Monday 11 August
Last night we had a nice feed at the local Il Granaio Pizzeria. Leigh and Dallas both had a very nice Ravioli with meat sauce, Terry had wild boar and I had a range of grilled pork cuts.
This morning we had a late start and headed towards Montepulciano in the south of Toscana. The trip went quite well with only one drama leaving the main road a bit soon and having to renavigate. We stopped at Pienza first, which is prized for cheese, especially ewe's cheese.
It was another walled and stone village on top of a hill. I had a pee, ate a panini thing, drank a coffee and then we left. I am starting to get over these villages!
We then drove the 10 minutes to the much larger Montepulciano which is famous for its wines, especially Nobile. There were great views out over the Tuscany countryside. The highlight was a walk through the wine cellar of Contucci (www.contucci.it), a sample of their wine and the purchase of a bottle of Contucci Vino Nobile de Montepulciano 2004.
We then decided to head home following a different route. The road that took us to the motorway took us there but did not allow access to the motorway so we had to backtrack. We then zigged and zagged north to Siena, but instead of exiting on a main road we drove through Siena and ended up heading towards Florence. We stumbled across a road that headed towards our village of Radicondoli where we bought some provisions for our pasta feed back at the villa.
After a quick dip aand couple of beers we enjoyed a pasta and sausage meal.
Our plan tomorrow is to go to Florence for Lucy's birthday and this will require an early start,
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuscany
For our last dinner we went to Pane Vino where Leigh and I had had lunch on the day of our arrival. Ham is certainly a specialty of this place as we all had a dish which involved large lashings of ham along with mushrooms, goat and other cheese all washed down with two fine bottles of Italian Pinot Grigio.
I got up at 7.30 the next morning and checked my cashpassport account at a local internet cafe and then couldn't get any money out! I'll try again somewhere else later.
I then joined the others for breakfast before Terry and I successfully managed the bus trip to Via Della Pianta to pick up the rental car. We marched down this road looking for the Hertz sign which should have been at number 8 and decided to turn around at number 250 when we couldn't find it, only to return to the beginning of the street to discover the office (with very little signage!) at the very beginning where we started walking. Terry forgot to take his International Licence so I'm driving for the next 8 days.
I was pleased with how we managed the drive back to our hotel navigating very narrow and one-way streets. Leigh and Dallas were there with the bags and we headed off hoping to reach Pisa for some brief sightseeing.
After a bit of zigging and zagging we found the right motorway and headed off in our automatic diesel chevrolet and managed to stumble across a free car park (after two attempts) where we boarded a bus for a 5 minute trip to the area the tower is.
This area was more spectacular than I expected, as hot as I expected and much more crowded than I expected, and was our first real encounter with marauding hawkers attempting to sell bags, straps, sunglasses and cell phones.
We started off with a grat lunch (Terry and I had great pizzas, Dallas had a huge spaghetti bolognese and Leigh had a caneloni). I decided I would go to the top of the tower while the others went through the cathedral. It was now 2.30 pm and I discovered the next tour which had spaces left on it was at 5.00pm so I missed out. I joined them in the cathedral, which was quite impressive, before we fought our way through the stalls, hawkers and crowds to the bus and then our car park.
There was brief tension as we discussed the various options of getting out of Pisa and on to a correct motorway. We eventually found one going to Lucca and despite it being a little out of our way we took it. Following the instructions that we had been provided with and Dallas' great impersonation of a TomTom we found our way after a couple of hours to our wonderful Tuscany villa just outside the village of Radicondoli.
The view is outstanding, the villa cool and comfortable and it has a wonderful pool. We were met by the custodian, Graziano, unpacked and headed to the village. Like all villages it is perched on top of a hill and surrounded by a stone wall. The church is the biggest and tallest building and the streets are narrow and steep. Everything is made of stone and the buildings have wonderful doors.
We bought some supplies from a small and very busy shop for our tea and breakfast and did a little exploring. There are only about 200m in total of streets and there were several models of animals lurking in interesting places.
On our return we cooled off in the pool, knocked back a bottle of the villa's own wine, Colombaiolo EpiBios (Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot, Leccio, Leccio del Corno, Moraiolo and Pendolino e Frantoio) before a feed of bread, ham, salami, cheese, olives and tomatoes and another bottle of red (Morellino di Scansano). We then crashed after a very busy (again) day.
This morning Terry and I got up at 7.00, had a coffee and walked up to the village to buy a range of pastries for breakfast which we shared with our wahine on return.
Dallas has organised a neat itinerary for the next few days as she has read all the pamphlets. So we headed off and stopped at a nearby village about the same size , if not smaller, as Radicondolli, Mensano. We explored briefly before continuing on, guided by Terry's expert navigating, and arrived at Casole d'Elsa which is a little bigger. A feature of this was interesting statues that you came across including a man climbing out of a well, a couple embracing on a wall, and a man pissing against the wall. Here we enjoyed a nice coffee and purchased a bottle of Rosso Sangiovese. We then wandered down to a small shop and enjoyed some wine tasting and purchased a bottle of Camporignano Sangiovese/Merlot 2005. Terry bought a Pinot Grigio at the first shop and a Camporignano Cabernet/Merlot 2005 at the tasting shop.
We then headed off to the much larger city of San Gimignano which was very busy with hordes of people. It features a large number of towers built by the families to outdo each other. As with all of the villages we visited the churches which are all 11th or 12th Century buildings. Before exploring this place we had a feed with Terry dipping out with a panini which was a dry sandwich with salami. Leigh's panini was better because it had tuna and tomatoes on it. Dallas had a natural omelette and I had a cheese one, both of which were very nice. We washed it all down with a different glass each of local wine. The neat thing about eating here is that you don't know what you will get because everything is in Italian!
We then had an icecream from the world champion gelatto shop before visiting yet another bloody old church. I am starting to believe that Terranzo is trying to quietly convert me to his strange belief syastem.
We then decided not to visit Poggibonsi and headed home to our village of Radicondoli, expertly navigated by Terrenzo. We had another dip in the pool, a soak in the sun, a couple of beers and right now we are enjoying a local rose before going out to dinner in the local village.
I got up at 7.30 the next morning and checked my cashpassport account at a local internet cafe and then couldn't get any money out! I'll try again somewhere else later.
I then joined the others for breakfast before Terry and I successfully managed the bus trip to Via Della Pianta to pick up the rental car. We marched down this road looking for the Hertz sign which should have been at number 8 and decided to turn around at number 250 when we couldn't find it, only to return to the beginning of the street to discover the office (with very little signage!) at the very beginning where we started walking. Terry forgot to take his International Licence so I'm driving for the next 8 days.
I was pleased with how we managed the drive back to our hotel navigating very narrow and one-way streets. Leigh and Dallas were there with the bags and we headed off hoping to reach Pisa for some brief sightseeing.
After a bit of zigging and zagging we found the right motorway and headed off in our automatic diesel chevrolet and managed to stumble across a free car park (after two attempts) where we boarded a bus for a 5 minute trip to the area the tower is.
This area was more spectacular than I expected, as hot as I expected and much more crowded than I expected, and was our first real encounter with marauding hawkers attempting to sell bags, straps, sunglasses and cell phones.
We started off with a grat lunch (Terry and I had great pizzas, Dallas had a huge spaghetti bolognese and Leigh had a caneloni). I decided I would go to the top of the tower while the others went through the cathedral. It was now 2.30 pm and I discovered the next tour which had spaces left on it was at 5.00pm so I missed out. I joined them in the cathedral, which was quite impressive, before we fought our way through the stalls, hawkers and crowds to the bus and then our car park.
There was brief tension as we discussed the various options of getting out of Pisa and on to a correct motorway. We eventually found one going to Lucca and despite it being a little out of our way we took it. Following the instructions that we had been provided with and Dallas' great impersonation of a TomTom we found our way after a couple of hours to our wonderful Tuscany villa just outside the village of Radicondoli.
The view is outstanding, the villa cool and comfortable and it has a wonderful pool. We were met by the custodian, Graziano, unpacked and headed to the village. Like all villages it is perched on top of a hill and surrounded by a stone wall. The church is the biggest and tallest building and the streets are narrow and steep. Everything is made of stone and the buildings have wonderful doors.
We bought some supplies from a small and very busy shop for our tea and breakfast and did a little exploring. There are only about 200m in total of streets and there were several models of animals lurking in interesting places.
On our return we cooled off in the pool, knocked back a bottle of the villa's own wine, Colombaiolo EpiBios (Sangiovese, Cabernet, Merlot, Leccio, Leccio del Corno, Moraiolo and Pendolino e Frantoio) before a feed of bread, ham, salami, cheese, olives and tomatoes and another bottle of red (Morellino di Scansano). We then crashed after a very busy (again) day.
This morning Terry and I got up at 7.00, had a coffee and walked up to the village to buy a range of pastries for breakfast which we shared with our wahine on return.
Dallas has organised a neat itinerary for the next few days as she has read all the pamphlets. So we headed off and stopped at a nearby village about the same size , if not smaller, as Radicondolli, Mensano. We explored briefly before continuing on, guided by Terry's expert navigating, and arrived at Casole d'Elsa which is a little bigger. A feature of this was interesting statues that you came across including a man climbing out of a well, a couple embracing on a wall, and a man pissing against the wall. Here we enjoyed a nice coffee and purchased a bottle of Rosso Sangiovese. We then wandered down to a small shop and enjoyed some wine tasting and purchased a bottle of Camporignano Sangiovese/Merlot 2005. Terry bought a Pinot Grigio at the first shop and a Camporignano Cabernet/Merlot 2005 at the tasting shop.
We then headed off to the much larger city of San Gimignano which was very busy with hordes of people. It features a large number of towers built by the families to outdo each other. As with all of the villages we visited the churches which are all 11th or 12th Century buildings. Before exploring this place we had a feed with Terry dipping out with a panini which was a dry sandwich with salami. Leigh's panini was better because it had tuna and tomatoes on it. Dallas had a natural omelette and I had a cheese one, both of which were very nice. We washed it all down with a different glass each of local wine. The neat thing about eating here is that you don't know what you will get because everything is in Italian!
We then had an icecream from the world champion gelatto shop before visiting yet another bloody old church. I am starting to believe that Terranzo is trying to quietly convert me to his strange belief syastem.
We then decided not to visit Poggibonsi and headed home to our village of Radicondoli, expertly navigated by Terrenzo. We had another dip in the pool, a soak in the sun, a couple of beers and right now we are enjoying a local rose before going out to dinner in the local village.
Cinque Terre
We've had a very busy two days experiencing the Cinque Terre (pronounced chunky terry) which is five villages hacked into the cliffside above the sea and only 9k from the northern one, Monterosso, and the southern one, Riomaggiore. They are linked by buses, rail, ferries and walking tracks.
Terry and I started the day with a 30 minute jog at about 7.30am and then a nice breakfast at the hotel which is included in the price. We then caught up with David, our waiter from last night, who gave us all the advice we needed about tickets, and suggested the order we could visit them in our two days. He was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and passionate about the Cinque Terre National Park (www.parconazionale5terre.it).
On Thursday morning we boarded the train after purchasing a 14eur 2 day pass at 10.00am planning to get off at the second to last village in the north, Vernazza, which we would explore, have lunch and then train to Monterosso for the afternoon. However, and of course, the train was an express and went straight to Monterosso, an 18 minute trip on a track largely cut through the rock as a tunnel. We decided to explore Monterosso, which is the largest and had bigger beaches, most of which you had to pay to go on to.
After exploring a bit, which mainly included climbing steep paths, I enjoyed a beautiful swim in the Med (I was the only one to pack togs and towel). I was a sight to behold with the beautiful bronzed people. We then jumped on the train and travelled 4 minutes back to Vernaza, which was much smaller. We had a beautiful pizza and foccaccia feed for lunch before I took another dip to cool off as it was very hot. We then leapt on the train to Monterosso and caught the ferry back south to Porto Venere. This was about a 45 minute trip which took us past each of the Cinque Terre for great views from the sea., Porto Venere is absolutely beautiful with the typical narrow sreets and tunnels lined with well-priced food and local goods. We bought some limincello for Mum and some Amarretto for Leigh. Thanks to Davide for recommending the stop at Porto Venere.
We had a 30 minute wait for the ferry to La Spezia so we had a beautiful local beer on the water's edge before our final ferry ride which was a great way to end that part of the day.
After a bit of a rest we joined Terry and Dallas in their room to knock off a nice, dry Rose they had brought from France. We then headed out for another nice feed. I had Pasta Arabirica (Chillies!), Leigh had Ravioli, Terry had a selection of 6 seafood thingies and Dallas had a spaghetti dish with mussels. This was washed down with a nice Italian red.
We were quite knackered so crashed about 10.30 with the intention of catching the 8.12 train to Riomaggione and walking to the second village of Manarola before it got too hot.
So, on Friday we got up in time to eat and get to the station for the 8.12 to discover that that train only travelled on 'working Wednesday'! The next train was at 10.00. There is a silver lining though as we found an internet cafe and were able to all check our emails and enjoy some great coffee.
When we leapt on the train in the mad squash we found ourselves in a comfortable carriage with few people. This was air conditioned and comfortable. We soon discovered it was first class. Anxious to avoid another 50eur fine Leigh and Dallas left and squashed themselves in to the packed standing bit between the carriages. Terry and I hung in until we saw the conductor coming and we joined them for the last 2 minutes of the ride.
Once arriving at Riomaggiore we headed off on the 30 minute walk to Manarola along the Via d'Amore (Path of Love). There was some shade and a bit of a breeze so it was a beautiful walk. The water is so clear and keeps taking your breath away.
We strolled up the largely only street and visited a place, hosted by a very strange Italian man, that showed a video of Cinque Terre, concentrating on the very unique and special wine produced here, Sciachetra (pronounced Shark Attack!). After seeing that we promptly bought a bottle of this dessert wine. We are looking forward to trying it at home.
Terry and I then had a swim. It's not like in NZ because these sheer cliffs drop straight into the sea and you just have to launch youself off the edge into the very deep and beautiful water. Ladders are provided to climb out on.
We then set out on the 70 minute walk to the third and final village, Corniglia. It was much hotter, but still pleasant. Leigh and Dallas chose the bus option from the track to this village which is the only one not directly by the sea, while Terry and I chose the 350 step option. The locals are very good at dealing with steepness and cliffs so the climb was not too difficult.
These whole cliff sides have been terraced with stone walls into narrow terraces on which the grapes and other produce are grown. They are continually maintained. People have accepted their environment and made use of it in a sustainable way.
In this very small village we enjoyed a cool beer and bread and salami and stuff before exploring the steep side streets and cramming on to the bus for the steep downhill ride to the station. We trained all the way back to Riomaggiore (9 minutes) to explore it. We climbed right to the top before Terry and I had another dip before training back to La Spezia with Terry leaving a very damp patch on his seat.
When we got off I decided to find where the hire car place was and plan our attack tomorrow as we leave here to drive to Sienna in Tuscany. I did't have a map, but I had a bit of an idea in my head. It was 4.00pm and I made it back to the hotel at 6.00pm without having found it, but I picked up a map and reckon we will find it tomorrow, but we might catch a bus because it is a bit further away than I thought.
We're about to go out for our final feed.
Terry and I started the day with a 30 minute jog at about 7.30am and then a nice breakfast at the hotel which is included in the price. We then caught up with David, our waiter from last night, who gave us all the advice we needed about tickets, and suggested the order we could visit them in our two days. He was extremely helpful, knowledgeable and passionate about the Cinque Terre National Park (www.parconazionale5terre.it).
On Thursday morning we boarded the train after purchasing a 14eur 2 day pass at 10.00am planning to get off at the second to last village in the north, Vernazza, which we would explore, have lunch and then train to Monterosso for the afternoon. However, and of course, the train was an express and went straight to Monterosso, an 18 minute trip on a track largely cut through the rock as a tunnel. We decided to explore Monterosso, which is the largest and had bigger beaches, most of which you had to pay to go on to.
After exploring a bit, which mainly included climbing steep paths, I enjoyed a beautiful swim in the Med (I was the only one to pack togs and towel). I was a sight to behold with the beautiful bronzed people. We then jumped on the train and travelled 4 minutes back to Vernaza, which was much smaller. We had a beautiful pizza and foccaccia feed for lunch before I took another dip to cool off as it was very hot. We then leapt on the train to Monterosso and caught the ferry back south to Porto Venere. This was about a 45 minute trip which took us past each of the Cinque Terre for great views from the sea., Porto Venere is absolutely beautiful with the typical narrow sreets and tunnels lined with well-priced food and local goods. We bought some limincello for Mum and some Amarretto for Leigh. Thanks to Davide for recommending the stop at Porto Venere.
We had a 30 minute wait for the ferry to La Spezia so we had a beautiful local beer on the water's edge before our final ferry ride which was a great way to end that part of the day.
After a bit of a rest we joined Terry and Dallas in their room to knock off a nice, dry Rose they had brought from France. We then headed out for another nice feed. I had Pasta Arabirica (Chillies!), Leigh had Ravioli, Terry had a selection of 6 seafood thingies and Dallas had a spaghetti dish with mussels. This was washed down with a nice Italian red.
We were quite knackered so crashed about 10.30 with the intention of catching the 8.12 train to Riomaggione and walking to the second village of Manarola before it got too hot.
So, on Friday we got up in time to eat and get to the station for the 8.12 to discover that that train only travelled on 'working Wednesday'! The next train was at 10.00. There is a silver lining though as we found an internet cafe and were able to all check our emails and enjoy some great coffee.
When we leapt on the train in the mad squash we found ourselves in a comfortable carriage with few people. This was air conditioned and comfortable. We soon discovered it was first class. Anxious to avoid another 50eur fine Leigh and Dallas left and squashed themselves in to the packed standing bit between the carriages. Terry and I hung in until we saw the conductor coming and we joined them for the last 2 minutes of the ride.
Once arriving at Riomaggiore we headed off on the 30 minute walk to Manarola along the Via d'Amore (Path of Love). There was some shade and a bit of a breeze so it was a beautiful walk. The water is so clear and keeps taking your breath away.
We strolled up the largely only street and visited a place, hosted by a very strange Italian man, that showed a video of Cinque Terre, concentrating on the very unique and special wine produced here, Sciachetra (pronounced Shark Attack!). After seeing that we promptly bought a bottle of this dessert wine. We are looking forward to trying it at home.
Terry and I then had a swim. It's not like in NZ because these sheer cliffs drop straight into the sea and you just have to launch youself off the edge into the very deep and beautiful water. Ladders are provided to climb out on.
We then set out on the 70 minute walk to the third and final village, Corniglia. It was much hotter, but still pleasant. Leigh and Dallas chose the bus option from the track to this village which is the only one not directly by the sea, while Terry and I chose the 350 step option. The locals are very good at dealing with steepness and cliffs so the climb was not too difficult.
These whole cliff sides have been terraced with stone walls into narrow terraces on which the grapes and other produce are grown. They are continually maintained. People have accepted their environment and made use of it in a sustainable way.
In this very small village we enjoyed a cool beer and bread and salami and stuff before exploring the steep side streets and cramming on to the bus for the steep downhill ride to the station. We trained all the way back to Riomaggiore (9 minutes) to explore it. We climbed right to the top before Terry and I had another dip before training back to La Spezia with Terry leaving a very damp patch on his seat.
When we got off I decided to find where the hire car place was and plan our attack tomorrow as we leave here to drive to Sienna in Tuscany. I did't have a map, but I had a bit of an idea in my head. It was 4.00pm and I made it back to the hotel at 6.00pm without having found it, but I picked up a map and reckon we will find it tomorrow, but we might catch a bus because it is a bit further away than I thought.
We're about to go out for our final feed.
Loggia De' Banchi
Our first night in La Spezia found us enjoying a superb feed at this cafe/cantina/bistro at 32 Via Mazzolani. The waiter, David, was outstanding. He got Terry and Dallas to go inside to taste the wine that we would have and then explained the menu to us.
I was keen to try something particularly Italian so on his advice had the octopus, potatoes and parsley. Leigh and Dallas settled on Lasagne and Terry selected the salted meat and potatoes.
We were provided with water and breads and tomatoes and then with our beautiful meals. I was nervous of the octopus but it was superb – tender and mild, though a little stronger than calamari. The others rated their meals highly. When we asked for the bill we were offered a range of sweet wines – one from Sardinia and one from Sicily. They were very different and very nice. Once again our waiter, Davide, explained each one of them.
As well, when he discovered we were wanting to experience the Cinque Terre over the next two days he revealed he worked for the Cinque Terre National Park Information Office and arranged to meet us the next morning to assist us to have the best experience!
He took a photo for us of us enjoying the meal and we took a photo of him with us for our blog site. We gave him the blog address and asked him to check it for reference to him and his hospitality.
The final bill – 44EUR. Outstanding. If you visit La Spezia you must eat here.
I was keen to try something particularly Italian so on his advice had the octopus, potatoes and parsley. Leigh and Dallas settled on Lasagne and Terry selected the salted meat and potatoes.
We were provided with water and breads and tomatoes and then with our beautiful meals. I was nervous of the octopus but it was superb – tender and mild, though a little stronger than calamari. The others rated their meals highly. When we asked for the bill we were offered a range of sweet wines – one from Sardinia and one from Sicily. They were very different and very nice. Once again our waiter, Davide, explained each one of them.
As well, when he discovered we were wanting to experience the Cinque Terre over the next two days he revealed he worked for the Cinque Terre National Park Information Office and arranged to meet us the next morning to assist us to have the best experience!
He took a photo for us of us enjoying the meal and we took a photo of him with us for our blog site. We gave him the blog address and asked him to check it for reference to him and his hospitality.
The final bill – 44EUR. Outstanding. If you visit La Spezia you must eat here.
Update from La Spezia
Update from La Spezia
Gee, I'm pleased we paid the little extra to get priority boarding as we were the first on the plane and got great seats at the front. I dozed as much as I could on the plane but was difficult. We arrived in Pisa at about 8.00ish in the morning and just made the train to Pisa station.
There I went to the information desk and asked for the next train to La Spezia. I was told that would be at 10.33 and that I woud need to buy the tickets at the next counter. I went there and bought two tickets to La Spezia at 10.33 please and paid 10Eur.
While waiting we headed across the road for coffee and pastries and came back to the station to find there had been a late platform change, so we headed there as the train arrived and leapt aboard for our 2 hour trip.
Halfway through the conducter came along and saw that our tickets hadn't been validated by the machine at Pisa and that we had to pay an instant fine of 100EUR! I explained that we had just bought the ticket today, that nobody had told us to validate it in a machine and that we had not seen any validating machines! He insisted, but agreed to cut the fine to 50EUR and treat as one ticket. I paid up. Four people behind us got the same treatment.
This was an example of daylight robbery and I plan to write to the rail company and complain about the process we went through. It wont change anything, but it has soured our introduction to Italy.
We got to our hotel, Hotel Genoa, before Terry and Dallas so checked in and headed off for a walk and to find a feed. It was now 34 degrees! We had a great lunch at Pane Vino where Leigh had tortellini and I had a platter of hams. Beautiful.
We wandered around and returned for a 30 minute shut eye until Terry and Dallas surfaced. It was great to catch up with them and hear of their exploits in Norfolk and the South of France.
Terry determined it was now beer o'clock so we found a bar up the street and had a couple. We then wandered around and stumbled across Loggia De' Banchi where we hjad a great feed, at a great price with superb service. See next post.
Tomorrow we tackle the Cinque Terre in what is expected to be very hot temperatures.
Gee, I'm pleased we paid the little extra to get priority boarding as we were the first on the plane and got great seats at the front. I dozed as much as I could on the plane but was difficult. We arrived in Pisa at about 8.00ish in the morning and just made the train to Pisa station.
There I went to the information desk and asked for the next train to La Spezia. I was told that would be at 10.33 and that I woud need to buy the tickets at the next counter. I went there and bought two tickets to La Spezia at 10.33 please and paid 10Eur.
While waiting we headed across the road for coffee and pastries and came back to the station to find there had been a late platform change, so we headed there as the train arrived and leapt aboard for our 2 hour trip.
Halfway through the conducter came along and saw that our tickets hadn't been validated by the machine at Pisa and that we had to pay an instant fine of 100EUR! I explained that we had just bought the ticket today, that nobody had told us to validate it in a machine and that we had not seen any validating machines! He insisted, but agreed to cut the fine to 50EUR and treat as one ticket. I paid up. Four people behind us got the same treatment.
This was an example of daylight robbery and I plan to write to the rail company and complain about the process we went through. It wont change anything, but it has soured our introduction to Italy.
We got to our hotel, Hotel Genoa, before Terry and Dallas so checked in and headed off for a walk and to find a feed. It was now 34 degrees! We had a great lunch at Pane Vino where Leigh had tortellini and I had a platter of hams. Beautiful.
We wandered around and returned for a 30 minute shut eye until Terry and Dallas surfaced. It was great to catch up with them and hear of their exploits in Norfolk and the South of France.
Terry determined it was now beer o'clock so we found a bar up the street and had a couple. We then wandered around and stumbled across Loggia De' Banchi where we hjad a great feed, at a great price with superb service. See next post.
Tomorrow we tackle the Cinque Terre in what is expected to be very hot temperatures.
Update From Gatwick
We were only delayed for an hour so when we put the clocks back one hour we arrived at 1.00am giving us almost 5 hours before our departure. The flight from Barcelona was straight forward with a few bumps over the Pyrennes. We both managed to doze most of the way. I had to put a body block on a senora who was trying to push past as we were trying to get off the plane.
Because our flight is so early I was able to check our bags in straight away. I'm pleased that we decided to pay a little extra and get priority boarding on Easyjet so we get early choices of seats rather than a mad scramble.
I managed to do a little dozing at Gatwick, but it started to get quite noisy from 3.00am and also a little cool. It's now 4.30am and we should be boarding in about 45 minutes. There are quite a few kids around and they are doing lots of squarking!
Because our flight is so early I was able to check our bags in straight away. I'm pleased that we decided to pay a little extra and get priority boarding on Easyjet so we get early choices of seats rather than a mad scramble.
I managed to do a little dozing at Gatwick, but it started to get quite noisy from 3.00am and also a little cool. It's now 4.30am and we should be boarding in about 45 minutes. There are quite a few kids around and they are doing lots of squarking!
Outstanding Tapas
Today, our last in Barcelona, we wandered around the narrow streets of El Born and Ravel. These streets were great because they were cool, on a very hot day (30 deg at 7.00pm), and because they had neat shops that you just stumbled across.
Around lunchtime we stumbled across Taller de Tapas (www.tallerdetapas.com) where we had lunch.This place served great food, had menus which were also written in English and no smoking signs, which is quite rare here.
We had Andalucian squid, patates braves (chips with smoked paprika sauce and garlic mayonnaise) and chorizos braised in cider along with the standard tomato bread and cold beers.
You must go to this place at 51 Carreer de l'Argentaria at Santa Maria del Mar, just down from the Picasso Museum.
Before that we attempted to go to the Catalunian Museum at the harbour, but it was closed for technical reasons. We did try!
We spent the next few hours in the wonderful narrow streets of El Born and both sides of Las Ramblas. Leigh bought some bracelets for her and others and some shirts for Thomas and Sam.
We stumbled across a whole street and environs dedicated to musical instruments and records and CDs. I could have spent hours there, but Leigh hurried me along. Shopping doesn't seem fair!
We metroed back towards our hotel which we had already checked out of to collect our bags. We then walked the 15 minutes to Sants Estacio (rail station) and spent a very hot 25 minutes on the platform. Leigh was looking a bit stressed so I sent her back upstairs into the air con telling her that if she missed the train I would see her at the airport.
Getting to the airport was without drama other than politely dealing with bloody rude people who push in all over the place and don't understand the rules of good manners that I live my life by!
I'm now at the airport waiting for our 10.30pm flight to Gatwick, which will be followed by a 5,55am flight to Pisa, then a train ride to La Spezia.
We have just heard that our flight is delayed an hour. At this point there is no need to panic as we have 5 hours at Gatwick anyway. I'll keep you posted if it gets interesting.
I haven't written a full diary for the last couple of days. I'll see about doing that at Gatwick if I can't sleep.
Around lunchtime we stumbled across Taller de Tapas (www.tallerdetapas.com) where we had lunch.This place served great food, had menus which were also written in English and no smoking signs, which is quite rare here.
We had Andalucian squid, patates braves (chips with smoked paprika sauce and garlic mayonnaise) and chorizos braised in cider along with the standard tomato bread and cold beers.
You must go to this place at 51 Carreer de l'Argentaria at Santa Maria del Mar, just down from the Picasso Museum.
Before that we attempted to go to the Catalunian Museum at the harbour, but it was closed for technical reasons. We did try!
We spent the next few hours in the wonderful narrow streets of El Born and both sides of Las Ramblas. Leigh bought some bracelets for her and others and some shirts for Thomas and Sam.
We stumbled across a whole street and environs dedicated to musical instruments and records and CDs. I could have spent hours there, but Leigh hurried me along. Shopping doesn't seem fair!
We metroed back towards our hotel which we had already checked out of to collect our bags. We then walked the 15 minutes to Sants Estacio (rail station) and spent a very hot 25 minutes on the platform. Leigh was looking a bit stressed so I sent her back upstairs into the air con telling her that if she missed the train I would see her at the airport.
Getting to the airport was without drama other than politely dealing with bloody rude people who push in all over the place and don't understand the rules of good manners that I live my life by!
I'm now at the airport waiting for our 10.30pm flight to Gatwick, which will be followed by a 5,55am flight to Pisa, then a train ride to La Spezia.
We have just heard that our flight is delayed an hour. At this point there is no need to panic as we have 5 hours at Gatwick anyway. I'll keep you posted if it gets interesting.
I haven't written a full diary for the last couple of days. I'll see about doing that at Gatwick if I can't sleep.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Quick Catch Up in La Spezia
Internet access is more difficult in La Spezia and may continue to be so before we get to Rome at the end of next week so it has been difficult to update. Don't worry I have been keeping a full diary and will post asap.
We have had a wonderful 3 days in La Spezia exploring the 5 villages hacked into the coast known as Cinque Terre (5 villages, pronounced Chunky Terry). Today we pick up the rental car and drive to Radioncoli near Sienna for a 7 day stay in our Tuscany Villa.
We have had a wonderful 3 days in La Spezia exploring the 5 villages hacked into the coast known as Cinque Terre (5 villages, pronounced Chunky Terry). Today we pick up the rental car and drive to Radioncoli near Sienna for a 7 day stay in our Tuscany Villa.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
O'Tubo Restaurant
For our last feed in Barcelona we returned to O'tubo (cnr Valencia and Comte Boreli) for another outstanding feed. If you are ever in Barcelona you must eat tapas here. We had 2 beers, a mozarella and tomato salad and three tapas (ham and croutons, garlic prawns and calamari) for just under 50eu.
The waiter remembered us from a couple of nights ago and told us we now had a friend in Spain!
It is late on our last night and we are going to do a bit of packing. Tomorrow we check out of our hotel by 12.00 but don't have to be at the airport until 7.30pm. We will store our bags and plan to visit the port area again and wander through the narrow streets of the Barri Gotic.
We fly out to Gatwick at 10.30pm, then fly on to Pisa at 5.55am on Eastjet!!! We arrive in Pisa at 9.55am and then train to La Spezia, but can't check in until the afternoon, where we should be met by Terry and Dallas. I don't see a lot of sleep in the next two days unless they have comfortable seats at Gatwick.
The waiter remembered us from a couple of nights ago and told us we now had a friend in Spain!
It is late on our last night and we are going to do a bit of packing. Tomorrow we check out of our hotel by 12.00 but don't have to be at the airport until 7.30pm. We will store our bags and plan to visit the port area again and wander through the narrow streets of the Barri Gotic.
We fly out to Gatwick at 10.30pm, then fly on to Pisa at 5.55am on Eastjet!!! We arrive in Pisa at 9.55am and then train to La Spezia, but can't check in until the afternoon, where we should be met by Terry and Dallas. I don't see a lot of sleep in the next two days unless they have comfortable seats at Gatwick.
Tibidabo
The Blue Tram that took us up the foothills of Tibidabo
Leigh in front of the view at the base of the church.
View from part way up the church.
A self taken photo from the highest point.
Leigh in front of the church. I climbed to be at the feet of the huge statue of Jesus at the top.
After visiting Barcelona FC we managed the subway to the Blue Tram and then up the Funicular to the top of Tibidabo which is the highest point in the region. The view was outstanding. I then climbed to the top of this awesome church with the last two sections being scary spiral staircases. Leigh did not do this bit.
Barcelona Football Club
The field!
The field!
Me enjoying champagne at the VIP Bar.
Leigh in front of the field from where the President sits.
View from the press box.
We started today off by visiting Barcelona Football Club. We thought we had the subway sussed straight away but we got on wrong train, but it sort of went in the right direction. Not to worry.
What a great venue!
Barcelona Football Club
We visited the Barcelona Football Club this morning. This was the best tour of the whole visit despite the great museums and churches. I'm going to try to upload a short video of it. Lots of static so turn volume down.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Day 2 in Barcelona
The view over Barcelona from the MNAC. See Sagrada Familia in right background.
Leigh and the Olympic Stadium.
The narrow streets we spent the afternoon in.
The Sagrada Familia from a few blocks away.
The plate of meat at Ipanema!
I'll fully update diary in the morning, but thought I'd post a few pictures of Day 2.
We started by visiting the Museu Nacional D'Art Catalunya and then walking up to the 1992 Olympic Stadium. We then headed down to the Port and walked up la Ramblas for lunch and then wandered aimlessly through very narrow, but cool streets and stumbled across the Picasso Museum.
We then leapt on the bus and visited Gaudi's great unfinished church Sagrada Familia which was very impressive.
After a very long and hot day with a lot of walking we had a feed at the Ipanema Restaurant which consisted of a large plate with four pieces of potato and kilos and kilos of meat. We didn't know what it was as the owner could not speak English.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
First Full Day in Barcelona
Once again we have had a very busy day after a reasonably slow start. The hotel left a neat basket of fruit so we had some for breakfast but still didn't get going until about 11.00am. We were heading for the Plaza Cataluyna, but the map was difficult to read and the streets all go in funny directions!
We meandered around and finally found the Plaza and the Information Centre where we bought a two-day ticket for the Hop on-off Bus which follows three different routes. We had morning tea (cafe and briox) and then boarded the bus for the two hour southern tour. This took us along the Avenue Diagonal, around Sants, up onto Montjuic (which we will return to tomorrow to view the city, go to a couple of museums and Olympic site), past the water edge and harbour before we boarded the beach front tour of about 40 minutes. After that we got off in the Barri Gotic (Gothic area) and went into Starbucks so we could use the toilets. After an iced coffee we wandered up towards the Plaza Cataluyna again stopping for pastries and discovering the Palau de la Musica in some very narrow streets.
We made it back to the Information Centre and boarded the bus for the 2 hour northern tour which took us past Sagrado Familia (Gaudi's famous unfinished church) and then to the northern parts of the city past Tibadabo (the highest point which we will visit on Monday and take the rail to the top), past the university and then to the Barcelona Football Stadium (100,000 capacity) which we will visit again on Monday.
We got dropped off near the Plaza again and since it was beer o'clock had a cold beer. The day was, and still was, very, very hot! We then headed back home to rest before heading out for dinner. The man behind the desk suggested a place for tapas (O'tubo) which was out of this world – salad, garlic prawns, little squids, and local ham on croutons. Outstanding. We have just got back and made very busy plans for tomorrow which will require a much earlier start.
We plan to bus to Monyjuic to the museums and Olympic Stadium, bus to the bottom of Las Ramblas where we will explore the harbour area before walking up Las Ramblas and then busing to Sagrado Familia. Should be a big day with temperatures in the high 30s again.
Thank god the All Blacks won this morning!
We meandered around and finally found the Plaza and the Information Centre where we bought a two-day ticket for the Hop on-off Bus which follows three different routes. We had morning tea (cafe and briox) and then boarded the bus for the two hour southern tour. This took us along the Avenue Diagonal, around Sants, up onto Montjuic (which we will return to tomorrow to view the city, go to a couple of museums and Olympic site), past the water edge and harbour before we boarded the beach front tour of about 40 minutes. After that we got off in the Barri Gotic (Gothic area) and went into Starbucks so we could use the toilets. After an iced coffee we wandered up towards the Plaza Cataluyna again stopping for pastries and discovering the Palau de la Musica in some very narrow streets.
We made it back to the Information Centre and boarded the bus for the 2 hour northern tour which took us past Sagrado Familia (Gaudi's famous unfinished church) and then to the northern parts of the city past Tibadabo (the highest point which we will visit on Monday and take the rail to the top), past the university and then to the Barcelona Football Stadium (100,000 capacity) which we will visit again on Monday.
We got dropped off near the Plaza again and since it was beer o'clock had a cold beer. The day was, and still was, very, very hot! We then headed back home to rest before heading out for dinner. The man behind the desk suggested a place for tapas (O'tubo) which was out of this world – salad, garlic prawns, little squids, and local ham on croutons. Outstanding. We have just got back and made very busy plans for tomorrow which will require a much earlier start.
We plan to bus to Monyjuic to the museums and Olympic Stadium, bus to the bottom of Las Ramblas where we will explore the harbour area before walking up Las Ramblas and then busing to Sagrado Familia. Should be a big day with temperatures in the high 30s again.
Thank god the All Blacks won this morning!
Surbiton to Barcelona
I'm sitting at Gatwick Airport waiting for flight to Barcelona. We'll be back here briefly on Tues night/Wed morning when we return and board EasyJet to Pisa.
The last couple of days with Meg have been great but not at all to plan. The Tuesday visit to Hatfield House didn't occur because it was closed on Tuesdays. On Wednesday Kevin picked us up in his car and we headed to Herne Bay for our boat trip to the windfarms and seaforts. The drive was uneventful as I was the navigator with support from his GPS Tomtom. On the way we rang to book tickets for the 1.30 trip as we didn't want to miss out. On arrival we checked kin and paid and watched the 12.00 boat go out. It looked very exciting in an open life boat type thing that accelerated awesomely.
While waiting we wandered the beachfront and then ordered fish and chips at a very popular fish and chip shop where we had to line up. They were by far the worst fish and chips I have ever had! I still reckon I can taste them.
The news, however, was about to get worse. The boat's motor had broken down and there would be no further sailings that day. We were gutted, especially Kevin whose idea it had been. Two days in a row our plans were scuttled.
We drove further along the coast to a Roman fort at Recluver that we could see on the horizon. It is most probably the oldest building (2AD) that I have seen and the views along the coast were great. The Dam Busters practised out here!
We then drove back to London via Leith's Tower Hill which is the highest point in Sussex. It was a great walk through awesome MTB terrain (we saw a MTB) and the view of London was good, though it was a long way away.
We then visited The Maypole, which is the pub around from Kevin's where we had a few pints. We then bused into Surbiton and had a great Indian feed at Joy. I then fell asleep on Meg's floor with a very nice whiskey in my hands.
At least we still had fairly secure plans tomorrow which would prevent the hat trick of Plan Bs. We were to get up at 7.00 and train to Kent for a 11 mile ramble on the Downs with a nice pub lunch.
In the morning Leigh was feeling a little wasted so was reluctant to go! As well, the train line we had to catch was under repair and we would have to bus! Plan B again!
We bused into Kingston to do some shopping. This was relaxing and rewarding as I purchased 6 more CDs for the Top 500 and now own all but 3 of the top 101! We also did some shopping for Lucy's birthday. When we got back to Surbiton we bought some boxes to send gifts and surpus clothes home and spent the rest of the afternoon packing the boxes and our suitcases.
We then wandered back into Surbiton and took Meg to dinner at the same Chinese (The Magic Wok) we went to on our Saturday night there when Meg was at the wedding. It was a great meal.
The next morning I took the envelope for Lucy and the two boxes of our stuff down to the PO to discover it would cost more than 100 pounds to send the two boxes home bt slow boat to China. The helpful man suggested breaking things down into smaller boxes so I bought two more, lugged the two boxes back to Megs and packed up four boxes which would cost about 11 pounds each. I left Meg the money and she agreed to post one a day for us.
We then walked to the station where w4e bid Meg a sad farewell and we headed off to Gatwick. On our second train I got caught up with a bunch of lads heading to Portsmouth for a stag weekend. Once the train was under way they made the poor groom to be change in the doorway into his Borat Mankini which he was to wear until lunchtime when he would have to wear another costume, and so on for the rest of the weekend. Check photos on the blog. He was allowed to put a kilt on before moving carriages.
Gatwick was straight forward and very soon we were landing in Barcelona. We were at the shuttle train door when it closed and took off on us so we had to wait another half hour before we were spilled out at Sants Station. Our street Avenir de oma is one of the many that spokes out from this centre, but could we find it?
Eventually we did and walked off dragging our suitcases to number 93. When we got there it did not exist and there was a bunch of seedy flats. One of the occupants, a helpful, but alcohol stinking and non-English speaking residents, showed that we had gone up the wrong spoke and pointed us in the right direction. After 200m we were able to check into the very nice Amister Hotel and head out for a walk to find dinner.
We found a nice Italian and after a feed of pasta and some Spanish beer we walked a bit before crashing after a busy day.
The last couple of days with Meg have been great but not at all to plan. The Tuesday visit to Hatfield House didn't occur because it was closed on Tuesdays. On Wednesday Kevin picked us up in his car and we headed to Herne Bay for our boat trip to the windfarms and seaforts. The drive was uneventful as I was the navigator with support from his GPS Tomtom. On the way we rang to book tickets for the 1.30 trip as we didn't want to miss out. On arrival we checked kin and paid and watched the 12.00 boat go out. It looked very exciting in an open life boat type thing that accelerated awesomely.
While waiting we wandered the beachfront and then ordered fish and chips at a very popular fish and chip shop where we had to line up. They were by far the worst fish and chips I have ever had! I still reckon I can taste them.
The news, however, was about to get worse. The boat's motor had broken down and there would be no further sailings that day. We were gutted, especially Kevin whose idea it had been. Two days in a row our plans were scuttled.
We drove further along the coast to a Roman fort at Recluver that we could see on the horizon. It is most probably the oldest building (2AD) that I have seen and the views along the coast were great. The Dam Busters practised out here!
We then drove back to London via Leith's Tower Hill which is the highest point in Sussex. It was a great walk through awesome MTB terrain (we saw a MTB) and the view of London was good, though it was a long way away.
We then visited The Maypole, which is the pub around from Kevin's where we had a few pints. We then bused into Surbiton and had a great Indian feed at Joy. I then fell asleep on Meg's floor with a very nice whiskey in my hands.
At least we still had fairly secure plans tomorrow which would prevent the hat trick of Plan Bs. We were to get up at 7.00 and train to Kent for a 11 mile ramble on the Downs with a nice pub lunch.
In the morning Leigh was feeling a little wasted so was reluctant to go! As well, the train line we had to catch was under repair and we would have to bus! Plan B again!
We bused into Kingston to do some shopping. This was relaxing and rewarding as I purchased 6 more CDs for the Top 500 and now own all but 3 of the top 101! We also did some shopping for Lucy's birthday. When we got back to Surbiton we bought some boxes to send gifts and surpus clothes home and spent the rest of the afternoon packing the boxes and our suitcases.
We then wandered back into Surbiton and took Meg to dinner at the same Chinese (The Magic Wok) we went to on our Saturday night there when Meg was at the wedding. It was a great meal.
The next morning I took the envelope for Lucy and the two boxes of our stuff down to the PO to discover it would cost more than 100 pounds to send the two boxes home bt slow boat to China. The helpful man suggested breaking things down into smaller boxes so I bought two more, lugged the two boxes back to Megs and packed up four boxes which would cost about 11 pounds each. I left Meg the money and she agreed to post one a day for us.
We then walked to the station where w4e bid Meg a sad farewell and we headed off to Gatwick. On our second train I got caught up with a bunch of lads heading to Portsmouth for a stag weekend. Once the train was under way they made the poor groom to be change in the doorway into his Borat Mankini which he was to wear until lunchtime when he would have to wear another costume, and so on for the rest of the weekend. Check photos on the blog. He was allowed to put a kilt on before moving carriages.
Gatwick was straight forward and very soon we were landing in Barcelona. We were at the shuttle train door when it closed and took off on us so we had to wait another half hour before we were spilled out at Sants Station. Our street Avenir de oma is one of the many that spokes out from this centre, but could we find it?
Eventually we did and walked off dragging our suitcases to number 93. When we got there it did not exist and there was a bunch of seedy flats. One of the occupants, a helpful, but alcohol stinking and non-English speaking residents, showed that we had gone up the wrong spoke and pointed us in the right direction. After 200m we were able to check into the very nice Amister Hotel and head out for a walk to find dinner.
We found a nice Italian and after a feed of pasta and some Spanish beer we walked a bit before crashing after a busy day.
Photo Uploading
Leigh looking out off the breakwater at Herne Bay.
Neat shot of Kevin and Meg on the breakwater
Old Roman fort at Recluver
Leigh and Meg on the walk back from Leith Hill Tower.
The Maypole - the local pub near Kevin's where we had a wee session.
I thought I was frustrated with Flickr until i got it working well at Meg's on her laptop. I have now become frustrated with Facebook because on my EEE PC I can't upload photos. I've now tried uploading photos to Flickr on my EEE PC.
There appears to be an issue with the EEE PC uploading photos to these sites, though I can still upload on to my blog site, which I will continue to do with a few selected photos.
Like these ones from the end of the UK visit.
Exciting Train Trip to Gatwick
The groomsman whose stag do on the train I got to be part of on the way to Gatwick who has just climbed into his Borat Mankini!
Me with the Mankini man.
He was allowed to put his kilt on before leaving the carriage.
Reminds me of Terry's Navigating
These must have been the signs Terry had been following to get us to Liverpool, from Liverpool and back to Heathrow!
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