Rome wasn’t visited in a day

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Yet again I find myself at the pointy end of a trip without enough time to visit Rome. I only have two nights  but that only translates to a day and a bit all up. But you know what?  I’m not going to rush around at breakneck speed trying to get it all done. I’m going to give myself over to Rome and see what it gives me in return.

It’s tempting to have a nana nap after I arrive, but I know how that ends up so I force myself off the bed and out into the streets and I just go. I walk down streets that take my fancy and stop at things that interest me. I find myself outside some basilica (Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano incidentally) and wonder whether it’s worth going in. Well a) it’s free and b) it is the Pope’s official seat so naturally it’s totally OTT. And oh my mother f-ing god. I continue to be amazed at the grandeur of these monuments to god (or power?). I head over the road to a smaller church, Scala Sancta, and walk in. Turns out these are (allegedly) the stairs Jesus walked up to see Pilate. On the left the marble stairs have been exposed and penitents/tourists make their way up on their knees. I consider how painful that would be and that I’m agnostic in any case and decide to take the stairs to the right where you can walk up instead. As I head to the exit I walk past the crawling supplicants. One man has just reached the top and has his hands raised in exultation as  I cross. I’m sure I wasn’t what he was expecting but timing is everything. I have to note that there are a lot of really  quite attractive priests wandering around these places (Fleabag Season 2: You’re welcome 😉 ).

IMG_9574The next day I went into the heart of Rome and walked for about six hours straight. I found (debateably) the best porchetta, gelato and around every corner there was another architectural wonder (the Parthenon really hits you straight between the eyeballs). I thought yesterday’s basilica was raising the bar pretty high until I saw the Basilica dei Santi Ambrogio e Carlo al Corso and realised they just took it to a whole new level. I haven’t seen the Vatican as I’m a bit crowd averse, but I don’t think I should lest I be struck dumb with all its glory. At this point my phone battery dies and I have no idea where I am, but I have complete faith in my unerring ability to find the shopping district (I do) and was pretty sure the metro was close by (it was). While I did pay for a couple of exhibitions (Museum of Modern Art & Palazzo della Cancelleria), I was mostly doing Rome on the cheap. Good to know it can be done!

So that’s it for Rome and my trip. I’m waiting at the airport for my long haul flight back to Australia and thinking the next trip is probably going to be a bit closer to home, but boy did we fit a lot of stuff in 🙂

Eat: Antica Porchetteria Granieri 1916 | Vittorio Spezie e Cucina

Stop and smell the roses

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When travelling there is invariably the urge to try and fit in as much as is humanely possibly. This might stem from that old chestnut: the Fear Of Missing Out, or maybe there is genuinely so much to do. But sometimes you need to take a little bit of time and relax into a place. And what better place to do this in Grasse – the fragrance capital of the world.

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Pretty in pink

Now admittedly it wasn’t my first choice. I’ll confess I’d never even heard of it, but I was heartily sick of booking accommodation so delegated it to Chris. I mean if he wanted his car back he just needed to pick a suitable rendezvous. And boy did good! Grasse is the prettiest smelling town I’ve ever passed through. Full of artisan perfumers, plus the boulangeries and patisseries de rigueur for small towns, it should be a must on any francophile’s itinerary.

The place we are staying in is the nicest of anywhere thus far this trip. Sprawled over three floors (4 if you count the secret room at the top), just being in it makes me instantly relaxed. We overlook the central square/oblong where tourists gravitate to for lunch and dinner. It’s constant noise but this is a small town, not a party town so it’s all silent by 10 pm.

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What should you smell?

After picking Chris up from the aiport I drag him to the International Perfume Museum. Now that’s a change – me dragging C to a museum lol. On first glance, a museum about perfume doesn’t seem a very manly thing to do. But it was really well curated and informative. Did you know there is a swallowable perfume now? We saw Marie Antoinette’s travel kit and a living garden of perfumes. I must confess my favourite bits were the “Eye Nose You” boxes where you peered through a hole and saw a photo while sniffing a scent at the same time. Only one pic was a man’s groin and it definitely didn’t smell like it so that was a little disturbing. I mean, it’s been a while but I think I can remember what it smells like if memory serves.

There are of course other things to do in Grasse – I could have visited the perfume factories, made my own perfume, or even headed outside Grasse for a bit of a nature walk, but to be perfectly honest, it’s a nice town to do nothing in.

Stay: Air BnB
Visit: International Perfume Museum
Do: Top things to do in Grasse

Off the grid

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Alas the sister act has come to an end and we are going our separate ways – Tash home via Rome and me to Corsica by (very early) morning ferry. It’s quite a different experience travelling on your own. All the bad choices come down to you and you alone – When you’re together you can share the blame 🙂

Still, I was really looking forward to Corsica although dreading having to catch a ferry. It actually wasn’t all that difficult – I didn’t end up driving the car into the sea and went straight to sleep in my cabin. What luxury!

First thing I found straight off the boat was that my phone stopped working. So much for my reliance on Google Maps Siri.  Good thing there was a GPS in the car – not that it actually recognised where I was going, so I pointed it to the nearest town and three hours of winding roads later I arrived at the approximate location (really need to work on my spatial awareness when booking accommodation – this driving is killing me). I then found a wifi hotspot and purchased an hour’s worth of internet access for 3 Euro just so I could find my way there.

It’s funny how what you’re imagining bears little resemblance to reality. I’d booked this little hut in Afa (think middle of nowhere and you’d be about right). I’d imagined a cute little cottage high up on a hill somewhere where all I could see was the rolling hills. I arrived and in my broken French asked the kid out front of the house to speak to the host. He responded in broken English and led me out the back of the house, past the horse and goat to a veggie patch and pointed to the outdoor toilet and then the hut where I’d be staying (the full horror of the toilet had not dawned on me yet). I managed to keep my jaw from dropping open. It was… not what I expected, but I was determined to make the best of it. I grabbed my bags and settled in to this rustic cottage in ruralania. So if I ignore the garden shed type feel it’s not too bad – and even has wifi. Then I went to the toilet. OMG. It is a dry toilet. If you don’t know what that is – let me enlighten you: You are sitting on a wooden plank, basically doing your business in a plastic lined bucket. You “flush” by dropping sawdust over your err leavings. The horror! You should know by now this Claremont princess’s minimum standard is a flushing toilet. But maybe this will be a character building experience? I mean the horse is friendly and tortoises wander through the garden. Deliverance country has a certain degree of charm. I can stick it.

Ok, I lasted one night then bolted. My new accommodation has a flushing toilet in the Forest in the heart of Corsica. Rudimentary accommodation, but this view…. I’ve also had the most delicious meal since I’ve been here. I’m paying through the nose but totally worth it. The irony is that I randomly chose the accommodation so I’d be closer to the location for my canyoning adventure the next day, but I’m roughly the same distance away!

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Street Art in Corsica

Canyoning was magnificent, as usual. Nothing like sliding down rock faces and hurling yourself off stoney outcrops into ice cold water to make you feel alive. The other canyoners did not speak English which is quite an isolating experience when they’re all jabbering away. It turns out you don’t need to talk to people to have a good time. Actually, as an introvert I already knew that 😉

So now, after two nights in Ajaccio where I Did Not Drive, it’s a Farewell to Corsica and back to the mainland for the final push. Only one week to go!

Eat: La Villa Michel
See: A Cupulatta (turtles & tortises galore)
Do:  Canyoning

I would walk 500 miles

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Worth the hike!

Ah Cinque Terre. So many steps, so little time – but if anyone was going to do the whole shebang in a day it was going to be us. We’d gone to this amazing seafood restaurant the night before and imbibed quite heavily. So… we were hungover, it was raining, and when we got to the train station we were told that the paths were closed because of the rain. Arghhh!

Plan B: We’ll take the train to each town and walk around them. It doesn’t quite have the same cachet, but what could we do?

A lifeline: At Riomaggiore the guide said the last two trails were open (the hardest) so the day was not a total washout. 🤗

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Not a feral cat

The trek: Sheesh! What a climb – but what an amazing experience and incredible views. On the way we came across a cat refuge for wayward cats which warmed the cockles of our hearts. We weren’t game enough to pat these ferals, but the cats in the towns were fair game 🙂 When we finally dragged our sorry asses into the last town there was no other option but to dive into the beckoning sea. I appreciate the beautiful beaches of Perth on a whole new level after negotiating my first pebble beach – ouch! But what a fantastic end to a day.

And even with only two trails we walked 25,000 steps and were in all manner of pain the next day. We also had our first alcohol free night of the entire trip which is about a significant achievement as hiking the trail for us 🙂

PS: We continue to ignore the road rules and enter pedestrian areas. I blame Google maps Siri. We are also the slowest people on the roads as both the French and Italians blithely ignore speed limits.

Eat: Il Frantoio

Three countries in one day

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You’d think I would have learned all manner of lessons about trying to fit too much into a trip, but here I go again.

IMG_9496After our stayover at Cannes, where incidentally we’ve had the best pizza on this trip, we detoured through Monaco and found ourselves driving around in circles for a good half hour trying to find a parking spot. I may have accidentally gone into a pedestrian only area, but when I circled round for another go, the local gendarmerie was ready for me and sent me on my way. I must admit I was ready to cut our losses and run, but good thing we persevered as there was a pretty impressive Oceanography museum sitting on top of a hillside. I wonder how you get a job curating a cabinet of curiosities? At any rate, it’s a job description that would appeal to hoarders 🙂 I think Monaco makes Cannes look like a poor relation, and it might be a very good thing we had no time for shopping.

IMG_1500After three and a half more hours driving we arrived at our third country for the day: Italy. We decided to splash out on a nice hotel in Lerici so we could soak up the sunshine overlooking the sea. Naturally it was raining – but what a Terrace! Surely it can’t rain the entire time we’re here, can it?

See: Oceanography Museum
Stay: Doria Park Hôtel

Revelations

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I have a confession to make. I haven’t been quite as enthusiastic about this trip as I have been previous ones. It might be because I’m not really doing anything new this time around, or maybe I’ve just lost my passion somewhere along the way. But then I went to see Carrieres de Lumieres in the little town of Les Baux-de-Provence and I remembered why I do this. I feel like I’ve seen as many ruins, shops and old churches as I need to in a lifetime, but I have never seen an exhibition quite like this one. Van Gogh and Japan make a perfect marriage as art, sound, light and movement combine in a transcendental experience. A former quarry houses one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Every photo I took does not do it justice, so I’ll link to a video and urge you to beg borrow or steal to find your way to the heart of Provence to see this before it ends.

This has also served to remind me that travel is (for me) a transformative process and I should seek to do things that feed the soul rather than just deplete the wallet.

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Bringing back that joie de vivre

Speaking of depleting the wallet, we’ve now hit the Cote d’Azur and staying in the basement of a hotel in Cannes. It’s all we could afford, but we’re splashing out when we hit Cinque Terre tomorrow 🙂

 

Winning France over one cat at a time

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It is quite a handy thing to be on good terms with your ex-boyfriend when he has a wine bar in the South of France(ish) and the latest copy of Borderlands 3. After informing Chris on arrival that our priorities were wine, wi-fi and a washing machine, in no particular order, we immediately focused all our attention on the local cats, but have had to work hard for our smooches. These French kitties are not so easily won over, but there are two of us and we will not leave until we have subverted at least one of these little beasties.

But that’s not why we are here. Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val is a perennial front runner for prettiest town in France and where we are holed up to get a taste of rural France. It is a very small town for a couple of big city gals but a perfect antidote to the stressors of everyday life. Visions of a life in this town, if things had turned out otherwise, flash through my head and I am thankful I have no regrets, although sitting out the front of  Noble Bachus is a pretty fine way to spend an afternoon. We spend several here, rotating through various eating establishments. I’m not sure my liver is going to be able to cope with the outcomes of this trip – my waistline certainly isn’t!

In an effort to stave off the inevitable kilo creep, we went for a three and a half hour canoeing trip down Aveyron river/gorge. Let’s focus on the fact that we made it without hitting each other over the head with a paddle, rather than how we got stuck on the rocks along the way.

We also hiked the top of the gorge, before making our way down to the caves in the hillside. As we were scrambling down the cliff, it occurred to me that this is how those news stories about people being air-lifted out by helicopter with broken legs start out. Fortunately we made it out again, but age certainly doesn’t bring wisdom (or my thrill seeker gene is kicking in again).

As lovely as it has been to recover from our travel and play video games, there’s a lot more than this neck of the woods to discover, so onwards and upwards etc.

The one where we visit a museum

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OK, after a less than stellar start, we arrived at Figueres determined to have a Significant Cultural Experience and were willing to pay. Figueres is host to the Dali Theatre-Museum so it augured well. But welcome to rural Spain. Getting there is easy enough, but don’t assume everyone speaks English. We got onto what (we hoped) was the local bus to get us there. I guess the bus driver knew enough to drop us off near the Dali Museum because that’s where everyone goes and our accommodation was right outside. Tasha was still a bit worse for wear, so I took a wander through the old town and found myself outside the Technology Museum which, quite frankly, I don’t know how it keeps running for only 3 Euro entrance fee. With that name I suppose you might be thinking that I was walking into a museum of old computers, but no, it was primarily typewriters and sewing machines! It might seem an odd collection, but it is well worth seeing. The top floor had typewriters from all over the world since they were first created and was a fascinating insight into how ‘technology’ evolves over time. Each was a thing of beauty and I cannot help but feel we lose something as we make these advances, although I am the first to appreciate said advances. I also do not want to go back to my old PC with no hard drive. Sentimentality only goes so far.

But that wasn’t why we were here. We were waiting at the Dali Museum door come 9:30 and went into… some guys permanent acid trip. I mean, it was just bonkers, but perfectly wonderful. There must be something in the water in Spain to be able to produce such over-the-top extravaganzas. Floor after floor of paintings, sculptures and installations – and let’s not forget the Dali jewel museum next door. Significant Cultural Experience achieved!

Next stop: France

Eat: Bocam

See: Dali Theatre-Museum, Technology Museum of l’Emporda

Back in the saddle again

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Can you believe it’s been two and half years since I’ve been on a holiday? (the Cape to Cape trek late 2017 doesn’t qualify as it was basically six days of agony). Well, never mind the why and wherefore – Euro-Sam is back and off on a month-long adventure through Spain, France and Italy! And in what is surely a test of filial affection, my sister Natasha is along for the ride. While we used to share a room back in the day, we’ve never actually been on holiday together as adults, so whether we are still speaking to each other at the end of this remains to be seen 😉

Anyway, after the usual torturous long-haul flight, we arrived in sunny Barcelona ready for a fiesta. Err… sunny Barcelona? Sorry – that was just how I imagined arriving. It was grey and drizzling and we were so shattered I’m afraid we fell asleep by 7 pm. The next day we blithely ignored the rain and went out anyway, deciding that we’d just spend it inside in all the marvelous shops in the city. Except… it was the National Day of Catalonia so all the shops were closed! OK, so culture it was to be then. The first stop was La Sagrada Familia but being tight-arses of long standing we didn’t fork out for a ticket and contented ourselves to gaze at the outside. I think it’s an understatement to say I haven’t seen anything like it – and that was not even the best of it – Unexpectedly you will come across Gaudi’s all over the city, like Casa Batllo, La Pedrera – all so different and already I’m regretting not spending more time in this city. Alas, after a tapas lunch at Bormuth, Tasha contracted food poisoning and that was pretty much it for the rest of the day.

Next stop: a trip to rural spain where we hope to actually go inside a museum.

Places we went to but didn’t go in because of the queues: La Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, Picasso Museum (visited the gift shop)

Places we went to and went in because there were no queues: Placa Sant Felip Neri, Parc de la Ciutadella

Lessons learnt: Plan ahead, book online and skip the queues. Save more money for trips of lifetime

Read while you’re here: In Diamond Square by Merce Rodoreda then visit The pigeon girl

Singapore Flyers

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tourdebintan

How did this happen?

So it would seem that with everything I do, I’ll worry about it incessantly and then when it comes down to it, just get on with it. Once I started the race and found myself out in front keeping up with the guys I thought “oh fuck it, I may as well see if I can win it” …and I did! Yep, I was the first female finisher and came tenth overall. Eileen says she is going to slap me next time I start doubting myself, and indeed, I may well slap myself. I had imagined this to be a once off, but I’m already thinking of coming back next year for it was a fantastic experience and a timely reminder that I can do anything I set my mind to. Somehow I’d forgotten that…

But with the race over, I was finally able to relax and we returned to Singapore for the remainder of the holiday. Now I don’t know whether I have changed or Singapore has changed since I was last here (probably a bit of both), but there is so much going on here I’m already regretting not staying longer. Naturally a good portion of the time remaining has been devoted to shopping but the nights are a culinary adventure and a bacchanalian* delight. Everything has been good, but I must make special mention of one: Nox Dine in the Dark. Yep, as the name might suggest, it’s a restaurant where you are deprived of sight and basically eat whatever is put in front of you, without being enlightened as to its contents. As you might imagine, this was even more unsettling for me than the big race, but I decided to do it anyway. I don’t know whether the food was naturally good, or lacking one sense made the others sharper but, though I enjoyed it, I found it rather unsettling overall. The good thing about being in the dark is no one can see when you spit the food out (although I only did it once – lol).

The do again list:

*we’re not really indulging in orgies – just drinking lots