10/11/08 - Italy (Torri Superiore)

Well some things have become more settled and easier, while other things haven't - which is why we are heading off to a chiropractor this Thursday FINALLY to get some relief. It's quite expensive, but it is an essential spend...whatever it takes! We've found a chiropractor who charges 50 euro for a session, which is 20 euro cheaper than the previous chiropractor we managed to track down ( a saving for us of some $80!).

Olive harvest is in full swing here, and Sahayak has been enjoying being out amongst it. It's easy work and very sociable, and it's keeping him busy so there are far less ants in his pants (!)...so all of that is a godsend :o)

We've also been frequently rostered on for cleaning up after meals so that's also keeping us busy. We've also being taking photos for them, and I am doing the editing. It is slow work, but more up my alley in terms of my back. We've been having some extra fun with taking photos having borrowed a tripod - night shots, yay! Will post some on the blog once they are edited.

Best update of all is that we held a little meditation and music event because we wanted to join in on 'Global Grace Day' (November 9). We were seven people in total, and it was a lovely vibe. We also played the D drone flute and hang together 'officially' for the first time.

We had planned to be in France today for an overnight trip, but have delayed it due to the busyness of the olive harvest (which included being up late last night helping to sort the table from the crushing olives in time for the olive press they had booked this morning!) plus that we couldn't get a chiro appointment before Thursday. It's hard to believe that in a whole three weeks we've not been anywhere expect into Ventimiglia (nearest town) for internet, chores and supplies. It's also only a week until our month is up here at the ecovillage...but we've not yet been able to arrange our next location! We're still in the throes of that, so just like the end of my last blog entry, it is still a case of 'watch this space'!

16/11/08 - Italy (Torri Superiore)

Well, we finally made it into France, albeit only for a few hours. Asie from the chiropractor, we visited a place called Menton (take it or leave it), and a place called Villefranche Sur Mer (gorgeous, with bells on!) Yesterday we did a half day trip to a nearby village in Italy called Aqua Dolce. Really lovely little spot! We also had a 'chance' meeting with some people travelling on the same bus, leaving my business card with them to see if any synchronicity comes of it. There was a novel loo experience too...a public toilet still under construction - useable except for having no doors! I checked with Sahayak if he needed to go, which he didn't, so I placed him on guard at the entry. Some 30 seconds later, he inexplicably was 'suddenly busting', discerned nobody was nearby and came in to use the other loo. You can probably guess the rest! A further 30 seconds or so on, a guy enters the toilets to witness two Aussies doing their business! My man looks after me so well :o)

So now our time at the ecovillage is nearing its end. We leave in four days. At this stage we are still in the throes of planning our next community stay, so in the interim we've decided to head towards Spain for a bit better weather (plus I loved it there last time and am happy to go back). We've also been told about a few free accommodation websites (exchange type stuff) so we've being busily exploring that as a way to save heaps and meet interesting people and get insight into and their perspectives of their local areas rather than the tourist trail.

We are not sure when next we will be able to update the blog, so apologies in advance if it takes us a while. We're hoping to update the photos as well, but if it doesn't happen before we upload this in town tomorrow, it won't be because we haven't tried!

Catch you on the next blog wave...

13/10/08 - Italy (Assisi)

So there was Sahayak, wandering around Assisi munching on a piece of bread - as one often does in Italy, and next thing you know there was an 'uh-oh!'... a big chunk of a tooth complete with root canal spike had just broken off. An interesting challenge when you are part of a passing parade in a strange country. So off he went to the tourist information centre to appeal for assistance in finding a dentist - not only did he find one, but they squeezed him in immediately, the surgery was just around the corner from our accommodation, and the tooth extraction planned for tomorrow morning (simplest and most effective option) is only 40 euro (roughly $80). The last tooth extraction he had in Australia just a few months ago was $270. It just goes to prove that Europe is not always more expensive. The trains are cheap too. We travelled the other day from Florence to Assisi by train (2.5 hours) and paid 10 euro each ($20 each). I was bracing myself for Italy to be much more expensive (as I had been warned) but I am actually a bit relieved, as it's not as bad as I expected.

So back to the tooth thing, he was in the wars at dinner time, trying to eat his pizza with the tooth's remnants uncomfortably and constantly sharp against his tongue...to add to the constant sneezing and nose blowing that has dogged him all day (milk allergy).

My little drama for the day was when Sahayak went into a shop that had fossils and massive amethyst crystals in it. I went to follow him in but only got as far as the door. I had to stop because the energy was so full on I knew I just couldn't go in. It was even too full on at the front door - I was only there some 20 seconds or so and had to move right away as my upper body was pulling backwards. I was spun out for hours - could hardly do anything. Finally feeling more grounded now, especailly after a big lie down. Mainstream folk might find this a bit weird, but I am sensitive to energy and have had many experiences along these lines. This one was fairly full on, but it didn't throw me. I had held an intention to go busking in the main piazza in the afternoon, but that got blown out of the water! A bit of a joke to be lying around on a bed when you are in one of the most beautiful little towns in Italy, but what can you do!!!

All in all it's been a bit of a crazy day, but we have to also celebrate how glorious the weather has been for days now, and continuing for serveral more - makes up for all the blah weather we struck earlier on in our travels :o)

Sahayak has well and truly been bitten by the photography bug again. Although a wonderful photographer, he lost the inspiration for it for many years. With the combination of a very available digital SLR camera (i.e. mine, which used to hang around my neck but now spends more time around his!) and truckloads of beautiful shots to be found at just about every turn, well, he's right back into it big time. Suffice to say that between the two of us, the camera is getting a good flogging. What is on the blog would be lucky to be 1% of what we are taking.

We're off to Perugia tomorrow...  

30/10/08 - Italy (Torri Superiore)

Well, I'm pleased I can still be positive after a shocker of a week. I've been as sick as that proverbial dog (finally on the tail end of it now) but there are silver linings on the clouds. The first is that I was stressing out a bit because I am supposed to be volunteering four hours work per day and I haven't been able to, but the lovely folk here at the ecovillage have been wonderful, and have told me to rest and not to be concerned. Add to that, the abundance of wholesome, healthy, organic food that nurtures my body while it's in this state without me having to expend any energy preparing it. It is all such a blessing (and a relief!)

The other blessing is Sahayak. He has achieved legendary status...looking after me wonderfully, making me cups of fresh herbal tea, checking in often and generally mothering me enough to make my own mother proud :o) And as if that wasn't enough, I was scheduled to wash dishes one lunchtime, which I was not up to so Sahayak did it for me - and that's after he had to wash the dishes the same night, as well as the night before (over and above his daily voluntary service)  ...add to that, he's helping one of the couples here (which also included chopping wood for an hour and a half!) and all-in-all he's on a bit of a roll. He did say a few days back that he was feeling a bit bored and under-utilised and would like more to do...careful what you ask for! I offered to do his washing up spot scheduled for next week, but he said no way and insisted he's happy to do it, as well as help me with my next one while I'm still in recovery mode. Like I said...now officially a legend! He is also conducting morning meditation sessions on weekdays for the community here. I am full of gratitude for his selfless giving, his loving care and his enthusiasm and embracing of anything, anywhere, anytime if it helps anyone. (It is also a far cry from the numerous times over the years when I have been on my own, very unwell and doing it tough without any support.) So that's my warm fuzzy story in what has otherwise been a huge downer of a week :o) Hopefully I'm all done with the bugs for a while, especially given I've actually had two this month!

08/10/08 - Italy (Alba & Florence)

Easy internet access has eluded us again, with difficulties in finding hot spots, and direct connections with ethernet cables not working for some reason. While this makes our blog updates patchy, we always get there eventually!

As you could imagine, so much worth telling and no chance of covering it all, so here I will try to summarise key experiences...

One big buzz for me has nothing to do with the sights...it is from finding eco/organic shops (albeit not easily), and exploring the different things they have compared with home. It is so uplifting for me to be in these shops and I feel like I don't want to leave! Within that a big yum vibe for me has been finding traditional-style Italian white bread made from kamut...it has been sooooooo many years since I've been able to enjoy good Italian bread (especially soaked in hot organic - goat milk - cocoa with goat milk. I've also been able to have some pizza made from kamut - the first bought pizza in so many years I couldn't count.

Another thrill was a sight from the train in Pisa. I was excitedly pointing out the window for Sahayak to look, and a number of other people on the train (mostly tourists) looked out as well to see what was so wonderful - and I'm not talking about the leaning tower...there was a wind farm! Numerous wind turbines might not excite everybody, but to me it was far more of a buzz than a lot of the other man made structures in Italy, no matter how impressive the cathedrals etc. are.

It's a nice compensation for the various places we have been staying wiith very little eco-consciousness, were water and electricity are used to excess and chemical products abound. I have to surrender to it, or else I will stress myself about things I can't do anything about.

We are currently in Florence, after spending a few days in Alba (where I was born). It was great to be there for the 'Fiera del Tarfufo' (Truffle Fair) and all the associated activities, including a massive medieval parade, donkey races, various street activities and a general vibe of celebration, history, ceremony and local pride. We also caught up with various relatives of mine, and some friends of the family. A few mealtimes were  spent pleasantly and indulgently with these generous locals. (They all were quite taken with our instruments, which we ensured were played for all.)

One night in Alba we went to a bar for a hot chocolate - unbelievable! Try to imagine thick, warm, liquid, European chocolate and you'd be about there. It was so rich that some had to be left until the next day, and even cold it was decadnetly delicious.

Train travel is continuing to be a challenge for Sahayak with lugging suitcases up and down stairs and into and out of trains and buses. A handy tip Sahayak discovered the hard way is not to assume people on Italian trains don't speak English. Sahayak made a comment to a lady (out of frustration) that I am sure he never would have said if he'd known she was American and would answer him! Actually, I'm not so sure he wouldn't have said it...there was an Irish guy Sahayak made a joke comment to that had he not been good natured might not have got him into trouble!

Here in Florence we are staying with some dear friends of the family, who are killing us with kindness. We also caught up with a very dear friend of mine who lives not far away but works in Florence. We had lunch together and had LOTS to catch up on after not seeing each other since she came to stay with me in Australia for a month some six years ago.

In amongst the throngs of other tourists we did the rounds of the sights in the centre of Florence, which I wasn't that fussed on as I have seen it 12 years ago and I have to be honest is not a place that appeals greatly to me, even though I can appreciate the incredible and well-deserved reputation Florence has as the birthplace for the Renaissance. Sahayak felt the same way upon seeing it for the  first time, so my intention not to spend too much time there works well for him too.

Having said that, we are thinking of taking our instruments there tomorrow to busk. We'll see!

29/09/08 - Italy (Damanhur & Vinchio)

Attempts in Italy to upload the website before now have failed (in keeping with Italy's reputation for chaos and disorder!), so I'm crossing fingers for it to work this time, so that Italy gets a look in...in other words, everything on this blog page and on the Italy photos page is new. Lots has been happening, as you would expect, but there has also been some news from home, some 9 days ahead of 'schedule' - I became an aunty again on the 25th - Gary and Nil having safely brought their new son into the world...  

Just a quick mention that this blog focuses primarily on the more interesting and uplifting aspects of our adventures - there are plenty of challenges and difficulties and slogging it along the way, but nobody particulary wants to hear that (for which I don''t blame them) and I don't want to give any energy to it eiither - I just want to mention it here so people keep it in perspective...as in, it is easy to romanticise it all. There are plenty of positives, but if anyone feels inspired to travel after reading this, it is a good idea to be prepared for a whole cross-section of experiences!   

I also want to re-visit Damanhur (and that's a pun!) - given a week ago I could hardly put words to my experience. The Temples of Humankind were such an incredible highlight, but not the only one...but that's where I'll start. The Temples are, in my view, a 'wonder of the world'. The energy there, the consciousness, the intent, the vision, are inspiring beyond belief. The symbolism, the heart, the soul and the Spirit within them is awe and beyond. Playing the hang in the Hall of Mirrors with it's incredible acoustics - both on my own and together with Sahayak - was incredible, surreal...one of those times when you know you are having a moment and you are savouring every second. Then Sahayak played his (Native American Indian) drone (double) flute. I have heard him play many times, and it's always lovely, but this time was something else. It sounded totally different, and it utterly soared. Others present appreciated the unexpected bonus of the instruments, and one description offered was 'hypnotic' and 'centering'. Our intention was to add to the space, and also to absorb some of the energy of the Temples to carry with us as we share our instruments with others.

We met some lovely people on our meanderings around Damanhur - particularly a lovely lady with whom we had some amazing synchronicity with the flutes, and also I went to see a guy who worked in the Selfic shop as I heard he had a hang. He and I had an amazing exchange - he played my hang and I played his...which was GIVEN to him recently. Being given a hang is something  beyond incredible and special - there are people all over the world desperate to get a hang and one fell into his hands (a bit like Sahayak really!) It's a model from about five years ago, so very different from mine, yet still with a beautiful resonance and very, very sweet. I felt a real connection with it and would have loved to take it home with me.

When it was time to leave, he offered for me to choose something from the shop - the amazing Selfic jewellery was something I felt drawn to but had avoided so as to not spend any money. As I was in the shop with the hang my eye and energy had been drawn to one of the bracelets, but I pulled my eye away from it to avoid it, so as soon as the offer was made, I went straight to it without feeling any need to check out any of the myriad of other options...and in the beautiful synchronicity of it all, I discovered that the bracelet was for 'creative inspiration' - what could be more perfect for she of unlimited inspiration, so to speak! I was very touched by the generous offer and appreciated the sinchronicity of it all.

We have exchanged contact details with both the people mentioned above, and may see them in Australia late next year - if their anticipated travel plans unfold as they wish them to. Our door will be open, as always.

The next place after Damanhur - where we are now - is a week's stay in an 'agriturismo', which is essentially a nice, budget-style, country-style B&B. The intention being to spend some relaxed time around the region where I was born. The lady who runs the place is lovely (despite being a bit of a control freak which has led to some interesting moments) and the area is very peaceful and still. Totally not a tourist area, which is once again proving to have pros and cons (no shops, no buses, no trains, no public phone - and with internet down we are quite isolated!)

Yesterday we went to have lunch with my rellies, whom I have not seen in 12 years. I was also nice to meet my cousin's partner for the first time, and their 4 year old son.

We have a kitchen here so we are cooking plenty of pasta! Sahayak ate risotto for the first time when I cooked it the other night and is a sworn convert from hereon
 in. I can see that will be on the menu again.

The weather has not been particularly kind to us on our travels, but the last couple of days have been gloriously sunny and making up for it all big time. Speaking of which, it is high time I went out into it to soak it up for a while...

Blogs are dated from the bottom up... 

23/09/08 - Italy (Lake Orta & Damanhur)

I'm beyond knowing where to begin, so will attempt to start somewhere...!

The first destination in Italy was a surprise I had planned for Sahayak - a lovely lake called Lake Orta (Lago d'Orta), not inundated with tourists like its larger and more western counterparts. The downside to that was also a surprise - both for Sahayak and for me...and that was exiting the train at the station to discover nobody there - no human, no taxi, no bus...and a 2km walk downhill, with all our luggage, to the camping ground I had booked. Yikes!!!!

The camping ground was right on the lake, and we stayed in a caravan there for two nights, while we explored the huge monastery just above Orta called il Sacro Monte di Orta (the sacred mount of Orta), then we visited Orta itself (Orta San Giulio, a village on the lake's edge) and then the highlight...a visit to the very small monastic island in the middle of the lake - Isola San Giulio. There is a circular walking meditation around the tiny island called 'Via del Silenzio' - the Way of Silence. As you walk along, there are profound messages relating to silence and self awareness, for example; 'In the silence you receive all'.

A couple of lowlights were my first Italian meal (blah!) and the exploding glass cover on the gas hotplates...made a dramatic sound and a big mess. Sahayak was in the vicinity but says he had nothing to do with it (!) ;o)

After a fill in night in Turin, we headed off to Damanhur for three days, sans one of our bags that we were able to leave at the Turin hotel we stayed at. We really appreciated having a break from it - would love to lighten the load generally, as Sahayak's back is not happy and I can't remember mine ever being so. Trick is, we're having to cover summer and winter, and 6 months, and cart our instruments as well.

As I write now, we are still in Damanhur. We have just been on a tour of the Temples of Humankind. I'm not even going to attempt to describe it at this point in time - we're still integrating and I'm not sure words would ever cut it. Suffice to say that we as a global community appreciate ancient, advanced civilizations and often wonder or imagine what they must have been like. Damanhur is a thriving, contemporary community that is pretty much the same thing, only it's here and now. They describe it themselves as 'Community, Spirituality, Research & Action - a laboratory for the future of humanity'. The world is very fortunate that it is here. Anyone who is curious can visit their website - especially worthwhile is to click on 'The Temples' and be amazed (even though the pictures cannot begin to capture the experience of being here). We were not allowed to take photos so you won't find any on the blog pics page.
 
The list in my  head of people I know who would LOVE to visit this place is a long one, and my wish for all of you is that you get the chance to have this experience.

We also asked if we could play our instruments in one of the temples, and had the opportunity to play in the Hall of Mirrors. HUGE, PROFOUND, PHENOMENAL, one-off experience.

I will attempt to put my experience into words once I have sat with it for a while longer. Meanwhile, it's time for more integrating...during sleep!

maia's blog - italy

10/10/08 - Italy (Florence)

After an interesting (...and potentially disastrous, but I'll get back to that shortly) side trip to Fiesole, on the outskirts of Florence, we returned the next day to the historical centre of Florence to busk - our first 'paid' gig in Europe. We sat in one of the many piazzas frequented by both locals and tourists, though it was a less busy one, which we chose intentionally so as not to be moved on by the police!

It was an interesting and enjoyable experience, and as always the hang attracted quite a bit of attention. We just love watching people's reaction to it. While it wasn't our priority, we made 30 euro ($60) which left us with $20 after we'd paid for bus tickets, lunch and gelati. (Speaking of euro, for many months before our travels, an Aussie dollar bought about 60 euro cents. Just days before our travels when we went to buy euro, it had dropped to 58 cents. We tossed up how much currency to buy, not knowing whether the exchange rate would improve  or decline. In the finish we only bought $2000 worth, with a 'wait and see' attitude. Well...when we checked today the Aussie dollar was down to 50 euro cents! Ahhh, the joys of travel...)

So then we were off the next morning very early, complete with the computer, Sahayak's cash supply and his passport...all of which he left on a bus in Fiesole two days prior! We were strolling towards the monastery some minutes after getting of the bus when Sahayak suddenly realised the daypack was not with us. Well, you should have seen him sprint! Very fortunately the bus was still at the bus stop and the backpack and all its contents was still there...whew! All of our photos are on the computer, plus the software for the website - we would havve been up the creek without these things and you would have all discovered our blog come to a grinding halt.

So after yet another bus/train/bus/bus trip, we are now at Ananda Spiritual Retreat Centre (near Assisi) for a vibrational healing workshop...stay tuned for more exciting adventures! We are certain it is going to be a big weekend...

12/10/08 - Italy (Assisi and surrounds)

Our weekend at Ananda Spiritual Retreat Centre was very worthwhile - most particularly because of the consciousness of the place and the people there. Very nourishing. The vibrational healing course we did there was not what we had hoped for - it was good, and the information was very much in alignment with our understanding...which is the key reason it didn't quite work for us. It ended up being a bit of a refresher for us rather than new learnings. However, we were very clear we needed to be there, and there were a lot of other good reasons to be there, so it's all good. We also had some very interesting and synchronistic conversations with various people, picked up heaps of good info for possible future usefulness and we have the feeling it won't be the last connection with have with Ananda. We also played our instruments in the temple in a couple of their events and as always they created a lot of interest - especially the hang.

One of the community members drove us back into Assisi this afternoon, which was very helpful as the school bus wasn't an option on a Sunday. He got to sit and play the hang for a while, plus we shouted him a gelati and gave him a little cling koala, so it worked out pretty well for him (as he was going into Assisi anyway) - though he also scored major brownie points for helping us cart our luggage uphill to the hotel!

So we popped out this evening for a cheap and delicious meal in a local 'tavola calda' ('hot table') - which is a good option for budget meals in Italy, especially when compared with the far more expensive 'ristorante' options.

So much more to tell, but it's late and I have a belly full of gnocci so Mr. Sandman is tugging at my skirt!

18/10/08 - Italy (Florence)

After a public transport strike yesterday - which we were fortunate  enough to have found out about in time to avert a huge amount of inconvenience - and a resulting additional night in Florence, we are off shortly to La Spezia and Cinque Terre for the weekend. It's our last stopover before arriving at Torri Superiore Ecovillage. It took a fair bit more research effort than usual to arrange accommodation and travel, but I'm delighted to have found us  a very cheap and cheerfully colourful and welcoming looking hotel called 'il sole' (the sun), in a street called 'via felice cavalotti' (happy little horses street) so I'm enchanted already.

As lovely as it is, I'm glad we shortened our time in Umbria and created a couple of extra days to spend some time in La Spezia and Cinque Terre - they both get a rave from locals and tourists alike, it's right on the sea, it's quite a different experience from many places we've already been. I would have liked for Sahayak to see Siena and Lucca, but I was also happy for us to discover other lovely places together that I haven't already seen.
 
It is interesting to catch occasional snippets of news on the internet, and also interesting to observe that without being bombarded with all the drama about the world's economic crisis we are cruising along with very low stress levels about it all (even though we are aware of how bad it is).

I'm getting a few laughs out of Sahayak's take on the Italian language. Apart from some entertaining attempts to  pronounce words (through points for trying!) he has taken to adding an 'a' to the end of English words to express them in 'Italian'! Done as a joke, of course, but with an awareness that there are many words that are similar and if he keeps this up, he might strike one occasionally! And speaking of the language, as rough as mine is, you know you are making progress when you find yourself thinking in Italian - which is starting to happen. It's still hard work though, and takes a lot of concentration...with frustration and confusion creeping in from time to time, but all that aside, as I anticipated, I am absolutely loving being back in wog land! There's no other vibe like it in the world :o)

21/10/08 - Italy (Torri Superiore)

After a couple of days in La Spezia and Cinque Terre followed by a very taxing day 'on the road' yesterday, we finally arrived at the eco village around 8.15 last night. We've discovered since that they don't have broadband, so we may find it tricky to connect our lap top to their service to upload our blog - in which case we would have to wait until we trek in to Ventimiglia on the bus. We'll be in Ventimiglia tomorrow to pick up Sahayak's new D drone flute (a very exciting development which I will leave for him to share about) so this blog entry will be up quickly but the warning is that for a while now, there may be longer gaps between our blogs!

I'm not feeling any inclination to blog about our last few days in any detail, as it's all been a bit forgettable in my experience - Sahayak may well have a different story to tell. I'm sure our experiences here at the eco village will provide me with more inspiration. I'll let the dust settle before I get more onto that, but in the meantime, a visit to their website can give you a bit of a sense of the place. 

For the moment, suffice to say that we are both looking forward to leaving the suitcases tucked in the corner for a while! Sahayak is having a shaiatsu session even as I type...I'm also intending to line up for one (or several!)

5/11/08 - Italy (Torri Superiore)

First up, a massive YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! re the US election result! Everyone here is buzzing with the news. It also seems funny how everyone here has assumed that everyone else was 'voting' for Obama, and they were right. It's just not in anybody's consciousness that anyone here would support McCain. About a month ago when speaking with some Americans about the election, I said I had a good feeling about it (i.e. Obama winning), and in that moment I experienced a confirmation from Spirit so I was very confident he would win, but it is always a relief to see it locked in!

The news came from one of the community members here, as we have very limited access to any news in any form. We feel a bit removed from the world, which is mostly a good thing, but on occasions feels a bit too far out of the loop. We're going into town today to the internet place so will browse all the info about it. I also managed to read two lines yesterday about the Melbourne Cup - a weird feeling for it to be relegated to a couple of lines, after the fact and to have experienced none of the buzz that you get when in Oz.

From international news to our news, I'm 90% recovered from that rotten flu, and Sahayak is also almost recovered from his altercation with a bad tummy bug which had the better of him for a couple of days. Both of us desperately need help for our backs (and have done for weeks), but we keep hitting brick walls in trying to arrange something. More research today will hopefully resolve that. We're having a bit of a bad run! One brighter note is that Sahayak arranged a better mattress for me (as the one I was on was a soft foam thing that was a shocker for my back). This one is 1000% improvement and it's such a relief, though it is funny because it's higher than his mattress so we are experiencing 'split level accommodation.' (It's very common in Italy for two single beds to be pushed together and made up with queen sized sheets to be called a double bed.)   

It's olive harvest time here, but the weather is not being cooperative (lots of rain) so the ecovillage folk are quite worried they will lose their crop (wind blows the olives off the trees and they rot on the ground).

It's interesting to experience the passing parade of international visitors here, and while it sometimes gets sufficiently hectic for the locals to feel a bit like they need a break, generally speaking I would imagine it's very interesting for them, plus that they make connections with people from all over  the world (you never know when you might want to go visit some new friends in another country, or at least get insight into the good places to go).

We've been here just over two weeks now, and apart from popping into town (a 20 minute bus ride to Ventimiglia) for some supplies and internet access, thanks to bugs and commitments here we've not been anywhere. We're keen to check out the area, which includes popping across the border into France (and Monaco just a little further along). I haven't been to France since I was 11 years old (unless you count a non-stop night bus through it from Italy to Spain 12 years ago!)

We're also currently exploring options for our next destination...watch this space!