Day 19 - Venice

So today we go to see what Venice is all about. Again, we drive to the ferry station and ferry it to the Venice islands. The place is really crowded today. Patricia issues instructions about where to meet after various excusions. The first one is a gondola ride which I had opted not to take - too expensive! And after seeing the bored faces of many passengers as we walked around, I was very glad I hadn't.

Alex and I took off again to explore. Margi had opted to stay at the hotel as she had been to Venice before. Venice is actually a number of islands linked by bridges. There are no cars and all goods are transported first to the boat stations by truck, then put onto boats to be delivered via the canals.

We first headed towards the Rialto, the famous covered bridge which was the first one built in Venice. This involves heading down a lot of often very narrow alleys. They were lined with shops, particularly around the Rialto area. Venice gets 60% of its income from tourism and it shows. Most of the shops were a variation on the same stuff - magnets, masks, knick knacks. Closer to the Rialto there are the more expensive shops, with designer goods. Down one of these alleys, we came across a shop with masks unlike all the others. I was intrigued enough to go inside and inspect them more closely. They turned out to have porcelain faces and leather ruffles which looked like a soft material. I bought a smaller one for 60Eu, down from the original 75eu. It has a certificate to say it is made in Italy etc. I just really liked it.

To sit down for a coffee in Venice will cost you about 16Eu! and that may not include a tip . We found a coffee bar where the locals were standing around and got coffee for 3Eu but it wasn't particularly nice. Public toilets also cost about 1.50EU

We were supposed to meet the group back at St Marks'Square at 11:30. Down the alleys we went, getting more and more lost, despite Someone maintaining their Northern Hemisphere magnet had kicked in - I make no such claims, I have no sense of direction. Patricia had said that there would be signs everywhere point to San Marco but not where we were! We did get to see the other side of .Venice - no shops, the garbage barges, the workmen who carried cement and tools on boats. Finally after going round and round, and backtracking and lefting and righting, we emerged at St Mark's Sq with 5 minutes to spare.

Then there was an included trip to the Murano Glass factory which is just behind the square. This involved walking up a lot of stairs in a spiral - quite dizzying. We watched a glass blowing demonstration and then a talk about why how the glass is coloured. Then it was off to look at their wares. The only stuff I liked had commas in the prices! Actually that is a thing about prices in Euros - they don't write $1.50 they have E1,50 - a comma instead of the full stop. But these commas were after a few other digits! I have no need for any more glasses that I don't use and I wasn't about to spend 1,000Eu on a pretty ornament. The best part of the tour was that they had free toilets - even if we did have to walk up yet more stairs to get there.

By this time, my legs were about walked out. I was tired and my heel, which has been good most of the tour, had starting hurting again. I decided to skip the trip around the lagoon and head back to the hotel with Alex, who hadn;t been going on the optional tour.

We had the adventure of catching local transport for this. First a water bus, 7Eu, which took us right up the Grand Canal, and this time, under the Rialto bridge. 15 stops to Plaza de Roma where the bus station is. Again, we saw the other side of Venice.
At the bus station, the number 80 blue bus we had been told to catch didnt seem to exist. We found blue buses and asked a driver who told us his bus would take us to the Poppi but we had to go back to the ticket office for the tickets. This cost 3Eu. Until we saw the fields of poppies, we weren't really sure we were on the right bus lol. Then we saw the big supermarket - outlet shopping that is next to the hotel. We stopped into the market and got premade salads for lunch and then walked back to the hotel. The food in the shops is really cheap that we have seen in nearly all cities we have visited.

Later we did another run to the outlets but couldn't find anything we wanted to buy. I had been hoping for some pants or jeans to replace those I had lost but there was nothing in my fatarse size.

Tonight we had dinner at the hotel - a buffet with plenty of good food. There are at least 4 Cosmos groups here now.

Tomorrow we have a long drive to Vienna. The weather is looking a bit cool and I am again cursing the lack of those other jeans. I will just wear the ponte pants I bought for 'good'clothes. I have just finished repacking my bag. I now have an extra bag full of the knickknacks I have bought. I also bought 6 bottles of water for 12 cents each at the supermarket - we all have our little stashes on the bus lol because the autogrills can be expensive. Autogrills are like the 24 hour service stations with food that we have in Australia except there is a bigger variety of food and you have to follow the protocol. In Italy, you can self serve - select what you want although they dish it our for your (like the old cafeterias) and then pay. Or say, for a coffee, go and pay and then collect your coffee.

All in all, I could say that Venice was another disappointment but I had heard many other people say that they didn't think much of it so I suppose that is what I was expecting. Another place, like Greece, that I wouldn't go back to.



Hotel: Poppi

Wakeup: 6:00; Breakfast: 7:00 ; Depart: 8:00

Day 18 - San Marino - Venice

When I woke up, I opened the curtains and found our room overlooked a courtyard with a tower, that looked for all the world like a castle! Our room is small but cosy and the bathroom even smaller - I almost sit with my feet in the shower when I am on the toilet lol! For some reason, all the hotels have bidets which for us Aussies are just a waste of bathroom space. Breakfast was good and plentiful.

At 9am we could either explore San Marino on our own and walk with Patricia for a while. Alex and I wandered off and started climbing the hill. We found the square where the parliament building is and the tourism office where you can get your passport stamped for 5EU - most countries in the European Union don't stamp it and even when we had to show them going into and leaving Greece, there were no stamps. Most disappointing.

The views from San Marino are spectacular. It is high up on a mountain and We could see right across the countryside to the Aegean Sea. The original city is walled, with narrow streets and old stone buildings. San Marino, the republic, actually goes further down the mountain. There are far fewer cars than anywhere else, and not as many of the smelly, noisy scooters.

The city relies a lot on tourism but it is not as ín your face'as other places. There are none of the pedlars that riddle other places. There are lots of small shops and even gun shops. It was a shock to see handguns, rifles and even automatic rifles just in the windows, no bars. From all accounts, a lot of the shopping was very cheap.

After climbing up to the tower, we came back to do the passport stamping thing. But there was no one in the office so we hung around for half an hour waiting. It was freezing in the wind. Finally a woman turned up, glued a stamp into the passport then stamped over it with an official San Marino stamp. Then we went down the hill to sample hot chocolate from a place that Patricia raved over - 32 different flavours. I had chilli and oh my ! it was wonderful - thick, chocolately and with a nice chilli warmth.

Everyone wanted to spend more time in this lovely place - we could have sampled our way through all hot choc flavours! Alas, we had to leave to head off to Venice.

After a couple of hours'drive we arrived at our hotel, Poppi, which is about 30 mins from Venice. It is a nice hotel and our room is a good size. As it fronts onto a main road, there is a windout window, then a sliding window inside that which is double glazed, and totally blocks any noise. We were warned that in the night there are mosquitos and to close the windows.

We had an optional dinner tonight in Venice. We drove to the ferry station and then travelled by a ferry to the Venice islands. The water in the lagoon looked disgustingly dirty with a lot of weed. After disembarking, we had to walk to the restaurant but first Patricia took us to St Marks'Square. It was quite pretty and all litted up, as she would say :) We have a new vocabulary from Patricia. There were pedlars everywhere trying to sell us flying LED lights.

We walked through a number of narrow alleys to get to the restaurant. The waiters just flew around serving everyone. There was another tour group in the back of the room we were in and apparently the restaurant extended back into other rooms as well. I had the fish menu - prawn cocktail, pasta with seafood, fish and veges, and tira misu. All washed down with a light white wine.

Then it was back to the ferry and then the bus to the hotel. Tomorrow we explore Venice.



Hotel: Poppi

Wakeup: ; Breakfast: ; Depart:

Day 17 - Ferry crossing to Ancona - San Marino

I am so glad to be off that bloody boat! After leaving an hour late, there was apparently a stop at some port in the middle of the night that normally takes 45 minutes and ran to an hour and a half. The top car deck where our bus is, is now packed with cars and trucks. Giorgio is not happy.

Read a book and dozed most of the day. We had been told to go to the lounge area at 6pm for a 7pm disembark. This didn't happen. Finally some time after 8:30pm Italian time, we got off. We had moved down to the reception level on 7 and hung around there for a while. Then we were told to walk single file behind the crewman. We had to weave in and out of the cars and trucks, many of which had engines running. One part between two trucks was so narrow we could barely squeeze through. It would have taken a slight slip of the brakes and someone would have been squashed. The group was not impressed and Patricia was very not impressed! She has told us all to complain about the time it took and the danger involved in getting to the bus. Giorgio then had to reverse the bus down the first ramp, turn and get off the boat. We all applauded after ; he is a very very good driver.

Finally arrived at San Marino after 10pm for a very late dinner, which was superb. Luckily we have a late wakeup call, 7am, then a few hours to explore this place. Even in the night, it looks fascinating.



Hotel: Tintano, San Marino

Wakeup: 7:00; Breakfast: 8:00 ; Depart: 11:00

Day 16 - Athens - Ferry crossing Patras - Ancona

This morning we had the tour of the ancient ruins of the Acropolis. Later we will head to Patras for our ferry crossing back to Ancona, Italy.

On the way, we had a tour of various city buildings and the changing of the guard at Parliament. This short stop proved to be the highlight of the Greece trip! There are two guard dressed in traditional costume next to guardboxes. There is also a regular army man who speaks to people and makes sure all is ok. The traditional guards don't speak. They have the shoes with the huge pom poms on them. The shoes are made of wood and are apparently quite heavy - they also have studs and a horseshoe on the soles!

The new guards come marching in with this pecular step where they stop and wave one foot in the air, before stomping it down and then doing the same with the other. I took a movie of it. We were fascinated. The changing of the guard happens every hour and on SUndays they were the costume with the 400 pleated skirts. The 400 pleats represent the 400 years that Greece was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

After this we headed up to the Acropolis. It was only 8:30 when we arrived and there were already dozens of buses. It was getting hot - about 29C when we arrived. From the bottom, the climb up looks enormous and we all sort of groaned. Dunno about these tours being ABC Another Bloody Church as more Another Bloody Staircase/Hill.

The guide took us up a pathway made of chunks of marble. You have to be constantly watching your feet in Europe with all the cobblestone and marble/stone paths. It proved to be less of a climb than we thought but having a few minutes break in the shade of a tree was now and again was most welcome. As we climbed, we could see all over Athens and Pyrios, the port (sp?).
The columns are huge and you have to wonder how they got all that stone up that hill! I wasn't as impressed though as I had been with Pompeii and Olympia. Maybe the hundreds of other tourists spoiled the moment :/

Then we piled back into the bus, to be taken to the oldest theatre in the world. We ended up at the start of the Plaka where we had been the other night (where the police and cars were). A short walk, straight straight straight, and we were in the ruins of the old theatre. We had seen this from above from the Acropolis which loomed above us. It was very hot now and most were just wanting to get back onto the bus and go. there were tortoises everywhere.

We stopped for lunch on the Corinth Canal. Where we had seen it a few days ago, it had been an enormous cutting, sheer rock walls dropping to the canal below. This part was the entrance to the sea and had gentle banks. There is a bridge which goes down into the water to allow ships through and we were lucky enough to see this. The bridge drops 12 metres - the canal is 9 metres deep here; the whole cancel is around 6km long.

Finally we reached Patras. As we drove to the port, Giorgio would coast up to the traffic lights. The illegal immigrants try to jump under buses and trucks to get through the port gates, if they stop. Greece has stopped giving assistance to these people as there are so many of them, so now they are trying to get to Italy, which has a softer policy. They had to move the Patras port gates a ways so they could get more control of who/what went into it. All along the road, there are fences to the port area with barbed wire or razor wire on the top. Along the roads, on the rocks near the main gates, they wait. There are police everywhere and all buses/trucks are thoroughly checked. Patricia said they even had one man who had climbed into the engine bay of a bus! If the hitchhikers are hurt or die, it is apparently the driver's fault.

This is one of the few places we have to show our passports although it is a fairly perfunctory check maybe because we are a tour group. We wait for Patricia to get the tickets then we climb back onto the bus. We had thought we would just be taken to the ship and go up the gangplank like on the last one but nooooo this is different. We stay on the bus as it drives into the ship's garages and up onto the top vehicle deck. Then we walk into reception. This is primarily a vehicle/freight ship. It carries around 300 trucks. Despite an official sailing time of 6pm, we leave over an hour later - greek time lol.

Our cabin is a 4 berth again but this one is big! We have 3 bunks made up, a desk and fridge, a Tv, a trouser press (???) and a shower you can actually turn around in. Pure luxury! We are going to be on this boat for the next 24 hours so it is nice to be comfortable.

Depending on when the boat docks, we could be in San Marino anywhere from 6pm to 10pm tomorrow.



Hotel:

Wakeup: 6:00 ; Breakfast: 6:45 ; Depart: 7:30

Day 15 - Athens - Greek islands

Early morning start for our optional Greek Island tour to Aegina, Poros, Hydra. Golden Age provided a magnificent buffet breakfast ( a real buffet) which included bacon, eggs and omelettes. Not all European hotels 'do'bacon.

It took about an hour to reach the first island, Aegina. I was a bit disappointed as it wasn't what I expected of a Greek Island. There are cars and bikes everywhere and the exhaust fumes, even on the beach front, are terrible. We walked along the front for a while then ventured into the back streets. Greece has a lot of eucalypts - mainly what appear to be Weeping Peppermints. Wonder which Greek immigrant took those seeds home to his old town first? The back streets, i.e. the main streets of the village, are typically very narrow. The bikes and cars zoom up and down and there are no footpaths so you need to get out of their way. We wandered around the main local shops for a while then headed back to the boat. The street we chose appeared to be the Harley Street of Aegina, as it had a lot of doctors' signs up. The houses here were much nicer and it was very quiet. 

On Poros, we had a buffet lunch included in the tour at a local taverna. The Greek idea of a buffet is to have a variety of dishes and deal out the ones you want. There was a heap of food and it was all good. I scored the local beagle, who came and put his head on my knee and did the sad eye thing for pieces of chicken - knew who to come to! Most of the dogs we see in Greece are of some indiscriminate breed so it was unusual to see a dog I could actually identify. Dog are everywhere - they were even on the ferry and stay in the cabins with their owners. Jess would love it apart from the big bath that would be surrounding her.

After lunch, another quick wander around the town. There were less cars/bikes and it was a much nicer island. We would have preferred more time here and skipped Aegina altogether.

Off again to Hydra - this island has no cars on it and they use donkeys apparently. There were some lined up to give rides but at 10Eu for 10 mins it wasn't high on the list of priorities. Hydra is lovely - just what you expect of a Greek island. the white houses and the bright blue trims. Some of the group went swimming. All I did was climb down the stairs in the harbour and dangle my feet in the waters of the Aegean Sea. It was very cold and crystal clear, with little fish swimming around. Alex and I walked from one 'point'to another in the hour we had on the island. I also contributed a lot to the local economy! A week or two would be nice here.

The shopkeepers in Greece are amusing. They hang around the front of the shops and chat cheerfully to lure you inside. they all know someone or have a relative in Australia. This is possibly true since Melbourne has the largest Greek population outside Athens. Once inside, nothing is the price on the ticket - there is always a discount. Things are cheap though.

We all trundled back onto the boat for a two hour ride home. After a while, an entertainer fired up his electronic organ and started singing. A couple in our group were dancing and then the two woman on staff started to teach Greek dances. This progressed to some golden oldies like YMCA and the twist. It is very hard to twist while trying to keep your balance as the boat rocks n rolls.

Arrived back at the hotel around 9. We had booked a special dinner - 13Eu for 3 courses - that the hotel had offered. Too tired to go and shower first, Margi and I went to eat and found that most of the others had the same idea. Dinner was good - mushrooms with a sort of cheese (like haloumi) crust in a ramekin, followed by a chicken dish and then tiny baklava type sweets and coffee.

Before bed we needed to pack suitcases, and also a carryon for two days for the ferry crossing the next day. The air con in our room wasn't working and we had to leave the window open a bit. The traffic noise just went on all night - I didn't sleep well.

Tomorrow we have a tour of the Acropolis and Panthenon.

Hotel: Golden Age, Athens

Wakeup: 6:00; Breakfast: 6:45 ; Depart: 7:15

Day 14 - Olympia - Athens

Early call this morning so we could go on our tour of the old Olympia site. The beds in the hotel are comfy and everyone has had a good night's sleep.

Olympia only has one main street. It's a little hard to get lost. As you walk down, the shopkeepers all try to lure you in to buy their wares. I was intrigued with one shop with its old style vases and urns, and statues - some hand made. They weren't cheap though. I have bought two dresses - who knows when I will actually wear them! There is a coffee shop down on the corner where we all gathered last night to drink good coffee and use his free wifi.

This morning we set off at (seemingly) the break of dawn. It is a short walk to the site from the hotel.The original Olympics were not for amusement or sport but a religious ceremony honouring Zeus. The site was not engulfed by natural disasters or events but fell into disrepair with disuse. They have excavated a lot of it but have left most of it unrestored. We went into the old stadium where the sports were conducted. The original track is only about 200m long; if they were running a longer race, they simply turned around and ran back. There was no marathon in the old Olympics - the marathon race has evolved from the story of a runner from the town of Marathon (look up your own Greek myths lol). The ending point is a line of marble
blocks. All the sports were conducted on the same arena except the chariot races which were on a course closer to the river - this no longer exists. The museum had all the artifacts they had found - statues, vases, implements, even glass bottle from 2000BC! I got into trouble for having the flash on, although there were no signs to say this. Not many photos got taken afte that. After  the careful restorations in Italy, it is a shock in Greece to see how little they do. Perhaps it is different in Athens.

At 10:45 we hopped onto our bus for the drive to Athens. There are a lot of solar panels in Europe, and wind generators. Greece seems to have an abundance of solar hot water systems. There are also a LOT of toll roads - it seems every few km there is another booth. This applies over all the countries we have been to so far.

Driving into Athens was a depressing experience. It is shabby and tired and this appears to have been the case for a long time before the current financial crisis. There are empy shops everywhere but the whole place, as we drove in, was just run down as though no one even cared what it looked like. In the city, there are 'good' areas which are nice,clean and bright but mostly it is just depressing. I don't feel particularly safe here either - it is an atmosphere thing. This was not helped by events tonight. We were to join another group for a walk around the Plaka then to a taverna for our dinner. As we waited, there were police everywhere particularly interested in an empty car parked near us - looking into it, under it, and finally arresting a man who came to open it. A few of us started slowly moving away from the area- we have been told that if there is a demonstration or riot police appear, to move from that area and don't get involved. And once again, the warnings about pickpockets. When we return to Italy from Patros, they will need to check under and around the bus to ensure that no illegal immigrants have tried to hitch a ride with us.

With the group that joined us for the walk, there were over 70 people and this was far too much for the guides to handle and watch in the narrow lanes of the Plaka. The whole thing was rather rushed and, of course, involved a lot of hills and stairs.

I don;t think Greece has hills that go down, just up.

The taverna was good - good food and wine, and Greek dancers who got us up to dance with them. then again, the inevitable walk uphill to the bus. Everyone is very tired after the early start. We have another tomorrow when we head off for an island tour.

Hotel: Golden Age, Athens. Nice hotel. Comfy beds. Free wifi in room but it is very slow

Wakeup: 6:00; Breakfast: 6:30 ; Depart: 7:30

Day 13 - Greek crossing - Patras - Olympia

No wake up call this morning, so nice. It is hard to believe that we are on a boat. There is no rocking or rolling. Just a gentle buzz on the bunks which is quite soothing. The bunks are small and more comfortable than a lot of hotel beds I have slept on lately.

Showering in the miniscule bathroom was interesting to say the least but the water was hot and plentiful.

We had a set breakfast at 9am in the Self Serve bar. bacon/eggs/croissant/roll/butter/marmalade/juice/coffee. It wasn't bad although I struggled with the slightly soft yolk.

Watched them disembark trucks and cars at our one stop. Then wandered back to the cabin to catch up on some blogging and a snooze. Having a very lazy day and getting refreshed for the next part of our adventure.

A short (comparatively) drive to Olympia to our next hotel. The meal was ok - vegetable soup was really nice and had seconds, salad and tzatsiki was good, but the pork and potatoes was so salty I could barely eat it. The orange cake for dessert was good.

Despite the hotel having wifi, most of us struggled to connect and the receptionist was getting shitty about it. A group of us now sitting in a cafe down the road, drinking coffee and using their free wifi. The beds seem to be reasonable. After Sorrento, we all want beds that are a bit softer!

Tomorrow we have a tour of the ancient games site.


Hotel: Olympia Palace, Ancient Olympia

Wakeup:  none! ; Breakfast: 9:00 ; Depart:

Day 12 - Rome - Crossing to Greece

Off today to our cruise to Greece. Our suitcases will be locked in the bus on the boat with no way to access them so we had to prepare overnight bags with all that we would need for the next 24 hours. We had a 4 hour drive to the harbour at Ancona.

The trip passed amazingly fast through some beautiful countryside and a nail biting 10km tunnel under the mountain. We were crossing the Apenines, the backbone of Italy. Some of the higher peaks still had snow on them. Just a couple of 30 minute stops for toilets and drinks/food. I finally managed to order a milk coffee, to take away, in Italian! Now I have to learn Greek! We have been warned that in Greece things might work, or they might not, and everything is done 'whenever'.

We had to show our passports as we got onto the ship - odd how some countries want this and others don't. Our cabins are quite reasonable - teeniest shower I have ever seen! It is a larger boat than I expected, a small cruise liner. There are umpteen bars and lounges, and the wifi is appallingly expensive so I won't be using that. We all have outside cabins i.e. with a window. We were given a welcome drink of either juice or ouzo. After a quick snooze, Margi and I headed up for some dinner, with Geraldine, in the Self Service bar. Geraldine and I opted for a salad with feta - realised half way through that salad might not have been the best choice given we had been told not to drink the water on board! Ah well, it was nice going down. Margi had gone A over T walking out of the bar earlier, so she headed off to the ship's medical part with Patricia. I have come down to the cabin to catch up on some much neglected blogging and have a nice quiet night. So much of this trip is early morning rushes and late night returns that a break like this cruise in the middle is very welcomed - it will be approximately 20 - 22 hours.

Oops, apparently while I was typing I missed the sunset! I'm sure Alex has some pics :) Can't believe it is 9:15pm already Trying to decide if I should shower and get PJ'd, or go up and see the stars. We have no wake up calls tomorrow, and breakfast is at 9am. Luxury!

OK. A quick trip up to the deck convinced me that i don't need to be there. It isn't dark yet so there are no stars although it was a nice view from the rear - aft?? - of the last pink remains of sunset, and the long streams from the propellars. It is quite cool and while I have my jacket, the pants are a bit thin! The wind started me coughing again so I have come back down to take my nightly antihistamine and loll about in the cabin. I got some cough medicine in Castelli Gandolfi from nice farmica who told me that 'tosse'is cough. They taste strongly of aniseed and seem to have quelled that annoying tickle a lot. A number of my fellow travellers also have a bug now - much coughing, sneezing and sniffling going on. Sorry, guys! Although I didn't have the sore throats and sniffles that most seem to have.

Day 11 - Rome

Hotel Parco Tirano

Another early wake up and breakfast so we could be on the road by 7:30am to visit the Vatican and St Peter's Basicila (optional). When we arrived, people were already lining up to get in. Again, as a tour group and prebooked, we went to our special line and were inside within 15 minutes. Our local guide was Francesco.

First part was the vatican Gardens. Although there were around 100 people in there, it was amazingly peaceful. There are trees and plants from all over the world. As per other gardens, it is very formally laid out. There are 'notice'boards with pictures and details about the Sistine Chapel and other areas, that the guides can use to explain the art, as you are not allowed to chatter in the chapel itself and no photos at all are allowed.

Despite the legends and a large touch of Hollywood, Michaelangelo did not paint the Chapel laying on his back; he did it standing up. He had scaffolding made to reach the ceiling and the records of this exist. Originally he didn't even want to paint it but the influence of a pope is great. When it was eventually shown to the Pope and cardinals, one of them was incensed that the people were naked. Never upset an artist - in the bottom right hand corner of Hell, there is a man depicted as the devil with a snake around him - it is a portrait of that cardinal. The face of god is the Pope - way to score brownie points with the big guy, Michael!

We went into the Vatican Museum galleries. Every wall and ceiling is decorated. Some of them are done in fresco that you would swear is carving but it just painted. There was a long gallery full of ancient statues; another of tapestries that were hundreds of years old; and one of maps - to scale paintings of Italy that must have measured 4 metres square.

Then the big moment - the Chapel. It was packed even at that hour. We just stood there mouths agape. You hear all the stories and don't quite believe them  but the impact is real. The colours are vibrant and you are just astonished that one man did all this! It is also a lot bigger than I imagined it would be.

Then we made our way to St Peter's Basilica. My reaction was (silently) Holy Shit! The place is on a massive scale! The dome soars upwards from an enormous building underneath. Interesting fact - the diameter of the dome is the same as the length of the Sistine Chapel so the dome would fit over the chapel. Thanks Francesco! The large bridge looking thing in the centre is solid brass. Once again, intricate carvings, gilding and paintings everywhere.

We walked out of the church into St Peter's square. This is enormous! It was full of chairs as there had been a ceremony canonising someone or another the previous day. There was a long long long line of people waiting, mostly in the sun, to get inside. Once again, I was glad I was on a prebooked tour. After some free time to grab a drink or souvenirs, we were off again to the bus to pick up those who hadn't been with us.
Our next tour (included) was the Colosseum. Like most of the others, I didn't realise that it wasn't just an empty shell. We passed through the gates ( once again, bypassing a long line) and inside. Nearly all the original marble covering is gone, recycled into other buildings. But the tiers for the spectators are there - the most important being at the bottom close to the action with the general public up the top. Parts still have a semblence of a roof so you can imagine what it looked like. The arena itself is the eye opener. You can see all the passages and rooms that held the gladiators and the animals. This used to be covered with a wooden floor and then with sand (to soak up the blood). Franceso said that the Russell Crowe movie was a pretty good interpretation of how it was. Some of the gladiators were slaves, others were free born, fighting for the money and/or glory.

After that
there was a visit just across the way to the ruins of the Roman Forum. By that time, my feet were all walked out and I opted not to do it. Some of us sat in the shade alternately being harassed by the pedlars or watching as they scattered when the polizi arrived. Fascinating. Then it was back to the hotel for a quick shower to get ready for the dinner out. I took advantage of the shower to stomp some clothes into cleaniness and hung them on the balcony.


Our evening's optional dinner and entertainment was a trip to the Pope's summer residence, Castelli Gandolfi and a dinner at Frascati. Originally I hadn't been going to take this, but I was glad I did. The village is quite cute, high up in the mountains. The view of the lake is just beautiful; I could wake up to that every morning; the air crisp and clear. You can understand why he goes there all summer and if he is ill. We didn't actually see any more than the outside of the residence but I liked the village.

Then off again to Frascati for dinner - another village. It was in a local deli/food place where locals were coming in to buy goods or dinners to take away. All the salads, olive oil, cheese, meats, wine are made by owner. The food was wonderful - antipasto of olives, cheese, proscuitto and a slice of the best cold cooked porked I have ever tasted; followed by penne pasta with a tomato sauce and a creamy mushroom sauce; then it was salad of tomatoes and lettuce with oil dressing and a roast slice of veal with potatoes cooked in rosemary and olive oil; then they brought out the pizzas! It was the size of a large one in Australia - the first with vegetables and the second a margarita. Our table of 7 could only eat half the first one and had to refuse the second. All this was accompanied by bread and foccacia which is very thin and flavoured with herbs, and a nice white wine. Dessert was some cinnamon biscuits and then espresso with a little milk.

Our entertainment was, I think, the owner playing accordian and a girl who was obviously classically trained, singing. Her name was Sabrina Testa; some of the crew bought her CD. Lovely voice for the songs.

We rolled back to the bus and Patricia put on a Dean Martin CD to listen to while we drove back through the Italian countyside. Perfecto!

By the time I got back and logged on, my internet had only minutes to go. Should have gone the cheaper option! The clothes had all dried and we had to pack our bags and carryons for Greece.

Day 10 - Sorrento - Pompeii - Roma

Up early and packed up ready to head for Rome. Our stop this morning is Pompei and one I have been really looking forward to. Our guide is Pasquale.

From the first glimmpse, Pompeii is staggering. I didn't expect it to be so big and so much of it uncovered - although what has been excavated is a very small part. These people had running water, drainpipes, drainage. You can see the carriage tracks worn into the stones of the roads. The pedestrian crossings are three larges stones, spaced out across the street. Although not a lot of the buildings are complete - no roofs and parts of walls missing - you can easily get the scale of the buildings. We saw a bakery - where the baker lived on one side, and the ovens and milling stones were on the other side with the shop. There are the baths - steam bath, hot bath, cold bath. We were shown through the men's baths. Men and women were separated. The original huge baths were there as well as many of the decorations. There are water troughs on the corners of streets to water animals or collect water in a jug. At the top is a tap where the citizens could get a drink. You can see the wearing on the stones where they held on to lean over. There was also a brothel - with the special symbol high above the doorway - an erect penis and balls! LOL! There was a house with a tiled entry and the Cave Canin we had been seeing in the souvenir shops, of a chained dog. This was the original. Beware of the dog at the entry to the house. The houses would have a n entry area with bedrooms off to each side; this led into a central courtyard/atrium. Around this central area would be the summer and winter dining rooms, kitchens etc. Depending on the scale of the house, there could be many rooms, and more than one courtyard. One house we saw was enormous, with two gardens and trees, planted as they had originally been.

We saw the market place - huge - where many shops had been around the perimeter. There were temples. But the most moving part was the plaster casts of the bodies that the excavators had found, frozen in time. It wasn't lava that smothered Pompeii but a layer of ash. Most of the people escaped; about 2000 were killed. These were mostly slaves or servants, left behind to look after the family's property. The bodies are lying there - trying to cover their faces, reaching out for help, the agony on their faces, as they were slowly asphixiated by the ash.

My camera ran out of battery not long after we got there grrrrrrr!!! Mental note: plugging into the USB port of Pc is ok, as long as the PC doesn't go into hibernation!

When we got to Rome, we had a short walking tour. Patricia took us to the Spanish Steps and then to the Trevi Fountain. I pushed my way through the crowds and threw the 3 coins over my shoulder into the fountain. So many buildings pointed out on the way through the streets, as we drove to the hotel.

Our hotel is Parco Tirano, about 15 minutes outside the city. It used to be apartments so we have the luxury of a bedroom, separate bathroom (shower over bath, toilet, bidet) and another room which was kitchen/dining/living. There is also a large balcony and the hotel has supplied drying racks! Too bad we couldn't spend a few more days here. Although the internet is expensive - either 5 EU for 3 hours or 10Eu for 24 hours. I opt for the 24 hours and hope I can use at least a good portion of it.

There is just time to change for dinner (optional) and Rome by Night drive. Dinner is at a place down some really dodgy alley ways. But as we go in, the atmosphere is different; classier. Dinner was great - antipasto of proscuito and melon, then two pastas one with tomato sauce, and one with creamy veal mushroom. This was followed by roast veal with salad, and ice cream with strawberries. Alex got my fruit as I don't like them. All this served with nice wine and bread. The bread on this tour is great. I love the crusty loaves and buns they have in Europe and it just tastes way better than any insipid stodge that Woolworths can produce. OUr entertainment was a guitarist and a flautist - he was very good. Apparently he has a top 10 CD in Australia amongst the classical type music.

We were given a tour of Rome by night with all the buildings lit up. By that time, I was just tired and wanted to go back to the hotel. I also needed to help Geraldine access her accounts to see how much has been stolen, and find her some phone numbers.

Day 9 - Sorrento - Capri

Early start for the trip to Capri (optional). We hop on a ferry that takes over to Capri and once there do a walking tour of Capri village. Then the bus took us on a hair raising ride up to Ana Capri. I actually squeaked out loud when I looked out the window and saw sheer drop to the sea below! The roads are very narrow.

We went to see Augustus'garden - a beautiful place with great views. From there we could see Gracie Field's house. Sorry, no George Clooney, no idea where he lives! Everywhere there are lemons with some of the strangest shapes I have ever seen. I bought some lemon drop lollies to suck on - I am absolutely sick of this tickle and cough! Also got a mixed lemon/orange drink, freshly squeezed, which was so refreshing and nice; not at all acidy or sweet like a lot of our juice seems to be.

Next item was the chair lift to the top. Could I or couldn't I? They are single chairs, with just the bar across the front; but we were told that most of the time, they are not that far above the ground. I decided to go. GULP! I was hanging on like death to the pole. Most of it seems to be about 2 stories above the gardens below - until the last part. I just kept eyes on the summit! Alex was yelling out "You're gonna fall!"  Bastard! He took a pic of me as I came sailing in, just to prove I actually did it. 

The view from the top was spectacular and worth the heart pumpings. Coming down was going to be interesting too! Again the part near the top was the worst - I could not look down; eyes on the highest scenery! At the bottom I tried to get a pic of Alex as he arrived but the attendant kept getting in the way so it wasn't what we aimed for.

I found a farmica open (finally) and got the Italian version of Strepsils to ease my bloody cough!

We decided to take the boat ride around the island. I think it was about 15Eu and worth it. We saw the goats from where the island got its name, teetering up on the cliffs. There were two grottos - the white and the green. The driver backed the boat into them so we could see the algae that formed the colours and to take photos of the remarkable colours. The famed Blue Grotto was closed due to rough seas - you lie on your back in a small boat, inches from the grotto ceiling. It costs a lot just for that and it's not my idea of fun!

When we got back, we had a quick walk around to catch the ferry back to Sorrento. A fun day and worth the cost. Capri is lovely.

Day 8 - Florence - Sorrento

Long drive today to Sorrento via Autostrada del Sole through Chianti country.

Dinner tonight: (optional) Sorrento Flavours. I didn't go as I was so tired; a night in seemed to be a better option. Reports back were that the dinner was excellent and limoncello is sneaky.

The hotel is in a village outside of Sorrento. A very hilly village. Today is the feast of their patron saint so there is a street fair going on. Alex and I decided to use the local laundromat and walked down through the revellers. Washing was 4Eu for a normal load and 6Eu for a larger one. We got confused and ended up using the larger machine in error. Took about 30 mins to wash. We didn't stay to dry it; carrying a bag of damp washing up the hills was a bit tough lol.
Back at the hotel, the restaurant was closed so we grabbed a sandwich at the bar and used the Wifi in the lobby for a little while.


Entertainment: Sorrento musical (optional): I hadn't chosen this and I can't recall what the verdict was on the show.

Hotel: Central Park, Massalubrense. The people are nice and they try very hard. The beds were extemely hard, like sleeping on a block of concrete; not restful at all. WiFi is only available in the lobby.


Wakeup: 6:45; Breakfast: 7:00; Depart: 7:30.

Day 7- French Riviera - Eze - Pisa - Florence

An early start as we leave the French Riviera and head towards Florence. On the way we stopped at Eze to visit a perfume factory. There was a tour where the manufacture of the perfumes was explained. My cough is awful and the perfumes were making it worse so I had to go and sit outside, missing the tour. Some of the group bought the products.

The next big stop was Pisa. Again, the size of the buildings that you see in photos doesn't show their real dimensions. The cathedral was quite large as is the tower. A couple of the younger members raced for the tower and ran up it but the rest of us opted for photos only. Again, there were the pedlars annoying everyone outside the gates. I am getting very good at glaring and saying NO!

There were ATMs here and we went in a pack to withdraw some cash.

Then it was off again on the bus to Florence. Patricia showed a video about the Medici family which was really interesting and gave a lot of background for the upcoming tours of the city.

We did a walking tour of the city. Just amazing. The old old buildings. I loved it.


Hotel: Demidoff, Pratolino. Beautiful hotel in the hills above Florence. We all loved it, and the breakfasts were great. Free Wifi in the rooms.

Wakeup:  ; Breakfast: ; Depart:

Day 6 - Barcelona - Arles - French Riviera

Tonight we had dinner in Monte Carlo and a visit to Monaco. You can almost smell the money in this place. It is so high up in the mountains and very pretty. We had to trudge up a huge flight of stairs to get there. This trip is not for the fainthearted.

In Monte carlo, they were preparing for the Grand Prix in late May. Barricades being put up everywhere. We stood on the starting straight and gazed in awe at the hairpin bend. We were given a free drink at the Cafe De Paris - not sure I see what the big deal is about that place. Then into the casino. We had to show our passports to get the pass to go inside and the tickets were issued in our own names. Inside - eyes boggling! It is quite something to see - very elegant and elaborate. Unfortunately you were not allowed to take photos and if they saw you had a camera, it was taken off you and checked into the cloakroom. Not many of us had a flutter. Alex won $20 or something on the pokies.

Outside in the car park was just as entertaining. The cars! You will never see so many Ferraris, Bentleys, Lamborghinis etc in one place. One car was a 4 wheel drive thing with no brand name badges; it was painted in matt black with super tinted windows. Love to see who owned that! We watched as the porter (?) carefully backed a car out from the kerb, all of 5 metres, then the owner flipped him a tip and drove away lol.


Hotel: Park Inn, Nice.

Wakeup: 6:00  ; Breakfast: 6:45 ; Depart: 7:30

Day 5 - Barcelona

Today a tour of Barcelona with the local guide. The Sagrada Familia is just amazing. There is so much detail in the decorations. It was difficult to take photos to show all there was. We were also shown some of Gaudi's other buildings; the Olympic venues, still in use.

Trip to Monserrat. (optional) this is an old monastery. Once again, bowled over by the old buildings and the history etched into the stones. 

Dinner at a place on La Rambla, the main street of Barcelona. Followed by a flamenco show which was great. (and noisy). The dancers were extremely good and although we couldn't understand the woman singing, you got the idea from the dances.

As we walked back, one of the group had her purse stolen from her bag when she went back into a shop to buy something. She ended spending a number of hours at the police station with Patricia to file a report and ringing to get the card stopped.(we later found out that the thieves managed to strip around 3,000 EU from her account in a few hours. Luckily it was a travel card and she has the backup to access some funds that are left)

I will have to update this post after I get a chance to look at the pics. The day is all a bit blurry now


Hotel: Confortel Auditori

Wakeup:  ; Breakfast: ; Depart:

Day 4 - Carcassone, Barcelona

Time to leave the Kyriad Hotel. Nice place! 4 stars. We have more long driving today to get to Barcelona. I don't mind too much because I get to snooze on the bus - and at the moment I need it. My voice is still gone and I just feel tired; no sore throat or anything. Makes it difficult to chat to my fellow travellers.

Every tour has a PIB and we have ours. A young Asian girl - nfi what her name is; she doesn't really speak to anyone. She is travelling with a boyfriend (?) who hails from Sydney. First day, they were late - still on London time. She has told Patricia to be quiet two days in a row now - once because she was trying to book appointments and once because it was too much talking and her friend was trying to sleep. Today she was late and we nearly left without her from a toilet stop because she was on the phone inside. Not Miss Popularity!

We had a long drive today and at lunch we arrived at Carcassone, a medieval fortress. Quite impressive. Not so impressive is that you get inside (for free) the outer walls and it is full of small shops/cafes selling touristy stuff. To get into the chateau part you have to pay. Most of our group didn't bother. It was good to see the old building however. Some guys out the front were relaying the cobble stones.

There are so many cobblestones in Europe! Difficult to walk on. When we were at Versailles, a young girl from the other group was wearing boots with 4 inch heels - what part of a tour not being a fashion show didn't she understand? Despite the rugrats' insistence that I didn't need all my shoes, I have worn all of them so far. I am alternating the Asics and the Merrell walking shoes. I got a blister the first day on my little toe - those Bandaid Blistex things are miracle workers.

We are now in Barcelona. Again, more warnings about pickpockets. Apparently very bad. It is 25C here. The weather so far has been good all the way. This hotel, the Conforti Auditori, is okay. Not as nice as the last two. No tea/coffee facilities here. Margi's travel kettle will be handy and my cappuchino sachets. We do get free bottles of water though. Odd dinner - a nice pasta and salad mix, followed by a large rissole type piece of meat and some wedges, then a nice tart thing with walnuts on it.

Tomorrow we get to sleep in - till at least 7am!!! Now I have to adjust to a different language - just as I got my French coffee buying skills down pat. It is hard to order anything when you have to whisper all the time though.

Day 3 - Bois, Tours, Bordeaux region

Day 3 - Bois, Tours, Bordeaux region

Another early start - our bags have to be outside the doors ready for pickup by 7am. We have breakfast and left at 8:30. Today will be mostly a long drive to the Bordeaux region of France.

We stopped at a small town called Bois which was quite lovely. There is an old Castle. the man who invented the pressure cooker lived here - Boston would be proud :/
Another famous inhabitant was Houdini. There is a museum and when you walk near it, monsters come out. Some of our group found it but despite walking around and around, one of the other girls and I couldn't :(.

The best chocolatier in France also lives here. We all lined up at his shop and bought choccies. I got a chocolate eclair, a florentine and some hand made chocolates. Have only eaten the eclair so far and it was delicious.

Our next stop was a bigger town called Tours. It is Sunday and almost everything was closed. Not a very interesting place at all and Maccas was the only place to get coffeee, without a meal. I would have preferred more time in Bois.

This was followed by a very long drive along the motorway to Kyriad Prestige, Merignac, which is near Bordeaux. The hotel is 4 star and just wonderful. Our dinner was superb - a brioche with vegetarian filling, salmon, and a lemon dessert.

I still have no voice :( . The drive today was long but probably what everyone needed to have a break from tons of walking. We are all in our rooms relaxing.

Tomorrow we are off to Barcelona!

Day 2 - Paris, Versailles

Early start this morning. Breakfast is a buffet with scrambled eggs, sausages, ham, cheese, croissants, bagettes, coffee, jams, fruit, yoghurt. We loaded up our plates, as we have decided lunch might not happen.

We were met by a local guide, Brigitte, who did the commentary for the driving tour around Paris. Although we don't get to stop at a lot of places, the information she was giving us was great and interesting. We were dropped of to wander around getting some lunch but Margie and I ended up in Starbucks, of all places, as there wasn't a lot of places around that just had coffee (and not meals).

Around the Arc De Triomphe, the cars traverse like it is a roundabout. There are 14 streets coming off it - and no lane markings. cars just go anywhere! Apparently learner drivers are taken there, and if they get around the Arc without an accident, they pass their license.

After lunch, we were off to Versailles Palace. OMG, what a place! It is HUGE!. Once again, outside the main gates, there are the Africans selling the tacky towers and souvenirs. The main gates are covered in 24 carat gold leaf. The palace has around 1000 rooms; we got to see about 20 of them. All the walls and ceilings are decorated with paintings or wall hangings. The doors are covered with gold leaf decorations - they are open and covered with glass to protect them. We saw Louis XV1 and Marie Antoinette's beds. The main room has mirrors reflecting the sun from outside and crystal chandeliers all the way along it. Brigitte gave a running commentary as we walked from room to room. We have headsets to listen to her. It was incredibly crowded and we are constantly being warned about pickpockets.

Then we were given tickets to go into the gardens around the palace. They are also huge and I only saw a small part of them before we had to go back to catch the bus again. Glad I took this optional.

Our second optional was a Welcome Dinner at a restaurant in a 12th century building. teensy rooms leading one into another - very squishy and certainly would never pass Australia's fire regulations. I thought the food was pretty underwhelming, although the profiteroles were nice. There were two musicians with guitar and accordian who sang and played for us; and people singing along.

I have lost my voice after the Eiffel trip and can't talk, let alone sing!

Some people were dropped off to climb the Eiffel Tower and the rest of us came back to the hotel to pack up for the morning and get some sleep. All this walking is tiring!

Day 1 - Paris

Packed and up early to set off for Paris. We were all assembled downstairs at the hotel, and put onto a bus with a local Cosmos girl to go to St Pancras station. We went to Paris via Eurorail through the tunnel. First you go through the ticket barrier, then passport control. The Cosmos lady said "do Not lose your ticket!". Well, guess who dropped their  ticket just after passing through the ticket barrier. *blush*. Minor panic until I was told that once I was through the barrier it was ok, and just sit in the vacant seat. The train ride was pretty boring - country side either side of channel is just flat, and uninteresting.

At the end of the platform, we met our tour director, Patricia, who is French but lives in Italy. She has an offsider, Claudia, who is learning the job. Giorgio is our Italian driver. Collected our luggage and took it out to be loaded onto our coach. Margie's bag had been ripped down the back about 6 inches during the journey. Patricia has assured her that it will be replaced during our travels.

Our hotel is Novotel La Defense, in the business district of Paris. Sadly, there is only a bed and a fold out couch in the room. My turn for the couch. Other than that, the room is nice; separate toilet and bath. Free wireless internet.

The optional tonight was a cabaret show which none of us was interested in. Margie went shopping and Alex and I decided to go to the Eiffel Tower. Our tour only has photo opportunities for the tower not a climb. We caught the Metro and walked up to the tower. All the way from the station there are African men selling, and harassing, tacky mini towers and the like. There are also many shell games trying to lure the unsuspecting in.

Despite being told there would probably be an hour long wait for just the tickets, we actually were in line for around 20 - 30 minutes. You get into a lift which takes you up to the 2nd floor. To get to the top, you then have to take another lift.

Alex went up to the top but with my 'love'of heights, I opted for the 2nd floor only. The view was amazing; all off Paris laid out before you. I wandered around looking and taking photos for a while, then got a cafe au lait and a croque monsieur and ate it looking over Paris. We were glad that we had made the effort to get there. Coming back we got off at the wrong station and had a long walk back to the hotel. It was after 9pm and still light.

Kensington

Landed in London and found Margie. We waited and waited at the designated cafe for Alex but he didn't show. So we caught the train to Kensington High St via Paddington. Peak hour is always interesting with a ruddy great suitcase! English stations apparently don't have elevators or ramps. So we had to bump the bags down the stairs and lug them up again on the other side. Not fun. Wonder what the disabled do? Probably throw themselves down the stairs and crawl up the other side with their hands. Visions of a Monty Python type sketch now.

The view from the train wasn't exciting - could have been any city. Same tired old buildings/light industrial type places, and same graffiti.It wasn't until we walked out of the station at Kensington that it hit home - I am in LONDON! It was the sight of the big red double decker buses that did it. And the black taxis.

Our room at Kensington Close is kind of squishy for 3 people and 3 large bags and other paraphenalia.

We were pretty wrecked from the flights so spent most of yesterday wandering around Kensington or lolling in our room. Had lunch at The Muffin Man, a cute cafe just up the road from the hotel. Last night we went in search of food and found the Prince of Wales pub. Had cod and chips with a piece of fish that must have come from Moby Cod. I couldn't eat it all.

There was a lovely old church across the road - St Mary's Abbotts. As we left the pub the bells were pealing joyfully and loudly. Nice of them to acknowledge our presence :)

Having problem stuffing the contents of my flights bag into my suitcase but managed it in the end. I either need less crap or a bigger bag - one the size of the Queen Mary's hold.

Just had a huge buffet breakfast. Just hanging around waiting until 8:15 to get on the bus for the train to PARIS!!!

Brisbane - Singapore

All boarded and we took off on time. Just after take off we were given hot towels to refresh ourselves - prefood clean up it turns out. We don't seem to stop eating or drinking!

First up was a choice of beverages - wine ( red or white ), juice or tea/coffee - and a couple of packets of peanuts. No allergies on this flight! (thank goodness)
It seemed that the snack had just been cleaned up when there was another drinks run - could have been two I was fiddling with the sound. The drinks runs are pretty regular.

Next up, only a couple of hours in, was lunch or dinner or something.
Appetiser: Waldorf salad with chicken
Main - either an asian fish/vege/rice dish or beef paprika with garlic mash beans and carrots
Bread roll and butter
Dessert: A Weis mango and cream bar
Cheese and biccies, Coffee
and a choice of beverages yet again.
I opted for the beef which was nice but a little bland. I guess they have to cater for all tastes.

After dinner, half the plane need to use the loos. WHen my seating companion got up I used the opportunity to grab ear plugs and charger/cord for the mobile out of my bag. I thought I had better use the loo too rather than disturb him later. OK, yep they are tiny. Next time I will opt for the special access one!

We are currently somewhere over the middle of Australia. It definitely is the red centre. Interesting the patterns of the dunes or whatever they are. Long lines with sometimes a little greenery in the hollows. I would take piccie but the last time I tried through a plane window it didn't work.

Disaster has struck in the sound department. My seat connection audio doesn't seem to work. So no music no TV no movies for me :(. THe new Sennheiser sound cancelling earphones do cancel the drone of the engines - sort of a different timbre.

Later we had more peanuts, a 'snack' of a beef curry pie, endless drinks runs. The girl
in front of me must be a bit sozzled. I think she had a red on every drink run.

As we flew over Timor Sea I looked for boats but couldn't see anything except a flock of fluffy white clouds.


In Singapore:

I tried to stay awake till Singapore so I can sleep on the London flight but ended up dozing off for a little while.
Changi airport is HUGE! Of course my plane came in at one end of Terminal 3 and my flight out is at the other end. Took a while to walk to the centre. Then I grabbed a shower for 8 Singapore dollars. Nice! It is about 28C here .Currently relaxing with an iced chocolate. I have about an hour before I have to check into the flight to London.