Riverquilts

AROUND MULL 1. Staffa & Treshnish Isles Wildlife Tour. At 10.00am on an overcast Sunday morning we stepped aboard our cruise boat together with about 30 other people, looking forward to seeing puffins for the first time. We had booked this cruise before we left to make sure we had a space on the boat, but we could just have arrived and it would have been OK. The weather didn’t look too promising, windy and showery, but our captain reassured us, promising that the showers would stop and we’d have fine weather shortly and he was right. The boat sailed out towards two small islands, Coll and Tiree, stopping along the way to look at some bottle nosed dolphins. They were spotted near a group of gannets who were feeding on a shoal of fish. The ... read more

Arrivederci Venice Already I miss the sounds of the gondoliers in the canal beneath our hotel window. In the morning we heard their easy banter as they prepared their gondolas for the day. Later in the day and in the evening, there was often the sound of a piano accordion playing and a tenor singing, “O Solo Mio” to rousing applause by the onlookers. There was always happy chatter and laughter from the constant flood of tourists being taken for their 40-minute ride around the canals. Our home for the past four nights has been the Hotel Lisbona, an old Venetian hotel with velvet wallpaper, tapestries and chandeliers. We were on the third floor and as these hotels don’t have lifts, it wasn’t easy getting the luggage, or ourselves up and down. This is definitely not ... read more

Florence was a feast for the senses, a treasure trove of delights with small alley ways, cascades of rich red geraniums hanging from balconies, colourful markets, Tuscan Gothic churches and museums full of paintings and sculptures from antiquity. Michelango's David is there, so are paintings by Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, and the Great Masters. This place hits your senses visually. A walk down any road, or Via, really a lane way, brings you Medieval doorways, arches, cobblestone paving and lastly cars that shouldn't be there. Our apartment was in Via Dei Pepi, just metres from Santa Croce. The position was great and it was interesting how an unimposing exterior can reveal a cosy and contemporary interior. We had a great set up with a modern kitchen and bathroom and all the basics provided. Shopping was ... read more

We started early, ready for a big day around the Vatican. The Metro is very efficient and after walking to Manzone we bought our integrated all day tickets for 6 euros each and hopped on. The metros are built underground, but our line comes out before crossing the Tiber, so we had a good view of the river. We got off at Cipro, the Musei Vaticani station and we were on our way. We walked past the queues and into the front door smiling to ourselves that we had enough sense to buy an online ticket that enabled us to jump the queue. The Vatican Museum was unbelievable - rooms full of treasures, tapestries, mosaics, sculptures and of course the final destination to the Sistine Chapel. We took our time and used the audio guide as ... read more

The trip to Rome was smooth, but I couldn't sleep, so I caught up on my film watching. It was a great opportunity to see the latest releases. We landed in Singapore for a stop over at 2.00am, then another 12 hours to Rome. Twenty hours of flying East into darkness and continual night is very disorientating. The first time we saw sun was in Rome when we touched down at 7.20am. and streams of light poured in through the windows. Singapore Air have great service, great food and the Singapore Slings will be a new favourite. I'm going to buy a bottle to bring home. We took the train to the city and then caught a cab from the station. It was only a 3km drive and the driver charged us 30euro, not sure if ... read more