3 FUNKY GUYS

Here we are - 3 funky guys who enjoy their bike riding and socialising together.

Yes we are wise and we do like to monkey around.

But Sue has a differing opinion

The weekend is not looking good with heavy rain forecast however we are joining about 20 couples for a weekend on the Mornington Peninsula. It will be a coffee, wine and foodie experience in a really nice part of the world with fun people.

VENICE

Our week long stay in Monticchiello had come to an end. The little Citroen C3 was chokkas full of our cases - why is it that on your first big overseas trip, you pack more than you need. We travel with less these days.
I think Tuscany was sad to see us leave as the sky was crying. We had rain most of the way but by now I was comfortable driving in all conditions with the steering wheel on the opposite side.
The drive took us by the many towns we never had time to visit. The signs enticed us to Cortona, Arezzo, Prato, and Bologna as we drove along the A1 before diverting to Venice on the A13 to Padua.
We decided we wanted to be in Venice as early as possible to explore as soon as we arrived - well that was a silly notion. I think it took as much time to find our hotel as it did to drive to Venice.


What more can I say - this is Venice as we all imagined!!



The view from San Marco on a rainy day as the water encroaches on the Piazza.



The bridge of sighs where between the Palazzo Ducale and the prison.


On arriving at the Tronchetto parking island we were escorted by what we thought were very thoughtful and courteous valets to our waiting water transport to Venice proper. WRONG!!
These guys were Venice Cowboys soliciting motor boat transportation at incredibly high taxi fares compared to the normal water buses. We were ushered down flights of stairs and out of the car park to some shaky wharf to be whizzed off with one or two other couples. Oh, well - you live and learn. And we did because on our return journey a few days later we took the water bus.



And how lovely is the Rialto Bridge across the Grand Canal?

 We arrived just near Piazza San Marco by the cowboy water taxi and our first view was of Palazzo Ducale.
With my hand in my pocket, I paid our fare and before I knew it, the water taxi was gone to look for other unsuspecting souls like us.
With map in hand, we walked the labrynth of Venice with no idea where to find our hotel. Sue need to stop and absorb her inner self before returning to the map. Being the Mule, I quite enjoyed the rest and took off my back pack and leaned against a wall for less than 5 minutes before we were off again. Before I knew it, I was less one backpack. PANIC. I couldn't remember what was in it. Our travel documents, I don't remember. Back and forth but no backpack to be found.

These two photos were taken from either side of the Rialto bridge

We finally found our hotel and reported our stolen/lost backpack. Sue hates me, I feel so miserable.
The people at the hotel when told of our predicament were so helpful and our room was lovely after a full on stressful day.

The following day we emerged from our hotel to discover Piazza San Marco flooded. The Piazza was set up with trestle type walk ways so the tourists didn't get their little cotton socks wet, while the locals wore gum boots.

We were walking on the trestles when confronted with a swarm of Japanese tourists, all with cameras raised at eye level. We turned and scampered away before almost being pushed into the knee deep in water.

We spent the whole day just wandering the streets and taking in the truly uniqueness of Venice. Our afternoon coffee was interrupted by the familiar accent of Aussies and we couldn't help ourselves in joining in with them. They were a bunch of mature women enjoying a crusine tour and cooking classes.

That evening we had no idea where we would eat so we decided to just stroll the narrow passageways and let our noses choose the way. I can't remember our meal but I do remember striking up a conversation with a couple from California, well San Francisco really. I do like their relaxed accent. I told them that I spent a summer there in 79 and they said that I was fortunate to be there at that time. They had recently move to one of the outlining wine growing valleys and had become disenchanted with SF city life.

Our stay in Venice was short but very moving and the photographs bring back pleasant memories despite the trauma of losing my backpack and the documents that I believed may have been inside. But this all had a very strange twist to it and more will be revealed next Wednesday.

As Weekends Go!

Melbourne - Our Home is now 12 months old. We progressed on from our travel blog of the not so popular (by Sue) of Leaping Leon's French Fancies. I must admit that I'm a bit embarrassed by the title now.
It came about because its my nick name with my cycling friends, the Bayside Bandidos (mid-life crisis cycling gang).
 After we returned from our 2009 trip to France we change the blog to Melbourne - home, mainly to share our weekly experiences in Melbourne with the people we have met on our travels.
Sometimes I wonder who reads our ramblings but people keep diaries - this is just a diary but a shared one.
We seem to have created a little interest out there as we have just passed the 20,000 hit mark on our 1st anniversary.
Please don't be shy - say hello by posting a comment as we love to share comments from people in all corners of the world.

Anyway - back to our weekend.



After being tailed off from the fast boys, I took time to take in the view of Melbourne - our Home.
Port Phillip Bay on a sunny Saturday morning.



I haven't been able to ride as much as I would like lately as my L5 disc is giving me a fair amount of grief with a bit of leg discomfort but we are working on it. Saturday morning was just one of those perfect mornings with the bay looking like a mill pond at 7.30 am. I made an exit out the back of the bunch once the fast boys stepped up the pace and decided to take in the view at a more leisurely pace, hence a photograph that I have included.



5.30 AM and following the riders on their 24 hour epic fund raising ride.
The sun is starting to rise over the bay.

And daylight appears as the riders pass the historic Ëdgewater" Mentone Hotel.

The boys and girls of our cycling group are a very community conscious group and this weekend they organised a fundraising 24 hour charity ride to raise funds for our local hospital. I believe their target was $30,000 and that they were very close to that.

Yes, I know it was last year's jersey but the tradition continues.
RIDING for GOOD.

As I mentioned my cycling is slightly curtailed at the moment so I volunteered myself for the safety car roster for a couple of hours.

The group were amazing! not only did they raise a fantastic amount of money for the hospital, but they collectively cycled an amazing distance over the 12 hours. One of the riders, a lady in her 50s travelled just over 200 kms and this was just after she traded the mountain bike for a light weight carbon road bike.



The end of 24 hours in the saddle and the riders enjoyed the welcome by family and friends, and a nice cool beer (or three)  I suspect.

I'm very proud  to be part of these wonderful people.

BTW, it wasn't all fun and games this weekend - there were some chores to be done as we will be away next weekend with our cycling friends once again.
The lawns were mowed, the garden beds were weeded and I clean up the garden path. It had weeds growing up through the brick work joins so it was time to add some sand and mortar to give a new lease of life. The house is about to be given a lot more attention with the coming good weather.



Later on I cleaned up the surfaces of the bricks.
Sue has a herb garden she is developing either side of the pathway.
Hopefully I can post some pics in a few weeks time.

 

Not perfect but we both like that "go with the flow" feeling with most things in life!



That was our weekend - Don't be shy, tell us about your weekend on comments.
Venice on Wednesday.

Funky Friday

Funky Friday turns into welcome weekend

and the chance to use the new BBQ

Notice the mushrooms above the grill.

It only proves that I'm a Fungi.

(that's a really bad joke but it is Friday)

Goodbye Monticchiello

Friday October 20, 2006 was our last full day in Monticchiello. Rather than rushing out to discover more of the surrounding sights, we decided to just enjoy what has been our home for the last week. It was a home in many ways to us. Since this first trip we have always organised other week long stays during our travels. Spending a week in one place allows you to appreciate your surroundings, meet people and treasure the memories in later years.

We sat in the cafe to just enjoy our local surroundings for the last time before leaving for Venice.

From the diary:
A restful, rainy day that we used to hang around Monticchiello and recharge our batteries for the long drive to Venice tomorrow.
It has drizzled or rained all day and the colours of the hills are soft and subdued, but still lovely.
We packed and repacked our bags in an effort to take only one suitcase to Venice after leaving the car just to make it a little easier for our three day stay.


Although only a small village, small undiscovered areas would emerge.



We took a visit to the cemetary outside the village walls. It ocurred to me that the cemetary had a greater population than the village. Monticchiello can be seen at the top of the gates.

 Lunch was at the little bar down at the entrance to the village - We both had Crostini, Leon's with egglant and mozzorella, mine with pecorino and colonarata because I really didn't know what it was. (she's adventurous). The waitress said it was pork but really it was just pork fat.
With the usual coffee and nibblies, it was a pleasant experience with conversation with the waitress/owner and then with a group of middle-aged Irish walking group.
Later in the afternoon our host Barbara popped around with a warm doona as the weather had turned cooler. How thoughtful of her.

Why is it that cat's always seem to find the most comfortable spots to rest?

In return, we gave her our remaining tube of Vegemite to remember us by. Not sure it was to her taste but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?
Off to La Porta for dinner tonight to celebrate a week that will remain with us a lifetime.

Check it out here.

http://www.osterialaporta.it/monticchiello.en.php

And don't forget to look at Barbara's Website.

http://www.lemaribelle.it/

Although not religious, Sue decided to light a candle in the church of Monticchiello for our son Andrew who was now safely in Moscow.



One last look at Monticchiello and hoping one day to return.

After a wonderful dinner at La Porta it was off to bed for the drive to Venice and another life experience to be remembered. Oh, yes and another minor drama but more about that next Wednesday.