Alcohol day! Usual early start. During world war 2 Italian partisans were fighting the Germans using geurilla tactics but the Germans lured them into town from the woods where they were hiding by declaring an amnesty. But it was a trick and they hung them from trees that line one of the main streets. The trees are still there and each bears a memorial to the man hanged there. This took place only 6 years before I was born. Very sad.
Anyway this is the town where they make grappa and we had a tasting. Mum tried a bit but then just kept getting top ups for me so I had 6 altogether. It’s very strong stuff but they claim it helps digestion and a guy I was talking to suffers chronic indigestion but last night, had 2 grappas and no indigestion. So I bought 3 bottles 😉. We had lunch at a hotel which had a nice outside, shaded seating area and I had an Hugo 😎
This afternoon we went to a Prosecco vineyard. Apparently they can’t keep up with demand at the moment as it’s so popular even though they produced one and a half million bottles last year. They had 2 kinds and, cheekily mum drank both hers so I only got 3 (there was some left after everyone got some). I bought a bottle of the one I liked best for 9 euros which seemed good value to me. So the non drivers could have fun at Felicity’s party!
Tonight we couldn’t find a place to eat that was open that we hadn’t already eaten at so we resorted to the 3 course meal in the hotel restaurant and this time we both had the welcoming glass of Prosecco then mum reverted to the fizzy water and I had beer. The main thing of note about the meal was that I finished each of the 3 courses before Mum. That’s a new phenomenon!
Oh, mum wants me to mention that when we were totally lost yesterday she accosted an old lady, seeking directions. She spoke no English but with a lot of pointing and a few words I understood she succeeded in getting us back on the right track.
Monday, 1 July 2019
Sunday, 30 June 2019
Mantova
Our tour guide says this is an adventure not a holiday, and getting up at 6-45 on a Sunday must fall into the former category! Spent over 10 hours on the go today in 37 degree heat, which includes walking approximately 47 miles. Started with a guided tour of Mantova. We went in a massive church, more like a cathedral and she demonstrated the acoustics by walking right up to the front and sung facing the wall. Amazingly you could hear perfectly and the whole place went silent and then gave her a big round of applause when she finished.
Lunch next and I got my first Hugo of the holiday. It was fabulous and nothing like those attempts I had at recreating it! I fancied a salami ciabatta but when I told her she said Mediteranee? I said ok and when it came it was tuna and olives again! Very nice. I like having no idea what is coming. We then got lost and walked right across the Sahara trying to reach the coach pick up point before the sun killed us.
They then took us to a famous garden place but to be honest I feel it’s overrated; just like our garden but bigger. We could have hired a golf buggy to drive around but you needed your driving license and I left mine at home. The other member of our party had her license with her but didn’t fancy it. So we toured the whole place on one of those little trains towed by a tractor disguised as an engine. It was better than walking in that heat. We went to a nice restaurant for tea with hundreds of tourists baking in the heat, eating outside. But we asked for a table inside and were surrounded by all the Italians having their Sunday family meal in the beautiful cool air conditioning! They’re not daft and neither are we! We both had pizza today and it was spot on. I had some more red beer in the further absence of Hugo availability
Lunch next and I got my first Hugo of the holiday. It was fabulous and nothing like those attempts I had at recreating it! I fancied a salami ciabatta but when I told her she said Mediteranee? I said ok and when it came it was tuna and olives again! Very nice. I like having no idea what is coming. We then got lost and walked right across the Sahara trying to reach the coach pick up point before the sun killed us.
They then took us to a famous garden place but to be honest I feel it’s overrated; just like our garden but bigger. We could have hired a golf buggy to drive around but you needed your driving license and I left mine at home. The other member of our party had her license with her but didn’t fancy it. So we toured the whole place on one of those little trains towed by a tractor disguised as an engine. It was better than walking in that heat. We went to a nice restaurant for tea with hundreds of tourists baking in the heat, eating outside. But we asked for a table inside and were surrounded by all the Italians having their Sunday family meal in the beautiful cool air conditioning! They’re not daft and neither are we! We both had pizza today and it was spot on. I had some more red beer in the further absence of Hugo availability
Saturday, 29 June 2019
Vicenza
Drove about an hour on the coach. The guide was saying you lose so much body salts through sweating in this heat that drinking water only rehydrates you and it’s also essential to replace the salts with isotonic drinks etc. A couple of hours later, with the sweat running down my face like a waterfall I began to feel very strange ( yes I know, no change there then!) so I had a red bull to put me on until I found a supermarket and got an isotonic drink. Soon after I began to feel ok again. But my travelling companion suggested I only felt ill because the guide talked about it and even muttered something along the lines of she can see where Rowena gets it from! My guess is she meant good looks and charm.
Vicenza has lots of museums and they gave us a free pass. We did go in a few but went in as many bars in order to assist hydration.
The hotel dining room was fully booked tonight but we’d already decided to try somewhere else after last nights food wrestling when the music stops. We went to Giorgio’s trattoria. What could go wrong with a name like that? Well, we were the only non Italians there and the menus were only in Italian. Also, only one member of staff spoke any appreciable English. So ordering was done with the help of our phrase book and a lot of gesticulating! It essentially worked in that neither of us was served with haggis. Mum went for spaghetti carbonara. I got a steak as they are always good in Italian restaurants. But when she asked if medium was ok I agreed, forgetting that by medium they mean only just dead.To obtain what we mean by medium you have to ask for very well done! So I ate most of it even though it kept trying to crawl off the plate and was calling for it’s mama but it was rather squelchy. Overall it was a nice meal and I got some of that lovely red beer with it.
Vicenza has lots of museums and they gave us a free pass. We did go in a few but went in as many bars in order to assist hydration.
The hotel dining room was fully booked tonight but we’d already decided to try somewhere else after last nights food wrestling when the music stops. We went to Giorgio’s trattoria. What could go wrong with a name like that? Well, we were the only non Italians there and the menus were only in Italian. Also, only one member of staff spoke any appreciable English. So ordering was done with the help of our phrase book and a lot of gesticulating! It essentially worked in that neither of us was served with haggis. Mum went for spaghetti carbonara. I got a steak as they are always good in Italian restaurants. But when she asked if medium was ok I agreed, forgetting that by medium they mean only just dead.To obtain what we mean by medium you have to ask for very well done! So I ate most of it even though it kept trying to crawl off the plate and was calling for it’s mama but it was rather squelchy. Overall it was a nice meal and I got some of that lovely red beer with it.
Friday, 28 June 2019
Padova
Very hot, 35 degrees all day. Coach trip to Padova (apparently pronounced Pad oo er) . Very nice town off the general tourist track. The main purpose of some people was to visit as many old churches as they could in the time available. But we just shuffled about for an hour then went in another air conditioned bar/cafe where mum would have a milk shake or coke (she never had a coffee all day after breakfast George!) and I had a beer, purely for purposes of maintaining hydration you understand. I had a tuna and olive sandwich for lunch; never come across that combination before but it was ok and I’m sure Faye will love it when I make her one.
After lunch we went on a boat trip on a canal. They said if you stay on it this canal eventually arrives in Venice. There was a saloon cabin but upstairs was an open deck which is where I always prefer to go. But it was so fierce in the sun we sat under a canopy at the open front!
Now for today’s hotel food entertainment! We are bed and breakfast only at this hotel but it is a 4 star and has a restaurant so we booked a table for a 3 course meal. They brought a plateful of appetisers, bread, things like foot long yellow sticks, square crispy things etc. I could probably get a job describing menu items with my extensive food knowledge! Then they brought what looked a bit like and also tasted a bit like haggis. Of course I had to eat both. I ate the haggis with my official starter of fusilli with bacon, onion and tomatoes. Mum had vegetable soup sans haggis.
Then the fun started. Main course orders were an omelette for mum and steak for me. They make a big show of bringing food to the table with a silver lid covering it, then whip the lid off to reveal your food. Well, first of all he gave me the haggis and mum got sea bream. So he swapped our plates and disappeared. The fish looked nice so I thought I’d just eat that but as mum was about to eat this guy appeared from nowhere and whipped her plate. No explanation! After a few minutes he came back and presented her with fish! So we both objected at that point and he took them both away. Another few minutes passed and we each got what we ordered! It was very nice.
After lunch we went on a boat trip on a canal. They said if you stay on it this canal eventually arrives in Venice. There was a saloon cabin but upstairs was an open deck which is where I always prefer to go. But it was so fierce in the sun we sat under a canopy at the open front!
Now for today’s hotel food entertainment! We are bed and breakfast only at this hotel but it is a 4 star and has a restaurant so we booked a table for a 3 course meal. They brought a plateful of appetisers, bread, things like foot long yellow sticks, square crispy things etc. I could probably get a job describing menu items with my extensive food knowledge! Then they brought what looked a bit like and also tasted a bit like haggis. Of course I had to eat both. I ate the haggis with my official starter of fusilli with bacon, onion and tomatoes. Mum had vegetable soup sans haggis.
Then the fun started. Main course orders were an omelette for mum and steak for me. They make a big show of bringing food to the table with a silver lid covering it, then whip the lid off to reveal your food. Well, first of all he gave me the haggis and mum got sea bream. So he swapped our plates and disappeared. The fish looked nice so I thought I’d just eat that but as mum was about to eat this guy appeared from nowhere and whipped her plate. No explanation! After a few minutes he came back and presented her with fish! So we both objected at that point and he took them both away. Another few minutes passed and we each got what we ordered! It was very nice.
Thursday, 27 June 2019
Hidden Italy
The name of this holiday is hidden Italy and it was perilously close to remaining hidden. It all started going wrong when the stupid woman who lives in the Satnav machine couldn’t find Manchester airport ( I mean come on, it’s big enough). Then when we found terminal one the hapless driver managed to find himself trapped in the drop off zone, from which the only escape cost £3. We then went round again and accidentally turned into the short stay car park which cost us £4-50 to depart immediately. At the third attempt we found the meet and greet car drop off!
Then, in the airport the only way to get from the entrance to departures is by lift, where 3 million people all need to get in and it takes an hour and a half to go up and back down for the next group. After all that the final insult was that mum’s favourite cafe had stopped selling sausage sandwiches and didn’t even have hot drinks. Oh and then they kept us all queuing on the tarmac until the time of supposed take off before letting anyone on the plane.
It was at this point that mother announced this will be her final foreign holiday until they open an international airport in Wilsden.
Anyway we thought it was very hot standing on the tarmac in Manchester but, getting off the plane in Venice was like stepping into a sauna. It was already dark but was still 32 degrees and had been 39 earlier in the day apparently. Didn’t arrive at hotel until 10-30 pm local time. But the hotel seems very nice and there is a castle right next door! It was so hot we went down to the bar around 11-30. Mum successfully got a cafe latte. I wasn’t as successful with my request for a Hugo so had beer instead. Told the barman our room number in Italian and then wished him goodnight in Italian and he shouted after me that my accent was so good, was I Italian? De Niro has landed 😊
Then, in the airport the only way to get from the entrance to departures is by lift, where 3 million people all need to get in and it takes an hour and a half to go up and back down for the next group. After all that the final insult was that mum’s favourite cafe had stopped selling sausage sandwiches and didn’t even have hot drinks. Oh and then they kept us all queuing on the tarmac until the time of supposed take off before letting anyone on the plane.
It was at this point that mother announced this will be her final foreign holiday until they open an international airport in Wilsden.
Anyway we thought it was very hot standing on the tarmac in Manchester but, getting off the plane in Venice was like stepping into a sauna. It was already dark but was still 32 degrees and had been 39 earlier in the day apparently. Didn’t arrive at hotel until 10-30 pm local time. But the hotel seems very nice and there is a castle right next door! It was so hot we went down to the bar around 11-30. Mum successfully got a cafe latte. I wasn’t as successful with my request for a Hugo so had beer instead. Told the barman our room number in Italian and then wished him goodnight in Italian and he shouted after me that my accent was so good, was I Italian? De Niro has landed 😊
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