Grasse, November 4

A very exciting day. It was as special as I thought it was going to be. I couldn't sleep the night before just thinking about it. At Grasse, the perfume world capital, we designed a perfume for Nani for her wedding day! Absolute bliss of a day, mixing and smelling all kinds of oils; thinking about her and deciding which one and how much of it... we loved the result and it seems like we did a great job because in the other shop the "experts" were quite impressed with it. I can't wait to tell her and really hope she likes it!

October 27, Italian Riviera:

Hecti reminded me that last time we visit here I said that I wanted to come back, and I am so glad that we did! Santa Margherita is so exclusive and sophisticated and as pretty as my mum.


We took the ferry from Rapallo all the way to Portofino, which is so small and so cute with all the restaurants outside in the promenade, where the fishing boats dance on blue waters.

I still couldn't move my legs from Cinque Terre hike but I didn't want to miss the walk all the way back to Margherita on the boardwalk cliff  just in time to board our ferry back. Stunning views, stunning villages.

For every fastidious day there is Alassio. I asked Hecti to name this place anytime we have one of those days, futile, where we go around and around and never get anywhere... (trying to find a refill for our gas bottle for example)...

We continued our journey on the coastal drive from Italy to France... I could not resist stopping on what look like a very long promenade and take the bikes for a ride. What a beautiful surprise! Alassio, a  really big and great village with the cleanest and nicest sand we had seen in a long time... we bike around the little streets and along the sea, eat focaccia- the speciality of this region-  enjoying sun and just ride and ride going to the next town and the next one.






These places are great in this time of the year, all hotels shut down and most of the shops; so only the locals a few italians on holidays are still hanging around...it really feels like being one of them. Alassio definitely goes to my "places I can spend 2 months" list.

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October 23

I can't believe I wasn't going to come...it must be that idea that we have never to repeat a place. But, oh! if there is a place that deserves to be repeated is Cinque Terre. One of my very best favorites places in the world.

First day we slept half way between Riomaggiore and Manarola, on the halfway overlooking the ocean.









We hike down to Manarola and I was so emotional to see "her" again. As beautiful as I remember. This is the place to write a book, pinned that love song or be inspired to become a painter.
















We hike to Corniglia and it was so painful! the "normal" track being closed for renovation. I can't remember how many steps up but at one point we were at 450 metres above sea level!.




Stubborn as I am, the day after, we hike between Vernazza and Monterosso.

The reward being laying on a rock- on the edge of the ocean, watching the sunset.

October 24.

It was funny to said that we wanted a "family ticket" to do the hike and the woman in the "billeteria"looked very strange at us. And just for a moment, it was about having the kids again- and being young :)

They made our massive hike so much interesting and light!...we laughed and chatted all the way, politics, race, sharing personal stories and the nuisances of our countries; finding commonalities and differences but  really enjoying each others company and the magnificent scenery

I was moved by her joyfulness and strength; looking at all with such innocent eyes. She is going back home (Singapore) to change her "clothes suitcase" and  continue her journey- of growth.

I was impressed by his experiences, tenderness and quick thinking.  He is going back to his home (US) to a new corporate and married life.
They were days filled with nature, steps, and food. The italian way: the menu of the day: pasta, bruschetta, gelato and pizza!.....and in a hurry, a run to the train station - afraid to miss their train....a sincere hug, a quick kiss and a big goodbye!

October 15 to 18. A few more days in Tuscany...

....and so this time after enjoying Florence again we explored the "little" villages in Tuscany:  San Casciano in Val de Pescia, Rapolano Terme, Sienna, Volterra, San Gimignano.

 I am taken by the shape of the houses, they mesh into the landscape with such  grace. I have a sense of peace when I am in Tuscany...is the colors, the pace, is like the world have just stop; and I can just sit and see the sunset and being unhurried like the habitants of these places. We are loving gelatos in the late afternoons!

I asked, what would you like me to say about you and your family? She thought for a while...."I always knew I have to come to Europe and it took me a long time, like about 25 years...but what I want to say is that you have to follow your heart, your heart knows best"...and that is what you did, my friend, and the reward has been huge!!!

Italy

Well, it took longer than expected but I am finally back!

10 years ago we did such a wonderful trip to Italy, a very dreamed trip. 5 weeks by car all over Italy. I said to Hector at that time that I feel that I needed to go back and live there for at least 1 year. Such was the impact of that country on me...and even though is not going to be for a year (at least not this time) I am so excited!

Italy is the place where I feel freer, at my best self. Here I can be tall, big, loud, fat, expressive, passionate....here I can be me. For all the rawness in this place, for all their hurried nature, their somehow aggressiveness, their sometimes indifference or contempt, here I can be me and being me is OK. I can dance in the piazza, "talk" in Italian, tell the waitress how bella she is, laugh with the kids in the playground, sunbake on my undies....

We met R&K for a week of travelling. They come all over Germany to spend time with us, we are so moved by their friendship. I
am sick with the flu and soon after Hector follows; but still we can enjoy our time together: pizza, grappa, gelato, limoncello, a glorious night at the edge of the water on Lago di Garda; sharing our stories and our wishes. Being with friends is so good for us, for our soul but then it take a few days for the emptiness to go away :(

We continue our trip around the lake, which is huge- 50km long- and stop and stay in the small villages. We totally love the markets; it tell us so much about the culture of the place the kind of things that people sell!...and we always buy fresh vegetables and fruits and here salamis and cheeses!

Some days I get worry. Well, a lot of days actually. I am worry about the future, about how are we going to live when we come back. Get jobs? All that looks scary to me, and I can't think how that is going to be possible. Hector remains calm and confident and think that we will manage. We are so grateful about this possibility right now, and we are so sure that we did the right thing and at the right time. All over the world we met people that keep saying to us that we are living their dreams!

Hungary

24 to 27 September- (yes, not enough time....we will come back....just that we are meeting Rolf Karina in north Italy!)

I have a positive vibe as we arrived in Hungary. Very hard to explain, but I could breathe again. As full of nature as Slovakia was, the mountains around and the amount of people/monoblocks in the cities, made me feel a tad claustrophobic. So I welcome the open field of this country as we were driving through and the cleanliness of the villages.

We stopped at Gyor just for a bike ride in our way to Budapest and we found out that the inventor of the soda water was from this town! (a brilliant man in my books)

How could you not fall in love with Budapest? It is classy, spacious, elegant and oh so full of old buildings. Every time you hit a corner there is a church or a museum or just a block of apartments from the 14 century. They told us that the city has received an special grant from UNESCO to paint/maintain/repair/restore all the buildings here... a job that will take about 20 years.

The Jewish quarter is our first destination, there are many monuments here as a memory of the holocaust.

There is a long and public controversy going on here. A strong group who claim that the Hungarian government should take responsibility for their role in WW2 jews massacre and the government who insist to be seen as vulnerable and victims of the Nazis. This ongoing fight is reflected in different monuments- the "official" voice and the "counter" voice".

We attended the ceremony of Rosh Hashanah in the old synagogue. It is a very luxurious synagogue with gold ornaments and a pulpit in the middle were the rabbi gives a speech. It is really big and tonight is full. The ceremony is in Hungarian but doesn't matter that much. It is nice to sit and hear the familiar Hebrew songs and prayers.
Before going "home" we rode all through the city, our night tour! All the buildings and the bridges are illuminated. The view of the Parliament (the biggest in the world) across the Danube is particularly impressive.

Inside the huge Market Hall we bought "Hungarian salami",  Challah and some cheese for lunch before getting inside the parliament for a visit.... which is very much like a castle.... even though we also visit the "castle" which is not a castle anymore but several museums all part of a city on a hill, a city inside a city. The city of Budapest shines from there. It is a magnificent view. I am loving this place, so full of life and happening. Plenty of restaurants, coffee shops, bars.....so many quirky places, very "arty" feel. A long mall with expensive shops and a night organ concert with a tenor signing Ave Maria at the St Stephens's Basilica....all part of our time here!

There is so much to see and do here! I said to Hector that I could live here for a few months....just to be able to visit all the old buildings that we are seeing, or to go to all the museums and art galleries. The Danube here is particularly wide so again I feel a sense of space. And so far, with very little communication; we found the people very interesting.

And if all Budapest has to offer wasn't enough, we just found out that this is the spa capital of the world! There are so many thermal spas with swimming pools, steam baths; that we could easily do a "spa crawl" over here!

Inside the Parliament

Slovakia

10 to 22 September

We decided to go the "healing route"....that is the mineral thermal waters. We stopped at the ruins of a castle (mind you this country is covered by castles!) on a mountain. 

The view from the top overlooking the green pastures and the village is special. When we walk in this places, it is easy to go back and image the life of the people here.

Our first stop is Bardejov and as usual we are amazed by the beautiful piazza. 

This one has been preserved in original condition (plus colourful painting!) and it has the town hall and the church as a frame.

It is here where we start our thermal spa visits

The emotional surprise was the visit to the synagogue. The only one that survived the Nazis and  after the communist government...there were 3 around here. It is a small one, but is has a library of more than 700 books barricaded in a bookcase... half burned.. This synagogue is the best preserved one in Slovakia and it is thanks to a man (protestant) who have dedicated his life to the memory of the temple and Jews who left or made to leave. He showed us the Torah, a shofar and different antiques.

We took a detour to visit a wooden church; there are a few scattered around. Dark, solid wood, a stream running on the side. It definitely look like a medieval movie!

And after so many old cities, we are back to nature! Staying outside in the carpark of a 5 star hotel in the ski field at the High Tatras, we walk first around the lake (of glacial formation) and then hike up on what is a ski run. The fresh air and the trees!

Our second hot spring at Rajecke Teplice - a spa resort.... pure luxury!. Swimming pools (inside and out) of thermal waters up to 41°, in a "roman like" decoration. Plenty of statues and pillars and even a fake facade of the pantheon. Soft lights and the smoke...It could have been easily so tacky and yet they pull it off! It is stylish, elegant and romantic.

Slovakia has struck me so far as being very nature like. There are plenty of national parks and rivers and lakes. The villages and houses are simple - outside the "old towns" who are always magnificent!. The people very rarely speak English- at least in the countryside- but they are very polite. It is hard to tell as it has been difficult to communicate with them. We feel safe travelling and sleeping.  What is upsetting is to see the amount of factories/buildings/houses that are abandoned.

Third spa, "the cave" in Sklene Teplice on the scenic hills of Stiavnicke vrchy. It come as a huge relief. 42 degrees of sulphate and magnesium waters after a gruelling 7h 36m of mountain bike- BMX style! It was such a challenge, probably the most difficult ride we have ever done....on the edge of a cliff, so rocky, plenty of branches and muddy, oh yes, real mud everywhere! We finished exhausted and happy.

Fourth spa: mud treatment at Piestany. After 2 days, I can still smell sulphate all over my body!  We also spent the weekend at Jana and Peter's home. We met them just as we were entering Slovakia, a few words on the street, outside a cheese shop. They invited us to their home and we stayed in touch by email until we met them again. A big country house, they cooked authentic goulash on the open fire, homemade bread and gorgeous wine! What followed was a lengthy and intense conversation about politics....Once again, we are so moved by people's generosity and hospitality.

The amazing luck was to arrive at Skalica on their national day and found a huge market, music, dancing, lots of food and drink and plenty of people dressed as medieval times....it was such a joy and an unexpected Saturday.

Bratislava is our last stop in Slovakia. The city, which is the capital, has a mixture of old and new. What impressed us is the amount of cars and parking on the streets. Once again, lots of monoblocks, a big new shopping centre, and a new complex (mix residential-commercial) on the Danube, "the old town", as we have become accustomed in Europe, is such a pretty place. The church, the town hall, the museum, castle, synagogue and the livelihood of pubs, coffee shops and restaurants.

Bratislava

Poland

8-9 September

Our entrance to Poland was through Auschwitz we talked about going there since the beginning of our trip. We even said that it was only that place that we needed to go. It was as hard day as we thought. Gutted and heartbroken we spent the day there, but the impact of that visit is still present today (as I am writing this 3 days after that visit). 

Krakow restored my soul when we stopped to eat varenikes in a very homely restaurant. The look and smell of them took me back to my grandmother Rosa. It took almost 40 plus years to feel that taste again....Hecti saw my face as I was eating....it was so emotional! And all of the sudden I was back in her kitchen, looking at her cooking while my dad and I are "stealing" the varenikes stuffing from a bowl- that she had already prepared and put aside for us, but nonetheless she complains while we are eating.... There were so much to see and feel in this city, and the old town has an enormous and oh so classy piazza that looks like a page from an old fable book......the pity, once again, is the state of the rest of the city.

It was interesting that the people we chatted in both Czech and Poland did not have a good experience with the Russians occupation and the communist regime.

Model city built in Krakow during communist period