More days in Italy.

After leaving Bologna, we headed up many winding roads to Fanano where Gianmarco and Cristina live. Yet again we got to taste great homemade local food. It was great to catch up with them. The next morning we went for a walk and also to a great local cheese factory/shop where we got to buy great parmesan.

We then headed to Lucca, a lovely old city that is surrounded by 12m high city walls built in the 16th and 17th centuries. The next morning we cycled around the top of these walls. Lucca was a delightful town to wander around. Malcolm climbed the two towers in the town, one of which had a group of holm oak tres for shade.

The next day we went to Parma which is well known for its food industry. We spent a long time trying to manoeuvre through the one way streets of the old town to our hotel so after half an hour we finally made it to the hotel which was about 100 metres from where we began. We discovered that it was also had a lovely old centre to walk around, window shop and sightsee. Parma's Duomo, which was built in the 11th and 12th centuries, was amazing inside.

On the way back to Munich we stopped at a supermarket then in the town of Mantova which we walked around, had lunch and visited the Basilica which has two golden vessels that are said to hold earth soaked by the blood of Christ.

When leaving Italy we stopped at the last possible place to have Italian pizza late at night before crossing through Austria then home.

Click here for more photos of our Italy trip.

Happy Birthday Aldo!

Whilst trying to decide on where to go for ski week we were invited to Aldo's (60th!) birthday party on the Sunday afternoon/evening of the first weekend. A great reason to visit Italy again (do we really need a reason ?!?).

Malcolm studied naval architecture in Southampton with Aldo many (30!) years ago and then worked with Aldo and his family in Bologna. They became close friends and it was great to catch up with him and his wife, Pucci. We soon realised that we are not that far away and must catch up more often.

Ravenna

 After arriving in Bologna late Friday night, we drove to Ravenna on Saturday morning for a visit. Even though Malcolm had lived here for many years and had been to the marina a number of times, he had not visited the town.
Ravenna is famous for its mosaics and the buildings that house them are Unesco-listed. We first went to Basilica Di Sant'Appolinare Nuovo which was built in the 5th and 6th centuries. The mosaics are from this time and are amazingly preserved and very beautiful. The are very detailed and large and take up the whole lengths of the south and north walls.

We then had lunch in a delightful enoteca where I got to taste piadina for the first time, which is a local type of flat bread. Delicious, I had mine with prosciutto and squacquerone cheese (an Italian fresh cream cheese).
After lunch we visited the Basilica Di San Vitale and a Mausoleum that was in  the same complex. They were also from the 6th century and although plain on the outside where both richly decorated with mosaics inside. 

 

The mosaics from the Mausoleum are the oldest in Ravenna:

Weekend in Cortina d'Ampezzo

 Last weekend we left straight after school to meet up with our friends, Krantz and Silvia, at their place in Cortina. It was great to go back to Italy where the people are very friendly and the food fresh and rich in flavour.  On Friday night we went to a bar for an aperitif then a pizzeria for dinner.

Saturday was a beautiful sunny day. Malcolm, Krantz and Silvia went skiing and I stayed behind in the house. Having been sick it was great to rest and then go for a nice walk into town in the sunshine and the nice dry air of Cortina. I sat at a cafe and had a simple but tasty lunch whilst reading the paper and soaking up the atmosphere.

Where we stayed

Sunday we went for a drive to see a polo game and instead there was an Audi demonstration on an iced lake. After a leisurely lunch prepared by Silvia we slowly drove back to Unterschleissheim in the comforting knowledge that next weekend we will be back in Italy.