Vet Judy

Here goes Venice and the train trip there. Once again through Milan train station, I am getting familiar with the set up in this train station.

I arrived early evening into Venice and caught the traditional boat bus from the train station to the pensione I was staying at. The name of the place was Wildner, and it was pretty close to the Piazza San Marco ( the main tourist attraction). It was by far the nicest place I stayed at for 80 Euro a night since I left home. They had a nice restaurant attached also for breakfast and if you had enough Euro, they had a very nice dinner menu.

I spent the late afternoon walking along the Grand Canal and into a park used by locals walking and playing with their dogs. It was very beautiful and the fall leaves were at their peak.

The following day I had a few hours to use in the middle of the afternoon and I spent time looking in the glass blowing furnaces and shops. I am not sure why, but there were a few shops where I must have looked worthy of their time, because they took me in the so called back rooms or 3^rd floors where the “real collector” pieces were kept. I saw a turtle worth 10,000 Euro there, and many items that were in the same price range. It is hard to imagine the degree of talent and expertise that goes into a piece of that magnitude. After I spent some time in the back room, I could walk through a lot of the stores on the main street and spot lesser quality stuff. I am not so sure that helped me, because now I have to save my money and go back to get a magnificent piece of artwork instead of just settling for a glass souvenir.

While boating down the canal it was interesting to see how life is adapted to having to do everything via the water. There were police boats, postal boats, ambulance boats, garbage boats etc. The grocery and wine delivery was most interesting. There must be thousands of boats in the morning taking small boxes to shops all over the place.

It took a full day for transportation from Santa Margherita Ligure to Lake Maggiore and a town called Stresa.

Now the walk to the hotel was no easy feat either. It had to be a mere 1 ½ miles from the train station, the only blessing was that most of that was level or downhill. I must say my backpack must be getting heavier as I go along, as this flat walk seemed like a life time. The other interesting thing I have noticed is you will find a big sign saying B&B such and such with an arrow. So you follow the arrow and then there are no more signs? What is with that? Not like there is no choice of roads to take either. As luck would have it some gentleman walking his little dog was next to me on a corner and my gosh he spoke broken English. I must have looked a little dense or confused or both so he directed me, or should I say walked in front of me most of the way, until he was sure I would find the place.

What a treasure this little B&B was. Albergo Luina. The best part was great home cooked meals and clean beds and Renata the proprietress speaks several languages and acts very well for directions, recommendations, tours etc. I think her husband is the quiet type or he only speaks Italian. I think the only two phrases I heard him say in Italian were good morning and bye.

The only downside was the middle of my bed had a bit of a sag in it, probably due to years of travelers, but I managed to fix that by propping two tour books underneath the mattress and all was well. They even turned the heat on in the room at night which was great, as the extra blankets were not quite cutting it in the previous locations.

I met another veterinarian from Australia while at dinner one night. It turns out he and his wife both know a lot of the same people I have crossed paths with at one time or another in our careers! What a small world. After several glasses of wine, Renata looked liked she would prefer if we closed up shop, so we quit talking and everyone went to their rooms. This whole seen reminded me of when you have sleep over and your mother says “Ok, it is time for bed, enough playing around.”

There are three islands off the shore of Lake Maggiore called Isola Bella, Isola Madre, and Isola Superiore Pescatori owned by the Borromeo family. They own not only the islands but the majority of the land around the lake. But as Renata put it, they are normal rich people not stuck up rich people. The locals like the family and the Islands.

I also managed to hop the ferry over to see a monastery called Santa Caterina del Sasso, and here is a place that looks like it was literally dropped into the sharp rocks at the edge of a cliff. You get there by boat and yes there are lots of stairs to get up to the main chapel. It is a fantastic little Church though and the whole island is quiet and peaceful. I was wondering what would possess someone to build in this location. If your main intent was privacy or protection this location would be ideal. Tomorrow, I am on the trek to Venice. This is another full day of travelling. I am taking the intercity train and still the trip is almost 6 hours long not including transfers etc.

There was a tram up to the highest point above Lake Maggiore. I went up here on the rainiest cold day I could have picked. The temperature difference between the top and the bottom was notable. Luckily for me, the restaurant at the top was still open and even had the heat on. I could see from the posters on the wall, that there was serious rock climbing options and downhill skiing on the winter. I also had more than 5 serious looking mountain bikes take the trip up on the tram. I noticed the breaking and suspension systems were nothing like I have ever seen. When I was in Lucca, renting a bike to go around the wall, the shop had a few of these bikes in there for sale. I didn’t see one price tag under 5000 Euro, so these bikers are serious about the sport.

Over part of these two days I ventured up to the areas of Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino. What beautiful small villages along the coast.

The weather was beautiful as well. In Portofino a cup of coffee will run you 5.00$.

Needless to say, lunch was packed and I ate it overlooking the beautiful docks and the shiny boats. There are a very small number of shops, ship sales offices, some good walking trails and a cemetery where the graves are above the ground in the rocks.

Of course, there was yet another beautiful cathedral in the center of the city. You can catch a ferry or a bus between Santa Margherita Ligure and Portofino.

The bus has to honk going around the corners on the stone ledge next to the sea, as there is no room for two vehicles at the same time.

Occasionally the other car had to back up to let us through. This was undoubtedly a foreigner driving a rental car, as the locals seem to be listening for those horns. I ate supper in Santa Margherita and had spaghetti with clams and then a white fish baked with white wine, anchovies and olive oil with lemon. This may sound a little off, but it was fantastic. What a nice way to end the day.

Tomorrow I have to catch a train to Milan, then connect from there to a region of Italy near Lake Maggiore. This is a smaller town. I won’t be staying in Milan, just getting to see the inside of the rather huge train station.

On the way to Assisi, I was unaware there was a transfer and luckily the conductor came by right before the stop where the transfer was necessary and spoke enough English to indicate I was to get off the train here. Unfortunately, he didn’t speak enough English and I didn’t speak clearly enough Italian to establish where I was to transfer to? I scoured the maps inside the train station. The ticket office and information was closed, which seems to be the case without warning sometimes. Luckily with the help of my translation book, I figured out only one train going to Assisi from the transfer spot today, and luckily (ha ha) it was three hours. The first thought I had was oh goody, time for a few more cappuccino’s.

I arrived in Assisi before dark. You have to catch a bus from the train station to the center area of town. And once you get off the bus, it is quite the hike to the tourist information booth. And by quite the hike, well I mean, it may have well been the Rocky Mountains. The streets are a series of steep hills averaging 15-20% grades and to the center is a very good distance. At this point I was wishing my back pack was a little lighter. Just turning another corner, the words out of my mouth, were generally oh gosh ….not another steep hill. Made the information center before close and got a lovely place to stay at a religious institute. Ice cold, lots of blankets, and beautiful view of Assisi from the window.

I have tried to figure out when things are open and when things are closed here. This is fruitless. It seems kind of random to me. Shops are closed in the middle of the day, and open again in the evening. You can bet you will have a hard time getting anything other than a pastry or pizza in the middle of the afternoon. Wait until dinner though, between 7pm and 8.30 pm: then you can stuff yourself with appetizers, first course, second course, desert, wine etc etc. Okanagan Golf. After all that you just can’t wait to get to bed.

Assisi is the hometown of St. Francis, born at the end of the 12 century. The Basilica was built after his death. It took most of 20 years to build it, and it is extravagant. It is likely contrary to his teachings of simplicity and poverty.

For almost 200 years upper and lower parts of the city fought for control of the land, which left Assisi open to be looted and ransacked and destroyed by invading forces no fewer than four times. It is a wonder such a beautiful place is left. In 1997 there was a major earthquake and part of the Basilica collapsed. It took most of the next 10 years of intense commitment and reconstruction to restore the majority of the fresco’s in the building. There is a video of this process available. It shows the destruction and also the rebuilding piece by piece.

The detail in the artwork is incredible. You can take an audio tour for a small donation to the church at the front entrance. The audio is available in multiple languages. It is worth the money to hear the history of the church and the contents within it.

The massive church has an upper and lower level and also the tomb of St. Francis.

For the best views of the city, take the trip to Rocca Maggiore. You can still climb the towers and get a panoramic view of the city, even though most of the place is closed due to earthquake damage. This trip is not recommended if you are claustrophobic, have difficulty climbing a seemingly endless stream of stairs.

It is worth taking a cab ride out to Ermeo Delle Carceri, a hermitage where St. Francis used to go and pray and meditate and preach. It is easy to see why he spent time here. There are a multitude of trails through the woods where you can walk peacefully. I wouldn’t recommend walking this 4 km long road, as it is on a steep incline and would take the better park of your day just to get there and back from Assisi.