Francisco and Guido

On the top of the hill in the small village of Talla, Tuscany there is an old monastery complete with lots and lots of Madonna statues (as in Mary not the pop singer) and friezes. Yet today, the house of religious importance has been renovated into a large seven bedroom villa complete with swimming pool. 

The first few days of our trip were spent lounging by the pool and forgetting about the stresses of ‘the real world.’ In my case this was also where I finished the first book of the trip. 

Francis De Assisi came from a wealthy family of La Verna yet he shunned all of his worldly possessions in favour of living a life of faith. Sleeping in a cave, with sack cloth on his back Francis De Assisi would spend his days preaching. Notably the patron saint of merchants, animals and the environment arranged the first live Christmas nativity scene in 1223 and a year later, during a state of religious ecstasy, received the stigmata from an apparition of spheric angels.  (The stigmata are the wounds that Jesus bore during the crucifixion.) 

In case you wanted to know, Francis De Assisi's saint day is on the 4th October. 

The Basilica of Francis De Assisi (also known as Francessco) was built in commemoration of the saint and it was a trip to this monastery that sparked a debate about the saint’s life as well as religion in general. 

Another formidable character of our trip was Guido of Guidi the proprietor of Poppi Castle during the 13th century. Throughout history, as was the case in a number of European countries, (i’m looking at you Germany) Italy was divided into various ‘contandi (districts) and the Guidi family was in charge of Tuscany……until those of Florence had something to say about it. - That’s the Medici’s right? although I think they might have come later. 

The stronghold, complete with a moat and bellower has seen many owners in its time and with each new age a new extension or refurbishment arrived with it. Therefore the castle we see today varies hugely from the castle Guido if Guidi knew in the 1200s. 

The town of Poppi was also a spot of intense; especially as they had some quite good ice cream and I particularly enjoyed the fact the streets to and from the town were lined with…yes you guessed it….poppies!! 

The highlight of our trip, at least for me, was a trip to a small family run bed and breakfast in the next village where we were shown how to make proper egg pasta. Pasta can be made with our without egg (for example spaghetti does not contain egg)  however I find that the egg in the pasta gives it much richer flavour and gives it a more silky texture. 

Our pasta masterclass was followed by a five (yes five) course meal including antipasti, prima (the freshly made pasta) , Secondi (meat, in our case wild boar or chinghale) and finally dessert of a mascarpone cream. 

Feeling suitably stuffed I was ready to go home yet our day was not over as we were now the tables turned and it was our turn to make pasta….however there was only room for one person so sat back and watched. dammit

James, proved to be quite the dab hand at pasta making and was even given a 10 out of 10 for his pasta which was evenly rolled to perfection. Alas, when cooked the next day, the pasta was underdone and therefore did not reflect the effort that had gone into it. 

When I was told that I would be visiting Lake Trassemano I imagine a cute little beach surrounded by cafes and other such tourist traps with changing huts and outdoor showers. A random patch of grass in the middle of a car park was not however on my wish list. 

Not to be perturbed however I decided to don my swimming costume and have a dip in the lake.  Not two minutes into our swim though and at least fifty dogs started to bark manically. It appeared that our spot was also home to the local dog house and apparently it was feeding time. 

Berlin Take 2 - continued

Good Morning Berlin!

We started the day in what seemed to be the Turkish quarter (or at least one of them) of Kreuzberg with a glass of a fresh ginger infusion for myself and fresh peppermint for my mother.

When the Berlin Wall was erected in 1961 nearly 60,000 people were put out of work because they psychically couldn't get to where they needed to go as there was a stonking great wall blocking the way. The city therefore decided to invite foreign workers from around Southern Europe in to fill in their spaces. Lots of council housing sprung up around the city yet like the English ‘pre-fabs’ these houses were put up as a temporary solution and were therefore never intended to last. 

The owners of these houses took it upon themselves to pay for their own repairs and home improvements and therefore considered their places of resident as being their own.

Rents in the area had always generally been quite reasonable as can be expected of social housing yet with privatisation of these properties rents have significantly increased as private investors demand increasingly more money. Residents are being priced out of their own homes and this has sparked much controversy and rioting. 

Indeed the elderly Frau Rosemarie F. was evicted from her home and died only 2 days later. 

I learnt all this and a whole lot more at FHXB Museum on Adalbert Str. 

As we walked out of the museum a crowded restaurant caught our eye and it would be silly not to go and investigate further: 

Maroush , a traditional Lebanese restaurant serves a variety of mezzo plates including falafel, hummus and even donner kebabs. All of which are delicious! 

Kaffee und Kuchen is a German  past time that I can really get my teeth into. (a bit like the ritual of Afternoon Tea) For our K&K stop we took a trip to the Five Elephant cafe on Reichberger Str. 

The small, quaint cafe is slightly tucked away from the hustle and bustle but it would seem that this little gem has got itself quite a reputation. 

Whilst my mother drank a chai tea latte  and ate the blueberry oat cake (both totally divine) I meanwhile supped on Rwandan coffee which had a fruity (somewhat berry like) undertones and ate the devilishly good toffee and peanut butter tart.  

For dinner we wondered to Markthalle Neun for ‘Street Food Thursday.’ Every week the market hall is over run with street food trucks offering all kinds of cuisines from dim sum to vegan burgers, fresh kässpatzle and pulled pork sandwiches. Street Food Thursday offers a totally delicious selection that has something for everyone. We would recommend the kässpatzle from Heisser Hobel or the pulled pork. 

Matcha Tea, the newest super-food on the block was also in abundance as we spotted no less than three stalls selling containing matcha including Vietnamese waffles, cheesecake and even doughnuts. 

The White Buses

Warning: some readers may find some of this content distressing.

On our final day the weather, which had previously been warm and sunny, turned and we were forced to abandon our plans of going for a swim in the harbour and headed of to a museum instead.

Today’s museum of choice was the National Museum of Denmark and we wove our way chronologically through the Stone, Bronze and Iron ages as well as learning about the Vikings, Middle Ages and all the way through to the present day. Suffice it say that the museum gave us a fantastic insight into what it is to be a Dane.

The temporar exhibition at the time of our visit was of ‘the white buses’ a rescue mission carried out by the Red Cross during the Second World War.

In 1940 Nazi Germany invaded Denmark ‘peacefully’ yet as you can imagine this didn't last long and in 1943 six thousand members of the Danish police forces were imprisoned and sent to the concentration camps. 

The exhibition was harrowing to say the least yet the death rate of these 6000 was fairly low at 10% whilst in comparison out of 4.5 million Polish prisoners the death rate was a terrifying 81%. Whether this was due to the prisoners being put to death by gas chambers or otherwise or they died in the camps of starvation or exhaustion it is very hard to tell yet it is believed that the Danish prisoners were spared a one way visit to the ‘showers’. 

The main reason why the death toll in Danish prisoners was considerably lower compared to other nationalities is because of the ration boxes sent by the Red Cross. These boxes were literally a lifeline to the malnourished and freezing cold Danes as they contained not only food but also clothes and tobacco.

Tobacco was a crucial commodity in the camps as it used to barter and in some ways was a type of currency. When these boxes arrived however they did not reach to intended recipient unopened. Indeed after the Nazi officers and wardens had had their pick there wasn't  that much left.

The rescue mission started in earnest in 1944 with the ‘white buses’. Under the pretence of moving  the Danish prisoners to another camp the Red Cross and its volunteers would take them to neutral Sweden where they received a heros welcome. The journey however was a treacherous one as despite the fact that the buses were white like an ambulance did not mean that they were safe from bombing.  

After a quick trip to Christianborg to look around the grounds we went back to Nyhavn for a late lunch. before returning to our hotel to pick up bags and setting off towards the airport where  in the morning we were homeward bound.

The Little Mermaid and Tivoli Gardens

Good Morning Copenhagen! This morning we went over to the less touristy area of Norrebro and despite the fact that it is merely just over the bridge from the inner city you can instantly sense that Norrebro is off the beaten track as it is eerily quiet.

Whilst we sat down for a iced latte and a rhubarb muffin a group of young men dressed as Vikings
ran into the square and 'fought'...standard procedure then.

On the way back into town we stumbled across the famous Copenhagen outdoor food market aka foodie heaven. There were rows and rows of delicious looking food stalls and the bread was to die for! A personal favourite of mine was the cake stand with their scrumptious selection of sweet delights. I thook one for the road as our next stop was the Little Mermaid.

The little bronze statue was erected in 1913 by the artist Edward Ericksen yet much like the tale by Hans Christian Andersen the mermaid has experienced much hardship: she once lost her arm, was decapitated twice and was even blown off her perch in 2003. The little statue weighs in at 175kg so that must have been quite some wind.

Our evening excursion was to Tivoli Gardens as I had heard there was a big band playing. A former pleasure gardens and then later amusement park Tivoli Gardens which opened its gates in 1843 is considered to be the second most popular amusement park in the world. The first being Disneyland. The gardens have attracted many famous guests over the years including Hans Christian Andersen and Walt Disney. It is believed that Tivoli was even inspired by Tivoli!

The park has multiple theatres around it including the Peacock Theatre where we stayed and watched the ballet.  Going to the ballet was one of my absolute musts in Copenhagen so I'm glad that I got to see one.

The main arena stage where every Friday there is a 'rock concert' and upcoming shows include Snoop Dogg (24th) and Belle and Sebastian. On Saturdays however there is a big band and the dance floor was flooded with couples doing the lindyhop, cha cha and lots of other ballroom dances.

Why is it that men in particular from all around Europe and even the rest of the world aren't impartial to get up and dance whilst in England it is always really hard to get a dance partner.

Surrounded by hippies - help me

The plan was to leave early this morning and pack as much into the day as possible and me aching feet can testify to the fact that we did indeed pack a lot in from palace viewing to boat trips and lots in between....only later than anticipated.

The first stop of the day was Rosenborg which up until the late eighteenth century was the royal residence. It is amongst one of few museums that is arranged in chronological order and is therefore a great place to practice your skills in time travel as you travel through the centuries as go from room to room.

When we first arrived at Rosenborg we were informed that the burglar alarm had just gone off and as the palace was the home of the Danish crown jewels this was quite a big deal. All the visitors were herded to the front lawn to wait for the all clear as the police and army officers patrolled and searched the grounds.

A personal highlight of Rosenborg for me was the Knights Hall a.k.a the Throne Room. The thrones for the King and Queen at the far end of the long hall were guarded by three large silver lions. These statues were meant to signify the absolute power of the monarchy.

From Rosenborg we walked towards the picturesque Nyhavn where the first ice cream of the trip was to be enjoyed. The pier with multi-coloured houses is often what people associate with Copenhagen and what you will see in all the travel guides and is therefore a must see.

As we walked along the front we tagged onto the end of one the cities 'Free walking tours' and followed our guide Rosie to Amlienborg and then the marble church.  The latter of which was to built entirely of marble yet as the monarchy ran out of money part of the way through construction the church stood unfinished for 150 years.

On my previous post I mentioned that when we bought our bus ticket we also got a boat tour and today we decided to cash it in. The boat stopped at a lot of the same places as the bus tour yet we also went through the district of Christiana as well as seeing where the Eurovision song contest 2014 was held (how exciting)

By this point we hadn't stopped walking all day and I had the blisters on my feet to prove it. A new pair of shoes were therefore in order so a large part of the afternoon was devoted to just this task. During our quest to locate every shoe shop in the city we stumbled across the Copenhagen branch of Hotel Chocolat (yay!)

In the evening we returned to Nyhavn with the intention of eating dinner yet instead were met by the adorable sight  of a bunny sat chilling on the harbourside next to its owner much like what a dog would do. The rabbit was quite at ease  and was lying on the cobbles with its legs stretched out whilst some tourists (including us) stopped to say hello.


We hopped onto a water taxi and crossed over to the other side of the river where we were to eatr at the Copenhagen Street Food Centre. This is definatley a haunt of the cool kids - yes I did feel out of place.


Whilst in Christiana we ventured through the neighbourhood and even visited the Freetown- and by that I mean the home of the hippies- and went to a 'Love Party'. As a former hippy herself I thought my mother would be right at home in the district whilst I...not so much.


We returned to our hotel and ended the second day in the skybar with matcha tea cocktails.

I'm going on an adventure part 2

We bid farewell to Hever castle and continued our journey towards Edenbridge and specifically Ashdown Forest, or as it is more widely known - 'The Hundred Acre Wood.'
Unfortunatelyfor us the day that we visited Pooh Corner was a very 'blustery day' and as a result of the great british weather also very muddy so suffice it to say that my Ugg boots were ruined.

However I did get a game of pooh sticks at Pooh bridge where I was sorely beaten three games in a row!

We drove through Battle - aptly named as it was the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Alas the Battle Abbey was shut - bother so we did not linger.

The evening was spent at the historical city of Rye and specifically The George at Rye. It just so happened to be be Rye Scallop Week whilst we were there so you can imagine what was on the menu that night. 

Onto Bodiam now, the medieval castle built by the knight Edward Dalyngrigge and here we heard a talk about the four humours of the body which in those days were believed to be the key to a healthy lifestyle. 

Alas the final stop on our epic journey through the centuries -both fact and fiction- was Leeds Castle. The impressive castle built mainly on two islands is, like Hever, representative of many eras throughout history. Leeds Castle was principially known as the 'Queen's castle' as it was often passed onto the wives and Queens of medieval kings.

Leeds was the calling point for Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and a vast entourage of courtiers on the way to The Field Of The Cloth Of Gold in the 1520s as well as going on to be owned by the Culpepper and later Fairfax families. 

Again much like Hever, Leeds castle was also bought and restored by a wealthy American; Lady Olive Baillie.