Europe 2009

Welcome to Rome! I thought the Taxi driver disputes were well and truly a thing of the past. I thought wrong. Although the hotel was only 500 or so metres from the terminal, we decided to take a cab (due to the broken wheel on the suitcase - gotta do something about that soon). The congregation of cabbies were so welcoming at first. “How are you, friend? Let me help you with your bags. First time in Rome? Blah, blah, blah.” About a minute or so into the ride, I noticed the meter wasn’t engaged. “Why isn’t the meter on?” “No meter. Fixed price. 30 Euro.” Listen mate, there is no way I am paying 30 Euro to travel 500 metres. We’ll just get out here.” We argued a bit before finally turning the meter on. From that point, it was like riding in a rally car. I mean he literally got the car sideways and went around the block a couple of times. He was pissed but it got worse. After pulling our bags out of the boot he tried to charge us two euro for each bag (including Vicki’s handbag!!). “I am really starting to lose my patience, mate. The meter said 10 and I’ll pay you one Euro for each of the bags you handled” (not that he was entitled to it but that’s what they charge in France). He threatened to call the cops but I had a sneaking suspicion it would have been a few of his friends to help sort things out. “Go for it or would you like me to call them you dodgy little fuck?” “No, fuckah youeh.” I can’t tell you how close I came to dropping him when he wrestled the suitcase from my hands. The thought of Vic being there was the only thing that stopped me. I chucked him 2 more Euro (15 in total) and we were on our way. I suppose it was worth the investment to reactivate the bullshit radar nice and early. We had such a good run in Milan and Tuscany but somehow I feel that Rome is going to be very different…

Hotel. We were buzzed in at the entrance then made our way into an old, manually operated, cage style elevator. The interior was made of wood and similar to something you’d see in an old movie. I loved it but it made Vicki nervous. Freshly decorated spacious rooms with unlimited access to a fridge full of goodies and an espresso machine to boot. Brilliant. Can’t seem to access the internet but we can deal with that in the morning.

Siena. Could Tuscany get any more beautiful? This place reminded me of my sister Jannet. You would have loved it, sis. I can imagine you sitting out in one of the Piazzas reading a book then cycling through the rolling hills to a quaint little cottage somewhere. Wish you were here. Siena (in my opinion) was prettier than Florence, less crowded and to use a word I learnt in my travels, less touristique.

Duomo. Like I said, every Italian city seems to have one but that doesn’t make them any less spectacular.

Colour. The characteristic use of reds, blues and yellows on the buildings complemented the greenery of the hills rather beautifully. Could quite easily disappear into the hills here. Grow a beard, rear geese and make wine.

Haircut. It was time to lop some of the curls. Another week and I would have looked like Jimmy Hendrix. Choppy, choppy please. No round and no taper cut. Maybe he didn’t hear the “no” part but his first effort emulated a style fashioned by Vince Colosimo early in his career. Short on the sides with flowing curls on top and a fringe down to my eyebrows. Bit more off the top please. That’ll do, mate. I’ll bring in a magazine next time.

Campanile (Bell Tower) in Piazza Del Campo. We had to wait 30 or so minutes before commencing the climb. The staircase was tight and windy and certainly didn’t allow for multi directional traffic. It was worth the wait. Sublime panoramic views of Sienna and the surrounding hinterland. What beauty. Postcard perfect.

Florence. After spending the previous day indoors and the first part of today in Pisa, we finally had some time to explore Florence properly. The first stop on any Florence agenda is to visit probably the most famous sculpture in the western world…

Michelangelo’s David. Entering the museum, we were as were most people, excited to see the statue we’d heard so much about. Never for a moment did I think a statue could bring a tear to my eye unless I stubbed my toe on it. What a glorious sight. It was huge! We didn’t imagine it being this big and understood very quickly why David, carved out of a single piece of marble, was afforded such attention. It must have stood 20 foot tall (including stand). Within an instant of seeing it, I impulsively reached for my camera before having sufficient opportunity to bathe in appreciation (why are we programmed like that?). “No Photo!” “Piss off, lady. I’m having a moment here.” A few sneaky Paparazzi moves and the image I so wanted to capture was captured. Not bad either considering they were all shot from the hip.

Duomo. Florence, like most Italian cities had it’s own spectacular Duomo and again the Gothic styling dominated the architecture.

Sketch. Vicki convinced me to have a caricature done with one of the local artists. It looked nothing like me but Vic and the artist seemed to think it did.

Ponte Vecchio. Shaun had mentioned that it was one of his favourite European landmarks prior to our departure and we could now see why. It was an ordinary bridge in terms of getting you to the other side of the river but extraordinary in the way the length of it was lined with jewellery stores protruding over the water. These stores were originally butchers but that later changed when the cry of socialism expelled the smelly butchers and replaced them with goldsmiths. I guess the theme stuck.

Walk. The area surrounding Ponte Vecchio was peaceful and inviting. We thankfully just missed the influx of foreigners that flood into the area during the Spring and Summer. At times, we felt we were the only people around. Very strange considering the millions that visit each year. We soaked up some more of the main attractions and headed back to the hotel.

Dinner. I make no apologies for writing about our meals. A quick session at the gym before again targeting a local Trattoria. For the first time in Italy, we didn’t eat pasta. Vic had a huge pork chop (Jay, you would have inhaled it) and I went for one of Andrea’s recommendations, Ribollita. I can’t remember a time when I ate an entire bowl of soup with a fork! Glad I didn’t order too much else. I won’t need a fork when I hit Budapest either. Strap the Goulash to my head please waiter, I’ll manage with only my face.

Running water. For the second consecutive day I thought of keeping the water running overnight to make up for all the Italians back in Oz that still hose down their driveways! Two wrongs don’t make a right but enough is enough, amici.

Hop to it. A ‘big’ day planned to make up for the ‘bum’ day yesterday. The rain had finally stopped. There was no remaining evidence of anything falling from the sky. Dry and sunny with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees. A tummy full of food and we were ready to board our train at 0900.

Train. The rural trains are not as pretty nor anywhere near as comfortable as the Eurostar or French TGV but they got us where we needed to go. This one didn’t even have a First class cabin! We were really slumming. It didn’t seem to bother Vicki that much. Remember Vicki’s train related narcolepsy? Well, it is now so fine-tuned that she was off with the fairies four minutes PRIOR to departure. I get a little lonely now. Selfish bitch.

Nosey. We overheard a group of Americans discussing their intention to skip Pisa. Apparently, there wasn’t anything to see other than the tower so they didn’t deem it visit worthy. They also didn’t sound too bright so we ignored their indirect advice. Very glad we did.

Pisa. It is a small place and in recent times only famous for the obvious however it had a real something that we couldn’t quite put our finger on. As in most of Europe, the cobblestone was standard, the streets were lined with beautiful houses and old buildings and a river ran through the heart but it had something the others didn’t. Maybe it was just our connecting with humble little Pisa but whatever it was, we loved it.

Torre di Pisa. The first time our eyes hit it, they literally glazed over. Overwhelming. Maybe I watched a little too much tele as a boy because my first thought was ‘wow’ and my second was an image of Daffy Duck attempting to keep it upright through the night. Sad I know but I am still picturing it.

TAB. Not sure what they call it here but when I walked in, there was a little Italian Shaun in the corner giving an up and coming punter some advice. I didn’t get a chance to place a bet but it is on the agenda for Rome (and probably various other cities)

Pizza in Pisa. C’mon, what else would you eat?

Bum day. After a good sleep, we awoke to the sound of rain. The breakfast buffet had all the eggs, meats, cereals, fruits and cheeses you could ask for so we gorged and went back to the room. We decided that a recovery day was the appropriate remedy for our weary heads and spent most of the afternoon on the net (we’re finally up to date with our blog!!) and other general organisational stuff including an essential trip to the Laundromat.

Dinner. We again headed to a local Trattoria. This one was full of locals and came highly recommended by pedestrians occupying the sidewalk outside. Two courses of tasty, home style, Italian food. No surprises. We ate pasta but only for entrée! Swordfish and chicken for mains, I think Dr Atkins was a little happier with our secondary choice. There is no denying, the food in Italy is superb.

Local Friends. The couple sitting next to us were just as impressed with the waiter’s multi-lingual prowess. He spoke in Italian, English and French to three successive groups of patrons. This paved the way for some small talk. The couple (Lorenzo and Domenica) were really lovely and resided in Florence. We were corrected when we referred to them as Italian. Firenzian if you don’t mind. Domenica gave us her address and requested that we send her a postcard from Melbourne. Consider it done, Domenica but it may be a few weeks away! Lorenzo handed us a business card for his son’s Indie-Rock band, what a proud fatherly gesture. Upon arriving back to the hotel we jumped on the band's website and had a listen to the promo clip... very cool!
http://www.myspace.com/clevergroup

All the best to your boy. Very nice meeting you both.