Meanwhile, over in Italy...
Apr. 3rd, 2011 03:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrphI'm not scheduling my holidays sensibly this year. After WGW I was back at work for just one day, then off to Gatwick for a rather early flight on Friday.
The intention was to meet up with my sister, fly out to Bologna, then spend a couple of days in Mantova (Mantua) before heading up into the hills for a day, then going our separate ways (E's staying on in Verona for a few days, I'm flying back from Verona airport tomorrow).
It didn't entirely go to plan. Friday was the day of the national rail strike, leaving us stranded in Modena, about halfway to Mantova. Although trains restarted at 21:00, there are no services to Mantova that late in the day...
...so we had to resort to a taxi. Possibly the most expensive taxi ride of my life, but still cheaper than paying for a hotel in Modena plus the 'no show' / cancellation charge on our hotel in Mantova...
Mantova, however, is lovely. We spent a couple of hours on a boat tour of the lakes (you can even catch a boat to Venice, if you want...) and visited most of the major sights - the Palazzo Ducale (the sprawling palace of the ruling Gonzaga family), the Palazzo Te (the private retreat of a Gonzaga duke, home to his mistress), the Cattedrale, and the Basilica di Sant'Andrea.
It's somewhere I'd love to visit again, ideally in a couple of years time, once the Basilica has been fully restored.
Today's been a little more relaxed - I'm spending the afternoon snoozing in a beautiful room in a nice little B&B about 40km out of Mantova. Then it's on to Dal Pescatore tonight, for what promises to be a rather pleasant meal. :-)
The intention was to meet up with my sister, fly out to Bologna, then spend a couple of days in Mantova (Mantua) before heading up into the hills for a day, then going our separate ways (E's staying on in Verona for a few days, I'm flying back from Verona airport tomorrow).
It didn't entirely go to plan. Friday was the day of the national rail strike, leaving us stranded in Modena, about halfway to Mantova. Although trains restarted at 21:00, there are no services to Mantova that late in the day...
...so we had to resort to a taxi. Possibly the most expensive taxi ride of my life, but still cheaper than paying for a hotel in Modena plus the 'no show' / cancellation charge on our hotel in Mantova...
Mantova, however, is lovely. We spent a couple of hours on a boat tour of the lakes (you can even catch a boat to Venice, if you want...) and visited most of the major sights - the Palazzo Ducale (the sprawling palace of the ruling Gonzaga family), the Palazzo Te (the private retreat of a Gonzaga duke, home to his mistress), the Cattedrale, and the Basilica di Sant'Andrea.
It's somewhere I'd love to visit again, ideally in a couple of years time, once the Basilica has been fully restored.
Today's been a little more relaxed - I'm spending the afternoon snoozing in a beautiful room in a nice little B&B about 40km out of Mantova. Then it's on to Dal Pescatore tonight, for what promises to be a rather pleasant meal. :-)
