Four days, many many miles

Buon giorno.

Well as I write we are in Verona for our last night in Italia. It has been wonderful, despite a bit much driving the last few days - we have seen lots and just enjoyed being here. I will start with a post I wrote offline a couple of days ago (internet, letalone wireless connections have been few and far between on the road...) and then update you after that:

Monday 10 September

Today it is Tuscany

After a lovely couple of afternoons and evenings in Venice we left yesterday morning via complimentary airport shuttle from our hotel in Quarto d'Altino, to pick up our car at Marco Polo Airport. We got a great deal through Expedia.com - these kinds of sites are well worth checking regularly when en route somewhere. So off we went in our funny little Mercedes smart car thingie. Conrad did very well with the whole other side of the road thing, and I didn't do too badly with the directions. We headed south on the autostrade through Padova, Bologna (where Hen and I tried unsuccessfully to find some lasagna or bolognese, called ragu here, as this is its birthplace! Sundays really are a day of rest here - yay for the Italians, preserving some work life balance, I say) and then decided to head further on to Florence and maybe Siena. We were relatively fueled up on excellent roadside espresso, tuna tramezzini (v yummy sandwiches) for Hen and fantastic gelato from just outside Bologna.

Heading past Florence (yes, you can see the Duomo from the autostrade) at around 4.30 on a Sunday and with no accommodation booked, we decided we just couldn't face navigating a big city right away and decided to push on to Siena if we could. There was a tourist info centre open there til 7pm, so we could find somewhere to stay. Well, it didn't go quite as planned. We had some difficulty navigating our way into Siena - in fact we by mistake ended up driving in the restricted, mostly pedestrian-only cobbled and v narrow area inside the walled city - most embarrassing - I kept expecting the carabiniere to stop us and give us a massive, instant fine as we tried to find ur way back out...But it was raining so pretty quiet compared to the usual hustle and bustle, I expect. Anyway, we missed the tourist info place so drove on a little on a quieter road out of Siena. We went past an agriturismo sign to a large property and decided to give it a try. Big converted farmhouses, but no-one around. A reception office but it was closed - looked all v professional though. Then we went around the back by the amazing pool and found who we think is the caretaker. He had little English (but some French) and we had little Italian beyond the very basics. But we got there in the end and decided on the double room rather than the 2 bedroom apartment (60 and 100 Euro respectively). So we booked for 2 nights - it is wonderful. Fully restored in 92, gorgeous grounds, huge high ceilings, immaculate large bathroom and sun streaming in. See www.levalline.it. There is a gorgeous ozone pool outside, which we will visit when the others are awake. We also got an excellent dinner recommendation and took it - 6 kms down the road away from Siena (from which this place is 6 kms down the road). Cute little restaurant, family run and most delicious. We dined on what seemed like a very rich feast - tortelloni with wild boar ragu for hen, wild boar ragu for Conrad and what turned out to be a pork ragu for me, with salad, and peas with pancetta. Bella had an extremely tasty pizza caprese, which she did a surprisingly good job eating. Our mains were 8-9 Euro and Bella's pizza was 5 euro. It is around 3.50 for a 500ml carafe of house red, cf 4 Euro for a beer - wine is definitely the better option, and 500mls is (surprisingly!) plenty for two.

So, despite cutting back on the carbs we feel v heavy today. We will start taking turns going on longer walks with Bella in the stroller while Hen has some quiet time, each day while we are in Italy. It is beautiful and peaceful and safe around here. It really is just like in the books - gorgeous colourful rolling countryside and villas and castles placed startegically for maximum effect. We will explore Siena today, find somewhere to at least get online and move some money around - I forgot about the huge excess they hold on your credit card when you rent a car! Time to start booking some Woof-ing opportunities too, for when it starts to get a bit colder. : )

Weds 12 September

After a lovely day and night in Siena we headed for the coast, for the water lovers (i.e not so much me...). we ended up in Piombino - sounded cute but wasn't. We found a hotel in teh central town for areasonable price and booked in. Then had our first mediocre, couldn't care less meal so far in Italy - and a 3 euro cover charge per person (including bambini) to add insult to injury! Hrmph. Luckily today was a nice day wandering around and they got to spend a couple of hours at the beach splashing around in the Mediterranean. Hurrah. Now we are on our way north without accommodation booked (again!) and hoping for a good find somewhere near La Spezia. Fingers crossed. It is quite tricky without the easily accessible intenet we take so forgranted at home, and in North America too. After a bit of a challenging few days with a tired and whiney Henry we have had a good day today. Not too busy, not too much walking and regular doses of pasta and gelato for the little people. And Conrad bought him a car this morning, so he has that to play with - simple pleasures. However Bella is wondering about her car...so she will be getting one too. Whoops.

Things I notice in Italy that I don't think would translate well into NZ:

• men wearing coloured trousers, not blue or green or brown but red and pink and orange - and I mean guys like our dads...wild!
• white trousers, on all shapes and sizes. Sorry but just not practical. Ot flattering. VPL is ok here btw - even (especially!) with white trousers. Ye gads.
• consumption of cafe espresso - we just like our milk coffees too much, and our long blacks (neither of which I see consumed here). V short blacks and espresso macchiato occasionally - thaht's it. I ma completely off my soy flat white, double shot latte thing. Possibly for good - or at least until I get home and can make my own...definitely prefer my calcium in gelato, especially here with flavours like melon, ricotta and fig, tiramisu, peach and orange...yum.
• tighty togs on men of all ages. No more to say on that one.
• belly baring on women of all ages and sizes. Not that it is bad, but here they are very brown, which helps.
• cover charges per person at restaurants. You mean you're charging me to sit down??!! Couldn't see it going down well...

Things we could do with more of at home, I say:

• excellent espresso everywhere - even at roadside truck stop places. It is like the lifeblood of this country.
• with all our milk, great gelato in fabulous flavours (except the blue smurf one that is everywhere and my children keep asking for! Eeuw). Cafe Eis is not enough for a town like Wellington, and v v expensive too.
• well grooomed Italian guys (but in more modest togs). No more to say on that one.
• Siesta. Here things just shut from 1-3 or so and everyone geos home, to lunch, for a swim, catches up on paperwork, etc etc - no-one expects to get anything done over that time. Except tourists the first day, and we get over it and realise what a good idea it is, especially in this weather, which sadly we don't get much of at home (sorry, but it is true - v hot still here in September!).