- Within the first few days of arriving on Italian soil.. Liza and Dad are driving along when suddenly we see this lovely old gentleman, riding an old rickety bicycle. He happens to be on the same busy roundabout as us when we realise that he wants to turn off. However since he did not indicate / take is hands of the handlebars, I did not know this was his intention. Not until, of course, he began waving his arm, gesticulating wildly and yelling (?expletives) at us with great Italian gusto! Hilarious really - how often do you get told off with such panache by a Grandpa? :)
- Then, in Bari, Dad pops into Avis Car Rental asking the usual questions: (Q) What cars do you have to rent / how much do they cost? (A) No no! (Q) Sorry, do you have a car to rent? (A) You don't have a reservation number.. no no. Not possible! (Q) I'm just enquiring about cars, prices etc (A) No no! Not possible! Not possible!!!! ...(this time with a bit more emphasis and the throwing of hands in the air).
These were, however, just 2 instances which we thought to be funny. Of course, we had many many experiences where the renowned Italian arm waving and gesticulation with gusto was involved. So, naturally, Dad and I decided to abide by the old adage 'When in Rome, do what the Romans do' and soon adapted our communication style to that of the Italians. Our only flaw with this, was that we always thought it to be hilarious- so would throw our arms about wildly... with huge grins on our faces. This, we think, is the point where the Italians went from 'pretending' to be annoyed to truly being angry! Unfortunately this made Dad, particularly, laugh even more. :) Was rather funny to watch actually - a hot explosive Italian and a laid-back ice-cool Swede!
ABRUZZO
Anyway - after our wonderful conflicting 'good and bad' experiences of Southern Italy, we then travelled towards Central Italy and through the region of Abruzzo. Described as 'wild landscape of stark apennines peaks and dark valleys, of ancient forests and brooding castles' we couldn't wait to drive our new hire car hither! Once again, however, we were expecting something far more spectacular than what we found. Yes, it was a lovely area... but really... it pales in comparison to Syria, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania and so on and so forth. (These 'Italy' Guide Book authors really need to travel east a wee more.) Of course, Mum, Dad and myself are not ones to let our disappointment influence our travels. In Abruzzo, we found a lovely little village and, of course, enjoyed our drive through some nice National Parks.
Scanno is a remote medieval village where tradition and small-town friendliness runs through the villagers' veins. In Scanno, one can still find elderly women dressed in traditional costume from centuries ago - big balloon skirts with patterned aprons and topped by a plain-coloured scarf tied neatly around their hair. This was absolutely our favourite town in Italy! People would congregate every afternoon in the local piazza, always meeting and greeting each other on a daily basis. Congregating and chatting appeared to be the biggest pastime of all for the Scanno villagers.... oh.. this, and going to church! Truly a wonderful stay with the most wonderful Italians ever.
TUSCANY
From Scanno we ventured through the heart and soul of Italy's renowned vineyard and sunflower region - Tuscany. Although Tuscany is also known for it's architecture and those famous artists, Michelangelo and Da Vinci, it was the landscape and hilltop towns, through which we toured, that brought smiles to our faces and relaxing peace to our travelling souls. Once again, we strove to find a wee little town off the beaten track - and came upon Montalcino. This pretty little town was perched upon it's hilltop overlooking the Orcia Valley. It is these surrounding valleys which are covered with the vineyards which contribute to Montalcino's red wine reputation. Understandable that we chose to stay in this little town :) Brunello is the name of the rich red wine which flows freely from all the cafe's and wine cellars lining the many cobble-stoned streets. Such a picturesque town - and even better when combined with the Jazz Festival!
CINQUE TERRA
Following a few days of relaxing and tasting wine in Tuscany, we travelled further north east to the famous Cinque Terra. After a stop over at the Leaning Tower of Pisa for a lunch and paparazzi picture posing, we arrived in the early evening to the beach side towns of the Ligurian Sea. Interesting beaches.. comprising of pebbles as opposed to sand - even so, apparantly very popular amongst tourists and locals alike!
Cinque Terra, another World Heritage Site, consists of 5 villages clinging to a rough rocky cliff face which are all linked by (some would say) a spectacular walking trail. Mum, Dad and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The trails ranged from an easy safe walk to rough, mountain hiking style terrain. Bless Mum and her cotton socks - she survived the walk / hike superbly! - Dad and I were very impressed!
And so, it was this lovely area of northern Italy that the Bergstrom Safari came to a close. Mum and Dad were going to continue there travels for another week through the French and Spanish Mediterrainien and Liza was to travel north to Paris. Mmmm - I wonder why Paris???
