Day 1 of the trip was spent in Amsterdam. This beautiful city has so much to see.....obviously a day just is not enough. Accompanied by friend Beth we decided to fit in viewing the Anne Frank's House museum, Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
Anne Frank's house is right in the middle of Amsterdam and was set up to display how the family hid during WWII. Walking through the building it was amazing that they were discovered as late as they were. The museum uses the words of the diary to explain the house and the circumstances the family were in.
Catching a tram across to the Rijksmuseum, we spent a couple of hours viewing old masterpieces, wonderful dolls houses and fabulous delftware. The delftware showed the heavy influence of the imports from the Dutch East India Company with its Asian influence affecting the type of designs and items produced. The old masterpieces clearly displayed the influence these Dutch masters had on the art world with their focus on light, reflection and depth. We followed with a trip through the Van Gogh Museum where impressionism was the focus. Beth's favorite piece was one of Van Gough's sunflower scenes which we actually found out was from a series designed to decorate a room in Van Gogh's house. That evening we again went into the centre of the city for a meal at a Thai restaurant just down from the red light district which anyone familiar with Amsterdam knows is one of the city's famed features.
Next day we were off to Padova (Padua) in Italy. This lovely walled city is situated along the Bachiglione River, between Verona and Venice. Much quieter than Venice and Milan it was a delightful place to stay for a couple of days with its historic Basilica di Sant'Antonio and beautiful old town centre. The shopping area was full of the Italian designer boutiques which was good for window shopping and adding to the Christmas "wish list" and finding a tourist agent which could sell me a train ticket to Milan for the following day.
Venturing by train to Milan was an interesting experience in itself. Having NO Italian language skills determining the correct station, platform and train was a bit hit and miss. However, thanks to the assistance of a nice couple who spoke as much English as I spoke Italian, I found my way into the correct seat, carriage and train. Two hours I arrived in Milan to catch up with friend Kathy who had settled in Milan three months earlier and provided company and guidance for the day. A short trip from the main central station and we arrived at the Duomo Cathedral. This spectacular building is awe-inspiring. The inside was covered with huge old master paintings and the stain glass windows were great - even with zero sun on a dismal winter day. From the cathedral square we were able to enter the "original Galleria". Again impressive architecture with glass archways and domes and a great place to warm up with a Caffe Latte (proper Italian style)
The entire area around the Cathedral was filled with architecturally interesting buildings. Walking along and finding ancient squares where buildings seemed to have been built from a series of different eras. This is definitely one area we will need to revisit and spend some serious time with a top guide book which will explain the buildings, their history and the cultural component of their existence. From here a quick visit to Kathy's place and another wonderful coffee and it was time to return to Padova for the evening.
Next day was another train trip - this time to Venice where it was COLD. My previous visit to Venice was disappointing. It was the middle of summer, the place was filled with people and we were on a bus tour which, in hindsight, was not the best way to see the city. This time, even though cold, I now saw why people love this water city. Taking a taxi down the main canal to St Marc's square, the water (much higher than last time) was lapping on the bottom steps of many of the centuries old palaces and museums. As I had seen St Marc's square previously I spent a couple of hours wondering around the narrow alleyways along the edge of the canal before catching another water taxi to the airport. Meeting up with Ian and the rest of the business guys we caught the plane back to Spain via about 40 minutes on the ground in Paris. Yes, we did make the connecting flight (just) and believe it or not - so did the luggage. My thoughts from this trip - we certainly need to return and spend some serious sightseeing time in all the cities visited during this week - just need to find the time.
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