BCers Visit Italy, Switzerland & France; Pt 17: What I Did & Didn't Know On My Travels

MY WORLD is in BC as well as the places I travel. I needed a nudge to leave the comforts of home to visit Europe, particularly in these times of travel frustrations. My husband and I did our best to prepare for what awaited us in countries we never set foot in but felt we knew through books and media. There was much we didn’t know in hindsight, not only about the emotional experience but also about the small peculiarities.

There were a lot of firsts in Europe. We could not anticipate how seeing Venice for the first time would make us feel. As we sailed closer to the city seemingly suspended over water, we marveled at how ancient yet futuristic it appeared on the horizon. The crumbling magnificence of the Colosseum in Rome took our breath away. The perfection of David in Florence made history and art intertwine masterfully. Mona Lisa, a surprisingly “little” painting wrapped in mystery, almost brought me to tears. Perhaps it was the right mix of weather and mood, but it was surprisingly more heavenly on top of Mt. Pilatus in Switzerland than in any elaborate church we visited. (This was totally unexpected since I thought I didn’t like heights.) Picturing places didn't compare to soaking in the atmosphere with all five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch.

When traveling to unfamiliar destinations, practical matters needed attention. We planned some things right. My cap, vest and big purse turned out to be good things to take on our trip. Since I'm prone to earaches, the red cap came in handy on a breezy October evening during a boat ride on the river Seine in Paris. My vest with its upper pockets was handy for glasses and for the ear pieces we required during guided tours. Since it didn’t have pockets on the inside, I wore a passport/money purse around my neck under the vest and a "dummy" purse (suggested by the travel agent) containing small change over my shoulder. A woman on our tour had a significant amount of cash stolen from her purse when on public transit. This can happen in any country.

The large purse I brought turned out to be a good idea since knapsacks needed to be stored upon entering many museums. I think this was less about potential threats and more about bulky knapsacks accidentally knocking into exhibits in crowded places. It was a nuisance for some who had to collect their knapsacks after a tour rather than simply exit the building. I'm not sure if men's shoulder bags (or purses) avoid storage. But this might be a solution.

We were glad the hotels booked by our bus tour company provided breakfast. Most included eggs, fruit salad, yogurt, croissants, oatmeal and other cereal as well as fresh fruit. I took an apple with me one morning to snack on during a long bus ride to a new location. I probably should have done this every morning because it was sometimes a while between stops.

Unlike on a cruise, luggage must be transported from bus to hotel at each new location. We thought smaller would be better but noticed other tourists had relatively large suitcases. Our tour director explained bigger pieces of luggage are less likely to get snatched while waiting to be moved from hotel doorways, lobbies and streets where the tour buses park.

I packed comfortable footwear with good support. This is essential since walking is the major activity on tours. Despite my sensible footwear, I managed to have a serious fall.

This quickly made me realize I should also have packed a greater variety of over-the-counter drugs for different aliments. Although I did bring a few things, I didn’t bring the right thing for swelling. Luckily, a fellow passenger offered me an appropriate and familiar brand.

I was surprised to find NO facecloths in our hotels in Italy or Switzerland. I didn’t pack any because I assumed they were common as towels in hotels. Hand towels were too large and awkward to wash my face with and I would have appreciated a lightweight cool facecloth to nurse my wounds after I fell.

On a boat ride in Lucerne, it was nice to see one of these (pictured above) since our tour director discouraged us from using a similar facility on the bus. This REALLY surprised me and is probably because emptying lavatory contents doesn't occur until the completion of a bus tour. Although travel tips suggest drinking lots of bottled water, I felt compelled to limit the intake of fluids while on the bus. In most tourist locations the restrooms had incredibly long waiting lines for women and short to non-existent lines for men. So to the ladies ... it might be wise to bring liners for undergarments just in case.

My husband made a couple of excellent purchases prior to the trip: a battery operated shaver that worked on four AA batteries that lasted the entire two weeks. He also purchased an electric plug adapter for charging the camera battery in hotel rooms. As it turned out, we didn’t need to take the electric hairdryer as one was provided in each of our hotels.

I should have brought a strap for my camera. I missed several good shots not wanting to hold it over water or edges of things. In fact, the camera did escape from my hands once ... and just missed falling into the water in Venice.

Speaking of "shots", I probably should have gotten a flu shot before my travels. There was a very sick little boy near me on the flight home. Whether I got his bug or caught it elsewhere, I was sick for weeks after getting home.

As I said in an earlier post, I was glad my husband wore a brightly colored jacket. I often wore a red sweater under my black vest. It is incredibly easy to get lost in the crowd. One person on our tour did wander away and was eventually found by her husband after a long and worrying search.

I realize now that although we wanted to be prepared, it is the "not knowing" that made our trip an adventure. New experiences, unexpected situations and different ways of doing even simple things like turning on a tap increased the fun. Bumbling through an unfamiliar language just to say “thank you” added humility, joy and laughter to our journey.

Below are links to my stories about Italy, Switzerland and France from the moment our trip began:

Pt 1: The Travel Agent In My World
Pt 2: The Lufthansa Plane That Wasn’t
Pt 3: Insight Vacation Bus Tours
Pt 4: Time Traveling In Rome
Pt 5: Watery Wonders In Rome & Venice
Pt 6: Fragile Enchantment In Venice
Pt 7: The Selling Of Saint Francis In Assisi
Pt 8: Spirit Of Opulence & Art At The Vatican
Pt 9: Graffiti Begs For Attention In Rome
Pt 10: Artistic Flourishes In Florence & Bologna
Pt 11: Sky High At The Eiffel Tower
Pt 12: Through The Looking Glass At Versailles
Pt 13: Art Decorates A Hill Over Paris
Pt 14: Mona Lisa's Million Dollar Smile
Pt 15: My World On Cloud Nine In Lucerne
Pt 16: My World Of Ups & Downs In Lucerne

BCers Visit Italy, Switzerland & France; Pt 14: Mona Lisa's Million Dollar Smile

“I’d go a million miles for one of her smiles,” are lyrics to an old song that doesn’t apply to Mona Lisa … but it could have. People world-over are drawn to the portrait painted in the early 1500s by Leonardo da Vinci and displayed at the Louvre in Paris where we visited last October. Although the title says: Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, there is speculation the model is a man. The myths and mystic smile attract unending interest. My guess is that the painting is, indeed, of a middle-class woman and that the work survived and thrived because a hint of a smile on any face in a portrait was perhaps rare in those days and required a leap of imagination by the artist.

Visitors stream to the Louvre not only to see Lisa. Artists of the past would be shocked to know their work would one day help finance future generations. As my photo of the painting above shows, people of long ago merge seamlessly with modern tourists generating funds for the economy.

Most paintings were large in Leonardo's time. Because the Mona Lisa (meaning My Lady Lisa) painting was relatively small (about 21 x 30 inches), the artist was able to carry it with him during his travels. He worked on it sporadically for a few years. It wasn't easy taking a photograph of the original due to the bullet proof glass. My least disatrous photo turned out to be of the black and white poster of Mona pictured at the beginning of this post.

Exquisite art lined the walls in rooms and hallways throughout the building. I had seen many of the paintings previously only in books. Viewing some of the work felt a little like seeing movie stars in person.

Historical figures such as Napoleon Bonaparte peered back at curious onlookers. "Why are you here?" his unwavering gaze seemed to ask.

Romantic figures posed dramatically, ignoring passersby.

Lovely ladies lounged in their finery.

Children in the paintings were sometimes depicted as footnotes.

The Da Vinci Code is a 2003 novel that captured the imagination of thousands who love a good conspiracy theory. A character in the book believes the small stone pyramid under a larger inverted pyramid in the foyer of the Louvre is positioned over a secret chamber hidden beneath the floor.

The book suggests the chamber holds the remains of Mary Magdalene and ancient documents revealing scandalous truths about early Christianity. The assertion that artifacts were hidden there by a secret society when the foyer was restructured in the late 1900s strikes me as pure but brilliant fiction.

Above the larger inverted pyramid there is an upright pyramid ceiling designed to bring light into the foyer. Beneath the glass creation local workers were shouting their objections to the French government's recent plans to change the retirement age from 60 to 62. (Currently in Canada it is 65 and the government is thinking of delaying it to 67 in future.)

Due to the rotating strikes, some doors at the Louvre (which employees some 2,000 people) were closed to the public.

These slightly unsettling conditions didn't stop the flow of visitors. Tourists were greeted as always by the statues within.

Some statues remained in repose as they had done for centuries. The Borghese Hermaphroditus is actually an ancient copy of an even more ancient Greek version. The figure is male on one side and female on the other. The work was restored by David Larique in 1619. The realistic warmly touchable mattress beneath the figure was made by Gianlorenzo Bernini the same year.

French sculpture Philippe Magnier started work on The Two Wrestlers in 1684 initially for the gardens at the Palace at Versailles. He copied a Roman restored Greek original discovered with missing heads in the late 1500s.

The goddess Venus de Milo with missing arms didn't lose her aura of beauty.

The Louvre was originally a fortress transformed many times over centuries. It was the main living quarters of French kings until Louis XIV chose the Palace of Versailles for his residence in 1682. The Louvre became a place to display royal collections and later a broader museum.

It is easy to imagine this pretty glass-incased decoration sitting at a lady’s boudoir when the Louvre functioned as the main palace.

Perhaps serious discussion or sparkling conversation filled the room around this well-polished circular table.

Candlelit meals were enjoyed in elegant style.

People rested on comfortable brocades and luxurious velvets.

Outside, the Fame Riding Pegasus sculpture trumpeted the splendor and power of the region.

The Louvre is a treasure trove unlike any other. With a final glance from our tour bus window, I grinned my non-Mona-Lisa-smile and reflected on having stood just feet away from what could be the costliest painting on the planet.

When the painting was stolen about a century ago to eventually be reinstated at the Louvre, its estimated value was 500 million dollars. Wouldn't Lisa Gherardini be amazed if she knew her features and peculiar expression would be even more valuable today? Wouldn't she also be surprised that her portrait would one day grace the inexpensive mousepad on my computer desk in BC thousands of miles away from Paris? Like the fascinating face that drew me to it, contemplating the original Mona Lisa never gets old.

Explorers can find more sites from around the globe at My World.

BCers In Italy, Switzerland & France; Pt 12: Through The Looking Glass At Versailles

IN MY WORLD I've been thinking about the Lewis Carroll books and how our visit to the beautiful Palace of Versailles last October reminded me of a distorted version of the Alice stories.

It is an unexpected afterthought on my part. In truth, the opulence enjoyed by the royal family resulted in the tragic "off with her head" consquences for Marie Antoinette in 1793. Her husband Louis XVI had been executed months earlier during the French Revolution.

The clipped symmetrical trees ...

meticulous vast courtyards and ponds ...

reminded me of scenes surrounding the Queen of Hearts character.

Rows of figures looked like giant chess pieces reminiscent of the Red Queen.

Blooms past their seasonal prime were dug up. The last few (pictured above) might have objected if they could speak like the flowers did in Carroll's tale.

We saw traditional statuesque apparitions mostly of gods and goddesses.

But (as in Carroll books) unforeseen characters also appeared at the palace.

We had the rare opportunity to view historical art in juxtaposition to modern works. Japanese artist Takashi Murakami created a contemporary Oval Buddha. Although I have seen many concepts of buddha, this some 18 foot statue made of bronze and gold leaf is truly unique.

Nearby was an even more unique golden fence and gateway to the royals.

People were constantly in front of the ornate structure taking pictures so I captured only a portion of the entrance way not open to the public.

I took a peek before entering from another location near the gate.

There it was ... the chateau of Versailles that began as a hunting lodge and evolved into a residence and retreat from the main palace in Paris for generations of French kings.

This was the ideal setting from which royalty could overlook their impoverished countrymen and soak in the breathtaking countryside filled with game and ponds stocked with fish.

Although it wasn't quite like going down the "rabbit hole", there was the appearance of a Mad Hatter through the palace doors.

There was much controversy about having Murakami’s creations displayed temporarily at Versailles. Many locals considered the work insulting.

Nonetheless, the artist wanted to bridge historical art with popular culture.

Many were not convinced and felt much the way Alice did in the Wonderland book when she said, "I don't believe there's an atom of meaning in it."

There was unquestionable significance to the artistic expression (pictured above) that I believe is of Louis XVI. The misguided king went from a lavish lifestyle where aides chosen to monitor his bowel movements apparently felt honored to being despised and killed at the guillotine.

Such a horrific ending was likely not dreamed of when the royals slept in their luxurious beds.

What comforts elaborate fireplaces must have brought to hush their worried minds within cold palace walls.

It WAS like stepping Through The Looking Glass when entering the enormous passageway known as The Hall of Mirrors. The stunning construct within the palace began in 1678. It was built to magnify the power of the monarchy to other regions that might have been a threat.

Glass was extremely rare then. To showcase such a luxury item, Versailles sought the famous glass makers of Venice. Hopefully, the legend isn't true that the workmen who built the mirrored walls were killed to keep the art a secret. Despite the paradoxical lifestyles where the wealthy were seemingly blind to cruelty and poverty, Versailles stands alone as an incredible work of art. The glassy glitter of mirror and marble, the chandeliers and gilded statues all reflect a love of beauty so profound it is impossible NOT to carry a torch for the wonderland of Versailles.

Explorers can find more sites from around the globe at My World.

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Copyright by Penelope Puddlisms