WoodWalkAbout

WOODWALKABOUT

APRIL: ROME, CINQUE TERRE, LAKE COMO & TURKEY

Rome – ( low 20 deg.s C)

Three weeks into our Tuscan stay, we packed one bag between the five of us, left the car and our belongings in Panzano, and headed to Rome for four days. We had a fantastic time enjoying everything this exciting, cosmopolitan city had to offer. The historical sites of importance, (The Roman Forum, The Colloseum, The Trevi Fountain, The Spanish Steps, The Pantheon, The Mouth of Truth, & The Palazzo Vittoria and of course, the Vatican and St Peters) were all amazing and the shops were pretty good as well. Hotel Regno, where we stayed was a real find. It was just 200m from both the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon, 500m to the Spanish Steps and a whole host of wonderful shops. Probably a little too close to the latter, Steve would say.

Mitchell at the Roman Forum

Fountain de Trevi

Palazzo Vittoria

Colloseum

Swiss Guards at The Vatican

Sheri at The Spanish Steps

We timed our trip to Rome to coincide with the masses where we could see the Pope. We (along with 59, 995 other people,) had tickets to the Anniversary mass for Pope John Paul 2 which was held in St Peters Basilica, the Thursday before Easter. We got there early queuing for over an hour and a half, right around St Peter’s square, where we’d sat only the day before, for the regular Wed. Papal Audience. Once inside, it was simply incredible to be part of it. Sprinkled with the obligatory Swiss Guards, the church with all it’s grandeur and fine acoustics, came into it’s own. We were reminded of the magnitude of what we were experiencing once we noticed all the security walking the roof inside. We were about 30 rows from the front, so we didn’t have too bad a view as it turned out. Unlike the formal etiquette of Westminster, St Pauls, and to a lesser extent, Canterbury Cathedral, videos and cameras amongst the congregation were common. It was the Pope after all!

Cardinals after the John Paul 2 Anniversary Mass inside St Peter's

The Pope on the big screen in St Peter's Square for Papal Audience

Altar set up for John Paul 2 Anniversary Mass

The mass went for nearly two hours, and surprisingly the kids coped well, with some extra help from some very social & entertaining twenty-something’s in the row behind. We found ourselves deciphering the odd word here and there attempting to sing. Mass in Italian really was beautiful (and with all due respect to Father Jack and Fathers’ Michael back at home,) was probably the way it was intended.

A train trip to Florence and a bus to Panzano, found us back in Tuscany sadly, with the task of packing up to leave the very next morning. We enjoyed Tuscany and loved our house, Campana De Remoli.” Having spent a month there, it was the closest thing we’d had to a real home since we left Sydney. Our next stop would be Cinque Terre, (Five Towns,) on the northwest coast.

Cinque Terre - (23 deg. C)

We set off from Panzano and drove for about four hours. On the way we stopped at Collodi, on the advice of Mitchell, our resident tour director. It was the place where the writer of Pinnochio, had lived. In his honour the town had built a fun park for children. Whilst it was quaint and Mitch and Cassi enjoyed it , it was a rip off considering what was actually there, so I wouldn’t advise it. Later that day we arrived at Manarola, the second of the Cinque Terre five-some. Given the terrain and the narrow pedestrian paths, we secured our pass to drive down as far as we could to unload our entire carload before parking it above the village. One night stays were not a regular feature of our trip thankfully for this reason.

Manarola in Cinque Terra

Cassidy in Collodi
Manarola from the sea

We had an apartment overlooking this tiny town leading down towards the seaside. Opposite the tiered lemon groves that flanked the hill (just like in Amalfi,) the buildings of the town were painted in bright colours making it quite the picture postcard as you can see. In the evening we had a wonderful seafood dinner in a local restaurant. It was so nice to have something other than pasta and pizza for a change, and something far less taxing on the waist line. We got up early the next morning and got going. Each of the five villages were connected by a train as well as a 12km pathway, including the better known “Tunnel Of Love.” We (Steve and I anyway,) envied the many people who visited each of these remote villages by foot. Sadly our timetable and the rest of our tour party wouldn’t allow for it, on this trip.

Local Palm Sunday service down main street of Vernazzia
Sheri at Vernazzia

Vernazzia Harbour

We took the train instead and headed to Vernazzia , the fourth village from where we’d started . On our arrival we ran straight into a local church’s Palm Sunday celebrations down the main street. We all received our platted piece of palm leaf and watched on as the cross was carried through the streets followed by the local children and their families. Vernazzia was a lovely colourful fishing village set down by the sea like Manarola. Before leaving we climbed a small castle on the tip of the peninsula where we could appreciate the pretty, little beach & boats, and the colourful awnings that donned it’s shopfronts. It was no wonder a group of Japanese art students we spoke to, were so focused on their canvases. A wonderful ferry ride back to Manarola, a quick stroll through the lemon orchards before packing the car and we were on our way to Lake Como where we would stop for a fortnight.


LAKE COMO: (16 – 25 deg.s C)

At Lake Como we rented the downstairs floor of a house overlooking the lake. It was an amazing spot made all the more wonderful by the fantastic hospitality of our host. Danillo was invaluable with his local knowledge, weather advice & day trip suggestions. Being an ex-manager of local 5 star hotels, he made our stay a hassle free and comfortable one, but being an extra nice guy with a lovely family next door, made our stay a unique and especially memorable one. The children had a great time with Danillo’s son, Sebastian, (10 years,) and his cousin, Frederika, (5 years,) who were their first friends to play within 5 months. They’d fill most days in the garden. We’ve never seen kids have so much fun - sliding down hills on cardboard and sleds, swinging from rope in a tree and kicking soccer balls from morning till night. Having his cousin and nonna (grandma) next door was a special treat for the kids, “Nonna Angelina” as she affectionately became known, took a shine to them and Mitchell loved helping her water the plants. Trips to Sebastian’s school & the local park and meeting our host’s extended family, over Easter, were real highlights for us all.

Danillo's (pink) house where we stayed down stairs

Meeting Sebastian and his family after school at the park

Kids with Frederika and Sebastian

Nonna Angelina saying goodbye

In between the last of our schoolwork packages for term 1, we also visited a number of very scenic spots. These included a trip to St Moritz in Switzerland (which was just a two hour drive,) Milan ( just an hour away to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting,) Bellagio (a lovely village across the lake,) Como itself via hydrofoil, (visiting the Duomo, shops and markets, and also where Julie and Sheri later had a girls day out to attend a Kadinsky exhibition,) as well as a no. of beautiful villas, including Carlotta and Balbianello & Melzi and their spectacular gardens. Sadly, we didn’t run into George Clooney, but we did see his house, and also the Versace mansion from the lake.

Kids at play in Lake Como backyard

View from Mennagio - Lake Como

View of St Moritz from the mountain top

We loved Como. Our newly formed friendships and the insight into local life was the highlight of our trip so far. It was sad to leave, but we were hopeful of another opportunity to meet up again later in the year. Leaving Italy itself, was also sad as we had warmed to the lay back, Italian way of life, despite the "Italian Shower Dance" (where we often dodged the intermittent hot and cold water,) and had finally got used to working around the afternoon siestas. Steve was even driving like an Italian by this stage! After Como we spent two nights on the road in preparation for our trip to Turkey. Our first night was spent in the tiny village of Mouries in the south of France. Here we saw Julie’s mum who had just arrived for a month long stay and dropped off some excess luggage not needed for the Turkey trip, before a night in Nice at an airport hotel and a flight to Istanbul the following morning.


Turkey: (approx. 2 deg.C to 16 deg. C)

The purpose of our trip to Turkey was to attend the Dawn Anzac Day service at Anzac Cove. We flew from Nice to Istanbul via Zurich on Swiss Air. We booked a tour in an attempt to make the whole experience far less overwhelming. The tour itself started a day and a half following our arrival, so we got out and saw some of the sights of Istanbul before leaving. We visited The Blue Mosque where the girls all had to cover up their heads, and sit in the “Women’s Section,” then ventured to The Grand Bazaar (which holds no less than 3000 shops,) in search of a bargain.

We had been warned not to pay any more than half of the original asking price and to be on the lookout for pick pockets. Thankfully we didn’t experience the pick pockets, but were constantly being asked, “Where you from? Where you from?” These over friendly gestures we quickly worked out were direct attempts to lure us into a potential carpet sale. We all had great fun telling them we were from all sorts of places. The kid’s favourite was to say “Danillo Land” (in reference to their Como stay,) and this helped them to make light of the constant hasselling which had the potential to be pretty daunting for them. They also enjoyed the results of their parent’s haggling on price which saved their pocket money on several occasions. We weren’t presented with the tray of complimentary Turkish Coffee, having remained strong in the face of the obligatory rug purchase , so we knew we’d escaped unscathed, leaving with a just a few cushion covers, a mini guitar, a couple of knicknacks and a Turkish flag. All in all, it was a good day out.

Infront of The Blue Mosque

Lanterns and Plates in the Grand Bazzar - Istanbul

The next night we met our local Turkish guide, Salchuk, and our Tour Manager, Denis, who as it happened, came from Lindfield in Sydney and in happier times, knew our troublesome, ex –neighbours from Courallie Rd. We live in such a small world it is often ridiculous isn’t it. Next morning we boarded the bus, and met David & Jacky behind us, who were travelling with Heather and Gordon, also from Brisbane. David, was a real character and kept the kids entertained for hours much to his credit. We travelled along the Sea of Marmara westwards down towards the Gallipoli peninsula listening to Salchuk’s entertaining commentary of both local and historical significance. Mitch lapped this up and couldn’t resist asking him loads of questions, whilst the girls took to serenading their fellow passengers with the mini guitar.

Mitch extending his collection of flags

Children's Turkish Dance Group

We took the car ferry over to the Asian side of Turkey to Canakkale (due to its proximity to Gallipoli,) where we stayed the next three nights. From here we made daily trips back across the Dardenelles to investigate the Gallipoli sites of Anzac Cove (the site of the initial landing,) and Chanuk Bare (where the New Zealanders had mainly fought,) and Lone Pine (where Australia lost most of its soldiers.) Whilst there, we witnessed the rehearsals for the services to be held on the 25th and a preliminary visit by Stephen Smith, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs. We also visited an Anzac Museum, and the Turkish monument, with the famous words of Ataturk, the Commander of the Turkish forces at the time.

Anzac Cove with the landing beach in the background

On the night of the 24th, having grabbed a couple of hours sleep straight after dinner, we left Canakkale at midnight, boarding a ferry heading over to Gallipolli. Before leaving we’d already seen all the backpackers in their sleeping bags on TV with their spots for the night and hoped we wouldn’t have to resort to the ground. As we drove there in the darkness and listened to compilations of old, patriotic, wartime songs, a real melancholy mood took over the bus. Up the road further, we had to undergo security checks with men going one way and women the other. This was more than a little off putting in the dark, considering it was supervised by Turkish army officers bearing weapons. Thankfully our dear Tour Manager, Denis had arranged for Cassidy and Julie to go the rest of the way by “Special Needs” bus. So whilst Steve, Sheri and Mitch walked up the hill, Julie and Cassi got to listen to the odd conversation about joint replacements and bingo. It was really inspiring to see so many older people, making such a pilgrimage considering their obvious years and potentially closer links to the tragic tales of this terrible conflict.

Sleeping out before the Gallipoli Dawn Service

Upon our arrival, we saw a virtual sea of brightly coloured caterpillars stretched out across the ground, each sleeping bag, motionless so as to secure their position for the service. Some had camped out for six hours before hand. Jacky, David, Heather and Gordon, thankfully had somehow managed to claim five extra seats in the grand stand having convinced the people that had been laying across them for hours, to sit up. If David hadn’t been over six feet tall we may not have been so lucky. The kids all hung on well with only a few hours to go, but as luck would have it, the last one of them slipped off to sleep half an hour before it all started.

Apart from the birds, not a sound could be heard as day broke across the Dardenelles. The water was still and appeared like glass. At another time, it would have made for perfect water skiing. Whilst it was amazing to be there amongst all the people who had come so far to share in that moment, we were somewhat detached because of the sheer size of this service, the dark, and the fact that we were surrounded by people half or fully asleep, some of which were still snoring. But just being there was enough, seeing it all first hand and being with so many people that had travelled so far to be there. We also got to see so much of the Turkish spirit that wasn't on the official program, like the singing kebab man backstage was an experience in itself.

Mitch with the Turkish Army

Kids with the Jandarma (Turkish Police)

Following the service, we woke the kids for the move up to Lone Pine for the Australian Service. Having learned it would be a 3km walk with inclines up Artillery Road with three sleep deprived kids and a huge sack of sleeping bags, we were extremely glad to have the use of the “Special Needs” bus once again. In fact, I don’t know how you’d do it with kids without this type of assistance to be quite honest, as it made a potentially impossible situation, an extremely enjoyable and memorable one. We only saw maybe five other children during our time at Gallipolli.

Lone Pine Service

Cemetery where the service was held

Having understandably slept through the last service, the kids were all wide awake and delighted to be up close at Lone Pine with their ticketed seating. Not long after taking our seats, each of the kids were presented with a Rising Sun pin by an Australian soldier which was a wonderful thrill for them. We all felt part of this service from beginning to end, with an excellent view of everything that took place, including the dignatories, officials and uniformed officers, not to mention the Aussie Fenatics all decked out in gold taking up half of the opposite grandstand. One proud Australian amongst us, struggled to sing the anthem as she choked on her tears, so proud and totally moved by the whole experience, whilst the newest Australian of the family, was the one who knew the second verse best , putting the rest of us to shame. Why is it we were never taught the second verse and rarely ever sung it at public gatherings, whilst a New Zealander knows it perfectly ? Thankfully, Sheri & Mitch told us they do sing it at school these days, which was reassuring because it’s probably the best of the two.

Kids with Australian Soldiers and Navy officers at Lone Pine

Soon after the service we met up with our tour group and made our way down Artillery Road to meet the bus. As we wandered carefree down the hill, we marvelled at the steep terrain across Shrapnel Gully and wondered how on earth those poor diggers got anywhere at all. Their bravery and sheer determination despite the odds they faced was incredible - we would always remember them.

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Replica of the Troy Wooden Horse at Troy

Roman ruins at Troy

During our stay in Turkey we also had a quick trip to Troy where we saw a replica of the famous horse and some of the few ruins of this once, great city. Sadly there wasn’t a great deal left, and what was, had only recently been preserved it seemed. Nontheless, it was wonderful to see and the kids enjoyed climbing up the wooden horse and hearing about the famous tale. We also enjoyed the seaside jewellery markets at Canakkale, learning a few Turkish words and phrases, meeting the Turkish people and gaining a firsthand appreciation of our two countries’ sad history. We stayed one more day in Istanbul, before flying back to France, choosing to lay low as Cassidy had come down with a fever. Turkey had been a big milestone for us all, an adventure we were glad we’d undertaken.

Next we headed back to France, to the Provencal village of St Remy where we were to catch up with Nanna, (Julie's mum) for a month.

Easter Sunday - Lake Como