Saturday 23rd June 2012.
Great food the previous evening at Il Pozzo restaurant and back at flat in time to see Germany demolish Greece in Euro 2012.
Tony and I sat up till midnight reminiscing over the years when we were world-class footballers and only missed out on being professionals because of the incompetence of the various scouts doing the rounds at the time!
Up relatively early to prepare for checking out of Santa Lucia which has been a fantastic base for the week. We say a very fond farewell to the owner, the vivacious Giovanna, and meet her husband Jens, who is Danish, large, and works in Copenhagen.
Leisurely drive south,initially steering clear of the autostrada and opting for the slower, but more picturesque country roads. Call into Barga, a delightful small town south-east of Castelnuovo , for a coffee break and make a stop at the centuries-old Ponte Della Maddalena over the River Serchio- very impressive.
Finally arrive in our favourite city of Lucca with a few hours to spare for some sightseeing on foot.
Picnic lunch outside the city walls, using up the leftovers from our week at the flat, and then walk into the pedestrian part of the city for drinks at a bar/cafe,served by a grumpy old female who was clearly not impressed that we were taking up a table at lunch for a miserable couple of drinks.
Re-acquaint ourselves with the Piccolo Hotel Puccini where we have stayed before and take a leisurely stroll around the lovely lane ways of Lucca. It has definitely lost none of its charm.
Drive to Pisa Airport uneventful and we say cheerio to Tone and Marg after we know that their luggage is safely checked in.
The week we have had together was everything that we could have wished for and it’s sad that the tyranny of distance limits us to the annual get-together. Still we are more fortunate than most in such a situation.
Back in Lucca we check-in at the hotel after negotiating the impossibly narrow, winding streets in our precious rental car and then park within the city walls , ready for an early start the next day.
Have a delicious dinner at a small restaurant serving food from local products and meet up up with a couple in their 80’s( he on his 4th marriage ) who are still travelling the world and having a ball. Hopefully life begins in the late 60’s!
Sunday 24th June 2012
Modest but OK brekkie at hotel and then ready for the long drive north to Milan to hand in the rental car ( Peugeot ) which has been fantastic in every possible way.
All going according to plan and well ahead of out timetable until we come to fill up with diesel. Being a Sunday all of the service stations are self- service but do not accept credit cards, only cash on a pay in advance basis and give no change. Initially, the machine swallows my 20 euros and gives no fuel in return but after many expletives and coaxing ( more like bullying ) we manage to put in 45 euros worth and as luck would have it it just fills the tank. Judging by the number of motorists in a similar plight we suspect that this is a very lucrative money-spinning exercise for the self-service establishments near to the Airport.
Car duly handed in in time for us to catch train to Milan Central for train to Geneva.
Italy never disappoints and also throws up the usual ‘ Gailisms ‘.
Two came out in the last couple of days:
With the four of us, sitting by the pool,somehow managing to discuss the brutality of the war in Rwanda G commented that the Tutus had indeed been really brutal. Until that time we had all assumed that only the Tutsi and Hutu tribes had taken part but either by virtue of their mode of dress or some real cross-breeding a third participant had obviously come into the picture!
To top that, as we drove through the mountains of north-eastern Italy, Gail commented
that the fast descent into a particular valley was probably why my EYES were popping.
Fortunately, my Marty Feldman impersonation didn’t last too long as we descended my ears stopped popping as well!
On a more serious note the train journey only served to remind us both that Italy and Switzerland are stunningly beautiful countries and the last section along the shores of Lake Geneva, past Montreux, Lausanne and finally into Geneva quite superb.
Taxi driver is reluctant to take us the sort distance to Hotel Kipling and points out that it is only just around the corner. This turned out to be a slight under-statement as the trek took us both, with suitcases in tow, through the most seedy of red light districts imaginable and this blogger was approached by any number of superannuated prostitutes eager to provide me with a ‘massage’.
I was starting to think that if we had to walk much further it might come in quite handy when we arrived at our abode for the next two nights.
Too tired to go out again for a meal Gail,and I both call it a day although I find the energy to watch England in their death throes against Italy in Euro 2012.
Monday 25th June 2012
Fairly overcast day so we have a late start and eventually stroll down to the lake, crossing over the bridge to the Old Town, past the famous water jet and visit the city cathedral and a very large archeological site below the current building. Lunch at a lovely Creperie nearby and then back to the hotel to catch up on some ‘work’ including this blog.
The visit to the Old Town had restored some of our faith in this city as our first impressions on arrival had been distinctly unfavourable. Geneva has become far more multicultural than when I was last here, admittedly in the 1970’s, but rather than embellish the city as this has done in many other places, it has given Geneva a very seedy appearance in some areas. One suspects that the gap between the haves and the have-nots may have widened substantially.
All that remains on this trip is for us to have a quiet dinner out this evening before flying off to Abu Dhabi tomorrow so this old blogger is signing off. Hopefully we will be able to get some photos posted shortly to relieve the boredom of the narrative.
Cheers
The Obese Ferret.
2geonomads 