Our Easter Trip

On Friday, 21st March (Mark’s birthday), we woke up in Dagmersellen,
with snowing falling heavily - not a great start to our travels. We packed
the car, plugged our destination (Salzburg, Austria) into the GPS and off we set on our trip. As the road was covered in snow we needed to limit our speed to about 60 km/h on the freeway. The driving was quite hair-raising for the first 3-4 hours, but the weather conditions improved once we passed through the Alps.


SALZBURG (21st - 23rd March)

After checking in to our accommodation, we took a walk into the Old Town of Salzburg and enjoyed Mark’s birthday dinner in a cosy Italian restaurant. Back at the hostel we watched ‘The Sound of Music’ on the big screen.
We spent the sunny morning walking along the Salzach River and in the Old Town, which is filled with history. We saw the Panorama Museum, Mirabell Platz, many statues and fountains, and had an ice-cream in Mozart Platz, just outside Mozart’s birthplace.

In the afternoon we hopped onto the bus for ‘The Sound of Music’ tour. The scenery from the bus was magnificent: the lakes, mountains and the beautifully coloured houses. We visited the gazebo (where Liesel and Rolf danced), the back of the Von Trapp house (where Maria and the children fell off their boat and into the river), the city sites (in the ‘Do Rai Me’ song), the tree-lined street (where the children hung off the trees), all while listening to the movie’s songs in the bus between stops.
Salzburg is an impressive and beautiful city, while the Austrian countryside is magnificent with breath-taking views.



VENICE (23rd - 26th March)

We set off towards Venice, again in heavy snow/rain. As we entered Italy the landscape changed: the mountains flattened and the land was filled with vineyards. We parked our car in a multi-level carpark in Mestre and took a short train ride across to Venice.

Walking out of the busy train station we saw the Grande Canal for the first time – WOW. The sight was stunning: the water, gondolas, boats, buildings. It was like we had entered another world.
A ferry boat took us across to our accommodation, where we settled in for the night. In the morning, which was cold but sunny, we caught the ferry to San Marco’s Square, which is a busy area filled with souvenir vendors, San Marco’s Basilica and pigeons. We had a look in the Treasury Room in the Basilica, which is filled with ancient relics and valuable treasures. Along the Grande Canal we had a lovely luncheon in a restaurant along the water’s edge, with delicious Italian wine and food.

We took a magical gondola ride with Luciano (left), who sang a little and gave us interesting facts about Venice. He also showed us the homes of Casanova and Marco Polo. We absolutely loved the gondola ride and will never forget it.
Walking through the cobble-stoned alleys of the city we were amazed at the beautiful scenes that greeted us around every corner: the bridges, the Grande Canal, narrow canals, the gondolas, taxi-boats, the buildings lining the canals, as well as the washing hanging across from one building to another - and, of course, the gelati.
Venice filled us with a sense of awe and we all hope to return one day. The girls voted it as their favourite city in Italy.


TUSCANY (26th - 29th March)

As we began travelling south the weather improved. The scenery changed dramatically along the way: from flat, to hilly, to green pastures, to urban housing. Nearly every second paddock seemed to be a vineyard.

FLORENCE

Once in Florence we experienced the crazy driving of the Italians: lane-changing without indicating, vespers darting in and out, driving through intersections whether there is room or not – pedestrians beware! Settled into our accommodation – an old mansion about five kilometres from the centre of Florence.
After taking the #17 bus to the city we walked towards the Galleria dell’Accademia where we received free entry (because it was Cultural Week in Italy) to see the statue of David. Entering the gallery we turned to see him at the end of a long, narrow room. As we took each step closer we became more impressed with the magnificence of David in all his glory. (Mark thought he was looking at himself in the mirror). The detail in the sculpture shows that Michelangelo was certainly a genius, and this was confirmed to us when we later saw the Sistine Chapel. Terri-Lyn waited for one and a half hours to gain entry into the Uffizi Gallery and saw ‘The Birth of Venus’ by Botticelli, among the other Renaissance art, considered the world's greatest collection.
While she took in the culture, Mark and the girls went shopping. Florence’s cobble-stoned streets are filled with leather, gold and souvenir shops. Mark purchased a stylish leather jacket, belt and wallet from some of the stalls and some new jeans from a fashion shop. He spent more on clothes here in one day than he has in total in the past five years. Mark nearly bought a cheaper jacket, but the salesman talked him into the more expensive one by saying "You can't compare Fiats with Ferraris". So next time you see him you can tell him how fashionable he looks (this may compensate for his empty pockets).
Florence has a beauty all of its own: the Arno River, with its unique bridges, the sense of historical and cultural importance, and the romantic brown-tinge that colours the city.

PISA

We spent a day travelling out to Pisa, and nearly another day trying to find a car park. As we approached the town we could see the Tower in the distance. Walking through the gates of Campo dei Miracoli (the Field of Miracles) we were immediately fascinated by the extent of the lean of the Tower (that it is able to stay upright), the immaculately kept green lawns (they stay that way because the public is not allowed on the grass) and the Dome. We climbed up the marble steps through the inside of the Tower to the very top - we were all puffed out by this stage. It was strange as when climbing towards the lean the steps seemed less steep. When we reached the top we had a great view of Pisa. It was amazing being on the slanted top of the tower, we could really feel the lean.

SAN GIMIGNANO

This old town, in the middle of the Tuscan countryside, is filled with narrow alleyways and towers, and is quite wonderful. We visited the Torture Museum where we were amazed at the inventive measures that can be used to 'convince' someone to confess. We then climbed the highest tower (Torre Grossa), where we were rewarded with a gorgeous 360˚ view of the rolling, green hills of the Tuscan landscape.

SIENA

Siena is one of Italy's most enchanting medieval towns. It has a walled centre and the Piazza del Campo is famous for its prestigious horse race each year, where horses and riders race around this square. To reach it we needed to walk up a very long and steep path, surrounded by tall, stone buildings which were impressively made of multi-coloured bricks with great detail. The town square has a real atmosphere of wonder. After consuming a gelati (for a change), we drove off, saying good-bye to Tuscany.

Tuscany - it is difficult to put into words how it feels to be in the Tuscan countryside. It is filled with brilliant colours blended together, the greens are intense, the hills roll into one another. There are beautifully coloured houses, castles, fortresses and ruins scattered throughout this landscape, where the Roman history is on show. It is no wonder that so many people from all round the world are attracted to it.


ROME (29th March - 2nd April)

Drove through the chaotic streets of Rome to leave our car in a multi-level carpark for the duration of our stay.
We woke to a warm, sunny day and headed for the Vatican City. On the first Sunday of every month visitors are admitted into the Vatican Museums for free, so we took advantage of this by waiting in the queue for an hour to get in. We walked through many, many rooms that housed sculptures and paintings. The decorative walls and ceilings were exquisite in their detail and gold plating. Our favourite room was the Room of Maps (left), with extraordinary paintings on the ceilings. The walk-through took over an hour as the area is absolutely huge, but the end brought us to the Sistine Chapel, which was wonderful.

St. Peter’s Square is where we had our packed lunch, while taking in the huge columns, sculptures and fountain. While we were inside the Museum, the Pope held a ceremony in the Square where he blessed selected people. Mark was disappointed that he missed being blessed by the Pope.

We stopped at the Spanish Steps and used them to sit on for a rest and a gelati. On our way back we had a lovely dinner at Giovannis (‘Jimmy’s’) restaurant, then introduced the girls to the ‘31’ card game and had a relatively early night.
Our first stop on the next day was to visit an interactive show about the history of Rome – The Time Elevator. This helped to put all that we would see into place.
Our first view of the Trevi Fountain was a surprise – it was empty of water. Repairs were being done, but we were assured that it would be filled again within a couple of hours. We went across to see the Pantheon, had some lunch, and went back to the beautiful Fountain. When filled with water and the fountain operating there is something that makes this spot special.
It was a very long walk to the fascinating Palantine Hill, where many ruins are congregated. From there we could see the Colosseum, which was our next visit. As we entered the Colosseum, we could imagine the scenes that occurred there by thinking about the ‘Gladiator’ movie.

While in Rome we used the underground railway system, the Metro, which we found to be efficient. Navigating our way through the streets on foot was tricky as the roads jut off at every angle and the street signs are often not visible. We were continually checking our map. Rome is a bustling, vibrant city where something always seems to be happening. It is like an open-air museum, with more ruins than dog poo (& that's saying something).



CINQUE TERRE (2nd - 4th April)

The drive north towards the Cinque Terre was a long one, but the scenery on the way made it pleasurable. We had a lovely dinner in Manarola (the town where we stayed) at Billy’s Trattoria, a restaurant with a view of the sunset out over the ocean and cliffs.
Cinque Terre is an area of coastline that links five towns by hiking paths. The total distance from end to end is about nine kilometres, and the path varies from cement, to steps, to rocks, to muddy – most of it steep climbs and steep descents.
We only had one full day here so we decided to hike from town to town and see how far we could get. It turned out that we were able to walk to all the towns and get the train back to Manarola. The hike was a challenge for all of us, but the view out towards the ocean and along the coastline was our reward - as well as the gelati, cake, coke, beer and game of fussball. We were surprised to see so many older people walking this track as it is heart attack material.
This is an environmentally protected part of the world. It is notable for the vineyards that are carved out along the cliff faces. It was a perfect way to finish off our trip.



OVERALL

GPS – The Global Positioning System kept us sane, as it lead us to each destination without us having to get lost, and therefore frustrated. Highly recommended, particularly driving in Italy - a real marriage saver.

TOLLS ON MOTORWAYS – In Italy, when you enter a motorway you are issued a ticket, and as you leave it you must pay for the distance travelled. The costs add up quickly, but as we were travelling for many hours already, this was our better option.

TUNNELS – In Australia we tend to drive around mountains, but in Europe they drive through them via tunnels. There are so many of them, and they range in length from 50 metres to 17.3 kilometres. We were certainly glad to see the light at the end of those long tunnels.

EUROPEAN ROADSIDE STOPS – These centres are large and clean. There are usually a couple of options for the type of food you would like to eat, but most have a smorgasbord with hot and cold food. The toilets are in good condition and very clean, which makes it worth paying the 50 Euro cents each to use them.

HOSTELS – We chose to stay in hostels during our trip, as we thought they would be a more affordable way to travel. As it was we must pay for five adults, which adds up. This style of accommodation is only fair, probably great for young, single people, but for us it was only adequate. The environments tended to be sterile and loud, the breakfasts were unnutritious and once we were separated as there was a strict rule of male only/female only dorms. We will look into a Bed & Breakfast style or apartment style of accommodation for our Summer trip. It may not be that much more expensive.

GELATI, PASTA & PIZZA – We tried out a lot of these – YUM. Although, Mark thought the pizzas were overated with not enough substance.

ITALIANS - Very friendly and happy people. Traffic is scary, no lines on city multi-laned streets. They smoke a lot, talk a lot, talk with their hands, talk on their mobile phones, and generally drive while doing all of these!

SCENERY – It amazed us that throughout our trip, the scenery of the countryside continually changed, and each change was gorgeous. From the snow-capped mountains, to the vineyard covered hills, to the bounty of colours decorating the landscape, to cliff-faces that defy imagination – it is all so beautiful.
Just when we thought that we were suffering from sight-seeing fatigue, we would turn a bend and be presented with a scene so lovely that we were entranced once again.

WE ARE SO LUCKY TO HAVE HAD THIS EXPERIENCE.