Date: 8 November 2003
Subject: Venice: after the rain, good weather

I just have to tell you about this. I was on one my numerous secondary and tertiary roads when in front of me I saw a cortege of a dozen cars. Armed with my recent driving training from Naples, I passed all these cars one or two at a time on single or double lines until I got my good sense back and slowed down at the head of the line. There was a truck pulling an open trailer containing two horses of which we could only see the second, which was moving slowly. The tail (of horsehair) was blowing happily in the breeze and since it was okay now to pass, I launched out, put my car into 4th gear, and squeezed to the left. Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I saw a volley of excrement to my right and it was all over the place. One of the two horses had let go, and the guy behind me got it all over his windshield. I didn't wait to see the result but I can imagine the scene. To get this kind of a present is unimaginable, but to miss it by so little is more than a little bit lucky.   Wednesday, 5 November:   To get to San Marino, you have to go by car to the end of the road and climb the rest of the way on foot. The second option is to take the funiculaire [cable-car] and that's what I chose to do. With all that I had done up to this time, I had learned to pace myself. The view from the top of San Marino is unbelievable, the hills that surround this city give it a special feeling and the low clouds with bathe the countrying add to its beauty.

I sent my last message and I continued to Ferrara for the visit. There was some construction and the signs were not very good. I circled around quite a while and I lost half an hour of effort in vain. Since Bologna is only 50 km away, I wanted to stop fairly early to find a hotel. It began to get dark about 4:30 and in my condition, I like to avoid driving at night and have to stop early.

Unfortunately, for some reason that I cannot imaging, there were practically no hotels** [2-star hotels, modest European hotels] in this section of Italy. All that exists here are hotels*** and more [hotels with 3-5 stars, which are much more expensive] and nights cost 75-100 Euros. I had fixed a budget for myself at the beginning and it was out of the question that I pay such a high price. So I drove out to the edge of town and I must have missed the sign because before I knew it, I had chosen a road that was leading me back to Ferrara. It was 7:30 and I had begun to get very tired, and I gave up and stayed in Ferrara in a ***. I negotiated the price of the room and it was not so bad.

Tuesday, 6 November

I was glad that I made the mistake. Ferrara was really worth the trouble. Last evening, I had turned in circles until, when the hotel gave me a map of the town, I was pretty close. Ferraraallowed me to visit a castle from the Middle Ages, the fortress of Castello Estense, still encircled by a moat. The Duomo [cathedral] was magnificent and the Palazzo Diamante with its façade ornamented with motifs in the shape of diamonds was special. A city wall encloses the old city completely, and this city is classified as a world historical treasure by UNESCO. A great surprise.

Next, I went on to Bologna and I was able to see the spectacular twin leaning towers from the 12th century and the fountain of Neptune on Independence Way. What is astonishing is the arcades that border the streets. The sidewalks are very wide and the arcade protect the pedestrians from the weather. They are everywhere, and I could have used them in Venice!

The next town on the program was Modena with has beautiful sites like the Ghirlandina tower and its cathedral. One fact worth nothing, in all these towns silence is mandatory. There are practically no motorbikes, only lots of bicycles. Good old 3-speed bicycles with mud-flaps, it had been a long time since I had seen bikes like that.

Parma completed this very full day. I was very surprised by the two main buildings, the Companilla and the pink Roman Baptistry in an octagonal shape. Driving is prohibited in the oldest part of town near the Piazza Pilota and everything is easily accessible.

Same problem finding a hotel. I drove on again too late and settled myself down in Ostiglia to spend the night. I defy you to find it on the map. Needless to say, they don't know about the internet and that launderies are non-existent. I am getting a bit short on underwear, and I need to find one soon.

Friday 7 November

The city of Veronna was the first thing on my agenda this morning. I thought I would spend a couple of hours there but it turned out that I had to spend the entire day there, it had so many attactions. I went from site to site, which was a lot of walking, but everything was interesting, beginning with the Castelvecchio. It was a fortress in the Middle Ages with a fortified bridge. I visited the museum which was very interesting and which contained a section of armaments from the period and many paintings.

The Piazza d'Erbe had a pretty fountain and there was also the home of Juliet, the balcony where Juliet charmed Romeo below. The piazza de Seigneri had an imposing tower and the cathedral with its imposing façade had an interior richly ornamented with beautiful paintings. There were also some arenas in the Piazza Bra which was vast with its stores all around. What to say about San Zeno Maggiore, an elegant Roman [catholic] church with superb marble bas-reliefs. This city charmed me and I simply had no choice. I continued on to my first town for tomorrow, Vicenze, and there again I stayed in the outskirts in a town without a name on the side of the road. Another quiet little evening.

Saturday, 8 November

The rain fell thick and fast this morning. It rained hard and I could only get to Vicenze and Padua. The last thing I wanted to do was to deal with this temperature and in any event it is Venice most of all that I wanted to see.

I wanted most of all to arrive early enough to find a hotel nearby because I didn't want to miss my chance. I arrived about noon, and I rented a hotel room through an information booth at the entry to Venice. I found a place in Mestre, a town immediately across, 3 minutes from the bus. To stay in Venice itself, one has to pay 20 Euros more to park and carry your bags in the bus, no thanks for me. In any event, it had begin to smell pretty strong in my trunk of my Clio [car] and I needed a laundry nearby.

Everything was taken care of by 1:00 and I was ready to visit Venice. It was raining, but I couldn't spend the whole day in my room. Taking up my courage in both hands and my umbrella in the other, I took the bus made a water-landing in Venice. Grave error, it was raining torrents and I took the wrong direction in leaving. At the end of the line, I wandered in the little narrow streets for two hours to find myself soaked to the skin with my shoes damp and my nose running. I retreated to my room and did what I had to do, my report. I had to watch rugby for a couple of hours so that my shoes could dry out on the radiator and I went on the attack. I hope that it will be beautiful tomorrow.

til next time,

Paul

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