March Break

We are now back in Lanciano after a two week March break.  We had the opportunity of travelling to Sorrento, Pompeii, Amalfi Coast, Capri, Matera, Alberobello in Italy with one of our daughters Diane.  Then George and I spent a few days in Monaco with day trips to Nice, Cannes and Antibes, France.  Throughout the whole trip we enjoyed good company, good food, good wine and lots of walking and touring.  

Toby spent his March Break vacation with Maria & Tonino, a local couple who love dogs and love taking care of Toby and spoiling him.  I think Toby put on 10 lbs, so he is now on a strict diet.  We are so fortunate for Maria and Tonino to look after Toby while we travel.  

After picking up Diane at the airport we spent four nights in Sorrento.  Our hotel was located at the top of Sorrento with a great view of the Mediterranean Sea.  We used the hotel shuttle to take us back and forth from Sorrento.  The hotel driver looked like Robert DeNiro.  

On our first full day in Sorrento our plan was to take the train to Pompeii in the morning and then return to Sorrento and spend the afternoon touring the area. When we got to the train station we learned that the trains were on strike and no trains would be running that day.  Instead we decided to take the local bus to the Amalfi Coast taking in Revello and Positano.  We had a great lunch in Revello which consisted of fagoli (bean) soup. The woman who does the cooking is your Italian mama. She comes out with her apron on and her ankle socks and takes your order and kept trying to push food on us, wanting to make sure that when we leave we have full bellies. After lunch we went to our favorite ceramic store and introduced Diane to the owner.  He remembered us from our frequent visits before and gave us a discount on our purchases.  We then headed to Positano and wandered the streets before heading back to Sorrento. 

Having a cappucino at the start of our day

Amalfi Coast

The next day in the morning we set our for Pompeii.  We headed to the train station only to find out that the trains were not running again as there was another strike, but only for the morning.  We spent the morning touring and shopping in Sorrento. We then took the afternoon train to Pompeii. This is an ancient Roman city near Naples.  In 79AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted destroying and burying the town in 6 meters of pumice and ash.  It was discovered in the 16th century when excavation began in 1748.  Apparently volcanos are known to erupt every 2000 years and Mount Vesuvius is overdue.  As a consequence of learning this, Diane kept a watchful eye on Mount Vesuvius during our visit.

Mount Vesuvius

On our final day in Sorrento our plan was to go to Capri by ferry.  We took the shuttle bus down from the hotel when half way down the bus broke down.  We abandoned the van and then were taken down to the boat to Capri in the hotel owner’s car. 

While in Capri we went to Anacapri where we took in the Blue Grotto, the chairlift to the top for a magnificent view spoiled somewhat by fast moving fog rolling in.  

Heading into the Blue Grotto

Inside the Blue Grotto

Tile floor inside a church in Anacapri

Capri

The next morning we left Sorrento and headed to the heel of Italy and stayed three nights in Matera, an Unesco World Heritage Site.  We stayed in Matera’s ancient town called the Sassi.  The Sassi originate from a prehistoric settlement and are suspected to be some of the first human settlements in Italy.  The Sassi are houses dug into the rock, in otherwords caves.   Our hotel room was a cave.  Matera is where the movie The Passion of Christ with Mel Gibson was filmed.  We enjoyed our time hiking through the many valleys and exploring the caves in the area.

Sassi

Diane & George standing outside our cave hotel

Diane in a cave

Relaxing outside of our hotel cave room

Looking up at the bottom of the valley

On our last day we took a day trip to a town called Alberobello, also a Unesco World Heritage site.  This area is known for trulli houses.  Trulli houses are circular buildings with conical roofs.  The walls and openings are usually white washed and the stoned roofs have religious, pagan or magical symbols painted on them.

Trulli Houses

Trulli Houses

It was then time for Diane to head back to Toronto and get back to reality.  George and I then flew to Monaco for a few days.  How can I describe Monaco?  Bentleys, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, Lotus, MacLaren, Lamborghini, Mercedes everywhere you turned, private yachts galore, fashionable people at the Casino.  There is a outdoor cafe by the casino, you can get a hamburger for 27 euros.  We went to the Monaco Cathedral and the Palace.  Monaco is a beautiful country.  We also took day trips to Nice, and Antibes and Cannes. Each of them are charming in their own way. 

George's wannabe

Speechless

This yacht is from Nova Scotia, Canada

Monaco's cathedral

The Casino

Monaco

Breakfast one morning - cost us 6 euros each

In Cannes

Cannes

Antibes

We are now back in Lanciano, and feel so fortunate that we have travelled to many places in Europe in such close proximity...and our travelling days aren’t over!

Gourmet Umbria

March 11, 2012

March Break is here, yahoo!  The students all left Friday for a two break week.  

Yesterday, George and I decided to do a day’s drive.  After going down to the Mercato (market) for our weekly Saturday cappuccino and cornetta (marmalade croissant) we headed out in our little Fiat for our day’s adventure.  We drove through the Province of Umbria, and for foodies it is the place to go.  Our first stop was Norcia.  This town is known as Italy’s finest for their dried and cured meats.  We saw many shops with sausages and the like hanging from the ceiling (Christine, tell Terry he would be salivating if he were here).  The town is also a large producer of truffles and related products.  As we were in Norcia over lunch, we bought a couple of sandwiches filled with fresh prosciutto and arugula  and had a little picnic sitting in the square.  

We then headed to Spoleto.  Our route through the Apennine Mountains was beautiful.  Many of the exposed rocks had touches of pink.   Spoleto is a beautiful town with ancient Roman buildings and streets and lovely middle ages articecture.  in particular because of its location, the dense forests in the high country is where you find the very expensive truffles.

Upon returning to Lanciano in the early evening we had a feast of fresh sausages, cheese and pasta for dinner and of course a nice rich red Montepulciano wine.

This morning we did our valley walk, 6.5 km with Toby.  

Tomorrow morning Toby will be going to Maria's and Tonino's home for his vacation.  Toby loves going to their home.  They treat him like a king.  Once we drop Toby off we are then headed to Rome to pick up Diane and then head down to Sorrento.  

Shrove Tuesday, Portugal & The Netherlands

March 2, 2012

Last Sunday Shelagh arrived to spend the week with us during her Reading Week. We had a good week of resting, shopping, walking, eating and drinking. 

All that week, the children in town were dressed up for Carnival.  The evening prior to Lent we had fireworks.  There is also a tradition in Lanciano of having paper mache figures admist the fireworks.  As a finale, firecrackers are exploded around various parts of a paper mache man (I will leave that to your imagination).   The finale occurs when they blow his head off; then everyone cheers. 

Paper mache man before his demise

He is on fire!

End result

On Friday morning we were up bright and early to go to Lisbon, Portugal for the weekend.   This is one of the most ancient cities of the world.  It is known as the City of the Explorers.   Upon our arrival we settled into our hotels rooms.  We then went to the Oceanario, the world’s second largest aquarium discovering the wonders of the earth’s four great oceans.  We then went up the Elevator Santa Justa, a lookout point and had a view of the city.  George, Shelagh and I enjoyed a nice evening sitting outside in the main area of the city for dinner and had Paella.  Delicious.

Ocenario

Oceanario

George and Shelagh hamming it up!

Overlooking Lisbon 

Saturday morning we started our day by taking the subway, which in itself are the cleanest and most artistic I have ever seen.  We headed to Belem Tower, a fortified tower located between the River Tago and the Ocean.  It played an important role in the Portuguese maritime discoveries.  This tower is a UNESCO world heritage site.   We then went and saw the Discoveries Monument, a statue that commemorates and celebrates the many Portugese sailors who set out to discover the rest of the world.  From there we walked over to Jeronimos Monastery, a most impressive symbol of Portugal’s power and wealth during the Age of Discovery.

Tile wall in subway station

Belem Tower

At the top of Belem Tower

At the top of Belem Tower

The Discoveries Monument

Jeronimos Monastery

For the rest of the day we walk through the city. We took the famous Tram 28 through the old parts of Lisbon on very narrow streets.

Tram 28

Our evening meal was at a Fado restaurant where we enjoyed dinner and music.  We were served traditional Portuguese food and enjoyed the music of a solo performer, accompanied by two guitarists. 

Upon arrival back into Rome Sunday, George and the students headed back to Lanciano.  Shelagh and I stayed in Rome overnight as she had an early flight back to Canada.  

After Shelagh left, I headed off to Amsterdam to visit good friends Carolyn and Jim Richardson.  Carolyn and I have known each other since the age of 15.  It was good to spend time together and to catch up.  In the afternoon we went into their local town Wassenaar which is a very pretty town where all the locals ride their bicycles to get around.  We visited the cheese shop to buy some local Amsterdam cheese and then the chocolate shop.  Upon arrival back to Carolyn’s home, two of her ex-pat friends came over for cheese and wine. 

Wassenaar

How people get around in town

On Tuesday, we headed down to the sandy beach nearby on the North Sea coast.  From there we headed to the town of Delft which is  another very pretty town with canals all around.  This town is famous for its Delft blue pottery and where the painter Vermeer lived. He painted the famous painting ":The Girl with the Pearl Earring".  From there we drove through the The  Hague, the capital city of the province of South Holland in The Netherlands.  Many foreign embassies are located here.  We then went back to the house and enjoyed wine and cheese until Jim came home for dinner. 

At the beach, North Sea

Carolyn

Delft

Carolyn made me do it and we hadn't had any wine yet!

Cheese Shop

Wednesday we started our day by driving through a small town (sorry can’t remember the name) in the search of windmills.  I didn’t realize that people actually live in windmills. 

Windmills

Me standing beside a windmill

After our windmill search we headed to Leiden, a university town.  It is also where the Pilgrms lived in the early 17th century before departing to Massachusetts and New Amsterdam in the New World.

Leiden

Leiden

That evening, Carolyn and Jim took me out to a fabulous restaurant. 

Jim, myself and Carolyn

Fresh tulips from Holland

I am now back in Lanciano.  We have March Break coming up at the end of next week.  Diane will be joining us for her first week where we will depart to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast.  Once Diane heads home, George and I are off to Monaco for a few days.