Louise lives it up in Londres

Thurs 18 October
4am cab ride to Gatwick airport, so tired as had been to see the musical Wicked with Saskia the night before, so only had about 4 hours sleep. As i lifted my suitcase into the cab i had a mini panic attack - i was sure my suitcase weighed more than 20 kgs (yes I know I was only away for 10 days). After a slight bag reshuffle and carry on weighing 6 kgs we made it on the plane. Was about to throw something at the little kid sitting next to me however because every time he killed something on his gameboy it made the most irritating sounds - not what you want at 7am!

Arrived at Rome Ciampino. Not a nice airport but its the one that all the cheap air lines fly into. Straight to Roma Termini and on the train to La Spezia. Word of advice - 70 cents to use the loo and macca's didn't even have one. Was already cursing the weight of my bag as was Saskia, thank god for chivalry because its a massive step up onto the Italian regional trains. Another word of advice - the train guards are not helpful at all so make sure you find the little yellow validation machines and validate your ticket before you get on the train. Also book yourself first class ticket, not much more expensive but guarantees you a comfy cabin!

Turned out we were sitting in the same cabin as Paul from the Melbourne Dragons (little bit of eye candy didn't hurt for the 5 hours train trip). Saskia and Paul talked AFL (foreign language to me) for ages so I caught some shut eye.The best thing about the train was the food carriage. Not because of the food but because the bench tops were bright orange - exactly like my ones back home ahhhhh. Tried my first Italian beer (tasted exactly like VB) and prinngles. This was the beginning of our really health Italian diet.

Arrived La Spezia at 6pm and after slight altercation with the train guards because i ran across the tracks (promise I didn't see the massive sign that said 'Do Not Cross Tracks' - hey when in Rome! or close enough anyway). Again not very easy to figure out how to get a ticket to Riomaggiorie. I went to information and asked where I buy a ticket. He kept saying Tobacco to which i replied no i need a train ticket - Tobacco, Ticket, Tobacco and then it finally clicked - you buy your tickets at the tobacco store at the end of the station - woo hoo.

We arrived at Riomaggiroe and I was instantly in love. The village is so sweet, its on a step hill and the apartments cascade down the mountain. The colours are reds, and yellows and sweet oranges. Its old but has a very much loved charm about it. The village wasn't big but had a few Italian deli's, few restaurants, a bar and some cafes etc. Again I was cursing my heavy bag. Word of advice - light bag or catch the shuttle bus up the hill (we didn't know about it till we had reached the top of the hill.)

Our room was small but had everything we needed and the bathroom was brand new. Word of advice - Bring your on bath towel. There towels look and feel like super sized tea towels. The village is small so we weren't far from food and the wharf and the train. However we didn't have a view and it was a very step hill every time we ventured back to our apartment.

It was getting late so we headed out for dinner. without realising Saskia and I looked almost identicial in our striped tops but were to hungry and tired to care. Our adventures began at this point and I realised just how easy it is to meet people and have a chat as everyone is so happy and excited to be there. The restaurant was fantastic. The pasta was fantastic, although I expected nothing less. The two old men who owneds the restaurant made me laugh. There wasn't a single Italian in the restaurant. We had a table of loud American kids on term break, an Aussie couple living in London (the husband was an accountant with EY), Aussies on another table, some English people and another table of Americans. The owners then sat down with us for a chat and explained that they though Aussie girls were beautiful and American girls - not so much and then said all American men are gay, oh so wise!. it was so un PC but really funny.

A bottle of wine and a well earned sleep after a huge trek up the hill, past the church, round the corner and up lots of stairs, 10 minutes playing with the keys trying to get into our room and we were ready for day 2.

Fri 19 October
The sun was shinning, breakfast was good (we brought our own vegimite) and hit the spot and we were ready to start the Cinque Terra walk. The walk through all 5 villages takes approximatly 5 hours. We took a walk to the marina and bought our walking passes, took a deep breath in and just looked out to the sea. The Italian cost line was breathtaking. It was low season so we almost felt like we had the place to ourself. It was warm and peaceful and the water was glistening and the air smelt so fresh and clean (big change from London). I finally was getting the much needed burst of vitamine D that I was lacking in London. We started towards Manarola, it was up and down the cliff side but was an easy walk. We passed lovers lane where couple bring locks and keys and hang them in a lovers lane tunnel near statues of two lovers kissing. It took about 20 minutes to Manarola, where we stopped for a quick coffee and sit to soak up the sun. We ran into Paul again - small world.

Then it was up again and on to Corniglia. It took about 1 hour an at one point we had to climb over 400 stairs. We were bit peckish but not realy pasta and pizza hungry so we stopped in at a little hole in the wall cafe that turned out to be perfect. The owner makes all the food orgaincally and brews the beer as well. he suggested the fingre food which was house specilty Lingne bread and veggie toppings. it was sensational. we sat there looking over the ocean eating bread and pate and sipping home brew Italian Beer. There was lovely Italian music playing and we just soaked up the sun

We then walked down to the wharf which was about 200 steps down so i meant it was going to be 200 steps back up - yuck. we soaked our feet in the water and took another opportunity to just sunbake. After over 800 stairs we decided to catch a train to Vernazza. even catching the train is lovely becuase the train tracks ran perpendicular to the coast as well. Wandered around Vernazza and met a lovely Candian couple. People where swiming and we ate gelato as we wrote postcards. We decided to catch the ferry back to Riomaggiorie to enjoy the sunset. Sat at the tapas cafe on top of the hill and watched the sunset with some sun downers. The people sitting next to us turned out to be from Byron Bay and we had a good old chat. We wandered to our local bar and then headed to Manorola for dinner by the beach.

Manorola is much larger than the other villages and had a long beach and a nice vibe. There were plenty of people around and a few buskers adding to the atmosphere. We ate at the Belvadere and I had the best veal I have ever had. after stuffing ourselves with entres, mains and desert and chatting to an unemployed Canadian man who had just decided to pack his job in with Ford, we headed back to Rio and chilled at the local meeting more travellers and a few locals. We attempted to chat to some locals who didn't seem to mind that we had no idea what they were talking about. One of the American dudes we meet, Brandon, was trying to communicate using spanish - was so funny.

Sat 20 October
What a bummer after our amazing day yesterday - The rains came! The locals said the rain marked the begining of winter and it was likely to get colder by the day. We decided to take a boat to Portovenere for a wander. Portovenere is more of a port for rich people and there yachts. Not my favorite place but it did have a really big beach and probably goes off in summer. We walked along the water and ended up and a cafe chatting to the owner who used to work as a captain on the PNO in Sydney. He didn't want to let us go, he would have been happy talking about his love for Oz all day. But our bus awaited. Word of advice - really plan your trips each day becuase trains and buses and biats don't necessarily match up when it comes to timing and we found we wasted a lot of that day waiting for transport. We really wanted to get to Portofino but timing wise it just wasn't going to happen. Such a shame but looks like i will have to go back to italy now to see it.

Headed to Montorosa for cocktails at BarDavi and free tapas. WE headed back to Rio for dinner at another restaurant with more of a seafood menu. WE ended up having dinner with one of the American lads we meet the night before. He was travelling for a few months on his own so was happy for the company. Saskia had flaming spaghetti and I had really good vegitable pie.

Sun 21 Oct

Time to leave and make the long journey back to Rome for the begining of our contiki adventure. I will miss this place, honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Stay tuned.........

Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku! (Happy New Year)
A little bit about Poland………..

Poland (Polska), officially the Republic of Poland is a country in Central Europe on the boundary between Eastern and Western European continental masses, and is considered by the United Nations a part of Eastern Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine and Belarus to the east; and the Baltic Sea, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. It the 69th largest country in the world and 7th in Europe. Poland's population, concentrated mainly in urban areas, is over 38.5 million people which makes it the 33rd most populous country in the world.
Polish culture has been influenced by both Eastern and Western influences. Today, these influences are evident in Polish architecture, folklore, and art. Poland is the birthplace of some world famous individuals, including Pope John Paul II, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Kazimierz Pułaski, Nicolaus Copernicus and Frederic Chopin.
Notable foods in Polish cuisine include Polish sausage, red beet soup, Polish dumplings, tripe soup, cabbage rolls, Polish pork chops, Polish traditional stew, various potato dishes, a fast food sandwich zapiekanka, and many more. Traditional Polish desserts include Polish doughnuts, Polish gingerbread and others.

When mum mentioned going on a trip to Poland for week my first thoughts were Why? What on earth is in Poland? This may sound ignorant but I had never heard of Poland as a tourist destination and knew very little about it other than Chopin and the Concentration Camps of WWII. So of course I went on to Google to explore. It turns out there is plenty to see and do in Poland and Krakov is once of the nicest cities I have visited so far.
The story begins on Monday 3 December on our arrival at the Le MERIDIEN BRISTOL. It is situated on the "King's Walk", Warsaw's most elegant street, is only a short walk from the historical Old Town (Plac Zamkowy 0 Castle Square), the Royal Castle and the National Theatre and Opera House. The hotel was charming with old school architecture with beautiful high ceilings, chandeliers, thick luscious drapery and absolutely lovely staff. The main strip was under construction at the time but I can imagine in summer it will look fantastic. The streets are very wide and are being paved so I can see a lot of outdoor cafes and restaurants aka Paris.

We decided to dump our bags and go for a walk around the old town, in the rain, and seek out some Amber (Something Poland is famous for). We managed to cross over into the new city which is beginning to look like any bustling city (hard to believe after all the occupations and devastations the past few centuries of war have dealt). Our first lesson in Poland was learnt back at the Bristol where we decided to have a quick bite to eat. Celebrating our adventures mum decided to order a glass of Champagne. In any other place I have been this would generally mean house bubbly. But alas not so at the Bristol. One glass came in at a tidy PLN (Polish Zloty) 69, I’m not even going to convert it because it hurts so much. Thank gosh we ordered off the menu after that point. I steered clear of the traditional Polish cuisine (a theme to follow us the whole trip) and opted for the most mouth watering Pasta I have ever had – even better than any pasta I had in Italy. Mums risotto was apparently equally amazing.

That night we wandered around the new city looking for some traditional polish food and ended up in a fantastic Mexican restaurant. After a few cocktails, and way to much food, we turned in for the night, for tomorrow would be a very long day. On the way back to the hotel we walked passed an unknown soldiers grave. There were 2 guards with machine guns guarding it so mum wouldn’t let me get to close, was a very eerie feeling to say the least. We also saw a huge monument marking the 1946 uprising and the secret sewer army. We stopped by our ‘local’ pub for a glass of wine that turned into a giant beer because the bar man couldn’t open the wine bottle and then headed to bed.
Tuesday morning we were up bright and early to catch the train to Kracov and head for the salt mines. We stayed in a hotel called Saski, the hotel itself didn’t seem that grand but our room was huge. It has a parlour, sitting room and bedroom – very plush. The Saski was about 1 minute walk from the main square so was in a fantastic spot. We header straight for the shuttle bus to the salt mines, which took about an hour. We were very lucky to get there just in time for an English guided tour (some people had been waiting an hour – I think it was the luck of the Irish).

The Wieliczka Salt Mine, nowadays practically on the southeast outskirts of Krakow, has been worked for 900 years. It used to be one of the world's biggest and most profitable industrial establishments when common salt was commercially a medieval equivalent of today's oil. Always a magnet, since the mid-18th century Krakow's Wieliczka salt mine has become increasingly a tourist attraction in the first place. Today visitors walk underground for about 2,000 m in the oldest part of the salt mine and see its subterranean museum, which takes three hours or so. In centuries past when a horse entered the mine they never saw daylight again, but were worked and housed within the mine. Miners also spent long periods of time in the mine. To alleviate boredom skilled miners carved statues, rooms and a chapel from the salt. We got the chance to tour three levels of the MANY levels of the mine

I wasn't expecting anything interesting in the salt mine to be honest but wow, the hundreds of steps down the 3 levels, the sights underground were spectacular and I especially liked the chapel, sculptures and the ancient mining equipment on display. This is a definite must see when in Poland." The tour allowed us to see the sights from 64 to 135 meters below the ground. First we had to walk down 400 stairs to get to the first (64 meter) level. We rode back up in mining elevators. The stairs were lighted from bottom to top. I had a look down the seemingly never ending staircase through the middle banister but mum was not so brave, favouring the one foot at a time, looking straight ahead approach. No photos or description would really do it justice but if your interested in seeing a bit more check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wieliczka_Salt_Mine.

When we were back in Kracow we wandered along the river and past the castle tower. The castle is built on a small hill and there is a wall around the complex. The surrounding area is quite flat and there is a good view up and down the Vistula River. I had noticed a lot of tourist shops and stalls selling toys dragons and wandered what they were. Then we stumbled across the giant statue of the very dragon. Turns out it was the Dragon of Wawel Hill, a famous dragon in Polish folklore. Apparently he laired in a cave under Wawel Hill on the banks of the Vistula river. We stopped by a Polish theme restaurant for some soup and bread. We couldn’t face the pig snout which was apparently the house speciality. We continued back towards the town Square to look around the winter markets and the amber stalls. There wasn’t a whole lot at the markets but the square was lit up with hundreds of Christmas lights and huge Christmas tree. We sampled some hot wine and local delicacies. We had dinner just off the square in a fantastic restaurant and then wandered down Floianska street where we ended up in a really cool jazz bar. This was the perfect way to end the night.

Wednesday blew in with an air of sadness as we made our way out to Birkenau and Auschzitz.

Birkenau (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz (help•info)) was the largest of the German Nazi concentration and extermination camps. Located in German-occupied southern Poland, it took its name from the nearby town of Oświęcim (Auschwitz in German). Following the German occupation of Poland in September 1939, Oświęcim was incorporated into Germany as part of the Katowice District (Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz), or unofficially East Upper Silesia (Ost-Oberschlesien), and renamed Auschwitz.

The complex consisted of three main camps: Auschwitz I, the administrative center; Auschwitz II (Birkenau), an extermination camp or Vernichtungslager; and Auschwitz III (Monowitz), a work camp. The first two of them have been on the World Heritage List since 1979. There were also around 40 satellite camps, some of them tens of kilometers from the main camps, with prisoner populations ranging from several dozen to several thousand.

The camp commandant, Rudolf Höß, testifed at the Nuremberg Trials that 3 million people had died at Auschwitz during his stay as a commandant. Later he decreased his estimate to about 1.1 million. The death toll given by the Soviets and accepted by many was 4,000,000 people. This number was written on the plaques in the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The Museum revised this figure in 1990, and new calculations by Dr. Franciszek Piper now place the figure at 1.1 million about 90 percent of them Jews from almost every country in Europe. Most of the dead were killed in gas chambers using Zyklon B; other deaths were caused by systematic starvation, forced labor, lack of disease control, individual executions, and medical experiments.

We arrived at Aushwitz to begin our tour with a documentary on the horrors of the death camps. It wasn’t the most pleasant thing I have watched but it was an eye opener and made the following 4 hours seem so much more real. If you didn’t know any better you would think Auschwitz was lovely, however what we saw was the restored camp that has now been turned into a museum and not the horrible mess of a camp that existed during the war. I had studied war history at school but its makes such a different when you can see the sheer size of these camps, the barbed wire, the small building that housed 1000’s of men and women and the pictures of the dead lining the walls. I think for me the thing that impacted me most was the wall of face and names of prisoners who had died and the date of arrival into the camp and death. For women this was usually no longer than 3 months apart and for men it could be anywhere up to about 3 years. I can’t imagine living in that filth for 3 years.

When our tour guide explained to me that despite the smell and disease the best job to have in a work camp was that of toilet cleaner I couldn’t understand why. This was until he explained that you could only use the toilets (concrete holes in the floor and water troughs like horses use) once a day and that many people were forced to do there business in the clothes and in their beds and then could not clean themselves up - I felt a bit sick. Cleaning the shit away was also another way for ‘inmates’ to smuggle things in and out of the camp because the guards would obviously not want to check them. These prisoners were also picked on less by the police because they smelt and were often diseased.

The end of the tour was perhaps the worst. We saw rooms and rooms filled with piles of human hair (to be used in the textiles industry), children’s shoes, glasses and basic toiletry things that the Germans had taken from the prisoners before herding them through the gas chambers – lets not forget right up until the very end these prisoners thought they were part of a relocation project and then were only going into huge shower blocks to be cleaned. How it must have been with thousands of people crammed into these chambers when it finally hit them they were about to be executed. We walked through the prison blocks and finally through the last standing gas chamber. It really was a humbling feeling. Anyway I could go on for pages but I think you get the drift.

That night we headed into town (after a 2 hour bus ride home where mum was busting to go to the toilet the whole way) and went to one of the major shopping centres. We had macca’s and did a bit of shopping (ok a lot). That night we had dinner in the square in an American steakhouse inspired restaurant and headed to bed – it was a very tiring day.

Thursday we headed back to Warsaw. For those who plan to go to Poland, stay an extra few days in Krakov. It is an amazing city and 2 days just didn’t do it justice. I would sacrifice time in Warsaw for extra time in Krakov. Our last day in Warsaw we did some more shopping as there was still plenty of amber I had not yet purchased, had lunch, did a bit more wandering. We had to swing by the post office which took forever because mum had to send about 100 chirstmas cards and then headed over to the shopping centre. We walked passed mums favourite building – the Palace of Culture and Science and saw an outdoor ice skating rink. We had dinner at the hard rock café (yes I know another typical polish restaurant) and then headed to the ice bar for a few. This is apparently a big tourist spot but perhaps not so much on a Thursday night as we were the only people in there. It was quite cool though and I mean that literally. It was freezing, they gave us these huge coats and we had some polish vodka. Didn’t stay in there for very long but instead wandered around the city and then stopped in to our local again before heading back to the Bristol.

Alas Friday it was up early and on to a plane again. I really could have done with a few more days in Poland. There was so much to see and do and just not enough time. It was in most parts not at all what I had imagined (so much more beautiful) and yet in other parts it was the war ravaged, poor, dirty place I had thought it would be.

21st October - Arrive Rome
Saskia and I made our way by the train from beautiful Riomaggiore (see story on Cinque Terra for details) to Roma termini and then decided it was easiest to get a cab to the hotel. As we drove to the hotel I took a nice big breath in, stuck my head out the window and reveled in the beauty of Roma, a place I have always wanted to visit and it was everything I expected and more, but we will get to that later in the trip. I was really excited about what the contiki tour had in store for us. We were meeting Nell, Nicola and Aedin at the hotel and I was hoping about 50 other fun people that would make the trip very memorable.

The hotel – Roma Park Hotel - was, although quoted as a superior tourist hotel close to the city, in fact miles out of town and not exactly holiday inn standards. It was old and small but it was clean so can’t complain too much. We read the now infamous contiki tour board, freshened up for what we thought would be a big night out on the town, and made our way up to the hotels restaurant to meet the rest of the tour group. Simona was to be our tour guide and one of many disappointments of contiki – but don’t get me wrong, Italy was not in any way a disappointment.

For about an hour Simona walked us painstakingly through every details of the trip including the fact that we would spend just as much time on the bus as off it and that it was 6am wake up calls all the way. By the end of her little speech we were not only starving but bored to death. There were no introduction games or details about good nights spots etc. Then the hotel meal arrived. Yes that’s correct our first night in Italy was to be spent in the hotel restaurant eating ‘green’ chicken and drinking hotel wine (not included btw). By the end of dinner we were all less than motivated to go out so decided to head to bed and be well rested for our 6am wake up call. A small group of contiki people did go out that night and some how managed to make it on the bus the next morning. How do I know this – meet annoying Contiki boy, lets call him Geroge. The only saving grace was that George was hung over and didn’t annoy everyone as much on the very long bus drive the next morning.

Day 2 Rome to Venice
Today’s itinery saw us heading north over the Apennine mountains and into the Veneto region for our two night stop on the mainland close to Venice. En-route we passed hilltop villages, the rolling hills of Tuscany and the city of Bologna - home of Spaghetti Bolognese.

We were up and on bus @ 6.45. We drive for about 3 hrs and then made one of many food pit stops at a highway diner. Only slightly interesting thing about this diner was that no one spoke English so I ended up with a very strange sandwich for lunch and each table itn he diner had its own microwave. After picking up some supplies we drove for another 4 or so hours.

Finally we had arrived in Venice around 4.30pm, oh hang on no we hadn’t because contiki actually had us staying in the Holiday Inn in a town outside Venice called Quatro Del Alto. Bummer. We quickly dumped bags in our hotel and we ventured into Venice, by train. Simona graciously gave us some directions on how to get into Venice and a one way free train pass!. Yes that’s right the contiki budget only stretched to a one way ticket. Was quite an experience catching the train, but luckily Saskia and I were well versed at using Italian trains and the need for validating tickets etc. Only a scattering of contiki people joined us, the rest opting for dinner in the hotel (what the!)

Then boom as we get of the train and walk out the main door – Venice – exactly as it is in the movies. It was beautiful. It was lit up, there were people all over the place, restaurants scattered along the canal and lots of boats slowly chugging along. We decided to follow the lonely planets guide and headed over to Rialto for dinner. We wandered up and down the canal and finally found a nice restaurant where the wine wasn’t ridiculously expensive. One tiny thing to mention. Girls beware, the men waiters are very forward and Haras you to eat in their restaurants – just be firm and keep walking. We had an amazing dinner, great food, lots of laughs and I think the owner even came to our table for a bit of a laugh – and Saskia a kiss on the cheek was it he he he. It is much more expensive to eat at a restaurant on the canal but was well worth it.

We then made our way through a maze of alley ways, its amazing how close the lanes are in Venice and extremely easy to get lost, and stumbled across a piazza with 3 bars. We decided it was fate and that we needed to visit each. The first was a great little wine bar and we tasted all sorts of exotic wines and then headed over to the piano bar, we took loads of pictures and listened to the jazz sounds of this amazing Jamaican (I think) singer. There was a man in the bar that looked exactly like Hagrid from Harry potter – very strange. The last bar in the square was the most fascinating. It was an outdoor bar (even though it was freezing) and was blasting 80’s and cheesy 90’s music into the square and people were dancing and signing and drinking out of plastic cups – very cool.

We managed to make our way back to the train station (didn’t pay for boat tickets –couldn’t figure eout how, so was nice cheap trip until….). Upon arrival at said station the smiles turned upside down when we realized we had well and truly missed the last train (train station was literally locked up, last train had been some 4 hours ago), thanks Simona for omitting to tell us that little bit of useless information!. After asking a very helpful man in a hotel we found a bus stop, but no one knew where we needed to go. They had no idea because we were literally miles out of town. In the end we had to get 2 cabs home, 100 euro each – Ouch. In bed at 3ish. Very expensive night but well worth it, was such a laugh.

Day 3 Venice
UP at 8ish this morning, thank god and blessed with a clear day, to catch a train into Venice with the rest of the tour group. As a group we went to Murano glass-blowing & Burano lace-making demonstrations. This is another thing I would avoid if I ever do a group tour again. The glass blowing and lace making were free and you could go in at any time so there was no need to waste hours with the tour group. Also we spent a lot of time in the Murano waiting for people to make purchases. I would have much rather gone into the Doges' Palace or spent more time in St Mark's Basilica. I did buy a fee bits and pieces from the Murano though as the stuff was just beautiful but had price tags to match. A set of 6 glasses could cost up to £1000.

Anyway I digress, after this we spent some time exploring St. Mark's Basilica, Bridge of Sighs, the Doges' Palace and wandering around the Piazza San Marco. We then took a gondola ride through the canals of this amazing city. The gondola ride was great fun but alas our gondola man didn’t sing. We decided to sign for ourselves and I don’t think he was very impressed with our version of ‘one corneto’. He took a little shine to Aedin so she got to steer for a second. Was lucky it was only a second as she nearly saw us career into a wall. And its true what they say – the town is sinking and does smell a lot like sewage. I can only imagine how bad the smell must be in summer. We also tried our hand at bargaining and scored some very cheap ‘Gucci’ bags (yes fakes of course). This is very much frowned upon in Venice and apparently police can jail you for buying one of these rip offs. The bargaining is quite a treat, one bag went from £60 to £10 before the Carabinieri, (police) came screaming round the corner and the peddlers disappeared (perhaps into the Canal??).

We wandered around the harbor and all purchased a painting of Venice from a different artist. After much shopping we headed to a great little café for some pizza and wine. The wine was 1 euro each so we sat there for a good couple of hours. Was so nice just people watching and relaxing.

We headed back to the contiki ferry at 8.40 and had a bite of pizza (like we hadn’t already eaten enough that day) in town before getting the last train back to our hotel 10.45am.

Day 4 Venice to Florence
Back on the bus for 7.15am and heading to Florence, the most spectacular of Renaissance cities . We wind through the Apennine Mountains towards the gorgeous region of Tuscany. We arrive at the hotel Albergio Firense (a name I will now never forget) at 12.30pm. First order of the day was a walking tour that began at the famous Piazza della Signoria. The Piazza is an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio .

The square is also shared with the Loggia della Signoria, the Uffizi Gallery, the Palace of the Tribunale della Mercanzia (1359) and the Uguccioni Palace (16th c.) (with a facade probably by Raphael). Located in front of the Palazzo Vecchio is the Palace of the Assicurazioni Generali (1871, built in Renaissance style).

The various eye-catching statues in this square include:
• At the entrance of the Palazzo Vecchio, a copy of David. The original by Michelangelo is being kept at the Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts.
• The "bronze equestrian statue of Cosimo I" by Giambologna (1594)
• The Fountain of Neptune by Bartolomeo Ammannati (1575)
• "The Lion", referred to as "il Marzocco" with a copy of the "Florentine Lily", originally made by Donatello (copy)
• "Judith and Holofernes", by Donatello (copy)
• "Hercules and Cacus", by Bandinelli (1533)
• "The Rape of the Sabine women", by Giambologna (copy)

We also walked passed or through the Duomo, Basilica Santa Croce, Giotto's Bell Tower (wish we had time to climb it) and the Baptistry. Contiki also treated us to a free Florentine leather craft demonstration. This was actually quite interesting and put to bed all the old wives tales about how to tell if something is real leather. Ps. The light a match to see if the leather burns trick is a hoax. The only way to tell is to pick the item up and separate the outer and inner layers and rub them together, if its difficult to rub its real leather (because of the suede texture inside).

The Uffizi galley was fully booked so we made our way over to the Gallery of the Accademia di Belle Arti to see among other things David. It’s a strictly no photos policy in the museum but as you can see from the below the photographer in Aedin just couldn’t help herself . Just a little bit on David because it is by far one of the finest statues I have ever seen. I just can’t get over the size of it. How someone could craft this so long ago is quite amazing. His ahhh ….feet ….are huge, no really his feet are so detailed, really amazing and his eyes follow you around the room. There were so many art students in the gallery drawing, it seemed like a very special place.

After the Museum we took a stroll around Florence, wandered by the river and found our way to the markets. Aedin, Nicola and I got lost from Saskia and Nell and soon realised we had no idea what the name of the hotel was or where it was. The streets in Florence are cobble stone and very narro, just as windy as Venice. It started to rain and took us about 2 hours of wandering around Florence, trying to ask Italians where the Alegra hotel was (note the name of hotel was actually Albergio), hence the two hours, before we made it home. It turns out we literally walked passed it 3 or 4 times till it finally came to me that it was in fact the Albergio and we saw a huge neon sign saying that very word. The walk, although wet, was great fun and we managed to see a lot of the little city.

We headed back to the hotel, got changed and headed out to a local restaurant, courtesy of lonely planet, for a real Italian/Florentine dinner. It was amazing, and the staff were fantastic. The rest of contiki went to a restaurant on top of a hill in Florence, we opted for the more traditional approach. We meet up with the contiki tour later on that night at a local pub, had a good long dance, few boat races and then headed to a night club. Let me say this night club was an experience in local Florence culture to say the least. I will tell you one about Florence night clubs – you don’t pay on entry but are issued what is essentially (so we found out much later in the night and a few very annoyed Aussie’s later) a charge card….the free drink is not in fact free…..and you must pay to exit the club! We had a ball, and were very much the centre of attention most of the night when people realised we were from Australia. Home at 5.30am.

Day 5 Florence to Rome
We had to check out of the hotel at at 9am (slept in and got in trouble) began with an infuriating contiki announcement – our previous hotel from day one, which was already quite far out of town, had been over booked and we had now been moved to the Hilton Hotel. Sounded good until Simona hit us with the fact that it was the Hilton Hotel at Fumicino airport – about an hours drive out of town. Not happy Jan. We were also told that the hotel dinner had been cancelled (what a shame) and were issued with a 10 euro note. This didn’t even go part way to the cost of ours cabs that night - but hey what can you do, no point letting it ruin our holiday.

Bus wasn’t leaving till 12.30 so spent the morning looking around the local shops and looking for designer sunnies and the like. Got back on bus and 3 ½ hr later arrived in Rome. We did a quick walking tour with Simona, visiting the Spanish steps, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. We had dinner at a restaurant near the Pantheon and Nicola and I did cartwheels the length of it, just because we could. Then we meet the bus at the Piazza Venezia and headed back to the hotel to check in. The Hitlon was amazing, huge and clean and our rooms had baths was pretty nice.

Day 6 Rome
We were up at 6.30 and arrived in the city of Rome at 8.30am (yes that’s 2 hours due to traffic). Some people had booked a walking tour (but we hadn’t). Nicola and I wanted to do the walking tour but apparently we were supposed to book it 3 days ago. So we waited till Simona was out of sight and just joined the back of another groups tour. It was pretty good fun, no one noticed and we got a free tour of the city and the Roman Forum. It is hard to describe Roma but every where you look there are monuments and sculptures and beautiful fountains and luscious gardens. This part of Roma (the touristy part) is just beautiful. Its like walking around a giant museum. The tour ended at the Colosseum or Coliseum. Nicola and I spent a few hours here.

The sun was out and I was such a beautiful day. We paid a few extra bob for a guided tour and to skip the hour long queue. The Colosseum is phenomenal. Its not a big as I thought it would be but perhaps the thing that surprised me most was that it is smack bang in the middle of the city. 4 laned roads surround it. I don’t know why but for some reason I though it would be on the outskirts of the city up on a hill or something. Aedin, Nell and Saskia went shopping and sat in a café (they had all been to Rome before).

The Colosseum is an amphitheatre in the centre of the city of , the largest ever built in the Roman Empire and is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. It remained in use for nearly 500 years with the last recorded games being held there as late as the 6th century. As well as the traditional gladiatorial games, many other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building eventually ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such varied purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry and a Christian shrine. Although it is now in a ruined condition due to damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers (yep that’s right, people robbed the stone to build statues all around the city), the Colosseum has long been seen as an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.

From the Colosseum we jumped on a bus and headed for The Vatican City.

Vatican City, officially State of the Vatican City is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome. At approximately 44 hectares, and with a population of around 900, it is the smallest state in the world by both population and area. The Vatican City is itself of great cultural significance. Buildings such as St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel are home to some of the most famous art in the world, which includes works by artists such as Botticelli, Bernini and Michelangelo. The Vatican Library and the collections of the Vatican Museums are of the highest historical, scientific and cultural importance. In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the List of World Heritage Sites; it is the only one to consist of an entire state.

The Sistine Chapel (Italian: Cappella Sistina) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the Pope, in the Vatican City. Its fame rests on its architecture, which evokes Solomon's Temple of the Old Testament, its decoration, frescoed throughout by the greatest Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo whose ceiling is legendary, and its purpose, as a site of papal religious and functionary activity, notably the conclave, at which a new Pope is selected.

The Vatican museum was amazing, myself and Nicola were lost in there for about 4 hours and only hunger pains could make us leave. You wander up and down halls looking at amazing art and most of the time your head is crocked up to the ceiling because much of the art is actually up there. Quite amazing to think that these artist could paint upside down, from their memories and it still looks sensational. Plus everything is rich gold’s and maroons and it all looks very royal and expensive.

It took us about 4 hours to make our way down the halls to the Cappella Sistina but it was well worth the wait. (insert funny story where Nicola and Louise thought another small and very un awe-inspiring room was the Sistine Chapel – story far to embarrassing to re-tell). WOW, the room is silent as its forbidden to speak and crammed with tourists just standing, breathing and dreaming/praying/wondering starring at the ceiling. The ceiling, commissioned by Pope Julius II and famously painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1511, has a series of nine paintings showing God's Creation of the World, God's relationship with Mankind and Mankind's fall from God's Grace.
The ceiling………..

After the Vatican it was time for some Vino and pasta of course. Nicola and I meet the other girls at St Peters Square and headed for the Spanish Steps.

The staircase is called " Spanish" because of the presence of the Spanish embassy in the Vatican in Rome, but they should really be the " French Steps ", because they owe their existence to the generosity of a French diplomat, M. Gouffier, and lead up to the French church, the Trinita' dei Monti, and to the Villa Medici, now the National French Academy in Rome.

We sat there for a while, people watching, a couple gave us their prayer candle and we were harassed by men selling glow sticks and twirlers. We wandered around the area and found a really nice restaurant in a back alley way and ate and chatted about the day. We ended the night at a quaint little cocktail bar and a 55 Euro cab ride back to the hotel. Bed by 3.30 am.

I think you can tell by now I’m exhausted, lack of sleep and lots of walking and eating was taking its toll but alas the trip was nearly over and I still had plenty more to see and do.

Day 7 Rome goodbye
Slept tin ill 9.30 am, felt so good not to be woken by crazy loud annoying Simon. Its funny but you would think we would have bonded more with our tour group but we didn’t I suppose it was a combination of Simona and the fact that there were 5 of us already so we didn’t really hang around much with the tour group.

We headed off to the train station to drop of our luggage and scoot over to St Peters (Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano) and do a spot of shopping. It was the most beautiful sunny day and the view from the top of St Peters was amazing.

Saint Peter's is famous as a place of pilgrimage, as a work of architecture, for its liturgical functions and for its many historical associations. It is associated with the papacy, with the Counter-reformation and with numerous artists, most significantly Michelangelo. Contrary to popular misconception, Saint Peter's is not a cathedral, as it is not the seat of a bishop. It is properly termed a basilica.

After climbing hundreds of stairs up a winding stair case to the top of St Peters Dome Nicola and I stopped for a few minutes to look over the city of Rome. As you can see from the picture its an incredible view and well worth the hike. We then heading into the Basilica to say a few prayers for loved ones, I said a special prayer for an unwell family member, and we looked at more beautiful art and sculptures.

Nicola and I headed back to Roma Termini, via another restaurant for pizza and gelato, to meet up with the other girls and then we were off. We got the bus to airport at 8ish, and were on the on plane by 930 pm.

Bye bye beautiful Italy

2007

9 -12 August Derry for Maeves Wedding
17-19 August Brussels with Cath
18-29 October Italy - Cinque Terra, Rome, venice, Florence (Saskia,Aedin, NIk and Nell)
3-7 December Poland - Warsaw & Krakov with Mum
21-27 December Dublin with Aedin

2008
1-4 February Chamonix France with Sean
21-24 March Amsterdam with Sam H
9-25 April Australia
9-11 May Edinburgh with LCS
16-18 May Cowes sailing with W&C
23-26 May Barcelona with Aedin
13-15 June Poole , Dorest with Baldwin

Spain Running of the Bulls - Simone and Kevin
Spain tour - Busabout tours
Greece - Busabout tours and Kirsty
Croatia - Busabout tours and Kirsty

4-8 sept - Ireland (music festval) Baldwin and Harlow

2009

13-15th March SAF ski Trip lez Carroz
Ireland with Baldwin and Hoyle
Valencia with FBD soccer team
14-17 May Prague - Harlow

I set out on Friday the 23rd May for the Stansted express from Liverpool, after three attempts at getting a train ticket I found Aedin and we were on our way. I was very excited but a little annoyed because I had checked the weather report before we left and 5 days straight rain didn't sound like the magical and sunny holiday I had in my dreams. Anyway its about and hour to the airport and then half an hour through security. I still think the whole less than 50mls liquid in a plastic bag thing is ridiculous but I'm glad we decided to only go with carry on luggage because the long weekend airport queues were huge. Quick stock at Pret and onto the plane - we were flying Ryan Air - the most budget airline I have ever been on with the most unfriendly angry staff. Aedin and I entertained fellow passengers with our stupid stories for the entire 2 hour flight. As we disembarked I felt the warm air and decided I instantly loved Barcelona, luckily it didn't let me down. We found our way to the bus and headed into town. Yes we had to get another bus because while Ryan Air is on face value very cheap they always have airports in the middle of nowhere (so you have to add £22 for Stansted express, €22 for the bus and €10 cab). We landed in Girona and had to spend 1.5 hours on a bus. Once at the bus terminal in Barcelona we found ourselves a cab and headed for Barceló Sants (our Hotel). Aedin impressed me with her knowledge of the Spanish langue having spent entire summers in Spain working - things like how much, and can I have a large coffee were among he repertoire....We final arrived and checked in to the hotel at 12 midnight. Aedin assured me that the people in Barcelona would never dream of going out till about 1am so we got dressed up and headed into Port Olympia.

She was right, the club (Catwalk) was half empty when we arrived at 1.30 am but by about 2am it was heaving. We started upstairs in the R&B room, and I was in my element. Was about a foot taller than everyone (thank god I wore flats) and the only platinum blonde in the room. We meet Germans, New Zealanders, Irish, French but no Spanish, I guess we were in a very touristy area. We danced and drank and were merry.

An important thing to note, while we had to pay €18 to get in to the club our ticket also entitled us to a free drink of our choice. I still thought it was a bit steep until I saw them pour my first Gin and Tonic or should I say a tall glass of gin with a splash of Tonic. No nip measures at all - they just pour and pour and pour until they see the horrified look on your face and then they add a tiny bit of mixer. You have to be very careful because while you could technically say you only had 3 drinks you have actually consumed about 9 shots of alcohol. We were also lucky enough to get chatting to one of the bar men who had once upon a time been surfing in Australia and therefore that entitled us to free drinks all night. Can't argue with that logic. Having meet some lads who played professional ice hockey for France and a strange old man who gave Aedin a rose we decided it was time to pile into a cab and head for the hotel - at the early hour of 7am.

I'm not sure if its a good or bad thing that the curtains in hotel rooms block out all natural light because we didn't get out of bed till midday. I'm sure I would have dragged myself out earlier had I seen the beautiful sun shinning through the windows. Hallelujah it was sunny outside. I roused Aedin with some difficulty and we headed in search of food and hopefully something cultural for me to see. At this point I would suggest it be a good idea to take some time to read a local guide book or even maybe find a map or something....so we spent about 20 minutes queuing at the train station before someone finally pointed to a blue sign that said metro and off we went. I passed a vending machine that was basically a chemist in the form of a machine - thought it was pretty cool and it had some very um interesting items for sale in it. I also noticed that everyone we passed was dressed in very natural unassuming colours and had beautiful dark skin and dark hair, Aedin and I on the other had had decided to wear bright pink and green and were so white we think we may have been blinding people. It was great fun though because everyone was so friendly and people kept asking where we were from etc. After fingerings out the metro system with only one slight miss calculation (i.e. we were heading in the wrong direction because I thought Aedin was looking at the signs, something I would not ever assume again, and she thought I was looking at the signs) we hit Diagonal and headed above ground.

We wandered in the direction of Las Rambles and stumbled across Casa Batllo (Gaudí was commissioned by the owner Josep Batlló i Casanovas to totally renew the old building. On that base, Gaudí projected this astonishing house, one of the most fancy and "special" of Barcelona). Before we could face the queue we wandered into a Spanish takeaway - what a mistake it was the worst meal I have ever had - why did not not stop in one of the numerous bakeries and pastry shops along the way. Anyway with the feeling of unprocessed and uncooked meat in my tummy we soldiered on into the Batllo.

It was absolutely stunning, exactly how people had described Gaudi - fluid lines, no sharp corners, colours and everything is inspired by nature and natural light. Aedin and I took a moment to sit on the roof near the giant dragons spine and look out over Barcelona city and bask in the sun. I sat for a good 20 minutes just enjoying the view and the colours and all he tourists from different countries wandering around.

Next it was onto the main drag for a spot of shopping. The roads in Barcelona along the main shopping malls are fantastic, so wide and the footpaths are triple to size of anywhere else I have seen, makes wandering very enjoyable. It had a much sunnier and more tropical feel than other parts of Europe I have been to thus far and I very much liked it.

Decided to stop into Zara, its Spanish after all, for some shopping and walked out with 2 lovely dresses....I need not have packed half the stuff I brought but that's always the case. We finally hit the road parallel to La Rambles with all the pet stalls and both decided we wanted to buy mini turtles. We only had the slight problem of airport customs to contend with, after much scheming we decide it best to try buy them back in London instead of risking the smuggling plan we were to concoct.