Toulouse and Barcelona

Andrew writing this.

We all really enjoyed our few days at Toulouse - well actually it was 90 minutes out of Toulouse and just outside a tiny wee village.  We all had a relaxing time and it's fair to say that we (ok, me) had far too much fun drinking the local wines and a few of the craft beers we found.  The girls also had a great time drinking ice cold Limoux that Rachel and Jon had introduced us to - high quality bubbles at €6 a bottle.  Most days were punctuated by eating and lounging around the pool, although Alan and I did get a round of golf in (we both played like chumps).

We had to get to Perpignon by 10:30 to drop off our renal cars and then get the train to  Barcelona.  We bounced up early (not) and headed off but got caught up in morning traffic on the ring road around Toulouse.  Finally got to Perpignon around 11.00 only for the GPS to have a fit when we were a few kms away from the Railway Station !! Luckily I did remember a few landmarks and we successfully managed to get there only to get busy waiting for the train that was delayed.  Because of the delay we missed the connection through to Barcelona so arrived a few hours late and a bit frazzled.  Even then we were caught up in what we now believe to be a rental scam.  Long story, but the property manager    came over and sorted out the lady who was trying to get us to move to her apartment - really pushy with multiple phone calls and messages and finished off with an invoice !!!! Never mind, we we're settled into the apartment smack in the middle of the city and were soon out having a look around and a bite to eat.  There were 2 of Gaudi' buildings within 5 minutes walking distance of where we were staying and the Basilica of the Sagrada Família was a 20 minute walk.  Amazing structure and the history is fascinating - it was a shame that there was so much construction going on (cranes, workmen, scaffolding, trucks etc) but I guess that is just what it is.  Maybe we'll get back in 2026 to see the finished product !

I like Barcelona - it has a great feeling about it.  It didn't seem to slow down - always people on the streets, traffic coming and going tapas bars serving and people siting eating and enjoying themselves.  Alan and I had a fantastic couple of hours eating and drinking at one of the local Tapas restaurants on the night before his birthday - the food was stunning, the chilled rose was fantastic and the sights and sounds varied and eclectic.  Alan and I took the kids to the zoo the next day which was right in the city ( or maybe the city grew around it ?) one day while Wendy and Laura went shopping.  Neat zoo with porpoise and sea lion shows and I have to say that I enjoyed it.

Big thanks to the Dawson's - it was wonderful sharing the last couple of weeks in Europe with you.

We arrived at the airport 4 hours before the flight to London (6:30am)  - and even then we were the last ones to board the plane!!  We talked our way into the lounge in Heathrow so the 3 hours we had there was much more pleasant than we had expected and was punctuated by more shopping for the girls while I sat and caught up on a few English newspapers ( something very satisfying about print and paper ).  In LA now battling with jetlag.  Home in a couple of days - seems to have flown by !

Off the boat !

Hi Andrew writing this.

We've been in the chateau south of Toulouse for 2 days now and it has been a god send.  The week on the canal was tough for us all and so relaxing in this place is perfect.  

Our boat !

We realized on about Tuesday that the canal was going to be a challenging week given our itinerary and the numbers on boats on the water.  We had visions of chugging away on the canal and pulling in every now and then to have a glass of wine at a village, or to let the kids off on their bikes to scoot alongside us as we puttered at a princely 8 knots.  The reality was a wee bit different.  The weather wasn't the best with a cold wind most mornings that cut through us and our journey didn't have a lot of free time built in so stopping during the day wasn't an option.  It also took 2 people to manage the boat at the locks so Wendy only got off if there was a decent gap between them to let Grace and Kate on their bikes.  It was also tough on the kids as while they helped enormously around the boat, there was a lot of down time with pockets of intense activity as we went through locks. We only saw one other family on the canal with children - and they were from Lower Hutt !!!

The girls in one of the 66 locks!

We had 66 locks, most of which were going up the river which was physically demanding on Wendy and the girls as they threw the ropes and held the boat steady as the lock filled.  We experienced the down river locks on the very last day - an absolute breeze that I could have easily done by myself ! The scenery is beautiful and it was a shame that the sun flowers were dying off as they would have been stunning in full bloom in the vast paddocks of them alongside the canal.  It's also a shame that the river hasn't/isn't kept in better condition.  I was shocked to be told that our boat waste went directly into the water !! This has World Heritage status and they continue to do that to it - made all the worse when you get the river spray all over you when the lock is filling. 

Some very good memories on the journey though with the family working very closely together, fantastic meals with the Dawson's either at a village that we had moored at, or on our boats, sitting with Wendy or the girls on the bridge and just chatting, having a look at the walled city in Carcassonne, the showers in Castradourdney were absolutely fantastic and very much needed, my personal sense of satisfaction of learning a new skill .... and many more.

A rare, but wonderful afternoon

Kids have really been enjoying chilling out in the Chateau and so have Wendy and I.  Alan and I are playing golf this morning so I'd better get ready.  Barcelona tomorrow for a few days, then LA for 3 more then home !

Canal boating

Hey, Andrew writing this.  Needs to be quick as no wifi and therefore short and sweet and no photo's at this point - which is a real shame coz there are a few neat one's that I'll post when I have access to some decent ( which means free!) Internet .

While owning a vineyard isn't for me, being on one is a real privilege and we throughly enjoyed our time at Domaine Treloar.  I hope that we weren't too much trouble for them as we always seemed to be asking for directions, assistance and advice !  We we're exactly 'lucky' either - rain, a wee fender smash and then the grape press broke down with the grapes that we had so carefully picked in there.  Had a great last night with Rachel, Jon and the girls. Before I forget we went to Cailloure on the Coast which is a wonderful wee town - another spot hat Wendy and I will get back to 'sans enfants' for a few days.

Up early on Saturday, dropped off the rental car (bit sad - we had some great, and not so great times in there) and in a train to Narborne to meet the DAWSON'S ! Absolutely wonderful to see them walk through the doors of the train station. 

Picked up our canal boat and after 20 minutes training we we're set free on the Canal !  What we're they thinking !!! I fair pooed myself for the 3 hours - unbelievably stressful and yet so incredibly rewarding.  We tied up and had a meal then Alan and I went for a carafe of the locals best ' rouge' while the girls chatted and the kids went to sleep.  Today was our first full day on the canal and it blew a gale all day - plus it transpires that September is the busiest month of the year for canal boats - lucky us !   By lunch time I was all set to throw it in (wind, lack of boating skills, numbers of boats, the number of locks and the associated delays) but it all came together in the afternoon.  'Team Devlin' has me driving (piloting, skippering?!) Wendy doing all the lock and bank work, with Grace and Kate managing the ropes and push offs.  An amazing family experience !  

We went out for dinner tonight in a small village that we moored up at, and the kids all sat together and jibber jabbered and had a great time.  So nice to see them all smile and get on so well together.  Us adults we're knackered - a mixture of the wind and sun, physical labour that we we're used to and the stress of being on the canal and all that entails.  It was a fantastic knackered though as we're all proud of what we achieved today. 

Better go and get some sleep - we're off early tomorrow.   

Catalonia ....

is maybe my new best place :)

Andrew writing this coz everyone else is in bed and trying to get to sleep - but failing coz they're all super excited about the canal boat trip with the Dawson's tomorrow :)

The life style down here is very relaxed and I suppose it is accentuated by the fact that we're staying on a vineyard, but it's just so laid back !  Each day we'd wake up and think what we could do and there was so much; even though  Trouillas is a wee village surrounded by other tiny villages,  it just  seems to be in the middle of everywhere.

It rained on Tuesday - how rude !  Quiet day with books, cards and a 'competitive' game of Monopoly !  Wednesday we hopped in the car and went to Chateaunou - an old walled village.  I think it is fair to say that we've seen just about enough old stone buildings with high walls and low ceilings :). Chateaunou was neat though as it was restored and you could imagine how life was for folk back in the medieval times - not great unless you were the head honcho.

We were lucky enough to be able to pick grapes with Rachel and Jon on Thursday.  We had to be up and ready at 7:45 which is unheard of for us this week - lots of grumpy souls eating toast that day :) Tough work and we're not used to it so after we'd finished and picked out all the thistles, we had showers and we snoozed !!!  Dinner and bed - end  of story.

So for anyone drinking the 2013 vintage from the Domaine that have been blended with the Macabeu grapes - be clear that the Devlin's were involved !

We cruised down to Collioure today - and that was great. Not sure of the history of the place but it had a truly wonderful feel about it.   It's an old walled village on the coast with moats and ramparts - the whole ten yards.  It didn't have that touristy feel about it but still had the small lanes with closed in buildings AND a very cool beach.  It's at this point that I need to say that Grace was clear that the ice cream here wasn't anything like as good as gelato - but she still managed to skoff her way through what she had with nothing left for her dad ! This is another place that Wendy and I will get back to for a few lazy relaxing days - sometime in the future.

Got home and packed up coz have an early start in the morning.  I'll be sad to drop of the Peugeot; it took us to lots of new adventures.  Ironic to think that today was the first time that I found myself on the wrong side of the road !!  Plus there was a big hoofin' truck coming at me - it was all slow speed stuff and nothing dramatic but funny all the same.   Had a few farewell drinks with Rach, Jon and the crew - it was a different side of life here, more real and therefore all the more enjoyable.  I have very fond memories of the Roussillion district and it's on our 'come back to' list.

Bring it on Dawson's !

Languedoc-Roussillion region

Hey there - Andrew writing this.

We had a good trip down to Trouillas from St Remy on Saturday - I still love the motorways and zapping along at 130kms, although my love affair with toll gates is over !  I always seem to pick the line that has takes the longest; kinda like at the supermarket but much much longer and more frustating.  American's have queuing down to an art form whereas the Europeans seem to have adopted the chaos theory as a design principle :). Never mind, what's another 35 minutes in a car with  scratchy children.

Arrived at the vineyard and to a very warm welcome  from Rachel and her family.  Rach and I worked together in the 90's sometime and it was so neat to have the opportunity to see what her and her husband Jon have created.  Check them out at http://www.domainetreloar.com/
The Domaine should really be picking grapes now and infact we were going to go and pick and press some on Sunday - Kate was super excited about being able to press the grapes with her feet.  Unfortunately it appears that the Devlin's brought the rain with us and so Sunday picking was cancelled !.  We walked around the village (which took about 10minutes) nailed off a bit more homework.

In Sant Martii

Monday we popped down to Spain !  I love that !  In 45 minutes we were at a set of beautiful beaches and had a fantastic lunch in the sun.  We had a swim and while it's a little colder than the water in Cannes, it was still wonderful.  I think that on a good day in Christchurch we might get to Dunsandel in 45 minutes :).
We had dinner that night with Rachel, Jon, their girls (who are about Grace and Kate's ages) and 3 other of their friends who were over for the harvest.  The one thing about living on a vineyard is that there is always plenty of wine - and it is delicious.  The Domaine is receiving some very good reviews in the 'right' magazines and papers so it's a bit of a treat for us to be here.  We did dessert which included affogato's that went down a treat.  I guess we finished around midnight and I was a little 'slowish' the next day.

Kate 'photo bombing'

It also rained yesterday which is not good for picking grapes - but hopefully we'll all get out tomorrow and see what it's all about.  We'll hop in the car today and see a few of the local sites and Kate is skyping  her class tonight.

Hi Wendy here - I haven't got too much more to add to what Andrew has written.

This holiday has been about experiencing as many different things/places as possible - and staying at the Gite on Domaine Treloar is just another completely different experience. The Gite is over 200 years old and is built across three levels. The internal stairs are steep and narrow, and it just seems to be that whenever you want something or are looking for something it is always two levels away. Rachel has left some fantastic notes about the Gite and one if the things that made me laugh was when she mentioned that the washing machine only has cold water going to it - and that she didn't know why that was as she was never able to get a straight answer from the French plumber. I love talking to Jon and Rachel about the realities of living in France. I don't think it's as easy as it appears on the "Relocation" programmes that I love to watch :). We tried to get Rachel to explain to us about the constantly ringing church bells - very complicated, the main point is they ring every 15 minutes until midnight and then hourly!!! And yes we are right in front of a church .....

I loved our trip to Spain the other day - I had to laugh at myself as I wasn't going to swim because it wasn't warm enough (it was probably 25 degrees!!). I had to remind myself that the sea temperature was warmer than it ever would be in Christchurch - so in I went and it was lovely. We were in a village called Sant Marti - lovely, and of course there were wonderful church bells ringing right behind us when we were having lunch :).

St Remy

Andrew writing this.

Very nice wee place; would definitely come back here for a quiet relaxing break (in fact I think that Wendy and Jac have already begun planning it - a few years away though.....). Lots of things to do and places to see within an hours drive - not the we've done many as we much preferred to hang out at the pool and when the temperatures are in the early 30's - who wouldn't !! We've also found ourselves still swimming and playing around in the pool at 8:30 when it's just getting dark !  

Peering over the walls at Les Beax

We quickly settled in to a wee bit of a ritual of getting up late, a quick swim and some breakfast, into town for a wander and lunch, back home for a swim and a sneaky wine, maybe a snooze in the loungers (my favorite), then cooking dinner followed by a swim and a natter with the Hayes' about where they have been and what they had done as they were very good and got out and saw the sights.  I had thought about photo shopping the Devlin's into a few of their snaps !  Then off to bed for a read.  Absolutely wonderful.  I have also fallen into the trap, albeit a very nice and tasty one, of having a splash Baileys in my after dinner coffee.  I have to thank the Hayes' for that one - a very very nice way to end a meal or an evening.  Jacquie went one better a couple of nights ago and fronted up with an affogato - Baileys, ice-cream and expresso: truly excellent - kinda like a grown up's 'spider' (soft drink and ice-cream for all you youngies)

The crew in he pool at St Remy

We did get to Les Beaux de Provence on Thursday which is a wee fortified village about 20 minutes away from St Remy which actually represented the furtherest away from our lovely villa that we got - thank-you Julie B for finding that for us 😊.  On the way home we stopped in at Saint-Paul  Asylum which is where Van Gogh stayed for a year.  Strangely enough I really enjoyed this so another thank-you to Kat T for prompting us to go there. It is a working hospital with designated areas that are off limits to visitors.  It was very well done with reproductions of his work sited in the areas he used for inspiration.  It was a bugger that the sunflowers and lavender had died off, but even then I could clearly imagine what he saw from his room (cell?) window that prompted many of the works he produced during his stay there. There were exhibits of some of the 'treatments' used back then in the late 1800's and one in particular looked to me like the precursor to water boarding!  There is also a shop on the grounds that sold works from the current patients which were great, and also expensive.  This art therapy lark is a good earner Kat! 

Girls in St Remy

Me in the grounds that Van Gogh's room over looked
Very neat place to wander around in

It has been a wonderfully relaxing 7 days and made all the more special by having Grace and Kate's godparents here.  Jacquie's cooking and Stephens wine expertise were invaluable - the fish meal tonight was beautiful especially when coupled with the wine that they had brought during one of their visits (Chateauneuf-de-Pape, which the kids quickly renamed Chateauneuf-de-poop!).  We loved the after evening chats and drinks by the pool or around the big kitchen table and as mentioned earlier,  we're looking forward to doing it all again sometime in the future . 

Random photo's

Kate at Manarola

Kate at Manarola

Wendy and I at Cannes

Another great photo from Grace

Classic bombing form

Kate and I in the Med at Manarola  

Kate and I at Manarola

The girls in the Med at Cannes

Beach at Cannes

Grace lounging at the camp pool

Heidi hei

Hi everyone - Wendy here.

We haven't done an update for a few days ... Trouble with the Internet.

See link below - we called our camping ground Camp Hi Dee Hi (for those of you old enough to remember the program), if not check out the link :). We loved the camping ground, the pools were great, the facilities were well looked after and the staff couldn't have done more for us. It was really easy to slip into the camping ground routine - down to the pools at 10am, swim until 12/1pm then baçk to the cabin for lunch. Now I use the word cabin quite loosely as it was three bedrooms with two bathrooms and toilets - hardly slumming it. Then we would chill out and head back to the pool about 5pm until 7pm, home for dinner and time for a wine and then bed. There were plenty of onsite activities arranged if we wanted to join in eg aqua jogging, water polo, soccer games and bike rides. We did none of that - just swam, ate and people watched .....

Deck chairs at Cannes

We managed to leave for one day to head to Cannes - took 30 mins to get there and then it took another 45 mins to get down one of the main roads to get towards the beach - reminded us of home as the hold up was due to roadworks :). Having never been to Cannes we just ended up parking the car and walking to the beach. The first beach we came too was Long Beach, we couldn't have picked a more expensive slice of the beach if we had tried .... So we just went with it, paid a ridiculous amount to hire sun loungers on the beach and get waited on by the restaurant. The water was beautiful, the views both on and off the water amazing. There is a lot of money on show in Cannes.

Swimming in the Med at Cannes

We took the scenic route home - more amazing views, beautiful coves and beaches. Stopping was very difficult as the road is narrow and windy (poor Grace, she coped very well). Made it back to Camp Hi De Hi and felt much more at home.

As Andrew mentioned in our last blog, last Saturday we travelled to a village in Provence called St Remy. I love it. It is a beautiful wee village, there are so many little streets to explore and today they had a wonderful market. We got into the market early (parking is really limited in the village), and we spent nearly three hours wandering around. It is one of the best markets we have been too. We are having a great time in a wonderful villa with Jacquie and Stephen, with plenty of good food and wine. The Devlin's have not explored much further than St Remy - it is so hard to do any more than just pop into the village and then come home and hang out at the pool for the afternoon.  Jacquie and Stephen have been much better at exploring. We are all going to head out tomorrow .... But we will be home again for swimming in the early afternoon :). The temperatures are in the early 30's everyday so you can understand the attraction to the pool.

Pool at the camp - Kate 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C3ZwNEte3Dw&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DC3ZwNEte3Dw

Catch up stories

Andrew writing this.

Been a while since we last wrote which is mainly because of the lack of net access - but it has been a hoot of a time.  The last couple of days in Manarola were mainly spent in the Med.  I couldn't believe how warm it was - much warmer even than the pool in Greve!  Manarola didn't have a beach but it had some wonderful natural inlets and coves that were relatively safe for swimming, infact I laughed at Kate coz she basically just jumped in - you do have to love the innocence !! We also jumped on the train and went up to the further most village one day; Monterosso - it was ok but quite commercial/touristy, which Manarola isn't ( and we very much liked that aspect ).  Nearly pooed ourselves when we presented our brought ( and fully paid for) tickets for the train ride to the conducter who said that there was a €50 fine each for 'unvalidated' tickets !!!! We'd purchased the tickets from the train station in Manarola - but absolutely nothing was said about validating them ( although we did wonder what all the wee 'green' machines were around the walls :).  We we 'let off' with a warning - but the service ethic is sadly lacking in many of the places that we've been and this was yet another example - us Kiwi's don't fully appreciate how good we get it on Aoteroa.

The goat track !

I do have to mention that we did set off to the next village - Riomaggiore, as we'd mentioned in the last update - but that was an EPIC fail.  I asked the directions for a local who pointed up a lane. Dear Lord - by the time we'd called it quits we we're scrambling up over boulders and the 'track' was still heading higher.  We got back and subsequently found out that both the 'tourist'  tracks that connect Manarolafrom the other villages had been closed in June !!  We'd been directed to the locals track and it was truly a goat track amongst the olive trees and grape vines.

Packed up and dragged our bags up the hill to the car and set off to France.  Wendy and the girls weren't that fussed on the Cinque Terre - but I loved it - maybe coz I love the sea so much and the seafood spaghetti I had on the first night was absolutely to die for.  Girls on the other hand voted for hot dogs (American version) the next night - enough said.

I love the Italian highways !  Yes, you do need to pay tolls but it is absolutely stress free - two lanes of driving heaven.  Us Kiwis need to get over ourselves and get something similar built.  I was nervous about driving in Europe but basically you just sit in the right hand lane cruising along at around 110 kms (130 in France) and watch the locals absolutely fly by in the other lane.  The trip to Frejus was relatively event free ( with one very notable exception wre I turned right after the GPS and Wendy telling me to go left - added 40 minutes to the trip and cooled the car down quite a bit !!!).  I loved the trip through the north west of Italy, amazing scenery coastline coves and surf, late season sunflower fields etc - fabulous.  That all changed very quickly at the French boarder.  We crossed over to be greeted by torrential rain and even lightening around Monaco and Nice - not only that, but there's seemed to be a toll booth every 20 minutes.  We got safely to our holiday park in Frejus around 4pm only to be told that they didn't have our booking !

It all turned out ok - and i'll write about tomorrow. Today I'm  quite physically in the lap of luxury in St Remy with Jacquie and Steven ( the girls god parents) and it is absolutely wonderful - it's Father's Day and I'm being spoilt rotten - bubbly, a beer or two, a BBQ and a swimming pool !

Photo's 2

Shops on Ponte Vecchio 

Balcony at Manarola

Greve swimming pool

 

Florence - I just don't understand the attraction !

Kate at Manarola

Grace on our Manarola balcony 

In Florence overlooking the Arno

Manarola - crazy town

   

Breakfast at Manarola

We Have Moved On ...

Wendy here - Well, we said good bye to our new friends in the Greve Chanti with a couple of drinks on Friday night. Much excitement as they had a snake in their apartment. Peters fair-less daughter Alice searched it out and picked it up and put it outside in the garden!!!! We are all assuming it wasn't poisonous ......  Then later that night as I was getting ready for bed I found a lizard in our room - now I don't mind lizards but I was pretty sure I couldn't sleep with him walking around the bedroom!!! Andrew to the rescue - caught it and delivered it outside. I'm pretty pleased that we saved these wild life experiences until the last night :).

We drove to Pisa - we all loved it. Parked right by the Pisa where gypsies direct you to parking, in spaces far too small for a car, then charge you for their service. We thought the car was probably safer there than in a more deserted street, but did chain and lock our bags in the boot!  Anyway we had a lovely time - and we all agreed we could have stayed longer. Got in the car for what should have been a quick hour and a half to Manarola - over two and a half hours later we arrived. Traffic was crazy - at times we were crawling along the motorway and then it would clear with no apparent reason for the hold up. A couple of wrong calls made in La Spezia (I want it on record that one was Andrews and one was mine!!), then finally we arrived.

Pisa is a very neat place
to visit.

Manarola is the second of five villages in the Cinque Terre, it has not been adapted at all for tourists, which means you can't bring your car in and there are no supermarkets etc here. It is literally built on the cliff face. Our accommodation is right at the top with wonderful views - downside is the 206 steps down to the restaurants and beach!!! Actually getting down isn't really the problem .....

On the Ponte Vecchio

We have just had our breakfast and are heading off for the shortest walk to Riomaggiore.  Andrew can finish off ....

Basilica

Florence !  The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore magnificent.   Even after seeing all the beautiful architecture in the last month,   I am still amazed that they knew how to do it in the 12th century or earlier.  Stunning Haute Couture shops (Wendy did he 'kiss the LV window' shot again) all within a two block area and the jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio was an eye opener. Needless to say that  the Devlin's went to the markets !!! and had a great time snooping around an picking up  few things.  Driving is getting easier as I become more comfortable with the Italian style - flat out and furious ! I just stick to the right hand lane and potter along.  We're heaps better at toll booths, off ramps and 'trusting' our lovely GPS voice - as Grace said - she hasn't let us down yet.  Actually getting into Pisa yesterday was a breeze.  Better go !

First of 206 steps !

Hangin' by the pool

and that pretty much summarizes what we've been up to :).  It's Andrew doing this short update.

We clearly underestimated how much the first four weeks took out of us, and how tired we really were.  Greve in Chianti was an inspired choice however, as while there are heaps of things to do in the district (especially if you love wine), there's just as much fun to be had by mooching around the village, eating, drinking and swimming.  A few days ago we met a lovely Canadian couple who are traveling with their three daughters and the husbands parents.  Kate and Grace thought that this was amazing as they have kids around their ages and so last night during dinner the five of them took off and played while we all ate and chatted.  It was a very neat night and we also managed to bump into another two New Zealand couples !! Is there anyone left over there :)

Grace and Kate playing soccer with the Canadian children

Pizza night delight !

The kids have also spent a bit of time catching up on school work this week and I have finished a book !  I think that it's probably the first 'non work' book the I've got all the way through since my last holiday - 'Jack Reacher' is a bit of a dude and very easy to read ! We have had to down load a heap of other books for Grace as she has been enjoying relaxing and reading. Buying the Kindle was another great decision and Wendy also has her nose in the iPad reading away!

Yesterday we all went to Bernadette and Peter's marriage ceremony with them and their two children.  It was conducted by the Deputy Mayor of the village (he had his sash on !) and interpreted by the wedding planner that Bernadette had found to pull it all together.  It was a wonderful experience and not something that we ever expected to do while we were away; a real bonus for memories.

Wendy and the kids are still asleep but I will get them up shortly as we want to get into Florence today to have a snoop around and a wee bit of shopping :). 

Village life

is great !  well, apart from the Italian love of church bells and their need to constantly ring them at every available opportunity - ESP in the morning.  In Montefalco I even took a wee video clip of the bell tower when it was going flat out just to remind me, because it was quite literally at the end of the garden !  Plus, to add insult to injury there is a rooster somewhere close in the neighborhood here in Greve.

Days here consist of food, wine and the pool !  Very simple and highly enjoyable.  With temperatures around the mid 30's you'd think that the pool would be warm - well no !  It takes my breath away each and every time I dive in (no incremental wading in - just wouldn't work on so many different levels).  Wendy has so far dangled her legs in, and it's not looking likely that anything else will even get close to getting wet.  Kids on the other hand just love it and once you get over the first 30 seconds of 'shock and awe' it is wonderful.  The owner of the apartments sells her own wine - €3 a bottle and it's highly quaffable !  So you can picture Wendy and I on the loungers with a wine reading and watching the children jump and splash and having a great time.  Other guests don't tend to hop in until after Grace and Kate get out !!!  Not sure what our plans for the next few days are - Florence, Assisi, pool lounger :)

Truly wonderful garden and pool area

Adorable children :)

Speaking of which, I was in the pool with the girls the other day and heard someone say " that sounds like a Kiwi accent". Amazing - 19,000 km's away in a tiny Italian village in the back of nowhere and here is a Wellington couple in the same building - ha.  They are probably around our age and they've eloped !      Their kids are over and they are getting married in the local town hall on Thursday !  It's a small world.

Amazing thunder and lightening last night - went on for about an hour and lit up the sky.  The street lights even went out for a short time at one point.  Reminded me of the lightening shows that happened reasonably regularly in Wellington.

Wendy's birthday today and it started with a phone call at 4:30am this morning - a friend got the time zones wrong !!  I'd better go and ensure that her every whim is catered for :)

Hurley burley Italy

We survived my first effort at driving in Europe - thank the good Lord.

Picked up the car on the outskirts of Rome ( by the airport) and had a 10 minute tutorial by a guy who was clearly wanting to be somewhere else and got a wee tad grumpy with my questions !  Then off we go - wrong side of the car and wrong side of the road.  Actually it wasn't so much that, as the turning into traffic at T intersections - that did my head in - esp when other cars pulled alongside me and were turning also !  A few minor hiccups as we got used to the GPS,  my driving and Wendy's navigating.  Nothing too serious, but will be funny stories to tell ( and embellished) over a beer.  Motorways are fine in fact a lot of fun in a Peugeot 308 SW diesel (wonderful car) it's just the stress of changing roads/direction as you know that if you get it wrong there is no going back for quite some time!

Kate at the festival parade

Got to Montefalco and those streets were not built for cars. Everyone was a little scratchy from the 3 hour drive and so priority was food and drink ( soothing beer for me).  We were staying in a hotel in the town square and it was their festival month and last night was the celebration of St Clare their patron saint.  Wonderful to be amongst the 'festival of light' with all it's medieval pomp and ceremony (costumes, fanfare, drums, singing and prayers and speeches).  Was a late night for the girls but one they'll remember.

Grace and Wendy at the window of  our apartment

Wendy here - yes, thank The Lord we survived getting out of Rome and through to Montefalco yesterday and then on to Chanti Greve in Tuscany today. It is so nice to be out of the big cities and into some open space. Montefalco was a wonderful wee village and we were staying in a hotel right in the square. Fantastic views, hot weather and I managed to get a massage at the Hotels Spa - so I was very happy.

Chanti Greve is another small village.  Everything is in walking distance or if we want bigger cities nothing is more than an hour away. Great apartment - and a warmish 36 degrees when we arrived. We have a pool, which makes the kids very happy. We have promised that we will not get back in the car for at least two days - another thing which made the kids happy. We are all looking forward to slowing down.