).

CHOW!