Wednesday, May 17, 2006
_AND later that same week___
ok so if you don't go for itineraries press the hash key...
SAT travel to palermo.
SUN gawp @ palermo. dining @ the only restaurant in palermo that hasn't paid off the mafia (so they have 24 hour police guard) - check the photographic evidence above). quattro canti pizza (named after the four corners intersection @ the centre of the old city... go figure),
MON head back to airport to collect car (why oh why), to the autostrada and cruising in our focus CMAX with MAXimum headroom and MAXimum power. apparently. hit resort town Cefalu in the blink of our eyes. Sleeping on the beach, chilling ourselves in the crystal waters (the cliches are true), treated to an organ concert in an aged castle / cathedral. Reluctantly leaving the cobbled streets and sparkling waters we motored to the mountainous interior arriving @ rifugio orestano - a moutain chalet (more like the chateau!) perched on a promontory... complete with 2 saint bernards (no brandy, only sambuca - thanks geoff). don't know how many courses we consumed, but suffice to say that even the power of the hawkes' stomachs combined could not finish the feast,. ouch.
TUE driving. driving. beautiful mountains. towns sprouting out of rocks. more cobbled streets - negotiated ala the italian job. liked nicoise (great old men sitting around the four corners of the piazza). heading to the eastern coast via traffic jam in Catania (lucky geoff was driving cos jon and alana found the euro1.50 wine in the boot...)... a little lost finding the camping ground... circling back foward up down. eventually finding something. got directions to the pizzeria (about 9pm). driving. circling back foward up down. ohmy. but lucked onto the 'music bar' - live music venue making great pizza and great vino de casa. thanks.
WED mmmm mt etna. little wisps of smoke emanating from the summit, crazy lava flows, dense pine forests, heaps of rubbish, migrating caterpillars (some that exploded - oops), delicious coffee (i should be writing this every second sentence - thanks again italy). exploring river canyons and finding snakes. then to the beach (Naxos Gardini) to hunt for more elusive camping grounds. all good and sussed out the best pizza place in town (only realising it's award winning credentials after we had ordered dinner (no pizza of course! the calzone was great - but not cannelloni...)
THUR ocean swimming in the shadow of the giant (preceded by poolside lounging in the shadow of the giant ...). to tourist destination Taormina - hill top town - overlooking blue blue waters... resorts, umbrellas, tour buses, tourists (just like us), greek theatres. sadly fare-welling geoff and kerryn who had to drive 4 hours back to Palermo for an early plane. thanks for the best holiday yous fellas. timelapse over the valley drinking euro0.80 / litre vino rosso. some things never change.
FRI final touristing. then train to the wee town of noto for our serious wwoofing.
ok so if you don't go for itineraries press the hash key...
SAT travel to palermo.
SUN gawp @ palermo. dining @ the only restaurant in palermo that hasn't paid off the mafia (so they have 24 hour police guard) - check the photographic evidence above). quattro canti pizza (named after the four corners intersection @ the centre of the old city... go figure),
MON head back to airport to collect car (why oh why), to the autostrada and cruising in our focus CMAX with MAXimum headroom and MAXimum power. apparently. hit resort town Cefalu in the blink of our eyes. Sleeping on the beach, chilling ourselves in the crystal waters (the cliches are true), treated to an organ concert in an aged castle / cathedral. Reluctantly leaving the cobbled streets and sparkling waters we motored to the mountainous interior arriving @ rifugio orestano - a moutain chalet (more like the chateau!) perched on a promontory... complete with 2 saint bernards (no brandy, only sambuca - thanks geoff). don't know how many courses we consumed, but suffice to say that even the power of the hawkes' stomachs combined could not finish the feast,. ouch.
TUE driving. driving. beautiful mountains. towns sprouting out of rocks. more cobbled streets - negotiated ala the italian job. liked nicoise (great old men sitting around the four corners of the piazza). heading to the eastern coast via traffic jam in Catania (lucky geoff was driving cos jon and alana found the euro1.50 wine in the boot...)... a little lost finding the camping ground... circling back foward up down. eventually finding something. got directions to the pizzeria (about 9pm). driving. circling back foward up down. ohmy. but lucked onto the 'music bar' - live music venue making great pizza and great vino de casa. thanks.
WED mmmm mt etna. little wisps of smoke emanating from the summit, crazy lava flows, dense pine forests, heaps of rubbish, migrating caterpillars (some that exploded - oops), delicious coffee (i should be writing this every second sentence - thanks again italy). exploring river canyons and finding snakes. then to the beach (Naxos Gardini) to hunt for more elusive camping grounds. all good and sussed out the best pizza place in town (only realising it's award winning credentials after we had ordered dinner (no pizza of course! the calzone was great - but not cannelloni...)
THUR ocean swimming in the shadow of the giant (preceded by poolside lounging in the shadow of the giant ...). to tourist destination Taormina - hill top town - overlooking blue blue waters... resorts, umbrellas, tour buses, tourists (just like us), greek theatres. sadly fare-welling geoff and kerryn who had to drive 4 hours back to Palermo for an early plane. thanks for the best holiday yous fellas. timelapse over the valley drinking euro0.80 / litre vino rosso. some things never change.
FRI final touristing. then train to the wee town of noto for our serious wwoofing.
07_05_06 Palermo
wowee
they built a set just for us. and called it Palermo. thanks italy. all of you. thanks.
and thanks geoff and kerryn for hooking us up.
we were met at the train station by mario (bearing his fold out ruler to confirm that geoff was infact the prescribed 2 metres)... folded into the golf and whizzed thru the cobbled alleys and the wrong way down one ways... to find mario's restaurant... 'il garage'... (cowskins on the wall, tunisian techno on the stereo and eurosongquest '88 on the TV)... met by his dutch wife marilyn (sic) who walks us down a shady alley way... lined with decrepit buildings... into our cool 'restored' apartment... balcony over tiny alley (still room to drive @ 30kms)... and back to il garage for tunisian fried fish with artichokes and freely flowing 'house' wine... ohmy...
today we discovered that tourists (at least, us) don't have to pay for anything in this city... ordered 4 machiatto (in the middle of sunday morning market)... mario (from il garage) turned up - caffe gratis... geoff convinced the shell fishman to let him try 2 freshly shucked mussels with salt and lemon (rather than the plate of 15)... again gratis... so i tried to buy some fruit... gratis (accept for a handshake)... and then the guy @ sandwich bar couldn't stop loading our cornucopia of fried yummies (everything is packaged in cones... snails, ribs, whitebait... everything accept for gelatto which comes on a stick)...
Palermo is a the city that time forgot... the decay could be oppressive but for it's extreme romance.
wowee
they built a set just for us. and called it Palermo. thanks italy. all of you. thanks.
and thanks geoff and kerryn for hooking us up.
we were met at the train station by mario (bearing his fold out ruler to confirm that geoff was infact the prescribed 2 metres)... folded into the golf and whizzed thru the cobbled alleys and the wrong way down one ways... to find mario's restaurant... 'il garage'... (cowskins on the wall, tunisian techno on the stereo and eurosongquest '88 on the TV)... met by his dutch wife marilyn (sic) who walks us down a shady alley way... lined with decrepit buildings... into our cool 'restored' apartment... balcony over tiny alley (still room to drive @ 30kms)... and back to il garage for tunisian fried fish with artichokes and freely flowing 'house' wine... ohmy...
today we discovered that tourists (at least, us) don't have to pay for anything in this city... ordered 4 machiatto (in the middle of sunday morning market)... mario (from il garage) turned up - caffe gratis... geoff convinced the shell fishman to let him try 2 freshly shucked mussels with salt and lemon (rather than the plate of 15)... again gratis... so i tried to buy some fruit... gratis (accept for a handshake)... and then the guy @ sandwich bar couldn't stop loading our cornucopia of fried yummies (everything is packaged in cones... snails, ribs, whitebait... everything accept for gelatto which comes on a stick)...
Palermo is a the city that time forgot... the decay could be oppressive but for it's extreme romance.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
things kiwis do in england:
ride on the tube. check.
complain about how expensive things are. check.
marvel at the ubiquity of slapperness. check.
go and see a kiwi rocker. check. (thanks bic runga, you are legund)
eat a luke warm pub meal. check.
drink flat beer. check.
sleep on the floor with 12 other kiwis. (ok not everything - thanks geoff and kerryn for comfiest bed in the northern nothern hemisphere).
love skipping winter and dropping in on spring. check.
ride on the tube. check.
complain about how expensive things are. check.
marvel at the ubiquity of slapperness. check.
go and see a kiwi rocker. check. (thanks bic runga, you are legund)
eat a luke warm pub meal. check.
drink flat beer. check.
sleep on the floor with 12 other kiwis. (ok not everything - thanks geoff and kerryn for comfiest bed in the northern nothern hemisphere).
love skipping winter and dropping in on spring. check.
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