A Year in the life...

Day 28 Leaving to come home

2009-10-21T02:23:00.004+10:00

Terry at the Armory in Invalides

I am sitting in a lounge at Paris airport waiting for our flight to board. I am tired already and we haven't even left yet. This is the worst non fun bit. It is about 7 at night here so we have been awake awhile lol.
This morning we slept as long as we could after our night out last night. Then had our last croissant in Paris, packed the last few things and left our bags at the hotel. The owner suggested we visit 'Invalides' which we hadn't done and it is nearby so was a good choice. It is a huge building that houses everything military related including a nursing home for ex personnel.
It houses a military museum that is enormous and includes not only the tomb of Napolean but an amazing collection of knights armor dating back as long as you want to go.
It is amazing how intricately detailed they all are. There were rooms and rooms of armor [I was strangely reminded of Dr Who while looking at them lol]
We walked around the gardens a bit and had a look at Napoleans Tomb then headed back to the hotel. We had organised a taxi and it is a long drive. Just under an hour [and that's driving Paris style] Unforunately had to wait a little before checking in and then had trouble finding the lounge which British Airways assured us was here. Of course thats because it is the American lounge that they use but none of the signs say that.
By this time we actually are hungry but there is not much food choice here and limited drinks. I am too tired for alcohol yet lol. We go to London first [about an hour flight] and then have to change to the flight to hongkong. Then i don't hink I will have any trouble sleeping lol.
More later.
Ok we are at hong kong now in the not so really first class first class lounge. The flight form London was good but long [11 hrs] thank god for us ringing to talk to someone about seats before we left australia as because terry is platimum they were very very helpful and todays british Airwyas flight we had the exit row with just 2 seats. more legroom then you need and no one in front so u could stand as oyu please. It was so good although without a footrest I still had trouble sleeping at all. i really need to lay to do that. Terry managed to look alseep for a large chunk but as we have 7 hrs here at the airport before the last leg he had to go for a walk to stay awake
i have my feet up which is prob not good but I don't care lol
the chairs are not all in even fair condition so i don't think it matters. We have a few more people in here now but it was basically just us and one other man who comes and goes a bit when we got here.
we leave at 11 15 pm hong kong time and get back thurs morning aust time at 10 in the morning. I figure a glass of wine before boarding then maybe a movie which i am sure will put me to sleep.
Oh i can't wait for the bed or at least my chair lol. We really should be sitting out in the sun and staying up then bed early evening but not sure we will last that long. Ok need to stretch i am far too comfy here and terry is not here so don't want to nod of and start snoring or they might kick me out lol

Day 27 Paris

2009-10-21T02:21:00.002+10:00

we also stuck our head in the Peugeot store to see what our next car should be lol

Our last Day in Paris and for our holiday. Monday and another crystal clear beautiful day. we decided today to visit the other tall building experience apart from the eiffel tower. Tour Montparnasse and Tour in french means tower. basically it has a superfast elevator that zips you up to the 56th floor in seconds. You have a 360 degree view of paris including a great view of the eiffel tower. you can also walk up another few metres to a viewing deck on the top. Altogether a pretty cool view although a bit overdone as a tourist gimic.

They have a film [pretty bad lol but I am talking sound and resolution] i think it is time it was redone. The tourist souvenir shop closes for an hour at 1 lol.
After that we got the train to the Arch de triomphe and had a wander around it then down the Champs de Elysees. stopped for coffee then headed towards home when terry spotted the Lido.
For some crazy reason this morning instead of just getting a day transport ticket he got the day visite pass. But it turned out this gives you 50% off the price of a champagne and show at the lido. that is a 50 euro saving each just for an 8 euro transport ticket which also got us around all day. By this time i am totally feeling like sitting but he convinced me to come back out at 9 for the show.
We made our way to the hotel.packed by bag fully and terry's pretty much,showered and headed back. You get half a bottle of champagne each so we had a whole bottle and disappointingly it was much like our normal pretty bad ones in australia [Lido Brut] and not at all like champagnes champagne. it was however cold and fitting the occasion. We had a great seat and the show was entertaining. Terry enjoyed it far more then me probably but even he said it was totally not worth the full price. It was an interesting show a mix of the traditional feathers and breasts with some amazingly good acrobatic circue du soleil style acts and then some interesting male dancers lol. The first half hour at least was bizarre, men mixed in with the woman in the feather costumes and then heaps of leather and chains. It really did seem for awhile that the Lido had been transformed into some sort of gay cabaret. some of your friends really would have enjoyed it Kieran lol. I am probably far too critical but the general dancers were far too uncoordinated and lacking life. kahlee you could have done 100% better then 90% of them lol.

Anyway it was an experience and made terry's last night in Paris. We bought him a program so he can tell you all about it lol.

Back to hotel really late and to bed for our last night in our comfy doona wonderland.

Day 26 Paris

2009-10-19T01:40:00.003+10:00

Took a bit of waking up this morning after our long day yesterday. Met up with Sandra and Adrienne at 10:30 at their hotel. Being a Sunday most shops and markets were shut, so we decided to have a walk along the river bank. The weather had again turned out for the best, being bright blue skies with no clouds. Another success for the Aussies bringing good weather wherever we go!!!

Near the Eiffel Tower we saw a number of old cars and horse drawn carriages. Then when we got closer to the Eiffel Tower we saw that there was something being filmed at the bottom of the Tower. Not sure if it was a movie but lots of people were dressed in period costume, ie late 19th century and one guy who seemed to be a main actor was wearing a pith helmet. They were speaking in French so it didn't make much sense????? Couldn't see any George Clooney's or Brad Pitt's for the girls or an Angela Jolie for me so so we decided to push on.

We were near the boat rides so we decided to take one of the hour long cruises with commentary. It was quite interesting as the boat went past the major buildings and bridges along the Seine such as the Musee D'Orsay, Louvre Museum, Pont Neuf Bridge, Notre Dame Cathedral to name a few. The commentary was entertaining if a bit over the top going on about the "City of Love"!!!! Anyway it was an extremely pleasant way to spend an hour and sharon got heaps of photos again. Thank God for digital cameras and computer technology. The bill for camera film and developing photos would have astronomic!!!!!!

Time for lunch so we strolled back to Rue Cler and our favourite French restaurant so we could show our Belgian friends what we have been talking about. There was just space for the four of us. French people obviously love their food and dining our as it was close to full again. This time fish for Sharon and rigatonni with truffle cream for me with profiteroles for desert for Sharon (as she hadn't had any all trip so far) and a pear tart with chocolate sauce for me. Yum yum!!!

Unfortunatley it was now time for Sandra and Adrienne to go home so we decided to take a metro ride with them for part of the way until they joined up with the RER. Again Sharon's ticket didn't work in the turnstiles. I don't know what it is about her. maybe she's highly magnetic and affects the strip on the ticket. I know she's highly charged and lights me up!!!!![OMG leave him to write and this is what happens lol]

Back to the hotel room to have a rest before we decided what we were going to do for the night. Finished off our grapes and the red wine we had been keeping for a while. Sharon caught up with managing the photos and some of the earlier blogs that we were behind on and I got to watch the Rugby on TV. Stade Francais (with Mark Gasnier, the ex Australian League centre for those who know/remember) versus Bath from England in the European Cup. Entertaining game with Stade Francais winning in the final minute with (yet) another penalty goal.

All for now, as it's time for a snooze before heading out tonight. Au revoir from 2 aussies in Paris.

[Ihave to add that it was the most beautiful day you could imagine here today. Crystal clear skies but the sun was warm and everyone was out taking advantage of it.

Day 25 Paris [Champagne and Disney]

2009-10-19T00:21:00.004+10:00

Sandra, Adrienne and terry in the champagen Cellar at G.H.Martel

Risotto Parisienne style.Today we had a very special day organised as our new best friends from Brussels are coming down to spend the weekend with us. They drove down to euro disney and we caught the train out there [it is around 40 mins out of paris] Sandra is totally addicted to everyhting Mickey. [nothing wrong with that lol]It was a bit of a miserable cry cloudy day. We were going to have dinner there but the restaurant was booked out. We did however get to browse through the shops outside the actual park which was interesting and we picked up some cool things for christmas presents. We then made our way to sandras very nice new lancia [a company car as she works for Ernst Young [a top tier accounting frim] We drove to Riems whcioh is in the heart of champagne. the weather was overcast and drizzly.
First stop was Notre Dame cathedral [one of four Notre dames[ for a look at the beautiful stained glass and decorative external facade. You would not believe but we parked in a carpark and when we walked out the sun was out. It was quite wierd lol but great as we could see the glass and the reflections in the church were amazing.
Next we went to lunch - ordering a toasted sandwich and getting an absolutely enormous piece of foccaccio covered on top with tomato ham and cheese and herbs. It was delicious but had probably a months surply of cheese on it.
replenished we went on to find a champagne celarl to do a tour. Unfortunately the one they had chaosen for us was full for the tour but it turned out well as Adrienne rang around and we got the last places in one on a french tour. as wr had translaters this was not a problem lol. it was actually they said more informative and less walking and stairs and we also got to taste 3 champagnes. Only champagne made in this area is legally allowed to be called Champagne. [the name is copyrighted]. the town on Riems was built over years of cutting blocks of stone to build the buildings. this resulted in 200km of tunnels with all the stone cut out. It is a maze of access tunnels they used to get the blocks of stone out. Some clever monks realised this was the perfect place [temperature and humidity ] to use as cellars. The grapes are grown through the champagne area and then in th emiddle of town are all the cellars where the champagne is made. They use chardonney and pinot noir grapes. it is an interesting process. Firstly, most houses will take a selection of still wines made from the grapes of more than one area, as this far north it is not commercially viable to rely on just one or two individual vineyards. Most Champagne is white, and may be made from any combination of the three grapes above. The pulp, and therefore the juice, of the two black grapes is white, so a white wine is obtained form these grapes by gentle pressing and taking the juice off the skins before they have had time to impart any colour. Once the wines are assembled, the cellar-master of the house will decide how they should be blended, before the bubbles are created by the Méthode Champenoise.

A recipe for making fizz (Méthode Champenoise):

Step 1: take one bottle of still wine, appropriately blended so as to maintain the house style. Ensure the glass is thick and strong to resist the increased pressure that will be created in the bottle.

Step 2: add a dose of sugar solution and yeast, known as liqueur de tirage, and seal the bottle with a good fitting cap - like a beer bottle cap.

Step 3: wait for the yeast to ferment the added sugar, creating more alcohol and, more importantly, carbon dioxide. As this gas cannot escape and is held under pressure, it will dissolve in the wine. This is where the bubbles come from. The pressure inside the bottle is now perhaps 80-90psi, equivalent to three or four times the pressure in the tyres on the average car.

Step 4: leave the wine for some time, perhaps several years. The lees (dead yeast cells) will impart richness to the wine.

Step 5: gradual turn and tap the bottle over time, so that eventually it is facing neck down, with the dead yeast cells sitting in the neck. This is known as remuage, or riddling.

Step 6: dip the neck in freezing brine to create a frozen plug of wine, containing the dead yeast cells, in the neck of the bottle. Pop the cap and the plug, complete with lees, flies out. This is known as dégorgement.

Step 7: top up with a dosage of sweetish wine, seal with a cork, wire capsule and foil, and sell it for a handsome profit.

The more pinot Noir grapes in the stronger flavored the champagne is.
The tunnels were dug between the fourth and fifth centuries.
I am not really a champagne lover but this was beautiful. I will be looking out for osme french champagne now.
By now it was around 6 so we headed pack to the train station at euro disney and got the train back together to paris. We went to the ladies hotel first to check in and then walked back to the other side of the eiffel tower where we are staying. Of course after doing that our favourite restaurant was overfull even at 10 but we luckily got a table at the one next door lso full of locals. We ahd a beautiful dinner. my Risotto was so good I even took a photo. we had wine and of course dessert and it was all good.
It was way past our bed times now so Terry walked them aprt way home while I went back to our hotel and turned the heater on.
Overall we had a long but wonderful day. poor Sandra drove about 600 kms so we really appreciated them doing it. To make the day even better they bought us real Belgian chocolate.

Day 24 Paris

2009-10-16T03:23:00.002+10:00

For the second full day in Paris we decided to go to the Musee d'Orsay, which is another famous art museum in Paris. The building is an old converted train station. Very beautiful inside and full of different art pieces predominantly of the 19th century. As Sharon told me, pre-Impressionism to Post-Impressionism, with some Romanticism, Realism, and Art Nouveau. It was very enlightening showing the development of Impressionism. The Art Nouveau wasn't really paintings but more furniture, vases etc. (Do I sound like an Art Expert yet!!!)[NB it was decorative arts lol]

We went through the entire museum and boy were we tired afterward. We had planned initially to go to another museum, but after not finishing the d'Orsay until 4 pm we decided that was a bad joke and strolled over the Seine instead to the Jardin des Tuileries, the formal gardens between the L'ouvre and the Place de la Concorde (which is at the bottom end of the Champs Elysees. It's a place where Parisiennes often go to relax.

We had brought some food with us and had a late lunch consisting of baguette, camembert cheese, grapes, strawberries, some sort of big berries like a loganberry (big mulberry and some apricots. A very French lunch, missing only some red wine which we forgot to bring. Sacre bleu!!!We only had Diet Coke (or Coke Light as they are called here). Sacrilege!!! Whatever, it is delicious. I've decided to set up a Paris office of Capworks Management so I can work here. But Sharon prefers Florence. So we could do both and I'll become Director of the European Office!!!

By this time we had decided a wine was in order, [or as I said it was wine o'clock] so headed back "home" to Rue Cler to have some Bordeaux. Before we headed back to the hotel room, some desserts from the patisserie next door. Very nice way to finish the day.

Yay blog up to date
Terry with Whistlers mother. very strange that such a famous american artists most known painting is in paris. Terry also is making me tell you that he knows this one is just a copy as Mr Bean destroyed the original.

He forgot to tell you that this gallery is awesome as you are allowed to take photos without a flash. I was going to take one of every single painting lol [and frame] but gave that idea up after a few hundred.

Inside the main hall of the gallery

Day 23 Paris

2009-10-16T02:23:00.005+10:00

Our first full day in paris. We started with the oligatory breakfast of croissant and a roll with homemade jam. [best croissants ever at our hotel and home made jam by the owner. Todays adventure was first to Notre dame cathedral [this also involved us working out the transport tickets and the RER.]
It is free to get in but pretty crowded. there was actually a mass on while we were there and I got totally sick of people who ignored the very obvious signs to not use a flash. In these tourist churches they always rope of the middle parts during mass and you would not believe thwe people who go past the ropes plonk themselves down and take photos even woth a flash. A few even went right down the front [to the side atleats] and it is a long church took flash photos right towards the priest. UNBELIEVABLE> Anyway I refuse to take any photos of anywhere in the middle during mass instead we just joined in and terry had communion. then when it was over we got a couple photos. A little lesson in photography here - a flash will not light up the ceiling metres above you lol nor will it light up the river meters ahead of you. Can you tell it is a pet hate of mine. Buy a good camera that works in low light [will be all of a couple hundred dollars , work out how to tuern of the flash before you go and turn of the sound so it doesn't go rrr rrrr while you are in a church or gallery. GRRRRRR
Ok enough of rant.
Notre Dame is quite beautiful inside and th3e outside is even more interesting. It was an amazing design concept. It has huge flying buttresses [like a part of an arch]/these actually support the main high part of the church but also have the added advantage that the water running down them goes straight into the mouths of the gargoyles.
You can see them in this photo which is actually of a model

The real thing is of course far more impressive. Terry of course has a story to tell. Apparently Joe DiMaggio once said 'There are 2 great rear views in the world - my wife's backside [he was married to marilyn Monroe at the time] and the back of Notre dame in paris'
he was right - the back is awesome.

We had a bit of a saunter around the back and the gardens and then made our way to Sainte Chapellle. It is a 2 storey chapel within the grounds of what was the royalalace but is now the French Supreme court. this whole area was once a palace with the chapel in the middle of the courtyard. The Palai de la Cite was the residence and seat of royal power from the tenth to fourteenth centuries. The building has 2 levels on top of each other - the lower one for the palace staff and the upper level which is predominently leadlight was for the king etc.
As part of this visit we also got to see the Conciergerie which is basically the old jail. The main claim to fame was it was sued to hold prisoners during the revolution including Marie Antoinette.
It was quite brisk after that so we made our way home stopping in rue Cler for coffee and terry had tea and toast. Then we had a beer and wine as we were sitting right under a really warm heater lol. We wandered a bit picking up some cheese fuits and drinks to leave in the fridge the hotel provides.
back tot eh room and then after resting we went out for dinner picking the cafe we saw the hotel owner sitting at [good pick you could tell it was good because at 8 it was very crowded.]We had a fabulous dinner. I had roast duck [yummmmmmm] and beautiful garlicky slices of roasted potatoes and a green salad. terry had some fish and the best green beans so we shared vegies between us. It was very well priced os we had dessert as well and by now just had to go back to sleep. I have been reading an autobiography of Peggy Guggenheil we bought when we were in venice and I really wanted to read the chapters about her marriage to max ernst [ the painter] but I only lasted a few pages.
It is very cold here tonight as the skies are clear and it is expected to be zero tonight.
Oh nearly forgot the best bit iof the day. When we were ehading home we had a quick look at the antique book dealers who are spread along the riverbank. they have little metal boxes that they open up to sell their books and prints etc from. we saw hundreds of them when we were driving to our hotel. we stopped at one who had probably 400 vintage postcards in shoeboxes. after browisng through them forever lol I bought one for 2 euro. i am going to have to make time to go back lol.

day 22 Guess where

2009-10-14T05:40:00.004+10:00

Pretty easy to guess - Paris. We woke to a perfectly blue clear sky again in Geneva packed everything up and then left bags in hotel to head out for an hour or so before mnaking our way to the train station. It was actually very cold around 13 degrees according to one building lol. I got just a slight bit sidetracked browsng through a market of antique books and prints form books and postcards. Had fun looking for ages but didnt buy anything. the postcards were around 15 euros each. Ebay may be a better option lol.

We grabbed somethting to eat on train form the dept store with our last swiss coins - got our our bags and got the tram to the station and as we were early had coffee while we were waiting.the train journey was again beautiful - not so much alps but following a river for ages with little towns and then the beautiful french countryside. we got to paris around 5 and grabbed a taxi to our hotel. Put our bags in and headed out for a walk along the river. The sun was going down and there was a really interesting exposition of photographs along the boardwalk. forgot to say we walked first up and down the rue Cker street market which is a street away from our hotel We headed along the river towards the eiffel tower which by now was starting to show its lights. Fought of the hordes of guys selling glowing tourist relics. We wandered back [ the very long way as Terry was not yet orientated and wouldn't hand ovef the map] stopping for steak and bearnaise sauce, chips and wine for dinner. We even had a nice english soaking man on a bike offer is directions on one of the many corners terry stood on looking at the map. The trouble is he showed us where we were but I think may have become confused when terry said we wanted ti get to the big red dot lol [which marked the hotel] he mayvbe should have said Rue Cler or rue Valadon our street because we ended up walking in pretty much the opposite direction to home. I guess at least it meant we were out late enough to see the tower twinkle which it does on the hour from 8. It sorta looked stranbge though flashing lights. i think we were a bit too close.Anyway we are safely in the hotel which is a lovely small one more like a bed and breakfast. The owners are so sweet they left a bunch of roses and a card in the room wishing us happy birthday and happy anniversary.
We agian have free wifi so hopefully can keep up to date. we are both a little sad that we are in our last stop on the journey to home. having seen that it is 35 in brisbane we really wnayt to stay here. paris was actually a little warmer than geneva as the wind was not as cold. There is a cold swell coming down through europe with early snow expected in some places around the alps so if it snows in geneva we will be very anoyed. May be if we wish really hard we can have snow on the eiffel tower.

Day 21 Geneva

2009-10-13T05:04:00.004+10:00

Terry in front of the doors to St Peter's

He went up in the bell tower and got this fabulous shot of the lake
the ramp inside the hotel for the horses to go up

Monday here in geneva and we woke to half sun breaking through clouds and half black clouds. it seemed to be bit colder then yesterday. It is amazing what a bi t of sun does. After the obligatory crissant and sweet bun with jam we showered etc and headed out. This time with an umbrella and my warm jacket. terry's plan was to see the old part of Geneva. We walked first to an awesome promenade overlooking the park and university. there is a hotel called De ville that is amazing as it was built so that the guests could take their horses upstairs. It actually has a curved ramp inside. Mind you why I ask. Why not leave them down in the courtyard with the horses. i guess they wanted to ride up to their rooms and then send the horse back down. We then walked on to St Peter's cathedral which is a landmark and quite important because of the links with the reformation. It contains calvin's chair that he preached from.He was instrumental in the reformation which basically was when the protestant churches started. In 1536 the general council of Geneva accepted the reformation thus making the city the protestant rome. Built between approx 1150 and 1230 it has romanesque and gothic features.
We then walked down to see the reformation wall which celebrates Calvin, martin Luthar and other instrumental people from the reformation. It fronts some beautiful gardens in front of the university.
We were going to wander on to some more garden thoguh I dhould say i was wearing my gloves by thios stage [I had cleverly left them in my handbag] when it started to rain and I think the temp dropped another 10 degrees. we had umbrellas and it was only a showert but it was quite cold so we wandered on and then headed towards the hotel to grab some lunch on the way. we stopped and had coffee/tea and toated sandwiche in a very warm cafe and then it stopped raining and thw sun was peeking out. we decided to take refuge in the shopping centre and found some swiss chocolate tyo bring home in the department store and also somewhere to buy pastries and drinks for afternoon tea.
terry was itching to go see the united nations building so I satyed in and got a program to resize my photos to post on the blog while he went of adventuring. unfortunately he missed the opening hours for the guided tour of the UN [he lost track of where he was on the tram and got sorta lost fpr a bit lol] but he did see the Red cross museum [a history of the red cross]
He eventually made it back aoruind six and we went to donner at a restauarant recommended for having authentic swiss food. we can't see the poiunt of eating italian when we are in switzerland.
it was a very funny experience though as they didnt speak english lol. We ordered wine while we were still looking at the menu and the guy seemed very confused and even took the menu from terry who was trying to explain we wanted wine and were still looking at the menu lol. it all turned out good in the end and was even funnier when after i ordered my brandy flamed veal chop the waitress came and started talking in french lol. Terry of cousre after preactising his'excuse me for my bad french ' forgot everything and said nothing lol. i said i dont speak french lol and the poor woman put her head in her hands lol. We managed to work out though that she was asking hat i wanted with my chop chips or vegetables.
We had a really noce bottle of wine and terry had the fondue which was interesting as we thought it would be with food to dip in but the waiter just tore up the bread. it was however extremely delicious.
We went for a little wander down to look at the lake on theoonlight and then back to the hotel. this was all via the really cool public elevator we found that takes oyu on the outside of a building up about 6 levels to the street above. Much better then using the stairs. We have vowed to learn at least basic french before coming here again lol.

DAY 20 Geneva

2009-10-12T04:55:00.002+10:00

Woke to the alarm we had set to wake us before the maid bought our breakfast in and kahlee messaging me lol.you would not believe but it was a beautiful clear blue sunny day here. had our tea and croissant and pastry and jiuce and then i waited and waited while terry got ready [he is very slow in the mornings lol] Eventually i pushed him out of the door andf we headed of with no plan in mind except a boat ride on the lake. It was actually great that it was sunday here as the streets were so much quieter and we go to orientate ourslves. We are only a couple of blocks to the lake and walked down and found a boat terminal for an hour cruise that was recommended. it was absolutely stunning to be out on the lake on such a beautiful day. the main attraction in geneva is the fountain in th elake called Jet d'eau. this shoots water up 140 metres at a speed of 200 km an hour [500 litres per second]and is quite spectacular. The lake is 72 kms long with a maximum width of 14kms. 310metres deep and crystal clear. Covers 582 sq km, 166 km of shoreline and 89,000billion cubic metres. the water comes from the alps and then flows into the rhone river and eventually out to the mediteranean. it is absolutely stunning. thre are ducks, swans,geese boats etc. the whole lake is nestled beneath the alps and has boardwalks that go on forever. After the ride we wandered along for a walk and found the most amazing gardens that must have once been grounds of huge homes. Now they are an absolute playground with lawns ancient amazing trees and beautiful garden. the piece de resitance i felt was the rose gardens sull of statues fountains and the most amazing roses. All of this with a view to the alps across the lake. i tell you if they were german not french here I would move lol.[well technically swiss but this close to border they are more french] Hionestly it would be the most fantastic place to live. I took far too many photos and both my batteries died but they were so incredible we went back on tram to hotel and charged the battery and headed back. It clouded over a bit more late in sfternoon so was a bit more crisp but still beautiful. i got to wear my jumper I bought for the trip that has been hiodden in a suitcase.
we walked and sat and admired the view and i took a few more [lol] photos of roses and then we got tram back near we we are staying and found a restaurant for dinner. wierdly there are pizza restaurants everywhere and we had a great wine salad and pizza that we shared. This was not really what i wanted in switzerland but not everything was open and we are saving the swiss restaurant for tomorrow night.
We really were in the mood for a big hot drink so walked to starbucks as it seemed the obvious choice. yay a huge cappucino and terry got a chai latte and was very happy. we jumped the tram back home with it and now am in the room writing this after finishing our great drinks. [although it is not as good as merlo's.]
We have the door to little verandah open and we have a lovely cool breeze blowing on our feet but it is seriously mild considering a week ago geneva was 12 degrees max. we caught the bbc weather too and paris is getting sunnier so crossing fingers for when we get there.

DAY 19 Through the Swiss Alps to geneva

2009-10-12T04:21:00.003+10:00

We had a quick breakfast at 6 and dragged our bags of the ship just after 7. we got the free shuttle bus to piazzala roma and then lugged our bags back over the new bridge to the train. just had time for a cup of tea/coffee before we had to board.
First journey was to milan and as we were about 20 mins late we had to quickly find our next train. this was a little less then we were expecting but it expalins the very cheap price lol. terry was dying to go to the toilet and when he went before the train left he realised he could see the tracks below lol. this journey was about 4 and a half hours but i made myself wait until the train at least was racing along. It was the worst toilet ever absolutely smelt putrid.
the journey however was absolutely amazing as the train went through the alps and along the edge of Lake geneva. we have to google our journey but it seems we went up into switzerland and then across to the west and then back downwards into geneva. we passed soaring alps and OMG kieran the burnout track. It was impossible for me to get a pic of that however as we only came out of tunnels for a short bit and train was going too fast. it was the most beautiful journey and if you are ever in this part of the world it should not be missed. we passed through many small gorgeous swiss/german looking towns nestled on the slopes and on the HUGE HUGE lake.some parts were interesting as every bit of the side of the mountains were covered in tiers of crops at least some of which were grapes. geneva itself is nestled on the bottom of the lake and we arrived about 5 to grey skies and it had obviously rained. Because of the weather and all the issues with terrys bag we grabbed a taxi to the hotel which is in the business centre of geneva. checked in just in time to duck out to grab something to eat before shops shut. We had a half roast chicken from a rotisserie in a market and roast vegetables and took it back to the room. Couldnt find any grocery type stores or even takeaways with drinks so had to resort to McDonald for coffee/milkshake. it was just like australia even had Cafe Cool Grande on menu but boy did we have trouble getting the girl to understand i wanted a large coffee cold lol. I think i was using an italian accent. eventually she worked it out and pointed to the frappe machine and I was thinking yes at last. i got coffee but it was half full not very cold with abit of icecream in it and no ice. i swear she just forgot the ice lol.It was quite depressing wishing i had learnt French as we absolutely cannot understand one word they say. i totally wished our new friends [who speak french] were here lol
switzerland uses swiss franks although many places also take euros and francs are fairly close to the AUD. It is still as we were warned expensive so we are minimizing what we buy.
We ate in our room and then discovered that the walls are as thin as paper lol. had slightly noisy neighbours for a bit. poor old Terry was worn out and had to sleep but I was so happy to have internet back I couldnt help myself and checked all my emails and uploaded some more photos to my server to back them up. Was quite depressed no one was on msn lol.
We both tossed a bit in bed as it was not the most comfortable and while the double glazing took all the outside noise away it sounded like everyone around was in the room with us lol.

Day 18 Just cruising

2009-10-12T03:58:00.002+10:00

Sun just starting to set over the sea on our last night onboard

Terry struggled a little in the middle of his climb but then made it up to ring the bell.
With no ports of call today plus the benefit of having an extra hour of sleep as we converted from Greek time back to italian time, we had a good sleep-in to help get over the various late nights. Ddin't have breakfast until sometime after 10 and then sat and relaxed for a change. Sharon organised the thousands of photographs into folders for each day onto the laptop while I read my book.

Wathced a belly-flop competition at lunchtime. amazingly there were no guys with big beer guts competing. Most had taut trim physiques so I decided not to enter and stun them all with newly acquired mid-section. paella cooked in ahuge dish by the pool and a sangria for lunch.

By 3 pm it was now time for my display of athleticism. There is a rock climbing wall on board and all week I was saying that I was going to do it and today was the last opportunity. So signed my waiver (so I couldn't sue them for any injuries - self afflicted or otherwise) and got in line. Our Belgian friends came along to see the fun!!! I ended up trying the medium to hard section as I knew from my last time at rock wall climbing about 6-7 years ago that my arms would be getting tired if I wanted to do another climb afterwards. So up I went and the first half was fine. But in the middle of the climb there is a section that requires you lift your foot up to almost hip height as well as having the rock bulge outwards a bit. Had a real hard time of that one. [ROFLMAO -Sharon]The leg wouldn't bend that much first and I think the newly acquired stomach protection padding was also getting in the way. Finally made it though I am not sure how much help I got from the attendant on the rope.[She even started laughing lol] I think I made it myself so I'll claim it. The rest of the climb was ok but boy were my arms getting tired. Any arm strength from the gym work at home was long gone after a few weeks of inactivity. But at least I got up to the top and rang the bell. Sharon got a picture for posterity. Decided one climb was probably enough.[truth is we all just wanted to go have fresh cooked to order crepes lol]

The next activity involved having a round of mini-golf in a foursome with Sandra and Adrienne. There were humps and bumps all over the place making putting a real entertaining business. One hole had the hole at the top of a mound so that if you didn't get it in it rolled away. #@%$* frustrating!!! I managed an 11 after almost gettign my second shot in, while Sharon somehow to get a two. ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!! Twelve holes in total with par being 47. And you wouldn't believe it but Sandra, Sharon and I all ended up with 52. Adrienne got 64 which is pretty good for someone who hadn't played previoulsy and didn't know how to hold a golf stick. Anyway no bragging rights for Sharon or me.

After so much exertion we watched the sun go down over the ionian sea for the last time and went bag to do the horrible task of packing. just made that and a shower in time for our last dinner. it was a litle sad thinking we would have to start paying for food again tomorrow lol. After that it was about 10.30 and we really should have gone to bed but decided instead to go and watch the finals of the karaoke competition which was quite entertaining.Sadly we said goodbye and went of to bed as we had to get of the boat at 7 in the morning. we have a train at 8.50 from venice and decided on the option of carrying our bags of to make sure they were there in time. also if you dont do that there is a bit more waiting inviolved just for the convenience of porters taking your bags of. We really had no idea until the night before if we could get of in time for pour train.
Of tomorrow for geneva.

Day 17 Katakolon

2009-10-11T04:21:00.003+10:00

terry on the starting blocks at olympia [he really didnt want to do a proper start position lol]
and below i couldn't resist this shot - who do you think has the cuter butt ?

An early start today as we had an organised tour to Olympia, the site of the ancient Olympic Games and where they now light the torch for the modern Olympics (since 1936 as this was a German idea). Olympia is about a half hour drive from katakolon which is on the south-west end of Greece. Weather again was perfect - we must be taking our great Queensland weather with us wherever we go. The tour guide this time was a guy, a serious type and not very funny like our guide in Athens but he was very informative although did tend to repeat a few things.

Olympia is a mass of ruins amongst a big national park tht is well grassed and vegetated but there is enough left behind so that you can see the basic layout of the various buildings that made up this area. One of the "buildings" is the Temple of Zeus which housed an incredibly huge statue of Zeus that was one of the wonders of the Ancient world long since gone, taken by the Turks back to Constantinople and later destroyed by fire. Excavations to uncover Olmpia started some time in the 19th century and is still continuing to this day.

The running track is still there along the strip of marble that doubled as starting blocks as well as a finishing line. Got the obligatory shot of me doing a start. Didn't do a sprint run up the track (think I put on too much weight!!!) but did walked up to the far end and did a light jog back to at least say I did run on the Olympic track!!!!

The actual area where they light the flame for the modern summer and winter Olympic Games is very nondescript, just a few stones near what was the Temple of Athena but obviously very historical.

We then went to the nearby Archeological Museum which houses various statues and artifacts (or at least what remains of them). Some pretty amazing stuff. Bought a book as there was a heap of stuff here to see about the old Olmpic games and the various buildings that housed the different events. Well I found it interesting. I don't think Sharon was as impressed or as interested as me but she was kind enough to allow me to wallow in past athletic glory and history!!!![he lies I was very interested lol got heaps of good photos of pottery stone and other things all in the public domain lol]

The tour finished at lunchtime so went back to the ship to fuel up again, and then went for a walk around the shops of katakolon. However by this time we were fed up with tourist shops so didn't last long at this pastime. Instead fed a cafe on the waterfront that had free wi-fi access. Since we are paying 60 US cents a minute for internet on the boat, I ran back to get the laptop - got get some training in even if it a very slow laborious jog!!!! Just proved to myself that I have lost whatever fitness I had before I started this holiday.

So while we had another Greek wine and beer (at a fraction fo the cost of what we have to pay on board) Sharon had a go at the Internet. Unfortunately modem speed was about 11 kb/s UNBELIEVABLY SLOW!!! so we gave it up as a bad joke and went back to the ship.[But having wine while looking at the beautiful blue greek sea was worth it-sharon]

Another great dinner and then we went to the late show, this one being called "Dancing Through the Movies" with lots of songs and dances from various movies, along with the obligatory "had the time of my life" from Dirty Dancing. However they did do some Blues Brothers songs. Bit weird listening to someone doing a John Belusi act but with a Latin accent!!!! Anyway it was good fun and we enjoyed it.

Day 16 Mykonos

2009-10-11T04:19:00.002+10:00

Just to prove I am here. Mykonos with our ship in the background [on the left]

Had to try the martini of the day
while watching the sunsetThen a little after dinner chocolate
Arrived at port at 7 am and got woken up again by Captain Tommy saying a cheery good morning (which wasn't really appreciated) and giving us a rundown of the weather (again just perfect although a bit windy) and the day's events which again is repeated in about four or five languages (again greatly appreciated NOT!!! at that time of the morning.

After another bout of sustenance (also known as pigging out on eggs, bacon, croissants, pastries, and fruit salad and yoghurt (for the healthy stuff) we got going on visiting the town of Mykonos.[That was terry's breakfast lol I had cereal fruit and just a little Italian bacon which is like thick cut proscuito OMG I am addicted - Sharon] Once again we had to use the tenders (lifeboats) to get off the ship as the port was too small for our ship.[was a bit more interesting as the water was rougher here due to the winds Mykonos often has so the lifeboat tossed around just a little . Luckily i have a sailor for a dad lol-sharon] Didn't organise a tour this time as the town is right at the port, so we could easily walk around and look at the shops, etc. Meandered around the town (gettting a little bored by this time as all of the shops were starting to look exactly like all the tourist shops in all the ports so far selling the same sort of antiquities (also knwon as tourist junk that people buy to remember the places they have visited but put into a box never to see the light of day again!!!!) We still have stuff from our trip 3 years ago but of course that doesn't stop us buying new stuff now!!![he knows nothing lol the only stuff in boxes that we don't use is the stuff we were given on the plane that he collects lol. All my souvenirs are useful things like handbags, pashminas and other useful things]

One of the more interesting things to see are the windmills up on the point above the township. Incredibly windy, just about knock you off your feet. apparently that is common for Mykonos. The windmills are also the source of a great number of paintings which of course you can get in the tourist shops in any size you want. (Must be a production team set up around here!!!) The other major attraction is a Pelican that is very tame and poses for the tourists. We were both expecting the bird to hold out a bag to collect coins after each picture, lol.

Time for a sitdown and a fuel stop, so got a tea for Terry (of course) and a cappuccino for Sharon and an absolutely divine Baklava desert. First one on this trip as they don't seem to have them on board the ship for some reason. Pity. [Thats because they are american - they couldn't make a good Baklava]After having enough of being windswept (the cafe was right next to the beachfront facing the wind and we had to hold onto the china to stop them being blown away!!!) we meandered some more to the other side of town. More shops looking and selling the same, but I must admit the scenery looking out across the water towards all the boats was extremely beautiful and serene.

Decided we had to have a Greek wine and beer, so this time out of the wind but still facing the water and the scenery.

Back to the boat to prepare for dinner as this was the second formal dining night. This time there was a pre-dinner show for the second sitting which at least meant an earlier night as the second show doesn't normally start until 11:15 after the 9 pm dining session. Entertainer tonight was a guy called Bruce parker, who did a lot of various Motown songs, Lionel Ritchie stuff etc. Very good singer interspersed with lots of statements such as "Brothers and Sisters, can you feel the love tonight" and "hold onto the one you love" which is easy to say but difficult ot do when there is an armrest in between, though I did give it a try as I am a true romantic contrary to what Sharon might say!!![no comment lol]

Dinner was superb as usual and we are getting into the habit of ordering two servings - generally starters and deserts (don't want to look like a pig ordering two main meals!!!) Our Belgian friends are similar - quite correctly pointing out that dieting can start after the holidays, as well as other truthful sayings like Sugar-free deserts don't really count as a serving. That's my kind of thinking!!!![Actually their philosophy is that all food on the ship has magic calories that disappear lol]

Day 15 Athens

2009-10-11T04:18:00.002+10:00

Just to prove we are here and below a better look at the Acropolis

Today we docked at Piraeus which is the port just near Athens. We had prebooked a tour to maximise what we could see easily and also give Terry his fix of knowledge.Of course this was after a sleep in till we dragged ourselves out of bed at about 9 and had another huge breakfast.We didn't dock until midday so there was a special brunch in the restaurant we went to. had time for some photo sorting and then got ready to get of for our tour.
We had a bus tour that first went to the acropolis. We stopped there for about an hour so had time to take heaps photos and walk around. Terry was going to run up to the top but was stopped by a gate and a 12 euro admission. forgot to say it was another perfect day in the Mediterranean. Sunny and about 26 degrees.After a slight drama when we lost a person from the tour [he was found later by another tour guide] we continued on for a drive around the famous sights. terry's day was made by us stopping at the 1896 athletic stadium [which just looked like an old small running track]. we also drove past the Peace and frienship [yes the sign was spelt like this] stadium from the 2004 Olympics. Also went past another stadium that we believe was a football stadium. Our tour guide was fabulous. she was a small woman about 61 with a vast knowledge and a great sense of humor. she made the trip extremely entertaining.
The last stop was the Plaka or historic centre which is a pedestrian area now full of shops. we headed back to the ship at around 6. we had organised to have a late dinner at 8.30 with our friends from Brussels so after a relax in the room [and trying out the room service because lemma did it so we had to lol] we headed of to dinner. tonight we had a prawn cocktail and I had beautiful rare roast beef and terry had roast chicken which was also delicious. dessert was pecan butterscotch tart and a special matching ice cream. we were all exhausted after that as we talked and ate till after 11 so went of to bed.
Tomorrow we have a full relaxing day in Mykonos, a Greek island to the south-east of Athens.

Day 14 Corfu

2009-10-11T04:16:00.002+10:00

Above - Corfu
Below - one of those windows is our cabin [in the double row it is on the top row just to the right of the gangplank.

At the Captains party with Adrienne and her daughter Sandra.

Another perfect day this time in the Ionian sea. Very much like the Whitsundays. Gorgeous Azure sea. it was a perfect day yet again. The port is, so they said 10 to 15 mins walk, but it took us at least 30. they did have a shuttle bus but the maps are so out of scale it didn't look far so we had decided not to spend the $5 US each way each. We walked into town and it was interesting but I could not believe it was Corfu lol. Not very attractive but the reason was that where the bus dropped people of was the beautiful ;part on the bay. Anyway we got there eventually and today kept running into people we knew from the boat. that had its advantages as they went on bus so we found out where to catch it back. We walked around a bit and then stopped for coffee [and iced tea for terry] walked around A BIT MORE THEN STOPPED FOR GREEK WINE AND BEER. [OOPS CAPLOCKS AGAIN]. Saw a Greek Orthodox church was very beautiful, but not as glamorous (ie over the top like some of the churches we saw in Italy).

Bought a beautiful silk runner for the dining table (or china cabinet) with some hand stitching. Lot of the other shops were the usual touristy stuff, postcards, t-shirts, knick-knacks etc, etc. Getting a bit over this. Where we had the wine and beer was next to an old cricket pitch that was left over from when the British ruled Corfu. Caught the bus back to the ship, and saw the better part of Corfu, the real Mediterranean look.

Dinner tonight was the first formal night. Terry got to wear his suit which he had lugged around Italy so far. Sharon looked gorgeous as usual (this is Terry writing now of course). amazing to see how many people went the full hog with getting dressed up for the night. You could hire a Tuxedo for 85 to 90 USD. Bit rich for me.

The ship has an art show on board showing prints done by various famous artists such as Picasso and Chagall. We had been given a letter to say we had won a prize so we went along to see what it was expecting it to be some crappy item. Ended up getting a very nice print by a modern artist. Not well known at least by me but definitely something you wouldn’t mind putting up on the wall. Apparently we won the prize as the travel agent Sharon used to book the cruise had noted we were taking the cruise as part of our 30th wedding anniversary. Whatever the reason, I’ll take it!!!

Went to the Captain's Welcome with our new Belgian friends, Sandra and her mother Adrienne. Got a free champagne, the only free drink on board, lol. But on top of our wines and beers earlier in the day, it hit the spot. didn't bother getting a photo with Captain Tommy Nyester (but he always calls himself Captain Tommy), though a lot of people did. More money then sense I think as each photo costs more money about $20 USD for an 8 x 10 which is the smallest size they come in. The actual photo is about 4 x 6 but the rest of the space is taken up with general paraphernalia about the "Splendour of the Seas".

Captain Tommy gave a rundown on the number and nationalities of the passengers and crew. From memory there were about 1800+ passengers with a capacity of about 2200. I think he said about 45 nationalities in all. Apparently there were 18 Australians on board though we didn't get to meet any. I can't remember the number of the crew but it was quite significant like about 700 or 800 at least and 30-40 nationalities. So every announcement they make on board is repeated in 4-5 languages. americans dominated the passengers at about 550 odd which you tend to suspect, being an American cruise liner. Lots of y'all and hi ya, but did get to talk to a few and generally they were ok, you might even say acceptable considering (just joking).

After the welcome, went to dinner. had a beautiful sirloin steak done just perfectly and a bottle of rose. Now feeling really good with the alcohol kicking in.

went to the late show, which started at 11:15 with the theme for the show being Latin Ballroom. amazing dancers and singers, plus stunning outfits. Sharon thought it was good without being outstanding. I think her standards are higher than mine, which is normal, but that doesn't explain why she married me!!!!![hmm why was that ???????-sharon]

Got to bed around 12:30 but at least we could sleep in as we don't get to our next port until 12:00 pm. More tomorrow!!

DAY13 SPLIT CROATIA

2009-10-07T01:10:00.002+10:00

Split Croatia in background
we found a whole store of converse shoes in a back street but it was sunday and it was shut [we are hunting for unique shoes for kieran]

The waterfront is a long line of boardwalk palms and cafes

We slept after captain Tommy's announcement. We were in Split from 7 to 3 but it is a tender port which menas you have to go to shore in little boats. we had decided just to walk around and look ourselves the toen is right there. this was a good choice as it is a beautiful old town best seen by wandering the back streets. We didn't rush and went to breakfast first. [MORE FOOD and everything you could want - hot cold cereAL FRUIT EGGS COOKED HOW YOU WANT AND ENGLISH AND ITALIAN BACON.] oops The foreshore in Split is gorgeous park and date palms all along with seats under. We went under a really old building that had markets. The Palace [hich is actually what the old town is based on was built in 300AD. It is all crumbling and falling down everywhere which is quite amazing. There was an amazing round room in the middle with a hole in the roof that had 5 male singers[who were basically the croatian version of the ten tenors]They of course had cds for sale.
OMG KIERAN we found a whole converse store in a little back street that actually only had converse so hundreds of different pairs. thats the good news. the bad news is it was sunday and the shop was shut.ARRRGH. they did have the ACDC ones but we couldn't see the Pink floyd through the window but their were some that looked interesting. You might have to google converse in Athens, Mykonos Geneva and paris lol.
We wandered back to the boat and a late lunch. terry didn't want lunch but still managed 2 plates and dessert. We had a wander around the ship and had a game of putt putt [I won] and then we had a meet and greet for the people who we had met online in the forums before the cruise. We had nibbles laid on by the ship and it was interesting meetng others as know we have more people to say hello to as we walk around. They were all americans except a girl and her Mum from brussels.
we stayed there quite awhile and then spend som e time in our room. terry got addicted to a movie and then we got dressed for dinner. We sat with a couple from ireland, a couple from london and 2 young women from scotland. They had a sad story they are travelling with their parents and brother and about an hour after getting on the boat their brother had an epileptic seizure and ended up having to be taken to venice hospital by ambulance so the parents had to stay behind. He has cerebral palsy and has had seizures before but not for ages and the girls said he was just really tired and over excited whcih probABLY TRIGGERED IT.[damn caps lok] Anyway we had another pleasant dinner. tried some californain red wine and terry had a budweiser beer. Lamb shanks tonight and a risotto with scallops for entree. Our dinner was ages tonight and we missed the start of the nights show which was an elton john 'impersonator'. We still made it for some and he was very good. The end was funny he did crocodile rock and got people up on stage and there were seriously people from 2 to about 82.
Being slack as we are after that we were ready for bed. We have another early arrival in Corfu in the morning.

DAY 12 LEAVING ON CRUISE

2009-10-06T01:10:00.006+10:00

Cruising out from Venice at 5 in evening. we watched from a bar high up on ship with a margarita.

The ship sails out through a passage between two parts of venice and passes the entrance to the Grande Canal. [at the end where San Marco is [just about on the right in that photo.
the view from our cabin window soon after sailing with the sun setting
We didnt have to be out of hotel until 11 this morning so had a bit of a loaf before packing and having breakfast. We then had to ,lug our bags over the new bridge to the piazzala roma to get a shuttle bus to the port. It is not a long walk but if only the very renowned architect had thought to ramp the middle of the steps[which would have been very very easy] life would have been much simpler. terry made the mistake of packing all the books we have been buying in his suitcase making it very heavy. Of course he just dragged it up and down the steps so the poor handle could not cope and is now bent at the bottom pretty much rendering it useless.. At least once you are at the bus they put your tags on bags and the porters put on the ship. We got on the boat about 12.30 and the food and luxury started straight away. there is so much food and so much variety. Terry was in pig heaven. Hot meals, cold meals, and lots of lots of desserts. Terry had about 6 desserts!!!! Just had to try them all (or at least a good selection).

Made our way to our room to check it out. Room is superb with a large window to look out. Bags hadn't come yet so we couldn't unpack. Decided to go up to the top most lounge - Viking Bar and shouted ourselves a margherita each. This onw was drink of the day which menat it was a bit cheaper and we also got to keep the glasses which were pretty cool. By this time it was time for the mandatory escape drill where we had to line up at our designated msuter points and the crew ticked off our names. We didn't have to wear our life jackets which was jsut as well as the area was crowded with people and we woulod have needed twice the area.

Back to the rooms, unpacked the bags and got ready for dinner, which again was sumptuous. We had 'My Time' dining, which means no set times and no set table number, ie different people every night. This night we had various English and Irish people. Interesting conversation. One English guy was quite funny but boy was his wit dry. [Terry forgot to say their names were Harold and Maude lol] [Heard the next night it didn't matter as it was just a guy with a slinkie.or a lot of giant slinkies]Dinner took about two hours so we missed the show we were going to go to. It was a great dinner 3 courses with about 6 choices for each. By this time, it was time for bed. Unfortunately theWe had proscuito and melon and spicy tomsto soup for entrees. Atlantic salmon and steak fior main and somehting yum that i cant remember fior dessert. double beds was again two single beds pushed together, so terry got to sleep in the middle section again!!!! But fairly comfortable and slept like a log until Captain Tommy made his announcement at 7 am to say we had landed at Split, Croatia. Appreciated the announcement. NOT!!!!!

DAY 11 VENICE

2009-10-06T01:09:00.003+10:00

An interesting scuplture on the canal entrance to the peggy guggenheim gallery.
below - I am really there lol

Our mission today was to the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery. last time we were in Venice we didn't even know it existed. We meandered throught the back streets only stopping to take the OCCASIONAL [lol] photo of another wall door or window. of theIt is a big walk but it weas yet again a beautiful warm day with a cooling breeze in the shade. The Guggenheim is absokutely amazing and anyone who goes to Venice should not miss it. A little art history. peggy Guggenheim was known as the 'Mistress of Modern Art'. She was a passionate collector and major patron whjo amassed one of the most iportant collections of 20th century art embrasing cubism abstraction, surrealism and american abstract expressionism. The daughetr of rich AND PROMINENT PARENTS oops [her father Benjamin went down with the Titanic in 1912]. She was drawn to the avante garde srtistic community of Paris. She bought works by and befriended such artists as Giacometti, Pollock and Mondrian. In 1938 she opened her first gallery of modern art in london followed by the "Art of this Century" gallery in New york. After a brief marriage to max ernst she returned to europe setting up her collection in venice where she lived until her death in 1979.
The amazing thing about this gallery is that it is housed in her beautiful home on the grande canal. It is such an amazingly intimate setting to see such works of art. I was literally 6 inches away from a picasso[admittedly behind glass] but the glass was just inside the fame so where else could you get that close. She had rooms full of every modern artist you would know if you studied at all. Those already mentioned and Dali, Calder,Tanguy, Kandinsky,Duchamp, and many many more lesser known artists. Every room houses paintings and each has a photograph of the room as it was set up when Peggy lived there. You can also wander in the sculpture garden and walk out the front doors onto the patio on the canal and sit and imagine how wonderful a life she would have lived.
We stopped and had a light lunch and wine overlokking the garden. You seriously could spend hours here.
terry then decided to go back over the accadamia bridge to look at the La Fenice Opera House [which was severely damaged by fire in the late 1990's and rebuilt. it featured in a book we had both read called 'the City of Falling Angels' To cut a long story short Dad got us lost lol. A short walk became long [yet again] In his words slightly longer - in my words a bloody long way longer.Of course the opera house was closed lol he had not checked the opening hrs so we have photos of the outsaide only.
After that we wandered over to San Marco square and had a quick walk through before catching a vaporetta back to our hotel whcih was at the other end of the grande canal. it was packed with tourists but after a few stops we were lucky enough to get seats near the window so i got some great shots on sunset wioth the light on the water.
We werent going to eat much but the takeaway things were not great looking so we stopped for a quick dinner and a bottle of wine before bed.
We are leaving in the morning for the cruise.

Day 10 Florence to Venice

2009-10-06T01:05:00.004+10:00

The rialto bridge above and the new bridge below

Guess what terry watcjhed even though it was in Italian

Very sad to leave Florence today as it is such a beautiful place made even better by the wonderful hotel we stayed in and the fabulous service. [Hotel David] We headed of to the train station to catch our Eurostar train to venice. Lucky we booked our tickets when we had arrived in Florence as the carriage we were in was full. The trip takes about 2 hr 40 mins and is interesting because of the beautiful scenery. We had a bit of a drama after our first stop. the train stops briefly in about 4 or 5 places. we stopped in Bologna. There was a family of about six muslims on the train. We got stuck behind them putting all their bags in. When the train takes off from the station there is no warning - no bells or announcements. the doors just shut and of it zooms. we took off from bologna and there is suddenly yelling screaming and then crying and it appeared that one of the kids or someone in the party was not back on the train. I think one of the young girls. The poor mother was banging on the door and then someone pushed the emergency button which stops the train but also locks it down so no doors are opened. These are the fast trains so we had gone a fair distance past the station already. The guard came and was not too happy - we could understand that it was a serious issue etc etc. They got the person back on but they had to pay some money and show their passport and the guard said then that they would have to write to have the money refunded. i imagine it would have been a substantial amount as well. the moral is be early and be on and don't get off lol.

We arrived in venice to blue skies and walked quickly to our hotel as we have stayed here before and it is only a short walk from the train. We settled into our room which is a huge contrast from the last hotel and cost nearly as much. Venice is incredibly expensive though so it was good value for what we got for the area.

we decided to go for a wander and check out the new bridge Ponte di Calatrava that has been built over the grand canal. this has caused a huge controversy in venice. It is a streamlined modern bridge with interesting glass steps designed by was designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, whose past projects have included the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain, the Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, and the precedent-setting "twisting torso" skyscraper in Malmö, Sweden.. It is actually quite convenient as it crosses directly near the train station to the piazzale roma. This is the main transport hub with buses to the port and airport and mainland. Venice itself has no transport other then boats [and gondalas of course] and while you can drive or bus to this piazzale over the bridge from the mainland you are still separated from venice itself by the Grand canal. It is a funny tourist trap. I heard some canadians sitting opposite us on the train talking as they were going on a cruise that afternoon. there are 2 venice stations Mestre on the mainland and santa Lucia on the Island. they were talking about getting a taxi to the port so when we stopped at mestre they looked confused and I told them they needed to get of there to get bus or taxi to the port. [I had seen their huge bags and the way they were talking u could tell they didn't want to walk] They got up but I think someone else going on the cruise further up must have told them they didnt need to get off as they were still on when we left station. it was funny then when we got to santa Lucia and they realised they had to get train back to mestre or walk lol.

Anyway we wandered over the new bridge and then venice is just too beautiful so you have to wander down the back streets. We decided to take the long way back by cutting through the back streets to the Rialto bridge to cross to the other side and wander home. we stopped for some shopping and coffee [OMG I got a gorgeous purple bag for ten euro] It was funny because I was using my new purple bag I bought in Florence and every second shop has purple as the highlight fashion color in venice. I could have decked myself out in a lifetime of aubergine clothes.

By the time we wandered back also stopping in a couple of churches it was around 7 so we had dinner at a restaurant right on the canal. Gnocchi with scallops and zucchini yum and fried assorted fishes yum.

Day9 Florence

2009-10-01T06:07:00.004+10:00

Tuscany from San Gimignano

What does this remind you of Kiz jem Kahlzia ??? Didn't you wear that to school lol.

Today we had to get up a little earlier as we had organised a bus tour that lefgt at 8. We visited San Gimignano a beautiful small town not far from Florence. It is called the city of a thousand towers alrthough now it only has 14. It once had 72. It was on the pilgrims road from london to rome and of course settled a bit by the wealthy. There was a tradition not unlike some of our males [rofl] where the bigger they kept trying to build bigger and bigger towers. they showed wealth so the biogger the tower the more wealthy they were. Eventually they did much like the gold coast and make it illegal to build a tower over 50 metres. It is known for its saffron which I didn't see anywhere and a white wine whcih is ubusual as tuscany is known for reds. we bought a bottle whcih we have just enjoyed with dinner and it was a bargain for 3 euro.
Next on to ****** wait for it ******** Siena. Yes i know i said i wouldnt ever go there but I did lol.
There is a story behind this. Our children went to a high school that opened on the Sunshine Coast called Siena. There uniforms were black and white and they had photos everywhere of the marble church in Siena. they even did a Paolo [horse race ] around their oval. I personally thought it was all crazy and irrelevent to a school on the coast in Australia. It was purely coincidental we went there as it was the best day trip to do. The Gods however knew I was coming as just when we go to the church and I went to take a photo to prove I was ther my camera battery was flat. thats ok we charged the second one overnight. No it wouldnt work either. So no photos. I couldnt resist ringing kieran to tell him my woes and he suggested the mobile phone [doh] so I do have proof.
We even saw where the real horse races are held. The best bit is however something I don't remember anyine ever telling me about siena [although kieran kahlee jem you may know better] Siena is the home to St Catherines HEAD yes the actual head. behind glass and looking very small in a special alcove of a church. She looked a little like [hail mary 6 times] Michael Jackson as her nose of course was gone as are her eyes.
Onwards to Castellina - a very small medieval town that we really only had a toilet stop and short walk up one st
Last to a vineyard way up on a hill. we had a wine tasting and boy ui wish i had more money and their would have been shipments coming home. Every wine we tasted was beautiful and smooth. About 7 to 12 euro but if you got shipped something like 22. They also had beautiful olive oils.
Very tired we made our way back to Florence about 7.30 and after a slight hiccup with finding a bus stop we managed to get home. We tried a little panini type shop to grab something to go woht dinner and OMG it was good. Rice with porcini mushrooms and unbelievably good pork ribs followed by a creme caramel.
We had the night in our room recovering and eating. Tomorrow we are headed to venice for 2 nights and then leave on the cruise. We won't be able to access the internet so much so may not be around as much but will try and catch up when we can. there is access on the ship but i think it costs.
we are hoping the sun follows us as it has been quite cold in paris [around 16] so we may have a big change of weather.

Day 8 - Florence

2009-09-30T03:22:00.005+10:00

Hmm is that a buddha ? or what terry will look like after the trip ??? a statue in the gardens at the palace and below the view from way up in the gardens looking back to the city of Florence.

Well it's Tuesday, 29/09 in Florence time. Yet another clear blue sky for us. I think the Italian gods are smiling on us. Another late start as we slept in. I think the constant walking has caught up with us. After a full breakfast for Terry (I'm can be a bit of a guts!) we got started around 11 am and got a bus up to the Ponte Vecchio bridge (to limit the walking this time) and headed to the Palazzo Pitti. This building is a huge palace first built for the Pitti family in 1458 and since used as the official residence of Florence's rulers including various Grand-Dukes. In 1919 the Savoy family handed the building over to the state and it is now a museum housing an enormous collection of artworks by many famous artists including Raphael, Donatello, Rubens, Titian to name just a few. In fact some of the best artwork we thought was on the ceilings, to rival the work in the Sistine Chapel. Simply stunning!!!

There was also a Modern Art section which included some work by a recent artist (circa 2006) which I didn't really like [sharon typing now] it was actuallly interesting as just like very very big impasto strokes in old old frames so sort of a comment on old art works. In old frames which made it more interesting. Basically all they did was capture the colors of tuscany. The rest of the modern art was not what we would think of as that but just the artwork after the really old stuff rofl.[18th to mid 20th century] It was interesting reading in each rooom as styles evolved and of discussions of the artista trying to move out of the stereotype of the older styles. the painting became more realist and subject matter differnt and moving away from the church. depictions of war rioting and then towards pointillism like the work of surat. [but these were tuscan works]
The palace also has an amazing traditional italian formal garden the boboli gardens. While really intyeresting it is a formal garden of hedges and not many flowers. Also involves heaps andf heaps of steps as it goes up a hill. It was interesting to wander through.

We also saw the Museo degli Argenti [silver museum] that really didnt have much silver in ther e lol]. It did however house some amazing frescoes and painted rooms in Trompe de leil [OK I am too tired and had too much Chianti to remember how to spell that] basically everything was painted walls and the dome ceilings and they just looked real. like they had verandahs etc on them.

After all the walking and steps and art we gave the other gardens a miss as we couldnt even easily find them and apparently they are up a big hill. instead we wandered back down the street past a store we had seen on the wy in that was great leather at great porices. [and got Emma Leigh and Jemmas presents] and an extra wallet for me lol. Wandered von and saw a supermarket so picked up a bottle of sorrnto limoncello. [only 6.50 eusro] baileys in the big bottle was only 12 eurto so we should really complain in australia about our prices.

We decided to stop for a bottle of chianti and shared a pizza and tortellini before catching the bus home along the river home just in time for happy hour.

We had written this whole post and stupid blogger did soemthing and deleted the whole thing so this is the second version. Excuse the spelling mistake spls I am too tired to fix them all lol.

GUESS WHERE I AM GOING TOMORROW OMG ********** SIENA help me Kieran lol

We are going on a bus tour to siena and a lovely old town near here called san gimignano and then through Chianti [yes it is a place as well as a wine] to Castellini and to a renowned vineyard for a snack with wine before returning to Florence.
Did I say that it was another perfect day here in Tuscany ??????????????

day7 florence

2009-09-29T06:52:00.004+10:00

What are you doing here Jim ????

From the middle of the Ponte Vechio [i was much happier then i look lol]
below it is lucky to rub the pig's foot - funny everywhere we go there is something to rub or touch to be lucky.

Writing this at 11pm after a fabulous dinner and day. Sunny and perfect yet again. We had a bit of a slow start as we saw so much yesterday then headed of to the Ponte Vechio. It is a bridge full of jewelry stores. Pretty much 3 stores over and over again and worth it only for a look and the view from the middle. i did get a good photos but it is too huge prob to put here until I edit the size. We were going to some gardens but didn't find them lol. We wandered in and went back to the Duomo again as yesterday the main part was closed to the public because of mass. The Baptistry and the museum were also open. the Museum del Opera di santa Maria del fiore. Michelangelo's Pieta that he made for his own tomb is in there. he made this one for his own tomb but it is unfinished as he hated the marble and how his work went [well thats the story anyway] A beautiful museum full of amazing statues and artwork and they let you take photos which is an added advantage. The museum also shows how they designed and built the Sante Croce Basilica. We wandered back after that to the florence leather school for a reason that is secret until presents are given out lol. After that we wandered back toward home stopping just near hotel for cakes and coffee. Then into the hotel gardens for a bottle of ine that extended into the free supper and then into dinner. We went back to the restaurant from a couple of nights ago with some australians from bendigo and americans from indiannapolis. Fabulous dinner and we couldn't resist trying the Florentine specialty the bistecce. A steak on the TBONE sold by the kilo. It is cooked pink in the middle and was absolutely delicious and perfect as this is a great little authentic restaurant. terry and I shared that with some fried vegetables and house red and finished of with homemade chocolate cake[made by mama] and profiteroles. the staff were great they patiently waited for us and shook our hands on the way out. I must say australians and americans together get a little loud lol but we had a great cultural exchange.

Everyone cheer for Jemmy who had her first CA exam and has been studying non stop. By the way we do have international roaming so can get messages. probably won't answer if you ring as the cost is high but messages are about 40 cents. We surprised jem with a text message before her exam.

Ok it is Tuesday morning here and we are wandering off to see a palace today.

Day 6 Florence

2009-09-28T18:19:00.003+10:00

View from the uffizzi

Another stunning clear beautiful day in Italy. Boy have we been lucky with the weather. Clear warm . [hot in the sun] but with a slight cool breeze so just perfect. We had the most successful day today. as it was sunday we just decided to walk and see what happened. First we headed over the nearest bridge to Church of Sante Croce an amazing church with a spectacular facade and housing the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. On the way we stumbled on the Florence Leather school which had a showroom and sales. Amazing beautiful one off handbags but even with the sale prices beyond my reach. We did get terry a wallet wiht his birthday money from his mum and also got a couple small gifts. Wandering on after looking in the church there are just streets full of leather shops. Eventually we went into one that was like an outlet store and I got a handbag and yes Kahlee YOUR PRESENT lol. I even waited about ten minutes while they got someone from there other store to bring the color I wanted [on a pushbike lol]. Mine was my present with my birthday money from mum and after all these years I decided to go worth a purple handbag - although it looked a lot less purple inside then out.
terry also climbed up the belltower and took some cool photos. The 415 steps were not my cupof tea.
We wandered on further and terry picked up a very stylish pair of italian shoes bargain priced.
We had been reading horrible stories of getting in to see the david and getting into the uffizzi and even looked online for tickets but the booked ones were sold out. We had decided just to wander up that way later in the day as they open until 6.50 and see what happened. Great choice. We walked straight in to the Museo del Accademie and stright in to see the david. It was quite inspiring and worth seeing but honestly if I had to wait for hours i could have missed it. They dont let u take any photos inside but I managed to sneak one.
the bonus was it was European heritage weekend and entry to all museums was free.
There is not much else in there to see so we walked of towards the uffizzi gallery. Stopping on the way for a Pizza and salad and glass of Chianti. A glass of the house wine here turned out to be their best Chianti and at 7 euros came in a huge glass but was seriously about an inch deep if that lol. It was good though lol.
Wandered to the gallery around 4.30 and the line was moving well and pretty small so it only took us about ten minutes to get in. Had to walk up 4 big flights of stairs but it is a great gallery. Again it was free which I think sped getting in up. the drawcard here is the Botticelli that is everywhere on tshirts etc. It was gorgeous of course but there were many more beautiful paintngs and sculptures. Many I remember way back in my Art History textbooks.
We basically saw the whole gallery before closing time and bought a couple of books to read about it all later. By now my feet totally were dead so we grabbed a gelati and wandered slowly back home [ which seemed a really long way tonight] Got back and dragged ourselves sytraight to the courtyard for a glass of wine and nibble. caught up with some other australians and then when thye left got talking to a mother and daughter from Indiannapolis who were lucky enough to win a competition giving them the trip and a day cooking school. We had an interesting discussion about health care as the US is looking into it all. Also Kieran had some great talk about HBO. the daughter is also addi cted to True Blood and mentioned that new one you have given us called Hung which she loves. The mum's face was funny when the daughter told her what it was about lol. She just rolled her eyes. She did say though that HBO is the only channel she thinks worth watching. I said we are just addicted to all american TV except reality. Funny thing was they could quote Crocodile Dundee and the biog knife scene and the daughter loved Priscilla Queen of the Desert lol.
Jemma if u read this u have to give me ideas for your pressie lol Kieran i nearly got u a second pair on connies but they didnt have your size. they were black with cool little flourescent green outlined squares. At footlocker here in florence.
Ok gotta go or Iwont be able to get up. It is another perfect day here so we are of to explore.

Day 5 off to Florence

2009-09-28T06:15:00.004+10:00

The david Copy at Piazzala Michelangelo

yes he made me walk up here
but it was worth the climb for the wine and the view
After a quite scary taxi ride to Termini station we headed to florence on the eurostar Italian train. It is only an hour and about 40 mins and a very comfortable journey. As we wouldn't be arriving until after 2pm at our new hotel I sent terry into a little grocery style store at the station to gte us a snack for the train. ROFL when I looked on the train he got a toblerone [because it was cheap] 2 bottles water and a bag full of hard lollies - hmmmmm made it to Florence and we grabbed a taxi to the hotel which has turned out to be fabulous. it is slightly out of the town centre but only probably a 20 minute walk along the arno river to the famous bridge Ponte Vecchio and the historical centre of Florence. we have a huge room with the biggest bed I have ever seen. terry and I could not even find each othert last night lol. It is almost the size of a double and single combined together. We have a bath yay and I just had to have one. It is a great old quiet hotel with antiques everywhere and we have buffet breakfast each day and they also have a little happy hour every night with some nibbles a light food like pasta and wine and juice. terry could not cope with doing nothing in the afternoon so we went for a walk just near the hotel which took us up to Piazzale Michelangelo - basically like a little piazza way up on a hill with a fabulous view. it was a bit of a climb and a lot of stairs which we took to save the long slow climb up the road. Fabulous view though and we have the photos to prove it. I made tTerry buy me a glass of wine and we had a fabulous insalata - basically an antipasto plate/salad combination but this one was in a shell liek tostadas come in. Totally yum especially with the olive oil. refreshed we wandered down the stairs which is pretty much as bnad as going up when you have sore feet lol and wandered back along the river to our hotel[Hotel david] Had bath got changed and went down for supper in the hotel. theer are some other australians here and we heard some talking and got a recommendation for a restaurant for dinner just down the rd or shoudl I say viaIt turned out to be fantastic very authentic and local. the momma was there watching over everything. I had fried calamari and when they say calamari in Italy it is not just squid but other assorted sea based animals. this time tiny octopus and fish. The waietr suggested some fried vegetables to go woth it and they were fabulous. Very thin strips of zuccini and eggplant and who knows what else all in an incredibly light batter and fried. Absolutely delicious. terry ahd a raviola that he woofed down and didn't even give me a taste. they then bought out a dessert menu handwritten on a scrap of paper. We had been told the home made tiramasu was great so i tired that and it was belissimo. Not like our australian version. very soft cake not overpowered with the syrup and creamy and delicious. we had soem whiote wine with the meal that was beautiful as well. then it was a short stroll back to bed lol.

2009-09-26T02:53:00.000+10:00

Day 4 Rome

2009-09-26T02:10:00.003+10:00

Yet again another beautiful clear sunny day. Up to about 28 degrees. I really didnt want to walk anywhere today but of course that is impossible. my feet had just about returned to normal size.
We headed of to the closest stop for the hop on off bus in search of a converse store to get Kieran's pressie. Found the perfect awesome pair right near the vatican in the footlocker store [and on sale]. We did waste a bit of time walking looking for another place before we got them. Jumped back on the bus and just stayed on it until we got back to the forum. again a bit of a strugkle as we couldnt really get in the lower end so it involved a bit of walkinga round exploribg. We got some interesting views from a different side though. Stopped for a snack of antipasto wine italian oysters and omg did I say i am addicted to buffalo mozzarella. this one was even better than the one thwe other night. HMMMMM yum. we had to sit a bit because our wine ended up being a whole bottle so the very nice witer convinced us to try the wild strawberries that were fabulous.
Wandered around the back streets a bit more and made our way back to hotel. i amlaying with my feet up and managed to get a longer network cable this morning so caught up on everything now. If I xan struggle of the bed to have a shower we may head out for a drink or somehting to eat but right now I am just happy to be not walking lol.
We are off to Florence tomorrow on the very fast train so that will pretty much be a rest day.

Day 3 in Rome

2009-09-26T01:57:00.003+10:00

The breakfast room in our hotel

Started the day walking to Campo di Fioro which is a big Piazza and had a big market happening. Lots of fruit and veggies and lots of cheap shirts, trinkets, etc. Just like the Saturday markets we have at home!! Did get a funny Simpson’s t-shirt though.
Made our way to Piazza Navone which is another big and famous area, with lots of tourists and people selling stuff, this time more paintings and sketches which looked much the same between the different sellers. I’m sure this Piazza was in the recent Angels and Demons movie.
We stopped at a cafe with a view for a drink. i had a cup of crushed ice with coffee over it and cream on top. very strong coffee but delicious. We continued on to the Pantheon and this time went inside. Saw raphael's tomb. Got tickets for the hop on hop off bus for 24 hrs. terry wanted to see Castelle sant Angelo [a castle] Walked around took heaps more photos. Stopped after that at the trevi fountain which was absolutely crushed with tourists.You do just have to go see it though. Jumped on bus again and got off at closet stop to home at bottom of the roman rd. We got some good shots from the top of the bus.
Walked from there stopping at a little restaurant in a cute little vine clad outdoor area. The had a good deal on a set menu. I think ordering of the full menu may be better way to go or else they don't know how to cook risotto in italy. It was delicious but like rice with a sauce - not what I was expecting. The grilled fish second course though was delicious. Grilled seafood - fish a squid and a thing like a crayfish.Yum drizzled with olive oil. A good meal for the price. we stopped and got gelati in the square on the way home. Up to 795 photos now.

Day 2 Rome

2009-09-25T16:18:00.001+10:00

above terry inside Vatican gardens
below outside St peter's Basilica
View over Rome from the hill

Day 2 in Rome. We had great buffet breakfast in hotel. Remember all the funny Italian packages pastries Kahlee ? The best thing was a real cappuccino with breakfast. Terry was happy too as he got a big pot of tea all for himself. We ate far too much – even the cerel was in big boxes.
We thought we would wander on down the river towards the Vatican and just see what happened. Good plan but the area of Travestere is very confusing even with the maps lolo so we got a little lost. Terry thought it would be a good idea to see what a building marked on the map was. Font Acqua Paola – we worked out that it was a fountain of some sort. Of course it was way up on a hill and the rd just kept going up. We finally get there and there are 2 armed guards but it turns out that the Spanish embassy is up there as well. We had a fabulous view over Rome fro m that high up and it was certainly worth the climb.
Next we meandered down the back streets to the Vatican.We thought we would wander towards the entrance and just see what lies etc like but got napped by a guy putting groups tpgether for tour. It was only a euro or two dearere then we knew was fair price so worth the convenience as she was just leaving and it was qwell organized and a good overview of the Vatican museum and the Sistine chapel. To be honest it was hard even to know where to go so being led was actually great. We went first to a little café for ten minutes for tolet stop and grab drinks food whatever. She showed us atm as we wnet past which we needed. The use the café as a starting point and the guy with headphone sets comes there and meets and you pay so it is convenient for all.
The tour guide was an American woman which seemed a little odd at first but she was very knowledgeable. She came to Italy with her extended family in 2000 and fell in love with it. Decided to come and finish her art degree in Rome and did tours to survive when she was studying. Now she teaches Italian and English for a jewellery company but still does a couple of tours a week. Terry enjoyed it as he got enough info to satisfy his need for knowledge. Did I mention that it was a perfect sunny warm day here in Rome. Despite the weeks weather forecast of storms rain and more rain. It was around 28 degrees so a little hot particularly in the sun and there were parts inside you needed to stand in front of a window.
The museums were great and the Sistine chapel awe inspiring. It was a little weird being in a room full to the brim with people though and guards every few minutes saying no photos and be quiet.Then every now and again they play a taped message saying the same. Far too many people on one place for me lol. The guide told us to go to the back of the room and honestly she was right. We even managed to get the best seats in the house before we left. After that we went into St Peters basilica to have another look. [we saw it last time we were in Rome] I must day I think it is even more beautiful then the Sistine chapel but I guess there is something very specila about seeing the SC. As it was late in the afternoon no real quaue [I am too tired to spell sorry] W e were the last people allowed in to see the tombs of the popes which of course terry had to do.
By this time my feet were killing me and we began the slow walk home along the tiber river. Not getting lost this time. In Travestere the cobblestones are absolutely everywhere and not as well maintained so they have huge gaps with no filling and even huge wholes. So u have to watch your feet constantly.
Back to hotle, had showers after a warm sticky day and went to doinner at a recommended restaurant Ai Fionelle. It was great except terry can’t speak Italian which didn’t matter but he also has forgotten what a litre is lolo. So we got a litre of rose which was a lot for 2 people lol. The funniest thing was when a young waitress said ‘Oh U have managed a litre of wine between you. It was very nice though light and chilled and slightly bubbly so a perfect end to the day. Diner was also fabulous. I had mussels that were magnifico and really a meal in themselves and then greek lamb abd little cubed potatoes. Terry had an antipasto which again was huge and it had the most delicious buffalo mozzarella.Then he had some beef strips in a spinach salad. Huge again. He stuffed himself on the bread of course so had to sit and digest for ages lol. 60 euro all up which was quite good for wverything we had. That’s the advantage of staying in the area the locals live and not the tourists drag.
So then to bed

We've arrived in Rome

2009-09-22T21:21:00.002+10:00

Terry here for Sharon. Well we arrived in Rome at about 10:30 Rome time which is 6:30 at night Brisbane time, ie we travelled for 28 1/2 hours, with stopvers in Singapore and London. Singapore was about 2 1/2 hours and London was 1 1/2 hours but was only about 20 mins by the time we got to the British Airways lounge. Heathrow is so HUGE!!!

Well the travelling part went ok, but the getting out of Rome Airport was unbelievably slow. First there is a transit train to take you from your arrival point , just to get you to the luggage pickup and customs. That's ok but the trains which are supposed to come every two minutes but sat for about 20-30 minutes which meant a huge pile of people, which then meant a huge line to get through Immigration for non EU travellers!!! So we stood for ages just to have a guy stamp the passport, no questions, no queries, no nothing.

At least our pick-up was still there, but had to wait for an hour for us. Also our luggage made it through too. Yay!!! I had real concerns it wouldn't be there, particularly with two transfers and one of them being heathrow.

But as Sharon would say OMG Rome traffic is CRAZY!!! Not sure if there are any road rules but he did get us to the hotel in one piece, although with one hiccup as there are two hotels with similar names and owned by the same people and of course we went to teh wrong one first.

But at least we're here in the Eternal City for the next four nights. Look out for the next "exciting" adventures of Sharon and Terry.

Singapore Airport

2009-09-21T23:00:00.003+10:00

Took photos of clouds on the way lol and some interesting pics of streaks of lights as we landed. There are all sorts of cool textures in the lounge but I may look wierd if I start taking photos. I just had the best shower ever with three nozzles on the wall shooting at your body at different angles. OMG I want one at home. Got to watch angels and demons although the screen was rather small [hard reading the subtitles] Then because we are going to Greece watched My Life in Ruins which really was only good for the greek man and the scenery lol. kerrie don't worry I will bring us back 2 just like him lol. Then to keep me awake got my fix of David Tennant in the Dr who special from a year ago. Can always watch that again. Terry got greeted after we took of by the head steward [cause he is a platimun member who asked if we were travelling for something special. Of course it was a bad idea to tell him our anniversary - he not only brought us champagne but on landing announced to the whole plane where we were sitting and everyone clapped and cheered. OMG how embarrassing. keeping that a secret now. So about 8 hrs flying out of the way but the next leg is longer. Please oh please let me be ablt to sleep lol

At the airport

2009-09-21T13:01:00.001+10:00

travellig is way better with a platinum Frequent flyer member. I am sitting in the first class lounge with unlimited help yourself alcohol and drinks and yummy food. had smoked salmon sandwiches yummy little macaroons some fruit nuts water first then very very nice pinot noir. I just wish I had the first class seat to go with it all. It is all so civilized. terry went to get our tourist refund for the little laptop lol and funny story i stayed behind in comfort with the little laptop lolo
just when I got on msn to kerrie he comes back because of course he has to show it.
As you would expect it then takes te another 20 mins to reconnect lol.
we havr about 20 mins to go so just time for a baileys on ice and then I will be totally relaxed. With a bottle of water on the side of course lol

The Big Trip the night before

2009-09-20T22:44:00.003+10:00

Tomorrow morning we leave on our anniversary/birthday trip of a lifetime. It is 10.45 pm and someone [not me] still has not totally packed his bag and is using the excuse of going through some brochures of paris to watch Rove. This morning he said he would only take 5 mins to pack and it took him 20 mins just to get the suitcase out. Might be lucky i packed him extra deodorant.

Note to self - make him wait on me even more than usual to make up for me doing everything except earn the money to pay for the trip.

This will be the last time I use this computer for weeks and I am withdrawing already. From the morning it will be Terry's new little 10inch Acer [that he really needed for work lol] No Photoshop [ahhhhh] no bookmarks [arghhhhh] but I guess I will survive.

Ok time to sleep . off to the airport at 10 in the morning.