Japan - Part 1 - April 2023

At the end of April I made a trip to Japan.  The trip was instigated by my friends Peter and Lisa from London, who were planning a trip to Japan and asked me to tag along.  Lisa is Japanese and grew up there and Peter, an Aussie, has visited there many, many times.  They would be able to provide a great introduction to Japan, a country I was always a little intimidated to travel to.  Since the trip was in two halves - the first half with Peter and Lisa and the second with me out on my own, I will describe it in two separate posts.  

I left the USA from LAX (the prices were so much better out of LA compared to SF) on Sunday 23 April.  It was a direct flight on United, operated by All Nippon Airway, to Tokyo Narita.  I landed in Tokyo around 3:00 in the afternoon.  Customs and Immigration were pretty quick and easy and all I had to do then was transfer to another terminal for my onward flight to Osaka.  

I landed in Osaka’s Itami airport late in the evening and then I had to get to Kyoto where I was in the same hotel as Peter and Lisa.  That was easier to achieve than I expected.  The tourist information lady at the airport pointed me to the bus stand where I bought a ticket from a machine and the bus took me straight to Kyoto - about a 1 hour trip.  Everyone was so helpful and everything seemed so straightforward.

From Kyoto;s Train Station I caught a taxi to the hotel, the Toyoka Inn.  Toyoko Inns are a chain of hotels in Japan referred to as business hotels.  They are uniform and simple, have western style beds and bathrooms and are relatively inexpensive.  I was more than a little tired when I got there so it was straight to bed for me.

Of course with jet lag I was awake early so I went out for a walk.  It was already light and a little after 6:00 so I expected to see things coming to life.  That was not the case. Very few people were out and the coffee shops, of which there were many, didn’t seem to open until 9:00 or later.  The only place that was open was a 24hr McDonalds and I didn't want that to be my introduction to Japan.

Shrine near Maruyama Park, Kyoto

I walked down the main street outside the hotel and crossed the Kamo river.  The road continued on to a temple and garden area called Maruyama Park.  The park was quite beautifully manicured.  I sat on a rock by a pond for a while and a beautiful blue heron came and sat right by me - quite unperturbed by my presence.

Heron in Maruyama Park, Kyoto

On the walk back there was another temple area - the Kodak-ji temple.  Two temples before breakfast - Kyoto is, after all, the city of temples.

At the hotel, breakfast was included.  However it was Japanese style and not my usual fare -  rice, miso soup, salad, cold eggs, bread, no jam and very weak coffee.  I got used to this fare after a few days but at first I was craving for more sweet stuff.

After breakfast we did a short subway ride to Kyoto Station where we converted my Japan Rail pass certificate into a usable pass and got seat reservations for all the major trains that I had planned for my visit.  The assistant was so patient and helpful.  For each leg of my journey she provided me with multiple options and then gave me a seat reservation for the train of my choice.  I was so impressed by the patience and helpfulness of the people there.

I also bought a travel card - an ICOCA card - that would allow me to pay for travel on buses and subways throughout the country.  Tapping the card is so much easier than playing around with real money or my own credit cards.

The Ainkakuji or Silver Temple, Kyoto

From Kyoto Station we took a bus to one of the more impressive temples - Ainkakuji Temple.  It is nicknamed the Silver Temple, but it never achieved its silver status; it is just a plain wooden temple.  The gardens were beautiful and there was a nice rock/sand garden - carefully and perfectly manicured.

Leaving the Ainkakuji Temple we set off on what is called the Philosopher’s Path - a footpath alongside a small canal for 2 or 3 km.  We ambled along stopping and looking at various temples and shrines along the way. 

Nyakuoji Jinja Shrine

We entered the grounds of the Nyakuoji jinja shrine.  I soon realized that Kyoto was going to be one temple after another, one shrine after another and I wasn't even sure of what was the difference between a shrine and a temple. Maybe the words are interchangeable.

Monks at Eikando Zenrinji Temple

At another temple, the Eikando Zenrinji temple I believe, there was some kind of ceremony going on and I sat at the back of one of the temples watching.  The monks had very elaborate costumes and some very strange golden hats. 

Aqueduct 

Looking a bit out of place among the temples was a large brick aqueduct - part of the town’s water supply.  Next to that was the Nanzen-ji temple.

Giant Torri on the way to Heian Shrine

We had a late lunch in a noodle shop before moving on to the Heian Shrine.  This shrine had a massive torii over the main road at the entrance to the shrine (a torii is a large gate, typically at the entrance to a Shinto shrine).

Heian Shrine

All day the rain had been on and off making it not the best of walks and by this time my feet were gettin quite soggy.

Too many umbrellas

At the Kyomizu-dera temple complex the crowds got quite large.  When the rain came it made moving around with everyone’s umbrellas up a little tricky. 

Kyomizu-dera Temple

This complex was perhaps the best shrine/temple of the day and of course that meant it was crowded.  It is an entirely wooden structure and it is built on a hillside.  Some impressively large lumber was supporting the structure.

Kimonos in the street

Kimono rental among the Japanese is quite popular - both for men as well as women.  This day wasn’t the best weather for wearing a kimono but despite the rain there were a lot of them around.  All vying for the perfect kimono picture in front of a temple in the rain.

This was our last stop of the day and I felt like I had seen so many temples that I could no longer distinguish them.  Kumiko was not feeling well so we called it a day and took a taxi back to the hotel.

In the evening, Peter, Lisa and I dined adjacent to the hotel, Kumiko was still feeling a little under the weather.  I forget precisely what the meal was, some sort of barbecue, but I do know there were some obscure parts of a chicken involved.

The most beautiful Shinkansen Train

The next day, Peter, Kumiko and I set off on our little hiking expedition.  Lisa, with her bad hips, stayed back in Kyoto visiting friends.  We took the train from Kyoto to Nagoya.  My first ride on a Shinkansen high speed train.  What an impressive rail system they have in Japan.  The Shinkansen trains themselves are things of great beauty - sleek and slender.  They are very fast, run precisely to schedule and are spotlessly clean.   

Pointing to ensure attention while driving

In Nagoya we changed to a local (non-Shinkansen) train to Matsumoto.  We had the first row of seats behind the driver and could see how he worked.  Japanese train drivers have a system of pointing to make sure they are awake and cognizant of what they are doing.  They deliberately point at various items along the way.  I don’t know if they are monitored by cameras that require this activity but it certainly looks like a good system for making sure the drivers are attentive. 

 

The best Udon Noodles, Matsumoto

In Matsumoto it was raining quite hard.  Peter knew of a good noodle place for lunch so we took a taxi to the restaurant and had a great lunch - Udon noodles.

Matsumoto Castle

After lunch we walked, in the rain, to Matsumoto Castle.  I didn’t know they had castles in Japan and I wasn’t sure what to expect but what a wonderful thing they are.  Matsumoto Castle is 6 stories high with each story being smaller in area - like a pyramid.  We entered inside and made the climb up the many flights of stairs - narrow and steep - to the top where we had a nice view of the city below.  They were/are masters of wooden construction.

Matsumoto was the home of Mr Suzuki, the inventor of the Suzuki Method of music training.  He is celebrated with statues in the town square.

After the castle we had a coffee break and then caught another local train to Shiojiri which was going to be our base for the next few days.  In Shiojiri we stumbled around looking for our hotel, the Asahi Kan, before finally finding it in a quiet street off the main area.  It was a very quiet hotel and it felt like we were the only guests in the entire property.  During our entire stay we only saw a couple of other people.

In the evening Peter had organized a rather epic meal at the hotel.  The hotel really didn’t have a restaurant but you could book ahead for this rather elaborate meal.  It turned out to be 8 courses.

• An appetizer of squid, pork belly and fried shrimp

• A broth with fish paste and asparagus

• Sashimi

• A small dish of mushrooms, potato, rice and peas

• Wagyu beef and vegetables cooked at the table 

• A small pickle salad dish

• Rice, seaweed and hot broth

• Mochi ice cream dessert

Wagyu Beef

It was my first time eating Wagyu beef.  It was extremely fatty or marbled as they say.  It’s texture was unlike any steak I had eaten before.  You didn’t have to chew it much it almost dissolved in your mouth.  I am not sure I am a great fan of it.

One of the ubiquitous 7-11 Stores

The next morning Peter and I walked down the street to the 7-11 store for breakfast.  The 7-11 stores are everywhere and they sell everything you might need.  What is more, they are open 24 hrs a day.  They have a coffee machine that dispenses a quite reasonable latte.  There are ATMs where you can get cash on your US bank card.  The whole shopping experience there is good - the assistant scans your purchases, a machine displays the cost, you insert your money into the machine and it automatically dispenses your change.

The 7-11 Cash Register

This was the first day of our hike on the Nakasendo Trail.  The Nakasendo Trail is an ancient trail through the mountains and hills from Kyoto to Tokyo, some 330 miles long.  We were doing three different sections, each day coming back to our hotel in Shiojiri at night.  

Torri and Shrine in Yabuhara

We caught a local train from Shiojiri to Yabuhara, a small village on the trail to start our first  day’s walk. 

There was a shrine and temple complex on the outskirts of town with a nice torii that we spent some time exploring, then the trail headed uphill into the woods.  There was a short cobbled section of trail but mostly it was a nice dirt trail.  

Peter pointing out the snow on Mt Ontake

There was snow to be seen on the higher peaks, particularly Mt Ontake. 

Monuments in a shrine adjacent to the trail 

The trail passed through a nice shrine complex with beautiful old grave markers.  In the adjacent Maruyama Park there was a memorial to Basho’s haikus.  I was unaware of Basho but he lived in the late 1600’s and was the master of the haiku.

Bear Bell

Along the way, we came across several Bear Bells. These were bells attached to posts with instructions to ring them to scare away any bears on the trail.  There were probably enough people on the trail to make the bells unnecessary but they were fun to ring anyway. We continued to climb up until we reached the Torii Pass at 1197m (3927 ft) and then we headed down to the town of Narai-juku. 

Narai-juku

Narai is a beautiful old town with a lot of older wooden homes.  There were still some cherry blossoms out in these higher towns which made things even more beautiful.  We visited yet another shrine and paid our respects.  One of the old houses was preserved as a museum depicting what life in these older homes might have been like.  I was surprised to find it quite a large home with many rooms, each very sparsely decorated.

Fish Kettle

We had Soba for lunch in a small restaurant in Narai.  There was a kettle over a fire.  Attached to the chain supporting the kettle was a model of a fish.  This was something we saw again later on.  I do not know what the significance of the fish is.

200 Buddhas - Narai-juku

At the far end of town there was a shrine area with 200 small Buddha statues.

Wooden Bridge - Narai-juku

In the center of town there was a fine arched wooden bridge over the river.  

One of the many Drink Vending Machines

While waiting for the train back to Shiojiri I indulged in a can of hot coffee from one of the ubiquitous vending machines.  The Japanese are the masters of the vending machine.  Most have a hot section for coffee and an ice cold section for water and soft drinks. They are everywhere.

In the evening Mariko stayed in the hotel while Peter and I ate down the road from the hotel.  Sashimi and salad - not the best meal but quite adequate.

Magone

The next day, after breakfast, we took the train to Nakatsugaura where we then caught the bus to Magone, another old town on the Nakasendo Trail.  Magone is quite the manicured and well preserved old town and there were a lot of tourist shops along the way.  There were also a lot of tourists and schoolchildren too. It was quite busy.

Schoolchildren - 2 x 2

We headed up through the town into the woods up the hill.  This was the start of Golden Week when many Japanese take a holiday.  We were not the only people on the trail.  We were passed by several groups of schoolchildren.  Walking in twos in a relatively orderly fashion up the trail - everyone was very well behaved.

Magone Pass

We passed through several small settlements as we wound our way up the hill until we reached the top at Magone Pass at 790m (2600 ft).

Nice Wooded Trail on the way down

The trail then wound down the hill and as we descended we met the schoolchildren coming back up the hill looking a lot more tired and disheveled and now no longer walking in twos.

Another Fish Kettle

We stopped at a tea house for a cup of green tea and a rest.  Again here we saw the kettle over a fire with a fish on the chain.

Tsumago-juku

We got talking to a girl from Sydney, Australia - Lamice.  She walked with us for the rest of the hike into the town of Tsumago-juku, the end of our hike for the day. Tsumago-juku was another nice small old village with some lovely old wooden houses. I tried something called geicho mochi. Geicho mochi is another mochi concoction that looks like something savory but really was mildly sweet. Japanese food is so deceptive.

Geicho Mochi

We then took the bus from Tsumago-juku to Nagiso and then the train from there to Shiojiri.

In the evening Peter and I explored around Shiojiri.  There was an interesting industrial area with some impressive old buildings.  A chemical company apparently. 

Shiojiri's Chemical Plant

The next morning we again had breakfast from the 7-11 store.  Their coffee is quite reasonable and they do have sweet options like raisin rolls which, of course, is my normal breakfast food.  I was also growing to like the onigiris in the 7-11s.  These are rice wrapped in seaweed with some sort of fish filling (tuna was my favorite).

A 7-11 Onigiri

We then took the train to Kisu Fukushima, another town on the trail.  Today we were going to stay within the confines of Kisu Fukushima as there were enough interesting places there to keep us busy.

Cakes in Kisu Fukushima

We walked through the town, stopping at a bakery for some sweet cakes.  Then it was across the river to a museum dedicated to the history of the local festival celebrations in the town.  Some sort of dueling between rival teams of men carrying huge wooden carriages was al I got out of it.

We then stopped for a coffee at a small coffee shop and strangely enough a guitar museum.  Not really a museum, just a room with a dozen or so acoustic guitars on the wall.  I tried to play one but I think the Japanese fretboards are too thin for my fat European fingers.

I tried an interesting looking green matcha mochi cake.  They do a lot of things with mochi in Japan and I was getting a taste for it.  In this case not so much of a taste for the matcha  though,

We continued on to the Takaseke Museum.  This museum was on the site of an old customs house back in the day when this was one of the control points for people traveling the trail.  The lady who guided us around the museum was a descendant of the old inhabitants of the customs house.  She was also related to a famous Japanese author, Toson Shimazaki.  I later ordered a book by Toson on the history and his life in this area.  One day I will read it.

The Museum Guide Script

The museum guide had an exercise book with a handwritten script for a tour of the museum and she read from the script while taking us around the two or three rooms of this quite small museum.  It was actually quite interesting and entertaining.

We then went next door to another museum, the Sekisho Museum.  This was a more formal museum but alas there were no English explanations so I didn’t get as much out of it.  We did, however, get a photo of ourselves with silly Japanese hats on.

Nice Hats

We crossed over to the other side of the river and up the hill to the Kosenji temple.  This was a beautiful temple complex with a most exquisite rock garden.  That looks like the ultimate low maintenance garden, if you can prevent the weeds from growing. 

 

The Kosenji Temple Rock Garden

There was one museum/gallery type building open to the public that had some beautiful handicrafts - lacquerware, paintings, carvings, etc.

We walked on through a large graveyard to the next temple, the Chofuku-ji temple where the most notable thing was a massive bell mounted in a small tower.

Chofuku-ji Bell

Returning into town we stopped at a saki factory for a saki tasting.  I had previously not been able to distinguish one saki from another, but tasting 6 of them one after the other made me realize there is a wide range of flavors from sweet to dry, just like wine.

We climbed back up the hill to the station and waited for the next train which took us to Kiso Hirosawa.  This Kiso Hirasawa is famous for its lacquerware and I was looking for a wedding present for my friends Dave and Carol.  I wasn’t too optimistic about finding something appropriate and small enough to fit in my already full luggage but I actually did pick out some beautiful lacquerware cups and some beautiful lacquered chopsticks.  The careful boxing and wrapping of these items was a wonder to behold.  The wrapping was so perfect and precisely done.

Lacquerware in Kiso Hirosawa

With the purchase made we went back to the station and caught the train to Shiojiri.

The next morning, Sunday, was a little damp.  It had been raining hard throughout the night and in the morning it was still raining though not quite as hard.  We had breakfast at 7-11 and then checked out of our hotel and took our bags to a storage locker in the station.

Hiraide dwellings

Then we set off to find Hiraide, an archaeological site where a pre-historic settlement had been discovered.  It was a bit of a damp walk but we eventually found it and spent a few hours looking at the primitive housing - mud walls, reed roofs and dirt floors.  There were examples of homes from the Heian, Kofun, and Jomon periods.

Hiraide dwellings

We walked up the hill to the associated museum.  This mainly contained old pottery artifacts that had been unearthed at the site.  Without English explanations it was a little difficult to get a lot out of it, other than the fact that they had pottery skills.  The elongated kiln outside the museum was however quite interesting - stretching up a gentle slope - fired at the lower end with a vent at the top end.

Back in Shiojiri we walked to the city hall where there was an old steam engine mounted for display.

Then it was a stop at a nice French bakery for some treats for lunch before going on to the station for the train back to Kyoto via Nagoya.

Steam Engine - Shiojiri

In the evening we had a western style meal of salad and pizza.  A nice change from all the noodles and fish.

The next day, Monday 1 May, we went to visit the temple complex at Nara (different to Narai where we visited a few days earlier).  This required a train from Kyoto station.  The Nara train was in the station as we arrived but it was absolutely packed with passengers.  Just like all the videos of people being squashed into Japanese subway trains except it was a surface train.  We decided to wait for the next train.

We will wait for the next train

Then we somehow got on the wrong train, but fortunately it was in the right direction.  We got off the train in Joyo and changed to the correct train sometime later.

Deer in Nara

In Nara we walked up the busy tourist filled streets to the Kofuku-ji temple.  In the parks around the temple the deer are somewhat sacred and they are allowed to wander freely around the streets, and parks where they are petted and fed by the tourists.  The area smelled of deer urine and excrement and, if you ask me, was a little unsanitary in such a spotlessly clean country as Japan.

  

Kofuku-Ji Temple

The Kofuku-ji temple is the home of an immense 50 ft bronze Buddha - Todai-ji - the largest in the world completed in 751.  This statue is seriously impressive - a massive bronze casting that is etched in fine detail.  This was perhaps the most impressive thing I saw in Japan and I saw some pretty impressive things. 

The Toda-ji Buddha

After walking around the Buddha and taking too many photographs we wandered up to another temple, Shunjo-do.   Here there was a massive bell - another amazing piece of metal casting.  There were lots of school kids touring the area.  They all seem so well behaved and didn’t mind posing for photos.

Schoolchildren posing beneath the bell

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant near the railway station and had a nice bento box lunch.  Then on the walk to the station I tried mochi covered fruit.  It was quite expensive but looked so wonderful I had to try it.

Moshi Fruit

We took the train back to Kyoto and the subway to the hotel and then explored the Nishiki market near the hotel.  This street was full of shops, mainly selling food of all types.  It was very busy and there were many wonderful things you could buy to eat. I did try Taco Balls, which were deep fried balls of chopped octopus in some sort of cream sauce. Not bad but not great either.

Fish on a Stick - Nishiki Market

I did manage to find some Koiobori - the Boy’s Day Fish Flags - for my friend Howard.  It took a bit of searching but I did find them. On the way back to the hotel we stopped into the Daimaru  Department Store.  The Department Store era is nearly over in the USA but here in Japan they still exist and they are wonders to behold.  All manner of high end goods for sale and like everything in Japan it is all so well presented. Walking around this high end department store, the likes of which are disappearing or have already disappeared in the UK and the USA, was truly a cultural experience.  

The elegant Daimaru Department Store

That evening we dined at a nearby noodle shop and I had a great bowl of Nabeyaki Udon.

The next morning, Tuesday, we went to yet another temple, the Kinkakujicho-ji temple - otherwise known as the Golden Temple.  To get there we caught a bus from outside the hotel and again the ICOCO card worked flawlessly - a quick tap of the card on the bus entry sensor and another when you exit and you are good to go. 

 

The Golden Temple was the best one yet, it was so splendid on what was a nice blue sky day.  It is a relatively modest temple who’s exterior is entirely covered in gold leaf.  It sits near a lake with beautifully manicured gardens.  The area was fairly busy and everyone walked around taking lots of pictures.  You could not go inside the temple.

All the tourist shops were selling something gold leaf related.  There was saki with flakes of gold leaf in the bottle and then matcha tea with gold leaf flakes.  I tried a free sample of gold matcha tea - I doubt the gold affected the taste at all. 

The Rock Garden at Ryoan-ji Temple

We walked over to another temple next - the Ryoan-ji temple.  This temple area had a really nice rock garden and some nice gardens too.  We didn’t go into the temple.  

We got the bus back to Kyoto Station and then got a train out to Fushimi Inari just a few stops outside Kyoto.  Here there is yet another shrine - the Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine.  We were a little tired of shrines so we didn’t pay too much attention to it.  However, what is remarkable about the area is that from the shrine there is a trail of literally thousands of toriis going all the way up to the top of Mount Inari.  It is a 2.5 mile trail with approximately 10,000 toriis along the way.

The Toriis on the trail up Mount Inari

It was quite busy but nevertheless it was a wonderful sight.  To refresh ourselves on the way down the hill we tried a matcha ice cream wafer (matcha is not my favorite) and then near the bottom we had a butoman.  A butoman was something Peter had been going on about all week.  It is a steamed bread roll filled with pork - quite tasty.  

The Toriis on the trail up Mount Inari

Back in Kyoto I visited the Daimaru department store once again for a hat - I had left mine in a restaurant somewhere along the way.  I also bought a present for Lisa, some Manuka Honey.  I figured it was a Japanese thing since we were in Japan and had been talking about it.  When I returned home I found it is originally honey from nectar of the Manuka tree which is indigenous to New Zealand.  It is supposed to be very healthy and good for you, and, of course, it is quite expensive.

Shabu Shabu Dinner

In the evening we went to dinner at a Shabu Shabu restaurant. Lots of meat and vegetables cooked at the table in our own bowls of broth over a gas stove on the table.

That was the end of my time in Japan with Peter and Lisa.  The next morning it was an early rise for me and I left for my solo trip around Japan.  Peter, Lisa and Kumiko headed to Tokyo and on their way to London.  They had given me a great introduction to a wonderful country.

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Innsbruck and Italy - February 2023

In February I had traveled from the UK to Amsterdam to visit the RIjksmuseum and the Vermeer exhibit (see previous post). While in Amsterdam I decided I would go further south, somewhere warmer, Tuscany perhaps.  I searched around for a sleeper train that would take me most of the way south and I found one from Amsterdam to Innsbruck. From there I could get another train south from Innsbruck to Florence. Or at least I thought I had found a sleeper from Amsterdam.

After I had finished my visit to the Rijksmuseum I was checking my train ticket and found that I had purchased a ticket from Amstetten to Innsbruck instead of from Amsterdam.  That was a surprise and a lesson learned that when buying tickets on my iPhone I need to wear reading glasses and pay close attention.  What to do - the Amsterdam to Innsbruck sleeper was now full and I didn’t want to sit upright in a seat all night.  I checked flights and I did find one very cheap, 120 Euros, from Amsterdam to Innsbruck so I bought a ticket and immediately headed out for the airport.  It was lucky that I checked my original ticket so early otherwise I would have been in a pickle if I had left it until later in the evening.

The flight was uneventful and I arrived in Innsbruck around 6:00 in the evening.  The pilot executed perfectly the landing in what must be a tight valley for a 737 jet.  The cheap, efficient, and timely bus from the airport to the train station was a pleasant introduction to Austria.  The short walk from the station to my hotel, the Sailer Hotel, was also easy.  

Innsbruck at night

I checked in and then went out for a walk around the city.  It looked very clean and tidy compared to London and Amsterdam and even though there was snow on the surrounding mountains it wasn’t too cold.

I had an excellent meal at the hotel’s restaurant - an old styled Austrian Gasthaus. I had a veal snitzel with potatoes and a very fine Austrian beer.

The River Inn in Innsbruck

The next morning I awoke early and explored the city some more.  There were some lovely buildings in the old section of town and the River Inn was flowing strong.  Everything was so neat and tidy and clean.  A real pleasure to explore.  I really liked the old emblems and signs outside the old shops indicating what type of business they are.   Just outside the town is the ski jump slope that was used in the 1976 Winter Olympics. It looks scarily steep.

The Old City, Innsbruck

Sometimes things just work out for the better.  The mistake in the purchase of the sleeper ticket gave me the opportunity to see Innsbruck, have a great meal and a night in a nice hotel.  The sleeper train would have offered none of those.

The Ski Jump, Innsbruck

After breakfast at the hotel it was time to go to the station and catch my train to Bologna.  The train was right on time and set off at exactly 9:24 to cross the Alps.  The line went over the Brennar Pass and then down to Bolzano, Trento and Verona before arriving in Bologna. Another train then took me to Florence and then another to Figline Voldano a short ways south of Florence.

TrenItalia's beautiful high speed train

Figline Valdarno is not a particularly beautiful spot but I had found a nice hotel there at a really good price.  I later learned why it was so cheap - the swimming pool and spa center were undergoing renovation and were closed - I needed neither.

Later that evening I dined in a small restaurant in the square of Figline Valdarno.  Pizza, salad and beer - you can’t go wrong - though the only beer available was Sardinian and not quite my favorite.

The Duomo and Tower, Pisa

The next day I went to Pisa.  The train system is very good in Italy and it was a short hop back to Florence and then another train west to Pisa.  The trains are frequent and reasonably clean and they are cheap.  A great efficient and eco-friendly way of moving people.

In Pisa there is not a lot to see other than the Tower and the Duomo and the associated buildings.  It is a short walk through the town over the Arno river to the tower.  Of course on the way there are lots fine buildings and statues, anyone of which would be of historic significance back in the US but here is Italy there are so many such buildings that one becomes immune to their age and beauty. At first sight, the Tower looked like a normal non-leaning tower but as you walked around to one side, the lean becomes quite noticeable and you are amazed at how it still stands.  It is a beautiful structure.  You can buy a ticket and stand in line to climb to the top but I didn’t feel like dealing with the crowds to do that.  I just observed from the ground level.  

The Tower really does Lean, Pisa

Next to the tower is the Duomo.  A magnificent huge church built of the same white marble as the tower.  It is quite an awesome sight.  How they built such amazingly beutiful large structures I can hardly imagine.  It must have taken many years to complete.

The Babtistry, Pisa

There is a smaller but no less impressive building adjacent to the Duomo.  This is the Babtistry.  The Duomo, Tower and Babtistry make for a wonderful;ly spectacular sight.  Of course this leads to the area being thronged with tourists. They are everywhere and they all want to take those clever pictures where they appear to be holding up the tower.  Sometimes to comical effect.

Interior of Duomo, Pisa

Pisani's Pulpit, Duomo, Pisa

I did go inside the Duomo - timed tickets are free.  The interior is even more wonderful than the exterior.  Such ornamentation, such craftsmanship.  The font inside the church is particularly wonderful - created by Pisani it is one of the best of its day.   Pisani apparently specialized in fonts.

Drop a coin in the slot and light a candle

In a step towards modernity, the church had a array of electric bulb candles in front of certain chapels.  You could deposit a coin in a slot and one of the candles would become lit.  Presumably that sends your prayer to heaven just as lighting a wax candle was supposed to do.  While it is all totally implausible I do much prefer the old way with the wax candles.

Chiesa di Santo Maria della Spina

Walking back towards the station there was a beautiful little church sitting by the side of the River Arno.  The Chiesa di Santo Maria della Spina. Very nice.

Keith Haring's Tuttomundi mural

There is also a mural by the American artist, Keith Haring.  It is called Tuttomundo and it covers the entire side wall of the San Antonio church.  

The return train ride took me through Lucca back to Firenze where i  changed for Figline Valdarno.

The next day I visited Siena, again by train.  This required going into Firenze and then taking a train out to Siena.  Siena sits on top of a hill and the train station is at the bottom of the hill.  There are a series of 10 escalators that take you from the station level up to the top of the hill and the old town.  

Il Campo, Siena

There are a few well traveled routes by tourists through the narrow streets of the old town to the major sights.  It was a grey day with occasional drizzle but nothing bad enough to interrupt a casual walk down the old city streets.  The first major sight was the main square, Il Campo, a magnificent large sloping area down to the City Hall and the Tower. 

Torre del Mangia, Siena

The tower is impressive built to thank god for the survival of the Black Death of 1348. It is 330 ft tall and one of Italy's tallest. It is called the Torre del Mangia after a hedonistic bell ringer who consumed his earnings like a glutton consumes food.

Fonte Gaia, Siena

Just below the entry on the uphill side of Il Campo is the Fonte Gaia, the Fountain of Joy.  This is a beautiful pool that once provided water to all of Siena’s residents.  The marble carvings are apparently copies and the originals have been removed to a local church, Santa Maria della Scala. 

The Duomo, Siena

Next stop was the Piazza del Duoma.  The Duomo of Siena takes beauty and splendour to a whole different level.  Pisa’s Duomo was a but the exterior of Siena’s is just outstanding - what a treasure.  The interior is incredible too.  I have seen many fine churches around the world but I think this one is the best.

Interior of the Duomo, Siena

Ceiling of the small library in the Duomo

The plans were for a larger even more remarkable church to be built but funds ran short.  I can’t imagine anything more spectacular than the current one.  What grand dreams and designs these people had.

Interior of Basilica di San Francisco

The next stop was at the Piazza San Francisco.  Here there was a more modest church.  A rather plain exterior and much simpler interior.  A service was going on with a very small congregation.

The Caterpillar Contrada

The Owl Contrada

The Giraffe Contrada

The neighborhoods in the old city are divided into different sections or contrade, each is identified by a crest or emblem containing an animal of some sort.  These are shown on walls and street corners around the town.  I only saw a few - the Giraffe, the Owl and the Caterpillar.  Twice a year there is a wild horse race around the Campo in Siena with riders from each contrada competing against each other.

Escalators up and down the hill, Siena

After a late lunch it was a pleasant walk back through the old town and out into the new one and then down the 10 escalators to the station level. Two trains took me back to Figline Valdarno via Firenze.

The next day, Sunday, my last in Tuscany, was going to be spent seeing the sights of Firenze.  However the weather did not cooperate.  It was raining, it was raining quite hard and it was not pleasant to walk around.  There were lengthy coffee and lunch stops in the town and little sightseeing.  Being Sunday, the Duomo was closed to tourists but you could attend Mass, which I did.  It provided a nice reflective time to absorb the grandeur of the Duomo, the language of the Catholic Mass, and at the same time escape the rain.

Rainy day in Florence

The Firenze complex of Duomo, Baptistry, and Campanile are wonderful to behold but on such a wet day it made it a little less pleasant.  It did keep the crowds down however.  I imagine it must be mobbed with tourists on a sunny day.

Interior of the Duomo, Florence

The Campanile, Florence

The other sights like the Uffizi Gallery, the Ponte Vecchio, etc were sadly missed in favor of warm and dry restaurant and coffee shop interiors.

Monday morning I left the hotel early and caught the train to Florence and then the tram to the airport.  The day was clear and sunny but there had been snow in the hills overnight. Florence airport is pleasantly small and it was an easy flight down to Rome and then a connection on to Heathrow. 

 

the rental Polestar

Finally another piece of luck, at the Hertz rental facility, they gave me a serious upgrade - from a mini car the Hyundai I10 to a nice all electric sedan - a Polestar.  This was a beautiful car to drive, once you got used to the single pedal driving.  One of these days we will all drive something like that.  

London and Amsterdam - February 2023

I was back in the UK in February and I learned about an exhibition of Vermeer paintings at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and that sounded like something not to miss.  The tickets were in high demand but I was lucky enough to get one online.  The tickets were selling very quickly, and there was only one time slot available during the time I was in Europe.  I decided to travel to Amsterdam from London on the train, the Eurostar.  Not the cheapest way but very convenient and I do like trains.

I bought my train ticket through a third party, Omio, and didn’t pay attention to the small print.  The time of the train was 11:04 am and the email said please arrive at least 20 minutes before departure.  I arrived at St Pancras some 45 minutes early but since I didn’t see a need to rush I spent time looking around St. Pancras, a station I used a lot in my student days and which has now been transformed into a very modern and stylish train station.

St Pancras Station

When I went to get on the train I was told I was too late, entry to the train was closed.  That was a bit of a shock to say the least.  When I protested I was told to read the fine print on the PDF version of the ticket - there it said you need to be check in an hour before departure to clear security and customs.  Fortunatey there was a later train to Amsterdam at 6:00 in the evening.

No problem, there are plenty of things to do around St Pancras as I found out by a quick search on Atlas Obscura.  

My first stop was the British Library.  The library building post dates my time in London and is quite new (sometime in the 2000’s).  It is a beautiful modern building with an exhibits area open to the public and reading rooms that require membership. 

Gutenberg Bible

Shakespeare Folio Edition

I visited the exhibits which were a collection of some of their remarkable books, maps, and documents.  There was a map of Gertrude Bell’s route through Iraq, a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, a Tyndale Bible, a couple of copies of the Magna Carta (one looking seriously damaged and worn), a Folio edition of Shakespeare’s works, copies of Mozart’s musical scores, scribbled notes of Beatles’ songs, a handwritten script of Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition sketch, to name but a few.  What an amazing collection of historical texts they have there.

The Enigma Machine

Upstairs in the Alan Turing Institute, where they do research into Data Science and AI, is an Enigma Machine, the encoding machine that Turing cracked the code of in WWII.

The Francis Crick Institute

Just a few 100 yards north of the library is the Francis Crick institute.  Another wonderful modern building where they do bio-medical research.  An exhibit there was due to open the next day, but when I was there it was closed to the public.

Old St Pancras Church

Moving further north along the side of St Pancras’ rail tracks is the St Pancras Old Church and its park.  A lovely little church, apparently on one of the first Christian worship sites in Britain.  Inside the church, which surprisingly was open were a couple of old ladies who insisted that I take their photo.

Hardy's Gravestones and the fallen tree

Outside in the church yard are some interesting features.  One is a large number of gravestones arranged around what was once a tree.  The tree has fallen down now and lies across the gravestones.  The gravestones come from an old cemetery that was moved to make way for the expansion of St Pancras rail traffic.  A young Thomas Hardy, before he started writing for a living, was working for the company that managed the relocation.  He apparently decided to lay the gravestones around a tree in the church yard.  The bodies went elsewhere. Sadly recently the tree has fallen down.

Sir John Soane's Tomb

There a couple of interesting graves in the churchyard.  One is that of Sir John Soane.  It has a monument that is quite impressive and was apparently the inspiration for the British Phone Box.  You can see the curved top of the tomb that resembles the top of a phone box.  The other grave is that of Mary Wollstonecraft.  She was the writer and early feminist who was the mother of Mary Shelley, the Dracula author.  Poor old Mary died a few days after giving birth to Mary.  Mary and her to be husband Percy Bysse Shelley apparently made plans to elope together while visiting the graveyard.

Mornington Crescent Tube Station

The old Carreras Cigarette Factory

Moving further north there is the wonderful old tiled facade of the Mornington Crescent tube station.  Beyond that is the impressive art deco building of the old Carreras Cigarette Factory (Craven A’s were one of their brands).  The building is in the Egyptian Revival Style, popular at the time, being built just after Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb when all things Egyptian were fashionable.  It is now an office building and the black cats at the entry are not the original ones.  Still it is an impressive building.

Joseph Grimaldi's Grave

Heading back towards St Pancras station and then out the Pentonville Road there is a small graveyard.  There are very few gravestones there but one is quite well preserved and that is the grave of Joseph Grimaldi.  Joseph was a child actor and performer who developed the character of Joey the Clown in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.  He is considered the father of modern clowning.  The park containing his grave has been named Grimaldi Park.

Platform 9 3/4

One last thing before boarding my train was to visit Platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station.  This is from the Harry Potter stories and of course it is wildly popular.  There was a large queue of people lined up to get photographed beneath the platform sign and the luggage trolley disappearing into the wall.  I didn’t appreciate the disappearing trolley link but apparently many do and they weren’t all young children lining up for photos.  But no I didn’t.

Busker outside Kings Cross Station

In order to keep up with the times and to recognize the lack of real cash in anyone's pocket these days, the buskers are now accepting digital money. Tap your card for a 3 pound donation.

I then went to check in for my train to Amsterdam.  I don’t know what I was thinking earlier by only arriving 20 minutes before the train left.  If I had thought about it I would have realized a customs clearance and a security check for a train load people takes a lot longer than 20 minutes.  This time I was plenty early and I was comfortably in my seat well before departure.

Basilica of St Nicholas, Amsterdam

The train journey was quite pleasant.  It took about 4 hours with stops in Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam and finally Amsterdam.  It was 11:30 when I arrived in Amsterdam but, even at that late hour, there were plenty of people around. I had a short walk over to my hotel, the Die Port van Cleve.  It looked good on the internet but it was in the middle of a construction zone - the street outside is being replaced and the hotel’s interior is being renovated.  The sewer smell in the bathroom didn’t improve my impression but at least it was a roof over my head.

The Royal Palace, Dam Square, Amsterdam

The next morning I went out early for a walk around.  The hotel is not far from Dam Square and in normal times it would be quite nice however now with all the street construction going on it is a building site.  In Dam Square I found a more luxurious hotel and went inside for their buffet breakfast - always a good deal in a nice hotel.

The Rijksmuseum

Back at the hotel I checked out and left my bag to pick up later and made my way to the Rijksmuseum.  The Rijjksmuseum is a wonderful building by itself without any of its contents however this Vermeer exhibition promised to be quite special - 28 of the 37 known Vermeers all gathered in one location.  A never before and perhaps never again event.

View of Delft - Vermeer

I had a timed entry for 12:00 but they let me in early and I joined the meandering crowd following the blue line on the floor through the exhibition.  I have always liked Vermeer’s work and so I was quite excited.  The excitement wore off as I dealt with the crowd of people clustered around each painting.  The paintings are small and it doesn’t take many people to obliterate the view.  There always seemed to be some large person carefully inspecting the paintings for an excessive amount of time while everyone waited behind slowly shuffling forward to the front.  

The Milkmaid

The Girl with the Pearl Earring

Then of course everyone has a camera in their phone so we all had to take a picture.  I did it too.  Such is viewing a popular alert exhibition these days.

Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window

Vermeer was a masterful painter and his subjects are so appealing to me - mainly women, mainly absorbed in doing something like reading or writing or playing an instrument, nothing dramatic. I need to follow up and learn something about his sense of perspective when I get home.

I took in a couple of other galleries at the museum, the Night Watch and the Waterloo painting, but by then I was pretty much done with looking at pictures.