Florence

Well, as you can see by the photos, I made it to Firenze on Monday. It is a huge, bustling metropolis and quite magnificent. I have spent one day here and only scratched the surface so I have come back again to check out more of it. Lucky for me it is only an hour away from Croce (and only 3euros.80 for the toll). When I was here on Monday, I met an English couple who have suggested that I get to Piazzale Michelangelo where I will get a view of the whole city so I will let the photos do the talking.
Yesterday I briefly discovered Arezzo which is my kind of town and I will be going there again tomorrow. (It's only 30 mintues from Croce and no tolls!!!!)

Tuscany

All those people who love the idea of Tuscany are now welcome to feel just a little green. I have fallen on my feet yet again. I found a small one bedroom flat (or actually Lyss has to take the credit for it) in the centre of Tuscany. Lucignano, and in particular, Croce, just out of Lucignano is the perfect springboard to the rest of all the great bits of Italy. (I will be uploading photos soon - there are even a couple soecially for Mandy who I know will appreciate the Chocolatier!)
On arrival, I was greeted by my landlord, Dario, who is delightful. He had put 2 bottles of champagne in the fridge along with a few immediate necessities. He also bottles about 700 bottles of his own wine each year and so he insisted I try a bottle - it was delicious. For those of you who know me, you will know that red is not a colour wine that I generally drink but this one was very good.
I have had many challenges since my arrival in Italy - most of them because I don't speak the language. This has made even the most simple task monumental. For instance, filling the car with petrol - it is all unleaded but not a 91 brew anywhere to be found so the LBR has had to graduate to 95 brew (seems to like it so far); topping up my mobile phone, finding internet access that I can understand - all the keyboards are quite different to ours and of course when I get on the net, it is all in Italian, so unless I know what I am looking at, I don't have a clue. Going to the supermarket, or indeed buying anything, is also a fun experience, but I am fine as long as I can see the total I have to pay because I can't keep up with the spoken word. It sounds like I am moaning and there have been occasions when I wanted to scream with frustration, but overall life isn't that bad.
Dario has given me a lot of suggestions as to what I might do while I am here so on Sunday, I began with a quick trip to Siena (only 45 minutes away). It is as beautiful as people say but it is also as steep as the pictures might indicate. I parked at the bottom of the hill (vehicle access is restricted - at least I think that is what the sign meant) and started to climb up to the Piazza del Campo, and then on to the Duomo even higher up. Despite it being the off season and the weather being overcast and cool, it was very busy. There was such a lot going on that I just sat and watched the world go by in awe.

New experiences driving on the wrong side of the road

After spending a couple of days in Lille (which is OK but I could miss it next time round), I headed off to Villefranche, just north of Lyon. (I am still slowly making my way down to Tuscany). This seems to be a much nicer part of the world which I will have a quick tour of tomorrow morning before I head off to Genoa (it is one place I will come back to when I am not obliged to be somewhere else).
Today was a day of interesting experiences as I navigated the French motorway system southward. For some reason, these things did not become a problem on my first day driving in France, and they certainly did not occur to me to think about before I actually encountered them. For instance, who would have thought about how you might reach the automatic toll ticket dispensing machines when there is only one of you in the car and you are on the side furthest from the dispenser??? I ended up getting out of the car and collecting my ticket each time. It's all very well collecting the ticket, but the same problem arises when you reach the end of the road and have to pay - you have to climb out of the car again. Just as well the toll booths, which are unmanned, are under cover. Then you have to have the means to pay the toll. I ran out of coins after the first tollbooth so I was all set to pay with a credit card or a note the next time but, my credit card wasn't acceptable to the machine and nor was my 50 Euro note (which was all I had). I had quite a queue behind me by the time I was rescued by a friendly truck driver who spoke no English but seemed willing to help me out. I think he just wanted to get going but he was very polite about the holdup and he soon got me moving again.
The second interesting experience was having to drive in what felt like blizzard conditions - I exaggerate, but there was quite a bit of snow around and I was a bit nervous about driving in that since I have never driven in snow before. As well, there was plenty of heavy rain and those huge trucks throw up enormous amounts of water as you try to pass them, so much so that I often felt like I was driving blind - it was a case of aim the car in the right place and just drive - not a very safe way of driving but at least the roads are straight, unlike our own roads, so you can't go too far wrong. Nevertheless my stomach was in my mouth each time I attempted it, which became less and less the more I did it.
Anyway, I made it to Villefranche and since I hadn't done my laundry in Lille, that was my first chore. While I was waiting for it, I took a stroll (always a dangerous thing because as you know, I am prone to getting lost) along Rue Victor Hugo which seems to be one of the main streets of the town. It is very pretty and I am looking forward to seeing it in a bit more detail tomorrow and taking a few photos. I even got back to my hotel without losing myself even once - go Helen!

Lille

The weather is still very cold and hail,snow and wind are regular features of every day. I moved to a different hotel this morning in a completely different part of town, towards Lille Sud on the edge of an area called Faches Thumesnil. While last night, I was right in the centre of the town, the Hotel Nord is some way out of town in what feels like a much less affluent part of town. I managed to find my way to the hotel safely and with only one mistake. Actually, I saw the hotel but passed it before I realised and turning around is not as easy when you are driving on the wrong side of the road. I'm not sure why it is that when you are travelling in a foreign country, where English is not the language of choice, you find yourself thinking that communicating effectively is not the only skill you appear to have lost.
Anyway, after getting myself set up in a new room, I decided to leave the car in the hotel carpark (parking appears to be at a premium, and the locals seem to just stop their car where they feel like but I can't quite bring myself to do that yet) and catch the Metro in to the centre of Lille. I was able to find the right place to get off so that I could transfer to another metro and so into town. I spent the afternoon visiting the Vieille Bourse (Old Stock Exchange), and rummaging through the books in the stalls inside the quad. Didn't find much in English though, a few student texts and not much more. However I did find a few English novels that I recognised, in French and spent some time practising my French translation skills. I was ready for an aperitif after this and stopped at a brasserie opposite the metro to revive myself before heading back to the hotel. I wanted to do some laundry and headed off to find the laundromat described to me by the hotel receptionist - talk about the blind leading the blind. She didn't speak English and I can't easily keep up with rapid fire French but I thought I got the general idea and headed off. I found it easily enough only to discover that it was closing shortly so I thought I'd leave it til the next day. Getting back to the hotel was a little more challenging. I took yet another wrong turn (you'll get used to this, I do it all the time) and got myself lost. I was beginning to get a bit worried when all of a sudden I found myself back at the laundromat so I started again and got it right this time. Got my exercise for at least a week with that little outing. It's just as well I have time to do these sort of things because if I was working to a timetable, I would be getting very stressed. As it is, I am very relaxed about taking wrong turns, apart from that awful feeling you get of having no idea where you are in relation to somewhere else. Needless to say, I was ready for another aperitif and a little dinner before bed.

Europe here I come

I left Edinburgh on Monday morning - late I have to say and after receiving yet another parking ticket!!!! The trip down the country to London was punctuated by snow and hundreds of trucks but they were very well behaved, staying in the slow lanes for the most part. I have to say, the English motorway system is a pretty good one. I eventually arrived in London about 8.00pm and managed to navigate my way to my sister Mia's in Elephant and Castle with very little bother (only got honked at once). I was feeling somewhat sore and sorry for myself as I had fallen in the bath on Sunday and although I still retained all my teeth (I'm not sure how), I did have a nasty fat lip and the best specimens of bruises that I can recall seeing on my legs and face. (Today they look worse but they feel better). After a decent night's sleep, I headed south towards Dover (Photos on blog in Scotland folder - yes I know it's not strictly Scotland but it certainly isn't Europe and I didn't want to create an album for just 2 photos). I made good time and got to the ferry with an hour to spare so I spent the time paying my latest ticket, talking to both my children as well as a chap called Dario who is going to rent me a flat in Tuscany on Saturday. I'll tell you all about it when I have arrived there. The crossing of the Channel was very rough (thank goodness for Sealegs) and we had to sit out in the channel for about an hour before we could dock which meant that we didn't arrive until about 4.00pm instead of 3.00pm. I drove into the centre of Calais to have a look see and as the weather was just as bad there as in England, I decided to head south to Lille. It took a bit longer than I expected so I didn't get there til about 8.00pm and then I spent about an hour going round and round the block until I finally managed to find the hotel I had decided that I would stay at. If I hear Tom (GPS) tell me to turn right once more today, I think he will be tossed out the window. Tom has several voices and after this evening, I have got rid of 'Jane' and added 'Tim' instead, in the hope that he won't grate quite so much. Actually, to be fair, Tom has made the navigating much easier - definitely a great investment. I just wasn't following his instructions properly so it really wasn't his fault. As I was feeling very tired, I decided to treat myself to a flash hotel - The Carlton on Rue de Paris - pretty pricey but just what the doctor ordered tonight. Then I went out to The Hippopotamus for dinner which was fabulous - just what you might expect from French chefs. Mind you, I felt obliged to finish the bottle of wine that came with dinner so I was feeling distinctly odd by the time I had finished dinner but it was worth it. The driving on the wrong side of the road thing is a bit of a challenge but I have survived so far without any damage and only one wrong turn (not bad considering I was worn out), which as it turned out was not life threatening so it's all good. Tomorrow may well be a different story but I will keep you up to date.

Last Weekend in the UK

Since it was nearly time for me to leave the UK, Lyss and I decided to go for a drive down to Alnwick - about 2 hours south of Edinburgh, just over the border in England for no other purpose than a look see. Alnwick is a historic market town and although we got there quite late in the day and the weather was not great, we still found it to be a very charming town. We sat in the market square eating chips and sauce then wandered around doing the tourist thing. As we left, Lyss took photos of the entrance to the town - photos in the album - then in true Helen style, I took a wrong turn and had to turn around and go back the right way (Lyss did tell me but it was too late then, I'd already done it).
On Sunday, it was Mother's Day here in the UK. We don't generally celebrate Mother's Day but Leigh and her family do, so we drove up to Aberdeen to see her mother for a very late lunch. Lunch was definitely not what I expected - we went to Pizza Express where Leigh's sister works part time - but only a couple of us actually had pizza. The food was good quality and very tasty. We drove back in the little blue racer - all five of us and she went very well. I think I even got snapped by speeding cameras a couple of times - not really great but gives you an idea of how well the LBR goes.

Lost and found in the Scottish/English Borders

I decided to take a trip to Berwick on Tweed for no particular reason except that I hadn't been there before. I headed south on the A1 and again encountered the roadworks at the Portobello junction. I must tell you that these roadworks have caused me a great deal of consternation since I arrived - I always seem to get into the wrong lane which means I end up taking the wrong exit and getting myself horribly lost. I have done it 3 times now so clearly learning from experience is not something I am particularly good at.
Anyway, I ended up heading for Portobello beach, which looks like it coud be quite pretty in summer but simply looks pretty bleak at this time of year. I eventually hooked up with the A1 again and continued my journey south. You can see photos of the border in the Scotland photo album. I managed to find my way to Berwick and had a bit of a look around but to be honest, it is a fairly nothing sort of place, especially I suspect, when it rains. I headed down to the Promenade which was grim - all the seaside attractions were closed up for the winter and even the colourful playground equipment did not help make it look any cheerier. I set my GPS for home (I've pretty much mastered it now, as well as the CD player) and followed it's instructions as it took me up a very narrow rutted country lane. I almost got to the top of the hill when I encountered a set of gates protecting me from crossing a railway track in case a train came past. I have to say, the tracks did not look well used so the gates may have been a bit of overkill! Anyway, I became somewhat confused because there were 2 sets of lights controlling these gates - one green and one red. Both were irrelevant though since the gates were locked. I found a button on one of the gate posts so I pushed it but nothing seemed to happen so I got back in my car and was pondering the best way to turn my car round on a sixpence (that was all the space there was) when apparently out of nowhere, a signalman appeared to unlock the gates and see me on my way. I was so taken aback by this experience that I forgot to get out and take a photo of the situation so sorry about that - just remember - don't go to Spittal.
Further on up the hill, I found the Elm Bank Coastal Retreat - again check out the photos. Only the English would build plastic and weetbix houses and stick them on wheels which then become redundant once they are parked at one of these Retreats (although I suppose the Americans do have their trailer parks which I assume are very similar). Mind you, they do have a stunning view of the Atlantic.
All this traipsing around the English coast was making the day disappear quite rapidly so I endeavoured to get back to the A1 and back to Edinburgh as fast as possible. I thought I should stop and get a coke and use the services at the Eyemouth turnoff but I coudn't find the services and ended up back on the coast road heading towards Old Carbus and Pease Bay by mistake. This was a pretty drive and I was glad to have got lost on this occasion but as I said, time was marching on so I did the trip back to those damn roadworks again as quickly as I could. The roadworks did not let me down and I was in the wrong lane again and heading back out to Musselburgh before I knew it. I turned round as soon as I could but by then I had gone about 1 mile along the road so it took me a bit of time to get back on to the right road. I had now hit Edinburgh at peak hour and it was starting to get dark. Drivers at that time, in this city, are an unforgiving lot and would not allow me to change lanes so it took many wrong turns and plenty of time before I got back to Lyss' place where I was ever so pleased to be offered dinner and a drink without having to lift another finger. Note to self: Don't try and drive when it is dark or rush hour!
I managed to catch some of the NZ v England Cricket match last night at the Walkabout but of course, being a bar, it got too loud and raucous to be able to watch the whole thing, so after a very nice crayfish salad, I went back to Lyss' and watched the highlights later in the evening. I must admit to being a little concerned when Lou Vincent, Ross Taylor and Stephen Fleming went out so quickly but thank goodness for Jacob and Scotty.
Well, I'm off to Keswick now so I'll catch up again soon.

A Whole New Experience

Yesterday morning, I stood at the lounge window and watched while one of Edinburgh's finest handed me my first foreign parking ticket Edinburgh style. Yes I could have gone down and had a word in his ear but 2 things stopped me: It is six flights down (and worse, back up again) and I was still in my pyjamas and I assumed he would be gone before I got there. How wrong could I have been. I was staggered to find that this process takes at least 15 minutes (makes you wonder how they gather revenue as effectively as our own parking wardens). Anyway, the man stood around making notes on a clipboard for about 5 minutes, then he started using his mobile ticket machine which took another 5 minutes with frequent reference to his note pad, all the while walking around my car. Once he had finished that he printed out the ticket and put it in a reply paid envelope - but not to put on the car yet - then he took his camera out and took photos of the car from every angle (I saw at least 4). Then he walked to the end of the street and took a photo of the street sign where the parking rules are noted and then back to the car and last but not least, placed the ticket on my windscreen and took one final photo with ticket in full view. What an amazing process!!
And they don't make it easy to pay either. The address on the ticket where you pay in person is wrong (the building is being pulled down) and the address they direct you to (sign on building) is in a street which has been closed by roadworks. I gave up and drove up to Stirling (about an hour away) for the day. I checked out Stirling Castle (which I had visited last year) and the Wallace Monument before I went and found the Prisoners Bastion which, by good fortune, is situated under a shopping mall. I managed to find some lunch but didn't go shopping, at least I didn't buy anything.
I got back to Edinburgh about 4.00pm and tried to do battle with the Bank (banking is so much easier at home) over online access - bank 1, Helen 0; the DVLA over car ownership paperwork - DVLA 1, Helen 0; and finally the insurance company over the lack of change of car ownership - at last a victory for Helen!
I met up with Lyss, Joe, Christopher and Leigh for drinks and a quick bite before going to the theatre to see 'Fame, the Musical' (17.50 pounds for a seat in the Gods at the Playhouse on Leith Walk), which was good. I do enjoy live theatre when I actually make the effort to go, which I don't nearly often enough. There are plenty of opportunities ahead so I hope to remedy this.

Day One

I decided that I would take my car (photo at the link) for a decent test drive this morning but it seems that I was destined not to achieve this.
I went down to the car and spent several minutes setting up my GPS and my stereo. I don't seem to have mastered either of these two simple pieces of technology particularly well and I hope to take driving lessons over the next few days so that by the next time I update this, I will be more adept at it.
However, they were not to be my only challenge today. Having set my self up, I went to start the car (and Mandy, you will love this) and the battery was dead as a dodo. After cursing soundly for at least one minute, I decided that the only thing to do was stroll into town and buy some credit on my phone so that I could ring Christopher and hope he was somewhere in the vicinity so that he could come and sort me out. I never got that far because as I was strolling, I found a garage and they rescued me. They took me back to where I was parked, jump started it and I drove back to the garage so they could test the battery. Turns out the battery was the original (i.e. 10 years old) and had chosen this morning to die so $210 (70 pounds) and an hour and a half later, I was mobile again.
I thought that since I had overcome that little problem so well, that I might give this test drive another go. Should have stayed home and done it all tomorrow! As I said, I can't really drive the GPS so I got spectacularly lost before I finally managed to get the silly thing to tell me how to get home. By this time, I had been driving aimlessly around for about 2 hours but I did get home, so all's well that ends well.
I'll have another go tomorrow and let you know how I get on. For today though, I have had enough driving and will walk round to the restaurant where we are going for Joe's birthday dinner.

I Made It To Scotland

Well it was a long haul to get here but I finally made it. All I can say is, thank goodness for sleeping pills!
Emirates is a pretty good airline and their food is great. The short hop from Christchurch to Sydney was easy despite the full plane (yes there were several babies on board too, which made for a fairly noisy flight). The next leg from Sydney to Dubai was somewhat more challenging. I got an aisle seat in the middle of the plane, right next to the toilet, alongside 3 other passengers and sharing such a small space with people you don't know for 15 hours is not something I recommend. Anyway, I had yet another meal and then took my sleeping pill and slept for 8 hours so it wasn't quite so bad.
We arrived in Dubai at 5.30am and had to wait until 7.50am for the flight to Glasgow. I didn't think I would enjoy that but actually I met up with a clothing buyer (Aust/Spanish) on her way to Milan for shopping and a facility manager (American) who was on his way home from Iraq and we had coffee (read coke) and chatted until we nearly missed the connection. This flight was great - I had 4 seats to myself so I ate (yet again) and then slept for a couple of hours, arriving in Glasgow about midday.
I caught my train to Edinburgh but it didn't stop at the station where Lyss was waiting to meet me so I had to hop off at the next stop and catch another train back to Haymarket. (Sounds worse than it was but actually it is only 3 minutes down the line and so I managed to get back to her quite quickly and she was smart enough to stay put til I got there!)
She took me to collect my car from where Christopher had parked it and I followed her back to Christopher & Leigh's place before she had to dash off to work. I was left to find my way up to their lovely little flat (& I do mean little - but good things come in small packages and this is no exception) Thank goodness Lyss took my bag up - I could not have carried it up and got myself up there too. It is on the top floor of the building and there is no lift.
When Christopher and Leigh got home from work, we went out and got a GPS so I can find my own way around, had a late dinner and an early night, which I desperately needed.