A comfortable start to our Italian Adventure in Trieste

We were very lucky that thanks our son who worked for a very good Sun Hotel Group, we stayed  at some very nice  warm and comfortable hotels during our Italian adventure. In Trieste the Excelsior Palace Hotel is as stunning as it’s name. Erected on the waterfront in 1912, it was the ‘most impressive luxurious hotel in Austria and Hungary. Recently refurbished, it is back to its original majesty. The black and white pics on the walls of our large room feature old Trieste and its sculptures.  During our stay the foyer had several displays of beautiful red and white orchids, which the pics do not give justice to.

About Newport Rhode Island

Having travelled by bus to Newport Rhode Island, we arrived on a hot Sunday afternoon, into a end-of-summer resort! Lots of shops, and tanned people strolling around. After lunching we walked, lugging our cases - on wheels, of course, down streets of 2 - 3 storied wooden houses with steeply pitched roofs and window boxes, to our home for the next 7 days. Many of the houses had plaques on them stating their age which was around 200 - 250 years old and the people who lived there - pewterers, silversmiths, etc. Ours was built in around 1750 and was occupied by a famous cabinet maker, John Goddard and his son Thomas. The house was moved to its current site from one nearer the water, because someone wanted the land, but not the building. The current owners refurbished the 3 storied house - 3 bedrooms, a huge attic room - ideal for grandchildren and for a crew of yachties, and numerous bathrooms. They often let the house out to visitors and would holiday on their boat. It was ideal for boating people like us - much better than a hotel!

Newport, as the name suggests was a port town situated at the beginning of Rhode Island Sound. It ends well inland at Providence, the area's current port. The sound is not as we New Zealanders are used to - high mountains, deep water, but instead, low bush and tree covered hills and about 30 islands amnd peninsulas. Apparently the land, like that in Sweden, Finland and around the Baltic Sea, is very slowly rising as it no longer bears the weight of glaciers.

At the beginning of the sound is Fort Adams - one of two ports built to keep the British out. However the British laid seige and stayed out to sea, so there was no battle and subsquently not a shot has been fired from the fort. This area is steeped in history, much of which had a profound effect on the direction of the United States which, of course, can be found out in great detail, on Google!!

So here is a very very brief outline about Newport Rhode Island in no particular order;
- People came to this area to escape religious persecution
- The rich came here to spend their summers - resulting in the erection of many huge beautiful and opulent palace like mansions - many of which can be visited today.
- There was a huge Sanitorium here - started by somebody who used electricity to cure everthing then discovered that there was more money and less responsibility in making the place into a 'health retreat' to which people came and did not want to leave
- The houses are very quaint and disctinctive
- The Navy's main base was here for many years - as it has moved its base elsehwere most of its many buildings are now Naval Colleges
- The area is quaint and beautiful and very cultural - art, crafts, music
- the (only) Main Street has heaps of pubs, cafes and touristy resort shops
- Around the waters edge are hundreds of holiday apartment blocks built around 20 - 30 for the huge summer population - part or a revival plan for the area after the Navy and America's Cup trophy relocated
- There are hundreds and hundreds of boats here - all of which have to be taken out of the water for the winter
- The loss of the America's Cup had a huge impact on the ecomony as well as the New York Yacht Club which owns a mansion donated to it by a former Commodore.

All in all Newport Rhode Island is a beautiful area - very hot in summer and very cold in winter. Apparently when the water froze over around 150 years ago, a large home was built on a very small rocky island as the materials could be brought out over the snow and ice by sled. Then one winter there was a severe blizzard lasting for several days. After it abated, the lady of the house departed to the mainland and swore never to go back again... Today the house has that rather neglected air about it.

Now I will sign off this item and write something about the sailing.....

Winter snapshot of Madrid, Spain

Flying is such a great way to travel! One usually has a glimpse of the land of one's destination and flying over the Spanish countryside, over the 'swirly' mountain ranges, which looked as if they had been 'combed' in white snow, we reached the different shades of brown flattish countryside around Madrid. That's interesting, I thought, no snow! A few days ago I had received an email from a Swedish relative wondering if we had encountered a blanket of snow in Madrid. From the air the city did not look as if it had suffered from any snow at all. It was not until we taxied into the airport that we noticed that there were quite a few large clumps of snow on either side of the runway.

Madrid Barajas International Airport is huge. Situated about 13 kilometers from Madrid, it is a central hub for travellers, including to South and Central America, and Cuba. In 2006 a new extension was added to the airport, doubling its capacity. The terminal we arrived in and travelled to Cuba from, was light, airy, spacious and clean, and pleasantly free of travelling crowds. It even had a few sculptures here and there - some of which are in the slideshow. Our first glimpse of Madrid while travelling in from the Madrid Barajas International Airport, was a city of low buildings, apart from 4 skyscrapers on the horizon. Apparently these buildings, all individually architecturally designed, are part of Madrid's new business centre in the north of the city. Soon they will be joined by Spain's biggest, and brand new convention centre which will be shaped like the rising sun, reflecting Madrid's growth.

It was most pleasant to stroll around Madrid's City Centre, enjoying the large silvery fountains and feeling of light airy space. The temperature was a cool but dry 6 degrees and we were able to shed more layers of winter clothng. The city is around 100 years old, so the buildings are not too tall, plain with decorative features near the tops (sorry don't know the style) and the footpaths and boulevards wide. Madrid citizens are great walkers, and indeed the later in the day it became, the bigger the crowds grew in the shopping streets. However the wide boulevards in the middle of other wide streets were not too crowded as to make walking a mission, as it was not quite warm enough to sit outside in the cafes.

Yes, I know we said that we had had enough of museums!!! But we could not resist a peek at the Titanic exhibition which, even though most of us know the story inside out, was well worth the visit. As a result I and Daughter-in-Law each now own a necklace featuring a piece of coal off the Titanic!! And yes, we had a look through the Royal Palace, with it's luxurious velvet hangings and drapes, and inspected the huge and most impressive Armoury. Not only that, we just had to visit the Museo Nacionale de Prado. We spent about 3 hours in this world renowned National Museum, which, in its programme, had noted all the 'must see' art works and sculptures in its huge collection, which was very useful. Works by Spaniards Goya, Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens and Gainsborough have been beautifully restored and displayed in large spaces. Ideal for viewing, especially as it was winter and not the tourist season so we could see everything at our leisure. When we left the Museo Nacional late in the day we noticed a very long queue of people outside the entrance. We found out that the museum offers free entry on Sundays at 5pm and one weeknight free of charge, to residents who are unable to pay the entrance fee.

But the most interesting and eyecatching exhibition was an outdoor public event, the Cow Parade! They have done quite a bit of travelling since their visit to Auckland, New Zealand, a couple of years ago. These fibreglass, lifesized cows travel the world and are painted by artists in the various locations. At the end of each exhibition the cows are auctioned off for charity. After their Madrid sojourn they will be on display in Hong Kong.

Now, after 6 weeks of travelling to Europe in winter I am hankering for some sunshine and warmth. Thank goodness we are travelling to Cuba tonight......

Winter Holiday in Florence and more about Museums.

Gosh, I am so please that we decided to spend some of our Italain Winter Holiday in Florenza!

Here is was a little warmer than during our stays at Milano and Venice and it was very pleasant exploring the streets. Even though the skies were clear and the sun was shining, I have to say, I felt a little claustrophobic. I suspect it was because the sun was low, being winter, and it did not reach the streets. Also there are not many open spaces in the city centre. But we did note that a large area, near to the railway station was being refurbished.

There is not much traffic in Florenza - some of the streets are for walking only, while others seemed to be for servcive vehicles only. In fact when we viewed the city from the top of the Duomo belltower,which was over 400 steps to get there, it was apparent that the limited traffic zone extended for quite a large area. So it was ideal for exloring the city on foot, and to admire the old, but very neat and tidy variety of buildings. It was interesting to note that on some of the older buildings, all of which seemed to be in perfectly restored condition, had areas of the outer walls exposed so we could view the construction methods.

More by accident than by design, we ended up spending a lot ot time in museums during our stay in Florence,

We had made a reservation to view the Galleria at the Uffuzi Palace, and it took all morning to view the beautiful artworks on display. Most had been restored, as had a good part of the building.There was an interesting Exhibtion by Giovanni Francesco (Guecino) - 1591 - 1666, of his sketches and watercolours in brown wash.

Artwork in the Gallerail had been collected since the 17th century by the Medusa family, and feature was a special Medusa exhitibition was the famous Medusa Head with the snakes emerging from it.

We also visited the Museo d'ell Opera di Santa Maria del Torre, then a museum dedicated to the history of the Duomo. It has been in existance since 1891.

Even though the first stone was laid in 1296, the facade was not finished until the early 1900's due to various political reasons over the years. Many architects submitted designs for the facade, all of which were on display. There were also many statues and artifacts all of which were in the Duomo at some time or other.

Michangelo and Brunelleschi were two of the many famous artists who worked on the Duomo during its 700 years of construction.

We visited the Accadamea where the statue of 'David' resides, along with his 4 unfinished slaves. The Accadamea had much of the art collected during thte Medusa Dynasty, including a musical instrument collection and the worlds oldest violin. The exhibition was great until we entered a large hall chocker full of replicas of statues, including hundreds of busts lining the very high walls! A bit of overkill, we felt, as we quickly wandered through and on to other things.

Before I move away from talking about exhibtitions and museums, I have to repeat that there were few few people and tour groups around, so we could see everything at our leisure, in particular, the statue of David, around which everyone would spend hours gazing at. Winter is such a great time to do the 'indoors' of European Cities - museums are warm and comfortable.

As in all the other cities we visited during this winter holiday, the winter sales were on and lots of people were shopping. But that is another story.....