Monday, April 24, 2006

easter in italy

this easter we had the good fortune to be able to take a trip to italy - the flight and car rental were planned way back in january and almost forgotten about but as time drew near there was some good news from scotland with a new job and then it was off to the italian countryside for a week - talk about cramming a lot into one month!

in order to get the cheapest fares we were forced to fly out of stanstead airport at 6:30 in the morning - which meant we were up well before the sunrise and actually watched it come up while we were waiting to board the plane





we landed in pisa after just less than two hours in the air and were out and through customs in record time as we were the only arrival in the tiny airport - we picked up the car, obtained some directions in broken italian/english with lots of gesturing and headed for our hotel just the other side of florence in pontassieve



as we were leaving the airport we could see the hills in the distance and my mind was racing with photo ideas, but the drive was all highway with no chances to stop which was just as well seeing as the conditions weren't the greatest - arriving at the hotel we checked in, parked the car and hopped on the train into florence (firenze in italian) for the twenty minute ride into the city - upon arriving we took off and began exploring the city, heading in the direction of the main cathedral - in the process we came across a market in the back streets selling mainly touristy crafts and trinkets



it was as we were approaching the end of the market street that i caught a glimpse of the cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore) which was built in the late 13th century and wasn't completed until the 19th with the addition of the marble facade



walking around the structure on the wide streets and then into the main square fronting it gives you a real appreciation for the detail and craftmanship that went into its creation







further wandering took us about the tiny cobbled streets and alleyways flanked with old and new buildings alike complete with shutters and all in muted tones of yellow, brown and green











furhter away from the cathedral we found the famous jewelery district on one of the many bridges crossing over the arno river - all along the river the buildings are extended out using braces to claim all the available space in this very crowded city



after a couple of days in florence which was full of american tourists we were itching for the countryside - so we were back in the car again and heading in an easterly direction towards the adriatic coast - we took the opportunity to drive cross country instead of using the major roads and were rewarded with some beautiful scenery as we ascended and descended the many hills and mountains





our destination for our first night on the road was urbino, a small mediveal hill town not far from the coast - taking a lesuirely drive we arrived in the early afternoon just in time for some good light to grab a few snaps before we got rained on later in the day











after finding the restaurant that we wanted to eat at closed (just a sign of what was yet to come) we found a good alternative but dropped 45 euros on some pasta and what turned out to be veal instead of what we thought was scallops - needless to say it was a good thing that we were planning on sleeping in the car that night, which it turned out was a little more uncomfortable and colder than we thought it would be - but at least one of us had a sleeping bag!



after the cold temperatures of the previous day and overnight the executive decision was made to head south instead of north and we pressed on for our destination of vieste in the national park amongst the promontorio del gargano mountain range which is right on the tip of the spur - after leaving the main highway the drive along the coast was spectacular passing by two large saltwater lagoons



and several abandonded dwellings on hillsides populated by olive trees and cacti







before coming to the village of peschici perched on the hillside overlooking the ocean looking like it would belong better in greece



upon arriving in vieste meaghan was eager to dip her toes in yet another ocean and due to the chilly weather and the very high winds we had the entire beach of more than 2km to ourselves



the following day we were back on the road again headed this time back inland to the west and with an extra blanket in tow that we "borrowed" from the hotel we stayed in the night before - our destination this time was sulmona which is a tiny village in the mountains and the birthplace of the poet Ovid which has been around for over 2000 years - once again we were in mountain country and passed some beautiful vistas on our way



just before we reached the village a quick detour took us off the main road onto a muddy laneway ending in an old church perched on the edge of a massive alpine meadow bordered by snow covered peaks on all sides







once in the town we attempted to find the hotel we were hoping to stay at but ended up almost getting the car stuck on a tiny back lane that was clearly built in a time before automotive transport - after some deft reversing and taking the decision to park the car and search out a bed on foot we were pleased to find the hotel italia smack in the centre of town, a beautiful building full of charm with loads of nooks and crannys



the village itself is bordered by mountains of three sides which loom rather ominously over the main square



after sulmona it was back on the road heading further west and north heading in the direction of viterbo with the hopes of a nice soak in the hot springs but upon arriving at the sight we found that it was no more than a glorified swimming pool and was bursting at the seams with italians eager for a long weekend treat - so we decided to give it a miss and found a quiet place off the main road and spent the afternoon enjoying bird calls and a spot of reading - the following day we were off to volterra - known as the first great etruscan metropolis with a grand alabaster trade - perched atop the tuscan hills



here we were able to stay at seminario di sant'andrea a hostel/religious retreat with massive hallways and frescos decorating the walls (and where meaghan was informed that the middle name she shares with the catholic saint was actually a man's name)





after spending a day poking around volterra we spent our last day in italy on the mediterrnean coast (where meaghan dipped her feet in yet another ocean) in a small town called castiglioncello where we had some great seafood, basked in the warm afternoon sun and poked around in the rock pools finding small crabs, sea slugs and tiny fish



sadly our time came to end all too soon and it was back to pisa and then onto london once again at some ungodly early hour - hope you enjoy the pictures, check here for a some more if you're interested