157-158: Dolomites Discovered and SNOW!!!

Posted on September 26, 2015 by Clunegapyears

157 – Thursday 24th Sept 2015: Departing and Driving to the Dolomites

Our drinking buddies had mentioned the Dolomites and K remembered Nicky used to climb here and both she and Bron had described them as stunning. It seemed a sensible route to travel through Italy and onto the Lakes. It took a while to leave Slovenia … like it had some kind of hold on us. We had all Chardonnay’s services to do, a big shop, including a bike seat cover as K’s punctured gel saddle kept sticking to her bum, diesel and the LPG took a while as well as the pump needed re-setting – patient garage attendant.

Eventually we crossed a border point on a small road: tiny, one bend and we were through. No questions about migrants / refugees here. By this time Sally was showing 8.30 pm as arrival at Cortina, so we bit the financial bullet and paid £8.80 in motorway tolls. Ian (drinking buddy) had said he thought the Cortina Sosta (motorhome parking) had shut so we stayed a a superb FREE one just south of Cortina, and arrived in time for drinks! Managed to dry out the awning too from the previous day’s downpour.

Free sorta, with views and awning drying 🙂

158 – Friday 25th Sept 2015: Cortina and Cable Car

Slowish start and delayed by the chat to a lovely Aussie couple, who had bought a 30 yr old van in Britain and were doing a year in Europe. They were only 21 and 23 and so much more together than we ever where at anything near this age.

Arrived in Cortina and found somewhere to park; had to pay! Cortina is very posh! Saw a LOT of very expensive cars.

Not one Porsche but two! Must have seen about a dozen.

Cortina is nestled in the middle of some of the most stunning mountain scenery.

Looking for the TIC and J enquired in one of the posh frocks shops and the lovely lady even rang to find out which office was open still at midday. We passed lots more designer shops and yes, Bron, shoe shops, but managed to not dive inside! Helpful TIC: the lake we wanted to walk up to was shut due to snow, suggested another lake with a sosta, suggested a cable car and chair lift to get views and a walk … oops .. J allergic to chair lifts, so she suggested another mountain with only a cable car!

Pix can do the talking and it was hard to identify which ones to include in the blog. Passo Falzarego and the Lagazuoi Cable Car.

Chardonnay’s bottom and already snow and views.

Setting off in the cable car

Getting higher and J now in the centre of the cable car checking his shoe laces!

Can you actually see the car park down there?

Ireland cap 🙂

120- 126 : Wonders of the World

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Clunegapyears

In the last week, we have seen so many magnificent sights, they are the New Wonders of the World – according to us!

120 – Monday: Wonder 1 – Leaning Tower of Pisa

Having arrived at a campsite the night before we continued with housekeeping … cleaning and washing. After lunch we wandered into Pisa and found some repair equipment, such as glue and screws. We had plenty of time before collecting Maddy from the airport to have a wander. I had been to Pisa a couple of times before and believed there was not much there other than the Square of Miracles with the Duomo, Basilica and Leaning Tower (Campanille). However, we discovered some lovely piazzas and arcades of shops.

J had the brainwave to get the bus to the airport rather than disturb / pack up Chardonnay. So EUR2 each and a short ride to the airport … having watched a man go apoplectic as he missed his airport transfer and had to catch the public bus … the air was blue … shame as he was with his young son. Plenty of time at the airport and not driving, so we had a couple of glasses to pass the time!

My Munchkin arrived :). Bus back into the centre and we bought timed tickets to go up the Leaning Tower. We wandered around the cloisters that had been badly damaged and saw statues and some of the restored frescos and had supper.

I scaled the Tower about 28 years ago with my father. It had then been shut to tourists and only reopened in 2001 after inserting a concrete plinth underneath to correct the lean slightly and prevent further lean. As you look at it, it really is amazing that it does not collapse. Incredibly, it started leaning after they constructed the third story and they kept building! The circular stairs hug the wall and you can sense the angle of lean as you climb. They also get narrower and have more wear to the tread. Climbing is not for the faint hearted or unfit. At the top, the narrow walkway is all of about 90 cm wide. Now there is a very high fence, but there was not when I climbed up all those years ago. I can still remember moving around the walkway with my back pressed to the tower thinking that this really is not safe! Some super views.

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Other people taking Instagram pix

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Maddy doing an Instagram pic!

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Katherine doing an Instagram pic!

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James doing an Instagram pic; James style! … if only he had an account!

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Amazing views

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James declined the climb up and rested, until Maddy poured water on him …

121 – Tuesday: Pick up in Padua

We drove to Padua to pick up Kerstin who had arrived by train from Germany a couple of days before. Having set Sally Sat Nav for her hotel near the station, we were guided into the tram lines and one way systems …. a slight concern, but Kerstin was on the look out for us. So a quick traffic halt as we bundled her, and her back pack on board.

We drove to a campsite on the Branta Riviera and had a BBQ.

122 – Wednesday: Villa Pisani and onto Venice

The main reason for staying on the Branta Riviera was to be near Venice, our destination for the next evening. However, the guide book had bigged it up. Accessible from the Venice Lido, the wealthy merchants has sailed up the river and built numerous villas along its banks. Some were small holding and some designed to be ostentatious to impress. Boat rides along the river were available, but at EUR65 PP, this was a NO.

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Villa Pisani is billed as the most impressive and open to the public for all of EUR10pp. As it happened, no discount for J’s great age, but Kerstin had a 25% discount for being a Professor – much delight. Pisani had been partly redecorated under Napoleon and Hitler and Mussolini had their first meeting here. However, it lacked a cohesive charm and was very soul-less – guess we have been much spoilt by the National Trust. It was, however, perfect for such a morning of heavy rain. Kerstin and I had a coffee and met an English couple, who had hired a boat from which to do Venice; they had even been able to sail part way up the Grand Canal.

After lunch in the carpark we set off for Venice. Whilst Sally had been programmed to avoid toll roads, i had omitted to include ferry crossings. With her destination set for a campsite on the spit of land the other side of Venice, she guided us along a long bridge and INTO Venice to the port. The crossing would have cost EUR56, but Sally advised us that re-routing along terra firma was only an hour and Maddy advised us that she does not like boats. So we turned back along the long bridge and headed to the spit. It actually took about 2 hours as the traffic was horrendous. I was later informed that it was a major change over day for all the holiday villages that inhabit the area. Slightly concerned that the campsite I had ear marked would prove to be similar to the ones we were passing, we were delighted that we had a large pitch and it was quiet. The receptionist was extremely helpful and sold us the ferry tickets and we were able to BBQ 🙂

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Our Pitch for two nights.

123 – Thursday: Wonder 2 – Venice

A short walk to the ferry port (the main reason for picking this campsite) and a 40 min ride to near St Mark’s Square. Despite being early, there were already massive queues to get into the Duomo. Venice is much larger than most people realise … 122 islands, canals and waterways everywhere with small arched bridges. We twisted and turned the narrow lanes to reach the Rialto Bridge, which was partly under scaffolding and busy. A rip off coffee and dry bun (what do you expect!) and we wandered N to some of the quieter streets. Our ferry ticket was valid for 24 hours on all the public ferries, so we hopped onto the Number 41, which took us around the main island complex. At the end of this line, we caught the Number 1, which took us all the way up the Grand Canal. A real treat and the guide book earned its weight as it explained all the buildings as we passed them. We selected a restaurant for lunch with aircon and it was reasonable value. Maddy got her pizza in Venice!

We wandered some more, but by now it was getting extremely busy and uncomfortable. We caught the ferry to Murano, which is where the glass making was moved to in the 15th Century. A very different feel to it; more residential. Had a coffee and gasped at the prices of the glasswares. Managed to catch a boat directly to where we wanted via two other major Venice islands.

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As we had an early start the next day, K went to pay … but the cash desk (and card reader) had officially closed :(. Oops – we really needed to be on our way as soon as the gates opened at 7.00 a.m. in the morning. Fortunately, the lovely girl on reception said she could process the payment with cash and would leave her boss, who opens up, a note that we had paid. Service and with a smile. 🙂

124 – Friday: An early start and into Wonder 3: Postojna Caves

We packed up efficiently, of course and drove to Venice airport. The traffic at 7.00 was, needless to say, very quiet. James and Kerstin dropped Maddy and I at the airport and went off to have a coffee. I received a text from Kerstin that James was also having TWO croissant! They are full of air, aren’t they?!? Maddy was already checked in, but as we have no printer, we thought we would have to queue, but as she had no luggage to check in, it was the fast line and all really quick. Full marks to Monarch airlines …. the flight and a pre-assigned seat was all of £42. Maddy and I also decided to have a drink and oozed around the airport for a bit. A hug and K watched M disappear again until October half term … A text to James, and he and Kerstin came and picked up K within 5 mins.

Kerstin only had till Tuesday afternoon before she returned to Germany and she had a shopping list of destinations. So we set Sally Sat Nav for the 1st destination on her bucket list – Postojna Caves. We realised the guide book had not over egged it when we saw the size of the FULL car parks and the size of the complex. They tried to sell tickets for extra museums and exhibitions, but we settled for the caves and Predjama Castle. We even had a timed ticket, so we had an obligatory ice cream and then Kerstin and I investigated the mill, which was actually pretty basic. But what was of more interest to most visitors were the dog kennels housed inside!

We presented ourselves at the cave entrance at the allotted time, along with half the population of natives and visitors to Slovenia. It was EFFICIENT. You scanned your ticket and stood by the sign with your language. Then as a body, you moved forward to the train with the language guide. We boarded the train. It rattled though the caves for about 4 km – you had to mind your limbs and head as in parts, the rock had been carved out just to accommodate the minimum that was needed! We all experienced a slight concern …. the train was so fast, we barely had a retina impression of the stalactites and stalagmites … a blur. However, the train stopped, we alighted and we had a further 1.7 km of walking through the caves. Over the years, we had all done a lot of caves in lots of countries, but these, we agreed, were the seriously the MOST AMAZING CAVES WE HAVE EVER SEEN. There was cavern after cavern of varying formations: the colour depending sometimes on the soil and mineral deposits above. We saw golden, reddish and pure white drip stones. Before the electric train, diesel was used and the formations are stained black. There is a Russian Bridge, built by POW in 1916. The final cavern is used as a concert hall and can seat 10,000 people – must be amazing. Here, there are also tanks that housed two Proteus anguinus – a form of salamander only about 8” long. These are known as ‘human fish’ and found only in some of this region’s (Karst area) caves. For the animal lovers … the Human Fish is blind, only lives in water in caves, can go 12 years without food, but still manage to reproduce! Where do they find the energy???

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I think Kerstin would have been up for doing the castle in the same afternoon, but J and I vetoed this and headed for Pivka Jama campsite. Very wooded, over the top of another cave … the area is riddled! A BBQ, which included a strange dessert! A local had wandered around selling his honey (beekeeping is a really big thing), which we bought. On the embers of the BBQ, we made a foil plate and toasted pine nuts. To this we added slithers of local cheese and just as it was melting, added honey. Delicious – TY James for not consuming … more for Kerstin and I.

125 – Saturday: Wonder 4: Predjama Castle

In the morning Kerstin went down the Pikva Cave and complained about the number of stairs she had to encounter. K and J unimpressed as we had gone for a run / slog. She did come back with the information that a lot of the caves are pretty much connected. We stuck camp and headed for Predjama Castle.

Perched up a rock face / half cave and half castle. It is a seriously dramatic location. Various owners, but the most notable by far was Erazem Lueger. He was a C15 Robin Hood type who robbed the rich to feed the poor. He was under siege in the castle by the Austrians, using the secret passages out the back of the caves to carry on his daring exploits. He was so brazen that he sent fresh cherries, which had not yet ripened in this valley, and roasted OX etc, down to his attackers. He developed a mystical status. However, he had an ignoble downfall – literally! The weakest point in the castle was the toilet and the Austrian’s bribed a servant to alert them to when Erazum ‘went’ and the blasted him. What an earth shattering experience!

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Models of the Human Fish that you could buy … no prizes for guesses what we decided they looked like!!!

We lunched in the car park and people watched … car park manoevres and a group of ageing scouts (average age 60) who persisted in peeing in one particular spot in the car park!

Slovenia is NOT big; it is the size of Wales, so it was a shortish hop onto Ljubljana. We had identified a CamperStop just the the east of the city, which cost EUR10 compared to 30+ on the city campsite. We were not sure what to expect, but it was a real find. It is restaurant with a motorhome parking; unusually with toilet, shower and full services AND free if you eat in the restaurant. Mein Host, yes his German is better than his English, is obviously an industrious sort. The place is immaculate and he keeps chicken, pigmy pigs and goats, offers a bakery service for the morning and loaned me a map of campsites to photograph. A cheeky chappy waiter helped us perfect and judge our versions of HVALA – thank you.

126 – Sunday: Ljubljana – Not a Capital City

Mein Host sells bus tickets and dispenses city maps … the CamperStop is at the end of the bus line. We caught an early bus in – 8.30!!!! Must be the Kerstin influence, as this is far too early for J and I!

Ljubljana is not like other capitals. Slovenia only became independent in1991. It has a young feel as it is home to the main University, and since it is free to students, most young people have degrees and doctorates. Unfortunately, since the Slovenia recession, many are unemployed. It does have an intimate feel – I suppose due to its small size; certainly Bristol is very large and sprawling by comparison. James was tour guide with a slight detour to see the Sunday Antiques market and several attempts to see the saint’s corpse in the church (yes, really, this was how it was described in the guidebook, but it was actually very disappointing – wax face and hands, nothing like the real C15 saint’s corpse in Lucca) … until … he relinquished all responsibility as we were handed a leaflet for a free walking tour … due to start in 10 minutes. No brainer. As we have found before, these walking tours really hep to give a sense of place and time and tell you so many snippets that the guide books omit. Well worth the tip one gives.

The Tourist Information for Slovenia proved a real gem … with a little pressing, the young girl found loads of leaflets and marked interesting places, not on the main tourist trail on a map for us.

We lunched and Kerstin wandered up to the library to see the reading room, but like the whole of Ljubljana, it was small …. nice story, that during WW2, it had just been built and the local populace did not want the Germans to use the building, so they hand carted several thousand books from the old libraries. Sadly, many of these were later lost when the building was bombed.

We walked up to the castle, via a wine booth. Kerstin is SUCH A BAD influence, she enticed us to buy a bottle of red to drink whilst we imbibed the views from the castle. Bless, the vendor even de-corked it for us! We did not make it into the castle, but enjoyed the views.

We caught the cable car back down and back on the bus. Supper in the restaurant … Kerstin and I shared a pork rib dish and then helped J out with his Wiener Schnitzel … we still had a doggy bag!

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Slovenia is still 80% Catholic, despite Communist rule (Tito) and a nun was dispensing food and checking he was alive …

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We first saw a bridge of love locks in Helsinki. Wonder what happens when the relationship breaks up … how many still have keys with which to remove them?

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The triple bridge at the heart of the centre.

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Both with wooden bikes!

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K dispensing coffee …

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K dispensing wine into the coffee cups…

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From the return bus … a fairly typical hay drying rack

Days 114 – 117: Pistols at dawn if you don’t eat and be merry!

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Clunegapyears

114 – Tuesday 11.08: Pistoia … third time lucky

A ‘free time’ day. Having not successfully visited Pistoia town centre despite having stayed Saturday night there, we caught the train to see the main square. It was worth it on 3 counts:

Did some shopping including an Italy map book. We figured that since we were planing to spend some months in Italy, the Europe map book has insufficient detail. (We have also downloaded Italian language podcasts, as we really ought to get to know a few basics other than the few phrases J can remember from 100’s of years ago and K’s well used and successful phrase which buys stamps for postcards for England.)
Found the square which was very pretty
Had an amazing lunch in a slow food restaurant… K’s was very fresh tasting … the slow food meant we consumed an extra bottle of white!

K’s Tuscanny Soup! The word soup is used very loosely. Fresh salads with tuna and salsa verde. Yum.

Approaching our second bottle of white 🙂

Pistoia Basilica

At dinner tonight we celebrated Amelia’s 70th AND Tom presented his book on the Clune ancestry. He has put a huge amount of work into researching and writing up, within the context of the Irish history. He now has a hit list of family who had not passed him information BEFORE he went to print. Top of the list was James, followed by Amelia and then Mary Kate, who announced that she possessed the family bible with the family tree! Not sure if Tom can face revision number 212!

Amelia with her cake … delicious!

The Clune Siblings with the family history that Tom researched.

Two of the youngest members … second cousins

115 – Wednesday 12.08: Frenzied in Florence

An early start and the train to Florence. Our groups was gain split into two smaller groups, each with a guide. History and the main sights seen. HOWEVER, it was very hot and very busy. Tourists everywhere. Packed with ’em and then horse drawn carriages trying to get through … James nearly lost his hat to one horse, and I nearly lost James to the carriage wheels!

As we will be spending a lot more time in Italy, we will come back and do the INSIDE of some of the sights when it is quieter.

With the tour guide in Florence

Michelangelo’s David … well the copy

It was a matter of pride to celebrate the human form

Cathedral and Campanile

Basilica’s doors that Michelangelo dubbed the Gates of Paradise

Ponte vechio: A German General disobeyed orders as he refused to blow it up as the Allies approached. It has housed jewellery shops since c.15 as the butchers’ smells offended the Medici’s who crossed between Palaces in the tunnel way across the top.

So after another amazing lunch … K and J only went for one course for this meal … chicken cacciatore 🙂 … we then caught the train back to Montecatini. We checked on Chardonnay, patted her bonnet and she introduced us the tourist busses that she has befriended!

116 – Thursday 13.08: Up to Alto and in High Alt with Football

Quite a number of the Clunes had already caught the funicular train up to Montecatini Alto and said the views worth it. We walked through the park, past the thermal baths complex (apparently people take the waters at 8.00 and have a movement at 10.00!) to the train station. It has operated since 1898 and as one goes up, one comes down on the same track with a passing place half way up. It was a surprisingly long way.

At the top we planned to have a coffee, a walk and then lunch. The coffee turned into a beer and a wine. The walk was a very slow stroll to see one of the churches and the castle walls … Oh and a memorial to Sainta Barbara which included bombs and barbed wire … she is the saint of war amongst other things!

The planned lunch did not happen in Montecatini Alto …. we selected a restaurant. J said in his best Italian ‘Buon Girno’ and was ignored by the waiter, who then flung two menus at J without a word …. so we left! He will presumably never know why he did not get our custom … just wish we had taken a note of the restaurant name … TripAdvisor is such a powerful weapon … wonder if Sainta Barbara would have been on our side?

As we had a bit of time before the first train down the hill, we wandered into one of those magic finds that occur only when you are not looking for them. We stumbled into a small locals’ bar: elderly men with a glass of wine or an ice-cream watching the TV. We moved through to one of the back rooms and discovered a draft set. We had both completely forgotten a) how to set up the board, but the barman helped us and b) the rules, but we cobbled through. Our glass of wine and coffee has half the price of the main square. A gem.

As we wandered back into the hotel, we were informed that the Clune blood team would be playing the Non-Bloods this afternoon. The football match had been declared at a previous evening’s dinner and the Captains had picked their teams, but given the extreme heat, we had thought it would not come to anything. How foolish and naive! Michael had not only booked a 5-aside pitch but ordered taxis to take us there and back. Sharon, the ref, had picked up yellow and red cards anticipating that she would need them – a lot. I don’t know how to say this, but K, the non-footballer, had been picked for the Non-Bloods as the only sub and J, the fittie, had not been picked for the Bloods! K had told Captain Mark that the ONLY time she had played football was last summer, when she kicked the ball at full force into the face of Jimmy aged 4. Even chocolate did not stem the tears. Mark seemed to think that hurting the opposition was a good thing?! It was also a VERY small gene pool for Mark to pick from. J determined to have a go, came prepared in his kit and, just as well, as there was a HUGE amount of subbing going on in the Blood team! Result? Non-bloods slaughter of Bloods with a 2-0 win, despite their enormous team of about 15 subs! Oh Yes!!!

The Clune Blood Team: Youth and numbers on their side!

The Non-Bloods: ranked as underdogs, but the captain Mark scored twice!

A fake dive by Michael, but he did a real one later!

Yes, I did actually get my boot to the ball! As well as my left boob … thank you David!

Husband and wife: Opposing!

117 – Friday 14.08: Leisurely and then cooking course

Free time, which meant a welcome lie in! Into town for a coffee and ice cream so huge, that K could not finish it – unheard of! There are so many Clunes in Montecatini, that Sharon and John passed us on a mission to find a football deflater and we discovered the Mary Kate, Boyler and baby Daniel had been inside whereas we had been outside! Indeed, as we left the hotel on Sunday, the head receptionist said that he would miss us all … the majority of the other guests were half dead neck up!

J declined the cookery lesson … can’t cook / won’t cook. We drove out to a villa, where guests can stay, learn to cook Tuscany style, ride horses etc. The villa was C17, but the staff were very modern. Sandra, matriarch, was a full on personality. Her son, was eye candy and the other teacher Texan Scarlett a poppet. We learnt knife skills, including how to sharpen, chopping skills and all cried with the onions! Laura did a bit more than cry and attempted to chop off a finger! We then made pasta and watched demonstrations on an orange (9 jested oranges!) sponge and Creme Anglaise.

What was really interesting was how long the chopped veggies were cooked … all their juices had to cook and reduce with the voluminous quantity of olive oil. Tip: Heat the veggies in the pan with the oil or they caramelise. But the sauce was unctuous …. no need for lip balm. The pudding was light and soaked up the cream. Over- stuffed again!

Head Chef Sandra with all our choppings and a vat of olive oil

Holly, aged 4, making pasta

The cooking group with the trainers

Clune Gap Years

A journal and reflections of our motorhome travels

Tag Archives: Italy

157-158: Dolomites Discovered and SNOW!!!

120- 126 : Wonders of the World

Days 114 – 117: Pistols at dawn if you don’t eat and be merry!