Trams, Trains, Boats and Narrow Escapes

Sunday 12 & Monday 13-May-2019 (Milano)

As we noted above, on our way to Lake (Lago) Iseo – we planned to visit the stone age (and earlier) drawings at Capo di Ponto – drove to the location where we expected to see them… sought help from a passer by (without the aid of a common language of understanding) – but ultimately failed to find them – so just carried on to Camping Riva San Pieto in Marone. However, with “new” information from the staff at the camp – we decided to try again – on our way to Milan(o). This time we were successful.  Snow had fallen… and it was cold (again).  I’m writing this after having visited the Uffizi Art Gallery in Florence today – where we saw marble sculptures from the 4^th Century BC that were truly lifelike.  The European cousins in this region were a bit behind with their technique!

At Campo di Ponte, just north of Breno, and south of Edolo

Deer played an important role in Camunnian society - and quite a number of the engravings show dear being hunted etc. This one is dated from the Iron age, around 500BC.

Suitably refreshed from climbing around the rocks on which these drawings had been inscribed, and upon retrieving our home on wheels (we really need to think of a name for it… I have proposed “Fiat” in the same sense as Renault and Audi are used in the book “My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises” by Fredrik Bachman – but at this point I have been overruled!).

We chose a camp site on the south side of Milano, close in, and near a tram stop. It was advertised as the farmyard of an organic farmer of rice and vegetables.  It was very convenient to the city, and everyone was very friendly – one could say a rustic site… but the sanitary facilities were a little below our expectations! But – here we met our first “other” New Zealanders, in a “camping car”. They were from Winton (Jack and Robyn) – and have motorhome in Europe, and another in NZ. We enjoyed learning from them.

Camping in Milan, at Podere Ronchetto - in the farm yard.

More outbuildings on an adjacent farm.

The tram system in Milan made it very easy to get around… but our main memories of the city are opposites in many sense – from “low” art, from graffitti (almost everywhere) and dark looking street art to the “high” art on display in Milano’s massive Duomo. The second point that comes to mind is how young women (I did not see any males following this example) want to “pose” for photos (selfie or not) against some significant backdrop!

Milan in the evening - adjacent to the San Lorenzo Maggiore, originally built in Roman times.  It had a statue of Emperor Constantine in front. It was in Milan, in 313 that Constantine declared Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire. The other thing to note here - are the bicycle delivery systems... and some of the "better" graffiti.  

One other lasting memory of Milan… bicycle delivery men… everywhere – Uber Eats and various other companies

We assume this is "Public Art" - one of the more gentle images we saw

A section of one of the stain glasses in the Duomo - they were spectacular - and in many cases were easy to read as they were transcriptions of passages from the Bible

The Duomo - one of the largest churches in the world - with its beautiful marble exterior... and various "posers" in the foreground - along with the occasional pigeon.

An example "poser" - in front of the Duomo... elsewhere a professional model was doing a photoshoot for some make of handbag - it all looked very expensive... and the model, a bit like an animated doll...

For a Euro or two … hawkers will provide you with some food for the pidgins - which will happily land on your hands and arms - something for you to do, Sue, next time you are in Milan? 

And one other lasting memory of Milan – an old man taking his parrot for a walk, with the parrot proclaiming, loudly, along the way!

Walking the parrot?

Milan also gave us an opportunity to stock up on a “few things” at the local (to the organic farm) shopping centre. So now we know what a “big” supermarket is like (perhaps there are others that are still larger… but we will let you know when we find it.). We could buy everything from what must have been 200 different types of cheese, some incredible range of fish, and of bread, and of vegetables… all the way to accessories for your  bike (or a new bike) to tyres for your car, appliances for your home, and soft furnishings! But no peanut butter to be found anywhere, and only a tiny shelf of tinned fruit (fresh is clearly best, here!). To be fair, Jose did tell me that supermarkets in NZ, even the biggest ones – are really quite puny compared to their European equivalents.  So now we have some “proper” pillows, some parts for the bikes, floor mats for Fiat (think the book I mentioned above if you think the English a little odd… - it also seems to require a Swedish sense of humour, it would appear), and a proper Italian Coffee expresso machine… and more food (Janet).

So how does one choose a cheese... when the range is larger than mild, tasty, and edam?  A small section of the cheese selection. 

Tuesday 14-May-2019 (Milano to Deiva Marina)

Our next planned stop was to be in the Cinque Terre region – a region that was on the Must See list for Liguria (along with Genoa (Genova)). Our plan was to travel via Pavia – to see one of the “Must See” places in Lombardi  - the Certosa di Pavia a monastery built in 1396-1495, for Carthusian (a silent order) monks.  Initially it was planned as a mausoleum for Gian Visconti – the first Duke of Milan. It was filled with some beautiful art – but photography was not allowed in the Church.

The Marble Frontage of the Church of the Certosa di Pavia

The Certosa, viewed from the "Small Cloister".

The "Grand Cloister", Each of the two story buildings forms a monk's cell.  There are 26 of them, numbered "A" to "Z" 

One of the paintings that we were allowed to photograph - necessarily at an oblique angle to reduce some of the glare from the artificial lighting... 

The grounds of the Certosa looked a bit “run down”… as though they didn’t quite have enough labour to keep the gardens up to scratch… but the beauty of the marble architecture both of the Certosa, and of the Duomo in Milan (like the Duomo in Florence) is something to behold – as it does not seem to discolour with age like those building constructed from softer stone.

After which it was a longish (autostrada) drive to out camp site, Camping Valdeiva, at Deiva Marina just north of Levanto.

Wednesday 15-May-2019 (Cinque Terre)

So now we know how to pronounce “cinque”…  And this is where the trains and boats come into the tale.  We took the train from Deiva Marina to Levanto… and then decided to take the “boat” between the villages.  We arrived 2 minutes late for the 9.15am boat… - oh well, what does this matter – we have all the time in the world – and view while waiting for the next boat was lovely.

The loading method for the boat. Tied to the shore, but with the motors providing reverse thrust so that the boat stays away from the dock.

These villages are really as “pretty” as all the tourist brochures make them out to be… And so we progressed from Levanto to Monterosso to Vernazza, bypassed Corniglia (no place to land), then onto Manarola and finally Riomaggiore – and then return.  We got to spend about an hour in each – which was enough as once you have visited one – you know what to expect at the others (more shops selling much the same souvenirs, restaurants and gelletarias (we have found a need to be “refreshed” by one of these… each day!)

Monterosso

Vernazza

Corniglia

Manarola

Riomaggiore

For us – the most “beautiful” was Manarola, closely followed by Vernazza. In Riomaggiore there was a large barge and crane in the port – extracting large boulders from the harbour via a grappling device – quite impressive to watch… but it did reduce the photographic potential for that village!

Here too are some more images – to give you a sense of these villages… the aromas from the pizza restaurants was quite pervasive… could have made lunch a little like a progressive dinner, with so many foods to potentially sample!  But instead we settled on a restaurant in Manarola that had a whole lot of Mitchelin "awards" ("plates", not stars!), grilled swordfish for madam, and grilled tuna for sir.... plus chips (our first potato food for some weeks now).

Riomaggiore - downtown!

Monterosso - colour and rustic beauty

Riomaggiore - so many colours...

  

One of the many alleyways in Manarola 

Hats for sale.... Monterosso

World War II maritime defence structure, Monterosso

What you need, in order to make deliveries into some of these "streets"... two-stroke, smelly, loud... and very small.

Thursday 16-May-2019 (Genoa - Genova)

Today, we invested €5.80 x 2 x 2 for a train ride to Genoa – with the benefit of stopping at every station on the way – meaning that from a time point of view, we got our money’s worth, nearly 4 hours if train travel all told!

The DK Eyewitness guidebook suggested “there is something refreshingly rough edged about Genoa”, and this seems apt – when looking at the (very) narrow streets (lanes called caruggi) that thread through the old city (one of the largest in Europe) – but there is amazing beauty here too – in the palaces and churches – something quite different from anything “we” have seen before in Europe. Also – there is some possibility that Christopher Columbus hailed from Genoa – but while that may, or may not be true – the monument to him is there regardless!

Celebrating Christopher Columbus in Genoa

A visit to Palazzo Reale proved that these folks really did like to paint their ceilings, and decorate their walls – in a most “grand” fashion…

Detail from one of the many ceiling paintings in the Palazzo Reale.

Hall of Mirrors - Palazzo Reale

While we were at the Palazzo Reale - we encountered what looked like a practice / photo session for a Ballet troupe(?)  A perfect pose, right? 

Only one significant misstep today… after leaving the Palazzo Reale and on making our way to the San Lorenzo (Duomo), we passed by a shop that was selling useful things – like hand tools, and wall paper, and paints… and even spanners.  So we bought a small crescent to complement our “toolset”. For transport now – the backpack was the logical place… except we didn’t have one anymore.  Ah yes… we had forgotten to uplift it from the bag check back at Palazzo Reale. We must remember not to do that again!

Looking towards the alter of the Basilica Santissima Annunziata del Vastato

The dome in the Basilica Santissima Annunziata del Vastato. 

A painting of the last supper in the Cathedral di San Lorenzo, with a statute of Pope John-Paul the Second in the foreground. 

Navigating the old city, via its caruggi was a bit of a challenge -quite like navigation in Venice (but without the problem of the canals!). Not sure that I would like to be in them at night time.

One of the caruggi… and you may guess the profession of some of the people on this street... (and the one we had just walked down)

This caruggi - is a little more like most of them... somewhat narrower than the one above!

Before returning to the train station for the trip back to Deiva Marina – we visited the port (which had been spruced up in the early 1990s in advance of the 500 year anniversary of Columbus’s voyage to the new world.

The fountain on Piazza de Ferrari in the heart of Genoa

The good ship Neptune - a replica of an 18th Century Galleon - built in 1985 for a film (Pirates) - and you might recognise her from the role she played as Captain Hook's ship in the TV mini series "Neverland"... 

Friday 17-May-2019 (Deiva Marina to Florence - Firenze)

The plan was drive to Florence.  We feel a need for a “rest day” – given the busyness of the last two days.  So the thought was an early departure from Camping Valdeiva for Camping Village Il  Pogetto would get us there early, and provide some opportunity to catch up.  The GPS happily provided a route for us (it knows about our weight etc.) – most of which was on Autostrada.   But as we approached Florence, the Autostrada came to an end – and a street that it wanted to take us down, had clearly changed… and was now one-way, and not the direction we needed.  So we asked the GPS to try again… which it did – and after making some progress, it started issuing warnings about the route be “unsuitable for vehicles with this configuration”… you should choose an alternate route… but it had told us to go this way… so all one can do is agree that you have seen the “Warning” and carry on – as no options for alternate routes were apparent… and then we came to this…

Looking dodgy on the outskirts of Florence... some challenging manoeuvres lie ahead...

Which was getting a bit narrow… but then there was the small matter of a bend in the road (and we have quite an overhang at the back!). I hope we don’t see anything tighter than this again!!  No scratches yet though…   After that – it was “easy”… all we needed to do was drive pretty much through the centre of Florence to get to the other side (of course)… then out into the Tuscan countryside to Camping Village Il Pogetto.

It has begun to rain again…