As we leaned over Pisa and Florence...

We had gotten so used to not seeing vehicles around us in Venice that seeing them after 3 days on our way to Florence hit us with quite a disappointment…felt like coming out of a dream into the real world. Passing through some really pretty landscape, we reached Florence…city of over 100 palaces and 70 museums. The Renaissance began here. It is said by UNESCO that more than 50% of the world's great art is found in Italy and half of Italy's great art is found in Florence!

After settling in to our Victorian residence (a bed & breakfast in a cosy ancestral house), we headed to Pisa. The leaning Tower of Pisa was true to it's past of being a wonder of the world – one of the most instantly recognisable buildings. The fact that the tower is leaning sinks in, when you enter it expecting the floor to be flat but find it to be inclined. The view of the town from the top was picture perfect with the houses and landscape spaced symmetrically.













The next morning, our day started with the walking tour through the markets lined with leather goods. Walking through the cobbled streets, we got to see some grand palaces and churches, highlighted by Michelangelo's distinct architecture. The Duomo, Campanile and Baptisteryat Florence is the crowning glory of the city, breathtaking with geometrically patterned bands of white, pink and green marble. The tour ended at the Petite palace where we were amazed to see the splendid porcelain, gold and silver collections. Behind the palace are the Boboli gardens filled with fountains, which are supposed to be the inspiration for the Versailles gardens in France. From top of the Boboli gardens, we could get a dazzling view of Florence. Next on the agenda was the world's oldest museum – containing some of the world's finest art collection - the Uffizi Gallery. Our extraordinary tour guide had been a teacher for 9 years and took us through the marvellous journey of the evolution of art. Developments such as humanising of God, 2D to 3D with geometrical calculations coming into play; shadows etc (something which we take for granted today) were explained.













The next morning, we took a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. Siena is surrounded by olive groves and the vineyards of Chianti, and is one of the most beautiful cities of Tuscany. Set on three hills, the city is drawn together by winding alleyways and steep steps. It is famed for the "Palio", the annual historic *horse-races.












San Gimignano – the golden lily of middle ages is called the Manhattan of Tuscany since it preserves 13 of it's noble towers giving it a sky scraper skyline. We left for Rome the next morning.

*Catch a glimpse of horse races in Siena in the first few shots of the movie Quantum of Solace!

Dream anniversary in Venice!

Someone asked us the other day, ‘Is Venice as romantic as people make it out to be?’ and we answered, ‘Well, Venice is a dream, except that in this case, the dream has come true.’ This unique masterpiece was built entirely on water and managed to survive the 21st century without cars. It has canals instead of streets, boats instead of buses (even the police and ambulances) and ornate bridges instead of subways. No city in the world possesses such an awesome line up of sights for visitors.

We arrived at the Venice airport on May 2nd and a 10-minute walk took us to the waterfront where we got into a vaperetto (waterbus) heading to St.Angelo – our bus (water) stop. We managed to find our way to the hotel after winding through narrow alleyways and bridges. It was a pleasant hotel with helpful staff and most importantly just few minutes away from most of the popular spots. We headed out for a pizza. And for all those who think Pizza Hut and Dominoes rule, you really haven’t had a pizza if you haven’t had it in Italy. The crust was so thin, the cheese so tasty, the olive oil flavouring so tantalising, ummmm…….it was unbelievably good.

 

We lazed around the colourful neighbourhood markets and quiet backwaters before heading to Shri Ganesh – the only Indian restaurant in Venice. We were seated alongside a small canal and could see gondolas (Venetian wooden boats) passing next to us while having tasty Indian khaana.

We had the next day to ourselves and went to the Jewish Ghetto…old time Venice…with many small shops selling masks, flowers and bakery items. Also lined were a number of coffee shops. We bought a blue feathered, stone lined mask and got back in time for our walking tour, which took us through St. Marks Basilica, Doges palace, Bridge of Sighs, Casanova and Amerigo Vespucci’s homes. It was an informative walk lasting for 2 hours after which we went up the tower of St. Marks Basilica and saw some stunning views of Venice from high up…came down to St. Mark’s square for an experience which can’t be described in words. Couples, pigeons, ice cream, live music…all set amidst the beautifully symmetrical St. Mark’s square.

 

The next day took us first to Murano, famous for it’s glass. Glass blowers have for centuries performed oral gymnastics to turn out those fantastic chandeliers & glassware that Victorian ladies used to prize so highly – ruby red, indigo blue – colours you name it, you have it. We saw some of the best jewellery, photo frames, and souvenirs – all made in glass - and could not resist buying a gold film embedded bright red glass frame. Next was Burano, famous as a centre of lace making, a craft that reached its pinnacle in the 18th century. We were rewarded with a charming little fishing village, far removed in spirit from the grandeur of Venice. Houses were in varied colours – sienna, robin’s-egg or cobalt blue, barn red, butterscotch, grass green…I bought a red, hand made, glass bead work, velvety shawl with peacocks on it. On our return to Venice, we undertook the most eagerly awaited journey of our holiday – a grand Gondola ride. An hour’s ride through the Grand and narrow channels of Venice listening to the sweet whistling music of our Gondolier, transported us to a different world from which we just did not want to return – a perfect way to celebrate our second anniversary.

We left for Florence the next morning. We will share our journey there and to Rome in the coming days… 

3 Evenings in Paris!

Bonjour Madame, Monsieur – any more French and we won’t know what we are writing so we will stick to English. Welcome to our journey to Paris!

It started really well with us getting into a cab at home to reach the station and realising a few minutes later that we had forgotten our scarves, gloves and caps. It was already late and we could not go back to get them. Looking forward to the brighter things awaiting us, we headed to St Pancras to get on our train to Paris. In 2 hours and 20 minutes at a speed of 240 kmph, on the Eurostar, we switched countries passing under English Channel and were at Gare De Nord station where we had a cab waiting to take us to our hotel. The City Tour was our first agenda item and it was an exciting hour of seeing all the major attractions at a quick glance giving us a good idea of how to manage the rest of our stay. This tour finished at the Eiffel Tower. However much you have heard and seen this marvel, it still manages to amaze you. We were disappointed to know that visitors were being allowed only to the second floor and that the top floor was closed due to strong winds. However, once on the second floor, the top floor was opened and we had the privilege of watching the fascinating city of Paris from a height of 986 ft. The pictures will tell you what a marvellous sight it was!

We then came down and waited for the Eiffel tower to be lit. And it was breathtaking. We just could not stop taking pictures till finally we could not stand the cold wind any more and took a cab back to the hotel. We were pleasantly surprised to find an Indian restaurant just next door to our hotel. A tasty hot dinner later, we crashed out after a fairly long but satisfying day.

 

Day two began with a visit to the Louvre museum. We were expecting a typical museum environment and were prepared to get bored for a few hours. But it turned out to be pretty interesting. The life size paintings were exceptionally beautiful. The artistic carvings and paintings on the ceiling were something we had never seen before. Mona Lisa as expected did not live up to its hype. In fact, we can confidently say that there are other more impressive paintings to the layman’s eyes than the Mona Lisa.

We then went to Montmatre – the old arty Paris. The highlights of this area, which used to be the artists locality are the cobbled narrow streets and roadside cafes. Also popular is the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur, which is a very old Cathedral. Once we saw the cathedral, we were all set for a very different ride – on a bus, which resembled a train, complete with an engine and carriages. It took us through the alleyways of Montmatre and dropped off us at the Metro station. By then we were already comfortable with the Metro system and headed straight for the hotel to take some rest and get ready for the night life offered by Paris.

 

Dinner was followed by an hours cruise on the river Seine and although it was raining and extremely cold, we managed to catch good sights and take some photographs. We then went to see the cabaret at Lido. The Lido has been a venue for the finest shows with the most famous names since 1946. The Lido is the stuff that amazement and dreams are made of. Its technical daring contributes to a ceaseless search for perfection. The show we attended was “Bonheur”- A magical one and a half hour show with extraordinary special effects, 600 lavish costumes, real ice skating rink on the stage, 70 artists, water effects and lasers. 

 On Day three, we started late with a trip to the Versailles palace. The palace was in all its glory and the ornate paintings inside, gardens and fountains outside were better than what we had read and heard. There was just so much to be photographed and we could barely manage to cover the gardens. It is no surprise that the maximum photographs in the album are from the palace. We got dropped off at the Eiffel again (we just did not feel like leaving it). A few more photographs and we were off to Arc de Triomphe. A flight of ‘not few’ stairs saw a panting Sudhir and Archana on top of this historical monument looking over the Champs Elysees. From there, bearing the rain, we went back to Louvre as we did not want to miss taking night shots of the museum from the outside. You will see that we managed to get some really nice pictures of the glass pyramid. By the time we reached the hotel, we were almost drenched and tired.

Day four was Notre Dame and it is an imposing structure as well. The river alongside is lined with small shops with souvenirs, sketches, paintings, books etc. We picked up a cartoon painting of a happy couple (imagining them to be us :) ). We saw some people getting their sketches made…very impressive…we just did not have enough time to get one made of ours, else that was certain.

 We managed to grab a sandwich at Subway before making our way to the Opera House. We had been informed earlier that the Opera house opens only in summer so were thrilled to find it open. Again, breathtaking place as the pictures will tell you. We were back at the hotel in time to pick our luggage and get into a cab to head for the station. Really tired and exhausted, we got into our coach and rested.

Portugal - The land of Vasco da Gama!

 

There is something about exploring a new city; a new country…just is beyond words. So, off we were to Lisbon, the smallest capital in Europe. After getting up at 4:45 am, could not help but to sleep on the 2 hr 10 minutes flight. Lisbon was different from other European cities; there were still TV antennas on rooftops, and electric poles above ground. We checked in at the hotel and headed straight out to St Jorge castle. Lisbon is well connected by underground rail network, trams and buses. We used the underground rail…bright coloured carriages and well maintained.

  

The castle is on top of a hill and once out of the underground, we took the tram up the hill. It was an exciting 10 minutes…we were rattled by the end of it…very much like the tram. The castle is brilliant and the day was wonderful, 14 degrees and a bright sun. After taking in the view of the city from the castle (hilltop), we took a walk through the narrow lanes of Baixa and Alfama…nice pretty shops and a good feel of the city.

It was raining the next day and we switched our plans of outdoor sightseeing to see the Ocenarium instead. It is the biggest aquarium in Europe. A couple of hours later, it was a hot ‘desi’ lunch at an Indian restaurant nearby. We then went to Vasco Da Gama mall. It was all lit up and sparkling for Christmas and New Year. Bits of shopping here and there and the only way to spend time indoors was to watch a movie at the theatre. We watched Jim Carrey’s ‘Yes Man’ with Portuguese sub titles.

The next day was scheduled for Sintra…a petite, beautiful town near Lisbon. It is known for Pena Palace, nestled on top of a hill. Although it was fairly bright in Sintra town, at the top of the hill, we were walking through clouds…visibility was extremely poor. It was obviously bad for photography but it was fun walking in near zero visibility. We then took a bus to another town called Cascais. As we get down to sea level from Sintra, we passed through a small town called Cabo da Roca. The view of the ocean and cliffs was spectacular. Cascais is a resort town with some popular beaches. We took a train from there to Lisbon with most of the journey along the coast. The setting sun at the horizon made the sky look brilliant. We closed the day visiting Belem from where Vasco Da Gama had set sail and found India.

A nice short trip…back in London from the pleasant 10+ degrees to sub zero temperatures.

Turquoise Turkey!

We did have an idea of how important a position Turkey holds in world history…however, what we had a good exposure to was the use of Istanbul as a backdrop for many spy novels and movies and I guess that is what prompted us to go there. It is not the best time of year to visit Istanbul but considering our limited choices due to the cold weather elsewhere in Europe, we still went ahead. We were very excited this time because this was our 15th country together :).

Longish flight via Zurich (you do have direct flights from London) took us to Istanbul in the afternoon and using the hotel cab, we arrived at Sultanahamat suites. Right in the midst of Old Istanbul, stones throw away from the city’s main attractions, we had a one bed apartment for ourselves (upgraded thanks to offseason).

As was expected it was raining when we arrived and this weather continued for the first 2 days of our stay. However, since it was just a drizzle, not very cold and the fact that we were well equipped, we managed our travel comfortably.

By the time we settled in on day 1 and had our lunch, it was already evening. We took a walk around the Sultanahamet area (within a km of the apartment) and figured out what’s where. There were quite a few appealing shops and looking at those, we were certain that adequate time had to be allotted to shopping.

We started day 2 with a visit to the Haji Sophya…originally built as a church and then converted to a mosque. This is probably the only mosque (now a museum) which has paintings depicting Christ. The structure, ornate walls inside, coloured mosaic are all very impressive and there is no doubt that even those who are well travelled will be in awe on seeing this. We then went to the Blue Mosque – which is just across from Haji Sophya. Fortunately the drizzle had stopped and we could take some pictures from the outside. There is a different entrance for those going into the mosque as tourists (those not intending to pray). True to its word, the blue mosaic in the museum leaves you spellbound. The painted domes are a marvel and give you plenty of opportunity for pictures. After some parathas for lunch at the apartment, we walked over to the Topkapi palace. The ‘must see’ things there include the 83-carat diamond, bejewelled thrones and other palatial wear and ceramics – a few ‘wows’ and ‘amazing’ later, we were in the market place appreciating the many artefacts.

We planned to do a tour on the Bosphorus the next day. For once, we went ahead without much of a plan expecting to be able to make it without a hassle. However, on reaching the port, we saw a boat leaving for the trip. The trip was for 2 hours and would have taken us on a ride through the Bosphorus and back where in we could have viewed a few key monuments along the cost and seen the Asia side of Turkey. It did not allow the passengers to get off anywhere. There were no other boats we could see and had to take a quick decision on whether or not to take this trip. We decided against it, as we were keen to see some of the places en-route. We took a cab to take us to the spot which marked the end of the boat trip. On the way we did the Dolmabache palace, Bosphorus bridge, Sultan Ahamet bridge and reached well in time to take the boat back to Istanbul port. It was interesting to see another continent just across the water…we all know that borders to countries and continents are imaginary lines…but when you physically see them, the realisation does sink in. We went to the spice bazaar on the way back and had our first glimpse of Turkish indoor markets. Colourful spices, ceramics, sweets and souvenirs were laid out to give a truly exotic feel.

The last day was dedicated for the Grand Bazaar…4000+ shops, 60 streets…all under one roof. You can haggle like in India, the shopkeepers are out in full force to pull you inside their shops, errand boys running around supplying Turkish coffee to shop owners, prayers in the nearby mosque…the setting is perfect to shop at leisure.


After a hot lunch, we were back at the airport to catch our flight to Zurich and onwards to London.

Turkey was all and more than what we expected. People say you can spend months here, still with a lot more left to see. There are numerous places outside Istanbul as well which are worth visiting, although we could not manage any in the limited time we had.
Istanbul is exclusive and awesome…although it is in Europe, there is little to compare it to the other European cities. A must-see for anyone interested in the EXOTIC!!!!