USA East coast part 2

Day 8, Friday
I had planned spending the day at least in the hotel, probably in bed, after Disney World, which was probably a good thing. I wasn't in a very bad shape (the worst normally doesn't hit until a few days after), but I certainly needed the rest. I slept long, and spent most of the day in bed while Tollef left to see the NASA station at Cape Canaveral. When he came back we went out to have dinner at the resort, and dropped by for some last souvenirs and postcards in the hotel shop. I found a very cool halloween t-shirt and a bag that says "Point me to the candy".

Day 9, Saturday
I had woken up several times during the night, hearing the rain pouring. When we woke up, it still did. We gathered our things, and hit the road towards Tampa and Tollef's relatives that we were visiting. The rain was sometimes so heavy we barely saw the road, but lightened up when we closed in on Tampa.
Tollef's great aunt lived in a beautiful house on a large property outside Tampa. A short while after we arrived, her daughter Sonja and granddaughter Laura also came by, and we had a very nice lunch. After lunch the others went to a park to watch for alligators, while I stayed back to rest, still quite tired. In the evening, Tollef and Laura cooked a very nice dinner, and we had a very good time together.

Day 10, Sunday
On Sunday morning I got up a bit late, and the weather was nice and shiny again. We had agreed to meet the others on a beach they recommended, and we took a detour across the Skyline Bridge, which is a very large and steep bridge that glimmers like gold in the sun.
We drove with tante Lillegunn on to Siesta Key Beach, and met Sonja, Laura and Laura's sister Allison there. The beach was lovely even if it was a bit strong wind and waves. We went out in the sea, and the water temperature was far above what you ever get in Norway. We sat relaxing and enjoying the beach for a couple of hours, and talked about everything and nothing. From there we went to a restaurant they knew nearby and had a faboulus lunch with seafood. Tollef and I started out with fried gator (yes, alligator), and then a seafood combo platter with a lot of different things. Then we all shared a key lime pie for dessert, it being a local specialty. We had a really great time, and I hope we get to see our relatives soon again!
After the lunch the others headed back home while we continued on to Miami, our last long drive on this trip. It felt almost a bit sad and weird, not going to explore along the roads any more, but a few relaxing days by the pool wouldn't hurt either.
We had enough food for lunch, so we skipped dinner, just dropped by a Walmart to stock up on snacks.

Day 11, Monday
First day in Miami Beach. The hotel turned out to be really nice, a bathrom you could actually turn around in, and with a bathtub, fridge, and two big beds. We went out to get breakfast, and it appeared the restaurant downstairs was both reasonable priced and had good food. After breakfast, I settled by the pool while Tollef went exploring the neighbourhood. He joined me, and we lazed by the pool until early afternoon. In the evening we went for dinner at a Mexican restaurant Tollef had found online, Senõr Frogs. It appeared to be a kind of party place serving food, but as we were there early evening the party wasn't started yet. We got balloon hats and good food. They also had all kinds of funny puns on the walls and roof! On our way back we stopped at an Irish pub so Tollef could have another beer, and also got some postcards written. Important part of any holiday!

Day 12, Tuesday
Miami shopping day! Whenever you see something on your travels that you consider buying, don't count on finding it in any of the same chain stores in a different place. They might be out... After a lot back and forth with websites, webshops, next-day-delivery tries and searching, we ended up going halfway through Miami to get me a nice dragon. Then we had a stroll through Bayside, a shopping center/market in a park by the beach, and spending way too much money on Bath and Bodyworks, one of my favourite stores in the US. We also dropped by PetSmart to get some treats for the dogs before heading back to Miami Beach.
Tollef had found a couple of places with Mediterranean food for lunch. We headed for one, but passing the other nearby, I decided the meny looked better there. And maybe it was, if they'd had all that was on it... for some reason the guy didn't have any salad, and listed the things from the menu they did have. He could recommend mostly everything, it was all very good, he said. And all the pizzas. Except when I asked for one, then they didn't have that one, or my second alternative. But the rest was very good. I asked if he had sweet pepper/paprika to put on one of the meat pizzas, and got a negative. At last I just decided on a veggie pizza, which when it came, was loaded with paprika... The food was good enough, but why these people have a 5 score on Google is a mystery yet to be solved.

After lunch Tollef packed and left for the Kennedy Space Center for his Austronaut Training Experience tomorrow, while I went upstairs to the roof terrace pool and got in a few hours of sun before it went down.

Day 13, Wednesday
We are closing in on an end, but I am really happy about this vacation. There were so many worries beforehand about my health, and I am not sure if things could have been much better. As usual, with most travel, it will be nice to come home also, to my own bed, house, dogs and family.
Today I started out with a few hours by the pool, before heading out for lunch and looking around. I ended up all the way to the postoffice to get postcard stamps, and got my nails done for the first time in my life.
When Tollef came back after his Astronaut Training Experience at Cape Kennedy Space Center, we went for dinner at a Cuban restaurant. The food was good, and we returned to the hotel, full and happy.

Day 14, Thursday
We decided to go down to Key Biscayne, a small island south of Miami, with a state park and nice beaches. First, we stopped to look at the lighthouse there, and Tollef joined a tour that happened to start just when we arrived. Afterwards we took our stuff down to the beach and relaxed there for a while, even if it was a bit windy. The wind made the temperature quite nice.
After a quick bath we dried up and returned to Miami beach. We stopped to buy a few last gifts and snacks, and returned to the hotel. For lunch we went to a southern cooking restaurant that was really nice, and we shared a piece of Key lime pie for dessert.
I took the opportunity to have a couple of more hours by the pool after lunch, while Tollef tried some local beer. Then, the inevitable, the packing. There has been some shopping, and we are bringing some stuff for others, so we may have to check an extra couple of bags. Good thing we hardly used our baggage allowance getting here.

Day 15, Friday
We had a nice breakfast at the hotel, before we drove the short distance to the airport. It was quite a puzzle getting all our luggage and my scooter into the airport, but we managed. The flight went as well as the outward journey, even if it was a night flight. I had dinner, and then went to try to sleep. It was quite warm and I didn't manage to sleep much, but at least I got to rest my body and doze off a bit. Enough that I felt ok the rest of the day, if only a bit tired. I love travelling and seing new places and have new experiences, but it is also always good to come home also, to everything that is familiar. I am so happy I managed to make this trip, and have gotten some experience to bring on further travels. Because there will definitely be more of them!

Photos can be found at https://www.simira.net/gallery/Reise/20191025-USA-Eastcoast/

2019 USA East Coast Road Trip

Travelling is always an adventure. No matter how much (or little) you have planned, there will always be experiences you didn't expect. For good and for bad...

But, starting from the beginning. We have seen a bit of the US, but talked a lot about taking a road trip down the east coast, and decided to do it this year. Tollef had some bonus points to use before they expired, and we booked the flights a year ago.

Then, my illness got worse over the winter, and one of my worries was not to be able to go at all. And it was close for a long time. I got a "test run" with a few days on my own in UK this summer, which was tiring but went fairly ok. It's a longer flight to the US and we had a longer holiday planned, but I would have Tollef to take care of a lot more of the small bits that costs me a lot of energy. I also have an electrical travel scooter to use for the typical places when we walk a lot for sightseeing and shopping. And, we are spending the last few days at Miami Beach for rest, sun and heat.

So, off we went.
To my relief, the flight went as good, if not better than, it could have. It was one of the worriesome points of the trip, being a long flight, and airports can be quite tiresome. With wheelchair assistance and plus seating in the plane it was really nice.
Arriving in Newark, we got our rental car and got out on the road. I was a bit confused when Tollef said the drive to our first motel would take twice as long as I had found out earlier, 4 instead of 2 hours. Even if the flight went well, we were on a different timezone and a bit tired and ready for some rest. It was also a lot of detailed navigating in the start. The areas we drove through were very backway and rural, so I wondered a bit. Then, after driving for two hours, I discovered the GPS were set to avoid motorways... Yay. Our first adventure on the trip. At least we got there in 3 hours, and got a good, long nights sleep.


Day 2, Saturday
Waking up, not unexpectedly, early, we found a nearby café serving breakfast. I had a nice oatmeal, and couldn't resist trying their lavender milkshake, which was incredibly good! Then we headed towards Gettysburg National Military Park Museum & Visitor Center, to be educated on the Battle of Gettysburg, one of the turning points of the civil war. We saw a short movie introduction, and then a huge 360 degrees painting of the battle scene, before going through a huge, detailed museum. It was nice and interesting, but too much information and noise (because of several scouts and school groups) for me, so I went through the museum quite quickly, getting the main parts of the preface and days of the battle. After a short round in the museum shop I found a quiet corner to rest and wait for Tollef.
From Gettysburg we headed towards Washington, stopping at a Cracker Barrel for lunch. Being Saturday lunchtime, I had forgotten how loud and busy it could be, but food was good, and I got some discounted bath salts. Getting in to downtown DC took some careful navigating, but we were rewarded with arriving at a quite nice hotel nearby the Capitol. We were too tired from jetlag to do much more, but went to the neighbouring Dubliner pub for dinner before crashing in to bed, more or less.


Day 3, Sunday
A few days ago the weather forecast promised sun and warm weather, so I was disappointed to wake up to clouded skies and a chilly temperature. We had breakfast at a neighbouring café (oatmeal again, this time without the milkshake), and then went up to Capitol hill and along the Mall. It's a really nice area, we walked through a part of the botanical garden, a sculpture park, and up to the monument. We went up to the White house as well, although it was mostly covered by fences and protection, so not much to see there.
I still wasn't quite recovered from the travel and previous day, so I headed back to the hotel to rest, while Tollef visited the Space and aircraft museum. Half a day in bed really helped my form, and we went out for pizza when Tollef came back. We also dropped by Walmart to get a cell phone holder for the car as we use it as the GPS, and they had inflatable dragons there for halloween. I really want one of those!


Day 4, Monday
I had an easy morning in bed. Tollef went out and got breakfast back to the hotel room (pumpkin bagel with pumpkin smear! It is halloween after all), before he went out for a run along the Mall. After returning, we checked out and hit the road.
The first stop was lunch at a brewpub in Richmond, and a visit to the American Civil history museum. I was a bit sceptical after Gettysburg, but in comparance this was almost disappointing. It was very nice and gave a chronological year-for-year overview of events and a lot of information, but not nearly as much as Gettysburg. Which was probably really a good thing.
From Richmond we decided to drive a couple of hours further towards Charleston, and ended up staying at an inn in the town Rocky Mount, after a proper American Diner meal.



Day 5, Tuesday
After a light breakfast we headed south towards Charleston via Myrtle beach. I was quite tired after the previous day's sightseeing, and concluded the museum visit in Charleston had to go. Tollef drove for the first 3 hours, and then I took over just before lunch. We had lunch in Myrtle Beach, a holiday area with lots of restaurants, arcades, amusement parks, playgrounds, and of course long sandy beaches. The temperature went up a bit, and even with wind and clouds we had a very nice walk on the beach, before getting lunch at a greek fast food place.
The last two hours on the road went quickly, and we checked in to a very nice Victorian style hotel in Charleston historic district! The room was lovely, with old style furniture (and modern bathroom and aircon).
I had a short rest, before we went out. First we went though the Charleston historic market. It was very nice and I wish I had more time there. It was also about to close, so a lot of stalls were packing up, but there was also fewer people than in the middle of the day. The place Tollef had found for dinner was closed, so we ended up in a very nice bar and grill place instead.
Still feeling tired, I booked a massage at a spa nearby our hotel, which appeared to be a really good professional hotel spa. It felt really good to losen up some tight spots and just relax in lavender-infused care for a bit. A very nice ending to the day!


Day 6, Wednesday
I woke up, and still felt tired, so decided to take it as easy as possible on a 6 hour drive. Tollef drove most of the way. We stoppet at a Sabatier outlet for cooking knives, and got outselves a couple of new ones to replace some of the old we have at home. I already look forward to cooking next time!
Lunch was pancakes at iHop, just one of those things it is nice to do once during a trip like this. After lunch we took a detour to drive along the beach, unfortunately beach houses were blocking the view most of the time. We stopped at a supermarket and stocked up on drinks and some food for the next few days, and then what felt like a really long day on the road, finally arrived in Disney World.

Is it expensive at the Disney World resorts (at least when you're late for booking), but you also get your money's worth. The service was great, and room very nice. Several pools nearby (that we probably won't have time to use much), and nice grounds. We ordered pizza ro the room for dinner and packed for Magic Kingdom the next day, crossing fingers that I would feel less tired after another good nights sleep.


Day 7, Thursday
Even though we are not particular Disney fans, it felt silly to pass by Disney World without a visit. With my health issues also, I was a bit worried about how much I would be able to enjoy it. I wasn't sure I was able to do more than a couple of hours, or whether I should or would need to go back to the hotel for a rest during the day. I planned on using my travel scooter, brought earplugs for the noise, and had scouted out a couple of places that was supposed to be quiet in the park. And hoped for the best.

We got up early and got the first bus to the Magic Kingdom park, which is the iconic Disney park with Cinderella's castle. The first hour was "Extra magic hours" for people staying on Disney resorts, so the queues and pressure was low and the atmosphere very nice. We had planned by booking some fastpasses, and I had decided to take it easy and relax and enjoy the atmosphere. The time flied, and I actually ended up making the whole day in the park, with some breaks for resting in different places. Using the mobility scooter and earplugs helped a lot. During the last two hours I got a bad headache, probably from the sun and heat even though I had been drinking huge amounts of water. I probably should have cut it after the last ride, but like always, it is too tempting to just have a stroll around the last bit, have dinner, drop by the castle for the mandatory in-front-of-the-Disney-castle photo and some shopping for souvenirs and gifts. By the time we got back to the hotel my body was hurting and exhausted. But I was satisfied and very happy that I actually got to see the whole park and do a lot more than I had expected to. What we did?

• Peter Pan's flight, very cool and scenic flight over London by night. Possibly one of the best rides in the park!
• The Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was an exciting ride through the Hundred Acres forest, also very good.
• Mickey's Philharmagic, a 4d movie show, really fun and entertaining!
• Little Mermaid Under the Sea was nice, but felt a bit "plastic" compared to a lot of the other rides.
• A small world wasn't really on my list, but as there was no queue and it is supposedly very popular, I went anyway. It is probably fun for children, but had no appeal to me at all.
• Carousel of Progress was well made, if a bit strange.
• Monster's Inc Laugh floor was a comedy show that I found to be just ok. I was not impressed. Making up jokes fairly much on the spot is hard, which means you have to be good at it for doing this.
• Haunted mansion was a disappointment, really. I was prepared to be scared, but it was just a show of ghosts and skeletons. It probably would have been fun if I hadn't expected something else.
• Seven Dwarves Mine train is one of the most popular rides. I am not quite sure why, because it is a somewhat "light" rollercoaster (but maybe just because that), though still slightly out of my comfort zone. But very nice with the dwarves mining in the mountain and all, and I did scream a lot.
• Mad hatter's teacups is pretty much a normal teacup ride. I don't recommend doing it right after eating lunch though...
• The Tiki room, a show with singing birds. Nice music I suppose, but a waste of time for me really.
• Jungle cruise, here I was expecting a quite boring (and therefor relaxing) boat trip through the "jungle" with animals along the shore, it appeared to be a combined standup show-safari, and a really good one at that.
• The Dole Whip is not a ride, but a very nice pineapple ice cream which is special for Disney World and a very good way to cool down a bit in the heat.
• We came upon the Fantasy Parade almost by accident, and I am glad we did. It was really good, and presented both familiar and new (to me) Disney characters, very fetching and impressive show.
• Hall of presidents is, if you are not tired, a nice presentation of all the presidents in the US. If you are tired, it is also a good place to sit down in comfortable seats and have a rest.
• Pirates of Caribbean is a nice boat ride through the world of Jack Sparrow. Not terribly exciting, but good fun!

Tollef also did Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain (twice!), Speedway and Aladdin's carpets.

One of the things that I was positively surprised about was the mobility access and service in the park. I had expected it to be quite good, but mostly it was even better than expected. I could either drive my scooter the whole way to the start of a ride (then getting in to a boat, honey jar or whatever), or leave it by the entrance and transfer to a lighter wheelchair for the queue. For theater experiences like the Laugh floor, Philharmagic and Hall of Presidents, there were designated spots for scooters, and the staff was always very helpful.
All in all, we had a fantastic day in Disney World!

Det går opp og ned her i livet

Sakte men sikkert går tiden, og livet, videre. Oppturer og nedturer. I dag har det gått mest ned, men mer om det lengre ned.

I løpet av mai fikk jeg innvilget elscooter fra NAV, en til hjemmebruk, og en mindre sammenleggbar en til reiser. I tillegg fikk jeg innpass hos en psykolog med hjemmebesøk(!) og psykomotorisk fysioterapeut, som begge er veldig flinke og kompetente, og kjenner sykdommen. For første gang føler jeg at jeg er i noenlunde hensiktsmessig behandling. Psykologen er optimistisk med tanke på at jeg skal bli bedre, målet mitt er først og fremst å stoppe forverringen.
Det jeg hovedsaklig jobber med er en aktivitetsplan der dagene er mest mulig like, energimessig sett. Det vil si at jeg står opp til samme tid (ingen lange formiddager i senga lengre!), spiser til samme tid og legger meg til samme tid. Innenfor et par timer på formiddagen har jeg enten helseavtale (lege, fysio, psykolog) eller en tur med hundene (maks 30 min gange, eller litt lengre med scooter). Aldri to ting på en dag. Samt en kort økt på ettermiddagen (ca 15 min) med rydding og husarbeid. Jeg logger formen daglig, og planen er å øke forsiktig etterhvert. Etter tre måneder har ettermiddagsøkten økt til 30 minutter.

Det er veldig deilig å ha en plan å følge, og slippe den konstante vurderingen av "skal jeg?"/"bør jeg?". Samtidig er det krevende å legge opp dagene og planlegge slik at alt som "må" gjøres blir gjort, og helst litt andre ting også. Men jeg kjenner at formen stabiliserer seg når jeg greier å følge planen, og det er jo godt. Og så er det slik at resten av Verden ikke alltid følger planen, så da gjelder det bare å tilrettelegge best mulig med de hjelpemidlene og kunnskapen jeg har.

Slik greide jeg både å komme meg på fjellet på DNT-hytte og noen dager i England i sommer. Fjellturen ble lagt innenfor "tillatt" gangtid (ca 30 min), men viste seg å være litt lengre enn oppgitt. Med staver og hvilepauser gikk det likevel ganske bra. I England hadde jeg delt opp turen med kortere reisestrekninger og noen hviledager. Det ble likevel krevende nok til at jeg brukte en uke på å komme meg igjen etterpå, men verdt det å få treffe igjen venner og kjente.

Siden Englandsturen i sommer gikk såppas bra satser vi også på å få til vår planlagte ferie i USA i oktober. Da tar jeg med reisescooteren min, og må nok satse på en del hvile på hoteller mens Tollef sightser. Det skal vi få til.

Noe som bringer meg til dagens opplevelse. Etter en uke med litt dårlig form, og dagene i det siste stort sett fylt opp av helseavtaler og hunder, tenkte jeg endelig å få til en bytur med reisescooteren. Både som litt "øvelse" før jeg skal ha den med på reise, og for å komme meg ut litt og gjøre noe "normalt". Jeg har ikke vært ordentlig i Oslo sentrum siden februar, med unntak av et par turer via Oslo S på vei til Gardermoen. Formen var noenlunde ok, fint vær, og humøret på topp. Helt til bussen kom.
Sjåføren ristet på hodet til meg da han stoppet, og mente han ikke kunne ta meg med. Jeg gikk likevel på bussen og løftet over scooteren (den veier 26 kg, og er godt innenfor tillatte mål for rullestol). Han prøvde å lukke døren mens jeg gikk på, og så kom bak og sa han ikke hadde lov til å kjøre med scooteren. Jeg forklarte at det var teknisk sett en rullestol, og hjelpemiddel fordi jeg ikke kan gå så langt, men han nektet. Han skrudde av bussen, og ble stående. Det var 31-bussen på en rolig formiddag, så neste buss kom like bak, og de andre passasjerene gikk over på den, mens jeg ringte kundesenteret. De svarte at det var opp til sjåføren om han ville tillate det, og at han strengt tatt kunne nekte meg å bli med. Så da måtte jeg ta scooteren og gå av bussen igjen.
Bussen bak tilbød meg å bli med, en av passasjerene som hadde gått over kom og ville hjelpe meg, men da var dagen ødelagt, og jeg følte ikke for å kose meg på bytur akkurat. For ikke å snakke om at jeg ikke visste om jeg ville komme meg hjem igjen.
Jeg er veldig klar over utfordringene og diskrimineringen handicappede møter i hverdagen, men jeg hadde faktisk ikke forventet å møte problemer allerede på 31-bussen.

Så nå sitter jeg her igjen da, hjemme i sofaen der jeg tilbringer mesteparten av dagene mine, med hundene sovende i andre enden. Lang klage sendt til NAV, utblåsninger på et par diskusjonsfora. Så håper jeg at jeg orker å prøve igjen en dag før vi skal reise på ferie om en måned. Sannsynligvis da med bil, og prøve å finne parkering i sentrum. Buss frister ikke noe særlig.

Sri Lanka

This year's choice for our winter holiday was Sri Lanka. Last year's trip to India was a success, and hopefully Sri Lanka would be as good. Research done, as usual, but a lot less planning and mostly looking forward to rest this time.
The start of our trip was not ideal, with a 3 hour delay and a long wait at Heathrow between the two flights. It also got my day (or should I say sleep-) rythm ruined and I used the first few days just to recover from the travel.

We didn't live near any town centre, which probably made a lot of the difference I felt from my trip to India last year. There were few restaurants and shops nearby the hotel, some along the beach but a good walk or tuk tuk trip to the nearest actual town. In addition, our both having a cold during our holiday, we ended up staying alot in the hotel area soaking up the sun (and the warmth when it was clouded), with only a couple of short trips, one for lunch in the nearest town, and a day trip to the southern town Galle to see a fort from the time Sri Lanka was a Dutch colony.
We went out to different beach restaurants near the hotel for lunch, and soon learned that food takes time. After a couple of days we stopped expecting orders to be taken shortly after sitting down, and knew that food would appear eventually. The fare was typical Sri Lankan with some European choices, and we had a lot of curry, rice and noodle meals.

We made one longer trip, and that was really cool. It was a two day trip to the Uda Walawe national park with a safari there. We got to see loads of elephants, birds, crocodiles, monkeys, buffalo, deer and peacocks. The drive across the mountain to get there was also nice, and we got to taste some local food. Because of my cold I was a bit too tired and didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have, but it was still a good experience. The hotel we stayed at for one night was actually luxurious cabins, with a modern bathroom outside at the back of the cabin!

After the excursion to Uda Walawe we ended up spending the rest of our time relaxing in the sun, only heading out to the beach restaurants for lunch. The last day was actually spent mostly inside because of rain, and it felt like time to go home. The return trip fortunately went a lot better than the outbound one, and we arrived home fairly rested and ready to face a few days of freezing temperatures before spring.

India

India. Wow.

One thing I realise time and time again is that no matter how much you read and prepare for a new country, you will never understand it before you get there. I read the guidebooks, reviews, and spent quite a lot of time on travel forums, particularly the TripAdvisor forum for Goa, reading up and preparing for my two week winter holiday in Goa, India.

Why India, why Goa? January is the worst month for me healthwise, my body gets stiff and I have pains in my muscles and joints because of the cold. So we try to go somewhere warm for a couple of weeks for me to warm up and relax. So, to get warm enough in January, it's around Equator, and mostly far away. As an additional challenge I don't take the change of time zones very well. Compared to Thailand's six hours difference to Norway India has only four and a half, and I realised it makes a difference! Because of work travelling for Tollef it was most practical for me to go alone this year, so I booked a package with Apollo, being easier to have the access to a Scandinacian-speaking guide for any questions.

The trip there, with a stop in Doha on the way, went very well. The airline (Quatar) wasn't as good as I remembered it, but it was comfortable enough, and I managed to sleep most of the way. Arriving in Goa, and after an hours bus trip, I checked in at the Ocean Palms hotel. I didn't get a room with a balcony as was booked, but the room was so nice I didn't bother to change. The roof was very high, with both a fan and air condition, making it very comfortable and easy to have a nice temperature inside.

The first couple of days I used to recover from the trip and get used to the new environment. Quite early on I decided that India was nice and warm, and comfortable enough, but not really my kind of place. Thailand is a lot more developed and comfortable when it comes to hotels, restaurants etc. I was surprised to see the contrasts among the local people, from wealthy Indians on holiday to the poor apparently homeless people along the streets with hungry, half naked children. The dust, as promised by guidebooks and other travellers, got everywhere, my feet were never really clean during the two weeks there.

I stayed in the outskirts of Calangute, one of the more busy northern beaches. Luckily my area was quieter than the central Calangute, and the beach not too crowded. I felt safe enough, and enough eating places and shops nearby to explore a bit. I loved walking along the beach, just feeling the sand and watching the cows, people and the ocean. And the dogs, of course. As a dog-person, it is always interesting to see the street dogs of a foreign country, watching their interaction and language and comparing to our housebound dogs at home. Most of the dogs in Goa seemed relatively well cared for though, many had collars and probably somewhere to go home to.

The fourth day I went on an excursion, seeing the churces in Old Goa, trying to get a glimpse of crocodiles in the flood (we saw a tail), and visiting a spice plantation. It was nice to get around a bit, even if not very exciting. Driving around the countryside also gave me second thoughts about other excursions I had considered, as it was quite tiresome. The day after I relaxed by the pool the whole day, and had a spa treatment at the hotel. It was nice apart from the building noises from the outside, which was not very relaxing.

The turnaround came on the fifth day. I went by bus to the flea market in Anjuna. Even though I had to change buses twice it was a very nice trip, and at some point I suddenly felt much better about the whole place. I walked around the market for a bit, bought some tea and a shawl, and had a nice lunch before taking the boat back to Baga. From Baga I walked along the beach to Calangute, and got the bus back from there. There were so many people on the northern part of the beaches, and mostly Indians.

Originally I had planned to make a three day trip to the historical Hampi, but decided against it when I realised the trip there would be very tiresome. So most of the two weeks were spent relaxing by the pool and a few walks on the beach. One day I tried the traditional Ayurveda spa treatment. After three hours of being oiled, massaged and steambathed I felt ready to be served!

The last Saturday night I went to the Saturday Night Market known as Ingos. It was quite large, and even if it was mostly the same stalls as everywhere else it was a nice atmosphere. I bought some souvenirs and gifts, being very satisfied with my haggling and paying about one third of the first asking price. I got a bunch of different spices, and kaftans for my mother and sister. And one of the cotton backpacks for myself to carry the shopping in.

The next day I spent the whole day at the beach. It was a bit cloudy, and a slow wind, so it didn't get too warm. Unfortunately I also didn't notice that I was getting burned, after almost two weeks managing not to. It wasn't very bad, but bad enough that I slept without a cover that night, and got a cold for it.

Also the last couple of days the weather was disappointingly clouded and almost chilly. For Goa, at least. On Monday I walked along the beach to the Calangute market and did some last minute shopping, and walked back along the road, dropping by a couple of places I'd seen from the bus. On Tuesday, despite the clouds, I stubbornly enjoyed my last day in India by the pool.

The trip back went smoothly, and even though I spent a couple of days with a bad cold when I came home, I definitely felt more rested. Contrary to how I felt the first few days I know I definitely will go back, hopefully with company the next time.

UK Roadtrip

The alternatives for our summer holiday this year was either a) road trip to Switzerland through Germany and joining Debconf (Linux conference) at some point or b) road trip to the UK and joining the LinuxBeerWanderung there. The Debconf organising was slightly unorganised, and the LBW being more dog-friendly, we took the dogs, car and spent two weeks driving to and in the UK.

Friday, August 9th

We started out by going to Larvik Friday the 10th of August, spending a few hours walking in the famous Beech tree forest with an irc-friend and his dog before we headed down to the ferry. Arriving in Hirtshals in the evening, we went straight to the nearby camping park where we had booked a room for the night.

Saturday

We spent long 14 hours in the car on Saturday, going from Hirtshals, through Denmark, Germany (with an hour queue north of Kiel), Netherlands and Belgium, before we decided to find somewhere to stay for the night. Surfing booking.com and calling up hotels that allowed dogs, we called Holiday Inn, and was answered that they only had executive rooms left, for the price of €160, but dogs were allowed there. The receptionist answering the phone claimed that the booking.com saying rooms were available was wrong. We booked there anyway, and checked in 20 minutes later, with no comments from the receptionist.

Except for the return trip, it will be a long time before I decide to go the long way around again...

Sunday

On the Sunday morning we made the short trip to Calais, and was put on an earlier ferry, and arrived before schedule in Cambridge. We settled in at the Stationroomz hostel before going off to a large green to give the dogs a run. There were free walking cows that made the walk a bit interesting, but the dogs got to run and play for a bit. Odin rolled himself in cow droppings, and when Tollef turned to look at him, Kovu ran off towards another dog, and Tollef got his hand badly burned from the long leash trying to stop him. We went back to wash off Odin and Tollef, feed the dogs, and then headed back to the green and the nearby pub where we had agreed to meet friends. We had a very nice evening in the pub garden with friends, dogs and dinner.

Monday

We arrived at Denton in Oxford short time before lunch, and was greeted by my previous employers. Nothing had changed, and everything was just as lovely as ever, and very green from the warm summer and som recent rain. We walked the dogs to a field where they got to run, and had a nice lunch at the house. Afterwards we drove into the city centre for some shopping and the important fudge and milkshake. In the evening, we met friends in Banbury and ordered curry, before we stayed the night at one of the best inns during the trip, Fairlawns.

Tuesday

Tuesday was our first day roaming the Welsh countryside. We had lunch in St. Fagans and then went to the open air museum. The museum was really great, the only regret was that we were a bit late so we did not have time to really enjoy the village and some of the exhibitions there. They had buildings, gardens and exhibitons from various times, a castle, woolmill, cider workshop and a lot of good information. It was also very accessible and the dogs enjoyed coming with us.

After the museum we drove up to Aberdare and Dare Valley camping park, which also was really great. The tent area was nice, flat and clean, there were riding stables nearby, and the park was just at the edge of the national park. We could probably have enjoyed staying there for several days, if we did not have other plans.

Wednesday

On Wednesday we started out driving to Penderyn and visiting Wales' only whisky distillery and had a tour there. The tour was short, but interesting. We continued on to the Brecon Beacon Waterfalls visitor centre, which is supposed to be a good starting point for walking to any of the many waterfalls in the national park. We had lunch at the ancient inn across the road before we went off. According to the guy in the reception there was a nice 5 km walk (there and back again) where we could see 5 of the nearest waterfalls. We headed off in rainy weather, during nice green forests, along a quite large river. We found the first (very nice) and second (somewhat boring) waterfalls, and then we had already walked 3,6 km of the supposedly 5 km walk. The path was quite uneven and I was tired, so we decided to turn around. Still, it was a very nice walk, and the dogs enjoyed it, if not so much having to be cleaned for all the mud afterwards!

From the waterfall centre we drove down to the southern coast of Wales, and camped near Pendine Sands, one of the longest beaches in Wales.

Thursday

In the morning we took the dogs to the beach and let them run, particularly Kovu enjoyed running around on the beach, in the water and in the sand. We continued driving up to St. Davids, visited the cathedral and saw the castle ruins. St. Davids is Britains smallest city, and sits on a quite hilly spot on the western coast of Wales. There was a lot of old, small shops and steep roads. After lunch, we headed up to Castell Henlleys, an iron age fort, which appeared to be a very pleasant experience. We could bring the dogs, and walked through a nice nature park, before coming to the top of the hill. There were several round houses with exhibitions and showing of practical crafts, storytelling, woodworks, weaving, how to build a house, and much more. I could have used a lot more time there, even if we got to see a bit of everything!

We continued on our way up north, and when we started to get hungry for lunch, there were no pubs or eating places along the road. After a bit we found a lonely hotel with quite expensive, plain food. While we had dinner it started to rain outside, and before we were leaving it really poured down. We considered whether to camp for the night or find a B&B, but ended up finding a quite nice camp site. The rain even eased for a bit when we put up our tent, so we weren't quite soaked before going to bed, but the wind and rain picked up again, and it was a restless, noisy night.

Friday

Friday was spent mostly in Conwy. We parked on the wrong side of the city, and walked to the castle. Conwy castle is very old and quite nice, but the visit was not really worth the money. There could have been so much more information about the history and layout of the castle. Also, the guide could have made some more effort, or at least left his plastic sword and fabric chain mail at home. To anyone coming after us, just do the town wall walk instead!

After the castle we had ice cream and I visited the smallest house in Britain. A nice little place, where actually a whole family lived at some point!

From Conwy we drove to York, and tried to find an open camping park that answered the phone and also had available tent pitches. After some tries we ended up at some farm camping by the marina that also had free walking chicks. Exciting! In the evening we took both dogs to the pub where we met another friend of Tollef. Apart from when the dogs discovered the cat on the roof, it was a nice evening.

Saturday

We packed up on Saturday and headed to Newcastle to visit my cousin. Underway we called some camping parks but all were full, so we ended up booking an inn for the night. At my cousin's place we first inspected his new apartement, which was really nice, and then went to a nearby pub and had lunch. The guys went off afterwards to walk the dogs in a park, and I went to the city center to do some shopping. A few hours later we met up and were all happy with the day. We found a nearby Indian restaurant where we had dinner, before we said goodbye.

The inn we booked was nearby the airport, and quite busy with partying people on a Saturday night. We were in the quiet corner of the building, according to the landlady, so the surprise was quite big then police woke us in the middle of the night. Someone at the inn had noticed the door of our car being open, and called them. Nothing was gone, so we probably had forgotten the door in the hurry to check in and get to bed...

Sunday

Finally, we arrived in Castleton to stay there for the next four nights. All my doubts about the cottage that we had booked were gone when we found the owned in the next door cottage, got the key, and entered. Beech croft cottage was really beautiful, apparently recently refurbished, and quite large.

After getting settled and grabbing some lunch, we ended up spontaneously joining the LBW people for an afternoon walk. It was longer than we were told beforehand, so we turned back after a while, but at least started to let the dogs become used to the other dog that was there.

The landscape around was beautiful, and the village was really busy with all the people that came there to walk in the area. It did quieten after the weekend, but was still a lot more busy than I expected.

Monday

The experience of sleeping in a lovely bed with nice, clean linen, knowing that I would stay in the same bed for the next few nights, was just lovely. On Monday morning we started doing some shopping for the organised dinner in the evening. Then we joined our first long walk, about 10 km long, to a nearby top. We walked through fields and hills that were crowded with sheep, so the dogs had to stay on leads, but were mostly ok with passing the sheep peacefully.

In the afternoon (after a long, nice showed in the very nice bathroom in the cottage) there was an organised dinner where everybody brought some food. Tollef made pancakes, and we brought some Norwegian sweets and drink. We got to taste a lot of nice and special food from many places.

After dinner there were movies, and I saw Monthy Python and the Holy Grail while beating some others in Carcassonne with some new, special rules (I did not like them much, though).

Tuesday

On Tuesday my feet were really sore from the day before. Odin, Kovu and I hung out at the village hall with the other lazy people while Tollef joined another long walk. Before lunch, one of the other participants joined me and we took the dogs for a walk to Peveril Castle, a 15 minute walk away. It was quite expensive, even if nice. There was some information on the history and layout of the castle, and it was fun to imagine how it would have been.

After lunch (Milkshake from a local bar, not impressed) the dogs and I hung around the Village Hall, awaiting Tollef's return. About seven in the evening he arrived, and we had a quick dinner and a short evening at the Hall before falling into bed.

Wednesday

The last full day in England. Both ready to start for home, but sad to leave too. Tollef and I took a walk on our own around the back of the castle and across some of the fields we walked on Monday. At one point we met a bunch of full-grown but very curious calves that wanted to say hi to Kovu. I knew Odin would trigger on them, so we stayed a bit behind while Tollef took the opportunity to work som contact and calm with Kovu. One of the calves was as close as one meter away, Kovu went down in a play-bow, the calf jumped back a few metres but came back shortly. We stayed there for a while before we chased them off and walked back to the village.

Back in the village hall I just played computer games, while Tollef attended the beer tasting. In the evening we had our last dinner on a pizza place that was recommended, and appeared to be very nice.

Thursday

On Thursday morning we packed the car, and headed off just at the same time as the days hike left the village hall. We headed down towards and through London, doing not too bad from what we expected might be a long queue on the M25. We made a last stop to do some shopping for dog-stuff, and were just in time for the Dunkirk ferry. The ferry was a bit late in crossing, and we arrived at the hotel quite late in the evening. The dogs, having spent most of the day in the car, got a nice run on the nearby beach before we went to bed.

Friday

Tollef took the dogs down to the beach again and let them run, before we had breakfast and headed north. The day was mostly like the trip out, long and boring, with a few pit stops. We found a very idyllic camping site in the evening, where we had booked beforehand. The staff had left for the night, with a note on the door for us to find the key and linens in cabin number 5.

Saturday

We had a not very exciting breakfast before driving the last two hours to the ferry. There was some roadworks and queues, and I was a bit nervous even though we had left in good time. Of course there were no problems, we made the ferry, and then arrived at home not too late after the last couple of hours drive from Larvik. Happy to be home, but looking forward to our next trip to the UK!

Les 2 Gazelles

Les 2 gazelles

Day 1: I fell off!

The day started too early, with a shuttle to Terminal 5 and flight from London to Agadir, and then a 90 minute drive along roads of variable quality to the ranch called Les 2 Gazelles. The driver didn’t speak much English, so we spent the time watching the dry landscape and half built towns.

On our arrival we were met by Leila, who spoke a little bit English, and showed us around and offered lunch. After lunch we already had our first ride, a short lesson in the school and then an hour riding out. I got a big mare called Tamazirt that was really lazy in the walk, fine with trotting and full speed in canter and gallop. Tollef got a smaller mare called Tizlit who were more forward going in all paces. We rode down to the beach and along it, and it was obvious that the horses normally run a lot there. We didn’t do any trot or canter before we turned off the beach and along the tracks back to the stable. At some point the guides horse shied during a canter, and my horse followed suit. I was somewhat prepared, but didn’t manage to stay on. Well done for a first ride! The fall was not really bad, and I got up and we walked nicely back to the stables.

Dinner was nice enough, and we both withdrew early, tired from the travel and riding.

Day 2: New horse, new possibilities

The second day started with a two hour long ride along the beach and back across the dry inner land, to my disappointment still on Tamazirt. We had some long canters along the beach, and the horses really enjoyed it. I have not often become tired from cantering! Tamazirt was really strong and pulling a lot on the left rein, so I spent some time fighting her before we finally agreed.

We had lunch and a new arrival, an Englishman that had done a lot of riding holidays. It was lovely having someone to talk to that actually understood English properly. He joined our ride in the afternoon, where I was allowed to change horses for a red Arab stallion named Queiss. He was so much better than Tamazirt, following the others in a nice pace, and quite controllable in trot. We did not canter at all, as we came through a town that had some kind of festival, and we rode through crowds of people, down a narrow track, all of this with loud noise from speakers around us. Queiss got really nervous, and took a long time to calm down. Then, on crossing the road before the last stretch, he was startled by a motorbike, and almost got me off for the second time on my part. Luckily I stayed on this time.

Day 3. Storms, and yet another horse.

In the evening the wind caught up, and we had a storm during the night. I didn’t sleep much, as the dog was barking a lot in the yard, and the wind made a lot of noise. Luckily we didn’t have any water coming into our room, like some of the others had.

I asked if we would have a lesson in the morning rather than riding out, as I was very unsure how the horses would be in the strong wind. Leila said we would, but when we were to saddle the horses we were told that we were going out anyway. I agreed to take Tamazirt again, as she could be expected to be calmer with the wind. Better with lazy than jumpy. We barely got out through the gate though, before she started jumping around and making problems, and I decided to go back inside and rest for the morning. At that point I was not very happy with the horses or the guides, the main instructor being the only one able to pick out a horse for me that I could be comfortable with. I rested until the others came back, and not unexpectedly, it had been a lively ride.

Before lunch I spoke to Leila, and in the afternoon I got Tollef’s horse, Tizlit. I felt really bad about that since he was so happy with her, but apparently it was the only horse they meant would be better for me than the two I had already tried, and the alternative was to break off the whole riding thing and go to Agadir for touristing (I was that tired of everything, lack of sleep didn’t help at all). Tollef got my horse and rode out with the others, while I stayed for a lesson together with a younger girl who also stayed at the ranch. It was not very complicated instructions, mostly controlling the horse in trot and canter, but I got to know the horse and got quite comfortable with her. She is just the kind of horse that I like, small, quick and eager. I still had some problems controlling her in the school, so waiting to see how riding out will be in the coming day. Tollef was also happy with “my” horse, so in the end it was a successful switch.

Day 4. Testing, testing.

No less stormy, but at least more sleep during this night. My plan was to ride out in the morning to get to know Tizlit on the track, and a lesson in the afternoon because it is less tiring, saving my energy for the trail ride.

The English-speaking guide took us about the same route as Youssuf on Sunday, down to the beach with some canters, and back through a village and over the dry lands. We had various levels of strong wind the whole way, and on our way back we had some heavy rain showers. Today’s challenge was a gallop along the beach against wind and rain. A bit after we had to stop and turn the horses with their backs to the rain, as they are not used to this at all. All in all Tizlit proved to be a good and steady horse, though I am not sure if I could have kept her back if the French couple behind me had started racing, as they tended to come side by side during the canters.

In the afternoon I was having a lesson with the girl from yesterday and the French guy from the earlier mentioned couple. Luckily I was in the school before any of the others and got some time all to myself to work on the trot and halts that I struggled with yesterday. When the other two came the lesson more or less consisted of the three of us riding around trying to avoid each other, the French guy changing directions a bit randomly, and the other two of us trying to control our horses to pass him and each other without causing any trouble. My horse appeared quite tired and protested quite heavily against the trot and canters in the end, so we made it a short lesson (if it counts as a lesson without any instruction?).

After a shower (including various water temperatures) I had my appointed massage, which at least was very good. Hopefully a full body massage will help me relax my muscles and sleep better the last night before the trail ride. Apparently we are going about 30 kilometers every day, by 5-7 hours of riding. I expect that we are not doing much trotting or canter as the horses will be having long enough days anyway. Looking forward to see how this will be! For dinner we also had the company of Rene’s daughter and her friend, who will be joining us on the flight back to London.

Day 5. To ride or not to ride (in the rain).

Against all expectations, Wednesday started out with strong winds. The rain came just as we took the horses out to get up, and within the first hour horses and riders were soaked. We discussed whether to turn back, as it was supposed to rain all day, but when it cleared up (just as we decided to return, of course) we decided to go on for lunch and then consider the course.

We walked beside the horses up a steep rocky mountain part, before we mounted again and rode along country roads in the hillsides. Nice view, with threatening clouds from all sides. We rode through a couple of towns with a lot of attention from the inhabitants, and crossed a mostly dry river. The rain didn’t come again until we had lunch in the middle of an open field, but it wasn’t too bad and we continued the trip. The car with our luggage and equipment had gone before us and set up tables and prepared lunch for us.

After lunch we rode in a dry riverbed for some time, before we got back up on the road and had a good long canter before we started to ascend the steep mountainside. From the top of the mountain we had a terrific view of the Moroccan savannah and other mountains, even one that looked like Lonely Mountain! During the descent the horses got really tired, and we walked them the last bit to the camp that was almost ready set up. Everything was a bit damp from the rain, but the skies had cleared up and we could change to quite dry clothes and get some rest.

Day 6

We woke up to the prayers in the nearest village, rain on the tent, and luckily a swiftly clearing sky. The second day of the ride we rode through hilly landscape, and a long rocky stretch from the camp and up on another mountain. We walked the horses again quite far downhill, and it was good for the horses to get some rest. In a town we ended up chasing a cow away, and then we came down on the earlier viewed savannah, rocky fields with bushes and trees, where we had lunch.

After lunch we rode mostly on flat land, with some nice canters and trots along the roads. My horse was quite tired, and on the last few canters she refused to do anything but trot (possibly partly to do with the horse in front that had really uneven speed because the rider was fighting the reins all the time).

Even though the second day had been easier, I was really tired in the evening. I had a “wet wipe shower” and a fresh change of clothes, which felt incredibly good. We had some cooked chicken and mint-tea (served after most meals), and then flat out in the tent.

Day 7, there and back again.

The last day of the trail ride. The morning was a bit cloudy and chilly, but it soon cleared up and we had a really nice and warm sun that easily uncovered the spots we missed with the sunscreen... Not unexpectedly, we headed towards the coast still across the flat land. A lot of the parts were rocky, so there was little speed the first half of the ride. Some parts had large puddles from the rain, and some of the horses were really uncomfortable with the slippery ground. The advantage of the rain for our part was probably that there was no dust at all! A dog followed us for a long time, but stayed behind in a town we went through. After riding through a tourist area we came down to the beach, where the car waited with lunch, including strawberries for dessert! We untacked the horses and let them have a good roll in the sand, which was really appreciated.

After a long nice picnic on the beach, we headed towards the ranch. Both horses and riders were tired and eager to get home, and expected to have some good gallops along the beach. For my part the gallops were slightly spoiled because the rider in front of me still didn’t have control of his horse, but it was very nice anyway. I also managed to take some nice photos beach between the speedy parts. At the very end of the trip it started raining again, so much that we had to stop and turn the horses against the wind, as they were not used to the rain and quite nervous about it.

Back at the ranch we washed down the horses and equipment before taking a long awaited shower. In the evening there was a big dinner, with some other guests, and a lot of food and new dishes. Still, I was happy when we finished and could go to bed and have a good night's sleep before going home the next day. At the end of the week I was not sure if I was happy with the holiday or not. Some time later, having digested it all, I think I might have gone somewhere else, and made some other choices, but I also got some experiences that I am happy to take with me.

One Week in Vallebona

Almost 10 years ago, I booked my first riding holiday outside Norway ever, a week in Tuscany on horseback. Unfortunately I fell ill, and had to cancel the trip. I've been keeping an eye on the same travel agency since then, Häst & Sport resor (Horse and sports travels) and dreamt about going on one of those trips. This year, I decided it would be my 30 year birthday present to myself, and with my birthday money I booked a new holiday. Not exactly the same trip, but western riding in Tuscany on Vallebona agriturismo. This is my blog about my experience from the week, as well as a review for others considering going there.

My week in Vallebona

Saturday morning, I left from Oslo, Gardermoen, via Zürich and to Florence. The last flight was with a small airplane of the type with 5 seats on each row, and it was rather windy. The landing felt like taken out from some funny Donald Duck movie, though I didn't feel it was funny at all, being a part of it. Having survived the landing in Florence, I easily found my way with the bus to Florence and train further on to Pontassieve. There, I was picked up by Raimonda, the wife of the house, together with a Swiss couple. It appeared that all the other guests were Swiss, and everyone had been there before, some yearly (even twice!) for some time.

After arriving at Vallebona, having been assigned a room and informed of mealtimes and riding, I walked down to the stables for a curious inspection. The afternoon riders were just coming in, and I ended up helping the Belgian stable hand taking some of the horses out to the paddock. There were three girls working in the stables for the season, besides the regular employees. Since they were closer to my age than most of the guests (being either children or closer to my parents' age) I ended up talking a lot to them during the week, also as I was one of the few guests that tended to my own horse during the stay. Tiffany was from Guernsey and the only one that didn't understand German at all, so we ended up talking a lot. She also guided most of the rides I was on.

Every morning I was up at 8, tending first to my own horse and then others, before having breakfast. At 10 was the first riding session, and I had lessons every morning. The first morning I had a short lesson only learning to start, stop and turn the horse, before I went out with Tiffany. It was only the two of us, and we had a nice ride and even some gallops on my first ride out. This days funny experience happened when we rode past a nearby restaurant. The music flowed out from the place, and playing was "Personal Jesus" by Depeche mode. Nothing funny in that itself, except that it is the theme song of one of the greatest Norwegian wrestlers, Bjørn Sem, and to me this song always means the Bjørn threads out, with his sunglasses and ponytail, ready to beat someone half to death. Sitting in a western saddle in the Tuscany countryside it felt very absurd.

The horses were mostly Italian breeds, Sardinian and Maremma. Between "exotic" names like Biagio, Fulminae, Chiccala, Malvasia and Desidario, I got a nice horse called Molly. She was a really good teacher, steady but exciting enough, and very nice and gentle both inside and outside.

The first day I didn't ride in the afternoon, taking a slow approach as I haven't been riding regularly in a very very long time. I watched a lesson, and then had some sun, and a rest before dinner. The second day I had only a lesson in the morning with Steffi, the German stable hand that has been working there for 17 years! After the lesson I took the horse back to the stable, and had some sun and rest myself. The lesson got a bit extra excitement in it when 4 wild pigs came rushing through the forest and through one of the nearby paddocks. The horses didn't react much, and luckily I never came to see them any closer than that. In the afternoon I had my first 2 hour ride out, and it was nice, even with a bit more climbing than I care for (it's not THAT exciting when you have lived between mountains all your life).

An afternoon/evening pastime on Vallebona is knots. In the main house there is always pieces of rope lying around, waiting to be knotted in some challenging way, people teaching or learning new knots. Many of the horses' headcollars were made from ropes, and during some of the evenings Franco started teaching me the necessary knots (knot of love and the diamond) for making them the way he does. I never managed the last knot, so I will have to search for it online and practice on my own.

The third day, me and three of the other women had a lesson with Samuele, which was really good. We started working on using the reins and legs to turn the horses in different ways. I rode out both after the lesson, and another two hours in the afternoon. To my surprise I didn't feel very sore or stiff after riding 7 hours in three days. I stretched out after riding the first three days (and then forgot about it), and the only thing I felt was a bit tired after much fresh air and outside activity.

On Wednesday, I had decided to go to Florence on a daytrip, as the forecast said it was going to rain and not too good weather for riding. I joined the morning lesson with Samuele again, working further on the reins and turning, and took my horse in when the others rode out. Then I got the bus from the mill, taking an hour to Florence. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Florence, apart from Renaissance, pizza and gelato (ice cream). I had pizza for lunch, before I went to see the Duomo Santa Maria Del Fiore. I have seen many impressive cathedrals, our own Nidarosdomen in Trondheim competing with some of the grand English cathedrals, but this one measured up to most of the cathedrals I have seen. Grand in both size and look it was really a lovely sight. From the Duomo I wandered around the streets of Flornence, passing Dante's house and church on my way to the bridge Ponte Vecchio, which is known for the houses hanging out on the sides, and the jeweler shops along both sides. I saw of course the David statue (the false one, I didn't bother to queue to see the original), and also the Santa Croce church and other nice, old buildings. I had my gelato, a keyring for Cuddles (my traveling red panda, who collects keyrings from everywhere we've been), postcards for the family, and some supplies for between meal snacks. The weather forecast didn't hit in, so it was a nice and sunny day to walk around Florence, and I had no regret on that account.

On Thursday the rain was said to be rather heavy, and we just had time for a lesson with Samuele before the drops started to fall. Some brave souls rode out anyway, while me and a couple of the others went back inside and settled in front of the fireplace. It was a good choice, seeing the others coming back an hour later quite wet, and the rain continued to pour down throughout the day, accompanied by thunder and lightning very close up to the farm. Two of the other guests turned out to be board game players, and I got to play a round of Stone Age, having observed them and taught rules the night before. In the evening that day we had an indoor barbequeue, first being served toast (toasted in the fireplace!), also called by the Italians bruschetta (preferrably with garlic, olive oil, tomatos and spices), pork speck, olives (of course!) and then grilled pork chops and other good food with it.

On Fridays there is usually a long trek of 4-6 hours, but the weather was so unsure that they decided to follow the normal routines. I got a lesson with Franco himself in the morning, and managed quite well, in my own opinion. After the lesson, Tiffany took us on a very nice ride to an old church, and with a nice view of the area. In the afternoon I went on a longer ride with the German guide Rainer, up and around the hills behind the farm. Molly was in heat and a bit more challenging than usual, bucked a couple of times in the beginning of gallops, and made a couple of extra gallops when she felt like it. Nothing that I couldn't handle, but it was not the most relaxing ride I had.

After a week I still didn't feel like I'd had too much riding, although I was starting to feel very tired. The beds were quite old and not too comfortable, and I didn't sleep well enough to get enough rest according to the amount of physical activity every day. It was very good to come home to my own, soft bed. But I have also learned a lot about western riding, and will definitely follow up on that. It is true what Steffi said one of the days, many people go from classic riding to Western riding, very few (if any) goes the other way. I will never sit as comfortably in an English saddle again, as I do in a Western saddle.

Vallebona review

First of all, for riding purposes and learning western riding, I am not sure if you could get it better! The program presented from the agency was one hour lesson in the morning and one hour riding out in the afternoon. Actually, at the farm, there is two hours riding in the morning and two in the afternoon. You can choose between an hour lesson with a following riding out, or just riding out for two hours. You can also have only one hour lesson, or only one hour riding out, but that doesn't really happen when you get the opportunity to ride more! Franco, who owns the place, is really good with the horses, and buys and train them to go with the guests and tourists. He also knows a lot about both western riding and other sports on horseback, and horses in general of course.

All the horses were well trained and responsive to new, inexperienced riders, as well as more experienced riders. Thunder or shots from nearby hunters doesn't bother them much, and even the wild pigs have to come quite close up to be given any attention. I always felt safe, but not at all bored, on riding out in the landscape around the farm.

The food was said to be incredibly good from other reviews and guestbook comments, so I had high expectations of that. As a pasta lover, I didn't mind having two different types of pasta as a starter for every lunch and dinner, some people might tire of it. It was followed by some type of cooked meat and vegetables (varieties of pork, chicken a couple of days, one day we got hare), and after dinner also a dessert of some kind. I may be spoiled in food ways, but though it was over average tasty meals, the food will not be the main reason for going back. Also, if three meals a day is not enough, you might want to bring some snack for between meals, as the only "food" available at the place is ice cream and cold drinks.

The place was nice, idyllic location in Tuscany hills, surrounded by olive groves and vineyards. We rode around, through and past many of them, never the same way. A couple of trips also went up to the top of the hills with a lovely view of Tuscany. For good and bad, Vallebona is some distance away (6 km) from the nearest village, Pontassieve, and there's no regular bus. If you don't like sunbathing, picking olives, reading or riding, there's really nothing to do there. There's a buss from the nearby mill (no. 333 operated by amvbus.it) going to Florence 2-3 times a day and back in the evening, and a trip to Florence at least one day is absolutely recommended.

I will present some of the pictures in another blogpost, but all my public photos from my trip can be seen in my gallery.