It's about the journey, not the getting there...

Just had a really great day travelling round Tuscany, around the Montepulciano wine area. I am now convinced that Tuscany is as good as people say. The scenery is just wonderful, rolling hills, beautiful farms and nice roads. The towns themselves are not stunning, although the wine on offer is. Montepulciano is very comercial. As soon as you get in, it is enoteca after enoteca selling their wares, but hey, this is what it is all about, isn't it?

We really liked Montalcino, less on the tourist map and less bothered about them, although.... there were lots of Americans there. Actually, this time of the year there are lots of Americans everywhere. Who said their economy is bad?...

It is hard to stop waxing lyrical about Italy. There are times that I think, what is so special about this or that, and then next minute I'm falling in love all over again.

Met a couple of Brazilians today and one of them was saying how she was disappointed with Venice (too many tourists), Verona (too many tourists) and St. Gimignano (the Italians are so rude, had bad experience). There isn't much I can say about that. Each person's experience is unique. Thus, I love England and have many Brazilian friends that call it all the time... Each to its own, I say.

We are kind of already planning a return trip, God knows when.... Two of the ladies I met were in their 70s. Hope I will be as up for it then (assuming I am still alive), as there is so much still to see in this wonderful world.

As you can see, a really good day all round. Ah, let NOT me mention the 15 euros (I joke not) I paid for an ice cream in Florence on Saturday!!!! Buyers be aware. Ashamed to admit to this.....NEVER AGAIN. Lesson: don't ever buy without asking the price first. BUT, this was my first real rip off so far. Have had lovely ice creams for 1 euro too.

Countdown, can't believe it...

Can't believe we have been here a week already and that there are only 2 weeks and a bit to go until we leave Italy. Slow the time down please....

We are really enjoying it here in Loro. Went round the Chianti road yesterday, and although the chianti villages are nothing to write home about, although nice, the road is really worth the trip. Lovely vineyards and olive groves all round.

Today we went back to Siena after 4 years and it is still very beautiful and still packed with tourists, mostly Americans. Toscana is beautiful, but I can imagine that it must be quite something around July time when the sunflowers are out and all the fields planted with other crops. Now the majority are just plowed. Exception being the wine and olive areas. I don't get tired of it.

We have had a couple of very interesting experiences with the Italians. Twice now they rounded the bills down at restaurants! Have you ever heard of that? Nice surprise... bring it on I say.

Met a Brazilian family in Siena today, shame they were in a hurry as they were moving on and still had a couple of sites to see. It was nice to speak to somebody else rather than Alan, although it was only a 20 minutes conversation. We were trying to arrange lunch together, but our timings didn't coincide. Shame. I enjoyed it.

Tomorrow we are lazying around here. Our nice landlady brought me some fresh tomato sauce yesterday (still warm) that her Mama had made. So past it is tomorrow. She is so kind.

The old man across the yard has taken to talking to me, although I can hardly understand his Italian and he is deaf and doesn't understand me! We have some great conversations NOT. His daughter and family live in Birmingham and he has even been to Manchester...

Arrivederci Umbria, ciao Toscana

Just left Spoleto today and was really sorry to go. It is a really nice town and I felt at home there. Laurie, the landlord, said there was an American couple staying in one of their flats that were going back in 2 days time, after spending a year there. It sounded good to me, I could see myself living there for a year too. Had a fab meal last night in a truly Italian atmosphere, no turists there. Great.

We arrived in Toscana with some trepidation. We knew it was somewhere isolated and, after the experience in Urbino, were slightly concerned. The GPS took us round some quite rustic roads and we were quietly wondering where we were heading to. Good outcome though. Yes, it is a village on the top of a hill and yes, it has a very small kitchen/living room and a very small bathroom, with a very weird shower cubicle, but, it is lovely.

The Italian landlady couldn't have been more thorough. We arrived to a fridge full of cold meats, water, cheese, fresh tomatoes, a bowl of fruits, a bottle of chianti, etc, etc. She made us a lovely espresso as soon as we got in and, definitely was the best welcome we have had so far.

Spent a couple of hours in getting sorted and went out to check out the village and get something to eat. Again, a small village with at least half a dozen lovely restaurants and a couple of bars. Had a lovely pizza, bottle of chianti and coffee for 33 euros. Brill. Know I am going to like it here. Will keep you posted. Only 4 weeks to go now. time is flying.

Genetics and beauty in the eyes of the beholder

Just been thinking, I might know the reason why Italian women are slim. I think they were genetically modified by the constant going up and down the alleys in the hundreds of walled towns/villages and cities across this country. I struggle going up hill only to see these very old women taking it completely in their stride. Good for them.
Mind you, it has not had the same effect on the slum inhabitants of Rio! No skinny/elegant ladies there. It might need a couple of generations for genetics to kick in.Ha,ha,ha.

I was also thinking about listening to people's views about places, etc. We use the rough guide to Italy and very informative it is, but, sometimes we are surprised by places that they say might hardly be worth a visit and then, we get there and really enjoy it. Sometimes it is hard to explain why we like places, but as soon as we get to a town, we seem to get a feel for it. It is like buying a house. You know the right one when you step in, even though you might have seen others a lot better.

We really enjoyed visiting San Marino, though it is just shop after shop selling duty free and the like, but it was fantastic for the views. We also, really enjoyed Assisi this week and Perugia. Today we visited the castle in Spoleto and definitely it is worth a visit. We have seen hundreds of frescoed walls and churches so far and yet, we are always finding surprisingly beautiful new ones when we least expect. I suppose this is the beauty of travel and of being able to do it slowly and at our own pace. Good week really and only another 5 weeks to go. Time flies.

It had to happen....

Well, it is a couple of weeks since my last entry, but there have been some developments, least of all that there was no internet at my last abode, and this was not all that wasn't there....

Where to start? Our little 1 litre Cinquecento did not want to climb the hill taking us to the property near Urbino... After some cajoling from Alan, it eventually went up in first gear (with us praying nobody was coming down), since the road (?) was single lane and rather precarious.

Got there and were taken to our new home by the resident owner. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry... Neither did I know whether to describe it as a studio, cave or grotto... Look at the pics in facebook.

The compact kitchen, meant a 2 ring eletric cooker stuck on top of two wooden shelves held by a couple of metal rods and no sink.... Well, there wasn't much water going either, so I suppose, a sink wouldn't have made much difference.

Then we were shown the internal bathroom. So dark, it was difficult to find the light switch to put the lights on. The wash hand basin, "hand built" by the owner was like an inside out flower, built in concrete with mirror insets....

We had had no lunch on our way in because we couldn't find a place to eat and by the time we found some, we were almost at the place and no longer hungry, so had breakfast cereal for dinner.

Decided to have a shower and... no water. When we told the landlady, she filled the water tank, but then, water was hot for Alan and cold for me ( I actually hate cold showers) ... So, an early bed was called for. This was actually quite comfortable and we slept well.

Next day, after a good night's sleep we were ready to face the world, and, no water again. Basically the 2 weeks there went more or less like that all the time.
There was a communal kitchen with an Aga and water available just over the yard across from us, but it did feel like we were camping, rather than enjoying a self catering holiday. Ah, the 2 ring cooker also went on the blink on the second day, but she did sort that out immediately. Maybe we are just too posh (ha,ha). There was a rather middle class English couple there with 2 kids, that had been there for a month and seem to be enjoying their stay. We did not have much chance to chat but, if they stayed the month, they must have thought it was ok. Their property was separate from ours and maybe they did not have the same issues. Worth mentioning that this was the most expensive of our properties in Italy and we had paid upfront so did not want to walk out.

Having said all that, we did have a good time there, went for a few days out that were nice, the landscape in the Marche area is much nicer than Emilia Romagna and the weather was excellent. The landlady was very pleasant too and I even had a mosaic class, which is her hobby/speciality. The place is covered in mosaics..

Last, but not least, I was bitten to death by mosquitoes and am still carrying the marks. I couldn't sit out, because they wouldn't leave me alone and, I found a scorpion in the washing bowl the first morning, apart from the many spiders that circulated round the living room...

On the positive side, she had 3 cats and 3 dogs which took to us and sat outside our door all day. One of the cats was really cute and came for breakfast and afternoon snack every day; the views from the property were very nice and the experience confirmed to us that we really do not like camping, do not like roughing it and do not want to live in the countryside, so a worthwhile experience after all.

Glad to say that we are now in the centre of Spoleto, a small town, pretty, with lots of restaurants and in a lovely apartment too, so, feeling rather spoiled.

Oops, I've done it again and moving on...

Hurray, at long last I have my own connection and can start boring you all again....
For those on facebook, you will know that the title refers to my return to Venice before I left Treviso.

Venice never ceases to amaze me. I love getting lost in its alleyways and more wonderful still, is seeing 500 million people also lost, but rather than mad, really enjoying the experience. It was crazy again, very hot again and I still would go back tomorrow... and this is saying something, as I rarely want to go back to somewhere I visited before, as the world is such a large place and there is so much to see, but, Italy in general and London, will always have a special place in my heart.

We took the boat to the islands. Had already been to Murano, so went to Burano 9with its lovely and colourful houses) and Torcello which is not really worth visiting, unless you really want to see the first cathedral of Venice, built in 629. The boat trip however gives you another view of Venice and really, the city is like something out of an Arabian fairy tale. LOVE IT.....

We left Treviso (our favourite city so far) and are now in Ferrara. not really a beautiful city in aesthetic sense, more of a D. Fairhurst of cities, rugged and beautiful in its own way - nose and all. (HC staff will know what I mean). Had a wonderful walk round the walls of the town today. It is the most complete wall we have seen and really well used. Better than Lucca as it is tree lined for a good part of it and made me think of the Bois de Bologna, as I walked under its trees canopies.

Italy v. France, markets and bread.

Just thought I should say something about my impressions regarding markets and breads in Italy. The markets are good, but so far, they are geared towards clothes, with very few food and vegetable stalls. There are always a couple of cheese and meats stalls, and one of cooked meals (lovely) and a couple of vegetables ones, but, I'd say it is 90% clothes and 10% for the other two. Unlike France where they were definitely about fresh and most importantly, local produce, with some little stalls where all there was for sale where a few baskets of home grown tomatoes and the like. A much more pleasurable experience, even though I have already bought a dress and a top on the market.

Another thing I have noticed is the quality of bread. ASDA has nothing to be ashamed of. I use to love the olive bread from Asda. The majority of breads here are on the hard/crusty side, And, as they do not like you to touch anything on the shops, you can't be sure the bread will be nice. The fresh foccacias em Emilio Romagna were a case apart and wonderful, but, really to eat there and then. As things here are very regionalised, no fresh foccacias to buy here.

Having a quiet day at home, hubby not feeling brilliant. Wonder if that glass of grappa at lunchtime yesterday has anything to do with it! Wonderful lunch yesterday, special place. Yummy.

Asolando = relaxing

Week 8
Just realised I have not said anything about Treviso where we are staying. It is a lovely walled town that although heavily bombed and partly destroyed during the war, has managed to retain quite a lot of the old buildings and churches,etc. it is surrounded by rivers and canals and quite quaint really. nice squares and lovely arched walkways with plenty of shops. Really laid back atmosphere. In fact, I was thinking, you cannot fail to love a people that will close their restaurants, shops, bars or whatever, and go on holidays right in the middle of the "make money" from tourism season. I actually love seeing the signs saying "chiuso per feries" (shut for holidays.
The Italians really do not strike me as money grabbers.

There is no pressure in the restaurants to get you out to release tables, even if there are people waiting. all together it feels like they have the right attitude to life. Work to live and not live to work. I love that.

Had a lovely relaxing day today asolando (apparently a term invented by a Robert Browning, English poet, that lived in Asolo, the place we visited yesterday. Expression meant to translate as "wondering aimlessly", rather like we are doing. I like that.

Garda, Italian drivers and odd thoughts....

Week 8 of adventure.

Had a fabulous 2 weeks in Garda. It felt like a holiday within a holiday. Moniga, where we stayed, wasn't what I thought it would be like. Nice, but did not have the mountains and Lake views I was hoping for. But, when you travel on a budget, you can't have it all. Apartment was good, village ok and full of Northern Europeans, no English at all. Good base for travelling round though and we were above a Pizzaria. What else can you want? I loved Garda though.
They might say that Garda, Sirmione, Bardolino, Malcesine, etc are full of turists and shops selling tat, but so what? they are beautiful places and you can always find some quiet places if you want. I loved Malcesine because of the trip up in the cable car - 1760 metres up - and lots of wonderful walks. Just wish I had more time there to do them. Gorgeous views too.

Ah, the earth did move too, though not in the bedroom - it was a minor earthquake (4.5) and centred round where we were before - Reggio Emilia - but it felt a bit stronger than the one in Manchester. Today there was another tremor further North.

Just a few points about Italian drivers: they are definitely mad... They have this wonderful habit (Not) of waiting and waiting to join a main road and then pull out right in front of you at 30 miles an hour. However, if you are in front of them and doing, say 65 on a road where limit is 60, they will flash you, beep you and generally go mad because you are not going faster.
Yet, Giovanni, our landlord, told us that the fine is 159 euros and 5 points in the licence if you are caught speeding. How can one make sense of that?

Another really irritating habit they have is, no matter how empty the road may be, to sit right up your backside and in the middle of the road, as if they are going to pass you, but then don't. It must be something they learn at auto school, because they all do it. arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Finally, not wanting to rub it in, woke up this morning, weather forecast was meant to be bad. Looked at the skies and then, just decided to pop to Venice for lunch. How cool is that? And weather? Too hot to handle, blood wish had left my coat at home.
Venice was heaving. Really awful. Just glad we had already been and done all the sights, so we could just wonder around aimlessly and avoid the big crowds. Had a lovely lunch though. Great day but would not recommend a visit in July/August.

Rip off Milan and weird sights...

Finally went to Milan yesterday. Brill start to the day, 40 euros for return tickets for the two of us and it is a 2 hour trip on the train. Why does England has to be so expensive? Comfortable trains, on time and air condicioned...
Good value metro tickets too. 3 euros each for the whole day.
Duomo is impressive. Weird looking really, mix of styles, since it took 400 years to be built. Great views from the top too.

Lunch was a disater, we fell into the trap, we said we wouldn't, of eating in a touristy place on the main thoroughfare of the town. 62 euros for a crap meal - just the wine was 30 euros and we had to return the first bottle because it was definitely corked. Awful. Won't be doing that again in a hurry. Don't mind paying if the stuff is good. Nice enough city, but just about posing really, although the Duomo and the castle were good and good value too. Westminster is so much more expensive to get in.

Today went to Torrechiara, a refurbished castle nearby. Lovely setting and lovely rooms. On the way back called somewhere else and took the back roads for a change. Passing through a semi industrial area, we were amused to see in the 30+ degrees heat, loads of road side prostitutes, touting and showing their wares. One of them had a very mini skirt on, pulled down halfway through her bum, showing her thong and shaking her backside. Mind you, they had umbrellas to shade them from the sun. Very wise, ha,ha,ha....

Another 2 sleeps and we are off to Garda. Really looking forward to seeing some mountains again. I have enjoyed it here, but it is very flat indeed.

I may go quiet on the blog because there is no internet in the next property and I may not be int he mood to look for internet cafes.

Summertime and living is easy....

Nice morning round Carpi again. First time market was on and it was difficult to see the town for what it is. The castle goes back to 1472. Visited it on our own. they are doing works to it and this gorgeous builder/curator maybe(?) gave us a quick round up before leaving us on our own to enjoy the place. How much history can you handle? Lovely. To think Brasil wasn't even discovered yet and here was this thriving city already.
lovely, lovely laid back place but with shops such as Max Mara - its birth place is round here. Anyway.... Nice cappucino on the square for 2,60 euros for 2 and then to the best bakery ever for some filled foccacia and cakes, all for 10 euros plus some extra canapes thrown it. Gorgeous...

Now home and just relaxing... Forgot to say this is ciclist heaven, everybody cycles everywhere - very flat, and lots of cycle lanes and the like. Wish I could cycle. Maybe something to learn in Rio das Ostras - also very flat...

Sunday, divine drink/desert and happy....

I forgot to tell you all about this amazing dessert/drink I had - now twice -and will definitely be trying to make at home - sorbetto al limone. Not a sorbet, but liquid mana from heaven. Wonderful after a meal. Had just the plain one, but just found out that it can be done with vodka or fizzy wine. WOW...

Had a lovely morning at Castel d'Arquato. Beautifully restored medieval town, an hour from here. Lovely laid back atmosphere, great views from the tower and a lovely meal in an enoteca with just Italians in. I love this country.

How can you not like a country with streets called Bellini, Puccini and my favourite Cherubini... Just the sounds of them, make me dream... Might mean bugger all, but that it sounds lovely, it does....

Sorry but more photos of castles adn the like to follow in facebook.

Sunday, divine drink/desert and happy....

I forgot to tell you all about this amazing dessert/drink I had - now twice -and will definitely be trying to make at home - sorbetto al limone. Not a sorbet, but liquid mana from heaven. Wonderful after a meal. Had just the plain one, but just found out that it can be done with vodka or fizzy wine. WOW...

Had a lovely morning at Castel d'Arquato. Beautifully restored medieval town, an hour from here. Lovely laid back atmosphere, great views from the tower and a lovely meal in an enoteca with just Italians in. I love this country.

How can you not like a country with streets called Bellini, Puccini and my favourite Cherubini... Just the sounds of them, make me dream... Might mean bugger all, but that it sounds lovely, it does....

Sorry but more photos of castles adn the like to follow in facebook.

music in the square, art fatigue....

End of week 4 and what a good week we have had. Highlights were a failed attempt to get to Milan - couldn't find entrance to car park, even using GPS and by the time we found it, the train was gone... Oh, well wasn't meant to be. In fact, not hot on going to Milan, but just want to be able to say "have done it" or more likely, not wanting to regret it, if we don't.

Stayed in Reggio yesterday and had a really nice day. The full market was on. Mostly trash clothes but I did buy a top for 10 euros ! and then after a proper Summer storm in the afternoon, went into town for a meal. Came across an Italian group playing in the Piazza. Really strange being in a 500 year old square, overlooked by a part medieval church and listening to The Strokes music - so Alan tells me, anyone that knows me, knows also that I am tone death, neither can sing, nor can recognise music...SAD.. it was great though.

One for Richard - the Italian word for "change to" is "passa", and there is this mobile company called Wind. So, it does amuse me to hear this advert urging people all the time to "Passa a wind!!!". I know, boys toilet humour, but am sure Rick and Neill will appreciate it.

Today was Mantova. beautiful and had 2 amazing castles. One was that elaborate that by the end of it, I could neither move my neck, from looking at the heavily painted ceilings, nor distinguish between one room and another. Amazing, but sometimes too much. You need hours in each room to fully appreciate it. Loved it though. Recommend it..

thoughts, food and drink, Sunday lunches

Week 3 - still in Reggio Emilia (Emilia Romagna area)
as mentioned in previous e-mail, Sunday lunches are definitely an out of town business. We went to Canossa, a village with a castle up in the mountains, and had a truly authentic Italian experience. No foreign turists there, so the place looked good and I asked to reserve a table. 3 generation families started arriving , the noise got louder and we had the best food ever (the tortelli de pumpkin was amazing). Fab day all round. Day before we went to Modena and that was also very nice. Sorry to go on about food, but it makes such a change from our experience in France. Maybe we are just Italian food addicts.

Interesting thing here is that when you go out for a drink in the evening, all bars set up a canapes buffet, where you help yourself to whatever you want and as many times as you want for free. The drinks do cost 10 euros for 2, but all together, it is still a cheap evening meal, if you are on a budget or just too full already. And the quality in general is pretty good too. You just need to do a reckoning before ordering.

Weather is brill and like England the days are light until very late in the evening.

What a life....

Ah, Bologna.....Food, walks, shops

Well, we are almost at the end of week 3 in Italy and yesterday we spent the day at Bologna, an hour's from Reggio Emilia on the train. Train was an adventure in itself. Having felt really chuffed in paying 5 euros for the trip, we were then less than chuffed 1/2 an hour later, when the conductor told us we would have to pay another 28 euros because we got on the Euro Star..... Didn't make for a good start to the trip. Once we got there however and had a first glimpse of the city, all was forgotten...

Gorgeous place, has 38 kms of covered archways round the town, including the 2 miles covered archway all the way up the hill to the Monastery of S. Lucca. Knackering, but wonderful. Made me feel less guilty about the two course meal and wine at lunch time..

We also climbed 400+ steps of one of the Due Torri towers which provided a fab 360 view of the city and gave us a better idea of its geography. Photos on facebook.

The market is wonderful too, colourful and first class ingredients. I've died and gone to heaven.

Ah, found something very interesting regarding food and drink here. You go for an aperitiv pre dinner in any bar or cafe and a buffet is laid out with finger food for you to help yourself to as much as you want and as many times as you want. Drinks work at around 10 euros for 2, but, it makes for a cheap evening meal though.... and, the food in general is lovely. Had the best spinach pie ever. Wouldn't do for heavy drinkers though, far too expensive....

Another year, another adventure....

Was in two minds as to whether to do a blog or not, but am missing a place to write down my thoughts. A travel journal is not quite my thing.. Maybe I need an audience... Just wish this blog could take photos, but hey, everybody has seen Italy and photos are available on my facebook.

We are in our third week of our 4 1/2 months round North Italy. Even the Italians are surprised at the length of our trip.

We were in Liguria for the first 2 weeks, near La Spezia and the beautiful Cinque Terre national park. Had a really good time and property was lovely, albeit still not given me the evening sitting on a square sipping wine vision...

We are now in Emilia Romagna after crossing the Apennines, more specifically in Reggio Emilia. Very flat round here and less places of interest to visit, although reason for choosing it it is because is on the main line to Parma, Milan, Bologna, which we will be visiting in the next 2 weeks. We are here for 3...

Views on the trip so far:
. accommodation ate a big chunk of our budget. Definitely more expensive than France.
. Eating out is cheaper than England, but there is less of the menu turistique that we enjoyed in France and, definitely more temptations too.
. this means more staying at home, (every other day), which does not please yours truly. I want it all... Thank goodness there is internet here.
. Town is nice and have a lovely laid back feel to it, but we are some 20 minutes, on foot, away from the centre. Not bad, but am still too lazy to go out every evening - or my husband is..... and the costs mount too.
. Have already had some memorable meals....
. Italian women are definitely very elegant and slim.... SODs, which just make me feel fatter and gorge even more on pasta with cream sauces.
. there are less places of interest to visit, so cheaper in a sense with no entry fees. More of a laze around small villages and soak the atmosphere.
. contrary to what I thought, eating out in towns on a Sunday is a no, no. Only a few places open and for the turists around (if a turisty sort of place). No shops open either, probably better heading for the mountains. Will try this weekend.
. ah, house here, great too. In general we could have stayed in more happening places, but cost made it prohibitive. It was more important for me to be in Italy...