Off-Roading, Tuscan-style

The beach turned out to be a much needed reprieve from the non-stop of the past 2 weeks. It was wonderful to lay out on the sand enjoying the abundant sunshine, water, and men in speedos (ok, that part is NEVER wonderful). I (Joel) even took a chance on the chilly Mediterranean and was certainly not let down. It was cold, but hey, after a 100+ inch winter in Madison, I couldn’t resist. Back at the hotel we cleaned up and headed out to sample the local fare. We have not gotten used to the schedule in Italy yet. Normal time to eat in America: 6-7pm. Normal time to start considering eating in Italy: 9-10pm. So we were the first and only patrons of a local pizzeria from 7-8:30.

Yesterday morning we awoke to rain but still excited about a scheduled tour of a local vineyard. It was theoretically about 20 minutes away from our hotel, but alas, GPS guy took us the BACK WAY. Go figure—strike number 3 for our fancy friend. When the pavement turned to gravel, we acknowledged that it was not a good sign. When the road became a bit rockier in places, and we bottomed out a couple times, we thought this might be a bad idea. When we observed that our destination still appeared to be 4km away, we agreed that this might not be the best way. When the road became a completely rutted out and impassible riverbed, THAT’s when we turned back. But not without the help of our friendly vineyard hand, Spartico (aka Tarzan to the staff, although with a name like Spartico, why do you even need the nickname?). The tour was fantastic, and we learned much about the area, the precise and interesting science of cultivating and harvesting grapes, and the process of turning them into fine wine. Most importantly we got to do some REAL off-roading (in a Land Rover designed for it) that had us sliding sideways on a hill trying to keep forward momentum in the wet clay. Our guide was most adept, but Roger wished he had worn a helmet.

On the road again, we made our way northward to Pisa. We had passed by it on our drive down to the hotel from Cinque Terre, but in our exhaustion, had not wanted to stop. By yesterday afternoon, with the rain having subsided and the sun attempting to find its way through the clouds, we set out with one singular purpose: That infamous picture. Yep, you guessed it, the one where you pretend to be larger than life, holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa with your bare hands. You know the one I’m talking about (plus, it’s posted here). Winding our way into downtown and passing through an ancient city wall we came face to face with La Torre (the tower). It’s not as big as you might imagine, but every bit the novelty to see in person. It makes you question the ‘level’ness of everything else around you. It proved to be a great way to spend an hour, and a fantastic excuse for yet another round of gelato!

We enjoyed our final night in Tuscany by watching the sunset over the sea. Holly is already sad to say goodbye to the hotel mascot, Ox (or is it Axe—we’re not sure, but either would probably fit), a massive German Shepherd with nothing but LOVE for people (and some serious skills at keep-away). Another of those ‘things that wouldn’t fly in America’: Ox gets to come and go inside the hotel lobby, where he has a bed and water set up for him behind the reservation counter. When he wants out he just shoves the door with his huge noggin! He is giving Holly a much needed ‘dog-fix’ in the absence of Taylor and even got jealous when she was petting one of the horses on the property.

Today starts our final leg of the journey as we head for Rome! For now, Arrivaderci (goodbye)!

The Five Lands

We left Innsbruck on Saturday morning destined for what I was anticipating to be one of the best parts of our trip…Cinque Terre, Italy. Cinque Terre literally means “five lands” in Italian, and is so called because this coastal region is made up of five small towns linked together by hiking and walking trails…and lots of good ol’ Italian charm. We arrived in La Spezia, where we were hoping to park our car and then take the short train ride in to the southernmost town of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore, to find a B&B. All the books I read, and people I talked to, said that this would be quite easy in April, since the busy season for Cinque Terre doesn’t really start until June. Well…they didn’t know about the Italian National holiday that was in full-swing by the time we reached La Spezia. For about the next 3 hours, we frantically called hotel after hotel trying to find a place to stay…in broken Italian (good thing I brushed up a bit on the ride from Austria!). Every time, the answer was “sorry, we’re full.” We tried places in La Spezia, Pisa, Genova, Levanto, and all over Cinque Terre. FINALLY, I called a guy in a town about 20 km away who spoke NO English at all but had two available rooms. So we started our drive to Castlenuovo Magra and arrived at what turned out to be another not-so-fantastic hotel. Upon seeing the rooms (basically in the basement of this place, looking out into the alleyway) we were not so sure about staying there. Explaining this to the owner led us to our first experience with the well-known Italian “pouty-face” which pretty much suckered us into taking us the rooms. It wasn’t the ideal place, but hey, it was a bed and a bathroom. Plus, it was late and we really couldn’t afford to be looking all over the place (again) for rooms. The only saving grace was that the hotel was just down the mountain from a gorgeous castle town. So we drove up there as the sun was setting, giving us a breathtaking view of the Italian countryside. We ate at a quaint little restaurant in the village, then headed back to our dungeon…I mean hotel.

Having had to give up on the Cinque Terre dream of waking up on the ocean in a cute B&B, we decided to make the best of the situation and set out early for Riomaggiore. Surprisingly, the crowds had dwindled from the day before and we were able to find a parking spot not far from town. It didn’t take long to forget about the trials of the day before. Cinque Terre is absolutely stunning. We walked into Riomaggiore, then set out on the walking trail headed for the next town up, Manarola. These very small towns are precariously built on the cliffs by the sea, with buildings that are colorful and piled on top of each other. Everywhere you go, there are windows open with clothes hanging out to dry, and the vivacious sounds of the Italian language streaming out of them. Vineyards and olive trees cling to vertical hills, leaving you to wonder how they are even tended and harvested. Church bells ring in every town and the smells of bread, olive oil and pizza abound…adding to the charm of these beautiful lands. After a quick stop for our first Italian ice cream (or gelato) we continued on by way of a more rugged hike to the next town, Corniglia.

In Corniglia, we stopped for a quick lunch and decided to try our feet at some serious mountain trails. Just how serious they would be (or how far) we didn’t realize at the time. Four hours, 6 miles and 2,000 feet up/2000 feet down later we arrived at our car…out of breath, numb from the waist down and completely drained. But it was all worth it! The views that this crazy hike offered us were second to none. And being able to get off the beaten path to escape the hub-bub below, was a real treat. Today, however, we’re paying for that 

After our adventure, we decided to head on to Tuscany a day earlier than our original plan. The hotel we had booked for two nights there had availability for a third night so we jumped on it (given our previous two experiences in room-hunting!). Unfortunately, strike number two for the GPS guy occurred on the way to the hotel (as we looked for a supermarket). It’s still too fresh to talk about it…maybe tomorrow. But alas, we are here in Tuscany in the midst of Cypress trees and vineyards. Our hotel is lovely and gives a great breakfast. And now we’re going to head to the Sea for a day of resting our legs at the beach! Ciao!

The hills are alive with the sound of...screaming children

(We’ve got some catching up to do, so our apologies that this post is long.)
Our adventures in Austria began with a short stop in Vienna and a picturesque drive through some quaint little towns along the Danube. They ended with the sound of screaming children running up and down the halls of our hotel in Innsbruck 2 hours before we WANTED to get up a day later. We won’t dwell on that part…

A short 2-hour drive from Budapest, Vienna is situated in eastern Austria well before you get into the Alps. It’s a beautiful, old city, and it’s easy still to envision what it might have looked like 2 or even 3 hundred years ago. Horse-drawn carriages still wrangle for position on the streets with today’s cars, and whole sections of the historic downtown are reserved for pedestrian traffic only. We made our way to St. Stephen’s Basilica in the heart of it all, and then back towards Café Central for some soup and sandwiches. A very nice parking cop, when we asked about our car and how to buy a parking sticker, noting the Hungarian plates and struggling to communicate in English, told us to enjoy our stay in Vienna – for free! That was fantastic, and we were quite glad we asked, as I’m sure we would have gotten ticketed—or even towed—in that space.

We continued further west to the town of Krems, where we reconnected with the Danube for a stretch of incredibly memorable little towns and castles. The Danube runs through both Vienna and Budapest, but it begins further up in the hills and passes through these towns we were seeing. The day was gorgeous with the sun shining and some clouds floating by, and it made for a great time of picture-taking. We wound along the river for several miles, detouring a bit to take in Burgruine Aggstein, a beautiful 900-year old castle perched high above the river. Unfortunately it was closed to visitors, but we were able to take in the incredible panoramic from up there. We continued on to Melk where we found a cute little B&B to stay in and then had Weiner Schnitzel in an outdoor café. Seriously, who can pass that up when you’re in Austria!

Day number 2 in Austria took us to Salzburg along the Salzach river, situated at the base of the Alps. ‘Salz’ in German means ‘salt’, and it’s easy to tell that it’s a staple in most of their cuisine. Salzburg boasts another beautiful fortress perched high above the city, and the most well-preserved in all of Europe as it was never successfully conquered. We wound our way up some tiny streets and through alleyways that without our GPS unit we would otherwise have never found (which taught us to trust that wiley GPS guy – a lesson we would regret at various points later on) to the base of the mountain. The fortress is essentially a small village on top of the mountain with a panoramic view out to the Alps to the west and the flatter terrain of the city and beyond to the east. We walked through the courtyards and took a short tour inside part of the castle and left with a better understanding of the history of this place.

After a quick lunch with rain beginning to spit at us, we set out westward for Innsbruck. This city is situated in a huge valley surrounded by the Alps on all sides, and had it been a clear day I’m sure it is breathtaking. As it was, the cloud and fog obscured the upper peaks and it rained off and on the whole night we were there. We set about the task of finding a place to stay, but this proved to be a bit more difficult here. After looking all over town and even a detour onto a steep, unpaved lane—that we had to back out of because there was nowhere to turn around (strike number one for that GPS guy), we finally landed on a not-so-fantastic place about 5 buildings away from where we started in the first place. But it had a bed and we made the best of our night on the town, taking the umbrellas to a small café for dinner, and then another small café for dessert. The food was great and the night was a success!

The next morning, as mentioned earlier, gave us a rude awakening and the inspiration for the title of this blog. It also added a year or 2 onto our ‘family plan’ (if you know what I mean).

Beyond Budapest

Hey Folks!Today we embark on the next phase of our journey! We are leaving Budapest and bound for Austria this morning. I love the fact that in Europe, cities and places that we've heard of all our lives are actually quite close together. Budapest and Vienna are only about 2 hours apart, so we'll be stopping there for lunch. Interestingly, both Hungary and Austria were on the losing side of BOTH world wars, but since then the development of the economies in these countries has diverged significantly. Russia got ahold of Hungary and the effects of the communist regime are still felt here, even though they are in the 2nd decade since the wall fell. It is getting better but not nearly as good here as western Europe. Austria, on the other hand, is much better off because Russia never took over there, so they are a major player in the European Union economy.

Yesterday, we walked around Budapest and saw some of the major sights from high above the city. It was rainy and drizzly most of the day, but that didn't take away from the beauty of this old urban center. The city of 2 million people is centered on the Danube river, and began as 3 much smaller cities that merged together as bridges were built: Old Buda and Buda on the hilly east side, and Pest (pronounced 'Pesht') on the completely flat western side. We hiked up and around the castle district to some beautiful overlook points, and then spent a couple hours in the evening at a natural thermal bath called Széchenyi (pronounced: 'your guess is as good as mine'). It was a pretty great, and relaxing, way to end the day (no, the picture here is not ours, as it was rainy all day).

So the Alps are beckoning and we are off to meet them. First stop, Vienna, and then we're following the winding Danube (at least for a stretch) into the mountain climes. Until next time, Sziasztoa! (goodbye in Hungarian)

And the journey continues...

Greetings from Budapest! We arrived safely and on time tonight, and were happily greeted by our friends, Heidi and Roger. Although we were sad to say good-bye to Ireland, we were excited to meet up with our pals and knew that many more days of adventure lay ahead. After leaving the airport, Heidi and Roger drove us into the city...a stunning place to see at night with all of the buildings lit up. The architecture is so different from anything I've seen, having never been to eastern Europe (Joel has already been here several times). The buildings are gorgeous, in a haunting kind of way. The photo loaded in this blog is the parliament building, taken from across the Danube River after we ate some great Hungarian crepes. The prices here are much better than they were in Ireland, by the way, which is a relief! But the dollar really does stink right now!! We were basically paying almost double with the Euro (exchange rate 1.65 dollars/euro). However, Hungary is relatively new to the European Union and has not switched over to the Euro yet. So for the next couple days we'll be using the Forint...the Hungarian currency. But then it's back to the wallet-emptying Euro when we leave for Austria on Thursday. Can't wait :)

Well, it's 1:45am here now and we've been having a great time catching up with Heidi and Roger. So I should get back to the conversation and eventually get to sleep so we can hit the town and see more of Budapest tomorrow. We'll be writing more when we get a chance! We're glad you're all enjoying hearing from us. Keep the comments coming...we love hearing from everyone!

Home Sweet Home

We boarded our ferry yesterday morning from Inis Mor destined for a day of driving along the western coast. We made our way back through Galway and down to the cliffs of Moher. I don't really know what all the hype is about...I mean seriously, 600ft cliffs dropping down to the atlantic stretching for several miles in either direction is nothing to write home about. But I guess I am. Honestly it was gorgeous, and something I'm glad we got to see (at least once) in our lifetimes.

We made our way through Limerick (the murder capital of Europe, an honor we heard about on talk radio) and continued along beautiful winding coastal roads. Now let me just say that driving here elicits terror at various moments. We're starting to understand why no credit card 'collision waiver' programs will cover driving rental cars here (Ireland and Northern Ireland account for 2 of the 4 countries in the world where the insurance is not offered). Again, one of those 'things that don't fly in America' - A posted speed limit of 100km/h on incredibly narrow, winding, and often steep roads. For reference, consider this: 100km/h is about 65mph - the speed limit of most freeways in WI. I don't think I ever touched more than 40mph for most of those stretches of road. I guess they figure, Hey, you can go that fast if you want to, but you're an idiot if you do!

So on to the title of this blog...Many of you know that a secret dream of ours is to run a B&B someday...well, we've found the place we'd like to live out that dream. So went ahead and put some money down on a 6-bedroom home for sale right here on the Dingle Peninsula. OK OK OK you got me...that's a total lie. But we did just peruse the current listings at a real estate agency to see what's out there :) Anybody want to help us out with ooohhh, about 400,000 Euro? We'll give you the "friends and family" discount if you come visit us!

In all seriousness, this place is heaven and we're wishing we had planned to stay for more than one night. So it is offically on our list of places to come back to. Yesterday when we arrived we were greeted by our fantastic B&B host, Maggie, who brought us to our beautiful room with the most gorgeous view of Dingle Harbor in the whole town. We then set out on the "Slea Head" Drive which takes you around the peninsula for stunning views of dramatic cliffs, 2500-3000 year-old ruins of forts and holy sites, churchs built by some of Europe's first Christians, and lots and lots of sheep. At one point we got out of the car to explore an old church ruin surrounded by an ancient cemetery, and all you could hear around you were the waves crashing below and sheep baah-ing all around and up the cliff side. It was breathtaking...a true taste of Ireland.

When we finished our drive we headed to a local pub for a good ol' craic (the Irish word for a night of "good conversation and music"). The three musicians played traditional Irish music, including Joel's favorite, "Black Velvet Band." Ask him to sing it for you when we get home :) We met an American couple there from NYC who were here for a week taking a similar whirlwind road trip through the country. But the difference was...they are planning to find their new home, as they are moving here for at least a year. Can we say, jealous?! (just kidding, moms! - for the moment anyway)

Gone with the wind...

Well we are a bit wind blown today but having a great time on the island of Inis Mor! Our B&B is cute as ever and has a fantastic view of the ocean below. We rented bikes this morning at 10am and started our trek all over this 11km by 2km island. We turned the bikes in at 4pm with a lot more miles on them, and again, we hurt all over!! But at least we're working off all of our greasy Irish fare :)

Some highlights of the day: Biking to the far southern end of the island to find a small, deserted chapel ruin (St. Benen's). St. Benen was a disciple of St. Patrick who lived in the 5th century AD. The church was about 6ft by 10ft...I think humans are larger these days :) From this point of the island, high atop a hill, you can see both shores of Inis Mor. Pretty incredible.

We then biked to the northern side of the island, taking in the countless miles and mazes of rock walls, which the Aran Islands are famous for. We made our way to an old viking fort called Dun Aengus, which was built somewhere between 200BC and 400AD. We had another one of those "things that wouldn't fly in America" moments as we walked into the fort and found ourselves looking over a 250 foot cliff straight down into the turbulent atlantic. Yeah, not in America. Perhaps in other settings that cliff might not be daunting, but again, note the title. We weren't so interested in BEING that today. Most of the day the winds were 20-30mph nonstop, with gusts up to 50 or so, which meant that climbing to the edge of the cliffs with the wind at your back involved a G.I. Joe (or Jane) crawl to the edge to get a look down. The view down was pretty incredible--shortlived, but incredible.

It turns out that biking 7-8km into a direct headwind takes a while. There were downhill stretches that I couldn't believe I had to pedal to keep any kind of momentum going against the wind. But eventually we made it back and tonight we are enjoying some Irish music at one of the local hotels in town.

Tomorrow we are heading back to Galway and making our way along the western coast of Ireland to the Dingle peninsula. Should include a stop at the cliffs of Moher, so we'll see how that compares with todays adventures. Cheers!

The other side of the road

Well, yesteday we rented a car in Dublin and set out for Galway. I'm not going to lie to you...I like a good challenge now and then, so the idea of conquering the roads and learning to drive on the left side was both intriguing and a little nerve-wracking. Upon inspection, the clutch, brake, were all in the same spot as I'm used to, and the stickshift has the same gearing configuration. So that was good news! But it is pretty interesting sitting on the other side of the car--which leads to humerous moments like going to the wrong side of the car to get in, reaching for my seatbelt at the MIDDLE of the car, and instinctually wanting to shift with my rigth hand--But the concept of sticking to the left side of the road, while still requiring a fair bit of mental energy, has begun to sink in. (Moms, don't worry, we haven't had anything resembling a close call yet!)

We took the car immediately on the highway, abiding very closely to the 120km/hr speed limits, and set out for Galway. Dublin is on the eastern coast of Ireland, and Galway is exactly opposite on the western coast. However, Galway is a much smaller, and very quaint town. We spent last night finding our B&B and then finding a spot for dinner and some fine Irish music at the local eateries. We got a wide range of music, from the American cover band (yes, Marvin Gaye with an irish accent) to the fiddle/accordian folk jam, to the traditional Irish folk session (a couple guys singing the folk favorites while everyone sings along). It was a lot of fun and we stayed out far too late. But all in all a great time.

Today, we are spending the day in town before we head to the ferry for Inis Mor. More navigating the roads along the coast, which should be fun!

Gute Fahrt!

Despite how it sounds, Gute Fahrt is German for Good Travels -- which is exactly what we've had so far! We arrived in Frankfurt on time yesterday morning after a very restful flight. Once in the airport we had our first "well, that wouldn't fly in America" experience when I used the ladies' room after a male janitor welcomed us on in. :) Then we spent the whole day bumming around the city, backpacks and all! We hurt all over today, but both agree that it's a good kind of hurt...one that means that our feet have taken us all over a new part of the world. Frankfurt, by the way, was beautiful, clean, and full of friendly and helpful people. We learned history, ate HUGE pretzels and saw some great German architecture.

After a 2 hour bus ride to our next airport, we boarded our first Ryan Air flight of the trip. With a slogan like "We Fly Cheaper" you can imagine that it doesn't boast the amenities that it's larger airline neighbors do. But they mean business! We boarded, buckled up and took off in TOTAL of about 6 minutes...never stopping to even line up on the runway for take-off. Our landing was equally fast...probably the fastest ever and seemingly completed on about 100 yards of runway. Might have had something to do with the plane landing right on our heels :) Guess they don't mess around over here!

Today we ate breakfast at our little budget hotel...and I do mean BUDGET. But hey, it was a bed and shower that was very much needed! Then we bummed around Dublin and saw some really great (and OLD) sights...St. Patrick's cathedral, Christ Church cathedral, Dublin Castle, Trinity College and the Temple Bar area. It's a bit chilly and spitting rain here and there, but that's adding to the charm of this historical city. So now we're on our way to the car rental place! Hopefully we survive driving on the left side of the road to write to you again soon! Prayers are much welcome :)