After the wedding in Sicily, it was time for the honeymoon
and rather than do the traditional thing and travel to
one place and stay in one hotel, we decided on something
different: A month backpacking around Europe, taking in
many new places. Our trip took us to Germany (Cologne),
Holland (Amsterdam), France (Sete) and
Spain (Barcelona,
Alicante and Valencia) during a time when the
weather in Europe was going through a cold and wet patch.
The result of these weather patterns in the middle of
July meant that we were lucky enough to enjoy Amsterdam
and Cologne in windy, wet and dark conditions. Alas, our
mood could not be tempered by the weather and the warmth
of the German people and the alluring taste of the German
beer made up for the English-style weather.
All
photos by Valeria Lo Iacono & Paul Symonds - 2004
Amsterdam is a place which can be enjoyed indoors
with many good museums, galleries and a good Botanic
Garden. Above are two pictures from the Botanic Garden
in Amsterdam. (Above left), Valeria as she walks around
and I take a surprise picture from a bridge above,
and (right) a close-up of a bee as it sucks the pollen
from a flower (using a Nikon digital camera). Below
(left) one of Rembrandt's original paintings which
is particularly interesting for the way in which wherever
you stand in front of the painting, it seems almost
as though the people in the picture are watching you.
In this case it looks as though they are looking at
Valeria. The photo (below right) is one of my favourites
and it is by a Flemish painter whose name I forgot
to note. Notice the way that even the reflections
in the water from the boat, are perfectly painted.
In Amsterdam we would recommend the Van Gogh Museum
and the Rijksmusuem. Also recommended for complete
relaxation, the Art Sauna Deco (Herengracht 115),
where we went on two rainy afternoons. The stylishly
designed 'Art Deco Sauna' with jacuzzi, two saunas
(one a Turkish sauna), dip-pool and a relaxation area
for reading, eating and drinking are excellent.
In France we enjoyed a few days with Irish
friends (Niall and Ide) in Sete and we spent a week in
Cap D'Agde, South of France. We weren’t very impressed
with the food in France, and the worst food we ate was
in Spain. Despite travelling to non-tourist areas in Spain,
everything came with chips and the seafood was often uncooked
and presented with too much sauce. Italian cooking is
a touch above the rest although the English roast dinner
as an individual meal is at number one for me - roast
beef, roast potatoes. Italians go to extremes to get the
taste exactly right and living proof of this is when Valeria
would get 'capers' sent from a small island off of Sicily,
to her mother in the Sicilian mainland, and then sent
on to Seoul, Korea. All to improve the taste of the tuna,
cherry tomatoes, garlic and pasta dish which has now become
my favourite Italian pasta dish. The food in France was
also disappointing although, to be fair, the food in the
South Western region is not considered to be as good as
the food served further North.
After staying in Sicily for 2 solid months
(August and September) I have discovered that Italians
are no different from most British and Irish people. When
it's cold it's considered too cold and when it's hot it's
too hot. Valeria spends the afternoons taking siesta's
while I sit outside in the sun on the veranda writing
a book on Korea. The popular expression 'Mad dog's and
Englishmen' is surely true. Only mad dogs and Englishmen
can be found out in the sun in the extreme heat - an expression
which originates from the Englishmen who use to play cricket
in the middle of the day in colonial days in India I believe.
Finding an Italian to join me on the beach at 1pm on the
beach to play football was a fruitless task.
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Above (right) a picture of Amsterdam - a city of bikes.
In Sicily there is nowhere to cycle and there are no rules
when it comes to driving, in stark contrast to Amsterdam
where the cyclist seem to be the kings of the road and
quite rude if you are walking. In Italy you can get run
over by cars, In Amsterdam by the cyclist. (In Amsterdam
statistically, one car a month ends up in the water, with
people usually driving by accident into the canals). Maybe
too much Amstel. Above (right), Cologne, Germany on a
cloudy day. There is an almost eary feeling about Germany,
maybe for me because as I travelled Germany I was reading
a book by Stephen Ambrose about the 2nd World War pilots
who fought in Germany. The German people were our favourite
people in Europe on the trip. You walk into a pub and
people seem delighted to see you. The Germans are very
friendly and come to you to ask if you want another beer
before you can finish the beer you have, at least that
was our experience. The home-cooked style food in the
pubs was also excellent. I like Germany.
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Botanical gardens in Amsterdam above. A giant redwood
on the left and Paul being attacked on the right.
Enjoying the good side of life in Sicily. The beach
- playing racquetball with Valeria's brother and enjoying
Italian cuisine.
Last picture: a goose made its nest of a tyre attached to
a floating house in Amsterdam.
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versione italiana
