Italy
‘90
From
our travel log in 1990
By Jay
The latest adventure
in our life was spending twenty-one wonderful May 1990 days in northern Italy.
Holding to our personal style of traveling we walked a great deal and used
public transportation to cover larger distances. Many people rent cars and
bicycles and see more or less simply depending on your point of view.
We recently spoke
with friends that had just returned, very exhausted from two months in Europe.
They had been in every country that we even considered traveling to and more
and were unable to recall smaller details that have contributed to our joy in
traveling abroad. They were playing out a “retirement dream” while we are “living
the dream” in the height of our professional lives. We had a better time.
For the reader
unfamiliar with our style of travel, we set a few goals, arm ourselves with lots
of information, make very few arrangements (that one way one or another become
obligations) and set out to enjoy our destination. Leaving behind unreasonable
and unattainable expectations is one of the keystones of our travel philosophy.
People who expect to find things ‘American’ in Europe will return home
disappointed.
We left Seattle
Tacoma Airport on May 3rd connecting via JFK to Malpensa Italy on TWA. Our
initial destination and only reservations for the trip was Pensione Giadarnetti
in Bellagio, on Lake Como north of Milan. An excellent resource for this area
is “The Visitors Guide to the Italian Lakes”, Hunter Publishing ISBN 1556500742.
Bus to Milano Centrale and train back to Como. We attempted a more direct route
via Gallarate FS, but it didn't work out and after the long flight it just
added to our fatigue. All of the lakes are equipped with boats of numerous
description and frequent schedules so that little advance planning is necessary
to go about visiting the many towns along the many miles of shoreline. You must
only pay attention to the return trip times if you plan day trips.
Our Pensione is high
on the hill in walking distance from the ferry landing at Bellagio with a grand
view of the Lepontine Alps and Lago de Como. Our hosts are friendly; the room
with breakfast is under $30 U.S., with bath down the hall. It's a wonderful environment
for getting into the vacation mode. The hills above Bellagio offer many varied
types of walks and a minor challenge of endurance to reach the West shores of
Lago de Lecco.
A short ferry ride to
Varena offers the opportunity to visit castle ruins above the town, to picnic
in spectacular vistas and to visit the Villa Monastero Gardens. There is a
strong temptation to base here and leave for further exploration for future
trips.
Bus, train and ferry
take us to the West shores of Lego Maggiore and the towns of Stresa and Baveno,
the former more muscle than our taste requires. We inn at Hotel Elvizia in Baveno
for $48 U.S. with bath and breakfast. Our recollections of the hotel include an
excellent sunny balcony, cheerful hosts and an outstanding dining experience.
There is a fabulous church to visit nearby, wonderful cafes and an interesting promenade
along the lake shore. Energetic walkers will enjoy the residential hills behind
the town but don't try to walk to Stresa along the highway. The shoulder of the
highway becomes very narrow, especially on blind turns. The hotel Grand Dino is
a convention center of awesome opulence, at least worth a walk through.
We are able to catch
a local train to Stresa and connect with the IC Rapido train for the next leg
of our desire to see the west coast of Italy, South of Genoa. We intended to
visit Portofino but rooms were not available when we arrived and it took some
effort to finally land a non-descript room in Sestri Levante.
The following morning
we walked the 2.2 mile (difficult) trail over Punta Mara to Riva for the
beginning of our visit to the Cinque Terra area. A local train placed us in
Vernazza early enough to explore a little and we secured a room in the annex of
Trattoria Giani Franzi for $42 U.S. One Hundred Thirty Seven steps above the main
street is the entrance to the annex which provided us with a spectacular view
of the sea inland vistas of vineyards and hills. Several days of exploring the neighboring
towns via the coastal trails generated hearty appetites and a special
appreciation for the local “5 Terra” wines. The ‘Alimentaries” provide picnic
supplies so we are able to accommodate alimentary needs along the trail. The
Cinque Terra is high on our list of recommended destinations, easily accessible
by many trains per day.
Another somewhat
distant train ride takes us to La Spezia and on to Pietrasanta. Our stay in La
Spezia is short. It is a port city with definite military significance and was
a bit of a shock having just left the tranquility of Vernazza’s environs.
We met friends in
Marina di Pietrasanta who had leased a house there through an agent in Bellevue.
We spent two days with them comparing notes and experiences Marina di Pietrasanta
is a rapidly developing resort town with miles of private beaches affronted by
large hotel complexes. Public access to the beaches is limited it was great fun
to be with friends, to “cook in” and catch up on the laundry.
Based on
recommendations from readings we headed for Luca, a walled city of historical
interest. We found it to be heavily congested with traffic, particularly of the
moped variety and the accommodations we inspected were dull and uninspiring. Having arrived fairly early in the day we
decided to go on to Pisa, which turned out to be much more enjoyable than we
had even expected. Happy surprises prevailed throughout our trip over the
lesser variety. Hotel Albergo Gronchi is within 100 meters of the Leaning Tower
and provided us with the opportunity to explore a very attractive and
interesting city. We were surprised to find a one star hotel nice and
convenient for $28 U.S. this near a major attraction. There must be something
about the rating system and government rate control that we don't understand.
We had a minor bout
with mosquitoes in Pisa but found the attractions wonderful and a really great
Chinese restaurant near the tower gave us a welcome break from the usual fare
of pasta and fish. Lassi (the blue ones) buses run frequent schedules between
cities and are very low in cost however it is a good idea to check schedules
carefully and find out where the regular stops are. We were let off at one gate
near the tower and assumed we could catch one there when it came time to leave.
Only after waiting an hour did we decide to inquire and found the bus station
was on the opposite side of the piazza.
We bussed to Livorno,
then caught a train to Piombino; destination Isola de Elba or the place of
Napoleon's historical exile. The Livorno train does not stop at Piombino
Marina, rather a mile short of the port proper. The crowd at the train station
seemed pretty confused so we jumped in an available taxi only to find it cost
$9 for a one mile trip. It reminded us that one should never get in a taxi
without first discussing the fare with the driver. We felt a little stung, but
wiser. The trip to Elba island can be made on a car ferry or a hydrofoil, the
latter being more expensive and the results (getting there) the same. Landing
in Porteferrio we were confronted with the very tourism nature of the island
with a lot of travel agencies, touristy shopping and expensive options. We had
anticipated the island would be expensive from reading some travel magazine
articles and other guide materials. To our surprise we found the island to also
offer some very reasonable options and we wound up staying four days. Our first
night was in Porteferrio on the north shore with a room directly on the beach
with private bath and breakfast for $40 U.S.. Except for the fact we were
facing north and lacked having sunshine in our room it was a very nice place.
We purchased a map of the island, inquired about local buses and set out the
following day to the south shore and the Marina de Campo. There we found a very
reasonable Pensione La Barcarola for $56 U.S. Including private bath and
breakfast. Jain found the bed to be impossible and the ‘bagno’ closeted in a
too-small alcove, but the location was great and the proprietors very friendly.
The beach is one of the finest European beaches we have seen; shallow warm
water in a semi closed crescent-shaped Bay.
A brief word
regarding bus tickets is in order here. Bus drivers do not sell tickets nor
accept money. ‘Bigletti’s’ are found in taverns, restaurants and shops of
various kinds, all of which have different hours of operation. It is important
to anticipate the need for a bus ticket and purchase in advance or at
opportunity. Occasionally we found ourselves chasing around trying to find a
ticket and meet a schedule at the same time. The fine for riding without a
ticket is about $10 U.S. and the same goes for train tickets.
We took a bus and
cable lift similar to a ski resort chairlift except you stand in a two person
cage to the summit of Mt. Campanne (1018 meters high) where are there is a 360
degree view of the island and surrounds. A rough trail leading down the
mountain gave us a fairly strenuous afternoon that lead to a very quaint
village where we could catch a bus back to Marina. This certainly was one of
the highlights of our trip.
On leaving Elba Island
we made the decision to visit Rome in spite of earlier reservations about
having sufficient time. We took the train from Campiglia to Roma Centrale, found
a Pensione close to the station and spent two days seeing the sights. We really
didn't do it properly but we did it; the Coliseum, St Peters, Vatican, Sistine
Chapel and the Spanish Steps and everything in between, including lunch at
McDonalds. Our real desire was to see Florence, some Tuscany hill towns and
Venice so we set out on the train. Florence has much more than we were able to
take in but we enjoyed it very much. We were fortunate to arrive when a genuine
Italian opera production was performing. Without understanding a word we
watched a magnificent stage production about a king and a prince in love with
the same girl… Guess who won the girl?
Our Pensione was
right out of the “Let’s Go Italy” book, published by the Harvard students,
Penzione Locanda Davanzati, for $48 U.S. Very pleasant accommodation. Without a
doubt the Duomo was the most spectacular structure we visited in Italy. The
story of its construction and history is intriguing. Large groups of people
gathered along the Gold Bridge, at the museum and outdoor market and bus tours
with their jaunty guides were evident everywhere. We were also entertained by
the Gypsy pick-pockets at work and had one first-hand experience with one.
Having been prepared for the experience we escaped harm and loss but we amazed
at the aggressiveness of these women carrying babies. I regret having been so
engrossed in watching their antics that I completely failed to photograph any
of the actions witnessed. And, I took over 400 photographs on the trip.
At this point we
found ourselves a little ahead of schedule so we made the decision to see
Venice. We had been reserved about this destination based on stories weed heard
about the extremely high cost of accommodations. Most of the negative stories
we had heard about Italy we found to be untrue or exaggerated. From Florence we
took a very crowded train to Venice Maestra through gorgeous countryside.
Unlike Amtrak, Italian trains are never sold out. Aisles choked with students
and luggage did not take away from the enjoyment of the spectacular views. At Maestro
we change to the local train to Santa Lucia, joined the Grand Canal ferry crowd
and go about finding our room. Many people stop at the hotel accommodations
booth in the train station but we chose the “take a look” technique we learned
in Greece. This behavior doesn't seem to have the same degree of acceptability
in Italy but never the less we found a great room overlooking the open air
market and Grand Canal. The Hotel Gerrato enters off a nondescript alley in the
environment of the open air market and cannot be measured for beauty by its
exterior, however is very high quality in every other respect. For $48 U.S.
Including breakfast we enjoyed the very friendly staff, clean and right and
comfortable facilities.
On the eve of our
third day we were sitting in a cafe at the edge of the Grand Canal sipping wine
and people watching when to our great surprise we spotted our friends that we
had met in Pietrasanta cruising by on a ferry. Only people that have visited
Venice can really appreciate what a chance meeting this represented, especially
since neither of us couples expected the other to be in Venice. But there was Don
and Elaine standing at the rail in a large crowd of people. I made a small
spectacle of myself by hollering at him and they exited at the next landing and
came back to greet us. We helped them find their hotel and based on a
recommendation from their Concierge we had dinner at The Alla Madonna
restaurant, discovered that we had overlapped in Florence staying only a few
blocks from each other and caught up on our respective experiences in the
interval. This was a particularly memorable part of our trip.
Approaching the end
of our twenty-one days we headed for Milano to prepare for the return flight.
Milan's air pollution and congestion seemed inappropriate for a final image of
Italy so we promptly discounted staying there for our final night and proceeded
to Gallarate, hoping to be near Malpensa Airport. It didn't surprise us that
everyone else must have had a similar thought but we got thoroughly ‘skunked’
on finding accommodations in or around the area. Nearing frustration and
exhaustion from looking and searching we decided to take a breather in a family
pizzeria in Gallarate. Sipping a beer and going over our options we mentioned our
plight to the owner proprietor and therein became reminded how friendly and
helpful people can be. Over a period of about an hour, with extremely limited
understanding of each other's language, the whole family became involved in
solving our problem. This was not our first similar experience that illustrates
the generosity that we have absorbed and enjoyed in all of our European
travels. With all of the family engaged in rapid conversation, each offering
suggestions, the patriarch made many phone calls and eventually gave us the
International thumbs up sign and wrote out directions to a hotel in Seste
Calende. A brief train ride and approximately two mile walk we entered the
grounds of the Albergo del Parco on the shore of Lago Maggiore. A big gulp
followed (We had not considered asking how much this was going to cost after
all the trouble our friendly family had gone to) when we entered this walled
estate with manicured, sculpted grounds. We decided it didn't matter at this
point. We have done very well managing our budget and this would be our grand
exit from Italy. We were shown to our room on the 3rd floor complete with huge
private marble baths and two (count them) view balconies overlooking the
grounds and lake. The room is equipped with television and phone. Dining was by
arrangement in the hotel dining room for guests only without a menu. We enjoyed
five courses of exquisitely prepared dinner with an excellent wine, a truly
fine finale for our vacation.
We were treated to a
spectacular lightning and thunder storm during the night and woke to a steady
rain. And a really fantastic surprise was the bill which came to slightly over
$120 U.S. including the wonderful meal.
Anticipating a two
mile walk in the rain and having to deal with wet clothes for the ensuing hours
of transportation resulted in another pleasant surprise. I asked for a taxi
which turned out to be a Mercedes limousine which delivered us directly to the
airport terminal in the great style to which we had very recently become
accustomed.
Moto bene
