On our last day in La Spezia we followed our host’s suggestion and caught the local bus to Portovenere. The locals are always willing to help and go out of their way to make sure that we are at the correct bus stop etc. The bus took 30 minutes and the scenery around and across the bay was spectacular. At one stage we were stuck in a traffic jam, it was a narrow one way road with a garbage truck emptying bins, so we were going nowhere. We overheard some English guys saying it was 11 minutes to walk down the hill. All the Italians got off the bus so we followed and it was a pleasant walk down to the town. This is an area that the poets Byron, Shelly and D H Laurence came to for their inspiration. It appears that Byron was quite a swimmer and he swam across the bay to see his ‘mate’. The water was looking rather rough so don’t know how he did it!
A good wander up to the ruins and through unknown back alleys gave us the opportunity to see the place. Lunch was out beside the water. If you ask for a drink here you always get some nibblies but this place outdid all others – bread, olives, salami, caper berries and chips. We also added a plate of fried anchovies!

Heading to Milano was a 2.5 hour train trip initially hugging the coast but then inland. Views were once again spectacular and the closer to Milano the snow capped mountains came into view. Our apartment is 5 minutes from the Central station is very handy. It’s another large place with room to move!
What was supposed to be an easy start to the day for our trip to Venice became rather manic when I completely misjudged the time to catch the train. With the train leaving in 45 minutes there was only enough time to throw on clothes and get out the door. Luckily our train was 5 minutes late and had a buffet car so some semblance of a breakfast was had on  the way! It took 2.5 hours to get to Venice but well worth it when we stepped from the train straight to the Grand Canal!

We decided to meander around the streets and back canals whilst admiring all the glass items that Venice is so famous for. A few brave, well it does cost an arm and a leg, people were in gondolas. Although we had no idea where we were we came upon a restaurant overlooking the Grand canal where I could distinctly remember having lunch with Al, Kerry and Justin – so many years ago! We also had lunch there. Food was very good added with a touch of nostalgia! After lunch we hopped on a vaporetto and ‘cruised’ around for an hour or so. A perfect day.
Wednesday was the day for checking out Milan. Found the hop on/off bus the easiest way to get our bearings. Milan is so much bigger than I thought and even though it appears to have a great transport system with the metro , trams and buses there are still so many cars and scooters. Narrow streets and little parking seem to aggravate the whole scene. Before looking into the Duomo  we had a coffee/ chocolate and although the drinks were large so was the price! It took us quite a while to get over that especially as lunch – pizza and a glass of wine – was cheaper!
The Duomo  was really interesting. – all that marble - and the fact that it took close to 6 centuries to build. We did not venture into the great heights of the building. Security was very tight here.

Thursday saw a really early start for our trip to St Moritz. Left Milan at 7 am and drove for a couple of hours to Tirano, close to the Swiss border. This was where we were to pick up the Bernina train which travels through  alpine landscapes and a UNESCO  World  Heritage site.
This train has opening windows – you are allowed to lean out! – and although it’s freezing and snow was coming in it was brilliant. The train almost spirals its way up and you see the front of the train many times as it twists up the track. It was a little misty at the start but the higher you got it started to clear and the snow got deeper and deeper!

Arriving at St Moritz after 2 hours was breath taking with the sun just topping the mountains. The lake was totally frozen and was being groomed for a forthcoming event. I think the event which is a horse race but where the ‘jockeys’ are on skis being pulled by the horses would be the one to see! A quick look around and a coffee – comparable with Milan only better – saw us taking the bus back to Milan only this time we descended  on the other side of the mountain.

It’s  basically our last day – fly home on Sunday – so there are some other places in Milan we want to visit.
All in all a fabulous trip. We have been so lucky with the weather! “Ciao” until the next time!