AMALFI COAST

Saturday 30 April, off the coast of Italy:

I’m in the gym, listening to Aretha Franklin singing “Say a Little Prayer” and I’m on an exercise bicycle, only about 5 more minutes to go, and I have one of those moments.

It’s like an orgasm. Exquisite, releasing, and all-too-brief. 

The subtle high of exercise endorphins is being released, energy flows through me even as I sweat profusely, and the view before me, through the floor-to-ceiling glass of the gym, is 180 degrees spectacular.

Bonjour, Isle of Capri.

The sky is a soft blue, the sea a darker blue, and the horizon is peaceful, with limestone cliffs and a picturesque port town of 20,000 inhabitants, swelling to 300,000, I’m told, in the ‘high’ season.

I am happy to view it from the balcony of my gorgeous room, or on the decks with my new friends, Jonathan and Julian (brothers, from the UK).

I hope to include a photograph or two with this blog, but I don’t wish to get bogged down with IT on my European holiday, especially as I wind down after 30 minutes in le petit gym. 10 kilometres of bicycling, and 175 calories used.  That takes account of roughly half my breakfast, ha ha.

In about an hour we disembark off the Amalfi Coast and head for Positano before a recital this evening of Chopin works.

Life, my friends, could be worse…

EARLY DAYS IN ROMA

Conversazione a vacazione:
Zenga: Are you guys hungry?
Michael: I haven't been hungry since 1987.
JB: I haven't been hungry since 2.30pm.
Michael and JB chortle merrily, delighted by their wit.
Zenga: What should we do next? Walk some more? Shop? Or back to the hotel for a siesta?
Chorus: Hotel!
... And so it goes. My friends, not a single one of my brain cells has fired since I landed, but my tastebuds, I realise, have been flat-lining for a long while. Now, here in Roma, they are dancing the fandango, twirling, cavorting, gavotting and frolicking with great abandon. How does spaghetti vongole taste so good? Or a pizza con mozzarella,  proscuitto e pomadore? Pescatore? Insalata verde?  The simplest things taste sublime....
Colosseum, Pantheon, St. Peter's. St Paul's. Marcus Agrippa, Emperor Augustus. Mussolini. Michelangelo. Verdi. The antiquities and stories go by in a blur. The last time I visited Rome I was electrified, shrieking with delight at this original,  exciting city. This time I am calmer, content. After all, I am here with three of my favourite people. There is nothing better than being surrounded by beauty, imbibing it through each of your senses, and not having to say terribly much, nor feel compelled to make decisions. Each of your group know you inside out. It is so terribly relaxing. And if you get lost, who cares?
Weatherwise, we have been lucky... the temperature is around 19 degrees C with occasional drizzles which is perfect for lots of walking, and neither too hot or too cold, provided you have layers and a soft, snuggly scarf.
Last night, instead of dining, we visited a nearby church for a recital of romantic arias by soprano and two tenors accompanied by four violins and the piano.  Rossetti, Puccini, Verdi, Donazetti, we were regaled with well-known arias and let the beautiful sounds fill the church to its high vaulted roof.  When in Rome... do as the Romans do, and the church, despite the school night, was comfortably full, gracious couples and even families with children there for a glass of friscati and 90 minutes of recital. Bliss.
Today we leave our gracious, elegant Hotel Quirinale for our luxury cruiser and I will be sorry to leave this gorgeous suite with its brilliant chandelier and high, high ceilings. We enjoyed our G&Ts at the end of the day,  a duo of palely handsome Italians crooners singing Ed Sheeran.
Alas, I must sign off: Steve can view CNN for only so long. The news focused today on Trump's foreign policy - an oxymoron, I suggest - so for now, dear friends, arrivederci.

ROAD TO ROME, APRIL 2016

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a jaded woman in possession of good fortune must be in want of a vacation abroad."

The photograph that accompanies this first epistle of my Italy 2016 blog is of my view today as I pack my suitcase to the refrains of Duffy singing "Stepping Stone". It is a melodious, cheerful song, in harmony with the autumnal sunshine pouring into the chambers of our near-empty apartment after several days of 'curing' following a buff and polish.

Of one thing I am sure: that when our 26-day foray to Italy is over, I will be longing once more to gaze my eyes upon this view. Because however jaded one is - and believe me, I am '100% proof' jaded - there is still nothing better than home sweet Lincoln Crescent. I know how fortunate I am, but my word, how to retain one's sense of good humour without the occasional get-away-from-it-all?

I am tired of watching my words, my bank accounts, my data usage, my weight, my back. I am weary of being nanny to my pooch. I am tired of searching for my spectacles because I find it difficult to locate anything without them on my face. I am sick of commuting by train to Olympic Park, Pandora app notwithstanding. Even another episode of my drip-feed drug, Justified, cannot sustain me in good temper for long.

No, it's time for me to visit not-so-foreign climes and escape the hot air circulating about impending elections, local and international - frankly my dear, I so don't give a damn - and drink in different views, both visual, intellectual and esoteric.

I will try to keep tabs on everything that we experience, but as the point of the exercise is TO LET GO, don't hold your breath. Rather, book YOUR next holiday - and start looking forward.

For me, the anticipation of Italy 2016 has been life-affirming and now my only remaining angst is that the holiday will not live up to expectations. We will see! For now, adieu dear friends as I wing my way in train of la dolce vita....

Hawai'i, a.k.a. the Big Island

Early sunset at Mauna Lani resort, Big Island Hawai'i

Okay, so I was a bit over-the-top in my critique of Kaua'i - my travelling companions violently disagreeing with my negative take on the isle, btw - but now, in any case, I'm too knackered to carp.
    And, honestly, who would want to? Big Island is so eco, so green, so organic and cool... I love it and wish we could stay longer.
  Am dead-beat this evening, however, because we've been going for over a week now and apart from a two-day 'break in' period, it's been go, go, go, as we traverse each island and hike to waterfalls, helicopter over volcanoes, hike some more, cycle here, zipline there, and then see some more. By six pm, I'm parched for a cocktail after hours in the heat rehydrating with my ever-present bottle of H20.

The waterfalls at Big Island's Tropical Botanical Gardens

     So, we've been on Big Island for three days and this is the youngest of the eight Hawaii'an islands - 'young' in that it is only 500,000 years old and still, as a result of its great youth, has active volcanoes. We helicoptered over smouldering lava today ... needless to say, home properties in the area are going for a song!!! The last time a volcano erupted here was in 2007, then 2011... so we're talking "active" alright, and you wouldn't want to get in the way of a volcano in a huff.
    Population here is around 150,000, compared to Kaua'i's 59,000, and Oahu's 1.2 million (with 800,000 of these living in Honolulu). We've been hearing a lot about King Kamehameha (sounds like Big Daddy Ha Ha), an especially aggressive seafarer who subjugated all the Hawaiian islands under his rule.
 One of his descendants was responsible for his men spearing Captain Cook to death in 1779... a fact I did not know, having never learned Australian history. Fascinating to think that all Cook's travels blew up in the bay about 10 kilometres north from where our glossy Mauna Lani resort nestles...

  Highlight of this island sojourn was a visit to an ocean cliff tropical botanical garden that had me, the world's worst photographer, snapping at every beautiful bloom in sight. I want to edit all the floral shots to a gentle piano sonata, if there is such a thing, and let it all wash over me again...
  Next stop: Oprah's favourite island, Maui, which is more hip and trendy. Definitely something in Hawai'i to suit all tastes!!!!

The sunset at Mauna Lani resort en route to beachside dinner

Kaua'i, the Garden State of Hawaii....

I had a moment yesterday before we left Kaua'i when I felt a visceral disgust for the Yanks' paucity of culture. As I sat there, my middle-aged waitress dishing up platitudes in lumpy thighs and styleless black shorts, and I gazed at a menu bereft of tantalising-sounding dishes, I wanted to levitate immediately from our shore-lined restaurant/bar and find myself, once again, somewhere with discernment and taste.

What have the Americans given us in the past 100 years, really?  A thirst for armament? The Tea Party? Drone strikes?  McDonalds? Hugh Hefner?  The Kardashians????

   You're getting my drift by now, I'm sure. On the second island of Hawaii we visited - Kaua'i, 'the Garden State' - we struggled to find anywhere decent to "hang".  We hadn't booked into a ritzy resort this time; instead we booked into a B&B tastefully "decorated" a la Elvis in his Blue Hawaii period. Oh my lordy, I have taken an iMovie of our suite - such decor you have never seen!?! You needed sunglasses simply to feel reposed.  But ... we did choose it - the best of a bad bunch - and that's probably because Kaua'i is Hawaii's version of Nimbin.
   This northernmost island of Hawaii has a population of around 58,000 and most of these citizens look feral. Sorry folks, but I am gonna 'call a spade a spade' here. Individually, each also seems parched for conversation because anyone with whom you cross paths talks and talks and talks... until you run away.

One of many exquisite views from the top of Waimea Canyon

    Luckily for the four of us, we are of completely like minds, so we reassure one another that we are not going loopy, and that a less-than-salubrious moment is excellent to 'compare and contrast' the Hawaii island experience.
   Yes, we got to see the Waimea Canyon - 'the Grand Canyon of the Southern Hemisphere' -  and we did that by helicopter as well - but for the rest of it, you could honestly give it a miss.
   Aloha Kaua'i, we won't be visiting your shores again any time soon. And, oh yes, a toast of sparkling champagne to my travellin' compatriots who kept us laughing and chugging along nevertheless!

Turtle Bay, Oahu

Hawaii is the land of long white surf

Aloha on day 3 of our holiday... or is it day 4? The days are already blurring into one another as all we seem to do is eat, sleep, drink, lie by the pool, swim in the sea, and relax. I play bridge tournaments online as I soak up the warm 28 deg C sunshine, but all the Mai Tais (is that how you spell them? I only spill 'em) I'm imbibing don't help my bridge score at all!

Our resort at Turtle Bay, Oahu

 We drove straight from Honolulu airport to Waimea Bay on Oahu's North Shore which is famous for its surfing beaches; and, sure enough, as I sit tapping here I can see a handful of determined surfers trying to ride a becalmed sea silvery with sunlight after a light shower.

   Hawaii has natural beauty galore - a breathtaking coastline with volcanic mountains as backdrop - and a surprising lack of commercial overtone.  At least, so far. Everything is laid-back. The place is a little stuck in a decade of yesteryear and everyone speaks in a sing-song voice, but who's complaining? Not me! As long as you order one meal for two, because the portions are off-puttingly enormous,  there is not a thing these gentle folk won't do to make your holiday a stress-free, restful one.

A surf shanty in the historic town on Oahu's north shore

  I was pretty tense and uptight by the time we boarded the plane for Hawaii, God only knows why, but I think it might have something to do with my ongoing "to do" lists. I arrived here determined to make an iMovie about Hawaii and I've already given up on that idea because...oh hell... it's too much like hard work.  See? Hawaii is working on me already...

Barack in his Hawaii childhood days

Swimming in Waimea Valley waterfall pool

All I can say is, no wonder Barack Obama always looks as loose as a goose. If you grew up here, you'd have Rastafarian fluid flowing in your bones, dat's for sure. Tomorrow we fly to rustic Kaua'i for three days ... the names of places here are impossible to pronounce or remember, by the way - # holiday dementia - and so far the only local word I've learned is "mahalo" which means 'thank you'.  The four of us decided to give the Pacific Cultural Centre a miss and so far have summoned the energy to go strolling in one of the most beautiful botanical gardens we have ever set eyes on. It was an easy one-hour round trip rewarded with a swim in a waterfall pool... if one felt so inclined. Aaaaaah, I feel relaxed... hope you're chillaxing too!

Hawaii, September 2013

Aloha gentle readers, 
I will be honest and say I know pretty little about Hawaii apart from the very interesting history of Molokai, one of its islands, to which persons suffering leprosy were once sent. Molokai is today one of Hawaii's many tourist attractions and Hawaii boasts plenty. However, it is most famous for its fabulous weather, beautiful beaches, volcanoes, marine life and laid-back lifestyle. Sounds like Australia to me! We will see... here are some photographs I grabbed off the Internet, but soon hopefully I will be posting more of my own. I plan to master iMovie on my MacAir. Let's pray I am not being overly ambitious; it wouldn't be the first time (wink wink)!