Rome, Naples then Positano We definitely did not have enough time to appreciate Rome, but without unlimited time it is hard to do justice to each destination. We took the train from Rome to Naples, and then a tram to the ferry port headed for Positano. This leg of the trip proved to be a bit of a challenge for our companions, Al and Melissa. Their luggage is not as compact as ours and they had crammed a lot more weight into them which made the on and off trains and trams difficult. Lorenza and I had just scrambled onto the tram and realised the doors had closed before Al and Melissa could get on board. So, we headed toward the ferry port hoping they knew were we were going. Luckily we both had mobile phones ... read more

We arrived in Rome about two hours later than expected. Al and I got very uneasy waiting for our bags. They took forever to appear on the carousel. I tried to call the number I had for the apartment we had booked and got a very nice women who could not speak a word of English. Somehow we managed to understand each other and let her know we were running late but would be there soon. We had organised a van to take us from the airport and he was great. Our first taste of Roman driving was interesting, but we found our apartment without incident. The women I had spoken to on the phone met us on the street and then led us up the six flights of stairs to our apartment. Climbing the stairs ... read more

We visited the Moorish fortress and palace “the Ahlambra” near Granada. This was an absolutely huge and amazing site. We toured the Moorish gardens, bath houses, palaces and a very imposing fortress, with views across Granada. After a full day at the Ahlambra we took a drink at a nearby hotel and met Jake and his wife. He had spent some years living in Brisbane, was originally from England and had now settled with his wife in a small village in the mountains near Granada. He gave us some tips on what we could do that night which turned out to be a lot of fun. We set off on foot around the walls of the fortress and made our way down to the Moroccan quarter of Granada. After navigating our way along the walls of ... read more

21st September 2007 - Madrid Got to Madrid after transiting Hong Kong and London - another exciting international flight (yawn). Standing at the luggage carousel in Madrid airport I began to get a very uneasy feeling as all of the passengers on our flight seemed to be slowly disappearing with their luggage in hand. After about one hour of watching the same two bags doing laps on the carousel I approached the lost luggage counter with a degree of trepidation. I handed them my luggage receipts and they checked the barcode numbers to inform me in their best spanglish that all four of our bags were still in London “or we think they are”. So, we left our contact details with the lost luggage girl and set off through customs with our carry on bags. We ... read more

Some ramblings … The counter on our profile page keeps ticking over - in the interval between one trip and the next I get very restless as I am sucked back into the vortex of day to day life and saving for the next adventure. I certainly don't want to wish my life away - but waiting drives me a bit nuts! Hey, not that life back home is so bad - winemaking, fun with friends, it's all great - but that bug is biting and keeps a part of my mind wishing I was on the road. Winemaking … Now - on the winemaking front we have our Cabernet Sauvignon tucked away ageing in barrels. We also have a really interesting batch of fruit wine we are experimenting with - a blend of apple and ... read more