As Sean so aptly put it, "Venice was nice but really tiring"! To say that we were all exhausted by the end of the week would be an understatement. By the time Friday came around we decided that we'd earned the right on our last day to take a water taxi from and back to our appartment despite the Euro 120 price tag!
The weather improved for us towards the end of the week and we were able to walk around in shorts which was great....even if it made us stand out like "Tommy the Tourist". A visit to the Doges Palace was quite spectacular and a walk across the Bridge of Sighs into the prisons a memorable experience aided by Sean and Kyle's forced sighs.
Unfortunately we have lost most of the photo's that we took between us on Marion's new camera whilst in Venice thanks to Sean's over zealous use of the delete button. Marion was understandably very upset, as was Sean for that matter, as she was just getting the hang of her new camera that I bought her for her birthday and had taken some of the nicest pictures she had ever taken whilst in the most photographed city in the world. C'est la vie....not always a box of chocolates!
Saturday, my birthday, was spent driving down to Tuscany which took us about 4 hours not including a detour for lunch to a pretty little village somewhere in the middle of nowhere thanks to our GPS which let us down. Anyway, we ended up at a nice restaurant at which we were clearly the only tourists which made up for the wasted time. Marion and the boys spolied me with some very thoughtful presents particularly considering that almost everything one buys in Venice involves either masks or glass....and my presents included neither which was a relief!
When we finally arrived at Cassa Poglio in Chiusi (pronounced 'Keeoosi' I think) we thought we'd arrived in heaven. Not only is the place picture perfect but after a week of Venice is just what the doctor ordered.
By this morning, other than to take our bikes out for a ride, we still hadn't left the property and only because we've run out of provisions have we decided to venture out and visit a hill town or two and the supermarket.
Cassa Poglio is an 18th century farmhouse on a working farm located on the SE border of Tuscany and Umbria. They apparently make really good olive oil here which we are going to taste on Wednesday evening. The Villa is very nicely done and the owners have obviously take a lot of care in the place. There is a fantastic pool overlooking Lago Chiusi (Lake Chiusi) and the rolling hills which we have all enjoyed. After all the restaurants in Venice, it has also been great to get the braai going (barbeque for our non South African readers) and to eat al fresco under a fabulous gazebo next to the pool. The boys only complaint is that the place is full of bugs which they dont seem to approve of despite the fact that I continually remind them that they are Africans and should not be fussed by such things to which their usual retort is...."Daaaaaaad"!
We are not planning to do much while here other than relax and take in the sun. The weather so far has been kind to us and the boys have rediscovered their love for the water. They are getting so good that I now only just manage to get away from them when we play Marco "Peak" Polo. In a year or two I'm going to be dead meat!
Today we headed out and found a small town called Pienza (after a GPS inforced detour - we have decided that we will no longer rely on it out in the countryside). It is a really beautiful small hilltop town surrounded by some very old ramparts. There are fabulous views over the Tuscan countryside and some very pretty streets filled with flower boxes and old stone walls. We toured the shops and bought some of the local produce. Pienza is known for pecorino cheese which they prepare in a million different ways - with red peppers, herbs, black pepper, chillis, mature, young, etc etc. We also loaded up with anchovies and garlic in olive oil, herbs and some handmade soaps.
We are having mixed success with the boys schooling. As they are missing the last 6 weeks of the school year, the plan was to try and get an hour or two in each day to make up for lost time at school over the last few weeks of this school year. Marion has done loads of planning and preparation and has brought along all sorts of interesting stuff for them to do. Some days they just aren't interested and it is all a real struggle....and extreeeeeeemly frustrating for Marion and I. Other days go well and they seem quite enthusiastic and get through some good work. Its tough being a teacher and a parent!
For those of you that know him, you'll be pleased to know that Bert (our 15 year old miniature daschund) is doing extreemly well and seems to like life on the road. he must surely rank as one of the best travelled dogs around with all the places he's visited with us. His appetite seems to grow each day and he is the centre of attraction when he is out with us. We do leave him "at home" quite often, especially when there is a lot of walking planned for the day as he tends to collapse and freeze on the end of his lead after about half an hour of being out. He has impressed me with his bladder control and so far we've only had one accident indoors which is not bad for an old man like him.
This Saturday we leave Chiusi and take 11 days to get to Bonnieux in Provence where Craig and Lisa Thompson have very kindly offered to host us in their beautiful mas for 5 days. We're not sure where we'll be staying during this period as we haven't got anything booked yet so watch this space!
Thats it for this installment. Thanks for following us on our adventure around Europe.We'd love to hear from you so please drop us an email at neill.duffy@googlemail.com or add a comment at the end of this message. Please also feel free to pass the address for this blog to anyone that you think might be interested.
Ciao!
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