Modena and more: Verdi country.

The visit to Modena was lovely.  When we arrived we parked near the old ducal gardens where lots of ducks and other birds fished for dinner, in a very grotty pond which needeid a good clean. In particular I wanted to see the Duomo. On my previous visit, when I arrived at the piazza adjacent, there was a philosophy conference there in the open air, with proceedings broadcast by loudspeakers. It was not possible to enter the Duomo as a wedding was in progress, but I did manage to find the art gallery.

This is the area where red marble lions sit outside cathedrals. I love them.

Yesterday, when we arrived in Modena, another wedding had just taken place, and the happy couple and their family and friends were outside cheering and blowing horns and shaking rattles.

The Duomo is superb. Superlative. Absolutely beautiful in its architecture, art, complexity, my Blue Guide describes it as a splendid Romanesque building, combining red brick with red marble, and there is so much in its art, architecture, sculpture to see that I cannot begin to describe it today, and can only say it made my heart bound with joy. We were not able to see the art gallery as restorations following the earthquake are still being done.

This afternoon we visited Cremona, where we had a long lunch, waiting for the Duomo to reopen, during which we talked to a pianist, here with her pianist/composer husband for musical gatherings and concerts. Afterwards the Duomo opened and during our visit there was an ordination ceremony of deacons, with choir, organ and trumpets, all glorious, and the duomo is absolutely spectacular.  A different kind of beauty and splendour from those of the more famous cathedrals.

As well as all these wonders we have spent time in Verdi country. We visited the house and estate, Sant'Agata, which was most interesting and very moving. Verdi could be a difficult person, but from the tours, the talks given by the guides, the house, the furnishings, the grounds and the land, and from the theatre and museum in Busseto, I feel I have a greater understanding of, and sympathy for this remarkable man whose music has given so much pleasure, joy and emotion to the world. To see his death mask, to read the newspaper reports of his death and to undersatnd how greatly he was - and is- revered, has been a great and emotional experiece for us.

The day is cloudy. So was yesterday morning but the sun did come out, and it was a pleasant warm day. We drove to Modena. John drives more often than Nora, and she navigatios. The car has a GPS called Lucy, but the directions are not always clear, and there is a lot of answeing back from both driver and navigator. In my back seat, I spurn the traditional role, and keep quiet, offering no opinions. At all. The autostrade are daunting enough, and the roundabouts terrifying. But then, I am a sook about driving in unfamiliar territory, not the least bit intrepid.

We found Modena. The only map we had was in my guide book and it was rather small. However we found our way, through various streets where there were a lot of works of various  sorts going on, some extremely deep. And there were some rather unpleasant odours.  We parked the car outside the military academy, from which later, by dint of peering through the bars atop the severe walls, soldiers in training running round and round while doing the military sing song chant. 

The leaves are changing colour, and the trees are all large and beautiful. Some I cannot identify, but future research will help. I find that many other travellers do not share my interest in the vegeation.

On my previous trip to Modena, there was an outdoors philosophy conference taking place  - have to finish this later, Nora has knocked on door, departure is imminent. We are off to Verdi's home at Sant'Agata,

It is lovely sunny morning, and I am sitting here enjoying the weather, having done the handwashing and put it out to dry.

It bodes to be a quiet day as all three of us have been smitten by a bug - not very severe or painful, but it is clearly inadvisable to gad around for the day.

Yesterday we went by car to Busseto,  which was very pleasant, and as all three of us love opera, it was  very special. We spent some time in a bar, having not realised it did not serve coffee, only wine, and bread and prosciutto. So we sat and talked, enjoying the music of Verdi, and watched the nearby men sit  and talk. We had a quick whizz around the house of Antonio Barezzi, Verdi's benefactor and father in law,  and admired the piazza and the Teatro Verdi.

When we first drove into Busseto, looking to see what was where, and drove mback out so as to drive back in again to have another tr, we were fmollowed by a man in a red car, who must have helped many other appassionati, and he gave us nice clear directions. To be where Verdi's talent was fostered was very special to all three of us.

We then drove to Fidenza but could not manage to find the duomo, so abandoned the attempt, we drjove to Salsomag,giore instead, which looksg very prosperous. I have stayed there when on a group tour, but could not remember much about it, other than it is a good place to have a sporting holiday, and has a most grandiose art deco building which houses thermal springs. After that we returned  to base, where we developed our various afflictions. It will be a quiet day. We seem to be a long way from the station.

Reggio is not a touristy town, it is very flat, like the adjoining terrain, and many people of all ages travel around by bicycle. John and I set off to find a shop where we could buy insecticide, but the supermarkets are quite some distance away . We tried a petrol station, but to no avail.

The three of us have been smitten by a gastric  bug and we cannot work out just what we did to allow said bug entry to our systems, so today will be quiet, with little venturing out. So apart from reading and admiring and evaluating the photos, and avoiding the mozzies, little will be achieved.

With friends

Arezzo. Off the train, looking for my friends. I wait. Am I waiting in the wrong place? What. Did we agree? After a while we find each other. There had been an accident on the road.  We squeeze my suitcase into their car, and set off for an all day jaunt. It is so good to see them. We talk and talk, and never run out of things to say.

First we stopped at Poppi, a lovely small town, where we found an open air cafe and had coffee and panini. I'd had to get to the station before breakfast. We next visited Anghiari, and after that it seemed a good idea to head for San Leo,  quite a distance away, through winding roads that go through the mountains. The weather is warm and sunny, and the scenery beautiful. Traffic was very light. We stopped to take photos often. We overlooked a dam, which seemed to have, at each end, a road atop of high pylons which ended in the dam. We'll probably never know the how or the why.

Suddenly, after driving for a long way with scarcely another car to be seen, many more cars were on the road, and then we came across car after car parked on the roadside. The explanation was that in the middle of nowhere, there was a sale/demonstration of agricultural machinery. With stalls selling onions, garlic, figs. It was absolutely crowded.

We pressed on, and after tantalising views of San Leo, perched high on a precipitous rocky peak, which seemed still to be a long way off, we went around a few more exciting bends in the road, and we were there. It seems that every hill or mountain peak had to have a fortified castle on the top. Thinking about the lugging of all the materials needed for construction, these fortications and castles seem incredible. But San Leo even had quite a large car park.

After a gelato apiece and a wander around, except that the ascent to the castello was too daunting,we commenced the drive to Reggio Emilia, where we are spending a week, using it as a base to visit other cities nearby. We got onto the autostrada, but were delayed quite some time by an accident far ahead. Once past that, getting off the autostrada and finding the way to our destination proved rather tricky. The GPS instructions are not really clear and it was dark by this time. But here we are,settled into our apartments, and today we walked into thecity centre, where we had awonderful lunch, to celebrate the 37th anniversary of John and Nora's wedding. 

 I am a great believer in asking people for help, and so asked a young woman to direct us to asupermarket where we could buy food, and also asked could she tell us of a good rkestaurant where we could celebrate the wedding anniversary. She did both, we found the restaurant and despite having bo booking, wewere given a table. I told them of the anniversary, and we had a wonderful meal, which finished with specially decorated desserts for my friends, inscribed in chocolate with "auguri".

Staggering off to the supermarket to buy groceries could have seemed an anticlimax, but we had agood time talking to the young woman in the delicatessen section. We staggered back to the apartments and will soon reassemble for pasta with pesto.

 It is good to have more room and a couch, as well as a small balcony where we could put our washing out to dry. The exigencies of life ! Now to plan the next day.

Leaving Florence

On the train to Arezzo, to meet my friends, we are travelling through the city and are arriving  at Campo di Marte. It seems that  arranging to travel early was a good idea as there is yet another bicycle on today.

I fell into a panic as I could not find a couple of money cards or the cash  I withdrew yesterday, nor the credit card, which fortunately was discovered  in time to pay the hotel. These stupid panics.

It is a sunny day, a little misty, with somelos cloud., and the countryside is hilly. There are orchards, olives,greenhouses and the river! And buildings on top of hills. Colours are just starting to turn golden, just that hint of change, and the morning light is lovely. Most of the passengers from Forences have left the train by now, which is just pullimg out of Rignano.

The next  stop was Incisa and there I saw my first glimpse of the moon, now waning. There was no opportunity to see the full moon, which  makes me feel deprived.


At Arezzo my friends will be waiting to meet me - so good and kind, so thoughtful and reliable. I bet they never misplace their credit cards or money. We are then driving to Reggio Emilia to stay at apartments for a week, and will use it as a base to explore the many lovely cities in the vicinity.
I anticipate we will have a delightful time together, as well as improving our Italian.

Yesterday I went by bus to Fiesole, and enjoyed the countryside, the views, the Roman amphitheatre and museum,and even the rather muddy Etruscan tomb, the church and  little art gallery, and the people. On my return i decided to wander over to Santa Croce, but found myself at a corner  at a part of the route through the city of the bicycle race, with many keen spectators lining the route, a man in  a red t-shirt and a whistle directing things so that no one was allowed to  cross at the few places where there was a break in the barriers. Having stopped for a look it became apparent that the helicopters which had been noisily flying over the city were there because of these international trials. I foung myself standing next to a family and their friends and their accents revealed they were Australians, so we fell into conversation. The man, Darren, was one of these mad keen cyclists, and  this race/trial/whatever was one of the reasons for their trip. He explained  lots of salient things about the race,so that now all these bicycles flashing past have more meaning for me. Travel does broaden the mind, it seems, even for subjects which, prima facie, suggest you would die of boredom.

 As this train trip progresses, I am calming down, and enjoying the scenery, although if the windows were cleaner I could take better photos through them.

And I am most grateful for the comment about south instead of north. Should have realised, but didn't. Che stupidone.

Sunday in Florence

Over breakfast this morning, after a wakeful night, I ponder the day. Generally i make it up as I go along. Like I did yesterday. It had been my intention to go by bus to Fiesole, but it never happened, so perhaps today. Yesterday was a wandering day. Tkhe queues for galleries are very long, but in the late afternoon, after completing the  appointed tasks, I found myself near the Pitti Palace, and as the queue was not too daunting, got inside without much delay.

 What a wonderful place it is. I did not go to the Boboli Gardens , or other parts, only to the Palatine,, to see the painting. There are so many, up and down the walls, and not all the labels are easily legible, but the staff in the rooms know a lot about the paintings and the history of Florence and the Medici, and are happy to communicate.

 Also on the agenda was the Medici Riccardi? Chapel with the frescoes  of the procession of the magi by Bennnozzo Gozzoli and  I always go back for another look. 

While in the Oltrarno I looked at the pietra dura workshop/shop in via Guicciardini and had a lovely long conversation with the woman there.  Such exquisitely beautiful, precise and detailed decorative work. Having just visited the Pitti Palace, and seen those fabulously decorated tables, I was afire with enthusiasm.

 But it is time to set out for the day. A piu tardi.

At the end of the day

They say travel broadens the mind, and so far so good. The aching feet don't fare as well. And my shoes are probably wearing out rather quickly. All in a good cause, say I.

This rather lovely little hotel, despite its antiquated keys, which have minds of their own, has a table full of possiblilities for tourists. There was a leaflet advertising an exhibition at Prato of the work of Fra Filippo Lippi, at the newly re-opened Prato museum di Palazzo Pretorio,, which has been closed for more than 16 years for restoration Prato is not far from Florence, so I went by train.
Lipp
First you buy your ticket. The queues are extremely long and most tickets are bought from vending machines. I tried one but it would not accept cash. Then i recalled that someone said you could buy train and bus tickeys from Tabbacchi stands, and lo and behold, this worked, and the queue moved quickly.
 The brochure said you could go by  one or other station, one being 12 km from the gallery, and the other a mere 500 metres. I chose the Prato Centrale option, but this meant I had to take a bus. Then i fell into conversation with an older woman who lived somewhere in the countryside, and a younger eoman who owns a dress shop in Prato. What with their help, I got onto the bus, ehich was packed like sardines, and the young woman got off at the same stop and showed me where to go.

It was a lovely exhibition. Fra Filippo Lippi has always been one of my fabourite painters.  Not only were the paintings described,but they were accompanied by poems by a modern writer, of children's books, I think, very expressive and whimsical. He even suggested that the Chinese must have been in Italy as the Baby Jesus looked Chinese, but I think he was quite wrong there.

After seeing the exhibition I set off to find the bus stop. I couldn't. Eventually i found a woman in a bookshop, who at first declred she was not from Prato, but, suddenlt smitten by a bright light, told me to go straight ahead to the Duomo (cathedral) and turn right, and there would be the other station. So i did, and so it was.
 After that I tramped around browsing generally for some time, before returning rather late  and  and  wondering where to go for dinner. The man at the desk made a reservation for me so i set off. It seemed to be quite a distance. My hotel is not in the main tourist areas. Then I encountered a family withou map even more lost than I was. And my map has such small print it was very difficult to read.. Eventually I sent them on their possibly erroneous way, and then found the restaurant.

One of the things I dislike about travelling on my own is having to eat by myself. However last night another couple sat at the next table and they turned out to be Australian, so we chatted happily togethet. Tonight's lost couple were also Australians. (We are everywhere.) Then an American couple sat at the adjoing table. (Tables are placed very close together.) So again I had pleasant company for dinner, which was good as being by yourself at meal times is not easy.

Tomorrow I might indulge in more cultural pursuits, although never let it be said that I failed to enter any church I pass by.

It is late. The iPad needs charging and so do I. The American woman gave me some helpul hints about the iPad, and in return I demonstrated the advantages of the offline Italian dictionaries. Tutto uguale!