tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5266510769969946132024-03-07T23:32:30.145-08:00Karina & Simon in EuropeKarina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-13877685328046237282007-05-18T00:11:00.000-07:002007-05-22T02:09:00.634-07:00A Quick Break in Paris (France)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxuycHsiI/AAAAAAAAAK0/TsZEl_ypZsw/s1600-h/The+Eiffel.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxuycHsiI/AAAAAAAAAK0/TsZEl_ypZsw/s200/The+Eiffel.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067307948117045794" border="0" /></a>We spent our first afternoon in Paris in a cute little corner cafe. By now, we were pretty used to trying to fit a huge city into a few days, and we knew the best way was to start with a solid plan. Over tea and espressos, we made a plan for the next few days. Unfortunately, while we were doing that, we also missed one of the few brief periods of sunny, clear skies that Paris would show us.<br /><br />Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower, and since it was a rainy, grim evening, we were some of the few tourists who decided to make the accent (although somehow we yet again managed to pick the lift full of German teenagers). The top level was closed because of the strong winds, but level two was perfectly high enough to experience the wonderful views (and the horrible winds).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKyaycHsnI/AAAAAAAAALc/WPRHqiSk3ro/s1600-h/us.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKyaycHsnI/AAAAAAAAALc/WPRHqiSk3ro/s200/us.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067308704031289970" border="0" /></a>Dinner that night was in a blissfully warm award-winning little restaurant a short walk from our hotel in the Latin Quartier. Feeling a bit poor, fat and not overly hungry, we decided to just order an entree each, which confused the waitress - she had to go and check with the chef it that was alright. Everything must have been fine, because shortly after, they brought us wonderful serves of pate de fois gras and Camembert. We followed our small but very rich meals with desserts of apple tarte tatin and chocolate amadeus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvCcHsjI/AAAAAAAAAK8/eCl0HAOXLa0/s1600-h/Monet.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvCcHsjI/AAAAAAAAAK8/eCl0HAOXLa0/s200/Monet.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067307952412013106" border="0" /></a>The nice people running the Paris Walks had an excellent morning walk around the Marais district the next morning, so we decided to tag along (after receiving the devastating news that the Paris Chocolate walk was all booked out). Again, it was a good dose of history and interesting stories, and a great way to see part of a big city. We grabbed a quick lunch of bagels, quiche and almond croissants bought from a Jewish bakery and ate them amongst the former mansions in the Place de Voges.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKyaycHsoI/AAAAAAAAALk/-sTaOrHRZqg/s1600-h/Arc.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKyaycHsoI/AAAAAAAAALk/-sTaOrHRZqg/s200/Arc.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067308704031289986" border="0" /></a>Then it was a metro ride across to the Musee d'Orsay so Karina could get her fill of Monet and other impressionist paintings. We had hoped to get to the Musee Rodin to see the sculptures, but we spent too long looking at paintings. So instead we decided to walk all the way along the Champs Elysees - in the rain - to the Arc de Triomphe (stopping for a coffee and people-watching along the way). We climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe for another bird's eye view of Paris (and a chance to see the cars, buses and scooters try to negotiate the roundabout below).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvCcHskI/AAAAAAAAALE/R3eg8J0yMlU/s1600-h/Notre.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvCcHskI/AAAAAAAAALE/R3eg8J0yMlU/s200/Notre.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067307952412013122" border="0" /></a>We had dinner at a place in the Marais, just on the other side of the River Seine from where we were staying. After dinner we walked past Notre Dame, which was all lit up for the evening, and across the Ponte Louis, which is apparently the most romantic spot in Paris (we're guessing because of the accordian player on the corner, but we're not sure, because he wasn't that good).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKybCcHspI/AAAAAAAAALs/oC5RiMVNkRA/s1600-h/Pendulm.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKybCcHspI/AAAAAAAAALs/oC5RiMVNkRA/s200/Pendulm.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067308708326257298" border="0" /></a>Simon was very excited about going to the Musee des Arts et Metiers (the depository for scientific instruments and equipment) - especially to get a chance to see Foucault pendulum. Karina was not. So the next morning, while Simon looked around the museum like a small child in a lolly shop, Karina went shopping and bought a new pair of shoes. Seemed like a good compromise to us! After we met up again, we decided to finish our ABC tour of Europe, with a visit to Notre Dame. We climbed up a thousand million stairs to get to the top of the bell tower, talked to the gargoyles (Karina was disappointed - they looked very under-fed, and not nearly gargoyley enough), and then climbed back down.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvScHslI/AAAAAAAAALM/fZ8hkL8MyVE/s1600-h/gargoyle.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvScHslI/AAAAAAAAALM/fZ8hkL8MyVE/s200/gargoyle.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067307956706980434" border="0" /></a>After a late lunch of French onion soup and an omelette, we managed to squeeze in a quick visit to the Musee Rodin before finally making it to the Louvre. It supposedly would take 9 months to just glance at every item in the Louvre, so we settled on just visiting one wing - predictably the wing that contains the Mona Lisa. We spent two hours looking at hundreds of fabulous paintings, before joining the small crowd in front of da Vinci's most famous work. After quickly getting bored of a picture we'd both seen thousands of times in other places (even if this one was the original), we made the fateful decision to quickly check out a couple of the Michelangelo sculptures before going out to celebrate our last night in Europe.<br /><br />But we never made it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKybCcHsqI/AAAAAAAAAL0/VFGtZlh_sDA/s1600-h/Thinker.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKybCcHsqI/AAAAAAAAAL0/VFGtZlh_sDA/s200/Thinker.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067308708326257314" border="0" /></a>Despite having walked up and down hundreds of thousands of stairs on this trip, climbed over rubble and ruins, navigated slippery paths and rocky roads, it was on the second last step of a short flight of marble stairs in the Louvre where Karina managed to fall down and break her ankle.<br /><br />Of course, we didn't know it was broken, until five hours later, after we'd found the Louvre infirmary, ridden in a fire truck, discovered there's no such thing as a reverse-charges phone call in France, dealt with non-English speaking nurses and waited in casualty until 2am.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvScHsmI/AAAAAAAAALU/nS0M0JrK8Fg/s1600-h/leg.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RlKxvScHsmI/AAAAAAAAALU/nS0M0JrK8Fg/s200/leg.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067307956706980450" border="0" /></a>We were stuck in Paris for an extra night while the travel insurance people sorted things out for us. If there's a city in the world that you have to be stuck in, you could do much worse than Paris. We didn't manage to walk around Montmarte (which we'd planned for our last morning), but we were still able to have our special "last night in Europe" dinner (Simon tried snails, Karina stayed with the pate), and to enjoy some more people watching and cheese platters from Paris' wonderful cafes.<br /><br />What can you do? C'est la vie!!Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-54405952640341129642007-05-14T05:44:00.000-07:002007-05-18T06:28:56.257-07:00Aix Marks the Spot (France)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZCcHsbI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/OQyir0PmNZs/s1600-h/Trees.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZCcHsbI/AAAAAAAAAJ8/OQyir0PmNZs/s200/Trees.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065891403478315442" border="0" /></a>Aix-en-Provence (pronounced like the letter X) is such a lovely place, we will have to try and refrain from gushing too much in this post! It has everything - tree-lined boulevards, 100 fountains, wonderful cafes and restaurants, interesting quirky shops, a well organised tourist centre, and the great little old backstreets that we've come to love<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2puCcHsfI/AAAAAAAAAKc/8-Etfk7eBH0/s1600-h/Fountain.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2puCcHsfI/AAAAAAAAAKc/8-Etfk7eBH0/s200/Fountain.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065891764255568370" border="0" /></a> so much. The difference between the backstreets of France and some of the other cities we've visited is that in France the old parts of the cities seem to be just another part of the city and everyday life, rather than preserved for the tourists, so they seem much more real.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZCcHscI/AAAAAAAAAKE/sUMrQMNLgFk/s1600-h/spice.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZCcHscI/AAAAAAAAAKE/sUMrQMNLgFk/s200/spice.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065891403478315458" border="0" /></a>And then, there were the markets!!! The markets we've seen on this trip have just been getting better and better, and Aix-en-Provence takes the cake. From fruit markets, to flea markets, spice markets, and the beautiful flower markets. We had been wanting to find an original painting on our travels, and everything we'd seen so far had been fairly touristy and mass produced, but Aix presented us with a small street market of local artists and authors displaying their works. We found a beautiful painting of Aix's flower market, and bought it straight from the artist himself.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2puScHsgI/AAAAAAAAAKk/Sl_9L7cWaNw/s1600-h/square.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2puScHsgI/AAAAAAAAAKk/Sl_9L7cWaNw/s200/square.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065891768550535682" border="0" /></a>On our first day in Aix, after spending the morning browsing through the markets, we followed the Cezanne walking route (much better than the one in Marseille). It was a Saturday afternoon, and the city centre was bustling, so we joined the locals in poking around the shops and the streets, and soaking up the atmosphere over cups of coffee, gourmet buscuits and nougat. We love how accepting the French are of dogs (even more so than the other countries we've visited) - there are little dogs everywhere, in shops, restaurants, public transport - Bella would have a lovely time!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZScHsdI/AAAAAAAAAKM/hazxyXNC4a4/s1600-h/fqrm.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZScHsdI/AAAAAAAAAKM/hazxyXNC4a4/s200/fqrm.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065891407773282770" border="0" /></a>The next day we caught a bus through the countryside to a village on Mount Sainte Victoire, which turned out to be a very sleepy little village (maybe because it was Sunday morning). We filled in a couple of hours before the next bus back to Aix, admiring the countryside, and checking out the old buildings. The afternoon we were back in Aix, and since nothing was open, we again followed the locals' example, grabbed our books and headed to the park.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2puScHshI/AAAAAAAAAKs/ppQR9qoosYM/s1600-h/brekky.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2puScHshI/AAAAAAAAAKs/ppQR9qoosYM/s200/brekky.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065891768550535698" border="0" /></a>This post wouldn't be complete without a mention of the Provence food. The district has a very rich culinary tradition, and some of things we sampled were Bouillabaise, baked duck breast, crepes and baked cod. And given that Aix is still so close to North Africa, we had brekky at a Moroccan bakery, and found a Tunisian restaurant for a wonderful cous cous lunch.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZScHseI/AAAAAAAAAKU/7V3c9UcNFNM/s1600-h/dinner.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2pZScHseI/AAAAAAAAAKU/7V3c9UcNFNM/s200/dinner.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065891407773282786" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Given that we only had time to see one small part of France other than Paris, we're so glad that we chose Provence, and Aix-en-Provence in particular!Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-3230835809367671662007-05-12T05:06:00.000-07:002007-05-18T05:44:33.883-07:00Passing Through Marseille (France)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eKScHsXI/AAAAAAAAAJc/s56oukTxQ-c/s1600-h/church.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eKScHsXI/AAAAAAAAAJc/s56oukTxQ-c/s200/church.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065879055447339378" border="0" /></a>From the Côte D'Azur, we headed to Provence for a few nights. We were staying in Aix-en-Provence, and so decided to do our day in Marseille on the way through. After dumping our luggage at the station lockers, we grabbed a map from the tourist office and headed down to the old port.<br /><br />The guide books had raved about how Marseille had a wonderful gritty, edgy vibe and pulsed with energy from the meeting of French, Mediterranean and North African cultures. But we must have got it on a quiet day, becuase to us it just seemed like Naples without the character and charm.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eTicHsZI/AAAAAAAAAJs/rtrYkVBfVhI/s1600-h/map.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eTicHsZI/AAAAAAAAAJs/rtrYkVBfVhI/s200/map.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065879214361129362" border="0" /></a>The city of Marseille had set up a walking route through Le Panier district, highlighting the artisan craft and food shops which sounded right up our alley. The Lonely Planet had commented that the red line painted on the footpath to mark the trail was a little erratic - occasionally going down dead ends and at one point straight into a tree. We found it was in even worse condition - road works had destroyed the line in places, occasionally it forked in confusing directions, turned corners not marked on the map and seemed to avoid most of the interesting looking shops in the heart of the district in favour of the closed auto repair shops around the edges.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eKScHsYI/AAAAAAAAAJk/cI2YkLuub0w/s1600-h/prison.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eKScHsYI/AAAAAAAAAJk/cI2YkLuub0w/s200/prison.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065879055447339394" border="0" /></a>In the afternoon we took a boat trip out to the Château d'If, a former fortress turned political prison, and was made famous by <span style="font-style: italic;">The Count of Monte Cristo</span>. The museum on the island seemed to be a bit confused about whether it was trying to explain the building as a historical monument or a literary one, and so didn't do either particularly well. But it was a fun visit, even with the dangerous giant sea gulls and the huge primary school group on the boat back (<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eTicHsaI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/ZAsAmesm_Ow/s1600-h/island.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2eTicHsaI/AAAAAAAAAJ0/ZAsAmesm_Ow/s200/island.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065879214361129378" border="0" /></a>where the teacher decided the empty seat next to Karina was the punishment seat, and so kept sending naughty kids to sit there).<br /><br />That was about it for Marseille, so after a lazy afternoon tea, we caught our train to Aix-en-Provence.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-60744377176946186712007-05-11T04:30:00.000-07:002007-05-18T05:06:14.482-07:00Karina & Simon Go to Monte Carlo (Monaco)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2WbicHsUI/AAAAAAAAAJE/tJEazNMk-W0/s1600-h/pqlqce.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2WbicHsUI/AAAAAAAAAJE/tJEazNMk-W0/s200/pqlqce.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065870555707060546" border="0" /></a>Since it was just down the road from Nice, we caught the bus along the coast for an afternoon in Monte Carlo. Yet again, we were disappointed not to get a stamp in our passports, but we guessed all the officials were too busy setting things up for the upcoming Grand Prix.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2WkicHsWI/AAAAAAAAAJU/ScW-41KEToc/s1600-h/boats.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2WkicHsWI/AAAAAAAAAJU/ScW-41KEToc/s200/boats.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065870710325883234" border="0" /></a>After working out how to cross the road with all the construction work going on, we climbed up the giant hill to drop in on Prince Albert. He kindly gave us a guided tour of his house, which included lots of pictures of Grace Kelly. On the way down the hill, we ogled the giant yachts moored in the harbour and headed over to Casino Monte Carlo for an afternoon of people <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2WbycHsVI/AAAAAAAAAJM/ALxA7webY_o/s1600-h/casino.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2WbycHsVI/AAAAAAAAAJM/ALxA7webY_o/s200/casino.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065870560002027858" border="0" /></a>watching at the Cafe de Paris.<br /><br />We didn't see anyone famous (that we recognised), not even Daniel Craig, much to Karina's disappointment. But we did see some very rich people, some people trying to look very rich, people with more money than taste, people who'd dressed up for the visit, people who hadn't dressed up, and people who just thought they'd dressed up (occasionally with horrifying results). Once we'd had our fill, we decided to try and beat the impending rain, and caught the bus back to Nice.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-24715944497788298832007-05-11T03:52:00.000-07:002007-05-18T04:29:42.525-07:00A "Nice" Beginning (France)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NGScHsPI/AAAAAAAAAIc/vG2OwaY_8ZU/s1600-h/IMG_0512-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NGScHsPI/AAAAAAAAAIc/vG2OwaY_8ZU/s200/IMG_0512-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065860295030190322" border="0" /></a>We decided to take a taxi to our youth hostel in Nice, because it was a bit out of town, but it wasn't easy finding a taxi who would agree to take us. Apparently there was a big football game up near the hostel, and therefore lots of traffic. Eventually we found a driver who'd forgotten about the game, so we made it in the end.<br /><br />If you like youth hostels, and are ever in Nice, Villa St Exupery is a great place to stay, even if it is a bit out of town. It was a converted monastry, with ensuited dorms and private rooms, and everything you could possibly need. They had a good breakfast selection, they offered a couple of dinner options, they had a bar with beers for €1, free internet access, and they provided so much detailed tourist information that it made everything so easy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NZycHsSI/AAAAAAAAAI0/mw8bHXXvi6Y/s1600-h/IMG_0514-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NZycHsSI/AAAAAAAAAI0/mw8bHXXvi6Y/s200/IMG_0514-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065860630037639458" border="0" /></a>The next morning, despite the recommended bus line not running (much to the confusion of locals and tourists alike), we eventually made it into Nice's old town to kick off our one day in the French Riviera. We explored the fabulous markets, and picked up some cheese, some terrine and some fruit for a picnic lunch, which we ate by the beach. The ocean there really does live up to its name - the Côte D'Azur - we've never seen water so many different shades of blue. But we can't really understand why anyone would want to sunbathe or even walk on those horrible expanses of pebbles that Europe calls beaches!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NRicHsRI/AAAAAAAAAIs/FpAzDmHDnmY/s1600-h/IMG_0533-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NRicHsRI/AAAAAAAAAIs/FpAzDmHDnmY/s200/IMG_0533-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065860488303718674" border="0" /></a>The afternoon was spent in Monaco, and then it was back to Nice for dinner. After wandering through the streets filled with amazing delis, cheese shops, spice stores, bakeries, wine 'caves' and restaurants, we found that night's Lonely Planet dinner recommendation, which really did look like something "straight out of an impressionist painting". We were obviously too early, because we found the owner and his family/staff sitting around having dinner in the middle of the restaurant. They were very welcoming, but we left them to it and came back half an hour later for a fantastic meal of traditional French home-cooking. Getting home after dinner, we discovered that Nice has a fantastic night bus service, complete with on-bus security guards, and little old nannas who help you figure out when to get off for your stop.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NaCcHsTI/AAAAAAAAAI8/VlzUxKqe_SQ/s1600-h/IMG_0534-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2NaCcHsTI/AAAAAAAAAI8/VlzUxKqe_SQ/s200/IMG_0534-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065860634332606770" border="0" /></a>The next morning we were up again at the crack of dawn to catch the train to Marseilles. A girl from the youth hostel drove us to the station in the hostel van. Unfortunately for her, she must have been chanelling Karina's skills in a crowded parking lot, and managed to scrape the side of another car on the way out of the hostel. Oops. We're glad we cancelled our car hire for the south of France!Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-16067729425702406012007-05-09T10:22:00.000-07:002007-05-18T03:52:52.938-07:00Romantic Venice (Italy)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2EmicHsNI/AAAAAAAAAIM/mBtZ2i16Ue8/s1600-h/IMG_0505-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2EmicHsNI/AAAAAAAAAIM/mBtZ2i16Ue8/s200/IMG_0505-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065850953476321490" border="0" /></a>Venice has been slowly sinking into the marshes that it was built on, but fortunately we arrived in time to see it still afloat. We couldn't quite believe just how much Venice looks like all the pictures. It was amazing to see that everything really is done on the water - take any vechicle you'd see in a normal city, and Venice has a boat version. During our short stay, we saw water taxis, gondolas, delivery boats, garbage boats, fire boats and even a police boat - complete with lights and sirens - speeding to some emergency.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2ESicHsLI/AAAAAAAAAH8/HkWy2KbAc2o/s1600-h/IMG_0489-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2ESicHsLI/AAAAAAAAAH8/HkWy2KbAc2o/s200/IMG_0489-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065850609878937778" border="0" /></a>Our hotel was a former palace right by a canal, only a short walk from Piazza San Marco (St Mark's Square). After looking through the Basilica (completing our Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle tour of Italy with a Donatello sculpture), we walked around the square, decided not to have €13 coffees at Cafe Florian (where Casanova used to frequent) and contemplated buying some original Picasso and Dali works on sale at a gallery.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2EmicHsOI/AAAAAAAAAIU/zs5PewsPvgc/s1600-h/IMG_0509-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2EmicHsOI/AAAAAAAAAIU/zs5PewsPvgc/s200/IMG_0509-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065850953476321506" border="0" /></a>We delved into the heart of old Venice, and spent a lovely evening losing ourselves amongst the picturesque streets, canals and bridges. We made sure not to miss Venice's best gelati (finishing our "best gelati" tour of Italy), Karina got a new bag to match her new shoes, we took a ride on a very shiny black gondola (getting ourselves in lots of people's Venice photo albums), and had dinner at another wine bar.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2ESycHsMI/AAAAAAAAAIE/YTwN84fqwVY/s1600-h/IMG_0495-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rk2ESycHsMI/AAAAAAAAAIE/YTwN84fqwVY/s200/IMG_0495-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065850614173905090" border="0" /></a>The next morning we had just enough time to head up to another square (surprisingly off the main tourist track) for some morning tea, before taking the boat-bus down the Grand Canal and back to the train station. Venice was a lovely way to end our time in Italy, and before we knew it (for once, the Italian trains seemed to be on time), we were heading for France.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-72122552404981455302007-05-08T23:34:00.000-07:002007-05-16T00:38:17.472-07:00Under the Tuscan Rain (Italy)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkqz0ycHsII/AAAAAAAAAHk/jKQURlHo7DU/s1600-h/IMG_0467-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkqz0ycHsII/AAAAAAAAAHk/jKQURlHo7DU/s200/IMG_0467-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065058450405830786" border="0" /></a>Well, we did make it to Tuscany eventaully, despite the GPS doing its best to send us around in circles, through construction sites, and off the freeway into the farmland below. The villa we were staying at (you can check it out at http://www.borgoilpoggiaccio.it) had a lovely restaurant - which was fortunate because the villa was in the middle of nowhere - so we decided to have dinner there to recover from the journey. Donato, the lovely Italian Maitre'D, looked after us like royalty, saying 'Don't worry, trust me!!'. He proceeded to bring us lovely bottle of Chianti wine (which we hoped was not the €280 bottle off the menu), lovely Tuscan cuisine, and lots of smiles and stories.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkqy6ycHsGI/AAAAAAAAAHU/nhHsGVSEhx8/s1600-h/P1050245-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkqy6ycHsGI/AAAAAAAAAHU/nhHsGVSEhx8/s200/P1050245-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065057453973418082" border="0" /></a>We had four days in Tuscany. Unlike Santorini, the weather was bleak and rainy pretty much the whole time, but like Santorini, we figured one activity a day was probably enough. There was a designer outlet mall only an hour away, so we spent an afternoon looking through discounted Gucci, Armani, La Perla, Marni and Burberry stores. Despite being prepared to walk away with armfuls of clothes and shoes, we didn't end up with anything! At least Karina still has her Gucci bag from Rome!<br /><br />The next day we went on a winery tour through the Chianti region, visiting two wineries (one small family-owned, one large commercially owned) and a few small villages. Despite us only having 20 minutes in the last village, Karina managed to find an Italian shoe store, find a pair of shoes she loved, tried them on and buy them. Simon thinks it must have been a reaction to not buying anything the day before.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkqyMycHsFI/AAAAAAAAAHM/CSF_ONSHPt0/s1600-h/P1050256-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkqyMycHsFI/AAAAAAAAAHM/CSF_ONSHPt0/s200/P1050256-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065056663699435602" border="0" /></a>Not wanting to waste the brief period of good weather (and feeling the need to at least <span style="font-style: italic;">try </span>and work off some of the food we'd been eating), we decided to go for a walk through the woods the next morning. We followed what was marked on the map as a "mule track" up past an old castle (in the process of becoming a hotel school), a pond full of frogs, and came to the top of a hill with a fantastic view of the country side. In the afternoon we headed to the village of San Gimignano, and looked around the galleries, shops and old buildings (and tracked down the award-winning, best gelati in San Gimignano).<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkqzDScHsHI/AAAAAAAAAHc/jEDQqQmeZOI/s1600-h/P1050289-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkqzDScHsHI/AAAAAAAAAHc/jEDQqQmeZOI/s200/P1050289-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065057600002306162" border="0" /></a>On our last day, we checked out the town of Siena, which was bigger but not as enjoyable as San Gimignano. Apartly Siena is the safest city in Italy. Simon thinks this is because of the pigeons. What thief is going to stick his hands into your pockets after a pigeon has pooed into it (yes, this did really happen to Simon). Karina managed to leave her camera in an Internet cafe, but fortunately it was still there a few hours later when she realised. After all our adventures, we ran out of time to climb the Siena town hall tower, so instead we went back to our apartment and sat by our log fire all afternoon.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkq0JScHsKI/AAAAAAAAAH0/QD7g_uZ9BOQ/s1600-h/IMG_0459-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkq0JScHsKI/AAAAAAAAAH0/QD7g_uZ9BOQ/s200/IMG_0459-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065058802593149090" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The Tuscan food was good, but Karina did inadvertantly manage to have spaghetti bolognase three times (apparently once with duck, once with beef and once with wild boar - but we couldn't tell the difference). On this trip, she has now eaten Bambi, Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, and Pumba. The mysterious wine Donato served us on the first night was so good we decided to buy a dozen bottles. It cost us as much to ship home as the wine itself, but since the villa owns the entire 2003 vintage, and you can't get it anywhere else (and since it was the nicest red we'd ever drunk), we thought it was worth it.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkqz0ycHsJI/AAAAAAAAAHs/nSMCGcRWBqQ/s1600-h/IMG_0439-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rkqz0ycHsJI/AAAAAAAAAHs/nSMCGcRWBqQ/s200/IMG_0439-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065058450405830802" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Despite our concerns about how long the drive back to Florence would take us, and where the GPS would send us, we made it without any trouble, and with more then enough time to catch our train and head for Venice.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-77263306574145619892007-05-03T09:44:00.000-07:002007-05-12T10:22:06.046-07:00One Fleeting Day in Florence (Italy)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkX3KaW2_UI/AAAAAAAAAGk/wqcv0ULfS00/s1600-h/P1050198-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkX3KaW2_UI/AAAAAAAAAGk/wqcv0ULfS00/s200/P1050198-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063725114293943618" border="0" /></a>As our train came into Florence, the little Italian Nonna sitting across the aisle from us gestured that she needed some help getting her bags off the train. Simon was happy to help. Six bags and two cakes later, Karina was on the platform surrounded by luggage and Simon was being chucked under the chin by the immensely grateful old lady.<br /><br />Yet again we decided to drag our bags from the station up to our accommodation, and instantly noticed the difference between Florence and Naples - both much cleaner and much safer. Our conversation with the lady at the B&B upon arriving went something like:<br /><blockquote>Karina: <span style="font-style: italic;">Do you speak English?</span><br />B&B Lady: <span style="font-style: italic;">No, do you speak Italian?</span><br />Karina: <span style="font-style: italic;">No, do you speak French?</span><br />B&B Lady: <span style="font-style: italic;">No, do you speak Spanish?<br /><blockquote></blockquote></span></blockquote>We decided to give up before getting to Japanese, but managed to get by with a lot of nodding and smiling, and the Lonely Planet's Language section.<br /><br />From the our first taste of dinner that night, we knew we were going to love Florence, and that one day wasn't going to be nearly enough. Karina's rabbit and Simon's steak were both amazing and we had our first taste of the famous Chianti red wine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkX3gKW2_WI/AAAAAAAAAG0/1VmIPgYg5Ew/s1600-h/P1050203-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkX3gKW2_WI/AAAAAAAAAG0/1VmIPgYg5Ew/s200/P1050203-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063725487956098402" border="0" /></a>The next morning we joined yet another queue, this time to look through the Uffizi Gallery to see such famous paintings as The Birth of Venus by Botticelli. We past the two hours of waiting talking to a friendly and very interesting American named Ed. The gallery was good, but didn't leave us much time to see the rest of Florence. We grabbed a quick bite for lunch, after crossing the Ponte Vecchio (a bridge filled with gold and silver smiths). After briefly poking around the quaint streets, we had just enough time to track down Florence's best gelati before heading off to pick up our car.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkX3KaW2_VI/AAAAAAAAAGs/61U6kUcshpU/s1600-h/P1050201-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkX3KaW2_VI/AAAAAAAAAGs/61U6kUcshpU/s200/P1050201-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063725114293943634" border="0" /></a>The drive out of Florence wasn't too bad - Simon's now used to driving on the wrong side of the road, and much to everyone's surprise, Karina can actually read a map! But the drive to the airport to pick up a GPS was an eye-opening introduction to Italian drivers. Still, it was less chaotic than Naples...<br /><br />We were really disapointed to have had such little time in Florence. It really felt like we barely scratched the surface. Yet another place we'll have to come back to!Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-20197103069753312802007-05-02T00:42:00.000-07:002007-05-10T00:20:45.260-07:00The Sights & Smells of Naples (Italy)<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK85aW2_OI/AAAAAAAAAF0/hYlTgkhB7Wo/s1600-h/P1050163-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062816625631624418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK85aW2_OI/AAAAAAAAAF0/hYlTgkhB7Wo/s200/P1050163-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>Despite the many bad things we'd heard about Napels, we were determined to visit, both to see Pompeii and to see the city itself. We got off the train just before dark, and couldn't decide if it would be scarier to walk the 250m from the station to our B&B (through the very dodgie neighbourhood), or try dealing with a possibly very dodgie taxi driver. In the end we decided to brave the walk and haul our bags through the drizzle. Once safely inside, we discovered the B&B was exactly at the owner had promised - perfect on the inside.<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK8ZKW2_MI/AAAAAAAAAFk/iXvGOafjeE4/s1600-h/IMG_0402-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062816071580843202" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK8ZKW2_MI/AAAAAAAAAFk/iXvGOafjeE4/s200/IMG_0402-small.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />We know that in most places in Europe people drive on the other side of the road from in Australia, but we couldn't work out what side of the road they drive on in Naples. And as far as the scooters were concerned, there was no difference between the road and the footpath. We did learn how to cross the road Naples-style - when you get to a road, don't look left or right, just walk straight across and hope for the best!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK49qW2_LI/AAAAAAAAAFc/1CYD3m0Tg0A/s1600-h/P1050183-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062812300599557298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK49qW2_LI/AAAAAAAAAFc/1CYD3m0Tg0A/s200/P1050183-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>We discovered while in Rome, that Pompeii was closed on the 1st of May - the day we had set aside for our visit. But thankfully the B&B owner set us straight at breakfast on our first morning, and since it was a public holiday, we only had to pay €1 instead of €11. Pompeii was great - it wasn't very crowded, the weather was (mostly) nice but not too hot and we had an excellent day exploring the ancient town. We finished the day with a dinner back in Naples at a cafe-come-bookshop-come-publishing house in the quirky Piazza Bellini.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK8ZKW2_NI/AAAAAAAAAFs/Q8d54XSNCJA/s1600-h/IMG_0420-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062816071580843218" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkK8ZKW2_NI/AAAAAAAAAFs/Q8d54XSNCJA/s200/IMG_0420-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>The rain seemed to have washed away a lot of the grime of Naples, but had unfortunately left many of the more "characteristic" smells. We wandered the backstreets, checked out the catherdral and had lunch in the old fishing village at the harbour. The harbour, especially the area where the big cruise ships were docking, was noticably cleaner and had a much stronger police presence. Although, as we walked through, a man emerged from an alley and asked if we were interested in buying his "beautiful laptop".<br /><br />We really enjoyed Naples, but we were very pleased to be back on the train with all our possessions, albeit with very grubby jeans and smelly shoes!Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-39803779934678028542007-04-30T01:43:00.000-07:002007-05-12T09:44:06.636-07:00Rome: The Eternal City of Waiting (Italy)<div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLCTaW2_PI/AAAAAAAAAF8/Ro14wq5ioVo/s1600-h/P1050148-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062822569866362098" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLCTaW2_PI/AAAAAAAAAF8/Ro14wq5ioVo/s200/P1050148-small.JPG" border="0" /></a> They say that it takes a lifetime to see everything in Rome, so we knew that we could barely scratch the surface but we were determined to hit the ground running and see as much as we could. We arrived at our guesthouse in the funky Trastevere district of Rome around lunchtime, and immediately set to work helping the owner (Sylvie) carry some big charis up the thousand stairs to the roof-top terrace. While recovering on the roof-top, Sylive gave us a bird's-eye introduction to Rome, a sight she doesn't normally share with her guests.<br /><br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkXuvKW2_TI/AAAAAAAAAGc/WDaHOZinMjY/s1600-h/IMG_0388-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkXuvKW2_TI/AAAAAAAAAGc/WDaHOZinMjY/s200/IMG_0388-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063715850049486130" border="0" /></a>We then headed off to the Roman Forum, and then to the Collosseum. After taking in the exterior, we joined the end of the 90 minute queue to get inside. However we were very quickly set upon by someone offering to get us stright inside, and give us a guided tour, followed by a guided tour of the Paletine Hill. Remembering all the stories of con men fleecing tourists, we decided it couldn't possibly happen to us, and handed over the money. It turned out to be an excellent decision, and we discovered that the guided walking tours were a fantastic way to see Rome's major sites in a short period of time. </p><br /><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLCTqW2_QI/AAAAAAAAAGE/yZDZEbP1foo/s1600-h/P1050106-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062822574161329410" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLCTqW2_QI/AAAAAAAAAGE/yZDZEbP1foo/s200/P1050106-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>Despite the claim that all the guides were native English speakers, our guide for the Colosseum was an Italian guy who spoke like a machine gun and didn't quite know when to stop with the stories, but was very entertaining nonetheless. Then we were taken up the Palentine Hill and back to the Roman Forum by "Geoff from Georrrrrrrgia". It was bizarre to learn about Roman architecture from a cross between a modern-day cowboy and Indiana Jones. We had dinner at a restaurant near out guesthouse in Trastevere, which is a great old part of Rome, filled with picture-perfect twisting alleyways, shuttered windows and ivy-covered buildings.</p><br /><p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLDGaW2_SI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Uhe4Lk61x9E/s1600-h/P1050135-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062823446039690530" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLDGaW2_SI/AAAAAAAAAGU/Uhe4Lk61x9E/s200/P1050135-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>The next morning we got up early to find that on Sunday mornings Rome either goes to church or just sleeps in! We wandered the streets for an hour before we found somewhere open for breakfast and Simon accidentally ordered a jam tart and a chocolate chip biscuit - that's what you get for attempting to order the unknown! Karina went for the safe option of a cheese and ham croissant, and Simon is very pleased that at least espresso is the same in all languages!</p><br /><p>We walked over to the allegedly amazing Italian shoe market, to find that it doesn't open on Sundays, so instead we went to the big flea market, which only opens on Sundays. Karina came out with a "genuine" Gucci handbag, that she had bargained down to almost half price - she paid about AU$25! Determined to track down the famous pear and blue cheese pizza that we'd heard about, we combed the streets of Trastevere for the resturant, and then we waited 15mins for a table. When we finally sat down, we were told they didn't have any pizzas (our Italian didn't stretch to finding out why)!</p><p>That evening we joined with another walking tour - a twilight visit to some of the sites on the streets of Rome. We visited the church Michaelanglo had his funeral in, the smallest church in Rome (an exact copy of St Peter's Bascillica), the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and the best gelati in Rome. We ended the day with dinner at a cool winebar and a fantastic meal including buffalo mozzarella.</p><p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLCTqW2_RI/AAAAAAAAAGM/2LyaRd_xbMk/s1600-h/P1050137-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062822574161329426" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RkLCTqW2_RI/AAAAAAAAAGM/2LyaRd_xbMk/s200/P1050137-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>We liked our last guide - a young, charasmatic Italian-American guy named Alex - so much that we decided to do his Vatican tour the next morning. Unfortunately, Alex was having a very bad day at work. After arriving late and obviously already a little frazzled by whatever had delayed him, he took us and the group to join the entrance line - normally about an hour long at this time of the morning. We had to walk almost back to St Peter's to find the end of the queue, which was the longest Alex had ever seen it in his 4 years of tours. After four hours of waiting in the rain, dealing with pushy tour groups, dangerous umbrellas and frustrated visitors, we all finally made it inside (just after 1pm).</p><p>Somehow Alex managed to maintain his good humour and enthusiasm - despite having to cancel a lunch date with his wife - and gave us a fantastic tour of the Vatican museum, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's Basicalla.</p><p>Since we had a 5:30pm train to catch, and our luggage was still at our guest house, Alex put us in a taxi after the tour finished. We flew across Rome - our plans for the afternoon in tatters - grabbed our bags and collapsed on to the train for Naples, glad to finally be off our feet. Two days will never be enough to see Rome, but if you must try, make sure you don't go near a national holiday!</p></div>Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-40709902095842595032007-04-28T01:26:00.000-07:002007-05-02T13:51:40.151-07:00Rest & Relaxation in Santorini (Greece)<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj4IqW2_GI/AAAAAAAAAE0/Z4LLpqlZCz4/s1600-h/P1050082-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060067009043561570" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj4IqW2_GI/AAAAAAAAAE0/Z4LLpqlZCz4/s200/P1050082-small.JPG" border="0" /></a> With a much more pleasent taxi (this time at 4am), we left Athens and then flew into the island of Santorini. As this was our first big rest stop, we had decided to go a bit more up-market - we'd booked at a luxury resort and the hotel had even offered to arrange a taxi. We were looking forward to being those glamourous people who are met at the airport by someone holding a sign with their name. So we were a bit dismayed when we couldn't see our name. The lovely hotel manager was so horrified that she had forgotten to book us the taxi that she spent the rest of our stay trying to make it up.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj5aKW2_JI/AAAAAAAAAFM/0VCASies5EI/s1600-h/IMG_0372-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060068409202900114" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj5aKW2_JI/AAAAAAAAAFM/0VCASies5EI/s200/IMG_0372-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>The resort was a set of 11 rooms/apartments just outside the village of Oia, overlooking the caldera and the volcanic islands in the centre. They served us a huge breakfast out on the terrace, which included amazing museli, a selection of meats and cheeses, all sorts of bread, croissants, muffins, honey, jams, fantastic Greek yoghurt (Karina will never again be able to face a low-fat tub of yoplait), a big fruit bowl and a pot of tea and a pot of coffee each. Best of all, it was all just for us, and it came every morning.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj4I6W2_HI/AAAAAAAAAE8/I-Rte6b8k7I/s1600-h/P1050065-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060067013338528882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj4I6W2_HI/AAAAAAAAAE8/I-Rte6b8k7I/s200/P1050065-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>We decided that one activity a day, fitted in around pleanty or r&r, was more then enough. The day we arrived, we explored the village of Oia (basically the stereotypical Greek island village - tiny white buildings nestled tightly together with stairs and alleys leading everywhere). On day two, we took a boat ride out to the volcanic islands and jumped off the boat to swim out to some thermal pools (the Medditeranian being as cold as it gets, and the thermal pools being only slightly warmer). The third day was a strenous trip into Oia for relaxation massages (after which Simon was told he was the second most stressed person the masseure had ever met, based on the tension in his shoulders. Karina thinks it's more because of lugging our heavy bags for a month). On our last day, we took a trip to lie on the black sand beach at a place called Kamari, on the other side of the island.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj4aaW2_II/AAAAAAAAAFE/b90XLlvZvfM/s1600-h/P1050075-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060067313986239618" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj4aaW2_II/AAAAAAAAAFE/b90XLlvZvfM/s200/P1050075-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>As always, food was extremely important! Dinners included a selection of Meze (like Greek tapas) from an ouzori (traditional Greek pub), some Greek fare at a rooftop taverna in Fira, Santorini's capital, a great meal from a resturant hanging on the edge of a cliff in Oia, and €7.50 milkshakes made with Haagan-Daas ice cream. Of course, we also enjoyed a lot of local wines.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj5n6W2_KI/AAAAAAAAAFU/rcBkvbD0Dfo/s1600-h/IMG_0370-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060068645426101410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rjj5n6W2_KI/AAAAAAAAAFU/rcBkvbD0Dfo/s200/IMG_0370-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>When we weren't exauhsting ourselves doing any of the above, you could usually find us relaxing by the pool, ordering cocktails and eating olives and cheese. If you ever find yourself on Santorini, we strongly suggest you stay at the <a href="http://www.ikies.gr/">Ikies Luxury Hotel</a>. We had the smallest and most basic room (the Gardener's House), and they still made us feel like royalty. Santorini is yet another place that we would definitely like to visit again!Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-50014051647742108272007-04-27T05:29:00.000-07:002007-04-27T05:54:39.916-07:00Classical Olympia & Delphi (Greece)To explore <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ancient</span> Greece outside of Athens, and to take a break from having to think of everything ourselves, we decided to take a three day tour. We dragged our bags through the streets of Athens to our pick-up point, but after watching all the other waiting tourists get picked up by other buses we discovered that our <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">coach</span> was running on "Greek Time". Forty five minutes later, we finally joined our tour group.<br /><br />There were some interesting characters in the group. There was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Roula</span>, our tour guide, who was an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">archaeologist</span>, a linguist and a fabulous guide, and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Kostas</span> our driver, who <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">manoeuvred</span> the big bus through the narrow streets like it was a Mini Cooper. Then there were the other tourists. The Couple Who Was Always Late, The Lady with Hair the Colour of Vacuum Cleaner Fluff, The Indian Family Who Had to Video Tape Everything (Twice), The Young Honeymooners (dismayed by the twin beds in all the hotel rooms), The Grumpy Old Man with the Weak Bladder, the French Couple, and the French Canadian Couple (who were the only ones they could understand other than <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Roula</span>). There was the Young American Girl with the Annoying Laugh (travelling alone) and The Australian Cattle Farmer and his Wife (who found themselves unwittingly adopting her for the tour. To name a few!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHx1KW2_BI/AAAAAAAAAEM/DSTn1LR8ZZs/s1600-h/P1030882-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHx1KW2_BI/AAAAAAAAAEM/DSTn1LR8ZZs/s200/P1030882-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5058089752129371154" border="0" /></a>The first day was fairly long. We saw the Corinth Canal, the Theatre of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Epidaurus</span>, the ruins of Mycenae and the Tomb of Agamemnon. At lunch we discovered the joys of tour group meals as we were driven to an out-of-the-way restaurant/cafeteria. After lunch, we were taken to a "gallery of replicas" for "shopping activities" where we got a lecture on why we really had to buy the expensive vases, not the cheap ones. The hotel was "adequate", but thanks to our awesome travel agent we were one of the lucky few who got a free bottle of water. Dinner was also "adequate" and the conversation was a little stunted because we ended up sitting with the French couple.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHyMKW2_EI/AAAAAAAAAEk/DVF1Z6LKwps/s1600-h/P1030898-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHyMKW2_EI/AAAAAAAAAEk/DVF1Z6LKwps/s200/P1030898-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5058090147266362434" border="0" /></a>On Day Two, after being picked up by the bus (20 minutes late, because of The Couple Who Was Always Late), we visited the beautiful site of Olympia, the birth place of the Olympic Games - this was Karina's favourite part of the tour, not least because of all the beautiful purple blossoms. Lunch was at another isolated tour group eatery, where we had very expensive slop masquerading as Greek food. We were even more annoyed to later discover that we'd been only a three minute walk from the the centre of town and dozens of reasonably priced cafes and tavernas. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHx1KW2_CI/AAAAAAAAAEU/vHMW-YA9DW0/s1600-h/P1030907-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHx1KW2_CI/AAAAAAAAAEU/vHMW-YA9DW0/s200/P1030907-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5058089752129371170" border="0" /></a>The highlight of the afternoon was crossing the new bridge across the Corinthian Bay, where we were told where to point our cameras for the obligatory photo of the bridge, and then back on the bus and heading for Delphi. Dinner and accommodation was much improved on the previous night and we thought that Delphi was very quaint, if somewhat touristy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHyMKW2_FI/AAAAAAAAAEs/i8VcWBJrGQ4/s1600-h/P1050006-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHyMKW2_FI/AAAAAAAAAEs/i8VcWBJrGQ4/s200/P1050006-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5058090147266362450" border="0" /></a>On the last day, after checking out the ruins of Delphi, we wandered around the town some more and had a surprisingly good lunch. While most of the bus was doing a four day tour, we were only doing a three day tour and so had to join another bus (with a much less interesting guide and a very angry driver) for the trip back to Athens. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHx1aW2_DI/AAAAAAAAAEc/HpiMwyWNjic/s1600-h/P1050016-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RjHx1aW2_DI/AAAAAAAAAEc/HpiMwyWNjic/s200/P1050016-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5058089756424338482" border="0" /></a>On the way we stopped at what could only be described as Carpet Town, where we could buy all the Greek and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Persian</span> rugs we wanted. We even had the great luck of arriving while they were having a sale! Arriving back in Athens, we dragged our bags back to Hotel <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Tempi</span> for one more night before heading to the Greek Islands.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-46443994821990239122007-04-22T11:22:00.000-07:002007-04-23T09:10:08.468-07:00Ancient Wonders in Athens (Greece)Our taxi ride from the airport bordered on terrifying with the World's Scariest Taxi Driver, and then ended with us hauling our bags through the streets trying to find our hotel at 11:30pm. But after that first taste, Athens improved greatly!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizaEnYjEwI/AAAAAAAAAD8/XyWXQDUbscE/s1600-h/IMG_0296-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizaEnYjEwI/AAAAAAAAAD8/XyWXQDUbscE/s200/IMG_0296-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056656254456500994" border="0" /></a>The next morning we walked to the end of our street and found the Acropolis. The aim was to arrive early and beat the crowds so it's scary to think how busy it would have been if we'd arrived much later. Although we know that the reconstruction and maintenance of the site is important, it made it hard to get the full effect. There was only one angle we could view the Parthenon from and not see heaps of scaffolding. We walked around to see the Theatre of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Dionysus</span> and then we walked over to what's left of the Temple of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Olympian</span> Zeus.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizZM3YjEuI/AAAAAAAAADs/Uwvw35X4Y1c/s1600-h/P1030853-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizZM3YjEuI/AAAAAAAAADs/Uwvw35X4Y1c/s200/P1030853-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056655296678793954" border="0" /></a>The afternoon was spent doing necessary domestics - grocery shopping, organising laundry etc. After carting our laundry across central Athens to discover that the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">laundromat</span> was closed, we (and our dirty laundry) went for Baklava instead. For dinner we ate outside by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">candlelight</span> at a beautiful Greek taverna with the illuminated Parthenon about 200 metres away. We had flower sellers offering us roses, and an ancient guy with an even ancienter camera offering to take our photo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizaEnYjExI/AAAAAAAAAEE/9dX0fDiJz-c/s1600-h/IMG_0310-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizaEnYjExI/AAAAAAAAAEE/9dX0fDiJz-c/s200/IMG_0310-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056656254456501010" border="0" /></a>The next morning, we managed to get to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">laundromat</span> while it was open, and left our <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">laundry</span> with the little old Greek washer woman (along with an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">exorbitant</span> fee), and then dealt with the Hellenic postal services to send home some stuff to lighten our ever-expanding suitcases. That done, we went to the National Archaeological Museum where Simon (in his element) read every single description of every single thing in the Museum, while Karina sat on every single seat in the Museum to wait for him. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizZNHYjEvI/AAAAAAAAAD0/Sqqqb78aO1c/s1600-h/P1030818-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RizZNHYjEvI/AAAAAAAAAD0/Sqqqb78aO1c/s200/P1030818-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5056655300973761266" border="0" /></a>In the afternoon we went to see more ancient ruins (part of the city of Ancient Athens and its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">cemetery</span>) and then looked at the ruins of the Ancient <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Agora</span>.<br /><br />Having had our fill of ruined buildings and broken marble statues, we sat in a cafe for while to people watch, before having dinner in another taverna. Since we had to be up early the next morning for our Classical Greece tour, we turned in for an early night.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-43441600552032823752007-04-18T09:30:00.000-07:002007-04-19T09:59:51.535-07:00Dubrovnik - The Jewel of the Adriatic (Croatia)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieeMnYjEpI/AAAAAAAAADE/fE8kUJdT8Q4/s1600-h/IMG_0242-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieeMnYjEpI/AAAAAAAAADE/fE8kUJdT8Q4/s200/IMG_0242-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055183046314234514" border="0" /></a>After our adventurous journey, we awoke the next morning to a view of the sparkling Adriatic Sea, which we enjoyed while eating <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">brekky</span> out on our balcony. Thanks to the help of an equally lost <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Croatian</span> lady, we found our way to the Old Town of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Dubrovnik</span> without too much wandering. After talking to four different tourist offices, we still didn't have a map or any useful information, despite Dubrovnik being one of Croatia's major tourist spots. So we relied on our wits and the ever-faithful Lonely Planet.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieecnYjErI/AAAAAAAAADU/xnSJWjxSJyw/s1600-h/IMG_0244-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieecnYjErI/AAAAAAAAADU/xnSJWjxSJyw/s200/IMG_0244-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055183321192141490" border="0" /></a>Dubrovnik's Old Town is surrounded by solid walls that reach up to 25 metres high. We trekked the 2km around the top of the walls, getting a fantastic view of the city and the ocean. As the guide books all said, it was the high point of our visit. Karina even made friends with two little old Japanese ladies, who kept offering to take our photo.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieeM3YjEqI/AAAAAAAAADM/cQBZD_N9w6U/s1600-h/IMG_0264-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieeM3YjEqI/AAAAAAAAADM/cQBZD_N9w6U/s200/IMG_0264-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055183050609201826" border="0" /></a>We took the afternoon easy and finished the day off with a relaxing dinner (eaten where else but on our lovely balcony). Dinner almost didn't happen though, because we'd bought some tins of tuna to make some pasta, but discovered that the apartment didn't come complete with can opener. Simon went downstairs to ask the landlord to borrow one, but it turned out their can opener was broken! So, much to his chagrin, the landlord's son was sent to a neighbour's house to track down what may have been the only functional can opener in the street. So dinner was saved, and we celebrated with a litre of wine, which this time we bought on purpose and had no trouble finishing!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiefkXYjEsI/AAAAAAAAADc/HxRrg2lIOl8/s1600-h/P1030740-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiefkXYjEsI/AAAAAAAAADc/HxRrg2lIOl8/s200/P1030740-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055184553847755458" border="0" /></a>The next morning we discovered that we had no hot water, so after freezing cold showers, we headed off on a boat trip on the oldest boat still sailing on the Adriatic (it used to be a pirate ship). We got a great view of our apartment high up on the sea cliffs as we sailed past, then visited 3 islands - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Kolocep</span>, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Sipan</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Lopud</span>. Despite the beautiful weather, it was still a tad chilly for swimming, and the few sand beaches weren't particularly inviting anyway. But we did eat about 15 fish each (no kidding) for lunch, cooked fresh on the boat. Yum!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiefwXYjEtI/AAAAAAAAADk/zJcLOCKScPQ/s1600-h/P1030765-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiefwXYjEtI/AAAAAAAAADk/zJcLOCKScPQ/s200/P1030765-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055184760006185682" border="0" /></a>Fortunately, we worked out how to turn on the hot water, so our showers on our last morning in Dubrovnik were nice and hot. We took a last walk around the Old Town, visiting the third oldest pharmacy still in use, a couple of monasteries where Karina was grossed out by saintly body parts, and had a massive meat platter for lunch (being a bit sick of fish after yesterday's effort).<br /><br />After lunch, it was to the airport to brave Croatian Airlines and Olympic Airways, for the journey to Athens.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-73068680665525150952007-04-16T10:03:00.000-07:002007-04-19T09:30:06.576-07:00Briefly in Neum (Bosnia and Herzegovina)The journey between Zagreb and Dubrovnik on the southern-most tip of Croatia seemed eventful enough for its own post. We'd decided to not spend any time in Split, but we still had to take the train there, so we could pick up the bus to get to Dubrovnik. All up, the trip would take around 11 hours.<br /><br />After packing up and checking out of the hostel, we headed up to the tram stop to get to the train station. In our entire time in Zagreb, we'd never waited more than 5 minutes for a tram. Except this one - the #4 to the station took more than half an hour to come, but we made it in the end.<br /><br />Getting our tickets and boarding the train was pretty painless. Or at least it was, until a backpacker sat down in front of us. It became inescapably apparent that he had been feasting on garlic and chilli, and had not washed either himself or his clothes for the last decade. The smell was enough to make your eyes water and your nose bleed - Karina's eyes and Simon's nose. After about 3 hours, we managed to move seats, and could breathe freely again.<br /><br />The train was running 20 minutes late getting into Split, but we hoped we would have enough time to find the bus to Dubrovnik. Karina had pre-booked us bus tickets before we left Zagreb, but we discovered that the bus company didn't know anything about it. Fortunately there weren't many people on the bus, so there were lots of seats still free.<br /><br />After nearly missing the bus because we were patiently waiting at a different platform, we were finally on the last leg of the journey and thought we could relax. Until we found ourselves being asked for our passports at a border-crossing! After everything, had we jumped on the wrong bus to Who Knows Which Eastern European Country? <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieY8HYjEoI/AAAAAAAAAC8/z-4qDADnf7w/s1600-h/IMG_0239-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RieY8HYjEoI/AAAAAAAAAC8/z-4qDADnf7w/s200/IMG_0239-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055177265288254082" border="0" /></a>But no, as we were surprised to learn, Bosnia and Herzegovina extends to the coast in a small section, cutting off the road to Dubrovnik from the rest of Croatia. So we found ourselves spending half an hour (including a 15 minute toilet break in the town of Neum) in yet another country, and made sure we had a photo to prove it!<br /><br />The bus finally pulled into Dubrovnik at 9:30pm, and after a brief trip with a smelly and somewhat dodgy taxi driver, we arrived at our beautiful beach apartment. Phew - what a way to spend our 8th anniversary!!!!Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-62486359873994543262007-04-15T10:14:00.000-07:002007-04-16T10:34:43.998-07:00A Day in Zagreb (Croatia)We arrived in Zagreb after a short train ride from Ljubljana, where we got our first European passport stamps for the trip. We decided to brave the Zagreb tram system, which was really quite efficient (although not so much with two unwieldy suitcases), and found our way to our hostel.<br /><br />After dropping off said unwieldy suitcases, we had dinner at a nice little restaurant recommended by the trusty Lonely Planet. Simon had a steak stuffed with cheese, Karina had some yummy veal with mushrooms, and we accidentally ordered a litre of wine (which we didn't finish). After dinner we weren't up to much other than rolling into bed, unfortunately for another sleepless night, due to lots of noise, and the fact that we'd both come down with mild colds.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiEMTi1oQGI/AAAAAAAAACs/RgpLaHVscM0/s1600-h/IMG_0234-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiEMTi1oQGI/AAAAAAAAACs/RgpLaHVscM0/s200/IMG_0234-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053333786795196514" border="0" /></a>The next day, we did a couple of walking routes through the city. Zagreb is known as the 'City of Museums' so we tried to fit in some of the more interesting ones. Our day in Zagreb fell on a Saturday, so everything was only open between 10am and 1pm. We still managed to fit in a whirlwind tour of the Modern Gallery, the Archaeological Museum and the Zagreb City Museum. We found a nice terraced cafe for lunch, then headed off to the local produce markets, where Karina was in her element buying fresh vegetables to cook up with some pasta for our first home-cooked dinner. In the afternoon, we walked around the city some more, saw a wedding, went up a tower, then had a quiet night in, some Codral, and a much-needed good night's sleep.<br /><br />The next day we were back on the road. We decided to ditch our night in Split, and head straight for Dubrovnik where we had booked a beach apartment. We weren't quite as taken with Zagreb as we'd been with Ljubljana, but it was definitely an interesting place to visit.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-86723522382021303132007-04-13T09:59:00.000-07:002007-04-14T10:19:20.391-07:00We Love Ljubljana (Slovenia)The drive to Ljubljana was pretty easy, but dropping off the hire car wasn't. Even after negotiating the one-way streets of Ljubljana to find the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Europcar</span> office, it turned out that the office had closed hours earlier, and when Karina rang the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Europcar</span> man, he told her to come back tomorrow. Thanks to her amazing skills of negotiation (or maybe just her stubbornness), he agreed to let us leave the car with the hotel that housed the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Europcar</span> office.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELIi1oQCI/AAAAAAAAACM/I9j61S8JQx0/s1600-h/IMG_0190-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELIi1oQCI/AAAAAAAAACM/I9j61S8JQx0/s200/IMG_0190-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053332498305007650" border="0" /></a>After the stress of getting rid of our hire car, we went in search of a nice bar for a calming drink. We found ourselves on the bank of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ljubljanska</span> river with all the hip and happening people of Ljubljana, all enjoying the beautiful afternoon at the many trendy bars. We managed to snaffle one of the high tables right on the river wall, so had a fantastic vantage point to people-watch.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELsy1oQFI/AAAAAAAAACk/I4NOj8Bz4G4/s1600-h/IMG_0215-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELsy1oQFI/AAAAAAAAACk/I4NOj8Bz4G4/s200/IMG_0215-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053333121075265618" border="0" /></a>Our two nights in Ljubljana were spent in an old military prison that had been converted into a very colourful youth hostel and art gallery. Our cell had a double bed above the door and two small, barred windows looking out over a sea of graffiti. On our first night we enjoyed an excellent pizza from their cafe, and we both coped with the first shared bathrooms of the trip (although at 3am, we coped less well with the noisy bar next door).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELIy1oQDI/AAAAAAAAACU/YDV-RcwE5Z8/s1600-h/IMG_0212-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELIy1oQDI/AAAAAAAAACU/YDV-RcwE5Z8/s200/IMG_0212-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053332502599974962" border="0" /></a>For our first full day in the city, we we walked all over the inner city, looking at all the sites on the tourist map. We saw a pink church, the Triple Bridge, the Cobblers Bridge, the Mother-in-Laws' Bridge (officially know as the Dragon Bridge), Ljubljana Castle, the open markets, and generally soaked up the atmosphere of this fascinating city. Karina also got to finally go shopping!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELsy1oQEI/AAAAAAAAACc/qzf-SarLIus/s1600-h/IMG_0201-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RiELsy1oQEI/AAAAAAAAACc/qzf-SarLIus/s200/IMG_0201-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5053333121075265602" border="0" /></a>That evening we went on a river cruise, and then loitered around a wonderful river-side <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">restaurant</span> until a table became free. The next morning we checked out the National History <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Museum</span>, the Natural <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">History</span> Museum (or 'Bug World' as Karina had been calling it), and the Slovenian Ethnographic Museum, before hopping on our train to Croatia.<br /><br />We both really loved Slovenia - the people were really friendly, the scenery was amazing and Ljubljana was so cool. Karina wants to move here (although Simon isn't sure what they'd both do) and we would absolutely recommend that anyone visiting that part of Europe spend some time in Slovenia.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-52129647270895859622007-04-12T03:34:00.000-07:002007-04-14T10:18:48.551-07:00Beautiful Bled and Bohinj (Slovenia)<span style="font-weight: bold;">FROM INNSBRUCK TO BLED<br /></span>Well, the journey to Bled in the Julian Alps region of Slovenia was definitely interesting. After jumping on and off trains at various tiny stations through the south of Austria (sometimes with only minutes to spare), we found ourselves, 6 hours later, at a tiny train station in the mountains, overlooking a beautiful lake. Unfortunately, it was about 4km to the town and our hire car pick up place, and not a taxi in sight. By this time it was about 5:30pm on Easter Sunday. Karina finally convinced the scary station man to call a taxi in return for 1 euro. The taxi finally came and we were very relieved to find ourselves at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Europcar</span> Office in Bled. Until we found out that it was closed and there was no one there. But after a few phone calls, and thanks to a few very friendly Slovenians, we discovered that the lovely man from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Europcar</span> had driven to the <span style="font-style: italic;">other</span> station in Bled to pick us up and had been waiting there! So he came back, and we got our car, so it all worked out in the end.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">REKA</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">HISA</span></span><br />We drove to our lovely little guest house right on the river, called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Reka</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Hisa</span> (River House), run by an English man and Filipino lady. From our bedroom window we had a beautiful view of the river. Every evening we had a fabulous home-cooked dinner, sitting around the big dining room table with all the other guests (3 other couples, comprising 3 Australians, a French girl, and English guy and a South African girl). The hosts were also amazingly helpful in helping us plan our time in Bled. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, you can`t go past <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Reka</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Hisa</span> for hospitality.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">WHAT WE DID AND SAW<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4Uai1oP-I/AAAAAAAAABs/sp3WEuH5TEg/s1600-h/P1030596-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4Uai1oP-I/AAAAAAAAABs/sp3WEuH5TEg/s200/P1030596-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052498278217170914" border="0" /></a>The first morning after we arrived, we drove through about a million impossibly narrow streets (or maybe they were actually just footpaths) through lots of little villages, to get to the breathtaking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Vintgar</span> Gorge. The Gorge had a beautiful crystal clear river running through it, and we spent an hour <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">walking</span> along the footbridge through the Gorge. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4U1S1oP_I/AAAAAAAAAB0/z0SsI-Tq1Hw/s1600-h/P1030618-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4U1S1oP_I/AAAAAAAAAB0/z0SsI-Tq1Hw/s200/P1030618-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052498737778671602" border="0" /></a>We then drove down some even narrower country roads, in to the middle of the Julian Alps. The mountains were just beautiful, still lots of snow around, we saw lots of skiers, and Karina and Simon helped a guy to push his car out of the snow where it had gotten bogged. We spent the afternoon in Bled, which is becoming a fairly <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">boutiquy</span> resort town, and was full of Italian tourists who had popped across the border for the Easter long weekend. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4Uai1oP9I/AAAAAAAAABk/-IGfQZ3KgfQ/s1600-h/P1030628-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4Uai1oP9I/AAAAAAAAABk/-IGfQZ3KgfQ/s200/P1030628-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052498278217170898" border="0" /></a>We had lunch at a restaurant called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Okarina</span> (where Karina thinks she saw Heather Mills), and took a boat trip out to the island in Lake Bled (and passed another boat full of people singing in perfect harmonies) to have a look at the old church (where Simon`s inner child had great fun ringing the church bell).<br /><br />The next day, we drove to the less touristy Lake <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Bohinj</span>, and went for a big walk, then had a giant platter for lunch by the lake, with one of the couples we were staying with at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Reka</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Hisa</span>. In the afternoon, after pushing another van out of some gravel that it had gotten bogged in, we braved the (very tame) rapids of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Sovec</span> River and went white water rafting. It was just us and the instructor, so it was a good introduction to rafting, and we hope to do it again some day with a bigger group and bigger rapids! Simon jumped off a bridge 7 metres above the river, and we both went swimming in the water which was FREEZING.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4WtS1oQAI/AAAAAAAAAB8/YEWfHMgwevE/s1600-h/IMG_0170-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4WtS1oQAI/AAAAAAAAAB8/YEWfHMgwevE/s200/IMG_0170-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052500799362973698" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FROM THE MOUNTAINS TO THE SEA<br /></span>On our last day in Bled, we sadly said goodbye to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Reka</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Hisa</span>, and drove the car on to a train for a journey through the mountains. Out the other side, we drove through the vineyard area of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Slovenia</span> on the way to see some caves, but when we got to the caves, we decided to ditch that plan, and headed for the beach instead! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4W-y1oQBI/AAAAAAAAACE/PYTLEDWjqeE/s1600-h/IMG_0178-small.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/Rh4W-y1oQBI/AAAAAAAAACE/PYTLEDWjqeE/s200/IMG_0178-small.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5052501100010684434" border="0" /></a>So we had seafood for lunch in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Piran</span>, got our first glimpse of the Mediterranean, and pondered the fact that we had left snow and the mountains only 3 hours earlier. After an ice cream, we hopped in the car again and drove to Ljubljana (<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Slovenia</span>`s capital).<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-76703476369348565832007-04-07T09:19:00.000-07:002007-04-14T10:16:48.886-07:00Soaking up the Scenery in Tirol (Austria)<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfI-pEAgXI/AAAAAAAAAAk/O2_ATS9dJgE/s1600-h/IMG_0143-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050726485619409266" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfI-pEAgXI/AAAAAAAAAAk/O2_ATS9dJgE/s200/IMG_0143-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>Simon (and TomTom) did a marvellous job of driving us to beautiful Tirol. We arrived at our very quaint farm in the late afternoon, and went for a walk around the fields and down to the lake. Since our German consists of the words for 'thank you', 'exit', 'one-way street', 'station' and 'schnitzel', we had a little trouble communicating with our landlady, but sign-language and lots of nodding and smiling got us through in the end!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfIxZEAgWI/AAAAAAAAAAc/fsjjoxl5Sow/s1600-h/IMG_0125-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050726257986142562" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfIxZEAgWI/AAAAAAAAAAc/fsjjoxl5Sow/s200/IMG_0125-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>We drove down to the village for dinner, along a country lane which seemed to be even narrower than our very narrow European car, and found a great pub where we both had venison stew and lots of vegies - the best meal we've had so far.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfJxpEAgYI/AAAAAAAAAAs/rSv1FQCZAdo/s1600-h/IMG_0151-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050727361792737666" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfJxpEAgYI/AAAAAAAAAAs/rSv1FQCZAdo/s200/IMG_0151-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>Saturday we went for a long walk around the lake near our farmhouse, and then drove to the Swarovski Crystal Works, which was quite interesting. Next time you see Karina wearing a very very sparkly bracelet, you'll know that it's not diamonds!! In the afternoon we drove into Innsbruck, and came upon an Easter Market right in the centre of the Old Town, which is as cute as the Old Town in Salzburg.<br /><br />Sunday morning, we say goodbye to Austria, and head for the mountains of Slovenia.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-67312859192280937852007-04-06T08:17:00.000-07:002007-04-07T09:18:27.100-07:00Freezing Cold In Salzburg (Austria)We got off the train in Salzburg to discover that it was a million times colder and gloomier than we'd expected. After Vienna, we were starting to think that the polarfleeces filling our suitcases were just taking up space, but they definitely got a work out in Salzburg!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfAepEAgUI/AAAAAAAAAAM/GWryIQDZPSA/s1600-h/P1030400.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050717139770573122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfAepEAgUI/AAAAAAAAAAM/GWryIQDZPSA/s320/P1030400.JPG" border="0" /></a>After checking in to our Youth Hostel, we walked through the old town (which is SO cute) and took the cable car to the Salzburg Fortress. The fortress sits upon a huge mountain next to the city, and so was even colder (but toasty warm inside the keep). For dinner Karina finally got the schnitzel she'd been wanting, and Simon had a bratwürst in a small little resturant, presided over by a very fat and jolly man.<br /><br />Thursday morning was much warmer and clearer, which unfortunately didn't improve the icky breakfast at the youth hostel at all. We spent some time walking through the fantastic markets near Mirabell Gardens before taking the bus to pick up our hire car. We decided the €8 per day for a GPS navigation system would be like divorce insurance, and it made the white-knuckle drive back to the youth hostel (on the wrong side of the road!) only a pink-knuckled drive.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfD5pEAgVI/AAAAAAAAAAU/lLfzfLEJAcE/s1600-h/IMG_0113-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050720902161924434" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfD5pEAgVI/AAAAAAAAAAU/lLfzfLEJAcE/s320/IMG_0113-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>In the afternoon we wandered through Mozart's birthplace (complete with a blue-haloed plastic baby Mozart), and then across the river back to the beautiful Mirabell Gardens (featured in <span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">The Sound of Music</span>). We managed to get the last two tickets for the last Salzach river cruise of the day, and saw many hills that were alive with sounds of music. The boat even did a waltz before it docked.<br /><br />Our last morning in Salzburg was even warmer and clearer, so we decided to go into some catacombs at (another) St Peters. After we emerged, we drove to Hellbrunn to see the Trick Fountains which spray water at you (Karina got more wet than Simon) and the Hellbrunn Palace.<br /><br />Then it was in the car again for Simon to practise his new-found skill of driving on the wrong side of the road (and of the car) and we headed for the mountains of Tirol!<br /><br />For anyone wondering, by the time we left Salzburg, we'd found the hair straightener, the fuse, and didn't need the physio.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-89587726289598438232007-04-03T10:34:00.000-07:002007-04-07T09:57:39.829-07:00Culture & Music in Vienna (Austria)We arrived in Vienna very late on Sunday night after being awake for 24 hours. We went straight to bed for a good night's sleep (after Simon lugged the suitcases up about 1000 stairs - good practice for the rest of the holiday).<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfNEJEAgcI/AAAAAAAAABM/sepQ0R3gUyk/s1600-h/P1030279-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050730978155200962" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfNEJEAgcI/AAAAAAAAABM/sepQ0R3gUyk/s200/P1030279-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>Monday morning we went straight to the Tourist Office and it only took us until lunch time to figure out a plan for our time in Vienna. The afternoon was spent at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Schonbrunn</span> palace and gardens. After lunch in the village market, we went on a tour of the palace which was beautiful. Then we wandered through the gardens, walked up a giant hill to the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Gloriette</span> viewing platform, and went through the maze and labyrinth.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfNTZEAgeI/AAAAAAAAABc/_AaZtyO_I58/s1600-h/P1030287-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050731240148206050" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfNTZEAgeI/AAAAAAAAABc/_AaZtyO_I58/s200/P1030287-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>The best bit was the apple strudel show in the old bakery (with free samples!) - Simon has optimistically taken it upon himself to make an apple strudel when we get home. That evening we ate at a real (non-touristy) Austrian pub, and then went to a Baroque concert. It was fantastic, but we're ashamed to say we were both so exhausted that we kept nodding off.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfNEJEAgdI/AAAAAAAAABU/tYuPlGAjfV8/s1600-h/P1030329-small.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5050730978155200978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_AUrfNvqSRzE/RhfNEJEAgdI/AAAAAAAAABU/tYuPlGAjfV8/s200/P1030329-small.JPG" border="0" /></a>Tuesday was spent walking through the historic parts of inner-Vienna (slowly, because Karina has stuffed her knee already!) The Museum of Fine Arts gave Simon an opportunity to teach Karina all about history and art (probably the first of many lessons to come!) The late afternoon was spent on a guided tour of the Vienna State Opera (the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Staatsoper</span>). We tried to buy tickets to Swan Lake showing there tonight, but it's literally standing room only (and Karina's poor knee just isn't up to it).<br /><br />Tomorrow it's off to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Salzburg</span> for Mozart, the Sound of Music, and a mission to find a physio, a fuse and a hair straightener.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-17158961674155963402007-03-31T10:31:00.000-07:002007-04-05T10:33:30.422-07:00In Transit: Narita (Japan)<p>We're half way there!</p><p>Surprisingly, the new security measures at Sydney airport didn't disrupt things - we got through the international security check point faster and with less pain the the Canberra security check point.</p><p>The flight was uneventful, and we've landed safely in Japan. We're waiting for 9pm so we can get a cheap meal from the hotel restaurant, and then we're off to Vienna tomorrow morning.</p>Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526651076996994613.post-55370644029662178712007-03-27T10:28:00.000-07:002007-04-05T10:34:09.372-07:00Leaving Canberra (Australia)Our flights are all booked, our train tickets are all paid for and our cars are all reserved. It's four days to go, and we're pretty much ready to leave.<br /><br />We're flying out at 6am on Saturday morning. As we get time and the opportunity, we'll be recording some of the interesting parts of our adventure here. Feel free to pass the link around to anyone who may be interested in hearing what we're up to.Karina & Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02610923369867890346noreply@blogger.com1