Swiss Alps I - Aletsch Glacier and Bettmeralp

Mia Genova

Cost of ticket on Funicula to top of surrounding hills: $1.20 (euro)

Cost of picnic lunch: $10.25 (euro)

Finding a quiet place to eat lunch while looking over Genova:

.... about $11.45 (euro) actually ..... but worth every cent.

(photo taken by Andrew Dankers)

"Festival delle Sagre" in Asti

Italians do like a festival or two, and will seemingly organise one for just about any excuse under the sun. On Sunday, Aff and I decided to make the journey to Asti (pop 80,000, about 90 minutes train ride from Genova (on the way to Turin). We had originally planned to make the trip to Turin, but after reading that the second Sunday of September is Asti's day of days, The "Festa della Sagre" (basically means the festival of the town), we thought this might be worth a visit.

Asti didn't dissapoint!

Having just caught the 8am Intercity train from Genova, we managed to arrive just in time for the start of what must surely be the world's longest parade. Asti is a regional centre to a whole bunch of villages in the area, most of which have strong connections with the local wine industry (they mostly produce "Spumante", that sickly sweet sparkling wine so many of us became aquainted with early in our drinking careers), as well as corn growing (for polenta). As a result, most of the parade consisted of elaborate floats, paying tribute to the production, and consumption of food and wine (which I guess doesn't really distinguish it so much from other Italian festivals). There were other floats, dedicated to landmarks, and historical events from the region, but it didn't take long for another float to go past, depicting a bunch of old Italian blokes drinking vast amounts of vino rosso .... they played the part quite well ... if indeed they were playing the part at all.

After the parade, which took no less than 2.5 hours, including no less than 40 different represented regions, the real fun began in an adjacent car park lot, where around 40 food stalls lay waiting with many different local foods, and wines to taste. Without a moment to lose, thousands of Italians, and two not so well informed Australians, made their way on mass to the food. This event really did sum up everything I love, and hate, about life in Italy. The food on offer was amazing, and the prices next to nothing. The wine also it's usual high standard, and was virtually free once you purchased your 50c glass. Italians know, probably better than most, how to put on a town festival. These festivals seem to embody the pride of the region, particularly with respect to their food and produce. Nothing is expensive, and everything is top notch. On the downside, at least for us Australians used to a little more space, and order, is the enormity of the crowds, and the crushing "queues" one must endure to obtain the popular dishes. "Festival queueing" in Italy is an art form in itself, and requires a special kind of assertiveness, tolerance and endurance ... and that's just to get your food and wine tickets, then you have to line up seperately for each item you wish to take. Of course, none of this is helped by the constant defending of your place, and the hot north Italian sun baking the bituman surface below. To be fair, things did get consderably easier as the day went on, and the length of the queues lessened. Aff and I managed to visit a number of stalls, and sample a reasonable amount of the local wine (well, perhaps I sampled a little more than Aff did ). Like I said, they virtually give their wine away at these festivals. I can't imagine what kind of a mess such an event would end up being in Australia ... the Italians, to their credit, generally keep their consumption of alcohol to moderate amounts, which allows events like this to remain enjoyable for all.

Now for some photos. First, the parade, for which I unfortunately cannot add much of an explanation. There was an announcer, but my Italian wasn't quite up to understanding what the hell these floats were all about.

Yes, it's a cow!

Now for the food....


yes .... it's a little fried fish
(I thought they were chips)

yes .... the wine was plentiful!

yes ... that's a dog at the dinner table.

and yes ... I may have had a few.

It was a great day!

Parisian girl

An eye-full of Eiffel

On the "Free love Freeway" ..... to Slough

Case, these pics are for you ... but first let me set the mood:

-----------------------------------------------------------
Free love on the free love freeway, the
Love is free and the freeway's long, I got some
Hot love on the hot love highway, ain't
Going home 'cause my baby's gone (she's gone)
-----------------------------------------------------------
-- David Brent
(and people say he's just a big pair of tits)

What's this all about ?

Pics of London

London to Genova (via Paris and the Swiss Alps)

Aff and I have just returned from two weeks "in vacanza", starting from London, then Paris, and finally Switzerland. It truly has been one of the most memorable and exciting trips I have done.

From catching up with good friends in London (thanks again to the good folk at Balham Castle for putting us up for 4 nights!), to strolling the streets of Paris, before hiking in the most stunning alpine country I have ever seen in Switzerland, this holiday truly had it all. Of course, all the way, Aff and I were stuffing ourselves silly with beer, wine, cheese, bread, roasts of the day, cheese fondue .. not to mention Terry's "fabuloso" Indian feast on our last night in London. Basically, I made it my mission to eat anything that wasn't pasta, or pesto. Never has a cornish pasty purchased at a dodgy London railway station kiosk tasted so good.

Now we are back in Genova, with two months left before we head home. It was a strange sensation coming back to Genova after two weeks away from the place. I don't think Aff or I have reached the point of saying we feel like Genova is home, but there was certainly a nice sense of familialarity about the place when we got off the train and walked back to our apartment. While Genova is probably not a place I would want to live long term for a variety of reasons, it does feel significantly more comfortable than it did.

I plan on posting a lot of photos over the next few weeks, as we extract those worthy of showing. I also have a serious back log of photos to post .. so don't expect any order to things (which to be honest, is perfectly representative of what life has been like since we got here).

Parked in Prague

"Parked in Prague"
(Prague, Czeck Republic)

No, we didn't spend our entire weekend in Prague sleeping on the grass, but I must admit, lazy days like this were very much the theme. Terry, Taryn, Nadja (from Munich), Jen (Terry's flatmate), Travis (an Australian living in London), Aff and I spent a fantastic weekend exploring this beautiful city. It truly is a remarkable place, and nothing at all like I expected. My general impression of Prague before going, was of an Eastern European city slowly openning itself up to the world. What I found was a surprisingly modern, yet impressively well preserved city .... and yes, with beer at genuine 1972 prices!

I do think Prague suffers a little bit from exagerated descriptions of it's beauty, but then again, I don't think I ever laid eyes on anything I would regard as particularly ugly (except perhaps the regular spotting of drunk English blokes on stag weekends). What truly made this trip enjoyable though, was the great bunch of people we were with. Very laid back and relaxed - just the way I like it.

I will hopefully get time to fill in more detail later .. for now, just some photos: