greondastravels

We are now in our last day here in our little haven of Chiusi. We have still found places to visit and restaurants to eat at!

We visited Bevanga , a medieval town surrounded by well preserved ancient walls and NOT on a hill.

The central Piazza Silvestri is the home of 2 beautiful 13th Century Churches, there are 17 in this tiny village. The Church of San Michele Arcangelo was beautiful both inside and out, as was the Romanesque Basilica of Saint Sylvester , which was built in 1195 , and well preserved in it’s original structure.

It was very pleasant wandering through the winding streets of this very pretty small village.

We then called into the slightly larger town of Trevi which is “perched magnificently” along the side of a hill.

Trevi is well known throughout Italy for it’s high quality Olive oil, hence loads of shops selling olive oil , and it even has an Olive oil Museum, which we did not visit!

The main square , the Piazza Mazzini, is the home of the Palazzo Comunale (1522) and the 13th Century Torre del Comune (tower). Both were substantially remodelled after an earthquake in 1703. Some lovely views of the surrounding countryside are to be seen from the Belvedere.

Two smaller villages not far from us are Cetona and Sarteano.  Cetona was our “Friday night Pizza town where we enjoyed great pizzas with of course a beer or 2!

The Belvedere at Cetona gives you magnificent views across the countryside. As most of them do!

Sarteano was a pleasant surprise, not overly touristy , and a very pretty place. Piazza XXIV Giugno , the main square, was a good people watching and coffee spot. The small winding streets and alleyways were great to wander through.

We have noticed along some back road “truck routes” , the working girls are in action. You see them sitting in their plastic chairs, under their umbrellas (or the “cheaper ones ” sitting on milk crates) with their mobile phones , waiting for a customer! Quite a sight. Needless to say Rhonda did not let Greg stop!

We visited the medieval walled village of Castiglione del Largo which gave us a great view of Lake Trasimeno ( above)

It was very touristy with loads of shops selling the usual “tourist stuff” but we can now tick it off the list!

We also went to Citta del Castello and really enjoyed it , probably because it was quiet and no tourists!

The 16th century walled old medieval village had a magnificent Cathedral. Although the outside was not that awe inspiring, when we went inside our view changed.

The cylindrical Bell tower (one of 2 in Italy) dates back to the Roman age. Its lower part is Roman and the top is Gothic! The Civic Tower standing in the main square was built in 1474 and has been used as a jail. We found a good spot for a refreshing afternoon beer!

Almost every afternoon we sit on our terrace and watch the thunderstorms roll in. Sometimes they miss us , but last Sunday we had a huge one. Lightening, thunder and hail and a power blackout! Greg became a little worried about Olaf but luckily he had no damage.

Of course we are still visiting hill top villages , even though we are almost over them!

The small hamlet of Castel Ritaldi had a great castle. It also , more importantly had a good coffee stop! The next stop was another small village called Gualdo Cattaneo, with a fortress being the main attraction. It’s construction began in 1494 and completed in 1500. It’s “claim to fame” is that Galileo Galilei stayed there in 1624! Ah history!

Another days touring took us to 2 great (yes hill top) villages. The walls of Amelia were built in the Roman period and are some of the oldest in Italy. The Porta Roma (above) was built in the 3rd Century , but partly re built in the 17th century. The Duomo was quite spectacular inside and worth a photo. The gold was quite impressive.

We loved the views of the rooftops from the tops of all these villages. The 30 metre tall Civic tower was also impressive.

The second village was Narni and looked stunning when we drove in as it was perched on the side of a hill.

Our host Raffaele told us about “the church with no roof” , so we decided to visit. The Abby of San Galgano was quite amazing. It was built between 1218 and 1288 by the Cistercian Monks and was the first Gothic church built in Tuscany.

In 1786 lightening struck the bell tower , which in turn collapsed the roof and the church was de consecrated in 1789.

A short walk from the Abby is the Hermitage of Monte Siepi. It is now a chapel that was built after San Galgano’s death in 1181. In the middle of the chapel is a stone in which he placed his sword and swore to ” give up fighting and begin a new life in faith”. Believe it or not ….but apparently research done in 2001 shows that it is true!

We are still enjoying the local food and wine and tonight we will have our last plate of pasta and Greg will drool over his last panna cotta. He is now known as “Senore Panna Cotta” at our favourite restaurant in the village!

Today is our last day here in Chiusi. It was spent packing and cleaning. Olaf has had a wash both inside and out and he is sparkling! Rhonda has had a visit to the hairdresser! Considering her lack of Italian , and the hairdressers lack of English, the hair cut didn’t turn out too bad at all!

We will then take 3 or 4 days to drive across France which will allow us 3 or 4 days of French food and wine….a change from pasta and Rhonda can have her duck!!!!!!

We will then spend our last 4 weeks in Spain. We have enjoyed our stay in Italy but there are some things we definitely will not miss, namely the roads and the drivers.

So for the last time in Italy

Ciao ciao

The Robertos!

We have been doing more touring, more relaxing, and of course, it goes without saying more eating and drinking! We are taking turns to planning a days itinerary….some successful, some not!

Rhonda’s turn had us visiting several smaller villages, some we actually stopped at , and some we didn’t bother! Fail for Rhonda!

Our first stop was Torrita di Siena, a hilltop village with a nice gate and a half decent coffee , and that was about it!

The following 3 villages on Rhonda’s list, well, we drove through but didn’t stop….enough said! We then stopped at Buonconvento. The medieval historic centre was quite pretty.

The Town Hall is covered with 25 crests of previous mayors who ruled until 1270. Greg had to finish his lunch with an ice cream…. pistachio of course!

We stopped also at the next village (win again for Rhonda) , San Quirico d’orcia , and although a little touristy it was rather nice to wander around.

The Cathedral was very majestic as was the main square!

Of course with all these hill top villages one parks at the bottom, because you don’t want to drive through the extremely narrow one way streets in the village itself! Then you walk up and up and up to get tot he church because they are ALWAYS at the uppermost point. But the saving grace is that you walk down to the car again!

Next stop (yes stop) was Bagno vignoni , and not a hill top village. The “main square” in this village is a pool, 49 metres long and 29 metres wide  with a hot spring bubbling up from the bottom.

Last stop on this “long day” was Castiglione d’orcia to see the “Rocca”, the well restored fortress. The term “Rocca” translates as “a local fortified high place” , and it certainly was!

So for her day, Rhonda had some hits and some misses, Greg’s turn was yet to come!

We decided to return to the Roman town of Spello even though we had been there on previous trips. The Porta Consolare is the main gate into town and dates back to Roman times and re fortified in the middle ages. The narrow streets in the town are extremely colourful and well kept. The many plaques on the walls are the results of awards given for the “prettiest streets” over the years.

We also stopped off at Spoleto. The massive Ponte  delle Torri is 236 metres long and 90 metres high and has 10 arcades. It is a 13th century aquaduct, possibly built on Roman foundations.

The Basilica of St Eufemia was quite beautiful, and a Romanesque church built in the 12th Century and overlooks the spectacular Piazza Duomo, so named because of the magnificent (Duomo) of St Mary.

The cathedral was first consecrated in 1198 and progressively added to over the years. It was the perfect place for a lunch stop.

We then drove to Monteleone di Spoleto as we had read about the church which had magnificent 14th century frescoes! Well, guess what, the church was not open. It was however a quiet village with great views and on a hot day, being 978 metres above sea level, and in the mountains, made it a pleasant spot to be.

The weather has now cooled down with days in the low 30’s and the nights around 18 so better for sleeping. We did wake a few mornings ago with a rather strange sight from our terrace! It didn’t take long however  for the fog to clear!

We have found a good “Friday night” Pizzeria now, but unfortunately it is in a village about 15 minutes drive away which means we can’t drink before we go! We arrived home last Friday to find a small festival happening in a little piazza across from our terrace with a band playing. We sat on our terrace having a few drinks and listening to the band playing mostly English music. Obviously they were big fans of the Beatles, Creedance, Tina Turner  and Fleetwood Mac …. free entertainment!!!! It was great!

Two days ago it was Greg’s turn for the itinerary! His was almost a failure too! We noted that the town of Tuscania was “yellow” on our map! We ask the question…..WHY???

There were lovely fountains throughout the town but that that was about all, so hence only 1 photo! However we did pass by Lake Bolsena and stopped at a pretty little town called Marta.

We had read about the “Ghost town” of Celleno , so we stopped there also on the way home and it was the highlight of the day!

It was a vital strategic outpost during medieval times, due to it’s hill top position but had a slow decline. The village was abandoned in 1855 after an earthquake., It was actually quite beautiful….definitely not touristy!

The day proved to be quite stressful. It was supposed to be “about a 1 1/2 hour drive to Tuscania , that’s looking at the map, however our illustrious GPS decided not to take any straight roads , but took us on “short cuts” through windy roads and every village that happened to be having their market day, hence heaps of traffic.

The traffic flow in Italy generally is either very ,very ,very ,fast and sitting  “up your arse” , or extremely slow and holding up traffic. As for the quality of the roads, we would refer you to the bridge that collapsed in Genoa today!!!!! They are shit!

Greg was very glad to arrive home, he had had enough! It WAS going to be an AFD , but Greg needed something to calm his nerves! He had a few beers (that’s  a Peroni red long neck!) By the way these are on special at 59 cents a bottle….. bloody cheap!

Just realised so far there have been no food photos! Oops!

We enjoyed a great dinner in Cetona . Greg’s pici with tomato and garlic sauce was bloody good, and Rhonda’s fettucine with white veal ragu , zucchini, and fresh tomatoes was awesome. As for dolce, a picture tells a thousand words!

We have also discovered the “narrowest street” in Italy, courtesy of our GPS! She tried to send us down this street!

Now it is time for a quiz!

These are our rubbish bins in our house! What goes in which bin???……..wrong!!!!!

We stand in front of them trying to decipher where to put things , and we have been here for 3 weeks!

We are still enjoying ourselves, still eating great pasta, and drinking great wine, and of course beers and aperols!

Speaking of which, yes it’s that time…again!!!!

So ciao ciao

love Gregorio and Rhondio

We have finally got around to taking some photos of our little village , Chiusi.

We have found 3 or 4 favourite spots. Café Venezia for Greg’s pistachio ice-cream (nearly daily) ,  The macellaria (butcher) for great snags and filetto , and la pizzicheria (deli) for great prosciutto (ask Lynds) and parmigiano ! But of course , our “most favourite” is the garden café /bar for great coffee , but more importantly fantastic G n T ‘s and aperol spritz!

On our Italian map, the towns and villages that are marked in yellow are “of interest” and the “must sees”. We decided to visit some towns that were not marked and we are writing to the map printers to ask why!!!!

The town of Gubbio was stunning! As you enter you have a wonderful view of the old Roman Amphitheatre ( well what’s left of it!)n with the village behind and sitting at the top is the magnificent Palazzo dei Consoil. Many houses in the narrow streets date back to the 14th and 15th century.

The aptly named main square , Piazza Grande sits atop the village and is home to the Palazzo built in 1332 to 1339 and is now an archaeological museum.

The views from the square of the rooftops of Gubbio were nothing to be sneezed at either!

Another village not marked in yellow was our next stop and again quite a surprise. The small village of Norcea Umbra , another one on a hilltop was quite pretty. The Cathedral dates back to the 13th century and reconstructed in the 15th century.

We are constantly amazed at the number of these villages and towns that still have their gates or “portas” still standing.

We are so used to having coffee at Brunettis each Sunday when we are at home, we thought we would drive to another village on Sunday morning to see what they had to offer.

We had driven past Citta della Pieve during the week but there were heaps of people and cars so we decided not to stop. However at 9am on a Sunday morning the place was very quiet and we must say the coffee was “very nearly” as good as Brunettis.

Sitting in the main square, sipping our coffee with a view of the Cathedral was very relaxing, you MIGHT say religious!!!!!! It was the centre of brick manufacturing in the middle ages so the walled town is built entirely of brick which made it very attractive. This is our Sunday morning Brunettis while we are staying in Chiusi ( again not marked in yellow!)

We then decided to check out another  village a little further on, and again not yellow, and again extremely pretty.

The small village of Monteleone di Orvieto used to be a remote defensive bastion of Orvieto and sits perched on a rocky outcrop.

It was very narrow only 3 streets wide , but the houses were lovely and the “locals” were very friendly, lots of “bonjournos” as we walked the streets.

At the end of the main street was a magnificent view and a great house (above) that we thought about putting an offer on!!!

Summer time is Festival time in Italy and each town and village decorate their streets with flags and banners! It makes for colourful photos.

We had another day touring and this time (according to Rhonda’s phone) we walked 16 kilometres . You will see why and how further on!

The first was the well preserved and picturesque medieval village of Sorana squeezed along a high rocky ridge.

On one side of the road , above the village is the imposing 14th century Orsini Fortress and on the other side of the road you descend down the medieval streets of the old village.

This place , yet again not yellow, (as were all the following places on our tour) was visually stunning!

Next stop a little further along the road was Sovana , very different , very small, and listed as “One of the Most Beautiful Villages ” in Italy.

The central Medieval square the Piazza del Pretorio, was rather cute. The town Hall with it’s Bell tower sits at the bottom of the square., It was very quiet, not too many of us tourists, and being only one street wide was easy to look around and see very quaint and pretty houses.

Next stop, which became an unexpected lunch stop , was the large town of Pitigliano, (below) of course , another medieval hill top town perched on a rocky outcrop , 360 metres above a plain.

The view from afar was spectacular , and it makes you wonder how these places were ever built so many years ago. One feature of the view was the massive aqueduct built in the 16th century.

The town itself was nothing fantastic however we did enjoy lunch. We were expecting a toasted ham and cheese and radicchio “sanger” but we got the below instead! It was YUM!

The last stop of the day was the amazing  Citiva di Bagnoregio known as the “Jewel on the Hill”.

The small town with a permanent population of 7 people in winter and nearly 100 in summer, sits atop a pinnacle above a vast canyon. The only way in and out is by a foot bridge.

It was quite a warm , not actually a hot day and although we were quite sweaty and tired by the time we walked over and back , it was well worth it.

The small Piazza was extremely pretty enhanced by the flowers and plants.

So you can see why we walked 16 kilometres during the day! We WERE going to have an AFD however with tired feet and sweaty bodies we decided to walk another 100 metres to our favourite garden café /bar and have the usual when we returned home.

We then enjoyed a lovely dinner on our terrace that night with a glass of red!

The days are no longer quite so hot , just in the low to mid 30’s now , and the nights are cooler , so better for sleeping!

Still warm enough for a few drinks, speaking of which, yep it’s that time AGAIN. Gosh that time comes round quickly!

So ciao ciao from Chiusi

Love Gregorio and Rhondio.

Our “visitors” have now left us (sorry you have to go back to cold old Melbourne Stewio and economo Lyndsio!)

On their last day here in Chiusi , we decided to do the tour in our village of “The Underground City ( not Gregorio , it was going to be too claustrophobic for him!)

We began by visiting Porsenna’s Labyrinth , a series of 3 tiered underground tunnels, rather small in parts, 50 feet underground that were tunnelled by the Etruscans to provide drainage and drinking water for the town more than 2500 years ago! After the Romans occupied the city, the tunnels were forgotten and it wasn’t until 1989 that they were “rediscovered” and excavated.

There is also a huge 40 feet tall Roman cistern underground erected without mortar or concrete. Porsenna was a legendary Etruscan king and was “supposedly buried inside the tunnels. His sarcophagus was said to be inside a golden carriage with 12 statues of horses guarded by a hen and 5000 chicks also made of gold! Rather impressive. It has never been found and unfortunately we didn’t find it either.

One of the pluses of this tour was that the outside temperature was hovering at 37degree , but down in the tunnels it was a magnificent 14 degrees. We then climbed from the cistern to the top of the 12th century Bell Tower for some great views.

The second part of the tour was to The Underground City. We again went belowground and wandered through Etruscan tunnels for 140 metres and passed by a well , where a lake 300 metres below street level could be seen.

Below , in these tunnels is the largest display of Etruscan funeral urns and tombstones anywhere in the world. It was extremely interesting and once again lovely and cool underground.

For our last dinner with Stew and Lynds we returned to our “friend” Andres. Different pasta this time but OMG it was still sensational.

Rhonda’s ravioli in ginger sauce was stunning, Lynds loved her pici with aubergine and white truffle, and Stew and Greg were in raptures with their pici with goose ragu. In Greg’s words…..the best pasta I have had so far this tour! We will definitely return, probably a few times, before we leave Chiusi.

We waved Stew and Lynds off on the train on their way to Rome and we drove to see the imposing Medieval Fortress of Radicofani. It was a stunning 360 degree view over the Val d’Orcia.

In the 13th Century , the “Robin Hood” of Italy also known as the Gentleman  Bandit lived here. We then wandered through the lovely quiet non touristy village of Radicafoni.

The square (on the right) known as The Square of the Jewish Ghetto was very pretty, we loved the flowers.

Our drive the next day took us to 2 villages that we had thought about staying in for our month here in Umbria, however we are so happy we didn’t! Both were a little too touristy for us , and all you heard were “pommie accents”! Here in Chiusi it’s Italian Italian Italian! Si si si !

Our first stop was Todi…yes another medieval hill top village. The view from the Belvedere (above) was stunning and also had a lovely breeze , very welcoming as by this time the temp had gone up to 38 degrees.

The central Piazza del Popolo was lovely with the Peoples Palace, the Town Hall and the Priori Palace dating back to the 14th Century. Our lunch in Todi was sensational. It was a panini with chicken (real chicken too) with grilled zucchini, aubergine, and peppers ,all freshly cooked and prepared. It was great!

Our next stop was Montefalco, again slightly too touristy for us , but still a lovely village to visit. The Piazza del Comune was cute and the area is renown for it’s wine and olive oil.

The area surrounding the village is consequently surrounded by olive tress and vineyards which resulted in a very pretty drive and of course the purchase of a couple of bottles of  vino!

We also “finally” came across some of Rhonda’s favourite sunflowers so of course we had to have a photo stop!

AS well as going out to restaurants, we are eating at home and Chef Gregorio is doing an outstanding job!

Stewio and Economo Lyndsio, we hope you have a safe trip home, and thank you for coming to stay with us! We hope we showed you a little of rural Italy! We will continue to have our aperitifs at our “garden Bar” and think of you both each time we have an aperol, a G n T or a birra!!!!!

Speaking of which, yep it’s that time again ! No time for AFD’s on this trip!

Ciao ciao

Love Gregorio and Rhondio

xxxxx

We have been looking forward to having Stew and Lyndsay stay with us for a week in our apartment in Tuscany. We picked them up at the airport and had a two hour trip to our home for the next 4 weeks.

The “peace de resistance” of our apartment is the view from the balcony , as above! It is fabulous to be able to sit outside with a wonderful breeze and a magnificent view.

We are staying in an old Etruscan village called Chiusi. The Etruscans were a powerful and wealthy civilisation in ancient Italy in the Tuscan / Umbria region, and Chiusi was an important city in the Empire between the 7th and 5th Century BC. Pretty bloody old! More about the village later after we visit the subterranean city and underground water tunnels and cisterns!

The first night we decided to “dine out”. The food was fantastic at La Solita Zuppa , and the owner / maitre d , Andre , became our “best friend”.

We enjoyed shared starter plates of prosciutto, (OMG, it is so bloody good in Italy) , carpaccio of beef , and pear and cheese salad! Then came the pasta , pici , (hand rolled pasta) with a garlic and tomato sauce and also a wild meat sauce! Greg did not enjoy his at all as you can tell by his plate! Dolce was sensational too, especially Rhonda’s panna cotta with melon and basil sauce. Yummo , we will return, and it’s just down the road, staggering distance from home!

We spent our first day touring some of the villages in the area. First stop was Montapulciano , a lovely Tuscan hilltop village , but very touristy!

However the view from the Belvedere of the countryside was pretty stunning!

Next stop was the town of Pienza , with it’s UNESCO listed historical centre. The 15th Century Piccolomini Palace was the summer residence of Pope Pius 11. He was elected Pope in 1458 and he wanted to transform his birthplace into the ideal renaissance town.

The construction of Pienza took about 4 years and has remained practically unchanged over the centuries. It was quite beautiful , and more importantly , not too touristy!

The last stop on the “tour” was the Medieval Montalcino, another fortified hilltop town! It’s magnificent Palazzo dei Priori (now the Town Hall) had a wonderful clock tower and it was a perfect place to stop for an aperitivi.

The next day was another touring day to show Stew and Lynds the area.  Our first stop was at Lake Trasimeno and although the lake was quite pretty, the coffee definitely was not!

We then headed onto to Assisi to see the magnificent and massive Basilica of St Francis , one of Italy’s patron saints.

The Basilica is a massive 2 level church , consecrated in 1253 with 13th Century frescoes portraying his life. We had visited before but we were still amazed the second time around.

Next we needed a lunch stop as we were becoming hungry and more importantly thirsty. We made our way to Norcia via a lovely mountain drive through the Apennines. The area is well known for it’s wild boar and pork. The small town of Norcia was hard hit by an earthquake that occurred in August 2016, and many buildings and restaurants are still closed.

The Medieval Basilica in the town was left with only it’s façade standing (above). We did enjoy a great lunch though. We had a great starter of (of course) prosciutto , salami and cheese, and mains (all round) was fettucine with “mountain ragu” and of course as usual washed down with a local red!

Of course we had to help the local economy ,so we purchased some more prosciutto and salami. By the way Lynds has a new name! “Economo (said with an Italian accent) Lynds. We went into a shop, woke up an elderly couple in order to serve us, and when Lynds produced her own bag , the lady said “AHH ECONOMO”. so now the name sticks!

We took a slight detour on the way home to view the Cascata del Mamore, a man made waterfall created by the ancient Romans. It’s total height is 165 metres which makes it the tallest man made waterfall in the world! Quite specky! Note the rainbow!

It was a great day , and our tour director  Gregorio and Olaf did a great job!

The next day was a relaxing morning in the village, a pizza for lunch then an afternoon drive just down the road  for aperitivi to Orvieto , a small city perched on a rock cliff. It’s main attraction is the stunning Duomo di Orvieto dating back to 1290. We had been inside previously so while Stew and Lynds checked it out, we sat and drank , and viewed the outside. Quite impressive.

We had wanted to return to a small village in Tuscany to have another lunch of pappardelle and wild boar ragu which we had a few years ago. We thought Stew and Lynds would like it also so we set off for Greve in Chianti.

We needed a coffee stop of course along the way , and ALMOST found a Brunettis at San Giovanni Valdarno. The Palazzo Pretoria , now the museum , was quite a stunning sight in the main square. It is covered with many Coats of Arms , the oldest dating back to 1410 and the most recent 1769.

When we arrived in Greve in Chianti we had to show Stew “Antica Macellaria Falorni” a butchers shop ( not quite like ours back home) established in 1806 and has been making wild boar salami for 9 generations. Stew was in 7th heaven!

We were not disappointed with our lunch! The pappardelle with wild boar was delicious and of course….yep you guessed it…..washed down with a local chianti.

It is a lovely little town and the main square is delightful…….except when you have some Aussies doing crazy things!

We then stopped in Siena for a drink on the way home. The main Square , Piazza del Campo, where the famous horse race occurs , is the place to be , sitting and admiring the extremely tall Clock Tower built in 1338 -1348. It was one of the tallest towers in medieval Italy.

It was another fantastic day and it has been great showing Stew and Lynds around and giving them a sample of rural Italy.

It’s going to be 37 degrees for the next few days with a respite happening late in the week …….the temperature will plummet to 35 degrees!

It is that time again

Aperol spritz please Gregorio!!!!!!!!   NOW !!!!!!!

Ciao ciao

Love Gregorio and Rhondio

Stewio and economo Lyndso!

xxxxxx

Our last two days in Malta were spent trying to stay cool (fail) and seeing the last of what Malta had to offer.

We went to the island of Gozo, Malta’s sister island. We had a one hour and 40 minute bus ride ( for 2 euros) then a 20 minute ferry ride to the pretty harbour of Mgarr to get to the island. We did the “touristy thing” and travelled on the hop on hop off bus.

Our first stop was Xewkija , the islands oldest village. it’s claim to fame is it’s church which sits atop of a hill, which they all do, and has Europe’s third largest dome.

We then travelled onto Gozo’s capital , Victoria. It’s main attraction is it’s stunning Citadel. It’s a tiny walled city constructed in the 17th Century , and beautifully restored.

We made the climb to the top and we were rewarded with 360 degree views ( note Rhonda’s hat! For those who know her well, you know she HATES wearing hats , but it is a case of “buggar the hat hair” , it’s too bloody hot not to wear one!)

There are many , many , many churches on the island and they seem to be extremely large for the small population in each village! You see them dotted across the entire skyline.

Nearly all the windmills on the islands of Malta date back to between 1663 and 1773 , and were built by the Knights of St John., ( useless fact…..Malta has the highest density of windmills in the world , more than the Netherlands!)

It was lovely wandering the streets of Valletta during the evening when the heat has gone out of the day, most of the people are eating , and the day trippers have left.

We enjoyed a great last meal in Valletta in Nenu,the Artisian Baker. The beef olives and fried rabbit were sensational as was then traditional dessert of baked date pastry with Maltese ice cream. YUUUUM.

We have enjoyed our time in Malta and have come to some conclusions about the country!

There are so many boats in so many harbours across the islands, we have decided that due to the population being only 432,089 people , each resident must own at least 2 boats.

Another fact that we have noted is that the Maltese people are very generous and have a great sense of humour. We were walking down a quiet street one day admiring the architecture, when an elderly gentleman invited us inside to see his renovated house! we declined just in case he had a “mob” inside who wanted to rob us!

Also one day , when we asked for the “bill” , we were told ….” sorry Bill has gone for the day but would you like Peter instead!”.

We also found some great bars down the narrow side streets with seating precariously perched on the steps! Great fun!

We enjoyed our time in Malta but it was time to move onto the next phase, to return to Italy and our 4 week stay in the village of Chiusi on the Umbria / Tuscany border.

It’s that time, time for a bloody drink, it’s bloody hot!

Ciao ciao

Love Greg and Rhonda.

We have now arrived in Malta but before we left Monforte d’Alba , we decided to reminisce and do a walk through the vineyards which we had done 2 years ago!

It was just as we remembered , lots of hills , ups and downs but very pretty. It was a pleasure to return to Elena and Pippo’s apartment and we enjoyed a lovely lunch with them. We now have an “Italian family” as well as a Swiss and French Family! Thank you to Elena and Pippo , it was fantastic to see you again and we will definitely return!

We spent a rather long day in the car driving from Monforte to Rome Airport. Only a couple of little “hiccups” along the way! We nearly ran out of petrol (we broke our golden rule of filling up when down to half a tank regardless of the price) and we nearly left our passports at the airport.

We arrived in Valletta at 10.30pm and Mark , our host kindly met us and drove us to our “home” for our 6 night stay. It is a beautiful renovated apartment with a traditional Maltese Balcony which are found all over the city.

On our first day we decided to wander around the beautiful old walled city. It was established in the 1500’s by the Knights of St John, a Roman Catholic Order. Our first stop was the magnificent Baroque St Johns Co Cathedral. It has a rather plain exterior , but OMG the opulent interior was amazing.

It was completed in 1577 and dedicated to St John the Baptist. It’s painted vaulted ceiling and marble floor covered in over 400 tombstones of knights was amazing. Each tombstone is adorned with the Coat of Arms of it’s “occupant”. We must say it was up there at the top of the list of one of the most magnificent interiors of a Cathedral we have ever seen……..and we have seen quite a few!!!!!

The streets of Valletta (called the city of Golden Stone) are amazing, quite up and down ….good for the knees????…..and the architecture is great.

Rhonda was excited to have her first “sea bass” meal and she wasn’t disappointed.

We went to great restaurant, recommended to us by our host, on the wharf and had a great meal with a few glasses of Maltese Rose , which was pretty good!

Of course we have already found some good coffee spots , but our favourite (so far) is the rather stately Café Cortina (1944) and it also has 2 for 1 Aperol Spritz Aperitivis after 3pm which Rhonda is very happy about!

The fortifications of Valletta are massive and we visited the Fort St Elmo (UNESCO listed) built in 1552. The views from the walls were pretty spectacular!

Inside the Fort was the National War Museum which proved to be very interesting. We did learn that in 1942 Malta became the most “bombed place on earth” , in total 15000 tonnes of bombs were dropped on the Island.

We are loving the architecture here, particularly the balconies. Some are in desperate need of repairs however the Government is now financially supporting people who wish to restore their wooden balconies.

The corner balcony of The Grand Masters Palace ,(above)  built in 1679 was the first to become enclosed with a wood and glass structure, so hence, after that it became fashionable.

The next day we took a boat ride across the Grand Harbour to The Three Cities, dating back to Phoenician times, and where the first capital of Malta was situated.

Although it was hot, it was lovely wandering through the narrow streets of Collachio and seeing the beautiful buildings that the Knights had built as their Inns when they first arrived in 1530…..and still standing today! It was great to get out of the hustle and bustle of Valletta for a while , and meander through the lanes with very few people,

This morning we “jumped” on the bus and headed to Marsaxlokk , one of Malta’s prettiest and most authentic fishing ports.

The harbour is filled with brightly coloured “luzzus” , the traditional fishing boats.

We arrived with heaps of other tourists , as Sunday is fish market day , however our lunch was sensational.

Yes …….you guessed it……..grilled sea bass and pistachio cake, washed down with a bottle of rose! One of our best lunches…….so far!

As it’s now after 3pm…….it’s time for a 2 for 1 Aperol Spritz!

so it’s addiju……….that’s goodbye in Maltese!

Cheers

Greg and Rhonda.

Before we departed Nevers, we decided to do a “walking tour” . It is quite a beautiful town with some stunning buildings , and is situated on the Loire River.

The Gothic Cathedral dates from the 13th and 14th Century. We loved the Palace Ducal which was the symbol of power for the old Counts and Dukes of Nevers. The architecture was spellbinding , dating from the 16th Century.

It was built by a Count who wanted to live in something” more stately than a fortress”. We think he achieved his aim!

We stopped at Beaune for lunch and of course a glass of wine , and then proceeded onto our stop for the night at Baume les Dames at a B and B where we had stayed last year and we loved. We knew the B and B had a lovely garden.

Our dinner that night was a bottle of red, a baguette , and a rather large hunk of comte cheese,(because we are in the home of comte) and it is Greg’s favourite!

The next day we headed to Switzerland to stay with our Swiss Family. We had a lunch stop at Solothurn and we were quite impressed with the 13th Century Astronomical Clock Tower.

We love staying with Esther and Jean Pierre with the wonderful view of Lake Zurich from their balcony. On our first day in Zurich we went to Zurich’s “home mountain” at Uetilberg. We walked for nearly 2 hours along the ridge of the mountain and Greg’s knees survived! The next day we took a boat ride on the lake to meet Stew and Lyndsay who had arrived in Zurich.

That night we enjoyed a lovely dinner with Claudie also ,at Esther and JP’s.

Our next day in Switzerland was an absolute highlight! We went to “The Top of Europe” to Jungfraujoch at 3454 metres! What a sensational day it was!

We left Zurich by bus at 8am and travelled via Interlaken, where we had a great view of the Eiger Mountain. We then travelled a little further by bus before getting on the Jungfrau Railway, the highest railway in the world.

The railway line to the peak took 16 years to build and was opened in 1912. What an achievement , and all done by manual labour! The workers were guaranteed one bottle of red wine per worker per day to create a “better mood” !!!!!

The railway goes up and through the middle of the mountain, it was amazing.

There is an observatory at the top (3571 metres) and the “Sphinx” , with a viewing terrace has amazing views.

We experienced all types of weather at the top with cloud , sunshine and even a small snow flurry , with a temperature of 2 degrees C, not as cold as we were expecting.

We had a great lunch at the top, the rosti was fantastic!

The trip down the mountain was just as scenic with valleys and waterfalls galore. It was a wonderful day , another tick off Greg’s bucket list!

It was as usual another wonderful stay with our Swiss Family. Thank you Esther and JP. We left Switzerland and headed toward Italy via the Gotthard Pass. Switzerland is such a picturesque country , with its many mountains and lakes , and the highways running alongside lakes such as lake Lucerne.

We have now returned to Piemonte in Italy, and back to Monforte d”Alba where we stayed 2 years ago. It is like coming “home”.

Today we enjoyed a loooooong lunch at a Michelin Restaurant. Our rabbit salad and warm chicken salad were a great way to start the meal. Our agnolotti del plin was something we were looking forward to having again , and were not disappointed. The panna cotta for “dolce” was quite tasty also, and of course it was all washed down with a couple of glasses of red!  We finished off of course with an expresso! Yummy!

We plan to have a quiet relaxing day tomorrow before heading off to Malta on Thursday!

By the way , a weather update, blue skies , sunshine and a balmy 34 degrees! Sorry all you Melbournites!

Its that time again!

Ciao

Love Greg and Rhonda

We thought that 3 months ago we would not make it, but here we are in France and it’s 35 degrees!

We left Melbourne early and arrived in Hong Kong. Unfortunately we had an 8 hour stop over in HK  so we decided to pay and go into a lounge and we are soooooo glad we did! After 3 hours Greg “cracked the shits” literally and spent most of the remainder of the time on the toilet!! TMI?????? It was therefore money “well spent”. We thought we were not going to make the next flights , but luckily all was good and we survived the flight into Paris.

We picked up our car , a quite cute little white Citreon C4 which we have named Olaf (for those who know Frozen you will understand ….maybe). It took us quite a while to navigate our way around Paris but we did it with a little help from the GPS (actually a lot of help!

We had a stop at the town of Amboise in the Loire Valley to see the beautiful Chateau.

We continued onto Loches (below), where we stayed the night. Loches is a medieval town which still has it’s ramparts in tact , and a beautiful Cite Royale.

The next morning we headed down to Arcachon to stay 4 nights with our French Family. It was great to see them and we spent 4 days of eating , drinking. laughing , and trying to speak French! Arcachon is near Bordeaux and is on the beach. It was quite hot but we are not complaining!

On our last night we had a lovely farewell dinner at a restaurant on the beach. This morning we left Arcachon and headed to the town of Nevers , our first stop on route to Switzerland.

It’s that time, and you all know what that means!!!!

Until next time

A bientot from France

love Greg and Rhonda.

So…..Has 3 months gone quickly or what???

We only have a few days left here in our little haven of Ammerschwihr before heading back home so hence this will be our last blog…..until next year!

We ares till finding things to do. We went to a couple of wine producers here in our village to do a “tasting”.

Kuehn has been making wine since 1675 and Rhonda has developed a “liking” for their reisling! We ventured downstairs into their “Cellar of Hell” , which is one of the oldest and deepest cellars in Alsace, and was apparently a “safe haven” for people of the village during the bombing of WW11. We decided to make a comparison and visit a “bio ” winery , but for us , there was no comparison at all! We were not all that fussed about the wine! We did make a few purchases!

We took another drive along the “Route des Vines” and visited some more pretty villages. Mutzig is known as a”beer village” so hence Greg wanted to visit!

It used to have a brewery which has since closed down after Mutzig beer was taken over by Kronenbourg. The City Gate was rather impressive.

Another “beer village” was Molsheim which is also the home to the Bugatti factory and Museum.

The Medieval Porte de Forgerons was impressive as was the 19th Century Town Hall.

Another picturesque village was Dambach la Ville with some beautifully preserved half wooden houses such as the ” Clog Makers House ” dating back to 1686.

The Ebersheim Gate has an inscription mentioning that the first stone was laid in 1323!

By this time , it was time for a break so we stopped at this cute little patisserie in Barr for a coffee, and of course a cake!

We then stopped at Rosheim, another pretty village along the Vine Route. The medieval Gates of the village were quite impressive. The 18th century Porte de L’Horloge was rather nice as was the Porte de La Vierge at the other end of the village!

We are still loving all the shop signs that we find in all the villages. This particular one is above the “oldest bakery in Alsace” and is 400 years old…..not bad!

One night we ventured out past our bedtime to go to Turkheim to experience the “Night Watchman Tour”. He does his rounds of the village every night at 10pm, wearing traditional clothing and basically puts the village to bed!

We lasted for half the tour (one hour) but by then , with the tour being all in French we were a little drained so we left to take some pictures and partake of some beer!

We visited the First World War Battlefield and History Museum of the “Mussee Memorial Le Ligne” near Orbey. It was extremely interesting and you are able to walk through the actual French and German trenches of WW1 , high in the Vosges Mountains. Over 18,000 soldiers were killed in the Ligne Battle , it was another moving experience for us.

We made a visit to Haut-Koenigsbourg Chateau, (along with thousands of others) . It was the day after a public holiday and we think that all the French had taken a day off to visit the chateau! Once we “found” a car park , and visited the chateau it was worth it!

It was built in the 12th Century , but extensively renovated in the early 20th Century. The entrance to the Chateau with it’s Coat of Arms was rather impressive!

The “Arms Room” had a large display of swords , crossbows and suits of armour. Rhonda especially liked the green ceramic stove with it’s built in heated seat! No cold bums in this chateau! The ceiling in the Kaiser Room had an impressive Eagle and Coat of Arms and was quite impressive!

The views from the Grand Bastion, looking out over the valley makes you understand the strategic importance of building such fortifications on the summit of mountains!

We went into Colmar one night to check out the traditional Alsace dancing that occurs every Tuesday night.

We still walk every morning……well nearly every morning…..and we are noticing how the grapes are changing colour from when we first arrived.

Yesterday we took a drive to visit Gerardmer, a town that is known as a ski resort and is situated in the Vosges Mountains. It’s main attraction in summer however is it’s rather beautiful lake which we spent some time wandering around!

After all that exercise, it was time for refreshments!

With only a few days to go we thought we would give you an indication of what we will miss and not miss when we return home!

Our “miss” list…..

the raspberries , blueberries and peaches……and so cheap!

the bread and pastries and cakes (although the waistline will not miss them)

Wine ,particularly reisling , and beer ,Alsace Kronenbourg

Fromage, (36 month old comte in particular)

the weather  (on average high 20’s here)

the Thursday night Festivals in the village!

And the ‘NOT MISS” list

French drivers…..they are so impatient

Coffee ….the French cannot make good coffee!

Having to buy bottled water

So before we finish , we would like to say a huge thank you to Fabien and Lotfi. They have been so generous and kind to us during our stay in Ammerschwihr. If anyone is looking for a place to stay in the area we can recommend their place 100%.

So for the last time….it’s that time again!

Au revoir France and in a few days time Bonjour Melbourne!

Lots of love

Greg and Rhonda.