Today we said “Farewell!” to Brendan who is off to Beaulieu-ser-Mer to join his new yacht, Moira, for the rest of the year. Meanwhile Leah and I were on a train to Lyon, which took us right along the southern coast with some great scenery. We dumped our stuff at the hotel and headed for the tourist information centre asking what there is to see in Lyon - we only have today, and its 2pm already! We walked over the ‘La Saōne’ bridge, admiring the lovely view down the river Rhône below and caught the cute cable car to Fourviere, high up on the hill. Upon exit, Leah and I were stunned at the beauty of the external architecture of the Basilica Notre-Dame de Fourviere, with its four large white turrets and its façade covered in ... read more

We came, we shopped, we climbed, we conquered. Yep, that’s about it. Nice is a lot bigger than we thought, especially after little Antibes. We walked down one of the main shopping streets, popping into as many shoe shops as we could get away with before Brendan got annoyed. We found our way down to the water’s edge and were presented with a stunning view along the wide Promenade and a sweeping pebbly beach. It’s been such a long time since Leah or I had been to a decent beach, so we were straight down to the water. We figured this pebbly beach would be no match for our tough kiwi feet ... boy, were we wrong!!! We hobbled all the way down to the water, and then all the way back up, trying to look ... read more

Ephesus, described as the best-preserved classical city in the Eastern Mediterranean. I had high expectations, and I wasn’t disappointed. Ephesus was an ancient trading city, which feels like it’s been there since time began. It’s so old that it is referred to in the Bible many times, and is one of the seven churches of Asia referred to in the book of Revelations. So, a reputation not to be sneezed at. We walked through the old streets, where people would sell their wares, past the public toilets - which were very public indeed! , The temple of Hadrian, and down to the amazing Celsus Library. Past the gates of Augustus, the old Roman theatre still stands, big enough to told 44,000 people, possibly the largest outdoor theatre of the ancient world. This is the best example ... read more

By day three, Beth and I were over our, 3am, 5am, the ‘proper’ 5.30am wake up calls. Breakfast is worth mentioning just for the odd choices of cucumber pieces, olives, some kind of sandwich meaty looking stuff, various spreads - or were they dips? - stale pre-crushed cornflakes with long life milk for the British, and a multitude of other things that I could not put a title to. Equipped with our over sized Anzac t-shirts and blow up cushion / floating beer holder - every home should have one - we headed off towards the Gallipoli Peninsula, and more importantly Anzac Cove. Our first exposure to WWI relics was at the war museum in Kanbatepe which holds not only gun shells, uniforms, mine’s, but also letters to and from the men fighting at Gallipoli and ... read more

Surprisingly, we got up at a reasonable time and caught the Metro into Milan’s city centre. The first stop was the Castello Sforzesco, originally started in 1368, but torn down to use the bricks for the city walls in 1447. It was rebuilt over the years with help from Da Vinci. Personally I think one of my favourite features is the fountain out the front! We walked through the Castle to the park on the other side which houses the Peace Arch, Milan's equivalent to the Arc De Triomph. We walked down the main street, Via Dante, lined with exquisitely old buildings, which lead us straight to the city centre and the magnificent Duomo Cathedral. The Duomo captivates the whole city, sitting centre stage in the large piazza. The pinky-white marble structure took over six centuries ... read more