It was time to hit the road again and say goodbye to Levanto and the Cinque Terre area. Our recommendation would be that if you should ever get the chance this is a must see area. It is just as beautiful as the photos and a true experience of an exquisite part of Italy.
We said goodbye to the owner of the Villa Gentile B&B and set Jennifer the GPS for Antibes in France.
We had to meet the lady, who manages the apartment we will be staying at with the boys, at 3pm. However Jenifer is telling us that unless we take the toll roads it will take over 8hrs…. so that is not an option, and set our course to use the toll roads and the 3.5hr trip.
Along the way we came up on the large city of Genoa and decided to turn off for a quick look…..Big mistake….First it was a bit of a surprise to have to pay 6€ (NZ$12) for that part of the journey, and then very quickly found ourselves going round in circles and getting no where. We forget about seeing Genoa and get back on to the tolled highway as quickly as possible.
A bit further down the road it was time for a pee stop so pulled in to a service area. We bought a snack and before getting back to the car we saw the traffic on the highway was slowly grinding to a holt. Not good…. as now we were getting behind in our arrival time and it would cost us another 20€ for picking up the key after 4pm. Thank god the traffic started moving along again and we arrived at the exit of the Italian highway and the Italian border before entering into France….Toll cost for that leg was 17€ (NZ$34)
We entered France at about 15mins after 3pm and surprise surprise another 2 tolls and another 5.50€ (NZ$11). We arrived to pick up the key at 3:30pm and got the car unpacked.
Next was to pick up Andrew and Bex at the Nice airport. We managed this without a hitch with instructions from the lady that manages the apartment who also works at the airport. We saw Andrew and Bex at the pick up point and flashed our lights at them so they could see it was us. Next was the trip back to the apartment. Along the way we stopped at some lights and the car in front did not move on when they turned green, so we tooted him. They quickly moved on to the next set of red lights, when to our surprise the male passenger jumped out of his car and was frantically pointing to the front of our car and hurling abuse in angry French. I wound down my window and yelled at him ‘”English!!” in and attempt to let him know that we had no idea of what he was on about. The lights turned green and he was quickly back in his car and roared off. At this stage we where all laughing, amazed but none the wiser as to why this had just happened. Along the road a bit further and an on coming car flashes his lights at us…..at this point Bex says “are you sure there is nothing on the front of our car”, when the problem dawns on us, our lights are on full beam, this would have happened when I flashed Andrew and Bex at the airport. Now we were all really laughing uncontrollably at the realization that the road rage would have been about us beeping them, and then having our lights on full behind them with our red number plates that mean ‘Hire Car’. Loosely translated that means Wally tourists. We finally arrive safely at the apartment and get our selves settled in.
The next day Sheree and I are up first, so we go for a wonder to the local bakery and shop about 5mins away, and buy some bacon, eggs, bread and a long ciabatta bread that we thought was a baguette (language problem again). Then we wonder back on this beautiful morning with our fresh bread sticking out of the bag and feeling very French.
After breakfast we all go for a wonder around the streets and have a look at the marina with some of the most amazing boats (see pics). We also visit a market selling local produce and buy some nibbles for later.
That afternoon at 2:30, we all get in the car with Andrew driving and make an uneventful trip back to the nice airport, to pick up Chris. we all get back to the apartment and settle in on the sun deck with the local olives, cheese and salami from the market and wash it down with the quality ‘Patron’ Tequila Chris got duty free. It was a lovely afternoon in the 28 deg heat on the deck and all together.
The weather forecast for the week is all sunshine and 28deg, so tomorrow we all decide is beach day.

Today dawned a little over cast which was some what of a relief for our burned skin and we would be on the ferry going between the five villages of the Cinque Terre. Having visited some of them by train yesterday this was another way to see these beautiful villages. Each one is different in it’s own way and you feel like you have gone back in time when you wonder around the quaint skinny streets that are alive with tourists as the locals carry on with their daily life.
We decided to head to the last stop the ferry makes which is the furthest away port called Porto Venere. This is actually not part of the Cinque Terre but well worth a visit, it was not as old wordily as the others but fascinating all the same. As part of our ferry ticket we went on a guided boat tour of 45mins around the islands of this port. It would have been great had the comentary not all been in Italian but we did manage to make out some of it.
We then slowly made our way back towards our starting point of Levanto our home port. When you look from the sea back to these villages you have to wonder why they built these towns in such hard places to get to, we guess it must have been for the fine grapes that grow on these hills that the area is famous for. On the way we visited Vernazza, which we think had the best sandy beach. We bought some pizza at ‘Fatti and Pizza'(see pic) and also another Gelato each(Sheree got 3 flavors on hers one of which was ‘Cinque Terre’ which was reeeeeeally nice). Corniglia the ferry can not dock into so we just sailed past this one. As it was high up in the hills it may not have had much more to offer than the others anyway. Then we went back to Monterosso and watched some of the local fisherman on the wharf catch a squid before getting the ferry home.
We were sad to leave these villages as they truly are just gorgeous. Also this was our last day in Italy as tomorrow we head for Antibes in the French Rivera and meet up with the boys.

16/6/2011

Today we visited Monterosso’ Manarola, and Riomaggiore in 3 of the 5 villages that make up the Cinque Terre. Literally, translated as ‘the Five earths’, the Cinque Terre is five small, old coastal villages built into the cliffs along hillsides in the province of La Sepzia in the Liguria region of Italy. They are difficult to access by car, but you can hike between each town.
The Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage Sit and is very beautiful.
We choose the walk between Riomaggiore and Manarola as this one was the shortest at only 30mins. This path is called the Via Dell’Amore (“Lovers Walk”). The other picturesque trails wind along the shore, varying in nature and difficulty from an easy stroll to a rough and physically challenging hike and take about 5 hrs to do the lot in one hit.
The marinas at most of the towns have wonderful deep swimming holes that make a welcome reprieve for those doing the full hikes. We were not doing much hiking but as it was such a hot day we jumped in anyway.
We decided to have a late lunch and no tea. We found a lovely restaurant under a cover from the sun and overlooking the ocean. We ordered a bottle of local wine from the grape vines around the hills and a seafood risotto. We did not finish here until later in the afternoon as we soaked in the warmth of the day, the views, the lovely food, and people watched. It was all just peeeerfect.
When we did move on it was by train again to the village of Monterosso. (The train winds its way through tunnels to the different villages). We had a swim here and sat in the sun for a bit, then wondered around the streets before catching the train to Levanto and our B&B.
It had been a wonderful day and one we will really remember.
Tomorrow we do the other villages by the Ferry.

14/6/2011

Not much to report for today. We just went to the beach, and lay in the sun, and had a few swims, saw some topless sun bathers, and went for a wonder around the streets, and had a few late afternoon drinks…..God this is hard work, I’m going for an afternoon nap.

14/6/2011

Today we fair well the town of Lucca and head for Levanto and the five villages of Cinque Terre in the Italian National Park.
The lady at the BB in Lucca advised us to go and see the Marble mining hills around a town called Carrara and their Marmo caves, on our way. We sure are glad we did this, as it was a real adventure climbing up the mountain in the car and going through some pretty daunting tunnels to get to the mine face(see pics). These tunnels are used by the same big trucks and machinery that work at the mine so as you can imagine our little car was like a speck in the dust. Speaking of dust..there was plenty of that when the trucks went by. Then there was the skinny gravel road and did I mention the shear drop to the valley below.
It was quite unique to arrive at the mine face to find the workers having lunch in their smoko shed that doubles as the souvenir shop. We bought some marble dice here but there were plenty of other items that would have been much to heavy for us to bring back, like a solid marble mortar and pestle.
Once back down the mountain we set ‘Jennifer’ our GPS for Levanto and the Gentile Villa B&B. After a very long, windy but beautiful road through this Italian National park area we finally arrived at Levanto.
Once settled in we took a stroll around this beach town on the Italian rivera. It was great to see that Google maps had not let us down and our B&B, as planned was only a one minute walk to the levanto beach front that is just gorgeous.
Tomorrow we will relax on the beach and then over the next few days explore the 5 Terre(villages) of this area.

13/6/2011

Today we went to Collodi the birth place of the story of Pinocchio.
Carlo Collodi, the author of the story of Pinocchio, was the pen name of Carlo Lorenzini, who was born and grew up in Florence. The last part of his pen name was the name of the Tuscan village where Lorenzini’s mother was born: Collodi.
You can see the photo of Sheree standing outside ‘Parco di Pinocchio a Collodi’, the Pinocchio Park of Collodi. It’s a rather old fashioned kind of park from the days when you didn’t need bloodcurdling death-defying rides to charm the kids. The park tells Collodi’s version of the story of Pinocchio through sculpture, mosaics and puppet shows. It features a museum with Pinocchio related items. There was a bewildering amount of Pinocchio souvenirs here. (see pic). Other than the park there was not much else here so we decided to go and visit the Pieve di Santa Maria with a church that dated back to 1086. Perched way up in the hills above Collodie it had some great views and was not very touristy so saw more of the locals just doing what locals do.

We were planning on visiting Pisa the next day but as we had time, decided to go today. Finding parking in Pisa was the next trick. Being a very popular tourist stop it was very busy. We found some parks but standing close buy were groups of colored people offering to watch your car if you bought some of their trinkets. This made us feel a little uncomfortable so ignored them as much as possible, bought a parking ticket from the machine and hesitantly went to the tower. There was a police man at the entrance to the tower so Steven asked him if the car was safe and he assured us it was (no proplemo).
The leaning tower, really is leaning a lot and we took some of the standard tourist pics. Even the church beside it looks like it is leaning over as well. There are heaps of little market type stalls as you walk up to it so we bought a little tower and a tea towel as a keep sake.
Walked back to the car and our friends were there again so we made a hasty departure to avoid them.
Back in Lucca and as it was such a lovely evening we went for a stroll around the town and stopped for tea at a lovely restaurant, that was popular with the locals and sat out side in the plaza. It was just lovely sitting here, as when other dinners saw people they knew who walk past or rode past on their bikes, they were greeted with a friendly and exuberant Italian greeting. Some would stop and come over for a chat or even have a drink. It was all very Italian and we loved it. It was quite late and with more than a little wine under our belts that we slowly wondered home….wonderful

13/6/2011

Putting aside the traffic Florence had grown on us, so again it was with a tinge of sadness that it was time to leave.
Our first stop was a little town high on the hills above Florence called Fiesole. The views from up here were magnificent and there were some lovely homes on the step climb to the lookout.
We had some time and Sheree had heard about a fashion outlet store in a town a little out of our way called Barberino Di Mugello. Unfortunately when we arrived it was closed as many business are in Italy on Sundays and sometimes between 12pm and 2pm. The upside for us was that we came across a large lake formed by a dam that was very obviously a camping and holiday area.(see pic)
We arrived early evening in Lucca and our B&B (see pic). Once settled in we decided to go for a stroll around this walled town as it was such a lovely evening and look for somewhere for tea.
Lucca appears to be more of a family town and it was just lovely wondering around seeing all the families just enjoying the evening and socializing in the many different Piazzas (little open squares) dotted around the town. We found a Kebab place so decided on this for a change. They made it up like they do in Greece by putting chips inside with the meat & salad. Yummy. Steven was proud of himself as he ordered everything in Italian.

11/6/2011

Today started with a Buffett breakfast that is not like the sort of breakfast we are normally used to. It consists of a limited selection of cereals, boiled eggs, thin cold cheese and ham slices, buns and breads, dry bread for toasting and lots of crososints, sweet buns and cakes.
After breakfast we headed back to the bus stop that is only a couple of hundred meters from the hotel to get back to the centre of town.
The bus stop is very close to a large roundabout that our bus has to go around before arriving at our stop. While we are waiting for it to arrive a very large tuck arrives at the roundabout to deliver some items. However there is no way he can get to the skinny streets close to his drop off. So he just stops the truck in the middle of the roundabout, gets out and walks with his goods to their destination. Meanwhile our bus arrives and can not enter the roundabout that the truck is blocking. Several minutes go by as the bus driver just waits, but this does not last long and a short blast on the horn occurs, but the bus driver is unaware that the truck driver is not in the drivers seat. Meanwhile more traffic is building up behind the bus and more tooting occurs. Several more minutes now go by and you can sense the frustration building with the local people also waiting at the bus stop. The bus driver now leans on his horn for a very long blast. Impatient cars now start tooting and then moving into the off ramp for the oncoming traffic of the roundabout to get away. You had to see this to believe it as exiting cars meet cars coming on the wrong side and going the wrong way round the roundabout. The truck driver now appears and is running down the street to his truck to the sound of horns and hand gestures from the waiting cars and bus driver. As he gets in the truck the locals are yelling from the bus stop ‘shamo’ ‘shamo’. Finally the truck moves on and the traffic is back to ‘normal’. Just another Florence traffic experience.
Once in town we decide to do the complete circuit of the town on the hop on hop off bus that takes an hour an a half, and then we,visit the central market.
The market is much bigger than we expected and there is a bewildering array of leather and other goods to choose from. The locals keep telling us that the only place to buy leather items in Italy is in Florence as they have the best craftsmen and leather. Sheree is on the hunt for some leather boots, a bag and some gloves. After discussing the price with several merchants, Sheree finally buys some very nice soft Italian leather gloves and we both buy soft leather glasse’s covers that hang around your neck for our reading glasses that we have been constantly been reaching for in our bags. We stubble upon a large indoor food market that smells of fish as you enter and permeates the entire market to a lesser degree as you move in. There are some wonderful and different items in here but nothing that we can take home with us or that we felt like sampling (see pics).
We spent most of the morning and early afternoon in the market and Sheree finally finds a couple of shops next door to each other further down the road, with bags that she likes. Prices are negotiated with both and a decision is finally made. As we walk out with the bag of choice the other lady shop owner gives us a glancing stare from her door and the pervious happy pre-purchase smile is gone. But the smile is all on Sheree’s face with her new lovely soft Italian calf leather, hand made bag and that is all that matters.
Next we visit a museum with the biggest display of stuffed animals from all around the world that either of us have ever seen. The quantity of birds was staggering and yes they had a Kiwi. They also have a huge display of original drawings and waxed human anatomy body parts from the 17th and 18th centuries that are so life like you would be hard pressed to tell them from reality. There where rooms and rooms of these and we found it fascinating but unfortunately no photos allowed.
We had an earlier tea in a nice taverna right beside the Santa Croce Church (see pic) before catching an uneventful bus ride home as we now thought we new the stop to get off. Don’t be silly the bus goes a different way, just to keep us guessing. Thankfully it is earlier and lighter than last night when suddenly Sheree recognizes the stop is upon us and we get off.

10/6/2011

Our journey from Siena via San Giamano to the out skirts of Florence was fine. However we needed to cross through the centre of Florence to get to the Hotel Diva on the other side of town. Now started the most unbelievable driving experience we have ever had. Rules..what rules? The traffic just did what it wanted. Driving down a two lane skinny street at the speed limit, simply means that traffic just passes you, even if you are doing 30kmph over the speed limit and regardless of what is coming the other way and some times three abreast. A red light just means an indication that you may… need to give way, and a roundabout’s a giant free for all that begs believe how any one does not get killed several times a day.
With Sheree calling out instructions, the GPS chiming in with ‘turn left at the roundabout, then left again, then right. Horns tooting for god knows what and with total panic set in, we were amazed and very relieved that we finally made it safely to the hotel. It was with great relief that we put the car in the car park, under the hotel, and there it will stay until we leave. We will be catching the bus back into town. We had tea close to the hotel at a local restaurant before heading back to bed.
Our room was on the street side so it was a bit noisy, past experience has taught us the benefits of ear plugs so we did manage to sleep ok.
After breakfast we organized the number 22 bus that would take us direct to the centre of Florence. With a little hesitation we did get off at the right stop and were quickly swamped with hawkers for tours and other goodies. We bought a 2 person 48 hour hop on hop off bus tour for €52 that included a 45 minute walking tour of the centre of Florence.
The first trip on the bus took us to the panoramic view at the Piazzale Michelangelo. Here is a large bronze statue of David and the most amazing views over Florence. Sheree bought a new scarf here that you can see her choosing and wearing in the pics. Steven bought a very elegant BBQ apron that you can also see in the pics.
We needed to get to our meeting point for the walk around tour. The next hop on off bus arrived soon and we were on our way learning more on the history of Florence from the audio commentary as we went.
We are a bit early so go for a look inside the very impressive Santa Croce Church (see the pics).
After this we meet up with William our guide for the walking tour, and as it turn’s out we were the only ones for this time slot. So we have our own personal tour and guide. This was a truly enjoyable and very educational experience. We learned so much about the city, it’s history and culture. In the pics you will see Sheree looking at all the jewelry shops on the bridge with houses on it. This was originally the area for butchers and the offal was thrown into the river below. However one of the Dukes wives did not like the smell it made and being so close to their own place. So the Duke banned the sale of meat and passed a law that only gold could be sold there, and so it still is today. This was just one of so many truly interesting history stories.
We visited Micheal Angelos house. and then went to the Uffizi Gallery for our next tour. Guess who the guide was???? Yes William again. He created us like long lost friends and again we had an amazing and educational tour that gave us an appreciation of the fine old paintings and what the artists like Michael Angelo, DeVinci, and Rafael to name but a few and what they were trying to achieve with each painting. It was quite eery to be standing in front of these huge original masterpieces and to understand the painter talking to you through the canvas. We will not look at these paintings with the same eyes again. It makes such a difference when you understand a little about the artists and the detail they put into the paintings. Williams knowledge and understanding was marvelous. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photos in these places.
It was now getting late and so looked for something to eat that was not Pizza, pasta or spaghetti. Chinese fitted the bill and we headed for the bus home…..aha… but the stop you get off at, is not the stop you get back on to go home. Steven jumped on the bus to ask if it went past our hotel. The driver was not impressed and said some derogatory comment in Italian and then proceeded to close the bus doors and start the bus with only Steven inside. Steven slammed his foot in the closing door that forced it to reopen. With the driver yelling abuse and the bus about to move on managed to jump off back to a relieved Sheree still standing at the stop.
Finally we found the right place to get on, but now it was getting dark, so this makes it harder to see what stop is our hotel stop. We must have looked like lost tourists with our map in hand and checking each stop to see where we where and what direction we were going in. A helpful local offered some help and we finally got off not far from our Hotel.
It had been a full on and eventful day and we where sound asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

9/6/2011

We where sorry to leave our lovely sun deck and surroundings at the Siena accommodation.
Our next stop was Florence but on the way we wanted to call into a little place called ‘San Giamano’ that we had heard about.
This was a very nice clean place and we both really liked its friendly feel. There were a lot of nick-nack shops and hand made jewelry also the prices appeared more reasonable here for the souvenirs.
Next it was back to the car and then set the GPS for Florence….but ohhhhhhh the traffic, but that’s the next story.