In Bella Italia
Posted by Di Greig · 10 Comments
In the middle of 2006 when Owen was busy in NZ with his Japanese groups, I took myself off to Italy on an Intrepid trip & loved every minute of it. The arrangements for this World Choral Tour had us meeting my sister & her husband in Siena on Monday, but it just did not seem right that Owen did not get to see Florence, given that we now have a granddaughter called Florence. Our flight was changed & we said goodbye to our London family & raced off with high expectations. Florence/Firenze seemed rather worn down after a long hot summer & too many tourists & the aroma in the narrow lanes was far from romantic but we set off with enthusiasm to show Owen the sights. The Ponte Vecchio was seething with humanity & we were entranced by a busker. I pulled out my wallet to slip him a couple of Euros, slipped it back into the bag I wear across my front to be safe & within minutes, while I was snapping photos I was relieved of that wallet & more cash than I should have been carrying. Luckily my passport & a back-up credit card were safely elsewhere or this would have been a sorrier tale. Why are we always so angry with ourselves when people do these things to us?
Happily, after that bad start, it has been all up since. What did we find in Siena’s Piazza del Campo but a choir from Sweden – St. Gorans – who invited us to their stunning concert. Later, over supper, Owen got a chance to talk about the festival. We did a day trip to San Giminiano with a side trip to Montereggioni (& that is another story). We had 3 nights in our own little house clinging to the cliffs over the sea in Vernazza where we walked the Cinque Terre & cooled off in the clear blue sea. Now we are under a benign looking Mount Vesuvius in Pompeii. We did a nine hour day at the archeological site & then happened upon a parade for Saint Bartollo Longo. The saint himself was paraded around the town in a glass coffin with great pageantry – brass band, fireworks & all. A fascinating look at local life!
Hi, another glimpse in the world of life, Italian style, and do they have style…
We had a lovely engagement party at Piha met that afore mentioned Italian city and her little sister. Met Nessy’s lovely Mum, hope to meet her again someday and her brother. Cameron was a chip of the old block, greeting people and firing them into the conversation, charming the ladies etc. Michael was in good form too, and Jane and Dena talked together quietly. Florence was the centre of attention and put Nadia’s nose out of joint but Julian got her over that. I played with the Barbecue and everyone was happy.
Love from Little Old NZ
Thanks Pete. That is the first news we have had of the engagement barbecue. I gather the sun shone & it all went well. Great!
Well actually, it was very grey and Mike kept saying “It’s not going to rain!” as each little sprinkle past over. But we were all too busy having a good time to really notice. I missed seeing Sheena and Zeek but you can’t have everything. AND of course we all missed you two. I have a couple of photos I will try to email you.
Love from NZ
Hey guys,
Thanks for doing the bbq Pete! We had a great time. Stoked the rain held out for the day. Everyone brought lots of delicious food, so we had a mean feed. Some pictures will be on the way soon.
Glad to hear you guys are having a lot of fun, despite the occasional pick pocketing etc.
Hey Cam,
Thanks for the great party. It was really great to meet Nessy’s Mum, I hope you bring her up this way one day. I think you did the right thing, Nessy is a lovely girl and we all welcome her to the mob. Sorry more of my clan could not have made it, but hey I made it who needs more? It was nice to see Mel and Thomas and the others from your lot. Pity the olds were over there having a great time but if Oz was there we would not have got a word in, kidding, we missed you old fella, look forward to your return!!
Love from Bay of Islands
Dear Di and Owen,
The more I think about it, the more I realised I missed you two at the recent family do.
I do hope you can spare a long weekend to come up maybe with some of your extended family and visit our lovely little place here. I envisage, Toby and family, Cam and Nessy, Michael and Jane, and of course you two here enjoying each other and me trying to rebuild those links rusty with age.
What a lovely family we have and Wenderhome maybe another place we could all get together, my lot and yours.
Love from a perfect spring morning here in the Bay.
Peter
Hey, You guys, what’s happening over there?
The Bay is lovely this time of year, with a sea of flowers, new baby birds, and people starting to arrive to fill the shops. Hope Obama world is living up to your hopes.
Love from NZ
Hey, folks! Are you home yet? Or is it at the end of the month?
It’s great to read your blog and travel along with you. We experienced Italy vicariously at 4 movies at the Rialto Italian Film festival earlier in the month.
Can’t compare to the real thing though.
Piha is waiting for your summer visits.
let’s know as soon as you are back.
LOL
Sheena
are you guys back yet? hows the trip?
ps- photos of northeast us are fantastic. loving the rich autumn colours- you guys must have been there at the perfect time