The 12 midday bell of Basilica San Lorenzo ring loudly over the cafe I’m sitting at sipping an Aperol Spritzer to follow a nice cappucinno. The legs and feet are sore so I opt out of walking to Santa Croce and Pitti Palace with the others for  shopping and things I’ve seen a number of times before. Santa Croce in my view is more for the inside ( built 1385, burial place of Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo and others) versus The Duomo which is spectacular on the outside but that’s about it.

I wander the leather markets looking at things I like but don’t need and would hardly ever use, so the Reid restraint gene kicks in hard. The Mechanic, I think, has inherited this gene. The mercato takes up time, I love wandering in these local Italian food markets where there’s not much in food options you can’t buy. And it’s quiet, I’m on my own time, no suggestions about what I should be doing.

The coffee is for energy, the spritzer is for hydration, the cap for shelter and the church food for soul. I reckon I’ve got it all covered for the moment.

The Navigator and Simone do some leather shopping, proper Italian leather, not Indian copy stuff from the markets. A share of the national debt is spent on leather.

Our train is on time, we’re on time, and we’re in Cortona on time. Our driver Enzo isn’t there to meet us, so I phone him to see when he’s coming, he said he wasn’t coming, he was on a job somewhere else. So f…k you Enzo, you’re sacked. There is another guy in a van, we thought he was waiting for somebody else but he wasn’t so €30 gets us up the hill to our front door in Cortona. We’ll use him again, we have his card now.

Our apartment is great, stunning views over Lake Tresimeno, Cammucia and the valley. Very happy with it. Our host Guilia is lovely and very accommodating.

I watch the Wallabies beat England impressively while the others do a quick food shop. Sadly Molesini where we had shopped before is now shut, the owners retired and nobody has taken it over.

Dinner is at Trattoria Dardano up on via Dardano. Beautiful dinner.

Cortona is beautiful is it always has been, but the season is closing down, we’ve been warned things will close down for the season from now on and to make sure we book for dinner at the restaurants that are open.

Tomorrow is a relaxing day, pick up a hire car from Laura at 5pm.

Ciao from Cortona

Pauolo

We’ve been through Bologna many times before on trains and buses but never stopped there so it will be interesting today.

The train is chock full, we’re sort of in our seats, negotiations go on all through the carriage about who owns what seat. It’s a bit frustrating, but the train cracks 300km/ hr, through a tunnel, boy that is quick.

Bologna station is underground, after some hustling we find the Burger King meeting point for the Ferrari tour for the Mechanic and Simone. We then use Google maps to find our way to Piaza Maggiore which is the centre of Bologna. We walk via a market ( the N is not impressed – cheap Chinese stuff) and a Cafe with a loo is a priority. We purchase our return tickets to Florence before we leave the station.

We eventually find the nice centre of Bologna, a far cry from the dog shit and vomit covered footpath, graffiti walls etc on the walk from the train station. The “good” starts with a jewellery shop ( Vestopazzo) that sells recycled aluminium jewellery. The Navigator finds some stuff and the pretty shop attendant separates her from some Euros.

The Basilica San Pietro is large, beautiful and more austere than a lot of Catholic churches we’ve been in. The Navigator lights a candle for Tim, cheap at €2.

The lane ways are beautiful, lovely shops, 2nd hand watches, bags and shoes made of old carpet, food markets (fashion, veggies, fruit, pasta etc) and restaurants, you could wander these narrow streets for days and not get bored.

We eat in a lovely little restaurant, the food is great, the Navigator likes the food so it’s a win win.

The library is a treat, Roman ruins below the glass floor, a well. Its quiet, there is a toilet, a lovely refuge for a shirt break

The Seven Churches of St Stefano complex is a short walk from the main area, we sit and rest our feet and backs. It’s very old, built between the 10th and 13th centuries combining seven churches into one.  It’s run by the Franciscans who are also tied to the Franciscans in Bethlehem.

We wander back to Bologna Centrale, checking the odd shop and market out. The train station is heaving with people, and we wait for The Mechanic and Simone to return from the tour they have been on to Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani.

A 45 minute train journey back to Florence, dinner and bed.

Tomorrow, my favourite place in Tuscany, Cortonal

Ciao

Paulo

Another early start, The Navigator is up at 5.30am, f…….k I’m looking forward to a few sleep ins in Tuscany.

We meet The Mechanic and Simone outside at 7am, walk to the canal, and leave some of Tim’s ashes, he’ll be in the Adriatic when the tide goes out. Our train leaves right on time at 8.02 and follows the coast heading south to  Florence. Down in the sea there’s a guy on a sail board, I bet his family jewels are tucked high because it’s about 8deg outside, a few ships are  anchored offshore and a whopping great 3 masted high tech looking yacht. Very pleasant start to the day.

Business Class train car is roomy, a bit of a step up from 2nd Class but not too much. We’re on here for four hours so a little space and comfort is welcome. Not many people in our car yet but I guess after Venice, Papua and Bologna it will be full.

What did we think of Trieste? Very nice place, nice quiet vibe after the swarms of people in the other places we’ve been. There’s the sea, restaurants, shopping, cafes, history and other interesting things.

The heart of Italy is foggy and grey as we speed towards Bologna and cross the Po River. This is rich farming country, the tractors are out, rotary hoes, ploughs and fertiliser spreaders. The Po River is the longest in Italy (650km) flowing from the Italian Alps to the Adriatic, it’s a big river where we cross it. The Po River was the centre of  the final battle of WWII in Italy ( April- May 1945) when the Italians finally saw they were stuffed and surrendered to the Allies.

I’m listening to one of my music Playlists, currently playing The Dead Kennedys ” Holiday in Cambodia”, Phoebe Killdeer & The Avener ” Fade Out Line”, The Fumes, plus a few other obscure bands and others known.

As we come into Tuscany, the sun comes out. We were looking for a little ultra violet light after the last week or so.

Lunch is at the mercato, just near us in San Lorenzo and the leather markets. The Navigator stays disciplined in the markets as we pass through.

This afternoon we do the Pitti Palace and gardens, more importantly it does me. Climbing up and down and walking so far I’m stuffed. The old Medici family headquarters linked to the Uffici ( their other palace) by the Secret passage on top of the Ponte Vecchio.

Art at Pitti Palace Museum is a huge range of work from old Italian masters like Caravagio, Van Dyck, Tintoretto, Tiziano, Gentileschi, Rubens and many others. Names that Daniel Silva’s character Gabriel Allon is familiar with. The walk back to the Globus Hotel is torture. My feet and ankles are killing me.

Dinner tonight is going to be close by at Il Grande Nuti, a renowned pasta restaurant and it lives up to its reputation. The pasta is great, the panacotta wobbles like a …. not sure I can say it.

Tomorrow we’re  doing a day trip to Bologna. The Mechanic and Simone are doing a Ferrari, Lamborghini and Pagani factories, The Navigator and I chilling in Bologna. We get a train back tomorrow night.

Ciao from Florence

Pauolo

Early to bed, rise at 5.30 to do a last minute pack, a cup of tea and a nibble of breakfast.

The traffic is flowing in the city already.

Text from Sonya tells us Zoltan is our driver, he arrives right on time, young bloke mid 30s, very chatty, good English and a very nice red Ford mini van. Very comfortable for the 5-6 hour drive via Slovenia to Trieste in Italy.

There is a slight frost on the ploughed up country  it’s -.6 deg C but as we head south towards Slovenia it get up to 7 degrees. There is a mixture of farming, industrial, thick forrest and communications towers everywhere which could be military, not sure. We have pit stop about 2 1/2 hours out of Budapest, not long before we cross the border into Slovenia – the home of Count Dracular. Ironically as we near Dracular  country a thick fog appears.

Zoltan is a good driver, we’re making great time. We cross into Slovenia at 9.50am, 2 3/4 hours away from Budapest, about half way to Trieste.

Zoltan’s little red bus somewhere outside Ljubljana in Slovenia.

We arrive in Italy, no border checks, then drop down the mountain into the city centre. It’s a pretty place. Our rooms are beautiful in the Palace Suite (part of the Hotel Continentale about 40 metres away)

We walk the streets and then a late lunch on the canal. The Navigator needs food, but she doesn’t know what she doesn’t want – it’s complicated – when she has finally made a decision where to sit, I’m still not sure she’s  happy.

We walk to the old Roman theatre, then start up the steep hill to the castle, The Navigator and I pull out and wait, it’s too steep. We then circle the main pizza, walk back along the water and Mark  and Simone do a bit of shopping.

Trieste is a really pretty place, I like it. It’s at the northern end of the Adriatic Sea, a population of about 230,000.  Originally Julius Cesar built it as a strategic port, over the milenia it has been governed by the Romas, Hapsbergs, The Austro Hungarians and was fought over fiercely as a strategic area in WWII.

We finish the night with a gellato. Good to be in Italy again.

Another early start tomorrow starting with a 14 minute walk to the train station

Ciao from Trieste

Pauolo

Sleep is OK last night, breakfast early and then wait down the street for the HOHO Bus to get over to the Buda Palace on the hill over the river.

We’re a bit early, The Navigator messed up her timing. We say nothing of it.

We spent most of the morning at the different levels of the palace, the basilica is pretty spectacular. Some guy with pigeons is trying to sell photos of you holding his pigeons on your hand. It’s not my idea of fun handling lice infected pests. I decline his offer graciously.

We see the Fishermans Bastion, the Basilica, the castle and all with great views over Budapest. The Buda Castle is worth half a day, probably no more. At the moment, it’s a gigantic construction site, a lot of work building, repairing, renovating before winter hits and next season gets under way.

By the way the Danube is green or brown, not blue. But who am I to spoil a good story.

Budapest has plenty of tourists in this period leading into winter, but nothing like Vienna or Prague.

We walk the whole length of the Chain Bridge, and lunch at a cafe in the city. Then we head off, do a bit of shopping and finally dinner at the same Italian restaurant as last night.

Tonight we pack and tomorrow we leave at 7am by mini bus for Trieste in Italy. Can’t wait to get back to my favourite country.

Ciao

Ma Budapest, holnap Trieszt.

Pauolo

In house breakfast at the hotel is good, we did a deal with the concierge when we checked in for a €12 buffet breakfast.

First is the HOHO bus, we do a lap of Buda and then Pest, explore their magnificent parliament house, drop some of Tim’s ashes from the Chain Bridge, back on the bus, then a river cruise on the Danube, then dinner in the main shopping area then home to recover.

So highlights of the day were the beautiful buildings, the beautiful Albanian girls that sat near us on the bus, the amount of vegetation in the city is impressive and the copious number of Thai Massage places located in Budapest. They look ridgy didge proper places but I’m not sure of the legislation here.

The weather is crisp with a capital “C”, f….g chilly, with the sun not helping much. I think it gets to about 10degC. The Mechanic had to buy himself a beanie last night and The Navigator has actually been wearing her beanie (purchased especially for the trip with the comment ” but I don’t like things on my head!”) Beanie 1 v The Navigator 0.

I saw a poster on a streetside wall on the Pest side advertising Manfred Mann’s Earth Band – surely it can’t be real, they should all be dead by now? Google tells me they had a hit album in 1984 called Budapest Live, and were active 1971-1987  and are still going 1991 until now. Wow. News – they toured Budapest in July 2023 and are currently touring Europe with dates booked until late 2025. I was blinded by the light!

A little Hungarian history, a simple version, in reality it is very complex, and I might get it a bit wrong. The Austro – Hungarian Empire was powerful up until the end of WWI when the empire was carved up. They picked the wrong team to play on. In WWII the Germans occupied Hungary ( a bit of a friendly takeover by Hitler), the Germans ( maybe with a little local help?) killed 400,000 or thereabouts Hungarian Jews. A lot were lined up on the bank of the Danube, by Hungarian Fascist militia, ordered to remove their shoes ( so they could be sold), then shot. The bodies washed downstream in the Danube. There is a moving memorial of steel shoes on the Danube bank near Parliament house where the executions happened.

The Russians relieved the Germans of Hungary and imposed Communist rule. That is until 1956 when students revolted and were supported by some of the Hungarian soldiers. The 1956 Revolution is a big deal here. But it was still a very socialist country until in 1989 (when the Wall came down) and the country voted for free elections and in 1990 the Russian military left. The country appears to be pretty democratic. It’s a landlocked country, population 9.5m, and mostly Catholic Christians.

OK that’s it for day, if you’re not asleep from reading that pile of drivel then you’ve learned something  maybe.

Jó éjt emberek,

Pauolo

Breakfast is €12 in the hotel, good range except The Navigator doesn’t find the English Breakfast tea, can’t get the hot water going, then they find some Ceylon tea, jeez its tough. But she finally gets her cup of tea and is happy.

A €6 Uber to the Hlavni train station. We’re finally allocated platform 1, no lift needed thankfully. Our seats found and  were on our way to Budapest. I love train trips.

Maybe I ranted a bit in the last blog, the head cold and the train trip from Vienna did me in a bit I think. Maybe I was a little harsh on Bratislava as well, our hotel area was safe but a little tired is what I should have said. The hotel was quiet, close to the centre of old town, everything was super clean, staff were really good and I’m ok with it and would stay here again. And I’m guessing a flasher hotel would have meant higher cost.

Uber in Bratislava is cheap, effective and easy. Thoroughly recommend using Uber, although Bolt is here as well and some cars do both. So I imagine Bolt would be ok as well.

The country is small 5m people, gdp per person is about €32k so relatively wealthy, and developing. The tourist area is great, clean, busy, service good and prices in Bratislava are a bit cheaper than Prague and Vienna. You don’t need a lot of time there though it’s worth the visit. Bratislava itself only has a population of 500,000.

Let’s revisit the trains. Yesterday we were on a train you couldn’t allocate seats so we knew it would be difficult but it was a bit worse than we thought. Our issue. Same with the train today, it’s an open ticket because you can’t reserve seats on line, you can only do that at Hlvani station, which we subsequently did.

It’s chilly this morning 6degC, wispy cloud with sun shining through. The Navigator is now  addicted to Krowka Smietankowa lollies, a diebetics delight. She found them in a supermarket in Bratislava.

Our train arrives at the not main station of Budapest, can’t remember which one, Uber gets us to the hotel in no time, checked in and we have our room. It’s an old hotel but decked out nicely, staff are lovely, we’ve got a family suite with 2 bedrooms.

A short rest and then the Navigator leads a posse to a laundromat for some much needed clothes washing. I remain at the hotel mending a rip in a jumper, then walk down town and along the river.

We meet up at the hotel and head downtown, to check our the shops, the river and eat.

Dinner is at an Italian restaurant, food is good except The N. was not happy with her caprisi chicken dish and the orange juice tasted funny – why? ” I just don’t like it!”

We talk for ages with a couple from Colorado Springs in the US, semi retired but doing quite a bit of travelling.

As I write this The N. is watching Thor in Hungarian on the TV, and is engrossed. Language is no barrier to her TV watching ability.

Holnap találkozunk emberek, ( Hungarian)

I like the feel of Budapest already, old with modern, different architecture, the Danube, the green spaces. There is a buzz about it. Well giving a good going over in the few days

Pauolo

Good sleep last night, hopefully my cold is on the way out. Feet are not swollen, better news still.

Breakfast in the hotel, €20 taxi ride to Vienna Hauptbahhof, platform 11 A-B.

*Tip for travellers – the train ride  Vienna to Bratislava has no booked seats, it’s a turkey shoot getting a seat, f…wits putting bags on seats then a heap of people left standing. If you are travelling and have big bags, like us, I’d find another way to get to Bratislava, if it’s possible and reasonable or maybe bypass it and go straight to Budapest. Or do a daytrip from Vienna by bus. 3 of us got disabled seats, The Mechanic ended up standing, with nowhere to store bags. Luckily it’s only 1 1/2 hours but with travelling bags it makes it hard. The train is packed and picks up more passengers at stops on the way to Bratislava.

Comment on Vienna – Prague is a rumpled bed with sheets that need a wash, Vienna is crispy clean linen, Barcelona is a colourful bedspread and clean old sheets. But they all have humans and dogs pissing on walls and streets and vomit and bits of dogshit on the footpath. Bratislava is like grandmas spare room when she says Uncle Blue slept in the bed last year, but I think the sheets are ok.

The women in Prague, in our area at least had a fair proportion of supermodel types ( long legs, short leather shorts or skirts), in Viennna not so much of that but, from my observation a lot of younger and middle aged  Mercedes and Audi driving types had enhance lips. Just an observation, no data to back that up.

*Another  Tip – if your phone takes an eSim then the Orange €39.90 for 28 days phone and 70gb of data is great. 2 weeks in and I’ve only used 4mb of data. And my Aussie sim is still in the phone, so all I’ll do when I land in Sydney is change it back to Telstra in settings. So handy with having Google maps on tap and being able to contact hotels, travelling companions, calls back home to Australia, texts. It’s cheap and very handy. Aeralo is one for Asia.

Our trainstop in Bratuslava is not the main Hvlini station so we get an Uber the hotel. There is confusion over our tickets to Budapest tomorrow so we have to go to Hvlini to sort it out. We want guaranteed seats for the trip after today’s cluster f… trip. After being dismissed by all the windows saying ” complex ” information, we find an English speaker, she’s very helpful, our seat would have been half price and guaranteed seats if we booked at the Main Hvlini station when we arrived, but who’s to know these things  maybe we should have investigated more vigorously before we left. She lightens our wallet €8 but we now have seats on the 10.05am train. This area is quite tricky with language and trains, and mostly unhelpful people. Get it clear before you leave Australia if you’re travelling on trains in this area.

Our hotel – Elizabeth Old Town” is in a slightly grungy part of town about 15 minutes walk from the night area of “old ” Bratislava, a bit old Communist era grey, semi slummy area. There is a clear good tourist area and a not so flash area  we’re in the latter.

Our room is small, but functional. It’s a quaint old place with quirky rooms and hot water thats luke warm.

We walk the old town checking off our self guided walking tour list. We walk the modern UFO Bridge and leave some of Tim’s ashes in the Danube in Bratislava. We’ve left his ashes before in Prague ( the Vlatava) in in Vienna in the Danube. In 8 days time he would have been celebrating his 40th birthday.

A late lunch early dinner with drinks at the Dubliner Pub in the tourist area then a walk back to the hotel.

Dobrú noc z Bratislavy

Pauolo

St Elizabeth’s Church just around the corner from our hotel

Easy start to the day, breakfast up the street is good. However last night’s sleep was dreadful,  doof doof music and drunk Viennese shouting in German till about 4am. If I could have opened the windows and yelled ” halt die Klappe, ihr lauten, betrunkenen Idioten”  it might have helped – or not! Dunno?

I suppose it didn’t help that I’m fighting a cold, felt it hard to breathe, the room was hot, or, it just could be hypochondria? I combat it with drugs (some not strictly legal here), tissues and cough lozenges, all the while being advised by the good Dr Navigator to take more drugs. She’d know of course!

Before I forget, today ( Friday) is a nation wide public holiday for All Saints Day, only tourist places, museums and food places open.

The first stop is the Albertina Museum. Supposed to be a good collection of modern and impressionist art work here. Simone and I go, the other 2 go shopping. There is a long story to how this museum came about but I won’t bore you with it. Check it out here:  https://www.albertina.at/en/

There is a good collection of Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Dagas, Picasso, and many others.

Next we take the HOHO Bus out to  Schonbrunn Palace, the Hapsbergs summer palace. Poor buggers really did it tough. https://www.schoenbrunn.at/en/about-schoenbrunn/the-palace/history

The city of Vienna is crawling with people, the public holiday as well as travellers, not sure but the locals says it’s busier than it has been ever.

Tonight we dine at Puestners again, it’s very busy, they turn all non reservation people away. We had a reservation, luckily.

Tomorrow we’re off to Bratislava in Slovakia for a one night stop over.

Gute nacht

Pauolo

Just noticed that over 90 people have died in SE Spain, around Vancia due to torrential rain and floodinding. We were in Valencia a few days ago.

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/spanish-authorities-report-multiple-victims-flash-flooding-115293531

Dinner last night at our favourite spot, Restaurant Gollam was good.

Uber arrives on time, 279 crown cost. Cheaper than Bolt by a bit. Uber is the go in Prague. We’re at Prague train station in plenty of time, Rejiojet 1033 to Budapest, platform 6S comes up on the board and it’s like the start of the Olympic marathon. People going every where, The Navigator pushes through, a look of determination on her face, the odd person gets the “stink eye” when they try and push in. Car 6 is hustle bustle,find seats,  fight for luggage space, settle down in our seats sweating and stressed. Some people are oblivious to why it’s not smart to travel on trains with gigantic bags. A batch of Canadians are sitting in front of us, stressed to the eyeballs, must have walked up, just made it to the train, looks like “Dad” has had it the worst ” I doan wanna tark about it!” He says to his son when asked ” what should we have done better?”  Clearly they have suffered some short term travel trauma, but I’m sure they’ll survive.

Our train leaves on time at 9.15, it’s 10deg C, foggy and grey as we scoot through the Autumn landscape of the Czech Republic. I’m reading Jim Moginie’s ( Midnight Oil) book ” Ths Silver River” , the Canadians quieten and the grey weather stays grey and misty.

1.30pm we arrive in Vienna, a Tesla taxi to our hotel, then jog up for a booked walking tour. We walk around the old parts of the city, learn about the Queen with 16 children and other notorious Vienese people.

Public holiday here tomorrow so Mark does some shopping for himself ( a good watch) and then him and The N. Do battle with a tax refund machine in Peek and Hoffenbergers Dept Store.

Our walking tour guide recommends Puestners Restaurant for authentic Vienna food, it is good.

Ciao from Vienna

Pauolo