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Summer is soon to turn into Autumn in Tuscany. Already we are starting to see the leaves on the trees turn yellow and orange. All around us paddocks are being plowed for winter. The distinctive round hay bails that, to … Continue reading
The complex has ben really busy over the last few weeks. Guests are coming and going and we have had a great mix of nationalities – Dutch, Italian, the ocassional Brit and, of course, the Germans.
One day recently Jean and I headed to the pool for an afternoon of swimming and relaxing to find that, when we got there, every lounger was either being used or was empty but with a towel drapped over it – clearly the European sign for “reserved”.
It reminded me of a UK TV commercial that aired in the early 1990’s about this very subject. Enjoy.
You can never have enough pool toys
Daisy has taken up a fair bit of our time lately, but prior to that we managed a bit of pool time. It was the only way to keep cool in the 35 to 40 degree heat.
Clearly in Europe everyone turns up at the pool with some form of inflatable toy to amuse themselves. Often there are so many toys in the pool it’s difficult to find a spot to swim.
Not to be outdone Jean splashed out (excuse the pun) on a lilo. All of 5 Euro at the local inflatable pool toy store.
Jean and Nacho Libre
The man who sits by the pool has made a wee movie showing Jean in action.
Please note, the ocassional swat at the water is simply Jean avoiding wasps, bees, bugs, etc, that have made their way into the pool.
Watching the sun go down
The last week has been unseasonably hot.
Temperatures have hovered in the late 30 degrees during the day which is great for pool life but not good for cottage life or for the dogs.
Relief comes in the evening when it becomes bearable to sit outside and enjoy the sunset.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
La dolce far niente 