we have just plotted our trip have a look /cheers don and tina
No long to go, just trying to decide what to pack, how many pairs of shoes do I take. Tina
Leave for Europe on Wednesday
Testing
Our Bags are packed and we leave for the airport in an hour. It feels great to have finished work and starting out on this journey
Finally arrived at Rick & Jackie after along 23 hrs, great to be up front made all the difference.
Got into Zurich at 6am, Rick picked us up had a few beers, lunch and a few more beers, went and sat down at lake Constance, had a few more drinks, see the lovely photo with the lake in the background!!! The temperature is 23 .
They have a drought, not been much rain for a few months
it is now 6pm and we are starting to slowly go down, another few hours and we will be visiting the blanket show!!!
Today was a day of visiting a few areas close by as like Melbourne everything is closed. Went to a forest, Rick and Jackie wanted to cycle there, this did not happen as most of you know bikes are not for me!!! We drove to the forest parked and walked, then it was off to lake Bondesse had lunch of fish and a few beers, I normally don't drink beer but the beer is ok especially with a dash of lemonade! Had a long walk, got a bit of sun the temp reached 25, then headed back home for a quick rest, then off to Heidi's (Jackie mum) place for dinner.
All the sun and walking tired us all out didn't have a very late night. Off to Germany tomorrow to do a bit of shopping.
Left home around 10am, half hour drive around the lake with Rick, Jackie, Aisha and Jackie's Aunty Esther to a small port Kreuzlingen which is on th Swiss side, boarded a packed ferry then headed off for a drop off/pickup to a small Island called Mainau, which consisted of a butterfly enclosure and lots of different plants/flowers, ( we didn't get off how many butterflies do you want to see!!!) we are now in Germany.
The buildings along the bank of Meersburg look great each one is different colours and a large castle sits amongst it all, very busy lots of tourist because of the Easter break.
Meersburg Castle was built in th 7th Century and has never been taken by force. Don & Rick loved the torture rooms and armory. Weather 24 and sunny.
Left home around 8am and met Rennie at the bottom of the mountain.Took the gondolier up to the top of Hoher Kasten which is over 3000 Meters above sea level, Rick & Jackie say it's much better to walk down than up.
Had coffees and beers in Dreh restaurant Hoher Kasten This is a revolving restaurant, takes about 1 hr to do the full circuit, we didn't stay the hour had to get on our way for the big walk. The decent was great still snow around temp around 13 a bit windy but sunny, steep in parts, took us about an hour to reach our first stop. By the time we got to our lunch spot, Don's knees wouldn't work couldn't hardly walk going down, ok on walking up, plus he twisted his ankle, really need to have good walking shoes. Had lunch at a farm house that has been converted into a restaurant, a few beers later and of course Rennie made us all have a shot if schnapps, told us it would help digest the food, it tasted and smelt terrible ( it could take paint off the wall!!) no way we were going to have 2. We were going to go onto another part of the mountain but Don couldn't walk down, so Jackie, Rennie & Aisha hired scooters to go down the bottom, that did not happen for me , Rick & I walked down took us about 40 minutes not to hard compared to the first bit. Ended up being really warm day, got home around 4pm, early night for all tonight, iced Dons ankle all is ok nothing broken, hopefully the legs will get moving because it's the
end of Easter and all the shops are open tomorrow!!
Drove around to Kresuzlingen and walked across to Konstanz which is on the German side of Lake Bodensee.
Spent a good part of the day leisurely wandering around, got home around 4pm had a few hours rest then went out to the pirate restaurant with Rick, Jackie, Rennie & Conny, the restaurant was in St Margrethen which is near the Austrian border. Of course the theme was pirates, great restaurant lots of fun, food was great, lots of drinks and of course many shots, the entertainment was karaoke after a number of shots of rum (this was given to everyone that was dining, you swig the shot then suck a orange, what else do pirates drink!!) and shots of schnapps thanks to Rennie.
Rick, Don & yours truly got up and sang the song down under, after a few more shots I met a girl from Zurich band we sang mustang Sally, last song of the night we cleared the room!!! We got home around 1am, and
surprisingly no one had hangovers.
Wednesday- had a quiet morning, Don & I decided to go for a walk ended up taking a ferry across to Friedrichshafen (German side) stayed for the afternoon just wandering around got back home around 5pm, having a quiet night in and a barbie.
Went for a drive to a town called Schaffhausen made famous by Europe's largest waterfall, the Rhine falls, are 150 m wide, we took a ferry across and walked around on platforms close to the falls, found a lovely beer garden at the top ( Laufen Palace) we were both surprised at how large the falls were. We then drove to a lovely town called Stein am Rhein, many of the towns Medieval buildings remain, there are numerous 16th & 17th cent houses decorated with frescoes, scenes from the old testament and ancient mythology , lots of little shops and cafes, ended up finding a little restaurant over looking the Rhine and had dinner, the weather was great during the day a storm blew up just as we finished dinner but didn't last too long, both these towns were on the Swiss side. A lovely end to our stay in Swiss.
Friday - caught a train from St Galen to Zurich airport for our flight to Prague, arrived in Prague city around 2.30pm took us awhile to navigate our way to our hotel as the airport bus only dropped us at the station, it was supposed to be 10 min walk I think it took us 1/2 an hour , anyway got to the hotel in the end staying at the Icon nice hotel and in a great location. We walked for hours there are lots of different areas within Prague city, the old and new town are very different, lots of tourists very diverse, shops, markets open till late we got back at 10pm.
Up early today as we wanted to visit Prague Castle before the crowds, the castle isn't far but you wouldn't walk it after getting a tram ticket, (yes Prague has trams very similar to Melbourne but the ticket system is much more efficient) and finding the right tram we got to the castle around 9.30am lots of tour groups, surprised to see so many people so early, we then realized that it was Saturday. I didn't expect that we would stay that long ended staying for about 3 -4 hrs. The castle was founded in the year 880 the architecture, artwork and history was interesting. Well worth it. Decided to catch the tram back to a random stop and walk. Prague has lots of different areas, there were a lot more tourists than normal as they have the Easter markets from 9/04 - 1/05 we have been lucky enough to be here for a couple of days for this, market stalls, food, music everything is open until around 11pm, although it is the lead up to summer and the shops are open later, I imagine the shops would close a lot earlier in winter, Prague is a very clean and safe city, there were no touts or beggars. Did a tour visiting the undergrounds of the old city in the Oldtown square from the 12th century, 7 meters beneath the ground there are hidden rooms, cellars and wells, we only visited a small area underground, a lot of restaurants have now incorporated the underground rooms, infact at the end of the tour we had a drink at a bar/restaurant underground. We had a great day wandering around ended up walking for about 10 hrs, the feet are a bit tender.
Leaving for Vienna tomorrow.
Left Prague at 10.39am arrived in Venna 3.22am, European rail travel is exactly on time, the train train trip was good much easier travelling this way. Got to our hotel which is in a great location right near the Opera, dropped the bags quick change and went out to explore, walked for a few hours, surprised at how busy it was everyone seemed to be out on a Sunday night, found a little Austrian restaurant up a side street, after a schnitzel & chicken cordon blu and a bottle of wine we headed back home to relax.
Monday - today was a day of trying to navigate our way around, bought the Vienna card which allows you to use all public transport and gives discount to lots of attractions for 72hrs, well worth the money just for the travel alone. Vienna is not what we expected yes there are lots of museums, parks and opera, it is not what we
Expected thought it would be a bigger version of Salzsburg, which is much nicer.
We lined up at 6pm to get tickets for standing room for the opera, which only cost 3 euro if you want to book tickets for seats it costs between 60-80 euro big difference, and not worth it, also you don't have to stay until the end. Had a wander to find somewhere to eat and surprised how early things close on a week night big difference from the day before.
Took a tour up the Danube to Wachau, we stopped at the town Krems which is full of old wine merchants, had a very quick look around and a few photo snaps as it was freezing and raining, temp was around 10 coldest weather so far, then onto the bus to visit The Benedictine Abbey of Melk, one of Austria's most famous Baroque buildings, had lunch at the restaurant then a guided tour through the Abbey. The abbey was built in the 10th Century it has 500 rooms only 40 rooms on show, not all rooms opened at once, it is still a working monastery and school as well, this was a full day trip but was well worth it. Got back to Vienna around 6pm had a quick rest then out to look for somewhere for dinner, ate at the same little restaurant we found on the first night, food was good and the schnapps was ok. Heading back we found a casino wanted to go and have a look but we had to have our
passports with us for ID, it's a law they have here, probably not a bad idea.
Wednesday - we decided to have a lazy day of wandering around to a few different areas, away from the city
centre to see if the shopping was any better, it's not, Vienna is very expensive and there was nothing that stood out to say I want that also they don't seem to have the little nooks and crannies that you always hunt out when
your on holidays. On our wanderings we found a site that had started excavation in 1991, buildings that were 2000 years old from the Romans were found underneath, this has now been left and sectioned off, it is in the middle of a square with cathedrals surrounding it. Managed to catch the last 45 mins of the Spanish horses
morning exercise, the riders and their horses do Relaxing and aim at refining certain movements this is all done to music. Spanische Hofreitschule is in the middle of the city the horses are kept here and have shows on
weekends and morning exercise everyday, it was great to watch.
Tomorrow we are off to Nice France. Goodbye Vienna.
Flew Niki air to Nice flight took 1hr 20 min , great flight considering that we only paid 4 euro for the flight, even got a sandwich and drink. Arrived around 2 pm changed clothes, weather was around 20 and headed to explore, beaches are rocks of course, which is very funny to see people laying their towels out on the rocks, there are so many restaurants lined up with chairs and tables all facing out to the sea, also lot of leathery looking people!!
The old town is much better found a market which had some interesting bits and pieces, had dinner away from the beach in a small restaurant that catered for everything, a few drinks then back home for a restful night, Our hotel iis in a great location it only has 9 rooms a small private courtyard which our room opens to, and the owners are great and very helpful.
Friday- so many choices of restaurants /cafes breakfast is a quick crossiant and coffee, found the flower/produce market, found a guy that was an artist and had some interesting paintings we ended buying a small one after buying a few pastries and fruit we headed off to Monacco the no 100 bus got us there in about 40 minutes, what a town it so clean and very expensive, thought the women of Nice were tanned the ones in Monacco are a lot worse and of course the popular color to wear is white, hmm I think white is the new black here!! Bought lunch
which was 2 cheese & tomato sandwiches bottle Of water & a coke cost 15 euro! And that was take away.
After a few hours decided to get the train back to Nice much quicker except we got off at the wrong station and decided to walk it took us an extra hour but was worth it found some good shops, bought my first handbag and it's the new black!! Met my friend Andrea (lives in London we haven't seen each other for 7 years) and her husband David for dinner, started out with a few drinks on the garden terrace of the Le Merridien then went to dinner at restaurant that was the market during the day and at night they set it up as restaurants, David then took us to a jazz club that they found the night before, everyone was speaking French but as soon as the singer came on he was singing in English Next thing everyone is singing in English, it was funny. After many wines we ended getting home around 1.30am, not good had an early trip to cinque Terre.
Got up both had very heavy heads due to a few too many wines the night before, caught the train from Nice to Ventimiglia on the Italian border, then needed to change to Italian train to go from Ventimiglia to Genoa to Monterosso, 10 minutes into the trip the lights go out in our carriage, it was so dark you could't see your hand in front of your face as we were going through klms of tunnels, 1/2 hr into the trip the guard comes through and tells us that 1st class is now going to move to 2nd class as the lights wern't working and it was a safety thing It was funny, so we had to move all our luggage and struggle to find seats, the guard came through and wrote something on our tickets about getting a discount, but we haven't even bothered about that one. Thankfully the last part of the trip went without any hitches. The hotel we're staying at is great it only has 11 rooms our room
overlooks the sea and is on floor 5 the top only problem it is 85 steps to our room no lifts, very hard to find any
lifts any where in Italy, not good when you're trying to lug a suitcase! I think we will have power legs by the. Time we get home.
Got up around 9:00am and had some Breakfest over looking the Mediterranean sea.
Met the chef who told us his name is Michele since he was born!! Funny
Once we finished we set off and caught the Train to Riomaggiore the 1st village and did a walk along the cliff face, to the 2nd village Manarola, the Cinque Terre is a protected marine area, there are a lot of paths that link the 5 villages some areas are really hiking areas which are a lot harder, the walk along the cliff face along the sea is easy but walking distances vary in time, the first town only took about 1/2 hr, there is a train that runs all the time between towns and takes 5 mins to get to each destination, that's what they tell you, we waited a lot longer than 5 minutes maybe it was because it was sunday!! village Manarola (village 2) to Corniglia (village 3) was
closed due to falling rock, we walked back to Riomaggiore quicker than waiting for the train, then got a train from there to Corniglia, this village is higher up only 365 steps or you can catch a bus, guess what we did!!
After seeing the sights and lunch we caught the train back to Monterosso for a bit of a break then
dinner in a little restaurant over looking the sea.
Interesting little villages, the funniest thing is seeing the locals sun baking on the rocks or anything that has a bit
of sunshine on it, we watched one woman that was probably around 60 walk down to the so called beach in a pair of heals took the heels off and laid on a canoe that was berthed just to get the sun on her already withered
Body.
Decided to do the hardest walk today from Monterosso ( village 5) to Vernazza (village 4) we were told it would take 1 1/2 hrs it took us 2 hrs that included stopping for a breather along with a few photo shots, it was hard in parts not too bad few areas were narrow but we've walked Swizerland! the first 1/2 hr of the walk was the hardest as there were lots of steps. Got into Vernazza around 12.30 in time for lunch, all the villages are good the 2 largest are Riomaggiore and Monterosso, have met lots of Australians along the way, very surprised at how many are here. Took the train back and rested the legs for awhile then went on a sunset cruise around Cinque Terre, the boat was run by Angelo & Paula tour only consisted of 8 people, they provided wine and tapas and some good Italian music, a lovely end to the night.
Tuesday - quiet day today took the train to La Spezia, got out of the station walked 100 metres and Don pointed out a shoe shop, I bought 2 pairs of shoes for myself and a cute pair of shoes for Kleo, could of bought more but I saved my self still have a long way to go, didn't really stay that long, enough time to have lunch then head back on the train, not really a place that you would stay more of a port lots of boats, and to use it as a point to change trains to go to major towns. Dinner and a few wines tonight then off to Milano tomorrow.
Train trip from Monterosso took 3hrs we got into Milano around 2pm, hotel was great the bathroom was huge compared to our little one on Monterosso, very close to centtral station as we an early start the next day. Did a quick change and went out to do a bit of exploring, very busy city and very well dressed people of all ages, found a place to to eat, I ordered a calazone, it was huge I felt like a pig compared to Don's serve of Lasagna had a glass of the local wine, everywhere we've been the local wine has been good, decided to go back to the hotel and come out later when it was cooler, it was around 30 but a really awful heat, also doesn't help when everything around you is concrete!!
Went back out around 8pm had 1 cocktail and was looking around for a place to have a snack, Don mentioned
that he wasn't feeling too well so decided to go back to the room, from then on he was sick all through the night, didn't think we would make it to Paris thought we may have to stay a extra night.
Thursday - up early as our train was departing at 6.40 am for Paris, it's a 7hr trip, Don thought it might be a nice trip also it's much easier as the train comes straight into the city, poor old Don didn't get to see much of it, he spent the trip throwing up, only managed to keep some water down about an hour towards the end of the trip, all he wanted to do was have a bath and a good sleep, we get to our hotel around 2.30 and the hotel is under renovations there's scaffolding everywhere, but luckily the rooms have been done, and the workers cleaned the street and the entrance to the hotel when they finished work around 5, just hope they don't start work too early.
I went out for a wander and brought back some light food and of course the lemonade, which he has had and as I write this is sleeping, hopefully he will be well enough to explore Paris, tomorrow is another day.
Decided to visit the Louvre, got there around 10am spent most of the day there can,t believe how big it is, it costs 10 Euro for all day, you can visit an area then go and have lunch, there are many shops underneath not only food but a shopping centre full on for tourist, it has four levels with 20 halls within each hall there are lots of rooms, we only covered about half of it. Visited the Egyptian Hall, French Sculptures 5th - 19th c, Italian Sculptures 16th -19th c Northern European Sculptures 17th -19th c, Italian Paintings 13th-15th c, Italian Paintings 16th-18th c, Spanish Paintings, French Paintings 14th-17th c & 19th c, we decided to finish around 4pm. At one of our breaks Don decided to go off and find the toilet being in a eating area one would think that there would be plenty around, that was not the case you actually had to line up in a shop that sold hand lotion and body products
then paid 1 euro to use it (paying 1 euro is very common to use toilets but not lining up in a shop).
Ate the nicest macaroons from McCafe, yes that's right The McCafe had all the lovely French pastries along with a lot of fancy coffees, puts a different meaning on the old Maccas!!
Saturday - headed out about 10am to find "Les Puces" which means flea market, after working our way around the train system, which is a very easy system to use again unlike what we have, we got there around 11am, I was expecting a junky market be there for a short time then move on, we got out of the station and there were
people and cars everywhere. Lots of clothing, shoes etc all this was new stuff everyone trying to haggle / hussle for a bargain this leads into Les Puces which is several markets together all selling different wares, the antiques are amazing, Marche Dauphine is the first market and consists of 2 floors, the first floor has lace and furniture, the second floor had old clocks,antique sports equipment, prints, posters, old books, Marche Paul Bert has old trunks, guns, helicopter propellers and other things, Marche Serpette is similar, The Marche Biron is one main street with alleyways coming off it, there was furniture, gold candelabras, chandeliers, poster, advertisements,The Marche Vernaison was more mixed with pocket watches, rhinestones, trinkets, a number of shops just sold Vintage Chanel found a fantastic bag but they wanted 395 euro for it, I don't think so!! This was an interesting place It's only open on Saturday, Sunday & Monday, you really have to watch though it's rife with pick pockets. We left there around 3 pm and headed to Sacre Cooeur in Montmartre, which is the Bascillica on top of the hill in Montmartre again a busy area but to be expected on a Saturday afternoon, we will go back to Montmartre before the end of our trip as there is a lot of exploring to do but today was not the right time as it's very hilly and we did enough walking for the day.
Left the hotel around 10am, decided to head towards the Seine to just wander around and explore a few different areas, first stop - The Sainte Chapelle, it was built by St Louis, King Louis IX, in the 13th c, it's Gothic architecture and 15 stain glass windows are beautiful the photos don't really do it any justice, next stop Notre Dame we didn't bother going inside this cathedral crossed Pont Marie onto a little Island - Ile St Louis, many of the buildings here date to the 17th c, the streets look much like the Paris we see in movies, a few small boutiques, restaurants and galleries, it' also the home of the world's best ice-cream, we didn't have any as it was a cold day, we did have great homemade crepes and hot chocolate in a tiny little place that use to be a house. We then walked the other side of the Seine to head to the Ritz, stopping along the way looking at art and old books/posters that are sold along the river.
Place Vendome is where Love in the Afternoon, with Audrey Hepburn & Gary Cooper was filmed in 1957, and of course the Ritz is here along with the world's renowned jewelers and fashion houses. Being a Sunday the shops here are closed but still plenty of people out doing what we were doing, we had afternoon tea at the Ritz, then strolled around and looked at the shops inside, found a couple of bags and jewelry pieces that would of looked good on me but I think they only opened for appointment only or maybe they were closed for a Sunday!!
Early start today we got picked up around 7.30am from hotel for a tour and tasting of Champagne, tour consisted of 7 people, we thought this was the best way for us to see Champagne considering it was my birthday and we both wanted to have a few champers. Trong our tour guide was fantastic, Provided us all with a light breakfast of croissants, juice, & coffee as he said we all needed this for a starter before we got to Champagne, which was about 90 min from Paris, he gave us a very good commentary along the way and yes he is half French.
Our first stop was the vineyards we were in-between Veuve Clicquot Crystal & Bollinger, we walked in amongst the vines, the vines are always kept short and no more than 7 branches are left on, but normally only 4/5
branches are used, the grapes are picked by hand so they don't get bruised, the grapes are on the vine for 100
days and are Chardonnay & Pinot Noir, all Champagne is blended it's a mixture of grapes from the different
Champagne region ( each Champagne has it's own style & secret recipe).
Next stop was a visit to a small Champagne house. Jean- Claude Mouzon in the region of Verzenay, Fredricka was the owner, it was really interesting to see how everything was done by Fredricka,her husband and father, from picking, blending and marketing, of course we got to taste her Champagnes and she was quiet happy to keep the glasses fillled, ended up buying a great Champagne and got Fredricka to sign it, Now just have to work out how e get it home!!! Next stop relaxing Lunch in a restaurant in Reims, after this we visited the Cathedral Notre Dame in Reims, amazing seen a few cathedrals in our travels this was huge. After this onto Tattinger did a tour of the cellars which were 20 meters underground which was the Abbey of the benedictine monks,
unique characteristics of champagne region is the chalk soil it's poruris and retains the water and generates humidity which is excellent for grape growing.
Got back to our hotel around 7.00 pm, long day but well worth doing the tour.
Decided to go back to finish off Montmartre, lots of so called artist sitting around painting and offering to do portraits some where really good others were so so, visited the Dali exhibition which was great, missed it in Melbourne only cost 6 Euro each which was a bargain, a few pieces for sale but decided against buying any need the space for a few more pairs of shoes!! After lunch decide to go and visit the Musee national de l'Orange which has collections from Guillaume, Monet, Impressionisme, got there and this Musuem was closed on Tuesdays, so we visited the Musee d'Orsay, it is on the left bank of the Seine housed in the former railway station built between 1898 & 1900, it holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, best known for it's collection of impressionist and post impressionist master pieces by painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, & Van Gogh. Last we visited this in 2007 you could take photos they have changed the rules here now no photos allowed. Weather ended up being around 20degrees.
Wednesday - decided to take a cruise of "old Paris" on the Saint -Martin Canal, our tour guide from champagne suggested it, the cruise takes you though 4 double locks and a couple of swing bridges, this was great very interesting and was only 2 1/2 hrs couldn't believe how low we started out in the canal to the different heights we travelled, it was well worth doing. After lunch we headed back to the Musee l'Orange which was closed on Tues but opened on Wed. By the end of the day we were both tired, although I fought on and went and did a bit of retail therapy on my own for a couple of hours, we have had a great time in Paris, I think we have seen enough Museums, Galleries to do us for awhile, we leave tomorrow for the next part of our trip Chicago.
We have been here for a couple of days, jet lag hit us this time, left Paris on the 19tth around 11am flew via Zurich our plane was delayed for awhile and finally got to Chicago around 4.00pm, it took us 1 1/2 hrs to get through customs, those guys are slow. Finally got to Victoria's sisters house around 6pm long day, had a quiet night a barbie and a few drinks finally hit the sack around 10.30 had along day we were up for nearly 24hrs.
We both woke refreshed looked at our clocks and it was 4am, ended doing our emails and catching up on the Melbourne news thanks to the IPad!!
Oak Park the district we ere staying in some parts of it is known as the Frank Lloyd Wright Historic District,
containing the world's largest group of Wright designed home, these homes date back to 1889, most are privately owned and have been restored back to the original. Huge homes and very unique styles. After this a little bit of shopping, Victoria, took us to a famous steak place in Chicago "Gibsons" which you will always see a celebrity eating there.
Sat- decided to check out the horse races at Arlington, it was small track but beautiful, it's one of the main tracks, in. Chicago I think sea biscuit ran there, Need to check that one out !! very casual and not crowded at all, we booked a table in the dining area, when they found out we were from Australia and members of MRC they set us up not only a window view but right on the finish line, the manager of operations Chris came and introduced himself, and chatted hospitality then said that the club was picking up the tab for us, need I say we had a great day, hospitality of this club was great
Sunday- we got taken to a baseball match the white Sox against the Dodgers first baseball match for us and it was good fun, they had guys walking around with a pack on there back (a bit like ghost busters) full of
margaritas, they were good went down well, and not light on with the alcohol, couldn't do to many as it was a hot day and in the sun. Got home and we all decided to have an easy night pizzas and kick back. Have to get one of those ghost busters tank!!!!
Monday- Victoria took us on a bit of a tour around Chicago then a few hours of shopping was needed, went to a
great mexican place for dinner which is very well known it's not your normal Mexican food, Paco the owner /chef is very entertaining and Oh My God (OMG!) is used in his figure of speech all the time when explaining the type of food he is presenting, did order from the menu he just kept bringing out different plates and it. Was OMG!! He got very excited that we were from Australia next thing took a photonof us and but us on his facebook page.
Arrived at Anchorage around 1.30pm after a 6hr flight another time zone, we should be eating dinner but it's lunchtime! We were met at the airport to be taken to our hotel with " I see you you have dressed expecting cold weather with your boots, and long sleeve jumpers, it's so hot we can't believe the wealher" it was 17 degrees sunny but chilly and they are all walking around in singlets and shorts and this is the hottest it gets!! It was funny going down to the shopping area, all the shops have swimwear and summer clothes out, and you look around in the distance the mountains are covered with snow, I didn't take my scarf off and I certainly didn't have a singlet on! Anchorage has lots of trucks, check shirts, are you getting the picture!! I did buy 2 great pair of leather boots that was on sale got both pairs for $120, 1 pair was marked at $300 god knows what they would of been in Melbourne, was told that they were reduced because no one would pay $300 for a pair of boots and it's at the end of the season, if I owned a shop in anchorage and knew that no one would pay a large amount for boots, why order them in in the first place! It's funny!
The sun doesn't set until midnight, it was weird we were eating dinner had a few drinks walked outside it was 10pm you would of thought it was in the afternoon, and the sun rises at 5am!
We have a few days of different stop overs then cruise starts on Saturday, I wonder what the next town will bring.
Haven't had access for a couple of days
25th- arrived at Mt McKinley the tallest mountain in nth America over 6000m high, stayed at the lodge for a day then moved onto Denali for 2 days, went white water rafting, it was fantastic so far have seen 3 moose 2 caribou no bears yet. Did a bus tour through Denali national park, ate heaps of seafood, drank lots of cocktails very cheap, Left Denali on Saturday morning By train to join our cuise, the train trip took us 10 hrs to get to whittier which is near anchorage, it was breath taking scenery and a bit of fun, windows surrounded us.
Still no sighting of bear. Boarded ship cruised for 2 days and seen whales, lots of glaciers, 2nd day we stopped at glacier bay for a couple of hours, we seen the ice break and fall into the ocean they call this carving of the ice.
We are now in Skagway and have just returned from a helicopter trip to Meade glacier which is over 600 hrs old and 2klm wide 700 ft deep, it was amazing, we were both surprised Don reckons it was like walking on the moon, maybe that's the next trip!!
We don't have any Internet on the boat not sure if we will have any at next port, weather has been fantastic they keep telling us that it is not normally this warm
ship got into port Juneau around 6am, Juneau is only accessible by sea or air, there is one rd out of Juneau and it leads to no where, it as also Alaska's capitol, not a very big town. Visited a dog sled camp, the mushers had about 100 dogs and the dogs are but through their training to prepare them for the as Akan dog race which start around dec and ends in feb, the dogs are well looked after but tough life for the mushers, we god taken on a ride with about 12 of the dogs, not on snow as it is the start of the summer for this truing they have a small vehicle they the dogs haul around, they love it,it was good fun and very interesting all I,d say is that you really have tobe dedicated and love your dogs.
Ketchikan not much here, watch a lumber jack show but have to say our guys here that do wood chopping at the show are much faster, also went to a forest where we got given a talk about the history of totem poles, yes we just laughed at this one it was included with the lumber jack show a wasted 2hrs but funny.Our final port.
Ship left early so we decided that we would have a cocktail night, all I'd say is that we were lucky that we had a day on the sea, I didn't surface till around 2pm very slow day.
Our trip has been great we will be back home in Monday , hope everyone has enjoyed our adventure.
the kids are about to move in to their new house so we are going on a trip to Europe and Thailand follow us on our trip we leave on the 22nd of April
Cheers
Tina and Donny
Yes only 3 weeks til we leave. We leave on Monday 19th April with a stopover in Singapore. Then on to Amsterdam
Kleo and his new digger. Last day a work tomorrow starting to pack. Busy weekend catching up with friends and Tina is packing
4 sleeps to go
Arrived in Singapore it's hot. Flight was good from Melbourne we were on an A380 now getting ready for the long haul to Amsterdam. Btw it hot here
Well that is a long flight in coach never again. It's 7am and we are at Amsterdam airport about to have a coffee and then make our way to our B&B. it's 7 degrees and cold and wet
23 April arrived 7am 7 degrees found our way to vondel view b&b
Rita was waiting to meet us ,dropped our luggage and walked for a few hours went down to flower market and got our bearings , come back around 12.30 to shower and clean up after long flight, decided to have a nap around 1pm woke at 8.20 pm thought that breakfast was being delivered as it was still light out had a glass of water and a few lollies went back to sleep until 2am woke again for an hour went back to sleep then woke fully refreshed at 7am now ready to explore
Our room is on the 2 nd floor steepest stairs I have come across so far, Rita got our luggage hopefully she helps to bring it back down got no idea how I will manage that one
24 April lovely breakfast bought up to our room left around 9.30 am
Walked to Rijksmuseum this is one of the most famous museums in Amsterdam has been closed for renovations for 10 years and only opened up a week ago, it was very interesting it takes you on a journey through 8 centuries of Dutch art & history with 8,000 treasures ranging from the Middle Ages to Mondrian, Paintings, furniture, silver, ship models, period rooms and lots of other things displayed in 80 galleries, each floor showing a different century. Spent 2 1/2 hrs here glad we went early by the time we left it was packed.
Next stop Van Gough museum which was only around the corner, the museum was temporally moved in Oct 2012 until 25 April 2013, it was about 20- 30 minute walk, we decided rather than going there, we hopped on a tram and headed for Dam Square Spent time just watching the crowds and bikes and traffic the city is getting ready for 30th April celebration of the Queens birthday also she will be handing the throne over to her son there will now be a king, everything in the city is getting cleaned, painted and primed, orange is the celebration colour we were given a bag of oranges!!! a pity we won't be here to see this.
Next stop Ann Franks house in the Jordaan district, before we left we downloaded a few walks to do around Amsterdam as we think its easier to do a lot of this touristy stuff your self as your not too rushed. One of the walks is Jordaan walk its home to cafes, book stores, art galleries, coffee shops ( not your every day coffee shop) lots of canals and bridges, we strolled around this district for a couple of hrs, didn't visit Ann Franks house the line was long but got plenty of photos. Headed back to our B&B around 4pm. Next stop???
Today's temperature 18c, a bit different from yesterday.
25th April. Last night after a few hours rest we headed out to the red light district, we did our own walking tour, this area is famous for its prostitutes, sex shops and of course coffee shops. Public prostitution and smoking of drugs thrives here and is legal. No photos allowed of the girls in the windows.
All the ladies sit in the windows and you can just wander and take your pick, hmmm!! I think if my memory is right don't we have something like this in Kalgoolie WA, except our girls are a lot tougher no glass in the windows there!!
Started out early and went to the Waterlooplein market where the locals go, it was a mixture of very old vintage clothing, wares, junk and new, bought a great pair of red ankle leather boots brand new for €69, they are getting rid of their winter stock!! Lucky me.
Everyone's happy as summer is getting nearer, it's meant to reach 20c today, locals wearing t shirts and singlets, tourists coats & scarves.
Managed to find a canal cruise that was for small groups which was great as you seen more of the inner canals , along some of the canals, along some of the canals there are houseboats, these house boats use to be old boats used for hauling goods along the canals, once they were no longer needed the engines were removed and they become permanent fixtures, they are plugged into the sewerage and electricity system, as land is so expensive and small these have made ideal living quarters, years ago canal living was stopped but the people that owned houseboats were allowed to stay, hence they are sitting on a gold mine. Most of them look pretty crappy from the outside but apparently they are decked out well inside, all I can say I would hate to think what it would be like sitting on the water in the middle of winter in -15 c. No thanks!
Amsterdam surprised both of us it is a very cosmopolitan city, from its red light district , sex shops, coffee shops, to trendy shopping spots, markets and a wide variety of restaurants to choose from, it's fantastic use of the canals and waterways, are very easy to navigate your way around and finally they have a transport system that WORKS!
26th April. Woke today to a complete change of weather it's cold & wet, we left our B&B after breakfast and headed off to the train station for our trip to Bruges. Our train trip took us from Amsterdam to Rotterdam , Rotterdam to Antwerp , then Antwerp to Bruges, a couple connections but no drama took , us just over 3 hrs, once again it's great to travel on transport that is efficient. Arrived in
Bruges around 5pm to temp of 7c, I am not joking we both bought a beanie.
Our hotel is in a good location to everything we wandered around a little but not much happening maybe because its so cold, was told that its busy during the day and quieter when it's cold.
27th April change of pace today Bruges is full of chocolate shops, lace shops and beer, it is expensive and touristy but very pretty with its canals, it is very busy over the weekends, people come in by the bus loads and stay for a day or two, we wandered around and found a market of old bits and pieces, no clothes or shoes there! Come across a bar/ restaurant that sold 400 beers each beer was poured into its own unique glass, I had a strawberry beer and I have to say it was quiet good, all beers are cheap. The weather today reached a high of 7c wind chill felt like -25! All I can say is thank god for layered clothing and beanies!
28th April left early today for a full day tour of Flanders Fields the Battlefields of WW1 visiting major sites around Ypres. Ypres is a small town lying on the flat land of Flanders Plain in northern Belgium, The town has a long history of sieges and occupations it is also home of the Menes gates where over 55,000 WW1 missing soldiers are inscribed on the wall. Names are continually being removed as bodies are found and identified. The town was completely rebuilt after WW1 at German expense.
Got back to our hotel around 7pm, had dinner at a little restaurant down the rd the best soup ever ( so far)
The weather is still cold although the sun was out the wind was bitter, the locals are telling us its been the longest winter they virtually had not much summer, or autumn I hope this is not a sign for us.
29 April As we don't have any real plans until 4th May we decided to catch the train to Reims in France it
is the Champagne region, the journey took us through many towns and two train changes, only cost € 50 each, the trains are so efficient and fast. We arrived in Reims around 5pm to weather a lot warmer than Bruges ( don't have to wear a ski mask now!!) found a room in a small hotel right in the centre of town, very busy area, tomorrow we will hire a car and go to Epernay ( the main Champagne area) for a few days as we need to do a few samplings of Champagne to get the taste buds going.
30 April We have hired a car for 4 days, and drove to Champagne-Ardenne. Champagne-Ardenne is found to the north-east of France, where it's north-eastern frontier borders Belgium. The capital of the region is Chalons-en-Champagne, and the departments in Champagne-Ardenne are Haute-Marne, Marne, Aube and Ardennes. There are many interesting towns within this region.
We found a B&B in the centre of Epernay, we will use this area as a base and do a few trips to surrounding towns and of course lots of tastings.
The most famous street in Épernay is the Avenue de Champagne which features the leading Champagne manufacturers. The Champagne is so cheap, didn't tour any as the Champagne houses are open from 10am - 12.30pm closed till 2pm, then reopen 2pm - 4.30pm, the shops are the same except they stay open until 7pm. We strolled around and took in the area, time just got away from us today, looks like tastings are on the agenda for tomorrow.
The weather is terrible has rained for the afternoon and got down to 9c, looks like the face mask may be back on!
1st May decided to visit a few of the Champagne houses, the famous avenue is only around the corner from where we're staying.
First one on the avenue is of course Moët Chandon this Champagne house was founded in 1743 by Claude Moët. There is 28 Klms of cellars just for this Champagne house, we took a tour which included tastings and decided to go for the vintage tastings, may as well taste the best while in France. Have to say the Chamagne tasted pretty good at 11.30 in the morning.
As its a public holiday in France today (labor day) we decided after our tour to take a drive along the Champagne route, as a number of the houses were not opened, we thought traveling through the old villagers and looking at the sights would be a relaxing day.
We drove to Hautevillers The village of Hautvillers is a small village located north east of France. The town of Hautvillers is located in the department of Marne of the french region Champagne-Ardenne.
This is the village where Dom Perignon was born. By the way Hautevillers is pronounced - O vi lay?
Nothing open!!! Strolled around took photos then thought ok a larger town will defiantly have something open ie restaurant, by this time getting a bit peckish and would be nice to have a sip of Champagne.
Next stop Chateau Thierry. Château-Thierry was the site of two important battles. The Battle of Château-Thierry (1814) in the Napoleonic Wars between France and Prussia, and Battle of Château-Thierry (1918) in World War I, between the United States and Germany. Guess what The whole town closed!
We ended up buying some hot chips from a guy in a caravan on the side of the road,they were good and fresh!
It certainly was a relaxing day when they say public holiday they mean public holiday nothing was open, we did get lots of photos, and the weather turned out a lovely 17c unfortunately not a lot of tastings happened. Arrived back at our B&B and it started raining and temp dropped to cold again !! Oh well there's always tomorrow, must remember to mark public holidays in diary when travelling!
2nd May - early morning decided to get the washing done as we won't have a great opportunity to do much washing once we start our tour in a few days. We walked around a couple of corners put washing in and strolled back to our B&B for breakfast, we then decided that we would drive back to the laundromat, once the clothes are dried will be easier to head off on our way, let me tell you it's different trying to find a place when you are driving with one way streets, we knew it wasn't far we found perfect parking spot, left the car started to walk in the direction of the laundromat 5 mins we thought, hmmmm Clearly not! 20 mins later we finally find our beloved laundry, Don then decides that he will go back and get the car while I get the clothes dried, off he goes no GPS, no phone, gone for 15 mins comes back nothing no car, goes away again this time GPs in hand, gone again this time I have all the clothes dried, folded and waiting finally after waiting another 30 mins he finally arrives back with the car, guess what he kept turning right should of done a left the car was 5 min away. Never get out of your car in a strange place without taking a photo of the street sign!!! It's funny,
So we missed the morning tastings at the Avenue of Champagne then decided we would go to
Chalons En Champagne.
Châlons-en-Champagne is a city in France. It is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, Main sights -Saint Etienne's cathedral, including parts of the first Romanesque cathedral built in the 12th century.
Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church, part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Built between 1157 and 1217, the collegiate church had a cloister and was a place of pilgrimage in the 12th century.
Hôtel de Ville (city hall). It has a façade representative of the neo-classic period of the end of the 18th century. The steps of the building are procteted by four stoned lions.
Porte Sainte-Croix (Ste-Croix Gate). Previously called Porte Dauphine, this gate was one of the entries into the city. It was dedicated to Marie-Antoinette when she came via Châlons on her way to Paris to marry the future king Louis XVI of France. Just a little bit of history thrown in there for you all.
We arrive at lunch time so of course the city is closed down for lunch, we find a little place doesn't look much go inside no tourist here!!! Except the two that couldn't find their car!! Great lunch cheap and the wine is only €3 per glass. On the road again we decided to go to a few other smaller Champagne houses in different areas, can't wait to taste those special Grand Crus vintages! but of course it didn't happen nothing open until the weekend or by appointment only, and as it turns out as it was a holiday on the 1st they have a few extra days break, we did go through some great looking places and once again took lots of photos. Weather great 1st day that I haven't worn a jacket. We did manage to get a bottle of Champagne in with our dinner, Tomorrow is another day and defiantly no laundry!!
3rd May did a great tour of the Chanpagne Mercier, you go 30 metres underground then board a laser guided train to visit the 18 km of cellars and tastings at the end, of course we both choose to taste the vintage again.
As it was a wet cold day we drove to Reims, which is only 30 minutes away to do some shopping and tastings, by the way you pronounce Reims the same way you say France but drop the F.
After a bit of shopping went back to our B&B chilled out for awhile then wandered over to a bar called La Cave a Champagne, there are so many champagnes to choose from all can be purchased by the glass including the vintages, they were all around €5.50 per glass, we decided to buy the 6 glass deal for €33, as each one was poured it was explained how it was blended, who and where it was from, and we were told it was better to drink them in the order they were poured, no markers on glasses here everything is filled to the brim. A great way to start out the night before dinner!
Weather was cold and wet got down to 9c, we have had a good time in Epernay and have had many tastings of some very special champagnes leave tomorrow for Paris to start our tour.
4th-5th May We left Epernay drove to Reims and caught the train at 11.45am we were in our hotel in Paris by 1.30pm, those trains are great speeds of up to 350 Klms an hour. We wander for a few hours then did a meet and greet with our group, and then taken off to dinner, have to say it was the worst meal that I have had served to me, (be noting that one on trip advisor), most of the people on the tour are first timers to Paris, a mix of Australians, Canadians & Americans, I felt sorry for them,
5th May Today we left around 9am first stop Rouen this city is where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake. Had about 1 /1/2 hours for ourselves just wandering around, as its a Sunday most of the shops are closed, but it was a busy little city with most of the locals and tourists wandering and drinking coffee.
Next stop Honfleur, lovely town, lots of eating places, very busy town on a Sunday as the French travel here for a day out, and busy with lots of tourists, Honfluer make theirs own cider & calvados, we did a little tasting, bought a few items including a couple of bottles, that will be drunk before we get home.i
The town has lots of art gallery's, there were a few items that I would have loved to have shipped, spent a couple of hours here.
Next stop Caen to visit Normandy beaches 1st beach Juno then onto our hotel on Ohama beach,
Juno Beach was one of five sectors of the Allied invasion of German- occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War.
Day was interesting glad we had a bit of time to wander and do our own thing.
Mercure Ohama Beach hotel Golf Club, hotel they charge €142 for around of Golf, Don didn't get to play, breakfast was like comedy capers they ran out of things, it was like being on a treasure hunt first a knife, then a tea cup,then a glass, it wasn't as if they were not used to crowds it is a golf club, oh well it is only one night, good comfy beds.
6th May Left our hotel at 9am, first stop Bayeaux, Bayeaux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England.
The tapestry consists of fifty scenes embroidered on linen with coloured woollen yarns, it was commissioned by Bishop Odo, William's half-brother, and made in England—not Bayeux—in the 1070s, and is nearly 70 ft long, sorry no photos were allowed for this.
We then visited Point du Hoc Pointe du Hoc - is a clifftop location on the coast of Normandy in northern France. It is situated between Utah Beach to the west and Omaha Beach to the east, and stands on 100 ft (30 m) tall cliffs overlooking the sea. it was a point of attack by the United States Army Ranger Assault Group during Operation Overlord in World War II.
After this we drove through the country side to our next destination where we will be for two days St Malo Brittiany and the war has ended!!
6th May Arrived at Best Western Balmoral Hotel St Malo Britiany after a couple hours of driving. Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. Our hotel is approx 20 minutes walk into town, after dinner the first night we took a stroll into the city area, walked a bit of he wall and just strolled around.
7th May Good to see that breakfast was a bit more civilised, left 9am for our trip to St Mont Michel
Mont Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island 247 acres in size, and is a commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches. It has been listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO since 1979.
You cannot drive right to MSM as there is a lot of work going on around perimeter , you have to park a distance away and walk then catch a shuttle bus to the entrance, a couple of the bus companies have found a scam where they contact a certain person pay a few Euos get a code and go in and park at the village near by, you still have to catch a shuttle to a certain point and walk for 10 min but at least it cuts out the initial walk of maybe 1/2 dependent where you park, by the time we got in it was around 10 am and was very busy, Mont. St Michel is on of the most visited sites, August is one of the busiest months, our tour guide said he would rather commit suicide than be here on the 15 August as its a public holiday and the people come from all over to visit, glad our bus driver knew the scam and glad we went in May. It is certainly something to see but you have to be prepared to walk at lot, there are lots of stairs and having a guide helps. We were there for nearly four hours , they have a few small hotels within but you wouldn't want to take a case, we seen a few people trying to get down the hills with cases, hate to think what the cases would look like once you got to the bottom. Went back to St Malo had a wander around and walked around the wall thought it was only going to be a few minutes takes you 40 min to walk around it, we rally needed that after St Mont Michel.
Tomorrow we are off to the next part of tour Chateaus in the Loire.
8th May Left this morning around 9am for our drive to our next destination Loire Valley, we. Drove for about 2 hours and stopped for Coffee in Angers , not much open today as its a public holiday in France, there are are 4 public holidays in May 1st, 8th, 15th & 22nd , everything closes down and dependenant when theses dates fall people take extra long weeks, a bit like us,
Next stop Lunch Samur, continue on to Chateau D'Usse a Duke lives here can't visit but took photos, one of many
that you will see . Next stopn Chateau D'Azay Le Rideru this is very much the Renaissance period, the architecture in Loire Valley is totally different to Brittianany
Arrived at Chateau De Rochecotte this is our accommodation always wanted to ijstay in a Chateau
The château de Rochecotte is a late 18th century château located in the French village of Saint-Patrice, near Langeais, in Indre-et-Loire. It is known for its various owners and their many successive rebuilds.
Had dinner in a local family run restaurant the chef was a funny guy not much English at said he has been a chef for 40 years and didn't have time to learn English, it ended up a good fun night.
9th Today we left around 9am first stop
Chateau Chenonceou The Château de Chenonceau is a French château near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France.
The château was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher, sometime before its first mention in writing in the 11th century. It was designed by the French Renaissance architect Philibert de l'Orme.
Next stop Chateau Villandry this was built in 1536 by Jean Le Breton, Minister of Finance for Francois 1st. In 1754 the Marquis de Castellane, who came from a noble Provençal family, purchased the Chateau and had it redesigned to meet 18th century standards of comfort. In 1906 the Chateau was bought by Joachim Carvallo, the great grandfather of the present owner. He created 16th century style gardens, people come from all over to visit this Chateau, it is known for its gardens it is open 365 days, 3000 people pass through here every day. It is very impressive. There are six different gardens to walk around
Kitchen garden, ornamental, water, herb &. A labyrinth, it took us ages to walk around them, takes two months to prune the hedges.
Had a formal dinner at the Chateau last night, well as formal as it can get with travelling, thankfully no dinner suits required!!
Seen many Chateau's n the Loire Valley, left this morning to head back to Paris for our last 2 nights stay travelled for two hours to the town Chartres, visited Chartres Cathedral which is famous for housing a veil which belonged to the Virgin Mary and known as 'the Sacred tunic'. It is one of the biggest Gothic cathedrals and also one of the best preserved. It is an important place of pilgrimage which attracts thousands of walkers each year. Very impressive.
We got into Paris had a group photo taken and a good tour around for about an on the bus, finally got to our hotel for a couple of nights.
Met Wayne & Kay for dinner ate at a great French restaurant Chez Paul , ( thanks to Deb & Ken for the tip on that)
Today we decided to have a free day and just wander around, visited a few different areas of Paris that we haven't seen, Its amazing that you can go back to Paris a number of times and see so many different things.
Visited Montparmasse, Luxembourg gardens, Pantheon, the train system is great, getting around is so easy.
We got taken to Paris's oldest restaurant - Le Procope 1686. Food was very good, a nice night to finish our tour.
Tomorrow we leave for Bordeaux - do I really need to drink more wine!!
12th May Left Paris around 3pm caught the train to Bordeaux got in around 6.30. Staying right in the centre of the city, had a stroll around the city and had dinner at a lovely restaurant, fairly quiet day okay.
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France, it is the 9th largest city in France. Weather around 20
13th May Surprised at how spread out Bordeaux is, spent the day exploring, little food and no alcohol today we both felt fat and bloated after last nights meal. We took a ferry up the river then walked, cost €1.40 for a ticket and could be used for ferry, bus, tram, good value.
14th May organised a full day wine tour of the medoc region of Bordeaux, The Médoc is a region of France, well known as a wine growing region, located in the département of Gironde, on the left bank of the Gironde estuary, north of Bordeaux, it is home to around 1,500 vineyards.
We started out around 10am drove for about an hour before we hit the first winery, only 5 of us on tour 1 Mexican that lived in Germany, and spoke many languages, 1 from China that lived in America, 1 from Hongkong, that use to live in Sytrathmore Melb and not real keen on wine but come along to keep the Chinese girl happy and of course the two of us. A lot of the winerys are by appt only, we were the only ones touring ,had an hour in each, touring the winery and of course tastings, surprised us the different processes that each wineryp use. The word Chateau means estate a big property
1st winery Chateau Lagrange tasted 3 different wines we both only like 1 out of the 3
Chateau Saint Epstein tasted 3 liked 1 out of 3
Chateau DuTallian didn't like any
Chateau Margaux not open for viewing but supposed to be excellent wines
Got back around 6.30pm, weather ended up raining as soon as we got back and turned cold, this did not surprise us!!
15th May We picked up a car today so now its travelling around,
Arrived in Saint Emilion Saint-Émilion is one of the principal red wine areas of Bordeaux along with, the Médoc, Graves and Pomerol. The region is much smaller than the Médoc and adjoins Pomerol. As in Pomerol and the other appellations on the right bank of the Gironde, the primary grape varieties used are the Merlot and Cabernet Franc, with relatively small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon also being used by some chateaux.
This is a lovely town, very old, cobbled streets, and steep, busy with a lot of day trippers hate to think what it would be like in peak season. It is full of wine houses, you can taste no problem and no expectation to buy, they all import and each wine house have different import costs, we did a few disgustation tastings as they are called and will be getting a few sent home. We found a great B&B for the night. Tomorrow we will head back through th coast to Bayonne. Saint Emilion is a better area for wines
16th May decided to leave Saint Emilion around 9.30am, Bayonne is 230 Klms South of Saint Emilion, it is in Southwestern France in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, belongs to both cultural regions of Basque Country and Gascony. It's very close to the border of Spain.
The weather was against us all day, rained for most of the day and some areas got as low as 9c kept thinking of Bruges in Belgium, everyone keeps telling us this is very unusual normally they are swimming now. We got stuck behind trucks that seem to travel in convoys, and are not bothered to pull over to let you pass, the roads aren't that wide either, So it took us a bit longer than expected. Couldn't get a B&B nothing in the town, got a hotel it's ok in good spot. Didn't too much walked around not really a lot here it is a nice town. Had dinner in a little bistro, Don reckons it was the best Duck that he has ever had. We are going to head toward Toulouse tomorrow, have under estimated the amount of Klms that we need to do.
17th May We arrived in Pau around 11am, Pau (Pronounced Pol) on the northern edge of the Pyrenees, capital of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département in France. Pau is surrounded by the Pyrennees mountains and a hour drive to the Spanish border. The roads here are great the speed signs show 130 Klms in dry weather & 110klms in wet ( I'm still trying to get a photo of that) everyone just zooms along at one stage Don was doing 140 a cars were still passing him, ther're mad, but very little accidents. Today was the opening day of the Grand Prix we didn't even know Pau had a Grand Prix, it's a very nice city really surprised us both, the weather was great for a change.
Next stop Lourdes, arrived here around 3.30, the weather really changed drastically we thought we would just do a quick visit as it turned out we stayed for ages, apart from the gift shops that sold every possible thing to do with religion, it was amazing to see the mass of sick people congregate at Lourdes Basilika for healing.
Yearly from March to October the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a place of mass pilgrimage from Europe and other parts of the world. The spring water from the grotto is believed by some to possess healing properties.
The gift shops sell water bottles to take up to the grotto to get filled, we seen many people carrying 2 litre bottles with water. We also visited, The château fort de Lourdes which is a historic castle located in Lourdes, It is strategically placed at the entrance to the seven valleys of the Lavedan. It has been listed since 1933 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. Lourdes was well worth the visit.
Found a great B&B 'Les Pesques' in a little village Paliminy. Palaminy is in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It was a farmhouse that was built in 1722, the owners Brigitte & Bruno have owned it for 20 years and made part of it a B&B 10 yrs ago, Brigitte cooked dinner and we ate with the family and another couple that were also staying there, Bruno had a very good wine cellar! We left the dinner table at 11pm, don't remember much after 11.15. Very good night.
18th May Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France. It lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 150 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea and 300 from the Atlantic Ocean. We arrived around 10:30 (doesn't take long to get to places with the speed they travel, Dons getting a pro at driving like the locals), we had to spend a bit of time trying to find some accomodation for the next couple of days as its a holiday on Monday , and with the weekend coming up it gets busy, Number 1 priority get a place to stay.
Spent time wandering around, it is larger than ome if the other towns that we have come across lots of great shopping although I didn't buy anything, after a few hours we decided to head for Carcassonne as the weather again has decided to turn nasty, really cold.
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is in the former province of Languedoc. It is divided into two cities, the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. The lower town that dates back to the Middle Ages. Known as the Bastide Saint Louis, it features typically French bars, shops, cafés and restaurants, as well as all the standard services and amenities you’d expect.
Set high up on a hill, Carcassonne’s ancient walled city is Disneyworld-perfect. This fairytale collection of drawbridges, towers and atmospheric cobbled streets was reputedly the inspiration for Walt Disney’s The Sleeping Beauty, Its medieval core, the cité, was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997.
Found a B&B in Carcassonne - 'Carcassonne Guest House' run by Patrick the Irishman he found the house while on holidays, it was very good you had the view of the ancient walled city, what a find!
As Sunday is a quiet day in France we left Carcassonne around 10am got ourselves pointing in the right direction to our next destination Narbonne, just as we paid the Toll ( there are tolls at each main town, they have it worked out well you just get into the lane where you take a ticket then when you need to get off get you pay at the other end, need lots of coin, thankfully they haven't been too expensive) Don realised that he left his headphones, it's not that easy to go back no u turns here I think we travelled about 15 Klms before we could get off and head back to pick up the headphones, finally got to Norbonne about 11.30, it's was supposed to be a 40 min trip, must make sure to double check the rooms!!
Narbonne is in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Town was very quiet, then we came across the local market it was a bit like Vic market but only produce and bars within the market, we noticed people were buying their cheeses, breads, etc and just sitting at bars having lunch and a glass of wine, very social and obviously a Sunday thing to do, we did the same, ended up staying for for a couple of hours.
We both wanted to have a sleep after that, can't do the wine in the afternoon!!
Next stop Beziers - A town in Languedoc in southern France. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event.
It is only a 20 Klm stretch not much around but defiantly hookers hangout, we were driving along and Don noticed a girl on the side of the road, then in the distance we could see lots of dirt road exits from the main rd with hotels advertising rooms for €33 per night, and cars parked in the distance away from the main road, wonder what you got for € 33 ?? as we approached each exit a girl would be there, at least they would get a lot of passing trade!,
Didn't stay too long at Beziers maybe a better town when the bull fighting is on!
As Monday is a holiday we have decided to stay in Marseillan for three nights
Marseillan is a village in southern France. on the Etang de Thau and Marseillan Plage on the Mediterranean Sea in the Hérault in the Languedoc Roussillon, it is an ancient fisherman and wine growers town. And we heard they have the best oysters here.
Our B&B (Les Chambres d'Andrea) is very good as we are staying a few days, Stephanie the owner upgraded us to the suite it's the top floor of the house large bedroom/ bathroom and lounge, the houses here look nothing from the street once you get inside it,s surprising how big they are. Nice little seaside town, its known for its oysters and seafood.
After breakfast and a stroll around the town we set off for Montpellier -
Montpellier is a city in southern France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, as well as the Hérault department.
Montpellier (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃.pə.lje]; Occitan: Montpelhièr [mum.peˈʎɛ]) is a city in southern France. It is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussillon region, as well as the Hérault department. Montpellier is the 8th largest city of France, Located on the south coast of France on the Mediterranean Sea, it is the third-largest French city on the Mediterranean coast after Marseille and Nice.
Surprised how busy it was considering it was a public holiday, wandered around, had a long lunch then took the back roads back home.
Finally a day of no stockings, boots or jeans, Sunny warm day at last! This is what we have been both waiting for.
We were told that the town had a market on today so what better way to spend the morning, we wandered down to the town centre after breakfast ( which is only 5 -10 min from our B & B dependant which way you walk) thinking it won't be much, well we were certainly surprised, the streets were lined with market stalls with everything from clothing to local produce, people everywhere, I picked up some flat sensible shoes all leather €12 each or 2 for €20 of course I did the €20 deal! Don got a leather belt for €5, Not made in china either, it makes you wonder why we have to pay so much for items in Australia, after a couple of hours we dropped our things off and then headed to Pezenas which is 18 Klm away from Marselllan. Travelling the back road ( which was the only way to go) was interesting some parts you could just barely pass each other, basically hold your breath , close your eyes and hope your cars don't touch, I know why no one here has new cars, every car has a dent or two no large cars around here.
Pézenas is in the Hérault département in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France.
The old town centre has narrow streets and Houses from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, lots of art, sculpture, & antiques. it is totally unspoilt and extremely picturesque. It is quite amazing how the most picturesque towns are often those that have been left-alone by history, thus preserving their original ancient look.
Bought another couple pairs of boots, and a lovely handbag, not sure how this is going to fit in the case!!
22nd May We decided to take a detour before going to Avignon, so many people had told us about this old village Uzes, we wanted to get there before lunch as we all know everyone shuts down for two hour lunch.
Uzès is a charming medieval city in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of southern France.
We strolled around found a great little tapas bar, - Frogo looked nothing from the outside, but the seafood and platters that we had were good and fresh. Next stop Avignon we decided to drop luggage at hotel then drop the car off, the traffic was crazy and again narrow streets but bigger city.
Avignon is in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river.
Its expensive here and very touristy much prefer the smaller towns,
23 May Strolled around different parts of the city this morning, went on a tour to see roman ruins
St Remy, Pont Du Gard, & Les Baux de Provence
The Pont du Gard is a three-level stone aqueduct crossing the Gardon river valley, about 25 km west of Avignon. Built over 2000 years ago, in 19 BC,
A road bridge was added to the structure in 1743 and used until 1996.
Les baux de Provence in the Bouches-du-Rhône department in southern France, in the province of Provence. set atop a rocky mountain with a ruined castle overlooking the plains to the south. Its names refers to its site — in Provençal, a bauç is a rocky spur. The village gives its name to the aluminium ore Bauxite which was first discovered there in 1821.
Glad we did the tour for the afternoon the different sites were good, Avignon is just a city.
We have ended our expedition of wine & food consumption around France, we now head off to spend a bit of time with Rick & Jacki (Tina's cousin for those that don't know) in Switzerland, and of course we are blessed with the weather again!! It's going to be cold and its been snowing in some parts!!
Things We have learnt about the French
Freeway speed limit 130klm normal - 110 when its raining
Villages speed limit unlimited as long as you don't hit any parked cars
Everyone carries a bread stick
Lunchtime closes for two hrs
Parking - if you pay for parking at 11am they don't charge for parking between 12-2 we couldn't work it out when we fed the 2hr meter why it would give us parking until 3pm, that's a good deal.
Favourite words ' Walla'. 'Exacta mondo'
Public Holidays in France in May 1st , 8th, 15th, 22nd , nothing is opened!
They loved our French!!
Long day of train travel today we went from Avignon to Basel Which is the border of Switzerland & France, then changed Basel - Zurich- Romonshorn, thankfully the trains are very good unlike our train system.
No luck with the weather, we arrived late Friday afternoon to rain, coming from Zurich by train into Romanshorn you could see snow on the Austrian Alps. Romanshorn is on Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and borders Switzerland/Germany/Austria.
Great to catch up with Rick & Jackie.
Saturday was wet and colder at one stage it cleared we thought we would get some warm sun didn't last for long.
Meet up with Rene & Cony we all had dinner together, then Rene took us off to a little bar that he had found- Hafenkneipe at Arbon, it was very much like an old pub that you would find in England somewhere, 20 people in it and its crowded. We ended up getting home around 2am. A very good night and a very slow morning today.
Lazy day nothing opened on Sunday good to to sit and relax, and catch up on things.
Weather is worse today 8 degrees, at least it's not 7 like Bruges!!
Yesterday 27th Rick took us across to Konstanz in Germany to do a bit of shopping, its only 1/2 hour drive but much cheaper than Switzerland. It gets busy as everyone comes across to shop.
Konstanz is located at the western end of Lake Constance in the south-west corner of Germany, bordering Switzerland.
Spent a few hours shopping, 3 pairs of shoes, pants and a couple of tops, It was not me shopping this time but Don!! its a nice town very different to other parts of Europe, and the day was sunny.
28th Had a quiet morning then went for a trip to St Gallen The main tourist attraction is the Abbey of St. Gall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its renowned library contains books which date back to the 9th century.
The city has good transport links to the rest of the country and to neighbouring Germany and Austria.
It also functions as the gate to the Appenzell Alps.
After a couple of hours of strolling around and admiring the city and its architecture, we took a drive up into the Alps, we left the temperature was 20 and sunny, drove for 50 min on a winding road to the cable car base station, it takes about 15 min to get to the top, the view is fantastic. Lots of snow still, the summer months people go there for the walking and hiking trails, in winter months a few of the trails are open there a few ski runs but only suitable for experienced skiers it is not a ski resort.
Mount Santis is the highest mountain in Eastern Switzerland.
We were 2500 meteres sea level above once we got to the top , Temperature on the Santis was 1.5 degrees, no wind.
Hmm lucky wind chill makes a difference, 7 in Brugges felt colder.
Don did the summit with Rick, stairs the the first flight lift the the next 4 flights, once outside they walked up a little to get a photo shoot of the top, I didn't go that far didn't have the right shoes on!!
Quiet day yesterday ( 29th) weather was terrible until around 1pm, we decided to take a walk around the area, lasted about 30 mins, the wind chill was cold.
By the time we left to visit Conny & Rene the sky's had cleared.
After a few drinks and a tour of their home we went to a restaurant just down the road from Conny & Rene house.
We were greeted at the door by the Chef Tony and his wife Helen, very good food snitzels the specialty, after our meals were served they both joined us, for a night of mixed conversation, poor German, limited English and Rick & Jackie the translators. The house coffee was offered it consisted of home made schnapps, sultanas and coffee, tasted ok, all I can say is everyone slept well. A good night had by all.
30th May Went to Appenzell with Jackie, Rick. & Rene, very picturesque town, normally a busy town full of tourists, but today was a holiday it's their Sunday, even though its a Thursday??? We don't seem to have much luck when it comes to holidays, there were a few shops open and cafes, was going to do a beer tour but it was closed, got caught in the hail and rain.
After this Rene decided to take us too his friends bar/restaurant, and that's when we had a few bad apples!!!
Mostly farmers in the bar, Orsi the owner would serve the farmers then come back and sit and drink with us, he brought out a large plate of meat and cheeses and breads to keep us going, as he told us he only cooked at night not during the day ( it was 4pm) lots of Bad apples, beers, & house coffee, we were talking and drinking with the farmers!!
Around 10pm We decided to go ( still wondering when Orsi cooked meals) drove downtown a favourite place of Rene's just for a couple more drinks for the rd. Great day had love those bad apples, good ending for our last night in Switzerland. Thanks Jackie, Rick & Rene
Appenzell (or Appenzellerland) is a region and historical canton in the northeast of Switzerland, The territory of Appenzell as a geographical entity is known as Appenzellerland
31st May after a long day of travelling we finally arrive at our last destination Royal Phuket Yacht Club, which is located on the southern tip of Thailand, the weather is a mild 31C (finally) our room is on the 7th floor (701) and overlooks the ocean.
This morning we had a lot of rain, by 11am went for a walk which ended being 4 Klm round trip, and lost about 2 kg in weight with the humidity, stopped off at a little beauty shop ( that does everything) had the feet done, not a pedicure but with fish nibbling away the dead skin, after trekking around Europe I needed this done, and the fish get a free feed, sounds disgusting but have had this done before and your feet feel great afterwards, will get the pedicure done in a couple of days. It's very quiet as its not really tourist season, which suits us.
After Don having a fitting done for his suits, we strolled down to the beach area both had pedicures done, (Don didn't get the nail polish!) after all the walking it was good to have the feet looked after, the Thais do a great job and cheap. Next stop massage on the beach to get all the kinks out, I didn't have it done but Don reckons it was great, might have one before I leave. A relax around the pool then we decided to go to Patong for the evening.
Patong is about 1/2 from where we are staying, glad we are staying where we are Patong is crazy.
We have been getting rain early morning well before we get up, then around 4pm the clouds come in again for about 20 mins, thankfully the days are good humid but bearable.
We haven't done too much at all except lay around the beach or pool and walk from one massage place to another, but you can just about buy anything on the beach, the Thais take it turns to walk up and down the beach offering their goods, this is what got offered,
Bikinis - big item now years ago you could never buy bikinis
Carved wooded lamps in the shape of elephants
Carved wooden bowls - these have been around since we first came to Thailand
Dried bananas
Roasted nuts
Hot corn on a stick with butter -
Place mates with matching coasters - again been around forever in fact I think I bought a set when
Watches - real Rolexes!
Designer hand bags
Wallets.
This is only low season imagine what you get when it's high season.
Weather is good, food and drinks are great, it's been very relaxing
Had a great dinner with a couple of friends ( Lindy & Neville ) we bumped into while strolling along be beach ( the people you meet when your on holidays!! ) ended up sitting in a bar at Kata beach with a Thai band singing cover songs. Lots of laughs and drinks a good night for our last night in Thailand.
This morning sat out to get the last bit of sunshine, arrived at Singapore at 8.30 pm and checked ourselves into the transit hotel until our flight leaves in the morning.
Hope everyone has enjoyed following us on our journey, and thank you for all your comments.
Now we have to plan for the next one!! Where will that be?
We have booked a trip to Europe again, so much to see. This time commencing on the 29 May we will be in London, Paris, Rhems, Verdun, Strasburg, Comlar, Burgundy, Berlin , Swiss and Thailand. watch out for updates on our blog
Last weekend of work Project nearly complete.Tina is already packing, itinerary finalised, Highlights London, Lake Como (Bellagio) Italy, Paris (again) Champagne (again) Strasburg, Burgandy and Berlin then to Swiss
After a bumpy flight we arrived around 4.30 pm, it took us more than an hour to get through customs, they really don't do things too fast in Singapore, you understand why when you get outside and the humidity hits you. We checked into the Park Royal on Beach rd, there are a number of Park Royals in Singapore, this one is very average and is nowhere near a beach !!
We decided to go and do some exploring, we haven't stayed in Singapore for 20 years, it certainly has changed its a busy commercial city with lots of different shopping areas connected by walkthroughs or rail, this is so you don't have to venture much out side to face that humidity, we did not know this until today ( fri). One area we were walking through a rat ran in front of us, it was a fairly new developed area, I nearly died you know me and rats!!! We decided to head down to the area where the big wheel is and was hoping to have dinner over the water, well it's a bit like docklands only with 100% humidity and nothing happening, defiantly not us so we jumped into a taxi and got the driver to takes us somewhere else, it was good just to sit to get some cool air. We got dropped off at smith st, At night this street has wall to food merchants you can wander around and buy food, drinks, find yourself a table and relax, it's under cover but still outside, by this time we were so over the humidity and starving we just stayed here, dinner and drinks $10. We noticed coming back to the hotel that across the road was a lot of bars, restaurants music happening, why didn't we see this before we went on our hike through the tropics!!
Fri morning - I woke up not too happy as I couldn't find the light switch that turned one of the main lights off in the room, finally rang reception, little black box that is on the side table which has the time on it operates all the lights, I thought it was a clock!!
We wandered over to the street across from the hotel to have breakfast - Arab street very interesting area also known as the Arab Quarter, Here, hookah bars line narrow streets and the only thing that shines is the golden dome of the Sultan Mosque, built in 1928, which has served as the heart of Singapore’s Muslim community and its colorful, heritage-rich neighborhood.
The Arab Quarter was originally home to Singapore’s Malay royalty in the 1800s. Lots of restaurants, bars, and textiles stores some great hand woven rugs, should of come here on the way home.!! Very cheap found a great little place - blu jaz for breakfast the best coffee, although I wasn't feeling too good so didn't get to finish mine. Breakfast cost us $20.
Did a bit of shopping a lot of good sales but we are only at the start of our trip, I only bought 2 pairs of sketchers ( walking shoes) can't fill up the bag too early. We ended up having a Singapore Slings at Raffles as you do, $100 for 3 drinks, bit different from the night before. We leave early on Saturday For London
Our hotel in London (Harrington Hall Hotel) is in South Kensington, lovely area and easy accessible to the tube station, Hyde Park, and a lot of the museums.
Kensington covers some of the most exclusive real estate in the world. It is home to large numbers of French expatriates (mainly employed in the City, the financial centre), but also Spanish, Italian, American, and Middle-Eastern citizens. A significant French presence is evidenced by the location of the consulate, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle - a large French secondary school opposite the Natural History Museum - and the French Institute, home to a French cinema. There are several French bookshops and cafes in the area.
Sunday a day of exploring the streets of London - First stop tour of Royal Albert Hall, a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941. The Hall is a registered charity held in trust for the nation and receives no public or central and local government funding. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from several performance genres have appeared on its stage and it has become one of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings. Each year it hosts more than 350 events including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, sports, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and banquets.
To fund the building of the Royal Albert Hall Queen Victoria leased each seat for 999 years for £100, some seats have been gifted back too the Royal Albert Hall but many seats are still used today by relatives of the original owners.
Just a bit of info that I thought you would like to know.
Next we get on the hop on and hop off bus which would take us everywhere, bus cost £32 pp valid for 24hrs, the city was busy, weather great around 21, we ended up sitting on the bus for 1 1/2 hrs decided to get off at the London eye which is on the Thames, the promenade along there is called Southbank,!! No one collected any money for the trip, good for us, we found a restaurant Las Iguanas 2 for 1 cocktails, happy hr 12-7pm but on a Sunday and Monday 2 for 1 all day. We did sit and have a few cocktails, our lunch and drinks were cheaper than the bus!
Some of the places we visited during the day Convent Gardens, Westend, Piccadilly Circus, Chinatown & Soho, we got back to our hotel around 7.30 pm, I think Dons head hit the pillow at 8pm and was out like a light.
We wandered the streets of London looking for A werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, perhaps we will find the werewolf walking the streets of London tomorrow!!
Mon 2nd June - it's early in London the sun comes up at 5.20 am, we have been waking early still have a bit of jet lag, today we will explore some of the areas, that were not opened yesterday. Too be continued..........................
Decided to go to a few places that we seen on our free bus trip.
First stop NottingHill known as the location for being home to the Portobello Road Market, not as busy during the week which was perfect for us, walked around NottingHill then headed towards Portobello Markets, not all stores opened but enough to grab your interest and spend a few dollars, bought a couple of great cardigans and a few small prints. We spent a lot of time around this area, lots of antique shops away from Portobello Rd, it's amazing how quick the time goes when you are not in any hurry and just wander. Had a late afternoon lunch and decided to go back to the hotel for awhile freshen up and then head to Westend to see if we could get tickets to a show.
The West End have so many shows to choose from, also they have 1/2 priced ticket boxes around the area, which is great as it gives you the opportunity to buy tickets for a number of shows for very reasonable prices and good seats, we got tickets at Leicester Square for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels playing at the Savoy, it was good musical had a lot of humour done well, then again anything playing at West End you would expect to be good. Had great seats not too far from the front, we are down there again Tonight (Tuesday) for a show that we bought online before we left hope the seats are as good.
The weather was a mild day again around 19 a bit cooler at night very similar to Melbourne at the moment , the rain is coming hope it stays away until we leave.
Woke this morning, to heavy rain and a drop in temperature. Decided to visit a few museums they are located in the Kensington area.
First stop The Natural History Museum, has more than 70 million specimens from various segments from the natural world. It's really a musuem for the kids lots of interaction with the exhibitions, we realised this once inside. stayed here for awhile but was glad to get out, it was so hot inside.
Why is it as soon as the weather drops the heating gets cranked up to a point that you feel like to smack someone!! It was not that cold about 16!!
By the time we fought our way through the madness, the sun was out and rain stopped, hmmm bit like Melb. No more museums off to do a bit of shopping.
We visited Selfridges - Selfridges, also known as Selfridge & Co., is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. The flagship store on London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened 15 March 1909. It reminds me of David Jones but on a lot larger scale and still affordable, unlike Harrods where the prices are just too expensive.
Seen another show at West End - The Commitments the musical- The Commitments is the story of Jimmy Rabbitte, a young working class music fan, who shapes an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians and friends into an amazing live act. I bought the tickets before we left had seats 3 rows from the front, fantastic show, .
We seen The Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone driving around the area in his red Ferrari or should I say a blond driving him around .
Woke up to a cold day with a bit of rain, temperature around 14, we decided to have a relaxing easy morning then headed off for our last trek around London City.
We had high tea at Brown's Hotel in Mayfair which is a luxury 5-star hotel, Opened in 1837, it is one of London's most established hotels . The hotel has hosted some notable people. Alexander Graham Bell went to stay in 1876 to demonstrate his new invention – the telephone – and the first successful telephone call in Great Britain was made from Brown's in 1876.
Mayfair includes a range of exclusive shops, hotels, restaurants and clubs, one of London's most luxurious shopping areas, the Burlington Arcade, which has housed shops under its glass-roofed promenade since 1819.
The Bond Street area - is also the home of numerous commercial art galleries, as well as international auction houses such as Bonhams, Christies and Sothebys. Rents are among the highest in London and the world.
That is why Mayfair was always the most expensive and the best one to have in monopoly.
Went back to West End a got tickets to another show - Ghost Stories at the Arts theatre, it was like watching a live horror movie, done well.
We have had a great time in London, next stop Italy.
We wandered the streets of London looking for A werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand, we didnt find the werewolf walking the streets of London but we did find the streets on the monopoly board!!
(Thurs) Left London 9.30am wasn't sure how long it would take to get to Gatwick airport for our flight to Milan, the train system is fantastic, we were at the airport within an hour that's including walking to the station and 2 train changes, our flight didn't leave till 1pm, if we knew that we would of slept in a bit longer, Now we have the Italian version- arrive in Malpensa airport Milan around 4pm take an airport express bus to terminal 1 to get a train to Saroona then change for lake Como then a fast ferry to Bellagio , not hard very direct, we waited at Malpensa for about 1 hr, Saroona train was about 10min wait, 1/2 trip to Como, - Como we waited an hour for the very fast ferry which we were told would only take 20 mins ( that is also noted onthe internet) which really takes an hour, we finally get to our hotel around 7:30pm. it's funny.!!! Time doesn't mean anything, We are staying at Hotel Excelsior Splendid, lovely hotel over looking lake Como.
Checked in had a few cocktails over looking the lake then went off to a find a place to eat , lovely barmy evening and a bottle of wine with some good pasta, great night until we get back to our hotel, I'm not well no need to go into details about that all I can say is that I missed breakfast & half a day, (Fri)
Yes I had a few drinks I wasn't feeling good when we were on the ferry though, combination of something I'd eaten with the consumption of cocktails and wine.
Fri - finally come good and wandered around Bellagio lovely little town very hilly lots of steps, lots of tourists although once the day ferries leave it is much quieter. It's a nice pace, the weather is fantastic lovely 28 with warmer weather to come over the next couple of days, tonight we will find somewhere else to eat and no cocktails !!!
The Hotel Excelsior Splendide, with its wonderful position in the centre of Bellagio, overlooks directly Lake Como.was built at the beginning of the 19th century, our room doesn't directly overlook the lake, but you can see the lake, and now that the weekend has come around we are thankful that we are overlooking the garden, (room 30) it's busy, of course everyone wants the water views, prices are a bit more expensive along the water, the higher you go the cheaper it is and some places the food is better, although we think the prices are still better than what we pay in Australia.
Saturday morning was spent strolling along Bellagio we visited Villa Melzi Gardens, This magnificent villa, built in 1808 for the Duke Francesco Melzi d'Eril. It fronts on to Lake Como and is surrounded by a large garden planting, including Japanese maples, American redwoods, rhododendrons and azaleas. Gardens were bigger than we thought we walked for ages just taking it all in.
The afternoon we took a lake cruise and visited Villa del Balbianello, the movie Casino Royale was filmed in front of the villa. The villa doubles as a hospital where James Bond (Daniel Craig) is recovering, together with Vesper (Eva Green) and where the Swiss banker comes to get the code to transfer the money. The same villa can also be seen in Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones.
The Villa stands on the tip of a steep hill overlooking Lake Como, almost opposite Bellagio. Built for Cardinal Angelo Maria Durini at the end of the XVIII century.
Today, the villa has the appearance desired by its last owner, the explorer Guido Monzino, (first Italian to reach Mt Everest ) with a rich collection of Chinese, African and pre-Colombian art, precious English and French furniture of the 1700s and the small museum with documents and mementoes of his expeditions. The Villa is now owned by Fondo per l'Ambiente Italiano (FAI). A private, non-profit trust.
A lot of the villas on the lake around Bellagio are owned by families that live in Milan and are only used a couple of weeks a year, that is serious money!!
We took the tour with Bespoke Lake Cruises - Aussie girl from Sydney (Janine) meet an Italian guy and has lived here for 20 years, she has given a few tips on different places around.
Saturday night found a little restaurant up one of the streets away from the centre La Fontana excellent food not overpriced.
Sunday morning decided to get the ferry and visited the different towns along the lake you can buy an all day ticket and hop on an off as you please, walked down was shocked to see the amount of tourists at 11am, had a chat to Janine as too which place to go to she said it will get worse as the day goes on, better to visit after the weekend crowd, good tip!! We did a bit of casual shopping found a little place to eat away from the crowds and just chilled out for the afternoon. Temperature at the moment is 30.
( Mon) Decided to take a ferry across to Vareena ( which is only 15 mins way) seen the car ferry coming and jumped on that, as we had to wait 20 mins for the other ferry, hmm!! This was clearly not a good choice ended up at Cadenabbia on the opposite side, only 10 min across the water that's ok we bought a day ticket which allows you to get off and on the ferries within the central area, asked were to catch the. Ferry to Varenna - 300 metres up the road, a long three hundred metres ended up in the next town Tremezzo not really that far but more than 300 mtrs had to wait nearly an hour to get the next ferry, the towns aren't that far apart it's just the waiting around, and of course you should not travel near lunch, as everyone has a break for lunch, we head back via Bellagio, then Mennaggio finally our destination Vareena at 3pm, we left our hotel around 11am!! We did find a nice spot for a very late lunch, was going to drop into Menaggio but though we would do that another day and just buy a return ticket, hopefully we will get the right ferry!! It would really help if the ferries had their destinations written on them. The temperature was reach around 32 hot day,
(Tuesday) The bus (c30) takes an hour from Bellagio to Como, a little quicker than the ferry a lot cheaper and a very interesting ride through the narrow streets. They say that it's probably not a good idea to drive this leg unless
1. You are a crazy bus driver, 2. Can ride a motorbike, 3. Know the roads extremely well
The road is good but narrow, hair pin bends all the way, and one side nothing just a huge drop into the lake, at one stage 2 buses were trying to pass one had to back up for the other to pass, the funniest was someone was driving a motor home going one direction the bus is going the other direction, bus just passed it scratched the crap out of the motor home, and a few words were exchanged, all I can say is why would anyone take a motor home along the road and the bus did give a warning toot as he was flying up to the hairpin bend, glad we were in the bus on the side closer to the mountain!!
Also 4. If you are a stupid tourist who thinks they can hire a motor home and drive these narrow roads without getting scratches or dents on your motor home!!!
There was a market at Como, not a tourist market mostly locals, good bargains bought some great pieces of casual clothing, I luv Italian Linen!!!
We were meant to go to Paris tomorrow but have decided to stay here extra days until the 14th(Sat) then go and start our tour. Weather today 32!
Decided to go across the lake and have lunch at Menaggio it's 15 min by ferry, bought ticket was told it will be coming in 5 min - 15 min went no ferry, then realised we missed the ferry it was from another pier! ok no problem walk over to pier 3 have too wait 30 min, finally get over to Menaggio and of course the shops are closing because it's lunch, leisurely lunch and browse the shops, the temperature was 34 and humid, not too busy but then we noticed Wednesday seems to be the quietest day for all towns, jumped on the ferry to head back but had to go via Vareena extra 1/2 hr, you have to laugh! Time is no issue, the days go fast but you don't seem to be rushing any where.
By the time we ventured out for dinner the crowds had gone it's back to normal, found a little trattoria up the hill and had dinner, pizza, salad, wine & desert all good and €40 cheapest for dinner so far.
Thurs - the 11 am ferry is always busy with the tourists, our hotel is near one of the main Piers and has a great setting on the water, most days after breakfast (that's if we make it breakfast is only from 7.30 -9.30) we have a coffee and decided what we will do for the day it's good watching everyone scrambling to find a place to eat and guessing where they are from, there are a lot of Australians, this morning we bumped into a couple that live in Patterson Lake just down from us.
Conclusion on the ferry people - Germans and Swiss Carry walking poles I think they all come over to hike, Australians always wear hats, Americans wear white socks with black slip on shoes or white runners and are very loud, Poms are whiter than Karon and always order chips with everything, Italians wear designer clothes (heels for the women) and either drive a Ferrari. or Mazeratti.
Don wanted to get a hair cut, parked out the front was a Ferrari it was owned by the Barber!!
Took a tour to Lake Lugano which is a glacial lake between Italy and Switzerland, it is situated between Lake Como and Lake Maggiore. Lugano is the finance centre of Switzerland, it has 390 banks, anyone can open up an account in 5 mins. It's beautiful a lot of homes/ mansions are only used 2-3 weeks are year and then left unoccupied for the rest, mostly owned by people from Milan,.... Must look into it to see if there are any available for rent next visit!!!
A lot of villages along Lake Lugano can only be accessible by boat.
There is an Italian town Campione that is inside the Lake Lugano that is seperated by the rest of Italy, it was owned by the church in Milan, to work in the village the wages are three times more than average italian wage, the people in this town pay taxes in Rome but all wages are in Swiss, people are all Italian but get payed in Swiss and pay their taxes in euro, and drive Swiss cars. Now that is a mixture.
Today Lugano's diverse styles of architecture spans nearly five centuries, 1600, 1900 and modern.
Saturday - Checked out of hotel for the bus ride to Como thought it would be quiet day wrong market day at Como and bus was packed, everyone was travelling with luggage, bus ride and 2 trains took us 3/ 1/2 hrs from the time we left our hotel at Belaggio to arriving at Malpensa airport Milan. Not bad considering its only 85.6 Klm and that was making the connections, barely a minute too spare!!
We finally reached our hotel - Le meridien etoile in Paris at 6pm ( we left Belaggio at 10 am, distance is 1 hr 10 min flying, sorry the plane landed 10 minutes early but took 20 mins to get to its bay ), lucky we weren't in any hurry!
Our first night this is supposed to be a flash hotel they obviously gave us the shitty floors it's 2 star rating,we meet up with Adele & Trevor for a drink before our meet and greet dinner with our tour group, drinks (1 bourbon & coke, 1 southern &coke 2 gin & tonics €67, what a rip off, can't wait to do a review on this place, they want to charge €19 to use the wifi.
Our group are a mixed lot Aussies, Canadians, Americans, NZ, and others need to find out where they are from, only 22 on the tour which is good, had dinner and an evening tour around Paris.
Sunday- left 9am for our first destination Vinay Champagne, A few stops along the way at Epernay tasting at Mercier, our Hotel is Hostellerie La Briqueterie, lovely hotel we had a great dinner very relaxed a got too know more about our tour group, they all seem like a good bunch..... To be continued
Monday - first stop Verdun, the battle of Verdun was fought from 21 February - 18 December 1916 during the First World War between the Germans and French. Interesting!
Arrived in Strasbourg late, took the tram into the city centre and had a lovely dinner
Tuesday - did a 2 hr walking tour around Strasbourg, what a lovely city it is a lot like Amsterdam, with its canals and architecture. Then had a few hours to spare, wandered around with Adele and Trevor found interesting shops,
another stop - Strasbourg Cathederal that was founded by the Romans on the Rhine, we have seen lots of churches this one is impressive, the spire on the Cathederal was finished in 1439, it's the tallest church in the world, it was originally built in 1015 then a fire happened the church was rebuilt on foundations of the former church
a lot of storks nests on roofs, they are huge once they build a nest they will always return back to the same nest, ifs stork builds a nest I your roof it means it will bring you luck, I wouldn't like to have to clean the roof all the time !
Afternoon we did a half day tour of the Alsace wine region, Ribeauville village we had a wine tasting wines in. This region are mostly Riesling, gerwatraminer , and light Pinot big on sweet wines ended up having dinner in a little village Scherwiller, in 17th century inn, great food fun night
Having a bit of trouble with the Wifi here
Riquewihr Village was our first stop for a bit of wine tasting at 10am Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer & Riesling wines are sweet ok but would be better to taste later on in the day,
Riquewihr itself was a pretty village and dates back to 1269 ( well that was one of the dates that we seen) it could be olderwe Stopped here here for a few hours then onto Colmar beautiful town was really looking forward to this town the tour stuffed up only got an hour here to look around. The city is renowned for its well preserved old town, its numerous architectural landmarks and its museums. This is a city that you could come banjo and spend a bit of time.
We took an optional tour to a distillery, the owner made brandy based liqueurs and brandy for more than 30 years,he also had an amazing collection of miniature liquors bottles 8000 and all full, the liquors were good and around 80 percent proof, made from fruits,flowers basically they can make it out of anything. Went to th village of Turckheim for dinner the restaurant dated back to 15th century.
The weather has been good around 25
Travelling 250 Klm today to Beaune in Burgundy, Beaune most famous medieval treasure is the Hospices de Beaune and is the wine capital of Burgundy.
The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune is a former charitable almshouse in Beaune, France. It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor. The original hospital building, the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, is now a museum. Classified as a historic monument in 1862, it was run by nuns, the nuns run the hospice for 500 years and was used as a general hospital until 1971.
Services for patients are now provided in modern hospital buildings.
An important charity wine auction is held in November each year (formerly in the great hall of the Hôtel-Dieu) enables the Hospices de Beaune to finance its investments in the upgrading and maintenance of its cultural heritage.
Beaune is a very pretty place had lunch then it was time to get to our hotel The Mecure Burgundy. A quick shower and we headed out to visited a winery for some tasting
Clos St Louis is a small vineyard in the village of Fixin, Philippe Bernard is the owner this vineyard has been in his family since 1817, now that's a lot of generations! the wines were excellent, Philippe spent ages with us discussing what he does to produce a good bottle or two. It was great to see how passionate he was about his vineyard.
After a few good tastings we moved over to one of the restaurant in Fixin, food & wine was excellent, would like to return back to this town, had a great night.
A relaxing day today, had a early walking tour around Dijon to see a few of the sights,
The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in geometric patterns.
After this we were left to ourselves for the day, spent the day with. Adele & Trevor, wandering around the market, the market hall is a masterpiece of metal and glass, it was designed by Gustave Eiffel, hmmm wonder what else he did!
We did a bit of shopping, I've sent 7kg home (mostly things that I won't wear as the weather is warm). Temperature has been around 26 not as hot as Italy but very pleasant.
We had our celebration dinner but it was rushed as they had a wedding on and large bookings, think they forgot we were coming.
Tomorrow we head back to Paris.
Got back to Paris around 2pm, then did a small cruise up the Seine, the city is so busy the 21st of June is the longest day here, they celebrate with bands playing on every street corner all day and well into the early hours of the next day, it gives everyone a chance to listen to all types of music and it's free!! Great atmosphere, we had dinner at a great seafood restaurant with our friends Adele &Trevor then wandered around the streets sat and watched the performers. Weather is perfect around 26
Must remember to put that date in the diary for next time in Paris
Sunday - totally different day from last night, we walked up in side the Arc de triomphe there are 284 steps to the top,the view was worth it.
We moved hotels and are now staying in the opera district at Hotel Gramont Opera, quiet day as a lot of shops are shut, of course it's a Sunday!!
Monday - We have been to Paris 4 times now and there are still lots of sights that we haven't visited, First stop today was Napoleans tomb - Napoleon's Tomb is located in the central crypt of the Eglise du Dome Church at the Hotel des Invalides, which is situated on the Esplanade des Invalides. The remains of the emperor, inside the sarcophagus, are protected by six coffins, built from different materials, including mahogany, ebony, and oak, all one inside the other. Very Impressive big coffin for a small man!
Next the war musuem, which is in the same area as Napoleans tomb, I suppose they go hand in hand thought we would whip through here quick but ended staying for a few hours. The War Museum Musée de l'Armée in Paris was opened in 1905, and is today one of the largest military museums in the world with an astonishing collection of different weapons from different time periods.
Then a visit to Isle St. Louis, The Île Saint-Louis is one of two natural islands in the Seine river, in Paris, The Île Saint-Louis is connected to the rest of Paris by four bridges to both banks of the river. We have been here a few times before but it's an interesting place and we keep going back as there is a little place that we found that does the best crepes. Yum.
Finally we watched the soccer - Australia & Spain in the oz bar a few cocktails the we crashed that was a busy day. A lot of walking .
Tuesday - not worth getting up too early as not much opens before 10,.
I read about the St. Paul village which consists of a lot of lane ways interconnecting with fine antiques, art galleries and home decorations, my type of day, got there of course it's near lunch and nothing is opened until 2.30, had some lunch strolled around the main area then hit the village later on not a lot opened, a lot open in the weekend, hmm!! that wasn't mentioned when I read about it.
Later on found an area away from our hotel, streets were lined with Japanese restaurants so many it was hard to pick, finally managed to pick one and get in, it was so busy, food was good service fast, funny sight two Aussie (us) eating with chopsticks sitting next 2 Japanese eating with spoons it was a classic photo moment. Good to have something different in France.
Wednesday - again not an early day decided to visited the Catacombs Which is Situated twenty metres below ground, the ossuary contains the remains of approximately six million Parisians, transferred there gradually between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries as graveyards were being closed because of the risk they posed to public health. We got there had a bite to eat then decided to wander around and find it not expecting it to be too much of a tourist attraction (so the book says) the line was huge 2 1/2 hr wait !!! Really to see some old bones, we didn't wait.
Went and revisited Sacre Coeur, Sacre-Coeur is amazing, sitting as it does at the highest point in Paris on the hill of Montmartre. Views are great, then of course you see all the artist around trying to con you to do a drawing of you, all good fun, and a lot of them are pretty good.
Then got back to opera area and relealised that it was sale day 25-28th must remember that date the sales were amazing even donny bought some great pieces of clothing I bought two coats thankfully they are not that heavy, boy when they say sale they mean sale most things were 50-60 off.
Well this has been a Long blog, but thought it was easier to incorporate a few days together, we have had a great time in Paris once again, we leave tomorrow to catch up with Rick & Jackie in Berlin.
Got in to Berlin around lunchtime, weather a lot cooler to what we have been getting, Hotel Alsterhof nice hotel and in a good area close to everything. Rick & Jackie staying at the same hotel great to see them.
We set off to visit the sights of Berlin, Jackie has a tousit book so we though we would just do a few things of interest were we could stroll and chat and wanted to work our way to Brandebburg Gate.
Jumped on the bus to Alexanderplatz which is a large public square and transport hub in the central district of Berlin, first stop The Fernsehturm is a television tower close to Alexanderplatz, the tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969 by the administration of the German Democratic Republic. Height 368 mtrs, apparently we are going up to the top of it in a day or two.... More on that later.
The world clock, red town hall, Berlin Cathederal were a fe things that we ticked of the list and stood I front of them and looked at them for a minute or two, the four of us were too busy chatting, stopped for a beer in a beer garden ( of course). Then decided to go to Branderberg Gate by this time it's late afternoon around 4pm and noticed there are a lot if soccer fans heading towards the Gate, we relealised Germany was playing USA, as we were getting closer the traffic was a nightmare streets were blocked off police everywhere, finally after trying to get through the crowds we get to the Gate but it's blocked as the square is set up with a stage and thousand of soccer fans, bands a rocking, beer flowing a great atmosphere.
We have seen World Cup matches - Australia vs Netherlands in the Ozzie bar in France, France vs Switzerland the French won , and now Germany vs USA of course Germany won, the build up to the match and the celebrations afterwards is crazy horns going through the night, wonder what will be like if they win the cup, they love there soccer.
We didn't get to see the Gate properly have to go back there in a day or two.
Fri - Today we decided to do the hop on hop off bus tour of the city it's a great way to see the sites especially with live commentary, spent a lot of time at the wall.
The East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. It is a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall located near the centre of Berlin , The Gallery consists of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, painted in 1990 on the east side of the Berlin Wall. It is the largest and longest-lasting open air gallery in the world.
The Berlin Wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961
Length of border around West Berlin: 155 km
Length of border between West Berlin and East Germany: 111.9 km
Length of border between West and East Berlin: 43.1 km
Length of border through residential areas in East Berlin: 37 km
thought everyone would be interested in that bit of info!!
Later in the night Jackie & Rick surprised us with a visit to he top of the Television Tower height of 368 meters, it is the tallest structure in Germany, it took 40 seconds to reach the top, you get 360 views once your at the top, the view is great.
Saturday- Jackie wanted to do a bit of shopping so I was more than happy to go along and help out and grab a few bargains for myself, we let the boys have a sleepin while we did a little bit of power shopping, met back around 12 then continued on our hop on hop off bus ( tickets valid for 2 days), visited Checkpoint Charlie and the Museum Haus.
The Museum Haus is a museum at Checkpoint Charlie, founded by human rights activist Dr. Rainer Hildebrandt, in October 1962 as a two-and-a-half room display about the newly erected Berlin Wall, the museum has evolved into a more than 2000m2 exhibition that explores not only the history of the Berlin Wall you can discover objects used to escape over, under, and through the Berlin Wall, and read the stories of those escapees who risked their lives to win their freedom.
Went back to Brandenburg Gate for a walk around and take a few photos could only access a small part as it's still blocked off with screens and fencing until the soccer finishes.
Dinner and drinks our last night with Rick & Jackie, they fly back to Swiss tomorrow, we have a couple more days here then we will visit a few other places in Germany not sure where, then work our way back to Swiss and spend a couple of days with Rick & Jackie again.
Sunday- nothing happening in Berlin on a Sunday everything is closed its quieter than France on a public holiday! Even hard to find something opened for dinner, weather turned a bit cooler had to put on a pair of jeans! Spent the most part of the day trying to organise were to go to next.
Monday - you would not think it was the same city after yesterday. Wandered around some different areas we both picked up a few things,
Visited The story of Berlin musuem, it is a multi media musuem with over 20 theme rooms that show 800 years of the City's development, from the Middle Ages to the fall of the Berlin Wall, we also had a guided tour through a nuclear bomb shelter that's was situated below the street, it was originally built in the 70s, the Bunker was to shelter 3600 people in case of emergency, of course it has never been used ( yet). Think I have done enough history of Berlin.
We decided to take a stroll through KaDeWe which is one of the most significant department stores in the world it is second biggest to Harrods, it covers 60,000 square metres over eight floors, we only went through as it was mentioned on our bus tour the other day,we ended up staying a few hours, the gourmet floor was fantastic better than Harrods much better prices, they had different food areas where they cook for you then take your pick on drinks and stay as long as you like, champagne bars, beer bars, and food from around the world couldn't find any vegemite, but did find Australian wine. The Champagne bars were busy seemed like the spot after work to have a drink, we bought a 1/2 of Champagne and had it back at the hotel.
We had a full day of walking, legs are tired. Tomorrow we are going to catch the train to Munich and spend a few days there, then move onto Swiss.
Arrived in Munich after a 5hr train trip from Berlin, trains are fast and very comfortable. Munich is very busy city, totally different from Berlin, a lot of old style buildings.
Munich was totally reconstructed after the 2nd world war, they had a very good major and he wanted to keep the city the same as it was before the war, looking at the buildings you would think it is all original. There are lots of alley ways and interesting shops, we walked around for ages found a great little bar/ restaurant watched the soccer, Don had a great Snitchzel as you do when in Germany and of course a large beer ( very rare to see him drink a beer these days) after that headed back our hotel, will go bak out and explore more in a day or two.
Wednesday- up early as we booked a full day tour of the Balvarian Alps and visiting few of the castles. Our first stop Schloss Neuschwanstein or as we all know it the castle on Disneyland
The castle is located in the Alps in Bavaria, near the town of Fussen, in a magnificent landscape, on the top of a hill. Neuschwanstein overlooks the Hohenschwangau valley. It was built by King Ludwig II also know as the Fairytale King Ludwig II.
The Neuschwanstein Castle really looks like a fairytale castle. It was built in the 19th century in Bavaria, in a time when castles no longer had strategical and defensive purposes. While Neuschwanstein's look is that of a medieval castle, it was equiped inside with state of the art technology at that time. For example on every floor of the castle there were toilets with automatic flushing system, as well as an air heating system for the whole castle. Water was supplied by a nearby spring situated at only 200 meters above the castle. The construction of the Neuschwanstein castle began in 1869, and originally it was projected to last three year. But Ludwig II wanted the castle to be perfect, the castle was unfinished due to Ludwigs mysterious death in 1886 in the river not far from the Castle itself.
Next stop village of Oberammergau, The town is famous for its production of a Passion Play, its woodcarvers, and air paintings.
Oberammergau Passion Play is a passion play performed since 1634[1] as a tradition by the inhabitants of the village of Oberammergau, Since its first production it has been performed on open-air stages in the village. The text of the play is a composite of four distinct manuscripts dating from the 15th and 16th centuries . The play is a staging of Jesus' passion, covering the short final period of his life from his visit to Jerusalem and leading to his execution by crucifixion. It has been criticized as being anti-semitic, but it is the earliest continuous survivor of the age of Christian.
The next passion play performance is 2020, apparently people from many countries book 1-2 years ahead to watch the performance, must put that date in the diary!!
Next The Royal Castle of Linderhof - King Ludwig II built this secluded hunting lodge, it was known as the Kings Hut. Ludwig decided that this will be a New Versailles. It was planned as a modest villa but had become a splendid Rococo palace in the ornate French style. Linderhof is the smallest of the three royal castles, and the only one which was completely finished in (1878). King Ludwig loved gold and used a lot of it , We walked up to his "cave" where he would go and watch opera. He had different lights for the different moods , this was br far the better castle inside, but the Disney castle had the better views and looked better from the outside. Unfortunately we couldn't take any photos of the inside of either castles.
The weather got cold up in the Alps and it rained most of the day, but it was worth the trip to see the fantastic views and the castles
Today we took the Dachau memorial tour (concentration camp)
Dachau is a town 20 Klm north west of Munich, in March 1933 the concentration camp near Dachau was opened, it was also the training centre for the SS.
We had a guided tour around all areas of the memorial site, the cells, barracks, gas chamber and musuem
It was used as a refugee camp after the American liberation, some buildings are original, this includes the crematorian built in 1942. The tour was interesting and sad, our guide Chris was very knowledgable about the area, it was well worth doing.
After the tour we headed back and spent the afternoon wandering around the streets, stopping of for a beer or two in one of the many beer gardens.
The weather today was a lot different than the day before it was around 25 and sunny.
Spent the morning wandering around Munich after lunch around 4.30 we caught the train to Switzerland to spend to weekend with Rick & Jackie. Arrived around 7.30 had a nice easy evening with a few wines, dinner, finally bed around 1am, great to catch up with again. Saturday woke up to rain, then sun, then rain, hmm a bit like Melbourne!! Had a very relaxing day, later on in the evening we went to Arbon (which is probably only 10-15 Klms away on Lake Constance), it was the start of the Summer festival, music, food, fireworks, over the next couple of weeks each area has its own festival to celebrate Summer, the fireworks were great, the music was a mixture of hits sung in German and in English and some very basic music as well, a good night. home just in time to see the kick off between Netherlands and Costa Rica in the the World Cup, Netherlands won that one, another game of soccer in another country!!
Monday very early start, it's been a long time since we have woken up at 5am, we decided to catch the Bernina Express along the alps and stay in Italy for a night.
The Bernina Express is a panoramic train connecting Chur in Switzerland with Poschiavo and Tirano in Italy it is the highest mountain railway in the Alps and provides a link between northern and southern Europe. It runs along 122 Klm of track, passing through 55 tunnels and over 196 bridges and viaducts. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The landscapes and scenery were fantastic, well worth doing, we had a little rain at the start, it cleared up and by the time we got to Tirano the temp ended up 30 for the day. Our hotel 'Hotel Bernina' is right opposite the station, very handy. Tirano itself is in Northern Italy and is the Switzerland-Italy Boundary. We stay here for the night then work our way back up to Rick and Jackie.
Most of the shops were closed on Monday , today we spent a little time around Tirano, It has only about 9,000 inhabitants (it is still considered a city because it has walls that were built to protect ). The town has some pretty old buildings but their beauty is trumped by the natural beauty of the Alps that surround it. The river Adda flow through the town a gorgeous setting, some tranquil sun-drenched piazzas and some ancient, winding streets and of course cafes. Vineyards on the mountains surround the town, nice town, our hotel was right opposite the railway station.
The weather was a lot cooler today, we were going to catch the train into St Morirz which is about 1 1/2 hrs away, we were told that the weather would be bad there, so we ended up taking the Bernina express back over the Alps, totally different view when there is cloud about, glad we did this trip on Mon.
Got back around 9 pm, spent a few hours with Jackie & Rick.
Our last couple of days in Switzerland ended in rain and cold, Unlike our first day in Thailand rain and hot, arrived here on 11th at around 10am Thai time. From when we left at 6am Swiss time to going to bed At 7pm Thai time we had been up 26 hrs, didn't sleep on the plane, we had a much needed sleep woke around 9am.
Our hotel Mom's Tri's Villa Royale is situated overlooking the Ardamann sea at Kata Beach it's secluded but close enough to walk down the hill to restaurants and shops. We will stay here for a week of relaxation.
Haven't done too much over the last couple of days, weather has been hot and humid which is to be expected this time of year, we have had a bit of rain but you only need to wait 10 min before it stops, the wind hasn' t stopped since we've been here which has made the sea very choppy, too be expected this time of year. Last night we sat at a bar and watched a Elvis impersonator, have to say he had a great voice, although some of his "Ls & Rs" got mixed up and made the songs interesting.
Yesterday ( Wed) finally a calm sea day so we organised to do a half day tour out to a couple of Islands that we haven't visited before, picked up at 12, 1hr ride to pier, waiting around for another 1/2 hr, speed boat ride out to 1st Island with 20 other people, I walked around whole Island in 10min ( I am serious) Don did snorkelling for 15 mins not much too see, 1 hr later hurdled back onto boat to another Island that you could not get off boat but jump off the boat too snorkel and swim around the boat Really!!! I don't think so, no one wanted to do that so off to the next Island where we stayed for 2hrs, this island was smaller again! Walked it in 5 min, amazing what they can cramp on a postage stamp!! Finally after crawling through the traffic we arrived back at 6.45pm to a much needed drink, I think we would of been better spending the day by the pool!!
Today we decided to do something completely different, we hired a driver for a few hours to drive us around, this is much easier and very cheap.
We visited an elephant village in the hills, great views looking over Phuket, went on a trek down a steep path through the jungle but asked the keeper to turn around and go back as we both felt the elephant wasn't happy and we felt bad, once the keeper turned around to go back the elephant walked up the path fairly quickly, it knew it was going home, probably relieved it didn't have to walk down to the bottom of the path! The owner assured us that all his money went to the elephants, all of them looked healthy and not too many tourists, our driver told us that if an elephant is walking and swaying its happy, if it's doing nothing it 's sad.
We then visited the Tiger Village, we patted two large tigers which were 4 years old and a 4 month old tiger, we were told not to approach them from the front because they think you are going to play and they might scratch, one scratch and your gone, they sleep 18hrs a day, any wonder with the humidity here, the tigers all seem to be well looked after and did not seem to be drugged. It was well worth it.
Our break here in Phuket has been relaxing, we leave here tomorrow for home.
Getting ready 2 weeks to go
Easy checkin, our first stop wil be Hong Kong for a couple of hours.
Very proud of my self luggage weight my bag 14kgs , Dons 13.9, the checkin commented how light our luggage was.
Lots of shopping.
Melbourne temp 11
Our flight from Hong Kong ended up being 1 1/2 late, arrived in Roma 8.30am, luggage , customs was quick got the train from airport straight to Roma termini, €13 each and about a 25 min travel, got to our hotel around 11am not bad going considering we sat for 1/2hr having a wake up coffee at the airport.
Hotel Diocleziano is a 5 min walk from the Termini in a quiet street. The temp on arrival was 25 degrees. Went out later on after a bit of a sleep, walked and explored, our last visit to Rome was 2007 hasn't changed a lot, probably just more tourists, and this time a lot hotter, top temp for the day 36 degrees.............they really need to do something about all that concrete!!!
Found a cafe with mostly locals - la bottega del caffe in piazza madonna, good food,
Tomorrow we will do a bit more exploring of areas that we haven't been to before.
Decided do a bit of shopping in Louhu (pronounced Lo Wu) shopping centre in Shenzhen which is in China, easy to get to takes about 45 min on the train, once you get to the station before you cross over you have to get a visa and pay, as we left later in the afternoon there were no crowds to fight at the border, we go up to the visa office - ( 5 custom officers sitting behind glass windows, no one waiting in line) pay our fee hand over our passport for approval, they take our money and passports and hand us a ticket with a number on it and was told to sit and wait! Wait for what we were the only ones in the room, then we watched the process.. customs officer 1 takes our cash and passports and hands it to customs officer 2 , officer 2 gets the cash receipt along with passport and puts it into officer 3's tray, officer 3 calls us over and hands us the receipt and tells us to sit, officer 3 now puts the passports into officer 4's tray we wait a few minutes then we are called up our passports have our visas in them and they are printed glued in properly, with a 5 day permit, don't know what officer 5 did maybe he was the organiser !! everyone has a job and everything is done with precision. We didn't really have too wait too long but would hate to be here first thing in the morning with the process they have.
Last time we came across to China we planned it and got our visas before we left, I had to go to the Chinese embassy, leave my passports pay a huge amount of money for a 2 day permit and had to go back to the embassy 2 weeks later to pick my passports up!!
Anything you want you can get at Lo Wu but you have to be prepared to bargain and not be too worried about being hassled by everyone wanting you to go into their shop, we bought a few things and Donny was very good at getting the best price.
Hongkong is very busy or should I say a lot busier than usual as its Chinese national holiday week celebrating 66 years of Chinese federation, all the Chinese come across to HongKong, most Hongkongers class them selves as HongKong citizens and simply not Chinese from mainland China, people from China need to obtain a visa before they can enter HongKong for a brief visit. HongKong citizens are allowed to go to a lot more countries without visas than the mainland passport.
No IPad, No GPS, went back to basics and used a normal map, everything seems to look a lot closer on a map, we ended up walking 13.1 KLMs, the temperature for the day was 36 degrees, who walks around in this temperature??? Only tourists!!
First stop
A visit to Villa Borghese gardens and museum, Villa Borghese is the largest public park in Rome. The park has a lake , temples, fountains, statues and several museums.The area started as a vineyard in the sixteenth century. In 1605 cardinal Scipione Borghese, a nephew of pope Paul V, turned the vineyard into a park. That's a hell of a lot of wine!!
Dubbed the park of museums the Borghese park is also home to several museums.
The most famous is the Museo e Galleria Borghese, housed in the Villa Borghese, It has a collection of sculptures. The Galleria Borghese also houses a collection of paintings from several masters including Titian, Rubens and Raphael.
You have to book to visit the museum/ galleria and stick to the time that was allocated, they only take so many people, we were lucky to get in we had a 1pm session and they allow you 2 hrs for a visit. It's funny to think how the Italians are so disorganised but when it comes to time/ visits of certain places they are very strict.
We spent a few hours at the park / museum.
We found Harry's bar ( the copy) the original and famous for the Bellinis is in Venice.
Our friends Trevor and Adele arrived in Rome, we found a little place away from the crowds to have a late lunch, we got totally ripped off. The waiter was friendly showing us photos of islands around Thailand, he gave us a glass of prosecco to taste we liked the wine and ordered a bottle, we commented on the bottle that it wasn't the same, he said the wine needed to breath, were drinking white wine it didn't need to breath!! Anyway Don goes to pay the bill it was €140 ... for 1 large pizza, I antipasti platter, some bruschetta that was so hard that the birds walked away from it, and of course a bottle of wine that would change colour and taste once it was left to breathe!! Don told them it was a rip off, the waiter shrugged his shoulders and laughed.
Lesson learned - check the wine list before you get caught up in the heat of the moment meeting friends!!
We still had a great day!
Tues - Got a SIM card for the IPAD, and managed to walk 9.1 KLMs today, much better than the day before. Found some great hidden spots.
Visited the Pantheon and the Castel Saint' Angelo we have been there before but wanted to explore further.
The building is circular with a portico of large granite columns. which is under a concrete dome with a central opening to the sky. Almost two thousand years after it was built, the Pantheon's dome is still the world's largest unreinforced concrete
Castel Sant'Angelo, is a towering cylindrical building . It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum.
Met the tour group that night small group only 25 of us including the driver and our tour guide.
We left around 8.30 for the longest part of our journey to the Region of Puglia, approx 6 hrs travelling. We headed towards Nalples then across the Apennines mountains to Bari which is on the coastline over looking the Adriatic. They have had an exceptional summer it is very dry and no rain.... Sounds familiar!!
Puglia, also known as Apulia, is in the south of Italy; the heel of Italy's boot.
We will stay here for 3 nights in a Trulli house in Alberobello.
A trullo (plural, trulli) is a traditional Apulian dry stonehut with a conical roof. Their style of construction is specific to the area of the Italian region of Puglia Trulli were generally constructed as temporary field shelters and storehouses or as permanent dwellings by small proprietors or agricultural labourers. In the town of Alberobello, in the province of Bari, whole districts are packed with trulli. The golden age of trulli was the 19th century, especially its final decades marked by the development of wine growing.
We have all been allocated a trullo living amongst the locals, they are amazing a lovely sight.
We had a great meal the owners were so passionate about their produce everything we ate was mostly grown from their garden or local farmers, the wine was from the local up the road, I have to say it had a kick.
It was what it was no airs or graces...
The temperature is a bit cooler let here 33 degrees.
Fri - this morning a local guide took us on a walking tour around Alberobello, Unesco World Heritage Site Alberobello resembles an urban sprawl – for gnomes. The Zona dei Trulli has 1500 beehive-shaped houses, white-tipped as if dusted by snow.
These dry-stone buildings are made from local limestone; and are mortarless none are older than the 14th century. the trulli can not be pulled down, and now no one is capable to completely build a trulli as the skill has not been passed through generations people can only renovate. Roofs are fully renovated approx every 60 years, cost €10,000 per roof to renovate.
They are small inside the one we're in has been renovated and is used for hire, not many windows and not a lot of natural light, I was expecting them to be cool having been made of limestone , ours didn't haven cooling only a fan it was warm inside.
Our temperature for the the day was 36
Now that night we decided on a restaurant Adele & I ordered an antipasta platter each, 1 seafood & 1 special of the house, thinking that we'd have that for entree then a light main, the guys only ordered a main course, the food started coming, and coming and coming,!! I think there was about 15 plates that come out for the entree, everything comes out separate, the guys wouldn't help us eat it we were on our own, we kept looking and praying at each dish this would be the last, finally the last plate arrived, we got through it with a very little bit of help from Trevor, then when you think you've done our next course arrived and we'd both ordered pasta! The owner was fabulous he chatted with everyone in the restaurant and made sure you were going to finish your meal, Don asked for the bill he pinched Dons cheeck and said no not before the limone cello, and poured us a glass.
Excellent night.
Drove to the town of Lecce, it's 10am and 35 everywhere in Italy is raining except here.
Lecce dates back to the 17th century and is a Baroque city.. Made out of Limestone after 150yrs it turns to chalk and buildings need to be replaced, ..... Obviously that's where all the chalk came from before they invented pens !!!
Once inside the wall nothing is real everything is made to catch the eye while walking, symbols on the architecture represent different things, dog is for protection, the snake represented the Moslems, ( don't think they are liked ) but I won't go into that.
The only square in Italy that is not a square only one entrance so it's classed as a courtyard, And owned by the Bishop , no shops in the square except one who refuses to pay the taxes to the church. You just love the Italians total confusion.
Mentioned to the local guide that it was hot he said you should of been here 2 weeks ago it was 53!! Our guide Gilberto said he thinks he was exaggerating a bit was probably only 45! I don't complain about the heat but it was hot, only tourists walk around in the heat, funny not many Aussies on this side of Italy except this group.
Left Lecce 2pm 39 degrees legs are like bloody tree trunks drunk litres of water nothing coming out just going to the legs, feet look deformed, will I ever get a pair of heels on again!!
On the way back we stop at Ostuni - famous for the dazzling effect of its whitewashed houses. The city of Ostuni is a series of levels, staircases, small roads, alleys, arches. Hints of the Middle Ages are at hand in every corner, in every view to the sea. We walked to the square that was enough for us, Don, Trev, Adele and myself planted ourselves under an umbrella and ordered a few cocktails, the others walked the Italian 5 mins to see the view, all I can say the cocktails were much appreciated than the view.
Got back to our trulli around 5pm, feet are now slab! ! tomorrow we leave and venture onto Matera, not too much walking and cooler weather!
Sunday we travelled through Polignano a Mare a coastal town built directly on the cliffs over the Adriatic Sea, didn't spend a lot of time here just enough for a quick stroll and a few photos, later we continued onto the port of Monopoli and had lunch at a family run Osteria, known for its seafood, great food but way to much you actually feel guilt leaving it.
On our arrival in Matera we visit the Murgia Timone, a huge rock plateau riddled with ancient man made stone caves or 'Sassi', to take in the views directly over the 'la Gravina' ravine to the old town.
Matera is the oldest inhabited town in the world over 9000 yr old. By the Thirties, 20,000 people, mostly landless peasants, were crammed into the caves or Sassi, they had no heat, light or sanitation. Men, women, children and animals slept together. It was in 1952 , when the government finally took action and rehoused 20,000 people, it was known as the shame of Italy.
In 1993, Unesco declared the sassi a World Heritage Site. In 2003, Mel Gibson shot much of his film, The Passion of the Christ, in Matera’s barren but dramatic surroundings, bringing the town to wider attention. By 2006, some 2,000 people lived in the sassi, which like Matera – were becoming chic.
This would be one of the most fascinating cities I have visited, thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Matera
Tues- we left our cave, drove across Calabria and down to the toe if Italy once we reached the Mediterranean we caught a ferry across the Straits of Messina to Sicily, following the coast we arrived at the town of Taormina where we stay for 4 nights.
Taormina is perched on the side of a mountain high above sea level on the east Coast of Sicily. The temperature has dropped to around 24 and rain, still humid.
Wed - a free day today, to do a bit of exploring, ... Didn't happen, it hasn't rained here since May, it happened today 200mm, shops were flooded, a lot closed (no doubt there will be flood damage sale in a day or two) and damage done to roads, the sea ended up being a brown colour due to the wash coming down from the mountain..
The rain finally eased around 6pm, we went to see a amateur Italian Opera, the Opera was good, we had a relaxing day.
Woke up to a lovely day of sunshine, no rain, top of 28. Followed the road along the coast passing through the town of Campania driving down through a number of Baroque towns.
Approx 2 hrs driving, the roadside stops here are fantastic, beautiful pastries, full service of food if you want to sit or great paninis yhou can buy anything from alcohol to games for kids, not a McDonald's or KFC in sight, it's great
Arriving in Syracuse we join up with a local guide, who takes us for a walk around a large amphitheatre in 2700 old Greek And Roman Ruins,
The city is known for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture and as the birthplace of Archimedes. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, right by the Gulf of Syracuse next to the Ionian Sea.
We then go to Ortiga Island, the heart of ancient Syracuse, look at the architecture in the main square, Piazza del Duomo, the four of us decide to go and find a place to eat, found a great place in the backstreet and had stuffed sardines, and mussles wrapped in lemon leaves, have to say the seafood here in Sicily is great.
Watch this space for photos, wifi bit slow at the moment
A full adventure today, we left at 7.15 headed towards campaigna then headed up the mountain, arrived around 9.15, Gilberto is happy that we are only the second bus to arrive and can park very close to the area where we need to walk to get the chair lift, we then get a four wheel drive up to the starting point of our walk we are at 2900 m it's sunny but very windy and cold, we walk along the crater for 40 min we reach the highest point of 3350 m. don't know what he temperature was, You can be the judge by the photos!!
Mt Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. It has an base (38 x 47 km) and a maximum elevation of about 3350 m. The volcano dominates the landscape of NE Sicily. The first eruptions at Etna occurred 500,000 years ago.
Both of us braved the walk and the cold, . I think we both did well considering we are not too keen on heights. It was worth doing and well worth leaving early our guide Gilberto told us that it would be crowded when we got back down to the plateau, could not believe the buses and people when we hit Terra firma.
We then descended to the village of Forza d'Agro, just north of Taormina. This area was the setting for some scenes from 'The Godfather'. ...
We had a fantastic seafood lunch, first course consisted of 6 different types of seafood, all local ! Then followed two different types of pasta, next came the main grilled prawns, swordfish and a few other dishes, we were done at the first course of antipasti dishes, then we had platters of small cakes, and to top it off bottles of home made liquors were placed on the tables to help yourself for tastings...
Osteria Agostiniana da Pippo was perched on top of a mountain -( Osteria means serving wine and simple food), it was not a place catering for all tourists because tourists would never stumble across it, you would never find it, unless you have a friend that knows!!!
Headed off this morning South to Catania, then completely crossing Sicily from East to West, our destination Agrigento Sicily.
Our first stop is Piazza Armerina where we meet up with a local guide, we are taken through Villa Romana del Casale another UNESCO heritage listed site.
The 1700 yr old Villa was almost completely covered by a landslide in the 12th Century, the Villa was partly rediscovered in the 19th Century. However, not until the 20th Century, did the magnitude and magnificence of Villa Romana del Casale come to light. Built as a hunting lodge by a Roman patrician the Villa is home to some of the best preserved and extensive examples of Roman mosaics.
Later on we stopped at Enna - which is an ancient mountain top city in the middle of Sicily. Enna is Sicily's highest major city and also the capital of the only one of Sicily's nine provinces that has no coastline. Not really a lot happening we only had short time here was happy to sit to awhile. Temperature 30.
Finally got to our hotel in Agrigento, - The Colleverde Park Hotel over looks 'The Valley of the Temples' not our room!. We have the most amazing view of dried cut grass and a few olive trees! Oh well you can't have it good all the time.
A visit to the Valley of the Temples, - the most sacred valley in the world!!! So the Greeks say, but the Italians say the Greeks are their natural enemy. Guess what nationality our local guide was !
Modern Agrigento used to be the Greek city of Akragas, a colony of settlers mainly from Rhodes and Crete decided to move west, partly because the land in the area was ideal for cultivating olives, grapes and cereal. The city, supposedly founded in 582 BC, soon became prosperous and, in its glory days, was one of the most important and most culturally-advanced Greek cities in the Mediterranean.....then the Italians took over made the Greeks pay taxes and it all went to ruins!
The afternoon we drove up to an olive farm, did tastings of Olive oil and had a wonderful lunch, we were told today would be a light lunch..... Still waiting to see an Italian version of 'light lunch'
We have had an interesting three days in Marsala, infact we didn't visit the town of Marsala as it wasn't much of a town, the three days has been busy visiting various sites, our hotel was inland set on a hill top.
Mon 14 - Visited Fishing port of Sciacca which is a seaside town built on rocky heights that overlook the Mediterranean Sea on the south-western coast of the Sicily. Sciacca is noted for its numerous artisan shops, which specialize in ceramic ware, and its fishing fleet. Lots of ceramic could of brought some great pieces but too heavy to bring home, managed to buy one piece ( that will go into Donnys case!!). We then followed the coast to the beach at Porto Palo and enjoyed a great seafood lunch at Vittorio's restaurant, of course it was another Italian light lunch!! Temperature 30
Tues 15 - we visited the town of Erice, which is a medieval town located on Mt Erice 750 metres above sea level overlooking the port of Trapani. Erice is pronounced EH-richay.
Lots of steep laneways cobbled streets and a large number of churches, some good some not so good. In the afternoon we stop at Segesta to visit another Ancient Greek temple and amphitheater, these were built 430 BC ( the other temples were better these were older )
In Summer, a series of classical Greek dramas are performed (in Italian) at Segesta's ancient amphitheatre, but many of these productions feature actors and actresses wearing casual clothes instead of classical costumes. Since important promotional elements like online schedules --in English-- and advance ticket sales have been ignored, it's difficult to plan a Segesta show as part of your trip..... No that is funny and confusing !!! Temperature 32
Wed 16 - 1 hr drive to fishing port of Castellammare del Golfo boarded a small catamaran cruised for 3 hrs through the Zingaro marine nature reserve, lot of rock formations and caves, stopped for a swim ( well not me I don't dive off boats, but Donny did ) then continued on to San Vito Lo Capo ( one of the best beaches we've seen it had sand no rocks ) we found a great place on the beach had lunch, cocktails and watched all the bathing beauties!! No worries about body image here no one cares what shape you are if it is hot wear less as possible. Holiday destinations for mostly Italians ( maybe a few Greeks!), we were at the end of the holiday season it was busy, I could defiantly spend a few days here but not in peak season, Temperature 33 humidity hot!!
Arrived in Palermo to grid lock traffic and 33 degrees heat and it's only 10am, a local guide joins us on the bus, great we don't have to get off we are going to have a comfortable cruise around the city on the bus then to our hotel.......so we thought !!! We have travelled for 10-15 mins and not going anywhere too fast, there's a protest in the city and its complete bedlam, so for some reason, it was decided that we would do a walk around the city to points of interests.
We dodged cars, motorcycles, buses, and it just happened to be the opening of a gelati festival so the streets were having all the stalls set up for the night, the guide takes us through a few squares, churches up some streets, all we wanted was for the tour to end so we could go to our hotel, it's hot, ... finally we get to an area where there is shade, I comment how hot and humid it is, she tells me that this weather is very unusual it's normally 7-8 degrees cooler it's not even this temp in summer..... and she hates this type of weather.. really! and she makes us walk around in it and she says I know your country gets very hot weather as well...... Yes but it's not all made of concrete and stone with 100% humidity !! The bus finally picks us up takes us too another spot double parks on a main rd, we're told we have an 1 1/2 hrs to stroll around or have some lunch... This is the last thing we want to do... Where is the hotel!!! it's now 38 degrees. We get back to the bus it's still double parked, there's traffic zipping around police patrolling and our guide Gilberto is standing behind the bus, I ask what he was doing, he said he was guarding the bus while our bus driver Fabio was having lunch!! I knew we had to watch our pockets as pick pocketing is rife in Palermo, but guarding a bus!!
We now are taken up to the (Duomo) Cathedral in Monreale just out of the city and getting closer to our hotel!! I have to say I have seen a lot of Cathederals in my travels this one was very impressive.
Monreale Cathedral was built from 1174 to 1185. The architectural is a blend of Arabic, Byzantine and Roman styles with magnificent mosaics. The cathedral's treasury contains an impressive collection of sacred art, including vestments, silverware, and goldsmithery from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
We finally get to our hotel at 4.45pm.. A full day.. Heat, traffic, hidden treasures, finally time to relax except we are having our farewell dinner and have to meet at 6.45pm, and we are going to a restaurant a 1/2hr away from the hotel in the bus!!!!
Our Southern Italy/ Sicily tour has ended, it was a good tour, we got to see and stay in some amazing places, that other companies don't tend to go to. Except for Palermo our days were not rushed....
A new adventure Ana Capri then onto Positano..... We have an early start again, hopefully this is the last of early starts! We are transferred to Palermo airport to get our flight to Naples then a ferry to Capri.
Get through check our luggage have plenty of time to go through customs have a small breakfast snack then realised that all of a sudden it is getting chaotic, boarding time is 8am and we haven't even got through the scanner area and the line is not moving, there are flights going everywhere, people pushing in arguing trying to get through to get scanned, the security finally decided to open up another lane, I push in tell them we need to get through, if we don't get this flight the next one wasn't until 5.30 pm, not staying in this airport for that long! We finally get through security looked at ticket, passport etc gone through the scanner, Don, Trev and Adele are at the lifts ready to go to the bus to get to the plane, I realised I haven't got my boarding pass in my hand anymore, I run back asking where is the boarding pass, Trev & Adele go ahead, security are looking for my boarding pass and arguing with each as too what to do or what happened to it, by this time it's 8.30, I'm yelling at the security, he says just go down to the area they will issue another one, we all know once your past the point of no return that will not happen, ... I kept saying to Donny I can't believe it disappeared that quick Then I happened to look at my arm and here inside my sleeve stuck to my arm is the boarding pass, in the rush going through the scanner after stripping items off it obviously got stuck.......and we won't say anything else about the lost boarding pass!!
One hour flight we are in Naples, we decided the best way to the ferry is by taxi, we thought the traffic was bad in Palermo, that was nothing compared to Naples, the taxi was a Fiat, of course what other car would they have in Italy, I don't know how the guy got the four of us in plus our cases and carry on bags but he did, The taxi driver spoke a little English, Don happened to say something like you drive like F1 driver, Ferrai! we think he misunderstood and thought we were in a hurry he is passing cars sideways zipping in and out went down the tram lines ( although I noticed a lot I'd taxi drivers did that) running red lights, we got to the ferry terminal in no time, it was funny...
Forty minutes later we are in Capri, the owner of our B&B Mr Franco picked us up at the port and pointed up saying we are going to the top, we are staying in Ana Capri, again we are amazed at the way he fitted us along with the luggage into his car, the road going up is so narrow in some parts,one car would reverse back to let the other through other parts they would pass each other with not an inch to spare, if you lived here you would have to know the dimensions of a car no limos around here! Weather 36 and humid
The Island of Capri has two towns, Capri and Anacapri. Anacapri is located on the slopes of Mount Solaro at a higher elevation than Capri town, most of the island's sights are located near Anacapri: The Blue Grotto, Villa San Michele, and the chairlift for Mount Solaro.
Anacapri is a lot quieter than Capri, lots of cruise ships stop at Capri for the day and the tourists tend to come up for a couple of hours. Once the locals know your not from a cruise ship or you are staying for a few days they are different towards you, they like to have a chat, most of the locals say the same that's it's getting too busy with the cruise ships the island is getting spoiled, and the Mafia run everything on the island, taxis, ferries, hotels and restaurants, the Mafia want the tourists the locals want to restrict the number of tourist that come onto the island because it's damaging the island, there are a number of locals that say they are not involved and try and keep to themselves.
Luckily our B&B is in Anacapri away from the crowds but close enough to stroll to shops / restuarants, it's certainly not cheap here but not as expensive as Capri, we have visited some expensive shopping strips in our travels but Capri tops them all, we took a walk in the afternoon around Capri when the madness of the crowds left. .. half of the street has every designer brand possible the other half consists of local stuff but 3-4 times dearer than the top.
Walked up to Villa San Michele the villa's gardens have panoramic views of the town of Capri and its harbour, the Sorrentine Peninsula and Mount Vesuvius . The villa sits on a ledge at the top of the Phoenician Steps between Anacapri and Capri, at a height of 327 meters above sea level.
The Blue Grotto is a sea cave which goes 50 metres into the cliff you can get a boat to the entrance then change to a canoe and go through the cave unfortunately the cave was not open the day we visited due to high tides, there are signs everywhere saying no swimming into the caves, this did not deter people, and of course the tour companies are not going to knock back a dollar, we sat ourselves down at a little shack built into the cliff and watched the people jumping from the boats trying to get through the caves, madness!! no locals swim here only the crazy tourists!
Our days in Anacapri have been great and totally relaxing after our tour, the weather has been around 30, tomorrow we catch the ferry across to Positano on the Amalfi Coast.
A 40 min ferry ride to Positano on the Amalfi Coast is where we are staying for seven nights.
Positano is a vertical town where instead of roads you explore along steep flights of steps. Our B&B is set high up on the side of the hill, on arrival the porters took our luggage we were told everything is up we walked and bused it up to Villa Mary. A steep climb...
It's interesting to see the things that are growing / living on the side of a cliff, everyone has a garden, vegetables and of course lemon trees. The donkeys do a lot of the work they are very good on the steps, we were walking along and we hear some bells and a dog barking next thing a gate opens and out comes the owner with his two donkeys ready for a days work, I have no idea where these donkeys were kept they must of been in his lounge!! We kept hearing a goat, finally Trevor got his zoom lens on and found the goat in a garden with chooks and a goose, I've even seen a miniature horse in one place, talk about squeezing as much as possible into a space.
We have been averaging 9.2km a day in walking, we should have bodies like marathon runners but unfortunately this is not the case,eating and drinking does not help!! hopefully by the time we end our trip in Positano with all the walking up the steps we will at least have legs shaped like dancers!!
We decided to spend the day touring and take our life in the hands of the local bus drivers, we are lucky enough to have a bus stop near us Grata Nuova, it's about 60-70 metres away through the laneways and down lots of stairs, at the bus stop there is a huge line, ask where do we buy tickets.. of course you can't buy them on the bus you have to buy them at the tabbacci down in the square (tababacci is the local cigarette/ paper shop), then the tourist bus girl approaches us ... you know the ones the red bus open top you get a commentary, so we are told it's €10 each to Amalfi then we need to change bus to go to Ravello it's €5 byut with the ticket you will get discount €4.50 each, plus you get a commentary, she said sometimes the local bus gets crowded and you may have to stand up, well it was a no brainer we decided to take the tourist bus, ......the guide phones to check seatting, walks us around the corner bus arrives we pay the guide, jump onboard the driver tells us best view is on the right the bus is packed 4 seats left on the left our view is the side of the mountain!! it's not an open top it's a coach, not too worry it's only a 40min drive we will listen to the commentary,.......Look out to your right and you will see the beautiful Amalfi Coast then it was music all the way!!!
Positano to Amalfi 40min 16 kms cost €40 for four
We change buses in Amalfi to Ravello it's suppose to be 7klm and take 16 mins, I don't know where they got the calculations it must of been when the road was straight not up hill, this time it was a small open top bus and the commentary was music!
Amalfi to Ravello 16 min 7 kms cost €18 for four
Ravello is set above Amalfi, we spent most of the day here, walked up again......to The lgardens of Villa Cimbrone which consists of a Villa set around six hectares of historic parkland, it is a combination of English and Italian landscaped gardens with statues, fountains, temples with fabulous views.
The town of Amalfi is nothing spectacular, we were told to visit in the afternoon after the crowds go, it's way overpriced, with stuff that is not good quality, it's not a big place you can walk around it in about 30 minutes, which we did then left, lots of coaches and people.
Rather than catch the buses back we thought it would be nicer to catch a ferry from Amalfi, it was much nicer at least we go better views!
Amalfi to Positano distance 18.5 km.
Ravello to Amalfi bus cost €18 for four
Amalfi to Positano by ferry cost €32 for four
Days total in traveling €108 for four, distance travelled approx 50kms.
After yesterday's costs with transport we thought we would give the local bus a go, down the steps through the alleyways again to the deli at the cnr to buy our tickets, our tickets cost €1.40 each, are you kidding we certainly got ripped off yesterday.
The local bus is large & comfortable holds 48 sitting and if it gets packed 15 are allowed to stand! we get a seat on the left side this time as we are going up and over in the opposite direction to Amalfi, the views are meant to be spectacular... Sorrento is only 10 km away again I don't know where the calculations come in but I can tell you we sat on that bus for an hour.
Don ended up changing sides and was quiet happy to look at a cliff face rather than the view, the the bus drivers are mad but I am sure they just love to scare the tourists, as much as the Italians are crazy drivers they are all polite to each other, if there is a jam they just toot or backup, most cars, buses have scrapes along their sides, and no one seems to be worried about it.
Sorrento is wedged on a ledge between the mountains and the Mediterranean it is the gateway to the Amalfi Coast, ferries and hydrofoils connect the town to Naples, Amalfi, Positano, Capri & Ischia.
We were told to go in the afternoon as it wouldn't be that crowded, we were lucky no cruise ships in, spent a few hours strolling through the maze of alleyways, did a little shopping, prices are a bit more reasonable here. ...Around 5pm decided to head back to Positano on the bus, wrong time to go everyone else had the same idea, this time were in the standing room group, what a ride, this time we are facing the Mediterranean, with a 500-foot drop below, and the bus driver thinks he is a formula one driver, Don couldn't face the views he tucked himself in on the other side against the doors, we are hanging on and trying to enjoy the views, you wouldn't want to have motion sickness. !! Thoroughly enjoyed the ride..
The Amalfi Coast offers one of the world's great bus rides. You'll gain respect for the Italian engineers who built the road — and even more respect for the bus drivers who drive it.
Adele and I decided on doing a cooking class at Ristorante Buca Di Bacco in Positano. There was 8 of us learning the trade with head Chef Andrio. The afternoon started with a glass of prosecco then another one! great start for the afternoon.
Was shown how to make the basic pastry that is used for most savoury pies, we made a spinach and morzarella pie ( it's called a pizza but it's a pie) ... Another glass of prosecco.
Next was eggplant parmigiana with a basic tomatoe sauce ... Another glass of prosecco, then we had to peel and mash the potatoes for the gnocch, that was a bit of a challenge, finally was shown how to make a tradional almond and chocolate cake followed by another prosecco Don and Trev joined us at the end of the class to enjoy our lovely meal that we prepared along with a bottle of prosecco ! We slept well that night
On the last Saturday in September, to mark the end of summer on the Amalfi Coast , a fish festival is held on Positano's Fornillo beach. We decided that we would go to the festival in the evening, we were told to get there early as last year they had a crowd of 5000 people. Most restaurants are involved in the festival they cook different fish dishes then you pay €5 for food and €1 for wine or granita, all the money is donated to the Red Cross, last year they bought two ambulances with the funds.
We had a light lunch on a beach that is only accessible by boat unless you want to catch a bus then walk down 200 steps, (the boat is free). Around 5 after a light lunch and a few cocktails plus limoncellos we decided to get the boat back around to Positano then walk to the other beach for the festival.
Lots of food, wine and boat loads of people, enjoying the music and fire works, it was great just sitting watching the crowds and trying to guess the different nationalities.
The Italians were the best dressed, even on the pebbled black sand the women wore heals, and lovely dresses, the men all wear their jumpers over their shoulders and tied, and the kids have no problem doing handstands on the pebbles.
We finally left around 11.30 and walked the 480 steps to our room, ( there are more steps but we didn't start counting the steps until we were up a bit)
Our trip around Southern Italy and Sicily has been great, we have visited some fantastic places and our travel buddies Adele & Trevor are easy to travel with we all like food, wine, and shopping !! Well us girls enjoyed it!! although I have to say Positano & Anacapri were very expensive and the drop in our dollar didn't help.
We went our separate way once we got to Rome, Don & I spent 1 night in Rome near the airport, arrived here in HongKong around 6.30 am to 32 degrees and humidity 90% and smog we stay here for the next 5 days. I had two Oyster cards left from our last trip to HongKong - ( Oyster cards are a bit like our Myki cards except they work) anyway we scanned them and they still had money on them but didn't work went up to the customer service showed them the cards, he scans them and said last time you used them in HongKong was 5 yrs ago welcome back and reissued them. .. Without a problem!!
Decided to do a shopping trip to Luohu ( pronounced LoWu) Shenzan, It's about 45 min by train to the boarder once at border you need to get a visa to cross over, as it was later in the morning there wasn't as much crowds, much easier to get a visa , we go up to the customs office ( 5 customs officers sitting behind glass windows) we go to the custom officer 1 give him our money and passports, he takes both gives us a ticket with a number and tells us to sit and wait! Wait for what we were the only ones in the room... So we sit and watch the process officer 1 puts our passports and money into the tray of officer 2, we then get called over and was given a receipt and was told to sit, officer 2 then puts the passports into Officer 3 's tray, then after some conversation officer 3 puts the passports into officer 4's tray, we get called up and given our passports back with fulll typed visas stuck into our passports, with a 5 day entry into China..not sure what Office 5 did he may of been the organiser ! ... Everyone has a job everything is precision.
Last time we went to China we planned it and decided to get visas before we left Australia, I had to take our passports to the Chinese embassy, pay a huge amount of money for 2 day visas, then go back two weeks later to pick up the passports with our visas in them!!
Hong Kong is very busy or should I say a lot busier than normal as its Chinese national holiday celebration of 66 years of Chinese federation, the Chinese come across to holiday in Hongkong. The People from Hong Kong consider themselves as citizens and Chinese, not Chinese as from the Mainland China. Hong Kong issues identity cards to its citizens and has its own immigration policies, it allows them to visit more counties without visas than the mainland passport people from China, they need to obtain a visa before they can enter Hong Kong for a brief visit
CENTRAL - MID-LEVELS ESCALATORS
The Central – Mid-Levels Escalator system, is the world's longest outdoor covered escalator system, stretching for over 800-metres and rising 135-metres through the streets of a steep hillside linking these districts of Hong Kong Island. It was opened in October 1993. The system is not a single continuous escalator, it is a series of 20 escalators and 3 inclined moving walkways, connected in places by footbridges, and with 14 entrances and exits. To ride the complete length of the escalator system one-way takes about 20 minutes.
The escalator is a comfortable way to climb the steep hills on Hong Kong Island, they only take you UP, if you want to go down, you have to walk the stairs. Didn't go all the way to the top got out at Hollywood Road and walked through a series of streets, I discovered a number of interesting little shops while using the Mid-levels Escalators which you don't notice when walking at street level, as the shops are on the first or second floors of buildings.
This is a brilliant way to get people up the hill in the central district.
Dinner that night with friends at a local restaurant, food was great and inexpensive, good to have something other than pasta !
A local took us to a bar the front entrance in an alley way was a bar with 3 stools we walked through down a good flight of stairs and here is this place underground that is packed with high tables, stools, lots of people and a lot of different food menus & drinks you would never know it exited and would properly not be able to find it again.
Hong Kong is a very interesting lively city, there are so many different areas to explore, but I have to say thank god for air conditions everywhere as the humidity is shocking.
Hello to all that's interested and welcome to the next adventure, Germany, Italy & Japan.
Flight leaving at midnight (11/05) Melbourne-Tokyo-Helsinki- Zurich.
Hope you all will get as much enjoyment from reading this blog as we do travelling the routes.
To be cont..............
Day 1
Europe 2018 Melbourne to Tokyo, Flying JAL, with our friends Trevor and Adele, I was sick about 2 hrs into the flight, NO it was not too much alcohol !!
Had a bad headache and things happening both ends, and a 9 hr flight.
NOT HAPPY.
Plane finally landed 9am , all I can say is lucky we were in business class I came out looking worse than the people travelling economy.
Had a 1 1/2 hr layover, enough time to down a few pills, freshen up and have a little bit of a snack.
Tokyo to Helsinki flight departed 11.20am, And feeling much better this leg 13hrs flight
time to Helsinki
We all got a cardigan, to wear so funny a lovely fashion item !!
Our flight took us over Mt Fuji, Mongolia and Russia finally arriving into Helsinki at 2:30pm , 1 1/2 hr layover then on to our final leg Zurich where we will catch with Rick & Jackie.
We left Melbourne on 11/05 at 12:05am temp 10, arrived in Tokyo on 11/05 at 9:05am temp 11, arrived in Helsinki on 11/05 at 2:50 pm temp 13, arrived in Zurich on 11/05 at 6:20pm temp 21.
Traveled through 4 time zones, and it’s still 11/05 this has been a long day .
Looking forward to chilling out with Rick and Jackie.
Day 2
12/05
Took a ferry across the lake to Lindau which is on the Austrian side, had a lovely day strolling around, had a few beers, YES I drank a beer and Don got to eat his first apple strudel - not a good one only rated it a 4.
BBQ later on with the crew, weather was 26, fantastic, crashed around 11pm .
Day 3
13/05
Happy Mother’s Day , day of rest
Day 4
14/05
We took a train trip to Konstanz (German side of the lake) for a bit of shopping,
I ended up buying 3 pairs of shoes, ( hopefully they will fit in the case, and Don got his Jack wolf skin clothing.
Konstanz is only 30min by train from Egnach but a lot cheaper to buy things and it’s sale time.
Weather much cooler today 13.
Day 5
15/05
Lazy day , rained for most of the day, sun decided to come out around 2pm ducked out for a little while, around 5 it hailed with thunder storms,
Day 6
16/05
Alles Gueti zum Geburtstag! Happy Birthday to me.
Had a lovely dinner at a restaurant in Egnach with Jacky, Rick, Sam & Aisha,
The restaurant is known for their Cordon bleus, 25 to choose from and each one is made individually and however you want it, very good .
Learning a few words of Swiss German thanks to Rick and Jacky’s Swiss German survival guide they gave me-
Swiss German , the language spoken in the German speaking part of Switzerland , is different from the standard German or High German spoken in Germany. The Swiss learn both, of course there is only one language for the Germans.
Day 7
17/05
Goodbye
Check in luggage at Zurich
Don 19.2
Tina 23.4
16/05
Alles Gueti zum Geburtstag! Happy Birthday to me.
Had a lovely dinner at a restaurant in Egnach with Jacky, Rick, Sam & Aisha,
The restaurant is known for their Cordon bleus, 25 to choose from and each one is made individually and however you want it, very good .
Learning a few words of Swiss German thanks to Rick and Jacky’s Swiss German survival guide they gave me-
Swiss German , the language spoken in the German speaking part of Switzerland , is different from the standard German or High German spoken in Germany. The Swiss learn both, of course there is only one language for the Germans.
Day 7
17/05
Goodbye
Check in luggage at Zurich
Don 19.2
Tina 23.4
Arrived in Berlin for the start of our Germany tour.
We got to our hotel hoping to go and do a bit of shopping at our favourite store, I booked the wrong hotel it was about 5KLMs from where I thought it should be, it was in the business area not much around or opened after 6 pm, luckily we have 1 night here then move onto our next hotel for the start of our tour. Was not happy
Fri 18/05
Don suggested that we walk over to our next hotel - The Leonardo - only 2Ks away, now this is not far too walk, but when you are dragging a case and trying to follow a map that was previously downloaded on advise from the tour company that was not working properly,.. the walk turned out to be a lot longer than 2klm..... I will say no more about that!
We finally got to visit out favourite shopping store in Berlin KaDe Wa, not interested in shopping for clothes, shoes etc but the food floor is fantastic.
Meet up with our travel buddies Trev & Adele, later that night had our group dinner a
This morning a local guide toook us on a tour of the major sights of Berlin, Brandenburg Gates, Victor Column in the Tiergarten, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie and remaining sections of the wall.
In the afternoon we took Trevor and Adele to a few other places of interest, we headed over to KaDe Wa for a food experience ( KaDe Wa is like the Harrods of Berlin) for a bit of lunch, so many choices to chose from, It was busy with mad soccer fans- Munich against Frankfurt playing in Berlin it was the final, red and white ( Munich ) black and white (Frankfurt ) fans celebrating pre wins eating and drinking together, this was at 2pm the game didn’t start till 6pm.!!! One guy offered to swap his Munich jumper to Don for his Beatles tshirt he thought Don was from Liverpool, once they found out we were from Australia they invited us to come along, ... I’d hate to see the condition of these guys by the time the game started.
We visited the Television Tower which is close to Alexanderplatz in Berlin centre, the tower was constructed between 1965-69 by the Russians, It was intended to be both a symbol of Communist power and of Berlin. It is the tallest building in Germany, and the second tallest structure in the EU.
A perfect day for touring as it’s a Sunday so no traffic, nothing open, we had a full day touring the UNESCO Heritage listed Palaces and gardens of Potsdam.
A local guide took us across the famous Bridge of Unity - known as the Bridge of Spies
The Bridge is a bridge across the Havel River in Germany, connecting Berlin with Postdam. The current bridge, the fourth on the site, was completed in 1907, major reconstruction was necessary after it was damaged during World War 11. The bridge was used several times for the exchange of captured spies and became known as the Bridge of Spies.
Next stop Cecilienhof Palace, the last palace built by the German Kaiser, and the site of the 1945 Postdam convention where Churchill, Truman and Stalin met.
Next was the the gardens of Fredrick the Great’s Sanssouci Summer Palace, couldnt’t tour inside the palace as it’s under renovation, bit pointless really visiting a Palace if you can’t go inside.
Last stop was the The New Palace - is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under King Friedrich II (Frederick the Great) and was completed in 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian Baroque palace.
Got back to our hotel around 6pm had a quick change then went out for dinner with the group.
Good day, I think I’ve seen enough palaces and gardens for awhile. temp reach 24.
Our last day in Berlin tomorrow, we leave around 4pm for the next leg. We have a free day tomorrow but not much will be happening as it’s a public holiday!! Which means most things are closed
Monday - leisure day around Berlin visited a couple of museums, not much open as it was a public holiday. Left our Berlin hotel around 4pm, bus ride about an1 1/2 hrs south to Lübbenau.
Tuesday 22 May
Hotel Schloss Lübbenau Spreewald - Spreewald, or Spree Forest, is an UNESCO listed biosphere reserve, it is a picturesque section of the German state of Brandenburg located about 100 km south-east of Berlin. It is known for its traditional irrigation system, consisting of more than 200 small canals (called "Fließe"; total length: 1,300 km ) within the 484-square-kilometre (187 sq mi) area.
We boarded a punt, A German version of gondola, we went through forests, canals and channels, lined with wooden cottage and jetties. About an hours ride on the punt we arrived in the middle, at the village Ledhe, had some lunch and a wander around then back to Lübbenau For bit of free time.
Our meal at Hotel Schloss on our first night was excellent, although I must say getting a bit tired of asparagus, it’s the start of the season and it’s everywhere.
Our second night here we will go and find somewhere to eat in the village, we are hopp8ng we can find somewhere with no pork, no sausage, no sauerkraut and defiantly no asparagus don’t really think our chances are too good!!
Wednesday
Left at 8:30am only day that we have to leave early as we have a few places to visit before we get to Dresden. About an 1hr into the trip traffic virtually came to a standstill, our guide told us a farmer had found an undetonated bomb while digging to lay plumbing in a town east of Dresden and they had to evacuate 10,000 people, we thought he was joking as he said it casually as he was telling us about the day we were going to have. Didn’t realise till the next day that it was true!!
Our first stop Saxon Switzerland is an area in Saxony, Germany, named after its picturesque upland scenery. About 30 km upward the Elbe River from Dresden this is a mountain made of sandstone. Bizarre stone formations and spectacular views. A 75mtr long stone bridge links the rock formations, walkways and lookouts.
Next stop Konigstein Fortress, a hilltop fortress in the Elbe sandstone mountains, it has a very impressive 152mtr deep well, barracks and old wine cellars. We then took a cruise down the Elbe river past palaces, mansions and the UNESCO listed river farmlands, we finally arrive into Dresden at Brühl’s Terrace, nicknamed ‘the balcony of Europe’.
‘Saxon Switzerland’ has nothing to to with Switzerland, I think the Germans were jealous of the beautiful Alps there, or they just wanted to upset the Swiss.
A long day lots of walking certainly getting our steps up but nothing happening with the waistline, the German cakes and bread are good!!
Thursday 24/05
The day started out with a morning walking tour with a local guide, we visited Zwinger Palace, the Semper Opera House and the Frauenkirche - is a massive Lutheran Church in the ancient market square.
We also viewed The Fürstenzug which is a large mural of a mounted procession of the rulers of Saxony. It was originally painted between 1871 and 1876 to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the Wettin Dynasty, Saxony's ruling family.
To make the work weatherproof, it was replaced with approximately 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles between 1904 and 1907. With a length of 102 metres (335 ft), it is known as the largest porcelain artwork in the world. The mural displays the ancestral portraits of the 35 margraves, electors, dukes and kings of the House of Wettin between 1127 and 1904.
After the tour we looked around the Dresden Royal Palace museums including the Armoury, Turkish Chamber, and the fabulous New Green Vault with over 1,000 beautiful gold and silver bejewelled objects. Simply stunning!
We also visited The Transparent Factory which is an exhibition space in Dresden owned by German carmaker Volkswagen , It originally opened in 2002 as car factory. In 2016, it reopened as a "showcase for electric cars” all cars that are produce here are customer orders, and electric, mostly done by robotics, and majority get sent to Norway. Unfortunately none for Australia yet, we’re about 7 yrs behind. We were too late for the tours, but luck was on our side I heard a young Aussie guy speaking to some tourists, I asked if he was taking tours, He had just finished with some Belgium tourists, he had a bit of time to spare and took us on a personal tour of the factory, he was from Camberwell and had been working there for 2 yrs I think he was just happy to have a chat with us. He was very good and a bonus for us, saved ourselves €30 each.
The weather has been great, tshirts and shorts. Temp 25
Have tried many cakes and a few beers, Don is rating the apple strudels and schnitzels, has not yet found a 10 but is close!
Friday
After our long day on Thursday, Don & I opted to spend the day around Dresden exploring different areas. Temp 29
Saturday 26/05
Today we left for our next destination Prague, travelling west we reached one of the most infamous castles of WWII – Colditz. Subject of numerous books and films, this enormous castle became the prison for all the greatest POW escapees of the war. Ironically the Nazis therefore created an incredible escape training school! The museum is full of the most amazing array of escape tools and memorabilia. Our local guide showed us some of the most impossible tunnels and escape routes. Utterly fascinating! Later we arrived into Prague where we stay three nights in the very heart of the old city.
Dinner was authentic Czech cuisine in the U Pinkasu restaurant – we had a mix grill, 1 plate could of fed 2 people,...... so much meat and cabbage 😳😳😳
Strolled around after dinner, very busy lots of tourists, weather is great, todays temp 29
Sunday 27/05
Don and I opted out of a tour today, we just wanted to have an easy Sunday, decided to head to the Charles Bridge which is a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague.
There are a number of bridges that cross the river, the Charles Bridge is full of tourists very busy and ends at the Prague Castle....( a very big castle) ..We took a right turn and kept walking towards what we thought was the Castle, ( a very small castle) as we’re getting closer we realise we should of taken a left turn, turned around and of course the Castle is at the other end of the river, not a problem we’ll just keep walking, it’s lovely walking along the river, now things always look a lot closer until you start to walk, after awhile we seemed to be making no progress, seen a few ferries and boats doing tours up the river, Don asked if they went to Charles bridge, not a problem managed to get a ferry at a very reasonable price and enjoyed the 1hr tour, except the ferry went to the Charles bridge and back it didn’t stop, we ended back at the spot we got the ferry from! So we ended up walking at least the legs got a bit of a rest.
We found The Lennon Wall or John Lennon Wall - once a normal wall, since the 1980s it has been filled with John Lennon-inspired graffiti and pieces of lyrics from Beatles' songs. The wall is owned by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which allowed the graffiti to continue on the wall, and is located at Velkopřevorské náměstí (Grand Priory Square), Malá Strana, near the Charles bridge.
Found a great little restaurant next to a canal, sat and listened to some music with a few good gin and tonics.
Got back to our hotel around 6:30, was going to met Adele and Trev for a drink, but fell asleep didn’t wake till 10, the walking got to us in the end!! next time we will keep to the left. Temp 30
Monday 28/05
This morning a local guide took us on a tour through this fascinating city to the Hradcany – Prague Castle. Covering 7 hectares it is the largest ancient castle in the world. (We got a bus)We also visit St Vitus Cathedral and the colourful houses of Zlatá Ulièka, or Golden Lane, named after the goldsmiths who lived here in the 17th century.
Our guide Peter was a funny guy a few things he said that I need to share.
Czechs and Italians built the main station and it’s taken years, the only thing they compete with each other is to see who works less.
Czech police always travel in 2s, the reason being one can read, one can write, then they are a perfect match.
In the afternoon we leisurely explored other parts of the city, then in the evening we attended a small Opera in a Baroque hall, that went for an 1hr, perfect, and there is no need to dress up fancy there are many of these operas to choose from around the city. Great for the tourists.
The weather has been perfect, tomorrow we leave Prague.
Temp 26
29/05
This morning we headed south we spent a few hours in the spa town of Třeboň, it has over 6,000 lakes and islands and it is famous for its ... fishponds! and that’s about it, It has a few cafes, not many tourists, we were the first bus to go there on the way to Cesky Krumlov, how lucky are they the first tourist bus to arrive with 18 Aussies!
About 8 of us went into one of the cafes that had a few other people sitting outside, we ordered toasted sandwiches, coffee & cake, the owner got a bit stressed and called up stairs (family lived above) for extra help. I go to pay the bill I can’t speak Czech they can’t speak English but we both understood each other in Italian, and I’m not that good with my Italian! work that one out.
Later we continue to the perfectly preserved 13th century city of Cesky Krumlov. Originally built as a hamlet around the impressive castle, the wealth from the silver and gold mining, plus Catholic aristocrats seeking refuge during the Reformation, made Cesky Krumlov the most important city in Southern Bohemia.
We stay the next two nights at Hotel Ruze in the heart of this UNESCO World Heritage listed town.
Once we checked in we boarded large wooden rafts to enjoy a leisurely float slowly down the River Vltava, good views up onto the castle walls and into the old town. Had dinner in the Hotel, dinner good staff not so good.
Temp 29
30/05
This morning had a morning tour around Cesky Krumlov, spent an hour in a palace learning about the history and some King, all I can say is that is an hour that I will never get back!!
We spent some time wandering around, found a great little restaurant where we didn’t have to eat pork or cabbage had a enjoyable day/evening.
Temp 27
Tomorrow we go to Salzburg
Arrived into Salzburg around lunch time, the bus had to park on the outer of the city as the roads were blocked due to a car rally and it’s a catholic holiday!! cannot believe it, Nice stroll to our hotel, temp around 30
We were looking forward to our night in Salzburg but as it is in Europe when it’s a public holiday most things are shut.
We had our farewell dinner at the St Peter Stiftskeller. First mentioned as an Inn as far back as the year 803, this is the oldest known restaurant in central Europe!
Tomorrow our tour ends,
Bus took us across the border to Munich airport for our next part of 5e trip Italy.
One flight, two train changes and a short walk, we finally get to our hotel in Como, Hotel Metropole Suisse lovely hotel our rooms over looking the Lake, Como is alive and happy, people everywhere, we had a very late dinner and a few drinks with Trevor and Adele and retired to our rooms.
Sat 02/06
A new day and guess it’s a holiday celebration of 70 years Federation day , shops aren’t closed, but its so crowed there’s bands, police, children singing and lots of tourist, and this at 10am, we ander around find the local market, enjoy the entertainment. Around 3 we lineup to catch the fast ferry to Bellagio, told that the ferry would leave from pier 5 no problem, standing there for about 20mins in the heat, next thing a ticket guy come past checks our tickets and said the fast ferry is now from pier 4 they changed there minds, it’s, hot, it’s crowded and we all have suitcases and we need to fight through the crowd to get to the other pier.
Enjoying a lovely dinner when a procession started, It was the Wandering Lady of Fatima, it’s a very religious ceremony with most of the town involved, carrying the Virgin Mary up the hill to the church it was fantastic to see, and doesn’t happen often. It made our night.
A lazy Sunday, the crowds started to merge into Bellagio around 10am , we decided to take a tour across the lake. Luca the boat owner told us a bit about the houses / mansions and points of interest around the lake. Most of the owners of the mansions are from Milan and the houses are used as holiday houses, one of the places is only used 2 weeks a year, another one was bought by a Russian who paid €48 million which is around $60 mil and has not been used. Such a waste.
There is a property here in Bellagio that was originally a 5 star hotel and was vacant for a few years, the new owner purchased it for a very large amount of money decided to bring it back to a 5 star standard, he is waiting to get certain permits as it has one of the main parks behind it, he has been waiting 7 years for the permit!! and it’s still vacant.
We had lunch at a small inlet Sala, Temp 30
Internet hasn’t been too good here,
Our days in Belaggio have been great, we have walked many steps taken ferries across the lake to visit other towns Varenna & Menaggio, done evening tours on a private boat, ate way too much pasta and drank a lot of Chianti, and proberly both gained a few extra unwanted kilos, the weather has been extremely good average daily temp has been around 28.
Tomorrow we head off for the last leg of our trip Japan.
So many people, we will never complain about traffic conditions in Melbourne again. It toook us over 2 hours in a bus to travel 82klms, but everyone is organised and very polite about things.
Our hotel is in Shinagawa district 10 min by train from Tokyo city, it doesn’t really matter where you stay every area is a mass of people.
Our first initiation into madness was a morning tour of a few sights, pickup 7.50am on Saturday morning, and finish at 1pm, we thought it was going to be small bus, small group, wrong! wrong!
After travelling around for an hour from hotel to hotel picking up tourists we now have a bus load of 40, we then congreate in a car park with a couple more buses each with 40 people, now each bus is numbered 1,2,3, everyone that is on morning tour goes to bus 1, other tours other bus numbers, it’s now 29 degrees 9:30am, Adele and I are already over the bus and we haven’t seen the sights yet !
But we persevered and trooped on and now can honestly say that this day was Gods punishment for us laughing at the way the Japenese tour.
First destination Tokyo Tower - observation tower that looks like the Eiffel Tower allowed 30mins to tour, herded into the lift up to the top, then told we only have 10mins as the lifts are not working properly and we need to beat the line of tourists, it took us longer getting down than the time spent taking photos! Number 2 Meiji Shrine - Meiji Shrine, is the Shinto shrine that is dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken, allowed 40 mins, Number 3 - Akasaka Guest house - drive by, no idea what this was, Number 4 - National Diet building - drive by again no idea, Number 5 - Imperial Palace East Gardens - not even visiting the Palace just the gardens, allowed 40mins, Adele and I walked a couple of meters looked at each other and decided we’d had enough, went back a bought a iced coffee from a vending machine and sat in the shade. Number 6 Ginza shopping district - drive through and drop off for the people that were not continuing onto the afternoon tour, thank God there were no plans for the afternoon tour!
Found a food court which is nothing like a food court that we are used to, no dried up chips or pizza here, everything is prepared and presented beautifully.
We then decided to do a bit of train travel and explore some other areas, underground rail is as busy as the top with people, shops and many restaurants, I think this is because once you go down there to take a train it takes a very long time to find the exits!, we did find some very good food places.😉😉 hate to see what it’s like on Monday.
We were on our way to see the robot show, got the train alright but wasn’t sure which exit to take, I asked a girl that was just about to hop on a train which exit is the right one, she said I will take you to the exit as it’s too hard to explain and even the Japenese get lost, she looked up the robot restaurant on her phone took us right too the restaurant, she was happy to do it she said she liked to practise her English, and it made her feel good to help people, we offered to buy her a drink she declined as she needed to go back and catch a train. Now that is a special person, do you think this would happen in Melbourne!
The robot show was loud, touristy and funny, never seen anything that matches it but was a must do while in Tokyo,
After a day of 30 hot and sticky, today was raining and around 22, with umbrellas and raincoats in hand we set off for our last day of exploring aroundd Tokyo.
A couple of train stops and we seek out the famous Shibuya crossing - which is the busiest crossing in the world people cross from every angle, of course we crossed it then sat above and watched the hoards of people, it’s a Sunday and I think it was busier than Saturday.
We found a hedgehog cafe, yes 2nd floor of a building a little cafe with little hedgehogs you could feed them and pick them up, Adele and I were like big kids, they were so cute, only in Tokyo, no where else would you be able to handle these little creatures. I have googled animal cafes the top 5 are No 1- goat, No 2 - Owl, No 3 - rabbit, No 4 - cat & No 5 - birds. I wonder how big the room is for the goat !!
Found laneways with traditional Japabese cafes, that seated no more than 6 -8 people, we had lunch here with a few sake and they were both very good.
Even on a wet day everyone was out, the crowds are amazing, we were shopping at 7pm on a Sunday night it was as if it was a normal week day.
The Japanese is the city for technology as we all know but they certainly win the award for their high tech toilets, they have so many features you just can’t help pushing a button and waiting to see what it does, they have music to hide any sounds, air refresher, a shower, moveable seats, warmed seats, the list goes on but the best one yet, Adele found a knitted toilet seat, this was a public toilet, now that is funny!
Two trains and about 5hrs travelling we arrived in Takayama which is a city in Japan's mountains. The narrow streets of its historic district are lined with wooden merchants’ houses along with many small museums. Traditional events such as ‘Takayama Festival’, celebrating spring and autumn with parades featuring ornate, gilded floats and puppet shows.
This is certainly different to busy Tokyo.
Our Ryokan (hotel) - Ryokan Tanabe is traditional Japanese rooms, with hot spring baths.
Our first night Adele and I had a wonderful hot spring bath, the men and women don’t bathe together, lots of rules on the process of bathing, must be nude, use large towel to dry yourself, smaller towel to wash, you shower and wash then hop into the large community bath. It is hot but you feel pretty good after it, We dressed for dinner in our Kiimonos, dinner was in our room and served by an older geisha, the food, presentation was fantastic. After dinner we found a bar and had a few local beers and sake. When we got back our table had been moved and our bed was placed where the table had been, a very thin mattress with a doona and a very small pillow was our bed.!
I think I managed a few hours sleep, Don ended getting up earlier in the morning and slept in the chair, we really should have had more sake!
7am knocking on the door with a number of voices saying bed make up time, Three people raced in rolled up the mattresses and doonas replaced the table and then proceeded to set it up for breakfast. No toast here! Rice, miso, fish and plenty of condiments to mix i, it was delicious. A lot of love went into setting the table for dinner, breakfast and presenting the food. Later that morning we found a local market, and decided to visit of few shrines, musuems and do a bit of shopping and explore around . We were wondering why there were a lot of shops and museums closed, Guess! Tues not many places open.
Had a little rain but temp a bit humid, temp around 23.
Got the bullet train to Kyoto, the train system in Japan is fantastic, the train station is connected to a shopping centre, cafes, restaurants, busy but not as crazy as Tokyo. Everything you need can be bought at the station.
Our hotel New Miyako is directly across the road from the station,
We did a night of wandering the alleyways in the Gion district which is the place in where you may see Maiko or Geisha running from place to place, the area comes alive at night tiny restaurants as it gets dark lanterns line the streets.
Difference between a Maiko to Geisha - Maiko is the apprentice they do about 5 years of training in various arts before graduating to become geisha. They wear different Kimonos, and have different hairstyles and makeup.
Found a little 10 seater restaurant that did a great teppinyaki.
We walked so much by the time we got home we had walked 11 klms, finally got a sleep in didn’t wake till 9:30.
Thurs slow start ( we were meant to go on a half day tour but decided to pull the pin on that as it was on a bus again, had enough of buses), we went on our own walking tour visited lots of Temples. Shrines, found some interesting vintage shops and very long and winding connecting arcades and alleyways, managed to get a bit of shopping as well, we finally got back to our hotel around 10pm we walked 12 klms!
Kyoto has over 1600 Buddhist temples and more than 400 Shinto shrines,
Shrines are for happiness, marriages & blessings, (blessing your car you don’t need any car insurance), but they pay to get the car blessed.
Temples are for praying, funerals and sadness.
The Japanese love their vending machines you can buy anything drinks, snacks, sandwiches, toys, perfume, they even have shops that only have vending machines.