Well- it has been pretty much a week of procrastination & this sentence is created in the afternoon. The day has been beautiful blue-skyed & there is always sun exploding through one of our many windows. I have found the allure of housework, YouTube & “The House At Riverton”over blogging as I know how immense the task in front of me has become- two weeks in Italy & one week in Ireland & I don’t want to skimp out on any detail either. Already I feel the forgetfulness of time seeping through my memory recess, things get muddled & you wonder did you say that or think that? Do that or dream that? 
So, to Italy we go- although it was almost never reached. Before we left Reading station Mum relieved us of our lost luggage karma whilst we waited for our train to Gatwick. That dreadful, sick, panicked feeling waved through all of us for maybe 15 minutes once Mum had realised she had misplaced her small black bag- containing many travel enabling Euro’s & Pounds. Fortunately it had been left in the taxi which had taken us to the station & Bodra was able to have it retrieved before our train departed. Just one of those situations where you have too many foreign items to keep track of (perhaps one of those mischievous Irish imps had seen us as an enjoyable target?), & the obvious happens- this predicament reared it’s head again not long after…
Venice was our first port. The flight was fantastic as we got to watch the sun go down over the snowy mountains- pink sky at night! There wasn’t much to the airport, we found a taxi easily enough & were ‘gouged’ (to use one of Dad’s favourite expressions- NOTE TO ALL Dad has officially exhausted his ration of this word) by the meter as it went into hyper speed upon arrival at our hotel in Campalto.
Charme Inn- well, it didn’t exactly lack charm, nice enough décor, although our four bed room was actually just a room with a double bed in it, a single bed squished against the footboard & pretty much a camper stretch squeezed alongside the wall & the double. Very unusual, but it was fairly inexpensive. Mum & Dad generously gave us the Double…
Once our luggage was in we found a nearby restaurant & proceeded to swallow our Italian speaking shyness & communicate with the ‘others’. We quickly discovered that English was understood & they even had an English menu. However, even with my teaching experience I could barely decipher the scrawled meal descriptions & my decision was influenced by our waiters recommendation. Some sort of pasta dish (how bizarre in Italy!) with pumpkin- it looked disgusting but tasted delicious- sadly to become the best pasta dish I had- we were all satisfied with our meals that night & enjoyed a bottle of merlot wine too. We all slept rather soundly, that is- Mum & Dad made loads of sounds with their fluey snorting & snuffling- damn you Aeroplane Air Con!!
The following day was our time to explore Venice. But wait a minute- we weren’t even IN Venice! Campalto is a little ways out of the canal city so we needed to take a bus there. Cue me having to stammer to the newspaper agent- “Un biglietto per Venice per favore”- then realising I needed four tickets- doh! I had tried to be so perfect too!
Upon acquiring gigantic bottles of water we began our exploration through Venice. Along pathed walkways, over bridges, alongside canals, past churches & clustered homes & apartments, through crowds of tourists trying to digitally capture Venice… copper domed buildings with marble statues of naked heroic figures, curly-haired, mouth gaping male faces perhaps once acting as part of the drainage, speedy taxi boats gliding along the water, decorative gondolas attracting American tourists…
We visited the San Giobbe & Madonna dell’Orto Church, explored the Jewish Ghetto, viewed the Grand Canal from the Ponte di Rialto, hunted for the WC & found one at McDonalds, had yummy Gelatto & a slice of Pizza for lunch, joined the huge-ish line for the Basilica di San Marco (I had to wear an orange cloth to cover my legs whilst in the Basilica- heathen!), was awestruck by the golden mosaics, stopped at a bar playing strange music for our afternoon beer, joined the ABC tour at yet another Church- Santo Stefano, grudgingly devoured a yucky packet pasta meal in a Piazza, began the quest for the desired Ventian Mask (& found it in Ca’Macana Venizia). Rest became rather appealing as the evening light began to fade so we caught a crowded boat ride to the Central station & made our way back to Charme Inn.
After a breakfast of yoghurt, croissant & coffee (not for Bo & I- he settled for juice whilst I had a Cioccolata calda- hot chocolate- more chocolate than liquid!), Dad drove us from Venice to Florence. Just a few directional hiccups along the way, nothing TOO stressful (easily said by the back seat passengers!). Italy has crazy traffic, crazy roads, cars moving & parked in any which way all over the road. & then there is the fact that the motorcyclists & drivers follow their own rules.
That afternoon Bodra & I had a deceptively tasty Margherita Pizza & beer combo at our Florence accommodation- Camping Michelangelo. (We tried to repeat the success of this meal later on during our stay there but it was far from tasty then. Amazing how ravenousness can imbue flavour when there is naught!) Our friend, Chantal, & an article Mum had read, guided us to these grounds & we were all quite pleased. Our abodes were these wooden floored, canvas house tents with beds- Mum & Dad in one, Bodra & I rescued from there snores at last! 
There is a restaurant/bar area which apparently turns into a disco at night- we heard it but didn’t participate.
Now to take in Florences sights! We viewed our first ‘David’ at Piazzale Michelangelo, & took in the bridges over the canal & Florence (Firenze) city. As we walked into the city we had a good giggle at the sun-bathers in bikinis alongside the polluted Arno canal. Absolutely mesmerized by Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore & Giotto’s Bell Tower (Campanile)- they reminded me of a giant sized jewellery box.
We saw our second ‘David’ outside the Palazzo Vecchio (town hall of Firenze)- we didn’t get around to seeing the original at the Uffizi as the queues were ginormous the day we tried & didn’t appear to be moving. To jump the queue was too extravagantly priced. But we had our fair share of artistic delight- especially at the Loggia dei Lanzi where we could see Perseus holding the blood trailing head of Medusa, the Rape of the Sabine Women, Hercules Beating the Centaur Nassau & the Rape of Polyxena… pretty unsettling topics for sculpture, but amazing examples of how a block of marble can capture the beauty of form.
We strived to find somewhere to cater for our tastebuds that evening (a soon to be familiar theme for this trip)- Mum nearly ended up with a plate of spinach for dinner!
The following day Mum wasn’t up for much so Bodra, Dad & I went for a wander without her. I was set on seeing Michelangelo’s Pietta which I had suddenly remembered was on my list of things to do before I die (I don’t really have a list). I was unclear as to exactly where in Italy it was but figured it must be close to the Uffizi. In my rough guide I discovered it was at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo so we went there. I raced through the museum, disinterested in all the exhibits- glassy-eyed Madonna & Donatello’s haggard wooden Mary Magdalene were no match for Pieta! But to my displeasure, I found out that the Pieta there wasn’t the one I was after (who knew he did three sculptures entitled Pieta!).
Dissatisfied, we then punished my ignorance by climbing up the 414 steps of the Campanile (Bell Tower). The view from the cage at the top was good although crowded. Patience was required as we made our way down, stopping for climbers.
For our afternoon beverage we stopped at an Irish Pub for some Guiness & Rugby- South Africa vs Samoa I believe. We didn’t stay for the entire game as Samoa was being nailed…
On Monday we decided to go see the Chianti region of Tuscany. We stopped at Greve first to pick up some fruit, then onwards to Pisa! Restaurant lunch was forgoed in favour of a yummy picnic of tomato, cheese & chips on bread whilst sitting on the grass admiring the view of the Basilica, Duomo & Campanile. We wanted to go up the Tower but were unable to, as the next group going up wasn’t until later in the afternoon. Tourists doing the obligatory “Look! I’m holding up the Tower!” pose cheapened the tower experience. Instead, we were more content to admire the Cathedral & the Basilica.
Next stop was Lucca- a quiet city surrounded by a Renaissance wall. We had a good random wander through & found a Pharmacy where I acquired some throat lozenges. A church was soon found- San Michele in Foro- & Gelato. There was also this strange paper sculpture exhibit happening in one of the Piazza’s.
That evening we were lucky enough to have a yummy dinner looking out to Florence from Viale Michelangiolo. Lovely Pizza, Pasta & Wine!!! Wahoo!!
On Tuesday Dad drove to Siena & suffered much stress after trying to find a parking spot, finally squeezing through very close rows of cars. It was pretty insane how tightly people parked & it was obvious from the number of cars with scraps & dents that it was more important to get the park rather than be concerned about the appearance of your car.
We went to the scallop-shaped piazza il Campo, where the Palio bareback horse race takes place. Not whilst we were there. We stopped at a ’60’s inspired pub where we enjoyed a sandwich, then I found a yummy Gelato in the piazza.
Then, a long-ish walk along cobbled roads uphill in the shadows of the buildings. Our landmarks were obscured by the towering buildings & our orientation was skewed due to me doing a little bit of non-instinctual leading “This looks pretty, let’s go there!”
Next stop was the beautiful hill-top village of Volterra, enclosed by volcanic hills midway between Siena & the sea, where Alabaster Rock is found. Definitely a place I would like to re-visit one day if I ever get to Italy again. It felt like you could take the entirety of Italy in one sweeping glance.
Through Volterra we viewed the ruins of a Roman Amphitheatre & the excavation of an Acropolis. We drove to the other side of Volterra (where I’d like to camp one day) & viewed where part of Volterra had eroded.
Our final stop for the day was the small medieval village of San Gimignano to view the remaining 13 of the once 72 Towers. Bodra had a restaurant in mind so we made our way there only to find it was closed for the day. Closed on a Tuesday! How bizarre! Instead we had to find dinner enjoyment at Enotera il Castello- which was not up to scratch as I found a long black hair in my vege soup. Ewww!
Dessert was more satisfying- I had a yummy Champagne & Grapefruit flavoured Gelato at Gelateria di “Piazza”- reputedly the best icecream in Tuscany. Bodra bought me a lovely necklace from a curly-haired lady selling her crafts outside the city gates.
It’s nearly 12 hours later from when I started- this hasn’t been continuous work! I’ve had a couple movies in between & dinner & dessert… but it’s after 4am on a Saturday morning… France vs NZ this evening!
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