[{"content":"It’s that time… time to head for home.\nEvery journey has an end, and for us, that starts today.\nWe arranged a very late checkout with the hotel (3pm), which was amazing and allowed us to do much more today than we otherwise could have.\nWe started the morning pretty late—a good sleep for all—then headed down for breakfast before a swim. The kids have loved the pool, and this was their chance for one more swim before we go.\nWe then headed into town for a bit of last-minute shopping before returning to the hotel to start the packing process.\nHaving the late checkout also meant we could shower again to freshen up for the long trip ahead.\nWe checked out and grabbed a cab to the airport, again trying to stay as fresh as we could and out of the crazy humidity.\nWe arrived at the airport around 3:30pm, well ahead of our flight at 10pm. But Singapore airport has a lot to offer, and we expected to be able to easily pass the hours before we fly.\nWe found a very late lunch, then checked in to get rid of our big and heavy packs. We then headed over to explore Jewel, which is quite amazing with its massive waterfall.\nWe headed back to T3 and passed through security to explore the duty-free area, the butterfly 🦋 enclosure, and then relaxed with a few drinks.\nWe headed to boarding around 9pm and expect to be back in Melbourne by around 7am tomorrow morning—to start the final leg of the journey home.\nWe expect to be back home late tomorrow afternoon and will likely head straight to bed for some much-needed sleep.\nSunday will be for chilling and resetting the routine.\nSee you all soon.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/13/homeward-bound/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt’s that time… time to head for home.\u003cbr\u003e\nEvery journey has an end, and for us, that starts today.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe arranged a very late checkout with the hotel (3pm), which was amazing and allowed us to do much more today than we otherwise could have.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe started the morning pretty late—a good sleep for all—then headed down for breakfast before a swim. The kids have loved the pool, and this was their chance for one more swim before we go.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Homeward Bound"},{"content":"Today was a BIG day.\nWe visited Universal Studios in Singapore—just one stop on the Monorail from our hotel on Sentosa.\nInitially, we were not sure if we would do it or not, given both H and I are not fans of big, fast rides (roller coasters, etc.).\nBut after a bit of research and discussion with the kids, we decided to go for it—and we are glad we did.\nIt was an AMAZING day.\nIt was HOT, but not unbearable.\nThere were crowds, but not unbearable and certainly less than I had imagined.\nThere were queues, but not too bad.\nThe longest we waited was probably 30 minutes (due to a technical issue—someone dropped something on the track). But for the most part, there were waits of 5–25 minutes.\nWe also watched the Trolls stage show, the Minions street party, and the Donkey (from Shrek) show.\nWe started our day just after opening at about 10:15 am. We had expected to be wrapped up by about 2 pm… we were very wrong. We didn’t leave until after 5:30 pm—and there was probably still more we could have done.\nWe probably saved the best ride for last—the Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure.\nThe four of us jumped into the round boat—some more apprehensive than others. The ride was fantastic. I won’t give away anything, but some of us got wet.\nA and I wanted to go again—and the queue was tiny—so around we went and basically got straight back on.\nSoooo much fun 🤩\nI got soaked this time, but it was actually quite refreshing in the heat. A and I could have kept going around and around on this one, but we had to call it a day at some point.\nAfter having a total blast at Universal Studios, we headed back to the hotel for a swim to cool off. It had been a very hot and humid day (30°C with 70% humidity—it actually started to lightly drizzle at one point).\nThe swim was very refreshing and just what we needed before heading into town to explore Singapore at night.\nWe took the monorail to VivoCity, then swapped to the metro lines and headed out to Orchard Road. We found a shopping mall with some nice food joints and had dinner. It was good, but not as good as last night’s dinner at Satay by the Bay.\nAfter dinner, we grabbed another few trains and headed to the Gardens at Marina Bay—but unfortunately, we were too late to see the light show. We knew we were cutting it close.\nA nice evening walk through the gardens was beautiful in itself, however (despite the heat and humidity).\nAfter our evening stroll, it was now about 10 pm—and we’d had a massive day.\nThe kids smashed past their previous step count PBs and both posted 29k steps 😱\nWe did over 17 km today… so much for chilling out and taking it easy in Singapore on the way home… 🤣\nWe got back to the hotel and off to bed.\nTomorrow we head home—but we have almost a full day as we don’t fly until 10 pm. We’ve arranged a late checkout (3 pm) so we can laze around the pool all day and have showers before we leave.\nIt’s finally drawing to a close. This is it.\nAfter 4 weeks traveling—and being constantly on the go (including 17 km days)—the body needs a rest.\nNot sure we are fully prepared for how cold it will be when we get home, but we are all looking forward to our own beds and seeing Milo and our family again.\nSee you all soon!\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/12/singapore-universal-studios/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was a BIG day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe visited Universal Studios in Singapore—just one stop on the Monorail from our hotel on Sentosa.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInitially, we were not sure if we would do it or not, given both H and I are not fans of big, fast rides (roller coasters, etc.).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut after a bit of research and discussion with the kids, we decided to go for it—and we are glad we did.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Singapore - Universal Studios"},{"content":"Today we leave Milan, and Italy.\nWe’ve packed up and headed to the train station to catch the MXP Express train out to the airport.\nUnfortunately, the experience at the airport this time around was not as smooth as when we arrived.\nThe check-in process was great, but then security was chaotic. We must have hit peak hour.\nWe waited patiently in the barely moving line for what seemed like an hour, but eventually made it through.\nWe moved through the airport, grabbed a snack, and then proceeded to immigration—another massive line. Again, we waited patiently with hundreds of others and eventually made it through.\nOne more line—to board the plane. Again, we waited patiently and took the bus to the plane.\nWe are now on board and about to take off.\nSingapore, here we come!\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/10/arrivederci-italia/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we leave Milan, and Italy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe’ve packed up and headed to the train station to catch the MXP Express train out to the airport.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUnfortunately, the experience at the airport this time around was not as smooth as when we arrived.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe check-in process was great, but then security was chaotic. We must have hit peak hour.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe waited patiently in the barely moving line for what seemed like an hour, but eventually made it through.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Arrivederci Italia"},{"content":"Today we headed out to explore a bit more of Milan. First up was the San Siro soccer stadium.\nWe walked up to the M5 metro line and caught the underground train all the way to the stadium.\nThe automatic trains drive themselves, so it was fun for the kids (and us) to sit at the front and watch out the front window—it was almost like being on a ride. The kids loved it.\nWe arrived at the stadium just as the first tours were about to kick off. We had the chance to walk through the museum and take in all the trophies and jerseys from players from around the world.\nA was pretty awestruck when he saw the UEFA Champions League trophy 🏆, as well as jerseys from Pelé, Messi, and more.\nThe tour kicked off. Today was the only day this week they were running tours—as the soccer season had finished, the stadium was now being used for a series of concerts. Unfortunately, this also meant the pitch was covered as there was a concert on tonight 😭\nIt is what it is—take the good with the bad and keep on rolling.\nWe toured through the media area as well as both the ACM and Inter locker rooms. There was a clear distinction between the two.\nACM felt like money: plush seats for each player, lots of banners and emblems displayed.\nInter was basic: bench seats and just the pictures of past great players on the wall as you walk in.\nThe ground itself was pretty big, seating for around 70–80k people (nothing on the good old MCG 😉).\nThe last stop on the tour—as always—was the gift shop. We stopped in as A has been saving his pennies all trip for a specific jersey. Of course, they didn’t have it, so we went in search of a new option and ended up with a nice Inter training jumper instead and a new pair of black Inter soccer socks (so he can use them when playing back home).\nWith the tour complete, we headed back home for a short rest before heading back out to see the centre of Milan and the Duomo.\nThe festival from the weekend was still being packed up, but we could at least wander through the park behind. It’s a massive park—similar to those in New York, London, and even Melbourne. Lovely to walk through, except the gravel is a bright shade of white and just reflects the sun fiercely. Having lost my sunnies at the Vatican, the kids and I were struggling. The glare was terrible. We headed for the grassed and shaded areas, but there were sections that we had to push through.\nWe arrived at the castle and wandered through, then continued on toward the Duomo. The architecture in this part of Milan is amazing.\nWe arrived at the Duomo and walked around. It was the hottest part of the day and everyone was really feeling like we were at the end and pretty tired, so we turned for home.\nTwo quick stops before we left the central district, however.\nA and I ducked into the Inter store and happened to find the jersey he was after. So we picked this up and headed off to find the girls.\nLaura and H headed for the Lindt store. H has become quite fond of Dubai chocolate gelato, and the Lindt store was selling blocks of Dubai chocolate. So they picked one up for H to enjoy when we get home.\nHeading back through the castle, we entered the park. We grabbed granitas for the kids and Aperol Spritz\u0026rsquo;s for Laura and I. Refreshing.\nWe headed home and had a slow evening in. We cooked up a chicken salad, had a glass of wine and a few beers, then chilled out with the kids with some Netflix.\nTomorrow is the end of our time in Europe and we head to Singapore for a few days before getting back home to Australia (and the cold weather).\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/09/milan-san-siro-and-duomo/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we headed out to explore a bit more of Milan. First up was the San Siro soccer stadium.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe walked up to the M5 metro line and caught the underground train all the way to the stadium.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe automatic trains drive themselves, so it was fun for the kids (and us) to sit at the front and watch out the front window—it was almost like being on a ride. The kids loved it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Milan - San Siro and Duomo"},{"content":"Today is a travel day.\nWe had an early breakfast to finish off the leftover pizza from last night, then headed out for a morning walk before the crowds and the heat arrived.\nA quick walk over the Ponte Vecchio one last time—spectacular without the crowds. You can actually move and see the details of the bridge.\nWe then headed back toward the Duomo for one last look without the sea of people. It’s a truly amazing building.\nHere we continued our trip-long ritual of calling home to talk to family on Sunday night before dinner. It’s hard to believe that next Sunday we’ll be back around the table with them all. It will be good to be home—as much as we have been loving the trip, our bodies are getting tired.\nAfter our morning walk—a warm-up for the pack-carrying ahead—we returned to our apartment, packed our bags, and hauled our packs down to Florence station.\nWe had a 2-hour train ride from Florence to Milan.\nWe arrived at Milan Centrale—where our European journey started almost four weeks ago.\nIt was lunchtime, and we discovered Milan Centrale has a Mercato Centrale, so we headed there for a bite to eat.\nThe kids are almost over pasta, pizza, and the associated derivatives. They wanted burgers. We found a burger place and ordered. Laura and I shared a salmon poke bowl and a few beers (it was bloody hot).\nAfter lunch, we needed to catch a tram to our apartment—the number 10. We waited outside for about 25 minutes before an old rattler arrived. This was ours. On we got.\nAfter about 30 minutes, we arrived at our stop. Music filled the air. There was a music festival (Party Like a Dee Jay) happening right on the doorstep of the apartment.\nAfter we checked in, we decided eating in would be good tonight. We headed around the block to the local mini-supermarket—checking out the festival on the way.\nWe loaded up with groceries and grabbed a few beers and a bottle of wine—the plan was to sit out on our patio, enjoy dinner and a few drinks while listening to the festival music.\n“Sorry sir, no alcohol today,” said the guy at the checkout.\n“Sorry? What?” I replied. “We are living just around the corner.”\n“No sir. The festival. No alcohol from any shop today,” he responded.\nOk… that puts a spanner in the works. We unloaded our basket—keeping the bare essentially—and checked out and headed home. Looks like we’re eating out tonight.\nI searched for the next nearest supermarket. There was one a few blocks over. I headed out and was able to buy a bottle of wine and a few beers there and walk back to the apartment. Evening saved.\nWe rapidly chilled the bottle of wine and chilled out on the patio for an hour before heading out for dinner.\nAgain, the kids were not keen for more pizza and pasta. This limited our options a little. We eventually settled on a Mexican place around the corner—this seemed to satisfy the tastebuds for today.\nOn the way home, the daily gelato. Earlier, we had seen massive lines at a place just up the street. As we walked home, there was almost no queue, so we thought we would give it a shot. Possibly the worst gelato of the trip so far. Not sure what the big queues were about.\nLuckily, our family trip policy is to not have gelato from the same place twice—regardless of how good it is.\nTomorrow we have tickets to the San Siro Stadium. We plan to head out early and do that in the morning before exploring more of Milan later.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/08/florence-to-milan/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday is a travel day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe had an early breakfast to finish off the leftover pizza from last night, then headed out for a morning walk before the crowds and the heat arrived.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA quick walk over the Ponte Vecchio one last time—spectacular without the crowds. You can actually move and see the details of the bridge.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe then headed back toward the Duomo for one last look without the sea of people. It’s a truly amazing building.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Florence to Milan"},{"content":"Today we continued to explore Florence.\nWe headed out in the morning to avoid the heat (it’s been really hot and humid 🥵) and the crowds.\nWe walked across the Ponte Vecchio—lovely without the mass crowds—and up toward the Pitti Palace, purchased our tickets, and went inside to explore the Boboli Gardens.\nThe gardens were amazing and massive—a beautiful space to walk and wander, which is exactly what we did.\nAfter the gardens, we walked home to cool off and have a light lunch. Our aim was to eat the remaining food (mostly salad) in our fridge, as we move on to Milan tomorrow (yes, we are getting toward the pointy end of this trip).\nThe cool of the apartment was something we all certainly appreciated. By midday, Florence was very hot and humid.\nWe chilled out ahead of our Paint-and-Sip session at the Ponte Vecchio later this afternoon. We found it randomly on our wanderings yesterday and thought it would be a great opportunity to just sit and relax while doing some painting and sipping on Italian wines—all while taking in the view of the Ponte Vecchio.\nWe arrived early at the Paint-and-Sip session, which was a short walk just across the bridge. Good thing we did, as we were first allowed in and were able to be seated at the four-person table right in the window that looked out at the Ponte Vecchio.\nAmazing—but warm… wow, it was hot in there.\nWe painted and sipped on Italian wines (kids on juice) for the next two hours. Even with the windows open, there was only a very occasional slight breeze—which, while amazingly refreshing when it came, was rare, and the room was hot.\nBut we painted on. We each selected a different picture to paint. At the start of the session, everyone had to vote on which painting the host would paint and help describe the techniques and approach. The group voted and selected the Wine Window—which is what Laura painted.\nThe kids selected the Cat and the Duomo, which also fortunately had a stencil that they could trace to help get them going.\nI painted the Negroni (my favourite cocktail) and had to do it without help or guidance—a bit daunting given the last time I painted was probably 30-odd years ago in a year 7 or 8 art class.\nWe all worked through our paintings, each approaching them in our own ways and with our own struggles. This is art, I guess.\nIt was a heap of fun—and we now have a personal souvenir to take home.\nAfter the Paint-and-Sip session, we all needed to cool off, so back to the apartment to chill out for a few hours.\nLater in the evening, it was still pretty hot (30°C), but we headed out for an evening walk and to find some pizza to take home and enjoy in the cool air of the apartment.\nTomorrow we move on to Milan—our last stop in Italy before we start to head home (via Singapore). Hard to believe we’re almost at the end.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/07/florence-boboli-gardens-and-ponte-vecchio-paint-and-sip/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we continued to explore Florence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed out in the morning to avoid the heat (it’s been really hot and humid 🥵) and the crowds.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe walked across the Ponte Vecchio—lovely without the mass crowds—and up toward the Pitti Palace, purchased our tickets, and went inside to explore the Boboli Gardens.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe gardens were amazing and massive—a beautiful space to walk and wander, which is exactly what we did.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Florence - Boboli Gardens and Ponte Vecchio Paint-and-Sip"},{"content":"Today we had a slow morning—coffee on the balcony, watching the world pass by below.\nWe headed out around 9:30am toward the Duomo, hunting for more wine windows along the way.\nThe Duomo is truly amazing—intricate detail in every centimetre.\nThe Duomo doesn’t open until after 10am, yet the line to get in was already wrapping halfway around the building. Crazy.\nLaura and I have been inside before and have climbed the dome. While it would be good for the kids to see the inside, we sensed they were a bit over it and certainly wouldn’t have the patience to wait in the line.\nWe walked around and admired the outside—which is possibly as good as the inside anyway. It’s a truly spectacular building.\nWe continued on and headed for the Mercato Centrale, where we hoped to grab a bite to eat.\nNavigating the streets lined with leather goods and market stalls, we eventually found the entrance to the Mercato.\nAs soon as we entered, I recognised a food stand I had read about—Da Nerbone—which apparently sells one of the best traditional Florentine street foods: the Panino con Lampredotto (a panino roll with the cooked fourth stomach of a cow in herbs, topped with salsa verde and a spicy sauce).\nI’m not specifically a fan of tripe, but wanted to give this a go—and it was only 5 Euros.\nSo in we go\u0026hellip; it was bloody amazing. Really tasty. I’d certainly go back for another.\nLaura and the kids tried it. Laura and H were not fans, but A enjoyed it.\nWe continued through the Mercato, looking at all the stores and the different produce being sold. It’s amazing. I could spend all day there just looking at everything.\nWe eventually ventured upstairs, where there is the more commercial Mercato Centrale Food Hall (same as at Roma Termini).\nWe grabbed a few other snacks before moving on to continue exploring the streets of Florence.\nWandering around, we stumbled on a wine fountain. 5 Euros a glass—why not!\nWe rang the bell and the owners came from across the road. It seems the wine fountain is situated in their store, and across the road is their restaurant.\nWe asked for a glass of wine. The guys went inside and talked for a while—long enough that we considered just moving on. Our patience paid off, though. It seems their discussion was about what to do with the wine fountain.\nThe owner explained they normally run red wine, but yesterday had white wine and it was at the end. He offered us a glass each for free—we gladly accepted.\nIt was okay—not rock-star wine by any means, but very drinkable. And for the price we paid, we were certainly happy with it.\nWe finished our wine and then headed back to the apartment, picking up some fresh salad for lunch.\nAfter a good hour or so of rest, we headed out to the Galileo Museum to check out some of the scientific equipment and discoveries he and his counterparts and students made. It was quite fascinating with a lot to look at.\nAfter the museum, it was gelato time. We had read about a gelato place called La Strega Nocciola. It was on the other side of the Ponte Vecchio. We hadn’t really explored that side yet, so it was a good chance to get over there.\nOf course, we had to go and check it out. Amazing gelato!\nAfter gelato, we continued to wander the streets and explore. We came across a ceramic shop—which happened to have house numbers! Something we’ve been searching for all trip.\nWe bought house numbers in Alberobello on our last trip to Italy, but we were living in Melbourne then and our house number changed after we moved.\nWhile they had house numbers in Alberobello and other places, they were not the same quality as the ones we had bought previously.\nThe ones we found in Florence were the same style. To be safe, we bought a full set of numbers again. There is no way they would match the ones we bought years ago, but we have them—so job number 63 when we get home will be to fix them to the house.\nWe wandered back to the apartment to let the kids chill out and cool down before we headed out tonight for dinner.\nFor dinner, we had booked a nice-looking place just around the corner from our apartment—Auditore Ristorante. We had wandered past the night before and the meals looked amazing, and I was quite taken by the opportunity to have a Florentine steak 🥩.\nSo we did… and it was delicious and perfectly cooked. Nothing added to it except a bit of salt. We also ordered a caprese salad, grilled vegetables, and A had a lasagna. All accompanied by a lovely bottle of Chianti.\nWe were now full…\nWe took a walk through the nearby streets and piazzas after dinner. The kids had a ride on the merry-go-round and then we headed home.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/06/florence/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we had a slow morning—coffee on the balcony, watching the world pass by below.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed out around 9:30am toward the Duomo, hunting for more wine windows along the way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Duomo is truly amazing—intricate detail in every centimetre.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Duomo doesn’t open until after 10am, yet the line to get in was already wrapping halfway around the building. Crazy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaura and I have been inside before and have climbed the dome. While it would be good for the kids to see the inside, we sensed they were a bit over it and certainly wouldn’t have the patience to wait in the line.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Florence"},{"content":"Today we moved on from Rome and headed to Florence.\nOnce again, we packed our bags and headed for the train station. This time, we caught the bus from just up the road from our apartment.\nWhile it felt like we could have walked in the same time, at least we were off our feet—which was a good thing after the past few days.\nWe arrived at Roma Termini well ahead of when we needed to catch our train. Roma Termini has a fantastic food hall—Mercato Centrale. The place was clean and had heaps of very nice-looking food and drink options. It was actually surprisingly good and unlike what we remembered Roma Termini to be from our last visit.\nWe grabbed a table and ordered coffees and some food for the kids.\nWe also grabbed some food for lunch—a few salad boxes and some paninis—all looked amazing.\nWe caught our train, and a quick two hours later we were in Florence.\nWe walked from the station up to our apartment, which is steps away from the Ponte Vecchio.\nFrom the fourth floor, we can look down to the street below and the bridge and just watch the world pass by. It’s a really magnificent spot.\nWe headed out to do a bit of grocery shopping, as we had decided to eat in tonight and use up some extra food we had carried with us.\nWhile looking for decent grocery stores, we explored the local area and managed to find a quirky gelato store for the kids—it had a Parmigiano Reggiano flavour (about as bad as you could imagine 😬).\nTheir other, less experimental, flavours were great and the kids loved them.\nWe headed back to the apartment and cooked up dinner.\nAfter dinner, we headed back out in search of the elusive wine windows of Florence.\nOur first stop was a false start. It was a wine window, but it wasn’t operating.\nWe pushed on to the next—one we had actually passed on our walk from the train station.\nWe knocked on the window and ordered a few drinks. Five minutes later, we were on our way.\nWe continued to wander and explore, and eventually headed back home for bed.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/05/rome-to-florence/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we moved on from Rome and headed to Florence.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce again, we packed our bags and headed for the train station. This time, we caught the bus from just up the road from our apartment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile it felt like we could have walked in the same time, at least we were off our feet—which was a good thing after the past few days.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe arrived at Roma Termini well ahead of when we needed to catch our train. Roma Termini has a fantastic food hall—Mercato Centrale. The place was clean and had heaps of very nice-looking food and drink options. It was actually surprisingly good and unlike what we remembered Roma Termini to be from our last visit.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rome to Florence"},{"content":"Wow… we thought the last few days were big, but today the kids broke their all-time step count PBs—28k+ steps each!\nWe didn’t plan for a big day—it just happened. We had a slowish morning as we looked into hop-on-hop-off buses, since the kids were keen to try one. After some research, we figured we would probably be best served just catching local buses as needed. Most of the stops on the hop-on-hop-off bus would take us to places we had already visited.\nSo we set out on foot with a very loose plan that was open to changes. We really only wanted to see a few key things today: the Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, and the Roman Forums (which were part of our Colosseum ticket). They were in opposite directions, however.\nAs it was still early for Rome (9:30am), we decided to try our luck back at the Trevi Fountain, as it was pretty packed the other day when we visited.\nOur wandering took us past the Pantheon again—and this time it was open. A quick scan of a QR code and 10 euros later, we had tickets for NOW! In we went to soak in the wonder of this magnificent building.\nAfter the Pantheon, we continued on our way toward the Trevi Fountain. We arrived to crowds of people; however, access down to the fountain itself was still closed as they were cleaning it out (literally sweeping the coins out of the fountain).\nBut we had pretty good access to the level above and were able to get in and have a good look.\nWe continued on to find the Spanish Steps. On our way, we passed a gelato store that claimed to have 150 flavours. We had to see… The assortment of flavours was incredible. The kids were amazed—we had to come back.\nWe pushed on to find the Spanish Steps. It was now mid-morning and time for a coffee stop. We couldn’t easily see a good little cafe—which was unusual. We finally stumbled on one and sat down to order. Before we could look at the menus, the waitress was on us. We basically knew what we wanted already, so just asked: a macchiato espresso, a cappuccino, two iced teas for the kids, and we would share two cornettos.\nAfter ordering, our spidey senses started tingling… something was off. The ordering happened so quickly…\nOur drinks and food arrived. Standard coffees, which were okay. Nothing out of the ordinary here. The kids’ drinks (iced teas) came in massive glasses—we had expected a 300ml bottle as we got everywhere else. The cornettos were standard.\nAfter our coffees and drinks, we grabbed the bill… OMG… 😱😱😱\n49 euros! We’ve eaten out for less than that!\nClearly, we stumbled into the biggest tourist trap in Rome. We could not believe how badly ripped off we had just been. At this point, what can you do but pay… I refused to push in our chairs (as I normally do). Stuff them. I did a quick search and found many people were also complaining about this place. 1.3 stars out of 5! I felt it my duty to also leave a bad review. This joint sucks!\nWe’ve not had this type of experience on the whole trip. Ah Roma—thanks for the memories.\nAnyway, we pushed on in our search for the Spanish Steps and decided it was a good day to eat lunch at home. We had a stockpile of food in the fridge we needed to get through before we moved on anyway.\nUp the Spanish Steps, we continued on to Villa Borghese. Walking along the high points provided a lovely outlook across Rome—and the many domes (there was a dad joke at this point about Rome should have been called Dome—yep, it was a bad one).\nWe walked on to Villa Borghese and wandered through the parks, which were quite lovely. We had seen other people riding around on 2- and 4-seater bikes—we needed to find one of these. We thought it would be a great swap out for the hop-on-hop-off bus and the kids would probably enjoy it more.\nWe eventually found where we could hire one, and for 25 euros we were free to ride a 4-seater bike around the park for an hour.\nThis was great fun—and a highlight for the kids. It also got us off our feet for an hour.\nThe bikes had an awkward electric power assist which would kick on to get you going and assist with hills—but it was full speed or nothing. There was also an odd handbrake that took some getting used to—especially in tight spaces given the limited turning circle of the bike. But we managed and got the hang of it—although the kids had to help push us out of a few tight spots at times.\nWe cruised the park—around and around and around. We started off following the main paths—but where’s the fun in that? We decided to venture off-road and follow some of the gravel paths.\nAn hour on one of these bikes is more than enough. By the end, we had ridden around the park several times and were more than ready to return it. Although I expect the kids would have kept going all day.\nIt was early afternoon by this point and we needed to head home for some lunch.\nWe had lunch and some downtime back at the apartment to recharge for the late afternoon outing to the Forums.\nWe had considered taking the bus—but it was very walkable and at times you end up waiting longer in the sun and the bus gets jammed in traffic… it’s just easier to walk.\nIt was around 4pm by the time we arrived at the entrance to the Forums. We explored the old ruins and buildings for around an hour—but everyone was starting to get pretty tired by this point. So after pushing on and taking in some more, we decided it was time to head back.\nThe kids had put in a massive day and were already over 20k steps. We had promised them earlier in the day if they broke 20k they could have a triple scoop gelato—so we had to come good on the promise.\nTrouble is, we also had to walk 15 minutes back toward home to get to the gelato place with 150 flavours—but we did it.\nThe kids were stoked with their prize. Neither had ever had a triple scoop gelato before. Seems they had already selected their flavours from our earlier visit—they knew exactly what they wanted.\nWe lingered in the store to enjoy the gelatos and have a rest in the cooler air.\nAfter gelato, we headed back home and chilled out before heading out for a later dinner.\nTomorrow we leave Rome and head to Florence.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/04/rome-pantheon-trevifountain-villaborghese-romanforum/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWow… we thought the last few days were big, but today the kids broke their all-time step count PBs—28k+ steps each!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe didn’t plan for a big day—it just happened. We had a slowish morning as we looked into hop-on-hop-off buses, since the kids were keen to try one. After some research, we figured we would probably be best served just catching local buses as needed. Most of the stops on the hop-on-hop-off bus would take us to places we had already visited.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rome - Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Villa Borghese, Roman Forums - and 3-scoop Gelato"},{"content":"Today was a big (and hot 🥵) day in Rome. We had a busy schedule with tickets to the Colosseum at 11:45am and then the Vatican at 4pm.\nWe had tried to get tickets as early as possible and had been looking for months. It seems they are both popular 🤷\nSo we took what we could get and had to roll with it—hoping the kids could battle on in the heat and the crowds. They did amazingly.\nWe got to the Colosseum early, catching the bus from near our apartment right to the Colosseum.\nEven early, the Roman sun had bite 😬\nThe queue wasn’t terrible at the Colosseum if you had pre-purchased a ticket (as we had). Our only concern was a slight typo in the name on one of the kids’ tickets—the perils of ordering online with a phone and under pressure—as you’re meant to also show photo ID (passport, etc.). Anyway, they were not looking too closely and were not overly concerned with checking for such details. Phew… We were in.\nThe walk through the Colosseum was amazing. So much to see. We had a full access arena ticket, so we were able to walk the ground and second floor levels as well as enter the arena space, which gave you the perspective of going out into the arena and seeing the Colosseum stands towering above. It was spectacular.\nThe kids were pretty amazed at how old it was. One of the oldest things they had seen—except for dinosaur bones.\nWe completed our tour through the Colosseum in about 90 minutes. It was now pretty hot and we were all seeking a rest, so we headed for the bus and home.\nBack at the apartment, we turned the air conditioning on and chilled out for a bit. Something to eat and drink and a rest was just what we all needed.\nWe headed back out at about 2:30pm to catch the bus up to the Vatican. Getting out at the Vatican, we realised how hot the Roman afternoon was. The queuing process at the Vatican was a lot more confusing than at the Colosseum (which seemed to flow nicely). We stood in the hot sun for about 30 minutes just to discover we were in the wrong line (although the concept of multiple lines was not overly apparent—it was more a blended mash of people).\nWe were eventually told we were too early and to come back. We had our doubts given the length of the line. We didn’t want to have to queue more than needed (we already had a ticket).\nWe decided to take the advice and use the opportunity to get a cool drink and some gelato for the kids.\nWe went back at the time we were told and—to our surprise—there was hardly a queue and we could go straight through. Amazing.\nWe worked our way through the Vatican Museum and eventually to the Sistine Chapel—always an amazing sight.\nBy now, the kids (and the adults) were pretty cooked. We were done. But we couldn’t leave without a quick look at St. Peter’s Basilica.\nAs we exited the Vatican, I reached for my sunglasses… 😱 they were gone—and I was a little pissed off…\nWhile I would usually put my sunglasses on my hat when not wearing them, we removed our hats when we went into the Vatican, so I looped my glasses through the chest strap of my backpack.\nHalfway around the Vatican, one of our hats had fallen out of the top of my pack, so we stopped in a “quiet” corner (just us and a thousand other people) to adjust the pack and put the hats back in securely—I suspect this is where the glasses went missing. The rest of Italy is going to be tough without sunnies—that sun is bright.\nWe checked the lost and found on the way out. Seems I’m not the only one to lose my sunnies—they had an impressive collection, just not mine.\nMight have to look for some cheap servo-specs to get me through.\nWe stopped to regroup and have some more water and a small bag of lollies to keep us going. We walked up and around to the Basilica and lined up to pass through security (fortunately a short experience at this time of the afternoon) and walked out into the piazza in front of St. Peter’s to observe the basilica.\nAfter taking in the sight for a while, we needed to head home. Time for an Uber. It was too hot and everyone was too tired to walk back to the bus—and given we were picked up in a brand new E-class Mercedes, it felt like the best 17 Euro we had spent.\nThe trip home was like a lap around Rome. The driver was confident moving through the Roman traffic. I felt confident as there was no way he was getting a scratch on this car. In no time at all, we were home.\nAircon, shoes off, water, more water, and something to eat. Now chill for a bit before dinner.\nEventually it was time to head out for dinner. We headed to a spot we found online that sounded good—apparently we were not the only ones who had heard. The kids were too tired to try and wait out the queue—they needed food and soon. So we moved on.\nWe eventually found a nice little place not far from our apartment. It had a very homely feel and the staff were friendly. We ordered the oxtail gnocchi, gnocchi with tomato, guanciale, and cheese, spaghetti di mare, and a Napoli pinsa. A bottle of red wine and some fizzy water topped it off.\nThe meal was delicious and the staff were great—joking with the kids.\nWe walked home and happened to pass a gelato shop—which magically helped everyone forget how tired and sore they were.\nA big day, but we felt we saw and covered a lot. The kids were amazing.\nA slower day tomorrow—at least we don’t have to be anywhere at a specific time. That will be good.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/03/rome-colosseum-and-vatican/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was a big (and hot 🥵) day in Rome. We had a busy schedule with tickets to the Colosseum at 11:45am and then the Vatican at 4pm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe had tried to get tickets as early as possible and had been looking for months. It seems they are both popular 🤷\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo we took what we could get and had to roll with it—hoping the kids could battle on in the heat and the crowds. They did amazingly.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rome - Colosseum, Vatican and St. Paul’s"},{"content":"Today we packed our bags and left Monopoli – it’s been a great week.\nWhile we had intended our week in Monopoli to be spent chilling out and not doing much, we actually did a lot and were quite busy.\nWe had an early start, leaving the apartment at about 7am so we could haul our ever-heavier packs to the station to catch the 7:45am express to Bari, where we would then connect with a fast train to Rome.\nIt’s always nice to get out early and walk through the streets – hardly anyone else is about and the air is cool and fresh.\nAs we headed up towards the cathedral, the only other people around were those cleaning and packing up from the Festa events, which concluded last night (at 2am).\nWe made it to the train station and caught our train. The express is only 25 minutes to Bari.\nAt Bari, it was time for coffee. We ordered two macchiato espressos and a cornetto each. Something was clearly lost in translation – or they just assume all tourists like very big milky coffee – but what we got was certainly not what we had expected. I couldn’t drink mine – way too much milk. But the cornettos were nice.\nAfter our last intercity train from Milan to Ancona, we had high expectations – these were shortly dashed. The train was not the same class as the one we had caught previously. While still comfortable, it lacked many things our previous train ride had provided – including adequate baggage space!\nWhile we had pretty big (and heavy) packs, these were at least somewhat malleable and could be forced into the tiny overhead storage area – designed for only the smallest of carry-on bags.\nMany other travelers, however, had large – some massive – suitcases. There was simply no way these were fitting. So for most of the journey, they sat in the corridors, on spare seats (until that passenger boarded and required their seat). It was a bit of a mess – and I really felt a bit sorry for the people who had to nurse their massive bags, or squeeze into a single seat with their bag.\nThen came the constant corridor shuffle. Because the bags were blocking the corridor, anytime someone needed to get up and move, or the food and beverage cart came through, the bags had to be moved, juggled, and rearranged.\nFinally, three-quarters of the way through the journey, one of the conductors asked the passengers to bring their bags to another section of the train. I assume others had departed the train, freeing some room in the very limited luggage area two carriages back.\nFor the most part, the trip went well.\nWe passed through Benevento – and this is as close to San Lupo as we got this trip. We were unable to see the Strega factory from the train – maybe it’s moved.\nWe got off the train in Rome – expecting to be hit by a wall of heat as the forecast was for 30°C – a touch different from the pleasant coastal 24°C.\nBut it wasn’t that bad. There was a cool breeze which actually made it comfortable.\nWe exited the station with packs on. Nothing screams “I’m a tourist” like stepping out of Roma Termini station with a massive backpack.\n“Taxi, sir?”\nWe had barely been out of the station for 10 seconds before the question came.\n“No, grazie,” I replied.\n“Sir – we are genuine taxi. We are not what you think. Where do you want to go?”\nOkay, he knows what I think. Let’s test this. I suspect I know where it will end.\nWe asked for a price to get to our apartment – we knew it was over 2.5km to walk, and while it was a pleasant temperature, it would be hot hauling these packs that far.\n“Oh, we can’t go there today.” “Too far to go around.”\nToday was the Festa della Repubblica (Republic Day Festival), and lots of streets in and around Rome were closed for various celebrations and parades.\nFrom the side, one of the other drivers started speaking in quick Italian. Laura picked up bits and pieces – basically, he was asking why he couldn’t take us. The main guy then told him to sit down… so he walked away.\nThen came an offer of 50 euros.\nLooks like we’re walking.\nWe kindly said “no grazie” and moved on. It didn’t feel right and it was impossible to tell if the fare was legitimate.\nChecking the Uber app (which allows you to also book a cab), it suggested it would be capped at 25 euros…\nBut with a massive line for cabs and many cabbies patrolling the front of the station, we didn’t feel like starting a turf war by booking a cab through Uber and both jumping the queue and undercutting their exaggerated prices.\nWe started walking.\nThe walk was not too bad. A few hills, but overall okay. It was a long way, however, with such heavy packs.\nThe kids were getting tired also. About halfway, we stopped for some lunch. The kids mostly needed a stop and a fuel up.\nThe silver lining of not paying for a cab is that the money saved paid for lunch.\nWe made it to our apartment and dropped the packs. Phew. We had arrived.\nWe immediately headed back out – freed from our packs, it was like walking on air – to find some basic groceries. We decided to have dinner in tonight.\nWe grabbed a few things at the local supermarket around the corner and took a walk through the local market. As it was quite warm and we had lugged the packs a long way, it was also time for a gelato!\nWe headed back to the apartment to start getting dinner ready – simple pasta and sauce. Easy.\nExcept we didn’t have onion or garlic… the sauce would be a bit plain without those basics.\nI headed back out to find some garlic and an onion. Seems it’s not possible to buy these staples of the Italian diet around our area. I went to about eight different stores – many just glorified bottle shops – in search of anything that resembled garlic.\nI ended up back at the open-air market – which was being packed up as it was very late in the afternoon. The offering was sparse. No fresh veggies to be seen.\nI ended up buying a little bag of “pasta mix” which consisted of dehydrated carrot, onion, garlic, chilli, and various other bits and pieces (that mostly resembled sawdust).\nThe price asked was 3 euros. It was late in the day and I hoped the sales guy would take the 2 euro coin I offered up – playing dumb that this was all I had.\nHe eventually bent and the deal was done. I headed home with my 2 euros’ worth of mixed dehydrated stuff…\nWe cooked it up, and it was okay. It was not anything like the home-cooked pasta we are used to – but we made it work. And the bonus – we have a heap of sauce left 🫣\nAfter dinner, we headed out for an evening walk. We wandered the streets and took in the sights. We made our way up to Trevi Fountain – which was packed – but we managed to squeeze our way into a vantage point and take a look.\nBy this point, we had done a lot of walking today and we were all pretty tired. We headed home and to bed.\nTomorrow will be a big day with the Colosseum and the Vatican.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/02/monopoli-to-rome/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we packed our bags and left Monopoli – it’s been a great week.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile we had intended our week in Monopoli to be spent chilling out and not doing much, we actually did a lot and were quite busy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe had an early start, leaving the apartment at about 7am so we could haul our ever-heavier packs to the station to catch the 7:45am express to Bari, where we would then connect with a fast train to Rome.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Monopoli to Rome"},{"content":"Today is our last day in Monopoli. We leave tomorrow very early to catch a train to Bari, and then another from Bari up to Rome.\nThe weather is fantastic today—the sun is out, the wind has dropped, and the sea looks lovely.\nThe kids and I took a walk down the coast to check out Cala Diavolo (Devil Cove), named because of the two coves next to each other that resemble the shape of devil horns on the coastline.\nIt was a fair walk from home, and while it looked lovely, I don’t imagine the kids would want to walk back again.\nWe headed back to town and found a market, which was nice to wander around.\nWe returned to our favourite bakery for some lunch—more panzerotto (they are lovely).\nAfter lunch, it was time for a swim. Rather than walk to the beach and contend with the crowds, we decided to swim off the rocks at the sea wall, which had the benefit of being much closer to home and avoiding any sand being dragged back to the apartment.\nWe wandered down to the rocks. These are big cement blocks placed in the water as a sea wall. They also made a great place for swimming, as the water straight in front was crystal clear and deep enough to just jump straight in.\nWe swam for about an hour or so. The water was amazing. The kids explored the rocks—swimming and jumping in. It was a great afternoon and a perfect way to spend our last day in Monopoli.\nAfter swimming, it was time for gelato.\nThis afternoon, we will chill out and start packing our bags. It’s an early start, and we need to leave by about 7 a.m. to make our connection in Bari.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/06/01/monopoli-walk-swim-gelato/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday is our last day in Monopoli. We leave tomorrow very early to catch a train to Bari, and then another from Bari up to Rome.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe weather is fantastic today—the sun is out, the wind has dropped, and the sea looks lovely.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe kids and I took a walk down the coast to check out Cala Diavolo (Devil Cove), named because of the two coves next to each other that resemble the shape of devil horns on the coastline.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Monopoli - Walk, Swim, Gelato"},{"content":"Today was about more exploring and trying new things.\nWe had a lovely, slow morning—I think we all needed it—and we headed out just before 10 a.m.\nWalking past the big cathedral, we were just in time to see more of the local festa, with the procession of three more statues through the street, followed by a marching band and many locals.\nOnce the procession had passed, we ventured into the cathedral for a look. It was massive—lots of white and brown marble, frescoes, paintings, and relics.\nWe continued walking and headed to the main piazza for a coffee and to try something new. There was a lovely-looking panetteria (bakery) on the edge of the piazza that I had been wanting to try. So we went in and chose a selection of their small cakes to have with our coffee—cream, chocolate, and pistachio filled.\nWe enjoyed our coffee and cakes in the piazza and just watched the world go by.\nBoom 💥\nWhat was that…\nMore festa celebrations—with the firing of a cannon and white smoke 💨. This seemed to continue about every five minutes. Boom… Boom… Boom…\nOn the other side of the piazza was a free workshop for various arts: cooking, tambourine, ceramics.\nWe had a go at learning the tambourine—apparently, the technique is quite specific 🤌\nWe continued wandering, now in search of a white train that provides tours around the town. Five euros each and we were on board.\nWe covered many of the areas we had already walked, but we did get to a few areas we hadn’t been to yet, which was good. And it was probably worth the five euros just to sit for half an hour and take a load off. The kids enjoyed the ride.\nAfter the train ride, we headed back into the main piazza of the old town and back to the bakery we had visited this morning. In the spirit of trying new things, we had heard about their amazing panzerotto (similar to a Margherita calzone, but the dough is lightly fried—not oil-soaked).\nWe grabbed a few to share, along with a few other random items to try. They were amazing—super tasty and cheap at just two euros each.\nAfter lunch, we headed out to the beach for a swim. The winds had dropped today, so there was much less swell, but the beach still had a bit of churned-up weed as a result. It was still good for a swim.\nAfter swimming, it was time for a spritz. We headed out to find a cool little spritz bar we had walked past a number of times. We wanted to try their cocktail before we leave in a few days—a passionfruit spritz and a Negroni. Yum.\nWe continued to cruise the streets of the old town and decided to grab some takeaway pizza for dinner and to watch the UEFA Champions League final between PSG and Inter.\nWe grabbed three pizzas: a Bufala Margherita, a Monopoli (anchovies and turnip tops), and the kids’ selection—the Wurstel e Patatine (hot dog and fries) 🫣\nThey were all pretty good—even the hot dog and fries pizza (just odd).\nAfter pizza, we settled in to watch the soccer. We were supporting Inter (Milan) and were hoping for a win, as we would be back in Milan in just over a week.\nThe girls had headed to bed, so I decided to take A out to see if there were any live sites where we could take in the atmosphere of the game more. We found a few bars and restaurants that had TVs set up showing the game, and while the places were busy, it wasn’t really what we were looking for. We visited a few, took it in, but in the end decided to head home and just watch the rest of the game there.\nTurns out it was a pretty poor game, with PSG dominating and taking the win 5–0 😱\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/31/more-monopoli/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was about more exploring and trying new things.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe had a lovely, slow morning—I think we all needed it—and we headed out just before 10 a.m.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWalking past the big cathedral, we were just in time to see more of the local festa, with the procession of three more statues through the street, followed by a marching band and many locals.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce the procession had passed, we ventured into the cathedral for a look. It was massive—lots of white and brown marble, frescoes, paintings, and relics.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"More Monopoli"},{"content":"Today we drive!\nWe hired a car from a local rental company (GoRent) and drove to Matera for a day trip.\nDriving in Italy is exciting! The cities and towns are the hard part. Once you’re on the Autostrada, it’s plain sailing.\nThe traffic signs are confusing. When it seems to say 50 km/h and you do this, others feel like they are passing you at warp speed.\n🤌\nNot keen on getting a speeding fine, I follow what the speed signs and the car GPS tell me—until it feels dangerous, and then I speed up to “local traffic speed” for a bit to avoid accidents.\nMostly, the trip to Matera was uneventful—a good thing.\nComing into Matera, we had no idea where we were headed. We just wanted to go to Matera. 🤣\nWe learned that the white parking lines were free (you don’t see many of these). Blue are paid, and yellow are for residents.\nDriving through town, we finally saw a parking 🅿️ sign and headed for it. Wow… it was right in the center and cheap. A massive fluke.\nAfter parking, we headed out to explore—but as it was lunchtime, we were ready to eat. We wandered around the main piazza and then up a few streets. We eventually found a lovely little panini bar and ordered a sandwich each. They were amazing.\nAfter lunch, we went back to the piazza to find an Ape tour (Ape means bee 🐝 in Italian and is what they call the small 3-wheeler bikes).\nWe agreed on a price with an Ape rider and off we went to explore the ancient city of Matera. It was amazing. Some truly old stuff here.\nThe tour was great and we ended up back in the main square. We wandered around more and got ready for the drive back to Monopoli.\nBack in Monopoli, it was the town festa. We had a home-cooked dinner, then wandered up to watch the town procession. It was great to be in town to see the local festa.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/30/matera/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we drive!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe hired a car from a local rental company (\u003ca href=\"https://www.gorentgo.it\"\u003eGoRent\u003c/a\u003e) and drove to Matera for a day trip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDriving in Italy is exciting! The cities and towns are the hard part. Once you’re on the Autostrada, it’s plain sailing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe traffic signs are confusing. When it seems to say 50 km/h and you do this, others feel like they are passing you at warp speed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e🤌\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNot keen on getting a speeding fine, I follow what the speed signs and the car GPS tell me—until it feels dangerous, and then I speed up to “local traffic speed” for a bit to avoid accidents.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Matera Day Trip"},{"content":"Today we took a bus from Monopoli to Alberobello—home of the beautiful UNESCO Trulli stone houses.\nAfter about an hour on the bus, driving through the Puglian countryside, we arrived in Alberobello. Now to find the Trulli.\nUp this street, down that—we wound our way from the bus stop, which is on the outskirts of town, toward the centre. It’s here we found the amazing Trulli.\nMemories came flooding back from our previous visit in 2015, when we stayed in town in Trulli for a few days.\nWe seemed to remember quite a bit—the church where we got stuck needing to do a U-turn as we drove into town after dark, blindly following GPS instructions (which didn’t know half the streets were closed because of the local festa). Ah, the memories 🫣\nAs we wandered through town, we found a nice little place for lunch: a Margherita pizza, two octopus panini (our favourite), and an octopus salad (we love octopus 🐙).\nAfter lunch, we continued to wander through the town, admiring all of the Trulli and picking up a few souvenirs (I can feel our packs getting heavier by the minute!).\nAfter spending a few hours wandering the town, we headed back to the bus stop and caught the bus back to Monopoli.\nVery glad we came back and had the opportunity to show the kids the amazing Trulli houses.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/29/alberobello/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we took a bus from Monopoli to Alberobello—home of the beautiful UNESCO \u003ca href=\"https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/787/\"\u003eTrulli\u003c/a\u003e stone houses.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter about an hour on the bus, driving through the Puglian countryside, we arrived in Alberobello. Now to find the Trulli.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUp this street, down that—we wound our way from the bus stop, which is on the outskirts of town, toward the centre. It’s here we found the amazing Trulli.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMemories came flooding back from our \u003ca href=\"https://www.modrich.com/posts/2015-07-25-alberobello/\"\u003eprevious visit\u003c/a\u003e in 2015, when we stayed in town in Trulli for a few days.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Alberobello"},{"content":"Today was all about chilling out, unwinding, and recharging.\nIt was a wonderfully warm day in Monopoli—perfect for exploring a little and then hitting the beach.\nWe grabbed lunch at the other café at the end of our street—this one focused mainly on fried calamari and octopus paninis (what could be better?).\nWe ordered some calamari, fries, a few octopus paninis, and some drinks. An amazing lunch.\nBy the afternoon, a breeze had come up. Rain is expected tomorrow. We still wanted some beach time, however, and didn’t let the breeze stop us—although it did change the previously mirror-like sea into a bit more of a choppy affair.\nSwim done, we headed home and decided to stay in for dinner and cook the orecchiette we purchased from the Nonna in Bari.\nWe started preparing the sauce—no oil! We needed oil!\nA and I decided to do a quick dash to the local shop in the old town. We were sure we could get some oil there.\nQuickly weaving our way through the streets of the old town, we arrived at the small shop only to find it was closed… Next option—keep walking…\nWeaving down more streets in search of oil, we came across a tourist shop… small and expensive 😱.\nWe pushed on, continuing our search for oil. We headed up to the edge of the old town where we had seen a small fruit and vegetable shop. We were in luck—sort of. They had good local oil, but it was 5 euros for about 200 ml 😱🫣😬\nDone.\nWhile I’m certain we could have found it much cheaper elsewhere, how far and how long were we going to look?\nWe headed back to the apartment with our precious oil and started cooking the sauce.\nThe pasta was delicious (thanks to our oil).\nAfter dinner, we went out for a walk through the old town and found a nice little gelato shop. Can’t go a day without gelato!\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/28/monopoli-day-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was all about chilling out, unwinding, and recharging.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a wonderfully warm day in Monopoli—perfect for exploring a little and then hitting the beach.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe grabbed lunch at the other café at the end of our street—this one focused mainly on fried calamari and octopus paninis (what could be better?).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe ordered some calamari, fries, a few octopus paninis, and some drinks. An amazing lunch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy the afternoon, a breeze had come up. Rain is expected tomorrow. We still wanted some beach time, however, and didn’t let the breeze stop us—although it did change the previously mirror-like sea into a bit more of a choppy affair.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Monopoli Day 2"},{"content":"After a quick overnight stay in Bari, we packed up our bags and walked to the train station.\nBari Centrale was about a 2 km walk, giving us a brief look at other areas of the city as we made our way through the streets.\nIt was a quick 45-minute train ride to Monopoli. The train left Bari and followed the coastline, providing some lovely views of both the water and the almost endless fields of vines and olive trees—something the region is known for.\nWe arrived in Monopoli, packs on our backs, and walked about 1.5 km to our apartment in the old town.\nNavigating the streets of the old town is tricky, especially when you first arrive and don’t yet have your bearings. The old town is full of dead ends and winding streets. What seems to be “just there” often requires you to take a much longer route.\nOn top of this, the narrow streets enclosed by tall stone buildings are not great for GPS reception, so navigation by phone is sometimes worse than just following your instincts.\nWe arrived at our unit and unpacked. It was a relief to get the packs off our backs and to be able to set up for an extended stay—we are in Monopoli for six nights, and this marks the halfway point of our trip.\nThe extended stay is designed to allow us to go slow for a few days, rest a little, and recharge. Monopoli has a few beaches, so some lazy days at the beach might be on the cards as well.\nAfter settling into the apartment, it was time to “get lost” and hopefully discover where we could pick up some groceries for our stay.\nThe old town streets in Monopoli are amazing—white painted stone walls contrasting against a bright blue sky.\nWe wandered around trying to get our bearings and establish a few landmarks. Along the way, we discovered some amazing-looking bars and restaurants.\nWe found a small grocery store and stocked up on some supplies.\nFor lunch, we couldn’t go past the little cafe at the end of our street (there are two—we’ll plan to try the other tomorrow).\nThe octopus 🐙 panini was delicious and something we’d been looking forward to trying. The kids had the mixed fried seafood and a few other nibbles.\nAfter lunch, we continued on “getting lost.” We wanted to locate the beach. When we booked our apartment, one of the attractions was a nearby sandy beach—unfortunately, it seems they are currently redeveloping the waterfront area here and that beach is closed. Bit of a pain, but that’s life.\nWe explored further down the coast and found a few other options not too far away.\nFor dinner, we headed out to a nice place Laura had seen recommended—Pinsotti.\nThe staff were very friendly and welcoming, and also great with the kids. H drew a picture of the restaurant’s logo—a bee 🐝—and the owner was amazed and wanted her to sign it so when she is famous he can be rich 🤑.\nWe ordered a selection of local food to share: Caprese di bufala, Pinsa Braciola barese, Insalata di polpo, and a bottle of local white wine. It was all delicious. The owner brought us limoncello and sweet biscuits for the kids, which was a lovely way to finish off the meal.\nAfter dinner, we wandered the streets of the old town a bit more and out to view the port—the old town is beautiful in the evening.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/27/bari-to-monopoli/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a quick overnight stay in Bari, we packed up our bags and walked to the train station.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBari Centrale was about a 2 km walk, giving us a brief look at other areas of the city as we made our way through the streets.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was a quick 45-minute train ride to Monopoli. The train left Bari and followed the coastline, providing some lovely views of both the water and the almost endless fields of vines and olive trees—something the region is known for.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Bari to Monopoli"},{"content":"Today we pack our bags and head back to Italy 🇮🇹.\nCroatia 🇭🇷 has been absolutely amazing—we’ve loved it and wish we had more time here. But all good things come to an end, and we must move on.\nWe have a day sailing out of Dubrovnik, which will get us in at around 7 p.m. this evening to Bari, where we will check into our next Airbnb apartment.\nThe day sailing will be an interesting change—more like a cruise. The ship seems to be very well appointed, with lots of options for the kids to keep themselves entertained and amused.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/26/dubrovnic-to-bari/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we pack our bags and head back to Italy 🇮🇹.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCroatia 🇭🇷 has been absolutely amazing—we’ve loved it and wish we had more time here. But all good things come to an end, and we must move on.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have a day sailing out of Dubrovnik, which will get us in at around 7 p.m. this evening to Bari, where we will check into our next Airbnb apartment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe day sailing will be an interesting change—more like a cruise. The ship seems to be very well appointed, with lots of options for the kids to keep themselves entertained and amused.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dubrovnik to Bari"},{"content":"Today we had a slower morning with no real rush to be anywhere.\nWe headed out mid-morning for a coffee and then to the cable car on the back side of Dubrovnik’s old town.\nThe cable car was going to be a challenge—some of us are not fond of heights.\nWe elected to get one adult and one child return ticket, but for the other adult and child we opted for one-way tickets, allowing a walk-back option if the cable car was too much.\nHaving bought our tickets in the office at the bottom, we walked up the road to the cable car terminal. Rounding the corner, we could see a massive queue 🫣.\nWe joined the back of the queue and waited patiently. A minute later, one of the staff was walking down the line asking for people with tickets to come forward. It appeared this was the line for tickets—bonus.\nWe walked straight up, scanned our tickets, and were on the next cable car.\nThe ride up was smooth and easy. There were some nerves for those not fond of heights, but three minutes later we were at the top.\nThe view from the top was amazing. You can see all of Dubrovnik and the coastline. It was magical.\nAfter exploring a bit, we decided to head back down, so we bought the extra return tickets and all boarded the next cable car. Three minutes later, we were back down the hill.\nWe decided to continue exploring the old town, as we had not been on this side much. But first things first—gelato!\nWe found a new place that we had seen the day before but was not open. They claimed to be the best gelato in town. There was a small queue, so they’d better be right!\nIt was pretty delicious.\nExploring continued—gelato in hand.\nWe took in a few more of the sights of the old town and then, on our way home, went and explored Fort Lovrijenac, which provided some amazing views of the coastline and water as well as a new perspective looking back to the walls of the old town.\nIt was now early afternoon, so we headed back to the apartment for some lunch and a rest.\nAfter lunch, we decided to go for another swim—it was a perfect sunny day.\nYesterday we swam off some rocks, but after doing some more research, we realized there was a beautiful pebble beach nearby. We decided to go and find it.\nWe took the same path as yesterday and had to walk around a small barrier that had closed off the track—which is why we hadn’t seen it yesterday. The online reviews of the beach indicated you needed to do this and the track was fine. It appears they may have had some rock falls previously.\nWe pushed on and found the most amazing little beach. The water was crystal clear.\nWe climbed down the steps and onto the beach and found a nice spot.\nThe water—as always—was fresh, but you quickly got used to it and it was lovely.\nThere was a small cave nearby that you could easily swim into. I took the kids, one at a time, so they could have a look.\nWe then continued to swim and just enjoy the location. It was amazing.\nThe kids climbed up some rocks and were able to jump off (a short distance) into the clear, deep water. This was fun.\nOther tourists were jumping from cliffs (about two to three stories high—not for us, but cool to watch).\nAfter swimming, we headed back to the apartment to get ready to head out to the old town for dinner. Kids’ selection tonight.\nWe wandered around the old town and looked at a few dinner options. We finally settled on a cool little burger place, as the kids wanted burgers. Laura and I shared some fried squid and a burger too.\nAfter dinner, we walked areas of the old town we had not been before (needing to walk off the burgers). We walked down around the port and the back side of the wall to view the water and sunset over the old town.\nOn the way home, the kids grabbed another gelato (can you have too much gelato?).\nTomorrow we leave Dubrovnik. We are headed back to Italy 🇮🇹 by ferry and will arrive in Bari at around 7 in the evening.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/25/dubrovnic-cable-car-and-swimming/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we had a slower morning with no real rush to be anywhere.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed out mid-morning for a coffee and then to the cable car on the back side of Dubrovnik’s old town.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cable car was going to be a challenge—some of us are not fond of heights.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe elected to get one adult and one child return ticket, but for the other adult and child we opted for one-way tickets, allowing a walk-back option if the cable car was too much.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dubrovnik - Cable Car and Swimming"},{"content":"Today was a big day out in Dubrovnik old town.\nWe headed out early to get ahead of the crowds—and this paid off. Compared to last night in the old town, this morning it was quiet and peaceful.\nWe grabbed a coffee and then walked the walls. We climbed the steep and seemingly endless stairs to get up onto the walls. Once up there, the view was amazing, providing vistas of the old town, the rugged coastline, and the surrounding areas.\nOur walk around the walls was about 2.3 km all up—and we were glad to have done it early before the crowds and the heat.\nAfter the walls, we wandered around the old town a little more, visiting some of the churches and other sights before getting some gelato.\nWe made our way back to the apartment with a stop at the supermarket for some more supplies for lunch.\nAfter a big morning, we chilled out back at the apartment, had some lunch, and recharged.\nIn the afternoon, we headed out to a nearby “beach.”\nAs we approached the “beach,” it soon became apparent that the definition of “beach” was applied pretty loosely to a set of rocks with some steps set into them that allowed you to jump into the ocean.\nThe water was a crystal clear blue and looked amazing with patches of white pebbles on the bottom.\nI jumped in first. It was cool, but not too bad.\nIt took a while to slowly coax the kids in. A few things were different about this “beach” compared to what they are used to.\nThey both eventually took the plunge—and once the initial shock of the cool water wore off, they were happy to remain in. There was a massive slab of smooth cut rock in the water that made it easy to sit or stand. We based ourselves here and let the waves do their thing.\nAs the kids got more used to the “beach,” they took short swims out off the rock and back.\nThey both did really well and eventually decided to get out—which required them to swim back from the stone slab we were on to the stone steps. This was easy-ish, until a set of larger waves came through and pushed you onto the rocky steps. But they both made it out.\nAfter our swim, we headed back to the apartment to shower and get ready to head into the old town for dinner.\nSome research turned up a few decent options—but one was a stand out: Trattoria Carmen.\nThe reviews were good and recommended getting there early as they don’t take reservations and the queue can get big quickly.\nWe took the bus most of the way into the old town and got off to grab a cheeky cocktail at Fratellos Prosecco Bar—which had amazing views out over the coast.\nAfter our cocktails, we continued walking into the old town and found Trattoria Carmen. There was already a short line. As the kids were hungry, we decided to switch things up and get them dessert while we waited. So Laura took them to get another round of gelato while we waited.\nWe waited probably 30 minutes to be seated—and the queue continued to grow. The wait was worth it, however.\nWe had an octopus salad and marinated anchovies for starters. For mains, the kids shared a pizza, while Laura and I shared the grilled (whole) fish of the day, which was sea bass, and a slow-cooked beef with pasta.\nThe meals were fantastic and so were the staff—very attentive and happy to help. We were glad we waited it out.\nWe started to head in the homeward direction, but stopped by the Glam Bar (a craft beer bar) for a drink before home. The bar was great and had a massive selection of awesome craft beers. I settled for an NE Pale, while Laura had a NEIPA. Both were great beers—but today had been a big day and one beer was enough.\nWe caught the bus home and went off to bed after a pretty massive day.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/24/dubrovnic-walls-and-all/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was a big day out in Dubrovnik old town.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed out early to get ahead of the crowds—and this paid off. Compared to last night in the old town, this morning it was quiet and peaceful.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe grabbed a coffee and then walked the walls. We climbed the steep and seemingly endless stairs to get up onto the walls. Once up there, the view was amazing, providing vistas of the old town, the rugged coastline, and the surrounding areas.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dubrovnik - Walls and All"},{"content":"Today we said farewell to Korčula. It’s been an amazing few days, and we have really loved our time on the island. Our apartment and hosts were wonderful, but all good things must come to an end.\nOur ferry didn’t arrive until 12:20 pm, so we had more time to explore. However, we had to check out by 10 am, so we carried our full packs with us.\nWe set out to find one last coffee and soak in the old town. Most places in the old town were closed, so we just wandered the streets and took in the sights.\nIn search of coffee, we continued out of the old town toward the port area. Here, we found a hidden gem of a tiny cafe and wine bar—Čiz Pliz.\nHands down, this was the best coffee we’ve had yet on our trip. Fantastic.\nAlong with our two macchiatos, we also ordered Nonna’s Strudel and banana bread (a family tradition for birthdays—and as we’ve had two on this trip, it was a good opportunity to keep that tradition alive).\nAfter coffee and our delicious snacks, we headed back to the apartment to pack and check out.\nWhat to do now, with packs in tow? More coffee! We decided to spend our last hour on the island at the funky cafe we discovered earlier.\nAs we headed back to the cafe, we ran into our host, who owns the hardware shop just below. He kindly offered to store our packs in his van while we waited for the ferry. Amazing!\nWe stowed our packs and headed up to the cafe.\nThe cafe owners were surprised to see us back so soon—but great coffee will do that!\nWe ordered another two macchiatos, and since we were travelling for a few hours, we decided to have an early lunch. The kids shared an avocado toast, and Laura and I shared an amazing quinoa salad bowl.\nAs we were eating lunch, the rain rolled in. It was coming down—lucky we were inside enjoying fantastic coffee.\nBut eventually, the time came to collect our packs and head to the ferry terminal. It was still raining.\nAs we waited for the ferry, the rain slowly cleared. By the time we needed to board, the rain had stopped entirely.\nThe ferry was direct from Korčula to Dubrovnik. The first leg was a little rough—not too bad, but enough for the girls, who were not fans of the waves. This all calmed down after about 30 minutes when the ferry was again sailing behind the protection of islands, and the rest of the trip was much calmer.\nWe arrived in Dubrovnik and humped our packs about 2 km up the hill to our accommodation. We could have grabbed an Uber, but where’s the fun in that!\nAbout 30 minutes later, we arrived at our apartment.\nAfter settling in, we popped out to pick up a few supplies. A simple home-cooked meal tonight, then we caught the bus into the old town to do a bit of exploring before a full day tomorrow.\nJust after we arrived in the old town, the rain rolled in again. Rain jackets on, we continued. We found refuge from the rain at the Dubrovnik Beer Factory—a craft beer bar in the old town.\nThe kids had Fanta, Laura had the Pale Ale, and I had the NEIPA—which was amazing. I suspect we’ll find our way back here in the next few days for refreshment. 🍻\nAfter a beer, we decided to head back home as the kids were starting to get tired.\nWhile the rain had stopped, the thunder and lightning had just begun. The storm passed quickly as we arrived back at our apartment.\nTomorrow, we’ll explore the old town—probably taking a walk along the walls early in an attempt to avoid the crowds.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/23/kor%C4%8Dula-to-dubrovnic/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we said farewell to Korčula. It’s been an amazing few days, and we have really loved our time on the island. Our apartment and hosts were wonderful, but all good things must come to an end.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur ferry didn’t arrive until 12:20 pm, so we had more time to explore. However, we had to check out by 10 am, so we carried our full packs with us.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe set out to find one last coffee and soak in the old town. Most places in the old town were closed, so we just wandered the streets and took in the sights.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Korčula to Dubrovnik by Ferry"},{"content":"Today we planned to visit some of the local wineries; however, as most are not open until the early afternoon, we needed something to do this morning.\nWe decided to take a walk to see the Church of St. Antun (Anthony of Padova), which is about a 6 km round trip (we didn’t tell the kids how far it was).\nWe packed our trusty daypack and set off. The walking route took us through a lot of unexplored territory, which meant we got to see much more of the island than just the old town and surrounding village.\nThe walk mostly followed roads and paths, and as we got closer, there were signs guiding the way.\nWe eventually arrived at the bottom of a large set of stone stairs (the kids tell me 101 in all), with cypress pines lining them the entire way.\nThe stairs led up to a small church at the top—and to our surprise, the trail we had just walked formed part of the Korčula Croatia Camino walk. Exploring around the church, we located the Camino trail symbol on the side of a small box fixed to the church. Inside was a stamp for the St. Antun Camino site. We collected our stamp and continued to explore.\nAfter a short stay at the church and a rest break, we headed back home. The full walk was around 6 km return, and the kids were champions—not a complaint (I think they are getting used to the daily walking).\nWe grabbed some burek from the local bakery in town for lunch and then chilled out in the apartment to recharge before heading back out in the early afternoon for wine tasting.\nThe wineries we wanted to visit were close to Lumbarda, essentially the next town over. We grabbed a local taxi, who dropped us off at Popic Winery.\nPopic Winery was great. The owner greeted us as we arrived and showed us to a table. She was lovely and very engaging.\nI decided to have the three-wine tasting with a plate of local anchovies and olives, while Laura had the three-wine tasting with a cheese and meat platter.\nEach of the wines—a Grk (unique to the region), a rosé, and a Plavac Mali (red)—was fantastic, and the view from the winery across the vineyard and to the next town was lovely.\nAfter we finished up at Popic, our next stop was Bire Winery, just over a kilometre up the road. We walked—around the corner, up some stairs, followed an overgrown goat track, and then a main-ish road back down to the winery. It was a warm afternoon, and by the time we arrived, we were ready to chill out and taste some more wine.\nAt Bire, we both decided to do two tastings and share another platter (mostly for the kids, who were being superstars).\nWe had the Bire Grk, which is a blend of three of their Grk grapes—each grown from a different part of the island (the rocky hilltop, the sandy lowland, and the red soil in the middle). This was my favourite Grk so far. It was delicious. Next up was their Plavac Mali (red), which was also delicious.\nAfter our tasting, the local taxi picked us up and took us back home, where the kids got a well-deserved gelato.\nWe ventured out into the old town for a low-key pizza dinner tonight. It was lovely, but the breeze was up again, so we didn’t hang out for long and headed back home to chill out in the apartment, sitting in the window looking down over the port and the old town.\nTomorrow we head to Dubrovnik by ferry. Hopefully, it will be less eventful than last time.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/22/kor%C4%8Dula-walking-and-wine/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we planned to visit some of the local wineries; however, as most are not open until the early afternoon, we needed something to do this morning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe decided to take a walk to see the \u003ca href=\"https://www.myguidecroatia.com/culture/stantun-church\"\u003eChurch of St. Antun (Anthony of Padova)\u003c/a\u003e, which is about a 6 km round trip (we didn’t tell the kids how far it was).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe packed our trusty daypack and set off. The walking route took us through a lot of unexplored territory, which meant we got to see much more of the island than just the old town and surrounding village.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Korčula - Walking and Wine"},{"content":"Today was about exploring Korčula further. We ventured out into the old town again, this time first walking around the outside of the walls before entering.\nIt was an overcast and windy day, with rain looming. Many locals had suggested it would be a wet day, and the low clouds hanging over the nearby islands suggested the same.\nWe headed into the centre of town and climbed up the St. Mark’s Cathedral bell tower—which had its challenges, given I’m not a fan of heights and the winds were only getting stronger as we climbed.\nThe 360-degree view from the top of the bell tower was incredible, but my nerves were surely being tested at this point. We circled the top, taking in the view from all directions before heading back to ground level.\nAfter the bell tower, we visited the Marco Polo museum, which was very interesting with lots to see.\nAfter the museum, we continued our exploration of the old town and then ventured out to explore the outer parts of the town before heading home for lunch.\nWe chilled out at the apartment for a while to recharge before deciding to head down for a swim in the crystal-clear waters of the Adriatic.\nWe found a small jetty that seemed like a good place to take a dip. Suspecting the water would not be at its warmest just yet, I had to summon a decent amount of courage, but took the plunge into the cool waters (trying not to show the kids it was too cold).\nIt was actually refreshing—and while cool, it was not the coldest I’ve swum in.\nThe kids were next: jetty jumping in Korčula!\nAs they each hit the water, they realised it wasn’t quite as warm as Dad was making out 🫣. So it was a quick swim back to the ladder to get out. Once was enough for A, but H persisted and kept coming back—although she was a bit concerned about the number of sea urchins on the rocks we had to stand on. In the end, this got the better of her, despite my efforts to gently move them away.\nRegardless, we had our swim and loved it.\nNow it was time to head back to the apartment for showers and to get ready for dinner.\nWe had no real plans for dinner—more a wander through the old town to see what looked good. But first, we wanted to check out a cool little wine bar called Mariola that we had seen on our morning wander.\nWow—it was fantastic. The owner was so lovely and great with the kids. Laura and I both did a three-wine tasting, which came with a platter of cheese, meats, olives, and breads to share. We also got the trio of bruschetta to share.\nThe wines were lovely.\nFirst up was a rosé from the local Bire winery. Next was (our favourite) the Pošip Intrada (white) from the Krajančić winery. Finally, our first red: the Plavac Mali from the Bire winery—which was an amazing red and a lovely way to finish the wine tasting.\nDuring the tasting, the owner continued to pop out and chat with us, refilled our water, and brought a few extra snacks for the kids—which was great.\nBy the end of the tasting—and the delicious platters and bruschetta—we decided we were all actually quite full and didn’t need anything more for dinner, other than a gelato on the way home.\nOur journey home through the old town took us back toward the main gates. This is where we encountered the amazing sounds of the local Klapa singers. The Klapa (a cappella) singing resonates off the stone walls of the old town and produces such an amazing sound. It was mesmerising to sit and listen to them.\nWe finally made it home after a pretty full day.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/21/kor%C4%8Dula/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was about exploring Korčula further. We ventured out into the old town again, this time first walking around the outside of the walls before entering.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was an overcast and windy day, with rain looming. Many locals had suggested it would be a wet day, and the low clouds hanging over the nearby islands suggested the same.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed into the centre of town and climbed up the St. Mark’s Cathedral bell tower—which had its challenges, given I’m not a fan of heights and the winds were only getting stronger as we climbed.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Korčula"},{"content":"Today we moved on from Split and sailed by fast ferry to Korčula (about 3 hours).\nBut not before we wished Laura a happy birthday! We all sat around the kitchen table to sing Happy Birthday and share some little treats and coffee.\nWe packed up and checked out of our apartment (which was amazing and only a minute or two walk from the old town).\nPacks on backs again, we walked through the old town down to the ferry terminal and boarded our ferry to Korčula.\nThe ferry was scheduled to stop at a few other islands along the way. Milna was the first… except they didn’t stop—at least not until the ferry crashed into the stone dock wall doing probably around 5 knots 😱. Things went flying. People went flying.\nFortunately, there were no serious injuries. A few older passengers who came out of their seats had hit their heads and were asking for ice.\nWe were all okay!\nBut they put a decent ding in the front of the ferry. I guess hitting a stone wall straight on will do that.\nIt’s not entirely clear what happened—but we overheard mumbling of “technical issues” 🤷‍♂️.\nThere was a bit of scurrying about from the crew—going below deck to inspect the damage. Fortunately, they decided we needed to abandon the ship and wait for the next. Given the size and location of the ding, I didn’t fancy them trying to push on.\nWe all exited the ferry and waited for a new ferry to arrive.\nAn hour and a half later (☹️) we were back underway on a new ferry—and one that was less likely to sink.\nThe remainder of the journey was pretty uneventful 🙌 and we arrived in Korčula in the early afternoon.\nThere are always silver linings—and this time, because of the delay at Milna, we were able to check into our apartment straight away.\nWe were met at the ferry terminal by our host, who drove us to the apartment and showed us a few things on the way (amazing service).\nWhen we arrived, our hosts had provided some treats for Laura’s birthday.\nThere were balloons 🎈 lining the stairway up to the apartment as well as a single red rose 🌹, an amazing selection of small cakes, a cheese and meat platter, a carafe of local red and white wine, as well as some candied lemon and orange rind, candied almonds, and a local herbal aperitif (strong 🤯).\nWe were all amazed by what our hosts had set up and put on—and the apartment is amazing. Beautiful views over the old town with a lovely bay window where you can just sit and watch the world go by in the old town and port below (with a glass of local wine 😉).\nWe unpacked and headed out to “get lost” in the old town. Korčula is beautiful—small and elegant. Designed like the skeleton of a fish, it has a main street that leads from the gates all the way through to the walls and the water on the other side, with small streets coming off like ribs on either side. This allows the breeze to flow and circulate through the town.\nAfter exploring (“getting lost”) for a while, and a gelato, we headed home to get ready to head back out for dinner.\nIn the mid-afternoon, back at our apartment, we could hear amazing traditional Klapa singing flowing up from the old town. Apparently, small groups of local Klapa singers will perform in the old town, using the acoustics of the city walls to amplify their singing. It was a really fantastic sound.\nWe booked a nice little local restaurant in the old town for Laura’s birthday—Biankura Korčula.\nDinner was superb. The waitress was amazing and was great with the kids (a big plus!).\nWe ordered a selection of meals to share between the four of us:\nBlack risotto Meat skewer (with sides of grilled veggies and fries) Grilled squid An extra side of grilled veggies and fries We were also introduced to a wonderful local white wine—the POŠIP INTRADA KRAJANČIĆ—which has quickly become our favourite Croatian white wine.\nDinner and the service were fantastic. By this time, however, the breeze had picked up and it had become a little chilly out. So we headed home for the remainder of the evening—a short walk out of the old town gate and up the hill.\nOnce home, we chilled out with another few glasses of wine and sat in the window to watch the happenings in the old town below. This included the sword dance performance—which we could see from the view out our window.\nThis ended a big and eventful day (in many ways). We’re very excited to spend a few slower days here on the island.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/20/ferry-to-kor%C4%8Dula/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we moved on from Split and sailed by fast ferry to Korčula (about 3 hours).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut not before we wished Laura a happy birthday! We all sat around the kitchen table to sing Happy Birthday and share some little treats and coffee.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe packed up and checked out of our \u003ca href=\"https://www.airbnb.com/l/ShrCdkjV\"\u003eapartment\u003c/a\u003e (which was amazing and only a minute or two walk from the old town).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePacks on backs again, we walked through the old town down to the ferry terminal and boarded our ferry to Korčula.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Ferry (or two 🫣) to Korčula"},{"content":"Today is our last day in Split—we leave bright and early tomorrow on a ferry for the island of Korčula.\nToday we slowed the pace. We needed a bit of a recharge after the past few days. Sleep-ins (7:30 am) and just chilling at the apartment before heading out to “get lost” in the old city.\nFirst stop—coffee.\nWe found a nice place about a 2-minute walk from our apartment that roasts their own coffee. It was great. Laura and I had coffees and the kids had a second breakfast—sharing Nutella toast (inch-thick bread, thick Nutella, banana, and berries).\nAfter coffee, we continued to wander the amazing streets of the old town.\nWe had plans for dinner tonight, so we wanted to swing past the place to take a look and figure out where it was, as they don’t take reservations and we wanted to make sure we got there early.\nSome more wandering—and just when you think you have been up every street and alley—you find more. All of them are amazing, with cool bars and restaurants hidden around every corner.\nAfter a good amount of wandering, we headed back to the apartment for lunch and a bit of a break.\nIn the early afternoon, we headed back out to a local beach for a swim. The beach was about a 30-minute walk from our apartment, through the old town, up the Riva, and past the ferry terminals. It was a black sand beach with some rocky areas on each side. The waters of the Adriatic were crystal clear. We loved it. The kids had a ball paddling and swimming in the shallows.\nWe spent about an hour at the beach before heading back home (past an amazing gelato shop) to get ready to head out for dinner.\nWe got to DeListes Restaurant in the old town at about 6 pm. We had heard about this place by word of mouth and were attracted by the fact that they focus on local traditional food that their grandmothers would have cooked.\nThe restaurant was small—with two main (shared) tables inside and a few small tables out front. It was cozy and intimate, just like a family kitchen—but with a cool and funky vibe.\nArriving early, we were able to get a table for the six of us easily. The owner came and sat with us to take us through the menu and provided some recommendations. We were looking to share and experience a number of dishes.\nWe selected meatballs (with mash), beef stew gnocchi, the off-menu amberjack fish which was recommended by the owner, and a salad. We shared all the dishes and they were fantastic—flavourful and very moreish.\nFor us, the amberjack fish and the gnocchi were the standouts.\nAfter dinner, we cruised the streets of the old town and found a bar to sit and enjoy the evening with a few more local wines.\nAll up—a lovely last day in Split.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/19/last-day-in-split/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday is our last day in Split—we leave bright and early tomorrow on a ferry for the island of Korčula.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday we slowed the pace. We needed a bit of a recharge after the past few days. Sleep-ins (7:30 am) and just chilling at the apartment before heading out to “get lost” in the old city.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFirst stop—coffee.\u003cbr\u003e\nWe found a nice place about a 2-minute walk from our apartment that roasts their own coffee. It was great. Laura and I had coffees and the kids had a second breakfast—sharing Nutella toast (inch-thick bread, thick Nutella, banana, and berries).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Our Last Day in Split"},{"content":"Today we headed out early, as we had booked a tour through Booker Tours to see Krka National Park, which is roughly a one-hour bus ride from Split.\nWe met the tour group in the old city and then walked to our bus. Our tour guide was great and provided plenty of information about Split and the history of the region as we drove to the small village of Skradin to catch a ferry up the Krka River to the national park.\nOnce we arrived at the national park, our guide provided further information about the park, the area, and its history—then we were free to explore.\nThe main attractions of the park are its waterfalls and the crystal-clear water. Some areas were so clear it was difficult to even tell there was water.\nWe followed the stairs up to the top of the falls and then continued along the boardwalk for the remainder of the walk (an easy 2.5–3 km in total).\nThe scenery was amazing. At the end of the walk was an ethno-village, which showed how the original inhabitants of the area lived—using the power of the water for most things, such as milling grain and washing clothes.\nAfter we completed the trail through the park, we met up with our tour group again and boarded the bus back to Skradin (about a 20-minute drive).\nBack in Skradin, we were free to explore the village for the next two hours. For us, this included a brief paddle at the pebble beach in the Krka River. It was a bit chilly, but the kids had a ball in the crystal-clear waters.\nIn the late afternoon, we met the bus to return to Split. It was a very big and active day for us all, and we are looking forward to bed tonight.\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/18/krka-national-park/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we headed out early, as we had booked a tour through \u003ca href=\"https://www.booker.hr/tours/tour-from-split-to-krka-national-park\"\u003eBooker Tours\u003c/a\u003e to see Krka National Park, which is roughly a one-hour bus ride from Split.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe met the tour group in the old city and then walked to our bus. Our tour guide was great and provided plenty of information about Split and the history of the region as we drove to the small village of Skradin to catch a ferry up the Krka River to the national park.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Krka National Park"},{"content":"Today is a travel day. We say farewell to Varenna and Lake Como. It’s been a fantastic and busy few days—we’ve loved it.\nThis morning, we caught a regional train from Varenna back to Milan, and from Milan we took a fast train (Frecciarossa) to Ancona, where we would board an overnight ferry to Split.\nWe checked out of the apartment in Varenna, backpacks on, and headed for the station.\nThe one-hour train journey back to Milan went quickly. We had a one-hour wait for our next train in Milan, but by the time you wander from one side of Milan station to the other and find your bearings, it didn’t seem like too long a wait.\nEventually, it was time to board our train. We wandered down the platform and boarded in carriage 2—we were in business class 👌. Big plush leather reclining seats and a central table between us. A very comfortable way to travel—incomparable to the V/Line service at home.\nThe kids were pretty excited and we all soon settled in for the journey. It’s amazing the distance you can travel at 300 km/h (and also silky smooth—again, very unlike V/Line).\nThe journey to Ancona took around three hours. As we got closer to Ancona, the train line hugged the Adriatic coast, which also gave us a preview of how rough it was currently, thanks to a reasonably strong northwesterly. 🫣😬\nWe arrived in Ancona, exited the train, and tried to orient ourselves (neither of us had been to Ancona before). The next challenge was to locate the ferry terminal so we could check in.\nWe had plenty of time.\nThe information on the SNAV ferry website and the emails we received didn’t really provide a lot of detail—other than that you needed to check in and then head to the ferry and be on board before sailing at 7 pm.\nThis is where things went a bit sideways. Not in a bad way—just a few wobbles.\nWe had seen there was a free bus to the port, so we asked around to find out where we could catch it, then headed to the stop out the front of the train station and waited.\nThe bus arrived and we confirmed with the driver that it would take us to the ferry port. This was the first mistake. Check-in was not at the ferry port…\nWe rode around on the bus—passing what appeared to be the ferry port—but against our best judgment, and observing others we suspected were also heading to the ferry, we all remained on the bus.\nThe bus then turned away from the port area and headed back into the city. This is when I started googling. This didn’t feel right.\nWe confirmed with the driver again and he said he would let us know. Luckily, the bus just runs a big loop—but it took about 40 minutes to essentially get back to the ferry port from where we started.\nThe driver indicated we were at the ferry port, so we got off.\nWe wandered down toward the waterfront and the ferry port and discovered a sign indicating check-in was back in the direction of the station.\nSo, backpacks on, we started walking. It was a reasonable distance with full packs and hungry kids—thankfully it wasn’t too hot. Following vague, randomly placed, and often obscured signs, we eventually located the ferry terminal (not the port!) and proceeded to check in. This process was smooth.\nBut now we had to get back to the port (where we had just walked from). Fortunately, there is a free shuttle which we gladly jumped on. No mistaking this time—its only destination was the port. A quick five-minute ride and we were there.\nIt was now about 5 pm and we had not had a “real” lunch—just some snacks on the train trip down. While this was enough for Laura and me, the kids were starting to get hangry.\nAcross the road from where we needed to board our ferry was a very conveniently located restaurant (tourist trap—but what do you do), which we decided to grab a quick dinner at to get us through the overnight journey.\nWe shared a Capricciosa and a Napoli pizza, a Greek salad, and the kids had a soft-serve ice cream each. This certainly hit the spot and filled us up.\nWe had heard very mixed reports about the ferry and the food onboard. We went in with pretty low expectations—it’s only a night. But we needed to be prepared on the food front for the kids. So we grabbed a couple of paninis to take away and would have these as a small breakfast on the ferry.\nGetting on the ferry was a pretty straightforward process. Show passports at the immigration checkpoint, line up for 10 minutes, and board.\nThe ferry was reasonable—certainly not five-star—but above our previously low expectations. We checked in and went to find our room. We had expected a small (cozy) room with four fold-out bunk beds. The room, however, was reasonably spacious with four permanent bunks, an ensuite with shower and toilet, and some small storage lockers. It was certainly more than we had expected.\nIt was a relief to have the packs off our backs again after a full day of travel. Also, being able to lock them securely in the room was great.\nWe headed out to explore the ship and then hit the bar to chill out.\nThe kids were pretty excited to see all parts of the ship. We went up, down, and all around. By now, the sun was starting to set and the ship was getting ready to set sail.\nWe found the bar and managed to secure a few seats in an out-of-the-way area. Now time for a beer and a spritz. And we’re away.\nWe hung out in the bar and headed up on deck to watch the amazing Adriatic sunset.\nAfter a few hours of people-watching in the bar and gazing over the Adriatic horizon, we were all pretty tired and decided to head back to the cabin.\nThe kids and Laura all hit the beds, while I had a quick shower—which in hindsight was not the best move.\nWhile the ensuite was fully watertight, the water from the shower filled the entire floor area. The subtle listing of the ship was also enough to prevent the water from properly draining. So after my quick shower, I spent almost twice the time again to mop and drain the bathroom floor so anyone using the toilet in the night was not ankle-deep in shower water…\nAnyway, crisis averted and I’m wiser for the experience. Although I suspect Laura was thinking “I told you so…”, she kept that to herself.\nThe night passed reasonably uneventfully (a good thing). The beds were not the best—but also not the worst.\nWe were woken at about 5 am with calls over the loudspeakers announcing our pending arrival into Split. I suspect this was more motivated by encouraging passengers up to the cafe for (a paid) breakfast.\nWe got ready, packed our things, and headed up to reception to check out and then onto the bar area where we found some seats. A coffee and the paninis we bought last night made a decent snack to get us going.\nWe arrived in Split and disembarked. A short walk along the waterfront took us from the ferry terminal around to the main waterfront of Split.\nWow—Split is amazing.\nOur Airbnb hosts had agreed to let us in at 9 am. We weren’t meant to check in until 3 pm—which would have meant lugging our packs most of the day. So this was a fantastic start.\nWe headed from the main waterfront toward our Airbnb, hoping to find a small cafe to grab something more for the kids for breakfast and another coffee for us.\nWandering the streets of Split is amazing. White marble streets (although super bright when the sun’s out) make the city look very elegant.\nAbout halfway to our accommodation, we found a place to eat. The staff were super friendly and it was again great to get the packs off for a bit.\nAfter our short breakfast stop, we continued on and found our accommodation—just a short walk outside the old town.\nOur host met us at about 9 am, let us in, and showed us around. They were really friendly and helpful.\nThe apartment is amazing and will be an awesome base for the next few days.\nToday we will head out and get lost in the old town, finding our bearings and seeing what we can discover.\nTomorrow we have booked a trip out to Krka National Park—which is meant to be amazing.\nSo far, we are loving Croatia 🇭🇷\nFarewell Varenna Ancona Ferry to Split Split ","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/16/varenna-to-ancona-and-split/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday is a travel day. We say farewell to Varenna and Lake Como. It’s been a fantastic and busy few days—we’ve loved it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis morning, we caught a regional train from Varenna back to Milan, and from Milan we took a fast train (Frecciarossa) to Ancona, where we would board an overnight ferry to Split.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe checked out of the apartment in Varenna, backpacks on, and headed for the station.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Varenna to Ancona by Train and a Ferry to Split"},{"content":"Today was a big day – it’s H’s birthday! As we woke up, we drew back the blinds to reveal a picture-perfect sunny day on Lake Como. Today looked like it would be the best weather yet. The low cloud that had hung over the nearby mountains had cleared, and we could now see their snow-capped peaks. The view was truly stunning.\nWe had a light breakfast and set out early to avoid the crowds.\nA and I were keen to do a short hike (almost straight up) the hillside to the Castello Di Vezio – a single-tower castle that sat on the hillside directly above Varenna.\nH and Laura decided to spend the morning exploring the town and looking for some treats for H’s birthday at the local bakeries.\nThe hike up to Castello Di Vezio was intense – a steep cobbled track that wound its way up the hillside through the forest. After about a 25-minute trek, we reached the top and emerged from the forest trail at the grounds of the castle. We entered the grounds and looked around the gardens, which were lovely – with amazing views of Lake Como in all directions, shouldered by the steep hills and occasional snow-capped mountains.\nThe air was fresh and clear. It was magical.\nThe locals who maintain the castle place ghost-like figures around the grounds, along with some other more quirky figures.\nInside the castle proper was a guard who would place you in the stocks and pretend to chop your head off. A bit of a laugh for A.\nWe then climbed the castle tower – five floors up. Each floor had various ornaments from the different eras of the tower. The top floor was set out like a small throne room with a fireplace. From here, we could access the top of the tower and again take in the wonderful views.\nIt’s clear why the castle tower was built here: steep, almost impassable mountains to the back, and views across all areas of the lake to the front and sides.\nAfter the visit to the castle, we headed back down the hillside track to meet H and Laura at the Varenna ferry terminal, where we caught a ferry across to Menaggio.\nMenaggio was another nice town on the lake, different again from Varenna and Bellagio. We wandered the lakefront and then through the piazza before working our way to some of the back streets in search of a place to have a birthday lunch for H. Oddly enough, we stumbled across a sushi place – one of H’s favourite foods. So sushi it was.\nWe were not sure what to expect from a sushi place in a back street of Menaggio, but the meal was great and very fresh.\nWe continued on our wanderings in search of a beach to have a paddle. The beach club offered a private beachfront, however, it cost from 60 to 300 Euros (per person)… not quite what we were looking for.\nSo we moved on. And to our surprise, right on the waterfront was an 18-hole mini-golf course. What better way to spend a birthday than to play a round of mini-golf on the banks of Lake Como?\nIt was quite a challenging course, but we had a great time getting around.\nAfter mini-golf, we improvised a beach. We found a set of stone stairs that led down to the water. H was the only one brave enough to test out the chilly waters. While she didn’t get in completely, she certainly had fun dipping her toes in and then waiting to get splashed as the waves hit the stairs.\nSome fun paddling in the chilly water of Lake Como.\nIt was now time to head back to Varenna. We walked (with purpose) back to the ferry terminal and caught the next ferry back.\nIt was almost 3 p.m. by the time we got back to the apartment. Now it was time for birthday cakes. Earlier, Laura and H had picked up a selection of lovely small cakes from the local bakery – and randomly, we found a birthday candle in a shop in Menaggio.\nWe sang Happy Birthday to H and celebrated with the delicious selection of cakes.\nH, A, and I decided to chill out for the rest of the afternoon. Laura was keen to take on the hike up to the Castello Di Vezio, which she knocked over in just over an hour – an amazing effort given how steep the hike up was.\nIn the early evening, we headed out for a special birthday dinner for H. Her request: crepes and gelato up at the piazza. The kids loved their treat dinner. Laura and I, however, opted for something slightly more refined.\nJust at the top of the stairs near our apartment, barely 15 steps away, was an unassuming little restaurant. We had walked past several times and thought about checking it out. Tonight was the night. Luckily, we were out early as we didn’t have a reservation. They accommodated us, and the service from there was fantastic – and so was the food.\nWe shared an octopus starter, which was absolutely delicious. Laura then had squid-ink pasta with prawn and salmon, while I had slow-cooked and pan-seared duck. Both were fantastic.\nBut now the day was done. It was a big one.\nCastello Di Vezio Walk Managgio Varenna ","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/15/varenna-castello-di-vezio-managgio/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday was a big day – it’s H’s birthday! As we woke up, we drew back the blinds to reveal a picture-perfect sunny day on Lake Como. Today looked like it would be the best weather yet. The low cloud that had hung over the nearby mountains had cleared, and we could now see their snow-capped peaks. The view was truly stunning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe had a light breakfast and set out early to avoid the crowds.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Varenna, Castello Di Vezio and Managgio"},{"content":"After a very long day yesterday, we all went to bed pretty early—but this also meant we were all awake early.\nThe kids did well and slept from 7 pm through to just after 4 am, and stayed in bed until about 5 am when restlessness got the better of them (as it does).\nSo it was time to get up and have a chilled, slow morning—leftover pizza from last night’s dinner and a coffee or two while taking in the views. What’s not to love!\nMorning Varenna\nCoffee with a view\nWe decided to spend the morning in Bellagio. We headed out at about 8:30 am, which was quite pleasant as the tourists had not arrived in town yet.\nWe walked down to the Varenna ferry terminal and bought return tickets.\nThe ferry ride over to Bellagio took about 15–20 minutes and provided some amazing views of the mountains and towns on both sides of the lake.\nBellagio was still quiet when we arrived. It was great. We explored the streets and alleys and worked our way back from the ferry terminal up the hillside into the back streets of the town.\nUp in the back streets, we found a lovely little bottega where we picked up a few supplies for our morning—a large punnet of sweet cherry tomatoes, a punnet of strawberries, a packet of chips, some prosciutto, and some mozzarella.\nFeels funny to say, “We just popped over to Bellagio to pick up some groceries.”\nAnyway, that had the morning snacks and lunch sorted.\nWe continued exploring. Bellagio is a beautiful little town. It was clean and refined, with interesting things to find around most corners.\nAfter a few hours of exploring, we decided it was time to head home—but not before picking up some more supplies for dinner from our favourite little backstreet bottega: more cherry tomatoes, a mixed salad, some beers, a bottle of wine, as well as a bottle of Aperol spritz.\nJust up the street from the bottega was a funky homemade pasta place. They cook fresh pasta while you wait. We picked up a packet of their dried pasta and a bottle of their homemade passata to take back home for dinner.\nI note that the 300 ml of passata, while tasty, was 8 Euro (about $16 AUD 😱).\nAfter finishing our grocery shopping in Bellagio, we continued to wander and headed back to the ferry terminal to catch the 12 pm ferry back to Varenna. After a big morning out, it was certainly time for some lunch back at the apartment.\nAfter lunch, we chilled out in the apartment to let everyone recharge a little—our version of a siesta, I guess.\nLater in the afternoon, we walked up to the main piazza in Varenna and took a walk through the beautiful botanical gardens that line the waterfront.\nWhen we finished at the gardens, we made our way back to the apartment—via a gelato shop. Did I forget to mention we have two at the bottom of the stairs of our apartment? (Spoilt for choice—the kids have tried both.)\nSo, a well-deserved gelato all round to finish off the day’s outings.\nThe rest of the afternoon was spent chilling out back at the apartment, taking in the view and people-watching… The influencers and their boyfriends with tech skills are everywhere 😬 (I’ve started to narrate what they are doing from the balcony.)\nEventually, it was time for dinner. We prepared the pasta and sauce we bought in Bellagio, paired with our salad and a bottle of red wine from the bottega, as well as a focaccia and a healthy wedge of parmesan cheese. Delicious and just what we needed after such a big day.\nOne last walk after dinner. We circled down to the ferry terminal and back home—making it back just in time to see the last rays of sunset from our balcony as it slowly dipped down behind the mountains.\nEveryone is pretty tired after today. We have pushed through to a lot later than last night, and hopefully that will flow through to improved sleep tonight—here’s hoping anyway. 🤞\nPhotos of Bellagio Varenna from the ferry\nLunch back at the apartment\nThe Botanic Gardens Passionfruit icey pole\nSpritz time\nDinner time Evening ","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/14/varenna-and-bellagio/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a very long day yesterday, we all went to bed pretty early—but this also meant we were all awake early.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe kids did well and slept from 7 pm through to just after 4 am, and stayed in bed until about 5 am when restlessness got the better of them (as it does).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo it was time to get up and have a chilled, slow morning—leftover pizza from last night’s dinner and a coffee or two while taking in the views. What’s not to love!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Varenna and Bellagio"},{"content":"After a reasonably long (12-hour) onward flight from Singapore—which included a lot of bumps thanks to thunderstorms—we landed safely at Milano Airport this morning at about 6:30 am local time (GMT +2).\nA grey and drizzly day welcomed us in Milan, but at least it wasn’t cold (and lugging 15 kg backpacks certainly helps to keep you warm).\nWe cleared baggage collection and immigration impossibly quickly—it really was fast. Having two kids in tow appears to have helped, as we were directed through the special “tired parents with tired kids express line.” They clearly took pity on the handful of parents traveling with their kids.\nThis got us out of the airport well ahead of schedule, but it also meant we were now well ahead of our pre-booked trains.\nAfter getting off a 12-hour flight, hanging around at the airport train station for another two hours while we waited for our train didn’t feel like success.\nLuckily, we were able to simply take the next train with the tickets we had. This got us into Milan Centrale station an hour earlier than expected. We were able to do the same with our tickets for Varenna.\nSo, for a moment at least, it felt like we were back to winning.\nThe train up to Varenna from Milan is lovely once you hit the Lake Como region. The train line hugs the eastern shore, with massive mountains (cloud-covered today) on the western shore.\nEverything was going well, but now we were well ahead of our planned arrival time in Varenna and would have to wait to check into our apartment. Fortunately, our host agreed to let us in early so we could drop our bags and head out while the apartment was being prepared.\nAt this stage, all we wanted was a good shower and a change of clothes—but that would have to wait. After about 30 hours of traveling in the same clothes, we had developed a fair hum.\nWe got back to the apartment in the early afternoon and WOW—it’s amazing. Right on the waterfront with small balconies looking over Lake Como and the mountains on the western side.\nWe sat soaking in the views and chilling out while each of us took our turn at having a good soak in the shower to freshen up before heading out for an early dinner—which is now turning into an early night (8 pm) as we’re all super tired.\nIt’s been a massive day-and-a-bit of traveling, but now we’re here and the real exploring begins tomorrow.\nVarenna Train Station\nVarenna on Lake Como\nVarenna location\nVarenna Town Info\nLots of steps\nVarenna water front\nMore steps (there are LOTS)\nView of Lake Como from our apartment\nMore steps\nChurch in the town piazza\nStunning views everywhere\nExploring\nPostcard views\nOur apartment\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/13/milan-to-varenna-lake-como/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a reasonably long (12-hour) onward flight from Singapore—which included a lot of bumps thanks to thunderstorms—we landed safely at Milano Airport this morning at about 6:30 am local time (GMT +2).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA grey and drizzly day welcomed us in Milan, but at least it wasn’t cold (and lugging 15 kg backpacks certainly helps to keep you warm).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe cleared baggage collection and immigration impossibly quickly—it really was fast. Having two kids in tow appears to have helped, as we were directed through the special “tired parents with tired kids express line.” They clearly took pity on the handful of parents traveling with their kids.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Milan to Varenna (Lake Como)"},{"content":"Today is the day!\nToday we fly!\nAfter roughly six months of planning, it’s time to head off on our family\u0026rsquo;s next big adventure—travelling through Italy, Croatia, and Singapore.\nWe have a long day ahead of us. First up is a four-hour drive to the airport. Then we fly to Milan with a brief stopover in Singapore to stretch our legs and change planes before continuing the flight.\nMilan is not our ultimate destination, though. Once we arrive and collect our bags (yes—they will make it 🤞🤞), we will catch a train up to Varenna on Lake Como, which will be our base for the first few days.\nUntil then—Buon Viaggio 🇮🇹\n","permalink":"/posts/2025/05/13/italy-croatia-singapore/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday is the day!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday we fly!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter roughly six months of planning, it’s time to head off on our family\u0026rsquo;s next big adventure—travelling through Italy, Croatia, and Singapore.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have a long day ahead of us. First up is a four-hour drive to the airport. Then we fly to Milan with a brief stopover in Singapore to stretch our legs and change planes before continuing the flight.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMilan is not our ultimate destination, though. Once we arrive and collect our bags (yes—they will make it 🤞🤞), we will catch a train up to Varenna on Lake Como, which will be our base for the first few days.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Italy, Croatia \u0026 Singapore"},{"content":"So\u0026hellip; we have moved\u0026hellip; again\u0026hellip; Hopefully this will be for the last time.\nI found I was not getting value from paid commercial site hosting services - so have decided to migrate my entire blog out to GitHub with GitHub Actions pushing my statically generated site to CloudFlare Pages for hosting - which is free and simple to manage.\nMigration to the new environment has been a slow process with a lot of learning along the way. Everything has come together now and I am pretty happy with the outcome.\nAnd CloudFlare Pages are SUPER FAST!!!\n","permalink":"/posts/2022/2022-07-30-another-new-home/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo\u0026hellip; we have moved\u0026hellip; again\u0026hellip;\nHopefully this will be for the last time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI found I was not getting value from paid commercial site hosting services - so have decided to migrate my entire blog out to \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/\"\u003eGitHub\u003c/a\u003e with GitHub Actions pushing my statically generated site to \u003ca href=\"https://pages.cloudflare.com/\"\u003eCloudFlare Pages\u003c/a\u003e for hosting - which is free and simple to manage.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMigration to the new environment has been a slow process with a lot of learning along the way. Everything has come together now and I am pretty happy with the outcome.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Another new home"},{"content":"We have finished renovating our old home here at Wordpress.com, and have now moved back in. The old place at SquareSpace is still lingering, but will soon disappear for good.\nOver the course of the past few weeks (or weekends rather) there has been a lot of work happening in the background to make the transition back into our old home as painless as possible\u0026hellip; I expect there will be some pain at some point, but for the moment I think I have nailed most things down.\nWe also moved domain - modrich.com, modrich.com/blog and blog.modrich.com will all get you here - modrich.blog\nThere hasn\u0026rsquo;t been too much activity or travel to report recently, but we have some exciting trips planned for next year (2019) - so stay tuned.\n","permalink":"/posts/2017/2017-10-16-a-new-look-and-a-new-home/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe have finished renovating our old home here at Wordpress.com, and have now moved back in. The old place at SquareSpace is still lingering, but will soon disappear for good.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver the course of the past few weeks (or weekends rather) there has been a lot of work happening in the background to make the transition back into our old home as painless as possible\u0026hellip; I expect there will be some pain at some point, but for the moment I think I have nailed most things down.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A new look and a new home"},{"content":"So I have been in Durban for a few days now. Mostly work meetings with clients and not much down time to get out and see the place (im not hear for leisure!).\nWe have ventured out and visited a number of the local cafes to grab a meal here and there and to get out of the hotel - but for the most nothing beyond the walls of the compound we are staying in or the offices of our clients.\nWe did get out to the local shopping centre one evening to visit out client retail outlet and to get a better feel for their operation - but again - this was not a social visit.\nWe are staying about 20km north of the Durban CBD itself - and the are is a mix of residential and industrial.\nThe weather has been quite nice - around 22c each day and down to about 12c over night. Very pleasant compared to the brisk mornings we have had in Melbourne recently.\nToday is actually a public holiday here in South Africa - so I am using the local down time to put together my notes session earlier in the week and to plan and pre for the remainder of the week ahead.\nGiven the nice weather, I decided that today my office would be the back deck of the hotel where we are staying it - nice warm sunshine, a good view across the lake to the 18th hole of the local golf course (looks like a lovely day for a round!) and plenty of monkeys and mongoose to keep me company.\nThis afternoon, we took some time out to venture out and take a drive through Durban and the surrounding area on the way to an early dinner.\nDurban downtown was a mix of new and old buildings - and I have the feeling some areas that you really don\u0026rsquo;t want to get too close to. We passed through quickly and headed back north to the beach suburb of Umhlanga - which was quite nice and obviously a more wealthy part of town.\nSunrise from my room\nCheeky Monkey @ Hotel\nMoses Mabhida Stadium in Durban\n","permalink":"/posts/2016/2016-08-09-working-in-durban-rsa/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo I have been in Durban for a few days now. Mostly work meetings with clients and not much down time to get out and see the place (im not hear for leisure!).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have ventured out and visited a number of the local cafes to grab a meal here and there and to get out of the hotel - but for the most nothing beyond the walls of the compound we are staying in or the offices of our clients.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Working in Durban (RSA)"},{"content":"Tonight I boarded a flight from Melbourne destined for Durban, South Africa - via Perth (on Virgin Australia) and Johannesburg (on South African Airlines).\nThis will be my first time on the African continent (only Antarctica left now!!) - and im not really sure what to expect. So many stories, some good and some bad.\nThis is a work trip however, and I am not anticipating much time for rest and relaxation or sight-seeing - but will endeavour to find some time to take a brief look around Durban one there, and possibly pick up a few gifts for the family back home.\nSo I now find myself now sitting in Perth airport with 3hrs+ to spare before my connecting flight to JoBerg. Perth airport a lot more modern than I expected, and probably one of the most modern I have been to.\nGetting through immigration and across the border was a breeze - probably the best experience I have ever had. I suspect my swift transit through boarder control is aided by the electronic passport control used for outbound passengers. I am familiar with this when coming back into Melbourne after an international flight, but this is the first time I have seen it used for outbound passengers\u0026hellip;\nLet me tell you - it\u0026rsquo;s a bloody dream compared to the queues you normally face in Melbourne.\nSo with 3hrs+ to kill, I find myself - along with pretty much every one else bound for South Africa - at the bar in the international departures lounge.\nIts a picture of tired people huddled in small groups around every chair and table in the small bar, with many others (myself included) spilling out into the common area. Many of us sucking in as much power as out devices will take ahead of the coming 11hr flight to JoBerg.\nA few local drops (Rogers by Little Creatures being my personal favourite), are helping to reset the body clock into a slumber mode for the coming flight. With a full week of work ahead of me once I hit the ground in Durban, I need to try and adjust to the new time zone rapidly. I find beer helps ;)\nSo as I am quickly running out of words to type - and at the risk of rambling on\u0026hellip; I guess this is good night.\n","permalink":"/posts/2016/2016-08-06-headed-to-south-africa-for-work/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTonight I boarded a flight from Melbourne destined for Durban, South Africa - via Perth (on Virgin Australia) and Johannesburg (on South African Airlines).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis will be my first time on the African continent (only Antarctica left now!!) - and im not really sure what to expect. So many stories, some good and some bad.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is a work trip however, and I am not anticipating much time for rest and relaxation or sight-seeing - but will endeavour to find some time to take a brief look around Durban one there, and possibly pick up a few gifts for the family back home.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Headed to South Africa (for Work)"},{"content":"Earlier in the week (Monday 17th Aug) we left New York behind us (sad to leave but we have to move on), and flew across the country to Los Angeles.\nWe weren\u0026rsquo;t actually staying in L.A. but just south in Anaheim as we planed to take Archie to Disneyland.\nWe arrived into our hotel in the early evening and checked in. We had a large suite on the top floor which was quite big compared to all the places we had stayed at on the trip - the only downside was, while being two rooms, it was actually only a single bed room with two queen sized beds - we got over that pretty quickly though.\nAfter settling in for a bit we headed down to the restaurant in the hotel to get Archie fed. The restaurant wasn\u0026rsquo;t anything to write home about, but it provided a reasonable range of food and drinks and was adequate.\nAfter dinner we booked our tickets to Disneyland and headed off to bed - tired after the long day and still operating on New York time.\nDisneyland Park We woke early the next morning (Tuesday 18th Aug), as the plan was to get to the park at opening time (8am) to maximise our time inside.\nWe caught the local ART bus from the hotel ($5 for a day ticket) and in under 10 min we were pulling into the Disneyland bus hub.\nOff the bus, we cleared security and then entered the park. Coincidentally it\u0026rsquo;s currently Disneyland\u0026rsquo;s 60th (Diamond) anniversary - and additional festivities were occurring to celebrate.\nWe wandered through Disneyland main street and up toward the castle taking it all it.\nEverything was perfect and clean - quite unbelievable considering the number of people they have through the gates on a daily basis.\nWe decided to take Archie on his first ride - the Snow White ride - it looked harmless enough. We waited in line and then boarded out 4-seater trolley car and off we went. About 10 seconds into the trip we quickly realised that the story of Snow White is actually quite dark - and this was well represented in the ride - very dark with lots of loud scary noises - witches and things jumping out at you\u0026hellip; Archie was not a fan - in fact he was bloody terrified! Oops\u0026hellip;\nLuckily the ride wasn\u0026rsquo;t long - but the poor little guy was not very happy at the end of it. We took a breather and then decided to try our luck again - Pinocchio.\nOops\u0026hellip; Another luck out\u0026hellip; Much the same as Snow White, there is also a dark side to the Pinocchio story - which again was well emphasised in the ride. Archie was not a happy camper again!\nLooking to recover from the past two terrifying experiences we had just submitted out son to - we saw the Dumbo ride - much like a carousel, but you can control the up and down motion - thankfully he loved this and all was good in the world once again.\nFrom then on we selected Archie friendly rides - the animal train, Its A Small World, the Disneyland train, Whiney the Poo, etc.\nWe wandered our way through the park with no real plan. We manage to bump into Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Woody and snagged some happy snaps with these characters.\nBy about 2pm we decided to head back to the hotel to put Archie down for a sleep. We all took some time out, either catching up on some sleep ourselves or having a dip in the pool.\nWe headed back to the park at about 4pm - just in time to watch the parade down Main Street - before continuing to explore the areas of the park we had yet to visit.\nLater in the evening we managed to find a \u0026lsquo;reasonable\u0026rsquo; place to sit and watch the evening light show parade which was then followed by the fireworks show - a great end to a great (and very long) day.\nAt this time Archie was doing incredibly well to still be awake - so we headed home to hit the hay.\nThe Outlets at Orange Wednesday (19th Aug) we decided to head out shopping at the local Outlets in Orange. This turned out to be quite a big day out. While I don\u0026rsquo;t have anything else to compare it to - the outlets served out \u0026rsquo;needs\u0026rsquo; well\u0026hellip; We walked away all burdened down with bags containing new clothes, shoes and other bits and pieces. While the exchange rate isn\u0026rsquo;t as good as it was a few years ago - there were still some good bargains to be had - and we did!\nHome time Thursday (20th Aug) was our last day in Anaheim, and also the last day of our trip. We had a late flight back to Australia so didn\u0026rsquo;t need to be back to LAX until later in the evening - which meant we had pretty much a full day to do what we wanted.\nCarmen decided to head out to do some more shopping and sightseeing on the ART buses. Laura, Jo, Archie and I decided to lay low and chill out at the hotel - although that lasted about an hour.\nLaura and I decided to head out for a walk - and it was while walking that we discovered an alternate route to Disneyland\u0026hellip; only 10 min walk away\u0026hellip; oh well. We also discovered Downtown Disneyland - a restaurant and shopping precinct right next to the Disneyland Parks. Had we realised this was here we would likely have walked up each evening for a few drinks and dinner - there was a lot of choice, and while it was more expensive than the hotel (it is part of Disneyland after all), it would have provided a bit more atmosphere and variety. Oh-well\u0026hellip; we know for next time.\nBasically the remainder of our day ended up being spent at Disneyland Downtown. You would have thought that by now we would have had out fill of shopping\u0026hellip; It appears there was room for a few additional items (like my new Collectors Edition Star Wars Lego Tie Fighter - which only just fit in my suit case).\nIn the early afternoon we all headed back to the hotel and met up before jumping into our transfer back to LAX.\nWe arrived fairly early to LAX - the freeway flowed fairly well - which allowed us to check in and pass through security fairly quickly.\nWe waited out time out in duty free shops and food outlets before boarding our Qantas flight back home.\nThe holiday was over - only 15hrs to go and we will be home - leaving behind the perfect Californian weather.\nI wonder how long it will take for our tans to fade in the cooler Melbourne weather. I am looking forward to a great coffee however.\nOnce the dust settles, I will probably put together a bit of a retrospective of the trip to highlight our favourite parts - and any pictures which didn\u0026rsquo;t make it into the original posts.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-25-the-city-of-angels/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eEarlier in the week (Monday 17th Aug) we left New York behind us (sad to leave but we have to move on), and flew across the country to Los Angeles.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe weren\u0026rsquo;t actually staying in L.A. but just south in Anaheim as we planed to take Archie to Disneyland.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe arrived into our hotel in the early evening and checked in. We had a large suite on the top floor which was quite big compared to all the places we had stayed at on the trip - the only downside was, while being two rooms, it was actually only a single bed room with two queen sized beds - we got over that pretty quickly though.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The City of Angels"},{"content":"Updated 24-Aug-2015: As promised, more pictures have now been added to this post.\nSorry for the delay in getting this next blog post published. There was so much to see and do in New York and we were constantly on the go so by the time we got home to our apartment each night we were buggered - and the last thing I felt like doing was sitting down in front of the computer - so I have saved it all up and have put it together as one big blog post.\nSo buckle up, you’re in for a big read. Enjoy\u0026hellip; We did.\nTouchdown NYC We arrived into JFK airport on Sunday afternoon (9th August) and met our friend Carmen who had flown 20 odd hours from Melbourne to join us. We then waited around the arrivals hall for about the next hour waiting for our transfer shuttle to turn up - a little annoying to say the least. After two phone calls a big white Ford van eventually pulled up. We loaded our gear into the back and piled in with the other travellers. After swinging past another terminal for another pickup - and to make sure the van was packed to capacity - we finally left the airport.\nThe drive into Manhattan took about an hour. It\u0026rsquo;s a long and unglamorous drive through the outer boroughs of New York. We eventually made it to the Queensborough Bridge and the skyscrapers of Manhattan were now clearly visible.\nThe traffic was no better on Manhattan. We wound our way through the many streets - up, across, down, back - dropping travellers of at various hotels scattered through out the midtown area.\nWe finally arrived at our apartment block in Midtown and checked in. We were in a pretty good location on 49th street between 6th and 7th Ave - right next to the Broadway theatre district, Times Square, and The Rockefeller centre.\nRather tired after a long day of travel, we decided to keep dinner quick and simple - Pizza from the place next door.\nThe Highline and Chelsea Market Monday morning we all woke up fresh and ready to go. We decided to get out and about walking to see as much as we could on foot - which ended up being quite a big day of walking.\nFrom our apartment on 49th street we walked down 7th Ave through Times Square and then on through the fashion district to about 35th street before heading across town to 9th Ave to find the start of the Highline.\nThe Highline is an old train line that is elevated up above street level and has been transformed into a green space and walking trail.\nThe Highline weaves its way down to the Chelsea Market at 14th street - those of you who are good at math may have already determined that\u0026rsquo;s 35 block down and more than a few across town.\nThe walk down to Chelsea Market on the Highline was quite enjoyable and provides a very different perspective of the city from the elevated vantage point.\nAbout halfway down the Highline we spotted a sign for a cafe - good time for a coffee break. We descend the stairs from the Highline back to street level and across the road found a trendy little cafe with amazing coffee and cakes - the guy working there even knew what a Babycino was so Archie was in luck.\nThe barista was a master at his trade\u0026hellip; After travelling for so long without access to good coffee, what we encountered here was nothing but fantastic - the equal to any great cafe in Melbourne.\nAfter our short stop, we headed back up to the Highline to continue our walk. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t long before we got to the Chelsea market - but before venturing back down to street level to enter the market we looked around the street traders that were setup on the Highline. Here we found my need food love - ice cream sandwiches.\nA small freezer cart was setup on the Highline from Melt Bakery - the first people to bring ice cream sandwiches into New York - and for only $4 they are truly something. Coming in at variety of flavours, we went with the Morticia, a crispy chocolate biscuit enclosing a chocolate and rum infused ice cream - absolutely delicious.\nAfter our ice cream sandwich indulgence, we headed down to street level and into the market.\nIt was now right on lunch time, and the market was very busy with tourists and locals alike. We wandered through the busy market place, in and out of stores exploring the wares on offer. Beautiful fresh fruit and veggies, fresh meats and seafood - pretty much anything you could want - as well as a few trinket shops for souvenirs.\nAfter wandering through the hustle and bustle of the market for a while we ended up at the street foods area and decided it was time for lunch - on the menu, Mexican tacos from Los Tacos No.1, and Korean kimchi ramen noodle soup from Mok-Bok , all delicious.\nAfter spending time at the market we headed back to the Highline and made the walk (some 40 odd blocks) back home for an afternoon rest.\nIn the evening we headed out again, on foot, toward the Flatiron district to a place we had been told was good - the Shake Shack in Madison Square Park. The park was nicely lit-up in the early evening, and we found some seats before joining the queue to order our meals. The queue was long, but moved quickly.\nSomething I have noticed in New York is the efficiency with which they serve large numbers of people quickly. Be it a line for food, the theatre or other, what appears a long line often moves quick quickly.\nWe ordered burgers, fries and drinks and enjoyed them in the park - Archie love watching the squirrels running about in the nearby trees.\nIt had been a long day for Archie and was now 9pm and well past his bed time, so Laura and I hailed a cab to get him back to the apartment and to bed. Jo and Carmen wandered their way back on foot and arrived home a little later (after some shopping on 5th Ave).\nAll up we had walked about 16km today - no wonder the feet and legs were a little tired.\nA Rainy Day We woke Tuesday morning to a rainy day - an overnight thunderstorm had been forecast and it didn\u0026rsquo;t disappoint. I had to make a mad early morning dash to the nearest supermarket for a resupply of milk, yoghurt, bananas and other breakfast essentials. Without a rain jacket I decided to brave it in one of my already worn stinky t-shirts and bathers - the t-shirt needed to be washed anyway and the bathers would dry quickly.\nUnfortunately I was up and out a little too early - after a mad dash two blocks to the supermarket, I found it wasn\u0026rsquo;t open for another hour. So I hit up a local deli across the street and found everything I needed to get us through breakfast.\nI was completely drenched by the time go back to the apartment - but the breakfast resupply mission had been accomplished.\nWe used the time during the morning to plan out some of the things we wanted to get out and see.\nSo what to do on a rainy day? Shopping is a great indoor activity\u0026hellip; Macy\u0026rsquo;s it was then\u0026hellip; You could spend a whole day in this place\u0026hellip; If you were so inclined\u0026hellip;\nThe rain eventually cleared and the sun had even come out a little by the afternoon - so we set out again in search for a place for dinner. We had heard of a nice steak place down on the East side near 2nd street, so we ventured out to find it.\nAfter some wandering around we eventually found the place\u0026hellip; However it was a little more up market than we were looking for - especially with a tired 18 month old in tow. Unfortunately we headed decided on a Plan B\u0026hellip; So more wandering around.\nWe eventually found what looked to be a reasonable pub and headed in for a meal. It turned out to be one of the most expensive meals we had in New York - and by far the lowest in quality. We had obviously walked into the local tourist trap - but what can you do when you’re hungry and grizzly 18 month old needs some dinner.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong - I have eaten at worse places, and the meals were ok, but very expensive for what you got on reflection.\nAfter dinner we wandered back home to the apartment to get the little man to bed.\nA Walk In The Park Wednesday morning we decided to hit Central Park for the day. Central Park was about 10 blocks uptown from where we were staying - a fairly easy walk, but we decided to save our legs for the park and catch the subway instead.\nThe 7th Ave and 49th Street subway station was just on the corner of our street. We decided to buy weekly subway passes for $30 (plus $1 for the card) as these provided unlimited travel on the subway, and considering we were here for a few days would easily work out much cheaper than buying out tickets a ride-at-a-time.\nWe arrived at the south gate of Central Park and started our wandering. First stop was the Central Park Carousel - we couldn\u0026rsquo;t go past the carousel with out giving Archie a ride.\nAfter our brief stop, we continued walking up through the sheep meadow and across to the Imagine Park - a memorial park for John Lennon.\nWe then continued our walk along the side of the lake and found the Friends fountain - where a few obligatory tourist snaps were taken.\nBy about lunchtime we had found our way (conveniently) to the Central Park Boat House Restaurant and Cafe - so decided to have lunch here.\nAfter lunch we continued our walk through the park - this place is absolutely enormous. By early afternoon we had only walked about one third of the length of the park - mind you we were not in a rush, and it was a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the busy New York streets.\nOn our way back home we walked past the Central Park Zoo and were just in time to watch the clock tower go off - Archie loved the music and the animal statues dancing around the bottom of the clock.\nAll up, we had a big and enjoyable day in the park - even if we didn\u0026rsquo;t get to see all of it (we need to leave something for next time we visit!).\nWorld Trade Centre Memorial, Wall Street and Katz\u0026rsquo;s Dinner We had a lot planned for Thursday. We caught the subway downtown and then started walking through some of the neighbourhoods on our way to the World Trade Centre memorial site.\nOn our way we happened to find (not by accident!) the Ghost Busters fire station - so some obligatory tourist photos here. We continued our walk downtown and were amazed by the number of skyscrapers in the area.\nArriving at the World Trade Centre memorial site was quite amazing - you come out from behind towering buildings into what is now a big peaceful open space. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to believe there were two towering buildings standing on that site - and what is harder to believe is the destruction and chaos that would have been going on during the September 11 incident. It was quite an odd feeling walking into the area.\nThe memorial area has been done very nicely - tow large water fountains now reside in the place where the towers once stood. It is truly something to see.\nFrom the World Trade Centre site we continued our walk down through Wall Street - a fairly unexciting area of town if I am completely honest. As a tourist in New York, its something you need to come and see - but now I have seen it, I doubt I will have a need to come back.\nWe continued our walk down to the ferry terminal. Here Carmen and Jo jumped on a ferry across to Stanton Island, which Laura and I decided to head up to the Lower East side to visit Katz\u0026rsquo;s Deli - famous for a number of reasons, but most people associate it with the \u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;ll have what she\u0026rsquo;s having\u0026rdquo; scene from When Harry met Sally.\nWe jumped on the subway and then walked a few blocks to find the diner. Wow\u0026hellip; talk about organised chaos. Luckily we arrived just outside the lunchtime peak - which meant we didn\u0026rsquo;t have to line up outside on the street to get in.\nWalking in a big guy hands you a ticket and says simply\u0026hellip; \u0026ldquo;Don\u0026rsquo;t loose it. You need it to get out.\u0026rdquo; Initially it was all a bit too much to take in - Laura, Archie and I stood there amongst the crowd of people just looking around and processing what to do next\u0026hellip; oh yeah\u0026hellip; lunch - lets order some lunch.\nTo order food you approach a very long counter - the counter is divided into separate areas - depending on what you want. Given the number of people inside, we decided just to order something from where we were - a cheese steak sandwich and a cheeseburger (we were at the grill). When you order, you give you ticket to the guy behind the counter. He then makes some marks on the ticket and adds up the order price and writes it on the ticket. This happens every time you order something - and the total on your ticket gets updated.\nWhile eating we were able to take sometime to observe the \u0026lsquo;process\u0026rsquo; of how to get out of the deli. Basically your ticket is your way out. You have to pay to be let out. Loose your ticket and you are up for a minimum $50 - and probably a lot of grief from the big guys on the door.\nThe queue to get out was quite long - but every now and then one of the guys working the line would come down and ask if anyone had paid by credit card - if you paid by card you can just walk out\u0026hellip; The line of for cash payment was huge.\nLooking around we discovered the credit card payment area at the end of the food service counter - near the soft drinks (where else). Importantly there was no line - so off I went. All paid and straight out the door. As we left we handed over our two tickets (Laura\u0026rsquo;s and mine) and our credit card receipt.\n\u0026ldquo;All good\u0026rdquo; the big guy on the door said\u0026hellip; \u0026ldquo;But where\u0026rsquo;s his ticket. He\u0026rsquo;s gotta have a ticket\u0026rdquo; the guy said pointing to Archie. At this point I was confused. \u0026ldquo;Really?\u0026rdquo; I thought\u0026hellip; \u0026ldquo;He can\u0026rsquo;t be serious.\u0026rdquo;\n\u0026ldquo;But you only gave us two\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; I started to say when the other big guy on the door started to laugh and said, \u0026ldquo;Did you see this guy\u0026hellip; He was about to have a nervous breakdown\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\nOh they were joking\u0026hellip; And at my expense\u0026hellip; They are (way) bigger than me - so I guess we call that funny.\nNo harm done and I did see the funny side. I suspect it’s a common routine with the tourists.\nAfter having more than our fill at Katz\u0026rsquo;s we caught the subway home before heading back out for dinner in the evening.\nFriday Friday we set off to cross the bridge and see Williamsburg and Brooklyn. We encountered a bit of trouble on the subway with the \u0026rsquo;easy-way\u0026rsquo; being shut down due to signal faults (apparently fairly common thing in the underground). So we replanned our route and headed off again.\nWe made it into Williamsburg and started walking around the neighbourhood - Williamsburg apparently has some trendy little streets and shops. The streets in and around the train station were pretty grim - not really much to write home about. To begin with we were starting to wonder if we had wasted our time - but slowly as we continued to walk deeper into the neighbourhood more and more hipsters started appearing, and then a trendy cafe or two, and then some shops\u0026hellip; we had found what had been promised.\nWe grabbed a coffee in a trendy little cafe called Oslo before continuing on. Latte, Cold Brew Ice Coffee and a bite to eat - just what we needed.\nAt this point I had grown quite fond of Cold Brew Ice Coffee, and in the heat and humidity I could see the appeal over a hot coffee. You see a lot of New Yorkers drinking iced coffee rather than hot coffee.\nContinuing into Williamsburg we found the main shopping strip which was full of trendy little cafes and shop - the girls were in and out of most shops all up and down the strip, while Archie and I people watched out on the curb - occasionally venturing into a shop now and then when something caught my intrigue.\nWe headed to Cafe De La Esquina for lunch - a Mexican styled diner. The food was great - spicy tacos, nachos, quesadilla, and the drinks were packed full of tequila.\nAfter lunch Laura and Carmen wanted to continue exploring the shops in Williamsburg, and I needed to get Archie home for a sleep - so Jo, Archie and I headed back to the train station.\nRather than heading straight back home we decided this was a good opportunity to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge - and take in the sights along the way.\nThe walk across the bridge was really enjoyable - but crowded. There are two lanes - one for pedestrians and one for bikes - make sure you stay in the correct lane as the bike riders get really cranky when the tourists wander across into their lane to grab a photo of the bridge or lower Manhattan.\nThe walk in itself took around 30 min - and it was quite warm in the early afternoon.\nAfter our walk we made it back to the apartment and put Archie down for a snooze - and got a bit of relief from the heat in the air-conditioned room. The girls arrived home not much later and without too much damage done to the credit cards.\nLaura and Carmen had discounted tickets to go and see Les Miserables on Broadway, and I managed to get myself a ticket to Penn \u0026amp; Teller on Broadway.\nWe put Archie down for the night and Jo was kind enough to baby site while we went out to our shows. Carmen, Laura and I set out for a drink before the show. A few nights before Carmen and Laura had found a cool little Cuban bar in the theatre district, which they wanted to take me to.\nVictors Cafe was very cool and very Cuban. A dimly lit room, bar on one side table and chairs down the other and a small band playing Cuban music at the front - awesome. We ordered a round of drinks and enjoyed the music and atmosphere before parting ways to head off and see our shows.\nPenn \u0026amp; Teller were fantastic - I would really recommend anyone go and see them if they have the chance. Absolutely astounding and engaging - it was a great show. I am still dazzled and amazed by their performance.\nAfter the show Penn \u0026amp; Teller were getting photos and signing autographs for the fans out in the foyer of the theatre. The queue was massive - so while I would have liked to meet them, I decided against lining up.\nI got a message from Laura who said they were just at intermission - apparently Les Miserables is a long show\u0026hellip; So I decided to head up to the top of the Marriot hotel where the Penn \u0026amp; Teller show had been held to their View Bar. The View Bar on level 64 has a rotating floor, which gives you a 360 degree view of the city.\nA whiskey sour and two beers later I had gone the full circle and decided to head back down and meet up with the girls. As I got to the ground floor I noticed that Penn \u0026amp; Teller were still there (an hour later). I also noticed there were only 3 people left in the queue\u0026hellip; make that 4!\nA few minutes later I was shaking hands with both Penn \u0026amp; Teller, getting my photo taken and having the ticket and playbook signed - my day was made!\nI then met up with the girls and we headed home.\nCarmen\u0026rsquo;s Birthday Saturday was Carmen\u0026rsquo;s Birthday - we had spent some of our rare spare time in the days prior researching and planning what to do.\nCarmen had a few recommended places that we thought we would checkout. First brunch on the lower east side near Soho.\nWe took the subway down to the lower east side and wandered through the funky back streets - cool shops and cafes everywhere.\nWe arrived at our brunch destination - Public. Public is a trendy little restaurant cafe that was awarded a Michelin Star in 2015, and offers awesome meals and drinks - including a Gin and Juice bar where you can mix your straight Gin with any number of the freshly prepared fruit juices and condiments (fresh fruit wedges, select herbs, etc).\nWe ordered a selection of meals from the brunch menu and enjoyed. I also topped out my brunch with a Bloody Mary (or two).\nAfter brunch we continued our walk through the local streets. I found an old fashioned barber and decided to get myself a beard trim - its been growing wild for the past month or so and was starting to look a bit straggly. First a shaping trim with electric clippers followed by a close shave with an old fashioned cut-throat razor. 20 min later we were all cleaned up and ready to go - presentable once again (some might think at least).\nThe girls continued to wander through the streets in and our of all the shops - looking, admiring and occasionally purchasing.\nI happened across a hat shop and thought that Archie and I looked pretty smart in flat caps - so we laid down our cash and bought them.\nGiven we were in the general area of Melt Bakery we decided it was a good time to get another of their fantastic ice cream sandwiches. $4 later we were eating another of these delicious delights.\nGiven that Carmen and Jo hadn\u0026rsquo;t been with Laura and i when we visited Katz\u0026rsquo;s Deli and that it was just around the corner - we decided to swing past there also on our way home. This time the deli was packed and there was a line down the sidewalk to get in - so we just peeked in through the window to get a view.\nLaura and Carmen wanted to head back to the Chelsea Market for more shopping - so Jo and I headed back to the apartment to get Archie to bed. On our way back we existed the subway on 6th Ave about 2 blocks from home - what was gong on\u0026hellip; the whole avenue was shut down and there were market stalls (for about 20 blocks) up and down the avenue. So we wandered for a while to checkout the stalls and street food.\nLater that evening we set back out to the lower east side to a restaurant we had made reservations in for Carmen\u0026rsquo;s birthday dinner - Beauty \u0026amp; Essex.\nBeauty \u0026amp; Essex is a beautiful and funky restaurant that is tucked in behind a pawn shop. You walk into the pawn shop off the street and through a big heavy door into an urban hideout that is dimly lit and nicely styled.\nDinner was awesome - they suggest a tapas / share plates so we went with a selection of different options - all absolutely delicious.\nAfter dinner we headed back home to the apartment and then wandered over to the Rockefeller centre to book tickets to the Top of the Rock - the observation deck at the top of the building. Our session was at 9:50pm, so we went home and chilled out a bit before heading back.\nThe express elevator had us up to the 65th floor in no time at all. Outside the girls were ok - but I was packing it. The view of the city at night was awesome\u0026hellip; as long as I wasn\u0026rsquo;t too close to the glass wall edge. Talk about vertigo\u0026hellip; wow.\nWe went up further to the top observation deck - which I actually found a bit easier as you could see the next level down.\nLooking over the city on a hot balmy night was a great experience from the Top of the Rock.\nHarlem Gospel Earlier I the week we had booked ourselves tickets to see the Harlem Gospel Choir at BB Kings Blues Bar just off Broadway. It was a brunch show starting around 12.\nBefore heading out to the gospel show, we wandered down to Times Square to see if we could get Jo some tickets to a show - she was the only one of us yet to get to a Broadway show. She managed to get herself some discounted tickets to a matinee show of An American in Paris - which was on her \u0026rsquo;too see\u0026rsquo; list.\nWe headed down to the BB King Blues Bar for lunch (brunch) and to see the gospel choir. We had decent seats in a booth to the left of the stage, and the music was great. Archie loved it - up and dancing to the classic gospel songs being belted out (quite well) by the choir.\nWe left the choir show as soon as it finished and walked up to Times Square to get Jo to here matinée show.\nWe finished up the day with a stroll back through Central Park and up and down 5th Ave with some shopping.\nTomorrow (Monday) we are off to Los Angeles and Disneyland.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-16-new-york-new-york/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUpdated 24-Aug-2015:\u003c/strong\u003e As promised, more pictures have now been added to this post.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSorry for the delay in getting this next blog post published. There was so much to see and do in New York and we were constantly on the go so by the time we got home to our apartment each night we were buggered - and the last thing I felt like doing was sitting down in front of the computer - so I have saved it all up and have put it together as one big blog post.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"New York, New York"},{"content":"Last night was our final night in London. Laura and I left Archie with Mum and Jo and then headed out to Soho to find the London Gin Club - something Laura had kindly tracked down for me and thought it would be a great way to spend our last night in London.\nThe club is in an old small pub - pretty casual and unpretentious - which was exactly what we were looking for.\nWe were greeted at the door and asked if we had a reservation - the place was packed.\n\u0026ldquo;No\u0026hellip; Sorry we don\u0026rsquo;t\u0026rdquo; we replied.\n\u0026ldquo;Ok - let me see what we can do. Follow me\u0026rdquo; the waitress said.\nWe followed down a narrow spiral staircase into the Gin Cellar below and were seated at a small two seater table amongst other Gin drinkers.\nThe Gin menu was extensive. I settled on one of the tasting boards, while Laura had a Gin cocktail.\nThe tasting board arrived - 4 vials of selected Gins and accompanying garnishes for each. Two large ice filled glasses then arrived - each Gin deserves its own fresh glass.\nThe waitress then guided me through the tasting process - first pour the vial of Gin directly over the ice and then taste. Next add some of the premium tonic water that had been provided and taste. Finally add the paired garnish and taste again - then enjoy the rest of the drink. This process was repeated for each of the 4 Gins.\nThe night went quickly as we both enjoyed sitting in the balmy room down stairs sipping Gin. Later the waitress offered to move us upstairs where it was much cooler - so up we went - and enjoyed more Gin.\nGiven we were flying he next day we wanted to avoid completely writing ourselves off. Not a good idea with an 18 month in tow - so after a few more drinks we called it a night and headed home - very happy with our evening out.\nI would really recommend anyone who enjoys the odd Gin to look this place up next time they are in Soho - well worth it.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-09-london-gin-club-in-soho/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLast night was our final night in London. Laura and I left Archie with Mum and Jo and then headed out to Soho to find the London Gin Club - something Laura had kindly tracked down for me and thought it would be a great way to spend our last night in London.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe club is in an old small pub - pretty casual and unpretentious - which was exactly what we were looking for.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"London Gin Club in Soho"},{"content":"So we arrived into London on Thursday afternoon (6th August) from Paris after catching the EuroStar train across the channel.\nWe were expecting a little more from the EuroStar – the name builds up a certain expectation – and we were left wanting. It probably didn’t help that the air conditioning in our carriage was on the blink either – making for quite a warm journey indeed. Thankfully one of the staff members was extremely helpful and did everything he could to make our journey more comfortable. He initially started handing out bottles of water, but seeing the sweat pumping out of Archie he decided to try and move us. After a little exercise in seat logistics he eventually found us two sets of two seats – we wouldn’t all be sitting together, but at least we would all be a little more comfortable in an better air conditioned carriage. The journey would have been horrible without this – as Archie was really getting quite irritable in the heat.\nThe train journey from Paris to London was around 2 hours, with barley 20min of that spent in the channel tunnel. Emerging on the English side of the tunnel you immediately notice grey sky… We are definitely in England.\nComing from the dry and often dusty 34-36c daily temperatures of Paris, the lower 25-27c temperatures that were forecast for the next few days in London would be very welcome.\nAfter arriving into our station we discover that there is a tube strike on today – meaning no trains running at all in the Underground. This was going to be interesting. The queue for taxi’s was long, and after getting in one, the roads were quite clogged. Thankfully we got a nice driver who got us to our new home as fast as he could – and 20 Pound later we had arrived.\nOur new neighbourhood is a bit rough – I suspect the local riff-raff live directly across the road – and fully expect to be kept up to all hours with dogs barking and kids screaming. People seem to park their cars wherever they want and on whatever side of the road suit them.\nI feel like walking across the road to that house and setting a few things straight before we get started – Kensington Palace… who do they think they are…\nWell so it seems William and Kate are our neighbours – literally a misguided drop-punt would have your footy over their fence – I suspect Will would be a pretty good sport and kick it back however.\nSo it appears we are not in a scrubby neighbourhood at all, but rather the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea – the X-Trail would look rather ‘out-of-place’ here I can tell you. Most car bonnets seem to be emblazon with either a three-point-star, four joined hoops, a horse, a big B or R. I think you get my drift – not to many Toyota’s or Nissan\u0026rsquo;s.\nMost of the cars are pitch black, with drivers at the ready. Our street (Prince of Wales Terrace) seems to be some sort of a waiting bay – drivers come and sit in their expensive luxury cars, some get out and polish the duco back to an immaculate shine – all waiting for whoever they work for to call.\nAnyway, Will and Kate have been pretty good neighbours so far – not a peep – I’m not even sure if they are at home. I was hoping Will might sneak across the road for a quite pint at the end of the day (once the kids are in bed) – but we haven’t seen him in the Goat (our closest pub).\nOn the last two evenings we have enjoyed having a picnic dinner in Kensington Gardens, right at the back of the Palace – Archie has become quite fond of the ducks at the big pond.\nYesterday (Friday), Laura, Jo, Archie and I all jumped on a regional train and headed for Bath. Mum had been there recently so she did her own thing in and around London for the day.\nThe trip up to Bath took around 2hrs, but the journey was well worth the wait – Bath is beautiful… and I think next time we might have to stay there for a few days.\nBig old streets, white sandstone buildings, big blossoming gardens and all immaculately clean. We spent the whole day wandering around Bath – there is just so much to take in.\nLaura and Jo went to the Jane Austin house, while Archie and I went to check out the smallest pub in Bath and have a local pint. Small was right – no room to swing a cat, let along a pram. The pram got folded up and Archie and I sat on the remaining 2-seater table next to the bar (there were only 4 in total inside).\nAfter our (my) pint of local ale, we headed back to meet up with the girls and headed down to the river for some lunch.\nWe continued to drift around Bath for the remainder of the day before catching the train back to London in the late afternoon.\nToday we set out reasonably early and caught the train to the Tower of London. Getting there early was a great plan – there was no queue and we went straight in. Laura and I missed the Tower of London last time we were here (2008), so had it on the list to see this time round. We spend a good hour or so wandering around the grounds, and Archie seemed to enjoy himself – entertaining the Beefeaters.\nLaura, Archie and I left Jo and Mum at the tower (not literally) – they had booked a show in the afternoon and we wanted to see a few more sights before heading home to get Archie off to bed for the afternoon.\nWe caught the train up to Westminster – Saturdays in London in summer are full on. Tourists everywhere. Coming out of Westminster station we could hardly move. I think it took as about 25 min to get from the station, across the road to see Big Ben, across to Westminster itself before heading back toward St. James Garden – it was packed.\nThe walk up through St. James garden was beautiful, and London turned on an incredible day for us to be out walking. We wandered up through the gardens to Buckingham Palace then continued on to Hyde Park Corner before diverting off to see Harrods.\nAfter a walk through Harrods, and some lunch, we headed back to the train station and home.\nWe are not waiting for Jo and Mum to get home from their show so we can ‘change the guards’ and leave Archie with Mum and Jo for the evening while Laura and I head out for dinner and a few drinks – Soho is the plan… but we will see what eventuates.\nTomorrow we fly to New York!\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-08-london-and-bath/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we arrived into London on Thursday afternoon (6th August) from Paris after catching the EuroStar train across the channel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe were expecting a little more from the EuroStar – the name builds up a certain expectation – and we were left wanting. It probably didn’t help that the air conditioning in our carriage was on the blink either – making for quite a warm journey indeed. Thankfully one of the staff members was extremely helpful and did everything he could to make our journey more comfortable. He initially started handing out bottles of water, but seeing the sweat pumping out of Archie he decided to try and move us. After a little exercise in seat logistics he eventually found us two sets of two seats – we wouldn’t all be sitting together, but at least we would all be a little more comfortable in an better air conditioned carriage. The journey would have been horrible without this – as Archie was really getting quite irritable in the heat.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"London and Bath"},{"content":"Today has been much hotter than yesterday - about 34c - and after the big day we had yesterday we decided to take it a little easier and just hit a few of the sights - with the Eiffel Tower the first on the list.\nWe headed off reasonably early from the apartment (while it was still cool) and headed across the river, past Notre Dame, and then onto the train station we thought would take us straight to the Eiffel Tower - unfortunately that part of the line (and the station) are closed for works\u0026hellip; there go those plans and our early start.\nAfter a brief chat with some helpful tourist information staff we were on our way again - however we \u0026rsquo;re-interpreted\u0026rsquo; their instructions removing a change of train line and swapping it for a small walk - which ended up being quite pleasant.\nIt wasn\u0026rsquo;t long before the Eiffel Tower appeared from behind the many other tall buildings along the street - at least we were on track. A pleasant walk through some gardens brings us to the base of the tower - and its only 9:15am\u0026hellip; We made it in pretty good time - only 20 busloads of people in front of us.\nAfter a brief group conference at the base of the tower - and based on the size of the line for the elevator, we decided to walk up the stairs - how bad could 669 stairs be after all?\nThe thighs were burning for the first few flights - carrying an 18 month old added to the burn - but in the end we made it up to the first level.\nA well-earned coffee while we looked out over Paris was that much more enjoyable having earned it by walking the stairs.\nNot being an enthusiast of heights (in fact I hate them), level one of the tower was actually pretty easy - except for the glass flooring in the centre - which Archie seemed to be attracted to.\nThe first time Archie ventured out onto the glass flooring he didn\u0026rsquo;t realise and then froze stiff once he looked down - but quickly realised he was ok and kept going. From then on it was a game - and I suspect he realised both mum and dad didn\u0026rsquo;t like going near it. He would quickly get himself just out of arms reach - just to taunt us I am sure.\nWe ventured up the next set of stairs and made it to level 2 - for an even better view of the city. A good number of photos later we made the journey back down the 669 stairs to the ground - and were glad for the early start, as the queues were much longer now.\nFrom here our group went in two different directions. Mum and Jo jumped on one of the hop-on-hop-off buses to get a better look around the city while Laura, Maddie and I took Archie back to the apartment for a sleep - 2 minutes later he was asleep in the pram.\nWe arrived back at the apartment just as the little man was waking up - a good hour of sleep under his belt, and just in time for lunch. For lunch, we decided to check out the Falafel bar about 5 doors down from the apartment - it was awesome. For 6.50 Euro we got a falafels, salads, cooked eggplant, hummus and yoghurt in a nice fresh pocket bread - it was absolutely beautiful\u0026hellip; and for desert\u0026hellip; 2 doors up… we sampled decadent éclairs from L\u0026rsquo;Eclair de Genie - which as the name suggests - were magical. We had Chocolate, Strawberry and Pistachio, and Salted Caramel.\nAfter lunch we headed out to the Jardin du Tuileries. Laura and Maddie headed to the Museum at the end of the gardens; while Archie and I sat in a restaurant beer garden under the trees and watched the people flow by. It was here I discovered Hoegaarden Rosee (regular Hoegaarden wasn\u0026rsquo;t available) - it’s a lighter version of Hoegaarden (3%) that is mixed with a red berry juice. I wasn\u0026rsquo;t quite sure what to expect - but it was actually quite refreshing on a warm afternoon.\nThe girls got back from the museum and joined me (and Archie) for a few drinks at the restaurant in the park under the trees. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t long and the entire group was re-united when Mum and Jo came walking across the park and found us. From here we headed back home - we were done for the day.\nBack at the apartment we let Archie run around and play for a before heading out for dinner. The girls had found a nice secluded square a few streets down from where we were staying that was enclosed by 5 or 6 nice little restaurants. We sat down and ordered - tonight we had the dry sausage (two types of salami and prosciutto) as well as 3 types of cheese to start and then the girls all had a mixed grill, and I had the confit d’oie (goose) - which was delightful. It was my first time eating goose, and I will be back!\nWe are now all sitting around the little table in the apartment. The girls are playing cards, and eating gelato - while I punch out another blog post and sip away at the last of the limoncello we were still carrying with us from Tuscany.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-05-exploring-more-of-paris/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday has been much hotter than yesterday - about 34c - and after the big day we had yesterday we decided to take it a little easier and just hit a few of the sights - with the Eiffel Tower the first on the list.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed off reasonably early from the apartment (while it was still cool) and headed across the river, past Notre Dame, and then onto the train station we thought would take us straight to the Eiffel Tower - unfortunately that part of the line (and the station) are closed for works\u0026hellip; there go those plans and our early start.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Exploring more of Paris"},{"content":"Today has been a very BIG day or us in and around Paris - and we are all knackered.\nI\u0026rsquo;m sitting at the small kitchen table in our apartment - my back to the open window to catch the breeze. Today has been substantially cooler than any day we have encountered on our trip so far - about 28c max with most of the morning and afternoon around 18-25c - which made it actually quite pleasant for the amount of walking we ended up doing. It just wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been possible on a hotter day.\nAfter leaving the apartment at about 8:30am this morning we arrived back home at about 5:30pm - knackered and armed with groceries for a quick dinner. We suspect we have stretched Archie to his limit - he only had an hour sleep in the pram while we were out, and as we arrived home he was well and truly into his extremely tired and silly state.\nThe little man is down now and the house is peaceful - a very different situation only 30min ago - when he was fighting the need to sleep. But all is calm and the little guy is off with an early night - and I expect him to sleep through after the day we have had.\nSo\u0026hellip; back to today\u0026hellip;\nThe plan was to head to Versailles to see the palace and walk the gardens, an then try to get to Monet’s garden before coming back into Paris to fill out the rest of the afternoon with other sights. As it turned out things went about 50% right. It appears something went wrong in our planning and research - Monet’s garden is nowhere near Versailles (as we had thought it was). Oops. Unfortunately this meant mum wasn\u0026rsquo;t able to see one of the main things she had really come to Paris to see - but it\u0026rsquo;s a great excuse to come back.\nGetting to Versailles was pretty simple on the Paris train system - with a short walk up to the Palace. We never wanted or expected to go inside the Palace - we just wanted to walk through the garden. When we arrived at the Palace (around 10am) the queue for the Palace tour was massive. There were almost as many people here as were in St. Peters square in Rome. It was crazy. Luckily the lines for the gardens were not nearly as long - quite small actually.\nThe gardens were what you would expect - immense, immaculate, and impressive. We wandered for hours.\nAfter leaving the Palace we decided to head back into town where we had passed a produce market to pick up some lunch before continuing back to the train station to figure out how to get to Monet’s garden. All a little wiry from the morning walking we decided maybe it would be best to get a Taxi - we expected was only about 10km away.\nAfter waiting (about 30min) for the Taxi drivers to come back to their cars from their lunch breaks, we asked to go to Monet’s garden. The Taxi driver looked at us oddly. Luckily we asked for an estimate of how much it would cost. $150 Euro came the reply.\nShit - something was wrong here. Either we are being ripped off or we have miscalculated. Either way we are not getting in the Taxi. We decided to ask the staff at the train station - who were very helpful and told us it was two trains and then a bus. Based on their directions we used the GPS on our phone and figured out we were about 60km away - the Taxi driver probably wasn\u0026rsquo;t trying to rip us off\u0026hellip; It would probably cost $150 Euro to go that distance in a Taxi in Paris.\nWe abandoned our effort to see Monet’s garden at this point.\nWe decided to catch the train back into Paris and see some more of the sights. We got off at the Louvre station and walked around - only to discover the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays\u0026hellip; another false start.\nFrom the Louvre we walked up to the Champs Elysee, and then onto the Arch De Triumph - which was a fair walk in the late afternoon after having already spent much of the morning walking through Versailles.\nAll now a little wiry, we decided to catch the train back to Saint Paul station which is right near our apartment, grab some groceries and have dinner in tonight.\nSo, after a bottle of white wine and a few Hoegaarden beer the wiriness of the day has moved on to a more subtle comfortable tiredness.\nI expect we will all sleep well tonight.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-04-a-big-day-in-paris/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday has been a very BIG day or us in and around Paris - and we are all knackered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m sitting at the small kitchen table in our apartment - my back to the open window to catch the breeze. Today has been substantially cooler than any day we have encountered on our trip so far - about 28c max with most of the morning and afternoon around 18-25c - which made it actually quite pleasant for the amount of walking we ended up doing. It just wouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been possible on a hotter day.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A big day in Paris"},{"content":"This morning we were up early - but not as early as previous travel days - 6:30am is manageable.\nWe have taxis booked to take us to the TGV train station so we can catch the TGV fast train to Paris - 1st class.\nAix-en-Provence has been great, and the 3 nights we have had here have been really relaxing - even Archie let us sleep in until 8am on on occasion, which was a welcome treat.\nOur Taxi\u0026rsquo;s pull up to our apartment, and we divide into two groups to head for the TGV station - Laura, Archie and I in the BMW, the others in the Mercedes. The Taxi\u0026rsquo;s in France (at least in Aix) are significantly better than those back home in Melbourne.\nThe TVG ride was very pleasant. We were on the top deck which provided us we a slightly better view of the country side than earlier train rides where we had opted for the bottom deck on account of the numerous large and heavy suitcases. This time however, as our seats were pre-booked, we managed to lug the cases up the stairway to the top deck.\nBeing first on the train has advantages in being able to stow your bags with plenty of room. It also has disadvantages - as more people get on the train their bags pile on top of yours. Fortunately Paris is the end of the line - so there was no rush to dig through the pile of baggage to claim our bags and get of - we simply wait for everyone else to move out then simply follow.\nStepping off the train you immediately feel like you’re in Paris - something is just different. Walking out of the station confirms it. The typical Parisian architecture surrounds you. We have arrived in Paris.\nWe head for the Taxi rank and queue with everyone else. The Taxi rank attendant spots Laura pushing Archie in his pram and pulls us out of the line and arranges a special large Taxi for our group. There are definitely advantages to travelling with young children - I\u0026rsquo;m not sure we would get (or expect) this type of service back home in Australia - kid or no kid\u0026hellip; you all line up and wait.\nA brief taxi ride gets us to the reception office of the apartments where we will be staying. We drop our bags there, as the apartment is not quite available and head across the road for some lunch.\nAfter lunch we head back to the reception office and go through the run-down of the apparent and the head off for the brief 500m walk around the corner and up the street to find where we will call home for the next 3 nights.\nWe arrive to a large solid door. Laura enters the code and we enter into a courtyard area. Here we wait to be met by one of the young ladies who manage the apartments. She takes us through a second security door and then up to the 3rd floor and shows us into the apartment.\nThere is a small elevator, which we will use for our bags. The elevator has a 2 person maximum - but I am confident it is almost impossible to exceed limit given the dimensions of the lift are only 1 meter deep by 50cm wide. The bags make it up safely.\nThe apartment is old but refurbished and contains a number of modern amenities - but not air-conditioning and minimum overnight temperatures of around 21-22c\u0026hellip; only a single fan. I am sure we will survive - the windows are all open and there is a nice breeze flowing through.\nThe streets around our apartment are beautiful and typically Parisian (could they be anything else in Paris?). There are cafes and little eateries scattered all about our neighbourhood. We are all looking forward to the next few days.\nThis evening we took a short walk from the apartment out onto the nearby Rue de Rivoli - a very main street which leads up toward the Louvre. We then detoured in toward the Seine river, and across to see Notre Dame.\nWe didn\u0026rsquo;t make it to the Lourve tonight - it was too hot to be out walking too far (34c), and it was already 6:30pm, so time to find some dinner for Archie (and the rest of us).\nWe headed back toward our apartment and settled into La Favourite - a local cafe which had been recommended to us. The meals and drinks were all very nice - including my Whiskey Sour.\nAnyway - we have a biggish day planned for tomorrow. Up early to try and get it all done before it gets too hot - and then back to the apartment and shade (or a local bar) to wait out the heat of the day. No wonder the Parisians all leave Paris at this time of year - its stinking hot.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-03-on-to-paris/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis morning we were up early - but not as early as previous travel days - 6:30am is manageable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have taxis booked to take us to the TGV train station so we can catch the TGV fast train to Paris - 1st class.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAix-en-Provence has been great, and the 3 nights we have had here have been really relaxing - even Archie let us sleep in until 8am on on occasion, which was a welcome treat.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"On to Paris"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been good to be back in one place for a few days. It\u0026rsquo;s still warm, but a lot cooler than where we have been in Italy - which makes getting out during the day a lot more manageable - especially for Archie our 18-month-old.\nAix-en-Provence is a beautiful old city - two main grand carriage ways (streets) with many, many cobble stone lined streets leading off them in all directions. It’s very easy to get tangled - but also easy to get your way back to the main streets if you need to.\nYesterday started with Mum and I heading out to a local patisserie to by breakfast for everyone - fresh croissants (literally straight out of the oven), and a mixed assortment of other nice French pastries. Unfortunately the coffee we bought from the same place wasn\u0026rsquo;t exactly the great coffee experience we were looking for. Appears they may be either great at making pastries or great at making coffee - and few are great at both. We survived and the freshly made pastries were absolutely delicious.\nThe remainder of the day was spent basically exploring the city. We just wondered through the streets seeing what we could see. We hopped on the local street explorer shuttle and took the 45 min audio tour of the city, which helped to give us some of the history of the city as well as some general reference points for us to head back to.\nIn the late afternoon our wanderings lead us back to the Cours Mirabeau - where the markets were just being set up. Walking through the markets I couldn\u0026rsquo;t resist trying some of the freshly baked artisanal madeleines, and ended up buying one of each flavour (almond, citrus, orange, chocolate, and plain) us for afternoon tea - they were delicious, and possibly repeatable tomorrow afternoon.\nIn the late evening the temperature had cooled even further which made it very pleasant for an evening walk before dinner. We settled on what looked to be a nice little place in a side street a few streets back from the main streets. It was quieter and fortunately less smokers were here (actually none which is very rare in France).\nSomething about the French - they love smoking, and they love dogs. Dogs in restaurants. Dog in department stores. Dogs in the streets. Dogs at the airport. Dogs on the trains. Dogs everywhere. It seems that your dog literally has the same access privileges you do - so if you can go, so can the dog. Just makes me wonder how a department store like H\u0026amp;M deal with a dog incident in women’s wear?\nThe restaurant we had selected for dinner was a good mix of traditional French food (which I was after), as well as more ‘recognisable’ foods - which fit the balance of our group well.\nOur small group ordered a wide variety of dishes - Foie gras, roasted Camembert with Jamon and salad, chicken milanese and lasagne. I had the escargot and magret de canard (duck) done medium rare - so it was still a very blushing pink. It was all very delicious.\nFor desert I had a shot of black coffee and the 3 desert tasting plate which consisted of a small slice of lemon meringue tart, a small panacotta with red berry coulis and a small creme brulee - absolutely delicious.\nUnfortunately we timed dinner a little late tonight. After a big day walking Archie didn\u0026rsquo;t last the distance - so Laura took him back to our apartment to put him to bed while we finished up. Dinner might need to be a little earlier tomorrow night.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-08-02-in-and-around-aix-en-provence/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s been good to be back in one place for a few days. It\u0026rsquo;s still warm, but a lot cooler than where we have been in Italy - which makes getting out during the day a lot more manageable - especially for Archie our 18-month-old.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAix-en-Provence is a beautiful old city - two main grand carriage ways (streets) with many, many cobble stone lined streets leading off them in all directions. It’s very easy to get tangled - but also easy to get your way back to the main streets if you need to.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"In and around Aix-en-Provence"},{"content":"Back in Rome We arrived back into Rome on Wednesday evening (29th July) in reasonable time after having left San Lupo in the early afternoon - immediately after the main mass and precession of the statue of San Lupo through the streets.\nIt was good to have made it back to San Lupo again, although not a lot looks to have changed since our last visit in 2008 - but its beautiful during the festival with all the lights lining the streets at night.\nThe drive from San Lupo back to Rome was fairly straightforward and un-eventful - exactly how I like my drives in Italy to be. The auto strade makes for fairly good driving - especially on the tolled sections. It’s always the last 25-30min of navigation into your final destination that becomes stressful.\nOnce we got back to Rome, we unpacked and checked into our hotel. We decided it was best to return the rental cars that night instead of hanging onto them for the night and risking damage in the car park - or worse a 2.5hr wait to return the car like it took to pick it up.\nThe rental car return was as you would expect, and as we had hoped - simple and straightforward - and in under 20min we had returned both cars and were headed for the Fumancino taxi rank. We are now well acquainted with where the correct taxi rank is after our late and frustrating entry into Rome about a week and a bit ago.\nAfter a brief walk we find the taxi rank with 2 taxi\u0026rsquo;s sitting waiting for us - what could be better? Well it could be better if one of the taxi drivers was actually interested in doing their job - but rather we find one taxi with 3 young people in it, 2 young ladies in the front and a young gentlemen in the back. The other taxi was empty.\nApparently the two young (and somewhat attractive) ladies in the front of the occupied taxi had gained the intrigue of the young male driver - and none of them were interested in us.\nSo we wait\u0026hellip; We lean against the empty taxi making it very obvious that we would like to go somewhere\u0026hellip; still nothing. Eventually a third taxi turns up with an older gentlemen who is willing to help us - however when he see\u0026rsquo;s two other taxi\u0026rsquo;s he decides to enquire why we didn\u0026rsquo;t get one of them. The problem became quickly obvious to him. A few rushed words of Italian and one of the girls jumps out of the front of her taxi and asks where we want to go.\nThe young guy in the back seat jumps out and we pile into the girls taxi and we are off - one of the young ladies at the wheel and her friend in the front passenger seat - apparently coming along for the ride.\nThe banter in the front seats was endless - and obviously very interesting based on the facial expressions of the friend. Her attention was fixated on what the driver had to say - and thanks to some interpretation from Albert (Laura\u0026rsquo;s dad) we were able to follow the general gist of the conversation.\nWell\u0026hellip; apparently the driver had just broken up with her boyfriend Francesco\u0026hellip; and it went on\u0026hellip; and on\u0026hellip; and on\u0026hellip;\nWe eventually got to the hotel and 20 Euro later we parted ways with the young ladies and left them to their less than interesting conversation about Francesco.\nThe rest of the evening was fairly laid back - and after dinner we all turned in for an early night as we wanted to check out of the hotel as early as possible to maximise our time in Rome in the morning.\nWhirlwind tour of Rome After an early breakfast the next morning we met our arranged shuttle van that was taking us, and our many bags, into Rome Termini train station. It was a long drive into Rome in the traffic, but we eventually made it. As it was still early we decided to check our bags in at the train station baggage holding area and head out for some brief sight seeing.\nGiven the limited time we had, we thought our whirlwind tour should hit some of the major attritions - St. Peters Basilica and the Spanish Steps - conveniently both located on train line \u0026lsquo;A\u0026rsquo;.\nWe got out to St. Peters Basilica in no time at all - and the air-conditioning in the Metro trains was a nice escape from the heat and humidity of the Roman streets.\nWalking up and into St. Peter\u0026rsquo;s Basilica was quite a sight. It was only us, and 10,000 other people - quite tranquil really\u0026hellip;\nThe line to get into the basilica wound its way right around the main piazza. We didn\u0026rsquo;t join the queue and were satisfied to observe from the outside and snap a few pics.\nWe then started to head back to the train and popped out at the Spanish Steps for a few pics before heading back to Rome Termini to pick up our bags and catch our train onto Genoa.\nTrain to Genoa The train trip was great - although we managed to score the carriage with only partially working air conditioning - still it was better than none at all.\nThe train journey was relaxing. Put the mind in neutral for a while and enjoy the scenery passing by. A welcome change to being behind the steering wheel - and to be able to walk up to the bar carriage and have a few quite beers made it even better.\nThe train line follows the west coast of Italy - so there were a lot of brilliant views of the Mediterranean and the towns and cities along the way.\nWe arrived into Genoa in the early evening, and checked into our hotel, which was just a short walk across the piazza from the station. On this trip, Genoa is simply a stop over for us - so after a quick dinner (which was absolutely beautiful) we all headed off to bed to get up at 4:30am to catch our next train at 6am.\nThe early train to Aix-en-Provence Friday morning we were all up early and met down stairs at 5:15am packed and ready to leave. We had arranged to check out the night before so just needed to drop our door keys with reception and leave. A short walk across the piazza got us back to the train station.\nToday we had three trains to catch. The first was a regional train from Genoa (Italy) to Ventimiglia (Italy). The second was also a regional train from Ventimiglia (Italy) to Nice (France). The last was a fast TGV from Nice to our final destination Aix-en-Provence (France).\nThe challenges we had ahead were related to management of our baggage on and off the trains. Our bags at this point are quite heavy, and numerous. Getting on the first train was reasonably straight forward given the early hour - but as our journey moved on, more and more people joined the train making it more complicated to manage the placement of the bags.\nThe regional trains don\u0026rsquo;t stop for long at each station either - so we needed to be prepared - with out bags - ahead of time so we could quickly get everyone (and their bags) off before the train needed to move on.\nThe first stop was to be the most challenging with only 11 min to change trains - including locating the next train, its platform, and lugging all our bags down and back up the platform steps. Luckily we arrived in about 5 min ahead of schedule that gave us some more time. In the end, the change over was quite straightforward and we had plenty of time.\nThe next two legs of the journey were also straightforward - however we did notice an increased level of chaos at the French train stations as opposed to the Italian stations. Both Nice and the TGV station in Aix-en-Provence were packed and totally chaotic.\nAfter arriving into the TGV station in Aix-en-Provence (about 20km out of the main city), we started looking for a taxi. Simply you would think - and in reality it was - unless you had two 30kg bags in tow plus a 10kg backpack, 4 other travellers and your 18-month-old son. Apparently we had arrived into platform 1. Taxis were at platform 3. This meant lugging bags up two flights of stairs onto the mezzanine level that allowed you to walk over the train line to platform 3. Most of the stations lifts were out of order. We found one that got us half way up, and reduced the stair climb by 50% - but we had to carry the bags the rest of the way.\nThe taxi was very easy - we needed two and in about 20min we arrived safely into Aix-en-Provence and at our accommodation - all very tired after the long day, and many stairs we had to carry bags up and down.\nWe did notice the much more comfortable temperature in Aix-en-Provence. Closer to 28c, and much cooler in the later evening when we ventured out for a walk up the nearby Cours Mir Abeau - a long and grand street which has night markets, cafes and restaurants all the way up. It made for a very nice and relaxed evening walk.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-30-rome-to-aix-en-provence-via-genoa-by-train/","summary":"\u003ch2 id=\"back-in-rome\"\u003eBack in Rome\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe arrived back into Rome on Wednesday evening (29th July) in reasonable time after having left San Lupo in the early afternoon - immediately after the main mass and precession of the statue of San Lupo through the streets.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was good to have made it back to San Lupo again, although not a lot looks to have changed since our last visit in 2008 - but its beautiful during the festival with all the lights lining the streets at night.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rome to Aix-en-Provence via Genoa (by train)"},{"content":"Saturday we packed up and checked out of the villa. It was sad to leave as its been an absolutely great time and very relaxing, but everything must come to an end and we must move on to our next destination - Alberobello.\nAlberobello is in the south east of Italy, not far from Bari - but it\u0026rsquo;s roughly 750km from where we currently are in Siena, which will make for a long days driving. Furthermore we need to swing by Rome airport to pickup Maddie (Laura\u0026rsquo;s sister) who will be joining the travelling group for a few weeks.\nAlso while we are at Rome airport we will continue to try and track down our lost baggage - one small backpack and Archie’s pram. Franco - our host at the villa - was fantastic in assisting us dealing with the lost baggage people at Rome airport via phone - although even he could only do so much. In the end we had settled for the baggage (once it was finally located) to be sent to Rome airport where we would collect it.\nWe jumped into the cars and headed south toward Rome - a 2.5hr drive. We arrived with plenty of time to meet Maddie\u0026rsquo;s plane - so while the others waited for its arrival, Laura and I headed off to lost baggage.\nCollecting lost baggage requires you to first pass through security - which luckily we had navigated the week prior and were now well prepared for what was ahead. We made it through security quickly and headed for the lost baggage desk - essentially a small makeshift trestle table in the back corner of the arrivals and baggage collection area of the airport.\nIt appears lost luggage at Rome airport is common - 3 of our group alone lost luggage. While Laura waited in line to be served (by the one person manning the desk), I decided to do a \u0026lsquo;walk-through\u0026rsquo; of the mountains of luggage that were setup in makeshift racks and piles surrounding the desk. There would literally be enough \u0026rsquo;lost luggage\u0026rsquo; here to fill an entire plane.\nSomehow I managed to very quickly stumble across our backpack. Done. After a quick inspection to verify it was ours, the pack was securely on my back and I was off again in search for the pram. Given our experiences at Rome airport to date, I wasn\u0026rsquo;t overly surprised about the lack of security around the lost luggage. Its surprising really that anything is every returned to its rightful owners under this system (and I hesitate to call it a system).\nAfter some good searching I still could not locate the pram - although there was a mountain of other \u0026rsquo;lost or unclaimed\u0026rsquo; prams. For a brief moment, I pondered - should I just grab one and get out of here? I thought better of it. I would hate to be responsible for another family not being able to find their pram - although I really doubt anyone would have stopped me if I had decided to go through with it.\nHeading back to Laura (who was still in the queue), I diverted to the bathrooms. It was here I quickly realised what must have been the ultimate downfall of the great Roman empire - water, marble floors and thongs (or sandals back in the day) DO NOT MIX. The simple act of placing a thong bearing foot onto a small puddle of water on highly polished marble tile in the men’s bathrooms resulted in a torrent of blood streaming from my shin as it slammed into the underneath of the sinks.\nBeing as eco-friendly as they are, Rome airport do not have paper hand towels in the bathrooms, only hand dryers. This left me with a scrap of napkin I was fortunate enough to have left in my pocket to mop up the blood. The napkin was soon soaked, so I headed back to Laura to see if she had something to assist. Another scrap of napkin - however this time it helped to reduce the flow of blood to a trickle\u0026hellip; a trickle that in the heat continued for the next hour until I returned to the car - shin still aching.\nMaddie\u0026rsquo;s plane arrived in late, which set our already tight schedule and long drive to Alberobello back further. We eventually hit the road and onto the auto strade - only 5.5hrs to go.\nBefore we set out we agreed to stop along the way to stretch our legs and for a toilet break - however as we got further and further into the drive I suspect we all just wanted to be there and the thought of stopping was not on anyone’s minds. Eventually we did stop about an hour out of Alberobello - our bladders could not take it any longer and the two drivers (Albert and I) really needed to get out from behind the wheel for a stretch and refresh. Our pit stop lasted about 30min, and we were back on the road again. Our ETA had now pushed out form 8:30pm to just after 9pm… we were going to be arriving in the dark once again. This meant handing full control of navigation over to our TomTom - who at this point we had nicknamed Slip\u0026rsquo;n Jimmy (a Better Call Saul reference) - because of all the dodgy routes he had taken us on to this point.\nLaura decided to call ahead and let the accommodation know we would be arriving late - they were fine with this but told us to call them as we arrived into town as their was a festival on and half of the roads were closed off - this was really going to put Slip\u0026rsquo;n Jimmy (and the rest of us) to the test.\nWe were guided into town by the TomTom (Slip\u0026rsquo;n Jimmy), and to its credit we got a fair way in - but the closed roads were the end of us. It was a little stressful to say the least - in the dark, in a strange town, with no idea of where we were meant to be. Turn left, turn right, or continue on? Did it matter?\nWe eventually found ourselves parked in front of the main church in town - fortunately out of the way enough to allow all the other traffic to move through without us interrupting them. We called the accommodation again and they walked up to meet us and guided us in.\nWe eventually made it to our accommodation - some of the UNESCO heritage listed Trulli\u0026rsquo;s which Alberobello and the region are well known for.\nAfter a long and somewhat stressful drive, we turned in for the night - it was now almost 11pm.\nThe next morning we all regrouped and headed down to the main town piazza to a restaurant where our breakfast had been arranged. In the light of day the town, and the Trulli houses were amazing - unlike anything we had seen before.\nThe remainder of the day was spent exploring Alberobello, the various districts of Trullis, the Trulli church, and the largest Trulli in town.\nThat night the town filled up again and the roads closed - the festival that had stopped us driving into town the night before was still running. We sat on the edge of the main piazza, enjoyed dinner and watched the people flow through.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-25-alberobello/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSaturday we packed up and checked out of the villa. It was sad to leave as its been an absolutely great time and very relaxing, but everything must come to an end and we must move on to our next destination - Alberobello.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlberobello is in the south east of Italy, not far from Bari - but it\u0026rsquo;s roughly 750km from where we currently are in Siena, which will make for a long days driving. Furthermore we need to swing by Rome airport to pickup Maddie (Laura\u0026rsquo;s sister) who will be joining the travelling group for a few weeks.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Alberobello"},{"content":"On Friday (24th July) we set out early and took a road trip to San Gimignano - about an hour or so away from where we were staying at the villa.\nSan Gimignano is a medieval hill top fortified city and is renowned for its many towers - everywhere you look there are more.\nWhile San Gimignano is one of the smaller towns we have visited, it is by far one of the more beautiful. The medieval architecture combined with towers in every direction makes for post-card photos everywhere you look.\nAs you walk through the main city gates, the narrow cobble stone roads lead you up toward the main Piazza. This initial street is lined with shops (for the tourists).\nWe stopped in a nice little cafe to grab a snack and a coffee before heading into the main piazza. The cafe was full to the brim with beautiful biscotti and chocolates - so we had to sample a few - my favourite was a biscotti covered in pine nuts with a moist almond meal centre.\nContinuing our wandering through the main shopping street I recognised a deli that I visited last time I was here (in 2008). Last time I was here I drooled over the look, smell and taste of the local wild boar salami - however, for whatever reason, didn\u0026rsquo;t buy any\u0026hellip;\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t make that mistake twice, and sampled all of the varieties of salami that were on offer before making my purchase of some Salami Cinghiale (wild boar).\nAfter a good wandering through the various shops in San Gimignano, we eventually made it up to the main piazza. From there we continued on walking to the highest point in the city and up onto some of the ancient walls for a spectacular view of both the city and the countryside that surrounds it.\nYou definitely get a sense for why cites were built on top of the hills in this part of Italy - you can see for miles around - and San Gimignano with its fortifications and many towers would have been well placed to defend itself from any foe.\nAfter some more wandering around the ancient city, we started to head back for the car - but not without stopping off at \u0026rsquo;the best gelato\u0026rsquo; place in the world. Funnily enough there was another gelato store right across the street that was proclaiming the same thing.\nThe gelato was nice all the same - lemon and pistachio.\nOnce we made it back to the cars, our next stop was Siena train station. Today was Rod and Caz\u0026rsquo;s last day with us before heading back home - and they had to catch their train from Siena.\na short trip from San Gimignano got us into Siena in no time and had Rod and Caz on the train as scheduled.\nWe headed back home to the villa to spend the rest of the afternoon in the pool - until an afternoon thunderstorm rolled in and bought the rain with it. We didn\u0026rsquo;t complain though as it also bought the temperature down from about 38c to a much more bearable 25c.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-23-san-gimignano/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOn Friday (24th July) we set out early and took a road trip to San Gimignano - about an hour or so away from where we were staying at the villa.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSan Gimignano is a medieval hill top fortified city and is renowned for its many towers - everywhere you look there are more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile San Gimignano is one of the smaller towns we have visited, it is by far one of the more beautiful. The medieval architecture combined with towers in every direction makes for post-card photos everywhere you look.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"San Gimignano"},{"content":"So\u0026hellip; We have been without Internet access for a few days, and the blog posts have been limited as a result of this. I have a lot to catch up on and as Internet access becomes available - and I have time - new blog posts will begin to show up.\nToday (Thursday 23rd July) was a bit of a lay-day - we hung out at the villa and swam to keep cool. After lunch (and siesta) we decided to check out a local winery, Tenuta di Trecciano, which is about 5km down the road for some tastings.\nThe wine on offer was produced from grape varieties and in the styles typical of the local Tuscan region. We tried 1 white, 4 reds and a desert wine - all rather nice - and we ended up purchasing 4 of their bottles, 1 white and 3 of the red. Interestingly we were encouraged to drink the desert wine by dunking a piece of almond biscotti into it - it made for quite a delicious combination.\nThe owner took us for a walk through their facility so we could see the wine being bottled.\nAfter finishing up our tastings we continued on to a local ceramics factory we had found online. It took a bit of finding, but after 3 laps around the block we made it. Most of their ceramic work appeared to be targeted at the bulk commercial market - however they did sell certain pieces direct to the public from their factory.\nThe owner showed us upstairs to his show room - a small, hot, room full of nicely decorated ceramic plates, cups, bowls, verses, and platters. We all found a few pieces we liked and made our purchases before heading back home.\nOnce back home we all decided to jump in the pool again to cool off ahead of the Pizza night we had arranged with the owner. The owner and his staff were starting to make preparations - fetching wood for the Pizza oven, making the dough and preparing the ingredients for the toppings.\nWatching the Pizza oven in operation was interesting - and extremely hot. The chef worked the oven like a master and put together some of the best pizza we have eaten - delicate thin crust, and extremely tasty toppings.\nAs with the night of the feast a few nights before, we started with a selection of antipasti. This was then followed by a procession of pizzas - one after the other - the continued to come until we could eat no more. We did finish the night with a Nutella pizza and some Limoncello however.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-22-vino-e-pizza/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo\u0026hellip; We have been without Internet access for a few days, and the blog posts have been limited as a result of this. I have a lot to catch up on and as Internet access becomes available - and I have time - new blog posts will begin to show up.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday (Thursday 23rd July) was a bit of a lay-day - we hung out at the villa and swam to keep cool. After lunch (and siesta) we decided to check out a local winery, \u003ca href=\"http://www.trecciano.it/it/13/home.aspx\"\u003eTenuta di Trecciano\u003c/a\u003e, which is about 5km down the road for some tastings.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Vino e Pizza"},{"content":"Today we jumped in the cars and ventured out to Assisi for a day trip - roughly 120km from where we are staying.\nAssisi is the home of many Saints, but probably most prominent was Saint Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order and was named as one of the two patron Saints of Italy (along with Saint Catherine of Siena).\nWe decided to head out early to try and avoid as much of the heat of the day as we could. The drive to Assisi was reasonably straightforward - at least compared to some of our recent outings and the routes selected by our TomTom.\nThere was one oddity to the TomTom\u0026rsquo;s route selection however. After getting us all the way to the outskirts of Assisi via major roads, the TomTom decided it was time to mix things up a little and took us up one of its goat tracks. We were fooled by this one however as at first it looked like a reasonable road, but quickly narrowed to just wider than the 9 seater with no areas to turn around\u0026hellip; so we were committed. Thankfully we didn\u0026rsquo;t meet any traffic coming in the other direction.\nThe goat track wound us slowly around and up the side of the hill leading to Assisi. We eventually popped out on the side of the main road where we more comfortably continued heading to the top of the hill found a carpark in Piazza Matteotti.\nWe left the cars and started walking down the hill through the beautiful (but very hot) streets of Assisi. We wandered our way down to the bottom of the hill and ended up at the Basilica of San Francesco d\u0026rsquo;Assisi.\nAfter touring the Basilica we headed further down the hilly streets of Assisi and found a nice place for lunch - and to escape the head of the day for a while. After lunch we walked through some of the shops at the bottom of the hill (including one that was selling fresh truffles) and grabbed a gelato to help cool off before catching the bus back to the top of the hill and to our cars.\nThe drive home was fairly uneventful - thankfully and the TomTom got us home on main roads for a change.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-21-a-day-trip-to-assisi/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we jumped in the cars and ventured out to Assisi for a day trip - roughly 120km from where we are staying.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAssisi is the home of many Saints, but probably most prominent was Saint Francis, the founder of the Franciscan order and was named as one of the two patron Saints of Italy (along with Saint Catherine of Siena).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe decided to head out early to try and avoid as much of the heat of the day as we could. The drive to Assisi was reasonably straightforward - at least compared to some of our recent outings and the routes selected by our TomTom.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A day trip to Assisi"},{"content":"We arranged with Franco, the owner of the villa, to prepare us a traditional Tuscan feast (an option available to anyone staying at the villa) on Tuesday evening.\nWe all wanted to celebrate arriving in Tuscany and to mark the start of our holiday, but Tuesday was also Mum\u0026rsquo;s birthday - and what better excuse to kick back, relax and enjoy some awesome Tuscan food and wine together.\nIn the early afternoon the chefs and other staff arrived to start preparing the evening meal. The long table on the lawn was set, along with a large accompanying table which would hold all the food for the evening meal.\nAs the afternoon turned into early evening, we found ourselves heading out onto the lawn to enjoy a few beers in the cooler evening air - waiting in anticipation for the meal to commence.\nBefore dinner we come together for the obligatory group photo, inclusive of our custom made holiday t-shirts - \u0026ldquo;Pruscino \u0026amp; Pals - Italian vacanza 2015\u0026rdquo;.\nThe feast commenced with an opening toast of Prosseco and a delightful selection of antipasti.\nWe all sat down and the feast commenced. Following the antipasti dishes were two types of pasta. The first pasta dish was a pappardelle bussola, amd was absolutely amazing, and easily the best pasta dish I have ever eaten. The flavours were amazing, with (what I believe to be) a local mushroom and wild boar ragu.\nFollowing the pasta dishes we had cooked meats, including pork, chicken, sausage as well as roast potatoes, garlic and mixed salads. Needless to say the vino flowed throughout the entire meal.\nDesert followed which included both amoretti cake and gelato.\nSoon after dinner, given it was Mum\u0026rsquo;s birthday, we bought out some locally made biscotti, panforte and coffee as well as icy cold Limoncello.\nWe invited Franco (the owner) and his cooking team down to join us for a few drinks and thanked them for the wonderful feast. Franco bought out some grappa (grappa di pinot), which was passed around for all to enjoy.\nNeedless to say the evening was extremely enjoyable and went on long into the night - at least until the grappa and vino ran out.\nI would really recommend to anyone staying at the Podere Incrociati villa to take-up the option of having the Tuscan feast cooked for them - it has been a real highlight.\nOn Thursday night we have arranged to have a pizza night - so the chefs will be back to cook up a storm on the wood fired pizza oven.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-21-a-tuscan-feast/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe arranged with Franco, the owner of the villa, to prepare us a traditional Tuscan feast (an option available to anyone staying at the villa) on Tuesday evening.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe all wanted to celebrate arriving in Tuscany and to mark the start of our holiday, but Tuesday was also Mum\u0026rsquo;s birthday - and what better excuse to kick back, relax and enjoy some awesome Tuscan food and wine together.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the early afternoon the chefs and other staff arrived to start preparing the evening meal. The long table on the lawn was set, along with a large accompanying table which would hold all the food for the evening meal.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A Tuscan Feast"},{"content":"Today we decided to venture out to nearby Siena for the evening - its too hot (38-40c) to be out and about with the kids during the heat of the day, and for us the time is much better spent cooling off and relaxing by the pool.\nFrom our villa, Siena is roughly a 20km drive - initially through scenic hills which make for some exciting driving with blind hair-pin corners, narrow stone wall lined roads and stretches of tree lined avenues. Winding down from the hills takes us through a number of small townships and into a valley with paddocks full of sunflowers and others with freshly cut hay.\nDriving into Siena was fairly straightforward and we followed our instincts and headed toward the train station and shopping centre to find car parking. Once in Siena the driving became a little more hectic but still manageable.\nAfter missing the turn for the shopping centre car park there was a decision to be made - pull a u-turn right here right now or keep going and find a roundabout. We decided to find a roundabout - considering we were travelling in convoy with a 9-seater van. Unfortunately however for some other travellers, they did not make the same decision. As we rounded the round-about we saw their car pull a u-turn right in front of another oncoming car. The outcome was inevitable - and fortunately for us we were far enough away to avoid any involvement.\nEntering the underground car park was a breeze in our small Fiat 500L, but a little more technical for those in the larger 9 seater van - we made it in however without a hitch.\nFrom the shopping centre we headed up (and up, and up, and up) the length of escalators and travelators that take you up to the walled city of Siena.\nWe headed in toward the centre of the city to find the Piazza del Campo. We found a nice restaurant on the edge of the Piazza and settled in for a refreshing few glasses of wine and a lovely dinner. By this time the heat of the day had passed and a lovely light breeze was moving through the Piazza - making for a wonderfully enjoyable evening.\nAfter dinner we continued to explore the streets of Siena. The cooler air of the evening made this much more enjoyable, and the streets looked lovely in the light of dusk.\nWe wandered up to the Siena Cathedral (the Duomo), a spectacular black and white marble cathedral right in the middle of Siena. Unfortunately it was closed at night so we couldn\u0026rsquo;t go inside, but the architecture of the building from the outside was exceptional.\nBy this time the kids were ready for home, so we walked back through Siena and headed for the shopping centre that would lead us back to the card.\nHeading home from Siena was a challenge to say the least. Navigating in near pitch darkness for 20km in the Tuscan countryside means you need total confidence in your TomTom - something we didn\u0026rsquo;t have.\nWe started out well and the road seemed familiar, although only having travelled it once it was difficult to tell - although when the lines on the road disappeared and the TomTom started recommending washed out goat tracks with a 45 degree incline as \u0026rsquo;the best route\u0026rsquo; we started to have our concerns.\nTrusting to our own instincts we decided against the recommendations of the TomTom and doubled back to a main road. From here we were able to find our way back to more familiar areas before we resumed use of the not-so-trusted TomTom. While I am sure the TomTom would have got us to where we needed to go, I think it failed to recognise the Fiat 500L wasn\u0026rsquo;t equipped with a 4x4 pack.\nNow travelling confidently through familiar areas we were well on the way to home - then TomTom recommended a right hand turn. Moments after taking the turn we recalled we had avoided this turn on a previous occasion in preference for a better road - however in the pitch dark of night this decision was not so simple to make. We travelled along the road, and while rough we eventually guessed where it would lead us to and were confident we were still on the right track (and it was a track).\nEventually we re-joined the main road again and continued confidently on - until we rounded a hairpin corner and a cat darted across the road and\u0026hellip; thud\u0026hellip; went under the car before any of us realised what had happened. We continued on and eventually made it safely home - over an hour after we had left Siena\u0026hellip;\nNeedless to say a few beers were required to settle the stress levels from the drive home. We all decided that maybe we should impose the \u0026lsquo;Cinderella Policy\u0026rsquo; and make sure we are home before dark next time - although where would the fun be in that\u0026hellip;\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-20-an-evening-in-siena/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we decided to venture out to nearby Siena for the evening - its too hot (38-40c) to be out and about with the kids during the heat of the day, and for us the time is much better spent cooling off and relaxing by the pool.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom our villa, Siena is roughly a 20km drive - initially through scenic hills which make for some exciting driving with blind hair-pin corners, narrow stone wall lined roads and stretches of tree lined avenues. Winding down from the hills takes us through a number of small townships and into a valley with paddocks full of sunflowers and others with freshly cut hay.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"An evening in Siena"},{"content":"So after a long few days of travel, we arrived yesterday evening at what will become our home for the next week - villa Podere Incronciati - a traditional Tuscan villa built in 1840 about 20km outside of Siena.\nWe were welcomed by the owner and offered complimentary wine, cheese, olives, fruit and other nibbles - which was much appreciated after the drive from Rome.\nAfter settling on rooms, we unpacked before hitting the pool to cool down and relax for a bit - which was great in the 38c heat.\nLater in the evening we all sat down at a long table outside on the lawn as a group and enjoyed dinner and a few drinks, with a light cooling breeze coming across the field.\nWe have only been here for a day so far, but we are already totally relaxed - mission accomplished.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-19-villa-podere-incrociati/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo after a long few days of travel, we arrived yesterday evening at what will become our home for the next week - villa \u003ca href=\"http://www.podereincrociati.it\"\u003ePodere Incronciati\u003c/a\u003e - a traditional Tuscan villa built in 1840 about 20km outside of Siena.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe were welcomed by the owner and offered complimentary wine, cheese, olives, fruit and other nibbles - which was much appreciated after the drive from Rome.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter settling on rooms, we unpacked before hitting the pool to cool down and relax for a bit - which was great in the 38c heat.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Villa Podere Incrociati"},{"content":"So\u0026hellip; The last few day have been hectic and somewhat full-on to say the least.\nI was wanting to sit down at the end of each day, with a beer or a glass of wine, and take some time out to update the blog - however given the events of the past few days, this was not possible.\nI now find myself sitting in a villa in Tuscany on morning one, a cup of tea and a piece of toast at my side, looking out across an open field towards some bushland, writing about the events leading to this point.\nPrepare for Departure Early Wednesday evening we find ourselves arriving at Melbourne Airport to catch our flight from Melbourne to Dubai later that night.\nAt this point spirits are high, although there is some nervousness amongst the traveling group - especially those of us who are travelling with little ones for the first time - however we are well ahead of schedule so nothing can stop us now\u0026hellip; Well except maybe a 1.5 hour wait to check in!!\nGranted we are not \u0026lsquo;regular\u0026rsquo; international travellers, but in the occasional adventures we have never encountered a check-in queue like this one before.\nRapidly we go from being \u0026lsquo;comfortably on-time\u0026rsquo; to dancing ridiculously close to the line that results in missing a flight. Needless to say the significantly longer than expected check-in process upped the anxiety levels amongst the travelling group - and we still had to clear customs and get to the gate.\nLuckily things flowed somewhat more \u0026lsquo;smoothly\u0026rsquo; from that point. We got to the gate with (some) time to spare (they had started calling for us) and promptly took our seats.\nThe next 14hrs hours of flight is made up of brief naps, resettling our little ones - who were incredibly good throughout the flight - and putting the Wiggles on high repetition on the in-flight entertainment system when the little ones became unsettled.\nNeedless to say we all arrived safely in Dubai just slightly ahead of schedule.\nHaving come from the \u0026lsquo;Antarctic vortex\u0026rsquo; that saw Melbourne temperatures average around 12c, Dubai was defiantly a contrast with its 38c heat.\nDubai Arriving in at Dubai airport, we disembarked the plane and made our way to the arrivals hall - it was here we realised we had forgotten Tiger - Archie\u0026rsquo;s little teddy bear. We headed back to the plane where the staff were very helpful and assisted us in reuniting Archie with his little Tiger teddy.\nThis brief interlude had allowed the rest of the passengers to clear customs - meaning a very quick passage through customs ourselves.\nA brief (air-conditioned) drive from the airport takes us to our hotel where we settled, had some breakfast and set out to explore the local area. We hired a driver from the hotel who helped to show us around more of Dubai. This was great until our (very tired) son decided he wanted to run to find mum - at which point he tripped on his own feet and face planted into the stone pavers.\nA blood nose and a bloody mouth and a lot of tears meant this was the end of our excursions for the afternoon. We were initially fearful Archie may have broken his front teeth - the blood made it very difficult to see what ws actually going on. By the time we arrived back at our hotel, the little guy was laughing and eating again - so we were confident that his teeth were ok.\nThe swimming pool was the next destination - and a welcome relief from the heat of the Dubai streets.\nWe all settled in for an early night as we were flying out early in the morning.\nDubai to Rome via London Dubai is where our travelling group split up. Most of our family were travelling with Emerites and were able to fly direct from Dubai to Rome. Unfortunately our ticket required us to transit via London - which was going to make for a very long day.\nThe flight to London was fairly uneventful, and again Archie was amazing - we were now getting comments from nearby passengers about how good he had been.\nLondon\u0026rsquo;s Heathrow airport was busy to say the least - and a place I would like to avoid in future with an 18 month old (unfortunately we will be back there before the trip is complete).\n4 hours of doing nothing in Heathrow airport is truly about as exciting as it sounds. It makes the long haul plane ride look great in comparison.\n10 minutes before our boarding gate was to be announced all of the airport departure screens went out. This made for a more lively time - with everyone suddenly rushing the information desks in panic trying to find out what departure gate they needed to get to. We joined in the chaos and eventually found out what our next move was to be - Gate B32.\nSo off we went, and made it to the gate well ahead of time - given the flight was delayed\u0026hellip; more waiting.\nWe eventually boarded our flight to Rome - with Archie sound asleep on my shoulder\u0026hellip; this is where tired little ones in an airport has it advantages - straight to the front of the line and first to board.\nWhen in Rome - Wait Archie slept the whole flight to Rome, and Laura had a few cat-naps. We arrived into Rome after 11pm. Our plane pulled up to the air bridge and there we waited a further 30min, as the tug had misaligned the plane with the aero-bridge and no one was able to get off - and the tug had to be recalled to realign the plan.\nAfter getting off the plane we cleared passport control easily and headed for the baggage area. Here we waited further. We collected most of our bags, but after further waiting, we soon realised we were not getting all of them. Our pram was missing, and so was a small backpack. Both were more comfort items rather than essential - but their loss was painful none the less. It was well after midnight by this time.\nWe headed for the lost baggage desk - only to find out that they could not help us and that we needed to speak directly with the airline desk\u0026hellip; unfortunate no-one was able to tell us where that was.\nSo at 12:30am we find ourselves walking through the various terminals of Rome international airport in search of either someone who could help, or the airlines desk. We found neither - and after a very long day of travel and not much sleep we decided to just head for the hotel.\nOur hotel was only a short drive from the airport - it should be simple to walk out the front of the airport and hail a cab - at least you would think\u0026hellip; After a further 45min of walking between the various cab ranks, we eventually found where we were meant to be - unfortunately there were no cabs around.\nAt this point it seemed nothing was going our way - including a call to the hotel for assistance. Apparently there is a \u0026rsquo;local law\u0026rsquo; that prohibits the hotel from calling some very tired travellers with an 18 month old in tow, a cab at 1am.\nEventually, after some more waiting, a cab did appear and we made it to the hotel. Check-in was simple but at 2am - to discover that we didn\u0026rsquo;t have a cot in the room (as requested in our booking) was pretty much the not-so-perfect end to a not-so-perfect day.\nGrumpy, hot and tired we started to work on settling in for the evening to get some sleep. We stripped Archie off to get him ready to settle in for sleep - turning our back for a minute we hear a barely audible \u0026rsquo;thud\u0026rsquo; - turning back around we see Archie has dropped a big poo in the middle of the floor. We looked at each other and all we could do was laugh. In one small action, our 18 month old had littery summed up our day - SHIT.\nWe cleaned up both Archie and the floor and headed to bed. 4 hours later we were re-united with our travelling group over breakfast.\nVenturing out of the hotel a brave few of us headed back to the airport to try and track down our lost baggage. We received an email from the airline overnight indicating the pram had made it to London but thats where it stayed. Our backpack was still in Dubai.\nTracking down the airline lost baggage desk was no easier in the light of day than it was at midnight. We eventually found it and joined the queue at the makeshift trestle table in the back of the arrivals hall.\nWe decided to split up and start multi-tasking. Laura stayed at the lost property desk while I headed for the rental car office.\nI could dedicate a whole blog post to the experience of renting a car at Rome airport. Not an experience I would like to repeat and would recommend against for anyone else travelling to Rome. It can only be described as pure chaos and I will keep it breif.\nGetting to the car rental office at around 10:30am, I print a ticket which give me my place in the queue\u0026hellip; Number 64 - they were currently serving 32. Not long to wait\u0026hellip; like buggery!\nI actually struggle to understand how it would even be possible to make the process of renting a car to take so long. People may not believe me if I say I did not leave the rental car office with key in hand until 1pm. It was truly insanity - and I really get the feeling this is \u0026rsquo;normal\u0026rsquo;.\nThe Road to Tuscany Arriving back to the hotel with our rental car, we met up with the rest of our family group and headed off toward Siena.\nDriving in Italy for the first time was interesting to say the least - but we adapted pretty quickly, and the drive was actually reasonably straight forward down the auto strata.\nWe made it into Siena and picked up Mum from the train station. She piled into the other car (a 9 seater mini-van) and we headed out of Siena toward the Villa near Sovicille.\nPulling up at the Villa was exciting - and very picturesque - it was everything we had imagined it would be (pictures coming).\nWe unpacked and settled in for the evening - a brief swim helped relieve the heat of the afternoon. We dinned outside on a big long table with the family.\nLet the holiday begin! Compared to the events of the past few days, the relaxing tranquility of the villa and surrounds is very enjoyable.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-19-the-family-vacation-lets-begin/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo\u0026hellip; The last few day have been hectic and somewhat full-on to say the least.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was wanting to sit down at the end of each day, with a beer or a glass of wine, and take some time out to update the blog - however given the events of the past few days, this was not possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI now find myself sitting in a villa in Tuscany on morning one, a cup of tea and a piece of toast at my side, looking out across an open field towards some bushland, writing about the events leading to this point.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Family Vacation - Let's Begin"},{"content":"After almost 18 months of planning, we are now quickly approaching our departure date. Our bags are packed (well mostly), and we are ready to go.\nIn the past Laura and I have either travelled solo or more typically together as a couple - not this time however\u0026hellip;\nSince we last had the opportunity to travel abroad, a few things have changed\u0026hellip; mainly the arrival of our son (now 18 months old) who will be heading off with us to experience the wonders of the big wide world.\nNot only will our son be travelling with us, but a fair part of our immediate families are also joining - some 17 people at last count.\nSo where exactly are we all headed? The large (main) group are all set to converge on a villa we have booked in Tuscany - somewhere near Sienna. There we plan to enjoy each others company as we soak in the warmth of the Tuscan sun, and feast on delicious hearty Italian food and wine.\nMost of us will also continue on travelling to the south of Italy to arrive in San Lupo - the small town where Laura\u0026rsquo;s family are originally from.\nFollowing our time in Italy, most of the group will head back home, while we continue on heading into the north of Italy then spending some time in France before heading across to the U.K. where the European leg of our journey will end.\nFinally we will head across the pond and spend some time in the U.S. before heading for home.\nSo so really exciting time ahead of us. The hardest part now is watching the clock slowly tick down to our departure date\u0026hellip;\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-11-only-days-away/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter almost 18 months of planning, we are now quickly approaching our departure date. Our bags are packed (well mostly), and we are ready to go.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the past Laura and I have either travelled solo or more typically together as a couple - not this time however\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince we last had the opportunity to travel abroad, a few things have changed\u0026hellip; mainly the arrival of our son (now 18 months old) who will be heading off with us to experience the wonders of the big wide world.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Only days away"},{"content":"Welcome to the new Modrich Travel Blog site.\nOver the course of the past week there has been a lot of work happening in the background to make the transition to the new site as painless as possible.\nBUT\u0026hellip; It wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be a web site relaunch without a few technical glitches here and there. We believe all of the loose ends have been wrapped up and the new site is now read to take us into our next adventure - so stay tuned.\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-09-welcome-to-our-new-site/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the new Modrich Travel Blog site.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOver the course of the past week there has been a lot of work happening in the background to make the transition to the new site as painless as possible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBUT\u0026hellip; It wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be a web site relaunch without a few technical glitches here and there. We believe all of the loose ends have been wrapped up and the new site is now read to take us into our next adventure - so stay tuned.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Modrich Travel Blog Relaunch"},{"content":"Its been a little while since our last blog post\u0026hellip; but good news! We will soon be on the move again - and that means lots of new content over the next month and a half\u0026hellip;\nAlso, we are moving home\u0026hellip; well not us, but this Blog. While our current home has served us incredibly well over the past few years, we thought it was time for a change.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t worry - there is nothing you need to do. You will still be able to find us here at modrich.com - that won\u0026rsquo;t change. Just next time you visit, things might look\u0026hellip; well\u0026hellip; a bit different (but hopefully for the better).\n","permalink":"/posts/2015/2015-07-08-on-the-move-again/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIts been a little while since our last blog post\u0026hellip; but good news! We will soon be on the move again - and that means lots of new content over the next month and a half\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso, we are moving home\u0026hellip; well not us, but this Blog.  While our current home has served us incredibly well over the past few years, we thought it was time for a change.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t worry - there is nothing you need to do. You will still be able to find us here at \u003ca href=\"http://modrich.com\"\u003emodrich.com\u003c/a\u003e - that won\u0026rsquo;t change.  Just next time you visit, things might look\u0026hellip; well\u0026hellip; a bit different (but hopefully for the better).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"On the move again..."},{"content":"So to day was Fathers Day.\nApparently I qualify in the \u0026ldquo;soon to be category\u0026rdquo; (lets call it almost fathers day) and was able to bask in the moment for a while..\nWhile we didn\u0026rsquo;t do anything quite as exciting as visiting Tropical Fruit world today we did hit Bris-Vagas\u0026hellip;\nCouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been a better day. The weather was perfectly warm. Roaming the south bank region of Brisy is amazing on days like this - even more so when you find a bar with Matilda Bay beer dominating the taps of the week - and pints for $8.50.\nAfter spending most of our day in the south bank region of Brisy, we headed back to the shelter and serenity of Kingscliff.\nAn afternoon walk on the beach, a few quiet bevies if the suite while coming up to speed on Breaking Bad (apparently we are the only people on this rock not to have seen it yet!), and I now find myself sipping an Asahi while waiting for my take-away Thai order - what better way to finish my \u0026ldquo;Almost Father\u0026rsquo;s Day\u0026rdquo;.\nSo it\u0026rsquo;s back home tomorrow.. Reality always catches up with you at some point. Apparently Melbourne has been having some brilliant weather while we have been away. Spring is here and summer is not far away.\nSorry to think that this will likely be our last trip away for a few years. Time to focus on family!\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-09-01-almost-fathers-day/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo to day was Fathers Day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eApparently I qualify in the \u0026ldquo;soon to be category\u0026rdquo; (lets call it almost fathers day) and was able to bask in the moment for a while..\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile we didn\u0026rsquo;t do anything quite as exciting as visiting Tropical Fruit world today we did hit Bris-Vagas\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCouldn\u0026rsquo;t have been a better day. The weather was perfectly warm. Roaming the south bank region of Brisy is amazing on days like this - even more so when you find a bar with Matilda Bay beer dominating the taps of the week - and pints for $8.50.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"(Almost) Fathers Day"},{"content":"Today\u0026rsquo;s plans evolved organically with more of a \u0026ldquo;why not\u0026rdquo; attitude rather than specific planning.\nWe headed down to Byron Bay early this morning - apparently we took the scenic route. Getting lost is sometime where you find the best hidden local secrets - we turned up an old sewage treatment plant that was now reclaimed land and a hangout for bird watchers\u0026hellip; Not exactly the jackpot.\nEventually we put our trust in the GPS and made it into Byron. With nothing really we wanted to do or see, we simply relaxed and walked the streets. We dropped into one of the local cafes for a caffeine hit - street buskers outside playing some great mellow surfy tunes to reinforce the towns mellow vibe.\nAfter a good few hours spent wandering Byron, we decided to check out Nimbin\u0026hellip; A little further away than we thought - but a pleasant drive west all the same.\nArriving in Nimbin was almost exactly like what you would imaging it. Entering the town there are fences painted in every colour of the rainbow, hearts handing from almost everything, and people trying to sell you a deal every two feet.\nWithin the first 5 minutes of stepping out of the car we had been offered a deal no less than 10 times - I guess we fitted the target demographic more so than the bus load of elderly citizens who had pulled up at the same time.\nThe sweet smell of special herbs floated through the air - especially strong in and around the Hemp Embassy.\nWe popped into the Nimbin pub for bit of lunch - we were strangely hungry after our short walk around the town\u0026hellip;\nThe Nimbin pub turned out quite a good meal, and sitting on the back deck soaking up the sun was just about as good as it gets.\nFrom Nimbin we headed back to Kingscliff to spend the few remaining hours of sunshine sitting poolside with cocktails.\nAs chance would have it, we stumbled over Tropical Fruit World - here was my chance to buy up big on all those exotic tropical fruits I have never tried before. We ended up with a chewing gum fruit, chocolate pudding fruit and a custard apple.\nHaving now tried these exotic fruits, I can tick them off my bucket list and move on - unlikely to return. While they were not unpleasant they did not wow me either and I am certain I could live out the remainder of my days without another sampling of them.\nTomorrow will bring an early start as we plan to head into Brisbane for the morning before spending the arvo poolside again.\n![]({{ site.baseurl }}assets/images/posts/20130831-171950.jpg#center)\n![]({{ site.baseurl }}assets/images/posts/20130831-172002.jpg#center)\n![]({{ site.baseurl }}assets/images/posts/20130831-172012.jpg#center)\n![]({{ site.baseurl }}assets/images/posts/20130831-172023.jpg#center)\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-08-31-just-wandering-around/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday\u0026rsquo;s plans evolved organically with more of a \u0026ldquo;why not\u0026rdquo; attitude rather than specific planning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed down to Byron Bay early this morning - apparently we took the scenic route. Getting lost is sometime where you find the best hidden local secrets - we turned up an old sewage treatment plant that was now reclaimed land and a hangout for bird watchers\u0026hellip; Not exactly the jackpot.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEventually we put our trust in the GPS and made it into Byron. With nothing really we wanted to do or see, we simply relaxed and walked the streets. We dropped into one of the local cafes for a caffeine hit - street buskers outside playing some great mellow surfy tunes to reinforce the towns mellow vibe.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Just wandering around"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s a cold, wet and windy Melbourne morning\u0026hellip; 3am, and the alarm goes off.\nRather than the normal roll over and press snooze reaction, I find myself rising quickly and competing with Laura to be first in line for the shower. I\u0026rsquo;m not quick enough out of the blocks though and find myself beaten.\nThis is no normal Friday morning\u0026hellip; This is the start of our loooong weekend together\u0026hellip; Some would call it our \u0026ldquo;Babymoon\u0026rdquo; on the account its likely to be our last getaway together before Laura is due early next year.\nWe are both excited - hence the unnatural levels of enthusiasm and alertness at 3am.\nPeppers Salt Resort in Kingscliff on the northern beaches of New South Wales is our destination - a quiet, relaxing destination somewhere between Byron Bay and the Gold Coast.\nAn uneventful, but early, flight finds us landed in the Gold Coast - on what is turning out to be a spectacular day of sunshine and warmth (the two things we have both missed over the Melbourne winter).\nWe arrive at Peppers and immediately enter \u0026ldquo;chill out\u0026rdquo; mode. Laura crashes on the bed to catch up on some sleep from our early start, and I find myself in the pool side bar enjoying a refreshing Ale from the local Pickled Pig Brewery\u0026hellip;\nTime for another\u0026hellip;\nLets wait to see what tomorrow brings.\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-08-30-chill-out-in-kingscliff-the-babymoon/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s a cold, wet and windy Melbourne morning\u0026hellip; 3am, and the alarm goes off.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRather than the normal roll over and press snooze reaction, I find myself rising quickly and competing with Laura to be first in line for the shower. I\u0026rsquo;m not quick enough out of the blocks though and find myself beaten.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is no normal Friday morning\u0026hellip; This is the start of our loooong weekend together\u0026hellip; Some would call it our \u0026ldquo;Babymoon\u0026rdquo; on the account its likely to be our last getaway together before Laura is due early next year.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Chill out in Kingscliff (\"The Babymoon\")"},{"content":"This morning I find myself at Raleigh Airport (RDU) waiting to board a plane - a few days ahead of my original return schedule.\nDue to some family medical issues back home, I have decided to cut my trip short and head home early.\nMost of last night was spent rearranging flights. I\u0026rsquo;m now flying home via Detroit and LA back into Melbourne. It\u0026rsquo;s going to be a long haul, but with only about 4 hours sleep last night, I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to sleep well during the flights.\nWell America - it\u0026rsquo;s been short, but its been fun\u0026hellip; I even got to experience a \u0026ldquo;Tornado Watch\u0026rdquo; last night with high winds and tornado threats moving through the Raleigh area yesterday and overnight.\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-01-31-homeward-bound/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis morning I find myself at Raleigh Airport (RDU) waiting to board a plane - a few days ahead of my original return schedule.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDue to some family medical issues back home, I have decided to cut my trip short and head home early.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost of last night was spent rearranging flights. I\u0026rsquo;m now flying home via Detroit and LA back into Melbourne. It\u0026rsquo;s going to be a long haul, but with only about 4 hours sleep last night, I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to sleep well during the flights.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Homeward bound"},{"content":"So it\u0026rsquo;s a Sunday afternoon in Raleigh, North Carolina. I find myself downtown with not much to do - as most places are closed.\nOn a cool afternoon, I now find myself at The Flying Saucer - possibly the best bar I have been to in the Northern Hemisphere (and defiantly the US!)\nWith over 200 beers available, made up from both local brew craft and imported, where else should I be for a belated solo Australian day party? These guys know how to do beer. Every option is covered - even direct from the cask.\nFurther the daily \u0026ldquo;fire sale\u0026rdquo; which is on local beers today, means I can sample the local drop (which is quite handy to be honest) at $3 a pint!!\nTo be honest, I never have the yanks credit for any beer I had ever tasted - up until now! They can brew it like the best when it comes to local brew craft style beers. Pity none of these make out shores back in Australia.\nToday I have eventually settled on a beer from the New Belgium beer company called \u0026ldquo;Fat Tire\u0026rdquo;. It\u0026rsquo;s an Amber Ale (from Fort Collins, CO) and defiantly delivers.\nMy \u0026ldquo;runner-up\u0026rdquo; for today is one if the locals (from Raleigh, NC) - a wheat beer by Lonerider called \u0026ldquo;Shotgun Betty\u0026rdquo;. This was a classic wheat beer with a nice banana follow thru.\nTo be honest, I would quite happily sit on either of these beers all arvo. But with limited time and variety and experimentation the key I have ended up tasting a wide range of brews from across the US. These two I mention though are the finishers for the afternoon and will happily see me home tonight.\nYou can join up to the UFO club at the bar also. Members who manage to drink their way to 200 beers are immortalised on a flying saucer on the roof or wall of the bar. The putter ring of the saucer indicating how many times you have reached the 200 brew milestone.\nUnfortunately with my short time here I doubt I will come close to qualifying for my own saucer.\nGiven I was in transit for 26 hours yesterday, I have declared today to be my own personal and informal Australia Day. And I find the Flying Saucer a most enjoyable place to celebrate the day.\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-01-27-the-flying-saucer/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo it\u0026rsquo;s a Sunday afternoon in Raleigh, North Carolina. I find myself downtown with not much to do - as most places are closed.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn a cool afternoon, I now find myself at \u003ca href=\"http://www.beerknurd.com\"\u003eThe Flying Saucer\u003c/a\u003e - possibly the best bar I have been to in the Northern Hemisphere (and defiantly the US!)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith over 200 beers available, made up from both local brew craft and imported, where else should I be for a belated solo Australian day party? These guys know how to do beer. Every option is covered - even direct from the cask.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Flying Saucer"},{"content":"So it appears they are coming thick and fast\u0026hellip;\nIn my second \u0026ldquo;Only in America\u0026rdquo; post, I want to cover what appears to be an emerging \u0026ldquo;extreme sport\u0026rdquo; in the local area - The Krispy Kreme Challenge.\nSo, what exactly is the Krispy Kreme Challenge? I think they describe the challenge best on their own web site:\n2400 calories, 12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour. The mantra of the Krispy Kreme Challenge epitomizes the test of physical fitness and gastrointestinal fortitude.\nThe event, which began back in 2004 as a dare between a few NC state university under graduates, has now become an annual event and raises money for the NC Children\u0026rsquo;s Hospital.\nThe event basically unfolds as follows:\nStart out by running 2.5 miles to the local Krispy Kreme store Get into Krispy Kreme and eat 12 glazed doughnuts Complete the course by running a further 2.5 miles Unfortunately, I wont be around to participate in this years event.\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-01-27-only-in-america-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo it appears they are coming thick and fast\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn my second \u0026ldquo;Only in America\u0026rdquo; post, I want to cover what appears to be an emerging \u0026ldquo;extreme sport\u0026rdquo; in the local area - The \u003ca href=\"http://www.krispykremechallenge.com\"\u003eKrispy Kreme Challenge\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo, what exactly is the Krispy Kreme Challenge?  I think they describe the challenge best on their own \u003ca href=\"http://www.krispykremechallenge.com/ourstory\"\u003eweb site\u003c/a\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2400 calories, 12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour. The mantra of the Krispy Kreme Challenge epitomizes the test of physical fitness and gastrointestinal fortitude.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Only in America #2"},{"content":"To kick off my \u0026ldquo;Only in America\u0026rdquo; series of posts (I am assuming there will be more than one), I bring to you some pictures of a locally \u0026ldquo;pimped ride\u0026rdquo; I came across in the car park of a local mall on my morning walk.\nI can only assume, that, much like the unique creatures that evolve in places such as Easter Island, this vehicle has similarly been forced to evolve and adapt to survive in local conditions. I believe this one is particularly adapted to the snowy and icy conditions that are being experienced in the local area.\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-01-27-only-in-america-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTo kick off my \u0026ldquo;Only in America\u0026rdquo; series of posts (I am assuming there will be more than one), I bring to you some pictures of a locally \u0026ldquo;pimped ride\u0026rdquo; I came across in the car park of a local mall on my morning walk.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/img_1627.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI can only assume, that, much like the unique creatures that evolve in places such as Easter Island, this vehicle has similarly been forced to evolve and adapt to survive in local conditions.  I believe this one is particularly adapted to the snowy and icy conditions that are being experienced in the local area.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Only in America #1"},{"content":"So its now late evening in Raleigh, North Carolina, and I have checked into my hotel after some 26 hours of travel.\nThe fleeting moments that I saw of both Los Angeles (airport) and Atlanta (airport) have not really left much of a lasting impression. LA was busy, and the queues started from the moment you left your seat on the plane. Atlanta was somewhat more organised and low key - however it was later in the day. Raleigh was almost closed.\nStepping outside the Raleigh airport onto the sidewalk to get a cab - the 0c temperature forced me to raid my bag for in search for my beanie - its cold compared to Melbourne this time of year. There were even small clumps of snow/ice on the runway as we taxied into the airport.\nTired and smelly, I checked into my room and headed downstairs to catch a quick meal before the kitchen closed for the night. A tasty quesadilla and a few locally brewed \u0026ldquo;North Carolina Pale Ales\u0026rdquo; has seen me contented for the evening.\nThe remainder of the evening will no doubt be lost to sleep. Who knows what tomorrow will hold, but with a maximum forecast temperature of only 7c, I have no doubt it will involve my new thermals, beanie and jumpers.\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-01-26-touchdown-usa/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo its now late evening in Raleigh, North Carolina, and I have checked into my hotel after some 26 hours of travel.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fleeting moments that I saw of both Los Angeles (airport) and Atlanta (airport) have not really left much of a lasting impression.  LA was busy, and the queues started from the moment you left your seat on the plane.  Atlanta was somewhat more organised and low key - however it was later in the day.  Raleigh was almost closed.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Touchdown - USA"},{"content":"Tonight, I find my self making final rushed preparations for a business trip to America (well lets be honest here\u0026hellip; the fact that they are my \u0026ldquo;final preparations\u0026rdquo; does not also mean that they are not my first round of preparations either!).\nSo tomorrow morning I will find myself sitting on a Virgin Australia flight for the best part of 14 hours. This constitutes leg one of my outward journey, and will take me from Melbourne to Los Angeles. A few short hours after that, I will find myself on the second leg of my journey on board a Delta Airlines domestic flight out of Los Angeles headed for Atlanta. Finally, the third leg of my journey will get me from Atlanta to my destination, Raleigh, North Carolina (Where? did I hear you say\u0026hellip;).\nSo some 26 hours after leaving the warmth of my home in Melbourne, I will find my self in near freezing Raleigh - hailing a cab, heading for the hotel.\nAs I said, this is a business trip - so i\u0026rsquo;m not sure how much sight seeing I will be able to get packed into my eight short days - but being my first visit to America, I will be keen to soak up what I can.\nOn the way in I have one day to \u0026ldquo;acclimatise\u0026rdquo; before we get down to business. I have about the same on the outward trip. During these days I am hoping to see all of what Raleigh has to offer\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;m sort of assuming that two days may be sufficient??\nRegardless, I am sure it will wet my appetite for a further more adventurous trip back at some point in the future.\n","permalink":"/posts/2013/2013-01-25-america-the-business-trip/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eTonight, I find my self making final rushed preparations for a business trip to America (well lets be honest here\u0026hellip; the fact that they are my \u0026ldquo;final preparations\u0026rdquo; does not also mean that they are not my first round of preparations either!).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo tomorrow morning I will find myself sitting on a Virgin Australia flight for the best part of 14 hours.  This constitutes leg one of my outward journey, and will take me from Melbourne to Los Angeles.  A few short hours after that, I will find myself on the second leg of my journey on board a Delta Airlines domestic flight out of Los Angeles headed for Atlanta.  Finally, the third leg of my journey will get me from Atlanta to my destination, Raleigh, North Carolina (Where? did I hear you say\u0026hellip;).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"America - the business trip"},{"content":"So day three of our stay on Day Dream Island has come, and now almost past.\nToday was made up of not a lot, but all of which was thoroughly relaxing.\nAfter a late breakfast, we headed over to \u0026ldquo;Lovers Cove\u0026rdquo; for some more snorkelling. It was a clear morning so the visibility was incredible.\nAfter our snorkelling, we lounged on the deck at Lovers Cove looking out over the ocean gathering a few rays of sun, before heading back pool-side once the bar had opened.\nMid-morning and early afternoon were spent in and out of the pool, before retreating back to the room to ready for a surprise that Laura had organised for us in the afternoon.\n2pm came around, and we headed off to the day spa for the couples indulgence relaxation package - 2.5hrs of indulgent massage, and spa therapy to really wind-down at the end of a quick break.\nIt must have been good because, I found myself drifting in and out of sleep during the entire session\u0026hellip; Could also have been something to do with the champagne before, during, and after ;-)\nIt was an amazing way to top off 3 days away, and a great surprise from my wife.\nThis evening, we find ourselves looking out over the ocean on the southern end of Day Dream Island, watching the sun go down, waiting for tonight\u0026rsquo;s open air movie to start - wonder if we will make it more than 5min tonight\u0026hellip;\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-12-11-day-dreaming-day-3/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo day three of our stay on Day Dream Island has come, and now almost past.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday was made up of not a lot, but all of which was thoroughly relaxing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a late breakfast, we headed over to \u0026ldquo;Lovers Cove\u0026rdquo; for some more snorkelling. It was a clear morning so the visibility was incredible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter our snorkelling, we lounged on the deck at Lovers Cove looking out over the ocean gathering a few rays of sun, before heading back pool-side once the bar had opened.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Day Dreaming - Day 3"},{"content":"So my last post got me thinking\u0026hellip; What are the 5 things I would take to a desert island.\nHaving now been \u0026ldquo;stranded\u0026rdquo; (a term I use extremely loosely) on Day Dream island for two days, I feel I have had enough experience to make a fully qualified answer to the question I pose.\nThe 5 things I would bring to a desert island are (and bare with me\u0026hellip;):\nResort style facilities Resort staff Enough food to last a lifetime Enough grog to last a life time\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;m talking top shelf also. If your stranded you don\u0026rsquo;t want to go without ;-) My best friends (this includes my beautiful wife Laura!). Why should I suffer like this alone ;-) So let me hear your comments.. What would you take?\nSerious, or not\u0026hellip; Lets hear it.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-12-10-5-things-i-would-take-to-a-desert-island/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo my last post got me thinking\u0026hellip; What are the 5 things I would take to a desert island.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHaving now been \u0026ldquo;stranded\u0026rdquo; (a term I use extremely loosely) on Day Dream island for two days, I feel I have had enough experience to make a fully qualified answer to the question I pose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe 5 things I would bring to a desert island are (and bare with me\u0026hellip;):\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eResort style facilities\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eResort staff\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEnough food to last a lifetime\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEnough grog to last a life time\u0026hellip; I\u0026rsquo;m talking top shelf also. If your stranded you don\u0026rsquo;t want to go without ;-)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMy best friends (this includes my beautiful wife Laura!). Why should I suffer like this alone ;-)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo let me hear your comments.. What would you take?\u003cbr\u003e\nSerious, or not\u0026hellip; Lets hear it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"5 things I would take to a desert island"},{"content":"Another sun filled day in paradise\u0026hellip; well on Day Dream Island at least.\nAfter a slightly cloudy and overcast morning, the day had turned out superbly.\nLaura did here obligatory site inspection (as a travel agent, it\u0026rsquo;s part of the deal). Meanwhile I walked to the other end of the island in search of water and water holding appliances - of which we are now owners of.\nToday was our swimming/snorkelling day. We hired our equipment, and living on the edge as we do, we went without the recommended stinger suits. While it is currently stinger season, I suspected its more of \u0026ldquo;would you like fries with that\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; season.\nNeedless to say, we swam, we sore, we didn\u0026rsquo;t get stung\u0026hellip; On the body or in the wallet\u0026hellip;\nAfter picking up our gear we walked to the south end of he island and found the rainforest walk - with lots of nice outlooks over the water to neighbouring islands. The rainforest walk leads down to Lovers Cove, one of the better secluded beaches on the island - and only open to guests.\nWhile the fish and coral are not comparable to the outer reef, what we saw was still nice, and the bath temperature water makes the whole experience much more enjoyable.\nLunch was somewhat an involved process. Somehow we got forgotten\u0026hellip; Oops\u0026hellip; And buy the time we got our meal (a gin \u0026amp; tonic, vodka \u0026amp;amp cranberry, and 2 beers later), we were too hungry to complain that Laura\u0026rsquo;s meal, while close, wasn\u0026rsquo;t exactly what she ordered. Something we will get over\u0026hellip;\nPool time next, and a few more refreshing beverages lead to a great, and relaxing afternoon.\nNow we find ourselves relaxing on our balcony, looking out across the resort and the ocean view with a bottle of sparking, and some subtle Afro Cuban All Stars playing off an iPhone in the background. Couldn\u0026rsquo;t really find a better way to chill out for an afternoon.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-12-10-day-dreaming-day-2/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAnother sun filled day in paradise\u0026hellip; well on Day Dream Island at least.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a slightly cloudy and overcast morning, the day had turned out superbly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaura did here obligatory site inspection (as a travel agent, it\u0026rsquo;s part of the deal). Meanwhile I walked to the other end of the island in search of water and water holding appliances - of which we are now owners of.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday was our swimming/snorkelling day. We hired our equipment, and living on the edge as we do, we went without the recommended stinger suits. While it is currently stinger season, I suspected its more of \u0026ldquo;would you like fries with that\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; season.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Day Dreaming - Day 2"},{"content":"So we hit the ground running in our first day on Day Dream Island, and went straight into relaxation overdrive.\nThe day pretty much rolled on as follows:\nleisurely stroll around the island lunch cocktails by the pool cocktails in the pool cocktails by the beach cocktails in the lounge relaxation hydrotherapy session dinner right at the beach front, with an amazing view out across the water open air cinema with some popcorn as a few beers After a 4am start, we quickly discovered ourselves succumbing to the effects of the early start and the relaxing effects of the day - both of us were out like a light at the open air cinema, 5min into the move ;-)\nNeedless to say, after a brief stroll home, our first day ended there - it was 8pm.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-12-10-day-dreaming-day-1/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we hit the ground running in our first day on Day Dream Island, and went straight into relaxation overdrive.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe day pretty much rolled on as follows:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eleisurely stroll around the island\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003elunch\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ecocktails by the pool\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ecocktails in the pool\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ecocktails by the beach\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ecocktails in the lounge\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003erelaxation hydrotherapy session\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003edinner right at the beach front, with an amazing view out across the water\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eopen air cinema with some popcorn as a few beers\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a 4am start, we quickly discovered ourselves succumbing to the effects of the early start and the relaxing effects of the day - both of us were out like a light at the open air cinema, 5min into the move ;-)\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Day Dreaming - Day 1"},{"content":"So the Day Dream begins\u0026hellip;\nWaking up at 4am this morning, making the chilly journey out to the airport, we have flown north to Hamilton Island, and are now sitting on the upper deck of the ferry that will take us to Day Dream Island.\nWhile the weather is somewhat overcast, with the very odd dot of rain here and there, it is still very warm, and quite hot when the sun breaks through. The first challenge will be to not get sunburnt on our transfer across to Day Dream.\n![]](/images/posts/20121209-101005.jpg#center)\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-12-09-the-day-dream-begins/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo the Day Dream begins\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWaking up at 4am this morning, making the chilly journey out to the airport, we have flown north to Hamilton Island, and are now sitting on the upper deck of the ferry that will take us to Day Dream Island.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile the weather is somewhat overcast, with the very odd dot of rain here and there, it is still very warm, and quite hot when the sun breaks through. The first challenge will be to not get sunburnt on our transfer across to Day Dream.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Day Dream Begins"},{"content":"We still have a day and a half left in Istanbul. Other than our last minute shopping and revisiting the Bazaar\u0026rsquo;s we are winding down and getting ready to come home.\nWe thought this was a good time to reflect on what we have done, and wanted to provide a brief wrap up of everything we have done while in Turkey.\nGallipoli\nGallipoli was probably on top of our list. It was absolutely beautiful, and the historical significance almost meant it was a must do for us - and we weren\u0026rsquo;t disappointed.\nIstanbul (general)\nIstanbul is great. Depending on how adventurous you are, will depend on how much you get out of Istanbul. Delving deep into the streets and alleys to uncover hidden, off the beaten track gems is great. But even we haven\u0026rsquo;t had time to explore everything. The tourist sights (Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Taksim Square) are always a must see for first time visitors such as myself - but I\u0026rsquo;m sure Laura is starting to get sick of them by now.\nTroy\nTroy was interesting - probably more so from the Myth and Legend perspective than anything. To be able to say I have stood in Troy is quite amazing. Overall it\u0026rsquo;s not the most exciting of places however, and the tour is only an hour or so long. Defiantly worthwhile given we were in the area, but not something I would be making the 12 hour round bus trip for on it\u0026rsquo;s own.\nThe Princes Island\nThe Princes Island is one of those curious sites. While you want to make sure you see it - and don\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong it was a nice place - there isn\u0026rsquo;t actually that much to do. Possibly this was one of the places we were least prepared for, and didn\u0026rsquo;t have much time to dig too deeply\u0026hellip; So we could quite easily have missed the good stuff?\nSo what was our favourite? Basically the order in which they appear above is reflective of how highly each ranked.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-27-turkey-the-wrap-up/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe still have a day and a half left in Istanbul. Other than our last minute shopping and revisiting the Bazaar\u0026rsquo;s we are winding down and getting ready to come home.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe thought this was a good time to reflect on what we have done, and wanted to provide a brief wrap up of everything we have done while in Turkey.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGallipoli\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nGallipoli was probably on top of our list. It was absolutely beautiful, and the historical significance almost meant it was a must do for us - and we weren\u0026rsquo;t disappointed.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Turkey - The Wrap Up"},{"content":"Today we find ourselves jumping on the tram in Sultanahmet and heading down to the ports to grab a ferry out to the Princes Island.\nBy now we are used to the tram system - buy your token and ride. The port is at the end of the line which makes things even simpler.\nGetting off at the port we are confronted by a wall of people - apparently everyone else has the same idea\u0026hellip; After all it is the weekend.\nWe fall into the current of people an get towed along to where the ferries depart. Lining up to buy our ferry token, the line moves quickly - apparently the locals all know what they are doing and can easily read the instructions (which are all in Turkish). We arrive at the front of the queue - its our moment in the spotlight. No stress, there are only a dozen or so people queueing behind you.\nConfronted by the simplicity of the ferry token machine I find myself frozen.. There are only 2 buttons.. Which do I press? And what the hell will I get for the 20TL I just inserted? Reading the display on the machine it appears I will get 1x of something, and 2x of something else, totalling 6TL. Now I know the token cost 4TL, so my powers of deduction lead me to believe I will get one of them based on the prices shown.\nPressing one of the buttons an hoping, I watch as the numbers confusingly tick up. 2x what I believe to be the ferry tokens, and 4x something else (lucky they are only 1TL each\u0026hellip;).\nA quick glance at Laura and we decide to lock it in - pressing the other button and hoping our money has been well spent.\nSuddenly it\u0026rsquo;s like wining the jackpot at the pokies - as the remainder of my 20TL is returned to me in 1TL coins. Thankfully mixed into the drop is also 2 tokens for the ferry - and not soon enough from the looks of those patiently waiting behind the dumb tourists.\nTokens in hand, and now weighed down by a fist full of change we make out way to the boarding gates and onto the ferry. Inside we find ourselves a nice comfy seat next to a window and settle in for the trip - which we have no idea how long it will take.\nCruising out into the Bosporus, we decide to pass the time with a glass of Turkish tea or cia (pronounced chia) which the locals seem to have formed more than a mild addiction to.\nSeveral stops and a bit over an hour later we start approaching Princes Island.\nOff the ferry and onto the island, we find a local horse drawn cart and decide to take the island tour - we\u0026rsquo;re gluttons for tourist traps. While it was a nice ride around the island, and definitely allowed us to see much more in the afternoon we had on the island than we could have by foot, I\u0026rsquo;m still to be convinced it was worth the 60TL we paid.\nAfter seeing the sights by horse drawn cart, we decided to head to the water front to grab a bite to eat. Unfortunately the little voice inside our heads didn\u0026rsquo;t scream out to us \u0026ldquo;Tourist Trap Ahead!\u0026rdquo;. It was as plain as the nose on your face. Nicely set out tables right on the water front. Anyway we sat, we ate, and we enjoyed. Then the bill arrived - needless to say this was by far our most expensive meal in Turkey yet (by a factor of two). Almost 100TL later we grabbed our bottle of water, paid and departed. Don\u0026rsquo;t get me wrong - the meal was good\u0026hellip; Just not 100TL good.\nSo after a pleasant afternoon on Princes Island we grab another ferry back to Istanbul. The ferry trip is an experience in itself - almost a floating Grand Bazaar. There are people trying to sell everything to you. One guy in particular has mastered the art and commands the audience well - and converts his performance into multiple sales.\nHis sales performance is comedic and grand. He wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be out of place as the ring leader of a circus. First item is a retractable walking stick. He pulls it from his bag and extends it, and waits\u0026hellip; \u0026ldquo;ooohh\u0026rdquo; he cry\u0026rsquo;s and the audience follow. Next he walks around using the stick demonstrating just how good it is. But wait.. It also has suspension built in. \u0026ldquo;ooohh\u0026rdquo; the crowd cry. But wait it also has a compass built in. \u0026ldquo;oooohhh\u0026rdquo; the crowd cry with applause. Also it has a small torch which he turns on and off to demonstrate. \u0026ldquo;ooooohhhh\u0026rdquo; the crowd cry again with further dramatic applause. Finally he collapses the walking stick back - so simple, so easy. \u0026ldquo;oooohhh\u0026rdquo; the crowd cry. And for the finale\u0026hellip; Now with the walking stick fully collapsed, he swings it over his shoulder and scratches his back. The crowd erupt with laughter and cheers. \u0026ldquo;How much you pay?\u0026rdquo;\u0026hellip; \u0026ldquo;10TL.. This is all.\u0026rdquo;\nMoments later he is flooded by people waving their 10TL notes at him. He has easily made his days pay with this crowd.\nBut that\u0026rsquo;s not all - out comes the orange juicer. The crowd are again In the palm of his hand, and the show continues\u0026hellip; And the money flows in.\nNotably there are others on the ferry also trying to sell their wears - but none in as dramatic and comedic fashion. This guy is a genuine performer. It\u0026rsquo;s almost worth 10TL just for the show and the laughs - it also helps to pass the time on the ferry, and before we know it we\u0026rsquo;re arriving back into Istanbul.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-27-princes-island-ferry/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we find ourselves jumping on the tram in Sultanahmet and heading down to the ports to grab a ferry out to the Princes Island.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy now we are used to the tram system - buy your token and ride. The port is at the end of the line which makes things even simpler.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGetting off at the port we are confronted by a wall of people - apparently everyone else has the same idea\u0026hellip; After all it is the weekend.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Princes Island Ferry"},{"content":"\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-26-random-turkey-photos/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/20120525-172315.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/20120525-172329.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/20120525-172341.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/20120525-172409.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/20120525-172452.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/20120525-172518.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/20120525-172553.jpg#center\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Random Turkey Photos"},{"content":"So after getting in pretty late last night from our two day tour down to Gallipoli and Troy, we had a pretty slow morning all tolled.\nAfter eventually getting up and going we had out sights set on one thing, and one thing only - the Grand Bazaar.\nWeaving our way through the streets of Sultanahmet, we headed in the general direction of the Bazaar\u0026hellip; It\u0026rsquo;s almost as if the traders can sense your approach - must be the smell of fresh wallets in the air. The lead up to the Bazaar itself is surrounded but other smaller traders and stalls, a micro bazaar units own right.\nWalking through the outside stalls and passing though the arched entry way into the Grand Bazaar you immediately sense the scale of the place, and mere meters inside you have been consumed by the labyrinth of alleys and narrow streets that run up and down - there is no escaping the seduction of the vendors within the Grand Bazaar now. You are on their turf and you will play by their rules, and doubtless to say - they will win you over, and \u0026ldquo;help you spend your money\u0026rdquo; (as one vendor quoted to us) in any which way you fancy.\nPausing to soak it all in is difficult. There Bazaar is typically awash with vendors, tourists, and everything in between. Today we have encountered what I am told is a slow day - even so the place is still buzzing - however I could imaging the place being easily twice as busy.\nFinding a quieter place to the side of one of the alleys we did manage to pause and observe. The ceilings are painted with featuring frescos,the streets and alleys are lined with stalls and shops - each overflowing with the specific wares on offer, be it plates and ceramics, carpets, jewelry, trinkets, clothes (all knock off\u0026rsquo;s), any type of leather product you would want, bags, spices, Turkish delights, or musical instruments.\nWalking past each store, the vendors will offer to show you their goods or attempt to coax you into their store - \u0026ldquo;Come inside, I\u0026rsquo;ll show you good price\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;, or \u0026ldquo;I have others, come in\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;. They are all typically very polite about it, which makes it even more difficult to ignore them or say no and keep walking. They are very attuned to our cultural style (or just bloody good guesses) and pick up immediately where we are from - \u0026ldquo;Your an Aussie\u0026hellip; from Melbourne?\u0026rdquo;. Not one got it wrong.\nAgain this is part of the buying process - this is their \u0026lsquo;foot in the door\u0026rsquo; so to speak. They know once they can get you to respond - its on\u0026hellip; Just like fishing, they keep casting out into the crowd their bait of words, hoping for a bite. Once they have this, it\u0026rsquo;s their job to carefully reel you in and hopefully land the purchase - at an inflated price, but one that has come down considerably through the haggling process.\nWhile they vendors can often have a poor reputation, and stories are told all too often about someone getting stuck in a carpet shop, being feed apple tea until the point of hallucination, and then waking up two days later to find they just spent $1,000 on a knock off carpet they didn\u0026rsquo;t even like - and have no way to get home\u0026hellip; To be honest our feeling was that they vendors were actually all fairly well mannered. Some would defiantly be more persistent than others, but this is their lively hood. At no point did we feel pressured into purchasing anything. You do need to be strong, and you do need to have an idea of what your prepared to spend. The vendors know their bottom price and won\u0026rsquo;t let you push them below it. If this is still higher than your expectation, then continue to shop. If you keep getting the same answer, then you may need to reset your expectation, or keep looking. There is also a line between quality and cost. Often the vendors will see you pushing for a cheaper price, and will move to show you a different piece - \u0026ldquo;this one is the same, but cheaper\u0026rdquo; - now you have to ask why\u0026hellip; Typically it will be of lower quality, and suddenly the bargaining you have just done on the better item has been rest without you knowing because you\u0026rsquo;ve been moved to a completely different product - a cheaper knock off version that no doubt has similar mark ups applied.\nDoubtless to say, you need to go to the Grand Bazaar in the right frame of mind. Be prepared to look around for the price you think is fair. Be prepared to bargain. Be prepared to not get it your way. And most of all - be prepared to enjoy the experience. You shouldn\u0026rsquo;t go to the Grand Bazaar expecting to get one over on the vendors. You need to set out your budget and if you come in under or around it then be happy for the experience. If you end up spending way too much money and feel you were ripped off - this is not the vendors fault. You were not prepared, and not strong enough to keep your cash in your wallet.\nAnd one last piece of advise - its only a bargain if you actually need it.\nAnyway all told we had a great afternoon out at the Grand Bazaar. We managed to pick up a few pieces we liked at prices we thought were reasonable.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-25-the-grand-bazaar/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo after getting in pretty late last night from our two day tour down to Gallipoli and Troy, we had a pretty slow morning all tolled.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter eventually getting up and going we had out sights set on one thing, and one thing only - the Grand Bazaar.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWeaving our way through the streets of Sultanahmet, we headed in the general direction of the Bazaar\u0026hellip; It\u0026rsquo;s almost as if the traders can sense your approach - must be the smell of fresh wallets in the air. The lead up to the Bazaar itself is surrounded but other smaller traders and stalls, a micro bazaar units own right.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Grand Bazaar"},{"content":"So after out day in Gallipoli, our tour takes us across the narrows of the Dardanelles to Canakkale which is in the Asian side of Turkey, an where we spend the night before heading of to nearby Troy (Troya) in the morning.\nTroy is about a 30 minute bus ride out of Canakkle. We arrive to an overcast drizzling morning - its about now we wished we had packed our rain coats!\nWalking through the archeological site that is Troy was very interesting, and our local guide again provided lots of details and background about the site.\nOne interesting fact relates to the site of Troy itself. Troy of legend and myth was a sea port - the actual location is somewhat inland (although the Dardanelles are visible from the high vantage point).\nThe belief is that thousands of years ago when Troy was prospering it was actually a sea port as described in the legends and myths. It is thought that heavy silting bought on by earth quakes in the region over time forced the narrowing of the mouth of the Dardanelles which in turn caused the sea to subside and form solid land - which is now in use as extremely fertile cropping country.\nAs with many other cities within Turkey, Troy saw its fair share of occupying rulers - the Trojans, the Greeks, and the Romans. Each new occupation saw dramatic reshaping of the earlier Troy - either because it had been raised to the ground from the conflict, or the new rulers wanting to inject their own cultural influences on the region.\nThis resulted in 9 different levels of Troy - all built on top of the ruins of the previous, and clearly visible as you walk through the archeological site.\nAll in all it was a very interesting tour. The only downside is the 6 hour bus ride back to Istanbul, which included the obligatory stop at the purpose built tourist trap buffet and shopping complex - glad we ate before we left 5TL for 2 Kebabs in Canakkale or 13TL each for crappy buffet in the middle of nowhere).\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-24-mythical-troy/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo after out day in Gallipoli, our tour takes us across the narrows of the Dardanelles to Canakkale which is in the Asian side of Turkey, an where we spend the night before heading of to nearby Troy (Troya) in the morning.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTroy is about a 30 minute bus ride out of Canakkle. We arrive to an overcast drizzling morning - its about now we wished we had packed our rain coats!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mythical Troy"},{"content":"Today we are on an overnight tour that will take us down to Gallipoli (Gelibolu) and then overnight in Canakkale (on the Asian side of Turkey), and the a tour through historic Troy before heading back to Istanbul later in the evening of the second day.\nThe trip from Istanbul down to Gallipoli took almost 5 hours on our small private tour bus - 11 people in group all up.\nArriving into the Gallipoli peninsular, our first stop was in Eceabat (historically a Greek town known as Maydos, but renamed by the Turks) - the reason for stopping here is so we can have our fill at the local tourist trap.\nAfter lunch the actual tour started. Our guide joined us and we headed off for ANZAC cove. Over the course of the next 5 hours we visited many of the important and historic sites (including the landing beach, war graves, shrapnel valley, the Nek, Lone Pine, and the all important high ground - Chunuk Bair, that are spread around the peninsula.\nThe scenery around ANZAC cove and the views from Chunuk Bair were breath taking, and it is so hard to believe that almost 100 years ago this was the site of such a bloody battle where thousands of young ANZAC\u0026rsquo;s and Turks alike lost their lives. The cold reminder of this is littered everywhere\u0026hellip; just out of sight but there if you know where to look, and what your looking for. Small pieces of shrapnel and bullets litter the ground and are very easy to find especially after a good rain.\nSeeing first hand the terrain that the ANZAC\u0026rsquo;s faced on arrival really makes you think how anyone survived. The short length of beach, the high limestone cliffs, the overgrowth - how anyone made it to the top alive in the dark is beyond belief.\nOne of the hardest things for me to comprehend was how close the trenches were together - the best example of this is on the way up to Chunuk Bair where the single lane road is all that separates the trenches - Turkish trenches on the right, ANZAC trenches on the left. Absolutely amazing\u0026hellip; No more than 6-7 meters separating the two - quite literally the width of the single lane road.\nAll up I am extremely glad to have done the tour. Our guide was excellent and provided lots of detail and stories about each of the sites we visited.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-23-gallipoli/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we are on an overnight tour that will take us down to Gallipoli (Gelibolu) and then overnight in Canakkale (on the Asian side of Turkey), and the a tour through historic Troy before heading back to Istanbul later in the evening of the second day.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trip from Istanbul down to Gallipoli took almost 5 hours on our small private tour bus - 11 people in group all up.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Gallipoli"},{"content":"So our second full day in beautiful Istanbul has been packed with sight seeing - all the usual touristy places: The Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, The Spice Bazaar, and Taksim Square (notably we are leaving the Grand Bazaar for a later day).\nUp and out reasonably early this morning our hotel is well positioned only a short walk to both the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia. Up the hill and to the Blue Mosque first.\nJoining the hundreds of other tourists that had already made their way to the Mosque, you find yourself queuing to get through the doors. Inside the Mosque is beautiful - massive low hanging chandeliers light the large inside space. Patterned carpets decorate the floors throughout and are used to assist in alignment for prayer.\nAfter taking in the beauty of the Blue Mosque, it\u0026rsquo;s a short walk across the square to the Aya Sophia. By the time we had arrived here a large queue had now formed - although we found it moved quickly. Buying our tickets and passing through the security screening we entered the grounds of the Aya Sophia. Entering the Aya Sophia reminded me of many of the large ancient cathedrals we have visited throughout Europe. Inside is a massive open area with huge ceiling frescos, and low hanging chandeliers.\nUpstairs contains some beautifully delicate mosaic frescos made up of thousands of tiny intricate tiles. Some of the mosaics have been damaged over time, but considering their age are actually remarkably well preserved.\nAfter the first two touristy sights now ticked off the list, we decided to walk the streets of Istanbul and headed deeper into Saltanahmet before turning towards the sea to locate the Spice Bazaar. Our wanderings took us up and down many different and diverse streets and lane ways. We find one of the best and fun ways to explore a city is without a map and only a general sense for where you are headed - you always end up uncovering some little gem that makes your time in the city great. Today we found what I would have to describe as the best kebab place in the world.\nIn a little side street, not too far from the Spice Bazaar, we were drawn to a small kebab shop, called Sehzade Erzurum Cag Kebabi. The feature that drew our attention was a large wood fire and slow roasting lamb spit in the front of the store. The smell was amazing. This wasn\u0026rsquo;t your typical take-away fast food kebab place\u0026hellip; This was the real deal, and we couldn\u0026rsquo;t pass it up.\nSitting down right next to the lamb spit, the wait staff quickly sorted our order out - two lamb kebabs each, bread, salad, chilli, and spiced onion. Sitting right next to the spit gave us the opportunity to watch the master kebab chief at work, carefully turning the spit to identify the best cooked meat, then craftily cutting and threading it onto a skewer. By this time our mouths were well and truly watering - nothing smells quite as good as lamb cooking over the fire\u0026hellip; And I can assure you the taste was absolutely amazing!\nAfter our fill of succulent lamb kebabs for lunch, we continued on wandering the streets and eventually found our way to the Spice Bazaar. Walking inside is a dizzying display of every spice, tea, nougat and sweat preserved fruits you could imaging - with the occasional plate, shoe or carpet store springing up in between. Resisting the urge to enter into any purchase we pushed on through the crowds and eventually emerged on the other side and back into the open street.\nNext we crossed the river and continued walking in the aim of finding Taksim square. After a for walk we decided we had made a wrong turn at some point having now passed the port and the university - which we knew were close but not where we wanted to be. Unfortunately with the water on our right, this meant we had to go left\u0026hellip; Up the really big hill. So, with no other option, up we went. After about a kilometer of walking up what could only politely be described as a bloody steep hill we emerged in Taksum square - to the relief of us both. What better time than now to pull up a seat in a cafe and indulge in a short break and a cool drink.\nTaksim square was abuzz with people - all seemingly coming and going from nowhere. So after looking around for a while we headed back down the hill via the pedestrian street walkway to take in some of the retail sector.\nAt the bottom of the hill we decided to jump onto a tram and headed back to the hotel to rest up for a few hours before heading back out later tonight for dinner.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-22-istanbul-day-2-blue-mosque-aya-sophia-spice-bazaar-taksim-square-and-kebabs/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo our second full day in beautiful Istanbul has been packed with sight seeing - all the usual touristy places: The Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, The Spice Bazaar, and Taksim Square (notably we are leaving the Grand Bazaar for a later day).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUp and out reasonably early this morning our hotel is well positioned only a short walk to both the Blue Mosque and Aya Sophia. Up the hill and to the Blue Mosque first.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Istanbul Day 2 - Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, Spice Bazaar, Taksim Square and Kebabs"},{"content":"So after our first day in Istanbul I can confess it has well and truly won me over. There is something about Istanbul\u0026hellip; Something I can\u0026rsquo;t quite put my finger on\u0026hellip; something that has defiantly drawn me in.\nThis morning I find myself waking early - possibly due to jet lag, possibly due to the prayer calls - but I\u0026rsquo;m not complaining in the least. I headed up to the roof top terrace of our hotel to sit and watch as Istanbul slowly comes to life as the sun rises.\nThe outlook is across the Golden Horn and the Bosporus, with the Blue Mosque over my right shoulder and the Aya Sophia over my left. What could be more pleasant than this.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-22-istanbul-awakes/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo after our first day in Istanbul I can confess it has well and truly won me over. There is something about Istanbul\u0026hellip; Something I can\u0026rsquo;t quite put my finger on\u0026hellip; something that has defiantly drawn me in.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis morning I find myself waking early - possibly due to jet lag, possibly due to the prayer calls - but I\u0026rsquo;m not complaining in the least. I headed up to the roof top terrace of our hotel to sit and watch as Istanbul slowly comes to life as the sun rises.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Istanbul awakes"},{"content":"Wow, long flight overnight again. Seems like forever ago that we were checking in to our flight in KL airport. Anyway the flight was reasonably uneventful again (which in the case of air travel is actually a positive attribute).\nWe landed in at Ataturk airport in Istanbul at about 6am this morning. Apparently the Visa fee\u0026rsquo;s have increased\u0026hellip; Last time Laura was here the Visa cost $20 USD, they now weigh in at a more hefty $60 USD (or $45 Euro). I guess when it comes time to find more money from taxes it\u0026rsquo;s easier to get it from the visitors than upset the locals.\nAnyway Visas securely pasted into our passports, we collected our baggage and located our driver - he\u0026rsquo;s the guy holding the sign \u0026ldquo;Laura Modric\u0026rdquo;. A short ride into town later and we were checking into our hotel Tria in Sultanahmet - conveniently located between the Bosporus, Aya Sophia and the Blue Mosque - and all clearly visible from the hotels roof top terrace (somewhere I can see we will spend a number of evenings watching the sun setting with a refreshing beverage or five).\nSo were spending the morning chilling out a bit, catching up on some sleep and planning out what we want to do over the next few days.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-21-were-in-istanbul-not-constantinople/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWow, long flight overnight again. Seems like forever ago that we were checking in to our flight in KL airport. Anyway the flight was reasonably uneventful again (which in the case of air travel is actually a positive attribute).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe landed in at Ataturk airport in Istanbul at about 6am this morning. Apparently the Visa fee\u0026rsquo;s have increased\u0026hellip; Last time Laura was here the Visa cost $20 USD, they now weigh in at a more hefty $60 USD (or $45 Euro). I guess when it comes time to find more money from taxes it\u0026rsquo;s easier to get it from the visitors than upset the locals.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"We're in Istanbul, not Constantinople..."},{"content":"Day 1 So we arrived in Kuala Lumpur bright and early after a reasonably uneventful overnight flight from Melbourne.\nAfter navigating the necessary immigration and customs desks, we collected our bags and headed for KL city.\nThe express train to Kuala Lumpur central station was an easy 30 minute trip.\nGetting ripped off by our taxi driver at the station was also \u0026ldquo;easy\u0026rdquo;. Who would have thought two sleep deprived foreign tourists who had no idea how much things should cost would have been easy targets\u0026hellip; Must have been the sleep glazed look in our eyes.\nAnyway, 30 ringgit and 10 minutes later we were safely delivered to our hotel. While it was still only $10 AUD (which at the time we were happy to pay just to get to the hotel), it is still the most expensive taxi trip we have taken here. Hope the driver took the afternoon off and his wife out for dinner!\nAfter checking into the hotel, we headed out to walk the streets and get a feel for KL. With little idea of where we were going, we decided to just walk in the direction of the Petronas towers which dominated the skyline.\nAfter about 30 minutes of walking we stumbled on the Bintang walkway. Anything involving Bintang has to be good right? Well we didn\u0026rsquo;t find beer, but we did find an air conditioned walk way that took us all the way to KL Convention Centre and the Petronas towers.\nStopping for a bite to eat and a quenching bottle of water, we rested in an air conditioned cafe. It was here that our attention was drawn to the contents of the bottled water we were drinking. Apparently not fresh spring or natural mineral water, but in fact recycled reclaimed municipal water\u0026hellip; To be honest, South East Asia wasn\u0026rsquo;t really the place I had imagined indulging in my first drop of recycled water - half way through the bottle is a little late to put an end to that though. To be honest it tasted like normal water - and I can only hope their claims of a 10 time reverse osmosis process being as \u0026ldquo;high tech\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;sanitary\u0026rdquo; are true\u0026hellip; I guess the next few days will really be the test - if my relationship with the toilet becomes suddenly more intimate, then I guess they will need to keep working on their process.\nAfter our adventures with recycled water, we headed to the base of the Petronas towers and \u0026ldquo;joined\u0026rdquo; the queue - but not for long when we heard the next available ticket were 4 hours away\u0026hellip; Exit stage left.\nBack to wandering the streets\u0026hellip;\nOur wanderings took us to the aquarium which was very worthwhile visiting. It was well setup and stocked with a diverse range of fish. The highlight was the under water travelator which takes you on a journey through a glass domed tank containing sharks, rays, giant turtles and many other types of fish.\nAfter the aquarium we stumbled across a small group of local food outlets where we decided to grab a Char Kuey Teow each which was absolutely awesome (even though it included something we assume to be chicken livers.. Not sure but the strong flavour was \u0026ldquo;different\u0026rdquo; to say the least).\nSitting down over lunch we decided to plan out our afternoon exploring the city. Next stop the outdoor bird aviary.\nGetting there looked easy. Jump on the monorail and head to the last stop at central station. Head past the Hilton hotel and through the park land that was beyond. Execution of this plan turned out to be considerably more difficult for the uninitiated than we had expected. The monorail trip was easy. Locating the Hilton on the skyline was a little more difficult as we had to walk between the monorail station and the train station before being able to see it appear in the skyline. Once we had our bearings we were set - or at least we thought.\nGetting our way to the front of he Hilton was step one. Walking through the Hilton car park.. Let\u0026rsquo;s call that step two. Navigating across the four lane motor way.. Step three. Following the apparently helpful signs to the bird aviary, step four.\nGetting completely lost after following both the map and the signs, step five.\nHow could we have gotten lost? We had walked no more than a kilometre from the Hilton following the signs for at least the last 800m. It had to be here\u0026hellip;\nConfused we decided to walk away from the lake garden area we found ourselves in - mainly because it didn\u0026rsquo;t feature on our map. We headed up the hill battling he heat and humidity all the way. At this point at least we could hear birds - a positive sign. We headed off in the direction of the bird calls - down the hill. After a good 500m we could see the aviary - but quickly realised we were at the back of it.\nAfter a brief rest, we walked back up the hill and eventually found the entrance. Relieved we paid our money and entered.\nAfter an afternoon of walking (significantly further than the advertised 1km from the Hilton), we decided to give our feet a rest and taxi home.\nOnce back at the hotel, our intentions of heading out and seeing the night life in KL disappeared as soon as we sat down. We were beat. So we ate in an called it a day.\nDay 2 After a good 12 hours sleep we woke ready to get back out walking around KL.\nAfter breakfast we headed out and wandered through the city and it\u0026rsquo;s many shopping complexes - which continually draw you in due to their offer of cool air conditioning.\nAs a Birthday treat for Laura, and a bit of fun to boot, we decided to go to one of the Fish Spa\u0026rsquo;s. For those that aren\u0026rsquo;t in the know, a Fish Spa involves you submersing your feet an legs into a pool of water and letting the Dr. Fish go for it eating the dead skin.\nSo sounded like fun - new experience and all. Submerging our feet into what I would describe as the \u0026ldquo;training wheels\u0026rdquo; pond - mainly because it contained the small fish - your feet are immediately attacked by hoards of hungry fish.\nThe sensation is something you can\u0026rsquo;t quite prepare yourself for. Other than tickling a lot it was actually fine once you became accustomed to it. Now to graduate to the big pool.\nThe fish in the big pool were\u0026hellip; Well big enough to fit a whole toe in their mouth. This upped the sensation somewhat and introduced a sandpaper feel.\nAgain after some time, the sensitivity wore off and you were able to cope for extended periods of time.\nAll told, while we both found it a bit of fun, I don\u0026rsquo;t think Laura was sold on the idea. Happy Birthday anyway!!\nSo after recovering our feet from the aquatic feeding frenzy, we headed back to the hotel to prepare to check out and start loitering around to wait for our flight out to Turkey later tonight.\nSo we have a heap of photos which I will try to come back and incorporate into the post once I have a better connection and something bigger than my iPhone (it a mission typing something this long on an iPhone).\nCatch you all from Turkey.\nLucas \u0026amp; Laura.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-20-two-days-in-kuala-lumpur/","summary":"\u003ch1 id=\"day-1\"\u003eDay 1\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo we arrived in Kuala Lumpur bright and early after a reasonably uneventful overnight flight from Melbourne.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter navigating the necessary immigration and customs desks, we collected our bags and headed for KL city.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe express train to Kuala Lumpur central station was an easy 30 minute trip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGetting ripped off by our taxi driver at the station was also \u0026ldquo;easy\u0026rdquo;. Who would have thought two sleep deprived foreign tourists who had no idea how much things should cost would have been easy targets\u0026hellip; Must have been the sleep glazed look in our eyes.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Two days in Kuala Lumpur"},{"content":"So I have started to put some more thought into the content of my blog - trying to refocus back on why I originally started it - travel, stories and experiences.\nTo that end, I have started to go back over our travels, and reminisce about the stories and experiences we have had. This has lead me to start thinking about the destinations I enjoyed the most - my Top 10, as well as putting together the wish list - my travel destination bucket list\u0026hellip; the places I would love to see next.\nMy Travel Top 10 is coming along slowly. It\u0026rsquo;s a very considered process including a destination into my top 10. I need to go back over all the places I have been to and try to figure out what it was about each place that made it special, and if that is sufficient for it to qualify for the elusive top 10.\nSimilarly with the Destination Bucket List. There are so many places to see in the world, but which of these are truly the ones I want to see.\nI\u0026rsquo;m hoping to keep both of these lists updated regularly. As I travel and see new places. The bucket list will hopefully be the driver of where to next, and the top 10 will determine if it was truly one of the places in the world that I enjoyed.\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-12-top-10-visited-and-bucket-list-destinations/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo I have started to put some more thought into the content of my blog - trying to refocus back on why I originally started it - travel, stories and experiences.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo that end, I have started to go back over our travels, and reminisce about the stories and experiences we have had.  This has lead me to start thinking about the destinations I enjoyed the most - my \u003ca href=\"travel-top-10-favourite-places-and-what-we-liked-most-about-them/\" title=\"Travel Top 10\"\u003eTop 10\u003c/a\u003e, as well as putting together the wish list - my \u003ca href=\"travel-destination-bucket-list/\" title=\"Travel Destination Bucket List\"\u003etravel destination bucket list\u003c/a\u003e\u0026hellip; the places I would love to see next.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Top 10 visited, and bucket list destinations"},{"content":"So Laura and I will be heading off to Turkey in a few weeks. While Laura has been to Turkey twice previously, this will put a tick in the \u0026ldquo;done\u0026rdquo; column on my travel bucket list.\nThe more people we talk to about Turkey, the better it sounds - I haven\u0026rsquo;t met anyone yet with a bad story, and actually all the stories I have heard sound fantastic.\nIt will be a reasonably whirlwind trip this time, about 11 days in total made up of 2 days in Kuala Lumpur on the way over, then the rest of our time in Turkey being mainly concentrated in Istanbul with an overnight trip to Gallipoli (to see the ANZAC war memorials and battle fields) and historic Troy.\nSo as our preparations continue, the excitement is building - and the clock is ticking until we leave. While in Istanbul I am planning on taking a lot of photos - what is there not to like about a city so full of vibrant colours, culture and postcard like scenes such as the Blue Mosque, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, and the Ayasofya.\nWith luck we will have internet access during our trip, so I will be able to sit back in the evenings enjoying a refreshing local beverage or two, possibly smoking on a Shisha Pipe, and reflect on the events of the day to distil the essence of our day into a blog post.\nUntil then\u0026hellip; elveda (goodbye in Turkish - according to Google translate at least :) )\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-05-06-preparing-the-turkey-lead-up-to-istanbul-trip/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo Laura and I will be heading off to Turkey in a few weeks.  While Laura has been to Turkey twice previously, this will put a tick in the \u0026ldquo;done\u0026rdquo; column on my travel bucket list.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe more people we talk to about Turkey, the better it sounds - I haven\u0026rsquo;t met anyone yet with a bad story, and actually all the stories I have heard sound fantastic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt will be a reasonably whirlwind trip this time, about 11 days in total made up of 2 days in Kuala Lumpur on the way over, then the rest of our time in Turkey being mainly concentrated in Istanbul with an overnight trip to Gallipoli (to see the ANZAC war memorials and battle fields) and historic Troy.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Preparing the Turkey - The lead up to our Istanbul trip"},{"content":"So we are back on dry land after 7 nights aboard the the Pacific Dawn - why are we still rocking?\nSailing out of Brisbane about a week ago, all seemed fine\u0026hellip; the sun was out, the Brisbane river was calm, as were the waters off the Queensland coast line. Time for the group to start relaxing with a few refreshing beverages (long island ice tea\u0026rsquo;s became a favourite) up on the pool deck - what a life\u0026hellip;\nLater in the afternoon, as we started to slowly depart from the Queensland coast line, the water became a little more \u0026ldquo;choppy\u0026rdquo; should we say. Not overly rough, but noticeably rocking - especially to the uninitiated cruisers that we were.\nWith the weather remaining good, despite the slight rocking motion, the fun and drinks up on the pool deck continued - we were \u0026ldquo;relaxing\u0026rdquo; :)\nOver the course of the next 2 days we headed towards New Caledonia. 2 Days at sea, with nothing else to do but enjoy the company, the drinks, and the fun\u0026hellip; again very relaxing indeed\u0026hellip; however the rocking of the boat was becoming more and more noticeable\u0026hellip; something to do with the gail force winds, and the 4-5meter swell we encountered :(\nIt\u0026rsquo;s at this point we discovered who was really made for the sea, and who were better off on the land - with a number of our group starting to turn green with sea sickness\u0026hellip; and they were not alone - green was a common look shared by many of our fellow cruisers aboard the ship.\nMost nights we spent moving about the various bars on board the ship (there were at least 8 we found), before heading out to dinner in the formal dining room (at least those of us who could cope with the rocking motion and the indoors at the same time :) ). The formal dinning room provided a reasonably classy dining experience, with full table service and two waiters. The menu changed each night to ensure plenty of options, and overall the food was quite good.\nNew Caledonia: We finally arrive into port at New Caledonia - stepping onto dry, unmoving land was a relief for some of us. The weather wasn\u0026rsquo;t great - while it was comfortably warm, it was drizzling the whole time, which put a bit of a downer on our time on the island.\nWe jumped on a local tour bus to get a look around the island, before later heading out to Lemon Bay for dinner in a relatively nice French influenced restaurant, and then back on the boat and sailing for the Isle of Pines.\nLuckily the captain decided to keep the ship within the sheltered waters of the nearby islands and reefs which gave us all a little rest bight from the constant rocking and rolling of the open water.\nThe Isle of Pines: Having cruised overnight from New Caledonia, we awoke in the morning to the picturesque scenery that is the Isle of Pines.\nThe Pacific Dawn moored out in the bay off the Isle of Pines and we all boarded tenders to go ashore.\nOnce ashore we were free to explore, swim, snorkel and\u0026hellip; eat and drink. The Isle of Pines was beautiful - squeaky white beaches, and beautifully warm clear water (would have been magic if we weren\u0026rsquo;t there with 2,000 other tourists :) ).\nVanuatu: After spending the day on-shore at the Isle of Pines, we headed for Vanuatu, again cursing overnight to arrive early the next morning.\nGetting off the ship in Port Vila, we we confronted by no less than 5,000 taxi drivers (it had to be close to 5,000) - every taxi on the island was at the port\u0026hellip; each vying for your money to take you on a tour for the day.\nAfter a short attempt at ignoring the constant barrage of taxi drivers offering up their services, we realised attempting to walk through the markets at the port was useless and gave in - selecting a driver\u0026hellip; apparently at random based on his value offer, $15 each for the whole day to go and see a village, the waterfalls, and hide-away island.\nThe deal was done\u0026hellip; next we had to find his taxi and get it back to the rest of the group - an adventure in itself with the other 5,000 taxi drivers all trying to do the same thing in a space no bigger than a small shopping centre car park.\nEventually we go into the air conditioned comfort of a clapped out van, and joined the queue of taxis - impressing all those behind us by pulling up midway down the line to the exit of the port to collect the rest of our group\u0026hellip; and then we were away.\nFirst stop, a remote village. Travelling through the village was an experience, seeing how the vast majority of the locals live - grass huts is not an exaggeration. Dog, pigs, chickens and happy kids were running all through the village. Lots of smiles and waves from the friendly locals.\nNext we were off to the waterfalls - something we had been told not to miss. Paying our $20 admission to the park, we had a short walk (about 20min) up to the base of the falls. Unloading out gear and wading through the water, you can follow a path up the river towards the falls. This involved a bit of climbing u wet slippery rocks, but wasn\u0026rsquo;t overly challenging and was defiantly worth the effort to bath in the warm pools at the base of the falls. The waterfall was amazingly beautiful set into the tropical jungle scene.\nRelaxing totally in the pools at the bottom of the falls - it was hard to leave. The water was like a tempered bath, absolutely refreshing from the humidity in the air. But the time came to move on, and we headed back to our van to get a lift to the next destination on our itinerary - Hideaway island.\nHideaway Island is a small privately owned island with a small resort. Only a few hundred meters from the main land, a small ferry service takes you over to the island (for a fee of $10). Again, the atmosphere on the island was that of pure relaxation. We rented some snorkelling gear and spent most of our time swimming over and around the beautiful reef area near the island. Topical fish, coral, giant clams - it the underwater life was amazing and extremely colourful.\nFinally time had come to head back to the ship and commence the two day sea voyage home. The weather had improved significantly for our homeward voyage - with the seas being much calmer\u0026hellip; still this wasn\u0026rsquo;t enough for all of us, with the odd green face still surfacing from time to time.\nThe next two sea days were spent much like the first - relaxing up on the pool deck, or out the back of the ship in the adults only sun lounge. Again cocktails assisting with the relaxation process.\nLaura and I treated ourselves out to dinner in the Luke Magan Salt restaurant on board the ship - the food was amazing and we had wished we had discovered it sooner.\nSo we are back on land now, heading home totally relaxed and having enjoyed our seven nights out on the open seas cruising.\nWould we do it again\u0026hellip; probably. It took a little while for us to warm to the concept once on board, but after unwinding, and getting into the everyday life on board it was pretty pleasant all told.\nAnyway.. enough of cruising, we now need to focus on our trip to Turkey which is in late May..\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-03-31-south-pacific-cruise-wrap-up/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we are back on dry land after 7 nights aboard the the Pacific Dawn - why are we still rocking?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSailing out of Brisbane about a week ago, all seemed fine\u0026hellip; the sun was out, the Brisbane river was calm, as were the waters off the Queensland coast line.  Time for the group to start relaxing with a few refreshing beverages (long island ice tea\u0026rsquo;s became a favourite) up on the pool deck - what a life\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e","title":"South Pacific Cruise Wrap  Up"},{"content":"By this time next week we will be cruising in the middle of the South Pacific - sun, sea breeze, and the obligatory beer/cocktail.\nThe cruise will take us on a whirlwind 7 nights through the South Pacific visiting Vanuatu, Noumea and the Isle of Pines on the way. Cruising is a completely new experience for us and can\u0026rsquo;t wait to leave dock next Saturday.\nNo doubt we will have some great photos to share from the cruise, so I will post them once we return.\nCheck out the cruise details here: P\u0026amp;O - Week Fantastique\n","permalink":"/posts/2012/2012-03-18-south-pacific-cruise/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eBy this time next week we will be cruising in the middle of the South Pacific - sun, sea breeze, and the obligatory beer/cocktail.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cruise will take us on a whirlwind 7 nights through the South Pacific visiting Vanuatu, Noumea and the Isle of Pines on the way. Cruising is a completely new experience for us and can\u0026rsquo;t wait to leave dock next Saturday.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo doubt we will have some great photos to share from the cruise, so I will post them once we return.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"South Pacific Cruise"},{"content":"Well the long weekend is over, and we survived the weather\u0026hellip;\nParadise Valley was great. What better way to relax than sitting by the camp fire, drinking a few cold ones with mates.\nCan\u0026rsquo;t wait until the next long weekend.\n","permalink":"/posts/2010/2010-03-08-long-weekend-camping-paradise-valley/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWell the long weekend is over, and we survived the weather\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eParadise Valley was great. What better way to relax than sitting by the camp fire, drinking a few cold ones with mates.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCan\u0026rsquo;t wait until the next long weekend.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Long weekend camping @ Paradise Valley"},{"content":"We made it back to Bangkok from Phuket, and are ready to board our flight back home to Australia!It\u0026rsquo;s hard to believe that after 4 months it\u0026rsquo;s finlay home time\u0026hellip; It had to happen, and we are both ready for it.\nI think our flight is about 8 or 9 hours to Sydney, where we get a domestic back to Melbourne - and onto the final stage of our trip, Bairnsdale.\nAnyway, we will see you all soon. It shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be too hard to spot us - we are the ones with the lovely European tans!\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-08-06-home-time/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe made it back to Bangkok from Phuket, and are ready to board our flight back home to Australia!It\u0026rsquo;s hard to believe that after 4 months it\u0026rsquo;s finlay home time\u0026hellip; It had to happen, and we are both ready for it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think our flight is about 8 or 9 hours to Sydney, where we get a domestic back to Melbourne - and onto the final stage of our trip, Bairnsdale.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Home time"},{"content":"After a long flight (11 hours) from London, we touched down in Bangkok, collected our bags, and exited the airport to our awaiting hotel transfer.\nOn exiting the airport, you immediately notice the humidity (it\u0026rsquo;s not as if its hiding!) - this place is hot and humid, luckily the south of Italy at this time of the year is also pretty humid and hot at times, so we have been fairly well acclimatised over the past weeks.\nWe were driven to our hotel and checked in - where we were greeted by my Mum (she is on her way over to England and Italy for 2 months).\nIt was really great to see a familiar face after 4 long months traveling, and it was really good to see Mum.\nWe only had a few hours together as Mum was flying out only hours after we arrived - but we managed to fit in a quick market wander, dinner and a chat before we had to say goodbye again.\nThe following morning we checked out of our Bangkok hotel, headed back to the airport to catch a local flight to Phuket.\nWe are staying in a Resort in Patong Beach, only about 20 min from Phuket town. The resort is absolutely beautiful, and has all you could want.\nIn our time here we have mastered the art of spending Baht! Its actually quite simple\u0026hellip; A massage here, some beautiful Thai food there, a few drinks bye the pool, a few tailored suits, and various nick-nacks from the street merchants\u0026hellip; In know time at all you have drained your wallet and need to replenish the supplies from the magic hole in the wall.\nWe can really recommend a Thai massage, especially after 4 long months of back packing around the world - Nothing like the burn of Tiger Balm to ease those aching mussels.\nAfter a few meals in the Resorts restaurant, we woke up and found the\nmuch better, and much cheaper eateries in the street (not street vendors - these are proper food establishments). In the resort, each dish would cost about 300 - 600 Baht. Down the street you can get Pad Thai noodles for 70-80 Baht. For\n300 Baht (about $10) we got Pad Thai, Basil Chicken, Pepper \u0026amp; Ginger Crab, a large beer and a coke - and could not eat another thing!\nAnyway\u0026hellip; we have seen the last of this for a while now. We check out tomorrow\nmorning to head for home - so I guess we could say \u0026ldquo;The honeymoon is over\u0026rdquo;.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-08-06-time-out-in-thailand/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter a long flight (11 hours) from London, we touched down in Bangkok, collected our bags, and exited the airport to our awaiting hotel transfer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn exiting the airport, you immediately notice the humidity (it\u0026rsquo;s not as if its hiding!) - this place is hot and humid, luckily the south of Italy at this time of the year is also pretty humid and hot at times, so we have been fairly well acclimatised over the past weeks.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Time out in Thailand"},{"content":"Let me start by saying - This place is ace!\nWe landed into Gatwick from Naples, almost a 3 hour flight, and had to make our way to Heathrow Terminal 4 - which nothing seems to go to directly!\nWe converted our left over Euro\u0026rsquo;s into Pounds which was almost exactly enough to buy our bus ticket from Gatwick to Heathrow - luckily its a free ride for BA travellers from Terminal 5 to Terminal 4 on the bus.\nWe got here in reasonable time, and cleared security reasonably quickly. On the other side I suggested to Laura that we \u0026rsquo;try\u0026rsquo; our Qantas Frequent Flyer card at the BA Lounge - we could only be turned away and have to sit in the public lounge for just over 2 hours.\nLaura was a little hesitant initially, and took some convincing. I was not even sure we would get in. We approached the entry desk, presented our cards and boarding passes and we let in immediately!\nWe walked in and we were a little overwhelmed - what to do first? Use the free internet, go to the serve yourself anything you can dream of bar, the cafe, use the showers\u0026hellip; All of it is free!\nFirst up we grabbed some food - if we hadn\u0026rsquo;t been allowed in we were looking at a £10 McDonald\u0026rsquo;s meal. We enjoyed dinner with a lovely 2001 red wine, followed by a tall Gin \u0026amp; Tonic. We then had some more salad and bread, and finished with cheese and crackers.\nAfter a few more free pour Gin \u0026amp; Tonics we decided to have a shower - it was rather hot in Italy, and we have an 11 hour trip ahead of us. We were given our beeper to be alerted when the private shower facilities were free - this gave us time for another Gin \u0026amp; Tonic (for me) and a Bailies on ice (for Laura).\nAfter showering and freshening up we went to the lower level to use the internet - where I am now. Laura indulged in another glass of fine red wine, and I helped my self to a few more Gin \u0026amp; Tonics.\nLet me assure you - this place is much better than McDonald\u0026rsquo;s - but I\u0026rsquo;m sure we have already paid for it all (and more) in our ticket prices somewhere along the line. It\u0026rsquo;s just a pity we only discovered it now. Let me assure you we will be checking in early in Bangkok!\nAnyway, must away\u0026hellip; My Gin \u0026amp; Tonic is empty.\nSee you all soon.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-08-01-heathrow-terminal-4-ba-lounge/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLet me start by saying - This place is ace!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe landed into Gatwick from Naples, almost a 3 hour flight, and had to make our way to Heathrow Terminal 4 - which nothing seems to go to directly!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe converted our left over Euro\u0026rsquo;s into Pounds which was almost exactly enough to buy our bus ticket from Gatwick to Heathrow - luckily its a free ride for BA travellers from Terminal 5 to Terminal 4 on the bus.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Heathrow, Terminal 4, BA Lounge"},{"content":"We arrived into Benevento by train from Naples, and were greeted warmly by Laura\u0026rsquo;s relations Sandra and Lorenzo Ciaglia. We then drove for about 30min up into the hills to our destination, the small town of San Lupo.\nWe arrived right at the beginning of the three day festa, where the town honors its patron saint - San Lupo.\nDuring the festa the town comes alive, and is dressed up with lights all up and down the main street and through the main piazza in front of the church.\nThe three days of the festa include various religious and civic events, including various mass\u0026rsquo;s honoring San Lupo, public concerts of classical music in the piazza, fireworks, processions through the town and the obligatory markets and food stalls.\nOf course, it wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be an Italian fiesta without food - and there was defiantly no lack of that - Laura and myself generally returned to our accommodation most afternoons(for siesta), and again at night, stuffed to the brim with traditional Italian foods including, various pasta, pepperoni (stuffed peppers), breads, prosciutto, cheeses, parmigiana, vino, and beautiful home made limoncello - to mention just a few.\nThe town of San Lupo was absolutely beautiful. The main part of the town is essentially a medieval village with tiny cobble stone streets that wind up and down the side of a mountain.\nNow days the town sprawls out a little with more modern, free standing houses surrounding the original village - but we were surprised at how modern the interiors of the older houses in the village actually were.\nThe piazza is the main focal point of the town (as with most European towns and villages) with a church at one end, a bar at the other and houses all around.\nThe first two nights we stayed about 1km out of town (an easy walk), in a newly opened B\u0026amp;B which was great. On our last night (the festa night) we stayed in town with some family friends, Alex \u0026amp; Berel, who were a lovely older, English speaking, couple.\nWe participated in most of the events of the festa, including two of the main mass\u0026rsquo;s, and all three of the town processions - 1 to commemorate the beheading of a bandit who used to raid the town a few centuries ago, the next to bless the local oil and grain, and the final one which was the longest and wound its way through almost every street in the town was to honor San Lupo.\nThe final procession follows immediately after a large mass given by the Bishop. The procession is made up of a marching band at the front, who are followed by many candle holders (who have made offerings to San Lupo). They are followed by another marching band and a group of men who carry the statue of San Lupo on their shoulders. Finally, anyone else who wishes to participate in the procession (this included us) walk behind.\nThis final procession took about an hour - on quite a warm day - and wound its way through almost every street in San Lupo (all of the main ones at least). It starts and ends at the church.\nMany of the candle bearers walk the entire procession in bare feet.\nOnce the procession has completed (about 2.30pm), everyone retires to their houses for the festa lunch. Sandra had prepared an absolute feast for us - antipasto, lasagna, scallopini, pepperoni, parmigiana, fruit, and cake.\nThe festa night included continuous music in the piazza from two bands, and ended around 1.30am with a fireworks display - which we were lucky enough to watch from Alex \u0026amp; Beryl\u0026rsquo;s roof top terrace.\nAll in all San Lupo was fantastic. Initially we were not sure what to expect - we have passed through some small towns before and had been given a poor impression - San Lupo was unlike any where in Italy we had been before. Everyone knew who we were and that we were Australians (or Kangaroos as we were sometimes referred to) visiting for the festa on our Honeymoon.\nSan Lupo was defiantly a highlight for Italy, and even our entire trip. It was a fantastic way to spend our last few days in Italy - we will leave with fond memories of this little town, and the people we met there.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-31-san-lupo/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe arrived into Benevento by train from Naples, and were greeted warmly by Laura\u0026rsquo;s relations Sandra and Lorenzo Ciaglia. We then drove for about 30min up into the hills to our destination, the small town of San Lupo.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe arrived right at the beginning of the three day festa, where the town honors its patron saint - San Lupo.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring the festa the town comes alive, and is dressed up with lights all up and down the main street and through the main piazza in front of the church.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"San Lupo"},{"content":"After our adventures in Rome, our next stop was Napoli.\nWe headed to the Termini train station to reserve our seats - two seat reservations in 1st class came to 10 Euro.\nIn recent times, having traveled a fair amount on the trains in Italy, we had noticed that the train conductors were not overly concerned with our Eurail pass - it was always the reservation (which looks almost exactly like a regular ticket), that they were interested in.\nIt was at this point we decided to take a punt. Could we get to Napoli from Rome for 10 Euro in 1st class? The answer is yes. In fact it appeared you could have ridden the entire journey without paying, proving you got off before the last stop, being Napoli. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t until about 5 minutes before our arrival in Napoli that the conductor came rushing through our carriage.\nHe looked at our 1st class reservation\u0026hellip; stamped it\u0026hellip; and moved on.\nWe navigated our way from the train platform down in to the Metro, finally emerging about 500m from our hostel.\nFirst impressions of Napoli are of a chaotic city - people every where, and for every person walking there are about 10 motor scooters buzzing in and around people, cars and anything else that gets in their way.\nThe green pedestrian lights at crossings often don\u0026rsquo;t mean much - especially to scooters who seem to be above the law. Stepping onto the street has to be an act back by full confidence - its as though the traffic can smell your fear, and the slightest of hesitations could end up with a very close encounter with a Moped.\nAfter the initial shock, and after putting the heavy back packs down in our hostel we set out to absorb more of what Napoli has to offer - in particular delicious pizza.\nOn our second day in Napoli we decided to catch the train out to Pompeii for the day and explore the old city. We had been told that the Napoli train station was a pretty dodge place, and we found out first hand how dodge it could be.\nOn entering the train station we immediately walked towards the automatic ticket machines to purchase our tickets for the day.\nAfter waiting in line for a few moments a friendly man wandered over to us and asked if we required help. Immediately recognizing the blue shirts worn by the Italian train staff we responded by asking for tickets to Pompeii.\nWith this he led us across the station, away from the lines at the ticket machines to a newsagent stand. Here he asked the owner for the tickets we required to Pompeii and back - a total of about 10 Euro. We handed him money and received our change.\nThe man then took the tickets from the news stand owner and took us to the ticket validation machine. He validated our out-bound tickets for us and handed them to us. He was a little reluctant to give us the return tickets - at which point we began feeling like something was up. He eventually gave us the tickets and then mentioned that \u0026ldquo;Tips are nice.\u0026rdquo;\nAt this point we looked closer and his blue shirt, while remarkably similar to those worn by the Italian train staff did not actually carry the train companies logo.\nIt then hit us that we had been taken for a bit of a ride, and were even in doubt that we had the correct tickets.\nMean while the man continued to request tips, \u0026ldquo;10 Euro is nice.\u0026rdquo; The return tickets didn\u0026rsquo;t even cost us this much! At this point we thanked the man for his help and began walking off. This was obviously not to the mans liking as he began yelling at us - \u0026ldquo;Tips, Tips, give me tips!\u0026rdquo;\nWe were both a little spooked after that, and every loud noise or bang that we heard as we hoofed it to the platform made us turn and check behind us that no-one was in pursuit, which they weren\u0026rsquo;t.\nWe verified that we had reached the correct platform and that we had the correct tickets - which made us feel a little better, but we were still a little unsettled by the fact that we had not picked up on what was going on. In hind sight, the man had actually helped us - although it was help we could have done without.\nOnce we got to Pompeii we had a fantastic day. Pompeii was dry, hot and dusty, with virtually no shade in the whole place.\nUnfortunately we don\u0026rsquo;t often travel on day trips with much ID (except photo copies of our passports) - this meant couldn\u0026rsquo;t get one of the audio guides that had been recommended to us by others at our hostel. This was a little disappointing, however we managed to get around most of the city (which is huge), and saw most of the main sights.\nThe following day we left Napoli for Sorrento - with a little apprehension about what we would find, as the Lonely Planet guide had not given it a great wrap.\nWe arrived in Sorrento and were surprised. The town was actually very nice, and our camp ground was huge and resort style. We had booked into a small cabin van, and were within 50m walk from the pool, the mini-market, and the restaurant.\nThe cabins were arranged into a group of about 6, with a small basic kitchen and fridge in another separate half cabin.\nWe were also lucky enough to have two other great groups of people in the cabins near us - one young Australia couple, and a group of three Irish girls. Other groups of people came and went over the time, but our three groups were the constants over the week that we stayed there.\nWe actually loved it there so much, we extended our stay by a day. We couldn\u0026rsquo;t see any reason to return to Napoli - especially with the weather as good as it was and a pool and the ocean on our door step.\nWe also found we were able to live reasonably cheaply, yet another reason to stay on.\nFrom Sorrento we made a day trip to Positano, which was an interestingly windy 20km, 1 hour bus ride.\nThe following day we ventured out to Capri, with the intention of seeing the blue grotto - however on arriving we quickly discovered that the tides had been wrong, and there was no way to get into the grotto. This put a bit of a hole in our plans for Capri. We eventually decided to do a boat tour around the island anyway, which turned out to be quite nice.\nThe remainder of the time in Sorrento was spent lazily by the pool, at the (rock) beach (with its amazing blue water) or around the cabins at night with a few drinks and a chat with the others staying there.\nToday sees us finally return to Napoli - back to the heat, but at least its only for one night. Tomorrow we are off to Benevento and San Lupo for three days!\nWe do have photos, but until we find a new iPod cable, we may not be able to put any of them up\u0026hellip;\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-27-napoli-sorrento-and-beyond/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter our adventures in Rome, our next stop was Napoli.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed to the Termini train station to reserve our seats - two seat reservations in 1st class came to 10 Euro.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn recent times, having traveled a fair amount on the trains in Italy, we had noticed that the train conductors were not overly concerned with our Eurail pass - it was always the reservation (which looks almost exactly like a regular ticket), that they were interested in.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Napoli, Sorrento and beyond"},{"content":"We made it to Rome after a pleasant few days in the Cinque Terre. Almost immediately we noticed that it was a little warmer here in Rome, away from the cooler comfort of the coast that Cinque Terre offered.\nWe are staying in a simple B\u0026amp;B - its not quite what you would classify as a B\u0026amp;B in Australia, but I guess it meets the necessities, we get a bed, and we get breakfast. To be honest, its actually quite nice. The room is huge, and while there are no cooking facilities we do have access to a fridge.\nFor out first full day in Rome we ventured out to the Colosseum, a short walk from where we are staying. We also wondered around and through many of the surrounding sights, including the Palatine, the Roman Forums, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps.\nOn our second day we ventured out to the Vatican city - not that the Pope is there\u0026hellip; he\u0026rsquo;s in Australia at the moment! Anyway, we took in most of the Vatican\u0026rsquo;s sights, including the huge St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peters square.\nThe Vatican has so much to offer, and many beautiful works of art - it was well worth a day there.\nToday we wandered down the road to the Basilica di San Giovanni- which was the first Christian Basilica built in Rome. The Basilica also serves as Rome\u0026rsquo;s cathedral, and is also the Pope\u0026rsquo;s seat as the Bishop of Rome. The Basilica is also the home to many ancient and religious relics, including the heads of both St. Peter and St. Paul.\nRome has been fascinating, and well worth the time.\nWe continue our trek south tomorrow as we move onto Naples for a few days.\nWe have now put up some of our photos from Rome - however, as we left our iPod cable in Rome, we may not be putting too many more photos up in the near future! Have to wait until we get home - lucky its not long now.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-18-when-in-rome/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe made it to Rome after a pleasant few days in the Cinque Terre. Almost immediately we noticed that it was a little warmer here in Rome, away from the cooler comfort of the coast that Cinque Terre offered.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are staying in a simple B\u0026amp;B - its not quite what you would classify as a B\u0026amp;B in Australia, but I guess it meets the necessities, we get a bed, and we get breakfast. To be honest, its actually quite nice. The room is huge, and while there are no cooking facilities we do have access to a fridge.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"When in Rome..."},{"content":"We arrived in Riomaggiore, the southern most town in the group of 5 towns that make up the \u0026lsquo;Cinque Terre\u0026rsquo;, and were immediately amazed by the bella vista that was in front of us.\nWe walked through the center of town to find the accommodation office. After a short discussion with the office lady we were off - winding our way through tiny streets and up stairs, to reach our apartment some 300m away and 120 steps up the hill side.\nThe houses here are all built into the side of the cliff faces that front onto the ocean, and the town spills back up the hill side connected by many narrow winding paths and stairways.\nWith our Cinque Terre Card in hand, we headed off early on the second morning to walk the path between the 5 towns, a 5 hour, 9km trek.\nWhen we initially saw that it was going to take 5 hours to walk 9km, we didn\u0026rsquo;t believe the sign. Starting off from Riomaggiore also did nothing for us believing the stated time. The first stage of the track is called \u0026lsquo;Lovers Lane\u0026rsquo;, and is quite nicely maintained, and a very simple walk.\nThe next stage of the track degrades somewhat, but remains a simple walk. By the time we reached the third town however, the track had degraded to a very simple track that leads around the hillsides. This stage is a killer, with many long climbs up and down large sets of stone stairs for the 4km that makes up this stage.\nThe final stage, all 3km of it, is the worst. By the time you get to this stage you are pretty buggered, and your legs are not wanting to propel you forward up and down the never ending stairways. This stage also has some of the poorest, and narrowest parts of the trail, which can become tricky to navigate if you encounter someone coming in the other direction.\nOverall, the trek is well worth the hard work – with heaps of beautiful scenery along the way (providing you find the time to look up from looking where your going to make your next step!).\nIt took us 4.5 hours, so the signs weren\u0026rsquo;t too far out in that respect. At the end, we were pretty buggered, and sore, but enjoyed it.\nAs a couple of pointers – defiantly leave early. This will help to avoid the heat of the day. We left pretty early, and it was hot by the end. Also you avoid many of the other tourists who walk along the track between the towns as well. A lot of water is also a must. We drank over 3 liters on the trip, and were still a little dehydrated by the end.\nThe swimming here is also a great relief from the Italian summer heat – although most of the beaches are made up of big (and hot) rocks and pebbles. For sandy beaches, you have to head to the the northern most towns in the Cinque Terre, although these are black sand, and crawling with tourists – so in a way, the rocky beaches are almost better, as they are not as crowded (the waters all the same!).\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-15-the-cinque-terre/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe arrived in Riomaggiore, the southern most town in the group of 5 towns that make up the \u0026lsquo;Cinque Terre\u0026rsquo;, and were immediately amazed by the bella vista that was in front of us.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe walked through the center of town to find the accommodation office. After a short discussion with the office lady we were off - winding our way through tiny streets and up stairs, to reach our apartment some 300m away and 120 steps up the hill side.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Cinque Terre"},{"content":"On our way from Certaldo to Cinque Terre we made a very brisk stop over in Pisa for the obligatory photos\u0026hellip;\nTo be honest, we\u0026rsquo;re not sure what else, besides the leaning tower, that this town has to offer. Many others we have met suggested it wasn\u0026rsquo;t worth saying here, and that you could see all you needed to in an hour or two - we took their advice, and were in an out of Pisa in about an hour and a half, having satisfied our curiosity.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-11-pisa-in-and-out/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOn our way from Certaldo to Cinque Terre we made a very brisk stop over in Pisa for the obligatory photos\u0026hellip;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo be honest, we\u0026rsquo;re not sure what else, besides the leaning tower, that this town has to offer. Many others we have met suggested it wasn\u0026rsquo;t worth saying here, and that you could see all you needed to in an hour or two - we took their advice, and were in an out of Pisa in about an hour and a half, having satisfied our curiosity.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Pisa - in and out"},{"content":"The transport strike has finished, and so has our forced day of relaxation in Bologna (yes\u0026hellip; we did absolutely nothing, and loved it!) - we grabbed the early train out of town and headed for Certaldo in Tuscany.\nCertaldo is a cute little town south west of Florence (Firenze), and north of Siena. We are staying in a beautiful agriturismo B\u0026amp;B, come self contained shared apartment - it has everything, free mountain bikes, kitchen \u0026amp; fridge, internet, etc, and is immaculate.\nThe owners only speak Italian, so this is helping us to hone our skills - and Laura is actually doing quite well.\nWe spent the afternoon in San Gimignanao, which is a short train and bus ride from here. Its an absolutely beautiful old town that is enclosed in huge fortifications, and has many towers. The town itself appears to be rather touristy, however this doesn\u0026rsquo;t take away from its beauty at all.\nI managed to pick us up some local wild boar salami, which we are looking forward to sampling very shortly.\nTomorrow we are planning to head off into Florence for the day, and then hopefully explore the old town of Certaldo in the afternoon.\nIf you want to check out where we are staying, their we site is - http://www.ilpianigiano.it\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-09-under-the-tuscan-sun/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThe transport strike has finished, and so has our forced day of relaxation in Bologna (yes\u0026hellip; we did absolutely nothing, and loved it!) - we grabbed the early train out of town and headed for Certaldo in Tuscany.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCertaldo is a cute little town south west of Florence (Firenze), and north of Siena. We are staying in a beautiful agriturismo B\u0026amp;B, come self contained shared apartment - it has everything, free mountain bikes, kitchen \u0026amp; fridge, internet, etc, and is immaculate.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Under the Tuscan Sun"},{"content":"Despite all efforts to plan and schedule the Italian leg of our trip, there is nothing we can do about a public transport strike.\nThe strike incorporates buses, trains, and planes - so we aren\u0026rsquo;t going anywhere! We were meant to leave Bologna today for San Gimiamo, but this will have to wait until tomorrow.\nSo today is a forced day of relaxation in the Bolognese country side - we can\u0026rsquo;t even get into town as we rely on the local bus service.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-07-italian-transport-strike/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDespite all efforts to plan and schedule the Italian leg of our trip, there is nothing we can do about a public transport strike.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe strike incorporates buses, trains, and planes - so we aren\u0026rsquo;t going anywhere! We were meant to leave Bologna today for San Gimiamo, but this will have to wait until tomorrow.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo today is a forced day of relaxation in the Bolognese country side - we can\u0026rsquo;t even get into town as we rely on the local bus service.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Italian transport strike"},{"content":"We arrived in Bologna yesterday afternoon, after a short train trip from Venice (2 hours). We managed to navigate the local bus system with the help of a local and shortly after arrived at our B\u0026amp;B which is located in the country side hills overlooking farmland and the city - about 15 minutes drive out of town.\nIts absolutely beautiful here. The relaxing surroundings, the peacefulness of the Italian country side\u0026hellip; Its just what we needed - a change from staying in city\u0026rsquo;s.\nAfter a relaxed afternoon of sitting on our balcony overlooking the country side, and having a few refreshing beers\u0026hellip; and a nap\u0026hellip; it was time for dinner out on the patio where we could watch the sun setting over Bologna.\nWe selected the local traditional plater and a salad to share for dinner, which was made up of all local produce including; salami, prosciutto, mortadela (which originated here in Bologna), dips and sauces, pickled peppers, pickled onions, pork fat, parmesan, and two types of bread - one a fried flat bread, and the other a small hard bread (resembling a hard flat scone). Our meal was accompanied by a glass or two of wine, and some conversation with the owner.\nIt really topped of a very relaxing afternoon - it was beautiful sitting outside, eating dinner, watching the sun go down.\nToday we have plans to catch the bus into town and look around. Bologna - what we saw briefly of it yesterday - appears to be a lovely city with lots to see, and it has a reputation for amazing local food (Parma - where Parma ham is from, and Modena - where the fine Balsamic is from, are both just up the road).\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-05-the-bologna-country-side/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe arrived in Bologna yesterday afternoon, after a short train trip from Venice (2 hours). We managed to navigate the local bus system with the help of a local and shortly after arrived at our B\u0026amp;B which is located in the country side hills overlooking farmland and the city - about 15 minutes drive out of town.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIts absolutely beautiful here. The relaxing surroundings, the peacefulness of the Italian country side\u0026hellip; Its just what we needed - a change from staying in city\u0026rsquo;s.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Bologna Country Side"},{"content":"We are finally on the last leg of our trip (in Europe anyway!) - we hit Italy three days ago (1st July), having caught a rather scenic train from Salzburg. The scenery was absolutely amazing - travelling by train through the Austrian and Italian Alps is highly recommended. There are a few rather long tunnels at times, but the scenery, especially prior to leaving Austria was unbelievable.\nOnce again we used our Eurail ticket to facilitate the 6 hour trip (with 1 change over) from Salzburg to Venice. We raced to get on the train in Salzburg - in amongst heaps of school kids who obviously use the intercity service instead of the suburban service for its comfort to get to and from school.\nWe found ourselves some seats, and tried to settle in. After a few stops some of the kids left - although more got on to replace them.\nIn a short while the ticket inspector made his way through the carriage - it was then that we inspected out ticket a little closer, and noticed the words \u0026lsquo;1st class\u0026rsquo; printed on it! We had just assumed our tickets were second class - they were not!\nWe verified this with the conductor, and shortly after we had made our way to the back of the train and were reclining in large leather seats - a long way from the loud school kids we had competed for seats with.\nFortunately we still have a few more trips left on the Eurail pass - so all is not lost, and we will defiantly be making the most of 1st class. To be honest, most of the \u0026lsquo;good\u0026rsquo; trains in Germany and Austria have 2nd class carriages that are the equal to any 1st class we probably have back in Australia (on the Melbourne to Bairnsdale line anyway!).\nSo we arrived in Venice - its hot, and its very humid! Its hard to escape the heat. We are staying a little out of town so had to catch the bus from the train station to our hotel. Not being used to the bus system here we go of at what we though was the second last stop - as instructed - however this was actually the first stop in the second last suburb, not the last stop!\nSo we were essentially in the middle of no where with the next bus half an hour away. We decided to walk for a few stops to pass the time\u0026hellip; We soon realised however that we may be in a bit of a seedy area - something to do with the girls on the side of the road with really small shorts on!\nWe decided to wait it out at the next bus stop, and it wasn\u0026rsquo;t too long before we were back on the bus and headed for our hotel - the bus driver was kind enough to assist.\nFinally we arrived - and the place is actually quite nice\u0026hellip; just in the middle of no where\u0026hellip; but it has air conditioning, a saviour from the humidity and heat.\nSo we have ventured out into Venice city for the last 3 days. Its like a maze - streets and allies going in all directions - none of them directly leading to where you want, or need to go. Its almost pure luck that you can navigate back to the same place twice - but I think this is part of its charm.\nWe have managed, probably more by chance and being lost, to see most of the city. We never seem to have taken the same path twice, which is actually quite nice.\nWe were keen to get a gondola ride, however after discovering that there is an 80 Euro price tag on the journey, we decided to contemplate it for a while - 80 Euro can go towards so much. Eventually we decided not to, maybe next time\u0026hellip;\nSo tomorrow we are off to Bologna (apparently the gastronomical capital of northern Italy) for a few days.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-04-viva-italia/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe are finally on the last leg of our trip (in Europe anyway!) - we hit Italy three days ago (1st July), having caught a rather scenic train from Salzburg. The scenery was absolutely amazing - travelling by train through the Austrian and Italian Alps is highly recommended. There are a few rather long tunnels at times, but the scenery, especially prior to leaving Austria was unbelievable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnce again we used our Eurail ticket to facilitate the 6 hour trip (with 1 change over) from Salzburg to Venice. We raced to get on the train in Salzburg - in amongst heaps of school kids who obviously use the intercity service instead of the suburban service for its comfort to get to and from school.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Viva Italia"},{"content":"We pick-up here were our last post left off. We have arrived in Salzburg – and its the night of the Euro Cup 2008 final, Germany -v- Spain. With Austria being the hosts, we were in for a big night (it had already been a long day\u0026hellip; whats a few more hours).\nWe headed out to the old city, about a 15min walk from where we were staying. A large Fan Zone had been set up in the city\u0026rsquo;s main square with two huge screens, a stage, and of course heaps of beer tents.\nWe decided to relax a little (after our huge day) before venturing back to the Fan Zone. We found a beer garden not far away from the center of town that was showing the game on plasma screens, grabbed a table and some dinner and relaxed with a few local Austrian beers for a few hours.\nAfter half time we decided to head up to the main square and join in the other fans to watch the last half of the game. At this stage Spain was up 1-0 over Germany.\nThe main square was packed to capacity – there were people everywhere. The game was eventually won by Spain – to the delight of many in attendance. The crowd erupted in cheering and chanting. It has been over 20 years since Spain has won a title at the European level – so this was a big thing.\nWe vacated the square and began heading home – along with the majority of the German supporters.\nWe were up early again the following morning as we had booked onto the 9am Sound of Music tour around Salzburg. The tour took us through much of Salzburg, and showed us many of the places that were used in the filming of the movie – Laura was in her element. The tour also took us out of town to the lakes district, and to some absolutely beautiful scenery. We had a short stop over in a small town with just enough time to have a coffee and sample some apple strudel, which was divine, before getting back on the bus and heading back to Salzburg to complete the tour.\nWe spent the afternoon exploring the Salzburg castle/fortress, which is the predominant feature in Salzburg, and can be seen from nearly anywhere in the city.\nAfter this we headed to another beer garden – this one was run by monks, and was established in 1621. They had a pretty impressive setup. Walking in from the street the place doesn\u0026rsquo;t look like much – then you wander down some passage ways, and steps and come to a corridor with local food stalls. Further on you emerge into a massive beer garden.\nWe relaxed in the beer garden for the afternoon and sampled some of the monks beer, which is drawn straight from the barrel, and was, as with most beer over here, great.\nLater we headed home to get some rest, as we were off early in the morning to Venice, Italy! The start of the Italian leg of our journey.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-07-01-the-sound-of-salburg/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe pick-up here were our last post left off. We have arrived in Salzburg – and its the night of the Euro Cup 2008 final, Germany -v- Spain. With Austria being the hosts, we were in for a big night (it had already been a long day\u0026hellip; whats a few more hours).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe headed out to the old city, about a 15min walk from where we were staying. A large Fan Zone had been set up in the city\u0026rsquo;s main square with two huge screens, a stage, and of course heaps of beer tents.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Sound of Salzburg"},{"content":"So we left Prague, and the Czech Republic behind us (and the train made it this time!) for the spoils of Munich (passing back through Dresden, to minimize our ticket cost, and maximize our use of the Eurail pass).\nStraight out, Munich is a lovely city – beer halls, parks \u0026amp; gardens, old buildings, and lovely people (well almost all of them – we will get to this later).\nOur first night in Munich consisted of us checking into our accommodation, about 5 min walk from the station, then heading out for a bite to eat and something to drink. Walking the streets for the first time, not knowing were we were going it wasn\u0026rsquo;t long, literally 2 minutes, before we stumbled on our first Munich beer hall\u0026hellip; We need look no further.\nSo dinner consisted of a shared plate of mozzarella and tomato salad, and a few beers, followed by a shared plate of farm style chicken and pommies (chips) and the ultimate Munich style beer – 1 Mass – the 1 liter stein.\nThe beer hall had the obligatory screening of the Euro Cup (Russia v Spain) which made for a great atmosphere.\nThe following day (yes, we didn\u0026rsquo;t drink too much!) we jumped on a free bike tour of Munich. This took us around many of the sights, including\u0026hellip; yes a beer garden.\nAt the start of the tour, the guide was looking for a volunteer – and then I got that feeling\u0026hellip; he\u0026rsquo;s going to pick me! And he did. I was the lucky \u0026lsquo;volunteer\u0026rsquo;. I was given the job of \u0026lsquo;bringing up the rear\u0026rsquo;. I had to make sure that we left no one behind, and that the group didn\u0026rsquo;t straggle – as they often can with people taking photos, etc. I was given authority – although this was somewhat diminished by my new name, \u0026lsquo;Ass Man\u0026rsquo;.\nOn the tour we ventured through the main park area of Munich, which is loved and adored by the locals – and by none more than the local nudists (yes it is legal to be nude in the middle of Munich!).\nThe park featured as one of our stops, and being a warm day, there were plenty of people about – and one in particular (a nudist), who our guide dubbed \u0026lsquo;Tripod\u0026rsquo;, and we soon found out why! He was not shy of tourists, and actually appeared to enjoy the tourist presence, in amongst his odd 10m jog (for no apparent reason), or throw of the frisbee (to himself). Needless to say we quickly moved on before he became any more friendly.\nThe park is also the home to the Munich river surfers. The river that flows through the park was altered artificially by US solders after the war to entertain themselves. The river was temporarily stopped, and a large piece of concrete put in place to cause a large pressure wave in the river – which provides quite good surfing. It was pretty amazing to see people jumping in on the wave one after another surfing it, and bailing to let the next on.\nOnce the tour finished, I relinquished my authority (and my nick name), and we headed out to explore more of Munich on our own – first stop the market to pick up some local food for lunch (bread, dip, pickled octopus, olives, tomato and mozzarella salad, and strawberries). We managed to entertain ourselves for the rest of the day – ending up at the famous Hofbrauhaus beer hall, where we indulged in a few beers to end the day.\n] The following day was a somewhat more sombre affair – we took a tour out to Dachau where the first Nazi concentration camp was located. The tour was a pretty sobering experience, and really told a strong story. While Dachau was not an actual \u0026lsquo;death camp\u0026rsquo;, in the same sense that Auschwitz was, many thousands of people did die there – mainly through disease, undernourishment, overwork, suicide, or a combination of many other factors.\nOne of the most amazing pieces of information we were told on the tour that helped to cement how bad conditions would have been was in regard to the camp population size. The camp was originally built and designed to hold 2,500 people – however when it was liberated at the end of the war, over 30,000 people were found in the camp.\nDachau was the first concentration camp – it was the model for all others. It was located just out of Munich, as Munich was the center of all things Nazi – it was where the Nazi party began, and where Hitler first started his political (for want of a better word) career.\nDachau has now been converted into a museum and memorial ground to both survivors and those who died.\nLater that afternoon we began planing for our exit from Munich, and Germany the following day – we were headed for Salzburg, Austria, although there was a dilemma\u0026hellip; We had just realised that the Neuschwanstein castle (the one Disney modeled their snow white castle on) was in German, and just over 2 hours from Munich!\nWhat to do\u0026hellip; We were pretty exhausted after a couple of big days on the run. If we were to get to Neuschwanstein it would mean we would have a very long and tight schedule for the next day in order to see the castle and get to Salzburg (the complete opposite direction).\nAfter much deliberation, we eventually came to the decision not to go – we were too exhausted\u0026hellip; 10min later though\u0026hellip; we though \u0026lsquo;were here now. Lets get some value out of this Eurail ticket\u0026rsquo;. So we were off – the decision was final, and the following schedule locked in:\n05.50: leave Munich by train to Fussen (the closest train station to the castle) 08.00: Arrive in Fussen and catch a bus to the town at the base of the hill where the castles were 08:30: Buy tickets to the castle tour (start 9.45am). Wander around the town and other castle for a while 09.00: Catch a horse drawn carriage up the hill to the Neuschwanstein castle 09.45: Start the castle tour 10.30: Rip round the remainder of the castle quickly, before quickly trying to get back down the mountain to catch the bus back to Fussen – which we missed, and through our original schedule out! 11.15: Catch the next bus back to Fussen 12.05: Catch the train from Fussen back to Munich 14.17: Arrive in Munich. Sprint to our lockers and get our packs. We had 5 minutes to catch the next train to Salzburg 14.22: The train to Salzburg pulls out of Munich Hbf – with us aboard! 16:45: Arrive in Salzburg! We had made it. While it was a bloody long day, we had managed to cram a lot in, and it was defiantly worth making the effort to see the castles – they look like they are straight out of a fairy tail!\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-29-munich-beer-halls-beer-halls-beer-halls-oh-and-tripod/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we left Prague, and the Czech Republic behind us (and the train made it this time!) for the spoils of Munich (passing back through Dresden, to minimize our ticket cost, and maximize our use of the Eurail pass).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStraight out, Munich is a lovely city – beer halls, parks \u0026amp; gardens, old buildings, and lovely people (well almost all of them – we will get to this later).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur first night in Munich consisted of us checking into our accommodation, about 5 min walk from the station, then heading out for a bite to eat and something to drink. Walking the streets for the first time, not knowing were we were going it wasn\u0026rsquo;t long, literally 2 minutes, before we stumbled on our first Munich beer hall\u0026hellip; We need look no further.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Munich...Beer halls, beer halls, beer halls... Oh and tripod!"},{"content":"Having arrived in Prague and settled in (after out exciting train ride) we decided to take a tour of Prague city – old, and new.\nThe tour started in the new Prague and worked its way through the streets to cross over into the old town. The old town is absolutely lovely – cobble stone streets that are easy to get lost in, and medieval buildings everywhere you look.\nThe tour was a mainly walking tour, although it also included a short boat ride up and down the river – giving a different perspective of the city.\nOnce off the boat we headed back into the city for the included traditional Czech lunch – this consisted of a very watery soup, a selection of either goulash (which Laura went with), or pork and sourcrout (which I went with). All mains were accompanied by 4 pieces of Czech dumpling – basically 4 slices of boiled bread. Desert was made up of something that resembled a donut (without a hole) covered in yogurt – overall rather bland, but I guess they make a tourist buck out of it.\nAfter lunch we continued into the old city and to what are probably the highlights of Prague – Charles Bridge, and the Prague Castle. Both were amazing.\nAfter the tour we slowly wandered home back over Charles Bridge (where we purchased a few souvenir photos), and finally home – to watch the Euro Cup quarter finals!\nThis pretty much wraps up our time in Prague – although we did have another day there, we dedicated this to planning for the rest of the trip, mainly the Italian leg (booking, etc is starting to get hard – and is becoming tedious).\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-26-a-touch-of-prague/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHaving arrived in Prague and settled in (after out exciting train ride) we decided to take a tour of Prague city – old, and new.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tour started in the new Prague and worked its way through the streets to cross over into the old town. The old town is absolutely lovely – cobble stone streets that are easy to get lost in, and medieval buildings everywhere you look.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe tour was a mainly walking tour, although it also included a short boat ride up and down the river – giving a different perspective of the city.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A touch of Prague"},{"content":"We laid awake this morning at about 4.50 am listening to the pouring rain, and claps of thunder didn\u0026rsquo;t put a positive spin on the day to come. After drifting back to sleep, we eventually go up and began to get ready for the day at about 6am - we had an early train to catch to Prague, at least the rain had stopped.\nWe got ourselves to the train station with plenty of time to spare for our 9am departure. As is our general experience with German public transport, the train pulled in exactly on time. We boarded and headed for our seats - we were in a 6 seater booth with only two other passengers.\nThe journey started - we were off to Prague, and the Czech republic, and whats more, the weather was great.\nLeaving the station at 9.10am, the arrival time was just over 2 hours away. Traveling through some very beautiful country side made the journey very pleasurable - we basically followed the river from Dresden all the way.\nAbout an hour into the journey we lost our cabin mates, and had the whole compartment to ourselves - this was great, we could stretch out and relax in the air conditioned comfort for the remainder of the trip.\nAs we drew closer to our destination we began to make some preparations - packing up our things so we could make a clean exit.\nWith only 30min until we reached Prague, we were now well over the Czech boarder and into Eastern Europe - it as at this point that the train slowed and pulled into a small station.\nThis station was, as we soon put together, an \u0026lsquo;un-scheduled\u0026rsquo; stop. Apparently there was a major problem with the locomotive pulling our train and it had to be \u0026lsquo;swapped out\u0026rsquo; for a new one before we could continue - or at least this is what we surmised after a conversation with the guard who could only speak Czech and German.\nThe locomotive was disconnected from the train - at which point so was our power - meaning no more air conditioning, or flushing toilets!\nThere is nothing quite like the feeling of being stranded on a broken train in Eastern Europe! Seeing our locomotive being towed away, not knowing when, or where the replacement would be coming from.\nAt this point there was a mass exodus from the train by \u0026rsquo;those in the know\u0026rsquo;, the locals, and anyone else who could successfully communicate with the guard.\nThe guard asked us our destination, to which we replied \u0026lsquo;Prague\u0026rsquo;. \u0026lsquo;You stay\u0026rsquo; came the reply - it appears he know some English.\nSo we stayed\u0026hellip; While everyone around us was getting off. It was an awkward feeling - do we get off an risk not catching another train, or do we stay and wait it out. We decided to take the guards advice and stay - after all, he should know whats best\u0026hellip; shouldn\u0026rsquo;t he?\nMeanwhile, with the lack of air conditioning, the temperature i the train started to raise to the point where it was no longer comfortable - and actually bloody hot. The guards had opened all the windows in the train that they could, but without movement it didn\u0026rsquo;t provide much relief.\nAt this point the tracks on either side of the train were strewn with passengers still making their way off the train - amongst the regularly scheduled trains that continued to fly past (another reason we though it best to remain on the train).\nWe quickly found that sitting in the open doorway of the train was the coolest - the cabins were becoming downright hot.\nWe sat on, in and around the train for the next 3.5 hours before excitement quickly spread through those that remained - a new locomotive was being connected to the train - it wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be long now!\nWith the news of this, many of those who left the train hoping to get another train quickly grabbed their bags, ventured back across the tracks and found their seats again on the train.\nIt was another 20 minutes before the train lurched to life - we were off again! Although it appeared that our carriage was still without power, and thus no air conditioning - the corridors again became a refuge, although at least the air was flowing now.\nA short 30 minute ride had us in Prague, our final destination. We had been traveling for about 5 hours now - not bad for a journey that is meant to take just 2 hours.\nWe made it, and in one piece - and with a good story to tell. So tonight we are sitting in our hostel (actually an old two bedroom apartment) having dinner, and a few drinks relaxing - planning what we will do tomorrow.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-24-dresden-to-prague-by-train-the-experience/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe laid awake this morning at about 4.50 am listening to the pouring rain, and claps of thunder didn\u0026rsquo;t put a positive spin on the day to come. After drifting back to sleep, we eventually go up and began to get ready for the day at about 6am - we had an early train to catch to Prague, at least the rain had stopped.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe got ourselves to the train station with plenty of time to spare for our 9am departure. As is our general experience with German public transport, the train pulled in exactly on time. We boarded and headed for our seats - we were in a 6 seater booth with only two other passengers.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dresden to Prague by train - the experience"},{"content":"We arrived into Dresden on the ICE train from Berlin and immediately fell in love with the city - despite it being a Sunday, and (almost) everything being shut.\nIf we had realised how cute Dresden was we would defiantly penciled it in for a few more nights than just one - it defiantly deserves more!\nOur hostel was about a 20 minute walk from the old town, but was situated in a new funky part of town with bars, cafe\u0026rsquo;s and restaurants.\nWe weren\u0026rsquo;t able to check into our hostel until mid-afternoon, so we dumped our bags (because they are getting heavier), and headed over to the old city.\nThe old city is situated on the northern side of the river Elbe, and is made up of beautiful cobble stone streets that wind their way between centuries old buildings, churches, and palaces - with the occasional modern upper class hotel thrown into the mix.\nWe headed to the Dresden Zwinger Palace and toured around there for the afternoon - in the heat (it was about 30c, and muggy). The palace was amazing, although we didn\u0026rsquo;t venture inside (as each separate section seems to require a different ticket!), we did walk through the court yard and around the roof terraces.\nWe then wandered back through the main part of town on our way to the hostel - and after checking in, and a quick refreshing shower, we headed back to the Zwinger Palace to take in an evening of the local ballet companies production of \u0026ldquo;Casanova\u0026rdquo; - which was a nice relaxing way to finish off the afternoon and early evening.\nHeading back home, we decided to watch the sun go down in one of the beer gardens that was located right on the banks of the river and looked back over the old city - a few local drafts (and a fresh pretzel) really helped to close out what turned out to be a really great day.\nWe both think that Dresden is a place we will need to come back and see again. Its the type of place that you feel you could live in, and appears to nicely strike a balance between the old and new.\nWhile we only experienced Dresden on a Sunday (and a very sunny one at that), the city had a very relaxed feel to it - and so many beautiful old buildings!\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-24-dresden-the-old-and-the-new/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe arrived into Dresden on the ICE train from Berlin and immediately fell in love with the city - despite it being a Sunday, and (almost) everything being shut.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf we had realised how cute Dresden was we would defiantly penciled it in for a few more nights than just one - it defiantly deserves more!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur hostel was about a 20 minute walk from the old town, but was situated in a new funky part of town with bars, cafe\u0026rsquo;s and restaurants.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Dresden - The old and the new"},{"content":"Today is our last day in Berlin – we are currently in the train station having breakfast and a coffee waiting for our train to Dresden.\nBerlin has been an experience! It\u0026rsquo;s not quite what i expected as a city, but everything and more than I expected as an experience. The history here is so immense – and its not all to do with Nazi\u0026rsquo;s and the Third Reich either – Berlin is so much more.\nOur first day was a pretty slow one, getting in at about 3pm from the train, we made our way to our hostel – which we were surprised to find out didn\u0026rsquo;t have kitchen or cooking facilities (which would have made eating heaps cheaper). The hostel was absolutely massive as well - not great for getting good night sleep as there is always someone carrying on out in the corridors. But we survived – live and learn – stick to the smaller hostels, and make sure they have kitchen facilities,\nAfter settling in, we headed out to explore the local neighborhood – which seemed to be pretty alternative, laid back, and chilled out part of the city (reminded us a bit of Brunswick St in Melbourne – heaps of cafe\u0026rsquo;s and restaurants, and cheapish food \u0026amp; drink).\nWe found ourselves a small pizza \u0026amp; pasta place where we could get a pizza for 2.50 Euros – bloody cheap compared to most eat out meals around. Beer was also at supermarket prices – 1.50 Euro for 500ml, compared to around 3.50 Euro elsewhere!\nWe soon discovered that Germany was playing Portugal – every cafe and restaurant had it on big screens out on the street. So we found a nice little cafe and settled in for the evening – enjoying the atmosphere, and the fire crackers that were let off in the street every time Germany scored. Germany ended up winning, which was probably a good thing considering how fanatical they are about the game over here.\nThe following day we headed into Berlin city to pick up a free bike tour around Berlin. The tour went for about 3.5 hours and took us to most of the main sights around the city – much better than walking, and the price was right! It was actually an excellent tour.\nLater in the afternoon – both rather tired – we headed back to the hostel for a brief planning session, a few beers and a bit to eat before taking in some soccer on the big screen at the hostel and an early-ish night.\nAfter enjoying the free bike tour so much, we decided to take up the Third Reich tour offered by the same tour group. This was a 3.5 hour walking tour around the main sights of Berlin that were associated with Hitler, the Nazi party, and the Third Reich in general. This was an absolutely fascinating tour, possibly one of the best we have done yet.\nFollowing the tour we stumbled upon a Jewish history museum, which is actually located beneath the European Jewish Memorial – which we were surprised we hadn\u0026rsquo;t seen on the previous day after spending some time at the memorial. This was a pretty good museum as well, and again it was at the right price.\nAfter another full day – and with now reasonably weary legs – we headed back to our little pizza place for some cheap dinner and a beer.\nAfter dinner, we went back to the hostel for another quick planning session, a beer or two, and to watch some more soccer (Russia v Netherlands).\nSo that brings us up to date – and a little closer to the departure time of our train.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-23-berlin-berlin/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday is our last day in Berlin – we are currently in the train station having breakfast and a coffee waiting for our train to Dresden.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBerlin has been an experience! It\u0026rsquo;s not quite what i expected as a city, but everything and more than I expected as an experience. The history here is so immense – and its not all to do with Nazi\u0026rsquo;s and the Third Reich either – Berlin is so much more.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Berlin, Berlin"},{"content":"So we are in Germany now – having arrived from Tampere, Finland into Bremen the other day. We have been in Bremen for the last few days, staying with friends (Suzanne \u0026amp; Richard) in their lovely apartment which is just a short ride from the heart of Bremen.\nWe quickly realised that the Euro 2008 Cup (soccer) is in progress – and on the night we arrived Germany were facing off with Austria (the hosts), and it was a must win type of situation for Germany to allow them to progress through.\nSuzanne and Richards apartment is conveniently located above a nice little bar – so we headed down stairs with some of their work friends for meal and a few drinks to watch the game – ending with Germany winning 2-0\u0026hellip; needless to say the Germans were rather pleased!\nThe next day we headed out into Bremen on bikes we borrowed from Suzanne \u0026amp; Richard. This was th best way to get around town – everyone here rides, and the place is so flat its perfect (it also lets you cover more ground).\nComing into Bremen we new little about the city – we quickly discovered that its the home of the Beck\u0026rsquo;s Brewery (and this stuff is cheaper than water over here – 4 Euros for 3 liters at the supermarket!). Its also the home of the Traveling Musicians from the Brothers Grimm fairy tail (a donkey, dog, cat and a rooster).\nThe old town has some classically beautiful German architecture – Churches, and other lovely old style buildings.\nRiding into Bremen, we hit the Market Platz – basically the center of town, with lovely cafe\u0026rsquo;s, buildings, and markets all skirting the main plaza.\nAfter a quick coffee, we continued riding in search of the Beck\u0026rsquo;s brewery. This was a little way up the river – unfortunately tours are only made on Thursday\u0026rsquo;s and Fridays.\nWe road back towards town down the side of the river – heading past the many Bier Gartens (Beer Gardens) that are on the riverside. This got the better of us (well me), and we decided to take 5 in one of the Bier Gartens and sample some of the local beers – oh and a freshly cooked pretzel or two.\nThe following day we were lucky enough to have a local guide, Suzanne, to show us around. As it happened, Suzanne was actually meant to be heading out of town for a few days on business, but the night before she was dew to fly out she had a minor dental emergency with one of her teeth cracking – needless to say this put a halt to her business trip.\nSo while it worked out fairly we for us, it wasn\u0026rsquo;t so good for Suzanne – but a quick trip to the dentist the next morning she returned minus a tooth, and with a rather numb mouth.\nSuzanne took us out to the Burgerpark – a huge area of park land in Bremen – which was great. We pulled up at a little cafe in the middle of the park for some lunch, and a chance to sample some more of the local beer – Green Lemon (basically lime) Becks, Weissbier and Banana Juice (which was actually reasonably good), and the local favorite Haake Becks.\nLater we walked back into town and sampled some of the local torte (cake) – my favorite being the German baked cheese cake!\nWe then toured through some of the small cute side streets in Bremen before heading home.\nToday we have jumped on the ICE (Inter City Express) train from Bremen to Berlin (about 3 hours). These trains are awesome – traveling at over 250km on a smooth as silk line it barely any noise from outside – there is defiantly something to be said for good German engineering!\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-19-guten-tag-willkommen-in-deuchland/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we are in Germany now – having arrived from Tampere, Finland into Bremen the other day. We have been in Bremen for the last few days, staying with friends (Suzanne \u0026amp; Richard) in their lovely apartment which is just a short ride from the heart of Bremen.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe quickly realised that the Euro 2008 Cup (soccer) is in progress – and on the night we arrived Germany were facing off with Austria (the hosts), and it was a must win type of situation for Germany to allow them to progress through.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Guten tag! Willkommen in Deuchland"},{"content":"We jetted out of Athens this afternoon with our friends FinAir. The flight started out fine - a nice new plane and decent food - then the announcement came over the loud speaker \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip; the movie that will be shown today is The Bucket List\u0026rdquo; (great! we\u0026rsquo;ve only seen it 3 times already), \u0026ldquo;and it will be shown without audio, and with Finnish subtitles.\u0026rdquo;\nNeedless to say it didn\u0026rsquo;t take too long for the iPod to make an appearance. Then the loud speaker crackled a second blow - \u0026ldquo;drinks will be served shortly. Beer will be 4 Euros, Spirits 7 Euros\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; - thats right, no free grog! We might as well have been flying with RyanAir, at least you expect it.\nAll in all, it was a good flight, and we arrived in Helsinki just after 4pm this afternoon. We exited the airport and just made it to the bus that was leaving for Tampere (the next one was in an hour).\nWe chucked out bags underneath, and jumped on paying the driver the 44 Euro fair for the two of us. Moving down the isle we quickly realised the bus driver was a little over eager to take fares - there were no seats left.\nWe moved back to the front of the bus to inform the driver that we were without seats - this was like having a conversation with Beaker from the Muppet\u0026rsquo;s - his English was as good as our Finnish. Luckily a local who spoke English was in the same situation and was kind enough to translate for us - \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip; the driver said we will have to stand for the next 10-15km. There will be another stop where some people will be getting off to change busses.\u0026rdquo;\nSo standing on a bus doing 100km an hour down the freeway was pretty exciting - especially when the driver decided to juggle the microphone he was using to announce the next stop and the mobile phone that began to ring - one in each hand - who was driving? It seems bus drivers the world over are the same - they are a force unto themselves.\nAnyway, about 10 minutes down the road, we stopped, a number of people got off, clearing the way for us to make ourselves comfortable for the rest of the journey in seats. We must mention that the bus was actually pretty impressive - heaps of room (only 3 seats across 1 the isle then two that didn\u0026rsquo;t actually touch each other).\nNeedless to say, we made it to Tampere. Jumping off the bus we encountered our next challenge - locating the hotel. The street names here are impossible to pronounce, and our map didn\u0026rsquo;t include where the bus dropped us off. With our pack on our backs, we headed off and actually found the place reasonably easily - a good 15 minutes walk from the bus station.\nTonight we headed out and grabbed a pretty terrible bar meal before indulging in a sauna and swim back at the hotel. The sauna is exactly what we have both been needing (well a massage would be better, but the sauna was great). Anything to unwind the aches and pains that have been building up over the last 2 and a bit months is brilliant.\nSo now we are up in our room relaxing with a few local beers (which are not too bad) and watching a bit of Australian TV - Underbelly to be exact.\nIts currently 11pm here and still very light outside (we just took photos to prove it) - there are people riding bikes, skateboarding, walking around, etc. It feels like about 6.30-7pm back in Australia during daylight savings - its amazing.\nAnyway, the curtains are now closed, and we have an early flight to Germany tomorrow, so we need to try to get some sleep.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-16-finland-here-we-come-for-a-night/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe jetted out of Athens this afternoon with our friends FinAir. The flight started out fine - a nice new plane and decent food - then the announcement came over the loud speaker \u0026ldquo;\u0026hellip; the movie that will be shown today is The Bucket List\u0026rdquo; (great! we\u0026rsquo;ve only seen it 3 times already), \u0026ldquo;and it will be shown without audio, and with Finnish subtitles.\u0026rdquo;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNeedless to say it didn\u0026rsquo;t take too long for the iPod to make an appearance. Then the loud speaker crackled a second blow - \u0026ldquo;drinks will be served shortly. Beer will be 4 Euros, Spirits 7 Euros\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo; - thats right, no free grog! We might as well have been flying with RyanAir, at least you expect it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Finland here we come - for a night!"},{"content":"Today is our last full day in Greece, as we fly out tomorrow at lunch time - meaning an early start to make sure we get to the airport on time.\nToday was another reasonably relaxed and laid back day - we visited the National History Museum, and ate out for lunch in a lovely street side cafe adorned by fans and misting water to keep us cool.\nLunch started with a traditional glass of Ozzo (for me at least, Laura wasn\u0026rsquo;t too keen). We followed this with a seafood plater and a lamb souvlaki to share, both were fantastic.\nThe afternoon was then spent wandering the streets and the market - slowly heading back to the hotel.\nWe have spent a few hours relaxing in the hotel room, and are now gearing up to begin packing and getting ready for our departure tomorrow morning.\nWe are also attempting to plan ahead for some of our trip to come - the European and Italian guide books being flicked through rapidly trying to determine the \u0026lsquo;where, what, why, and when\u0026rsquo; of the German and Italian stages of our journey - we want to try to be a little prepared from now on in.\nWe have also put up some more of our picture from our time here in Greece.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-15-our-last-day-in-greece/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday is our last full day in Greece, as we fly out tomorrow at lunch time - meaning an early start to make sure we get to the airport on time.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday was another reasonably relaxed and laid back day - we visited the National History Museum, and ate out for lunch in a lovely street side cafe adorned by fans and misting water to keep us cool.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLunch started with a traditional glass of Ozzo (for me at least, Laura wasn\u0026rsquo;t too keen). We followed this with a seafood plater and a lamb souvlaki to share, both were fantastic.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Our last day in Greece"},{"content":"Today we headed out early to catch a cruise around three of the Greek islands closest to Athens.\nLeaving port this morning at about 8.30am, the sun was up and had a fair sting in it - needless to say we took the opportunity to sit on the outer deck and soak up some of the fine rays.\nThe first thing that stuck us, once we had left the docks and headed out to sea, was the brilliant blue colour of the water - it was absolutely amazing. People have told us about the water over here, but its something you don\u0026rsquo;t really appreciate until you see it (and later swim in it :) .\nThe cruise was just what we both needed - some time to it and do nothing for a while!\nWe spent some time on each of the islands, and managed to fit a swim in on the last two - in that beautiful clear water.\nUnfortunately Laura cut her foot while getting into the water at the second island - but we managed to find a local supermarket and add band aids and antiseptic spray to our current day pack first aid kit - oh and we patched her foot up in the process.\nAfter a great day out, we have just been relating, and doing some washing in the hotel - and trying to plan what tomorrow will bring.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-13-a-slow-boat-on-the-aegean/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday we headed out early to catch a cruise around three of the Greek islands closest to Athens.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeaving port this morning at about 8.30am, the sun was up and had a fair sting in it - needless to say we took the opportunity to sit on the outer deck and soak up some of the fine rays.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first thing that stuck us, once we had left the docks and headed out to sea, was the brilliant blue colour of the water - it was absolutely amazing. People have told us about the water over here, but its something you don\u0026rsquo;t really appreciate until you see it (and later swim in it :) .\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A slow boat on the Aegean"},{"content":"We got into Athens yesterday afternoon - great weather, we managed to escape the bad weather that has been forecast for the UK!\nYesterday basically involved getting from the airport to the hotel and checking in.\nToday we decided to take an easy day - we have been on the go for so long you just need to recharge the batteries every now and then.\nSo a slow day involved heading into the Acropolis and seeing a number of the other sites that surround it. We then had a bite of lunch at a local cafe before heading back to the hotel for the afternoon - where we hav spent hours attempting to plan how to get from Finland to Germany without it costing a fortune. Unfortunately this is just not possible, so we booked the first flight out (which was the cheapest by far, but still relatively expensive :( ).\nWe have booked onto a 3 island tour for tomorrow - so this will be a long day, but we are looking forward to getting out and seeing some of the islands.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-12-a-slow-day-in-athens/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe got into Athens yesterday afternoon - great weather, we managed to escape the bad weather that has been forecast for the UK!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYesterday basically involved getting from the airport to the hotel and checking in.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eToday we decided to take an easy day - we have been on the go for so long you just need to recharge the batteries every now and then.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo a slow day involved heading into the Acropolis and seeing a number of the other sites that surround it. We then had a bite of lunch at a local cafe before heading back to the hotel for the afternoon - where we hav spent hours attempting to plan how to get from Finland to Germany without it costing a fortune. Unfortunately this is just not possible, so we booked the first flight out (which was the cheapest by far, but still relatively expensive :( ).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"A slow day in Athens"},{"content":"London - Our initial taste While we were briefly in London before departing to Ireland for a week, we managed to squeeze in some sight seeing - jumping on a \u0026lsquo;Fat Tire\u0026rsquo; bike tour. This was a leisurely 4 hour bike ride around central London, and was a great way of getting oriented.\nWhile we didn\u0026rsquo;t go into any of the sights on the tour, we were given a pretty good commentary on each sight and its history. This gave us a pretty good idea of what we should come back and see.\nLiverpool After our time in Ireland, we jumped on a flight out of Dublin to Liverpool - the 2008 European city of culture!\nWe were flat out in Liverpool - landing at about 8am, and a bus booked back to London at 5pm, we had to squeeze as much out of our time there as possible.\nInitially we dumped out bags at the train station - no point carting an extra 20kg each!\nWe then wandered down to the Albert Dock, with the intention of arriving to our \u0026lsquo;Magical Mystery\u0026rsquo; Beatles tour just before 12.\nHaving some time to fill we went through the free Slavery Museum at the Albert Docks Maritime Museum. This was pretty interesting, and illustrated how involved Liverpool was in the slave trade (it was basically the centrer of the slavery business in Europe).\nWe then jumped onto the Beatles tour which took us through the city and suburbs of Liverpool - taking us to some of the most significant Beatles locations, including George, John, Paul, and Ringo\u0026rsquo;s childhood houses, Strawberry Fields, Penny Lane, and the Cavern Club.\nAfter the tour, we had a quick beer at the Cavern Club, before heading back down towards the docks to jump on a ferry cruise across the Mersey.\nSo that was about all we could manage to squeeze out of Liverpool in our time there. We jumped on the bus, literally minutes after it began to rain (our timing with weather has been great).\nThe bus ride was pretty boring - all 5 hours of it, but we made it back to London city by about 11.30pm, enough time to jump on the Tube and get back out to Fulham where we were staying with friends.\nBack in London Back in London we set out to see all the sights we had toured passed on our bike tour.\nThe day was pretty full on - we managed to see Harrod\u0026rsquo;s, West Minster Abby, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, St. Paul\u0026rsquo;s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and Tower Bridge, London Bridge (which is actually very boring and plain!), then we finished the day by getting back to West Minster for the Evening Song Choral service - this was pretty awesome.\nThe sound of the choir in the Abby was fantastic (although the big draw card for us was that by going to the service, you get into the Abby for free - saving about 14 pounds each).\nSome where along the line (can\u0026rsquo;t remember where now?), we also managed to see the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace. This was defiantly something worth seeing - and as usual, we took a ton of pictures.\nIn the Abby, we managed to see the tombs of Sir Issac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Winston Churchill - pretty awesome.\nThe following day we headed up to Greenwich - which was a spectacular 25c day. If we had realised how good it was in Greenwich, we would have made sure we spent some time in a beer garden there, but we had already arranged to meet friends in the city.\nWe grabbed one of the ferries up the Thames to Greenwich - this is great for nice views of Big Ben, the Tower of London, and the Tower Bridge.\nIn Greenwich we did a walking tour which took us through the Naval buildings, and explained much of the history of the area. We ended up at the Observatory - the location of the Prime Meridian, and where world time is measured from.\nLater that afternoon, we headed into the city to catch up with a few old mates who had moved over from Australia.\nWe had big plans for our last day in London - we wanted to head to Bath and Stonehenge, but unfortunately we left some of the planning to the last minute and this didn\u0026rsquo;t end up occurring. This gave us th opportunity to head back into London and do some of the sights we hadn\u0026rsquo;t got to yet.\nWe visited the Winston Churchill War Cabinet, and Museum which was fantastic. We then headed to Notting Hill, and down Portabello Road - although being a week day the markets were not overly active.\nFrom here we headed into Oxford and Regent streets - having lunch in a pub in Soho.\nFollowing this we headed to Lester Square and located the nearby Her Majesty\u0026rsquo;s Theater to catch the \u0026lsquo;Phantom of the Opera\u0026rsquo; - which was a great show.\nThis basically wraps up our time in London - we made sure that we left some things to do next time we come back!\nWill try to get some of our London pictures up shortly.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-11-london-and-liverpool/","summary":"\u003ch1 id=\"london---our-initial-taste\"\u003eLondon - Our initial taste\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile we were briefly in London before departing to Ireland for a week, we managed to squeeze in some sight seeing - jumping on a \u0026lsquo;Fat Tire\u0026rsquo; bike tour. This was a leisurely 4 hour bike ride around central London, and was a great way of getting oriented.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile we didn\u0026rsquo;t go into any of the sights on the tour, we were given a pretty good commentary on each sight and its history. This gave us a pretty good idea of what we should come back and see.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"London and Liverpool"},{"content":"Sorry it\u0026rsquo;s been a while since out last update, but it can be hectic on the road - never knowing when and where you will get a chance to have 5 minutes free to post a message or two (and I have to say touring in Ireland, with its many pubs does create a pretty big distraction :) ).\nAnyway - to start with, no one will believe us when we say that the weather in Ireland at the moment is bloody great - its actually sunny and hot - none of us expected to get sun burnt on the north coast of Ireland, but most of us did - it must have been at least 25-28c here - its been bloody great.\nAnyway we have jumped on a 6 day Paddy Wagon tour of Ireland, which basically takes us around the entire coastline of Ireland - starting and ending in Dublin.\nOur first night was in Derry (or Londonderry as it is known by the British loyalists - and many of the UK controlled sign posts), in Northern Ireland. This very quickly set the scene that was, and still is, Northern Ireland - Catholic majority ruled by a British backed Protestant minority.\nDerry was also the location of the (most recent) Bloody Sunday massacre, where 14 Irish people were shot by British troops at a demonstration.\nTo be honest, we knew Ireland had a bit of a rough past but we thought nothing of it - I guess most of it occurred before our time - but visiting Derry helped us to realise how bad it actually was at times.\nThe following day we move onto Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Just after arriving in Belfast we did a Black Taxi tour of the city - this really opened our eyes to some of the not so pleasant past of Northern Ireland and Belfast.\nIt was absolutely amazing to be driven through neighborhoods that were, and still are, controlled by para-military organizations (UDF, UFF, IRA, etc).\nFirstly we toured the Protestant neighbourhoods. It was an eire feeling to see large murals on the sides of houses and flags flying indicating the territory you were currently standing on.\nNext we moved onto the Catholic neighborhoods - again this was an experience due mainly to the the existence of the \u0026lsquo;Peace Walls\u0026rsquo;. The \u0026lsquo;Peace Wall\u0026rsquo; is a massive wall that effectively separates the Protestant neighborhoods from the Catholic Neighborhoods - for their own good, and safety.\nIt was absolutely mind blowing for us to then move on through a set of gates that still (during peace time) close at night - and apparently you don\u0026rsquo;t want to be caught on the wrong side of the gate once it is closed unless your family want to pick you up in hospital the next day (if your lucky).\nWe were all allowed to jump out of the taxi at the peace wall and sign it. Finding a small place amongst millions of other names was hard, but possibly nothing compared to the struggle that still occurs locally - even with peace declared in the region.\nOnce within the walls and onto the Catholic territory suddenly Catholic churches and schools appear everywhere. We also toured to the the headquarters of Sinn Fein - the supposed political wing of the IRA.\nHeading home to our hostel, we passed back into Protestant controlled territory (which faction I can\u0026rsquo;t recall), the only advice our cab driver could give to us was \u0026ldquo;Walk up and down the main street your in, but don\u0026rsquo;t venture down this way. They won\u0026rsquo;t care who you are\u0026hellip;\u0026rdquo;\nThis was also the reason our hostel was named the \u0026lsquo;Belfast Palace\u0026rsquo; rather than \u0026lsquo;Paddies Palace\u0026rsquo; as it is in every other town - the reason given was \u0026ldquo;No reason to hold a red rag to a bull! That would be just asking for trouble!\u0026rdquo;\nWhile overall we had a great time in Belfast, our time there really showed us that the place is still not right - there is obviously still a lot of pent up tension and hostility. Basically its peace because the stories don\u0026rsquo;t make it to the news anymore. The para-military groups have stopped their large scale campaigns to concentrate on control of territory, drugs, and keeping each other in check.\nLeaving Belfast, we headed for the far north coast to explore the Giants Causeway - a geological structure that actually looks man made. The causeway is made up of thousands of hexagonal shaped stones that look like they have bee assembled by man and stretch out into the ocean. Its an awesome sight to see.\nWe toured a few other coastal locations before heading over to the west coast and to Galway for the night. We loved Galway - this is a great little city, and whats more its night life was fantastic. We also ran into our first rain here, while out for dinner, but quickly ducked into one of the many pub for a while was enough for the showers to clear.\nIt was also a bank holiday while we were in Galway, so the pubs were full - and so were the locals by all counts.\nFrom Galway we headed down the west coast and stopped off to see the Cliffs of Mohar - huge cliffs overlooking the ocean. After this we headed to a small town and stayed at the \u0026lsquo;Randy Lepricon\u0026rsquo; hostel/pub for the night. Here there was not much to do but sit in the pub and enjoy the food and drink - and watching the locals have a craic.\nNext day we headed off to Kilarney, passing through Dingle on the way, which was a pretty little seaside town. We also stopped at Inch (which is a mile long beach) with the option to swim, but even in the hot Irish weather, it is still too cold to swim!\nWe got into Kilarney early in the afternoon which gave us some time to explore. I purchased myself a Hurley - a stick used in the Galic sport of Hurling (now I just need to get it home - could be a challenge as it sort of looks like a weapon to the un-initiated, rather like a large club - so not sure how the airlines will take to it).\nLaura and I also took up the option to go and see Riverdance which was showing in Kilarney while we were there - was a pretty good night, and both enjoyed the Irish dancing and music.\nToday we left Kilarney to head for Dublin - stopping by the Blarney stone on the way to give it a quick kiss and hopefully pick up the \u0026lsquo;gift of the gab\u0026rsquo; (at least we hope thats all we pick up after thousands of other before us have kissed it!).\nWe had some traditional Irish weather today for the first time as well - raincoats were required all day. We can\u0026rsquo;t complain however, I think we have struck a freakish week of weather which has made the tour great.\nSo tomorrow (early) we jump back on a plane for Liverpool were we will have a quick look around and will do the Beatles tour, before grabbing the bus back to London in the afternoon - a very long day ahead.\nWe have tons of pics from Ireland (for a change!) and I hope to be able to put some up soon.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-06-05-all-aboard-the-paddy-wagon/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSorry it\u0026rsquo;s been a while since out last update, but it can be hectic on the road - never knowing when and where you will get a chance to have 5 minutes free to post a message or two (and I have to say touring in Ireland, with its many pubs does create a pretty big distraction :) ).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnyway - to start with, no one will believe us when we say that the weather in Ireland at the moment is bloody great - its actually sunny and hot - none of us expected to get sun burnt on the north coast of Ireland, but most of us did - it must have been at least 25-28c here - its been bloody great.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"All aboard the Paddy Wagon"},{"content":"We have now left the Spanish speaking countries behind us after about 7 weeks of traveling. We find it hard to stop saying \u0026lsquo;Gracias\u0026rsquo; to people - but I\u0026rsquo;m sure we will get over it.\nOur flight out of Barcelona was delayed by about 30min, but we managed to touch down on British soil fine. We were dreading hitting Heathrow a little - you never seem to hear a good story about that place - but we were very surprised when we only queued for about 5min in immigration and waled straight through customs. Literally took us about 10min! We spent longer in the duty free grog shop buying gifts for our hosts here in London.\nWe caught the train from the airport to Paddington station, where we dumped our bags and started walking.\nThe very first thing that hit us ws the smell of fried food - the train station was full of it. I was an unfortunately familiar smell - one that we haven\u0026rsquo;t come across for the last 7 weeks.\nWe had no idea where we were and where things were in relation to us (no, we hadn\u0026rsquo;t done our homework again!). Wandering the streets we stumbled on a sign pointing to Hyde Park - where we managed to spend th rest of the afternoon.\nWe found our way back to Paddington station (and saw Princess Ann getting into a huge Bentley), grabbed our packs (and quickly remembered how heavy they were), and caught th train to Elouise\u0026rsquo;s place in Fulham - a reasonably easy experience.\nLast night we ducked down to the local for a few pints and some dinner - its funny how comforting it was to have dinner in an English pub. Reminded us of home - at least the closest we have come so far.\nThis morning we were pleasantly surprised to have a Skype call with Laura\u0026rsquo;s parents - it was great to chat and touch base at home again.\nToday we are planing to head into London and try to pick up a bike tour - which should be great providing the rain holds off!\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-28-london-calling/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe have now left the Spanish speaking countries behind us after about 7 weeks of traveling. We find it hard to stop saying \u0026lsquo;Gracias\u0026rsquo; to people - but I\u0026rsquo;m sure we will get over it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur flight out of Barcelona was delayed by about 30min, but we managed to touch down on British soil fine. We were dreading hitting Heathrow a little - you never seem to hear a good story about that place - but we were very surprised when we only queued for about 5min in immigration and waled straight through customs. Literally took us about 10min! We spent longer in the duty free grog shop buying gifts for our hosts here in London.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"London calling"},{"content":"So after a reasonably restful sleep overnight we got into exploring Madrid early – eager to use the remainder of the time available on our 24hr Madrid Vision card (we had until about 2pm) – first on the list was a coffee at one of the many local cafe\u0026rsquo;s, then onto the Royal Palace for a tour.\nThe Royal Palace was spectacular. We we allowed access to about 50 of the 2,800 rooms in the palace. We started in the royal armory where armor that had been worn by or gifted to the kings of Spain was housed. This was a very interesting exhibition – you could even see how some of the kings had grown around the waist over time by the re-sizing of their armor ;).\nThe palace has many tapestries on display as well as many various gold and silver wares. The tour took us about 2.5hrs in total, but was well worth seeing how the other side live (or at least how they used to).\nThe rest of the day was spent simply wandering the streets of Madrid – just getting lost so we could find new and interesting areas we hadn\u0026rsquo;t ventured to yet.\nA recommendation to anyone going to Madrid who is traveling on a budget – get lunch at the Museo de Jamon (Museum of Ham) near the Plaza de Mayor. For 2 Euro\u0026rsquo;s you get a basic Ham (like prosciutto) roll, an apple or orange, and a can of drink, be it coke, beer, etc! Its the best value meal we have found in Spain yet.\nLater in the afternoon we decided to fill in some time by attempting a dry run on the metro (subway) to the bus station where we had to get the overnight bus to Barcelona. As with our current experience of the public transport system in Madrid, this was very simple and quick. we got to the main bus station within about 15 minutes – however decided not to exit the train station to pass into the bus station as we would have to buy a return ticket if we exited – so we decided to head back to the hotel and wait around until 10.30pm to take off for the bus station (our bus was at 12:30 am).\n10.30 came, and we navigated the metro system with ease, although after paying for a ticket to enter, we simply walked through an open gate and didn\u0026rsquo;t need to validate our ticket. Arriving at the bus station we queued for about 10min (with heavy packs on) just to be told we were at the wrong station! So much for a dry run.\nQuickly trying to communicate with the Spanish only speaking clerk, we determined the metro station and line we need to be at – lucky we still had a valid ticket – some would call it fate!\nAnother 15min had us at the bus station we need to be at, and with an hour to spare.\nWe jumped on the night bus to Barcelona, and were surprised by the low number of fellow travelers. While we tried to sleep most of the way, we felt rather tired when we arrived at 8am.\nWe managed to get to our hostel using the Barcelona metro system – not quite as together as Madrid, but still reasonably good.\nUnfortunately today has been raining on and off in Barcelona, so we tried to stick to inside activities, such as museums, churches, and pubs!\nWe will see what tomorrow brings, but we don\u0026rsquo;t expect the weather to improve greatly. Preparation for the UK I guess – the good weather couldn\u0026rsquo;t last for every.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-27-madrid-to-barcelona/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo after a reasonably restful sleep overnight we got into exploring Madrid early – eager to use the remainder of the time available on our 24hr Madrid Vision card (we had until about 2pm) – first on the list was a coffee at one of the many local cafe\u0026rsquo;s, then onto the Royal Palace for a tour.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Royal Palace was spectacular. We we allowed access to about 50 of the 2,800 rooms in the palace. We started in the royal armory where armor that had been worn by or gifted to the kings of Spain was housed. This was a very interesting exhibition – you could even see how some of the kings had grown around the waist over time by the re-sizing of their armor ;).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Madrid to Barcelona"},{"content":"We have now left South America behind us, and moved onto the European leg of our trip.\nOur flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid was with the Spanish Iberia airline - an 11 hour flight that was probably our worst yet\u0026hellip; lucky us to get the worst one on a long flight.\nBased on our experience I would try to avoid flying with them again. The entertainment system was communal, no personal entertainment system that you seem to get on most other flights these days. The hostesses were not really interested, and the air conditioning was set to about 35c\u0026hellip; even Laura was hot!\nAnyway, we got here and easily navigated our way from the air port to the hostel. The pubic transport over here i great\u0026hellip; makes Melbourne\u0026rsquo;s look like something from Peru!\nThe train terminal is in the airport. This then connects you to the main city lines. We did have to catch about 3 connecting trains, but the wait was a maximum of about 3 minutes at the most.\nAll the trains are underground as well, so we finally emerged about 100m from the hostel.\nInitially we were both ready to go\u0026hellip; we wanted to get out and hit the city as it was still pretty early (8am local time). This was fine for about the first half an hour until I sat in a big comfy chair in the local Starbucks and drifted off.\nI think I had about an hour - and a cold coffee to boot - but I started feeling a little off as well (I think mainly due to tiredness). Anyway we continued on and did some basic exploring of the surrounding area before heading back to the hostel for some major siesta.\nWe eventually got going again at about 5pm - we though it was late, but this was pretty early on Madrid time. So we headed out once again, and were reasonably surprised at how light it still was - it seemed like 2 or 3 i the afternoon, but was approaching 6.\nWe continued exploring on foot, and eventually settled for a cafe in one of the main squares at about 9pm for dinner. Ordering a small plate of calamari and chips, we were a little surprised to receive a plate of calamari and plate of chips from a packet (i.e. crisps)! Anyway we sorted it out and eventually got something closer to the mark.\nToday, even though it was miserable and raining, we jumped on the local tourist bus and ventured around the city. our first stop was the Real Madrid stadium for a tour. This was pretty cool (even for someone not into soccer like myself).\nNext we made a stop at the city cable car ride - you would think we would learn after out last experience, although this one turned out to be quite pleasant - European engineering at its finest, there was hardly a bump.\nWith the rain setting in late this afternoon, we stopped off at the supermarket and bought some supplies for a good home cooked dinner - local salami, camembert, bread, wine and pasta - perfect for a night just like tonight.\nSo we are heading off to bed now. We catch an overnight bus to Barcelona tomorrow night, so will probably head out to see a few more sights tomorrow.\nHope to have pictures up in a new album soon.\nLove Lucas \u0026amp; Laura\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-24-madrid-spain/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe have now left South America behind us, and moved onto the European leg of our trip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur flight from Buenos Aires to Madrid was with the Spanish Iberia airline - an 11 hour flight that was probably our worst yet\u0026hellip; lucky us to get the worst one on a long flight.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on our experience I would try to avoid flying with them again. The entertainment system was communal, no personal entertainment system that you seem to get on most other flights these days. The hostesses were not really interested, and the air conditioning was set to about 35c\u0026hellip; even Laura was hot!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Madrid - Spain"},{"content":"We have left Peru behind after a month of travel through the country – along the way making some great friendships. So onto Argentina it is.\nDay 1 – Meeting the Argentinean Pruscino\u0026rsquo;s We arrived in Buenos Aires, after what was definitely the best flight we have had yet – lots of room, a nice new plane, and not many passengers – to be greeted warmly by the Argentinian Pruscino\u0026rsquo;s (Laura\u0026rsquo;s distant relatives).\nThe welcoming party consisted of Oscar (father), Eugenia (mother), Julieta (daughter), Angel (Nonno) – and a big sign “Welcome to Argentina Laura and Lucas”.\nLeaving the airport, the first stop was lunch in a traditional Argentinian restaurant – the dish of the day, Beif de Chirizo (a beef steak) which was absolutely amazing, possibly the best cooked steak we have had! The main meal also consisted of other beef cuts, such as rib, etc – all lovely. The meat is served on a special raised tray with coals beneath it to keep the mean sizzling hot.\nWe also sampled some traditional Argentinian starters including, grilled cheese (very nice, similar to Greek saganaki), and of course the Empanada de Carne (like a small beef pasty).\nWe arrived at the apartment late in the afternoon, and decided a short siesta would be in order after our large lunch.\nThat night we all gathered at a lovely little home style restaurant in one of the surrounding neighborhoods. The decor was basic, but the food and service were amazing. Again we ate and drank until we were stuffed – and then we ate and drank a little more.\nHere we experienced the typical Argentinean way – late dinner, starting around 9 or 10pm that continued on into the night. Many other restaurant goers were not arriving until midnight or after – this is typical in Argentina, a very active night life, especially on weekends.\nAfter dinner (about 1am), we went out to experience more of the night life with the younger cousins – Andreas ad his girlfriend Vicky, Silvana and her husband Pablo, and Julieta. We went to one of the many local bars in the neighboring area for a few drinks and a game or two of pool, eventually getting home by about 3am.\nDay 2 – Boats and Tango After a late night we got up until about 10 – although we both could have easily slept more! We set out for a day trip on Oscar\u0026rsquo;s boat. The boat trip was great. It gave us a different perspective of the city, and its surroundings. We traveled briefly out into the river delta before heading back up river towards the many small islands and canals that make up the river area around Buenos Aires. The island and canal area are beautiful – the occasional house, many restaurants, and bars as well as various other recreational facilities – and all only accessible by boat.\nWe pulled up at one of the many water front restaurants, dis-embarked and handed the boat over to the a young guy who took care of parking it for us while we troubled ourselves with table selection. Again we dined well for lunch – pasta, salad, and wine.\nThe trip home was even more relaxing. With food in our bellies, we laid on the front deck of the boat and soaked up the Argentinean sun. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t long before the urge for a siesta hit, and took over.\nIn the evening we ventured into the city (downtown) or Buenos Aires and met with the rest of Oscar\u0026rsquo;s family for what was to be an awesome night of food, wine, and tango – this is Argentina.\n] The theater where the dinner and tango show was staged had been restored, and was styled to fit the golden era of tango in Argentina (1940ish) – this included the waiting staff and silver service. Dinner was fantastic – all local specialties, with desert including the famous \u0026lsquo;Dulce de Leche\u0026rsquo; (\u0026lsquo;sweet of the milk\u0026rsquo;, but basically caramel made from sweetened condensed milk)\u0026hellip; We later found that Dulce de Leche is very common and is basically used in everything.\nDay 3 - Buenos Aires Tour \u0026amp; Family BBQ Today we were taken out for a tour of the sights of Buenos Aires. the tour consumed most of the day, and took us to some very interesting areas of the city including La Boca, where the streets are filled with a bohemian feel.\nThe restaurant tables spill out over the foot path and fill the pedestrian only streets. Most have their own entertainment including street side tango, and street performers.\nIn the evening Oscar hosted the other Pruscino families for a traditional Argentinean BBQ dinner. Again the specialty was Beif de Chrizio, although the home cooked touch made it just a little better.\nThe evening was fantastic – we got to meet with the rest of the Pruscino\u0026rsquo;s, and catch up and go over family trees, photos, and the history of the family.\nDay 4 – Off to Iguazzu We caught an early domestic flight to Iguazu – this means an equally early rise, 4.30am! We arrived in Iguazu at about 9.30am and transferred to the Hostel (about 25min bus ride).\nAfter we got ourselves sorted at the hostel we caught the local bus service, 4 Paseos, to the Iguazu Falls Park. A 40 Paseo entry fee gets you through the gate, and free to explore the park for the day.\nWe set out for Devils Throat Falls, the biggest of the falls in the park. After a short train ride, and a bit of a board walk over the Iguazu river we arrived at the falls – approaching the falls you can feel the air cool, pleasant on a 30c day in the jungle, and you can see a mist plum rising above the trees ahead.\nComing through the trees you see the end of the board walk open up, and the mouth of the falls expose themselves – an amazing sight. Close to the edge the air is full of water, its basically raining, making it a little difficult for photos without getting the camera drenched.\nWe spent the rest of the day walking the park - about 10km in total. Although we only explored the Argentinean side, we came within spitting distance of the Brazilian shore – which occupies the other side of the Iguazu river.\nTired after a long hot day of exploring Iguazu, we headed back to the hostel and then into Peurto Iguazu (the township) for dinner.\nWe got back to the hostel around 7.30pm and had a few drinks by the pool before hitting the hay – we were both very tired, but nothing 12hrs of sleep didn\u0026rsquo;t fix.\nDay 5 – Laura\u0026rsquo;s Birthday We sat around the pool and wrote postcards in the morning, waiting for our flight back to Buenos Aires.\nWe got back to Buenos Aires in the afternoon, and quickly headed out to the local post office to try and post some of our collected items (that were weighing us down) back to Australia. This was an interesting exercise to say the least. Although we were given 5kg boxes to use, we were only allowed to send a maximum of 2kg per package – and this was a very precisely enforced maximum. As we found out, 2.084kg is not allowed!\nThe task was made even more difficult as we had not scales on our side of the counter. Basically the process required us to \u0026lsquo;guess\u0026rsquo; the weight of the box, ask one of the staff on the other side of the glass to open the package slot for us so we could pass the package through and get it weighed.\nAfter a lot of trial and error, and some staff wanting to go home for the night, we got there – 4 2kg boxes, costing 340 Paseos – just over AUD$100, so bearable.\nAfter our postal experience, what happened next was not really what we needed. We withdrew some cash from and ATM and left without taking our card! We didn\u0026rsquo;t realise for about 20min, by which time the card was long gone!\nThis was a rather scary moment, as panic set in when we came to the conclusion that with only 300 Paseos (AUD$100) in our pocket we no longer had access to cash!!\nAfter about another 20min of panic, and pondering, we eventually remembered that Laura had her cards, so we still had access to cash – something that eased the situation considerably.\nSo we headed back to the apartment to make that phone call every traveler dreads (or is that just me?) - to call the bank and cancel the card – quite a simple process, once we figured out how to ring reverse charges to the bank,\nSo after the misadventure of the day, we headed over to Silvana and Pablo\u0026rsquo;s house with the rest of the family for a birthday dinner for Laura. This was also our last night in Buenos Aires, and was a great night – Pizza, beer, champaign, and for Laura, gifts!\nWe also treated ourselves – with the help of Andreas – we purchased a tiny laptop, and ASUS EEE PC. We made the decision after getting sick of queuing for computer and internet access and also having to pay all the time for it. The laptop is no bigger than a mid-sized hard cover book, and has everything we need – wifi for internet access, USB, Web Cam, Microphone, etc. So in the short future we may look at setting up Skype to talk with everyone back home more regularly (and more cheaply – so get Skype setup, and get your microphones ready!).\nAlso WiFi seems to be everywhere, so we can basically jump the queues and access the internet anytime we want. The size of the laptop also makes it simple to conceal in our baggage.\nDay 6 – Adios Argentina Today we say goodbye to Argentine, Buenos Aires, and our lovely hosts the Argentinean Pruscino family. We have both had a fantastic time, and have really been spoiled by our hosts. We just hope we can return the favor one day if they venture to Australia.\nSo were off to Madrid, Spain, to begin the European leg of our trip.\nOne advantage of the new laptop is that I can pass the time on these long haul (11 hours) flights by writing my blog in a document, and I can post it up when I arrive.\nP.S. Iberia airlines is probably the most basic we have had yet. LAN was great, and I think we expected it to continue. We don\u0026rsquo;t have personal entertainment systems – just the old school communal screens, and no choice of movie. Whats worse is the laptop batter is just about to run out, and we are not half way! Theres always sleep and bar service i guess!\nLove you all – Lucas \u0026amp; Laura.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-23-on-to-argentina/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe have left Peru behind after a month of travel through the country – along the way making some great friendships. So onto Argentina it is.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch1 id=\"day-1--meeting-the-argentinean-pruscinos\"\u003eDay 1 – Meeting the Argentinean Pruscino\u0026rsquo;s\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe arrived in Buenos Aires, after what was definitely the best flight we have had yet – lots of room, a nice new plane, and not many passengers – to be greeted warmly by the Argentinian Pruscino\u0026rsquo;s (Laura\u0026rsquo;s distant relatives).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"On to Argentina"},{"content":"Our time in Peru has come to an end - we are moving on and leaving behind some awesome memories and great new friends.\nI thought it would be good to try and review and reflect on our time here in Peru, and ponder some of the highlights, and the lowlights of what we have seen (in some cases the highlights and lowlights run together).\nInitially landing in Lima we were a little concerned about what we had got ourselves into - the airport, as with many big cities is surrounded by poorer districts. So our first impression of Peru was a wild taxi ride through the slum areas of Lima. We both looked at each other and said - ¨This is what we wanted!¨.\nWhere we stayed in Lima ended up not being so bad. Miraflores and Barranco were probably the nicer suburbs of Lima.\nOur Intrepid travel group would have to be listed as a highlight, along with our leader Augusto. We made great friends with all in the group - and hope to catch up with many of them along the remainder of our trip, and also back in Australia when we return.\nPisco was probably the first lowlight (after the Hotel Espuranza in Lima). Unfortunately the place had been devastated by an earthquake months earlier, so there was really not much to do or see there. Lucky it was only a night. The place also smelt quite strongly of fish, a side affect of being a seaside community I guess.\nThe desert Oasis and Nazca were defiantly highlights. While the flight over the Nazca lines was a little scary, observing the lines from the air was defiantly worth every second in that small plane.\nAnother observation was that after Lima, the general quality of the Hotels improved. We were expecting Lima to be the best, and things to go down hill from there, however this was almost the opposite - the exceptions being the very small remote towns where we had on very basic hotels, but these even stacked up to the Lima accommodation in their own ways.\nThe overnight bus ride from Nazca to Arequipa was, while exciting and reasonably comfortable, probably a lowlight due to the scariness of driving at night through the Andes - feeling like the bus is going very fast around some of the sharp corners, or overtaking through corners was not a great experience, and it was better to be asleep so you just couldn\u0026rsquo;t´t see what was going on.\nArequipa was a lovely city, we all wished we had some more time there to explore. It was the first nice city we had been too. While it was at altitude (which had its way of affecting all of us), it was lovely.\nOn the topic of altitude, I think I could list this on my lowlights. I\u0026rsquo;m not certain if it was the altitude, the food, or the coca that made me ill, but I defiantly cannot face coca anymore.\nCoca, Coca tea, and Coca lollies are meant to assist with the affects of altitude. So as the altitude increased, our consumption of coca products did as well. Initially it was great, but as I became ill, I think associated my sickness with the Coca (an I don´t doubt that in some small way it may have contributed). The mere smell of coca now makes me feel nauseous!\nSeeing the Andes close up was defiantly a highlight - these mountains are so amazing, its an incredible experience.\nThe Colca Canyon was both a highlight and a lowlight for me. This is were I first became sick, putting a dull spin on everything I did. Shivay, the first small town we arrived to in the Colca Canyon was nice - simple but nice. I enjoyed the hot springs there as much as someone with an ill stomach and pounding head could.\nSeeing condors flying in the canyon was defiantly on the highlight list. This was amazing. Personally we think that condors are rather ugly birds, but they defiantly make up for it when they are soaring through the canyon - very spectacular.\nSabyu, again is listed as both a highlight and a lowlight. For me, being ill while on the first home stay was difficult, and made it hard to enjoy the experience - although I did defiantly try. And in retrospect this home stay was nowhere near as well prepared or organized as our home stay near lake Titicaca.\nPuno was alright. I would not list it as either a highlight or a lowlight - it was just part of the trip. Lake Titicaca, and the Uros islands was defiantly a highlight. This was amazing to see and experience. Our local guide ended up being a little bit of a dud and no one really liked him from our group. As I mentioned, the home stay near lake Titicaca was great. We all though that we could have probably done with only the one home stay - two home stays 1 day apart was a big ask especially for those of us who were not so well.\nCuzco was defiantly on the highlight list - we all loved the free time we had here, and the city it self was beautiful. We also found what I believe to be the best eatery in all of Peru - Peki´s. This was a tiny sandwich bar about 100m from our hotel in a narrow street on the way to the main square. We discovered this place early on and the news spread like wild fire through our group - great fresh sandwiches (actually toasted rolls), and burritos!. Pekis was a rest bite for us weary travelers from the continuous Peruvian food.\nWhile i\u0026rsquo;m on the topic of food, I might as well cover off our favorites that we encountered on the way.\nYes we did try Guienne Pig - it was in small pieces and had been fried, so it was rather like eating small chicken wings. It wasn\u0026rsquo;t bad. Not really sure what it tasted like but I went back for seconds.\nWe also sampled Alpaca - although the Peruvian medium rare appears to be the same as all their other ways of cooking red meat - over done and a little tough. It was nice, but just tough.\nLaura\u0026rsquo;s favorite, that she discovered early on was a dish called Lomo Saltado - basically a stir fry containing rice, beef strips, onion, red pepper, and chips.\nCeviche was another dish I attempted - raw fish prepared in vinegar and lemon juice. Not bad, but I only had it the once.\nOut of everything on our time in Peru, Machu Picchu was what we were waiting to see - and we weren\u0026rsquo;t disappointed. It was fantastic - everything we had hoped it would be and more.\nOur time in the Amazon was also brilliant - we both loved it and wished we had a little more time to spend there just to chill out and relax.\nSo all in all a fantastic trip that we will remember for ever.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-23-peru-in-review/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOur time in Peru has come to an end - we are moving on and leaving behind some awesome memories and great new friends.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI thought it would be good to try and review and reflect on our time here in Peru, and ponder some of the highlights, and the lowlights of what we have seen (in some cases the highlights and lowlights run together).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInitially landing in Lima we were a little concerned about what we had got ourselves into - the airport, as with many big cities is surrounded by poorer districts. So our first impression of Peru was a wild taxi ride through the slum areas of Lima. We both looked at each other and said - ¨This is what we wanted!¨.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Peru in review"},{"content":"From the comfort of Cuzco, we headed our on an AreoCondor flight to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon Jungle.\nWhile being back close to sea level was a relief, the temperature had also increased considerably along with the humidity, and the number of mosquitoes - although, none of these were quite as bad as we had expected.\nAfter leaving the airport at Puerto Maldonado we were picked up by our Jungle Lodge transfer service - a Mercedes Benz bus without windows, and wooden seats with Jungle themes painted down the sides. The bus took us into Puerto Maldonado - a bit of a slum really, with not much there, and very dirty. Apparently the main mode of transport is the motorbike, with hundreds of these packing the dirty streets. While helmets did appear to be quite common, this was only the case for the drivers, with the passengers (often another 2 or 3 people) never seen to be wearing them.\nWe had a quick tour of the local market in Puerto Maldonado, which showed us some of the local Jungle produce, and one of the specialties of the area, the Brazil nut - which were quite nice.\nFrom Puerto Maldonado we caught a slim boat down the river 2 hours to eventually arrive at the Ecoamazonia Lodge - our accommodation for the next two nights.\nThe lodge was very well set out and very comfortable - two hammocks in every room. The rooms were very open to the outside but sealed well with fly-screens - not a single mosquito bite the whole time :).\nThey also had a very nice bar, which offered beer and cocktails till 10pm, when all power was turned off to the lodge - literally lights out.\nDuring the first afternoon, we had a short trek around Monkey Island - so called due to the local inhabitants. Our guide took a ruck sack full of banana\u0026rsquo;s and oranges to entice the locals down from the trees, which worked a treat. Very shortly after emptying his bag onto a bench the monkeys swarmed in for the feed - allowing us to observe them at very close proximity.\nIt was a pretty cool experience, although I think Laura would have preferred them to be on the other side of a fence or similar - a little too close for her comfort.\nOne of our group ended up with a monkey on his back - and after a few photos the monkey was finally lead off to a nearby tree - quite funny for those of us without the monkey on our backs!\nLater that evening we took a small boat out onto the river in search of cayman (local alligators). We spotted only a few small ones - again something I think that made Laura happy - she was not too fond of the small boats, and didn\u0026rsquo;t really enjoy the idea of looking for alligators in the dark.\nThe next day we had a very early start to begin a 7.5km trek through a patch of local jungle - this was made a little more difficult by the fact that we had to wear gumboots due to the mud in certain sections.\nAt the half way mark there was an \u0026lsquo;observation tower\u0026rsquo; - actually a huge tree with steps built into it. Not being fond of heights, I though I would just go a little way up, but ended up at the top - with nothing to see but the tops of trees swaying in the wind!\nThe return trip entailed a 3km boat paddle which was pretty tough in the heat of the day. By the time we go back to the lodge we were all pretty hungry and ready for a siesta!\nLast night was completed in the bar enjoying a few cocktails and beers.\nToday we left the lodge and headed back to Puerto Maldonado to catch a flight back to Lima. We arrived in Lima this afternoon - completing our Peruvian Experience!\nSo one to the next part of our journey.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-15-welcome-to-the-jungle/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the comfort of Cuzco, we headed our on an AreoCondor flight to Puerto Maldonado in the Amazon Jungle.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile being back close to sea level was a relief, the temperature had also increased considerably along with the humidity, and the number of mosquitoes - although, none of these were quite as bad as we had expected.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter leaving the airport at Puerto Maldonado we were picked up by our Jungle Lodge transfer service - a Mercedes Benz bus without windows, and wooden seats with Jungle themes painted down the sides. The bus took us into Puerto Maldonado - a bit of a slum really, with not much there, and very dirty. Apparently the main mode of transport is the motorbike, with hundreds of these packing the dirty streets. While helmets did appear to be quite common, this was only the case for the drivers, with the passengers (often another 2 or 3 people) never seen to be wearing them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Welcome to the Jungle"},{"content":"We got off to a very early start this morning - 4.30am, breakfast at 5, and on the bus up to Machu Picchu at 5.30.\nThe bus departs from the bus station in Aquas Calientes and heads down a narrow road into the jungle before crossing the river to begin the step and windy assent up the Machu Picchu mountain. Both Laura and I are not the best with heights, and buses driving along shear cliff faces is one thing we both battle for the isle seat on. Laura scored the window seat on the way up - were not certain if the partial daylight made the trip better or worse, but we made it to the top in one piece, although a there were a few nifty manuevers on the way up as two buses passed each other on the often very narrow track.\nWe were at the top at about 6am, and there was already a queue to get into the park. After entering, we walked/climbed our way to one of the higher areas on the southern side of the city where we could look down over the ruins.\nReaching the top you are immediately struck by the awesome site of the Machu Picchu city ruins - its pretty much all you expect it to be, but being there is just so much more exciting.\nAfter many photos - post card perfect - we began our tour with our leader through the Machu Picchu ruins - this lasted for probably a good hour and a half to two hours and was very interesting.\nThe lawns of Machu Picchu are continually manicured by the Alpaca\u0026rsquo;s that roam freely there - apparently they are the owners of the site now and have completely free rain.\nWe took heaps of photos - although im sure these will not do the place justice - its something that simply has to be seen to fully appreciate.\nAnyway, I have added some of the photos I took on my mobile to the gallery, so it should give you a small taste until I can upload more.\nAfter our tour we had the option of climbing Wayna Picchu - the small, but very steep mountain that is on the northern side of the Machu Picchu site (Machu Picchu is actually the name of the mountain on the southern side of the site) - although this looked a little too dicey for us, so we decided to grab something to eat (a mistake as a chicken sandwich cost 20 soles, the equivalent of a decent 3 course dinner in most Peruvian cities!). Anyway, after a small snack we decided to just sit on one of the terraces and absorb the surroundings for a while (and pluck up the courage to take the bus back down in full daylight - I scored the window seat this time!).\nThis afternoon was pretty much consumed by the train ride back to Ollantaytambo, and then a bus ride back to Cuzco and civilisation again.\nI must say, Cuzco is an absolutely lovely city - possibly one our favorite of the tour so far - and its great to be back. We have another free day here in Cuzco tomorrow, and then we head off for the Jungle after that for two nights, and that will conclude out tour.\nWe are looking forward to the Jungle, and have had a very small taste of it travelling to Machu Picchu today.\nThe country side here is amazing. In the Jungle (about 2,000m) its warm and humid, yet the tops of the mountains (some of which go over 5,000m) have snow caps. Its weird to be in the warmth of the Jungle and look up and see snow on top of the mountains.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-11-machu-picchu/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe got off to a very early start this morning - 4.30am, breakfast at 5, and on the bus up to Machu Picchu at 5.30.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe bus departs from the bus station in Aquas Calientes and heads down a narrow road into the jungle before crossing the river to begin the step and windy assent up the Machu Picchu mountain. Both Laura and I are not the best with heights, and buses driving along shear cliff faces is one thing we both battle for the isle seat on. Laura scored the window seat on the way up - were not certain if the partial daylight made the trip better or worse, but we made it to the top in one piece, although a there were a few nifty manuevers on the way up as two buses passed each other on the often very narrow track.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Machu Picchu"},{"content":"So we left Cuzco yesterday afternoon headed for Ollantaytambo, a small rural town which is part of Cuzco province, and a couple of hours out of Cuzco city.\nOn the way we passed through the sacred valley and visited the large markets in Pisac - again buying a few souvenirs. We then continued on to another small rural town where we had some local interaction. We were met at the local petrol station by a local (guide) on a push bike. We followed him through a number of back streets in our bus and eventually arrived at a local pottery factory.\nOne of the local families worked at the pottery factory and made various types of pottery - from cups, tea pots, plates, etc. All vary nice but probably little fragile to transport!\nAfter the pottery factory, we had lunch with a local family - this consisted of an Andean grain soup with potatoes, which was very nice, and was followed by salad and a dish made of a different type of potato and mince (they love their potato\u0026rsquo;s over here, and have over 1000 varieties!).\nAfter the meal we went to what was probably the highlight of the day - the local chocolate factory. Here we watched a demonstration of how the locals make chocolate, starting with the dried coco beans, then roasting them, then simply combining the roasted coco beans with equal measure of raw sugar and passing it through a grinder! Fantastic! Needless to say we purchased a sample - it was great, and you couldn\u0026rsquo;t get fresher :).\nOn the way out of town - heading for Ollantaytambo - we stopped at a local pub/bar where we saw how the locals make Chicha (corn beer). The process was interesting, the result not so great. We sampled two varieties, essentially both the same base, but one was mixed with strawberries which changed it from a yellow colour to a mild pink. I think I will stick to the local lagers, which are surprisingly good!\nArriving in Ollantaytambo you can\u0026rsquo;t help but notice the massive mountains on either side. These are so high the clouds often cover their peaks. Embedded in the side of some of the mountains were some Inca ruins.\nThis morning we spent a couple of hours exploring these ruins - a preparation for Machu Picchu tommorrow.\nSo this afternoon we caught the train from Ollantaytambo to Aquas Calientes (literally translated it means hot waters). Aquas Calientes is not that exciting\u0026hellip; Its essentially a town that has been built as a staging point for tourists on their way to and from Machu Picchu. It is cute in its own way, but as the only way to get here is by train (or walk the Inca Trail), everything is expensive!\nSo tomorrow we will be getting up early (5am) to have breakfast and leave by 5.30am. We will be up at Machu Picchu by about 7am, apparently in time to see the last of the sun rise (if the clouds keep away\u0026hellip; not too promising at the moment!). We are then pretty much free to spend about 4 or 5 hours exploring Machu Picchu before getting back on the bus to Aquas Calientes, then getting the train and bus back to Cuzco, where we will spend the night, and have another free day before heading for the Jungle!\nOnce in Cuzco, I really hope to be able to get some more of our pictures posted up, as we have heaps.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-10-on-the-road-to-machu-picchu/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we left Cuzco yesterday afternoon headed for Ollantaytambo, a small rural town which is part of Cuzco province, and a couple of hours out of Cuzco city.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn the way we passed through the sacred valley and visited the large markets in Pisac - again buying a few souvenirs. We then continued on to another small rural town where we had some local interaction. We were met at the local petrol station by a local (guide) on a push bike. We followed him through a number of back streets in our bus and eventually arrived at a local pottery factory.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"On the road to Machu Picchu"},{"content":"So after another long bus ride across the Andean country side we arrived in Cuzco yesterday afternoon - and what a relief this was. The 7 hour bus ride across Peruvian highways that at times were as smooth as a bad gravel road was wearing thin - plus our butts were sore from sitting for so long ;).\nCuzco really is the oasis we have been waiting for - its downtown region is really old and beautiful with a definite European feel. The icing on the cake for us is that we are sort of starting to feel better!\nWe have a couple of free days here to explore and get to know the city - which we are both looking forward to.\nLast night consisted of locating an old English style pub, consuming a few lagers, and then heading up the road for a bowl of creamed tomato soup (all the soup over here seems to be creamed - its hard to get a simple chicken broth, etc).\nToday we are going to head out to the local produce markets, which should be very interesting and present a few good photo opportunities I hope.\nIf I get some free time later this afternoon, I will try to work on getting some of the other photos put up, but this will take time as I need to re-size, etc.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-06-cuzco-here-we-come/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo after another long bus ride across the Andean country side we arrived in Cuzco yesterday afternoon - and what a relief this was. The 7 hour bus ride across Peruvian highways that at times were as smooth as a bad gravel road was wearing thin - plus our butts were sore from sitting for so long ;).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCuzco really is the oasis we have been waiting for - its downtown region is really old and beautiful with a definite European feel. The icing on the cake for us is that we are sort of starting to feel better!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Cuzco here we come"},{"content":"So we are back in Puno now (which is located on the shores of lake Titicaca) after leaving yesterday morning for our home-stay. We are both felling 100% on what we have been and hopefully the worst is behind us. We still need to be a little careful with our stomachs as they are still a little tender, but generally much better than they have been over the past 3-4 days.\nLeaving the hotel yesterday we caught the local limo service - bicycle taxi\u0026rsquo;s. This was quite a ride with a dozen of us heading of in these peddle powered vehicles, and our drivers all competing to get us to the port first.\nAt the port we all jumped onto a local ferry which had been hired for us. The ferry left the port of Puno and headed out into Lake Titicaca. Close to Puno the water is covered in heaps of green algae, apparently caused from the pollution of Puno city. Lucky, the area is encircled by reids which trap most of the polluted water and keep the rest of Lake Titicaca fresh and clean.\nOur first stop was about 40mins from Puno on one of the floating read islands of the Uros. We stopped at one of the smaller islands, which hosts around 5 families. There we had time to look around and take a pleasant ride on one of the reid boats with the children of the island, who sung us songs, and showed us how to eat the reid\u0026rsquo;s (basically you pull the reid out, take the bottom stork which is which, strip the skin off it, and begin chewing - it had no real flavour, but I wasn\u0026rsquo;t too keen on swallowing it as it had just come out of the lake!).\nFrom the Uros island we continued on the ferry for about another hour until we got to our home-stay community in Llachon (pronounced yachon). This was a lovely little community and very friendly people. Our host family, Jesus and Candelara where great. They had three children, one girl 10, and two boys 9 and 7.\nThe children were a little shy to begin with, but soon came out of their shells and entertained us for the afternoon.\nOn arriving we went with our host families for lunch, which consisted of a lovely vegitable broth (containing potato, broad beans, onion, and carrot). This was followed by some fried home made cheese, boiled potatoes, broad beans, and yams. While it was all very delicious, our stomachs could only handle so much - so the soup was the highlight, being very simple.\nIn the late afternoon we helped the families put nets out in lake titicaca to catch fish for breakfast. After fishing, we returned to our homes and were provided with traditional clothes to dress up in for dinner.\nFor dinner, we all met in the community house (in full traditional dress) and were treated to corn soup (which was good), followed by some pasta and rice (which was too heavy for us so we passed it up). After dinner a local music group performed - these guys were just learning, and this was somewhat obvious, but they put on a reasonable show anyway.\nBreakfast this morning consisted of two types of bread rolls - the hollow type we seem to be encountering everywhere, and one that was a little sweeter and resembled a fried scone. This was then followed by a pancake, and finally fried fish (resembling white bait) and boiled potatos. I think Laura was happy to see the pancake, and the fried white bait was quite tasty.\nWe left our home-stay families straight after breakfast and got back on the ferry to head to Taquile island, where we climbed the steep path to the top to see the awesome view - you could see the snow capped mountains in Bolivia from here (Peru and Bolivia share lake titicaca 60-40).\nFinally a slow trip home back to Puno, where we are staying for tonight. Tomorrow we are off to Cuzco, which I think most of us are looking forward to - although it will be a 7-8 hour bus ride!\nI think we are looking forward to Cuzco for number of reasons - it at a lower altitude, so things should be a little simpler, we are there for 3 days, so we can relax a little, and its meant to be a very beautiful city - so we cant wait.\nWe have tons of photos from the last week, but unfortunately haven\u0026rsquo;t had access to a computer that will easily allow us to upload them. I might try to find another place later tonight, or perhaps in Cuzco.\nAlso please forgive the bad spelling. The keyboards over here are setup for european languages, and often the letters on the keys have been rubbed out, etc, making the job all that more difficult.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-05-lake-titicaca-home-stay/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we are back in Puno now (which is located on the shores of lake Titicaca) after leaving yesterday morning for our home-stay. We are both felling 100% on what we have been and hopefully the worst is behind us. We still need to be a little careful with our stomachs as they are still a little tender, but generally much better than they have been over the past 3-4 days.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lake Titicaca home stay"},{"content":"From Arequipa we headed to the Colca Canyon - passing through altitudes of almost 5,000m on the way.\nWhen you get off the bus at these altitudes, you have to take it very slowly! Even very slow walking causes your head to spin and heart to thump. I thought it was convenient that they had roadside markets in places like this. Unknowing tourists such as ourselves jump off the bus in the high altitude, dizzy due to lack of oxygen, and purchase anything that is going before making it back to the bus to recover.\nI only ended up with a Peruvian style beanie - which has come to great use as its bloody cold up here at night.\nWe stayed in a small little town - the name evades me now - and ventured out to the local hot springs. These were great, but unfortunately not sure they were the best idea for me, with a head ache and crock guts. I spent the rest of the night in bed, while the others ventured out to a local restaurant with a dance show.\nYesterday, we set of early to see Andean Condors in the mid section of the Colca Canyon. This was amazing. There were about ten to twelve condors soaring around in the canyon - defiantly well worth the hour long bumpy bus ride.\nAfter this we headed to a small village in the top end of the Colca Canyon for our first home stay. This was fun - or could have been except I was still pretty sick. Laura and I both enjoyed spending time with the family we were billeted out to. Our room was small, simple, but nice - a dirt floor, and hard beds. It was really interesting trying to communicate with our families who knew virtually no english, just spanish, and a local language (cant remember its name at the moment).\nAfter an extremely cold night, and poor sleep due to my need to use the wañu (bathroom) excessively, we left our families for our next stop - Puno.\nWe arrived in Puno this after noon, and have been out getting some simple supplies for our families at the next home stay (tomorrow night) on the shaws of lake titicaca. I imagine this will be another very cold night, but we are looking forward to it, and making the most of the comfortable hotel we are in tonight.\nIts a pity we are both a little on the sick side - while im worse than Laura, we are both feeling it. Hopefully it will all disappear once we come down from the altitude a little.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-05-03-colca-canyon-and-home-stay/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Arequipa we headed to the Colca Canyon - passing through altitudes of almost 5,000m on the way.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen you get off the bus at these altitudes, you have to take it very slowly! Even very slow walking causes your head to spin and heart to thump. I thought it was convenient that they had roadside markets in places like this. Unknowing tourists such as ourselves jump off the bus in the high altitude, dizzy due to lack of oxygen, and purchase anything that is going before making it back to the bus to recover.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Colca Canyon and Home Stay"},{"content":"So we caught the overnight bus from Nazca last night. We were not expecting too much, but we were pretty surprised when we boarded the bus to find it was equipped with recliner seats - i\u0026rsquo;m not just talking about being able to recline the back of the seat, but a leg rest as well. It was pretty well equipped - not that is really any exchange for a real bed and pillow. While we did sleep, I was pretty restless but probably the best you could expect on a bus.\nI get the feeling that the idea of having an overnight bus is mainly to combat the potential for car sickness. Nazca is about 500m above sea level, while Arequipa is over 2,500m - so there is a lot of mountain climbing involved, and this involves many many windy and often hairpin turns.\nI think the best option was sleeping. It was a little nerve racking at times with the bus driver pumping \u0026lsquo;Black Betty\u0026rsquo; from his sealed off compartment while driving (often faster than I think a bus should have been) through the mountain bends.\nThis was the first bus service we have been on where the in service movies were in english, so this was a little novelty. They also served a light breakfast of mini hot-dogs and highly sweetened black coffee on the bus - we found this a little weird but hunger got the better of us.\nSo today we ventured out into the streets of Arequipa and did a tour of a local monastery - which was pretty cool. Arequipa has a fantastic view of some nearby snow capped mountains, and an active volcano nearby. Great scenery.\nWe have noticed that the higher we are going the cooler it is getting. We will be going over 4,500m tomorrow - our highest point, and have been warned that the next three days could be quite cool.\nFor me the altitude has been a little noticeable. I think Laura is coping with it much better at the moment, but the next week or so will tell. We have been told to drink coca tea or eat coca sweats to help with the affects of altitude. The coca tea is not that different from green tea. We will also get the opportunity to get some coca leaves to brew our own tea while on the home stay.\nWe have our first (of two) home stays in two days time, so we are looking forward to that.\nAnyway, probably wont be near internet for the next few days, so will try to write more once we get back into civilisation :)\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-30-we-made-it-to-arequipa/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo we caught the overnight bus from Nazca last night. We were not expecting too much, but we were pretty surprised when we boarded the bus to find it was equipped with recliner seats - i\u0026rsquo;m not just talking about being able to recline the back of the seat, but a leg rest as well. It was pretty well equipped - not that is really any exchange for a real bed and pillow. While we did sleep, I was pretty restless but probably the best you could expect on a bus.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"We made it to Arequipa"},{"content":"It\u0026rsquo;s been a few days since we have had a chance to grab a seat in front of a computer (probably a good thing), so I will try to fill you all in on what we have been up to in the last few days.\nWe started our Intrepid tour of Peru on Friday. We all met in a small hotel in Miraflores (a suburb of Lima). There are 13 of us in the group, and we all get along really well. The group is a really well balanced mix of people and ages - mostly Australians, and some Poms.\nThe first day comprised a short walking tour of Lima, which took us to the San Francisco church and the catacombs underneath. Laura and I had already seen the catacombs during our week in Lima, so passed and instead decided to check out the church, which was closed when we visited the first time.\nOne thing we noticed immediately (on attempting to make our local payment), was they hate, and will bluntly reject any US notes that are even slightly damaged. This is a real pain, as the banks and ATM\u0026rsquo;s dish them out freely. The result was we got stuck with a couple of spare US notes that are very difficult to pass off to anyone. Oh well\u0026hellip; lessons learned. I\u0026rsquo;m sure the europeans won\u0026rsquo;t be as picky.\nAnyway, we left Lima in the afternoon and headed south for Pisco. Pisco was recently (back in August) devastated by an earthquake, and around 600 people were killed. Unfortunately the city is still in ruin so there is not too much to take in here (from a tourists perspective).\nPisco is the city that gives its name to Peru\u0026rsquo;s national drink, the Pisco Sour (as you may have read, we have enjoyed a few of these). Pisco is made out of grapes grown in the Pisco region. Its essentially a distilled wine, and varies in potency from regular wine at about 12% to a very highly distilled alcohol at about 60-70%. Pisco sour is made with a form of Pisco that sits somewhere in the middle, and is mixed with lemon or lime juice, sugar syrup, and egg white, which is all blended together. The egg white gives it a frothy head. Its then topped with wither bitters, or more commonly cinnamon. Its rather refreshing on a warm day. Traditionally its intended as an aperitif, but is commonly drunk at any time (by us at least :))\nFrom Pisco, we took a short bus ride down to the coast - passing a number of fish processing factories on the way (pin pointing the source of the strong fishy smell in the area). From a small coastal port we took a fast boat out to the Paracas islands. These are a set of small islands just off the coast which host heaps of bird life and sea lion colonies. On the larger of the islands was a huge candelabra figure etched into the side of the mountain face - this was pretty impressive to see, and gave us a taste for what we could expect later in Nazca.\nFrom the coastal port we began heading inland for Nazca. The landscape in this area is essentially barron desert. Its very arid, and not many features except the odd tree, and mountains on either side.\nWe stopped in at a desert oasis on the way to Nazca for lunch. This was littery exactly how the cartoons picture them - it\u0026rsquo;s the middle of the desert, sand dunes for miles, then as you come over the top of one, you can see the other side, and instead of more sand, there is a small lake and some lush greenery with a hotel and some shops surrounding the lake.\nWe had the option to sand board here, but considering the head, and my previous experiences with large sand dunes I decided against it, considering we had a further 3 hours to Nazca. We didn\u0026rsquo;t really feel like sitting on the bus full of sand. It would have stuck to everything considering how hot it was.\nSo we settled for a light lunch, a few crevasses (beers), and a walk round the oasis instead.\nWe headed off to Nazca after lunch. Again more desert that was only broken up as we approached Nazca, and had to start going through some small mountains. This was pretty exciting after a few hours of desert. Coming into Nazca, we stopped at a roadside tower on the Nazca plains to observe some of the famous Nazca lines. Not a great view but gave us a taste.\nOur hotel in Nazca was pretty nice - air con, pool, etc. It\u0026rsquo;s actually been the best so far.\nLast night we headed out for a meal and a local Peruvian show, which featured some native dancing, as well as an Andean band, which was pretty great. I had the Ceveche - a Peruvian specialty of raw fish marinated in lemon/lime juice and vinegar (which sort of cooks the fish on the outside, and presumably kills any nasties?). It was quite nice - would defiantly have it again.\nToday we took a (very small) plane (3 passengers) to fly out over the Nazca plains to see the lines from the air. This was great, a little nerve racking at times, and nauseating, but defiantly worth it. Just as we were about to head back, the lady in the front (also from our tour group) popped\u0026hellip; projectile vomiting all over the side window and panel in front of her. The plane was defiantly too small for this. The smell nearly set us off in the back seat, but we managed to hold it together and got back in one piece - although our stomachs were a little stirred up.\nTonight were waiting for the overnight bus (about 11pm) to pick us up and take us to Araquipa. This is where we will start getting into the altitude, so light meals tonight and no grog\u0026hellip;\nAnyway, looking forward to whats to come.\nLove you all\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-29-peru-here-we-come/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt\u0026rsquo;s been a few days since we have had a chance to grab a seat in front of a computer (probably a good thing), so I will try to fill you all in on what we have been up to in the last few days.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe started our Intrepid tour of Peru on Friday. We all met in a small hotel in Miraflores (a suburb of Lima). There are 13 of us in the group, and we all get along really well. The group is a really well balanced mix of people and ages - mostly Australians, and some Poms.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Peru here we come"},{"content":"We meet up with our tour group last night in Miraflores (just out of Lima) in the hotel we were staying in for the night.\nOur tour group is pretty good - a mix of both young and older people, but all lovely.\nWe left Lima this afternoon and after a 3-4 hour bus ride we have arrived in Pisco - the city where the national drink gets its name from.\nThe earthquake in Peru last year has hit this place pretty hard, and a lot of places have been flattened - luckily our hotel wasn\u0026rsquo;t one of them.\nThe first impressions of Pisco - you step off the bus and the distinct aroma of fish is in the air - I would describe it more of a fish flavoured cat food smell\u0026hellip; well its only for a night.\nAnyway, hope to be able to post some pics soon as we get access to a USB port.\nTill then - Love you all\nLucas \u0026amp; Laura\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-27-peruvian-highlights-tour-begins/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe meet up with our tour group last night in Miraflores (just out of Lima) in the hotel we were staying in for the night.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur tour group is pretty good - a mix of both young and older people, but all lovely.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe left Lima this afternoon and after a 3-4 hour bus ride we have arrived in Pisco - the city where the national drink gets its name from.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Peruvian Highlights Tour Begins"},{"content":" Today we jumped onto a tour bus (Mira Tours) that took us for a 3 hour tour through Lima city and to the San Fransisco church and catacombs. This was a pretty cool tour. We got to see or first real glimpses of Lima city and the catacombs at the San Francisco church were pretty cool.\nGetting back to the hostel tonight a lot of new people have checked in. In honor of their first night we have decided to have a few drinks to get to know each other. As we had a Pisco night the other night - and currently don\u0026rsquo;t have any expert Pisco Sour makers, or at least no one who could be bothered making it - we have decided to have a Rum \u0026amp; Coke night.\nOne of the new arrivals, and myself volunteered to make the dash out after dark to the bottle shop to pick up the supplies required. This was only a 5 minute walk each way, but in that time we managed to be asked \u0026lsquo;Where you from mate?\u0026rsquo; by at least two dodgy guys hanging about the street - this was followed by - \u0026lsquo;you want some smoke?, Where you from?\u0026rsquo;\u0026hellip; Just the type of people we were hoping to avoid in our short trip up the street.\nWe got back in one peace, and with out too much hassle. The night so far has gone well. There are heaps of people in the hostel tonight. Mostly Americans, and funnily enough all from New York. These guys seem pretty cool.\nWe are looking forward to moving onto our Intrepid tour on Friday - will give us a chance to meet some new people, and start to really explore Peru.\nWe finalised our trip to Iguazu (Argentina) today. We hit the LAN Air office and booked our trip. We are only heading up there for one night, but the place looks great. We have booked into a hostel in Iguazu called the Hostel Inn - this place is a bloody resort, literally! They bought an old resort and turned it into a hostel. Its bloody huge and has a massive pool, etc. Everyone we have talked too said we will just want to stay because its so cheap and has everything - but one night will do us.\nI do have heaps of pics from the tour we went on today, but as its late will not post them up until tomorrow sometime. Hopefully I will get a chance early, but with heaps of people here, the competition for the Internet is pretty fierce!\nLove you all - Lucas \u0026amp; Laura\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-24-rum-night-is-there-a-theme-forming/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/posts/peru-lima.jpg#center\" title=\"Peru - Lima\"\u003e\nToday we jumped onto a tour bus (Mira Tours) that took us for a 3 hour tour through Lima city and to the San Fransisco church and catacombs. This was a pretty cool tour. We got to see or first real glimpses of Lima city and the catacombs at the San Francisco church were pretty cool.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGetting back to the hostel tonight a lot of new people have checked in. In honor of their first night we have decided to have a few drinks to get to know each other. As we had a Pisco night the other night - and currently don\u0026rsquo;t have any expert Pisco Sour makers, or at least no one who could be bothered making it - we have decided to have a Rum \u0026amp; Coke night.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Rum Night (Is there a theme forming?)"},{"content":" After the first good sleep we have had in the last week or so - I think the jet lag has finally left us - we got out and explored the local area a bit.\nfirst off we caught one of the local buses into a neighbouring area called Mirafloures. This is almost like a small city in itself, with markets and shopping centers and parks.\nInitially we were a little nervous about catching one of the local buses - 1 Soles - into town. We have seen many of these old, and often shabby looking mini buses ripping around the streets packed with locals. When your standing on the edge of the street seeing one of these tearing down the road towards you tooting its horn and a guy hanging out the window yelling the destinations, didn\u0026rsquo;t really evoke that \u0026lsquo;warm fuzzy feeling\u0026rsquo;.\nOnce on the bus however it was actually quite good - all considered. We got there reasonably quickly and with no problem - just goes to show, that sometimes you shouldn\u0026rsquo;t judge the book by its cover.\nThe weather over here is reasonably pleasant. Its cool in the morning, but by mid-afternoon it has been reasonably warm. The unfortunate thing about this time of the year is that the sea fog is setting in. Its thick and hangs about for most of the day. Apparently last week the skies were clear, and the fog has only just started to creep in over the last few days. In talking to people and reading about Lima, it appears that the fog is a normal part of life around here for about 8 months of the year - from about now through to December. Its unfortunate as the it really blocks what could be a beautiful view of the coast.\nTonight the skies had cleared a little. We sat at a bar and enjoyed a few of the local ales while watching the sun set over the Pacific - it was rather nice.\nBack at the Hostel now, and sitting down with other backpackers. This hostel is great. There is a lot of other young people our age, and all with great stories. Its a great mix, we have some other Aussies, a Pom, an American, some Israel\u0026rsquo;s, and some Canadians - all great people.\nTonight were staying in and having a Pisco Sour night. Pisco, named after the city where the drink originated, is a distilled wine drink that that mix with lemon and ice to make Pisco sour - its also the national drink!\nWe sampled this in Chile, where it is also their national drink, however having read the customs forms on arrival to Peru, it appears that there may be some rivalry there - any beverages labeled \u0026lsquo;Pisco\u0026rsquo; and not originating from Peru will be confiscated - something the duty free shops in Chile probably wouldn\u0026rsquo;t tell their customers.\nSo hopefully there wont be sore heads in the morning, but it looks like we should be in for a great night.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-22-pisco-night/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/peru-lima-sunset.jpg#center\" title=\"Peru - Lima sunset\"\u003e\nAfter the first good sleep we have had in the last week or so - I think the jet lag has finally left us - we got out and explored the local area a bit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003efirst off we caught one of the local buses into a neighbouring area called Mirafloures. This is almost like a small city in itself, with markets and shopping centers and parks.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Pisco night"},{"content":" So we flew out of Santiago this morning (bright and early) into Lima, Peru.\nI probably should have mentioned it earlier, but was only reminded about the fantastic view from the airplane window as you approach Santiago - floating through the clouds between the various snow capped mountains. It was an awesome experience. However, coming into Lima today topped it.\nThere was a lot of low clouds around Lima today and this made for a fantastic approach in the airplane, with the peaks of mountains breaking though into the clear air above the cloud. It was like a sea of white with little islands scattered around.\nOnce we landed in Lima, we negotiated immigration and customs - not quite the same experience you would get in Australia, quite simple, and not much too it, although it is Sunday!\nWe got into our arranged cab - a clapped out white Nissan wagon with big crack up through the windscreen - and headed for the Hostel (about a 30min ride) - what an experience\u0026hellip; That imaginary third lane that exists somewhere between the lane that you expect to be in and the lane that the oncoming traffic is in was used by all, including our driver. Also in two lanes of one way traffic you can fit three cars! I think the lines on the road are more decorative than law.\nThis first experience made us a little nervous, but we arrived at our hostel in one piece.\nWe settled in and headed out to explore the neighbour hood. Our hostel is right on the cost, with the beach about a 5 min walk away. Unfortunately there is a heavy sea mist at the moment so visibility is minimal, but we expect a spectacular view and sunsets when it clears (hopefully in the next day or two).\nThe local neighbourhood has some nice places to get local food. We selected one about 2 min up the road and grabbed the Arroz con Mariscos (rice with seafood) - this was brilliant, very fresh and nice flavors.\nAnyway, were back at the hostel now and will probably take it easy tonight and try to put together some idea of what we want to get up to here in Lima.\nNo photos yet - but hope to get some soon.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-21-touchdown-in-lima/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/peru-lima-dinner.jpg#center\" title=\"Peru - Lima dinner\"\u003e\nSo we flew out of Santiago this morning (bright and early) into Lima, Peru.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI probably should have mentioned it earlier, but was only reminded about the fantastic view from the airplane window as you approach Santiago - floating through the clouds between the various snow capped mountains. It was an awesome experience. However, coming into Lima today topped it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere was a lot of low clouds around Lima today and this made for a fantastic approach in the airplane, with the peaks of mountains breaking though into the clear air above the cloud. It was like a sea of white with little islands scattered around.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Touchdown in Lima"},{"content":" So today is our last day in Santiago. We started out by heading to the post office to send off a few post cards to family back home. Right next to the post office in the Plaza de Armas is a huge old church where we went to mass.\nFrom there we went onto the Marceto Centro (the central market) which is basically a cut down version of the Victoria Market in Melbourne.\nNext onto the Museum of Pre-Colombian times. This was great - a lot of history and really interesting artifacts to view from the Aztec, Mays \u0026amp; Inca times.\nTonight were off for our last meal in Santiago, and a few drinks before an early flight to Lima, Peru tomorrow morning.\nAgain, there are a few more pictures up in our Santiago gallery - enjoy \u0026#x1f603;\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-20-our-last-day-in-santiago/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/chile-santiago-markets.jpg#center\" title=\"Chile - Santiago Markets\"\u003e\nSo today is our last day in Santiago. We started out by heading to the post office to send off a few post cards to family back home. Right next to the post office in the Plaza de Armas is a huge old church where we went to mass.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom there we went onto the Marceto Centro (the central market) which is basically a cut down version of the Victoria Market in Melbourne.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Our last day in Santiago"},{"content":"\nSo we have settled our selves in and found our feet here in Santiago. We have managed to explore most of what the city has to offer (we think).\nWe have visited many of the beautiful old buildings (Churches, etc), as well as the various parks and gardens that are around the city.\nFor us, the big let down of Santiago is the smog! Its bad. No doubt there is worse, but it blocks what is one of Santiago\u0026rsquo;s best assets - the mountains. Santiago is surrounded by mountains. On one side the Andes, and on the other the costal mountain range. But unfortunately, you can barely make them out through the smog, and there is no hope for a good photo :(.\nYesterday we jumped on a tour out to Valparaso and Viña del Mar - two lovely cities basically on top of each other, about 2 hours bus ride to the north west of Santiago. These two cities are built on the Pacific Ocean, in fact some of Valparaso has actually been re-claimed from the ocean.\nToday we toured the remainder of Santiago. Jumping on a Touris Tek double decker bus which takes you around the city, allowing you to get on/off at any of the 11 set stops. This worked pretty well for us, as we were able to skip the areas we had already seen and concentrate on the areas we hadn\u0026rsquo;t.\nThe main high light - and we do mean high - was the aerial cable car ride through the park at Cerro San Cristobal. This was 2km of hell for us, neither of us being great with hights - but provided a spectacular view of the smog covered mountains ;). The views were really spectacular.\nOnce at the top we visited the shrine to San Cristobal, and the small chapel as well. Getting down the mountain was less stressful. The Finacula (a cable tram up the side of the hill) was great.\nSo after a couple of long days we are pretty buggered, and hoping to get a good night sleep. Both of us have struggled a little with jet lag - sudden burst of being awake at 1am, 4am, etc\u0026hellip; Trying to force ourselves into a regular sleep pattern, but its hard.\nSo what does tomorrow bring. We are hoping to go to a local mass at one of the many ancient churches. Mass in spanish should be different, and the atmosphere of the old churches is something to experience.\nOh\u0026hellip; by the way, I have added a few more photos to the Santiago picture album - enjoy, we are :)\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-19-in-and-around-santiago/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/chile-dusk-in-santiago.jpg#center\" title=\"Chile - Dusk in Santiago\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo we have settled our selves in and found our feet here in Santiago. We have managed to explore most of what the city has to offer (we think).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe have visited many of the beautiful old buildings (Churches, etc), as well as the various parks and gardens that are around the city.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor us, the big let down of Santiago is the smog! Its bad. No doubt there is worse, but it blocks what is one of Santiago\u0026rsquo;s best assets - the mountains. Santiago is surrounded by mountains. On one side the Andes, and on the other the costal mountain range. But unfortunately, you can barely make them out through the smog, and there is no hope for a good photo :(.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"In and around Santiago"},{"content":"\nI have managed to post some of our pictures from around the neighbourhood where we are staying. There are not too many up there yet, but I hope to be able to get more up soon. Its difficult due to the size of my image files, and not being able to resize them easily in internet cafe\u0026rsquo;s\u0026hellip; oh well.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-17-santiago-pictures/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" src=\"/images/posts/chile-santiago-streets.jpg#center\" title=\"Santiago Streets\"\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have managed to post some of our pictures from around the neighbourhood where we are staying. There are not too many up there yet, but I hope to be able to get more up soon. Its difficult due to the size of my image files, and not being able to resize them easily in internet cafe\u0026rsquo;s\u0026hellip; oh well.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Santiago pictures"},{"content":"Hi all,\nAfter a reasonable, but long flight we touched down in Santiago yesterday afternoon (14th). After some sleep, we had our first dinner here, which consisted of a packet of Corn chips \u0026amp; a bottle of local red wine called ´Carmen´ - made the choice easy.\nAfter some more sleep last night we had a light breakfast where we are staying, and have headed out to try and get a feel for the place. Hope to do some tours during the week to see the sights, etc.\nThe city is reasonably nice. We are staying in the european area, which has nice buildings and cobble stone streets. The rest of the city is basically like any other - very busy. The smog here is noticeable, although not too bad.\nWe hope to have some photos up here shortly.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-16-hola-the-trip-begins/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHi all,\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a reasonable, but long flight we touched down in Santiago yesterday afternoon (14th). After some sleep, we had our first dinner here, which consisted of a packet of Corn chips \u0026amp; a bottle of local red wine called ´Carmen´ - made the choice easy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter some more sleep last night we had a light breakfast where we are staying, and have headed out to try and get a feel for the place. Hope to do some tours during the week to see the sights, etc.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Hola! The trip begins.."},{"content":"Welcome to The Modrich Blog!\nHere, we share our adventures, stories, and experiences with fellow travelers and curious minds. 🌎\nWe created this space primarily to keep our family updated as we embark on an exciting 3-month journey through South America and Europe. Join us as we document what promises to be the adventure of a lifetime!\nStay tuned for updates, photos, and stories from our travels across two continents.\n","permalink":"/posts/2008/2008-04-04-the-modrich-blog-travel-stories-experiences/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to The Modrich Blog!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere, we share our adventures, stories, and experiences with fellow travelers and curious minds. 🌎\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe created this space primarily to keep our family updated as we embark on an exciting 3-month journey through South America and Europe. Join us as we document what promises to be the adventure of a lifetime!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStay tuned for updates, photos, and stories from our travels across two continents.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"The Modrich Blog - Travel, Stories, Experiences..."},{"content":"\nExcept where noted, all content on this site (www.modrich.com aka The Modrich Blog) are original works by Lucas Modrich and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License\nThe site is hosted by Cloudflare Pages and is powered by Hugo and the PaperMod theme.\n","permalink":"/posts/about/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\"\u003e\u003cimg alt=\"Creative Commons Licence\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/4.0/88x31.png\"\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eExcept where noted, all content on this site (\u003ca href=\"www.modrich.com\"\u003ewww.modrich.com\u003c/a\u003e aka The Modrich Blog) are original works by Lucas Modrich and are licensed under a \u003ca href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\"\u003eCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe site is hosted by \u003ca href=\"https://www.cloudflare.com/\"\u003eCloudflare Pages\u003c/a\u003e and is powered by \u003ca href=\"https://gohugo.io/\"\u003eHugo\u003c/a\u003e and the \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/adityatelange/hugo-PaperMod/\"\u003ePaperMod\u003c/a\u003e theme.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"About"}]