Starry, Starry Night

Yesterday was glorious, and the sunset was postcard perfect.




















After finishing the blog, I went to a local restaurant for supper, and had the best Penne all Arrabiata that I have ever had. I spent the whole meal trying to figure out how to make it at home.

Something I hadn't seen for a long time - stars! I sat on my little balcony for a long time last night just looking at the stars and watching the lights of a few boats crossing my line of vision. I spent some time planning what to do today, and went to bed and had a great 9-hour sleep.

And woke up to grey skies and light rain. Crud.

I adjusted my plans and decided to take the boat up to Motrerosso al Mare, the 5th or northernmost town, and made my way down to the harbour in time to see this...




















This is known as Missing the Boat. Changing plans quickly, I grabbed a train instead, by which time the storm was blowing off to the north, the rain was tapering off and the sun was nearly out.

The local trains here are a great deal, costing less than $2 for 6 hours use in any direction. The towns are only a few minutes apart, so it doesn't take long to get anywhere.

These towns are all built on rock though, so there are a lot of tunnels. Long tunnels. Kinda makes up for the lack to domes and towers...





















Unfortunately, like the storm, I was also blowing off to the north and I was into another storm when I got to Monterosso. It was light enough that walking around wasn't a problem, but it was clear that hiking the trails was out. I feel that I've really let down my cheerleader, Trish, but I'll simply have to come back. Monterosso is beautiful!

























Now, this guy was fishing from the pier in Monterosso. I swear that he was using the longest fishsing pole I have ever seen, easily 25 feet. He was gathering quite a crowd, as you would expect of a man with a 25 foot pole.

I was able to get the boat down to Vernazza, the next town south. A quick 10-minute ride, plus the hour wait, as I just missed the boat - again.

Eventually arrived in Vernazza, it is also very pretty, and somewhere I would consider staying next time. A toss up between Manarola and Vernazza actually.








































It was long past lunch time in Vernazza, and I found this little place selling focaccia. This one was mmmmMMMmmmmmm!

























You can't go far on focaccia though. Fortunately I found... well... you know.

























Cocao (rick, dark chocolate) and nocciola (hazelnut) nom nom nom!

In Cinque Terre, getting a friend to help you move will likely cost a lot more than a case of beer.

Am gearing up for the anticipated "Tempest" tomorrow. Trying to remember if that play was a comedy or a tragedy. Or both. Fortunately I have a supply of focaccia!

Bye!

Stairway to Heaven

Landed in Cinque Terre this afternoon, and it is so different from where I have been for the last 5 days. Instead of thousand year old hill towns (and a fair bit of rain), I have the sea, cloudless blue skies and a warm breeze.

The train from Siena to Manarola was quite easy, considering I had to change trains 3 times. I met the rental agent soon after I arrived and she showed me to my room. First, you walk uphill forever. Then, when you run out of hill, you climb 78 steps, to this...




















Then you open the window and look at the view...




















Yeah. That's pretty hard to take.

Manarola is the 2nd of 5 hill towns (going from south to north) on a small, high section of coast in the Mediterranian - I think this part is called the Ligurian Sea. Put simply, there is up and more up.




















They terraced the hills into these slim plots of land where they grow grapes and make ridiculously expensive wine.

























A small creek flows the length of town into the sea.

There are trails that link all 5 towns, but the one between Manarola and the town to the north is closed today due to risk of mud slides from the recent rain.

There were people swimming in the little protected pool at the shore.

I walked the easy trail to Riomaggiore and back this afternoon, and it was a beautiful walk.

This is one of the staircases in town. It goes waaaay up. Children here have legs like tree trunks.

You can see my room here. Above Tratorria Billy, and above the pink building it is located in, is a white building. One the 3rd floor from the top, 1 pair of shutters is open - that's me!

I've really been surprised by the amount of grafitti here. Not only the buildings, but this plant has been damaged. People have carved their names in the leaves and they've written them in marker too. The plant is 6 feet tall and will likey die. Idiots.

I just uploaded the pictues while sitting on a roof watching the sun set over the ocean. Now it's time for a yummy dinner. I'm going to do as much as I can tomorrow because we are still expecting really bad weather on Friday, so that may be a day in - not a totally bad thing.

Oh, yeah, they have gelato here! Yay!

Bye!

Over The Hill(s)

A gracious good evening, Blogees.

Before we go romping off to San Gimignano, I wanted to make some comments / observations about Italy, now that I have been here for a bit.

Italy is a strange and wonderful place.

It is a place where there is "no tipping" in restaurants. But the restaurants add 10 - 15% for service and a few euros for occupying a table.

It is a place where your favourite store disappears. That well-lit place where you wanted to return to buy something is ... gone. Is it on the other street? Was it in the other town? Is this early onset Alzheimers? No. They have pulled a metal door down covering the place, blending it into the walls, and it is as if the store was never there.

It is a place where you pay to pee. Anywhere from 50 to 80 cents (euro) so far. And sometimes it's not worth the money, and YES, I'm talking about YOU, San Gimignano! It takes more that 125 ml of water to flush, you cheap bastards!




















Lemon. Lemon soda. Lemon Schweppes. Yummy lemon drinks!

The equivalent to the Grey Hound bus is called... TraIn. That's not confusing. Nope.

Everywhere you go in these walled towns there are arches and alleys. They are narrow, winding, mysterious. They all speak of possibilites. I can't stop photographing them, and wandering them.

There are cool old pieces of hardware on the walls of the cities - so far Siena and San Gimignano - where they used to tie their horses. There are different ones on different blocks. I think I have pictures of about 12 different ones at this point.

























Domes and towers. Towers and domes. Towers between domes. They're everywhere. Was Freud Italian?

There are water taps everywhere in the streets and piazzas to drink from or to fill your water bottle with great potable water. And when you want a glass of water at a restaurant, they bring you a litre bottle of mineral water and charge a couple euros.

Everything is vertical. There are narrow openings and tall vistas beyond them. Most of the photos have to be taken in portrait instead of landscape orientation.

























The cars are tiny. Little cereal-box models that we've never seen in North America. My Subaru would look like a tank. And they can, and do, park anywhere, in either direction, with little Smart Cars tucked in perpendicular to them. Up on the sidewalks. Edging around the corners of intersections. Without a ticket in sight. And the lucky ones have garages, that look like this...

























The balconies are crowded with plants and laundry - people live here and it shows.

And they sell the same scarves and purses on the street as they do in New York.

Tonight I went out for dinner and, since the place I wanted to go to was full, I went back to the other restaurant for Ribollita and a wild boar stew. With a glass of wine, it cost about $30 Canadian (and was very yummy). I pulled a short, thick, straight hair out of the stew and left it one the side on the plate. When the server collected the plate, she made sure I understood that the hair wasn't from the chef. It was from the boar. ... OK.

Il Campo is really lovely at night.




















But, how was San Gimignano, I hear you cry? For all of you who have told me not to miss it, thanks. It's a beautiful little town.

Olives are getting ripe.

There's quite a selection here. It's not wine, it's balsamic vinegar.

San Gimignano is famous for it's towers. I think it needs a couple of domes to balance things off.

Oh. Did I mention it rained nearly all day? Here we are, taking shelter until the deluge slowed.

BUT...!!!! None of you told me about this place!!!!!

Gelato World Champions! Twice!!!!! Well... it's a good thing I'm here, then!

Approaching this very scientifically, I decided to try their Chocolate Grand Marnier (first time I've found that here) and their TuttiBosco (which I now know is a mix of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry). To conduct a proper tasting, you first hold the gelato up to the light to check for colour...

Then you scarf it down like a sailor, nom nom nom nom nom...

They you walk about 3 laps around the city, avoiding the gelato place on every lap.

Then you jog for the bus, forgetting that you have to pass the gelato place.

Scientific progress cannot be denied. Best to try 2 flavours tasted elsewhere, to really be able to compare them to other Gelaterias. Limone and Fragole.

Nom nom nom nom nom....

Please note that a pinky was raised at all times.

And that's what I remember of San Gimignano!

Off to Cinque Terre in the morning, so let's hope for better weather.

Good night, all!

Under The Tuscan Rain

It's been raining off and on since I got here, with enough breaks in the weather to walk around and explore quite a bit. It's pouring now, so I've holed up in the net cafe until it passes, but decided to check the weather on line for the rest of the week. It should be nice tomorrow and until Thursday, but the forecast for Cinque Terre on Friday is, believe it or not, Tempest.

That can't be good.

I'm really enjoying Siena. The hotel is really nice, and they bring me breakfast in my room. It's a very short walk to Il Campo. The net cafe is on the way, as is a laundry and 2 really good tratorrias.

Yesterday, I discovered Panforte. For those of you who have been here, well, you know. For the others, it tastes like heaven, costs the earth, and will make my ass look like the moon. Only bigger. It looks like a dense cake with nuts, but it's actually a fruit cake. Oh, nom nom nom! Of course it comes in chocolate!




















It's hard to find tea with honey and lemon here, so I went out last night looking for some comfort food for my cold. I found Ribollita - thanks Deb! It was so thick, I could hardly get the spoon in it, and so filling that I couldn't finish it, and didn't bother having anything else for supper. I think it might be on the menu tonight. I have to learn how to make this. I found a Tuscan cook book but they didn't have an english version, but judging from the french, it's not too hard to make. There was a ridiculous amount of bread, and the server said that the greens in there are black cauliflower ??? If anyone has a recipe, please fire it my way!

Oh crap - am getting hungry again!

The fountain in Il Campo usually has a huge crowd around it. I passed it early this morning on my way to the Duomo before anyone was out.

The Duomo is pretty impressive, but I must say that the one in Orvieto is much more so, in my opinion.

The interior is massive and ornate, but I think I'm getting a bit jaded. After Rome and all the other towns, I need to take a rest from impressive stuff for a while. Maybe it's sensory overload, but after a point, you just can't appreciate it. I think I'll just wander around, and save myself for Florence.

But first, one last picture. This one's for you, Paul...

I'm off to San Gimignano tomorrow. There are tours that run for 60 euros, but I picked up bus tickets for 11 euros, so I won't be tied to a tour. The weather should be nice, and since so many have told me I HAVE to go, I'm looking forward to it a lot.

Thanks to those keeping in touch!

The Siena Portage

Well, it felt like a portage, with all the schlepping. And I thought I was packing light...

Safe and sound in Siena today. I didn't arrive until around 4 pm so haven't had a lot of time to snoop, but have seen enough to know that it is going to be amazing! I will spend tomorrow checking it out, and may take a day trip to San Gimignano on Tuesday.

The down side is that there is no wireless internet here because of the walls, so I have to work from a net cafe and they restrict uploads of pictures to 3 because of their bandwidth limitations. So the glossy little blog is going to be downsized for a bit. That doesn't matter so much today, because there aren't a lot of pictures, but I've heard from a few of you that they are reminding you of past trips here.

I have been here long enough to check out the shower (another phone booth). The hotel is really interesting - you can access it from 2 different streets. One door gets you in on the main floor, and the other, from the street behind, gets you in on the third floor. For those of you still struggling with the math - it is very, very, very hilly here!

My cold is still there, but hasn't gotten worse. I've found a little tratorria down the street that has soup, so am going there when done here, and to bed early tonight, to try to get rid of this sniffle.

The pictures... the first one is of old hardware found on the walls all around the town, for tying up your horse. The second is Il Campo, which is very close to my hotel - about 5 minutes down the street. The third one... Well. They don't advertise this is the books I have read, but the things they do with gelato in Siena are downright immoral, as you can see. That isn't food. That's porn. Clearly I'm in the right place!

Thanks for reading, everybody. Later...

Bagnoregio / Civita Adventure

This has been a weird day. It doesn't help that I'm fighting off a cold, making me a bit grouchy.

First of all, Orvieto is weird. It is a hill town, and the train station (and the rest of civilization) is at the bottom of a hill. So they have a very cool Funiculare opposite the train station to drag you up the hill. I have riden the one in Quebec City, so this isn't new, but it's cool. Except yesterday it was broken when I arrived. So they sent one of the little inter-city shuttle buses to drive people up there. About a million of us crammed into this thing - about three paternity suits will follow due to the crowding - and we're swinging around switchbacks like tarzan on wheels.

Then, I've noticed this place near my hotel...

























I'm not sure what it means. Closest I can guess is "Here We Wear Pasta."

Then, there's the hotel. It's not bad, but the bathroom is a disaster. I've never stayed at a hotel where I couldn't pour a glass of water before, but the water coming out of the sink was warm. It would not run cold no matter how long I ran the tap (yes, I tried changing to what I thought was hot - and it was).

So imagine my surprise this morning when the shower was freezing - and I DO mean freezing. I can stand a cool shower, but this was so cold that I skipped hair conditioner.

The shower itself is the smallest I have ever seen - about 2 feet square, with these awful folded sliding doors that don't. It was so small that I had to leave the doors open, otherwise I couldn't get my arms up to soap myself. See???





















Then I had to dry my hair. The gizmo below is an alleged hair dryer. It blows about 4 mighty watts, and you have to hold it by the little nozzle above the hose. When it finally heats up, you burn yourself every time you brush against the hose. I gave up on my hair and pretended I was homeless. And I note that I did not get my bottom pinched once today.


























So. Today I was off to Bagnoregio and Civita, two hill towns, by bus at 8 am. The weather looked nice when I started out, but a half hour later when we pulled in to Bagnoregio, it was overcast.

Now, you have to walk through Bagnoregio to a bridge and, as I had read, WALK across to Civita or use a mule. So you can imagine my delight when I saw this sign, since it had started raining like hell.




















I had already walked quite a ways in, and it was getting steep. Cars had been passing me, so I figured that they were also driving over there. (I also noticed that my neighbour Jalynn's very agressive Silver Lace Vine has made its way across the Atlantic.)

So, I waited under an umbrella for the bus. When he came by, I stood at the side of the road with my hands together, pleading for him to pick me up. Which he did. I bought my ticket and sat down, and the 4 yentas on the bus gave me the fish eye. The driver backed out, turned around and drove off the way he came. AWAY from Civita.

Now, it was important for them to think I knew what I was doing. So I sat there, proud of the fact that for 70 cents, I was sitting down out of the rain. When he got to the parking lot where I had arrived from Orvieto, he tried to convince me that I needed to get out. I explained that I was going to Civita. He managed to convey that I HAD been at Civita.

Turns out, if I had walked another 25 feet around the corner, I would have seen this...

So he drove me back, and by then it had stopped raining.

Ta Daaaaa!

So the trudging began. And it was over in about 5 minutes - it's not as bad a walk as it looks like.

Except it started to rain again half way over. And my coat isn't quite waterproof.

It's a great view, but it would have been nice to get a drive over in the rain.

Then, just as I got to the top, this little fucker showed up.

Ah, well, it was a pretty town. Eventually the skies cleared.

When I was nearly all the way back, I spotted this critter feeding. Malingering bitch!

Bagnoregio also has its charms.

I'm drying out, and treating my cold with lemon. Gelato (duh!)

On to Siena tomorrow. Ciao!