Dowd adventures in Bologna

giovedì 28 febbraio 2013

Southern Spain and Lisbon

Every school year we get a week break in the middle of Feb, (ski week) but instead of heading back to the slopes we decided to head for warmer places, well a bit warmer, well at least not snowy. After a successful trip with Berenice, Andrea and Thierry, we again decided to adventure together. Though Andrea could only join us in Lisbon for 4 days.
The trip started with Ewan coming down with a flu type bug the day before we left, but he bravely battled on, and we taxied to the Bologna airport to fly to Seville, 1 km from the airport with out any notice Ewan vomited over himself, Jayne and Hunter ( it pays to sit in the front) We stopped on the side of the road as we and the driver hurried to find something to clean the mess. Arriving with plenty of time, but leaving the lovely boxes of fresh cut fruit l had prepared for the trip in the back of the taxi. Cleaning up in the toilet we met Berenice and Thierry and began our adventure.
As usual we did our trick of waiting to be the last on the Ryan air flight and got the front row seats, it's practically business class! I sat on the other side with a father and his little daughter, who during the flight decided to vomit , maybe its me!
Anyway l got moved to the front row all to myself and enjoyed the rest of the flight in peace, more like first class!
We landed in Seville at 11pm and were met my a driver to drove us at a rapid speed, l think he felt as if he had left the iron on at his home, arriving safely down windie tight streets to our apartment (Apartmentos La Casa del Pozo Santo). It was in the heart of Seville, great location. The next few days the weather was rainy and cold, but we managed to get plenty of breaks in the weather to enjoy the sites. We took a horse and carriage ride around, saw a terrific flamenco performance, ate some new food dishes. And for the first time in a while did not have to look at the ground for dog shit as we walked about. Obviously the cathedral is incredible, situated on old mosque, the original courtyard el Patio de los Naranjos, which was once the ritual washing area now serves as a cloister. The 11thC famous Giralda is preserved from Moorish times and has been converted into the Cathedrals Campanella. We also visited the Museo de los Bellas Artes which had some artists l loved Gustavo Bacarisas, Gonzola Bilbao, Jose Villegras Cordero whos picture "La muerte del maestro" is exceptional and well worth going to Seville to see. Other artists are Rafael Martez Diaz, Francesco de Zurbaran, Taller de Ribera, Bartoleme Esteban Murillo and Jose Garcia Ramos whos drawings and poster style paintings about Seville are so strong. We spent two days in Seville, and it is well worth visiting, the home of Flamenco, bull fighting and some incredible islamic style architecture.
We left early in the morning catching two cabs to the railway station to get our hire 7 seater car. On arriving we realized we did not have a confirmation sheet, or even which hire company it was as we booked through another site. After asking the first two of three car hire places we found it as the third! Loading the car we began to head off, first problem was how to start the car and where the hand brake was and how to operate the navigator, cars are not what they used to be! Finally all sorted l drove carefully off in to the Spanish traffic, heading towards Granada, home of the Alhambra Palace and gardens.
Driving into Granada is like l imagine driving into Beirut, simply the outskirts are a shit hole, full of ugly, non human looking apartment buildings, with no sign of green or human activity, the navigator took us to a dead end looking road which sat on the edge of "Beirut" and we all sighed, could this be where we are staying, it looks nothing like the brochure! Thank fully the brochure was not lying and the navigator was playing a Spanish joke on us, after stopping at a bar for directions and ending up a few beers later leaving Beirut and found the centre of Granada a lovely old and beautiful place far away it felt from the pains of apartment buildings. Parking of course is never easy, and impossible in the centre, but somehow l found an exclusive parking area reserved for permit holders that seemed not to mind me parking there for a day. We then had to walk the 400 meters to our hotel. Now the hotel (Palacio de Santa Ines) was not Beirut but it was not Paris either, but it was fine for the two nights we spent there. That day we walked about the area, deciding to visit the Alhambra Palace and gardens fresh the next day. Granada to me is a lost place, seemingly at the end of the world, not sure if it is Islamic, Christian, Spanish, international, it is full of hippies, shops selling boomerangs, gypsies giving you rosemary and people in suits. The service is typically Spanish non existing, and you could easily sit in a bar for 30 minutes without upsetting anyone, but they do, finally serve you and give you lovely free snack food ( mini hamburger, stewed meat) with your drinks, which like Italy is a brilliant idea and should be adopted in Australia, keeps everyone sober.
The Alhambra is a world listed site, and for good reason, it is brilliant. Set up on a hill overlooking Granada, with a protective wall surrounding it. It has immense gardens, pools, fountains, palaces and buildings, inhabited by many kings, rulers and leaders over time. The buildings are of islamic, moorish design with intricate carving and tile designs, quite courtyards, and running water through channels everywhere. Water is a main feature as in Islamic design, and though we were there in cooler times, l can imagine how refreshing it would be there in summer. Simply you have to visit this place, and no matter how much l talk , l will never justify how brilliant it is, again, we could learn a lot on design in Australia from such design and water use.
We left the following morning and headed to Cordoba an hour away. Arriving in the centre, our hotel (Los Patios) was right next to the opening to the cathedral, another moorish mosque, that became a cathedral. The hotel was perfect, it was simple, un-elegant, but prefect for our use. Cordoba was a real surprise, as l knew little of it, the mosque is again a must see, quite unusual in layout and a mix of islamic and christian, the courtyard is like the one in Seville, full of orange, olive trees for shade and water channels running in the bricked ground. The food was terrific there, many choices and some rather modern places. They have a river running alongside which is very large and bridges to another part of the city. There is also very impressive castle (Alcazar de los Reyes Christianos V) in the centre which has a garden that practically rivals Alhambra, with hugh fountained ponds, rows of orange trees, and sculptured cypress. The archeological museum is well worth seeing, a modern design collection, there are many other museums and galleries to see as well. Cordoba is a town that you should not miss, and we wish we had more time there, l would go back, as there is more to see. We went for a walk up the shopping strip and ended up in a bar 2 meters wide and 4 meters long, no seating, just stand, have a quick beer and move on, we ended up having our photo taken by the owner and before we finished our beer were posted on his facebook site, this was a guy who l thought would still listen to the wireless, a weird world!
After a great time absorbing the gardens we left and drove the long drive to Lisbon, 6 hours away with three kids in the back, and lots of yelling, fighting over ipads, games.
We arrived in the beautiful city of Lisbon, Portugal, though like so many cities the outskirts can look ugly, and why they feel the need to paint all the buildings white amazes me, a few different shades would really help.
We were met by Sylvia who showed us the apartment (Chiado Apartments), l believe we were the first to stay there, and what a great impression we put on with three kids just out of a car after 6 hours, thankfully Sylvia has two small children and took pity on us. The apartment was terrific right in the centre, hugh, with everything we needed. Lisbon has a great transport system, small trams travel around the centre, and the subway is clean, efficient and the travel cards work very well, they ain't myki. There is also a bus service and cable cars that take you up the steep streets. Lisbon reminded me of San Francisco, steep streets, hills, a bay, big bridge and a friendly feeling, it also has an international feeling, with snazzy stores and restaurants ( one we went to three times was Sea Me, Rue do Loreto, 21, ph 21 346 15 64/65 excellent fish, sushi).
In Lisbon we saw a Fado show at a tiny bar, Fado is the Portuguese music that is sadish songs sung with guitar, the place which apparently is the better one is Tasca do Jaime, catch the 28 tram and it stops outside. You are quickly and cleverly sat down on something, the next thing your drinks arrive, some food, and a regular bloke turns up on what is a small area of floor, sings with an exquisite voice to perfect guitar, a great night. Fado music is all over town, and played from about 6 onwards, but this place is small and intimate not like a lot of the more tourist ones.
One day Hunter and l went to the aquatic museum and the science museum, up at the expo area ( Ewan had been naughty and punished for the day and so spent it with Jayne) Both museums are excellent, the science museum made science-works at Spotswood look average, which amazed me, and bloody cheap. The expo area is like expo areas, new large spacious and seemingly empty, but a great place to go and sit by the water as well. Lisbon has lots of parks which the boys loved, like mini botanical gardens. Speaking of botanical gardens dont bother with the one in Lisbon, it is sadly forgotten, in-fact l don't think anyone works there anymore, and they charge to enter. The fruit and fish market near the water at the railway station is worth seeing and buying from. And always buy the 24 hour travel ticket, good value, can use it everywhere.
Lisbon is famous for Azulejos, which we call painted tiles, but it sounds better in Portuguese, and is more than painted tiles. It has a long history, and there is a museum ( National Tile Museum) of the works that you should see, with a good guided head set tour. There are modern artisans working in this area, but generally it is the older works that you see covered building facias, and areas outside shops to advertise what they do, or as homage to a god for protection.
The work on tiles is something you see all over Portugal, some of them are quite beautiful, others documenting history, in particular there is one piece that it over 22 meters long that is a view of Lisbon and the surrounding foreshore before the 1735 earthquake , that flattened Lisbon. This museum is in an old convent that was quite a surprise, you must visit it, it is so incredibly Baroque.
One of the reasons for spending 6 days in Lisbon was to visit Sintra and Cascais. Cascais is on the beach and l must say reasonably un interesting, very popular tourist destination, and only 20 minutes from Lisbon, but generally a shopping strip. It does have a museum with the works of Paula Rego who is a Portuguese born artist, who studied and works in London. The coastline from Cascais to Sintra is incredible, reminded us a bit of the Great ocean road, but it is along the oceanshore, maybe more like the West coast of West Australia.
Arriving in Sintra we quickly realized this is a place you need at least a full day or better still three days to see, so after a quick walk around and some lunch we headed back to Lisbon, aiming to return early the next day.
The next day after making it clear l wanted to leave the house at 9am, so we could get to Sintra by 9,30 when the museums opened. I got rather annoyed!! As we left at closer to 9.45. But then Jayne realized l was looking at my phone that was till on Spanish time an hour ahead, we had in fact left at 8.45, 15 minutes ahead of time, l had to apologise, as usual, but it makes me think l should do this all the time!
Sintra is an area in the hills, like the Dandenongs, but that really does bring it down, so forget that. You have the choice of several places to see, the Moorish Castle, Monserrate, Convent Capuchos, Pena Palace, and the Sintra Palace. Now these are the main ones, but there are other smaller venues. We did Sintra Palace ( the royal palace) Monserrate because of its garden, but the house was one of the greatest surprises of the trip, and the Moorish Castle, because you have to take two boys to see a castle and pretend to fight the enemy. We believe Pena which is very popular is well worth seeing, but the garden was closed, and we imagine returning to Lisbon again, so there is something for next time. I won't say too much, just that you just have to visit Sintra, better during the week when we went, a Monday morning, no one was about, they have a delightful local sweet cake, based on almonds, the Lisbon one is more a cream based one that is flamed on the surface to burn it, also rather tasty.
We spent our time in Lisbon very well, and it was great having Andrea join us, and help give me a break. As Jayne and Berenice can chat, and mostly in Italian, and the boys were starting to get a bit feisty with each other.
I have heard from some friends that they could live in Lisbon, l can understand why, the water, the centre, the lifestyle. But the traffic coming into Lisbon everyday is a joke, hugh traffic jams. Apparently the population is around 800,000, but jumps to 1.4 million each day, and sadly they dont car pool, or use the exceptional train system. Living out in the suburbs to me looked a bit modern, but l am sure there are old areas, and like Spain, too many white buildings. There are plenty of derelict buildings in Lisbon, a renovators dream, and lots of groovy shops to decorate them with. Maybe later, but l must say it was still lovely to return to Bologna, with its shit covered streets.
In summary, let me say that l loved southern Spain, the landscape of it and Portugal reminded me of Australia, of course the many gum trees helped. The service in Spain is rude and slow, and l felt that the Spanish men are a bit arrogant, maybe it was from fighting bulls? The towns of Seville and Cordoba are well worth long visits, but Granada in a day to see Alhambra. Portugal, or l should say Lisbon as really that is all we saw also reminded me of Australia, and l found them friendly and good service. Both countries are apparently broke, but they have at least in recent years spent money on infrastructure, as their highways and transport systems where terrific, especially compared to Italy, where they spent nothing in recent years. And of course while we were away, Italy had its general election, and voted practically for three people, but with the front runner a comedian, the old leader a crook and clown, another bloke that no one seems to remember like the three tenors. And then there was the previous leader an ex banker, who the rest of Europe liked, and seemed to be the only one with any idea of how bad it is, who went backwards and got only a few votes. So we have a situation that no one knows what to do, or where to go. A comedian who does not want to be a leader, a clown who wants to be, another bloke but we forget who he is, and a banker, its like a bad joke.

venerdì 4 gennaio 2013

San Cassiano

Last year Cortina, this year San Cassiano, we do have a good life. San Cassiano is in the Dolomites, an area called Alto Badia, different to Cortina in many ways. One it has many runs (pistes) , so you don't have to drive 30 minutes to a area to ski, just up the mountain to Piz Sorega, from there you ski or lift your way to the many slopes and towns like La Villa, Badia, Corvara, Colfosco. These towns linked make the Sellaronda, which is a circle trip that takes most of the day. We did this with our great friends Andrea and Berenice, and it was terrific fun as well as an amazing view(s). Like Cortina, there are many refuges to stop and have some lunch or a warm drink, Andrea's and my favourite was a yellow drink called Bombadino, basically has rum, brandy, vodka and the yellow egg mix with cream on top, gets the motor going!! The other lovely thing about San Casssiano is there are no "Beasts" walking around, as you might remember the women of Cortina walk around in long old furs with orange skin, scaring small children. San Cassiano is more down to earth, the slopes are a bit easier in general, and the level of skiing maybe less as well. The boys along with Andrea's and Berenice son Thiere had lessons all week we were there. Hunter could not stay off any bump or jump he saw, even if it meant travelling into the woods, and Ewan still enjoys the speed. I could not catch them if l tried which sometimes was a worry, as their snow sense is like their road sense.
We stayed in a terrific apartment, much smaller than we had for the month in Cortina, but it was fine, as we ate out most nights, it was called Residensa Vally, and had a sauna, steam room downstairs that we used every night. The room was well decorated and had lounge chairs to relax in with a cup of herbal tea in front of a fire after a sauna. The other great thing was a small shuttle bus picked you up right outside the front door, delivering you to the lift up the mountain, the driver Pietro was such a terrific person always with a big smile. Every morning we had fresh bread in a bag hanging on the front door of the apartment, and with some cheese and salami along with the yogurt got us going till we had our coffee on the top of the slope.
The apartment was about 3 km from the centre of town, which did mean you had to drive to get food or dinner, but nothing is too far, and thanks to Andrea and Berenice we went to some delicious restaurants. One night we caught this caterpillar transport vehicle to to a refuge called Las Vegas, the kids loved it, sitting in the front as we crawled our way up the mountain. Sadly the food was terrible and way too expensive, more like mensa food, but the boys loved the transport, and we had a great time laughing about strange things, like nudist camps, and camper-vans in Rome, along with Andrea's business team building adventures, but that is something you had to be there to hear.
The day we did the Sellaronda was rather amusing, we dropped the kids off for a full day lesson till 4pm. Then setting of at 10am, we spent much of the day getting slightly lost, catching lots of lifts, and having to carry our ski's through the towns, after coming down the wrong runs. Because of this we swallowed our very very quick lunch, no time for a Bombadino that day, and hurried back. Somehow the girls did not seem as hurried as us, and spent much time talking and slowly putting on their gloves and ski's, l must say at this point Andrea is far more patient than me. We finally decided we were going to be late so sent the girls down to the bottom, where they might take the kids if we did not turn up, we also thought maybe we were meant to meet them there at 4pm, this would be our line if the instructor got angry. Then Andrea and l went to the top to get them, after a quick look around and some phone calls we found they were on the way down the hill, so we shot down, arriving a couple of minutes later, and no one seemed fussed.
We had christmas dinner in the apartment as we could not get a booking anywhere decent, thankfully the girls organized the local butcher to cook up a roast and potatoes for us ( as we did not have ovens in the apartments) and so with some greens along with the local meat balls in broda we had a fun and delightful christmas dinner.
All our skiing was great and got better, Andrea is very good and Berenice knows her way around, we all did a black run, though as usual we did not know we were going to, it was my fault, l said left and should have said right.
The boys built a igloo near the apartment, which one afternoon l noticed some other kids and the boys all working away at it and having snow ball fights. It was often the topic of their conversation, especially how to put the roof on, and what they could put inside (tv, fridge?, chairs and a fire?)
We would definitely go back there, and though it takes 4 hours as compared to 2.5 hours to Cortina it is better for the kids.