49. Bologna

Today we're visiting some friends in Bologna, so a perfect excuse to try some very authentic Spaghetti Bolognese. Although Bologna is also famous for its Mortadella, Tortelli and home to European Comissioner Romano Prodi. It's actually my second time here, as I stopped off here briefly after the San Marino Grand Prix with my nephew, Rory and friends. However today I'm with my trusty sidekick, Annette and we have an afternoon to explore a bit more.

We somehow find a restaurant still open and serving lunch at 2.30 and of course we try thier Spag. Bol. it's ok, but nothing spectacular... I suppose Spag Bol is Spag Bol! In Bologna or Worthing! Anyway it's still warm enough to eat outside.

We make our way to the main square, Piazza Maggiore, where Annette gets to see Giambologna's famous statue of Neptune. The city is buzzing, Bologna is home to Europe's oldest University, dating from 1088 and today there are lots of students sprawled over the steps of the Basilica of St. Petronious, Bologna's patron saint. We make a surprising discovery here too, that it's not only Pisa that has a leaning tower! Bologna has one too! Medeival and mentioned of course by ex Bologna university student, Dante in his Divine comedy. Apparently Bologna did have over 200 of these defensive towers, of which sadly only a few remain. They were built over existing Roman ramparts, of which some are still visible today.

The architecture here is superb and there are these very elegant arcades or porticos, 38 km worth apparently, which in the winter months give protection from the wind and rain.

Bologna is one of Italy's top cities for quality of life and it's easy to see why... It also has some interesting nicknames 'The Red' for its communist leanings 'The Fat' for its rich cuisine and 'The learned one' for its University. The University has had many notable students. As well as Dante, Marconi, Copernicus, Petrach, Erasmus, Pope Nicholas V and funnily enough, one time Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett (The area of Worthing in England I lived , with a pub named after the great man)

One church I manage to hunt down is San Domenico. Here there are 3 small sculptures by Michelangelo. An angel holding a candle. St. Proculus, who was a martyr of Bologna and the city's patron St. Petronius. Definitely worth the journey...

(Original journal entry 8/9/02)

48. Montecatini

The September weather is still nice and balmy, not too hot and so perfect for visiting some more small towns.

Montecatini is quite close and so we drive up the 'Firenze mare' motorway to have a peak. The name Montecatini is synonymous with its luxury health spas, playground to the rich and famous who seek to take refuge here and give themselves some serious pampering. The composer Verdi was a frequent visitor and even Mussolini took time out from world domination to bathe here in 1930!



The baths were originally built in 1530 to house the already known Spa waters. The town of Montecatini alto as a strategic stronghold though, goes back to the 1300's, as its excellent location to Florence leant itself to being a close Ally.

Most of the 'Terme' are at the bottom, but at Montecatini 'alto' there is the old, interesting part. We stop at the top for a picnic lunch and enjoy the vast views towards Lucca. We take a wander through the pretty little town and stop for a cappuccino in an outdoor cafe in the main square. Today there is a wedding and it's great to just sit and watch the wedding party outside the cathedral.

In the evening we're playing 'gooseberry' to friends Lydia and Stefano for a truly special meal at the Caffè Concerto in Florence. A very expensive fish restaurant along the Arno River. The risotto is amazing and we enjoy a very memorable evening...



http://www.caffeconcerto.net/florentine-recipes.htm





(Original journal entry 6/9/02)

47. Certaldo

We're back home in Chianti and after one of the worst summers here in living memory, the vines are not so full of grapes and the olive trees have barely produced any fruit. Such is the harsh reality of farming life.

I'm trying to set up some work for September. The academic year doesn't start in earnest until October, only dribs and drabs at the moment. So we have some time to enjoy the local countryside...

Today's destination is Certaldo, a medium sized town in the Val d'Elsa to the south west of Florence. Certaldo is the home town of Giovanni Boccaccio, one of Italy's most famous poets of the Renaissance. After visiting here I bought a copy of his most famous work, The Decameron. It's a collection of 100 short stories about a group of Florentine men and women who flee to the countryside because of the plague. The stories are quite saucy... a predecessor for today's gossip columns?

Here's a Wikipedia link to Boccaccio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Boccaccio

The new part of Certaldo is nothing to write home about, literally! But in order to get to the old town, Certaldo Alto, you have to take the funicular, cable car, very exciting! There are some great views on the way up and the small narrow cobbled streets are quite pretty. There is an interesting town hall and also Boccaccio's house, containing some of his old furniture. They have a couple of festivals here, Boccaccesca, which is a food festival and Mercantia a street festival with musicians and performers. Today though we get a nice flavour for the city, but no gossip to report back!

(Original journal entry 5/9/02)

46. Sicily

After two months of solid graft (honest we did do some work too!) we find ourselves in 'Mafia' country for the briefest of holidays. Some friends, Lydia and Stefano are going to a wedding there and have invited us along to share the apartment they've rented. We fly from Florence to Catania on the Tuesday morning with Lydia and her mother from Belgium. Southern Europe has suffered a really bad summer, with flooding in many countries including Italy, where many vineyards have been ruined... Today however, it's hot and sunny. We're staying in a small town called Patti, which is about a two-hour drive north west from Catania airport. After dumping our stuff at the apartment we head straight for the beach! No time wasted. Finally we’re on holiday!

In the evening we unpack and settle in. Stefano's brother Luca, friend Andrea and Alberto, who lives here in Patti, have brought pizza, which we share outside on the terrace.



Wednesday and we have 'brunch' at a local cafe. Some of the guys are eating croissants filled with ice-cream!!! Too early in the day for ice cream. However here we are introduced to two of Sicily's other delights. 'Arancini' which are balls of rice stuffed with tomato and mozzerella or peas and ragu sauce, rolled in breadcrumbs and then deep fried... mmmm The other thing that I think we will be having a lot of is Lemon 'Granita' which is kind of like an English slush puppy, but made with real, fresh, Sicilian lemons... very refreshing and out of this world! We have several more, but this is the best one. We drive to a different beach at San Giorgio. The sun is in and out and it even rains, but that doesn't stop us from swimming!



In the evening we have been invited to Aberto's. His mother is cooking up what turns out to be a 10 course meal! We are introduced to pasta 'alla Norma' with aubergines and some super strong local home-made wine.



Thursday and we pay the local clothes outlet a visit for some designer browsing, and then it's on to another beach further round at Capo d'Orlando. The sun is back out today, but it's rather windy. We have decided to hire a car for 3 days, so this evening we head up the hill to Goiosa Marea and find a small restaurant for dinner. At 8 o'clock it's almost empty, but by 9 the place is full! We have some great fish and at a really god price as there are only locals here.



Mt. Etna

Friday and everybody has agreed to make the treck up Mount Etna. Last year there was a major eruption and so at the summit there are fresh Lava deposits everywhere. We descend into a huge crater, fortunately it has closed up!

In the evening we all pile back to Alberto's house for banquet number 2.



Taormina

All the guys have gone off to the wedding in Catania today. We have a car and a date with one of Sicily's most beautiful cities, Taormina. We arrive nice and early and take the shuttle bus at the bottom right up to the city walls, 1,500 feet above the coastline. The views from up here are stunning. We take a gentle stroll through the very elegant, cobbled streets and settle down for a relaxing mid-morning cappuccino and I get my first taste of another local speciality, 'Cannoli', little tubes of fried pastry filled with creamy ricotta cheese and flavoured with lemon rind an candied fruit. mmm On the cafe walls we notice signed photos of the owner with Hugh Grant, Naomi Campbell and other luminaries who have also visited the cafe! Obviously they have good taste too! We take a browse round some of the delightful shops and buy a lovely dark blue Murano glass vase and a burgundy organza curtain. Excellent purchases! At one point I even spot Mick Hucknell with a blonde on his arm, apparently he owns a wine estate on Mt Etna and is a regular in Taormina... one thing I will say is "shorts are too tight to mention!" We stop for lunch at a very fashionable looking restaurant and again the walls are plastered with stars... Sophie Loren, Peter Ustinov etc. and what looks like loads of Mafia bosses! We share a pizza and some pasta with a salad and some strong Corvo wine.

In the afternoon we make our way to the Greek theatre, one of the many remnants of Taormina's glorious past. Unfortunately many of the most well preserved temples are on the south west of the island and Sicily is rather larger than we thought! Again the views from the Theatre are breathtaking! They show operas here in the summer months... this year it’s the turn of La Traviata and Cavelleria Rusticana.

In the evening we drive down to the beach at Giardini Naxos nd we enjoy an aperitivo on the front... As the sun goes down the lights all go on and we get an extra surprise as there is a huge electrical storm and power cut ! Scary...

It's time to drive back to Patti, where we're staying and we find a Pizzeria open for an 11.00 pm dinner to finish off a wonderful day...

Sunday and so our brief affair with Sicily is over...we return the car, pack up our things, say our goodbyes to Alberto and his family and get ready for our return trip. This time we're not taking the plane, but driving back to Florence in a Mercedes A class, (very uncomfortable!) which belongs to the guy who got married! His wife's parents are from Sicily, which is why the wedding was here, but they are going to live in Florence. So while they are off on their honeymoon, we drive the car home! It turns out to be a very long and tiring journey. Once we're over the very short ferry crossing at Messina, the roads up through Calabria to Naples aren't very good... They improve up towards Rome and we arrive in Florence extremely late, exhausted, but happy.


(Original journal entry 1/9/02)

45. UK Interlude - Part 2 - August

Saturday 3rd of August and again we escape Worthing, this time we spend a nice day in Chichester. They have a very pretty old town and some nice individual shops. We go on a mad shopping spree! I find some cool linen trousers and shirts and Annette buys about a thousand tops from one shop!

Wednesday 9th we go and see my Neapolitan' Grandmother, Giulia and she cooks us a tasty dinner including my favourites, 'Melanzane alla Parmigiana' and 'Pastiera' now I feel right back home in Italy...



Saturday 10th it’s our nephew and niece, Rory and Bernice's 'happening' party.

Sunday 11th and my family are at the Gun restaurant in Findon for a meal, cooked by my sister, Rita's boyfriend.



 Cambridge -  Saturday, Sunday 17th/18th


We only just manage to make it up to Cambridge for the weekend, to visit Annette's brother, Phil, wife and daughter, Leonie. We drive up and arrive Saturday afternoon. England is enjoying a heat wave, with temperatures nearly up to 30°C! In the evening we have dinner in their garden, with some very nice Australian wine...



Sunday and we enjoy a great fish lunch at Loch Fyne and in the afternoon I finally get to go Punting on the river Camb. Phil rows up stream to show us how it's done and I row back down stream, a lot slower! But at least we don't fall in! A memorable weekend comes to an end as we drive back to Worthing....

It’s our last week in England...work has gone well and we have almost run out of time



Monday 19th and we just manage to squeeze in an evening with Worthing's answer to the Von Trapp family, the all singing, Alison, Rusty and 4 daughters. We enjoy an evening of food, fun, games and music!



Wednesday 21st and a final meal at the Downlands with both our families. For me it's an emotional evening as my brother, Carl is down from Devon.



Friday 23rd and the Nissan Sunny is packed full of various house hold stuff we couldn't fit in the first time round. We say farewell to England, take the night ferry to Dieppe and head toward the Alps! This time we are doing the trip in two days with only one stop in France. We find a hotel in the middle of nowhere and have a cool dinner in their restaurant. I enjoy a wicked cheese platter from a wheel that has cheese so ripe, it's dripping off! We arrive home in Florence on Sunday evening, exhausted, but glad to be home...


(Original journal entry 1/7-28/8/02)

44. UK Interlude - Part 1 - July

We arrive in England on Sunday 30th June, World Cup final day and it's that classic Brazil-Germany match-up in Japan, sealed by the wizardry of Ronaldo, who gives Brazil their 5th World Championship. We manage to see most of my family at my Auntie Lisa and Uncle Derrick's anniversary barbecue.


We're working Monday to Friday at Swandean School of English, where Annette worked before and where I did some summer work before we left for Italy. We know the Director of Studies, Janice and it makes it nice and easy... Then 2 weeks of solid rain! Welcome back to England!

Sunday 7th July and we have dinner at Annette's sister Ruth and Joe's house and get to see most of Annette's family.



Monday 8th  is Salsa night at Café Central. Our aim is to go every Monday evening, but this turns out to be our only visit!


Saturday 13th and a day trip to Brighton for a shopping spree! I buy some new shoes and a Kenzo tie. We have a coffee and cake at an Italian restaurant 'Al Duomo', but it's nowhere near as good as the coffee we have in Italy! In the evening some friends are having an engagement party and fortunately the weather is finally good enough to be outside in the garden, with jumpers of course!


Saturday 20th and only 3 days to go until our 3rd wedding anniversary and we have only 3 hours to choose a present!

Sunday 21st and we have an evening date with the Bard up at Highdown Gardens. Tonight's performance by the Rainbow theatre group is Richard III. A very evil King Richard, all sword fighting and "my Kingdom for a horse!" Excellent. We've brought our prized bottle of Brunello with us which is superb (a 1996 San Carlo) well worth the wait! And fortunately the rain holds off for us to have an enjoyable evening.



Sunday 28th and we're back up Higdown Gardens for our second 'Shakespeare experience' as I get some excellent tips on how to keep the wife under control with the Taming of the Shrew... (In reality quite impossible!)



Tuesday July 23rd

This year we're celebrating our anniversary a day early, as I'm working tomorrow evening. After work I pick up some flowers and we exchange presents. We've booked a table at Trencher's, a decidedly Italian style restaurant. It’s recently changed ownership as the previous guy has moved to somewhere called Tuscany? We enjoy a great evening. Complementary warm breads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, closely followed by complementary crab cakes, which are yummy. We've brought our cards and open them at some point during the evening. For main course I have sea bream wrapped in Parma ham and to finish with we share a chocolate cake. They bring out some complimentary chocolates with our coffee to bring a very special evening to an end...

Saturday 27th July and we spend a day with some friends. We have lunch at their house and in the afternoon visit Bateman's, one time home of Rudyard Kipling. It's a lovely sunny afternoon and a great, typically English house and garden.


(Original journal entry 27/7/02)

43. Moret Sur Loing

After another gruelling 400 miles we find ourselves just south of Paris, in a very pretty little town on the river Loing...

There are posters all over the town of paintings by the English impressionist, Alfred Sisley. Apparently he got here before us and painted some very nice pictures!

We find a small hotel, no honeymoon suite tonight! and take a stroll back through the town.

We get a table at an interesting restaurant we spotted on the way in and settle down to a buffet style dinner.

After a well earned night's rest the next morning we have breakfast in a quaint outside café with croissant and café cremé.

With baguette and camambert in hand we're off on the last leg of our journey, past Paris and on to Dieppe.

An obligatory stop at the Hypermarket to pick up some bottles of wine, Chateauneuf de Pape of course! and then onto the ferry... back to England

(Original journal entry 30/6/02)

42. Storkenzimmer

School's out for the summer! Well at least in Italy... and so we begin our 1,000 mile trek back to England. We've agreed on a leisurely, 3-day journey, as we don't start summer school until 1st August.

We drive up to Bologna, through Parma, Milan and then up towards Switzerland. It's early evening and we decide to look for somewhere to stay on the very pretty Lake Luzern. After rejecting about four places that are either too expensive, or Switzerland's answer to the Bates Motel, we hit the Jackpot! After driving up to a place that looks rather posh, we take a quick peek at the menu, as by now we're getting rather peckish.

Then this man, here, who appears to be a waiter, approaches us. We proceed to tell him that what we're really after is a room for the night, where upon he introduces himself as 'Prince' Joseph and leads us up into the hotel to no less than the honeymoon suite!!! Of course we're thinking, very nice, but how much is it??? And then he boldly declares "tonight is your lucky night, you have won the lottery. All the other rooms are booked, so I'm going to give you this suite for the price of a normal room!"

The room has a huge wooden rocking bed? Oak beams and leather everywhere... and so we're in! We have a lovely diner in the restaurant and a late night stroll by the lake, and then rock ourselves to sleep!



In the morning we feast on an abundant buffet breakfast, rounding off a wonderful 'Swiss' experience and are ready for day 2.

(Original journal entry 29/6/02)

41. San Giovanni

Three days to go and still loads of packing to do before we return to Blighty for July and August. Although we're not taking too much as we've decided to drive the Nissan Sunny back, so as to bring some more of our belongings that we left behind last year..

Today is the last chance to say goodbye to everyone.We won't be seeing them for a couple of months, which seems like forever! It's also a very special day in Florence and will go with a bang... literally!

June 24 is the most important day of the year for Florentines, as it's the festival of  the birth of John the Baptist, their Patron Saint.

When we were here two years ago, we witnessed a very colourful parade in Piazza Signoria, complete with historic costumes, horses, bulls, all on their way to Piazza Santa Croce for 'Calcio Storico' an ancient predecessor to football. It is an Italian style competition, no rules, anything goes, the team with the most goals wins. It's actually more like one big punch up!

Today we stay in the city for the grand finalé, fireworks at 10.00pm. They are magnificent and a fitting way for us to bid Florence a fond farewell... for the time being anyway! and as we leave, our hearts are already aching for the 'Duomo'...









(Original journal entry 24/6/02)

40. Marina di Carrara

Sunday, and we've been invited by friends to the beach at Marina di Carrara. Now I've heard of the Carrara mountains. It's where the marble for Michelangelo's 'David' and thousands of other famous sculptures come from. Huge, white peaks dominating the Appuan Alps, the most North Westerly part of Tuscany, right on the Ligurian border. The beach I didn't know about... The drive is about an hour and a half up the Tuscan coast and is taken today in sweltering heat. About the only thing you can do at the moment is imerse yourself in water!

Our friends know some other friends here who have rented a place on the beach for the whole summer. We enjoy a refreshing swim in the cool clear sea and install ourselves on the golden sands, where we can admire all the slender bronzed beauties... and that's just the men! The setting is almost surreal with these enormous white behemoths emerging in the background, appearing to be covered with snow!

After a very relaxing day we drive back to Chianti and are too tired to cook, so we decide to check out yet another new restaurant, San Martino on the Chiantigiana, just outside Impruneta. It's a hot and sticky night and the large garden is packed. We are on a table next to an old, fat  guy and his rather younger, more beautiful date! The food as ever is impeccable.




(Original journal entry 21/6/02)

 http://www.ristorantepescefirenze-sanmartino.com/index.html

39. Al Fresco

Our last week in Tuscany, before the summer break has a somewhat familiar pattern to it... Swimming pool - Restaurant - Swimming pool - Restaurant!  All of course Al Fresco, or as they really say here, 'Al Aperto' (in the open air) Work has all but finished and the weather is still white hot! Today I must have had at least 10 cold showers!  Wednesday afternoon and I meet up with Annette for a dip in our local outdoor pool in Greve, (our 4th visit this week!) Too much effort to go home and cook! We decide to check out this restaurant in Montefioralle, the little hamlet above Greve.

http://www.greve-in-chianti.com/guerrino.htm

 They have an outdoor terrace with the most spectacular view and we share a huge Florentine steak and enjoy the balmy evening...

Saturday and Annette has her final exam for her Business English course and this afternoon she needs total relaxation.... so only one place to go then!

It really is too hot to do anything else and our outdoor pool gets another visit (we're thinking of taking up residence here!) and we're not even on holiday yet!  Saturday evening another new restaurant. This time we head to San Polo-in-Chianti, just down the road. There is an 'Osteria' (a traditional restaurant) La Paglietta, that's been recommended to us and the outside terace is bursting at the seems. At 9 o'clock we just manage to find a table. This evening we have a very tasty pizza, rather cheaper than our steak the other evening. The restaurant is buzzing with life and there is a great atmosphere, this could become our 'local'. Is this what Saturday evenings are made for?

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Italy/San_Polo-143524/Restaurants-San_Polo-BR-1.html#0

(Original journal entry 24/6/02

38. The Shadow of Genius at the Palazzo Strozzi

Florence is in the middle of a massive heat wave. Temperatures are touching the 40° C mark and the humidity is almost 100% !!! Cold showers and ice-cold drinks throughout the day are a must.


Fortunately we've discovered an open-air swimming pool down the road in Greve where we can go and take refuge!

At the moment there are three Michelangelo exhibitions on and this one at the very fashionable Strozzi Palace, which is opposite one of the places we are working, the British Institute. The title comes from a Michelangelo quotation, when he had finished painting the Sistine chapel and Pope Julius saw it for the first time he called Michelangelo a genius, to which Michelangelo replied. "If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius; it is but a shadow of divine perfection." Profound words indeed!

And so this exhibition shows the influence this great artist had on his contemporaries and masters of the following century. The exhibition has some 150 pieces by artists such as Cellini, Vasari, Giambologna, Pontormo, Bronzino and others. Michelangelo's Apollo sculpture is here as well as the very funny 'Mengone' dwarf from Boboli gardens. The Giambologna sculptures are cool and there are some pieces here too, by Leonardo da Vinci's grandson, Piero. There is also some Baroque music to set the atmosphere for a well put together exhibition....


Here's a link to the exhibition:
http://www.italica.rai.it/eng/principal/topics/art/michelangelo_genio.htm

(Original post 17/6/02)

37. San Vincenzo

Well June is well under way, but unfortunately for us work seems to be winding down for the summer break. Here in Italy the state schools break up at the beginning of June and restart in September... that's three months summer holiday! Pretty long when you compare it to the six weeks we get in England. Our courses are finishing and we've decided to go back to England and do summer school in Worthing for July and August. Kind of painful when you think that summer is just getting into full swing. Our leaving date is 28th June, so we have another two weeks to have some fun!

Today is our last full Saturday as next week Annette has an exam for a 'Business English' training course that she's in the middle of doing. So we need something special to make up for it. Annette's good pal, 'Belgian' Lydia comes up with the goods and has invited us to the beach... hurrah!
We meet up with her and her boyfriend, Stefano and about ten others at San Vincenzo, a town between Livorno and Grosseto. The sun is out, thermometer has his 30° C and we are swimming in crystal clear sea, lying on powder white sand and all this is an hour and a half from Florence!

The place is packed and we enjoy a great day on this very nice beach. In the afternoon we up the tempo with some crazy ball games, volleyball, volley football, volleyball in the sea! Racquetball, racquetball in the sea! I think that Italians have all these beach games down to a fine art.

One of the group has a summer house here, so we all pile back to Luciano's house for a cold shower and change into some smart evening wear...

We stroll back into the town which at 7.30 is buzzing with life. All the shops are still open and everybody is piling into the many restaurants. This must be a cool place as I even bump into my very trendy boss, Luigi who has two sexy Italian ladies clinging to his side! This is the kind of Italy you imagine...

We install ourselves into a very swanky looking restaurant, 'Il Cantinone' the place is bursting with fresh fish and we have a very tasty and lively evening... Wow, what a fabulous place! And we made some new friends too! 

(Original journal entry 15/6/02)

36. Lake Trasimeno

After our visit to the beach a few weeks ago, for today's excursion we have chosen to go inland to Lake Trasimeno.
It's the 4th largest lake in Italy and about an hour and a quarter's drive away from Greve. We've heard about the lake from Frances Mayes' books as her house is nearby in Cortona. It's another one of those gloriously hot, sunny days, perfect maybe for a dip later.

We arrive at the lake on the west side in the small town of Castiglione. We stop here and have lunch on a sandy beach. A few people are paddling and we relax in the sun. After about an hour we decide to explore a bit further... driving clockwise through the southern part, we come to the town of San Feliciano. Here there are a couple of beaches. One is packed, loud music, basketball court... and the other, pretty, quiet, with some nice jazz music easing its way from the bar. We opt for the latter and enjoy a nice cold drink on the lawn.

 In true Annette fashion, we're off again in search of the perfect beach! Of course we find it a bit further round and we finally get to have our swim! It seems that you can only swim at certain beaches on the lake. The views are great too. There are three tiny islands rising up out of the middle, Isola Maggiore, Minore and Polvese.

The lake turns out to be much better than we had expected and the lake contains Pike, Carp and Tench, so we must stay for dinner.

We drive round to our final destination, Passignano, which is one of the main towns on the lake. We fall on this cute restaurant with candlelit tables spilling out onto the street, perfect. The fish is wonderful, as is our first trip to Umbria and this magical lake.








(Original journal entry 1/6/02