Lucca

Lucca was ok but in fact we have decided there is little point in going back to places you have loved in the past as they will not be the same.
It is a nice size to walk around, and the medieval walls are a good long walk. One of our early favourite Italian restaurants was still good (Leo's Trattoria) with things like farro and bean soup, and hand made ravioli, rabbit etc.I wrote about it on out last trip to Italy.
Women on bikes while on cellphones wa sour special lookout this time.
We also captured a little culture by listening to Puccini Opera excerpts in a lovely old church and listening to a Polish trio play Four Seasons over and over in the main square (busking.)
Our room was divine... a suite in a an antique Lucca house that was begun to be built in 1200's. It was a B and B so we met other travellers over breakfast each morning.
We ha d missed out on the cheaper rooms because we had delayed booking but meant we had space which was nice.

Vino Nobile, Montepulciano (for the wine lovers)

Montepulciano is famous for its Vino Nobile. It was founded in the 6th C by people fleeing barbarian invaders. Poets and others have written about Nobile since around the 1300’s/1400’s. A very famous poem was written about it in the 14thC called “Bacchus in Tuscany”. The Vatican sent people out to search for the best wines and one of them decreed in 1549 that Nobile was the perfect wine for a gentleman!
So you can see there is a long history in people trying and liking it, so we had better be in on the act.
We have tried a 2004 called Apostoli from Ercolani which is just across the road, and under us are the bottles and storage areas. I can hear them working now, moving things up and down the lane. They do tastings of wine, food and oil...must fit it in before we leave. The grape varieties in this are Prugnolo Gentile (a sangiovese) Canaiolo Nero, Mammolo e Colorino (if I can read the Italian correctly). Very nice, great colour. Another day we had the 2003 Reserva called Ercolani...same grapes. Smooth. Today we had a bottle of Contucci 2004 over lunch. Went down easily! A third Nobile wine we have tried is Massimo Carpini. It was a 2005 called Podere Casanova. The colour is great in all of these, and they are nice and smooth and easier to drink than the brunello (don’t tell anyone from Montalcino)
The rosso’s which are cheaper, can be just as nice. We had one over some bruschetta the other night called Lohsa from Azienda Agricola ( 2007) made from a winery called Terre del Poliziano. It was fine.
The bottom price is to order the house red which comes in a jug and you drink it from the same glasses as the water. Ok if thirsty and only having a small amount because you are driving!
We will keep up the research over the next few days and report back.

Montepulciano and other Tuscan hill-towns

Since arriving in Montepulciano on Saturday, we have managed to go out for a drive each day: on Sunday to Montalcino and Pienza; and on Monday to Cortona and Arezzo, two medieval towns in east Tuscany, with some nice scenery between. We had a picnic lunch to remind us of what we did in Italy 23 years ago: bread, cheese, salami and wine. We found an olive grove and parked the car, cracked open a bottle of good red, and gazed at the view all while supping,eating pecorino cheese, all wild pork salami between tuscan bread. We got back here just on dark, about 5.15 (earlier this week as daylight saving has just ended here) and ate at a local trattoria that was recommended by the owner of our apartment. It is called Osteria Acquacheta (linked to the left): a really good meal, with lots of people in the place, a bit like the long table nights at Omaha, but more chaotic. It was a bit of a United Nations at our end of the table: Greeks, Norwegians and Americans. When it comes time to pay the bill, the owner wanders over to the table and scrawls down the list of numbers on the paper place mat and adds them up in front of you: ours came to 63.80, so he crosses off the 80 as a “discount”, so he can call the resulting price “amazing”. Quite a laugh. The place is famous for its gigantic T bone steaks, so Barry wants to return to try one, although the other food is also very good. I was ecstatic over my rabbit and for dessert truffles diced over marsacapone. It is just coming into truffle season and there are even festivals for it! Will have to find one.

We had a fairly slow start yesterday, weather not so good with showers (but not cold). After a breakfast at a nice old cafe (Italian breakfasts are not much to write home about: a coffee and a croissant), we decided to hit the road for Assisi, via Perugia. We managed to get ourselves a bit lost in Perugia and couldn’t figure out where the centre of town was after we had parked the car, so we flagged that away and carried on to Assisi for lunch. Perugia is a university city, with heaps of cultural life, and it is set up on a big hill. We passed some students who were making speeches in the quad...there are many student protests here over some reform.
Assisi wasn’t as busy there as we had expected, a nice quiet place without too many tourists, but long walks all the same. Buildings are a light coloured stone. I am sure they have changed the layout of where the tomb of Francis lies, as it is nothing like I remember! There was a huge earthquake here in 89, with much damage, so maybe that is the case? Saints and churches do nothing for me I’m afraid, I am more interested in Etruscan ruins ( BC by heaps), rather than stories about some wealthy tailor’s son (Francis) having an epiphany and a bit of a breakdown in the 1200’s, and then going to live in poverty and happening to be kind to animals. What’s more he takes his wealthy heiress friend along for the ride and after she starves herself until hallucinating (eating disorder) she founds Sisters of the Poor and also lives by the motto of the Franciscans which are poverty, obedience and chastity!! (her name was Clare) Barry thinks these may be good names for a family considering having 3 kids, or could be the values we adopt at number 45?? Yeah right.

Although we hadn’t actually done much during the day, we were quite tired when we got back, so an early night. All that driving and concentrating and walking in between isn't just lazing about

A Sunday drive: Montalcino & Pienza

Barry’s words.......
“I’m writing this from the living room of our apartment in Montepulciano, where the sun has just risen across the Tuscan landscape. We have an absolutely beautiful view out across vineyards and gentle rolling hills here, so very happy with our accommodation choice.
Yesterday we went for a “Sunday drive” (not the sort of thing that we do at home) and went to another hilltop town about 20km away, Montalcino. They had their annual thrush festival on, where the 4 quarters of the town compete in an archery competition, with a big parade where they are all dressed in medieval costume: very colourful. They had a big outdoor BBQ sort of thing where all the visitors ate and drank (Montalcino is a very famous wine town, so we had to sample the local speciality of course). The nice thing about the day was that although it was crowded, most of the visitors were Italians, rather than overseas visitors: we have been a bit put off by some of the places we have visited which only seem to exist for the international tourism.
After Montalcino we drove through some more picture-postcard countryside to Pienza, another lovely little town where we had a drink in the main square and watched the world go by. People-watching is a major pastime here!”
Suzette’s words
What a special day!! I have my head buried in the book “Vanilla Beans and Brodo” by Isabella Duisi, and it is set in Montalcino. It has been written up in the Herald and the travel writer, Jim Eagles, did an article this year where he came on a tour with her to Tuscany. It was such good luck that the very weekend we had, was the actual weekend of the famous archery competition and thrush festival. You need to read the book to get all of the details. (it will go into book club)
Anyway, we climbed up to the village in our car, and managed to park up a steep hill, not too far away, as we were quite early arriving at around 11. The smoke was billowing from the barbeques and the smells were divine. Each quarter of the village had a food and wine stand festooned with their colours. Everyone was walking around, swinging bottles of Brunello and drinking. It was more like a NZ event with young people getting pissed and singing. Shouts of team chants went up every now and again, where around a quarter of the crowd would join in (basically chanting that their archer was the best, their quarter the best etc)
Before we tasted the Tuscan delights we decided to wander around the town. It was obvious something was about to happen, and we managed to get ourselves an English version of the programme, so we sat down on the roadside and waited for the medieval parade to start. It was just great, a big reminder of the even grander Palio in Sienna some years ago which we had also stumbled upon.
After about an hour the parade and the blessing of the archers were over, so everyone could go and have their lunch (usually a 2 hour affair). We wandered up over the town, around the church, and back into town to the quarters and the stands. It was a bit of a bun fight to get your tickets and food but all part of the fun. We found a place in the sun and chatted to the few other tourists who had made it to this almost entirely Italian event. I got talking to a Brunello producer and his wife (ex Dutch hockey player) and Barry spoke to 2 Swedes who were extending their summers and were staying in the village having done the very same thing before.
On offer were various meat options (salscitica sausages, bisteca (steak), misto (mixed grill on a stick); gorgeous huge porcini mushrooms grilled on the barbeque; bruscheta rubbed with garlic and then dipped in fresh olive oil; polenta fried, whipped or whatever; wild boar sauces, ragu sauces, ......
Then there were the dolci options...almond cake, chocolate options, cantucci dipped in santo wine...
Brunello was available by plastic glass! At 6 Euro!!! I decided why not? My first glass of Brunello may as well be authentic, and even the brunello grower was doing the same next to us! Brunello is made from 100% of a unique clone of sangiovese grapes, only grown ina 26 km radius on the slopes of the town, and aged in oak barrels for at least 4 years, I think. The rosso is the ‘inferior’ version made up of sangiovese and blended with things like merlot etc ( I think). We loved the rosso anyway. The grower said the brunello must be opened at least 2 hours before drinking, and they decant it. He also said what makes it special is that you can give it to your nephew, so long as you change the cork (meaning to cellar it for years and years) ...which of course led to a discussion on screw tops verses the cork...”but the wine must be able to breath”...
A couple of hours later we wandered off, very happy to have enjoyed these special celebrations! It was one of the best days of the trip for me!! We went off to an enoteca and bought 3 bottles of wine to try at home (Tuscan home), 2 brunellos and a rosso to compare. All that was left was the steep climb back up to the car to drive home. We didn’t stay for the actual archery, as it didn’t begin until 3.45, and the thousands of people would all be trying to leave on the same road at the same time so we imagined chaos to get out. It was the first night of daylight saving, so it would get dark at 6pm, but from Monday it would get dark at 5pm. Also there was not much point in my being there and not able to quaff brunello!! Buggar.
Pienza is the town- planning geeks’ paradise, so hence we had to go there. It was a planned medieval town, and just gorgeous. It was something about the size, layout, and the spaces between the buildings.
We had tried to get into a traditional trattoria near to the apartment on Saturday night, but most places were full, so we went back on Sunday. We had a light meal (after the lunch). I chose the pasta option with the fresh truffles on!!!! Now I was in heaven....but that is another blog story.
What a perfect day in Tuscany!!!

Chianti wander/wonder

Wow wee, I think we just got lost in paradise!
We picked up the car, a small Lancia, and began to drive vaguely towards San Gimignano. We got stuck in a few boring towns, but made it to San G around 4pm, thinking we would settle in for the night. (We had lunched in the town where Pinocchio was set.) Well what a disappointment! It was still thronging with tourists, and it seemed to have no other function ie not a real working town. I didn’t like the vibe a tall, so we decided to push on south to Chianti country. Nothing was looking that interesting to stay in, but the forests and the views were incredible in the rapidly disappearing light. We wound our way up a huge hill to Castellina in Chianti and tried to find one of the agri-tourismo places sign-posted. We threw a left, and found what looked like a hotel called something like Albergo...something but when Barry looked it was a restaurant called Resturante Albergaccio di Castellina..........he came back and said wow you will like the menu, maybe a little pricey but ...wild pigeon, wild boar, rabbit, duck, venison.
Across the road was a place called Villa Christina, so we knocked and asked about a room. She did have a double, so we took it on the spot without looking. As you know this can be a disaster, but it was already dark and we had to take our chances. Well the room was great. Spacious and with a nice view down the mountain. Breakfast was a feast which was include for the price of 78 Euro.
Next came dinner at the restaurant across the road. The owner of the villa said yes it was good, so we took her word for it and trudged across the road expecting a nice earthy meal.
Well the Michelin Star certificate was the first thing to hit us as we walked in!! We were early (first sitting is strictly at 7.30 we have discovered). It was one of my goals for this trip to go to a Michelin Starred place, but not to stumble upon one!! I had done research on one nearer to Turin.
They deemed to let us in early, and offered us a bubbly aperitif. There were 6 different types of bread to sample while waiting. We tossed the choices up and ate things like wild pigeon with quail egg and porcini mushrooms (in season), wild boar, speld biscuits, etc etc . Oh my God. Barry loved his crepes of spinach and ricotta that had been grilled lightly. We drank a bottle of Chianti Classico.....when in Chianti. Well 150 euros later we rolled across the road to bed.
The next day we followed a route through Chianti. What a route! Windy hill climbs and descents all through forest glades. It was much more mountainous than we expected, and more forested. The autumn colours are just beginning on some aspects and more on other aspects, so it is very, very beautiful. Towards the end of the day we got onto a more main road and headed for Montepulciano as we were due here at 2pm to get the keys from the owner. Our apartment is a two bedroomed one, with a garden, and plenty of space. I was soo excited to see a washing machine I did it all!! (not really excited)
We have a room with a view, over the Tuscan landscape. Wow!! I just wanted to lay on the bed and look.
Next blog will be about Tuscany.

Health Camp Cinque Terre

What a pleasure to arrive in Vernazza, plop down at a table in the square on the water front and order a seafood risotto for two. We sat in the sun and contemplated the world, while supping vino rosso and sparkling water. From here about 2 hours later we found ourselves a room just 20 metres away, on the flat and next to the water. Unfortunately it was only for one night, but it was worth it to gather our wits. We then stupidly took off for the first walk to Monterosso, with the wine and food in out tummies.
The walk was bloody hard, and hundreds and hundreds of f... upward steps to even get out of the town, but maybe worse are the steps down into the next town. It looks so close but it is miles up and down to go around the bluffs. At times I thought I couldn’t do it, but kept counting 10 steps and then another 10 and so on. Lucky I am a stubborn bitch. It was really rough too, so no nice smooth track or anything. The sun was really hot and we quickly ran out of water. The problem is, you get to the other end and it is only a 5 minutes train ride back!! Very deflating.
The next day we were up and racing (not) around 9am (Italian pace) and had an Italian breakfast of brioche and cappucini and then had to sit around waiting to change rooms. The room we chose is up bloody 100 steps but we can sit cliff edge and view the coast from a terrace. We decided to read from there and just cruise for a few hours. You have to ration how many times you come up and down.
We eventually caught the train to the other end and took the same photo we took 23 years ago in Riomaggiore. The walks from this end are a doddle in comparison, nice and flat and paved for most of the way.
Today we have done the final part of the walk, beating straight up out of this town and heading to Corniglia. It was quite tough and long and it is sticky with humidity so we sweated out litres. I can’t get my washing dry in my room, so it is waving in public cliff-side much to Barry’s disgust. What is wrong with 7 pairs of size 20 undies and 7 pairs of white socks blowing in the wind?
The trains were a little muddled (ie Barry was muddled by the trains) so we ended up back at Riomaggioire for lunch next to the beach. Each place is slightly different so it is nice.
Barry is being a masochist and going back up way above the town to get last light photos. Good on him.
Next stop is Lucca..one of our favourite places.

Verona, Genoa, Milan

Well I haven’t got much to say about these places as they are cities and the worst aspects of humanity are always displayed.
The smell of piss, dog shit, heaps of graffiti, mad druggies in the train stations, transport strikes, traffic, churches full of gold and icons with beggars outside......
Ok it is true I worked in Milan on the day of a strike so it was a long day but I did manage to train from Verona to Milan and return and make my appointment. Barry stayed behind in the beautiful B and B and wrote a report he just had to do (Auckland Commission).
Verona is quite nice in parts, and we went to the best restaurant so far although Barry didn’t actually like his choice. We couldn’t find the bench, on the bend of the river, that I slept comatosed on 23 years ago!
Genoa is a bad ass bitch with a high class background and exterior, who can trick you with her high heels and makeup, especially around the dock area. The grottiest medieval buildings are jammed up against one another and black girls peer around corners with tits and teeth showing, and black guys are on street corners. We drank beer and wine in the grungiest part of town, outside of a bar surrounded by graffiti and filth and old high-rise.
I was glad to leave behind the cities and head off to the Cinque Terra. I already knew I was over cities, hence gave up my job, so it should not have been a surprise.

Venezia La Luna

We arrived fit and ready to walk/ferry the city after our epic journey here from Dubrovnik. (Bus for 4 and a half hours, Split for a couple of hours to see the ancient Greek Palace, overnight ferry to Ancona, and train to Venice arriving around 3pm)
It has been hot here (26) and we have had to retreat to our hotel room (in the heart of the city) to cool off and rest mid afternoon.
Long lunches, breakfasts and dinners canal-side have about filled up our days!! We thought we had better do something cultural, so yesterday went through the museum of the Doge in Saint Marco Square.
This time around (compared to 23 years ago) we could afford (just)to have a cocktail in the square, and pay the additional charge for the band playing, all as the sun set over the bell tower.
We then walked around the corner to see the full moon coming up over the Grand Canal...just another day on the road.
It is not too crowded; mainly Italian, French and German tourists, and quite a few families. Seated next to a nice French couple the other night and by the end we were swapping addresses and saying we would visit them in the Champagne district. The people watching has been our main pass time, so we make sure we are seated with a view each time.
We found a nice hotel room near to the railway station (via the net), for 80 Euro a night. We liked it so much we decided to stay a second night and get our washing dry!
It was a shock to find bloody graffiti here!! Some of it is political but the rest is just stupid copycat graffiti as anywhere. Most of the buildings are quite decrepit too but that is part of the appeal. When our legs got too tired we just sat on the ferry for a whole round as we had a 24 hour ticket. My leg is getting stronger every day, and so it needs to be as it is 50 steps up over a bridge and then down. We must have done thousands of step-up equivalents!
Next stop is Verona.

The food edition for Croatia

Sea food, sea food, sea food.
After a week we are now into the swing of eating seafood at every meal.
The breakfasts here are an espresso and not much else for the locals. We had a cheese and ham toastie to go with our large macciatos this morning. On the boat we had fresh bread with some fish paste or jam or honey and disgusting coffee so we opted for the tea. I bought some muesli and we got fruit at the markets to supplement. Lunches on the boat were 3 course affairs of simple fare as I have said already. A soup of pasta to start (often fishy), and then a main of meat or fish and some boiled veges, and a piece of fruit to finish.
Yesterday in Dubrovnik we had our best meal yet.
It was grilled squid and potatoes for Barry and a dish with a white shrimp risotto and prawns on skewers. Yum. We also had some grilled egg plant, peppers and tomatoes with a sea food salad of chopped up octopus, mussles and red onion and tomatoes.
The day before effort was nearly as good...octopus salad, mussles, and calamari. We decided at about that point that we could get used to sea food at every meal.
Octopus salad is the favourite local dish around here. The black ink squid with risotto or spaghetti is also a local delicacy but we didn’t get around to it
A long bus trip up to Split (crossing Bosnia!) followed by an overnight ferry to Italy, and then a train trip up to Venice awaits us over the next 36 hours so we will be the worse for wear. Last time in Venice together we could not afford to eat out for most of the trip but splurged and had a simple meal water front and nearly fainted at the price.
Barry has just been to the supermarket and bought a bag of food for the journey for the same price as we have been paying for 2 beers at a bar. No wonder 25 years ago we only ate from the supermarket.
Ciao,
Suzette and Barry

A blissful week at sea.

A week has just flown by, and we find ourselves back in Dubrovnik and the hustle and bustle of a city going by. We will sleep one more night on the boat, and then an apartment tomorrow night before bussing up to Split. It is hot outside and there are a number of cruise ships in, so we are waiting a few hours for the heat to go, and the people to go.
The islands of the past few days have been very tranquil so it is a bit of a shock to hear traffic. The little village we spent last night in was quite run down, and one bar type of place at this time of year. Sipan. We came around the corner to Lupad this morning and it was fantastic. A Franciscan monastery on the rocky promenade and a few shops and apartments water-front. All of the Kiwis on board could relate to holidaying there. You even ha dto walk slowly so as to not stand out.
One of the highlights as the national park at Miljet. I walked kms and kms while most of the others biked even further. I don’t want to upset my back too much. There was a monastery on a tiny central island in the middle of a lake.
Every dinner is sea food and to be honest I have had enough of it. Barry loves the grilled whole fish, while I go for the spaghetti del mar type dishes. Lunch is cooked on board and is part of the fare. It is plain Croatian food that you wouldn’t write home about (hang on, I am!)
Meat of some sort, or fish and veges. Pasta or soup to start, fruit to finish. The coffee is disgusting on board, so the most mornings we get up and find an espresso before sailing.
I am now in the groove of sleeping in until 8am though, so that is the time we sail.
Barry has had a swim each day with most of the men, but most of the women have not bothered a sit was very cold water. Some of the NZ family celebrating the 60th of the Dad were game enough to jump off the top deck! That includes the mother who must be nearly 60. She does have a bruised bum as result however.
The water is so clear that you can see the bottom and all of the fish, and no matter where you are. You never get sick of looking at it.
Well we had better gather the energy for the Dubrovnik walk. Another medieval walled town..ho hum.?!!
Will add photos later on when we have the fast internet speeds to cope. It is meant to be one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and from our glimpse from the bus on the way in it was spectacular.
Ciao,
Suzette and Barry

Cruising the Dalmation Coast.

Hi all,
This time from a boat in the Adriatic. We have settled into a pattern now....up around 6am for a walk in the little town we are moored at and find a coffee. The boat leaves at 8am and that is when breakfast is also served. It is simple fare so we supplemented with the local bakery for a roll and a slice of cheese and a slice of prociutto. We pull in for a swim stop around lunch time, although it was only a handful of hardy men who went in yesterday. The water is probably NZ temps and it was quite cool day yesterday (maybe up to 17/18?). Today is nicer and sunnier so may make 20. Last night we were moored in Korkula, a restored/preserved medieval town on an island.. It was stunning from all angles and all lights. We sat for dinner on the water front watching the sun go down and the fishing boats come in...magic. Most of the food is sea food of course. Barry had an octopus stew and I had handmade macaroni with gargonzola cheese...yum! We get a cooked lunch on board....not much to write home about but edible. The wine on board isn’t up to much either, so it will cause me to not bother too much.
Dad you would love here, the yachts tied up right in the middle of town, and the many islands to hop from on eto the other. It reminds me of the Bay of Islands except for the historic towns and the stark Central Otago like mountains in behind. Let’s say the water is flat like the Bay of Islands.
The people on board are nice...mostly retired or nearly retired folk like ourselves!!!
A large NZ contingent a few Aussies, an Irish couple and a German couple, 21 in all.
I will up-load some photos once I am on a faster speed somewhere.

Bellavista Santiago-The coffee hunt goes on...

Even though South America is meant to be the source of great coffee it is bloody hard to find a great cup while travelling.

I have had to re-learn the lesson each time i.e espresso is the only type that will come close to satisfying the taste buds honned on NZ coffee.

I have been wandering around Bellavista and there are great design stores, music places, galleries, even a coffee shop but I can't find great coffee! Arghhh!!

I at last found an impersonation of one in a little courtyard with walls up to the sky, and covered in vines. It had a gallery attached with some interesting bronze casts and a design store in the cafe.

Chilean nights out..now I have time to blog

I need to tell you about the great hotel I was in in Santiago, and about a couple of resturants. The hotel is one up from a hostel/boutique style, so yes rustic but in such a good location. Hotel del Patio is in Barrio Bellavista www.hoteldelpatio.cl. I managed to get good corporate rates of $75US per night. It is an old 19th century mansion gutted out but the best thing is it overlooks Del Patio which is an enclave of cafes, bars, design shops and tourist shops. This is an ideal location for a woman travelling on her own, as I have done in the past.
Jennifer had her birthday on tour, so we celebrated by going to Amorio www.amorio.cl This is the place I had been introduced to 2 years before, and each time I am in Santiago it is a must.I was well pleased to have enough Spanish this time to book the table!
We drank Casa Silva Reserva Cabernet Sauvigon 2006 (it was Jennifer's choice) and it was just perfect. We were the first table seated at around 8pm. Sooo early to go out! They are no-where as late as the Argentineans, they are quite outside the box, even for Latin Americans. A great night out but didn't go too hard as we had the fair next day.
The other new resturant we tried and now rave about was Cienfuegos
www.grupocienfuegos.cl It was just 50 metres from home, so ideal for after a fair and with another day to go.
Well the ambience was so comfortable that we took our shoes off and curled up in the sofas where we were being served. We were so tired that we got the giggles really badly, as you do. it all started when the waiter, first day on the job, broke a glass everywhere, spilt something else etc. The point that sent us over the edge was when he apologetically came back with a very torn wine label (Castillo de Molina Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon 2006). The photo above says it all. The food was presented in such an amazing way that all dishes were photographed. All up it didn't cost much at all per person but it was top-notch. The hard yards are hard.

Last night in Chile-Los Beunos Muchachos

I forgot to tell you about my last night in Chile.
We had the fair for very long hours on Friday and Saturday, collecting 160 names and emails. Fairs can be very boring affairs! We had 3 students on the booth, so we adults spent most of the time just organising and inputting data etc.
Anyway for the wind-up we went to the Chilean show Los Beunos Muchachos, which I had been to before. Around 35 of us from the fair were there along with around 500 or so others! It is huge, like a large hall. The food is a traditional asada, or grill and was awesome. We started with Pisco Sours, the national drink, and then onto the red wine. We began dinner around 10pm. Well after the show part comes the dancing, and dance we did!!
The old dancing to Latin music does it to me every time. 3 of us middle-aged women were egging each other on to dance with the sexy 33 year old from ENZ. In our dreams only.
I think I won with the up-close, almost dirty, dancing version. Oh la la, salsa up close, being thrown around the dance floor. Systems still go after all.
Huge night. 4 hours sleep and off to flight, as you do.

Cartagena..historic

Cartagena...salsa heaven

I have to bring my friends here to experience what I did last night in this amazing place. Salsa...blasting out of historic cafes...Cuban salsa music played live in the most atmospheric cafe/bar I have ever been in....drinking Cubalibre drinks in the square as the sun went down, while listening to the salsa pulse...drinking caiperingas(?) until 2am while the crowd shook to the salsa band...eating local specialities off a board (shredded meat, salads, chicken,tasty sausage, fried plantain). oh my God!! is all I could think, this is heaven!!! The colours are just fantastic and the sounds cram into your brain, so much so that I dreamed all night that I was still partying.

Colombian coffee for purists

Hola mi amigos, mi gusta espresso del Colombia!
At last coffee to write home about.
I am in Cartagena, on the Caribbean Coast of Colombia (near to Panama and Venezuela) and I am sure I have landed in heaven.
I have found an Italian roaster of the best Colombian beans.
100% Arabica beans , from about 7 to 9 different top coffee farms. Hand selected bean by bean, naturally dried under the sun and then slowly roasted in the Italian style (as opposed to burning it). The coffee was voted the best coffee in Colombia by the national paper.
The brand is Devotion.
It is so hot and humid here that I am also having iced/shaken versions of it, with shit-loads of sugar in it (as made).
The espresso is thick, creamy and sweet. Yum. Mi gusta.
Ciao,
Suzette

Medellin, Colombia

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Medellin (pronounced Medijin)is a lovely city of 1.5 million in the hills of Colombia.
It is nice and fresh most of the time due to the height above sea level.We struck it really hot at 36 degrees during the day.

We ran the marathon in Medellin as you can see by the timetable. It is a striking city, being at he bottom of a very deep and narrow valley. The area produces flowers and vegetables for export, plus the city has many high-tech industries and design and fashion and medical establishments. The women are seen to be the most beautiful in all of Colombia, and the most sophisticated. We saw very up- market women out lunching. The hotel we were in, the Hotel San Fernando Plaza, was jaw-droppingly up-market as it was brand new and had special promotional rates.It was like a fantastic Thai or Singapore one.

My coaching point of trying to help the agents make their businesses better was in action! Luckily my background in geography teaching came to the fore, but also the fact all 3 of us were teachers, we just went onto automatic pilot and taught who were in front of us.

Off for a long slow lunch, Barranquilla next posting.
Suzette