Across northern Italy from Venice to Cinque Terre

Venezia (Venice)

Milan to Venice by train is the plan. For CrossCountry Bob, trains in Europe are generally a pleasant experience.  Far better than airports! Sliding through pleasant countryside, comfortable seats, with the Alps off to the left in the distance.  Upon reaching Venice, the train traverses a causeway across the lagoon and stops on the edge of Venice.  Smooth transition off the train, and greeted by the curious citizen of Venice…

From there, a short walk to the Vaporetto Station, wait a bit and then onto the vaporetto.

Vaporetto = water bus

People everywhere.  Not the crushes of summer, perhaps, but often a close likeness to the inside of a sardine can once on board the vaporetto.

Standing behind the driver cabin on the vaporetto

This is not CrossCountry Bob’ s first visit to Venice but he is hopeful of a more rewarding visit that last time when some type of pneumonia hammered him.  He still has some lung scarring to prove it.

Well, don’t dwell on the past says CrossCountry Bob.  It ain’t coming back.  Welcome to Venice today.

St. Mark’s Square in the evening; most of the crowds have left

Some years ago, the pigeons on the Square outnumbered the humans but now it is an easy win for the humans.  Progress.  But some things stay the same.  The beer that CrossCountry Bob consumed was first rate, as it was eight years ago.  After the beer, it was walkabout (oops, water closet visit first)…

Walking makes CrossCountry Bob hungry and eating in Venice is a problem of choice.  It’s shoulder season and the restaurants are busy but not usually full.  Dinner on night one was, yes, seafood. Very good. And night two was for CrossCountry Bob (sacrilege!) – rack of lamb – it was exquisite!

All famous places have a “must do” and in Venice that is to explore the Grand Canal on the slow boat, otherwise known as Vaporetto route 1.  CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie sat outside at the back and enjoyed the passing daily life of Venice.  Travelling Dave declared it a highlight.

Now and then it was fun to exit the vaporetto and climb one of the scattered church bell towers to enjoy the views…

And that is a wrap for Venice.  Arrivederci!

Next up in norther Italy is Lake Como.  And guess what else came to visit Lake Como?  Yes, the rain.  It must have followed us from Zurich;  heavy rain.  But there were breaks in the weather to explore a bit and take a few photos. 

CrossCountry Bob will say that Lake Como is interesting but not special.  It has nothing on the various Okanagan vistas.  Needless to say, CrossCountry Bob is not impressed by the fact that George Clooney owns a huge villa on Lake Como (Pause here for CrossCountry Bob on his soapbox: “I am sure that the Clooney villa is so super energy efficient it would make your eyes water with joy; good, ol’ George (I hear) is very, very worried about climate change” – end of CrossCountry soapbox before all readers abandon ship).  Now back to regularly scheduled blogging…a Lake Como highlight…

Emergency diaper change!

Paintin’ Peggie spotted these –

Gotta love this design!

The rain was heavy as CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie departed Lake Como…

Lake Como departure

Next stop – Cinque Terre.  There are more ways people try to pronounce Cinque Terre than there are beautiful little villages comprising Cinque Terre.  Italian is an elegant, flowing language with wonderful cadences that Paintin’ Peggie and CrossCountry Bob loved to listen to, especially the young couples in love.  But even the angry arguments (and there were plenty of those) had a rhythm.

The best way around the Cinque Terre is by train.

Waiting for the train

The Cinque Terre weather gradually became cooperative and the ocean settled, gently lapping the Monterosso beach and the adjacent steep rocky cliffs.  Paintin’ Peggie breathed deeply of that ocean air and soaked in the beauty of the place…

One of the features of Cinque Terre is the walking/hiking paths between the villages.  CrossCountry Bob eyed those paths with regret.  Not so long ago, those paths would be an interesting stroll but the knees now have a veto (knee replacement is high on the priority list).  But the Cinque Terre villages themselves were very pleasant to wander about…

And, of course, not hiking the paths does not mean not eating.  Night one was a seafood extravagance…

Enough for four!

Night two for CrossCountry Bob was homemade pasta with fresh anchovies, garlic and olives (do not confuse wonderful fresh anchovies with those heavily salted things at home that masquerade as anchovies)

Spin that onto your fork!

Paintin’ Peggie chose the homemade pasta with a seafood bisque coating and CrossCountry Bob forgot to take a picture! But buonisimo (as in superb); and so Cinque Terre goes into the CrossCountry Bob travel catalogue as plunging, steep landscapes, multicoloured buildings and food fit for real Italians – and therefore more than fit for amateur eater CrossCountry Bob.

And with that – Ciao! – time for CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie to hit the road.  See you in Florence.

Buongiorno Milan,

Arriving in Milan by train, CrossCountry Bob finds himself in a train station built by Mussolini in 1931 to showcase the power of his Italian fascist state.  Makes one pause when about to utter: “those were the days”.

Milan Train Station
Love today in busy Milan train station. Wouldn’t happen in 1931!

CrossCountry Bob chose a hotel a five minute walk from the Mussolini masterpiece so that he could look at it five times a day (kidding, but hey, look at Italy today, maybe not the best, maybe not the brightest but right up there when it comes to expressing that life is for living – just drink their coffee and eat their pasta if you have any doubt about that says CrossCountry Bob).  One small problem for CrossCountry Bob with all that living – you all know it as the expanding waistline 🙁

Milan is a big, active modern city.  The kind of place CrossCountry Bob loves to visit but wouldn’t want to live in.  But the old area of the city is relatively compact and showcased by the Duomo (means cathedral in Italian). For reference, the Duomo was not built by Mussolini according to a reliable source that CrossCountry Bob experienced when young – you may have heard of that “reliable” source – the Roman Catholic Church.

CrossCountry Bob hedging his bets

A much more appropriate version…

Two beauties in one photo!

People flock to the area around the duomo and it is alive!  Paintin’ Peggie has the eye for these places as her photos here illustrate:

And high end shopping.  This is the first time CrossCountry Bob has seen people lining up to enter a Prada.  If you look close you can see the Prada wallet/purse checker moving down the line and ensuring customers’ wallets/purses are fat with cash and credit cards.

Well, ok, maybe no wallet/purse checker but there were purses for sale for 1,500 euros and nice coats for 1,800 euros.  CrossCountry Bob has trouble conceptualizan paying that kind of money for clothes!! But he is searching for a pair of stylish Italian sandals for a more reasonable price (maybe 125 euros perhaps 🙂 ).

Time for a mid-moring breakfast on the go in Milan?  Not a problem, many choices. Paintin’ Peggie spotted this and it was a winner.

Delizioso!

For moving about in Milan, the Metro is clean and efficient; CrossCountry Bob’s preferred way around Milan was an all day pass for 7 euros!  And if you ever need help up the stairs there is always a Paintin’ Peggie ready to help with the stroller…

One of the few Metro entrances without an escalator

Ten minutes on the Metro from the hotel to the Duomo and then another ten or fifteen minutes to the canal district.  The canals are popular with both tourists and locals.

By now, as evening approached and CrossCountry Bob had clocked over 10 km on what was left of his knees, it was time to sit, have some wine and dinner and people watch.  A pleasant way to slide into sunset.  The knees appreciated it!

And then back to Hotel Garda via the Metro.  An easy stroll from the Metro station to the hotel along safe streets.  The Italians have done Milan just right. It’s a wrap for CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie. A restful sleep and then a civilized start the next morning, a 9:15 a.m. train departure from Mussolini’s monument.

ARRIVEDERCI MILANO!

Next stop, Venice.

CrossCountry Bob signing off for the night.

CrossCountry Bob goes to Italy

Travel breaks the routines of life, stimulates the senses and gives the brain a workout (a necessity for CrossCountry Bob as he is well over the senior threshold).  The route to Italy for CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie is through Switzerland, a place CrossCountry Bob has always wanted to visit.

A smooth direct flight from Vancouver, landing in Zurich at 11 a.m. local time. Off to a good start, what could go wrong?

Well, Switzerland is expensive and a taxi from the airport works out to approximately $100 Canadian, so take the express train for 7 franc ($15) instead. Brilliant plan. Tickets purchased from ticket machine, down the escalator to the trains. Hmm…looks like the wrong track. Up and over and down…ahh…looks good. Board the train. First stop in ten minutes. Sign says “Interlaken” and so we stay on the train. And on the train goes, and on some more. No stop. Finally, CrossCountry Bo asked a young lady that seemed to know where she was.  “Oh”, she says. “This train is nonstop to Bern.  Be there in an hour.” Noticing the look on the jet lagged face of CrossCountry Bob,  this helpful young lady pulled out her phone and brought up the Swiss train app and showed CrossCountry Bob how to return from Bern. 

The way back to Zurich

OK. Off at the Bern station, up and over from platform 6 to platform 2 (maybe 2 minutes until departure, move it!)…down the stairs to the train, race (limp in the case of CrossCountry Bob with the bad knees waiting for knee replacements), to the last door open with the conductor standing by…and…we were on… an hour return journey, feeling happy about that.

Bern seemed like a pleasant small city (as determined only by looking out a train window), so it was perhaps not fair for CrossCountry Bob to decide that from now on the “Bern Way” as used by CrossCountry Bob will mean the dumb way, the slow way, the check Google maps before way. Follow along with CrossCountry Bob as he traverses Italy and see if the “Bern Way” crops up again. Place no bets, please. The odds are lopsided 🙂

Zurich: sedate and civilized.  A good example of how public transport can work – efficient, clean and frequent.  In fact, it was so efficient that although it poured all day in Zurich, CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie still enjoyed seeing the city.  None of the traffic chaos of Paris or Rome.  Our travel companion, David, even thought he could live there comfortably and that is saying something for a lifelong Kelowna resident.

After Zurich, it was over the Alps by train – the Bernina Express.  CrossCountry Bob was hoping for a spectacular train ride and the Bernina Express delivered. CrossCountry Bob will let the pictures do the talking after noting that the trains in Switzerland arrive on time, leave on time and are pleasant to ride. Zurich to Chur, leave 7:07 (yup), arrive Chur 8:22 (yup).

On the early morning train to Chur

Cross the platform to the waiting Bernina Express, scheduled for departure at 8:28.

Bernina Express at at the Station

Now, settle into a nice window seat and wait. 8:28, the Bernina Express starts to move. CrossCountry Bob is impressed.

The Bernina Express line terminates in Tirano, Italy. Will the smooth journey continue or will the Italian reputation for a little less organization assert itself. “Se dipende, as the Italians say.

It seems part of the rail line to Milan (our final destination for the day) is out. Landslide, accident, construction?? Se dipende.

In any event, a bus must be taken to the other side of the track outage where the train awaits (we hope). One bus and enough passengers for two. Another bus coming says the conductor but few listen and push onto the bus. We squeeze on. An hour on the bus and we arrive at a train station. No one says go here, there or anywhere, so CrossCountry Bob follows a couple speaking Italian. Sure enough, they lead the way to the right train platform and after the other passengers gradually board (“si, si, Milano”, says a train employee at last, encouraging everyone aboard). All set, the train departs for Milan.

Stay tuned for Milan. Big, vibrant and full of Italians!

A Pause in Phoenix and then New Mexico!

Since CrossCountry Bob’s last post on February 24 (what happened?), it must be said that CrossCountry Bob has not been a slacker. He and Paintin’ Peggie always seemed to maximize every day and by evening CrossCountry Bob was usually too tired to write. But put a magnifying glass to it and you might also spot a touch of laziness (CrossCountry Bob only, it must be emphasized; Paintin’ Peggie often treated evenings as another opportunity to paint or read about painting and artists).  Having made that clear, it was said to CrossCountry Bob by a wise person that it wasn’t laziness but simply a more mature mind taking its time creating.  CrossCountry Bob will go with that explanation…

Here is a mature mind during the creative process…

Part of owning a mature mind means being sensible enough to get checked out at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix.  No imminent problems which is good considering the deplorable state of the health system in Canada.  For the Mayo visit, CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie treated themselves to a hotel! Nice change but, surprise, after a couple of hotel days the familiar comfort of Winnie and our own cooked meals was missed.

End of the day, hotel style!

Also taking advantage of the Mayo Clinic was friend Dave who flew down to Phoenix.

Fine friends and fine food – part of a healthy lifestyle!

To ameliorate any concern about the exercise component of a healthy lifestyle, CrossCountry Bob presents a photo of Paintin’ Peggie on a bike ride in the desert (you must take on faith that CrossCountry Bob was also riding his bike but he stopped to take this picture)…

That’s Paintin’ Peggie riding the flat, lonely desert

A spectacular part of this desert land is just east of Phoenix – Lost Dutchman State Park.

CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie spent a few days hiking, exploring and hanging about at Lost Dutchman (the hanging about was necessary to recover from the exertion of hiking up that beautiful but unforgiving mountain).

On one non-hiking day, there was a side trip to Tortilla Flats, up in the hills towards Roosevelt Lake (that Jeep towed by Winnie continues to be a winner!).  Tortilla Flats was a fun little  tourist joint as long as you didn’t cross the locals as this cowboy did

A focus this year was to take Winnie into New Mexico, avoided in prior years as the higher elevation means much cooler temperatures.  This year, running a bit later in the season, New Mexico was on.  First up was a bucket list item (for CrossCountry Bob at least) and that was White Sands National Park. 

Interesting story how the white sand came to be, the grains are actually weathered gypsum crystals that form due to the combined effects of ancient gypsum deposits and the climate since the last ice age (only 10,000 years ago if you can believe it). CrossCountry Bob could go on (he finds geology fascinating) but he will stop right here as he senses your eyes drooping and your non-geological mind wandering. How about this instead…

CrossCountry Bob stands like a desert tree

Hiking the white sand dunes was mandatory (for CrossCountry Bob).  To be prepared, a point system was invented by none other than CrossCountry Bob.  10 points for the right hiking shoes, 10 points for a charged iphone, 20 points for enough water and 100 points for sunglasses (think of that high elevation New Mexico sun reflecting off pure white sand).  So how many points did CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie score?

Paintin’ Peggie  130 out of 140 (iphone died part way through the hike);

CrossCountry Bob 40 out of 140 (useless left in the Jeep, one pair of prescription sunglasses)

And the winner is???  Paintin’ Peggie of course if one tallies up points but the world is not really about “points”. It is about, among other things, beauty and a sense of our smallness…

Ever since CrossCountry Bob was a young lad, science and science-fiction were solid interests. So, of course, a visit to Los Alamos, birthplace of the atomic bomb, was mandatory. This was a must do for CrossCountry Bob long before the new movie “Oppenheimer” brought Los Alamos and the WWII development of the atomic bomb back into the public consciousness.

Science just is; it is Humans that do or don’t do (says CrossCountry Bob)

Almost nothing remains of that secret WWII development and Los Alamos now seems like a “normal” town. The picture above is a replica of the main gate from those long ago secret days.

Today, the main attraction in the area is not Los Alamos but the art heavy town of Santa Fe.  Paintin’ Peggie was entranced by the many galleries (Canyon Road in Santa Fe is the second largest concentration of art galleries in the U.S., only Chelsea in New York being larger). Paintin’ Peggie explored from one gallery to the next, CrossCountry Bob tagging gamely along, enjoying but eventually thinking about food and rest even as Paintin’ Peggie continued to explode with energy!

And if metal is your thing rather than paint, there was this…

Finally (oh, my aching feet), it was food time. A grateful CrossCountry Bob settled into a cafe chair, sipped a local cerveza and confirmed that the food is Santa Fe is an excellent companion to the art scene.  The green chili of New Mexico is best of show. There would be pictures of the food but the famished duo demolished their plates before the thought of food pixs entered their minds.

With full stomachs and Santa Fe in the rear view mirror, the northward trek continued. Next stop for Winnie would be the artistically famous Ghost Ranch, northwest of Santa Fe.  Writing about that unique spot will have to wait as the high elevation of New Mexico is coming to pay it respects with a dropping temperature and snow in the forecast.  CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie need gasoline, propane and groceries.  We all know the rule. Preparation, no grief.  No preparation, grief.

See you at the Ghost Ranch shortly.

Tall Tales of Tattered Tarps & Towbars

Winnie is now in warm and dry Arizona, leaving behind the stream of California storms. One thing not left behind was the bent towbar; CrossCountry Bob is taking that home as a gift to the installer (he who shall not be named).  Turns out, based on emails with the Blue Ox towbar factory in Nebraska, the towbar was the WRONG ONE.  The base plate on the Jeep was 42 inches between the hookup pins while the installed towbar was limited to a 36 inch width – yikes!.  It was only a matter of time until the stress bent an arm.  Happy Ending: the factory sent out a new towbar to California (5 days to ground ship across the USA, those Americans still do some things well) and, the new towbar slid into the hitch as if it had always belonged there and away went Winnie with a happy Jeep following like a leashed puppy dog

Before leaving California by the way, Winnie rested at the Salton Sea, a favourite spot of CrossCountry Bob’s as you can see…

end of a beautiful day

With the Jeep, CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie could explore the surrounding hills.

Then, for a change of pace, investigate the ATV area to the west of the Salton Sea. It was President’s Day weekend and CrossCountry Bob figured there were more RV toy hauling trailers and ATV’s in that one area than in the entire country of Canada (in the US these vehicles are called OHV’s, as in off highway vehicles),

Overall, the Salton Sea was four days of peace, tranquility and sun. Then it was time to head for Arizona, so bye-bye California.  Overall, California was a relatively smooth passage north to south, challenging weather at times but, hey, Winnie is waterproof and CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie are adaptable. And while hunkered down due to weather, thoughts could stray to other things such as…

Leaving the Salton Sea, Paintin’ Peggie wanted to ride her bicycle with CrossCountry Bob in Winnie & Jeep as the following support team. 

Time for a ride!

No problem for CrossCountry Bob.  While waiting, he can check the stock markets and use the Gas Buddy app to see where cheap gas is (turns out it is a dollar a gallon cheaper in Arizona than California (due, thinks CrossCountry Bob, to superstar California governor Gavin Newson who thinks he is Justin Trudeau, or is it Justin Trudeau who thinks he is Gavin Newson – no matter, either way it is still higher gas prices which are good for you and good for the planet (they say)).

While waiting for Paintin’ Peggie to finish her bicycle ride, CrossCountry Bob noticed this by the side of the road:

Pleasant contrast, yes?

Leaving that pile of adapters behind, Paintin’ Peggie’s bike was stowed in the Jeep and Winnie was on the way to Arizona, first stop boondocking at Palm Canyon south of Quartzsite. Palm Canyon is a Winnie favourite, no doubt due to the beauty and the price of camping (as in free)…

And when a break is needed from the desert, take the Jeep into Quartzsite to see the rocks at the gem stone outdoor market, a venue that, along with Quartzsite itself, left Paintin’ Peggie faintly amused.

There were many unique and somewhat eccentric individuals in Quartzsite. For instance…

Looks right at home?

And if that fellow needed a haircut or something to eat?

So, one thing about the desert is don’t leave your awning out because the wind can blow with little warning.  So CrossCountry Bob dutifully closed the awning but, without getting complicated about explaining it, the awning bar snagged Winnie’s door and bent the awning bar significantly.  CrossCountry Bob hurt more than the awning if you were wondering.

Ouch!!

Okay, limited tools, CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie try to unbend the bars enough to close the awning which is now about as useful as a tattered tarp.  Well, CrossCountry Bob and Paintin’ Peggie soon realize that unbending the bars is about as possible as a politician telling the truth and a (feeling idiotic) CrossCountry Bob telephones a mobile RV repair service in Quartzsite (pick one and hope for the best).  The fellow CrossCountry Bob selects (his webpage photo looks like he might know what he is doing) is between calls and comes right out.  After studying the options (and polite enough not to make any pungent observations about CrossCountry Bob and awning closure), it was grinding a few pieces of metal, drilling out a few rivets and pushing the awning into the closed position.  But how to keep it secured in place was the last piece of the puzzle…

Save one zap strap to secure CrossCountry Bob’s missing attention span

Winnie is now all set to continue, awning permanently out of commission.  Note that the cost of said emergency fix plus the subsequent need for a complete new awning arm is a cost figure subject to “Need to know” rules for the benefit of CrossCountry Bob’s self-esteem. 

More importantly, five days of boondocking, has been quiet and relaxing, warm days and starry nights.  Some hiking, some painting, some doing nothing – classic RV days in the desert. Next up was the metropolis of Bouse (population 950) with a desert style RV park with plugins! That means a shower (much needed!) and the comforts of electric power (you don’t know how much you miss it till its gone).

fun for a while 🙂 then plug me in!

See you next in Phoenix.  Lots on the agenda there but that is a tale for another post.