Peggy and Teds Italian Adventu
Peggy Trepanier Joined: August 18th 2010
Logged in: September 27th 2010
Logged in: September 27th 2010
Travel Blog Posts
Agriturismo Le Farnie
This post includes a few final photos to accompany the previous posts.... read more
We travelled to London on British Air--love that airline! Flying first class on British Air is like being crowned Queen for a Day! Everything/anything you wish, madam! We spent the night and arrived the next morning early to fill out our VAT refund paperwork. We were supposed to have everything we bought (for the refund) ready to show and unused. They never once looked or asked to look at our stuff! So that was easy! Next we went to check our bags and go through security. Ted's backpack took a long time to come through the xray machine and then it was diverted for a more thorough check. His backpack had all the power cords and adaptors, so it was a wonder it hadn't been checked before. But no problem, we were early and all was ... read more
We returned the rental car back to the rental agency and Carla brought us back to the farm. We had arranged that one of her workers would drive us into Paola so we could take the train back to Rome. I had thought it would be fun to stay at a convent for our last days. It was supposed to be near the Vatican and that was our main focus this time through Rome. When we arrived at the train station, we were stupid and didn't take a metered taxi to get to the convent. Cost us about 3-4 times what it should have! The convent is run by the Carmelite order and it was quite large. I was worried since it was so far out of the city core, but the fun was only beginning. ... read more
The following day Ted and I decided to visit the beach. Since we were half way between the Ionian sea and the Tyrhynnian sea, we chose the former. The newest addition to the olive farm were Germans who told us the Ionian sea had sandy beaches and you could walk out a far ways into the ocean before it dropped off. The other side had a rockier beach and a steeper drop-off. We got close to the actual beach side spot that had been recommended to us, but couldn't find that exact place. But we did find, for 6E/person was a nice little beach, complete with deck chairs and sunbrella table. It was heavenly! I could have stayed all week, just roasting myself like a pig on a spit, turning as needed.....Ted was the only person ... read more
Altomonte Day 3 Today began, as usual, with a wonderful breakfast. Ted’s 2 pots of coffee, strudel and cookies (we passed), yogurt, toast and bread with marmalade, and a hard boiled egg served up in tiny egg cups. After talking with Carla, and she with a car rental company, we drove with her husband Carlos (yep- Carla and Carlos!) into a bigger village to rent a car. A blind eye was turned to the fact that Ted didn’t have an international driver’s license and off we went in a small Lancia. This car would be considered a compact or sub-compact car in the US, but here there were two sizes smaller than our Lancia. The smallest is designated a “city” car and the next an “economy” car. We have a “small” car. We filled it with ... read more
The Grand Canal
Four hours past our predicted arrival time, we landed in Venice. And found that we didn't have a clue how to get to our B&B. Ted tried calling on a local phone and actually got through, but apparently 0.20 euro only gives you 2 minutes of talk time. So, loaded for bear, I called. "Oh yes, Madame Trepanier, it's very eazzy to arrive here. 20 minutes." Once our landlady slowed down, she gave directions that I was able to understand and follow. One more train and as we were looking for our street (Via Rizzardi), a nice older lady came and tried to help, but quickly passed us off to a younger woman. Both very nice and eager to help. The younger woman said although she'd lived in Venice for 16 years, she wasn't familiar with ... read more
Castle in the mist
Wednesday began with Gregory beginning his first official day of his first official job. The new young banker off to work in a suit and tie! Serge was more nervous than Gregory. Military men are trained to show up early and wait. Gregory approaches life with a lot more serenity than that. He was planning on being maybe 5 minutes early--no more. Our day began with the customary coffee and croissant--and a hard boiled egg just for me. Then we were off to see the Castle of Viandon. Its construction began well before the Middle Ages and continued through the 15th century. Before we reached the actual castle grounds, Serge stopped at a look out so we could get pictures. The look out was also a WW2 memorial to the liberation of Viandon by Allied troops. ... read more
Wine Tour
Yesterday Serge had a surprise planned for us in the afternoon. In the morning, we left for a tour of a local winery--St. Martin. It is located near the Mosel river that divides Germany and Luxembourg. We had an hour long tour through the caves with a Dutch woman giving the tour....she reminded me a bit of Julia Child with a Dutch accent. We learned the process of how wine, especially sparkling wine, is made. Bet no one knows how they get the proper cork in the "champagne" bottle when it's time without losing all the bubbles....:) Of course we had to buy a couple bottles so we now will be checking a bag on the way back as well. (We had brought a couple bottles of WA state wine to share with Serge.) After the ... read more
The Great Square
The train ride was 9 hours long, but we got to see more of Italy, France and Switzerland. We changed trains in Basel, Switzerland and we were on our last leg. Our train arrived right on time and we spotted Serge and Chantal almost immediately. It was so great to see them again. I think I got 5 hugs from Serge before we left the platform! The train station is located in Luxembourg City and we got the nickle tour on the way to Serge's house in Stegen, about 20 minutes outside of the city. We spent the evening catching up on everyone and hearing about the plans Serge and Chantal had made for our visit. Then a light dinner and off to bed--about 11pm. Bright and early today we left for Brussels, Belgium to see ... read more
Duomo
We left Rome today and took the train to Milan. The train ride was very nice and efficient. Amtrak could learn a few things!! We travelled through both 'Florence and Bologna and saw lots of vineyards, hay fields and even some orchards--looked alot like Eastern Washington! We found our hotel fairly quickly since it's located quite close to the station. We went up, checked in and left almost immediately for our quick tour of Milan. We were halfway to the subway when Ted realized we had left the deck door open and since it is connected to other rooms, he headed back to close it. Since we only had this afternoon to "see" Milan, we went to the two biggest draws: the Duomo and the Galleria. Fortunately they are right next to each other. The Duomo ... read more
