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Yesterdays adventures

Next episode now: The famous and much anticipated lunch was yesterday. I stayed home in the morning with the foot up in preparation for an afternoon of eating and drinking.

We got a taxi to this restaurant called Butterfly outside the walls and down along the river in the most beautiful garden setting, We sat outside for the next 4 hours and ate the most amazing degustation menu accompanied by wine. It was really very special.

I had a little wooden box that I found to put my leg up and I was in heaven!!

There isn’t too much more I can say about that. It is quite an achievement for us all to be there.

We got back to Lucca and I had a couple of hours rest before we met again for drinks. The Italians always give you food with your drinks so that was meal enough after lunch.

Over drinks I had a consultation with the dear and wonderful Dr Andrew who felt that my leg wasn’t good enough to stop antibiotics ( a bit red and a bit warm) so he wants me to stay on them for another course and then stop with leg up ++++.

I can’t tell you how good it is to have him helping me. He thinks the back is broken (of the infection) but I need to treat it with great respect he tells me!!!

They leave tomorrow (Tuesday) but he is very happy for me to text/ take photos etc if I need to. Your photos were fantastic Rose because he went through them and saw what it was like when I left hospital and saw that it isn’t quite back to that point after the flight etc.. So…enough!! Suffice to say having him here was so fortuitous and has given me confidence. I hope the Calamia crew are reading this (in fact I might copy them into the email in case) because they will be interested in the important part Andrew B is playing in my survival!!

This morning I went off to get coffee. Bought some reading glasses and wandered a bit before coming home to get the leg up again. Andrew then txted and suggested we go to this exhibition at the art gallery as Desiree and Gail were out shopping. So off we trotted forgetting of course (Rosa you will know the feeling) that it is Monday and it was closed. So we had a coffee and back I came to…you guessed it….put the leg up.

We are meeting again this evening for drinks and a meal.

The others, Ann and Simon, have to move out of their accommodation for the night tonight so they have farmed their kids out to someone else and they are coming to stay here for the night.

I’m using this time in Lucca to get the leg under control so I can manage the next phase of travelling around.

Thats it for now… more tomorrow.

P1110777

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Here beginneth another adventure

Its been so busy since arriving in Italy I haven’t had a minute to do anything other than tell you I’d arrived. But there is much to tell and its all about having a lovely time.

The flight was as fine as long flights can be called fine. Everything went on time and I had a seat between me and the next person on both legs. Not enough to put the leg up or spread out but certainly great to relieve the squishy pressure.

On the second leg the woman next to me was the chatty type but quite nice really. It was her first time to Italy and she was travelling alone so a bit of a kindred spirit so we bonded enough to share a taxi into Rome which was great so I didn’t have to get on the bus or train and the cost wasn’t formidable.

I arrived and Chris was at work. At this stage I was really worried about my leg, it was red and looked like it looked when I first went into hospital. I thought it was fucked but there were things I had to do so off I went. Hair cut tick, set up phone tick (had to get a new number because they had cancelled my old one. Then buy reading glasses tick and then I’d promised to meet my new friend from the plane for a Spritz at Piazza Navona. Another tick. But worried about my leg I declined a second drink and went home to get it up. When Chris came home we drank lots of wine, ate and I went to bed. All in all jet lag has passed me by (again)and after a good nights sleep I was back to normal.

So next day, it was coffee in the morning and then off to the station to get my train to Lucca. It is hot and sweaty and I wandered up Lucca station to find that my friend Ann was there to meet me. That was so nice, she grabbed my case and walked me to my apartment. We then went out and had lunch together, sat for ages catching up. Then I tootled back to my apartment for a shower. Andrew and Desiree were also arriving in the afternoon and we all met up for aperitivo’s at 6. That was also amazing. That we had pulled it off and all had actually made their way to Lucca from Australia. Then it was on for a great dinner with Andrew, Desiree and Gail. More wine and food and then they came back to my apartment for a bit more wine in case hadn’t had enough!!

So to today which is the day of the special lunch. We’re meeting at 12.30 to get into 2 taxis to get there. I’m spending the morning just lounging around with leg up…Ive even forgone a coffee!!

The other really good thing is that Andrew has been so supportive with the leg thing. He’s given me hope that it is not too disastrous. Given me lots of advice and will review it with regard to whether to come off antibiotics or not. So I’m more relaxed about it all.

More after the lunch. I think I’ve changed my mind about needing a coffee. Think I’ll wander off to get one!!

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Back to the quiet Lucca life

Norjie left after coffee yesterday. In our travels over the previous few days I had acquired a really sore foot…some sort of stupid and annoying tendonitis which had me hobbling along like some sort of old duck. Anyway that was my excuse for a fairly quiet day yesterday. Its hard to get motivated to be doing during the day like I was before the heat hit, and a sore foot lowers the motivation level even more. However there was the issue of Italian lessons to resolve. Something I knew I had to do but had been procrastinating about it something shocking. I really have found my lack of progress depressing.

So it was on to the bike (thank god for the bike) and off to school to talk to Angelo and Daniela about what the hell I should do. They are so lovely there, they really are. I chatted to them (I was almost in tears!!) and have resolved to give it one last hit. This is 2 weeks of class (I told them I didn’t want to go up a level like they thought I should) and the first week while Norjie is away I’m also having 3 private lessons in the afternoon with my dear Ele to see if we can push me a bit harder. It was lovely seeing Ele again, it’s like meeting up with old friends. I have to miss a day of school to go to Bologna next week for my dental hygiene!!

After going to school I went up to the wall and peddled for a while (the heat has reduced the distance I go!!) to make myself take deep breathes at taking the challenge of Italian back on board. Then home to cool off and put my foot up. Chris and I are in regular touch at the moment as we plan our 2 weeks of travelling together in August. Chris has found us a magnificent house through friends of friends on a cliff top over a private beach (80 steps down to it, but I’m sure the incentive will be great) just out of Trieste. The plan is that we use this lovely place to explore Slovenia (thanks Ham and Ariane…this plan came out of my suggestion which was your suggestion!!). So Albania is now off the table and Slovenia is confirmed with Trieste as the base.

My challenge is to get myself from Matera to Trieste. If I’d known this is the way things would go I wouldn’t have gone south after Lucca. I also have to cut Matera short by 4 days which of course I will need to pay for at this stage. All very small prices to pay!!

This morning the foot is feeling much better but I’ll stick to the bike today just to be sure.

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Guests leave and I regroup!

This morning we (Shamala, Alan and I) were up and off to coffee and cornetto before walking to the station with their luggage for them to get on the train and head for Roma.

There was a bit of anxiety about their luggage but they got on the train and off they went. I assume they are there safely and soundly.

I came home and went off to the laundromat with the biggest bag of laundry you have ever seen. I had to use my bike as a pack horse because I couldn’t carry it at all. Anyway, it got done and much of the rest of the day was spent getting the beds made and the apartment back with me in the main bedroom etc. Now all organised and ready to go!!

I also went out and did a bit of shopping, stocked up on some food and wine to keep me going etc. The most exciting part of a very domestic day was deciding to go to London for a last Hurrah with Ham and Az on the last weekend in June. I’ve booked flights from Pisa to London and then London to Rome. The flight from London to Rome was cheaper than the train fare from Lucca to Rome. Anyway, I’m excited about that. We are going to go to the Cotswolds for the weekend. That is so lovely and a good break and treat. Otherwise very quiet around here. I’ve got a cold and its quite hot here so I didn’t expend much energy out in the big wide world today.

I think this week is going to be a rather quiet week. Then I start lessons again next week.

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Back to school

Up and off to school again this morning. Not nearly as good this week. Susana and I have been joined by one other student, an american man who is a beginner but actually speaks Mandarin, Japanese and Korean so he can’t be dumb. But he is a very conservative american in Italy with his wife. He is way behind the ball when it comes to knowing even the basics of italian so he was totally lost. We have a new teacher and she is much harder to follow and doesn’t give you the lesson and then the conversation so you tend to get lost and not know what you need to be doing. It’s harder for Bruce (yes, he really is a Bruce, I thought that name belonged to Australians). So where last week I thought I was making some small gains, this week it is down the plughole and back to base 1 !! Also the ambience/ collegiate feel of the class has gone…oh well!!

Susana and I went off for lunch after the lesson and met up with some other people from school at the restaurant which was nice even if they were speaking Italian diligently over lunch and most of it went over my head. Nice (and new for me) restaurant though. Then we all parted company and I set off on my bike to do my mandatory around the wall…made it 3 times again but god my bum will hardly hold me up at the end of it.

Then I came home and have been doing my revision / writing up all the rest of the afternoon. I’m exhausted. Last episode of Newsroom tonight..I’m reluctant to play it cos I hate finishing series that I have bonded with and am so enjoying. It’s like losing a friend.

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Getting back into Roma

Today was a day to walk the area around Monti and sort out my new environment. Feeling like a stranger, of course, and I always struggle with that but I have conquered the essentials:

a) I have found my wine shop, directly over the road from the apartment, where I can not only buy a nice bottle of wine but also get a 1.5 litre plastic bottle for 2.40 Eu…this of course is very bad for me and puts temptation right in my path.
b) I found the supermarket but probably not the one I would want, it is upmarket and expensive.
c) I found the bank to extract all my hard earned money to pay the landlord and signed off on the contract. I
d) have the best gelato shop within 200M…another very bad thing requiring even more discipline, not that I was disciplined today. It was a most wonderful, sunny day with the sun just pouring down and warm so I sat int the sun a couple of times and just lapped it up. On one such occasion the sit in the sun was enhanced by a gelato.
e) I found a salumeria that is run by an Australian/ Italian who helped me choose a nice cheese
and best of all:
f) I found a delicious bar for my morning coffee.

So the day went by and I feel more acclimatised at the end of it.

I’m about to get on the bus when I finish this and take myself back to my ‘old’ area to meet Chris for dinner. It will be lovely to catch up with her and relay both of our goings on over the last month.

Not too much excitement other than this. My challenge now is to find myself a ‘life’ in Roma. Hopefully I will get to know the city much better over the next 6 weeks.

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Venice gone totally feral

Oh my God!! Until now Carnevale has been fun and entertaining and manageable but today it became totally nightmarish.

Tull and I went our different ways and I started the day going far away down past the Arsenale…down the Grand Canal…so I had a nice morning, there were people around but it was all nice and gentile. I then walked back along the Grand Canal and as I approached the Sam Marco it suddenly became total chaos with police out directing the hoards of pedestrians.

As amazingly as you could imagine I bumped into Tull and we walked together for a while and were able to manoeuvre ourselves around although there were pockets of standstill pedestrians. We sat for a while in San Marco Square at the seating of a restaurant, of course expecting to have to pay a fortune for a drink. But after a while when no-one approached us we decided we’d had our burst of people watching and didn’t need to pay for the drink as well, so we left. We walked around for ages and found a small place to stop and have lunch and a drink. That was a pleasant interlude.

We then parted company again and each of us entered the fray that was building up by the hour. I went back to San Marco where there is always something happening and sat and watched the judging of the best costume thing that happens every day. I got into it and had my voting card in action. It was a great exercise in being part of a real Carnival.

Then I left there and decided to start walking back to the apartment. That’s when it really got crazy. Standstill pedestrian traffic, you literally couldn’t move, quite scary at times with people getting cross (usually Venetians trying to get through). I spent just ages getting home because I couldn’t move and I couldn’t see where I was going. Today is Valentines Day and it’s big here…there is a ‘love in’ in San Marco’s this evening so the crowds were truly horrendous, although not very loving!!!

Anyway to cut a long story short I got back. I was sure I didn’t have any wine left so detoured to buy my supply, only to find I had nearly a whole bottle at home. As we leave Monday that has me with a surplus but I think the way things are shaping up I’ll need it!!
I have to say that sadly I think I’m just about over Carnevale. There is a massive happening in San Marco tomorrow that I guess we’ll have to brave but honestly I rather dread it. I think the sanity of Rome again will be a welcome relief!! The glamour of Carnevale has definitely faded as Venice becomes totally overrun by the hoards from all over Italy and all over Europe.

Hopefully I’ll survive to write of tomorrow although being crushed to death is a real possibility!!!

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Another day in Venice and a missed episode!!

Firstly I realised last night that I had completely missed a day in my narrative. So yesterday we went to Murano but the day before I missed completely I think. This was when we went to 2 lovely islands, Torcello and Burano. Torcello has little on it but this one church that has mosaics second only to Ravenna. Amazing really. And then Burano is the quaintest, loveliest little township with brightly coloured houses along lovely canals. Quite a treat to wander around and at Carnevale it becomes a bit of a focus with lots of people (mainly French people on the day we were there) in all the getup wandering around. So that was a really nice day, it was sunny, vaguely warm ( or at least trying) and gorgeous.

So now I skip a day and come to today. First stop was the Academia Gallery. I won’t stop and talk to much about it, it was fabulous, magnificent,Venetian artists on display in all their grandeur. Took ages and ages to get around it all but around it we went absorbing the grandeur of it all. Tull and I then parted company. So as this is my story I will proceed. I went to Scuola Grande di San Rocco which is Tintoretto in overdrive, the place is totally covered in his frescoes and canvasses. There are also wood carvings extraordinaire and it all adds up to a massive insult on the senses. Then to Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari where there are even more Tintoretto’s, amazing choir stalls, fabulous mausoleums carved by Canova etc. Not to go on and on because it gets very boring. Suffice to say that this trip has been full of extraordinary art to the point that the senses actually do get overloaded.

So I left the churches and the masters and went to San Marco to join the Carnevale crowd. And crowd it is, increasing every day with the crescendo being this weekend. I sat in San Marco to watch one of the costume judgings and had myself a hot chocolate. The people being judged in splendiferous costumes were from Italy, UK, France, Russia, Switzerland…it is a very European happening. I enjoyed that little sojourn enormously. Then I walked home from San Marco, stopping for a Vino Brule along the way for old times sake.

By 5pm it’s getting really cold so its always good to get back for a bit of catch up time before the need to forage for dinner.

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Of Murano and Peggy Guggenheim

Busy, busy day today. The day always starts with a cappuccino and a ‘dolce’ of some sort. I’ve become totally dysfunctional without my coffee (often=2) in the morning. My first cappuccino in the morning and my first glass of wine in the afternoon are invariably highlights of my day and never, ever to be gone without (if anybody even suggests that is bad English I’ll be mortified).

Then we set out for Murano, the third Island that we decided not to see yesterday. This entails getting a Vaporretto to cross the Grand Canal, a walk across to the other side and then another Vaporretto to Murano (or yesterday Torcello and Burano). The vaporetto rides are great but at the moment, with Carnevale in full swing, it’s a wonder they don’t tip over (I’ve touched wood!!) they are so full of tourists. Mainly European tourists, the French seem to have entirely abandoned France and headed for Venice, the Germans and the English follow suit. Then there’s the odd few thousand of Chinese, Japanese and Korean. So the Italians on the vaporettos who are trying to go about their business are often very grumpy.

Anyway we got to Murano and it was lovely. It was nice and quiet off the main drag and a lot less tourists than were in Burano yesterday. We went to the glass museum which was interesting, then to a church whose name escapes me(something Donato) but with wonderful mosaic floors and a wonderful mosaic dome. Anyone reading this will know how I love a good mosaic. Then we walked from the side of the island where we got off the vap. to the other side to get back to the mainland. As if that wasn’t enough, we had planned to go to the Peggy Guggenheim Art Museum and we stuck to the plan even though I was having second thoughts about tackling such an important collection already feeling tired.

Having said that as soon as I got in amongst it any thoughts of being tired vanished; it is such a truly amazing collection of art. I was just gobsmacked by the representation of all the most amazing talent pulled together by this woman..Picasso, Dali, Ernst, Klee, Miro, Pollock, Mirando to name but a few. I was truly in awe.

Finished the excitement of this gallery with an Aperol Spritz and came home. 3 more days in Venice which is a city bursting at the seams and full of excitement which is a good thing and in some ways it brings a few trials.
Having my pre-dinner vino and before you know it it will be time to go out foraging for a meal again.
Lots of love to everyone who reads this, all of whom I miss greatly.

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Enjoying Venice

Yesterday was a day of exploring Venice and getting our bearings in this city of getting lost!! We started off by trying to make our way back to the Vaporetto stop near the apartment but of course failed and walked around in circles. We finally found another Vaporetto stop and hopped on to go to San Marco (as you do…and as do 50 million other tourists!!).

We went to San Marco Duomo with its golden mosaics and then spent time in the Doges Palace which was also very interesting. But the nicest part of the day is that the sun was shining very determinedly and the warmth was trying hard to push through the iciness. There are people parading everywhere in their Carnevale costumes, it is fantastic. Never a dull moment really. They are young and old, fat and thin and all decked out with masks and extraordinary costumes. Marvellous really. I think it reaches its pinnacle at the weekend.

This is such a nice apartment that it makes staying here a treat specially after the very basic place we stayed in Florence where my room smelt of mould. So we came back to the apartment earlyish, stopped at a Salumeria on the way back to pick up some cheese and Salami for lunch and had lunch back here. That was good and gave us some downtime.

Then later we went out again to find a place to eat. We sat down in the first restaurant, looked at the menu and realised that there weren’t dishes under 40 Euro. We nearly freaked and then had to explain that we weren’t staying. It was hard particularly as the waiter insisted on thinking we were saying we wanted the menu in English…humiliating!!! Tull had to put up with my bad mood until we found another place to eat that was acceptable. We had a nice meal of cuttlefish cooked in the ink. It is a signatory dish in Venice and absolutely delicious.

Then home to bed. I get woken in the morning by people in their boats outside my window, how lovely is that. Also a Skype call from Sally and Gordon this morning which was lovely.
Today we are going off to some islands to get a feel for them. We have to work out how to use the Vaporettos to get to them all and between them. More later then