ItalianSummer

We arrived in Vernazza, one of the 5 towns within the Conque Terre national park, about 4:30 on Sunday afternoon. The weather was grey and a strong wind had been blowing all day. Now that the park is world heritage listed, Unesco have banned vehicles in most of the towns other than for deliveries, waste collection, construction etc. However, most of the towns have a pay car park up the hill a short distance an then run shuttle busses down to the edge of town. Whilst the road that the shuttle buses take is not as scary as the road in, it's extremely tight between walls, parked cars, signs, pedestrians etc and it's best to close your eyes for the 2 minute journey - the drivers must have supreme confidence in their own spacial awareness. Either that or they get a bulk discount on side mirrors and touch-up paint every month!

The town of Vernazza is small, but probably the best laid out of the 5 towns. We had booked a room which was part of Gianni Franzi. I presume the restaurant came before the hotel and apartment style rooms, but these days it appears that the Gianni Franzi crew own a sizable chunk of the town. Again we were right in the thick of it with our accomm. choice but being a damp and windy Sunday night there wasn't a lot happening apart from a local wedding which sounded like it was pumping. The area where Cinque Terre is said to be the origin of Pesto and Foccacia so for dinner we opted in on the fresh homemade pasta e pesto which was incredible both in appearance (almost flourescent green) and taste. Seems most of the guide books concur with Lonely Planet in that Gianni Franzi is the best place to eat in Vernazza, as the place was full with other Australians, Canadians, Americans and Brits. Half a bottle of Chianti Classico and life is good...

On the drive from Provence to Vernazza, the back was feeling a little sore and that night I tossed and turned a bit. Next morning however, I could hardly move when I woke up. I'm sure carrying the bags up all those steps to the room didn't do much good for it either. The weather is looking great, it's our one full day on the Cinque Terre and I can hardly lift my head up for the back pain... Not good! India to the rescue with some emergency deep tissue therapy and I'm at least up and about. Still can't move my head much but i'm upright. Off down the stairs to the main part of town in search of breakfast and a Farmacia STAT. After walking around town for a bit, a (typically) great coffee and yet another crossaint, i'm already starting to loosen up a little. Finally the Farmacia opens for the day and i'm straight in for some "voltrapid"... I've decided i will not be defeated and we head towards the train station to catch a train to Riomaggiore, the southern-most and larger of the 5 towns within the park. Speaking to a few people, the trains had been on strike the previous day until 9pm so there were quite a few people who had had to stay an extra night and were trying to get out. Normale.

Riomaggiore is the town you always see in the Cinque Terre postcard shots. Is the one literally wedged in a little V with all the terraces built up either side and painted in all different colours. Quite beautiful from the cafe out on the point looking back towards the town as we sit for second coffee. Here marks the start or finish point of most of the walking trails depending on which direction you're heading. The first section is painfully touristy and very busy, but interesting nonetheless. Via dell'Amore is the name of the (reasonably serious) walkway between Riomaggiore and Manarola, the next town along. All the way along this section, the handrails, chains, posts and whatever else are covered in "love locks". The local hardware store must do a roaring trade. Lots of the cliffs, walls and walkways are also covered in graffiti "Amore".

Both unfortunately and fortunately, the easy walking trail between Manarola and Coneglia is closed due to a landslide. This means most of the lazy, larger and older tourists bail out back onto the train. At this stage the drugs have kicked in and my back is feeling pretty good so we head off on trail #6 up into the terraced cliffs. The path markings are vague at best and you need to be a detective to follow the clues. For the first km or so, it's winding steps constantly UP. At the top of the never ending stairs we reach another small town and we're schvitzen. Time to stop for a lemon soda. As soon as we crack them we realise we also need ice. One thing we've definitely taken away from this trip is that europeans NEVER seem to have their fridge's turned down cold enough for Australian tastes. I can only assume it's to save money on electricity because it certainly isn't because the drinks taste better at just below room temperature!!!

Re-hydrated, we set off again, this time along trail 6/d. Not sure what ever happened to 6/a, b or c, but hey - normale. Now the trail has flattened off and we're following the contour of the cliff-face about 340 meters up. The track is narrowing and winding through ripe and healthy vineyards planted within the man-made terracing. The views are incredible and in some sections so is the drop. Not much in the way of safety but fantastic in any case. The scariest things are the inclinators the local farmers use to transport the produce up to the roadway at the very top. Think of the dodgiest, scariest roller coaster you've ever seen and then double it... You've got to see the photos. I guess when you're doing it from a young age you gain trust in your equipment and surroundings. My professional opinion as a mechanical engineer is that they're completely NUTS!!!

Along for km or so and we're into a steep pine forest and then the trail winds back down a billion rocky steps to Coneglia. It's time for lunch and pasta is again the order of the day. The weather is looking ominous and after all those steps the legs are tiring so we hop the train back to Vernazza for a nanna nap. Before dinner we partake in the hotels "terrace". The ominous weather stayed in the distance and looking out to see from our amazing cliff-side perch, the sunset is grand. For dinner we decided that we hadn't given the menu at Gianni a good enough going over, so back it was. Tonight though, the wind had dropped so outside on the harbour front was the place to be. Sat between pairs of Canadians on each side, the conversation was flowing as was the vino and all was merry. Pesto again for primi but something different tonight for secondi. The specialty anchovies were never going to feature on my plate, but the veal was good. India's iron cravings almost back-fired when the brontosaurus sized steak appeared in front of her. Luckily it was tasty otherwise I might have been eating it as well...

Off to Firenze (Florence) tomorrow to meet David and do a little leather shopping and then on to Cortona for out final few nights before heading home.

Ciao for now.

After our sojourn in Paris, we needed to break up the drive back to Italy so that it wasn't such a massive mission. I had previously been to Nice and Lyon so we decided to go for Aix-en-Provence for something different and perhaps some quality French Provincial food. We left Paris just before sun-up (about 6:45am) and after a few wrong turns on the way out I managed to end up in a bus lane for all of 10 metres, but that was enough to be spotted by some hawk-eyed Police who waved me over at the next intersection. After realising I was a long way from home and it was a harmless mistake, the kind orificer let us proceed no problem. A few more wrong turns in the dark and I was pointing the wrong way up a one-way (main) street. Eventually, we were on the freeway heading south with the cruise control on.

Again, a little research goes a long way and we booked a room at a hotel right in the thick of it (with parking no less). This is great once you're there, but a little troublesome to navigate some of the streets of these European "old towns". Once off the freeway, the closer we got into town, the worse the GPS reception and having no real map of the place added to both of us being tired, hungry and therefore cranky, things were a little tense. Eventually found it just around the next corner (as usual).

The town of Aix-en-Provence is essentially surrounded by a small one-way ring road and within the ring it's quite a funky and cute town. The quality and diversity of food seemed to be exceptional. The place could be measured in restaurants per square metre! The top claim to fame of Aix is Paul Cezanne and there's a marked trail to follow if you're keen. The Cours Mirabeau is the wide main drag and it's cafe lined and cute. As mentioned in the previous post regarding Paris, even in Provence we couldn't escape the stench of urine in the streets. It really is amazing that every corner, bin, nook, cranny and space between cars could be classified as a place to relieve one's self! Still, amongst this we found a moment of bliss at the thermal spa just a few blocks from our hotel. An early morning hour long massage followed by a dip in the thermal spas is a great way to "reset" after a long drive the previous day. Amongst the myriad restaurants in Aix that looked great, we managed to pick a couple of really good ones but still, traditional French eluded us. Even on the second night where were aiming specifically for it, we ended up with a much more modern twist on the theme.

The accommodation in Aix was quaint to say the least. Whilst it was clean and comfortable, the lack of any fan or air-con meant we had to have the window open all night. Not really a problem it our world normally, but the mosquitoes were EPIC! I was in denial and got repeatedly bitten an so ended up tossing and turning and sleeping mostly entirely covered by the sheet. India was waking every 30 mins to re-apply the aeroguard we had luckily brought with us. Compounding this was the strange phenomena of the room's main door opening by itself to the hotel corridor (stupidly an outward opening door). We awoke twice during the first night to an increase in light in the room and louder than usual noises with the door half open! Scarred by the experience, the next night we keep the windows and doors completely closed and struggled on in the stuffiness.

After a relaxing re-charge in Aix it was back to Italy on Sunday. Drizzling rain meant we didn't feel so bad spending most of the day in transit. We ducked in to Monaco for second coffee and a stretch of the legs on the way through. The "disneyland" feel of it all is definitely not appealing to us, but it's one of those things you do if on the way through. It makes for interesting people-watching in any case.

Mid-afternoon we exited the Autostrada and it's relentless combinations of tunnels and bridges at the northern end of the Cinque Terre. Instantly the mood shifted as we entered the beautiful landscapes the area is known for. Closing in on our destination, Vernazza, the roads became more and more narrow and the cliff-sides ever steeper. It's quite an experience, up there with some of the dodgy roads up to the NZ ski-fields we experienced this time last year. Once past Monterosso, I never really got out of second gear the whole way.

I think the Cinque Terre deserves a post of it's own so i'll sign off for now...

Ciao.

Finally I have been to Paris........ Driven past it, been to Dinseyworld.... and now finally I have experienced Paris!

Driving into Paris was slightly less scary than anticipated, the GPS thankfully didn't take us through the Arc de Triomphe ( although on closer inspection it looked like a hell of a lot of fun!).

Parking is obviously a nightmare, and we had pre-booked a car park under a hospital near our hotel, so we could simply leave the car for the 4 days and make the most of the Trains.

To really experience Paris, we figured we should do it properly, and rented a very cute top floor studio apartment, giving us the ability to make our own breakfast ( finally ) have water on hand, and really get the feel of what living in Paris would be like.
The apartment was located in the 2nd arrondissement - right in the middle of the action, unfortunately though on the top floor of the building, and like all good buildings in Paris - no stairs. It is fair to say that during this trip we have gained some serious stair fitness and this apartment helped - walking up 6 flights around 3 times a day!

It was decided between the 2 of us that the experience of Paris should be interesting and different... no trip up the Eiffel.
After some quick research we found the following fantastic areas and gems of things do and eat in Paris.

The Marais ( the 4th Arr ) of the Jewish quarter for the best fallafel in Paris (and possibly ever) - the queue was epic.
Montparnasee ( the university or intellectual quarter ) for fantastic crepes, both savory and sweet - Josselin is a god!
Area surrounding Madeline station - the best gourmet food, pastries and by far the best shopping ( for those with a slightly better looking credit card )

Apart from this, we walked the Champs Elysees twice, stalked the latin quarter and definitely got out at one or two wrong stations, ending up surrounded by call girls of all kinds and some scary looking pimps...
We also visited the must do Louvre and the Modern Art Museum.

All in all a fantastic experience of Paris and all it has to offer...

Like all parts of France though... you cannot walk more than a couple of metres without the unmistakable smell of urine ... seems French men are much like their dogs... that no one can wait for a bathroom!

Next stop Aix en Provence.....
XXX

After an un-eventful but pleasant 2.5 hour train ride from Venice to Milano Centrale, we dragged the bags a few blocks to Hertz were I stood in line for 30 mins (who knows why because there were only 3 people in the line!?) to collect our wheels for the next 2 weeks. Whilst we would have loved to have hired a bambino (Fiat 500), they know they're on to a good thing and have jacked up the prices... So we ended up with a Opel Meriva 1.4. Needless to say it's gutless.

A quick lunch around the corner at a "cafeteria" which was very popular with the local business types (and for good reason) and then we hit the road for Bellagio. A couple of wrong turns initially and then we were out onto the Autostrade and heading for the lakes. The roads to Bellagio from both Como and Lecco are very similar. Both loads of fun and sphincter-tightening all at the same time! Very narrow in some parts, you think you're going to lose a mirror at any moment. I vow to return someday soon on a decent motorbike. In actual fact I looked into hiring one while I was there, but I wasn't really prepared to fork out the required EUR 2000 for the deposit!! Again, the bible (Lonely Planet) came through with the goods on the hotel recommendations, Albergo Silvio was in a good spot and had a pretty damn tasty restaurant downstairs looking out over the lake... Tick.

Saturday was a day of R&R and a chance to get some washing done. Maybe it was the idle time, but it was then we decided we could fit in a detour to Paris and then return to Tuscany via Provence and the Cote d'Azur... Seeing as though we hadn't booked much of the second half of the trip, it was an easy thing to do to change plans and we booked Sunday night at a little French town not far from Geneva (Switzerland). By our calculations, after the F1 on Sunday we would drive approx. 3.5 hours to get there for a quick over-nighter and then up early for 5 hours to Paris. After the F1 (see below), we got on the road in good time but it all came crashing down having to sit in traffic at the entrance to the Mont Blanc tunnel for about 2 hours!!! The drive up was great, but I don't know who's stupid idea it is to make you sit in traffic for 2 hours to pay EUR 36.50 in tolls to then be stuck in a 12 km long tunnel at 70 kmh @ 150 m apart... ARE WE ALL GUMBIES?? Anyways, got there eventually and slept.

As for the F1.... Well, where do I start? Left Bellagio just on dawn in order to be in Monza, parked and at the ticket booth to collect the pre-booked tickets as soon as they opened at 8am. Why so early? Well, India bumped into an old contact from a previous job who (blah, blah, blah) works with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and can hook us up with a private paddock/garage tour as long as we get there first thing. We have to meet another guy who we don't have a number for and don't know what he looks like at 8am outside the paddock entrance... Finger's crossed! The Autodromo Nazionale di Monza is a place in motor racing folklore, hosting a Grand Prix event ever since day one of GP racing. It's set within a huge (national) park which is actually quite beautiful and serene (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autodromo_Nazionale_Monza). Due to the size of the park we have to walk a long way from where the park and ride bus drops us off and by the time we're in and find the entrance to the paddock, it's 8:20ish. We look around, check messages, look around, wait, wait, look around, check messages (and repeat) for half an hour and start to think we've missed our golden ticket. Desparate at this stage for some breakfast, we decided the opportunity has passed and start to walk off. 50 metres away, the phone beeps and it's our contact, "are you here yet?". We run (almost) back to the gate and we're shortly greeted by Olly with some VIP access cards. IN. My smile couldn't be wider even at this point. Walking through and past tons of fans hanging at the paddock entrance. We wander in to the general paddock area, hear the spiel about the (massive) team hospitality suites and a bit about how they work etc. Apparently the McLaren "suite" takes 18 guys 4 days to bump-in. That's WITH the clever design of the trucks etc etc. Next stop - the garage. We start walking toward the back entrance of the McLaren pit box and Olly mentions "we're going to walk through the pit now and they might be working on the cars with the covers off etc, so no photos as we're going through, only from the front looking back into the garage"... Ok, sure. I'm a bit nervous i'm going to trip over and break something REALLY expensive, but you should SEE the stupidly massive grin on my face. We walk through the pit, past the radio banks, the tyre stacks, the telemetry desks and... Lewis Hamilton's shiny MP4-26 in all it's glory. OMG! India = best girlfriend EVER! :D

The race was pretty good too. Shame that Ricciardo had a stack and didn't get a proper crack at Monza. Webber had a total brain fade and forgot that without a front wing, F1 cars are useless. Luckily he didn't put Massa out of the race, otherwise we might have been struggling to get out of the place alive. To say the Italians are passionate about Ferrari (and Ducati) is a massive understatement...

We're now in Paris and it's the 3rd time for me, so i'll leave that blog entry for India.

Au revoir!

Venice........ A place that conjures images of gondola men in stripy t-shirts singing bad Italian opera, endless alleyways, millions of pigeons and the Grand Canal. ( for me it also brings Oceans 12 to mind.. More Mr Clooney YAY ! )

And whilst it is all of this, we were lucky to catch Venice mid Biennale - the annual Festival of the Arts meaning that every shop and corner terrace becomes a pop up gallery, with classic and LOTS of modern art installations, exhibitions and pieces on display all over the city.

Our choice of B&B ( Albergo San Samuele ) was fantastic, positioned just 100m from the grand canal and a ferry stop, but a good 15min walk from Piazza San Marco, meaning relative silence in the evening, and a local lunch spot far cheaper for antipasti and secondi then anywhere near the main drag.

All the walls in Venice are on a lean, with our rooms no exception, tables beds and lights are all slopped and the numbers of metal pins holding buildings together almost outnumber the actual beams of the buildings themselves.

Given we are still relatively close to high season, our plans involve hitting the galleries or sights early before the american tourists have had their full breakfasts.
This certainly paid off with Doge's Palace, an incredible building on the Grand Canal which housed The Doge of Venice ( Venice's Senate and other ruling bodies such as the council of 10 ) during the very early years. The ceiling's alone are worth a visit, with incredible carvings, fresco's and gold detail.
Read more here ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge%27s_Palace,_Venice )
Arriving before 9.30 meant there was no line and we had most rooms to enjoy on our own (as long as you stay one room ahead of the tourist groups). Below the gold lined senate gathering rooms and endless waiting areas for both members of parliament and those waiting to either speak before the council or be tried, there are the cells and military storerooms. Here on display are Armour and original weapons with some impressive guns and swords taller than me.

Something known to anyone who follows the Satorialist ( http://www.thesartorialist.com/ ) knows that Italian men wear a uniform and it varies between summer and winter. Being Summer we have seen no less that at least 5 an hour of the classic and well worn combination of beige slacks, brown loafers and belt, worn with a light blue shirt rolled at the sleeve. In the evening a jumper can be worn across the shoulder. Andrew however has just discovered this fantastic, tried and tested look, and we spent all shopping moments in Venice searching for the perfect pair of beige pants.
Whether due to genetics or the recent increase in cycling, Andrews legs do not fit the pants of the classic Italian man, with almost all styles insanely tight around the thigh. (note: Given all our searching we did eventually find the perfect pair and Andrew is now the proud owner of beige pants, blue shirt and brown loafers!!! ) Italy is rubbing off on us... nomale!

Day 2 in Venice and we took another hot tip and visited the Guggenheim ( Peggy ) which is situated across the Canal from San Marco. Again arriving as it opens is the best plan, meaning we get to view some amazing pieces she collected over her lifetime and displayed in what would have been an amazing house in its day. Dorsuduro, the suburb where the Peggy is located is beautiful, and clearly home to many more Venetian locals that the other side of the water.

A trip to Murano was done , but to be honest is not something I would repeat. For starters I personally cannot stand the multicolored glass that they make into endless shapes of dogs, ashtrays and necklaces. Also we must have either picked the wrong time because saw no glass blowing which I believe is worth seeing.

The food in Venice ( besides a day 1 panini FAIL ) was amazing. And thanks to some hot tips from friends and the bible, wet ate some fantastic Seafood ( well I did ), Pasta and Pizza. Highlights were Antiche Carampane, Rosa Rossa and Antiche Adelaide ( yes really ) with a mix of awesome pizza, eggplant lasagne and incredible smoked ricotta.

At the end of our Venice stay it feels like we have seen ( and walked ) as much as we can which is a good feeling....

A 2 hour train trip and we are collecting the car and heading to the shores of Lake Como ( Bellagio ) for a day of r&r before the Grand Prix in Milan on Sunday....and potentially Andrew's highlight!

XX Ciao... next stop George Clooney's villa.....