Trento

30 June

A quiet day wandering around the town of Trento.  There is a long history of habitation here, but most of the old buildings visible in town date from the 12th-16th centuries.

The town was the venue for the Council of Trent in the 18th century (in response to Luther and the protestant movement)  which set the course of the Roman Catholic church for the next 400 years.

Trento is known as the painted city - there are still frescoes on many of the buildings - dating back to the 15th century - still visible and very lovely. This was a quiet day being a Monday - we admired the large castle, the Duomo and went into the cathedral. After  short time the mid day bells peeled out , people left and we moved quietly to some seats and listened to a short service in Latin. A huge sense of peace was present and to hear the Latin spoken was like music in my ears - in nomine; pater et filius et spiritus sanctum - lovely and for me evoked my years of   happily puddling around in the Latin language. So - Latin is still alive and well in some places in the world -my second encounter hearing it spoken - Zadar and now Trento.

Since we were here last in 2009 they have built a new block in the gardens.In the afternoon we got access to the hotels "spa" area in this complex where we have been relaxing in their super indoor swimming pool with views to the mighty Dolomites , in their 'relaxing room' with cream covered single warmed water beds where we lazed and snoozed  and outside we sun bathed on  deck chairs toasting in the blazing sun! Bliss - Stephen and I had the pool and relaxing room to our selves - only one other couple sun worshiping. Peaceful and beautiful.We decided not to partake of the sauna, turkish bath, massage or depilatory services.The heat in the 2 former was like a furnace blast and we need to hang on to all our 'bits' at our age - who knows what might disappear with all that 'depilatoring ' going on.

We were taken by a lovely young woman from reception across he luscious lawn to the venue - who provided us with a classically embossed woven carry bag complete with toweling dressing gown, towel and a pair of jandals wrapped on plastic for our use - black for men and white for women. They were ours to use for the day - just for us to return them to our room to be removed by the maid in due course!Of course we enjoyed them!

insert picture -pool 

Dinner at the hotel restaurant - a real experience with beautiful decor and perfect silver service.
The food was wonderful - no point in describing what we ate as we lack the vocabulary to do it.
However - as Stephen ordered and drank his coffee and cognac we watched as, discretely behind the bar the young waiter,  took  glasses steaming out of the dish washer and he put them onto a machine that moved at some speed to dry and polish them on a machine with 4 vertical bottle brush spindles. We were fascinated to watch the process.

Through out the evening we and our fellow guests were effortlessly and seamlessly waited on -as we observed it seemed like a well rehearsed scenario as the waiter  served and supported each other to provide the quality service we received.  Gillian was taken by a beautifully polished samovar on a side table.

Back to our favourate hotel

29 June

Today we drove from Cortina d;Ampezzo to Trento via the most direct route.  This initially took us over 2 passes at around 2200m altitude, but a much less rapid climb and descent to yesterday.  There was no snow near the road, but there were large areas both above and below us.  At the Pordoi Pass we stopped to investigate the local souvenirs and test the temperature which was decidedly cool.  Many of the cable cars and chairlifts on the skifields were operating which surprised me as there didn't seem to be much demand.

Once again we noted the remote villages high on the valley sides which must be isolated in the winter and only liveable by the fit at any time.

After the Pordoi Pass we descended to a river valley with thick woodlands giving way to cultivation and vineyards.

Arriving at Trento we booked into Hotel Villa Cardinal Madruzzo and managed to get the same room we had in 2009, despite efforts by the receptionist to upgrade us to a first floor room in the original villa.  The hotel has added a new block, but still retains its quiet and elegant feel and wonderful staff.  As the hotel restaurant is closed on Sundays we went down the road to a local pizzeria for dinner.

I am still fascinated and  charmed by Hotel Villa Cardinal Madruzzo.  It was originally built as the summer palace for the first Cardinal Maruzzo in the 1400s  - there were 4 and was in the Madruzzo family until recent times - now is a wonderful hotel. We have noticed that it is a couple of degrees cooler here than in Trento itself - still packs a pretty hot punch in the sun!   The rooms are elegant -they have a tangible sense of calm and understated gentility. They provide all room facilities as well as a trouser press! Immaculately clean and very quiet.

As last time we have noted that in norther Italy the people are more softly spoken, gestures are more contained than the wild gesticulations and shouting in the south!In the hotel itself, as you make your way to the dining rooms, bar etc via the hall way -lined with farmed ancient documents under glass, ancient paintings of family , paintings of local environment over time even a Jane Austen style print!!! As you amble along drinking all this in there appears  a shoe cleaning machine for brown/ grey and black shoes. In the reception area are long thing plastic bags with  umbrellas printed on them - anti drip devices!

The breakfast is buffet - served in a wonderful old reception style room  with antique furniture, groaning under the wait of a spread of savoury and sweet food - the most delicious scrambled eggs! We eat in the main dining room and are waited on by lovely Italian men sporting formal dress suits attire, softly spoken serving our coffee and inquiring in an unobtrusive manner whether we have all we need.

We marvel at the decor - so consistent across the hotel ( marble columns, light shades in the general shape of a cardinal's  mitre (? correct word for a cardinal's hat?!) and all reflecting the original purpose of the palace as a retreat for Trento's Cardinal - a very important person in a very important job in the catholic world - from 1400 until Napoleon appeared in the early 1800s who put a stop to all this luxury! .

Outside is the garden - a park better describes the wide tree studded lawn. Each tree is labeled with its name - a lovely touch.

The central feature is a lovely pool and fountain, tastefully surrounded with local flowers, shrubs and people from the mountains - including a beautiful specimen of standing Dolomite stone - glowing with the lustrous lines of pink that glow in the mountains themselves.

Back in Italy

28 June

Leaving Lake Bled we headed west avoiding the motorways.  I'm very glad we did as they seemed to dive into tunnels at all the most interesting places.  The drive across the top of Slovenia and the north east corner of Italy was stunning with high mountains towering over the lower wooded slopes. The river we followed for the first 40 km was a brilliant cobalt blue.  Annoyingly the roads do not offer pull off points at the places where good photos can be taken, so we have to rely on our memories for the scenes.

Once we were in Italy we left the main route and headed for a couple of roads our map marked as "scenic".  In fact all areas in the Dolomites are scenic!  We climbed up the side of one valley through woodland that was being felled, but not clear felled as in NZ.  The selected trees are cut, stripped and dragged to the side of the road where they are collected at a later date.  This left the bulk of the forest still standing which was beautiful, but frustrating as you could only catch glimpses of the mountains and streams through the trees.  At one point the solid yellow road on the map turned into an unsealed logging road, so we back tracked to a different route which lead up through a skifield and high alpine meadows with large patches of snow beside the road to a pass at 1800m altitude.  We then dropped 1000m on a series of hairpin bends down an almost vertical descent.  Again magical views, but nowhere to stop and enjoy them.  Of course the road quality deteriorated once we were in Italy, but the countryside and the road verges are much tidier and cleaner than we saw in southern Italy.

In the process of the drive we were north of the area where my father was transferred to as a POW from Campo 67 - Gravina. This was Campo 57 in Grupignano . It is a little north of Udine. The road we would have needed to take was south of where we were and it would have skirted the national Park and was long and torturous route - however it was within Northern Italy and I knew my father would have seen a similar landscape as we did. The camp sat on flat ground of a river plain surrounded in the distance by the Dolomites. These Dolomites are truly breath taking viewed thorough our eyes, safely tucked up in our brand new air conditioned car. I do wonder how he would have viewed them, in a POW compound surrounded by barbed wire.  I read the account of this camp. It was run by an Italian Colonel of the Italian cabarabinieri who was a stern disciplinarian , had dictatorial methods and carried out some brutal punishments. Despite being a better run camp than many other Italian camps it is clear there were no comforts.  It is very high and cold  - especially in winter with considerable snow fall.

We climbed again over another  pass at 1800m, but much less steep, and descended into Cortina d'Ampezzo to find our accommodation at an elevation of 1200m and a cool (for us) 19C and a light drizzle..

Dinner that night was at the hotel - an amazing venue - very chintzy with dressed chairs in white and large bows on the back of the seats Around what used to called the picture rail around the entire room were plates, evidently potted and painted by the same artist - depicting an almost caricature of various restaurants in Italy and surrounding countries - depicting some aspect of the restaurant or local area. Very clever. Throughout the entire hotel are local antique  artifacts - household goods mainly - electrolux etc including a set of very old and beautifully preserved skis that would be just right for Lucas!

We had breakfast there also - everything very sweet. I took and egg, thinking it had obviously been cooked some time ago as it felt cool to the touch .Just as I was about to crack it open a heavily accented male voice said 'It's raw'  so I hastily returned said egg to where I found it - lying in a dish with several oval molded depressions to take an egg each. There beside the dish sat the egg cooker! I gave a hoot of laughter and returned egg to its plate! 

Lake Bled

27 June

We headed off from Plitvice following the GPS "shortest" route.  This meant we got up close and personal with the North Croatian  and Slovenian countryside and villages.  To start with we skirted through the top of the national park in woods of spindly conifers, then descended into lush pasture, all cut for hay, and some horticulture.  No livestock was visible and few of the houses seemed to have barns nearby so we wondered where the animals were kept. Gillian developed a thing for the drying rack they use for the hay. We deduced that it must take too long for re hay to dry where it is cut so they hang it on these wooden rack ) with a simple V shaped roof over it - to dry it off before storing it. Storing is sometimes in the cylindrical  bales we see in NZ - some times wrapped in clear wrapping material - open at the end as we saw in Southern Italy - some times completely wrapped . I wish we had a photo of the constructions used for storing the fodder - hard to explain but basically it is a large X with a roof. the top half is used to store fodder and below the small tractors and other farming equipment is garaged.

In amongst the hay there is cropping. There are also often large tracts of pasture left to the wild flowers - wow! they are magnificent. they come in every hue - red, pink, lavender, blue ( corn flowers), yellow, white - lots of cow parsley. Vineyards appear everywhere until it gets to high for them to survive.

Crossing into Slovenia we found the quality of the roads was still great and the villages were little different from Croatia, which is logical as they were the same country until 1991.  As we moved north the houses became more "alpine" with Austrian style chalets high on the steep slopes.  At one point the GPS put us on an unsealed logging road over a range of hills, but after 15km we descended into the next valley and regained the tar seal.

Lake Bled is a nice small lake with an island, containing a church, and a castle high above the lake on a sheer rock.  There were boats to take visitors to the island propelled by the boatman standing on the rear of the boat rowing with long oars.  The water was clear, but the lake bottom around the town was unappealing with cutoff piles and tree branches overlaid with silt.

We drove around the lake and then explored an area where there was lots of seating. In the lake that Stephen mentioned there was evidently a prized tree stump which was situated in front of us and just below the surface of the water.  The ducks vied for possession thereof and moved each other off to gain a perch. Thereupon a frenzy of preening followed until the next usurper arrived. Very funny to watch.

It was a lovely warm sunny afternoon - our contemplation of the beauty of it was was disturbed by the realisation that one , or both, of the couple who lay recumbent on the grass behind us,where about to break the sound barrier with his/ her snoring! Also very funny

Plitvice

26 June

We had been advised not to arrive at Plitvice National Park when the tour groups descended in droves around 10:30, so we made a leisurely start. The drive up was interesting as the landscape changed moving from the coastal barren steep rocky hills to much greener, but not particularly fertile, high plains with more rounded hills.


The park service runs a shuttle "bus" service from end to end of the lakes consisting of a Unimog bus towing 2 trailers with steering designed to track the tractor.  The road is very tortuous and at times the front of the contraption was going in the opposite direction to the rear.

The lakes are set in an area that is in the natural state with spindly woodland and scattered undergrowth. This undergrowth is quite different to ours and very pretty - not dense and there is lots of leaf litter. Despite the nature of the deciduous leaves that make up this detritus  there is still not a lot of top soil.

The lakes are a series separated by wide waterfalls over travertine ledges that are constantly building up.  The lakes are in the region of 11-15 m deep and have a beautiful deep blue colour which is even more vivid when the sun is shining.  The walkways are made of trimmed branches laid across a frame a couple of feet above the water.  With no handrails we wondered how many visitors end up in the lake when the pressure of numbers builds up in the high season.  We opted to do a circular walk around the top lakes and then go down to the lower lake to view the highest waterfall. This park is surely a fairyland on earth - looking at the little waterfalls which are big ones in the making is amazing. Often water will disappear through a sink hole! To reappear further down as a waterfall all of its own.These waterfalls amaze us - they fall from a variety of heights, often around vegetation which is growing robustly despite the torrents of water that tumbles around them.


There are all sorts of fish swimming in the lake - they seem to have their own territory and their own markings.They are quite small - much smaller than those we saw in Krka.

We walked on board walks - as Stephen said ( above) I have renamed them as trunk and branch walks - few boards in sight and lots of views of the water / swamp / etc below your feet  between the so called boards! All very rustic but uneven. You really need to watch as there were step downs without warning and Stephen did a few 'whoops! Didn't see that one"

I was on the look out for 'wild life!" the brochures mentioned lynxes - I saw a cat!  They showed pictures of bears - i found several small reddish/brown mice who were scavenging for food. Really
cute but a poor substitute for a bear. however - one little mouse has the instincts of a survivor - he was collecting peanuts that had been dropped by a human ( they walk at 100 miles an hour and pause to take a photo or two and then  power on as they have to 'DO" the Plitvice lakes! which are several kms in distance and then they surge onto the shuttle to get back to where they started! I sound cynical but... walking slowly -as I have to these days -has meant we have seen lots of little details - e.g. trees that fall into the lakes over time are covered with fascinating calcification.
I hope the photos will fill in the gaps - this was a wonderful adventure and so unique. 


Around the top lakes the falls varied between cascades and streams of water falling through the vegetation over a width of over 100m.


After leaving the national park our GPS delivered us  perfectly to our accommodation. Stephen did it again. Built after the war (the 1991-5 civil war that is) it is a typical Alpine looking house. The ground floor is a beautifully appointed kitchen and a variety of chunky / Alpine styled  tables and chairs where our hostess cooks a wonderful breakfast from 7.00 - 10.00am. Thereafter she said she does the cleaning! The attention to detail and the quality of the construction is amazing - every surface sparkles and our hostess was on hand with helpful advice. We were right at the top of the building and I relished leaning out of the window - drinking up the view of the green well tended slopes, the fruit trees and the sheep (white and brown with horns) that Stephen told our hostess were goats!! Such peace and quiet - ignoring the sounds of traffic in the very distant distance.

We trundled off to dinner to a restaurant our hostess recommended - and after  huge and gorgeous last Croatian feast we heard "Hello Gillian, it is you!" A teacher from my PAI work was on holiday with hubby and friends. there followed a lovely catch up / isn't this amazing / where have you been/ where are you going etc!

We returned to our accommodation and fell into conversation with an amazing couple. they are Dutch authors and illustrators of children's books as well as composers. We exchanged email addresses and it would be nice to hear from them again - Stephen posted an email to them -so we might hear back.

Zadar

25 June

We had been advised by our host that we had to try the Croatian dish Peka, but it had to be ordered at least an hour in advance.  So we booked into a recommended restaurant for lunch.

After a lazy morning and swim we set out for lunch.  The restaurant had a cart wheel theme with many tables and benches having wheels at each end.  In the inner part the tables were on old treadle sewing machine frames. We were expected and the waiter pointed to our reserved table in the otherwise deserted restaurant.  The peka was brought out on an oval steel dish on which it had been cooked and consisted on slices of pork (belly we think) and segments of potato all heavily salted and swimming with oil and a mixed salad, also salted.  The flavour was rich, the pork was tender, but the 1kg of meat overwhelmed us and we took half of it away with us.  When we got back to the apartment we googled peka and found that it is normally cooked in a wood fired oven under a heavy lid covered with embers.  The meat can be anything (including octopus) and is sometimes mixed and the vegetables can include tomatoes, eggplant, and anything else you can roast.

After a digestive rest and another swim and laze in the sun, we headed into the old town of Zadar and wandered around to the "Salute to the Sun" and the "Sea Organ".  We were too early for the Salute which is a large circular area made up of solar powered lights that pulse in time with the sea organ during the hours of darkness and is particularly recommended at sunset.  We weren't up to going in again so we missed that spectacle, but we did enjoy the sea organ which is a series of steps that capture the wave energy and play mournful notes and harmonies depending on the wave action.  It is in no way melodic, but it has a fascination of randomness and continuity.

The surprise for us in the old town were the remains of the roman forum, which apparently was the largest on the eastern side of the Adriatic and was initiated by Emperor Augustus.  As the town was badly damaged during WWII the centre is a surprisingly modern shopping area with wide store fronts and modern marble paving.

Krka

24 June

Today we spent the day at Krka National Park.  This park extends up the Krka river with a series of waterfalls.  Our  visit didn't go entirely smoothly, which was unfortunate as the falls are spectacular.

There are several entrances to the park - we choose one with a shuttle boat that took us up to the base of the first series of falls.  There was a large crowd waiting for the boat and when boarding was announced it demonstrated that the Europeans don't have the English sense of queuing.  It was the most impressive display of mob mentality I've seen for some time.  However we got on the boat without injury and headed up the river.

We had heard of a boat trip up the top fall at Roski Slap and the tickets were only available at the information office at the top of the first falls, so we made our way up with a few stops to watch the water flow past.  The notable feature of these falls, apart from the width and volume of water, is that the water flows around the trunks of trees and through vegetation with side streams appearing from all directions.   The falls are in in cascade with around 8 separate major falls and a total drop of around 50m and a width of 100m.  They are attractive with crystal clear water and trees down to the water.

Arriving at the top information office we were met by a man ( shouting loudly, hoping we spoke German)who said that we could get on the boat that was supposed to have left a few minutes before.  When we queried this he said that it was OK as he was the captain.  Anyway a brisk 0.5km walk to the quay and we were shown onto a very old and small boat with 8 others and took off up the river.  It was difficult to talk over the diesel engine, but the captain and a group of Germans managed it ( in German)at 120dB - in other words very loudly.  The other boats we saw on the river were newer, larger and probably quieter.

There are a lot of reeds lining the river and at one point they form a complete wall across the river with a small gap for the boats.   We called into an island called Viscovac housing a Franciscan monastery ( very beautiful and tranquil. It was built by Franciscan Monks from a lump of rock. Apart for their exile during the Austro / Hungarian regime they have lived there continually - gardens, church, cloisters residences , peacocks, pea hens and chicks - brown peacocks! We have not seen those before. The church has a double high altar - it is a small but intimate feeling place of worship)
We resumed our trip with the captain shoouting at the Germains - "Wo ist meine beire?" and they responded in mega - decibels.

En route we took a wee detour to see a tress which had fallen down onto the edge of the lake - there basking in the sun were several turtles - 2 who were happily making babies . Not surprisingly our loud Deutsche fellow passengers got very excited at this sight and much Germanic shouting followed about 'SEX" over and over again.

Then we entered a limestone gorge leading up to the falls at Roski Slap.We saw more falls at the end
of the lake -  Again the falls run through the vegetation with a lot of the width hidden from view.
We landed there for a 2 hour break - our ears were very grateful. We have a lovely sandwich each of local ham and cheese in a beautiful spot with trees framing the lake - ducks, possibly grebes, white swans and their signets. There are also a series of flour mills here with one of the mills in operation to demonstrate the milling process (corn) using old style mill stones.

On the trip back down the river the Germans got even rowdier. There was a young female on board from Tokyo who was keen to jion in the antics. She and the loudest of the Deutsch Herr decided to flick handfuls of lake water on the captain. Said person was reclining forward of the wheel under the bow    on a mattress. He had surrendered the piloting to a young apprentice( who was anxious about docking...). During the ensuing horse play the young pilot moved the boat around so they lost their balance and  the very large Herr fell heavily onto Gillian's right knee which was excruciating painful -  he lurched off and then stood on both her feet.( Gillie here - I admit to a few tears at this point - knee swelled up more and was very painful on the long trek back to our car). The silly young thing landed in Stephen's lap. Nothing daunted the water fight continued - until the dumphkoph realized what he had done.

We reached the end of the trip - which was extraordinarily beautiful and different to our previous experiences - putting the behaviours of fellow human beings to one side!
There followed a trip via motor way to Zadar - arriving around 7pm

 Our accommodation tonight is an apartment in Zadar, which turned out to be bright, clean and attractive, but with fewer facilities than  we have been used to so far.   However the swimming pool is nice as was the lovely dinner we had at Delfin ( dolpin) restaurant  which as local venue. We watched a beautiful sunset from our seats - GB ate a lovely tomato soup and mozzarella bruchetta - and Stephen also ate the bruchetta and  a lamb dish. A lovely young man who was a waiter shared his home made cherry brandy with us at the end of the meal - wow!

Central Croatia

23 June,
Another easy over start - we drove first to Trogir, old parts - this is a fascinating small settlement established around 7th Century by Croats and in 14O9 Venice bought Dalmatia - and Trogir refused to accept the new ruler and so Venice bombed the town into submission.This waa evidently not complete submission as  they were able to  pursue their own interests in art etc. The old town is situated on a small island separated from the mainland by a canal - which we walked over via a road bridge one way and a gorgeous curved pedestrian bridge the other way.

We saw a local market with sellers anxious to sell! thence into the old town where there were delicious winding streets threaded through the ancient sites of cathedrals , churches  - we followed a bridal party as they made their way to the very old and gorgeous Town Hall for their  wedding!


The general sense was of people who are currently living in this historic site. We just stopped and goggled at the merge of ancient and current.People live in these ancient buildings - signs of modernization do not intrude and almost all of the old 'attics' which look like they are about to topple over  are not inhabited.


We reached the sea front which gave us a great perspective of the extent of the old city - Palm trees line the sea front and many beautiful boats and launches bobbed about in the harbour.


Time to reflect - Croatians young and old seems very proud of their country - little graffiti - flags fly everywhere - there seems to just be a sense of who they are and my goodness they have fought for this and paid the ultimate cost. Today in one small church there was a small memorial - 2 flower arrangements with Croatian colours draped over them, above them photos of 30 or more people who had lain down their lives to defend their country in the civil war - along with a plaque listing their names - we were so moved.
They seem exuberant people but not the in your face raucousness of Southern Italians. Lots of dads appear in charge of small children. The young men seem very tall and the young women likewise - and slender but not always for wither gender.  In Italy the Roman nose is very evident - I haven't noticed a national feature characteristic for Croatia.

After Trogir we drove up to Primosten - a less well known settlement which seems to be more affluent than we have yet encountered. We found a nice long stretch of beach to relax on after our lunch in the shade of tall pine trees. Not a lot of people around which was nice. The beach of course was pebbly / small stone / small rock . We were pleased to find no debris floating in the water - nice and crystal clear - a steep slope which was indicated by the change in colour of the water from pale turquoise to indigo blue. We relaxed and swam - sea not as warm as expected but perfectly delightful all the same.

We returned to our Apartment via the coastal roads hunting for the 15th century fortified mansions built but the Split aristocrats who feared Turkish invasions that were rampant across Europe at that time. Well - we think we might have seen a couple - we followed the sign posts from the main riad and then they disappeared! No worries - we went of a wonderful tour of tiny roads as wide as the car - past huge properties -all with fences and prolific growth of plants / flowers and tress - along side very nice if more modest houses - all of which had gardens - some laid out like market gardens - and immaculate maintenance - quite different to what we have seen in inner Split - which is a jungle of high rise modern apartments ( new and in immaculate but a faceless jungle none the less) or out here in our suburb which is lovely and mainly geared to the tourists - with houses scattred hither and yon in the midst of the 'aparmani.'

The other aspect we enjoyed was the sight of local people - around 4.30 - 5.00pm enjoying their local beaches that lined these wandering narrow streets. They walked together - bevies of young men, young women , young adults with children and extended families and older people blobbing out - so cool and just what we love to see.


So - back to our very comfy apartment with all the amazing views and facilirties - and off to find a specila place to eat - earlier we spied Amigos on the waterfront - so we will see if we can get a table.  

Through Bosnia and Herzegovina

21 June

Headed off to look at Mostar, but our GPS refused to take us by our chosen route.  We phoned our last landlady who gave us enough instructions to find our way to the border.  From the border post you can see how thin this area of Croatia is - in places less than a kilometre between the coast and the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Once over the border we found the area not very developed with steep rocky hills and small villages that did not look prosperous.  However the road was excellent and we made good time.  Once we reached Stolac (half way) the land improved with big areas under intensive market gardens.  One notable feature was a big concrete lined canal (irrigation we think) that paralleled the road for 30km. 

We noted the signage in this area was in both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.  Also there were an increasing number of mosques in the towns as we moved north.  The gravestones in the Islamic cemeteries are very distinctive being tall square stones with a pointed top.

Arriving in Mostar we found a carpark and a local trader swapped a Euro coin for the required local currency to feed the meter.  Here the everything is available in multiple languages and currencies.  We walked over the main road that had been the front line during the siege in 1993 and saw several buildings still bearing the marks of the conflict.

Walking down to the "old bridge" (now reconstructed after being destroyed in the war) the road was paved with polished marble stones - uncomfortable to walk on and slippery.  Each side was lined with gift shops and tourist traps, but the hawkers were not pushy for a change.  I bought a lovely table cloth ( Gillie here) and The bridge itself was an engineering masterpiece in its time as it crossed the river with a single span. Here the river runs fast and deep.  The paving on the bridge is polished marble slabs with ribs to give traction.  The footing is treacherous and I can only imagine how many people slip when it is wet.  As it was many people were hanging on to the handrail with grim determination.(GB -  I took off my shoes and it worked well!)

We ducked into a local restaurant to try the "National Plate" - a selection of local food.  All very nice, but enough to feed us for a couple of days.  It included small sausages, meatballs, lamb, stuffed vine leaves, stuffed peppers, grilled vegetables, rice, a very nice capsicum pesto, yoghurt and flat bread.

Heading off again our GPS took a different route than we expected and we headed down to the coast.  Seeing a sign for a motorway we found a newly constructed motorway that the GPS didn't know about.  With clear signs that the construction was not complete it was still an education on how to plan a new through route. With wide lanes, a continuous emergency lane, clear signage, perfect surface and a 130km/hr limit it makes the NZ major roads look second rate.  We saw very little traffic on the road so it probably does not yet have an economic return.

We had trouble finding out apartment in Split as we had not realised it was tucked in behind the casino.  However once again we were in for a pleasant surprise as the accommodation is great - fully equipped, sea view and a beach in front of us.

 GB story of the day:
We traveled to Mostar from Dubrovnik - into Bosnia Herzegovina and up to Mostar - all I can say is that it was a revealing experience and the geology very variable and we gained some insight into the historic and not so historic conflicts. 

Mostar was amazing.. we have yet to write the blog but seeing the bullet holes sites in the buildings / bomb remains in the city was salutary for we who live in cotton wool. As I made a purchase for Lucas in Mostar Stephen talked to the owner who was in Mostar when it became the front line in the war. As I said - huge challenges to our comfortable background. My challenge is to not forget.

We had the most gorgeous Herzegovina lunch in a Turkish restaurant in the old city - beautiful  site dripping with grape vines and waiters - all male , in traditional Turkish dress!The hostesses who invited us in were the females! The meal we selected was a traditional Herzegovinan platter - so yummy and was my birthday meal. The wine here has a fuller bouquet than in Croatia - and believe me - there are grapevines everywhere - no matter how poor the soil.

Off we went on another adventure to Split to this gorgeous apartment - yes! Stephen has done it again. We are in a modern, beautifully appointed apartment with a view to the Mediterranean- went for  walk and passed the tennis court we can play on / the gorgeous swimming pool we can swim in . the pentanque area we might play in and the mini golf course we will avoid! below this the sea laps into the beach so guess where we will be tomorrow? This apartment is gorgeous - has dish washer XX and clothes washing machine xx - having said that we gave 2 huge bags of washing to our lovely hostess at Apartment Silva in Dubrovnik and they came back fragrantly clean and beautifully folded and she wouldn't take payment - said it was her present ! Amazing people in the Croatian Tourist industry.

Add to that - a knock on the door a few minutes ago and there was the lady who was at reception and showed us to our apartment - she came  with a traditional Croatian cake for a celebration and a bottle of local celebratory bubbly as  she saw today was my birthday from my passport - how amazing is this! 

22 June

Got up late and drove into the old town of Split.  The centre is the remains of a palace built by the roman emperor Diocletian.  Some of the outer walls remain, but the interior is now filled with a jumble of narrow streets and houses built over the last 1600 years.


We returned to our apartment ( Anamaria) and had a swim at the beach  - bit disappointing as the water was a bit murky and some flotsam floating in the gentle lapping waters. Lots of pepole there who seem to relish lying on the bumpy stony beach and wallowing in the waters. Not to worry - better was in store the next day. I had a lovely swim in the pool outside our apartment and went happy back to shower and go out for a lovely dinner - we walked to it via an underpass - Arkady. It looks very picturesque - we dined outside - not may other guests -when you look more closely you can see how they have covered up and  dressed up what is actually quite an old and a bit dilapidated area. Good for them! We were told by Silva when we arrived in Croatia that people have a very low basic wage and there is little to come and go with.



 

In Croatia

19 June

Today we have taken it easy with a late start a lovely bus ride through modern Dubrovnik - we are staying in the outer suburbs. It was a really quick ride into the old city and a gentle walk around the city walls.  The old city has been extensively rebuilt after the devastation of the civil war.We walked around most of the wall - looking at the old city and out over the sea and sheer cliffs into which it was built - all amazing - most amazing is how the old city has been faithfully rebuilt after what was truly an attempt to annihilate it - along with the intent to crush what was dear to the Croatians in the attack by the Serbs in 1991.

We wandered back to our lovely apartment   - visited the local supermarket en route - we drooled over the local produce and made our choices - supported by people who spoke good English - this is amazing and we find it everywhere we go in Croatia and Dalmatia. So we had had lunch and took stock - and headed to the highest point above the city - known as the Panorama. This meant a car trip up seriously winding., narrow roads where the drop was perpendicular to the sea below. Stephen manged to move off the road in a timely manner when  traffic came in the opposite direction- not always cars - buses also use the route! When we arrived the view over the city and surrounding islands gave us  great geological perspective - as well as huge WOW factors in the arena of beauty.

We hopped back into our car -it is so good to have the independence of our own transport - and all power to Stephen who is rarely rattled by invigilating in foreign countries with their own whys of doing things. We could not do and see what we have without his ability to calmly navigate us through all these sites - oh yes! and thanks to the lady who lives in our GPS - she is often annoying - sometimes wrong but always gets us to our destination n the end!

Right - that was the end of our day - we wandered down the road to a local restaurant for a nice meal and the back to sleep in Apartment Silva.

20 June

We had chats with our offspring today , met Albert the resident turtle who comes out in the morning
just outside our apartment to warm up - he rotated himself like a rotisserie chicken at regular intervals.

Having enjoyed meeting Albert we then headed up to Ston - on an isthmus at the base of the Peljesac Peninsula. The wall are amazing being 5km long - the longest in Europe and built for Dalmatian defensive positions. Before sighting Ston we had a wee walk through the medieval site of Mali Ston - a small walled town that predated Ston - all very old but with people still in residence

Thereafter we traveled up the peninsula - gazing at huge mountains sparsely clad in vegetation on one side and at sheer drops to glorious blue sea on the other - often giving way to tiny coves wherein small villages nestled - all built with white stone walls an red terracotta tiled rooves.

When we saw a sign to Trstenik - in the Orebich district - we made a snap decision to turn left and find out what lay below! A good decision as it turned out as it is a lovely sleepy village nestled along the coast - we had lunch in one of the local cafes - I ate scampi for the first time! By my last  scampi I had worked out how to extract the flesh and avoid the cuts to fingers! Stephen had mussels cooked in an exotic sauce. We had wee chuckles because - as we should have known - the mussels came in a goodly sized shell - but each mussel was the size  a little larger than my thumb nail - But! There were lots of them,!!

We then found a little corner of the pebbled lined beach - mostly empty - changed into togs and leapt into the water (crystal clear) - we were kindly alerted by a couple from Prague with impeccable English that there we sea urchins lurking in the stones we were wandering over that would love to sting us - OK _ I retreated to the pebbly area near the shore and splashed about - Stephen manfully defied sea urchins and swam out a way!  After that we sat in the sun on the shore and then drove back to Ston - stopping to buy wine at a family vineyard en route. Ar Stone we paid more attention to the huge walls and to the salt pans that line the harbour - thence venturing into the town of Ston to order oysters - we were told that they were very special - like viagra! In fact Ferdinand of Austria had a permanent order from Ston to ensure he could eat 100 a day! OK! They were nice and fresh but small and in a  flat shell - quite unlike the big juicy oysters we are served up in NZ. However the entire peninsula is lined with mussel and oyster farms so everything is very fresh.

So it was back to Dubrovnik - we are snacking here to night so a quick trip to the supermarket was needed - yum! lovely fresh produce and a discovery every day.

Leaving Italy

17 June

A quiet day on the road heading for the ferry to Croatia.  We first headed to Gravina in Puglia as it was in this area that Gillian's father spent some time in an Italian POW camp - described as a hell-hole in war history accounts.It felt strange ( Gillian here) leaving our luxurious hotel in Matera - well fed and accommodated with all our needs anticipated to head into an area where my father and his fellow POSs had existed in starvation conditions without adequate shelter - abused by Italian soldiers and commanders. The camp was called 'Campo PG 65 in Gravina '- we had been staying a short distance away in Hotel Campo.Aswe travelled through this area I was making connections to the area in 1941.   Today the area is well tended farmland with wheat and hay crops.  Low stone walls outline the fields. This part of southern Italy is gentle rolling land in contrast to the mountainous country further north.  Going to Matera we had driven up into high areas.

We then visited Castel del Monte, a strange hexagonal castle - built also by Frederick II - that apparently was not built to be lived in - there were no kitchens.  Now restored it is an empty shell, but has a commending position and views over the surrounding countryside.  Leaving the castle the rain started heavily and we were lucky to make it back to the car relatively dry.

Heading to Bari the heavens opened with torrential rain.  The motorway we were on was closed by flooding and only the GPS allowed us to find our way to the ferry terminal by other routes.  We sat and waited for the ticket office to open while the carpark filled with water and the thunder rolled around us.

Once on the ferry we found our (tiny) cabin and bedded down for the night.

18 June

Up at 5:30 as we had to be in our car by 7:00, we thought.  Hah!  It wasn't until 7:30 that the trucks blocking the doors onto the vehicle deck were moved.

Since we wouldn't be checking into our accommodation and the rain was still falling we decided to drive south to Cavtat, a small town on the coast.   What a contrast to Italy!  Well surfaced wide roads, well signposted with well behaved drivers.  It was like coming home.

At Cavtat we parked by the yacht harbour and waked around to the seafront.  On the spur of the moment we booked a trip to the Elafiti Islands and jumped on a boat back to Dubrovnik where we joined the tour boat in the old harbour.  The coast along here rises straight from the sea with houses built on steep land with a single 2 lane road cut into the hillside. Some of the vineyards seem almost vertical and much of the land is bare rock.

The islands we visited varied, but all showed the signs of hard economic times with depopulation during and after the war - "period of Serbian aggression".  The islands are small and rocky with areas of low growing trees.  As one we were fed a "fish picnic" consisting of a barbecued mackerel and green salad.  After a demonstration of the correct way to eat the fish we did quite well - you take the tail, split the fish, remove the backbone, twist the tail third off each side (no bones), split each side in half lengthwise to remove the lateral bones and you're done - all this demonstrated by a crewmember using one hand while standing on the rail.

This same crewmember took delight is showing his physical skills by pulling the boat into the wharf almost lying horizontal with the strain, and pushing the boat out from the wharf with a foot on each until the distance was about 6ft and he was doing a ballet split.

Arriving back at Cavtat we headed back to find our accommodation in Dubrovnik.  Again we have been lucky and have a delightful fully equipped flat with a terrace and views over a pleasant bay.

We have found that everyone here speaks English and are very easy to deal with.  Our landlady tells us that times are hard, the government is corrupt and that the only hope for the area is tourism so they focus on making us welcome.

Southern Italy

14 June

Today we started in Trasvetere wandering through the narrow streets and visiting St Maria di Trasvetere which is reputed to be the first church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The portico is covered with engraved stones, probably supplications, but we didn't find a reason for them. The interior is magificent with marble columns and a gilded ceiling. After looking at the many artworks around the altar and in the adjacent lady chapel we were thrown out as it was closing for the day. We wandered back to the main road via lots of very pretty alley ways and shops and locals going about heir lives – stopping to find some delicious sandwiches for lunch, served at a table on the tree lined footpath with iced tea!! Great to soak up the ambiance .

The afternoon was spent exploring the Forum and the Palatine Hill. We began by walking again beside the Capitoline Hill – wonderful and beautiful but also a place of pain and torture historically. Thence we began our climb of the Palatine Hill -such an historic site, to revisit places that had initially wowed us so much on our lst exploration of Rome. As we looked over the Roman Forum grey clouds gathered above menacingly – they bought their good friends with them – thunder claps and lightning – forked some times and sheet mostly. Well, what to do and we had just arrived and Kiwis aren't daunted by a drop of rain when they have just paid their entry fee!!! So we started to plod up the slope then down came the rain in huge drops ( can't call them droplets – Italy doesn't do droplets!! ) so we dived into what looked like an arch way which turned out to be an opening with a barred gate – amazingly an Italian woman appeared rattling the chain and lock to open the door and beckoned us inside –not just us but a huge party of tourists who resembled the tower of Babel!!! And where were we hiding out? In a public toilette - poor wwoman had to wait until everyone left before she could complete her cleaning.When the rain ceased to a dribble we ventured out and carried on up to the top – revisiting sites and finding now barriers blocking access to sites we had previously seen – no worries it is an amazing place to wander through – with the ancient history still running through our / my head. ( Thanks to NPGHS and 5 wonderful years of Latin with Miss Geddes!)

We came down the hill – to wander through the Roman Forum again noting places we had seen last time and wondering about the construction / life style / politics etc of the times and reflecting on Romes devastation when not just the Barbarian hordes descended on them but the impact to the invaders bringing their entire populations with them – more than the Roman Army was fiut to cope with...

The afternoon clouds that had rolled in and sent us some rain then returned with vengeance on their mind - more rain. Of course we had not thought to take wet weather gear with us. We avoided the showers until we were heading through the Piazza Venezia when the heavens opened and gave us their full measure – so we bought an umbrella and poncho from a street hawker – proved to be a valuable purchase as the rain came tumbling down.

We found the Pantheon was still open so went in to marvel at this amazing building. We know that it has been redecorated and restored over the years, but the original design and construction are mind blowing for the time. The acoustics manage to cope with hundreds of people without being noisy – I wish I could say the same for some restaurants!

We had seen a nice looking restaurant in an alley on the way to the Pantheon, so went back for dinner. Back to the tram and home.

15 June

Spent the day travelling down to Matera. Started out on the Autostrada which gave us much better views of the countryside than we expected. Went quite close to Monte Cassino and saw how difficult a task the NZers had to force their way up during the war – the sides of the hill to the south and west are sheer and exposed.

We left the fast route north of Naples to follow some of the “scenic routes”. This means experiencing the effect of years of neglect on well built roads. Mind you, even the Autostrada has a shocking surface at times and a lot of the motorways have the speed limit reduced to 90km/hr because of the lack of maintenance.  However the engineering that goes into the construction of the roads is staggering by our standards - one country road we were on had over a kilometre of bridges over farmland just to avoid sharp corners and one area over motorway ran for 10 kilometres elevated over a river in a gorge.

A brief detour into Melfi was eye-opening. This was a huge and influential walled city in medieval times – apparently the first crusade was started here.(Urban I) We drove in a circle inside the city walls and realised how big the area was. On checking we found that the walls were probably from the Normans in the 11^th Century. At one side of the town at the top of the hill is a large castle with immensely high ramparts that lowers over the approaches to the town. ( Built by Frederick II) Many streets are pedestrian only and it is hairy trying to drive a large (for Italy) car around the blind hairpin corners on narrow streets with no footpaths.

Arriving at Matera we found our GPS could get us close, but not in sight of the hotel, so a quick phone call to the hotel gave us a lead on where to go. What did we do before GPS and cell phones? We are finding however that the GPS is struggling in this district and seems to be offset by 50m from our real location leading to some interesting route selections.However we had a lovely surprise to find ourselves in a luxurious hotel ( balcony, sound proof and lovely bath!) with great restaurant and breakfast facilities

In the evening, as it wasa Sunday and Hotel restaurant catering for a private function)  we went to a restaurant partly built into caves (Sassi) and overlooking a section of the ravine and cave dwellings that have made this town well known / notorious. Until the 1950s Matera was known for incredible poverty with many living in substandard caves with their livestock. Now it is a UNESCO heritage site with trendy tours through the “sassi” housing.

As it was Sunday evening the central piazza was buzzing with music one (popular) belting out Western Ballads and a God-squad group (small but determined) competing with evangelical songs. Crowds of families packed the area with everyone dressed in their best.You could feel the pulse of the people and it was really infectious.

All the staff at the hotel and the restaurant are dressed formally and have impeccable demeanor. It is so old fashioned and courteous – we love it.

16 June

After a brief look over the ravines around Matera ( they are spectacular)  we headed south to the coast. At Marina di Ginosa we stopped and put our feet in the Mediterranean- 22 degrees. We are obviously too early for the season as there was no-one on the beach and only 1 family in the water. To be fair it was warmer water than we get at Onemana, but air temperatures not enough to tempt us to go swimming. The main difference for us was the minimal strips of beach available for the public. For as far as we could see in each direction areas of the beach were fenced off with rows of deck chairs and umbrellas,mostly all unoccupied.

A short trip to Metaponte ( L; Metapontium) to look at the ruins of a Greek amphitheatre and 4 temples (mostly remembered is that of Hera) that were completely deserted apart from us and 1 caretaker, where we had lunch looking over the site.He wandered by nonchalantly and into the site - returned and came and told us in Italian we could visit the site but due to recent rains there was lots of 'aqua'. Stephen said thanks but no thanks and offered him one of our strawberries - at that point he beat a hasty retreat.!  

We then told the GPS to take us to Alberobella by the “ecological” route. This lead us down incredibly narrow roads between high stone walls with road surfaces that would make many NZ farm tracks proud. However this area looks a lot more prosperous than further north, with well tended fields and lots of hay cut. As we neared Alberobella we started to see the pointed rooved buildings typical of the region. When we arrived at the town itself if looked like a typical Italian town with apartment blocks, but when we parked in the main square and started walking we saw the area that is entirely made up of the “Noddy houses” made with steep conical rooves.These are known as 'pepper pots'. Each roof can cover a small floor area so larger houses have more than one of these PP and they are plastered together. They are made of grey stone - as are the walls. The top of each PP is white washed and then topped with decorative stones in various shapes.

Thereafter it was back to Matera via other villages and fields.

When in Rome ...

12 June

Nothing exciting today, just getting from London to Rome. Everything uneventful.

.

Picked up the car in Rome with a couple of surprises – the GPS is now combined with the air conditioning and everything else on a touch screen and the parking brake is now “automatic” (I have no confidence in it).

The flat we have rented in Rome is very comfortable with all the basics and a pizza restaurant one floor below. However it does have a large double sink and no bench space whatsoever making cooking an exercise in inventiveness.

The state of the economy is evident as in the area we are staying the streets are lined with weeds growing in the gutters and rubbish lies everywhere.

13 June

Today we jumped on the suburban train and headed into town. We had been given a recommendation to visit view points on the west side of the Tiber so transferred t a local bus, changed buses and then leapt out with no real idea where we were. Our first stop was by a fountain celebrating a pope. After a walk we came to a monument to Garibaldi with statues of many unknown (to us) blokes lining the road. The views were good, but the gelato and ice tea from an exorbitantly expensive street vendor were better.

With the temperature hitting 29C we gave up o
n walking and caught the bus back down the hill and grabbed some lunch in Trastevere. The racks of clothes displayed on the footpath kept Gillian occupied for a while, then we wandered down to the river and crossed to the area of the Circus Massimo. We stopped to pear in at an area that was attracting huge numbers of tourist and found it was an old sewer manhole cover that has become a drawcard due to the human face on it. 

At this stage we decided we were hot and tired, so walked back to catch the tram home. We did manage to pass some major Roman monuments.  At one point we came across an area that was being excavated with all removed dirt being washed by hand in case a fragment of pottery may be missed.

There is some kind of celebration happening in the restaurant below us tonight involving a number of women and some flowers. Gillian is convinced it is a hen night.

We now know our way around the local supermarket, but are completely unable to find any dishwashing detergent. However their selection of ham and other cold meats is extensive.

Our entertainment this evening was a “discussion” between 3 drivers below our flat, apparently about a minor accident, with much waving of arms. Given the state of many cars around Rome, these bumper benders are common which is not surprising given the Roman drivers tendency to push the limits of traffic regulations. Standard advice to tourists is that red lights are an invitation to play chicken and that pedestrians need to walk out firmly on crossings and that the traffic will (hopefully) stop. They add that it is a good idea to wait for the locals to cross so you can use them as a human shield!

Around London

 10 June

After a leisurely breakfast we bade a reluctant farewell to Peter and Margaret ( and plans to return ) and started out for London. We had not been able to contact our friends Geoff and Marie Greenwood in Maidstone as we had an incorrect phone number so we called in on the off change they might be home and were lucky to find them both there. To say they were surprised is an understatement but it was wonderful to catch up. Lots of laughs as usual and we shared family news and world views! As Marie said it is always as if no time has passed when we have these catch ups – a very precious experience. Both Marie and Geoff don't look a day older than when we saw them in 2012 and are in good health and it was so good to catch up.

We took a long route into London as it was easier to stay on 1 major route rather than navigate thought the suburbs without an adequate map or GPS. Our parking spot at the B&B was not available so we fed a meter with all the coins we had (not enough but the local traffic warden gave Stephen 30 p to tp up what he had – how delightful is that! ) and headed onto the Underground to visit Westminster. Not having done our homework we arrived 2 minutes too late to catch the visiting hours. As the weather was warm we strolled leisurely past Parliament buildings, watched the river traffic on the Thames, listened to Big Ben toll the hour and walked up to Downing street before deciding to head back to our accommodation in Hammersmith before the rush hour.

An 'old pupil' ( she is actually a beautiful 30 something!) of Gillian, Giselle, called around and took us to dinner at the Blue Anchor, a pub on the bank of the Thames near Hammersmith Bridge.That was so cool to see the Londoners at their outdoor experience – rowing, cycling, running. Sadly we missed catching up with her husband Michael who is out of London for work.It was wonderful evening with Giselle, catching up and sharing stories. We took a mini cab home (more on that later) back to our delightful B & B ( run by relatives of Michael's)

11 June

We awoke to a glorious blue sky with expected highs of 24 degrees – didn't happen but it was our first day of wearing lighter clothes which we really enjoyed. This B and B has everything you could want- we are in the Attic – with ensuite and a sitting area and small kitchenette so we are self catering and … there is a bath! Lovely comfy beds and fluffy duveys – as at Peter and Margaret's the Brits use feathers to good effect in their bedding.

It started to lose light around 9.30pm last night and at 5.30 this morning it was full daylight. Short nights for we Aucklanders.

OK after we prepared and ate our breakfast it was out and into London. First stop via the underground was the Monument - to acknowledge the great fire of London and Christopher Wren – the tower is 202 feet high which is the distance from Pudding Lane ( where fire started) to the monument.Wren designed the monument and many of London's amazing churches and cathedrals of course. Thence we wandered to and through the Borough markets – yumm – wonderful products and we were tempted but with a flight to Rome tomorrow it wasn't practicable – especially as Giselle has asked us for dinner at hers tonight. So we bought a very interesting light rye bread to take to dinner. Thereafter we went over the London Bridge and walked along the South bank to the Golden Hind ( Sir Francis Drake) where a delightful guide was preparing school children for the tour! Very funny and some of her responses very non PC – Quite funny to hear her reply, to a mouthy lad, when she asked the children what the word was (starting with M) when sailors refused to do what their captain told them to do. His response was 'a mutant ' her reply was “ No and you're the mutant”! I have to admit that given the very rude responses from this one and many of the kids, and the lack of teacher input over these interjections, that I had sympathy for her .

We moved along from there via the 'Clink' which was the old museum, declining the tour when we saw the skeleton hanging in the cage outside the doorway. We passed the Globe – and fed our eyes on it – remembering when we went there to see Henry V. Everywhere today there were tours of school children – in and out of uniform – of ages. They were obviously doing tours to support the curriculum and were well supervised. I was fascinated trying to work out what schools they had come from.

We ate a delicious lunch in a Greek restaurant – walked on across the Millennium Bridge – all metal. Crossing both bridges was a great chance to view the river craft and view the banks – the Tower of London was clearly visible. Once over the bridge we wandered beside and past St Paul's Cathedral – down Ludgate Hill, Fleet Street and the Strand enjoying the architecture. Compared to what we saw when we arrived in 1997 the whole city – building, monuments, roads etc are clean and tidy. As Lucas would say the Lions at Trafalgar square are 'Shiny and Clean' . While we were our way wending toCovent Garden we became aware that there were long lines of taxis stationary lining the streets, then we heard 3–4 helicopters hovering over the arae – then a friendly Brit explained that the taxi drivers were striking / protesting abut Mini Cab drivers who operate without the restrictions that are imposed on their metered liscened service. Well – we certainly saw that and heard people phoning and describing it to others – I swear the people in London will soon give birth to children with cell phones attached to their ears or attached to their hands with tubes threaded to their ears! I know we have these practices in NZ but because there are so many more of them in London it is very obvious!

We spent time enjoying a very clean Trafalgar Square – few pigeons and no bird doodoos on the statues – watched te helicopters and the cabbies who were enthusiastically tooting their horns. We concluded that the 2012 Olympics may have been the reason for these lovely clean buildings. We were told the same thing happened in Athens – we visited soon after they had hosted the Olympics. Certainly the parts of Athens we saw was lovely and clean.

Folk are aware of the World Cup (football in Brazil) is about to begin but no fever is apparent.

OK back in our lovely accommodation (Called "A Better Place to Stay") and will soon drive to Chiswick to have dinner with Giselle.

What a day – apart from Somerset House - we had seen all these sites before when we often wandered round London on Sundays (a very quiet time in London in those days) in 1997. However it was a delight to see these special sites again , to see what an alive and busy city London is and it really looks prosperous – blending huge respect for their past with the 21^st Century. 

We are ready to move on now – Flying to Roma tomorrow.

Many thanks to our special friends and to this wonderful land of our fathers.

Back in the UK

8 June

Arrived in Guangzhou (Canton) after an uneventful flight. Everything in Auckland worked perfectly, but after that we had increasing issues. The aircraft was a 787 and very comfortable in our area, but the inflight entertainment system kept freezing and/or resetting. The announcements in Chinglese were only partially decipherable and, while the plane was docked at an airbridge at Guangzhou, we then had to clamber down steep stairs to a bus to take us to another terminal. We had arranged for a wheel chair to reduce the strain on Gillian's knees, but there did not seem to any facility for that here. Apart from that the airport seems large and modern.

Weather here is low cloud and fog that does not allow a view halfway across the airport, but it not raining.

We found the airline lounge, but were fronted by a notice that “Air system is in for maintenance. We apologise for the uncomfortableness.” In other words hot and sticky. We did score showers which was nice.

So, on to London …

Another easy flight to London with announcement that were completely impossible to hear or understand. At Heathrow we were met with a wheelchair, but then found that the doors into the terminal were locked – someone manged to get them open, but then they had to be held open by each passenger for the next.

After picking up the rental car headed off around the M25 to Kent. Once again I was surprised how green and rural the countryside is so close to London. Once off the motorway it was into the quaint villages, hedgerows and incredibly narrow country lanes that define the Kentish landscape. Our hosts here, Peter & Margaret, live half a mile down a farm track off an old coach road that winds through the fields and woods for several miles – never more than 9' wide and often less. In fact it isn't unusual for the mirrors on both sides of the car to be brushing the hedges at the same time. With the high hedges, a narrow and winding road certainly keeps you awake as you expect to find a large tractor heading in the other direction around every corner. Backing up for hundreds of metres is not fun.

Peter & Margaret's charming Pope's Hall 'Cottage' cottage.

9 June -

GillieB here. We had a lovely sleep in Peter and Margaret's guest house ( I call it 'Le Petit Chateau de Culham' ) – lovely and quiet in the Kentish countryside.This is  gorgeous - not sure how to describe so best to look at the photo - we feel thoroughly spoiled.There is so much attention to the decorations and appointments, wooden flooring down stairs - carpet upstairs, tongue and groove cladding for the kitchen dining area etc.

After a leisurely breakfast of Margaret's home made bread and jam, Peter took us into his garden. He has a large range of vegies growing – in a fenced rabbit proof garden – several raised plots as well as a green house. We took note of a number of cultivation points with our own new garden in the making at Onemana in mind. A tour followed of the lovely garden followed -even a viewing of one of Peter's purpose built sheds – a good six meters of secret man territory – I was very spoilt to put a female foot inside. The grounds are truly lovely – as Stephen said much like a botanic garden. There are lots of birds and birdsong and the view from their front terrace across the fields to the distant Downs is stunning. The light changes as the day moves on and so do the colours of the countryside. Sitting talking with Peter after breakfast in the nice, warm sunshine was truly magic – birds / view = bliss.

Thereafter Peter took us on a tour of the local environs. Peter drove down narrow roads lined by hedgerows with wild flowers in their midst and trees that meet overhead making leafy green tunnels. First stop was Staplehurst to drop a note into Sue and Steve's about about some relishes as their housesitter was not at home . Thereafter we went down more entrancing roads – noticing some really old medieval houses as well as oast houses and even a windmill in good working order. It is very evident that houses along these roads and in the small villages we pass through as beautifully kept and maintained.

We visited a winery named Hush Heath and tasted some very nice wines – very light and easy on the palette. The estate is 400 acres and appears to crop wheat as well as apple treess for the cider they make.The young women who served us was very knowledgeable about the growth and production of their products and described the recent awards the winery has won. They supply the wine provided on the Orient Express!

On to Rolvenden to the Bull Inn for a lovely 'sandwich' lunch – Peter and I enjoyed a shrimp cocktail sandwich and Stephen a ham bagette. The steam train was not running but the Morgan Car Museum was open and the display of vintage Morgan cars, bikes, ambulance and even a vintage caravan was fascinating – as was the antique shop at the front of the museum. A trip down memory lane.

We are back at the Chateau Culham- Peter is mowing his 2 acres (ride on mower of course). We are out for dinner with Peter and Margaret this evening.