Heading for Lake Garda with our best friends Nick and Olwen and our favourite coach drivers John and Tony. We met for the first time a lovely couple, Don and Jennifer; the photo shows Jen in the background knitting. This is the Leger Silver Service lounge where as well as knitting you can also read, chat, have a few drinks and generally socialise and is one of the best parts of the Leger holidays we have grown to love over the years.
We arrived with Leger at the Hotel Centrale in Riva-del-Garda, Lake Garda where we were to stay for 3 nights. A typical small Italian 3 star hotel with decent accommodation, nice food and most of all a TV so we could all watch the Euro's with the locals. England had been knocked out (on penalties LOL) by Italy in the quarter finals just before we travelled to Italy so naturally we transferred our loyalties to Italy. We were to see Italy beat Germany (yes, get in there!) in the semis but unfortunately they were comprehensively beaten by Spain (4-0) in the final. However, our enthusiastic support for the home team won us some friends in the hotels.
The quayside at Riva-del-Garda.
The church at Malcesine.
Overlooking the town of Malcesine and Lake Garda. Later in the day John and Tony organised a boat ride over to Limona-sul-Garda, which is on the opposite side of the lake from Malcesine, for the evening where we saw the Germans congregating ready for the semi-final against Italy. We got back to our hotel in time to watch the game in which Balotelli scored and Italy won 2-1.
Taken from the quayside at Malcesine looking down the Lake.
Shopping in Malcesine, what Jane and Olwen do best.
Looking up towards the hills overlooking Malcesine and the church. It's an interesting fact that over 75% of Italy is mountainous or hilly, especially in the more central areas.
Olwen weighed down with shopping (what else) in Malcesine.
Sirmione.
This is what I love about the villas bordering the lakes, they are so beautiful, with the houses nestling in amongst the greens of the conifers and the lakeside pools and outside lounging and eating areas. This would be my idyllic retirement home where you could dine and socialise al fresco in superb weather and surroundings; the Italians here have the best quality of life I believe anywhere in the world. Mind you it would take a few millions to buy this place!
Lake Garda by pleasure boat. Is that a smirk Jane or are you bursting to tell us about your holiday (LOL.)
The so called Grotto of Catullus on the end of the Sirmione peninsula is a bit of a misnomer as it is neither a grotto nor - contrary to what some tourist blurbs would have you believe - did the Roman poet Catullus ever live there. It was originally termed a grotto in reference to the run-down and collapsed walls. As far as the history goes, Catullus lived before this building ever existed (although his family did own a villa here). The villa itself is a three-story building from around 150AD (Catullus died in 54BC) and the main sights to be seen are the supports for what was once a patrician villa for a rich family.
The beautiful town of Sirmione.
Scaliger Castle (Rocca Scaligera) built in the 13th century by the Scaliger family who ruled the area by force for over 150 years from early 1200's to late 1300's. This medieval port fortification was used by the Scaliger fleet and the moat and water inlets show how effective this would have been in protecting the fleet and the people in the port; the building of this complex was started in 1277 by Mastino della Scala. The castle stands at a strategic place at the entrance to the peninsula. It is surrounded by a moat and it can only be entered by two drawbridges; the castle was built mainly as a protection against enemies, but also against the locals - these were violent times.
We had the best view of this castle by taking a trip out on to the lake on a pleasure boat and approaching it from the lake.
Pedestrian access to the castle and the drawbridge visible just the other side of the bridge.
PICCOLO CASTELLO Restaurant. A feature of many of the buildings in this and many other towns in Italy are the flowers that adorn the balconies and gardens; I guess this is largely down to the weather and the soil that encourage flowers like azaleas and rhododendrons to be grown as well as the window boxes and hanging baskets. It just adds to the experience of visiting this wonderful place; I've travelled all over the world but this part of Italy ranks right up there as one of my favourites.
Lunch at the Piccolo Castello with friends Nick and Olwen and Don and Jenny.
Looking out from the Piccolo Castello to the castle moat and the town.
Entrance to the castle moat from the lake.
Travelling into Venice - yours truly. We have been to Venice before with Leger but it is always worth visiting with the history, unique character and absence of cars; going everywhere by boat or gondola is unusual if rather expensive. In fact everything is expensive in Venice and especially in the more popular parts, e.g. the waterfront, St Marks Square, Rialto Bridge and so on. However, if you get round the backstreets as we did there are some superb little cafes which are also not too expensive.
Travelling into Venice - Nick and Olwen
Travelling into Venice - Don and Jenny
A realist, in Venice, would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him...Arthur Symons
Venice never quite seems real, but rather an ornate film set suspended on the water...Frida Giannini
The Doge Palace (Palazzo Ducale) is one of Europe's most beautiful and easily recognizable buildings in Europe; it was the center of government during the Venetian Republic but also the residence of the Doge (chief magistrate). This all finished at the end of the 18th century when Napolean forced the Doge to abdicate and the position was never filled again. The palace we see now was built mainly in the 14th century, and the façade overlooking the Piazzetta dates from the first half of the 15th century and is now a museum of artworks which make it one of Venice's major attractions for tourists.
The famous Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) is connected to the Doge Palace, specifically the interrogation rooms, and passes over the Rio di Palazzo to the New Prison (Prigioni Nuove). The view from the Bridge of Sighs was supposedly the last view of Venice that convicts saw before their imprisonment and the name (attributed to Lord Byron) comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice through the window before being taken down to their cells. In reality, the days of inquisitions and executions were over by the time the bridge was built and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. In addition, little could be seen from inside the Bridge due to the stone grills covering the windows. However, we all like to think that the romantic notion of the Bridge of Sighs is how we should view this thing of history and beauty.
Incidentally, it's probably not common knowledge that there is a Bridge of Sighs in Oxforshire; it's correct name is Hertford Bridge and is a skyway joining two parts of Hertford College over New College Lane in Oxford.
Saint Mark's Basilica; we decided not to visit the cathedral (some of our colleagues did and said it was beautiful) as there was a massive queue and we didn't want to spend any of our valuable time standing in a queue.
Every side canal you looked down there were gondolas taking people for rides, as taxis and also transporting goods and luggage for visitors who had been staying in hotels. We chose not to pay the 60 euros to take a gondola ride partly due to the cost but it seemed that some of these canals were like the M25 and words like romantic, atmospheric (not to mention cornettos) didn't seem all that appropriate. Maybe another time as I guess no-one should visit Venice without experiencing a ride in a gondola.
The Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge. The Rialto Bridge was built towards the end of the Renaissance period in 1591 and its design was actually the subject of a competition that Michalangelo entered; he was unsuccessful and the design submitted by Antonio de Ponte won. There have been many romantic ideas built up around the Rialto Bridge, which to this day is the only way for pedestrians to cross the Grand Canal on foot. I'd heard that it was notionally where east met west for the trading of silk by Marco Polo but he lived 300 years before it was built so that is clearly not true.
Jane likes to tell people that I proposed to her on the Rialto Bridge in the summer of 2012 (we've been married for 30 years!) but I had my fingers crossed behind my back at the time so that didn't count.
Nick and Olwen on the Rialto Bridge. The photo on the right is of a typical gondola ride.
The Grand Canal, a birds eye view from the Rialto Bridge.
Rialto Bridge from the other side of the Grand Canal.
John had told us that we had to go to Harry's Bar whilst in Venice - this is Harry's Bar we are standing outside. Harry's Bar was opened in 1931 by bartender Giuseppe Cipriani who according to legend loaned a rich young Bostonian Harry Pickering some money when his family cut him off due to his excessive drinking. Two years later Pickering returned the loan and, to show his appreciation, gave him an extra 40,000 lira (about $2000), enough to open a bar. At Pickering's request Cipriani named the bar Harry's Bar. The Italian Ministry for Cultural Affairs declared it a national landmark in 2001.
Harry's Bar has long been frequented by famous people including Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Truman Capote, Orson Welles, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Barbara Hutton and Woody Allen and it was a great favourite of the author Ernest Hemingway. Harry's Bar is also famous for its dry martini (15 parts gin, 1 part vermouth), which is served in a small glass without a stem and is called a Montgomery after British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, who liked to have a 15 to 1 ratio of his own troops against enemy troops on the battle field. Ernest Hemingway is said to be the first person to order a Montgomery at Harry's Bar.
Unfortunately we were inappropriately dressed and the waiters wouldn't allow us in.
The Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore on the island of the same name seen from the waterfront whilst we were waiting to board our pleasure boat; this took us round the Venetian lagoon.
Most visitors don't realise that the City of Venice is actually a kind of archipelago, made up of lots of tiny islets divided by canals, although it's a lot simpler to think of the city as one island. The part we saw which was from the Rialto Bridge over to St Marks Square is a small part of the city as a whole and maybe when we go again we will venture a bit further afield.
The Piazza St Marco (St Marks Square) is the social, religious and political centre of Venice, the hub of all social activities in Venice. The Piazza is dominated at its east end by Saint Marks Basilica and the campanile (Bell Tower).
The Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore (left) which sits on an island of the same name and was designed by the architect Andrea Palladio was finished in 1611 but it was completed after Palladio died in 1580. Both the Bell Towers of San Giorgio and the Piazza St Marco (right) are built in similar renaissance style and initially I mistook these photos to be of the same structure simply taken from land and sea.
Gondola entering the circuit round the Doge's Palace, past the palace gardens and out under the Bridge of Sighs.
Jane and Olwen on the bridge outside the Doge's Palace.
Just one cornetto.
The Greek-Orthodox church of San Giorgio dei Greci, one of the many leaning bell towers in Venice. For centuries, despite the close ties of Venice to the Byzantine world, the Greek Orthodox rite was not permitted in Venice. In 1539, after protracted negotiations, the Pope allowed the construction of the church of San Giorgio, which was to be financed by a tax on all ships from the Orthodox world.
There are in fact a number of leaning bell towers in Italy, Pisa being the most famous. This church in Venice has a fairly significant lean obviously due to the subsidence of the foundations which are constantly being attacked by the water around it. I know that there has been a massive amount of work undertaken at Pisa and you wonder how much further this tower could lean before falling into the canal. I suppose it's been there over 450 years so I guess it's not going to topple imminently.
The photo alongside it is of the Bridge of Sighs seen through the stone wall over the canal.
The Italian flag has had a chequered history and the current green/white/red tricolor only became the official flag after WW11 in 1946 although it originated in 1796. The red and white came from the flag of Milan and the green from the color of the region’s military. The flags that have flown over Italy appear like a patchwork quilt and tell the story of the country’s chaotic history. The country wasn’t unified until 1861 and didn’t become a republic until 1946.
