We’ve been back in Austin for 10 days and so far our return has been everything I could of hoped for. Our friends welcomed us home with both arms flung wide open, and I was relieved to see that we seemed to pick up right where we left off. Things haven’t skipped a beat and yet didn’t pause a beat either while we were gone.

Everywhere I look I see the people I love doing wonderful things with their lives, pursuing their art and taking it to the next level, pursuing new avenues of self expression, and pushing themselves to a higher mental plane by consciously engaging their reality. I couldn’t be happier for my friends.

I’ve caught the hoping infection from the ladies, and smile upon my bruised hips as a sign of progression. This is definitely what I was needing to undo all those huge dinners at Trove.

Many people have been interested to know how we’re adjusting to the reality of life in America, and to that I simple reply…HELL NO!  What I expect out of life now has changed drastically. I refuse to drain myself physically and mentally like I have done previously trying to pursue degrees and a career. I think everyone needs the time to pursue hobbies and activities that encourage personal growth and the expansion of our consciousness, which is near impossible if you live your life in the rat race that American consumer society has become.

To help us along in this journey we’re heading to the Dhamma Siri Vipassana Meditation Center on the 28th to participate in a 10 meditation course. This is an intensive meditation course, we wont see each other the whole time and you are silent with the exception of limited dialogue between students and teachers. If this doesn’t teach me how to make all the chatter going on in my head quiet down I’m a lost cause: P

After we return it’s time to jump head first into creating the lives we want to live now.
Perhaps I’ll write up some reflections on the trip and post em up, but for now just this update on where we’re at and what we’re doing.

A special thanks to all the wonderful people we meet while traveling. Our hosts, our fellow volunteers, and the other travelers we ran into along the way. You restored my faith in the human race and that we have the strength and compassion needed to help humanity along to the next stage.

I’ll probably still update and use this blog, because after all once a traveler always a traveler. It’s just a matter of how long until the next trip!!!

Love!

P.S Soon as I can get them transfered from James's new laptop to my computer there will be pictures and blogs from all the "welcome home" events. ]]> Tue, 13 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=43667 0 30.26694 -97.74278 A rickshaw was whistled up and the four climbed in and headed off for the shopping district known as MG road. MG roads by the way are like MLK roads in the states. Every towns got one. After wandering over hell and back again, the restraint of choice was located and food ordered. The four travelers then proceeded to stuff their pie holes with all sorts of tasty curries and a plethora of buttery bread type thingies that seem to make up the south-indian diet.

After their tummies’ cravings were satiated our four intrepid travelers headed back to their hotel via another rickshaw. Little did they know what evil this unassuming three wheeled conveyance had in store for them.

Upon arrival at their destination, all clambered out of the rickshaw and started rummaging in various pockets and bags to pay the man. Not one of the travelers noticed the lonely backpack still resting on the back seat. Someone did though. The rickshaw driver. After hastily grabbing his pay, the driver sped off into the chaos of Pune tires squealing. Not really, rickshaws have nowhere near the HP to make tires squeal, but if they did his would have.

Not long after the bearer of the back pack exclaimed, “Where’s my bag? OH FUCK”, and then dashed off into the haze in search of the villainous rickshaw driver. Despite the valiant attempts of the two men of the party the bag, and its precious contents, were not to be recovered. The travelers were devastated, her in particular. Six months of travel photography lost, 3500 files gone, all her hopes and dreams of poster size prints of aqua marine Mediterranean waters, the topaz sea spray of Galway Bay, the golden fields of freshly mowed Tuscan wheat…gone.

All she can do now is console herself (aka smear salt in the achy hole in her heart) by looking at the photos on which her dreams rested in a CRAPY REDUCED QUALITY AND SHRUNKEN version edited solely for internet use.

RIP my lovelies.

Fountain by World Trade Center

Military Magazine in Phoenix Park

Druids Cave in the Rock Close @ Blarney Castle

Swans and seven signets

Cliffs in Galway Bay

Momma and baby duck on Leith Walk

Leith Walk locals

Firing of the one o'clock gun

Celtic Cross gravestone in Dean Cemetary

She wakes

Meow senora meow

Pretty Geraniums

Roof kitties

Fontana di Trevi

Nice walk

This makes my soul happy

not probable, not impossible, not for case, not unavoidable

The view from my favorite siesta spot, in front of the Mariotti residence

Trove

The 2008 Palio

Frescos in Sant'Anna in Camprena Monastery

Freshly mowed wheat fields

Hot springs bath on MontAmiata

Fluffy butt, think shed fit in my suitcase?

Cinque Terre

Views of the Mediterranean

Riomaggiore

A walkway down to the water in Riomaggiore

Autumns come to the vinyard

I think I have an obsession with this cat

Fall foliage on the slopes of Mont Amiata

Sun sparkaling through the trees in Tuscany

Fall foliage on the slopes of Mont Amiata

Inside the tomb of Mereruka

Pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu, and wives/childrens in front

Cairenes enjoying the park with the Citadel in the background

Sadhana Sunsets

The Botanical Gardens at Auroville

/tear]]> Sat, 20 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=40957 0 29.78556 -95.82417 New Delhi... Why on earth are we here? Well in about 5 hours we'll be off to our next mystery location...
^_^]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=40643 0 28.6 77.2

Yep, you read that right. After a thrilling 35 straight hours of traveling from Pune India we're back in the states.

Surprise :D

We're at James's mums place in Houston and will be here through the holidays and Savannahs b-day. We'll be heading back to Austin after January 3, probably the following weekend. Who knows though we may get the bug to drive up for a day or two sometime in the next week or so just to come smother everyone in hugs.

But for now, that's all folks. It is only by some miracle or force of nature I'm incapable of comprehending that I’m actually able to formulate coherent sentences at the moment. Or at least I think I am…

A cookie to whoever figures out first how James and I just had the gobsmackingly fun experience of a 35 hour day.
]]> Tue, 16 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=40642 0 29.76306 -95.36306 Love yall!]]> Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=39106 0 18.5333333 73.8666667

The view from our room at Aspiration

The huts are a pretty cool design. Two 'bedrooms' connected by a hall, off of which is the bathroom. The huts are squat though inside there is plenty of room to stand and the hall is half sunken in the ground, very well suited to cyclones :P.

Home sweet home take two

Its a wonderful arrangement for friends travelling together. Even the local dogs love the huts.

Theres...something....amongst the shoes

Since I can't, I'll try to make do with words.

To enter the Matramindir you first walk past the Banyan Tree and through the Gardens of Unity to approach the Mat by passing in between two of the 'petals' (which are also separate meditation chambers each with a theme and fitting colour) to descend a stone walkway to the base of the Mat. Directly under the Mat, which is suspended on the sides by four concrete 'feet', you see the lotus pond; a series of white marble scoops or medallions that descend inward becoming smaller and smaller until they end at a crystal globe directly under the Mat. The water flowing over the marbel scoops provides a musical backdrop to your approach. To actually enter the Mat you have to ascend a staircase leading into the spheres bottom. Once entered there is a circular hall running around in the inside of the base where you sit on white marble benches on white marble floors to put on your white socks. Around the inside of the hall, is a glass floor so you can peer directly into the lotus pond beneath. Once you have your booties on you pass through a door on the interior of the hall, immediately to your left is a small sculpture and to your right is a circular stair leading up, made of guess what....white marble. Ascending the stairs, the room opens up dramatically. The walls are covered with triangular panels which emit a faint golden red glow. The walls are quartered by four golden tiled bands running the vertical length of the room. In the centre of the room are two stairways spiralling down around eachother (the stair you just walked up being one), mirrored by two floating ramps, spiralling along the outer perimeter of the chamber up into the meditation chamber which is in the highest point of the Matrimindir. The ramps are carpeted with plush white carpet and are fairly steep, making the climb to the upper chamber a slight physical exertion. At the top of the ramps is a foyer of sorts leading into the meditation chamber. Thankfully, there are pictures of the inner chamber :P Go google matramindir and look for the big crystal globe.

We've been to the Mat a few times now, and one of the petal rooms, and not being in the practice of meditating regularly its been an interesting experience for sure.

Aside from going to the Mat, we've been mainly tooling about Auroville and visiting nearby Pondicherry.

The Botanical Gardens at Auroville

Crusing Auroville

We certainly have to get our fill of the place, because we're leaving Tuesday!!!

Tuesday we will be heading to Chennai to board a short flight to Pune India in the company of Jess and Cristoph.

From Pune it's anyones guess :D]]> Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=39008 0 11.93 79.83

Sadhana Sunsets

Wow, what an interesting couple of weeks it has been since I last wrote a blog. Let me first say, No we are not in the part of the country where the attacks have been happening. We are however in the part of the country that has been buffeted by a cyclone, but more on that later.

Over the past few weeks we had been trying to settle into life at Sadhana Forest and making new friends. The volunteers at Sadhana are a special breed of people, really the best of our species. Im sure we will see some again after weve left Sadhana, and are possibly going to travel India a bit in the company some really cool people weve meet there.

A couple more school groups have come to the forest and watching the kids enthusiasm for replanting their native forests, and life at Sadhana in general, is rather exciting. It's good to know that at least this part of India's youth will have a deeper respect for their natural environment.

I've learned to drive a moped, on dirt jungle roads and the chaotic main roads of India, which only gets more interesting when its been raining balls. Im pretty confident I'll be able to drive a moped around Austin now ; )

I think I can safely say James and I will never be vegan. Its amazing how clearly your body lets you know its not getting the nutrients and vitamins its used too. Even after eating a big lunch at Sadhana we'd find ourselvs still wanting to eat. Not hungry mind you, just craving more, our bodies way of trying to get what it was missing.

Thanks to those cravings though we've found a couple really nice places to eat around Auroville and nearby Pondicherry. The terrace above the Solar Kitchen has killer cappuccinos and lattes, not to mention the chocolate banana crêpes. Out on the main road, between Auroville proper and Sadhana Forest is a hole in the wall local place that serves some really tasty stuff on banana leaves. I think one of the things they serve are dosas(?) but i really have no clue what we ate there :P I have found a replacement for garlic bread, and I must find a good Indian restaurant when we get home to fufil my naan cravings.

The first week or two of our stay was desperately dry, the monsoon being a month late. Baby trees were dying and the volunteers had to work that much harder to keep them watered and get then in the ground as quick as possible. The past week however, weve had the blessing or curse of a cyclone settling in over the area. A cyclone here is a bit like a tropical depression in the states but it lasts a lot longer. The first day or two of the cyclone we just had a lot of rain, which we happily watched filling up all the rain water catchment areas around Sadhana. We started to get a little concerned when one of the bunds in camp started spilling over into the next, the last one before the bathrooms, little did we know what the storm still had in store for us. The next morning the wind started, and by this time the ground was so saturated that the trees started toppiling like dominos. While in the kitchen making breakfeast we saw the first one starting to go and within five or ten minutes another ten or so trees around the compound had also fallen over or broken.

Attempting to cook breakfeast during the cyclone

Poofy scoping out the damage with James

James and Arya saving the bunds

The intense wind and rain kept up all day, blowing in all the windows around our beds. Everything by this time was damp and starting to smell. Our beds felt horrid and between the wet sheets and the hut swaying all night I got no sleep the next evening. The following morning due to the cyclone and some other issues that I wont go into on a public blog, we made the call to leave.

Cristoff, Jess, James, Myself, and Anna and her kids all left that morning and came into Auroville to stay at the Aspiration guest house. We haven't regretted our decision yet and thankfully were able to dry out our stuff quite a bit yesterday. Only a few items have been lots to the mildew now. Today is the second day since we left Sadhana and the cyclone has finally worn its self out and save for a few light showers seems to be over. There are trees down everywhere, and power is still out but the storm is over and everwhere you look locals are clearing the trees and working to restore power. This blog is being posted courtesy of the generator outside the Internet point :P

]]> Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=38209 0 11.93 79.83

Were still adjusting to life here but the past two weeks have been a blast. Weve planted a bunch of trees with the aid of several local school groups, gone to the beach, attended a yoga session, run amuk through Auroville, gone shopping in pondicherry, and risked our lives daily driving two-wheeled vehicles in India. Great Fun!

Im totally getting a moped when we get home, those things rock. And if I can drive one and not kill myself in India I should be OK in Austin.

A bit about our home away from home...

Sadhana is a totally vegan (No animal at all, no processed foods, no refined sugars) community run by a super dedicated couple who have committed their lives and life savings to saving Indias teeny tiny bit of remaining tropical dry evergreen forest. There are 25 or so volunteers here, from more countries then I care to think of at the moment, and that number will swell dramatically in the next few months as we head into the busy season.

We sleep under a mosquito net in a huge hut made of pine, bamboo, and woven palm leaves, fall asleep to jackals, and wake up to Christine strumming the guitar and cooing goodmorning-goodmorning at 5:45. If you put Giligans Island, Swiss Family Robinson, Camp Anawana, and PETA all into a centrifuge, you'd end up with something like the essence of Sadhana.

I need to go help cook dinner so this is all for now, but sometime in the near future I hope to have more written.

Love yall!
]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=37263 0 11.93 79.83 Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=36025 0 11.93 79.83 Greece. We found out our visa was over by 2 weeks when passing through customs here and thus fined 1200 Euro's which we must pay the next time we come to Greece. Yeah doubt we'll make it back here. On to Cairo.]]> Wed, 22 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=36024 0 37.9833333 23.7333333 understand it, as we get a lot of attention and women are treated a
bit different here. The culture is far from our own and it can take a lot out
of you. That being said... I am having an awesome time here. After holing
up for a few days in the hotel after our pyramid run the energy
returned.

James and I riding camels in front of the Pyramid of Khafre

I've been making lots of friends here, everyone is so friendly its hard
not to.

I can't understand everyone but it doesn't really matter. I find
using sounds, hand gestures and a smile works real well. The women who
work here in the hotel tend to talk or hand communicate with me a lot.
It's quite fun "talking" with them.

One in particular, Doaa, whose name I can never say right is pronounced something like Dew Eye but stress the eye with a hint of A. Yeah I can't do it either.

The amazing miss Doaa

Anyway she speaks a fair amount of English and is always trying to learn more. We use Google's language translator a lot to get our points across. Now she's Muslim, 20,
single and I'm not. Being as I like to flirt... lol things get
interesting. She's an amazing person and Amanda wants to put her in her
pocket and bring her home with us. In the hotel she's very open and able
to be more social with me, in public however she an Amanda hang on to
each other as we walk about and well... I hang by myself. Here the guys
hang together and hold hands and the women stick to themselves and do the
same. It is what is I reckon. No matter we have a great time. Doaa thinks
very highly of Amanda and mirrors her actions. It's very cute.

The girls out to eat

The Khan el Khalili Bazaar

She has taken us to all the places we would have never found on our own and
personally has made the last few days here perfect for me. From eating at
local restaurants up narrow stairs I wouldn't think of going up to eating
street cooked corn and riding the music party boats on the Nile.

Amanda and James at the local resteraunt

Mmm roast corn

Had some of the bestest chocolate shakes ever while enjoying a licorice shisha.

Doaa and the awesome chocolate shake

Amanda absolutely giddy over her shake and shisha

James hitting the shisha

Also toured the local park that allows you to see most of Cairo and has
really nice cafe's to relax in.

Went to the Khan El Kalili Bazaar which is the largest and I think oldest in the world, showed us how a real Egyptian handles the vendors and just has a good time with herself and us.

Being good consumer tourists at Khan el Khalili

I do wish she could be free of her religious boundaries but I respect
them and acknowledge as much as I can. She's pretty lax about them which
is good. We're really going to miss her, I feel she will be a great
addition to the circle of friends.

I must mention then entire hotel staff here at the Arabian Nights. They
go out of their way, are totally caring and very generous people. I feel
more like a friend than some tourist and that means a lot to me. My
journey to Egypt now feels accomplished and I have learned a lot from
them. BTW... These people being scary and bad is total horseshit. These
have been some of the friendliest people ever. They openly welcome us at
every turn and no where else have I ever experienced that to that magnitude. Far as
negatives.. its like any other tourist trap, in those spots it's about
money and how they're going to get it from you and that's anywhere on the
planet. Knowing that and knowing how to say no will save you a lot of
problems. I'll miss this place.
One last note. Riding around here in a taxi or any form of vehicle is
INSANE! I love it, I laugh and laugh and laugh while riding around. The
lanes on the road don't mean anything. There are no traffic cops, they
don't even drive with lights on at night. They use their horns like
they're going out of style and they're headlights are used to get ur
attention. They drive fast and sometimes against on coming traffic. Yet I
haven't seen an accident and I've been riding a lot. Tons of fun!!!

Addendum: Scored a few Shisha pipes that look awesome, Have gone wandering through a large section of the Khan bazaar and the scope of the place is mind boggling. The city has so much history it would take a very extensive amount of time to see it all. I hope I can come back someday to continue seeing it. We're off to Pondicherry India's Auroville and it will probably be a bit before we do another major blog update. Will do our best though.

<3<3<3]]> Tue, 04 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=35876 0 30.05 31.25 A bit about the area were staying in; it's the Muslim neighbourhood of downtown Cairo. I am probably the only female over ten without my hair covered I've seen in this area of town. Grocery stores? Hah. English speaking shop-keepers? Hah. People who don't gawk at long blonde hair? Hah. The girls all seem to giggle when they see James's ponytail too, it's cute when they do it though. They guys are kinda creepy about it. That said though, after staying here a few days I've grown pretty comfortable with the locals. Everyone has been very kind to us, and a few have even greeted us on the streets in English.

Our first day of sightseeing we went to the Egypt Museum, the repository of Egypt's artefacts, open for a hundred and fifty or so years. The building is huge and packed with pottery, statues, sarcophagus, and papyrus manuscripts. The galleries with King Tutankhamun's treasures and the jewellery were my favourites.

James outside the Egypt Museum

James outside the Egypt Museum

Outside the Egypt Museum

The coolest part of this day though came later in the evening. The terrace of our hotel was booked for an engagement party that evening and the music started blaring before the sun went down. And when I say blaring, I mean making stuff in our room several floors from the roof rattle sorta blaring. Have I mentioned yet how much I'm digging the local music? I've always got the TV in our room turned to a music channel :). When the celebrants arrived they did en mass, the women doing that cool allllalalalalala thing in super high voices that for some reason western women seem incapable of copying. The party had been in full swing for awhile when the hotel's owner invited us to go up to the terrace and watch the festivities with another employee of the hotel who we'd chatted with a few times. The roof was packed and I felt pretty awkward being up there, but we found some seats out of the way and watched the dancing, which was a total treat. The guys were on the floor and danced soooo expressively, using their full bodies and rather sensuous movements in a way I'm more accustomed to seeing women dance. A gentleman, a relation of the couple I think, even came over and offered James and I some sodas. It was a once and a life time chance to get a glimpse at the Arabic culture. One thing I can say for sure, these people know how to party.

The next morning we were up early as we had booked a tour to go see the pyramids!! Our driver for the day collected us from the hotel and we headed out to Dahshur to see the first pyramid of the day, The Red Pyramid of Sneferu.

James and I in front of the The Red Pyramid

This is one of the few pyramids you can go into without making special arrangements so we hastily climbed our way to the entrance to be meet by a hysteria inducingly small tunnel which led into the inner chambers.

James climbing into the The Red Pyramid

Climbing into The Red Pyramid

Thighs burning, we made it down into the first chamber where we could look up at the interior structure of the pyramid.

Inside the The Red Pyramid

View of the Step Pyramid from afar

Inside the tomb of Mereruka

Me inside the tomb of Mereruka

James outside the tomb of Mereruka

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs inside Teti's Pyramid

At one point a worker invited us to take some photos on the sly and then took us into another tomb beside the first we went into and allowed me to snap a couple good shots in their while telling us a bit about the reliefs.

James and I Inside the tomb

This would have been awesome if he didn't expect an exorbitant basheesh in return.

On our way from Saqqara to Giza our driver stopped at one of the many hand-woven carpet schools and we were given a demonstration of the three kinds of woven carpets the students learn to make before being taken to the sale room/gallery upstairs.

Giving carpet making a try at the carpet school outside Giza

James at the carpet school outside Giza

Here James and I came to the realization that were weak in the face of gorgeous material objects and not the best bargainers. We came away with a good-sized rug woven of all natural un dyed wool with a rather modern linear design. Sure we don't have a house, but we have a damn fine Egyptian hand woven rug to put in one. :P

Continuing on our way we came to our final destination for the day, the Giza plateau, home of the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid.

Pyramids of Menkaure, Khafre, and Khufu, and wives/childrens in front

By this point in the day our moods had taken a down turn due to the constant barrage of people expecting money. We tried to set this aside though and booked our camel ride around the pyramids.

Camel Jockey

The pyramid complex is quite large and to attempt to get all the vantage points I wanted for photographical reasons on foot would have been exhaustive. On our way out of the stables my mood started taking even more of a down turn when I saw the state of some of the animals kept in the stables not authorized by the government as ours way. Horses with saddle sores and way to many bones sticking out. The animals were in no condition to be worked but all had saddles on their backs. Making our way along the trail to the pyramids we came across the most unsettling part of the trip. In the not so far distance were the well picked over but still fleshy skeletal remains of a horse. I looked away and tried to shove it out of my mind so I could enjoy the pyramids but at this point both James and I were feeling morally filthy.

By being tourists here we were inadvertently encouraging a system where men relied on underhand and dishonest practices to weasel money out of ignorant tourists and animals were apparently underfed and overworked for the amusement of tourists and financial benefit of their owners.

We continued on our tour of the pyramids, but at this point neither of our hearts were really in it. I wanted more than anything to leave Cairo after our visit to Giza and get to India stat.

James and I in front of Khafre and Khufu's pyramids

Being silly at the Pyramids

Riding camels in front of the Giza Pyramids

Gazing up at Khafre's Pyramid

Chilling on the Pyramid of Khafre

On our way back to the hotel though we ate a nice lunch with our guide and then he stopped at a papyrus gallery so we could see how papyrus was made and look at the paintings. A really nice guy gave us a demonstration of how papyrus was made, which by the way is really easy and we plan to try it when we get home, and then explained some of the stories behind the historical and religious painting reproductions they had. We viewed the gallery for awhile and in the end selected a few for ourselves and as gifts. I wish I could take pictures of them to show you how cool they are but the paintings are all in a tube being mailed to the states as we speak. They, like the rug, will look splendid in that house we don't have hehe.

As we were checking out we got into a conversation with our salesman and the other clerks about American politics and how distorted the media's representation of Muslims and their quality of life really is. Sure Egypt isn't Iraq, but their ways of life aren't to dissimilar, though totally foreign to an American. That was one of the more rewarding moments of the day. ]]> Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=35278 0 30.05 31.25 I even kept it together when Ugo dropped us off at the station.

Damn animals....

Trove

See ya later Trove, it's been a blast.

]]> Tue, 21 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=34956 0 43.1333333 11.6833333
View across the valley from Trove

After staring at this mountain for the past two and a half months, when James and I got permission to take the car out for a day trip to Mont Amiata we went. Before heading up Mont Amiata though James wanted to go investigate a near by fortress. He has a little boys fanaticism when it comes towers, gun turrets, and such.

Yarrrr!

Radicofani in the distance

Radicofani

From the road the place looks pretty damn impressive. Can you imagine being the invading army? Having marched hundreds of miles you get here and realize not only do you have to fight these guys you have to run up that hill to do it while they're firing unfriendly implements of war at you. “Naw I'll pass on this one Sarg....”

We found or own hostile force on the way up, but he fled at the sight of our mighty siege weapon aka the 4wd suzuki.

A snake crossing the road on our way up to Radicofani

Being the end of the tourist season the place was practically deserted and we sat on a bench and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the middle of an ancient fortress overlooking all of Tuscany. And we found shrooms, yes those kind of shrooms. No, we didnt eat them.

Candid shot of me looking at mushrooms

After lunch we went and explored the fortress proper and climbed up the big tower which has been turned into a museum of sorts. Heres something I bet you didnt know about Tuscany, there are a LOT of ants here. Not the mean demon spawn ants we have back home mind you, just the happy eat everything in sight sort. Anyhow, its matting season for the ants. So all the winged ones have taken to the air, at the same time, and there are millions of them. Apparently the party invite said the dance was on top of of the tower, because the entire way up we passed the dead and dying ants twitching on the stairs. I naïvely figured they must of flown up from the door below but was relieved of that notion as soon as we stepped out on top of the tower. A mass of flying and dying ants filled the air and covered every horizontal surface of the ramparts. Yum...

Having had our fill of flying insects going places they shouldn't we decided to head down and make our way up Mont Amiata.

The drive up to the top was in my opinion almost the best part of the trip. The bosco were breathtaking. A veritable fairyland.

Fall foliage on the slopes of Mont Amiata

Don't these forests make you want to go mushrooming or pretend your a gnome? Just me? Fairy Perhaps?

At every bend I was waiting for the gnome to climb out from under his mushroom and take my into a barrow to meet the King and Queen of the Sidhe. Ok not really, I didn't eat those mushrooms remember. But still that place was magical.

Fall foliage on the slopes of Mont Amiata

Fall foliage on the slopes of Mont Amiata

Sun sparkaling through the trees in Tuscany

Most of you i'm a bit of a nature nut, but perhaps not to the extent I really am. I don't need religion, philosophical self help books, Conversations With God even; no Tolle, no string theory, or pagan rituals. I need trees, trees to climb in, big grey rocks to climb over, moss to run my hands through, tempestuous wind blowing through my hair, I need sunshine, and thunderstorms, and babling brooks.

James in the forest atop Mont Amiata

Me in the stunning forest atop Mont Amiata

Mont Amita had it all, yes I climbed trees and yes I hugged the mossy rock. Cant help it, it was too cuddly. Save me? I might turn into the crazy lady in the woods who talks to the animals and has a pet name for every tree. There are ski lodges for rent on Amiata, perhaps I could just play the crazy lady in the woods for a few weeks outa the year :P

It was a good day, a little known part of Tuscany that might have been my favourite.

Fuzzy Rocks!

Sleepy grape vines

Two days before the harvest was to start we pulled out all the bins, baskets, tubs, and tubes and gave then a good rinsing. Grapes don't like dirt, or soap, so everything gets a good rinse as you put it away after the previous years harvest and again right before this years to insure things are as clean as possible.

Washing the buckets

The morning of the Vendemmia we had one last thing that needed rinsing, having decided to harvest a day earlier on account of the weather turning. The final thing to wash was the de-stimmer. The name says it all, this machine removes the grapes from the stalks smushing them a bit in the process and them shoots them into the tube you hopefully have aimed into the holding vats. Having quite a force behind it, if the tubes off for cleaning and you don't have a catch bucket over the hole you can shoot dried grape bits leftover from last years harvest quite a way into your nice freshly swept cellar. Blasting anyone in the way. Not that I'd know from experience or anything.... Sorry Paul.

Washing the de-stimmer before harvest

James playing with machines...he does that a lot

Around noon we headed down to the vineyards to get started. Barbara and Ugo knew this years would be a small harvest thanks to the very dry spring and summer, what they hadn't really counted on was the local deer eating at least half of the grapes they did have this year. Normally they move the dog kennel down to the vineyard so Billy and Mary Moon can chase deer to their hearts content and protect the grapes. Alas that didn't happen this year and as a result there are some very very well fed deer in the area. I think the local poachers owe the Mariottie's a couple venison steaks and such for feeding the damn things.

Regardless of the small yield there were still grapes that needed picking and the whole gang pitched in. Ugo and Barbara of course, James and I, as well as Martine and Paul; another couple here helping who also hail from the land of Oz. Even the animals came to help.

Ugo and Paul harvesting grapes

Barbara harvesting grapes

Fluffy supervising the harvest

Normally the white and red grapes would be harvested separately for white and red vintages but due to the small quantity this year Ugo and Barbara decided to combine them to make and old school Chianti wine.

Grapes Grapes and more Grapes

Disclaimer, I really have no clue what I'm talking about here. Apparently, before “Winemakers” moved into the area Chianti was made by combining the red,Sangiovese,and white grapes, Malvasia. Doing this would still make a red wine, not a rose or blush, as its the skins of the red grapes that make a red wine red. These days Chianti is primarily just made with the Sangiovese grape.

Back to the harvest, after collecting grapes for a few hours it was time for a picnic lunch in the vineyard and a short rest before collecting the last of the grapes.

Barbara and Billy going halves on the penuts

After all the grapes were picked the buckets were taken up to the cellar, where we ran them through the de-stimmer and the juice was pumped into the big holding vat where it eventually becomes wine.

Ugo and James dumping grapes

James feeding grapes into the de-stimmer

Juicy bits going into the holding vat

There is of course more to that process of grape juice to wine but that's another blog.

Cheers mates ;)

ps To see all the harvest photos click the photos link then scroll to the bottom of the page and find the Vendemmia tag.

I think I have an obsession with this cat

]]> Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=33472 0 43.1333333 11.6833333

Cinque Terre

We had been working hard on the farm for several weeks and our hosts thinking it was high time we had a break lovingly kicked us out for a few days. Four train connections later we we're in La Spezia and caught a bus from there to the hamlet of Biassa. Biassa is perched on opposite side of the hills from Cinque Terre and many of the National Parks hiking trails start in or pass through Biassa.

The port of La Spezia

The village we stayed in while visiting Cinque Terre, Biassa

The first day there we wanted to take it kinda easy and get our bearings, so we opted for a short hike just over the hill to to first town in Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore.

The start of our 1 1/2 hour hike that ended up being 5 hours

Five hours and 15-20km later we decided the trail map would have been a good idea, but had a good time none the less. We passed a few bars a long the trail and grabbed some fruit and bread in a small village along the way, so we didnt fret about not being where we wanted to be and enjoyed the amazing views.

Riomaggiore

Relaxing on a rock in the harbor of Riomaggiore after a long long hike

James in the harbor of Riomaggiore

James in the harbor of Riomaggiore

Amanda in the harbor of Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Day two we took the bus. We also bought a day pass for the ferries that run to each of the towns, and went to the second town in Cinque Terra for breakfast. It would have been awesome but they were outa waffles, much suck. After breakfast we opted for more hiking, sane choice...nahhhh, and hiked along the cost from Manarola to Corniglia.

Amanda in Manarola

James in Manarola

The trail literally clings to the cliffs and every step of the way your a banister away from the sparkling waters of the Mediterranean, which happen to be a long way down.

Shore of the Mediterranean along the trail from Manarola to Corniglia

On the other side of the trail you could see the odd house or rows and rows of vines. Nope, there are no roads of any sort going to these peoples houses. Only the occasional small rail car. The must have legs of iron...

When we got to Corniglia we were faced with the fun prospect of climbing 382 stairs, just to reach the town. Who knows how many were in the town its self. There was a nice suprise waiting for us though when we got to the top, it came in the form of stuffed mussels and pesto spaghetti,mmmmm. We sat at a table up against the railing dividing the restaurant from the hill we had just climbed. Olive trees acted as the ceiling and wide open views of the Mediterranean provided the walls.

We strolled through the town after lunch, just enjoying the sites.

Siesta time on the roofs of Corniglia

Eventually we caught the train to the next town, Vernazza, to catch the ferry from there to the last town in Cinque Terre, Monterosso. After a failed hunt for lemon gelato we caught the last ferry back to the first town, which stopped in each of the towns with a harbor along Cinque Terre. We got to enjoy the views of each town from the sea and I was able to snap some nice shots of each town.

Our trip to Cinque Terre could be described as a visual assault of the natural persuasion, the 400 or so photos I've had to sort through the past few days is testament to the beauty of this place.

Tomorrow we start the harvest!!!!!!

Love you all!

P.S. We got your postcard today Savannah!! We'll try to call you soon, Hugs and Kissies :)
]]> Tue, 30 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=32848 0 44.1 9.7333333 I've been cleaning out the Mariotties cellar, bottling previous vintages, all in preparation for this years harvest which is just around the corner.

It starts by cleaning out the bottles, anything can effect the taste of wine, and the smallest speck of god knows what can turn a whole demijohn of loveliness into vinegar before you could shout Baccus!

My project, clean vino bottles

Next up you grab a big demijohn from the cellar floor and put it up an the stand. Then you un cork it and suck the oil off the top to see what you have underneath. You top off the wine with oil for preservation reasons. Providing the vino has survived the ageing process your then ready to bottle.

Demejion and bottles to be filled

Next you fill up various sizes of your sparkling bottles and then move them over to the 'corker'. Pop a cork in, slap a label on them and then stick them on the shelves.

Corker

In the end you wind up with something looking a lot like this.

Freshly bottled Vino from the Amalfi Coast

Things here at Trove are, well, rural. They do not sell any wine commercially, the vines and cellar merely support the Mariottie's yearly Vino needs. Yes. Tuscan families DO need their own vineyard and cellar to provide the years wine... God, can I have a villa in Tuscany, pleaaaaase?!?!?!?!

Don't worry, they dont have to hang out in the dark cellar for very long. The 2007 red is my particular favourite. In the states Id never touch reds, here id plug it into an IV if only my veins had taste buds.

Disclaimer for the Moms reading this:

Nope I'm not an alcoholic. In Italy, it is very shameful to be drunk. A mentality I quite agree with, I hate bring drunk and haven't been in a very very long time. Wine, is just....life... here.

Two weeks and counting until the harvest!! I plan to blog the whole process here at Trove so stay tuned ;)

Peace ya'll,
Amanda]]> Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=31169 0 43.1333333 11.6833333

The Scar

The Scar

Remember it used to look like this.

The Wound

The scar healed up fine, not to tight or anything. Under the skin things seem to still be sorting themselves out. I get wierd stabby and tingly pains and dont have the same strength or range of motion. All things taken into consideration though I think it's doing quite well.

I never got around to writing up a Florence blog and I doubt i will so go look at the pictures, and all thats worth knowing is that the two best things about florence had nothing to do with florence.

1st best thing was the awesome sushi place we found. Hot sake and raw fish, nothing has tasted so good in a long long time.

Best part of Florence - Susheeeee

2nd best was my new sandles which i somehow didnt get uploaded. They're braided cord woven into a cool strappy pattern, and they can get wet. Flipside footware ftw!

Hmmm florence is less then two hours away, and the train ticket was less then 7 euros. Is it extravagent to travel across italy for good sushi? Cuse now im craving it again :(
]]> Mon, 08 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=30003 0 43.1333333 11.6833333

James trying to calm the flams inside the stump

James and Ugo playing with the flaming stump

Baby lizards hatching

A day or two later there was a wine tasting in Montepulciano of local wines. Local wines here means the rather famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano and Rosso di Montepulciano., yummm.

Wine tasting in Montepulciano

Ugo and Barbera chatting ing during the wine tasting

Little fox we saw on the way home from a wine tasting in Montepulciano

That weekend Leslie and Karla came to stay at Trove and Saturday Ugo took us on a little sightseeing day trip. One of our first stops of the day was at the monastery where some of the movie The English Patient was filmed. It boasted some wonderful frescos and views of the surrounding countryside.

Frescos in Sant'Anna in Camprena Monastery

Frescos in Sant'Anna in Camprena Monastery

View of the Tuscan Countryside

Freshly mowed wheat fields

Close up of wheat fields in Tuscany, loved the lines

Grapes ripening in Tuscany

Leslie enjoying the lunch we were suprised with in Lucignano d'asso

Eventually we ended up at the hot springs on the side of Mont Amiata. We swam in a modern swimming pool which has several sections of varying size and temperatures, all fed by thermal waters heated by the volcanic activity of Mont Amiata.

Hot springs bath on MontAmiata

Ancient baths constructed for the hot springs

Have I ever mentioned how much I love bathing in really hot water? Like hot to the point it chases James out of the shower. I could really do with a hotspring in my backyard...would certainly lower our electricity and water bills :P Of course I would also need a backyard again to have a hot spring in it.

We also visited one of my new favorite places again, the garden Bosco dela Ragnaia. This time it was a whole diffrent experiance having Ugo there to play the guide and tell is the meanining of all the words inscribed around the place. I swear this guy reads Conversations With God, and must have a lusty obsesion with good philosiphy.

Leslie and Ugo enjoying the garden

This sign points to a stone with a circle carved in it, you trace the cirlcle three times then sit on the nearby bench to let what ever your own oracle tells you float to the surface of your mind

Sculpture of Pan and a rabbit, Pan looks remarkably like the gardens creator

We were luck enough to meet the creator, and he is the most unassuming guy youd ever meet. There he was just working away on a flower bed in his beat up denim and floppy wide brim hat, humility and warmth eminating from every gesture. He stopped his work long enough to have a quick chat and then politly excused himself and got back to it, he is obviously not a big socializer but still makes you feel welcome.

It's finally cooling off a bit and we've enjoyed several dinners outdoors in one of the courtyards. Nice breeze, good vino, good company...

Ugo and Karla enjoying a drink after a hard day of touring Tuscany

I think I might have mentioned this before, but just in case....

Sunset from Montepulciano

View from a cafe in Montepulciano

I DONT EVER WANT TO LEAVE!

Love you all!]]> Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=29580 0 43.1333333 11.6833333 We were without the comp for a few days while we took a short trip to Firenze, and well, when you could enjoy this view from the comfort of the hammock or sit inside on a computer what would you do?

The view from my favorite siesta spot, in front of the Mariotti residence

<3!]]> Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=2741 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=28701 0 43.1333333 11.6833333