Fact finding visit to Italy in February and again in March

How wonderful to get the chance to experience Italy outside of the tourist season. Makes me feel more of a local. Last month it was the wonderful town of Orbetello, away from the usual tourist haunts and a place that inspires anyone who has the good fortune to discover this unique spot on the Tuscan coast...
... and this month is a more recognisable tourist destination - Florence. I am fortunate to be attending the parola.it school to study Italian. This is the associate school from the one I attended in Elba last year... and yes I intend to return to Elba for more tuition in September. I am looking forward to attending both schools, however in Florence I will be attending a class in the morning and then enjoying one to one tuition in the afternoon. I expect that Il Duomo and the Uffizi will feature in the afternoons along with a "gelato" or three, an "espresso" or perhaps "tante caffe" and of course the odd glass of wine... only as a fact finding experience understandably.


Each time I travel to Italy I consider it to be a fact finding experience. No-one can deny this, as every time I go I discover so much more about the history, the culture and the people.   
Examples are just two of the places visited while fact finding food and drink on a leisurely stroll along the Via Torre Clementina, Fiumicino. The first is an Enoteca (wine bar with food) that served the most delicious wine with an enthusiasm that was infectious! My glass is the one on the right, full bodied and aromatic ... and as you can see in the background, there are lots and lots of bottles to choose from.

Full marks for presentation and ambience go to the owner, Paola.
She served oysters and various hams and cheeses and my mouth is watering just thinking about the whole evening's gastronomic entertainment.      Grazie Enoteca Ostriche, e grazie mille Paola...
The second is an amazing bar that was also a bakery. Yes folks these cakes were being served in a bar! Its' full name is Supermario Bar di Mario Balletta e Danilo Codini SNC! Now how is that for a name and what a great idea. I took photos of both these amazing places, after asking permission of course, and at the bakery/bar which is open 24 hours, the barman insisted that I wait until he put out his best cakes and then proceeded to pour me only the strongest gin and tonic ever! I think this was a bribe but I really can't be sure. ... However you can be sure that the next time I am in Fiumicino I will be visiting these two very different bars... on a fact finding mission of course.

Italian travels with my son

Gordon at the Captain's Table

It was a wonderful week... if a trifle chilly. The weather that is, not the mother/son relationship. Tuscany in February is still sunny however the sky is deceiving as furry coats would have been the best option. If I had one that is... We arrived in Rome late Saturday evening and set off for the southern Tuscan coastline early Sunday morning with me delighted to be driving my Fiat Punto courtesy of Hertz!  I do love driving, especially in Italy. In fact everyone says that I drive like an Italian. I know that I certainly park like one! you know when straight lines are really only a guideline!

Gordon, our younger son, and myself were on a fact finding tour of the Maremma area. In fact, we were searching for a suitable villa to host the spring Yoga week and find it we did.

We were staying in a beautiful area called Gianella on a promontory that joined the area of Monte Argentario with the mainland. Our hotel was wonderful and the staff always eager to help... especially with our Italian. We were adjacent to the town of Orbetello which is situated on another causeway in the middle of what is a protected bird sanctuary and lagoon. See photo below. This is a truly wonderful part of Tuscany and doesn't usually feature high on the tourists' agenda but is high on mine.

I love the unbelievable trust of this town nestling at the foot of some amazing hills, not to mention the Monte Argentario itself. Monte Argentario is a very large remnant of  volcanic activity... a huge rock that is an island with the most amazing views of the Tyrrenian Sea. In fact I am quite high up on the rock when I took this photo! and yes of course the road was "curve" - the Italian for bendy and also very steep and single track! What can I say - I love to view life from the top and it would appear being at the top of this particular rock is a regular occurrence.

As well as touring the countryside, we spent a lot of time on the island of Monte Argentario itself, in a town called Porto Santo Stephano We visited many of the local towns, however Porto Santo Stephano is one of our favourites for although the weather was chilly the locals were not. The sky and the sea were blue, the food was absolutely magnificent as the fish were arriving one day and on our plates the next.

The photograph shows the blue sky and blue sea and perhaps conveys some of the tranquility and pleasure we felt while walking along the prom...

Another favourite of mine is Pitigliano, seen here, where the Etruscans came and carved their city into the rock itself. Well worth the two hour drive around many, many steep curves! That is two hours up and another two hours down! Now that is the time it took me while driving the car... imagine the time it took them when they landed on the coast all those years ago. Probably at Monte Argentario...

As I said, we found our perfect villa with its touch of luxury! It is situated in Punta Ala, with a panoramic view of the Tyrrenian Sea and the island of Elba. I am so looking forward to taking my students to visit this beautiful place and perhaps we can even include Pitigliano in our schedule. Our Living It Yoga weeks include sightseeing trips, market visits, spa days, Italian cooking - mine! as well as what you would expect ; asanas and meditation.

Gordon and I spent a whole week enjoying amazing food, wonderful wine, good company and inspirational scenery... he did complain that "radio Eileen" was a constant feature so if there is anyone out there looking for a radio host or hostess... I am available!

A taste of Heaven... then a little touch of hell!

Well what a year it's been so far and we are still in the month of January! As you can see as Andy suns himself in the shade, Mauritius was everything we hoped for and more. Idyllic hotel, beautiful sand and lapping waves, even an adult-friendly pool! The weather was scorching and unbeknownst to us, a grade 2 cyclone was heading our way! Ignorant of the impending storm, we enjoyed the most amazing display of fireworks on a beach at midnight, welcoming in the New Year with a glass of bubbly in the hand... and as for the first of January, well, we went for lunch to a Chinese restaurant. A far cry from the traditional steak pie!

Our hotel was a 10 minute walk along the beach from our elder son, Kenneth's, girlfriend's parents' home.  (Have I mentioned that Kenneth's girlfriend is Mauritian, and they were spending Christmas and New Year with Natalie's parents, and we had decided to tag along?)

It was a joy to experience Mauritius with the help of a Mauritian family. We were taken to the best restaurants, seafood, Chinese and Indian... not to mention the wonderful meals shared within the family home! Merci beaucoup,  Maman et Papa Thomas!

Our previous visit to Mauritius was in 2001. So we have made a promise to ourselves to return to Mauritius well within the next 10 years!

Now to the cyclone,  Andy said that it was like a windy day along the Largs prom! How he loves to understate events. No drama out of a crisis for him. As for myself I went and enjoyed a hot stone massage while the storm surged around the spa. (spa cabin in background of the photo!)  I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz and expected the spa cabin to fly off into the cyclone at any moment. I can truly recommend being massaged in the eye of a storm. I believe that a massage at anytime is probably an eye of a storm experience. The photo below is of my view of paradise from my spa cabin after the storm... in fact it is after my round of golf at a 5-star golf course where even my golf was heavenly! When in heaven it seems that everything takes flight, including my golf ball.

As you can gather we ate well, drank indulgently... but no hangovers!... and were treated royally to all the best that Mauritius could offer. Sunset cruises accompanied by dolphins, a range of cocktails that Tom Cruise would envy and surrounded by a service industry that is unique in its approach to customer care!

Now there is a flip side to enjoying paradise. Yes, you guessed it. Down to earth with a bump, well more a smooth landing at Heathrow and a cancelled flight home to Glasgow. Sooooo... not the perfect return to the UK. Twenty hours after setting off from Mauritius we have a bed for the night at a Heathrow airport hotel and the promise of a flight home in the morning! This was just the beginning of the besetting and beleaguering episodes that were sent to try... No I am not moaning, although I was then, and when the Largs lurgie from hell descended on my sinuses you can bet there were a few moans coming from under the duvet. However I also reflected that every time a little cloud on life's sky appeared... clouds such as earache, headache, sore throat, coughs and sneezes, deafness tra-la-la... I went back in time and caught a memory, a silver lining and promised myself that I would enjoy each and every day with the same sense of joy that I had while being massaged in the eye of the storm.

 

Merci beaucoup, Jenny, for giving me a massage that will last a lifetime! you are only the best masseuse ever...

Magical Island of Mauritius

As usual I am writing the monthly blog... however unusually I am at present in Mauritius celebrating the wonderful year of 2013. We are staying in Trou aux Biches in the north west corner of this paradise island. Last time we were here we stayed in the south west and explored everywhere... from mountains to forests to beaches and all the restaurants in between. Kenneth, our elder son, was working here at the time and wanted us to experience the real island not the tourist "trap". This time, we are returning to further our acqaintance with the beautiful island and many of its inhabitants and no doubt enjoy whatever the tourist trap has to offer...

I decided that 2013 was to be the year of enjoying whatever life has to offer. The sun in the south Indian ocean, the smirr in the west coast of Scotland, the friends and family that we know and love whatever the weather...

On Fire!

Remember way back in May, check out May's blog!... the plan was to have a log burning stove in the den, otherwise known as the office, by Christmas. Well we made it, just. There were so many delays... delay in delivery of the fire, delay in the delivery of the hearth and even a delay in the builder's availability... so what is this telling me. Well, I believe that "Time" is elastic. I usually use the phrase to mean that I can fit mega stuff into a day however this time the elastic was more to do with a stretching response in my patience...

"Now" is the only way to deal with time... and then time will look kindly on us! Let's all of us have a great time this month... let's make time for others and let us really enjoy stretching the elastic!

We are not entitled to a through train in life!

When were you last on a train? Perhaps you are a frequent traveller... if that is the case, you will be aware of how little control you have of your journey time and in some cases even your destination. I travelled by train from Aviemore to Largs on Sunday last, and found out that I am not really entitled to a through train! which got me reflecting on my life's journey... and as I work with metaphors, querying why I expect to have a "through train" in my life! You know the train (life) that takes you from the starting point to the destination with no hiccups, derailments, leaves on the line and leaves on time with no changes in platforms or stations!

My journey started in Aviemore at 10.00am and finished in Largs at 5.30pm. A journey of 7 and a half hours that took less that 4 hours by car the previous day. As I pondered the various interruptions in travel and the many inconveniences of delays and changes in stations, I embarked on changing my state which was escalating into impatience, into a more benign feeling of acceptance. A feeling of "It is what it is!" After all I had a great book to keep me company and many travelling companions to study and there was no getting away from the fact that I had no personal control of the train or train times ... the only aspect of my life that was open to my control was my attitude.
So 10.00am left hotel, feeling - anticipation, first long train journey in a while.
11.20am train left Aviemore, feeling - cramped, no seat available on own!
1.00pm change trains at Perth, feeling - apprehensive, unfamiliar territory.
1.45 embark on delayed arrival of train in Perth, feeling - grateful, but surrounded by disappointed travellers
3.30 arrive in Queen St Station, Glasgow, feeling - happy, nearly home
bus to Central Station, Glasgow...
3.40 only just caught the train to Largs... but no through train, so we change at Paisley and then after a one and a half hour bus journey later, arrive at Kilwinning, to await a train home to Largs.
feeling - delighted! and inspired as this day has shown me ... as my strap line says "Life's a journey - enjoy!"
Has this experience put me off travelling by train. Certainly not. In fact far from it. I am really looking forward to what experiences show up when I travel on the Orient Express.

Rainy Days and Holidays

 The above photo shows the sun setting over the industrial side of the Veneto. What very different memories I have of Venice! Such as the sunset making beauty of the view and then the photo which shows the modern side of the Gondoliere. Where are we without our mobiles? The contrasts are almost too hard to take in. We imagine that history should stay in its place and progress shouldn't impinge on our touristy views and yet as in the sunset... how wonderful to know that there is also permanence in the nature of things and how beauty can transform even the most resistant of places.
Our gondola tour included looking up at a hotel that was once the home of Casanova and our gondolier didn't once check his phone but spoke perfect English as he shared his love of Venice. He was able to share facts that weren't in any guide book as he worked at manoeuvering us around the canals... seemingly effortlessly! We experienced a little of history while history itself was being made out in the busy, busy Grand Canal.

And what do you think of these two  rain-drenched friends? We are having such fun. Yep that's right, such fun! The heavens opened while we were in St Mark's Square and we dived into a little bar for an alcoholic beverage, as you do, to while away some time until the rain stopped. Well it didn't. It rained and rained and so we decided to make our way through the raindrops to our hotel and lo and behold there appeared vendors with rainmacs especially just for us. One size fits all, the short and the tall. We are crossing the Rialto Bridge and enjoying every splish and splash, puddle and dribble knowing that we too are part of history in the making.







Talking about crossing bridges, the famous Bridge of Sighs is just as it is in this photo! This is the bridge that prisoners crossed on the way to their incarceration having been judged for their crimes. A beautiful bridge on the outside holding an ugly truth on the inside. We visited the cells during our visit to the Doge's Palace and were informed that one of the prisoners had been Casanova. It was hard to imagine anyone surviving such hardship, never mind managing to escape, as it seems that the bold boy, Casanova did. Venice was everything we expected and more. From the grandeur of the architecture to the rabbit warren of streets where being lost over and over again was part of the charm of this city of contradictions... with its obvious beauty, its unbelievable history and its precarious future...

... and yes we enjoyed the city's unique ambience and the fabulous views around every corner... such as the Doge's Palace from the Grand Canal, see below. However what I treasure the most, is the memory of a city being built on the flimsiest of physical structures and yet still managed to flourish throughout all the vagaries of war until ultimately it became the present day's magnetic city with its' very own unique identity. It draws every nationality to come, explore and experience its' perfect elegant style of living. Thank you Venice and the Veneto for all the memories. I will be back...