Thursday, 7 November 2019
Spirited and Spiritual: ITALY
Spirited and Spiritual: ITALY: From Austria we headed for Italy which was the last country on our European itinerary with Soman’s Leisure Tours. Venice - Ital...
ITALY
From Austria we headed for Italy which was the last country on our European itinerary with Soman’s Leisure Tours.
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| Venice - Italy |
Our first destination in Italy was Romantic Venice.
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| Romantic Venice |
This beautiful city floating on water is truly a magical land.
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| The floating City - Venice |
Some of the most important tourist attractions are the Piazza San Marco, a famous square in Venice which houses the beautiful ornate cathedral Basilica San Marco, Palazzo Ducale or Doge’s Palace which was the palace of the former ruler of Venice, the bridge of sighs which connects the New Prison to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace etc. This enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. The view from the windows of the Bridge of Sighs was the last view of Venice that convicts had before they were brought for their execution. In fact the bridge takes its name from sighs of despair and depression of the convicts. .
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| St Mark’s Square |
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| St. Mark’s Square |
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| Doge’s Palace |
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| Doge’s Palace |
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| Bridge of Sighs |
Transportation in Venice is done by water ways. Gliding along the Grand Canal in a gondola was certainly a dream come true as we sat back and enjoyed the splendor passing by.
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| Gondola ride |
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| The Grand Canal |
Enchanting Venice which attracts tourists from all over the world is in fact a labyrinth of narrow streets, alleys and canals and it’s easy to get lost. In fact we did get separated from our group for quite some time in the little streets that were overcrowded with tourists. In spite of those few moments of anxiety and tension Venice still continues to entice me.
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| Venice - Castello |
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| Rio del Greci |
From Venice we moved to Padua where we retired for the night. A few of our fellow travelers visited the St Antony’s Basilica early next morning.
After breakfast we proceeded to the eternal city of Rome, also the birth place of Julius Ceaser
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| In front of our Hotel Western Biri, Padua |
After breakfast we proceeded to the eternal city of Rome, also the birth place of Julius Ceaser
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| A stop en route Rome |
Rome is full of history and ancient ruins. A visit to Rome is therefore like travelling back in time.
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| Rome |
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| The Pyramid of Cestius in Rome built in the 1st century BC |
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| The bridge over the river Tiber |
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| Rome |
You need at least two to three days to see all of Rome. There’s lots and lots to see. There is the beautiful Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, The Palentine hill and Roman Forum and much much more. Unfortunately when we reached Rome, certain streets were closed due to some public demonstrations on the roads. This, added to the shortage of time, made our Rome sightseeing short of complete coverage.
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| Palentine Hill and Roman Forum as seen from the Colosseum |
Today Rome is becoming notorious for the prevalence of pickpockets. It is better not to carry valuables. In fact we’ve witnessed a lot of them trying to distract tourists' attention to fulfill their intentions.
The biggest attraction in Rome is the Colosseum the major part of which still stands after 2000 years. It was in this giant amphitheater that gladiator combats were staged and so much of blood was shed for the entertainment of the masses.
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| The Colosseum |
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| Our Mothers' Day celebs at the Colosseum |
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| The fountain at the foot of the Spanish Steps |
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| The Spanish steps seen from the Fountain at its base |
Adjacent to the Spanish steps is the house where the famous English Poet John Keats spent his last days. It has now been converted to a historical museum known as the Keats Shelly Museum in memory of the two great English poets. John Keats, died at the young age of 25, after travelling to Italy from England hoping that the Italian sun would cure him of the tuberculosis that was killing him.
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| The Keats Shelley Museum adjacent to the Spanish Steps |
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| Looking down from the Spanish Steps |
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| Swiss Guards at the Vatican |
The Vatican City has a strict dress code and shorts, short skirts, hats, and bare shoulders are not allowed .
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| Papal Audience window - 2nd from top right |
The attractions within Vatican City are St. Peter’s square, St. Peter’s Basilica which is filled with religious sculptures and works of art, the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. The Obelisk at the center of the square was transported to Rome from Egypt in the 1st century AD. Rome has a lot of obelisks throughout the city.
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| The dome of St Peter's Basilica and the Egyptian Obelisk at St Peter's Square |
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| Ceiling of the Basilica |
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| Inside the Basilica |
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| Michaelangelo's Pieta inside the St Peter's Basilica |
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| Inside St Peter's Basilica |
The beautiful St. Peter’s square is crowded with tourists. There are a lot many gift shops and food vendors too.
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| Gift shops at the square |
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| The Vatican
Our lunch was at Zen Gardens, an Asian Buffet restaurant with a wide array of dishes. After a sumptuous meal we continued our journey to Pisa in Italy’s Tuscany region.
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| Lunch at Zen Garden |
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| Zen Garden |
Tuscany is beautiful with its mountains, fields, villages etc.
The Leaning Tower is the main attraction and it is situated in the famous square ‘Field of Miracles’. It is really magnificent.
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| Field of Miracles |
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| Leaning Tower of Pisa |
The square is surrounded by beautiful lush green lawn
After clicking fun photographs at the leaning tower we spent some time shopping at the long line of vendor stalls that sell souvenirs, bags etc just outside the complex.
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| Cathedral at Pisa |
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| Restaurants and vendor stalls outside the complex |
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| Fun Photograph |
Stay was at Hotel Euro
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| Hotel Euro |
Next morning we moved to Milan, the fashion capital of the world. That was the last leg of our trip.
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| View of Milan from our bus window |
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| Milan from our Bus window |
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| Milan |
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| A street in Milan |
Milan is fairly a compact city. At the heart of Milan, is the Duomo cathedral. The interior of Milan Cathedral is spectacular with its highly adorned columns and beautiful Italian Marble floors.
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| Italian Marble floor of the Cathedral |
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| Piazza del Duomo |
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| Milan Cathedral |
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| Inside the Milan Cathedral |
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| Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II |
Another classical image of Milan is the large flock of pigeons hanging out in the Piazza del Duomo the main city square of Milan. Tourists can be seen clicking photographs while feeding the pigeons.
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| Feeding the Pigeons at the Piazza del Duomo in Milan |
There is a beautiful underground metro station located in Piazza Duomo the central area of Milan.
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| At the Underground Metro Station in Milan |
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| Enjoying ice cream at the Piazza |
After a splendid day in Milan we proceeded to the Malpensa Airport for our journey back home to Cochin via Muscat.
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| Malpensa Airport |
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| In the Oman Air flight |
That was the end of our incredibly wonderful Europe trip with Soman’s Leisure Tours last May.
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| Aerial view of Muscat during landing |
As we grow older we realize that it’s not the things that we possess but it’s the wonderful people who we are surrounded with, the beautiful places we visit, the sweet memories we carry in our heart that add color to our life. Our Europe trip was a combination of all these.
We made friends with a bunch of very lovely people all of who are still in touch.
In fact we did have a reunion of our group recently.
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| Our Tour Group |
And we all look forward to another exciting journey in the year ahead....a journey that would be made picturesque with laughter and fun.
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