A Church and Two Restaurants

Yes there are 2 Montecarlos- and actually I think I would prefer this little village! About a twenty minute drive from Lucca(get onto via Romania and follow the signs) it is really just one cobbled street and a few good restaurants set high in the hills so the views add to great eating experiences. And they are definitely more reasonable than restaurants in Lucca. But another reason for visiting this place is a most beautiful small church that we chanced by on our first visit. If you park in the public parking area at the beginning of the town you have a bit of an uphill walk and then as you walk down to LaTerrazzo look for Chesa di S.Anna on your right-no grand entrance just a large wooden door and then you see the breathtakingly beautiful Madonna-go in and say a prayer or just be surrounded by the peace.
TT1 La Terrazza is very casual but do expected beautiful starched pink linen. You sit on the terrace overlooking olive farms and the valley-everything is delicious, cooked by the family as you order- just remember they are closed on a Thursday. We never book because they don’t understand me but here is the phone number anyway- tel:0583.22094. It is quite a good idea to call before hand-if someone answers you know they are open!
TT2Ristorante Forassiepi is further down via Contea but still has a lovely view and is a very elegant, more formal dining experience. Order anything that is served with a porcini mushroom sauce-I truly have never tasted anything quite so delicious.- tel: 0583 229475

 

Sunny Breakfast

As you know I love towns and cities early in the morning- and a great thing to do is go for an early morning ride on the wall and then head for Bar S. Michele on Piazza S. Michele for a coffee-it is on the sunny side of the piazza in the early morning and it is so lovely sitting there overlooking the beautiful Church of S. Michele.
TT1 Have a glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice and a piece of thin forcaccio with ham!

 

Dolce Vita

Lucca is a maze of cobbled streets with many little piazzas and beautiful frescoes on the buildings. As it is flat it is a perfect place to ride around and the old city wall is wide and lined with beautiful, up to 400 hundred year old chestnut trees making it a perfect cycle track…look down on the old town and see into beautiful gardens and really observe an important part of every day life in Lucca-children on roller blades, dogs being walked and all ages promenading in the evenings on the wall. It is one of the reasons we really enjoy our stays there
TT1 Hire a bicycle on your very first afternoon-. There are several bike hire shops
but we always use Chrono at 93 Corso Garibaldi
TT2 You an also hire segways from Gabriele who is stationed near Chrono

 

Paris in The Know

Never tiring of the beauty of Paris we always take long walks through the many beautiful gardens and squares- Jardin Tuilleries being my favaourite we were introduced by a resident of Paris to Café Marly just opposite the triangle of the Louvre. Walk from the Concorde through the Jardin and end with a coup de champagne on the terrace of Café Marly while watching the world go by the Louvre. At the other end of the scale but none the less a wonderful garden eating experience get a shwarma at Chez H’anna in the 4th and. at 54 rue des Rosiers. And head for a bench in the Place des Vosges to have a delicious lunch in this old and very beautiful square.
TT1 If you find the attitude too much at Café Marly then stomp out and head for the Jardins du Palais Royal!!Here we found Villa Lys at 47, galerie de Montpensier, and had good service, cocktails and a lovely evening overlooking these very beautiful and peaceful gardens. ( tel: 01 42 61 85 99)

TT2 Chez H’anna is closed on a Monday- and the chicken curry schwarmas are the best!

 

In Sun and Storm

On the second afternoon we could not resist the opportunity for another walk in this scenic area and so asked to go on the “ community walk”. Godfrey, our guide had his commentary well prepared and lead us on a beautiful three-hour walk- through the village complete with pool table (that one amazingly sees in every little village) tea plantations, along the beautiful river, up and down hills, in sun and storm! We saw many aspects of the life there – from the village shop to a banana winemaking family, a traditional healer and then a most moving visit to the pygmy community that has been moved out of the forest. These people are the poorest of the poor but so welcoming- they truly moved us!
TT1 If you have the time, do go on these walks- by supporting the community in the “gorilla area” one is helping to ensure the survival of the gorillas apart from helping a very poor people.
TT2 If you have a Polaroid camera take it. The pygmies in particular love to have their picture taken and although we took many photos of them and sent them back, it would have been so great to give them pictures immediately!
TT3 If you would like to really make a difference ask to be taken to a local shop or market and buy blankets or clothes there for the poor- this is what we did and in that way not only supported the very needy poor community but also several other Ugandans from whom we made purchases.

 

A Must Walk

As we had only walked a relatively short time both mornings of our stay at Bwindi we decided to take a guided walk through the forest to the Munyaga Falls. The walk starts off on the access track to Ntako village that the villages are allowed to use. After about 2km the trail branches into a winding forest path that takes you to the three falls ending at the largest one that is 33 m high and quite beautiful.
TT1 Go prepared to get wet but this is such a beautiful walk and one not to be missed
TT2 Notice the lovely wild orchids and very delicate mushrooms
TT3 Look out for the amazing Red-Tailed Guenon and L’Hoest’s Guenon- beautiful but shy monkeys

 

And Then We Saw Them!

Oh yes seeing the gorillas is a lifetime highlight! The experience of standing metres from these magnificent animals is extremely emotional –add to that the trek through Bwindi Impenetrable Forest to reach them and you have an experience hard to explain! At Bwindi there are three family groups that can be seen and your permit dictates which group you will watch. The permits are in groups of 8 so each trekking party is made up of 8 people. It seems that there are two gorilla families, the Rushegura group of 15 gorillas and the Mubare group with only 9, fairly near the camps and one that takes longer to reach. On both out treks we were back by 11 o’clock but the third group on one of the days only returned to camp at 5.30 in the evening! So go prepared for a long day as there is no telling before hand how long you will walk. Once you reach the gorilla family you are given exactly one hour to view them. Of course this time speeds by but it is certainly long enough to closely observe them and the guides are very diligent on getting you as close as possible to the apes and making sure you have a clear sight of them.
TT! Take plenty of water- we found every where we went there is ample bottled water available
TT2 Take a backpack to carry your camera and water and the packed lunch your camp will provide (put in a plastic bag for your camera in case of rain)
TT3 Do take a porter between every 2 people- these men are so helpful and not only carry your back pack but are invaluable in helping you negotiate the forest! The paths are slippery and steep and the porters help you up and down and certainly saved us many slips and falls. Apart from how essential we found them to be for our own comfort this is the only opportunity these locals have of earning some much needed money and at the suggested rate of $10 per porter these very helpful men are invaluable. At the moment each available porter only gets the chance to carry once a month! Remember the more the local villagers can benefit from gorilla watching the more chance there is of saving these almost human animals!
TT4 Take strong gloves for the walk- we had endless debates about which type of gloves to take but realised in the end that a pair of ordinary garden gloves are perfect!
TT5 Wear long socks- you are told to tuck your pants into your socks to protect you from vicious biting fire ants- and you certainly come across trails of these insects
TT6 If you are passionate about animals then do as we did and buy permits for two days- the first day is so wonderful and the hour over so quickly that we were relieved at the thought that we were repeating the experience the next day! And of course every encounter is different!

 

Grand Finale

End your Cape holiday with a few days stay on a 300-year-old wine estate – Lanzerac Hotel is special. I just loved our stay here and so enjoyed the beautiful traditionally decorated rooms and the very gracious reception areas.
TT1 Have a pre-dinner cocktail in the lounge in front of a roaring fire
TT 2 Be prepared for slow service!
TT 3 While staying here spend a day walking through Stellnbosch- a quaint little town full of small eateries and boutiques and make sure you try an authentic Italian ice-cream from Lecca il Gelato at 15 Church St.
TT 4 The Stellenbosch Botanical Gardens is small and peaceful and I enjoy ordering a fruit juice at their café and relaxing there for a break from hectic touring!
TT 5 Crème Café (40 Rynveldt St. ph: 021 886-9760) is a tiny café that serves delicious scones with cream and jam

 

Love the City Bowl

I love the city bowl and one of my favourite shopping walks is down Long Street with its numerous funky boutiques and several antique shops
TT1 Start your shopping walk with a coffee and four-cheese muffin at Vida E Café (34 Kloof St. Gardens). A vibey coffee shop that also does freshly squeezed orange juice- I love sitting at one of the outside tables watching everyone walk by and with the Mountain looming up.
TT2 Make a detour and walk through the Company Gardens
TT3 Head back up Long Street and have a beautiful lunch at Manna Epicure(151 Kloof St. ph: 021-426-2413)- an all white restaurant that offers excellent breakfasts and lunches- if you go at peak times on a weekend be prepared to wait.
TT4 Just across and down from Manna is a great shop for South African products- from jewelry to art- Heartworks!( 98 Kloof St. Gardens)
TT5 Also on Kloof St. at number 94,(021 424 5540) is Mellissa’s- a lovely deli that is open every day, and serves breakfasts and lunches. The lunches are buffet-style and you pay by the weight of your plate. Their deli provides delicious “hotel-picnic” fare!

 

On a Clear Day

Of course your visit to Cape Town would not be complete without a trip up Table Mountain- it is breathtaking to stand up there and look over the Cape.
TT1 The first clear day you have do this activity-you never know what the next day will be like!
TT2 I suggest you take a cab up to the cableway… the parking is difficult and you often have to park fairly far from the actual embarkation point – this can mean a long hot walk. There are always cabs waiting up there so when you have finished your excursion it is not a problem to get a lift back to your hotel or car (you can park at TheV&A Waterfront and catch a cab from there.)
TT3 Don’t be tempted to eat on the top of the mountain! There are so many great places to eat in Cape Town and top of the mountain is certainly not one of them!