I'd like to give a recount of our journey to Italy from Australia and relate it to my partner Hugh. He turned 82 during this trip in June/July.
Our decision to come to Italy was based on the following factors.
We've been to Italy numerous times and both speak Italian well enough to get around easily. Italy has a healthcare agreement with Australia. You'd need your Medicare card to use an Italian public hospital. Luckily we've never had to, but it is nice to know it is there. Naturally we have travel insurance also. (Bankwest Mastercard has no age limit on the credit card travel insurance)
There are a range of airlines serving Italy from Australia. Our government rates Italy as "safe". The weather is good during June and July. There is plenty to do and see. We have friends here. Holiday housing is quite good value. Costs are quite reasonable. The social structure is very well organised.
We left Adelaide using Singapore airlines, stopping a night in Singapore, another night in Frankfurt then on to Bologna with Lufthansa. We bought the economy tickets about 11 months before we went. As soon as we had bought them, the price went up $100 which probably means Singapore airlines put only 2 or so tickets for that routing at that price. The ticket price continued to rise month by month for that itinerary, so we got a bargain at $1560 return.
On many of their flights Singapore Airlines have one less row of seats across the cabin compared to Emirates etc. (9 seats across instead of 10 across in the 777) So the seats are wider. Nice. Also they have excellent service . Hugh booked wheelchair assistance. That worked a charm. At each airport there was someone to give personal assistance to make sure we got to where we should be. The bag was checked through to Bologna and sure enough, it arrived on the same flight (Lufthansa Frankfurt/Bologna) as we did.
In both Singapore and Frankfurt we booked hotel rooms with adapted bathroom. For the same cost as an ordinary room, you get a bigger room and a huge bathroom with walk in shower.
Frankfurt is prone to price rises during trade fairs. The hotel room we booked near the airport went up triple the price we paid , so it pays to book early. I noticed the reviews of hotels on Tripadvisor to often be biased. Perhaps the reviewers were jetlagged or upset. In both stopovers we booked Mercure hotels and glad we did.... despite the reviews.
Bologna airport is quite small and crowded, but easy to negotiate. You can use a bus into the city and transfer from there, but we used a direct bus from the airport to Ferrara. We chose to stay in Ferrara as it is flat , interesting and has connections to many other places for weekend trips away. Tourists rarely come here.
We've booked an apartment for the duration of our stay . It is a 1960's style apartment and furnished as if in a time warp. On the other hand, it is spacious, has a spare bedroom for our guests, a wonderful kitchen and lovely sitting room, and air con.Monthly rental with Air bnb cost about $40 a day all up. It is close to the town centre, but in a quiet street. In a "nice" area. It is however, upstairs and there is no lift. So Hugh is careful to make sure he has everything he needs before we set out.
We enjoy concerts and got to see a lot, as it was the final student performances of the famous music conservatorium here. The concerts are held in gorgeous palaces and entry is free of charge.
Ferrara is an interesting town. The city centre is divided between a rabbit warren of medieval alley ways and magnificent renaissance palace lined streets... exactly as if a stage set for Rigoletto. There's a huge castle in the middle of the city.
To celebrate Hugh's birthday , I took him for a few days to Venice. We booked a decent hotel at Mestre ages ago using points, so in effect it cost next to nothing. Since booking that room, I notice prices have risen through the roof and there are no reward points rooms available.
Hugh is able to get into many places for free as he has certification in Italian for disability, and is able to explain to the ticket office. I get in as his partner. This saved huge amounts of money in seeing museums in Venice in particular.
As for transport, generally I booked that as soon as we knew the strike schedule. Luckily this year we avoided any strikes. Italian railways has a quota for seniors. You apply for a code number and an account. That can mean travel in first class carriages can the same price as economy. You can guess which we chose.
A handy thing we have from Australia is called "Telstra Air" app on the smart phone. Telstra is our phone provider in Australia. They have a reciprocal deal in Italy, Germany, UK, France etc. It means we can use the FON wifi network for no extra charge than what we already pay for internet/phone back home. A free add-on. It works a charm. Pretty well anywhere in any given town I can log into wifi . I didn't need to buy a SIM... it uses the FON wifi network, with a login Telstra provided me.
Here are a few photo links.
I'd like to say this was our ceiling, but no it isn't... it is the ceiling of the library at the Correr Museum in Venice.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=31700db4b2006eea647fc59e015d7918&oe=5BA3AB33
Something really difficult to find is a garden in Venice... with picnic chairs and tables.
I think I found the nearly impossible at the Natural History Museum
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=656497564e7c07251c23e1c4e63304df&oe=5BB757D5
And more archways than you could shake a stick at
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=086d8be18f3d3d53219c446171669322&oe=5BA19313
One of the things they don't tell you about gondolas is that there is a gondola rush hour and gondola traffic jams.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=11f79fe08c5adad953560f74234a8957&oe=5BBD1BE9
The museums do have elevators. But they are kept hidden and locked up. Hugh knows how to ask nicely. So we could get views like this.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=d2148076fd35aba8c34531f8724016f1&oe=5BA3C1E1
Something that surprised me was how people sat drinking coffee at the cafes at St. Mark's square. It costs a packet and this is what you get.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=e0fc8c11e35acd0234647be390c6a990&oe=5BB2B06A
Luckily the men are handsome
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=4371f4483a12e1a616003ebab3b7bb3d&oe=5BB9DD8E
The nice thing about Venice is that you only have to turn the corner away from the crowds and you have it to yourself.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=e0dbb0fc71ff79e06b78fd70df91cb47&oe=5BAB0949
We had a heat wave ... 30+ each day. That's quite warm as the air is humid too. So we bought swim passes to the local pool. That is wonderfully comforting as the procedures, the fitness classes , the endless forms to fill in are an exact replica of Australia.
So people take a break whenever they can
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=183db40051a936a88206f7152e863dad&oe=5B9FFFA6
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=8f8347b350b155fc07c737ef7860b2e1&oe=5BB5DDA7
We caught the train to Bologna. That was to listen to a concert in the Music museum there. The museum is set in an old palace Renaissance that had been "modernised" with Romantic era wall and ceiling paintings. Here's a photo of Hugh "playing " his walking stick.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=46f35673859021cd134a35285e3be544&oe=5BE7BFEF
The concert itself was largely Purcell... translated into Italian.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=70639210052830fe86d7996119374e76&oe=5BA37C23
Hugh used to sing a lot of Purcell in his time and knows the singer. So we had a bit of a social time afterwards.
Something lovable about Bologna are little corners like this
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=0905c5bfb8b7788401a25ac3fe6ce104&oe=5BB9F1FA
and this
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=95b73acd24dfeeb6e022751f41b55da6&oe=5B9F93E0
Overall though, what strikes you about the city are how young are the people there
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=80b14bce7a5b51f1ca2aeba4bd7d3e17&oe=5BEB5A91
Coming back to the music museum... Hugh asked to go to the toilet. Well, you can't get there from here is the answer. The elevator to the basement only goes there from the offices on the second floor. So, you can walk up the steps from the first floor to the second floor and go down by elevator from there, or walk down the steps to the basement from the ground or first floor. That's where the disabled access toilet nad normal toilets are located. On the other hand, they seemed to be hardly ever used and scrupulously clean.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=3893f7a5600e53361324fc5561cb908d&oe=5BA1411A
The elevator is as usual very well hidden and you have to get permission to use it.... because someone has the key. That's the door to where the elevator is.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=10472ab39116e8c948c73d90df0ff09d&oe=5BA185E6
Here are a couple scenes to remind those of you who are thinking about travelling:
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=35475fd1f6994715160ad9623456a85d&oe=5BADA642
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=0dc30b7fb07745706f5d177696760b11&oe=5BB39F4B
I wanted to surprise Hugh by taking him to a big event. I looked at the Arena of Verona opera. Yes, we could get in for about 22 Euros each, yes they have some fun operas such as Carmen.... but getting a nice room in Verona near the arena is easier said than done.... and the show starts after 21.00 and lasts 3 and a half hours... so Hugh would be wanting to leave by interval. Like Cindarella's carriage... he's not available after midnight. Then again, I'm not at my best in the wee hours of the morning either.
Instead I found the perfect thing. A re-enactment of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Josaphine arriving in Modena. You've probably heard of Modena for the balsamic vinegar. It is also the courtly town where the Este family moved to after Ferrara. So there is a huge Ducal palace, a UNESCO town square and a fab. art gallery. Perfect. And the show was happening of a day. So we wouldn't have to spend overnight there.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=27a5bfe73d9f836e70b03689529600da&oe=5BE83CC4
As a cultural aside... you've probably heard that Italians tend to talk with their hands....
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=855b7bed2263041b0127a116d4d61e17&oe=5BE02911
An extraordinary thing is that we've visited a palace nearly every day this trip. We tend to do a burst of sightseeing each morning then have the middle of the day off. Then something fairly informal of an evening.
And we've learnt how to do selfies.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=f8dbd59ac26960b435043e8b60c0ae06&oe=5BA5D176
Our decision to come to Italy was based on the following factors.
We've been to Italy numerous times and both speak Italian well enough to get around easily. Italy has a healthcare agreement with Australia. You'd need your Medicare card to use an Italian public hospital. Luckily we've never had to, but it is nice to know it is there. Naturally we have travel insurance also. (Bankwest Mastercard has no age limit on the credit card travel insurance)
There are a range of airlines serving Italy from Australia. Our government rates Italy as "safe". The weather is good during June and July. There is plenty to do and see. We have friends here. Holiday housing is quite good value. Costs are quite reasonable. The social structure is very well organised.
We left Adelaide using Singapore airlines, stopping a night in Singapore, another night in Frankfurt then on to Bologna with Lufthansa. We bought the economy tickets about 11 months before we went. As soon as we had bought them, the price went up $100 which probably means Singapore airlines put only 2 or so tickets for that routing at that price. The ticket price continued to rise month by month for that itinerary, so we got a bargain at $1560 return.
On many of their flights Singapore Airlines have one less row of seats across the cabin compared to Emirates etc. (9 seats across instead of 10 across in the 777) So the seats are wider. Nice. Also they have excellent service . Hugh booked wheelchair assistance. That worked a charm. At each airport there was someone to give personal assistance to make sure we got to where we should be. The bag was checked through to Bologna and sure enough, it arrived on the same flight (Lufthansa Frankfurt/Bologna) as we did.
In both Singapore and Frankfurt we booked hotel rooms with adapted bathroom. For the same cost as an ordinary room, you get a bigger room and a huge bathroom with walk in shower.
Frankfurt is prone to price rises during trade fairs. The hotel room we booked near the airport went up triple the price we paid , so it pays to book early. I noticed the reviews of hotels on Tripadvisor to often be biased. Perhaps the reviewers were jetlagged or upset. In both stopovers we booked Mercure hotels and glad we did.... despite the reviews.
Bologna airport is quite small and crowded, but easy to negotiate. You can use a bus into the city and transfer from there, but we used a direct bus from the airport to Ferrara. We chose to stay in Ferrara as it is flat , interesting and has connections to many other places for weekend trips away. Tourists rarely come here.
We've booked an apartment for the duration of our stay . It is a 1960's style apartment and furnished as if in a time warp. On the other hand, it is spacious, has a spare bedroom for our guests, a wonderful kitchen and lovely sitting room, and air con.Monthly rental with Air bnb cost about $40 a day all up. It is close to the town centre, but in a quiet street. In a "nice" area. It is however, upstairs and there is no lift. So Hugh is careful to make sure he has everything he needs before we set out.
We enjoy concerts and got to see a lot, as it was the final student performances of the famous music conservatorium here. The concerts are held in gorgeous palaces and entry is free of charge.
Ferrara is an interesting town. The city centre is divided between a rabbit warren of medieval alley ways and magnificent renaissance palace lined streets... exactly as if a stage set for Rigoletto. There's a huge castle in the middle of the city.
To celebrate Hugh's birthday , I took him for a few days to Venice. We booked a decent hotel at Mestre ages ago using points, so in effect it cost next to nothing. Since booking that room, I notice prices have risen through the roof and there are no reward points rooms available.
Hugh is able to get into many places for free as he has certification in Italian for disability, and is able to explain to the ticket office. I get in as his partner. This saved huge amounts of money in seeing museums in Venice in particular.
As for transport, generally I booked that as soon as we knew the strike schedule. Luckily this year we avoided any strikes. Italian railways has a quota for seniors. You apply for a code number and an account. That can mean travel in first class carriages can the same price as economy. You can guess which we chose.
A handy thing we have from Australia is called "Telstra Air" app on the smart phone. Telstra is our phone provider in Australia. They have a reciprocal deal in Italy, Germany, UK, France etc. It means we can use the FON wifi network for no extra charge than what we already pay for internet/phone back home. A free add-on. It works a charm. Pretty well anywhere in any given town I can log into wifi . I didn't need to buy a SIM... it uses the FON wifi network, with a login Telstra provided me.
Here are a few photo links.
I'd like to say this was our ceiling, but no it isn't... it is the ceiling of the library at the Correr Museum in Venice.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=31700db4b2006eea647fc59e015d7918&oe=5BA3AB33
Something really difficult to find is a garden in Venice... with picnic chairs and tables.
I think I found the nearly impossible at the Natural History Museum
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=656497564e7c07251c23e1c4e63304df&oe=5BB757D5
And more archways than you could shake a stick at
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=086d8be18f3d3d53219c446171669322&oe=5BA19313
One of the things they don't tell you about gondolas is that there is a gondola rush hour and gondola traffic jams.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=11f79fe08c5adad953560f74234a8957&oe=5BBD1BE9
The museums do have elevators. But they are kept hidden and locked up. Hugh knows how to ask nicely. So we could get views like this.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=d2148076fd35aba8c34531f8724016f1&oe=5BA3C1E1
Something that surprised me was how people sat drinking coffee at the cafes at St. Mark's square. It costs a packet and this is what you get.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=e0fc8c11e35acd0234647be390c6a990&oe=5BB2B06A
Luckily the men are handsome
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=4371f4483a12e1a616003ebab3b7bb3d&oe=5BB9DD8E
The nice thing about Venice is that you only have to turn the corner away from the crowds and you have it to yourself.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=e0dbb0fc71ff79e06b78fd70df91cb47&oe=5BAB0949
We had a heat wave ... 30+ each day. That's quite warm as the air is humid too. So we bought swim passes to the local pool. That is wonderfully comforting as the procedures, the fitness classes , the endless forms to fill in are an exact replica of Australia.
So people take a break whenever they can
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=183db40051a936a88206f7152e863dad&oe=5B9FFFA6
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=8f8347b350b155fc07c737ef7860b2e1&oe=5BB5DDA7
We caught the train to Bologna. That was to listen to a concert in the Music museum there. The museum is set in an old palace Renaissance that had been "modernised" with Romantic era wall and ceiling paintings. Here's a photo of Hugh "playing " his walking stick.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=46f35673859021cd134a35285e3be544&oe=5BE7BFEF
The concert itself was largely Purcell... translated into Italian.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=70639210052830fe86d7996119374e76&oe=5BA37C23
Hugh used to sing a lot of Purcell in his time and knows the singer. So we had a bit of a social time afterwards.
Something lovable about Bologna are little corners like this
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=0905c5bfb8b7788401a25ac3fe6ce104&oe=5BB9F1FA
and this
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=95b73acd24dfeeb6e022751f41b55da6&oe=5B9F93E0
Overall though, what strikes you about the city are how young are the people there
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=80b14bce7a5b51f1ca2aeba4bd7d3e17&oe=5BEB5A91
Coming back to the music museum... Hugh asked to go to the toilet. Well, you can't get there from here is the answer. The elevator to the basement only goes there from the offices on the second floor. So, you can walk up the steps from the first floor to the second floor and go down by elevator from there, or walk down the steps to the basement from the ground or first floor. That's where the disabled access toilet nad normal toilets are located. On the other hand, they seemed to be hardly ever used and scrupulously clean.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=3893f7a5600e53361324fc5561cb908d&oe=5BA1411A
The elevator is as usual very well hidden and you have to get permission to use it.... because someone has the key. That's the door to where the elevator is.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=10472ab39116e8c948c73d90df0ff09d&oe=5BA185E6
Here are a couple scenes to remind those of you who are thinking about travelling:
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=35475fd1f6994715160ad9623456a85d&oe=5BADA642
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=0dc30b7fb07745706f5d177696760b11&oe=5BB39F4B
I wanted to surprise Hugh by taking him to a big event. I looked at the Arena of Verona opera. Yes, we could get in for about 22 Euros each, yes they have some fun operas such as Carmen.... but getting a nice room in Verona near the arena is easier said than done.... and the show starts after 21.00 and lasts 3 and a half hours... so Hugh would be wanting to leave by interval. Like Cindarella's carriage... he's not available after midnight. Then again, I'm not at my best in the wee hours of the morning either.
Instead I found the perfect thing. A re-enactment of Emperor Napoleon and Empress Josaphine arriving in Modena. You've probably heard of Modena for the balsamic vinegar. It is also the courtly town where the Este family moved to after Ferrara. So there is a huge Ducal palace, a UNESCO town square and a fab. art gallery. Perfect. And the show was happening of a day. So we wouldn't have to spend overnight there.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=27a5bfe73d9f836e70b03689529600da&oe=5BE83CC4
As a cultural aside... you've probably heard that Italians tend to talk with their hands....
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=855b7bed2263041b0127a116d4d61e17&oe=5BE02911
An extraordinary thing is that we've visited a palace nearly every day this trip. We tend to do a burst of sightseeing each morning then have the middle of the day off. Then something fairly informal of an evening.
And we've learnt how to do selfies.
https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=f8dbd59ac26960b435043e8b60c0ae06&oe=5BA5D176