Roaming Rome

The first time we really thought about Rome this trip was back in Brantomê in France when we had lunch with Cliff and Kim at the fancy pants place. Cliff said something along the lines of Rome being a terrific city, one of his favourites, a city which wasn't the 'best' necessarily at anything, ie not the cleanest nor the prettiest nor with the best food nor with the best statues or art; but rather I suppose a place with 'it all' and then some. Around every corner is something attention grabbing and unique; each could possibly be in a different country. A bronze or marble statue/monument by a famous sculptor; a busy water fountain; an elaborate drinking fountain; an opera house performing age old operas; just a few Roman ruins; a bustling local market; a vast museum; an elaborate church; a quaint italian restaurant/pizzeria; a boutique gelatissarie; a narrow vine covered lane way; a musician too talented to be busking... And the list goes on and on! In essence Rome has been our trips epitome; the tying of many loose ends and I guess the convergence of 3 months worth of disheveled history lessons.

At a glance, our 3 days here took in the following;

1. Pantheon - terrific! Went back again and again and again! A little concerned by gaping hole in roof!

2. Piazza di Spagna - Spanish steps - crowded, like everything else in Rome. Had fun people watching... Police kept shewing away darkies selling sun umbrellas, flowers, hats etc and like flies they kept coming back! Amusement for hours!

3. Colisseum - wow! Only 25% original now but impressive nonetheless. Tour guide terrific. Roma card allowed us to skip long long lines.

4. Vatican City - holy maceroly! Flash joint old Benedict heads! Worth the vows? I'm not so sure! Money, money, money, money!!! Would have cost a fortune to have built! Let alone pay to have decorated etc!

4a. Sistine Chapel and Vatican museum - chapel exquisite. Museum worthy of a look too. Loads of sculptures, catholic paraphernalia, mosaics, tapestries, paintings and wood carving. Line took 2 hours to get through. Arrrrgh!

No photos in Sistine Chapel - taken from guidebook! It was a sight to behold... worth the wait

One of the elaborate hallway endings walking through the museum

4b. St. Peter's Basilica and dome view - exquisite again. Spent quite some time here; the most of any church yet. Sculptures by Michalengo and a bronze one of St. Peter highlights. View from dome a must.

View from St Peter's Cathedral dome over the square

One of the amazing mosiacs in the dome of the cathedral

5. Trevi Fountain - throw your money in and you'll be back so they say. 3000€ per day gets tossed in which is pretty good money; more than enough for it's upkeep I'm guessing. Came here again and again and again also. Massive crowds. Pushy Indian man  (of which there were possibly 30) took a good photo of us here on Manda's camera on the hope we'd tip/pay him. You guessed it, he didn't get paid!

Crowd at the fountain

6. Palatine Hill - ruins not much to see actually. If my imagination was better it have been good. Guide book we bought a real asset as it had pictures of what it would have looked like. A very handy investment was our Rome guide book.

The now sparce Palatine Hill

7. Santa Maria Maggiore - yet another impressive place of worship.

8. Trastevere - suburb just west of the Fiume River; home to more traditional italian fare and some of the best gelato shops! Manda can vouch for this after a scoop of vanilla and cinnamon! The area here, while still close to town, was far slower paced and reasonably priced. Much less touristy! A real gem! Santa Maria church here another one worth seeing; nice mosaics and paintings.

9. Santa Maria in Cosmedin - home to the Mouth of Truth: a huge circular piece of marble, that once served as a manhole. It now has a face and mouth carved into it. Legend has if you lie with your hand in it it will bite it off! The mouth looked pretty dirty from a lot of use so I'm glad I didn't lie and managed to keep my hand!

10. Piazza Venezia - home of the impressive and equally gigantic palace and monument to Emanuele II. A great landmark in an otherwise fairly flat city.

11. Campo de Fiori - the local market with fruit and veg, clothes and nick-naks, oils and vinegars, alcohol (grappa/lemonchello) and jams! Not the biggest or best (Luzern, Switzerland or Sarlat, France our pick to date) but reasonable all the same! Bought lemonchello and an impressive little lemon squeezer gadget here.

12. Piazza Navona - more fountains and beautiful buildings. Street performers here as good as anywhere: 'still life statues', magicians, breakdancers and the how could you ever escape 'Mr good price for you' handbag sellers. Yes, I now consider these pests merely as entertainment. They are great to watch!

13. Mausoleum of Augusto - interesting building under going some renovations. Its across the road from the Ara Pacis which houses some important ancient relic in a weird all glass building but was more memorable for a dip in the fountain causing wet clothes, a dripping map and cooled off weary travelers! Wasn't until we got out we saw the no swimming sign! Oops! Map was promptly dried on dark marble which could have fried an egg! Hot!

Tut tut Manda

14. Piazza del Popolo - home of the twin churches and anther Egyptian obelisk (of which there must be a least 4 in town). The mirror image piazza was well worth the long walk. Having to return 2 days later along the same long hot walk to go to clothing shop H&M not so appreciated! It was a necessity however as Manda ended up with the wrong size togs in Florence H&M so we had to swap them before Greece!

15. Piazza delta Repubblica - another fountain and buildings!

Roma Card for €25 got us 3 days public transport and included entry to 2 museums (Vatican don't accept it) so was reasonable value. Funnily enough, despite the fact we had free public transport, we actually ended up doing a load of walking as sometimes the distances were deceiving on the map or the the metro had stopped for the day (9pm last trip!) so all the pizza, pasta, ice cream, wine, beer and antipasto plates were walked off a few times over!

Had a terrific meal here on our last night at a smaller restaurant with a great chardonnay from a winery named Castle Del Giglio, an antipasto plate (duck bacon, preserved meats and the quintessential local salami of foal and venison!) and homemade/handmade tortalini! Not bad. Waiters were the best we've had to date but no tip from the Aussie tightbutts! The other noteworthy gastronomic experience was Manda's ice-cream with vanilla and cinnamon; not my cup of tea but she thought it was magic! Happy wife happy life right?!

Castle Del Giglio! that one is for you Lizzard!

Indifferent fortune seems to constantly be following us and Rome was no different. Our 4 star hotel (Hotel Commodore) was really of 2 star standard (probably should have guessed from the price!); the 1st room we were taken to reeked of cigarettes (yes, it was non smoking?! So we were moved to a more pleasant room) then the cleaning lady did a great job but twice forgot to leave any towels (and reception, despite us calling forgot to bring towels to us?! The embarrassed reception man said they were busy when I arrived questioning him as to where they were). Otherwise it was ok!
Our Roma pass didn't work on the public transport; when scanned it made an ear piercing buzz to let everyone within 20m know we were dodgy! Hence we ended up traveling without a validated ticket! Highly illegal.

Had planned on going to Vatican City on Sunday but didn't as had read it was closed on Sundays. Had we read on further we'd have known it is open with FREE admission on the last Sunday of the month... A potential saving of 15€pp. Made then worse by having to line up the day after for 2 and a bit hours (9 to 11.15am) in the sun to get in to the ticket office! We assume the free Sundays would probably be quite as most people like us are unaware!?! Was worth the wait however as the Sistine Chapel was something else!
Then Aegean Airways brought our flight to Athens forward by 90 minutes and notified Manda by email 90 minutes prior to departure and we didn't get email until within an hour of departure purely by chance (just made check in... So close... So hot sweaty and cranky! Train to airport took 30 minutes...)
Such is travel I guess: always be prepared for the unusual and unexpected!

Rome may not be the 'best' at anyone thing but it's sure as hell a terrific city more than enough to offer your average holiday traveller looking to fill in 3 days!

Love Brandy! (a shop in Rome called Brandy!)

Napoli, aka Naples Dump, where Vesuvias looms large

Naples. Sadly home to masses of trash; rubbish beyond belief all over the street and in chaotic piles every now and again. Have heard that the tip is full and the garbos are on strike.

Naples trash - near bus and train station

At present it would take a team of dedicated 'clean up Naples' day people weeks or perhaps even months to clean up. Then the police could come in and clean out the rodents that harbor and fester away here. Didn't get hassled but constantly on the watch for potential pickpockets or the garden variety thief looking for a poorly secured bag. Did see one poor old chap chasing after a younger chap at the train station would appeared to have stolen his bag; quicker thinking on my behalf and I could have helped out as the crook ran within 3 meters of Manda and I!

So yes, Naples not so nice and we'd been forewarned. Nonetheless it was a good cheap base for our day trips to Positano via Sorrento, Pompeii and the ever present Mt Vesuvias and it meant we could spend another day and 2 nights with Sud and Neeq.

Stumbled across a terrific pizzeria/pasta ristorante within walking distance from our hotel and in a slightly less polluted area of town (if thats possible). Had pizza here 3 nights out of 3! For 3.50€ you could get a 50cm diameter margarita pizza (handmade before your every eyes, base included, and cooked in a woodfire stove...) or a gourmet style caprese (tom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, basil cheese, tomato sauce) for 7€. A steal! But the bases were just something else; kneaded and spun repeatedly from little dough balls then topped immediately. They do say Naples is the home of the margarita pizza and it would be hard to dispute it! Hence we returned 3 times! And ate 1 each. Pigs...



huge pizza!

 Amalfi coast line was rugged and spectacular, like the Cinque Terre, but for us lacked the character and serenity we found along the Cinque Terre. Citrus and tomatoes were in plentiful supply here hence good supply of delicious lemonchello and rich tomato sauces. We spent a very relaxing day at Positano, one of the small villages, along with many other tourists, where we swam, jumped off 10m rocky cliffs into deep ocean then tried to rock climb out, dodged incoming and outgoing ferries and smaller boats (much to their captain and crews dismay and the passengers delight - it was perfectly safe!), sunbaked alongside the private beach (chair and umbrella for 12.50€ - too expense for our budget!), and hired a paddle boat (15€ for the hour).

Manda on the Amalfi coast

Beach! Amazing umbrellas

The paddle boat was a personal highlight for us mainly due to yet another Brandy boating disaster... Not a capsize (as these paddle boats are incredibly buoyant and stable) but almost! We found ourselves a 'private/secluded' rocky beach so set up camp there for 30 min to swim, horseplay, sunbake etc; there were NO waves at all. Never even looked like there might be a wave. When putting the boat back in the water the waves rolled in. Thongs were lost, towel and bags wet, egos bruised and battered! Eventually Sud and I managed to pull/push the boat out of the waves and retrieve the thongs. Another funniest home video moment I'm sure had it been filmed! Eventually we got back out to the smoother waters and retuned the boat! I'm starting to realise that perhaps I'm not a boating person!

We took the train from Naples to Sorento then a bus to Positano (extremely bendy road for 45min which made Manda and I both feel ill) then a ferry and train back to Naples. Ferry ride really enjoyable!

Pompeii was more my scene; no sitting around watching time pass by. We took a 3 hour tour of the city (advertised as a 2 hour tour) with a flamboyant quintessential 65 year old Italian gentleman aptly named Mario (overweight, mustache, olive skin, comical, animated, and very likable - no red cap or boilers suit)!

Mario!!

He was really knowledgeable on all things Pompeii and clearly wanted to pass on as much as possible. So much enthusiasm. By the end of the tour he said his Duracel batteries were just about flat! No surprise!! Mine were too after 3 hours in the boiling sun!!!

Pompeii with Mt V in background

We then briefly had a look at the rest of the city excavations including, but not limited to, the brothel and the amphitheater. Simply amazing. Much of the original mosaics and frescos have been removed and placed into museums but there are still some fantastic examples on site.

leave it to your imagination

Plaster moulds of people and dogs quite astounding...

Mount Vesuvias was next on the compulsory list of "to do's" and at 10€ pp for the bus to the ticket office and then a further 5€ to climb the 30min to the top it was a bit of a scam. I guess I'm just used to walking somewhere for free and being able to go where you want (Mt Vesuvias had guide rails everywhere; there was no way you'd end up somewhere you shouldn't). Thinking back on it, it was worthwhile as the view was spectacular; mind you, it wasn't possible to see Pompeii as the crater walk only went half way round the crater. Oh well! An enjoyable day was had.

Manda on the crater rim

For now we're off to Rome which should be a highlight from what we hear. Loads to see an do!!!

Tip for next time: stay in Sorrento and catch the train to where ever it is you want to go. It's much prettier/hygienic and worth the extra cost I'd reckon!

Very vibrant Venice

20 million people a year visit Venice and it's not a surprise why! What a wonderful city. Words really can't describe the place and it's unique vibe. Hence I'm not even going to try.

Brandy top 10 for Venice;

1. Gondola ride via Bridge of Sighs and the tranquil back canals. We took a 50 minute ride for a haggled 120€ which is really the going rate. They will start at 150€ (add 20€ if after 7pm) and come to 120€. Very romantic, managed to steal a kiss under the Bridge of Sighs as Casanova no doubt did many a time and got a cheer/applause from the many on lookers! A restoration effort to fix up intricate marble work, due to take 2 years, started recently so much scaffold in place at present. Once out of the jostle and banter of the main gondola area the ride gets more personal and enjoyable. The sense of tranquility was surreal as there were no cars/mopeds and generally little or no foot traffic (to the point of it being silent - I would have thought it impossible considering the number of tourists in Venice). This together with the fact that you're being gently guided by a man in a striped blue and white shirt, who will occasionally sing, through a 3 meter wide canal in a long narrow boat is something really incredible and which despite the cost I thoroughly enjoyed. It was almost like being back at Turpentine Gorge when walking the Larapinta; just the gorge and deep water, or in this case tall terraces and deep water.

Our gondola ride at sundown

The view from the water is stunning and taking the gondola ride gets you right into the heart of Venice. Canal depth approximately 2 meters, surrounding ocean 5 to 10 meters. 430 bridges over the 140 canals. Or so our 25 year gondola guiding veteran informed us in broken English. Oh and just make sure you have your cash with you; or they make you get and withdraw it while on the gondola! Our night ended not with an expensive flashy meal out but rather with the more backpacker style meal of a chicken salad bread roll and a prosciutto and salad wrap washed down with a dark Venetian beer and a bottle of Bellini (peach flavored sparkling wine)! Life ain't all glam!

Manda enjoying being gently pushed along

2. Bell tower of St Marks Basilica for a good view of Venice. Or so it looks! We didn't go up! I did the St Marks Basilica instead with it's little collection of dark paintings, patchy tapestries, intricate mosaics and other antiquities. Not bad value at 4€ and view over the square was good enough for me!

3. An early morning walk; will not only give you photos without the masses but some nice reflections on the canals. I left at 7am and only bumped into about 2 dozen people. Mostly cleaners emptying overflowing bins! Piazza San Marco, Rialto Bridge and the alleyways without a person in them is almost unbelievable so well worth a look.

Rialto Bridge view

4. A trip to the island of Burano; my pick of the 2 main islands visited, about 25 minutes by ferry, is the home of lace, farming and 'beaches'.

Amazing lace parasols

The terrace houses/shops were stunning visually; all painted in their different colours, some far more gaudy than others; made Le Maison Rosé in Carrington Street Deakin look very run-of-the-mill!!!

Mix and match coloured terraces

I guess the houses here reminded us of the Cinque Terre in many aspects just that they were better maintained (ie painted every 10 years as opposed to once ever!) and on a canal as opposed to the hillside/clifftop! 

Le Maison Rouge

5. A trip to the island of Murano; Manda's favourite for the shopping, is home to Venetian glass. Sadly their handy work is being reproduced by the bloody Chinese (as they so often do!) and sold by rip-off shops, at a fraction of the quality and price. Apparently this is even happening in Venice so glass bought here may indeed not be Venetian but Chinese! Unscrupulous thieves! Anyway, if you buy from a reputable shop you're pretty safe! We did buy from a reputable shop (or 5) and Manda made some lovely purchases. We watched, briefly, some men making their wares in hot workshops (furnaces blazing in a little tin shed) which gives you an appreciation as to the level of skill and craftsmanship these chaps have! Some amazing pieces were here on display including my favourite, a life sized horse made of glass in different colours. No photos as always allowed!

Crazy lifesized horse made of venetian glass! - no photo...

Everything is ferried in and out - building materials, food, rubbish, sheets and towels etc. EVERYTHING...

Amazing flower box on window

6. Shopping for Venetian glass. As above, just try an ensure it's the real deal and not from the chinky chonks. Antica Murrino make some lovely pieces and are well worth a look; a little more costly but worth the extra money for us. Oh, and the Venetian glass chandeliers are quite amazing... and expensive...

7. Browsing the weird and wonderful carnevale masks (actually on the week leading up to Ash Wednesday; to be here for better or worse I'm unsure). The masks are simply beautiful; the decorations extremely lavish and at times bordering bizarre! Would love to have been able to squeeze one in the bag for you Mad!

Carnevale masks!

More carnevale masks

Manda with Carnevale street performers (1 euro)

8. Doges Palace. Venices' only palace. Large oil painting here apparently...

9. A night walk through the nearly empty vacant alleys. Some great reflections again! And no people around!!!

10. Museums; if you're not museumed out already. We didn't bother with this either!

All in all a top city and worthy of all the tourists that flock here! Just don't look at the price tags!!!

EasyJet: cheap online airline. Cheap seats yes but hidden fees and charges well over the top. We had a pocket knife in our bag (oops! Security man called us the dangerous couple as Manda also had scissors) so had to check the pocket knife in; 30€! Manda still furious! No allocated seats so we got a good laugh at everyone trying to get one as were first to board! Got to love cheap dodgy airlines! Dare I say never again?!

Moared gondolas on Grand Canal

Sloping Pisa and Renaissance Florence

Writing tonight, our last night of 3, from a wee little hotel room in Florence. Infact the room is so small the shower has no screen/curtain and is approximately 35cm x 40cm! That's pretty standard for a 3 star place that costs as little as 70€\night I guess?!? Everything is expensive in Florence (and I am told Venice is even more costly!) and tourism is huge so it has come as no surprise that we'd get little value for money.

Pisa. 3 days ago.  Not a lot to the place but it's tower; now being scientifically monitored to ensure it remains at about 5 degrees or thereabouts (the critical angle of lean apparently). Oh and 1000s of tourist like us wanting to goof off with their cameras and the tower! I know everyone has seen pictures and the crafty camera work of Pisa's tower, but to stand in front of it and marvel at the fact it's still standing and compare it to the surrounding straight buildings made it even more worthwhile. Certainly worth the small detour on the train trip from La Spezia (end of Cinque Terre) to Florence. Also had here the best ice-cream of the trip. I don't really think it will get any better than this one. For a cost of 2.70€ (on par for a double scoop) we had a cone packed to overflowing with 2 scoops of the most mindblowingly rich and creamiest ice-cream. I had orange with a candied zest in orange syrup and mango yoghurt with mango syrup. Manda had this decadent dark chocolate and a second scoop of orange. So good. So Pisa will be remembered for all the right reasons; even if only the two!  

Farewelled Sud and Neeq this morning after 6 days with them (Nice, Monte-Carlo, Pisa and Florence) and won't now see them for 4 days when we cross paths again in Naples. Was terrific to see them!

Florence was pretty enough; a nice old town that reminded us a little of some of the buildings in Martin Place in Sydney. It wasn't however anything out of the box and for me, lacked a point of difference. It had the cathedral dome tower with an amazing view of the town, pretty stone bridges, a panoramic view from a semi peaceful Piazzale Michelangelo park (dark skinned chaps selling the usual handbags, sunglasses, paintings/prints, train letters for 50€ cents etc), yummy ice-cream (Manda IS addicted and requires a double dose (aka scoop) once a day; costs between 2-4€ with 4€ being a rip-off, 2.50€ usual rate) and it has some interesting and therefore popular museums. Otherwise it's just another city!

 

Did a bike ride here which was good fun. Manda and I had really wanted to cycle Tuscany like all the lovers do in Italian movies but it was going to be mountainous (so too hard and quite likely not romantic, perhaps even detrimental to the newly weds!) and distance wise a bit of a push too. Ended up riding 20km round town and in a big park. Pleasant enough, just lacked the romance factor you get riding through the quaint Tuscan villages, olive groves and vineyards. Oh well! Thankfully the day was hot and sunny as opposed to Amsterdam when we rode bikes last when it was raining and freezing cold!

Museums were, as the so often are here in Europe, stunning yet overwhelming; the 2 we visited both had additional visiting exhibitions which bled an additional 8.50€ from each pocket (normal entry 6.50€) as they weren't optional!

The Galleria Dell'Accademia, home of Michelangelo's David sculpture (most widely recognised and arguably important sculpture of the western world) was terrific I felt. I'm not much into sculpture or Renaissance matters but David was quite a sight to behold: 5m and a bit tall and made of 1 single piece of marble he was not only stunning but a good source of conversation (ie big hands? large head? Perfect representation of a male? Small wheener?). For Manda and I, he alone was worth the admission fee. No photos allowed but somehow our camera managed to have one on it when we left! They also had, in the visiting display of string instruments, a Stratavarious violin from the mid 1600's; I wouldn't have been any the wiser but Dad has talked of these violins and when I read the plaque for it I nearly fell over! Very impressive considering their rarity!

The other museum, the Uffizi Gallery, housed the Medici families collection and some other impressive artworks. La nascita di Venere (birth of Venus) and Botticelli's other renowned work Allegory of Spring were the two big hits for us and most of the other tourists visiting. The Uffizi museum was much larger than the Accademia museum and contained 1000's of paintings, mainly religious ones depicting Jesus, Mary and John and took up 44 rooms or so. We ran out of puff so skipped the last dozen or so. Audio guide would put even the most avid art enthusiast to sleep!

Fortunately we reserved tickets for the museums a day before, as the lines for people without prebooked tickets was extraordinary and generally looked not to be moving. Good friends Michael and Mel were here a few days before us and happened to miss out so we heeded their advice and booked early! Thanks guys!

Otherwise we did a sunset with wine and rolls at the park mentioned above. 1L of white wine in cardboard cost 1.20€. Quite a bargain really and still better than Turkish wine. The sunset was hindered by cloud on the horizon but was pretty nonetheless.

Manda had a few claustrophobic moments climbing the 400+ stairs up the cathedral dome to the breathtaking and again extremely busy viewing platform of the Cathedral di Santa Maria. Best view over town from here but be forewarned the stairs to the top are at times narrow and disheveled. Lines inevitable unless you arrive early (15 min before opening) which we did and it was well worth it.

Last place of interest for us was the Pont Vecchio (pont=bridge) crowed with it's jewelry shops. Made walking across it feel like walking down any other street as the shops really do block all the view (unless you look out their back window) with the exception of 2 reasonably narrow sections where you could look out and see the river (Fiume Arno). Incredible buskers play here before sunset and made coming here in the late arvo worthwhile! Icecream shop on the southern side remained in business (clearly a hit with the tourists as the coloured ice-cream mountains rose a good 30cm out of the display case) where Manda and her family had the most expensive double scoop of their trip last time; however I must report back now that prices are marginally better at 4€. Still not cheap! Very appetizing! Didn't buy.

Worst experience here was my raw roasted beef roll. Bought at the market for 4€ we thought it would be a few slices of roast beef (would love a roast now) with pesto of on a fresh bread roll. No. It was a dry bread roll dipped in semi cold cooking juices to soften it with a few slices of room temp roast beef still very much raw. I ate 2 as Manda couldn't even look at it. Gave me some wicked stomach cramps! Errrr!

Eagerly planning for Venice now (leave in the morning) hopeful of it being a highlight of the trip so fingers crossed!
Ah! Just remembered, the dark skinned chaps selling designer (rip-off) glasses, handbags and the like must be considered a real pest here; official signs everywhere warning not to buy from illegal street sellers with the threat to fine buyers, if caught, 600€! Ouch! No surprise they dash instantaneously when a policeman is seen (they work in teams and I'm sure have watchmen keeping an eye out). Even mid transaction, of which there aren't a lot, they'll pack up and bolt. We watched them scatter at lightening pace outside the Ufizzi and later found they'd left/dropped/forgotten some of their wares so scored a few nice little pieces! Bonus!

Cinque Terre, Italy

This place is as close to paradise as we've got yet! Simply amazing. An absolute MUST!

We have had 2 blissful nights at Riomaggiore in a room with elevated ocean and sunset views (which has been shared with Sud and Neeq) which we came by purely by luck as there was never anything mentioned about the amazing room when we booked it; we all thought it was going to be dorm/hostel accommodation! Great value at 60€ a night per couple! Believe me, freshly prepared antipasto plates with Cinque Terre wine and Lemonchello on our terrace each afternoon will be hard to top!

More impressive however, if it is possible, was the walk along the cliff lined coast from Riomaggiore to Manterosso. WOW! And as luck would have it, one of the sections that were closed the day prior had been re-opened (section 3 - Corniglia to Vernazza). Sadly one section of the coastal walk remained closed (section 2 - Manarola to Corniglia) due to the heavy rains over winter meaning that Manda, Sud and Neeq took the wee train (which runs between the 5 villages) between Manarola and Corniglia; I took the high route which was open and I've got to say it was on par with the best day walks I've done (probably a 2nd best to NZ with Timbo). Total walk distance Brad 14.5km; Manda 11km plus side trails etc. Manda impressively conquered the stairs of which there were 1000s without hardly working up a sweat and in better than suggested time; she even led the pack for a while! So good job Boppie!

 

Thankfully the gods were smiling down on us, with brilliant blue skies nearly up to Aus standards (without clouds), hot weather, cool water, the scent of fresh lemons in the air. So close to perfect... Sadly we only had 2 days and 2 nights; could have spent a week here!

The little villages mentioned above were incredibly rustic and charming in only a way that Italians could manage I'm sure. Words can't describe them adequately but basically they were terraces squeezed in down valleys all the way to their marina or atop hills with paths to their marina. With each terrace painted a different colour with pretty wooden window shutter painted a different colour the result is a patchwork like effect of pastel colour. The surrounding vineyards finish the picture nicely. Each village may only have as few as 1000 residents to perhaps 2000 residents at Riomaggiore, the largest of the 5.

The train links all 5 villages and can get you from one end of the trail to the other in 10 odd minutes. Yes, it goes directly there and when I say directly I mean directly through the rock. Not scenic as it's all in the tunnel but fast! We took the ferry home for the view of the coast which was well worth the 8€ each. For the record the walk pass was 5€ and the train pass 5€ also.

Snorkeling - loads of little fish around the rocks at the bottom of the cliffs and marinas. Again no sand but pebbly beaches; smaller stones closer to 5-10 cent size. I found some copper wire and then, rather than sunbaking absent xxx I bent it to read Brandy. Quite creative I thought. I then gave it to Manda and she left it on the beach! It was however retrieved and stowed away for later use!

Picking lemons - thorn through thong, bleeding foot! lemons and citrus everywhere. Juice great with Sprite and or Lemonchello!

Vineyards and terraced farmers gardens - great use of space considering the gradient. It was STEEP. I'm actually surprised anyone can pick the grapes, at least safely!!! Gardens were terrific to and contained all the usual suspects; tomato, potato, corn, carrot, spinach, strawberry, peaches, apricots, mulberry, artichokes, lemon, orange, lime, passionfruit, olives and all the herbs imaginable (basil most popular and was packed into most plots very densely) to name a quick few. Terraces were fenced with barbed wire or quite high or with both security options, with padlocked gates (which I'm sure they didn't thrown the keys away for) to keeps people like me out. Did manage to get a big strawberry so didn't missout too badly! Garden plot usually about 1.5-2m wide by up to 10m long so only small, but what they lack in size they make up for in number as there are 100s of plots terraced down the soiled cliffs! I certainly picked up some tips for space conscious vege gardening!

Lovers walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola is quite good fun and is dedicated to peoples love for one another (partners). This is demonstrated by placing a padlock along the 1km section of trail and tossing the key into the ocean below, never to be opened; quite a nice gesture in such a pretty area. Manda and I had our little padlock we bought in Nice and had superglued a 5 cent coin to so I popped Manda up on the shoulders and she attached it on the 2 love hearts at the start of the walk. There could have been 200 locks on it but our little gold lock with silver coin on it stood out nicely. Kinda like getting married again, ones love for another out there for all to see: a symbolic gesture. Let's just hope it stays there! I'm sure someone could make loads of money selling padlocks here as many tourists weren't aware it was done/important to this section.

Cannes and the hills

Presently in middle of now where about 25km from Nice in the hills. Closest village is the amazing hilltop village of St Paul.
Manda is generally sick; ears aching, headache, sick in the tummy, tired. I've just driven 9 hours so am stuffed also. Tried for best part of 2 hours to find accommodation after leaving a campsite just on the St Topez side of Cannes which was full of mozzies and as hot as we've had to date; 26.5. Cannes was interesting and despite the chaotic traffic seemed to have a nice vibe - beachy, or as close as could be expected considering their flat otherwise uninteresting beach! Volleyball and sunbathing the main activities, swimming a distant 3rd or even perhaps 4th to eating and drinking there. I'd have loved a swim given the heat but ran out of time. I guess we will get some beach time in Nice in the next 2 days.
Anyway, again we took Tom's advice and headed up into the hills as they boarder the coast pretty closely and have some dramatic coastal views and possibly more dramatic rocky outcrops to explore, time permitting! We were is search of a wee little village called St John and when we eventually found it, it was beautiful! Sadly no accommodation in our price range and campsite closed, or so it seemed?!? Getting desperate and fatigued we followed signs for any accommodation and were resigned to the fact we'd just pay whatever to get a bed for the night. Of course the next place we found was a chateau! 5 stars of pure luxury, or at least I imagine it would be. I got this feeling when we pulled up alongside an old immaculate black Rolls Royce. Felt like we were in a scene from James Bond! Finally, through shear desperation, we pulled into a busy campsite and found a site to set up camp. Phew!

St. John village

Off today to Nice to return Olivia the little car who has served us so well (about 4 tanks of fuel, at 40L per fill at 1.30€\L to do 4000+ km. We're pretty happy!) and to see Neeq and Sud who we met on topdeck all those weeks ago! Should be fun. May even perhaps find time to get to the beach!

The biggest clothes dryers weve ever seen!

Provence

Take 2! Nothing more frustrating than doing something twice! iPad seemed to feel it a good idea to delete my first attempt?!?
1st stop in Provence was the Pont Du Gard aqueduct; an amazing piece of architecture considering it's age - built by the Romans during their reign it spanned a sizable gorge and has 3 tiers!
We were amongst the first visitors for the day as the campsite the night before was dodgy. Manda didn't hardly sleep a wink and was basically ready to go at sparrows fart in the morning. Dogs barking and roaming the campsite, cats fighting, roosters crowing, dirty old men roaming the campsite... And the list could well go on! That made two bad campsites in as many attempts after the rain and car sleeping fiasco in Spain 4 days earlier! I was going to pay one way or another!
Back to the aqueduct! Much restoration work I'd think has happened but impressive none the less.

Avignon next, one hit wonder of a town capitalising on it's Pont D'Avignon which features in most of the postcards available within the pretty old town souvenir shops. Funnily enough it's not even call the Pont D'Avignon by locals, rather by some pretty French name. The Pont, as you can see from the photo doesn't span the whole distance, rather only goes 1/2 way across after many problems in the last 700 years or so. Defeated the purpose of a bridge I thought!?! The old town, which is surrounded by a fairly spectacular and complete fortress wall complete with turrets, was quite pretty but anything other than quiet! Many tourists! Some buying postcards sporting a verse or two of an apparently well known song about the Pont D'Avignon! There you go!

First beggar that has got my money here too... She was sitting at the parking payment box trying to be helpful to 'earn' your money. She ended up basically taking my change but given she looked like the description Roald Dahl gives of a witch in Witches I decided to let her keep the 60 euro cents! Caught!

Again, in attempt to escape the tourists we headed for the hills, and where better to do it than Provence right? Home of the rolling lavender hills dispersed amongst green fields. So we thought, but we were early by 3-4 weeks. Opening of the lavender season is early July and lasts about 4 weeks. I know now, as the extremely unhelpful lady at the info centre explained to me in depth, how lavender is indeed a flower and only flowers seasonally not year round... Thanks for nothing! This was in Sault, centre of the lavender experience; a pleasant old town on the hillside. It would most certainly be a must in July when the sight, sound and smell of lavender is at it's best. A very popular biking area and for obvious reason. In search of lavender and from a lack of other activities in Sault, we headed via the back winding roads through the hills to Bonnieux, which Tom had suggested might be nice. It was brilliant! The drive there gave us lavender as good as it got, basically purple! Mission accomplished. The flower was indeed in bloom! Take that info centre lady!

Bonnieux is a smidgen of a village terraced precariously on 3 or 4 levels on the western side of some of Provence's gorge(ous) country overlooking fields etc. An amazing meal at L'Aromê capped off a top 1st day in Provence. Oh, until I clumsily smashed a very elegant wine glass while trying Manda's dessert. Oops! Best course of the meal? My cheese plate was interesting and right up my alley. A honey infused goat cheese in little balls served on crispy deep fried fillo pastry with fig marmalade and a little green salad. Yum! Raw scallops were tried again with great success. This time with avocado and tomato. Last time I got these was in Paris when Manda accidentally ordered them much to my delight!

Lourmarin was next stop in Provence and only 15 minutes or so from Bonnieux. Apparently it's considered amongst Frances prettiest little villages and it would be hard to disagree. Man at bed and breakfast had a nice Porsche garaged which leads me to think that the room at 70€ PLUS breakfast (yes, it was a b&b) is possibly to much! Nonetheless it was a typically French retreat and a good place to even the score with Manda after our 2 camping catastrophes! Not such bad value for money! Just for future reference we posted home 8kg for 43€ which was good considering some of the prices we'd been told. Also managed to post some non postage stamped postcards, accidentally. Fingers crossed they make it home too!
Also, for the record, Manda smashed a glass here at dinner while kissing a pommy lady goodnight. Her daughter at 4, and up to mischief, reminded us of Grace (Geoff and Therese's little one); very cute with red curls to match!

Overall a great experience in Provence.