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Cool Annie's Travels
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  • Italy 2022
    • The process before leaving town...
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    • Annie Hart Cool
  • Life as it appears to me
  • Blog
  • Italy 2022
    • The process before leaving town...
    • About
    • Annie Hart Cool
  • Life as it appears to me

Cool Annie's Travels

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The pencil test...

11/27/2018

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The "pencil test" decreed that if an individual could hold a pencil in their hair when they shook their head, they could not be classified as White.


William told us of this class defining technique from his childhood. The government had job positions for “pencil test operators”. These employees would go to the schools and if your hair could not hold a pencil you were considered white.

There were 3 classifications White, black or colored. This method of classification was stopped in 1990. William shared that the sales of blow dryers and flat irons sky rocketed in the 70’s as straightening your hair on pencil test day could effect your future and class status.

william, our guide, shook his head and said this method of classification was developed by the top minds in the country....

​Learning every day...

​https://mashable.com/2015/06/20/apartheid-south-africa-signs/#Ss8zXjQzQPqb
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Learned the origin of SHIT today...

11/27/2018

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while on Cape Point watching the sea birds I learned a valuable lesson about shit.

the sea birds lay their eggs in their Guano. Guano was a very important and harvested fertilizer transported by ships. This ‘bird shit’ is nutrient and ammonia rich.

When loading a ship with guano the instructions were ”Store High In Transit”. Hence, S.H.I.T
became the slang for guano.

​how did I get to this age and only found this out now?

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60!  So grateful to still be HERE!

11/26/2018

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I’m sitting in a beautiful sunlit room over looking the Victoria Albert harbor in Cape Town South Africa. I hear my husband listening to South African videos behind me... he’s fact checking all the details we heard today on our tour.

It’s been an amazing 16 days. I’m overflowing with blog posts. And struggling between “what to take time to share” and “ what is just an insanely wonderful memory”.

I won’t lie. Listening to Martin linger and speak on the rich South African history made me smile. Hearing my husband interject facts and dates that challenged Martin.... well that was crazy impressive.

Me? I am not a historian. I was interested in botany, geography and the beautiful language being spoken on my left....

I got the LOOK. You know the LOOK. The one that says...don’t interrupt us...we are busy. These two beautiful men are bonded beyond the Red Sox Cap Mark toted from the states.

A stranger, an Indian woman from San Francisco asked if she could take my photo on Table Mountain....I was stunned... for 10 minutes I was part of a photo shoot...then a release was signed and I may end up in some San Francisco magazine about South Africa and retirees!

I’m going out on a limb.

I’m at the end of an amazing South African trip.

Our friend, Bea, who we met 5 years ago while doing a sunset voyage down the Zambezi river. I fell in love with her young son. Those who know and love me are not surprised that this friendship is secured by a child. Leander (Leo) is a wildly handsome young adult now. I won’t embarrass him by my musings.

His mum, Bea, However.... she made efforts to meet us whenever we we were on the continent... sometimes meeting us on a barge on a river in Amsterdam....

Bea and I have been friends for 5 years and she “gets” our craziness. This trip could not be more perfect for OUR 60th year. Both Mark and I are grateful we are still on the planet. Mark has lost siblings. I’ve been lucky.

But 60... is a gift. Relationships at 60 years of age is a story. Experiences at 60 years of age is history.

Today, a waitress from the bar at our hotel in Cape Town said “ thank you, mum, we appreciate your love for us”

It made me think, as I closed my hotel door....isn’t that what makes these 60 years what they’ve been have been all about?

APPRECIATING YOUR LOVE FOR US?

Please...if you do nothing else....appreciate your love for.........
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Baboons who negotiate

11/25/2018

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its not wise to leave your windows open! The Baboons are very crafty in this area... they are however open to negotiations. If you carry a banana or an apple with you you stand a pretty good chance of getting your pocketbook, golf clubs, keys or wallet back from this crafty creature.

while walking around Hermanus if you see folks with random pieces of fruit...don’t assume it’s lunch! It could be baboon retardant!
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Bracelet Alert

11/24/2018

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no!!! It’s not from Africa!

This is my mother’s silver teaspoon. My friend Christine built this bracelet for me last Christmas. You see I have her my Mother’s 10 silver spoons. On 9 she imprinted “Blessed”. And on one she stamped “fierce”.

my nieces received one of mother’s spoons for Christmas last year...and I have not removed “Fierce” since it arrived!

Christine is a talented artisan. My mother was a fierce and powerful woman. Her silver lives on with her grands...whether they wear the bracelets or not... we are “fiercely blessed” by being her descendants...
but no...to those who asked... my bracelet is not an African Treasure.

​thanks for noticing!
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Our Bike and Barge Itinerary!

Day 1: Individual arrival in Mantova


Day 2: Mantova, 21 mi. (35 km)


Day 3: Mantova - Governolo - Zelo, 32 mi. (50 km)

Day 4: Zelo - Ferrara - Adria, 31 mi. by bike + 37 mi. by bus (50 + 60 km)

Day 5: Adria - Po Delta Nature Reserve - Pellestrina Island, 25 mi. (40 km)

Day 6: Pellestrina Island - Venice, 19 mi. (30 km)

Day 7: Venice, free day

Day 8: Venice,
​departure following breakfast
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Mantova is one of the most beautiful towns in Northern Italy as many worldwide know artists have left their masterpieces for us to enjoy, thanks to the famous Gonzaga family! Benvenuti a Mantova!
Day 2: Mantova - round trip tour - 21 mi. (35 km)


This entire day is dedicated to the discovery of this wonderful city and its surroundings, dominated by the wealth and influences left by the Gonzaga family, who owned the city for over 400 years.

Mantova was considered one of the most important cultural cities in the Renaissance and it still maintains a lot of the landscapes and the building that made it famous during that period.

​ In the late afternoon, a local guide will lead you through the most known highlights of the town.

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Day 3: Mantova - Governolo - Zelo, 32 mi. (50 km)

After breakfast, on board, you navigate from the "lakes" of Mantova and cruise through the lush wetlands that lead to Governolo Lock, where Mantova's Mincio River flows into the Po.

​ From here, by bike, you follow the broad sweeps of the levee towards Ostiglia, renowned for its medieval fortress and fierce fighting in 1945, as the Allies drove Hitler's forces back.
Bergantino, home of the distinctive Museum of Fairground Rides and its collection of street organs, all expertly restored (and thunderous!).


This village is also in the heartland of Grana Padano, the arch-rival of Parmesan. A visit to the local cheese factory, sampling some well seasoned Grana, is a must-do.

​You meet the barge in Zelo, a sleepy village on the Canal Bianco, the waterway which runs parallel to the Po.
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Day 4: Zelo - Ferrara - Adria, 31 mi. by bike + 37 mi. by bus (50 km by bike + 60 km by bus)
Following breakfast, you will start cycling towards Ferrara. Once you have reached the town, which earned the name of "city of bicycles", you will be enchanted by the historical center, still surrounded by the old city walls.

​You will enjoy a guided town tour. From Ferrara, a short bus transfer will bring you to Adria, an ancient Greek port, famous for trading amber coming from the Baltic. It's a remarkable museum that also bears witness to its Etruscan, Roman, and Venetian Heritage.
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​Day 5: Adria - Po Delta Nature Reserve - Pellestrina Island, 25 mi. (40 km)
After a short ride on board, you cycle into the delta of the life-giving Po. This unique wetland is the prime reserve in Europe for herons and home to a sizeable colony of flamingos. Weather permitting, as you continue towards Chioggia, you can also enjoy a stop at a beach and a dip in the Adriatic - not forgetting a hot savory piadina! Chioggia is also known as "Little Venice", a colorful fishing hub. The overnight takes place on the island of  Pellestrina, just in front of Chioggia.
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Day 6: Pellestrina Island - Venice, 19 mi. (30 km)
Venice beckons, but first another world altogether: Pellestrina, the first of two islands you traverse today – a humble and tranquil fishing backwater, picturesque as ever with its cottages, boats, and nets. A short island-hop by ferry transfers to Lido. Fashionable in high society ever since the Belle Époque, the Lido di Venezia is now home to the International Venice Film Festival and its galaxy of stars.

​ After rejoining the barge, you will enjoy a leisure cruise in front of St Mark’s square to the final destination. After dinner, you can savor Venice at night, now free of the crowds and at her most romantic: Benvenuti a Venezia!
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Day 7: Venice, guided walking tour and free time
A guided walking tour of Venice begins around 11 am and lasts approximately 1.5 hours. It begins in St. Mark square and continues towards the bigger "sestiere" of the city, Castello.

You will visit Campo Santa Maria Formosa where you can experience a characteristic market and then a city hospital and large gothic church in Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Later, you will go to Campo Santa Marina and to the Rialto Bridge. During this tour, the guide will explain these sites from the outside, no entrances are planned. 
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I guess I always knew this… but forgot?

As we prepare to leave on vacation the energy in the house is a mix between excitement and dread. You know the anticipation? The expectation ! And all the things you forgot.

I take a breath and lean in to my suitcase. I don’t know why I fret. The few things I pack can be washed and reworn!

If Covid taught us nothing it taught us sweat pants can last a week if handled carefully! Two weeks in Italy requires comfort clothes and something a little stylish… but wait, I live on Cape Cod!

We have completed most of the requisites. The note to the Dog sitter, the walk about with the gardener, the cleaned out refrigerator… but then it dawns on us…
what about the storage on our phones?

​TONIGHT. Tonight we will be deleting everything. Sorry, but it’s true.
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