Northern Italy

Thanks to everyone who commented on our last piece by the JB, he’s feeling enamoured by all the positive feedback to his publishing debut… it’s okay, he knows if at first you don’t succeed you must try again! So he’ll be making an appearance later on…

After leaving Turin a day late due to being snowed in, we headed to Milan in search of Becks who made his debut with AC Milan just a few days ago. Now there are rumours that he may not return to LA Galaxy to complete his contract with them! Scandal! I think it’s got more to do with Posh enjoying the shopping in Milan. Anyway, I would like to write that I had a fabulous time in Milan, although all that frolicking about in the Turin snow caught up with me, and I caught myself an bug. So whilst I took the porcelain bus for a drive, the JB headed into town to see the sights and delights of Milan. Over to him now…

The JB does Milan

First and foremost I went to main attraction from a tourist point of view, The Cathedral (Duomo) probably Milan’s most famous landmark, which can hold 40,000 people. Nearby, renown for its shopping is The Galleria which houses the likes of Louis Vuitton and Prada (Leroy city) I spotted Becks in amongst the crowd, although with his back to me unfortunately! Also close by, is the Teatro della Scala which doesn’t have the architecture and elegance of the Opera Garnier in Paris, in my humble opinion anyway! Apart from these few sights which are all within a couple of minutes walk of each other, there isn’t a lot more that Milan offers to the curious traveler. But if it’s shopping you want, it’s shopping that you’ll get.

The End by the JB

Milan Cathedral

One of four doors to The Galleria (Milan)

Inside The Galleria

Becks posing, as usual...

Teatro della Scala

The Castello Sforziosca

The next day, feeling marginally better I joined the JB for a drive up to Lake Como, some of the most beautiful scenery to be seen. Snow capped mountains, bright blue skies and crystalline blue water all made for a lovely day.

Lake Como and surrounding Swiss Alps

Lake Como surrounds

Lake Como (from the car)

Lake Como (so blue)

Next we headed to Verona, fair Verona, as Shakespeare refers to it in Romeo & Juliet. The Bard was a fabulous writer and after visiting Verona we can see that he also had a good eye, or two. An old Roman city that centers around Piazza Bra where the main Arena stands (it’s still used today for the Opera). We also visited the 83m high Torre de Lamberti (lovely panoramic views at the top), Casa di Giulietta (Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father! Refuse thy name! And I shall no longer be a Capulet!), and the Verona cemetery was something we stumbled across in our walks. Really beautiful Roman architecture, an amazing place to stand in.

Verona cemetery

Verona River

Verona Arena (Roman Amphitheatre)

Piazza Bra in Verona

Torre de Lamberti (83m high)

View from 83m up across Verona (snowy Alps in background)

Wall of Love at Casa di Giulietta Verona

Statue of Giulietta (that's 'the balcony' under which she's standing)

Legend says that if you touch Giulietta's right breast that a new lover will come your way - you can see how 'polished' it is.

So here we are in delightful Venice. This is a remarkable city for the fact that it stands on over 100 islands which are only connected by pedestrian bridges, that create a labyrinthine network of lanes and canals; apparently even locals get lost in amongst. It’s very much a tourist city with some 20 million visitors each year, but even in the midst of winter we came across a number of Asians, Americans and Australians. We think it would be quite difficult to live there as a permanent resident, as well as so many foreigners in the place year round, all municipal services are conducted via the waterways, the garbo collects the rubbish in a boat, the police patrol the ’streets’ in boats dodging gondola’s and water taxis, there are few parks/gardens due to the lack of space (YD wouldn’t survive here!) and there are conflicting opinions on whether the place is sinking – some say yes, others no. Most buildings are on the lean, so there’s serious movement going on, if they didn’t look so old, it could be suggested they were built by Metricon or Simmonds Homes.

And it is expensive, all the eateries we peered in to seemed to advertise inflated prices compared to what we’ve come across in Italy thus far. But having said all this, it is definitely a place that everyone should visit at least once, just for it’s unique nature. I’ve never been in a purely pedestrian city – no cars, no scooters nor bikes. Piazza San Marco is really the only piazza in Venice and it is very beautiful, particularly the mosaic artworks to the interior.

Venice canalway

Venice's Grand Canal

Piazza San Marco

Piazza San Marco

Basilica San Marco

Venice Carnevale Masks

Fancy a gondola ride???

Next we head to Rimini further down on the east coast of Italy. Although we’ve been snowed in and both suffered a dose of lurgy, we’re looking forward to the next chapter of our Italian adventure. As we head South and away from the Alps we hope to not encounter any more snow and find ourselves in a milder climate. Until next time, keep dancing!