Blog #8 - A Trip on a Glacier

Today’s blog is about our adventure up Monte Bianco with pictures of our amazing trip on the glacier.  Mario, our guide from the Società delle Guide di Courmayeur (http://www.guidecourmayeur.com/index.php) met us in the lobby of our hotel at 8:45 this morning.  It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky.  The temperature was a little chilly to start at +3 degrees Celsius, but we were dressed appropriately with multiple layers, hats/headbands, and sunglasses.  It warmed up nicely as the day went on and everyone said we had the best weather possible.

Monte Bianco peak on the border between Italy and France

Mario drove us in his car to the cable car starting point where we parked and got our gear sorted out - harnesses, crampons and climbing pick axes that he had brought for us to use and three pairs of climbing boots for me to choose from, sizes 45, 46 and 47.  Andrew and Birgit had good hiking boots from some of their earlier adventures around the world.  The harnesses were for attaching a rope so that we were all roped together in case one of us fell down a crevasse on the glacier.  Fortunately, this situation didn’t even come close to being realized.  The crampons would be needed in certain snow conditions, which as it turned out did not exist on the mountain today.  Nevertheless, it was important to carry them with us.  The pick axes were for balance and digging into the side of the mountain if we fell over – another situation that fortunately did not arise.

Lorne, Birgit, Andrew and Sandy at Punta Helbronner (3,462 metres/11,368 feet) with Monte Bianco in the background

It took three cable car rides to get up the mountain to our starting point, Punta Helbronner ("punta" is Italian for "peak").  Sandy came with us so that she could see the spectacular panoramic view and to take pictures.  We went into the chalet for a hot cocoa and I saw some Japanese tourists, so I said hello and some other Japanese greetings that I still remembered and had a nice chat with them in English with a bit of Japanese thrown in to tell them about Kristin studying in Japan and our visit.  Although they were kind enough to say my Japanese was very good, I know from what Kristin has told that what they really mean is the opposite.

France - Italy border on the panoramic viewing platform on Punta Helbronner

After a few photos from the top platform which straddled the Italian-French border, we set out on the glacier for our hike up to the base of the Dente del Gigante or the "giant's tooth" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dent_du_G%C3%A9ant). I brought my Garmin GPS wrist watch with me and measured our total hike there and back at 4.8 km.  All of the walking was on snow on top of a glacier.  We were usually sinking down about 6 inches to a foot deep and occasionally sank down to our knees.  Mario led the way, Lorne was roped in next followed by Birgit with Andrew bringing up the rear to collect the casualties.

Dente del Gigante (the Giant's Tooth) as photographed from the glacier between Monte Bianco and this peak.

Dente del Gigante as photographed from the base after a 2.5 km hike across the glacier from Punta Helbronner.

It was tough walking most of the way, not just because of the snow, but also because we were going uphill at an altitude of around 3.500 metres (11,500 feet).  We were not acclimatized to stressing our bodies at this height.  Although we were all in relatively good state of physical fitness, none of us had been training for this type of exercise.  So we all found ourselves huffing and puffing and straining muscles in our legs that hadn’t been used in such a way before.  Nevertheless, we all made it there and back and lived to tell the tale.  It was an incredible journey and one that we all agreed we would do again in an instant – but not tomorrow as Sandy and Lorne move on to a new adventure on the Mediterranean, while Andrew and Birgit go back to hiking around Lake Como or perhaps try out the thermal spa.

Mario the Guide and Sandy in the cable car on the ride up to Punta Helbronner.

Lorne and Sandy on the panoramic viewing platform at Punta Helbronner.

Roped together on the glacier in case one of us fell down a crevice.  Andrew in the rear, Birgit in the middle and Lorne in front.  Photo taken by our guide Mario.  The panoramic viewing platform on the Punta Helbronner where we started from is seen in the background.

Lorne reaches the top!  The top of a small outcrop where we had lunch that is.  Is my nose starting to show its redness yet in this photo?  I didn't put on sunscreen until we were out on the glacier and so my nose got a little sunburned.

Mario guides us up the glacier.  The knoll on the left is where we had our lunch.  The rocks to the right and centre are at the base of the Dente del Gigante.

The group sets out on the glacier.  Photo taken by Sandy from the panoramic viewing platform of the Punta Helbronner.  The group had to descend about 500 metres following a trail set by others for the first part and then started hiking uphill on fresh snow.  When we returned on the same path we went out on, our tracks had been blown over and filled in with snow and were not visible.

Safely back and waiting for the cable car to take us down the mountain.  We actually had to descend 300 very steep steps from this point.

Birgit and Andrew with Monte Bianco in the background.

Mario and Lorne with Monte Bianco in the background

Lorne, Sandy, Mario, Birgit, Andrew

Lorne chooses his boots while Andrew and Mario sort out the gear and Birgit adjusts Andrew's backpack.

A great shot of Courmayeur by Andrew.  Can you spot our hotel?

Blog #7 - Catching Up From Monte Bianco

This will be a relatively short blog to tell you that we need to catch up on our stories.  Although our hotel in Venice had wireless Internet connectivity, I didn't understand that it did not work from the top floor of the hotel where our room was and that I had to come down two floors to the lobby to get it to work.  Also, since we were in Venice for a short time with so much too see, we did not spend much time at the hotel to find out the answer as to why we could not connect to post our blog.  The hotel staff went home at 7:00 PM and we gained entry to the hotel after this hour by pressing a button and telling the person on the intercom our name and room number. This person then unlocked the front door remotely and we went in.  We learned that this person provided the same service for many hotels in Venice because they are all small and unstaffed at night.  So please check back in later for some blogs about our adventures in Venice.

Lorne outside Venice Train Station in front of Grand Canal



We saw many interesting things in Venice that we will blog about later and add some pictures.  Right now we are in Courmayeur in the Italian Alps and it's 11:45 PM.  Tomorrow we will meet our guide in our hotel lobby at 8:45 AM and proceed to catch the cable car up Monte Bianco for our excursion.  We met Andrew and Birgit earlier this evening and went out for a fine dinner where we tried several local dishes.  Sandy has decided to come up with us on the cable car ride us for the panoramic view and then when we go on the hike, she will return to the village for some shopping and relaxation.

Sandt in front of our hotel in Courmayeur with the Italian Alps in the background.  We can't see Monte Bianco yet because it is hidden by other mountains.

For now I will just tell one story, which is about our experience boarding the train in Rome to go to Venice.  You may recall the story about the Gypsies who hang around the train station waiting to pick the pockets of tourists and how they helped us get our tickets, although we were very cautious not to let them pick our pockets. Well, these gypsies are everywhere looking for any chance to make a buck.  When we went to get on our train, we looked at our ticket and saw that we had reserved seats for first class in car number 2 on the Rome to Venice train.  We went to what we thought was car number 2 and waited patiently while a large group of Italians loaded luggage and blocked the entrance to the car.  A gypsy girl came along and wanted to help us with our luggage, but since she was wearing some clothes that looked somewhat official, I thought she was with the train company.  I showed her our ticket and she said we were at the wrong car and then I saw that all the cars had a big number 2 marked on them (which I never found out why) and a smaller number for the car number.  We were actually at car number 7. The gypsy girl grabbed some of our luggage and proceeded to lead us down to the other end of the train to our car.  She started loading our luggage onto the train and then showed us where our seats were.  However, there was an English-speaking woman in one of our seats and the gypsy girl immediately told the woman to get out of our seat in a very gruff manner.  The woman complained to us saying, "you know that woman doesn't work for the train station, she has no authority".  We just shrugged and said that we had reserved seats.  The woman just had a EuroRail pass that does not guarantee a seat, so she had to vacate the seat for us since we had it reserved.  And it was a very nice seat indeed, which I enjoyed very much thanks to the gypsy who knew what was right.  The English speaking woman left in huff to find a seat in the second class cars and I gave the gypsy girl a 5 Euro tip, which she accepted with a sneer and took off.  Maybe she wanted more because our bags were big and heavy and she did get rid of the annoying woman in our seat for us, but considering I never asked for her help, I think it was fair enough.

Sandy in front of our train at the Venice Train Station.  The trains in Italy seem to be as good as the trains in Japan.  They are very fast as we saw when one passed us when we were driving from Venice to Courmayeur earlier today.

Blog #6 - More Impressions of Rome

We’re on the train to Venezia (Venice) as I write this blog. We departed right on time at 10:45 and will arrive at 14:33, which will give us some time to get settled and start exploring the city. The train ride itself is not particularly exciting as there does not seem to be much to view out the window.  We are travelling through many tunnels and there are often walls and trees lining the track to keep the train noise down for the people who live nearby.  So it gives me a chance to write some final impressions of Rome.

Our B&B was called "A Casa di Serena" and as Sandy mentioned in her blog, Serena was a wonderful hostess.  She pronounces her name "Ser-ay-na", the Italian way and not "Ser-ee-na” the way we normally pronounce this name in English.  Serena knew that we were on our 25^th anniversary, so it was a wonderful surprise when we checked into our room to find a small bottle of champagne waiting for us with some chocolates and cookies.  We saved the champagne for the final night of our stay in Rome and were not disappointed as it was very nice.

A very warm welcome from Serena upon our arrival in Roma

Our B&B as you would expect, did come with a breakfast.  It was the standard European breakfast of a coffee, juice and croissant.  However, Serena’s approach was very convenient because she gave us vouchers to use at a café across the street, which was open all the time.  In this way, we didn’t have to go before a certain time (e.g. 9:00 AM) and we were able to get our breakfast at 1:00 PM on the day we slept in.  We were also able to buy sandwiches and other food when we wanted more than a small breakfast.  All-in-all, A Casa di Serena was excellent value for only 110 Euros per night and we will definitely give them a high rating.

A standard breakfast from the café - orange juice, pastry and cappuccino.  No charge for the heart shape in the foam, but only Sandy's cappuccinos seemed to come out that way.

One of our key references for information as we travel is "Rick Steves’ Italy 2010" travel guide.  It gives lots of important tips that you don’t know unless you have travelled through Italy before, such as validating your train ticket before getting on the train.  If you don’t get your ticket stamped by inserting it in a little yellow box, you get a fine.  I didn’t want to find out how big the fine was, so I made sure that our ticket was validated.  I sure am glad that Sandy is an avid reader!

Rick Steves recently did a travel show on Italy that was aired on PBS, so many viewers who saw the show and planned to go to Italy bought his book and followed his recommendations.  We tried out a couple of his recommended restaurants and were quite pleased with one and equally disappointed with the other.  The bad restaurant must have become complacent with all the extra business they got from being in Rick Steves’ book.  Here is a picture of us having wine with our dinner at the good restaurant.  So far, we have managed to keep our goal of drinking one bottle of Italian wine per day.

Dinner at the good restaurant in Rome recommended in the Rick Steves' Italy guide book.

Rome and the Vatican are so large and rich in history and art that it would take quite a while to see everything of interest to you.  Many things need visiting more than once to truly appreciate them.  Since we were so close to the Vatican, we ended up visiting this site every day for the three days we were in Rome and took different tours and approaches, each of which had their merits.  We took several audio tours at various museums where you carry a phone-like device and press a number on the key pad to hear about the room or object you are looking at.  In the picture below, Sandy is listening to an audio guide while Steve contemplates a statue of one of the Roman emperors in the Hall of Statues at the Vatican Museum.

Sandy listens to the audio guide while Steve contemplates a statue of a Roman emperor in the Hall of Statues in the Vatican Museum

Other tours involve a live guide with a group.  We haven’t hired a private guide yet, but may do so later.  The live guides are good and it is nice to be able to ask them questions, but these tours don’t provide you with the opportunity to skip ahead or linger behind since you have to stay with the group.  With these tours, the guide uses a microphone and everyone in the group has earphones tuned into the channel the guide is speaking on.  This system lets each person hear without being close to the guide since they can adjust their volume.  It also lets the guide speak softly without shouting and making loud inappropriate noises in museums and sacred areas, such as basilicas.

Michelangelo's Pieta inside St. Peter's Basilica

Sandy went on a guided tour of St. Peter’s Basilica and learned some interesting things about Michelangelo’s famous statue called the Pieta.  The Pieta is protected behind a glass wall because a crazed man attacked the statue several years ago.  He took a chisel to the face of Mary because he thought the statue’s face resembled his own mother’s face too closely.  In the mayhem that followed, someone stole the nose and a finger that had broken off.  It is sad that people take advantage of these situations instead of respecting the history, art and property of others. 

Sandy and the Swiss Guards

Here is a picture that Steve took of me taking the above picture of Sandy

Security is ever-present at the Vatican, especially when the Pope will be making an appearance.  To enter, we had to go through metal detectors and have our backpacks scanned, just like you do at the airport.  Many areas are no longer accessible to the public because people were carving off chunks of the monuments for souvenirs.  The famous Swiss Guards are present at the Vatican in their colourful uniforms, as well I’m sure in the disguise of tourists to keep watch on things.  You can’t get a Swiss Guard to pose for a picture with you, but you can take pictures of them as I did for the picture above.

The List of Popes

The other way we often tour sites is to just wander around on our own and read the signs that are multilingual, including English.  This is how I found the list of Popes above, which was located in a hallway off to the side in St. Peter’s Basilica.  Did you know that 42 of the Popes were sainted, starting with St. Peter, who was the first Pope.  The last Pope to be sainted was in the 1100s.  No matter how we tour however, it involves a lot of walking.  We each brought several pairs of comfortable shoes and found that it helps to change them as blisters can form with even very comfortable shoes.  It also helps to pace yourself and rest when you can.  Hopefully, all this walking will prepare me for my hike up the Colle del Gigante on Monte Bianco next week.

Lorne and Sandy resting while on tour.

Sometimes we feel like gladiators as we head out for a tour and to visit the popular tourist sites, but fortunately we have survived a lot longer than the average gladiator did, which was to the age of 33.  Surprisingly, this was not much younger than the average life span of a male in ancient Roman times.

Blog #5 - Dueling Cameras

It’s Saturday, September 25 and today the jet lag finally caught up with us.  We must have been going on adrenalin and the excitement of being in a new place up till now, because today we slept in until 12:00 noon.  Although we missed a morning of touring, the extra sleep was well worth it.  We each threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain yesterday and according to tradition, that means we will be coming back to Rome some day.  I must have thrown a coin in the fountain 35 years ago because I’m back on this trip for my second visit.



Sandy tossing a coin in the Trevi Fountain to make sure she comes back to Rome some day.



I’ve called this blog episode "Dueling Cameras" for two reasons.  The first reason is that Sandy bought a new fancy camera the day before our trip so I inherited her old one.  Now everywhere we go, we are dueling with our cameras to see who takes a picture and who poses.  The other reason, is that the file sizes of the pictures that we take are so large that they take a long time to upload to the Internet, especially when we have a slow connection such as the one we have here in Rome.  Therefore, we may be forced to add fewer pictures to our stories than we would like and then write more detailed stories with more pictures when we get home.  If you were wondering how the ceiling picture was taken in the last blog that Sandy wrote, here is a picture of Sandy taking the picture.



Sandy and Diane taking ceiling shots in the Vatican Museum



Speaking of Dueling Cameras, the other lady taking a ceiling picture at the same time is Diane Rudnicki.  Just as we had hoped (see Blog #2), Steve and Diane met up with us in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Thursday at noon.  We then toured the Vatican Museum with Steve and Diane and had a great dinner together at a sidewalk café.  Although Steve and Diane only live five minutes away from our house in Ottawa, we rarely see them because our lives are so busy back home.  It certainly is ironic that we have to travel so far to have dinner with good friends.



Fine Italian dining with Sandy, Steve and Diane eating pizza, and mussels waiting for me while I take this photo.



Meeting our friends, Steve and Diane Rudnicki in front of the obelisk in St. Peter's Square in front of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

Yesterday was our big Roman adventure day, which is probably what wore us out and caused us to sleep in this morning.  Besides tossing coins in Trevi Fountain, we visited the Colosseum, Palentine Hill, the Forum, and the Spanish Steps – and then went back to the Vatican to take a night time guided tour, followed by dinner at one of the restaurants recommended in Rick Steve’s Italy guide book.  Here are some pictures from these various adventures.

Sandy at the Colosseum

Lorne and Sandy on Palentine Hill.  A self-portrait camera shot with Lorne holding the camera.  In the background are the ruins of the arena.  Palentine Hill is the most famous of Rome's Seven Hills.  It is beside the Colosseum and was the location of many public buildings, important temples and the residences of emperors and senators.and their sumptuous palaces, and then it became the home of Gothic kings and many popes.

Sandy on the famous Spanish Steps

Today was somewhat less hectic, although we still didn’t get home until close to midnight.  Since we were so close to the Vatican, we decided to go back for one last visit and then went over to the Borghese Museum to see one of the most truly amazing art collections in the world.  The collection included some incredible sculptures by Bernini, an artist I knew nothing about before this trip, which just goes to show my extreme lack of knowledge of famous artists.  Unfortunately, we can’t show you any photos of the Bernini sculptures because you are not allowed to bring a camera into the gallery.  We also learned why you are not allowed to take pictures inside the Sistine Chapel, although you can take pictures in many other places in the Vatican.  We always assumed that it was because of the potential damage that flashes may have on the paintings.  The real reason is that the Vatican sold the copyright to the Sistine Chapel pictures to a Japanese group because they paid $8 million dollars for the cost of the restoration of the Chapel in 1982. They are the only ones allowed to sell photos and images of the Sistine Chapel.

Sandy on a walking path at Villa Borghese.  We can't show you pictures from inside of the museum, so we will show you pictures from the beautiful grounds surrounding the museum.

Sandy filling her water bottle at a fountain at Villa Borghese.  Unless there is a sign that says "Do not drink the water", it is considered very safe to drink the water from the fountains all over Rome.  We developed the habit of filling our water bottles from these sources because the water was fresh, cool and tasty and also because I once made the mistake of buying a Coke Light (the Italian equivalent to Diet Coke) from a merchant selling refreshments from his van (similar to a chip truck back home) for 4 Euros (approximately $5.50 Canadian).  Even the ice cream shops charge 3.50 Euros, so drinking fresh spring water that is free and better for you makes a lot more sense.

Tomorrow, we take the train to Venice. We splurged for first class tickets, but it was quite an ordeal to buy the tickets.  We went down to the train station and went to a self-serve ticket kiosk.  The first instruction that they give you is to watch out for pickpockets when you buy your tickets.  The rest of the instructions were not intuitive, so we got confused a couple of times.  A couple of gypsies were watching us closely and told us what to do.  Although they were right and they were helpful, they were obviously watching for their chance to saddle up close and pick my pocket.  We shooed them away and completed the transaction with Sandy watching my back.  The cost of the tickets was 198 Euros and I tried to pay with two 100 Euro bills.  The Gypsies pointed out that the machine only took 50 Euro bills, so they knew I had a fair amount of money when I then paid with 50s.  So we were quite glad to get away from there with our tickets and all our money when we finally finished the transaction.  I found the whole episode very stressful, but survived in the end.

Blog #4 - We've Arrived!

Our trip over went smoothly arriving in Rome early. Our driver was waiting at the airport to take us to our B and B. Driving into Rome was like arriving in any large city - lots of commuters trying to get to the city's core. The driving here follows different rules and only the brave should drive here. There are no lanes identified so depending on the size of the cars you may have 2 - 3 lanes available. Forget shoulders and motor bikes and scooters pass freely on the left of the cars between the lanes! Our driver spoke a little English and helped us with some common words with the correct accent. Everything sounded better when he was speaking Italian.

Our B and B is located right in the city centre, near a subway station and walking distance (10 minutes) to the Vatican. Our room was ready for us when we arrived and the owner Serena met with us and reviewed the keys - 5 in all with us. We have a key into the building, an internal key for an inside door, a key to get into the apartment, a room key and our own bathroom key. The B and B is charming with a common room and then bedrooms and bathrooms.


We decided to keep going even though it was technically the middle of the night - I really try to set my watch and forget about the time back home. Serena reviewed the map of Rome with us and we are right beside the train station. We mentioned we would like to see the Borghese Museum and Serena grabbed her phone and in no time had reservations made for us.

Today was the day for exploring the Vatican, Vatican Museums and St. Peter's Cathedral and square. It is magnificent and very grand! Large columns surround the square that has an Egyptian Obelisk and 2 large fountains. St. Peter's Cathedral is amazing also.  You don't have to be Roman Catholic to appreciate this place. It is spectacular. TV can never capture how large it is!

The Vatican Museums are wonderful too - so much  - almost too much to take in. We had the audio guides which was great so we could proceed at our own speed through the several museums. It is important to continually look up at the ceiling - there you will find wonderful works of art! All individual paintings! The Sistine Chapel is also remarkable with the vivid depictions of bible stories. Michelangelo's paintings are beautiful and serene, and those of the earlier artists on the walls are stunning as well. The rich colours used make this truly room incredibly beautiful. At St. Peter's Basilica there was a small service (it is a standing church - huge with large marble statues) and as we were walking through the crypts of the Pope's we heard lovely choral music coming from the church. It is very moving to walk past Pope John Paul II's crypt - white marble, simple, elegant with flowers, plants, and tokens surrounding the crypt.




We dined al fresco on a side street and had guess what - pasta! Delicious home made pasta and pizza with crispy wood fired crust - with of course red vino! So far so good - next stop historic Roma! Ciao!

Blog #3 - Happy Birthday Dad

The day has finally arrived for our departure on our Italian Adventure.  It's hard to tell when the day actually started for me because I didn't go to bed last night.  Being a little disorganized, I had many things to clean up at work so I didn't get home until 3:00 AM.  Then I started packing and before I knew it, the sun was up and so was Sandy, looking a lot fresher than me.  Well, at least I should have a better chance of sleeping on the flight over to Rome now.


We finished up our packing and then Andrew and Brigit came over to drive us to the airport.  They will leave on Friday to fly to Germany to visit with Birgit's family and friends and then plan to rent a car and drive south to the Lake Como area of Northern Italy.  We will them meet them in Courmayeur at Monte Bianco where we will go on an excursion to the Colle del Gigante.

Today is a special day, not just because we are embarking on our adventure, but also because it is my Dad's 81st birthday.  So on the way to the airport, we stopped at Alta Vista Manor for a short visit and to wish him a happy birthday.  Here is a picture of Dad with his two favourite sons (or so we claimed at the time).

After a short visit with Dad we headed off to the airport where Birgit and Andrew dropped us off and we said our farewells. 

We'll see you in the Italian Alps in a week

Our big concern as we approached the check-in counter was whether or not we had to check Sandy's walking poles, which we had packed in a poster tube.  With the heightened security at airports we didn't know if a security guard would consider the poles to be a potential weapon.  Since we are only allowed one checked piece of luggage as part of our airfare, it would have cost an additional $50 to check the poles.  Fortunately, nobody said anything as we passed the tube through the scanner.  The poles will come in very handy for Sandy when we hike into the Cinque Terre and walk around the Tuscan countryside.  Here are some pictures of Sandy with the poles and with the tube in which we packed the poles.

Sandy with her walking poles at the Toronto Airport

The poster tube in which we packed the walking poles

It's now 3:30 PM and we're just waiting at the gate at the Toronto Airport for our plane to Rome to start boarding in about one hour.  They have free wireless Internet connections at both the Ottawa and the Toronto airports, which is very convenient for us bloggers waiting for our flights. 

We will land at Rome at 07:20 local time tomorrow morning (01:20 Ottawa time) where we have arranged for a pickup service to meet us after we clear customs and to drive us directly to our hotel, Casa di Serena B&B.  We plan to meet our friends Steve and Diane for a guided tour of the Vatican at noon, so maybe we will be able to catch 40 winks when we get to the B&B.  I have been trading text messages with Steve for the past three days, but as soon as we get on the plane to Rome, that will be the end of my cell phone and text messaging capability because my Blackberry won't work in Europe.  I sure hope we can find each other at the designated meeting point under the tall square obelisk in front of St. Peter's Basilica. I don't know when I'll be able to provide the next update, but stay tuned for more adventures.