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.