A Journey to the Ancient time

Summer holiday is the best time for Indian travellers to explore Europe, though the excessive crowd at times can make a romantic or serene location look like a famous pilgrimage spot. However, a thermo-sensitive Bengali like me prefers to face the crowd than the grievous Europe winter; so I decided to pack my bag for Italy and France this summer for a family holiday.

We, a family of three including my teenage daughter had our own agenda for the vacation. My affinity for history, my husband’s love for nature and the young one’s interest in shopping influenced our selection of destinations to make it a mix-bag holiday. We were to visit Venice, Florence, Rome, Nice and Paris in the two weeks’ vacation.

Our journey started on 18^th of May morning with Emirates Airlines via Dubai to Milan. We had few hours break at Dubai that I utilised in reading the materials I carried to brush up my knowledge in ancient Roman civilisation. My daughter took a thorough view of the duty free shops, so as to identify the items she wanted to pick up while returning.

We reached Milan at local time nine p.m; the immigration was fastest I ever faced. We decided to take a train to reach our hotel, since it was very close to the Central Station. The journey was of fifty minutes that passed in seconds while talking to a Pakistani Gentleman settled in Milan. I have seen very few people as helpful and friendly as him before; he helped us and several others in getting tickets from the vending machine (it was complicated and vernacular) and escorted us to the train.

It started raining, by the time we reached Central station; but our hotel was just across the road that saved us from any hassle.

Next day morning our real journey began with a train to Venice (we had pre booked tickets). The two and half hours’ journey was thoroughly enjoyable with picturesque view and comfortable interior.

Venice

We reached Venice station (Ferrovia) around one o’clock in the afternoon; the first look created an impression of an ancient city bustling with lively crowd. The architecture of the station and the neighbouring church fascinated me instantly. On reaching the water taxi stand we came to know about an on-going boat race on the Grand Canal that stranded the traffic for next two hours. Someone, suggested a walk to the hotel which could not be more than twenty minutes (Venice is a small city, locals prefer walking). A large crowd of tourists were on their way with baggage that encouraged us to follow suit. We were quite enjoying the walk (with interesting restaurants and café on both sides of the pavements) until numerous tiny bridges came on the way. Tackling them with cases to carry wasn’t really a cake walk; especially with our kind of fitness. Reaching the main square (Rialto) near the hotel we encountered the real challenge ie; getting direction from locals who speak only in Italian. I was the only one succeeded in communicating, obviously with body language. The language I spoke didn’t matter, so I even tried with Bengali (to my joy) that yielded same result as English. It took us well over an hour to reach the hotel, Italians are definitely an optimistic race, I must confess!

The Church near the station

One of the many tiny bridges

We were pleasantly surprised with the large suite we were allocated in the hotel (Trip Advisor award winning Resident Corte Grimani) that wiped our fatigue. Our hotel was adjacent to a canal; all the buildings in Venice faced the canals on one side and the road to the other. After a short rest we headed for the Piazza San Marco, a five minutes’ walk (by Indian standard) from the hotel.

The boat race

Piazza (in our term ‘square’) San marco, the main promenade of the city of Venice was surrounded by San Marco basilica (Church), Clock tower,  Doge’s Palace (House of the elected ruler in Medieval time) and former guest quarters of the palace now converted in to shops and interesting restaurants. The cold breeze and roaring of the sea welcomed us at the vast piazza; the imposing structures and intricate artistry captivated my imaginative mind. What I liked most about the historical monuments was the fact that they had not been face lifted in order to attract tourists. They looked old and there lied the real charm. Evening time was most enjoyable there with lots of live music played, courtesy to the restaurants and the wonderful coffee and wine served with delicious food. One needed to sit and enjoy the moment, the company and the lively gathering.

Piazza San Marco

Live music at pavement

We finished our late lunch and strolled to the promenade at the sea shore, It was a long stretch with beautiful statues, imposing heritage buildings, veporettos (bus taxis) and glimpse of the nearby islands. One could simply spend hours viewing the sea, the strolling tourists, the hustling in the water transports.

San Marco Promenade

View from Promenade

The imposing statue

We went for a Gondola ride from there touring the Grand Canal and some other smaller canals. Our handsome boatman Victorio showed the house of Marcopolo and Casanova at the bank of the canals. All the houses at the bank with decorated balconies looked dreamy, straight from the pages of fairy tale books at the soft evening twilight.

The Boatman

Grand Canal from Gondola

From gondola

Next day, we had leisurely breakfast at an interesting café and headed for Doge’s palace. The fresco paintings on the ceilings of the palace by famous artists like Tintorreto, Veronese, Antonio Rusconi e.t.c. were simply breath taking. Specially, the grandeur of the Chamber of council was awe inspiring; one could simply visualise that era sitting quietly at a corner there. The paintings depicting Venice as a beautiful lady in different stories particularly caught my eye.

Doge's Palace

The Ceiling decor

Fresco Painting at palace

 The San Marco Basilica was equally beautiful and serene; the 24 carat gold Altars the intricate decorations could not be depicted in words.

San Marco basilica

The Church exterior decor

In the afternoon we took the Grand Canal tour in Veporetto that highlighted the important historical buildings at the bank of the Grand Canal (with audio guide).

The evening was spent at a quiet restaurant at the bank of the Grand Canal accompanied by the soft glow of candle light, twittering of the canal water and the sparkling wine (Prosecco).

The twilight saga

Rialto Bridge

Venice at Night

On the third day, we decided to explore few islands around Venice and started with Murano, famous for hand blown glass factories. We went to the island in a water taxi arranged by the hotel and visited one of the glass factories (Veteria Murano Arte). We watched the wonderful process of making decorated wine glasses by the artists and the final touch by the master. Glass making run in the family and each family run separate glass factories; there were some fifteen such factories in the island. Afterwards we visited the factory showroom of masterpieces, we bought a small beautiful 24 carat gold plated vase as a memento. It was truly an enduring experience.

Glass blowing

Masterpieces

 We strolled around the residential area of the island with pretty bungalows and lustrous gardens, away from the tourists. The small island with its simplicity appealed to our urban mind greatly.

Murano Art work

We took a Veporetto and went to Burano, a fishing village of forty minutes rides from Murano. The first thing that struck me about the island was the riot of colours among the houses; each one was painted with a vibrant one. Probably they reflected the colourful mind of the villagers too. There were quite some crowd at the jetty and the market place. We took a round to the rear side of the island and enjoyed a quiet lunch of Pizza and coke at the sea shore.

Colorful Burano

Peaceful fishing village

The evening was spent near the Opera house and taking up another quiet fine dining.

Next day morning we took to strolling near Della Accademia (museum) and the some other squares before bidding farewell to the city of romance. Venice was not a city to be seen, one need to feel her true charm. She emerged as an ageless beauty, not a glossy youngster; one need not be in hurry to appreciate her.

We took a ten minutes Veporetto ride to reach the train station and started for our next destination Florence.

We had just one and half days for Florence, hence, carefully planned our visit to best utilise the time. On reaching Florence (1&1/2hrs.) in the afternoon, we checked in the hotel (very close to the station) and immediately started for Pisa in a local train. It was seventy minutes comfortable ride through the picturesque countryside. The evening was spent in Pisa with photography and gelato.

The tower

Dumo, Basilica, Tower

Next morning, we had early breakfast and reached the SITA bus stop (also very close by) to take a bus for Greve (famous for Chianti wines), in Tuscany region. The one and half hours bus ride through the beautiful valley of vineyards was like a dream, not to be awaken from. Once reached, we enjoyed the serene and breath-taking surrounding, took a stroll around the area trying to capture the moments. In the afternoon, we went to the ‘Le Cantine di Greve’ (a wine testing bar). With a prepaid card one could test as many as one hundred and forty varieties of wine from the taps. It must be a wonderland for wine lovers; at least my husband felt so.

In the late afternoon, we came back to the city and went to Galleria Della Accademia, where we had pre-booking for ticket (done through hotel, the previous day). This historic museum housed the famous Michelangelo sculpture of King David and many other mesmerising works of masters from Renaissance and before.

Greve

Landscape

Vineyards

Vineyards

Wine tasting bar

We spent time around the historical district, enjoying the beauty of Dumo Cathedral, Baptistry, Dell’opera, Uffizi Gallery and the astounding Palazzo Vecchio with grand sculptures, including a replica of Michelangelo’s ‘David’.

Piazza Dumo

Piazza Vecchio

Next day morning we took a train to Rome (two hrs.) that was our destination for three days. We parked our luggage at the hotel (check in time was in the afternoon) and took a short walk to the ruins of four temples of Republica era and also the place of assassination of Julius Cesar in 44 BC. There were also a beautiful fountain and a church with a pendulum designed by Galileo.

The Church and ruins

The Pendulum

We came back to hotel, checked in and went to Colosseum in the afternoon. We took Roma pass for 3 days that allowed us direct entry to Colosseum and Palatine without waiting in the long queue. We started with Palatine hill, where Romulus killed his twin brother and founded Rome. The vast ruins of the ancient civilisation, the ancient Temple, Roman Forum; they all echoed the mysteries of a different time, belief and thoughts of different people. Who could tell whether I wasn’t one of the masons putting stones in the temple wall or a commander in the army of Emperor Constantine fighting for freedom of Rome!

Palatine ruins

Palace courtyard

The Colosseum, built in in AD 69 – 70 by Emperor Vespasian for entertainment of the nobles as well as Masses. The massive stadium with underground rooms for Gladiators and levels of sitting arrangements right from Emperor to commoners were intriguing. Those who watched the film ‘Gladiator’ could probably visualise the imposing structure, the platform; where men fought with animals and other fighters to entertain the blood thirsty audience. There were several collections and information about the relevant history around the 2^nd floor gallery, along with a BBC documentary running in different languages.

Colosseum

One piece of advice for my friends planning to visit Rome; Reading material about Roman History and a pair of best quality walking shoes could be of great use in order to make the visit successful.

The next day we had a booking for Vatican Museum at 10 a.m.; we reached by 9.30 and got instant entry without the hassle of waiting in a long queue. The weather that day was cloudy and expected to rain, we carried umbrella; though our outing was totally indoor within the museum, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. The treasure of fresco paintings of Michelangelo, Raphael, sculptures of Bernini were all masterpieces on their own right; my words would fall short to describe the artistry.

Fresco at Vatican Museum

Belvedere

Laocoon

Ceiling decor

Paintings

St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest and most spectacular Church of Rome and the holy city epitomised religious artistry, the solemn atmosphere of the holy shrine radiated message of love and forgiveness.

Ceiling at St. Peter's

St. Peter's square

The main altar

The holy Church

There was mild rain on our way back, which we resisted with the help of umbrella and delicious gelato. After taking considerable rest at the hotel (the excellent Italian coffee always helped) we hunted for an interesting small restaurant run by a family of old parents and their middle aged daughter. The food was excellent, price unbelievably comforting and so was the cordiality of the host.

On our third day in Rome, we decided to do local sightseeing. Since, we stayed at the historical locality we took a local bus for few stoppages (that could have been walked down) to reach the centre of attractions. The bus was so crowded by over-zealous tourists that one needed to be quite an acrobat to remain in perpendicular position.

The jewels in the crown of Rome, Fontana Del Ponta (fountain), Pantheon Church, Elefantino, Minerva Opera, a French Church, Navona square with three fountains of Neptune (the sea God), Ignatius Loyola Church and not to forget Trevi fountain were all magnificent and gorgeous.

The Pantheon Church

Pantheon Altar

Trevi Fountain

Navona Square

Fresco at Ignatius Loyola

Ignatius Loyola

Elefantino

Del Ponta

French Church

The delicious lunch at road side café and a quiet dinner at a happening Restaurant helped us to appreciate Rome better.

Next day we took a flight to Nice, the famous French Riviera, a small picturesque city with rich heritage and bounty of nature. The green hills and stunning Mediterranean collaborated to mesmerise the onlookers. The beautiful promenade, the interesting shopping square, the cafés all contributed to elevate the mood; this was a place one would like to go back again.

From Hilltop

The sea

We leisured around, spent hours viewing the sea; took a little white train from promenade to go up the Castle hill. We did some shopping too that delighted the young one.

The toy Train

The hills

At hilltop

Our stay at Nice was for two days and then we took TGV train to Paris. The Railway track ran parallel to the sea for more than half of our journey, accompanied by the view of the green valley on the other side. The journey had been definitely one of our cherished memories.

We reached Paris in the afternoon and reached hotel via metro (two stops from Gare de Lyon station), which was very near to Louvre museum and Opera House. This was our second visit to Paris, last time we went to Paris Disney and skipped Louvre; that prompted us to visit Paris again. I was doubtful whether Paris would appear as beautiful as earlier even after my visit to Rome, but I got my answer the moment the opera house came in view. Paris didn’t fail to enchant me even for the second time.

Pont Alexandra III

Grand Palais

Opera House

Louvre

The evening we spent strolling around Grand Palais and Champs de Elysees, enjoying coffee at a café at the happening roadside. The shopping malls compelled us to do some shopping too.

Next day we reached Louvre main entrance just before nine o’clock. The queue was very moderate and moved fast, we took hardly fifteen minutes to clear security and obtain tickets. The collection of Louvre wouldn’t need my introduction, the masterpieces of Roman Empire and French Artists enriched the world’s most visited museum. Contribution of Napoleon Bonaparte in acquiring a large part of the collection as booty could not be ignored.

Wedding feast at cana

Venus de Milo

The crown

Sitting Scribe

Tiara

Napoleon's Apt

Psyche & Cupid

The dying slave

Few of the many masterpieces leaving lasting impression in my memory were paintings of Monalisa, Self-portrait of Durer, the wedding feast at Cana, the Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon; sculptures of Venus de Milo, horses of Marley, St. Mary Magdalene, Psyche and Cupid, the dying Slave; Apartment of Napoleon III and collection of crown jewels.

‘All good things come to an end’ and so did our remarkable holiday. The moment we reached Mumbai airport, a sweet feeling of familiarity and warmth touched the heart. We rejoiced our homecoming as much as we cherished the memory of our holiday.

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