Further along the road

Three days have sped by - along with visits to the Sistine  Chapel, Florence and Lucerne.

I need to mention how moved I was by the Sistine chapel in the Vatican museum on our last morning in Rome  I could have lain on the floor for a day.....but had to make do with half an hour with hundreds of others shuffling through the marble halls of history....I have brought 2 posters that will hopefully give me time to really examine the brilliant work of Michelangelo - the Pieta and the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

Florence was an interesting city - but without the buzz and excitement of Rome.  It is the heartland of the Renaissance - Leonardo da Vinci in particular.  It is a beautiful city - overlooked by a full sized copy of Michelangelo's  "David" statue.   We walked by the Arno River and wandered the cobbled streets. It is a city of artisans - jewellers, leather workers and beautiful scarves.....however , even here one can see the struggle some people have to make a living.  it was really surprising  in Italy to see the numbers of Indian and African  hawkers  selling cheap trinkets to tourists...

The next two days were spent in Lucerne - Switzerland.  A place of pristine beauty and universal efficiency and accuracy.  It was also the most expensive of our destinations .  Went on three forms of transport and up and down the beautiful steep Mount Pilatus - cog rail (allegedly the steepest in the world), a cable car and finally little gondolas.  We were literally in the clouds at 7000 feet with snow and ice, but unbelievable views straight down on the city and farming surrounds.  We were at the same altitude as Darjeeling, but there we are surrounded by so many mountains we do not get the clear views that you do in Switzerland.  The magnificent peaks plunge down in sheer splendour to near sea level. 

 The mountains are carpeted in green wherever there are no pine trees and buildings - beautiful short  green grass that must be kept mown as they utilise the grass for silage. Cute little cottages of chocolate coloured wood with brilliantly coloured shutters and vibrant window boxes of pink, red and orange geraniums dot the hills and valleys..... Even their cows are neat and picturesque - with cute faces and long eyelashes, and fur the colour of cafe latte......

One point to note though - Even here in this closely controlled country of snow and cowbells we discovered a caravan complete with an indian serving Hot vegetarian samosas!