Palermo

Palermo is such an intriguing city, edgy, grubby, splendid, colourful, noisy, I could go on, one thing is sure about this city is that one must always expect the unexpected.
On my last visit there I was treated to a wedding party on the steps of Teatro Massimo (yes, the one in the Godfather!) and across the road a beautiful horse was being winched into a skip having had a heart attack and keeled over.
Thankfully this doesn't happen every day, but there is always something happening somewhere in this city.
Heading there again soon, so I shall keep you posted!

Arnolfo Cambio

Arnolfo Cambio was born in 1245 the town of Colle Di Val d'Elsa in Tuscany and studied under Cimabue and Nicolo Pisano.

His most famous works include the Duomo of Santa Maria del Fiore ,the church of Santa Croce and Palazzo Vecchio all in Florence.

 Indeed a great architect, and yet this building is almost opposite his house in Colle Di Val d'Elsa. I wonder what he would think!

Il Bravio Delle Botti.

I was heading over to see a friend in Sant Albino, taking the back road on my motorino (scooter) when I literally turned a corner and saw two men coming full pelt towards me pushing a huge and obviously heavy barrel.
Thankfully I dodged them or I would have been squashed like a hedgehog! I assume that they were practicing for the 'Bravio delle Botti' which takes place every year in Montepulciano. On the last Sunday in August there are competitions between contrades or districts where two men called 'spingitori' or pushers have to push an 80 kilo barrel on an 1800 meter course up the steep streets of Montepulciano. There are of course other things going on as well such as wine tasting and various processions. Worth a visit if you are in Tuscany at this time of the year.

Can you imagine pushing barrels along these streets?!

Big fat lunch!

When I first moved to Sorrento one of the things that stood out was the 'big fat lunch'. Coming from the UK if I had lunch at all (often skipped in favour of a quick coffee) it was a sandwich from M&S.
I discovered fairly soon that this was in no way acceptable to Southern Italians, who frequently have antipasto, primo and then secondo. Primo is the pasta or risotto course and is never served as a main the way it is in the UK, the secondo being the main course.

In addition, my friends in Sorrento were quick to point out that every pasta has his sauce, and you can't serve any pasta with any sauce. Well, you can but if you have not served the correct pasta and sauce it will be met with scorn by any Italian.
Just to confuse the issue further, some antipasto dishes can also be served as a main course, such as a caprese or parmigiana di melenzane.

Coming soon.......

Ha!
Coming soon, the big fat lunch!
And just in case you missed this amazing video of Sorrento.....
Tada!
Here it is again. Enjoy!


https://vimeo.com/123992541


My favourite video of Sorrento.

Ritorno.

The journey home was not quite as bad as the outward one, trains were more or less on time and as I left Sorrento quite early in the morning I didn't have to deal with any musical accompaniment on the train.

The weather was getting better as I left Campania and worse as I headed to Tuscany! C'est all vie.

Now home again, but just long enough to get laundry done, sort out paperwork and pack once more. My travels will take me around Tuscany and onto Rome where I am hoping to have enough time to get to the Banksy exhibition. Watch this space.....

Sorrento, andata.

I love returning to Sorrento apart from one thing, the circumvesuviana train which runs from Naples to Sorrento. Affectionately renamed 'the lose the will to live express'! The first battle is to get a seat on board and you are very lucky if you do, the next thing is to try and get a carriage without an accordion playing child or the band that plays so loudly that you can't hear yourself think. Once that journey has been survived, everything else is easy!

A day at the Delfino (down at Marina Grande) was just what was required. A lounger in the sun, followed by a lovely lunch and then some more sun, perfect day!

Catching up with old friends and making some new ones too was a wonderful way to spend a few days off from the hectic life of touring.

For anyone thinking of heading to this neck of the woods, my good friend Chris will look after you. She runs a company called Aldo Limos and you can find them on www.aldolimos.com. Check out their video below. If you haven't been it will make you want to go!

https://vimeo.com/123992541

This sums up exactly what Sorrento is for me, and why so many people return year after year.