Haputale and the tea plantations

Haputale is a really breathtaking place, if one goes out of the tiny and congested town. I stayed at the Kelburne Mountain View guest house which is a 10 minute drive, after one turns right from the Badulla/Bandarawela main road from the town onto the Dambatenna road. The drive is along narrow roads through tea plantations and a tiny sign board on the right is all that indicates that there is a guest house down below. The contact details of the office in Colombo where bookings have to be made prior to going to the cottage here.

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Went for a lovely day trip to Pinnawala yesterday with a colleague.

We took the inter-city bus from the main bus stand at Gunasinghapura, near the Fort station in Colombo and went to the Kegalle bus stand. From there, we took another bus heading for Rambukkana which dropped us off right in front of the elephant orphanage. The total travel cost by public transport for two was around 200 rupees, one way and it took us nearly 3 hours travel time by road.

There was a long queue and initially we thought it was for the ticket counter but then found that people were just waiting at the gates for some reaason and there was no-one at the counter so we walked directly to the counter and got our tickets. For Sri Lankans, it is 50 rupees and for foreign residents in Sri Lanka, it is 100 rupees while tourists have to pay 1000 rupees for the same ticket. This ticket allows one to have a one-time entry to the orphanage, which is the residence of the elephants and which also has the information desk, souvenir shop. The ticket also allows one time entry to the street leading to the river which is across the road and through which the elephants go for their twice a day bathing routine.

The bottle feeding takes place at 9.15, 13.15 and 17.00 and the river procession takes place at 10 and 2 for a two hour water-time.

We directly went to the bottle-feeding area as it was already 9.25 and there were two babies being bottle-fed. Of the three elephants in that place, only the youngest seemed fine despite being chained. The other two looked unhappy being chained there. After a couple of minutes, we walked to the open muddy area where the elephants lived and we saw them walking about in groups. That area also felt a bit small for the large number of elephants living there.

We decided then to go directly towards the river and sales people lining the tourist-oriented shops kept calling out. There are two restaurants overlooking the river and we chose the one closest to the water and sat there waiting for the herds to arrive. It was fun when they did arrive and I was happy to see them unchained and obviously looking forward to the river bath as they were enthusiastically running forward and getting into the water. Babies clung to older elephants as they got into the water and the littlest of the lot was protected by the older elephants on all four sides.

It was interesting to see the elephants moving about in smaller groups and to see the individual personalities. There were those who demonstrated leadership and those who wished to stand out from the rest and there were those who were plain goofy. One elephant baby loved the water so much that he/she just lay down in the water and everything of it was underneath, except for its trunk which was poking out of the water and at intervals, one of its foot would float above. There was an older elephant which meticulously washed itself, spraying water over it conscientiously, rubbing against the rocks and then again washing itself. That one seemed to be very much respected and liked by the others though I don't know why it was the only one kept chained to a rock. It would greet any passing babies with its trunk. It had a faithful partner who was very much annoyed with the chains around this one that it kept tugging at the chains a lot of the time. A couple of young elephants were in a playful mood and locked trunks and heads for a wrestling game and then the groups decided to move in their own individual paths. One group cross the river to the other side where there was a muddy area and just lay down and rolled in the mud, loving it while another group decided to walk further up towards some greenery and have some fresh snack.

One elephant that I felt so sorry for was one who had lost half of one of his front legs and was the last one to arrive at the river and who cautiously made its way up to the edge and felt the water with its trunk but would not budge beyond that. It was such a sorry sight to see it standing forlornly at the edge looking at the others in the water and without having any friends of its own. At one point, a younger elephant who decided to be mean started pushing it into the water at which point this elephant just lay down on its front two legs refusing to budge. Luckily, one of the carers saw that and poked his stick into the trouble-maker which screamed out in pain and jumped into the water. Even the one with the missing leg quickly got into the water in fear. It was very sad to see them so scared of the stick with a sharp edged knife or rod that the carers carried and which they used to command the elephants about. When the carers felt it was time for the elephants to return, they just made a call and the elephants started moving back towards the edge, even the ones which had gone further away.

I guess that the orphanage being there has given these elephants a chance to experience life, which they definitely would not have as most of them had been orphaned and maimed in the wild and would have certainly died and having grown and bred in captivity, they might not have a chance back in their natural environment. At the same time, I feel that some services could improve. While I felt that the elephants seemed happier when they were unchained and playing uninhibitedly in the water, the space at the orphanage seemed too small for the 40 or so elephants living there. Further to have them on display from 8.15 in the morning to 6p.m. in the evening on a daily basis must take away a lot of their privacy. However, the department of the national zoological gardens has attempted something to keep these elephants alive and that is a good initiative.

While my colleague felt that 1000 rupees off foreigners without a resident visa was a rip-off, I disagree. The money collected is what goes towards the maintenance of the orphanage for the food and medicines for the elephants as well as the staff there and it is reasonable to expect to have to pay for the maintenance. I feel that the money charged to locals can also be increased as 50 rupees will hardly be enough for much.

We were famished by then and wanted to have our lunch but there was a man who kept asking us to visit the spice garden on that street which was included in the price of the ticket. As we did plan to visit a spice garden, we decided to have a quick tour of the garden before heading for lunch. The tour turned out to be interesting as the guide was a student of the ayurvedic institute in Mawanella and told us about what each plant could be used for and then background info on the medicines and syrups that had been made out of these herbs was provided in a little shed by the river. We were invited to try out the king coconut hair tonic and it was massaged into our heads. The smell was also nice unlike the coconut hair oils found in the markets. We were also invited to try out the facial massage with the sandalwood cream which instantly had a refreshing effect on the face. We were also invited to try out a slimming tonic made of red pineapple, bee's honey, lime leaves and other extracts as well as a hair removing cream that turned out to work very well and without any pain or after-effects. It was an interesting and unexpected tour which made it more enjoyable.

At the little shop in the garden, we bought less than we originally planned because the prices of the products was very expensive. Most products were over 1000 rupees. However, given that these are products prepared by the ayurvedic institute and quality tested by the Government and which were not available elsewhere in the country and as they claimed, very difficult to prepare, the prices were alright.

I asked Bandara, our self-appointed guide, whether there was a village shop for lunch, and he said he would take us to such a place right after our final visit to the elephant dung shop. Here, the dung was cleaned, processed and made into paper and then converted to writing paper, gift wraps, albums etc. It was interesting but felt that the prices were marked for the foreign tourists so refrained from buying anything. My colleague, however, couldn't resist a Kandy Perahera procession made out of the recycled pulp and embossed on the recycled paper.

With that visit, we went to a little lunch place overlooking the river and where we were served a lunch of rice, brinjals, manioc, beans, chicken and pappadam. This was right next to the Elephant park hotel but very simple.

On our way back, we decided to take the train as we were both train fans. Taking the three-wheeler from Pinnawala, we went to the Rambukkana railway station and took the normal train back to Fort station. The journey back was interesting and comfortable as it was the short distance train which had seats on the sides of the train and a lot of standing space and very large windows that were open. Since it was a saturday, it was not crowded and therefore very spacious and airy. The travel back took about 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours.

Italian Holiday - Firenze III

On June 26th, I decided to go for a walking tour of Florence in the morning, taking the route from my street to the Duomo and then visiting the San Lorenzo mercato, walking past the Republicca and Uffizi upto the Ponte Vecchio. Thereafter, to take the train to Pisa and visit the tower and then finally taking the train to Montecatini Terme, a famous thermal spring area and to visit the Grotta Giusti spa.

The Duomo was closed in the morning at the time I reached the place and so I walked around it taking photos, the smaller chapel which I assumed was the christening chapel was left open for some workers to go through and I had the glimpse of a beautiful interior captured here in the slide show. The details of the carvings on the walls interested me a lot, especially to think of the care and time that the carver had put into creating it. Especially the miniature ones.

Then, I walked to the San Lorenzo market and went in to see if there was anything interesting to take home and bought some fresh pesto sauce and dried pasta. From there, I walked to the Uffizi gallery area walking past the Republicca square. I didn't go into the gallery as I was not in the mood to look at paintings and preferred to be outdoors. So, I walked on until I reached the Ponte Vechio. The bridge looked lovely but the smell from the canal was unbearable.

As planned, I went to the Santa Maria Novella station and bought my ticket for Pisa from the tabachi shop, after having waited in the Trenitalia information desk queue for more than half an hour. I got into the train going to Lucca and got off at Pisa. At the Pisa station, I asked about the trains going to Montecatini Terme and found that I had to take two trains - first to Lucca and from there, the train to Florence. I decided to buy the ticket for the train leaving in 1 1/2 hours, as I assumed that there was nothing much to see in Pisa except the tower. The Filipino couple who had been standing behind me at the counter and with whom I had been chatting while waiting in the queue said that they were planning to take the taxi and if I would be interested in sharing the cab with them. I said yes as I thought I might as well save time and maximize my time at the tower. However, they took a long time at the counter to have their tickets changed and when we made it out of the station, I had just over an hour left. I had contemplated telling them that I would go on my own but didn't feel it was polite. We went to the taxi stand but there was a very long queue at the stand and after waiting for a long time, I decided to see if there were other options and found the bus stand and the bus that went to the tower. So, I persuaded them to come for the bus as I assumed that there might be frequent buses. However, I was wrong and after half an hour of waiting, I realized I would not have the time to go and visit the tower and come back in time to catch the train. So, I finally told the couple that I had to leave them, which I should have done at the start, and wished them a good visit to the tower. I went back into the station and the train to Lucca was waiting at the platform. I got into the train and had my grilled sandwich filled with tomato and mozzarella, which I had purchased from the San Lorenzo market in the morning.

I visited the Grotta Giusti Spa at Montecatini terme and decided to try the Grotta. It was a different experience visiting heaven, purgatory and inferno - the different thermal caves at the Grotta. The Spa provided long, white cotton robes hot and fresh from the oven along with a red mantel to wear during the cave visit. The 50 minute experience refreshed me a lot and I returned to Florence energized.

Italian Holiday - Firenze II

At breakfast the next morning at Rosali Pepi's apartment, I met the mother and daughter who were holidaying in Italy. They said that they would be visiting Lucca that day. I asked them how they got to the Santa Maria Novella station as I had to be at the meeting point to go on the CAF tour (which I had also booked online from home) to Siena and San Gimignano at 9a.m. They said that they never took the bus and always walked about the city and as they planned to leave before 8.30a.m. for the station, I could join them.

Happy that I would not be getting lost wandering, I enjoyed my breakfast of muesli and yoghurt and brown bread and jam with coffee. I managed to reach the CAF tour meeting point and locate the bus on time. The guide checked my name and said that I had mentioned that I had walking difficulties in my email to them on booking and therefore to stick close to him. That was nice as actually he did check if I was alright and comfortable occasionally throughout the day trip.

The bus started on its way and out of the city passing Palazzo Strossi in which, according to the guide, there was a free special exhibition ongoing during that period. We left Florence through Porta Romano and passed the village of La Certosa, a nice area with a monastery on a hill. I think that would also be a nice place to stay at, rather than the center of the city.

The guide was giving brief information on Florence from time to time and mentioned that Florence was founded by Julius Ceasar initially as a settlement for his soldiers. Then, he spoke of the wines of the region, which he seemed to be more interested in, to the point of giving percentage concentrations of the varieties of grapes used in the production of the Chianti wine and the rooster seal on the original Chianti wine from the region developed by producers to establish their league of wine production and protect it from wines being produced in other parts of Italy and sold using the same name. He said that the region was very fertile and renowned for its olive oil, cheese and wine.

Upon reaching Siena, the guide divided us into four groups: two english speaking groups, one french-speaking and one spanish speaking and assigned us four local guides. My group's guide was an interesting guide who interspersed her information sharing with personal jokes.


Our walking tour took us through interesting, curving streets crowded with people until we stopped at square with a statue. She said that it was an important part of the city, where the headquarters of the Siena bank - Montei dei Paschi was located. She said that this bank was the oldest working bank in the world and continued to be a working bank since it was founded in the 12th century. She proudly stated that it had branches in other parts of Europe and America. She said that there was a local joke about the three dreams that every Sienese had in their life, "to work at the Montei Dei Paschi, to come to the Montei Dei Paschi to withdraw or deposit money, to retire and get their pension money from Montei Dei Paschi." She said that this illustrated how important this bank was in the lives of the Sienese.

Then, she pointed out an interesting wall tile. She said that the tile had the mascot of the contrada. She added that Siena was divided into 17 contradas/ communes and each had a mascot. The tiles were placed on the walls of buildings on the borders of the communes to indicate where the communes started and ended. She said within these contradas, there were friendly communies and enemy communes. On a personal note, she joked that though she was from the 'porcupine' commune, which was the best according to her, her son Filipo unfortunately was not of the same commune but that of her husband's as the local practice was that daughters would belong to the mother's contrada and the sons to the father's contrada. Every year there was a contrada ceremony where every baby born that year would be introduced to the senior members of the commune and be given a certificate stating its full name and the parents name and being provided lifetime membership in that particular contrada. While the contradas did not seem to provide more than a venue for social gathering these days in the form of annual games played between contradas, in the old days they must have been important political alliances.

Then, we walked on to another square where a statue of the legend of the wolf and Romulus and Remus was raised. The guide jokingly said that the Sienese who were jealous that the Romans had a legend with regard to their founders decided to create a legend of their own. According to the local legend, when Romulus killed his brother Remus, the two sons of Remus escaped and fled away from Rome. They reached this hilly area and decided to start their own city here and that the city derived its name Siena from the eldest son of Remus. She said that the Sienese were enemies of the Romans till they were conquered.

Finally, our walk took us to the entrance of the Duomo. We walked into the Duomo, skipping the ticket lines. There were areas cordoned off and where renovation work was ongoing on the old paintings and statues. She said that the entire floor was made of very old beautiful tile paintings and graffiti but that most of it was boarded up to preserve them. In two areas where renovation work was ongoing, they were visible to the public. She said we could also visit the library of the Duomo and see the murals but that we were not allowed to speak in there due to having to preserve the paintings which would be damaged by moisture. However, the crowds which were in the tiny library did not seem to take heed and continued to speak as they went around the library and out.

After the tour of the Duomo, we were taken on a sloping path up to the museum and told that we could visit it on our own and meet the guide outside for those who were joining the group lunch at the restaurant or else to meet at the bell tower in the square at 2p.m. I had decided to join the lunch group as I had not wanted to get lost or have difficulties locating the bus, so I went to the restaurant booked by the tour. I had stated that I did not eat red meat and therefore preferred only pasta and I had actually ordered hot pasta with pesto from a waiter upon being seated at the table. However, when the meals were served after a long time of waiting, I found that my order had been cancelled by the waitress who served us as she was of the opinion that the CAF tour group would be served a set menu of cold meat, pasta and wine and cheese. I told them that I only wanted the pasta and wanted to eat what I had ordered. However, they were very stubborn and finally served me the cold pasta which was part of the set menu for the other group members and charged me the same price. As the bus guide was unable to help me there even with his italian in communicating to them, I just put up with it and left for the bell tower which I had spotted from the restaurant.

Then, we resumed our journey and travelled to San Gimignano which we were allowed to explore on our own. I find that I always find exploring on my own more interesting than being herded in a group. San Gimignano, with its old streets and ancient buildings and towers was a lovely area and had great scenic views. Despite it being focused totally on tourism, it was a lovely place and I enjoyed my walk there. I had read that the towers in this medieval village had been built by its residents to show their status and that the families had competed against each other to build higher and higher towers as height was equated to power, wealth and higher status. However, most of these towers were later destroyed by the invading army and only a few of these towers remained today.

I decided to try a gelato in the several hand made gelato parlours in the place and enjoyed my extra rich chocolate gelato before returning to Florence.

Italian Holidays - Firenze I

I reached Firenze Santa Maria Novella station before noon and went straight to the tourist information counter to get a map of the city and to ask for directions on how I could reach Via Dei Pepi which was close to the Piazza Santa Croce landmark. The information staff marked the street on the map and said that it was roughly a 20 minute walk and that she did not know which number bus should be taken but that I should take a bus which would be on the outside to my right. She also said that I could buy bus tickets at any tabachi shop. As I saw one close by, I went and bought a four set ticket for 4.50 euro and tried to find out if she knew which bus number I should be taking. She also didn't seemed to know and just pointed in one of the exit directions. I then decided to change my remaining travellers cheques at the foreign exchange desk at the station and the man who was at the counter was very pleasant and could speak English. He said that he was giving me a special rate of 10% when their usual rate was 13% and if I used their privilege card next time I changed at any of their counters, I would get special rates. I was wondering why the people at the previous two city desks had not told me this as I had been consistently using the foreign exchange desks at the train stations and was always charged their steep 13% rate. As he was very helpful and spoke English, I decided to ask him if he knew the bus number for my destination but he was also not aware as he said that he mainly used his car. He said that he could call a taxi for me if I liked but I declined, which was a big mistake, as I wanted to go by the bus. So he told me to check with the police standing close to the entrance of the stations. I decided that I would buy my takeaway lunch of spaghetti alla pomodoro at from the self-service Chef Express bar at the station and find my way to the B&B. There were three police officers standing at the entrance. I asked them and they were not so much interested in even bothering to look at the map that I was pointing to and told me to check at the bus station opposite the station.

There were many stops marked at the bus stations and buses seemed to be coming and going with several people getting on and off. I saw some bus staff hanging about what looked their office and decided to ask them. They looked and said "quarto, Bus 40" and gestured that I had to go past the station to the other side. As they had taken time to reply and as they had discussed before replying, I was doubtful if this was the right bus and so I decided to have a look at the bus boards displayed at this point to see if Piazza Santa Croce was mentioned anywhere. I did not see it and I saw the ticket counter and thought that might be the right place to ask. I asked the man at the counter and he said '14' and pointed in the direction to the other side of the station, but 45 degrees to the west of the direction pointed out by the bus drivers. Before moving towards that general direction, I thought I would ask some women standing at the bus stop and I said, "Scusi. Dove bus por Piazza Santa Croce?" A couple of women joined in and after discussing amongst themselves pointed in the direction 90 degrees to the west of the direction shown by the bus drivers and said that I had to come to the 'Basilica Santa Maria Novella' for my stop. So, having got a range of locations where my bus stop could be and two possible bus numbers, I decided to try my luck first in the direction of where the bus drivers pointed, thinking that they would be better placed to know routes.

So, I crossed the road, walked past the busy taxi stands, contemplated taking a taxi but determined to find the bus stop, moved past. There were some buses parked there but as I went closer, I realized they were tour buses and not the regular public buses. I asked some people around that area but they were totally blank. Next, I proceeded towards the direction pointed out by the ticket counter and it seemed a major stop with several lists of bus routes mentioned. I read each of those routes to see if Piazza Santa Croce was mentioned but it was not and my queries to people standing there also drew a blank until one person pointed the direction of which the women had pointed to. So, I decided to walk towards that direction and saw a bus stand on the other side of the road but that also did not seem to have Piazza Santa Croce marked. I saw that all my walking had brought me to the office of the Firenze tourist information center and thought I would try my luck inside. I found that the women had been right in their direction of the bus stop, because the information desk person told me that I had to go towards the right of the building and I would find my bus 14 stop there. So, I went out and went to the right and saw a Bus 14 stopping at the bus stop. I hurried and managed to get in just as the bus was about to leave. I found myself a seat in the limited seats available in an Italian bus and decided to re-confirm with the person seated behind me. He replied that he did not know English but knew french and by the time I managed to convey to him that I was trying to get to Piazza Santa Croce and he said that I was in the wrong bus, we were well past many stops. He said that I was in the correct bus but in the wrong direction. He suggested that I get off exactly three stops from there, as that stop had the returning bus stop right across the street and I wouldn't have to be searching for the stop. When the third stop approached and I got up, the woman seated facing me moved her hand and in the process knocked my hand which was full of papers, the map and address book etc. So, I had to hurriedly take them and rush to the door but just as I reached it, the door closed in my face. I pushed the button and looked at the mirror of the driver. He also looked at me but proceeded to start the bus and go on. I was very annoyed. However, i had no option but to get off at the next stop, which seemed to be in a quiet part of the city and there was no one on the road but fast moving cars. I did not see any bus stops on the other side so I decided my best option would be to walk in the direction the bus had come in to the previous stop. So, I decided to walk back but in my anger that I had not been let out at the third stop, I had not carefully noted the path and when I came to a turning, I was a bit confused. I did not want to be getting lost again so I decided to find out before proceeding further.

Luckily, an old man came by soon and I asked him, "Dove bus stop 14 por Piazza Santa Croce?" He wanted me to show the location I wanted to reach on the map and he shook his head and said that I was right at the other end of where I should be and told me to walk straight through the tiny tunnel and come to the bus stops. He said 14 C was going in the opposite direction to which I had to go and my direction was 14 A or B. He then asked me which country I was from and I said, 'Sri Lanka'. He smiled and said that he had visited the place and he asked what I was doing in Italy and I replied, 'tourist'. He beamed and asked whether my albergo was near Piazza Santa Croce. Then he started saying a lot of things, which became more difficult to follow from his earlier, easier-to-follow slow Italian. What I made out was that he was saying that that area was an expensive place and he would recommend an albergo in Via Borgo Pinti and he told me to say that I was an 'amica dei Rafaelo' and I would be treated warmly. I thanked him and moved on towards my bus stop. Finally, I made it to the right bus stop but after waiting for more than 20 mins with no sign of a bus, I decided I had had enough and I should take a taxi. However, once I made that decision, I did not see any taxi stands as this was a residential area. As I continued waiting and trying to stop any passing taxi, which unfortunately had passengers in them, a taxi came and stopped in front of me and the driver got out saying, 'you called?'. While I was thankful that an empty taxi had finally come, I also knew I had not called and thought it might have been called by someone living in one of the apartment blocks. I replied that, 'yes, I wanted a taxi but no, I had not called.' He nodded and said that,'yes, not you but my friend called and said you needed a taxi. You had tried to stop a passing taxi?', he said. Gratefully, I got into the taxi and asked to be taken to Via Dei Pepi. In less than 10 minutes, I was at Via Dei Pepi 7, in front of the building that seemed exactly as shown in the website. The taxi fare was 10 euros but worth it for all the trouble I had gone through in reaching my b&b. I guess it is sometimes worth it to take a taxi, especially when you are arriving in a new city which has poor information desks and no readily available bus routes.

However, my saga of reaching my B&B didn't stop there. I went in through the open gate and rang the bell at a closed door on the ground floor. The door opened and a man peeped out and I asked, 'L'Acacia?'. He shook his head and said, 'non'. I asked, 'Dove L'Acacia?'. He again shook his head and closed the door. I was shocked. This was the building shown in the website and I was standing at the very arch and could see the courtyard with the old acacia tree and the wall murals and this was Via Dei Pepi 7 but if this was not L'Acacia, where was I to go. There were steps going up and as I had read that the place had been let out as private apartments to be able to maintain the old building, I thought maybe that b&b was located in a higher floor. I climbed to the first floor with my suitcase and rang the bell, as there were no name plates there as well. No-one answered the door, though I could have sworn I heard voices. I waited some time and thought of whether I should climb another flight of steps or go down. I heard voices downstairs and I looked down and saw a couple who were tourists. So, I thought that they could be staying at the b&b, which perhaps had a different entrance so I asked them where L'Acacia was. The man went off without bothering to answer but the woman stopped and answered in English, "I am sorry but we are tourists as well and just came into this building to take photographs so we can't help you there." I thanked her and she went. I decided I would go down and try to find a way to contact the owners of L'Acacia as I had their phone number with me. When I reached the outside only, I saw that there was an intercom with buttons for different apartments. I saw L'Acacia mentioned, as well as the names of Rosali Pepi and Diana Pepi who were the owners who had corresponded with me over the booking. I pressed all three buttons and finally, I heard a voice saying, 'Diana Pepi'. I was really happy to hear her voice. I replied, 'this is Ahila. I had made a booking at L'Acacia for three nights.' She responded warmly, 'Ah, yes, Ahila. Please come up. We are on the second floor.' Then she asked me if I had luggage with me and whether I needed help taking it up. I said 'yes, I would appreciate help as I have a bad leg and am really tired.'

She said she would be down in a minute to help me carry my suitcase up. I had assumed that there would be someone like a porter who would help me with my bag but I felt bad that she was coming down to help. So, I decided to take it up on my own. As I reached the first landing, she reached me and volunteered to carry my suitcase. I said that it was ok I could do it on my own and finally we agreed we would carry it together and we reached the first floor and then the second landing till both of us got tired. We paused for a brief rest and then finally made it to a huge wooden door that was the entrance of L'Acacia. She took me through the hall and the living room and to my room, which was a pleasant surprise. A lovely, spacious room with a huge, comfortable looking bed, a nice old wardrobe and two couches facing a TV and a pedestal fan greeted me. She also showed me my private bathroom which was located on the corridor past the dining room and said that the other private bathroom was for the other guests, a mother and daughter staying in another room. She also showed me the lovely two-story apartment for couples and the two apartments where her mother stayed with her four cats and dog and where she stayed.

As I had originally planned to visit Uffizi gallery on the afternoon/ evening of the day I arrived in and after the difficulty in finding Piazza Santa Croce, I decided that I would ask her if she knew the bus route to reach the Uffizi. She replied saying that she never used the bus and that everyone in Florence either walked or took the car and that L'Acacia was in the center of the historic part of the city and everything that I needed to see as a tourist was within walking distance. She gave me a better map saying that the map I had was not easy to read. She also mentioned that June 24th was San Giovani's day in Florence and therefore a public holiday and there would be a 15th century football match at Piazza Santa Croce that evening due to which the road where the B&B was located would be closed and if I wanted to go out, to make sure that I took the L'Acacia visiting card so that I would be let back in.

After a brief rest, I decided to have a wash and my lunch and then go out. However, after my lunch, I was still feeling tired and not particularly in the mood for sightseeing but rather for resting. I decided that it was better to regain my energy rather than operate on low energy mode and took a long nap. In the evening, around 5p.m., I decided to go out but as I reached the ground floor, I saw the gate was locked and I heard loud noises from firecrackers and crowds coming from the direction of Piazza Santa Croce. As I hesitated to go out, a group ran past the gate screaming towards the Piazza. They were all painted in red and seemed football fanatics. I seriously began to doubt if I should go out at all. However, after some time, the street seemed quiet, very quiet so I thought I would venture out. I stepped out of the gate and saw the two ends of the street blocked and lots of police and medics with shields and batons at the blocks. For a second, I was about to just turn around and go back in but then I hate being nervous for something that I felt I shouldn't be nervous about, so I walked up to the barrier and the police looked questioning at me. I said, "I want to go to the supermercato" and pointed in the direction away from the piazza. Going to the supermarket had been one of my plans for the evening but at the end of the sightseeing. The police impatiently nodded and said, "preggo". I walked past the painted, shaven heads of football fanatics and walked down the street to the direction of the supermarket mentioned by Diana. The street was totally quiet and expect for the football fans, there was no one else and there was a very tense sort of excitement about the place. I decided that that evening was not the right time to be going about exploring in the city for the first time and that I should simply go back to the apartment after buying some essentials at the supermarket and have a quiet evening, watching the Italian TV channels.

I bought myself tuna and tomato sandwiches and a bottle of lime juice for dinner as well as my supplies of water bottles for the three days and walked back to the blocked street. When I reached closer and closer, I noticed that were increased verbal altercations between the police and the crowds. As I reached the crowd and said, 'scusi', I think my face must have displayed my nervous feeling because the men who had been shouting at the police started making way for me and was telling the other men to let the signorina pass through. I was happy to reach my apartment and room and watched pieces of some Italian movies and dubbed American TV series like 'Charmed', 'Friends' etc. for the rest of the evening.

Italian holiday - Venezia II

The next morning, June 23rd, I decided that I would visit the islands as well as walk around the city. I went down for breakfast and saw the tables in the garden laid out. A couple were seated at a table and a man was mowing the grass. The man looked up and greeted me, 'Buon Giorno'. I responded likewise and sat at a table. He put his mowing machine to a side and came and asked me what I would like to have with breakfast: capucchino, tea or anything else. I responded 'capucchino'. He went in to make my capucchino. Vajira, the Sri Lankan staff at the Ponte Chiodo B&B, then came in from outside and proceeded to layout his purchases on the breakfast table. I went to see what there was on the breakfast table and saw a fruit basket and some croissants and rock-hard buns on a plate along with an assortment of jams, along with orange juice and cookies. The croissants in Italy, I found, mostly had marmelade or jam filling and not more of the melt-in-the-mouth plain butter croissants that I loved in Paris.

Mattia, the owner of the B&B, asked me during breakfast if I was planning to visit St. Mark's square and the islands. I said I had visited St. Mark's square the previous evening and planned to visit the islands today. He threw up his hands and said that he didn't know why some website has put up these two locations as must-sees because all tourists simply went only to these two. He asked whether Paris was only the Eiffel tower. He said that there was so much more to Venice that people missed out on. I asked him what he would recommend then for the visitor to Venice. He said a simple walking tour of the city, which would give so much insight into the loveliness of the place. I then said that perhaps he should put his recommendations up on his website. He said that it was a good idea which he would consider doing so as to stop himself repeating his frustrations to each visitor.

After breakfast, when I went to his office to settle my bills as I would be leaving early the next morning before the office opened, he took out a map of the city and made a drawing of the route that he liked and suggested for the first time visitor to Venice. I decided to take his recommendation and follow the route and I had a great time savouring the less crowded and less touristy walking route.

I left the B&B and walked along Strada Nuova towards the Rialto Bridge area, passing some interesting churches and canals with gondolas on the way. Then, I had my first glimpse of the bridge through the narrow streets and as I edged closer, the tourist crowds increased and finally arrived at the bridge. I walked over the bridge where stalls were set up selling souvenirs and trinkets and went to the other side. I decided to proceed to Chiesa Dei Frari, which according to Mattia, was the second biggest and important church in Venice after St. Mark's basilica and which he personally liked. Proceeding through streets that were quiet in some places and busy in others, I kept clicking at anything that caught my fancy: a dog standing at a shop doorway looking out onto the street, a quaint, little pink walled church, parked or cruising gondolas. I reached a large square as my feet decided that they needed some rest. So, I sat in a large square which had a few elderly people seated here and there and two pigeons walking towards the well to have a drink of water and enjoyed the quiet place.

Then, I proceeded forth towards my destination of Chiesa Dei Frari and passed shops selling colourful venetian masks and glass products from Murano and many more churches and bridges and canals. An interesting sight was the postman making his delivery. I saw a man running along the street with a trolley that had parcels and letters on it and he would stop door to door to make his deliveries. What was more interesting was when he had to cross bridges. He had an art of pushing the trolley step by step up, which made it seem a lighter load especially as he did it fast.

I finally reached Chiesa Dei Frari, which was huge and imposing. There were artists seated at the side of the watch painting and selling their artwork. I walked further to the square and decided to sit on the steps with a few other people who were taking a break there. I have often found that I have observed some nice angle seated, especially on steps, and thus I took most of my photos of the church from my seat on the steps. There was an antique bookshop in one of the buildings opposite where I was seated and there was a chinese restaurant besides Calle De La Passion. After enjoying the view and resting for some time, I decided to proceed to Campo Santa Margherita, which Mattia mentioned was around the university area and thus more quieter and less touristy. I took my masterpiece photo during this bit of walk, when I accidentally captured a pigeon swooping down while taking a photograph of an immense building. The pigeon is captured in detail from under and it is a lovely photo, which I have included in the slide show. I passed a tiny square called Campiello S. Bocco, after this and this square seemed to be a very busy residential area, with people hanging out their clothes, buying things at the grocery store, people collecting water in buckets from the well fountain in the middle of the square, flowers being sold in a shop. It looked like I had walked suddenly into the midst of the private lives of the people of Venice. I proceeded till I reached Campo Santa Margherita and searched for a shade from the scorching noon sun and a bench to rest my tired feet. I found under a lovely, large tree and of course, I clicked on the view that I saw through the branches. Two sparrows decided to come to the nearest branch and chirp about and I took a picture but it is difficult to spot the sparrow amongst the leaves. I have included that photo here in the slide show.

After resting and looking at the fruit markets in the square, I decided to proceed to my next destination: Ca' Rezzonica. Mattia had recommended it as a nice museum and as it was included as an addition in my St. Mark's square museum ticket, I decided that I would go and visit the small palace museum. Going in the direction that the museum was located, I passed a fruit and vegetables boat from which people were shopping directly. It was a nice boat packed with varieties of colour. I crossed over a bridge and passed a museum with artefacts and inventions or models of inventions of Michaelangelo. I am not sure if it was a special exhibition or whether that museum was dedicated to Michaelangelo. I had to walk along a final canal before reaching the museum and that path was a very quiet one, except for the talk of the gondolier taking a couple for a ride in his gondola. He was telling them that this was where the people of Venice actually lived and this was a nice route away from the masses of tourists. I paused to take pictures so that they would pass me by and leave me to enjoy the quietness of the area on my own. It was interesting to see each house having a garage-like space for their boat. I finally arrived at Ca' Rezzonica. As photos were forbidden within the museum, I had to content myself with photos of views from the entrance. The museum had nice paintings and much nicer views of the city.

It was past 1p.m. and I was getting hungry, but more importantly, my feet were ready to collapse and my camera's battery gave out and had to be recharged. So, I decided to go back to my room and have a little rest while charging my batteries before taking a cooler evening boat trip to the islands. I loved being on the sea and I really wanted to go on the longer trip to the islands, even if I did not get out and explore the islands themselves.


In the evening, I walked to the Fondamente Nuove line which is close to the Chiesa Dei Jesuiti and took the boat to Murano and Burano. I walked to the back of the boat and out into the open seating area and enjoyed the view and the sea air. I clicked my camera throughout the 2 hour boat ride to the islands and back. The route took me past tiny islands with ruins and to the first bigger island stop that was Murano. Murano didn't seem appealing with its factories lined up along the coast. My favourite island was Mazzorbo, which had the cutest looking streets with houses painted in all shades of colours lined along its small streets. A blue house would be adjacent to a yellow house or a pink house. The residents had just gone ahead and painted their houses in their favourite colours, I suppose. Mazzorbo was adjacent to the Burano stop so I would recommend this island as a place that one could consider staying at during their stay in Venice. Especially as one will have access to the non-touristy side of the island after all the tourists have left in the evening and only residents remain. Besides, accommodation and food might be cheaper and rooms more spacious.

When the boat returned to its original starting point at Fondamente Nuova, I decided to take the boat to Lido, which was the stop where the Grand Canal Line 1 ended. This would allow me to get into an empty returning boat and access to the seats at the open section of the boat. So, I had a nice ride along the Grand Canal, passing San Giorgio, San Marco, Accademia, Ca' Rezzonica, Rialto and Ca' D'Oro.

As it was around 8p.m. and my last night in Venice, I decided to have dinner at the restaurant close to my B&B, which was one of the places recommended by them. However, Antica Adelaide was disappointing and I did not enjoy my tagliatelle, which they seemed to have cooked with canned sauce, as much as I had enjoyed my simple and hot dish of fresh spaghetti with tuna sauce at a tiny bar in Torino.

The next morning, I took the Line 1 boat and went to the Piazzale Roma to take the train to Firenze.

Italian holiday - Venezia I

I had a 6.52a.m. train to catch and I decided to check out of the university dorm room at 6a.m., since I had assumed 50 minutes would be enough for me to go by the tram to the station, which was only four stops away. I had however overlooked the simple fact that the route that I had come to the university dorm was a one-way road and I did not know where the bus going in the opposite direction was. Seeing no-one on the road, I decided to walk in the direction of the station, which was one long walk in a straight road, hoping that I would either find the bus route to the station on the parallel roads or meet someone who could tell me where I should be taking the tram. Unfortunately, I did not realise either and after making slow progress heaving my luggage with me and the time reaching the 6.40a.m. limit, I decided to take a taxi though it would cost more than one third the cost of my one-week Torino travel and museum pass.

Managed to reach the station in time and after requesting the assistance of a security personnel at the station, managed to locate my train. This was not very obvious looking at the train arrivals and departures board because the main board only displayed the end station. Whereas your ticket only mentioned the station where you were getting off. So, until and unless you were familiar with the country layout and could guess from the city name displayed that you were travelling in that direction, it could be very frustrating to locate the right train. Even the person helping me first showed me to the wrong train. One way to verify the right train in Torino, is to look at the small TV screens on each platform start that gave the full journey of the train about to depart from the station. If your stop was mentioned in that list of stops, there was a great likelihood that it was your train. After that, you could get confirmation from that particular train's officials, who are usually around the start or end of the train. In my case, the security person realized that there was another train that fit my ticket more and he checked the TV screen to verify that Venezia was mentioned in the list of stops. I also verified with the train official before getting onboard. Then, I had my second lesson in train travel in Italy. On the ticket, there is something called the carozza and the posti. I had assumed that as long as it was a second class compartment, I could sit anywhere like on the Milano to Torino train. However, seeing smaller compartments within the coaches and seeing seat numbers on each, I realized that I had a specific seat. I decided to ask for information and found that the carozza refered to the coach one should be getting on and posti the seat number. Pretty straightforward but one had to learn it in Italian.

Found my compartment and my seat number in a small closed compartment with a little boy and his grandparents. I had to put my suitcase on the rack above and I could not lift it. This time, the grandfather came to my aid with the grandmother disapproving of his lifting a heavy suitcase. I thanked him and slipped into my window seat, to realize I had forgotten to close the glass door behind me when I had come in. I decided to get up and close it. I pointed to the door and asked, "Would you prefer the door closed?". The grandfather quickly got up and closed the door and gestured for me to sit and said something in Italian which I felt was to the effect not to trouble myself and he could close the door. I respondeed, "Grazie". The grandmother also beamed at me and I was relieved that she was not offended over the suitcase. That ice was broken and I found the two very friendly. They started off in italian but I had problems comprehending beyond a word or two and they did not know english. Then, the grandfather asked if I knew french. I said, "un peu". After that, it was fun trying to communicate in mixed italian, french and english. They were curious to know why I was in Italy and whether I was travelling alone. They were surprised to learn that I was travelling solo, especially coming to Italy all the way from Sri Lanka which they did not exactly know where it was in the world, and they actually said, "Brava". It felt like being with one's grandparents who found everything that you did admirable. The grandfather then proceeded to tell me that the little boy was his daughter's son and was trying to find the english word for it, when his grandson pitched in and said, "grandparents - grandfather and grandmother". Again, there was a "brava" from the grandmother and she was so proud her grandson could speak english and she informed me that he learnt it at school where they taught him english. The little boy, who had been shy all this time, now loosened up and wanted to know more about Sri Lanka. He asked how the country was doing economy-wise, whether it was rich or poor, what kind of animals could be found in the country, whether there were any monkeys here, whether it was hot or cold and whether it snowed, whether it was a peaceful country. He also got a doubt whether Sri Lanka was in Africa. His grandfather wanted to know what were the differences I felt there existed between Sri Lanka and European countries, like Italy. His grandmother wanted to show me her grandchildren's photograph and maize and rice fields as we passed the areas of Vercelli. They were also curious to know the route I would be taking on my travels. They commended on my choice and said that each city was diverse and beautiful and had special praise for Rome, "Ah.. Roma... bellisima". When two teenagers got on board and came into our compartment, the jovial grandparents started chatting them up and decided to introduce me to them saying that I was travelling solo all the way from Sri Lanka. It was a very funny and enjoyable train journey, which ended in Milano when the trio got off at their destination. They got off shaking hands and saying "Arrividerci".

After that the journey was uneventful and quiet, even though the compartment filled up with other passengers, including a cantata singer who read her music notes throughout the journey to Venezia. I got off at Venezia Santa Lucia station and made straight for the tourist desk, after getting two of my Euros traveller's cheque changed at the Foreign exchange desk at the station. I must say that I was surprised at the huge commission deducted. For cashing a 400 euros worth of travellers cheques, I was charged 60 euros as commission which I felt was too steep. Anyway, didn't have a choice and made my way to the tourist booth and waited in the queue for my turn to get my 48 hour HelloVenezia travel card, which would provide me unlimited travel on the public boat buses for that time duration. I knew from the instructions given on the website of the bed and breakfast place that I had booked that I had to take Line 1, the main line that went along the Grand Canal and had to get off at the 5th stop at Ca D'Oro. From there, I had to walk down a short street called Calle Ca D'Oro and turn left at a large street named Strada Nuova. On my right, I was supposed to find a little square with a well near a little fountain and I had to turn right to cross square while keeping to my left. At the left corner of square, I was supposed to turn left down the small street and find a street named 'Calle Priuli'. Then, I had to turn right and go along it and cross a little iron bridge, while paying attention to the fact that the street name changes to Calle de la Raccheta after the bridge. I would then find the Townhouse Suite at 3749 Ponte Chiodo.

Well, I came out of the station and found the boat stops right in front of me with the Lines 1, 2 & 3 in order. I went in the stop for Line 1, after validating my ticket at the entrance, and a boat bus came along. Got off at the right stop and walked down the tiny, little alley which was the only footpath from the boat landing inwards and came on to a larger street which was called Strada Nuova. Spotted a tiny well just before me but not a square and spied something like a square further to my left. This was the point that I missed my instructions and lost my way and ended up going up and down tiny streets and up and down little bridges with my luggage in the noon sun. No one seemed to know anything about where any street was located because the people walking by all seemed to be tourists and the shopkeepers apparently didn't live there or explore the area. Finally, I managed to get some help from an elderly man going for a walk and he thought that Ponte Chiodo could be on a parallel road to the one I was on but there was no short cut from this road but I had to go back to the main road, Strada Nuova. He walked back with me and took me to the street where the tiny well was and crossed it and we turned left and I came across 'Calle Priuli'. He pointed to a bridge along that road and he said I must cross it to get to my albergo. I thanked him and grateful that I had finally found the right road, went over the iron bridge and was delighted to see the name 'Calle de la Racheta' appear after the bridge. It was a very short walk to my b&b and I rang the bell. It was opened by an Asian man, who looked very Sri Lankan. He proceeded to give me the registration form to fill. Seeing my Sri Lankan address, he was so surprised and happy and started conversing in Sinhala. I was given a bunch of keys, the key to the gate entrance, the house entrance and my room entrance and I was shown a tiny room on the first floor. I was also told that breakfast was served from 8.30 to 10.30 but I could always make my own tea or coffee anytime, with the materials left on the sideboard of the dining room. I was also given a map of the city with some restaurants marked on it, as being better value for money.

It was already past 1.30p.m. and though I felt tired with all the search for my b&b place, carrying my suitcase, I decided to have the slice of pizza that I had bought at the railway station quickly and go to St. Mark's square where I was supposed to join the original walking tour at 2p.m. with Avventure Bellisime which I had booked and paid for online. However, by the time I had got my boat going in the direction of San Marco and made my way through the hundreds of people, it was almost 2.30p.m. I realised that it was impossible to locate my tour group and feeling the heat of the sun draining me, felt that I needed to do an indoor tour not outdoor. Decided to go into Palazzo Ducale museum entrance and got the St. Mark's square museum ticket, which was an entrance ticket to the four museums around St. Mark's square, including Palazzo Ducale and one other museum from a list. That was a wise choice as the Doge's palace provided a cool refuge and great photo angles. I finally came out of the side entrance and found the famous St. Mark's basilica on my right. I realised much later that I could have gone to the basilica from within but when I tried to go through the front entrance, the security personnel there said that the basilica was closed after 5p.m. and to come the next day. So, I walked around the square, took photos and visited another one of the St. Mark's square museum, before deciding to go back to my room and rest. I was too tired. I got myself a falafel burger from the tiny takeaway near my b&b and went back to my tiny but compact and cosy room.

Italian Holiday - Torino

Arrived in Milano after two long flights and transfer in Dubai. Took the shuttle bus from Malpensa airport to the central station, which was a long ride through the rains. At the station, however, I faced my first hurdle after being informed that I had to climb a long flight of stairs to the first floor to buy my ticket to Torino. As there was no other means of getting up there, I made a firm resolve that I could do it and carried my suitcase, one step at a time till I reached the top. It was easy finding the Trenitalia customer service with the queue standing in front of it. However, when I reached the top of the queue, either because the customer service was only in italian or it was truly the case, I was told to go to the counters 1 - 4 located downstairs on the other direction by which I had come up. So, had to carry the bag down again to a room where there were five counters and a long queue. I took my queue number and waited, feeling quite cold and very tired. I had expected Italy to be warmer than 10 degrees in summer. After a relatively long wait, counter 5 beckoned me and the trenitalia official there turned out to be very helpful. I had also written down all the tickets that I wanted with the journey date and start and end destination, for her easier comprehension. I ended up buying point-to-point tickets for all my train travel in Italy at that point itself, instead of a railpass on her recommendation. Having purchased my onward journey tickets after the conference, I only had the Milano - Torino ticket left. She said that a train was leaving in less than 10 minutes and I could run up to the platform located on the first floor and catch it but at the same time, not to forget to validate my ticket in the yellow box on the platform before entering the train. With the ticket in one hand and my suitcase in the other, I decided to undertake the heavy task of negotiating the staircase again. With time running out and my limbs protesting, I managed to reach the required platform just in time to validate my ticket and climb onboard. I sat in the first compartment that I entered after verifying that it was a 2nd class compartment.

The train to Torino took nearly two hours or slightly more, passing lovely little towns which I was not in much of a mood to appreciate having travelled straight through for nearly 24 hours and was just wanting to rest.

At Torino station, I went straight to the tourist information desk and asked for a Torino+Piemonte travel card which allowed unlimited travel in public transport and access to museums in Torino. With the travel card, I was given a map and I got the information of how to reach my university dorm room using public transport. I was lucky that the person who gave me instructions gave me clear instructions and I took the right tram in the right direction (which was not the case in my public bus commuting in Florence). Got off via Garibaldi, as instructed and decided to go into the fast food joint facing the stand so that I could buy my dinner and ask for directions to the university dorm rooms. Surprisingly, the young staff at the joint were not aware of the University of Torino's dorm rooms in the vicinity nor of a street named via Cappel Verde. Finally, one of them thought that it would be located in the direction of Porta Palatino and directed me to go straight and turn right. With that instruction, I walked down the street hoping that I was going in the right direction and I was happy and surprised to see a street on the left immediately after the fast food joint that had via Cappel Verde on its signboard. I guess the staff just came directly to their working place and left to wherever they came from, without ever looking about their neighbourhood.

After completing my registration, I collected my key and information materials and prepared to walk up the two flights of stairs to my room on the 2nd floor. Luckily, the student who was waiting to show me my room offered to take my bag up and I was spared that additional burden in my exhausted state. The micro-waved supermarket ready-to-eat spaghetti with tomato package completed my first day in Italy. And, I collapsed tired on my bed located on the lower floor of the two floor double dorm room, an unusual structure for a hostel room.

The next morning, I was late in getting up with the bleak weather outside and the travel tiredness still hanging over me. Eventually, I got up and decided to venture out to get some breakfast - my first capucchino in Italy and to buy some essentials such as an adapter for charging my mobile phone, as the two adapters that I had brought with me didn't fit in the plug points in my room. Found a coffee bar adjacent to the fast food joint of the previous evening and had my cafe and brioche there. Went for a walk towards the open market location that was mentioned by the receptionist. Passed some ruins, which was the Porta Palatina and a small mall lazily awakening to the morning, with a few shops being opened up and the sales people getting ready for their day's business. Walking through and past it, I came to a noisy, open area where the market was being held. I was uninterested in the clothes stalls but the colour and smells of the fruit market attracted me and I decided to buy some fruits. Decided to head back to the room to prepare for my presentation for the conference, as I had not had any time to do so back home.

In the evening, I decided to go out and explore the Piazza Castello area indicated on my map, which seemed to be at the end of Via Garibaldi. The Palazzo Reale, the royal palace of the House of Savoy, was located on this piazza and I decided to visit the palace museum. Two statues of a rider on a horse was at the entrance gate and I walked down the path to the entrance. It was nearly 6p.m. and there were few people seated on benches. It felt like the museum was closed but as I had read that the museum was open till 7.30, I thought I would find the museum entrance and find an official, where I could ask further information from. There seemed to be only one open doorway and I walked towards that and was met with the statue of Carlo Alberto majestically looking down on passersby. I turned and walked up the marble staircase with intricate carvings at the head. My face was turned upwards, gazing at the paintings on the ceiling. I walked into a room where two museum officials sat at a table and there were a couple of people seated in the middle of a room. I showed my Torino card and was issued a ticket to visit the palace museum and the guided tour was scheduled for 6.20p.m. I went down and into the courtyard to take some pictures until the tour time and then went back. Two guides, who seemed more like security officials than guides, beckoned us to a door and locked it behind us, after we had entered it.

We were then told that we could not take any pictures beyond that point and that we had to climb up the stairs. The tour was unfortunately in italian though more than half the visitors were non-italian speaking tourists. So, I could not follow what the guide said and focused on the rooms that we visited and tried to gather the stories behind them from their contents. The Mandarin room was interesting in its redness as was the intricate carvings on vases and candle holders. However, after visiting one stuffy room after another and having to stand on a thin carpet till the guide finished his explanations and led us to the next room, I began to feel nauseous. After a certain point, I felt that I had had enough and told the security person coming behind us that I wanted to leave the tour and go out. She was not pleased but finally agreed to let me leave as I was pretty insistent that I had to leave then. Taking out a huge bunch of keys, she opened a door and took me to an elevator, where she made a call and handed me over to another security personnel who took me to the entrance gate and let me out. I therefore did not get to visit the chapel in the west wing, which had housed the Turin shroud. However, the fresh air that greeted me as I came into the open piazza did me a lot of good and I returned to my room, quite happy with my outing.

The next three days was occupied with the conference, though I did manage to visit the Mole Antoneliana or the National Film Museum and the Museo Egizio/Egyptian museum on two evenings. The National Film Museum had a panoramic lift which took one to the top where one could have a good view of the city. The museum itself was interesting with a central hall where two big screens played movies and visitors could sit on reclining chairs and enjoy the ongoing movie. A huge golden statue was a central piece in that hall and the room that led behind it was dedicated to the movie 'Cabiria', which I learnt was a 1914 Italian movie that was a huge hit. Walking around that museum was like walking into a set of some movie or other, with the theme of the movie the decoration for that set and the movie playing in a unique part of the room: on the lab table of a laboratory etc. Many sets were dedicated to Hollywood movies and actors and actresses. The Egyptian museum had a collection of interesting artefacts though what I found more interesting was the roomfull of mummies.

The final afternoon in Torino, after the conference was over, I decided to visit the Basilica di Superga after lunch. A conference friend and I took the bus 15 from Piazza Castello as mentioned on my map. The bus sign also said Sassi - Superga so confident we were on the right bus, we sat on the free seats on the back and enjoyed the drive. The bus went through different parts of the city and at the end, arrived at a stop where everyone got off. However, we did not see any basilica in sight nor did we see any historic tram leading up the hill to the basilica. So, we asked the bus driver and after much pointing at the map, he said that this bus would take us there and that he would show us the tram that went up to the basilica but to give him a few minutes to have his coffee. So, we sat in the bus until another bus driver came and told us that we had to move to the bus that was parked at the back. To be sure, we showed him the map and said that we wanted to go to the Basilica di Superga and he nodded and pointed to the bus parked behind the bus we were in. So, we got into that bus which was a nicely air conditioned bus. The driver who had gone for coffee returned and got into this bus and the bus started. I was trying to see if I could spot any of the roads mentioned on the map. Also, we were supposed to cross a river but it seemed a long drive. I was just commenting that the real length of the roads was much longer than it appeared to be on the maps, when my friend pointed to a fountain on the middle of a square and said "we are coming back to the hotel where I live". She had pointed out a square with a fountain earlier on our way out and indicated that her hotel was near that area. I calmly replied that it must be similar to the one near her hotel. As soon as I had said that, I recognized Piazza Castello and realised that we had arrived at the exact place we had started off. It was very funny to realize that we had taken the bus in the wrong direction but it had been a nice drive that had taken us through different parts of the city, which we would not have otherwise seen.

In a few minutes after that, we passed the river Po as we were supposed to and we could see the hill and the Basilica getting closer. Finally, the bus stopped and the driver pointed out a little station saying that we had to take our tram from there to the Basilica.

We took the little tram up to the basilica and walked up the winding path. The view of the basilica from between the trees and the branches was lovely and I kept clicking my camera. I have now several photos of the same view but there is one that is my favourite and which is in the slide show. A photo where my hand shook due to which the images are blurred but the colours are mixed in a lovely way like a piece of modern art.

I had read that the basilica had been built in order to fulfill the vow made by Vittorio Amedeo II, when the region was about to be invaded by the French troops. More on the story can be found here. It was lovely church in a very peaceful location and I found the interior very calming. After spending some time there, we decided to visit the basilica museum as well, especially as we were in time for the guided tour which was as usual in italian. The view of the basilica from the inner courtyard was even prettier and especially through the arches in the corridor. The rooms themselves were ok, with some interesting artefacts, especially sculptures. There was an interesting sculpture of a realistic looking rooster aggressively digging up dirt on the mantelpiece. According to what I could understand from the guide's italian, this was supposed to be multi-symbolism, religious and historic.

After the tour, we decided to return to the city as we wanted to have pizza on our final night in Torino and also get some of the giandujotti from the birthplace of chocolate. Visiting a chocolaterie on Via Po was a lovely experience and very tempting to see all the varieties of chocolates, both hand-made and factory manufactured ones. We also enjoyed having the first pizza since we arrived in Italy, fresh from the wood stove.

Torino was a pleasant city, quiet and welcoming and I enjoyed my stay there.