Vernazza

10 Tuesday Aug 2010

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We finally got out of Pisa after getting turned around a little and drove toward the Cinque Terre and a little town called Vernazza. Afyter driving for a little bit, we absolutely had no idea where we were. We were driving down this tiny road with no town in site. I was hoping we didn’t break down because with no cell phone and no house near by, we would have been in trouble! We eventually drove through this tiny town and stopped for directions. Susan is way better at understanding people and was able to decipher from the guy who only spoke italian where we needed to go. So we crossed our fingers and headed in that direction and finally saw signs again for Vernazza. The roads were still so small and windy and literally there was only room for one car at a time. We eventually found the final turn off and winded down the hill towards the town.

The towns are so small that there is no public parking in the town so we parked in the lot and wheeled our luggage down the hill.

And now to find our room. Again, no real visible street signs. Sue went off while I stayed with the luggage and was able to find the street but the street numbers made no sense. I happened to see a women pick up her new tenants at the train station and asked her if she could point us in the right direction. She confered with another woman in one of the local shops and then picked up the phone and called Elizabetta for us. What wonderful hospitality! We then made our way up the 76 stairs to our room. A painful experience but the pain was worth it when we saw the view from our room.

We threw our bags in our room and grabbed a beer and just sat on the patio and enjoyed the scenery for a while. We just needed to chill out after our journey here.

We thought we might as well go and enjoy the beach a little bit so grabbed some lunch and another beer and settled on the beach. So enjoyable. We dipped a few times to cool off and chatted about the plan for the afternoon.

A hike to Corneglia seemed like a great idea. The start of the path was right behind our room so it was easy to find. And what a view right from the start. In the picture below, the patio with the Italian flag, is ours. Pretty nice right?

It was super hot out (as per usual) so we called this our Bikrams hike. It reminded me a little of the grind. Lots and lots of stairs! But it eventually it evened out though which was a relief!

We were finally able to see Corneglia and even Manarola the town beyond it. Couldn’t wait to get there and have another beer to cool off.

What another beautiful little town. Small alley ways for streets. Bright colours. Simple but stunning. And what a beautiful view of the next town.

Instead of hiking back we took the train. A lot faster and literally drops you off right in town. Had we known that, we probably would have driven to La Spezia and just taken the train to Vernazza instead.

By this time, it was late afternoon and time to get ready for dinner and enjoy our patio for our Prosecco and cheese. I absolutely loved this patio. We shared it with another room but had yet to run into them.

 

We headed for dinner at a little place near the beach and out of all the meals we had in Italy, unfortunately, this one was the worst. I ordered the prawn pasta but the prawns came complete with legs, eye balls and all! As we tried to get the meat out, we realized there was just really no meat in them. So not so much of a prawn pasta after all. Behold my alien pasta!

We wanted to enjoy our patio some more so we were going to get into our PJ`s and just relax up there but I wanted to get a quick picture of the sunset before we did and that is when we ran into JP and Danny. They were also watching the sunset so we got to chatting.

Then shared a bottle of champagne that we had left over from the wedding, went for late night gelato and a walk to the pier. What a beautiful serene place to sit and chat. And a perfect way to end our night in Vernazza.

We were so happy to have been able to experience a little bit of the Cinque Terre and meet some new friends in the process.

 

Florence & Pisa

05 Thursday Aug 2010

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Sue drove this leg of the trip and thank goodness as once again we found ourselves trying to find our hotel through the one way streets of Florence. Noted for next trip, get the GPS unit no matter what the cost! We literally found ourselves right in the centre of Florence that had streets big enough for just one car. We knew we had to get out but how? Between Jane and I, we managed to eventually get close to our hotel, where we then parked the car on some side street and walked in to the hotel. Once we checked in we asked if we were allowed to just park on the streets. Makes sense that they are just for residences but that meant we would have to drive again to try and find parking. The last thing I wanted to do was try and navigate our way through Florence streets again.The concierge told us she would have the parking attendant come and get the car for us. Yes!!!

With that taken care of, the three of us set off to explore Florence mainly the markets. Oh the leather!!!! Leather shoes, bags, wallets everywhere. We had only been in Florence like an hour and I had already seen about 10 things I would love to buy! But didn’t want to rush into anything so we just wandered through the stands, looking at everything, trying not to get sucked in by the merchants.

Jane only had a few hours before her flight back to London so we grabbed a bite to eat before we said goodbye to her. Sue and I wanted an early night so we went straight back to the hotel.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel which consisted of the usual… tomatoes, cheese, yoghurt, granola. My regular Italian breaky. Might have thrown a croissant here or there into the mix. The agenda for today was busy. The morning we had tickets booked to the Accademia, then to the Uffizi, then to Pitti Palace.

The Accademia is a small museum which is home to Michelangelo’s David, another bucket moment for me. How can you not be in awe of this Renaissance sculpture? The sheer size of it alone makes you wonder how someone could have ever created something so beautiful and perfect. And again you are not supposed to take pictures but I got one off before I realized you were not supposed to. Really they need to put those signs bigger! Ok, so I took two pictures. The second, I did feel badly about! 😉

We did wander through the other halls of the museum but our visit to this gallery was all about seeing David.

We had some time before our Uffizi Gallery visit so we went down to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore which was just about to open up for the day. The lineup was not that bad so we stood in line. Before we knew it, the lineup was about 200 people deep. Glad we got in it when we did! It is another beautiful, Gothic style church. The cathedral, along with the Baptistry and Giotto’s Campanile are a part of the UNESCO’s World Heritage site.

Another church on our list to see was the Basilica di Santa Croce. It is the principal Franciscan church in Florence. Legend says that this church was founded by St Francis of Assisi himself. It has 16 chapels and has tombs & cenotaphs throughout.

For lunch we went to a little cafe with a waiter who would speak to us in Italian really fast and only speak english when we looked at it him with these confused blank eyes. It became a game with us and was actually quite funny. When we left we turned to him and in unison said… Ciao… which made him laugh out loud! So great!

The cafe was just outside the Uffizi Gallery so we were close to our next destination. The Uffizi houses a world-class collection of paintings like Botticelli’s Birth of Venus which was a personal favourite of mine. Some of the other notable paintings were The Annunciation by Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt’s Self Portrait as a Young Man and Titian’s Venus of Urbino. We spent a lot of time there taking periodical time outs so I could sit down and rest my back. I don’t know much about art but Sue and I both enjoyed looking at all the different paintings and talking about what we liked, what we didn’t like, the colours, the styles etc. I think we managed to hit every room!

We were both getting tired at this point but still had the Pitti Palace to go to. We wandered over the Ponte Vecchio to get there. You are basically on the bridge before you even know it. With all the shops lining it, it is hard to tell until you get to the mid point where you can stand and enjoy the view of the river.

Arriving at Pitti Palace earlier than our ticket time, we thought we would see if we could get in early and did so without any issues. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and in the late 18th century was used as a power base by Napoleon. In the early 19th century it was donated by the King to the Italian people and that is when its doors were opened to the public. It was so interesting going from room to room discovering what each room was used for and by whom.

At one point you could look out the window and see the Boboli Gardens which we did not buy tickets for. And at another point you looked out and saw all of Florence. Truly spectacular.By this time it was about 5pm so we walked across Ponte Santa Trinita so we could get a better look at Ponte Vecchio, walked through the market and grabbed all the leather goods we had been eyeing the day before and then went back to our hotel for a siesta.

Oh siestas! How I wish I could have you every day! Sue and I still had a bottle of champagne left from the wedding so we thought we might as well have it pre dinner. We were the only room in our hotel to have a balcony so we drank our champagne with our little plastic cups as we people watched and enjoyed the Florence evening.

 I looked forward to each and every meal in Italy because I knew I was always in for a treat. Our last night in Florence did not disappoint. More wine was to be had to accompany another great meal.

 Before we turned in, we asked the concierge about our car and how were to go about getting it in the morning and was so pleasantly surprised to know that they would just bring it around in the morning for whatever time we wanted. In the morning, right on time, the car was waiting for us outside and we were on our way to Pisa.

Pisa was easy to get to. The Leaning Tower, not so much. We eventually asked a few people who pointed us in the right direction but by this point we were so turned around that I never thought we would be able to find the car again.

It was still fairly early in the morning so the crowds around the tower were not too bad.  It was another bucket list moment but I guess I was a bit underwhelmed. Maybe I was just tired or maybe I just really wanted to get on the road to Vernazza. But regardless, I was still grateful to have been able to see it.

And I was right about not being able to find out car. We eventually did but only after asking for directions once again. And we were off! This time to the Cinque Terre.

 

 

Greve in Chianti

04 Wednesday Aug 2010

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The whole reason for this trip to Italy was to see my good friends Jen and George get married. They chose this fantastic villa in a town called Greve in Chianti. I saw the pictures of the villa and I knew it was going to be beautiful but it was beyond what I could have imagined. The villa Vignamaggio dates back to the 14th century. Mona Lisa, yes that Mona Lisa, was born there in 1479. It is also a vineyard and has been waking wine for 600 years. To say there is a rich history on this property is an understatement.

The grounds are stunning. The villa gorgeous. You couldn’t ask for a better surrounding to get married in.

When we arrived our room wasn’t ready so Sue and I grabbed our suits and went for a swim. I have been to some nice pools in my day but this had the best view. I mean seriously. It didn’t seem real.

We then had a lovely lunch at the wine bar before there was more pool time. Literally just hanging out on the noodles for hours just chatting with everyone. And this is where we met Rick.

Blog friends, meet Rick.The Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon! He is really quite special!

The plan for dinner this night which is now July 16th was to head up the hill to a restaurant with all the wedding guests. But first, Jane and I attended the wedding rehearsal to make sure everything was ready for the next day. With that done, Jane, Sue and I thought we would have a pre-cocktail party, pre-dinner bottle of wine, so we sat outside in front of our hotel room. Couldn’t have asked for a better setting.

The busses came and we made our way up the hill and settled in for a 4 course meal. Behold the yummy…

The one thing about the Italians is they do not rush a meal. We got to savour the courses, drink the wine and chat with old and new friends.

We didn’t leave the restaurant till midnight. And what better way to end the night than go for a late night (early morning) swim. What an amazing experience. That stars out were ridiculous. We just floated about laughing and enjoying the Tuscan night. And of course hang out with Rick. With the wedding the next day I needed to make sure I got my beauty sleep so we turned in.

I didn’t have a great sleep but woke up early as usual and went outside to write in my journal and read my book. I really enjoyed my mornings in Greve because it was my “me” time. My time to soak up the surroundings and think about the trip.  

I was excited because it was the day of the wedding! I have never been a bridesmaid at a wedding but was really looking forward to it although I was a bit nervous. Nervous about the speech we had to make too. Buth the morning was a great one. Hanging by the pool with all the guests. Before I knew it, it was time to get ready. We hung out with Jen while she got her hair and makeup done, sipping champagne. The photographer was there taking lots of pictures. The candid ones I am sure are going to look horrible of me. I don’t do candid well!

Getting Jen in her dress was a bit of a tricky thing but it was worth it all! Jen was stunning! And then it was time for Jen to walk down the aisle!

The wedding was held in the main garden. Seriously, could you think of a prettier place to get married?

The cocktails after the wedding were held right next to the main garden. People mingled, drank champagne and nibbled on appies. Lots of pictures were taken with this amazing view in the background.

 

Instead of the guest book, Jen and George had everyone sign champagne bottles with messages of congratulations etc. They will open a bottle over the next 5 wedding anniversaries.

 We moved into the lower garden for dinner where again we feasted on another 4 course meal. Between each course, we had some speeches. Jane and I were doing our speech to Jen and George together. As I said before, I was really nervous and began fine but as I started to talk about the type of person Jen is I got choked up. The emotion just took over. I managed to get through and Jane started her part but because I got emotional so did she. I guess there were a few tears in the audience too. Jane and I have known Jen for over 20 years so we were just so happy to be a part of her special day.

Now that dinner was done it was time to party! There was a band to start and then we all moved inside where a DJ played. The booze was a flowing and everyone had a great time. I stayed out until 2am but there were people finally making their way to their rooms at 5:00am. The sign of a good night!

The best part of going to bed early is waking up early and well having the pool to myself. I literally didn’t see a soul the morning after the wedding until around 11am. Until then I swam and read and just chilled out. Perfection! At 1pm it was time for the wine tour which I am so glad I attended. Hearing about the history of Vignamaggio was so interesting. We were told how they keep discovering written documents that confirms all the stories about Vignamaggio. Like the one found that was written by Leonardo Da Vinci saying he was coming to Vignamaggio to paint Mona Lisa. So crazy!

We then tasted the wines. The chianti classico, the reserve and then the grappa. Each paired with the food. The classico and reserve with cheese and meats. The grappa with a dessert. Divine.

The Sunday afternoon plan was a poolside BBQ that turned into a garden BBQ as it was way too hot by the pool. The garden provided the much needed shade. We drank Prosecco and there was a small barrel of the Chianti classico. It was a great opportunity for catching up on the events of the wedding night and maybe a little hair of the dog!

 At this point, I hadn’t really done much exploring of the grounds so a bunch of us decided to go on a little walk about. Now muct of us are not dressed appropriately for this little adventure. Some wore flip flops (me), wedges, dresses etc. Drink in hand, off we went. It was 2 miles that would take us around part of the grounds and back again. There was some concern at some point that we were not going the right way. The sun was setting so I guess I understood the concern that we might not get back before it got dark. I had so much fun!

The rest of the night was all about pool time fun. In and out of the pool. Making drinks for people. Pool games. Chatting with people. Kickboxing demos. Lots of Prosecco. Good times. No idea what time I went to bed.

The next morning we got up early to go horse back riding. I was in a bit of a Prosecco fog but was excited to be on a horse again! I used to ride horses essentially for a living but hadn’t been on a horse since ’98. Even though this was western it was still a trip!! Pedro was my horse and he was only 4 but knew the route we took. I was told he didn’t like mouth contact so I pretty much let him do his thing except for when we went for our gallops. I just kept a light feel then.

We basically rode through the vineyards that were all a part of the Vignamaggio property. Simply stunning.

The highlight was going across this little bridge and by this centuries old residence. Unbelievable.

And that was our trip to Greve and Vignamaggio. I hated saying goodbye to Jen and George. And all my new friends. But what an amazing couple of days. The scenery. The history. The emotions. The laughter. The friendship. The memories.