Page 3 of Shamit Travel Blog Posts


Europe » Italy » Piedmont » Turin August 8th 2013

We headed to Torino down a different route, every bit as beautiful the other roads we have travelled in this area. We arrived at our hotel, our home for the next eleven nights, around 12. Said goodbye to Emily, Jemima and Erin, who will head home in a couple of days from Milan, and checked in. Once unpacked, I sat in the lounge in the foyer and caught up on e-mails etc while waiting for the rest of the team to arrive. At around 3.30, 6 of us headed in to registration via the metro. Found our way a with a bit of help from a local and joined the line. Dad and John got taken off to the officials line and were done a little quicker than us. Despite the line looking long it did ... read more
Pizza mmmm

Europe » Italy » Piedmont » Alba August 6th 2013

We headed into Alba after a breakfast of yoghurt, fresh hazelnuts and chocolate cake. It was another gorgeous drive. We went straight to the Ferrero Rocher factory but were not able to get a tour, there was not even a shop. There were four very disappointed young ladies! Ferrero also make Kinder and Nutella. We drove into town, parked and walked around the town of Alba. It was nice with lots of churches. We had a look in some shops and had a focaccia for lunch, as they are known for them in this region. It was very nice and the owner was happy to practice his English. When the shops opened after siesta we looked for formal dresses for Jemima and Erin. We had success for Erin but no luck for Jemima. It is very ... read more
The girls outside the Ferrero factory
One of the many churches in Alba
Focaccia for lunch

Europe » Italy » Piedmont » Alba August 6th 2013

Packed and trudged up the hill to the car, we were all soaked by the time we got there! After some tricky manoeuvring to get the car out we headed to Genoa. As we headed up and out Erin looked out and saw a whale. We decided not to go into Genoa as it had steep, windy, narrow roads! Kept on and stopped for lunch by the sea just south of Savona at Alhissola. We had, surprise surprise, pizza and pasta, except Mum who had a salad, which she didn't like. We then headed to Bossolasco where we had booked rooms at the Bella Vista hotel due to a review on the Internet. We chose Bossolasco as it was close to Alba, the home of Ferrero Rocher, which we wanted to visit. When we drove in ... read more
The church on our piazza at Bossolasco
The Bella Vista Hotel
The quaint street to get to our hotel, the van only just made it through!

Europe » Italy » Liguria » Riomaggiore August 6th 2013

Well the recycling collector came again but it didn't wake the others up. I went to meet Mum and the girls for a swim, but no one came down to meet me. Went up the killer stairs and found them all asleep except Mum. It was quite overcast so we convinced Emily and Jemima to come with us and headed to the beach. Bumped into Mitchell and Raechel who had come looking for us and we we all went to the beach. The surf was pretty rough but the water was very refreshing. It was, however, a challenge getting out on the steep rocky beach through the crashing waves! When we got back to the apartments it bucketed down for a while so we had a quiet day, playing cards and catching up. We had seafood ... read more
View from our apartment down the street
View from our apartment up the street
The church at the top of the hill - Riomaggiore

Europe » Italy » Liguria » Riomaggiore August 6th 2013

Met up with Oliver and family at 1000 and went to walk the via amore, only to find that it and a number of the other walks were closed due to landslides. Decided instead to get the ferry to Monterosso and then maybe walk some of the way back. Ferry trip was lovely but a little rough at times. Raechel, Jana and Roman weren't fans. It was very hot in Monterosso but it had a bit of a beach except that it was covered in umbrellas and chairs that you had to pay for! We found a bit of space on the public beach and went in. The water was pretty warm but nice, certainly much cooler than the beach. Erin wasn't having a good day and before she came in told us she could see ... read more
Raechel and Jemima
Cinque Terre
Erin and her jellyfish sting!

Europe » Italy » Liguria » Riomaggiore August 4th 2013

After breakfast and a quick trip to the supermarket we double parked outside Raechel's place and packed then headed off towards Riomaggiore. We decided to take a scenic route and drove through the mountains which was very picturesque. We saw a helicopter medical evacuation and the Carrera marble mountains. We stopped for lunch at Lucca and ate leftover pizza, tomatoes on crackers and iced tea in the shade of the city walls. It was again very hot! We had a quick look around the walls and then headed off. The drive from La Spezia to Riomaggiore was spectacular with lots of viewpoints. We arrived at Riomaggiore just before five and found a traffic jam. When we got to the front they were not letting anyone in to park, so Raechel rang the hotel and was told ... read more
Lucca from the wall
Lucca
La Spezia

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Bologna August 4th 2013

The girls were up early for an 8.20 train to Venice for the day. We had a sleep in and then went down to breakfast. It was very good, lots of nice pastries and good coffee. We wandered down to Raechel's and did the washing. Her machine is very slow! We also repacked so we would only have one suitcase between us, mum and dad did the same. We then wandered back to the hotel, stopping for lunch at a little cafe where the power went out, at the markets in the square and at the supermarket where we bought vino bianchi frizzante for 1.99! When the girls got back from Venice, which they all enjoyed except that it was very hot, we walked to Spacca Napoli where we met Francesco and his family. Had a ... read more
1 euro shots
Mitchell in our Bologna hotel

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Bologna August 2nd 2013

Took a while to get everyone showered in the one bathroom so we headed off quite late. Raechel took us on a walking tour of "her" Bologna. We moved the car to the hotel parking and headed for the centre of town. Checked out the church in the main square and the community building and then went to the two towers. Bologna is known for its towers, each powerful family built one for protection. We then headed to Giardini Margherita, a park just outside the city gates, which was very pleasant and much cooler. We wandered around and checked out the turtles. Back in town we went to the markets and bought cheese, pasta, clams and wine. We walked back through the university and saw where Raechel had her classes. Back at Raechel's she cooked us ... read more
View from top of church
Bologna
The two towers

Europe » Italy » Emilia-Romagna » Bologna August 2nd 2013

As we left Interlaken we stopped at a supermarket and spent the last of our Swiss Francs on rolls and salad. We headed to Lake Como following a spectacular drive out of the valley. Hit a bit of a traffic jam as we entered the Goddard tunnel and another at the Italian boarder. At Lake Como we couldn't find anywhere to park so we decided to continue on around the lake and find somewhere to have lunch. It was a very nice drive but the roads were very narrow and the drive quite challenging for Mitchell and the lake was a long way down from the road. We eventually found a picnic table with parking and a view and stopped for lunch. The rolls and salad were nice but it was very hot! Continued around the ... read more
The road out of the valley
Lunch by Lake Como
Lake Como

Europe » Switzerland » South-West » Lauterbrunnen August 1st 2013

Wow, what a day. We came here because this was one of the places I liked the best when we came to Europe when I was young and I wanted to bring the children here. It didn't disappoint. After breakfast in the large guesthouse dining room, where the girls enjoyed two types of Swiss hot chocolate, we set out for Lauterbrunnen. There were snow-capped mountains all around and a full and fast moving stream right beside the road. At Lauterbrunnen we parked in the parking station with no indication of what the price would be and headed for the station. We failed to work out the automatic ticket machine so went into the office and $800 later we had 6 return tickets to the top of Europe. It was a beautiful sunny day and the train ... read more
More Swiss Alps
On the train through the mountain
At the Top of Europe




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