Swiss Precision

We have swapped our Euros for Swiss Francs.  1.00 Swiss franc = 1.16 AUD

All aboard the magic train! Here we go...faster and faster and faster we go, where it takes us nobody knows...clicketty clack ckicketty clack and suddenly we slow...first stop Lugano, Switzerland.

The Swiss rail system is a pleasure to ride aboard...the term Swiss Precision is exactly that.  The rail system works seamlessly and is very easy to navigate.  We left Rome, which is a little less organized, via Milan on our way to our first stop in Lugano.  We are met with a chilliness we haven't experienced yet, we shuffled off to our hotel only a short 5 minute walk from the train station.  Lugano is such a pretty little town with Lake Lugano being the feature of this quaint town.  There are 2 major mountains you can go up by funicular, being Monte Salvtore and Monte Bru, we did neither due to the poor visibility and the rain which dampened the days.  We were very keen to do the high ropes course at Mount Tamaro, but of course it closed the day we arrived...seems to be a pattern.  I enjoyed Lugano, regardless of the rain, as it allowed us to settle back and take in all the scenery and walk through the town and local park.  We found the most delightful cafe called Gabbini, everything you can imagine from meats, cheese and sweets.  In the outdoor alfresco sitting area was kitted out with cosy sheepskin hides lining the chairs while you sat back, listened to the rain and drank hot cocoa which had the consistency of pudding. It was so yummy!  Mr Gabbini had decided that he and I knew each other and after telling him I was from Australia, he pointed to the name on the door and the second floor window of an adjacent building saying that's where he was born.  Such a funny man, but boy did he have the staff hopping as he roamed from cafe to hotel to market.  We were in a lovely hotel with the most wonderful staff, so we ate dinner in each night.

Here we go again..all aboard the Wilhem Tell Express, an overview of our journey begins with a short train ride to Bellinzona, 1 1/2 hour stop, before boarding another train to Flueelen where we embark on a boat cruise of Lake Lucerne with the final destination being Lucerne.

An insight to Wilhem Tell, if you are already not aware, Wilhem Tell in short struggled with his adversary, Gessler, the local Governor.  Tell refuses to obey an order, the consequence is Gessler forces him to shoot an apple from his own son's head using a crossbow.  Tell let's it out that he has kept a 2nd arrow intended for Gessler, he is arrested. On this lake we travelled, he escapes when being ferried across the lake, he gets his revenge after ambushing and killing his adversary.  What would you do of you were forced to shoot at your child with a fatal arrow?

Back to the journey, which took us along the Gotthard route with 4 loops (we call them twirly whirlies) and a tunnel which lasted 10 minutes.  The scenery was majestic, stunning, divine.  Landscapes of mountains, some with snow caps and vivid greenery lower down in the fields and valleys below these mountains nestled some Swiss style homes with uninterrupted views of their land. After a quick change in Fluelen, we boarded our saloon style motor vessel and enjoyed this 1st class boat journey on Lake Lucerne, while we dined and watched the landscape of this beautiful country as it engulfed us through mystical and legendary coves, villages and mountain landscapes and past to the Rutli, where the original Swiss Confederation was founded.  2 1/2 hours later we arrived at the port of Lucerne with the magnificent railway station adjacent to it.

The town of Lucerne is divided in 2 parts with the old town and new town.  As you can imagine the 'old' town is very old, but beautifully, restored Swiss structure buildings maintained in all their glory, right out of vintage Christmas drawings. Cross the bridge to the new town and this is where the famous Kappel Bridge sits, completely made out of wood and in summer adorned with colourful blooms and of course the water tower you see in all the photos. Our first day, we decided to make the climb to Mt. Pilatus, a mere 3,123 metres up.  Taking the steepest cogwheel train in the world, had us up in the clouds in 30 minutes.  Here the kids first experienced snow and a snowball fight broke out immediately, I took refuge behind my lens and snapped the joy on their faces.  The visibility is so poor, so there was no view of the land below, we were right in the mist of the fluffy clouds...a white out!   We stayed up for a couple of hours playing in the snow, eating lunch in the clouds and attempting the dragon cave walk.  This was aborted due to high winds and those who were wet from the snowball fight were now very cold.

Speeding down the rails again! Next stop - Interlaken.
Being Emmas birthday, we are keen to find something exciting to do. Interlaken either has modest and extreme outdoor activities with hiking, paragliding, skydiving and of course the Top of Europe - Jungfrau, the highest mountain in Europe at 4158 metres OR you can pass the time in the sport of buying Swiss made watches.  Seeing we had already been up to one mountain albeit not the highest, paragliding was calling out to us.  The weather broke for after the kids had a morning of swimming at the indoor pool, so off we rushed for a bit to eat and get Tony and Emma ready for their first flight.  How exciting!  As Hamish and I waited in the cow field below, we got our first glimpse of the duo as they peaked over the mountain top, soaring through the sky over the legendary Victoria hotel.  Doing a few twirly whirlies and a few whistles, hoots and hollers, they landed without incident, only pure elation and exhilaration!

Tony writes;
A 20 minute drive from the centre of Interlaken, up the hill through the mountains to our take-off point. I must admit I expected emma to be more nervous than she was expressing during the car ride. We finally arrived at the top, our pilots already decided for us, and the insurance waiver signed off on.  A short walk up the hill with our gear to the take-off point, a very professional outfit with good instruction put us at ease.  I was allowed to video Emma's take off and then follow her into the blue.  Emma took off at a run as requested then pulled her feet up a bit early, but the instructors are used to that with children, he kept going and they sailed off quite quickly out over the mountain tops.  A bit of a belly laugh from me at the sheer exhilaration of watching my daughter take-off on a paragliding adventure.  I am jealous, how do they get to do these things at such a young age, I'm sure I didn't have these experiences at their age?

My turn, what a thrill, walk down for ten steps, run as fast as you can for three or four steps and then your weightless and flying through the air.  The view was simply spectacular and the feeling of floating on air just indescribable.  I was busy taking photos of everything I could see, hopefully they work out from our 'old' little camera from 2001. The pilots knew that we would enjoy flying close to each other, so despite my rig weighing alot more than Emma and her pilot he brought us close together.  Some more great snaps as we soared around the Swiss Alps with views over Jungfrau, Eiger, and Monch, the 3 highest peaks.  A little over 12 minutes in the air and we start to descend, my pilot says, "do you want to do some turns?" Why not, I answer, silly me!  Round and round we go, very fast soaring on the thermal winds coming lower over the landing grounds and the hotels.  A loud whistle for the ground crew of Tracey and Hamish so they know it is us and down we come.  Emma comes into land a little after me and Tracey captures some excellent snaps as she comes down.  Landing is very easy and gentle but the memory of floating around the skies of Interlaken is one not to be forgotten soon.

10.11.13  Happy Birthday Emma
The is day cold and wet with heavy rains at times.  We take ourselves to the bus stop, wait for an hour, and board the bus to our next activity - skating.  Emma has chosen this for her birthday day, Hamish wasn't missing out on anything as who would argue with going skating.  A great time had by all and we even managed to get Tony on ice in skates.  I have to say I almost wet myself watching him with laughter, not a very supportive wife I am.  It was funny though.  Emma swirled around and practised alongside me and Hamish had it mastered soon thereafter.  The zimmer frames were available for those a little unsteady on their blades.  Hamish found a hockey stick and tried to join the big boys, he was bound and determined to play hockey and he did, he will find any suitable opponent willing to give it a go and who can resist that face.  Afterwards we walked down the road to the Irish Pub and had a fantastic meal finished off with apple crumble and a sparkle for Emma's Happy Birthday.

The Wisdom of a Turtle with the speed of a sail to help her along...

After disembarking from the cruise, we all had a little 'coming down', to a bit of travelling reality to do. That said, we hopped into the green bus, back on the roads of Italy towards Florence.  I was sick with flu which I got on the ship the day before we came into our final port, so I was eager to get into our next pad.

The first line of Rick Steve's travel book for Tuscany and Florence states, "Florence with kids: not ideal, but it's certainly good for them!"  Thanks Steve's!  On we forged and got the kids out walking the pavement once again.  Oh great Yay, another building! as Emma and Hamish have started to joke.  I love Florence and everything about it, the people (even the tourists), the culture, the history, the architecture is just so amazing.  I love the fact that they never tear anything down in Europe, they just keep it restored or...not.  We stayed in Florence for 4 nights and much to our dismay had to move on as our apartment was booked.  We had 4 nights to fill in and again I scoured the airbnb site and hastily booked a villa in Sovicelle (12 km outside of Siena).  We paid a fair bit for this place and I expected dishwashing liquid and a clean sponge, not one which was saturated with grease. Do I write a review with airbnb? Can I be bothered? No, I leave it with our gracious host, who lives in France, Agostino took on all I had to say and did his best to make it right.  Will he be able to keep the demographics with these villas at the price point he is charging without the amenities?  We were in a fabulous Agriturismo village, which bordered a National park.  I enjoyed my daily walks with the abundance of nature around me.  We spent our days out visiting nearby local towns and enjoying the Tuscan countryside from our green bus.  It was time to move on and we were happy to do so.  We moved to our fabulous villa in Sciano, the most gorgeous hillside Tuscan village, we seem to gravitate towards the country properties, is this a calling?  We were met by the most wonderful host by far, Elizabeth, a Native American married to her Austrian/Italian love Adinoflo.

Here we immersed ourselves in the local town and surrounding nearby villages of Certaldo, San Gimgnano, Volterra, Colle del val Elsa, Poggibonsi with additional visits to Siena and Florence, we couldn't stay away from 2 of our favourites.  In San Gimgnano we visited the Torture Museum, what a dark past, some really disgusting devices that were actually put to use. Interesting that is was religion that led to the use of a lot of these devices.  I enjoyed telling the kids in those days you only had one chance to do as you were told, or else.  I found a chastity belt I could use for Emma.  Volterra for its Alabaster and well apart from leather handbags, shoes, gelato, panneforte, they are all great for their grapes.

We went bowling, played spotlight, went for walks and we even managed to put a play together, directed and produced by Emma with our neighbours.  Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs...under the Tuscan Sun.  Elizabeth and her son Henri graciously participated with playing the parts of Doc and Sneezy.  I was given the part of the wicked Queen..hmmmm what is Emma telling me?  Tony our film crew, inadverdantly stopped filming with his clumsy fingers, so we only managed to get bits of the rehearsal and a section of my wicked ways.  Hee hee hee!

The kids did a great job in completing their studies with Hamish reading and spelling...it is all happening.  Quite amazing to see it evolve from our point of view in the days we have been teaching.  Is teaching a profession for us? Well perhaps not with our own children.  Emma completed her workbooks imath, cars and stars and both year 5 & 6 core spelling lists.  We had a cermononial burning of the books at the end...shhhh don't tell anyone!

On one of our return visits to Florence, I took Rick Steve's advice and attempted to book in for the children's tour of Museo di Veechio, but no luck for us, I left it too late.  We went along anyhow and and rented the audio tour which both Emma and I enjoyed.  The Museo is very forgiving with children and the grand room has plenty of space to sit and listen to your audio and take in the beauty of the sculptures and paintings sprawled across the ceiling and walls.  i was quite interested in the history of Cosimo in particular the family crest.  Between the children and Tony they began calling me the Turtle, I believe it started in Hawaii, amongst other names such as 'old duck'.  Little did they know that naming me the turtle was one of  'wisdom' or was it just because I was lagging behind.  Cosmio's family crest was one of the turtle, which of course is wisdom with a sail attached to its shell providing the speed.  So there you have it my little family, you knew I had the wisdom of a turtle with the speed of the sail to get us through our adventure.  I thank you for your confidence.

We covered just over 6,000 km (3,730 miles for my non metric friends) travelling in our bus through Spain, France and Italy.  A certain look of calm now beams off Tony as he sits relaxed on the first leg of our train travel.  No more crazy assed Italians driving like absolute lunatics with a death wish. Tony will not have to endure my every flinch or reaction with one of those formula 1 moves, thinking he is going to have a coronary.  I did save us a few times.

Arrivederci Italy!  Switzerland, it is time we made your acquaintance.

Cruising - Greece, Turkey and beyond

CRUISING
11 Night Eastern Mediterrannen Celebrity Cruise - Reflection

Rome > Santorini > Istanbul > Kusadasi > Mykonos > Athens> Naples > Rome

Our dear friends Craig and Christina put the thought of cruising in our minds.  We had a 3 week gap to fill when we were in and around Italy and Christina mentioned the cruise they were taking...so why not.  After a couple of weeks with trying to secure 2 cabins, it was only 10 days before sail date that we were confirmed.

Reflection is the youngest ship of the Celebrity fleet with her maiden voyage being October 2012, we were able to celebrate her first birthday with her in style.. The making of these ships is amazing and this one only took 5 years to complete.  With 3000 passengers and 1500 or so crew members we sailed off into the sunset with our first stop being Santorini after a day at sea, a perfect way to become aquainted with the ship and all it had to offer.  Tony and I took advantage of a couple of packages for ourselves and got the kids booked into the 'Fun Factory' where Hamish remained for 11 days straight with never setting foot on land.  We enjoyed the fitness centre each day and were able to go into the Persian Garden for relaxation with body scrubs, aromatic steams and sauna.  The place had a ceiling to floor glass view of the endless ocean and several heated relaxation beds for rest after a stenuous work-out in the fully equipped fitness centre.  We choose a few different body scrubs, as it was self administered in the common steam room there were always onlookers and a bit of chat about the flavour of scrub we were using.  I have to say my skin was as soft as a new borns bottom.

Ports of call in a nutshell;

Santorini - the jewel of the Greek Isles.  This was a special day for Tony, as he has always had a drawing to this place.  It was absolutely wonderful to be sitting at the top after our trek up, approx. 600 steps as we weaved our way through donkey's and the trail of mess they left behind...I was certainly hot after that climb and was thankful for the cool drink at the top.  The first thing we see is the green and red sign (Victoria Bitter).  We stepped inside to cool off, use the facilities and of course wifi.  We were having withdrawals.  It is the funniest thing to see all us tourists in this bar in one of the most scenic places on Earth and we have our heads in our devices.  Well Tony had an excuse as the final payment and  close of sale was requiring attention and wet signatures.  Of course this happens whilst we are cruising.

Tony writes:
Having trekked all the way to the top, I figured we are in Greece better try the Ouzo. Brings back memories of my teenage years with the boys drinking ouzo and lemonade. Not bad, but just not the same, oh well a bit older and a lot more sensible these days just one is fine, back to enjoying the view and a beer. 

There was no line-up for the cable car down to the port so given we had already had our workout going up the stairs it was cable car down for us and some quick photos of the track we had taken to get up to the top. 

Istanbul, Turkey - Istanbul is a unique city built on 2 continents - Europe and Asia...this was very cool to see!  It is located on the shores of the Bosphorus, with the waters of the Black Sea and combined with The Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn.  We travelled through some of the narrowest waterways on our way in, it was quite surreal to be running on the treadmill in the gym and seeing all those historical sites just off to our left and right as we approached.  Istanbul houses some very special monuments that we were able to get a closer look at.

A two day stopover, so we decided to do the first day by ourselves and went in for a look around with Emma. The shopping bazaar holds some 4000 shops and is all undercover, it was surprisingly cold outside. After a bit of a look around we came to the realisation that there might be 4000 shops but they were selling mostly the same stuff, time to escape and have a spot of lunch. A quick trip past the outside of the blue mosque for some photos and back to the boat for us via the leather shop for the girls.

Day 2: We scheduled an excursion through the ships 'shore excursions' desk and we set of with our group of 40 odd shipmates to see the sights.  We started at the Aya Sofia also known as the Hagia Sophia, which was a magnificence mosque and was the first Imperial mosque in Istanbul from 1453 - 1931. Today, it now serves as a museum and has since 1935.

We went on to see the The Blue Mosque as known by us Westerners, but the proper name is The Sultan Ahmed Mosque and serves as a historic Mosque.  It received it name due to the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior.  It took 7 years to build from 1609, it is still used as a Mosque today. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter the Mosque due to poor timing, it was Friday after all and prayer was in full form.

Our favourite had to be the Basilica Cistern, which is one of the most magnificent historical structures of Istanbul.  It wasn't a far walk from Hagia Sofia, across the street, so off our group of 40 went as we herded together like sheep.  It is an enormous underground cistern built by the Byzantine Emperor.  There are 336 columns in it with each being 9m in height each.  It is a large rectangular structure being 140m in length and 70m wide.  The Cistern has a capacity of 100,000 tons of water storage and is 9,800 SQM in total.  They used the left over materials from the Hagia Sofia to build the Cistern and it only took 1 year as opposed to the 5 years for Hagia Sofia.  2 Medusa heads rest here and are used as plinths, there are many myths concerning how the heads arrived there and their uses.  (I'm so sorry my photos cannot load here, as it is so beautiful).

Kusadasi (Ephesus) - Kusadasi means "Bird Island" and is thought to be one of the most eye pleasing cities on the Aegean Sea.  It is on the west coast of Turkey and the main holiday destination for the country. It was originally a small fishing village and is now dedicated to the tourists who flock to visit their beautiful beaches and of course the old town of Ephesus.  For both Tony and I, this had to be the highlight of the ports.  The Ephesus ruins were exceptional...too bad as so did 7000 other people.  Ephesus is a showplace of Aegean Archaeology.  It is something to see and resembles a large park with ruins all within walking distance from each other.  My favourite was The Celcius Library, the work that went into restoring this beauty is remarkable.  Afterwards, we were taken by our driver to a Turkish carpet weaving centre.  I loved this and was educated on wool on wool, wool on cotton and silk on silk.  I had a go with the wool on cotton and mastered that, but was no where as fast as my teacher.  The silk on silk, I couldn't even get 2 strings on my finger to start the weaving.  I surely would have purchased one of these pieces of art if given the chance.  Tony didn't even entertain the notion of a beautiful Turkish rug adorning our lounge room with the thought of rubbing his toes through it.

Mykonos - this island is part of the Cyclades in the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean.  Rhinos, Siros, Paros and Naxos surround it, it has countless bays, beaches (much too cold for our liking to enjoy that) and quaint cobblestone streets.  Just as you have seen in the pictures white everywhere trimmed with accents of blue.  Our ship arrived in the early morning so it was a sleepy little town, but I am sure it would have been a bit of a party later in the day.  Tony and I were keen to enjoy the quiet of the Spa on a port day, without having to cue for the heated beds.  They were only suppose to have made 40 passes available to the Spa, but it's seems like we were all taking advantage of this at the same time.  A bit of shopping with Emma, a coffee and a baklava and we headed back to our floating hotel.

Athens - Piraeus is Athens' main port, the biggest in Greece and yes I agree with that fact as they  have 7 ships daily, most days of the week. So what does that mean? Too many tourists. We were lucky as I believe there were only 5 ships the day we were there.  We disembarked and were ready to tackle the Acropolis of Athens.  We discovered it was just as easy to do your own excursion/tour and arrange for a driver outside.  We did just that and with a bit of negotiation we were on our way.  Our driver was ever so pleasant and helpful with information and stopping to get that special pic.  Seeing he was only suppose to drop us at the Acropolis, this was a very kind gesture.  From the little exposure we had of the Greeks and a bit of chit chat with 2 different drivers, it seems they are very angry and bitter with their government for allowing the country to reach the economic disparity that they are in.  He felt he paid his dues and taxes for all those years and stopped paying any tax for the last 18 months.  He tells us that 70 % of the population feels this way.

Onto the ruins of the Acropolis, which was amazing!  Emma was quite taken with the whole scene and we were even able to do a bit of rock climbing in the area, let's just call it rough terrain.  It is unbelievable to think that these structures have been maintained and restored for so many centuries. Some of the works were erected in 432 BC. The Parthenon in particular was sensational, it is a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena and was one of the earliest of the classical monuments of the Acropolis.

Naples - we forfeited this port as we had just spent a week in the Amalfi coast.  So no pizza in Naples for us.  From what I understand it is not that great anyhow and we discovered some great pizza in Siena since than.

I never thought I would be a cruiser, but I have succumb and converted.  I get why the oldies prefer this mode of travel.  Think about it...fuss free! Never having to unpack and pack again. While you see many ports of call and numerous cities, transport issues solved, food and at the end of the day you are back on the dance floor doing the two step in your formal attire on those special nights.  We all had our own private holiday, the children were entertained all day long with Emma being able to come and go at her will.  What a sense of freedom for her to decide when she wanted to eat and plan her day.  I have come to see that Emma is very good with the younger children and really enjoys being with them, she doesn't think they are a nuisance or a pain and has a lot of time for them.

The fun factory stage performance was something to see, some of the boys playing musical instruments, Hamish doing magic tricks and Emma doing a gymnastics routine.  Check out the photos of the gang from fun factory.

Italy
Road trip in Italy (Massa, Pisa, Cinque Terre and Benevento)

Road trip snacks and movies

We left the French Meditterranean and drove towards Italy along the coast.  The last big city to pass through was Monaco before we crossed through the tunnelled mountains.  Now we only just drove along the top of this famous city, but what a site it was.  Hotels, sky scrapers, beach and pink.  One minute we are in France and the next Italy with only a couple of hours under our belt. Living in Perth, Australia, you don't really get very far or a destination really after 3 hours let alone another country, so it was a bit of a novelty for us.  Immediately upon crossing over you see a vast difference from the lifestyle from the South of France into this hardworking countryside of terraced farms with hothouse market gardens.  Imagine the padi rice terraces in Bali, though these are large enclosed veggie gardens.  Using the land is always a smart thing to do in creating an income.. The homes were far from palatial or elaborate but rather barrack like, and needing some love.

This road trip in our green bus takes us through San Remo and down to Massa, which is on the coast and part of the Tuscany region.  It was not so much the town that we wanted to visit but establishing breaks from driving in between towns.

View from apartment terrace in Massa

 MASSA is a industrial town filled with yard after yard of marble slabs on pallets waiting to be shipped out and placed in your kitchen.  Upon arriving at our destination on the coast, we were greeted with private beach clubs lined up one after another, it is a locals summer playground with full service clubs. Many include a childrens play areas, tennis or ping pong, restaurants, bars and tiny little huts to store all your summer paraphnalia waiting for you each summer holiday season.  Here we were able to continue with our exercise on a much flatter terrain and not the cardiac hill of Extarri.  Tony challenged himself to get back up to his 10 km goal without pain...goal achieved.  Between visits to Pisa and Cinque Terre we managed to knock off quite a bit of home and world schooling.  The kids are happy to have 1 or 2 hours a day rather than a main stream school day....bribery included!


Day 2 - We did a day trip from Massa over to Pisa, approx a 20 minute drive and did the tourist thing as everyone does in Pisa.  Take pics and simulate your kids holding up this teetering magnificent structure.  Our 1st visit to Pisa was in 2001 and we understand that the tower has tilted a further 5cm since then.

Day 3 - We ventured into La Spezia with high hopes to board a ferry to take us to one of the stops in Cinque Terre.  Of ourse we were in no hurry and taking everything in stride.  After painfully listening to Annoying Annie taking us to a port for shipping lines, we decided to pull her battery and rely on the street signage to get us to our destination.  Once there, we realized there wasn't a parking spot to be had, after much sighing and trying to ascertain what the parking signs meant, we aborted the mission and resolved to try again the next day.

Day 4 - Up early and ready to tackle the parking and hopefully arrive before the ferry departs.  The website for the ferry schedule is not up to date and as it is dependant on the weather.  As it was, there were only 2 departures from La Spezia for the day due to poor weather conditions with stops only in Portovenere and the first village of Monterosso al Mare.  We found our park paid our coin to the meter and made the ferry with 10 mins to spare.  The sun was shining and the wind was up.  It all started off lovely with a slow cruise out of the port and on our way to our first stop of Portovenere.  Once out of the protection of the bay it started getting a little sloppy and waves were rolling the boat from port side to starboard side and not only that but bow to stern.  Great!  I am not the most fearless of individuals and lucky for me we were on the top deck and not enclosed as I fear my breakfast would have appeared as one gentlemans did.  I felt for him, as I knew very well it could have been me.  It is all in the power of the mind with seasickness, so I stayed positive for the journey not only for myself but also for Emma and Hamish as my fear would have made it unbearable.  Emma was fine, but Hamish was alreay with me with the movment of this vessel. He stayed very quiet throughout the trip and when his little hand slipped through mine ever so gently and remained there I knew I had to provide him the reassurance.  It was a moment in time where you know your children are still so vulnerable even though they are seeking that independance.  We got a birds eye view of the 5 villages from the water, as we were travelling from La Spezia we hit Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso where we were able to get off.  Vernazza was the only village where the captain thought it was a good idea for a photo opportunity, so with the waves crashing up against the rock faces and us some 10 metres from the dock, I thought to myself was it really necessary to put us at risk and the safety of us for a 'happy' snap.  I am sure amongst all those photographers, there was 1 or 2 more with the same thoughts as I.  Moving on from my inner ear imbalance, we had a very impressive view of the 5 villages and I believe the only way to see this is from the water.  Both Tony and I would like to return to hike through the 5 villages, we are told it takes about 5 hours in total.  We enjoyed a lovely lunch of seafood and fresh pasta pesto.  Both Emma and Hamish are extending their taste buds to sample the various variety of specialities provided in each place.  Well done kids!  We took the train back as both Emma and I opted for this considering the water was getting considerably rougher.  It was a good way to see how the train system worked before our Eurail Swiss/Austria journey.

We packed up again and left this marble yard for a vineyard...Tenuta Torre Gaia located nearby the hill town of Benevento.

 We stayed at a vineyard which was only getting back on its feet after being closed for 2 years due the the country's economic situation and only re-opened a year ago after it was purchased by 2 brothers,  the courts still hold the deed on the land after the foreclosure.  This was a lovely time with wine tours and great wines, swimming for the kids and outdoor play.  I couldn't pass up a trip to the Italian designer outlet, here we managed to get some formal wear for the boys to wear on the cruise.

Positano and Capri

Positano
 "you are starving my life out" a fabulous quote from Hamish after ascending some 400 stairs of the 630 odd required to get back to our house from the beach.

One week in Positano was an exceptional experience for us, Tracey has done well again with the accommodation.  Getting here from Benevento was not such a relaxing drive, the Italians are crazy drivers, overtaking on blind corners, driving at 150 km/h or more whilst talking on their phones and smoking with the other hand. The bends and curves into Positano overlooking the cliffs and ocean are an amazing site, I'm driving like an old grandpa again just so I can see a little of the sites . Poor Hamish the constant turns are making him car sick but there is not much that can be done about that. Buses coming at us from the opposite direction sure make you clinch a little tighter, breathe in and we will fit through.

We finally make it to our destination to meet Julie our host. We pull over on the side of the road park on this skinny little curved street, unload a few bags and head to the villa.  Down 160 odd steps , with two suitaces in hand, drop the bags, get instructions to where to take the car and off I go.  More hairpin turns with no idea really of where I'm going but I'm sure I can't get lost, or can I? Found the one way street I was told about, keep going car park is down here somewhere!  Well finally found it, now to find the house, lucky for me our host sent Emma down the stairs to wait for me so I'd find the correct staircase. Up another 160 stairs and I'm home, what a view, nice villa, plenty of room and fresh herbs, chilli's, strawberries all growing under the grape vines.  I cannot tell you enough about the beauty of Positano and the Amalfi coast, you must come and see it for yourself.

Those of you that are familiar with Jacobs Ladder at Kings Park and thought it was hard work going up and down it try Positano. 630 stairs from the beach to our house, 165 stairs up from our house to the shops, oh my thighs are killing me. Well at least it helps to justify the beer and wine being used for rehydration purposes.

By day 4 we are stair fit, Emma and I take to having running competitions up the stairs, poor Dad is going to have a heart attack on the stairs, oh well at least we have had a great time and seen some sites before I fall over and die in Italy. Hamish is holding on to my shorts,  it is a conspiracy concocted by a 10 year old and assisted by a 6 year old, I can't catch Emma, she claims the victory. I'd argue and protest but I can't breathe.

We have had a very nice relaxing time going to the beach most days, playing chess, checkers and watching the occasional movie. We book a private boat tour to Capri and are not disappointed, the water is sensational and shows a beautiful spectrum of blue and is alot warmer than the water off Trigg beach . Our guide Pedro, takes us along the coast and shows off the caves, the small grotto's and the heritage sites along the coast.  Arriving to Capri Island we are shown some beautiful swimming spots, we swim as a family through the caves an amazing feeling.  Even the old duck, or 'turtle' as she is fondly now often called, decides she is going to come in.  A half day tour around the island and a quick peak into the harbour at Capri and our days comes to an end with a quite beer on our terrace over looking the sunset.  I'm glad we decided to do the tour it really topped off a fantastic week in Positano, some great home cooked meals, lots of time together playing games but alas time to go soon.  Hang on its grand final weekend, going to have to get up early and listen on the radio.

Final Day - 5:30am, something wakes me up, I bolt out of bed turn the alarm off and head out to see if by some chance I can find the footy on the TV, I look at the iPad to see about radio streaming, oh crap I'm an hour too early. Oh well I'll put the coffee on, 6:30am I find the AFL broadcast live on the TV but the commentary is in Italian, kind of weird listening to it in another language, though the broadcasters knew the game and the players.   Hamish comes to join, we turn the sound off and sit and enjoy the game live. Our friends, Craig and Christina and their boys are in Croatia but cannot get the footy, so I grab Traceys ipad and skype call them then hold the ipad on my lap so they can see the rest of the game. Not quite my AFL grand final tradition of going to Yallingup with the boys to watch the game but still not bad.

Games over back to porter duties and drive the car, we are out of here and heading to Rome for 2 nights before heading out for our Eastern Mediterranean 11 night cruise.

Avignon and the Côte d'Azur

South of France
It's hard to know where to start, we have visited some wonderful places, unfortunately our time is nearly up in France. The drive from Extarri to Narbonne was quite picturesque a few castles to be seen beside the highway, some magnificent architecture and nice green rolling hills and mountains. They drive pretty fast around here, speed limits of 130 km/ h on highway and most people ignore that and race past us.  For my comfort it was a safe 110-120 km / h for us at most times, yes I was driving like an old Grandpa, I would have loved to borrow some of Audi sports cars or Ferrari's that roared past us for a quick release of adrenalin but say la vie it was not to be.

Our airBNB hosts in Narbonne where extremely welcoming and the rooms were perfect, they gave us some recommendations on places to eat and things to see. Narbonne town is quite pretty with a river running through the middle, a war memorial in the centre of town and a fantastic old church. We took the hosts up on their recommendations of lunch at the Narbonne markets and had a wonderful seafood platter, Emma discovered oysters are actually ok, although from the photos you willl see her facial reactions were rather entertaining. We went out to check out the beach at Narbonne which was suprisingly good, I just missed the triathlon that was held on the beach that morning unfortunately. Oh well, not much exercise but I'm sure we will be ok for more food . Given the lunch recommendation we had to try their recommendation for dinner, it didn't disappoint, and finally a French restauraunter with a keen eye for service with a smile and an informal chat.  A nice Frenchman, being typically blunt as I can be at times, I said before we left that France would be interesting, as I had never met a Frenchman that I liked, well I can now say I've met a few that were a pleasure to talk to.

Narbonne to Graveson, just outside of Provence , what a beautiful old hotel and such a friendly greeting. A short drive into town to a wonderful little restaurant La Burceil, overlooking the river Rhone with a view of the Old Papal Palace and the gardens . We couldn't have asked for a better spot to start this experience , with Tattinger champagne by the glass, good service and beautiful food. A quick review of the town for all of us and then a more detailed look at the Papal Palace where the pope lived before Vatican City was established, the surrounding gardens and the three quarter bridge( insert name ) .

Carrieres de Lumieres, the works of Monet, Renoir and Chagall, projected as a light show on to the walls of huge caves, matched with some sensational music, this was a simply awesome experience. The caves were man made, converted to an art centre many years after the mining for bauxite and limestone was completed.  Th limestone was used to build the Chateau and the village of Les Baux. The show takes you on a journey around the Mediterranean from Impressionism to modern art , our pictures do not give the works any justice unfortunately, an amazing must see for yourself to experience.

Saint Remy, a little town not far from Provence and Graveson was one of our favourite spots in the Provence region and we could have done with a bit more time to explore around the area but it is time to move on to Villefranche In the Côte d'Azur.  Oh my goodness what a way to top off the South of France, a drive through the beach front of Nice and around the corner to our apartment in Villefranche, what an astonishing view.  We are very happy we did not hang around the muck and congestion in Nice...not our scene.

Tracey writes;
Villefranche is a quaint village with numerous apartment buildings clustered into the hillside of this playground for the rich and famous.  Toys such as yachts, fast cars with top European tags and palatial homes which are dotted along the waterfront, somehow you are absorbed very quickly into this lifeslifestyle.  I was particularly intrigued with watching the coming and goings of the 3 cruise ships which came in for a day or 2 lucky ones got to stay the night.  The mass production with getting those passengers into port was quite amusing as I sat on my balcony with a champagne, feet up and overseeing my children in the pool below.

We decided to explore these narrow tight streets of the French Riverea and found ourselves in Cap Ferret looking for a beach which was recommended to us by our friend Emma.  We didn't find the beach, but we laced our way through the tiny streets of immaculate homes with manicured gardens and walls with heights of 2.4 metres and above.  No chance here to see their spectacular views!  The next day we had a look at Eze, ooowww how beautiful is this little village!  Cut out from limesstone and once inside the outer walls you will discover a small Provencal village filled with charm and colourful window boxes, offering a panoramic view of the sea and coast-line.  Cave like shops leading off narrow and curvy steps for you to potter through.

Now allow me a moment to mention the spandex clad men and woman perched atop their 2 wheel bicycle.  I will forever admire their skill, bravery and non-chalance towards their sport.  Whether it be hugging a tight curve of a very narrow downward slope, with no hands whilst speaking on their mobile or climbing various mountains with little space for cars let alone cyclists.. Or is it just stupidity?

Not near enough time in this jewel of Avignon and Côte d'Azur, we will return.  Italy awaits....

Spain...a little piece of heaven.

Etxarri, Spain
After a long day with most of it spent at Madrid airport, we safely arrived in San Sebastián at 9.30pm.  I use the word 'safely' lightly, as when preparing to board our propellar plane from Madrid to San Sebastian, I see a good looking Spainard skipping out and giving the pilot, who is already in the cockpit, a handshake.  pilot # 2 than swiftly pulls himself up through an opening, as a monkey would swing from branch to branch.  At least I had comfort knowing that there was someone praying for us all.

My first impression of San Sebastián, was one of awe and beauty, as the sun was coming to a close and the night lit up with coastal lights.  Rock face cliffs were beating down the white surf and the lush green landscape left me mesmerised by its beauty it held.
Our hosts Cristina and Francisco were waiting for us at the airport to drive us out to AZPIKOETZEA Casa Rural Etxarri, a farmhouse which has been in Cristinas' family for 4 generations now.  3 years ago, Cristina left her job as a journalist to undertake the painstakingly restoration of this 17th century farmhouse.  The results are simply wonderful.  I couldn't wait to wake the next morning to see the view that lay before my eyes, as I looked out the window beyond our verandah.  Fields of feed corn and pastures for grazing sheep with the only noise of cow bells, attached to the sheep of course and the local framer tinkering in his barns.  We had 2 weeks of reading, game playing, exploring, daily exercise, visiting with friends and eating of course. Etxarri has a population all of 50 people and this is where we rested our heads for the last 2 weeks while we explored the Basque Region.  With only a short 2 KM away was the town of Lekumberri, this became our new locale.  We would walk down and back each day enjoying a coffee and croissant, the walk back was mainly uphill, so no guilt with the baguettes or croissants we devoured. Quite a civilised way to start the day I think.

We were blessed to receive our friends Craig, Christina and their 2 gorgeous boys Callum and Charlie for 4 days.  I think it was wonderful for the children and seeing that the VW's had been away from their Aussie mates for a lot longer than us, I am sure they appreciated seeing familiar faces.  The children absorbed themselves with chess, alphabet letters game, UNO, checkers and many varieties of these games. The outdoors of the farm had them observing sheep from the cozy neighbour playground (approx. 15 sq m) with the mountain ranges as their backdrop. The adults were able to play catch up on past and present events.  We took a trip to San Sebastian in search of tapas, which we later found out is referred to Pintxos. Literally, dozens of these bars line cobblestone laneways and have a wide selection of Pintxos laid out across the entire bar, pair it with a splash of vin blanco and you are captured by the culture.  It is said that San Sebastián does it like no other and is rated the best food in all of Spain, maybe even the world as stated in my Lonely Planet. There are a few Michelin star restaurants in the Basque region, but we did not visit them, we would have paid dearly for a taste of a branded star.  After we bid farewell to the CVW's, we got on with seeing more of the Navarra region.

We spent a couple of days at the beach getting the sand in our toes and swimming in the Bay of Biscay and enjoying beers and pintxos on the beach.  On one particular day it was rather warm and I had not intended on going to the beach instead opted for some time browsing the shops and sitting in cafes.  Once back at the beach, I could not resist the water, so what does any mid 40's woman do...get her gear off and jump in the refreshing water.  As Tony said, they are all doing it and no one is going to pay you special attention just beacuse you are flashing your breasts which are lily white with a touch of strawberry.  I didnt have my lace knickers on but those that are thread bare....I will leave it at that, as dont think you need anymore of a visual.

We took a lovely bike ride, or what we thought would be a great morning out cycling the rugged track here, it compares to the Bibbulem Track in Western Australia.  Well, pretty much straight off Hamish got the jitters and couldn't make his way down the steep hills and granted, they were very rocky with large chuncks of gravel which made your bike tires lose traction and made your heart flutter.  After a painstaking 3.5 km and a couple of stand offs, we turned around.  After a few more tears, I finally managed to get Hamish on his bike.  On the final decent Hamish lost control of his bike and was doing the Batman, hanging onto the handlebars as his body swayed in the wind behind him. Nothing Tony or I could do at that point.  After a less than graceful landing on a unsuspecting runner he was OK, lucky though as his stomach landed on the kickstand which decided to erect itself, he didn't puncture anything or worse yet impale himself...he walked the last kilometer home.
We took to some indoor rock climbing and this was exceptionally good.  I was a little nervous when I realised that my children's safety was in my hands, as Tony and I were required to secure the ropes and tie the knots...I got it down pat and have now learned rock climbing secure knots.  Such fun for the kids, though my neck was a little sore from craning up at them.

A visit to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim Museum.  This is an extraordinary piece of architecture designed by a Canadian Architect, Frank Gehry.  We didn't enter the museum as it is more about the building and design itself which is the main attraction here. If I am honest, I am more entranced and excited about the buildings themselves rather than the artwork which is housed inside.  The children were more than happy to play in the water art fountain on display on the west side of the museum as well as the fabulous playground, while Tony and I took it in turns walking around the perimeter of the musemn. Bilbao is large filled with concrete, roadworks and traffic, we couldn't get out of there fast enough. It wasn't fast enough though, as Annoying Annie ( the GPS) was insistent that we were going on a bridge that no longer existed and that they were presently deconstructing.  I will leave it at that.
Our little spot of heaven is ideal for those who want to come for rest and relaxation. If you are an author, writer or avid hiker and nature lover, this is the perfect spot to immerse yourself in.  We loved this perfect piece of paradise.  Ernst Hemingway did!
Tomorrow, we are off to Narbonne, Avignon and Villefranche-sur-mer in the South of France. Adios!