Saturday 3 Oct

While this place I am staying in is spacious and opulent in an old fashioned way, there are a few quirky things that are taking a bit of getting used to.  The light switches are all over the place and not always where you would expect them. The lighting as a whole is not great. I have to put effort into finding a place  to sit and read or knit , not at the table, where there is enough light. . Maybe move a chair.  The floors are all stone blocks, but quite worn and uneven in places. The floors are often at different levels in different rooms. Often only about .5 cm  but I have stubbed my toes a few times. The bathroom is modern.

It was a bit noisy last night, even with the window closed. The local lads  ( maybe lasses too , but I only heard lads) where quite loud. But it did not keep me awake.

I went to a second different local Cafe this morning. Again I did not have a view of the bar area from the room I sat in. Coffee and cornetto were good. I have been told over the years that cornetto and croissant were the same ( always croissant in french but either in italy)  but I read somewhere recently that there used to be difference in the texture.

I then went to a museum  called Ospedale degli Innocenti. Hospital of the innocents. This used to be a place where mothers  could leave  babies that they  were unable to look after. I am unsure when it started but in 1465 the intake was 200. There was a big display of how the place grew and  changed over the years. It was an interesting,  peaceful building.

It was not opened when i arrived, so I looked in the adjoining church.  Attached , next building around a square.  It was quite ornate . Apparently  , a basilica. I remember thinking once before that I wanted to know what makes a basilica a basilica.  Watch this space.

Then it was morning tea time . I discovered a new thing I have seen a few times in cafes -  budino di riso.  Different shapes, but usually like a friand.  Made with rice flour, but  with some texture and bigger bits almost like rice grains, so not like our rice flour. A bit sweet, but not too sweet.

Next in my day was a disappointment.  About 6 months ago I read a book which described a church in Florence  which had been badly affected by the flood , but people had been able to save a famous painting. I looked it up and it is a couple of blocks from me. Trouble is, as I found out this morning, it is closed for renovations. Che peccato!

So, after a few days of bits and pieces of food through the day I thought i would have a nice lunch, which i did.  When i was younger,  I saw lots of the stereotypical little old Italian ladies walking around dressed in black. ( There is a point to this ramble)   I remember yesterday seeing 2 no - longer-young ladies , both wearing nice black dresses.  Well, today I was seated in a room with 6 tables. One had 5 people and I donot remember what they were wearing. They left soon after I arrived.  Soon after I sat down a lady, probably in her 50s came in with a short sleeved black, nicely cut dress.   Then a couple in their 40s, then 2 couples together. All in their late 60s I'd guess. Both women were wearing nice black linen dresses. Both sleeveless, so I donot  think they had been to a funeral. They didnot behave like they had just been to a funeral.  So I will start to notice. And not worry about being out of place in my black trousers. I definitely  stood out in Malta. Lunch was nice, but nothing special.

Correction

Photos will come later. Or not.

Friday, Firenze

It is now 2.30pm and I am not going out again until I have finished downloading photos of Malta.

I was hoping that when I heard Italian all around me, I would remember more.  I am unsure whether that is true.  Today, friday, I went out early for a coffee and croissant and stumbled over my  words badly. The place was not ideal because, while the coffee and croissant were good, the area where you sat was hidden by a screen from what was going on, and stcky- beak me wants to see. When I came to pay he said €3. I said without thinking  'non abbastanza'. I.e. Not enough.  3 euros  about $5.  He was perplexed and took the time to show me the docket . It was too hard  and he was too busy for me to say anything other than grazie mille. 

Not far from me is the second ( I think, maybe 3rd) largest market in Florence. I went there this morning and walked around and around and finally settled on one where the lady looked friendly, greeted the locals by name . There were lots of types of different peaches and other fruits that i had never seen before. She was happy for me to pick 1 of a variety of different things of the same price. I bought some goats cheese. 

I wandered around more but had forgotten how confusing it can be to walk down 1 street at 7am in the morning and then the same street at 11am feels quite different . At 7 am there maybe 1 cafe and 1 newsagents open and no obvious sign what the closed places are.  Today i saw in the same street a dress shop next to a motor bike shop next to a bookshop, then a hairdresser.  It is becoming harder for me to keep a mental map in my head. Or maybe it will improve as  I get a bit more sleep. Hopefully.

I had a second coffee and a croissant, this time filled with hazelnut stuff. I was only charged €2.50. But it was a small black rather than a cappuccino

I had lunch at the place i found on the map that is open early.  I will try there  tomorrow and see iif i can sit somewhere where i can see. The lady spoke to me slowly in italian and I understood every word, so hopefully my recall will mprove.

Thursday. New country.

Yesterday all went to plan. A Lady appeared with her taxi 2 min before appointed pickup time of 4.45 am. We chattered all the time. She was quite interested in Australia and what life was like. She has noticed the downtown in number of tourists since the middle East troubles started. And rumbling Vesuvius has also been a big deterrent.

I calmly waited in a long queue for a boarding pass and put my bag in. She only glanced at my passport fleetingly. The flight left on time and arrived in Rome early. We had to wait in the plane for the ground crew to arrive. I collected my bag and followed the signs to the train to Rome, never once having to show my passport or get fingerprinted, like all the info on the internet says is happening now or should be happening now in Europe for foreigners the first time they enter Europe. I heard later that Rome,tried to but it was such a shambles that they gave up. Too hard. Going on my experienc in Frankfurt I wonder if even the Germans will give up.

The train to Rome Termini was a bit of a bun fight getting on, but people were helpful to me. Maybe I look like an old lady. The worst thing about waiting in Termini for the train to Florence was the noise. I walked around and around and could not find a spot to escape to. I even thought of hiding in a loo, but not at E2.2, the entry cost.  The train was on time, I got to Florence on time and then I walked the almost 2km to my apartment.  My choice - there are buses, but they would be crowded. 

'Apartment' Is certainly  not the right word to describe where I am quite sure I will be very happy for a month. It is some rooms in a big old 3 story home. Again 'story' is different . There were 13 steps between each floor of my apartment block in Canberra. There are 38 old stone steps between the ground floor and 1st floor. Luckily, there is a lift. (Tiny, old, squeaky) There is also a very fancy circular staircase going to the first floor. I have yet to count those stairs. ( I am not keen on spiral staircases. I think the side bits of out of focus multifocal lenses disturb my vision) In olden days the first floor was for receptions and fancy occassions. When I get out of the lift I walk into a smallish hallway and then into a bigger area.  The  fancy staircase leads to another door in this area. There are a few lounges were I can sit. What is now a bedroom is sumptuously decorated and was probably  a small fancy room  - ladies afternoon tea?  But it is a huge bedroom with a large window and little balcony overlooking a park. It has a very high ceiling and then a dome shaped thing on top. There is a cupboard that is my height. Based on that the ceiling is 3 times my height. There is a small modern bathroom . The last room is about the size of my lounge/ dining/ kitchen. In it is a large 6 seater table and kitchen and a large collection of cooking appliances.  I can sit in the large  back garden. The host, a lady not much younger than me, is delightful and I am sure will help if I have a problem. I have also met her daughter who I gather does the financial stuff of the BnB and speaks better English. Francesca , the mother, says it was her grandfather's  home. I will find out if he built it . The monthly discount they offered me was extraordinary. 

Wednesday Pottering and thinking

Last night I finally had a good sleep, but my system will be further challenged tomorrow. I am getting picked up at 4.45 am to go to the airport to catch a 7am plane to Rome. Thence train to Firenze.

This morning I dawdled over breakfast, finishing my novel set in Malta. The main character met his lady friend at the main Valletta  bus stop. I have been there several 

Then I spent ages , still trying to sort out what will happen with my bag on the flight tomorrow. What the lady told me on Monday was different to what the check in email said and I found 2 different Malta air sites which conflicted with both. So who knows what will happen tomorrow. 

Valletta, the capital is on a little peninsular, but there are lots of nearby peninsulars with similarly aged buildings.  There are remnants all around Valletta of the large  defensive walls around the city. There are some gardens  on the top of part of the walls that I went to which give a good view of a Birgu ,one of the other old places on neighbouring peninsular. At the bottom of the high wall ( there was a lift) is a small  wharf where small local boats take you across the harbour  . 6 people Max, 1 boats person ( all men that i saw, but maybe there are women). The boat had an outboard motor but when we go to the other side, the boatsman used 2 oars standing up, forward facing,  in the front of the boat to manoeuvre his boat into the queue to drop off passengers at the same wharf as people were getting into the boats. People were white relaxed and patient.  Again, I hope I have a decent photo or 2.

I was heading to a museum at the old fort, but stopped for a coffee and croissant and sat outside watching the boats, locals and tourist walk past instead. I wandered along looking at the  many millions of dollar boats. I looked up one of them, Mystere., a luxury 43m super yacht.  100,000 euros ( per week, plus expenses! )  to charter  6 guests, 3 cabins ,  5 crew who i suppose sleep in cubbyholes. 100,000 Euros = $163,000.  Who has a spare $28,000 plus 1/6 of 'expenses' and wants to come with me? Has to be low season though. High season is even more expensive.  Seriously  though, I did wonder, as I sat, about people in the Ukraine, Nepal, Gaza .

Next post from Firenze. 

Tuesday. Trip to Gozo

Yesterday, Tuesday,  was very full 

I got picked up by a driver and guide at a hotel about 10 min walk from where I am staying at 7.45am. I am in part of the older area where an 18 seater mini bus would have great difficulty manoeuvring. ( Malta is roughly oval in shape lying NW to SE. Valletta is 2/3 along on the 'northerly' side)  We then set off to collect the other 15 on the tour ( 6 couples ( 4 Brits , 1 German, and 1 American  )plus a  Danish mother and her 2 adult children) These 15 were all staying at 3 different resort towns along the Northern coast..

We crossed some water in a large ferry to Gozo, the second largest island of Malta. We saw lots of things and I was not taking notes on what we saw. So , in no particular order:

Lots of nice views of islands and small bays,

Countryside- sparse vegetation, lots of prickly pear, lots and lots of stones and stone walls, olive groves, small villages with no one around.

Several large churches in the middle of nowhere, one dating back to the late 1500s. It had mosaics all around the upper layer, ( I've forgotten the proper name) like several churches I remember seeing in Sicily over 20 years ago, not far away.

A group of fortified buildings( church, admin buildings, etc) built in the 1500's in the time when the Knights of St John were being attacked by the Ottomans , called the Citadel, in the outskirts of Victoria, the capital of Gozo.

Some salt pans- an area  next to the shore line of flat rocks with large shallow indentations  where for many many years people had collected salt from. Still done today.

Lunch at a nice fish restaurant.  Apparently  the fish I ate was a slice of gropher.

Some of us ( incl me) went  into some caves on the waters edge where the water was a very deep blue colour and just under the surface there was orange coral growing. Quite pretty.

Finally, we visited the very old Ggantija temple complex. I had in my head that it was said to be 5000 BC years old but it was 5000 years old, making it very similar in age to what  I saw on Sunday at Hagar Qin complex . According to the blurb on Gozo it is about 200 years older. The 2 sites were very similar  but clearly been organised by different people and had slightly different ideas about what the different rooms were called.  Hopefully photos soon.

I talked to about half of the other people on the bus. They had very little idea about Australia or Australians but were interested to learn and had lots of questions. One of the Norwegian ladies was a bit cluey. Maybe Mary has educated them?

A long but interesting day.

Rest of Monday

Lunch was 5 very small courses :

1. Nibbles   -  5 little dishes that included a broad bean dip , a taste of a soft sheep milk cheese, caponata and 2 more  . Plus nice bread

2. Aljota  - a traditional maltese fish soup

3. Pasta with Maltese sausage and sun dried tomatoes

4.  A little bowl of Rabbit  casserols with a few bits of roast potato

5 a small portion of peach crumble

All delicious and interesting.

By the time I left the restaurant it was after 3 so I decided that was it for the day. Time to start sorting photos. I am not yet back into my daily , when I am away , routine. I am  not yet sleeping properly and am more tired than I expected. Maybe I am a bit older than I was 2 years ago when I went to Europe last.

More Malta

 Another annoying thing about the trip here was at Franfurt. Now all incomers to the EU ( or Europe ??) have to have their fingerprints recorded. Frankfurt is a major hub for incomes. They have not got their act together. I was expecting German efficiency  to  be more efficient. About 45 minutes later, about 3 long queues and 1 bus ride around the airport, we got somewhere. However the guy behind the booth of my queue said his machine was broken  so I was told to walk through without my fingrprints being recorded. . He assured me it would not be a problem later on.  I will find out. Another bus ride to the airplane.

The hotel in Valetta that I am staying in has a lovely view over the harbour. I am on the 5th floor , high for Valetta so can see over rooftops, lots of church spires. I am away from most of the tourists, but only by a few blocks. 

On Sunday I went to Marsaxlokk ( x pronounced sh) a fishing village about 45 min bus ride away . They have a big fish and veg (and all the other stuff  you would expect) market on Sunday morning along the waterfront of a pretty bay with lots of small brightly painted fishing boats.  After battling my way through locals and tourists, I found there was a 50cm wide path on  the edge of a wall with water on one side and the markets stall tents' backs on the other which was very pleasant.

My plan was to get a bus or 2 to the next place on my list - the Hagar Qim archaeology site.  The major bus stop in Valetta is quite well organised, there are clear instructions of what buses go where and when. Not so on the roadside stops away from the centre.  I had a map of the routes, which I could not have done without ( google maps was completely wrong  once) . Timing is also a challenge.  I managed.  Chatted to quite a few locals. A few tourists.

Hagar Qin is a  called a temple complex, but they are guessing about the temple bit. Dated to 3600BC.  It has large outer walls of huge stones  that have been put in place , doorways so you  can walk in and around inner rooms. There are places where it is clear that the people were observing the moon and other constellations.   It is thought that there was a roof over at least a part of it. Now the whole thing is covered buy a huge tent like structure to preserve it.

Today I went , with a rather large number of others, to the Cathedral of St John, started in 1572 and finished 5 years later. It is very, very ornate, but it did not feel as oppressive  as some I have been in. Maybe because it was quite light. And I have a bit of an issue with churches, like this one, where the floor is absolutely  covered in tombs  - they are underneath and you walk on what is equivalent to the headstones.  Nevermind, I thought and silently apologised to the dead people for being disrespectful. But the main reason I went was to see the large Caravaggio altar piece in the oratory. the beheading of St John.  I had read quite a bit  about it and was a bit disappointed that I could not get a bit closer.

Later this morning I went by bus to the airport to try and upgrade my basic economy fare to a higher grade of economy fare that means I can carry-on  my carry-on bag. All the rules have changed since my ticket was issued and there was misunderstanding between me and my travel agent . But the answer was no, they would not change it unless  I paid 50  euros. . Ah well.  It will go in the hold  and if that means I miss my train to Florence,  I will get the next train and that will be less than 50

Arrived in Malta

 I left Cbr airport at 8 am Fri and arrived at Malta airport at 12 noon on Saturday, Malta time (8hrs behind) after 4 flights. Overall a smooth experience but with lots of oddities along the way.  Leaving Melbourne international airport now you go through those automatic passport controls. No matter which way I put my passport onto the machine,,it beeped rudely at me and said try again. After several of these messages it changed to ' find a real person' or words to that effect.  My mind raced ahead, of course, along a negative  route.  It took a little while for the real person to discover that  the machines had been programmed to reject people who arrived before  4hrs before the flight leaves ( or maybe check in).  I wasn't going away.  So explained it was the  2nd of 4 flights, I was not young any more and wanted to sit quietly , something about I had to be early because lots of mid dayish flights out of Canberra get cancelled, blah blah.blah, blah . she said ' wait there' and disappeared.  After a long while she returned  said 'it's sorted' . Which it was. I went straight to the Sing Air lounge only to find that it was not open either.   There was an American Express  lounge next door. Nothing ventured,... I thought. And gave the door lady some version of  my 'No longer young' spiel.' Which worked. 

In Singapore airport I discovered that the plane I was booked on was actually going onto New York.   A bit later, I found i was sitting in the  lounge next to a guy from NY who said he was going to NY, had the same flight number on his boarding pass and i must be wrong because he said he was not stopping in Frankfurt.  "suit yourself " I thought. He took his belongings and grumped off saying he was going to check.   To give him some credit, he did come back and said I was right about his plane stopping in Frankfurt. But he went onto say that there was another flight leaving 15 min later that went to Frankfurt that must be my flight.  

To be continued. It's bedtime. 

Just checking...

... that this space still works.  This time in 4 weeks I will be in the lounge at Melbourne airport waiting for a plane to Singapore, then I wait for a plane to Frankfurt, then I think I may have to rush to catch my plane to Malta. 

Manly - last few days

 On Sunday I walked around the harbour  along the Manly to Spit Bridge walk. In 2016 I did this walk,  about 10km from the Spit Bridge to Manly. Previously I had walked the same walk with my mother  and maybe father and some of my school aged ( i think) kids . This time I only planned on walking about 4 km  and  then returning to Manly. I got as far as Forty Baskets  beach. Apparently in 1885 a catch of 40 baskets of fish was sent to a contingent of Sudanese troops at  north Head quarantine station  from this beach. Hence the name.

Yesterday I walked in the opposite direction towards Little Manly beach, then on, up and down, up and down till I got to Collins Flat Beach. This is just inside the Sydney Harbour Foreshore National Park.  I was not far from North Head. 

Shortly my cousin arrives. She will spend the night here then  I go with her to her  home in Katoomba for a few days.

Manly

I want to have a record of the places i have been for the 2 weeks I will have been in Manly. 

For the 3 days Noel was here with me  we....

    Walked to Little Manly and then to the nearby park where there is information about and remains of a wharf where boats with coal were unloaded and the coal was turned into gas. And return through different streets with an interesting variety of housing.

   Walked to Fairlight beach

   Went to the Anzac Day service

    Pottered around the botanic gardens

For the rest of the time ....

    I have caught up with 3 friends and enjoyed 3 different but all delicious meals

   Walked to Shelley Beach, then up onto the plateau and walked along mostly bush tracks to North Head. Spectacular view. 

    Walked north along the coast to North Curl Curl stopping at rest spots, views etc.

    On the day I was meeting a friend at CQ I went into CQ early and walked to Barangaroo and caught the metro 1 stop to martin place.  The new underground  station was fascinating. Very light and open. You could stand at the bottom and see escalators above you. 

   Yesterday I had an interesting day. I wondered how many of the 10 ferry lines could i go on comfortably in 1 day. ( F1, F2, F6, F5 and F10)

Leg 1  F1 Manly to Circular Quay

Leg 2   F2 CQ to Taronga zoo ferry terminal

Leg 3  walk to Mosman Bay Ferry Terminal

Leg 4  F6 Mosman bay to CQ

Leg 5  F5 CQ to Neutral bay,  coffee and cake at wharf cafe

Leg 6  F5 neutral bay to CQ

Leg 7  F4 CQ to Pyrmont bay

Leg  8  walk to blackwater Bay Ferry terminal stopping at fish markets for lunch

Leg 9 F10 Blackwater Bay to Barangaroo,.  Tiny ferry looking like a bathtub with a lid

Leg 10 walk from Barangaroo  to CQ

Leg 11 F1 CQ to Manly . This maybe counts because it was the fast ferry and i started the day on the slow ferry.

I left Manly at about 8.30 and got back at 4pm. A day well spent. Lots of sitting, but I also walked a total of a bit over 11km.

 Today is a day of rest.

Wedneday in Botanic Gardens and home Thursday

 On Wednesday I did not venture far from my hotel , only as far as the Botanic gardens where I  pottered around some more and sat for a while.  I walked along some different roads. 

My return home was uneventful and my home was as I left it. 

Now to think and plan for my next trip. Maybe Florence?

Tuesday, more beach walking

Tuesday was a longish day. I walked to Prahan markets, but the shop I wanted was closed, so I caught the train to Elsternwick, as planned. There is a shop that only sells gluten free stuff that I tried to visit a week or 2 ago but it was closed. It was open, so I had a large piece of pizza and a blueberry muffin( the lightest gf muffin I have ever had) for breakfast . This was instead of a croissant. The owner told me to come back in a month and they would have gf croissants. They almost had the recipe and ingredients right. We had an interesting  conversation.

Next I walked west towards Elwood and the water and where I had stopped walking  south from St kilda on a previous day. Then I walked south along a path . It was a lovely walk in nice weather for a change, not very windy like it has been.   Water on my right and huge houses or parks on my left. The path petered out at the bathing boxes at Brighton but luckily the tide was going out so there was hard sand to walk along.  Then more path till I stopped at Brighton Beach where there is a train station close to the coast. And luckily close to a large pub where I had a lateish,  large but average lunch.. I caught the train back and stopped at Prahan and luckily the shop I wanted was open. I was a bit tired walking back to my apartment.  

Monday Fitzroy again

On Monday I went into the city for coffee at  a place i had been recomended. Another very small space into which not many people could squeeze, but I managed to. Then I walked a circuitous  route through the edge of East Melbourne to a different  part of Fitzroy, a very eclectic mix of housing, shops, cafes,bars . One of the streets I walked along was  the street that divides Fitzroy and Collingwood. I had an interesting conversation with a local man sitting on a bench with his dog. He reckoned there was a distinct difference in people between the 2 suburbs .  

I walked back to the city and spent a long time in Lincraft talking to a lady who was also buying embroidery threads. She was a textile artist and had stuff in an exhibition. Then back here.