Tour to Italy with a 15 member group:

Before we get out of the dream from our Netherland trip and before we get into working mode again, we started the Italy trip last Friday. Manikandan cannot make this trip, due to his trip to India to attend his brother’s marriage. Rest 15 of us left the office around 1pm and boarded the 15+ seater Euro Taxi. Anand, as usual was very busy with his work rushed and joined us around 1.30pm. It was a long Weekend, so very heavy traffic stopped us from reaching Stansted until 5pm. 5.20 pm was the flight, however go-fly Airlines, which always seem to delay taking off helped us to board the flight. People who question the stinginess of different airlines in US for providing peanuts and half cup coke for a $250 local flight will get an answer when they have to pay 50 pence for a 15cl cold drink in this flight. Flight reached Milan around 9.15pm GMT. Local time was 10.15pm that time. Landing by the Pilot can be considered as the worst. Immigration officer seem to have fighted with his wife, so no friendliness was visible in his face. Before we started cursing Italians for the racial attitude, one old Italian man came voluntarily to help us in understanding getting Train Tickets and Train Timings. He was with us for more than ½ hour. Some of us thought he expects some money, however, he just left us without taking any money. Good old man. Flight delay made us miss the last train from Milan to Rome and we stayed in a very posh waiting room in Milan Railway station. So, people who travel to Milan and wants to continue next day didn’t need to book an expensive hotel, just stay in the waiting room.

We started for Rome by 5.30 am train and reached at around 11.30 am. The route almost looked like hot portion of India i.e. dry Grass and mostly landscapes. We took food in McDonalds in Rome and it was the most worst food I have ever tasted. We went to our Hotel, which was not okay. Only Fans and no AC. We proceeded to Vatican (San Petero) by a Metro train from Rome-Termini station. Everybody knows, it is the smallest country in the world. It looks like Vatican is smaller than Mylapore. We went to St. Peter’s Cathedral. The highly ornamental sculptures, paintings and decorations proved it as the richest religious place in the world. We took some photoes of Pope’s security guards also. Then we proceeded towards Colloseum (refer Gladiator movie). View was really very majestic. It still stands as the symbol of Rome as well as symbol of many heartless people. Then we visited Forum, where ruins of very beautiful Roman architecture stand majestically. Next we went to some Government building where stunning statues stood beautifully. I think the name of the building is Campidoglio or Capitoline Hill- the city Square, one of Rome’s most elegant squares designed by Michalengelo, it also features some of the city’s primary classical sculpture. Next is a Fontana di Trevi, the most grandiose and famous of Rome’s baroque fountains. It is a beautiful one. It has become night now and half the group proceeded towards a Chinese Restaurant. Although the price of each food item is in 1000s of Liras, converting them into Pounds came to around £1. So we started with soup and finished with a desert. I took a Chinese Fried Icecream. Icecream is stuffed into a Bajji type flour cover. I may be the first Indian to taste that stuff. It was not bad. Senthil Kumar took more wine and started talking in Chemical terms. Though out the day, Aniruddha was able to tell the Italian names and take us anywhere to Rome similar to a local guide. Next day, we went to some place called Spanish steps, it was not okay. Next we went to Chistine Chappel, where the 16th chapel painting by Michaelangelo is present. Each painting has a 3D effect and was stunning. The triumph of Fresco painting, not only of the Vatican Palace, but of the entire world is the Cappella Sistina. The walls are covered in paintings by Botticelli, Pintiricchio and others, but the breath taking star of the show is Michaelangelo’s ceiling. As Vasari wrote ‘ All the world hastened to behold this marvel and was overwhelmed, speechless with astonishment’. Shaik bought Soveniers for around 1 ¼ lakh Liras.

We took 12.04 pm train from Rome and we reached Pisa in the next 2 hours. Pisa station looked like some station in a old Indian village. We travelled by Bus number A. Some of the group preferred walking, latter changed the mind to join the other group. Leaning tower of Pisa is really beautiful and is no wonder a world wonder. A church (Bapistry) and Campo dei Miracoli (the filed of Miracles is a park which overlooks the Leaning Tower and the Baptistry) accompanying the tower is also beautiful. They may have become world wonders, if they would not have stood near the Leaning tower. Some civil engineering details in making the leaning tower straight was written and it is Indian mentality to read each and every board (whether they really want to know the information or not) and everybody did that. Again the jantha bought lot of souveniers.

We left to Florence alias Firenze. We had high hopes about that place. Latter we found it is not really that much WORTH. Hotel Sofia, we stayed is also reasonably unreasonable. The entire group remained a group till the Piazza Del Signoria - the city square that contains a copy of the famous sculpture ‘David’ by Michaelangelo. Latter it become two groups, One is the WAC group (Anupama, Subbulakshmi, Shaik, Karthik, Senthil, Sampath) and another group (Aniruddha, NH Prasad, Dilip, Naresh, Ranjith, Krishna, Anand, Sharat). I joined the WAC group for protection purposes. We saw some places. A lady who sung near a Ponte Vicchio (bridge containing a number of jewellery shops….. quite famous in Florence) sung a song with a very good voice. There were also some people who played voilin and other instruments. We took an Italian restaurant this time. Aubergine topped Pizza was the best one.

Each one of us started next day by 6.30am itself to reach the train. 2 ladies in our group got really tired due to the previous day’s hectic walk and they just got up at that time. However, we still managed to catch the 7.18 am train to Venice. Venice is really a beautiful place with Water Bus, Water Taxi, Water streets, Exceptionally beautiful bridges, Gondola (Kattumaran type boats) etc etc. We travelled by route number 82 via the Grand Canal to reach Piazza San Marco. Someone told, Napolean has mentioned that place as drawing room of Europe. We also saw Basillica di San Marco (a nice church). Among the bridges, Ponte De Sospiri (The Bridge of Sighs) is worth mentionable. Prisoners who are taken to Dungeon to get killed will see the light for the last time from the bridge with sigh, so it got the name Bridge of Sighs.

Few didn’t want to share with me, in buying the pigeon food and disappointed me. Everyone doesn’t like sharing, so nothing wrong in it. Ranjith did some Camcording for me. Ranjith considered to be the Don (spelling?) was the only person to lose few money to pickpocketers. Many cautioned Italy as a place for mafia and other illegal activies. Sampath didn’t agree with that. The heat and sweating made us think, we were in India.

Fight for Gondola started in train and I proved, humans do lose senses at some time. My sincere apologies to Anupama. Dilip’s readiness to sacrifice his Gondola for me, Aniruddha/Naresh’s readiness to gift an extra Gondola for me , Shaik’s readiness to sacrifice his Gondola for me expressed the broadmindedness of the people in the group. This experience made me know about different good people and the changes in some of my very close friends.

Anand seem to have extra talent in making conversation with every Italian. Many in the group were jealous about this. Anyhow, talent needs appreciation. Krishna still holds the “Parama Sadhu” title. My friend Karthik has become more talkative unlike last trip (Romba Pesaraar!!). Subbulakshmi took all ohtals (Tamil) with smile. Sharat remained as usual. N.H.Prasad was ……………

WAC group minus me lost the chance of seeing the world’s beautiful and big shopping complex in Milan. It is called ‘Gallaeria Vittorio Enamuele’ and is one of the most famous shopping centre in the ‘Fashion Capital of the World’. Dumo present near to that was also worth to be mentioned. Returned to house around 2 am by Euro Taxi. Another nice and enjoyable trip came to an end.