Tuscany

We are so ever grateful to God, for life and all its abundance, our beautiful girls (that includes you Jo) and son in law Jeff, and for family and friends. We are also thankful to be able to celebrate 30 years of marriage and for this life journey where we have met so many wonderful people who have loved and supported us.

We ( Pete & Deb, Jeff & I) have been acutely aware as we arrived in Tuscany that our lovely Steph & Pearl have just lost their darling James ( in his forties). We know God was truly glorified in James life & in the legacy that lives on in Steph & Pearl. As a builder apparently one of James dreams was to go to Tuscany as he loved to build stone houses. Steph you are farewelling James today on our last day in Tuscany, we send you much love & prayers.....

Tuscany, we have fallen in love with too! Fields of sunflowers that will be glorious in another month or so, lavender in early bloom, red poppies, deer, pheasants, church bells ringing out hourly, delicious Rose and  Prosecco, & very flavoursome fresh food. Vineyards & stone houses around every corner….

We have got around in the few days we have been here – Siena, Monteriggioni, Colle-di Val d’Esla, San Gimignano, and Panzano were our favorites in the Chianti area where we stayed. A day visit to Lucca and Pisa was also special.

Large walled cities, small walled villages, perched hilltop villages, huge Basilicas … but I love the simplicity of the small churches in the countryside and the history of generations upon generation worshipping in them. I am reminded about the richness of a family heritage & legacy and also the rich inheritance we have in God!

The Italian culture is oh so rich, living life to the full, no matter what! Rich in relationship, rich in community , rich in wine & food. So much we can learn from other cultures!

We will always be so grateful for this trip, full of precious memories! Thanks girls for holding the fort! We will see you in a couple of days. We love you dearly. Xx

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Lucca

Pisa

Siena

Monteriggioni

Rome

Hi girls,

The problem is trying to fit everything in ….

Our focus in Italy was Venice, Sicily and Tuscany – but how can you not visit Rome?

We left our Tuscany base near Siena early Friday morning and drove to the coastal town of Grosetto where we caught a train into Rome, arriving around lunchtime.

The bus tour with commentary gave us a great appreciation of all the major sites, and there was even time for some clothes shopping in Via del Tritone. We finished the day at a café near the Trevi Fountain which was still drawing huge crowds at 10pm at night. Our hotel near the railway station was basic but perfect for our needs – complete with a Fawlty Towers Manuel look-alike breakfast waiter in the sloping floored breakfast room!

The next morning we wandered back down to the area around the Colosseum to look around all the historical sites. Posing with the “Centurion’s” was a bit of a fun aside for the guys from the historical/shopping focus.

We then managed to join a ‘skip the line’ tour of the Colosseum with an English speaking guide – we had never really thought hard about how the Roman empire transitioned from persecuting Christians to adopting it as the state religion, and learning about Constantine and his part in that was most interesting.

Catching a train back mid afternoon had us back in the heart of Tuscany by mid evening. So there it is …. Rome in 28 hours!

Colosseum

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x W & JK

Sicily

Hi girls & Co,

Our first day in Sicily was entertaining from start to finish – we started in what would be the largest market we had seen so far while Jeff and Pete checked out the best show in the city of Catania – being the raucous fish market. The chaos and noise and antics of the stall vendors trying to make a sale was just absolute drama.

Sicily is rich in history, is generally in modern disrepair, and infamous for its mafia connections! Despite that it is still  a meditarranean jewel. Mt Etna at 3329m dominates the landscape and was puffing smoke the whole time we were there. We  also noticed the piles of swept up volcanic ash on street corners from the last serious eruption – an ever constant threat to the inhabitants living under it.

We stayed near a little fishing port called Riposto  which is in the area Debs grandparents lived and her dad grew up. It has been a real privilege looking up places of meaning for Deb and for her to connect to the place of her roots. Deb was famous in the town within ½ hour of being there as Pete showed her family photos to the gathering of old men that meet on the waterfront  square in the evening.

We were staying right on the coast in a quiet spot and the town of Riposto was not at all a tourist town – so we have observed real Sicilian life – including pretty much no English language and the absolutely crazy driving and pedestrian antics of the locals on their tiny lanes!! Our holiday villa has been great – situated on a cliff face overlooking the sea, surrounded by lemon/olive groves, and down a long secluded driveway that turned into a dirt track for the last 50m! 

The food here is just amazing, and not expensive at all – we have bought from roadside locally grown fruit stalls the most tasty cherries and tomato’s, stocking up from the deli in the local ‘supermacte’ among other things; and stopped at cafés for great coffee and the absolutely delicious Cannoli sweet treats.

We visited Taormina. The Teatro Greco was amazing – a perfect horseshoe shaped amphitheatre built in the 3^rd century BC!! It was set up for the 2013 Taormina FilmFest, with you guessed it – Russell Crowe – in town for the festivities. Stunning views of the coast line.

We have kept our touring around to the Ionian East Coast which is a beautiful part of Sicily. 30-32 degrees every day – no wind – no clouds …. Can it get any better? We swam in the crystal clear water just down from our little holiday villa and were pleasantly surprised how warm it was – way warmer than Lake Taupo in summer!

This morning Deb & I thought we would check out the Jewellers shops, nothing is quite as you would expect! You have to ring a bell to enter the 2 locked doors that get unlocked by the owner one door at a time to enter the Jewellers, the real gold jewellery is then kept in a safe! While we were there Pete got a classic barbershop cut throat razor hair cut/trimup! Jeff did not want to owe anyone anything on leaving Sicily so went to pay our parking fine which was completely in Italian so quite a process to find where to pay, he then had a coffee at our local caffe where he made friends with a guy working there who was dressed completely in white proudly driving off on the footpath on his 750cc Italian made motorbike helmetless!

It was sad to leave what is a fascinating part of a beautiful area of the world.

x W & JK

Catania fish market.

Catania market.

A cardboard box & string to display his vegetables/herbs!

Catania

Arriving in Riposto-the locals loved trying to decide where the old photos have been taken.
Debs father and grandfather worked in this port town.

Riposto beach.

More locals assisting!

Deb with her  cousin Giuseppe outside the house in Fiumefreddo where her Nonna lived,  her Dad was probably born there.

Guiseppe & Deb in the main street of Fiumefreddo-where her Dad grew up.

Taormina-Ionian coast, Sicily.

Greek amphitheatre at Taormina.

Old men gathering at Riposto... in the afternoons they sit & talk for hours.