Happy ending

It was all too soon ended but what a good way to end.

A Margherita for the Blog and an Aperol Spritz for Mrs Hayes.

Unfinished

This Blog will forever be known by the Blog as the unfinished blog.

Due to the unhelpful, unexpected and unfixable technical problems experienced with, as we now know, the Blog's travel laptop the blog was not completed within a decent timescale. It was, and still is, being caught up a month after the Blog was back and had almost forgotten the tour ever happened.

It was all so frustrating, at least for the Blog if no-one else.

Pants

This place is full of apparently trendy and certainly expensive fashion shops all selling items that are of no use to the Blog. 

Market Day is a different matter. The Blog was delighted to spot these very practical items with a familiar brand name on one of the stalls. They probably sold like hot cakes, don't you think.

An alternative Venice

 

 

 

Yes the tour keeps repeating previous tours but there is always something new to see and somewhere new to visit. Livorno is a case in point. It has always been there but has been rudely ignored by previously tours.  So to put things right this year's tour decided to go there.

 

And it was a surprise to find a bit of it was just like Venice. 

Staying cool

 

 

No-one seems to be complaining but the weather every day has been hot. Very hot.

 

Loyal followers will be familiar with the great days that can be spent hanging out at one or more of the many beach bars available. But when the evening is so hot the best option for staying cool is to go into the woods and sit in the shade with a Peroni, or Aperol Spritz in Mrs Hayes' case.  

Marble

A short train ride from the tour's base is a Carrara. Viewed from a distance the hills behind the town, covered in white stuff, look like they are covered in snow when in fact the are full of marble. Not just any old marble but in fact the marble that Michelangelo and other potters used to make their statues, fonts and other items now famous and much visited.

Graffiti

Italian's would have to admit that there is a problem with graffiti. It is mostly confined to ugly areas like railway sidings and disused factories and not the areas of historical or cultural significance or beauty but it is a problem.

But the Blog thinks graffiti can also enhance otherwise uninteresting urban features. The uninspiring concrete benches along the prom have now been made much more interesting by the talents of local anonymous artists.

Poor Percy

 

The Blog noticed this statue of Shelley in a square close to where the tour's temporary residence. Apparently the poet visited Viareggio often, but not as often as the Blog, whilst living in Pisa.

He was a troubled man towards the end and drowned when his boat went down just off the beach here.

No apologies

The Blog just had to.

Why does it seem to lean less the more often you see it?

The girls

A short train journey took the tour back to Lucca. One of the world's great places and somewhere that reminds the Blog that life can sometimes be very good.

The local girls sit and chat for hours. Who knows what they are talking about? 

The Blog thinks that he could live here happily forever but hasn't told anyone that yet.

Forte dei Marmi

Mrs Hayes was anxious to give her new bike a go so took it on a spin to nearby Forte dei Marmi with the Blog joining in by bus.

It has such pretty shops, doesn't it?

Retro Blog

The Blog realises that any new posts to this blog now are so late that in fact the Blog is back in the office. The Blog has thought about this singular situation but can't stop now until the Blog is finished because, as is obvious, the Blog really does these blogs for his own amusement.

Ponte Vecchio

You can see the windows of the Vasari Corridor on the upper level of the unique Ponte Vecchio as it passes over the river Arno from the Palazzo Vecchio, via the Uffizi to the Palazzo Pitti.

Cosimo (the so called great)

Here is Cosimo. A Medici. The Vasari Corridor was his idea. He loved himself and so his statue is everywhere in Italy and he wanted to display his all embracing authority and leadership by building things that showed he was in charge.

The Medici's were so busy admiring themselves and ruling that they forgot to have any children and so eventually the family became extinct and a very important but dubious era came to an end.

Vasari Corridor

Readers will have realised from the last post that the tour went again to Firenze. One visit  never does satisfy.

The purpose of this visit was to have a private tour of the Vasari Corridor. It may just look like a corridor as it is in fact a corridor but it may be the most important corridor in the world.

The corridor enabled the ruling Medici to travel from their Palazzo Pitti to their Palazzo Vecchio without being seen by the people who may or may not have liked them very much.

The Blog thinks this corridor idea is a good idea and wonders whether one could be built in the NVAC.

Hardly anyone ever gets to visit this corridor and so everyone felt almost special but still normal.

Support Goliath

Here he is!

There is an opinion circulating that Goliath was a very friendly soft giant with a learning disability and that David was unfair to pick on him. The Blog doesn't know whether to accept this view or not and it is troubling what with David being such a hero.

p.s. if there are any new followers (you never know) the picture is of David and not Goliath.

Pietrasanta

 

With the tour chilling out on the beach, the Blog slipped off on the bus to nearby Pietrasanta. This is one of the Blog's most favourite places. As followers will know there is always inexplicable art on view in the main square. Whenever possible the Blog has shown these for readers' confusion and did not want to disappoint this time.

This year the theme seemed to be horses in various states of disarray. 

The Woods

 

 

The tall pines in the woods always provide some welcome shade from the boiling hot weather. There is always much going on here. Whilst there are opportunities to undertake all sorts of activities far to vigorous for the Blog to consider, there are also hidden away little cafes offering Peroni, Aperol Spritz and of course there is a chance for Mrs Hayes to view the latest bikes she can hire for duration.  

The beach

Perugia had been coldish with everyone wearing their tour jackets. So it was surprising to find Viareggio in such a boiling hot state.

The beach was called for and was of course there.

The older person in the picture trying to get a senior tan is not on the tour and is definitely not the Blog.

The ceiling

The Blog just could not resist showing followers again the remarkable ceiling of the Baptistry because he always pops in to see it.

On the move

The tour said a sad farewell to Perugia on Saturday morning and set off for Tuscany and the usual tour hang-out at Viareggio.

To break up the journey everyone stopped off at Firenze (Florence) for a few hours.

Long suffering followers will be all too familiar with the fantastic art that is found in every square and on every corner of this unbelievable city. The Blog therefore decided to show something new and fresh that has appeared since the last visit. A modern day David?

Arezzo

Umbria is very rural and transport between the main places is not as the Blog has come to expect in Italy so the tour stepped into Tuscany to visit Arezzo. This is a place the Blog hasn't seen since the 70's or 80's anyway a long time ago when the Blog was a fine example of the human form and wasn't even called the Blog. 

Late. Very late

This Blog has had real problems. Poor performance by the Wifi provider, poor performance by the laptop and yes poor performance by a hot and bothered ineffective Blog himself, has caused this blog to be so late that it seems hardly worth bothering. But bother the blog will even though the blog is now so late it is unlikely to be finished before the tour is over and a distant memory.


The Blog didn't want any remaining followers to think he had forgotten them. He has struggled and toiled to bring daily news from the tour but has failed.

Good place to stay

The hotel in Perugia is good but was it appropriate that they gave Mrs Hayes a Juliet balcony?

Truffles

Look at these! they are the famous Truffles. A great an usually very very expensive delicacy.

The Blog didn't expect to these in the shop window next to the tour's hotel as they are usually found in Piedmont. They are also found in Harrods where they cost thousands of pounds and are kept in locked glass cases.

So why are these so cheap? The Blog doesn't know but decided they looked like a once in a lifetime bargain so bought one.

It tasted like a charcoaled conker. Not that the Blog has ever eaten a conker, just to be clear. 

The Saint

The tour could not possibly come to these parts without visiting Assisi. Millions go there every year and they go there for one reason only, to visit the Basilica of Saint Francis and an amazing place it is.

Francis renounced his father's wealth to live a life of chastity and poverty. How many people do bloggers know that have done that?

He is of course known for his care for birds and animals and he is the patron saint of Italy. So he was obviously one of the good guys.

Cinquecento

Unlike Turin there are many pristine new Cinquecento everywhere in Perugia. It was reassuring to see this old rusty model.

Up the hill a better way

There had to be better way from the new city to the old city at the top of the head and totally by accident the tour found that way.

Escalators, yes escalators just like followers would find in the Victoria Centre or places similar. There are a number of these linked together to take you from the bottom to the top without any effort or ever getting wet. Scala Mobile they call them and they are well hidden like you are not really supposed to find them.

The ring

The Blog is always determined to bring the readers images of major historical significance. On the last tour followers were treated to a picture of the real chalice from the last supper and a previous tour showed the actual holy grail.

Not to be out done, this tour is pleased to show the wedding ring of the Virgin Mary, above. It can just be seen dangling from a cord neat the top of the above ornament.

Best bar

Followers will know that the tour can always be be guaranteed to find the best bars on any trip. The view from this bar was a great way to end another exciting day. 



Very old indeed

The old city is actually really old but with excellent views across the Umbrian countryside a countryside that no-one on the tour had previously experienced first hand.

Chocolate

As well as murders and griffins this place has good chocolate and here is a sample of what there is to taste.

The old city, the best bits, is high on a hill in typical Umbrian style. So to get there from the bottom, the new city where the station and stuff is, you are supposed to walk up these picturesque but challenging steps that go on and on for miles.

There must be an easier way!

Mascots

All cities have some sort of animal as a mascot. Bloggers will remember that Turin has the bull which the Milanese love to abuse, Siena has its wolf and suckling cubs. In Perugia its the Griffin. That is the thing on the left above. The Griffin is everywhere but no-one on the party can say what a Griffin actually is, which kind of ruins it as an iconic symbol really. 

Squares

On Monday morning the party set off to explore the location. The location being Perugia. No-one in the party seemed to know anything much about the place except it had been in the news because of a murder where the accused, an American citizen whose name the Blog can't remember, has been found guilty, then innocent and then guilty again and is currently waiting another appeal.


It was no surprise to find that within a few yards of the hotel there was a square. Every Italian city has a few of these and even modest villages have one. This particular one was rather impressive and the picture shows just part of it's whole.

Too much excitement

What for the most part was a relaxing uneventful average everyday trip on a plane became more interesting as the plane hit less than helpful weather and provided the tour with excitement unexpected and actually unwanted.
Things got worse and the captain told everyone the plane couldn't land at the planned destination and had to divert to somewhere called Ancona.
The Blog has been to many places in Italy and heard of quite a few more but none of these were called Ancona.. The Blog wasn't even sure if Ancona was in Italy.
Anyway whatever people say about Mr O'Leary, and many people say many things most of which seem justified, his plane landed the tour safely and then put on buses to the planned destination.

Another Blog

Another year brings another tour and so another blog. That's life.
The thing is this year's tour could appear to be just the same as the tours that went before because actually it is. Consistency is good apparently.
The challenge for the Blog is to delight any remaining followers by making the usual seem fresh and exciting. Can he do it? I wouldn't bet on it (unless your name is Simon).
A number of dismal recent events caused the tour to pack their bags in a less than upbeat mood than normal.
On the train to Stansted on Saturday the Blog tried to keep up with the score at Wembley as he had a passing interest in who would provide City with 6 points next season

Eventually everyone arrived at the usual tour launch pad seen below.