Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Richard & Michelle Hamilton's Travels
Today we said farewell to Bologna, and Donkey, but not before we had an interesting session on the language barrier, when collecting the car from the garage. The garage we had used to store the car overnight was within the city restrictions on vehicle access. When I removed two pieces of paper from the dashboard and looked at them, one of the helpful garage guys who had limited English, came up and tried to explain "fine". He went on in Italian and I decided I must have been fined for going through a red light. My rising frustration and concern, was apparent so I was directed to the Proprietor who spoke a little more English. His explanation only further heightened concerns when he started talking €98 fine, and as I had two of them I was seeing red. I was puzzled how did authorities track the car down to the garage; this was super efficient and scary. Once he realised he was not quite getting the right message across he went for the phone and dialled the proprietor of the hotel we had been staying in. Uberto then explained that the papers they had prepared and sent through to the city authorities were for us to keep in case they came after us with fines once back in NZ. (Unfortunately the event distracted me, and on returning to the car I sat down on my sunglasses and broke them). The service of this garage was outstanding, and their genuine concerns and attempts to support their customers really impressed us. The language barrier, was no barrier to appreciating a couple of guys loving their work. Mind you they did know how to charge at €25 a day. Today the alternative navigator was made to work hard. Miss Google was having a slow day, making late calls on intersections, and the no.1 navigator Mrs Hamilton was attempting to make the correct calls. One-all now, so driver even more confused as to who to listen to... Another day on Italian roads and more Ferrari moments. This time a brand new, possibly on test or delivery run, came hurtling past us when we were pushing 130km on the Autostrada. /A few minutes later we were all in a single line doing 60km for road works with the Ferrari right in front of us. The roof then folded down and we cruised along behind it for ten minutes, then it was off. The only other car to compete today was a Fiat Panda doing at least 150kmh tearing past us, which goes to prove Garth that you can drive it on the motorway, (mind you there was not a Wellington crosswind to contend with). Our initial destination today was Lake Garda. We arrived at the southern tip and were amazed at the view up to the mountains in the distance. Another stunning Italian landscape - a European version of lake Taupo. After a stop for a bakery lunch we headed to the large Sigurta Garden Park. Given the time available to us we opted to take a golf buggy, which proved to be a good decision, as we would never have seen the whole park on foot. It is claimed to be Europe's second most important garden, and yes it is impressive in size and layout but we struggled with the description. The Christchurch Botanic Gardens are probably more impressive from species perspective. This Italian garden had shape, and size is its biggest asset. As M pointed out afterwards we are yet to find a flowering garden in Italy...most rely on trees and form for their scale and stature. We enjoyed our quiet picnic lunch in the garden, a great place to escape the consumerism & busyness of the lakeside. There were few tourists, more local school groups and families, so highly recommended. We then travelled onto Verona, and little did we appreciate the Architectual surprise awaiting us. After returning Donkey to Avis (a day early as it transpired), we were collected by a private driver sent by the apartment manager. She was a driver right up there with Naples taxi driver, but delivered us to the apartment in one piece. We have been so fortunate with accommodation on this trip, but this apartment has been one of the best. It's very central location right beside the Arena (an old Roman amphitheatre) is perfect, but the size and finish is amazing. All of this for the cheapest price yet. The only catch is no breakfast supplied. A trip to the local supermarket has resolved this. (The first supermarket we have been to in with an up and down travelator!) The best part is it has a washing machine - yes! It wins the best value for money award (we are having fun rating things as we go). We then explored the city centre and both agreed we 'love' this town. The buildings with painted frescos and environment are stunning, the footpaths clean and well maintained, and the city had a grown up vibe - where Bologna was a student vibe. Verona is a town which has kept a lot of its history intact - not quite to the same extent as Rome, but you definitely sense its history. We look forward to exploring more tomorrow night after we return from Murano in Venice where we are on a mission to hunt down a (near) matching red kitchen pendant light (the extravagance of time & being on holiday in the right place). Our day finished sampling a local restaurant which had some very different pasta flavours, including curry! Dessert was a local choice of a small chunks of crunchy, almond biscuit covered in grappa, a Verona specialty.
- comments