On Saturday, after the archaeological museum and essential sfogliatelli stop we made tracks for Sora, a little town half way between Naples and Rome where we’d have a few days in the country. As we got closer and closer to Sora, we got closer and closer to the snow on the mountains that the wind hitting us in Capri had obviously come from. Brrrr!
Anna, a young Austrian girl and the manager of the joint we were staying at, arrived in a clapped out hatchback, and was covered in paint. We loaded our packs and me onto the back seat and headed for the hills, passing olive groves, orchards, cows and over grown farmhouses as we went.
Italy Country Stay wasn’t our first option when we were looking for a place to get out of the city. Our first preference had been Italy Farm Stay, just down the road, but when it was fully booked we were recommended the Country Stay. We learnt that Anna was renting the buildings at Country Stay from the Farm Stay and most of them required renovations. While our room was complete Anna and two volunteers were working hard to get some more rooms ready for the start of the season. As such, our accommodation was cheap - €20 per person per night with the option of a €1.50 Italian breakfast of coffee and pastry in the morning. While Italy Country Stay was also a self-contained establishment, we could opt to walk down the road to the Farm Stay for a home cooked meal there.
That first night the wind was blowing straight off that snow and I was so glad I could find a use for my down sleeping bag that was taking up all that valuable shoe space in my pack! Our room, while fully renovated, could still quite comfortably be described as ‘rustic’ and after the walk home after dinner with the wind whipping around my ears it was nice to snuggle down into our beefed up bed.
Via Piana is a bit of a one horse kind of place, nestled into the side of the mountain in the Abruzzi National Park and on the first afternoon we'd explored the highlights by simply going to the corner store. The store was tiny and fabulously Italian - Easter chocolates and their bright wrappers decorated the entrance, two short isles with all the Italian versions of everything you need from a corner store and at the end near the register was a counter full of deli goods.
We had a great time picking out supplies for the next couple of days and a fantastic exchange with the girl behind the counter who breached the language barrier using babel-fish on the lap top next to the register. We had a good laugh after much pointing at the bread rack from us and much typing on the computer by her when an automated voice spoke the words 'white. bread' and then 'brown. bread'. It turned out to be focaccia. We loved the experience even more when she chucked in a few free slices of mushroom focaccia for the road.
That night Anna dropped us down at dinner for the very Italian dinner time of 8pm and introduced us to Marcello, the family's father. Marcello then went on to introduce us to the pigs and the sheep and tell us about the new foal that had been born that week. As the sun went down we hung around in the garden for a while and introduced ourselves to an American hippy named Marcia. As darkness crept in we were wooed into the kitchen by the open fire and smell of a home cooked, country style Italian meal.
We parked ourselves at a table right by the fire and were later joined by Marcia and her partner James. These amazingly healthy people from Colorado described themselves as being somewhere between vegan and raw and were gluten and tap water free, so their trip to Italy was clearly not a gourmet adventure. You have to watch this clip on James - he's amazing!
The next morning I headed down to the Farm Stay early so I could go out for a horse ride with a group. Eager to get a glance at the new foal I headed over to the stables where a small crowd of children had gathered. As I approached I realised that they weren't there to see the foal at all, but instead one of the pigs I'd met last night tethered upside down and gutless. I got a closer look at this poor piggy later that afternoon after our cooking class (handmade fettucine and hickory and ricotta sauce) when it was being marinated in olive oil and wine... and later again when it hit my plate at dinner time. Poor little piggy didn't make it to market.
On our last day at Via Piana Jono and I headed out for an afternoon stroll to a nearby village, where our uphill climb was rewarded by amazing views over the valley, plus an espresso and an ice cream. On our way back down to Via Piana we "Buona sera"ed all the local farmers, were followed by twin orange cats and watched farmer's wives ploughing the fields in their woollen skirts and stockings.
Roma - Tuesday 19 April - Friday 22 April
On the Tuesday Anna dropped us into Sora so we could catch the bus to Rome. The bus dropped us on the outskirts of Rome on the last stop on the Metro's A Line, making it very easy for us to reach our hotel at the Spanish Steps and on the same line. I'd booked us in to a place called Hotel Panda which was tipped as being tiny, but comparatively affordable and excellently situated. That's exactly what it was!
Since finding the hotel was a cinch we had the energy to get out and about on the first day and so, armed with a borrowed copy of a Rick Steves guide book, we headed up Via del Corso to the Colosseum, passing the Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II and the Forum on the way. The Colosseum was AMAZING! Totally spellbinding! From there we headed into the Forum, which was also spectacular. It was just breath-taking to be walking where Caesar once walked.
Unfortunately, while at the Forum I had a havaiana blow out. Thankfully Jono put it back together with some of Caesar's left over wire with talet that would rival Macgyver's or, dare I say it, Chris Hignett's. While the thong was fixed the event sparked a downward spiral in our combined energy and we cut the Forum short and headed quickly back to our neat and centrally located shoe box at the Panda for a siesta.
By now we were quite accustomed to waking after 7pm to get ready for dinner, so we were out the door sometime after 8pm following the Rick Steves night time self guided walking tour of Rome from the Spanish Steps, to the Trevi Fountain, past the Pantheon and into Piazza Navona. Certain that what we needed was some iron in our diet we headed back to a cluster of restaurants near the Pantheon and sat down at the first one we saw with a decent steak on the menu.
Wednesday was the day Jono's parents were arriving from Australia and we initially planned to head over to the airport to meet them... perhaps even with a welcome banner... but their flight was delayed so we used the time to take a wander around the city, visit the Pantheon and, almost as importantly, Giolitti's on the recommendation of Tatiana.
After a walk and a nap around the gardens at Villa Borghese we used the rest of our spare time to shop along the Corso and I indulged in a couple of pairs of shoes. After stocking up on Italian leather we collected our bags from the Panda and put our best efforts in to make the journey over to Trastevere (where the Coffey's had booked a hotel) by bus with our packs. It required the befriending of a lovely little Italian lady to help us get there, but we did!
Peter and Paula arrived about an hour after us and we didn't waste any time in introducing them to the Italian siesta before heading out for dinner at another Rick Steves recommendation.
On Thursday we were booked in to see the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums in the afternoon, but we headed out on foot from the hotel with the Coffey seniors to check out Circus Maximus, the outside of the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain (this time to chuck a coin in for my Mum) and the Spanish Steps before catching the train over to the Vatican City. I would have loved to have spent weeks in the Vatican museums, but we were all a bit weary after the day on our feet so rushed through it all quite quickly. The Sistine Chapel was SPECTACULAR, but impossible to properly appreciate, particularly with all the chatting and flash photography going on. Rudy tudy!
That afternoon we met up with P&P's coastal next door neighbour's daughter, who is a private tour guide in Rome and who also lived in Trastevere. Caitlin had fallen into the role after heading to Rome after studying tourism at university. Apparently the day before she arrived at her first hostel in Rome the staff decided they needed an Australian tour guide. Quite the landing! She's now very well ensconced in her own tour business, marketing to US travellers seeking a private guide. It was so great to hear what it was like to be a local in Rome and great to get the good recommendations on where to eat!
Friday - our last day in Rome. It was brief. We headed to the car hire place, jumped a curb, pulled into an on-coming cop car and then, with the help of Maria (our GPS) headed out on the highway towards Cortona, a beautiful walled city where we stayed in a terrific hotel with a spiral stone staircase in Peter and Paula's room, which led to the roof. That night we kept things simple by eating in the hotel's restaurant... amazing food! Pete's pasta was positively smothered in truffle! After dinner Jono and I headed out to watch the Good Friday procession as the rain came down.
From Cortona we headed into Tuscany and to Croce di Bibbiano. If you are looking for an amazing Italian experience amongst the vineyards this is the place! We came here on the recommendation of our friend Emma, who had stayed there with her sisters and parents for a week the year before. I'd packed my wedding dress in the back of my backpack for the previous two and a half months just so I could wear it here and celebrate an 'Italian wedding'. To make the visit even better we were joined by my school friends Gwen and Kath who had travelled over for the weekend from London.
Our first stop was San Gimignano, another walled city dubbed 'Manhattan' because of its amazing towers. We headed there before we realised that the fab VW Paula had hired had an extra two seats hidden in the back, so Pete stayed at home while Jono and us girls did the rounds of the markets, the gelato shop, the leather goods shops and the delis.
That afternoon, while the Coffeys napped us Radford girls caught up on all the school gossip while downing beers on the lawn with San Gimignano in the background. As the sun went down, Valeria, Bibbiano's host set us up for an evening of tasting their vineyard's wines and tucking into some of the local produce out on the terrace. Poor Peter and Paula got to know a bit more about their daughter-in-law's past that night!
After the wine tasting we weren't really hungry, but we were in Italy, so we set the dining table in our apartment and sat down to some delicious freshly made pasta and bolognese sauce that I'd picked up in Cortona... after I put that dress on! Was a little different wearing it this time, after three weeks of a consistently carb-full diet compared to three weeks of carb free dieting before October 10! But it was loads of fun and so lovely to celebrate with friends and family in Tuscany!!
On Easter Sunday we all headed out to Siena for lunch (by then we'd located the extra two seats in the VW) and got ready to say goodbye to Kath and Gwen who were flying home that afternoon. Poor girls though, were given poor advice and discovered their bus wasn't running on that particular day so we made an impromptu visit to Florence that afternoon to drop them at the airport. It was very quiet after they left!
On Monday we spent the day going for walks and getting lost in the countryside, having a long lunch on the lawns and taking it easy in Tuscany.
On Tuesday we kitted up and headed out early to La Spezza and the gateway of Cinque Terre for a day of coastal walks. Amazing views!! You could spend a week there! That night we kicked off the Coffey Family Euchre Tournament.
On Wednesday I made a failed attempt at going horse riding by getting us all lost. As a consolation prize we headed to San Gimignano for lunch, groceries and some English news papers. No siesta that afternoon - Paula and I had a date with Valeria down in the kitchen to cook an Italian feast from scratch:
Bruscetta, home made lasagne, ratatouille, roast pork and tiramisu. Most dishes included generous doses of butter, olive oil, salt and wine.
The three hours in the kitchen (with coffee and wine breaks included) were well worth the effort and we all sat down to an amazing dinner with some of Bibbiano's local wines when everything was complete. I've cooked the ratatouille twice since then.
On Thursday I did a better job of finding the horse riding place and had a good time in the forests and vineyards. That afternoon Jono and I explored another walled town that was delightfully void of tourists and stocked up on a giant bottle of red table wine. The Coffey Family Euchre Tournament was rather a bit less civilised that night and no body could get us to touch the rest of the half bottle of wine after that!
Our last full day was Friday and we started the day with an attempt to visit Siena again. Less lucky this time, Maria the GPS was in no mood to help us out and we canned the trip, stopping at another walled city for lunch instead, which turned out to be exactly what we were after - smaller, cosier and quieter with a great warm restaurant to hide from the rain in.
We made the most of our last few hours in Italy by dropping Peter, Paula and Maria off in Florence, dashing to the Duomo, grabbing a final espresso, jumping on the train to Pisa, speed walking to the Leaning Tower with our packs on for a photo shoot, jumping the train tracks to catch a train to the central station with no ticket (sorry Trenitalia!!), hailing a pimped out Prius to the airport (included a dvd player and porno mags), flying Ryanair to London and grabbing Thai take out (no more pasta, please!!) to take back to the girls' place in Maida Vale where we had all of three nights in the UK before heading to LA.
Photos to come...
On the bus on the way to Sora with snow on the mountains in the background.
The view of Via Piana
Dinner
He speaks Italian
The 16th Century chapel we rode our horses into in the forrest
Cooking class
Walking home from Italy Farm Stay
Via Piana sunset
This little piggy ended up on my dinner plate
A walk in the country side
New friends
Rome - Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II
I can't remember the name of this one
Trevi at night
Pantheon
The view from the top of the Spanish Steps
Park Life
Trastevere artwork
VE II Monument
VE II Monument
Trevi in the day - on special request I dropped a coin in for my Mum
At the Vatican Museums... and I'm the one going to purgatory!
Vatican Museums... stunning stonework
After a big day in Rome what else are you meant to make a bee line for?
Cortona Easter Procession on Good Friday
Siena
Siena
Siena
The view to San Gimignano from Bibbiano
Morning walk near Bibbiano
Under the Tuscan Sun
Paula at Cinque Terre
Cinque Terre
Back in San Gimignano
Cooking with Valeria at Bibbiano
Valeria prepping the veggies for the lasagne mince - aka Primi
Paula on Secondi
A little bit more oil, salt and wine - voila
Pasta for the Primi
Crucial part of the preparations
The judges.
And here it comes!
Another horse ride..
Bibbiano views
Duomo - Florence. A taster for next time.
Ciao Florence. Thanks for a final taste of Italy - a motorcycle truck and a cafe on wheels
Pisa in a hurry
When my mum was in Pisa last time (a few years ago..) she took a photo of the reflection of the tower in the window of a cake shop. In the window was a cake in the shape of the leaning tower... this was my guess at which window that was.
