Gaeta, 16 Sept 2011

After picking up our hire car this morning, a nice little Hyundai i30, we leave Rome for the beautiful coastal town of Gaeta, situated on the Mediterranean Sea, not far from and just below Italy’s capital.  Our luggage fits like a perfect jigsaw puzzle in the boot and off we go.  Immediately we hit a wall of frantic heart pounding Roman traffic.  But my amazing brother, with some little help from Stanley: our GPS, did an excellent job in getting us out of Rome without a scratch, bringing us safely to this piece of paradise, all the while his own pounding heart almost audible as we broached the chaotic, bumper to bumper,  24/7 peak hour traffic.   Leaving Rome was an experience not to be repeated.
 
We’re booked into the ‘Millequattrocento B&B’ and on arrival are met by Luigi, our host.   Our rooms are high enough to overlook the houses, sea and winding roads down into the town..... bellissimo !! Now that we're out of ‘il traffico pazzo di Roma’  - Rome’s crazy traffic - the pace is so more relaxed and pleasant.

Venice, Italy, 13 Sept 2011

 How sad it will be to leave Venice tomorrow after 3 glorious days filled with moments of complete non-belief at the beauty surrounding us.  One needs to pinch oneself over and over.  Paul and I left Brisbane on the 10th September and arrived in Venice with swollen feet, weary and completely at odds with normality after a journey of some 30 odd hours – stopping in Singapore along the way, had an 8 hour stopover without leaving the airport.  Three days of non-stop walking and our feet are still swollen and even more weary but so worth it. 
Some of the amazing highlights: 

* Dinner along the fondamente off the Rialto Bridge, drinking Campari Orange and feasting on our favourite fare of pasta arrabiatta.

Rialto Bridge

* Wandering in and out of the myriad of streets, lanes and canals with their assortment of quirky bars and restaurants.   Shops and galleries selling Murano glassware in all shapes and sizes from beautiful jewellery, amazing table pieces, vases, plates and bowls, to large colourful and sparkling chandeliers.

* The island of Murano, where these beautiful artifacts are produced.  Glass blowing was transferred to Murano in the 13th century off the main island to avoid the dangers of fire.  In those times a Venetian glass blower was under threat of execution for giving away any of the secrets of their technique and was actually banned from leaving Venice.

* The island of Burano with its multi-coloured houses, those quirky shops again and the old ladies and their lace making.  If anyone reading this is planning a trip to Venice, ensure you have enough time to walk through the streets of Burano at a leisurely pace.  Take in the sights slowly.  Maybe have un caffè and take lots of photos.  Generally soak up the ambiance of this magical, isola bella.

A tour of the islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello took about 4 hours and only gave us 30 – 40 minutes on each island.  There is not a lot to see on Murano apart from the glass-blowing factories and showrooms where we were given a demonstration of the glass-blowing.  Not a lot to see on Torcello either but there are some ancient ruins there (the island dates back to between the 5th and 6th centuries) plus the oldest building in the lagoon – the Cathedral of Santa Maria dell’Assunta, founded in AD 639.  Adjoining the cathedral is the church of Santa Fosca built between the 11th and 12th centuries.   Unfortunately for us we arrived too late to go inside as it was just on closing.  Before being eclipsed by Venice, Torcello had a population of 20,000. Overall, we preferred Burano but our time there was so limited we just ran from street to street trying to capture in our minds and on our cameras the beauty of this place.  If I ever have the opportunity to revisit Venice I will bypass Murano and go straight to Burano.
 

Beautiful Burano

Wandering in and out of the Venetian streets we found an inviting café for our aperitivo.  It was here I was introduced to the Campari Spritz.  Beware of this drink on an empty stomach!!!  Made on Campari, white wine and soda water, it is very refreshing but packs an unexpected punch.

 



Surfing the net one day prior to leaving home I found a classical, operatic concert playing in Venice at the time we would be there.  Thinking what a treat to experience classical music in Venice I immediately ordered our tickets.  The performance took place in a church bordering a piazza just off a canal …. What a setting.  The acoustics were perfect but the performance turned out to be only three people: two singers - a man and a woman, and the pianist.  Most of the pieces were so high-brow and obscure that I’d never heard them before and Paul promptly fell asleep, also aided by the 35+C heat of the night.  As I looked around the church I saw that he was not alone … there were heads nodding everywhere.

Lastly, public toilets have hugely improved in Italy in cleanliness and modern facilities.  Paying the 1.50 (euro) was well worth it.  An increase of 200% since my last trip but this is Venice and human ablutions, apparently, come at a higher price on this highly touristic island.