Oct 28, 2012 - Under the Tuscan Rain

Was a cold wet rainy day. Where is that infamous Tuscan sun - oh well..on we go..Started the morning with a looksee to the most famous bridge in the world (as the locals claim) to the Ponte Buriano about 15 minutes south of where we are staying..on the way to Arezzo. On the river Arno, its the bridge behind the left shoulder of the Mona Lisa.. who knew... Kevin decided that he needed to take the rest of the day off; so we dropped him back at the Villa where he relaxed with a bottle of wine and the 3 of us took off for Pisa. The drive was...

Oct 14, 2012 - Arezzo with Robert

Sunday October 14 After long day yesterday, today we decided to have a quieter time. Heather was up at 8:30 and spent some time catching up on the diary; Gary was the next to emerge at 9:30 and we woke Robert around 10:15. It was a cloudy but dry day. After breakfast we drove to Castelfranco di Sopra. Just as we were leaving the villa our hostess Laura brought over a home-made nut cake for us. We introduced her to Robert and we all had a bit of a conversation though as she speaks no English at all it was a bit of a struggle but we managed...

Oct 9, 2012 - A visit to Arezzo

Tuesday October 9 We woke up to thunder and lightning, not a good start to the day! The storm lasted for most of the morning, so we settled down to reading and diary writing. The weather eventually cleared and after lunch in the villa we drove to the city of Arezzo. The afternoon turned out to be very nice and we travelled Arezzo on small, very curvy and hilly roads past many olive groves. We parked outside Arezzo’s city wall and walked into the city, which was quiet compared to the other urban areas that we have visited. We enjoyed a...

Feb 12, 2011 - Cortona is the Gem of Tuscany, no daubts about that.

We spent a week in august 2010 at Casa vacanze La Mucchia in Cortona, Tuscany. It exceeded even our highest expectations! Quirina one of the owners, came to meet us, when we initially got lost coming into Castiglin del lago, and personally escorted us to the vacation farmhouse. She took the time to take us around to show where the supermarket is, give us a map and highlight the various excursions we should think about. We at all times knew she was a phone call or an e-mail away whenever we had a questions about our journeys! Casa Vacanze...

Nov 23, 2010 - Abruzzo and Arezzo

Rain, rain, and more rain. That was the forecast for the south of Italy for the near future, and we really didn't fancy that, so we headed north. From Puglia we headed into the mountains of Abruzzo and the national park that covers this stunning area south east of Rome. It was glorious, with the autumnal colours shining. Well, it was until it started to rain. And until we got to the campsite and the river had flooded it and we couldn't stay. We decided to push on northwards even though it was getting dark and it was commuter time on on the...

Jul 18, 2009 - Final Morning at Casa d'Orlando

A chance to write as I sit quite comfortably on my train from Terontola to Rome. It really is an immense blessing that during this journey I have more space... more space and less stress. Beside me, a little pocket in which to sit my shoulder bag and ukulele. So my laptop and I have an entire seat in which to luxuriate. The woman opposite is relaxed, taking a phone call ot two, and she has her quite large suitcase on the seat beside her. Mine is in the corridor outside this booth of 6 seats. The seat beside me is vacant. And beside the...

Jul 15, 2009 - Take #2 ... A quotation from Ms Lisa - YogaJen finds her Yoga Feet!

Saying yes to yoga. I confess, the strongest motivating factor for being here in deep in Italy, for somehow getting myself here, to Italy, was to be amongst the Italian language. One means was to this end was to in the process, come and do yoga, train in my field of work, and finally fulfil the desire to meet and train with Sandra Sabatini. This journey expanded into a Ukulele Festival at Vincenza, a Language School at Padova, and sightseeing in Rome. At the Ukulele Festival, I did two workshops with experts in different fields of ukulele,...

Jul 15, 2009 - Talking 'bout Last Night

Where do I begin? Maybe I will write more later. But... a few notes to remind me. Italian Villa Tuscany. Sandra Sabatini, her family to visit her son, daughter-in-law, their three little kids. And of course Ugo. our magnificent inspiring and adorable cook Ada, and her lovely husband Enzo. Ada and Enzo were of course very busy, they cook. Italian food in abundance, and a BBQ. Let the vinos begin. Ugo pulls out all stops in offering his extensive collection of Italian wines - pre-dinner, with dinner, after dinner. Extravagance with which I am...

Jul 13, 2009 - we went to Cortona

It was a short visit - we were on borrowed time. Ugo and Sandra, brother and sister, have a lovely warm and playful relationship. He is the ssence of friendliness and charm, and a handyman extraordinaire - grows olives, makes the best olive oil, runs this estate, can fix anything and is just so delightful. But yoga - 'domani' is his standard reply, and of course, 'let's forget about domani, domani never comes!!!' Sandra required our presence at 5.30 for class. Ugo very naughtily pushed the boundaries, it was always going to be that way. So...

Jul 13, 2009 - Gosh, it's Monday!

This morning I rose early. I had not had the best night's sleep. Sadly this was the result of eating just a little too much beautiful Italian food last night. I am not accustomed to eating much in the evening, it doesn't suit my constitution so well, and on this adventure I have been able to balance comfortably the intake, sometimes I confess, substituting dinner with my research project into gelato. Last night's meal resembled more the typical Italian style full meal, with first course risotto, then a main course of broccoli quiche that...

Jul 12, 2009 - Si', ho trovato la piscina.....

Yes, I have discovered... the pool. And a very good thing too. It isn't large, and it isn't heated, like Leichhardt Pool, but then again, it is not winter for me, as it is there for most of you. One thing that I really do miss on this journey is my time doing aquarobics, moving my body in water. And my last swim in the beautiful hotel pool at Seoul Korea, was almost 3 weeks ago? So yes, the opportunity to move around today in my usual aquarobics ways was fantastic. My my, such stiffness in certain muscles. The asymmetrical load-bearing has...

Jul 12, 2009 - Villa Ugo

So good to be here. The space. The view. The historic and beautifully restored villa. The constant sound of birds and the insects of summer. And hallellujah, the gods have smiled on me and provided for my comfort and pleasure ........ a ...........dog!!!!!!!!! Her name is Millie, she is not so young and has cataracts, she barks when strangers arrive, but she is only too willing to sit next to me and be patted. Sono molto contenta! The group - the original 8 students for various reasons has shrunken to 5 - 5 women, with two teachers, Sandra,...