This trip, which Anne calls “The Magical Musical Tour of
Europe by Joe C Sr” actually started with an idea by Chungshu. As part of his European tour last year he got
to visit many of the well-known opera houses in Europe. Time constraints didn’t allow him to go
inside these auditoria, and he wondered if a tour with the explicit goal of
seeing operas in different cities mafr sense.
Since we have done a music tour of the Midwest a couple of years ago,
and have visited several concert and opera sites in Europe during our various
trips – and thus had some idea how the booking process went – I mused that as
being possible. One thing led to
another, and what started as jokes evolved into serious planning in January.
We couldn’t start until May 8, as Anne’s teaching
commitments lasted until May 7. By then
the opera seasons are ending and our choices thus limited. Nonetheless, we managed to book 5 operas in
three cities, and “waitlisted” for another one.
Since we were going to be in the area, we decided to tag
on visits to Cinque Terre and Prague, spending a couple of days at each
location.
The concept is easy enough, but the actual planning and
execution turned out to be quite time-consuming, partly due to our inability to
decide in some cases. With language
problems, booking train and opera tickets was a bit unwieldy, but most of the
sites did have good English websites. The first time we tried to book tickets with
an opera house, my credit card was declined.
After fixing that with a phone call, all subsequent bookings didn’t
present any problems.
Tuesday 5/8. John
Sun came by to pick us up after picking up the Yangs. Security was easy, and we managed to spend
some time in a United “pop-up” lounge (regular one under renovation.) The plane was a 767, and the economy plus
section was quite empty, so we each had a row of 2 or 3 seats. Anne managed to sleep a couple of hours, the
rest of us dozed off now and then.
Wednesday 5/9. Plane
landed early at around 7:40 am, and we were out at around 8 am. We decided to buy a 72-hours Zurich Pass (at
CHF 53 each), which in addition to free transportation (within certain zones) also
offered free or discounted admission to various attractions. The best feature
was we didn’t have to buy tickets for each trip. We got to the hotel at around 9 am, one room
was available, so we used it as a staging area before heading out to town.
For the morning we visited Grossmunster Church, an
important location during the Reformation.
After that we walked to the University of Zurich, which is school for
25,000 students. We then went to
lakeside Lake Zurich, and had lunch of purchased sausages. By then the other room was ready, so we went
back to the hotel to catch some sleep.
Arrival at Zurich Airport on 5/9/2018.
Grossmunster Church which figured prominently in the Reformation.
View of Zurich from the University.
The usual water fowl looking for bread tossed by the lunch crowd at Lake Zurich. There are some unusally colored ducks in their midst.
Lake Zurich at Night.
Dinner was simple middle eastern food from New Point
(where we ate also during the last trip).
The opera we watched was Maria Stuarda, and it was about
10:30 pm when we were done. After a
short walk by the lakeside where CS took many pictures, we headed back to the
hotel for the night.
Zurich Opera.
The opera house seats 1200, quite small compared to other international venues. The balcony and boxes have notoriously poor views of the stage.
Accommodations: Renaissance Zurich Tower Hotel (2 nights.)
Thursday 5/10. One
of the benefits of being a Marriott Gold member is free breakfast. When we enquired at the restaurant this
morning the staff there told us we could eat at the lounge. It was a smallish room, but for this morning
we were the only two people there. They have the usual hot and cold buffets and
we took advantage.
We met up with the Yangs at 9 am. Today is Ascension day, a public
holiday. We were a bit concerned that
museums would be closed. Turns out they
were not. The Zurich Card gave us free
admission to the Swiss National Museum, which had a special exhibit called
“Stil” (style) and other permanent exhibits showing Swiss “stuff.” The Klimt-like poster for the Stil exhibit
was actually a well-executed collage of a few paintings. We had limited time so I didn’t get to
explore what make the Swiss, Swiss, but managed to get that fondue was invented
as a means to sell more cheese, and that there is a difference between Rennet
and whey cheese. We then took the tram
to Kunsthaus, which we visited before, and spent about an hour there. Here the Zurich card gave us a discount of
CHF 5 (from 16 to 11). The collections
in this museum are worth spending time on.
I was wondering where all the Giacometti’s sculptures were, the staff there
told me many were in storage as the museum is being renovated – I had thought I
remembered wrong.
Courtyard in the Swiss National Museum.
Interesting installation in the National Museum.
Famous self-portrait by Van Gogh, Kunsthaus. On the way I saw a documentary affirming that van Gogh cut off his entire ear.
Kunsthaus has a large collection of March Chagall paintings.
Most of the Giacometti sculptures were in storage due to construction. Here are a few still left on display at Kunsthaus.
After seeing Werther at Zurich Opera, we found a place to
eat at Nordsee at the main train station.
Werther at Zurich Opera.
The hotel lounge was quite crowded, but we managed to
find a small table, ate a few snacks, and chatted for a while.
Friday 5/11. After
an early breakfast, we checked out of the hotel at 8 am. Zurich HB is a short tram ride away from
Technopark (our hotel’s location.)
The train ride (EC 15) from Zurich to Milan took about
3:30 hours. I was a bit surprised at how
chaotic it seemed, with a lot of people standing. Whether that was by choice or out of
necessity, I don’t know; but I do know we had assigned seats. I am typing this during the Milan to La
Spezia journey, and for both trains people seemed to take their desired seats
and move when the “legitimate” passengers come along.
The 3:30 hours passed by rather quickly, we went through
many tunnels, and every now and then caught glimpses of snow covered mountains
in the distance. The many lakes we
passed by also made the ride quite picturesque.
Anne and I had lunch at Roadhouse in the Milan station.
According to the photo's geotag, this is Lake Lucerne along our way from Zurich to Milan.
Milano Centrale is a large train station with over 20 tracks. Today it is a transit station, we would return to Milan in a couple of days.
Roadhouse Restaurant at the Milan station.
This is a main road in La Spezia.
The Monteverde Resort is one floor in this building.
The Trenitalia train from La Spezia could use a scrubbing
down, but the inside of the train was surprising spacious (seating was 2+1,
with a wide aisle in between.) At one
hour into the ride, things have gone smoothly.
Unfortunately, things didn’t start out well for the La
Spezia hotel we were staying. It was
booked through hotels.com, and I got a message from them saying we should let
the hotel know (via message) what time we would get in. I dutifully sent the cell numbers a message
that our train would arrive at 5:21 pm.
When we got to the address (per Google) we saw a plaque
giving out the same two cell numbers outside a locked door. When we tried pressing the intercom, no one
answered. So I called them, and was told
they didn’t get the message, and that it would take them 20 minutes to get to
the hotel. I decided to walk off my
frustration, and the others said someone showed up sooner than 20 minutes. He was still there and was answering
cheerfully questions posed by the others that it was difficult to get mad at
him. The lady who runs the place showed
up a bit later also. I personally prefer
punctuality and delivering on promises rather than friendliness, but I suppose
many come to these areas for precisely that and the laid-back feeling.
The “hotel” is basically an apartment with five rooms,
with each room named after one of the villages, a small common area, and an
office. The rooms are small, reminding
us of this one time in London. The
shower is barely large enough to turn around it. It is convenient – this is a small town – and
reasonably clean.
There was a market this afternoon, it would disappear
that evening. I suspect this is
“traveling” sort we also encountered in Tuscany. Most of the stuff sold were daily goods.
We walked to the La Spezia harbor, which was quite
big. Dinner was at “Dai Pescaton” where
you ordered, picked up your food, and found a table in the “dining area.” Food was so-so, but inexpensive.
After dinner we strolled across a modern-looking bridge
to the other side of the harbor.
Accommodations: Monteverdi Resort (2 nights.)
Saturday 5/12.
When we got to the pier for the ferries, there was already a long line
waiting to buy tickets, with the ticket office not yet open. We found out there was a cash line that was
much shorter, and bought tickets from that.
The boat left promptly at 9:15 am, and I am sure many people didn’t make
it (next one was at 10, “soon” by Italian standards.)
Cinque Terre is a group of five small villages:
Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. They are known for crowded, colorful houses
built on the side of these rocky cliffs.
In the area there are other villages with as their only accesses long
stair cases from the main road (we were told one exceeded 2000 steps). There were many castles built in the 1600s
during the Genoan Kingdom period; some date even earlier. From what I could tell, churches also
dominated the villages’ “skylines,” for lack of a better word. For 35 euros one can buy a ticket on the
ferry that makes stops at 4 of the villages.
We ended up disembarking first on Monterosso, and as we
did with subsequent villages, walked around and took pictures. The second village we visited was
Vernazza. The ferry to leave the village
wasn’t for 2 hours, so we walked, took pictures, and then tried to find
lunch. The cafes and restaurants were
all busy, we finally found seats in one.
When I started to order at the counter (as everyone seemed to be doing),
half way through the order taker decided since we were eating in, someone would
come to help us. So I stewed at the
table for a few minutes before I decided to excuse myself and walked out – Anne
followed along. (I was told by the Yangs
they had to try three times before the waitress came by.)
In the Cinque Terra area there are villages that are accessible by only walking up and down many steps.
Approaching Vernazza. Boats tie themselves to pylons and steady themselves by reversing the engines.
Quiet late lunch in Riomaggiore.
Riomaggiore.
Hordes of tourists this time of the year. This scene at Portovenere.
Beef being aged in a local restaurant.
My original plan was to take the train back to La Spezia
and call it a day, but we decided to get off at Riomaggiore and had lunch at a
“random” restaurant. The mixed fried
seafood was quite a bit better than what we got at Dai Pescaton yesterday. So far we were pleasantly surprised that food
is in general not very expensive.
When we got on the ferry again at Riomaggiore, we found –
as expected – the Yangs on it. We
stopped at Portovenere for a few minutes before rejoining the boat to return to
La Spezia.
Anne and I had dinner at Come Te in town, where a
3-course meal cost E22, including service.
It was then time to pack for departure tomorrow.
Come Te is one of the best restaurants in La Spezia.
Dinner at Come Te. Fish and pasta.
Sunday 5/13. The
walk from the hotel to the La Spezia station is uphill, and took us a few
minutes. As opposed to Switzerland,
things here in Italy often don’t seem to work, the elevators at the La Spezia
station among them. It took us a bit of
effort to lug our suitcases up and down the stairs. On the other hand, we manage to buy these 1st
class tickets La Spezia to Genoa for a little over 10 euros each, so the ride
was comfortable.
I had trouble finding the connecting train to Milan at
the Genoa station, and then discovered to my horror that we got off at the
Milano Bignole station, instead of the Piazza Principe station. We managed to get on a local train to get to
PP, and was told by Information that we didn’t have to pay, so things worked
out and we boarded the Genoa to Milan train on time. We also had enough time to take a picture
with Christopher Columbus right out the PP station. Not quite home free yet, as there was an
announcement that the train would be delayed by 25 minutes (actual was 30
minutes.) We ended up checking in the
hotel at around 1:45 pm – rooms were available – and then took the Metro to La
Scala which was a major reason for this trip.
The opera was Francesca da Rimini.
After the opera we wandered through the fancy Galleria
Vittorio Emanuele II Shopping Mall to the Duomo. From there we caught the Metro back to the
hotel area. We had dinner at a nearby
restaurant, Giglio Rosso. I had the beef
steak, cooked medium rare. I continue to
prefer American steak.
Inside La Scala.
Curtain Call Francesca da Rimini.
Statue of Puccini.
Anne and I walked around a bit, looking for a laundromat,
before we came back to the hotel.
Accommodations: Smart Hotel Milano Centrale (3 nights).
Monday 5/14. Today
is Lake Como day.
Breakfast was provided free by the hotel, with the usual
hot entrees of eggs, sausage, and bacon.
Anne and I then went to the laundromat that we scouted out. In her broken English, the attendant told us
they did only dry cleaning and it would take four days anyway. The same answer – this time in better English
– by the one down the street the first lady referred us to. A search of the internet found a
“self-service” one a few blocks away.
There we had more luck, the young man looking after the store offered to
put our washed laundry in the dryer and we could pick up before 7 pm. We gladly gave him E15, the actual cost was
about E8 if we had done it ourselves. We
did wonder as we left whether we would see our clothes again.
While checking out a ticket machine at the train station,
a man in jacket and tie approached us to try to help us. His crumpled shirt and somewhat worn jeans
gave him away as a possible scam artist, so we moved to another machine. With available English screens, the process
is quite simple anyway. We ended up
taking an EC (Euro City?) train out, and a regional train back, costing E17 and
around E7 each, first class.
Anne talked to someone at the Information Booth and was
provided with the wrong information. We
did manage to take the 1:30 pm fast boat to Bellagio, stopping by a few towns
along the way. After staying in Bellagio
for about 30 minutes, we returned to Como. The outgoing boat was a catamaran,
and the return is a hydrofoil, much faster.
Unfortunately, we were on the lower deck when we were traveling back,
and didn’t get to see much.
Lake Como is shaped like an inverted Y, with Como on the
southwestern tip, and Bellagio where the 3 arms of the Y meet. There are small towns along the coast, and
the ferries basically crisscross the arm as they work their way up or down the
lake. The scenery is quite beautiful,
and today we could see snow covered peaks that appeared quite close.
We had tea and cake at this cafe in Como.
Bellagio is a well-known city on Lake Como.
Como Cathedral dates back seven centuries.
We are quite sure we cruised on the adjacent lake (Garda)
about 20 years ago. My recollection is
the villages were much smaller along the coasts of Lake Garda.
[Notes on train tickets for future reference. Even though we bought our tickets at a
machine, seats were pre-assigned and printed on the tickets. The regional tickets have no pre-assigned
seats, and must be validated before one boards a train.]
After we got back to Milan, we walked back to the laundry
place (about 15 minutes) and our wash was waiting for us there, neatly folded.
Dinner with the Yangs was at a local restaurant Tuyo
Café. Food was only passable, with the
exception of their pastas, which were quite good.
Tuesday 5/15.
Morning was devoted to Duomo visit.
This is a huge cathedral right next to La Scala, the location was first
used as a church in the 14th century, and the current building was
built in 1965. We paid for the “express”
entry which allowed us to skip the long line (90 minute wait, we were told) to
take the elevator up a few flights, after which we simply wandered around,
walking often on roof tops. Two amazing
things: that the structure is so sturdy that marble slabs are used as roofing
tiles; and we were actually allowed to do it.
To me the complexity of design and building are simply overwhelming, and
this is not the largest church around.
Duomo di Milano is located next to La Scala. One could walk on the stone-covered roof.
Vittorio Emanuele II Shopping Plaza.
Random tree-lined houses in Milan. These buildings are on the cover of a magazine.
Anne found out about this place call “Eataly” which is
basically an expensive supermarket with a couple of restaurants on site. We ate at one of these restaurants. The Yangs bought some seafood salad for
dinner later today, and they said it was delicious.
The opera for tonight was Aida.
Outside Teatro alla Scala.
Elaborate set for Aida.
Duomo at night.
Continued at Part 2.
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