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.

Ready to go.......

Case packed and I am good to go again. This time my travels are for fun, as I am heading down to Sorrento (where I lived for many years and where I got married in 2014) to visit friends and catch up.
Looking forward to some great food, wonderful company and of course the odd glass of wine! If the weather is good enough I am hoping to get to the Delfino for sun, a swim and a lovely lunch with a bottle of pinkie!
Plan b if it rains will probably be a visit to Naples and a bit of culture. Vediamo.

Casa dolce casa!

I love touring and travelling and exploring Italy with all it has to offer, but it is always lovely to come home. Just being in your own space with all your things around, being able to make a coffee or do laundry when you like and not being ruled by a clock is truly a wonderful thing. A simple lunch on the terrace becomes something that I adore and think about on days when things do not go to plan!

So I am enjoying being here now, but already getting the suitcase ready for the next travels.

Cinema Paradiso.

I do like Castelbuono, it is a lovely place that is still very much lived in and for the residents although every time I go there there seems to be more tourists.
Apart from the fact that one of my favourite films was based there, it is full of history and culture. From the Ventimiglia castle to the lovely little olive oil frantoio which has just won two gold medals for their oil it is full of things to discover.
They still use donkeys and asses to collect children and take them to school and also to collect the rubbish from the little narrow streets.

Obviously in a place like this the food is also excellent as can be seen my my typical Sicilian antipasto.

Buon appetito.

A what? Tales from Lipari.

I think it was on my second or third visit to Lipari when I went in search of the tourist office. It is a bit hidden and there is only a small sign on the wall to tell you that it is the right place. I went in and there was an old gentleman behind the bare counter. I said buongiorno and then asked for a map. ' A what?' He replied. 'A map.' I repeated.
'A map.' He said again as if I had asked for something otherworldly.
'Yes,' I said undeterred. ' A map.'
He shuffled through to the back office where there was obviously a colleague. I could hear them talking which was almost exactly the conversation that I had just had with him.
'She wants a map'
'A what?'
'A map'
This was followed by muttering and boxes being moved around and then he finally re appeared.
The map had been found and I felt lucky to have it!
I went in last week, for old times sake but there were maps out on the counter and no sign of the old man that had given me the map before.
I do hope that he is still there!

A local place for local people!

So here I am back in Tumbleweed town before picking up another group. They don't get much in the way of foreigners in these parts! I went back to a little Pizzeria where I had a really nice tuna salad and she remembered me- after a year! (Not a lot of new faces in tumbleweed town!) She reeled of what was in the salad and at the end when I went to pay she asked if I could remember how much I paid last year!

Great place and will go back when I am next here.

Ben tornata mister!

Add caption

My all time favourite fountain has returned to its rightful place in the centre of a roundabout as you head into Florence from Firenze sud. (Near the OBI concert hall).
Someone had crashed into the roundabout and taken it out! This pic is actually the one that I found outside the Hilton at Rome airport.
Glad he is back in Florence now too.

All Roads........

An interesting week to say the least. Started out okay but then we got bogged down by road closures in Assisi and Rome. Assisi was due to the Giro D'Italia and Rome due to the Race for. Cure. 

Both amazing things but they are a real pain when you are trying to get your group around to see things. We did eventually get to Assisi, but we had to give up a day in Rome to get there which was not ideal.
Weather in Assisi was mixed but end the end the sun came shining through and we got great views of the Basilica of St Francis with blue sky as a backdrop.

Firenze was busy but not overly so and as always now there is a big Police, Carabinieri And army presence about town. Not sure if that makes me feel better or worse! The Uffizi was definitely less busy than normal.

Arezzo was pretty wet but I still enjoyed seeing all the usual sights and urged everyone to see the film by Roberto Benigni - La vita e bella, much of which was filmed in Arezzo.

In Rome the Vatican seemed as busy as ever judging by the queue that was building to get in in the non pre booked line. But inside although guests thought that it was busy I found it a lot quieter than usual. I guess this is a sign of the times.

This is the 'Barca Di speranza' which is just outside the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi.

Trinacria

So if you are wondering where we stay if we only have a day before collecting another group, wonder no more! We normally stay somewhere fairly close to the airport where we will meet the group. This is one of the quietest places I think I have been to, and I have been to a few 'interesting places!'

Tumbleweed town.

The weather again this week was mixed with cold winds and rain which is unusual for this time of year in Sicily. I thankfully had taken lots of layers and managed to wear most of them every day!

Things did start to look up when I went to a tasting in the lovely Pellegrino Cantina in Marsala. It is still a family owned concern and they even have a family tree as you enter into the Cantina. They do a really nice tour and tell you all about the Marsala wine which isn't just a sweet wine. They also have dry and ruby Marsala and some of the wines taste more like a fine sherry. It is great for an aperitivo and depending on which one you use marries well with cheeses and sweet cakes. I like it poured over some sliced Sicilian oranges as a dessert. Yum!

Giro in Tuscany

A window on Florence

So I have had a busy couple of weeks in giro in first of all Tuscany and then onto Sicily. In Florence I did notice that there were not as many people as usual for this time of year, not sure if that is down to finances for people or if tourism is down in general.
Managed to catch up with a colleague in Florence and also a friend that I had not seen for four years. It was great to see her again and get all of her news and we have vowed to try and meet up next month when I am not working and we can have more time.
I went to one of my favourite haunts for lunch - Il Desco on Via della Terme. I adore this place, they do great local food and a menu del giorno at lunch time which is fantastic value. Despite the bad weather I still went up onto the top of Rinascente in Piazza della Repubblica for a coffee. The views are fab and for once it was really quiet, so I had my pick of tables.

We arrived in Siena on Santa Caterina and were treated to the procession which was on it's way to mass in the church of San Domenico. As well as the flag throwers and drummers there was also the Bishop and the Mayor, quite a spectacle!

I don't usually have a sweet tooth, but the cold and rain drove me into a café in Lucca that does lovely coffee and buccellato, it had to be done and cheered me up no end!

After scoffing that I had to have a walk round theold city  walls of Lucca to try and get rid of some of the calories! I could have done with several circuits of the walls and not just the one but time was running out and the group I knew were gathering to head onto our next destination. Time to move on.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog which will cover many of my travels throughout Italy and beyond! In addition to seeing beautiful countryside I will also be sharing some of my adventures and mishaps as a Tour Manager.

Culture, art and fashion will be a major part of my blog and food obviously features. It is impossible to have lived in Italy for eighteen years and not cover food. It is one of the most important things in the Italian life. Later I will post some of the best recipes that I have picked up over the years.

Sadly I can't share some of the aroma's of the amazing dishes and wines, you'll just have to come to Italy and sample them for yourself!

Here are a few pictures which will hopefully give you a flavour of things to come.

Mama making the pasta

Salt being dried in Trapani.

Art in the Piazza

 Interesting trees in Toscana

A lovely floral window in Venezia

My favourite cheese shop in Pienza

Luggage to lust after!

 

Now it's time to start on my travels again. Hopefully we shall meet up on the road! Andiamo!