Yes...it's a vast country.... where exotic locales and a fabulous cuisine give history, art, culture a run for their money. And for such a country you need days and weeks to soak it all in. But then there are poor souls who can make it after years of planning , arranging finances.. want to see lots in minimal time! Can you blame them! Who dreams of Dan Brown's Florence in Inferno, dreamy Bollywood duets at the Grand Canal , Venice and the Caesar , Brutus, Gladiators of Rome or the vineyards of Tuscany....it's a wild array of options in Italy! We did not know what to drop...so squeezed in Venice, Florence and Rome before catching the flight to Bangalore.
People did warn me after Switzerland, Italy may be a bit disappointing. We reached Basel by train from Interlaken, it was an early morning train. From Basel station took the bus to the airport...all these sounds a bit cumbersome but actually went almost smooth.. apart from the impending fear of luggage/ weight issues with airline, carrying woolens in hand clumsily depending on the chill outside .We were unable to get the tax refund for our Swiss purchase because was not able to locate the counter. Someone said it's outside the airport building...well what was the point then! We gave it a miss and if that was the case most others will! Tickets were booked by our agent in an economy airline, and he repeatedly asked me if my hand bag did not fit the dimensions, he'd book extra luggage. Me, being me assumed that since it's weight was under 7 kgs it would fit in. Besides as it was, I was already overstuffed with lots of warm clothes for different pics each day 😬! But the day of journey I was tense , I had the feeling I'd be caught. At the terminal there were wooden frames with the given dimensions to check if your bag fits in and yes mine just portruded out a wee bit! But true blue desis we decided to move ahead till we were caught! So boarding pass, security all went off smoothly , nobody even cast a glance at my bag! It was when we queued up for boarding that formidable lady with a towering height came over to me and politely asked for 72 Francs ðŸ˜ðŸ˜... And believe me yeah I might sound judgemental , she did look so formidable, so much with a towering torso... you won't dare argue! I tried feebly and opened my wallet for my card! Boy I was heart broken and to top it I missed my new sleek white h&m sweat shirt which I messed up with the white bed sheets at the Interlaken apartment and left it there! Huh Italy did not greet me with a welcome note!
72 Francs did stab me in my heart as I boarded the flight gloomily. In the gloomy flight heart began to warm up at the sight of Alps. Who knows when I will set my eyes on the Alps again!
Day 1 : Reaching Venice from Basel , Switzerland, Gondola Ride at the Grand Canal, Venice
And before we knew it, there was a sight of mish mash of canals , sea and a civilization sprawling amidst! We were reaching Venice! Difficult to mention Venice and not recall Amitav Ghosh's Gun Island! Things are strangely inter connected... as we get to know from Ghosh's book Venice was Al Bundequya ( Bandook meaning gun) earlier so it was Gun Island and the Bandooki Saudagar mentioned in his book was indeed the Merchant of Venice!! Shakespeare to Ghosh! Venice, infact entire Italy filled with Bangladeshi immigrants at shops, tourist spots, restaurants so reinforced Gun Island in my mind. Like the protagonist of the novel was stunned by someone calling out his name in Bengali, in the lanes of Venice and saving him from the inundated roads...we also had an uncanny experience I will be sharing later.
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Marco Polo Airport, the name sounded romantic , after the explorer who had travelled to our country in the twelfth century. We were picked up by driver and dropped to our hotel. We lazed a bit after checking in and then came for lunch at the restaurant. We saw a huge crowd with banners, posters, blocking the road from the restaurant window. The hotel was just opposite to the Mestre Railway station and I was thanking our stars that we reached in time or else would've been stuck in this! But then the protest brought the country closer to us, it seemed small boat operators were protesting against big boats!
We finished lunch with clams spaghetti and yes an eggplant sandwich! Both were a first time for us. Clams were good though the darkish hard shells I was apprehensive about and did not have it with heart! The eggplant sandwich was different and I loved the smoky flavour..I mean come to think of our desi baingan so subtly smoked and stuffed with cheese between these sourdough breads!! Table also served complimentary breads which we lapped up with the EVOO, service tax was charged per item. Lunch and some siesta later we went out to catch the train to the Grand Canal.
Mestre station was just opposite to our hotel. We bought tickets though we didn't know we had to validate them under the scanner. The station was a mix of long distance, international, local trains and it took us time to decipher. Finally we boarded and got down at the Santa Lucia station.
Inside trenitalia...
Outside Santa Lucia station, it was quite crowded, I had a feeling of busy Ganga ghat vibes, lots of Bangladeshi vendors around with souvenir shops etc...I was in for disappointment...I mean where are the Roberto Baggios, Del Pieroish ( these are the players I know!) Italian gods...and this crowd and mess.. Grand Canal looked nothing grand. Yes I had to take the Gondola ride, live the Amitabh Zeenat ' do lafzo ke hain ' moment. Morning disappointment with 72 Francs at the airport, coupled with this drab fare..we got into a Gondola, with another chic couple.
Our co rider clicked beautiful candid pics. This was when I was lip syncing ' do lafzon ke ye kahani' for Monalisa!
We roamed about the market near Grand Canal, tried bargaining in Bengali, got some Venetian masks, souvenirs and settled for the nearest restaurant facing the canal.
Well there was a fuss as I took out my water bottle to have a sip, the waiter whispered to keep it inside as if doing a big favour. We needed to order minimum two items , pay service charge per item. The salmon pizza served was fresh, delectable nothing like Domino's/ Pizza Hut crust we get here. It was more like our Tandoori roti crust and amazing with an intoxicating ambiance by the Grand Canal. The drink was Spiritz , cock tail of sort went well with the pizza. EVOO you can drizzle as you want. We also ordered a salad with eggplant, zucchini, carrots ...tasted awesome with EVOO.
Waiters can get friendly here 🙄..may be they expect tips! They'd whisper, lean close while they talk...our hotel stuff as well... well that's all the flirtatious we could get in this trip 🤷. Apart from another senior citizen sort winking at Monalisa from his bicycle in Switzerland and saying something in German. I was on phone... and she started screaming Somadii so hoarsely...he had to leave!! I was determined to flirt with the goras before the onset of the trip but err..I think entire Europe has a dearth of young population and guess we aren't that young as well!!
Day 2 : Murano, Burano, Torcello Islands
After breakfast at the hotel, we caught the train to Santa Lucia station, followed the instructions of our itinerary , got into a water taxi for Saint Mark's Square. From there followed the crowd to the starting point of the Murano Burano tour, crossing the Dodges palace on the way.
Saint Mark's Square was touristy , bustling with tourists, beautiful Venetian paintings were up for sale, along with water taxis all the way. Our first stop was at Murano Island and well the glass making art did not attract me much! I mean the stuff looked pretty, though the budget and luggage allowance do not allow much indulgences, I'd rather see the Dodges palace or soak in the city.
Burano Island was a fishing village with colourful houses. The cynical me thought Goa would be more beautiful! Infact I did take pics of the lovely houses but I guess it's passe. We had gelato there but I think we missed all bloggers warning gelato has to be from covered containers to retain its freshness. So what we had was just average. There was a beautiful crochet and lace market where we splurged! Though I'm not sure things were exclusive but the shopping you indulge in travelling had the memories wrapped with them... That way they aren't comparable!
It was as they say fully instagrammer's delight...we reaped its advantage but a traveller needs some soul to get life into the reels.
By the time we reached Torcello, we were hungry and as it happens with group trips we decided to skip the cathedral visit to grab some lunch and be at the ship in time. Lunch was risotto and a brilliant plate of sea food fries. Risotto I had for the first time and nah what I had wouldn't like to venture again, the fries were awesome and fresh though.
The picture was a checklist ticked types because we didn't see anything of Torcello!! Murano...tick...Burano...tick... Torcello...tick tick tick...now run!! Though Monalisa called her father and he was telling her about the history of the Torcello Cathedral...I mean from Guwahati...we did feel guilty..but couldn't help anyways!
We wanted some more food after the drab Risotto! Here I'd like to say Venice being the city of Cupid.. there was ample display of pda... young/ old couples kissing, holding hands, stroking each other.. Through out the cruise I stared more at the cupid couples then anything else. Monalisa wasn't so welcoming through, second time when she went to the counter to order, the couple at the beginning of the queue was so busy kissing that they forgot to order and my friend got so pissed off, she told me ' Somadi we will have something else later'!!! 😅😅
Well goddess Venice bless all the lovers! We went back to our ship, grabbed some fruits, snacks and reached Saint Mark's Square. Now we had discussed with our agent while returning we can walk to the Santa Lucia station via Realto Bridge, Bridge of sighs, Dodges Palace
The Bridge of Sighs...Google says prisoners were allowed to have a last glimpse of the city from the bridge before sending them off to captivity.
Dodge's Palace ( Bollywood song Khuda Jane gives a grand view of the palace with Ranvir and Deepika)
We started walking with the Google map on. In between looked at the mysterious Venetian alleys, stopped for some drinks and food.
Saint Mark's Basilica
Realto Bridge
After Realto Bridge we were at loss , which direction to take and nobody could help us. Google map was also going beserek on the mysterious alleys. It was dark and the feeling that we were lost was sinking in slowly. We followed the canal , roads were closed in between and again stuck on the alleys. Enchanting alleys with designer shops..I think that was when I fell in love with Venice. We followed the arrows to the Realto Bridge and then were caught in the labyrinth!
Later I remember my father asking me, (we all are avid Amitav Ghosh followers), did you meet some Bangladeshi messiah like Ghosh did...save him and his friend from the flash floods. I was about to nod in the negative while the uncanny similarly clicked in my mind.
Lost, exhausted we asked the way again to a person who seemed Bangladeshi, he told us to follow the marks for Ferrovia ( their water station) otherwise we could never find our way to the Santa Lucia station. Yes, I mused later... Monalisa did say that person was god sent! I came out with our lost and found story to Baba, marveling myself at the pages from Gun Island coming to life!
Though my husband later quipped, ' You mean if you hadn't met that person, you'd have whirled in that labyrinth for life!!' He did sound dreamy about that!!
It was a long long walk, we followed the yellow signs and finally the green dome near the grand canal...we slumped in the stairs for long in total abandon, totally drained. We winded up with minimal souvenir shopping, grabbing some sandwich and dozing off! Indeed the alleys are bewitching, Google map doesn't help so you need to know what to follow! But that wild goose run in the lanes showed us the heart of Venice...non touristy and mystic.
Day 3 : Train to Florence, Hop on hop off bus @ Florence, Piazzale Michelangelo Visit
After the long evening, we had a hearty breakfast at the morning and just crossed the road to catch the train to S.M. Novella station Florence. The compartment did not have any racks to put our luggage, we managed somehow tugging one huge bag behind the seat, other just left it like that. We yelled at our agent showed him the pic of the compartment where they had put on a refrigerator in place of a rack! He had no clue and he rebooked our Florence/ Rome tickets , didn't know how he got the assurance that the rebooked compartment would have luggage racks! S.M. Novella was a crowded station, we followed map to our hotel, pavements were narrow, hugely dilapidated at places, the lane was crowded...felt so much like our Kolkata. We had tough time with the wheels of our bags in the uneven pavements. Hotel signboard was totally concealed by construction work, so we needed some extra time to locate it. Hotel Machiavelli Palace had an ancient old town feeling though amenities were there. Our agent insisted on a bigger name for Florence stay but we stuck to our budget which anyhow was getting out of hand! We changed, bought tickets for hop on hop off bus, which we found a lazy and convenient way to have a feel of the city , with the little time we had. We grabbed a McDonald's wrap before boarding the bus. After relaxing, bit of dozing in the bus, soaking in the sights and sounds of the city, we got down at the Piazzale Michelangelo, here a replica of the statue of David hovered overlooking the cathedral. Infact from the Piazzale Michelangelo you can have a beautiful viewer of Florence.
Wish there was time to give my eyes the gift of looking at the original David kept in the museum. Florence or Firenze...(I was loving the local names Venetia, Firenze, Roma.). was the centre of Tuscany where the Renaissance first breathed it's existence.. with Galileo, Michelangelo... the thought was riveting enough. Later Michelangelo shifted to Rome where he was the did the entire ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
At Florence during our short stay we really regret not visiting the cathedral so near to our hotel. From the audio guide in the bus, my heart was jumping to visit the flea leather market sort. Because we did not want to miss the hop on hop off bus, we left Piazzale Michelangelo on time and got off near our hotel. We had amazing prawn udon noodles and pork momos at a roadside Chinese joint which had a Pakistani waiter we could communicate with in Hindi. After being bowled over by a repeat order of the noodles, we visited the flea market. Most, if not all, shop keepers were Bangladeshis..and by their look we could understand they were not much used to Bengali girls ( women) loitering about! We were in different shops, after I finished I was looking for Monalisa. The crowd was sparse and a Bengali looking gentleman addressed me ' Apnar naam ki Soma di '!!! ( Is your name Soma di)
I told him indeed my name was Soma di, then he told me 'Your friend is looking for you!!'
Well in the streets of Firenze, stranger asking me in East Bengali accent if my name was Soma di!! This anecdote was favourite with my husband later...in any mall, market..he'd start calling ' Soma dii' if I was not in sight!
Thereafter we faced the most horrific incident of the trip. We went to an ATM as we were short of cash, paid to the shopkeepers and were walking in the crowded footpath just opposite to our hotel. Monalisa had screamed and snatched my backpack away from a pick pocketer behind us. My backpack fell on the ground, it's zip was open and the wallet flew out of it. I had absolutely no clue what was happening! Monalisa screamed ' What you were trying to do!' The brute feigned total ignorance , nobody came forward to help! I was saved by whiskers...if she had not seen and screamed.... I wasn't carrying much cash but the entire shock of it and the harrasment thereafter! We were upset and scared..roamed a bit, bought water from the store and got inside the hotel, too scared to venture outside. Then onwards I carried the back pack on the front and got out all the cash / cards from the wallet and zipped them inside. Whenever I needed to pay I fumbled with cash/ card in an interior pocket of my backpack and often ended up sharing with stranger shopkeepers my pickpocket story !
Day 4: Siena, San Gimignano, Wine Tasting/ Lunch at Vineyard, Pisa ( Tuscany Trip)
It seems each day in Italy had a story to tell. Our fourth morning started early as we had to navigate our way towards a place where we would be picked up by the travel guide for the full day Tuscany trip. We had our breakfast packed fro
m the hotel and started walking towards the pick up point with Google map of course. Now it might happen we have selected the vehicle icon on the app instead of the pedestrian icon, though it's not much probable both of us made the same mistake. Google drove us mad... bringing us to a standstill point near the main road. Local lady tried to explain to us we are going the longer way but with Google leading us we followed! We weren't anywhere near by and it was well past time..we walked and walked.. dismissed maps and asked the locals. It seemed the road we were supposed to be in was on the other side of the flyover near us then. I called our agent, they tried to coordinate with the agency to wait for us. We almost gave up hope at one point but the magic of Tuscany was too hard to resist! It was almost eight when we crossed the road like crazy and showed our face to the people at the kiosk.
m the hotel and started walking towards the pick up point with Google map of course. Now it might happen we have selected the vehicle icon on the app instead of the pedestrian icon, though it's not much probable both of us made the same mistake. Google drove us mad... bringing us to a standstill point near the main road. Local lady tried to explain to us we are going the longer way but with Google leading us we followed! We weren't anywhere near by and it was well past time..we walked and walked.. dismissed maps and asked the locals. It seemed the road we were supposed to be in was on the other side of the flyover near us then. I called our agent, they tried to coordinate with the agency to wait for us. We almost gave up hope at one point but the magic of Tuscany was too hard to resist! It was almost eight when we crossed the road like crazy and showed our face to the people at the kiosk.
' The bus left' , the guy at the counter tried to sound sorry. I could see a bus at the other side of the road and people queuing, also I was getting texts from our agents. I have to mention they provided us support through out the trip and anybody looking for a trip I'd like to recommend them...yes you pay...but I was happy at what we got!
The guy at the counter smiled following my eyes towards the bus
' I was kidding '
At last we boarded the bus after he checked our vouchers. We had a lovely tall, Brunette as our guide, lilac pants, green vests and a big board with a 🌻! Later I realised the sunflower and the colour of her dress, we made no mistake spotting her. Our first stop was at Siena, it was a bit chilly in the morning, we ordered coffee at the shop to use their loo as suggested by our guide. The best part of the trip such clean toilets , there is absolutely no hesitancy in using public loos and they don't stink! How do they manage!
Palazzo Salimbeni ....hosts one of the first banks of Europe
We were greeted by an amazing Chapel with such intricate carvings! Siena blew our hearts away! Soon my irritation at our guide rushing us up, pathetic period cramps, almost missing the bus in the morning gave way to the architectural and historical marvel in front of me!
Michelengelo, self statue He began his work in the Tuscany..the region which heralded the Renaissance.
Our guide's sunflower logo! After a while I heard tourists groaning...haww Sunflower is on the move again! She's what thirty...I'm fifty...can't dance to her tune 😅
Once in the bus, we loved the drive through Tuscany. The Tuscany we saw in movies was more beautiful in reality! Our next stop was for lunch and wine tasting at a vineyard at the Chianti hills. We tasted different wines, first there was demo by the members of the family owning the vineyard, and it began with a nice sweet wine.
The lunch filled us with Tuscany, the wine, the food ... the open dining space overlooking the vineyard! Absolute dream stuff.
Next stop as our guide Danielle, kept telling us was San Gimgnano, her favourite haunt. Also she kept reminding since the beginning of the day, if you fail to be on time at San Gimgnano, you are doomed. There is no train, no metro and the tourist bus isn't going to wait! It kept us on our toes throughout the day though with a great deal of irritation! San Gimgnano was straight out of a mediaeval town...pebbled streets, walls... overlooking vineyards...and
the beautiful pottery shops. The area was known for its sunflowers, lemons and lavendar and all the shops bursted with the stuff
We were so immersed in the Tuscany flavours. Monalisa marvelled over the intricate pottery work, the colourful shops..lemons and sunflower table runners!
Pisa was last for the day. It was a long walk from where the bus stopped, we crossed a railway crossing then finally entered the very crowded, touristy Leaning Tower of Pisa. When you've read Galileo...when he dropped two objects from the top of the Leaning Tower...you do stand and stare! We tried various poses and failed!
We stared at Tuscany on our way back and together we remembered our home town...the hills and the greens..' Looking like our place isn't it..!' I mused.. She agreed! On that evening remembering Guwahati , Amingaon area while driving through the Tuscan plains was so nostalgic...it's a real one world!
We walked back to Hotel from the bus stand, this time it was a five/ ten minutes walk compared to the marathon in the morning. We decided to have dinner at our hotel which has a beautiful rooftop. But they didn't take orders past nine at night. Though we wanted to have Tuscan food, the horrific pick pocket experience of the day before, we did not go much further. Though we later repented seeing the chapel and the adjoint area. At last we settled for the delectable Udon noodles again , with fried rice...complimented the host , chatted with the Pakistani guy, watched some loud girls loitering in scooty giving different vibes. Our last dinner at Florence was over and the day after we would catch the train to Rome. So many flights, trains...it's a real hassle. We were happy we had almost reached the last leg, one more train ride .. then the flights to home.
Day 5: Train to Rome, Visit to Colosseum, Trevi Fountain
From our hotel corridor window
Train number, platform number..there was confusion. Platform number was assigned around ten minutes before, luckily platform wasn't far and we boarded the train for Rome almost in time.
Santina Hotel was good, very close to Rome Termini station. It seemed a luxury hotel and we needed comfort at the last leg of the long trip. Finally a hotel with slippers, we had inhouse coffee and relaxed...and happy there weren't more trains to catch!
After Caprese pizza from a near by joint run by Bangladeshi family, we bought tickets for the hop on hop off bus, though we had only few hours. As I said earlier the hop on hop off bus gave a good feel of the city we'd have really loved to have more time in . Riding around Rome, I felt so close to ancient history. Julius Caesar, Gladiators, Vatican..we were transported to another era! Come to think of it, Julius Caesar, Merchant of Venice, Two Gentleman of Verona.... Shakespeare loved his share of Italy! I made a quick call to my daughter from the rooftop of the bus! She loves her Julius Caesar lessons from the text book! Our first top was the COLOSSEUM. Yes I did want an inside view but the queue was long and time was less.
Piazza Venezia as seen from the hop on hop off bus.
We followed the instructions from the bus pamphlet and walked up to the Trevi Fountain from the bus stop. The road was long, narrow and crowded. I had seen in reels that Trevi Fountain is to be visited in early morning for the serenity and to avoid the crowds. We didn't follow that of course and jostled through the crowds.
We needed to use the washroom , so ordered on a roadside joint. Lovely aromatic fettuccine pasta and some super fresh salmon with rocket leaves. Italy has this amazing cuisine with such robust flavours...we savoured every bite.
Picture taken opposite to Santina Hotel.
Monalisa was exhausted and slumped at the hotel. I loitered in the Termini station and shopped some gifts. Price was reasonable, but I knew I had exhausted my luggage limits so put a check to myself! Dinner I grabbed a bit of sandwich while Monalisa simply slept.
Day 6: Vatican Museum
Yes our last day. Vatican museum tickets were pre booked by our agent earlier. After a hearty breakfast, though we agreed Paris breakfast was our best, we checked out and kept our luggage in the cloak room of the hotel. That evening we'd check in to a hotel near the airport as flight was early morning the next day. We navigated through metro and then walked to the Vatican museum. The crowd was huge though regulated. But I guess I was exhausted, it was a guided tour but running after the guide, I get lost most of the times mentally and physically. Besides I guess being a renaissance time museum, it was narrow and congested and was feeling bout of claustrophobia. May be we had been to Louvre earlier, so the wonder quotient dipped a bit and rushing behind the guide hardly any time to ponder. As the guide informed us, Vatican was the third most visited museum after MET and Louvre.
Saint Peter's Basilica from Vatican Museum
Ceiling of Raphael's rooms
Raphael's School of Athens
The Fire in the Borgo by Raphael
Photography was not allowed inside the Sistine Chapel which was entirely done by Michelengelo
And we were totally drained at the end. I guess the congestion, the crowd and the exhaustion! We had an exorbitant lunch on the way. Tasted average and charged us for the supposed to be complimentary breads!
Our cab was arranged at the Santina Hotel and we checked in to Hotel Mercure near Roma Airport. Our driver told us beach was near by and we could have fresh fish! The idea of beach put some energy in our drained souls. We started walking but it seemed it was quite far and it seemed outskirts of the city, so we didn't venture much. We settled for an eggplant pizza and Spiritz because I was done with meat from morning to night! I quite liked the taste though baingan/ begun pizza many wouldn't consider
Day 7: Flight to Bangalore
We checked out early, availed the shuttle bus. Lufthansa allowed my few kgs extra hand bag in check in baggage...great relief..I walked free. We packed some Tiramisu, scones etc for the kids...and then the flight back home!
We made it! Met after years, bonded and had the time of our lives! We had differences but the greatest part when we stared awestruck at the marvels before us...we connected like soul sisters! We needn't express be it the nature in Switzerland, the magic of Tuscany, or the historical grandeur of Rome or savour the subtle flavours of pasta! We shared our lives, irritated each other little bit may be, missed our spouses and kids...but in a few days we started to dream! Again!
These will remain along with a heartful of memories!
Musafir hu yaaro...na ghar hain na theekana! Mujhe chalte Jana bas...chalte Jana!
