Cat Sanctuary

Since I last wrote, we have moved countries and languages!

We left St Anton bright and early, much to my disgust, although that was quickly abated (even with the lack of coffee) when a stag appeared at the window... It checked out the surroundings, lifted a hoof, scouted some more and then leapt over the road. Amazing. The hilarious bit was the younger stag behind it going 'shit shit shit shit' as it bolted up the hill (which we had climbed hand over foot) and over the road.

Since I last wrote, we have moved countries and languages! We left St Anton bright and early, much to my disgust, although that was quickly abated (even with the lack of coffee) when a stag appeared at the window... It checked out the surroundings, lifted a hoof, scouted some more and then leapt over the road. Amazing. The hilarious bit was the younger stag behind it going 'shit shit shit shit' as it bolted up the hill (which we had climbed hand over foot) and over the road. Our trip down the mountain from St Anton to Milano took us via Zurich and their different currency (thanks for that) where we stopped for lunch, and then down to Milano. The train trip was eerie. We were the only ones on the carriage, going through empty dilapidated towns with no one in site... This cued Tom for zombie actions which I did not appreciate. We eventually made it to Milan and headed for our hostel. The Italians employ a similar method to street signage as the French which is the 'put-the-sign-up-on-the-wall-above-the-window-unlit-so-noone-can-see-it' method. Our hotel ended up being on the 3rd floor with the smallest lift I've come across so far. Me, Tom and the back packs nearly did not fit. After a confusing conversation with our English speaking reception we went to our smoky room. Not the most salubrious of accommodation but oh well. To be honest Milano gave me a sense of awkwardness. Not in the right place, the right language. Everything felt not quite right. I managed to completely stuff up breakfast even though I had spoken correctly, as the Italians have a funny way of running cafes. Fortunately a motherly Italian who spoke English came to our aid and we got our breakfast (and needless to say, some fucking awesome coffee). We wandered aimlessly through conservative high end fashion stores which bored me to tears. I had wanted to do some shopping in Italy but this all looked boring and expensive. We found our way to the Castello Sforzesco which had some vaguely interesting exhibition of religious art, musical instruments and egyptian mummies. This all paled to insignificance when we realised that the moat, now no longer filled with water was a cat paradise, home to about 40 cats in a few separate colonies. There were ginger ones, tabby ones, black ones, tortoiseshell. We ooed at them all and took photos. The cats are protected by the castello and the staff feed them, though I doubt they are petted and smooched. The seemed fairly wild. This was most certainly our highlight of Milano. Cats notwithstanding I was concerned that if cat colonies were to be the highlight of Italy, then the next week was going to be a bit of a drag. Not so, for yesterday we arrived in Firenze. I love Firenze. The moment we stepped out of the train station we knew we were somewhere completely different. The atmosphere was all friendliness and relaxation. We found our hotel (3rd floor, no lift, bastards) which is actually gorgeous, even with the pink stripes on the walls. The sun shines here and we have a view of the duomo from our room (and more cats, we discovered today). The city shows its medieval
Our trip down the mountain from St Anton to Milano took us via Zurich and their different currency (thanks for that) where we stopped for lunch, and then down to Milano. The train trip was very eerie. We were the only ones on the carriage, going through empty dilapidated towns with no one in sight... This cued Tom for zombie actions which I did not appreciate. We eventually made it to Milan and headed for our hostel. The Italians employ a similar method to street signage as the French which is the 'put-the-sign-up-on-the-wall-above-the-window-unlit-so-noone-can-see-it' method. Here they even etch them in marble so there is no colour to distinguish street sign from random marble plate. Our hotel ended up being on the 3rd floor with the smallest lift I've come across so far. Me, Tom and the back packs nearly did not fit. After a confusing conversation with our English speaking reception we went to our smoky room. Not the most salubrious of accommodation but oh well.

To be honest Milano gave me a sense of awkwardness. Not in the right place, the right language. Everything felt not quite right. I managed to completely stuff up breakfast even though I had spoken correctly, as the Italians have a funny way of running cafes. Fortunately a motherly Italian who spoke English came to our aid and we got our breakfast (and needless to say, some fucking awesome coffee).

We wandered aimlessly through conservative high end fashion stores which bored me to tears. I had wanted to do some shopping in Italy but this all looked boring and expensive. We found our way to the Castello Sforzesco which had some vaguely interesting exhibition of religious art, musical instruments and egyptian mummies.

This all paled to insignificance when we realised that the moat, now no longer filled with water was a cat paradise, home to about 40 cats in a few separate colonies.

There were ginger ones, tabby ones, black ones, tortoise-shell. (There are 4 in the photo.) We ooed at them all and took photos. The cats are protected by the castello and the staff feed them, though I doubt they are petted and smooched. They seemed fairly wild. This was most certainly our highlight of Milano. Cats notwithstanding I was concerned that if cat colonies were to be the highlight of Italy, then the next week was going to be a bit of a drag.

Not so, for yesterday we arrived in Firenze. I love Firenze. The moment we stepped out of the train station we knew we were somewhere completely different. The atmosphere was all friendliness and everything is relaxed. We found our hotel (3rd floor, no lift, bastards) which is actually gorgeous, even with the pink stripes on the walls. The sun shines here and we have a view of the duomo from our room (and more cats, we discovered today). The city shows its medieval roots all over with tiny laneways flanked by ancient buildings. Everything here is beautiful. The shops are all little indepedent boutiques with unique shoes and 'SALDI!' (Sale!). I have thusfar been restrained...

Yesterday we visited the Duomo here in Firenze which is the Catterdrale di Santa Marie del Fiore. It is coloured marble all over and has a huge dome over the top which they did not have the technology to build when they started to build the cathedral. By the time they were ready to build the dome however, technology had caught up!

We wandered all over town, ate gelato and climbed the 414 steps of the tower beside the catheral to watch the sunset (which I think we missed by about 3 minutes). It all sounds very romantic until you try and get up those stairs. Then you get up there and it's freezing and windy and Tom has vertigo... It was nice nonetheless, and the view is great. :)


We ate at a very friendly local bar where the meals are small but bellissimo and the beer is made with honey. I'm not sure if I mentioned earlier this trip but Europeans are obsessed with nutella, so naturally dessert was nutella and marscapone cheese calzone: heaven.

Today we walked (after binding my blistered foot) to the Piazzale Michaelangelo which is high on a hill where you can see the whole of Firenze stretched out. It is a magnificent view. So much so that we shared it with a wedding party. Walking down the hill and past another cat sanctuary we went to the Palazzo Pitti which is where the royal family lived for several hundred years. It houses an enormous amount of religious art (Had I mentioned the religious art?) I know all the saints and martydoms now. I have seen millions of Maddona con bambini paintings and sculptures. Jesus on a cross. Jesus off a cross. Jesus held by angels. By saints. By women. Jesus poked by Thomas. It's all there in gold paint and gilded frames. I get the sense they are religious here...

We then continued the hunt for apparently the best gelato in Firenze, at Vivoli. Yesterday we spent what seemed like hours searching for a street that was in our tourist guide but not on the actual map. Around and round and round we went. In vain. Fortunately with the free internet access here (Hence the liberal blogging) we 'googled' it and marked it on our tourist map. Today we past it on our way from the palazzo to the Academie, where David himself stands. Vivoli was shut. Damn you, you gelato swilling bastards.

The Academie holds David, possibly one of the most famous marble scupltures. It is indeed a sight to behold. The craftsmanship is superb (no I know nothing about marble). The hands have real veins and everything looks real and life like. It did leave us with some questions which I won't post here, but I would definitely recommend heading to the Academie to see David if you get the chance. The rest of the gallery I can take or leave. Madonna con bambini, Jesus, gold. It's all there.

Ciao!