France and Italia

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From India, we arrived in Paris a few weeks ago, and spent a night there with Jess, Jamie and Renae, doing the typical things like Arch de Triumph, Eiffel Tower (all the way to the top!), Champs Elysees, eating pastries, drinking coffee, ... it was all very stylish and clean, compared to previous places, but we were a bit surprised that it was only about 20 degrees. Both men and women Paresians look amazingly stylish, mainly dressed in relativley simple clothes that fit well and that I'm sure cost a fortune. We saw lots of little dogs to match.

Next morning, we made an early start and picked up our hire car, and drove all the way south to Ginestas, for Claire and Neill's wedding. It took a really long time, with only a few short stops, but it was nice to see the countryside. The boys sat in the front and drove, it took a while to get used to driving on the wrong side of the road in peak hour traffic, and the girls sat in the back and talked.

We stayed at the chateau for 4 nights (in much more luxurious accommodation that we had experienced on the trip so far - thanks Claire for giving us one of the best rooms!). It was a beautiful little town and we did some day trips to nearby larger towns and to Carcasonne (a walled city). The wedding was heaps of fun and a gorgeous day and it was really fantastic to catch up with friends, especially after being on the road for nearly 2 months.

From there, we drove back to Paris for one more night and went out for dinner with Renae and Frances.
Then, we flew to Milan (after some travel delays and mishaps, including being sent on a wild goose chase between Paris airports, a flight cancelled and then our next flight being delayed by 4 hours, and spending a few early morning hours in the Milan aiport with a retired 28yo male model who had never played cards before), caught a train, and met up with uncle John and cousin Fiona, who were staying at a friend's holiday house in mountainous northern Italy, in a small village near Morbegno, along a narrow bit of Lake Como. We stayed with them for a week and a half, doing trips to several towns and cities.

First up, we went to Vicenza and spent the night with distant Italian rellies, and only a few of them could speak English, so the Italian dictionary and phrase book were given a work out, and I had to try and remember what I had learned in high school. It was an achievement just to say "its cold and raining, a thunderstorm" and "i am 28 years old, how old are you?" and "my mum is well. I will see her in Ireland for my cousins wedding in August. My dad will go there as well, but not my brother and sister" and to understand when Anita said "i had an operation on my eyes two months ago, and they get tired at night, but do not hurt". You get the picture. After a meal out at their local restaurant, we came home for some grappa (a strong clear spirit made from crushed grapes). It is not traditional for women to drink grappa, only men, but Fi and I were happily offered some and enjoyed trying it.

Next up we went to Venice and met up with Steve's (recentlt engaged) sister Bec and her soon to be husband Kris, after a lucky series of coincidences that enabled it to happen. When you dont have a mobile phone or easy internet access, we have found you tend to rely a lot on luck and coincidences when trying to meet up with people in foreign places. But we did and enjoyed a day in the city that sits on water, hundreds of islands, connected by hundreds of little bridges, and very easy to get lost in! With roads made of water, you would think that was enough, but no, it was bucketing down when we arrived and when we left. At least, it was fine for our walk to St Mark's Square and the gondola ride (when in Venice...) And then we had a celebratory drink for Bec and Kris' engagement, and a delicious Venetian meal.

From there, we stopped back in Vicenza for lunch with the rellies (about 15 people), which turned into staying the night. The lunch was one of the best meals we have had in Italy, and one of the biggest. Penne bolognese, risotto with truffles, beef and chicken, rose wine, espresso coffee and grappa (all local specialties). You would think that would be enough... Before our next meal, we had a much needed walk, and a tour of Juliet's castle (as in Romeo and Juliet, but it was not really her castle, because she might not have really existed), and Mauro took us to see some Vicenzan architecture and churches. For tea, back at the house (where several generations live, each family with their own floor, and a massive garage for their gorgeous and beloved cars), we had a wide variety of cold meats, cheeses, cherry tomatoes, mini pizzas, followed by the best and biggest cherries I have ever tasted, apricots, etc, and cake. And then liqueur to top it off. Phew. Absolutely delicious. They also had the most beautiful swimming pool, all lit up at night, but unfortunately summer had not quite arrived when we were there and swimming was not a desirable option.

Next up, Verona. We saw a large ampitheatre (think of the Colloseum in Rome, but not quite as big, and actually still in use as a theatre today), which was about 1700 years old, and Juliet's house complete with her balcony and a statue and lots of love graffiti. We also went for a walk up one of the hills to get a view of the romantic city.

Following our journey, we stayed back at the house for the rest of the time and did day trips (including regular stops at one of the best gelati places in the world, Lady Ice). We were rained in for two days, living in clouds in our mountain abode, and took the time to finish some books and play cards, eat healthy home cooked meals like salads, fruit and yoghurt, and go for walks up and down the mountain. We went to several towns, including beautiful lakeside Como, ski town Bormio, a Swiss town Lugano, and the birthplace of my late great grandfather Tirano (which kind of reminded me of a cross between Subiaco and Fremantle, but surrounded by mountains with vineyards). Interestingly, Tirano is home to a lot of West Aussies ancestors, and you see surnames all over the place that sound familiar. An Omodei saw the Madonna (Virgin Mary) in 1500s and in that century a church was built in commemoration (Madonna di Tiranno). The church on the inside is amazing with very high ceilings, and breathtaking art and sculptures covering every inch. We visited rellies there and went out for another delicious Italian meal, and I saw the house my great grandfather lived in before he came to WA.

We also did some car hunting in Italy and Switzerland, and were confronted with beaurocratic blockages at each attempt until eventually we faced reality that we were not going to buy one, at this stage.
Eventually, it was time for us all to move on from our house in the mountains. We said goodbye to John and Fi and boarded the trains to Cinque Terra, which is on the Mediterrean Sea, west coast of Italy. We stayed for two nights and on the second day, we did the famous walk of the five towns through the national park, enjoying some stunning cliff top views and a few swims in the clear turquoise green waters along the way.

From there, we went to Rome for three nights, staying at a B&B in the city centre, and again enjoying cooking our own meals half the time, as well as sampling amazing gelati in Piazza Navona (stiff competition for Lady Ice!). We spent a lot of the time walking the city, seeing the Colloseum, Ancient City ruins, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Vatican City, art, some other fountains, a castle and numerous piazzas and other really old buildings and monuments. This city is amazing, has more ancient monuments than you can poke a stick at, and we walked all day seeing beautiful roman ruins. You can't walk more than 500m in any direction without running into something of historical interest (unless you try really, really hard).

Now we are in Naples (Napoli) and it is a change from northern Italy. Hotter (although Rome was also hot, summer really is here now) and more scooters, random traffic, dirtier, cheaper, lots of markets. For lunch today, we ate the BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD. This is what they say, it has just won the best pizza in Italy award for 2008, is mentioned in the book Eat Pray Love, in Lonely Planet, etc etc. The pizza is Napoli style, ie Margherita, just mozarella cheese, tomato sauce and the base. It really was delicious. The base was crispy around the edges and very very thin and soft (like naan bread but thinner) in the centre. The tomato sauce was so juicey and fresh it even had the seeds, and the buzzalo mozarella cheese was yummy. I ate way too much...it was impossible not to finish it all. There were heaps of locals waiting outside for their numbers to be called when we arrived, so we went in and took a number and waited along with them. Steve is planning on eating more pizza for dinner.... I dont know if I have the space to eat more, just yet .... and I heard the gelati here is good too...

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