vacation – Page 14 – Destination NOW

Road Scholar, here we come!

I’m so glad we arrived in Bangkok a few days before the Road Scholar tour started. Doing so gave us an opportunity to adjust to the time difference (although if truth be told, I STILL haven’t completely switched over to Asia time) and to slowly savor this magnificent city. Bangkok is amazingly affordable, so the extra days didn’t increase the cost of the trip by much. Four nights at the Bangkok Loft Hotel, for example, cost $175 TOTAL, and that included airport pick up, plus great breakfasts. The Loft was an excellent choice–within walking distance of the SkyTrain, just two stops from the river. It was quiet, clean, very comfortable, with all the amenities that are important to us: firm mattress, good water pressure, plenty of hot water, free wi-fi, perfect temperature control, excellent free breakfast, and helpful, friendly English speaking staff. Thank you, Trip Advisor!

Before leaving home, I had gotten $250 worth of Bhat from our bank. Had we steered clear of the resort hotels (lunch at the Mandarin Oriental, drinks at the SkyBar, dinner at the Shangra-La), that amount would have been more than enough for our transportation, entrance fees to attractions and food during our stay.

Rama lX is featured on Thai money. — Rama IX’s portrait is on Thai money. He looks pretty good for an 86 year old man. But why does one denomination have a different portrait?

The hotel chosen by Road Scholar, the Majestic Grande was also quite lovely, in the business section of town.

Thursday night, we met our fellow travelers. The group is composed of 5 Canadians, 8 from Washington state, 2 from California, 2 from NY, 3 from PA, and the two of us from NJ. As with other Road Scholar Trips we’ve taken, the women outnumber the men, 14 to 8. I love making new female friends! In fact, one of the reasons we keep choosing Road Scholar is it seems to attract interesting, friendly, curious travelers who are fun to be with. Mike and I are looking forward to getting to know everyone better over the next few days.

Friday was an action packed day, with visits to Wat Po and the Grand Palace, followed by lunch at the Supatra River House. After a lecture on Buddhism by Jim Lehman, we returned to the hotel. By then, all we wanted was some cold water and some cold air on our sweaty bodies!

Here are some visual highlights from Wat Po.
The Reclining Buddha is enormous–150 feet long by 50 feet high.

It's hard to get all of him into one shot. — It’s hard to get all of him into one shot.

This gives you an idea of the size of both the Buddha and the crowd at Wat Po. The place was mobbed!

Do you think these qualify as “Happy Feet”?

The bottom of the Buddha's feet are covered with mother of pearl. Talk about having big shoes to fill! — The bottom of the Buddha’s feet are covered with mother of pearl. Talk about having big shoes to fill!

The Wat Po grounds are filled with gold Buddhas, temple guards, and interesting statues. This temple guard is clearly Chinese.

But what about him? To me, he looks like a cross between Charlie Chaplin and John Wayne.

Our return to the Grand Palace was a different experience. We traveled by bus, which gave us a chance to get a different glimpse of the city. Road Scholar provides ear pieces, so that we can easily hear the guide. What a godsend in these crowded sites! Mike and I were glad that we had been able to spend time on our own, and leisurely wander the grounds; having a second go-round with a guide allowed us to see things a little more deeply, and catch some of what was missed the first time. For example, the gallery surrounding the religious section of the Grand Palace is painted with scenes from the Ramayama, and the yellow “paint” in the scenes is liquid gold.

My blog is lagging behind our activities, but I need to end this so I can get myself together for the start of our day. More to come!

Night in Bangkok

Many years ago, Mike and I saw the musical “Chess”, which was memorable for two reasons:
1. it is the only musical that Mike and I disliked enough to leave at intermission, BUT
2. it had a really catchy theme song by Tim Rice, whose lyrics I remember to this day.

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble,
Not much between despair and ecstasy,
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble,
Can’t be too careful with your company,
I can feel the devil walking next to me.

Well, now…MY man has been here for THREE nights and he hasn’t tumbled yet. Let’s see what night number four has in store for him.

First decision–what to wear? While at Wat Arun, I saw some possibilities.

Had one of my female traveling buddies (you know who you are…) been by my side, this next photo might have been us in our evening attire. (These sweet young girls were also touring Wat Arun, decided to purchase the full outfit, fingernails and all, and allowed me to photograph them).

But I digress. Back to last night. Our first stop was Distil Bar on the 64th floor at the Lebua Hotel, where for the equivalent of about $40, I had a rose apple martini and Mike had a beer.

That might sound a bit pricy, but the olives and pistachio nuts were free, and we were able to relocate to the SkyBar when it opened. I’ve been told that this place was prominently featured in the movie Hangover Two. Since we saw neither that nor Hangover One, that wasn’t our reason for going there–it was, what else, the amazing view.

It would have been wonderful to have dinner at the restaurant, but it is booked months in advance, so we needed to go elsewhere.

That gold blur in the center of the next photo is indeed McDonald’s Golden Arches; Kentucky Fried Chicken is a few yards further down.

As tempting as those options were, we decided to walk on by, and headed for “Flow”, a restaurant on the river.

Last stop, the 360 bar atop the Millennium Hilton, from which you can see the Dome at the Lebua Hotel. A great way to end our time “on our own”. We join the Road Scholar tour on Thursday evening, moving from the Loft Hotel to the Majestic Grande.

And now, as promised, the answer to yesterday’s question. There may actually be SEVERAL correct answers, but here’s the one I had in mind when I posed the question.

Thais, like the Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, Japanese, Indians and South Africans, drive on the left side of the road. If you think that wouldn’t make a difference to non-drivers, you would be wrong. We kept heading for the escalators, doors, and turnstiles on the right, not the left. So, wouldn’t you think walkers should bear left? Sometimes…but most of the time it didn’t matter what side of the sidewalk you chose, it was guaranteed to be wrong. And if you think motor scooters should only be ridden on the road, you’d be wrong again! We have been wrong a lot.

Packing for a Six Week Asian Adventure

As I mentioned in an earlier post, our Asian Adventure will be our longest trip, both in weeks away and in flight time. Packing for six weeks felt more than slightly overwhelming, so I decided to reframe my thinking. Instead, I packed for TWO weeks, something I have done many times. I reminded myself that there IS such a thing as hand washing in hotel sinks and/or laundry service.

I also needed to make sure I have enough toys in my carry on to keep me sane during our 20 hours in the air. I think I have it covered with my iPad and a paperback.

Normally I use a backpack as my carry on; it has just enough room for my camera, money, “toys” and snacks. I usually don’t pack a change of clothes, but we only have a one hour layover in Korea, so to lower my anxiety level, I’m taking a “real” carry on. That way, I can include some essentials, just in case we get separated from our checked bags.

Checked luggage

3 lightweight long pants (including one in carry on and one to wear on plane), 3 long skirts, 1 dress. Asians dress more formally, so I am leaving shorts and capris at home.
6 short sleeve shirts ( 2 in carry on), 4 long sleeve shirts to protect against mosquitoes (one will be worn on plane.) No tanks or sleeveless tops.
2 belts, sun hat, 1 scarf, 1 alpaca wrap, cheap jewelry (the only kind I own)
1 Bathing suit, a bathing cap (Yes, I actually own such a thing to minimize the amount of chlorine in my hair), 1 cover up (doubles as bathrobe), 1 sarong, flip-flops
2 sandals, 1 flats (I’ll wear my Merrill’s on the plane)
2 pajamas (1 in carry on)
7 changes of underwear, 6 socks (2 changes in carry on)
Lightweight rain jacket with hood (no umbrella needed), fleece, sweater for cool nights in Vietnam –these will all be worn to the airport, and if weight and space allow, will be stashed in luggage before it is checked.

There you have it–my entire wardrobe for 6 weeks.

Also in my checked luggage:

Electrical adaptor
hair dryer, brush and comb
Toiletries: toothpaste & brush, floss, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, deodorant, razor, tweezers, scissors, kleenex
Sun screen, insect repellant, body lotion, baby powder
flash light
Materials for Global Volunteers work (photos, books, index cards, chalk, teaching aids-these are the heaviest items)
Starbucks Via. I learned about these single serving packets of instant coffee from another blogger so decided to stock up, just in case we need an early morning jolt.
my backpack
elastic bands, extra zip lock bags, a couple of packs of woolite
my medical stuff: band-aids, z-pack, Imodium, Neosporin, Advil. I read somewhere that Asian diets are low in fiber, so fiber capsules were recommended. We never needed them before, but there was room in the luggage, so what the heck.

Carry On

Credit card, bank card, local currency, singles
Passport, passport photos for visas, immunization card, global entry card
Etickets, travel info, notebook, pencil & pens
Camera, batteries, charger, photo cards and camera bag
Ipad and bose headset, cell phone
Water bottle and holder
“Comfort kit” (ear plugs, tiger balm, gum, cough drops, tissues, eye shade, sleep aid, airborne, wipes)
Glasses and case;
Paperback book
Snacks
Emergency contact list
Clothes listed above and change of clothes for Mike. (He did his own packing–I don’t meddle.)
extra toothbrush and paste
Fanny pack and “Neck Wallet”

Believe it or not, it all fit. Here’s what the packed bags and plane wardrobe looks like:

I used lots of gallon zip lock bags and a packing cube to keep things organized.

In my never-ending quest to pack “smart” and to share what I have learned, upon return, I will fess up to any items that I brought but didn’t need, and will also list anything that I didn’t have but wished that I had.

Only 72 hours till lift off. Fellow travelers–have I forgotten anything???

Asian Adventure – Phase One

Only three weeks until Mike and I embark on our Asian Adventure. This trip will be a bunch of firsts for us:

It is the longest trip we have ever taken, both in time away (6 weeks) and in distance (12 time zones).
It is our first real trip to Asia. ( I don’t count a couple of days in Turkey, back in 2001, as an actual visit to that enormous continent, although technically it was, for those that count such things).
it will be our longest flight ever–20 hours total, with only one stop, in South Korea. I am NOT looking forward to sitting on a plane all that time.
it is actually four different travel experiences wrapped into one trip. We will be on our own for four days in Bangkok until we join a Road Scholar tour. When that tour ends, Mike and I will explore Vietnam for five days, with a guide and driver. Finally, I spend the last two weeks working with Global Volunteers in Hanoi, and Mike heads home.

I’m not sure how easy it will be to get internet access, so I figured I’d created a trip map before leaving home. If you are really into it, you can click on the blue letters to get to the Travellerspoint.com site. You can then click on the different stops to learn more about each location and, as a special bonus, what the numbers on the map mean.

All of the tricky logistics are being handled by Road Scholar, during our Journey Into the Heart of Asia. (And yes, clicking on those blue letters will get you more information about Road Scholar AND the specifics of the trip.) Although I am enough of a control freak to want to do my own flight arrangements to and from the United States, I am more than happy to turn over all other transportation details to the pros.

The private tour that Mike and I are taking after the end of the Road Scholar trip is being arranged by Ann Tours. Ann Tours was created by Ann Tran in 1989 as an attempt to locate her two sons, from whom she had become separated in 1975 during the fall of Saigon. Ann hoped that her travel agency would bring her in contact with enough Americans that eventually someone would know something about Tony and Tim. In 1991 an American traveler found one son’s name in a California phone book. Mother and sons were soon reunited, with Tony now in Vietnam, arranging tours. I love a happy ending–isn’t it nice to know they don’t just happen in movies?

About the title of this blog:
Phase One is what I call the planning part of any trip we take. Once the logistics are squared away, it is time to learn about the places we are visiting. I’ve been reading books and blogs, checking out Trip Advisor and Fodors. Knowledge is meant to be shared. So sisters, mi hermana preferida, cousins, friends (and anyone else who wants to play along) here is a little quiz to get you started on this educational extravaganza:

1. What city is in two continents–Europe and Asia?

2. What country in Southeast Asia was never ruled by a European power?

3. True or false: In Thailand, all Buddhist males become monks for a period of time, to earn merit for their families.

4. What would you rather have: a thousand Bhats, a million Dongs or fifty Dollars?

5. What was the country of Thailand known as before 1939?

Memories…

Today’s snowfall looks like it could actually amount to something. The trees toppled by hurricane Sandy, lying every which way on the ground, might create some interesting sculptures.

Mr. and Mrs Cardinal are wisely loading up at the bird feeder. If the flakes keep falling, it might be a while before the feeder filler (otherwise known as Mike) gets back out there.

So, what’s a girl to do as she hunkers down for some serious indoor time? Why, start looking through photos of days filled with sun and fun. And, having just seen several of my Villa Buddies over Christmas –Diane, Karen, Denise, Emily, Wayne and Sandy– (We missed you, Greg and Sally!), I decided to take a trip down Memory Lane, all the way back to July, by reliving one of our day trips.

We had heard so much about Cinque Terra, we decided to venture forth from our villa to explore a couple of the five seaside villages.

The Lucca tourist office offers a series of regularly scheduled day trips, however the Cinque Terra trip wasn’t scheduled for the day we wanted. Instead, the tourist office helped us find a far better alternative: a private tour. Our driver, Wolfgang, picked us up at our villa, drove us to the ferry in Portovenere, got us our ferry tickets and an itinerary, then met us at the end of the day in Monterrosso, to return us to the villa.

Of course, we COULD have managed this on our own, but that would have meant driving in two separate cars, figuring out parking, the ferry schedule, taking a round trip ferry ride–nothing tremendously difficult, but the driving had fallen to the one person willing to brave the Italian roads, and it was time to give Diane a break.

We drove through La Spezia, the cruise ship port for those cruisers bound for Cinque Terra, on our way to Porto Venere, a cute little seaside town. We had just enough time for a cappuccino and pastry before boarding the ferry.

It was the perfect ferry ride: warm, with a cool breeze, clear skies, with spectacular views along the way. We could see the cultivated fields stretching up the side of the mountains.

I wouldn’t want to have to plant and weed THOSE gardens!

As you can see, stone was quite plentiful, and incorporated into the seaside buildings.

Why is it that even laundry looks picturesque in Italy?

P1040087_2 — Manarola’s bathing beauties

There was only time for a quick stroll up into the town, (and I do mean UP), then it was time to board the next ferry for our last stop, Monterrosso. We were told there is a hiking trail between the villages, but given that we were now in our lazy phase of the trip, decided to take the easy method of transportation. The trip UP into town may have helped us make that decision.

This village had an actual beach, with umbrellas and chairs for rent.

I, however, was more interested in this lovely alcoholic version of iced coffee. I got all of the benefits of the beach, without sand in my seat, or sunburned shoulders.

And since today is a day for looking through photos, I decided to include a couple from a trip Mike and I had taken in 2004 to Portofino, another seaside village further up the coast. Like Cinque Terra, the houses were sherbet colored, built tightly together.

It too was lovely, and for THAT trip, we actually DID stroll along the hillside trail. Take a look.

Come a little closer…

Although it lacked a beach, there was plenty to see on that day trip.

Ah, Italy– something tells me I’ll be back!

I Love a Parade

We were fortunate enough to be in Lucca during a festival. Several nights worth of parades with costumes, music, flags, scary weaponry…who could ask for anything more?

One question: What do you think would be more difficult–tossing and catching flags, or marching with a flag covering your face? These guys were masters at both.

True confession time: i just learned that WordPress will arrange photos into a collage, so I had to give it a try. Pretty cool, huh? And very easy–at least from my home computer.

The City Walls of Lucca, Italy

It’s a rainy day in New Jersey–the perfect time to indulge in Part Three of this summer’s trip to Italy. To me, travel is composed of three equally enjoyable segments. Part One is the planning stage. Part Two is the actual travel, and Part Three occurs when your mind leaves your body as you relive those travel highs.

Our villa was a few miles from Lucca, a short (but harrowing) drive to the city gates. It was close enough so that we could see Lucca’s towers from the patio outside my room. The photo at the top of this post (if the”featured image” application works, that is) was taken from that very patio. But just in case it doesn’t, here’s the photo again.

There are city walls, and then there are CITY WALLS. Lucca’s are the latter. We are talking big, serious structures.

One day, we rented a “bicycle built for four” and tooled around the entire periphery.

And yes, those ARE trees growing on top of the wall.

That photo doesn’t give you an idea of how big the walls are, or how high up that bike path is–so here are a couple more shots to put it into perspective.

P1030859 — Restaurant and bar on Lucca’s wall

In fact, the wall is big enough for a restaurant and bar (the site of my birthday prosecco celebration), and a sculpture garden.

P1030972 — The July birthday girls, after several glasses of that bubbly stuff

Lucca also has an old Roman amphitheater within its walls.

No, I didn’t hang from a helicopter to take that aerial view. That is a photo of a poster in the Lucca Tourist office.

The Italians, being masters of recycling, built houses out of amphitheater walls. Originally, poorer people lived in those structures, but now it is a very trendy locale, with great little cafes and shops.

That’s all for today–but that’s not all there is to Lucca!

A tale of two cities –Maglione and Capalbio

If you are thinking that I’d be tired of Italian hilltop towns by now, you’d be dead wrong. I love them! I love the walls, the winding streets, the little outdoor cafes, the cobblestones.

The prior post contains photos of the walls of Magliano, way in the distance, as seen from our Fattoria. Some of the more intrepid bikers actually rode into town during the heat of day, when all wise Italians were eating or snoozin’ and this American was cooling her easy–not moderate–biker body in the pool. They discovered there was not much to do in medieval Italian towns between 2 PM and 4 PM, other than sweat profusely and drink copious amounts of water.

My Best Biking Buddy Beth, and the rest of us wimps didn’t miss out though, because one night, we rode the van into Magliano for dinner.

P1030612 — A spectacular view of the countryside from one of the city gates

If a city has a wall, and said wall can be climbed, you’d best be believin’ I’m on it! My timing was perfect. I hustled to the top of the wall in time to capture the gorgeous sunset.

While peering through the slit, I found it easy to conjure up a brave knight of yesteryear. Can’t you just envision him on the wall, looking out into the countryside, ready to defend God, king and castle, while he rosined up his bow (or was that what the fiddler did)? Or maybe the Maglianese warriors dumped boiling oil on any invaders that attempted to storm the castle. If so, I sure hope it wasn’t the extra virgin stuff. Especially not after it had been cold pressed. (Hey, we learned all about that stuff on our tour of the olive farm).

Also while on the wall, girl scout songs kept running through my head, “the golden sun sinks in the west—something, something– calling girl scouts to rest… Day is done, gone the sun, from the east, from the west, from the sky. All is well…”. And it WAS.

Between the songs and my visions of manly knighthood, it’s a wonder I had the time or the energy to take photos, but I dug deep and managed to fire off a few shots for the folks back home.

I couldn’t decide which sunset photo I liked better, so I’m posting both. You get to be the judge.

For those of you that have had enough of the sunsets, amber waves of hay, old castle walls, here’s a change of pace. They DO hang colorful laundry out their windows, now don’t they?

On to the next subject. Talk about luck… We managed to be in town for the Soccer semi-finals, a very festive and exciting occasion. Big Screen TVs were strategically located in outdoor bars throughout the town, and it sure felt like the entire population gathered to root for the home team.

P1030624 — watching the soccer semifinals

Despite being the underdog, Italy trounced Germany. Unfortunately, a few days later they lost to Spain, but at least for that one glorious night, victory was oh, so sweet. Especially for sweet Angelo, our guide. Viva Italia!!

On our last biking day, we rode to Capalbio, another beautiful hilltop town with the requisite wall, castle and church. But this town had something that the others didn’t…a statue of Beth.

P1030670 — Beth, demonstrating how she modeled for the statue.

I can’t resist posting one last walled Italian city shot, so here it is. I’ll spare you the ones of the countryside taken from the wall. They look a lot like the other countryside photos. Beloved by me, but most likely boring to others.

And now it is time to end the bike trip saga. What better way, than to show the lengths to which I will go to get just the right shot. Here’s what I was photographing:

P1030579 — The grounds of Fattoria di Magliano

P1030581 — If I were good at panoramic shots, this would be on the right side of the photo above

And here’s what I had to do to make sure those wires didn’t appear in the photos. Thanks, Diane, for capturing my “good” side. See, Mike–I DO have one…

Although the bike trip has ended–Sally, Diane, Karen and I headed off for two more glorious weeks, sharing a villa in Italy, with yet another cast of characters.

Day Trippin’

If you are following this blog, you have probably guessed that this is not a day by day chronicle of the VBT bike trip. Our visit to Giglio Island occurred smack dab in the middle, and given how hot it had been, the timing was perfect. After all that pedaling along sunny roads, I was more than ready for some ocean breezes.

First stop, Porto Santo Stefano, where we had free time to wander thru the markets before boarding the ferry.

In addition to open-air meat, fish, cheese and flower markets, there were some clothing shops, where Becky made a purchase. She still hadn’t received her luggage–but somehow managed to always look great. And clean!!

P1030416 — Becky, wearing her favorite (and only) outfit.

P1030421 — Porto Santo Stefano, as viewed from the ferry

On the boat, I was captivated by this charming Italian, who waved and said “ciao, ciao” to me. Finally, someone whose command of Italian equalled mine! (Yes, I DO have a thing for blue eyed males…)

Remember that Costa Cruise ship that sank off the coast of Italy? The captain abandoned his ship and passengers died? I hadn’t realized that it happened off the coast of Giglio Island.

P1030441 — Tourist attraction? The Costa Concordia

What was truly amazing was how close the ship was to shore when it sank.

P1030469 — Costa cruise ship in the background

The port was lovely, with all the usual shops, restaurants, gelato stands, pastel buildings and clean, clear water.

Fortunately we didn’t have to walk all the way up to Giglio Castello, which, like all good fortresses, was built at the highest point of island, to protect the citizenry from invaders.

P1030505 — The well, an important water source when the castle was under siege.

P1030516 — One of the many winding paths within the castle

The staircases were built on the outside of the houses to save space within. Can you imagine an exterior staircase in northern New England? Try climbing stairs like these during a blizzard!

Ipads and iPhones were everywhere. I caught sight of this castle resident using hers. Maybe reception is better near the window?

P1030511 — modern technology in ancient castle

After our tour of the castle, it was time for lunch on Campese Beach. Ordinarily, VBT offers an optional hike along the Faraglione cliffs, but with the temperature hovering over 100 degrees, all agreed hiking under the Tuscan sun would not be a pleasant alternative. Some of the group hit the beach. Others (that would be me) found yet another great gelato stand and indulged, while enjoying the scenery.

Finally, we headed to our next lodging, Fattoria di Magliano, another beautiful agritourismo location, with incredible food and wine, a million dollar view, and a wonderful pool. Such luxury!

P1030527 — Magliano, as seen from the Fattoria

This was the perfect opportunity to see what my Lumix zoom could do. I probably should have manually adjusted the focus. Oh well. You get the idea.

Next post–the grand finale–our visits to Magliano and Capalbio

Bike, Sweat, and Drink a whole lot more…

I’m not sure why it is taking me so long to finish posting about our VBT bike trip. I can’t use a bad wifi connection as an excuse, nor can I blame the tediousness of blogging via ipad. It could just be those lazy, hazy days of summer have made me even lazier and hazier than usual.

This bike trip was far more than just peddling my bony butt through Italy. It was far, FAR more–it was a trip of self discovery. (Voyage of self discovery SOUNDS so much better, but alas–you don’t “voyage” on a bike. At least not intentionally. )

Here’s the big insight: I learned, much to my chagrin (an SAT word that I so rarely get to use) , that I am easy. I THOUGHT I might have moved on up to easy/moderate, but one very long trek up a very steep hill brought me to my senses. In fact, I got brought to my senses a whole lot faster than I got to the top of that damn hill (which in my mind, and probably my mind alone, was more of a mini mountain).

The true beauty of VBT however is that you are able to design the trip that YOU want to take. So, in keeping with my new philosophy of “if it’s not fun, I ain’t doing it”, whenever I encountered a steep hill I shifted — not gears, but from 2 wheels to 4. I was humming that Lionel Ritchie song “That’s why I’m easy, e-e-ZEEE like Sunday mo-oo-r-nING”, while waving to my sweating friends as we zipped on by them, en route to the pool.

So, the biking photos you will see are all of flat lands, yet still lovely in their own special way.

P1030564 — Yet another beautiful hilltop town

Here’s Angelo, on “granny” duty. Okay, so technically, I’m NOT a grandmother–I just ride like one. And yes, I am smiling, because of my recent self discovery, happy in the knowledge that I have nothing to prove and that the van will be there when I need it.

Yet another great feature of VBT trips was no matter what your skill level, there was always SOMEONE you could ride with. For me, on THIS trip it was my BBBB (that’s my “Best Biking Buddy, Beth” in text talk). Last trip it was sweet Victoria. Here we are, ready to toss down some wine before lunch, after biking all morning.

Beth’s daughter, Susan (the baby of the group) was a biking superstar, going the distance every day. She and Diane paired up and truly earned those serious biker outfits!

In addition to the biking, there are always special events. One day we visited an olive farm, where we had a tour, snorted extra virgin olive oil and then had a fantastic lunch, cooked by the owner. Best pasta EVER, fresh vegetables, beans–delicious!

The tour was called “Tuscany by the Sea”, so of course, there were more beaches to visit. The last beach had the “school locker” type changing rooms. THIS one had bushes. And driftwood. But the water was great–and the beach was not rocky.

I’m not positive what the sign meant, but I wasn’t going to mess with “waters not sured for unsafety service”! But hey, their English is far better than my Italian, or Spanish for that matter, so I’m not poking fun. I’m just reporting what I saw.

Our evening in Orbetello was great fun. First,a stop for what Franco insisted was the best gelato anywhere. And it was indeed quite amazing. The best part is you can get three different flavors at no additional charge So, of course I did. The next time you are in Orbetello, stop in at Le Logde and see for yourself!

Next, we experienced what the brochure described as a “romantic” cruise…see for yourself…are we not what you envision when you think of “romance”?

Finally, a whirl around the city then dinner at Tony’s on the waterfront, where we enjoyed great food and a beautiful sunset.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: