Dear Passengers,
Thank you for flying Singapore Airlines......for us it was more a case of "Thank you, Singapore Airlines, for flying" ...........
We got to the airport around 7.45, having left at 7.15am from the apartment , our driver having agreed to come earlier. What we were totally unaware of though was that the clocks went back as the end of the Italian daylight savings period was last night. Fortunately, we use the blackberry as an alarm clock and it automatically adjusted otherwise we might have missed the flight. Why? Because we had to check in and claim VAT on our shopping purchases to get the refund. And nothing about Italian bureaucracy is simple, easy or even able to be understood.
You go to your check in counter - no problem. You get your bags tagged and boarding pass, - no problems here either but then you ask for your bags back. You then have to schlepp them to another end of the airport where customs officers then checks your receipts and claim forms and if you are lucky, they will stamp them for you. However, they can, at will, have you open up your well packed luggage and get you to show them each and every purchase you have made that reconciles with the receipts you are seeking to claim against. So you can see that this can take a while. I would hasten to add that where you are claiming a VAT refund for hand held or carry-on items, then this is a different and SEPARATE system, queue and process altogether!! And of course, we had both (stuff in cases & hand held stuff) didn't we.......
So here we were at the airport on time with ample time to participate in this bloody charade of an employment scheme. We must have earnt some kind of goodwill credits from visiting all these god places, because St Christopher, the Patron Saint of Travellers was looking after us this morning.
Not only did the customs officer not rifle through our unmentionables before a travelling collective of the world's populations, in search of proof that we were trying to single handedly bring down the Italian economy by ripping them off a coup,e of hundred euros, but he also stamped both our luggage based claims and our carry-on based claims. This small but immensely satisfying victory against bureaucracy put us in a stellar mood so that we could even ignore how vile the airport food tasted!! However, that's not the end of the process.
From there, you take your suitcases back to the check in counter, they get put on the conveyor belt and you then proceed to the international departure lounge for clearance through customs, which takes an eternity as few staff are on Sunday mornings and then you proceed to another extremity of the airport to claim your refund- only to find that the Government uses different agencies to process different claims from different stores. So you have twelve claims say and you have to queue up three times with the different agencies to get all twelve processed. And people wander why Italy is in a mess!!!!!
Thankfully we had allowed enough time to play this ridiculous game so we got our refunds but honestly folks, if we had not purchased as much as what we have, it's not worth the grief.
We are now mid flight and I am getting tired although we still have some hours remaining on our first leg. But there is a rainbow to all this - Changing Airport and Dutyfree awaits.
Well, Folks, now here at Changi Airport at 7am waiting for our next flight having learnt that Q will be back in the air starting 2pm on Monday afternoon. We are a bit tired but not too bad. Looking forward to being at home with the puppies and in our own place by tonight. May even venture outfit a flutter tomorrow!
Lots a
Kelly and Siobhan xx
Sweet dreams
Kelly & Siobhan
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Arriverderci Roma.......Maybe
Dear Stranded Commuters,
The day started with a fair amount of uncertainty as to how long we would be here. The Age updates were telling us that the special hearings before FWA hadn't drawn any conclusion to the dispute and that more were scheduled for Sunday afternoon Melbourne time. The cessation of all flights and the lockout made the news here, even the local radio stations covered it.
We booked our driver for 10.45 am the next day on the assumption that at the very least we would still make it to Heathrow (as Qantas use British Airways for this first leg) on our 5pm flight and we could then get some place to stay if we were unable to go any further. So out we went and stumbled across this fantastic shop that had an amazing range of clothing. I think that I could scientifically prove that the stress of not knowing one's destination can be offset by some targeted retail therapy.
We headed to Campo di Fiori for some photo ops as they have a lovely food market there. We decided to go against our cardinal rule of never eating on a square or piazza because the food is usually tourist rubbish that is overpriced and dumbed down. But we lucked it big time with a place called Mercato that served up a brilliant leek, speck and peccorino pizza, a beetroot and goat's cheese salad and a gorgeous white from Alto Adige. The only downside were our neighbors to our immediate left. They were like straight out of an episode of The Hills and like, were like, so bloody painful, like, I just couldn't, like, bear it anymore !!!!!
After lunch we indulged in a beautiful gelato from Grom - a new contender in the gelati market and just gorgeous. They have shops in Florence and Rome and if we could import, we would, it's heaven. Even better than the place in East Brunswick at top end of Lygon street. A very slick outfit outfit it is too - all organic and cleverly designed. Unlike our experience the day before, when stopping into a local bar near San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter's in Chains), we were standing enjoying our coffee and cake at the bar when an all out verbal slanging match between the lady serving behind the counter and waiter tending tables outside the shop, broke out.
In between slamming food and plates onto the glass counter top, this largish and loud woman did not stop to draw breath as she shouted abuse at this waiter at the top of her voice in a constant diatribe. Her colleague at the other end of the counter working the coffee machine, refused to be drawn into the fray and his expression didn't even change - giving Siobhan and I cause to consider that maybe this kind of scene was not that unusual. We seemed to be the only ones amazed by the ruckus. The regulars didn't even look up from drinking their coffee..........and then we found out why.
The waiter outside was having a whale of a time baiting this lady and he kept on goading her, until she finally exploded and scooped up some cakes from the counter and proceeded to pelt him with them.....we would have paid twice the price for this kind of entertainment. As we were leaving (most reluctantly), the waiter turns to us and says "she's crazy woman, crazy woman" we laugh and then we hear her start up again so we kept moving just to be sure to stay out of pitching range! But I digress....
On what is our scheduled last day, we trawled through every shoe shop in search of some good Italian shoes and you are not going to believe us but we could hardly find any whatsoever. Of course there is the high end stuff but one can hardly spend over $1,000 per pair on each pair of shoes - well, actually this one could, but decided against it. We had not brought lovely Bruno Maglio shoes just outside of Florence thinking we would see similar in Rome but no such luck. They are boot crazy here with casual flat boots or low heels and fur trims being HUGE. And they aren't that nice but are that brushed leather stuff.
The look for this coming winter is all natural colours of browns, taupes, light greys and a bit of burnt orange and is all soft knits, t-shirts cut on the bias and draped layers that you wear over leggings or fitted jeans, with the legs tucked into said boots. It is totally de rigeur! It's kind of a soft or herbal rock chick look. Oh, and everybody, without exception, wears the linen or cashmere scarf looped deliberately casually around one's neck. Even the nonnas are into the look. On men it is an absolute must.
We took our purchases off home after a mid-afternoon bevie and packed them in readiness. On our way home, organ music draws us into a little church in a side street. The church, L'organa di Sant Antonio dei Portoghesi was this incredible surprise even to us now having seen probably 17million churches ( and that was just in our 10 days in Rome!!!!!!) I am strongly of the view that there are more religious places of worship in Italy than there are people. But this little church was so beautifully decorated in different hues of marble, gilt and frescoes and when combined with candlelight and organ music, we were transfixed. A stunning end to our foray into religious iconography!
We headed to a lovely local restaurant that provides a complimentary Prosecco and we enjoy what may be our "last supper" in Italy. During dinner, Ty calls and advises us that he has booked us on a flight to Singapore leaving at 11am the next morning and then another flight to Melbourne after a three hour stopover. I cannot tell you how grateful we were for Ty's assistance and efforts. All going well we will be back in Melbourne late Monday evening so we can see Dad and catch up with everyone after jet lag has paid us a visit.
Here's to Flying Friendly Skies
Kelly & Siobhan
The day started with a fair amount of uncertainty as to how long we would be here. The Age updates were telling us that the special hearings before FWA hadn't drawn any conclusion to the dispute and that more were scheduled for Sunday afternoon Melbourne time. The cessation of all flights and the lockout made the news here, even the local radio stations covered it.
We booked our driver for 10.45 am the next day on the assumption that at the very least we would still make it to Heathrow (as Qantas use British Airways for this first leg) on our 5pm flight and we could then get some place to stay if we were unable to go any further. So out we went and stumbled across this fantastic shop that had an amazing range of clothing. I think that I could scientifically prove that the stress of not knowing one's destination can be offset by some targeted retail therapy.
We headed to Campo di Fiori for some photo ops as they have a lovely food market there. We decided to go against our cardinal rule of never eating on a square or piazza because the food is usually tourist rubbish that is overpriced and dumbed down. But we lucked it big time with a place called Mercato that served up a brilliant leek, speck and peccorino pizza, a beetroot and goat's cheese salad and a gorgeous white from Alto Adige. The only downside were our neighbors to our immediate left. They were like straight out of an episode of The Hills and like, were like, so bloody painful, like, I just couldn't, like, bear it anymore !!!!!
After lunch we indulged in a beautiful gelato from Grom - a new contender in the gelati market and just gorgeous. They have shops in Florence and Rome and if we could import, we would, it's heaven. Even better than the place in East Brunswick at top end of Lygon street. A very slick outfit outfit it is too - all organic and cleverly designed. Unlike our experience the day before, when stopping into a local bar near San Pietro in Vincoli (St Peter's in Chains), we were standing enjoying our coffee and cake at the bar when an all out verbal slanging match between the lady serving behind the counter and waiter tending tables outside the shop, broke out.
In between slamming food and plates onto the glass counter top, this largish and loud woman did not stop to draw breath as she shouted abuse at this waiter at the top of her voice in a constant diatribe. Her colleague at the other end of the counter working the coffee machine, refused to be drawn into the fray and his expression didn't even change - giving Siobhan and I cause to consider that maybe this kind of scene was not that unusual. We seemed to be the only ones amazed by the ruckus. The regulars didn't even look up from drinking their coffee..........and then we found out why.
The waiter outside was having a whale of a time baiting this lady and he kept on goading her, until she finally exploded and scooped up some cakes from the counter and proceeded to pelt him with them.....we would have paid twice the price for this kind of entertainment. As we were leaving (most reluctantly), the waiter turns to us and says "she's crazy woman, crazy woman" we laugh and then we hear her start up again so we kept moving just to be sure to stay out of pitching range! But I digress....
On what is our scheduled last day, we trawled through every shoe shop in search of some good Italian shoes and you are not going to believe us but we could hardly find any whatsoever. Of course there is the high end stuff but one can hardly spend over $1,000 per pair on each pair of shoes - well, actually this one could, but decided against it. We had not brought lovely Bruno Maglio shoes just outside of Florence thinking we would see similar in Rome but no such luck. They are boot crazy here with casual flat boots or low heels and fur trims being HUGE. And they aren't that nice but are that brushed leather stuff.
The look for this coming winter is all natural colours of browns, taupes, light greys and a bit of burnt orange and is all soft knits, t-shirts cut on the bias and draped layers that you wear over leggings or fitted jeans, with the legs tucked into said boots. It is totally de rigeur! It's kind of a soft or herbal rock chick look. Oh, and everybody, without exception, wears the linen or cashmere scarf looped deliberately casually around one's neck. Even the nonnas are into the look. On men it is an absolute must.
We took our purchases off home after a mid-afternoon bevie and packed them in readiness. On our way home, organ music draws us into a little church in a side street. The church, L'organa di Sant Antonio dei Portoghesi was this incredible surprise even to us now having seen probably 17million churches ( and that was just in our 10 days in Rome!!!!!!) I am strongly of the view that there are more religious places of worship in Italy than there are people. But this little church was so beautifully decorated in different hues of marble, gilt and frescoes and when combined with candlelight and organ music, we were transfixed. A stunning end to our foray into religious iconography!
We headed to a lovely local restaurant that provides a complimentary Prosecco and we enjoy what may be our "last supper" in Italy. During dinner, Ty calls and advises us that he has booked us on a flight to Singapore leaving at 11am the next morning and then another flight to Melbourne after a three hour stopover. I cannot tell you how grateful we were for Ty's assistance and efforts. All going well we will be back in Melbourne late Monday evening so we can see Dad and catch up with everyone after jet lag has paid us a visit.
Here's to Flying Friendly Skies
Kelly & Siobhan
Saturday, 29 October 2011
Lost in Transit..........
Dear Frequent Flyers,
Woke to a text from Dad saying he had been discharged and was at home. So called him immediately only to also find out that Qantas has grounded all flights as part of the dispute with some of their unions over their new enterprise agreement- great!
Ty will be able to let us know more when he gets to work but we are booked, through Qantas on a BA flight from Rome to Heathrow tomorrow (5 pm our time) and then a Qantas flight from Heathrow to Melbourne. I sincerely hope that we don't have to live at Heathrow airport for days on end......we will end up being some poor facsimile of an episode of "Come Fly With Me"
We are already in that psychological place of having ended our trip and just want to get on with it, so we will do our last minute shopping today and wait to hear whether it is better to stay in Rome, or to book our driver to Rome airport and catch the first leg to Heathrow but as we will have cleared customs, will that mean we have to stay at Heathrow ? anyway, Ty may be able to advise us on the best course of action.
Will keep you posted. In the meantime, the lovely Lexine has headed to Thornbury to look after the puppies so all good from that end. W e are very fortunate to have such great people around us !!!!!!
Here's to being Airborne!!
Kelly & Siobhan
Xx
Woke to a text from Dad saying he had been discharged and was at home. So called him immediately only to also find out that Qantas has grounded all flights as part of the dispute with some of their unions over their new enterprise agreement- great!
Ty will be able to let us know more when he gets to work but we are booked, through Qantas on a BA flight from Rome to Heathrow tomorrow (5 pm our time) and then a Qantas flight from Heathrow to Melbourne. I sincerely hope that we don't have to live at Heathrow airport for days on end......we will end up being some poor facsimile of an episode of "Come Fly With Me"
We are already in that psychological place of having ended our trip and just want to get on with it, so we will do our last minute shopping today and wait to hear whether it is better to stay in Rome, or to book our driver to Rome airport and catch the first leg to Heathrow but as we will have cleared customs, will that mean we have to stay at Heathrow ? anyway, Ty may be able to advise us on the best course of action.
Will keep you posted. In the meantime, the lovely Lexine has headed to Thornbury to look after the puppies so all good from that end. W e are very fortunate to have such great people around us !!!!!!
Here's to being Airborne!!
Kelly & Siobhan
Xx
Moses, Chains and More Shopping
Dear Fashionistas,
We headed to San Pietro in Vincoli which means St Peter in Chains, a small basilica near the Colosseum where you can see a large statue of Moses done by Michaelangelo. This statue was meant to be one of 40 figures that was going to be a tomb for the reigning Pope of the day but he was called on by his patron to ditch that and paint the Sistine Chapel and then the Final Judgement wall painting hence the entire funeral piece was never completed and the Moses statue was installed at this basilica, so called because in a locked glass casket on the alter, are the alleged chains that held St Peter both in Jerusalem and again here in Rome prior to his crucifixion.
From here we headed back into the main part of town to wander. There was a huge crowd of what appeared like union members from all overItaly, Parma, Puglia, Naples, and all we carrying flags, wearing caps and scarfs and bandanas with the same logo. They were demonstrating in the streets near Parliament and were creating quite a racket using whistles which is the protest rally tool of choice with the Italians. Then they all neatly packed up and headed off for a long leisurely lunching At osterias and trattorias across the capital!! We didn't get any sense of danger as protestors were all ages and included children and much older citizens alike.
We spent the day doing some shopping and then headed home to start getting our packing into shape. Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and we will need a small carry on bag and some other small items. With our packing as near sorted as possible, we headed out for a lovely dinner.
Sleep well
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
We headed to San Pietro in Vincoli which means St Peter in Chains, a small basilica near the Colosseum where you can see a large statue of Moses done by Michaelangelo. This statue was meant to be one of 40 figures that was going to be a tomb for the reigning Pope of the day but he was called on by his patron to ditch that and paint the Sistine Chapel and then the Final Judgement wall painting hence the entire funeral piece was never completed and the Moses statue was installed at this basilica, so called because in a locked glass casket on the alter, are the alleged chains that held St Peter both in Jerusalem and again here in Rome prior to his crucifixion.
From here we headed back into the main part of town to wander. There was a huge crowd of what appeared like union members from all overItaly, Parma, Puglia, Naples, and all we carrying flags, wearing caps and scarfs and bandanas with the same logo. They were demonstrating in the streets near Parliament and were creating quite a racket using whistles which is the protest rally tool of choice with the Italians. Then they all neatly packed up and headed off for a long leisurely lunching At osterias and trattorias across the capital!! We didn't get any sense of danger as protestors were all ages and included children and much older citizens alike.
We spent the day doing some shopping and then headed home to start getting our packing into shape. Tomorrow is our last day in Rome and we will need a small carry on bag and some other small items. With our packing as near sorted as possible, we headed out for a lovely dinner.
Sleep well
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
Friday, 28 October 2011
Michaelangelo's Dome & a Sanctuary for a Fugitive Pope
Dear Stair Masters,
Back at the Big V to complete our tour of St Peter's Basilica and to climb the Dome due to the inconvenient scheduling of a Cardinal's Mass - like they don't go every day as it is anyway!!!!!
So we catch a lift which takes us to a third of the height of the church and the beginning of the Dome which is twice the height again. From here we have to come out of the lift to this outside area that has restrooms, a souvenier shop (natch) and a small cafe high high up on the flat roof of the Vatican surrounding the Dome. This area is now fenced quite highly as many people were committing suicide off the building which makes for a hazardous St Peter's Square down below!! Once here, we had to enter into the Dome structure itself and climb 320 steps. It was murder. The climb was steep and the passageway narrow but it was a once in a life time thing that we had to do. I can't tell you how grateful we were that we no longer smoked!! Once outside and on top of the Dome or Cuppola we could see forever albeit a tad obscured by the Roman Smog. Although only 3 million citizens, Rome, like Melbourne, has one of the largest urban sprawls. The Cuppola provided us with a very unique view of the Rome skyline.
The Church architect was Michaelangelo even though he was a sculptor and had never designed a building before - a man of many firsts! He died at 89 when the Dome was only just beginning to be built. The current design is not his original design, some Pope some hundred years later wanted the front end extended so it could be the biggest in the world and this is why you can't see the beautiful Dome as well as Michaelanglo intended.
The artwork in the church with the exception of MA's Pieter is copies of stuff onto hard plaster so it can be washed down regularly and that's why people are able to take photos here. The Pieter ( a beautiful statute of Mary and the dying Jesus) completed by MA when he was only 23 and unknown and finished it within a year, is now behind glass in the Basilica because some nutter in 1972 took to it with a hammer and lopped off J's hand and Mary's nose. Like the guy did with the David statue. Apparently they get a lot of that over here. The other day one bloke climbed the columns in St Peter's Square and burnt a bible while yelling at the crowds below. Never dull.
From here we walked a short distance to the Castello San D'angelo, so named because the Archeangel allegedly made an appearance here and ceased the plague in the 14th century that was wiping out the city's population. This fortified castle has a very high wall with a walkway that adjoins the castle to the Vatican and when some nasty Roman Emperor, Charles 1 invaded and overtook the capital in what is know as the Sack of Rome, the incumbent Pope Clement ( an indecisive and weak Pope who was in charge when Henry VIII was also trying to divorce his first wife, Katherine,) ran this wall and holed up in the Castle. Sounds good in theory but then Charles merely starved the old bloke out til he surrendered anyway. The wonderfully evil and corrupt Borgia Pope, Alessandro VI, had fortified this castle in his time a hundred years earlier, no doubt fully aware that with friends like he had, he didn't need to bother about his enemies. It is a fascinating place and was a great surprise to us.
After a Nonna nap we headed out for a terrific dinner at a place called Etabli - very North Fitzroyesque vibe with great food. Then to bed to rest weary legs.
Good cardiovascular health to you all
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
Back at the Big V to complete our tour of St Peter's Basilica and to climb the Dome due to the inconvenient scheduling of a Cardinal's Mass - like they don't go every day as it is anyway!!!!!
So we catch a lift which takes us to a third of the height of the church and the beginning of the Dome which is twice the height again. From here we have to come out of the lift to this outside area that has restrooms, a souvenier shop (natch) and a small cafe high high up on the flat roof of the Vatican surrounding the Dome. This area is now fenced quite highly as many people were committing suicide off the building which makes for a hazardous St Peter's Square down below!! Once here, we had to enter into the Dome structure itself and climb 320 steps. It was murder. The climb was steep and the passageway narrow but it was a once in a life time thing that we had to do. I can't tell you how grateful we were that we no longer smoked!! Once outside and on top of the Dome or Cuppola we could see forever albeit a tad obscured by the Roman Smog. Although only 3 million citizens, Rome, like Melbourne, has one of the largest urban sprawls. The Cuppola provided us with a very unique view of the Rome skyline.
The Church architect was Michaelangelo even though he was a sculptor and had never designed a building before - a man of many firsts! He died at 89 when the Dome was only just beginning to be built. The current design is not his original design, some Pope some hundred years later wanted the front end extended so it could be the biggest in the world and this is why you can't see the beautiful Dome as well as Michaelanglo intended.
The artwork in the church with the exception of MA's Pieter is copies of stuff onto hard plaster so it can be washed down regularly and that's why people are able to take photos here. The Pieter ( a beautiful statute of Mary and the dying Jesus) completed by MA when he was only 23 and unknown and finished it within a year, is now behind glass in the Basilica because some nutter in 1972 took to it with a hammer and lopped off J's hand and Mary's nose. Like the guy did with the David statue. Apparently they get a lot of that over here. The other day one bloke climbed the columns in St Peter's Square and burnt a bible while yelling at the crowds below. Never dull.
From here we walked a short distance to the Castello San D'angelo, so named because the Archeangel allegedly made an appearance here and ceased the plague in the 14th century that was wiping out the city's population. This fortified castle has a very high wall with a walkway that adjoins the castle to the Vatican and when some nasty Roman Emperor, Charles 1 invaded and overtook the capital in what is know as the Sack of Rome, the incumbent Pope Clement ( an indecisive and weak Pope who was in charge when Henry VIII was also trying to divorce his first wife, Katherine,) ran this wall and holed up in the Castle. Sounds good in theory but then Charles merely starved the old bloke out til he surrendered anyway. The wonderfully evil and corrupt Borgia Pope, Alessandro VI, had fortified this castle in his time a hundred years earlier, no doubt fully aware that with friends like he had, he didn't need to bother about his enemies. It is a fascinating place and was a great surprise to us.
After a Nonna nap we headed out for a terrific dinner at a place called Etabli - very North Fitzroyesque vibe with great food. Then to bed to rest weary legs.
Good cardiovascular health to you all
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
Copyright on the Sistine Chapel & an Audience with Pope Bono
Dear Faithful Followers,
Something I forgot to add after our day at the Sistine Chapel...... Did you know that Nikon, the Japanese camera company own the copyright to the artwork of the Sistine Chapel? Apparently in the late 70's or 80's Nikon paid the Catholic Church €18million to cover the cost of cleaning the chapel of candle soot and stuff and in return got the copyright !!!!! Now every time you see a picture of this place Nikon have benefitted !!!
Also another interesting fact, back in the day of Pope Julius and his uncle, the pope before him, some bloke called Pope Severis Sette, around 15 and 16 hundreds, they were short a few quid so they worked out a slight twist on the already accepted practice of making a donation for sins you HAD committed by way of atonement and forgiveness. Instead these two enterprising dudes decided you could buy Sin Insurance , whereby for a determined amount, paid by you to the Church, you could commit adultery, theft or murder and be re-assured of your place in heaven because you had the foresight to have taken out the comprehensive cover and could sin with impunity knowing that the Pope had absolved you of your crimes and sins in advance!!!! Our modern day entrepreneurs have got nothing on these blokes. What good and saintly men they were in the execution of their power!!!
With these fascinating facts swirling in our head we headed to our audience with the Pope- his weekly blessing of everyone at Saint Peter's Square. They have an amazing sound system that was playing beautiful music in the lead up to his appearance - very dramatic. There were a number of newlyweds in their recent wedding attire who if applying before hand, with proof of their recent marriage can get to sit up front near the main man. However, unlike the recently beatified Pope John Paul, who is on his way to Sainthood, the new bloke no longer individually blesses recently marrieds - apparently and I can't take this as fact, never having met the guy personally, but he isn't as sweet as the previous CEO of the Church. The gardeners made John Paul, a special praying place out of a beautiful old tree trunk because he used to come to the garden and pray as he loved being in nature but the new bloke insisted on a marble arrangement that is very grand. I think he likes the trappings of office with all the fancy bling and frocks very much and is less humble fisherman CEO and more of the Donald Trump/Sylvio Berlesconi ilk!!
And when he emerged , goodness, what a rockstar!!! Came out with the hands above the head like Bono at a U2 concert - did the whole 360 degree "I am here" "it's me you came to see" kind of thing, and the people - particularly the Germans went mad for him !!!!! It was all a bit much quite frankly! But we got our rosary beads blessed for Joyce, Dad and Margaret so that was the main thing.
I tried to buy some of that Sin Insurance because it is bound to come in handy when i return to work and may not be myusual serene self, but Pope Benny wouldn't be in it!!! So off to a great lunch at a place called Il Mattricianella- a long standing slow food trattoria that was simply heaven. Then more shopping.
Bless you my children
Kelly & Siobhan
Something I forgot to add after our day at the Sistine Chapel...... Did you know that Nikon, the Japanese camera company own the copyright to the artwork of the Sistine Chapel? Apparently in the late 70's or 80's Nikon paid the Catholic Church €18million to cover the cost of cleaning the chapel of candle soot and stuff and in return got the copyright !!!!! Now every time you see a picture of this place Nikon have benefitted !!!
Also another interesting fact, back in the day of Pope Julius and his uncle, the pope before him, some bloke called Pope Severis Sette, around 15 and 16 hundreds, they were short a few quid so they worked out a slight twist on the already accepted practice of making a donation for sins you HAD committed by way of atonement and forgiveness. Instead these two enterprising dudes decided you could buy Sin Insurance , whereby for a determined amount, paid by you to the Church, you could commit adultery, theft or murder and be re-assured of your place in heaven because you had the foresight to have taken out the comprehensive cover and could sin with impunity knowing that the Pope had absolved you of your crimes and sins in advance!!!! Our modern day entrepreneurs have got nothing on these blokes. What good and saintly men they were in the execution of their power!!!
With these fascinating facts swirling in our head we headed to our audience with the Pope- his weekly blessing of everyone at Saint Peter's Square. They have an amazing sound system that was playing beautiful music in the lead up to his appearance - very dramatic. There were a number of newlyweds in their recent wedding attire who if applying before hand, with proof of their recent marriage can get to sit up front near the main man. However, unlike the recently beatified Pope John Paul, who is on his way to Sainthood, the new bloke no longer individually blesses recently marrieds - apparently and I can't take this as fact, never having met the guy personally, but he isn't as sweet as the previous CEO of the Church. The gardeners made John Paul, a special praying place out of a beautiful old tree trunk because he used to come to the garden and pray as he loved being in nature but the new bloke insisted on a marble arrangement that is very grand. I think he likes the trappings of office with all the fancy bling and frocks very much and is less humble fisherman CEO and more of the Donald Trump/Sylvio Berlesconi ilk!!
And when he emerged , goodness, what a rockstar!!! Came out with the hands above the head like Bono at a U2 concert - did the whole 360 degree "I am here" "it's me you came to see" kind of thing, and the people - particularly the Germans went mad for him !!!!! It was all a bit much quite frankly! But we got our rosary beads blessed for Joyce, Dad and Margaret so that was the main thing.
I tried to buy some of that Sin Insurance because it is bound to come in handy when i return to work and may not be myusual serene self, but Pope Benny wouldn't be in it!!! So off to a great lunch at a place called Il Mattricianella- a long standing slow food trattoria that was simply heaven. Then more shopping.
Bless you my children
Kelly & Siobhan
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Garden of Eden oops I mean Vatican and Back to the Colosseum
Dear Garden Lovers,
Headed to the Vatican Gardens today. Fifteen full time gardeners keep this place visit-ready should the Pope decide on a breathe of fresh air. Whilst not over fancy or exotic, it is a very nice space with great views of the Dome (better than the front) and a ni e place to retreat from the rigors of waving and blessing the great unwashed.
Here the pope has a helipad- no surprises there but did you know he has his own train station with it's own train that then connects into the European rail system so he can travel to any European city with ease!!!
A recent gift to his garden was a 500 year old olive tree from Jerusalem that was pretty cool!
From there we decided to head back to and inside the Colosseum. It is an awesome building in design and to think it was once encased entirely in white marble, it must have been a most beautiful building at sunrise, sunset and any clear day! Walking around inside you can readily imagine the contests held there and the cheering and participation by the crowds.
From there we headed to look close up at the Roman Forum, Palentine Hill and the many relics throughout. This takes greater imagination but one cannot help be impressed with the level of sophistication and ingenuity that these early civic leaders possessed. It makes us want to watch every cheesy film based around Quo Vadis to get a feel for theopulance and grandeur ! Think Sunday Epic Theatre!!!!!! And Peter Ustinov!
Well that's it for today - tired and overloaded with history we head home . Rain is expected tomorrow so will wait and see what we can get up to. Dad has had his first stage surgery. And he is being bravely resolute and practial about it. I have to say he deals with stuff like this very stoically and sensibly. I admire how he justsgetson withit. They have pinned and screwed his ankle but he will need further surgery on his shattered knee cap. We are still waiting to here where he will do rehab but we will be home this time next week to give him and Margaret a hand.
Don't overreach on ladders!!!
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Headed to the Vatican Gardens today. Fifteen full time gardeners keep this place visit-ready should the Pope decide on a breathe of fresh air. Whilst not over fancy or exotic, it is a very nice space with great views of the Dome (better than the front) and a ni e place to retreat from the rigors of waving and blessing the great unwashed.
Here the pope has a helipad- no surprises there but did you know he has his own train station with it's own train that then connects into the European rail system so he can travel to any European city with ease!!!
A recent gift to his garden was a 500 year old olive tree from Jerusalem that was pretty cool!
From there we decided to head back to and inside the Colosseum. It is an awesome building in design and to think it was once encased entirely in white marble, it must have been a most beautiful building at sunrise, sunset and any clear day! Walking around inside you can readily imagine the contests held there and the cheering and participation by the crowds.
From there we headed to look close up at the Roman Forum, Palentine Hill and the many relics throughout. This takes greater imagination but one cannot help be impressed with the level of sophistication and ingenuity that these early civic leaders possessed. It makes us want to watch every cheesy film based around Quo Vadis to get a feel for theopulance and grandeur ! Think Sunday Epic Theatre!!!!!! And Peter Ustinov!
Well that's it for today - tired and overloaded with history we head home . Rain is expected tomorrow so will wait and see what we can get up to. Dad has had his first stage surgery. And he is being bravely resolute and practial about it. I have to say he deals with stuff like this very stoically and sensibly. I admire how he justsgetson withit. They have pinned and screwed his ankle but he will need further surgery on his shattered knee cap. We are still waiting to here where he will do rehab but we will be home this time next week to give him and Margaret a hand.
Don't overreach on ladders!!!
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Villa Borghese and Recycling is next to Godliness
Dear Recyclers,
We had a free day with no tours planned so we wandered around Rome. In particular we headed to the Villa Borghese and surrounding gardens. This is a tremendous green space akin to our Bot Gardens and seems to be where Romans come to get away from the traffic, noise and touristy pockets of their lovely city. Here you will see Italian families hiring these cool four and six seated bikes and having races up and down the gentle slopes. Here you will also find Italians walking their pampered pooches who are also enjoying the social opportunities of hanging out with other dogs. If the Westie is the preferred breed in Positano, then the dachshund is the preferred breed of Rome. They are every where and in addition to the pure bred is a cross breed dachshund and terrier which improves the body line of the sausage dog and results in this lovely wiry looking but soft coat of great brindle colour!! Great little dogs. The gardens are behind the Spanish Steps and are a great escape from the constant traffic hum.
Prior to heading here, on our Umbrian hosts suggestion we headed to a local trattoria for Sunday Lunch. The place is called Dal Pollorolo. And folks, it was simply stunning, we started with a Zucchini frittata followed by roasted lamb with rosemary potatoes and the best peas EVER !!! The peas were cooked off then added to a frypan that had a little olive oil and crisp bacon and garlic - quickly tossed around together to blend the flavors - bliss. This we washed down with a beautiful Rosso do Montefalco of Sangiovese and sangrantino grapes. Highly recommend this place to eat !
We didn't need to eat that evening so we headed home for some light nibbles and an early night before our tour of the Vatican.
The next morning we met our Guide, an American Arts/History major who had studied and now lived in Italy for ten years. We commenced our tour of the Vatican beginning with the Museums. Italy was technically made a country only as recently as 1850 or thereabouts when all the independent states, communes, and regions unified under one rule and a King of Italy. However, only two kings ruled and the last two actually lived in excile because they weren't that popular with their countrymen.
On this discontent Mussolini came to power and in 1946 he created a republic. For many this is when Italy was actually created. During this time of upheaval, the Pope had been a virtual prisoner within the walls of the Vatican although the Catholic Church actually owned alot of area within Rome and of course, what is referred to as the Papal States, - Tuscany, Naples etc. What he did in creating Italy, was to give the Pope title only to that land within the Vatican walls and the Pope was free to make it a separate country, not pay taxes to the Italy but it was an effective way of curtailing the power of the Pope and creating a single unified country. In exchange, the Pope was required to open up his galleries and museums to the people of Italy. Now today the major source of Vatican revenue is from tourists where the average number of visitors PER day is 22,000.
We headed into the Galleries to see what we thought was going to be an overabundance of religious art, of which, now in the final strait, we had more than enough Mary's, Jesuses and the others to last a lifetime. But we were in for a major surprise. Yes there was some religgy art but what astounded us was this plethora of beautiful ancient roman stuff that this mob had simply lifted from the beautiful homes, temples and buildings of ancient Rome and had simply re-used, incorporated or collected it for value sake.
On many of the gallery floors are 2000 year old mosaic tiles that used to be the floors of the ancient roman baths throughout Rome. They are in the most amazing colored marbles of greens, reds, yellows and the now extinct porphyry marble which is a dark purple. They have the most beautiful roman statues littering the place everywhere you look and they have this most enormous circular bath that belonged to Nero' wife (his second) which she used to bathe in using Donkey's milk - as you do! Also they simply uplifted the marble from the floors and walls of the roman buildings and used it to build the rooms of the Vatican and adorn the walls of the Basilica.
One interesting fact about all those white roman statues and busts that we didn't know. Apparently they weren't white at all but were always completed painted with skin tones and their clothing, hair and eyes were painted in full colour (unless the statues had precious stones such as emeralds and sapphires for eyes)but the paint did not hold to the marble or stone and hence when recovered where all white and assumed always to have been white. It was only with the advances in technology that they have been able to discern paint residue on them!!
We headed through many a gallery/museum and along the way our guide picked a particular masterpiece or statue for specific comment. She showed us the specific statue that Michaelangelo used as a model for his "Christ" in the painting "the Final Judgement" which is the painting on the alter wall of the Sistene Chapel. I will come back to this later. He took four years to do the ceiling which he wasn't that keen on doing but his patron, the Medici's had offered his services to Pope Jullius as a gesture of goodwill, after they had finally worked out a peace treaty of sorts having avoided an assignation attempt by the previous Pope. Nice people, these dudes.
Now firstly, it's a myth that he painted on his back- he didn't. He invented an arched system of scaffolding to do the ceiling and as I said, it took four years but he stood up the entire time. He had never painted before. He was a sculptor. The Sistine Chapel was once the private chapel of the Pope. Now it is used as the chamber for the enclave of Cardnals when electing a new Pope- and a major revenue generator! When he first started the ceiling, his figures are small and he realized his mistake in proportion so he simplified his design and made the figures larger. He was commissioned to do something with Christ and the Apostles on the ceiling. He doesn't. He does the old testament stories (noah's ark, creation of man, woman, the banishment from Eden etc) but no apostles. He in fact does nothing from the New Testament at all. Instead he puts in 6 pagans and 6 Jewish courtiers and no one notices!
They all decide it is a masterpiece despitenot fulfilling his brief and he gets commissioned for a lot more money to do the adjoining wall behind the small alter. So this is the Final Judgment painting. It takes 8 years to complete. Using the model of the ancient roman statue which is based entirely on the Greek fashion of an extremely ripped male torso, he paints Christ in this manner. When you look at this artwork, he actually paints every body in the same fashion so they all look as if they have been to the same gym - even the female bodies are incredibly muscular and their breasts look like weird implants, their necks as thick as rugby players and their arms and legs bulging with definition. There is a lot of homo-eroticism in the painting and our guide pointed out two guys kissing in the top right hand corner of the painting, so one can only assume that they all had bad eyesight or they were more tolerant in those days than they seem to be these days.
From here we were to head to the Basilica and go up into the Dome but we were advised that they had closed the Church to the public without notice because of some cardinal mass and that we would need to reschedule. Bad luck if you only had one day here but that is what they are like. Their systems for information are sadly lacking and a strong sense of disorder is not too far below the surface.
So with our day freed up a little earlier than expected we did what any self respecting person would do- we went shopping, then to a bar and then to dinner.
God works In mysterious ways........
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
We had a free day with no tours planned so we wandered around Rome. In particular we headed to the Villa Borghese and surrounding gardens. This is a tremendous green space akin to our Bot Gardens and seems to be where Romans come to get away from the traffic, noise and touristy pockets of their lovely city. Here you will see Italian families hiring these cool four and six seated bikes and having races up and down the gentle slopes. Here you will also find Italians walking their pampered pooches who are also enjoying the social opportunities of hanging out with other dogs. If the Westie is the preferred breed in Positano, then the dachshund is the preferred breed of Rome. They are every where and in addition to the pure bred is a cross breed dachshund and terrier which improves the body line of the sausage dog and results in this lovely wiry looking but soft coat of great brindle colour!! Great little dogs. The gardens are behind the Spanish Steps and are a great escape from the constant traffic hum.
Prior to heading here, on our Umbrian hosts suggestion we headed to a local trattoria for Sunday Lunch. The place is called Dal Pollorolo. And folks, it was simply stunning, we started with a Zucchini frittata followed by roasted lamb with rosemary potatoes and the best peas EVER !!! The peas were cooked off then added to a frypan that had a little olive oil and crisp bacon and garlic - quickly tossed around together to blend the flavors - bliss. This we washed down with a beautiful Rosso do Montefalco of Sangiovese and sangrantino grapes. Highly recommend this place to eat !
We didn't need to eat that evening so we headed home for some light nibbles and an early night before our tour of the Vatican.
The next morning we met our Guide, an American Arts/History major who had studied and now lived in Italy for ten years. We commenced our tour of the Vatican beginning with the Museums. Italy was technically made a country only as recently as 1850 or thereabouts when all the independent states, communes, and regions unified under one rule and a King of Italy. However, only two kings ruled and the last two actually lived in excile because they weren't that popular with their countrymen.
On this discontent Mussolini came to power and in 1946 he created a republic. For many this is when Italy was actually created. During this time of upheaval, the Pope had been a virtual prisoner within the walls of the Vatican although the Catholic Church actually owned alot of area within Rome and of course, what is referred to as the Papal States, - Tuscany, Naples etc. What he did in creating Italy, was to give the Pope title only to that land within the Vatican walls and the Pope was free to make it a separate country, not pay taxes to the Italy but it was an effective way of curtailing the power of the Pope and creating a single unified country. In exchange, the Pope was required to open up his galleries and museums to the people of Italy. Now today the major source of Vatican revenue is from tourists where the average number of visitors PER day is 22,000.
We headed into the Galleries to see what we thought was going to be an overabundance of religious art, of which, now in the final strait, we had more than enough Mary's, Jesuses and the others to last a lifetime. But we were in for a major surprise. Yes there was some religgy art but what astounded us was this plethora of beautiful ancient roman stuff that this mob had simply lifted from the beautiful homes, temples and buildings of ancient Rome and had simply re-used, incorporated or collected it for value sake.
On many of the gallery floors are 2000 year old mosaic tiles that used to be the floors of the ancient roman baths throughout Rome. They are in the most amazing colored marbles of greens, reds, yellows and the now extinct porphyry marble which is a dark purple. They have the most beautiful roman statues littering the place everywhere you look and they have this most enormous circular bath that belonged to Nero' wife (his second) which she used to bathe in using Donkey's milk - as you do! Also they simply uplifted the marble from the floors and walls of the roman buildings and used it to build the rooms of the Vatican and adorn the walls of the Basilica.
One interesting fact about all those white roman statues and busts that we didn't know. Apparently they weren't white at all but were always completed painted with skin tones and their clothing, hair and eyes were painted in full colour (unless the statues had precious stones such as emeralds and sapphires for eyes)but the paint did not hold to the marble or stone and hence when recovered where all white and assumed always to have been white. It was only with the advances in technology that they have been able to discern paint residue on them!!
We headed through many a gallery/museum and along the way our guide picked a particular masterpiece or statue for specific comment. She showed us the specific statue that Michaelangelo used as a model for his "Christ" in the painting "the Final Judgement" which is the painting on the alter wall of the Sistene Chapel. I will come back to this later. He took four years to do the ceiling which he wasn't that keen on doing but his patron, the Medici's had offered his services to Pope Jullius as a gesture of goodwill, after they had finally worked out a peace treaty of sorts having avoided an assignation attempt by the previous Pope. Nice people, these dudes.
Now firstly, it's a myth that he painted on his back- he didn't. He invented an arched system of scaffolding to do the ceiling and as I said, it took four years but he stood up the entire time. He had never painted before. He was a sculptor. The Sistine Chapel was once the private chapel of the Pope. Now it is used as the chamber for the enclave of Cardnals when electing a new Pope- and a major revenue generator! When he first started the ceiling, his figures are small and he realized his mistake in proportion so he simplified his design and made the figures larger. He was commissioned to do something with Christ and the Apostles on the ceiling. He doesn't. He does the old testament stories (noah's ark, creation of man, woman, the banishment from Eden etc) but no apostles. He in fact does nothing from the New Testament at all. Instead he puts in 6 pagans and 6 Jewish courtiers and no one notices!
They all decide it is a masterpiece despitenot fulfilling his brief and he gets commissioned for a lot more money to do the adjoining wall behind the small alter. So this is the Final Judgment painting. It takes 8 years to complete. Using the model of the ancient roman statue which is based entirely on the Greek fashion of an extremely ripped male torso, he paints Christ in this manner. When you look at this artwork, he actually paints every body in the same fashion so they all look as if they have been to the same gym - even the female bodies are incredibly muscular and their breasts look like weird implants, their necks as thick as rugby players and their arms and legs bulging with definition. There is a lot of homo-eroticism in the painting and our guide pointed out two guys kissing in the top right hand corner of the painting, so one can only assume that they all had bad eyesight or they were more tolerant in those days than they seem to be these days.
From here we were to head to the Basilica and go up into the Dome but we were advised that they had closed the Church to the public without notice because of some cardinal mass and that we would need to reschedule. Bad luck if you only had one day here but that is what they are like. Their systems for information are sadly lacking and a strong sense of disorder is not too far below the surface.
So with our day freed up a little earlier than expected we did what any self respecting person would do- we went shopping, then to a bar and then to dinner.
God works In mysterious ways........
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
Sunday, 23 October 2011
New Photos..........
Dear Viewers,
See if you can see these. We have uploaded different albums based on different cities or towns such as Positano, Salina, Elba, etc -they are just under the "albums" section in the drop down box. Let me know if that works PETA or Chad.......
http://s1118.photobucket.com/albums/k609/Siobhanslibrary2011
Off to see God's worldly goods here on earth today.......
Kelly
See if you can see these. We have uploaded different albums based on different cities or towns such as Positano, Salina, Elba, etc -they are just under the "albums" section in the drop down box. Let me know if that works PETA or Chad.......
http://s1118.photobucket.com/albums/k609/Siobhanslibrary2011
Off to see God's worldly goods here on earth today.......
Kelly
Brittle Bones, Shopping Nirvana and Lost in Rome
Dear Calcium Replenished Bodies,
Today we headed to the Vatican and went underground and underneath the alter of Saint Peter's Basilica to see St Peter's Tomb and what is purported to be his actual bones. Gruesomely cool what? We schlepped to the Vatican a mere 20 minute walk from our apartment along the river, asked the chez chic garbed Swiss Guard, where we had to go and before you know it we were inside the side entrance for an amazing tour. I forgot to add yesterday that whilst we were heading home to our place we saw this bloke who looked really familiar to me and it took me a second to work it out. It was Tim Fisher, Australia's appointee to the Holy See. It appears that Rome agrees with him (or at least the food does) because he has put on a few kilos since his days as deputy prime minister !!
Back to the tour. We learnt that Peter was crucified by Nero in the first anti-Christian demonstration by a roman emperor, on a nearby hill. They crucified them by tying them upside down where they hung on a cross till they died. They then cut down the body, but not by cutting the ropes, but simply cutting the now dead body off at the ankles, hence no feet. Peter was then buried on the site where St Peter's was to be built by Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, some 300 years later. But almost immediately, other Christians, wanting to be buried near Peter, started being buried around his tomb. However what was not known until the early 1930's when Pope Pious wanted to confirm that Peter was genuinely underneath St Peter's, was that a Roman or pagan cemetery was also at this same site. Constantine in 300 AD knew this and he couldn't did up the cemetery so he simply had half a hill demolished and redistributed over the top so that the Christian Church could be built on St Peter's grave site but it also meant, that now underneath St Peter's Basilica is not only Peter's tomb but is a treasure trove of pagan graves and family mausoleums. Very interesting. This was only discovered and excavated just prior to world war 2 and took 10 years to full excavate!!
Anyway Peter's tomb is there and has been built around by three subsequent dedications of a crypt, and two alters but when they opened the tomb there were no bones inside. According to one "official" Vatican endorsed archeologist, there was a niche built into this tomb area and according to her studies, the bones match the date and time of Peter, no feet bones because of the whole crucifixion thing and an inscription on the box where the bones where that could be interpreted to mean "Peter is here". this theory is pooh poohed by many Archeologists but one marketing savvy reigning Pope at the time of the debate has indicated that although the Church may not be able to prove the validity of the bones, - "We believe the bones to be St Peter"
(can you hear the church bells going ker-ching, ker-ching!!!)
So in ten boxes the bones are placed and you can see a small portion of them. They look how you would expect a set of 2000 year old bones to look - in need of major calcium !!
That aftnoon we strolled rough the glorious city and it is shopping Nirvana . We are trying to control ourselves as we lost our way through alleyways of clothing and footwear shops. I think this is Siobhan's real spiritual home and it ain't got nothing to do with God or Churches!!!!!!
A wonderful dinner, after getting lost again and then bed. Off for more exploring tomorrow.
Relax through Retail people's
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxxxx
Today we headed to the Vatican and went underground and underneath the alter of Saint Peter's Basilica to see St Peter's Tomb and what is purported to be his actual bones. Gruesomely cool what? We schlepped to the Vatican a mere 20 minute walk from our apartment along the river, asked the chez chic garbed Swiss Guard, where we had to go and before you know it we were inside the side entrance for an amazing tour. I forgot to add yesterday that whilst we were heading home to our place we saw this bloke who looked really familiar to me and it took me a second to work it out. It was Tim Fisher, Australia's appointee to the Holy See. It appears that Rome agrees with him (or at least the food does) because he has put on a few kilos since his days as deputy prime minister !!
Back to the tour. We learnt that Peter was crucified by Nero in the first anti-Christian demonstration by a roman emperor, on a nearby hill. They crucified them by tying them upside down where they hung on a cross till they died. They then cut down the body, but not by cutting the ropes, but simply cutting the now dead body off at the ankles, hence no feet. Peter was then buried on the site where St Peter's was to be built by Constantine, the first Christian Emperor, some 300 years later. But almost immediately, other Christians, wanting to be buried near Peter, started being buried around his tomb. However what was not known until the early 1930's when Pope Pious wanted to confirm that Peter was genuinely underneath St Peter's, was that a Roman or pagan cemetery was also at this same site. Constantine in 300 AD knew this and he couldn't did up the cemetery so he simply had half a hill demolished and redistributed over the top so that the Christian Church could be built on St Peter's grave site but it also meant, that now underneath St Peter's Basilica is not only Peter's tomb but is a treasure trove of pagan graves and family mausoleums. Very interesting. This was only discovered and excavated just prior to world war 2 and took 10 years to full excavate!!
Anyway Peter's tomb is there and has been built around by three subsequent dedications of a crypt, and two alters but when they opened the tomb there were no bones inside. According to one "official" Vatican endorsed archeologist, there was a niche built into this tomb area and according to her studies, the bones match the date and time of Peter, no feet bones because of the whole crucifixion thing and an inscription on the box where the bones where that could be interpreted to mean "Peter is here". this theory is pooh poohed by many Archeologists but one marketing savvy reigning Pope at the time of the debate has indicated that although the Church may not be able to prove the validity of the bones, - "We believe the bones to be St Peter"
(can you hear the church bells going ker-ching, ker-ching!!!)
So in ten boxes the bones are placed and you can see a small portion of them. They look how you would expect a set of 2000 year old bones to look - in need of major calcium !!
That aftnoon we strolled rough the glorious city and it is shopping Nirvana . We are trying to control ourselves as we lost our way through alleyways of clothing and footwear shops. I think this is Siobhan's real spiritual home and it ain't got nothing to do with God or Churches!!!!!!
A wonderful dinner, after getting lost again and then bed. Off for more exploring tomorrow.
Relax through Retail people's
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxxxx
Saturday, 22 October 2011
An Ancient Pile of History and a Mesmorising City
Dear Fossils,
Our first morning in Rome dawned bright and clear and we headed to meet our guide near the Colosseum. The purpose of today was to take a leisurely walking tour of ancient Rome in the morning and then a tour of some of the major sites in the afternoon to get our bearings so that we could go back and visit at our leisure with some background information.
Our guide was an extremely knowledgable archeologist of German descent but brought up in Italy, so she brought a very academic approach to the explanations of what we were seeing in the parts of Rome where the excavations had occurred, under Mussolini's direction no less, back in the late 1930's. He believed that Italians should embrace and be very proud of their ancient roman history.
First stop the Colosseum. Did you know it was only open 20 days per year and though it seated 50,000, this didn't mean too many of the great unwashed got to see what was going on. 30,000 seats were reserved for the noblemen and senators. 10,000 seats for their wives who were required to sit separately in the "Ladies Lounge" leaving only 10,000 for the common man.
According to our guide there are lots of myths and misunderstandings about the Colosseum. Christians were not fed to the lions here for the entertainment of the Romans. Rather that misunderstanding is a product of Hollywood or the Catholic Church's propaganda unit trying to establish some support for the Christianity and catholicism against the Romans, who in fact, believed and tolerated many religions until the Emperor Nero who was more than a tad mad.
Also that whole thumbs up/thumbs down thing is also a fallacy as the gladiators were highly trained and highly paid athletes (and soldiers) and as such Rome couldn't afford to have them knocked off on the whim of the Emperor. It is estimated that only 5% actually died in combat and that was more accidental than anything. Rather they had referees who stage managed the whole ritualistic fighting between gladiators which sounds a lot more like the World Wrestling Federation bouts than genuine mortal combat!!
A day at the Colosseum went more like, First Up: Gladiators fight wild beasts (no contest as poor animals transported from Africa and Asia were hardly up for a serious blue) Lunchtime: over lunch, in a Wimbledon equivalent of strawberries and cream, the Romans ate and watched the pre-match entertainment, which was putting all the nasty criminals to death. A real morbid Lionel Ritchie/Meatloaf event. Then the real game was the. Ritualistic fighting between Gladiators, but as previously described - all very stage managed with each Gladiator having signature moves!!!!!!
We moved onto the Republican & Imperial Forums, Pallantine Hill, Circus Maximus etc. Not one for old stones and the need to use one's imagination, I was totally immersed in how fantastic this was and how talented these people were. From here we headed to The Pantheon, the one remaining Ancient Roman Temple that remains, inside at least, how it was two thousand years ago. It is without a doubt both Siobhan and my favorite building because of both it's beauty and it's age. The original front door, still used to this day, weighs seven (7) tonne.
We passed many beautiful points of reference as we wandered through Rome, Piazza Nuovona, Piazza Campo di Fiori, Spanish Steps and the magnificent Trevi Fountain - all of which we shall revisit at our leisure over the next ten days. To get an overview of when they were built and why and by whom was a wonderful basis upon which we could explore this gorgeous City.
Our day of walking passed in what seemed like minutes but by the time we headed home after about six hours we were stonkered. I think that I am at least three inches shorter than when I first began this holiday !! We picked up some yummy supplies and headed home to our beautiful apartment overlooking The Tiber, where we relaxed and absorbed what we had seen and learnt this wonderful day. Tomorrow we head to the Vatican to see how St Peter is doing in his tomb under the alter of his very own Basilica.
Call me cynical, but I don't think some Prime Minister or President of Australia in two thousand years time, when deciding to dig up Hoppers Crossing or the Docklands is going to have that much to rave about!!!!!
May your only ruins be stones and bricks......
Kelly & Siobhan xxxxx
Our first morning in Rome dawned bright and clear and we headed to meet our guide near the Colosseum. The purpose of today was to take a leisurely walking tour of ancient Rome in the morning and then a tour of some of the major sites in the afternoon to get our bearings so that we could go back and visit at our leisure with some background information.
Our guide was an extremely knowledgable archeologist of German descent but brought up in Italy, so she brought a very academic approach to the explanations of what we were seeing in the parts of Rome where the excavations had occurred, under Mussolini's direction no less, back in the late 1930's. He believed that Italians should embrace and be very proud of their ancient roman history.
First stop the Colosseum. Did you know it was only open 20 days per year and though it seated 50,000, this didn't mean too many of the great unwashed got to see what was going on. 30,000 seats were reserved for the noblemen and senators. 10,000 seats for their wives who were required to sit separately in the "Ladies Lounge" leaving only 10,000 for the common man.
According to our guide there are lots of myths and misunderstandings about the Colosseum. Christians were not fed to the lions here for the entertainment of the Romans. Rather that misunderstanding is a product of Hollywood or the Catholic Church's propaganda unit trying to establish some support for the Christianity and catholicism against the Romans, who in fact, believed and tolerated many religions until the Emperor Nero who was more than a tad mad.
Also that whole thumbs up/thumbs down thing is also a fallacy as the gladiators were highly trained and highly paid athletes (and soldiers) and as such Rome couldn't afford to have them knocked off on the whim of the Emperor. It is estimated that only 5% actually died in combat and that was more accidental than anything. Rather they had referees who stage managed the whole ritualistic fighting between gladiators which sounds a lot more like the World Wrestling Federation bouts than genuine mortal combat!!
A day at the Colosseum went more like, First Up: Gladiators fight wild beasts (no contest as poor animals transported from Africa and Asia were hardly up for a serious blue) Lunchtime: over lunch, in a Wimbledon equivalent of strawberries and cream, the Romans ate and watched the pre-match entertainment, which was putting all the nasty criminals to death. A real morbid Lionel Ritchie/Meatloaf event. Then the real game was the. Ritualistic fighting between Gladiators, but as previously described - all very stage managed with each Gladiator having signature moves!!!!!!
We moved onto the Republican & Imperial Forums, Pallantine Hill, Circus Maximus etc. Not one for old stones and the need to use one's imagination, I was totally immersed in how fantastic this was and how talented these people were. From here we headed to The Pantheon, the one remaining Ancient Roman Temple that remains, inside at least, how it was two thousand years ago. It is without a doubt both Siobhan and my favorite building because of both it's beauty and it's age. The original front door, still used to this day, weighs seven (7) tonne.
We passed many beautiful points of reference as we wandered through Rome, Piazza Nuovona, Piazza Campo di Fiori, Spanish Steps and the magnificent Trevi Fountain - all of which we shall revisit at our leisure over the next ten days. To get an overview of when they were built and why and by whom was a wonderful basis upon which we could explore this gorgeous City.
Our day of walking passed in what seemed like minutes but by the time we headed home after about six hours we were stonkered. I think that I am at least three inches shorter than when I first began this holiday !! We picked up some yummy supplies and headed home to our beautiful apartment overlooking The Tiber, where we relaxed and absorbed what we had seen and learnt this wonderful day. Tomorrow we head to the Vatican to see how St Peter is doing in his tomb under the alter of his very own Basilica.
Call me cynical, but I don't think some Prime Minister or President of Australia in two thousand years time, when deciding to dig up Hoppers Crossing or the Docklands is going to have that much to rave about!!!!!
May your only ruins be stones and bricks......
Kelly & Siobhan xxxxx
Friday, 21 October 2011
Friends, Romans, Countrymen - lend me your ears...and a raincoat, and a brolley !
Dear Meterologists and Rallycar Drivers,
Driving in Rome Traffic in a Torrential Downpour - what could be easier?
From where we were in Umbria to LdV or Fumicano airport is allegedly about a 2 hour drive. Pauola had advised of an alternative route wherein you approach the airport from the coastal road rather than directly on the A1 as it can get quite gridlocked in normal peak hour. That was the intended plan. However it assumed that I would correctly identify said turn off and secondly that Rome, which has not had rain in over 10 weeks, would also not have a torrential downpour between the hours of 6am and 9am totally drowning the city, it's roads, it's metro underground and closing off some of it's major tourist attractions!!!!
So, here we were smack bang in the middle of the most horrendous traffic you have ever seen, some of the most dangerous and undisciplined driving ever( people belting down the emergency lane in an attempt to get off the freeway) and crawling for hours and kilometers on end. We emerged unscathed, as surprisingly did our rental car- yes I can hear you all sniggering about my careful driving- and arrived in Rome after FOUR hours. Thirty minutes later we were at our apartment on the Tiber River and it is just incredible.
I needed a couple of glasses of vino Rosso after such a challenging morning and then a Nonna nap. We unwound in this great apartment that is huge and light. A few hours later we ventured towards Piazza Nuovona and found a great restuarant just away from the crowds that served a hazelnut encrusted lamb crown roast with tempura like artichokes - buonissimo!!!!!
Off to bed for a good night sleep before our walking tour of ancient Rome tomorrow.
Hail Cesear........and the rest of the bloody city as well!
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Driving in Rome Traffic in a Torrential Downpour - what could be easier?
From where we were in Umbria to LdV or Fumicano airport is allegedly about a 2 hour drive. Pauola had advised of an alternative route wherein you approach the airport from the coastal road rather than directly on the A1 as it can get quite gridlocked in normal peak hour. That was the intended plan. However it assumed that I would correctly identify said turn off and secondly that Rome, which has not had rain in over 10 weeks, would also not have a torrential downpour between the hours of 6am and 9am totally drowning the city, it's roads, it's metro underground and closing off some of it's major tourist attractions!!!!
So, here we were smack bang in the middle of the most horrendous traffic you have ever seen, some of the most dangerous and undisciplined driving ever( people belting down the emergency lane in an attempt to get off the freeway) and crawling for hours and kilometers on end. We emerged unscathed, as surprisingly did our rental car- yes I can hear you all sniggering about my careful driving- and arrived in Rome after FOUR hours. Thirty minutes later we were at our apartment on the Tiber River and it is just incredible.
I needed a couple of glasses of vino Rosso after such a challenging morning and then a Nonna nap. We unwound in this great apartment that is huge and light. A few hours later we ventured towards Piazza Nuovona and found a great restuarant just away from the crowds that served a hazelnut encrusted lamb crown roast with tempura like artichokes - buonissimo!!!!!
Off to bed for a good night sleep before our walking tour of ancient Rome tomorrow.
Hail Cesear........and the rest of the bloody city as well!
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Friends, Romans, Countrymen - lend me your ears............
Dear Meterologists and Rallycar Drivers,
Driving in Rome Traffic in a Torrential Downpour - what could be easier?
From where we were in Umbria to LdV or Fumicano airport is allegedly about a 2 hour drive. Pauola had advised of an alternative route wherein you approach the airport from the coastal road rather than directly on the A1 as it can get quite gridlocked in normal peak hour. That was the intended plan. However it assumed that I would correctly identify said turn off and secondly that Rome, which has not had rain in over 10 weeks, would also not have a torrential downpour between the hours of 6am and 9am totally drowning the city, it's roads, it's metro underground and closing off some of it's major tourist attractions!!!!
So, here we were smack bang in the middle of the most horrendous traffic you have ever seen, some of the most dangerous and undisciplined driving ever( people belting down the emergency lane in an attempt to get off the freeway) and crawling for hours and kilometers on end. We emerged unscathed, as surprisingly did our rental car- yes I can hear you all sniggering about my careful driving- and arrived in Rome after FOUR hours. Thirty minutes later we were at our apartment on the Tiber River and it is just incredible.
I needed a couple of glasses of vino Rosso after such a challenging morning and then a Nonna nap. We unwound in this great apartment that is huge and light. A few hours later we ventured towards Piazza Nuovona and found a great restuarant just away from the crowds that served a hazelnut encrusted lamb crown roast with tempura like artichokes - buonissimo!!!!!
Off to bed for a good night sleep before our walking tour of ancient Rome tomorrow.
Hail Cesear........and the rest of the bloody city as well!
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Driving in Rome Traffic in a Torrential Downpour - what could be easier?
From where we were in Umbria to LdV or Fumicano airport is allegedly about a 2 hour drive. Pauola had advised of an alternative route wherein you approach the airport from the coastal road rather than directly on the A1 as it can get quite gridlocked in normal peak hour. That was the intended plan. However it assumed that I would correctly identify said turn off and secondly that Rome, which has not had rain in over 10 weeks, would also not have a torrential downpour between the hours of 6am and 9am totally drowning the city, it's roads, it's metro underground and closing off some of it's major tourist attractions!!!!
So, here we were smack bang in the middle of the most horrendous traffic you have ever seen, some of the most dangerous and undisciplined driving ever( people belting down the emergency lane in an attempt to get off the freeway) and crawling for hours and kilometers on end. We emerged unscathed, as surprisingly did our rental car- yes I can hear you all sniggering about my careful driving- and arrived in Rome after FOUR hours. Thirty minutes later we were at our apartment on the Tiber River and it is just incredible.
I needed a couple of glasses of vino Rosso after such a challenging morning and then a Nonna nap. We unwound in this great apartment that is huge and light. A few hours later we ventured towards Piazza Nuovona and found a great restuarant just away from the crowds that served a hazelnut encrusted lamb crown roast with tempura like artichokes - buonissimo!!!!!
Off to bed for a good night sleep before our walking tour of ancient Rome tomorrow.
Hail Cesear........and the rest of the bloody city as well!
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Telecommunications Isolation and Orvietto - Etruscans underground
Dear Geeks, Boffins and Archeologists,
Having been responsible for leaving the adaptor at our last stay, the agristourismo in Tuscany, neither my mobile, the electric toothbrush charger, nor Siobhan's camera battery were able to be charged. I was not popular!! Now in this part of the world, had we been in need of a bold piece of ceramic, a fine piece of linen, an olive oil or an icon of St Francis, we would have been in business! An adaptor for Australian appliances - not so much !!
So we were in fear of being off the air for a few days until Rome and this was made worse by Dad's imminent surgery ( at least we thought the surgery was imminent). Again our lovely hosts, going that bit above and beyond referred us to a store at the next town where we were able to get different cable thingies for the camera and a blackberry adaptor for me to recharge which was a great relief- a stellar fella called Jacobo helped us out so much. It was an extraordinary relief.
From there we headed to Orvietto and this was brilliant. You park at the bottom, you cath the finniculare ( the cable car) to the top and then bus across the town.
You get off and at this high point of a hill in the middle of nowhere you are looking at the most extraordinary facade of the most beautiful bascillica. It is a combination of gothic architecture, mosaic and sculpture that is incredible. The inside is pretty fancy too!! Orvietto is a beautiful town with lots to see not least is the etruscan tombs and this great system of underground caves, excavated and now demonstrates the level of sophistication of the Etruscans, a chronological peer of the ancient Romans, living in central Italy but wiped out by the all conquering Romans! We had some tiresome British children and their even more tiresome negligent parents on our underground tour that made it hard work for our softly spoken tour guide and I can say with all honesty, I wasn't the only one who was tempted by the idea of throwing said children or said parents down the ancient Etruscan well to establish it's true depth!!
We headed home for our last dinner. A puff pastry case filled with pear and peccorino, a zucchini and cucumber soup for me, some vile mushroom thing for Siobhan, followed by a lightly breaded cutlet topped with fresh tomatoes and basil and a pannacotta for dessert. What can I say other than this place is so difficult to leave.......
But leave we must as we drive to the Rome airport tomorrow to leave the hire car and get to our Rome apartment - sounds straight forward enough !!
We are totally besotted by Umbria.
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
Having been responsible for leaving the adaptor at our last stay, the agristourismo in Tuscany, neither my mobile, the electric toothbrush charger, nor Siobhan's camera battery were able to be charged. I was not popular!! Now in this part of the world, had we been in need of a bold piece of ceramic, a fine piece of linen, an olive oil or an icon of St Francis, we would have been in business! An adaptor for Australian appliances - not so much !!
So we were in fear of being off the air for a few days until Rome and this was made worse by Dad's imminent surgery ( at least we thought the surgery was imminent). Again our lovely hosts, going that bit above and beyond referred us to a store at the next town where we were able to get different cable thingies for the camera and a blackberry adaptor for me to recharge which was a great relief- a stellar fella called Jacobo helped us out so much. It was an extraordinary relief.
From there we headed to Orvietto and this was brilliant. You park at the bottom, you cath the finniculare ( the cable car) to the top and then bus across the town.
You get off and at this high point of a hill in the middle of nowhere you are looking at the most extraordinary facade of the most beautiful bascillica. It is a combination of gothic architecture, mosaic and sculpture that is incredible. The inside is pretty fancy too!! Orvietto is a beautiful town with lots to see not least is the etruscan tombs and this great system of underground caves, excavated and now demonstrates the level of sophistication of the Etruscans, a chronological peer of the ancient Romans, living in central Italy but wiped out by the all conquering Romans! We had some tiresome British children and their even more tiresome negligent parents on our underground tour that made it hard work for our softly spoken tour guide and I can say with all honesty, I wasn't the only one who was tempted by the idea of throwing said children or said parents down the ancient Etruscan well to establish it's true depth!!
We headed home for our last dinner. A puff pastry case filled with pear and peccorino, a zucchini and cucumber soup for me, some vile mushroom thing for Siobhan, followed by a lightly breaded cutlet topped with fresh tomatoes and basil and a pannacotta for dessert. What can I say other than this place is so difficult to leave.......
But leave we must as we drive to the Rome airport tomorrow to leave the hire car and get to our Rome apartment - sounds straight forward enough !!
We are totally besotted by Umbria.
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
Bevagna and Montefalco - and a Gentleman called Monero!
Dear Tomb Raiders,
Never heard of these places ? Well neither had we but at Stephano and Pauola's suggestion we headed there to see the real Umbria. Bevagna was a find. And the drive to these places was of itself a discovery of how beautiful Umbria is. Another paved and walled city overlooking the beautiful valleys of Umbria. In the city's main piazza was the church which we entered. Not so imposing as such, save for the glass emntombed decaying corpse of some notable priest/saint/pope who may have had local significance.It's an odd thing for us less religious folk, that the remains of a notable cadaver are encased "snow-white" style in glass and robed for the faithful to pray to.....on the alter.
We wandered around Bevagna and it is like time stands still. The shops open around 9.30 and they close again at 12midday for at least three hours for siesta. The township literally goes to sleep and the only ones around are the tourists. It is a strange and yet wonderful tradition that the good folk of Bevagna will not let the modern world encroach upon their life balance as has been the pattern for many hundreds of years.
From Bevagna we headed to Montefalco, a town noted for it's linen and for it's wine (quell surprise!) We walked around this walled city, again beautiful and preserved and opted for a pasta lunch served by an Elvis Costello look alike. Time was of the essence as we had an appointment with a local winemaker that Stephano had arranged for us.
About 20 minutes from where we were staying in Spineta in Umbria is a man called Monero who grows and makes his own wine called La Spina. From a small acreage he produces two whites and three reds. When you visit his winery, you are taken on a wonderful journey of why and how he makes the wine he does and when we get home folks, we are going to see who is interested in sharing the importing (for personal use only of course) because it was simply fantastic!
The whites are two great blends of malvesia, grecchetto and another grape I can't recall. The reds are a gorgeous merlot, a Moltepuciano and a local grape which I have forgotten but starts with S. - sangrantina or something similar. Monero's wines are low in tannins but long on flavor so are simply beautiful to drink. And they are so inexpensive that it is embarrassing. So if you are interested let me know, we can do a shared case just to try and then get more later. But trust me, this stuff is great gear!!
We could have sat listening and asking questions of Monero all evening but we had to be back at Palazzeta del Vescovo to be fed and watered again- tuff work. We had yet another gorgeous meal of an antipasto, a first and second course and a dessert. I won't make you envious with the details but we petitioned Pauola to write a recipe book, if only for her guests to enjoy, because her food is that good.
We spoke to these lovely people well into the evening. They have worked all over Italy in a variety of jobs and this is a life choice to rebuild and renovate an old stone country house in Umbria and provide a holiday of great comfort to a discerning visitor. If you are after something truly memorable, yet not prohibitively expensive, we cannot recommend Palazzetto del Vescovo highly enough.
This is not a paid advertisement!!!!!
Lotsa
Kelly & Siobhan.
PS: Dad has still not been operated on. It is expected Friday or Saturday so I am waiting to hear. We put in a candle to St Francis in the hope that his leg break is mended and he doesn't have to wear jesus' sandals...........
Never heard of these places ? Well neither had we but at Stephano and Pauola's suggestion we headed there to see the real Umbria. Bevagna was a find. And the drive to these places was of itself a discovery of how beautiful Umbria is. Another paved and walled city overlooking the beautiful valleys of Umbria. In the city's main piazza was the church which we entered. Not so imposing as such, save for the glass emntombed decaying corpse of some notable priest/saint/pope who may have had local significance.It's an odd thing for us less religious folk, that the remains of a notable cadaver are encased "snow-white" style in glass and robed for the faithful to pray to.....on the alter.
We wandered around Bevagna and it is like time stands still. The shops open around 9.30 and they close again at 12midday for at least three hours for siesta. The township literally goes to sleep and the only ones around are the tourists. It is a strange and yet wonderful tradition that the good folk of Bevagna will not let the modern world encroach upon their life balance as has been the pattern for many hundreds of years.
From Bevagna we headed to Montefalco, a town noted for it's linen and for it's wine (quell surprise!) We walked around this walled city, again beautiful and preserved and opted for a pasta lunch served by an Elvis Costello look alike. Time was of the essence as we had an appointment with a local winemaker that Stephano had arranged for us.
About 20 minutes from where we were staying in Spineta in Umbria is a man called Monero who grows and makes his own wine called La Spina. From a small acreage he produces two whites and three reds. When you visit his winery, you are taken on a wonderful journey of why and how he makes the wine he does and when we get home folks, we are going to see who is interested in sharing the importing (for personal use only of course) because it was simply fantastic!
The whites are two great blends of malvesia, grecchetto and another grape I can't recall. The reds are a gorgeous merlot, a Moltepuciano and a local grape which I have forgotten but starts with S. - sangrantina or something similar. Monero's wines are low in tannins but long on flavor so are simply beautiful to drink. And they are so inexpensive that it is embarrassing. So if you are interested let me know, we can do a shared case just to try and then get more later. But trust me, this stuff is great gear!!
We could have sat listening and asking questions of Monero all evening but we had to be back at Palazzeta del Vescovo to be fed and watered again- tuff work. We had yet another gorgeous meal of an antipasto, a first and second course and a dessert. I won't make you envious with the details but we petitioned Pauola to write a recipe book, if only for her guests to enjoy, because her food is that good.
We spoke to these lovely people well into the evening. They have worked all over Italy in a variety of jobs and this is a life choice to rebuild and renovate an old stone country house in Umbria and provide a holiday of great comfort to a discerning visitor. If you are after something truly memorable, yet not prohibitively expensive, we cannot recommend Palazzetto del Vescovo highly enough.
This is not a paid advertisement!!!!!
Lotsa
Kelly & Siobhan.
PS: Dad has still not been operated on. It is expected Friday or Saturday so I am waiting to hear. We put in a candle to St Francis in the hope that his leg break is mended and he doesn't have to wear jesus' sandals...........
Pilgrimage to Assisi, Jesus Sandals, and Bellisimo Spello!
Dear Ulitmate Umbrians,
We arrived at Palazzetta del Vescovo in Umbria run by the most gracious hosts Staphano and Pauola. You know how it is when you go to a good friend's lovely home and that good friend is a brilliant cook of restaurant standard and one of them is a wine fiend with a great selection of wine for you to enjoy but you are still in that wonderful space of not "dining out" but of being in a comfortable home ? Well this is how it is at Stephano and Pauola's place!!
Immediately you are in tastefully understated luxurious surrounds with a vista to die for and a pool that for the first time in our holiday, Italy's weather did let us down and we couldn't swim. But our room had a deep bath that was almost as good!!!!!!
Our first night there we had a sumptuous meal but of sensible portion control so that we could enjoy four courses. It was the first of meals here that were to prove sensational.
The next day, after some assistane and coaching from our hosts we headed first to Assissi. A beautiful village atop a low mountain where the Bascilica of the very good man St Francis or Francesco stands. It overlooks Umbria and is a must see- particularly the lower Bascillica. Here entombed is St Francis and many people belonging to a religious order , brothers, sisters or priests, make a pilgrimage to visit him. In his favor, he loved animals and eschewed all wealth, unlike many of the powerful catholics of the day. In fact he gave his money (and he inherited significant wealth) away. He started or created the order of Franscican Monks who wore simple robes and "Jesus sandals" in short, he was the real deal as far as living a humble charitable life goes!!
After Assissi we headed to the hereto unheralded village of Spello, recommended by our hosts - and it was sheer delight! A beautiful ancient preserved walled city with no vile tacky souvenir shops and being lived in and loved by the local residents. If you are in Umbria, make a point of visiting Spello,it's gorgeous.
We headed home to be spoilt first by a luxurious bath and then by an appetitivo served at 8pm from the masterful cellar of Stephano and then by another exemplary meal. Think, puff pastry casing of sweet red onions and mozzarella with a peccorino sauce, a pasta Ragu and pork medallions and a dolce too boot.
Words cannot describe how good this place is nor how good these people are at making you feel so welcome, so special and yet so at home. A unique and brilliant talent!
We may never leave!
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
We arrived at Palazzetta del Vescovo in Umbria run by the most gracious hosts Staphano and Pauola. You know how it is when you go to a good friend's lovely home and that good friend is a brilliant cook of restaurant standard and one of them is a wine fiend with a great selection of wine for you to enjoy but you are still in that wonderful space of not "dining out" but of being in a comfortable home ? Well this is how it is at Stephano and Pauola's place!!
Immediately you are in tastefully understated luxurious surrounds with a vista to die for and a pool that for the first time in our holiday, Italy's weather did let us down and we couldn't swim. But our room had a deep bath that was almost as good!!!!!!
Our first night there we had a sumptuous meal but of sensible portion control so that we could enjoy four courses. It was the first of meals here that were to prove sensational.
The next day, after some assistane and coaching from our hosts we headed first to Assissi. A beautiful village atop a low mountain where the Bascilica of the very good man St Francis or Francesco stands. It overlooks Umbria and is a must see- particularly the lower Bascillica. Here entombed is St Francis and many people belonging to a religious order , brothers, sisters or priests, make a pilgrimage to visit him. In his favor, he loved animals and eschewed all wealth, unlike many of the powerful catholics of the day. In fact he gave his money (and he inherited significant wealth) away. He started or created the order of Franscican Monks who wore simple robes and "Jesus sandals" in short, he was the real deal as far as living a humble charitable life goes!!
After Assissi we headed to the hereto unheralded village of Spello, recommended by our hosts - and it was sheer delight! A beautiful ancient preserved walled city with no vile tacky souvenir shops and being lived in and loved by the local residents. If you are in Umbria, make a point of visiting Spello,it's gorgeous.
We headed home to be spoilt first by a luxurious bath and then by an appetitivo served at 8pm from the masterful cellar of Stephano and then by another exemplary meal. Think, puff pastry casing of sweet red onions and mozzarella with a peccorino sauce, a pasta Ragu and pork medallions and a dolce too boot.
Words cannot describe how good this place is nor how good these people are at making you feel so welcome, so special and yet so at home. A unique and brilliant talent!
We may never leave!
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
Monday, 17 October 2011
Bye bye Benny, and onto Undulating Umbria
Dear Unctuous Umbrians,
Today we farewelled the lovely aged terrier of our agritorismo Benny, the shrewd schimmying character who would sidle up at the breakfast table in hope of a stray piece of cheese or ham from your plate. We took photos of him before we left and headed to Umbria, a mere two hours down the autostrada.
As we neared the place that our evil GPS said we were destined, we started to panic. If there was a Beirut end to Italy we seemed to be in it! It was god awful ugly and that's the nicest thing we could say about it. It looked like the Grollo Construction father and sons had built the entire building stock. In fact,it looked like their compound in down town Thornbury and trust me- that is NOT a pretty site - proving yet again money does not guarantee taste!
Fortunately, with only moments and kilometers to spare, we started to climb the hillside and climb we did. We ended up overlooking the entire valley of Umbria and our place is in the key position with it's horizon pool, front and centre! We had arrived in paradise having recently been in a parking lot ( "Melanie - circa 1970's)
This beautiful place was position atopnthe cliff overlooking the entire valley and our hosts Stephano and Pauola are just wonderful. More tomorrow folks but we are very happy and were upgraded to the mega suite to boot!!
Tres heavenly
Kelly &Siobhan
Today we farewelled the lovely aged terrier of our agritorismo Benny, the shrewd schimmying character who would sidle up at the breakfast table in hope of a stray piece of cheese or ham from your plate. We took photos of him before we left and headed to Umbria, a mere two hours down the autostrada.
As we neared the place that our evil GPS said we were destined, we started to panic. If there was a Beirut end to Italy we seemed to be in it! It was god awful ugly and that's the nicest thing we could say about it. It looked like the Grollo Construction father and sons had built the entire building stock. In fact,it looked like their compound in down town Thornbury and trust me- that is NOT a pretty site - proving yet again money does not guarantee taste!
Fortunately, with only moments and kilometers to spare, we started to climb the hillside and climb we did. We ended up overlooking the entire valley of Umbria and our place is in the key position with it's horizon pool, front and centre! We had arrived in paradise having recently been in a parking lot ( "Melanie - circa 1970's)
This beautiful place was position atopnthe cliff overlooking the entire valley and our hosts Stephano and Pauola are just wonderful. More tomorrow folks but we are very happy and were upgraded to the mega suite to boot!!
Tres heavenly
Kelly &Siobhan
Under (the influence) Too Much Tuscan Wine
Dear Wine Officianardos, (and people who like to bang on)
Today was our last day in beautiful Toscana. We decided to drive to two of the major townships that produce some notable wines. Montalcino makes the famous Brunello di Moltacino and Montepulciano makes the very good Nobile di Montipulciano. Each of these towns or villages is up around 2000 meters above sea level, which sadly, we didn't know til we got there and it was blowing a gale and the wind was icy. For those of the football bent, think Waverly Park circa late 1970's early 1980's. The wind cut right through us so naturally we took shelter in the largest Enoteca we could find and tasted all these lovely lovely reds- purely for medicinal purposes of course. These magic elixirs prevented, two potential cases of serious hyperthermia!!!!! - or is that hypothermia- I never know the difference. By the end of the tasting it didn't matter anyway.........
At Montalcino, we tasted a significant number of the Brunello and sincerely hope that we can find this at home but we doubt It given the prohibitive shipping costs and the small production numbers. We needed some lunch to absorb the wine so we headed to a nearby trattoria where Siobhan indulged her love of all things Mushroom(yuk) with a lasagna like dish but made with porcini mushrooms, a cheesy béchamel sauce with black truffle (double yuk). I opted for this amazing pizza of rocket, gorgonzola and proscuitto! Delicious.
From there we headed to the car and drove onto Montalpuciano, a good hour away, this was also a hill top town but also a walled village so had a lovely charm. We toured an ancient cellar and tried some of the local Nobile but it didn't grab us in the same way. From here we headed home for our last night at the Fattoria.
A new bunch of guests have arrived. One of the ladies reminds me of Lady Penelope from the puppet show"The Thunderbirds". So taut and stretched is the skin across her face that it has a permanent high gloss sheen and her cheekbones come through the door five minutes before the rest of her face does!!! She was organizing to do a "workout" with her sister the next morning and was very "up". Fortunately we were leaving the next morning otherwise one of us may have pushed her into a ravine!!! Don't know about you but I don't really equate a sojourn in Italy with boot camp training sessions, dietary restrictions and abstaining from alcohol- but call me self indulgent!!
We have enjoyed our stay in Tuscany very much. Staying at a agriturismo is a new experience for both of us and much depends on your ability to blend privacy with interaction with other guests. We met some brilliant people from Bath, Czeck Republic, New Jersey and Cairo who were so interesting that it added a whole new dimension to our trip.
We head to Umbria the next day and Dad still hasn't been operated on. They are waiting for the swelling and blisters to go down but he tells me he is comfortable. Margaret is bravely driving the streets of Thornbury to Heidelberg and both are making the most of a difficult situation. Dad's surgery is now scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday ( October 19 or 20). At this rate we may get home before he does!!!
Thunderbirds Are Go!!!!
Kelly & Siobhan
Sent from my iPad
Today was our last day in beautiful Toscana. We decided to drive to two of the major townships that produce some notable wines. Montalcino makes the famous Brunello di Moltacino and Montepulciano makes the very good Nobile di Montipulciano. Each of these towns or villages is up around 2000 meters above sea level, which sadly, we didn't know til we got there and it was blowing a gale and the wind was icy. For those of the football bent, think Waverly Park circa late 1970's early 1980's. The wind cut right through us so naturally we took shelter in the largest Enoteca we could find and tasted all these lovely lovely reds- purely for medicinal purposes of course. These magic elixirs prevented, two potential cases of serious hyperthermia!!!!! - or is that hypothermia- I never know the difference. By the end of the tasting it didn't matter anyway.........
At Montalcino, we tasted a significant number of the Brunello and sincerely hope that we can find this at home but we doubt It given the prohibitive shipping costs and the small production numbers. We needed some lunch to absorb the wine so we headed to a nearby trattoria where Siobhan indulged her love of all things Mushroom(yuk) with a lasagna like dish but made with porcini mushrooms, a cheesy béchamel sauce with black truffle (double yuk). I opted for this amazing pizza of rocket, gorgonzola and proscuitto! Delicious.
From there we headed to the car and drove onto Montalpuciano, a good hour away, this was also a hill top town but also a walled village so had a lovely charm. We toured an ancient cellar and tried some of the local Nobile but it didn't grab us in the same way. From here we headed home for our last night at the Fattoria.
A new bunch of guests have arrived. One of the ladies reminds me of Lady Penelope from the puppet show"The Thunderbirds". So taut and stretched is the skin across her face that it has a permanent high gloss sheen and her cheekbones come through the door five minutes before the rest of her face does!!! She was organizing to do a "workout" with her sister the next morning and was very "up". Fortunately we were leaving the next morning otherwise one of us may have pushed her into a ravine!!! Don't know about you but I don't really equate a sojourn in Italy with boot camp training sessions, dietary restrictions and abstaining from alcohol- but call me self indulgent!!
We have enjoyed our stay in Tuscany very much. Staying at a agriturismo is a new experience for both of us and much depends on your ability to blend privacy with interaction with other guests. We met some brilliant people from Bath, Czeck Republic, New Jersey and Cairo who were so interesting that it added a whole new dimension to our trip.
We head to Umbria the next day and Dad still hasn't been operated on. They are waiting for the swelling and blisters to go down but he tells me he is comfortable. Margaret is bravely driving the streets of Thornbury to Heidelberg and both are making the most of a difficult situation. Dad's surgery is now scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday ( October 19 or 20). At this rate we may get home before he does!!!
Thunderbirds Are Go!!!!
Kelly & Siobhan
Sent from my iPad
Friday, 14 October 2011
Chianti Classico, Super Tuscans and an Author named Dario
Dear Readers,
We have mentioned before that Italians don't tend to promote their wines through the more Australian accustomed channels of having a cellar door. Rather, if you have a particular interest in a wine then they regard it as a honor, that you would follow up specifically and make an appointment to view the winery and taste the wines.whilst this is a lovely idea, it precludes acts of random discovery and doesn't enable you to visit many places in a few days. Moreover, you need to have a reasonable knowledge of the wine otherwise, like anywhere, there are some great wineries and some less than great wineries.
Our host Edith recommended this winery called Dievole - very near to the township of Vagliagli, where we were the day before. It's a large concern now Swedish owned and brought in 1973 for a mere €10,000. in Chianti there is around 10,000 hectares under vine. This represents a mere 10% of the total chianti area which is predominately forest and is protected. Of this Dievole has about 1,000 hectares under wine. Dievole make a chianti "party wine" - an everyday drinking chianti that traditionally the farmers would consume daily with every meal. The second type of wine is what is called the Chianti Classico which is the regulated wine with DOCG status - a particular status afforded to a producer acknowledging that the wine is grown and made to a certain proscriptive standard of regulation. To be a legitimate Chianti Classico, it must be at least 85% sangiovese grape, the other percentage can be merlot, cabernet savignon, or franc or syrah but all must be grown locally. The third type of wine is a Super Tuscan, which enables the winemaker and the winery to move away from the strict regulations of the chianti Classico and make a blend that is just a nice wine. And it is seriously nice gear.
Our tour began with this local guy called Dario who is a little bit gorgeous and chronically cool. It is apparent very early on that all the girls at the winery are in love with Dario and we also think that perhaps Dario is a bit in love with Dario. He is medium height and is wearing calculating aged designer jeans, white t-shirt and a grey linen blazer. He has blue eyes and lond hair with a touch of grey that he wears longish and looks quite the arty author! As well as speaking great English, he also has a slight British accent as he was born in England and came to Italy when he was 9 years of age.
His tour of the winery is a combination of both the history of the chianti wine, the chianti region and the Dievole winery itself. We walk around the winery with our first tasting as he describes the reinvestment by the Swedish company in the abandoned chianti region and the embracing of the knowledge and abilities of the few local farmers who had remained in the region. They are celebrated on the labels of the party wines and throughout the winery photographically.
Our second wine was tasted in the ancient cellar and accompanied by a flavorsome proscuitto. Chianti Classico is something you drink with food as it's a strong robust wine that in Dario's words, closes the mouth. From there we head to another ancient cellar as this place is hundred of years old. Here we try their Supertuscan but this time with a wheel of aged peccorino cheese. As we taste we hear of the battles between Sienna and Florence for this territory and the famous people who have come from Chianti. Michaelangelo, a famous navigator bloke whose name escapes me but he has a bridge in New York named after him, Puccini, a prime minister who invented the Chianti standardization and the DOC system of regulation and finally, even though Leonardo di Vinci was born just 3 kms outside of the Chianti region, they claim him as a local boy as well.
For those of you old enough to remember, when chianti first made an appearance on tables world wide, it used to be in those bulbous round bottomed bottles with the wicker casing. Well guess who invented that casing? It was Leonardo di Vinci and it's called a fiasco!!!! The reason is that the bottles used to be mouth blown and so the bottoms were never entirely flat and didn't sit evenly on a table surface, so Leo at the age of 12 or thereabouts came up with the idea of a woven wicker casing to stablise the bottle ! A child protégé no less!! The fiasco is listed alongside his many other inventions!
We finished with a dessert wine called Vinetsia which was quite lovely and then headed to lunch and enjoyed three courses with another bottle of Chianti Classico. After this we headed home for a Nonna nap as we had to bat up for dinner at the Fattoria this evening. We had dinner with a lovely couple from New Jersey/Florida called Clarisse and Bob and two great guys from Prague who have travelled to some amazing places.
I spoke to Dad today and he had hoped to operated on but it looks like he will be operated now on Sunday. They recast his plaster cast which caused him some pain but he is more comfortable now but more than a little over it. I wish we could do something to help him but the Austin is a good place to be. Keep sending your good wishes into the universe for him and Margaret.
Here's to no more broken bones
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Sent from my iPad
We have mentioned before that Italians don't tend to promote their wines through the more Australian accustomed channels of having a cellar door. Rather, if you have a particular interest in a wine then they regard it as a honor, that you would follow up specifically and make an appointment to view the winery and taste the wines.whilst this is a lovely idea, it precludes acts of random discovery and doesn't enable you to visit many places in a few days. Moreover, you need to have a reasonable knowledge of the wine otherwise, like anywhere, there are some great wineries and some less than great wineries.
Our host Edith recommended this winery called Dievole - very near to the township of Vagliagli, where we were the day before. It's a large concern now Swedish owned and brought in 1973 for a mere €10,000. in Chianti there is around 10,000 hectares under vine. This represents a mere 10% of the total chianti area which is predominately forest and is protected. Of this Dievole has about 1,000 hectares under wine. Dievole make a chianti "party wine" - an everyday drinking chianti that traditionally the farmers would consume daily with every meal. The second type of wine is what is called the Chianti Classico which is the regulated wine with DOCG status - a particular status afforded to a producer acknowledging that the wine is grown and made to a certain proscriptive standard of regulation. To be a legitimate Chianti Classico, it must be at least 85% sangiovese grape, the other percentage can be merlot, cabernet savignon, or franc or syrah but all must be grown locally. The third type of wine is a Super Tuscan, which enables the winemaker and the winery to move away from the strict regulations of the chianti Classico and make a blend that is just a nice wine. And it is seriously nice gear.
Our tour began with this local guy called Dario who is a little bit gorgeous and chronically cool. It is apparent very early on that all the girls at the winery are in love with Dario and we also think that perhaps Dario is a bit in love with Dario. He is medium height and is wearing calculating aged designer jeans, white t-shirt and a grey linen blazer. He has blue eyes and lond hair with a touch of grey that he wears longish and looks quite the arty author! As well as speaking great English, he also has a slight British accent as he was born in England and came to Italy when he was 9 years of age.
His tour of the winery is a combination of both the history of the chianti wine, the chianti region and the Dievole winery itself. We walk around the winery with our first tasting as he describes the reinvestment by the Swedish company in the abandoned chianti region and the embracing of the knowledge and abilities of the few local farmers who had remained in the region. They are celebrated on the labels of the party wines and throughout the winery photographically.
Our second wine was tasted in the ancient cellar and accompanied by a flavorsome proscuitto. Chianti Classico is something you drink with food as it's a strong robust wine that in Dario's words, closes the mouth. From there we head to another ancient cellar as this place is hundred of years old. Here we try their Supertuscan but this time with a wheel of aged peccorino cheese. As we taste we hear of the battles between Sienna and Florence for this territory and the famous people who have come from Chianti. Michaelangelo, a famous navigator bloke whose name escapes me but he has a bridge in New York named after him, Puccini, a prime minister who invented the Chianti standardization and the DOC system of regulation and finally, even though Leonardo di Vinci was born just 3 kms outside of the Chianti region, they claim him as a local boy as well.
For those of you old enough to remember, when chianti first made an appearance on tables world wide, it used to be in those bulbous round bottomed bottles with the wicker casing. Well guess who invented that casing? It was Leonardo di Vinci and it's called a fiasco!!!! The reason is that the bottles used to be mouth blown and so the bottoms were never entirely flat and didn't sit evenly on a table surface, so Leo at the age of 12 or thereabouts came up with the idea of a woven wicker casing to stablise the bottle ! A child protégé no less!! The fiasco is listed alongside his many other inventions!
We finished with a dessert wine called Vinetsia which was quite lovely and then headed to lunch and enjoyed three courses with another bottle of Chianti Classico. After this we headed home for a Nonna nap as we had to bat up for dinner at the Fattoria this evening. We had dinner with a lovely couple from New Jersey/Florida called Clarisse and Bob and two great guys from Prague who have travelled to some amazing places.
I spoke to Dad today and he had hoped to operated on but it looks like he will be operated now on Sunday. They recast his plaster cast which caused him some pain but he is more comfortable now but more than a little over it. I wish we could do something to help him but the Austin is a good place to be. Keep sending your good wishes into the universe for him and Margaret.
Here's to no more broken bones
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Sent from my iPad
Broccoli and Cheese- who would have thought...........
Dear Village People,
After our long drive surviving the Italian Autostradas yesterday we decided to stay close and play inside the chianti region. So we headed to a small township called Vagliagi which is seven kilometers away down a dirt track.
First up we passed some Etruscan tombs. Etruscans first settled in the Tuscany region even before the Romans did coming from the middle east. Throughout Tuscany you can see evidence of their settlement in building and tombs that remain today.
After a quick look at some old stones.......I am no archaeologist, we headed to Vagliagli, which means valley of garlic, no longer grown here, as the only thing they grow here is grapes for chianti!! About two thirds of the way there we find the road closed so we had to deter done another dirt track. Fortunately all is well and we arrive stour destination. It's a quaint lovely tiny tiny town with just two restaurants. Fortunately one is open and we have a beautiful lunch of home made pasta with Ragu for me and Pici (fat pasta noodles) with sausage and mushroom for Siobhan. Then as we we still hungry - driving 7 kilometers will do that to you, we asked for more and they brought out this grilled cheese from Piedmonte, like a sharper Brie in taste but similar in texture with grill marks and the best tasting broccoli ever!! Eaten together with some bread, it was exquisite. The broccoli had been steamed, then lightly pan fried with oil and salt. It was crunchy and incredibly tasty. Who would have thought it?
Then of courser, we needed dolce, as one does, so we opted to share a layered dessert of chocolate mousse, a rich vanilla custard with some sponge soaked at the base in yet more alcohol- a beautiful chocolatey trifle - molto bene!! Our hosts were the lovely Salvatore and Laura from Naples and Milan who had moved to Vagliagli to setup their restaurant and we were very glad they had.
We didn't need to eat that evening so played cards and enjoyed a leisurely time till bedtime.
Sleep tight and remember to eat all your veggies.
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
After our long drive surviving the Italian Autostradas yesterday we decided to stay close and play inside the chianti region. So we headed to a small township called Vagliagi which is seven kilometers away down a dirt track.
First up we passed some Etruscan tombs. Etruscans first settled in the Tuscany region even before the Romans did coming from the middle east. Throughout Tuscany you can see evidence of their settlement in building and tombs that remain today.
After a quick look at some old stones.......I am no archaeologist, we headed to Vagliagli, which means valley of garlic, no longer grown here, as the only thing they grow here is grapes for chianti!! About two thirds of the way there we find the road closed so we had to deter done another dirt track. Fortunately all is well and we arrive stour destination. It's a quaint lovely tiny tiny town with just two restaurants. Fortunately one is open and we have a beautiful lunch of home made pasta with Ragu for me and Pici (fat pasta noodles) with sausage and mushroom for Siobhan. Then as we we still hungry - driving 7 kilometers will do that to you, we asked for more and they brought out this grilled cheese from Piedmonte, like a sharper Brie in taste but similar in texture with grill marks and the best tasting broccoli ever!! Eaten together with some bread, it was exquisite. The broccoli had been steamed, then lightly pan fried with oil and salt. It was crunchy and incredibly tasty. Who would have thought it?
Then of courser, we needed dolce, as one does, so we opted to share a layered dessert of chocolate mousse, a rich vanilla custard with some sponge soaked at the base in yet more alcohol- a beautiful chocolatey trifle - molto bene!! Our hosts were the lovely Salvatore and Laura from Naples and Milan who had moved to Vagliagli to setup their restaurant and we were very glad they had.
We didn't need to eat that evening so played cards and enjoyed a leisurely time till bedtime.
Sleep tight and remember to eat all your veggies.
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Lovely Lucca, Designer Bargains & a Well Behaved GPS
Dear Luccan Lovees,
We were on a roll and so confident were we that we were prepared to tackled the two hour drive to Lucca. Now you may think, well, they have hired the car, what choice do they have. But it is quite scary. Italians drive like lunatics. The main autostradas are chock a block full of trucks and it takes a bit of bravado to think you can join in this throng. But you do because you need a car to get around here.
Well, our evil monster GPS decided to play nicely today and we got to Lucca sans difficulty. Got a park and went inside. Lucca is surrounded by walls 12 meters high and four kilometers long. At the top of these brick wall is a wide boulevard thatcirculates the wholecity where nowadays people walk, bike or inline skate around the top of the city but in the olden days, soldiers would patrol the walkway for enemies seeking to invade the city.
We commenced meandering and put simply, we just loved Lucca.it has the charm of Florence but without the crowds, it has real people living there and going about their business in the most unique setting that is incomprehensible to a native of a country just a few hundred years of age. People riding bikes everywhere as only local transport carriers are allowed, doggies on leashes and a wonderful age diversity. Just terrific.
We found a beautifully decorated shop that had patisseries and coffee to die for, beautiful
tiled floors and mirrors and brass in abundance. We enjoyed a coffee and pastry at the bar like a local and just revelled in the place.
Then we found the outlet shop...............
Boots, jackets, pants and jumpers. We put a permanent dint in the credit card but hey, how often does one get to buy current fashion from a medieval village, I ask you?
Then we discovered "Smith Street, Lucca - a vibey alternative cool little street with good music, alternative cool looking waitresses with serious ink and great great food. It was here that I discovered Dad had fallen off the ladder at our place putting the finishing touches to the pergola he had decided to rebuild for us and is now in the Austin Hospital with a seriously bad break of his leg that will no doubt end his promising AFL career as a a rookie on the draft for 2012. He is awaiting surgery and if you can send your good wishes into the cosmos for him, I would be most grateful.
Margaret is holding up well and is keeping us posted. You feel pretty useless this far away.
We headed home after a lovely lunch at Lucca and with no diversions so the evil machine thingy was genuinely being nice to us to day.
Lookout for bargains and wobbly ladders people!
Kelly & Siobhan
We were on a roll and so confident were we that we were prepared to tackled the two hour drive to Lucca. Now you may think, well, they have hired the car, what choice do they have. But it is quite scary. Italians drive like lunatics. The main autostradas are chock a block full of trucks and it takes a bit of bravado to think you can join in this throng. But you do because you need a car to get around here.
Well, our evil monster GPS decided to play nicely today and we got to Lucca sans difficulty. Got a park and went inside. Lucca is surrounded by walls 12 meters high and four kilometers long. At the top of these brick wall is a wide boulevard thatcirculates the wholecity where nowadays people walk, bike or inline skate around the top of the city but in the olden days, soldiers would patrol the walkway for enemies seeking to invade the city.
We commenced meandering and put simply, we just loved Lucca.it has the charm of Florence but without the crowds, it has real people living there and going about their business in the most unique setting that is incomprehensible to a native of a country just a few hundred years of age. People riding bikes everywhere as only local transport carriers are allowed, doggies on leashes and a wonderful age diversity. Just terrific.
We found a beautifully decorated shop that had patisseries and coffee to die for, beautiful
tiled floors and mirrors and brass in abundance. We enjoyed a coffee and pastry at the bar like a local and just revelled in the place.
Then we found the outlet shop...............
Boots, jackets, pants and jumpers. We put a permanent dint in the credit card but hey, how often does one get to buy current fashion from a medieval village, I ask you?
Then we discovered "Smith Street, Lucca - a vibey alternative cool little street with good music, alternative cool looking waitresses with serious ink and great great food. It was here that I discovered Dad had fallen off the ladder at our place putting the finishing touches to the pergola he had decided to rebuild for us and is now in the Austin Hospital with a seriously bad break of his leg that will no doubt end his promising AFL career as a a rookie on the draft for 2012. He is awaiting surgery and if you can send your good wishes into the cosmos for him, I would be most grateful.
Margaret is holding up well and is keeping us posted. You feel pretty useless this far away.
We headed home after a lovely lunch at Lucca and with no diversions so the evil machine thingy was genuinely being nice to us to day.
Lookout for bargains and wobbly ladders people!
Kelly & Siobhan
A Medieval Manhattan and a Wine Experience to Die for!!!
Dear San Gimmies,
St Christopher, the patron saint of Travellers, must have been looking out for us as we made a reasonable recovery to head to San Gimignano (San gimmin-yanno phonetically) next day. While still snotty and sore throatish, we decided to drive the 35 mins to see this extremely well preserved medieval town.San Gimignano is referred to as the "Medieval Manhattan". Within it's amazing walls remain 14 of the original 72 Towers that were built as a status symbol by the important families that lived there remain and it creates an impressive skyline indeed.
What a lovely place when it first comes into view,high upon a cliff top and you understand why these folk built such impressive fortresses in the locations they did. You would see an enemy coming for miles and miles around. We had been told by fellow guests how difficult it was to get parking outside the city walls as SG had been the first city to ban motor vehicle traffic from it's centre. But we lucked it without problem at all and saw no tour buses whatsoever throughout the day.
We wandered around and fell upon Sandi's recommendation of the WORLD'S BEST GELATO. And it was. We had two scoops each of some amazing gelato but decided against the Gorgonzola gelato or the Prosecco with ameretto flavors and went for raspberry and pistacchio di bronte - brilliant! Thanks Sandi!
Siobhan had had a coffee earlier in a cute but unusual bar that had disturbing calendars of naked women which is something you don't see every day in downtown catholic tourist land, we would have to admit!! Still, the coffee was great.
We had great lunch of; translation- chicken under a brick- a crispy skin quarter of chicken with herbs and spices the colonel would have never thought to use,whilst Siobhan had a slow cooked braised Tuscan Beef with porcini mushrooms and chianti which was gone in 0.5 seconds flat. Accompanied by a stellar wine - life was good.
We wandered some more through the streets and alleyways and came across a brilliant place called Il Cantina Convento- an Enoteca in the old convent where you can taste local and neighboring wines using a wine card that you purchase, and say you put 20€ on the card, you then place your glass under the bottle of your choice, it has a nominal tasting fee, you get about 30ml and you try what you like. Anything you don't spend, gets refunded at the end of the tasting. Siobhan didn't have any to refund - she needed to top up her card!!
The lovely fellow that ran this establishment was called Lorenzo. And before we started "officially" tasting he gave us some freetastings of his own wines as well. Siobhan then proceeded to work her way through three whites and five reds. Her faves were the Brunello and also what is called a Super Tuscan which retails for a lazy 88€ !!!! The good stuff is seriously good and the affordable gears just great value.
If that wasn't enough, we also tasted some of the most beautiful aged balsamic vinegars with cheeses and some dessert wine that we simply had to purchase!!! We also had to buy some paste that you serve with cheese that, like quince paste, but is made with chianti, Brunello, and Vernaccia grapes, so looking forward to serving that up with our cheese platters this summer.
Lorenzo is the most knowledgable and delightful man so if you find yourself in San Gimmy - please seek him out. He is just so lovely!!!! We brought our platter of goodies from a local salumni Alimentari in San Gimmy and with a crisp bottle of white settled in back at our agritorismo for an early night.
A great day out.
Salute Friends
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
St Christopher, the patron saint of Travellers, must have been looking out for us as we made a reasonable recovery to head to San Gimignano (San gimmin-yanno phonetically) next day. While still snotty and sore throatish, we decided to drive the 35 mins to see this extremely well preserved medieval town.San Gimignano is referred to as the "Medieval Manhattan". Within it's amazing walls remain 14 of the original 72 Towers that were built as a status symbol by the important families that lived there remain and it creates an impressive skyline indeed.
What a lovely place when it first comes into view,high upon a cliff top and you understand why these folk built such impressive fortresses in the locations they did. You would see an enemy coming for miles and miles around. We had been told by fellow guests how difficult it was to get parking outside the city walls as SG had been the first city to ban motor vehicle traffic from it's centre. But we lucked it without problem at all and saw no tour buses whatsoever throughout the day.
We wandered around and fell upon Sandi's recommendation of the WORLD'S BEST GELATO. And it was. We had two scoops each of some amazing gelato but decided against the Gorgonzola gelato or the Prosecco with ameretto flavors and went for raspberry and pistacchio di bronte - brilliant! Thanks Sandi!
Siobhan had had a coffee earlier in a cute but unusual bar that had disturbing calendars of naked women which is something you don't see every day in downtown catholic tourist land, we would have to admit!! Still, the coffee was great.
We had great lunch of; translation- chicken under a brick- a crispy skin quarter of chicken with herbs and spices the colonel would have never thought to use,whilst Siobhan had a slow cooked braised Tuscan Beef with porcini mushrooms and chianti which was gone in 0.5 seconds flat. Accompanied by a stellar wine - life was good.
We wandered some more through the streets and alleyways and came across a brilliant place called Il Cantina Convento- an Enoteca in the old convent where you can taste local and neighboring wines using a wine card that you purchase, and say you put 20€ on the card, you then place your glass under the bottle of your choice, it has a nominal tasting fee, you get about 30ml and you try what you like. Anything you don't spend, gets refunded at the end of the tasting. Siobhan didn't have any to refund - she needed to top up her card!!
The lovely fellow that ran this establishment was called Lorenzo. And before we started "officially" tasting he gave us some freetastings of his own wines as well. Siobhan then proceeded to work her way through three whites and five reds. Her faves were the Brunello and also what is called a Super Tuscan which retails for a lazy 88€ !!!! The good stuff is seriously good and the affordable gears just great value.
If that wasn't enough, we also tasted some of the most beautiful aged balsamic vinegars with cheeses and some dessert wine that we simply had to purchase!!! We also had to buy some paste that you serve with cheese that, like quince paste, but is made with chianti, Brunello, and Vernaccia grapes, so looking forward to serving that up with our cheese platters this summer.
Lorenzo is the most knowledgable and delightful man so if you find yourself in San Gimmy - please seek him out. He is just so lovely!!!! We brought our platter of goodies from a local salumni Alimentari in San Gimmy and with a crisp bottle of white settled in back at our agritorismo for an early night.
A great day out.
Salute Friends
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
Germapalooza!!
Dear Immuno- Compromised Bacteria Bodies,
We are sick and in bed with colds.
The End. Atchoo.
Kelly & Siobhan
We are sick and in bed with colds.
The End. Atchoo.
Kelly & Siobhan
Finding and Losing One's Bearings and Cooking Class No2
Dear Galavanters,
We decided just to drive around the Chianti area and have a look at the small towns and villages between the hectares and hectares of vineyards and olive groves. Wine tasting in Tuscany (and presumably in other regions of Italy) is not the same as in Australia. Because there are so many small producers and often these are a family concern, they are often working at various aspects of wine production and therefore tend not to have cellar door arrangements. This means that tours and tastings need to be pre-organized. The big ones have cellar door sales but these are the same wines you can get at home anyway. Rather, each of the towns have at least one, if not more, amazing Enotecas that showcase all the local wines and other excellent Italian wines. Here you can taste the range of wines readily and easily and from here follow up with a visit to one or more of the wineries that particularly grabbed your fancy.
We scooted between towns and then got horribly lost so we put the patronizing GPS back on and I could almost here it snickering at me. Italy is a place of incredible contrasts. The ancient and historic towns are simply beautiful not only in their history but in their design as well. Modern towns of Italy demonstrate a total lack of grace, style, or elegance. And a total absence of town planning principles. The modern towns and the suburbs that surround the Centro historico areas are ugly. You can see where the double story brick veneer of Melbourne's Italian populated suburbs, with their concreted front gardens and hideously decorated front fences and patios, have their genisis.
The major road -the A1 is the major road from Milan through to Rome with a sidebar to Florence. These major autostradas are like a huge scar that run through the vastly agrarian countryside of Italy. Where we are in Tuscany is incredibly rural. Rome is a few hours away, Florence an hour and Bologna is just under two hours away - and we are in central Tuscany in Chianti!!!! The Italians, like us, are predominately grouped in or around the major major cities, with very small village or town populations, concentrated and based around the very local industry that has developed through the years of family working and growing either a food or wine stuff, a marble or terra-cotta business or in the case of the coast - a fishing business.
We headed back and Siobhan hit the hay because the cold finally laid her out. I went to a cooking class that our host Edith ran for those interested guests staying at the Fattoria.
We started by making Focchaccia - surprisingly simple and then also made some home made egg based pasta, a ricotta, lemon and rum baked cheesecake, a peccorino and pepper sauce for the pasta and also some zucchini and onion souffles for the entree. Very easy and very tasty so will be able to replicate this all at home.
After enjoying the fruits of my labors, I headed to bed knowing that I was to fall victim to the same cold as Siobhan and was likely to need a day in bed.
Wishing you clear sinuses!!
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
We decided just to drive around the Chianti area and have a look at the small towns and villages between the hectares and hectares of vineyards and olive groves. Wine tasting in Tuscany (and presumably in other regions of Italy) is not the same as in Australia. Because there are so many small producers and often these are a family concern, they are often working at various aspects of wine production and therefore tend not to have cellar door arrangements. This means that tours and tastings need to be pre-organized. The big ones have cellar door sales but these are the same wines you can get at home anyway. Rather, each of the towns have at least one, if not more, amazing Enotecas that showcase all the local wines and other excellent Italian wines. Here you can taste the range of wines readily and easily and from here follow up with a visit to one or more of the wineries that particularly grabbed your fancy.
We scooted between towns and then got horribly lost so we put the patronizing GPS back on and I could almost here it snickering at me. Italy is a place of incredible contrasts. The ancient and historic towns are simply beautiful not only in their history but in their design as well. Modern towns of Italy demonstrate a total lack of grace, style, or elegance. And a total absence of town planning principles. The modern towns and the suburbs that surround the Centro historico areas are ugly. You can see where the double story brick veneer of Melbourne's Italian populated suburbs, with their concreted front gardens and hideously decorated front fences and patios, have their genisis.
The major road -the A1 is the major road from Milan through to Rome with a sidebar to Florence. These major autostradas are like a huge scar that run through the vastly agrarian countryside of Italy. Where we are in Tuscany is incredibly rural. Rome is a few hours away, Florence an hour and Bologna is just under two hours away - and we are in central Tuscany in Chianti!!!! The Italians, like us, are predominately grouped in or around the major major cities, with very small village or town populations, concentrated and based around the very local industry that has developed through the years of family working and growing either a food or wine stuff, a marble or terra-cotta business or in the case of the coast - a fishing business.
We headed back and Siobhan hit the hay because the cold finally laid her out. I went to a cooking class that our host Edith ran for those interested guests staying at the Fattoria.
We started by making Focchaccia - surprisingly simple and then also made some home made egg based pasta, a ricotta, lemon and rum baked cheesecake, a peccorino and pepper sauce for the pasta and also some zucchini and onion souffles for the entree. Very easy and very tasty so will be able to replicate this all at home.
After enjoying the fruits of my labors, I headed to bed knowing that I was to fall victim to the same cold as Siobhan and was likely to need a day in bed.
Wishing you clear sinuses!!
Kelly & Siobhan
Xxx
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Aargh Siena!
Dear Medieval Funsters,
Siobhan has been carrying a cold since leaving Venice but has gallantly soldiered on and I start to weaken but we head to Sienna - an incredibly preserved Medieval town, about 45 minutes away. Lots of people have raved about Sienna so we were rather excited.
At the risk of giving offense, we would have to say we found it extremely underwhelming. It was not overrun by tourists so that was a great bonus, but it had no vibe or atmosphere to it - kind of like the Docklands!!!! It felt like you were wandering through a stage or film set with no genuine evidence of real people living their daily lives there.
The Duomo or Cathedral is a genuine sight to behold. Inside is this amazing marble floor and black and white striped marble pillars so the effect is quite extraordinary. That is certainly worth seeing. The other thing well worth doing is to climb this tower attached to the Museum and it affords you great panoramic views of Siena. We were fortunate enough to go on a not too busy day but also during lunch time when many abandon sightseeing in search of food so we only had a short wait and we climbed the many many stairs to the top! By the time we came back down the queue in place was at least a two hour wait to get to the top. Timing is everything!
We headed to lunch after some wandering around and went to a place recommended by the usually very reliable Lonely Planet - well this has either had a change of management since publication or the usual chef was off this particular day because it was so ordinary. To make matters worse we had our first rubbish wine since arriving on Italian soil- bloody ghastly and too think this was in Tuscany which prides itself on being a food and wine Mecca was most unfortunate.
We mooched around abit more but the sense of being underwhelmed by Siena remained. We got some supplies of ham, sundried tomatoes, pesto, bread and cheese and settled in for a simple platter and some bloody good vino we brought at a nearby Enoteca. We met a lovely British couple who had just arrived, on their honeymoon no less! It was great to be able to have a joke and a laugh without the need for interpretation or awkward pauses while the penny drops. Sometimes the divide between the Australian and the American sense of humor is too simply too broad a gap!
Good eating and drinking Folks
Siobhan & Kelly
Siobhan has been carrying a cold since leaving Venice but has gallantly soldiered on and I start to weaken but we head to Sienna - an incredibly preserved Medieval town, about 45 minutes away. Lots of people have raved about Sienna so we were rather excited.
At the risk of giving offense, we would have to say we found it extremely underwhelming. It was not overrun by tourists so that was a great bonus, but it had no vibe or atmosphere to it - kind of like the Docklands!!!! It felt like you were wandering through a stage or film set with no genuine evidence of real people living their daily lives there.
The Duomo or Cathedral is a genuine sight to behold. Inside is this amazing marble floor and black and white striped marble pillars so the effect is quite extraordinary. That is certainly worth seeing. The other thing well worth doing is to climb this tower attached to the Museum and it affords you great panoramic views of Siena. We were fortunate enough to go on a not too busy day but also during lunch time when many abandon sightseeing in search of food so we only had a short wait and we climbed the many many stairs to the top! By the time we came back down the queue in place was at least a two hour wait to get to the top. Timing is everything!
We headed to lunch after some wandering around and went to a place recommended by the usually very reliable Lonely Planet - well this has either had a change of management since publication or the usual chef was off this particular day because it was so ordinary. To make matters worse we had our first rubbish wine since arriving on Italian soil- bloody ghastly and too think this was in Tuscany which prides itself on being a food and wine Mecca was most unfortunate.
We mooched around abit more but the sense of being underwhelmed by Siena remained. We got some supplies of ham, sundried tomatoes, pesto, bread and cheese and settled in for a simple platter and some bloody good vino we brought at a nearby Enoteca. We met a lovely British couple who had just arrived, on their honeymoon no less! It was great to be able to have a joke and a laugh without the need for interpretation or awkward pauses while the penny drops. Sometimes the divide between the Australian and the American sense of humor is too simply too broad a gap!
Good eating and drinking Folks
Siobhan & Kelly
Our first Rain, Italian Outlets and Dinner with Guests
Dear Discount Shoppers,
You wouldn't credit it but our first day in Tuscany turns awful and it's dark, gloomy and threatening rain. Mind you, we really can't complain, this is our first mildly cold day. Our rainy day at Cinque Terra was extremely warm - almost tropical, so doesn't really count.
So we decided we better hit the shopping outlets about 30 mins out of Florence and just under an hour for us. Went to the first one but it was ridiculous! Dior, Gucch, Versace, the usual suspects and all pretty bloody horrible. They soooooo love bling here, it's on everything, even the car parts! The only decent stuff was Prada (darling) and some Armani - but you did have to be anorexic to fit into any of it!!!
So we headed to the next one- much better and they had great Bruno Maglio shoes - very nice and some great clothing shops with clothes that one could reasonably wear and not get arrested for being either a)a hooker or b) a drag queen or c) a WAG on Brownlow night.
Can someone in Melbourne do a search for me and see whether Bose has released a portable sound system no bigger that 30 cms long that wirelessly tunes into any Bluetooth phone, iPad, computer etc and plays the music contained on it. It's for sale here for 300€ and we can't find it in Melb to do a cost comparison! Can you let me know if you find it and if so for how much? We will be going back there to check out the bargains !!!!
We headed home for dinner with the other guests. A couple of Aussies, an English couple and us. We get back to find an American couple have just arrived - proves to be an interesting addition to the mix. They are allergic to everything diary and I have developed an immediate anaphylactic reaction to the bloke- this may get awkward. Dinner was lovely. Heading to Sienna tomorrow!
Ciao ciao
Kelly & Siobhan
You wouldn't credit it but our first day in Tuscany turns awful and it's dark, gloomy and threatening rain. Mind you, we really can't complain, this is our first mildly cold day. Our rainy day at Cinque Terra was extremely warm - almost tropical, so doesn't really count.
So we decided we better hit the shopping outlets about 30 mins out of Florence and just under an hour for us. Went to the first one but it was ridiculous! Dior, Gucch, Versace, the usual suspects and all pretty bloody horrible. They soooooo love bling here, it's on everything, even the car parts! The only decent stuff was Prada (darling) and some Armani - but you did have to be anorexic to fit into any of it!!!
So we headed to the next one- much better and they had great Bruno Maglio shoes - very nice and some great clothing shops with clothes that one could reasonably wear and not get arrested for being either a)a hooker or b) a drag queen or c) a WAG on Brownlow night.
Can someone in Melbourne do a search for me and see whether Bose has released a portable sound system no bigger that 30 cms long that wirelessly tunes into any Bluetooth phone, iPad, computer etc and plays the music contained on it. It's for sale here for 300€ and we can't find it in Melb to do a cost comparison! Can you let me know if you find it and if so for how much? We will be going back there to check out the bargains !!!!
We headed home for dinner with the other guests. A couple of Aussies, an English couple and us. We get back to find an American couple have just arrived - proves to be an interesting addition to the mix. They are allergic to everything diary and I have developed an immediate anaphylactic reaction to the bloke- this may get awkward. Dinner was lovely. Heading to Sienna tomorrow!
Ciao ciao
Kelly & Siobhan
A Patronising GPS, a Frances Meyers Moment and Bambi to boot!!!!
Dear Motor Enthusiasts,
Taxied to the Verona Airport to collect a Hertz car for our two weeks roaming in Tuscany and Umbria. Got the insurance, got the satnav, so all good to go. Got a car marginally bigger than the charm bracelet sized smart car - Ford Fiesta auto with four doors. After the smartcar it felt like the size of a Hummer!
From Verona to Tuscany where we were staying was ostensibly a near straight line south- not according to this american accented "NeverLost" GPS gadget that we had on board. It took us over an hour to leave the outskirts of Verona because we took this stupid instrument at it's badly pronunciated word and it kept misdirecting us through first or third or fourth exits of roundabouts when they didn't exist!!! It would then in an entirely patronizing evil manner then say it was recalculating (presumably because of our alleged inability to follow straightforward directions no doubt) and would set us on a path in what was finally the right direction. I was ready to recalculate it right out the window!!!!
We got here with little drama but we can attest totally that the drivers in Toscana region drive just as insanely as they do elsewhere in this country. The most redundant piece of equipment on an Italian car is the indicator. You can tell tourists here as they are the only bunnies using theirs.
We arrived at our destination which is Fattoria Tregole just outside of Castellina in Chianti, part of the Tuscany region where their particular specialty for this 50 kilometer radius is Chianti Classico. Adjoining areas produce other specific wines such as Brunello Moltaciano (our particular favorite) - all you red lovers will die when you taste it - it is heaven, and other types include Venaccia, and Nobile Moltapulciano.
The landscape surrounding our Fattoria (a medium sized farm with houses for both owners and workers on the property), is everything you imagine Tuscany to be. Rolling hills bathed in a golden light, vineyards everywhere and the ubiquitous cypress trees. Beautiful old stone homesteads and farm buildings are ideally located atop a gentle hill blessed with panoramic vistas from every angle. It's quite quite beautiful. We can see why that Under The Tuscan Sun, chick was besotted enough to stay!
We met our lovely host Edith and her gorgeous Jack Russell Benny, settled into our room and on the terrace enjoyed our first bottle of Chianti Classico! Molto bene! We headed to a local Oristoria ( a casual eating place) and had a beautiful beef fillet served on a hot rock with roasted potatoes with rosemary and a side salad. It was Delish.
When arriving at said restaurant a mere two kilometers up the road, we were welcomed to the neighborhood by a couple of members of the local wildlife. Two deers decided to bound out on the road to welcome us to Tuscany. Fortunately this little black duck had abstained from drinking over dinner to keep her wits about her but we didn't meet any more locals on the way home thank goodness.
Driving in Italy, alongside Italians, whilst on the "wrong" side of the road is hard enough without having to deal with Bambi and her mates!!!
Salute "Deer" Friends.
Kelly & Siobhan
Sent from my iPad
Taxied to the Verona Airport to collect a Hertz car for our two weeks roaming in Tuscany and Umbria. Got the insurance, got the satnav, so all good to go. Got a car marginally bigger than the charm bracelet sized smart car - Ford Fiesta auto with four doors. After the smartcar it felt like the size of a Hummer!
From Verona to Tuscany where we were staying was ostensibly a near straight line south- not according to this american accented "NeverLost" GPS gadget that we had on board. It took us over an hour to leave the outskirts of Verona because we took this stupid instrument at it's badly pronunciated word and it kept misdirecting us through first or third or fourth exits of roundabouts when they didn't exist!!! It would then in an entirely patronizing evil manner then say it was recalculating (presumably because of our alleged inability to follow straightforward directions no doubt) and would set us on a path in what was finally the right direction. I was ready to recalculate it right out the window!!!!
We got here with little drama but we can attest totally that the drivers in Toscana region drive just as insanely as they do elsewhere in this country. The most redundant piece of equipment on an Italian car is the indicator. You can tell tourists here as they are the only bunnies using theirs.
We arrived at our destination which is Fattoria Tregole just outside of Castellina in Chianti, part of the Tuscany region where their particular specialty for this 50 kilometer radius is Chianti Classico. Adjoining areas produce other specific wines such as Brunello Moltaciano (our particular favorite) - all you red lovers will die when you taste it - it is heaven, and other types include Venaccia, and Nobile Moltapulciano.
The landscape surrounding our Fattoria (a medium sized farm with houses for both owners and workers on the property), is everything you imagine Tuscany to be. Rolling hills bathed in a golden light, vineyards everywhere and the ubiquitous cypress trees. Beautiful old stone homesteads and farm buildings are ideally located atop a gentle hill blessed with panoramic vistas from every angle. It's quite quite beautiful. We can see why that Under The Tuscan Sun, chick was besotted enough to stay!
We met our lovely host Edith and her gorgeous Jack Russell Benny, settled into our room and on the terrace enjoyed our first bottle of Chianti Classico! Molto bene! We headed to a local Oristoria ( a casual eating place) and had a beautiful beef fillet served on a hot rock with roasted potatoes with rosemary and a side salad. It was Delish.
When arriving at said restaurant a mere two kilometers up the road, we were welcomed to the neighborhood by a couple of members of the local wildlife. Two deers decided to bound out on the road to welcome us to Tuscany. Fortunately this little black duck had abstained from drinking over dinner to keep her wits about her but we didn't meet any more locals on the way home thank goodness.
Driving in Italy, alongside Italians, whilst on the "wrong" side of the road is hard enough without having to deal with Bambi and her mates!!!
Salute "Deer" Friends.
Kelly & Siobhan
Sent from my iPad
Dear Motor Enthusiasts,
Taxied to the Verona Airport to collect a Hertz car for our two weeks roaming in Tuscany and Umbria. Got the insurance, got the satnav, so all good to go. Got a car marginally bigger than the charm bracelet sized smart car - Ford Fiesta auto with four doors. After the smartcar it felt like the size of a Hummer!
From Verona to Tuscany where we were staying was ostensibly a near straight line south- not according to this american accented "NeverLost" GPS gadget that we had on board. It took us over an hour to leave the outskirts of Verona because we took this stupid instrument at it's badly pronunciated word and it kept misdirecting us through first or third or fourth exits of roundabouts when they didn't exist!!! It would then in an entirely patronizing evil manner then say it was recalculating (presumably because of our alleged inability to follow straightforward directions no doubt) and would set us on a path in what was finally the right direction. I was ready to recalculate it right out the window!!!!
We got here with little drama but we can attest totally that the drivers in Toscana region drive just as insanely as they do elsewhere in this country. The most redundant piece of equipment on an Italian car is the indicator. You can tell tourists here as they are the only bunnies using theirs.
We arrived at our destination which is Fattoria Tregole just outside of Castellina in Chianti, part of the Tuscany region where their particular specialty for this 50 kilometer radius is Chianti Classico. Adjoining areas produce other specific wines such as Brunello Moltaciano (our particular favorite) - all you red lovers will die when you taste it - it heaven, Venaccia, and Nobile Moltapulciano.
The landscape surrounding our Fattoria (a medium sized farm with houses for both owners and workers on the property), is everything you imagine Tuscany to be. Rolling hills bathed in a golden light, vineyards everywhere and the ubiquitous cypress trees. Beautiful old stone homesteads and farm buildings are ideally located atop a gentle hill blessed with panoramic vistas from every angle. It's quite quite beautiful.
We met our lovely host Edith and her gorgeous Jack Russell Benny, settled into our room and on the terrace enjoyed our first bottle of Chianti Classico! Molto bene! We headed to a local Oristoria ( a casual eating place) and had a beautiful beef fillet served on a hot rock with roasted potatoes with rosemary and a side salad. It was Delish.
When arriving at said restaurant a mere two kilometers up the road, we were welcomed to the neighborhood by a couple of members of the local wildlife. Two deers decided to bound out on the road to welcome us to Tuscany. Fortunately this little black duck had abstained from drinking over dinner to keep her wits about her but we didn't meet any more locals on the way home thank goodness.
Driving in Italy, alongside Italians, whilst on the "wrong" side of the road is hard enough without having to deal with Bambi and her mates!!!
Salute "Deer" Friends.
Kelly & Siobhan
Sent from my iPad
Taxied to the Verona Airport to collect a Hertz car for our two weeks roaming in Tuscany and Umbria. Got the insurance, got the satnav, so all good to go. Got a car marginally bigger than the charm bracelet sized smart car - Ford Fiesta auto with four doors. After the smartcar it felt like the size of a Hummer!
From Verona to Tuscany where we were staying was ostensibly a near straight line south- not according to this american accented "NeverLost" GPS gadget that we had on board. It took us over an hour to leave the outskirts of Verona because we took this stupid instrument at it's badly pronunciated word and it kept misdirecting us through first or third or fourth exits of roundabouts when they didn't exist!!! It would then in an entirely patronizing evil manner then say it was recalculating (presumably because of our alleged inability to follow straightforward directions no doubt) and would set us on a path in what was finally the right direction. I was ready to recalculate it right out the window!!!!
We got here with little drama but we can attest totally that the drivers in Toscana region drive just as insanely as they do elsewhere in this country. The most redundant piece of equipment on an Italian car is the indicator. You can tell tourists here as they are the only bunnies using theirs.
We arrived at our destination which is Fattoria Tregole just outside of Castellina in Chianti, part of the Tuscany region where their particular specialty for this 50 kilometer radius is Chianti Classico. Adjoining areas produce other specific wines such as Brunello Moltaciano (our particular favorite) - all you red lovers will die when you taste it - it heaven, Venaccia, and Nobile Moltapulciano.
The landscape surrounding our Fattoria (a medium sized farm with houses for both owners and workers on the property), is everything you imagine Tuscany to be. Rolling hills bathed in a golden light, vineyards everywhere and the ubiquitous cypress trees. Beautiful old stone homesteads and farm buildings are ideally located atop a gentle hill blessed with panoramic vistas from every angle. It's quite quite beautiful.
We met our lovely host Edith and her gorgeous Jack Russell Benny, settled into our room and on the terrace enjoyed our first bottle of Chianti Classico! Molto bene! We headed to a local Oristoria ( a casual eating place) and had a beautiful beef fillet served on a hot rock with roasted potatoes with rosemary and a side salad. It was Delish.
When arriving at said restaurant a mere two kilometers up the road, we were welcomed to the neighborhood by a couple of members of the local wildlife. Two deers decided to bound out on the road to welcome us to Tuscany. Fortunately this little black duck had abstained from drinking over dinner to keep her wits about her but we didn't meet any more locals on the way home thank goodness.
Driving in Italy, alongside Italians, whilst on the "wrong" side of the road is hard enough without having to deal with Bambi and her mates!!!
Salute "Deer" Friends.
Kelly & Siobhan
Sent from my iPad
Thursday, 6 October 2011
Two Ladies from Verona and a 1 AD MCG
Dear Star Crossed Lovers,
We boarded a ferry from beloved Venice that motored us past our last sightings of beautiful Venezia to the train station. We boarded the train to "fair Verona" and arrived "toot sweet" at Hotel Tuocolo. Right in the middle of centro historico where this lovely little hotel is owned and run by two very sharply turned out ladies with iron clad hair, well positioned pearls and a caustic eye for the appropriately dressed.
We settled in and were quick to head off but not before we were strongly encouraged to make the most of our limited time here. Not for us, the ancient and incredible roman arena or the fabled Casa di Guilletta- no, not when then where churches and more churches to be visited. At a guess, We imagine these two ladies to be rather chronically catholic. We had a mind to tell the lovely ladies of Verona, that as Satan Worshipping Wiccas, churches weren't our bag, but we decided against it and after much nodding and grazias, we were off. First stop a light lunch and then off to the Arena.
Awesome. Built in 1 AD, when Jesus sandals were yet to be invented, this amazing amphitheater that seated 30,000 survived a major earthquake in the 12 century and began to be used seriously again in the early 1900 to stage opera works by Verdi which continue to this day during the months of June to September. We tried to get to see a concert, any concert but it's sold out! It's the largest outdoor theatre of it's kind in Europe and whilst we are here George Michael and Deep Purple also are performing here though presumably NOT on the same bill!!!!!!
From there we headed to their amazing medieval fortress and bridge- a stunning sight at night - frightening and powerful and wandered through the streets of Verona. The Casa di Guilletta is a tad cheesy with ghastly graffiti everywhere and given that she is a fictional character anyway, it's a bit rich that they have her tomb as well........
Verona is a small but picturesque place with an amazing river that surrounds the centre district almost like a moat arrangement. The surrounding countryside from this central point is a wonderful perspective and lovely but half a day does the trick unless you are like are lovely ladies and want to visit all ten or so churches!!!! The next morning after one of the ladies had not too surreptitiously checked out Siobhan's outfit, we grabbed a cab and headed to the airport to collect the car to start our trip to Tuscany and Umbria.
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow.....Stay tuned Roadsters!!!!!!!
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
We boarded a ferry from beloved Venice that motored us past our last sightings of beautiful Venezia to the train station. We boarded the train to "fair Verona" and arrived "toot sweet" at Hotel Tuocolo. Right in the middle of centro historico where this lovely little hotel is owned and run by two very sharply turned out ladies with iron clad hair, well positioned pearls and a caustic eye for the appropriately dressed.
We settled in and were quick to head off but not before we were strongly encouraged to make the most of our limited time here. Not for us, the ancient and incredible roman arena or the fabled Casa di Guilletta- no, not when then where churches and more churches to be visited. At a guess, We imagine these two ladies to be rather chronically catholic. We had a mind to tell the lovely ladies of Verona, that as Satan Worshipping Wiccas, churches weren't our bag, but we decided against it and after much nodding and grazias, we were off. First stop a light lunch and then off to the Arena.
Awesome. Built in 1 AD, when Jesus sandals were yet to be invented, this amazing amphitheater that seated 30,000 survived a major earthquake in the 12 century and began to be used seriously again in the early 1900 to stage opera works by Verdi which continue to this day during the months of June to September. We tried to get to see a concert, any concert but it's sold out! It's the largest outdoor theatre of it's kind in Europe and whilst we are here George Michael and Deep Purple also are performing here though presumably NOT on the same bill!!!!!!
From there we headed to their amazing medieval fortress and bridge- a stunning sight at night - frightening and powerful and wandered through the streets of Verona. The Casa di Guilletta is a tad cheesy with ghastly graffiti everywhere and given that she is a fictional character anyway, it's a bit rich that they have her tomb as well........
Verona is a small but picturesque place with an amazing river that surrounds the centre district almost like a moat arrangement. The surrounding countryside from this central point is a wonderful perspective and lovely but half a day does the trick unless you are like are lovely ladies and want to visit all ten or so churches!!!! The next morning after one of the ladies had not too surreptitiously checked out Siobhan's outfit, we grabbed a cab and headed to the airport to collect the car to start our trip to Tuscany and Umbria.
Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow.....Stay tuned Roadsters!!!!!!!
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Masked Minogue at Last and a Girls' Gondola Ride
Dear Gondoliers,
Our last day in Venice was more of the same - a delightful prospect. We headed again into charming alleyways in search of a small momento or keepsake. Murano glass is everywhere and some of it not all that attractive. We have found some small pieces that we love. I only hope I don't break them when dusting!!! good reason not to dust I reckon!
We again found ourselves at the Rialto via a different route but got some great shots so Siobhan was very happy. We also found a unique mask that I loved and one that Siobhan said would'nt give her nightmares and was one she could live with ! I was molto happy! As we again had lunch at the same very nice ristorante as the day before, the lovely waiter gave us a freebie Bellini and here we lunched. Watching the traffic again, it proved the laws of adaptability by humans all over the world.
Without main streets or roads to cruise in their hotted up cars with doof- doof music blaring, we were concerned what the young men of Venice did to compensate. We didn't have to wait long.Turns out, you buy your granddad's old boat from him, paint it a bloody lurid colour, carry a boom box on board and turn up the volume to the max, gel your hair full of product a la St Kilda footballer style, casually sling one arm over the side of the boat and place your other hand ever so casually at the top of the wheel and look perennially bored, as you cruise up and down the Grand Canal - Fabulous!!!!!!
We wanted to get a better idea of Venice from the water so we jumped on the local ferries to get a comprehensive idea of the waterways, the grand canal and it's full length. This is their public transport system and it's way cool. After that, we did what we had decided to do the day before. Before arriving in Venice the thought of paying 80€ for a 30 minute gondola ride was to both of us - utterly ridiculous, overpriced and tourist nonsense. Well, yes, perhaps it is all of that- but it was also one of the loveliest things we have done this trip. Antonio, our Gondolier, was a lovely fellow. The trip is so quintessentially Venetian That. It just has to be done. And we savored every second of it. The gracefulness and skill of both driver and craft was only overshadowed by experiencing Venice from this unique perspective. If you find yourselves here- it really is a must do!!!!
After more wandering we ended up in this terrific local bar that served great wine by the glass. But that wasn't the selling point. We had walked back in time as we sat and enjoyed an 80's soundtrack that included, Culture Club, Howard Jones, Human League, Mel & Kim, the Eurythmics, New Order inter alia. Had we had one more glass of wine, Siobhan would have been on the table leading the dance moves!!!!!!! Hilarious.
Our wonderful stay in Venice came to an end and we head to Fair Verona just over an hour away by train. You cannot describe the unique beauty of Venice and do it justice. It is a stand out place and one that will stay with us both for ever!
Happy Masquerading !
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Our last day in Venice was more of the same - a delightful prospect. We headed again into charming alleyways in search of a small momento or keepsake. Murano glass is everywhere and some of it not all that attractive. We have found some small pieces that we love. I only hope I don't break them when dusting!!! good reason not to dust I reckon!
We again found ourselves at the Rialto via a different route but got some great shots so Siobhan was very happy. We also found a unique mask that I loved and one that Siobhan said would'nt give her nightmares and was one she could live with ! I was molto happy! As we again had lunch at the same very nice ristorante as the day before, the lovely waiter gave us a freebie Bellini and here we lunched. Watching the traffic again, it proved the laws of adaptability by humans all over the world.
Without main streets or roads to cruise in their hotted up cars with doof- doof music blaring, we were concerned what the young men of Venice did to compensate. We didn't have to wait long.Turns out, you buy your granddad's old boat from him, paint it a bloody lurid colour, carry a boom box on board and turn up the volume to the max, gel your hair full of product a la St Kilda footballer style, casually sling one arm over the side of the boat and place your other hand ever so casually at the top of the wheel and look perennially bored, as you cruise up and down the Grand Canal - Fabulous!!!!!!
We wanted to get a better idea of Venice from the water so we jumped on the local ferries to get a comprehensive idea of the waterways, the grand canal and it's full length. This is their public transport system and it's way cool. After that, we did what we had decided to do the day before. Before arriving in Venice the thought of paying 80€ for a 30 minute gondola ride was to both of us - utterly ridiculous, overpriced and tourist nonsense. Well, yes, perhaps it is all of that- but it was also one of the loveliest things we have done this trip. Antonio, our Gondolier, was a lovely fellow. The trip is so quintessentially Venetian That. It just has to be done. And we savored every second of it. The gracefulness and skill of both driver and craft was only overshadowed by experiencing Venice from this unique perspective. If you find yourselves here- it really is a must do!!!!
After more wandering we ended up in this terrific local bar that served great wine by the glass. But that wasn't the selling point. We had walked back in time as we sat and enjoyed an 80's soundtrack that included, Culture Club, Howard Jones, Human League, Mel & Kim, the Eurythmics, New Order inter alia. Had we had one more glass of wine, Siobhan would have been on the table leading the dance moves!!!!!!! Hilarious.
Our wonderful stay in Venice came to an end and we head to Fair Verona just over an hour away by train. You cannot describe the unique beauty of Venice and do it justice. It is a stand out place and one that will stay with us both for ever!
Happy Masquerading !
Kelly & Siobhan xxxx
Dear Carnivalees,
The day before us was of unstructured ambling, taking the advice of Lonely Planet to lose yourself in it's alleyways. We had thought to visit The Basillica of San Marco and/or the Bell Tower but given the length of the queues we decided that time was too short and our love affair with all things religious had been more than adequately sated in Florence and we could happily be on a starvation diet till we got to Rome.
We popped around the corner to the Bridge of Sighs, so named because it was allegedly the last time prisoners would view Venice asthey crossed this small bridge before being marched to their jail cells below ground. Turns out that all that is hooey, but the tourist go there anyway. Venetians, keen on a buck to this very day, have put up these enormous billboard hoardings on both sides of the buildings looking towards the Bridge advertising cheesy sunglasses and that's what people are taking photographs of - absolute vandalism. So we moved. Off from there pronto and headed into the maze of alleyways.
We stopped at every mask shop- made for the Carnavale every second year. A traditional mask is paper mâché and are hand made and painted. I wanted one to take home to remind of this wonderful place. I am pretty sure that Siobhan was over this particular reconnaissance mission by shop eight or nine, but I had just started to gain momentum.
We found ourselves at the Rialto Bridge which crosses the Grand Canal so we tried to get a photo - a difficult achievement when the bridge is heaving with tourists. So we had lunch waterside and watched as the traffic of various size and capacity made it's way up and down the grand canal. Of particular fun to those at lunch, are those tourists in a Gondola enjoying a peaceful and calm journey down the canal, when a high speed ambulance comes racing down the middle of the canal spraying water and creating turbulence for these little craft. The tourists get soaked and the Gondoliers laugh their pretty ribboned hats off!!!
In the afternoon we found a wonderful shop with beautiful lithographs that we just "had to have" and we found one of the most subversive things ever. There is no other way to describe this than it was a calendar of Holy Hotties! Photographs of young good looking priests (?) presented in a way similar to Fire Fighters or footballers would be except, that the clothes (and collars) are on. We brought one because there was something strangely disturbing about this calendar and I really don't think George Pell would approve (reason enough for me to buy it) and I don't think it has the Vatican seal of approval either. We mulled it over and wanted to get more on our last day but couldn't find any - we are hoping that some may turn up in Rome!!!!!!
We wandered all afternoon and headed home for a shower and change before heading to the famous Harry's Bar for an even more famous Bellini. This famous bar was opened around 1930 and here Guiseppe Ciprianni, created the Bellini and mixture of Proscecco and White Peach Nectar(glasses, nectar and Prosecco to be very very cold) mixed between two stainless steel milkshake containers, then poured into the glass. Chad, you were sooooooooo right, it was the most amazing drink ever! Along with Pannacotta, Gooch Street Hotel will be serving Bellinis as the apparertivo de giourno this summer!
Our day ended at a lovely Oristerio near our hotel where we enjoyed a salad of grapes, pecorino, walnuts, goats cheese, rocket and balsamic vinegar followed by a main of French cut lamb cutlets served with a mixed berry jus and a red wine to die for!
Carnivale Carnivores
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
The day before us was of unstructured ambling, taking the advice of Lonely Planet to lose yourself in it's alleyways. We had thought to visit The Basillica of San Marco and/or the Bell Tower but given the length of the queues we decided that time was too short and our love affair with all things religious had been more than adequately sated in Florence and we could happily be on a starvation diet till we got to Rome.
We popped around the corner to the Bridge of Sighs, so named because it was allegedly the last time prisoners would view Venice asthey crossed this small bridge before being marched to their jail cells below ground. Turns out that all that is hooey, but the tourist go there anyway. Venetians, keen on a buck to this very day, have put up these enormous billboard hoardings on both sides of the buildings looking towards the Bridge advertising cheesy sunglasses and that's what people are taking photographs of - absolute vandalism. So we moved. Off from there pronto and headed into the maze of alleyways.
We stopped at every mask shop- made for the Carnavale every second year. A traditional mask is paper mâché and are hand made and painted. I wanted one to take home to remind of this wonderful place. I am pretty sure that Siobhan was over this particular reconnaissance mission by shop eight or nine, but I had just started to gain momentum.
We found ourselves at the Rialto Bridge which crosses the Grand Canal so we tried to get a photo - a difficult achievement when the bridge is heaving with tourists. So we had lunch waterside and watched as the traffic of various size and capacity made it's way up and down the grand canal. Of particular fun to those at lunch, are those tourists in a Gondola enjoying a peaceful and calm journey down the canal, when a high speed ambulance comes racing down the middle of the canal spraying water and creating turbulence for these little craft. The tourists get soaked and the Gondoliers laugh their pretty ribboned hats off!!!
In the afternoon we found a wonderful shop with beautiful lithographs that we just "had to have" and we found one of the most subversive things ever. There is no other way to describe this than it was a calendar of Holy Hotties! Photographs of young good looking priests (?) presented in a way similar to Fire Fighters or footballers would be except, that the clothes (and collars) are on. We brought one because there was something strangely disturbing about this calendar and I really don't think George Pell would approve (reason enough for me to buy it) and I don't think it has the Vatican seal of approval either. We mulled it over and wanted to get more on our last day but couldn't find any - we are hoping that some may turn up in Rome!!!!!!
We wandered all afternoon and headed home for a shower and change before heading to the famous Harry's Bar for an even more famous Bellini. This famous bar was opened around 1930 and here Guiseppe Ciprianni, created the Bellini and mixture of Proscecco and White Peach Nectar(glasses, nectar and Prosecco to be very very cold) mixed between two stainless steel milkshake containers, then poured into the glass. Chad, you were sooooooooo right, it was the most amazing drink ever! Along with Pannacotta, Gooch Street Hotel will be serving Bellinis as the apparertivo de giourno this summer!
Our day ended at a lovely Oristerio near our hotel where we enjoyed a salad of grapes, pecorino, walnuts, goats cheese, rocket and balsamic vinegar followed by a main of French cut lamb cutlets served with a mixed berry jus and a red wine to die for!
Carnivale Carnivores
Kelly & Siobhan xxx
Venice - A Marshy Marvel
Dear Masked Marvels,
We arrived at Venice and emerged from the train station to be looking at The Grand Canal. At our first glimpse both us exclaimed something a little bit more colorful than OmiGod, but you get my drift. The water was this translucent green which was beautiful, the sky, a powder blue and the buildings a wonderful pastiche of yellows, apricots, russets and taupes. It was bewitching from the get go.
The dodgy (water) taxi drivers (of which there are noooooo shortage in Italy,)tried to get us to pay 60€ for our trip - the local ferry costs 13€ and once on it , two departing Aussie tourists gave us their 24 hour ferry pass to use as well. We arrived at our hotel located right in the middle of the San Marco area ( there are six areas or districts of Venice) and although the place is small, it's good to stay in one of the three closest districts to Piazza San Marco as this is where most things are most easily accessible.
Venice consists of something like 146 marshy little islands of varying sizes, connected by over 312 little bridges with canals, both small and large weaving throughout. The locals simply forced wooden posts into the swampy marsh and built houses on them and then connected them all via the bridges. Venice has traditionally been Italy's most cosmopolitan city having been the trading routes for Turkey, Morocco and a whole raft of other nationalities. It also has the reputation of being the most tolerant and culturally diverse city, having readily accepted traders and Travellers throughout the years as residents. This is very much reflected in the architecture with it's very middle eastern window frames and decorative touches on all the buildings. But sadly not in it's food. The food here is pretty crappy when compared to the rest of Italy. Whilst it doesn't have a traditional Venetian cuisine, it doesn't seem to have embraced the middle eastern or Jewish or African possibilities either!!
Some interesting facts about Venice. It was where the handkerchief was invented and only nobles were allowed to carry one (absolutely no idea why). In the 12 and 13 centuries it was fought over and awarded like a prize between Milan, Florence and anyone else big enough to win a local stoush. Still the Venetians would do business with anyone and being the ultimate pragmatists, didn't much care who was in charge as long as they could earn a good living. Perfume industry was very big here but apparently that was in direct response to the need to compensate one's personal comfort when you lived on a belching sulpherous,(think bad egg gas) group of swampy marshes in a hot summer!
Today it's a tourist mecca and we quickly found out why. You just meander from narrow street to narrow street, never far from the major water ways and beside gentle canals where gondolas pass you by, taking in some of the best shopping. We just loved it. Our first night we watched a bride and groom waltz in San Marco Piazza to the local orchestra, we started the mission for "The Mask", we soaked up the beauty knowing we would never see something so completely unique anywhere else in the world.
Ciao landlubbers
Kelly & Siobahn
long standing
We arrived at Venice and emerged from the train station to be looking at The Grand Canal. At our first glimpse both us exclaimed something a little bit more colorful than OmiGod, but you get my drift. The water was this translucent green which was beautiful, the sky, a powder blue and the buildings a wonderful pastiche of yellows, apricots, russets and taupes. It was bewitching from the get go.
The dodgy (water) taxi drivers (of which there are noooooo shortage in Italy,)tried to get us to pay 60€ for our trip - the local ferry costs 13€ and once on it , two departing Aussie tourists gave us their 24 hour ferry pass to use as well. We arrived at our hotel located right in the middle of the San Marco area ( there are six areas or districts of Venice) and although the place is small, it's good to stay in one of the three closest districts to Piazza San Marco as this is where most things are most easily accessible.
Venice consists of something like 146 marshy little islands of varying sizes, connected by over 312 little bridges with canals, both small and large weaving throughout. The locals simply forced wooden posts into the swampy marsh and built houses on them and then connected them all via the bridges. Venice has traditionally been Italy's most cosmopolitan city having been the trading routes for Turkey, Morocco and a whole raft of other nationalities. It also has the reputation of being the most tolerant and culturally diverse city, having readily accepted traders and Travellers throughout the years as residents. This is very much reflected in the architecture with it's very middle eastern window frames and decorative touches on all the buildings. But sadly not in it's food. The food here is pretty crappy when compared to the rest of Italy. Whilst it doesn't have a traditional Venetian cuisine, it doesn't seem to have embraced the middle eastern or Jewish or African possibilities either!!
Some interesting facts about Venice. It was where the handkerchief was invented and only nobles were allowed to carry one (absolutely no idea why). In the 12 and 13 centuries it was fought over and awarded like a prize between Milan, Florence and anyone else big enough to win a local stoush. Still the Venetians would do business with anyone and being the ultimate pragmatists, didn't much care who was in charge as long as they could earn a good living. Perfume industry was very big here but apparently that was in direct response to the need to compensate one's personal comfort when you lived on a belching sulpherous,(think bad egg gas) group of swampy marshes in a hot summer!
Today it's a tourist mecca and we quickly found out why. You just meander from narrow street to narrow street, never far from the major water ways and beside gentle canals where gondolas pass you by, taking in some of the best shopping. We just loved it. Our first night we watched a bride and groom waltz in San Marco Piazza to the local orchestra, we started the mission for "The Mask", we soaked up the beauty knowing we would never see something so completely unique anywhere else in the world.
Ciao landlubbers
Kelly & Siobahn
long standing
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Villa Carlotta, Nude Sunbathing Floor Show and Aperol Spritzs
Dear Voyeurs,
Down the road from where we were based at Tremezzo is one of the few grand villas that are open to the public. Naturally, we headed inside to see how the other half lived. It's called Villa Carlotta, named , not after the Sydney Drag Queen, but some obscure Princess, who married an even more obscure European prince. Her mother brought it for them as a wedding present!!!!! Sadly, they only visited it a few times in the four years because of pregnancies and his alleged work duties in Milan and she was dead by the age of twenty three. Kaz, to borrow your saying " Reason Number 367 for not having children"!!!!
This place is stunning. The gardens are spectacular with mature camellias, rhododendgrens and azalea hedges that would be astounding to see in spring, lemon grove walkways, and beds of and incredible array of annuals and perennials. The house itself is not shabby either with grand rooms and hallways that one could easily host an indoor soccer game comfortably.
After there we headed to lunch at Varenna, a lovely hamlet where we sat waterside for lunch. Now, Lake Como has 146 kilometers of shore line, many of it remote with no nearby houses, townships or any development at all. So if you were after a discreet place to ditch the cossie and sun yourself in the buff, there are no shortages of options available to you.
But no. Why do that, when you can anchor your very cool and sleek motorboat a few meters from the shore, facing a bustling outdoor restaurant and get your gear off whilst people eat their lunch and alterrnatively pretend not to notice or laugh quietly at the posturing and poncing about by the two quincies on board!! I can tell you that the boat was a decent size!
After Varenna we headed back to Bellagio to soak up the sun in the beautiful lakeside gardens they have there. Lake Como had worked it's magic and we were truly relaxed. We finished the day with an Aperol spritz (Aperol, Prosecco and Sparkling Mineral water) and watched as a bride was collected by sleek boat bedecked in white roses and transported to her ceremony across the lake.
Back to our hotel, where we enjoyed another exemplary dinner again. We will hate to leave here but it's off to Venice via Milan and an easy train trip.
Keep up the sunscreen
Kelly & Siobhan xx
Down the road from where we were based at Tremezzo is one of the few grand villas that are open to the public. Naturally, we headed inside to see how the other half lived. It's called Villa Carlotta, named , not after the Sydney Drag Queen, but some obscure Princess, who married an even more obscure European prince. Her mother brought it for them as a wedding present!!!!! Sadly, they only visited it a few times in the four years because of pregnancies and his alleged work duties in Milan and she was dead by the age of twenty three. Kaz, to borrow your saying " Reason Number 367 for not having children"!!!!
This place is stunning. The gardens are spectacular with mature camellias, rhododendgrens and azalea hedges that would be astounding to see in spring, lemon grove walkways, and beds of and incredible array of annuals and perennials. The house itself is not shabby either with grand rooms and hallways that one could easily host an indoor soccer game comfortably.
After there we headed to lunch at Varenna, a lovely hamlet where we sat waterside for lunch. Now, Lake Como has 146 kilometers of shore line, many of it remote with no nearby houses, townships or any development at all. So if you were after a discreet place to ditch the cossie and sun yourself in the buff, there are no shortages of options available to you.
But no. Why do that, when you can anchor your very cool and sleek motorboat a few meters from the shore, facing a bustling outdoor restaurant and get your gear off whilst people eat their lunch and alterrnatively pretend not to notice or laugh quietly at the posturing and poncing about by the two quincies on board!! I can tell you that the boat was a decent size!
After Varenna we headed back to Bellagio to soak up the sun in the beautiful lakeside gardens they have there. Lake Como had worked it's magic and we were truly relaxed. We finished the day with an Aperol spritz (Aperol, Prosecco and Sparkling Mineral water) and watched as a bride was collected by sleek boat bedecked in white roses and transported to her ceremony across the lake.
Back to our hotel, where we enjoyed another exemplary dinner again. We will hate to leave here but it's off to Venice via Milan and an easy train trip.
Keep up the sunscreen
Kelly & Siobhan xx
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