Hi folks!
Today I give you the 5th day of my Italy diary. I expect you may be finding it a bit boring by now, but for all I know you could be loving it! You don't comment, so how am I to know?? Hehehe...
Today, after waking up and enjoying another breakfast of pancakes, we all clambered into the car and headed off for the town of Umbertide to get some much-needed supplies. Umbertide is the nearest substantial town to La Selva, and last year we spent a lot of our time shopping there, not least because there's a fantastic ice-cream place in the centre that supplies a whole rage of flavours.
So we started off by trying to find a bookshop in the centre so we could get a map for Dad, but it turned out to be closed on Monday mornings. Instead, we had to make do with anything we could get from the Tourist Info across the road. Luckily they managed to provide some quite useful maps and guidebooks, and we can always get some more at another time. Next Pete tried to top up his mobile, whilst I had a quick scan of a magazine stall, but nothing really caught my eye. With no other shopping to be done in the centre, we headed to the ice-cream place where I got a bowl of custard and cherry flavours, as well as some grape juice. Whilst I wasn't convinced the custard one was that accurate, both were very sweet and refreshing, even if it did attract the wasps!
After a brief look around the Italian version of the Really Useful Shop, we jumped back in the car and drove to the Co-Op supermarket on the outskirts. After a brief hunt for a nearby bike shop which ALSO turned out to be closed (even after I'd asked for directions in Italian!), the others began shopping in the supermarket while I, expecting to probably just get in the way otherwise, explored the shop on my own. I ended up looking for, among other things, some yeast and some dried porcini mushrooms which I had to ask one of the staff about. To be honest, there were so many Brits in the supermarket it probably wouldn't have mattered whether I spoke in English or Italian, but I made the effort to speak in the native language.
Eventually, we loaded our €200 worth of shopping into the car and made our way back to the house. I hepled unload and opened some windows in my room, and before I knew it salady lunch was on the table again! I tucked in eagerly, and helped to tidy the same. Once all was sorted, Dad showed us how he could put his cycling routes onto Google Earth, even without an Internet connection! How clever is that?! We also had a look through the photos we'd taken so far, including Pete pulling some funny faces, Mum's squirrel impression and some incredible panoramas. At about this time the biggest ten-minute storm in the history of everything everywhere ever (so far) broke out, thunder growling overhead, the driving rain soon becoming hailstones the size of large grapes! I hurried to close up the windows I'd just opened, and then watched from the safety of the kitchen.
The storm soon eased off and I sat in the loggia updating my diary. I was quite far behind, so this occupied most of my afternoon. At about half five, I walked out to the Tower again, but it wasn't very enjoyable, because the rain had obviously brought out even more flying insects of various sorts, which kept getting in my face the whole time! No matter how much I swatted them away, thousands more kept coming back! What is the point of flies? They hardly do anything apart from annoy us and feed spiders, and I'm sure the spiders could find something else to eat.
Anyway, once I'd got back, it was time to make dinner! It was only spaghetti, but with a home-made sauce. After a while, Pete joined in as well, which was a bit of a shame. Nothing against him, but I prefer cooking on my own. At least we could get it done quicker with two of us. Apart from forgetting the mince, I think we did pretty well. It wasn't the best pasta ever, but it wasn't bad. Mum followed this up with a bowl of fruit (yay, fruit again!), including some rock-solid peach, which didn't really seem edible to me, no matter how much Mum reassured us.
So, with dinner and clearing-up out of the way, we all settled down to watch The Matrix Reloaded. It's been a while since I saw the first film, so it took me a while to remember what happened and who everyone was, but the fight scenes were still incredibly well-choreographed and, considering it was made all the way back in 2002, the special effects were breathtaking. It was a lot stranger than the first one, and quite hard to get your head round what was real and what was a computer program, and why there were lots of Mr Smiths, and stuff. But as long as you don't think about it too much, it is definitely a must-see.
So, once it had finished, we all dispersed and got some sleep. Or tried to. Unfortunately the many bites on my feet and legs kept rubbing together, and as a result I didn't get to bed for a very long time.
Man, those bites were serious! It was as though something had been munching on me all day... Ah well, at least SOMEONE finds me tasty! Hehehe... Check back another time for more Italy antics!
See ya 'round!
Jack
Monday, 21 September 2009
Friday, 18 September 2009
Day 4 - New Words, Old Biscuits
Hi gang!
Fourth entry for the Italy diary today. Enjoy!
Today I woke at about nine, after the best night's sleep I've had for ages, and headed to the kitchen to see who was up. Sure enough, Mum and Dad were outside drinking tea, so I joined them in the already warm morning. Once we felt relaxed enough, Mum and I made ssome Scotch pancakes and these we ate with peach, cold meats, cheese and honey. Considering I hadn't made pancackesfor what seemed liked years, this lot came out surprisingly well. All thanks to Mum's guidance, no doubt!
Breakfast came and went, with Pete waking up surprisingly early, and soon we were all sat around the pool, swimming, reading or, in my case, writing. With my diary up to date and a few more chapters of Cold Mountain in the bag, I tried the pool for the first time. It was just the right temperature again and as a result I spent most of the morning in the water, playing with pete and generally trying to keep cool. As it was Sunday, even I decidded to have a break from doing anything too action-packed.
Eventually lunch came around, which was roast beef with thyme risotto and various salady bits. The risotto was brilliant, very filling, just like at the hotel, and we were also treated to more of Mum's home-made bread. Perfect! Considering all the shops have been shut, we're doing quite well! After having eaten, the others all went to have a snooze, I think, while I got a bit more of Cold Mountain out the way. It seems quite tedious in places, a fairly easy plot to follow, but you know what I mean: "Then she went out into the yard and caught some chickens for her dinner", or whatever. Why do I even need to know about that?? Once I was safely on page 140, I took some time to update my diary, and went out to walk the same route as yesterday.
By the time I returned, the others were ready to take dinner, another selection of salads and cold meats, up onto the terrace, so I leant a hand and within minutes we were enjoying our first outside dinner at La Selva! Everyone agreed that we were finally chilled out after a long day of doing nothing! We'd also dug out a bag of coffee biscuits seven months past their "best-before" date, which were stillsurprisingly more-ish, and these we enjoyed with the last of the melon and peach. As it grew darker, dinner blended into stargazing, and I managed, surprisingly, to spot quite a few shooting stars this time - how lucky! The night dragged on and once Dad had taken some clever photos of stars, it was time once again for bed.
Not a very exciting entry today, but next time we get to go shopping, so that might be interesting! For now though, I'll say goodnight and let you get on with your various lives.... Hehehe...
See ya 'round!
Jack
Fourth entry for the Italy diary today. Enjoy!
Today I woke at about nine, after the best night's sleep I've had for ages, and headed to the kitchen to see who was up. Sure enough, Mum and Dad were outside drinking tea, so I joined them in the already warm morning. Once we felt relaxed enough, Mum and I made ssome Scotch pancakes and these we ate with peach, cold meats, cheese and honey. Considering I hadn't made pancackesfor what seemed liked years, this lot came out surprisingly well. All thanks to Mum's guidance, no doubt!
Breakfast came and went, with Pete waking up surprisingly early, and soon we were all sat around the pool, swimming, reading or, in my case, writing. With my diary up to date and a few more chapters of Cold Mountain in the bag, I tried the pool for the first time. It was just the right temperature again and as a result I spent most of the morning in the water, playing with pete and generally trying to keep cool. As it was Sunday, even I decidded to have a break from doing anything too action-packed.
Eventually lunch came around, which was roast beef with thyme risotto and various salady bits. The risotto was brilliant, very filling, just like at the hotel, and we were also treated to more of Mum's home-made bread. Perfect! Considering all the shops have been shut, we're doing quite well! After having eaten, the others all went to have a snooze, I think, while I got a bit more of Cold Mountain out the way. It seems quite tedious in places, a fairly easy plot to follow, but you know what I mean: "Then she went out into the yard and caught some chickens for her dinner", or whatever. Why do I even need to know about that?? Once I was safely on page 140, I took some time to update my diary, and went out to walk the same route as yesterday.
By the time I returned, the others were ready to take dinner, another selection of salads and cold meats, up onto the terrace, so I leant a hand and within minutes we were enjoying our first outside dinner at La Selva! Everyone agreed that we were finally chilled out after a long day of doing nothing! We'd also dug out a bag of coffee biscuits seven months past their "best-before" date, which were stillsurprisingly more-ish, and these we enjoyed with the last of the melon and peach. As it grew darker, dinner blended into stargazing, and I managed, surprisingly, to spot quite a few shooting stars this time - how lucky! The night dragged on and once Dad had taken some clever photos of stars, it was time once again for bed.
Not a very exciting entry today, but next time we get to go shopping, so that might be interesting! For now though, I'll say goodnight and let you get on with your various lives.... Hehehe...
See ya 'round!
Jack
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Day 3 - Here To There
Hi gang!
Sorry it's been a while since I updated this. Between schoolwork and a stupid virus infection thing (blood!), I really haven't been in the mood for writing for fun recently. It's shocking, I know, but sometimes even Shakespeare had off-days. Luckily for you, however, I'm back today with the next entry in the Italian diary, so without further ado, here it is!
Today, after waking up and doing some preliminary packing, we got breakfast, which was more or less the same as yesterday but with yoghurts as well. Once we'd finished, we returned to the room to make sure we had everything packed and then loaded all our bags into the soon-to-be-replaced car. After a few final goodbyes, we were on the road again!
An hour passed...
Eventually, we arrived at Florence airport, but only to find to our horror that the critical yellow wallet with all the paperwork in had been left at the hotel! I didn't really mind, as it's only an extra two hours out of a whole three weeks, and to be fair I would probably have done the same, but ten times worse. Mind you, I wasn't the one driving! Somehow, Dad managed to negotiate so that we could change cars without the documents, and eventually we all clambered into a Fiat and began the journey BACK to the hotel.
Another hour passed...
Luckily, the wallet was still at the hotel, so we picked it up and turned quickly around, finally bound for Casa La Selva!
Two hours passed...
Me and twisty mountain paths don't go well together, as I learned in France last year, so the route we took to the house this time wasn't great fun, but it was still far, far better than the track we used last year. Soon the scenery became more familiar and before we knew it we were rolling into the driveway of La Selva.
After unloading and making ourselves more comfortable, we immediately sprang into lunch-making activity. Lunch today was a variety of cold meats and salad elements, and I get the impression this will be our diet for the next few days, as all the shops are closed tomorrow. Hey, it's healthy; I don't mind! Once lunch was done, I unpacked and updated my diary whiile it cooled down outside. I also managed to read a little more of Cold Mountain, which I'm trying to get through as quickly as possible so I can crack on with the interesting travel magazines Mum got me.
At quarter to seven, I decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air. There were way too many insects flying around, and I'm surprised I didn't eat any! Eventually, I managed to get out to a tower I'd seen on my way in, despite almost taking a wrong turn halfway through!
By the time I got back, dinner was almost ready. Mum had prepared some sausages, along with home-made bread, mushroom and herb couscous and salad from lunchtime. It wasn't a massive feast, but I really enjoyed it, especially the sausages, which had been home-made by someone, I think. After tidying up we divided a melon between us and Mum and Dad pored over various maps, while Pete and I drunk our shandies and waited for it to get dark.
When the sun had finally gone down, we crept outside onto the terrace and sat down to do some stargazing. I spotted the first shooting star, but there were a whole load later that I missed. The sky was beautiful with no lights around, and I could have stayed there forever. Sadly, it was soon time to go to bed, so I clambered into the mosquito net, turned out the lights and got a good night's sleep.
So, another day gone. I won't promise anything for tomorrow, but NEXT TIME, you can expect pancakes, risotto and more Cold Mountain. Yeah, it's not very exciting, the next one. But it is a Sunday, after all!
See ya 'round!
Jack
Sorry it's been a while since I updated this. Between schoolwork and a stupid virus infection thing (blood!), I really haven't been in the mood for writing for fun recently. It's shocking, I know, but sometimes even Shakespeare had off-days. Luckily for you, however, I'm back today with the next entry in the Italian diary, so without further ado, here it is!
Today, after waking up and doing some preliminary packing, we got breakfast, which was more or less the same as yesterday but with yoghurts as well. Once we'd finished, we returned to the room to make sure we had everything packed and then loaded all our bags into the soon-to-be-replaced car. After a few final goodbyes, we were on the road again!
An hour passed...
Eventually, we arrived at Florence airport, but only to find to our horror that the critical yellow wallet with all the paperwork in had been left at the hotel! I didn't really mind, as it's only an extra two hours out of a whole three weeks, and to be fair I would probably have done the same, but ten times worse. Mind you, I wasn't the one driving! Somehow, Dad managed to negotiate so that we could change cars without the documents, and eventually we all clambered into a Fiat and began the journey BACK to the hotel.
Another hour passed...
Luckily, the wallet was still at the hotel, so we picked it up and turned quickly around, finally bound for Casa La Selva!
Two hours passed...
Me and twisty mountain paths don't go well together, as I learned in France last year, so the route we took to the house this time wasn't great fun, but it was still far, far better than the track we used last year. Soon the scenery became more familiar and before we knew it we were rolling into the driveway of La Selva.
After unloading and making ourselves more comfortable, we immediately sprang into lunch-making activity. Lunch today was a variety of cold meats and salad elements, and I get the impression this will be our diet for the next few days, as all the shops are closed tomorrow. Hey, it's healthy; I don't mind! Once lunch was done, I unpacked and updated my diary whiile it cooled down outside. I also managed to read a little more of Cold Mountain, which I'm trying to get through as quickly as possible so I can crack on with the interesting travel magazines Mum got me.
At quarter to seven, I decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air. There were way too many insects flying around, and I'm surprised I didn't eat any! Eventually, I managed to get out to a tower I'd seen on my way in, despite almost taking a wrong turn halfway through!
By the time I got back, dinner was almost ready. Mum had prepared some sausages, along with home-made bread, mushroom and herb couscous and salad from lunchtime. It wasn't a massive feast, but I really enjoyed it, especially the sausages, which had been home-made by someone, I think. After tidying up we divided a melon between us and Mum and Dad pored over various maps, while Pete and I drunk our shandies and waited for it to get dark.
When the sun had finally gone down, we crept outside onto the terrace and sat down to do some stargazing. I spotted the first shooting star, but there were a whole load later that I missed. The sky was beautiful with no lights around, and I could have stayed there forever. Sadly, it was soon time to go to bed, so I clambered into the mosquito net, turned out the lights and got a good night's sleep.
So, another day gone. I won't promise anything for tomorrow, but NEXT TIME, you can expect pancakes, risotto and more Cold Mountain. Yeah, it's not very exciting, the next one. But it is a Sunday, after all!
See ya 'round!
Jack
Saturday, 5 September 2009
Day 2 - The Lights Of San Gimignano
Hey everyone!
Day 2 today, but before I do anything else, let me just point you in the direction of Sonya Kitchell's revamped blog at www.sonyakitchell.blogspot.com. You all know how brilliant I think Sonya is, and the blog showcases some of her great photography, showing just how multi-talented she is! And Sonya, if you HAPPEN to be reading after I said hello on Facebook (unlikely), when you can sing, play the guitar and take professional-standard photos, being able to spell isn't important! Hehehe.... Anyway, cracking on, enjoy the diary!
Today we woke up at around eight forty-five and got ready for the day ahead. Outside, the sky was a brilliant blue and the cicadas were already chirping like crazy. Breakfast was cereal and croissants, amongst other things, which was satisfying enough. With this finished and our coffee drunk, we returned to the flats to brush our teeth and get ready to go out. When everyone was ready, we set of down a nearby track towards the town of San Gimignano. The trees were every shade of green and we could hear the lizards dashing away in front of us. Out of the shade it was already boiling and the cars kicked up massive dust clouds behind them.
We passed a vineyard and a police office on our way into the town, and soon we could step through the ancient walls into the old quarter. Unfortunately it was already full of tourists, but Dad says that if I come back earlier tomorrow, I can get some good pictures without so many people. The story of this town is that, at some time in the past, rival factions tried to outdo each other by building the tallest tower. The result is a rather curious skyline and a fantastic view from the top of the tallest tower. This we climbed, after grabbing ice-cream (mine was cherry and "baccio", whatever that is!), a total of about 218 steps. It was worth it for the incredible view of the valley we uncovered, as well as a chance to see more of the other towers - some even had tables and chairs on top!
With this view added to our collection (Uttini!), we returned to street level and spent a while longer wandering among the picturesque alleys, before finding a restaurant for lunch. I ended up with some pear juice and a prosciutto ham and brie sandwich, both of which were very refreshing. We also stocked up on water for the journey back, and tried to locate a map shop, with little success! Instead we walked back to the hotel, grabbing pictures of a lizard and grape vines on the way.
Once back, Dad had a siesta and the rest of us changed into swimming gear and went to check out the pool. After getting in my thirty lengths as usual, I took the extra time to update my diary, and soon we were meeting up with the others for aperitifs. Mum had been shopping, so we ate crisps and drank coke under the canopy outside. Apparently the car had some problems with its tyres, so we had to take it to Florence airport to get another one - a long-winded detour meaning we won't get to Siena, but might see more of Florence than we were expecting!
So, when we were satisfied, we entered the restaurant upstairs and sat down at the same table as this morning. We were then presented with some antipasti - some crispy bruscetta, slices of melon wrapped in parma ham, and some kind of mixed up... stuff... with vegetables in which was really interesting, the tomatoes especially flavoursome. This was followed up by an extremely filling risotto (does anyone else find risotto just instantly fills you up?) for primo, and chicken and peas for secondo - I think this is probably one of the few times I've actually enjoyed peas! After a slight pause to let everything go down, we finished our home-cooked meal with some mini tiramisu, which, despite not having as much sponge as I was expecting, was still as rich and gooey as ever.
Having finished the dinner, we briefly stood outside and watched the lights of San Gimignano in the dark, but we were all too full and tired to do any real stargazing. Instead, we chose to return to the hotel and go pretty much straight to bed!
So, the first full day of action over. TOMORROW there's some drama, some travelling, and some new places to visit. You won't want to miss it!
See ya 'round!
Jack
Day 2 today, but before I do anything else, let me just point you in the direction of Sonya Kitchell's revamped blog at www.sonyakitchell.blogspot.com. You all know how brilliant I think Sonya is, and the blog showcases some of her great photography, showing just how multi-talented she is! And Sonya, if you HAPPEN to be reading after I said hello on Facebook (unlikely), when you can sing, play the guitar and take professional-standard photos, being able to spell isn't important! Hehehe.... Anyway, cracking on, enjoy the diary!
Today we woke up at around eight forty-five and got ready for the day ahead. Outside, the sky was a brilliant blue and the cicadas were already chirping like crazy. Breakfast was cereal and croissants, amongst other things, which was satisfying enough. With this finished and our coffee drunk, we returned to the flats to brush our teeth and get ready to go out. When everyone was ready, we set of down a nearby track towards the town of San Gimignano. The trees were every shade of green and we could hear the lizards dashing away in front of us. Out of the shade it was already boiling and the cars kicked up massive dust clouds behind them.
We passed a vineyard and a police office on our way into the town, and soon we could step through the ancient walls into the old quarter. Unfortunately it was already full of tourists, but Dad says that if I come back earlier tomorrow, I can get some good pictures without so many people. The story of this town is that, at some time in the past, rival factions tried to outdo each other by building the tallest tower. The result is a rather curious skyline and a fantastic view from the top of the tallest tower. This we climbed, after grabbing ice-cream (mine was cherry and "baccio", whatever that is!), a total of about 218 steps. It was worth it for the incredible view of the valley we uncovered, as well as a chance to see more of the other towers - some even had tables and chairs on top!
With this view added to our collection (Uttini!), we returned to street level and spent a while longer wandering among the picturesque alleys, before finding a restaurant for lunch. I ended up with some pear juice and a prosciutto ham and brie sandwich, both of which were very refreshing. We also stocked up on water for the journey back, and tried to locate a map shop, with little success! Instead we walked back to the hotel, grabbing pictures of a lizard and grape vines on the way.
Once back, Dad had a siesta and the rest of us changed into swimming gear and went to check out the pool. After getting in my thirty lengths as usual, I took the extra time to update my diary, and soon we were meeting up with the others for aperitifs. Mum had been shopping, so we ate crisps and drank coke under the canopy outside. Apparently the car had some problems with its tyres, so we had to take it to Florence airport to get another one - a long-winded detour meaning we won't get to Siena, but might see more of Florence than we were expecting!
So, when we were satisfied, we entered the restaurant upstairs and sat down at the same table as this morning. We were then presented with some antipasti - some crispy bruscetta, slices of melon wrapped in parma ham, and some kind of mixed up... stuff... with vegetables in which was really interesting, the tomatoes especially flavoursome. This was followed up by an extremely filling risotto (does anyone else find risotto just instantly fills you up?) for primo, and chicken and peas for secondo - I think this is probably one of the few times I've actually enjoyed peas! After a slight pause to let everything go down, we finished our home-cooked meal with some mini tiramisu, which, despite not having as much sponge as I was expecting, was still as rich and gooey as ever.
Having finished the dinner, we briefly stood outside and watched the lights of San Gimignano in the dark, but we were all too full and tired to do any real stargazing. Instead, we chose to return to the hotel and go pretty much straight to bed!
So, the first full day of action over. TOMORROW there's some drama, some travelling, and some new places to visit. You won't want to miss it!
See ya 'round!
Jack
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Day 1 - Looking For Solace
Hey gang!
OK, now that I've finished salivating over all the epic new music coming out in the very near future, I guess I should hit you with the first of twenty (yes, TWENTY) diary entries from my Italy holiday diary. I know you hate it when I do waffly intros, but to give you a bit of premise to this adventure, the main part, as you'll see, is set in the same place we stayed last year, so this wasn't particularly new territory to me. Nevertheless, this let me look at everything in more detail than before, when I was trying to take in everything at once! So yeah, I give you Day 1!
Today our adventure began at about ten thirty, when we loaded our bags into the car and began the drive to Gatwick. Despite, several traffic jams, we arrived in the car park roughly on time and caught the coach to the airport itself. Gatwick seemed to me a lot different to other airports, in that we had to go up two storeys to hand over our luggage. Luckily Mum and Dad had checked in online, so the bag drop and security were both generally painless.
Once through to Departures, we went up a level to get a bite of lunch at Eat. I love Eat; they make the best sandwich combinations - today I had ham and some posh cheese, as well as a brilliantly sticky banana and walnut cake! Fueled up, we gave ourselves five more minutes to look around the shops - I tried to find the latest Heroes magazine, but to no avail. Instead, I topped up my phone credit.
Eventually, we made our way painlessly onto Flight BA2562 as we watched the EasyJet passengers getting messed about - that was me a few weeks ago! After a short wait it was our turn to fly, and we were tearing through the clouds once more. Safely in the air, I tucked into my cut-down lunch pack of two sandwiches (yes!), and began to watch Quantum of Solace! Long-term followers will remember that I breivly gave my first thoughts on the latest Bond movie in the very first post, and I can now safely say that it is not as good as Casino Royale. In QoS there's just too much going on at once: as well as the characters themselves suffering from this, you get the impression that they forgot halfway through what the movie was actually about and went off on some massive tangent to rival even my own. Then they realised "Cripes, guys, the whole premise of the movie was supposed to be Vesper's death" and bolted that extra Russia bit on the endto give her plot at least a little closure. In this way, I think it completely failed as a sequel, and the opening was also quite unfulfilling - too many men in suits and cars that all look the same! To a layperson like myself, the only way to tell Bond a part from the others is because 'the car has no door'! I'd like to have seen the car have more use - that's two he's trashed in five minutes of screen time! Even the Ford KA got more exposure!
Anyway, enough ranting, when I was about halfway through the movie, the plane began its descent and before long we were stepping into the terminal at Bologna airport. Sorting car hire is never simple, and today was no exception, as we had to pay extra money or something; I might have got completely the wrong end of the stick as usual! Either way, we eventually climbed into our Ford C-Max (similar to the S-Max at home), Mum and Dad did some car stuff, and I discovered (just my luck) that my door wouldn't open from the inside! Finally, however, we were on our way, taking in the views and trying to listen to the radio which kept going out of range every five minutes or so!
Typically enough, our hotel was hidden away up the second most obscure country lane ever (stay tuned for the first!), so parking was quite tricky, but somehow we found the hotel and unloaded the cases. Rather than having 'rooms' as such, we had individual flats, which was an interesting change. After settling in and dropping our bags, it was time for dinner! Getting the car out of the car park proved to be quite tricky, as the entrance was very tight and steep, but eventually we were heading down the lane to a quaint restaurant on the corner of two quiet roads. It was dark by now and the canopy was lit up around the edge, lending the whole scene a very relaxed feel.
I managed (somehow) to order some food and drink, and before long we were tucking into the first meal of the holiday! I had seafood pasta to begin with, which came with mussels, tasting of the sea as usual, and a garlic-buttery sauce, which is probably murdering my arteries but at least it tasted good! After this I went for the beef steak, which was quite rare, but full of expensive-tasting juices. This came with a traditional Tuscan sauce - cue a few amusing Tusken Raider impressions around the table - which, presumably, had anchovy as its main ingredient, which I wasn't a huge fan of; it had a strange texture, quite gravelly. There was also plenty of spinach - which was today's specialty - roast potatoes and various other roasted vegetables. Together, the whole combination was quite filling, and for once I was gald not to have any pudding.
The waiter unexpectedly offered me some kind of alcoholic drink (Someone better informed will tell me the correct name) and I accepted out of courtesy. We returned to the hotel and briefly stargazed, hoping to catch glimpses of the meteorites which were due to be visible tonight. Unfortunately we didn't see as much as a single sattelite! A while later, we decided it was definitely time for bed!
So there you go. If you thought that was good, firstly, are you feeling alright? And secondly, join me again TOMORROW, when I explore the legendary (ish) town of San Gimignano. Need I say more?
See you then!
Jack
OK, now that I've finished salivating over all the epic new music coming out in the very near future, I guess I should hit you with the first of twenty (yes, TWENTY) diary entries from my Italy holiday diary. I know you hate it when I do waffly intros, but to give you a bit of premise to this adventure, the main part, as you'll see, is set in the same place we stayed last year, so this wasn't particularly new territory to me. Nevertheless, this let me look at everything in more detail than before, when I was trying to take in everything at once! So yeah, I give you Day 1!
Today our adventure began at about ten thirty, when we loaded our bags into the car and began the drive to Gatwick. Despite, several traffic jams, we arrived in the car park roughly on time and caught the coach to the airport itself. Gatwick seemed to me a lot different to other airports, in that we had to go up two storeys to hand over our luggage. Luckily Mum and Dad had checked in online, so the bag drop and security were both generally painless.
Once through to Departures, we went up a level to get a bite of lunch at Eat. I love Eat; they make the best sandwich combinations - today I had ham and some posh cheese, as well as a brilliantly sticky banana and walnut cake! Fueled up, we gave ourselves five more minutes to look around the shops - I tried to find the latest Heroes magazine, but to no avail. Instead, I topped up my phone credit.
Eventually, we made our way painlessly onto Flight BA2562 as we watched the EasyJet passengers getting messed about - that was me a few weeks ago! After a short wait it was our turn to fly, and we were tearing through the clouds once more. Safely in the air, I tucked into my cut-down lunch pack of two sandwiches (yes!), and began to watch Quantum of Solace! Long-term followers will remember that I breivly gave my first thoughts on the latest Bond movie in the very first post, and I can now safely say that it is not as good as Casino Royale. In QoS there's just too much going on at once: as well as the characters themselves suffering from this, you get the impression that they forgot halfway through what the movie was actually about and went off on some massive tangent to rival even my own. Then they realised "Cripes, guys, the whole premise of the movie was supposed to be Vesper's death" and bolted that extra Russia bit on the endto give her plot at least a little closure. In this way, I think it completely failed as a sequel, and the opening was also quite unfulfilling - too many men in suits and cars that all look the same! To a layperson like myself, the only way to tell Bond a part from the others is because 'the car has no door'! I'd like to have seen the car have more use - that's two he's trashed in five minutes of screen time! Even the Ford KA got more exposure!
Anyway, enough ranting, when I was about halfway through the movie, the plane began its descent and before long we were stepping into the terminal at Bologna airport. Sorting car hire is never simple, and today was no exception, as we had to pay extra money or something; I might have got completely the wrong end of the stick as usual! Either way, we eventually climbed into our Ford C-Max (similar to the S-Max at home), Mum and Dad did some car stuff, and I discovered (just my luck) that my door wouldn't open from the inside! Finally, however, we were on our way, taking in the views and trying to listen to the radio which kept going out of range every five minutes or so!
Typically enough, our hotel was hidden away up the second most obscure country lane ever (stay tuned for the first!), so parking was quite tricky, but somehow we found the hotel and unloaded the cases. Rather than having 'rooms' as such, we had individual flats, which was an interesting change. After settling in and dropping our bags, it was time for dinner! Getting the car out of the car park proved to be quite tricky, as the entrance was very tight and steep, but eventually we were heading down the lane to a quaint restaurant on the corner of two quiet roads. It was dark by now and the canopy was lit up around the edge, lending the whole scene a very relaxed feel.
I managed (somehow) to order some food and drink, and before long we were tucking into the first meal of the holiday! I had seafood pasta to begin with, which came with mussels, tasting of the sea as usual, and a garlic-buttery sauce, which is probably murdering my arteries but at least it tasted good! After this I went for the beef steak, which was quite rare, but full of expensive-tasting juices. This came with a traditional Tuscan sauce - cue a few amusing Tusken Raider impressions around the table - which, presumably, had anchovy as its main ingredient, which I wasn't a huge fan of; it had a strange texture, quite gravelly. There was also plenty of spinach - which was today's specialty - roast potatoes and various other roasted vegetables. Together, the whole combination was quite filling, and for once I was gald not to have any pudding.
The waiter unexpectedly offered me some kind of alcoholic drink (Someone better informed will tell me the correct name) and I accepted out of courtesy. We returned to the hotel and briefly stargazed, hoping to catch glimpses of the meteorites which were due to be visible tonight. Unfortunately we didn't see as much as a single sattelite! A while later, we decided it was definitely time for bed!
So there you go. If you thought that was good, firstly, are you feeling alright? And secondly, join me again TOMORROW, when I explore the legendary (ish) town of San Gimignano. Need I say more?
See you then!
Jack
Wednesday, 2 September 2009
Twenty-Four Seconds
I'm back!
Yep, I've returned from a great time in Italy and can't wait to tell you all about it!! I'll hopefully start posting my diary tomorrow, but for noww I'm gonna take a break to think about some other stuff.
First of all, those who know me well will know that I regard Avril Lavigne's second album, "Under My Skin", as possibly the best album in the world ever. It is a disc that traverses the whole emotional scale, with some of the most memorable tunes and the most epic harmonies, as well as classic pop rock at its heart. In my opinion, anyone not influenced by this album must have a heart of stone.
Anyway, the whole point of me bringing this up is to illustrate the obscure reasoning behind my musical tastes. I mean, yeah, the Funk has a lot to do with it, but that's a more universal concept. What drives me to try all kinds of music is a quest of sorts, to try and find more music as good as "Under My Skin". Some albums have come close, some have been way off, but it seems now that the only record with any hope of knocking Avril's second album off its plinth is... Avril's fourth album!
Yes, the rumours you've heard are all true! Avril Lavigne has a new album set to release in November, and I've been busy scrounging all the information I can find. In my scrounging, I happened across a supposed sample of an upcoming song. I don't know whether it's genuine, but if it is, the fate of my musical quest could soon be sealed. I'm hearing an intro quite Take-Me-Away-esque but with a My World funk to it, and a chord sequence to rival Slipped Away, which remains to date one of the best potential instrumentals in my music library. And.... wait... is that a PIANO in there??? Deep breaths, Jack, deep breaths.
Yeah, I know what you're saying. "How can you dedicate an entire post to 24 seconds of introduction??" Well, the truth is, it's the 24 seconds I've been waiting for ever since the epic fail that was the so-called "Best Damn Thing". I mean, don't get me wrong, by mainstream music standards it was alright, but after "Let Go" and "Under My Skin" it was such a letdown. If Girl-fiend hand't been so darn popular with all the chavs, we could probably have gotten away with brushing 2007 under the carpet, but as it happens the "pink era" will forever be a stain on an otherwise pristine career. With any luck Unnamed Album Number Four will cast all that into shadow aand remind me once again just why Avril Lavigne is my favourite artist. Please?
See ya 'round!
Jack
Yep, I've returned from a great time in Italy and can't wait to tell you all about it!! I'll hopefully start posting my diary tomorrow, but for noww I'm gonna take a break to think about some other stuff.
First of all, those who know me well will know that I regard Avril Lavigne's second album, "Under My Skin", as possibly the best album in the world ever. It is a disc that traverses the whole emotional scale, with some of the most memorable tunes and the most epic harmonies, as well as classic pop rock at its heart. In my opinion, anyone not influenced by this album must have a heart of stone.
Anyway, the whole point of me bringing this up is to illustrate the obscure reasoning behind my musical tastes. I mean, yeah, the Funk has a lot to do with it, but that's a more universal concept. What drives me to try all kinds of music is a quest of sorts, to try and find more music as good as "Under My Skin". Some albums have come close, some have been way off, but it seems now that the only record with any hope of knocking Avril's second album off its plinth is... Avril's fourth album!
Yes, the rumours you've heard are all true! Avril Lavigne has a new album set to release in November, and I've been busy scrounging all the information I can find. In my scrounging, I happened across a supposed sample of an upcoming song. I don't know whether it's genuine, but if it is, the fate of my musical quest could soon be sealed. I'm hearing an intro quite Take-Me-Away-esque but with a My World funk to it, and a chord sequence to rival Slipped Away, which remains to date one of the best potential instrumentals in my music library. And.... wait... is that a PIANO in there??? Deep breaths, Jack, deep breaths.
Yeah, I know what you're saying. "How can you dedicate an entire post to 24 seconds of introduction??" Well, the truth is, it's the 24 seconds I've been waiting for ever since the epic fail that was the so-called "Best Damn Thing". I mean, don't get me wrong, by mainstream music standards it was alright, but after "Let Go" and "Under My Skin" it was such a letdown. If Girl-fiend hand't been so darn popular with all the chavs, we could probably have gotten away with brushing 2007 under the carpet, but as it happens the "pink era" will forever be a stain on an otherwise pristine career. With any luck Unnamed Album Number Four will cast all that into shadow aand remind me once again just why Avril Lavigne is my favourite artist. Please?
See ya 'round!
Jack
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