Monthly Archives: November 2015

Lerici – Italian Riviera

30 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by in Cinque Terre, Lerici

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Each time I visit  Cinque Terre I like to spend time in Lerici.  On my first visit here we  drove to Lerici where we found easy parking in one of the car parks and then it was an easy walk to the beach. It will cost you about 10 euro for the day but make sure you have coins as it is almost impossible to obtain change from any of the businesses in the area.  Or, there is a large pay parking lot between Lerici and San Terenzo with a shuttle bus that takes you into town or you can walk to either village from the parking area.

Lerici can also be reached by ferry from La Spezia, Portovenere, and Cinque Terre. Small ferries between the Gulf of Poets villages run mainly in summer.

Lerici is a town  in the province of La Spezia in Ligura, and part of the Italian Riviera. It is situated on the coast of the Gulf of La Spezia. It is known as the place where the poet Percy Shelley drowned.

Once into Lerici you will marvel at the quaint town clinging to the seaside cliffs above the marina. If you are a keen swimmer, try the blue mile swim across the bay, conveniently marked by buoys. But, you don’t need to be a keen swimmer to enjoy the beautiful clear, clean water.

A little paradise where you can manage what to do depending on your budget:  it is a free beach and if you wish  you can hire a sunbed and umbrella.

On the beach there are plenty of beach beds, chairs and umbrellas, but I was always happy to lie on a large rock and jump in to the beautiful crystal clear water regularly to cool off.

The coastline has a great walking path along the water and plenty of bars and restaurants to visit.

Laze away an afternoon gazing at the lovely buildings in Tuscan yellows and oranges, or take the stairs up to the castle, or enjoy yet another yummy gelato.

There are excellent views from the famous castle of Lerici, San Terenzo and across the bay to Portovenere. You can take the stairs or there is a lift to the top. The views of the poets gulf are worth the effort.

 

The castle is at the end of the beach, very close to the centre of San Terenzo.

While in Lerici, I rarely heard English spoken here as Lerici is mainly an Italian tourist town. It has become one of my new favourites. It is easy to park and walk down to the centre, very dog friendly everywhere, not crowded and stunningly beautiful

It is a beautiful location at night time right after sunset and there is plenty of action late into the night.

 

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Beautiful Bay, Beautiful Monterey

23 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by in Monterey, San Francisco

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We left San Francisco early morning, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge and headed south, along the most beautiful coastal road through Big Sur and towards Monterey.  The 129 miles took about 21/2  hours with perfect photo stops along the way. The scenery was simply stunning.

 

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The city of Monterey in Monterey County is on the southern edge of Monterey Bay in California. Monterey Peninsula and its beautiful bay surrounding is a great place to visit year-round.  There is lots to do and see, and great reasonably-priced restaurants.  Monterey Bay itself is a beautiful location with lots of craggy rock formations, nice sandy beach at the Coast Guard jetty, and beautiful deep blue  water. This really is a wonderful intersection of land, sea and sky.

We arrived in time to explore some of the shops on Fisherman’s Wharf before stopping for lunch.  Fisherman’s Wharf is an historic wharf lined with many restaurants ranging from casual, open-air clam bars, to formal indoor dining with views of the bay.

 

There is a good choice of restaurants however we chose the Fish Hopper Restaurant which is within walking distance to the Aquarium and main part of the town.  Part of the restaurant juts out in to the bay but there are great views of Monterey Bay from almost every table.  When I first saw the Fish Hopper, I did not have high hopes as it looked very touristy and maybe it is, but oh man!  Fantastic with friendly staff and excellent customer service, so don’t let the appearances fool you…this place is super and I highly recommend it for anybody visiting Monterey.

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We chose the Sanddabs – Fresh Filets  of fish,  which are breaded and grilled and topped with Diced Tomatoes and Light Basil Sauce.  The meals were excellent and so was the glass of Pinot Grigio which went down very nicely.

We decided not to have dessert here and left for a wander around the wharf  in search of the “dessert” place.

It did not take long for us to find and decide where to enjoy dessert.  Ice cream on the Bay, at Ghirardelli.  Ghirardelli chocolate and ice cream in the states is super famous. The shop in San Francisco  was always very busy with ridiculously long lines of people waiting to be served. We were delighted to find this store in Monterey and get almost instant service.

They have many different kinds of ice cream fixed different ways. There is seating inside and out with once again those amazing views of the bay.

Not long after our ice cream it was time to head off.

Visiting Monterey was a wish for me since my days of living in Hawaii – I was not disappointed.

Great town.

Wine Tasting in Tuscany

15 Sunday Nov 2015

Posted by in Wine Tasting in Tuscany

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Italian Wine tasting in a wine cellar in a vineyard in Tuscany!!!  Sounds like something out of a movie?  Yes it does, but this was the real experience for us while staying in Bagni di Lucca

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We chose the DeLuxe Tasting with Fattoria del Teso in Montecarlo. The wine tasting was coupled with the local cheeses and salami

We were met by our tour guide at the gates in Lucca and taken on the short trip through beautifully landscaped hills to the property.

We then drove down a beautiful driveway to the building which houses the cellars where we were to experience the local wines, the olive oils and the local salami.

This vineyard could easily earn an award of excellence. The setting is stunning

If someone were to ask wine lovers regarding their favorite Italian wine regions, Tuscany would likely come out at the top. Besides making Italy’s most famous wine , Chianti, Tuscany is home to Italy’s many prestigious wines.
After visiting the cellar and the Vin Santo attics and hearing about the history of the Fattoria (farm) we were ready for our amazing tasting.  Our guide described the methods used on the farm, manual vs mechanical, the history of their wine and the olive oil production in the region and technical terms of wine manufacture in layman’s terms.

The first tasting was the Vermentino which incidentally is my favourite white wine and then we tasted the Montecarlo Bianco – both were served with a selection of cheeses.

These were then followed by the Montecarlo Rosso and Anfidiamante IGT  which were served with the homemade salami and Altopascio bread with extra-virgin olive oil.

All the wines which were produced on site were superb and the oils that they made had excellent flavour.

We loved the food and the wines and purchased several bottles to enjoy back at our apartment and also for gifts.

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The grand finale was the homemade “cantuccini” biscuits with the Vin Santo D.O.C Fattoria del Teso which is aged at least 10 years. We dipped our Cantuccini in to this divine dessert wine. And savoured every bite.

Heaven.

My reasons for travelling to Italy – Series – Piazza 2

05 Thursday Nov 2015

Posted by in My reasons for travelling to Italy, Piazza

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If I was to write about every piazza I have visited in Italy I could dedicate my blog exclusively to Piazze, so I will just mention a couple of other special ones that I have spent time in over the years.

Piazza del Campo is the principal public space of the historic centre of Siena, in Tuscany and is regarded as one of Europe’s greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The twice-a-year horse-race Palio di Siena, is held around the edges of the piazza.

On my first visit to Siena, I was not sure what to expect but this is a place that looks great and grows on you as the more that you look the more that you can see.
It is fan shaped and not flat with a wide assortment of buildings. It felt like being in a huge outdoor living room with people comfortably sitting and standing anywhere and everywhere.
Part of the square has restaurants and bars but this is not a problem as there are plenty of places to sit and view the area.

This Piazza is picturesque and historically impressive.. It was surreal standing in this Piazza looking around at this historical landscape. Well worth a visit

The Piazza dell’Anfiteatro is a public square in the walled centre of Lucca in Tuscany. The ring of buildings surrounding the square, follows the shape of the former second century Roman Amphitheatre of Lucca.

Lucca fascinates me… it is one of the most charming towns of Tuscany and birthplace of Puccini.  Lucca is a very picturesque, elegant, walled city which is beautiful to stroll through and explore the narrow cobblestone streets. You will find lots of interesting architecture, with more than 100 churches.

Lucca is quite a small city so you won’t have any problem finding this square as you walk around

If you go to Lucca you must visit Piazza Anfiteatro – it is an extraordinary place!

Another of my favourites in Tuscany,  Piazza Duomo is the heart of San Gimignano.

Actually San Gimigano is one of my favourite hilltop towns in Italy. I could never tire of the wonderful selection of restaurants and cafes, the shopping and the views over the Tuscan Hills.

You will undoubtedly walk through the Piazza del Duomo when in San Gimignano and marvel at the scale of the Duomo and the city hall. It is always crowded but you’re in a small town so must accept this as a part of touring.  Very pretty and picturesque – a photographers dream!  There are a number of places to eat and small souvenir shops and a gelateria selling the worlds “best”gelato. Very brave statement.

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Quite often you will happen upon street entertainment. There is always something going on in Piazza Duomo

If you do decide to take a table in a main square, you will probably want to spend some time enjoying the scene, you don’t need to feel pressured to vacate your table once you’ve bought a drink.

While most bars and cafes are not usually as expensive as those in San Marco Piazza, there is often a service charge for tables inside and a larger service charge for those outdoors. If there’s live music or other entertainment, there may also be an added surcharge for that.

Feel yourself in the heart of beautiful, pulsating and vibrant Italy.

Another must do if you are in Tuscany