Riva and around

Our final resting place before returning home. The signs were not auspicious, with a strike on all transport (trains, buses, ferries) which meant we had to overnight at the southern end of Lake Garda. However, we made it fine the next day and have had a great stay.


Riva is a bit cooler and sits in an amazing setting at the head of the lake, pretty much surrounded by huge mountains. The town is a mix of medieval streets, an old tower, some roman ruins but also a lot of buildings constructed when the Austro-Hungarian aristocrats made Riva one of their places of choice during the summer. So, lots of grand old buildings, a lovely waterfront and so on.







The idea was that we would rest up here b4 returning home, but we’ve been pretty active: some big walks along the lake cliffs (stunning!) and other spots around the lake and up the valleys (waterfall trip photo); a day trip on the ferry to a medieval town called Malcesine with its windy streets and great castle; and (best of all) a day trip up to the Dolomites.




Riva seems to be a bit of a magnet for sporty types – LOTS of mountain bikers in tight pants (naff!), serious walkers with their sticks (also naff!) and, lots of watersports – windsurfers, yachties and so so. Also lots of families here doing their thing. It all gives the place a bit of energy and a nice vibe to be had.













Dolomites
On a bus and up we go. Dolomites simply stunning, worth coming to Italy just for this. Huge, huge mountains but also very distinctively different from rest of European (and NZ) alps. The crowning glory was arriving at the Pordoi pass and then getting on a cable car up to 3000 metres for a 360 view. Photos don’t do it justice, but you get the idea. (Can you see the road in the green distance of the photo? - 27 switch-back corners to get there!)













This part of Italy is very heavily influenced by Austria – it’s German speaking and quite resistant to ‘Italianisation’. Everything here was very different – houses, food, sensibilities etc. Lovely.


And, in the End…
You’ll have noticed that our blog is remarkably free of gratuitious comment and pronounciations about national characteristics. However, now that we are at the end of the trip, here are our thoughts:

Italians seem to know how to enjoy life; friendly, good-humoured, touchy-feely, with very positive responses to our pathetic attempts to speak Italian. Life is lived on the streets, people know how to live in cities rather than trying to escape them to the suburbs.

However, there is also poverty here – both real and imagined. It is very common to be eating at a restaurant and be approached for money; there are always people in the towns with a hat or tin on the ground begging. The edges of cities (not where tourists usually go, but occasionally you see) are often full of graffiti-laden apartment blocks where the quality of life is nothing special. We are very aware of our privileged lifestyle in terms of having the money and time to travel. Sometimes we find ourselves walking through parts of places which haven’t been tarted up for tourist dollars, and the view is much less attractive and much more real for it.

Also as a couple, it can often be easy just to keep your own company. Conversations with Italians about life have generally been few and far between. [We especially enjoyed talking with Andrea in Trieste, Ruth and Vera in Sam Gimignano, our hosts and the restaurant dude in Novacco, an old man in Moena, Sandra our Dolomites tour guide and Anna our Plitvice Lakes guide and, of course, various travelling companions who you intersect with for brief moments]. There are big political and cultural divisions in the country (Berluscuoni, the Prime Minister, polarizes people hugely) but in a way it all seems to not matter too much and life seems to go on as always. People here must have an incredible sense of the past and how it shapes their present – we do wonder if sometimes it makes it hard to do things differently.

Yes, we’ve been in a bubble as travelers, but it’s been superb! It has been SO easy to get around here – very efficient transport (when not on strike), easy to understand signage. Accommodation has been excellent. No tragedies there either.

The price of food and alcohol is disgraceful. Wine is ridiculously cheap, restaurant food is ridiculously expensive. In the end, it all balances out, and we’ve eaten and drunk pretty well. There’s generally been an immediate understanding of Mary’s dietary needs.

And, and, and, we’ve had a really positive reaction to being from New Zealand. Several people have said to us – “Aah, our favourite country, can we swap passports!” Hehe…

This is an amazing country for things to see and do. Huge regional variations and very much a regional mentality as well. Anywhere we have been there has been a lot of see and do and it has been easy to see and do it. For attractions per square kilometer we doubt there is another place like it on the planet (although if you live in Europe and are used to this kind of stuff, you might have another opinion). This has been a fantastic holiday – we both agree, our best ever!

Next posting will be a series of top 3s:
Crazy Moments
Best buildings
Best places to go to
Best activities
Biggest surprises
Best irritations
Most memorable meals

Venice

What a feats (or was it feast) for the eyes! Incredible place, like the whole place is a living museum (cliché, yes, but true). Easy to get lost, and lots of fun as well. After 3 days here we’re starting to get an idea of how to get around.

The whole place feels like some great jigsaw of churches, bridges, palaces and canals (Mary, as our map-reader and guide took us on a couple of detours but nothing that couldn’t be rectified!) Of course, all the above loaded with peoples.



We timed our arrival for the huge and prestigious biennale art festival and have visited quite a few of them, including NZ’s (a big red grand piano with maori carvings all over it and two other black pianos with humungus black bulls sitting on them – pretty cool, actually. Artist is Michael Parekowhai). Photo shows another (I think Ukrainian artist’s) installation inside a church. We were impressed! (this photo doesn't do it justice!)




St Mark’s Square, Doges Palace, numerous churches, palaces, museums and piazzas have been visited and duly committed to memory (many have been visited more than once, usually by accident) and we leave pretty tired out, but that was kind of the idea. For David, this has been one of the most unique places on the trip.



Tomorrow we leave for our final destination – Riva del Garda, where we stay for a week, mixing up some serious walking with (hopefully) lots of rest.

Novacco

Birmingham back to Italy after 5 days – this time in a village with a population of 16! We stayed for 4 days in a house built around 1300 (photo) – a millers house. Restored, thankfully, and full of the owners STUFF. Very, very slow, lazy days spent reading, as well as some hard out days cycling to places such as Aquilea (photo) with its church and amazing mosaics and Palmanova with its 8-sided town plan and walls etc. we’re not the world’s greatest cyclists, but if we wanted to eat we had to ride, as they say (well, they do now).

Birmingham

Back to Italy briefly (Trieste photo) and from there a flight to Birmingham for a blind conference. Managed a canal tour (in preparation for Venice) and some superb Indian curries (much missed on this trip). The potato cart reminded us of some person we knows idea of making money from one herself.




The conference was more of a trade fair, so plenty of opportunity to look at and try out some of the adaptive technology around –some that I had never heard of. Loved a little Braille notetaker, basically a mini laptop that Braille users would use and ¼ of the size of a laptop. Met a number of people too who were suppliers of the equipment. We enjoyed socializing with English speaking people again for a couple of nights.



We had a game of table tennis while we were there (not us in the pic), as there was a push activity thing on and something like 500 table-tennis tables (my figure could be well out!)with bats and balls all over the place so that people could just have a hit - so we did!! World champs for us next year!!

Cres

Biggest island in Croatia but no people. Well, hardly any. Except the hordes who come for the stony nudie beaches and the yachties for the crystal water etc. The town itself was super-cute: coloured buildings and a sheltered inner harbour/wharf, lots of restaurants etc.




Did a lot of walking out of the town and around the harbour, admiring the stone walls and olive groves, and the peace and quiet, fresh sea air and clear blue sky. Managed to sample the odd vino, salami etc. On the last day a real treat – Cres Island specialty of free-range lamb, cooked with rosemary and garlic, said to have a very special flavor. Sadly, flavor lost due to texture, which resembled new boots. Leather ones. Sigh…




We’re there to see Kim, who is in another village (Beli) an hour away on hill (photo) where she is rescuing a rare species of (non-human) vulture. We spent a day there waiting for the birds to feed, which they decided to do in privacy ¼ an hour after we had left (5 hours after the food had been put out for them. However we did go with Kim to monitor some young griffons on the cliffs near the eco centre where she was working and saw one in its natural habitat.

















One of the highlights was a concert in a (nearly) deserted village called Lubenice in the evening – brass band with soprano (go figure!). Was good, and opened the Cres summer festival (photo).

Plitvice lakes

Well we did one of those things we said we weren’t going to do, however it was the only way we were going to see these amazing lakes – so off on a tour we went. Only 8 people in the group so that was OK – couldn’t have done one of those big bus loads!






The lakes were beautiful, bit like being back in NZ nature only these were like a whole lot of special scenes in one area. The guide was good and took us to some great viewing areas and into some caves – good old limestone- and on the less busy tracks though that wasn’t that always possible. Loved the waterfalls (big and small), greenery and colours of the different lakes. All in all a wonderful day despite being with a tour group.

Zadar, Croatia

We liked this place. We had a few quieter days here, a quieter place even in the old city which is where the tourists go. Just wandered around and took it all in. Heaps of coffee and bar places along the streets of all sizes – Mary decided the small round tables indicated drinks sold only and not food.



The stones in the streets were noticeably shiny as if polished. We checked out the ruins and a couple of the churches but took it pretty slow.





It was nice to be near the sea and the sea organ was amazing. We sat and watched the sun go down listening to the sea organ one night, while some kids danced to the sounds.