8. O Sole Mio
Trip Start
Jun 17, ????
1
10
36
Trip End
Ongoing
Venice,
Italy
Sunday, August 21, 1988
So, the day trip to Venice involved a 4.00am pick up, the kind of news that would attract an instant veto now. Since we were too early for breakfast the hotel gave us lunch rolls, stuffed with pungent meat of some description. We took a photo of it for posterity and threw it in a bin before we stunk the coach out. We stopped en route at Lake Garda where I discovered for the first time how letchy/flirtatious (you choose) Italian men can be. Venice itself was something of a shock to me after the pristine mountains of Austria. The slightly suspect smell of the canals, the unkempt buildings and probably the ugliest gondolier in history. Happily, I was not so put off as to resist a trip with my husband many years later and I'm so glad that I did. Either they've scrubbed it up a bit, or my memory was vastly exaggerating the level of grubbiness. Proably it's just that I've been a few places in the intervening years that have given a new perspective on "grubby". Dear old Easy Jet were flogging return journeys for GBP35 so we took a Wednesday off, caught a 6.30 flight and were sitting down for pizza before 11.00. I was charmed by the place and not just because my gondolier was better looking (and sang O sole mio). I also got a couple of fab pairs of shoes, which is reason enough to love any city in my view. The size of Venice is eminently suited to a day trip as you can easily get round on foot to the main "sights" - Rialto Bridge, Campanile/St Mark's Square, Bridge of Sighs.... I also really liked the Peggy Gugenheim museum, apart from having to part with my handbag. (Do I look like a terrorist? I mean really?)
Another fabulous Italian city: Verona. Small, compact - you could probably see most of it in a day if you pushed yourself, but we gave oursleves a weekend - and we were glad to take it easy, because it was absolutely scorchio. There's a great Roman museum up on the hill with fantastic views over the city. Juliette's house is great (They do know that it's fiction, right?) especially the bed from the Franco Zeferelli version of R&J. The centrepiece though is the Arena di Verona. What a fantastic building! We saw Aida there and paid EUR20 each to sit on the ampitheatre steps. It totally escapes me why anyone would pay large sums to sit on a collapsible chair in the middle of the Arena when you could pay buttons and sit in the crowds on the stone steps like people have done for milennia. To sit where Romans sat and watched the entertainment of the day, that was a real thrill. My tip if you go to Verona is not to bother with the park, which looked a bit iffy in places. Of course, if you are a tramp and you're looking for somewhere to down your special brew, then I'd say, get to the park early before all the benches are taken.
On the theme of fast visits, I was delighted to get to go to Pisa this year. Everything I'd read suggested that 24 hours would be ample, but the only flights from Gatwick were with Al Italia going out last thing at night and coming back first thing in the morning. Not wanting to pay for two nights accommodation (*tch*) I held off and happily Easy Jet stepped into the breach again with a daily flight at 2.30 and return flight about 20 mins after landing. This gave is an almost perfect 24 hours in Pisa and it turned out that the runours were true and that this is the ideal length of time to spend there. We landed in time to unpack and go out for dinner. We spent a long morning wandering about Miracle Square and climbing the leaning tower (booked in advance on line). Then we had a leisurely lunch leaving just enough time for a brief shop (shoes again) before catching the flight home. Landing at 5.30 was brilliant - we were in our local as usual by 8.00pm
Of course, its not just sunny cities in Italy, it has also been a skiing venue - twice in La Thuile and one in Passo Tonale. We were in La Thuile while the Mont Blanc tunnel was closed, so it was really quiet. Lift queues? What lift queues? It was also one of our first trips with Neilson and it pretty much made us converts for life - the reps were absolue stars and we had fab meals out every night. Passo Tonale is a bit of a beginners resort, but we were there with mates who were beginners so it worked pretty well. Plus there's a superb restaurant - La Botte - and we ate there loads.
Dammit, in my enthusiasm to waffle about skiing, I forgot a "minor" city break - to Rome. I was there for my 30th birthday. I go away on my birthday as often as possible on the basis that birthdays don't count if you're abroad. I woudn't mind going back to Rome as it was such a short trip - we flew out to Fiumicino on Saturday morning and back to Gatwick Sunday evening. It was on this trip that I learned the hard way to research and plan ahead. We went to the Vatican on Sunday only to discover that we couldn't visit the Cistine Chapel. Apparently some religious group was using the building. In this day and age!! Happily, we did see loads of fab stuff like the Colosseum and the Pantheon, the Forum and Castle St Angelo. Anyway, I always check opening times before I visit places now - I don't stick to a rigid plan, but I do try to have a rough idea of what's open when and which places are close together.
Italian food is majorly fashionable at the moment. We have 8 Italian restaurants in our town - 8!! - and no French ones. What's that about? I've nothing against pizza and pasta - although I wouldn't to have the former too often - but it baffles me why people are SO enthusiastic about going out to have a meal that you could easily cook at home. I like having something that I couldn't easily have at home because it takes a long time, or the ingredients are hard to come by or perhaps it's just plain difficult to cook. But apparently, that's just me.
None of which is to knock Italy of course. And in fairness, their shoes are top notch.
