The Holiday Blog

I’ve decided to use this blog just to write about places I visit.

Next holiday is planned for Noosa in November.

The Italy Awards

You know when you get back from holiday, the photos are downloaded, the suitcase is unpacked and put away, the laundry done and you slip into the old routine – bills to pay, must get a haircut, need to enroll in Italian classes again etc. – and the holiday becomes a distant memory? Well, before my Italian holiday does just that, here are a couple of the ‘Best of…’

Best Food: Big ticks for gelato, coffee and pizza – except the pizzeria with the sign ‘Pineapple available’. No tick for you. I was beginning to despair of Italian food. I had seen the crusty breads, fresh salad vegetables, cheeses and fruits in the markets but they didn’t seem to make it to the restaurant table. The traditional food of land-locked Umbria was all too heavy for the warm weather and every restaurant that I could afford was serving the same things. Who wants Osso Bucco (veal casserole), wild boar or veal in port and truffle sauce  in summer? Not me. I tried to avoid touristy places but as I was a tourist and staying in very touristy cities it was difficult. I had been in Italy for 5 days before I got lucky.

Porchetta was being sold from a van in the market in Orvieto. Wikipedia describes porchetta as ‘savoury, fatty and moist boneless pork gutted, rolled, spitted and roasted over a wood fire.’ It is stuffed with lard, garlic, rosemary, fennel and wild herbs and has lots of added salt. Served warm on a bread roll it was delicious!

But the most memorable meal was at a cafe called Il Particciolo in the main street of Manarola, one of the Cinque Terre towns. I ate outside. The wine was chilled and the tortelloni (pasta) with mussels, octopus and pinenuts were cooked perfectly in lots of garlic, parsley and olive oil.

Best Hotel: It should have been the room in beautiful Vernazza but as I wrote at the time, it was just too noisy. The room was in the pale apricot house next to the church.

So the award for best hotel goes to Hotel Astoria in Genoa because it had a fabulous lift.

…with a seat.

Back to Australia

A lot changes in five weeks. That’s the length of time I’ve been away in Europe. Here’s a few things that have happened.

Lillian turned 4 years old.

Arlo helps Lil unwrap a birthday present

 Edward can now crawl but is too busy eating in this photo to demonstrate his new-found skill.

The underpass to the beach is being repainted by Trevor Dickinson. It’s almost finished and it looks good.

And it’s winter! Cold, windy but blue, clear skies. The wind was a westerly this weekend so that means big seas. Lots of people were down at the foreshore to look at the huge waves crashing over the Baths.

High tide draws a crowd at Newcastle Baths

I’m hoping that by mid-week I’ll be over the jet-lag. Does it get worse as you get older I wonder? It seems to be taking longer than usual to shake off.

Family and food

The holiday is almost over. I had a couple of days to spare before the perfect weekend. I arrived in London from Italy on Wednesday and headed for James and Cara’s lovely renovated flat. Amazingly for an English summer, the weather continued warm and sunny so no need for those warm tops that I brought with me.

On Thursday I took a train to Hampton Court, home to King Henry VIII. The palace is on the banks of the Thames and is quite small in comparison to the grand French palaces of the Loire.

Each hour or so actors in costume attract an audience and tell something about the history of the room they are in. This man was telling us about Henry’s recent marriage, his 4th.

Yesterday I went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. I can only do a couple of hours in a museum before my brain goes numb. The V&A seems to have a bit of everything; furniture, paintings, sculpture, jewellery and textiles. I enjoyed the display of theatrical costumes. There was even a jump suit worn by Mick Jagger. He must have been soooo skinny and it must have been so tight. It was tiny.

V&A on a hot day

The holiday finale came in the way of food and family. On Saturday Cara’s parents invited us to lunch. As always, they were very hospitable. No dinner needed!

On Sunday We all headed up to Milton Keynes for a long-awaited family lunch. It is a long time since all the ‘children’have seen each other. Richard and Lucy, James and Cara, Grace and James. Only missing were David and Madeline but they were at a wedding (and in Australia). My mother seemed to enjoy herself and it was a big thank you to Elaine and Mike for all the lovely food and drink. Once again, no dinner needed. Thank you everyone. I had a great holiday.

 

Vernazza to Corneglia- a walk in the Cinque Terre

Surprisingly, my legs weren’t aching after the walk from Vernazza to Monterosso yesterday so it was off in the other direction to Cornelia.

Vernazza again- it's just impossibly picturesque

The path starts in the town and the upwards climb wasn’t as steep as yesterday. The views were less spectacular as,  though the path still hugs the coast,  there is more vegetation blocking the view of the cliffs and the blue, blue Med.

Most of the paths are like this

Then all of a sudden this!

‘Path closed for repairs. No admittance.’Some other walkers asked if they could go through but were told  everybody would have to take the road. This wasn’t nearly as pleasant as walking along the scrubby path and the town was further away.

Far away Corneglia

The closed path added 30 minutes to the walk so I was pleased to get a coffee and a pastry in Corneglia.

Corneglia

I bought a 2 day Cinque Terre pass the day I arrived. It cost €19 and entitles the holder to free transport on the train to any of the Cinque Terre stations and free bus connections to villages like Cornelia. It’s the only village in the group to be in the hills and not on the coast. If you don’t have a pass you have to pay at the checking stations to walk the paths and when you use the train you have to purchase tickets.

After a quick coffee fix I took the bus and train to the next village Manarola. There is a walk from Corneglia to Manarola but it seems to permanently closed due to land-slides. I saw the landslides the next day in fact when I took a short boat ride to Manarola for dinner.

Manarola

From Manarola it’s a stroll on a real footpath 30 minutes to Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

The best walk was the first one. It was the most challenging but very scenic. At this time of the year every train is crowded with people going from one town to the next. It’s hot. A lot of people just want a swim. Many never go near the walking tracks. Many travel in their swimmers and not all look good enough to be doing that!

And where to stay? I am staying in Vernazza. There is one main street that leads down to the harbour where small boats are moored. The small town curves around the harbour and many of its cafes and bars are there. There is also a small  beach. Because Vernazza is surrounded by hills every sound carries. It’s school holidays so kids are up late. It’s a lively place with beach football starting at 10pm and nobody (except me?) going to bed before 2am or later. If this is your scene than Vernazza is the place for you. It wasn’t my scene. I am tired. The noise stops for a couple of hours then the church bells start at 7am. I was staying next to the church.

My choice for accommodation would be Manarola, Monterosso or, outside the Cinque Terre one stop on the train, Levanto. The Ligurian Coast is a beautiful part of the world. The sea is on one side and on the other, mountains. I saw this as I came on the train to Genoa today. There’s a lot more to Liguria than the Cinque Terre and a lot of it looks lovely.

Walking the walk in the Cinque Terre

Don’t know how my legs will feel in the morning after the walk from Vernazza to Monterosso, two of the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre National Park. It’s only a 3km walk but it’s a very steep climb up and a very steep climb down to Monterosso.  On Sunday I started off before it got too hot and there were only a few people on the narrow coastal track. There are plenty of excuses to stop as you have to keep reaching for the camera. The views are spectacular.

Leaving Vernazza

Vernazza from the top of a steep climb

...and from the top of an even steeper climb!

.....and down the other side to Monterosso

Depending on the state of the legs I hope to do a walk to another of the Cinque Terre towns tomorrow.

San Gimignano

Are all these hill towns starting to blur for you? There is a similarity isn’t there? They are all very old with pre-Roman origins. They are built in remote locales on hill-tops, usually surrounded by walls and they are all beautiful. For me, they are all different but looking at the photos it’s a bit hard to tell them apart. Anyway,  here’s another.

The distinguishing feature of San Gimignano is its towers. 14 remain of the original 72, built in 13^th century. There are vineyards, figs and olives growing down the slopes to the valley below. Many of the plants growing in the gardens would be familiar to Australians living in Eastern Australia. There is the native jasmine or Star Jasmine, hibiscus and oleander. I’ve seen these plants growing all over Umbria and Tuscany.

On the day I visited there was a market in town. It took up the whole of the main piazza. Lovely leather handbags, clothes, fruit and vegetables, cheeses and bread all looked good. And there was that porchetta again. A whole pig, roasted until golden and then served up for lunch.

There were shops selling produce from the region such as cheeses, olive oil, wine and salami. This shop had a notice in English saying that the cheeses were vacuumed packed ready to take home. Not to Australia. Customs would have a fit!

The bus trip from Siena took just over an hour. There was a problem on the way back with the air-conditioning. It was a very hot hour. Bus fares are cheap. A ticket to San Gimignano cost €5.50. Another place to tick off on my list of places to see.

Siena

Good bye Umbria, hello Tuscany. I’m in the beautiful city of Siena. Siena’s most famous landmarks are in Piazza Del Campo, just a five minute walk from my hotel.

The Piazza del Campo has been the heart of the old city since the mid-14^th century and it was a Roman market place before that. It’s hard to take a photo that does it justice and shows its size.

The piazza is scalloped-shaped and the paving slopes down from the Gaia Fountain to the town hall, the Palazzo Comunale,  to create an amphitheatre.

The whole piazza is surrounded by buildings, mostly restaurants and bars, so it is always full of people, noisy and busy.

The busiest  two days of the year are on 2 July and 16 August when Il Palio takes place. The Palio is a horse race with origins dating back to the middle ages. Here’s what happens; riders from 10 of the towns district race bare-back for the honour of winning a silk banner, the palio and also the honour of their district. Spectators fill the centre of the piazza and the riders and horses race around the perimeter three times. It’s almost no-holds barred. The only rule, reins may not be interfered with. If a riderless horse comes in first then it is the winner, no jockey needed. Of course, before the actual horse race there is the pageant. Each district has its own colours and animal symbol and members of the district parade around the Campo dressed in medieval garb dressed in their respective colours and waving huge flags.

Street lamps in L'onda district

Special street lamps are put up for the spectacle. All is ready in the Onda district, while in the snail district, there’s still work to be done on the lighting.

The streets are being decorated in readiness for the Palio. Flags are flying and special street lamps are being put in place. The Palio is HUGE!

I’m enjoying Siena. The weather is still gorgeous and sunny and it’s the right size for a four day stay. There’s plenty to see and it’s it near to other places of interest, like San Gimignano. More about that in the next post.

Quiet Monday, Orvieto

Monday is a good day to visit Orvieto. All the locals are back at work or school. The nonnas who were out pushing grandchildren in prams and showing them off to friends on Sunday are now pushing their  shopping trolleys and getting in the groceries. Groups of tourists visit the town but only stay for a few hours. It’s quiet.

My hotel is quiet too. It’s been quiet for 3 of the 4 days I have been here. I haven’t seen another person at breakfast though the dining room seats 50. One morning there was a group of Germans but they were leaving the hotel as I was getting to breakfast. It’s an old-fashioned, family-run place. The furniture is solid, the drapes in the public areas are heavy and dark, the sheets are monogrammed and the bed gets ‘turned down’every evening. The building itself is very old with shuttered windows  and, best of all, its just off the main piazza from the Duomo so very convenient for the bus and train.

From the third floor terrace there is a view of the Duomo. Looking in the other direction, this is the view.

See the pale blue thing attached to the top of the building? I wondered what it was. My trusty Lonely Planet describes Orvieto’s most famous festival, the Palombella, held on Pentecost Sunday since 1404. The festival celebrates good luck and the Holy Spirit, whose symbol is a dove.  A dove is put in a cage which is suspended on a wire. The wire goes from the building you can see in the photo down 300 metres through the laneway next to my hotel to the foot of the steps of the Duomo. Fireworks surround the cage to add to the spectacle – and the terror of the bird- then, when they are lit,  the cage, bird and fireworks hurtle down to the steps of the Duomo. The last couple to marry in the cathedral get to keep the bird for a year.

I imagine that my hotel will be full for the festival. The flaming dove speeds right past on its flying fox and the upstairs terrace would give great views.

Orvieto

I’m taking the opportunity to write a couple of posts as my computer seems to be working after refusing to connect to the internet, So, here’s hoping….

Perugia was impressive, big and busy with grand buildings. Gubbio was small and very quiet and quaint. Hill town #3 is Orvieto, the perfect mix of the two.

 

The impressive Gothic cathedral, originating in 1290,  attracts bus loads of visitors each day – I’ve seen them. To get to the main piazza from the train station is a ride in a funicular and then a bus up to the town perched on a limestone cliff. A walk around the city walls gives a good idea of how high up the town is.

There has been a settlement in Orvieto since Etruscan times, that’s pre-Roman so the many churches built in 13^th and 14^th century are new arrivals.

Today, Sunday, I’m having a day off. I feel as though I need a break from wandering the streets sight-seeing. I was going to have a break yesterday but then I blew all the fuses in my room using a dodgy plug adaptor. I had looked up on the internet to see what kind of adaptor I’d need in Italy. Same as France was the answer. Wrong! There’s a sub-group for Hill towns of Umbria (and maybe Tuscany I’ll let you know when I get to Siena). That’s my deduction anyway.

My Italian is limited to asking basic directions, buying tickets and ordering food. Blown fuses are not even mentioned in my phrase book so by the time I had got the message across at hotel reception and found the shop where I could buy what I needed half the day had gone. Then I saw a street market and had to have a wander around. There were stalls selling clothes, bags, fruit and veg, fish and meat. I liked the look of the whole cooked pig, porchetta.