We love truffles

Maybe it's a good thing that we missed truffle season in Alba, Italy.

At 300 euro ($400 aud) a gram the rare white truffles of Piedmonte smell good enough to convince you that it is worth the money.

The few small (and affordable!) souvenirs we bought will probably stink out our luggage but no matter, they smell fantastic!

Today the whole old town was a street market with everything Italian for the home and day to day life. It made for a very authentic first taste of Italian life.

Visited the twin wine areas surrounding Alba today: Barolo and Barbaresco.

The patchwork design of vineyards on the 'tongues' (hillsides) created by seismic shift are beautiful to look at and provide an easy to appreciate example of the importance of 'terroir'.

The best sites for the Nebbiolo grape face south west to make the most of sunlight. Without this selective positioning the grapes would not ripen properly. We do not have this problem in Australia! A little over a month ago the vineyards were covered in a metre of snow.

Truffle (and Parma ham) gurus Rita and Fabrizio/ Rach with the fashion police/ The old cellars at Fontanafreda in Barolo.

Au revoir Nice, buongiorno Alba

Friday: A little sad to leave Nice today. Our home for a month, we made some great friends at school.

The month went really fast, and our French is better than when we arrived- especially for Rach. Being forced to speak a language is the best way to learn.

Our teacher was fantastic. She used current affairs and controversial adult topics of conversation and she was a gun on the whiteboard; different colours for different aspects of grammar.

Nicole, our host, only spoke French and she was keen to talk at dinner and breakfast. Dinner usually ran for a couple of hours: salad, charcuterie, main, cheese or dessert. 7 hours of french a day: 4 in class and 3 at home.

It is interesting how a common struggle creates friendships (the French language that is).

We hit a little local cafe for a last taste of Socca with a few school mates and then grabbed a last taste of Fenoccio ice cream. Thyme was a little out there but tasty while the mint-choc was a good take on a classic.

Have just arrived in Alba, Italy. 2.5 hrs on the motorway. As soon as we crossed the border the landscape became a lot more mountainous, the townships a lot more agricultural (even San Remo had glasshouses and terraced olive trees above the ocean) and the drivers a lot more aggressive. The white van driver has returned!

Pics:The gang @ Fenoccio/Torino sunset at 130kms

Cannes

Wednesday: Popped over to Cannes today after french class. It reminded us a lot of Surfers Paradise. A lot of money, a lot of apartments and today a lot of sunshine. It felt a bit soulless, a very transient city with more real estate agents than restaurants.

The beach has sand, but most of it is private beaches owned by the hotels. The roofs of the restaurants on the beach come out at road level and really spoil the beachside feeling.

We are very lucky in Adelaide- if they saw the miles of free and quiet beaches we have they would gasp.

The most fun we had was with the many celeb cut-outs. Matt Cahill you need to get a move on!!

Pics: Rach takes in the view on a hot tin roof/You call that a light saber?

The mountains of Southern France

Sat night: we hit the town with our new friends from school. Dinner at our new fave place, Voglier, followed by drinks in a little 'place' in Vieux Nice.

Lots of action from the drinks around us made for an interesting night- yes we have not been out for a while. Bar fights, crazies and a toothless old homeless lady that went around to finish everyone's drinks. At least she was happy;)

Sun: We took the Pug for a spin through the mountains to the Verdun Gorge.

The roads were hair-raising to say the least- tiny roads, on the side of the mountain with little or no barrier. The mountain jutted out in to the road on both sides and we drove through tiny little tunnels and under rock overhangs.

The cyclists and motorcyclists really tempt fate, but the view at the top is worth it. An emerald strip of water found it's way out to a huge lake. It was difficult not to stop at every opportunity.

Lunch at a little restaurant on the way was amazing. A real family affair- mum maitre'd and running desserts, dad waiting on the 5 or so tables and the son working the kitchen. So very welcoming, and we were very novel- Rach's yellow polish & Trav's height.

They were out of Tarte Tatin and creme caramel but the host ran out a spare creme caramel for us once we had finished our desserts. A full day in every way.

How much money can one person have? Really?

On our visit to Monte Carlo, Monaco, we were again reminded that we really do not know wealth in Australia and that we all have it pretty good down-under.

Monaco is the first place we have visited in Europe that is as clean as home. They even pick up after their dogs!

The general level of wealth in this tiny little country is something that has to be seen to be believed.

The cars, the houses, the boats, the infrastructure, the restaurants and hotels are all the very best of the best.

Valentino have a store that overlooks the water, and while we were visiting the Palace Hermes were doing a home delivery.

The Harbour was jaw dropping. Ex war ships converted to private boats, complete with helicopter and a 30 foot 'runabout' to get to shore. These (numerous) outrageously huge ships dwarfed the many other 30m + luxury boats, almost mocking them.

Many of them had intercoms on the dock. Some had dozens of staff that we could see, and many brought their cars with them. We had never seen an Enzo up close- let alone one covered in dirt dockside. This was about the dirtiest thing we saw in Monaco.

Our host told us that the ratio of Police to citizens is 2:10. They were everywhere, and pulled over speeding cars and scooters on foot.

Lunch at the famous Cafe De Paris in the shadow of the Monte Carlo Casino and Hotel De Paris was a real treat. Proper old fashioned service that probably hasn't changed much in its 100 years of operation.

Pics: Rach in the F1 tunnel/Should we take the Rolls, Enzo or Lexus to Cannes today?/local sailors give way to Super Yachts

A return to the land of the living.....

Trav has spent a week with his head on a pillow- the flu (the flu jab didn't work) and then a chest infection.

Good news is that the doctor spoke English, else it would have been a nightmare. 'if you prefer we can speak English' was the most polite way anyone has offered to share the international language- most just start talking to you in English.

They have good meds here. The doc hooked Trav up with a good dose of anti bi's to counter his high metabolism- a level high enough to make him tired. Also, he prescribed ibuprophen laced with psuedoephidrine and cough medicine loaded with codeine. Australias 'no pain no gain' approach to meds is crap.

Hit a well reviewed local restaurant for lunch- they got the creme brûlée to toffee ratio spot on, although we were at a loss to see how one person could finish it (maybe after too much pseudo ephedrine!).

Happy birthday Jo and see you soon!

Pic- a before and after shot to make a Biggest Loser contestant cringe.

The Petit Pont of Avignon

Sunday...
A romantic weekend away to Avignon fell well short on two counts- Trav in bed all weekend with a virus and more rain in two days than we have had our whole trip. To add, we did not bring our rain jackets. Murphy's Law strikes again.

We struggled through a few of the local sites- Rach this morning at the imposing circa 1300 Papal Palace and Trav dragged his arse out of bed to join Rach for an hour to see the Pont Saint-Bénezet- the most famous site of Avignon and the topic of local nursery rhymes.

The relics are in really good condition- mostly original too. Many we have seen so far are being dug out of the ground or have been ravaged by waves of war and invasion and rebuilt.

Pics- Trav at the port town of Bandol after having a local wine 'degustaion' (on the way to Avignon before being hit by virus)/on the 'Petit Pont d'Avignon' on the Rhone with the Palace in the background.

Cinema

Took a brave move yesterday and set out for a French movie without subtitles. We only understood 10 percent but the pictures were more than enough to crack up. Like a french Hangover.

You know that you are in a good hood when you can catch a bus to Monaco for 1 euro.

Visited the lovely little town of Ville Franche, on the bus route to Monaco. Houses built in to the cliffs, blue water, an old town a lot like Nice without its hustle and bustle. Their beach is better; in Nice the beach is made up of 'gallets' that are trucked in (this is supposed to be cleaner and lux), in VF it is course sand and you do not have to pay to sit on it. Crazy.

For its size the Cote d'Azur has many galleries- most of which are free. Visited the Matisse gallery set in a beautiful park north of Nice. His experimentation with Impressionism was surprisingly good.

It is funny how easy it is to take the small things for granted- take poster tubes. We searched the whole of Nice for days- only to find one and then get back to the apartment to find that the office below was throwing out dozens in their relocation. Score!

Pics: pasty legs at Villefranche/ moving house goes out the window in our building/sesame and fresh mint ice creams from Fenoccio's

The Tally.

True, Paris and wider France, is very romantic. It's architecture, buskers playing all the classics and soft light
make for a great walk in the town however local dog poo etiquette leaves a lot of room for improvement.

2-0 Trav at 13/3

Tips (so far...)
-Keep to the middle of the path- puppys and owners seem to keep right of the path.
-Do not look up at the old buildings for too long.
-Grass does not work- find a rock and a stick.
-Do not walk it through a store. It is a disaster for them.
-Keep an eye out for hotspots- dark sweeping corners on dog walking routes.
-Try not to be too frustrated with a direct hit- it takes your eyes off the game, especially in a 'hot spot'.
-Avoid sunset walking where possible and opt for the morning, after shopkeepers have washed the pavement.
-opt for shallow treads- herringbone or flats. Avoid deep military boot soles.

Le week-end in Nice

Ahhh. The feeling of relief as Friday arrives, something we haven't worried about in a while... No classes for 2 days, yay!

We took to explore Nice (maybe Monaco next w'end) and the weather played along, a beautiful 20 degrees and sunny- everyone flooded to tan at the beach and some keen beans were swimming.

We headed to the port to see the Parc du Chateau- a garden atop a hill that used to be used as a strategic defense base with views over the bay on both sides.

Caught a Hollywood movie with French subtitles, Carnage, which was a pleasant change. Funny how subtitles delay and miss the point sometimes.

Pics- every man and his dog come out for 20 degs/doves join us for petit dejourner/rach's best shot yet on an iPhone @ Nice' Museum of Modern Art (MAMAC)

Parlez-vous francaise?

We don't!

After 3 days of 4 hour classes of French and 2 hours a night of les devoirs (homework) we are not yet sure if we know more or less french than when we left. How do you say... ignorance is bliss?

Have had our first experience of bad weather in Nice (ironic) and of course Murphy's law meant that we had a 20 minute walk in a torrential downpour. Thank god for Goretex, a shame we did not buy the matching pants.

We have been very fortunate with our host and accommodation here. She has a grand apartment in the centre of the most beautiful part of town ('old' Nice), complete with parquet floors and 3m high ceilings, about 100 metres from the pebbly beach. Plus, she is very nice. She and her grandson speak slowly for us, and dinner times are always a highlight with local meals and banter (ps, all French as they speak little English).

Tracked down a little pizza shop today in Old Nice, recommended by our teacher, to try the chickpea specialty of Nice called Socca. Miam miam.

Glad to be in the one place for a whole month. There is plenty here to keep us busy. Might try the french movies soon, all the US blockbusters are here with dubbing.

Barcelona - Nice

Yesterday...
Left the very stylish Barcelona with many ideas on how to furnish our beachside 4 story mansion with butler.

Visited the imposing and stunning La Sagrada Familia. Grand, modern, based on natural designs like trees and natural shapes and curves. No matter what your religion, it is a great building. It is due for completion in 2020 but the budget and timeline are forever extending. The architect only lived long enough to see the first tower erected.

The main shopping strip is out of this world- Spanish shoe stores everywhere you look, only outnumbered by tapas bars and perhaps Zara. Rach could not resist the Spanish shoes.

Only just survived our carpark at our hotel. It took 30 minutes to park initially, and 30 plus a near crash experience to get out.

A big day of driving to our host in Nice. The ferris wheel is the view from our room, and our host is just as nice. All the roads were blocked for the local Carnival. Rachel's French lasts a little longer in to the night that Trav's, but our host Nicole est tres patient.

La Rioja

Making great time leaving Madrid, we get pulled over by the police for 20 minutes.

Nice guys, although no English, just wanted to hassle a GB plate and make sure the car was not stolen.

Breakthrough came when they understood it was a rental, either that or they were tired of looking at all or documentation in another language. Gave them our passports, license, International license, insurance papers, euro driving cert, and then showed them our euro driving pack complete with high vis jackets, triangles and spare globe kit to which they laughed.

Drove to La Rioja, accross the mountain ranges that protect the vines from the extremes. A lot of bush vines, no trellises. Staying in the Western part, Haro, in Rioja Alta.

Some great wines- La Rioja Alta, Roda, Vina Tondonia, but drank too much as bought a 70s wine travel bag.

We both thought the bag was a good idea at the time/wine discovery- white Rioja rocks! The super dry love child of sherry and semillon

Mixed Madrid

A hidden gem of a hotel is always great. The feeling of discovery is a great travel memory. When your hotel is only hidden though it is annoying. Ours should have been called Hotel Los(t).

Quote of the day: 'there is so much cool stuff in Madrid'. New DeNiro movie was being launched across the street from our digs and had just walked through the main prostitute drag from tapas at the Mercado near midnight.

A big fat tourist day today. Caught a flamenco show, the male lead playing the part of the peacock well. The female lead tried to knock our table over twice on her way back stage. Great show less the sangria on trav's (clean!) jeans.

With only one full day we had to pick one of the many galleries. Unknown to us until today the Reina Sofia experience is up there with Tate & Moma, especially for locals Dali and Picasso.

Had a late lunch at the oldest restaurant in the world for roast suckling pork. The crackling was worth the price of admission- wafer thin, like pastry. Extra master stock brought to our table was fixed with a spoon (t) and some bread (r).

Sangria, done well with good wine is a new fave summer drink. It is summer conditions here now.

Had a jamon tutorial: an Iberian pig's front legs are only for 'leaning on' so they produce a lesser quality ham so our ham specialist advised us, and more acorns the better before they are 'sacrificed'.

Pug is looking dirty, so much so that the person who filled the car with 'Gazole' told me that there is car wash nearby. Very funny guy- after I thanked the spaniard in Portuguese he said ciao! Had only just crossed the border!

The 'Sof' gallery/Hong Phat pork has a rival in Botin/Hotel Los(t)