The 3rd honeymoon, a trip report.
Oct 17th, 2006, 02:32 AM
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The 3rd honeymoon, a trip report.
I get so much information from this site and I have such great intentions of writing a report as soon as I get back but the combination of jetlag and a mountain of work to catch up on works against me. Anyway , enough of the excuses here is the first bit which covers Milan, Cinque Terre, Lucca and Chianti.
We flew from Australia on Emirates in Business class, the trip was long ! We travelled via Singapore, for 45 minutes and Dubai for 90 minutes and an interminable and inexplicable wait at Rome for 2 hours. The service is tremendous and the meals surprisingly good. Nice selection of new and old world wines. The flight staff were very attentive, but the aircraft were a bit tired.
We arrived at Malpensa and took advantage of Emirates free limo transfer to our hotel. The Hotel Straf is one trendy joint with a position second to none, it is less than 50 metres from the walls of the Duomo. The decore in our room was funky primary colours and our bathroom was totally black, the shower, the tub, the basin, the toilet, the walls, I wasn't sure if I had my eyes open or not !! The breakfast room was bench style with padded cubes to sit on, much more comfortable and fun than it sounds. The staff at reception were calm,cool and very friendly.
After a quick shower we head out for a walk around the Duomo square, unfortunately the lower half of the front of the Duomo is covered for the neverending maintenance works that goes on there. The spouse decides that some retail therapy will uncoil the muscles and the Victor Emmanual shopping area provides it !! Much gnashing of teeth occurs because Milan shoe shops do not cater for size 10 feet !!
Back to the Straf to rest up before dinner.
I had made reservations at Cracco Peck and we arrive right on time. Seated promptly and we start with a glass of Dom Perignon, accompanied by a selection of "tastes", the maitre'd lets us know that they have fresh white truffles as part of the nights specials. We have a selection from the menu as entrees , but we are really waiting for the main course. We rely upon the sommelier to pick a red from Piedmont. The mains arrive, not before three further "tastes" from the chef, some very interesting combinations!! Just before the mains arrive the Maitre'd comes to our table with a wooden box and with a flourish opens it and the intense aroma of truffles just explodes out ! In the box are six largish white truffles...truthfully I could have climbed in the box and slept there !
The mains arrive, mine is a simple piece of Rib Fillet on the bone....completely covered with shaved truffle !!! The spouses simple parmesan risotto was similarly covered and with smaller pieces thruout the risotto! Heaven !!
By this stage the flight was taking its toll and we were ready to leave but the maitre'd wasn't ready for us to go, we didn't think we could manage dessert but he thought we should sample what the chef could do.....and I must admit it was yummy. We also "had" to have a coffee, complete with petit fours! Despite our tiredness we had a wonderfull night and the staff (on a not very busy night) were excellent, friendly and very willing to have a conversation. Not the cheapest night out though ! The bed at the Straf was like a yawning deep deep deep black hole that swiftly swallowed us both ! more later.
We flew from Australia on Emirates in Business class, the trip was long ! We travelled via Singapore, for 45 minutes and Dubai for 90 minutes and an interminable and inexplicable wait at Rome for 2 hours. The service is tremendous and the meals surprisingly good. Nice selection of new and old world wines. The flight staff were very attentive, but the aircraft were a bit tired.
We arrived at Malpensa and took advantage of Emirates free limo transfer to our hotel. The Hotel Straf is one trendy joint with a position second to none, it is less than 50 metres from the walls of the Duomo. The decore in our room was funky primary colours and our bathroom was totally black, the shower, the tub, the basin, the toilet, the walls, I wasn't sure if I had my eyes open or not !! The breakfast room was bench style with padded cubes to sit on, much more comfortable and fun than it sounds. The staff at reception were calm,cool and very friendly.
After a quick shower we head out for a walk around the Duomo square, unfortunately the lower half of the front of the Duomo is covered for the neverending maintenance works that goes on there. The spouse decides that some retail therapy will uncoil the muscles and the Victor Emmanual shopping area provides it !! Much gnashing of teeth occurs because Milan shoe shops do not cater for size 10 feet !!
Back to the Straf to rest up before dinner.
I had made reservations at Cracco Peck and we arrive right on time. Seated promptly and we start with a glass of Dom Perignon, accompanied by a selection of "tastes", the maitre'd lets us know that they have fresh white truffles as part of the nights specials. We have a selection from the menu as entrees , but we are really waiting for the main course. We rely upon the sommelier to pick a red from Piedmont. The mains arrive, not before three further "tastes" from the chef, some very interesting combinations!! Just before the mains arrive the Maitre'd comes to our table with a wooden box and with a flourish opens it and the intense aroma of truffles just explodes out ! In the box are six largish white truffles...truthfully I could have climbed in the box and slept there !
The mains arrive, mine is a simple piece of Rib Fillet on the bone....completely covered with shaved truffle !!! The spouses simple parmesan risotto was similarly covered and with smaller pieces thruout the risotto! Heaven !!
By this stage the flight was taking its toll and we were ready to leave but the maitre'd wasn't ready for us to go, we didn't think we could manage dessert but he thought we should sample what the chef could do.....and I must admit it was yummy. We also "had" to have a coffee, complete with petit fours! Despite our tiredness we had a wonderfull night and the staff (on a not very busy night) were excellent, friendly and very willing to have a conversation. Not the cheapest night out though ! The bed at the Straf was like a yawning deep deep deep black hole that swiftly swallowed us both ! more later.
Oct 18th, 2006, 02:44 AM
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We crawled out of bed feeling fairly refreshed and had breakfast with a bunch of fashion types there for one of the fashion fairs....talk about pretentious wankers...but oh so nicely dressed ! One of the guys was so camp he made richard simmons look like the marlboro man !!
Our one aim today in Milan is to get to get to the top of the Duomo. We do some wandering first as the elevator is not open yet, not too may shops open at this stage except strangely enough lingerie stores ! I encourage the spouse and some frilly purchases are made!
By the time we finish with the retail therapy of the lascivious kind the elevator to heavenly pursuits is open!
We race up to the counter just before a tour group gets themselves organised and we travel to the roof by ourselves. For about 10 minutes we have the place to ourselves and it is a completely different world down below. The work and artistry that has been done here is amazing and I recommend the experience to anyone !! Despite a hazy day the views are quite good.
One decision that I made that I am grateful for was the hire car ! I had the choice of having it delivered to the Straf, picking it up at Stazione Centrale or picking it up at Linate. I chose Linate and after experiencing the taxi ride out to Linate...thank God I did! As it was when we picked up the Renault Megane convertible we got lost once heading south !!
I love driving in Italy (infact anwhere that is different to Australia!), I find the Autostrade to be quite exciting ! To be quite truthfull I find Italian drivers to be more considerate ( and animated) than those at home ! The Autostrade is easy to navigate...not like the towns..more on that later !
On the way to La Grazie we make a stop at Fidenza Village...supposedly a retail mecca ! Quite disappointing really...we could have been at the Block at Orange with italian accents !!
We had lunch there and the restaurant had one wall (5 metres!!) made up of rounds of Parmigiani reggiano !!
We continue onto La Spezia....what a hole !! and seriously lacking in street sign to Portovenere and La Grazie. We find it after a couple of false starts and the Hotel Della Baia was easy to find once we got there. La grazie is a quiet little spot at this time of the year, suits us fine. We check into a good sized comfortable room. There is some very interesting art work in the reception area and the walk arround the bay at sunset is very pleasant ! The room is half board so we have dinner at the Della Baia...dreadfull is the only postive I can provide to you. The food was poor! The service was cool...luckily the wine was good (though I chose it !!)
My wife had marinara and there were 10 mussell shells in it.....but only 2 mussells !! It didn't kill us so that was good...tomorrow the Cinque Terre!
Our one aim today in Milan is to get to get to the top of the Duomo. We do some wandering first as the elevator is not open yet, not too may shops open at this stage except strangely enough lingerie stores ! I encourage the spouse and some frilly purchases are made!
By the time we finish with the retail therapy of the lascivious kind the elevator to heavenly pursuits is open!
We race up to the counter just before a tour group gets themselves organised and we travel to the roof by ourselves. For about 10 minutes we have the place to ourselves and it is a completely different world down below. The work and artistry that has been done here is amazing and I recommend the experience to anyone !! Despite a hazy day the views are quite good.
One decision that I made that I am grateful for was the hire car ! I had the choice of having it delivered to the Straf, picking it up at Stazione Centrale or picking it up at Linate. I chose Linate and after experiencing the taxi ride out to Linate...thank God I did! As it was when we picked up the Renault Megane convertible we got lost once heading south !!
I love driving in Italy (infact anwhere that is different to Australia!), I find the Autostrade to be quite exciting ! To be quite truthfull I find Italian drivers to be more considerate ( and animated) than those at home ! The Autostrade is easy to navigate...not like the towns..more on that later !
On the way to La Grazie we make a stop at Fidenza Village...supposedly a retail mecca ! Quite disappointing really...we could have been at the Block at Orange with italian accents !!
We had lunch there and the restaurant had one wall (5 metres!!) made up of rounds of Parmigiani reggiano !!
We continue onto La Spezia....what a hole !! and seriously lacking in street sign to Portovenere and La Grazie. We find it after a couple of false starts and the Hotel Della Baia was easy to find once we got there. La grazie is a quiet little spot at this time of the year, suits us fine. We check into a good sized comfortable room. There is some very interesting art work in the reception area and the walk arround the bay at sunset is very pleasant ! The room is half board so we have dinner at the Della Baia...dreadfull is the only postive I can provide to you. The food was poor! The service was cool...luckily the wine was good (though I chose it !!)
My wife had marinara and there were 10 mussell shells in it.....but only 2 mussells !! It didn't kill us so that was good...tomorrow the Cinque Terre!
Oct 18th, 2006, 02:48 AM
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Just a short explanatory, I have no problem with Gay people, there all just people to me !! I have several gay friends who decry the need for people to be "camp" to the nth degree !
Oct 18th, 2006, 04:27 PM
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We woke fairly early and went for a walk around the bay at Le Grazie before breakfast. The small boats on the water makes for a very pleasant walk, and the smell from the local baker got the taste buds working. Breakfast was simple and good, strong coffee, fresh croissants and fresh figs !
We decide that the walk to Portovenere will do us good and it only takes about 20 minutes, we get there just in time to catch the ferry. A very easy procedure, buy the tickets at the dock and hop on, we get a couple of seats on the top deck. This is probably the best way to see Portovenere, as you can take in the whole place, and a pretty little town it is ! This ferry trip is an all stops heading north journey so we get to take photos of the villages as we arrive at them from the sea. We arrive at Monterosso al Mare in time for some morning tea and my first espresso of the day, a love a good caffeine hit !
Our plan is to catch a train to Vernazza and walk the rest. Catching the train was dead easy and included the walking ticket! The trip to Vernazza takes about 5 minutes !!! Vernazza is a very pretty village and we spend a bit of time wandering around. Its little harbour is picture perfect. Now comes the walking, the climb up out of Vernazza is a brutal warmup !! Thats an exaggeration, its hard but not ridiculous ! We actually saw fathers with babies on their backs walking the trail ! The views are spectacular and there are plenty of shady spots on the way to rest up and take a swig on the water bottle ( PS remember to take water !!). We were both fairly glad when Corniglia appeared over a ridge, it was time for lunch and a well deserved cold beer. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the food was good, proscuitto and melon followed by pasta with fresh pesto !
We decide that the walk to Portovenere will do us good and it only takes about 20 minutes, we get there just in time to catch the ferry. A very easy procedure, buy the tickets at the dock and hop on, we get a couple of seats on the top deck. This is probably the best way to see Portovenere, as you can take in the whole place, and a pretty little town it is ! This ferry trip is an all stops heading north journey so we get to take photos of the villages as we arrive at them from the sea. We arrive at Monterosso al Mare in time for some morning tea and my first espresso of the day, a love a good caffeine hit !
Our plan is to catch a train to Vernazza and walk the rest. Catching the train was dead easy and included the walking ticket! The trip to Vernazza takes about 5 minutes !!! Vernazza is a very pretty village and we spend a bit of time wandering around. Its little harbour is picture perfect. Now comes the walking, the climb up out of Vernazza is a brutal warmup !! Thats an exaggeration, its hard but not ridiculous ! We actually saw fathers with babies on their backs walking the trail ! The views are spectacular and there are plenty of shady spots on the way to rest up and take a swig on the water bottle ( PS remember to take water !!). We were both fairly glad when Corniglia appeared over a ridge, it was time for lunch and a well deserved cold beer. I can't remember the name of the restaurant, but the food was good, proscuitto and melon followed by pasta with fresh pesto !
Oct 19th, 2006, 02:40 AM
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Sorry about that, life interrupted Fodor time! The next part of the walk was to Manarola and it was surprising easy, much flatter than the previous bit and lots of shady glens to pause in. We make it to Manarola ahead of schedule so we take some time to buy some knick knacks and postcards. The lady in the shop that I bought the postcards is of course from Australia !! She married a local fellow 15 years ago and has lived there since !
The walk to Riomaggiore is a real doddle, flat and easy and short ! Lots of people doing it as well! We arrive in Riomaggiore just in time for another espresso...and just a small pastry !!! We catch the ferry back to Portovenere, its amazing how different the village looked with the sun coming from another direction! After our exertions we down a couple of ice cold Nastro Azzuro's at the first bar that we come to after the ferry stop, a nice shady spot and a great people watching spot. We catch the bus back to La Grazie.
Dinner at the Hotel Della Baia is once again poor, though the service tonight is much friendlier. We resolve not to eat dinner there again.
We both have a long long long hot bath and sleep the sleep of the very tired, it is a very comfortable bed !
The walk to Riomaggiore is a real doddle, flat and easy and short ! Lots of people doing it as well! We arrive in Riomaggiore just in time for another espresso...and just a small pastry !!! We catch the ferry back to Portovenere, its amazing how different the village looked with the sun coming from another direction! After our exertions we down a couple of ice cold Nastro Azzuro's at the first bar that we come to after the ferry stop, a nice shady spot and a great people watching spot. We catch the bus back to La Grazie.
Dinner at the Hotel Della Baia is once again poor, though the service tonight is much friendlier. We resolve not to eat dinner there again.
We both have a long long long hot bath and sleep the sleep of the very tired, it is a very comfortable bed !
Oct 19th, 2006, 04:15 PM
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TA, very pretty, in the morning on the ferry it was a bit hazy but as the day went on it cleared nicely. From high on the trails the water is a magical colour. I wanted to swim when we got to Riomaggiore but the spouse needs water just over blood temperature !
(or was it the topless ladies cavorting in the shallows that kept me dry....
)
(or was it the topless ladies cavorting in the shallows that kept me dry....
)
Oct 19th, 2006, 04:27 PM
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Hi Marko, what a fun report!
I am confused though, you indicated you could not find any shoes in a size 10 in Milan. Is a size 10 in Australia the same size as size 10 in the US? I ask because although Italy has a different way of sizing their shoes compared to the US sizes most of the fellows that I know in Italy wear what is a size 10 in the US. Just curious. BTW, love your title - " The 3rd honeymoon, a trip report". Hopefully with the same dear wife, lol.
Look forward to your next installment!
I am confused though, you indicated you could not find any shoes in a size 10 in Milan. Is a size 10 in Australia the same size as size 10 in the US? I ask because although Italy has a different way of sizing their shoes compared to the US sizes most of the fellows that I know in Italy wear what is a size 10 in the US. Just curious. BTW, love your title - " The 3rd honeymoon, a trip report". Hopefully with the same dear wife, lol.
Look forward to your next installment!
Oct 19th, 2006, 05:38 PM
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Hi Love italy,
Yep the same wife on all three honeymoons !!
The wife was looking forward to getting some stylish shoes in Milan, she has long skinny feet and just couldn't find the stylish ones...plenty of "boring" ones though ( god, I got sick of hearing about it !
). I am happy to report we got shoes later in the trip !! Lucca next !
Yep the same wife on all three honeymoons !!
The wife was looking forward to getting some stylish shoes in Milan, she has long skinny feet and just couldn't find the stylish ones...plenty of "boring" ones though ( god, I got sick of hearing about it !
). I am happy to report we got shoes later in the trip !! Lucca next !
Oct 19th, 2006, 05:57 PM
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LOL Marko, glad the 3rd honeymoon was with the same wife but I rather thought so, how could a fellow afford a honeymoon in Italy with a 3rd wife if he was paying spousal support for the 2 previous wives??
Ah, size 10 shoe for your wife who has skinny (shall we say slender?) feet. I understand. I take a smaller size but have a slender foot and can hardly ever find a pair of shoes in Italy that fits me. I say with tears in my eyes.
Now onto to the rest of the fabulous honeymoon...by the way, you sound like a "keeper" as my friends would say! Cheers and CinCin!
Ah, size 10 shoe for your wife who has skinny (shall we say slender?) feet. I understand. I take a smaller size but have a slender foot and can hardly ever find a pair of shoes in Italy that fits me. I say with tears in my eyes.
Now onto to the rest of the fabulous honeymoon...by the way, you sound like a "keeper" as my friends would say! Cheers and CinCin!
Oct 20th, 2006, 02:42 AM
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We drag ourselves out of bed, eat a tasty breakfast and jump in the car for a day trip to Lucca. The over abundance of street signs see us getting a little lost and we get to see the retail heart of Carrara, not that inspiring really, but if we ever want plumbing supplies I know where to go ! On the autostrade proper and we make very quick time to Lucca and thanks to this site we head straight to a parking spot within a spit of the walls of Lucca.
We decide to do the walk around the walls first to stretch the legs and to enjoy the fresh morning air. Its a good way of getting your bearings as well.
Today is the market day for the arts and crafts so we head there first, the wife is in heaven and we end up with a fair bit of handmade silver jewellery and a painting . A large painting, and the logistics hit me but not the missus...she must have it ! Anyway, between the artist and myself we find a cardboard tube from some fabric and my trusty pocket knife does the trimming! A very friendly market with the stallholders in general happy and smiling !
Its time for the tourist thing, we find Via Fillungo which is one of the main thoroughfares, lots of shops and success at last...shoe shops with stylish shoes that fit !! Woo Hoo!
We find the cathedral and to me its reminiscent of Siena's. We pay the extra to see the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto..... or is it ????? Long story !
Casa di Puccini, we didn't bother going in, just admired the bronze statue of the master .
Lunch time sees us at Piazza Anfiteatro for lunch at Lucca's slowest restaurant... I don't mind taking my time over lunch but an hour to make a sandwich is a bit much !
On to the Chiesa di San Frediano, its a small church but very pretty inside, a nice light inside, very soothing...a funny way to put it I know !
Last target for the day is PalaZZO Guinigi, we climb it and are rewarded with an excellent view of the jumble of red roofs ! Its a shady spot and gets surprisingly crowded! I know its a big tower but we had trouble finding it !
We make our way back to the car park, we have spent a very pleasant day but we have one more place to get to before we head back to La Grazie.
I read an article about the bridge at Borgo a Mazzano years ago so it was added to the agenda, and the drive there was very pleasant, the drive itself was worth it. The wacky looking bridge was a good phot op and we walked to the halfway point and featured in a few other tourist photos as we did the bridge kissing thing !
The drive back was uneventful and we have time to rest up and shower before we drive to Portovenere for dinner. I can't remember the name ( I will get better I promise), but its the second last one as you walk to the point. Its seafood, seafood, seafood, very nice and very simple and we wash it down with a local white wine ( to match the surroundings !), its tourist wine, easy to drink but nothing special !
We drive back to La Grazie and have a nightcap at the bar. It was a good idea not to dine in as there is a wedding reception on, and the bar boys were busy ! We take a couple of Limoncello over to some seats overlooking the bay and sip listening to the hubbub of the reception.
We hit the sack with the party still going on and when I get up at 3am to have a pee its still all happening!! A good night was had by all ! We move on tomorrow.
We decide to do the walk around the walls first to stretch the legs and to enjoy the fresh morning air. Its a good way of getting your bearings as well.
Today is the market day for the arts and crafts so we head there first, the wife is in heaven and we end up with a fair bit of handmade silver jewellery and a painting . A large painting, and the logistics hit me but not the missus...she must have it ! Anyway, between the artist and myself we find a cardboard tube from some fabric and my trusty pocket knife does the trimming! A very friendly market with the stallholders in general happy and smiling !
Its time for the tourist thing, we find Via Fillungo which is one of the main thoroughfares, lots of shops and success at last...shoe shops with stylish shoes that fit !! Woo Hoo!
We find the cathedral and to me its reminiscent of Siena's. We pay the extra to see the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto..... or is it ????? Long story !
Casa di Puccini, we didn't bother going in, just admired the bronze statue of the master .
Lunch time sees us at Piazza Anfiteatro for lunch at Lucca's slowest restaurant... I don't mind taking my time over lunch but an hour to make a sandwich is a bit much !
On to the Chiesa di San Frediano, its a small church but very pretty inside, a nice light inside, very soothing...a funny way to put it I know !
Last target for the day is PalaZZO Guinigi, we climb it and are rewarded with an excellent view of the jumble of red roofs ! Its a shady spot and gets surprisingly crowded! I know its a big tower but we had trouble finding it !
We make our way back to the car park, we have spent a very pleasant day but we have one more place to get to before we head back to La Grazie.
I read an article about the bridge at Borgo a Mazzano years ago so it was added to the agenda, and the drive there was very pleasant, the drive itself was worth it. The wacky looking bridge was a good phot op and we walked to the halfway point and featured in a few other tourist photos as we did the bridge kissing thing !
The drive back was uneventful and we have time to rest up and shower before we drive to Portovenere for dinner. I can't remember the name ( I will get better I promise), but its the second last one as you walk to the point. Its seafood, seafood, seafood, very nice and very simple and we wash it down with a local white wine ( to match the surroundings !), its tourist wine, easy to drink but nothing special !
We drive back to La Grazie and have a nightcap at the bar. It was a good idea not to dine in as there is a wedding reception on, and the bar boys were busy ! We take a couple of Limoncello over to some seats overlooking the bay and sip listening to the hubbub of the reception.
We hit the sack with the party still going on and when I get up at 3am to have a pee its still all happening!! A good night was had by all ! We move on tomorrow.
Cindy
Oct 22nd, 2006, 09:44 PM
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Today is an interesting day for me the anal travel planner !! We have a departure point, La Grazie and we have an arrival point, Borgo la Bagnaia and we have a car to get there ! We also have all day to get there !
we make the decision to travel using compass and whatever track we get on ! We do have a good map just in case.
We leave La Grazie after another pleasant breakfast, though the wait staff are looking a bit rough around the edges !! I think the wedding reception took its toll, I half expected to find the odd guest asleep on our balcony ! We drive into La Spezia and make the first of out coin toss decisions, we head towards Sarzana, a place that probably started out as a pleasnt little village but is now swamped by the sprawl of La Spezia. We get onto the E80 and make good time to get to the turn off to Lucca (also the road to Florence!). The drive features some spectacular views of the mountains behind Carrara, you could easy believe they are snow capped if you didn't know that it was the famous Carrara marble !
We had hatched a plan on the way to go via San Giuliano Terme, but we sort of missed that turn off ( more likely blew past it at 130KPH !!), not to worry, we'll take the next turn which we learn (after a few kilometers) is taking us towards Pontedera. We travel thru quite a number of little villages on quiet country roads and I have to say it was very pleasant and we saw some lovely scenery.
Two observations, Sunday is market day and the small villages just close the main street off for it ! This tends to cause the almost lost Australian tourists great consternation as they don't give alternative routes ! Yes, we saw lots of italian country suburbia ! The second observation is that every third Italian cycles on sundays, and I mean seriously cycles ! I have never seen so many lycra clad backsides in my life !
I had to stop to fuel up and I chose a little service station in one of the even littler villages, as I started to fill the car an old man ambles over, greasy rag in back pocket,cigarette jauntily hanging from the corner of his mouth and takes over the diesel pumping and strikes up a conversation ! No english, and me with minimal italian but it seems to work ! He laughs as a bunch of lycra glad backsides whizzes past ..a shared joke. It comes to 29.80 euros and I pay in cash 30euros and he absolutely insists that he get my change for me ! It was no use me insisting that he keep it !
Sorry!! work break now more later. !
we make the decision to travel using compass and whatever track we get on ! We do have a good map just in case.
We leave La Grazie after another pleasant breakfast, though the wait staff are looking a bit rough around the edges !! I think the wedding reception took its toll, I half expected to find the odd guest asleep on our balcony ! We drive into La Spezia and make the first of out coin toss decisions, we head towards Sarzana, a place that probably started out as a pleasnt little village but is now swamped by the sprawl of La Spezia. We get onto the E80 and make good time to get to the turn off to Lucca (also the road to Florence!). The drive features some spectacular views of the mountains behind Carrara, you could easy believe they are snow capped if you didn't know that it was the famous Carrara marble !
We had hatched a plan on the way to go via San Giuliano Terme, but we sort of missed that turn off ( more likely blew past it at 130KPH !!), not to worry, we'll take the next turn which we learn (after a few kilometers) is taking us towards Pontedera. We travel thru quite a number of little villages on quiet country roads and I have to say it was very pleasant and we saw some lovely scenery.
Two observations, Sunday is market day and the small villages just close the main street off for it ! This tends to cause the almost lost Australian tourists great consternation as they don't give alternative routes ! Yes, we saw lots of italian country suburbia ! The second observation is that every third Italian cycles on sundays, and I mean seriously cycles ! I have never seen so many lycra clad backsides in my life !
I had to stop to fuel up and I chose a little service station in one of the even littler villages, as I started to fill the car an old man ambles over, greasy rag in back pocket,cigarette jauntily hanging from the corner of his mouth and takes over the diesel pumping and strikes up a conversation ! No english, and me with minimal italian but it seems to work ! He laughs as a bunch of lycra glad backsides whizzes past ..a shared joke. It comes to 29.80 euros and I pay in cash 30euros and he absolutely insists that he get my change for me ! It was no use me insisting that he keep it !
Sorry!! work break now more later. !
Oct 23rd, 2006, 01:00 AM
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Great report in more ways than one. I suspect if there is anyone who would have appreciated having a GPS in that car it is you. I know maps, getting wonderfully lost, etc., in a country you love are all great, but next time...
Oct 23rd, 2006, 02:29 AM
#19
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Join Date: Feb 2003
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Dukey, part of the fun was getting lost!! We actually enjoyed the off the beaten path experience, we saw tiny churches and small castles perched on bare rocks and grape vines heavy with ripe fruit. It was fun. But it was only fun because we didn't have to bust a gut to get anywhere, if you are in a hurry..take the GPS
We actually enjoyed the off the beaten path experience, we saw tiny churches and small castles perched on bare rocks and grape vines heavy with ripe fruit. It was fun. But it was only fun because we didn't have to bust a gut to get anywhere, if you are in a hurry..take the GPS
