I turned 52 a few days ago, l just went and got my reading glasses so l could see what l am writing, l had an ESG (ECG) and my heart rhythm is perfect and blood pressure as well, and next week a blood test so we shall see.
I am in the middle of moving studios from Via Remorsella to possibly Via Fontanina which is closer to home. Via Remorsella was good, but at only 31 sqm a bit too small, the new one is 130sqm, with some skylights, but no windows except the two doors, but will l hope be much better to exhibit work in, as well as work. So l have been removing car load after car load of stuff, storing it in our cantina, and hopoefully move into the new one early Jan. I have a final show of works l have done in Remorsella next week.
Jayne is singing, she has a Swedish teacher, who is lovely she tells me, and Jayne has taken to it like her Italian, very well and practices and studies often, she even had Ewan singing away at one of her songs, though Ewan does sing often this was an actual song.
Ewan and Hunter have been having a harder time at school, l think the Italian only has been alot for them, and they really need the xmas break. Jayne went to the teacher \parent night, and the reports of the boys is very encouraging, they are coping well, obviously they miss some words, but overall are doing well. We try to get them to do it in English first then turn it into Italian, so they know both ways, as their English is suffering. They will often say, ohh what is it called in English.
They had their birthday party last weekend, 19 kids at the bowling centre, exhausting, but it works well there, they provide a table and chairs, food and drinks, we brought a birthday cake, which the left over became my birthday cake! Everyone except Zoel was from Malpighi, so it was solo Italiano. The kids rushed from bowling to shoving tokens into machines to win tickets that later they hoped to turn into prizes. Its a great con, l had to spend 50 euro on tokens, and some kids brought their own money, we ended up with a few thousand tickets which were generally used to get pocket knifes.
Hunter was given a great Bologna football top with Hunter on the back, and his lucky number 8 from a few of the kids, and lots of other things for Ewan and himself. Everyone had fun, and l think it helped having a party with their new friends.
Last night we had Eduardo come and play, he is in Ewans class, lovely boy, very polite, and this also l think helped the boys, It was great listening to them, chatting away in Italian.
But it has been exhausting, with the emotions of school and the studio move and Jaynes family issues, we have decided to stay a night at a hotel terme near by on Sunday night, as monday is a holiday, and treat ourselves to a massage and warm swim.
Ewan has been improving at tennis, he is lucky as he practices with much bigger kids, and so has to lift his standard towards them, often he plays better, as he is more consistent, not going for the big winners, but he needs to work on his serve. Hunter still plays well at calio, but could not go to last weekends match, and missed monday training, which is a shame as he was in a better team, so we will see which team he makes this weekend. He just needs to be more confident and go for his shots more, he definetly has the speed to beat everyone.
So Bologna has gone christmas, the lights are up along the streets, which looks great, the big tree is in the main piazza, and it has a lean to it, like the tower here. The xmas markets are back, and a new one in piazza Minghetti which is very good, lots of food at night and all the xmas things you want, the piazza looks so much better after last years renovation, and has become a good place to go with some bars and restaurants there.
The locals are all in their army green jackets, puffer jackets, and general dark cloths, and the bars seem more alive as the lights twinkle in the dark days. It has been raining and raining, and the forcast is rain. I hope this turns to snow in the mountains , as that is were we are going for xmas and NYE with the Fennessey's, and Silei's.
I recently went to London for a couple of days, and it reminds you how small Bologna is, and how international London is, and how much money there is. As l have said you see more Maserati, Ferrari etc in London than here. I saw a great Keifer exhibition, did some Mitch Dowd scouting for ideas, and caught up with Simon Lee, who's gallery is most exciting and successful, Simon has not changed really at all, from the school kid next door, though he deals with major works and artists from around the world.
So that can do for now, l realize l dont write nearly as much, but life is still exciting and wonderful, and not a day goes by that l remind myself how lucky we are to be here, the idea of having to leave is rather sad, and honestly l would love to spend 6 months here and six months in Australia.
The Dowds in Bologna
A time past in Arezzo
The 8 Gang
Family at San Cesario de Lecce
giovedì 4 dicembre 2014
venerdì 26 settembre 2014
London 2014
Hello again, well its been awhile, and l thought i'd better write something, as Jayne was going to do the blog from now on, but after one entry seems to have lost direction. Right now she is peddling away on the exercise bike, reading about Bologna, while listening to classic music.
So the summer holidays, we went to Puglia with the Fraynes, then over to Alicante at Stefanes for a short stint, till we moved over to Elche, then back to Bologna, and then a two week holiday looking after the Fraynes house in London, while they had a beach holiday in England, which l find odd.
So London still is the centre of the earth to me still, lots of events, exhibitions, plus all the obvious tourist treats. We did the Natural History museum, which was packed, and as last time you wait in line for 45 minutes, get inside and many people seem to rush to the cafeteria to have a picnic lunch, others hit the dinosaur exhibit, and the mammoth show. We did rocks, insects, birds and a short film about the evolution of life on earth by Attenbourgh.
It is a great museum, and we will go there every time, other things were Jayne and Ewan did a three hour tour of Buckingham Palace, there was an exhibition of childhood in the palace, and wedding dress's. Hunter and l don't get the royal thing as much, so went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, and had yogurt, sat in the central courtyard and watched kids playing in the pond. Saw some Japanese samurai items, began to look at Greek and Roman statues, until Hunter said we have seen these dad, then a general tour of the building, a place l love to visit again on a sunny day and sit around the pond eating yogurt, very restful and beautiful, and a great gift store.
We saw the Matisse works on paper show, that was huge and most inspiring, great to see what he did in his last years, bed bound, and yet so powerful. I also went to Tate Britian and saw some great sculptural works, that were massive, taking up the whole central hallway by Phyllida Barlow, the works were of found street junk, wood and were up to 10 metres high. There was also a Moore exhibition and a video on how he made his sculptures, which Hunter enjoyed. Its a great gallery, and l love the cafeteria there, its quieter than Tate modern, with some incredible works. I also saw 20 Ben Nicholson works on paper, that l had booked with the gallery to see, which was great, as l arrived at my appointed time, went into a private room, and they brought them out onto easels for me to study, as long as l liked. He is an artist you don't get to see much, Rex Irwin had introduced me to him, and he has been a big influence in the way l see line, architecture.
We went to Fortnum and Mason, three times, love those scones and tea. The first time was for Sunday lunch, and the Hunter ordered fish fingers, and the maitre'd told us that the frier was slow and his meal would be a few minutes later, and that he would like to give a Hunter a free desert, so after lunch Hunter picked the cake he wanted with the waiter, the bill came and we were charged for the cake, l queried this, and the maitre'd who was unaware what had happened apologised and took it off the bill, and then gave Jayne a lovely small box of chocolates. The next time we went there, Hunter said he was going to have fish fingers again, because he hoped he would get a free cake, Ewan decided to do the same, the maitre 'd noticed us , came up to say hello and said that seem he gave Hunter a cake last time, he better give him one this time, and also Ewan, as it would be unfair. His name is Miles, and l would make surge if you go there to ask for him, and remember us to him, as he really made our experience there great, we came back three times.
Other things we did, we visited the Maserati sales showroom, as the boys would not stop counting and pointing out every time we saw a Maserati, Lambourghini, Austin Martin, Jaguar, Ferrari etc, and there were 100's in London. We went to see a few movies, and a day at the Kew Gardens which is well worth the trip.
Had lunches in pubs, lots of sausages and mash, fish and chips and dark ales with strange names. We went to a skateboard park, were Hunter had lessons, and then everyday wanted to go back. We went rowing on the lake in Battersea Park, running from the house along the Thames and Battersea Park. Shopping at Hamleys , and buying small drones that the boys have mastered very well, flying around the chandeliers back in Bologna perfectly.
One night before the Fraynes left to the beach we went out to dinner with Kate and Mike to a great Chinese style restaurant, after a few bottles of wine, Jayne said lets go to a nightclub, mind you we arrived for dinner at 7 pm, so we were starting a bit early, Kate wisely said no, she had to pack for the beach the next day, so Mike felt he had to take us to some spots. First we tried a garden top nightclub, that you had top book on line to get into, we arrived after trying to book on the way, but were not allowed in. So then we headed of and ended up at a hotel bar, drinking rather strong cocktails, after a good discussion about greenhouse effects, real or unreal we left as it was a bit hotel like, and ended up at Mikes club, the Art Club. Mike goes here a bit, but never downstairs to the club part, so with Jayne insisting we needed to go to a club, and with the hostess telling us it was a great line up of entertainment, we headed down. Now Mike must have some pull, as the hostess cleared a table of beer drinkers away for us, so we could sit on a prime table, a bottle of champagne arrived, and Mike and l looked at each other, with a knowing and fearful look. I ended up dancing like a possessed person, as the three female singers were brilliant, Mike and Jayne tried to get the champagne down, until l arrived back and suggested that Mike and l drink beer, and Jayne could finish the champagne, Mike agreed. We left the club, late, no idea how late, leaving behind new friends and supporters of my dancing style, and three singers who seemed happy that l was happy. I drank a lot of water that night, but it never seems enough. Jayne as usual said why did we do that, l reminded her it was her idea. But a night the three of us will sort of remember.
The weather was average, mostly cold for summer, and rain, which made it annoying, considering we packed for summer weather. We got to see two soccer matches, Chelsea vs Leicaster (2-0), and then with Steve Thomson, we saw MK Dons v's Manchester United (4-0) Obviously a huge upset win to MK Dons, and it was terrific to see Manchester play, though they did not have a few of their main players like Rooney. We stayed the night with Steve and Holly at their country residence now, which was a great experience to see the countryside and spend time with Rose and George. They have a lovely house which they have just finished renovating, and Holly is thinking of running a coffee shop from her kitchen window, for the mothers of the town, who have no where to go to get a coffee. Hopefully it will go ahead, great idea, and l love that its from her kitchen window.
We spent a day at West Wittering, where the Fraynes were spending their summer holiday at the beach, we went down there by train, it was a cold and average day, but great to see the english seaside, the area was wind swept, with a huge tide of about 200 metres that went out, and looked like the ones you see in the movies, reminded me of Peterborough, Victoria . The kids had fun on a trampoline, the beach and just hanging out with other kids.
We left England from Stanstead, so we stayed at a airport hotel, Stanstead is where Ryanair fly from, but l think it is better to pay more on the ticket and fly into Gatwick, and not have to stay the night before.
Arrived home for lunch, good to be back to the quiet of Bologna, the boys then had 10 days till they started at their new school, Malpighi ( solo Italiano).
So the summer holidays, we went to Puglia with the Fraynes, then over to Alicante at Stefanes for a short stint, till we moved over to Elche, then back to Bologna, and then a two week holiday looking after the Fraynes house in London, while they had a beach holiday in England, which l find odd.
So London still is the centre of the earth to me still, lots of events, exhibitions, plus all the obvious tourist treats. We did the Natural History museum, which was packed, and as last time you wait in line for 45 minutes, get inside and many people seem to rush to the cafeteria to have a picnic lunch, others hit the dinosaur exhibit, and the mammoth show. We did rocks, insects, birds and a short film about the evolution of life on earth by Attenbourgh.
It is a great museum, and we will go there every time, other things were Jayne and Ewan did a three hour tour of Buckingham Palace, there was an exhibition of childhood in the palace, and wedding dress's. Hunter and l don't get the royal thing as much, so went to the Victoria and Albert Museum, and had yogurt, sat in the central courtyard and watched kids playing in the pond. Saw some Japanese samurai items, began to look at Greek and Roman statues, until Hunter said we have seen these dad, then a general tour of the building, a place l love to visit again on a sunny day and sit around the pond eating yogurt, very restful and beautiful, and a great gift store.
We saw the Matisse works on paper show, that was huge and most inspiring, great to see what he did in his last years, bed bound, and yet so powerful. I also went to Tate Britian and saw some great sculptural works, that were massive, taking up the whole central hallway by Phyllida Barlow, the works were of found street junk, wood and were up to 10 metres high. There was also a Moore exhibition and a video on how he made his sculptures, which Hunter enjoyed. Its a great gallery, and l love the cafeteria there, its quieter than Tate modern, with some incredible works. I also saw 20 Ben Nicholson works on paper, that l had booked with the gallery to see, which was great, as l arrived at my appointed time, went into a private room, and they brought them out onto easels for me to study, as long as l liked. He is an artist you don't get to see much, Rex Irwin had introduced me to him, and he has been a big influence in the way l see line, architecture.
We went to Fortnum and Mason, three times, love those scones and tea. The first time was for Sunday lunch, and the Hunter ordered fish fingers, and the maitre'd told us that the frier was slow and his meal would be a few minutes later, and that he would like to give a Hunter a free desert, so after lunch Hunter picked the cake he wanted with the waiter, the bill came and we were charged for the cake, l queried this, and the maitre'd who was unaware what had happened apologised and took it off the bill, and then gave Jayne a lovely small box of chocolates. The next time we went there, Hunter said he was going to have fish fingers again, because he hoped he would get a free cake, Ewan decided to do the same, the maitre 'd noticed us , came up to say hello and said that seem he gave Hunter a cake last time, he better give him one this time, and also Ewan, as it would be unfair. His name is Miles, and l would make surge if you go there to ask for him, and remember us to him, as he really made our experience there great, we came back three times.
Other things we did, we visited the Maserati sales showroom, as the boys would not stop counting and pointing out every time we saw a Maserati, Lambourghini, Austin Martin, Jaguar, Ferrari etc, and there were 100's in London. We went to see a few movies, and a day at the Kew Gardens which is well worth the trip.
Had lunches in pubs, lots of sausages and mash, fish and chips and dark ales with strange names. We went to a skateboard park, were Hunter had lessons, and then everyday wanted to go back. We went rowing on the lake in Battersea Park, running from the house along the Thames and Battersea Park. Shopping at Hamleys , and buying small drones that the boys have mastered very well, flying around the chandeliers back in Bologna perfectly.
One night before the Fraynes left to the beach we went out to dinner with Kate and Mike to a great Chinese style restaurant, after a few bottles of wine, Jayne said lets go to a nightclub, mind you we arrived for dinner at 7 pm, so we were starting a bit early, Kate wisely said no, she had to pack for the beach the next day, so Mike felt he had to take us to some spots. First we tried a garden top nightclub, that you had top book on line to get into, we arrived after trying to book on the way, but were not allowed in. So then we headed of and ended up at a hotel bar, drinking rather strong cocktails, after a good discussion about greenhouse effects, real or unreal we left as it was a bit hotel like, and ended up at Mikes club, the Art Club. Mike goes here a bit, but never downstairs to the club part, so with Jayne insisting we needed to go to a club, and with the hostess telling us it was a great line up of entertainment, we headed down. Now Mike must have some pull, as the hostess cleared a table of beer drinkers away for us, so we could sit on a prime table, a bottle of champagne arrived, and Mike and l looked at each other, with a knowing and fearful look. I ended up dancing like a possessed person, as the three female singers were brilliant, Mike and Jayne tried to get the champagne down, until l arrived back and suggested that Mike and l drink beer, and Jayne could finish the champagne, Mike agreed. We left the club, late, no idea how late, leaving behind new friends and supporters of my dancing style, and three singers who seemed happy that l was happy. I drank a lot of water that night, but it never seems enough. Jayne as usual said why did we do that, l reminded her it was her idea. But a night the three of us will sort of remember.
The weather was average, mostly cold for summer, and rain, which made it annoying, considering we packed for summer weather. We got to see two soccer matches, Chelsea vs Leicaster (2-0), and then with Steve Thomson, we saw MK Dons v's Manchester United (4-0) Obviously a huge upset win to MK Dons, and it was terrific to see Manchester play, though they did not have a few of their main players like Rooney. We stayed the night with Steve and Holly at their country residence now, which was a great experience to see the countryside and spend time with Rose and George. They have a lovely house which they have just finished renovating, and Holly is thinking of running a coffee shop from her kitchen window, for the mothers of the town, who have no where to go to get a coffee. Hopefully it will go ahead, great idea, and l love that its from her kitchen window.
We spent a day at West Wittering, where the Fraynes were spending their summer holiday at the beach, we went down there by train, it was a cold and average day, but great to see the english seaside, the area was wind swept, with a huge tide of about 200 metres that went out, and looked like the ones you see in the movies, reminded me of Peterborough, Victoria . The kids had fun on a trampoline, the beach and just hanging out with other kids.
We left England from Stanstead, so we stayed at a airport hotel, Stanstead is where Ryanair fly from, but l think it is better to pay more on the ticket and fly into Gatwick, and not have to stay the night before.
Arrived home for lunch, good to be back to the quiet of Bologna, the boys then had 10 days till they started at their new school, Malpighi ( solo Italiano).
Scone time
Pub time
English seaside
MK Dons mascot and Steve
At Fortnum and Mason
Phyllida Barlow work at Tate Britian
Ewan rowing In Battersea Park
Biggest bag of popcorn
Kew Gardens
giovedì 14 agosto 2014
Alicante 2014
We went to Alicante last year in August, and this year right at the beginning of August, and we stayed with Stefane at his house ( well at least for three nights). We had a great time last year, Stefanes house is near the airport, but you don't hear the planes, and is surrounded by a quite neighbourhood . This time was the same, the house has been improved a bit, he got rid of the terrible textural walls and replaced them with smooth ones, and the shocking textural patterned ceiling, and the floor is now lovely wood looking tiles.
We arrived very late in the evening, he met us at the airport and we got our hire car and followed him back, as it is sometimes hard to get to at first. The next day we woke to see Melanie, and the two girls Zeli and Nina. After a few weeks holiday Jayne and l were sick of lying about, so Jayne suggested we improve a couple of his garden beds, so next thing i'm out with a maticks, digging into ground that is similar to Teneriffe at home, Jayne is drawing out a plant plan, with the boys occasionally helping between dips in the pool, or games with the girls. We then went to a couple of nurseries and finally decided on some pots, plants and soil to add to the dry dirt that was there. So we dug the soil in, began digging holes and soaking them, and adding the plants that we either removed from somewhere else, or a few that he bought. The pots we got were great as they will really soften the place. Two large ones with oleanders in them and the other 7 may end up being hibiscus.
But as we dug and planted, Melanie unfortunately was getting a bit sad and difficult, they had just had her father the week before, and another group the week before that, so maybe she was getting sick of visitors ( or maybe its a French thing)
Then the water system in the house played up and we had to turn it off often to stop the leaking, and the hot water had not been working at all ( later we found out a tap had never been turned on to the showers and kitchen) So with the water problems and Melanie not being happy, we thought it was time to find somewhere else to go, we went to the local town for dinner, and while there we found a great hotel to stay at in Elche. But unsure about the conversation in english/ spanish we decided to drive there to confirm, once there we saw how great it was, and decided to drive back to Stefanes , get all our things and go straight back to the air conditioned hotel with pool, garden in Elche. So for the remaining 4 nights we spent there, catching up during the day or at night with the others, and that seemed to ease the tension dramatically.
Stefane and the girls finished off a few things in the garden beds, and he is going to get a lot of mulch for the beds to protect them from weeds and moisture loss. And the plants for the smaller pots.
the rest of the time, we went to the beach, palm groves in Elche, which has the largest palm groves in the world, and checked out the main church, tower and museums in Elche. We did not go into Alicante this, time, but we have been there, and to be honest, we now have done a great deal of the area, maybe next year we might go somewhere else in Spain.
I had given Stefane two oil paintings l did in Bologna that were inspired from my time in Spain, though more around Cordoba and Seville, and he had them there, so l was able to get some wood and stretch them up for him, and now they look great on the walls.
We arrived very late in the evening, he met us at the airport and we got our hire car and followed him back, as it is sometimes hard to get to at first. The next day we woke to see Melanie, and the two girls Zeli and Nina. After a few weeks holiday Jayne and l were sick of lying about, so Jayne suggested we improve a couple of his garden beds, so next thing i'm out with a maticks, digging into ground that is similar to Teneriffe at home, Jayne is drawing out a plant plan, with the boys occasionally helping between dips in the pool, or games with the girls. We then went to a couple of nurseries and finally decided on some pots, plants and soil to add to the dry dirt that was there. So we dug the soil in, began digging holes and soaking them, and adding the plants that we either removed from somewhere else, or a few that he bought. The pots we got were great as they will really soften the place. Two large ones with oleanders in them and the other 7 may end up being hibiscus.
But as we dug and planted, Melanie unfortunately was getting a bit sad and difficult, they had just had her father the week before, and another group the week before that, so maybe she was getting sick of visitors ( or maybe its a French thing)
Then the water system in the house played up and we had to turn it off often to stop the leaking, and the hot water had not been working at all ( later we found out a tap had never been turned on to the showers and kitchen) So with the water problems and Melanie not being happy, we thought it was time to find somewhere else to go, we went to the local town for dinner, and while there we found a great hotel to stay at in Elche. But unsure about the conversation in english/ spanish we decided to drive there to confirm, once there we saw how great it was, and decided to drive back to Stefanes , get all our things and go straight back to the air conditioned hotel with pool, garden in Elche. So for the remaining 4 nights we spent there, catching up during the day or at night with the others, and that seemed to ease the tension dramatically.
Stefane and the girls finished off a few things in the garden beds, and he is going to get a lot of mulch for the beds to protect them from weeds and moisture loss. And the plants for the smaller pots.
the rest of the time, we went to the beach, palm groves in Elche, which has the largest palm groves in the world, and checked out the main church, tower and museums in Elche. We did not go into Alicante this, time, but we have been there, and to be honest, we now have done a great deal of the area, maybe next year we might go somewhere else in Spain.
I had given Stefane two oil paintings l did in Bologna that were inspired from my time in Spain, though more around Cordoba and Seville, and he had them there, so l was able to get some wood and stretch them up for him, and now they look great on the walls.
Lunch with Stefane and others in Alicante house
Palm garden in Elche
Coastline in Puglia
Puglia, San Cesario di Lecce
So we travelled by car to Puglia, which is the longest region in Italy, down the south. It takes about 8 hours from Bologna to reach Lecce, which lies in the southern end of Puglia. So we stopped over half way at Vasto in Abruzzo, it is one of the last towns along the coast before it becomes rather flat into Puglia. We stayed at the Sporting Hotel, which was an odd name, and as it happened an odd hotel, Antonio suggested it to us, and it was very comfortable and in a good location, surrounded by paddocks only a few hundred metres from the beach. But its what lay inside that amused me. We arrived around 6 pm, after shocking traffic, and lots of roadhouse stops, everyone needs to go to the toilet at different times. So the boys had a swim in the pool while Jayne and l had a drink, a young girl took a liking to the boys and kept looking at them, l suggested to Ewan to ask if she wanted to play with them, and when he asked her, she said NO, he looked back at me, as if to say well l tried.
So then we came down to the dining room for dinner, as we thought it would be easier to eat there and get an early night. And this is where it begins, we sat down in a Faulty Towers dining area, to be served by Manuele style characters, waiter one had come up with the strong belief , that to be a good waiter you must keep one hand behind your back as long as possible, waiter two who did not serve us, was rather uncertain of if he needed to be there and if he was infact there.
So allow me to introduce the other tables, and this was also odd, as each table had a number like 44, but there were only 12 tables. So lets just say table 1 had a German family, this we knew by the socks and sandals, the wife had been badly beaten with an ugly stick, as had her eldest daughter, in fact the same stick. The father drank his beer, and they had their bottle of white wine, that they had for the week they were there, and drank accordingly so it would last the week. I felt that all these people came here each year for a week or two. Table 2 had two elderly ladies , one who reminded me of Jaynes mother, table 3, another elderly couple with their son who was about 35, the question was why was he there with his parents at 35. Table 4, the young girl at the pool with her grand parents, table 5, where parents with a single young son about 14, who had his large bottle of fanta, unlike the Germans we found out, had no desire to make it last the week, and a large bottle of coke soon appeared on the table. But it was this table that concerned me the most, as the boy ate with a unique style. Now l will admit some kids eat badly, and only use a fork, and that in some way can be forgiven, but this child only ate with a knife. He stabbed at the food picking it up with a knife and eating it as if some medieval movie of a king and a chicken. Even Hunter commented in shock when he saw. So as the night went by and our seemingly one handed waiter took firstly our primo orders, then went back around the table to take the secondo. He then brought the meals back to the wrong people, so the painstaking ordering seemed to be a waste of time, but he did keep his hand behind his back, when he went to take the plates away we all hoped he would then put his hand with the plates behind his back, and that would have made the night, but no.
So we finished up being the last to leave, and though l felt the meal was rather expensive the entertainment was priceless.
We slept well, and left after a simple breakfast, driving on to meet Mike and Kate Frayne and their family at San Cesario di Lecce.
We arrived about 2 pm, after more traffic, and an accident on the motorway, we were stationary, and the car behind was hit by the car behind it and it then hit us, not much real damage, but we had to stop, chat and decide what to do, the person who caused the accident, decided to drive off after a few minutes and we then decided it was not worth the insurance and so left the poor people with damage to the front and back of their car. Thankfully l had taken photos of the cars and of the plate and insurance details of the car that caused it, and l sent them by email to the damaged car owners. There was another traffic jam the day before, so bad we were stuck for over an hour, so everyone got out of the cars, chatted, smoked, and our boys decided to play soccer on the highway, much to the joy of everyone else.
So we arrived in San Cesario, a shitty looking town, and l must say l was rather concerned, thinking the photos they sent us of the house may have been doctored, but as we drove through the gates from the Beruit style town, we were happily relieved. We stayed at a wonderful villa with over an acre of perfect garden, a 20x8 metre pool, and the house was a perfect example of stylish villa design in the region. It was a horizontally stripped in ochre and red, and the inside was very elaborate and stately .
Mike and Kate arrived a couple of hours later, with Charlie 4, Lulu 6, Mimi 8, Madelaine 9, and Myrna their housekeeper, who is from the Phillipines. And so started a great 2 week holiday in Puglia.
During the next two weeks we spent days, or half days at the beaches, you have two options, either the east (Adriatic Sea) or the west (Bay of Taranto) On the east is the town of Ortanto which is a beautiful seaside town with a wonderful church with a whole floor of mosaics, and underneath in a small chapel, crypt space are some great frescoes, both reminding me of Offida, and Ravenna. So well worth seeing that, otherwise it is a town to walk through the thin streets in the walled section, and eat at one of the many restaurants. Outside the wall are more modern restaurants and activities for families, like volleyball, beach, swimming, amusement section. You could easily spend a few days at this town, we went to beaches near by which were great , though most were very crowded in July, August.
On the west coast is the town of Gallipoli, which is also very beautiful, you reach the old part by a 14th century bridge, and then walk around the town, which is very seafood based, there are great restaurants here, we ate at one called Il Bastiogne. The town is more to visit for food, and the views from the small island are great at sunset, outside the island is rather average and not worth worrying about. Around Gallipoli we also went to some beaches, and a water fun park.
Then there is the town of Lecce, which lies in the middle, it is also walled, and typically is wonderful inside, but also not to bad outside, though it has spilled out and is surrounded by a hugh ring road, which makes it annoying sometimes getting of and on at the right place. Lecce is great at night, and also has probably more substantial and high standard restaurants, it has a main piazza, which has an old amphitheatre in it, there is also an older one just around from the piazza as well, both hold events and performances in them. Lecce is a great place to have a late evening walk around.
Puglia is a place of two sides, there are the wonderful towns of Lecce, Gallioploi, Ortanto, Ostuni, Alberobello, and in between are car drives of 30-45 minutes, and what lies in between can be worn down and neglected or failed buildings, and towns that seem closed. There are of course wonderful little towns but you need to spend the time in them to see that, Cavallino was an example just near us in San Cesario, and even Jayne said after walking around San Cesario , it grew on her and was quite nice. But you can't help feel that the place is in disrepair, something you don't see as much up North. They have a habit of dropping rubbish along the roads or in abandoned blocks, but the people are very nice and the food is of course very good, though you need to be slightly selective.
I had a feeling of Australia there, as there are many gum trees, but also the local italians remind me more of the Australian ones, they carry their eskies to the beach, use towels and small chairs instead of the lidos you see more up north, they have them but they are more for the tourists.
I would also say that down in the deeper south of Puglia where we were it is drier, flatter, and an hour north towards and past Ostuni it becomes hillier and greener. There are olive groves everywhere, with a stone trulli amongst them, often collapsed, and along the road a well made stone walls, that l felt may be there to keep stock in in the non olive months, the soil in the deep south looks average but it works and further north it becomes redder.
Most of the beaches are sand, but there are plenty that are rock coves. All the beaches are thin strips of sand with small lidos on them, along with the occasional bar setup, which is something l really like, as it makes going to the beach comfortable, you can get a lunch, coffee, beer, ice-cream, and usually a toilet and shower.
What Puglia is , is another region with its own foods and wine, and cultural experiences, and this is what makes Italy so terrific, the opportunity to travel in a reasonably short distance and explore a new world.
So the two weeks went well, all the kids got along well, and l guess Mimi and Ewan bonded, as they are both the quieter and softer in the families, and Hunter and Maddy sort of bonded as they are more individual and self interested. The boys loved Charlie who was a lot of fun and never complained, and l think liked being around the boys. Mike has a strong sense of food, and so often when arriving somewhere he would suggest we find somewhere to eat straight away, which became a bit of a joke sometimes, Kate and Jayne found time to relax and read, and l did a few things but not much.
We all left together and drove via Alberobello, where we saw a whole village of trulli stone buildings, infact so many it was a bit like a fairy town, especially with so many tourists, nearly every building sold tourist objects, but it is well worth seeing, as they are obviously very unique to Puglia.
We continued on and stayed the night at Chieti, in Abruzzo, which is a very old city set up on a hill. We stayed down below in a handy apartment and had dinner in a spanish restaurant in Chieti that night, we were the only customers, everyone had gone away to the beach. Chieti lies near Ortana and Pescara. From there we drove to Ripatransone, where Wendy Watson and Ted are staying for 6 weeks soon. It was a beautiful small town in the hills not far from the beaches, and close to Offida which is a place l love for its church and frescoes. It is also close to Ascoli Piceno where we stayed for a few days last year, and is famous for its towers, though like most places now its hard to find them. Ripatransone has the two thinnest lanes in Italy, 60 and 80 cm wide, and an interesting if not small archaeological museum, and some lovely small piazzas, with also great views over the countryside.
We arrived home safely, did our washing, and got ready to leave to Alicante, Spain in 2 days, but first we had to pick up our permessos, finally after 3 months.
So then we came down to the dining room for dinner, as we thought it would be easier to eat there and get an early night. And this is where it begins, we sat down in a Faulty Towers dining area, to be served by Manuele style characters, waiter one had come up with the strong belief , that to be a good waiter you must keep one hand behind your back as long as possible, waiter two who did not serve us, was rather uncertain of if he needed to be there and if he was infact there.
So allow me to introduce the other tables, and this was also odd, as each table had a number like 44, but there were only 12 tables. So lets just say table 1 had a German family, this we knew by the socks and sandals, the wife had been badly beaten with an ugly stick, as had her eldest daughter, in fact the same stick. The father drank his beer, and they had their bottle of white wine, that they had for the week they were there, and drank accordingly so it would last the week. I felt that all these people came here each year for a week or two. Table 2 had two elderly ladies , one who reminded me of Jaynes mother, table 3, another elderly couple with their son who was about 35, the question was why was he there with his parents at 35. Table 4, the young girl at the pool with her grand parents, table 5, where parents with a single young son about 14, who had his large bottle of fanta, unlike the Germans we found out, had no desire to make it last the week, and a large bottle of coke soon appeared on the table. But it was this table that concerned me the most, as the boy ate with a unique style. Now l will admit some kids eat badly, and only use a fork, and that in some way can be forgiven, but this child only ate with a knife. He stabbed at the food picking it up with a knife and eating it as if some medieval movie of a king and a chicken. Even Hunter commented in shock when he saw. So as the night went by and our seemingly one handed waiter took firstly our primo orders, then went back around the table to take the secondo. He then brought the meals back to the wrong people, so the painstaking ordering seemed to be a waste of time, but he did keep his hand behind his back, when he went to take the plates away we all hoped he would then put his hand with the plates behind his back, and that would have made the night, but no.
So we finished up being the last to leave, and though l felt the meal was rather expensive the entertainment was priceless.
We slept well, and left after a simple breakfast, driving on to meet Mike and Kate Frayne and their family at San Cesario di Lecce.
We arrived about 2 pm, after more traffic, and an accident on the motorway, we were stationary, and the car behind was hit by the car behind it and it then hit us, not much real damage, but we had to stop, chat and decide what to do, the person who caused the accident, decided to drive off after a few minutes and we then decided it was not worth the insurance and so left the poor people with damage to the front and back of their car. Thankfully l had taken photos of the cars and of the plate and insurance details of the car that caused it, and l sent them by email to the damaged car owners. There was another traffic jam the day before, so bad we were stuck for over an hour, so everyone got out of the cars, chatted, smoked, and our boys decided to play soccer on the highway, much to the joy of everyone else.
So we arrived in San Cesario, a shitty looking town, and l must say l was rather concerned, thinking the photos they sent us of the house may have been doctored, but as we drove through the gates from the Beruit style town, we were happily relieved. We stayed at a wonderful villa with over an acre of perfect garden, a 20x8 metre pool, and the house was a perfect example of stylish villa design in the region. It was a horizontally stripped in ochre and red, and the inside was very elaborate and stately .
Mike and Kate arrived a couple of hours later, with Charlie 4, Lulu 6, Mimi 8, Madelaine 9, and Myrna their housekeeper, who is from the Phillipines. And so started a great 2 week holiday in Puglia.
During the next two weeks we spent days, or half days at the beaches, you have two options, either the east (Adriatic Sea) or the west (Bay of Taranto) On the east is the town of Ortanto which is a beautiful seaside town with a wonderful church with a whole floor of mosaics, and underneath in a small chapel, crypt space are some great frescoes, both reminding me of Offida, and Ravenna. So well worth seeing that, otherwise it is a town to walk through the thin streets in the walled section, and eat at one of the many restaurants. Outside the wall are more modern restaurants and activities for families, like volleyball, beach, swimming, amusement section. You could easily spend a few days at this town, we went to beaches near by which were great , though most were very crowded in July, August.
On the west coast is the town of Gallipoli, which is also very beautiful, you reach the old part by a 14th century bridge, and then walk around the town, which is very seafood based, there are great restaurants here, we ate at one called Il Bastiogne. The town is more to visit for food, and the views from the small island are great at sunset, outside the island is rather average and not worth worrying about. Around Gallipoli we also went to some beaches, and a water fun park.
Then there is the town of Lecce, which lies in the middle, it is also walled, and typically is wonderful inside, but also not to bad outside, though it has spilled out and is surrounded by a hugh ring road, which makes it annoying sometimes getting of and on at the right place. Lecce is great at night, and also has probably more substantial and high standard restaurants, it has a main piazza, which has an old amphitheatre in it, there is also an older one just around from the piazza as well, both hold events and performances in them. Lecce is a great place to have a late evening walk around.
Puglia is a place of two sides, there are the wonderful towns of Lecce, Gallioploi, Ortanto, Ostuni, Alberobello, and in between are car drives of 30-45 minutes, and what lies in between can be worn down and neglected or failed buildings, and towns that seem closed. There are of course wonderful little towns but you need to spend the time in them to see that, Cavallino was an example just near us in San Cesario, and even Jayne said after walking around San Cesario , it grew on her and was quite nice. But you can't help feel that the place is in disrepair, something you don't see as much up North. They have a habit of dropping rubbish along the roads or in abandoned blocks, but the people are very nice and the food is of course very good, though you need to be slightly selective.
I had a feeling of Australia there, as there are many gum trees, but also the local italians remind me more of the Australian ones, they carry their eskies to the beach, use towels and small chairs instead of the lidos you see more up north, they have them but they are more for the tourists.
I would also say that down in the deeper south of Puglia where we were it is drier, flatter, and an hour north towards and past Ostuni it becomes hillier and greener. There are olive groves everywhere, with a stone trulli amongst them, often collapsed, and along the road a well made stone walls, that l felt may be there to keep stock in in the non olive months, the soil in the deep south looks average but it works and further north it becomes redder.
Most of the beaches are sand, but there are plenty that are rock coves. All the beaches are thin strips of sand with small lidos on them, along with the occasional bar setup, which is something l really like, as it makes going to the beach comfortable, you can get a lunch, coffee, beer, ice-cream, and usually a toilet and shower.
What Puglia is , is another region with its own foods and wine, and cultural experiences, and this is what makes Italy so terrific, the opportunity to travel in a reasonably short distance and explore a new world.
So the two weeks went well, all the kids got along well, and l guess Mimi and Ewan bonded, as they are both the quieter and softer in the families, and Hunter and Maddy sort of bonded as they are more individual and self interested. The boys loved Charlie who was a lot of fun and never complained, and l think liked being around the boys. Mike has a strong sense of food, and so often when arriving somewhere he would suggest we find somewhere to eat straight away, which became a bit of a joke sometimes, Kate and Jayne found time to relax and read, and l did a few things but not much.
We all left together and drove via Alberobello, where we saw a whole village of trulli stone buildings, infact so many it was a bit like a fairy town, especially with so many tourists, nearly every building sold tourist objects, but it is well worth seeing, as they are obviously very unique to Puglia.
We continued on and stayed the night at Chieti, in Abruzzo, which is a very old city set up on a hill. We stayed down below in a handy apartment and had dinner in a spanish restaurant in Chieti that night, we were the only customers, everyone had gone away to the beach. Chieti lies near Ortana and Pescara. From there we drove to Ripatransone, where Wendy Watson and Ted are staying for 6 weeks soon. It was a beautiful small town in the hills not far from the beaches, and close to Offida which is a place l love for its church and frescoes. It is also close to Ascoli Piceno where we stayed for a few days last year, and is famous for its towers, though like most places now its hard to find them. Ripatransone has the two thinnest lanes in Italy, 60 and 80 cm wide, and an interesting if not small archaeological museum, and some lovely small piazzas, with also great views over the countryside.
We arrived home safely, did our washing, and got ready to leave to Alicante, Spain in 2 days, but first we had to pick up our permessos, finally after 3 months.
Vault, Crypt in church at Otranto
Strange families
Kate and Jayne in Trulli town
Trulli houses
Families on the beach near Otranto
Family portraits at San Cesario villa
Pool time
All the kids at Gallipoli, Italy
Family at house in San Cesario
BBQ time in San Cesario de Lecce
Ampitheartre , Lecce
Hunty eating sea urchins
giovedì 10 luglio 2014
Paris Rob Mirams wedding celebration
Jayne and l were invited to Rob Miram and his wife Maite's celebration of their wedding in Australia recently, on a boat trip on the Seine, Paris. We arrived friday evening, after leaving the boys with Antonio and his family at their summer house in Rasiglio.
Antonio met us at our apartment , he was going to use our car while we were away. So to get used to it, he drove to the airport, this did not put me in a comfortable feeling, as Antonio drives very very slow, and is always turning his head to talk, never seemed to turn to watch the traffic, just slowly poked out and presumed they would stop as he talked. But we made it, even the boys noticed his driving, and looked at us, “what are you doing to us“!!!
We entered the airport, wondering if we were going to be allowed on the flight, as our permesso's had expired two months ago , and we have been waiting for the new ones. This has meant we are not allowed to leave Italy, unless to Australia. Thankfully we were flying with Easy-jet, and they seem much easier than Ryanair, who we had an issue with to Malta. So we bordered the flight, after spending an hour watching one of the world cup matches (France/Germany) on the tv at the airport cafe, along with hundreds of others. I think people deliberately got out to the airport early to watch it.
We arrived in Paris, taxi to Stefane's apartment, as he was letting us stay there, he stayed with his girlfriend Melanie. I then shot of to meet Rob and James Fennessey, and a couple of other guys, finally getting to the restaurant after many phone calls with James, l found out it was not just a few guys but about 20 people, of all shapes sizes, sex and colour. Anyway at 1pm l came home, after travelling back by taxi, l noticed dozens of people, family's sleeping on the streets of Paris, quite sad.
Saturday was the day of the party, Jayne and l had travelled the week before to an outlet near Florence to get some snappy cloths for the party, so we caught up with James and Sue, and another wonderful couple Craig and Annik, who live in Demoyne, Iowa, Annik is from France. So we had lunch, looked in a few shops, and then got back to the apartment for an hour snooze before the 7.30 party.
We ended up getting the subway to the party , as there was an African festival on where the taxi rank was, it was a huge festival that went on all day and well into the evening. The metro in Paris is l think wonderful, though you can end up doing a lot of walking, which is not great with Jaynes leg, and in a long dress. But we made it, running a bit late which is never good with a boat, as we came out of the subway, the next trick was to find the right boat, after 10 minutes we were back on track and arrived looking wonderful. Thankfully the weather was perfect, a cool breeze, sometimes a bit extreme, but no rain, as it had rained early that day, and ended up raining for the next couple of days. There were about 60 people, friends of Robs from Fosters days and Nick Anthony from Puckett, James and Sue , and Annik and Craig from the USA. A few relatives, and of course friends of Maite's.
It was a great cruise, along the Seine, seeing things from a different point of view, seeing the Eiffel tower of course gives you that feeling of place, we had drinks on the top open deck, and dancing, magic show down stairs. It was a great night, the food was average, but that happens on these things, met some interesting people, and some not. Ended up all dancing even Jayne, l went on a wild tour of my own unique l gather dancing style, which was commented on that evening and the next day. (The strange thing is , last night we had some music on in the apartment here and Hunter dances just like me!?)
We got home after 1am, and slept well. The next day we decided to go to D'Orsay, but the line went on for miles in the rain, so we met up with the folks from the USA and headed of to a cafe where Rob, Maite,Nick and a few others where having lunch. Typical Parisian cafe, apparently used in movies, so we stayed there ate, drank, and then moved on to some shopping and another bar to watch the Wimbledon final. After that we did a bit of shopping in the sale shops, and headed to a dinner reservation we had at a restaurant called L'Rounda, which was terrific. That was a 5 bottle of wine night, after all the drinks and food during the day, l was spent, and happy to collapse into bed.
Monday, the others left, and that allowed Jayne and l to visit some galleries, but most were closed, so we ended up in the Tokyo museum, which is very alternative, performance art, and that ain't easy after a big weekend. So we spent more time travelling on the subway and walking. Later we ended up at Stefane's new office, and had drinks and dinner with him and Melanie. Getting to bed early and tired.
Tue morning we woke, cleaned up the apartment, and left to the airport, only to be hassled by Easy-jet about carry on, the fact we had small bags, much smaller than others but another item to carry, handbag and suit carry, we had to somehow squash them in out bags to get on, and as soon as on, l pulled them out and out them comfortably in the overhead locker.
We arrived in Bologna at 1pm, with Antonio and the boys waiting for us, Antonio allowed me to drive home, much to the boys happiness.
Antonio met us at our apartment , he was going to use our car while we were away. So to get used to it, he drove to the airport, this did not put me in a comfortable feeling, as Antonio drives very very slow, and is always turning his head to talk, never seemed to turn to watch the traffic, just slowly poked out and presumed they would stop as he talked. But we made it, even the boys noticed his driving, and looked at us, “what are you doing to us“!!!
We entered the airport, wondering if we were going to be allowed on the flight, as our permesso's had expired two months ago , and we have been waiting for the new ones. This has meant we are not allowed to leave Italy, unless to Australia. Thankfully we were flying with Easy-jet, and they seem much easier than Ryanair, who we had an issue with to Malta. So we bordered the flight, after spending an hour watching one of the world cup matches (France/Germany) on the tv at the airport cafe, along with hundreds of others. I think people deliberately got out to the airport early to watch it.
We arrived in Paris, taxi to Stefane's apartment, as he was letting us stay there, he stayed with his girlfriend Melanie. I then shot of to meet Rob and James Fennessey, and a couple of other guys, finally getting to the restaurant after many phone calls with James, l found out it was not just a few guys but about 20 people, of all shapes sizes, sex and colour. Anyway at 1pm l came home, after travelling back by taxi, l noticed dozens of people, family's sleeping on the streets of Paris, quite sad.
Saturday was the day of the party, Jayne and l had travelled the week before to an outlet near Florence to get some snappy cloths for the party, so we caught up with James and Sue, and another wonderful couple Craig and Annik, who live in Demoyne, Iowa, Annik is from France. So we had lunch, looked in a few shops, and then got back to the apartment for an hour snooze before the 7.30 party.
We ended up getting the subway to the party , as there was an African festival on where the taxi rank was, it was a huge festival that went on all day and well into the evening. The metro in Paris is l think wonderful, though you can end up doing a lot of walking, which is not great with Jaynes leg, and in a long dress. But we made it, running a bit late which is never good with a boat, as we came out of the subway, the next trick was to find the right boat, after 10 minutes we were back on track and arrived looking wonderful. Thankfully the weather was perfect, a cool breeze, sometimes a bit extreme, but no rain, as it had rained early that day, and ended up raining for the next couple of days. There were about 60 people, friends of Robs from Fosters days and Nick Anthony from Puckett, James and Sue , and Annik and Craig from the USA. A few relatives, and of course friends of Maite's.
It was a great cruise, along the Seine, seeing things from a different point of view, seeing the Eiffel tower of course gives you that feeling of place, we had drinks on the top open deck, and dancing, magic show down stairs. It was a great night, the food was average, but that happens on these things, met some interesting people, and some not. Ended up all dancing even Jayne, l went on a wild tour of my own unique l gather dancing style, which was commented on that evening and the next day. (The strange thing is , last night we had some music on in the apartment here and Hunter dances just like me!?)
We got home after 1am, and slept well. The next day we decided to go to D'Orsay, but the line went on for miles in the rain, so we met up with the folks from the USA and headed of to a cafe where Rob, Maite,Nick and a few others where having lunch. Typical Parisian cafe, apparently used in movies, so we stayed there ate, drank, and then moved on to some shopping and another bar to watch the Wimbledon final. After that we did a bit of shopping in the sale shops, and headed to a dinner reservation we had at a restaurant called L'Rounda, which was terrific. That was a 5 bottle of wine night, after all the drinks and food during the day, l was spent, and happy to collapse into bed.
Monday, the others left, and that allowed Jayne and l to visit some galleries, but most were closed, so we ended up in the Tokyo museum, which is very alternative, performance art, and that ain't easy after a big weekend. So we spent more time travelling on the subway and walking. Later we ended up at Stefane's new office, and had drinks and dinner with him and Melanie. Getting to bed early and tired.
Tue morning we woke, cleaned up the apartment, and left to the airport, only to be hassled by Easy-jet about carry on, the fact we had small bags, much smaller than others but another item to carry, handbag and suit carry, we had to somehow squash them in out bags to get on, and as soon as on, l pulled them out and out them comfortably in the overhead locker.
We arrived in Bologna at 1pm, with Antonio and the boys waiting for us, Antonio allowed me to drive home, much to the boys happiness.
Janye and that big stick
Lunch
Friends on the Seine
Jayne, Graig, Sue
Lunch in a famous cafe!
Boys on a boat
Rob and me and a stick
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