Travel Diary 13

Travel Diary 13

Travelled into Milano by Bus and train. The last part of the train trip underground exited right in the Plaza Duomo. Walked up the steps after figuring out which way to go and how to negotiate the turnstiles and as we surfaced up the steps, we looked around at this large square surrounded by massive old buildings. The square was full of people, looking, taking photographs, calling their children back to them, eating, striding through on some business mission or watching the machine gun armed police standing beside ambulances and the small, hotted up police cars designed for pursuit in narrow city roads whilst negotiating the traffic. It was packed!

Then I realised why. I turned around and there behind me was the Duomo or main Cathedral of Milano. What a sight! Kerrie and I both stopped and just stared. Initially, the sight just left us speechless. While I am sure most people have seen photographs of this building, seeing it in reality is something else.

We have seen some very beautiful Duomos in other cities and we have seen buildings designed by people like Guido who must have been on drugs when he designed his buildings, but this is something special. I counted over 40 spires and with the beautiful cast bronze doors going green with age, the dozens of stone carvings, the stories told in pictures on this magnificent building and the sheer size of it dominating the Plaza, well, it just leaves one feeling very small and insignificant. 

We walked up to it and took some close up photos because it is difficult to get photographs of the entire building that include any detail and decided to buy a ticket to go inside. Unfortunately, the queue was across the front and out into the Plaza and getting bigger by the minute. It would have taken us at least 2 hours in line to get inside and we just did not have the time to do that.

So, what to do. The first thing was getting something to eat. We spotted a couple of cafes with outdoor seating across the Plaza where one could sit and look at the Duomo to one’s hearts content. After casually checking the food on other people’s plates we sat down and ordered a salad and fish dish which we shared. By the time we had the bottle of water, two glasses for that, a half-litre of red wine and two glasses for that, bread and plates for that on the small table, there was no room left for the rest of the food. It became apparent that the restaurant was prepared for that because in no time out came a couple of stands with small bases that just fitted and the rest of the food went on those.

We enjoyed the lovely meal while doing people watching and some Duomo gazing. When finished, we tried to work out what to do. You’d think that this would be easy. But Milano is a city that is full of Museums displaying everything from Leonardo da Vinci’s works to modern artists. It really is a city of art and design and the city centre has dozens of women’s clothing stores, mostly high end with prices to match! Nothing to pay 400-500 Euros for a pair of shoes. That’s about 600-750 in Aussie dollars!

Then there is the large number of streets running at all sorts of angles from around the square. This city centre was never designed in a grid pattern, just build something and let the road run around it. So, trying to orientate oneself can be difficult and getting lost can be easy!

Eventually we sorted it out and got under way. After spending an hour or so checking out dress shops, shoe shops and other shops, Kerrie eventually found something for Maegan’s birthday. By this stage it was around 2.00pm and the Museums were waiting. We agreed to split up so Kerrie could do some shopping on her own without me tagging along and I could go do what I wanted.

I ended up doing a couple of things. Firstly, visiting an art Museum which had a display of some of Leonardo da Vinci’s drawings, a couple of paintings including The Last Supper and some models made from the drawings of things he imagined.

This man was born in the mid 1400’s and died early 1500’s. Amongst other things, he designed a bicycle, a machine gun, a car, a helicopter and improved the design of sling shots, guns, cross bows and a heap of the other stuff! What an imagination! Think of what he could if he lived today with computers to work with and all the technological advances that he could accessed in his work.

Then on top of that, he sculptured and painted in his spare time!

The Museum had a range of artists from the 1400 and 1500’s as well as examples of works done by artists from the 19^th and 20^th centuries. Many artists I have never heard of and many different styles. Some of which I liked and some I thought “Mmmmm … OK!” and moved on. My knowledge of art is severely lacking obviously as I guess these artists would not be in a museum if their work was no good. But some of the modern stuff left me bit cold. Never mind, art to me is like wine. You either like it or you do not. There is no right or wrong, just what appeals.

In one room, there were about 6-8paintings on three walls and two larger ones on the fourth wall with two seats conveniently placed for sitting contemplating. No one else was around and actually I had noticed the Museum was fairly empty. I had only seen about half a dozen people. So I sat down and contemplated these two beautiful paintings. The next thing I know; I am getting tapped softly on my hand. I checked what was going on and there was a Guard asking me to wake up! Good grief! The peaceful, quiet atmosphere and lunch had lulled me off! Not only that but I was late for meeting Kerrie and I was beginning to wonder how was coping with that! 

So, with visions of Kerrie thinking she’d been left all alone in a strange city and maybe something bad had happened to me, I took off as fast as my bung knees would let me! Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to this encounter. My fault, big time!!

Fortunately, when we met, her first comment was “Fall asleep did you?” Whew! She guessed right!  So no panic etc.

So, while I had been sleeping, she had found a couple of dresses at knock down prices which, as I saw later, suit her just fine! She looks really good in them. More than that, she’d had a few hours shopping and that satisfied the urge. Well, short term anyway!

It was by now about 6.30pm and we called it a day and headed back to the cap site. This site is called Camping Milano and is a great spot. Closest of all sites I could find to the city centre and caters well for all needs. It has a great little restaurant run by an Israeli lady who has been in Italy for 15 years, a menagerie of animals and birds for kids, including peacocks, game machines for kids, close to a large water park, handy to Motorways and the bus stop is right outside the main gate. It’s clean and facilities are warm which is wonderful!  I can thoroughly recommend it.

The next morning, we upped stumps and drove off to see our new friends in their little village about an hour away west of Milano. It is situated at the foothills of the Alps and beside a large valley which leads towards France. Apparently there is a tunnel under the Alps at the end of the valley which is 17 kms long, costs over 50 Euro to drive through and makes it a to easier move between the two countries than it used to.

We arrived early afternoon and did some washing and trip planning using their expertise and local knowledge. This led to one or two changes to our itinerary which proved a good thing. Also, having someone who could read and speak Italian was an absolute boon when it came to reading web sites and ringing the camps and making some bookings. In our discussions I asked about the necessity of making bookings as it appears things are getting busier. Summer time is approaching and with it holidays and I suspected that good camp sites would be the first to get full. We ended up booking a place at La Spezia, Rome, Venice and got some recommendations of places to visit. All good stuff!

After a night of a few red wines, some fresh spaghetti made in the local way and a good sleep, we went for a walk in the local village. This is seriously old going back to early 1100’s and boasts a local chocolate maker who has a TV show. Apparently he has a National following! So we had to buy some and yep, it is good! There are a couple of churches, plaza’s and a restaurant that dates back to 1400’s. I could understand that based on the look of the timber holding the thing together! Dark and blackened with age and probably smoke from fires early in its life, occasionally some carvings in the beams and the odd patch of dry rot. Apparently the current owner makes a good pizza! 

A quick look at a church, some centre filled with small shops and a look at the local shoes on display for sale then back to their home, into the car and off to the top of a local mountain to see an ancient Church called St Michel. Interesting thing is that Sergio, our guest, explained that if you view St Michael’s church in Ireland, Le Mont de Michel in France, this St Michel in Italy and the St Michael’s church in Jerusalem they all fall on a straight line from Ireland to Israel. I was unable to determine whether this had been a deliberate thing or not. But I would not be at all surprised if it had been.

St Michel’s had been an overnight for travellers between France and Italy for hundreds of years when people walked for years to go on pilgrimages and try to buy their way into heaven via good works. It is a massive building again, built on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley and at the very top of a mountain. The views are stupendous or would be if it hadn’t been so cloudy and the atmosphere full of drizzle and damp. Still, it was good enough to get a distinct impression and after a walk around and a good look we headed off to Turino.

I managed to fit in another little kip while Sergio drove which Kerrie assures me amused the hell out him, but it was necessary because we spent about 5 hours walking around Turino. Firstly, to find a belt to replace the one I bought from Australia and which had broken. Besides, Kerrie tells me I have had this one for far too many years and it’s about time I got something new. So I did.

Then we sat in a lovely Plaza and had an evening meal at 2.00pm which meant a snack for dinner. Sergio and Gemma answering a multitude of questions and pointing out sights and historically important items. After finding out so much, I wished we had more time to visit the many Museums and sights we missed out on. One of the problems when you are on a time table.

Interestingly enough, Sergio told me a bit about the history of the area. Apparently, this part of Italy used to belong to France and had changed hands on a number of times over the years. At one point Italy even owned Nice which is now well and truly in France.  Even Sergio’s grandmother was French!

This chopping and changing business was all due to how string the various ruling families were. How strong the ruling families were in Milano and Venice. Now Venice seemed a bit far from Turino to have much interest let alone effect. But at one stage the family in Milano was under attack from the Viennese and sent a request for help to Turino. At another time the Viennese were under attack from the Austrians and they too sent a request to Turino for help. Of course who got how much help all depended upon what was in it for the family in Turino.

This went on for a few hundred years until in the mid 1800’s, the family in Turino decided to come to the rescue once again but only if the Milanese agreed to become part of a joint Federation with Turino. This worked out a treat when the Viennese were defeated and sent home and the newly formed Federation became quite wealthy.

A few years later the Viennese saw the light and asked if they could join as well which they were allowed to do. At the same time, another family in southern Italy asked for some help against another group who they were fighting and Turino said “Yep, but only if you agree to join or Federation afterwards”.

So, each time that Turino helped out, they got stronger and richer and more powerful. By 1861, Italy was joined together for the first time in what we now know as Italy. Of course, Turino got to be Capital for a year until someone argued it was more sensible to have the Capital in the middle of the country and so Florence got it for three years and then eventually Rome.

I hear that during this time, no one wanted to force the Catholic Church to join and hence we now have a Country within a City. The Vatican City, which is a separate State and independent (kind of) of Italy, sits inside Rome. While some border changes have occurred in a couple of places due to the 1^st and 2^nd World Wars, things have settled down a fair bit and especially since the car and scooter making industries have started. Any ideas of fighting amongst one another has died off while they just try to kill themselves driving in the cities!

So, after seeing and hearing and learning a whole bunch of stuff that had been part of our planned trip and having had a delightful time with Sergio and Gemma, we packed up the next morning and headed off. Well, that was the plan!

Turned out it was market day in their local village. So we had to take the back roads and we followed Sergio in his car twisting winding our way through lanes and narrow passages which we would never have found while the traffic around us pulled in and out, drove where they wanted when they wanted and tried to force everyone else to back off, so they could get where they wanted without any hold ups. All that meant was that the whole place was a traffic jam. Unbelievable!

When we eventually got through, it had taken nearly an hour to drive 5kms and we needed to buy some diesel. Sergio would not hear of us buying at a Motorway as the prices on the Motorways are horrendous (as much as 1.80 Euros per litre) when, if you know where the local village service stations are, you can buy at as little as 1.25 Euros per litre. That was one to put inside the memory department as we had no idea the difference was so large. And it certainly makes a saving on the budget!

Our plan was to do an hour stop at Bergamo, then another at Brescia and then onto Parma for the night. A distance of around 180kms nearly all on Motorways. Bergamo is the first major town past Milano, so after just over an hour we turned off the highway and wound our way up to the foothills again to see this delightful town. It is apparently well known and popular and so it turned out to be. Everywhere we went, there were “No Camping Car Parking” signs. But plenty of “Parking” signs. Not knowing which ones would allow us to park while we wandered, they all needed checking out.

Unfortunately, we never found one, and every street was either full or we were not allowed to park. After a good hour of this all we had done was get a good drive around Bergamo. The city is split into two distinct areas. The new quarter is built on the flat and the old town up higher on a side of a hill. From what we could see, it looks absolutely beautiful and we were disappointed at not being able to walk around there. But we had a way to go and also needed to find a camp site in Parma, so reluctantly we decided to head out of town and onwards.

We pulled up at a set of lights with two lanes. One turning right only and one going straight ahead. We were in the straight ahead one. There was one car on the right hand turn lane and we were beside it only stretching back due we being longer. Then another car pulled up in the right hand turn lane and as he pulled up he swung extremely close to us leaving a gap of about 2-3 inches between our vehicles. I looked and commented to Kerrie and then thought, he’ll be turning right, so he won’t swing any closer. I’m going straight ahead, so as long as I do that, we should be OK. Mind you, he reminded me of the idiots that Sergio had kept telling me about. He pronounces the word “eye-d-ots”! Brilliant. So here we were with an eye-d-ot waiting beside us.

The lights changed and we took off slowly straight ahead. The first guy turned right and then I was paying attention to where I was going. All’s good.

We got to the next roundabout and I could hear a lot of tooting and carrying on back behind me which I ignored as this was fairly common, did a U-turn around the roundabout and as we drove back the way we had come I noticed this guy had changed his mind and had somehow managed to go straight ahead at the lights from the right hand turn only lane. He was in a bunch of traffic about 6 cars before the roundabout we had just left. There were two adult men in this car and the driver was looking at me across the road and mouthing off. I pretended not have noticed him, no point in annoying the local eye-d-ots, and just drove on.

The next time I checked the rear view mirrors I could see this bloke about 3 cars behind us and I wondered what was going on, so kept checking. Eventually after about three or four sets of lights, he was right behind us and it became apparent he was following. I thought “S***! What’s the story here?”

For the next 20 minutes while we drove out of town he followed us occasionally tooting his horn. At one stage he got out and started top head for us when we were stopped for a set of lights, but the lights changed and he had to rush back to his car. I’m busy thinking about stories I’ve heard about getting attacked or set up in foreign countries and started planning an exit from this situation. What to do …. Look for a copper and stop? Not real sure about that. What if the copper can’t speak English? What if this eye-d-ot following us starts telling a whole bunch of lies accusing us of something we never did? So, no, no coppers just yet.

Surely if just keep on driving, he’ll get sick of whatever it is he’s up to. I’m not going to stop for him if that is what he wants and I’m not going to let him know I am onto him. Just get onto the Motorway and keep driving. I check the fuel, plenty for about 200kms odd nonstop. That should give us enough time to work something to surely! Even a crook wouldn’t waste 2-3 hours following a patsy, paying tolls and so on!

We got onto the Highway and he followed. About 15kms on and I thought I’d better let Kerrie know. P to know I had been hoping I wouldn’t have to say anything so as not to worry her. I saw a toll booth coming up and I thought well this will be a test of his intentions. He overtook me and sped through the no stop booth – so he has an electronic payment system on board. Must travel the Highways a bit to have one of those. Mmmmm ….

We stopped and collected the ticket and then took off. There he was parked on the side of the road about 80 meters ahead. I drove past and didn’t look or pay him any attention. Headed onto the Brescia direction and he followed. Bugger!

For a while nothing happened, then all of a sudden he closed up on us and as I was overtaking another car, he pulled up on the inside. I slowed own a fraction and quickly explained to Kerrie and got her to write down the car make, number plate and a description of the driver, finished overtaking and watched. He stayed where he was and fortunately turned off the next exit.

Kerrie and I looked at each other and tried to work out what he’d been up to. We had absolutely no idea. But we were glad he was gone. We drove onto Brescia and then Cremona where we stopped to do the campsite search bit. As we got out of the van, Kerrie said “Oh NO! Look at this!” I said “What?”

“There’s blue line down the side of the van!”

I went around the van and had a look. Sure enough there was a blue line down part of the van stopping starting about a meter above the ground. We looked at each other and then at the line again and then back at each other as the penny dropped. Was this why the eye-d-ot had been following us? We had no idea. Neither of us had felt anything when we took off from the traffic lights back in Bergamo and did not know when this had happened. Circumstantial evidence suggested that this happened then though and that our vehicles had touched lightly.

So what to do, call the police and report it? Say nothing and carry on? The line was faint and we got some paper towels and soap and were able to rub most of it off, so it had not been much of a touch. But even so, what if he had our number? What if already had a bunch of damage to his car, decided to touch us briefly and blame for us for the lot? What if he had taken our number plate and contacted the Van Hire Company with a massive story and ill demanding payment. There was no evidence I knew about apart from his word against ours and the blue line.

I then wondered what part of his car had touched us if indeed it had been him and measured the height off against a couple of other vehicles similar to the one he had been driving. Mirror height; but Kerrie says she did not think his mirrors were blue the same as the body colour. I had no idea!  

In the end, we decided to just do nothing and wait and see. After all, if the line could be mostly rubbed off with soap and paper towels, surely there was precious little damage to his car!

Guess we’ll find out in due time if we are up for anything. So, after finding a camp site right in the city of Parma, we drove off. Hearts still beating a bit faster and driving as if everyone was going to hit us and watching for coppers which seemed to be paying a bit too much attention to the van!