Castellina in Chianti, Yoga and Tuscany

Our Retreat is near the charming Tuscan Village of Castellina in Chianti. You may think it's a town soaked in wine and I believe technically it is. There are vinyards  everywhere you look and 'bottegos' (bottle shops) in abundance, complete with tastings of course. The scenery is perfect. 

And yes I have been swimming in our pool and so has Bernard. I shall admit to taking a little time to immerse the entire body.  

It's a small group - only 4 of us plus the Teacher. It's great to have this kind of attention. Sometimes a bit of the practice is outside overlooking the spectacular scenery. We usually do a meditative walk early in the morning. This pic was taken on a non meditation walk

And this too

This is of our group (sans Moi) - guess which one is Shaktiprem?

We have had Dora come in a cook some amazing meals. She is the real deal Italian  cook. 

Last night's pannacotta!!!

Today a visit to Siena. Whoah you need 10 weeks here!!

More bit later. 

M, M, M and G

Medieval, Mantova, Mantegna and the Gonzagas.. This city is truly worth a visit.  The history of the place resonates everywhere you look.  The very powerful Gonzaga Family took control in the 14th Century and their mansion house - the Ducal Palace is totally overwhelming.  Room after room of highly decorated vaulted ceilings with frescoes, some by Mantegna, paintings and tapestries.  Not to mention their private collection of antiquities.

And the Bibiena Academic Theatre where Mozart played when he was just 14, designed by the La Scala architect

Mmmm  I wonder what that man is doing??

Me and Mozart.

We also went to Palazzo Te, an amazing Palace built in the first quarter of the 16th Century and took 10 years to complete for Federico 11 Gonzaga.  Spectacular frescoes and curved vaulted ceilings, so much to take in.  

No wonder Italy has been attracting writers, painters, artists of all kinds and of course tourists and travellers for centuries. 

Other things I love about Italy - very few 4 wheel drive Toorak Tractors, no 4 wheel drive prams that I've seen, people speak to each other in real time, not on their mobiles, the clothing everyone wears is so casually fashionable and unself conscious and that goes for all - oldies, youngies, men and women alike. Loving it all. After tomorrow - Yoga Retreat. P.s I have done some classes!!  But serious stuff for the next week. Hope our GPS can get us there!!

Trieste is Terrific

So this is our last night in Trieste - a real surprise although I don't really know what we were expecting.  Very grand buildings, in various styles - a huge Piazza - apparently the largest in Europe and hundreds of yachts moored in the various marinas.  We had booked into a Hotel apartment called 7 Historical Suites - WOW and WOW.  The apartments are on the 3rd floor of a 13th century building - and a truly amazing job of renovation has been done here.

The Piazza is surrounded by the grandest buildings, and restaurants and bars allow perfect people viewing.  As well musicians and assorted other acts do their thing, in the hope of a few coins.  It's quite a show every day and night.

There are historic Cafes, where famous writers used to meet, so of course we had to visit a few

And 2 little ones enjoying the boat ride to Muggia a half hour trip to the other side of the bay.  A small town once ruled by the Venetians - so it definitely has a "feel"of Venice

Also went to a Ballet performance at the Teatro Verdi Trieste.  The Ballet -'Anne Frank' very sombre of course. 

And today the one remaining (huge) Synagogue, but closed until October, so we didn't get to see inside

Tomorrow - Mantova.

From Lecco to Abano via Milano (Does everything end in "O"???)

We had a private car take us from Lecco to Milano to pick up our car at Malpensa Airport and we are soooo glad we did.  The pick up depot was no-where near the Airport itself - and if we had done the train/bus transfer I think we would still be looking.  So without a great deal of information, it was off to Abano Terme with the aid of our GPS.  This is an absolute must have, and despite a few wrong turns when "THE VOICE" tells you to do a U turn when possible - usually over double lines, we arrived at the Hotel Metropole.  Bernard gets an elephant stamp for his driving and I get to do some deep breathing.

We have had such lovely weather, so we are making use of the 5 pools here - yes that's right - 5 pools each with a slightly different temperature.

They provide you with these dressing gowns to go to the Pools.  You are instructed that you can also wear it to Breakfast - we DON'T

Walking through the town we came across a just married couple about to drive off - on a motor bike

Getting ready to hoist her dress up!!

And away they go - departure Italian style, with style

Yesterday a visit to a winery in the hills - Cantina Vignalta, for a tasting

And a visit to Arqua Petrarca - a lovely village in the Euganean hills, with a coffee and sandwich of course. We couldn't see Casa di Petraca ( Italian Poet) as it's closed on a Monday. Apparently his mummified cat is on display so sadly!! we missed that too

We decided to give Vicenza a miss this time. It's a huge city with so many structures designed by Andrea Palladio and needs quite a bit more than a day. My feet would be saying NO. 

Instead we spent some time at Villa Dei Vescovi which has been restored so beautifully. It's on top of a hill with stunning views all around. So peaceful and serene.

Oh and this was our lunch at a tiny little cafe at the bottom of the hill. We had actually been there 5 years ago on a bike ride. So fresh and delicious. 

On to Trieste next post.