Italy and Venice

After leaving Balaton and Hungary behind, we crossed Slovenia and returned to Italy. Our final destination, Venice. We arrived a about 6 in the evening and started hunting for a hotel. Maybe we should have booked something? In the end it was OK as we found a hotel just of the causeway. A bit old and careworn but still enough glamour to make you feel good. Then a bus in to the centre for a stroll round Venice by night and some Italian spaghetti. It was a lovely warm night calm and with none of the hustle of the day.

Venice by night

Sunday on the other hand was not a day of rest, we started with a water bus trip around the outside of Venice, to see another side, where the sea and the city met. Getting off at St Marks Square we hit the mass of people, queueing standing taking pictures, and of course spending money. There is without a doubt some beautiful buildings there, and walking of the main streets is the best way around. Forget the maps and get yourself lost. Find some small coffee shops, some obscure squares. That is where you see Venice for what it is.

St Marks Square, detail.

Venice, detail.

Venice Architecture.

We did of course take a water bus along the Grand canal, walked across the Rialto Bridge, and had ice cream. All the things a proper tourist should do. On a hot day, the crowds and the noise. We wandered and strolled through a city of history. Soaking up the ambience found there.

Small Square in Venice.

Back Streets

Café Culture.

It is coffee that we crave though, so we sat a while and watched everyone on their way somewhere else. Dinner by the canal, and a look into some bookbinders and paper-makers. Beautiful leather-bound notebooks, diaries and address books. Made by hand with care and such attention to the finish.

Handmade books

After a long day in Venice it was time to head off again, we drove through to Milan, on route to Briancon, in the Alps. A boring Sunday night made exhilarating by the Italian drivers who all want your space, your car, and treat the motorway as a personal challenge to get to the head of the queue. It was a shell-shocked pair who pulled of the road to sleep in a small hotel seen from the motorway. We were well on our way home, and still having fun. Next up will be mountains and passes and a town called Briancon, a fascinating walled town, overlooked by several forts.

Hungary

We have arrived. Lake Balaton – Hungary, After the changing landscape of Italy, its open landscapes with villages and vineyards and on into Slovenia where, after explaining that we were English but had a French registered car we were able to get a ticket for the toll roads, to then cross its sharply rising tree covered hills with a backdrop of Austrian mountains. It was a pleasure to see and finally into Hungary, where the land gently levelled out and we dropped down into wide flat fields. After an hour driving around the lake we pulled up outside our hotel on a balmy evening, unpacked and made our first foray out to see where we were.

Lake Balaton

After Lake Garda, big enough in its own right I was waiting to see how big Balaton would be. It’s big!

Lake Balaton

The strange thing is, unlike the sea, there are few waves. Only from passing boats, and no salt smell, which I expect from such an expanse of water. The people seem friendly and evening strolls are the norm along the lakeside.

The Language is though, completely unlike any others. And with English and French being the only two I know, we are lost. The mind takes over and wants to answer in French, but here, German is the main second language. Jane knows a bit, but the best I can manage is beer and lots of pointing. I can now say thank you, the most important word when you are a stranger. Since it is a holiday destination, most bars and restaurants have English menus – or pictures – so I think we will survive.

Fishing on Lake Balaton

We are simply unwinding at the moment, relaxing and reading. Enjoying being away from everything, soon we will explore some more. Budapest is an hour away and after coming all this way it seems churlish not to visit.

Next time there may be some poetic input (or output) to the story. Relaxing is taking precedence at the moment so I’ll settle for that.

Italy and the Alps

We are holed up in a hotel near Bergamo, after crossing the Alps and driving through a thirteen kilometer tunnel. A shame we don’t have the time to visit some of the high passes at the moment but we hope to on the return trip. Traffic was bad around Milan, but we had a meal in a small village called Stezzano. Our first Italian night out, pizza on a village square. Tomorrow we head to Lake Garda, and will decide whether to stay overnight or carry on for a bit. Depends on the weather and how we find the area. Very friendly so far, and fantastic sights as we drove through the Alps. So a good start.

We are loaded with books to read and have the time to enjoy the driving so it is looking good for the holiday.

Vanishing Point

Vanishing Point

On the horizon,
where everything meets
but nothing does.
Where vision springs apart
like a pair of startled lovers,
fading into the blue distance
behind the dim headlights
that trace the half remembered
names of villages and mountains
seen, but never reached;
and as the sun sets or the rain falls
and darkness reels in the distance,
everything is a sheet of black, with music
and rolling credits to mark the end.

The point where everything ends, where we are heading all the time. Tomorrow we head for Lake Garda in Italy. Having just returned from the UK yesterday, lots of new places to see over the next three weeks, I’ll try to keep in touch as we pass some places and spaces new to us. We should be at Lake Balaton, in Hungary by Saturday with two weeks to explore the area. There’s supposed to be some good wine made near by so that should be good.