Tuscany - we're here

After a midnight cruise to the vaparatto storage yard for the night, we managed to get back to Lido Island and set off to Tuscany yesterday, a quiet and uneventful trip until a tour group got on our Regional train in Florence and filled it up. They just happened to be going to Montecatini Terme, our stop. Montecatini Terme is nice and the accommodations are quite comfortable. What we did not realize was the number of spas in  the area. This is like an overgrown Harrison Hot springs and Robson street combined. Its hard to keep Sue on the sidewalk and out of the stores. We are planning on having a spa day on Thursday in the healing waters.

Montecatini Alto

We took the hotel bikes for a spin today, toured the large park and took the funicular (tram) up to Montecatini Alto on the hill above where we are staying. Sure glad we did not have to walk up this hill. Everywhere you go there are stairs and hills to climb in Europe! Some more interesting churches and former castles.

The funicular from Montecatini Terme to Montecatini Alto

Going down to Montecatini Terme

 After seeing all of those war movies with snipers hiding in the trees, can you see the guy sitting in this one. We have never seen a tree with camouflage bark before.

Camouflage tree

Nothing is ever the same here - always a variation of something we have seen before. It seems that many of the most interesting sights are in various stages of restoration work. Today was mostly a relaxing day and get ready for the rest of this week. Temperatures today  were 26 or 27. I keep reading about the cool temperatures you are experiencing in the Lower Mainland and my heart goes out to you.




We are off to Lucca tomorrow.  The food and wine in Tuscany are our favourites so far and we have had too much of it so we need to do some more serious walking.

Take care.

Ira

Cinque Terre to Venice

The strike was over Monday morning and we were able to take the train down to Monterosso on the Cinque Terre. When we arrived there were huge hoards of people everywhere, which did not bode well for the fact that we did not have a hotel reservation. There were no hotel rooms available but the tourist agent was able to arrange an apartment for us to rent for 2 nights. It was up on the hill and suited our needs quite well. There were ripe lemon trees in the yard and a bella vista of the village.  The whole arrangement was very informal – the owner didn’t even ask for our name or anything. She just left us the key and asked us to pay her daughter and that was it. When we left we were told to leave the key in the door as that’s the only one they have. Very trusting people. The only drawback was that there was no WiFi. I felt so lost without it. One of the young fellows we met from Vancouver yesterday actually went to Florence Monday so that he could sit in an internet café and listen to the Canucks games. Now that’ a die-hard fan.  The stairs going up to the apartment were fun, especially in the pitch-black last night. Thank goodness for the rope bannister that we were able to hold on to in order to make our way up.

Monterosso from the trail

The stairs on the trail

The Cinque Terre is a group of five villages and there are walking trails between them all. It takes about 4 hours to walk between them. The middle part of the trail was closed so we were only able to hike between Monterosso and Vernazza and then take the train to Riomaggiore and hike to Manarola, then train it back to our apartment. The first hike was challenging and very, very hot, even though we were done by 11:00. It was a neat experience to hike along with other couples and chat along the way. We chuckled at one group of Italian school teens that passed us as a number of them were smoking and others talking on cell phones. There are lots of Canadians and Americans here. Quite a contrast to where we just came from where no one spoke English. We would have liked to spend one more day here so that we could take the boat over to Portovenere but we have reservations in Venice Wednesday and I want to be there for my birthday Thursday.

We’ve met some lovely people. It’s such a small world. The couple we were sitting with last night at dinner are from Stratford and her father lives in the house across from the laundrette that we did our laundry in when we were in Moreton-in-Marsh.  There are connections everywhere in this world. Everyone seems to be having a good time and manages to struggle through the language and cultural differences. When we tell people we are from Vancouver, everyone comments on what a wonderful city it is and if they haven’t been there, it’s on their list of places to go. It’s really nice to hear that we have such a (deservedly) good reputation. The woman from Singapore that I was chatting with today on the train said that we have the best Chinatown in Vancouver by far.

We took the train to Venice today and with a little delay of about an hour due to “an incident on the track” – sound familiar? – we arrived. It’s interesting how every train we have been on has been different. Each of them has different seating configurations. Some have signs on them saying where they are going, and some don’t so you just wing it and hope for the best. So far we’ve managed all of our trains alright. Lugging the suitcases up and down the stairs is really building up my arm muscles J Next time when I say I am travelling light, I will really travel light.

St. Mark's Basilica

Venice holds true to its claim to fame of being the most beautiful, romantic city in the world. The buildings are absolutely fantastic. We were in awe in St. Mark’s Basilica. It all just gets a bit overwhelming after a while. We walked and walked and walked down street after street. Every street seemed to bring a new breathtaking scene. We made reservations at a lovely ristorante for my birthday meal. Very authentic Venetian food. The fish is very fresh. Because it’s on an island they have to bring everything else in so fish is their strong point. It’s an interesting infrastructure they have built with the canals. Hopefully the island won’t sink as the experts are predicting. What a shame. I made Ira dance with me to the band playing in the St. Marco Piazza last night and embarrassed the heck out of him as we were the only ones dancing. I told him that since it was my birthday he had to do what I asked for once J  We took the vaparatto (water bus) down to the end of the line last night and then back to our hotel, which took about 2 hours total. A nice way to see the city.  Today we’re off to the Doge’s Palace and Murano Island.

A typical street in Venice

Talk to you soon.

Italy Va bene!

The train station @ Juan Les Pins

Buon giorno. We have left France and headed into Italy. We took the train to Ventimiglia Saturday morning and transferred to a train bound for Cuneo, which is in Northern Italy. Ira's great-grandparents and grandma came from a small town near Cuneo called Cherasco. We're hoping to find a bus to take us there so we can see where they grew up. The train goes up through the river valley alongside the Maritime Alps. It looks very much like travelling through the Fraser Canyon, although the houses are much more interesting looking and the villages all have beautiful churches with tall tiled spires. Some of the mountains still have snow on them, which is lovely, and it's 24 C out. Tomorrow we are going to take a tour to Bossea Caves, which are reputed to be some of the most spectacular caves in Italy. Cuneo is not a town where many tourists go and it only has a population of 55,000 so it should be a pleasant experience.

Village in the Maritime Alps through the train window

We arrived at Cu neo mid-day and found a great hotel to stay in. It overlooks this huge piazza where all the action happens in the town. After talking to the hotel clerk, we realized that without a car it would be next to impossible to go to Cherasco or the caves. Next time when we have a car, we’ll try to do it.

Another village through the train window

Cuneo is a non-tourist, real Italian town and it’s been neat to get a sense of the country and the day-to-day life of the people living in the area. Barely anyone here speaks English so it’s been a struggle to be understood. The little phrase book and gesturing certainly come in handy. I had a bit of a fiasco with the gelatto ordering yesterday but we did much better today! It tastes fantasticto and is cheap, cheap, cheap! We decided to go down to Cinque Terre on Sunday, a day earlier than we planned, but discovered last night that there was going to be a train strike today so we’re having to stay here another day. The hotel has bicycles to use so we borrowed them and went riding down the boulevard and then the river trails. It was a great experience. There were lots and lots of people strolling on the boulevard and riding and walking on the trails. It's fantastic to see young and old alike out there enjoying the beautiful outdoors. I get the sense that the Italians are very social people. There is an art exhibition in the piazza and a stage set up with music so tonight might be some type of festival. On Sunday evenings the Italians partake in a ritual called passeggiata, where they dress up and take a gentle stroll through the main streets of the old town and piazzas. Tourists are usually easy to spot in their shorts and fanny packs so we’ll be sure to leave ours behind!

Galimberti Piazza - Cuneo

Along the trail

Another interesting tradition is that the shops close between 12:00 and 2:30 (some 3:30). Even the supermarkets are not open on Sunday. Trying to find a bottle of water today has been a challenge.

Ira biking along the Gesso River

We’re hoping the strike is over tomorrow so that we can take the train down to Monterrosso, the top city in the Cinque Terre. It’s been a very authentic experience here in Cuneo and we’re glad we came, even though we weren’t able to see Cherasco or the caves. Arriverderchi!

Playing with the rich and famous

I have to say that the train system in Europe is fantastic. You can get from one town or village to another with very little effort and very little cost. Our hotel is about 100 metres from the train station so it's pretty handy. We're becoming quite adept at figuring out which side to be on and reading the notice boards. Sometimes it's clear, sometimes it's not so you just go for it and hope for the best. We even had some French people asking us for directions on the train to Monaco. We told them where they needed to go - hopefully it all worked out for them. Talk about the blind leading the blind.

A street in Villefranche-sur-Mer heading down to the beach

The seaside of Villefranche-sur-Mer

A view from the museum

Yesterday we hopped on the train to Villefranche-sur-Mer, a lovely little seaside town. People we know had recommended it to us and we also heard it from a few people we've met over here. We lucked out because there were no cruise ships docked when we were there so it wasn't too busy. The art museums are located in an old fort with lots of sculptures. The gardens are beautiful as well. A very quaint village. We could see ourselves staying there the next time we come to the French Riviera.

After picnicking on the beach, we took the train back to Nice. There is a new tram that takes you down the hill to the beach. It costs 1 euro each. There were security guards checking people's tickets and issuing fines to them, just like at home. It seemed so odd to have this modern train in the middle of the old town.

The tram in Nice

Like most towns we've seen so far in France, there is a new part and an old part. The new part looks just like any other city, lots of stores and high rises. They even have a Sephora Wendy! We decided to explore the old town of Nice as that's where all of the history and beauty is. Lots of hustle and bustle with people everywhere. I can't imagine what it would be like over here in full-blown summer months. We picked a perfect time to come - 24 C weather and way less people. We went into a number of really beautiful Baroque churches. The architecture and art  is just amazing. We had some divine gelatto from Fennochio's, a famous Nice gelatto place with 99 flavours. Lots of pizza places everywhere we've been so far but we've resisted because we're saving ourselves for Italy!

A street in old town Nice

We had great plans to go to some hill-top villages (Eze, St-Paul de Vence and Grasse) today, since it's our last day here, but we elected instead to hit the beach! It's not every day that we get to swim in the Mediterranean. We plan to spend some more time in France next time so we'll catch those villages then. I had to do a quick alteration to turn my tankini into a bikini. Everyone wears a bikini over here, even the old grannies. We cannot get over how tanned people are. They are so tanned that they look like burnished leather. I wonder what the melanoma rate is like here? This afternoon we took a walk over to Cap D'Antibes, where the rich and famous live. It was a great walk (except for the time we almost got run over by the car coming around the corner). On one side of the cape, they have built a beautiful rough-cut seaside walk through the volcanic rock. It's quite remarkable how they have cut stairs through the stones. All along are luxurious villas with big huge gates and stone fences so you can't see in and lush, greenery that you can see from above the fence line. It was quite a contrast to the walkway. The villas had locked gates leading on to the walkway, which I'm sure they only access when no peons like us are on it.  If only I was a billionaire ....... 

Chermin pie-tonnier de Tire-Poil footpath

We're off to have crepes tonight. We've had a number of Provencal dishes so far but no crepes. We love, love, love the croissants and baguettes that we pick up fresh every morning at the patissiere around the corner. Ira's pretty good at the French/gesture trick - works well. Cream puffs, croissants, baguettes, oh my!  Thank goodness we're doing lots of walking or we would be 30 pounds heavier by now. Ah, the food ..... tres bien, mais oui!

From tea tottlers to winos

I'm a bit behind in my blogging as we've been so busy I haven't found the time. Where to begin?

By Chipping Campden

Ira riding through the rapeseed

Our last day in Moreton-in-Marsh we rented bikes from the guys at the Toy Shop. They were great and got us all set up with helmets, locks, bikes and a map. We set off on the route they suggested, which took us about 20 miles through the countryside. They told us that there was one big hill on the way back that we'd probably have to walk up - they weren't kidding! What they didn't tell us was that the route consisted of rolling hills throughout the 20 miles. Let's just say I was whining pretty badly towards the end .... "not another hill!" We went through some really pretty country, using the back roads suggested on the map. We only had to backtrack twice so the map was pretty good. The villages we went through were quite different from the village we were staying in. More thatched roofs, lots of sheep and rapeseed fields. Very nice. The guys were very impressed with how quickly we did it as most people only make it about a mile out of town and turn back. We didn't tell them how much I was whining - we thought it best just to bask in their adoration instead. We met some nice Aussies in the laudrette who had just arrived to do five days of 22-km-a-day walking tours. One of the ladies had a wrecked knee and the other one had her foot in a cast so I'm not sure how they were going to manage. We were offering them some suggestions re bikes and horses. Good luck! It just shows you that you always have to have a plan B.

We left the Cotswolds bright and early Monday morning, catching the 6:16 am train and then the 9:45 Eurostar out of St. Pancras in London to Lille, France. From Lille, we transferred to a train to Avignon. The French countryside was pretty to travel through. It looked very much like our farm fields in the Northern part. As we got down to Provence, there were more castles and pretty villages. We stayed the night in Villeneuve-les-Avignon, which is a village across the Rhone River from Avignon. The hotel we stayed in was built in the 1500's and was fantastic! We were starving and the restaurants didn't open until 7:30 so we went to a wine bar and polished off a bottle of red wine. Ira had steak tartar (raw meat - ugh) and really enjoyed it. When in France, do as the French do .....  I staggered around the village that night, up the cobblestone streets  - they have very good wine in France! We didn't leave until 3:45 p.m. the next day so were able to partake in some of the tourist attractions in the village. We went to Abbey-de-St. Andre, which was quite interesting. We then had a picnic on the Rhone River. Very nice and relaxing. We also got to practice our French a bit. I was able to ask for a fork for our picnic (thanks to the little French phrase book I have and lots of gesturing). People seem very nice and most speak some English. I'm okay understanding until they tell me how much I owe and then I just get a blank look on my face. They say it so fast!

Abbey-de-St.Andre

Villeneuve-les-Avignon

Abbey de St. Andre

On Tuesday afternoon, we took the train to Juan Les Pins in Cote D'Azur in the French Riviera. It's right on the ocean and nice and hot, which is fantastic. It's nice to move into warmer weather. It's pronounced "Whan La Paw", which is why people just looked at us with a confused look on their face when we said we were going to "Whan Le Pins". Crazy pronunciations! We explored the town at night. Today we walked over to Antibes ("Anteeb") and went to the Picasso museum. Neither Ira nor I were terribly impressed with the pieces that were in the museum. I guess we're just not cultured enough to appreciate his art. Old Antibes is very pretty, with ramparts running around most of it. We went to the market and checked out the local products. The skinned rabbits and the eel and sardines were icky but some of the stuff looked great. The spices were heavenly. Ira bought some sausage mixed with cumin which is yummy, he says. The beaches are really nice in both towns. And, yes, David, there are topless women on the beach!

Juan Les Pins

Old Antibes

Old Antibes

Tomorrow we're heading to Nice and Villefranches-mur and perhaps Eze and St Paul Vence, two hill towns. Talk to you soon.

Oh yeah, one last thing - pigeons! They are everywhere. They've followed us here from London. You know those annoying crows that wake you up at the crack of dawn when you're camping. Over in Europe it's the pigeons!

Au Revoir

To the countryside we go

White Hart Royal Hotel - Moreton-in-Marsh

We left London Friday morning and headed for Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds, an hour and a half train ride out to the country. The White Hart Royal hotel where we are staying is an ancient carriage house and full of beautiful antiques. Our room is lovely - double the size of the one we had in London and it even has a bath! What a sight that was to behold.  Ira had black pudding with his traditional English breakfast - thank goodness I asked what it was before I ordered it - it's pig's blood and oatmeal - ugh!

The village is very quaint with beautiful old buildings - exactly what we imagined it to be. There are fabulous public footpaths throughout the area. We took one over to Batsford - about 3 miles away - and went to the arboretum there and looked at the trees. We met a lovely English couple on the walk back and she filled me in on the life of people in the UK while the gentleman filled Ira in on fishing and all of those important things that men so like to talk about :) That's been one of the most memorable things of our trip so far, talking to the locals. We've met quite a few Canadians already. There's an obnoxious American staying below us - you just can't escape them! When we tell people we are from Canada, they either ask about the snow or comment on how beautiful it is and how lucky we are to live there. We agree with them wholeheartedly.

Lower Slaughter

Batsford

Today, Saturday, we took the bus down to Bourton-on-the-Water, which is said to be the Venice of England. It was very nice. There are lots of footpaths there so we set off to Lower Slaughter and Upper Slaughter and saw lots of the countryside. We usually buy sandwiches to take with us and picnic in the fields. We walked through sheep fields and barley fields, alongside beautiful manor houses.We stopped in Lower Slaughter at the community hall and had tea and cake in honour of the war heroes who have lost limbs and been injured in the Afghanistan war. It's nice to see the communities pulling together like that.

 It's been very, very dry here in England since March and the farmers are beginning to worry about their crops. We meant to hire bikes today and ride them up to Chipping Camden (a 6-hour return ride) but they advised that we might have thundershowers so suggested we do that tomorrow instead. The buses don't run on Sundays so it makes more sense to do it that way.

We had some fabulous Bangladeshi food last night and will be having Thai food tonight. The people around the village are lovely. So far everyone in England that we've talked to has been very nice. People are very polite and always say "hello". Nice to see human beings being nice to each other.

Monday morning we're off to Avignon, France - a day on the train, which will be the first day that we haven't walked for miles. I guess our legs could use the rest.

Can't say I miss home yet. Give me another week .....

So much history

On Wednesday we went to the British Museum. What a phenomenal place! We thought we might spend 3 hours there but ended up spending about 6 hours and we still didn't see everything. I must admit I was getting pretty "museumed" out by about the 4th hour so didn't pay as much attention during the last 2 hours, which was a shame because there is so much to see. We decided that the best way to do it would be to do it over a period of 3 days @ 2-hour increments. That way we would be fresh for everything and better able to marvel at the beauty and significance of the artifacts. The funniest thing happened - we were chatting to one of the curators, mentioning that we were from Canada and lo and behold, up comes Bill Price and his wife. What a small world! We never imagined that we would run into someone that we know in London.

Ira looking very dapper

We went to the New London Theatre last night and saw War Horse. We both really enjoyed it. I'd never heard of it before until Heather Chia recommended it to me. It's definitely one of the best plays I've seen. We sat next to a young man from Edmonton. Again - what a small world.

Today, Thursday, is our last full day in London. We went to Westminster Abbey this morning, then took the tube over to Oxford Street to check out this store called Primark. It was like a feeding frenzy in there with cheap prices for women's clothings. After that we took the tube to Chinatown for some Dim Sum and then the double-decker bus over to Hyde Park. The traffic jams are quite ferocious in London and you crawl at a snail's pace. It's just nice to get out of the tube for awhile.

 It was so lovely to stroll around the rose gardens and along the lake. A little piece of paradise in the heart of the city.

We're heading out to the pub for some English grub and beer. Tomorrow morning we're heading out to Moreton-in-Marsh in the Cotswolds, hoping to rent some bicycles for toodling around the quaint villages.

The Tower and the Bath

Went to the Tower on Monday morning. The Tower is an interesting look at the history of armaments from the Middle Ages through the rise of the British Empire that can be directly related to the history of settling of North America and Canada. The fortress was interesting as it's the first keep that we've seen so far. It gave us an interesting overview of the difficulties of life in earlier times. No more complaining from us, that's for sure! The Crown jewels were beautiful and impressive but what a waste. The millions of dollars worth of jewels that could be converted to help needy people throughout the world rather than being held for pomp and ceremony once every few years and more. What a waste! we were thinking if they could take just one of the gilded bowls, it could probably feed a country for over a year.

After the Tower we intended to go to Westminster Abbey but stopped at Trafalgar Square and sat on a bench and chatted with a lovely old gentleman. He made an interesting comment that although there were so many people everywhere, it could be a lonely place. I guess not a lot of people take the time to talk to others.

London Olympic clock

He was a former Anglican minister who was in town for a meeting with his ex-headmaster. We chatted with a really nice lady at Greenwich as well and those have been some of our best memories so far. It's so interesting to get the perspectives of people from other countries. The Olympic clock was at Trafalgar Square. Ours was much more impressive.

We haven't seen a lot of homeless people yet. I'm sure they are here but not in the areas that we've been yet. There was a fellow that was covertly dipping into the fountain to scoop out the coins. He was very good at it, always managing to do it as the Bobbies looked the other way.

Bath Abbey

Yesterday we went to Bath - took the train (1 1/2 hour ride). It was beautiful city. Very historic. The Bath hot springs ruin is incredible - over a thousand years old. We walked up the hills and marvelled at the fantastic architecture. The progression of 17th and 18th century mansions were very impressive. We had supper in a little restaurant in a house that was built in 1458! A great day all around.

Having lots of fun. Only two days left in London.

The crescent @ Bath

A step in time

There's so much to do here, it's hard to know where to begin. Yesterday we took the tube to Portobello Market, where there were hoards of people. One of the shopkeepers commented that the showers were keeping people away and I felt like saying, "are you crazy"? I couldn't see how it could hold any more people. It stretched on for about 2 1/2 kms with everything under the sun. Ira got his pocket picked and lost a few pounds - tsk, tsk - he was the one preaching to me to use my money belt. What's the saying, "do as I say, not as I do"?

After we meandered throughout the neighbourhoods of Notting Hill, we gave up on our quest to find Kensington Park and took the tube downtown so that we could walk to Harrod's. It was unbelievable. I've never been so lost in a store before. It was difficult getting into the store due to the anti-fur protesters outside. My favourite section was the pet section, with the luxury day beds and strollers for dogs. If I didn't have such a small suitcase, I would have brought one home for Fibi - I just would have to take out a small mortgage to pay for it! We spent 3 hours in the store and walked out with a few food stuffs and that was it. Ira liked it that they had good looking real-life mannequins in evening dresses. The opulence was almost too much to bear. We put 13.5 kms on our feet today so it was a good day all round.

Greenwich Mean Time calculated by the red time ball 

Today we took the cruise boat down the Thames to Greenwich. Greenwich is a lovely little town and the navy college has some fantastic buildings in it. The painted ceiling room and the chapel are something to behold. We walked up the hill to the observatory where the Greenwich mean time originates.

The Painted Room

The Chapel

We took the train back to town and walked back to our hotel past Westminster Cathedral - what a fantastic building that is. We plan to explore that another day.

Houses of Parliament

 Today we clocked 12.5 kms on our feet. We started out the day saying that we should walk less so we accomplished that goal, although not by much. You're so busy taking in all of the beautiful buildings that you get lost in time and don't even realize how far you've walked.  So far the old bodies are holding up - let's hope it lasts.

Watch out London - Ira and Sue have hit town!

We started the day off bright and early, catching the bus at the park and ride at 7:10 a.m. for the airport. Everything went smoothly. The plane ride didn't seem too terribly long. We had exit seats so had tons of leg room. People were stumbling over Ira's big boots while they wanted to use the loo, all the while green with envy because of our ability to stretch our legs out straight and they couldn't. We took the Gatwick Express from the airport to downtown London, which was seamless. Half an hour and we were there. The weather is absolutely fabulous - about 23 degrees.  Luckily, we were able to check into our hotel room right away and flop on the bed for a bit before heading out. Our room is in an old B & B in a great neighbourhood near Victoria station. It's going to work out very well.

 It's hard to adjust to the time change. I almost fell asleep over my beer this afternoon so came back to the room to have a nap. We're going to try and make it to 10:00 p.m. before we go to bed but we'll see how that goes. Best laid plans and all. Ira says I was a grumpy bear for a bit once we arrived today so I'll try and do better from now on! That's what lack of sleep does to me. Get out of my way .....

Love, love, love all of the English accents and the neat sayings. I've noticed that most of the people I've seen today have been slim - must be all of the walking that keeps them in shape.

We've taken the tube a couple of times today. Pretty basic system. The Oyster card is great. You just punch it and go and punch it on your way out. We walked over London Bridge and then back over Tower Bridge but will do more indepth exploring after we've had a bit of sleep.