Leaving Cademario, Switzerland

Swiss flag flower garden

It wouldn't be a Priestley holiday without a car drama . Our car the Hyundai Sonata (affectionately known as Frank) needs new brake pads so we have been here for a few days until it gets fixed. You can imagine the problems we had explaining it all in my very poor Italian or Ron's English. We have Joanna to help us. She speaks Italian, German, English, French, Portuguese and some others (as they do in these parts) and has been a great help.

Lelo our mechanic was the best looking mechanic I have ever seen. Now that Pammie has requested more hunk photos I may give up on birds. Anyway I was too shy to take his photo so Pammie you will just have to imagine. The mechanics all wear the same uniforms, in this case red overalls and black T shirts.

What we like best about Switzerland:
*the efficient mechanics,
*the efficiency everywhere from the recycling stations to the public telephones with computer to send email and fax as well. (see picture below)
*friendly people always trying to guess which language to answer you in, (after they have heard my Italian)
*cheap beer (that's Rons)
*someone is always cleaning or mowing something
*the scenery, the Alps
*the walks and the forests, I have seen deer, hare and fox as well as many birds
*the weather
*the chocolate

Public telephone and computer with email, fax options (not vandalised) in a very small village

Saint Bernardino Pass

What we like least about Switzerland:
*the poor air quality, which is common throughout Europe, but particularly bad here
*the hair pin bends and the mad driving (though not as bad as Italy)
*expensive meat, chicken and fish


After all that we will be sorry to leave. Thanks David and Kim for having us.

Lady beetles

Hello to Uncle George
I've heard that I have a few devoted blog followers (besides my Mum) in particular my Uncle George. Just a quick hello to George and Helen and I am thrilled that you are with us. You should be able to leave comments at the end of the blogs. I have just looked at the settings and opened it up for comments from all. Just click on comments at the end of the post and add as anonymous. Anyway if you want to start you own blog George just go to www.blogger.com and it is really simple only taking me about an hour to sort out my first post. Much love Angie

A night in Banco and a great lunch in Breno

Last night we went to a concert at a small hall (think Kohinur) in a small village called Banco. The music was great, Jersey Julia a fantastic saxophonist and her mate Mike Green played great blues.

The food was another story, the choice being chilli con carne or polenta with pork. Ron couldn’t have either so ended up with just polenta. See pictures below, I got a serious case of the giggles and Kim was no help. We were just very pleased there was nothing on offer for dessert. We survived just.

DAVID P is sending these photos by email, so we'll have to wait for them, but believe me they are worth seeing.

Lunch today at beautiful restaurant in Breno called "Betty and Luis" made up for last night. Our hosts Verana and Max were delightful. We had tomato soup with vodka, risotto, saltimbocca, Ron had fish and desserts to die for.

Max our chef

Desserts to die for, (white chocolate mouse, coffee ice cream, berry mousse, chantilly cream, rhubarb jelly, strawberries with raspberries).

Joanna, David and me

Kim trying to have a go at Ron's finger

David and Joanna, planning their ascent of Mount Rossa, and Ron

Said goodbye to Kim and David after a great weekend.

A holiday away from our holiday, Cademario, Switzerland

Leaving the caravan in Costaccario, we’re back in Cademario Switzerland catching up with Ron’s brother David and Kim. Kind of a holiday away from our holiday, it feels like home being back here again.

Inside David and Kim's house

Ron working on computer, at last we have good internet access.

We had lunch in Lugano and a great dinner at St Michele, Arosio.

David (Ron's brother ) and Kim

A cake shop in Lugano, if you look carefully you'll see a cape gooseberry in its lantern on the top

Salami shop in Lugano (Joanna tells us the salamis are fake)

Pammie, I found a hunk for you working at the restaurant in St Michele. I needed Kim to lure him for a photo. What do you think? He was so cute. When we asked for a menu, he replied in not so perfect English “I am the menu”, which amused us all.

Kim and "the menu"

Off to climb a mountain today with David, Kim will shop instead. Weather is a bit iffy so may catch the funicolare instead.

Ron and David at Funicolare terminal to San Salvatore, Lugano

Umbria

We have spent 10 nights in Costaccario now and have fallen in love with Umbria. We have a regime of walking in mountains one day and then visiting an historic town the next. We have been to Perugia, Siena, Assisi, Nocera Umbra, and a few others. Highlights have been the Duomo in Siena and St Franceso’s church in Assisi. The walking is fantastic. We also visited the Frasassi caves the largest in Europe, a 30km system. Because it was only discovered in 1970 it is very pristine (no soot from gas lighting etc that you see in some caves) exceptionally beautiful.

Siena

St Francis of Assisi Church

Small section of marble floor in Siena Duomo

more floor, absolutely beautiful

It was great to wander around Perugia where I lived for 4 months in 1980. My memories of that time are great but I was surprised at how little I remembered although after a while things started to come back to me. My Italian still isn’t much good but is better than nothing. I can understand more than I can speak.

Fountain in Perguia

Also went to St Egidio the small village where we rented a house while we were in Perugia. The airport is now there and the country surrounding Perugia is full of buildings and industry. Tried to find our house but it looked like it had been renovated and is now very up market. While the old town of Perguia is still the same the surrounding town has grown enormously.

I wasn’t going to tell this tale ….

but at the Gubbio Ceri Festival Ron had his wallet pick pocketed. He lost 2 drivers licences, 4 credit cards, phone cards and about $250. We went to Polizia and then the Carabinieri to report the theft and went home a bit upset as you can imagine. A few days later we are walking through Gubbio and a policeman recognised Ron and call us over to say they had the wallet. We were taken in police car to secret head quarters and were escorted through high security doors into the bowels of Italian police operations. The wallet was returned less money and credit cards but it was good to get licences back. We felt like real Gubbio locals to be known by the police. Ron said it was time to leave town.

Ducklings near Acona

Gubbio, 15th May, The Race of the Ceri

I loved Gubbio the first time I visited 28 years ago on Good Friday for “The Procession of the Dead”. This centuries old tradition is a representation of Christ’s Passion where effigies of the dead Christ, Our Lady of Sorrow and a skull that symbolises Golgotha are carried (more like run) through the streets at night by men dressed in hooded sackcloth (think KKK), playing strange instruments that rattle and carry flaming torches. Bonfires are lit along the path. It was a strange and moving event especially for a young atheist from Brisbane and something I have never forgotten.

Gubbio is the kind of town where their Basilica on the top of Mount Ingino has the bones of their founding Saint U’baldo entombed in a glass neo gothic coffin for all to see. He died in 1160. I loved Gubbio the first time for it strange ceremony, its ancient buildings set against a stunning Mount Ingino (rising 400m from the town). It is for this reason we came to this part of Italy first, to be near Gubbio.

Gubbio has trebled in size since 1980 and is surrounded by carparks. The new development isn’t too bad with the red tile roofs helping to keep the character of the town. I must say I was a little disappointed though. It wasn’t the ancient town I remembered.

The new and the old Gubbio

Gubbio now has the world’s largest Christmas tree illumination on the side of Monte Ingino. We obviously missed that, but did see Saint U’baldo’s bones. While we failed to see the other dozen or so churches we were there for the most significant event in the Gubbian calendar, the Race of the Ceri.

This all day event is basically a race of three statues of Saints U’baldo, Giorgio, and Antonio carried on Ceri a strange heavy wooden structure to the top of Mount Ingino. The local people are all dressed as one of the Saint’s supporters, with shirts of

*yellow for U’baldo proctector of masons,

*blue for Giorgio protector of merchants,

*and black for Antonio protector of farmers,

They all wear white pants, red waist sashes and red neck scarves, all ages, both male and female.

The ceremony begins

Saint Giorgio

St Antonio


St U'baldo

The Blue team carrying the Ceri.

There were thousands of people, wine flowing in the streets, bands, chanting, and singing, and much running through the streets carrying the ceri. We were admonished by a local for not dressing up in traditional costume. He lamented that he was stuck living in Gubbio because it was the best place in the world to be born with a warm close community and he needed visitors like us to tell him what is going on in the outside world. He’d had a few wines by then, but I could see his point. I still love Gubbio.

Crowd Scene, we nearly were squashed at one point, Ron kept saying things like, keep you arms in front of your chest and don't fall over, and he wonders why I don't want to go to the soccer with him!

The Grande Piazza, Gubbio

The Roman Theatre dated 1st century

We also walked the Roman aqueduct, if you look carefully you can see it winding its way around the hillside. It is now used to carry water pipes. Some things never change.

Umbria, Italy

In our mission to avoid the crowds we arrived at a camping ground 4 km outside of a tiny village called Costacciaro. This village is on the eastern side of Umbria near the Monte Cucco National Park and is about a 20 min drive from Gubbio. We were the only people here, in fact we were not sure the place was even open. We decided to set camp as we had driven the 450km from Switzerland and had no intentions of going another meter. We have now been here for 4 nights. It is a beautiful campground and since our first night a few other tourists have turned up.

The Monte Cucco National Park is fantastic, apparently the home to wolves and wild boars. Part of the Apennines, Monte Cucco is 1500 m and the snow has just gone. We have done several walks and not seen another person. The wildflowers are superb, better than I have ever seen with an enormous variety. Wild jonquils, cyclamens, pansies, primrose, violets, daisies, buttercups, and a hundred others I don’t recognise. We have also been fossil hunting on the mountain with some success.

Walking around Mt Cucco

Looking for our campsite

Yesterday we did the Hermits tour walking between an Abbey and a Monastery and then driving to 2 other abbeys. This area is famous for it monastic traditions. All these buildings were built around 900’s and have been restored numerous times since. These are the 4 we visited.

Look carefully to see the abbey here.

My favourite Italian road sign. What do you imagine they want you to do, drive faster to avoid collapsing road or all breath in??

My first European snake.

Cademario, Ticino, Switzerland

Living in a small village halfway up the side of a Swiss mountain has been great fun. We have done some wonderful walks.

Today we have done a 4 hour walk in a beautiful valley with historic mining and milling sites and the remains of an ancient Roman castle. After going up and down many steep hills we finally came to an old forge powered by a water wheel which produced spades, scythes, sickles and shovel up until 1940s. Here in the middle of nowhere we had lunch. See below.

Ron running towards the Heineken at the forge

Our (on the trail) lunch

View fom cademario

Walking trail

This is how you build a shed Swiss style. Ron looks on in wonder and envy.

There are literally hundreds of walks nearby which are well signposted

Another great walk Sentiero di Gandria along Lake Lugano, wound through small laneways and old olive groves. The climate by the lake is quiet mild with palm tress growing and even a few bananas. David describes this area as like being in Italy but without the tourists. Very nice.

Shadow of palm leavesView on the Sentiero di Gandria




A good trout stream, maybe???

Also we met up with David’s good friend Joanna. She works for WWF specialising in bears particularly in Alaska. Marco she knows everything there is to know about the new invasion of bears into Switzerland from Italy. There is a core population of about 25 in Italy and 2 of these have wandered over the border into the Valbella region. Apparently one of these was shot in April as the mayor from Lenzerheide (I think) was not very cooperative. Joanna said a new strategy for garbage disposal was needed to discourage the bears from the urban areas and the shooting could have been avoided.

Joanna and me in her vineyard tasting her first ever salami. It was good.

Joanna's village Breno

Joanna gave us a bottle of her 2006 Grappa, the bit that survived the hail storm.

We also found a Ramsar site near Lacarno at the delta of the Ticino and Vereasca rivers as they flow into Lake Maggiore. This area is one of the few remaining continental deltaic ecosystems as most rivers in Switzerland are channelled and their deltas have been destroyed. These deltas once provided an important resting place for migratory birds before they crossed the Alps. This site Bolle di Magadino is being recovered as part of the international Ramsar agreement.

If you look closely you can see the head of a baby grebe which is sitting on the back of its mother a Great Grebe.

Trioddity have you ever been cycling in Switzerland? (I bet you have) You would not be alone, there are numerous packs of well kitted out (lots of lycra) cyclists climbing the most ridiculous hills. They have calf muscles like iron blocks. There are cycle lanes on nearly all of the roads and there is much more respect given to cyclists by motorists here than in England or Australia. I wonder what the collective term for a group of cyclists is? A peddle, a muddle, a lycra or as Ron suggests an obstruction. Any better ones??

And finally one for the boys, we found this van just up the road. I think they are heating and or pluming specialists - maybe not as good a name as Manyana Plumbing.