Corvara, what a place to wake up in. Bright sun, blue sky and surrounded by mountains. Below us is the town that looks like it has been transported from the setting of a model railway. We pinch ourselves just to check it is all real. Our fellow guests are from Italy, Germany and France. Today we plan to relax and soak in the local atmosphere. We set off for a walk down into the town. It doesn’t take us long to realize this day is different. The town is swarming with cyclists and not a motorized vehicle in sight. The amount of colourful lycra and expensive cycles tells us something big is happening. People of all ages pass us by as they head up the zig zag road out of town. The e-bikes zoom up the ... read more

We have looked forward to today’s outing ever since we started planning our trip nearly two years ago. We get down to the breakfast room reasonably early to beat the two tour groups staying overnight. We need not have worried. They were early risers, much earlier than us. We leave for the bus stop equipped with pre-purchased tickets and a plan. Arriving at the bus stop we find our first miscalculation for the day. We missed one bus by 5 minutes, the next one is 20 minutes away. We entertain ourselves wondering what the men are doing in the yard of the bus depot. They are measuring, marking and making chalk lines everywhere. We decide they need an all weather pitch for their lunch time football games and are marking it out. The bus arrives and ... read more

Our two night stay south of Ravenna is over and today we are traveling to Padua. Our previous visits to the area were in 2001 on a bus tour with a day visit to Venice and in 2011 for a brief look at one of the churches in Padua. This time we are in the city for three nights so that we can really visit Venice and the islands of Murano and Burano. We farewell our host family, say good luck to the son about to sit his final exam at high school, and load the car. Our first stop is a kilometre along the road for photos of sunflowers. We have left the olives behind and are now in the country of sunflowers and maize. We wonder about rice growing in the Po River area. ... read more

Starting the day in a hotel breakfast room can be both interesting and fun. We experienced both today. We were confronted by an array of interesting breakfast treats. We could have chocolate or plain rice bubble look-a-likes, a variety of pre-filled or plain croissants, cakes, yoghurt, bread roll and spreads, and fruit. We have seen apricots in the supermarket. Today we can try before we buy. We won’t buy. Nothing like our tree ripened apricots from Central Otago. If you were blindfolded you wouldn’t know what you were eating. Needless to say we left feeling full even if it wasn’t what we needed. The attendant was a delight. She tells us she talks to English speakers as often as she can to improve her English. She was so happy and interested in our trip. By now ... read more

This morning we say goodbye to our hostess, Paola. The apartment has been comfortable but hard to compare with some of our previous apartments. This one was in a good location and was quiet. In New Zealand Saturday is usually a day of working at home, taking children to sport or catching up with friends and relatives. Here in Italy it tends to be another weekday. The offices on the ground floor of this building are open for business. That means Sunday is the only family day. Perhaps they make the most of their two hours of afternoon siesta time. We set course for Vasto, a small city in Abruzzo. We have three driving days to reach Ravenna. Why Vasto? No particular reason other than it is about 400 kms north of Lecce. Italy is a ... read more