After almost 8 weeks, our wonderful holiday has come to an end, and what an adventure it has been. And as I look back on it all, the stand-out memories are:
Travel: My birthday present to Brian of an Emirates upgrade to Business Class - such complete luxury which had our holiday beginning and ending with an Emirates chauffeur collecting us from, and returning us to, our house in Subiaco.
Old friends: Travelling with Julie & Danny, visiting Shirley, Marg and Rob in Paris, sharing components of our holiday with Anka, Lincoln, Oscar, Suzie & Andy. Revisiting Abigail and Jasper in Burgundy and Fabio in Venice.
New friends: Kate and Vincent from Montreal, Marina & Gianni in Barolo and their daughters Federica & Valentina, Margherita and her little daughter Martina in Monforte d'Alba, Gianluca and Barbara in Tivoli, all of those fabulous people we met at markets, in shops and post offices, restaurants, cafes and bars and when we were out walking, and the sweetest little boy who waved to us as he crossed the crosswalk behind his dad and then waved goodbye as we drove off.
Exceptional landlords who made us feel so welcome: Othello & Tito in Paris; Sylvie, Dominique & Matthias in Mareuil-sur-Ay; Abigail & Jasper in Burgundy; Marina & Gianni in Alba; Fabio & Monica in Venice; Alessandro & Marzia in Tuscany; and Gianluca & Barbara in Tivoli.
Beautiful pets: Harry the Jack Russell in Mareuil-sur-Ay; the 4 cats (Oscar, Albion, Squeak and 1 other whose name escapes me) and 3 horses in Burgundy; the little black poodle at the hairdresser's in Beaune; L'Axe the optician's miniature schnauzer in Beaune; the 2 cats and little dog in Carpentras; Stella the little dog at Monforte d'Alba; the 2 big truffle dogs Dick and Jana and the 3 little dogs (my favourite was 12 year-old Bobby) at Barolo; the 2 tortoises at Cortona; the little dog, also named Bobby, who greeted us like long lost friends at a bar near the top of Cortona; the Lagotto Romagnolos truffle dogs Luna and Togo and their 3 puppies, TJ (Togo Junior), Macchia and Magellano at Tivoli; and all of those cats we befriended in our gardens and on our walks.
Fun times: Visiting the bar on the A380; finding our way on the Paris Metro without maps; playing Spotto; backgammon tournaments; cooking with Charolais beef and a Bress chicken; in-house dinner parties with great food and wine, music and laughter; comparing "hallucinogenic" cheese dreams; truffle hunting; the cooking class; the Italian family dinner in Barolo with singing and much laughter; Lincoln's birthday party with more singing and dancing; Andy's crazy sense of humour that still makes me giggle; Lincoln and Andy's stupid practical jokes played on each other that also still make me giggle; finding and losing our way around Venice without maps; kisses under the Rialto Bridge; people understanding my Italian perfectly - even by telephone; and being asked for, and being able to provide, directions for tourists in Venice.
Language mishaps: Realising just in time that our landlord invited us to meet him in front of his gondola - not his garden; asking the butcher what type of dog (cane) instead of meat (carne) he used in his sausages; telling Brian that the "Tagliata di Manzo" on the menu was pasta with beef sauce (it was sliced beef); mixing up tenses, using familiar forms of verbs with strangers, asking for 2 cappuccino instead of 2 cappuccini, and many, many more on a daily basis.
Breathtaking Experiences: Arriving at our apartment on the Isle St Louis; sailing on the St Martin Canal in Paris; Tuileries and Luxembourg gardens in full bloom; front row seats at Mozart's Requiem at the Madeleine; arriving at our B&B in Mareuil-sur-Ay; buying champagne at the tiny, disorganised shop in Epernay run entirely by the petite, hunched-over and very knowledgeable 86 year-old Madame Salvatori; sitting alone silently in the Mary Magdalene crypt at the Vezeley Basilica with the praying nun whom I initially thought was a statue; witnessing vintage in Burgundean vineyards; the gardens at Abbaye de la Bussiere; the town of Fontaine de Vaucluse and its French Resistance museum; climbing Mont Ventoux above the clouds with ice covered sparkling trees; crossing the border into Italy; Alba's white truffle fair and the overwhelming aroma before we entered; witnessing the exuberance of truffle dogs and smelling white truffles before they had been removed from the ground; arriving in Venice; the Venissa restaurant and gardens on Burano Island; travelling on the new Italian bullet train; walking into Cortona on a Saturday evening; walking through the enormous, peaceful public park at Cortona; views of the Tuscan countryside; bumping into a large group of monks and then a group of nuns walking through Cortona on their way to church; the gardens at Villa D'Este in Tivoli, visiting the village of Cervera di Roma.
Fresh Produce: Markets in Beaune with Charolais beef and Bress chickens; village markets in Provence, Piedmont and Tuscany with little ripe strawberries, perfect grapes, bright red tomatoes, porcini mushrooms, wild forest mushrooms, white and black truffles, cheese and salami; fresh eggs with bright orange yolks for pasta at our cooking class in Barolo; and Rialto Mercato in Venice with the fish market, fruit and vegetable market and Casa del Parmigiano cheese shop.
Outstanding food: Breakfasts at "our" cafe in Rue St Louis; lunch at l'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and also Lavinia in Paris; dinner at Abbaye de la Bussiere in Burgundy, lunch at Ma Cuisine in Beaune; lunch at Christian Etienne in Avignon, lunch at Le Saule Pleureur (Weeping Willow) in Provence, morning tea (twice in one day) at Baratti & Milano and aperitifs at Mulassano Bar in Torino; dinner at Le Case Della Saracca in Monforte d'Alba; coffee every day except Sunday at Gino's in Venice; dinner at Il Nuovo Galeon in Venice; lunch at Antiche Carampane in Venice; lunch at Venissa on Burano Island; dinner at Osteria del Teatro in Cortona; hazelnut and cherry gelato in Cortona; coffee at just about anywhere in Italy; and our many picnics.
Outstanding wine: Vintage and n/v Champagne before dinner on many, many occasions, Burgundean red wines and some white wines every day in Burgundy, Rhone reds in Provence, Nebbiolo and Barolo wines in Piedmont, and Brunello wines in Tuscany.
Great music: Mozart's Requiem at the Madeleine in Paris; singing in Italian after dinner with our landlord / truffle hunter Gianni who possesses a fabulous tenor voice; Chamber Music at Chiesa San Vidal in Venice; Tosca at the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice; and lots of music every day from our iPod (French and Italian playlists, 60's and 70's playlists, favourite opera arias, classical music favourites etc).
Driving mishaps: Trying to drive out of the centre of Paris after collecting our hire car; damaging a tyre on a sharp rocky curb when performing a u-turn on the drive to Champagne; arriving in Florence to collect our hire car and finding that the Europcar office would be closed for 3 days; and trying to find the Europcar parking station at Rome airport.
Lessons learnt: Never collect or drop off hire cars in big cities; don't drive at night; don't bother going to Harry's Bar again; and beware of anchovies in France and Italy (preferably taste them before you buy and always taste them before you include them in your cooking).
Thank you: Kerri & Oliver for looking after Ozzie and managing our household; Sarah, Gordie & Rebus for baby-sitting Ozzie; Peta for feeding and looking after the sour dough starter; Katherine for giving me the ability to converse in Italian; Lexie, Michael, Louis et al for recommendations relating to Alba; Julia, Peggy & Al for your encouragement, support and willingness to adapt to new-fangled computer applications to communicate with us; so many family members and friends who have been following this blog which was aimed at keeping our parents informed (hence the 'G' rated entries); Frank our travel agent who looks after all of our flights, car hire and train tickets and is available at all hours to cope with my panic phone calls; and finally to my darling husband for being the best travelling companion a girl could wish for.
Would we do it again? In a heartbeat. In fact plans are already under way for our next big adventure to attend an important family wedding in Scotland, and we can hardly wait.
Paris Apartment on Isle St Loius: www.isla-bonita.fr
Champagne B&B at Mareuil-sur-Ay: www.lecloscorbier.fr
Burgundy Cottage: This cottage does not have a public web site, however I will be happy to provide contact details by email if you are interested.
Provence Apartment: This apartment was in a central location for touring and quite pretty but not all that practical and just a bit too renovated and closely monitored by the landlady for our liking.
Alba Cottages at Monforte d'Alba: www.larosagialla.it
Venice Apartment at Rialto Mercato: http://venice.rialto-bridge-and-gran-canal.tobook.com
Tuscany Cottage at Cortona: www.homeaway.com.au/holiday-rental/p406952
Tivoli B&B: http://www.ilcasaledeifiori.com
Travel Agent: http://axist.com.au
Facebook Messages: Search for "Lizzy Barman"
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