Yesterday forgot to mention that I stumbled across a mass of people queued up to buy their Juventus Football Team season tickets.
I had planned to spend my morning in Torino but it started raining gently so I packed up my bags and headed for the 1:45 drive towards Como. Perhaps driving at 160kms in a 130 zone in the rain wasn’t my most brilliant idea but when the autostradas are dead straight for 30 kilometres at a time it is just so easy.
My GPS takes me 16kms off course and I finally arrive at my hotel in Moltrasio on Lake Como. The road down to the lake is barely wide enough for one car and it is two way. I manage to make it down to the hotel only to find out that there were other possibilities.
The hotel (Grand Imperiale) is a grand hotel which they claim was built in the 1700s. The lobby, like all Italian hotels is marble while the rooms are comfortable minimalist but I am good being very relaxed apart from the rain outside. Irritating of course is the $A27 a day for parking and the $A27 per day they ask for 24 hours of internet – lucky I paid $7 for the month to have my own – take that!!!
I have never been to Como but have heard many friends wax lyrical about the area and I can understand why. Beautiful 200+ year old houses and villas surround the lake with the backdrop of beautiful hills/mountains with houses set in them sporadically all the way down to the water. I would rate this as one of the most beautifully scenic places I have ever been to. I am planning my next European sojourn for 2014 (my 60th birthday) and certainly will consider renting an apartment here for a week.
I have lunch by the lake and pick up a brochure for a boat hire and while it is expensive it seems as though it may be the ideal way to see the lake, the Villas Carlotta and Balbianello and Bellagio which I am told are must see attractions here – may go down and try and negotiate a deal.
I get back to the room and while it rains I catch up on some work, emails and planning. I didn’t realise that I am only 30 minutes from Lugano so may go there for a dinner and then again maybe not = http://www.ristorante-santabbondio.ch/uploads/Menu_Inglese.pdf. I decide to go to Lugano for dinner and have a light meal overlooking the lake.
I head back to the hotel and note a 160 shop outlet centre including Armani and other great labels (http://www.foxtown.ch/docu/Guida_Shopping.zip) which may get my attention in the next few days. I arrive back and there is a wonderful scene of people dining and drinking on the patio in the garden with a pianist playing. I sit there for an hour taking in the 22:00 sunset and a cappuccino. Off to bed after I spend some time planning my last three days before Aix-en-Provence. Was thinking Lyon but this adds two hours to the drive so am thinking Cannes or Grasse, both have Accor hotels with good deals so will decide soon although the way I feel at the moment another night or two here may be a possibility, especially if the weather improves.
Next morning I decide to master the Lake Como ferry system and catch the 08:54 Rapido from Moltrasio to Bellagio. Arriving there about 35 minutes later (1.5 hours by normal ferry) I spent a few hours walking around this most charming Baroque town. In fact I think if I had known more about the area I might have chosen to stay closer to Bellagio.
Another Rapido to Lenno a coffee and a short wait for the Rapido to Como where I lunch and walk around yet another beautiful town. Finally, and with some rain starting I head back to the hotel, collect the car and drive to the Outlet Centre. Must say that this is the finest collection of shops I have ever seen but again I didn’t need anything so left for Milano empty handed. I did resist the Ferragamo shoes reduced......from 8920 Euros ($A12,000) to mere snip at 2754 ($A3600) - they were indeed alligator - didnt even like them that much.....
I was in Milano fleetingly in 1978 and didn’t think much of the city. I arrived around 5:30pm and spent three hours walking around and having dinner. I walked past La Scala which is less than imposing given its stature. Milano didn’t strike me as anything special but again I probably didn’t give it much chance with just three hours.
While there I took some cash from my Citibank ATM. Now normally when I do this my phone rings while I am just collecting my card but this time it took about 5 minutes so I told the young lady from Bangalore that I was disappointed with how long she took to call – I don’t think she understood my humour.
Back to the hotel and I am soooo tired. I had planned a poolside rest but the weather simply hasn’t been accommodating.
Next morning I wake to lovely sunshine – well actually to a very early phone call but with sunshine. I spend three hours catching up on my mail (thanks Danielle for scanning and emailing) and some work which requires attention so don’t get going till mid-morning. I head towards Lenno and Tremezzo to visit the two main villas in the area.
Now, so far I have driven 3,800 kilometres this trip and haven’t had too many problems but the road to these two Villas is a superb advertisement for the ferry system. The road is barely wide enough for two cars and at times not even that. It comprises blind turn after blind turn and the locals travel at great speed around these corners and pass you without a care in the world albeit missing you by millimetres.
Anyway I survived to see Villa Carlotta which was a wonderful but slightly sterile lakeside Villa with beautiful gardens. On the way to Carlotta I stopped at Lenno in an attempt to see the Villa Balbianello. Go figure that it is a twenty minute walk to the Villa but on Thursday and Friday they close off the walk and you must get a speedboat for €6 return. I guess this is one way to ensure fuller employment. Anyway I return to Lenno and lunch by the boat entry at an open restaurant which I swear I thought was set for a wedding.
Balbianello is such an interesting place. Until the 16th century the site housed Capuchin Monks and in the late 17th century Cardinal Durini built a church, Loggia and the Villa. Over the years it passed hands a few time until it was acquired in 1974 by Count (non -hereditary equivalent to a knighthood) Guido Monzino, an Italian explorer who was the first Italian to reach the peak of Everest and also reached the North Pole. The Villa was renovated over four years to become a testimony to his life and houses all of his mementos, medals, rare masks, statuettes and much more. The entire house is done with Naval furniture and it is surrounded by the most stunning gardens.
Anyway it is around 16:00 as I head back to the hotel and it looks like weather for the pool. However by the time I get back – overcast and I fall asleep on the bed until around 21:00 when I start to watch Andy Murray play tennis. Don’t know why but I never like to see Englishmen win at sport. I head downstairs for a coffee and hear the pianist who is now accompanied by a chanteuse who imagines she is an opera singer – not confirmed by the facts. A beautiful fireworks exhibition starts on the lake and I then enjoy a Spanish band at the adjacent bar/restaurant.
Back to the room where I get nervous about accommodation for the next three nights when I see just about every hotel room fully booked tomorrow (Saturday night) so I book at a hotel in Cannes and will burrow down there for the next three nights before taking possession of my apartment in Aix-en-Provence.
I am totally intoxicated with Lake Como and have a bit of a plan to have a family celebration of my 60th birthday here in 2014. There are plenty of places for rent of varying types and it would be so much fun to spend a week here and a week in Provence surrounded by family. Anyway for another day.
Next morning I leave around 08:00. With around 04:15 of driving I wanted to leave a lot of time for stops and walks etc. in places I have been to before like San Remo, Menton and Monte Carlo.
Well paid the bill and hit the road, narrow as it was for the first 6kms, around 09:00. It was supposed to be a four hour drive but it turned out to be 10 hours of which 2.5 hours was due to major traffic jams including one surrounding the Ironman the next day in Nice when I insisted on taking the ocean road from Menton to Cannes rather than the motorway which also likely added 1.5 hours.
On the way I stopped at Menton to enjoy a quiche and cappuccino and a further stop in that place described by W Somerset Maugham as “a sunny place for shady people” - Monte Carlo. I was revisiting place where Linda and I had spent two weeks each playing bridge.
For Anna and Danielle: I also stopped at the Casino Mini-Market in Eze and wore a disguise to buy a drink.
I finally reached the Excel-Suites hotel to find that I had booked an excellent one bedroom apartment for the three nights before I head to Aix-en-Provence. After checking in I walked to the supermarket to buy something to cook for dinner after which I walked the 15 minutes down to Croissette (the road along the water). The nightlife in Cannes is vibrant and even though tourist season doesn’t start in earnest till Bastille Day (14th July) there were people everywhere and the restaurants seemed to be doing very nicely thank you. A taxi back to the hotel after a two hour walk and a good night’s sleep.
Next morning I cooked breakfast and walked to the marketplace down near the water. It scares me that I have never stayed in Cannes but knew exactly how to get to the market which I have indeed visited by car on many occasions. The fruit, vegetables, cheeses, flowers and produce available at this market are truly remarkable. Fresh, unusual – four different types of zucchinis that I saw and one stall that sold nothing but mushrooms and seemingly an endless variety at that. I picked up some raspberries, baby gooseberries, red currants and cherries and walked down the main street winding up at a seaside coffee and lemon presse.
Back to the hotel to work out what I will do for the afternoon although the rooftop Jacuzzi does look tempting.
Oh well this blog is long enough for now and I don’t expect too much in the days to come so I will post it and keep looking for something to do for the rest of the day.
Love to all
XX David
Next morning I decide to go to the Jewish Museum at Camden Park. An exhibition of Jews in entertainment has some interest. The museum and exhibitions were just OK, well done but not very strong in content.
One thing that annoyed me was that at the end of the Holocaust section of the museum there was a section where you could write “what would you take” if it was you fleeing or being taken away. One idiot wrote my Playstation, Ipod etc. – clearly didn’t get it.
On the way to the Underground I stumble on the Camden Markets, something that stirred in my memory – probably from watching too much UKTV. Not much there except a T Shirt which says I don’t need any more sex, I get F&*(d by the government every day!
I head back to Leicester Street and Chinatown and had a great lunch. A bit strange were some young kids eating KFC on the street where there was so much excellent food around them – go figure.
On the way home I bought a birthday cake and decoration for Claudia which we shared at Helen’s parent’s place – her mum asked after Danielle.
Finished packing my bags and off to Gatwick. No problem getting to Victoria, selling my Oyster Card back to British Rail and hopping the Gatwick Express. I get to the airport with the intention of checking my bag in at 20:00 saving me some time in the morning, but the time is only 18:30 so I sit around having a coffee and at the allotted time I check my bag in and purchase Speedy Boarding which is offered to 30 if the 156 passengers at £11.50. While I had no intention of doing this my enquiry resulting in advice that the plane was overbooked prompted me to DO IT!
I ask after a taxi and am told to call a number that the taxi is much cheaper than from the airport. I later find out that Gatwick has 32 million passenger movements a year making it the 31st most busy airport in the world. Assuming half of those are leaving and that 14% (I am told) use a taxi then there are 2.25 million taxis being taken from the airport. Apparently the owners of the airport sold the franchise rights to book cabs for £350,000 per annum. Booking a cab involves going to a window making a booking and that person getting a cab to come from the holding pen to the airport – i.e. there is no taxi rank per se at the airport!!
Seems to me the owners would make a lot more than that if they simply charged each cab £1. Anyway the background is that a cab taken at the airport would cost £13 while the one I phoned cost £9 and only took five minutes to pick me up.
Anyway I get to the hotel get to bed and wake at 4:00am the next morning to get the 4:30am shuttle or so I thought. Got down to the front desk at 04:35 to pay the bill only to find that the Shuttle was full and had left. “Oh didn’t they tell you to be down fifteen minutes before” the Eastern European receptionist ask “No they f&*(g well didn’t. Anyway after expressing my disgust for the situation the hotel paid for taxi – score one for DS.
The cab drops me at the drop off point and it seems at least a 2km walk to reach the security point. No problems through to the plane – usual enquiry to check the size of my carry on – it passes.
I think that there is something on my plane booking which say “park at the furthest gate possible” as I walk some 2kms to make the flight. At least I get to board and choose an exit row. Now the broadest man you have ever seen doesn’t pick two petite ladies to sit between – no he sits between me and another larger than average person – spreads his legs and arms – déjà vu American trip all over again. Anyway only 2 hours.
For somebody that usually organises his life pretty much in advance I have 8 days on this trip with no itinerary or agenda. I was half planning to toss a coin when I picked up the car and decide where I would go Marseilles, Toulouse and Dodogne or Lake Como. The night before I could stand it no longer and decided for Lake Como. I booked a hotel in Torino for two nights.
Later in the day I booked what looks like a sensational hotel Grande Imperiale Hotel Lake Como (http://www.grand-hotel-imperiale-como-lake.com/)
The day was a little emotional for me. I picked up the car (a brand new Citroen C4) and after idiotically not being able to put the car into reverse and being shown (need to lift a ring around the gear shift) I drive to Savona and Turin (300kms 3 hours) On the way I pass Monte Carlo where I had spent two weeks with Linda, a Villa atop Menton where I had spent another two weeks with Linda and various other spots which bring thoughts flooding back to me.
I had meant to drive down to the morning fruit market at Menton, - knowing exactly where it was and how to get there - in order to buy some (French) white cherries that I resisted at Harrods’ asking price of $A45 a kilo, but I missed the turnoff and simply kept going.
To Anna and Danielle I resisted the urge to take the Pompeiana turnoff and yes there was one off the freeway believe it or not!!
Couldn’t resist stopping at an Outlet Centre 70kms from Turin which had beautiful shops I must say including Navigare, one of my favourite Knitwear companies. Of course I bought something I wanted but can’t really say I needed but given the weather reports from Sydney I certainly see myself using it.
I arrived in Turin and checked into the hotel which had changed its name and the new name appeared nowhere to be seen. Catch up on some emails to relax for an hour. I then go for a walk down the historical part of Turin to find a most wonderful city with a lot of charm and beauty.
Now I don’t want anybody reading this to die of shock but I am seriously thinking of going to Lucia Di Lammermoor tomorrow night. It hasn’t happened yet but I am thinking 75%. Tickets are available and I will decide tomorrow morning.
Dinner and some much needed sleep after waking at the equivalent of 05:00, flying for two hours and then driving for three more.
Next morning I wake, have the standard Italian Hotel breakfast and go for a very long walk and discover how truly lovely this city is. The Palazzo Castello, the many lovely buildings with beautiful forecourts – it truly is an amazing place. I walk to the Opera Theatre and yes even queued up for 45 minutes to get my ticket so yes I will be going tonight.
Some things in life want to make you grab somebody by the neck and shake some sense into them. I go into the Turin Tourist information office and ask for any tourist information in English. “Oh we have a tourist pack with five brochures in it for €5 ($A7). Who dreams up this stupidity??? Anyway I saved my five Euros and just kept walking finding one more beautiful Piazza after another.
Lunch at a local Asian (sorry but I have been in Italy for three weeks) restaurant and more afternoon mooching before my pre-opera nap. This city seems to be a series of extremely large buildings maybe 200 years old, most of which take up a city block. Within the centre of the buildings are beautiful courtyards with flowers etc.. Upstairs are apartments or offices with beautiful retail at street level. The size of the historic centre is unbelievably large and it is obvious that there is more disposable income here than in Sicily.
Italian lesson for the day – 21 letter alphabet no J K W X or Y. Oh and BTW they do have fresh milk on the mainland and lovely cappuccino as a result.
That night I hop the 10 minute ride to the Opera – yes I could have walked it but have been on my feet ALL day so I treat myself.
On a scale of 1-10 of my possibility of enjoying the Opera it was an 8. Note to self: next time read the story line before I go! Obviously it was in Italian and they had the libretto, two lines at a time coming on a letter board above the stage. Now if they are singing in Italian why not put it up in ANOTHER language (joking). To Donazetti’s credit I did manage to follow most of what was happening.
For the benefit of Jerome: Lucia: Elena Mosuc - Edgardo: Francesco Meli - Enrico: Fabio Maria Capitanucci - Arturo Bucklaw: Saverio Fiore - Bidebent: Vitalij Kowaljow - Alisa: Federica Giansanti - Norman: Cristiano Olivieri - Conductor: Bruno Campanella.
I try to get into a cab to avoid a 10-15 minute walk only to find that they all have their meters already turned on at around €9-10 so I decide to save the $A20 fare and take a very pleasant walk back. Interestingly, being 23:00 the streets are quite alive with young people many of whom seem to be school age.
If anybody is near Turin I would recommend a visit as it is a city which has the most wonderful relaxing and friendly feeling about it.
Hope everybody is well.
Love to all. XXXD
Arrive at Olbia airport where I regret not paying the twelve pound speedy check in early boarding premium as there is a long check in queue, a totally inefficient and time consuming security check, followed by a second security check and then queue to hoard for numbered seats. The flights is delayed by 45 minutes but nobody steps out of the queue afraid to miss their chance at a prime seat whatever that may be.
Anyway an uneventful flight and we are met at the airport by the car I had arranged for Robert/Kathy to get them to Heathrow and after a short negotiation from 45 down to 25 pounds to drop me after that at Hammersmith where I get a warm greeting from Helen Espen and the girls whose first question was "is Bailey still alive". They did live at my place for a month and looked after the dogs which may make the question more understandable.
Long chat with a beautiful Nespresso coffee and a very late dinner then off to bed.. Next morning up early showered and dressed I go with Espen to drop the girls a school and Eve grabs my hand and asks me to come and see her classroom and friends. I am so ready for grandchildren it's not funny.
Espen drops me on Chiswick Road and I buy some lovely fresh fruit and berries for breakfast. I head to the railway station to buy an Oyster Card and catch the train to town. They don't sell the cards at e station of course - five minute walk to the shop to buy one they say - I decide to buy a fare to Earl's Court and buy one there until I found out it is a £1.60 Oyster Card fare and £4.00 cash fare. Some quick maths and I work out I am being paid $48 an hour to walk and buy the card - so I do.
Note to self - West Kensington is not near Kensington which I found out after a lengthy walk. I wandered around Earl's Court and not one thing has changed there. I get on a tube and get off at Green Gate walking around a lovely part of town, Curzon Street Mayfair with lovely eateries. Pre-conceptions of London food should be forgotten as each one of about 20 places looks better than the one before. I stick my head in a few shops before settling on a light meal as far away from Italy as I could get - Sushi!!!'
Across to St Jermyn Street and St James for an hour of casual strolling, coffee, book shops (professional interest believe me). And a walk up towards Oxford Circus for a humorous interlude. I walk into what is the biggest Apple store I have ever seen. I would guess there were more than 700 customers and genii (plural genius) and I ask who is the best person in the store to out on a new screen protector for my iPhone. I get directed to a guy who puts on, sorry unsuccessfully puts on five repeat five protectors aft which he gives me two for free and says all too hard. We shared a laugh and. Left with a protector on my phone with a grain of dust under it and two more to try later.
I walk down the length of Oxford Street and get the tube back to Hammersmith when I reach Marble Arch. Six hours on my feet and the only thing I have bought is two packets of Godiva mint twigs which I thought they had stopped making but which are only available in Europe, oh and a small credit card holder.
I get back and change and we drive the five minutes to La Trompette a Michelin one star which Espen chose and booked for dinner at my request. I really wanted the mushroom soup for appetiser but who can go to a Michelin Restaurant and have mushroom soup. Anyway the host picked up on this and served the soup as an amuse Bouche which was well done. The lobster and lemon asparagus foam salad for entree was amazing as was the chocolate fondants dessert but the cod and salt cod main wasn't totally to my taste being a little oily and lacking in seasoning. All in all however a great meal. Don't let anybody tell you that Europe is expensive with this meal being three courses for $60 plus a $9 supplement for the lobster - try getting that in Sydney!
Next morning I am up and dressed early as Espen and I were due to go to the Wimbledon quailing tournament for him to inspect the horses in the saddling enclosure so to speak. London did what it does best starts pissing down with rain. Yesterday had started very sunny but finished overcast and grey by the end of the day so no surprises with today. Espen is devastated and even asks Helen whether the weather is likely to be better at Eastbourne where the lead up tournament is being played. No go!
I get the train to Kensington High Street somewhere I don't believe I have been before. From there I train to Knightsbridge for my usual tour of Harrods and the food areas before setting out by foot and walking to Earls Court. On the way I buy some shirts for Danz and Dave and post them from the nearby post office - all rather painless. I Lunch and mooch before heading home.
I sort of feel I should be doing something cultural while here in London but really I need the exercise and am enjoying doing nothing and mooching. Robkat recommended the Museum of Film which I may do tomorrow.
So next morning I leave early for the London Museum of Film which is located near the London Eye Ferris Wheel at Westminster. The museum was good but there was an extensive exhibition of the life and times of Charlie Chaplin which resparked my interest in his work. As a child I used to love watching him, Abott and Costello and Laurel and Hardy and this exhibition confirmed his true genius. He has been dead 34 years and there are 1.28 million references to him on YouTube.
I decide to go up to Piccadilly Circus and again walk up Regent Street to Oxford Street. The weather is shitty so being 14:00 I decide on playing some rubber bridge for the afternoon which proves profitable as I win £340 although with three rubbers to go I was up £570!!!
I am to meet Richard Sanig a friend of Justin’s for dinner in an hour and it is pissing down with rain so I have a genius idea – I go into the nearby Churchill Hyatt Hotel and ask for an umbrella which they give me no questions asked. I walk towards Connaught Street and see a Synagogue but as I approach the security guards don’t seem very interested in letting me in so I move on to Edgeware Rd and walk about 1km down the street into what could easily have been the downtown in any Middle Eastern city. Cafes with Turkish Pipes, every sign in Arabic it is such a different world.
I have a tasty Indian meal which lasts for three hours and I get home around 11:00pm and, armed with the key I thought I would activate the alarm only to have Espen run down and reset it for nighttime use….
Next morning a load of washing before I leave on Monday morning and I head down to the Harrods annual two day sale. My only comment is that the discounts they were offering were beyond my budget. I picked up a lovely handbag which I thought could be good for Danielle - £1550 but there was a 30% discount!!!
I hop on the Underground to Edgeware where I am to meet Linda’s Aunt Simone and her son (Linda’s Cousin) Phillip. We have a lovely lunch at a salt beef bar and I ask if it would be possible to meet Sandra, Linda’s Uncle’s second wife whom I am very fond of. We phone and she insists we come over for tea. We arrive ten minutes later to a table fully laden with food. An hour and half later Phillip drops me at Stanmore Station where I head back to Espen’s.
Greek dinner and bed before my last day in London.
Anyway nought more for now. Hope everybody is well.
Love to all. XXXD
A small story from Noura on the way to Olbia. There was a tourist mini train tour of the city there which we wanted to take and were told that it would only leave when there were 15-20 people. Same happened with other people that asked. As the train was empty at the time we guessed it would never leave. When we returned one and a half hours later - still sitting there.
After a quick freshen up we drive to the ‘centre historico’ which we find we could have more conveniently walked to. We spent around two hours walking through the cobble-stoned streets with their lovely shops.
Clearly the shops are catering to more wealthy people than many of the other placed we have been to but they aren't overstated and not outrageously expensive. Robert and Kathy garner some gifts for the grandchildren which convinces me that when my time comes I will pre-purchase the gifts rather than schlepping them all back from overseas!!!
We retrace our steps to a restaurant (Officina del gusto) which I found on Tripadviser. Wearing our summer clothes we decide to sit outside despite falling temperatures and a cool breeze, Between seating and leaving, the temperature seems to drop from 22 to around 14 degrees. The weather on the entire trip has been sensational - warm sunny and almost no need to wear anything long sleeve, so this was a bit of shock.
We enjoyed a fantastic seafood antipasto degustation, tuna tartar, one giant oyster, cuttlefish ragout and two other small portions. For mains we have a dish I have only ever had before in Turkey, a salt encrusted baked whole fish which was superb. You will be proud - no dessert (see below), but a great great meal.
Back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.
Next morning we agree to a latish start (09:30) and head up to Palau where we arrive just in time to board the car ferry to La Maddalena. This is a mixture of resort area and flora/fauna protection area. The resorts are sympathetically inset into the hillsides and it seems that none of them are actually located on the beach proper but we see a lot of people at the various small beaches which we come across. We opt not to visit "another" Garibaldi museum where he is in fact buried – ‘museumed’ out!!!
Lunch in the town and a car ferry back to the mainland and a few hours rest. We meet late for dinner driving up to Porto Cervo where we discover the expensive part of town. We settle on a restaurant il Pescatore and have an excellent seafood meal but continue to discover that desserts in Sardinia simply aren't good. Back along the long and winding road late at night, no joy and sleep before our last full day relaxing in Sardinia.
Next morning and we decide to drive back to Porto Cervo to get a better daytime view of what turns out to be the home of the rich and famous. We arrive at the Marina where we decide that any friends with boats have matchbox sized boats with some being 50 metres and more.
We breakfast at a cafe where we meet Martina who speaks excellent English being a student. She talks with an Irish lilt as her teacher is Irish. Martina is 22 and works 4 months of the year at Costa Smeralda and 8 months of the year at the ski resorts close to her native Torino. She wears a wedding ring and when Kathy asks if she is married she laughs and says "Oh no! When my mother got divorced she was about to flush it down the toilet when I rescued it!!" She shares a one bedroom apartment with seven others and pays $A2,800 per month - HER SHARE! Three sleep in the bedroom, three in the lounge room and two on the kitchen floor. A very sweet girl who gets most excited when I explain the working holiday visa plan for Australia to her.Martina explains that it is not possible to buy coffee with fresh milk in Italy and that only UHT milk is available. Now I have 8 days without an itinerary and was thinking Turin and Lake Como but this could be a dealbreaker!!!
We drive down to Porto Rotondo where we go to the sister restaurant Jaguar which is the first place we had found sat directly on the beach and which, by the way is lined with Jaguar cars. A few Sprumantes (freshly squeezed orange juices) and a purchase from one of the Black African beach vendors and we move on to our last stop Golfo Aranci where we sit on the beach and enjoy a late lunch before we go back to the hotel for an afternoon nap.
Up to Olbia Historica for a walk and dinner. We stumble past what seems like a bar and we stick our head in to see if a meal is possible and the owner/chef almost implores us to stay in what seems to be a bar.
He makes us a very nice meal including some Porchetta (Pork) which was amazingly good and a cheese plate. Up to the main drag for a banana and Nutella crepe which I had been promising myself for three days and
home to bed.
Next morning we drive randomly to a beach with a small hut serving coffees and light snacks and sit in the beautiful sun watching a few people on the nearby sand. The owner tells us he sells an umbrella and chair for $A16 a day which he assures us is cheap when others at more luxurious places sell them for $A28-$A55. In August whern the temperatures are above 35 degrees the beach is 'completo" and he works just
three months of the year and holidays for the rest.
Back to the hotel and a final pack before heading to London and the end of my three weeks in Sicily/Sardinia. Technology is great as I have a three way skype call with Justin/Lindy (including video) and Danielle/Dave who are in the car. Pleased that all, except the weather, is great with them.
Well nothing else to report from Italia.
Keep well
XD
Next morning we decide to take in a few sights in Palermo which we had not yet seen including the Cappella Palatino within the Plazza Dei Normanni which is one of the most ornately decorated churches imaginable. Also there was a hall of Garibaldi memorabilia. Somehow it was 15:00 before we got back to the hotel where we used one of the rooms for which we had arranged a late checkout leaving at 17:00 for the airport.
We had planned to eat somewhere on the way. We had asked Phillipe the concierge where we could eat on the way but he couldn’t think of anything. We asked if the airport restaurant was adequate "like eating at my mother-in-law" he says. After a very painless check in we do have a quite acceptable dinner and board our 40 seater prop plane landing an hour later in Cagliari. Taxi to the hotel which is lovely but in a strange area about 5kms from the city proper and a very sound night's sleep as the driving and touring catches up on me.
Typical Italian breakfast - 15th day of rolls, ham, cheese, yogurt, etc. and we head into town by taxi. We struggle to find the tourist train and get there 10 minutes after it left and 50 minutes before the next one. We try to 'employ' a cab driver for one and a half hours to take us around the sights but he would not move from his asking price of E80 so I placed a curse on him that he should not get a fare for the next one and a half hours and we did some touring by foot.
We got a taxi to the airport - note to self, one needs to call for cabs in Cagliari as they are rarely seen vacant on the street - and collect our car. I have delayed the car collection until today to save one day's rental as the car here is quite expensive. We head towards Pula, a lovely coastal beachside town where the sand is white and pure where we have one of the better lunches of our travels - well prepared with the addition of garlic, something which was lacking in much of the food to date.
Nora is a historical Phoenician Temple and Mosaic and now to be known as the place where Katja sprained her ankle. As we waited for the 15:00 tour she tripped over a small step and quite fortunately didn’t do too much damage but it did prevent us from seeing the temple/mosaics. We decided to drive to Iglesias which was a nice town about 80kms away and then back to the hotel.
That evening we decided on our fourth fine dining experience and it turned out to be our best so far the Dal Corsair. The room was elegantly and tastefully decorated in every sense with some antique (?) furniture and books, paintings, wine bottles etc. all placed so beautifully. My meal was a Foi Gras Terrine - perhaps the Corsican French influence followed by a beautiful Seafood Tempura. Katja's grilled octopus was so tender and tasty not to mention the two desserts we shared. One does need to be a little careful with desserts - as I mentioned before there is no fresh milk anywhere here just longlife so when you have anything with milk it is possible that it has longlife or condensed milk. Anyway simply outstanding.
Things are really bad when I am looking forward to getting to London so I can have a good cappuccino!!!!!
Next morning same old same old Italian breakfast and we head off towards Oristano. On the way are the Nuraghe Funerials. The Nuraghe people are from 2700 years ago during the bronze age. The structures have no foundations and stand only by virtue of the weight of its stones, which may weigh as much as several tons. Some Nuraghes are more than 20 metres in height. Today, there are more than 8,000 Nuraghes still extant in Sardinia, although it has been estimated that they once numbered more than 30,000. Nuraghes are most prevalent in the northwest and south-central parts of the island.[
We then stumble across Sardinia en Miniature, a vast garden with the whole of Sardinia and its interesting points represented in miniature. Without going into details, within Stern family lore France en Miniature stands for how determined Danielle is when she wants to be. Anyway it was a great way to get a perspective of the place. I must say at this point we are a little churched and ruined out so things that may have been interesting two weeks ago get a cursory glance. Just after we leave there are road workers who are grading the unpaved road clearly not wanting to let us past. One of them suggested we should Kangaroo over the grader after he learns we are Australian. He says Luigi is Nervous about letting us pass but after making us wait for a few minutes he moves over to let us pass and as we wave to thank him he waves something less gracious back to us.
We drive through some pretty small towns arriving at Oristano. I grab my iPad and look for a hotel and we stumble on the Hotel Duomo. We see lots of signs, they indicate a four star establishment and after much looking we stumble on a simple door for the Albergo (Italian for Hotel) Duomo. Well, any claims to four stars is absurd. The light in the bathroom is a bulb on the ceiling, I wait ten minutes for the hot water to dribble out of the shower, the two foot six inch single bed slopes towards the wall and the room is so small that I stub my two twice on the bed leg. Anyway one night no problem.
It was mid-afternoon where we walk the main streets finding everything shut till 17:00 as per usual but opening while we walk around. Back to the hotel and we agree to meet at 20:30 for dinner. I go out around 19:45 and walk around the open shops and street fair which was good fun and we meet at the restaurant. The owner/chef was very accommodating if not overly cheerful. He came to each table in his chef's whites discussing the menu and taking the orders. His sister and wife helped run the restaurant. The three entrees were great but the mixed grill (sin Phar Lap) was expectedly plain and desserts 7/10. They generously give us miniatures of the local liqueur of blackberries - only one grade above grappa for me and we give them to the receptionist who recommended the restaurant who was MOST grateful.
Word of the day – Transhumance - local seasonal movement of people and livestock.
OK in Italy we do not repeat do not abuse the parking police. For some reason I can only imagine the parking police and the officers of the department of finance all wear guns. I am not sure what answers I would give the Tax Office if they sent people around wearing guns.
Next morning we decide to head to Olbia, the Northern main city and gateway to the Costa Smeralda, the Aga Khan's playground. We stop at an ordinary town called Noura - and hour of my life I will never get back after which we stumble on a holiday apartment complex with three outdoor restaurants where we have lunch overlooking the most beautifully blue seas with backdrops of rocky cliffs, green coastlines and sandy beaches.
In booking hotels it seemed that almost all were away from the beach except those which cost E1000 to E8000 a night. I opted for the new Hilton Doubletree which turned out to be an excellent hotel, lovely rooms, balconies and pools but set in a strange part of the city. A car and GPS makes it mildly irrelevant.
Sardinia seems quite different from Sicily. The houses are better maintained, the people seem more engaging, the roads wider and the drivers more respectful. I check on the per capital GDP in Italy - interestingly the north of Italy is around E30,000 with Sardinia E20,000 Sicily E16,000 similar to Southern Italy. Of note is that Sardinia is the only place in Italy that produces more electricity than it uses.
OK so....Sicily is a fascinating place and entirely different from any pre-conceptions that I had. First and foremost it is relatively safe provided one uses common sense. There aren’t people on every corner waiting to rob you of your possessions.
I had no idea of the history of Sicily – the Greeks, Romans, Germans, French, Spanish and others who have influenced Sicily. And through all of this they seem to have maintained so much evidence of all the past societies. Greek and Roman ruins, medieval churches and buildings, influence on foods and architecture. And then through to the 19th and 20th centuries with Garibaldi and Mussolini and their influences.
I certainly strongly recommend anyone to consider a visit to this wonderful part of the world. While I doubt I will get back here and certainly not for three weeks it has been a memorable holiday so far.
More Soon
XXXD
We walked along the beach at Mondello and I guess if I wasn't spoiled living in one of the best beach cities in the world I may have been impressed. But a beach with narrow strips of free beach area with intermittent strips of private beach with lounges and umbrellas which are rented 10 Euros per day. But overall the buzz of many people, teenagers and families with young children did make a lovey scene.
Bye Bye Blues served what I would be pleased to get in a Michelin Starred Restaurant. The food was innovative, exceptionally well and lovingly prepared. One added feature of a classy fitted out restaurant was a large screen LCD Tv connected to three webcams in the kitchen boradcasting the preparation of the food about to reach our table. I ordered an assiette of raw seafood followed by a roll of seafood sponge surrounding shrimps. We shared a selection of nine desserts and rolled back to the car.
Next day (Monday) a good breakfast sitting on a terrace overlooking the Marina and ocean and we head off for Palermo but when it starts raining (gently) we decide on Cefalu, a coastal village (maybe fishing) about 80kms East of Palermo. After a lengthy walk along the bech and the historical part of Cefalu heavily punctuated by stops at Pasticerries, gelaterias and coffee shops we head back to Palermo for the first time and luckily the rain cleared up. The 'book' said to go to the Catacombs Capuchin which is one the most gory things imaginable. People between 1600 and 1800 asked to be buried in the catacombs either simply wrapped in shrouds or mummified. And there the skeletons sit today - hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them. Gory as I said http://tinyurl.com/bv5489.
We head to the Massimo Theatre where we heard some rehearsals inside. We then walk past an interminable number of shoe shops winding up at La Rinascente, 'the' department store in Sicily. Nice to look at but nothing grabs me in terms of buying. After looking around we head to the rooftop retaurant as it is now 18:30 and the effects of the numerous cakes, pasteries and gelatos has clearly worn off. We stumble on a Sushi Train which pathetically has nothing on it except flowers but the kind sushi chef made everything to order and we shared a great Japanese meal - a nice break from the Caponata/Pasta/Seafood meals of the past 12 days. The food was great even if the service was extremely slow but I guess fresh is better than speed.
After a long day back to the lovely Hilton Hotel and a nice relax. Next morning a later than normal breakfast 09:00 and we leave the hotel knowing we havent really seen much of Palermo. We park the car while our attendant sells us the scratch and match tickets for a small tip $A2. I am wondering whether he is a lookout for the car thieves or just trying to make a small living. We start our walk into Palermo but get distracted by the H&M shop where Katja finds some clothes she likes. We decide to walk back to the car and try very subtly to put the shopping (and my handbag) into the car.
We head back to the theatre Massimo where we 'enrol' for the English Tour of this magnificent opera house. It is the third largest in Europe with the second largest stage area. Interestingly the stage is angled at five degrees to allow the ground level seats and five levels of boxes a good view of the offerings. Fortunately they were rehearsing Lucia Di Lammermore which fills the beutiful theatre with wonderful operatic singing and a full orchestra.
We continue our walk seeing some old buildings, old abandoned building, beautifully restored buildings and all sorts of typically Sicilian sights. Lunch time arrives like clockwork and we decide on a Sicilian style restaurants we had seen the day before in one of narrow lanes.
We walk towards the Palermo Cathederal and Katja has the great idea of taking a horse and carriage to see those parts of Palermo that we have not yet seen. After negotiating down from Euros 50 to Euros 30 a charming 22 year old Sicilian man takes us around the city. Although he spoke no English I managed to find out that he has been doing this job for 2 years full time and one year part time after studying tourism at the University (?). He was getting married next week to a girl he had been with for 6 years and they lived in a 1.5 bedroom apartment which cost them Euros 400 per month.
Interestingly of the 30 Euros he would keep 10 and pay 20 to the 'Patronne'. Now he owned the horse and it was his business so go figure who his 'Patronne' was!! I asked him about the Mafia in Palermo and he simply shrugged his shoulders.
Finishing the buggy ride at the car we head back to the hotel where we have a rest before a meal at a restaurant recommended by the hotel - bad move. Reasonable food in Sicilian style but nothing special.
So tomorrow it is off to Sardinia late in the evening on a turboprop plane which should prove interesting.
Last day and we head for the Cuppolo Palatino which is one of the most stunning churches I have ever seen. The frescos on the walls and ceilings tell all the major Christian stories. This will give you an idea http://tinyurl.com/6c4ezuq
Then bck to the hotel for a relax pending our departure for the airport where I hope that the 2000kms wear and tear on the car doesnt cause any issues when I return it.
Anyway nothing else for now. Will write my thoughts on Sicily in the next few days but it is certainly a great place to mix a holiday with a historical tour and I would have no problem recommending it to anybody as a worthwhile tour.
XD
Ok so I need to update 10 churches in Erice to 60. Maybe being up the mountain closer to G-d is what that is all about. With 750 metres above sea level it is hard to know what possessed the founders to build 60 churches. That said it was an amazingly beautiful place.
In the picture below be assured that I have not started playing scratch and match in Italy. This is what I needed to buy to park for two hours. You then scratch the date and time you started and leave it on the windscreen. This is the only time I have seen this as most places have traditional parking ticket dispensing machines.
Anyway so it's Saturday morning and we decide to do a triangle of Segusta and Marsala and back to Trapani. Segusta had a most wonderful temple (photo below) and half way up the road to the amphitheatre in hot and humid weather we looked at each other and decided NAFAR - Not Another F&*(g Ancient Ruin and abandoned our visit to the amphitheatre. We go to the nearby town but abandon that when it seems to have less than nothing to offer outside of its proximity to Segesta.
Marsala, which I must confess I thought (without any real thinking) was in Spain is where....they produce Marsala. We have a lovely caffeteria lunch as opposed to the poor one we previously had followed by a lovely selection of pastries, many with sweet ricotta and some with tiny wild strawberries. Excuse me back in a minute while I search for a Paticceria.
We then walk about the historical part - yes a Piazza Garibaldi and Duomo. Now you need to know that every repeat every town has a piazza Garibaldi, Via Victor Emanuel and a Via Luigi Pirandello.
On the way back to Trapani we drive past the salt pans where there are square concrete ponds full of salt water waiting to dry out and have the salt harvested. I have a bright idea that we are sick of restaurants so buys some fruit, ham, chicken, breadrolls, salad ingredients and have a lovely relaxing dinner at the hotel after what was quite a long day.
Next morning we finish off the leftovers and 'off to Palermo. On the way we stop for a coffee at Castellammare del Golfo, a lovely beachside area which, due to the lack of hotels we think is for the locals.
This is the first time we have seen some fine homes suggesting that it is a weekend holiday house area. I havent been enjoying the coffee as I discovered that, in Sicily there is no such thing as fresh milk only longlife which taste's aweful in coffee so I have been drinking long black (Americano) with a dash of milk. Apparently the only place you can get fresh milk is ona farm - not surprising as we have hardly
seen any cows, sheep or livestock of any kind.
As you drive around Sicily you see a lot of agricultural activity, vineyards, olives and much more. However Wikipedia tells me that Sicily's economy is only 5% agricultural. Here are some key statistics about Sicily
Population: Palermo 657k Catania 294k Messina 242k Siracusa 123k Marsala 82k total just over 5 million
Economy: Agriculture, farming, fishing 3.52% Industry 9.30% Construction 5.52% Commerce, hotels and restaurants, transport, services and communications 18.28% Financial activity and real estate 21,29% Other economic activities 28.95% VAT and other forms of taxes 13.13%
Robert gives us a ten minute history of Garibaldi along the way which tells the story of the unification of Italy. Interestingly at 50 he marries a beautiful actress. On the wedding night or perhaps the next day she tells him she is pregnant with another man's baby and he walks out never to see her again.
We were originally booked into the Mercure in Palermo as the Hilton Villa Igiea was booked out for the dates we needed. Yesterday, because we had so many recommendations for this hotel I decided to try again and lo and behold we managed to get two rooms in the Marina Pavillion - one smoking (not a problem for me) and one not smoking. Now I should recound the problem I encountered when Linda and I stayed at the Ville d'Este in Florence where we got a room in the Pool Pavillion. It was magnificently appointed but tiny. So with this experience I was priming Robert and Kathy for a small but good room. Surprisingly however the room was magnificent and large. http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/PMOHVHI-Hilton-Villa-Igiea-Palermo/index.do
We arrive around midday and Robert and Kathy lunch and liunge around a beautiful pool while I catch up on some work, watch the French Open final and add to my blog. Tonight we plan a dinner at Bye Bye Blues located at Mondello Beach http://www.byebyeblues.it/menu_eng.htm which, again has been recommended.
More soon
XD
The next morning we met our guide Carmelina in the lobby of Robert/Kathy's hotel and drove up to the historical part of Agrigento where she showed us all of the historical buildings, their meanings and history. It was quite absorbing but equally was her recounting the current trends in Sicily.
The young people are leaving in large numbers for better lives elsewhere. With the ease of working anywhere in the EU they find better jobs on the Italian mainland, Spain, London and elsewhere. Not that life here is poor and I must say the general standard is much higher than I had envisaged, but it is moving to the big smoke syndrome.
We checked out of the hotels and drove on to Trapani, a city we were somewhat questioning going to. However it is an amazingly beautiful city. After entering my hotel in the GPS it showed that the street in which the hotel was located was not navigable by road so I phoned the hotel. First problem was that there was a plumbing problem in one of the rooms I had booked and would it be OK to move us into a two bedroom apartment - alarm bells ring in my head - but all was good and the hotel was great and in an excellent part of the city. "Yes not problem driving to the hotel" hmmm BS. After 20 minutes circling the hotel we leave the car and walk the rest of the way.
We check in and go to a restaurant downstairs where we have a superb meal and discover we are at Tripadviser's number two (of 60) restaurant in Trapani. The owner of the restuarant is (Italian) charming explaining that his business has been affected by the NATO bombing of Libya as NATO have taken half the capacity of the Trapani Airport being only 545kms from Libya thereby reducing inbound tourism. In general though tourism has been declining he notes.
Off to move the car and drive to nearby Erice a Medieval village perched 750 metres in the air. http://tinyurl.com/42wqua6
Driving there the temperature drops 5 or 6 degrees to 19 and we are shrouded in fog driving hairpin bend after bend. Anyway we arrive safely and this is a town of 10 churches and tourist shops all rather well integrated into the historical town that it is.
There is a Pasticerria Maria Grammatico (cake shop) there which is superb Have a look at the Marzipans.
http://www.pbase.com/wabarletta/green&page=2
http://www.pbase.com/wabarletta/erice&page=11
We of course participated before we momentarily lost the car finding it outside a church where a wedding was taking place.
Back down through the mountain, fog and hairpin bends we drive along the ocean road looking at the beaches and resort areas. We get back around 18:00 and walk around the historical part of Trapani before a light meal and bed.
We are now 9 days into our holiday and Sydney seems such a far away place and memory having taken in so much history, holiday, sights, people, food and atmosphere. Unbelievabley I have hardly bought anything but there is a lovely leather store below our hotel which I may return to if time permits. Meals are incredibly cheap by Sydney standards with fine dining costing around $A50-$60 max and two coffees, a freshly squeezed orange juice and a pastry costing less than $8. I think people's preconceptions of Europe being expensive is very ill-founded as I havent found anything I would regard as being more expensive than Sydney.
Today we continue in and around Trapani and then head towards Palermo for three days. I believe that I need to be cautious there perhaps not be as willing as we have been so far to walk down empty back lanes - we'll see.
Anyway hope all are well
XD.
Now where was I? Yes wake up next morning, pick up Robkat and drive north to Milazo where we put the car on the ferry across to Lipari on the Aeolian Islands. Lipari is a very nice Mediterranean Island with most things seeming typical. We walked the length of the main part of the village, lunched at the local Trattoria where I learned [1] Gamberetti are smallish prawns (I knew Gamberi were prawns but…) and one should asked if they are shelled before you order them!!
We went into some of the shops and met an interesting older lady with her boxer dog, was a Swiss lawyer who spent six months of the year living on Lipari and running a beautiful and unique dress shop and the rest of the year in Basel.
After some difficult to negotiate streets, a visit to the beach (Bondi has nothing to worry about) we head down to the wharf and catch the ferry back to Sicily. Yeah, while on the subject of the ferry – the ride is about 1.5 hours and they do not allow passengers outside the saloon. The ship, with around 2,000 seats and only about 20 passengers is so overstaffed one wonders why they operate the service. Perhaps in Summer (July/August) things change – who knows.
We arrive back around dinner time and venture a restaurant with a lovely view – something normally to be avoided but the meal is quite acceptable. Back to the hotel to pack for tomorrow’s departure for Agrigento.
Robert and Kathy have insisted that I come to their hotel for breakfast as they claim it is the best breakfast they have ever had at a hotel – I agree there was so much variety of so many different types of food it was amazing.
We leave around 09:00 with our first stop at Piazza Armerina which is a beautiful Medieval/Baroque/Norman town which one could easily miss were it not for the guidebook. Like most places in Sicily it is perched atop a mountain with narrow and barely navigable streets. We park the car and wonder through the streets, numerous churches and spectacular views around the lush surrounding valleys.
This city is a gateway to the nearby Mosaics which is quite spectacular. Covered by mud they have survived, in many cases totally intact, for 1700 years. Have a look here as a description would be difficult http://tinyurl.com/6f7acj9.
We then move to Enna which is a regional capital where we stumble across a lovely modern and funky restaurant where we enjoy an excellent late lunch after which we wander the streets, see the church and sights around this village which…..is perched atop a hill.
Another 90 minutes and we arrive in Agrigento where we see the Valley of the Temples tomorrow. Having been a long day we agree to do our own thing for dinner (I am in a different hotel 200 metres from Robkat) and a nearby Trattoria does the trick.
Next morning I check out breakfast at my hotel and decide it must be better at Robert's - score one for me. Afterwards we drive the 500 metres to the Valley if the Temples which I would regard as one of the best historical tours I have ever done. These photos will give you a good idea of what is there http://tinyurl.com/68x8exa.
We decided on audio guides over a person which I suspect was a good choice as it was exceptionally informative about how different cultures dealt with the site. Interestingly one of the temples was converted to a church and then back to a temple. I come up with the genius idea of getting a cab back to the starting point and we give a lift to a guide who we engage to show us through historic Agrigento the next morning. Anyway the temples are certainly a not to be missed experience.
We head down to the port where we discover it is a Festivi (festival) today and Katja notes it is either Fiesta or Siesta in Sicily as shops and other things seem permanently closed. We then drive past Luigi Pirandelli's (Nobel winning writer) home and down to the beach where we actually see pure sand where we grab a table and have a caffeteria snack - the word cafeteria should have been a big enough clue - not for us!!!
Around 15:00 we agree to afternoon at leaisure and then meet for dinner. The restaurant we had chosen was closed, surprise surprise and we eat at the same restaurant I had gone to the night before - very nice meal indeed.
Anyway one week has passed and I am really enjoying Sicily. I imagine it is one of those places that I will visit just once in my life but which is well worth the trip and of which I will have fond memories.
Anyway hope the weather has improved for you guys
More Soon XD
