Italy
Museo Horne

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    • Day 12

      Mantua

      April 19, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      I took a bus just round the corner to this little medieval town called Mantua. It is a castle town surrounded by two man made lakes.

      Gosh, the weather is stunning! I feel like I am back in Sydney and baking in 28c heat. The town square is buzzing with street markets when I arrive early in the morning. I go into one of the museums and, to my great surprise, the artwork of fallen giants and Adam and Eve's wedding banquet is a work of art. I also visit the infamous Rigoletto, who, despite all he has done, is my favourite opera character.

      In the evening, I go claim my paycheque for this trip - a dinner with Peter Simic. Peter orders a very nice bottle of wine - Armone classical 2010 by Alleguini that costs £230. Well, I guess my daily rate is way more than that if I were to get paid.

      We talk about plans to sell his $11,000 bottle of wine to rich Chinese billionaire, effectiveness of VinItaly, potential market development for Russia. I don't know how I can go back to that static HKTDC job after this trip!
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    • Day 13

      Florence City Tour

      April 20, 2018 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

      Paul, my housemate, is kind enough to drop me off at the Verona Potts Nouva. I feel like Verona is like a home already and it is now time to explore a new city.

      Florence is hectic; Cars, people and churches everywhere. Now is just the beginning of the season and I can't imagine what the town would be like during school holiday. There are so many names from renaissance time that I have never heard of - I am never good at or interested in arts class I guess. I love getting lost in the city though. Every turn is a new church, a new piece of art, another history to be told.

      I do two free walking tours today to get my bearings around town. In the late afternoon, I go to see the David statue, a work of art by Michael Angelo. Luckily, the queue is only 10min. The statue truly deserves its worldwide reputation - the vein on his arms, the six-pack toned body, the well proportion body composition, the expression on David's face, each part of the body is fascinating. Even the replica outside of the Plaza de Signore can never replicate what Michael Angelo has created for the Florentines.

      In the evening, I go up to Piazzale MichelAngelo as recommended by Susanna to watch the beautiful spring sun casts its last ray onto the ancient Florentine city. The Dome and the towers are magnificent against the pink backdrop.

      To add sugar to the cake, a gelato festival is on at the Piazzale. I spend €10 and pretty much all I can eat up to 25 flavours. I am so over the moon till I can eat no more after the 7th cone - sugar overload with all these strange but delicious flavours.

      Observations:
      There are so many American tourists in Florence that is comparable to Jerusalem. Very interesting.

      Gelato in Italy is sweeter than those in Australia. They don't have enough milk so they add lots of sugar instead!

      门面功夫 is so true. The Church of San Lorenzo facade has nothing but inside is magnificent, while the facade of Cathedral Saint Mary of Flower is richly ornated, the inside is fairly plain. Which one would you choose?
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    • Day 14

      Chianti Region

      April 21, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

      I take an expensive tour to get a better understanding of the Chianti region. We visit four wineries and each has its own characteristics. Overall the tour is good except for there is a lack of food. By the time we arrive at the 3rd winery after lunch hour, when they joke about no lunch and wine nutritious, I so want to just walk out of the door!

      Winery one: Altiero
      A family run tiny winery. The owner makes wine because of love of nature and good quality food. The wines are high in alcohol (15%+), high acidity and really need to be aged for another 10 years. It is such a small production that it is run like a family business. This is where we receive the most portion of our food.

      Winery two: Querceto
      A medium size winery where it does a bit of export and functions. The wine is not bad and I bought a bottle of DOCG to try with Toni when I get back.

      Winery three: Le Cinciole
      OMG, this French girl provides no Italian hospitality, no food nor water. The wine is crapped! Highly not recommended. The winery is purchased by an architect who knows nothing about wine making and just want to live in Tuscany.

      Winery four: Fattoria de Bagnolo
      A winery that has been inherited for 3 centuries. Everything is done in the traditional way, including the underground cellar and the chateau on the property. The owner says that this winery makes no money, they do it because they want to continue the family tradition. The brother makes the wine and lives on the property. Really, this is their hobby farm and can just make a living. There are lots of wineries like this one in Italy. The old world way of wine trade.

      The Conclusion is: Chianti DOCG produces lots of wine, but not all are great.

      In the evening, I go roaming around town. The weather is a lot cooler and more pleasant. The atmosphere is also great with less people and lights are on around the churches. I also go and see La Traviata at an intimate theatre. I watched a smiling production before in one of the European countries. A tourist things but the cast is fantastic!

      The weather this week is very differ from the one I had last week. It is like Spring just woke up and realise she has over slept. Everything just get heat up overnight and the temperature rise up from 12c to 28c. I don't normally complain about hot but this IS hot for European weather!

      A note to myself:
      I shall just go onto one of these Viata mass tour in the future than the exclusive small tour which is not necessarily better.

      Next time, I would like to cycle / Vespa around Tuscany, Siena and Maltipulicino region. An active tour than expensive sedative tour.
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    • Day 10

      Tour durch Folrenz - 5th part

      October 9, 2018 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      ..& während Elisa mit ihrem Bike unterwegs war, hab ich den scheinbar geilsten Platz der Stadt entdeckt, direkt am Fume Arno..

      (Und weiterhin sehr überraschend: hier ist die Auswahl an Öttinger größer als in Deutschland🤯)Read more

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