GREVE IN CHIANTI

Revisiting all my old favourites.   Stayed here twice on last visit.  The town has a lovely piazza.  Nice restaurants and shops.  Many of the shops stock local specialties like wild boar, cheeses, pates and of course wine.  This time its not yet season so it's quiet and not warm enough to have the usual crowd filling the restaurants and gelatarias.  

main piazza

Good local food

LEGNAGO AND MONTAGNANA

I had met Rosa Maria and Gilberto some years ago when I was in the camper in southern France and we parked near each other.  We've been in touch ever since so now went over to stay with them for the night and catch up.   We had a lovely dinner together and afterwards went for a drive to the huge castle of Montagnana which has a whole town within it's walls .  Had a nice stroll around and a coffee  It's difficult to imagine a fortification this big even larger than the castle at Carcassonne    Stayed on for lunch the next day and then drove to Mantova.

Montagnana

VICENZA, ITALY

After I left Augsburg I drove down to Vicenza, my old home, excited to meet good friends from Portland, Oregon Judy and Harlan Bridenbaugh at my good friends B&B/Restaurant where we would be joined by Concetta and Paul who I saw recently in Chiang Mai.  They live in Merano near Bolzano.   The weather remains rainy and cold but the drive down was nice enough.  I didn't take the autostrada until after I reached Vipiteno and then didn't stay on it too long as decided to drive over the lovely Valsugana region.   We had a great get together.  Lovely food and wine, visits to the market downtown, to Rigetti's old favourite restaurant, to Gelaterias, drives in the Colli Berici.  A good visit to Bassana del Grappa and long chats.  The Gobbo family in Da Berno couldn't have been nicer and the B&B is tiny in a lovely old restored house and comfortable.  A great week.

Breakfast together

downtown Vicenza

planning Enrica's garden

with Giovanni in Bassano

from Ponte Vecchio Bassano

AUGSBURG, GERMANY

I drove straight through from Affiglem to Augsburg.   Over 700 kms but good roads.   I used to live in Augsburg and it holds many happy memories and I feel close to friends there as well as my son Sean and family.   Its a lovely quiet city with broad streets, lovely architecture and plazas.  It is renowned in history because it was founded by the sons of Augustus, was part of the Via Claudia from Rome, the Fuggers founded the first social settlement here known as The Fuggerai.  It is still existing.  Martin Luther said NO to the papal bull here in Anna Kirche and The Dom has some of the oldest stained glass windows still existing in Europe.  The lovely Ulrichs Kirche is unusual in that it is shared by Protestants and Catholics.
I arrived to a grand welcome by my friends Gill and Wolfgang as we settled in to aperitifs outside of their lovely apartment where I stayed for a week

I was at my favourite restaurant - a greek one that served the best Moussaka I ever had.  It's on Uhland Str in Phersee.  Sean and his partner Gudrun with my grandchild Alina

Also was invited to dinner at Gisela and Nandl Steiner in their home in Friedberg.  Nandl is a great chef and also brews his own beer so we had a grand evening there

There's a custom to go to the Stadt Market on Saturday morning and have an Aperol Spritz   It's always full of regulars and joyous chat in the middle of that hall of plenty

The Spring Plerrer was in full swing when we all got together on Sunday noon in the beer garden of Shaller Brau   There were the usual big Krugs of beer, comely waitresses and handsome waiters serving traditional dishes of Potato Pancakes, Sweine Haksen, Cheese Spaezle etc.

Sean and I

AFFIGLEM, BELGIUM

It is only a short drive from Ghent to Affiglem where I have great friends.  This time every get together is short as I need to get down to Italy by the first week of May.  Affiglem is quite close to Brussels with frequent trains in to the centre.  This trip I was only wishing to spend time with Peggy and Johan in their lovely old house with two courtyards where Johan had made a perfect lunch with different wines with each course while we chatted about the last four years since we saw each other.
Later we went for a nice walk and finished in a good pub to try some of the famous beers.   Belgium offers so many I don't think I will ever get to know them all.   A great Sunday

GHENT, BELGIUM

I have friends living in Ghent and I had a lovely visit with them.  Ghent is such a beautiful city with lovely architecture and a fine castle right in the middle of town.  There are great restaurants, cafes, pubs and shops.  This time I didn't do any sightseeing as just passing through and I did visit most of the remarkable buildings and churches last time.
We went out for dinner to a grand little authentic Italian place called Al Castello but also known as Pino, the name of the jovial owner from Puglia.  His sons also work there.  There's a big pizza oven and they also use it to make special dishes like the one below composed of Melanzane, Tomatoes and cheese.   Excellent   If you go there also be sure to try the huge mushrooms.

Al Castello

The dish with the Aubergines and Tomatoes

DOVER TO BELGIUM/BRUGES

There were no traffic jams on the road to Dover so I arrived early for my ferry and was able to leave on the earlier sailing.  Again it was a short crossing to Calais.   Of course I wanted to see Bruges again so I drove around looking for a place to park and sleep.  Found one close to Camping Memling and there were four other campers there.  Next morning went in to town and got parking at the train station for only 3.50 for the day.  Very nice walk in to town from there through green area and alongside a lake.
The weather is not a bit like spring being dull and cold but I went on the boat anyway.  Not as magic as when the sun is shining and flowers are in the window boxes.   I went in to a good exhibition of Picasso including audio visuals, didn't realise that he worked in so many mediums.  The ticket was a special one that included tasting of many Belgium beers so I had a good time there.  I was sad to see that my little favourite hot chocolate shop must be gone as I couldn't find it anywhere.   It was so great with the huge cups of hot milk and the fancied chocolate chips waiting to be added and melted.  All that along with some great chocolates.

VISIT TO PAULINE

It was an easy drive from Banbury to Wimbleton area to visit Pauline in her lovely house.  I was looking forward a lot as Chris was also coming over from Ilminster and Catherine came to dinner so it was a grand women's night.  Im feeling so lucky with all these nice friends.  The area is in such a different area than the ones in London where I stayed all those years ago.  Stately quiet streets with lovely old homes.  Gardens are well tended and trees mature.  We strolled through a really wonderful old graveyard with a church that is 900 years old.  Bluebells are in full bloom as well as tulips and the last of the daffodils.

Pauline had made a really nice supper of fish pie and we had madeira pears for dessert.  Lovely get together.

Chris sending me on my road

Nearby graveyard

Back garden

Pauline and Chris with tulips

ROAD TRIP 2017

Brandy all packed and Molly on board I left Carrick on 18th April to catch a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead.  It is a very short crossing leaving at night so I arrived at 0030.  Hard to find anywhere in Holyhead to park so drove around for hours before heading in the direction of Oxfordshire and finally found a place in Conwy Wales with a parking lot for a Travel Inn so I slept there soundly.  There were only trucks in every parking spot on the roads, no campers.
All well as I headed for Mick and Anne Pearsons in Banbury.  Such very nice people.   Ann had made a grand dinner of Lasagne and lovely dessert of rhubarb panna cotta.  Their two grandchildren were there and they're great fun, natural kids Cathy and Trevor.  I just stayed one night.

IRELAND APRIL'17

I had only a short while in Ireland after flying back from Nepal 7th April.   A bit of a rush between van inspection, road tax, packing and a visit by Sherry and John who stayed at the Landmark Hotel.  Sent in my taxes to O'Connor and hope they'll get done.  Terry filed the American taxes for me bless her heart.  Jacinta and Tony drove over and stayed a night in their camper so we all had fun at The Thatch after dinner at the Oarsman.

BODENATH

No visit to Kathmandu would be complete without a visit to the glorious Bodenath Tibetan temple.   This visit happened on a wet and windy day so there were not as many circumambulating and praying.  It's mesmerising and beautiful.   Almost all of the surrounding shops are selling Buddhist prayer flags, prayer wheels, beads, scarves, objects made with Turquoise and Coral, incense burners, robes and every object pertinent to Buddhism.   The people arrive here from all over Asia and everywhere there are monks and that distinctive Tibetan face and dress.

POKHARA NEPAL

It was so nice to get away to Pokhara with it's wide streets and lake.  I found a hotel named Millenium for $8/night and it was nice with a balcony and terrace although unfortunately the weather wasn't nice enough to use them . Only saw fishtale mountain for a few minutes.   Met a few nice women especially Monique Duijler who was full of life and fun.  Had a nice boat trip over to the island, took a bus out to the Tibetan village and had some walks.  I wanted to try a hike up to some higher villages but with no visibility there was no use . Enjoyed breakfasts on a terrace facing the lake, bought some Kashmiri scarves for Irma etc.

Breakfast spot

On the way to island

Tibetan village

Tea break for Tibetan women