Bergamo – Città Alta

Friday to Sunday, 19-21 October, 2018

Esmeralda and I had a date to meet in Bergamo for a girly weekend. We planned a few things, including colouring her hair! We also wanted to have a couple of nice, leisurely meals, lounge about, and explore and take photos. Then life happened. E la vita!

According to Wikipedia, Bergamo is 40km north of Milan and is the fourth largest city in the Lombardy region.  It consists of the newer lower city (Città Bassa) and the ancient walled city of Città  Alta, certainly far far fewer..   Bergamo means mountain home and has an elevation of 465m (1525.59′) I took a look at comparisons – Coit Tower is at 91m and Salt Lake City 1,288 m. Those are the demographics.

To get to Bergamo I took a train to Milan and, at the station, bought a local 5.50 ticket on what looks like a Toronto Go Train. My local train journey took abut 45 minutes, sitting in the first class carriage by mistake, something my seat neighbour found quite amusing when we both discovered it – luckily, they didn’t discover us, for on the return journey they did inspect tickets!

At the station in Bergamo, I looked for somewhere to buy a bus ticket. I found it in a tobacco shop adjoining the building. 1.30 would get me onto the bus and up the funicular to the High City. Funiculars scare me a little but it was a cool ride up – two carriages each holding maybe eight people. They go up and down – two carriages that meet each other halfway, then go again.

When I got out at the top, it reminded me a lot of the top of the funicular in Naples – a square with a cafe, and cobblestones. I waited to be met.

I left out the bit where I received an email, just two hours before I was leaving Turin, telling me that the place I’d rented was unavailable. Another place ‘of equal value’ had been found for me. Stress! An examination showed that the new place was in a good location but it was tiny – less than half the space of the original (60 vs 25 sqm). I felt sick. The original host would meet and guide me to the new place. I had no choice. She was cheerful and chatty as we took the short walk along what was definitely idyllic Italy.

The apartment was two floors up in a very old building – tiny, as expected. Clean but sparse. I grinned and bore it and resolved to check into alternatives when Esmeralda had had her say. This wasn’t the comfy, warm place I’d envisioned for our retreat. I now felt a bit bleak but I settled in to wait for Esmeralda to arrive. Meanwhile, the apartment was in the  Piazza Mercato del Fieno (Haymarket Square). It’s a pretty square – sadly, it’s also effectively a big parking lot.

Pretty much all of our Bergamo flat
Pretty much all of our Bergamo flat
Piazza Mercato del Fieno (Haymarket Square)
Piazza Mercato del Fieno (Haymarket Square) – parking lot!

She eventually did – two long delays and one cancelled train later. She was feeling sick and hungry. Too bad when I had already discovered how cold this apartment was. I called to ask about heat and about two hours later the owner arrived. She basically shrugged and said things like ‘Old Town, always like this,  mine is cold too, nothing I can do’ and tossed me two blankets. Sigh. They have a lot to learn about tourism in Bergamo.

Hungry didn’t even describe me and it was about 9:30pm – I’d had no lunch. Opposite the flat was a restaurant I’d heard about from a Chowhound member. ‘Down home cooking’ was its description and it was housed in an old blacksmith shop. Hmm.

Inside the Tre Torri
Inside the Tre Torri

It was lovely and warm in there. I wanted to move in. It was also still serving food, and was almost full of happy, chatting people. I felt pretty good! I chose a pasta of the region called casoncelli, Esmeralda chose a square shaped pasta with porcini (it’s mushroom season!). She then characteristically chose two main dishes – one a braised meat with an ice cream scoop of polenta, and one a cheese with grilled zucchini and eggplant (and polenta!). Eyes too big for her belly, always! (Sorry, Es!) Casoncelli is a pasta stuffed with cheese and meat then covered with more cheese and bacon and served with butter and sage. It was delicious but heavy and I tried hard not to eat too much of the butter. I ate about six of them and gave up. I picked at the two main dishes after that. Dessert? Who could eat it?

Casoncelli - oof!
Casoncelli – oof!
Brasato at the top, tomini at the bottom
Brasato at the top, tomini at the bottom

We went for a walk after that, covering a few streets and what looked like a main square. There were people eating under the porticoes and everything looked charming. I felt like I’d finally discovered the Italy people talk about. In the streets were little shops and lot of polenta! They’re crazy about it. Here, they serve it very yellow in mounds of all sizes and also sweetened for dessert. It was everywhere. I was really looking to seeing more in the daylight.

Typical sweet Polenta from Citta Alta- this was a giant one
Typical sweet Polenta from Citta Alta- this was a giant one
Al fresco late night dining
Al fresco late night dining
Pretty in the square
Pretty in the square

Back at the Haymarket square, we looked around. We could see a flat below ours. The ceiling was very high and beamed. There were tapestries and beautiful art everywhere. We joked how we would ask if we could move in that one instead of our poky place. It was good to laugh.

Extraordinary ceiling in our building
Extraordinary ceiling in our building

Hard to know how much to say about what happened next but here goes. Shortly after arriving back at the flat I had to run to the bathroom. This wasn’t unexpected after that heavy pasta with its cheese and butter – and despite the fact I’d tried to avoid eating too much of it – but it got worse. Now I started to see blood, including blood clots in the bathroom and, afterwards, cramps in my lower belly and more trips to the bathroom where I passed more small blood clots. I arranged myself on the couch with a water bottle full of hot tap water and hoped I’d sleep.

Much of my time in Bergamo when I wasn’t in the bathroom was spent on that couch wrapped in blankets, reading, with that hot tap water bottle. And praying nothing worse would happen, hoping I wasn’t going to end up at the hospital. It was too cold to shower. Too cold to really relax. I felt miserable.,.and scared. Continue reading “Bergamo – Città Alta”

Padova – a short visit

Thursday, 11 October, 2018

We had decided that on our way back from Venice, we could go to Padova (Padua). It’s a fairly short commute from Venice and on the route back, anyway.

While doing a bit of research about whether we should choose Padova or Verona, I found out some pretty interesting facts about the city no one really knows all that much about (outside of Italy).

It’s a small city  with under a quarter of a million people. Padova claims to be the oldest city in northern Italy (1183) and still has a lot of its medieval walls. Its university was founded in 1222 and had as a lecturer, Galileo. While Verona is the setting for Romeo and Juliet, Padova boasts The Taming of the Shrew. (How much time did Shakespeare spend in this region, or was it just a place name that captured his attention? It’s not known but it’s likely he would never have left England.) Padova hosts the second (after Bologna) univeristy. Founded in 1222,  Galileo Galilei was a lecturer there and Copernicus studied medicine (the university was  one of the best-known centres of medical education in Europe).

When Padova was liberated from German occupation in 1945, Padova went from being one of the poorest places in Italy to becoming one of the richest and most active in modern Italy. It’s now considered part of the Venetian area, along with Treviso,

We took a train that was just like the Go train in Toronto – a fast and comfortable ride. Padova’s station, for such a small place, is really large with 11 platforms, none of which were quiet. It’s not clear to me why it’s so large but from here you can travel to Nice, Paris, Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Basel, Zürich, Schaffhausen, Innsbruck, Munich and Vienna. Impressive!

I was a bit surprised that the city looked very modern and commercial as we left the station. I was expecting something more charming. The charming happened as we walked along, though. I confess that I was pretty tired in the few hours we were there. We had walked all around the university area in the morning before leaving Venice, and I was seriously out of energy, with my legs feeling a lot of pain. In fact, if I had been left to sit on a bench for the entire time, I’d not have minded. But I would have missed seeing what I did. I took photos but my heart wasn’t in it as much. I was ready for the couch and Netflix back in Torino.

Tired of disappointing Italian offerings, we spotted a Chinese restaurant on our way to the University. It was packed with Chinese people – likely students? What did we have to lose? We had an extraordinarily botched up conversation with the lackadaisical young server. Three different things were delivered by mistake, including a large beer instead of the green tea we’d asked for. This wasn’t going well!

The students were inhaling the food. Did we order the wrong thing?
The students were inhaling the food. Did we order the wrong thing?
Called shrimp with chili and peanut, this gluey dish also had sweet peppers (ugh) and no peanuts
Called shrimp with chili and peanut, this gluey dish also had sweet peppers (ugh) and no peanuts
The Bacchiglione River with one of its many bridges. The ancient blends with the new
The Bacchiglione River with one of its many bridges. The ancient blends with the new
Church by the river
Church by the river
More of the river in a more upscale area
More of the river in a more upscale area

The university was a lovely old complex of buildings. As we walked through the main one, I thought of John telling me to breathe in the molecules – in this case of Galileo and Copernicus!

From the university we wandered through some very old porticoed streets. I had no idea where we were headed, and was just glad to still be upright – one foot in front of the other at this point. 

In many ways, Padova was reminding me of Bologna without all the red! More of a city but still with so many porticoes and students everywhere.

From this quiet area we headed towards the Old Town – the one place I really wanted to see while I was here. But on the way we went past the Palazzo della Ragione (the medieval Palace of Justice) This was one of the things I’d wanted to see and dates from the 13th century. It’s extremely difficult to photograph because it’s really large. With more time and more energy I’d have tried for a panorama but instead

And right behind this elegant building was the Old Town and Jewish ghetto. At this point I lost the will to do much other than take photos and sit on a step wishing I had more time and new legs. There were places I’d wanted to see but maybe another time and maybe only online. I’d missed the largest piazza in Italy – the Prato della Valle, a 90,000 square meter elliptical square. It’s described ass a large space with a green island at the center , surrounded by a small canal bordered by two rings of statues, 78 in all! Ah well.

And the ghetto was gorgeous, a real contrast to the Venetian one.

And then it was time to head for the station. Another long (or so it seemed to me) journey, all the while thinking I could just board that ‘unique’ tram.

The station was still lively and we grabbed some food at the Despar inside the building. Nothing too elaborate this time – a ham, cheese and tomato foccacia sandwich, some water, and some chocolate. Done.

Appreciation for the guy who played the Play-me piano!
Appreciation for the guy who played the Play-me piano!

Much confusion on the train and which platform to use, since as we arrived at the displayed platform, all indications were that the train was travelling only to Milan. it turned out that this was a delayed train with ours following it quite quickly. Relief reigned and we settled in for the journey ‘home.’ And home was what Torino was feeling like.

Lastly, there was a lot of wall art in Padova so I’ll choose some at random, ending with  what seemed to be a dominant fish theme. I’d like to come back here and see everything properly. Whether that ever happens, who knows…

 

Venice – Food and shopping

Tuesday to Thursday, 9 to 11 October, 2018

I can’t write about anywhere without talking about the food!

Venice was recently in the news – tourists were given exorbitant bills. In Italian restaurants, fish may be priced by the 100g. Unsuspecting tourists think this is the full price and then freak out when the bills arrive. Beware! However, food is quite expensive in Venice. Everything is quite expensive in Venice. It’s had quite some journey to your plate.

I did read about excellent meals served in Venice. I sadly didn’t see or have one. But, for the record, Venice is beside the sea and so has a lot of seafood. In a better world, this is a no-brainer. Hint – stick to the three Ps: pizza, panini, and pasta…as usual!

The first night we decided to follow Chowhound advice and went to a fancier restaurant. It was along the Cannaregio canal so it was easy to find. We had a 72 Euro meal. Was it worth it? Judge for yourself.

Shrimp with leek starter - mushy but not bad
Shrimp with leek starter – mushy but not bad
Taglatelle with scallop and porcini, I think
Tagliatelle with scallop and porcini, I think – bit of a mess
Cuttlefish with ink - blobby, couldn't finish it
Cuttlefish with ink – blobby, couldn’t finish it
Tons of diners on the Cannaregio canal
Tons of diners on the Cannaregio canal
Pizzete for sale
Pizzete for sale
Cake!
Cake!
The prettiest meringues I've ever seen
The prettiest meringues I’ve ever seen
Cichetti - snacks for lunch - shrug
Cichetti – snacks for lunch – shrug, boring, expensive, very tiny
These snacks were more delicious - note the Korean
These snacks were better- note the Korean – I had battered mozzarella with anchovy – greasy and delicious

And, yes, Venice has fast food — misnomer! Italians don’t do ‘fast.’ At the McD’s – where I caved and decided a McMuffin for breakfast was better than a sweet pastry (the usual Italian breakfast food) there was one server, one cook, everything done slo mo. I left after 15 minutes of standing, certain I’d be another 15. At the KFC I had an awful time telling them what I wanted but eventually it arrived – a tiny container of barely BBQ beans, and a corn cobette – ah, roughage!

McDonald's
McDonald’s
And you know who
And you know who (both of them)

Shopping is interesting. There are a lot of small shops. I did see one department store near St Mark’s Square that looked absolutely fabulous but it wasn’t open yet so I couldn’t go in. I was not going back to that area again! Venetians also seem to like pretty fashion items, leather, and lots of lots of souvenirs here.

Shopping street
Shopping street
Shoe fashion
Shoe fashion
Shopping in an alley
Shopping in an alley
Pretty bags
Pretty bags
Fruit and vegetable market by the Rialto Bridge
Fruit and vegetable market by the Rialto Bridge
Rialto fish market
Rialto fish market
Tourists shopping at Riato
Tourists shopping at Riato
Porticoes and columns at Rialto
Porticoes and columns at Rialto
Inside the Rialto Fish Market
Inside the Rialto Fish Market – there in some form since 1097
Heaven knows what they were selling
Heaven knows what they were selling
Bookseller
Bookseller
Memorials to the shopkeepers, everywhere
Memorials to the shopkeepers, everywhere
One of the hundreds of mask shops
One of the hundreds of mask shops
Souvenir glass balloons - they seem nicer in dozens
Souvenir glass balloons – they seem nicer in dozens

My Venice Chapters

Venice – the streets and the people

Venice – canals and bridges 

Venice – doors and windows 

Venice – the Ghetto 

Back to Romantic Venice? 

Venice – the streets and the people

Tuesday to Thursday, 9 to 11 October, 2018

Yes, Venice does have streets! On some of them you can’t tell that there’s a canal anywhere close. And it has squares. Once you get away from the canals peace settles and there are mostly locals, except for the occasional tour group. There are no cars and the roads may be cobbled or made of bricks. There are many narrow alleyways, some lined with homes and others just passageways to the next street or square. And sometimes there are trees, and parks. With no roads, you don’t see stop signs, traffic lights, or vehicles of any type. What you do see are people pulling or pushing large carts from place to place. It’s a whole other way of life and I wonder how it feels to have been born into such a place.

There are lots of old, old houses. There isn’t really anything new. There are also lots of renovation works, old cavernous and dirty spaces where people are working to bring yet another space up to scratch. As you walk along the canals, if you look up, you’ll see fantastically large rooms with very high ceilings and, if you’re lucky, art and tapestry hanging on the walls, and even magnificent chandeliers. (I tried to photograph one of these but it was dark and the image was blurred. Krish said it looked like there was a Chihuly.

Pictures speak louder than words…

My failed 'Chihuly'
My failed ‘Chihuly’



And always laundry
And always laundry
One of many streets that end at a canal
One of many streets that end at a canal
Notice they are called Calles - spanish influence
Notice they are sometimes called Calles – Spanish influence
Sometimes there are old signs in the pavement
Sometimes there are old signs in the pavement
Trees!
Trees!
Some even with pomegranates
Some even with pomegranates

A park, with ruins!
A park, with ruins!

Little squares
Little squares

Big squares - St Mark's - yes, large and with a very impressive cathedral!
Big squares – St Mark’s – yes, large and with a very impressive cathedral!

Alleyways, passage ways, and entrances
Alleyways, passage ways, and entrances
Come in!
Come in!

And some street art. I’m not fond of Italian street art but there were a few…

An Alice (Pasquini) from 2010
An Alice (Pasquini) from 2010
I love the little street level cartoons
I love the little street level cartoons
Roomz had a few
Roomz had a few
Whimsical
Whimsical
And academic
And academic

As we left Venice, there was a nice farewell. While wandering around the University area of San Polo, an older man was engrossed with playing his violin-type instrument. Finally, a truly romantic view of Venice.

My Venice Chapters

Venice – canals and bridges 
Venice – doors and windows 
Venice – Food and shopping 
Venice – the Ghetto 
Back to Romantic Venice? 

Romantic Venice?

Tuesday to Thursday, 9 to 11 October, 2018

We’ve been to Venice before many years ago. At that time we weren’t very experienced travellers. I remember arriving and immediately seeing the Grand Canal and taking the vaporetto (a motorised ferry barge-like vehicle, one of the only ways to get around Venice) to our hotel. That hotel wasn’t so easy to find and the room was very old fashioned but it had a canal right under the window and, by peering out carefully, we could see the Rialto Fish Market. Venice was packed with tourists when we were there then. I’m fond of telling people that I felt I was in Epcot (not that I’ve ever been) instead of the real Venice.

So when we decided to go back – Krish really regretted not buying a mask the first time so – we thought we’d go in October when it was quieter.

Our train took three and a half hours to get to Venice.

We went through pretty Verona on our way to Venice
We went through pretty Verona on our way to Venice
A great reminder that Venice is coastal as you arrive
A great reminder that Venice is coastal as you arrive

The station had had an overhaul but it was obvious right away that there were tons of people in town. As we left the station, thankful we didn’t have to take the vaporetto this time, we walked straight into the crowd. The place was teeming and we were already wondering if we should have come at all.

Leaving the station, with the Grand Canal straight ahead
Leaving the station, with the Grand Canal straight ahead
Heading away from the station, watching the crowds grow
Heading away from the station, watching the crowds grow
Full force
Full force

We got off the crowded main street from the station towards the Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Square as soon as we could. Immediately, you can feel the change. The streets are rough, the houses are simple, the bridges aren’t so grand and the canals are much narrower. This was more like it.

We were staying over in the Jewish ghetto and we knew from last time it would be quieter. Our directions weren’t very clear but Krish is a great navigator so pretty soon we found the place.

The bridge near our street
The bridge near our street
The New Ghetto Gate - our street
The New Ghetto Gate – our street
Walking down our street towards our flat
Walking down our street towards our flat

Our Airbnb was called Romantic Cannaregio. So was it? No way but there we were! (My review is included at the end, if you’d like to read it. Rewriting it here might actually depress me.

Romantic? This is not what I mean by hole in the wall!
Romantic? This is not what I mean by hole in the wall!

We ended up not being great fans of Venice. I think it’s somewhere everyone should see. It’s quite remarkable in many ways. However, it’s overrun by tourists, it’s very expensive and it just doesn’t seem like a real place, as noted. We were very lucky to be staying close to where real people lived and having the energy to walk around and explore. It’s a pedestrian and waterway city, with all of its inhabitants getting around in their various motorboats, as comfortable on the water as they are on land. Be prepared to walk your feet off even if you can afford the daily fare pass of 20 Euros a day!

However, about ten paces from our front door, this WAS romantic
However, about ten paces from our front door, this WAS romantic – throughout Venice are these gateways that are open to the water, for boats to be boarded and climbed out from

Despite many misgivings, I took over 400 photos of the place. It’s definitely picturesque and I knew that from the last time. I’m going to divide my thoughts into various chapters and share some photos that show Venice as I saw it.

So here are my chapters:

Venice – the streets and the people
Venice – canals and bridges 
Venice – doors and windows 
Venice – Food and shopping 
Venice – the Ghetto 

My review for Romantic Cannaregio:
I was disappointed with my stay here. First off, we got no real directions or instructions. Based on the descriptions, I was led to believe that someone would meet me or be in touch once we arrived. Instead we had to navigate our way to the flat (which isn’t easy to find when you aren’t used to the Venice geography) and there were no real instructions on how to use anything. In retrospect the photos do show the place as it is. However, I think some very good lighting was used to show it looking brighter and more relaxed than it was. In fact, it was dark and airless, with a hard white tiled floor that makes it look clinical. There’s a large piece of a wall missing in the living room, the couch is extremely hard and slippery so impossible to relax on. The fridge dripped water constantly onto anything we put in there. The bathroom light wasn’t working and was so small, it was difficult to turn around. We had to really explore to find any soap etc. As well, whenever we showered, the bathroom floor got a small flood. I had hoped there really would be romance since we went to Venice for a special anniversary but it’s tough to do when you can’t even sit together in your own space without sliding off the couch. This is one of the only places I’ve stayed in that had no tourist information, such as a map, or an idea on where to shop or eat locally, etc. Finally, a real killer of romance – printed pages stuck on the walls with a little bit of info/The Rules. I felt like I was staying in a hostel or prison. The only saving grace was a comfortable bed and the location – within the ghetto area, which is interesting, charming and somewhat away from the constant sound of luggage being pulled around, and the staggering throng of tourists in the centre of the city.