Our last blog for this trip :(

Our last day in Rome...After breakfast Peter and I took a walk to the Trevi Fountain and threw coins in to ensure we will return to Rome one day.  The weather was hot so we strolled slowly and soaked up our last morning.  We wandered around with map in hand and saw some of the treasures Rome has to offer.  We remembered being in so many places and discovered some new ones.  Finally I got some shopping!!  I bought a dress and jacket and two belts all for less than $125 AUD.  Lunch at a local patiserrie and then back to our room to change into long pants (you had to have knees and shoulders covered) for our visit to the Catacombs.  Steve met us downstairs after his tour of Rome and we set off to meet the tour.   We had an excellent guide who was so enthusiatic about showing us The Catacombs, San Clemente Basilica and The Capuchin Crypt.  The Catacombs are where the early Christians were buried, outside the City Wall.  We walked deep underground to view the burial sites which are like shelves in the walls.  It was a maze of narrow corridors and some areas opened up which housed crypts belonging to richer families and were decorated with fresco paintings and adornments.  Georgia, our guide, told us really interesting facts and pointed out things that we would have walked past without realizing the significance of.  After the catacombes we visited San Clemente Basilica which has the oldest surviving portico, dating back to the 12th century.  Then we walked down to the next level which was even older and then down another level which dated back to 313AD.  And then down another level to the original Rome dating back to ??BC  It was deep underground and until the 1900's was underwater but they drained it and excavated and it uncovered residences and streets and businesses.  It was mind blowing.  Georgia explained that, as Rome grew they would knock down old buildings and build on top of them, using the old building as foundations.  She had so many interesting facts and stories.  After the Basilica we visited the Capuchin Crypt.  There are a series of 6 crypts and 4 of them are decorated with human bones.  INCREDIBLE.  Unfortunately, we were not able to take any photographs at these sites.

We had dinner at a local restaurant and rolled our eyes at the Yanks at the next table to us who were so typically American.  By the end of dinner we had a chat to them and one of them had been to Australia and had wonderful memories so after that they were OK!!.  We managed to get to the rooftop garden tonight at the correct Hotel! (it was across the road from our Hotel)  It was nice but not as much fun as our own rooftop adventure!

Well that is about it.  Our last night in Rome.  We will return again one day.  It's been a great holiday, thanks for letting us share it with you.  Tomorrow, the airport.  Steve to the States to hopefully see Casey win at Laguna Seca and Peter and I to Singapore and then Home Sweet Home.

Luv yas all xxx

Roma

After our usual big breakfast we packed up and went over to the train station and caught our train to Rome on the fast train.  300+ kph.  We were passing cars like they were standing still.  Such a comfortable way to travel.  They bring you food and drinks on the way and we had wi-fi all the way.  got to Rome after 2 hours 55 minutes and booked into our Hotel.  Steve hadn't arrived yet so we had a drink in the foyer and went for a walk down the road and saw the Coloseum.  We took little alley ways on the way back and discovered lots of little nooks and crannies with ancient buildings.  Steve was there when we got back so we caught up with all our adventures since we saw each other last.  He has been having a wonderful time riding across the Alps and along the Stelvio Pass, around the Lake Como area and other trails.  He dropped the bike off in Milan and flew to Rome.  We had a great dinner at an outdoor restaurant and all during dinner we were serrenaded by violinists, guitarists, singers, piano accordianist.  Steve had some fun with a guy trying to sell him hats and fans.  We came back to the hotel and had a drink and then went off to discover the 'Rooftop Gardens' at our hotel.  We couldn't find it but we ended up on the roof by going through the service corridors and when we got back to our room we discovered that the roof garden was at a different hotel!  We had fun anyway and got our own rooftop view of Rome!  Tomorrow morning, Steve is going to do the hop on hop off bus and then we will meet at 2pm to go on The Catacombs Walking tour.  Pete and I are going shopping to see if we can do better then we did in Milan. 



Our last night in Milan

After our beautiful day yesterday, we were ready to face the masses and do what one should always do while in Milan - SHOP!
Had a big brekky and set off on the underground on a mission to shop til we dropped.  We popped up from the underground in the middle of the shopping sector and visited every shop on the shady side of the road and then all the way back on the other side.  All the shops we know - Guess, Benetton, Swarovski, etc and all the ones we had never heard of.  H&M is big here and we scanned every floor.  Stopped for lunch and then shopped some more.
The grand total of our shopping day was 9.95 Euro for 4 pairs of sox for Peter and two T-Shirts for me!!  We have nothing to worry about in Adelaide for shopping, we have it all.
We came back to our hotel at about 3ish and off loaded our goodies (lol), had a rest and then went over to the train station to check out the shops over there,  that's when I bought the two T-shirts.  After a nice meal at a nearby restaurant, we strolled the shops near our hotel and I bought a dress for 13 Euros from a little chinese couple who had a tiny little shop and the change room was out the back with all the spare stock.  Making our grand total for shopping 22.95 Euros which equals $27.00
You can never tell how a day will pan out!

While we had dinner we were remembering back over our holiday and all the places we have stayed and visited and the people we have spoken to.  It's been such a good holiday and is hard to believe that within a week we will be food shopping, cooking and cleaning!  Tomorrow morning (11am) we leave Milan and go to Rome until Sunday when we catch our flight home.  We have heard from Steve and he is arriving in Rome tomorrow as well and is staying at the same hotel as us so we will see him again before he leaves for San Francisco.

Talk to you again in Rome xx  (maybe we can do better with our shopping there!)

Lugano - Switzerland

We have had a fantastic day in Switzerland.  We pretty much 'stuck a pin in the map' and came up with Lugano which is just over the border in Switzerland.  I craved a quiet time away from a big city and all I wanted was green grass.  Well, we got that as well as a beautiful lake!  We took the train from Milan to Lugano which was only an hour away and came out high up overlooking a quaint town and a massive body of water.  We took the cable car down to the town and looked around.  The smell of the freshness was exhilarating.  The weather was 33C.  You don't think of temperatures like that in Switzerland.  We knew it would be hot because we googled it before we left.  After a lovely lunch overlooking the lake where there were boats, yachts, kids in dingys and people in paddle boats, we went for an hour and a half cruise on Lake Lugano.  The lake is surrounded by high mountains covered in trees and around the bases, houses, roads, railway tracks and bike paths have been built.  Every so often you would see a house built high up the mountain and you wonder how it was built and who lives there.  You could even see tunnels going in or out of the mountains.  After our cruise we went into the town and had a huge icecream, sundae kind of thing which was delicious and then looked around.  We caught the cable car from the train station when we arrived so we thought we would walk the lovely path back to the station for our return trip - that should take care of the calories from the sundae!! 
The train trip takes you past Lake Como and some gorgeous countryside so my need for serenity was more than fulfilled.

We have been so impressed with the train travel through Europe (some trains have wi-fi!!)

Happy Birthday Daphne xx

Milano

We took off early this morning, after breakfast, on the Hop On Hop Off bus to discover our surroundings. Religion is a big part of Milan. The Ancient type and the new Religion - Retail. The locals are very stylish and make the tourists look like homeless people!! We got off the bus at various stops (pictures of the Duand looked around and ate icecream. We have scales in our hotel room and I have resisted getting on them (I could break them) We tried to book a tour to Switzerland to do the Bernina Express which was why we came to Milan but alas, the tour only leaves on Tuesdays and Saturdays - that's what happens when you don't have the internet for 5 days! We were too late for the Tuesday one and wont be here for the Saturday one. We got back to our hotel at around 2.30 and had a needed lazy afternoon and caught up with the world news on CNN. We heard about the shark attack in Western Australia and even got a weather report for Australia! Tomorrow we might go to Zurich for the day - or Monaco Watch this space :)

We haven’t had the internet since we arrived in Scarperi so I will give you an overview of what’s been happening:-  sorry there's so many photos but you are lucky because we all ran out of battery power in our cameras just before the big race!!!  We have taken about 2000 photos so you can imagine how hard it is to share just a few!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENDAN! XXX

Hi Brendan, it was good to talk to you the other day but it was a pity the line was bad.  We hope you had a great day.

Salzburg was a great experience.  We did the Sound of Music Bike Tour and our guide was really good and knowledgeable so now we want to see the movie again!  The weather was great, the bike ride really easy – a couple of hills but always came down again which was fun.  We travelled through the old town and out into the countryside, along bike paths or nice smooth paths.  We were ¾’s (4 hours) of the way through and the skies opened again!  We could see the weather coming in and we started peddling faster and faster but it got us.  We finished the tour just as the rain stopped and the sun came out again so we set off in search of a place to sit in the sun and have lunch and dry out.   After lunch, we spent the afternoon looking around beautiful Salzburg and found an electrical shop and bought a Tom Tom for our trip to Scarperia (It’s cheaper to buy one than hire one from the Car Rental Company and we can use it at home).  We had a train booked from Salzburg to Rosenheim (1 hour) and then change to a sleeper carriage to Florence.  (8 hours) It has been so easy to get around and the railway stations are clean and modern.  Our stop in Rosenheim was one hour enough time for some tea before boarding the next train.  The sleeper which, in my mind, was going to be luxurious was, in fact, no bigger than a shoe box!  It was hilarious.  With the two of us and our two bags, one of us or a bag had to wait outside while we prised ourselves into position!  We ended up putting the luggage in the top bunk and we shared the bottom bunk – not real conformable when it was only a single!  I expected breakfast in the Dining Car – instead we got a cardboard box with only a small muffin that we could actually eat.  We got off the train in Florence at about 7.00am and caught a taxi to the car hire place to pick up a car.  Long story short – there were no cars available at any of the companies!  We had a Tom Tom and nothing to plug it into!  We ended up taking the shuttle to the airport and a taxi from the airport back to the train station to see about getting a bus or train. We caught a bus from the train station to Scarperia, (cost 3.00euros each!) rang our villa owner and he gave us directions and by 11.30 we were in our apartment!  Peter said you paid more for a ride at the show and it had none of the thrills that this bus ride offered!  We even had an accident on the way, someone hit the bus.  We unpacked and headed off to survey the town.  The town was formed in 1306 and has a lot of character.  Bikes started to arrive and more and more people, who were obviously here for the GP.  There were definite signs that it was going to be a big weekend coming up.  Rossi posters are everywhere.  The Church had a tribute to Simoncelli.  We had lunch in a little outdoor café - and along came Steve!  He has had a great time travelling here on a BMW motor bike.  Our apartment is really nice and we have spent the afternoon looking around Scarperia. Everything is accessible by foot-even the track! 

………..Next day.  The track is huge and is in a beautiful setting with the hills and mountains as a backdrop. We could only look at one section because they had everything blocked off, usually we would walk the whole track on the Friday to get our bearings.  We had to pay for today because VIP isn’t until tomorrow and Sunday but we sat in a few different places in the two grandstands available to us so we saw some different views.  Mugello seems really quiet compared to what we thought it would be.  The whole town of Scarperia shut down for the afternoon and it’s now 7.30pm and not much seems to be happening.  We will go out for tea shortly and look around.  They have been setting up stages and tents in the town so maybe it will go off tomorrow.  It has been 30C+ here today!  We are working on our tans!  The bells go off every hour and little old Italian men sit in the park on park benches and chat.  The woman all sound like they are fighting.  It’s so quaint.  We went out for breakfast this morning and there was a market on – all along our street.  The prices are so cheap.

Monday 16th 8.00pm

We had an action packed weekend at the track.  The MotoGP VIP Village was excellent.  We were above the Start/Finish line and the Pits, which meant we saw all the Media Hoo Hah and the bikes and riders up close.  The food was fantastic and was served all day, starting with a full breakfast including eggs, bacon, yoghurts, juices, fruit etc and lovely pastries, then morning tea, a full gourmet lunch with starters and deserts, afternoon tea and, of course, an open bar all day.  Our passes also included Pit Lane Walks and Paddock Tours.  We saw all the riders both in their garages and in the paddock.  And we saw Adriana and the baby (Casey’s wife and baby) coming from their motor home and into the pits.  Our cameras were going non stop all day.  We also won a trip around the whole track on the service road.  Peter was taken on his drive during the Moto 2 Qualifying and Steve and I went during the MotoGP warm up!!  I flew the flag out of the window the whole way and got lots of cheers from other Aussies.  That ride was awesome, we were so privileged to get inside the track and have the riders going past us at 300+km an hour.  We were next to Lorenzo as he was doing his practise starts!  As soon as the race finished the crowds just came from everywhere onto the track – not just people, but motorbikes, scooters, roller blades, bicycles, people dressed as teletubbies (?)  There were fire works booming, flares going off, motorbikes doing burnouts, it was such a spectacle.  We couldn’t believe it. 

We stood hanging over the balcony for more than an hour watching it all.  Mugello is an experience we will never forget.  Although, having said that – the boys have forgotten how they got home some nights!

We got up this morning and went to do our washing and have breakfast in our beautiful little village.  It wasn’t so exciting doing the washing this time because we know the next time will be at home L  We went back to our apartment and packed up and waved Steve off on his bike.  He will ride through the mountains wherever the road leads.

We sat in the park for a while and watched the comings and goings and then our apartment owner, Francesco, drove us to the station and we caught a train into Florence, had lunch and caught the HiSpeed train to Milan which is where I type this.

An early-ish night tonight and then off to explore Milan in the morning.

Salzburg, Austria

I am in complete awe of Salzburg.  The scenery from the Hohensalzburg Fortress is (to quote Genevieve) AMAZEBALLS!  The building of the fortress started in 1077 and was added to over the centuries by different Archbishops to the size it is today.  The history is fascinating and during renovations at various times, they have discovered ancient roman walls from 300AD.  We spent quite a few hours there including having a beautiful meal overlooking Salzburg.  The weather was superb.  Apparently it rained but we were looking through the different museums so didn't notice.  Everytime we thought we had finished looking at everything, we found more!  We got to the Fortress on the Hop on Hop off bus and it was a short walk to the entrance. Everywhere you look is beautiful buildings and ancient town squares with fountains and statues.  It was one of those breathtaking moments when you can't believe you are actually there.  We found the funicular (cable train) which took us up the steep incline to the fortress and did an Audio Tour which told of the history and then we just wandered around soaking it all in.  After a few hours, we went back down on the funicular (I love that word) and caught the Hop On bus again and continued the tour back to our Hotel.  Tomorrow we are going to do 'The sound of Music' bicycle tour.  Yes, I know - groan but the countryside is beautiful and there are gardens everywhere.  Even the roundabouts resemble botanic gardens!  I'll let you know how it goes.  Happy Birthday Gareth! xx

Chemnitz - Salzburg

Washing's done!!!
Steve dropped us off at the Chemnitz station and we had just over an hour before our train. After looking at the timetables we decided to take the earlier train which stopped at Hof where we changed trains to Landshut and then changed trains to Salzberg.  It got us into Salzburg two hours earlier.  The country side is so beautiful and there is something to marvel at around every bend.  We got our first glimpse of the alps as we pulled in to Salzburg!  We got off the train and our hotel was right there waiting for us!  The Ramada, and they have decent internet and we finally downloaded our emails for the first time in five days - oh joy!!  Our eyes have feasted on incredible countryside, we have clean clothes and an internet connection - what more could you ask for?
Tomorrow we will check out Salzburgs treasures.
Observations of Germany:  They grow ALOT of corn.  Acres and acres and acres and acres (and more acres). They have more solar panels covering the roofs than you ever see in Aus and wind towers are everywhere.  Also, the cows are blonde.  Time for bed, nigh night xx