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Italy, June 1-7
We were sorry to leave Austria as the country is so wonderful as was ZAS and the flat. Another week, another country, so we had to press on.
The drive from Austria, through the Alps, to Lake Como, in Italy, was as spectacular as expected. Switzerland was really beautiful. Like Austria, it was clean and very well ordered but very expensive. Arriving in Italy on Saturday afternoon was a bit of a shock, traffic-wise. They have a weekend, in this part of Italy from Sunday to Monday and this region has a lot of holiday homes for Milanese folk. The streets are really narrow, in places, with very old towns. The roads aren't the quality of Austria's and the place is untidier and crumbled but very lively. Chaotic at times but the chaos seems to work.
The driving thing was a big shock as they are everything people say about Italian drivers is true. During my first hour, I collected animated hand gestures and abuse about every 500 metres. Every driver thinks they are in a Ferrari, driving in the Monaco F1, just about to lap a back-marker, while trying to regain the lead. They harass anyone 0.1 km per hour slower than themselves and drive crazy speeds through alley ways that are barely wide enough to let 2 motor bikes pass each other . Talking of motor bikes, while drivers think they are as good as Schumacher, every motor cyclist KNOWS they are better than Valentino Rossi. At least they don't harass you as you never see them coming from behind and they'll overtake you anywhere, anytime, any how. There are so many hairpin bends up to our house and the roads are narrow, so you have to swing wide at every corner to get around. Sometimes you meet other traffic and it gets really interesting. I have had to get faster and more aggressive, just to survive. Actually, there are a lot of "normal" drivers and it seems the better the car, the better the driver. Mercedes, BMW and the bigger Audis tend to have more sedate drivers and it's the small Fiats and Golf GTIs that are the worst. It's said that you should do something every day that scares you, well driving in Italy fulfils that, nicely! Parking in Italy (and Europe, in General) is challenging. We don't know how lucky we are in NZ. While traffic lights seem to receive respect, other signs like; no parking, speed limits and zebra crossings are purely for decoration, serving no practical use, whatsoever. Stopping for a pedestrian at a crossing is first met with a scowl of mistrust, followed by emotional gratitude. I've seen people on crossings with cars travelling at 80 km passing within inches of them and they seem to accept this as ok and normal.
Our GPS is a bit dodgy. The discs supplied from NZ aren't the correct type for our car and we only have one for France. However, before I left NZ, I downloaded a couple of discs from the internet (piracy, bad boy!) and the one for this area works most of the time. Sometimes it just won't work and that usually coincides with times when you most need it, of course. We have nicknamed our GPS, Mary. She gets the route right most of the time but gets confused at roundabouts and often tries to correct by taking us through tiny roads. She has been an endless source of amusement as well as being very helpful. We have learned to live with her contrariness as we have no other option. It seems that whenever she/us get it wrong, she sounds like Kim Hill (a notorious NZ interviewer/commentator) on a bad PMS day. Ros is a great co-pilot but I get this gasp of horror from her at every hairpin, of which there are many.
Enough of driving. Our House has a great view over Lake Como and is really nice. It has an odd structure, being upside down. The bedrooms are in the lower floor and the lounge/kitchen are upstairs, also there is a roof patio where we like to sit and take meals. Shops open late and close for lunch, then close early. We have had some great meals as well as some very ordinary, overpriced ones. David arrived last Sunday - 100 km away and 2.5 hrs drive! We had a great few days visiting Como and a place called Villa Carlotta, which is a very grand building and gardens overlooking Lake Como. Our little village has a medieval section, consisting of roughly cobbled passageways. Some houses look abandoned and ramshackle, while others are obviously lived in but most seem to be holiday homes for Milan people. There are even a gaggle of "crotti", small, simple eating places with communal tables, set along these little lanes. No road access at all.
We met up with a group of people while we were looking through the village and they invited us in. They spoke no English and us, no Italian. One of the ladies had some French as bad as mine but we got on great. They invited us for lunch on Sunday but we had to pick David up so they said to come dancing Sunday night. A crowd of us turned up at this bar and it was amazing. The place was so different from what we expected. The clientele consisted of mostly middle aged people with a few 20-30 y/o. The music was ballroom dancing with well practiced couple gliding around. Another song and another dance and Ros and I were like carthorses on ice. The style changed and everyone started line dancing with elaborate steps and arm movements. We just watched as we were so out of place. We went home about midnight as David had been up for ages having flown to Bergamo from Ireland very early in the morning but we went back to the house for another hilarious session. Their house was old but well renovated and the view could not be bettered. It was incredible!! Apparently, this dancing is unusual by Italian standards and people come down from the mountains and valleys from afar to visit this place. These people were so friendly, generous and funny, we had a great time meeting them. Get them out of their cars and Italians are very friendly and helpful.
Every town has an awesome church, they are so worth visiting as they are so richly decorated and grand. The Cathedral in Como has 15th century paintings all around the walls. These churches are so well looked after. Eating is such an Italian thing that it's difficult to balance eating out or self catering as the shops are loaded with beautiful cheeses, salamis, cold meats as well as interesting meat cuts such as testes and some sort of cut called beef femina?? Not for us.
The internet is flaky in this region with few chances of a connection. The last place couldn't get my laptop connected and it's hard to reply to emails.
We had a fabulous meal in a local trattoria, just 5 minutes drive and 10 hairpins! The host had a great haircut and was so knowledgeable and friendly. He was amazed that a couple from NZ were staying just down the hill and made their way to his place. He had a great cellar and loved his wines. He said that NZ Sav Blancs were over the top - too much of everything.
There was a party of German University teachers who were brought here by a local lady who knows here good food spots. The place is called "Antica Trattoria Vecchia Pira" The owner is called Claudio. If you ever get to these parts, try here. [email protected]
It's in the village of Stazzona down some narrow, twisty lanes. Stazzona is another village with a mix of well-restored houses and crumbling ruins. Apparently, in Italy, if you have a barn or whatever, with a roof on, you maintain the right to rebuild, without planning permission, so even these ruins and derelict barns have a decent roof.
So we're off to France tomorrow and that's 3 weeks absolutely flown by. The weather has been rainy for the last few days and the forecast is to improve, just as we leave - doh!
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