FROM ITALY NORTH into AUSTRIA, GERMANY, SWITZERLAND and back to ITALY

Well here we are in Todi where our villa is, but two days earlier than expected as we have come to get our car repaired. Why you ask ? - well here we go ...

...we had a wonderful trip up into Austria, Germany and Switzerland enjoying the wonderful alps with magical little wooden houses perched on the hill sides with green green paddocks and cows with bells on. The weather was great, but we headed back down into Italy a few days earlier, to visit Milan which at this stage we had not intended to do. Just as well we did head south as we missed the terrible thunderstorms and rain which created havoc and many deaths particularly in Germany. You may have seen this on the news.

Back into Italy the weather has been great, but on our second day in Milan, our car was broken into and all but three of our cases stolen !!!! We had parked in a carpark and arranged with the attendant to keep an eye on it for us. That he didn't and we think his "friends" were the ones who broke into the car. The Police took him away for questioning, so who knows. Peter lost his main suitcase with all his belongings and only had the clothes he stood up in and the items in his manbag. We each lost our small carrycases and 1 small backpack with all our personal items, two cameras, our Camera SD cards some of which had all our photos on them, Lizzy's Ipod, all our trinkets bought in each country we have visited, tickets, itinerary, notes, diaries, spare cash cards, copies of documents, our peugeot wallet with contact information (luckily not our car registration, insurance, spare key or transponder, or the GPS which were on Peter in his Manbag). At least Jenny, Lizzy and Anthony had their main cases with clothing and some toiletries. Anyway it was very upsetting and we have wasted a day in Milan and the next 4 days in Florence trying to sort out the insurance and repair to the car drivers door and lock where they forced entry and get replacement spare visa cards. We are told the car will take 20 days to get a new door lock and handle and be repaired, so have been directed to the Peugeot dealer down here in Todi. Upon arrival today, we find he can not do the repair and we have to drive back up to another Peugeot dealer in Perugia - talk about be given the run around!

Anyway enough of our troubles, back to the trip.
From Montegrotto the spa town nearVenice where we stayed, we drove up to Innsbruck in Austria and stayed in a beautiful little village in the mountains called Oberperfuss. The scenery was breathtaking and the village out of a storybook. We had a great few days exploring and visiting the lovely city of Innsbruck. Everything was so clean green and orderly. No one speeds on the roads and everyone is very polite on and off the road; very different to the Italian motorists! We drove west then headed north through the alps to Germany and stayed in Brienz on the lake. At this point, Austria is between Germany and Switzerland on a spit of land 15 km wide, on one side of the lake its Germany and the other Switzerland. We then stayed in Germany at the northern point of the lake at Bodman and explored the area from there. The lake was picturesque and the weather very fine and hot with no wind. We then drove further west and south to Interlaken in Switzerland, a small town between two lakes with the Alps towering above. The Jungfrau, the highest mountain in Europe stands over the town and we managed to get good views of it and the Eiger as the clouds and mist rose. Back into the alps the senery was spectacular and the fresh, clean, green environment was recharging. With the weather deteriorating in central europe with thunderstorms on the way, we headed south back to Italy earlier than planned. We decided to visit Milan now, rather than in a months time when we leave Todi. That way we would be able to head straight up and around the French Riviera into France, thereby saving 2 - 3 days.

We have spend 4 days, 3 nights in Florence sorting insurance and car matters out and have not had the chance to sightsee there. We will have to spend time there in a few weeks on our way north to France. So much for saving a few days.

We are all well and count our blessing that we are safe and that it was only our luggage taken. We are looking forward to life in a small Italian town for the next three weeks and also to not moving on every few days.

I am sorry that there are no photos to post on the blog for your enjoyment, but someone in Milan has them !!! Lizzy has her portable hard-drive to which she had downloaded photos from her camera, but all the others are gone. At least we have hers. Anthony is upset that he has lost his photos on SD card and trinkets he had purchased on the way. We have bought one replacement camera in Florence so we can begin taking photos again, so hope to upload some for you of Todi and our villa in a week or two.

Thanks to those of you who have kept in touch through comments on this site or emails. We appreciate them and are sorry if we have not replied as often as we should. Its always great to receive news and photos from good old NZ.

FROM ITALY NORTH into AUSTRIA, GERMANY and SWITZERLAND

TOURING ITALY - ADRIATIC COAST AND NORTH TO VENICE

Another post from Italy, but no photos I am sorry as this computer won't read my memory card USB Adaptor.

Since our last post we have worked our way up the east coast of Italy, spending time on the Adriatic Coast and working our way inland and back to the coast again. This zig zagging has given us an opportunity to see highlights inland and on the coast.

This region of Italy has afforded us a choice of accomodations from Agriturismos to apartments and small hotels. As more tourists come to this area, everything is open year round, unlike the south coast (foot of the Italian map) where hotels and apartments are only open from 1st June to the end of September, and there were very few private homes or Agriturismos to stay in.

We have found the countryside from Fano on the coast to inland towns like Atri very beautiful, with fields of poppies, grapes, wheat etc. As it is spring, many crops are rising and the patchwork of the paddocks is beautiful. We have stayed in Tavuliia ( a small town towards the coast from the ancient town of Urbino) which is the home town of motorcycle racing champion Valentino Rossi. The day we arrived he was racing in Germany and won, well the cannons fired for hours, there was a band playing echoing out over the valley to our Agriturismo. That night we went into town for dinner at a little local Cucina and were presented by the proprietor with a Valentino Rossi flag with his number 46 emblazened on it, two caps and two calendars with the compliments of the official fan club! These Italians are so passionate about their sport and sporting heroes.

We have worked our way up north and in the last few days have stayed in Montegrotto a Spa town north west of Venice. It is a lovely wooded town with thermal waters. We visited Venice by train (easiest way to get there due to traffic congestion across the causeway) and had a wonderful time exploring the canals and little paved alleyways - a photographers jackpot. Due to the days of rain before and the day we arrived, combined with a high tide, the piazzas were flooding due to water coming up throught the stormwater vents. Some shops had their gumboots at the ready to get in or out! Venice was full of tourists but still an amazing city.

We are heading north tomorrow over the alps and into Austria, where we are going to stay with a family in an apartment above their restaurant, 800m up in a small mountain village. During the winter they run a ski school and the son is a chef who well known for his Austrian, French and Italian dishes.

In two weeks we are due at the Villa we have rented in Todi, Umbria, so in the meatime we are heading north up through Austria, Possibly southern Germany and across into Switzerland then down past the Jungfrau back into northern alpine Italy, down to Milan then Florence and Pisa to Todi.

We will update you when we can find computer cafes and are able to download our photos.

Now an update about us;
We are all well and getting along fine. Only had a couple of moments, when we have spent too long in the car and are hungry, but an hours silence fixes all!
Lizzy and Anthony have been great company for Jenny and I and kept us going when the trecking got tough in some countries. It gives us an extra dimension seeing the country through their eyes.
Anthony has sprung some sort of growth from his chin. Lizzy is looking healthier by the day with this wonderful Italian food. Jenny is loving the food and sporting a new hair style and colour (Oops that slipped out) and I'm expanding around the girth and looking thinner on top (roll on 50)
Our little blue Peugeot 307 sport wagon has been great, but it took me a little while to come to grips with the manual stick on the right. The Diesel with turbo has been economical and yet speedy enough to head down the autostradas at 130km per hour, slightly faster than the trucks but way slower than the mercs, BMWs and Porsches in the left lane
"Charlotte" our GPS makes sure we are on the right track, and I don't know how we could have done this trip without her and Anthony's techno and navigational skills.

Italy as a country is far more diverse culturally and geographically/topographically than we had thought. It is certainly a land of contrasts, from the steep/rocky Amalfi Coast, to the dry hot flat southern mediterranian coast, the flat barren land of the south coast covered in closed resorts, to the picturesque landscape of the north adriactic coastal area through towards the Tuscan/Umbrian inland, up to the north and the Venetian Islands. Can't wait to see the mountains of the north.

We hope all our friends and family are well and please keep in touch either through comments on the blog or emails to cohenfamily@xtra.co.nz . We like hearing about what you are up to. It gives us a connection to home

FROM GREECE TO ITALY AND OUR ROAD TRIP

Its has been some weeks since our last post in Greece. We have had real problems finding computers that are able to download photos and then upload to the blog.



We are in Vieste a holiday resort on the Gargano Peninsular, on the Adriatic (east) coast of Italy, and they have new computers. Well here goes...


Leaving Sifnos our beautiful island in the Cyclades Group, 3.5 hours south of Athens by ferry. This photo is our last day as we leave the island.

Back in Athens we visit a number of sites including the Ultar of Zeus in this photo.


















We then flew to Rome and spent 6 days visiting the historic sights before collecting our Peugeot Wagon for our tour of Italy. This photo is of us at the Colosseum.
















We joined the crush on the Spanish Steps. It was a public holiday and all of Rome was out in the sun!











We joined the thousands at St Peters to see the Pope give his public address on Sunday













We collect our car and headed south through Naples to Pompeii. This photo is of us in the buried town of Pompeii - you can see the chariot ruts in the stone paving slabs. An incredible place to visit. The plaster casts of the inhabitants dying is very sobering.














Next we headed down the west coast of Italy called the Amalfi Coast. Stunning with the roads carved in the hillsides - vertical drops to the sea below and straight up above. We stopped at Massa Lubrense a delightful fishing village - I can see why Larry Greco's family settled here.

We leave Massa Lubrense and drive south along the Amalfi Coast. In this photo we have stopped at a lookout above Positano.














We make our way down towards Sicily and stop at Tropea with a great view of the Volcanis Island of Stromboli out in the sea. In this photo you can see Stromboli in the red sky after sunset












We cross over to the other coast and head north to Metaponto, the home of Pythagorus. We visit the Sanctury of Hera, where Pythagorus lived and was buried.











We are now heading up the east coast past Brindisi and Bari and have come out onto the Gargano Peninsula that sticks out into the Adriatic Sea. It is a beautiful resort with the old town clinging to the rocky headland and the beaches either side with hotels and resorts. This photo is of us tonight having a pizza and wine picnic above the marina and watching the sun set.

We trust that our family and friends are all well. We are having a wonderful experience and apart from the italian motorists a wonderful time.

GREECE

Hi everyone
Due to a formatting problem with this blog, there is a huge gap between the bottom of the last post ISTANBUL TO GREECE and the previous one of Turkey to Cappadocia. Please just scroll down to find the previous posts.
Thanks
Peter

TURKEY AND ON TO GREECE

Well since our last post we have finished our travels from Cappadocia up through Turkey back to Istanbul and then we have flew on to Athens, Greece.

First a few photos that I did not include in my previous post - yes I have a computer where my SD card reader works !!! Sorry if the text is a bit repetitive but at least you will know what the photos are of.

Peter and Jenny floating on The Dead Sea in Jordan

Standing in Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, with the Dardenelle Strait behind. There was a very sombre feel to this cove. We looked up the cliffs and realised what an impossible task the New Zealand and Australian soldiers had to advance with little cover on the beach and scale those cliffs.

We crossed the Dardanelles from Eceabah to Cannakkale and stayed the night before continuing the next day to the ancient city of Troy and the Wooden Horse .

We drove on south down the west coast of Turkey stopping at Kusadasi a beautiful port town. Inland we visited the old ruins of Ephesus and Jenny found the roman public toilets in the ruins !!! Incredible how this city of 200,000 people had everything, from theatres to library's, shops, houses, markets, village square, roads, piped water, sewerage system, etc etc and all thousands of years ago!

Above Ephesus on the top of the mountain, we visited the house that Moses took Mary to live in following the crucifixion of her son Jesus. The little stone cottage had a beautiful peaceful feel to it and we spent some time inside considering this event and the 2000 years since. Hard to comprehend and almost overwhelming!

From Ephesus we drove on down further south to Pamukkale and the massive white cliffs covered in Calcium from the natural springs in the hills above.

Higher up on the hill we climbed to the ruins of Hieropolis which was once a thriving town with people visiting to enjoy the springs which they belived had healing properties.

Next it was around the south coast of Turkey to the Tourist town of Antalya. A beautiful seaside and port town, where the old city has been preserved and the new city is growing to accomodate the 7 million tourist who visit each year for the history (like us), the mountains for skiing in the winter and the warm waters for boating in the summer. We stayed at the Sheriton on the beach front, one of the better hotels on the tour!

From Antalya we drove north through the Taurus Mountains to Konya a very poor and conservative town. Then across the Obruk Plateau which was like the Desert Road in NZ with mountains and extinct volcano's. We are following the original Silk Road route that the traders in their Camel Caravans followed. In Sultanhani in the desert we visit a Caravan House, where the traders would stop and spend the night safe from the Bandits.

Following the mountain range and the now extinct volcanoes across the Obruk Plateau we stop on the side of the road as there begin to be more fertile soils and farms. Our guide Alp Kose asks a farmer if we can talk to him about his mud brick house and farm. He's delighted, but more so when he sees Lizzy and decides he wants her to marry his youngest son who is currently doing his compulsory military training. We start talking about doweries and he wants a photo with his future daughter in law and her parents!!! Lots of fun and much smiling as Alp translates there excited talk. Finally we pull Lizzy away and depart on the bus.

Further on along the Silk Road we arrive in Capaddocia. Many thousands of years ago when the volcanoes erupted, they spewed Volcanic Ash into the valleys. Over the years with erosion, they formed amazing structures called Fairy Chimneys which the locals carved out and formed houses that they lived in.

They also carved into the hillside and made amazing networks of underground cities. These sometimes reached to 14 levels.

At night we visit a traditional Cappadocian restaurant and have a meal of lamb stew cooked in sealed pottery jars, which the waiting staff bring into the restaurant and with great gusto use a small axe to knock the top off the jar to get the stew out. Very nice and a bit of fun.

In northern Cappadocia we drive to a small town called Avanos, where we visit a family run pottery factory and showroom. The owner and father makes a tea pot on the wheel, then cuts it in half to show us how beautifully thin the sides are. A masterpiece ruined ! Jenny buys a beautiful plate and small bowl as a memory of the beautiful pottery we saw.

Then after spending a day driving back from Ankara the capital of Turkey, we arrive back in Istanbul and our tour is over, We visit the Spice Bazaar which like the Grand Bazaar with all the gold, silver, mats, etc etc is amazing.

So 3200km and a couple of weeks later we have visited many beautiful sights in the western half of Turkey.

AND SO ON TO GREECE ...

We fly from Istanbul to Athens and stay in a central Athens boutique hotel. Even though it is early in the tourist season, there are thousands of tourists at the

Acropolis and the Parthenon is covered in scaffolding.

Anyway we enjoy our few days in Athens before we leave for Serifos the Island Jenny and I stayed on 23 years ago. We are disappointed in the changes we find on Serifos, including a two lane road they have built 3 years ago around the bay where the restaurants are - ruined it!!

This time we chose to stay in the port town of Kamares on the Island of Sifnos which is another 30 minutes further south in the fast ferry. A good choice, it is compact and a great little community that we fit into well. We stay in Hotel Stavros which is right on the Quay amongst the restaurants and we can see the pier where the ferries tie up to deliver passengers, cars and supplies. A facinating location and the people are very friendly.

Each day there are more shops and cafes open as they get ready for Greek Easter on 27 April. Its funny watching the town wake up from winter. The only problem is the water is very cool (I guess 16 c) and so we can;t swim but enjoy the enforced rest after our couple of months travelling.

Next week we head back to Athens for two days and then we fly to Rome for 6 days before collecting our car and beginning our Italian Tour. We will update the blog once we have started our Italian leg of this trip.

Our love to all our friends and family. Thanks for your comments and emails.

FROM İSTANBUL TO CAPPADOCİA - TURKEY

We enjoyed four days in Istanbul before joining our tour group, however Lizzy became very ill on our last day and vomited for 22 hours. We called a doctor who arrived by ambulance with a driver and paramedic assistant. He put Lizzy on a drip with medication and within 24 hours she was much better. We then joined our Turkey tour guide in Istanbul to fınd ourselves on a 44 seater coach with 42 other people, not the max 20 seater coach we were expecting. Not a good start. Jenny who is not a good back seat passenger suffered with the bouncing motion and became very sick on the first day, collapsing and passing out in Eceabah as we were about to board the ferry to cross the Dardanelles to Cannakkale. She was taken away by ambulance for treatment at a medical centre and just made it back in time to join the ferry crossing. The next day was almost as bad with more vomiting until we could get some motion sickness medication. Thank goodness for the toilet on the bus.

Visiting Gallipoli was a very sobering yet moving experience. To walk on the beach that so many ANZACS gave their lives on is hard to describe. Standing there looking up at the cliffs that they had to climb under enemy (turkish) fire made you realise what a terrible mistake had been made landing the troops on the wrong beach. We visited the Australian and then New Zealand war cemeteries and found the inscription of Jenny's grandfathers brother Mr Bain. We laid four poppies on the memorial, a special moment.

Over the next few days as we travelled south down the west coast, visiting the Ancient City of Troy and saw the replica of the wooden horse, Pergamon the terraced hillside city, Izmir the large port town and spend the night in Kusadasi at a lovely hotel overlooking the Mediterranian. Nearby the ancient city of Ephesius was facinating with its collonaded streets, Hadrians temple, Roman bath house, public toilets with marble toilet seats, grand library and carving of the goddess Nike with her feather, now portrayed as a stylised tick by the Nike sport brand. We also visited Mary's House, the mother of Jesus Christ, set in the woods near the top of a hill overlooking Ephesius. İt had a very special serene feel to it and we had a moment to stop and pray and light a candle.

Travelling further south we arrive at Pamukkale and the ruins of Hieropolis and the cascading white terraces caused by calcium deposits from the mineral springs above in the hillside. İn the valley below there are steaming vents and a thermal power station.

On the southern coast of Turkey we arrive at Antalya, a modern tourist city of 1 million people that hosts 7 million tourists per year. Staying at the Sheriton for 2 nights its a nice change and we enjoy the food and lovely accomodation. A highlight was visiting the old city with its marina with gulettes (traditional turkish sailing boats) and other boats. We visited Perge with its stadium and 200m track that hosted sporting events in 200AD and its gymnasium with bath house and underfloor heated rooms - facinating and incredibly clever for its time.

Changing direction we head through the mountains and drive a couple of hundred kilometres north and inland to Konya which is at the crossroads from North to South and East to West. We are on the old Silk Road which the Trade Caravans followed hundreds of years ago. We visit a Caravan House on our way across the flat central plateau with its snow covered volcanic mountain range in the eastern distance. This fortified house was were the traders and their camels overnighted in its shelter from the bandits who regularly attacked and pillaged these caravans.

We stopped on the side of the road and talked to a traditional turkish farmıng family who welcomed us into their paddock. We had a great photo session and finished up with them wanting to keep Lizzy as a bride for their youngest son who was returning next week from completıng his 18 months of compulsory Military Training.

Finally we arrive in the Cappadocia Region of central Turkey with its amazing underground houses carved into the soft sandstone and the Fairy Chimneys, cone shaped rock structures that people carved the centre out of to form houses - hard to describe but an amazing sight! We experience a traditional Cappadocian meal out at a restaurant, where they cook Lamb in sealed pottery jars in earth ovens like İndian tandoory one's. They break the jars open with an axe - all very dramatic but very tasty.

I am sorry that I have no photos this posting, as the hotel doesn't have a cable for my camera and my USB adaptor for the memory card won't work on this computer. Oh well.

I trust you our family and friends are well and thank you to those of you emailing us news from home/NZ