Rae's Shopping Adventure in Florence

Time to go shopping!   I had heard there was a Brands Outlet place near Florence and decided to check it out. Just before I hopped on to the wrong bus I found out that there there are actually two outlet shopping centres near Florence, each serviced by almost identical black coaches. I had already chosen to shop at The Mall – I had not heard of the Designer Outlet place , so jumped on this very comfortable coach which proceeded to travel forty-five minutes out of Florence, high up in the foothills. Opened in 2000 with five high end brand shops, today there are over 50 stores housed in several modern buildings including a 3 story Gucci complex, in neat landscaped grounds. By far the most popular store was Burberry, which always had a queue of at least 20 people outside.  Overall the items offered were not inspiring  to me, but I did purchase some ‘needs’ at the Armani store. So The Mall has been ‘done’ and not to be again – perhaps I would try the Designer Outlet in future.

For our evening meal we were recommended several places, including the renowned Gabi – however when we arrived, its refurbishment was not yet complete  -we were a day too early!  However we managed to placate ourselves at a nearby restaurant which delivered some more delicious Italian local fare for us to enjoy.

The Beginning of our Florence Adventure

We travelled the short distance to Florence, Italy, by local train on another grey but balmy autumn day and booked in at avery nice Star Hotel, arranged by our son.  Our evening ‘looking for food’ walk led us to a narrow,  welcoming, restaurant which had that ‘do come in – I am very good’ look about it.  The Trattoira Armando turned out to be just that, a family owned restaurant, where we were looked after by a very proud owner, whose eyes and smile reflected his passion for local food and wine.  For the first time ever, I had artichoke pasta – delicious!!!!

Our Bologna Walking Adventure

Move over, expensive bus tours and Ferrari factory tours that charge extortionist rates! Old town Bologna is a city one should walk around!!! There is only 1 main traffic road passing through the centre that I could see from the top of the Torre Asinelli - the tallest remaining tower in the city  - 598 steps up!! Apparently all families of note erected a tower each. Today most have collapsed or have been reduced to about 3 stories high and capped. Nearby is the Food Precinct in the Quatra Latino area - a must to visit!  Delicatessens with hundreds of hanging meats, cheeses and local foods, wine bars, cafes, fish and vegetable shops, restaurants, pizzerias and the crowded Mercate di Mezzo Food Hall – where we lunched – had so many choices of freshly-prepared-in front-of-you foods. Just around the we strolled through the very upmarket Cavore Galleria shopping mall - which included a Ferrari shop, and the ornate Venetian designed Santa Maria Bella Vita church – well worth a peek inside -  wow! very dramatic! 

The Palazzo d'Accursio museum across from the Basilica of San Petronio in the Piazza Maggiore we enjoyed, for as well as the significant art works and sculptures, the rooms have been restored and have amazing frescoes painted in the 1500’s by Prospero Fontana. Especially amusing was the room at the  far end – which was done up as a leafy conservatory – where one could imagine that a barbie or picnic, Italian style, would have been held. 

Our Bologna Adventure - day 1

It was a treat to be introduced to the local fare at one of Bologna’s better restaurants opposite ‘ the seven churches’ - Sette Chiese – or Basilica di Santo Stefano.

These buildings are a conglomeration of various architectural styles, spanning over several centuries. The most interesting item to me was a dome, constructed of small house building sized red bricks, spiraling round and round until one oblong brick closed the gap at the top. The large nativity scene figurines, mostly gold in colour, were made either from paper mache, porcelain or stone.  The display was attended by a lady who kept rearranging the many dried and live greenery accompaniments, including lavender, giving the exhibition a fresh peaceful aroma.

Bologna, a city of towers, porticos, and many beautiful shops  – which made the items in Zara look very average –  is a great place to walk around. Amongst the shops are very old buildings, mainly churches but worth visiting.  That evening we noticed many young people heading into the Cathedral of Bologna, a large church surrounded by shops.  Maybe a carol service?  There was a poster outside, advertising a ‘notable’ tenor and organist.  So we strolled inside, waiting while the thousand or so queues of people seated themselves, filling about half the cathedral, only to find out that it was a prayer service, honouring the youth of the city.

A day on the Water, Venice, Italy, Day 2

There is nothing better for maritime lovers to be out on the water, in any capacity, even while on holiday! Today we  boarded our ferry and set off for our water adventure in Venice. The day was so – unusually, we found out – warm and balmy – the water was so calm that we could have reached out and trailed our fingers in the water, and the sky was so blue….  We travelled past the extensive mud flats with a few birds flying here and there, and landed on the formally arranged tree bordered Cemetery Island. Extensive, well maintained, and still to be completely filled, this sanctuary presented a preliforia of family histories of the area – some still in their telling. The monuments also offered a history of memorials over time, in the area.  After a time of peace and reflection we cruised to Murano, an island not only renowned for its lace making, but for its colourful houses lining its canals. We all disembarked, admiring the colourful buildings with their closed doors and drapes, suspecting that their inhabitants might have felt like goldfish in a bowl! However we  tourists all strolled merrily by, occasionally dropping into the few lace and souvenir shops that were still open during this off-season, admired the island’s thick furred cats and all arrived at the one restaurant that was open to enjoy lunch  off an Italian styled family run ‘international’ menu which very efficiently catered for the huge variety of ethnic groups that called by. We thoroughly recommend the soup of the day! Upon our return to the ‘mainland’ we chattered with some very interesting people from China and Germany who had  ‘popped over to Venice’ for a few days break. Oh if only we could do the same……  We concluded this lovely autumn day by strolling  past St Mark's Square through Venice’s very exclusive hotel and shopping area, noting that the Christmas decorations were appropriate to people who might shop in this area. For our last supper in Venice we dined like royalty at another family restaurant - Trattoria Vittoria that we discovered upon another visit and again enjoyed the décor, authentic Italian food and hospitality.  Next day we travelled by train -  you might have noticed that pic of the water as we travelled along the causeway from Venice on to Bologna – our next adventure in Italy…..

A Weekend Adventure in Melbourne, Australia

How can one describe a weekend  Melbourne?

The 5pm rush hour on a Friday night – when it takes a Shuttle bus an hour to get from Southern Cross Station to Novotel in Collins St – a 20 minute walk,  we later discovered.

The late nite cafes in the Block and Royal Arcades – friendly people, variety of delicious food and live music on Friday and Saturday eves.

All the Laneways – the shopping, businesses, cafes – always crowded, the architecture, the Chocolate shops!

The David Shepherd Shoe Shop in Collins St – a Huge Array of  fantastic footwear  - which I had forgotten about til the last hour before we had to come home.

The Lindi Chocolate Café next door – ideal to recover and reenergize for more shopping.

And the Gazi Greek Restaurant – so popular that you have to book – any time you want to come along – and interesting décor in the toilets.

And then there is the eclectic Curtin House in Swanston St – known as one of Melbourne’s  ‘Vertical Laneways’ – full of Thai Restaurants, art spaces, bars and a roof top bar which shows films from time to time – we love the ambience and food of “Cookie,’ which if busy, has a cosy champagne bar tucked around the corner.

Not to mention Chinatown and the Greek Quarters…..which we did not have time to explore this visit….

Federation Square with its street theatre and interactive art and technology exhibitions, the aboriginal art, is always on our list to check out and over the bridge, the National Gallery of Victoria which currently has an exhibition by the famous portrait photographer Edward Steichen.

Then there is the walk along Southbank, Skydeck  for panoramic views over the city, the Aquarium, DFO shopping centre……

We did not get to the beautiful  St Kilda Beach, the Restaurants in Lygon St, the shops in Chapel or Richmond Streets!  Or Victoria Market. Or to the James Bond Exhibition….   Sigh….  I guess that is all the more reason to return to this exciting city of Melbourne with all its history, architecture, shops, walkways, nooks and crannies and……….

First Impressions of Dublin, Ireland

I have to say that I had no idea what to expect in Dublin, Ireland, for our Irish adventure, after arriving by a most enjoyable trip on the fast ferry overseas from Hollyhead, in Anglesea, Wales. I suppose I expected a very old city, complete with old buildings such as we saw in Chester and Liverpool, but that was not the case. From the Dublin ferry terminal to the Jury's Inn Hotel Custom House on the River Liffey, we saw a lot of 'modern' style light industry and low rise character less and certainly not old (!!) buildings which rather unsettled my 'romantic' notions of Ireland. It is not until after we had settled into our hotel and went to look for our associates at Captain America's Restaurant in Grafton Street, that we did find some older character buildings worth stopping to inspect. To us it seemed that the older buildings were mixed up with the newer ones and this was the character of the city. After meeting our travelling group and Captain America's where they seemed to stand out as the grand parents of most of the other clients, we strolled back to Jury's in via refreshing ourselves with a beer at the very traditionally Irish Lannigans Bar, named, we are sure, after the relative of one of our tourist party.

The Pub Scene in Europe

It is always interesting, when traveling, to see what people so for entertainment.

The corner London pubs around the city area are where people congregate at all times of the day and evening it seems. The meals are very good, we felt and there is no smoking, you could go along, with your family and friends and not come out smelling like an ash tray.

In St Petersburg, Russia, everybody smoked everywhere and while we did not visit any pubs while we were there, we noticed that when we sat in the bar/ reception area, our clothes stank of smoke. It was much worse on our last evening of our stay there, as we decided to eat in at the Restaurant. Unforutunately, there was a big party on as well. Everybody smoked and the noise and smoke spoilt our evening, which happened to be Christmas Day, as I recall. I am sure that the smoke brought on my cold, which lasted all through our visits to Sweden and London.

In Sweden people could not smoke inside pubs. At one English style pub we dropped into to warm up from the very cold, we noticed a parcel on a seat where we intended to sit. I was just about to pick it up and take it to the bar when there was a loud tapping on the window. The owners of the parcel were having a smoke outside in the cold and had left in on the seat to book it upon their return.

In Italy, in the pubs the emphasis is on food, not drinking and over indulging is not tolerated. As a result, we noticed very few pubs as we New Zealanders know them, but dairy and delicatassen like shops where you can purchase coffee, and all types of food and have a drink as well. In some cities, for example in Milano, at around about 6 or 7pm a free, or spend so much and it is free, buffet of hams cheeses breads and other finger foods are put out for clients in establishments which are a cross between a pub and a restaruant. At this time many people visit, often with family including young children and grand parents, as well as friends, to have a quick drink, which is often a cup of espresso coffee. They stay only for a short time, then move on. In Florence, the only pub we found, well Chris did when I was out in the cold walking around a huge park, was an English Style pub on the suburbs side of the bridge which has all the jewellery shops. It was run by a couple of young chinese people. But of course we were expected to order a slice of pizza or something to eat!!

In Madrid, Spain, we noticed that in most bars and cafes people smoked. However we did find a chain of restaruants which serve great breakfasts at a reasonable price where no one smoked, and also a pub with a restaurant called TGIF meaning Thanks God its Friday where no smoking was allowed.

In Havana, Cuba, everybody smokes everywhere but because everything is open, the smoke does not hover inside. I also believe that the smell of cigars and the cigarettes are much more tolerable than the cigarettes we have in New Zealand. There is music everywhere in the pubs which are also cafes or restaurants, and everyone is expected to eat. And tip.

Now we are in Santiago, Chile. It is our first afternoon and we spent a long lunch outside a cafe, where we noticed, that people smoked over their meal. But it is so hot here, that I doubt if we will eat inside at all!

It will be great to enjoy our local pub scene in Auckland, New Zealand, where smoking is tolerated outside only. This means of course that when one goes walking along the street, one must remember not to breath in when passing a pub....