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from P to R with a bit of queue-ing here and there

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

When in Italy P stands for Pizza – naturally, but it also  stands for Pisa and it’s leaning tower. And R stands for Rome, which is where we are presently situated. And the Q stands for just that – a few short queues here and there as we waited to to view some of the attractions.

Actually,before all that, I have to include a little bit about a very pleasant stay in a little town named SantaFiora. Set in the mountains at about 2500 ft it was a real treat;

 

 another old town with a real charm of its own. We wandered happily through this place, catching it on Market Day as it happened.

 

 The bonus was that at night it cooled off beautifully, from the heat of the day.

And so to Pisa,famous for its tower with dubious engineering and resulting tilt:

where it was so boingly hot, and we scuttled from shade to shade – along with 10,000 other gawking tourists. This must be the most crowded spot in Italy – if you discount the awful “beaches” along the French and Italian Riviera.

And then we drove on to Rome. We had intended to stay quite a way out of Rome for a night, before moving closer to the city, but problems with power, a failing fridge and a host of devices needing a transfusion of 230 volts made our leader decide to get straight to a fully serviced site.

So here we are plugged in to the precious volts, with devices re-charging left, right and centre and with our fridges purring efficiently once more. (the prolonged bout of 37-40+C has tried our gas-powered units beyond their capabilities.

And so today we checked out Rome’s Public Transport systems = and we found them to be excellent.

First a bus – right outside the front gate, which took us to the train/subway station. A few minutes wait and along comes the train – to whisk us (somewhat noisily, it’s true) right to the Coliseum. And all done with one E1 ticket! (can’t say I love the graphics on the carriages, though)

Well we walked our socks off today – and in what must be the hottest day of the year so far. This is hotter than Malaysia, and with a humidity down around the 20-30% I imagine.

We walked in and around the Coliseum and saw it from every vantage point.

Then we continued to explore the surrounding Ruins. Such crumbling magnificence! It must have been quite something to be a citizen in those days. Such an extravagance of imposing, marble-faced, column-encrusted buildings – it would have been quite over powering.

 

And again, the ingenuity and skill of the builders of 2000 years ago, makes one quite humble. No doubt we are a very smart bunch these days, but what those fellows did back in those days, with the equipment and knowledge of the day – is absolutely amazing. I take my hat off to them (“chapeau!” our French friends would say)

from Arthur’s castle to Christine’s hamlet

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

the locals say ‘-good job you are  not touring in the holiday season – you just can’t move down there at that time’: talking about Devon and Cornwall. And I am sure they are right. Even now, all the places we visit have a good supply of tourists. Fairly crowded by NZ standards but very comfortable by UK ones. And you can understand why. I am obviously not the only one to be fascinated by this ancient part of England – the over-powering sense of history and the sheer charm of the small villages, country lanes and green and golden fields. It really is lovely. But navigating these cumbersome camper-vans down narrow country roads is no joke – and the thought of doing it at a time when the lanes are chock-full of touring cars is pure nightmare.

These thoughts occurred as we were driving down narrow lanes to visit the legendary Tintagel castle. The home of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

We were quickly educated by an introductory film, that Arthur was most likely npure legend. But it makes for a great story, and the castle itself is most certainly no figment of the imagination.

The setting is magnificent. Awe-inspiring on this calm blue day, but it would look even more magnificent if  the Atlantic were venting its fury against the rocky shores far below.

It was a good work-out too. Climbing many uneven rocky steps and hiking across the heath at the top, not to mention the long upward climb back to the village. But it was well worth the effort.

Then back in the village we saw the making of  the local delicacy – Cornish Pasties and decided to indulge once more!

Fortunately we discovered that we were allowed to park overnight in the village car-park and so we had no more driving to do that day.

The next day we had three objectives: to cover a fair distance to get to Weston-Super-Mare; visit the old fishing village of Clovelly  and to find a Caravan dealer to purchase some needed spares for the vans.

We achieved all three objectives.I thought that the visit to Clovelly might just be for a quick look of passing interest, but I was wrong! Of course the approach to the village is now a commercial enterprise, geared to handle coach-loads of visitors, but the village itself, which tumbles down a steep cobble-stoned drive (too narrow and steep to call a road) remains much as I remember it from 60 years ago. In fact I found it more fascinating now, than I did in those days of yore.

And this is where Christine comes into the story. It seems that Clovelly has been in the hands of just two families for the past 3-400 hundreds  years. Christine Hamlyn, who inherited the village back in the late 1800’s, decided to smarten the place up and invested a heap of time and money in bringing the village back up to scratch again. She did a good job, and today there is obviously a lot of time and effort put into maintaining the village in pristine condition.

 

 Not that it is a dead display village – it is very much a lived-in and operating fishing village.

 

The massive quay was built in the 15th century and makes for a tranquil haven on a forbidding coastline.

We spent a long time discovering every nook and cranny

 

and everyone really enjoyed it!

cathedrals,castles and culture –to Worms & Speyer

Sunday, May 31st, 2009

-place names, not a company of solicitors.

We have been travelling through some delightful German countryside for the past few days and have seen a veritable kaleidoscope of cathedrals, castles, quaint old towns and peaceful parks and gardens.

We have also been tested with our driving skills – taking our ‘Vomos’ into places where none have gone before.

Rach had the toughest test the other day – we were hoping to stay in Gothenburg and were trawling around this ancient city designed for horse and cart, looking for the Van park. We (Rach driving) ended up crawling up and down the side of the hill, winding through impossibly narrow streets, doing hill starts etc and finding absolutely nowhere to park.

Where the streets were wider, they had ripped up half of the road just to keep you on your toes. Rach  (following Rob, driving the bigger vehicle) passed the Stage 4 test in great style. Disappointingly, we had to leave Gothenburg unexplored. The following day I had a ‘grade 3’ test when closed roads forced us to take to some back-country roads through some narrow village streets plus a session of reversing etc. So we are both getting more comfortable with the beast. Meanwhile Rob has been nibbling at the repairs and the damage is getting less evident each day.

All of which has nothing to do with the heading but needed reporting anyway.

Rather than spell out what each picture is, I thought I would just give you a selection of views. We have been inside some incredibly ornate cathedrals and churches.

    

The carvings, sculptures, statues and murals have been quite mind-blowing.

Although no doubt all done to the glory of God, I have uneasy thoughts about who paid for all this and how the raising of money glorified our God. Certainly a very far cry from the school hall where our church meets. But just looking at the magnificence of the buildings, one cant help but marvel at the workmanship of 3-500 years ago.

 

The kids found a spidery playground in the cathedral grounds,  

much to their liking and as we relaxed and had our lunch nearby, we listened to the strains of an Organ-grinder duo. Closer inspection of the music-makers led to some of the kids (including Rob) being allowed to have a swing on the handle.

 

 Also in the cathedral grounds we found a musician playing softly on a set of Vibraphones. Nearby a ‘statue-man’ posed as steady as a rock. All in the dappled sunlight filtering through huge chestnut trees. A tranquil setting that was a real treat.

Also on the fun side we came across a large grill in a town square which was blasting air upwards. An exhaust from who knows what. But it gave the kids some fun, feeling themselves ballooning up in the strong draught as they stood over the grill.

Another interesting few days…….

a walk from Germany to France & back – in a day 25 May

Thursday, May 28th, 2009

The day broke cloudy and cold – a brisk wind blowing which after a while, chilled to the bone. At least it chilled this old codger’s bones and I think a few more of the party were none too warm.

We had determined to take a hike from our van park in Kehl (which is in Germany) to Strasbourg, (which is in France) just a ‘short walk’ after crossing the Rhine, which at this point forms the border between the two countries. We packed a lunch, determined to not let the weather deter us, and off we went.

This happens to be a most well-endowed little township (maybe it is a city?) and where we were staying, we were right next to beautiful river-side parks and gardens, with copious sporting facilities and well-equipped children’s playgrounds. At the start of the walk one of the kids would ask “can we go to the playground?” but always came back the answer –“on the way home – let’s get to where we are going first”

On we walked, past a delightful Biblical garden – beautifully set out to depict important events in Biblical history in granite sculptures and appropriate plantings,

On and over one of the most ingenious and genuinely artistic bits of bridge engineering I have seen,

Past a circus and then a school for budding circus performers; still no sign of Strasbourg, and we were a little hesitant as to which direction to take next. Time to try out the 65-year-old French rusting away in the grey cells: ‘pardon m’sieur, mais parlez-vous l’anglais?” “Non!” came back the less-than-encouraging response. However after I manfully struggled on to enquire the way to the old Town, and the guy took pity on me and made it known that the Old Town was that-away and it would be a 40 minute walk. After a brief conference, we decided to press on, leaving the comfort of parks and circuses and hitting the hard pavements.

Eventually we came to a park and here was the Citadel – not in the Old Town but getting closer (so we thought) Anyway, a children’s playground, a park bench, and it was time to have a lunch break. Pity about that freezing wind……

Spying a lady on a park bench, and emboldened by my success(?) on the previous occasion I sallied forth to ask the lady in my best French if she could direct us to the old town. Quickly she established that she and her husband (who had a map but had gone for a walk) were  German, and her English was better than my French! But I did learn that our objective was still at least 1/2 hour’s walk distant. We had determined that we would do it, and when the friendly husband turned up with his map it enabled us to set our course once more.

Well eventually we did reach Strasbourg Old Town – and it really was worth the effort, a charming, graceful  , character-filled town that delighted us all.

In addition it had the most amazing cathedral that enthralled all but the littlest among us.

After that we decided that having already walked about 12km, we would catch a bus/tram or train back towards our home base. Diligent study of some excellent maps at the tram stop showed that we could catch a tram to the nearest bus stop. We were delighted: the trams and buses had impressed us with their swish styling

and I for one was itching to  take a ride in one (my legs were feeling it too!) We  discovered that we could get a group ticket qt reduced cost and joyfully advanced on the ticket-machine. Frustration! The machines only accept coins – and we needed 10 Euros. Off I  went to the nearest shop – a pharmacy- to get some coins. Explaining to the lady that I required some ‘medecin pour le mal de tete’ I then added that I would like some Euro coins to pay  for le Tram! She evidently understood my tortured words for the transaction was completed to everyone’s satisfaction and I came back with a pocket full of Euro pieces.

So away we went on the Super-Tram. More like a train than a tram, and when it dived into a tunnel, it just rocketted along-faster than a speeding bullet!

To add to the interest. we found ourselves getting off at Strasbourg’s main railway station –a really impressive bit of architecture,

Then to the bus. ‘Ou se trouve l’autobus nombre deux? I asked a bus driver. ‘La – devant vous’! and there it was right next to the bus stop where we were standing!

A good bus ride and we were back at the circus – still a long walk thorough the parks and over the bridge but these kids have an endless supply of energy and when we got to the playground they had a ball.

While Mum and Dad and J14 went back to the vans to prepare dinner I kept watch on the rest. After 1/2 hour we finished off the day’s activities by climbing the 199 steps up a magnificent wooden viewing tower to take a bird’s-eye view of our neighbourhhood. By the end of the day the sun had finally broken through and it looked beautiful.

A 14km walk – a bunch of exercise – lots of interesting things to see and do, A good day was had by all.