Glamis Castle

We took a bit of a drive to Glamis Castle. Glamis is about 90 minutes north of Edinburgh. It was worth the trip. There are many Scottish castles open to visitors but this was an outstanding specimen. The castle has been held by the same family since the 1600's resulting in the interior and furnishings being intact. Because the castle was a private residence, it has never been under siege so the exterior is also in great shape. And the castle was the childhood residence of the Queen Mum so there photos of and references to the royals.

After touring the castle we strolled around the manicured grounds and visited the Scottish Highland cattle. We got to comb/pet some of the cows on our last trip and enjoyed the chance to see them again.

We made a quick stop in Dundee to see the RRS Discovery. This ship was built in Dundee and used by Scott and Shackleton for their successful voyage to Anarctica. We didn't actually visit the museum because it was late but snuck a peek over the back fence.

The World Cup and the octopus

We have enjoyed following the World Cup during our sojourn through Europe. Many nights, it was the only programming on the TV that we could follow. I will also always remember hearing cheers rise-up from the shores of Lake Bled during the final Slovenia match. We were high above the town touring the castle but could hear the fans in the pubs and restaurants down below.

I have been a supporter of Spain for less than scientific reasons from the first round and am pleased to learn that Paul the psychic octopus has chosen them as the winner. Paul's predictions have been headline news here in the U.K. We are curious. Has Paul received much coverage in the U.S.?

Loch Katerine

We ventured into Trossachs National Park. This area is also known as Rob Roy Country and is the beginning of the Scottish Highlands. Due to the lighting, our pictures aren't all that great but you can see the unusual vegetation on the top of this hill. There are few trees and lots of heather.
Our destination was Loch Katerine which provides water to Glasgow. We took a cruise on the Sir Walter Scott which is the only screw driven steamship still in service in Scotland. It runs on biodiesel! We were hoping to walk along the lake afterwards but a squall dropped in and ruined our plans. To our friends and family enjoying the heat wave at home, our thoughts are with you. I believe it might hit 65F here in Edinburgh today.

Stirling Castle and Inchmahome Priory

We had a busy travel day leaving from Italy for Scotland. The drive to Bologna from LTM was longer than expected and complicated by construction and traffic. We changed planes in Brussels before arriving in Edinburgh. Hertz was swamped so Mr. Snootypurse had to choose between a minivan with an automatic transmission or a small manual car. If you’ve ever driven in the UK, you know this is an impossible choice but we are plugging right along with the small car.

We spent a good part of yesterday at Stirling Castle. The castle is located in a strategic area of Scotland so it is steeped in history. He who controls Stirling, controls Scotland. We then drove further out in the country to visit Inchmahome Priory. This is an Augustine Abbey from the 13th century. It’s not in as good condition as others we’ve seen but it is located alone on a small island. It’s about a seven-minute boat ride on a small launch to the island. We didn’t spend much time there as the wind and rain started to kick-up and drove us back to the car.

La Tavola Marche

We've had the pleasure of spending the preceding four nights at La Tavola Marche (LTM). LTM is a agriturismo/cooking school run by two very hospitable American ex-pats. The accomodations are in a big farmhouse and meals are served outside on the patio when weather allows. The pool is refreshing if a little cool. There are several areas around the grounds to linger and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

We've included a picture of the LTM laundry facilities. About 4 hours after this photo was taken, we got the first rain we'd seen since leaving Ljubljana. So it goes. The final photo is from our visit to Fano Gorge.

Mr. Snootypurse and I shared an amazing private cooking class on our final afternoon here. We learned how to make three pasta sauces and two types of antipasti. Our focus was on vegetables (zucchini in particular) as we were looking for creative ways to use our farmer's market veggies. We were in a pasta coma following the class and look forward to practicing the lessons at home.

First day in Le Marche

Who can resist a cute kitten picture? The agriturismo where we're staying had six kittens in two litters about five weeks ago, and the kittens are a riot to watch.
Today we drove to the walled hill-town of Urbino and visited the Duke’s palace. The area adjacent to the walls was crazy busy and it took us a few tries to find the parking garage. We almost gave up but were glad we didn’t.

The palace is huge but it felt empty and cleaned out. The picture is of the courtyard. The highlight of the visit was the Duke’s study which is covered with inlaid wood. We tried to take pictures but unfortunately it was too dark [see here, here, and here for some pictures of the paneling]. There are also several sets of doors with wood inlay. I’m a fan of Rafael and enjoyed a painting of his on display. Rafael is from Urbino but did most of his work in Rome.

Mother's magic hour

We dragged ourselves out of bed early on our last morning in Venice to see St. Mark’s Square in the soft morning light without swarms of people. It worked!

Reluctantly leaving Venice we drove to our next stop in Italy’s Le Marche region via Ravenna. Ravenna is well-known for its mosaics and we visited two fine examples at Basilica di San Vitale and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. The colors were brighter than I expected and had a Byzantine feel.

Our posting may be sporadic for the next few days as we are off the grid at an agritourismo/cooking school. We’re talking gravel roads and about 20 minutes to the nearest village where no-one speaks inglese. The peace, quiet, and breezes are a welcome respite from Venice. And there are two mama cats with several kittens here so we are getting our gatto fix.

More Venice and Murano

As we headed out for our third morning in Venice, we watched a pigeon family take their morning ablutions in a fountain outside our front door.

We visited two churches: the Frari Church and the church of San Rocco. The Frari church was our favorite. Titian’s tomb is inside this church. It’s a large marble monument and the backdrop is a marble relief of his painting behind the altar in the same church. If you stand in the right spot, you can see them both at the same time.

That afternoon, we ferried out to the island of Murano. We watched a “free” glass-blowing demonstration and were able to extract ourselves from their high-pressure sales pitch. The street was lined with shops selling glass and we popped into a few.

We found a neighborhood hosteria for dinner and enjoyed a lively scene on the street. The adults enjoyed an apertif while their kids and dogs played on the street. It was a warm, congenial atmosphere that I’d like to see more of at home.

Our gondola ride

Last night treated ourselves to a gondola ride. Mr. Snootypurse and myself shared a pre-gondola dinner while watching boats pass back and forth through the lagoon. As you can see, Mr. Purse is winding up to deliver a stiff right hook. Too much togetherness, I guess.

We started our ride around 9:00pm which was just about perfect. We had some twilight starting out and things were almost completely dark as we finished up. I enjoyed the ride more than I expected. It’s so quiet and peaceful as you glide along Venice’s back canals. Quite a contrast to how things are during the day. And it is very romantic to share the experience with someone you love.

Benvenuti a Venezia

  
We arrived in Venice a couple of days ago. The weather has been quite hot and humid and temperatures remind me of Hawaii. We parked the car in the Tronchetto garage and arrived at our hotel by vaporetto (water bus). We are staying in a clean one-room apartment close to St. Mark's Square. It's sparsely furnished but is quiet and air-conditioned. It's associated with a hotel so we have the benefits of daily breakfast and concierge service.

Yesterday we toured the Accademia gallery. It was somewhat disappointing because they are renovating a few of the important rooms. They are in the process of moving the paintings to other rooms but this won't be complete until July 1 :-( We tried to view some modern art but this area is closed on Tuesdays. The nice thing was these streets weren't very crowded and there were some fun windows to peek into including wood sculptures of clothing and fabric.

In the afternoon, we toured the Doge's Palace. The middle picture is a photo of the courtyard. This complex served as the Capitol Building, White House, Supreme Court, and Sing Sing prison for the Venetian republic. It was a beautiful building jam-packed with art and exhibits. In retrospect we could have skipped the Accademia and spent more time here.

Lake Bled

Today we visited the main attractions of Lake Bled. We walked around the lake first thing in the morning. About halfway around, we rented a rowboat to row to a small island in the middle of the lake. This picturesque little island is home to a church and cafe. It was a glorious morning.

After lunch we indulged in a slice of cream cake that is the signature dessert of the area. I'm not a big fan of whipped cream so I thought it was so-so. I think I'll stick with the ice cream.

We wrapped things up by climbing the hill to Bled castle. You can see the castle on the left-hand side of the second photo. Views of Bled and the surrounding area from this vantage point were outstanding. We could even see large fish in the lake when we looked down. If only I'd had my fishing pole and a really, really long line!

And finally, here is proof that Mr. Snootypurse did indeed accompany me on this trip. It's so hard to get pictures together when you're traveling.

Dober dan Ljubljana

We spent most of today exploring Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. The first photo is taken in front of city hall where we met our walking tour. The weather was cool and drizzly, just like home. Although it would have been nicer without the rain, the cool was refreshing. The tour took us up to Ljubljana's castle that looks out over the city. We dropped our laundry off before meeting the tour. Hopefully it will be there when we go to pick it up this morning...

Jose Plecnik is the architect of much of the city and designed the triple bridge you see which is in the heart of the old town. We had sushi for dinner last night figuring we probably wouldn't see it again as we head up to Lake Bled and then into Italy.