The Story

The big story begins in Austria...amazing castles.  We saw numerous ruins as we journeyed from Slovakia through Austria.  The first one we stopped to exam was available for viewing only through a guided tour, which we paid for without understanding there was no self-guided access.  We missed the tour but oohed and ahhed never-the-less.  This castle was accessible to the guide-impaired.

Our journey that day ended in a town named Gleisdorf...the designated solar city in southern Austria.  Though we did not expect to stay in Austria more than one night, we ended up tracking down the designers of this solar tree, among many other solar features, and getting a full two hours of discussion.  AND...BEST OF ALL we found an organic chocolate factory which was amazing.  We managed to catch the tour expecting a brief tour and a small tasting of ten varieties of chocolate.  3 hours later we were stuffed to the gills with unbelievable varieties of chocolate.  My favorites were the bars of very dark chocolate, one made with mares milk and the other made with goats milk...MMMMM.

We also found our first farmers market in Gleisdorf and got luscious farmstead cheese, peppers, cukes and homemade pastries.  Yummm!!!

The following day we headed to Italy.

And this is where the DRAMA begins...

So, here is the question.  Whose foot looks as if it had been run over by a car?

If you guessed Rockys foot on the right, you would be WRONG.  Just past the Austrian border into Northern Italy we stopped in a mountain town to regroup and get our bearings.  Rocky was driving and I was helping him back out of a parking space as visibility in either direction was for shit.  All was clear and I told him to stop so that I could get in the car.  As I reached for the door handle he, for some unknown reason, decided he needed to back up more and managed to run over my foot.  Now I know what it feels like...I had wondered when I saw such scenes in movies.  It hurt like hell.  Rocky was chagrined and almost helpless with remorse.  A quick trip to a local clinic reassured me that nothing was broken, and within a couple of hours I was actually laughing about it.  Rocky, on the other hand was very upset...after all he ran over his wifes foot.

To make it up to me he found an agriturissmo establishment for our bed that night...ay, ay, ay mama mia...9 X 12 foot metal cabin with a bed made of lumpy springs, chicken and duck shit all over the ground and over cooked and oversalted vegetables with dinner.  The best part about it, according to Rocky, was the wall heater that occupied 5 inches of the 10 that seperated the bed from the wall on which he broke his toe that night.  He felt much better then, as if he had atoned for the sin of running over my foot.  The following day he could laugh about the whole incident, because his limp was much worse than mine.

There have been a few other mishaps...but none quite so dramatic.

My poor shoes, however, did not survive.

We did make up.

We did make our way into Tuscany, and we did, finally find an Italian farmers market.  Unfortunately, not the caliber we are used to in Arcata or found in Gleisdorf, but great to finally find some late season tomatoes.

Great food we have found...

Olives, cheese and salami

Advise for anyone travelling to Europe...GPS, GPS, GPS!!!!

Venice...needs about a week.

Florence...needs about a week. 

The Italian Riviera...too crowded.

The mountains between the Mediterranean coast and Parma...beautiful.

Now, we are in Switzarland to see ALPS, but will start to meander back towards Bratislava in the next couple of days in preparation to fly back to the States on October 6.

Abish says SQUEEK, and Squeal says PEEP.