Mighty or Muted Milan

Posted on August 26, 2022 by admin

In August, Milan is quieter than usual as plenty of the Milanese people escape the summer heat either to the coast or to the mountains. This, in addition to the public holiday to celebrate the Assumption of Mary, meant that the city was deserted. Many homes and restaurants were shuttered. Nevertheless, the areas around the main tourist attractions were crowded and busy. The line to get into the Duomo stretched out into the hot sun. (It was a bit offensive to see that ladies in their summery outfits were sometimes required to cover up further with disposable bibs that had to be purchased. Another excuse to squeeze a further dollar from a tourist.)

Speaking of squeezing tourists (and locals), restaurants in Italy do not serve free tap water. Italians seem to have a distrust for the cleanliness of their tap water, which could be interpreted as a distrust in their government and authorities. Bottled water has to be purchased (at a cost to the customer and to the environment!) When we requested tap water from a waiter, he clearly understood but returned with bottled water claiming that they did not have a tap!

Beware also the cover charge (coperto), 1 to 3 Euros per person, and the “maggiorazione”, a further 1 to 3 Euros per person. The cover charge is supposed to cover napkins, cutlery etc and the “maggiorazione” is generally only charged in tourist areas as some kind of surcharge. When a pizza can cost 7 Euros, the added cost of the “coperto” and “maggiorazione” can nearly double your food bill. Italy does not have a tipping culture but these added charges really leaves diners with a sour taste after their dining experience, thereby almost eliminating their chances for a tip. To be honest, these added charges drove us away from restaurants towards bakeries, takeaways and supermarket picnic food dinners. So much for sampling the much esteemed Italian cuisine!

Strangely, the sidewalks in Milan are pockmarked or dented in very particular shapes and in only specific areas. After some deduction, it was concluded that these are from the kickstands of bicycles, scooters and in particular the heavy high powered motorcycles. It seems that the soft material that the sidewalk is constructed from is unable to withstand both the summer heat and the point force of a kickstand. Seems strange that Milan is unable to perfect their recipe for sidewalk material when plenty of other places manage to.

The main train station, Milano Centrale is an imposing building built in a fascist style for Mussolini to convey the power of the regime. The Duomo is seriously impressive and incredibly ornate. The conclusion however is that whilst Milan is worth a visit, a visit in August with the local population mostly absent and the summer heat is not the best.

Milano Centrale Train Station – this was in construction years before Mussolini became Prime Minister but when he did, the plan became more complex and majestic. Mussolini wanted this station to represent the power of the Fascist regime.

Building with Painted Ceramic Tiles – The architecture is in the Liberty style i.e. the Italian variant of Art Nouveau. It can be spotted by it’s distinctive use of leaves, flowers and over the top ornamentation and decoration.

Private Fountain – There are a lot of private green spaces in Milan. Most of them, we can never even glimpse. We managed to get a view of this private fountain through the bars of the property gates.

Flamingoes in Central Milan – peaking through the bars of a private fence, we saw a group of flamingoes by a pool!

Lego Duomo – the Lego version of the most popular attractions in Milan

The Duomo, Milan – crowded with tourists!

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II – super high end shopping mall. Lots of people and queues outside Louis Vitton and Dior amongst others!

Sforzesco Castle – surprised that it was free to enter the grounds for a wander!

Sforzesco Castle – note the little piles of cannonballs on the ground!

Just in case all the photos of old buildings made you forget that this is Milan, Italy’s wealthiest city!

The South of France in August

Posted on August 16, 2022 by admin

A lot of people would have heard of Cannes and Antibes in the south of France. Actually, the whole coastline along that area is a holiday destination for Europeans in the summer. The vivid blue, sparkling water of the Mediterranean sea and the coastal aspect brings a relief from the heat. The area is littered with large pleasure crafts in the water, buzzy alfresco restaurants and crowded beaches. The day time temperatures in August are unpleasantly hot. The mornings are pleasant and the temperature drops as the light fades at the end of the day making an evening stroll an absolute pleasure.

The landscape in this region is drier and more rocky than other parts of France. It more closely resembles Australia.

The old city of Antibes is quite crowded with tourists in August. There are lots of small alleyways and quaint shops. The wait staff in the restaurants swap effortlessly into English to cater for the English speaking tourists.

Due to the love of dogs in Europe, many European cities smell of piss. It’s unfortunate as the stench mars a lovely visit. Perhaps more greenery in some of these old towns would help both with cooling the place in the summer and give the dogs (and maybe the men) somewhere more absorbent to relieve themselves! France has been a country where there are no free public toilets. This, I suspect, results in many of the male population relieving themselves for free where they can.

The beaches here are so much more crowded than Australian beaches. The quality of the beaches are also inferior to many Australian beaches as the sea floor is quite rocky and the sand is not as pale and fine. Nevertheless, it is so hot that everyone heads to the beach to cool off!

Whilst this area is beautiful, my strong recommendation is to avoid this region in August. It is too hot, crowded and expensive.

Plage des Ondes, between Juan Les Pins and Antibes. How many beach umbrellas can you count in this small space?

Plage Des Ondes – so crowded with not a spare bit of sand to spare for anyone!

The smaller super yachts parked at Port Vauban, Antibes

The buzzy evening vibe in Old Antibes in August

Night over the water in the South of France (Golfe Juan Vallauris) – in August, the days are very hot but the nights are a perfect temperature

Arles, a City with a Roman Amphitheatre

Posted on August 15, 2022 by admin

Arles, located in Southern France, is famous for two main things. One is it’s Roman amphitheatre and the other is for Vincent Van Gogh. The Arles Amphitheatre was built in 90AD and used to host 20,000 people to watch chariot races and hand to hand gladiator combat. Two thousand years later, this amphitheatre is still amazingly being used. They hold bull fights and other events such as plays and concerts in it.

Vincent Van Gogh and a number of other famous painters lived and worked in this area. Van Gogh produced over 300 painting and drawings during his time in Arles.

Old Walls around Arles – you can see from the stones that there has been some reconstruction at various stages

A river cruise boat making it’s way down the Rhone River in Arles

Elegant, Stately Bilbao

Posted on August 14, 2022 by admin

Bilbao is a city that has became more of a travel destination vs just an industrial city when the modernistic Guggenheim Museum was erected. Whilst the museum is the most striking thing about the city, there are plenty of other historical buildings to enjoy when walking around Bilbao as well as the Basque cuisine.

The Basque region includes both Bilbao and San Sebastian and these people have their own language, history and cuisine. Interestingly, the Basque language, Euskera, is an isolated language. It’s origins are not known but it does not have Latin roots like French, Spanish or Italian. When looking at signs in Basque, the words are mostly unintelligible as are littered with T’s and X’s. It is not related to any other language in the world and is the last descendant of the language of pre-historic Europe.

Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao – including Puppy, the world’s largest flower sculpture

Stained Glass at Bilbao-Abando train station

Bilbao – many elegant and stately buildings wherever you look in the central area

Basque Tuna and Potato Stew (Mamitako) – a fish dish eaten on tuna fishing boats. This stew was hearty and the seafood scent permeated throughout, giving this dish lovely fragrance and flavour.

Red Fish with Garlic Oil – this dish has integrity! The fish is cooked splayed open and drizzled with a salt, oil and browned garlic. It doesn’t look attractive at all on the plate. Note the eyeball! The fish has lots of bones and is hard to eat in polite company. This is not what matters. The meat on this fish was sweet, tender and beautifully cooked. The garlic oil elevated this dish without overwhelming the mild fish. This was foremost about taste and not looks. I like a restaurant brave enough to do that! These are people who know what is important in life!

When visiting Bilbao, we had the opportunity to head out to Plentzia. This is a town about 45 minutes north of Bilbao with a gorgeous, wide, sandy beach. It was a Saturday when we went and there were lot of people heading out for a beach day in Plentzia.

View of the Plentzia River from the bridge (Pasarela De Plentzia) by night

Plentzia Beach – we didn’t realise how great this beach was until we saw how crowded beaches were in the south of France. This is quite deserted in comparison!

The holiday town of San Sebastian in Spain

Posted on August 13, 2022 by admin

Catching the train to San Sebastian, Spain from Toulouse, France, it was striking how the landscape changed from more lush forests to a drier landscape reminiscent of Australia. As we starting walking around San Sebastian, we could feel refreshing coastal breezes. It was such a relief compared to the stifling heat of Toulouse.

San Sebastian is a city which survives on tourism, especially in the summer months. It was clear why when we visited. It has a big stretch of beautiful, sandy albeit crowded beach, elegant buildings and a buzzy summer holiday vibe. People were relaxed, wondering about in brightly coloured summery outfits and sandals. There was plenty of al fresco dining options for eating and drinking.

We did a tips only, free walking tour and learnt that San Sebastian has a whaling history (until they hunted them right out of the area!). Then these coastal people become corsairs which are basically “legal” pirates who raid ships on behalf of the crown and once they give a cut to the crown, the rest was theirs to legally enjoy. San Sebastian also grew when the queen of Spain started to holiday there and when she did, brought much of the court and aristocracy with her. This was how money started to pour into this place and the fancy, elegant buildings were put up.

San Sebastian Beach – Playa de la concha – super crowded in the August summer holiday season!

San Sebastian – these ostentatious bridges!

San Sebastian – another ostentatious, over the top bridge!

Tantalizing Toulouse

Posted on August 2, 2022 by admin

Even before arriving at the Toulouse Matabiau train station, it was obvious we were heading to a busy place. With every approaching station, the train became more and more full. By the time we arrived, every seat was taken and there were people and luggage in the aisles. As we exited the train, there were lots of people waiting to get on urgently. This was probably because, only the people who got on first would get a seat. Despite the strong heat of the day when we got off the train, the city was busy! This was no sleepy town like Limoges! Toulouse is France’s fourth largest city following Paris, Marseille and Lyon.

Due to the searing summer heat, the best time for a wander around town is in the cool of the morning. The afternoon and in particular late afternoon is extremely hot. It was 37C on the day we visited. Unfortunately, the downside of our early morning walk-around is that the attractions were closed. This meant we couldn’t take a peak into some of the historical churches. When walking around Toulouse look around and look up. There are so many stately and elegant historic buildings, narrow alleyways. We even found a hidden church on the way to Monoprix, the local supermarket!

The biggest disappointment of our visit to Toulouse was being unable to get either an English speaking tour to the Airbus factory or even an English speaking “free” walking tour of the city. It’s a real pity. Toulouse is famous for being the home of Airbus and an insight to the Airbus aeroplane factory would have been a real treat!

Saint Jerome Catholic Church at Toulouse – this was the hidden church close to the Monoprix in the Toulouse old city. A man was seen emerging from a dimly lit corridor. Inside were several rooms where church services could be held. There is very little sign of this church from the street.

A statue in Toulouse. Note the space invader on the right side of the wall!

Saint Stephen’s Cathredal (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne)

Canal Du Midi – a 240km long navigable channel, made to help connect the Mediterranean to the Atlantic

Limoges – a quiet gem of a town

Posted on July 31, 2022 by admin

Limoges, France is not a touristy city. It isn’t as pretty as other cities and as a result doesn’t draw a lot of tourists. Nevertheless, there was plenty to see in this town, which seemed very quiet, probably because it’s residents were having their summer holiday by the coast! It was a real treat wandering around town in the cool of the morning while the town’s residents had their Sunday morning sleep in. We had a lot of the attractions to ourselves!

Gare de Limoges-Bénédictins – the train station!

Inside Gare de Limoges-Bénédictins – the train station!

Cour du Temple – a small open area accessible by a small laneway. These buildings were built in the late 1500s / early 1600s.

Rue de la Boucherie – the historic butcher’s lane. This Sunday morning, it is the location of a swapmeet where locals can bring out their household items for sale. Some of the houses in this area date back to the 1200s.

Halles centrales- check out the high roofs of this building! This market is open 6 days a week!

Jardin botanique de l’Evêché – the building in the background used to be the Bishop’s Palace. Now it is an art museum. The gardens of the Bishop’s Palace has been planted with a range of interesting plants. The tree in the left of the photo is actually a papaya tree! What an unexpected choice in this location!

Jardin botanique de l’Evêché – I love the flower beds in the Garden’s of the Bishop’s Palace! It’s a formal garden in shape and does include formal topiaries but the plantings are so varied and interesting. There is kale in a variety of colours, cabbage, tomato plants, parsley, rhubarb, climbers, flowers etc. A crazy mix of colour and texture. I like how fruit and vegetable plants have been incorporated into formal flower beds!

Pont Saint-Étienne – this Medieval bridge was built in 1203 over the River Vienne.

Orleans and Joan of Arc

Posted on July 30, 2022 by admin

In 1429, Joan of Arc, a 17 year old French peasant girl leads a French force in relieving the city of Orleans which had been besieged by the English. She did it because Christian saints told her too. Nevertheless, she changed the course of French history and Orleans, the town has not forgotten despite the many hundreds of years that has passed.

Joan of Arc statue outside Hotel Groslot. Her skirt has holes in it. These are
bullet holes from a battle for the liberation of Orleans in August 1944.

Joan of Arc in Place Du Martroi (the central square)

Maison de Jeanne d’Arc- a 1960s reconstruction of the 15th-century house that hosted her between April and May 1429 (the original was destroyed by German bombing in 1940). The world’s largest Joan of Arc research centre is upstairs.

Orleans is a lovely town to visit even for those without an interest in Joan of Arc. The cathedral is spectacular and includes many gothic elements. There are many stone buildings which are all in excellent repair and scrubbed very clean.

Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d’Orléans – the gothic detailing is quite scary. Imagine a world without the internet or horror movies……these open mouthed terror filled faces would haunt your nightmares! They are hard to see in this photo!

Inside Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d’Orléans

Hôtel Groslot – built around 1550, Nothing was too exquisite for Jacques Groslot, baillif of the King of France

Street in Orleans lined with giant Ukrainian flags

There are many charming al fresco restaurants along the cute, narrow stone laneways in Orleans. We indulged in some buckwheat galettes followed by a Nutella crepe!

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