Levanto and Lucca (Italy)

[Our posts are slightly out of order - this one precedes the Florence (Firenze) blog entry]

We were introduced to Italy by two wonderful small towns:  Levanto and Lucca - each a treasure.  After leaving France and Monaco, we drove to Levanto.  It is one town north of the popular Cinque Terre region - a series of 5 small fishing villages that are joined by a walking path and a train.   We had heard and read that Cinque Terre is not well suited to car traffic, so we headed to Levanto (more easily accessible by car) and planned to use the train linking the towns to explore them. When we checked into our hotel in Levanto, we were informed that the train would be on strike the next day.  Figures!   Davide at the hotel (who was very helpful) suggested we hop on the train right then and explore the next town over - Monterosso.  We are  very glad we did.  The train ride was all of 5 minutes and we explored the entire village (which we would not have done if we were doing the walk through each village).  We came across a cobblestone pathway covered in moss that led us to a charming church (La Chiesa Covento) and cemetery on the cliff side.  We had seen several of these tiered cemeteries that are built right into the side of the cliffs, full of mausoleums and little pathways.  In Monterosso, the cemetery is at the top of a steep hill and we passed an older man making a very slow ascent to the top.  We wondered if he was making his weekly visit to a love one.   He was quick to correct our "buongiorno" with "buonsera - good evening!"  Back at the bottom, we explored a few shops in town, bought some limoncello and taste-tested Sciacchetrà - a sweet wine from the Liguria region.

The next day (the day the train was on strike) we explored the town of Levanto where we were staying.  Here we saw the second example of the black (green) and white striped marble churches that are common in this area of Italy.  

We were thrilled when we came across a small ice rink in the square, music blaring and kids skating in really small circles!

 

  A view of Levanto from above.

The next day, we finally made our way by train to the southern fishing village and started to walk our way back.  One section of the pathway was closed (due to erosion - from the rain, because, yes the big black rainy cloud was still following us), so we had to hop back on the train.  My legs were actually very thankful for this break as the trail consisted of huge stone stairs requiring giant size steps = sore butt!  Despite the rain, the train strike and the partially closed path, we were very glad we stopped and spent a few days in this lovely spot of Italy.

After Cinque Terre we drove to Lucca.  At one point along the way we saw the distant mountains covered in snow.  But then we figured they weren't high enough to be snow.  I noticed that there seemed to be a lot of slabs of marble stockpiled in yards on each side of the highway and when I pointed this out to Marcus, he exclaimed "that's because we are in Carrara!"  The white mountains were marble!  Incredible - it was really neat!    We skirted past Pisa and not once did it dawn on me that this is where the leaning tower of Pisa is... duh!  Needless to say, we didn't see it.  

But Lucca we did - and it's a charming town, one that we would definitely revisit (in sunshine).  The city has a fortified wall around the entire perimeter and you can walk (or run) along the top (it's 4.5 km).  The town is known for it's round "square" - it was once a Roman amphitheater and over time buildings were erected around it and on the steps going up.    This is one of the few medieval walled cities we've encountered that is not built on the top of a hill.  It was easy to explore all the narrow roadways and all the expensive shops that lined them.  Here is a link to a Google picture of the Piazza Anfiteatro in Lucca - gives you a better idea of what it looks like: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Anfiteatro.gif

Lucca is known for a few things.  If you read my history lesson from Avignon, you learned about the papacy schism.  Lucca is where the convocation was held in 1408 to end it.   Lucca also appears in the first line of Tolstoy's War & Peace... "Well, Prince, so Genoa and Lucca are now just family estates of the Bonapartes.(...)".... not that that would make me want to read it!

Lucca is also the birth place of Puccini.  And this year is the 150th anniversary.  They have held a opera concert every day of the year.  So despite the pouring rain, we bought tickets to see a 45 minute opera show - 2 opera singers and one pianist.  It was held in a stone church with no heating.  There was only 10 of us in the audience - you could see the singers breath as they sang.  The woman sang one of my favorites - Gianni Schicchi O mio babbino caro, which has the following line, "I would go to the Ponte Vecchio and throw myself in the Arno!"  When we next went to Florence we went the Ponte Vecchio and hung out by the Arno.  Now I will always remember our time in Florence whenever I hear this opera piece.

More pictures of our time in Cinque Terre:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kristine.d.morris/20081129CinqueTerre#

Sorry, no pictures of Lucca (except those in text above).  It really was pouring!  I had to hold the umbrella over Marcus' head so that he could take the few we do have. 

Firenza

In the wet sunshine (rain), we departed Lucca for Firenza (Florence), driving along the winding roads, through the mist clinging to the rolling hills of Tuscany. While not brilliant as in Canada, the fall leaves highlighted the hills with soft earthy shades of mustard and brown. Lucca had been beautiful (as far as we could tell from under our umbrellas), and we were looking forward to experiencing the Renaissance splendor of Florence.

We had found a suitable hotel through Tripadvisor.com, the aptly named Hotel David (after Michelangelo's David, which is displayed in Florence). We arrived and were shown a nicely appointed room that was lacking only heat to actually make it comfortable. As is common in Italy, heating was restricted to the morning and late afternoon/early evening periods...at other times, you were expected to be either sightseeing or wearing a heavy sweater. The hotel made up for this by hosting an evening happy hour, which enabled us to meet a few nice folks from England, Australia, and the US.

We spent the afternoon after arriving relaxing and enjoying some remarkably good take out food (roasted chicken, bread soup, pasta, etc.) from a deli around the corner. The Italians must like to keep this place to themselves, because we never saw it open again over the following three days.

That evening we enjoyed an excellent meal at Bellagi, where we met Sue and Mike, a charming British couple on holiday. We again bumped into the them the following evening at another restaurant they had recommended and shared another meal, exchanging travel stories.

We tackled Florence the next morning, after a good breakfast supplied by the hotel. We started out walking along the River Arno, which bisects Florence, until we arrived at the famous Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that had been built in more or less its present form in the mid-14th century. This bridge is lined with jewelery shops, having been home to goldsmiths since the 16th century.

Thereafter, we made our way to the Uffizi, a palace built in the mid-16th century for the city's administrative and government offices. It later was used to house the art collections of the Medici family (leading family of Florence) and subsequently enriched through various acquisitions. Today, it is one of the most important artistic collections in the world. We were impressed.

Florence contains, like many European cities, a compact core in which most sights are situated. We spent many hours wandering the streets and taking in the beautiful buildings, churches, and monuments. Some notables included the Piazza della Signoria (where David was originally displayed; a replica remains, but was under renovations while we were there), the Church of Orsanmichele (built for grain merchants and later consecrated as a church), and the Cathedral & bell tower (left), and Baptistery.

A delightful find was the Church of San Miniato al Monte, which is was located on a hill overlooking Florence. This church was built, starting in 1030, on the site of a previous church to honour Saint Miniato. According to Wikipedia, and the leaflet from the church, he was an Armenian prince serving in the Roman army. He was denounced as a Christian and  ordered to be thrown to beasts in the Amphitheater. A panther was called upon him but refused to devour him. Beheaded in the presence of the Emperor, he is alleged to have picked up his head, crossed the Arno and walked up the hill where the church now stands. The photo shows the Saint (with head fully attached) handing his crown to the rightful king.

Another highlight of our visit was attending Puccini's La Traviatta, presented in an intimate setting in a small church by four performers with piano accompaniment. It was a lovely performance, although, shockingly, she dies in the end.

Our last day found us eating a picnic lunch by the banks of the Arno, basking in some welcome sunshine, reading our books, and trying not to look like tourists. We forgot glasses, so had to drink our wine from the bottle...we fit right in.

Cagnes-Sur-Mer

(Link to more pictures at bottom).
After leaving rainy Provence we headed towards Nice. We ended up renting a lovely apartment in Cagnes-Sur-Mer (15 minutes outside of Nice). The apartment was nestled in a very steep part of the medieval town -  it was really cool.  Luckily, a local saw us hopelessly trying to fit our car into a tiny parking spot and he generously moved his car so that we could park ours!  How nice - it saved us from having to use the elevator parking lot that went 14 floors underground (I think Marcus secretly wanted to park there just to try it out). As it happened, a Smart car was able to park in the tiny spot we were originally trying to squish into. Gotta tell ya - if I lived here, I'd buy a Smart car or a Fiat. I'm practically bigger than a Fiat. I wonder if they come in orange.

Despite the torrential downpour we decided to head into Nice on our first day. We wandered through the old part of town and I was finally able to convince Marcus to stay in a linen shop long enough to choose a classic Provencal table linen and cushion covers.  Despite our shopping success and a yummy lunch (kebabs) the weather was pretty miserable, so we made our way back. We fared better weather-wise the next day and we walked along the seaside promenade and took in a few churches along the way. We went inside the hotel Negresco and were very impressed.  Next time (after we win the lottery), we'll stay there!

Overall, Nice is a lovely seaside town. It would be a nice place to stay in the summer to enjoy both the pebbled beach and the surrounding area. We also quite enjoyed our medieval apartment in Cagnes Sur Mer and spent 1.5 half days exploring that area.

After attempting the walk up to our apartment once (it was so steep you had to bend your body forward by 45 degrees and walk like a crab. Honestly!), we discovered a free shuttle that dropped us off above our apartment, with only a short set of stairs to descend.  Halleluah!  The bus driver was a bit of a maniac (I had to close my eyes), but it was better than crawling my way up. 

This is a picture of the little patio we had.  Despite being one of a hodge-podge of apartments it was very quiet and private. The neighbourhood was a series of twisted cobblestone pathways, so quaint that we wanted to take a picture of every entryway we encountered. We did tour the Grimaldi castle at the top of the hill and a few artisan shops. One woman had made fantastic pieces made of braided cash register paper. We had quite a long chat with her in German, French and English. 

We are very jealous of the moderate temperatures they have here in the winter. They have wonderful potted plants (jade plants and other cactus-like species) that thrive all year long.

We explored the local cemetery, built up into a hill, and had a wonderful dinner at the "Entre Cour et Jardin" restaurant.  All in all, we really enjoyed Cagnes-Sur-Mer and we would definitely go back.  Apparently you can walk down to the ocean in 15 minutes and they have quite a long promenade there as well, although not as nice as in Nice (couldn't resist!)

A view of Hautes Cagnes-Sur-Mer with the Castle at the top.

Here are more pictures of Nice and Cagnes-Sur-Mer:

http://picasaweb.google.com/kristine.d.morris/NiceCagnesSurMer

Ciao!

Monaco pictures

Here are more pictures of Monaco...

http://picasaweb.google.com/kristine.d.morris/Monaco#

K&M

Monaco

To envision Monaco, consider Toronto's Yorkville...with a harbour filled with huge yachts and exotic cars that seemingly outnumber everyday transportation. It's like Vegas for the truly, exceedingly rich, an exclusive enclave set within the overtaxed French populace where the "nobility" continues to party like its 1789. And no Elvis.

Monaco is a principality (it's not technically a country) and although Prince Albert II is in charge of things (since the death of Prince Rainer in 2005), the administration and general running of the place is handled by the French government, which takes care of most services and infrastructure. Monaco is free of income tax for its residents, which number about 30,000 (with only 10,000 true Monaques). 

We took the stunningly beautiful "middle" Corniche into Monaco, a winding and twisting road that hugs the cliffs from Nice and then drops down in a series of tight switchbacks into the city, like an airliner swooping in for a landing.

We then made our way through the labyrinthine roads and tunnels that weave through the city towards our hotel (the Marriott...on points, score!).

We then spent the afternoon walking about the principality, essentially covering everything in about four hours.

We saw the famous Monte Carlo casino (you are charged 10 euros to actually enter the gaming room - pass on that), gardens, the palace, Monaco Ville,the cathedral (with the tombs of Princess Grace and Prince Rainer), the harbour, and got a generally good feel of the place.

We returned to our hotel for a rest and then sought out a nice little restaurant in the downtown, where we were treated to a nice beef carpaccio and pasta dishes. And wine. You can't forget about the wine.

And that's all for Monaco. You really only need a day...unless you are entertaining friends on your yacht.

Rain, rain go away...

Well ok.  So it's been raining a lot.  But I am not worried.  I have a husband who is handy and I downloaded the schematics of Noah's Arc from the Internet.  Because we are in farm country, we figure we'll find some tools.  Trouble is, France is definitely lacking wood, so that might require some creative thinking.  Guess we'll have to make it out of here by car after all.  Let's hope we can drive up the mud track that passes for a road here without skidding into a lavender field.  Here's what happened to the last car that tried...

Our week started out quite promising.   On Monday we woke up to a wonderful sunrise before heading to the airport to pick up our friend Lynn, who was flying in from Toronto for a break in Provence.  

We stocked up on some French food goodies and then, after our run to the airport, had a nice lunch sitting in the warm sun on our patio, overlooking the distant Alps. We then went for a short ramble through olive groves and fields, admiring the fantastic views of mountains and valleys.  We came across a ruin and one very scary bug.  This guy had an inch long stinger on his butt!

 

 

 

 

Little did we know that this first day was the best we were going to get, weather-wise, as the sky clouded over and pelted us with rain for the next several days.  However, you can't fight the weather and we made the best of it.

We drove to Avignon, parked and made a beeline for the first warm restaurant we could find to gorge on cassoulet.  Not only was it raining, it was cold!  We trudged through pouring rain to the Palais de Papes (the Popes' Palace).  Lynn and I tried to decipher the French descriptions while Marcus took surreptitious photos, repeatedly getting caught by the undercover photo-cops. He risked deportation for this blog!  Here is a picture of the wall painting in Pope Clement VI's study.  We left the Palais and made a beeline back to the car.  It was getting dark and we had a long drive back.  We left Avignon without seeing the Pont d'Avignon!!!

For those of you who (like me) had not heard of the Palais des Papes up until reading this, please read the next paragraph.

*****Kristine's little history lesson******
(in no way do I contend that this is accurate)
Pope Clement V was a lover of good things - wine and opulent surroundings.  He was obviously a bit of a wimp, too, because he moved the pope's headquarters from Rome to Avignon in 1309 because of unrest after his election.  Every thing went along tickety boo (that is each successive pope made the palace bigger and encouraged more wine production), until they tried to return to Rome in 1377.  This prompted a Papal Schism - in which several popes claimed to be the true pope.  What really happened was that the papal council elected a pope who they then regretted electing.  No one liked him, and so a few other powerful cardinals declared (and were popularly backed) to be the Pope (these were called antipopes).  (Hmm... the Americans should have tried a Presidential Schism after W's re-election).  Regions throughout Europe had to choose between the Avignon Papacy or the Rome Papacy - you can imagine that this caused a few problems.  Finally in 1418 the council encouraged two antipopes to resign and a third was excommunicated (cause he refused to resign) and Pope Martin V was elected.  I guess everyone was glad to end the confusion because Pope Martin V stuck.  Even today the Papacy has not bothered to officially declare if the Avignon or the Rome line of Popes is the "true" line of succession. ***********************

Our next day in Provence was pouring rain and so we hung out in our cottage and trekked uphill to the small hamlet of La Blache.  It is a lovely little spot, even in the rain.

Despite more cold rain on Day 3, we decided to get out anyway and we visited another quaint hillside town called Lurs. We then made our way into Forcalquier for lunch.  We climbed our way up to the citadel which, on a nice day, would have given us spectacular views of the mountains.  Still it was a special place - even in the rain.  With very wet feet, we decided to try one more attraction - the Notre-Dame de Lures cathedral...as we drove up the mountain, we encountered warning signs for snow tires and chains, which we felt were a little out of season. However, when we actually DID encounter snow (!) we thought maybe our little Megane, with it's all season tires, should just turn right back around. We got a bit map muddled heading back to the cottage because it was dark and Kristine wasn't paying attention and we missed a turn.  But Madge rerouted us and, after driving along a very deserted track in the pitch black (mostly by feel: our headlights are pathetic!), we made it home.

Lynn decided to see if the weather was any better in Paris and so we drove her to the TGV on Friday. We miss her company already!  We will spend our remaining day here planning where to go next and dream of returning to Provence in the summertime!