Finish Cinque Terre, La Spezia and Salsomaggiore

Monday morning and quick pack for the short hop to La Spezia and hit the road after my last breakfast at this lovely property. Bye bye Cinque Terra. I really enjoyed my relax here and the lack of feeling guilty that I got not overloading with tourist activities. Each of the towns had its own charm but Monterosso and Manarola were probably my favourite places.  I'd rate this as a good pick for a holiday and four full days was probably enough for a relaxing time but realistically without hiking, two days was possible.

Ninety kilometer hop to La Spezia which I was told was nothing special but in fact, although being a port city, was very attractive indeed. Old town with shops and cafes and a certain type of Italian charm. What wasn't charming however was the road closures, inaccurate GPS information trying to turn me up one way streets the wrong way and other such antics.

Anyway I FINALLY found my accommodation and learned a lovely new Italian word - Affiticamere! This is a B&B room of any type or style which in this case was an ensuite bedroom within somebody's apartment. I was seriously upset to the point that the owner wrote me an email complaining of my behavior, right in some sense but not in others, he asked why I didn't put the word into Google translate and I would have known and then told me he had told bookings.com more than a hundred times to do something about it and they hadn't. Given that he wrote the description of the property he certainly could have made it clearer. Anyway why would I put a US website into Google translate, I simply thought it was part of the name – DUH! Anyway was able to cancel without cost and rent a four star shoebox sorry hotel room for the two night stay.

More GPS battles but I eventually find it and go for a walk around town and buy what I thought was a takeaway lasagne which turned out to be a pommodoro lasagne with tomato and no meat but tasty all the same. Michael and Vivien (bro and sis-in-law) come to the hotel and we go for a walk around town. Deciding to have a drink before dinner we stop at a street wine bar and order three soft drinks and a glass of wine. They proceed to bring some olives, sweet roasted onions, sun-dried tomatoes, bruschetta pesto and we are thinking we were about to be poorer tourists - nope very reasonable $A20 best value this trip so far. Walk to the restaurant originally opting for an outside table but realising how hot it was head inside.  Not in any way expensively fitted out the ambience was amazing with my view possibly aided by their playing Ray Charles in the background, one wall was worthy of note - an amazing 2 x 2 metre canvas with four photos of the owners two kids and something like our best dish so in Italian. The Neal was excellent - a mushroom truffle gnocchi and an amazing foie gras with fresh sour cherries and a glass of dessert wine, which despite having may fair share of foie gras and never having received a dessert wine – apparently quite normal. Who would be thought that heaven resides in Italy. We were all amazed when the bill for three entrees, three main and three desserts with one glass of wine and mineral water came to $A60 a head.

Off to bed rather lateish but the arrangement is that I will pick up Michael and Vivien at 10:00 the next morning. Breakfast was a good example of an Italian breakfast and I arrive in time as we head off to Lucca, a town an hour away from La Spezia that my Italian bridge friends have told me is quite beautiful. They weren't wrong, a lovely town verging on village with a great old part of town filled with interesting shops, cafes, offer shops and many other traders. We spend about two hours total, walking around and settle for a cafe style lunch, you know the type salad, lasagne and rock melon with Parma (of course) ham.

Some more walking around before heading back to La Spezia around 16:00. I drop M&V at their hotel and go to a large shipping mall and supermarket to get a few things. I picked up M&V at 19:30 and we are for Porto Venere which was on their hit list. Only 17km away it took some time to get there along the windy coastal road. After doing two laps of the road down the hill towards and up the hill out of the seaside marina town we finally snag a car space - even the carpark was full. We spent some time inspecting restaurants, their menus and ratings etc., before deciding on the hotel restaurant in the Grand Hotel. Now you need to know that hotel restaurants are normally off limits but the beautiful terrace setting overlooking the town forced us to make an exception and what a good call that was. The food, the service, the ambience and everything was just so right. 

Let me digress for a moment. One thing I do when I travel is catch up with podcasts. During the drive from Lucca I listen to Alex Baldwin and Here's the Thing and an interview with a doctor Lustig. The theme was how much bad food we out into our bodies especially sugar. Anyway I was so profoundly moved by this I then and there went on a sugar detox which is going ok after 30 hours. I'll pepper the blog with my progress on this one. So finishing up the meal of mussels (best ones EVER and a rather unusual combination but incredibly tasty a seafood and fennel gnocchi, and of course no dessert.

I don't get back to the hotel and bed before 00:30  with all of the traffic, parking and other trevails.

Next morning I have a "work" conference call finally hitting the road at 10:00 heading to Salsomaggiore where the bridge tournament is being held. I must say I was extremely impressed with the beautiful town. In its day it was a spa town and as such the buildings and architecture is beautiful but the green fields and farmlands driving in were amazingly beautiful. Anyway at this early stage I feel quite happy to be spending the next 11 days here. 

I arrive at the hotel which is shoebox rooms but say size 14 as there is at least a king size bed in the room rather than the king single in my last one, but I am being a little unfair it is a nice room and well appointed. With youth bridge all the meals are included. Let me digress again - a few years ago in China we were served KFC for 10 days straight and to make it infinitely worse that's what I decided to eat on the first day I arrived as I hadn't had it for some years before. Anyway the lunch was an amazing buffet of salads, antipasta, lasagne and heaps of other food delights. Now that the food situation matches the city situation I am REALLY HAPPY  TO BE HERE. Youth tournaments are always a bit of crap shoot and it is with some intrepidation that one arrives at them.

I walk up the playing area in the Congress Hall which is a slightly outdated by nonetheless a beautiful old building about 300 metres from the hotel. Some areas are not air conditioned but overall the players and officials will be quite happy with this venue.

I nurse a cappuccino while catching up on my blog and at 19:00 attend the opening ceremony. An excellent one if judged by the short and concise speeches. There are 800 participants here in four divisions Under 25 (22 ) Under 20 (18 ) Kids Under 15 (14 ) and girls Under 25 (14). I notice a LOT of well-armed police presence which seemed unusual until it twigged that there were two Israeli teams and it was especially in place for them.

Back to the hotel for a great meal and an early night – no dessert and no sugar.

So Thursday and the tournament begins. I breakfast and arrive at the venue very early for the 10:00 start. The VuGraph theatre is great, the theatre where the opening ceremony was held. Although seating large numbers it looked quite well populated with around 150 viewers, which is much better than commentating for a handful of less than interested souls – which has happened in the past. The reason for so many is that there are 68 teams mostly comprising 6 people with only four playing at once. So those 136 not playing plus 68 captains and officials make up the bulk of the audience.

Australia is represented by an U25 team and a girls team. At the end of day one the Juniors are running 13^th after some tough opponents while the girls are running 7^th after just 2 matches. A mediocre but acceptable start.

Nothing else to report for now

Hope all are well

XD

Pics till 31-Oct-16 click here 

Cinque Terre

Thursday morning and a lovely Italian style breakfast plus freshly made omelette on the terrace peacefully overlooking the coast. I found out that there are 12 rooms here and that the property was previously 2 Villas made into a hotel. Feel like I will be testing out the pool late one afternoon.

The walk down the hill to Monterosso and I negotiate the train to Riomaggiore, the furthermost town in Cinque Terre. I spend about two hours wandering the streets while thinking I must be missing something from a tourist point of view. I take coffee overlooking the natural stone structures around which people are swimming and sunbaking. After consulting TripAdvisor and metaphorically seeing that the third best attraction in each of the Cinque Terre towns is a gelateria or coffee shop and that a visit to one or two churches will see you done I don’t feel quite so guilty.

I asked about walking from Riomaggiore to Manarola but after being told walk up the mountain then down the mountain – two and a half hours – sanity took hold and I took the short train ride. Same same, lovely scenic Mediterranean town with lots of nooks and crannies to explore. Back to Monterosso where I lounge around on the terrace outside my room and absorb the peace and tranquillity.

During this time I try to work out why I prefer France so much over Italy and it comes to me. Italy offends my OCD senses. Everything here looks so tired and in need of repair. Graffiti covers EVERYTHING, lifts to and from the stations are shut down and look like they have been for so long, the street sweepers use tree twigs wrapped around a broomstick, secondary roads look like they were built pre-war – everything looks to be in need for attention.

Anyawy I catch the 18:30 car down to the Village.Now when I arrived I was surprised at the limited size of Monterosso, there appeared to be a limited number of restaurants, shops and facilities but hey I guessed that was what it was. While searching for a restaurant I became aware that there is a 100 metre tunnel at the end of the boardwalk that led to Monterosso proper – where I am staying is a like a secondary area. Ahah I now find great restaurants, shops and facilities. I find a restaurant for the first time regretting I was alone as almost all of the restaurants sell pastas for a minimum of two people but the waitress kindly arrange for a serving for one person for me – a very good meal indeed notwithstanding that it cost $A63.

Home to sleep and after waking up at 05:30 I decided to get dressed and walk down to the station to get the 06:50 train to Santa Margherita, a coastal town that had been recommended to me by a number of previous tourists to the area. Arriving at 07:30 (express train) I spend an hour relaxing while nursing my cappuccino and reading up on the latest news. I then walk around the town for an hour before catching the bus twenty minutes to Portofino.

The bus was crowded and I was forced to stand up with people who clearly had less of a clue about the use and purpose of deodorant than I do. Anyway Portofino is a lovely fishing Village with shops and restaurants lining the bay in which all the action takes place. I knew nothing about Portofino except mum and dad visited it in their 1966 European sojourn. This made my mind wonder to just what it must have been like to book an overseas trip in that time, no internet, no phone bookings, hotels booked by telex, no TripAdvisor recommendations just word of mouth or a book from the library, no lonely plant or WikiTravel – it all looks so arcane looking backwards but maybe it was simpler and happier times, especially as I sit there watching my phone battery totally depleted in just two hours, but like a good scout I come prepared with a portable battery charger.

A two hour wander around and walk up the hill to the church and fortification, I board the almost empty (phew) bus back to Santa Margherita station where I negotiate a 35 minute ride to Levanta, a 50 minute wait and then the 35 minute train to Monterosso. A few hours relax in the room before getting the shuttle down to the town where I have an amazing meal at Restaurant Micky which I found by looking at the menu outside and later find out to be one of the best in the area. Crustacean, asparagus and leek ravioli done in a most exquisite way – it is cooked with a tomato style sauce in a platter after which it is covered in Pizza dough which is flamed at the table allowing one to use the dough to mop up the sauce – really nice.

Back to my room to catch up on some emails and such and ready for my next adventure – the remaining two towns in Cinque Terre, Corniglia and Vernazza which I plan to do tomorrow leaving my last day here for a real relax, especially after having walked 10kms+ on each of the two previous days.

Saturday morning and I have breakfast before heading off to Vernazza but this time by public ferry for a change. It’s only a short hop to this town nestled near the sea. The buildings are tall in the Genoese style and it dawned on me that the lack of back yards is somewhat compensated by each block having a rooftop area. Coffee and granita and a very deep relax before heading back to Monterosso for a lunch of grilled seafood. Specialty of the region is salted or stuffed anchovies which were quite tasty I must say.

I spend some of the afternoon sitting under the umbrella on the terrace watching the 1993 English House of Cards Series (highly recommended)before heading down to the town for a cheapie meal and a relatively early night 22:00.

Sunday and my last day in Cinque Terre. A very relaxing breakfast in the terrace restaurant and I can feel that, like every day here, the weather will be hot (no problem) but with high if not 100% humidity (argggh).

Before I forget, I really loved this hotel B&B Il Parco. I know it uses the word B&B but I have found out that this is for legal reasons and it is a long way away from being a B&B. The family that own it have been so amazingly hospitable and I can say that the place is faultless. Although it is not the cheapest hotel around it is certainly good value for the peak time of the year.

A quick train ride to Corniglio – two stops $A6 not so cheap and then a difficult choice between 382 steps up to the town or a $A4 bus ride – um err um err ok bus it is. Corniglia is the only of the Cinque Terre which isn’t located on the Mediterranean. It is a very pretty hilltop town with lots of small squares, coffee shops and the like. I have my usual cappuccino and granita before heading back to Monterosso, but I should say that unlike elsewhere in Europe, in CT they are made with real lemons and not sweetened syrups – much more to my taste this way.

I f&*k the trains again figuring that if the train stopped at small Corniglia it would certainly stop at the larger Monterosso – hmmm using logic in trying to figure out the Italisna railways is a grave error of judgement. Anyway it wasn’t long before I could get off at the next stop and change platforms to head back to Monterosso after a not too long wait.

I then decide to treat myself to a lobster lunch and it was amazing! Cooked and served quite plainly it was juicy and succulent and didn’t need anything to improve it. The restaurant was Oceanside on a path overlooking a Nazi bunker carved into the rocks lining a cliff but outside of that I just sat there for 45 minutes after finishing and basking in the sun and atmosphere – well that and waiting for the bill – speaking of which the lobster was very cheap $A55.

I walk along the boardwalk and decide to walk up the hill to the hotel - rather than wait for the 14:35 shuttle – where I do some washing and packing in preparation for my departure for tomorrow for two days in La Spezia. I hear it is nothing special but meeting Michael and Vivien Cornell there.

That night down to the town for another quickie meal – guilt after lobster prevents anything more.

Anyway enough for now.

Hope all are well

XD

Photos here for about three months after the trip 

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ppxqd8f19s8glfb/AAC8C7ple2lQqkTNqVC1mKfoa?dl=0

Vence and Arriving in Cinque Terra

Again a bridge oriented trip. I will be starting with 3 nights in Vence (just above Nice). 7 nights in Cinque Terra, 11 days at a bridge tournament in Salsomaggiore in Italy then 3 days footloose and fancy free before returning home for just nine days before returning to Europe for another bridge tournament.

Anyway…All checked in – smooth as one could imagine, off to the lounge for an hour then boarding. The inflight system could do with some updating with e-magazines only from 2011.The flight was comfortable (330-300) although the seating on the side is 2-1-2-1 all the way along and the centre was 2-2-2-2 all the way along. This meant that if you had a single seat you had a lot of space around you to spread out and store your belongings - same with window seats who had storage areas along the fuselage – aisle seats on the side no such luck. Anyway a six hour layover in Kuala Lumpur followed which wasn’t too bad as the lounge was very hospitable.

The second leg of a A380 to London was more enjoyable as Business Class was less than 50% full. Food and service was excellent but between the two flights I only managed about six hours sleep. After changing terminals six more hours in London. I elected to have a shower in the London lounge and it always amazes me just how human one can feel after a shower compared to before.  After the short hop to Nice I picked up the car from Avis but seeing how large it was (Citroen 5) I opted for a smaller (haha) Citroen Picasso which trust me isn’t that small. As I left the airport I had serious thoughts of opting for a much smaller car, but anyway.

I head for Vence another beautiful Medieval town just 15 minutes above Nice. I had some problems finding my AirBnb apartment, not helped by the fact that the owner spoke NO English. Having taken a turn into a street, well just let me say you all know what a 3 point turn is – how about a 23 point turn to retreat in defeat after reaching a point beyond which I couldn’t continue. Anyway after realising that one has to use parking stations in Vence, I found the apartment which exceeded all my expectations, spacious 60 sq mtrs as well as tastefully appointed in an Ikea sort of way, it would serve my purpose perfectly.

Another shower – don’t know why and I go out for a one hour walk around the old town. Good pick David, this is an amazingly charming old town with lots of nooks and crannies to explore and here I am staying in the centre of it in what is probably a 300 year old building – love it.

I manage 7 hours sleep till I wake at 04:00, lay awake for some time and then manage just one more hour before getting up, doing some “administration” and heading out. The compulsory chocolate croissant and coffee and then 5kms to St Paul de Vence - certainly one of my favourite places in the world - check it out http://tinyurl.com/gldujsk. It’s a small village on a hill top with undulating winding cobblestone passages lined by the most interesting art galleries and other eclectic shops. I was on a bit of a mission here. Last time I was here I went to a shop where I had previously purchased a crystal piece and resisted buying another one only to regret it for the rest of my trip – all solved now. But there is Karma – last time the father wouldn’t give me any discount, the daughter this time offered a generous 21% discount so DEFINITELY all solved.

Back to Vence which is not a great idea because of parking – the spaces are narrow, the turns from floor to floor almost impossible to manage – grrr. Mercifully I find a two hour space and take the opportunity to buys some groceries and have a Non Kosher Meat, tomato and cheese baguette.

In the afternoon I head to Tourettes Sur Loup, yet another lovely village built around the major square with the nearby very old church. It might sound as though I am being facetious but really I am not. Each town is built to a formula but has its own charm. In T sur L they were playing Boules and Platanque in the main square with a large number of spectators. There was an amazing shop with handmade wooden items and if it wasn’t for the schlepping and customs (well that and the fact that I am decluttering) I would have been seriously interested in two of the pieces.

Back to Vence where I made a soup and salad dinner and went to bed quite early – bad idea – after which I woke at 05:00, Around 09:00 I left and walked the 2,5kms to what is commonly known as the Matisse Church of Vence but more formally Chapelle du Rosaire, a church adjoining and run by the Dominican Sisters (well after my choc croissant). I went to a Matisse exhibition and MOMA New York and while it was good I can’t say he is my favourite artist, well until I saw this church – check it out here http://tinyurl.com/hsghqwb. I really enjoyed it and the integration of art into the Church works sooooo well.

I basically wandered around Vence for a few hours, went back to the apartment and around 15:00 I drove towards Nice planning to wander around Nice and then have dinner with a friend at 20:00, Now one needs to know that Nice is not my favourite place in this region and based on that I decided to drive the extra 30kms to Monte Carlo where I wandered around and played at the American Casino (the French one requires a Passport to gain entry) where I had a small win and a very relaxing hour. Back to Nice and the restaurant which was well appointed and played to my tastes with a €55 (less 20% to €44 because I booked through TripAdvisor) Grand Truffle Menu. But I would have to say they missed. All of the dishes had shaved truffle on them but none of them had the truffle flavour infused into the dish proper. It wasn’t bad but I think they could have easily done better – disappointed. Anyway good to catch up with a friend who works with a development company so I learned a lot about what is happening in the market – Russians and finished and Scandinavians are in with one block of 12 being individually sold to Norwegians. Prices for new apartments are around $A11k per square metre – almost think same prices as Sydney.

Back to Vence where I take the opportunity to do a load of washing before going to bed. Next morning up, packed, dressed and at the car at 08:00 for the four, no six no four no six hour drive to Cinque Terra. So my phone said four hours while the car GPS said six hours. I trusted my phone more but after driving through all the back streets of Genoa I realised that the car GPS was set to avoid toll roads. While I knew enough about the route to take toll roads up to Genoa it still took me five hours – make that five and a half hour when I took a wrong turn and ended up going the wrong way on the freeway and when I finally got off, remember set to avoid tolls it took me down to sea, along the seafront to a point where the road was blocked and I had to head all the way up to the freeway….. 40 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.

I was warned about the road down to Monterosso, the only town in Cinque Terra where one can drive into and while it was a difficult navigation I have had plenty worse in Europe. Managed to reach the Hotel which was something like a Villa converted into hotel rooms – usual Europe small but very well appointed. Pool and nice views down to the Mare it felt good to be here. After I unpacked I headed for the 10 minute downhill stairway walk to the sea where the beaches (don’t for a moment think Bondi) were crowded with holiday makers seemingly having loads of fun.

I sit and relax finally succumbing to a Prix Fix dinner of lasagne and salad before heading back to the hotel for a relatively early night. The older I get the bigger the toll that driving takes out of me.

Anyway you are all up to date.

Best to All

David