Sunday, September 29, 2013

San Miniato

Yesterday was a 26km walk which took us through some peaceful rural trails and roads. We enjoyed passing an equestrian centre where they were training sulky horses. Unfortunately we didn't have the video ready when four "buggies" tore past us, very close to the trail. It was quite pleasant to see horses in their corrals as we passed.
A large part of yesterday's walk was on elevated tracks beside rivers and canals, and we saw several great blue herons, a muskrat swimming, and a turtle.
We had some trouble both with missing critical signs and veering off the trail, as well as with our guidebook and the iPhone VF waypoints not jiving with the signs we were following on the trail, so that was frustrating. Seemed like the signs were taking us away from the busier roads, but in doing that we were walking further! We made out ok by using a combination of signs, guidebook directions and the iPhone ap (which is our lifesaver).
One highlight yesterday was meeting three more pilgrims who actually speak English! That brings our total number of pilgrims met to 7 so far. Quite different than the Camino!
Our destination, San Miniato, is a "hilltop village", so that meant a lot of uphill climbing at the end of a hot day! We could not even face walking around the town to see the old church with its famous tower..our feet just couldn't do it. We did however have a wonderful meal of eggplant parmesiana, deep fried rabbit, bean casserole, and tiramisu, all washed down with some great red wine, for the grand total of E38. It was actually a "pelligrino" menu, and these pelligrinos sure appreciated it.
This morning we were awakened by a thunderstorm-it stopped by the time we left and we had a wonderful walk through remote countryside, with perfect Tuscan scenery...then the thunder storm caught up to us and we walked the last two hours in the middle of it-fortunately our rain ponchos served us well.
Tomorrow is an easy 12 km day to San Gimignano where we are having another rest day! It is another hill town, known for its many towers, so should be fun to explore.

Russ
Sent from my iPhone

Friday, September 27, 2013

Lucca photos

Altopascio, Tuscany

Yesterday was our rest day in Lucca, and we sure needed it. Our feet were ok for sightseeing though, so we walked the entire 4km wall which surrounds the old town. It was great to see so many locals out running and walking, and it obviously is a favorite place for them, much like our Dallas Road is in Victoria. The wall is actually wide enough to have a tree-lined road on top of it, thus it was built well to withstand cannons, etc over the years.
The old town inside the walls is quite interesting to explore, with shops ranging from high end designer clothing to little delis and cafes. We went inside a lovely old church that had been built specifically to encourage pilgrims on their way to Rome on the Via Francigena, so it had many beautiful Roman columns inside, the idea being that it gave the pilgrims a glimpse of what they would see in Rome at the end of their pilgrimage.
I really wanted to get our credentiales (pilgrim passports) stamped there, and was lucky enough to find a man who helped us out. We've been getting stamps (timbres in Italian) from every town we stay in, so it makes a nice keepsake.
We also climbed 200+ stairs to the top of a tower that has trees growing on top, quite bizarre looking but great views.
Both evenings we ate at a great little "trattoria" across the street from our b&b. Wonderful food and the menu was all in Italian which apparently is the sign of a good restaurant here! It was not a touristy place...seemed like everyone who came in knew each other and the owners and staff.
Today we were up early and on the walk by 7:30-cloudy and cool which was perfect. It was only 18 km to our destination, so we made it by 12:30. The scenery wasn't that interesting but we were expecting to be on busy roads for most of it, and were pleased that part of the time was spent on quiet smaller residential roads. This town is pretty small however, so we couldn't even find a bar or restaurant open. They take siestas here as they do in Spain. We have the window open in our hotel room and have been listening to dogs barking nonstop, and people yelling at them to shut up!! Russ has nicknamed this town Altoshithole!! Gave us a good laugh anyway.
I will post a few photos of Lucca, including the wall, the tower & a few food related shots!
Til next time...
Linda


Russ Haas
Sent from my iPhone

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

More pix - all iPhone

Entends tu les chiens aboyer?

Well we can sure hear our dogs barking. It's Thursday morning here in Lucca and our feet are sore. No blisters just sore. We walked 33 km to get here yesterday. That wasn't really our plan - we actually spent an hour yesterday morning in Pietrasanta looking for taxis, trains or buses to get us part way here. We did this (admittedly with guilty feelings since we are certified pilgrims) because we didn't think we could do a long distance so early in the walk. However, we got skunked trying to find a ride so we just started walking. We arrived at our B&B just before 6 last night.
The b&b is nice and we're taking a rest day here in Lucca. It is one of the few Italian cities not damaged in a war so it has a fully intact wall around it. The big 'to do' here is walk or cycle around the top of the wall. Hopefully our feet will let us do that.
One of the interesting things we discovered yesterday is the proliferation of timber bamboo. When we first saw it we thought it was an intended grove but we kept seeing it as we walked - and in patches of a hectare or more. It's abundant and flourishing beautifully but there's no evidence it's utilized so I think it is an invasive weed here.
We are also amazed at how much food there is everywhere. You can't go 10 feet without encountering a tree or plant that you eat. Rosemary, thyme and other herbs grow all over the place and help make the air smell nice. We see people collecting plants and herbs along roadsides and paths. Olive groves vineyards and vegetable gardens are everywhere. Italy may be a small country but its productivity is amazing.
I'll put some more photos in the next post.

Russ
Sent from my iPhone

Marbelous!!

First of all, we have not had wifi lately, so I will talk about the last couple of days, and then Russ will post about today. Day before yesterday we started out from Sarzana around 10:30am and walked to Marina di Carrera, around 15km. We went through small villages, vineyards, past an archaeological site (Luni) and ended up in a beach resort area that was very commercialized and quite devoid of tourists! We were absolutely exhausted by the time we finished walking, around 3pm, and then had trouble finding a place to stay that was a reasonable price and/or not full. All we could think about was the large beer we were going to have once we were checked in somewhere! So...we found a place, the elderly man at reception gave me a key to a room that was occupied already- that wasn't too bad as the guests weren't in the room when I walked in, then when we got the next room down the hall, there was no power...no lights went on, nothing. The front desk gentleman had to come up and flip the breaker- all was good. First order of business (before the beer) was to shower and then do our hand washing ( it's a pilgrim thing). Russ did his first, then I was rinsing mine, and when I pulled the plug out of the sink my little "sweat" cloth went right down the drain before I could catch it. It was obvious right away that it had completely plugged the drain! In retrospect it was very comical, as I thought of bending a crappy coat hanger and using that to fish out my cloth, however all of the coat hangers were good quality- figures! Russ came up with the idea of bending his broken reading glasses to make a hook. I had to stifle the urge to laugh hysterically as he probed the drain with his new tool, which of course didn't We finally gave up and went down to the front desk yet again...fortunately there had been a shift change so we had a new old guy to deal with. I had learned how to say "I'm sorry" and he was very nice- went up with his little bag of tools and solved the problem very quickly. We DID get the beer so it all worked out in the end.

So you're probably wondering about the subject of this blog entry. We have been enjoying the views of the Carrera mountains lately, and yesterday morning we walked past an area where Carrera marble is loaded onto ships..huge chunks of it, mostly white but also some brown as well. Apparently Michelangelo's David was made of marble from the mountains of Carrera, and he also used marble from Pietrasanta, where we stayed last night. The same morning I noticed that the sidewalk curbs were made of marble- how cool is that? Later that day we passed houses with chunks of marble laying in the backyard-seems it's everywhere, and in abundance. You can see where it's been mined in the mountains, and there are many more mountains just like that, so don't think there will be a shortage anytime soon.

One of the advantages of walking is that you notice the little things that otherwise would be missed (such as curbs, lizards etc). We have also noticed how many cyclists are on the road-groups of men mostly, young, old, fit, overweight - they seem to love it. Some of them have yelled hello to us which is fun. How they manage to not get killed by the fast drivers is a mystery, but they all seem to accommodate each other on the road.

We have enjoyed the walking very much so far, and the weather has been perfect. Nice little breeze, sometimes shade, wonderful scenery. Last night in Pietrasanta we stayed in a convent...thought we'd try it, and we were in a dorm room with six bunk beds, and ended up sharing the room with a French couple who didn't speak much English! I actually slept better than I have lately...must be the Camino feeling of security, being with other pilgrims.

That's it for now- ciao!
Linda



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Sunday, September 22, 2013

More photos

Bella Cinque Terre

The last two days we have been staying in the village of Levanto, which is just northwest of the Cinque Terre
Town of Monterosso. For those of you who aren't familiar with this area, it is a small chunk of the Italian Riviera consisting of 5 villages that are connected by a network of hiking trails. There is also train & boat service, so it's pretty easy to get around. Yesterday we hiked from here to Monterosso, the next town (2.5 hrs) and then from Monterosso to Vernazza (1.5 hrs). The trails are up quite high, so there is a LOT of climbing up and down. The legs are feeling it today! Our hosts here at the B&B had recommended another section which we did today, and it was truly magnificent, from Manarola to Corniglia. I can't begin to describe the vistas we were rewarded with, so we'll post some photos to give you the idea.
This is our last night here, so tomorrow we're off to Sarzana, where we will connect with the Via Francigena. Due to the hot weather we may not start walking tomorrow, as it will be noon when we arrive there, but we'll see how we feel. We are both anxious to start walking, but also a little apprehensive, as we haven't walked much with our full packs!
Ciao for now!
Linda

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Explaining the pix

First an apology in that these are photos taken with the iPhone. We haven't had an opportunity to download any camera photos as yet.

The first photo is of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence - dating from the 1500s it is the only bridge over the Arno River that the Nazis didn't blow up during WW2.

Next photo illustrates the craziness of tourism here and now. Evidently we weren't the only ones that figured Italy was a nice place to visit in September. So far both Venezia and Firenze have been packed with people. Really the only thing detracting from a great trip so far. Yep - those wheelie things are really attractive to the dorkier faction of tourists.

Last photo is of the "Doors of Paradise" as described by Michelangelo of Ghiberti's masterwork. It had been outside on the door of the baptistery until 1992 but is now in a low humidity case to prevent further deterioration. It is fabulous. By the way, the baptistery is where Dante Alighieri was baptized at birth.

That's it for now. Hopefully we can throw a few camera photos in later in the trip. We leave for Pisa in a few minutes.

Ciao

Russ
Sent from my iPhone

A few pix ... Explanations to follow

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Pisa anyone?

We have spent the last few days enjoying the sights of Florence, and although the number of tourists here is unbelievable, we have still enjoyed it very much. Russ wrote a blog entry to go with the photo he posted yesterday, however lost the text in cyberspace, so didn't have the energy to start over! He assures me it was witty!

Yesterday's highlight was seeing Michelangelo's "David" at the Accademia gallery....words can't adequately describe how beautiful he is. And huge! 17 feet tall. Also visited the Uffizi gallery yesterday, which houses Botticelli's "Birth of Venus". Today we climbed 400+ stairs to the tip of the Duomo's dome, and the view was exhilarating from the top. Our legs were pretty shaky after that-there were not many 'older' people making the climb! This evening we hiked up to San Miniato Church to take in the Gregorian chants by the Benedictine monks. This church was built with green & white marble in the 11th century to house St. Minias's remains, and it is lovely. The chanting took place in the crypt where his remains are, so it was quite moving, and there were very few tourists which was a bonus.
Tomorrow we take the train to Pisa, where we will spend one night, then carry on to the Cinque Terre area for a few days. Have not yet been able to find accommodation there, so wish us luck. Guess it's extremely busy there as well. We are both looking forward to starting our walk (hopefully on the 23rd) and getting out into the Tuscan countryside.
Weather has been great for the most part.
Ciao til later,
Linda




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Sunday, September 15, 2013

Arrivederci Venice

I am happy to report that I am feeling much better now...bad news is that Russ now has the cold!
Yesterday morning we checked out the big produce and fish market here, and saw some amazing displays. It was amusing to see the vendors carrying on business despite the hordes of curious tourists in the way (including us!). One thing that particularly interested us was fresh scallops still in their shells but cracked open. The scallop shell is one of the symbols of the Camino, so it has special meaning to us.
We also had some fun taking photos yesterday morning-it's great to get away from the main tourist areas and just wander the smaller alleys and canals. This place is so photogenic that we will have a problem when we get home and have to sort through hundreds of canal shots!
Another highlight yesterday was walking to the cruise ship terminal and seeing the most incredible three masted Bermuda type sailing vessel- look it up on Wikipedia- its name is EOS. We thought of our boating friends as we gazed at it...Russ had trouble getting the whole thing in a photo. Also saw a Greek ferry arrive- very cool!
This morning we are off to Florence by train...we won't be sitting in the same car, but at least we're on the same train-haha. We're learning how the ticket machines work at least.
Until later, ciao
Linda

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Friday, September 13, 2013

Venice!

Buongiorno everyone,
What an amazing city this is....we arrived about 6:30pm the night before last, but unfortunately Russ's backpack did not!! (we had decided to put our walking sticks, sharps etc.in it)...after dealing with the lost baggage department we made our way to the water taxi. I had studied the information in advance, so felt confident we would find our way (you can see where this is going, right?)...we had met a Swedish woman who was going to the same stop as we were. To make a long story shorter, we hopped off the boat when the driver yelled out, but by the time we realized it was not our stop he had left the dock! We walked for about 20 minutes in the dark, passing wonderful little restaurants with open air candlelit tables overlooking the canals. Eventually we DID find our hotel, and agreed that our intro had merely added to the mystic of this place! The nice thing is that Venice is safe to wander around at night. We ended the evening by sharing a 1/2 liter of vino Rossi and a pizza in a quaint little restaurant - perfecto!
Yesterday was spent walking, walking and more walking. Think we covered nearly the whole city - it is fairly small really, so you can cover a fair distance quite quickly. The weather was perfect and we especially enjoyed the Rialto market with amazing produce and fish. There are so many tourists here, and the main "streets" get plugged with people. We're not in a hurry so don't mind!
Yesterday afternoon we noticed a poster at a church, advertising a concert by an eight piece string ensemble, featuring Vivaldi's Four Seasons. As you may not be aware, Venice is his birthplace and he is one of the most popular baroque composers. The Four Seasons has always been one of our favorite classical works, so we bought the tickets and went back in the evening. We had great seats (festival seating) and wow, what a concert! This group was top notch, and our tickets cost E26 each. We both had tears on our faces when they began....wonderful.
When we returned to the hotel the lady at the front desk presented us with Russ's backpack!! It had been weighing on our minds yesterday, wondering what we would if it failed to show up. The lost baggage people at the Venice airport had traced it to San Francisco-it had not been transferred after we cleared customs. It was a good lesson- in the future we will just check the sticks etc through, and carry on our bags.
On a negative note, I have a cold that has hit me hard, so that is annoying. I brought drugs however, and should be feeling better soon. Today we may explore the canals, using Rick Steve's suggestion for a self guided tour.
Russ just posted a photo on the blog site of the Grand Canal,and we will post a few more shots from yesterday.
These are just iPhone photos - can't send any from the good camera until we have access to a computer.
Ciao until later,
Linda


Sent from my iPod

Our first view of Venice's Grand Canal - from the Ponte Rialto

Russ Haas
Sent from my iPhone