Hello Como!

This morning we caught the train (again!) from Milan to Como.

The terrible view from our hotel room!

Despite the rain we found our hotel and headed out to explore the town of Como (which has free wi-fi!). We are staying at a hotel right by the lake with amazing views but, despite our best efforts (I.e. visiting the local Nespresso store), we have not yet run into George. Como is a gorgeous place with cobblestone streets, piazzas and lots of nice places to sit, have a coffee and take in the view.

The Como Duomo - one of many many churches in the area!

Tomorrow - the HOHO bus (hopefully better than the very ordinary one in Milan yesterday!).

 

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Rain, rain, rain!

Today it rained... and rained... and rained...!!! Thank goodness for raincoats and hotel umbrellas.

You will all be pleased to know (we hope you are all still tuning in to our daily blog) that we managed to find a lavanderia that existed and was open! We had a bit of a walk in the rain to get there but by lunch time we were all done and ready for the HOHO bus. We weren't ready for the Italian schedule they ran to though - don't worry about a timetable!!!

It was good to see a bit more of the city and learn about the history - Milan used to be the capital of Italy! They still pride themselves on being the financial and fashion capital.

We spent a bit of time looking at the Castello Sforzesco which is now a collection of civic museums but dates back to the second half of the 14th century. It was a ducal residence and a dominant power house in the history of the Italians, Spanish and French - even our mate Napoleon got a mention. Leonardo da Vinci was involved in part of its design and artwork.

Castello Sforzesco

Col looking for the quince paste to go with the Castello cheese at the castle!!! Nowhere to be found in the rain!!

We got to see the Duomo again - an amazing structure which took 600 years to construct! For the Cobramites reading along - the Piazza outside the cathedral is a bit like Mivo Park, it's the place to hang out!!

Plaza Duomo

Other sites for the day:

Stazione Centrale - this is where we arrived and left Milan. Beautiful building just a bit grotty - a bit like most of the city.

San Marco Church - Mozart played here when he was about 14!

Tomorrow - Como!!!

 

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Mangia!

We arrived in Italy just over twenty four hours ago and so far we've had:

• Lasagne
• Pizza
• Calzone
• Italian Cab Sav
• Coffee
• Gnocchi
• Gelati!

I'm not sure that there's much left to achieve in Italy!

 

Today we explored the local neighbourhood and wandered through the markets. Actually that's not what happened, what we actually did was search the neighbourhood for a lavendaria that doesn't exist!!

 

Once we gave up we headed into the centre of Milan which we discovered is much nicer than the area we're staying in. What could be a really lovely neighbourhood along the canal is not well looked after and covered in graffiti. We've noticed that the Italians don't take as much pride in their public parks and gardens as the Spanish, French and Swiss.

Sunday Market along the Canal

In the centre of Milan we discovered some lovely buildings, including the amazing Duomo (cathedral), and all the good shops!

The Duomo which is guarded by security and the army!

We went to mass at the Duomo this afternoon which is a huge, richly decorated Cathedral, however we weren't allowed to take photos! As we left it was bucketing rain and we got drenched. Fingers crossed it stops tomorrow so we can continue our search for a lavendaria and check out the HOHO bus.

 

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Another day - another country!

This morning we awoke to the sound of rain! This is our first rainy day in four weeks (yes, can you believe we have been gone that long?!). We donned our raincoats and walked the streets of Bern, the Swiss capital. A very pretty city, from what we saw, with lots of different shops, a flea market and cathedral. Interestingly, a lot of the shops were a sale point for the craftsman who make their own leather bags, dresses, knitwear, furniture, jewellery etc.

The cathedral in Bern

We also managed to find the best coffee we have had since we left home! So we had two each!

There were also chocolate cows...

And a clock that was supposed to do something amazing on the hour so we hung around until 12.00pm to catch it but we may have blinked or been dodging a bus because we think we missed it. It was an attractive and large clock though!

Alas, we did not find Roger Federer (Col did see a picture of him though!).

After the most beautiful train journey through the Swiss/Italian mountains we arrived in Milan.

Thankfully we made it safely to our hotel despite the umbrella sellers (I think they were selling Eiffel Towers yesterday) and the taxi driver who thought he would try out his half English half Italian on us. We understood most of what he was trying to tell us even though he drove most of the waving his hands in the air looking over his shoulder to see if we understood. Oh Italy!!

Lavendaria tomorrow!!!

 

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Train Day!

Today we left Lille bright and early to head to Paris. After a couple of hours in Paris (the station - not at all exciting) we boarded a train to Lausanne (Switzerland) and then through to Bern. Although we spent the whole day travelling, the scenery in Switzerland is beautiful! We saw snow on the mountains, Lake Geneva (it's massive!), lots of beautiful, lush, green farmland (with massive barns!) and some really cute houses - quite different to France. Bern itself is a lovely but very busy little city and we're looking forward to a bit of a wander before we head to Milan tomorrow.

We'll be keeping an eye out for a chocolate shop tomorrow and Roger Federer!

We thought you might be interested to read more about Colette & Claude Dugard and the ANZAC celebrations at Bullecourt: http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=36019

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Lest we forget

There are thousands of men listed on the wall of the Australian memorial at Villers Bretonneux and the cemetery is filled with hundreds more, some named some unknown, who gave their lives on the battlefields of the Western Front. This morning we sat among them as thousands of people, mainly Australians, paid respect for their sacrifices. The dawn service on this soil was an experience we will never forget.

Our day was filled with stories and places that were integral to the eventual end of the war. We travelled through the Valley of the Somme, along the ridge where Monash planned what many believe to be the turning point of the war and stood on the ground that was reclaimed by the allies. The French people are so grateful for the contributions made by allied soldiers, especially Australian. There are street names, buildings, squares, places - all with an Aussie flavour.

Our guide, Annette, was telling us that the knowledge of the French people regarding the Australian involvement wasn't always strong. In French schools they taught only the involvement of French troops and battles until diggers began to visit the area with their sons and the local school children began bringing to school mementoes that their parents and grandparents were finding in their homes and on their farms (even today farmers are still discovering remains of the war as they work the soil).

A French schoolteacher, Claude Dugard, contacted the Australian Government to find out more information about the Australian troops and they sent him a copy of Charles W Bean's history of the war! Have you ever tried to read this book?! As Claude couldn't understand a word of it he learnt English and became a strong advocate for the story of the ANZACS on the Western Front and the Somme. He and his wife hosted soldiers and their families, corresponded with others wanting to find out more information, taught their students about the Aussies and worked in his local community to gain recognition and knowledge of the efforts of the Australian soldiers, including the construction of several significant memorials. We thought this story from Annette was amazing! And then, walking up a hill towards the Australian memorial at Bullencourt we met this lady...

Our guide Annette, on the left, with Colette Dugard AO!! Her and Claude were awarded Order of Australia medals for their service to Australia and she was wearing it proudly!

Colette is the wife of Claude, the school teacher mentioned above! Claude passed away last year and she was on her way to the ceremony at the memorial with flowers for her grandchildren to place at the foot of the Digger statue.

Each year her husband would receive requests from Australian families who sent medals belonging to their fathers and grandfathers asking him to wear them in the ANZAC ceremony at Bullencourt. In France you are not allowed to wear medals that do not belong to you but you can put them on a 'plaque' with the person's photo and wear this around your neck. Colette's granddaughters wear the medals each year and lay flowers in memory of the soldier and his family.

Col had the perfect opportunity to practice her French - Je m'appelle Collette! (My name is Collette!)

There are many other memories we have of our two day ANZAC tour of the battlefields of the Western Front. We also met some wonderful Aussies who walked the journey with us and who came from all over Australia. We were a proud group of Aussies travelling the path of the Aussie diggers!

Australian Memorial at Le Hamel

The battleground at Le Hamel. This battle took place on 4th July, 1918 starting at 3.02am. Between 3.20 and 3.30am two Victorian Crosses were awarded. The battle lasted 93 minutes (Monash had planned for it to take 90 minutes). There is a street in the town named Rue de 4th July 1918.

 

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Battlefields

Today we started our ANZAC Day Battlefields tour.

We were collected from Lille this morning where we boarded our luxury tour coach full of Australians! I've never seen a bus like it - it has leather seats, chairs in groups of four with tables in the middle and a kitchenette complete with microwave and espresso machine. Flash. There are Australians on our tour from all over the country - even Narre Warren!

Our first stop was VC Corner just outside of Fromelles - the only war cemetery in the area dedicated solely to Australians. It's amazing how well cared for these sites are. Approximately 410 Australian soldiers have their final resting place here in two massive unmarked graves - their names, along with 800 other soldiers whose final resting place is unknown, are listed on the wall of the memorial.

Next we moved closer to the town of Fromelles where we visited a fairly new cemetery that was established after a mass grave was located at Pheasant Wood - many of those who were found in this grave have since been identified and reburied at this new memorial. They are also in the process of building a museum at this site.

The Battle of Fromelles took place on 19-20 July 1916 and was a disaster for Australian and British forces with over 5000 Australian casualties in just one day. Their objective of reaching the "Sugarloaf" was not realised.

From Fromelles we headed towards Pozieres where we visited the Thiepval Memorial, dedicated to British soldiers near the site where almost 20 000 died in one day of fighting, past Mouquet Farm to the Windmill site and the Gibraltar bunker.

The Thiepval Memorial

Windmill Site

The Gibraltar Bunker

The Victoria School at Villers Bretonneux was our final stop for the day. As we drove into the town we were amazed by the preparations at the memorial for tomorrow's dawn service as well as the streets and landmarks with obvious Australian references (Le Victoria restaurant, Rue Melbourne and Robinvale Square - Robinvale is Villers Bretonneux sister town). The school is home to a museum dedicated to Australian troops and contains uniforms, letters and various other items collected over the years or donated by the families of Australian soldiers. The school has a large sign over their shelter shed that reads "DO NOT FORGET AUSTRALIA".

We've learnt so much today that our brains hurt and the number of men and women who died as a direct result of this war is overwhelming. We even learnt about women who died in England as a result of the poisons they came into contact with in the munitions factories. Plus the impact on the families of those men who didn't come home, as well as those who did survive but went home shell shocked and traumatised, must have been devastating. Yet the locals continue to honour the memories of those soldiers who gave their lives to defend their homes and their presence has left it's mark on the whole area.

 

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Au revoir Paris - for now!

We departed Paris this afternoon headed for Lille to meet up with our ANZAC day tour.

Before we left we were able to spend half a day finding something new to check out!

And this is what we found! Sainte-Chapelle in the centre of the Ile-de-la-Cité.

This Gothic church was the Chapel of the Royals and was built between 1242 and 1248! Old! The Palais de la Cité also housed the Conciergerie (Marie Antoinette stayed here before she had her head separated from the rest of her). The chapel also housed relics such as the Crown of Thorns (they are now at Notre Dame). The Conciergerie is now part of the Palais de Justice.

The Palais de Justice

There are 1,113 scenes depicted in the stained glass windows which fill the space. Each window is 15m high! Only the King, his family and close friends were allowed to worship in the upper chapel. There is also a lower chapel which was for the Palace staff.

The Rose Window

We also visited the Ile St-Louis, enjoyed lunch (found a guy with a Yarawonga t-shirt on - he had only played golf there though) and had a Paris-famous ice cream.

So, what did we enjoy about Paris? Too hard to pin it down to a few things - the constant vision of recognisable sights was amazing, the history and the French obsession with their story, the setting and the fact we had the chance to spend a week there! How lucky are we?!!!

"That's all there is. There isn't anymore." (Final line of Madeline for those who don't know - Col's favourite French story!)

 

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The things (and people) you see in Paris!

After a quiet morning we headed off on a big walk to the Louvre then through the Tuileries (with a coffee break next to the pond) to the Place de la Concorde before checking out the shops on the Champs-Élysées and finally arriving at the Arc de Triomphe. About 4 kilometres. Along the way we saw unfit Policemen chasing illegal souvenir sellers away from the Louvre (they thought it was hilarious and were congratulating each other on getting away), ducks, a school group from Sydney, the President's house, the Seine, the Eiffel Tower (again) and the obelisk.

 

After some lunch and another wander through the shops (not that we bought anything - expensive shopping on the Champs-Élysées) we headed back along the river with an amazing view of Paris.

On the way we stopped for coffee, crepes and a nana nap by the pond in the Tuileries! An interesting spot from which to watch the world go by!

We finished the day with an unexpected catch up with one of Col's uni friends and his girlfriend - amazing who you get to have dinner with in Paris!

 

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Tired feet!

We have spent a lot of time on our feet today and they are tired - but we are not finished with them yet!

We began the day walking to Notre Dame Cathedral for mass at 10.00am. We happened to score the Gregorian mass so there was great music although we couldn't sing along in French! Lucky we didn't opt for the 11.30am mass - they were celebrating something to do with a bicentenary and Frederick Ozanam (the info was in French and I can't be bothered googling it!). We counted 33 priests, 4 bishops and we think a Cardinal processing in!

Following a coffee and croissant under the shadows of the Notre Dame tower, we headed for the Musee d'Orsay.

Not only do we have a Palace in Lyon, we have a boat on the Seine! You might have to look closely!!

We had a lovely Sunday afternoon perusing the art works that we have seen so many reproductions of! Even saw the polar bear Joel!

Musee d'Orsay

After a wander back to the Hotel through the Tuillerie Gardens we are now getting ready for a Seine dinner cruise. Better go and spruce up!!!

 

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