I've Been Everywhere, Man...well, not quite, but I'm working on it.

There was a clunky, funky hit song on the radio when I was a kid -- "I've Been Everywhere, Man" (I think it was originally released, like, in the sixties, man...but was picked up by Johnny Cash of all people at a later time.) Well that song sums it up -- Aussies are intrepid travellers, probably because as one of our Prime Ministers said, "we inhabit the "'a?r**se' end of the world". So we jump on planes with great regularity and meander through the delights of Asia, the mind-boggling history and architecture of Old Europe and exotic African and Middle Eastern lands etc. As the plane fares to just about anywhere are atrociously expensive (takes about 21 hours to get to Paris from Brisbane!), when we hit the ground we go like blazes and eat it up, a bit like Crocodile Dundee in New York, hahahah.

So I've travelled to many lands, and hopefully I will travel to many more. I've been to the UK several times, Western Europe even more times, and Africa once, but have never put my feet into the good ole USofA, sorry Donna. Those Homeland Security guys scare me big time, haha.

Let's face it some of us probably had our 'honeymoon' many moons ago -- I got married at 19, yes, I repeat, 19 -- and am still married to the same fella. We grew up together and have had several honeymoons, but the first one was low-budget travel up and down the Queensland coast. Well, many of the Great Barrier Reef islands we visited now have very ritzy resorts for well-heeled honeymooners, but back in the day, we had all that paradise to ourselves. Queensland is a big state, so we travelled 4,000 miles in our classic Customline.



A long way from...

France or Italy, two of my favourite places...

A pretty French village with trips to Paris thrown in, (La Roche Guyon is a favourite -- 6 kilometres from Monet's Garden and 1 hour from Paris). Driving through country France is delightful. A sunset stop at Chartres is memorable as you'd swear the cathedral was crafted, as is a walk through the bottom of town to see where ladies once washed the clothes in the river.

The River Eure in Chartres, France, where the washer ladies once did their laundry

What a delight to see Monet's Water Lilies out of the frame - Monet's Garden is magical no matter what the season. I've been there in both winter and summer.

La Roche-Guyon - friendly locals to play petanque with, stunning setting along the Seine, best  regional food in France at the hotel/restaurant we stayed at overlooking the river, IMHO

How about visiting Juliet's garden and standing on her balcony or writing her a letter  in the gorgeous Verona, Italy. Such an under-rated destination.

My husband and I have had fabulous trips to Italy, completely fascinated by the gorgeous medieval hill towns and all that history. Remember, Australia was not even discovered until late medieval times. Who can ever forget seeing Ancient Rome, seeing Verona, Romeo + Juliet's hometown, or boating to some of those gorgeous Italian islands like Capri?

Capri, Italy, a short boat ride from wild Napoli (Naples) We wintered there once and it was still magical.

Oh, how about an island off Italy for that first, second or third honeymoon? Sounds good to me. I've found an island which is simply a fantasy waiting for fairy dust. It was good enough for Napoleon, so it's good enough for me.

I often choose travel destinations according to books I've read -- I visited Tuscany before Frances Mayes wrote her Under the Tuscan Sun, but I went back and visited Cortona just because of her gorgeous descriptions (which describe hundreds of Italian medieval hilltowns), but it added a little fillip to the trip.

Cortona, a medieval hill city, full of history and great coffee

But how about visiting a place made famous in a spy novel for a change -- The Isle of Elba, a small Mediterranean island famous as Napolean's getaway and as the setting for John le Carre's The Constant Gardener (Ralph Fiennes).

THE ISLE OF ELBA

Honeymoon heaven. Lovers strolling hand in hand, cyclists with wobbly legs pumping up and down cliff-like paths, old ladies hanging washing out of windows and absolutely gob-smacking scenery -- wine and olive estates running down to the sea below the ruins of a medieval fortress. Cool. The perfect hideaway. Maybe you could find a spot to curl up with your laptop and write?!

John le Carre's reluctant hero hid out here in a beautiful old estate called La Chiusa di Magazzine. There are a few cottages to rent. If you're lucky enough to find the other cottages empty, you will be in seventh heaven if you like rustic quarters with grapes ripening in the sun, birdsong in the morning, a limpid blue sea and the sound of waves lapping on a pebble beach (well, I prefer golden sand, but I'd be happy to slum it just one time). There are glorious sunsets over the ancient fortified harbour of Portoferraio, and you must wonder why Napolean ever left for St Helena. Crazy little guy.

When to go. This island is at its best in spring and autumn, with hills swathed in chesnut and pine,  throbbing with colour. Everyone is languorous (love that word) and you can spend your days walking up a thirst which you can slake at the restaurants and bars lining quiet quays and beaches.

Ah...sounds idyllic, doesn't it? But, really, we don't all have the desire to travel to exotic places, do we? Some of you may be happy in your own little paradise...or perhaps you'd like to travel, but due to commitments or lack of funds, it's out of the question...for now. Reading about exotic places can transport us to places we'd love to see, watching videos can also bring places to life. But wherever you honeymoon, or would choose to honeymoon, a loving partner by your side guarantees a wonderful experience. A sunset in Capri is best shared with someone you love. (I have so many gorgeous photos of this experience but they're on another computer.)

So just this morning my good fella and I finalised our planning for our  next Grand Tour for the end of 2013 beginning of 2014 -- Paris, Crete, Spain and Portugal. How about you? Any trips planned?

A - Z Challenge - T is for TROYES, France

Map of France showing the Champagne Region with Troyes in the South-West

When I first hit France in 2004, I was on a mission to get to Italy. Sounds crazy, but Aussie travellers are crazy. After over 20 hours on a plane to reach civilization (((snicker, snicker))), we hit the road running, or speeding, whatever. So after ooing and aahing as the plane hovered over Charles de Gaulle Airport, our schedule meant we had a rugged drive ahead to get to a little hill town north of Rome. Well, why didn't we fly into Rome then? Well, there was a reason but I quite forget now!

Champagne Region. See Troyes in the South West. (We got back to Champagne in 2008 where we visited many of the other Champagne towns and drank lots of, yeah, you got it...)

Anyhoo, tiredness set in as it does when you've been in a plane for a day, so we we managed to find our way out of Paris after only one wrong turn, then found the A-whatever, and headed south. No fun navigating as night set in along with jet lag, so where to lay our weary heads? Oh, there on the map, an interesting little town, Troyes, let's investigate. (Even though our itinerary was micro-managed by our travel agent, she had forgotten to book us in anywhere on our first night!) We brought her flowers when we returned...

After driving round and round looking for the actual city, we finally hit paydirt and stumbled upon the medieval centre. Woo hoo. We like old stuff. I guarded the car while the hubs found us a room at the inn, or the Best Western whatever. Well, what do you know? Oui, oui, tres possible.

Our first night in France was spent in a hotel right in the medieval centre and the badly-maligned French staff couldn't do enough to help travel-weary Aussies - "Have another bottle of Evian, s'il vous plait." I thought they'd be tu-ing us before too long. Desole, our dining room is closed, but there is a good Chinese down the road - (((guffaw))). So our first meal in France was Chinese. Ah, such a global society! It was tres delicious so not complaining.

We staggered to bed (you know you can't get a decent wine in a Chinese restaurant, must have been all that Evian) and slept the sleep of the blissfully happy.

Ah, but next morning we really knew what happiness was! Hitting the cobblestone streets, we were blown away by the picture-postcard perfection (yes, it brings out the poet in me) of a medieval town dusted in icing sugar snow, with happy Christmas music wafting through the chilly air. Yes, Aussies also like to hit Europe at Christmas to escape the oven that is Australia at that happy time. We like to experience a 'white' Christmas once in our lives with not a prawn or a bbq in sight for once!

So, after ordering a petit dejeuner in a delightfully authentic bistro, with all these French people (((ha ha))) and little silver trays with bills, money, whatever - where's the Euros?, I was able to use my recently-revised French language skills on the uber-efficient waiter. It all worked so seamlessly that the hubs (who speaks only Strine) didn't even know I'd ordered until bowls of steaming cafe au lait and croissants came winging out way and were plonked without ceremony on the timbered table. Ah, who has tasted more delicious coffee or croissants? They tasted like nectar to a couple of starving Aussies.

Petit dejeuner over with, let's hit the streets. Bit bumpy these cobblestones and it doesn't help that they've been dusted with snow overnight, but how completely exotic! Instead of donning the bikini and hitting the waves, here we are rugged up in overcoats, boots, scarves, gloves and beanies, walking up streets of half-timbered houses which looked like they could topple any minute, all accompanied by dulcet tones of French music. Oh la la. France stole my heart that magical morning in Troyes.
Finding Troyes was just the beginning of a red-hot love affair that rages on...

Here are some of the delights of Troyes. Every time we have a rave to a French person, telling them about our Troyes' experience, they look blank. Reason? Recently found out they pronounce it Trwah and were too polite to tell us!

Here's the blurb:

Troyes (pronounced trwah), was once a center for stained glass and textiles. It was also the home of the 12th-century poet Chrétien de Troyes, who wrote versions of the Arthurian legends, and of andouillettes, sausages, made in Troyes from tripe and famous throughout France.

The many cobblestone, pedestrians-only streets in the town's historic center give Troyes an intimacy that belies its population of over 60,000. An outline of the city looks like a Champagne cork with the medieval and artisanal vestiges mostly in the St.-Jean quarter at the base, and the administrative and ecclesiastical center at the head.

Go here if you'd like to learn more abou this gorgeous place.

A - Z Challenge - R is for ROMA (ROME)

I love Italy nearly as much as I love France so I got to thinking, woh, you'd better do at least one post on the glorious, chaotic country, so I saved R for Roma.

Rome (hereafter called by its proper name, Roma, to get me in the vibe)  you either love or hate. I'm somewhere in between. It's Italy's madness encapsulated in a central position. When I first visited Italy in 2004 I drove down from Paris through various tunnels. I can still remember driving through Tuscany and just about pinching myself - boy, it was just like in the films and books. What glory! What majesty! I was transported.

The first book (but certainly not the last) I'd ever read on Tuscany was by Feranc Mate, who with his wife Catherine, an artist, travelled the world looking for their Utopia. They found it in Montepulciano, a medieval hill town in Tuscany. Their trip set me off on a wild Tuscan chase, where I inhaled the rich red wines of the region - Vino Nobile di Montepulciano ...oh, but that's another story. Like Hannibal, let's get to Roma!

Being warned of the dire consequences of driving in Roma, we perched the hire car on a little precipice in a gorgeous medieval hill town, Soriano nel Cimino, 70 ks north of Roma. We were staying in a Palazzo once belonging to an ancient king, so we banded together with some friends we'd just met from Fort Lauderdale Florida and took the train to Roma. Now we'd been told to look out for pickpockets on the metro. Sure enough, one of our party got robbed of her wallet.

Chugging into Roma we had our faces out the window rhapsodising over all the old bits and pieces of bricks and aquaducts and ancient tunnels the Italians casually ignore, and stood up ready to hit Roma's soil, well, as soon as we could escape StazioneTermini. What a place!

'Do you wanna buy?' 'Here! Here!' For a quiet Aussie this was a bit of culture shock. How do you get rid of the pesky hawkers shoving cheap tacky Colosseums in your face?

'Buya this elephant and you'll have besta luck for many many year,' cried one. 'Buy or I'll set the Mafia onta you,' was the subtext.

Swatting hawkers like flies, we finally emerged into the ancient city and hit the tourist spots - The Spanish Steps, Victor Emmaneul monument, the Pantheon...All were amazing. (See at the end of post for the tourist trail.) Then we had to try the tucker, which wasn't half bad. Everything was loads of yeasty bread, thick melted cheese and tangy tomato paste/sauce/puree.

Victor Emmanuel Monument

Vatican City, St Peter's, (I never want to leave that St Pieta), buy a few Michaelangelo prints, more tucker. The piazzas, which one is this? Oh, this is where my Pat Conroy favourite novel Beach Music is set - Piazza Farnese - what are all these torched vespas doing here? When did that happen? Let's follow the da Vinci Code trail..,

Piazza Farnese, bathtub fountain (one of two)

The Trevi Fountain - 'Canna I taka your pitcher miss?' the urchin asks trying to snatch my camera from around my throat. 'Urk. Uhk. Lemme go little fella or I'll point the bone at ya,' I hiss. 'Here, I taka you pitcher with my camera. Then you can buy,' he says, trying to distract me while he tugged my trusty camera strap as hard as he could. 'Bugger off,' I say. 'Lemme go throw a coin in the fountain so I can come back one day.'  Give me the peace and quiet of the Australian Outback, I'm thinking...

Stazione Termini

(Rome's main railway station)

This is the center of railway system of Roma, as well as the cross roads of all public transportation in the city. The name ‘termini’ comes from the popular denomination of the word ‘terme’ meaning ‘baths’, from the nearest Baths of Diocletian. The architecture is characterized by the extremely long, modernist facade in travertine stone, and by the gravity-defying double curve of the roof. There is a Non-Stop train Service for the transport from the Fiumicino Airport to the Roma Termini and back. Located in the center of Italian peninsular, the Roman railway station was conceived as the center of all the railway junctions coming from north and south.

Spanish Steps

Designed between 1723-1726, these magnificent double steps combine straight lines, curves and terraces creating one of Rome's most distinctive landmarks. The steps lead up to the 16th-century church of Trinita dei Monti. Spectacular views over the city rooftops opening in front of your eyes more than warrant the steep climb (steep climb? Ever done the Cinque Terre?) The Spanish Steps acquired their name from the neighbouring Spanish Embassy. At the foot of the steps lies the boat-shaped Barcaccia fountain, designed in 1627 by Bernini.
 
Pantheon

The best-preserved ancient Roman structure in the city, built as a temple to the gods around 125AD and converted to a Christian church in AD608. It is marvelled at its domed interior with the oculus (9 meter hole in the center of the dome) which allows light and rain into the building. Inside you will find the tomb of the world-famous artist Raphael.
 
Colosseo (Colosseum)
 

Commissioned in AD 72 by Emperor Vespasian the Colosseum is the most impressive and majestic amphitheater of Roman times. It was the scene for the Emperor and wealthy citizens entertainment where gladiatorial conquests between men (specially trained soldiers, slaves and prisoners), lions and wild beasts were held till the fifth century. The stadium has been pillaged over the centuries. Its rich marble facing stripped away to build palaces and churches and finaly it was rocked by an earthquakes. Now a mere skeletal framework of the former grandeur return us in time of ancient civilisations.
 
Trevi Fountain
 

Magnificent, mellifluous fountain, designed by Nicola Salvi and Leon Battista Alberti. In the middle of the scene is Neptune flanking by two tritons; one trying to tame an unruly seahorse and the other leads a docile animal, thus depicting the two contrasting moods of the sea. It’s said that if you throw a coin and make a wish, it will be fulfilled. It looks beautiful day or night.
 
Vatican City - oh my, why is there poverty in the world?
 
 

The Vatican is much more than the sum of its parts: It’s an organism that inspires and produces the very art and faith that then enrich it further—like a circular galaxy in a process of continuous expansion. —Gianluigi Colalucci

 
 
Well, I repeated the experience in Roma in 2008 and nothing much had changed. This time we travelled by train and organised a hotel behind a massive steel studded door 7 feet high and thick about 5 minutes from the craziness of StazioneTermini.  'Here, miss, buy this. Buy that!' They'd been waiting for me for 3 years! Why oh why did I throw that coin in Trevi Fountain?

L'Aussie Writing: An Aussie Loses it in Genova, Italy#links#links#links

GENOVA, ITALY

Here are a few snaps from the family travel album to whet your appetite for Genova, Italy.

Now, this is a cheese stall!

Italian men out for their afternoon sun, gossip, smoke and gelati, overlooking Genova

Fishermen mending nets on the Genova waterfront

Sun-dappled streets

I hope these wonderful pics entice you to read the travel article I wrote after this trip.

Click on the link above or below to enjoy the full article and more pictures.

L'Aussie Writing: An Aussie Loses it in Genova, Italy#links#links#links