European Escapades

Well, our additional kms that we had planned to walk on our last night in Paris, were doubled at least, as we took the wrong turn out of the underground station and ended up miles away from where we had intended to go! Well, the Arc de Triomphe was standing prominently at the end so one could have been forgiven for thinking they were heading towards the Champs Elysees, when in actual fact we were heading the opposite way! (So, the Arc looks the same from both sides!!!!! How were we to know! And you know how utterly hopeless I am with direction!!!) Anyway, we certainly worked up and appetite and thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at Chez Clements on the Champs Elysees. It was a beautiful Friday night, with heaps of people about, but unfortunately, due ... read more

After a whirlwind taxi ride to Camucia station, and a ticket machine in Italian only, we managed to secure ourselves two tickets to Florence (it was either there or Rome and that was in the wrong direction…). Mind you, I lost 12 Euros in the process as the machine did not give change!!! But we managed to haul our luggage down the stairs and back up the other side and then up steps onto the train. Talk about buggered before you even get anywhere! Florence was absolutely packed and once again we encountered the language barrier. Finally I found a small desk hidden away from the main area, where a woman spoke some English and was able to sell me two tickets to Venezia. I am not sure what kind of deal it was but it ... read more

Tuscany….ahhhh! Arriving at the Villa was everything I imagined, and more! After entering the large black iron gates and travelling up a tree lined drive-way, there it stood; a most magnificent old, two story house, set in the middle of no-where, overlooking hills, pasture land, and rows of sunflowers, cypress and olive tress. The building is an off white colour, with massive thick wooden entrance doors, and bottle green shutters on all of the white trimmed windows. There are five bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, with an array of other rooms serving as kitchen, formal dining and living rooms. Outside the back of the house is a BBQ area and wood-fire oven, where we can make our own wood-fired pizzas, and out the front, under a covered area of the house, is a beautiful ‘long-table’. I can ... read more

On our last day on Manchester we decided to tackle the rail system and go into the city - a far better option than driving in! It is safe to say that Hong Kong really did spoil us for any future public transport, and the rail system in Manchester was neither speedy, nor clean! We did make it in to the city and back however, and had a great time exploring, including going on the Manchester Wheel to get a good view of the city. Jen and I were terrified and held hands - well more like clutched hands - for the entire 10 minutes! Then it was back to the hotel and off in the little VW again - to Liverpool this time. Liverpool was great and we all loved it. Our accommodation was fabulous ... read more

The past week has gone by so quickly, and has been full and exciting! Of course, it hasn’t been without its dramas…as one would expect when you are across the other side of the world…but as my granny used to say “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”, so cheers to that! The Edinburgh Fringe Festival was fantastic and the city was absolutely ‘heaving’! We visited the Edinburgh Castle and had a fast, record breaking tour by a Scottish lassie who let us know that it was her last tour of the day and she couldn’t wait to finish work, walked the Royal Mile, and saw a few shows, including The Lady Boys of Bangkok, who presented a myriad of songs and dances from around the world as they ‘landed’ their ‘mile high club’ virtual plane ... read more