Edinburgh 21-23 August

With Tripod after their show at the Edinburgh Festival - Spicks and Specks fans will recognise Scott in the green shirt. We saw Carl Barron as well and got to chat to him after the show. The festival atmosphere in Edinburgh is just amazing. It is crazy that it is the place that has had the worst weather of anywhere on the Great Adventure, yet we both loved Edinburgh, great atmosphere, people and lots to do in a small area. Our B&B was a DIVE though, shame about that.

Kiwi Band at the Military Tattoo - they stole the show (seems they do it in Rugby and Bands!). This was amazing when very serious men dropped all instruments and did the Haka. They also did a pop song and some other stuff that got the crowd going. Very talented bunch

Mel with Mary Queen of Scots

 
Mel with a coupla likely local lads. We were headed to see their show after the Tattoo on Saturday night (they gave us a free ticket) but we got so saturated watching the Tattoo that we had to go back to our accom and have hot showers and put the heater on to get dry and warm.



Inside the Castle grounds

Mel assisting at the Coronation of Robert The Bruce -1306

Barcelona 11- 15 August

Modern Barcelona

Spires still being built on Gaudi's church

Entrance to Gaudi's church

...yes more Gaudi - apartments

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A famous Gaudi creation - my photo doesn't do it justice - it is very colourful

After Nice we overnighted in Montpellier and then hopped on the 7.30 am train to Barcelona. We have had interesting experiences with the train travel. It is a good way to travel, you see the country and often there is power in the train so you can charge phones and laptops. We paid for first class Eurail tickets, but apart from the train from Florence to Venice where we got a free drink and snack, this does not seem to bring much advantage. At least the French conductors and food service staff have been friendly, we copped a couple of shockers in Italy.

It was about 5 hours to Barcs and we navigated our way from the very busy Barcelona Sants Estacion to our little hostel off Las Ramblas, tourist central Spain. We have paid much less for this room than elsewhere and I have now equated price to the plyboard thickness of the walls. This is cheap and while we have our own bathroom our wall adjoins the 'shared bathroom' for the dormies. On the first night here I had to yell through the wall at the couple in the bathroom to keep the noise down. They were taking the meaning of 'sharing' literally. But then there is free breaky and wifi included, so you win some you lose some.

Have had a day walking Las Ramblas, the Port and surrounding area and done the open top bus tour. I am finding these good value in each place we go as you get a lot of info and can cover a lot of k's in a day (thanks Hillsy for the tips on Barc.). You hear a lot about the architect Gaudi before you get to Barcs, but as in all destinations it is so much better when you see the real thing. This guy lived from 1850 - 1924 and designed some wonderful buildings that are a cross between art and architecture. The thing I love is that they are colourful and fun, not the stale square buildings we are used to. The church that he spent the last 40 years of his life on is still being completed, he knew he would never finish it but left the blueprints and said that 'God was in no hurry'. Amazing for his time he lived till 74 but was was killed by a tram of all things!

Guess who's in Barcs?

At the Port we had a nice reminder of home when we found the SeaSheppard Steve Irwin docked. We booked in and did a free tour in the arv, was a great learning experience about conservation. They have just been touring the Meditteranean to stop illegal fishing of Tuna, particularly the Red Fin Tuna which is endangered and fishers have been illegally netting, out of season in large quantaties by bribing European Governments. Their next stop is Oz on the way to stop Japanese whaling in Antarctica. We were fascinated to hear what the crew go through and how dedicated they all are, all volunteers.

Have been sampling some of the wine and beer. We are feeling a little travel fatigued though and I have had some less than pleasant 'customer service' experiences with the Spanish, so we decided to skip the Eurail and fly to Paris tomorrow. I'm a tad jaded with Eurail, it is not cheap and the booking process and queues are hellish. Yesterday's fun was waiting 2 hours in a queue at Barc Sants (this is tourist central rail station and size of small airport) to get to non-English speaking 'Customer Unservice' agent for her to just keep yelling at me 'Espanol' - she wanted me to speak Spanish then made a half assed attempt at helping me then finished the transaction. UGH, sometimes I miss home!

I booked our Paris accom months ago and am looking fwd to it as the owners have been recommended as lovley people and at least I can understand some French - even if I can't speak it well!

The Tour Bus

Off now to try and get a look inside a Gaudi joint...

Nice - Monte Carlo - Provence - Antibes 4-10 Aug

 En Provence

Nice

4- 10 August 2010

Arrived in Nice from Milan after a longer train trip than expected. According to our fellow Italian traveller, a lovely grandma who alternates her time between children in Monaco, Milan and Rome, the train track goes down to 1 line along the Italian coast and the train is often late. As it is today. So we miss one connection at Ventimiglia (Italian border) but soon get another train to Monaco. We have shared the journey from Milan with Keith and Tanya from Georgia, USA, a couple we like very much. Tanya works for Symantec (IT security) and we share ideas about how lovely the Italian life is and how it would be so good if we did not work such long hours and did get time to keep our own veggie gardens. We have made a pledge to each other to do this, so I expect to be getting a check-in email from Tanya when I get back to see ‘how are gardens are growing’.

Me at the Casino

Mel - at old Casino Monte Carlo

Keith and Tanya get off at Monte Carlo for the Symantec Conference and Mel and I change trains to do the final leg to Nice. We get into the Little Palace hotel about 9.30pm and go out in search of food and drink. First impressions of Nice are good and as these continue over the next few days we end up staying longer than first planned. The time is also extended in Nice due to the fact that our first class Eurail pass still does not allow us to get a ‘reservation’ on a train to Barcelona till Wednesday 11th, much later than we had expected, but then Nice is nice!

We love Monte Carlo - the street are clean! No doggy doo and ciggie butts everywhere...nice scenery too

Mel - in the footsteps of Maradona - perfect fit

Some serious boats here

We used Nice as a base to see as much of the surrounding area as we can, whilst still fitting the obligatory washing and homework days. Most mornings while Mel sleeps in (and I mean sleep in – it is not brunch but ‘lun-der’ as first meal) I go walking, exploring and beaching. The flower/farmers markets are lovely, but without a fridge in our room there is not much point me buying any of the fresh produce, so I opt for my regular café au lait and pain au chocolat, or whatever flavoured croissant looks good on the day. In the afternoons we do sightseeing to Monte Carlo, Provence and on our last day I go to Antibes while Mel rests. Monte Carlo is just as you see it in the movies, dripping with wealth, free and easy lifestyle and gorgeous fashion shops. We play a game of spot the Ferraris and Maseratis, there are plenty around so the score gets high very quickly. We walked along the path of fame and Mel stands in Diego Maradona’s footsteps. We pop up to the Casino and have a look but I elect not to go in with our touriste clothes on and a minor in tow. We thought we were finishing the day around 9pm with dinner by the marina and a stroll along millionaire lane, but as we got to the last boat on the row, Mel said, 'Is that an Aussie flag Mum?' To which the two guys standing near by say,’Are you Aussies’ and that was it, an hour of chatting to young Mr Bertram from Adelaide who is on the annual family holiday on Dad’s 62 foot Sunseeker Motor Launch, 'No Compromise', registered in Kingston South Australia, but permanently moored in Monte Carlo for use as required! The yacht’s South African engineer has taken leave from his company director role to come and work on the yacht and tells Mel what a great lifestyle and money making opportunity it is for when she finishes school. Mel is taken with the idea and I am expecting her to start doing some boating courses when we get home and playing her First Mate role more seriously on Betta Wetta!

Where's my kayak? - this sea is flat calm!

Checking out her future lifestyle in Monte Carlo

The Tour En Provence was fantastique, it cost us 55 Euro each to go in a ‘minibus’ which was more like a fancy new people mover. The tour caters for 8 but there was only Ann from San Fancisco and us with our 2 guides Richard and David. We went to the Fragonard perfume factory in Grasse and saw how perfume was made centuries ago and how it is made now. They have a display of where they get all the flowers and essential oils from and we were pleased that they use eucalyptus and acacia from Oz. We then zig zagged our way up the steep mountains which lead to the French Alps with a stop at Gourdon, hilltop fortress dating pre-dark ages that is like something from a movie, just perched on the edge of a rock face with a sheer drop below. As Richard explained there were no police way back when and this was a great defence point to lookout over the sea for pirates. Next stop St Paul De Vence, a very beautiful place which has lots of tres chic art dealers nestled in behind the stone walled shops. It has been the hang out for many a famous person from Picasso to Keith Richards (yeah that guy in Pirates of the Carribbean III) and Roger Moore. The scenery on the trip back was pretty impressive too with a river that flows down into the valley where young adventurers undertake canyoning (sounds crazy to me - what's wrong with a good kayak?).

I was headed for St Tropez on the last day in Nice, but my wee mouse was v. tired so I left her for a rest and hopped over to Antibes. The boaties say this place is the centre of boating in the south of France. It has some lovely little beaches and an 'old walled town' which, as we are learning, most of these old European towns do. The best thing about Antibes was meeting Amanda, Rebecca and Wendy as I got off the train. 3 Aussie chicks off on a picnic, so they invited me along. Amanda lives in Paris and we are hoping to catch up with her and try her boyfriend Michel's restaurant in Paris. Back in Nice that night Mel came out with me for tea with the gals and we drank and talked till midnight - great company and hope to see them back in Oz.

Overall, Nice was extremely pleasant and a place I would like to come back to. While the pebbles are a bit bumpy to lie on the beach is still beautiful and I enjoyed many hours just sunbaking, reading and jumping in the calm sea to cool off every now and again. The sales were on so a little bit of shopping was done too. Mel and I enjoyed the restaurants. I hadn't quite realised before coming here how strong the Italian influence would be on the food. Until the mid 1800s Italy was not a nation, just a group of regions. So the areas of Nice and Western Italy were like a region unto themselves. There is still a strong tie between Nice and Italian culture, food and fashion, so it is a perfect location.

We are now overnighting in Montpellier. It was not an intentional stop, but as there were no trains to Barcelona available until tomorrow (Wed 12 Aug) we had to stop here. We are pretty trashed after a big travel day and of course Rebecca, Wendy and Amanda forcing me to drink last night, so we haven't explored Montpellier much, but from what we have seen it is a very vibrant, attractive city. A pleasant surprise!

Next stop - Barcelona, Spain!!!

The old fashioned way of making perfume. Delicate flowers like this jasmine are pressed into animal fat and left until all the oil is absorbed into the fat. The fat is then mixed with alcohol and spun in a centrifuge until the jasmine oil is separated.

Moi - En Provence - view from Gourdon

The road up the mountain - there was a very sheer drop on the right- so this little black duck was a bit woozy!

Game of Petanque - St Paul de Vence

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Stunner - looked like it was made of titanium

Venice & Milan 31 July - 3 August

In-a-da-It-taly you speaka like dis!

Milan - The Duomo (only a small part of it too)
We missed out on seeing the painting 'The last supper' as it was booked out two weeks in advance.

With our waiter Lorenzo at Hard Rock Cafe Venice - we were so over pizza we just needed steak and veg!

Strings Concert in Renaissance Church Venice - Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart

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The Harpsicord Piano

Rome 24-26 July

Rome

Loved Rome! We spent three nights there and  still didn't get to see all we would have liked to. The 24 hour open top double decker tour bus pass was well worth it as we got the earphones to listen to the guided tour and could jump on and off whenever we wanted to see something. Our main stops were the Colesseum, Paletine Hill, Forum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps & Via del Corso (main shopping street). We did not get to see the 'Mouth of Truth' or the Pantheon, so I guess we just have to go back one day! 

The Vatican was a full day and according to our tour guide has so many exhibits that if you spent an minute on each one it would take you 25 years to see it all. It drips gold and wealth but the art work and frescos in the Vatican are just spectacular. To see the Sisterne Chapel in real life is so much better than the best photos and the Church itself with sculptures from Michelangelo and the other amazing greats was beyond words. We also went down underneath to see the tombs of the popes, saints and cardinals. Pope John Paul III's tomb has candles burning around it all the time. St Peter's crypt was pretty special.

It was worth paying the bit extra to have a tour guide take us around all the sites. At the Colesseum, Paletine Hill and Forum our tour guides were excellent. I was pleased to learn that the guides had to have quals in art hist, archeology or similar, they really knew their stuff. Mel said she learnt more in our 3 days in Rome than in a year of history at school. We saw the earliest Etruscan ruins (c. 600BC) and heard the story of the founding of Rome through the fable of Romulus and Remus.

Modern day Rome is busy and crazy on the roads. Our first experience with bureaucrats of Rome was just plain comical, until I thought I might end up locked up!We 'inherited' a laptop left on the train by a young woman and I went through a comedy of events in trying to get this to someone who cared. It was not easy, and I even had police tell me to 'GET AWAY'. As soon as we walked out of the train station we experienced the crazy traffic in Rome. At a traffic light intersection there were motorbikes squeezed against the curb next to a car that was jammed next to a double decker tour bus, that was jammed next truck that could not move until the cars on the other side of the road moved and no one was going to give way. Horns were blaring everywhere!  There were some great shops and as with everywhere we have been in Italy, it was fun just walking around and seeing the sites. It stuns me that there is no regard for access for people with disabilities. The streets are old so there is not a lot of footpath room but there is no modification to help people with a disability. You see wheelchairs on the road taking on the cars and buses, because they don't have room on the path and there are steps everywhere and no ramps.

Filling water bottle at Spanish steps - Italy and France have great reserves of underground water and you can find constantly flowing fountains of fresh clean water to fill up your bottles -saves paying for it!

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Statue in Vatican

More modern art in the Vatican garden

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Under the Arch at the Forum

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Statue of Ceasar in the Vatican

The food was ok, but not as fresh and inviting as Tuscan fares. We did feel like a change so had a sneaky Chinese meal. Unfortunately I think that was what gave me a case of Bali belly which made the tour of the Vatican a bit tricky the next day.

Tomb in the Vatican

Us outside Colesseum

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Spanish Steps in Rome

Trevi Fountain - Neptune in Centre

Colesseum - this area was covered by  a floor &amp all the little rooms are where the lions, tigers, ostriches, horses, etc were keptThe Great Adventurers inside the Colesseum

Mel & Me @ Trevi Fountain

Etruscan home c. 600BC on Paletine Hill, under current ground level

Piazza Venezia - Monument to Vittorio Emanulle II - known as the 'Wedding Cake' building this is a more recent architectural addition to Rome (1885). It is not a well liked building by the Romans as it is stark white in comparison to the soft colours of the ancient buildings was built over ancient and medieval buildings. Mussolini used this as his entertainment palace and made speeches from here.