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Published: October 20th 2007
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You may have noticed I that have made no mention of the rugby result against France. I don’t think mention needs to be made….
Monday, October 8, 2007 - Today we stayed at the house, cleaning and having a study-rest since real estate people were coming to show the house in the afternoon. Another quiet day, but that will change tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 9, 2007 - We hit the road early with an overnight bag in hand, as we had a good drive up to Pisa and the Leaning Tower, among other things. The drive up there was about 2 hours, and that was on the motorway, where you can drive 130 KPH. As usual, finding a parking spot wasn’t that easy, but we got one within walking distance of the Tower and square. I was actually really touched by seeing the Tower. I don’t know why, but maybe it is all the years of seeing it in brochures. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it as did Kevin and Harrison. We did the requisite pictures of us trying to hold it up. Harrison was gung-ho about us all climbing it, but it cost 15 Euros per person and it is
More graffiti
This is on the walk to Cingque Terre, however it made for an interesting photo. on a guided tour. We opted out, since Harrison isn’t keen on tours, and I didn’t want to do it anyway. So, we bought tickets to go into the basilica instead, which was really pretty. I had also read about a group of Roman boats, including a warship, that had been found in the old harbor and wanted to check them out, only to find it was by appointment only. Next time… After lunch we piled in the car and headed up the coast for Cinque Terre.
On the drive up some of the back roads we noticed that they were wooded on both sides of the road, with clearings every so often. It was along this stretch of road that we came across a most amazing creature - the elusive Italian Bush Hooker - standing in these clearings. Kevin spotted one first, sitting brazenly on a back seat from a car, on a corner of the road. As we drove further north, we began to see more and more on both sides of the road, and even saw a pair together. A genus of the creature was clothed in nothing but panties and an overcoat, and came with her
Cinque Terra
How picturesque is this.... own campervan. Harrison was very pleased as he had never seen any breed of Hooker before, and seeing so many in one area was a real bonus. I am sure it is something that he won’t soon forget.
We got up to La Spezia and caught the train up to Cinque Terre, which is a national park, again recommended to us by friends. It is a group of 5 towns on the coast, separated by shear cliffs. The only ways to see the towns are by walking and taking the train. We actually did a bit of both, finishing up in the town of Verazzo, which is the prettiest of the 5, so the guide books say. We had dinner and took the train back to La Spezia for the night.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 - We looked at the guidebook to see what there was to see in Florence. The book recommended a minimum of 4 days, so we opted for the flea market. I located it on the map, and off we went. But Florence got the better of us and after about 45 minutes of driving around and getting lost (natch…) we found our favorite sign,
Assisi
Taken in one of the churches in Assisi “tutti le direzione”, and got outta there! We stopped at the outlets on the way home instead, and talked Harrison into a pair of shoes that he has ended up loving. He has done pretty well with his shopping, getting some really neat things that he likes and will wear.
Thursday, October 11, 2007 - As we had one more day before Harrison left, we again (!) piled in the car with guidebooks and bottles of water, and wended our way to Assisi, the birthplace and general home of St Francis, the founder of the Catholic Franciscan brothers. It took about 1-1/2 hours to get there, mostly on smaller roads. We went to the cathedral built for him after his death. The frescoes were incredible. There had been severe damage to the front of the upper church during an earthquake about 10 years ago, but much of the restoration has been completed. There is also a lower church with more beautiful frescoes, and some great tile work. Down to the lower level, and we found the crypt of St Francis, reburied in the 19th century in this current location. I highly recommend that, if you ever get to Umbria,
Dressed for dinner
All dressed up for dinner the evening before Harrison left for NZ. you make an effort to come to this wonderful town and see what it has to offer. The town itself is charming. Oh I know, that is such a cliché and conjures up all sorts of images, but it really is worth it.
Back home via tiki tour. We changed clothes and got spiffed up to go out to dinner in Orvieto, to a restaurant we had spotted the week before. It really was very nice. Harrison chose rabbit, voluntarily, and enjoyed it. Kevin had wild boar, and I had lamb in a tomato sauce. It was actually one of the better meals we had in Italy.
Friday, October 12, 2007 - So we had to organize and pack up and throw out and reorganize and get ready to go. We jammed a bunch of stuff in Harrison’s bag - fabric, souvenirs, books, etc. Kevin reckoned Harrison’s bag weighed 30 Kg, with his limit allowance being 20 Kg. We went into the terminal with my French market bag just in case. The check-in girl didn’t even bat an eye at the weight, thank heaven, and he was able to get an exit seat for his legs as well. We
were very sad to see him go, as we had a good time with him, and we think he had fun as well. When asked what he enjoyed the most about the trip, he said seeing the Bush Hookers was the best, and after that, St. Peter’s. Kevin and I got on the road again, making it as far as 30 Km west of Florence. We went looking for a hotel room, and in one that I went into I was quoted 80 Euro so I asked to see the room. There was NO TOILET SEAT! Now, I am pretty easy going but I had to draw the line at that. We found another hotel, a little bit more, but with BBC, WIFI, a hot breakfast, AND a toilet seat.
Even though we have had a good time in Italy, we are looking forward to getting back to France, with same drivers (did I really say that???), lower prices and food with flavor.
Saturday, October 13, 2007 - Okay, so on the way up to France there is Portofino to have a look and at then Genoa, birthplace of Christopher Columbus. We went into Portofino, took a walk up
to the top of the harbor and checked out restaurants, which were all overpriced. We had driven through another town, Santa Margarita (I think) which looked a lot nicer, very reminiscent of the 20s-30s, and it looked very rich. We saw 2 - yes, two - Ferraris, parked next to each other. Harrison would have loved it! Back on the road to Genoa, where we figured we would get a bite. Unbeknown st to us, we were driving into a Boat Show at the port. Um, bad call…..We tried to get out of town, and finally did, but not without a few glitches. Let’s just say that it was the final straw, and we decided that we would be happier on the other side of the border. So, here we are, back in France a day early, in Menton on the border. Unfortunately for us, there are a lot of Italian-style restaurants here in the town. But we are still pleased to be back and enjoying the food and the lower priced hotels (WITH toilet seats!)
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Linda
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Love your blog
I have so enjoyed reading all about your adventures. What a fantastic idea sharing your journey with all of us. Your jorunal is a keeper for those of us wanting to do a trip similar in the future.