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24 May 2009
Time to do a little catch up.
We are in Paris. Our hotel, the former Chateau Landon Mercure, is now the All Seasons Hotel. It overlooks the Gare de l’Est railway station. Last night we could see the Eiffel tower light up from our window and the dome and spire of Sacre Coeur on Montmartre.
Unfortunately the bed was a queen-size and canoed, so we are waiting for another room with twin beds to open as I write. We may not have so nice a view this evening.
Keeping a blog means setting time aside to write. Unforeseen pauses are the only times I don’t regret the task.
Naples: The old city of Napoli was another day trip from Rome. We only ate lunch, just across the street from the metro museum exit at a small café, and toured the antiquities museum.
We followed the Rick Steves guide and took Line A from the main station one stop and walked over to the second line via a tunnel and moving walkways to the museum exit. The first thing was eating and the small café on the opposite side of the street fit
the bill. Food was excellent, less expensive than Rome and the coffee was better (stronger, as I like it). Then the museum with all the artifacts from Pompeii, selections of mosaics and recently recovered statues from a new site being excavated was a pleasant surprise.
Unlike the other museums we have visited in Italy, security was a simple request to put my backpack in a free storage bin, from which I could keep the key. I could photograph without restrictions, we did not have to go through an xray or metal detector machine. The exhibits were some of the best we had seen and ( I hesitate to say this because others might be less respectful of the statuary) you could touch much of the displays if they were not behind glass.
Milan or Milano: We took the fast train from Rome to Milan and stayed at the Ibis Centro for three days.
Milan has a few ruins from Roman days near the center and the Last Supper at the Santa Maria delle Grazie church. We had reserved our tickets while still in the states and were glad we had done so. The viewing was the most
regimented we have undergone and was with an English speaking guide, who had to share her information with a Japanese guide who was speaking to a small group of Japanese at the same time. Still, seeing it in person and knowing how fragile and finite the work is, it is a stirring site. Do not expect the guides to reinforce the theory that St John is actually Mary Magdalene, however.
Milan itself is more about shopping with lots of fashions and shoes and handbags. It has a metro system, but we found it more fun to take the trams, some of which were quite old. In fact, we were on one when an African man opened his car door just as the tram was passing and had one of his fingertips sliced off. This meant we walked downtown to the Doumo area, but we met an Italian gentleman with excellent English, so we conversed the whole way.
There are self service restaurants in Milan, actually more like our cafeterias in the states. Each day we had our big meal at lunch for a very reasonable price (comparatively speaking) and ate lightly at the hotel in the evening. Restaurant
Some fantastic ceiling
I've no idea how this image got in my files, since it is prohibited to shoot photos of it. Santa Monica near the Victor Emmanuel Galleria was our choice. From the main exit/entrance of the Galleria to the Doumo, turn left and walk past the cathedral to the next alley behind, turn right and you can see the outdoor tables. The self-service is at lunch only, I think, and you have to go downstairs to find it, but it is well worth it.
Milan obviously can be less expensive than Rome, as long as you buy nothing in the clothing shops. There is a Grom Gelateria, where one waits for the number 1 tram by the Galleria. Grom only uses natural, organic and seasonal fruits for its gelato. We found one in Florence and loved it. The Milano one is also quite popular.
At one end of Tram 1 is an IKEA. All along the route are various neighborhoods, including a Chinese section with label ripoffs and last season’s fashions for the budget shopper. Good bookstores everywhere.
But last night we arrived in Paris and came to our old haunt at Chateau Landon. The Brasserie Chateau Landon has undergone a renovation, similar to that of the hotel, new fittings and an increase in menu pricing—but not
so bad compared to Rome. After one bite of a piece of bread and a sip of really strong coffee, we sighed and finally felt at home. We ate our first full evening meal with a mix of ingredients and vegetables since we got to Italy at a comparably reasonable price, cooked perfectly (by a chef who is a Sri Lankan) and we were not only full, but pleased.
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