Switzerland gave us a glorious scenic drive; below snow peaked Alps, with steep treed mountains and waterfalls cascading down the crevasses. It’s spectacular. The hillsides are dotted with typical ‘Swiss style’ timber houses with little villages halfway up the steep mountains. We’ve arrived at Lake Lucerne; huge, glassy and a curious light green colour. Unfortunately the towns feel like the hangout for rich old people. We couldn’t quite put our finger on it but something feels unwelcoming. There are some pretty buildings (in the overly fancy Swiss way) and the lak [View Full Entry]

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After a leisurely stroll around town we decided to spend the money we saved by not going on the Gondoliers and ‘Ritz it up’ like the rich and famous. We hired a speedboat to zoom around the lake. I was keeping my eye out for George Clooney sun baking on his deck (he has a house on Lake Como and according to the local paper he’s in town) but no such luck. Fabulous fun but our luck ran out when it started to rain 2/3rds of the way, we came back drenched, but it was all good fun. After a delicious [View Full Entry]

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This is better, this place is magic. A huge long lake surrounded by steep alpine mountains fringed with clusters of old towns. Menaggio is so pretty; beautiful elegant buildings, the gardens are covered in flowers with neat green as green grass and old trees line the streets and lakeside boardwalk. Our hostel sits one street back from the waters edge with fantastic views even from our bedroom window. The deck was the perfect place to meet up with other travelers, swap stories, with wine and nibbles and enjoy the view. [View Full Entry]

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It’s growing on me. I went out early to get milk and felt the vibe of the locals (and again after dark when the day tourists left), Venice starts to feel a bit more alive instead of just being busy. We went to the markets and bought heaps of fresh fruit, fruit salad for lunch, to counteract the pizza & pasta. You won’t believe the tasty fruit & veg we’ve got all through France and Italy, much tastier than anything even from home even from the farmers market. There’s not much to do except shop so we wandered the streets marveling [View Full Entry]

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The trouble with expecting something wonderful is that it may not quite live up to expectations. Venice is certainly unique and it has some amazingly ornate buildings but it lacked something; it lacked colour and regular daily life. I’m used to colourful flowers tumbling from the window boxes and washing hanging from the buildings. Although the carnival mask shops were beautiful and the gondoliers elegant it just lacks soul. It wasn’t as expensive as I was expecting either; apart from a Gondolier ride, 80 euro ($145) for 25 min. Just couldn’t part with the money I’m afr [View Full Entry]

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I know I say this at every new place we go to but this place is wonderful. It’s a small town in Tuscany and it’s just delightful. So picturesque, unfortunately we’ve only here for one day/night and it’s rainy but even in the rain I love it. We arrived at lunchtime and the hostel wasn’t open so we took shelter in a little Trattoria for some cheap authentic Tuscan food, most dishes were 5-6euro’s (under $10) and the wine was only 5euro for a litre. The hostel was previously a Convent, marble floors, steep granite steps big heavy wooden doors and [View Full Entry]

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....and my feet are killing me. We've been walking everwhere, except this morning, we took the train to the Vatican on the other side of town. We weren't intending to go in but Darren's been before and he said it's well worth the 110euro (I'm not quite so sure it was). Going on a tour gives you more of an idea of the stories behind the paintings and statues. We were lucky enough to get an Aussie tour guide who's been in Italy for 11 years and he gave us lots of offbeat info. Like the Emperor's boyfriend who drowned so [View Full Entry]

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I was going to get Darren to write this blog (being the resident expert in Roman History) but he reneged when I said it had to be short and sweet. He said he wouldn’t be able to write anything without explaining the full story (‘lord help us all’ if we have a ‘blog and grog’ night, Rome could take hours). We thought we’d spend the morning at the ruins of the Roman Forum then wander Rome after lunch. Not to be. My tummy was rumbling so we headed for the exit only to discover we’d only seen ½ of it. The [View Full Entry]

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...one of many I suspect. There’s so much to see in Rome. It’s a sunny day; first stop the Trevi Fountain. It’s magnificent, it’s so clean, the water’s clean and cool, and thankfully it’s not really crowded so we can sit around and look without feeling like we’re in someone’s way or that we should move on. Next, the Colosseum. After our Uffizi Gallery experience, where we were charged full price for the kids, we found out that kids get in cheaper only if you’re from an EU country. Darren’s Irish accent was a classic; saved us 22euro [View Full Entry]

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At last we have internet connection from home; even if we have to sit in the back courtyard with the computer tilted to an 11 degree angle. Roma. What a beautiful, amazing city. The streets are wider than I expected and the traffic no where near as bad; though we’ve parked the car for the stay, we at least got here with out too much fuss. Our apartment is great only about 5 min walk to the Colosseum and the ruins of the Roman Forum. It’s in a small side street with out any through traffic and has a small back [View Full Entry]

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