Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Picture Perfect Moments....well Almost
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Lucca...have I found my new "retirement" home?
Ciao.
The last few days in Otranto were absolutely fine but we were all ready to leave and very keen to start the next phase. The weather improved again so we were still able to enjoy going to the beach, however we were there alone or with the occasional German tourist. All rock dwellers had retired for the season & I suspect all bikinis had probably been thrown out....you wouldn't wear the same ones in 2012!
Left Otranto in a minivan with a million pieces of luggage and booked on Ryannair (equivalent of Jetstar, or perhaps Tiger). Fares don't include checked in luggage, yet we had 4 pieces. How lucky were we that we got the assistant who had had a working holiday in Australia and loved all things Australian....except St. Kilda which he called "schifosa" - grubby. I quickly told him we lived a long way from THAT St. Kilda. Anyway the schmoozing worked and we boarded without having to pay any extra!
Our first impressions of Lucca were perfect. The driver from Pisa was wonderful and our new apartment in the historic centre was stunning. Now that we have been here for a few days everything is still fabulous and getting better but the apartment is stunning to look at but very impractical.
Lucca is 40 minutes from Pisa and is completely enclosed by 4.2kms of very thick wall.....so thick that upto not so many years ago you could still drive on the wall. Now it is home to pedestrians, cyclists and joggers.
We have discussed doing a daily jog or walk but as yet have not started!
Inside the walls is a picture perfect town with a maze of typical Italian streets, lanes & piazzas. It looks quite big on a map but we will go from one end to the other for an ice-cream and it takes 15 minutes....it takes us longer as we usually get lost.
Glenn was only here Sunday and returned to Melbourne on Monday so its just the three of us and we are getting on pretty well. Kids started their language classes on Monday however here, the teacher comes to the apartment. They do half the lesson in and then go out to put into practise what they have learnt. Day 3 and they are improving all the time. They can have a short conversation and their vocal is quite extensive. I'm very pleased with the progress and they can now see what is possible. The Lucchesi are very friendly and very welcoming....not that I know any personally! I reckon you can tell when you ask for directions or are really slow in a shop or when you're making language mistakes......we do all of that!
I have already checked out every real estate window and look at apartments for sale in the historic centre....I have asked Glenn and the boys if it could be my 60th birthday gift, particularly if i get no birthday, mother's day and christmas gifts till then. I think he's going to have a flutter at the Cox's Plate this saturday to see if he can raise the deposit!
It is truly a very liveable city, it looks and feels safe....no visible gypsies. Yesterday I had an appointment at the language school which is outside the walls; after a few minutes the boys were bored and wanted to go home so i let them go by themselves. An hour later when i was walking home I went into a panic wondering who i would call if they had been kidnapped....I raced home & was very happy to see them!
Yesterday I was feeling a little lonely and kept throwing envious glances at everyone who had someone to talk to.....the whole damn town actually. Was in a shop & detected an Australian accent so could't help but say hello; 2 minutes was all that i needed!
On a serious note the social aspect of this lengthy holiday is possibly my biggest concern for all of us. The kids have done exceptionally well with no other kid company, I have the advantage of speaking the language and chatting to anyone and Glenn chats to foreigners or has to rely on me. I hope we will meet a few people here but who knows? I have been working hard at sorting out activities for the kids in the hope that they may meet some other kids; this afternoon we are off to a tennis squad trial lesson, we'll see how that goes. In a way it would be easier to be here for a whole year because then you just make a decision to go to the local school which gives you enough time to learn the language and make friends etc. Next time???
Lucca has it all......great food shops, beautiful shops that are not too designer and overpriced (made my first purchases this morning....a puffer jacket as it is going to get bloody cold), friendly people and is close to everything by public transport.....so YES this is definitely my place.
Ciao for now as it is time to go to the park for a kick of the soccer ball.
Marie
The last few days in Otranto were absolutely fine but we were all ready to leave and very keen to start the next phase. The weather improved again so we were still able to enjoy going to the beach, however we were there alone or with the occasional German tourist. All rock dwellers had retired for the season & I suspect all bikinis had probably been thrown out....you wouldn't wear the same ones in 2012!
Left Otranto in a minivan with a million pieces of luggage and booked on Ryannair (equivalent of Jetstar, or perhaps Tiger). Fares don't include checked in luggage, yet we had 4 pieces. How lucky were we that we got the assistant who had had a working holiday in Australia and loved all things Australian....except St. Kilda which he called "schifosa" - grubby. I quickly told him we lived a long way from THAT St. Kilda. Anyway the schmoozing worked and we boarded without having to pay any extra!
Our first impressions of Lucca were perfect. The driver from Pisa was wonderful and our new apartment in the historic centre was stunning. Now that we have been here for a few days everything is still fabulous and getting better but the apartment is stunning to look at but very impractical.
Lucca is 40 minutes from Pisa and is completely enclosed by 4.2kms of very thick wall.....so thick that upto not so many years ago you could still drive on the wall. Now it is home to pedestrians, cyclists and joggers.
We have discussed doing a daily jog or walk but as yet have not started!
Inside the walls is a picture perfect town with a maze of typical Italian streets, lanes & piazzas. It looks quite big on a map but we will go from one end to the other for an ice-cream and it takes 15 minutes....it takes us longer as we usually get lost.
Glenn was only here Sunday and returned to Melbourne on Monday so its just the three of us and we are getting on pretty well. Kids started their language classes on Monday however here, the teacher comes to the apartment. They do half the lesson in and then go out to put into practise what they have learnt. Day 3 and they are improving all the time. They can have a short conversation and their vocal is quite extensive. I'm very pleased with the progress and they can now see what is possible. The Lucchesi are very friendly and very welcoming....not that I know any personally! I reckon you can tell when you ask for directions or are really slow in a shop or when you're making language mistakes......we do all of that!
I have already checked out every real estate window and look at apartments for sale in the historic centre....I have asked Glenn and the boys if it could be my 60th birthday gift, particularly if i get no birthday, mother's day and christmas gifts till then. I think he's going to have a flutter at the Cox's Plate this saturday to see if he can raise the deposit!
It is truly a very liveable city, it looks and feels safe....no visible gypsies. Yesterday I had an appointment at the language school which is outside the walls; after a few minutes the boys were bored and wanted to go home so i let them go by themselves. An hour later when i was walking home I went into a panic wondering who i would call if they had been kidnapped....I raced home & was very happy to see them!
Yesterday I was feeling a little lonely and kept throwing envious glances at everyone who had someone to talk to.....the whole damn town actually. Was in a shop & detected an Australian accent so could't help but say hello; 2 minutes was all that i needed!
On a serious note the social aspect of this lengthy holiday is possibly my biggest concern for all of us. The kids have done exceptionally well with no other kid company, I have the advantage of speaking the language and chatting to anyone and Glenn chats to foreigners or has to rely on me. I hope we will meet a few people here but who knows? I have been working hard at sorting out activities for the kids in the hope that they may meet some other kids; this afternoon we are off to a tennis squad trial lesson, we'll see how that goes. In a way it would be easier to be here for a whole year because then you just make a decision to go to the local school which gives you enough time to learn the language and make friends etc. Next time???
Lucca has it all......great food shops, beautiful shops that are not too designer and overpriced (made my first purchases this morning....a puffer jacket as it is going to get bloody cold), friendly people and is close to everything by public transport.....so YES this is definitely my place.
Ciao for now as it is time to go to the park for a kick of the soccer ball.
Marie
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The people you meet....in the middle of nowhere.
I'm not a tour group sort of person however last Friday I joined a small group of adult students from the boys school, to the "Salentina Greca". A large part of this region is known as the Salentina and there are many small towns where "Grika" is spoken - it is like an Ancient Greek! The region that we are in, La Puglia is not very well known in Australia and I don't know anyone who has ever travelled here. The coastline we have discovered is sensational and the towns and villages not only gorgeous to look at but with a fascinating history.
Anyway back to my tour.....I was also relishing the opportunity to have some time on my own. Had a fantastic afternoon, visiting a number of small towns, meeting some interesting locals, going underground to a 600 year old olive oil factory and the highlight was visiting a church "Santa Caterina" with possibly the best frescoes outside of the Sistine Chapel. Another highlight was meeting a lovely American lady Susan with whom I shared loads of similarities. I also met English John who has now retired and has decided to pack up his car and drive to italy and just live here indefinitely. One of the greatest joys of travelling is meeting interesting people and hopefully being able to maintain some of those connections.
Last week i went in search of a car hire company and of course "La Stagione e Finita" so it was impossible to find anything, so in typical Marie fashion I met a friend of a friend who rented out cars "cheaply". Went to see him, all sorted for a pick up on saturday morning for our weekend of touring and agreed on 40E a day. Glenn and I took off saturday morn and nearly died when we got our "Lancia". It would not have made it to "Rent a Bomb " back home. We had no other choices so I bargained it down to 30E and off we went. We took off to Gallipoli, a fishing village on the coast about an hour away. Another gorgeous town, very picturesque etc but again the highlight of the day was meeting "Richard". We were walking towards the port and had stopped to look at a map when a guy turned to us and asked a question..., he turned out to be Australian who, with his wife and 2 daughters were sailing around the Mediterranean. They had already been away for 4 months and were in Gallipoli because of bad weather etc. He lived in Mt Waverley and when I asked about the girls and school he said that the girls went to Wesley! I would not have been at all surprised had we been in Rome, Florence or Venice but Gallipoli in the south of Italy....never!
Sunday was another touring day but it came to an abrupt halt when in the middle of nowhere, our car overheated. We did make it home just in time for us to go to the local soccer game. Men pay 5E entry but women and children free!
The weather changed over the weekend and it is hard to believe this is the same town as the last 2 weeks. It is blowing a gale and only tourists are out in the streets. The beach looks like a surf beach and we even saw some guys surfing there today.
We're ready to leave here on Friday and are now very much looking forward to the next chapter in Lucca.
No time to post any photos as the rest of the family is hovering to use the computer.
Ciao
Friday, October 7, 2011
Some observations ....
La stagione e finita.....If we had one Euro for every time we've heard that in the last week we'd be able to stay here for a very long time! It means "the season is over" and it says a lot about Italians and their love affair with summer. Whenever we can't find something or something is closed we are greeted with "la stagione e finita". When the season ends here, it really ends!
We stood out immediately because we were so pale. Mind you not even after a long season down at the beach in January would any of us ever look like the Italians here. Their "abbronzatura" is everything and they work hard at it all summer long. Everyone from baby to 80 is a rich chocolate colour and there is very very little of the body that never sees the sun. There is no-one under 70 who isn't in a bikini so us tourists in a one piece really stand out. Mind you, i love that attitude. They are as obsessed about flaunting it as we are about needing to be stick thin to wear a bikini. I love seeing the "nonnas" on the beach in their bikinis, some look great by our anglo standards , but many have rolls of fat that they don't feel the need to hide. SO, after observing for the first week AND my 3 boys encouraging me , i went in search of a bikini.
First of all, this time of the year is like being at Lorne or Sorrento in March, everything is 70% off but the great stuff is gone. Not to be deterred, whilst the kids were at school and with the assistance of Glenn we went bikini shopping. When i asked the shop assistant I expected her to look at me incredulously but no such look and in fact came up with 2 or 3 options, which i just about gagged at. With further prodding from Glenn I tried a black spangly thing on and couldn't whip it off fast enough. Glenn was laughing loudly, i was blushing and the shop assistant genuinely could not see what the fuss was about. Needless to say I'm going to have to spend many more summers here to warm to the idea of getting out of a modest one piece!
Italians hate the sand (I barely tolerate it actually) and all sun bake on the rocks, the concrete steps and stone ledges. The boys have been amazed by them and thought that perhaps the rocks assisted their tans but no...they just hate it.
The boys both noticed this very early on...the way Italians dote on babies and very young children. Every day we witness babies being caressed, kissed, smiled at, patted, hugged and generally adored by every adult who comes into contact with them. This is not exclusive to the women but men too....Dad is carrying his baby and a mate walks up and greets the baby adoringly. Three generations of women are out for a "passegiata" (a stroll) and everyone of them is fixated on the one child. Is it any wonder that Italian children are incredibly precocious. We see them still up at 9 or 10 at night and this is every night of the week. The clothes the babies are in belong on an Italian runway.......there is more Gucci, Prada, Armani, etc on the under 5's than on an adult in Via Condotti in Rome (no target for these babies). In fact, last weekend tried to buy a gift for my newest nephew, Baby Harry, (son of Nella & David, born very prem on the 21st and now doing well) and I couldn't find anything that didn't have designer splashed all over it....way too embarrassing back home!
Enough of my observations.....
We are very much enjoying the easy lifestyle here and our biggest decision is where to eat at dinner. The boys are doing remarkably well at school , increasing their vocab, conversation and confidence every day.
It was quite a job but we have managed to hire a car for the weekend ( the SEASON IS OVER so there are no cars) and intend to do some exploring out of town. We've made friends with a street vendor and he keeps bringing homemade wine for Glenn to try. Last night, however he had some home made Grappa - pure alcohol and sheer poison. We are taking a different route tonight!
Found the only tennis club in town and the boys have had a lesson with the tennis coach there....quite hysterical really as Cosimo speaks no English and the boys just say SI to everything he says.
Rock dwellers
Closest thing to Airey's
We stood out immediately because we were so pale. Mind you not even after a long season down at the beach in January would any of us ever look like the Italians here. Their "abbronzatura" is everything and they work hard at it all summer long. Everyone from baby to 80 is a rich chocolate colour and there is very very little of the body that never sees the sun. There is no-one under 70 who isn't in a bikini so us tourists in a one piece really stand out. Mind you, i love that attitude. They are as obsessed about flaunting it as we are about needing to be stick thin to wear a bikini. I love seeing the "nonnas" on the beach in their bikinis, some look great by our anglo standards , but many have rolls of fat that they don't feel the need to hide. SO, after observing for the first week AND my 3 boys encouraging me , i went in search of a bikini.
First of all, this time of the year is like being at Lorne or Sorrento in March, everything is 70% off but the great stuff is gone. Not to be deterred, whilst the kids were at school and with the assistance of Glenn we went bikini shopping. When i asked the shop assistant I expected her to look at me incredulously but no such look and in fact came up with 2 or 3 options, which i just about gagged at. With further prodding from Glenn I tried a black spangly thing on and couldn't whip it off fast enough. Glenn was laughing loudly, i was blushing and the shop assistant genuinely could not see what the fuss was about. Needless to say I'm going to have to spend many more summers here to warm to the idea of getting out of a modest one piece!
Italians hate the sand (I barely tolerate it actually) and all sun bake on the rocks, the concrete steps and stone ledges. The boys have been amazed by them and thought that perhaps the rocks assisted their tans but no...they just hate it.
The boys both noticed this very early on...the way Italians dote on babies and very young children. Every day we witness babies being caressed, kissed, smiled at, patted, hugged and generally adored by every adult who comes into contact with them. This is not exclusive to the women but men too....Dad is carrying his baby and a mate walks up and greets the baby adoringly. Three generations of women are out for a "passegiata" (a stroll) and everyone of them is fixated on the one child. Is it any wonder that Italian children are incredibly precocious. We see them still up at 9 or 10 at night and this is every night of the week. The clothes the babies are in belong on an Italian runway.......there is more Gucci, Prada, Armani, etc on the under 5's than on an adult in Via Condotti in Rome (no target for these babies). In fact, last weekend tried to buy a gift for my newest nephew, Baby Harry, (son of Nella & David, born very prem on the 21st and now doing well) and I couldn't find anything that didn't have designer splashed all over it....way too embarrassing back home!
Enough of my observations.....
We are very much enjoying the easy lifestyle here and our biggest decision is where to eat at dinner. The boys are doing remarkably well at school , increasing their vocab, conversation and confidence every day.
It was quite a job but we have managed to hire a car for the weekend ( the SEASON IS OVER so there are no cars) and intend to do some exploring out of town. We've made friends with a street vendor and he keeps bringing homemade wine for Glenn to try. Last night, however he had some home made Grappa - pure alcohol and sheer poison. We are taking a different route tonight!
Found the only tennis club in town and the boys have had a lesson with the tennis coach there....quite hysterical really as Cosimo speaks no English and the boys just say SI to everything he says.
First day of School
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Week one and all is fabulous!
Its taken this long to do our first entry because getting internet here in the tiny town of Otranto has been one of our biggest challenges.
After exceptionally long preparations, way too many farewell lunches and dinners and severe heart palpitations whilst trying to get Italian visas and passports we finally left Australia last week on on the 21st. Four flights and 36h hours later we arrived in Otranto without luggage! As our appartment was in the historic centre we had to walk there, dog tired and pissed off, only to find the apartment nothing like the photos depicted! An hour later we bedded down in a crappy hotel with the worst mattresses we had ever slept on. Woke up on Friday morning to a gorgeous sunny day, opposite the beach but had to put on our smelly Melbourne clothes to face the day.
There have been many occasions where I have been very grateful to be fluent in Italian but possibly none as much as when trying to find our lost luggage. Once found we were told that it would take 3 days to get to us but I got it delivered within an afternoon! By Friday night we were clean but still had no apartment. Saturday was spent looking for an apartment and once organised we hit the beach.
Otranto is a medieval seaside town on the Adriatic coast in the south of Italy. It is a region I am completely unfamiliar with but it is stunning and one that we are enjoying discovering and learning about. The normal population is only 5000 people but it swells to 20,000 during summer. There is no public transport and every time we ask a local how to get somewhere they tell us we have to drive.....nothing is terribly far and the furtherest we have had to walk is 30 minutes to the tennis club!
The highlight to date has to be how wonderful a simple life can be....we get up at 8am and walk the boys to school at 8.55. After we drop them off we do our daily food shopping , a few jobs and then pick them up again at 12. We have a simple lunch of fresh bread with delicious cold meats, cheeses and salad and eat up on the terrace which overlooks the historic centre. We walk 5 minutes to the beach and spend the afternoon swimming, playing bat & ball (our 2Euro acquisition) and fishing with a 4Euro net! Dinners out have been fantastic with loads of fresh fish and SO CHEAP and dinners in have pretty good too! Our evenings end with a few rounds of cards, Briscola, or Clams & Tongues (Daniel learnt them whilst on his Music Tour in France).
The boys have just completed their first week at school and are doing very well. Their lessons have taken place at the market, the local shops and in the classroom. They are fluent at ordering their daily gelato, their daily lemon granita and their evening roast chestnuts and get lots of compliments from the locals. Daniel says SI, MOLTO BENE, and VA BENE in most situations wether it fits or not....I am very proud! Max is a little more cautious but has a fantastic accent and now that he is almost as tanned as the locals, he is fitting in very well.
I am, of course, in my element......I love chatting to the locals and many now know us. I have my favourite bar who now have my coffee down pat, the hairdresser who does a fab blow wave for 13E, the butcher at the market who is going to have roast rabbit ready for us next week, our chestnut vendor is bringing wine for Glenn to try tomorrow night and some of the locals who are teaching the boys to play SCOPA, an italian card game.
Tomorrow we head to Lecce, the capital of this region and apparently a magnificent Baroque city......more later.
After exceptionally long preparations, way too many farewell lunches and dinners and severe heart palpitations whilst trying to get Italian visas and passports we finally left Australia last week on on the 21st. Four flights and 36h hours later we arrived in Otranto without luggage! As our appartment was in the historic centre we had to walk there, dog tired and pissed off, only to find the apartment nothing like the photos depicted! An hour later we bedded down in a crappy hotel with the worst mattresses we had ever slept on. Woke up on Friday morning to a gorgeous sunny day, opposite the beach but had to put on our smelly Melbourne clothes to face the day.
There have been many occasions where I have been very grateful to be fluent in Italian but possibly none as much as when trying to find our lost luggage. Once found we were told that it would take 3 days to get to us but I got it delivered within an afternoon! By Friday night we were clean but still had no apartment. Saturday was spent looking for an apartment and once organised we hit the beach.
Otranto is a medieval seaside town on the Adriatic coast in the south of Italy. It is a region I am completely unfamiliar with but it is stunning and one that we are enjoying discovering and learning about. The normal population is only 5000 people but it swells to 20,000 during summer. There is no public transport and every time we ask a local how to get somewhere they tell us we have to drive.....nothing is terribly far and the furtherest we have had to walk is 30 minutes to the tennis club!
The highlight to date has to be how wonderful a simple life can be....we get up at 8am and walk the boys to school at 8.55. After we drop them off we do our daily food shopping , a few jobs and then pick them up again at 12. We have a simple lunch of fresh bread with delicious cold meats, cheeses and salad and eat up on the terrace which overlooks the historic centre. We walk 5 minutes to the beach and spend the afternoon swimming, playing bat & ball (our 2Euro acquisition) and fishing with a 4Euro net! Dinners out have been fantastic with loads of fresh fish and SO CHEAP and dinners in have pretty good too! Our evenings end with a few rounds of cards, Briscola, or Clams & Tongues (Daniel learnt them whilst on his Music Tour in France).
The boys have just completed their first week at school and are doing very well. Their lessons have taken place at the market, the local shops and in the classroom. They are fluent at ordering their daily gelato, their daily lemon granita and their evening roast chestnuts and get lots of compliments from the locals. Daniel says SI, MOLTO BENE, and VA BENE in most situations wether it fits or not....I am very proud! Max is a little more cautious but has a fantastic accent and now that he is almost as tanned as the locals, he is fitting in very well.
I am, of course, in my element......I love chatting to the locals and many now know us. I have my favourite bar who now have my coffee down pat, the hairdresser who does a fab blow wave for 13E, the butcher at the market who is going to have roast rabbit ready for us next week, our chestnut vendor is bringing wine for Glenn to try tomorrow night and some of the locals who are teaching the boys to play SCOPA, an italian card game.
Tomorrow we head to Lecce, the capital of this region and apparently a magnificent Baroque city......more later.
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