Jules Adam
Juliette and Adam Joined: October 17th 2005
Logged in: April 24th 2009
Logged in: April 24th 2009
Travel Blog Posts
This morning I was hungover, never really been hungover the whole trip before, but today I was. Jules seemed a bit worse for wear too, but today was going to be tough. We had a fairly late start and lugged our heavy oacks down the stairs and got prepared for the trek up the hill to the train station. Breakfast this morning was the usual, croissants, cheese and 4 week old meat cutlets...no thanks, not today... We trudged up the hill to the train station, where we had to wait over an hour for our train. Today we were going to catch a slow train to Milan, then a faster one to Venice. It was raining again, and passing time on platforms can get pretty desperate, so Jules and I played our usual round of 'dares'. ... read more
We got up after a good sleep and made our way lazily down the 4 flights of stairs. Today we had to catch the ferry to Menaggio, have a look round there for an hour, then catch a bus up to Lake Legano in Switzerland! This wasn't part of the tour, but an option that we couldn't pass up! The ferry ride was short but FREEZING, the ferries are like those car ferries so they dont really accomodate for people that much, i.e. no heaters or anything! We got to Managgio and it's pretty much like Verenna, except it's a bit bigger. We took a stroll around the town and ended up back at the bus stop just in time to leave. The bus ride only took an hour and it was pretty scary winding up ... read more
Today we went to Verenna by train (again). We got in pretty late, and the station was so tiny, we had to get off the train, straight onto the tracks and walk along them for about 500m in the dark! The weather is cooler now, the jackets and jumpers are coming out. The weather is not that grand either. Looks like our luck has run out! Verenna is a tiny little town on the edge of Lake Como. It's a pretty wee place, but it's only real function is to deliver people by train to the lakes district. We checked into our accom (typical 1 star Italian affair, no lift, tiny room, paper thin walls) and headed downstairs for a beer in the pub below the hotel. We then took a quick stroll around the town ... read more
We woke to the smell of freshly baked warm croissants and floated downstairs on the aroma. Let me clarify, our accom this time was what they call an Agrotourista which basically means a farmhouse for tourists. Usually its a husband and wife deal, they have extra rooms and rent them out to travellers, serve them meals, let them help out on the farm etc. This one was a bit more upmarket than that, but VERY cool and still VERY authentic. Today was going to be a real struggle....not. Absolutely beautiful day, not a whisper of a cloud in the sky and after breakfast we were going to walk 20 mins up the road to learn about wine making and then enjoy a homecooked lunch over some tastings..... We had a blissful sleep although I suspect there ... read more
(note to readers...this is a little delayed due to impossible net access further north in Italy) Yay! Today we head to Priocca, a divine little vineyard town about 1 hour east of Milan. We got up in Levanto, and headed up the massive hill loaded up with our packs (wishing I had a suitcase with wheels) to the train station. While waiting for the train I figured out how to play one of these crazy Italian pokies and managed to win enough money for lunch, great start to the day! We boarded yet another train, I thought I'd let the Trenitalia staff drive today, I was a little tired, then headed for Milan! We only had a day in Milan, in fact we only had about 4 hours, so we had to make the most of ... read more
We got up to a nice brekky in the hotel and then it was off to the station for the Cinque Terre. WE got the train to one of the 5 towns and started the walk along the CT. I have to tell you, this walk is amazing. It's fully set up really well and quite easy to do. On one side you have all the old beautiful terraced gardens and hosues, the other is the ocean! It's so beautiful Unfortunately, Italy's great weather had broken...we had our first touch of rain, gutted. We soldiered on though, and had great fun. We walked round to the next town, this stage it was absolutely hosing down, so we ducked into a caffe for a quick bite. Once it stopped, Jules and I decided to flag the next ... read more
Forgot to tell you, On the way home last night, we got on a train which we thought was the express, turns out it wasn't. So, while being bored to death waiting for the train to start up again, I wandered off down to the front to ask the driver how long it would take...(I'd had a couple of Peroni's by this stage) Long story short, the driver asked me if I wanted to have a drive of the train!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!!!!! So here I am, between San Margherita and Levanto, driving a Trenitalia Train!!!! I can tell you now, its not that hard. There are two levers, one is the 'go lever' and one is the brake. Not like theres a wheel or a clutch is there? So for about 40kms I was driving ... read more
We woke this morning to another cracker Lucca day. We had been here long enough and I was keen to get on the train. Lucca is a great place to visit, but TBH, it could be done in a day. There is nothing really too special here (apart from the mummified lady in one of the churches...creepy). It is steeped in history, but this far down, we are kind of numb to the history of everything now. The terraced houses and cobbled streets used to buzz us out, but now we are craving the comforts of a city again. We soon got sick of all those stairs! A 2 hour train ride and we arrived in Levanto. The trains here are really cool. It's pretty easy to figure out how to use them and once you ... read more
Today was our Free Day in Lucca, and being All Saints Day (public holiday), there was NOTHING to do.....really, there was NOTHING to do. We packed a picnic, went up on the wall together and had some pomodoro and mozorella sandwiches. After this, we mosied back home, after checking out every street in the town (and all the shops that WERENT open) and had an afternoon siesta. I woke early and went out exploring, trying to find a Supermarket that might actually be open, and I lucked up. Found me an Essenlunger (sounds really appetising doesnt it?) and loaded up with goodies and more weird named food (OK, its a little game I like to play!). That night we had a group dinner at one of the other apartments, so we got there about 7pm and ... read more
After a great sleep, we showered up and went down (all those stairs), got our obligitory Pizza for breakfast and met the group at the bike shed. Today was BIKE RIDING DAY! How long has it been since you rode a bike? For me it must have been about 15 years, and my butt bones have been reminding me ever since. We started the day off (and let me say the weather here has been absolutely incredible, October is definitely the best time to come to Italy) with a leisurely ride around the walls of Lucca. The walls are really wide and total 7 kms around the city, on top of the walls is a path and several park areas, its really beautiful. We all got accustomed to riding our bikes, and took in the serenity ... read more
