Grappa and Italian Jam

Here is our first travel blog from Europe.

After 39 hours travelling we finally arrived in Manarola, our home in the Cinque Terre. Bobbie the Barina took us to Sydney without any problems where we met up with Anna and Sam. We got rid of our suitcases which were only slightly over the weight limits, we still had our heavy backpacks containing our travel books, maps, computer , cameras and “Karen” our GPS. After a 39 hour trip it was a struggle having to carry all this luggage up and down the steps on the Italian railway stations. Travel tip No.1 - Travel light!

The flight to Abu Dhabi was crowded and we were blessed by the presence of a mother with 3 kids under 5 two rows in front of us. From Abu Dhabi to Milano it was less crowded and Fran managed to snaffle an empty row of 4 seats to lie down on. But her glee was quickly tempered when she discovered that she couldn’t raise the middle armrests and had to become a contortionist to get some sleep. In Milan we negotiated some tricky train connections and managed to see the Duomo and the impressive Vittorio Emanuele Arcade full of fashion houses which led to La Scala opera house which was not an impressive façade. By this stage we were flagging badly, so went back to Milano Centrale, picked up our left luggage and caught our train to Monterosso, and then a local train to Manarola packed with people coming home from their day at the beach.

This is a unique region in Italy where the five villages seemingly cling to the rock cliffs as you can see in the photos. In the picture above, ours is the yellow building with green shutters at the top right. The sunset shot is taken from our terrace where we enjoyed an apperitivo last evening.

This time we have not done all the walks between the villages opting for the two easier ones. On the first day we thought breakfast would be difficult for Fran but after trying a couiple of cafes she managed to get the message across in Italian that she was unable to eat wheat to which the lady replied - Ok “pane gluten free” - fantastic! They also offered GF pasta so we booked there for dinner that night. Fran made a friend - after a huge plate of pasta (first course only) the owner personally delivered a warm GF bread roll - “for you”.

Sat next to an Australian family from Brisbane with two adult kids. It was the couple’s first trip to Europe and they had backpack tags - his read “Spending the Kids’ Inheritance” and hers - “Adventure before Dementia”. They told us about a bar next door where each night musicians jammed with guitars, harmonica and anyone singing. So after some good food, wine and company and a grappa on the house, we adjourned to the bar - cantina. Great atmosphere there. After the crowd had thinned and with a bit more fortification, Fran took up the bar stool near the mic and sang “Yesterday” and “Georgia on my mind” - with a Canadian and an Australian adding in some harmony.

Last night we dined at Trattoria dal Billy - strange name for an Italian! We had superb oven baked sea bass - simple fare - beautifully cooked and delicious. Pannacotta to follow, but no grappa on the house. Today we head for Nice by train. We will be travelling on the regional train with the school kids and locals as the train we wanted to get was fully booked. We will arrive in Ventimiglia on the border between Italy and France with 15 minutes to buy tickets for the next leg and get on the train. Should be interesting, and if we miss it we may become intimately acquainted with Ventimiglia railway station!

Ciao!

The final countdown

Hello all visitors and welcome to our France 2009 travel blog.

With only 9 days to go before we leave, here is the first post on our blog. As we have no idea of how to do it, this is an experiment.

It was a big decision to make to move to another country for 6 months. Lots of things we value have to be sacrificed to do it. We will miss our friends and family, particularly seeing our grandchildren regularly at a time when they are growing up so quickly. But we hope the experiences we will have, and the people we will meet, will make it worthwhile and enrich our lives for many years to come.

We have been planning this trip for many years and have now booked most of our accommodation, organised car leases and paid various fares, etc. Fran has finished work and we are now doing the final things on our "to do" list, like selling the Commodore, getting some Euros, advising various people that we're leaving the country, and preparing to hand over our house to Kylie and Tom for 6 months. All that's left is to pack our bags (plus get a haircut, plus a new toothbrush, a hat, some sox and some swimmers, plus throw out the mouldy stuff in the fridge, plus swap over the car insurance, plus get some new tyres for Bobbie, plus get a netbook computer, plus check the locks for the suitcases, plus .... Yikes!. Are there only 9 days left?).

We always enjoy hearing of our friends' travel experiences and, in the past, have been pretty good at sending back emails about our own experience when we go overseas. This time, we thought that a blog would be a better option as you can choose to read it, or not, as you wish. However, we will use it to document our trip and hope that it will be interesting to others as well. So we hope to keep it up to date and recount expreiences that you will find interesting and, perhaps, inspiring.

Of course, we also hope to get feedback and to hear back from our friends and family about their doings and news as I'm sure we are going to miss everyone.

Now, let's see whether this experiment worked.

Fran and Adrian