Our stay highlights - Prestine Continued, Italy
Prestine Continued, Italy
Our days in Prestina are being filled with visits to Lake Iseo and a little retail therapy at a mall we have found not far away from our abode in the hills. We all seem to sleep extremely well due mainly to the clear mountain air with only the noise of the fast running stream to disturb the peace and quiet. Also as luck would have it we are also scoring two car parks up above the house area most days which means we don't have to do tight three point turns for Africa out of the driveway.
The drive from the house down to the centre of Prestine is interesting as you will see from the video taken by Alister from the front passengers seat, together with accompanying yelps from Jill. Click on the photo and it will load a two minute video. Sorry about the poor lighting but you will get the picture so to speak.
We have been to a beautiful old town called Begamo to view the wonderful 14th century churches and well preserved surrounding town areas. Little shops were excellent with merchandise ranging from OMG... to very reasonable.
Of course this held the men up as the girls had to check out a few things more closely. Our trip down the mountain from the old town was interesting when we took a wrong turn and ended up doing suck in and squeeze past moves with the car on one way stretches which are meant to cater for two way traffic! Again Rick's now cleverly acquired tiny street skills sprang into action, so we sailed through with only a couple of gasps from mainly (Jill) now dubbed a 'DoubtingThomas'.
We have visited Sirmione on Lake Garda which is very beautiful with its busy water traffic and rather pretty lake front and accommodation hotels all well planted and attractive with the usual geraniums predominately in pinks and reds.
Also we have spent some time going down to the shores of lake Iseo to enjoy leisurely lunches while looking out towards the opposite side of the lake. We did not venture too far around the lake area mainly due to time factors and not having sufficient time to have a good explore. A future trip maybe on the cards where we can be closer to the lakes making it more accessible for boat tripping and such like.
The weather is warm but punctuated by thunder and lightning outbreaks some days which give us great displays at night. Although we have had rain it does not seem to have dampened our spirits and when we are out and about we are not getting caught in showers.
Back at Valentina's place at night we are busy planning and booking ahead for the next part of our journey into France. And making friends with Henry the Gecko. The door step heats up during the day and Henry makes it his spot for sunbathing. Jill as usual decided he needed help with food and has been swatting flies to fed to him. He has readily accepted all offerings and has provided us with a lot of amusement over drinks!!
The days are now going quite fast and our time here is coming to an end.
Luckily we have managed to miss most of the mass tourist groups that are beginning to arrive in the general area although on our return trip to Bergamo yesterday bus load after bus load began to fill the old town making it difficult to manoeuvre between the crowds. However Teddy and Jill managed to have a much better look around having been left to their own devices while the guys pursued more immediate matters like phones, attachments and communication devices at the Bergamo Airport commercial area which was apparently a huge modern shopping mall with an all important APPLE SHOP.
We returned to Bergamo because there is a fault with the parking assist on Alister's car and after a lot of checking out and help by the Peugeot people it was unable to be fixed in the time frame left for our stay in the area. It will be tended to at their next stop in Umbria.
After a lot of discussion it was decided that Lake Como would just be too far for a days visit, almost like going to Lake Taupo doing a quick rush around and returning all on the same day. A good call as it turns out because we were able to return to Bergamo which was very enjoyable.
Being in a self catering situation at Valentina's has meant many visits to the local supermarket and finding out about different foods. Labelling has been challenging but with dictionaries, Alister's more than passable understanding of Italian together with helpful assistants meant we have managed to eat very well indeed. The only oops may have been eating HORSE mince which tasted fine until the discovery was made, however we were not really too sure, the only clue was it didn't taste like beef and we had seen equine labelled meat in other cabinets. Oh well we all survived and Teddy did make it very tasty which was its saving grace.
Outlet centres abound in the area around where we are staying which is an adventure in itself and well worth a trip to investigate what is on offer. The one near Brescia even has bus trips organised for visitors so they make it almost like a destination straight from the nearest airport. It has over one hundred and sixty stores all selling an enormous range of branded clothing, small appliance and linen products. Add to this eating establishments and children play areas and you have a place perfect for a day out for the family. The place is packed even before the doors are open for business.
Having talked about the shopping you still cannot get past the incredible beauty of the mountain villages and the peaceful surroundings. In some parts it is hard to see how life has changed in the last couple of hundred years. The rhythm in the way of life seems to hardly have altered other than the advent of cars, motor cycles and small trucks. Church plays a big part in village life and walking from place to place is the preferred way of getting around within the confines of the village. The elderly people have little difficulty handling the steep inclines but do walk in a slow fashion which allows lots of time to stop and talk to a friend or neighbour. Wee dogs and big dogs share the area and manage very well within tiny courtyards or verandas.
Over the course of the last week our neighbours have begun to wave and talk to us even though our response is only in limited Italian. We have been lucky to have stayed in such a remote place and to have been part of a community for just a small while. You get to know more about how isolated these little villages are in Italy and what it must have been like in the past especially during the war years. The memorial monuments to the last two world wars show many of the dead lost their lives in Russia. One wonders whether this village helped our soldiers during the last war as we have read in history books. Judging by all the nooks and crannies in and around the tightly packed houses built into cliffs and over hangs it is highly possible hiding places were easy to come by.
Tomorrow is off day with us heading to Milan for a night so we can visit the key tourist spots. Then it on to San Remo for two nights before the long drive across the south of France to Arle. Alister and Teddy head south and will be staying in what sound to be very interesting places over the next two months before they depart Italy for their month in Honolulu.