Castle Combe

After our long walk at Symonds Yat yesterday we had a bit of a slow start to Sunday. We just don't bounce back as quickly as we would like. It was the end of daylight saving which means we are now 13 hours behind New Zealand, we were in mourning with all other Wellington rugby fans and it had rained heavily all night - so there wasn't much incentive to get up early (an endurance race in the Lake District was stopped due to floods, winds and hypothermic temperatures apparently all 2000 runners were o.k. by the end of the day). In the afternoon we took a drive to Castle Combe (home of a car race track) but also we had been told a cute little village (described by many as the 'prettiest village in the Cotswolds' - I'm not so sure - Bradford on Avon would be my winner). We wandered the main street of the town (which started out as a wool making and weaving town (the mill sat by the little river at the bottom of the main road which we crossed using a little stone bridge), after driving through lanes of trees covered in autumn leaves, and ventured to the hotel (and golf course). All the buildings appear to be around 15th Century - and quite posh - afternoon tea at the hotel was £9 per person - besides the cost we did think that track pants and leg warmers weren't quite the attire for the occasion. We enjoyed wandering around the hotel garden (deck chairs, sun umbrellas were out in the hope of some sunshine which did come a bit later) and the little church that sat alongside the mansion. The church had a working clock in it - one of the first - and put in the church they reckon around 15th Century when the church tower was built. A few years ago they bought the clock down so that everyone could see it. It has no face, and on the hour a large bell chimed to let those working in the field know when dinner time, going home time and 'get to work in the morning' time. Electricity does the winding now but before 1984 a man climbed daily to the top of the tower to wind it. The other interesting fact was that Sir John Eldon Gorst was buried in the church and he was amongst other things Civil Commissioner to the Waikato (yes that one in NZ) in 1861-63.

On the economy side the worsening financial crisis continues to hit the news. GDP fell by 0.5% in the September quarter - which means that England is either officially in or heading for a recession - worse than the 1990's they reckon. House prices have plummetted 40% in a few months which means many people have mortgages far greater than their house is worth (how can banks lend up to 120% of the value of the house I wonder). Anyway, we saw some lovely little houses in Castle Combe, which somehow I think will not fall as greatly due to their history and character (crooked roof lines, exposed wooden beams, stable doors opening onto the road). I was fascinated to read that in 1960 Dr Dolittle was filmed in Castle Combe and in the nearby village, Lacton, Pride and Prejudice was filmed.



The Castle Combe race track is well known, but today there were no car races in sight but a novel sport we had not seen before. Roller skiing. We watched a couple of races, thought it would be a good sport for skiers to keep fit during summer and decided it looked like hard work. Originally the racetrack was an airfield. After World War Two it was converted to a racetrack where people such as Stirling Moss (known as 'the greatest driver never to win the world championships') and John Surtees (the only person to have won world championships on both two and four wheels) raced. In 1997 Nigel Greensall drove a new lap record of 130.93 miles per hour (that is faster than the Peregrine we read about yesterday). During that time trial a spectator was killed and the owners decided to install chicanes to slow cars down. However Formula Three continued to race there until 2005 when it was issued with a noise nuisance order and now only local championships are held and a yearly Formula Ford Carnival.

Symonds Yat

It was a wildlife day today - we fed a little robin, had a wild deer jump up onto the road as we zoomed by (I had seen yellow AA signs warning us of wild deer), had a warning about wild boars running lose in the forest and learnt a bit more about peregrines (birds of prey belonging to the falcon family that can fly up to 160 km an hour to catch smaller birds in mid flight). After a leisurely breakfast (I couldn't believe I was first up this morning), we drove to Symonds Yat about 90 minutes north west of Bristol in Herefordshire. It is a funny old name and it seems that no one knows where the name came from - but legend says possibly in the 1200's and derived from Sigemund Yat which means a guarded accessway - people have been living near here since the iron age - terraced and fortified - not surprising since it stands about 500 feet above sea level and has a commanding view of the Wye Valley and the Forest of Dean. We were told 'go on a good day' so with high cloud and the sun trying to peek through we thought 'this is one of the best we have had for a while' and took off. We arrived at a signpost that gave us choices of Symonds Yat, Symonds Yat Rock, Symonds Yat East, West and North (all a bit confusing when told by our workmates to go to Symonds Yat - but which one??). We chose the first car park and wandered through the forest for a couple of hours - up and down dry leafy paths - well at the beginning anyway - once one of us had remarked how dry the paths were and it looked as though it hadn't rained for a while we came across our first mud and then the rain came down (we had decided to be prepared for cold - even though it isn't yet winter - warm and wet weather clothes seems to be the requirement). We sat drinking tea and eating bananas under a tree - in a few years time the tree will offer a bit more protection - but that is where the seat was.

We drove to Symonds Yat North (I think) and wandered along the River Wye watching canoeists beat the rapids (Grade 1 size I would suggest), admiring the lovely autumn leaves (it really is a spectacular season over here) and the roses which were blooming and saw a sign - half a mile to Symonds Yat Rock - we thought we had already been there on our forest walk but obviously hadn't. We climbed steep steps - half a mile at 60 degree gradient takes a while - but found a spectacular view of the Wye Valley and the meandering river at the top and learnt that Peregrine falcons nest in the cliffs. After coffee we wandered down the path and at one point asked each other if we really did climb up this hill - only to find no we hadn't we had taken the wrong turning and it was a much longer walk back to the car for lunch (at 4.30 for lunch who needs dinner?).

On the other side of the river is Symonds West - we could have caught the little boat over (ancient and hand pulled by man and cable) but decided to drive round as it was getting a bit dark - and drove down through the town (at one point there was a sign that said the road narrowed - it couldn't get any narrower we thought - but we were wrong) and came across the 14th century church St Dubricius. Besides the fabulous colours of the large trees it is the burial ground of Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim and her family. Personally, I had never heard of her but she was married to John Graves Simcoe who founded Toronto in 1793. Apparently on her marriage (his second) she gave him the financial support for him to enter the Canadian parliament. But I am pleased to say that she was important in her own right. Besides having heaps of children she was a writer and an artist - lots of sketches particularly of Canadian scenes. In her diary she wrote of her trip out to Canada "I quite enjoy the thoughts of a long journey we have before us and the perpetual change of scene it will afford (1752)". I think she was quite an adventurer and seemed to enjoy many of the travel excitements like sailing the Atlantic, living in the colonies and Canadian outback and trying new foods like boiled black squirrel and chipmunk and coffee made from peas. And the other special gravestone in that little cemetery is the grave for a little 2 day old boy called Lachlan and on his Gravestone is

Love

Always

Comforts

Listens

And

Nurtures ... so true.

We didn't get to see Goodrich Castle or King Arthur's Cave so much go back to the area on another 'good day'.

Blackpool

Blackpool - we did wonder why we were going when people laughed when we told them or said they had never been. Our suspicions were raised when looking at our books on walks there were none around the area and when a workmate rapped me the following song over the phone from the MacLadds

'One day after closing I was lying on me nest,
When Stez shouts "get yer bags on, come on outside."
So I grabbed me stripy tank-top, I 'ad beer stains on me vest,
An' I said "best get some cans in, it's a long ride."
Well, we drove along the M6, chuckin' cans at other folk,
An' stopped at all the services that took us.
...
We're going down Blackpool, alright,
We're going down Blackpool, fer a pint
We're going down Blackpool fer a fight
We're going to see the lights...'


but none the less the thought of seeing the Blackpool illuminations and the fact that we had already booked a hotel we decided to go. We rose early on Saturday morning but by Birmingham when I was fully awake I was bored - so instead of doing what the MacLadds did we decided to record all the names on trucks (oops lorries in England) and came up with quite a list in just over 2 hours- which anyone not interested can skim over - but I think we saw more in the two hours than we would in a week in New Zealand. So here goes ... there were lots of Eddie Stobart, Royal Mail, Iceland, Somerfield, Tesco, Sainsbury and one or two of Iron Mountain, BTS, ASDA, Primark, Co-operative Cockerill, Hunt Brothers Transport Ltd, RT Kedgewell, Richard Austin Dumfrey, Kingsmill, Heritage Express, SG Transport and Packaging, Wincanton, jet2.com, Bannister, JVW, John Raymond Transport, Hawkins, Fedex, MB Distribution, TK Marx and Hawkesbury, Jan de Rijk, Boughey, Richards Reliable road Services, Fowler Welch, Dreams, Horses, Lynch, Max Heritage Ltd, Stotts, Trota, R and R Limber, BOC deivery, Sawyers, Wabergs, Spearmans, Hotpoint, Total, CFT, McBernie Refrigerators, Tiles, Bakiwci, Focus, HR Kipling, Texaco, GRO Continental, David Malcolm, Shell, MWW and about 109 others which I can't be bothered typing in. With many of these also being left hand drive, you can see why we don't really enjoy motorway driving - that and the fact there were two very nasty accidents yesterday on the M6. Anyway, it was quite interesting that near Blackpool is a place called Leyland and near there is the British Commercial Vehicle Museum. After our games on the Saturday we couldn't resist visiting. Many of the museums we have been to have something for all. Harry was fascinated with seeing a prototype Commer engine - they made 18 and trialled them in trucks and just as they were getting ready to manufacture them big time Commer was sold to Chrysler. There was also a 1925 Tilling Stephens hybrid (TS7) bus that used a petrol engine to drive a generator which provided electricity for the electric motor to drive the vehicle. Harry says 'Hybrids are not new'. I always like the people aspect of the museums and was amused to see the rules for passengers as they climbed upon the omnibus. The Times described the early buses as 'lumbering, clumsy conveyances in which the public were packed like coal sacks and jolted through the streets'. Here are some of the laws written in the Times in 1836

1. Keep your feet off the seats.
2. Do not get into a snug corner yourself and then open the windows to admit a north wester upon the neck of your neighbour.
3. Have your money ready when you desire to alight. If your time is not valuable then that of others may be.
4. Do not impose on your conductor the necessity of find change he is not a banker.
5. Sit with your limbs straight and do not with your legs describe an angle of 45 degrees thereby occupying the room of two people.
6. Do not spit on the straw. You are not in a hogsty but in an omnibus travelling in a country which boasts of its refinement.
7. Refrain from affectation and conceited airs. Remember that you are riding a distance for sixpence, which if made in a hackney coach would cost as many shillings, and should your pride elevate you above plebian accommodations, your purse should enable you to command aristocratic indulgences.

and there were more .... We also saw the Popemobile built by Leyland for the Pope's visit in 1982 where he visited about 7 cities over a period of 5 days. Must have been exhausted by the end of it. It was built for security I think rather than comfort - so the crowds could look and wave while he sat high above the crowds in a safe environment. There was also a feature on advertising and considering we had seen so many trucks with names on their sides the interesting thing was that truck advertising came about after a public outcry on roadside bill boards. Shell came up with the ingenious method of advertising on the side of a truck. They had some brilliant ads all with the theme - this man or woman uses Shell, and had firefighters, actors, explorers, artists, charwoman etc on the sides of trucks. There were also the Leyland Ladies (the Leyland she's a lady was the theme) where every year a new calendar was produced with one Lady on its picture - not stars or well known ladies - they were mainly blondes over the years - which led to the belief that Leyland directors preferred blondes - which I get the impression they didn't agree with.



So, we arrived in Blackpool (the only place in England to have trams running commercially now according to the museum). It isn't a 'WOW' city - in fact we looked at each other and wondered what we had come to. Imagine 3 miles of fairground, with piers and the promenade covered in merry go rounds, roller coaster (the tallest and fastest one in Europe), indoor rollercoaster water slide (the longest in the world), ferris wheel and pokey machines, crowds wandering up and down the street with trams, horse and carts, buses and lots of cars. That is Blackpool. Everywhere you went there were charges to go into the amusement areas - even the tower (518 feet of entertainment - that's about four storeys) was out of bounds unless you wanted to pay £16 for the priveledge of also seeing adventurelands, jungle jims, giant incas and playing on swinging, sliding and climbing frames. So, wandered along the Blackpool Piers - the North being a Grade II listed building and the most traditional one housing an old fashioned carousel and theatres and then wandered the other two which were far more modern with more fair ground fun. You can imagine which one we preferred and even managed to find a seat looking over the sea to have a coffee. The Art Deco Winter Gardens was probably the best bit of the city - renovated back to the 1950's where you could buy tickets for the opera house and wander the ticket offices and bar rooms. Besides that, people waited in queues for restaurant tables at 3.00 in the afternoon and others queued for icecreams, hotdogs and other fair type food. We had fish and chips on the beach before heading off to the Hot Ice show. Ice skating is a pleasure to watch as it is so graceful, and with a few costumes and good choreography a good story can be told - we enjoyed it. Question: Is it sexual discrimination when men get charged less (or nothing) to go to a public toilet where a woman is charged more at the same place?



So, we spent more time wandering along the beach rather than in the township. We arrived at high tide with the waves crashing against the promenade (new in places, and being built in others to stop flooding of near by properties). It was fascinating standing there watching the waves, with salt flying through the air - just like home. Then three hours later it was hard to believe the tide had gone out probably 100 metres and the sand was golden and flat and we took a long walk under the board walk (well under the pier actually but that didn't stop us singing just like the Drifters did).

Under the Boardwalk, Out of the sun. Under the Boardwalk Man, we'll be having some fun.Under the Boardwalk, People walkin' above.Under the Boardwalk ...

and that is all we knew of that well known song.

On Sunday we didn't stay around but drove north up the promenade to Fleetwood and then south to Lytham St Annes - both interesting places and home to the factory that makes the Fisherman's Friend sweets. Fleetwood has an estuary where ships travel to Ireland and is home to a fishing industry. Many plaques and statues depicting the fishing era and stating 'The Real Price of Fish is the Lives of Men'. Given the number of life saving clubs with large boats along the coast there appears to be an element of truth to that. And then we moved south down to Lytham St Annes, which was again a pleasant seaside village with a pier (and only a few fairground attractions). There Caramello sat on a rock with his friend Aus (Sharon sent me Aus from Austria but he hasn't done as much travelling as Caramello). We also sampled some mint cake which on the cover has the comment that Sir Edmund Hillary and Sirdar Tensing carried it to the top of Mt Everest on 29th May 1953 where someone in the exhibition wrote 'we sat on the snow and looked at the country far below us...we nibbled Kendal Mind Cake...it was easily the most popular item on our high altitude ration - our only criticism was that we did not have enough of it'.

We went to Blackpool for the lights - or the Blackpool illuminations. The lights have been a part of Blackpool's attraction since 1879 when they were originally described as 'Artificial Sunlight' - I imagine they have changed significantly since those earlier days.



And last but not least some very interesting stories from the Daily Times and Guardian this week.

1. Medical trainers have found that the disco hit from Saturday Night Fever sets the right pace for heart resuscitation - it is the Bee Gees 'Staying Alive'. This song has 103 beats per minute - three more than the 100 chest compressions recommended. Queen's 'Another One bites the Dust' also has the right number of beats but I suspect the name isn't as appropriate.
2. Travellers complained that spoons tinkling in their saucers was so annoying that National Express has replaced cups and saucers with mugs - still china ones - but they have been subjected to high-speed and tilt testing as the trains go 125 miles per hour. Passengers in standard class drink their tea from cardboard cups and obviously never had the problem.
3. The Guardian did an article on children living in Britain - they found one from almost every country (except San Marino, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Paulau). I wonder how many nationalities live in New Zealand?
   
   
   
   
   
   

Milan

Milan was founded about 600 BC, originally home to Celtic tribes and then later the Romans who named it Mediolanum - land in the middle. We didn't notice the agriculture in the area as we didn't get out to the country but the books say it is situated in the middle of a fertile valley, the PoRiver. It is now the second largest city in Italy - the home to 1.3 million people where a century before only 200,000 lived here. The fast population growth and the decimation from all the conflict in the area can be seen in the layout of the city, the housing, the roads which have replaced canals and sadly the pulling down of the city walls. It seems to be a city without a centre - a number of areas draw the locals and tourists - but no one spot - which makes it quite different to other cities we have seen so far. The Castello Sforzesco was our first stop because that was the first thing we saw after turning the corner after the underground station. The castle is about 700 years old, - austere, plain, huge and domininating - as I guess all castles which protected a town should look like. It still had its drawbridge, the towers with diamond cut stones, ramparts, and some of its wall. Like most castles we have seen it has suffered the ravages of time and invasions and is now restored to some its former glory (unlike many other castles) but without most of the walls. The restoration completed in the 19th century led to the castle being gifted to the city - it is now the home of 12 museums and art gallery's (eg Egyptian, decorative arts, furniture, muscial instruments, Achille Bertarelli Prints, prehistory and proto history, photographic and so on) which we didn't go into because it was 23 degrees and sunny outside.
The castle backed onto to a lovely green area which we shared on both days with many locals and tourists. We had fun helping autumn on its way by shaking branches and watching the leaves fall (Harry almost got hit by some conkers) as we sang our own adaptation of the song

"Catch a falling leaf and put it in your pocket
Never let it fade away
Catch a falling leaf and put it in your pocket
Save it for a rainy day
For love may come and tap you on the shoulder some starless night
Just in case you feel you want to hold her
You'll have a pocketful of starlight" (leaf light didn't quite sound right).

We enjoyed drinking 'Caramello' sized coffee in the park - (but for 1.50 euro that wasn't bad. We later paid 5 euros for a coffee and it wasn't 3 times the size - we didn't pick the price of the coffee as pasta was 6 euros - but we learnt our lesson - drinks and food is generally expensive in Milan). The park was also home to a sports arena which was built in the early 1800's from the brick and stone taken from the city walls when dismantled. It is now used for football (but not the big games where the two big football teams Internazionale and AC Milan - that is the privilege of the San Siro football stadium), athletics, cycling and whatever else 30,000 people might like to watch. Italians like their dogs - they were everywhere - all shapes, sizes and ages. They weren't meant to walk without a leash in the main park but off to the side there was a huge fenced area for the dogs to run free. We saw them walking, running, sniffing, playing, being carried by their adoring owner and even one in a push chair (you can buy pet push chairs over here) - but there seemed to be no such thing as a pooper scooper - need I say more? We also found another garden 'the first English romantic garden' in Milan - after walking through the finish of a fun run/walk. The Mansion in the garden at one stage was lived in by Napoleon and then after a number of occupants gifted to the public - rather nice on a sunny day.

We got around using public transport and our feet. The underground was close to our hotel and built in the 1960's so had quite modern carriages, wide and very long. On the first night we arrived about 10.00 caught a bus to terminal 1, then the bus took us back to terminal 2, before arriving in town - about 50 kilometres away - it took a while. The taxi would have cost us 70 euros from the airport so we saved some money by only taking a taxi on the last leg to the hotel. We couldn't prove it but we are convinced the driver took us on a rather long and circuitous route. The hotel, was in the suburbs, built in the 1950-60's (evidence is the green and black bathroom) and the receptionist rushed off to take croissants out of the oven while collecting our details. Not fair as each night we arrived back to that wonderful smell of freshly baked croissants but we had to till morning when they were cold! The rest of the time we bought day passes which gave us all day access to the ATM (not anytime machine which would have been nice but the local transport system including underground, buses, trams and trains). The transport seems to cope well with all the tourists eg central station has 600 million travellers a year - that is another very large and impressive building being restored. We also we took the 'hop on hop off' bus and enjoyed sitting for a couple of hours seeing the sights and resting our weary feet. The attendant and bus driver were so bored that throughout the trip they waved to people on the street, gently drove the bus up to the crossing to give pedestrians a fright and honked their horn at drivers. It was quite entertaining to watch. All joking aside though, as pedestrians we had to be careful - motorcyclists, cyclists and often cars ignored the pedestrian green light and if there was a tram or bus in sight as well we looked left, right, left, right, left, right, left (you can imagine it was a bit like a fast flowing tennis match) before we took our lives in our hands and crossed. We aren't that good at Italian history so even though the commentary was in English (we could have chosen French, Russian, Italian, Japanese or Mandarin) the Italian names were not significant to us. All that is, except Leonardo Di Vinci - that well known Italian, whom I will write more about later. We also took a tram ride on the old trams introduced in the late 1930's and rattled around the town to the poorer suburbs - high rise apartment housing with no balconies and little greenery. We didn't really see any obvious affluent areas which considering it is the home of the fashion industry surprised us - perhaps they are a bit out of town. We ate lots of pizza, pasta and rissottos. The Milanese are very proud of their rissotto - yellow from saffron. The story goes that on the night of the marriage of a young woman a jealous young man placed saffron in her wedding feast rissotto. After the initial dismay of a bright yellow dish the guests tasted and liked so it became a national dish - backfired a bit for the young man I think. As we sat and ate beggars came along regularly (well dressed and so we assumed professional beggars). There is a lot of statues and fountains in the city. Apparently if they are not given a nickname they are accepted by the locals. The needle and thread symbolises productivity and starting anew and indicates the link with the fashion industry according to the American designer. It has no nickname. But the one by the castle has been named the wedding cake - I thought it rather nice actually but I guess I am not Italian. Talking of water we wandered past the canals - most of them disused (if not filled in for roads) and some a little bit stagnant. I suspect they are trying to revitalise the canal area but it will take a while.





The internet said that 'Milan is all about design and high fashion' so we could not resist wandering the streets with all the big names. But it was a bit hard to find. One road boasted 1.5 miles of shops but it didn't really feel like a shopping centre - just a long street where shops took up a block each. Some were closed because it was Sunday and others closed because it was Monday but all the big names were there Mercedes (they are getting into bicycles just like Puma and Alfa Romeo), Prada, Benetton, Versace, Armani, Gucci. With push chairs having a 4,500 euro price tag, gloves 250 euros and jackets for around 2500 euros - we didn't stay long. Others were a bit more affordable but we didn't stay long there either. The best form of advertising we noticed was on the drain covers 'Laurusliami' - so at each step we knew which shop we were outside. Fashion didn't seem to be worn by most of the people in the street but occasionally on the tram or underground we saw an exceptionally dressed older woman who looked so out of place. Galleria Vitterio Emanuelle was the shopping mall by the Duomo - a large building with a domed glass roof. Lots of people dressed for autumn with at least 3 layers while we wandered around in shorts and summer tops enjoying the warmer weather. We also hopped off the tram at one stage as we saw a market -Chinese market actually - huge crowds, difficult to move and it seemed that all you could buy was cheese, mushrooms, wine and truffles (3 for 10 euros) while you listened to entertainment - reminded us of Hong Kong.

And so far that doesn't seem very exceptional. But here come the WOWs (wandering through the gardens it suddenly dawned on us that WOW could mean 'Wonders of the World' - duh you say). So, we listed our WOWs that we have so far like Quantock Head (geographical WOW), Waffles in Brussels and food in Gdansk (yum WOW), Glasgow Tower and airshows for Harry (engineering WOW), puffins on Skomer Island, my first sight of a toucan (nature WOWs), cycling in snowy Amsterdam, walking the cliffs of Dover, around Wellington Harbour and up Mount Kau Kau (all experience WOWs), Leonardo di Vincis Madonna and Child (creative WOW). And to add to our list Milan has 2 or possibly 3 WOW's and we think that is pretty good for a city that we wouldn't say 'put on top of your list'.

WOW number 1 - Duomo - Milan's cathedral. Ornate from below but more so up top. It has a marble slab roof which meant we could climb up onto the roof and wander around. We nearly missed the opportunity but when sitting inside waiting for the organ to play we looked up at the huge stained glass windows and saw shadows walking past - was it a plane, was it a bird, no it was people. So, off we went and climbed the rather large number of stairs to the top - not just a balcony - to the roof. Instead of listening to the organ playing, we were seranaded by a saxophonist down below. Spectacular. The Duomo was started in 1386 and took 5 centuries to complete - it is a unique architecture unlike anything else in Italy. We could see why - marble all round with all the decorations different, flowers, faces, birds, decorations etc.


WOW Number 2 - the cemetery - Cimitero Monumental. It is a result of a number of grave sites having to be moved to house the growing Milan population. So, the memories of loved ones are all together in tree lined avenues. It is a bit like a miniature village, where families have commissioned well known sculptors to create a lasting memorial to their family members. A couple of examples were the Giovanni Macia Memorial which was created by Luigi Crippa in 1869. It had a woman opening a door - a symbol used in the 19th century to reflect the moving to the heavenly realm. Another was by Emilio Quadrelli in 1889 and depicted a woman holding her husband and titled parting kiss - rather sad - but others depicted the life of the loved one, or being part of a family - which to me signifies hope.

And there could have been WOW Number 3 - but we didn't see it because it was closed on Mondays - but philosophically we said you can't see everything and because there was no tourist information centre that we could find our touring was a bit hit and miss. But we are convinced it would have received the WOW title. It was Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper painted on the wall beside the Mary de Salle Grazie church (built in 1465) and almost destroyed in the second world war. We consoled ourselves with having seen a rather magnificent Last Supper in the cemetery instead. Milan even has a Leonardo statue proudly sitting in a key area behind the shopping gallery and are obviously proud that this man who lived and worked in Milan for a while. I suspect they are also pleased he painted the picture on a wall as Napolean couldn't take it to Paree. Leonardo also designed the old port of Milan with canals built in 1400 and which were still active to both leisure and shipping until the end of the second world war. I would have enjoyed a boat cruise but the summer season is over.
We left Milan on a moonlit night, but there were no stars in the sky.

This week begins the pumpkin selling in the supermarkets for Halloween. Eagerly awaited by us as this is the only time you can buy them, no not for candles but soup. So, we went to the supermarket and I lifted it up and found it was so light that there could hardly have been any pumpkin in it- they must be specially bred for hollowing out. So, we contented ourselves with leeks and potatoes for soup.