3 days old

Lainie has long fingers and feet,






but is not always ready to wake up.










Wendy , Lach and Isla are planning on bringing Lainie home tomorrow so I am going back to my home.

2 days old

She does have eyes.













Lainie quite enjoyed her first bath.









Isla supervising from a safe distance.









Isla in a 'new' playground.

1 day old

Much the same as yesterday - I still havenot seen her eyes.













Introduction of Claudi Cat - the next favourite after Puppy










Maybe my baby sister is OK.

Lainie May

Lainie May was born at 2.30pm this afternoon - Wednesday. She is well - apparently she was exercising her lungs before even her feet were out. Isla was initially unsure - she and I arived an hour after Lainie was born. She preferred to watch TV sitting on Lach's lap. Isla brought Puppy with her and several times Puppy was interesed in Lainie. Isla and I went out for some food at 5 ish and she talked about Lainie a lot of the time. We left there at 6.30 ish got back here and Isla went straight to sleep after a bath.

Wendy and Lach are both happy and well.

Sydney

I am in Sydney looking after my first granddaughter ( picture taken a few weeks ago) while my daughter and son-in-law are at the hospital giving birth to my second granddaughter! I hope later on today to put some photos here - an easier way than sending many attachments - but I wanted to remind myself of the necessary passwords, so this is a test.

Home safely

I arrived safely home today. Yesterday I got to Sydney about 8pm , spent the night with Wendy, Lach and the delightful Isla ( I have been suprised at how much I have missed her) and caught the bus home this morning. Our disembarking at Sydney was delayed because we had to wait while a quarantine officer assessed a sick lady. We also were given a piece of paper saying if we got sick in the next few weeks make sure we told the doctor we had been overseas. I donot think, as a transit passenger in Bangkok, I was at much risk of bird flu, but it's good to see some measures that are being taken. I am about to go to bed and hopefully sleep, unlike last night.

I have already told a few people, but maybe I should express these thoughts here as well. Originally I set up this blog as a means of keeping my immediate family aware of where I was. When I realised that some other people were actually reading my ramblings I was pleased. It has helped, I am sure, me feel a bit connected still, in a funny way, to friends at home and hence a little less lonely. So, thank you.

Until next March - for my next trip to, I think, Venice and London and ??.....

Basilica of St Ambrose and other endings

Yesterday afternoon I was very unsettled – not sure whether to go for a walk, what to do about dinner etc etc. I remembered that I had read about St Ambrose. He was sent to Milan in 374 to sort out squabbling factions of the Christian church after a bishop had just died. He spoke sensibly with great wisdom apparently. The people decided he would make a good bishop – trouble was he was not even a priest ( I’ve forgotten the correct term for those days) . It only took them 2 weeks or so to sort that minor problem out. He was a good bishop for a long time. There is a church that he built not far from where I was staying, so I thought I’d have a look. I walked in and felt really glad I had gone. It was very old – bits date from the church that Ambrose started in 386 and had been added to – very light, obviously a ‘used’ building ( there was a big poster of the community in Africa that the congregation supports) , locals wandering in and out outnumbered tourists, a large Byzantine mosaic covering most of the apse etc . I bought a pamphlet about the bits and pieces in the church and in it was another more general pamphlet talking about how a church was 2 things – a building ( it defined lots eg duomo, chapel, oratory, basilica) and the community of people who worshipped (in the building) together. It talked about how when you go into a church you should not treat it like a museum but let yourself be surprised by the half-light, the tall vaults, the perspective views, the silences that induce you to meditate etc. It said a bit more and then ended with “Come in and listen to it, this church has many things to tell you.”

I wished I had read this at the beginning of my 4 weeks, but then again it was an excellent way to finish and gave me plenty to ponder upon. Maybe I will read this pamphlet again when I sit in my first church on my next visit to Italy ( or, shock, horror, at home)

Just before I went into the church I had found a shop selling pieces of foccacia with interesting toppings and little cakes. I did not really want to sit in a restaurant – so I was pleased to find something I could take back to my hotel. A little later I came across a fruit shop and bought a nice big peach to have too. Just right.

Another good ending – in the Brera Art Gallery I looked at the paintings that my guide books said were noteworthy and the brochure that came with the audio guide. The last one on the list was commissioned by the Duke of Montefeltro , the guy who was the main guy who built up Urbino, the first place I went to 4 weeks ago. He was in the painting.

I am now in a lounge with 2 boarding passes. My checked in bag weighed 10.8 kg. I reckon my hand luggage is about 3kg. I’ve ditched a bit more stuff than I have acquired. There is a fair bit of space in my backpack and I have not spent as much as I thought I would. How sad is that? I’ll just have credit for next trip.

Milan's duomo

Varenna

Varenna from water . Main part on right, ferry terminal on left. Orange building on the left at the ferry terminal is the hotel I stayed at.

Hotel from main part of Varenna

Rapallo and san Fruttuoso

Cinque terre photos

Duomo

This morning I visited the Duomo. My book describes it as a ‘late-Gothic wonder’ with 135 spires. It’s marble façade is shaped into pinnacles, statues and pillars, the whole held together by a web of flying buttresses.

For the first time in Italy my bag has been glanced into when I went into a church . There were many signs up – no photos – but no one to police the signs and many people taking photos. I found the flashes almost intrusive. I went up onto the roof - good views – you were sort of amongst the spires (and the other tourists).

On the way back to my hotel ( half an hour walk from the centre) I passed a shop selling upmarket small children’s clothes and nanny outfits – like in the movies – waisted demure dresses with little collar and cuffs and white apron with a trim to match the dress.

Tomorrow I leave for home. I will have to think carefully about my planned 6 week trip next year. I am currently too tired for safety and certainly not firing on all cylinders. Once I get my boarding passes tomorrow I can sleep off and on for many hours.

Friday in Varenna

Those of you who are diligently reading will have realized that I have not written of last Friday – not one of my better days. The vaguely Manuelish (Fawlty Towers ) person who organizes breakfast is not comfortable with single guests. For the second morning in a row he asked me ‘2 or 4 people’ when I walked in – I relied ‘1’ in both English and Italian. He asked again ‘2 or 4’ . I started to get annoyed and told him, too loudly, in Italian and then English that I was traveling on my own. I should have laughed – certainly the other people already sitting were trying hard to hide their amusement. I sat down at a table set for one. Soon after another single person came in and the whole process started all over again. ‘Manuel’ got further confused when this new gentleman ( Ed) tried to explain that yesterday his wife was with him but she went home yesterday and so today he was on his own. He sat down on his own, then another guest ( an Australian named John) asked us both to join him and his wife (does this behaviour go with the name?). Ed and I both shifted our stuff while ‘Manuel’ was out of the room. When he returned, he was a bit put out!

After that I went for a walk to look at some gardens. One is attached to an old restored villa now used as a conference centre and the other to a hotel – Villa Cipresi. They were nice, but I was not really in the mood.

I then caught the boat to Bellagio – a nearby town on Lake Como. As my family know, buying presents for people ( and myself) causes me huge stress. I am not good at gambles and over the past few days have been starting to badly worry about what token I could buy for family members. Bellagio has lots of nice gift shops but I could not find anything that I was sure was right. I had decided to buy myself some gloves in Milan months ago, so I wasnot thinking of me. I struggled very hard not to get upset looking at everyone else walking around with lots of parcels –if they could decide why couldn’t I? - seems totally ridiculous writing it down now but that’s how it was. I went back to Varenna and needed to get money out ( to pay the hotel which only accepts cash despite wanting a credit card number to secure the booking). The 2 banks are about 1 km apart and for several reasons I walked backwards and forwards several times. I was not impressed with either the banks ( sometimes it seems that banks will only give you E250, despite how much more you want – but the message says something about a link failure when you ask for more ) or me ( I muddled my passwords trying different cards, not something I usually do) . I decided I deserved an icecream , so that was nice.

The day did end well though. ‘Manuel’ ‘s boss organizes people for dinner – she has less tables than rooms so puts couples together. She has 1 table for 6 that she put me plus 2 couples on. The other 4 were all from USA - a couple and 2 female friends. The lady, Pauline, who was sitting next to me was lovely. It had come out in conversation that both our husbands had died ( I hate, and try hard not to use, the n-less-window word) and some of her experiences and feelings were very similar to mine. So, in retrospect, not such a bad day at all.

PS The game I was watching is handball.

Glove Man

Clarification – The glove man’s remarks made me smile not because I was thinking of the possibility of a new husband but rather the way of thinking that seems more prevalent amongst Italians of ‘ Ok, past is past, let’s enjoy today and see what tomorrow brings’

Milan / gloves

I arrived in Milan yesterday after an uneventful, quite relaxing trip from Varenna ( I caught the slow boat from Varenna ( once again sat out in the cold and drizzle to avoid the crowds) to Como and then a train). I am currently in a bar with free wireless so I will make this quick ( not preplanned like some posts) because the place is beginning to fill up. It is hard to find somewhere to eat in Italy that is open on Sundays, so I was delighted to find this place just down the road from my hotel which charges E5 for 1 continuous hour . Here I have just paid E3 for a very large glass of niceish red and E4.50 for a large plate of delicious lasagne and nothing for the internet. Yesterday I went to a museum , the POldi Pozz something or other I've forgotten and this morning I went to the Pinocoteca di Brera, the main art gallery. Most things are closed on Mondays in Milan. I have just bought myself a lovely pair of gloves - black with red buttons, silk lined - my souvenir of Italy. A friend told me of the shop. i didnot buy the cheapest pair in the shop. The guy was rabbiting on about 'how elegant - just right for an evening out with your husband' so I replied in Italian that my husband died a year and a half ago. He replied , in Italian, that he was sorry, and then after a pause , said with a checky grin, your next husband. 'Forse' I replied, but with a smile. I will remember that interchange. I also bought a book to read this afternoon and perhaps tomorrow morning. I am very tired ( yesterday I fell asleep in the train, only to be woken by the ticket inspector - sleeping in trains is not a good thing to do for security reasons on your own) and struggling a bit so think I might 'stay in'. Tomorrow I will look at the duomo.

Varenna

I arrived here yesterday after an uneventful trip. Varenna is a small town on the eastern shore of Lake Como. It is very picturesque – that is, I’m sure it is if you could see through the drizzle and low cloud. Yesterday afternoon there was snow on the surrounding hilltops. I had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant – the first time that I have been staying in a hotel with a restaurant, but I had checked out the menus of all the other restaurants in town in the afternoon. Once again I have a room on the 4th , top, floor – no lift – looks like it is an extra floor that has been added into the roof space. All the floors below have a big shuttered window that looks out to the lake. I have a funny little semicircle about ½ m in radius on the floor. I can lay on the floor and look out at the ferries coming and going, lucky me. I do have a skylight, so there is enough light. I’m hopeful for a clear night so I can see stars lying in bed.

This morning after breakfast I walked up a hill to look at a ruined castle. Visibility was poor from all the lookouts and I gave up at a closed gate with Private property, beware of the guard dog ‘ signs. The paths down were quite slippery.

Lake Como is sort of an inverted Y shape. Varenna is near the junction of the 2 arms. Late this morning I caught a ferry to the far northern end. It stopped at a lot of small towns. I had a coffee and sandwich-like thing and then came back. The boat on the way north had a downstairs inside area with fairly hard-to-see-through windows. The upstairs area had a cover, but the whole area was subject to wind-driven drizzle. The seats were all wet. I decided that getting to Colico dry and warm without seeing anything was worse than getting there frozen having seen everything. The return boat was a much bigger affair with clean windows so sitting inside was an easy decision. However I am still trying to thaw out.

Tomorrow I will probably look at a few gardens around here and maybe Bellagio or Menaggio - 2 nearby towns before going to Milan on Saturday.

Ligurian food specialities

Liguria is a thin strip of land running from the French border to the NW corner of Tuscany. This has influenced its food. Genoa is the main town.
For 100’s of years it was a major port. Pesto was developed for the sailors on long voyages to combat scurvy. So there is pesto on menus everywhere.

I have also tried:
Farinata – a pancake-like flat bread made of chickpea flour. Very nice
Trenette - long thin flat pasta
Trofie – little worm-like shapes that look like pasta but are made with potato flour. Usually served with potatoes and beans
Ligurian olives – small, dark brown, not bitter, but hard work – you don’t get much around a pip
Torta pasqualina – Spinach, cheese and egg pie
Pandolce – a sweet cake with dried fruits, nuts and candied peel. This was tricky. They seem to be only made in 2 sizes 500g , about €7, and 1kg sizes. They look like a big version of the rock cakes my mother used to make. Anyway, I had been pondering the problem of how to try some for several days. Today I found a shop that had lightly toasted pieces available (obviously last week’s left overs but I did not care). It was OK, but would have been nicer with a bit of butter!

Camogli

Camogli

Stuzzichini…

.. are the little nibblies that come with a fancy drink

I left the bar on Sunday night before finishing what I hoped to do. I was wrong – the people were not cheering a local team , they were gathering for the next match which really was a local team – Genova ( 30 km west) . When the tables around me started to be rearranged and the preparatory chanting started I left. I tried to watch the match in my room, but it must have only been on pay TV. I could see a channel that featured 2 commentators watching the game and ‘calling ‘ the action – but you only saw them . This is Italian TV, so one of them was a female with plenty of cleavage. I resorted to weightlifting – some international competition in Chang Mai Thailand, but the commentators were English and quite informative.

Yesterday I went to Camogli – a little fishing village not far from here. I pottered around, took lots of photos of fishing boats ( I really must do a photography course – I have several OK photos and a few almost good ones) , had an espresso and caught the train back. There is an old church up on one of the surrounding hills behind Rapallo with a cable car up to it and also a track. I had read several descriptions of the track ranging from an easy 1 hour to moderate 1 3/4 hour walk. The trouble was finding the start. The map was vague. I spent ¼ hour winding my way up the steep hill to where the road ended in 3 front yards protected by 3 large, locked gates. I went down and stopped to ask 2 little old ladies. After a while talking about one’s sister in Australia, they pointed out the correct path – but I still had to go down more before I could start going up again. The path meandered up and up and up. It was weird, at one point looking down on a 6 lane autostrada through an olive grove. Half way ( making the large assumption that the map was to scale) up, an hour or so after I started ( including the false start, but I was moving fairly quickly), I thought I would be sensible and return.

Today I went to Genoa. Founded in the 4th century BC, it was a major power in the 14th to 17th century. It declined but in the last 10 years or so its got its act together. It reminds me of Naples – windy, narrow streets with lots of character ( and characters, particularly at night I gather) . I wandered around the 2 main art galleries. This was a bit of a challenge – the list of paintings in rooms that came with the audio guide did not always match the map that my entry gave me and sometimes neither matched the order that the guides tried to steer you in. Both ‘galleries’ were in old restored Palazzos – lots of smallish rooms, but interesting architecture. I then wandered up and down and in and out of interesting streets looking at interesting buildings, found somewhere to eat and then wandered around the old port area.

Tomorrow I go to Varenna.

What is the Italian for Tapas?

In case you are wondering the bar I have found, for the second day in a row, has supplied me with a substantial plate of nibblies to go with my very strong drink. Yesterday I was not charged extra. I hope the internet connection holds out while I answer some emails (and the ice melts to dilute the drink a bit or I will be more fuddle brained than usual). Yesterday it ( the internet connection, not the drink) gave out part of the way through. Tonight the footall game on the TV must be a more local team - there are more local senori smoking and cheering than yesterday. The smoke may drive me out.