29 March 2011 – 01 April 2011

Vienna to Venice

Our departure from Austria is relaxed and we only leave at about 10.00.  We have no rush after all and the only thing planned for today is the drive to Italy with end destination being Venice.

To leave Austria took about 4 hours   and was along the Autobahn no nothing spectacular.  Once we reached the Alps though the views were just amazing.  Snow still capped the peaks but the day was nice and warm. 



The Water Bus Station's




Waiting for the Water Bus



Reaching Italy is an immediate culture change – drivers no longer stick to the speed limits and there are just so many fast and nice cars on the road...road signs are a bit confusing, roads are slightly less smooth, the tunnels more dilapidated...but everything still works.

Venice

Venice, what can I say, for those that have not yet been there, in my opinion it is a must see – just once in your life.  The city is regal and out of the ordinary.  Difficult to describe.  On arrival we park our car for 3 nights at the parking area and had to leave our keys with our car.  We were a bit sceptical but it seemed to work.  It is chaotic with people and busses, taxi’s and cars and we had no idea where to go or what to do.  We booked accommodation over the internet and upon arrival in Venice, did not know where to go.  Luckily we found a little tourism office who directed us where to go – gave us a map of the waterways and we could also buy a 3 day waterbus ticket.  This worked out a lot cheaper than buying individual tickets.  These tickets allow you to travel on the local waterbus as often as you like at a discounted price. 



A Typical Venetian Scene




This is the life



Price shock

I have been to Venice before and have always told Frik I would like to take him there one day.  We are fortunate that we have been able to realise some of our dreams.  The city is appealing and we were booked just off S.Marco’s Square and therefore in the centre of all the activity.  The first evening in Venice we walked around wide-eyed taking in all the sites.  Eventually we sat down for dinner and were totally ripped off – N$1600.00 for 1 bottle of wine, 3 pasta’s, 1 pizza and 2 deserts.  Lesson learned...AND the waiter made it clear that he needed a tip as well!



Pic-nic lunch in Venice Park



History and some culture

Venice was founded in about 564 AD as the people fled to the lagoon’s to get away from successive invasions.  The first buildings were out of wood but as the population grew, brick buildings replaced the wood.  Venice is connected by approximately 450 bridges  and has about 125 churches.  That is a lot of churches for a small area. 

The first full day in Venice we spent the morning walking around the city, taking the water bus between all possible locations as this fascinated the children and bought our lunch at the Billa(local P&P from Austria) on the Island of Lido.  Lido is much cheaper than Venice and is also the Island facing directly out to the sea and thus protects Venice and the other Islands from the main sea.

Enjoyed a picnic style lunch back on Venice where we managed to find a children’s play park.  Jodi had a lot of fun feeding the pigeon’s.  Italy is far more child friendly than Austria and here I don’t feel like I have to constantly remind my kids to keep quiet and behave.  Here they can be kids and kick a ball and make a fair amount of noise.   More normal - Cameron and Jodi were starting to get a bit frustrated with us trying to keep them quiet all the time.  We took dinner on the trot from one of the take-away places as were just not in the mood to be ripped off another meal.

Murano and Venetian glass

Our second and last full day in Venice we decided to visit the Island of Murano.  Like other islands of the lagoon complex, it was originally inhabited by ‘refugees’ from the mainland who fled from the invading barbarians.   It is now world renowned for the master glass manufacture’s. When the buildings of Venice were made mainly of wood, the threat of fire from the furnaces of the glass factories was so great that it was decreed that all glass factories should be transferred to Murano Island. 

The Hotel organised a water taxi for us which was a private motorboat and another exciting way to travel.  It was captivating to watch these master craftsman at work.  From silica sand and a few mineral’s heated to over 1000 degree’s C, these works of art fetch a pretty penny.  Pictures are not allowed in their gallery however Frik and I bought 6 champagne glasses and a glass sculpture.  We will not mention what we paid for it but we have no idea where we are going to put it as the kids still throw balls around in the house and even wear their hockey skates and skate around the lounge.  Cameron and Jodi were given a glass horse as a present ( they think it was for free however they have no idea how much their parents spent there to prompt those kind Italians to give them a hand made, glass blown horse by a master glass blower).  What makes it all the more special is that the horse is the same one that they saw being made.  The master glass craftsman were held in such high regard by the Venetians that a noble Venetian could marry the daughter of a glass craftsman without losing his noble status.  Just off the island a huge project is underway where they are building a new island in the lagoon.  This new island is intended to be the cemetery.  We thought that odd as we would have expected the people to buried on the mainland.  Then we read an interesting tit-bit.  It is considered improper and insulting for a Venetian to be buried on the mainland.

Murano - The Birth of our Horse



The Finished Product



Marco the pr... Gondolier

I have to interject here...Dianne did not mention our Gondola ride. It is supposed to be romantic...but with two ‘kaydaa’ kids(kyk daar, kyk daar...!!) and a typically chiselled goodlooking m..f of an Italian Gondolier...it was difficult to get myself all lovied up! I am just glad Marco( yup!!!), was gondolieering(or whatever) the boat standing behind us, otherwise Di would have missed out on all the cultural sights of  Venice because of watching his butt the whole time.



The Italian Stallion for Carlien



Italian strike

On our last day in Venice, guess what, Italy would not be Italy without a strike.  All public transport employees were striking – so instead of taking the water bus out of Venice, we had to hire a private taxi for 750 bucks.  The transfer took about 10 minutes but was a stunning drive.  All in all – you need to go to Venice but don’t expect not to cost. 

01 APRIL – Cinque Terra

Some of you may have received an sms from us about the beauty of the area...and WOW it is fantastically stunning!!

We arrived, after a squillion sharp bends up and down a STEEP mountain road, been overtaken by 20 year old fiat Uno’s and little cinque- and seicento’s...scary stuff!! Parking in a parking lot above the village of Manarola. No cars allowed in the village.



Our home for a week



View from our appartment in Manarola

Manarola-some history

Manarola is one of 5 Villages known as the Cinque Terra. The area rivals the Great Wall of China in the sheer amount of construction that has happened over the past 1000 years and more, on these mountainsides. All the mountainsides are terraced all the way down to the sea. These 5 Villages lie basically carved into the mountains and hills. It is incredible how this has been achieved. Along these terraces their agriculture takes place...wine and whatever they need to grow to survive.

Settling in

All the food is fresh...I mean fresh, the fish comes directly from the sea the same day. The veggies are brought down from the terraces and each little Trattoria makes his own speciality sauce, pesto or whatever. Our Hotel was on the ‘harbour’(see below), great little place run by a rural Italian family...Papa and his two(not unattractive daughters)...just as one would imagine it!

Di and I both got a flu bug and had to lie low. We in the interim found an apartment in the village, with stunning sea views and views over the town. We exchanged our leeeeeetle hotel room for this two bedroom apartment. And it is cheaper.

The person who organised this apartment for us, runs the local travel agency and booking office and he is mad about Namibia. He had been there 4 times already.

The HARBOUR

‘Harbour’ =  The little fishing boats don’t stay in the water after returning to shore(there is no beach, just a cliff wall). They get HOISTED up by a pulley system...seriously, the one bloke sits 20m up in town, lowers a rope down. The fisherman connects this rope to his boat, gets out and walks up the stairs and then hoists his boat up onto the main road of village...where it overnights till the next days’ fishing.

Taking the fishing boats out of the water

Hiking and exploring

Our days are absolute bliss...a real holiday.

Everyday we sleep late-ish, breakfast, school for the kids, then find a new hiking route, catch the train to whichever village and then hike up these beautiful terraced hills. The going is tough at times but we’re astounded at the kids’ strength and stamina. There are so many options of where to hike, unfortunately, but also probably a blessing, the coastal hiking routes are mostly closed due to maintenance...giving us the option of hiking the mountainous parts...stunning!

Collapse of a way of life

They have had quite a bit of rain during the winter and had many mudslides – largely due to the fact that fewer of the new generation are taking over the traditional role of farming and maintaining their piece of ground and with that, the upkeep of these terraces. Thus many areas are crumbling and very susceptible to washing away. This is creating a longer term problem in this area, as all the hills are basically held together with these terraces. The National Parks Board is trying to keep up the maintenance but it’s not so easy, as most of the properties are privately owned...

Pesto course

We booked a Pesto making course and went to a town called Levanto. It’s one of those places that when you get there you know it’s a good place. About 5000 inhabitants permanently...so bigger than the villages we were used to but small enough to keep it quaint. I’d say about the size and feel of Swakopmund...without the surrounds!!!!

I thought this would be boring but after the second bottle of wine it was actually quite fun. We each then had to make our own pesto...and it is very lekker. Must say - had fun!



Jodi the expert in the local pesto recipes



Italian style, flair, verve whatever one wants to call it...

It is just a fact of life...the Italians KNOW how to dress and carry themselves! The make the kakkest set of clothes look stylish. The most outrageous pair of shoes mixed with a flour sack and BAM...it looks good on them! I have seen many Noppie’s(No oil paintings!) but they manage to become attractive...they just have it! A girl/woman can walk down the road with a cigarette hanging from her lips and it looks as if it should be there. Even the men...they act like complete tits, dress like weirdo’s, hair just stupid...but it looks normal and even cool! Go figure. I can just imagine Tom, Rudi, John, Hartu, Gavin or ANY one of us, dress or act like one of these Luigi’s, we’d be tied to a tree and the kak kicked out of us. Just gotta love em!!!

Last night in Cinque Terre, 6 March

Spent our day today walking from Corniglia to our town of Manarola. Seeing that the coastal paths were still closed we took to the highlands...our initial climb was from sea level straight up to 460meters. Needless to say ‘die beentjies het maar gekak!’. Once in the hills though, the views were outstanding. We walked for 3 ½ hours back to our village. What a wonderful experience this past week was in the Cinque Terre. The real Nothern Italian way of life. The locals were friendly chatty and loved kids. Walking past the farmers toiling on the terraces in the mountain, they never failed to smile at the kids and say a gruff yet friendly ‘salve’ greeting to us. The local kids making a racket on the town square(maybe 150sqm) paying football and all kinds of kinds...this was the only flat piece of ground to be found for miles. Old ladies chatting in the suns last rays.

The view from our hiking trails






Excellent wines are produced in these vineyards.




Waiting for our train



CINQUE TERRE – Highly recommended for a find yourself – this is what life’s about, experience.