Cathedral – turnrightoutofportsmouth

How we got from Florence to Orbetello on the coast, (via Monteriggioni and Siena)

After leaving Pisa we headed inland to Florence before making our way back to the coast at Orbetello via Monteriggioni and Siena. Next stop – Rome 🙂

Visiting Florence (or Firenze as it’s known in Italy), the cultural capital of Tuscany, is a dream come true for many. We felt that we should visit and see the main sights, but there wasn’t anything we particularly wanted to see. In this post, I’ll take you on a whirlwind tour of Florence and the places we discovered after leaving there, and before making our way to Rome.

Florence: The Duomo and Beyond:

We stayed outside the city centre in a fairly uninspiring, but handy, camper stop in Scandicci. It was convenient as we had just a 10 minute walk to the tram which then took us into the centre within about 15 minutes. If you’re ever here, do make sure that you’re holding on when the tram starts up – the driving of trams, and trains, as with any vehicle in Italy is very aggressive, leading to people nearly falling over left, right and centre….

Arriving in the city centre, we picked up a map from the information centre and then made our way to the historic centre, where we were met with a view of the spectacular Duomo and Baptistery, both of which are truly breathtaking. It really is a sight to behold and as a result, after much umming and ahhing, we decided to join one of the long queues to go inside the iconic Duomo. Our queue snaked its way past the campanile (bell tower). Of course, there were no queues there as it is ticketed only!

Once inside the cathedral, we soon discovered that the real marvel lay in its exterior beauty rather than the interior. We looked at the dome from below, which was definitely worth seeing, and tried heading down the steps towards the crypt (the crowds were inhibiting) only to find another area that needed to be paid for and, of course, the gift shop….

With many warnings in mind we chose to sit outside a bar at the dome end of the Duomo for a drink – I enjoyed a limoncello spritz 😊 It wasn’t overly expensive and we were able to appreciate the exterior of the cathedral more – noticing that we were sitting at the point where they had yet to clean!!

We spent the rest of the day simply exploring the city’s other architectural gems, such as the Ponte Vecchio, populated entirely by high end jewellers shops, and various palaces (Pitti Palace), statues and fountains. We saw the Uffizi gallery from outside, but the queues were huge (and you really do have to book ahead if you want to go inside).

We enjoyed a nice lunch at Il Bargello (me, ravioi; Calv, meatballs) overlooking the magnificent building that the National Museum di Bargello is housed within. We also enjoyed our 2^nd gelato of the trip (the first having been in Lucca – it was more expensive in Florence!!)

We stayed:- Scandicci

Monteriggioni: Leaving Florence behind, we had found a camper stop with all services (including toilets, showers and electric – for 16Euros per night) at the enchanting walled town of Monteriggioni, a true hidden gem. Although we were heading for Siena (having seen it recommended by another tourer) we decided to stop here first and then just have a short 10-15 miles to Siena the next day. We ended up staying 2 nights as it was just perfect, with the most wonderful views over the Tuscan countryside 😊

Heading about half mile up the steep hill on the Via Fracigena (an ancient walk from Canterbury to Constantinople) we town itself. It is a tiny town that captures the essence of medieval Italy. The atmosphere was vibrant on a Sunday, as locals, cyclists, bikers, and tourists alike filled the narrow, windy cobblestone streets. We soaked up the town’s rich history, strolled around it’s few streets, and partook of a quick drink and ice cream sundae. The church was tiny but beautiful, and we enjoyed listening to the bells ringing.

(Campers note – there is a car park just below the city walls where you can park for a lower day rate. If you don’t fancy a bracing walk up the hill!!)

We stayed:- Monteriggioni

Siena: Moving on on Monday we continued just a few miles up the road to Siena, where we parked in an authorised stop which is used by coaches. Again, not overly inspiring – being in the middle of a roundabout – but perfect for our purposes (cost 20Euros).

We could see Siena as we approached, perched high above the main road. Walking up a road (which is normal it would appear..) we found the elevators to take us up to the historical centre. This is a city renowned for its medieval architecture and famous Palio horse race. Once we knew this all the mini ceramic helmets on sale in the tourist shops made more sense! There is a lot more to it, including, of course, a duomo, a magnificent piazza dominated by a tower (which you can go up – we couldn’t face it!!) We’re convinced that this square is where public executions were held (Piazza del Campo). For lunch we enjoyed a giant slice of pizza (which I worked out how to eat – after I’d finished and having made a bit of a mess!!) We later returned to sit on a narrow, perhaps you could say rickety, balcony overlooking the piazza, enjoying a drink and indulging in a bit of people watching 😊

The narrow streets were a labyrinth, with mopeds zipping by at every turn, defying the conventional rules of the road (as seems to be the norm in Italy ☹). Amidst the confusion, we stumbled upon a delightful surprise: the enchanting strains of a piano practice accompanied by a soaring opera soprano, drifting from a window high above us. It was one of those moments that will stay with us forever – and made the fact that we were lost, again, very worthwhile 😊

We also walked a fair way to find the fort shown on the map, then walked the whole way around the fort to find the entrance (we should have turned right… we always should (except when leaving St Peter’s Square in Rome, but that’s another story…)) and watching a fairground HGV going through one of the entrance arches with just cms to spare!!

Once again, we managed to get back to the van within a minute of so of the heavens opening and yet another thunderstorm ensuing – luck seems to have been with us so far on this trip; long may it continue….

We stayed: Siena

Orbetello: Finally after the hustle and bustle of the previous week or so we decided to head to the coast before making our way to Rome. Plus we had just discovered that Friday was Republic Day, a public holiday, so we thought it prudent to get ourselves onto a site to sit it out.

We identified our destination as being Orbetello, a coastal town on a narrow spit leading to an island. We spent the first couple of days indulging in beach and pool time, interrupted on the last couple of days by bike rides. The first of these was not successful – we couldn’t find the cycle path we’d been told about, and ended up heading the wrong way when we got onto the island. With fast moving Italian traffic (mopeds overtaking the cars that were overtaking bikes – not great when they’re coming towards you on a narrow windy road) this wasn’t enjoyable, so we headed back early having only covered 9 miles.

We then did a bit of research and found the cycle path, so set off again the next day. Much more successful (managed a full 14 miles this time)! First stop on reaching Orbetello was lunch in the delightful Café Gagu. We then locked up the bikes and went for a wander, stumbling upon another hidden gem when we discovered the town’s history as a seaplane base, adding a unique twist to its charm. Orbetello town turned out to be a delightful surprise, and we were so glad that we went out that 2^nd day as it would have been so easy to head back to the beach and veg out!!

We stayed:- Camping Orbetello

Conclusion: So we went to Florence, Monteriggioni, Siena and Orbetello over the course of just over a week. Our favourite? For me it had to be Monteriggioni, followed by the day we cycled to Orbetello and discovered it’s hidden history.

What we are finding throughout Italy is that there is a lack of information available. Often there will be information boards, but they tend to go into so much technical detail (architecture etc.) that even I, a voracious reader, get bored and give up!!

The moral of the story however is to head off the beaten track and discover those places that are not written about and photographed everywhere – these new discoveries were very much more pleasant to visit.

See the following links for photos:-

Florence:- https://www.instagram.com/p/CsuHQYuoRw4/

Monteriggioni:- https://www.instagram.com/p/CsvhOvlorhU/

Siena:- https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs1MLeZIJAx/

Orbetello:- https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs_qJZXIR2M/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs4VFmZI2OH/

Cadiz, the oldest city in Europe & Jerez,the home of sherry

Before we left on this trip I knew that 1 of the places I wanted to visit this time was Cadiz, on the south-west coast of Spain.

What I didn’t know was that it is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, partly because they ‘capitulated’ to the Romans, meaning that they were able to keep most of their own customs and leading to Cadiz (Gades, as it was then) becoming one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire (and also one of the most infamous, due to the inhabitants lifestyle – and their Gaditan dancing girls).

Cadiz is a tiny city – it wouldn’t actually be difficult to walk around it, taking in all the principal sights, within a day. And, it certainly didn’t disappoint! But before we finally managed to visit (more on that later) we explored the immediate area around the campsite we stayed at (Playa las Dunas, El Puerto de Santa Maria), and also a visit to Jerez.

Our campsite was immediately in front of a beautiful beach. There is a lovely promenade stretching a couple of miles, although the cycle path goes further (we cycled it on a VERY windy day!) There is also a large pine forest backing onto the beach, well used by locals at the weekend for picnics etc.

There is a ferry that, apparently, will take you directly to Cadiz.. We tried 3 times before giving up and driving! The first time we really couldn’t understand why the ferry was cancelled – we actually took a video of the placid waters leaving the harbour.. The other 2 days we must admit it was a little lumpy (although the Isle of Wight ferry would have, without a doubt, been sailing!!)

Our first day out though started as a quick cycle ride along the promenade and ended in the narrow, quirky lanes of the old town (the advice when arriving in a motorhome is to make sure you DON’T try to go through the old town – we took a detour of a couple of miles just to make sure. We were glad we had once we saw the streets!)

This is a charming little town which reminded us both of Havana. Funnily enough we later learned that Cadiz itself is often called ‘Little Havana’ – we could see why, but we actually thought that El Puerto Maria was more of a fit for this name.

Bullring, El Puerto de Santa Maria

Church in El Puerto de Santa Maria (complete with Stork nests)

The narrow streets of old El Puerto de Santa Maria

The Alcazaba at El Puerto de Santa Maria

Pine forest, El Puerto de Santa Maria

The next day saw our first attempt to catch the ferry to Cadiz. And our first failure! We didn’t fancy the ‘replacement bus service’ (which would have taken us well over an hour), so headed off to Jerez instead.

Approaching on the main road there is nothing for miles and then suddenly in the distance you see this settlement – what I mean is, there is nothing and then you can see the city plonked in the nothingness! Once in the city the traffic is busy so we decided to just head for 1 of the underground parking garages (which wasn’t overly expensive), and we emerged into the main square, Plaza de Arenal, where we stopped for a drink – sat outside (where it wasn’t overly warm!)

The tourist office is in an amazing building here, and we had a quick look before simply following the signs towards the Alcazaba. This was an impressive building bordering by the Alameda Vieja, which I discovered means a ‘tree-lined avenue’, often Poplars. It also contained a bandstand and has recently been extensively renovated. Very popular, yet peaceful (as I said, it wasn’t the warmest of days!)

Our next discovery was the Iglesia de San Miguel. Set in a tiny square set with orange trees, we paid 5Euros each (but this also gave us entry to the cathedral and bell tower). The cathedral housed the most intricate, impressive nativity scene that I have ever seen!

20190129_145528 — The Nativity scene in Jerez Cathedral

Small and delightful I think just about covers this 🙂

On the way to the cathedral we saw many ancient buildings, including the church of Dionisio. Admittedly it would have been nice to take advantage of the CityBus (tourist open top) which runs through the city, but unfortunately there was no sign of it on the day we visited.

Bandstand on the Alameda, Jerez

Alcazaba, Jerez

Iglesia de San Miguel, Jerez

Jerez

Plaza de Arenal, Jerez

Iglesia de Dionisio, Jerez

You may have noticed that I haven’t mentioned sherry, which is obviously what Jerez is most famous for? Well, there were several bodegas and Caves (some very large), but neither of us actually like sherry and so we’re not drawn to these places as most other people are, but there is plenty of choice if this is what you’re looking for!

We also didn’t visit the famous equestrian school (Fundacion Real Escuela). I would have liked to but it was a little way out of town and at a price of approx. 20Euros each for a show we decided against it. You can visit the school and museums for a much lower price, but for me it would be the show I wanted.

The next day found us attempted, once again, to catch the ferry to Cadiz. Once again the ferry was cancelled (admittedly it was a little more blustery this time). So we decided to go for a bike ride the other way along the promenade. A lovely ride, finding more beautiful beaches, a sailing school and marina (Puerto Sherry), places for motorhomes to park up by the beach and a ruined castle atop the cliffs. It did get extremely windy though so we turned back after about an hour.

Impressive cacti in the ruins of Santa Catalina castle

Playa Santa Catalina from castle ruins

Tower at Playa de la Calita

Ruins of Santa Catalina castle

Castle ruins nr Puerto Sherry

When we tried the ferry again the next day, we decided to give up and drive! It took us about 1/2 hour, taking us past the wetlands of Cadiz (with their many paths and bird-watching opportunities), and over the, rather impressive, la Puente de la Constitution 1812 (there is a choice of 2 bridges), and parking underground (this is normal in Spain :))

Cadiz is absolutely charming. And very compact. Once again it was very windy when we visited, which meant we didn’t visit the castles sites slightly offshore and accessible via a causeway – I was worried we might get blown into the sea!! On leaving the centre we had driven around the coast road, and as I didn’t realise how small it was I was completely disoriented, not believing we had actually passed by all the sights I should have been looking out for! They are in the process of laying a proper cycle path (i.e. smooth – unlike the one at Puerto de Santa Maria. Which, at first sight, looks excellent, but is actually made of bricks, many of which are now rising meaning that you have to really concentrate when riding along it).

In the centre there are several walks to follow. Quite literally! In a couple of the following photos you might notice a coloured line on the road? You simply follow the colour that you want to – very easy 🙂 Incidentally we visited on a Saturday, and found that you could visit the cathedral for free (although not the bell tower), after the service.

Also in the square in front of the cathedral there were scout and guide troops on a day out playing numerous games – great fun to watch 🙂

We also watched young ladies learning flamenco, of which there is a rich history in Cadiz.

There is so much to see in this little city and I wouldn’t be surprised if we returned another day. Highly recommended 🙂

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PRACTICAL INFO:

We stayed: Playa las Dunas, el Puerto de Santa Maria

Supermarkets close by: – Mercadona (just behind the campsite, but you have to take a detour to get there! Walking distance and certainly cycling distance

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Where we stayed: Algodonales Motorhome Service Point

Historic Lincoln – Sunday is a good day to visit!

I haven’t been to Lincoln since I was 15 so was really looking forward to this trip. From Fulbeck we took the A607 and passed through several pretty villages; Leadenham, Welbourn, Navenby, Boothby Graffoe… On arriving in Lincoln we managed to drive onto a pedestrian only area (it wasn’t obvious!) We then found an NCP car park close to the city centre and by the river to park in.

Now this was expensive – £7.80 for up to 4 hours (no option for 3 hours). But if we’d parked any further out I think it would probably have been too far to walk. If anyone knows of a better and cheaper place to park please feel free to share!

Anyway we found our way to the shopping area by walking through an alleyway between 2 very old buildings. There were many such buildings to admire, but after a spot of lunch we headed for the cathedral, which dominates the skyline and a very impressive sight it is too.

Lincoln Cathedral

The back of the shops in Lincoln

Before making it to the cathedral itself though we had to negotiate Steep Hill, which is very well named 🙂 (Look at the angle of that building on the left…)

Steep HIll, Lincoln

Shop on Steep HIll, Lincoln

Looking back down Steep Hill, Lincoln

Another shot up Steep Hill, Lincoln

This is a charming mediaeval street, approx. 1/4 mile long, Continue reading “Historic Lincoln – Sunday is a good day to visit!”

Ely – a dream come true :)

As I said in a previous post I’ve always wanted to visit Ely (Eel-ee. Not Eel-i), and I still have no idea why (although this morning my sister has given me some ideas – which make me thing maybe I once saw it the old Holiday programme when it was hosted by Cliff Michelmore).

That said today was the day (Monday 26th June 2017) that I finally fulfilled my long held dream 😊

Ely didn’t disappoint. From parking in the cathedral car park and looking for the pay machine to find that there isn’t one. Because the parking is free!!

This isn’t a big city and we were soon within sight of the cathedral itself. And what an impressive sight it is. Before heading towards it though we saw a sign for Oliver Cromwell’s house (he lived here for 10 years and his 2 youngest children were born here – of 9 children in total).

20170626_123358 — Our 1st sight of Ely Cathedral

It cost £4.90 each to visit the house and, whilst very interesting (I learned much that I wasn’t aware of about Cromwell), we only got to see a small number of the rooms. I’m also not entirely sure that the ‘coverage’ wasn’t a little biased towards Cromwell! I still can’t decided whether he was a hero or a villain – as they ask you to do at the end of the tour! I still veer towards villain but feel I need a little more study before I can make my mind up for sure!

It was now lunchtime so we set off in search of somewhere to eat. We eventually settled on Julia’s Tearoom, which was very nice (and the cakes looked scrummy) but we nearly didn’t go in as the frontage wasn’t overly welcoming (a quick clean of the windows might help a little!)

Finally we were ready to head for the cathedral itself. It really is magnificent, but we were disappointed to find that there was a charge of £8 plus £7 each to go on the Octagonal Tower tour – £30 between us to visit seemed excessive. There’s also a Stained Class Window museum. At £4.50 each…

I really wanted to go in but Calv wasn’t bothered so I went in while he wandered around the town. The cathedral is beautiful, particularly the lantern at the top of the octagonal tower. The tour takes you to the top of this tower and gives many insights into the history of the cathedral.

This is not the original tower. That collapsed in the 14th century! (As we’re visiting many churches and cathedrals I’m finding out that this isn’t actually that rare an occurrence!)
The tour was excellent. Apart from the fact that the guide could be a little rude and impatient. I can live with that though. Also the higher you ascended the narrower the spiral stairways became, and you have some tiny doorways to squeeze through – the smallest being just 18 inches wide 😊

View from the Roof of Ely Cathedral

Inside the Lantern Tower of Ely Cathedral

The Angel Panels (Victorian addition) of the Lantern Tower, Ely Cathedral

Looking up from an open Angel Panel, Ely Cathedral

This cathedral has the largest Lady Chapel I have ever seen – very impressive. I also really loved the mix of ancient and modern inside the church, with some new sculptures being present. I went to find Calv when I left the cathedral (luckily he had his phone with him for once! Although he didn’t have any cash….)

Jesus and Mary Magdalene

The Lady Chapel, Ely Cathedral

New Sculpture above the pulpit in Ely Cathedral

Looking up into the Lantern Tower, Ely Cathedral

If you turn left on leaving the cathedral you will soon come across a large stone gateway. Walking through here you find yourself taking a path through a park. Crossing a road you can see the river ahead of you, packed with barges and riverboats. This small section of park has a sculpture of an eel.

The riverside is rather lovely with a couple of pubs and cafes along the banks. We had a drink in The Cutter Inn sat watching the world go by.

Wandering back up through town we were charmed by the little town centre.

This is a lovely little city – a visit is a must if you’re in the area 😊

East Norfolk, Dog Racing and Norwich

Great Yarmouth has both a horse racing track and a greyhound stadium. As I’ve never ‘been to the dogs’ I thought it might be worth a visit. So Wednesday evening found us joining the hordes (might be a bit of an exaggeration..) attending the races.

I was surprised by the lack of excitement – I only actually heard a couple of people get excited when their dog won (including me on my 1 win – out of 13 races…)

You pay to get in and then, of course, to bet. The 6 horses are paraded around to be shown in front of the crowd; at this point many of them take the opportunity to, shall we say, lighten their load! They’re loaded into the starting stalls, the hare (orange) comes racing around and away they go to race for 1 1/4 laps (about 30-35 seconds in total!) I have to admit it wasn’t overly exciting and I doubt we’ll bother going again. But, it’s always nice to do something you haven’t done and, you never know, we MIGHT have won big…..

On Friday we decided to go to Norwich. This was somewhere else that hadn’t been on our radar, but having read what the ‘Rough Guide’ had to say we decided that we really should make the effort.

We were glad we did and wished that we’d got up a bit earlier so that we could have seen more of it. Continue reading “East Norfolk, Dog Racing and Norwich”