Italy Day 13 - 8th September 2009

See, I'm on a roll now. And anyway, I collected up the photos last night so am eager to get them all posted here.

Now where were we ? Oh yes, in Rimini.

Wait. Before I go any further...I've had a request from a reader who thinks Stephen is a figment of my imagination and it's really just Daphne and myself who go on these trips. For shame ! So for him (and without Stephen's permission so I may now be in trouble) here is a photo of my travel companions taken a few days earlier on the shores of Lake Como.


Ok, Bob ?

When looking at the map for an interesting location for our 13th day touring Italy, I spotted something VERY interesting. Just a short drive away was a different 'country' that I'd heard lots about but never knew exactly where it was.

Less than 8 miles from our hotel in Rimini, was the border of the Most Serene Republic of San Marino and after 12 days of pretty hectic touring, we all fancied a nice day of 'sereneness' !

I was hoping for some sort of basic border checkpoint and had my passport at the ready. Sadly there was nothing to show we'd left Italy and entered San Marino, apart from the road suddenly heading upwards at an alarmingly steep angle. This first road sign was an indication that the all conquering Bigmac had reached the gentle inhabitants of this microstate.


Despite driving almost to cloud level, we had to park up and continue to the summit by cablecar. I liked the idea of this little parked vehicle having its own 'Denver Boot' although I still think that a passing thief could've just picked it up and carried it away.


I always like using cablecars, chairlifts and funiculars, so taking the one up to the town of San Marino was a joy. Here is a YouTube video of it going back down but you'll still get the idea.



Once at the top, we realised right away that we weren't really AT the top. The town still loomed overhead and numerous steep streets would take us to commanding views overlooking the countryside and the shores of the Adriatic off on the horizon.

It really was a fairytale place and we were hard pressed to remember this was real and not some Disneyesque facade. It also felt like we'd stepped back several centuries as the town walls, the quaint shops and the steep, narrow streets all combined to transport us to, if not a 'land before time', certainly a 'land before Bill Gates.'




Onwards and upwards we walked, taking in the bizarre items in the local shops. To compliment the setting and ambiance, many shops were full of weapons ! Not very serene really but wonderful none the less. From medieval crossbows and longbows to muskets and modern semi automatic machine guns, every weapon you could hope to see was available for purchase. Several stores even sold lethal looking samaurai swords and I'd have loved to have bought one but didn't fancy explaining it away at Dover.




We stopped at a restaurant to have some lunch and it was one of those occasions that will live long in the memory, even mine ! We entered onto a relatively dark dining area and headed for the sunny looking patio balcony outside. As we got out there and walked to the corner table, the entire countryside was spread out way below us like a patchwork quilt and for once, we didn't care if we had to wait a long time for our food to arrive. The views were simply stunning.

The first view was taken from my chair as I just had to swing round to my left. The other photo is a view looking out towards Rimini and the Adriatic.



Fortified by lunch and enchanted by those views, we returned to the streets and continued upwards. Every which way we looked, we saw sights to photograph but in reality, we were just taking shots of the same structure from different heights and directions.




Finally we'd gone as far as we could and as we made our way back down to the cablecar for the return trip to the car park, I had to take a couple of opportunities to be photographed looking manly. Yes ok so I still looked like a geek trying to look manly but even photoshop can only do so much !

The first one looks like the cover for "Gay Health" if such a publication exists and as for the other one, well create your own magazine title !



Just above the car park, we passed a tunnel entrance we'd seen on the way up and this time we went along it. The colours inside were wonderful and although there was nothing much at the other end, the tunnel itself was a star attraction.


Despite all our sightseeing, we still left San Marino in the early afternoon and being tired from the walking and climbing, wanted to find our next lodgings without driving too far. We went less than 50 miles south west along the scenic mountain road, SR258, and just before entering the small town of Sansepolcro, we spotted a road sign for Relais Palazzo Di Luglio and went up into the hillside for a look.

What a stunning find. This Tuscan family villa was just what we wanted with an outdoor swimming pool and nearby jacuzzi affording views over the olive groves of the Tiberina Valley. Hmmm I'm sounding like a travel article now but it really was somewhere special. Visit the site and click on the Relais heading and have a look at the photos !

Here are mine of the pool and jacuzzi which will have to do for this post.




After settling in we headed into the town for a meal and then returned to chill around the villa before bedtime.

It had been a memorable day in the fairytale land of San Marino and was ending in a fairytale villa deep in the Tuscan countryside. Ahhh what memories.

Italy Day 12 - 7th September 2009

Ha ! Y'all thought I'd forgotten about our Italian trip way back in 2009 !

Whaddya mean you hoped so ?? Peasants !

Ok back to September of that year and as it's been a long time since my last post, father, here is a Glee type catchup bit........

The intrepid trio (Daffy, Stephen et moi) went to Italy for a bit of a tour. We spent a few days in Rome, then headed up north west via Senna and Pisa before reaching Lake Como and the beautiful town of Bellagio (sad but not surprising that a Google search brings up the Vegas Hotel first and not this Italian town on which it is based). Then we headed east and visited Venice.

And that's what you missed.

As it was about 6pm when we finally left Venice, we didn't want to travel too far before settling down for the evening/night. So after driving 10 miles down the E55 from the railway station at Mestre, we pulled off at the small town of Lughetto and booked into the Hotel Da Vito as it looked clean and despite its name, looked remarkably free from any large Sicilians. When the receptionist assured us we'd only find a mint on our pillows as they were clean out of horses heads that week, it was an offer we couldn't refuse !


An uneventful evening turned into an uneventful night, followed 9 hrs later by an uneventful breakfast. For this, we had to cross the road as that's where the hotel restaurant was located. I find it's often a good idea to have a short walk before breakfast and 25yds was just about right.

After checking under the car, we set off down the east coast towards our next port of call, the famous resort town of Rimini. Daphne had been to Rimini in her yute and so this was a voyage of rediscovery for her but a new destination for me.

We drove along by the beach as we wanted a hotel within walking distance and were somewhat seduced by the Plaza Hotel........first by the name and then because it overlooked the beach. Neither hotel nor beach fully lived up to expectations !

We checked in, dumped our stuff, crossed the road and hit the sand. Well it was a bit like the sand in parts of Hawaii (I know, name dropping again) as it was a dirty grey colour and despite the absence of any nearby active volcano, had the look of ash about it. Still, it FELT like sand and so we paid, yes paid, to go on it. Not many others shared our enthusiasm but then it was the end of the summer season and the whole town had the air of a resort that badly wanted to have a little rest and close down for a few months.


Getting to the waters edge, we surveyed the scene. The sea, or the Adriatic as it was known locally, was blue and inviting and wanting to take a photo looking along the beach, I ventured in.


....almost a bit too far !!

The swimming attire on display would've scandalised most non Europeans (no not MY swimming attire, you jokers) and I hadn't seen such an abundance of wrinkled flesh since I once stumbled into the shower block here in Buttonwood Bay. Young and old mingled with similar scanty costumes and sometimes, I didn't know where to look - to get the best eyeful !

Then, out of nowhere, a chap set up a boombox and in no time a mixed group of beach strollers collected to put on a sort of line dance meets the macarena performance.


It was all a bit bizarre as apart from this area of activity, the rest of the beach was pretty much empty.


After a splash about in the water, we made use of the beach chairs for a bit of a lie down. Tiring work this touring lark ! Then it was back to the hotel for a wash and brush up, although never one to pass up a chance for immersing herself in any form of water, Daphne made a beeline for the hotel pool. I'll spare those of a nervous disposition by leaving out photographic evidence of this event and instead, here is a photo taken by Stephen, of the pool rules. Clearly another example of an online translation site being used by Johnny Foreigner with mixed results.


Meanwhile, here is the view from our balcony which again shows just how empty the beach was and yet gives some indication how crowded it could be in high summer.


After Esther Williams had had enough and changed into her street gear, we headed off for a stroll along the promenade to take in the shops and enjoy an evening meal. The walk gave us another opportunity to people watch and also satisfied Daphne's desire, nay obsession, to buy every postcard in the whole world. At one point, it also gave her the idea that she was Sophia Loren somehow transported from Leeds to Rimini by way of a classic Italian scooter. Dream on, girl !





We finally had an evening meal and my plate of some sort of sausage meat was as unmemorable as the name of the restaurant. But look...I also had lettuce, chips and....orange ? I'm taking all of those as veggies !


Still, it filled a gap and we set off back to the hotel, passing again all the promenade shops on the way. Many were selling t-shirts and one in particular took my eye. I'm making use of the well known rule that anything seen on a t-shirt cannot possibly offend and IF you should be offended by this photo, well then you've simply not read the rule. That's my get out and I'm sticking to it.

Like the person who wrote the hotel swimming pool rules, I've used an online translation site to try and determinate the meaning of the words, although the cartoon is pretty self explanatory. Hopefully some kind Italian native, for I do have some, will do a better job in the comments section but in the meantime, I believe the words convey the message that "love is..helping each other" It does seem to imply that this is even more important as we get older !


I realise that I posted this photo in a previous blog so if I offended you back then, well I guess I've just gone and done it again !!

Ah well, if it also gave anyone an idea, then I regard posting it as performing a public service.

To whet your appetite for the next instalment, when we left Rimini, we temporarily left Italy and visited the oldest constitutional republic in the world.

Exciting eh ?

A Grand Day Out !

One of the many plus points about wintering in Florida is the ability to play golf in early January.

Actually I'm not sure that 'ability' is the right word for my level of expertise so lets change it to the 'opportunity' to play golf. There....that's better and more truthful.

So at 11:15 this morning, we (Clair, Carl and I), met up with Gerry at the Panther Course at the Spring Lake Golf Club and settled into our carts to await our start time.


The weather was glorious and within 5 minutes we were at the 1st hole and ready for fun. On most courses here, golf carts are compulsory due to the heat and the distances involved getting from one green to the next tee. In the case of hole #6 on this Panther course, they are also needed to get you along the fairway from tee to green as from the back tee, it's 800 yds to the hole and one of only a few par 6's in the world.

My hope was to get a par on this monster hole and a few decent shots got me just short of the green in 4. I chipped up onto the green and was set to putt for a birdie. Then the excitement got to me and I send the putt several feet beyond the hole and took another two shots before it disappeared from sight. A 7 wasn't bad but to be so close to getting a birdie on that hole really upset me and I broke down and wept like a little girl.

Or maybe I cursed and threw my putter into the water where it hit a gator on the snout which pissed it off too and it chased me down the 7th fairway.

In reality I didn't weep or curse (much) OR hit a gator but I WAS upset.

The Spring Lake courses are truly stunning with little rough, lots of water hazards and photogenically placed palm tress all helping to make it a feast for the eyes and I was certainly making a meal of the golf. I hadn't played for well over a year and it showed. The course, however, helped take my mind off my game.






A lack of rain, the recent cold snap and now the warm temperatures had all left their mark on many of the fairways. The palm trees, tropical shrubbery and exotic wildlife redressed the balance and with the blue skies and fluffy white clouds, it was a great day to be out on a golf course, even if my standard of golf wasn't up to par.





My score was triple digits but I had such fun and despite being pretty wrecked by the 18th green, loved every minute of it.

Thank you Clair, Carl & Gerry. Can't wait for the next round.

Only In Amerwicca !

That's not a typo, just my attempt to link the blog heading with the blog subject.

Some weeks ago when I thought it would be a good idea to create occasional posts about life here in these United States, I should've given the first post a number......like #1. That way the next such post could've been #2.

You get the idea ?

But oh no. Couldn't take the easy way out could I ? I didn't do that and so all subsequent posts require me to come up with some brilliant and witty heading and it's just too early in January for me to be arsed. I mean bothered. Dammit there goes another NY resolution !

Anyway for this one, I've resorted to cartoon comedy in the guise of one, Elmer Fudd, with his amusing speech impediment. Hopefully no one will notice that he's a Loony Tunes character and therefore got nothing to do with the Disney Corporation, which this post is all about.

Ok I'm losing you, I know. Back to the plot.........

Over here in the colonies, silly law suits are alive and well and just like unnecessary surgeries, are thriving in this economy. The rich get richer and those that want to be rich, sue those that are. It's all good democracy in action.

One of the nuttier law suits being mentioned on both sides of the pond (pond being a very apt word here) concerns a groping Donald Duck. Yes, you read that right. Donald Duck...groping.

The facts in the case are that a 27 yr old woman, who I won't name in case she sues me too as she is obviously on a mission, was groped by a Disney staff member (stop giggling there Fanshaw) at the Epcot Theme Park here in sunny Florida. The staff member (last warning, Fanshaw.......) was dressed as Donald Duck at the time and the alleged incident involved him/it grabbing the woman's breast and then joking about it.

If this actually took place, and I have to assume there were witnesses or else the case would've been thrown out already, I've no idea why this DD felt the need to grab a breast. The heat here can turn anyone, or anything, a bit wacky occasionally and wearing a heavy DD suit must be difficult at the best of times. To have to wander around for hours on end while little kids kick seven bells out of those sensitive parts of your anatomy that you don't actually share with a duck, would cause me to go a bit off track at times too. I wouldn't grab a woman's breast though and unless Disney has quietly entered the porn market, neither should Mr. DD.

So let's believe this incident is true and therefore this woman was basically assaulted. It's no laughing matter and she's quite entitled to get an apology and I suppose some degree of compensation. A free season ticket or something so she can be groped by other Disney characters ?

Noooo. My bad.

Now if I was a judge and this case came before me (Fanshaw.....OUT), I'd listen with sensitivity if Miss (or Mrs) Breast-Groped said she had been offended and even a bit traumatised by this unwanted personal attack. If proven to be true, I'd tell the Disney Corporation to sack the employee if it hadn't done so already and in order to send out a strong message that such invasions of privacy will not be tolerated, tell Disney to pay the woman $50,000 or something similar. A reasonable amount for a breast groping I have to think....but then I'm a man and not best qualified to judge.

But, in my opinion, the woman isn't helping her case by laying it on with a trowel, as the saying goes. She claims she was more than offended. More than traumatised.

According to her law suit, the incident, the alleged incident, which took place almost 3 years ago, has left her with nightmares, digestive problems, post traumatic stress and other permanent injuries. Digestive problems !?!

Now call me an old cynic and I know my only medical qualification is my online Southern California Amateur Medicine diploma, but I suspect she's much more likely to be suffering from a severe case of Cash Register Syndrome, or CRS as we semi professionals call it. CRS can strike at any time but is much more prevalent when in close contact with large corporations. Then it can flare up, get out of control and lead to symptoms like wild accusations, sweaty palms, quickening of the pulse, widening of the grin and a constant habit of browsing cruise ship websites.

I'll be following this case with some interest and as well as providing the judge with reliable witnesses or even HD camcorder footage, I hope this woman realises that, given all the medical issues she's claiming to have, she has a good doctor in her camp.

And not some quack !

Lights, Camera, Action !

I know I said that Christmas was over but what better time to look back on it than on Jan 1st.

Well I need some sort of excuse for this photo post !

Last night, New Year's Eve, I felt like I had the park streets to myself as people were either dancing towards the New Year in the Rec Hall, mixing with friends and playing games in the Community Centre or just staying at home by themselves or with friends.

So before the Big Hour arrived, I left the CC and nipped home to switch cameras and then went out to take photos of some of the decorated houses here before their lights are taken down for another year. As I walked around, I noticed that even the year round street lights and palm tree lights made for colourful views and so I've included a few of those too.

Remember all my photos can be enlarged by clicking on them.........









By now I was at THE house in the park that, every Christmas, easily gets the most visitors. There are rumours it can be seen from space !

I think the owner just needs to add synchronised music to the set up next year and he'll go viral on YouTube.





Finally here are those 'other' views I mentioned......during the day, ordinary, but by night.....spectacular.




I'd never taken one of those long exposure shots showing car tail lights leaving streaks along a road and so before going back into the Community Centre to await the midnight hour, I set up the camera looking along the longest road in the park....and waited.....and waited !

Considering the time, it wasn't the brightest idea. Wherever they happened to be, no one was leaving and after 20 minutes I had to accept that the best I was going to get was a solo golf cart slowly heading home. Its tail lights weren't very bright but at least they registered !


It had been a different way to spend the hours before New Year but as it was a lovely warm evening, I enjoyed it. It helped me to forget the park resident who had again felt the need to impose his bagpipe playing on us and shortly after I returned to the CC, the champagne flowed and the mass hugging began. Some said it was due to it being midnight but, modestly, I knew better !

Ok now Christmas is REALLY over.