A new look, same old ramblings

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If you are a regular reader of Toscanakiwi you will notice that the look of the blog has changed. Why? Well, it just felt like time for a change. And, more importantly, I figured out how to do it.

The good news is that everything is still where it has always been, however there are a couple of additional things to mention. Firstly I can now include video in the blog. This probably means a series of home movies will crawl onto the site over the next few weeks.

Secondly there is a new section called “Travel Tips”. This is a place for us to leave helpful tips we’ve picked up traveling over the years. It will have new bits added as they come to mind. Also if you have any questions about traveling to Italy simply ask us. We will do our best to answer them.

Anyway, I guess “new but old” sums this change up.

About Daisy – Part 2

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It’s Friday evening and Daisy has had her ECG and there’s more wrong with her heart than right.  Having said that, the cardiologist has altered her medicine to best suit her condition so there’s a bit of life in the old dog yet.

Pictures of Daisy's big heart at work

When we arrived back at our vet, Julia had talked to the cardiologist and apparently he agreed that Daisy was a medical miracle.

Her inability to walk without falling over has been diagnosed as Idiopathic Vestibular Syndrome and not anything to do with her heart.  It means a loss of balance and co-ordination – a lot like a big night out on the town by the sound of it.

Best Google it for details but it’s something that just needs to work it’s way through her system with some assistance from medication.  Some drugs that they usually prescribe for this syndrome would be bad for her heart so they’re off the list.  That means there’s no quick fix and she will gradually improve over the next month or so.

Until she recovers she will need to be carried everywhere – and I mean everywhere.  For up to a month?

About Daisy

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The more observant of you may have noticed that there have been very few posts over the last few days. That’s because we have been busy looking after Daisy. She is not well and it seems her old age is catching up with her.

Last week she had two seizures in the space of 24 hours where she collapsed and did her best impersonation of a dead dog. Both times she recovered, picked herself up and soldiered on in her own unique way but it gave us a huge fright and she was off to the vet in record time.

Daisy has a heart problem and takes medication to manage it. Julia our vet thinks the medication needs to be changed so Daisy has had a thorough check-up, X-rays and now is booked in for an ECG this afternoon at a cardiologist in Florence. (We didn’t know there were dog cardiologists but apparently there are.)

Sick Daisy and friend

To complicate things in the last 24 hours she has started to fall down a lot when walking (or even just standing) which meant another rushed trip to the vet and further discussions in a mix of English and Italian and occasional arm waving.

It seems that the falling down is probably not related to her heart and is something else – most likely a neurological infection that is affecting her balance. The catch 22 is that we can’t treat the infection until we know what state her heart is in as that will affect the medication used to fight the infection. So we are waiting for the ECG to be done this afternoon. It is a long wait.

Daisy of course doesn’t know all this medical stuff and just thinks life is miserable. She has to be carried everywhere as she has given up walking. And her favourite treats and even Jean’s famous roast chicken dinner won’t cheer her up. Right now she is asleep in the bed next to me with her head buried as far under the pillows as possible.

If I were her I would do the same.

More photographs

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Gentle readers, I have just updated our photo album with all the latest shots used on the blog and a bunch more.  Click here to see them.

Summer continues in Tuscany

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All around us the rhythm of the Tuscan countryside continues.

Fields of crops that were green and growing when we arrived have been harvested and plowed ready, waiting for next season.

The last week or so has seen hot settled weather. Temperatures have been in the low to mid 30s day after day prompting even the hardened locals to comment “troppo caldo” and roll their eyes skyward.

The countryside is dry and baked – under our Tuscan sun.

Chores in Florence

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Having been back from Nice for a few days it was time to catch up on some chores. You know, those things you keep putting off because they are a bit difficult or mean going out of your way.

Well our chores revolved around a trip to Florence. Yes, alright, I can hear a chorus of “you poor hard-done-by things” reverberating around the world.

But, Florence is an hours drive away, and the parking is a bit of a trick, and it’s full of tourists, and it’s always warmer than around our place. Ok, reading this back it’s not really that much of a chore. And it is the birthplace of the Renaissance after all.

Anyway, we headed north on Wednesday with two planned chores and one that crept up on us over the last few days. My darling wife had an ear-ache – probably an ear infection. One of those that makes you miserable, hurts like hell and requires drugs – lots of them.

We decided to seek medical help in Florence because we had the name of an english speaking doctor who has a practice there – and we were going anyway.

On the drive north we called the doctor to find that, like most people in Italy, he was on holiday during August. He left some alternative places to visit, one of which was very close to the Duomo. Even we can find the Duomo in Florence so the plan was set.

We found the medical centre quite easily, signed in and waited for their ear specialist Dr Alonzo Attilio. He spoke very little English and our Italian is still a work in progress so things boded well for medical misadventure.

One thing we have noticed is that the Italian medical system – for people or dogs – seems very efficient. And sure enough our wait was only 5 minutes. We struggled to explain the ear problem to the Dr Alonzo but one look into Jean’s ear and he understood. He then explained, in great detail, what he was going to do to fix it none of which we understood.

Within ten minutes we knew what he had said – vaccum, prod, poke, vaccum, clean, prod, vaccum, syringe, poke, vaccum, a course of antibiotics, cortisone and pain klllers for an ear infection – grazie and arrivederci.

Jean said that if she had known what he was going to do she would have done a runner, so maybe a language barrier isn’t always a bad thing. Dr Alonzo must know his stuff as Jean’s ear is improving by the day.

On a happier note we then went to Tiffanys to collect a necklace for Jean and collected skin care products from the only pharmacy in Florence (or Siena) that stocks that particular brand – or in this case had to order them in especially for Jean.

On the way home we stopped at Piazza Michaelangelo which overlooks Florence and, along with about 1000 other visitors, took the classic photo of Florence.

All in all a successful day.

The day we didn’t get thrown out of the Palio

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Some of you may recall a previous post where Jean and I, and the dogs, were ejected from the Palio rehearsal back in early July and ended up walking through Siena in the rain feeling dejected, wet and alone. Not our finest moment.

Well there is a second Palio held each year in August. The very helpful family that own our cottage reminded us of this earlier in the week. They said it was busier than the July Palio and that there are rehearsals every morning at 9am (not really something we could contemplate) and at 7pm for the 3 days preceding the actual Palio race.

Here was our opportunity for redemption.

We planned this like a military operation. We knew that we had to get into Siena early so we aimed for 3pm. No dogs – sorry girls. The bars around the Campo are forced to shut at 3:30pm until 5pm while the track is watered. They reopen between 5pm and 6pm and then close until the rehearsal is over at 8pm. So the plan:

1) a late lunch at a wee cafe off the tourist track from 3pm to 5pm

2) a drink or two at our favourite Campo bar from 5pm to 6:30pm

3) into the centre of the Campo where the viewing is free

4) watch the rehearsal

5) back to the bar for dinner and drinks and then home.

For once our planning worked perfectly. At 7pm we found ourselves in the centre of the Campo along with about 5000 other people. All crammed in waiting for – well we didn’t know quite what to expect but given the other 5000 people standing with us, it had to be worth watching – I guess.

We saw the preparation of the track, the parade of the officials and the parading of the mounted Carabineri. All leading up to the main event – the Palio horses and riders mock racing around the track for a lap or two before pulling up and then the final parade – each contrada and their horse as they left the Campo.

Jean was particularly taken with the cavalry who did a first lap at a stately trot in formation but for the second lap were at full gallop with swords drawn – a god old fashioned cavalry charge.

It was interesting to watch the children from the competing contrada who had a special section of the stands. The kids had no hestitation to “have a go” at their competitors in chants or gestures, winning the palio was everything – a far cry from the political correctness of our homeland where winners and losers are frowned on and simply being involved is rewarded.

During the rehearsal race one of the Palio jockeys fell from his horse and was taken away by ambulance. As always the riderless horse kept racing but it shows the danger involved for both horse and rider on the narrow, tight Palio track. Particularly harrowing are the two 90 degree turns which, when taken at full speed are recipies for disaster.

After the rehearsal it was a drink and dinner, and then home. On the walk to our car we passed one of the contrada dinners. It was held in one of the main streets of Siena that had been closed for the occasion. And that’s what the Palio is really about – building and maintaining communities.

Update below pictures.

Update: The race the next day was won by the Giraffe Contrada – the red and white jockey in the photos. Four horses fell on the final lap however it appears none were seriously injured. There is ongoing controversy about animal welfare issues and the Palio. Despite there being a number of changes made over the last few years to make the race safer almost every year there are horses injured or killed. Interestingly the Palio was recently removed from the list of nominated Italian world heritage events as it was felt the backlash from animal rights groups could impact on the chances of approval for all the events being nominated.

For our part, we watched the race on TV the next day and agree with the animal rights groups.

Relaxing on the Cote d’Azur

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Before leaving New Zealand we had planned a weeks stay at Villefranche sur Mer on the coast just west of Nice. It was an ideal place to drop off our Peugeot lease car and collect our Renault lease car and to take a 4 day break from our holiday.

A holiday from our holiday if you will.

We stayed at our old favourite Hotel Welcome, right on the water, and were joined by Mike, Charmanie and James who had arrived in Nice a few days before us. This break was a chance to explore Villefranche a little more, sample some of the local cuisine, spend some time at the beach and soak up the atmosphere of the French Rivieria in peak season.

In the week we did all this. What else did we discover?

1) Much like other places some food is good and some isn’t

2) Meals tend to be less expensive and better quality further from the waterfront

3) The exception is La Mere Germaine right on the waterfront which we tried. Great food since 1938

3) Sitting on a beach is therapeutic no matter where you are in the world

4) The majority of French women have an urge to go topless on beaches. Some really, really shouldn’t

5) French service is more surly than Italian service but does warm up if you become a repeat customer

6) The girls are welcome everywhere we are which is great

7) Chateau Eza is always a great place for a drink – which costs about the same as a meal anywhere else.

Three countries in three days

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It’s been a hectic week. Starting last Saturday we headed home from Slovenia to our cottage in Tuscany. Two days later we headed north to Nice on the French Riviera to swap cars – and spend 5 days at Villefranche Sur Mer with Mike, Charmaine and James – then it was back home on Friday.

Daisy takes everything in her stride

Time for a cup of tea and a lie down I think.

A driving tip for Slovenia

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One thing you notice driving on the highways in Slovenia is that they have great roads – on a par with the best in Europe in terms of width, smoothness, etc.

How does a country of 2 million people maintain such a great road network? We wondered this as we drove from Italy to Slovenia’s capital Lubiana recently without having to pay any tolls.

We discovered they do, in fact, have a toll system but one that differs from the usual take a ticket and pay system that operates in Italy and France. They run a Vignette system. You purchase a windscreen sticker which covers a period of time – 7 days up to 12 months. Get caught driving without a valid sticker on your windscreen and a fine follows.

Slovenian driving tip - have one of these

You would think with such a system the Slovenian authorities would publicise it widely for visitors – billboards, notices at hotels and the like. Well, not really. We found out once we’d arrived in Lubiana only because Gill and Andre who had preceded us, passed on the tip.

Apparently if you don’t find out and try to leave the country without a sticker on your windscreen the police at the border will impose a fine of between 300 and 800 Euro.

We know this is true because as we went through the border with our 7 day 15 Euro sticker a gaggle of Slovenian policemen complete with little paddles to flag cars down were scrutinising every car that went through.

It must be an Italian thing

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On the car trip home from Slovenia we were driving south from Bologna towards Florence on the A1 – Italy’s main north/south motorway – when we passed a flashing sign warning of an accident ahead and after another kilometre we gradually slowed and slowed and then stopped.

Both southbound lanes were blocked by cars as far as we could see. Clearly there had been some form of accident ahead and the road was blocked.

When it became clear the delay was more than just a momentary stop all around us car engines were turned off and the drivers and passengers got out of their cars to have a smoke, stretch their legs, have somethnig to eat or drink, or just chat with other motorists about what may have happened ahead.

Now we were not used to this behaviour but quite clearly in Italy this is what you do when there is a delay. No one seemed to be getting anxious or stressed, everyone just smoked, stretched, ate, drank and chatted until the traffic eventually started moving again about 25 minutes later.

This movement was short lived and 300 metres further down the motorway we stopped again. Same drill – the cars emptied out and the impromentu social gathering reconvened. We did our bit to amuse the locals by taking photos of the traffic and having Jean and the girls pose by the car.

After another 15 minutes we were on the move again, this time for good.

36 hours in Slovenia – an in-depth report*

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After all our visitors had headed off – Gill, Andre and the kids to Venice and Slovenia and Mike, Charmaine and James to Nice – it was time to get back to normal life in the cottage. For a week at least as we are driving to Nice to swap our lease cars over in early August and to catch up with Mike, Charmaine and young James.

It was a beautiful afternoon and we were sitting by the pool – as you do – when a text arrived from Gill. They had arrived in the capital of Slovenia – Ljubljana pronounced Lubiana – and were getting ready to celebrate young Jordan’s 6th birthday the following day. The text effectively said “am I being silly but what about you coming to Slovenia for Jordan’s birthday?”

Initially we dismissed the idea out of hand, let’s face it we didn’t know exactly where Slovenia was anyway – but then we got to thinking. How long would the drive be? Around a six hour drive – easily do-able. Can the dogs travel to Slovenia? It’s part of the EU so they can. Can the mighty Peugeot go to Slovenia? It’s on the list of eligible countries. Can we find our way around? TomTom maps for Eastern Europe are available and downloadable. Where could we stay for a couple of nights? Booking.com have a list of 23 hotels in Lubiana. Did we have anything else to do? Not really.

Within an hour we had all the answers – and we were off to Slovenia the next morning!

Driving from Italy into Slovenia you notice two things. Firstly the terrain goes from the dry, yellow/brown and hot Italian plains to the mountainous and green Slovakian hills and mountains. Secondly the architecture changes from Italian villas to Austrian style mountain houses. This isn’t surprising considering Sovenia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918.

We had booked a boutique hotel in the centre of the old part of Lubiana. An area overshadowed by the historic castle on the hill which dominates the capital city. Sadly our recently purchased (24 hours earlier) Eastern Europe TomTom maps didn’t take account of the fact that the heart of the city was largely a pedestrian area and blocked off to traffic other than that of residents. This caused problems as we circled the city centre trying to find a way in to our hotel and getting more frustrated by the minute. Eventually the good old “get out and walk approach” did the trick and we located the hotel who kindly provided access for our car to off load us, the dogs and the bags.

Our hotel was in a restored historic residence. We had booked a suite and it turned out to be a complete apartment with kitchen, dining room, lounge, bedroom and terrace. At 100sq metres it was about 3 times the size of our tuscan cottage. The dogs loved the space and intially did laps exploring, sliding across the parquet floors, and generally enjoying the freedom to run around.

We met the Mays at a nearby restaurant and celebrated Jordan’s birthday in style. The food, wine and service were superb. Apparently horse meat is a local delicacy and Andre, sticking to his mantra of trying anything once, had “Black Beauty” as a main. The rest of us did not.

Lubiana is a pretty city which has put time and effort into making the “old city” a tourist friendly place to be. A river runs through the city and the banks are lined with restaurants, cafes and shops. The river has been named 7 times due it’s habit of diassapearing for a period of time and then reappearing. Over time it has been called the Trbuhovica, Obrh, Stržen, Rak, Pivka, Unica and Ljubljanica.

Although the official language is Slovene, English was spoken by pretty much everyone we encountered so communication is easy. Prices are also cheap compared to Western Europe so your Euro goes that bit further.

The temperature was around 25 – 28 degrees although we were greeted at the Slovenian/Italian border with thunder storms, torrential rain and a 12 degree drop in temperature. For the next two days, however, it was warm, sunny and settled as we explored the cities sights, cafe’s and bars.

We left Slovenia with fond memories. This is definitely somewhere to add to your next European holiday – ideally for a little longer than 36 hours.

*This great title is borrowed and adapted from P J O’Rourke and one of the stories in his book “Holidays from Hell”.

Cheats guide to Rome

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Jean and I have been to Rome many times over the last few years. We have got to know the major sights as nodding acquaintances. Sitting in Piazza Navona having lunch or ambling past the Trevi Fountain after an evening meal was our forte and while we had a general idea of the history of these places it was in no way a detailed knowledge.

On our recent trip to Rome with Mike, Charmaine and James it became clear that our “and there’s the Trevi Fountain…” approach to tour guidance was not going to be sufficient. When was it built? Why is it here? Who was the sculpture? Quite rightly, all these questions came up and clearly we needed to know more.

Thankfully with the help of our iPhones and local data roaming we could instantaneously turn into Rome tour experts. As it takes a few minutes to walk between sights, we had time to secretly search Wikipedia about upcoming attractions, learn the key facts and then be able to dazzle with our knowledge when we arrived.

“The Pantheon – built in 31BC by Marcus Agrippa and rennovated in 126AD by Emperor Hadrian. The dome is 142 feet high and the diameter is also 142 feet. The largest unsupported concrete dome in the world. Originally had bronze sheeting under the portico but this was removed by Pope Urban VIII …..”.

It worked a treat.

So next time you’re in Rome and would like a guided tour by expert english speaking guides, give us a call.

Somewhere to relax and watch the world go by

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Rome is absolutely full of restaurants and cafes. Every famous monument is surrounded by them and they are on every street corner.

A place to relax - Cafe Angelina, Rome

So to pick one above the others is a big call but here goes.

We like Cafe Angelina on the corner of Via Poli and Via del Bufalo. It is a small cafe next to the apartment that Mike and Charmaine rented in Rome.

It doesn’t have a view of anything famous, in fact it has a view of the other side of the street. It doesn’t have a reputation as being a “spot to be seen”. It doesn’t have fantastic designer decor.

It does have two comfy leather armchairs facing the road, good coffee, good food, friendly staff and a constant stream of tourists and locals past the door. In the hurley burley that is Rome, this place is a wee oasis.

Next time you’re there, try it out.

From a hotel balcony

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Our room in Hotel Barocco overlooked Piazza Barberini with it’s imposing fountain the Fontana di Tritone by Bernini.  It is height of the tourist season and from our balcony you could watch an endless stream of people posing by the fountain for photos.

For the local authorities this was a perfect time to drain the fountain for maintenance much to the amusement of the aforementioned visitors to Rome.  Having said that, the workers had the fountain back and operating within 24 hours.

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