Hong Kong John

This particular post ends my 2009 tour of Italy, and is actually compiled from two separate visits I made to Milan in September and November. Milan acted as a stop-off point for me on my way south from Bergamo and as a result I only spent a day or so in the city at opposite ends of my (exhausting but fun!) journey on both occasions. As somebody who is more inclined towards sightseeing and chilling out than being a hardcore patron of the arts or a fashion fanatic, Milan I thought would not hold so much for me to see – but I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer variety of activities on offer and it made what few days I spent there enjoyable and memorable ones – including a few of the day trips I went on as well. Please note that due to me being more of a tourist and less of a photographer than usual, a larger proportion of my photos in this post will feature myself, haha.

Milan is a curious city, and without a doubt the most modern city in Italy. It is Italy financial hub and while still preserving old traditions, there are a large number of department stores and modern buildings mixed in. The city feels bustling but at times can also feel slightly soulless due to violent clashes between old and new that exist there. Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s not a nice place to visit, though – there are plenty of things from both extremes of the spectrum to keep the average tourist happy.

Above image courtesy of WikiMedia

Arriving in the evening, the first sight to see in the centre of Milan is undoubtedly the beautiful gothic Duomo that stands proud in the literal centre of the city. Roads are generally built to ring around the Duomo and the city expands outwards in this fashion.

The sheer scale of the Duomo is breathtaking, and even more so on a frosty autumn evening because the piazza in front of the beautiful church was almost completely devoid of people. It’s definitely worth a walk around, and in the nearby shopping centre (with the huge archway you can’t miss it!) called the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, you will find a lovely mix of shops with a gorgeous mosaic pathway through them.

About halfway through the arcade is a rather curious pothole positioned tactically on top of a bull’s…well…take a look.

The name of this beautiful mosaic is Turin’s Bull. The bull is inside the coat of arms of Turin (Torino), and has a depression / hole where its genitals should otherwise be. Milanese tradition says that if you place your heel in said depression and turn three times, this will bring you good luck. Photos of myself falling over while attempting this the first time shall not be included here, but I really liked that this was one of those things that people could easily not notice if they weren’t looking for it. Definitely keep an eye out for this on your adventures!

I am fortunate enough to have a friend living in Milan who happened to work at one of the city’s lesser known attractions; a water park known as the Idroscalo located next to Linate airport. It is here that I set off the next morning due to the weather being rather favourable!  The lake is entirely artificial and was originally built to accommodate sea-planes in the 1930′s, but was then turned into a recreational park later on as it fell into disuse.

As the banner behind me suggests, the website for this sports centre is cablemilano.it – it is simply a cable-operated water-skiing and wake-boarding centre complete with ramps and obstacles for those that are slightly braver than I! Signing up for insurance is mandatory but thereafter a day pass (I forget the cost but it was under 30 Euros) was quite good value for money given there was no limit on how often you could choose to venture out into the water.

Be warned, however, that because the cable course is quite long, if you somehow manage to fall into the water halfway across the lake with skis still attached to your feet, it’s your responsibility to slowly wade across back to the pier which could take 10-15 minutes.

The above is indeed a photo of me – in fact, if you look closely you’ll see the cable continuing along the circuit leaving me behind and both my skis somewhere in the water behind me. If you lose control, I recommend you don’t try to hang on for much longer, hahaha!

Later on in the evening I opted to head for dinner in town and also drove around what can only be described as a magnificent fortress – the Castello Sforzesco. This absolutely huge structure used to be the residence of the Duchy of Milan back in the day. These days it houses museums of varying descriptions, so a must-see for any museum lovers visiting Milan during the day. An art collection including Michelangelo’s final sculpture, the ancient art museum, furniture museum, musical instrument museum and prehistoric/Egyptian museums are just some of the exhibits that are now housed within the citadel. I sadly did not venture inside due to how late I got there, but just admiring the walls and fortifications themselves is already quite breathtaking.

After an exhausting day of water skiing and feeling rather sore, the morning called for sightseeing of a different nature – and off I went on a round-trip’s drive to Maranello, home of Ferrari. As a long time fan of Formula One it would have been a crime for me not to at least pop by for a day. I bee-lined straight for the Ferrari museum (Galleria Ferrari) that so many people come from all over the world to see, of course!

The inside of the museum is rich with automotive history and, of course, eye candy for all motorsport fans. Without further ado, here’s some of what you can expect to see inside:

Everything from the oldest sports cars to the newest Formula One monocoques were on display – something for every facet of the legend that is Ferrari. About two hours were spent in the museum before, however, I finally found what I really wanted. Outside the museum you can hardly miss them as you are occasionally approached by someone offering to sell you…this.

It didn’t come cheap – it was a hefty 80 Euros for twenty minutes. However, the place where the car gets picked up from is located next to a stretch of highway that was relatively straight and conveniently didn’t have any speed cameras on it…not implying anything of course. It is also interesting to note that while Italian traffic is generally rather nonchalant – being in any lane you want, selectively obeying traffic signals (especially in Naples!), and so forth – as soon as the roar of a Ferrari comes down the highway the traffic parts like the Red Sea. Oh, what a glorious feeling! So – twenty minutes, an explanation that I like racing go-karts and the instructor being thankful I had signed the insurance waiver later, we arrived back with at least one of us sporting a rather large cheeky smile. Maximum speed attained: no comment. I’m a responsible driver, of course.

Two more days were on offer in Milan though, and after dinner with family friends post-Ferrari I slept early for what promised to be another good weather day. I was not disappointed as the rain stayed away and in the morning I promptly popped out of Milan city centre towards the most well known sporting landmark the city boasted – the San Siro. And let me tell you, this thing was HUGE. To put it in perspective, the fence at the bottom of the photo you see below was about 5/6 metres tall.

For those who perhaps don’t follow football (I don’t really but I like watching the occasional game), Inter Milan and AC Milan are two of the largest and most prominent clubs in European football and they share the same stadium. The rivalry is huge and the stadium is impressive enough to match! I bought a few pins from the souvenir shop for my camera bag’s collection and headed off for a guided stadium tour!

The VIP seats in the middle of the match even had television screens so you could switch back and forth between watching the commentary and the pitch itself! After this we went behind the scenes and got to see both teams’ dressing rooms. Naturally and amusingly, there is a third dressing room for visiting teams which doesn’t look anywhere NEAR as nice as AC and Inter’s rooms respectively. Both rooms are carefully decorated with lots of reminders of trophies and titles won and no expense was spared in making them both comfortable and motivating.

Getting up sufficiently early in the day also meant that I was able to check out the Duomo again after lunch when it was daylight. The highlight of this wonderful gothic church by far has to be the rooftop, which is open to the public and offers great views of the city. You are unlikely to be glancing at the city too much though, when you see the level of intricacy and detail that has gone into even the tiniest tucked-away sections of the roof. I mean, for goodness sake, there are statues on the roof specifically for people who go up there to wander around, that can’t easily be seen from ground level. Clearly they thought about this when constructing the place! It is truly magnificent.

A marching band as seen from the roof of the Duomo.

What makes the roof doubly overwhelming is the sheer expense of it all – there was no one section of the roof that seemed to be dedicated to pleasing those that walked by, but rather the entire thing was impressive in beauty as well as scale.

Anybody even remotely interested in architecture, history and cultural relics cannot possibly pass up the opportunity to explore the Duomo, which to be honest would not be limited to just a day for those particularly keen in studying the detail. A highly recommend essential stop for all those who venture forth to Milan!

On my final day before my flight out, I opted to head into the country a bit and drove up to the beautiful Lake Como near Italy’s northern border where I did a driving tour around one part of the lake, which is shaped kind of like an inverted ‘Y’. The main town of the lake, Como, is situated on the bottom left of this inverted Y. Distinctly different from Milan or even more history-oriented cities like Rome, Como gives off a quiet elegance where the entire place feels like history is simply all over waiting to be discovered – but without being hyped up or presented in such a manner. This feeling of calm and elegance was definitely noteworthy and gives off a fantastic comfortable feel.

Unfortunately, due to limited time I was unable to take a boat up the lake to the other cities, which by the way is highly recommend for anybody visiting the area. Instead I drove the distance from Como up to Bellagio, which is an astoundingly beautiful town at the fork of the inverted Y. I managed to stop along the way to take a panoramic shot of what the scenes I was driving past looked like – unfortunately due to the windy nature of the roads near Lake Como it was difficult to look frequently! If you do go by car I recommend not taking an overly large vehicle; small cars will be able to navigate the local roads around the lake much better.

Bellagio is a beautiful place, where even the pavements are meticulously kept in beautiful order with lots of greenery around. It could easily be a wonderful place to retire, with great views of the lake as well of course. I stayed to have a coffee at a hotel up the side of the hill, and soaked up the tranquil atmosphere. There are indeed very few places habited by people that are this beautiful.

Sadly this is where my day trip more or less ended as I scrambled to be prepared to fly the next day, but I really enjoyed my relaxing day out by Lake Como. If you are looking for a short trip out of Milan I think it would be very difficult indeed to overlook the natural beauty that exists here.

For other short trips from Milan I would also recommend visiting Lake Garda which is nearly as close and very popular amongst young swimmers in the summer in particular – as well as Parma and Bologna, the latter of which was a blog post on its own earlier on this very site.

Milan was a delightful experience and despite appearing industrial in nature there was no shortage of things to do, and I really enjoyed my stay here. Hopefully I’ll make it a stop-off again when I next return to Italy!

My stay in Florence gave rise to the revelation that one of the most enchanting places in all of Italy lay just over an hour’s drive to the west in the secluded and beautiful Cinque Terre. This is the name given to the five coastal towns of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso that lie slightly west of the coastal railway hub of La Spezia, with Riomaggiore being the southernmost and Monterosso (technically Monterosso al Mare) being the northernmost.

I decided to head over for a few days and as I approached I became more interested in what this place had to offer. Negotiating my way out of the intersections and traffic lights in La Spezia, I promptly found the view from the road changing – a lot of green was facing me and steep, winding roads that reminded me of driving in Switzerland greeted me for quite a while. Eventually, these gave way to the (occasional glimpse of, I still had to watch the road!) breathtaking view of seeing the Mediterranean sea off to the left as I drove the final leg of my journey northwards to Riomaggiore.

Here’s where I stumbled onto a bit of luck. I found out after driving down to Riomaggiore that there was very deliberately no tourist parking in the town as it is a protected UNESCO world heritage site. This meant that there was a little temporary parking lot I could quickly hop out and ask about accommodation from, but would otherwise have to park 4km away and walk into Riomaggiore on foot. This would not be so bad if Riomaggiore wasn’t actually on the bottom of the cliff I effectively drove over to get here, and the paths down had no pavements! I inquired about availability of accommodation and there was exactly none. The third place I asked, however, directed me to a list of potential hostels including some in the other Cinque Terre towns. After a few last-second telephone calls I found out that a hostel in Corneglia had exactly two beds left for the evening. I quickly snapped one up and drove to Corneglia as quickly as I could get away with while still being safe – but not before getting a quick glimpse at the main street heading down to the sea in Riomaggiore.

Never before had I seen a street (with the possible exception of Portobello Road in London, where the look is comparable but the atmosphere feels distinctly different!) where the buildings are quite so colourful as when I first landed in Cinque Terre. Despite looking as though it could, the town definitely did not have a ‘market vibe’ about it, as most of the people walking about were locals going about their daily business. Walking a hundred metres or so down, the road abruptly ends in a ramp that slides into the Mediterranean ocean, with several boats moored nearby. The view was beautiful (see the first photo in this blog post for a view of the bottom of the main street).

Because Manarola was also close to being by the coast, the drive to Corneglia was rather direct. Of the five towns Corneglia is the highest elevated and is situated properly on top of a cliff. Because of this, I stumbled onto my second stroke of luck: the parking lot above Corneglia is only about 200m away from the town itself and if you’re lucky there are a few road-side free parking places as well (although your hill-parking skills should definitely be up to scratch!). Of all the five towns that comprise Cinque Terre, I would recommend Corneglia if you are interested in arriving by car – the others, while possible, are a lot less accommodating of non-residential motor vehicles.

Checking into the hostel was quick and the room (up to twelve guys) was airy and quite pleasant. Moreover, we were literally about half a minute’s walk (as well as a partial view from our window!) from a nice little mini-square with a bench where the sunset could be viewed. After quickly locating a nearby gelato store, which turned out to be one of the best I had in Italy by the way, I sat down on the bench to watch the sunset for a half hour – perhaps the view accentuated the flavour of the gelato 

Cinque Terre is famous for its walking trail Sentiero Azzuro (Light blue trail) which is a walking trail that takes you from Riomaggiore through all five towns to Monterosso in the north. This is what I decided to do the next day, and went to Riomaggiore bright and early by train. I had a taste of what one of the challenges would be on the walk because Corneglia’s train station is at the bottom of the cliff it’s on – and the brick stairs going down them, while offering a beautiful view, number almost 400! This was part of the route (in reverse as I was starting in Riomaggiore and heading south). In the photo of the stairs below, Riomaggiore lies beyond the two protrusions of land in the background.

Upon arriving at Riomaggiore, I briefly stopped by the tourist office as well as took a look down the coast where I delightfully found out (expect to be able to show you are PADI qualified or equivalent!) that I could book a scuba diving expedition for the next day. The cost will not be cheap (at the time I paid 80 Euros and I suspect the price is probably higher these days) but I would found out the next day if it was worth it! In the mean time I had a lot of trail walking to do!

My plan for the day was to walk from Riomaggiore to Corneglia where I was staying, and then go to Monterosso by train and do the second half of the trail from the top down. The reason for this was simple: the trail takes five and a half hours for the average person to hike assuming they more or less do the entire thing in a single go. If I wanted to stop for photos and have a meal break etc. I could see how it could easily take an entire day, so I planned to end the walk where I was staying. This avoids me having to do part of the trail in the dark, for instance, or having to take another train at the end when I finish. As it turns out, this is unsurprisingly a more difficult way to do it (Corneglia is the highest point of the five towns so I’m basically going uphill twice!) so be warned, but it worked out quite well for me since I finished at a place where I had a hot shower and comfortable bed waiting for me.

It turns out I started off easy; the walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola is a simple one, and also conveniently wheelchair-accessible. This part of the Sentiero Azzuro is called “Via Dell’Amore”, or the Path of Love. Along the trail are innumerable pieces of graffiti left by visitors, who hope that leaving a reminder of their love somewhere on the trail will help strengthen their love life and bring them good luck. It is also tradition to leave a small lock attached to the metal railings that lined portions of the path as a symbol of ‘locking in’ one’s love and commitment for their partner. You can see many of these (lots, and lots, and loooooooots…) in the background of the photo of me below, on a ‘lovers chair’ en-route.

Strangely, the graffiti does not actually detract from the natural scenery too much. Rather than an act of vandalism, the small, respectful writings of countless people actually adds to the atmosphere of the walk – as long as you know what they are beforehand, of course! For those more interested more in natural scenery and care not for these things, don’t worry as this is the only portion of the hike where this is prevalent. However, be warned that it gets significantly harder after this!

The Via Dell’Amore walk was gentle and lasted just under an hour for me, and was generally quite pleasant. The trail from Manarola towards Corneglia is equally easy and did not prove to be much of a task. My first glimpse of Corneglia came about halfway there, and I got a nice impression of just how high up the town is from the path, as you can see from the photo underneath. What you see on the right isn’t actually settlement but the train tracks and related maintenance infrastructure. The train goes into a tunnel at the far side, above which lies Corneglia nearly four hundred steps above!

As I mentioned earlier my trip took me straight to Monterosso al Mare by train, although I did first ‘pop into the hostel to change, rest up and grab a few things’, which is another way of saying I may have climbed up 400 stairs and then down again! By that point I reasoned that the brief train ride (only ten minutes, but another fifteen waiting at the station) was worth it given how I was feeling after my impromptu Stairmaster session! I should also note that anyone wishing to walk the entire trail at Cinque Terre should buy a ticket (1-, 2-, and 7-day tickets were available when I visited, although I am reliably informed that since then the 7-day tickets are no longer available). The ticket includes unlimited train travel between the towns, which is nice because if you decide you want to break the walk up into two bits like I did, or spread it across two days, you can easily do that at no extra cost. I believe I paid around 14 euros for my 2-day pass (September 2009).

Monterosso al Mare felt most like the tourist destination of all the Cinque Terre towns. The town included a large beach which was partitioned into several sections (denoted by different coloured deck chairs) that you had to pay to get in. In fairness, given the sunshine on the day and the glorious view looking out onto the blue Mediterranean, it was easy to see why the beaches were still full even though there was a nominal cost involved!

It turns out that I picked the ‘wrong way’ to go from an easy hike point of view – with Corneglia being the highest point in Cinque Terre it only stands to reason that the paths either side of it will gradually slope downwards. By taking the train to Monterosso and walking back, I effectively guaranteed that I would be walking uphill during both halves of my trek! As it turns out this didn’t matter too much because the ‘upper trail’ between Monterosso via Vernazza to Corneglia is so full of up-and-down steep stairs and slopes that no matter which way you go, it will be an incredible challenge! Be sure to wear suitable clothing, bring plenty of water, and don’t forget your camera as some of the views are absolutely breathtaking.

The above is the view of Monterosso as I am leaving the town via the trail to walk towards Vernazza. It seems slightly more touristy than the others but make no mistake about all the natural beauty that’s still obviously there. Also note that there isn’t actually that much distance to cover the large vertical ascent I made just before snapping this photo!

While the hike is difficult, a lot of the slopes and stairs move with the landscape as you wind in and out of vineyards and around other areas of cultivation that are on the slopes all over the area. There are several crossroads where it pays to observe signage – for example, one path may lead to the entrance of a vineyard while the other is the actual path onwards! In my case, I accidentally followed a path which led down to a (very pretty!) rocky cliffside beach halfway between Monterosso and Vernazza by accident. It was beautiful and secluded but I assure you the climb back up to the correct path was not quite as enjoyable!

I don’t recall the exact hiking time to Vernazza as I was busy taking in the view, although the total trek time from Monterosso to Corneglia took me about five hours at a leisurely pace with a short walk through Vernazza. You cannot possibly miss it when walking through Cinque terre; in fact, as soon as it comes into view it will be in such a picturesque manner that you will not be able to resist snapping a few! Cameras at the ready…

As it turns out, this view of Vernazza, taken from one of the highest points on the approach from Monterosso before climbing back down into the town, is quite a famous one. A year later when I bought something completely unrelated to this trip (a European GPS/sat-nav) a photo almost identical to this one was on the back of the box! Clearly this is one of the most beautiful places you can ever see in Europe, then. 

I would argue that Vernazza is the most beautiful of the five towns from the outside to look at. I quite like the more relaxed nature of Corneglia and the market-like vibe I got in Riomaggiore for example, but this view has left a lasting impression of me that I will likely never forget. Unlike Riomaggiore, the streets in Vernazza are rather claustrophobic as everything in the town is crammed into a tiny space by the harbour. There is a very noticable ‘local’ vibe that this gives off, though, and I could see why this would be a lovely place to retire.

The castle you noticed overlooking Vernazza is called the Doria castle. It was built back in the 1400′s to protect Vernazza from pirates that would roam the coastline back then. It is now still of direct benefit to the town through being a tourist attraction, where you can pay to enter and climb up to the top for what is a wonderful view beyond. If I were to go again, I would recommend bringing some food and drink – the top of the castle is actually very spacious and the view is very calming.

My brief break in Vernazza was definitely a good call because the rest of my trip back to Corneglia was the hardest part of the walk by far. As I was rushing to get back before sunset, I sadly do not have any picturesque photos of the final part of my hike. However, do be warned that going from Monterosso to Corneglia is definitely the hardest route you could take, so leave plenty of time! All in all, my journey including the train journey and stopping for photos took me just under nine and a half hours, and was one of the best days out I’ve ever had in my life! After a healthy scoop (or three, I wasn’t counting) of gelato back in Corneglia I settled my extremely sore self into bed and looked forward to the boat ride and scuba diving the next day.

I woke up bright and early on the day after my hike, still feeling exhausted. After a quick breakfast I managed to take on the stairs down to the train station (at least it was only down for now!) and went to Riomaggiore. After finding the scuba diving office and getting suited and booted we waddled down to the pier where we hopped onto a speedboat to head into the protected marine area where we would be diving. Someone had to remind me how heavy air tanks are! For goodness sake, they’re just air…

Unfortunately there was no underwater capability in the camera I brought with me to Italy, but the dive was quite fun which included spotting several fish large enough that I’d leave them well alone unless I had a sizable weapon with me! The water is some of the clearest I’ve ever seen and visibility was fantastic – I’d recommend anyone with a diving license to seriously consider stopping by here for a dive on a holiday.

From Riomaggiore afterwards, I paid a second visit to Vernazza where I went for a ferry ride to finish my trip back to Manarola. Note that because it’s on a cliff (duh), the ferry doesn’t actually stop at Corneglia, but goes from Vernazza to Manarola to Riomaggiore. I spent the rest of the day enjoying myself in the various towns without worrying too much about the hiking – I let the ferry and trains take care of that. I do, however, have two photos of Manarola from the boat before docking that I really enjoyed seeing the contrast between – by day, and then by night!

I wouldn’t recommend hiking by night as there are literally no lights anywhere other than the towns – however, the view of the towns themselves in absense of all the light pollution is breathtaking. Constellations are clearly visible through the entire sky as well, which made settling back in Corneglia on the final night (prior to the last boat trip) watching the sun set with a scoop of gelato a lovely experience.

Cinque Terre is arguably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been in the world, and I really can’t wait until I am next able to go back. For anyone who wishes to head somewhere off the beaten track, I could not commend Cinque Terre enough as being the perfect place for exactly that. 

The jury is still out in terms of whether I fell into a tourist trap while staying in Florence – the classic “You can see Pisa in a day”. This is certainly true for the UNESCO world heritage site that is the Piazza del Duomo (containing the famous Leaning Tower, of course) but I’m quite certain that many of the 80,000+ inhabitants of Pisa would know a lot more about the city and the little nooks and crannies I could have wedged myself into while there. Because of the way I was planning the next few days however, today was always going to be a day trip so I did what I believed was the next best thing. Near to Pisa is a wonderful neighbour city called Lucca, which was famous for its medieval city walls that are still largely intact today. I therefore decided to use my day to visit both and get as much in as possible. It would be more appropriate to say I visited the Piazza del Duomo and Lucca today, rather than the whole of Pisa.

To say that the Piazza del Duomo (also commonly known as Piazza dei Miracoli, by the way – “square of miracles”. Note this is different from Campo dei Miracoli or “field of miracles” which was a fictional place in Pinocchio!) is a sight to behold is a gross understatement. The piazza itself is a huge green area with the cathedral, bell tower and baptistry on it, and almost nothing else. A row of stores lines a small part of one edge, but that really is it. If any tourist attraction genuinely was a ‘playset of the Gods’, I would say this space resembles it most. The buildings are awesome to behold and people look like ants from every angle.

All of the buildings can be entered into, and the bell tower climbed for a fee. The view at the top of the tower gives a spectacular overview of the old town of Pisa, although I confess on this trip I did not make the trip up myself as there was quite a large crowd and queue. The detail on the architecture can keep one mesmerised for hours. However, there were significantly more important things to do, like take cheesy tourist photos. Traditionally people have their photos taken leaning opposite the bell tower, leaping over it or propping it up, so I thought I’d try something slightly different.

A little known fact about the bell tower (not originally a bell tower incidentally, the bell-chamber was added almost 200 years after construction began) is that to compensate for the obvious lean of the structure, from the third floor upwards one side is actually built taller than the other. You can almost imagine, if you look closely enough, that the tower is ‘curving’  very slightly towards the top in favour of being upright. Finally, despite appearances the tilt of the tower is only at about 4 degrees as of 2010 (as much as 5.5 degrees pre-1990). For some reason when looking at it, though, this angle seems larger! Finally, if you include the statue at the very top, while it doesn’t look it the baptistry is actually very slightly taller than the tower (By something less than a metre admittedly)!

After a quick lunch, some friends and I spent the afternoon just half an hour’s drive away in the historic city of Lucca. The city is famous as a properous historical city (in the 13th century it even rivalled Florence) with a very unusual characteristic about it: the walls of the city remained where they were as the city expanded as the military need for them diminished. Since then, the walls have become walkways for locals and tourists alike. I was unable to take a good looking shot of a large section of the wall as it’s obviously quite wide, but found a nice spot to give a good impression of what it was like to walk on top of them.

The walls of Lucca themselves were build between the 16th and 17th centuries and are just over 4km long. There were a grand total of 11 bastions and 12 embankments, and room for a whooping 124 cannons to be fired at anyone from outside who had hostile inklings. They are the fourth set of walls to be set around the city, with the first three being the Roman walls of the 11th century, medieval ones of the 13th century and another set of walls in the 15th century. A re-evaluation of defense techniques in the 16th century led to the current set of walls being constructed.

Not only have the walls themselves become an attraction, but the fortified spaces inside of them have also been put to good use! I happened to stumble upon one section that turned out to be a war museum, explaining the history of the city walls and how they were protected. I wouldn’t want to mess with one of these bad boys when functional.

On top of the walls are a variety of paths, statues and other decorations around the incredibly old trees that are present almost everywhere, creating a park like atmosphere. The perfect place to relax, or in my case look around…

Eventually after some picnicking and lying around in the sunshine (on the walls of course) we came off of the walls themselves to take a walk around a portion of the city. We walked past the Duomo di San Martino, which was constructed in the 11th century by a bloke who just happened to later become Pope Alexander II.

What was most alluring about this place was not the elaborate structure or history, however; unlike many grand cathedrals in Italy, there was a great feeling of humility and tranquility inside the church itself and the atmosphere was peaceful rather than grand. In fewer words, it was calm, to the point and beautiful!

Finally, before heading home we went to grab a drink at one of the city’s public water fountains, which deserve a very special mention here. Over a period of about half an hour we noticed many people, some coming in vehicles, coming to collect the water out of these fountains en-masse and in massive containers as well. This left us quite perplexed as tap water, we were told, was still safe to drink in Lucca. There must therefore have been a special reason everyone flocks to the fountain – and indeed we found it. After filling up our own canteens, for some bizarre reason it was the tastiest water I had ever tasted.

The day trip ended here with the drive back to Florence, but I would love to return to both places visited today in the future – Pisa to take a closer look at the local culture in the city, and Lucca to relax and soak up what I would describe as an incredibly chilled out atmosphere compared to most places I had been in Italy thus far. A thoroughly enjoyable day out!

I had heard much about Florence in the year or two leading up to my trip and met many people who had nothing but fond memories for this centre of art and culture. This was the first stop on my trip that I intended on staying at for any prolonged period of time – and by that I mean three nights instead of one, haha. After the chaos that were the preceding days in northern Italy (that said, the entire hop-off-plane-and-make-plans-later approach seemed to suit me quite well) I decided that using Florence as a rest stop was a good idea.

The road into Florence coming down from Bologna was breathtaking; I was winding through the Appenines as brief glimpses of civilisation are seen through the gaps in the mountains as the car twisted and turned its way through. Unlike many of the north-south highways that can make driving seem rather monotonous and sleep-inducing, a lot of the east-west routes take similar windy paths through this mountain range and make for a highly enjoyable drive. There are almost innumerable places to get beautiful photographs of Florence, as the city looks great from almost any angle.

Upon arriving, I checked in to the local hostel (a particular shoutout here to Plus Hostel Florence who in my opinion were the best hostel I stayed in the whole of Italy hands down! Rather helpful, free WiFi, and a great party atmosphere even though I’m not much of a partygoer) and grabbed a quick bite to eat before driving up to the famous Piazzale Michelangelo with a few friends that I had met while checking in. A must-see, it is located on a hill on the south bank of the river Arno and offers magnificent views of the city. There is also a large replica of David in the middle of the square, as well as the inevitable souvenir vendors.

The hill is undoubtedly the best place to get some great shots of Florence as well, at any time of day. Photographers should note that coming back here several times a day will probably always give you unique results, and frequent visits are recommended.

On the way back, I passed by the beautiful Ponte Vecchio, an absolutely gorgeous medieval bridge that is particularly famous for still having shops along it, which was commonplace way back when. Nowadays, instead of grocers and butchers, visitors will find art dealers and jewellers along the bridge with the occasional souvenir ship. At night it lights up beautifully, giving those out for a stroll a real treat to look at.

This is where my blog goes off the beaten track slightly. Despite my enjoyment of music and photography, I’m not generally that creative / artistic a person, and as a result I did not actually visit any fine art museums while in Florence (slightly sacrilegious I know, although there are a lot of art works on free public display throughout the city)!  That said, the first stop for anyone interested in such things must definitely be the Accademia art gallery (www.accademia.firenze.it), founded by Medici in 1563. A special wing of the gallery was built especially to house the original statue of David, which is undoubtedly the main reason most people go. Be warned, though: it is well advised to attempt to book tickets in advance and arrive early, as there are often long queues. Depending on how into your arts you are as well, there have been many reviews publicly available on the internet suggesting aside from the statue of David there is not too much that is spectacular. More recommended for this sort of thing is the Uffizi gallery (www.uffizi.com), which houses many masterpieces including Da Vinci’s Annunciation and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

So, instead of going down this route I chose to explore Florence and dip in and out of wherever I happened to pass by along the way. The obvious focal point of the city was the famous cathedral (duomo). The most popular front courtyard has the main entrance opposite St. John’s Baptistry, a small octagonal building famous for its three sets of bronze doors with sculptures depicting various Biblical references. The doors facing the duomo are the most popular and called the Gates of Paradise, a photo (big crowd so side view!) of which is below.

For those wishing to identify the characters in the scenes, they are as follows (1 and 2 being the top row, 3 and 4 being the second row, etc.): 1. Adam and Eve, 2. Cain and Abel, 3. Noah, 4. Abraham, 5. Isaac with Esau and Jacob, 6. Joseph, 7. Moses, 8. Joshua, 9. David, 10. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Directly across, of course, is the daunting duomo with Giotto’s bell tower just behind it. Opening times for the public to take a look inside can vary, so it’s advisable to take a quick glance at opening times and planning your day around being to return. Once inside, however, the place is huge – and by huge, I mean ridiculous. There are a total of forty four stained glass windows throughout the hall, but the most mesmerising sight has to be towards the end of the church hall, where looking up into a warm glow reveals the amazing Last Judgement fresco, started by Giorgio Vasari and being finished years later by Frederico Zuccari.

After being awed by the duomo, I went on a hostel-led tour of the nearby San Lorenzo market, aptly on Piazza del Marcato Centrale. I believe it’s also Europe’s largest food market, but either way it really doesn’t disappoint! The sheer number of Italian delicatessens, butchers and eateries inside this big building will be enough to satisfy even the most demanding of foodies. And for the more eccentric, lots of unorthadox foods are here as well (I managed to find a lamb’s skull for example – I believe that about sums that up!).

Lots of cheese, wine, cured meats and olive oil later, and dropping off the shopping at the hostel, I venture back out to another of Florence’s old markets, the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo, otherwise known as the Loggia del Porcellino to prevent confusion between it and the Mercato Vecchio (in Piazza della Republica, the city square). If you are walking here during the day, the Loggia del Porcellino is only a few minutes’ walk away from the Ponte Vecchio and makes for a nice walk across the bridge up towards Piazzale Michelangelo.

This loggia is most famous amongst modern day tourists for the (you guessed it) Porcellino, or the piglet, which is a bronze boar on display in a fountain. It’s said that rubbing the boar’s snout brings good fortune on your return trip to Florence, which is why that area of the statue has a particular shine to it! It is also common practice to put a coin inside the boar’s mouth, with good luck being brought when the coin drops into the fountain’s waters.

My next day’s outings were somewhat marred by rain, but that didn’t stop me from venturing out and hunting for a restaurant, many serving the city’s famous Florentine steak (Bistecca alla Fiorentina – although I did not end up eating one on this day as I was quite full up from lunch – but still highly recommended!) followed up with some gorgeous gelato – dare I say the gelato in Florence, for some awesome reason, tastes better than that which I tried anywhere else in the country! That said, it’s still very good pretty much everywhere. Windows displaying the different flavours on offer were generally a mouth-watering sight.

I took the opportunity in the overcast weather to practice photographing some of the duller colours that have a more even shine when the clouds are out, and even made a fool of myself in the middle of the street to try and get this nice reflection of the duomo (and in the process requiring going back to the hostel for a change of clothes – but so worth it!). On this particular trip I found the best gelato to be a place called (rather un-Italian-like) Queen Victoria, on via Roma just a few minutes’ walk away from the front of the duomo.

Given that I had missed out on museums this trip, however, I was absolutely determined to visit one of them – and after a bit of research I chose a place slightly more off the beaten track. Tucked away in Via dei Servi behind the duomo is the Leonardo Da Vinci museum (www.mostredileonardo.com) which was the perfect treat for an engineer / gadget enthusiast such as myself. There are working and even some interactive replicas of a grand number of Da Vinci inventions, and I comfortably spent over an hour in there playing with and figuring out these beautiful tools and toys.

Finally, I moved on out to a rather wet Piazzale Michelangelo for another spectacular view of the city, this time in the day. It did not seem to matter that the weather wasn’t great, simply because the place is that beautiful.

As I spent my final day in Florence walking around in Pisa and Lucca, this evening would technically be my last here for now in terms of time spent exploring the city. Before moving on though, a few useful pointers: If you have an extra day and want to get away from the relative hustle and bustle in town, I recommend a day trip to Fiesole, which is just north east of Florence and can be gotten to via the number 7 bus. It’s a beautiful town on a hill overlooking Florence, and offers a bit of piece and quiet in addition to great food and views.

Finally, if you happen to have access to a car, various hotels and hostels will have maps of the nearby area showing where all the local farms and vineyards are. Depending on the season (ask for more information wherever you’re staying) it’s a lot of fun to drive around these farms and vineyards, sampling local produce and even having a chat and buying stuff from the farmers themselves, who regularly open up their residences for you to go and have a drink should you pay them a visit, as you can see above with some friends I met while travelling.

Florence is one of my favourite places in Italy and I can’t wait until my next trip back – and the next one will definitely be an extended stay frequenting the museums and sampling a lot more of the local food and drink! 

My journey moved south from the north-eastern reaches of Venice towards Florence and central Italy. The roads were incredible to drive through on the way, with highways weaving majestically through the mountains until the city of Bologna takes you almost by surprise as the view gives way to a sea of clay coloured architecture. After settling in and beginning a walk into town, the first feeling I got was one of superior order compared to places I have already been. This was the closest to a grid system of roads I have encountered, and the town centre is so clearly defined you could almost imagine an open air meeting being held in front of you. It is natural, therefore, that I’d find the tourist information centre and some of Bologna’s attractions right in the square itself.

The first thing many people see is the wonderful statue of Neptune (complete with lactating nereids, naturally – no doubt considered somewhat erotic at the conservative time of creation) standing magnificently in plain view. This statue actually is a separate little square of its own, Piazza Nettuno, where the main square of Piazza Maggiore is larger and sits behind it. However, it is easy to miss this since both squares are joined together to form a massive open space.

Just past the statue as you enter the Piazza Maggiore proper, you are then overwhelmed by the massive view of the unfinished facade of the San Petronio Basilica, which is at time of writing the fifth largest church in the world – many architects were comissioned to finish the facade after Rome halted the project in the 1500′s due to plans for the church to outdo even St. Peter’s Basilica which could not be allowed. To the right, you will see the main portal to the modern day town hall complete with a statue of Pope Gregory XIII. Inside this building you will also find the museum of Georgio Morandi and an arts museum.

A fascinating story concerning the statue of Pope Gregory XIII overlooking the portal to the town hall – Bologna was invaded during the Napoleonic Wars. At a time of a massive power struggle with Rome, all Papal signs were destroyed throughout many cities that fell in Italy. The people of Bologna changed the headgear of the statue during this time from the official Papal headwear to that of an ordinary Bishop (San Petronio) to prevent it from being torn down. The ploy worked, and after the end of that turbulent period the statue was restored to irs original state.

After taking in this splendour in the middle of town, turn away from the town hall to reveal, at the back of Piazza Maggiore in the one direction you have yet to direct your gaze. Here you will find a few shops, some delicious gelato stores and the tourist information centre. I highly recommend the walking tours that they operate in Bologna; given the city’s history and many nooks, crannies and official buildings, it’s well worth not only taking the walking tour (which was among the best I had had during my time in Italy) but reading up on the attractions on the outskirts of the city as well, such as the Portico di San Luca I visit later on.

The walk took me through Europe’s oldest existing university, founded in 1088. Because of this, Bologna was known throughout Europe as a centre for intellectual and cultural study throughout much of the middle ages. Some of the large hallways (some designed for people on horseback to traverse) were magnificently adourned with the crests of those that had studied there many years ago, and the sheer number of these is almost beyond comprehension as you continue to walk throughout the university.

After a break involving some delicious local cafe – note that Bologna is also famous for its excellent all-round food – I decided to pay a visit to the famous Towers of Asinelli which have become something of a symbol for Bologna in recent times. During the Middle Ages, competing upper class families would build towers in the city, probably for the purposes of defense. Naturally, every family wanted to be able to see further than the others, and so taller and taller towers were built. The most famous towers still standing in the city today are the Garisenda Tower (48m) and the Asinelli Tower (97m).

The first thing you will notice is that both towers seem to be leaning rather precariously! This was due to problems with the foundations of the towers during the time they were built. The history of the towers is not known for certain – for example, it seems that popular belief in Bologna was that work on the Garisenda Tower was prematurely halted when at 47m the architects realised that any construction further up could lead to the tower’s collapse as it was leaning so much! Work then began on the much higher Asinelli Tower, which also leaned but not by as much, and therefore the ambitious construction was completed as planned (and also since the Asinelli family didn’t run out of money!). It is possible for visitors to climb up the Asinelli Tower to get a good view from the top. Be warned, though, that the stairwell inside of the tower is rather cramped and it’s a very long walk up to the top! I believe the view, however, is definitely worth it – as well as the strange sensation of not being on even ground despite being so high up!

For the rest of my day’s exploring I decided to take a detour to the south-west gate of the city, where possibly the most famous portico (covered sidewalk) in Bologna exists. The Portico di San Luca is an absolutely massive 3km long covered walkway to the famous San Luca sanctuary which guards the city from a height of over 200m above.

At times the portico seems almost never-ending but it is an incredibly pleasant walk up to the top, where a magnificent sight awaits – the sanctuary is incredibly striking in the traditional clay-like Bologna colour, unlike the stone and marble of many other grand buildings. It has a strangeness about it in the sense that it’s both grand in inspiring, but the choice of materials is humble – but in its uncharacteristic humility it becomes striking!

The views on the way up (although this one was taken on the way down, I was so focussed on getting to the end) are incredibly gorgeous as well, offering a wonderful overview of part of the city.

During most days, the sanctuary on top is also open – and any ideas of the inside being quiet and humble are dashed from the moment you step inside. I would happily say the sanctuary of San Luca is one of the most beautiful interiors I have seen in Italy, with large spaces and incredibly decorative paintings adourning the walls and ceilings.

After such a long day I retired and got ready for travel the next day, but Bologna has certainly left a great impression in my mind for being a place incredibly steeped in modern history, and for being one of the most important crossroads in Italy. If anything, Bologna is worth it not only for its magnificent views but its great food as well (contrary to popular belief, Spaghetti Bolognese is only called as such outside of Bologna – in fact, Bolognese is called as such because it is somewhat similar to the ragu famous of the Bologna region, but the actual ‘Spaghetti Bolognese’ name was popularised mainly in the United States. In Bologna the term ‘ragu’ is used), and is a great place to visit in its own right. Alternatively, if travelling north-to-south or south-to-north in Italy, Bologna cannot fail to be an important link in your travels.

Seen by many as a tourist trap, I was both excited and reserved to be heading to Venice for two days. Many people make the mistake of assuming they need to spend a long time in Venice to see all the major attractions. While it is true that there will be things to do and many islands to explore if you stayed for a long time, it can also be argued that many aspects of what makes Venice beautiful are repetitive in nature. Don’t, however, let this stop you from experiencing this city’s amazing beauty – regardless of how frequently you may see the same things, it is still breathtaking and well worth the visit. For a person not trained in the arts (I am an engineer by training) I found two days to be great, and could probably have occupied myself for three if I wanted to.

It is recommended that you look into accommodation both inside and outside the actual city of Venice. During the peak season it is not unheard of to see ridiculous crowds converging upon Venice and often prices of hostels and hotels on the actual Venetian island soar to levels several times that of those outside. Where possible I try to avoid mentioning specific hostels on my blog, but on this occasion I stayed at Plus Camping Venezia which was a campsite (but with comfortable bungalows and proper beds) about 4km outside of Venice. A shuttle bus runs a regular service to and from the hostel for 4 Euros each way, and I found this to be a much better deal in the busy season (and good weather) than trying to book accommodation in Venice proper. I mention this hostel specifically because I am aware not all hostels outside of Venice offer transport to and from the city, so I would recommend this one as a large and affordable option (around 25 Euros a night).

(Above image courtesy of the Wikimedia foundation)

The first thing you are likely to notice on the approach to Venice is the incredible bridge (not counted as one of the 455 that connect the waterways in the city itself) that connects the mainland to the city. Moving across the only rail and road link into the northern part of the city gives an incredible sense of grandeur as the low-rise historic buildings and the occasional spire loom in the distance over the channel of water. The initial sight was certainly exciting and gave an appropriate taster of what was to come.

A brief walk through the terminus / recently added parking lot quickly gave way to the city proper, with the Grand Canal less than a five minute walk away. Along the canal near the transport links are numerous bakeries and restaurants, many of which are reasonably priced and seem to entice some of the locals. After stopping for a snack, I ventured across several of the main bridges in what was an incredibly enjoyable stroll. It amazed me that Venice is a proper, fully functioning city but completely without cars or trucks – transportation within the city itself is done entirely on foot or on water.

Another interesting observation is the house numbering system in Venice – there aren’t house numbers on individual streets per se, but Venice is divided into six sections or ‘sestiere’ where houses seem randomly numbered from one through to several thousand. To the uninitiated this looks absolutely bizarre; it would be fascinating to see the local postmen at work.

A quick word about the gondolas – in my opinion, unless you are on a romantic trip with a significant other or really want to experience the gondola, it is widely regarded as a tourist trap. The cost is generally around 80-100 Euros for a forty minute ride or so, but make sure to understand the gondolier correctly before starting the ride or it might end up being memorable for the wrong reasons. As long as you do not mind the price, it is probably an experience that is worth it. However, I personally chose to weave through the waterways over the bridges rather than cruise over the water.

Venice is home to several famous historical landmarks. The main square, Piazza San Marco, is the most popular and the most frequented by tourists. A large number of jewelery and fashion shops are located here as well as some proper sit-down restaurants that are probably slightly pricier than the rest of Venice. The centerpiece of Piazza San Marco is the Campanile di San Marco, a tower just shy of 100 metres tall which is one of Venice’s most recognisable structures. It stands next to the similarly named basilica (St. Mark’s Basilica) which is also one of Venice’s most recognisable attractions. Of particular architectural interest here is that the basilica was constructed throughout a period spanning over a century, and the more eagle-eyed will notice a mixture of architectural styles being employed simultaneously here (Renaissance, Baroque, Byzantine and Arab influence can all be seen, and possibly more for someone who knows more about architecture than myself).

On the waterfront is also the famous Basilica Della Salute, originally built in honour of the Virgin Mary as a symbol to help rid Venice of the plague that gripped the region in the 1600’s (not to be confused with the ‘first’ plague of 1575-77). The then Doge of Venice wanted to build a church that was grandiose and magnificent to ask the Virgin Mary for her divine intercession.

The shops in Venice also warrant thorough inspection, although be careful not to accidentally break anything! There are many shops selling fashion but unique to Venice are its famous Venetian masks (bonus points for finding the store that supplied the masks to the movie Eyes Wide Shut) as well as Venetian (Murano) glass wares. Some of these were absolutely spectacular and really leave you wondering how it’s possible to make them.

With this in mind and the day rapidly drawing to a close, I decided to give the regular waterway strolls a break and head straight to the outlying island of Murano on my second day, the famous home of the Venetian glass-blowers. The ferry to Murano can be found at the main ferry terminal on the island (I’m afraid you’ll need to ask for directions) where various boats go to many of Venice’s islands. A round trip ticket to Murano cost me in the region of 6 Euros.

The first thing to notice when getting off the ferry at Murano was its relative tranquil nature compared to Venice proper. Crowds were much smaller, buildings were more humble in their appearances and it generally gave off a homeliness that much of the main canals lack. It was incredibly peaceful, and the commercial boats were nowhere to be found, but replaced with private resident’s boats tied up along the canal on both sides.

Being famous for the manufacture of its glass ware, I immediately set off looking for a place to see a glass blower in action. Be warned that many factories will charge 5-10 Euros for a demonstration if you wished to summon a glass blower to give a demonstration of creating some of their works. However, if you look hard enough (I walked left from the pier, keeping the water on my left hand side, and kept going for around 7-8 minutes passing about five ‘factories’ / shops in the process) there are a few places that will demonstrate for free when a certain number of people gather, and simply ask for a small donation afterwards. Watching the traditional glass blowers handle red hot glass so close to themselves and mould them into seemingly impossible shapes is something not to be missed when visiting Murano. In the photo below, the glass blob eventually became a rather convincing looking fish!

What seem like quiet little piazzas dotted around Murano off the main canal are sprung to life by two additions: the presence of many small cafes and some amazing public display glass sculptures! Not only was it incredible that these ceramic monuments could be built, but admirable that none of them had been vandalised or suffered any damage. The people here care deeply about their traditions and their arts, and things like the sculpture below certainly show it!

For myself, this was the end of my two day tour of Venice, but make sure to leave a little bit of time after nightfall to appreciate how lovely Venice can be after dark. Below are two photos (the first of which is part of my photography portfolio now as one of my favourites). The second photo was taken from the Rialto bridge of the main canal. I took both on the way back to the bus terminus.

Venice was nothing short of breathtaking, and if I had a week to spend there I could easily see myself walking through every tiny alley looking for photo opportunities and simply losing myself in the atmosphere. I would look forward to going back, but not for the obvious; going off the beaten track and experiencing more local life on the outlying islands looks to be my next adventure here when I come back.

My tour of Italy began with Verona, a small city in the north of the country lying east of Milan. Popularised as a tourist destination largely due to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, I had no idea what to expect when I arrived. The first thing I noticed was the beautiful brick and stone buildings. The architecture is very Roman in style and incredibly beautiful. Verona is one of the larger cities in the Veneto region as well, and while the buildings almost gave a ‘small-town’ feel to the place, it carries on in all directions for quite a distance and gives a very grand feel to the place.

I only had 48 hours to explore as much as I could of this place before hurtling onwards to Venice, so I tried to make the most of it by immediately looking for somewhere to stay. This proved to clash with my spontaneity when most of the locals had no idea where I would be able to stay that wasn’t a 100-euro plus hotel. Lunch at a cafe by the beautiful Adige river and an hour’s worth of hunting later, I came across a beautiful place on the north side of the river, halfway up the hill towards an ancient castle. A quick look online once I got internet later revealed that the majority of ‘hostels’ in Verona are actually 10-20km away from the town centre, so it pays to do a quick bit of research beforehand! The view while heading up was great and highlighted the grander, more modern houses that were built into the hillsides surrounding the city centre.

Verona is a city steeped in an awful lot of history and this really shows when walking around the place. The entire city is a UNESCO world heritage site because of its preserved historical state, and it is a great idea to take it all in before venturing down the little nooks and crannies. For that reason, my first stop was the historic Castel San Pietro on the north side (just a little further than my accommodation), overlooking the river and the city centre beyond. The panoramic view of Verona is truly breathtaking, and for the thifty there’s even a restaurant at the top of the castle for those who are hungry.

The top of the castle is the kind of view that can mesmerise for quite a while – it would likely be a good spot to have a picnic before heading into town. Despite the commanding view, it is only a fifteen minute walk (and a fair number of stairs) to the river. There are several bridges that cross the river in Verona but the most noteworthy is the Ponte Pietra, which is a Roman arch bridge and the most historical of all the crossing points. It was badly damaged and rebuilt using original materials after World War II, and boasts some nice views looking down the river.

Crossing the bridge brought me into Verona proper, where cobbled streets stood with Roman houses lining each side. I started my journey by walking through the town centre from one end to the other, where I passed through a long street connecting several of Verona’s most famous churches. I especially enjoyed the Sant’Anastasia church, located very close to the Ponte Pietra, which was possibly the largest Gothic style church I’ve seen in my life. The churches are incredibly grand and imposing, each with its own distinct style. A common theme running through most of the churches is the layering of brick and marble in the construction of the walls and columns that decorate them.

Regardless of what direction you are walking from, it will be almost impossible to miss Piazza delle Erbe on your walk through Verona. It is a large square surrounded by shops, with a beautiful fountain and a large number of market style stalls in the centre branching outwards. In the times of the Romans, the forum of the city was located here.

This is a very good place to pick up any souvenirs that you wish to accumulate on your visit. I found most of the vendors to be honest about prices when approached with a smile and a polite manner. The restaurants surrounding the square are also of pretty good quality, and there’s many of them to choose from. If you have time to spend in Verona, try a different one each day!

Thinking of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, few tourists know that Verona is quite famous for the Roman amphitheatre known as the Arena, right in the centre of town. I believe it is the third largest in Italy after, of course, the Colosseum and a similar amphitheatre built in Capua. Don’t mistake it for a typical ruins-type tourist attraction, though – it seats 15,000 and plays host to lots of open air opera during the summer as well as events throughout the year. For more information, check out the Arena Verona website.

You are also likely to notice several ‘regulars’ amongst the crowd, including a few gladiators and other historical figures of note who are looking to charge for a photo opportunity. I normally would not indulge in such activities, however one particular person was pretty good at striking posts and I gave in.

The Arena sits on a square with an adjoining park and many restaurants alongside, no doubt to keep the audience fed and watered during the entertainment season. You will find prices here 2-3 Euros more expensive than in other parts of town, but the quality of the food does not tend to deviate much and so it’s well worth sitting down if you enjoy the atmosphere. Especially nice is the square at night, when the Arena is lit up from within its arches and lends a very rich, historical atmosphere to the square.

This finally brings me to the most famous reason for why a tourist would wish to visit Verona – the celebrated story of Romeo and Juliet. Many do not realise that the famous play by Shakespeare is entirely based on fiction; in fact, the most famous love story in the world is based on truth and you are even able to visit Juliet’s house in Verona – so there was no way I would be able to miss out on this before leaving.

The first thing I noticed when being directed to the nondescript archway that led to Juliet’s house (Casa di Giulietta, by the way) was the amount of graffiti on the walls. This was no ordinary vandalism, however. For many, the tale of Romeo and Juliet is an inspiration and many believe that leaving messages near to or on the walls of Juliet’s house will bring luck in love. The result, ironically, is something quite beautiful – while the actual house itself remains pristine (there’s a lot of respect for it), the archway leading up to the house  is entirely covered in writing – even on the roof in some places – and makes for a stark and wondrous contrast.

In the small clearing that follows the archway is a statue of Juliet. It was once suggested that putting your hand over her heart would bring good luck in love, but over time this practice devolved into what can only be described as cheeky groping as Juliet’s right breast (ironic because the heart is on the left side…) is now incredibly shiny compared to the rest of the statue. You’ll have to see for yourself, though, as I’ve managed to find a tasteful photo to include here 

The famous ‘balcony’ in Shakespeare’s play is also on display right above the statue to its left hand side (bottom of which is just visible in the photo above). You can see it in the photo I’ve taken below, although I have been informed this is likely one part of the scene that may have been slightly fabricated – the actual balcony scenes in the play may not have taken place on a balcony, and rumour has it that the balcony was added to the building much later. Any clarifications on whether this is the case would be most welcome. 

Visitors are able, for a fee of course, to wander through the house and even peer out of the balcony.

However, what I think is the coolest part of the Casa di Giulietta experience lies inconspicuously in a shop next door to the archway, nearly hidden when a tourist is focused on finding the balcony itself. The ‘Club di Giulietta’ or Club Juliet is located on the first floor up a flight of stairs in a store. At first glance it appears to be an R&J themed gift shop, but look closely. Adorning the walls everywhere are thousands and thousands of letters – written by young, old, male and female – writing to Juliet to ask for advice in love or simply to chat.

The club itself is a group of people who are enthusiasts about the story and keep it alive through meeting once a week to open, read, discuss, and individually reply to all the letters sent to Juliet!! It needs to be seen to be believed, but some of the letters on display are incredibly touching and wonderful to read. Walking through the area made me feel like I was in the inner sanctum of the feelings of hundreds of people, unreserved and honest, putting their true thoughts onto paper and sending them in. And the fact that each of them got an individual response from Giulietta is truly remarkable. I highly recommend a visit to this place that keeps the emotion and passion of Romeo and Juliet alive to present day.

A top tip: they are so used to receiving such mail that any letter addressed to “Giulietta (or Juliet), Verona, Italy” even without a postcode, will arrive at Club di Giulietta for due reading and a reply if a return address is supplied.

And so ended my brief tour of Verona, but a fantastic one it was – it is surprising how much history there is and how many things there are to see, when to most people Verona is simply the place where Romeo and Juliet was based. It’s so much more and I was glad for the opportunity! Back to the hostel I went (where the view, as you’ll see below, is magnificent just below the Castel San Pietro) for a long night’s sleep before dashing off in the morning to Venice.

There were probably potentially cheesier headlines I could have used for this blog post, although they would be hard to think up without injecting a tube of squeezy cheese into a vein somewhere (mmm, artificial). Anyway, my journey to Chicago lasted for an entire month as I was there to see friends. This post will inevitably be longer than most of the others where I visit a place for a few days to a week, so rather than give a run-down of everything I got up to, I shall attempt to cover everything that I believe would be of interest to a curious tourist such as myself.

It is sometimes argued where the term “Windy City” comes from. The two main arguments are that it either describes the weather there, or was referred to by the newspaper of a rival city (Cincinnati) in the 1800′s as ‘windy’ (i.e. full of it). Given the breeze on Lake Michigan, however, I’m more inclined to believe the former as the origin, made popular by the world admired vehicle of language, the American politician. A cool lesser known nickname is “New Gotham” as much of The Dark Knight (2008) was filmed here. It’s possible to spot many of the filming locations just from walking around downtown and the surrounding tourist areas.

Chicago was the first city I can remember visiting that operated on a grid system, which was a bit of a shock from somebody who was living in London. Roads quite literally last for miles and miles – Western Avenue for example is the longest road in Chicago which is over 20 miles long. So saying that somebody lives on a particular street or road really isn’t that helpful as I discovered very quickly. Something I also found amusing is that most buses seem to operate down a single street because of this. The only time I would spend an hour on one street in London is if I was in town during rush hour with nothing better to do and I couldn’t be bothered to get off and walk (which would almost always be faster at that time). In Chicago, it’s situation normal. So this is one of the only things I’d caution visitors not familiar with the grid system: it elevates guessing where something is into a bit of an art form. On the plus side, though, it’s quite difficult to get lost if given clear directions. Especially since most addresses involve turning twice at most.

It is easy to determine where the action is in Chicago. Skyscrapers and taller buildings litter the downtown area (a.k.a. “The Loop”) while the outer suburbs are almost entirely flat against the landscape. As long as you had a view of which way the tall things were, it was impossible to figure out where to go. Heading into town, my first stop was the “Magnificent Mile”, which is a portion of Michigan Avenue famous for shopping – something like three million square feet of shops, and an awful lot of designer boutiques line the way as well. For the ‘backpacker shopper’ this may not be such an amazing experience as I have yet to meet a hostel-traveller who packs Gucci, but you never know. It does not quite compare to the sheer compact nature of shopping districts in London and Hong Kong, for example, but the glamour and splendour (I can’t imagine how pretty it must look at Christmas!) is definitely worth taking in. The photo below is about as good as I could have gotten while perched precariously on a traffic island.

One of the first places I was taken was the John Hancock Centre (“the Hancock”) which stands as the second highest observation tower (at the 94th floor), although only the fourth tallest building, in Chicago behind the Sears Tower’s SkyDeck which I believe is on the 103rd floor. The view, however, doesn’t disappoint.

Looking out over the rest of downtown and the suburbs on this side of the Hancock I can see the twin antennae of Sears Tower around a mile and a half away. Apparently the SkyDeck is 300ft higher up but that doesn’t seem to be too apparent when you’re this far off the ground! There is usually a queue, especially in good weather, to get in, and it does cost (including photos in front of a “green screen” that allow you and your companions to pose in front of an unobstructed view) – but is quite a nice view. There is also a coffee shop on the observation deck, so to make the most of your visit have a slightly overpriced coffee and chill out while however many feet up you are. 

Now, because of the time of the year I arrived (nice weather nearly non-stop basically!) it was street fair season – a few arguably more quirky and fun than Market Days, to which I was invited because a friend was working there. For those that don’t know, Market Days is a gay pride fair – so the music and artwork on show was at times quirky, and the number of interestingly dressed people I encountered ranged from approximately a thousand to infinity. Brilliant stuff! More drinks stalls lining the street than you can shake a stick at and amusingly, even a public (you know at a gay pride fair this could end in waaaaaaay too many laughs) game of Twister or three. For reasons that my blog may no longer be suitable for all if I show photos from that, here’s a photo instead of the fair at literally the very beginning (before anything got interestingly wild):

There are already enough people here to make it lively, and the arrival of the rest of the crowd and hired dancers (everywhere!) only served to put more smiles on faces.

For some strange reason, this bar seemed to be getting a lot of business. Let’s put it that way.

This is just one of the examples of places I went, but you can check out a list of most of the major festivals in Chicago here and for a great list of things to do throughout 2010 I highly recommend this page right here. Local fairs abound in the summer time and it’s quite likely many of them aren’t even listed – but if you attend one, there’s good chances that if you ask a stall where they’re exhibiting or selling next, they will tell you another fair next weekend that you haven’t heard of and can also attend. 

Another once-a-year event I was lucky enough to see while I was there was the Chicago Air and Water Show. Located on the shores of Lake Michigan on North Avenue Beach in the city, demonstrations from, you guessed it, boats and aircraft entertain visitors to the beach over a weekend. Everything from police boats to stunt helicopters (I have never seen a helicopter do barrel rolls before…I wasn’t aware it was possible!) were on show, and the military, taking a small break from bombing, tend to seize the opportunity to show off both their new and vintage stuff as well. It’s brilliant!

To really appreciate the show though, you have to understand just how close the beach is to all the action. At one point a C130 transport aircraft was paraded in front of us, and I swear it was close enough to give anyone on one of the yachts on the lake shellshock. The photo below is one of the smallest planes that were on show (but the acrobatics were incredible)! Everybody just goes about their own way, chilling out like this kind of entertainment is expected ’round here. One word: awesome.

Even if the show isn’t on, though, North Avenue beach is a fantastic place to visit for a day out in the sun, and especially so if you’re into beach volleyball. As some of my friends pointed out, the sport’s good and the views are better…

Reluctantly, I now moved on to something quite important in defining Chicago – Deep Pan (or even just “Chicago style”) Pizza. While Chicago is a place where good food is all around, this style of pizza is definitely unique to Chicago. In some places, the crust around the ouside of the pizza can be as high as 3 inches, effectively making the pizza into a pie, what with the enormous amounts of tomato, cheese, and toppings (more like middle-ings?) that adorn the inside. As someone who loves food, I was keen on it and eagerly went with another friend of mine – so imagine my horror when I found out I could only handle one measly slice! Clearly I have shamed myself…although perhaps the photo below might clear up some of the ‘why’ I was unable to finish the pizza. It was leftover lunch/dinner for a good five or six days!

Moving on to some of the less cuisine-defined culture: another thing I noticed about Chicago, which is obviously a culture that has developed over the years, is the sheer number of comedy clubs and galleries / art institutions around. To the observant visitor, it might sometimes seem that half the city is either an artist or a comedian! It is practically impossible to miss the signs and entrances to these places regardless of where you walk in any populated district with shops. For that reason, it’s an absolute must that you visit some of these places. I’m not much of an art person myself, I admit, but I found the Art Institute of Chicagoquite a nice walk around. I was also lucky enough that they had a temporary photography exhibition on at the time, which was nothing short of breathtaking for me as photography is a hobby of mine.

Comedy clubs are nearly everywhere and make for a good night out with friends as amateurs and professionals alike try out new material on a crowd. Some (but nowhere close to all) of the more well known comedy clubs are listed on the LocalChicago website but it would not be hard for any visitor to walk into a few clubs on an evening strolling around town. One unforgettable night out was with a comedian friend who chose to perform at The Globe Pub on an open mic night. About ten minutes into the evening, I realised that 90% of the audience were actually comedians waiting for their turn on stage. I turned to my friend and perhaps stupidly said “I bet I could do five minutes to this lot if they’re all comedians”. After approaching the M.C. and getting a slot, I proceeded to make fun out of comedians rather than pick any typical material! Considering I had never done anything similar before it was a fun experience. Several of the comedians even came up to me after the evening had ended with praise, which was really uplifting! I bet I had more than a few glares from those that took their profession rather seriously, though.  Haha.

Perhaps following naturally from the arts scene, Chicago is also home to a big following of film. I was lucky enough to be there during the 2009 Chicago Outdoor Movie Festival which screened a different free movie every Tuesday at Grant Park, which is the larger park entity that encompasses Millennium Park – comfortably in The Loop / Downtown and easy to get to. Later on in the year, typically in the autumn, the Chicago International Film Festival is also held.

There are places throughout the city that also are associated with film, including the Art Institute discussed earlier and the Chicago History Museum (much of early American TV is described here). A personal favourite that I was introduced to was the Dark Room Bar, where friends and I went to a free screening of The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth – not your typical theatre but a real eye opener into how things were done in the past! I’ll never watch stop-motion animation quite the same way again (and David Bowie still gives me nightmares!).

My next tourist stop a few days later was actually the John Hancock again – but for an entirely different reason this time. During the summer, fireworks (not just for the 4th of July!) are let off to a series of different soundtracks off of Navy Pier. The schedule for the 2010 fireworks is here. I was told to go back to the observation deck of the Hancock to witness this for myself – and it was indeed breathtaking, especially seen from above!

Most definitely a view one would normally expect to see on TV or similar, rather than as someone stood watching from ground level. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I’d recommend anyone in the area at the time to seize the opportunity and go! Looking out into the suburbs at night is also very beautiful. One thing I would say, though: because of its location being much nearer the pier, I would not recommend the Sears Tower Skydeck over the Hancock to watch the fireworks from. Do keep this in mind.

Finally, before heading home for the evening, I highly recommend (after wrapping up as it will be windy on the Lake!) a walk up and down Navy Pier itself; it’s very pretty and tranquil in the evenings. There are still a few shops and restaurants open for those who wish to savour the evening even more, but at any rate it’s a lovely walk.

I had spent a lot of my time in Chicago relaxing and finally realising I haven’t seen all there is to see yet – so off I went again into the Loop on the very next day to have a stroll around Millennium Park. There are regular outdoor art exhibitions and special events going on here, so depending on when you go there will definitely be things to do. The two most famous things to see and experience in my opinion, however, are the Cloud Gate sculpture by British artist Anish Kapoor (more commonly known in Chicago as “The Bean”) and the Crown Fountain, which is undeniably a favourite with children!

The Bean is basically just that – a giant stainless steel bean that distorts the skyline in a pretty cool way – you can walk underneath and around it and it’s generally a very fun ‘House of Mirrors’ style experience. The Crown Fountain uses faces of local Chicagoans projected onto two massive LED screens, that spout water into a reflecting pool. It’s great fun even just to look at!

I also took the opportunity to pay a daytime visit to Navy Pier to try one of the tourist attractions there recommended by a friend. There are large speedboats that take members of the public out onto Lake Michigan for a lovely view of the Chicago skyline, and the company that operates these is called Seadog. However, that wasn’t what I was there for: one particular boat (I believe these ones are red rather than the yellow of the rest) is called the ‘Seadog Extreme’ – no prizes for guessing why. They are advertised as 30% faster but I suspect in practice they give it a bit more welly than that. Don’t sit by the sides if you mind getting wet!! Wonderful views of the city combined with a healthy dose of G-forces and a few bucketfuls of water made this a thoroughly great experience!

After drying off, I did manage to head to Sears Tower (I believe few Chicagoans refer to it as the Willis Tower even though the name was changed in July 2009, in case anyone’s wondering…at least I know it as the Sears Tower) as well before retiring for the evening. If 94 floors up in the Hancock wasn’t enough, then perhaps the SkyDeck on the 103rd floor could provide a reasonable alternative! Most of the same things that I experienced at the Hancock were also here: the obligatory Green Screen photo before heading up to the top and the slightly generous entrance fees – but for the experience it was, of course, worth it. The elevators are pitched as a feature of Sears Tower as well, taking about a minute to get to the SkyDeck from ground level which is pretty impressive. Also good so that on days when there are long queues, there aren’t any corpses who failed to make it to the front of the line!

The view from the top, because it’s not as near to the lake, is perhaps not quite as spectacular as the Hancock even though it’s further up. However, it does have its own unique feature that will surely make you want to visit even if you had no opinion before – I think the photo below says it all. Hope you’re not afraid of heights!

With my trip coming to an end, I had a few days left just to relax. I decided to head to the Shedd Acquarium which is famous for being one of the largest acquariums in the world. It’s also just adjacent to the Field Museum, which I sadly did not visit. The Field Museum is the Natural History museum in Chicago, and is also home to ‘Sue’, the largest T-Rex ever discovered. When I head back, it will undoubtedly be worth a visit!

The Shedd is absolutely huge and could easily take over a day to walk around if you were interested in this sort of thing. I was lucky enough that they were training for a new, extended water show in the amphitheatre – and was able to see a shortened version of what the new show would be like. You can expect the ‘usual’ performance, I suppose, similar to that from aquatic theme parks, but the actual amphitheatre and the background (looking out onto Lake Michigan and seeing the Adler Planetarium – the oldest planetarium in existance today and the first one ever built in the western hemisphere, just a short walk away) is absolutely breathtaking.

The exhibits and tanks in the acquarium in general are also simply huge – and can very easily keep you mesmerised for hours.

The Shedd also has several good cafe’s, including one on the first floor with an outdoor seating area allowing you to look out into the harbour and lake. Reserve a full day out, perhaps, for this one – but it will most certainly be a good one.

My remaining few days in Chicago I spent mostly with friends, but did walk past a few landmarks that could be interesting to some. Firstly, for the sports fans out there, Wrigley Field stadium is the home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. It is served mainly by the “Addison” stop on the CTA (equivalent to metro / underground / subway / take your pick), and the surrounding area is abundant with lovely cafe’s and shops designed to serve those who travel to Chicago from elsewhere to watch the games.

As a bonus quirk for any architects or civil engineers about, Oak Park is well worth a visit to take a look at some of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture which is still very much present in the residential neighbourhood there, with many of his original designs still in use. I must admit, as somebody who still knows next to nothing about architecture, it was still pretty cool looking at some of the houses he designed – well worth reading up on before you head out there so you can gain a better understanding of why things were done the way they are. I was lucky enough to be accompanied by a friend who knew an awful lot more about architecture than I did, but a good alternative is to look up the Oak Park Trust and inquire about the walking tours (either by yourself or with someone else).

Chicago definitely feels like one of those cities that, while can be explored by a mere tourist in several weeks or a month, has a lot more underneath the surface that I’m pretty sure I’ve barely scratched. To a local who knows ‘where to go’ and ‘when to be where’, it definitely gives off the vibe of being a city that can be comfortably lived in every day of the year without getting too bored (unless snowed in during winter, perhaps). I’m looking forward to my next trip!

“I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday, for a hamburger today”, made famous by Wimpy from Popeye. And a Hamburger I was, at least for a day…

Hamburg was a short trip for me; I spent only a day here during my visit to CeBIT in Hanover so made the most of it.  Hamburg is only about fifty minutes away by train from Hanover, with trains leaving several times an hour. There was still time when I arrived at the train station to grab what is probably a local delicacy, though – a raw minced beef sandwich. When I saw this in the window, how could my curiosity resist (far left)?

As it turns out, not only did I not get Mad Cow Disease or acute spleen poisoning, I quite enjoyed the sandwich as well. It also made the train ride to Hamburg even more enjoyable as I had forgotten to bring any reading material.

I had no idea what to expect when arriving in Hamburg, so I felt quite bowled over when I saw a harbour that, at first glance, makes the one in Hong Kong, my home town, look small (Note: Hong Kong is officially a much larger port, but the amount that was visible from the touristic waterfront in Hamburg was impressive). The paths along the harbour are undoubtedly one of the main tourist attractions here, and are littered with lovely little trinkets of maritime history. Did somebody lose an anchor?

Since I only had one day in this beautiful place, there was not enough time for me to go too far off the beaten track. I resigned myself to typical tourism, and calculated that if I got the boat tour around the Hamburg harbour and got back just in time, I would be able to also take the bus tour around the rest of the city and across several of the historic bridges here.

Thanks to a rather helpful tourism website, it wasn’t hard to figure out exactly what I could get up to doing, so I headed straight for the harbour tour. It takes you underneath many of the city’s low bridges. The tour also gives you a glimpse of how open and friendly the people here are, as there were arguably more locals than tourists waving from the tops of some of the bridges as we went by!

Winding through the city’s rivers began in an old industrial section that you can see above – where the ground floors (if viewed from the other side, more obvious) are mostly converted into shops these days. There were so many bridges I lost count, but soon we managed a U-turn at a river fork and the view opened up into the harbour. Instead of moving along it, however, we cut straight across – into the heart of the shipping industry and the dry docks. They were a sight to behold!

Seeing the massive cargo ships in the dry docks – some of them even larger than a footballer’s ego – was a rather humbling experience. Having taken seeing boats in the water for granted (as one tends to do) seeing them in the dry docks was something else, with ten stories and several hundred tonnes of metal bearing down on the tiny tourist boat. Most of the propellers on the backs of these boats, taken in isolation, weigh several tonnes by themselves.

I spent the next twenty minutes with my mouth mostly open and my eyes too focused on watching if something’s going to fall on me to take many more photos, but I soon snapped back to reality as we re-entered the harbour for a lovely view of the city, combining both the old along the waterfront with the new in the distance.

I made a mental note to visit the old fish market later, but I had more pressing matters to get on with; namely getting off the boat as soon as it docked so I could dash to the bus stop and make the tour bus before it left the station.

The tour guide was an elderly gentleman with a hearty laugh and a mighty beard; I thought Coca Cola would have him in an advert in an instant, come winter. Not many good photos at all from behind the glass, unfortunately, but suffice to say the bus tour is definitely worth going on. I got a glimpse of the daytime Reeperbahn, the night life district and eerily lying dormant, waiting for night to arrive.

We also drove through some of the residential district of Hamburg, which is likely to be something most tourists don’t get to do just by walking around. While seeing the homes of some rather famous and rich celebrities, we also came across this gem of a hotel – whose suite is so ridiculously expensive, Madonna has decided it’s acceptable for her to stay there while in Germany. Be forewarned, though…you must provide your own butler!

The bus then drove past the U-Boat museum, which I unfortunately didn’t visit but definitely will the next time I am there. It would be difficult to pass a submarine, have someone invite you in and not take them up on the offer! Back towards the Reeperbahn, we stopped to look at the town hall as well as a few of the more famous local restaurants serving labskaus, which is sort of the result of producing mashed potatoes with mainly meat instead. It used to be the dish of choice with sailors and sea-dog-types in the old days, which is why it is so popular in an important harbour/port like Hamburg.

The bus tour ended shortly afterwards – and the timing was perfect. The day was now wearing itself out and the first signs of sunset creeped in, vague colours peering over the horizon. I walked briskly back along the waterfront to catch a glimpse of Hamburg’s famous fish market. Dating back to the early 1700′s, the fish market was traditionally a place where people would go to bargain with the merchants and fishermen for all sorts of maritime treasures (usually of the delicious variety). Unfortunately, I had forgotten that it only opened on Sunday mornings and as a result I was not able to visit properly. For those who follow after me though, a photo below to guide you.

I made my way back up a gentle incline on the winding road to the right of the above photo, slowly making my way back up to the infamous Reeperbahn. I passed a restaurant on the way showing Hamburg playing Wolfsburg (score 1-3, sadly for Hamburg – although Wolfsburg did go on to win the league) and did not resist sitting down for an early dinner. Perhaps predictably, I ordered not labskaus (which isn’t widely served in regular restaurants, apparently – so when you visit, choose wisely and ask) but a hamburger. According to most sources, the myth IS correct – Hamburgers were originally invented…although not popularised…in Hamburg! So, I was a Hamburger for a day, eating a hamburger in Hamburg. One more cheesy (mmm, cheese) thing to tick off the travel list!

You have to admit – it looks (and was) stonkingly good. Other cheesy destinations I have yet to visit include Frankfurt (frankfurters) and Vienna (wieners, comes from Wien).

Fill up and with time running out, I head back towards the Reeperbahn – and the entire street had completely transformed. Reeperbahn is roughly translated from old German meaning “rope-maker’s way”, and this was easy to understand as ropes to be used in the harbour used to be made here. But any resemblance to its old self seemed to have been completely wiped off the map, as Vegas style lighting and buzzing nightlife descended on Hamburg. Incidentally, in modern times the Reeperbahn is also known by Germans as “The Sinful Mile”. Hmm…

The street and many side streets coming off of it spilled over with night clubs, bars, and strip clubs among other more interesting adult-themed stores. To make matters slightly more uncomfortable, I arrived just after 8pm – which is traditionally (I’m not entirely sure if this time is legally enforced, but either way it seems to be the done thing) the time at which prostitutes are allowed to roam the streets searching for customers.

I did not take many photos as I was slightly uncomfortable with the camera out – it was also a surprisingly unpleasant experience being (attempts, anyway) spoken to by said night-time patrolwomen as I tried to hastily make my way across. A useful note for those like me who perhaps weren’t so interested in the signature activities of The Sinful Mile – apparently, prostitutes only solicit customers on one side of the street, so crossing the road to walk on the side closer to the harbour will allow you to escape from most awkward confrontations. This information was passed on to me by a tour guide, though, so I’m not entirely sure how strictly it is followed. That said, after I realised this it seemed to work for me.

One last thing you should be on the lookout for on the Reeperbahn is the public tribute to the Beatles in the form of an outdoor art installation. The Beatles were prominent in Hamburg for several years leading up to their first recording and as a result the city is in love with the band.

That’s about all I had time for prior to rushing back to the Hamburg train station for my return to Hanover. Hamburg felt like there were many places for me still unexplored, which I suppose is natural given that I was only able to make it there for a day trip! I look forward to returning in the future and taking my time here a little more.

N.B. / Interesting Tidbit: Hanover (English) is spelt “Hannover” in German, and I have deliberately made this substitution when using references in German, such as the Hannover 96 football team. The spellings throughout this article are deliberate.

I should explain that my first excursion comes after some interesting pre-planning. I arrived back in London without travel on the brain at all, in mid February. Rested and relatively more settled than I was at the beginning of the year, I decided to focus some of my efforts in exploring entrepreneurial activity. After taking some time setting up one particular venture from China (my written Chinese is approximately good enough that, to them, I was conversing in a rather perverted dialect of Klingon), I turned my attention to possibly doing something a bit more local.

One of the items in my posession that I was incredibly proud of at the time was my laptop cooler. I was quite convinced that it was simply the best design I had ever seen, and on several occasions it even caused me to wear a glove on my mouse-wielding right hand when it was turned on to avoid getting frostbite. I therefore contacted the company who makes them to ask how I could go about becoming a reseller should I wish to be one.

The response I got really wasn’t what I expected at all: “Come see us in person and take a look!” The venue? CeBIT – the world’s largest I.T. and technology fair. It also happened to be in Hanover. Three hours of deliberation later (helped by the knowledge that I had free tickets to the fair), I book a ticket on two week’s notice to go to Germany. And this is where my adventure begins.

Touching down in Hanover was a pain, because I decided to set a clever trend for things to come in my travels: I planned exactly nothing. Under normal circumstances, this would not inhibit too much aside from being generally clueless. However, I conveniently forgot to factor in that the world’s largest technology fair will be commencing in a few days. And Hanover is only home to half a million – so the population would likely close to double for the duration of the fair. Which will make finding affordable accommodation about as comfortable as gently sitting on top of the eyelashes of a hungry lioness.

Walking to the tourist information centre to get information on hotels was therefore the disaster that I clumsily didn’t anticipate. Almost everywhere was full, and the places that weren’t full were charging anything between 99 to 299 euros a night. After an hour and a half of fruitless knocking on doors of hotels in the centre of town, the penny (or Euro cent) finally dropped. I went back and asked for the local youth hostel.

I was pointed in some direction south of the city centre and took a tram. Getting off at the required stop, I then walk around what seemed to be a rather large building that looked like it was supported by two giant blue chopsticks. Welcome to the Hanover DJH Jugendherberge. The market for LSD in Germany was clearly alive and well. Who said bizarre architecture was out of fashion?

I found the hostel incredibly orderly, clean and tidy. I was later told this is rather common in Germany…obviously! There was even a bar at the back of the ground floor, and there was no shortage of tall, blonde, smartly dressed people in leather pants named Hans to drink copious amounts of beer with. Okay, so that was a lie. Except the last part.

After dumping my bags, I decided to wander out and explore the local area. I step out of the building and walk back in the general direction of town. Upon passing the large building I saw earlier, I noticed a rather large crowd walking towards me. I looked rather intimidated until I turned around and realised it was theAWD Arena – the local stadium housing the Hannover 96 football team. To add to the excitement, the one person I happened to stop to ask for directions normally goes to the games with a family member, but was alone today. As a result, he had a spare season ticket – which I promptly snapped up!

A good German football game, with a German sausage hot dog in one hand and a German beer in the other, was the perfect introduction to the country. It was the first time I had been to a football game, which went against my promise to my mate Dan to who I promised to lose my ‘football virginity’ at a Chelsea game. However, given the spontaneity and good fortune of the moment (as well as not being entirely sure if ‘losing my football virginity’ in England meant getting hit in the head by a drunken supporter of the opposition) I was sure I’d have his forgiveness.

Hannover 96 produced a happy (for us home supporters anyway) upset 1-0 victory over a much-stronger-on-paper Bayer Leverkusen. It was great that I was there, especially since they suffered a 4-0 drubbing when the two sides met again later in the Bundesliga season. Talk about holding a grudge. For dinner, I hopped on the tram to the centre of town in Kröpcke, and walked through the shops inside the Niki-de-Saint-Phalle Promenade.

The shops and the walk were surprisingly good. I was expecting more exclusive shopping streets are taken up by big or expensive brands. I actually found many affordable shops, a few cafés, and a restaurant or two. After buying some toiletries for my hostel stay and a souvenir or two, I nipped into the local McDonald’s because I couldn’t resist finding out what a rösti burger tasted like (pretty decent, actually…). I then went on to a bar where all the prices appeared to change every two minutes on a randomised electronic board – a very amusing idea, especially when everyone dashed to the bar as soon as the numbers turned green (signalling a ‘cheap’ period for a drink)! Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the place off the top of my head.

The next day was spent in Hamburg, which will be the subject of my next post. I still had one day left until the start of CeBIT, however. I spent that looking at some of Hanover’s local attractions. The first stop was the famous Herrenhäuser Gardens.

Unfortunately, the best season to see the gardens would have been in a few months time when the temperatures are warmer in Spring proper. As the last of winter breezed on, I was only treated to a taste of what was to come. The place was absolutely huge, and it was also subdivided into many smaller gardens along the fringes of the largest. There is even a grotto designed by the influential-to-Hanover Niki de Saint Phalle.

Tactically asking the garden staff to climb up their four-storey high mobile scaffolding (used to trim the tops of trees) was useful in getting a fantastic overview of the gardens. As well as potentially breaking your neck on something that’s swinging several feet to each side.

Moving on from the barren but still beautiful gardens, I take a trip back into the town centre to the quarter called Steintor. As the sun sets, this portion of the town is famous for its night life, abundance of pubs and bars, and the home of Hanover’s sex scene.

There are a few cafés tucked away here and there, but they largely give way to alcoholic (as well as slightly more adventurous) institutions as the night creeps in. Many of these places were shut during the day, although that did not cause me much bother as I didn’t feel I was the type to venture back in the evening. Instead, I contacted my friend Dirk (whose ticket I used to see Hannover 96 play football the day before) and borrowed his bike to tour around the city.

Doing your own tour of Hanover could not get much easier. The Red Thread is a line painted on the floor of many of the city’s streets. It starts at the tourist information centre near the train station and goes through much of the city, giving somebody a great walking tour – or in my case, an adventurous bike ride. On foot, it can typically take up to three hours if you take your time. It will also take you past some lovely sights on the river Leine.

The red line eventually leads into the Old Town, a section of the city marked by uneven cobblestones, beautiful street lanterns and an abundance of pubs and bars. The place absolutely oozes character and is also a fantastic place ot admire the local architecture.

If you can get there on a Saturday between 7am and 4pm, the Old Town Flea Market is the oldest flea market in Germany. Look for the stalls on the Hohen Ufer bank of the Leine.

When at the old town hall (the large, red building) near the end of your tour, see if you can spot the small gargoyle’s head on one side of the building warding off evil spirits. Clue: it’s just about visible in the photo below. Finally, you may be hungry or thirsty after your tour ends back near the train station. A bite to eat and beer or three to drink is perfect at the many stalls in the Hannover Markthalle which is located roughly south of the station. It may also enhance your cycling abilities. Or not, as the case may be.

After a thoroughly enjoyable meal and drink, I retired for the day – my last two days in Hanover would be for the CeBIT fair, which I needed to rest up for if the rumours about how big the place is were true. And sure enough, they were.

There is no real way to describe how big the CeBIT convention is by comparing it to a regular convention centre. In my opinion, it made most international airports look rather insignificant. There were no fewer than 24 halls on site, each comfortably larger than several football pitches. I was to find out that during the two days I was there browsing as much as I could for six to eight hours, I only managed to see about 15% of the fair. To put it simply, it eats other conventions for afternoon tea (and washes them down with beer, naturally).

This was the entrance to Hall 6. There were a lot of halls.

24 of them, in fact. With another ten or so slightly smaller buildings in which meetings and conventions were held. One particular hall was entirely dedicated to resellers – imaginatively titled Planet Reseller. This amused me somewhat as many of the consumer products in the electronics halls (yellow on the map) did nothing but exclusively show off things that one would have to resell. As a result, the absolutely massive Planet Reseller (orange) wasn’t of particular interest to me but impressive it was still.

Other things of note at CeBIT ’09 included a drop-in by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Angela Merkel to chat about how California is CeBIT’s “partner state” for 2009 at the opening ceremony. I’m confused as to what this meant other than the presence of some American companies in the middle of what could otherwise be known as China – nevertheless, it was fun to sneak in. The security was ridiculous, and Arnie was already in an armoured (no joke) motorcade about 25 seconds after he finished his speech, utilising some sort of back route out of the building. Being Germany, however, the vast crowd of screaming fans were both disperse, silent, and somewhat disinterested thanks to the hasty departure. Hasta la vista…

“Wait, WHO’s in the audience!?”

The products on display at CeBIT ranged from the awesome and new to the weird and wacky. Without further ado, a selection for viewing pleasure:

Asus were busy showing off their recently unveiled eee Keyboard PC at CeBIT, which was incredibly interesting to me for one particular reason. Imagine a home where you had no computers, but only massive flatscreen televisions in each room. You would then be able to walk around with this keyboard (also the computer, don’t forget) and simply work on whichever screen suited you the best. Provided you could afford to live in a house where there are sufficiently many rooms that far apart, AWESOME.

And if you’ve spent your whole professional career wondering where you could get an inflatable laptop bag for your netbook, they now come in a lovely range of colours! Unfortunately, while they do protect very well, it would somewhat defeat the idea of tucking your small netbook away in the first place and showing it off in something translucent and pierce-able.

On the surface this photo doesn’t look that exciting. However, it’s a smart car towing a tractor. The line between them is actually a line on the road in the distance – there’s no physical attachment. Using only magnets and a computer, they dragged this around for a while to the amazement of everyone who stood around and braved the wind. Cherry on the top would be that there’s no driver to steer the tractor!

I also stopped counting the number of times I saw various pieces of electronic equipment in dangerous proximity to lots of water. Naturally, just for fun. Although when I offered to try putting water perilously close to many of the other products on show, they didn’t think this was a good idea.

CeBIT isn’t just about the world’s computing fraternity gathering in one place, though. The event is equally famous for companies hosting their after-event parties, and the great thing about them is that they don’t wait until the last evening – there are things going on EVERY NIGHT. I leave Hanover with my happy memories of unlimited (oh God, were they unlimited) supplies of free beer and parties where even hard nosed company officials let loose and have a bit of fun.

Behold, the unlimited line of free beer. It just kept on coming – I was convinced there were magical elves back there.

This was one of the many, many parties after the exhibition’s end of the day that saw CeBIT transformed into a collection of stages and alcohol serving establishments.

Hanover was a difficult place to judge at a single time of year alone. Obviously, going when CeBIT is on will always centre your experience on the exhibition itself which is sufficiently large that few other things would amaze you as much. However, it will be great to go back to the Herrenhäuser gardens in late spring, for example – and to spend a little more time there properly experiencing the street life of what looks like a city in some ways but a small town in others. In the words of the Governator at the 2009 CeBIT opening speech…I’ll be back (groan)!