Italy Diary - 22 Day Globus Tour - Page 3

June 1999

Day 6 - Saturday, June 26 - Florence to Genoa to Milan to Lake Maggiore:

Breakfast in hotel dining room. I make it a habit, whenever possible, to get an extra hard roll, along with some ham, wrap them in a paper napkin and save it for a snack later in the day.

Getting on our tour bus, it is obvious that none of our group is rotating seats anymore,. We had been told that we would rotate seats each day of the tour. The very first full day in Rome, Kathi and I sat in the very front seat immediately behind our driver, Piero. The next day, we moved to the very back seat on the bus (which wasn't a bad seat after all). The third day Kathi and I moved forward one seat and then everyone, for some unknown reason, stopped rotating seats, and we were frozen into the same seats for the rest of the tour. Actually this was not a problem at all, Kathi and I usually had two empty seats either in front of or behind us in which we could stow our backpack, cameras and other bags, and we enjoyed talking with the people seated around us.

After traveling about 3 hours, we stop in the city of Genoa, birthplace of Christopher Columbus. As soon as we get off the tour bus, gypsies with cardboards approach us. Vincenzo has warned us of this scenario: A group of gypsies approach tourists, surround them, and using cardboards which they wave constantly to both distract and to cover their hands, pick their pockets or purses. In another scenario, a gypsy mother will approach and unexpectantly hand you her baby to hold and, while you are holding the baby, will pick your pocket or purse. As the gypsies approach Peter's wife, Lanie, who is in front of us, she shakes her head "No" but they approach her closer still. Peter finally says, "No" very loudly and they leave her and turn their attention to Kathi and me. We say, "No," shake our heads and walk quickly by them.

We hurry on down the street to have a quick lunch in a McDonalds. After using the restroom, and while we are standing in line to place our order, we meet and talk with a young medical student from Greece. Before we can place our orders, the gypsies enter McDonalds and place their cardboards on chairs and leave to visit the restroom. One of our group members says he's going to steal the gypsies' cardboards and we all have a good laugh over this proposal. The gypsies return and get in line with us. Vincenzo comes over to warn us again to be on guard. We heed his advice and nothing happens. After eating, Kathi and I cross the wide boulevard to do some shopping. I go into a bookstore while Kathi window shops. A few minutes later we walk up to the street corner and I take some photographs of Kathi and the intricate mosaics on the sidewalks. Back on the tour bus for a two hour drive to Milan.

Once in Milan we exit the bus and walk to a city square which has a large statue of Copernicus surrounded by flowers.

Crossing the square, we enter the famous Galleria, a covered shopping street, built in the late 1800's. Kathi and I separate and I go into a bookstore while Kathi goes shopping. Later, Kathi and I leave the Galleria and enter the Milan Duomo, the second largest cathedral in the world, which, of course, is under renovation for the Pope's Jubilee Celebration. As our group returns to our tour bus, we notice that the famous La Scala Opera house is also under renovation. I also see a TV production truck parked outside of La Scala in preparation for televising some production from the opera house.

Back on our tour bus for an hour's drive to Lake Maggiore and the vacation resort of Stresa. Our hotel, the Hotel Bristol, is exquisite. Our room has French Provincial furnishings along with a small crystal chandelier and an enchanting view of Lake Maggiore from its balcony. After unpacking, Kathi and I walk into the little town of Stresa. It is incredibly picturesque. After some exploring, we return to our hotel and enjoy a marvelous dinner with our tour group in the hotel dining room.

Day 7 - Sunday, June 27, 1999 - Stresa and Lake Maggiore:

Breakfast in the hotel dining room and a restful day lies ahead for us. Kathi and I take a leisurely walk along the lakeside and go back into the little resort town of Stresa. Then, as usual, we separate, Kathi shops while I photograph. Later we find each other and have lunch with Andy and his family at an outdoor café. Fortunately we are dining under an awning because before our lunch is over, it begins to rain. Leaving the restaurant, I purchase a much needed umbrella and Kathi and I leisurely walk back to the hotel in the rain. Once in the hotel Tony's son, Justin, tells us that we must see the "elevator," and he takes us to it. We get in, press the button, and….. It runs sideways - what a surprise! Later, we have another memorable meal in the hotel's dining room. Afterwards, our friends Harold and Margaret join us for a walk outside and, as light rain begins to fall again, we duck into the Hotel Regina's lobby to get dry. An enjoyable and restful day.

Day 8 - Monday, June 28, 1999 - Lake Maggiore to Lugano, Switzerland, Verona, and to Venice:

Breakfast in the hotel dining room. A lovely drive along the edge of Lake Maggiore into the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. Then into the "Pre-Alps" with its winding road and beautiful vistas. We go through several long tunnels - - one three miles long. Vincenzo warns us that when we stop at the Swiss border, no photography is permitted and that it is possible that the border guards will check each person's passport. When the bus stops at the border, we are all unusually quiet and on our best behavior and are passed through without incident.

A few minutes later we stop in Lugano, Switzerland. Exiting the tour bus, we first enter a jewelry store to pick up the free silver spoons given to all Globus tour groups. Kathi and I window shop along the elegant Via Nassa, then go into a department store and purchase some Swiss chocolate bars. We are surprised when we pay for our purchases in Italian Lire but get our change back in Swiss Francs. What can we do with Swiss Francs in Italy - - they won't be accepted there. So, we go back in the department store and try to spend the rest of our Francs by purchasing more candy bars. Days later, Kathi would notice that most of the chocolate bars we had purchased contained alcohol in one form or other and tasted awful! We ended up leaving the expensive chocolate bars as gifts for our maids.

Leaving the department store, Kathi and I walk into the large open square, Piazza Riforma, with its lovely flower and vegetable stalls. We stop and talk briefly with Peter and Lanie sitting at an open air café, then join Karen and Frank before returning to our tour bus.

Next, a four hour trip through the Po River Valley to the city of Verona. It should be noted that our tour guide Vincenzo uses the time in transit wisely, as an opportunity to talk about the history of sites we will visit and background on the Italian culture.

Once in Verona, we walk to Juliet's Balcony with its (partly) polished bronze statue of Juliet and its walls covered in lover's names. I take a photo of Peter standing next to Juliet's statue. Then Kathi and I wander into a courtyard where we take photos of each other on some medieval stone steps Next, on to the city's picturesque market square with its fountain in the center. Before leaving the square, Kathi and I both use an ATM to get additional Italian Lire (a month later we would learn that there was no service charge for this transaction!)

Then on to Venice (well actually Mestre - the city on the mainland, closest to Venice which is on a group of islands.) Our hotel, the Ambasciatori, is an incredible disappointment, dark, gloomy, and shabby. Not at all up to the standards we were expecting. Possibly our judgment is affected because our previous hotel, the Bristol, was so new and marvelous that it makes this hotel look so dismal in comparison. We are not pleased and the hotel staff obviously senses it. There is palpable tension between members of our group and the hotel's staff. We are not happy and they are not pleased with our attitudes. Andy and his family tell us that they are going into Venice this afternoon and Kathi and I decide to join them, at least as far as the bus terminus in Venice. We quickly purchase our bus tickets from the Tobacconist across the street from our hotel and wait for the bus. The bus takes us past the shipyard which is finishing up work on Disney's newest cruise ship, complete with the red and black paint and a mouse logo on the smoke stack.

Once at the bus terminus, we exit and walk across a bridge and we are in Venice! What a lovely, wonderful old city. Everywhere we turn there is majestic beauty. Kathi has decided that we must bring home Venetian Masks and one of the first shops we go past makes and sells masks. We go in and look around and ask questions and prices. We decide to keep on looking, remembering that it's not wise to buy the first thing you see (of course we did purchase the first rings we saw in Florence and we do, eventually come back to this shop to purchase masks the following day.) Walking on, we cross bridges over exquisite little canals and eventually come to the famous Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal. We notice the Hotel Marconi located next to the gondola docks and go inside for a quick look. It's a charming small hotel located next to the Rialto Bridge and Kathi and I decide that the next time we come to Venice, we will stay here. (Two years later, after forming VITA Digital Productions, our first filming trip is to Venice and we do stay at the Hotel Marconi in one of its two balcony rooms overlooking the Rialto Bridge and the Grand Canal.)

The city of Venice is everything we had expected and more. I try to imagine what it would be like to live in a city this picturesque, this historic, this beautiful but can't. That idea is so far from my experience that I can't even imagine what it would be like. Kathi and I stop at a little restaurant along one of the narrow streets, choose a table outside under the awning, and enjoy a delicious supper. While we eat, we watch the people go by and savor the early evening ambience. It doesn't get much better than this - eating a lovely dinner, outside under an awning, at dusk, in the romantic city of Venice. As we enjoy this idyllic setting, Kathi is aware, I am sure, that tomorrow at this time, while riding in a gondola, I will ask her to marry me. Finishing our meal, we wander on through the magnificent streets of Venice. Returning by bus to the hotel, we retire, anxious for tomorrow and all of the events to come.

Day 9 - Tuesday, June 29, 1999 - Venice:

Breakfast in the hotel dining room. Piero, our tour bus driver, is ready to help us into our bus. We drive to the marina where we board our own vaporetto. Speeding through the Venetian harbor, we see a Greek ferry boat loaded with cars and tourists. After a 15 minute boat ride we arrive at St. Mark's Square, dock and meet our tour guide, Sergio.

One of the first sites we view is the famous "Bridge of Sighs" and I photograph it from a small bridge. It is exquisite. Our tour group enters the Doge's Palace, where photography is prohibited and we observe with awe the impressive paintings which adorn the walls and ceilings. Then we pass through the Bridge of Sighs and into the old jail with cells in which Casonova, among others, was imprisoned. The tour guide tells us that Casanova was the only inmate to escape from the jail.

Next we exit the jail, crossing again through the Bridge of Sighs and leave the Palace down a long set of marble stairs. We then walk to Piazza San Marco and, while explaining the history of the Cathedral of San Marco, our tour guide has an unfortunate accident involving a pigeon. Entering the Cathedral, we marvel at its gold mosaic tiles covering the ceiling and walls. Even the floor, which undulates from uneven settling, has intricate mosaic geometric designs. Leaving the Cathedral, we walk a short distance, go over a small bridge and enter a glass factory. Actually it's not a factory at all, only a glass store with a small glass blowing demonstration.

After the demonstration, we enter the showrooms and salesmen are everywhere. Kathi purchases a vase for a friend and I purchase a necklace and ear rings for my daughter. While discussing the vase purchase, we are introduced to Armando who lived in North Carolina for 28 years. What a small world. Kathi inspects some hand blown glass goblets there but insists that she will only purchase them on the island of Murano.

As we exit the glass factory, we see a tour guide sitting near the exit and I believe I see someone slip him an envelope. I've suspected that the guides receive a percentage from the purchases made by members of tour groups in each of the stores. Months later, back in the United States, I see a program on television which confirms this suspicion. Tour guides have a lot of leeway in making decisions about where the tour group will be taken, where they eat the optional dinners at night, which restaurants they eat at during the day, and where they are taken to shop. Their percentages along with the tips which almost all tour members will give them at the end of the tour, plus salaries from the tour companies must all add up to a substantial amount. I must state, in defense of the tour guides that this is just business as usual in Italy, the way it was, is, and probably always will be in this country. However, tour guides work hard, are away from their families for weeks at a time, and can turn an average tour into an exceptional experience.

After leaving the glass factory, we are on our own for the rest of the day. Vincenzo has arranged an optional gondola ride for the afternoon and then an optional dinner somewhere. Kathi and I choose to do neither. For obvious reasons, we wish to have a gondola all to ourselves and it must be at sunset. So we walk to the east side of the city to catch a vaporetto to the island of Murano. The boat ride takes around 15 minutes and after a stop at the island of Burano (famous in its own right for handstitched lace), we arrive at Murano. Kathi wants to purchase a set of glass goblets and have them shipped back to the states - but they must be purchased on Murano, famous the world over for glassmaking. We enter the first glass store we come to. After leisurely examining their glassware, Kathi eventually chooses a beautiful cobalt blue goblet and then the bargaining begins. The young salesman states a price and Kathi say's she can't afford the price quoted for a set of six. Negotiations appear at a stalemate. So I ask Kathi, "What if he comes down to (naming a price)?" and she reluctantly agrees. And to my surprise, the salesman agrees also. So she places her order for six goblets. They will be shipped directly to the United States. We Americans are amateurs at negotiations with Italians. But, in the end, we felt we paid a reasonable price for the hand-blown cobalt blue goblets.

I photograph a close up of the goblet to insure that we get the same type later. Then the sales clerk asks Kathi to initial the bottom of the goblet and tells her that that very one, along with five additional matching ones, will be shipped to us. Initialing the goblet will prove that we receive the exact same goblet that we have chosen. After our purchase, the salesman takes us on a tour of their upstairs display area. They certainly have some exquisitely ornate glassware here, some of it is extremely expensive. I use the Steadicam to videotape much of what he shows us there.

Leaving the store, we walk along the canal, cross a bridge and choose a little sidewalk restaurant for a late lunch. Seated under an large umbrella, immediately beside the canal, we have our meal. What a truly beautiful location. The only factor which annoys me about meals in Italy is the substantial charge for water with one's meal. Water in Italy always comes in green bottles similar to wine bottles. Kathi remarks that this is the best insalada mista (mixed salad) that she has ever had. I have spaghetti and am somewhat surprised to realize that I'm not tiring of eating pasta almost every day, in fact, I am constantly discovering new forms of pasta to enjoy. Penne pasta is quickly becoming my favorite. It is also interesting to learn that Italians don't put a lot of sauce on their pasta - at least not as much sauce as I'm used to getting in restaurants back home. And in using less sauce, I realize that you are able to enjoy the subtle taste of the pasta itself.

Leaving the restaurant, we cross back over the canal and stop in a few glass shops where I purchase two beautiful Murano glass pendants for Kathi and my youngest daugher. Returning to the vaporetto dock, we await our boat back to Venice.

Once on the boat, we take a seat at the stern and enjoy the view. Our vaporetto is taking the long way back and our course takes us around the perimeter of the islands that comprise the city of Venice and past the Venice yacht club. After more than a half an hour's ride, our vaporetto takes us up the Grand Canal and we get off near the Rialto Bridge. It's seven thirty PM, sunset is approaching and we decide to find a gondola.

Crossing the Rialto Bridge we spot a beautiful black, shiny gondola just returning with its passengers and gondolier. As the passengers exit, I approach the gondolier and ask, "Quanto costa?" He responds with a quote which is much above that which Vincenzo has advised me to pay and I make a counter offer. He shakes his head and states a slightly lower price, but still substantially above Vincenzo's advised price. I hesitate, almost walk away, but quickly capitulate - I am aware that prices go up at sunset. But, I state, "Por trenti (30) minutos?" He agrees. We step into his gondola. It is immaculate, its black varnish polished to a mirror-like sheen. On a small wooden seat near the front of the boat rests his iconic gondolier straw hat complete with black ribbon. Kathi and I are seated on blood red back cushions, shaped like hearts. He, of course, wears the traditional gondolier garb, black pants, a white tee shirt with wide horizontal black stripes. Small golden cherubs adorn the boat.

He pushes off and the boat backs out into the Grand Canal, it turns and we proceed under the Rialto Bridge. Everything looks different from the gondola. I am filled with excitement; not only is this gondola ride exciting in its own right - we are after all, in Venice, on a beautiful gondola, cruising on the Grand Canal under a full moon, and at sunset! -- but also, I know that I am just minutes away from asking Kathi to marry me. Kathi snuggles up to me and we put our arms behind each other and are holding hands as our gondola ride begins.

Our gondolier gently turns his gleaming vessel and we enter a side canal. The canal is narrow, the walls of the ancient buildings are several stories tall. We are in the center of a large city but it is eerily quiet - all we hear is the splash of the gondolier's long oar hitting the water. As we look upward, we see flower boxes everywhere. Everyone has flowers on their windows and balconies.

Several times, when approaching a blind intersection, our gondolier cries out, "Oey-Yaah," and listens for an answer, warning other gondoliers that he is preparing to turn a corner, and possibly directly into their path. Our ride takes us under many small bridges and through picturesque canals with water lapping right up to the door openings. It is obvious that the water level is rising - - Venice is slowly sinking into the water that surrounds it.

As we pass other gondoliers, our boatman carries on short conversations with them. I keep checking my watch, attempting to wait until a particularly romantic moment to ask my question. At last the gondola turns to the right and I can see in the distance the Grand Canal and I realize that this is the moment. Just as we are leaving the little canal and begin to enter the Grand Canal, I turn to Kathi and ask the question. She smiles, says "Yes" and we kiss. We are now officially engaged.

As we glide up the Grand Canal, the sky is a rich dark blue, street lights are on and the setting is magical. We dock, I pay the gondolier, thank him and we walk a short distance to the top of the Rialto Bridge and stop to view the enchanting scene below; Venice at twilight with hundreds of lights reflected in the water. We watch below as our gondolier paddles his craft back across the Grand Canal to the other side and awaits his next passengers. Kathi and I walk back through the dimly lit alleyways and to the bus station and finally arrive back at our hotel. What an extraordinary day!