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November 9, 2011

more from Argentina

Posted by Jennifer under Argentina | Tags: |
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Jill sent this second report on the CAA group’s visit to Argentina:

“On Sunday, after a relaxed morning of riding or walking at will through the spectacular park at Estancia Bella Vista and enjoying lunch, we packed up our van again and departed for Tandil, to the south / southwest.

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the view from the back of Estancia Bella Vista (photo by Jill Ryder)

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“Tandil is a hilly area (the only hills in Buenos Aires province), and we drove four hours before climbing a steep dirt road and arriving at Amaike, our home for the night. This new hotel overlooks a valley and is spectacular. We enjoyed a group dinner (empanadas, sausage, salads, beef and finally lamb, all prepared on an open fire outside) and all went to bed early.

“On Tuesday, we visited what can only be described as the finest carriage and appointments collection to be seen anywhere. Years ago my father, Tom Ryder, had visited Argentina and was enthralled with what he found here. He took photos and notes of all the wonderful vehicles, and two years after he passed away and my sister and I sorted out his house, we found these photos and notes. When I last visited Argentina two years ago, I brought the appropriate photos/notes to the Fox family. They were so delighted that they made a DVD of all the information, and we enjoyed the “premiere” of the film today. I was presented with a copy for the CAA library. Wonderful.

“At the end of our fabulous visit, we loaded up, made the somewhat hazardous drive across the field again and found the main road, drove two hours and arrived in the small town of General La Madrid and the Hotel Europa. We arrived wet and muddy, but happy. It turns out this delightful hotel is owned by an Argentine couple who had lived for two years in England and spoke perfect English. They had a small but super restaurant, and we all enjoyed a great evening, topped off by a bottle of champagne provided by the owner, Antonio, at 11:00 p.m.!
 
“Today (Wednesday), the rain has changed our plans. Although the weather this morning was wonderful, with the sun shining and a great temperature, there was so much rain yesterday that the thirty kilometers of dirt roads to the estancias we were to visit today are now impassable. So we will stay here most of the morning and slowly make our way north to Pehuajo. We are working on finding another local bus to take us tomorrow to our estancia,  which is miles and miles on dirt roads. Fingers crossed.”

 

November 7, 2011

three days in Argentina

Posted by Jennifer under Argentina | Tags: |
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Here is Jill’s first report on the CAA group’s visit to Argentina, which is underway now. She was hoping to be able to send regular reports and some photos (depending on the spotty Internet connections throughout the trip), but has been having unexpected trouble with the charger on her laptop!

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Day One of the CAA’s 2011 Trip to Argentina:
 
“Everyone arrived at our hotel in Buenos Aires (known as BA) — with one participant having missed his connection in Atlanta and then being re-routed via Santiago, Chile. We all enjoyed a welcome dinner on Friday night at an Italian restuarant near our hotel (we thought it might be fun to enjoy pasta, knowing that we would be eating a lot of meat on the rest of the trip).
 
“On Saturday morning, we met our driver for the trip, Leo, and his immaculate fifteen-passenger van, and we were accompanied by Pauline Edbrooke of Biblos Travel, she who was responsible for all our arrangements for this unique trip, and off we set for Quilmos (about an hour’s drive away). There, we were warmly greeted by Marcielo Decoud and were shown the most beautiful stable, which was built in 1912 and had all its stable fixtures brought from France. Then we were shown the harness room with its set of four-in-hand Hermes harness. And then it was on to the carriage house to see the many vehicles by Holland & Holland, Binder, and some Argentine makers. 
 
“Then, sitting on a long table under the trees, we enjoyed our first asada (barbecue). Meat after meat was brought to us on large trays, all washed down with red wine! We were joined by several Argentine carriage enthusiasts, including Rodolfo, the president of the Argentine Commercial (Trade) Vehicle Association. Conversation was lively and after two hours or so, we boarded our van, having made new friends and with promises of visits to the U.S. What a great start to the trip!”
 
Day Two (Sunday):
 
“At 8:30 a.m.,  the entire group was ready with their luggage for a new adventure. Leo arrived, the van was loaded, and off we went for a two-and-a-half-hour drive south /southwest of the city to the town of General Belgrano. We were headed to the estancia (farm) of Guillermo Gibelli and his family. Once there, we were warmly greeted by Guillermo and Christine Gibelli and eventually his two daughers, one of his sons, his daugher-in-law, and several grandchildren. We talked and looked around the beautiful house, and then we were asked to follow Dr. Gibelli into the garden. There, he unveiled a statue of a coachman that he had commisioned several years ago. 
 
“Dr. Gibelli had gone to England earlier this year to attend the South of England Hackney Show and while there had met one of the judges, Roland Connelly of Scotland. From that meeting, Dr. Gibelli had asked Roland to come to Argentina and show the Hackney enthusiasts here how to show Hackneys. So Roland and his wife, Tracey, were there with us, and Roland produced several of the Argentine Hackney horses for us to see in-hand.
 
“We gathered in the house for lunch and enjoyed the fun company. Then it was off to see the carriages while Roland and the gauchos got four carriages ready to take everyone out on a drive around the estancia. The sun was shining, and it was simply a perfect day. 
 
“After enjoying an afternoon tea with the Gibelli family, it was time to thank them for their tremendous hospìtality and bid them farewell until we will see most of them again in Areco. A two-hour drive followed, until we reached our overnight accomodation at the Estancia Bella Vista de Guerrero. It’s hard to believe that we needed dinner, but at 8:30 p.m., there we all were, enjoying a super dinner at the estancia. Then it was early to bed for everyone; after all, it’s exhausting eating so much!”
 
Day Three (Monday):
 
“This morning we all had the choice of going riding (several did), or walking and enjoying the beautiful trees and flowers. Remember that is is spring here in Argentina. Some have seen hundreds of parrots in the trees, and E. G. Moody reports that he has taken more than three hundred photos so far!”
 

October 17, 2011

driving in Tuscany

Posted by Jennifer under coaching, travel / destinations | Tags: |
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CAA members Sue & Roger Murray are frequent world travelers and huge fans of Andreas Nemitz’s “Coaching in Bavaria” trips. Their most recent trip horse-drawn trip with Mr. Nemitz and his crew was a two-week ramble through Tuscany.

Sue sent the video I’ve posted below, and she said, “I was on the box seat of the Shooting Break when we had to cross a dry stream bed through a stand of bamboo. We proceeded very slowly (“langsam”) because the Break was carrying six other passengers, as well as the horses’ hay for lunch. The steep hills and eroded Roman roads were challenging even for the very fit Kladruber and Oldenburg horses.”

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As always, if the embedded video won’t work on your computer, you can get directly to the video on YouTube here.

 

September 14, 2011

another old road

Posted by Jennifer under early roads, history, travel / destinations | Tags: |
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Continuing with the carriage-history references that A.J. and I kept finding on our recent “local” vacation …

While we were at Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill (a lovely historic site that also offers fabulous hiking opportunities, delicious food, and unique accommodations), we found a Kentucky historic marker in the parking lot that offers the following nuggets:

Completed by 1839, the Lexington – Harrodsburg – Perryville Turnpike (KY68) ran through the center of Pleasant Hill. The road became part of the mail stage route between Zanesville (Ohio) and Florence (Alabama). Stages were discontinued here by 1877. The turnpike brought communication and trade to the reclusive Shakers, as well as both Confederate and Union invaders during the Civil War.

This is a photo (from our vacation) of the same road mentioned on the marker. For a number of years, the “modern,” paved KY68 followed this same route, right through the center of the Shakers’ village, an area long known locally as “Shaker Town.” When the newer KY68 was built nearby and the historic area restored, this original road was, shall we say, un-paved.

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September 13, 2011

a very old road

Posted by Jennifer under early roads, history, travel / destinations | Tags: |
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While on our way to a museum in Bardstown, we drove past a sign describing “The Cobblestone Path.” We were intrigued enough to stop (frankly, because, from the road, the slight clearing in the woods on the hillside didn’t look like much).

Remember when I said that little Bardstown boasts a rather stunning amount of regional, state, and national history?

Here’s what the aforementioned sign says:

The Cobblestone Path is one of the oldest paved roads in all Kentucky. By 1785, this was the original entry to Bardstown from the east and part of the legendary “Wilderness Road.” Congress ordered the Pioneer Trace to be improved as a military road after 1792. The cobbled paving of this hill dates to at least c. 1790. It allowed two-way traffic by heavy freight wagons, and for all wheeled vehicles entering and leaving Bardstown. After serving for more than thirty years as the major entry connector to the east end of historic Arch Street, the steep pathway was relegated to light traffic and mounted riders after the improved turnpike was constructed c. 1830. Cut off from the city’s modern streets after 1925, the path’s isolation allowed it to survive, serving only pedestrian traffic after that date.

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Bardstown's "Cobbled Path" dates from the late eighteenth century

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... for perspective, here's A.J. standing on the path; this road is so steep and narrow that it's hard to imagine two-way freight-wagon traffic here ... what a job that must've been!

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... and a close-up of some of the late-eighteenth-century cobblestones

 

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