Navigating our 7th Decade
One of the activities that has been on our bucket list for a long time now is picking olives in Calabria, Italy. Despite a few visits to Italy, we have never got the timing right as olive picking only starts late October and goes through until February, depending on the harvesting method that is being used. But this year we got our timing right and late October found us in …
Soncino is an ancient walled village about 35km north west of Cremona. We visited it in early October 2022 during the festival that celebrates the ancient tradition of moving cattle from the Alps to lower lying areas for the winter. This ancient practice is known as Transhumance, and you can read more about it here. We had previously encountered this practice in a very different setting . You can read …
Cremona is a city in the Lombardia region of Northern Italy, situated about a 100km dash down the A1 SE of Milan. It’s not one of the first places that comes to mind when you think of visiting Italy. We had never heard of the place until we hosted an Italian Rotary Exchange Student who happened to come from Cremona. And thus we were introduced to Cremonesi life! We were fascinated …
It Was Written in the Stars Sometimes the stars align, and you just happen to be in the right place, at the right time, to realise a bucket list quest. It’s not planned. A snippet of information becomes an online search. Next thing you know you’re on a train heading through the hills to an iconic destination, to take in a performance that has become a global legend. And all …
We stayed just outside Barga in Tuscany for almost a month in September 2022. It is a delightful hilltop town about 37 km north of Lucca by road. And it can be very Scottish! Weird but true. During the time we were there they had a whole weekend of activities planned to celebrate their Scottish heritage (so perfect timing which we have a happy knack of doing – see our …
Why Lake Annecy? A good few years ago, a work colleague of mine was in Geneva talking to the World Health Organization (WHO) about Rabies. His time there included a free weekend. After asking about what to do over the weekend, Lake Annecy was suggested. Lake Annecy (in France) is not far from Geneva (Switzerland) so off he went. On returning home, his descriptions of Annecy and surrounds immediately put …
It certainly has never been an item on our bucket list, but hey, when its hot, and the Thames is nearby and every man, woman and their dog is taking a dip, then swimming in the Thames suddenly becomes quite attractive! It’s not the beach, but it’s still good! Add to bucket list, take a dip, tick off bucket list. All in the same day! It was mid August and …