Living in San Giorgio di Pesaro and Kingston

Not believing the pharmacist at the “knock 3 times and ask for gaviscon” chemist the previous night our first activity was going to another chemist who immediately told us the same thing but did have Rennies in a sugar free form and so we were able to move onto other things.

First stop was the Kunsthistorisches Museum which has a fantastic art collection.. Far too much to see and take in but I was really impressed by the Holbeins.

After a couple of hours in the gallery we had a stroll through the  town and then joined a tour of the opera house. According to our guide book the architect of the building committed suicide when at the opening the Emperor said it looked like a railway station. A rather harsh judgement.

 The tour was followed by tea and cake in one of the less famous cafes but according to the blurb outside a cafe where both mozart and beethoven had played or at least had a cup of coffee.

In the evening we went to the Kuckuck (the cuckoo) restaurant only because it looked nice through the window. We discovered later that it only rates 167th in TripAdvisor’s list of restaurants but I would rate it higher. It had a warm atmosphere, the owners were friendly and the food was Austrian and very tasty. Looking round a supermarket we had realised that it was asparagus season as the shelves had asparagus in  from white through pale green to dark green and everything from thin to think. So I felt it was a good sign when the restaurant had a special asparagus menu on offer. I did go for asparagus with an asparagus and speck salad while Bill opted for a starter with dumplings. Main course for Bill was boiled beef with various sauces and I had chicken breast in paprika sauce served with dumplings. The enjoyable meal was accompanied by the sound of the other diners and an occasional chirp from the 3 or 4 cuckoo clocks in the room.

We then walked back to Karlsplatz underground station to get the tube to the hotel. Not a place to linger as was confirmed later when we noted in our guide that it was one of two places best avoided late at night.

Here we are in Vienna for a weekend. Drove up throught fantastic scenery and a mixture of sunshine and heavy rain. With the help of TomTom we found the hotel “An der Wien” easily. Hotel has car parking, is about 100 metres from a tube line . It is also very clean, friendly and the room is large and bright.

The first walk around Vienna in the evening was to find a chemist that sells gaviscon as Bill had forgotten to bring his supply. I immediately put my german into practice as I asked a guy selling newspapers at the corner “gibt es hier in de Nahe eine apotheke”. In fluent english he told us there was one about 50 metres away. I, unwillingly, slipped back into English and told him it was closed. As it was now 6.30 he said we would have to find an all-night chemist and the address will be on the door of every Chemist. We checked, got the address and within 5 minutes had found an all-night chemist. There was a sign directing us to a side door where we rang a bell. A man opened a small window in the door and asked what we wanted. Then, leaving us out in the street, he went off to look for Gaviscon, returning 5 minutes later to inform us that it was made in Germany and so not available for sale in Austria. Taken by surprise we asked if he had anything for indigestion. Another 5 minutes and he came back with a herbal preparation and a bill for 9 euros. 

A meal that evening of asparagus soup, wienersnitzel and a walk around the old centre eating a rather large ice-cream meant that the herbs were needed – and they worked.

On Friday drove to Florence for the weekend. Had been planning to do it for 3 years as our friend Peter lives there and another friend Desi lives near Florence.

Rain had been forecast for Friday and Saturday but the met office got it wrong again – we had fantastic weather. Having been to Florence before we only went to a few “tourist sites”. The one we definitely wanted to see again was the Medici Palace which has a chapel frescoed by Gozzoli – illustrating the Procession of the Magi.

The palace is never crowded and there is no queing to see the masterpiece and like all masterpieces it never disappoints. Wandering round the palace we walked into an enclosed courtyard which had great vases of orange trees all in blossom. The scent was incredible – almost worth the entrance fee. It was also a great contrast to the botanic gardens which we went to later. They were a complete disappointment. Hedges unclipped, beds full of weeds and certainly not worth the 6 euros entrance fee.
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In Ireland for a week where we are visiting Dave and Lynne who live about 20mins from Galway.

So far we have had three days of beautiful weather. We have been driving round taking in the beautiful landscape. Food has also been high on the menu. Last night went to a restaurant and we were having a wonderful meal when Dave decided to get something stuck in the throat. We three sat there looking helpless but fortunately there was a “doctor in the restaurant” and with a “heimlick manoeuvre” the offending item was cleared and Dave is fortunately still with us.

Friday we decided to take a day off from painting and headed to Ravenna. About 90 minutes drive from here it is well worth the visit even if the weather was wet. Apart from the fantastic mosaics it is also a pleasant town to wander through with lots of cafes and good shops: