AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2008. TRAVELLING AGAIN – THE EUROPEAN TOUR.

On Saturday August 30^th we began another European experience, this time a 16 day bus tour entitled ‘The Best of Europe’, then two weeks on our own driving to a variety of places in Northern France and Germany. It would take pages to outline the great variety of things we have seen and done so here are a few highlights from our ‘tour’ experience.

First stop Amsterdam, unfortunately not the season for tulips but certainly the season for tourists! We thoroughly enjoyed a canal cruise which took in many places of interest including; the home of Anne Frank, which is now a museum commorating her incredible wartime experiences, a working windmill, and lots of interesting architecture. We also visited a diamond cutting factory where it was fascinating to watch the techniques used by the crafts people as they completed the various diamond cuts. On to Cologne, in Germany, where there was a street carnival, celebrating the end of summer, near our hotel. After dinner we set off to have a look but unfortunately we got caught in very heavy rain and incredible thunder and lightning, enough to put the traffic lights out! The highlights of the next day were a Rhine River cruise, past old villages and châteaux’s and the famous Lorelei Rock and its disappointingly small statue. On to Heidelberg, a lovely city on the river Nectar, where we sat in the town square and had a typical German meal of beer and schnitzel, whilst admiring the scenic wonders of this old university town.

Into Switzerland to our hotel on the lake just outside Lucerne. We really enjoyed visiting this picturesque city, with its interesting buildings and its quaint covered bridge, The Kapellbrücke (“Chapel Bridge]. It is 204 m (670 ft) long and crosses the Reuss River and is the oldest wooden bridge in Europe. It was constructed in 1333, and was designed to help protect the city of Lucerne from attacks. Inside the bridge are a series of paintings from the 17th century depicting events from Lucerne’s history. Much of the bridge, and the majority of these paintings, were destroyed in a 1993 fire, although it was quickly rebuilt. We also enjoyed a cruise on the lake where the grandeur of Mount Titlis was obvious and other interesting features like the house where Richard Wagner lived and wrote his music, and the mansions of the rich and famous were pointed out.

Next stop was Lake Lugano in Italy, for a walk in the rain and to enjoy the mountain scenery. On to the ancient city of Verona, which is the setting of the story of Romeo and Juliet made famous by William Shakespeare. Although the earliest version of the story is set in Siena, not Verona, a balcony falsely claiming historical connection to the fictional characters has become a tourist attraction for lovers; the short passageway leading to the balcony is covered with slips of paper carrying their messages, and a bronze statue of Juliet stands under the balcony, one breast polished by those touching it for luck.

Then to Venice where we enjoyed viewing Venice by night and going out for a very pleasant dinner. The next day a local guide took us around the major places of interest, Piazza San Marco and St Marks Basilica with its stunning facade and coloured marble, the Doges [Dukes] Palace and then to a glass blowing demonstration where of course there was pressure to buy, ‘with special discount just for you’,  of Murano glass items. In the afternoon we enjoyed a gondola ride around the narrow and picturesque canals then a ferry trip out to the island of Burano, one of the 118 islands which make up Venice. It was 33 degrees in Venice and there were crowds of tourists so the cooler temperature and quieter atmosphere on the island was a welcome change. A very complicated method of ‘needle’ lace, know as ‘punto in aria’, which uses only needle and thread without any backing fabric, is done by women on the island. I enjoyed watching a demonstration of how it is made and looking at the Museum and Shop of Needle Lace, where some very delicate items were on display.

Friday September 5^th saw us travelling from Venice to Rome with stops at an abbey where the written music notes were invented, and another at Assisi to walk through the Basilica of San Francesco d’Assisi. This wonderful building is dedicated to Saint Frances, the patron saint of animals and it has beautiful frescos, some of which fell off the walls in the 1997 earthquake. On to Rome where we visited the Trevi Fountain, which was originally the terminal for the Aqua Virgo aqueduct in 19BC, and the Spanish Steps, both of which were very spectacular at night. After a walking tour to see these landmarks the group enjoyed another fun filled evening at a Roman restaurant. Early the next morning saw us joining the queues to visit The Vatican Museum which houses over 9 miles of the most extensive collection of art in the world. The hallways with their magnificent paintings, sculptures, maps and tapestries were a sight not to be missed.  Rome certainly has a lot to see, the afternoon being spent, in the heat, walking around the Coliseum and the Forum, both are so steeped in history that we found it all quite mind-boggling.

Along the road taking us south to the Amalfi Coast we stopped to have a look at The Abbey of Monte Cassino. This huge building, perched high on a hill, was pulverised in heavy battles and air-raids during the Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944 but it has since been rebuilt. The weather did not get any cooler, nor the crowds any less as we journeyed on to Naples where we visited a factory which produces cameos. It was fascinating to watch how this very intricate type of jewellery is made, from local shells. Past the now extinct volcano of Mount Vesuvius which erupted on August 24th, 79 A.D., to Pompeii. This area can only be described as incredible. A local guide took us for a tour around the various areas, the technology used so long ago is astounding, from ovens and street drainage systems to ventilation systems and theatres.

The road to Sorrento, whilst being very picturesque, was also very windy. We finally arrived at our hotel stop at Massa Lubrense, high in the hills above Sorrento. I think we and 3 other couples were in rooms which I likened to ‘Convent’ quarters, bare floors, candlewick bedspreads and threadbare towels, although the area was scenically lovely! We enjoyed a day on the island of Capri where we walked around a beautiful garden dedicated to Caesar Augustus and then to Villa Munthe, on the other side of the island. The villa is a museum dedicated to the former owner, Swedish physician Axel Munthe. The buildings, grounds, gardens and the views from them, of the Isle of Capri, are spectacular.

A long day driving north to Florence was next. On our arrival we visited Santa Croche Square where we learnt that the unusual and ancient game of Calcio in Costume, the ancestor of soccer, is played there. It seems to be a combination of rugby, US football and wrestling, but unfortunately no action while we were there! We then enjoyed a walking tour around the central part of the city and learnt more about the spectacular buildings, which we were familiar with from our previous visit. Much of the next part of the journey was familiar to us and we enjoyed driving through Tuscany and areas we had been to on our earlier trip. The Leaning Tower at Pisa was still leaning, despite the many photographs people take with them trying to appear to push to straighten it!

More familiar roads then led us to Nice. That night we enjoyed a trip to Monaco where the views at night were fabulous and a walk around the area where The Prince’s Palace, the home of the Grimaldi family, and the beautiful Saint Nicholas Cathedral where Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly were married, were very pleasant. Dinner and a trip to the Casino, but not to gamble, just to look at the beautiful marble foyer and an interesting photographic exhibition, completed the evening. Another long day of travel was ahead of us as we set off for Grenoble. Our first stop was at Grasse, the centre of the French perfume industry and for a visit to the Fragonard perfume factory to watch how the various perfumes are made, and to purchase of course! Then along the Route Napoleon, through spectacular French countryside with very high mountain passes and majestic alps to Castellane a small and very pleasant town. Castellane is the opposite of a perched village, as many are, in France and Italy. Tucked down in the throat of the steep Grand Canyon du Verdon, the town is invisible from a distance as you approach, except for a tall rock jutting straight up out of the valley, with a stone chapel (from 1703) perched on top. The Chapel Nôtre-Dame-du-Rock is built on the site of a Roman fort and the ancient Roman town of Petra Castellana. Our second stop was at the town of Sisteron which has been inhabited for 4000 years so naturally there were many interesting things to see. What we saw of Grenoble, which wasn’t much, gave us the impression that there had been many new buildings erected for the 1968 Winter Olympics and it is preparing to bid for them again in 2018. Apparently it is famous for gloves and walnuts, for its role in the French Resistance during WW2 and for the nearby ski resorts.

An even longer trip was ahead of us on our final day of travelling the 600kms from Grenoble to Paris. We enjoyed a break at Beaune which is most famous for its Burgundy wines and for the interesting Hospices de Beaune built in 1442, which is now a museum. In Paris we enjoyed visiting The Eiffel Tower and the views from the second level, a walking tour including Notre Dame and other buildings of interest which we were familiar with and a tour of The Palace of Versailles. The grandeur and opulence of this place has to be seen to be believed. Every aspect from the spectacular rooms and their furnishings to the perfectly manicured gardens with piped orchestral music playing as you wander, made for a very nice ‘final’ visit of the tour. That night it was time say goodbye to everyone at our farewell dinner but not before one last walk around the busy area of Montmartre, where famous artists such as Monet and Picasso have lived and worked, and to walk around the Sacre-Coeur Basilica. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner together where, for many of us, it was a final chance to try some typical French dishes. I balked at escargots [snails] but quite enjoyed frogs legs which were mild in flavour and not unlike chicken.

On Saturday September 13^th most of the tour party returned to London but we remained in Paris for a few more days before setting off for another trip on our own. I am sure you have had enough of reading so I will write about that stage at a later date!