Arrivederci

On the road, for the last time in Europe 16, this time with Pietro Due.  As we had a late flight from Fiumicino Airport there were limited choices on what we could do.  Should we carry our bags around on the cobblestone streets? Should we try to check them at the train station. or should we use the new service available that will collect and deliver them to the airport for you? The last was one preferred option but in the end we selected renting Pietro Due. A Black Fiat Panda.

There is over 900 in Rome

Today you will find out what there is over 900 of in Rome.

We have noticed a type of shop in Rome we have never seen before. I'm sure there are other places where these shops exist, but in one area near The Pantheon is where men of the cloth go to buy, well, the cloth.

Villa Borghese and garden

In Rome, we have walked and walked, and walked some more. Most attractions are easily reached by foot. We have walked many kilometres every day, so it was nice to have a slower paced day today. We both had a sleep in and relaxed at our apartment for the morning. I finished the book I have been reading over the last couple of weeks - The Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez. I had thoroughly enjoyed her other novel of a very similar nature, 'The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul'. Both novels tell stories of her experience living and working in Afghanistan. They make for quite eye opening reading. I have left this

The 'B' list continues

Today we started at the base of the Quirinal Hill in the Colonna Palace. It is another of the 'B' list sites and I learnt about it by reading many blog articles and performing much research on secondary sights in Rome.

The Palace has belonged to the Colonna family for over twenty generations and they open up a section of their palace on Saturday mornings.  For a little extra they also provide a guided tour through Princess Isabelle's Apartment, a separate section and taking this option we were glad we did.

A guided tour of the 'B' sights

What a day! We have seen so much today and walked so many miles, it's difficult to know where to start. I will rewind and start at the beginning. Today we were booked in for a half day walking tour. We are always a little reluctant to join tours for a few reasons, based on our experience of doing some before. A, we can usually do better ourselves - that's not meant to sound nasty, but we have read a lot and know quite a bit of the history of Italy and so sometimes we're not hearing anything new. B, trudging through the streets with large groups is annoying. C, Other tourists can be annoying. They ask stupid questions, or don't listen or don't follow instructions.

The 'B' sights

In the past visits to Rome we have concentrated on the 'A' list sights, the places each and every tourist needs to see and experience. Colloseum, done, Vatican, done, Pantheon done.

This time we have started on our 'B' list, the places that are must see for us, in the city we love so much. Today's sights included the Temple of Hercules Victor, The Mouth of Truth at Santa Maria in Cosmedin and close by the Garden of Oranges (Giardino degli Aranci).

When in Rome

I couldn't wipe the smile off my face this morning as I realised we were in Rome. Rome, my most favourite city. A clash of old and new. Something new to discover on every corner. I love walking the streets, watching the people and listening to the horns, the people and the clink of glasses in restaurants. It's enormous but at the same time welcoming. You can get lost in the narrow lanes but then stumble upon something so wonderful it takes your breath away. The Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Colloseum, the Spanish Steps are all in close proximity to one another. It is hard to describe the feeling of walking around a corner and literally bumping in to something hundreds of years old.

Getting ready to Rome

It was slightly pleasing to wake up this morning knowing we would be in Rome by days end, Naples is a lovely place to visit and has many great attractions but it has its issues. I would recommend you visit Naples however only for a few days, any more than that and it would get very hard to tolerate. Some of the poverty in the region combined with the many years of poor governance have left a toll on the community.

Hercules

Sometimes the guide books get it right. Tourists should stay in the centre of town. We witnessed the outskirts of the city today on our trip to Herculaneum and were surprised by the poverty, unkempt and dirty surrounds and shifty looking characters. I was pleased to return to the hustle and bustle of the city this afternoon.

Museum, monsoon and margherita

(Warning; Today's blog post and video does contain some mild adult content related to ancient art)

It was back in 2012 that I heard about the Naples National Archaeological Museum (NNAN) when we were touring the Pompeii site.  During this tour we were advised all 'the good' artefacts have been removed from Pompeii and relocated to the museum in Naples. Pompeii was a truly impressive site but I realised that we only saw part of it on that tour.

Firstly I would like to note that the Naples metro stations are some of the cleanest we have been on in this trip and they are also the most awarded for their layout and decorations inside. Here is Katie descending into the Toledo station.

It truly is, Amore

It was with a little sadness this morning that we said farewell to Stefano and Rosalinda at La Maesta. We have enjoyed another wonderful week in Tuscany with them in their beautiful villa. We had a bit of a journey ahead of us today on the rails to Naples, so we were up bright and early for Stefano to take us to the station.

Time for a bit of Gnocchi

It was a little sad to say goodbye to our faithful Pietro this morning in Arezzo.  We have had him for 17 days and traveled over 2500 km.  He was a pleasure to drive from lane ways in town to the Autostrada doing 130km/h.

We often parked where other tourists in larger cars couldn't and were always left with coin in the pocket when refilling the diesel tank. When in Italy we will be hiring a car again and selecting the fiat Panda, a perfect accompaniment to a couple traveling in this country. (I would like to trade in my Barina when I get home for my own Fiat Panda - Katie)

When the plans fail, there is always dinner

Even the best laid out travel plans can sometimes have unexpected 'road bumps' that get in the way. Today for us, that was the weather. While we expected we might get a little rain, we got a whole lot more. The plan was to visit Mt Amiata - highest point in Tuscany, for beautiful views. Somewhere along the journey Shannon thought it would be better to visit a small town first and get to the mountain a little later to avoid cloud coverage.

Timeless Toscana

Today was less about ticking off the attractions and must see items and more about spending time in Tuscany with each other, enjoying the locations and reminding ourselves how lucky we are to be here.

That's Amore

Our niece Zilpha loved the Sound of Music video that we created while we were in Switzerland, apparently she asks her mother to play it every day and sings along.

This got me thinking could we do another song, but better?

Well, we have tried, what do you think?

That's Amore.

(Note: The backing music was added in the editing after the singing was performed, hence why it is not fully in time.)

San Gimignano and Siena

Our plan for today was to revisit two places we had been to and loved. San Gimignano was one of my favourite hill top towns from our first visit to Tuscany and Shannon was keen to see Siena again, especially because we didn't have enough time to see the cathedral in 2012.

Tuscan travels

Just outside Cortona in the hills is Convent de Le Celle, and this is another place that has been on the list since we have been coming to Tuscany.

Tuscan touring

It was such a wonderful feeling this morning waking up in Tuscany. I was awake quite early so slipped out on to the terrace with my book and let Shannon sleep. It was balmy but a beautiful breeze sweeping up from the valley.

On the road again

We have had only a couple of long days on the road and today was one of them, from Arcola to Castiglion Fiorentino.  It was with slight sadness that we were to leave our host Giacomo this morning, he was a pleasure to stay with and could not come with a more higher recommendation from us.  His knowledge of the area and hospitality was second to none, thanks Giacomo. If we are ever in the LaSpezia area again we will stay at Villa Ducci.

Heading for the hills!

After having spent the last five days exploring the coast, we decided it was time for a change in scenery and so headed for the hills. After breakfast Giaccumo spent time planning an itinerary with us for the day. We ended up with quite a list of small towns to visit.

Porto Venere

Video of us in Porto Venere

The long and winding road

Levanto is the next town north from the Cinque Terre and was recommended to us as a place to go and see.  This journey however required Pietro to climb over some of the most mountainous terrain we have covered, yet.

Leaving La Spezia we passed through a couple of tunnels and then the curvy and narrow roads began.

Genoa and prostitutes

It turns out we made the best decision to stay in tiny Arcola. It has proved to be a great base spot for exploring the coast. There are many options for places to explore along the coast and hills. We opted for a drive to Genoa today, about an hour and a half from Arcola.

We had an interesting drive on the Autostrada which ran through the hills, which meant we drove through many tunnels. We found a park and walked in the old town, which is

Mountains of marble

What a day, we started on the road a lot later than the last few days.  Katie did remind me when on holidays a sleep in is a good thing too, she was right.

View from the lounge window

Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre has long been on my list of must see places in the world. Today we spent the whole day exploring this beautiful coast. We had been given different tips from many people about how to go about exploring the Cinque Terre, but in the end you

Motoring, music and mountians

Leaving early from the lovely town of Modena we chose to drive the local roads to Parma.  Driving on the AutoStrada is a great way to get from one place to another fast, but so many sights are passed and missed.

Generally the road we followed from Modena to Parma

Lovely leather, fine Ferrari's and powerful Pavarotti

Today was our last full day in Modena. We wondered in to the centre after breakfast and dropped in the visitor information centre, to make sure we hadn't missed anything important. We stopped in

Fitting the pieces together.

Up and early today and we were in little Pietro before 7:20 and headed for the Autrostrada and Ravenna.
A little after 9am we arrived at our destination, Ravenna. I must say using the SatNav sure makes

Leaving Bologna at 8X speed.

Here is a video of us leaving Bologna at 8X speed.

Today we graduated with a Diploma in Gelatology!

Today we had pre-booked a unique and one off experience - a gelatology class. However, this was the end point of the day. The journey to get there from Modena would take a little while. Shannon had read about an interesting statue of the local favourite - Tortellini. We stopped in the small town of Castelfranco Emilia and discovered the fascinating monument, which appears to be the centre point of town.

An evening in Modena

A video in Modena filmed at Ristorante Uva D'Oro and then afterward on our search for a necessity whilst on return to apartment.

Parmigiano-Reggiano, Aceto Balsamico, and Salumi

Well, we are now experts in Parmigiano-Reggiano, Aceto Balsamico, and Salumi. Today we took a guided tour, that once again proved to be private, we were the only ones who booked. Starting from our accommodation door we were transported in a Mercedes van to a cheese dairy where we walked on the floor where the cheese was made and smell the cheese. Oh, how delightful.

Milan, Cremona and Modena

This morning we woke to something we hadn't seen in a while - rain! It was also a little cooler in Milan this morning, which was a relief from the past few very hot days.

After breakfast we caught the

Milan and great food.

As we are on holiday we realised that we could have a sleep in and we did, it was a late start and we still managed to see a couple of the main sights. Sometimes Katie has to remind me

Magical Milano

Our first full day in the city of Milan did not disappoint. Today on our agenda was a visit to Leonardo Da Vinci's 'The Last Supper' and a tour of the city and Duomo, in the afternoon.

When we were planning this trip and considering which places to add to our itinerary, we had question marks over Milan. This was only because so many people had said things like "oh don't go to Milan, it's just another city." Or..."Milan is just for

Buongiorno Italia

It was a lovely 6 days in Switzerland, a place we have wanted to revisit since we were here in 2012.  Zurich is culturally very similar to

das ist mein hamburger

The video says it all.

Uetliberg, a vegetarian feast and a lake cruise

Today we planned to head up one last Swiss mountain for beautiful views and then spend some time cruising Lake Zurich.

Waiting for the tram

Uetliberg sits above the city of Zurich. We reached the base via train, which took about 20 minutes. Then from the arrival point, we had a 20 minute steep walk to reach the very top. Even at 10am, it had already reached around 30 degrees. This made the walk a little more tiring (and sweaty). For our efforts, we were rewarded with lovely views of the alps, lake and city below us. Shannon chose to climb the tower to get views from an even higher point, while I sat in the shade and enjoyed some people watching.

(I promise my editing will get better in later videos - Shannon)

We sat in the shade for a little while and had a cold drink and giant pretzel, before the walk back down to the train station. Upon returning to the city, we decided it was time for some lunch and already had a spot in mind, that we had read about. Hiltl is a vegetarian restaurant that has been around since the 1800s...yes you read correctly. It was absolutely heaving with people and walking inside was quite overwhelming. Fortunately, a nice waiter came to our rescue explaining how their system works. In the centre of the restaurant was a buffet type set up full of all sorts of vegetarian dishes. You walk around with your plate and make your selections. Then you take your plate to the register and pay according to the weight of your food! Amazing! I loved the beetroot fritters, guacamole, cauliflower salad and lemonade with ginger. A great find and highly recommended to anyone visiting Zurich. Thanks Shannon.

The heat had become intense and so we headed to the lake area to seek some relief. Our Zurich card included a boat trip, so we took advantage of this and boarded a 1 and a 1/2 hour cruise around lake Zurich. It was a great way to cool off a little and enjoy some more sights, with a beer and wine.

 

 A perfect end to our last day in beautiful Switzerland. We enjoyed a great hamburger for dinner and will now pack our bags in readiness for our train journey tomorrow to Milan.

Auf Wiedersehen, Zurich

Rhine falls and Zurich tour.

One of the few times we have taken guided tours was today, we got the Zurich super special, Rhine falls and 2 hr city tour.  The Rhine falls were spectacular but the

Always make time to stop and smell the roses

Heading to the city of Zurich we had 2 options, return on the same path on the highway, or take a different route. We chose the second option which allowed us to discover more of

Driving from Urnasch to Appenzell

Video of the drive from Urnasch to Appenzell in Appenzellerland Switzerland.

Museum, museum and Mountian

We had a relaxed start to to the day, 

A morning in Appenzellerland

A short video of some local scenes in Appenzell.

Cheese, Church and Cable Car

Today it was time to learn about the making of Appenzeller cheese at the "Appenzeller Demonstration Cheese Dairy in Stein.  This was a real working dairy that allowed us to

We are now living in a postcard

Appenzell, it is more Swiss than Switzerland. How can that be? well other areas have the mountains, glaciers, lakes, but this area has the iconic postcards.  It is like around every corner there are cows, green grass, a mountain range in the background and someone playing

Driving on the "right" side of the road

When we started planning this trip it was decided to include driving. Public transport in Europe is fantastic and in Switzerland runs like clock work, but driving a car around a place makes you feel a little more like a local, than just another tourist. It also allows us to see more of the places away from the main tourist routes. When we landed in Zurich yesterday, we

First welcome suprise

After checking in we decided to stretch the legs and go for a wander and look see in Appenzell town.  Nothing specific was planned but we were in for a treat when we come across these Alphorn players.

Play the video to hear mesmerising sound.

Morning stroll

I always find after flying from Australia to Europe I wake very early after the first full nights sleep. this trip was no exception.

Here is a little video whilst I was out walking on the first morning.

A close encounter with Dubai Airport security

Going through customs and security checks at airports is just part of the process you have to go through when traveling. Time consuming and annoying, yes, but obviously very necessary. 

Having traveled overseas a few times, I've never faced an issue and breezed through without any hassles. Melbourne airport have streamlined security making passport and bag checks so quick and

Emirates EK407 and Business Class

As some may already know by our personal Facebook posts we did splurge a little and upgraded to Business Class.

Being our 4th international trip together and never seeing the possibility of a free upgrade happening it was decided to take the plunge and upgrade.  Initially we only upgraded the return flight to avoid the Europe to Australia jet lag we had on prior trips.

Bags packed time to go

It is hard to believe that the time has come and we are about to leave on our latest journey, this time through Switzerland and Italy. As you may know it has been over 18 months in the planning and promises many differing experiences.

Travelling be it locally, nationally or even globally is something Australians do well, it is practically in our genes. We come from a nation of explorers and
the explorers have come from the world over. Whilst traveling we try not to judge or impose our personal views, but we do learn others views and opinions.

Some may think that different cultures have vastly different opinions from us but when this is broken down to the base elements all cultures have the same basic views and opinions.  I have found no matter where a person is from we all,

• Have a need to be loved
• Want to give love to another
• Be part of a family
• Live in a violence and war free environment
• Have access to fresh food and water
• Have accommodation, a place to call home, 
• Have time to be free, 
• Have access to education
• Have access to work.

These are basic things that all people need and should be able to have.

Quite often people forget what they need in life or confuse it with what they want. While not having what they want they think their lives are incomplete, worthless or even worse. Some times if the needs are met then the wants disappear, I find that giving myself a gentle reminder of my needs and that they are met, does quite often alleviate the bad feelings.

Whilst only travelling to Switzerland and Italy this time we still expect to see vast differences in cultures and customs than those we are accustomed to in Australia.  I will be reporting on these in coming posts. 

Finally, the bags have been in the lounge room packed for the last 5 nights, totally un aware of the journey they also are about to endure.

Only, future blogs will tell.

Were off again

Mid August 2016 were heading back to Europe, this time flying into Zurich and leaving from Rome at the end of September.
Outline of stops (nights)

• Switzerland - Appenzell (4)

• Mountain tops
• Cable cars

• Switzerland - Zurich (3)

• Rhine Falls
• Lake Zurich cruise

• Italy - Milan (3)

• Milan Duomo
• Leonardo Da Vinci's Last Supper

• Italy - Modena (5)

• Day trip to Ravenna
• Parma ham, Balsamic Vinegars, Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan)
• Ferrari, Pavarotti

• Italy - Italian Riveria (6)

• Cinque Terre
• Carrarra Marble tour

• Italy - Tuscany (7)

• La Maesta
• Siena
• Monte Amiata

• Italy - Naples (3)

• Herculaneum
• Nat. Arch. Museum (Secret Cabinet)

• Italy - Rome (7)

• Borghese Gallery
• Tivoli Gardens