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  • Gabrielle Ingram

Europe

A 62-day adventure by Gabrielle Read more
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  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    The road guitar on the tower of the castle
    Finn entertaining us with "Scarborough Fair"Me and KatiekoozleRelaxing (and trying not too drink too much because it is a treacherous journey back down)We don't have flags on our tower!

    Rome to Tuscany

    September 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    All cool this morning as we had the trial run with the ridiculous bus situation yesterday. We arrived, we waited, we got on the bus, we relaxed for several hours watching scenery. Got off the bus at Siena, the boys retrieved the vehicles, we drove to Certaldo - reasonably sedate driving experience really, we got to Certaldo, only marginally alarmed that I had not heard from our AirBnB host since I booked 6 months ago, and we couldn't enter the village as it is a traffic controlled zone and we had no arrangements for anyone to meet us. But merely seconds before we put money in the parking lot to wait it out and/or work out where we were going to sleep in lieu of being homeless, they made contact and we were good to go.

    This is the accommodation we have all sort of been looking forward to - an apartment in a castle dating from circa 1100s. Not disappointed!

    We settled in quickly, and were up on our own tower sipping on wine and eating cheese faster than could be imagined as possible given the access to the tower is up a steep narrow staircase, followed by what can only be described as the steepest ladder ever (to our bedroom), then up another set up of narrow steps to the tower. A bit tricky to navigate without spilling your wine - we have since worked out to leave it in a corked up bottle and just take up empty glasses in case you are wondering!

    Anyway, a lovely sunset, views across to San Gimignano and perfect weather!    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    One of the restaurant's just outside our place, jazzView from one of the windows in our bedroomKatie sitting in the window alcove looking out over the square1The other side of the main entry doorsA street in the village

    Views from the tower

    September 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    And the reality of living in a 12th century castle converted into 21st century living quarters:
    - septic toilet
    - uneven tread and rise of stairs is disconcerting
    - the sloping ceilings in certain rooms mean you bump your head a lot (ie: I stoop to sit on the loo and by the time I finish my pee I forget to duck when I stand up and bang my head on a ceiling beam)
    - the very steep ladder-like stairs to our bedroom mean it is too dangerous to go to the loo in the middle of the night

    BUT, the setting is unreal, the village is cute as and the views are incredible.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    The kids being kids
    The park was packed with these treesGrowing wild over the hillsThe main street up to our villageViews across from one part of the village of Ceraldo Alto to another partIn the town meeting place - original artworks remainingA modern sculpture outside one of the museums "The Tree of Life" in bronze - was amazingHeading down to Certaldo in the funicularAnd walking back up again!

    Exploring Certaldo

    September 26, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    A bit of a lazy morning before heading out to explore our hilltop locale of Certaldo Alto. It is quite tiny, with lots of windy alley ways, all beautifully old and with nooks and crannies. The kids played in the small playground in the village (lined with olive trees, all bearing olives) where what looks like daffodils (?) are growing wild on the side of the hill tops.

    In search of lunch, we decided to take the funicular down to the village after working out that Google Maps statement of there being a bakery in our village were false. Got there just as the shops were closing up for a few hours and the entire village of Certaldo proper turned into a ghost town for a few hours (most inconvenient this idea of closing down from 1.00-3.00pm every day!). We decided to not wait for the funicular and walked back up a very steep hill.

    The kids and I played board games up on the tower for a few hours, ready for gelati time! No gelati in Certaldo Alti either as it turns out, so we walked back down the very steep hill, to find the ghost town was a hive of activity. We had also been charged with finding our nightly wine offerings. Tough stuff really. Every other places we have stayed at has had these small shops which sell wine. NONE in Certaldo, we think because a very large co-op has opened up on the outskirts of town which has a pretty incredible range of food and alcohol, to the point where no-one else seemed to have bothered have their corner store any more.

    What we did find was a tiny wine shop which had a shelf without about 8-10 varieties of local wine and four gigantic vats of wine on tap. Each was simply labelled as either bianca or rossa for between €1.40 and €2.40 per litre. We didn't have any bottles with us, so we the guy sold us 2 litres of merlot in an old water bottle! We did buy a couple of real bottles too, so it wasn't totally uncouth.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler

    Firenze

    September 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Taking into account all wisdom published on the internet about NOT parking in Florence, we headed off to what was supposed to be the super-dooper new parking lot off the A1 built at the end of the tram line, which was not expensive and features a quick ride on the tram into Florence. Reality = if you didn't approach the super-dooper new parking lot from the A1 autostrade (which we didn't) then you can't actually access it. So what we witnessed was a gigantic brand new parking lot with almost no cars parked in it which we could circumnavigate, but not get into. Frustrating! After driving around for way longer than desired, we parked in some industrial estate hoping we wouldn't be towed/clamped, walked to the tram and scooted into Florence.

    We wandered to the obligatory attractions of Florence, but I have to say that the entire experience was not all that enjoyable and the only thing you could (sort of) get from the experience was a) it would be horrible to be a native to Firenze and have to live in the city positively heaving with tourists and b) Florence is a victim of it's own fame. We heard one American guy stating that it just seemed to be one gigantic shopping mall for tourists. Pretty much summed it up... [I realise this is probably a case of committing culture-lovers' blasphemy. I am sure the city is perfectly lovely if you take all the people out of it.]

    Just as we were waiting for the tram to come home Kate and I wandered into a nearby shopping mall in search of a loo and witnessed two ladies taking their dogs shopping with them, who did "their business" in the middle of the mall (think of this in the middle of Garden City and you could imagine our horror at the sight!) and then just walk off. Gobsmacking.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler

    The quest for a football jersey

    September 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Finn has been desperate to buy a soccer jersey for EVER! Today as we wandered through Florence we came across a store totally dedicated to soccer gear AND they have gear for Real Madrid AND they customised the jerseys as you watched which, admittedly, was pretty cool.

    Using the money he has been saving up since his birthday and Christmas last year Finn bought the "away jersey" for Real Madrid, got the #7 jersey for Cristiano Ronaldo, and could also get his name on it. One happy boy at the end of it all!

    He realised later he didn't have the shorts, so I guess that gives us something to look out for during the rest of the holiday!    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    One of many switchbacks
    In the southern parts of Tuscany, lots of fields were ploughed upLooks a bit like they are in drought compared to further up northAbandoned buildings litter the country side (but are lovely)Entire bits of hillsides seem to be growing nothingBit greener in this part of the world, with lots of "graperies" as Katie calls themGraperies galoreAnd our favourite new thing... "pointy up trees" which line lots of drivewaysHill top villages are all over the place

    Driving in Tuscany

    September 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Given we have done so much of it, I have taken some photos of Craig driving in Tuscan country. Narrow roads, lots of switchbacks, crazy drivers not obeying the speed limit, overtaking where it is not possible to do so (or so we think!), a large array of signage... tempered by great scenery!

    Out day to and from Sovana consisted of 5 hours of driving. Craig gave me 3 hours credit for Sovana and Vie Cave, 1 hour credit for the thermal hot springs, and 1 hour credit for nice scenery - we are square.

    [That is "Craig code" for saying I had done good in finding something worth 5 hours of driving.]    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler

    Sovana

    September 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    We woke up this morning, the husband asked "Wife, what is the proposed agenda today?", I answered with "Today's agenda includes a 5 hour round trip of driving!", the husband didn't think that sounded like a great plan, eventually acquiesced, and the rest, as they say, is history. We had a GREAT DAY!

    So we headed off toward Sovana. Sovana was Etruscan by origin, becoming a Roman municipality in the 5th century. (I looked up Etruscan civilisation, whichWikipedia described as "the modern name given to a powerful and wealthy civilization of ancient Italy in the area corresponding roughly to Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio dating from circa 600BC".)

    It did take us 2.5 hours to drive there, but it was through beautiful countryside and not a great deal of traffic. But the drive was worth it - the village of Sovana was breathtaking! Sovana itself is perched (clinging to?) on the side of a hill and the valley below is dotted with little caves. There are magnificent views across the valley which is lushly green.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler

    Vie Cave Etruscha

    September 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    One of the main attractions outside of Sovana is a series of walking trails which take you through the hill side on ancient Etruscan paths, where there are caves and tracks etched into the landscape. There are also a number of necropoli and other monuments scattered throughout the countryside, but we focussed on a walk through one path and back along another. It had the added advantage of taking us across the gorge with views back across to Sovana, which was spectacular.

    We walked for about 2 hours through the hills. The track we took to the other side was obviously quite well used, however we decided to take what turned out to be the road considerably less travelled on the way back. The path was not that well signed, steep and covered with leaf litter, which made it a bit treacherous in our "not built for hiking" shoes. I did slip on a steep bit, hit my head on the ground (ouch!) but otherwise, it was a great trek through the forest. We were all pretty impressed!

    It was possible to still see in the caves the marks made by whatever implements were used to carve them out in the first place. The tracks were impressive in terms of their depth. Rather enterprising people those Etruscans!    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    At the base of the Fossa BiancaThe kids starting to climb Fossa BiancaA bit harder getting back downIn our pondKate checking out the hot water inlet - very hot!

    Bagni San Filippo - thermal hot springs

    September 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Continuing our epic day out in the Tuscan countryside, I had researched before leaving home the various options for "in the wild" thermal hot springs. On our journey home we more or less had to pass the thermal hot springs at San Filippo, so pulled off the road, parked the car and walked the few hundred metres to the first pool. Following it down a bit further, we found the calciferous formation known as Fosso Bianco - kids climbed up to sit in a pool. In the end we settled for a pool with no-one in it. My first time in a hot spring, and it was surprisingly bordering on almost too hot! The trickles of water feeding into the pools were almost too hot to touch. I was worried that when we got out that we would be cold, but it was very refreshing.Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    Finn's posh lasagneTuscan beef

    Dinner in Certaldo

    September 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    We got home pretty late from our long drive, but to top off a perfect day, we popped out to the "local" (about 30 metres from our front door) to have dinner on the back verandah looking out over the lights of Certaldo (the lower village). The owner/waiter was a delight.

    Fabulous food and wine, great night out!    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    Monterosso
    This would have made going to church more interesting!Outside the skeleton churchOn the trainFinn doing one of the stupid poses we see all the girls doing in their selfiesMonterossoCoastal village of Monterosso

    Cinque Terre: Monterosso

    September 29, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Another 5 hour driving day, for a day trip to the Cinque Terre...

    Surprisingly it all went quite smoothly, and we parked at the "hard to get into because it fills up quick" parking lot at La Spezia train station with ease. On the train, with ease. Get to Monterosso (far end of Cinque Terre) with ease. All good!

    Had a look around Monterosso, popped into the "skeleton church", luncheon and considered our next steps. There is a thing called the Cinque Terre Card which I had read about the day before which gives you access to the walking trails, the bathrooms at the train stations and all the interconnecting train journeys. I hadn't bought that because internet advice was such that it wasn't worth it. Internet advice was wrong and based on outdated pricing of walking on the interconnecting trails + the cost of train journeys.

    Went and bought the Cinque Terre Card. Found out that three of the 5 interconnecting trails between the villages were closed for "maintenance". Had no choice but to catch a train to the next village along so we could access a walking trail.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    First drink break. Notice the lack of hand rails!
    I'm not built for this...Craig went all Rambo on us - it was getting a bit hot and sweaty1Worth it for this view though!Stopping for a breatherCorniglia didn't seem to be getting any closer!Walking through someone's vineyardNearly there...

    Cinque Terre: Hiking trail

    September 29, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    There are shorter walks between each village of the Cinque Terre, but only two of them are currently open. [Craig was joking that the 2 hour lunch break from 1pm-3pm played havoc with the maintenance people's ability to get to the bits that needed maintenance before they turned around to go back again for their lunch break.]

    There was a lot of UP, and then thankfully some DOWN to get to Corniglia. I did catch snippets from Kate along the lines of "I am not built for this!" and "This is the best 'down' EVER!". The views were spectacular along the way, so a 1.5 hours well spent. Amazingly, no sore muscles the next day, but I guess one thing we have done on this holiday is a lot of walking. We are conditioned (beneath the layer of wine-, gelati- and pasta-induced adipose tissue).    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    And then were able to get down the rickety old ladder...
    If you ignored the abandoned buildings everywhere...And then were lucky enough to find the stairs tucked behind here...And navigate the murder scene... (yep! that's blood)Then head down the tunnel toward the light...You could have a swim in the Mediterranean!The horizon is wonky!Collecting "marble"?This was referred to as the "beach" in the online guidebook I read!Swim over

    Swimming in the Mediterranean

    September 29, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

    Can't really come here and not dip your toe in right?

    We walked along what looked like an abandoned and uncared for esplanade area, found the remnants of an abandoned touristy area, managed to stumble upon an entrance which took you down a tunnel where there was so much blood that it looked like someone had been murdered there the night before, found a rickety ladder with a bit of rope dangling off the bottom from which you could just reach to get into the ocean.

    Craig went first, kids followed, I minded the gear, but then we agreed it would be impossible for a person with a dodgy shoulder to get back up again. Thus, my toe has remained undipped. It was cold, so not sure I mind so much.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    The advantages of living on a hill - great views!
    Outside the wall of San GlimiglianoThis place has a lot of towersLunch in the piazzaLunch in the piazzaFinnyGelati

    San Gimigliano

    September 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    The kids were keen to "not have a long day" so we had a leisurely start to the morning (ie: stayed in bed 'til late), and then 25 minutes over to the other hilltop village we can see from our place, San Gimigliano.

    There were two gelati shops - one selling the "best ice cream in the world" - we went there - shorter line. The other was the "World Champion Ice Cream Maker for several years in a row" - ridiculously long queues. It was the best gelati we have had during all our extensive testing over the last few weeks ;-)

    It was adorable! Lunch, some photos of "our house" across the valley and a short drive home - all happy!    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    Walking home afterward
    Views from the kitchen door

    Cooking School at Cucina Giuseppina

    September 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Can't come to Tuscany and not do cooking school!

    Just so happens to be one right at our front door, so we signed up for the evening class where we were able to enjoy our own Tuscan delicacies and accompanying wines - antipasto, bruschetta, hand-made pasta, chicken cacciatore, with chocolate salami for dessert.

    The meal was hosted by Giuseppina and her son Luca. They own a nearby farm, all live there as one big happy family, Luca is a viticulturist, so we were sampling their wine including chianti - bellisimo.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    100gms pasta and 1 egg per person
    Checking for "al dente"-ness

    Cucina Giuseppina: Pasta

    September 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    We made a traditional Tuscan pasta called pici which used to be hand-rolled by the ladies around the table as they had a gossip. These days, use a pasta machine - much faster.

    Tip: 100gms flour and 1 egg per person - served with a pomodoro and garlic sauce and plenty of fresh parmesanRead more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    The kids up in the dining room
    Dessert!Views from the apartment onto the square belowLast drinks in the towerScoping the dining optionsWe went for a walk and stumbled across a free medieval museum undergroundRustling up lunch with leftover bits and pieces before we move on tomorrowListening to the NRL Grand Final

    Wet day, no play in Certaldo Alto

    October 1, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    We woke up to the sounds of light rain on the roof tops this morning, which was perfect really because the kids were happy to lounge around all day in their pyjamas, and we were pretty much of the same mind set given it was the last day in our "castle". It also coincided with NRL grand final day, so the perfect excuse for Craig and Jeff to listen to the footy on the radio which started about 10.30am Italian time.

    Later in the afternoon, we climbed up to the tower for our last drinks as the sun set (or moved lower behind the clouds, as the case may be). Had to lighten the load ready to hit the road again tomorrow, so two bottles of wine later... I think I am going to have to enter an AA program when I get home. I am pretty sure I have consumed more alcohol on this holiday than I have in my previous 20 years of living!

    Craig and I had actually left the house a little earlier for some reconnaissance on potential places in the village to take the parents out for dinner on their last night with us. Found a lovely place just around the corner, although they are all 'just around the corner' when your village is only about 200m long I guess.

    A lovely meal was enjoyed by all. We also had our first grappa of the holiday and Glen and I a limoncello when we got home (see what I mean - excessive alcohol consumption!!!)    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    First bit of exploring around the 'hood in Venice
    Lunch, which took close to an hour to come, and since it was 4pm by then, the kids were a bit hungryWalking... walking...This seaweed is beautifully soft and very green. Not slimy.Road guitar in our AirBnB in VeniceOur artist's loft AirBnBMy boy cooking for us

    Certaldo to Venice

    October 2, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    We said goodbye to Glen and Jeff today - they were leaving to fly from Bologna to Paris to catch a flight back to Australia - and we were heading off to Venice. I had calculated that we would have time to stop in Padova for a few hours, but that didn't quite work out.

    We did get to redeem the horrible Autogrill experience we had on our trip back from Cinque Terre and managed to find a gigantic Autogrill. We had read a review where the lady was waxing lyrical about how great the Autogrills were (giant roadside restaurants/fuel stop). We only stopped for fuel and the loo, but the food at least looked edible this time around.

    We spent a good chunk of the journey designing out new front yard and fancy chicken coop with room for 5 chickens that we are going to build when we get back home, including the yabbie breeding pond, the productive garden and research on some grape vines. Short of getting a goat, I think we have just managed to channel Tom and Barbara from The Good Life (1970s British comedy for the youngsters). We don't have a "Margo" living next door, which will be helpful to the construction ideas coming to fruition.

    Once we got across the bridge to Venice itself, we parked the car. Having rationed our gear into a backpack and our day packs, we decided to ditch the idea of spending a fortune on the vaporetto, and walked the 30 minutes to our new AirBnB accommodation. It was an easy walk and given we will do the same to get back to the car, we have also saved ourselves €60. Bargain!

    We ditched the gear and headed straight out for a walk along Fondamenta Zattere al Ponte Longo which starts pretty much just outside our accommodation. Our front gate adjoins a lane next to a gate onto the campus of Università Ca' Foscari so we had a bit of a short cut through to get to the water.    Read more

  • Gabrielle IngramEuropeTraveler
    Peak hour traffic?
    Garage doorAnother thing to add to our "abandoned places" list - the porters trollers are still outsideRubbish collection day in VenicePonte di RialtoSt Mark's SquareThe fanciest roof of a church yetMy family "sighing" with a bridge in the backgroundGrand Canal

    Venice

    October 3, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Leisurely start to the day (not sure how I am going to go back to 5.15am starts when I get back to Australia - positively uncivilised!), and then we started an epic day of leisurely meandering through the streets of Venice. Love love love!

    We didn't go into anything or line up for anything and just enjoyed a day of looking at the sights of Venice from the outside. Fabulous bridges, Venezian-style traffic jams, heard opera being sung on a gondola, marvelled at why the gondoliers thought being grumpy and disinterested in what they were doing was good for business etc.

    We looked in on some amazing art shops, and got a bit of inspiration for a few things we might try out when we get home. Kate has been collecting the entry and bus tickets throughout our journey to "do something" with them when we get home. We were inspired by some great papier mache works in one gallery today so spent this evening researching some options to give it a go when we get home. It has been four weeks since we have watched a TV (given we can't understand anything, we have gotten used to just not turning them on even when we have had them) which has been great for playing games and chatting about stuff. Each accommodation generally has a selection of games - tonight Finn and I played backgammon which used to be one of my favourite board games when I was at uni and living with my uncle who was a board game fiend.

    We got back to our accommodation around 4pm due to the urgent need to find a loo and a distinct lack of public facilities in Venice. So, had a sleep, read some book, dinner last night was so yummy Craig made the same again. All up, a perfect day!    Read more

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