ATTRACTIONS This was a big day of again cramming a lot into a short amount of time before we headed out of Italy and into France. I had my sites set on the Archaeological museum - little did I know trying to get in there in itself would be a confusing endeavour, and none of … Continue reading Turin – Part 2
OVERVIEW For some reason I had in my mind this was a smaller town with nothing to its name but a musty old Shroud. That's what you get for not reading up. It's not. It's a fairly large city with a long history originating from Roman times, and no less than 18km of shopping arcades. … Continue reading Turin – Part 1
OVERVIEW Unfortunately, out of all the places we had visited so far, Florence had the seediest feel - immediately evident on arriving from the main station. As we were walking to our hotel, we heard some screaming and shouting, then two girls running - it seemed like they had been robbed? It's also possible they … Continue reading Florence
Overview Venice is an expensive city to visit, both in terms of accommodation and food (compared to the rest of Italy), but if you wander away from the main tourist tracks and you'll find delightful little cafes with various panini at a pretty reasonable price. The tourist paths are marked with signs and are really … Continue reading Venice – Part 2
OVERVIEW Venice is at once both larger and smaller than I expected. But while it's certainly a beautiful city, and the old palaces lining the grand canal (most have now been converted to galleries, institutions and other state buildings) are enormous, it's somewhat worn and weary. Ca Rezzonico has been converted into an 18th century … Continue reading Venice – Part 1
OVERVIEW I'm not sure if Verona is actually called the city of marble by anyone else, but I can't think of it any other way. Everywhere you look there is marble - marble columns and monuments, marble facades, marble streets, statues, sidewalks, even public benches! The most common is red (local) or white marble, but … Continue reading Verona – The City of Marble
OVERVIEW Zurich, famous for being one of the most expensive cities in the world. It lived up to this reputation pretty quickly on my arrival as I had to pay 2 Swiss francs to use the public bathrooms at the train station - having said that, they WERE the cleanest and most spacious public toilets … Continue reading Zurich
OVERVIEW Heidelberg was the first 'smaller' city we'd visited, although it's not the tiniest town. Built up primarily around a university, it's somewhat constrained by the river on one side and mountains on the other so it has stretched out lengthways along the riverbank. As a result, the old part of town is fairly well … Continue reading Heidelberg
OVERVIEWDay two involved a long walk across the Hohern Zollern bridge with it's famous love locks. Unlike the pedestrian bridges in Melbourne, from which the locks were cut due to structural integrity concerns, the Hohern Zollern is a massive triple rail bridge made of huge steel girders which apparently has no issue bearing the possibly … Continue reading Cologne – Part 2
OVERVIEW Cologne. Firstly, the station is enormous. The first thing we saw was the cathedral, and regardless of what you think of the Catholic church it is monumentally impressive. Put on your walking shoes as between the main churches, the old town, Hohen-Zollern bridge, and if you're there at Christmas the dozen or so Christmas … Continue reading Cologne – Part 1
Eating Our Identities 