Headed cross country today through Tuscany skirting south of Florence, through rolling hills, grape vines (Chianti), cypress trees and ploughed fields. Very dry but ‘typical’ Tuscan, as in pictures minus the sunflowers! Lots of little hamlets on mountain spurs and up valleys, many walled and with castles or fortresses. Then into the province of Liguria and on to Santa Margherita (base for 2 nights) and drove along to Portofino. Lovely coast – windy though and narrow – Mark has done narrow and steep villages with very sharp turns!!
The sunflowers have all gone! (24th Sept)
Staying for two days in Cortona (Tuscany) – a fortified village on a very steep slope – narrow twisty streets – a challenging drive and navigation test – the GPS does not always work well here! Tried to send us down some pretty narrow “un-navigable” lanes!! There is no need for a gym here with these streets (not that I have seen one!). This afternoon we drove to Lago Trasimeno – through some Tuscany country back over the Umbria border. Picturesque but not stunning – quite dry at present and the sunflowers have gone. Expansive views of countryside from Cortona hilltop. This is the town where much on the film “Under the Tuscan Sun” was filmed – the author has her summer house here.
A road less travelled
Headed off for Tuscany today via roads less trvelled by tourists! Lots of picturesque scenes – patchwork fields with olives, plouged areas and woodlands. Little towns perched on the hillsides like Nocera Umbria. Unfortunately the sunflowers have all dried off but fields still pretty.
We had lunch at Gubbio- another medieval town set on a hill but different with taller storied houses – you certainly get the feeling of impregnability! There is a finuva which heads up the hill but unfortunately (or fortunately) not working – little more than a birdcage for humans suspended from a chairlift cable!! For lunch I sampled Truffle sauce- a delicacy here. Pottery also very big and beautiful and expensive!
Spello
A glorious day spent wandering the narrow cobbled and twisting alleyways, under stone archways and admiring scenery and views of the Umbrian countryside in and from the mountainside town of Spello.
A quiet lunch in the Piazza della Republica was briefly interrupted by lots of noisy school children escaping onto buses to head home for the day and seista time. The town then became very quiet, shutters were closed, only tourists about – although you can hear chatter and noise from behind the closed doors! Most everything closes between 1pm and 4pm and comes alive again after 6! Dinner is usually late – restaurants here not keen for business before 7.30pm. Tonight we ate again at Il Molina (the Old Mill) – beautiful meal and we were most amused by the much pampered dog at the table next door- a miniature Buddy who sat on her owner’s lap and ate from his plate when given the chance! The dog came in dressed for dinner in a little coat and had been approved and made welcome by the restaurant!
In the green heart of Italy – Umbria region
An interesting stop this am at the Etruscan Tombs in Tarquinia (Lazio region) on our way into Umbria. These are underground tombs from 800 BC and the painted decorations inside tell the story of an early civilisation. A nice drive into Umbria – greener fields, olive groves, vines and autumn colours just starting to appear on the wooded hills. Drove round interesting little hilltop town of Todi and then on to Spello where I have fallen in love with this beautiful town on the side of the steep hillside of Monte Subasio – great views of the countryside, and the town itself is gorgeous – narrow alleys, cobbles, archways, hanging baskets – plenty of atmosphere. We are staying here 2 nights – the hotel has lovely frescoes on walls and also pretty courtyards.
Return to Italy (20th Sept)
We have had a great week in Malta catching up with Matt and Kat and enjoying the sights together. For me, Malta is definitely a country of contrasts between old and new, ruins, abandonment and progress. It is very very dry, almost desolate in places and yet so picturesque also. The people are friendly, the climate and food were great and I’m keen to read up on a bit of history now! (The livestock are there we’re told – we can’t verify that – we saw only a scattering of animals…. but apparently there are 19,200 head of cattle, 80,000 pigs, 17,000 sheep, 2,300 goats, and 930,000 poultry!!)
At the beach
Today we hired loungers and beach umbrellas (as they do here) and spent several hours at Golden Bay – the sand is a golden colour though somewhat marred by numerous cigarette butts. The sea was as blue as ever and refreshing for swimmers. On our way to a rather late lunch I jumped out for a quick look at “Sweetpea Village” where the 1980 Popeye movie was filmed- very cute! Matt and Kat “won” 1,200 pound of travel vouchers once we had endured a session with a timeshare man – we’ll see if they are any use long term!
Sliema – A quiet ‘catch up’ day
Nice sleep in this morning, a chance to read and get sorted and plan ahead for Tuscany in 2 days.
Did go shopping in Sliema – a nice lunch on the waterfront and home for seista like all good locals. Again very hot so the air conditioning is much appreciated at that time of day and our beach plans were shelved. Not a lot of shade on beaches but can hire a lounger and umbrella in some areas. The beaches here are mainly rocky as coastline is quite rugged. There are a few beaches with smallish areas of golden sand – also saw a nice smooth rock beach today on Sliema waterfront – you find a patch with the right elevated head/foot rest (both if you are lucky) and away you go.
Contrasts and variety
A nice slow start this am, then off on a peaceful little boat trip around a bit of the south west coast of the island to see the Blue Grotto and several caves in the dramatic sheer rock face walls. Fortunately calm with brilliantly clear water. Lunch back on land was an interesting experience – we did think the service was pretty slow and casual – then the boss turned up, a shouting match ensued resulting in the waiter being fired in our hearing – loud and chaotic!
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On then over perhaps the roughest roads we have encountered to the Dinghli Cliffs some 220m above sea level with an outlook to the smallest island- Filfla. The highest point in Malta is only 253m above sea level. There are a few great roads and motorways funded by the EU with beautiful lush planted roundabouts. Our next stop was the city of Rabat where we went underground to St Paul’s catacombs – 4AD ancient burial complex with halls, passages and chambers hewn out of rock – covering some 2,500 sq metres – we didn’t see it all!! Nice and cool down under on another hot sunny day. Then on to Mdina “the silent city”, the oldest city in Malta, an ancient walled town with narrow curving streets, medieval and baroque architecture and at one point stunning views out to sea. St Paul’s Cathedral (the only church we have visited here!!) has a beautiful dome, frescos, art, statues and intricate floor mosaic panels dedicated to various saints and so on. I find it amazing to think how these cities and structures were all constructed way back when!! Photos don’t do these places justice anywhere – save your pennies and wander over!
A day on Gozo Island
A little expedition today to Gozo – the second largest island in the Maltese archipelago – 30 minutes by ferry from Malta. Very efficient ferry service – no queues – drive up and on and away you go! (some good timing from Matt as well). Steeped in history like the rest of Malta, from the era of the Knights of St John, apparently Gozo is where in the legend the nymph Calypso held the Greek hero enthralled for 7 years originated from.