The Villa in Tuscany

I have tried to get these into some sort of order but not sure how well I succeeded. Above are the guys being grumpy Old Men.. pity they were looking at another camera


Coraleen and Kristine after a few drinks... Sexy night attire Coraleen :-)

Kristine in the 'diving' competition after a few gins..I think she did a bloody good job..I wont show you the others as there is so much water coming from the pool you can't see who they are

Trevor 'relaxing' after a few pitchers of G & T's

Barry and Tevor following the emptying of two bottles of Lemoncello

The first night at the Villa and to Kristine's surprise some home truths came to light via a few well organised posters!! How did you get that picture???

Kristine and Sharon.. Now where am I? says Sharon as she finishes her first bottle of gin after a 25 hour flight
'It's not fair...David didn't have to compete with sausages!!' cries Bruce

The group shot

mmm .. it must be wine o'clock ... again ...

Day out in Florence and Barry decided he would have a gelato.. that was before he realised it was Euro10! That's right folks NZ$20 for an icecream!! but look at the size of it!


Me on the bus tour of Florence with the city in all it's glory in the background

This view is taken from the small Parco della Rimembranza on Via di San Francesco, public gardens with benches, shady trees and a superb panorama. The statue in the park is a 1960s (which I didn't get a picture of) monument to the Carabiniere by the sculptor Marcello Guasti.

and another one of Florence

oops! another one too

Me on the Ponte Vecchio looking down the river and did you know...

Traders first opened for business on the Ponte in the 12th century. Tax exemption allegedly playing a large part in the demand for premisses here. The bridge was monopolised by food stores for centuries until, in the 1500s, Ferdinando I de' Medici had Giorgio Vasari construct a corridor along the top of the bridge. This is now called the Vasariano Corridor and is technically part of the Uffizi Gallery. Although now closed to the public it was on top of the bridge to link the Palazzo Vecchio with his home, the Pitti Palace. The story goes that he could not stand the smell of the butchers emanating from below and promptly expelled all such businesses, along with all the other establishments deemed lower-class, from the bridge.

Forty-one goldsmiths and eight jewellers took their places. Both are still the prominent trades on the walkway today and are well worth a look even if you do not intend to buy. The display windows practically glow from the wealth of gilded produce on show. Watches, necklaces, bracelets, rings, medals and chalices are all on prominent display along the length of the bridge. Other items on sale include precious stones, pure silk neckties, scarves and leather gloves. It looks expensive, and it is, but after all this is top of the range "Made in Firenze" merchandise. The dealers' heritage is acknowledged by the presence of a bust of the city's most renowned goldsmith, Benvenuto Cellini, who counted painter, sculptor and solider amongst his other vocations. The railings that surround the monument have long been used for a local romantic tradition that involves clamping a padlock to a rail and throwing the key into the river, symbolising an eternal bond. These mass lockings have not enamoured the local authorities, however, and anyone caught affixing something to the bridge is now saddled with a 50 Euro fine!

Even more spectacular than the storefronts are the views of the river Arno, which of course, can be enjoyed for free. The next bridge downriver, the Ponte di Santa Trinita, is worth a good look from both afar and in person. Designed by Bartolomeo Ammannati (supposedly working from sketches by Michelangelo) in 1567, it was destroyed by the retreating German army in 1944, and meticulously reconstructed after the war. Its corners are surmounted by four statues which were recreated from parts retrieved from the riverbed. Each figure was sculpted by a separate master of the Florentine school to commemorate the marriage of Cosimo II and Maria Maddalena of Austria in 1608.Interestingly, the only bridge of the four in Florence at the time, German forces did not raze during World War II was the Ponte Vecchio. Allegedly this was because of an express order by Hitler. This surprising act of clemency means that the bridge is now not only the oldest segmental arch bridge extant in Florence, but also in Europe.

Pisa day out .. see no hands.. actually didn't quite line it up right.. you try it, it ain't as easy as everyone makes it look

Barry up in the cloisters in the Church at Pisa

Me outside the Church at Pisa

another pic I couldn't resist. Most people have pushchairs for children but the Italians have gone one better and this little number was called a DoggyCart

Barry and Rauly by the belltower at the small village of Bracciano near the Villa. You can see the pully for the bells in the background.. boy was that tempting!!


Another one of the villages nearby.. Castelnuova... although not quite so small ... with the castle all lit up in the background..

This sign caught my eye..as they do! In the middle of the carpark about 50 feet above the river! OMG!! if the water rises this much I would hate to be here when they hydraulics went wrong.

Another one of those nights.. a meal and a few drinks and I get a kiss from a local lad. Note the sign in the background.. it was a fun night




oops .. out of sequence again.. Bracciano village in the sunshine

The view of our villa from Bracciano.. its out of focus as it was actually miles away across the valley

A view down over the valley from the villa early morning.. we were so high the clouds were below us although some of that is smoke from the village of Gallicano below

and a view of the sunset from the Villa and like most sunset pictures the camera doesnt do it justice





The cycling day in Lucca. Sharon and Trevor in front of the Church with trees growing out of its steeple


Barry and Rauly taking a breather


Kristine and Wendy.. is that shops over there I can see says Wendy? the compulsive shopper!!

Rauly and Wilson on the city walls

Just relaxing waiting for the others to catch up!!

Our 6 day Walk from Levanto to PortoVenere - The Cinque Terra

Somehow these photos have got out of order..slightly.. This is on the first day our walk from Levanto (which is outside the offical Cinque Terra National Park) to Monterosso, and incidentally the second hardest of the 4 main walks we did. We left Levanto full of zest and vigour to walk steadily uphill. This lookout tower was on the way
And at the top of the hill was this gorgeous view looking back to Levanto.
At 10.30 we stopped for a wine or two.. no only one!! Knowing what was ahead of us! Some Americans who had also stopped were very impressed at our early time for wine tasting but on explaining to them it was 8.30pm in NZ they forgave us our indiscretion.
6 of us in Levanto at the beginning of the trail.. Barry being the one taking the photo.

Levanto itself, or the name Levanto most likely goes back to the period before the romantic Era; it’s ancient name was Ceula, which appears on a document from the 11th century. It's present name means this town is at "levanter" to Genova. Until 1140 it was Malaspina's Feud, and then Da Passano's. In 1211 it spontanously joined the Republic of Genova, and remained an independant town from 1247 to 1797 living of maritime trade. Thanks to its geographical position, Levanto, was able to develop quite easily and move on especially after the 2nd W.W.

Along the way at one of the viewing points...

and further along the trail almost into Monterosso .. Coraleen and Barry

Barry and I on the second day of the walk from Monterosso to Vernazza looking down on Vernazza
Wendy and Bruce taking advantage of the gorgeous views over Vernazza..almost there
Krisitne and Rauly doing the same

and this was the terrain. They are actually vineyards. As you can see land is of an essence and by retaining the hilly slopes they make the most of the available space

Me at night admiring the sunset in Vernazza. Vernazza itself is set into the side of a hill and is one of the most beautiful sights within the Cinque Terra although the town itself has few hotels or restaurants.

Vernazza has a natural pier with a amphitheatre shape making it perhaps the most picturesque village of the Cinque Terre. Vernazza was a Roman installation and had a big strategical importance during the age of the Maritime Republics in Genoa. It was also famous for its carpenters.
Another one from Monterosso to Vernazza
All glammed up for dinner at Monterosso.. well sort off.. I guess the Crocs take away the glam factor!!

And I bunked off the next day so no pics from Vernazza to Riomaggiore which was according to the others the easiest walking day and one of the most picturesqe taking in the small villages of both Corniglia and Manarola.

Dinner on the last day of the walk at PortoVenere which is also outside the Cinque Terra National Park but nevertheless was one of the most beautiful towns of all.

One of those silly things you just have to get on camera. At one of the cafes along the way they had these apologies for goats!!
This is one of the little trains they use to transport both people and grapes up and down the hilly terrain. We just couldnt resist having a wee play.
The jungle gym in the forest... along the way there were some additional challenges..as if the 5 hours wasn't enough.. well for some of us it obviously wasn't!! Barry tried the balancing irons .. see no hands!!
Coraleen giving the chain ladder a thrashing

Taking a breather at the top of yet another incline... just to admire the view of course
It's all downhill from here folks... Yeehaa
And thats what we are heading for... The village site used to be a temple to Venus Erycina, from which the name Portovenere is derived. It was a maritime centre even then, and has been involved in many conflicts through the ages. The longest was the war between Genoa and Pisa (1119-1290). The castle that overlooks Portovenere from a rocky elevation above the village was an important defense tool during that war.

Portovenere is a beautiful village on the Gulf of Poets. Portovenere's harbour is lined with brightly coloured houses, narrow medieval streets lead up the hill to a castle, and the tip of the promontory holds a picturesque church.

Looking over to La Spezia from one of the high points... still 2.5 hour to go to PortoVenere.
Fish for dinner anyone??? Someone staying in the Hotel had caught this and the hotel Chef was about to make it even better.

The photos say most of it really. Starting in Levanto and walking through to PortoVenere is only 26km but rising to altitudes of ?? not sure but bloody high when you are walking up there I can tell you!!

All the towns were beautiful. Some had more to offer than others in sightseeing and tourism.

One of the nicest Restaurants we went to was in Monterosso which was set inside the rock face on the side of the cliff.

The night we stayed in Levanto we opted for antipasta to start.. start I ask you? After 20 courses of THE most amazing antipasta dishes you could imagine only a few of us could even consider desert. This meal would have to be one of the best meals of the whole trip!!

Sadly the day of walking I missed was apparently one of the most pictuesque.. hard to imagine after some of these pictures but I had to go into La Spezia and sort out my phone (still no money on my Italian sim after loosing my other one) and also organise to transmit the money to the School in Rome. Unfortunately paying money (CASH if you please) into accounts in Italy is not easy and I didnt end up doing it.. another long story I won't bore you with although I did finally manage it in Lucca after two hour long trips to the bank!!

Saturday afternoon was spent enjoying a few g & t's in front of the Television in the hotel watching the All Blacks. Another difficult task getting the TV onto the Rugby. The Italians couldn't understand why on earth we would want to watch Rugby when there was European soccer on!! Some people's mentality I ask you:-)