Brendan has returned from roaming-in-Rome, with the camera, so I can show you some of the photos from our little holiday in Tuscany, with our Adelaide friends Jake and Teresa.
As always, we tried to see too much, and consequently spent too much time on hot, confusing trains- or worse, waiting on hot, confusing station platforms. At the end of one afternoon doing just that, we finally made it around dusk to a railway town somewhere near our pension. The owner of the pension came and picked us up (by this time we had missed the last bus). He took us up a narrow valley lined with marble quarries and marble-mills (I'm not sure if that's the right word- the places where they make the marble into big square blocks, or long and narrow gravestone shapes, or chips...) . The Alpi Apuane (and in particular, Carrera) is famous for marble; some mountain tops look snow covered, even now the middle of summer. Anyway, up and yet further up we went. We left the last town behind, and lurched along an unsealed road. Finally, just as the sun was setting, we reached a little stone house in the middle of the forest, on the edge of the hill. It was like arriving in heaven, way up there. Heaven with home-made pasta. And lots of goats, which I'm sure is theologically dodgy.
The only problem with this place was that the next morning we were sorely tempted to stay there for the next couple of days, rather than walk around the mountains as planned. Anyway, we set off. The next two days we walked around the mountains, beginning with a spectacular rock arch (the locals say that a plane could fly through it).
We stayed overnight at a rifugi (refuge!), where they provided beds and dinner--- it certainly was much easier just carrying a day pack, rather than food, tents, bedding and the rest.
In the photo above, you can just make out Jake and Teresa resting on the outcrop in the middle of the picture, and if you peer even closer, me walking along the track at the bottom right. (You can make the photo bigger by clicking on it). In places the path was lined with gravel, which was of course marble chips. Like walking on someone's grave. But with better scenery. We didn't see much wild life, except for green lizards and many beautiful insects.
Our walk ended up in yet another tiny village. Up above the town, you can see the arch in the ridge.
I wish we had spent more time in the mountains. I will write more about the other places we went later (have you gotten the postcard yet?).
Mum says you have a cold- I hope you are not too miserable. As they say here "gute Besserung!" (good recovery- or as we would say, get better!)
Much love as always,
Julie.
