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.