Italy: Beginning of the Journey

This blog is mostly for myself.  I had such a good time I want to remember all the details.  If you are interested to visit Italy you might be curious, but if you have already visited Italy a lot will be repetitious.  If you have no interest in visiting Italy you may find most of it boring.  The country itself is very interesting.

All of us on the tour were over 50, most over 70, except for two adult daughters.  The advantage of staying at one resort is you get to know the staff and its routines--minor trips at your expense.  On the tour you do get to know your fellow travelers--in this case from coast to coast.  Age is the most common denominators, retired as well--most but not all had children and grandchildren 

 As a bit of a punk when living in Haliburton my brother Marshall and I used to watch the cottagers driving back home and thinking how ignorant they were.  To some degree this juvenile attitude was picked up from our peers.  We didn't appreciate that the cottagers did get a lot of enjoyment from the country and they did contribute significantly to our welfare. We knew we were different and of course there had to be some superiority that came with it.  Perhaps we were defensive.  They loved the outdoors and being away from the city rush.

We were taken to the Toronto Airport by Airways Transit.  From Toronto we connected to the Montreal Airport to complete our tour gang, 34 altogether some from western Canada, eastern Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes.  Lanyards with our name reminds of our school days, but help us get each other's names, and also identify us as a group.  Met tour manager, Chris..

Our tour manager Chris explained that she never should be addressed as a tour guide.  Tour guides are required to pass a test to get a license.  Chris had her own set of challenges and handled them well.

There was a routine.  We handled carry on baggage while the tour handles the heavier luggage.  Left the luggage outside our room in time for operator to put on bus.  Eat breakfast paid by tour and then as Sharon pointed out we "brush and flush".  We then drive to meet our tour guide and we walk.  To us, an odd feature of hotels was that the ground floor was not the first floor, it was zero while what we call the second floor was considered the first floor.  Confusing, but I recall something from my French classes.

Covering Italy from top to bottom there were a few notable traffic differences from what we were used to.  Round abouts slow down traffic and annoy many.  Motorcycles are much more common than in Ontario and more aggressive. They are seen weaving between cars, trucks and buses.  

In the early part of our trip we encountered pay for toilets.  With mostly seniors we spent a lot of time searching for public toilets.  At first we scrambled for coins. but were pleased there were some free toilets and buying food at a restaurant opened up another possibility. 

First day spent getting to Milano.  Had been told no meal and that we could not get an airplane meal, but we did and it was substantial.  Long lineups in Milano Airport and we learned far out of the city

For our first lunch we had been told we were expected to pay for our lunch, but in fact it was paid for including some Prosecco and wine.  The waitress afterwards told us that the meat had been cooked in such away that diners could have easy access to marrow that her grandmother assured was the tastiest and healthiest part'

One aspect that annoyed most of us was that dinners tended to be at 8:00 p.m.  We had a need to get up before 7 the next day and felt this minimized our sleep quality.  Perhaps this goes back to the idea of in hot weather workers required a siesta in the afternoon and the hotels adjusted.

Milan was considered very important to the point that Napoleon had himself crowned Emperor here.  The top church was built mostly with marble.  As a request I saw La Scala, the most important opera house in the world where some of my favourite operas saw their debut.  Fashion and financial capital city of Italy

Taken to Lake Garda  around Sermione and were told bigger than Lake Como.  Went for a boat ride and were entertained by the driver feeding a swan. Roman ruins, best seen from the lake were the first attraction, but the second attraction was gelato with several outlets.  We were told that  Maria Callas lived here for a time.  Very busy.  I bought a baseball cap with Lake Garda imprinted.

Roman ruins seen from Lake.

                                                        Swan looking for treats and got them.                                                       
                                                            

 

Verona, the next day was famous for its Roman Arena that has become a concert venue including mine and the guide's favourite Eros Ramazotti and Michael Buble.  Giuletta's balcony was another attraction.

Verona Roman Arena used for concerts

                                                                                      Giuletta's Balcony

 

 

 

 

Padova, later same day was an educational centre that had included Gallileo and  Dante.  A personal highlight for Sharon was a coffee that had been shown by Stanley Tucci on his television show.  The coffee drinkers in our gang all loved it.

Sharon and Mary drinking coffee while Calder watches

 

 

 

                                                     Sculpture from church

 

 

 

Venice, like all our locations was bigger than imagined.  On our gondola ride we can be appreciate the skill in building on next to water.   Gondalas, require balance.  We enjoyed a drink with Chris,  Also very crowded.

St. Mark's 
 

 

 

 

                                                 Chris our tour manager

 

 

 

Gondola Ride

 

 

 

 On our way to Pisa we went through lots of tunnels under the Appennines mountains.  There is more to Pisa than the famous leaning tower.  The guide took us in Baptistry and suggested go up to balcony 65 steps for an acoustics demonstration.  Andrea Bocelli had tested it.  She explained history of the leaning tower that had originally built on sand.  Heavy materials caused the lean.  Efforts to fix was interrupted by the 100 year war.  More recently around 1990 the tower was closed for 10 years while international experts made adjustments.  It is resistant to most earth quake shocks.  Our guide  had each person's photo taken appearing to hold up or pull tower.  It was well done and time consuming for her, but the results were special.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Florence (Firenze) was very crowded, even our guide felt it was too crowded.  We saw the fake David.  This was a very good lunch with fellow travellers 

The fake David.

A tomb inside a church.

                                                                            Bride and Groom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sienna was still another site that offered.more than expected, but less crowded.  At the hotel Sharon was able to wade into the Adriatic Sea.

There were many very elaborate.churches.   I was stunned by the amount of money, tremendous artistry and lives that may have been lost (or shortened).  One church paid homage to Socrates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Socrates in a Church

 

 

 

 

 In front of Olive Tree at Sienna Hotel

By the time we reached Assisi my expectations were heightened, but once again it was more than anticipated.  Le Cantina di Oddo offered gnocchi that was excellent.

 

                      At La Cantina di Oddo.

 

 

 

 

That was the northern half, and the southern proved to be just as interesting such as                                     

                                                               Check the link below.

 http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/10/our-italian-adventure-part-two.html

Worth

Some ideas are too good to ignore.  Movies without sex or romance or action are handicapped at the box office, but some of us like to understand the world a little better.  9/11 was a game changer and we are still feeling the effects.  At the time the news was overwhelming and it seems that much was either overlooked or forgotten.

 The strongest reaction seemed to be to seek revenge, but it turns out there were other concerns.  For me "Worth" (2021) pointed out what politicians and their wealthy supporters were very concerned about.  The big concern was that if all the dependents of the dead and injured sued, the economy would crater.  At one point we learned that Congress had passed laws to prevent suing the two airlines involved.  At another point we learned that lawyers representing the big earners who had died, campaigned to raise levels of compensation.  John Ashroft agreed it was best to avoid a Republican in charge of compensation as it would likely attract a lot of criticism not matter what was decided.

We are introduced to Ken Fineberg in a classroom setting where he is pointing out that all lives can be reduced to a number after a death.  Later we learn he has had a lot of experience with major disasters and understood the normal process.

 Fineberg himself recognized the national dilemma and felt obligated to give his expertise for free.   One of his graduated students was in the south tower when it was hit.  He assembles his team and they put together protocols.  He is interrupted to take a call from the President.  First we notice that the call has been set up by a secretary, then George Bush gets on to thank Fineberg and comments that he will receive a lot of garbage and while we are digesting the importance of a presidential call he hangs up.   

We soon meet Charles Wolf, whose wife died.  He seems very reasonable, but makes it known he does not approve the plan.  Fineberg is confident that emotions will die down and the people will recognize the deal is reasonable to help them move on.  

We learn that many victims lived in non normal circumstances.  One man had not yet had a chance to form a civil union with his now deceased partner.  We learn about one widow who didn't know her husband had had two children outside their marriage.  We learn that many injuries from the cleanup people were not revealed until deadlines had expired.  Lots of emotion from a variety of survivors.

Ken Fineberg had talks with Charles Wolf who had much more support and tried to adjust the rules and understand the situation.  Fineberg had been told they needed 80% compliance or nobody would be compensated which meant disaster for the economy.  The response was very slow, under 50% with only a few months to go.  Wolf finally decided that the adjustments justified his support.  In the end 97% did comply. 

How much is a life worth?  There really is no fair way of assessing and Fineberg always claimed he was seeking a just solution, not a fair one.  Underneath it all was the need to protect the overall economy while satisfying basic needs.  As a small sideline we become aware that the Bush administration is getting set to invade Iraq.

The film tries to cover as many aspects of the compensation issues as practical.  They succeeded in bringing compensation into a better understanding.  

Films that do such a good job are the result of quality contributions from numerous people.  Here are only a few.

Sara Colangelo was director.  Her first film, a short documentary "Halal Vivero" was a national finalist at the 2006 Student Academy Awards.  Her film credits include "The Kindergarten Teacher" (2018).  She has also been a writer, producer and some technical skills.

Max Borenstein, wrote the script. He has been writing for films since 2003, but has also been a producer including for this film and a director.

Marc Butan was another producer with such film credits as "The Lost City of Z" (2016), "The Zookeeper's Wife" (2017), "Ad Astra" (2019) and "The Trial of the Chicago 7" (2020).

Brad Dorros, another producer with such film credits as "Spotlight" (2015) and "Collateral Beauty" (2016).       

Anthony Katagas is a leading producer of independent films.  His credits include  "The Next Three Days" (2010), "The Immigrant" (2013), and "12 Years a Slave" (2013 for which he was awarded the Oscar).      As a sideline he played goalie for he Greek national team at the 2018 National Lacrosse Championship.

Michael Sugar, another producer has film credits for "Rendition" (2007), "Big Miracle" (2012). "The Fifth Estate" (2013),  "Spotlight" (2015 for which he received an Oscar), "Collateral Beauty" (2016) and "The Report" (2019).  Check:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/05/the-report.html

Tony Parker was a co-executive producer.  Better known to me as an all star NBA athlete winning 3 titles and helping France win the European championship, along the way winning more than one MVP title.  His film credits include "Shock and Awe" (2017).  He is the executive producer for an upcoming document, "The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu."  

Nico Muhly composed the music.  His credits include "The Reader" (2008), "Margaret" (2011) and "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" (2015).  Two of the characters show a strong interest in opera.

Pepe Avila del Pino was the cinematographer with credits that include  "Ozark" (2017), "The Kindergarten Teacher" (2018)   A surprise to me is that it was filmed in Oregon.

Michael Keaton  who played Ken Finestein was born Michael John Douglas and early in his acting career he changed to Michael Keaton to avoid being confused with a more famous actor.  He had been a stagehand for "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" in 1968.  His acting credits include:  "Batman" (1989), "The Paper" (1994), his Oscar nominated "Birdman or(the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (2014), "Spotlight" (2015) and "The Founder" (2016).

Amy Ryan plays Fineberg's veteran assistant.  Her credits include "Capote" (2005), "Gone Baby Gone" (2007), "Win Win" (2011), "Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (2014), "Bridge of Spies" (2015) and "Beautiful Boy" (2018).  Check  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2016/05/bridge-of-spies.html

Stanley Tucci plays Charles Wolf.  His acting credits include "The Pelican Brief" (1993), "Big Night" (1996 also as co-writer), "Road to Perdition" (2002), "The Terminal" (2004), "Shall we Dance?" (2004),  "The Devil Wears Prada" (2006), "The Lovely Bones" (2009), "Spotlight" (2015) and "The Children Act" (2017).  Now he is more popular than ever with "StanleyTucci: Searching for' Italy."

Shunori Ramanathan played Fineberg's graduated student.  Her film credits include "The Big Sick" (2017).

After digesting the movie a bit you will be left pondering what is a life worth and the difference between fairness and justice.  A thoughtful move with a little history you might have overlooked or forgotten.

As usual the first mention of a film has been bolded that I have seen.