Welcome back to “When Wine Calls” as we attempt to reflect over the past three months of “The Summer Vintage” adventure.
Throughout the trip and when we returned home the most common question we were asked was “so what was has been the highlight of the trip” and our answer has always been “there were so many highlights that to pick just one is not possible” and for us that was the sign of how successful our adventure had been. Were there things, in hindsight that we would do differently if we were to do the trip again – of course, but they were so minor that they are not worth reflecting on. What is worth reflecting upon is all the fabulous experiences we enjoyed on the trip, both the planned and the unexpected and I will try to encompass these in this blog, as difficult as it will be.
Firstly, let us review our route on “The Sunmer Vintage” adventure:
Statistically, all up over the 92-days we travelled almost 45,000 kms through 5 countries driving 2500 kms in hire cars with train travel over 1300 kms as well as a 7-day cruise along the Croatian coast. We also walked over 1,800,000 steps between us over this period.
Our route over 5 countries covered the UK, including London, Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands, the Netherlands, Italy, Croatia and France with travel by plane on 4 occasions (excluding the flights to and from Australia), 4 cross-country train journeys, 4 individual car hires over 3 countries and finally the small boat cruise.. We have attempted to capture the various towns and cities along our route in the maps of the UK and Europe below.
On the individual bucket list the items we ticked off on the trip – for Pauline the visits to Ann Frank’s House and Van Gough Museum in Amsterdam, Juliet’s Balcony in Verona and the Veuve Clicquot Champagne House in Reims were all amazing.
For myself, the visit to St Andrews in Scotland and standing on the famous Swilcan Bridge on the 18th Hole as well as cruising the Croatian coastline were standouts. For both of us it would be hard to go past staying at the Chateau de Balleure and Chateau d’Etoges in France, sleeping in a traditional Trulli in Puglia, climbing at 2000m in the Dolomites, the Abba Avatar show in London, our return to both the Isle of Skye and Rovinj and lastly, the magnificent Polignano a Mare where we swam at the famous Lama Monachile Beach and had dinner at the unbelievable Grotto Palazzese as some of the epic experiences we both definitely wanted to encompass.
But there were so many more amazing and, in many cases, unexpected experiences. Following our few days in London stumbling on unique places such as Cake and Bubbles and the Churchill War Rooms we travelled to Edinburgh to experience high tea on the Royal Yacht Brittanica then to the Scottish Highlands where we uncovered accommodation gems such as Foyers Lodge on the cliff face overlooking Loch Ness, the amazing Manor House overlooking Oban and then our wonderful time on the Isle of Skye. All so long ago but places that have left us with a lasting impression not expected at the outset.
Amsterdam will always be one of our favourite cities in Europe and it did not disappoint again this time – besides the visits to Ann Frank’s House and the Van Gogh Museum the other highlights would have to be the EatWith dinner with local couple Martine & Olav, rediscovering our favourite bar Molenpad on the canal and dinner at a small family run restaurant “The Pantry” – all wonderful and unique evenings. The bike riding tour into the Dutch countryside to see the old windmills also ranks a mention, particularly for me being able to climb inside and uncover how it operated in in heyday sawing timber logs with just the wind to drive it – just amazing engineering ingenuity of its time.
Bologna was a real surprise for us, and we enjoyed wandering around the city as well as watching a classic Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant movie “Roman Holiday” in the open-air piazza with thousands of other people until midnight. However, the worst activity was no doubt the Food Tour which almost turned us off doing a similar tour in Rome, but luckily, we persevered and had a fantastic night out there a few days later. Rome itself was the hottest part of the trip but we had such a fantastic time wandering around the Bohemian Travestere district and selecting different unique restaurants there each evening while listening to the live music on offer as well as the once in a lifetime Colosseum Underground Tour. We used siesta time there to manage the 40+C temperatures recuperating each afternoon in the air conditioning of the hotel.
Bari was another city which left us with a lasting impression with its French Riviera inspired architecture and certainly the best Apartment we stayed at on the trip with gorgeous balconies off the bedroom and living room overlooking the beautiful Adriatic – just spectacular.
Our drive throughout the Puglia Region (commonly referred to as the Heel of Italy) brought with it so many highlights and memorable experiences over those two weeks that it is impossible to summarise here – how do you package up stays and amazing dinners in fabulous masseria’s amongst olive trees and wineries, sleeping in your own white-washed Trulli, visiting such beautiful and unique towns as Locotrondo, Alberobello, Ostuni, Lecce, Monopoli and Polignano a Mare, swimming in the crystal clear Adriatic as well as visiting so many small villages and meeting such warm and friendly locals along the way – just magic, topped off with our spectacular speed boat trip to visit the various grottos and finally the dinner at Grotto Palazzese. If you have ever thought of visiting the Puglia region in preference to the popular Amalfi Coast, then you will not regret travelling there I assure you.
Onto Croatia and this part of the world is just scenically beautiful. If you haven’t been to Dubrovnik, you need to before the ever-increasing swarm of tourists makes it impossible to appreciate the beauty and uniqueness of the Old Town, in particular. For us, going back after 37 years was very nostalgic enhanced by the unexpected accommodation upgrade we received to be able to stay on the cliff face overlooking the city – an experience we will long remember. The weather gods were favourable to us on the last day we were there allowing us “to walk the Wall” without the crowds and the heat to relive our experience all those years ago – it is simply a must-do walk.
The weeklong cruise through the Elaphiti Islands off the Croatian Coast finishing with a few days in the wonderful town of Split was idyllic with so many unique experiences such as eating freshly harvested oysters and mussels at a little village called Ston, eating at some quaint restaurants along the waterfront of small island towns, the unexpected evening dancing along to a band singing covers at midnight with our cruise boat tied up at the wharf directly opposite at the little village of Trogir, the visit to the stunning Blue Cave and Krka Waterfalls National Park and the Marco Polo village of Korcula all standout experiences as was the wine tasting in the cellar of an old family winery, Tomic Winery at Jelsa. The opportunity to swim off the back of the boat in the crystal-clear blue waters of the Adriatic in isolated coves throughout the islands was amazing although the water temperature was fresher than we had expected. We met some lovely people on the cruise including Australians, a couple from the UK and another from Germany. We hope to catch up with some of them again soon.
The week in Rovinj was both poignant but also so surreal– it is such a lovely town with the most impressive and surreal sunsets that left you wanting more as you drank champagne watching the world slowly pass over you as well as having romantic dinners on the dramatic cliff face overlooking the amazing Adriatic coastline. It was also great to catch up with Pauline’s cousin Sachaa and her family for a few days to experience this magical town with and enjoy breakfast each morning on the patio of the renowned Adriatic Hotel looking out on the majestic harbour. It was so difficult to leave Croatia after the three weeks we had experienced, but we know we will travel back there again in the future.
Venice was just wonderful – what a city, so vibrant and full of experiences, we still cannot believe that we went to an orchestral String concert in a converted church in the heart of Venice on a whim and thoroughly enjoyed the experience, uncovered these quaint alleyway restaurants run by real local characters, visited the famous Opera House and fortuitously managed to sit in on a dress rehearsal of La Traviata and travelled down the Grand Canal in one of the most beautiful wooden riviera boats and that is only some of the experiences we packed in over the few days we were there. The location of the hotel we stayed at could not have been better located right on the Grand Canal and provided such a tremendous vista each day for breakfast, happy hour, and dinner to soak up the wonderful atmosphere that is Venice away from the crowds – a long lasting experience.
Verona was, like Bologna, an unknown to us and turned out to be real gem. Besides Pauline fulfilling one of her bucket list items standing on Juliet’s Balcony the opportunity to experience the spectacular opera Madame Butterfly inside the ancient roman open-air arena (colosseum) sitting on the warm limestone slabs and a full moon rising over the stage was beyond unbelievable. The view over the city from on top of Castel San Pietro with the sun setting over the hills was magic, and it is a city that we will no doubt go back to and experience life there for longer.
The Dolomites was such a contrast to the rest of our adventure and surprising in so many ways, firstly that the local language is predominantly German rather than Italian, the scenery in the Alps is mind blowing and the presence of eating houses at 2000m with unbelievable panoramic views difficult to absorb – it is a region that surpassed our expectations on so many levels. The drive up into the mountains along narrow winding roads with a sheer cliff face for your scenery was also probably the scariest of the entire trip although some of the country roads in Puglia must also rate a mention. Our last highlight prior to leaving Italy, though was the amazing airport hotel at Verona, it will be a long-time before any airport hotel surpasses our experience at Hotel Veronesi La Torre, a refurbished old monastery, with its unbelievable restaurant and staff that go to incredible levels to service you, including providing you with breakfast packs to take with you to the airport when you have a very early flight.
Travelling through France provided a completely different experience with our visit to Lake Annecy being a real highlight, such a tranquil destination despite its tourist classification with the Alps glistening in the background against the clear blue waters of the lake. The Old Town was great to walk around but after visiting so many Old Towns on our travels such as Bari, Ostuni, Locotrondo, Dubrovnik and Rovinj to highlight a few, it was enchanting but probably would not compare as highly as the others we visited. Around from Annecy we uncovered the beautiful village of Talloires situated on the lake which will be where we stay the next time we visit – you need to check it out if you are travelling through that region, you won’t be disappointed.
Our stay in Balleure in Burgundy was simply amazing and everything we had hoped for and more when we decided to visit this region. The family-owned Chateau we stayed at, the amazing unique dinner experiences under the stars cooked using medieval herbs from their garden, the quaint local French patisserie L’Authentique in the nearby village of Etrigny that we picked up our croissants and coffee each morning, the visits to the medieval village of Brancion and Chateau de Cormatin and just driving through all the little villages in the Burgundy countryside were all such tremendous highlights of visiting this region.
The final stop in Champagne at the unbelievable Chateau d’Etoges celebrating one of our dear friend’s 30th wedding anniversary over several days was such a wonderful way to finish our amazing trip. To get the opportunity to visit such amazing and world-renowned Champagne Houses as Veuve Cliquot, Moet & Chandon and Billiecart-Salmon were mind blowing in every respect and a must do for all champagne lovers – a rite of passage almost. A walk through the magnificent Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Reims with its visible similarity to the probably more well-known Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris and the cathedral’s unbelievable history was certainly a highlight of our visit to this region.
There are so many other adventures and highlights that I could encompass in this ‘reflections” blog but to do so would make the blog an epic. I certainly tried to capture as much as I could in the various individual blogs that we posted during the trip and trust that here you at least get the essence of how magical this trip turned out to be for us both.
While we are now back in Australia, to be honest, we are still mentally back in Europe and continually reflecting on our amazing trip, the many wonderful experiences we embraced, the locals and new and dear friends we interacted with along the way, the out of this world dinners we enjoyed and with such a strong desire to return. It has been difficult to settle back into normality and luckily it will not be long before we set off on our next adventure which we have titled “The Winter Grape” – we cannot wait so continue to monitor “When Wine Calls” for future updates.
So goodbye from our When Wine Calls “The Summer Vintage” adventure – we trust you enjoyed reading about our travels over the last few months as much as we have bringing them to you. Until then, safe travels if you are currently on your own adventure and for the remainder of you, if you are not already planning your next trip then we encourage you to get onto it as the world is waiting for you to explore.
Pauline and Bruce
When Wine Calls
When Wine Calls 
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