Valley of The Temples

Our accommodation is ideally situated for excursions in all directions, we are spoilt for choice but opted first to head east to Akragas and the temples. The city was founded in 581 BC by the Greeks and quickly rose to prominence due to the fertile land surrounding it and proximity to the sea. It traded in produce and horses and was soon declared by the Greek Poet Pindar to be "the most beautiful city of the mortals". Laid out in 'processional composition' and sitting on a rocky ridge the highest of the 8 temples built in the Doric Order is Temple of Juno:

The Greeks traded with Carthage peacefully until 406BC when the Carthaginians destroyed the city, Temple of Concord remains the most intact.

The city became a battleground of the Punic wars between the Carthaginians and Romans with the latter eventually taking control and renaming AGRIGENTO but it never regained it's former glory or status.

Above you see the remains of Temple of the Dioscuric with the modern (and not very attractive) Agrigento on the hill. The original inhabitants occupied the area between the two. Unfortunately the museum was closed as it contains many artifacts recovered from the site. Such was the wealth of the city and quality of the pieces that there are entire rooms of them in The Louvre, The British Museum and Kleinkunstmuseum in Munich.

Palermo

We have not ben able to bring you all the wonderful things we have seen until now, we finally found in the Art Cafe in Sciacca (pronounced Shacka) someone who speaks English and understands internet speed because in Sicily everything moves v e r y s l o w l y. Our bodies told us not to play golf on the last day in Sardinia so we visited Cagliari. The city is on a steep incline, so much so that there are various lifts provided for assistance. We walked to the top to the Archeological Museum, built over some of the original city walls that now make up part of the internal exhibit. That and the Palace were quite interesting but otherwise we did not find Cagliari to be too exciting, there are some lovely wide piazzas with far reaching, if not beautiful views but everything is spoiled by the graffiti, which is a global epidemic but here is the worst we’ve seen. Arriving at the port in good time I proceeded to hand over our internet printed booking. The woman behind the desk immediately started shouting that this was the wrong paper and ripped it into a dozen pieces, shaking her head and waving her arms she then put our name into the computer and out popped the ticket, just like any other airline or shipping desk. Finally she handed it back to me warning in a loud voice: “NEXT TIME, BRING TICKET!” Charming! The ship was called “TUSCANY”, appropriate because she was as old as the hills, and it was a voyage of superlatives. Having encountered the rudest ticket agent we then boarded the smelliest ship, serving the coldest most expensive food quite a contrast to our previous voyages. We refused to use the shower but remarkably the bunks were comfortable and we slept like babies. (Travel tip: bring your own pillows). There are some places that must be arrived at by water: Istanbul, Venice, Sydney and probably Palermo. As the morning haze lifted we could clearly see the Sicilian hills as we docked in Palermo, in front of the city. It was a glorious day and as we got closer the details of the buildings, the old gates and domes and the towers on the roofline indicated that we were arriving somewhere special. This city has a rich history from Baroque, Bourbon, Byzantine, Muslim and Norman that have been woven together.

We drove around for about an hour and seeing cars parked double, perpendicular, on sidewalks and blocking the alleys we realized that the place is chaos so we retreated to the seafront to park the car and set off on foot. We asked two policemen for directions to the Tourist Office. They both got out of the car, opened the back door and rummaged in their briefcases for a map of the city which they gave us with a farewell in English “Enjoy Palermo”. At enormous expense we hired a motorised rickshaw and were immediately on a whirlwind magical mystery tour! The architecture is incredible, passing a church then a piazza like Pretoria and the fountain of shame seen here.

One minute you can be down an alley twisting and turning, half expecting dishwater to rain down from an upper window to arrive at something like this...

before getting back on the main track past an Opera House or a Museum to arrive at the extraordinary Cathedral and Episcopal Palace.

Palermo has long been neglected but many structures are being restored. It is beautiful, ugly, poor, dirty, vibrant and hectic, except at lunch when everything stops! We hope to return, one day is not enough. We had a pleasant drive through the western vineyards and olive groves down to our lovely apartment by the sea at Piana Grande.

Mostly Golf

The writer was not expecting to leave Corsica twice on this trip but was able to retrieve the car on Sunday having been told nothing was possible until Tuesday, but that rather sums up the attitude there. We did a lot of sightseeing around the Costa Smeralda but unfortunately it was rather hazy so the photos are not clear. We took yet another (short) ferry ride to La Madalena and across the bridge to Caprera, a big island which has one house on it and was only ever lived in by one family, that of Giuseppe Garibaldi. He moved there to retire after his exploits as a general, fighting around Europe and in South America. He had 3 wives and a number of children including one by the housekeeper so he was clearly a lover as well as a fighter. His house is now a museum and worth a visit. The man...

This is mostly golf week and having played twice in Pevero we drove through central Sardinia to the west coast to play Is Arenas near Narbolia. The fairways weave through the pines near the beach, a lovely course perhaps the best on the island. When we were not playing we visited Tharros, ancient city on the coast where the Phoenicians first settled in 800BC which makes this church from 600 AD look new.

The next leg was to Is Molas GC west of Cagliari where we first played on honeymoon and where our friend Luciano, who is travelling with us until tomorrow, used to be the professional. He likes to make sure we are not bored so we took a slight diversion to San Sperate, a small village which is home to Pinuccio Sciola, the stone sculptor. His outdoor gallery is huge and we just drove in. It would be better to google his name to understand how he carves (with machines) and how he makes the stones 'sing'. The village is also very unusual as a large percentage of the buildings have intricate murals painted on them and even the concrete streets are painted. Some examples of his work:

One thing which is really noticeable is how much cheaper things are the further south one goes. Remember the days when 3 people could go out and eat pasta with fresh seafood and drink oodles of house wine for about $15 a head? Down here you still can! We have moved east through Cagliari to Villasimius in the southeast corner, a pleasant surprise. We have never heard of it but it has lovely beaches and a very scenic course, Tanka Golf Club. There are some good hotels and enough amenities but the area is not over developed and as you can see, the weather is ideal. One more day, maybe one more round if our bodies can take it and we then sail for Sicily tomorrow evening.

Bit of a hitch

Our first visit to Corsica was on honeymoon 35 years ago and we always wanted to return, it is certainly more developed now but the visit into the mountains did not disappoint. We drove to the west coast bypassing Ajaccio. I am glad we made the distinction between the Corsicans and the French, many people here are rude and abrupt, they clearly don't want outsiders. I thought this was quite a sweet little house.

As I took the picture a lady came out, fist in the air, shouting that photos were not allowed and sent me on my way. The restaurant owner next door was no more helpful, one word 'CLOSED'. Corsica offers some dramatic views, this one over Propriano sums up the island, blue seas and beaches with a mountainous backdrop.

We had tried a number of times to book the ferry from Bonifacio to Santa Teresa (Sardinia). Online booking was impossible, there was only a phone number which we also called but never had an answer. So we were already concerned about getting on the ferry and the only way to reserve is to arrive at the terminal in person and put your name in the book, of course all car places on the ferries were full for the next 5 days. So we decided to come over by ferry as passengers and leave the car behind. Next week I will return as a passenger and bring the car back. We are staying with friends so accommodation and transport is not an issue. Bonifacio is a fascinating place, a true fortress on top of the cliffs overlooking Sardinia to the south and a deep water marina/harbour north. There is a music festival and yacht regatta taking place so there was lots to see and we enjoyed the atmosphere wandering about the tiny cobbled streets in the evening having drinks and a meal in two of the many small restaurants. So we sit in Italy while our car is in France!

Reflections on France

On our last day in Provence we returned to Les Baux, to get to the top of the chateau, and the wonderful views. This area has many things to recommend it that are hard to describe, call it the atmosphere; the smells, the colours, the sunlight and on this day even the wind, the Mistral from the north is not warm.

We are now in Corsica, having arrived in Bastia by ferry very early we drove up into the mountains near Corte.

This is, of course still part of France but the people are rather like the Cornish, they think of themselves differently so we will reflect on the mainland. People: have a reputation for being rude and unfriendly but with very few exceptions we did not find this to be the case. Perhaps because we can converse in French that makes a difference but our face to face experiences were most positive. Food: Hit and Miss, we saw the most wonderful selections of vegetables at the markets but where were they in the restaurants? We also got the impression that more stars on the front door indicated more hollandaise on the plate. We had some good meals and some average ones but the wine selection never let us down. Roads: The roads are amazing, at least 50 percent of them look like the tarmac was laid last week, so clean with perfect bright white lines, and roundabouts. Not those piddly little white circles like the UK, these are proper ones with curbs and nice plantings, sometimes there's even a sculpture or some 'art' in the middle, and there are thousands of them! Dogs: I'm sorry but this is where it all goes wrong: the dogs can go anywhere and the dogs 'go' anywhere. The sidewalks are disgusting, based on our experience it's better to walk in the street. The dogs go into bars and restaurants, they sleep on the chairs on the ferry and pee on the carpet. It's not on, absolutely the worst thing about France. " Mirrez Jacques, mon chien a fait une plus grande merde que votre chien, Allez Bruno." We managed a long walk up a rugged valley, as far as the link to the GR20 which is considered to be the hardest walk (20 days)in the world, we went far enough. As we look out of the hotel window through the pine trees and the last sun falls on the mountains beyond we can reflect that it's been quite a day.

Sunshine, must be Provence.

It was always the plan to make a long journey to Provence, we have seen some of the central Rhone before but we have never stopped around Avignon. Our farmhouse is just outside Saint Remy de Provence where Vincent Van Gogh spent his last years at the hospital Saint Paul de Masole, and where he painted some of his most famous work. We arrived in the late afternoon, in time to drive up Les Alpilles to the town of Les Baux, a town partially hewn out of the rock and perched on top of the hill with stunning views to the south. The chateau has been in the family of the Princes of Monaco for many years and it is no wonder that this was one of Princess Grace's favourite places. You often hear that the light in Provence is one of the things which attracts artists and we got our first feel for it as the setting sun lit up this quaint little church.

The following day was spent around Arles, Beaucaire and Uzes in the west. There is a lot of history in Arles with the old theatre, Arena, museums and Espace Van Gogh, at the hospital where he stayed. However there is not much to see inside other than the courtyard where he painted. We much preferred St Paul de Masole which was tastefully decorated with many large scale reproductions and where you could walk around the hospital and gardens and in the hills around to see many of the scenes which he painted. We were struck by how non-descript many of the subjects were and it shows the genius of the man that he could look at something which most people would probably not give a second glance and create a masterpiece from it. His room in the hospital.

While the towns south of and including Avignon are interesting the landscape is generally flat and not that exciting, particularly when one has heard so much about Provence. Today we set off to the Luberon and it was not long before we understood why some people make a complete lifestyle change to come and live here, although that is not on our agenda. There are many pretty towns set up in the hills and we have only seen a few but there are 2 which typify this region and although they could not be more different from each other they are literally just a few miles apart.

Gordes sits majestically in the foothills of the Monts de Vaucluse and is as stunning to look out from as it is to look up at, all the light stone houses with their coloured shutters encourage a lot of photography. We found a small bar for coffee which did not look like much from the entrance but at the other end was a terrace with seating for 8 which overlooked the valley. The panorama over the valley with the multitude of colours of trees, fields and the mountains beyond summed up Provence in one. In contrast are the ochre rocks and buildings of Rousillon, a stone's throw away in distance but like being on a different planet in feel, as if it had been transported from Arizona. Totally different but also stunning.

That's enough for one day!

Up the lazy river

We continued east from Blois following the river and occasionally going inland along the Route Jacques Coeur. Some of the chateaux are closed at this time of year but this one at Sully sur Loire was open.

Further south we reached Briare to find this bridge.

There are many bridges that cross the Loire but this one is unique, it was designed by Gustave Eiffel and after 4 years of construction it opened in 1896.

In fact, as you can now see, it is really an aqueduct, the longest in the world at that time designed specifically for canal barges to cross the river. It is an impressive piece of engineering and all the more exciting as we came upon it quite by chance. We spent the evening in Sancerre, sampling Vincent Pinard's finest. Sadly the weather has been a bit dull and the pictures reflect that, so it's on to Provence and some sunshine!

PART 2 EUROPE

We sailed from Plymouth on Monday night on the Brittany Ferry Amorique, very modern with a clean comfortable cabin, and arrived in Roscoff on a wet Tuesday morning. Our trusty Pajero is loaded down with golf clubs, suitcases, baskets of shoes and additional bedding for that night in the woods that we hope never happens. Brittany is said to be very beautiful but sadly in the rain and mist we did not see a lot, although we had some respite in the medieval city of Quimper and then Vannes. The old parts of these cities could be described as 'crooked Tudor' a mix of wood and plaster buildings painted any color but black & white.

We left our B&B in Conleau on the Gulf of Morbihan driving east through Nantes with a stop in La Roche Bernard, a quaint 14th century village overlooking the river estuary. As we moved inland the weather improved and we zigzgged across the lazy Loire passing the occasional chateau before arriving in Blois.

Today's journey takes us south of Orleans to Sancerre.