Bike Trip Done!

And now in Paris……it’s such a beautiul city in so many ways!

Sunflowers in Italy…….fields and fields of them!  And lunch al fresco under the mulberry tree!

We finally have a great internet connection and now no time to post anything!  Nor have I had time to get very many pictures on my iPad.

The bike trip was no “walk in the park”……rather gruelling some days because of not just hills but heat!  We’ve hit the worst heatwave in Europe since 2003!  Temps have been in the mid 30’s C (100F) everyday.  My new favorite word is BRUTAL…..and another one that I won’t type!  The Burundy region of France is truly beautiful……vineyards, wheatfields, corn, sunflowers and wild poppies.

Paris…..there is just nothing anyone can say about it……no matter how many times you’ve been there it always brings a little tear of joy to your eye to be back.  B loves shoping so we’ve done some of that along with a lot of site seeing….all on foot!  I can’t even begin to think of the number of kilometers/miles we’ve put on in the last two days.

Only a few more days and this glorious holiday will be over……I can’t believe a whole month has almost gone by already!!

L.

So Much To See

I really enjoy exploring new places and Le Marche is an amazing place to explore.  It’s much more mountainous and maybe a little rugged compared to Tuscany but just as beautiful in a different way.  Definitely less touristy and maybe a little less polished than Florence and Siena there are fantastic hilltowns, or “mountain towns” that are just as beautiful and interesting.

The food has been fantastic.  I think we’ve cooked dinner in every night so far.  Markets are a little less exciting here…..smaller and more household goods and clothes than food….but what food they do have is great.  So fresh.  Melons and apricots seem to be in season at the moment and are sweet and delicious.

We’ve been to the beach a couple of times…..they call them “white sandy” beaches but truly they are rock beaches……very rocky beaches but they’re really very pretty with umbrellas and chairs that you rent by the day.  And the clear blue water and sky make for some great pictures.

We did a long day trip into Tuscany and revisited Cortona and Montepulciano, which are absolutely beautiful hilltowns with spectacular views in every direction.  After Le Marche though, they are almost a little too perfect.

I can’t count the number of times we’ve gotten lost, even with 2 maps!  The last time we had 4 and still got lost.  The signs that you are following sometimes just seem to dry up and you’ll come to a rounabout with the name of where you heading missing from any of the exits…..so you just go around again and make a driving decision to take exit #2 and hope for the best.

Getting lost and finding some little hidden gem of a town is the best part and really no where we are heading is that important that we have to be there by a specific time and we always try to incorporate and extra hour or two in our travel time to allow for those wrong turns, unmarked roads and right now a ton of road work.

Tomorrow we’re heading to Urbino and San Marino, where if we have any luck at all, we’ll meet up for coffee with my other travel buddy, Connie.  Thursday we’re doing a full day wine, olive oil and honey tasting tour.  There aren’t too many options in this area…..again because there just isn’t the tourist demand so we’re hoping this guy is as good as the reviews we’ve read.

I can’t believe these two weeks have gone by so quickly!  Saturday we head back to Bologna for the next part of our trip…..

L.

I Love Italy!

It is such an amazing place to visit.

Our 4 days in London were great.  It was so much fun meeting up with my brother and SIL at the end of their 6 week trip all over Europe,  We had a great dinner and heard all about it.

We went to a play…..”Wicked” that was great.  You get to Leicester Square bright and early (opens at 10 but line ups start by just after 9) where you can buy tickets up to half price off for a number of different plays.

Brenda and I did the hop on/off bus one of the days……that along with a lot of walking in between.  Of course we stopped in a pub for a lunch of fish pie and the gin special of the day.

 

Our last day we did a Foodie tour of the east end…..lots of fun starting at Spitafields Market.  Tour guide was a young guy right into the history of that area and food.

Friday we were off to Bologna…….another great place.  Our hotel was right in the centre of the “Centro Storico” so close to everything……restaurants, churches and shops of every kind.  The food was wonderful…..pasta for lunch, pizza for dinner!!  The hotel had a couple of nice terraces with good views….a great place for a couple of glasses of wine and to hear the church bells when they ALL start chiming….

Picked up our rental car early the next morning at the airport.  I drove and had no problem getting out of the rental car parking area and on the autostrada……our first stop about an hour into the drive was at one of the mega autogrills……coffees and snacks to fortify us for the rest of the drive.

The house we’ve rented is huge….we knew it was big but not quite as big as it is.  The rooms are all really big….each bedroom has a sitting room attached and we all have our own bathrooms…..a good thing when there are 3 women.

We been busy familiarizing ourselves with our little town and the various shops and hours they keep……siesta is stricktly adhered to around here!!

Our internet was not working the first few days……after a few phone calls and texts to the owner it seems to have been sorted out now….at least most of the time, still a little dodgy when there are 3 of us working away.

L.

I Love Italy!

We have not had the best luck with WiFi so haven’t had a chance to post.  It’s still iffy so using my phone at the moment. Hoping to have connection issues fixed today.

Great trip so far…..a pic of the house for now. More to come later….I hope!

 

L.