It’s been
quite a week . Starting off in Dubrovnik which is just a wonderful city to be
in. The last blog brought you up to speed on that place. One of the things I
probably didn’t mention though is that within the ancient walled city, there
are just so many hills on which all the buildings have been constructed. It’s
divided up into rectangular blocks and between each one there are narrow alleyways
each with steep flights of stairs; not of regular heights and depths of treads,
but all and I think the word is higgledy-piggeldy. And these take you up to
wherever; and guess what... then you have to come back down again. And are they
all just so very very long... and did I mention really steep as well? Very
often we’d have to stop either for oxygen or simply because our legs were not
made for this sort of terrain. The word mountain goat comes rapidly to mind. We
didn’t know it, but it was excellent training for the next leg of the journey.
(No pun intended.)

 Anyway right now, we’re in Italy, probably the
jewel in the European Crown . Picked up a car in Pisa, the city with that famous
leaning tower and decided the route we should probably take to Venice , is Northwards up the Ligurian
coastline through Viareggio (where Diana went on holiday as a small child) to
see if she could remember any of it. Now, in the ensuing years, so much has
changed. It’s now a vibrant city and we promenaded up and down the front along
with all the other Italians many of whom were eating that wonderful Gelato. And
don’t they just promenade well. Seems to make all the rest of the world just so
plain and ordinary. They dress to kill. Oh yes..... and in such great clothing;
making them look and feel really special. Not only the women, but also the men.
Something for the fashion aficionados is that the scarf is now definitely back.
Either draped casually over the shoulder, or worn round the neck; or as a stole
over the shoulders akin some really elegant fashion. Something I have just
learnt and it’s taken me all of my life to realise it. The way the Italian
people dress is not just anything ... it’s something really special and it’s so
much more important to actually be SEEN
to be looking good. Starting with the beautifully coiffured hair; then the
fashionable sun glasses making the most of their elegant looks; the way the
scarf is so totally nonchalantly draped over the shoulder; the designer dress;
and lastly we come to the shoes. Well I could become a shoe fetishist looking
at the latest styles. They are simply just stunning, but I really don’t know
how women actually walk on their platformed soles and extra long high heels. All
I can say is WOW! And WOW again. Then of course they have to have the correct
hand bag. And even this accoutrement has to match or accentuate the wearer. And
now even this has a scarf draped over it! Imagine that? And to finish it all
off.... even the small pooches are dressed up and would you believe we saw one
or two today with stylish jackets and fur collars. And I don’t mean dog fur
either! The piece de resistance however was a woman pushing a pram; the small
dog in it and the baby clasped under her arm . Now I ask you....... I was simply
could not believe my eyes; I was stunned and totally speechless.

On to more
things Italian (I’m learning a lot now)..... the food here also has to be taken
as seriously as the way they dress. For example, we went into a small cafe overlooking
Lake Como and as it was really cold ordered two hot chocolates with two
lasagnes. Well, the people sitting on the next table were simply agog. Ordering
hot chocolate with lasagne. What are these English thinking!!! I ask you!!!! 
And very politely asked why we’d ordered chocolate with lasagne because
a glass of white or red wine or in fact a local beer would bring out the full
flavours of the dish. Chocolate wouldn’t! I’m sure they were perfectly right, but we
were cold and really wanted the drink to heat us up. They weren’t trying to be
rude or anything, it’s simply how the Italians seem to do things properly.
Whether it’s dressing or eating. Bringing out the best of everything. And they’re
definitely right.

Back to our
travels . After Pisa went to a small towns called Venere. And after exploring
the ancient churches went off to the Cinqueterra; (pronounced ching qua terra).
A series of 5 villages built right into the exceptionally steep cliffs. We
stayed in the first village called Riomaggiore (now doesn’t that just sound
romantic; especially when pronounced with an Italian accent) and went exploring
today. Now here’s where the training in Dubrovnik started to pay off. Well, if you thought that there were lots of steep
steps in Dubrovnik, as they say in the classics, ‘you aint seen nothing yet!’
It’s just remarkable how steep they can build them.... and with the narrow cobbled
alleys between the buildings we’ve had to stop just to catch our breath. I
think that mountain goats would have trouble with them as well. Anyway, the one
thing all the villages have in common is the amount of windy uneven steps you
have to climb to get anywhere. It’s really all up and down. Dyana & I are now
really fit after Dubrovnik, or so we thought. And all it took was one day of
huffing and puffing our way round the small town . The pictures should give you
a really good idea of what the place was like. Just charming. We rented a small
flat which was really nice and cosy in the heart of the town right near the top
of all the buildings and trekked up and down.

The villages
are really famous for walkers and mountain bikers who set off from one village
and walk along the coastal path to the next. Some of these journeys are longer
than others and can take an experienced walker an hour or two to arrive at the
next village. It’s really worth it though because the views are quite
spectacular and breathtaking. Dyana
& I did it a couple of years ago and it’s still as spectacular as ever. This
time however as time was short, (and that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it), decided
to be lazy and catch the local double decker train. Spectacular scenery as you
simply seem to glide along the coast to the next town; and it’s so cheap to use
this form of transport. A ticket which lasts for an hour and a half costs the
equivalent of £ 2.00 and it’s such good value. 
All the towns seem to be similar. Oxygen masks hiking boots and literally
thousands and thousands of steep steps to get anywhere...... but so charming.

Moving on
quickly, we’re now in Menaggio, half way up lake Como. The only way to travel
around here is by the very efficient ferries which take you from lakeside
village to lakeside village. We visited a couple of villages on the lake with
such romantic names as Bellagio and Vereena. Just so picturesque and brilliantly
charming. Hope you like the pictures. Anyway, today we went into Switzerland..
to Lugano, still on the lake and watched a cycle race with well over a hundred
cyclists. There were three laps of the course which included lots and lots of
mountains. I was so disappointed. All aquiver to see the peloton (this is what
they call lots of racing cyclists) coming through; just as I’ve seen on the TV
when watching the Tour de France. The reality is just something else. There you
are standing at the side of the road.. watching the large screen showing the motorbike
cameraman filming the front runners and from time to time losing it as they
went round the sharp hairpin bends. Firstly come the cavalcade of police motor
bikes making sure there is nobody in the road; quickly followed by more police
making sure that the first lot did their job properly and correctly.

 ... yes.... here they come.....here they
come..... all tightly clad in a rainbow of lycra outfits, fluorescent pinks; reds;
blues; greens; yellows all with matching helmets and bike colours. Their sponsors
names emblazoned everywhere. Their attire seeming to be sprayed onto them. Not a
wrinkle or crinkle in sight. there they go! (for all of eighteen seconds it
took for the hundred plus cyclists to pass us by).... and now look.... they’re
gone! Completely disappeared............ what an anticlimax. This is followed
by the entourage of each team with many spare bikes on top of their cars trying
to get as close to their riders as they can get. And lastly comes the ambulance
with its flashing lights! Wonder what that’s for!      And I was so looking forward to seeing
more of the riders. Not just the eighteen seconds!!! Oh well, we’re off tomorrow
hopefully to another lake called Lake Garda, so more from there next.