2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY - Venice

Monday September 22, 2008 – Piombino Dese/Venice

We decided to catch the train into Venice today and were soon on our way after breakfast Although Antonio had predicted showers and suggested that we took umbrellas, the day dawned brightly and got better.

The countryside is very flat around here and distinctly rural. Patch after patch of maize flashed by interspersed with vegetable patches and small vineyards. As we neared Venice we got  a clear view of the mountain peaks to the North many still capped with snow. On arriving at the station in Venice we bought a ticket for the vaporetta to St Marks Square. We took the ‘all stops’ option #1 so that we could see all the sights and I thought a 12 hour multiple journey ticket. We were lucky enough to get a window seat so we had a good view of the passing show.

Some of the buildings needed a coat of paint

So many buildings must have looked magnificent in their heyday but were now badly neglected and, as Boet said, sadly in need of painting. Rab also couldn’t get over how badly the people in the buildings treated their window hangings – the blinds certainly were hanging higgledy piggledy in so many of the windows. I just took in the views (and dozens of photographs). It was fascinating to see delivery boats loaded with small containers, taxi boats and even an ambulance boat going by.

But some were in good condition

We finally got to St Marks and were truly astounded by the  enormous number of tourists. The place was packed with groups clustered around their flag waving guides each making their presentation in one of a hundred languages. The queues to get into the buildings were even longer than those at Pisa. At one stage as I was trying to take in this scene of antlike activity I was almost swept away by  a rush of tourists who streamed towards me looking a good deal like a flock of sheep spooked into a stampede. Rab and I stepped out of their way and made our way around the colonnaded shops with no intention of buying anything apart from another delicious gelato

We started strolling back in the direction of the railway station and I must say it was fascinating to wander along all the crooked streets, admiring the sudden view gained down a side alley or from a bridge over a narrow canal. Rab was in her element as there were dozens of leather and/or handbag shops. I spotted a camera shop while I was idling in an alley and Rab was trying on a leather coat she was never going to buy. I have always had a bit of concern about the camera SD card failing, so I got  Marius, the proprietor, to copy my card onto a CD so that all my wedding pictures and videos would be safe.

Marius had a good selection of cameras in the shop including the latest Pentax digital ‘point and shoot’ – version 10 compared with my then current camera, a version 4. it was slim and sleek and I fell for it. Rab and I went to a tavern recommended by Marius to have lunch while he completed the transfer of the files. He had also recommended the asparagus risotto, a dish that neither of us would have put at the top of our favourites. But we changed our minds after eating this delightful meal.

Rab and I talked over the pros and cons of getting the camera while we ate. There was no really good reason for buying it, although it took bigger and better shots than my existing camera, had a better screen , few more functions and was beautiful and not chunky. In the end we decided it could be regarded as an early anniversary present for me, so we bought it for Є200 – and what a terrific item it is. (It is still my favourite camera, although it has developed a speck on the zoom which cannot be fixed. I have tried to buy a second hand one only to find that it was a limited edition produced only in Italy for the European market.)

We strolled on towards the Rialto Bridge which was covered in tourists and merchants. While I snapped away with my new toy, Rab found not only yet another very nice leather handbag, but also a silk scarf. Good shopping indeed. On we went admiring the scene of bustling people, inviting bars and taverns, fruit and vegetable sellers displaying their goods in such attractive ways – I really liked the ‘flowers’ made of garlic and chillies. But by now my feet were really giving trouble and it was getting very painful to walk. (I had been diagnosed with idiopathic peripheral neuropathy – nerve damage of unknown cause – which gave me gyp from time to time if I had been on my feet for a long time.)

It was not easy to find our way around the city even with the map we had and the prospect of losing our way and spending a couple of hours trying to find our way to the station was not an attractive one. So we called it a day and made our way to the nearest vaporetta stop. That is when I discovered that our tickets were no longer valid! With no ticket office or machine on the site – and no  ticket inspector on the boat, we hopped aboard. What a relief it was to sit down! And while our breaking the law in Pisa was inadvertent, this was criminality with purpose.

We got to the station without further ado – we only had to wait ten minutes for the train – and couldn’t help feeling that we were glad that we had not been tempted to stay in a hotel in the city. As we got off the vaporetta we watched a couple about our age struggling down the steps from the station. There are about twenty in all –and no ramp. They then had to drag their cases along the quay to the ticket office and join a queue there before paying for themselves and their luggage; then on to another queue for a vaporetta, followed by a trek from the landing stage to their hotel. Not for us! Function over quaintness for us.

The trip home took a little longer than we had thought it would because there was work on the line so we stopped on our way thorough the village for an excellent coffee and tasty cake at the shop we had tried yesterday.

A rest back at our room and then we were off to find an evening meal. Rab said she had seen a promising looking place in Loreggia, so we headed over there, as we were a little early for a meal I decided to fill the car ahead of our planned journey tomorrow. In the process I narrowly avoided an awful accident (all my fault) at a crossing that the locals had warned us about where the traffic came from an angle that was completely unexpected for someone used to driving on the right-hand side of the road. Fortunately both Rab and I saw the oncoming car at the last minute and managed to avoid it. But it taught me a valuable lesson not to be too casual about the issues associated with driving on the ‘wrong’ side of the road.

We could not find a filling station in Loreggia and the restaurant Rab had spotted turned out to be a pizzeria – and we had had enough pizza for the moment – so we went on to Resana where we found not only a filling station, but a very friendly pump jockey who directed us to a nearby hotel. We had one of the best dinners we have eaten since we got here. Rab chose Penne Arrabiata and I had the Fuseli Carbonara. Simple meals but wonderfully prepared. A very good evening indeed.

2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY - Piombino Dese #2

Sunday September 21, 2008 – Piombino Dese

Well! It has been pretty well non-stop since we arrived in Italy and there has been little or no time for writing, apart from jotting down notes of our experiences. Here at the Bed and Breakfast C’da Memi in Piombino Dese  there was nowhere to write, so I created a table by taking a (removable) shelf out of the cupboard and resting it on the back of two chairs. Just the right height for me if I sit on the bed.

So here I am, sitting in front of an open window listening to the end of a magic show in the grounds of the house. If I had heard it earlier I would have investigated but we had the shutters closed and were lights out after the late ending to last night – we finally got to bed about 02.00. The wedding reception was still going strong when we left. It was a very happy occasion and we were very pleased that we were able to join Sue and Mike and James and Antonella.

Having caught up with the backlog of journal entries and to get back to today’s activities:

After a late start we went into the village of Resana just outside Loreggia where Rab had spotted a laundry yesterday which we needed as we had a week’s worth of sweaty clothing. As we were waiting for the machines to finish, we heard the sound of a brass band playing and went to investigate. A troupe of young girls in bright uniforms were going through  their paces before marching with the band down the main street followed by muscle cars – many of them American V-8 models from the sixties and seventies, growling along. Free entertainment which made the wait more pleasant.

Having completed our laundry we went for a drive in the country, popping in to Citadella to see what that was like. We couldn’t do much walking as Rab only had her sandals on. We landed up at the Hotel Braca in Loreggia in the end at about lunch time. It was a pleasant spot, but we were still recovering from the enormous meal last evening, not to mention the prospect of pizzas with the Bastarolo family later in the day, so we had a light meal. I had the liver and Rab had the meatballs, both served with polenta and both delicious.

Back at Ca’ de Memi we had a bit of a snooze to make up for some of the lost sleep last night. When we woke up we could hear the magic show was on, but I couldn’t summon up enough energy to go down and see it. I am still sleeping badly with my cough waking me up several times each night – and disturbing Rab of course.

We hauled ourselves over to Loreggia in the early evening for the family gathering and a farewell to the bride and groom. It had been agreed that pizzas would be ordered in to give Germana (Antonella’s mother) a break and they were excellent, although a very generous size. The Bastarolo family are a lively bunch and seem to be genuinely fond of James, who seems to fit in very well. he speaks a deal of Italian having spent some years in Italy while wooing his wife.

We made our excuses fairly early and were in bed and asleep before too long.

2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY - Piombino Dese/Loreggia

Friday September 19, 2008 – Sienna/Piombino Dese

Another good night’s sleep with less coughing and sneezing but my ear was really bad – as I told Rab when she enquired after my health it felt as if there was a bread poultice on it. Up bright and early and packed before breakfast, we found that it was grey and wet. Not solid rain but a succession of steady showers. After the usual excellent breakfast we were off and on our way to Loreggia and the wedding.

Ca’ de Meme our BnB

The autostrada was pretty good most of the day, although there were some roadworks in parts and also areas where there was a deal of congestion. The tunnels are an excellent idea, I must say. We drove consistently slower than the 130 kph (80 mph) speed limit so the journey took about four hours instead of the three hours predicted by TomTom. We had a bit of difficulty in finding the BnB Ca’ de Meme in Piombino Dese – because we used their directions rather than TomTom’s.

There was a message waiting for us to phone Antonella. James answered when we rang and invited us over to meet the Bastarolo family in Loreggia where we were warmly welcomed by all. After the compulsory snack of cheese and salami on good pane, washed down with a tasty glass of wine, we helped with some of the pre-wedding tasks, principally getting the ribbons and rosettes up in the garden. Local practice is to be-ribbon house and garden when there is a celebration. White ribbon for a wedding; blue or pink for boy or girl births. We also saw red and yellow ribbons as we drove around although no one seemed to be sure as to what they signified.

After we had done what we could and had a further snack with Antonella’s father Antonio, who had come in from the fields – plus a shot of his grappa, we headed for the evening meal. This was supplied by Bruce, James’ best man, a pleasant enough lad. He and his parents, Boet and Elaine, and James were staying at Castelfranco, about 10 km from Loreggia so we went across there. We trekked for what seemed like miles across cobbled squares and down cobbled streets past dozens of restaurants before finding one they liked.  It was a jolly evening and the food was good – Rab had her favourite vongole again and I had a Penne Arrabiata.

We made our way home and into bed without any problems.

Saturday September 20, 2008 – Piombino Dese

We slept very well in our comfortable bed in the digs last night and although the breakfast was a little sparse – very little salami or cheese, not much of a choice of bread/rolls etc – it was adequate.

Rab was thrilled to hear that it was Market Day in the village, so after we dropped Gill (James’ godmother who had also come to Italy for the wedding) off at the Bastarolo house in Loreggia, we went back to Piombino Dese to the market and to look around the village. It was a good market, as markets go and Rab was lucky enough to find not one but two pairs of shoes to complement her new handbag. We had a nice cappuccino and a pastry before heading back to the BnB to change for the main event.

The order of the day was for everyone to gather at the Bastarolos for drinks (non alcoholic) and snacks about an hour and a half before the ceremony. Usually this gathering would be at the groom’s house, but clearly that was not possible. Of course there were mountains of food and gallons of drinks and once again we were made very welcome. Very few of the family or guests had any English, so it was quite heavy going in parts, but the  atmosphere was such a light hearted and happy one it was good to be part of the show.

We then headed off for the church passing the enormous heart painted on the road by James’ pals. There was no organ music, but an excellent choir accompanied by a string/flute ensemble provided a lovely atmosphere Antonella looked lovely and there were tears all around. The ceremony was all in Italian, naturally, and the priest seemed to go on and on for ages with his homily. At the close of the church proceedings we watched with interest some rather unusual local customs. The car which was to take the bride and groom to the reception had been covered in paper towelling and then wrapped in cling foil – miles of it.

The happy couple were then required to tear off this wrapping – but only after they had been photographed with all the guests in individual groups and had been pelted with raw rice (there were a couple of five litre buckets of rice provided for the guests to dip into) as the bells in the church pealed loudly. All rather odd for us but great fun for the locals.

There was, as seems to be the norm nowadays, a two and a half hour hiatus between the completion of the formalities and the commencement of the reception. The family went off home, presumably to start tidying up the mess while the bridal party went off for more photos. Lord alone knows how many were taken by the official photographer, let alone by the guests.

Sue, Mike and me

The total must have been in the thousands. We headed off to the golf club where the reception was to be held and found a few of the other guests there. It was pleasant just sitting in the evening sun chatting and catching up with all the news.

In the fullness of time, everyone arrived and the first of the seventeen courses of food also did so – the antipasto and a very fine spumante. We duly moved inside and formed a small English speaking group.

That was some menu to choose from

It was a very joyful and happy evening – possibly the best wedding (apart from our own!) we have ever attended. The food was excellent as was the wine and everyone was in good spirits. There were what seemed to us some rather foolish interludes involving the bride and groom having to participate in various games, but it was all in good fun and greatly appreciated by the crowd.

We called it  a day at about 01.00 and dropped Boet and Elaine off at their hotel on the way. Boet was as tight as a tick, having consumed enormous quantities of beer. It was difficult to have a conversation with him even when he was sober. Among the pearls he had cast before us during the evening were his impressions of Venice where he had been the day before – which was even untidier than Cape Town. His opening salvo was a comment that he was surprised by the fact that the people who had invented paint now no longer bothered to paint their houses. This was followed by a tirade about the quality of housing “They live like rats there!” to the finish “If I had to live there I would shoot myself.” So much for the glories of Venice.

And so to bed.

2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY - Sienna/Pisa

Thursday September 18, 2008 – Sienna/Pisa

This, our third day in Sienna had us confirming our tentative decision to extend our stay by another night in our very comfortable digs and to  test the skills of the driver and the nerves of the passenger on a day trip to Pisa. Thanks to TomTom we were soon bowling through the beautiful Tuscan countryside without a care in the world.

We chose to go on the autostrada initially as there is more room on the wider road and it is easier to drive when all the traffic is going in one direction! It also calms the passenger’s fraught nerves. We had no difficulties once we left the main road for smaller roads (but none as small as those we had driven on the first day) and we saw some terrific sights – lovely old houses and farms; small towns.

Once in Pisa, I set TomTom to take us to the street where the famed Tower could be found. What a trip that turned out to be – we were guided through narrow winding streets, some of which necessitated the folding of the wing mirrors at times (there was a control that accomplished this essential requirement for driving in Italy.) But he delivered us to the spot we wanted to be where there was even a parking place, which we used. (Four months after we got home to Australia we received a parking ticket from the City of Pisa informing us that we had breached their parking bye-laws. As an interesting insight into the lawfulness of friends and acquaintances I asked if I should pay the ticket [having already done so]. All but one said “No!”. Some included the caveat, “…unless you are planning to go back to Italy in the near future.” Scoff laws, all of them!)

We strolled back to the plaza where the Tower and cathedral are which was swamped with a multi-coloured sea of tourists. If it was this crowded so late in the season we could only wonder what it was like in  full flood at high tide. Of course it is always amazing to see icons like this in reality, but since there were queues a couple of kilometres long to get into the buildings, we contented ourselves with some pictures and a couple of purchases – a cap for me and another, lovely, handbag for Rab.

  

I suggested grabbing a bit to eat but it was early and we had a good breakfast (as I said before, the breakfasts were excellent at the BnB). So we set off back along the coastal road, which looked as if it would be very interesting from the map, but was disappointing. Most of it ran between holiday establishments and industrial parks and ports. There were some stretches which repaid the  diversion with splendid views of the sea. Naturally we got a bit peckish and by awful chance we came across the first McDonalds we had seen. I feel shamed to admit that, in a country with such wonderful food, we turned in and bought some of their awful offerings. In mitigation I can only say, like Hansie Cronje, “The devil made me do it.” (Hansie was the South African Cricket Captain who fell from grace amidst match fixing allegations. When these first surfaced he asked his pastor for advice instead of his lawyer. The former said “Confess and be free.”; the latter would have said “Keep quiet and it will go way.”)

Turning inland in due course we went back onto a smaller road which we travelled well. terrific scenery and not much traffic made for a happy memorable drive. 

The piazza in Sienna, scene of the Palio (not this evening!)

 We got back to Sienna in the late afternoon and caught a #54 bus into town for another stroll down Strada Citta, popping into a 99c store, where, like our $2 shops, nothing cost more than 99c. we also got some excellent fruit for our journey tomorrow – pricey, but excellent quality.

Can't recall the name of the restaurant

Turned out the jolly fruiterer also owned a Palio winner and a restaurant around the corner which he recommended. We ate there ordering the local speciality pici which is a thicker form of spaghetti. I had to laugh when the dish arrived because it looked just like Heinz tinned spaghetti in colour and form. But it tasted very different. Rab found it a little bland, but I enjoyed it.

2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY - Sienna

Wednesday September 17, 2008 – Sienna

I had a somewhat disturbed night with my cough etc, but still got an impressive number of hours in and we both felt fine this morning. The breakfast was, as we expected, various breads, cold meats and cheese as well as sweet pastries, cereal and fruit. Just as we like it. Although our original ‘plan’ was to go for a drive into the surrounding countryside, nerves were a little raw for that so it was definitely good news when, in response to Rab’s enquiry about a market we were told it was indeed Market Day.

Since the markets were on the other side of town, we caught a #3 bus across there. Rab loves these markets although it really beasts me why this is. Most of the goods are things she would never buy and what little there is of value she already has. But as I say, she loves them and was in her element doing what Matt refers to as mastodon shopping: looking, feeling, looking closely, replacing, looking….but never buying.

Lunch is up!

Of course, with some subtle guidance from me, we landed up in the area of the markets where my interest usually lies – the food stalls. We had a couple of slices of pork,  cut off the carcass of a pig that had been stuffed and roasted whole, served up on a fresh bread roll. Delicious, especially when accompanied by a cold blood orange drink. We hadn’t come across this drink before, but found it different and very much to our taste.

We had a small problem getting home because although we simply caught another #3 bus again where we had got off the bus when we got to the markets, we didn’t realise that it was on its ‘out’ leg, a trip that took over an hour. So our expected 25 minute return trip took almost three times as long. But we saw a bit of the countryside and suburbs of Sienna, so all was not lost.

The fruit was excellent

After a bit of a rest (and a snooze for me) we headed back into town for a stroll down the main shopping street – the Strada Citta. This again was quite literally, right up Rab’s street. Lovely shops with a tremendous range of beautiful goods, from the greengrocer where we bought delicious grapes and slices of preserved ginger, to the gelataria where Rab had a caramel cream ice cream. (She has raved about that for years now and has never been quite able to find its equal.) As we ate our ice creams, the church bells were ringing above us and the crowds of people passing by were just so different from our normality. Wonderful to be in Italy.

 

Palace in Sienna

Behind the main piazza, Rab, to her joy, found a handbag shop (there seem to be dozens of these in every Italian town) which had an incredible stock of bags of every shape and  size, many of which were decorated with antique style maps. She had bought one of these bags in Zimbabwe about 20 years ago and had been looking for a replacement for years – and here they were, like Aladdin’s Cave. Some time later she finally made her choice and was so happy. We celebrated with a meal at the same restaurant as last night, although this time I followed Rab’s lead and had the excellent vongole.

And so to bed for another good night’s sleep – just a bit of disturbance for me, but nothing too serious.

2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY - Rome/Sienna

Tuesday September 16, 2008 – Rome/Sienna

The taxi in from the runway where we landed seemed to take forever as did the baggage clearance (we later found that there was a  dispute with baggage handlers that had closed some airports so perhaps we were lucky that we only had to wait 45 minutes.). We cleared Customs and Immigration without a problem. In fact the weary looking Immigration officer didn’t even bother to look at the passports – just opened them to a random page and banged his stamp on them. So we got to the car rental offices just after 07.00 – and half an hour before they opened.

Our chariot

Back to the terminal we went for our first genuine Italian coffee of the trip and soon enough the rental offices were open and we were ready for the off. Well, not quite. The staff at Eurocar were not particularly friendly or efficient (or, indeed bi-lingual) and the car we had expected – a Nissan was not available. We were offered and accepted a B-Class Mercedes Benz which, despite the famous name, is OK but nothing special. We eventually found the car, setup the GPS which we had brought with us, got out our maps, set the mirrors – and then had our first experience of Italian parking, battling to get the car out of the minute space into which it had been fitted – perhaps lowered by a crane? The next little problem was that somewhere in getting out of the parking garage we must have taken a wrong turn  because we landed up at a barrier that did not open automatically and demanded a ticket which we did not have. Trying to explain that to the disembodied voice on the Emergency button was not easy with my VERY basic language skills, but we got away in the end and were on our way soon after 08.00.

All went well initially – the traffic was fairly light, no lunatic drivers (just some apparently suicidal motorcyclists), and we could understand all the signs. We got onto the circular road and unlike the London M25 it seemed to flow pretty well. At least until we got to Uscito 3 where we were to branch off onto the Via Carsia SS2. As we got there, the traffic simply stopped moving! It took us the best part of half an hour to complete the exit and even then we were in very heavy traffic. To make matters worse, a warning light came up on the car’s instrument panel – in Italian.

I guessed that the warning had something to do with tyre pressure and that proved to be the case. We turned in to a service station and the very friendly young bloke there, who spoke a bit of English checked the tyres and sent us on happily on our way. We cleared the traffic in due course and go into the  countryside . all went fairly well at first although Rab said I was driving too close to the right hand side of the road. She tended to flinch with a mighty oath from time to time which I found a bit disconcerting. But she did a good job navigating along the chosen route in conjunction with our friend TomTom, the GPS system, which was working well.

Roncigliano entrance

We made our way to Lake Brasciano, which was beautiful and even drove into and parked in our first Italian  village – Roncigliano. It is quite difficult to fit even a small left-hand drive car into the space available, but with the help of Rab I made it. We knew that if we wanted to use a toilet (which we did) the place to go was a bar or café, so we did that having a beer and our  first genuine Italian bar snack – a sandwich.

The first of many palaces

It was great just walking around the town looking at the old buildings – made us feel we really were in Italy. The people we spoke to in the town continued the impression we had already gained – that despite what we had been told, very few people spoke English.

 

A sad bit of graffito

Refreshed we headed onward to Lake Vico which I intended to  circumnavigate on a secondary road. This turned out to be very scenic i.e. lots of bends, very wooded and very narrow, all of which made Rab very nervous but …. things then got worse when TomTom led us astray (as he does from time to time in his efforts to take the shortest route, irrespective of quality). He led us into a very narrow track which seemed to be used by an inordinate number of large trucks. When they loomed into view, I tended to move to the right, very close to to the trees on the roadside and indeed occasionally clipping the branches. After this had happened a couple of times, Rab erupted (and to be fair, she may have had good cause) and demanded that I slow down, get onto a wider road and drove more carefully.

I capitulated and we duly completed the journey in somewhat stony silence at a very much slower pace. TomTom redeemed himself by leading us very well right to the door of the Bed and Breakfast where we were staying in Sienna – Fonti dei Tufi. It turned out to be a very pleasant and comfortable new building and we liked it so much we decided to stay an extra day.

Happy in Sienna - and the prospect of food

Despite the long flight and somewhat fraught day we drove into Sienna and parked, walking down to the main piazza where the Palio is run in July and August each year. The weather was gorgeous – warm with just a bit of a chill wind – and the town was lovely. Although it was only about 18.30 we decided to have a meal sitting outside one of the restaurants and watching the passing crowd. A beer apiece; spaghetti vongole for Rab (very good) and a pizza for me – nice but a little plain.

Back up the (steep) hill we trudged, drove back to the lodgings and were asleep by about 20.00.

2008 ITALIAN ODYSSEY

September 10, 2008 - Melbourne

I don’t think we have ever been  so well prepared for a trip. Just another plus for retirement I suppose. We’re heading off on Monday for four weeks in Italy and are looking forward to it. We have been thinking about going for a good few years now. We still wouldn’t have made it this year but for the fact that I cannot get any Medical Insurance because of my health conditions – mainly my metastasized cancer. Italy presented itself as a good alternative because there is a bilateral agreement between Italy and Australia that provides medical cover in Italy for any Australian who is entitled to Medicare here – like us. We have also been able to get limited cover for non-pre-existing conditions so feel a bit happier.

By chance James Crone (son of old friends of ours – Sue and Mike Crone) decided to get married to his girlfriend Antonella in a little village – Loreggia - so we are all gathering there to join in the celebrations. The plan at present is that we spend the first two nights next week in Sienna, recovering from the flight and exploring that part of Tuscany. A night on the road and then four nights in Loreggia for the wedding and seeing Venice – said to be thirty minutes away by train. Then with Sue and Mike we intend seeing a bit of Northern Italy before dropping them off and heading South on our own.

The only plan we have as far as our own travels are concerned is to spend the last four nights at Praiano (Amalfi area) to celebrate our 41 years of marriage!!

Sunday September 14, 2008 – Melbourne

It was as well that we had been so thorough and ahead of time in our preparations because I woke up this morning with a very painful throat and an infected ear, after coughing, sneezing and snorting all night. I was worried about flying with a blocked ear passage, so we went up to the chemist. As I thought would be the case, she was reluctant to sell me anything as she was concerned about potential reactions with my existing drug regimen. So we went along to the emergency doctor’s rooms and the very nice doctor prescribed an antibiotic (which doesn’t seem to have done much a week later). He was concerned about the potential reaction of the Warfarin dose and suggested I got my INR test (that’s the one that shows how effectively the blood clotting medication is working) on Wednesday. I said I thought this would be difficult (as we would be in Sienna)!  I felt pretty grim all day, so thank goodness there was nothing to do.

Monday September 15, 2008 – Melbourne/Rome

I had a bad night and still felt pretty ropey when I woke up, but at least the pain in my ear had subsided, although I have been fairly deaf in that ear since then.

We took the boys out to the kennels after their morning walk. As usual they didn’t seem too upset and went off quite happily with the kennel maid. It is Rudolph’s first birthday next Sunday – he would have been going to a party organised by his breeders if we had been at home. Back at the house we had the packing done in good time and apart from being a bit ‘antsy’ about the limo not turning up on time – he was five minutes late – we got to the airport with no fuss or problems.

 

Not much to see in the interior of Australia

The first leg of the flight went off smoothly. I sat next to the window for the first time in about twenty years and as it was a clear day had some good views of  Central Australia as the flight path was virtually diagonally across the country. Both Rab and I managed to get about sixty to ninety minutes sleep before dinner and our landing in Kuala Lumpur – it was a seven hour flight. We had about two hours on the ground before taking off at midnight, local time. The Malaysian Air Business Class lounge is very comfortable and as usual the flight was an excellent one arriving right on time in Rome at 05.55. we both managed to get about five hours sleep.