Cantinone reminiscences a year on!

Sammo and Jane at a communal washing spot

Jane at work creating her licquers

Ian, Jane and Sammo

Sammo at the bowser (wine that is!)

In progress 13 Oct 11

Where's the on-off switch for this laundry?

Cantinone looking East

Ian at the side gate

We left our togs (bathers, swim suits?) in Cantinone, Marche, Italia last year in October at Ian and Jane's home and B&B.  How have we got on since then.  Well we bought some new ones!  ESE's came from Sydney town, Ozland picked out real special by Greg and Kristina February 2011 during THE HEATWAVE.

Wedding at Invercargill

On the 24th September 2011 Blaine Morch married Marion Lienert at St Pauls in Invercargill.  Many travelled to the far south of Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island) of New Zealand to be present and celebrate their matrimony. Parents of Blaine, Father John (Eureka in the Waikato with wife Wendy) and Mother Sharon from Auckland together with Marion's parents from Waimate were on hand to assist. Many other friends and relatives from Auckland (Sharon's parents and relatives); Port Campbell, Victoria, Australia; Anna (John's oldest sister) and husband Ray; Evan (Blaine's brother and wife Michelle) from Perth, Australia; Evan (John's brother and wife Sally) from Greytown, Te Ika a Maui (the North Island) were some of the visitors.

It was a great opportunity for the extended families and friends to come together renewing old links and establishing new ones.

The newly-weds Marion and Blaine

Dad John



Mum Sharon and Blaine

The two Evan Morchs

We're Back!! From Belgium, Italy, Brisbane, Sydney, Ohakune and Invercargill

Back by popular demand!  So much to do for the somewhat aged Sadie Boy (ESE).  What a busy life ESE and the Sammo have had since we got back from Europa on 5th October last year. New Plymouth, Sydney, Brisbane and Invercargill (not to mention Ohakune, the snow country in the central mountains) visiting offspring and younger but special old friends.  Gardening, bottling, preserving, distilling, lawn bowling, being trained by the two 'bichon boys' and oh! that's right teaching by Sammo (fulltime).

Still retirement is doing what one wants to do and when.  All good stuff.  The only sad feature has been the death of Picasso the big, fat, hungry aged cat (in his 19th year) and in his sleep after his normal evening snack to prevent night time starvation.  He now rests at Greystone working up an appetite. 

It is now spring and Greytown and the Wairarapa looks dramatic.  Some of our blossom is shown below.

The white and variegated tulips

Louis and Frankie (the 'bichon boys')

Magnolia grandiflora

Mt Fuji just for Carl's birthday 4th October

The yellow tulips

Go the Warriors and the All Blacks!

Those Belgium 'Yorkie Boys' - Frodo and Forrest

No visit to Huldenberg and indeed Belgium is complete until one has met and experienced the 'yorkie boys.' They are always on the lookout for 'anything.' Their hearing is that acute they can even hear a fly cocking its leg in Leuven (some 15 kms away). The Leuven that is down the Aardvej (the hard way) with its 1 km more or less of wobblestones. Full bladders beware when on the bikes!!

The yorkie boys lie in wait for moles and go bananas when they hear them 'clicking.' They dance around, yapping, digging and generally going 'yorkie berserk.' This first photo is them at rest and is a rare moment in their very hectic 'guard-dog' lives.




This next photo is the yorkie boys at their guard station- by the front window. Ready to pounce and bark on all those pesky cyclists or go real bananas when Mike or Sue come home. When not on station they cuddle up to whomever is sitting down.



Case in point! Sammo trying to read with the two yorkie boys looking for and finding the most comfortable position available. Lucky boys! Lucky Sammo - until they leap to attention and launch themselves to save the property from interlopers.



Another time another restful position for the 'guard dogs. Hint. Frodo has the perky ears whilst Forrest doesn't but Forrest is the alpha dog and Frodo normally does what he is told. Mention the 'pig' (a rubber replica that squeals when savaged) or 'where's Michael' or 'where's anything else' and they leap to attention, motoring through the dog door ready for action. They have learnt not to barge through the dog door but to time it's swinging. A smack on the nose soon learnt them in the earlier times of getting through the dog door just short of the speed of light!



What a life!



What a beady eye you have Forrest. I'm glad I'm not a mole or a cyclist or a hedgehog. Make no mistake these babies are hunting dogs, bred and genetically designed to savage prey of all sorts.



"What's that thing you're pointing at me Kiwi man?" "Does it need savaging?" "How about a TREAT, Frodo's not watching and Michaels at work and I won't tell on you!"

But Frodo was watching and Michael did find out - don't know how but he is very attuned to the yorkie dogs.

Relax yorkie boys and enjoy savaging interlopers - you made our stay in Huldenberg so enjoyable that Sammo is looking, looking, looking for two little doggy boys to grace the quietness of Greystone in Kiwiland!

Full of beans, character and love!

"Hang on though where's my next feed that I can con you to provide without Michael knowing!"

Under the bridges of Paris and above!

In progress 13 October


Sacre Bleu! We escaped from Belgium on the fast train on the 23rd. Thanks Sue for a great ride into Bruxelles Midi. And a very special thanks to both Mike and Sue and Frodo and Forrest (the two yorkie boys) for all your kind hospitality and cuddles. Keep an eye out for those intruders yorkie boys especially the cyclists on the roads - and the dogs being walked, and the horse riders and Mike coming home from work and Sue coming in from Oman. Great to be woken up in the mornings by the yorkie boys - the doggie bomb!

Lugged bags through Paris and finally found l'hotel. Tired but triumphant. Beers, wines, chips and cooked chook and a good sleep. Today we Metro'ed Paris. Great fun! No shopping just looking. Galerie Layfayette, Magasins Printemps, C & A, Sacre Coeur, Montmartre. Met losts of persons to talk with and share all sorts of information. Drivers and pedestrians are still mad bastards, but the French friendliness and service comes through if one takes the time. Tomorrow Moulin Rouge and shopping. Gave away a whole lot of clothes to the hotel owner to save weight and ? make room for more? He was that appreciative that he didn't charge us for the beers and wine we had consumed after long days looking, looking, looking!




















Sunday for recovering and then Monday - Paris to Ancona 1st Class via Milano - on the train (and the restaurant carriage of course!) to stay with Ian and Jane at Cantinone. Thursday to Roma and Friday to Seoul for overnight then Kiwiland awaits.

Keep an eye out for pictures and report from Cantinone.

Dinner at Jean-Marc and Genevieve's

On Saturday 11 October we were invited down the Veldvej to Genevieve and Jean-Marc's for dinner.

This 'ere be the dessert! The dinner was not a 'regressive' dinner but this blog report is! It should grab the attention of all you avid readers of the blog.



Jean-Marc shows how to extract juice from the grapes, manually! Wonderful fresh juice to top off the evening - no need for coffee; it was just a short stumble home.



Michael here be learning the skills, with Sammo the Mum-in-Law keeping a watchful eye.



It is raclette cheese, melted and scraped onto the plates. The volatiles made for a memorable gourmet dinner ably created and served by Genevieve. The range of cold meats, tomatoes and salads complemented the raclette and the red wines (one fruity and one strong).




What a happy face; one of the Kiwi travellers from Greystone in deepest, darkest Belgium. A good time to relax from wood stacking, stump removal and wood splitting - often in conjunction with Mike, Jean-Marc and Raphael.

This lovely person is Stephanie who has just celebrated her 16th birthday and is not looking forward to her English test the following week. She baby sits the yorkies, Forrest and Frodo for Mike and Sue when they are away.

From left we have Genevieve's mother, Mike and Sammo all eagerly awaiting the effect of the culinary skills of Genevieve and Jean-Marc and of course the wines.

The weather was perfect following a warm, sunny day at 23C and an excellent outdoor venue.

And right at the start of the evening a picture of Genevieve and her Mum.

And the intrepid photographer captured an un-posed shot of Genevieve and Jean-Marc.

Thanks for the evening and dinner and for your friendship and hospitality.

Cycling in Belgium - Flanders tour - 160kms

In Belgium there is the Vlaanderan Fietsroute (the Flanders Cycle Route) some 800kms long plus many ancillary cycle paths well sign posted and very well used.

So our two intrepid older cyclists from Kiwiland namely Sammo and Evan, ably assisted by the Greystoners (Clifford and Delores), set out to go from Huldenberg to Ghent and back again. The first leg was to Leuven by bike and we picked up the train from Leuven to Ghent arriving mid afternoon and checking into the Hotel Adoma. Getting the bikes on and off the train was an exercise in itself ably asssisted by a grumpy guard. Grumpy maybe since we orginally got into a 1st class carriage, but no problem we soon were escorted into the right carriage albeit at the wrong level. C'est las Vie or what ever that is in Flemish!

Anyway last things first. This first picture is of Sammo at the end of the trip outside the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven on the Friday. Yes we made it back to Leuven - more later.

From Ghent we cycled the next day Wednesday 1st September to Dendermonde and then the next day to Boom and then on Friday to Leuven where Saint Michael took our bags back to Huldenberg and we cycled back to Huldenberg enjoying the down hills but not the ups or the wobblestones on the appropriately named Aardveg just outside Duisberg. Very few wobble stones on the whole trip but where we experienced them they tested sore bums and loaded bladders.


Sam at Leuven near the end of the trip - her favourite beer spot!


Sam powering away to her favourite beer spot - this time the Cafe Maritime some 10 kms to go to Leuven.

Evan in the bowels of the two decker train on the way to Ghent with the bikes all tied down and shipshape.

Evan in Ghent on the first day talking to the lady statue on the working boat. Many of the corner bars do not serve food, some do but not between 3pm and 6pm. So we had to leave the Irish Bar after only one beer no food and get pastries from a corner bakery and munch them by canalside.

So many wonderful spires, churches and historic buildings all through Belgium - Ghent is one of the most historic, old and beautiful cities one could imagine. Sammo posing in the main square of Ghent. Every city has a town hall, what's new about that you say, well these are so ornate and decorated with stories and saints, they are amazing structures.

The scenery all along the Schelde river was fantastic with much barge traffic. Antwerpen was not far away when we left Scheldenland on the last day and the river was very tidal but slow flowing. A lot of 'racing boys' on bikes were experienced together with many couples cycling both ways along the river. Nice and flat and no 'wobblestones.' Very well sign posted all the way - although one has to keep an eye out especially when the route meets the smaller townships along the way.

Some of many other cyclists are shown above enjoying the lovely weather - sunny and around 22C during the day.

Sammo showing the way on LF 2 and LF 5 cycle ways in Flanders.



We 'raced' this barge doing some 7 kms/hr and won! That is until it caught us again when we were 'resting!' Note the modern windmill in the background. We saw about 10 in the whole journey and most of the time they were 'resting' too.

Floriculture above showing wonderful colours. The Flander's countryside is very closely farmed; wheat, potatoes, sugar beet, maize, flowers and extensive glasshouse installations. So different to Kiwiland and so densly populated. Most livestock is inside most of the year so there is very little need for fences.

Sammo reading the maps to make sure we didn't miss any turnings. Only two missed turnings in 160kms resulting in one day at Dendermonde adding some 15 extra kms. Buggeur they sighed! Still a hot bath and finding a pub just 1 1/2 kms from the B&B helped ease the debate and the buns. The Dendermonde B&B outside of the city some 6 kms was a beauty - good bath, shower, bed and excellent breakfast. Pieter Pauwel B&B. Saw our first lock on the way to it but didn't have to cross it although if we had we would have saved about 1km and a big uphill bridge over the canal.

Picture above in this B&B and Evan showing off the riding padded suit that Sammo wore. Great stuff those suits - the buns swear by them!

This home is near to Appels close by to Dendermonde - beautifully tended. Quite a fairy tale place. We both saw many things that Begium home owners do to present their homes and gardens and got many new ideas. Espaliering fruit trees is a major pastime for many home gardeners as is the use of 'common garden' plots on common lands.

Evan in full flight above - average speed about 12kms per hour (including stops). Our trip was dominated by 'smelling the roses' and we talked often with people at stops - particulary when we came up against the 'voetveer' services - free ferries across the canals. More on these later - very civilised and very tourist friendly.

Wow! Another major spire and church at Baasrode on our way to Boom where we intend to spend the night. "No bookings needed," says Sammo, "we will take it as it comes, won't we?" "Your wish is my command my dear," is the best reply under the circumstances. Her being much the younger in the 'olde stakes.'

And our first experience using a voetveer, this time across the Schelde river between Zwijn and Sint Amands. The man in the photo (the slimmer one) was fishing and we ended up having a 45 minute conversation in Kiwi with him. He was most intrigued that two olde Kiwis had come all the way to cycle Flanders. He showed us how to drop the notice to give the ferry man the message that we wanted to cross. An interesting interlude with a local who told us a lot about the area and himself. We had a slight contest who would catch what first. Us the ferry or him the fish. A 250ml bottle of Greystoned Gin for the first correct answer from all you avid followers.

This is a picture of the ferry across at Sint Amands. The ferry crossing took all of 5 minutes and was 'free,' 'gratis,' no tips required. Modern up to date ferries and all free along the way.

And here is the somewhat slimmer one at Sint Amands. This is a major holiday area on the Schelde with wonderful facilities for tourists, mainly Belgium persons we were informed.

And of course another castle! This one in Weert is famous and has a very unique history and open to the public. It is the Castle van Marmix de Saint Aldegonde and is in a very lovely setting surrounded by farmlands and on a tributary water way called the Oude Schelde. We had a splendid repast, made by Sammo from the left overs from breakfast at the Dendemonde B&B, washed down with contents from the water bottles. No! No beers were consumed! What?

And course the 'Greystoners' joined in, showing us how to handle the big bikes. And so off to Boom where we just happened to stop for a pause in the rather large town and right opposite us was the Hotel Domus. 'Quelle fantastique' was the reaction of the older one. "No more wobblestones and slightly sore-ish buns for us today!" "Book the bastard!" And so we stayed at said hotel for the evening. Even more delights were in store. Pre-dinner drinkies (many!) and wonderful hospitality and conversations with the owners and managers. Once again very informed, hospitable, friendly people. Broad world views and interesting points of view regarding how different cultures and ethnicities cope in Belgium and New Zealand. They couldn't do enough for us and the facilities were high-class. An old building very well renovated and added to with private gardens at the back with a 4m high brick wall keeping us safe from the possible ministrations of the local church immediately over said wall. A local we talked to suggested a meal at either a modern or old style establishment. Well, being the 'oldes' that we are, guess which one we chose. A lovely meal at 'Den Boom', with a very helpful waiter who knew his job.

Excellent breakfast and off the next day which as it turned out ended up in Huldenberg. Sammo the intrepid navigateuse found a 'short-cut' through Leest which took us away from the LF2 that we joined at Rumst and down the Dijle Canal past Mechelen with Leuven in our sights.

Suffice to say that a time trial was had between the two intrepid wayfarers. A 2km trial having been told food and drinkies were available at the Cafe Maritime 2 km away. 2nd prize for the second avid follower who first guesses who won is two bottles of Greystoned Gin! 1st prize is one bottle. A clue? Food and booze (whoops drinkies) was at the end of the time trial.

And so after a good hour of consuming (not consummation) we set our sails and sped to Leuven arriving about 4pm having informed St Michael of Huldenberg that we would meet him at his workplace for the shedding of the luggages.

What another major building with spires? This one on the outskirts of Mechelen closely followed by the Stella Artois edifices a few kilometers onwards.

But wait, we had just crossed this lock after a beer when the bells rang and the bridge hinged skywards - all for a baby barge (by comparison with the Schelde ones) passed through.

Yes! This one of the time trialers speeding to Leuven - answers to the name of Sammo!

Here she is again only metres from the Stella Artois Temple of Dreams!

And? Yes it is the Temple of Dreams!!

St Michael met us after we successfully negotiated Leuven, grabbed our luggage and left us for our high speed return the 12 kms to Huldenberg, arriving at 6pm to see Jean Marc, Raphael and the Saint wrestling with a massive tree stump.

No more wobblestones, buns relieved and sleep came easily later that evening after a number of internal doses of quaff mixtures.

Herendeth the saga! A wonderful, never-to-be-forgotten experience. A Flanders Cycling Tour? Highly recommended!