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Published: June 10th 2008
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While still in Amsterdam we tried to visit the oldest church but following the signs took us straight through some old alleyways. It wasn't until a young lady inside a red window tapped on the glass to get Rob's attention, that we realised we had walked straight into the RED LIGHT DISTRICT. There was no turning back now. We had to follow it through. Barely clothed girls dancing in doorways, to Dad offering mum a sandwich at the sandwich shop. Mum's reply: "Some sandwich shop."
We were still in the red light district. They also have open air urinals for men on street corners! Another eye opener.
We've now joined the tour bus and after a cruise through Amsterdam's canals, we headed to Germany for a cruise on the Rhine River, slow going against the strong current with plenty of castles on the hills. the castles were built by the monks to collect the tolls from people using that side of the river. One smart fellow built his castle in the middle of the river to collect tolls going both ways. Clever!
After this we travelled through Switzerland, where we strolled the lakes, went out to dinner with a Swiss
folklore show. The musicians played double Base, the accordian, the bottles, the saw, the cow bells, etc. It really was a fun night with lots of audience participation, singing, dancing, and yodelling. they even played songs we knew so that we could join in.
The next day, we were to go up to Mount Titlis, but it was closed because of the wind, so we had to go up Pontius Pilate's mountain, which is lower. All the way up by cable car and back by cog railway - very steep and slow. There wasn't as much snow as Titlis, but fantastic views.
Switzerland in general was unusually hot at 32c , A summer dress at 11pm and o very hot wind as well. We stayed in a small village on the lake, at the base of the mountain. in summer, the snow melts and the families move to the tops of the mountains, for the animals to graze. the children walk for about an hour to the gondolas, which then take an hour to get them to school, 7.45am - 4.00pm.
We could hear the sheep and cows from our motel, because the farmers put a cow bell around
the neck of their animals, so they can find them as they move around. The more important the animal, the bigger the bell.
The different colours of the water are amazing. In Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, it is a brilliant aqua blue, but the river running from the lake to Italy is a caramel brown. And in Venice, it is a mint green even when it is very deep.
Anyway, off to Italy. We drive through the italian vineyards to Verona, where we stopped to see the Arena, built in 38AD, where they were setting up for a performance of Romeo and Juliet. We also visited Juliet's balcony where it all happened. Romeo hid in the bushes and heard Juliet profess her love for him from the balcony to the stars above. There are walls near the balcony which are repainted every month and are black from the girls writing their name and details on them hoping that Romeo will contact them. Of course Kareena and I wrote our names as well (ha! ha! not!)
We also stopped at the markets here. There is also a statue of Juliet with one brightly shining boob, because all the men have
their photo taken fondling it, including Dad.
Next stop, Venice by night - not so many tourists or pigeons. We had a typical Italian 4-course dinner with FFW (I've since learnt this is free flowing drinks, beer, wine, or juice all night) Yahoo!
We visited the Rialto bridge and San Marco Square by night, and had a man from the audience join the local musicians to sing opera. He was fantastic (like a professional).
Today we visited Venice by day. We started with a gondola ride through the canals, being serenaded with an accordian and a singer. It is amazing how choppy the water is, and how skillful they are at maneuvering the boats without hitting the walls (or other boats). Following that, we strolled into San Marcus's Basilica to view the amazing mosaics on the dark floor and 24-carat gold plated ceiling, and the tomb of St. Mark. After an hours free-time through the streets, we boarded a boat to visti the island of Burano. It's a quiet island with brightly coloured houses to show the fishermen which house to come home to.
Tomorrow, to Rome.
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