Brisbirds Blog on RealTravel

Oxford journal: University Town

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 08:40:17 GMT

This morning we started the day with a delicious breakfast and a brief chat to the other visitors to Warsborough B&B. There was a couple staying there from Adelaide - their son married an english girl and they always stay at this nearby B&B. We agreed that we were very lucky to stumble across this little gem.

With instructions from our host Elizabeth, Joe and I boarded the local bus and rode it to the terminus in the middle of Oxford. On the way we spotted what I would call typical english row houses. The bus stopped right next to a tall spire in-set with statues. We walked ...

London journal: Back in the Old Country

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:50:13 GMT

This morning we said our final goodbyes at breakfast to our travelling companions. We were scheduled to take the 9am shuttle to the airport for our 12:20pm flight to London Heathrow. When we arrived at Berlin Tegal airport, we found that we could not check in to our flignt for over an hour. So we sad on those uncomfortable chairs they have in airports waiting for the desk to open for our flight. Then Joe noticed that our flight dissappeared from the board. We found they moved our flight to a different counter 200m down around the corner. We eventually got our boarding passes and headed for the ...

Berlin journal: Bus-n it back to Berlin

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:45:57 GMT

Today was the last day on this series of bus trips. We started out at 7:30am for our first two and a half hours. Coming towards the end of this first step in today's journey, we overtook a Trafalgar Tours bus, which we all cheered about as our tour director Monica said they would be stopping at the same place and we could beat them to the washrooms!! Mass cheering all round. This however was short lived, as our bus driver parked the bus, the other driver stopped his bus at the door to McDonalds and let his passengers off before ours!! arrgh - hate it when a plan gets messed up.

After a ...

Warsaw journal: Warsaw Sightseeing

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 13:30:06 GMT

Today it was an early start to another full day of activities. Our first stop was to wazienki Park and the Chopin Memorial garden. On our way in we saw the memorial statue of Pilsudski, largely seen as the Father of Poland.

Inside the park, we entered the Chopin garden, which was full of red roses, a pond, and the statue of Chopin, sitting under a willow tree, which wraps around him and he appears to be playing the piano. While here, the tour director had organised for a photographer to take a group photo of all the tour members, to be made available to us to purchase at the bus the ...

Warsaw journal: Wending to Warsaw

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 23:31:23 GMT

Today we left Vilnius on another full day of travel to Warsaw, Poland. It seems there are a higher proportion of crazy drivers on the roads over here with people madly swerving in front of the bus. For lunch we stopped at McDonalds of all places. It was very busy - maybe because it was Sunday today. I spent the afternoon snoozing on the bus with my head-cold in full swing.

I starting clicking pictures on the way into Warsaw, catching a glimspe of the only Stalin Wedding Cake building that is located outside of Moscow. There were also a lot of trams wizzing by, in both the standard red ...

Vilnius journal: Vilnius Siteseeing

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:15:33 GMT

This morning the predicted temperature was 16c which we all agreed would have been quite pleasant. After stepping outside the hotel however, we were struck by a chilling wind, and an overcast misty morning where I doubted the temperature was over 8c. It felt like it didn't get much over this till late in the afternoon, and the fine misty rain didn't help those of us that were battling the bus head-cold.

Our first stop today was the catholic St Peter and Paul parish church. This church has over 2000 human statues inside. It is also the church that Pope John Paul visited just four days ...

Vilnius journal: Viva Vilnius

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 07:07:05 GMT

This morning we were given a sleep-in with our wake-up call at 8am, with our departure scheduled for 10am. Everyone was happy to get on the bus and put space between us and Belarus. After a short ride we arrived at the Russian-Lithuania border. Here a border guard boarded the coach and collected our passports, checking us against our passport photographs. We then waited as the passport processing took place, which seemed to take forever. we were allowed to get off the bus during this time, so used it wisely and availed ourselves of the attrocious bathrooms. After about an hour, we were given ...

Vitebsk journal: Belarus

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 06:58:22 GMT

Today was a full driving day from Moscow through to Bela-Russia - Belarus. The roads out of Modcow were really, really bad, and with our seat rotation putting us in the very back row of the bus, it was bounce, bounce, bounce all the way. Monica the tour director put a movie on to watch - Dr Zivago. I couldn't see it from the back seat in the bus very well so decided to use the time to get up to date with my travel blog. We stopped for a catered lunch at a hotel where we had vegetable soup, veil snitzel and a fruit muffin and coffee for afters.

We stopped at the Belarus border for about ...

Saint Petersburg journal: Goodbye Scandinavia

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:16:43 GMT

This morning we were up with the birds to leave Helsinki by 6:45am. This was to try o be at the front of the line of coaches at the Russian border on our way to St Petersberg. The wait here can be up to 5 hours depending on how many coaches are waiting to be processed.

On our way to the Finnish border we were given two sets of forms to fill out. The first was the Russian immigration form which was short and sweet and easily filled out. The second one was the visa application form for Belarus. This form was a horror with 43 questions that needd to be answered. This was a difficult task ...

Moscow journal: Russia - City to Country

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:15:09 GMT

Today it was a relaxed start to the day as we headed out to the Russian countryside towards to town of Zagorsk. On the way we pass small Russian Villages that have remained unchanged in some respects for centuries. We stop at a very small cottage and are welcomed by Babbooshka Catherine, a little old lady aged 80+, and are invited to look around her home and take pictures of her modest lifestyle. Our tour guide tells us that living has not changed much here over the centuries, there are few luxuries, and she tends her own vegetable garden that takes up the entire plot of land. Crops must be ...

Saint Petersburg journal: St Petersberg Siteseeing

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:51:47 GMT

Today was a full day of sightseeting and entertainment. The day started with a drive around the heritage area of the city, past the old city buildings like the Winter Palace, which now houses the Hermitage Museum. We stopped at a number of places to take pictures, including the Church of the Spilled Blood, the Russian Orthodox church that gave us the first view of the onion-domed cathederals that are synonymous with Russia. We also stopped near a statue of Alexander the first, sitting astride his rearing horse, upon a stone that is supposed to represent the sea.

After this we joined an ...

Moscow journal: Rushing in Russia

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:39:48 GMT

What a day! The day today was jam packed with activities that kept us on our feet pounding the pavement and subways of Moscow. An early morning start before 8am had us standing in Red Square looking at the famous St Basils Cathederal as the sun came up. This is the image of Moscow that we have all come to know with the multitude of decorated onion domes and steeples. To one side is the official gate to the Kremlin Complex, to one side Lenin's tomb and on the other the large "Goumb" department store - Moscow's Harrods. It is an amazing feeling to stand in this place and look at all these world ...

Peterhof journal: Peterhof Palace Gardens

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:27:42 GMT

We boarded the bus this morning for a one hour trip out to the Peterhof Palace and gardens. Even though the palace was destroyed by fire and another building built to replace it, the gardens have been retained in their full splendor. The expansive grounds are filled with many ornate fountains and gilded statues. We walked around the gardens to the main cascade in front of where the orignal palace stood. This main fountain was situated at the end of a long canal that stretched out to the Bay of Finland in the Baltic sea. An interesting point is tht there are no pumps to drive the fountains, ...

Helsinki journal: Hello Helsinki

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:59:48 GMT

Today it was a relaxing start to the day. After heading to bed so early last night, I found myself awake at 4am and reading my book for 3 hrs until it was time to get up. The ship was due to dock at 10am, so we had plenty of time to get up, make our way to the buffet breakfast room and then prepare to disembark. Once off the ship it was onto the bus for a morning city tour of Helsinki.

This first took us to the Church of Rock, a Lutheran church that was actually dug into the rock of a hillside. We were unable to enter this church as there was a funeral scheduled in the morning and public ...

Stockholm journal: Stockholm Siteseeing

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:49:45 GMT

Today we headed off on our Stockholm city siteseeing tour. This started off with a not very exciting sounding visit to the Stockholm City Hall. Our first stop on this Hall tour was the massive blue room. Although originally planned to be painted blue, it was decided the red brick colour was preferred, and then these were hand chiseled to give them a hand-made look. The marble inlay floor was also very impressive. We were told that this is the room where the Nobel Prize for Literature and SCience Dinner is held each year on December 10. For a month beforehand the room is off-limits to tours ...

Stockholm journal: Bring On ABBA-ville

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 10:41:50 GMT

Well we were pre-warned that today was going to be a long driving day, so not much to report in terms of sites to see (other than freeways). Our first driving segment had us stopping at the ferry terminal to cross the water to Sweden. The coach drove onto the ferry then we all had to go up on deck. The trip was very short - just 20 minutes, but enough time to have a coffee, exchange some currency, and take a photo of an enchanting looking castle on the departure dock side.

After another two hours of driving (which I constructively used to write two days of travel blog!), we stopped at a ...

Copenhagen journal: Mary-ville

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:25:47 GMT

This morning we had a city site seeing tour with a local guide. There are only three skyscrapers in the city. These were built in the 50's and after this the city enacted a law to keep the building heights down. This enabled the many city spires to be viewed without crowding from new buildings and left the city with a very open feel. The city is very flat and it is a way of life for the people to ride bikes. There are special allocated road areas everywhere for riders as well as special trafic lights. Some bikes have special carts on the front which are used to transport infants, animals, ...

Berlin journal: Berlin Bus

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:15:55 GMT

This morning the day started with a brief tour of Berlin city. Our first stop was the Brandenberg Gate. The major workers union was demonstrating at the gate today. After this it was on to the Reichstaad, the home of the german parliament and then a stop at the Martin Luther museum. We stopped by Checkpoint Charlie where you could have your photo taken with two guys, one in Russian army uniform and one in American for a tip (not likely). Our last stop was at the remains of the Berlin Wall, which is these days fenced off as too many people were taking souveniers. We stopped briefly back at the ...

London City Airport journal: Lounge Hopping

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:11:53 GMT

Our flight to London was only 6hrs, interrupted by an evening and breakfast meal service, so sleep time was limited to about 3rs if you could get it. On arrival at Heathrow we boarded a bus to change terminals and at one stage I said to Joe that we must be nearly halfway to Berlin by the length of time it took. Once at Terminal 5 we headed straight for the British Airways lounge and the showers. Not long after this it was back on the plane to Berlin, where it seems you can take us much carry-on as you like, and those that are stupid enough to get their late have to ride with their bags under ...

Boston journal: By hook or by crook

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:00:42 GMT

Today is our last day in Boston. We enjoyed a buffet breakfast and said our final goodbye to Sophia. We packed up the hire car with our luggage and headed out to battle the city traffic. The GPS seemed to lose our position in the city and had us turning this way and that but finally put us on the Mass Turnpike on our way to Salem - the home of the witch trials. The trip out there was a lot quicker than we thought, and with no incidents (like the missing roundabout in our travels yesterday). On arrival in Salem we had no problems finding a street park and headed off towards the Salem Witch ...

Boston journal: Keep Right, Keep Right!!

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 06:38:00 GMT

Today it was off in the hire car for a leisurely drive to the area of Cape Cod. One plus was that the Ford Focus that I booked ended up being a VW Jetta, which ment that I was used to the controls being reversed being a european car. This was at least one less thing to worry about, besides the driving on the other side of the road, while sitting on the opposite side of the road. After a shakey start with the GPS system that we bought with us, off we went into the city traffic, battling the road network and the crazy non-indicating Boston drivers. The day today was overcast and I was hoping ...

Boston journal: Hop-On-Hop-Off Boston

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 06:27:03 GMT

This morning we decided to breakfast in the hotel. Our table server for the day was a lovely old lady called Sofia (referred to as Princess Sofia by other staff members). We had a nice old chat to her and found out that she had been working at the hotel for 43 years, and she started when she was 43! It was amazing to hear her family story, her father first coming to America and earning enough money to then go back home and get his wife and child, and then never turning back and making America their home. She ended up having 8 brothers and sisters and is now the only surviving one.

Then ...

Brisbane journal: Ready.... Set....

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:11:46 GMT

A busy day today with us finalising all the stuff you have to do before leaving the country for 2 months. The most worrying thing was the fact that our Boston RedSox tickets have not turned up yet. We have bought a priority internation delivery envelope to get them sent back over to us in Boston. Apart from that it is full steam ahead....

Boston journal: Lets Go Out to the Ball Game...

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:53:16 GMT

Today we headed off on foot from the Hotel in the direction of Boston Common. The concierge said it was a nice 20min walk, turn right out the front of the hotel, up to the fire station, then down Boylston St which runs into the Common. So off we went, with the intent once we got there of doing the Hop-On-Hop_off thing for the rest of the day.

After a little while we reached a park, but thought it was quite quiet, not well signed or paved and not as full of tourists as we thought it should be. So onward we trod, trying to find the central monument. After walking around for about 45min we ...

Boston journal: New England here we come

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:50:06 GMT

Yawn! Today it was up at 5am for our cross America flights to Boston. We had been told the previous day to allow at least two and a half to three hours at the airport because they process American customs and immigration before you leave Vancouver, rather than when you enter the US. It was a fairly smooth transition through this process and left us about an hour to amuse ourselves with in the departure area. We decided on ham and cheese omlette on english muffins for breakky and the standard Starbucks latte for breakky. Then we decided to try out the Priority Pass lounge, and stood at the door ...

Vancouver journal: Downtown Vancouver

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:20:16 GMT

Today after a nice sleep-in (gotta get them while you can on this holiday), and a continental breakfasted at the hotel, it was off to the post office to post home a box of unwanted travel items. We were concerned about the weight of our luggage and future travel in the UK and excess baggage charges, so we culled out luggage and sent home stuff we didn't think we were going to need. This was relatively simple abnd unburdened us for future commuting.

We decided today to do the Hop-On-Hop-Off city tour and had two operators to choose from - either the Old Trolley Bus or the Big Bus company. ...

Vancouver journal: Back on solid ground...

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 06:06:44 GMT

An early start today - Our disembarkation time was 7:15am - but the ship was a little behind schedule so it ended up being 7:45am. We opted from the expedited check-out - which meant we had to handle our own luggage - which was fine by us as it meant we got off first and into the taxi line before everyone else. We nearly ran through customs it went so smoothly and we were at our hotel by about 8:10am - just a couple of blocks from the cruise terminal. The plan was to secure our bags with the porters for the day and head out - but they had a free upgrade room available which was great.

At ...

Ketchikan journal: Cruising the Inside Passage

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:46:14 GMT

Today was a day for sleeping in and taking it easy with a full day at sea cruising through the Inland Passage. After breakfast in Lido, we took our brisk 10 lap morning walk around deck 3. During this time we took in the magnificent scenery, and stopped now and then to try and glimpse the (supossed) humpback whales, and to see dolphins surfing in the waves down the side of the ship.

After a much needed coffee in the Explorations Coffee lounge and a session of travel blogging, I started doing some small crosswords while Joe headed up to the room to watch a movie. An afternoon kip was ...

Ketchikan journal: No more Jewellery stores... Please!!

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:32:01 GMT

Today the boat was not docking in the port of Ketchikan until after lunch. We took the opportunity to sleep in and have a lazy buffet breakfast on the Lido deck. We were told that this town was the wettest in North America - with 300 days of rain a year. The prediction was for 80 percent chance of rain and were told to take wet weather clothes. On arrival in the port though, the skies opened up to blue skies and a warm day.

Our main activity in this port was a flight on a float plane to Neets bay, where we would walk to the Salmon hatchery and wait in anticipation for the wild black ...

Juneau journal: Alaska's Capital

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:28:23 GMT

Today we arrived in port before we woke up and this time were lucky enough to have the dock right next to the middle of town. Our first tour for the day left at 8am. We were loaded onto a bus with a comical driver named Julie that was wearing a Moose hat. She is 23yo and we both decided that she's gone crazy!! She told us this is not hard to do when you are assigned the shuttle run in Juneau, where for 5 hours straight you drive around in a 1 mile loop and every time you stop in town, everyone asks you "Is this the shuttle". You end up hearing it in your sleep!!

Anyway, our first stop ...

Haines journal: Land ahoy... Haines, Alaska

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:02:55 GMT

This morning the ship docked at Haines at 6am before we woke up. I had arranged to have breakfast delivered to our room between 8-8:30am, thinking that we would be up and dressed and ready to go into port. However, those cocktails last night must have taken their toll as our cabin steward woke us up with breakfast at 8am. We headed off at 9:30 into Historic Haines and found out that it is quite a small town, full of cultural information about the early Eskimos that settled. We had hoped to catch the hi-speed ferry over to the larger port of Skagway, but found that the timings of this 40min ...

Glacier Bay National Park journal: Would you like Ice with that?

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:54:02 GMT

Today I woke feeling refreshed and not so queasy. The ship was not rocking and moving smoothly through the water. Outside temperature was 12 degrees at 7am - but sure to get colder as we moved into Glacier bay. After joining the hoards for breakfast at 8:30 on the Lido deck, it was out on to Deck 3 for our morning walk. This seemed especially cold today, but at least it was not raining like yesterday. Today there was a hot chocolate trolley making its way around deck three to help warm everyone up (for a price). We kept passing the trolley on every lap, and by lap 10, headed up to the bow of ...

Glacier Bay National Park journal: The Motion of the Ocean..

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:54:59 GMT

Today we were woken by the captain at 7:30am telling us we were entering College Fjord. This Fjord contains a number of glaciers that are named after large colleges in the US. We jumped out of bed and headed for the Crows Nest viewing area to see this natural feature. It was raining outside so taking photos through the glass windows of the boat was quite difficult. We decided to head to the Lido deck for breakfast where a large array of hot and cold buffet items were on offer.

We decided to investigate the boat this morning, sussing out all the shops and public access rooms and ...

Seward journal: This is a bus - not a luxury motorcoach

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:42:09 GMT

This morning we had to be ready by 6am, then to breakfast and the lobby for our scheduled 7:30am departure. By 7:45 all the other people in the lobby had left except for our tour group which left us wondering. News then came through that our bus had broken down and that they had to find another bus for us. This eventually turned up at 8:45 and we were off by about 9am. Our luggage had to be moved from the original bus to the new one. There were a lot of complaints from the Americans about the replacement bus, as it was not a luxury motorcoach (with an on board loo) like all the others got, but ...

Denali journal: All Creatures Great and Small

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:24:14 GMT

Today was a 5:10am start for our 7pm departure for Denali. We boarded our luxury coach - an old school bus with enough leg room for a 6 year old. After everyone cosied up in their seats, we set off on our 8hr bus trip into Denali National Park. Our driver Matt provided commentary about the wilderness park and animals that inhabit it. There were chances today to see an array of wild animals, but he reminded us, that it was up to the animals if they were going to show themselves. The park is roughly 6 million acres with only one road traversing through it with access on this road limited to the ...

Denali journal: Bleary Eyed Travellers

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:15:33 GMT

Whoever decided that one must have their luggage ready for a 6am pick-up should be shot. Getting up at 5:15am is not good when you are still awake at midnight!!! So this morning I woke up with very red eyes and very tired. Our tranfer to the train was scheduled for 7am, and after waiting 25min for the stragglers, we proceeded the 300m to the train station! I could have slept an extra hour and walked there myself!!

We boarded the train and located our seats in the domed carriage. Here we were afforded spectacular views of the countryside. All in all this was a fairly ordinary train trip - ...

Anchorage journal: Underground and Overland

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:03:36 GMT

Today after breakfast at the hotel we headed out on a very brisk walk down hill to Pioneer Square. This was the starting point for the Underground Tour of Seattle. This 90min tour told us the story of the beginnings of Seattle and how the street level of the business district was raised from their original level. This was due to "issues" with the sewer system at high tide and the use of the new invention developed by Thomas Crapper.

The sidewalks as they are used today are actually at the second floor level of the original buildings. The tour took us underground to walk in some of the ...

Seattle journal: Flying Fish and Flying Saucers

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:22:14 GMT

Today was a full day of sightseeing in Seattle. We walked the mile from the hotel to "downtown", stopping at the "Delightful Bakery" for breakfast sandwiches and fantastic coffee. We headed straight for Pike Place market, with over 200 independantly owned shops selling everything from fresh produce to artist paintings. One of the tourist features of the market is the fish throwing at one of the fish stalls. All the tourists gather round here waiting for someone to buy fish from the salesman, who then throws it to be packaged to the guys behind the counter. This was fun to watch.

We then ...

Seattle journal: Sleepy in Seattle

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 07:57:07 GMT

Today we set off on our trip with a flight from Brisbane to Sydney. This flight was delayed for 30 mins, getting us to Sydney just in time for boarding of our flight to LA. Luckily this flight too was delayed as the plane had just returned with our athletes from Beijing and apparently there was a lot of partying going on.

We arrived in the pointy end of the plane to find that my seatbelt was jammed and a technician was called. After pulling apart my seat and unscrewind stuff it was finally unjammed. I spent this time fruitfully, drinking yet another glass of champagne!!

The flight ...

The World journal: World Tour 2008

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 22:12:14 GMT

Alaskain Icefields, Boston Red Sox, Scandinavian Vikings, The Kremlin and Red Square, Green fields of Ireland and Scottish Castles here we come.

Brisbane journal: Brisbane Bound

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:52:10 GMT

Well guys, we made it home safely at 7:45pm to Brisbane Airport where my dad picked us up. I think we are both a bit tired out and looking forward to some decent sleep not in an aeroplane seat! Its good to be home.

Frankfurt journal: Frankfurt to London

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:30:12 GMT

A nice slow start for today as our airport shuttle was not due to leave the hotel until midday. A leisurly breakfast was had and final packing of our bags before checking out and our quick trip to the airport.

Check-in was uneventful giving us plenty of time to look in all the duty-free shops at the airport, then hang out for our flight at 3:30pm. The flight did not depart from a connected airbridge, so we had to board a bus at the departure gate then climb stairs from the tarmac where the plane was parked. The flight was delayed by about an hour - as a couple of passengers got stuck in ...

Perth City journal: Return to Perth

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:29:21 GMT

How different a day today was to yesterday. We woke up to an overcast day and showers predicted for our return to Perth. After enjoying our breakfast and checking out late (our mistake - we thought checkout was midday but it was 10am. - They sent security to rouse us out but bumped into us walking out our front door). It was then on the road for an expected 4-5hr drive back to Perth.

With it raining all the way - we stopped at a small town about midday for a coffee as I was starting to feel quite tired at the wheel and needed a caffeine hit. Back on the road and about another hour or so ...

Margaret River journal: Wineries, Dairies, Farms and much more

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:23:04 GMT

We headed off at 10:30 this morning with a map in hand from the hotel concierge desk, and recommendations for winery visits. The day today was magic, with not a cloud in the sky and predicted 27 degrees. The country-side here was picturesque and made for a nice driving day.

The first winery we stopped at we quite enjoyed the wine and decided to send home a mixed dozen. We then stopped at the Margaret River chocolate factory which stopped us in our tracks (mainly because I was the driver and I wasn't going anywhere till I had some chocolate!). After taste-testing their dark, milk and ...

Freemantle journal: Freemantle, Bunkers Bay

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:20:19 GMT

Landing in Perth was smooth, moving through immigration quick, and customs saw me having to open my hand-luggage and suitcase to show all my declared items. We went straight to the Europcar desk to pick-up our rental car - to find that it was unattended. Picking up the phone and talking to the operator it was finally discovered that the car had been arranged for us to pick up at the Domestic airport rather than the international. We ended up having to pay $16 for the bus transfer over to pick-up the car.

After downing a coffee we headed off with me driving towards our accommodation in ...

Hong Kong journal: Hong Kong Stopover

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:15:18 GMT

Today was spent on the plane from Londan to Hong Kong. This was our first flight on Cathay and I must say, I was very impressed. We were served drinks and dinner not long after taking off, then we settled back to watch a movie or two before trying to have some sleep. Our seats in business class were similar to those you get in the same class on qantas on the longer routes.

After a fit-ful sleep we were woken for our breakfast before arriving in Hong Kong. We moved quickly through the security point for international transfers and then went looking for a lounge to spend our 5hr stop-over. ...

London journal: London Overnight Stay

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 04:10:24 GMT

Late start this morning after a very early morning. Joe and I headed out for a walk in search of an ATM, and something for breakky. Lloyd and Sal's apartment overlooks the Thames river, very close to Tower Bridge. Armed with a mud-map we found the local restaurant area quite easily, and I detoured into the local Starbucks to get my espresso latte fix which was well overdue.

With an added pep in my step we found an ATM, then walked over Tower Bridge to the Tower of London. As you can expect it was teaming with tourists, and it was strange to not feel like tourists given that we were not ...

Heidelberg journal: Heidelberg, Frankfurt

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:30:45 GMT

Today saw the final leg of our tour around Germany with the bus taking us to the ruins of a castle atop the city of Heidelberg. Upon the death of the brother of the King of France, the husband and rightful owner of the castle, the King took claim on the castle. This however was rebuked by the wife of his dead brother, who wanted to keep it for herself, and defended it along with her army. The king decided that if he could not have it, then no-one would and went about to destroy the castle beyond repair.

After our tour of the ruins of the castle, we were lead into the celler of the ...

Lindau journal: Lindau, Black Forest

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 01:46:41 GMT

Today we headed off early for our panoramic day (read here lots of driving). A heavy fog had settled in and was present for the entire day. At one point you couldn't see more than one car in front of the bus. This made our scenic drive a bit boring and an ideal time to catch up on some sleep with short napping.

Our first stop was at King Ludwig's castle at Neuschwanstein. This was only a photographic stop, which was not that clear anyway due to the fog. It did give time for a bit of souvenier buying and I bought a 500 piece puzzle of what the castle looks like on a clear day.

Next ...

Munich journal: Munich, Linderhof Castle, Oberammergau

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 23:48:34 GMT

Today our sleep-in was disturbed by a wrongly timed wake-up call. This did not bode well for the day as Joe also had an upset tummy. On the morning schedule was a coach city tour of Munich. This was a drive-by of the major sights of the city. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to get any good photos of the buildings and statues as there was no stopping and getting off the bus. Afterwards a number of people commented that they would have preferred to have missed the morning tour and just walked around with a map to see the places they were interested in.

We were dropped off at the ...

Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber journal: Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Munich

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:29:54 GMT

Today we have 7:30am start and as we start on the road there is once again very heavy fog which hinders our view of what is supposed to be the Romanantic Road. It's an hour before we stop in Rothemburg, which is an old medieval town that has remained that way (once rebuilt after the war). We have to walk into the old city through a small break in the city fortress wall as the archway openings in the wall are not big enough for our bus to enter through. We walk through narrow streets and see the typical german houses from medieval times.

Once in the centre of the city in front of the city ...

Erfurt journal: Erfurt, Wartburg, Wurzburg

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:19:08 GMT

Today we are refreshed after a good night sleep. The bad headache that Joe had been carrying around yesterday has finally been put to rest with the help of pills and a good sleep. We are in a Radisson hotel which has a scandinavian design and the rooms feel like they are right out of an Ikea catalogue. The rooms are small - just enough room for two beds and a small desk. The bathroom even has a single door that operates at 90 degrees- one way for the toilet and the other for the shower. A comment at dinner last night is that if the rooms get any smaller we'll be staying in a capsule hotel like ...

Dresden journal: Dresden, Weimer, Erfurt

Mon, 08 Oct 2007 13:59:47 GMT

Today we set off early for our drive to Weimar. From the time we leave and all the way to Weimar the area is heavy with thick fog and the temperature is brisk. We have a quick comfort stop and I have a good poke around the mini supermarket at all the german products to see if there is anything of interest (yummy) that I can buy with our mounting coupons.

Back in the bus Maria our tour leader explains that Weimar is the old literature centre of Germany. The famous german writer Geothe was centred here as well as at one time operatic composer Robert Wagner. People and artists from far and ...

Leipzig journal: Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 13:02:35 GMT

Today we head off early again at 7:45 enroute first to Lepzig. I spend the bus time catching up on my travel blog and before long we are pulling in at 10:30pm. Here our tour director Maria takes us on a brief walking tour of the older parts of the town, pointing out older houses of the rich Merchants, and how they have been rebuilt after the bombings of the war. We visit the protestant church and are once again wide eyed at the decorative interior.

We are then left to our own devices until about 12:30pm. During this time we wander around the town and decide to go for the local delicacy ...

Berlin journal: Berlin, Potsdam

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:47:47 GMT

This morning we get to sleep in a bit with our bus scheduled to leave at 8:30am for a Berlin City Tour. Here our local guide Christa-bell gave us commentary on the local sights. We stop at the memorial for the blockade for a photo op. After this we stop close to the Brandenberg gate and walk the remainder of the way on foot. Due to the celebrations the previous day for re-unification day a lot of the local area is still blocked off while the tents and other temporary festival infrastructure is dismantled. When we returned to the bus we are standing beside a large building which at its centre ...

Dresden journal: Hamburg, Celle, Berlin

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:29:27 GMT

It was up early today and off on the bus for the second longest day on the bus for our drive through to Berlin. There was not much sceneic views to see as we travelled along the autobahn, as they have freeway noise barriers like we have at home. The traffic however was very light as today was a public holiday, the yearly celebration of the re-unification of Germany.

We stop for a break at a small town called Celle ("Sell-ee"). All the shops are closed, so it is a very quiet walk around town. We walk through to the Castle Christina-Matilda, where one of the previous rulers wives was ...

Hamburg journal: Hamburg, Lubec

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 12:15:09 GMT

Today we ventured out in Hamburg for a city tour with a local guide. This started with a bus tour around the older part of the city, looking at the old churches and buildings. We stopped at St Michael's church, which is a lutheran church. Against the normal tradition, this church is grandly decorated and had a massive organ. The congregation has just celebrated the harvest and there was lots of bread loaves displayed on tables. After this we boarded a boat for a water view of the Hamburg Harbour. With Hamburg being the second largest port in Europe, the number and size of the cranes in the ...

Cologne journal: Cologne, Bremen, Hamburg

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 12:38:30 GMT

Today was to be a long driving day taking us up to the northern area of Germany. A scheduled departure time of 7:30am had us up early before the sun. The weather today was overcast and as we set off the visibility was very low as a lot of fog had set in.

Off on the Autobahn we went, watching the cars race by us as the coach was limited to 100km/hr. Maria our Tour Leader gave us some commentary about the town of Bremen where we were due to stop for lunch. This town was where the operators of the Bremen port took up residence, in an effort to protect themselves from pirates and raiders ...

Frankfurt journal: Frankfurt, Remagen, Cologne

Mon, 01 Oct 2007 22:42:15 GMT

Today after breakfast we board the bus off on our German coach tour. First stop is in a town called Bingen where we board a river boat for a River Cruise down the Rhine river, known in Germany as "Father Rhine". Up on the open-air top deck we get a birds-eye view of the towns, vinyards and castles with line the river. We both notice that the flow if the river is very strong and I would not like to be swimming in it! At its deepest part it can get to 25mtr, but at it shallowest, in drought, may only be one mtr.

Maria tells us there are many many castles in Germany, even some for sale for ...

Frankfurt journal: Overcast Frankfurt

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 12:54:20 GMT

Today we woke early as our bodies slowly adjust to the jetlag. Decided to make a cup of coffee in the room - very bad idea! Just something not right about that powdered coffee creamer. We had quite a nice hot buffet breakfast in order to build up our energy reserves for the day. On enquiring about the best way to get into the city centre we were advised that a 15 euro taxi ride was best. We didn't have any tourist type info on things to see in Frankfurt and the hotel did not have anything but a plain street map. This left us with just wandering the streets and enjoying the city atmosphere. The ...

Calgary journal: Calgary, Heathrow, Frankfurt

Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:04:21 GMT

Today was a waiting game. We were scheduled to fly out of Calgary for Heathrow at about 8pm. We had a good sleep in and checked out of the hotel at midday, stowing the luggage with the Bell Captain. We asked the Concierge before we left for a good place for brunch and he recommended a place called Avenue Diner just one street away.

There is a lot of constuction going on in the area of the hotel. As we walk towards our destination our eyes are drawn to the skyline by the Calgary Tower. It looks like a smaller version of the Seattle tower. We wonder about whether it has a viewing platform ...

Jasper National Park journal: Driving through the Rockies

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:18:27 GMT

Today it was a quick muffin and coffee before hopping on the hotel shuttle to take us back into the railway station where we pick-up the car. We are given a Ford Fusion, which was a small sedan and quite comfortable to drive. We head back to the hotel to load up our bags and check-out. I once again take the wheel and try my best to drive on the right hand side of the road. I find that I have a tendancy to sway to the far right of the road. Jasper is a quiet town and the traffic is very light which is a good thing.

The first stop we make is to the Jasper Tramway - a gondola ride that ...

Lake Louise journal: Lake Louise

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:33:51 GMT

Today we slept in, which was real easy as the sun doesn't seem to come up here till late as we are deeply surrounded by mountains. The view from our room of Lake Louise was amazing. It is hard to believe the colour of the lake - a light turquoise. Today it is really cold outside - and as we looked up at the mountains, it looked like it was snowing!!! Not long after, as we were walking around and taking heaps of photos, a few flecks of snow start falling on us.

We head off along the old highway towards Banff at around midday. We are limited on this road due to the native wildlife in the ...

Vancouver journal: Rocky Mountaineer Train

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:28:28 GMT

Today we have a very early start as check-in starts for the train ride at 6:30am. We find that we do not have an included transfer with our package, so while all the other guests are mulling around the foyer waiting for the coach to arrive, we have to take a taxi to the train station. On arrival, we are greeted by a very nice fellow that loads our luggage onto a tolley and takes us into the train station and join the end of the queue.

We are booked on the Red-Leaf tour, which is in the standard carriage. We had tried to book the Gold-Leaf, but were told at booking time that there were no ...

Kamloops journal: This is the life...

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 23:01:13 GMT

This morning we have a 8am pick-up for the transfer to the train. We get a fright when we get to the station as there is no train there, thinking we have missed it. I then notice that we beat the train, as I see it backing into the station. Apparently they start their pre-boarding work at another station then bring it over to another one when it is boarding time. Joe and I are first on our carriage.

Today the train is a lot smaller. Yesterday's train was actually 3 trains hooked together - 27 carriages in all. At Kamloops, the train splits into three smaller ones, each heading off in a ...

Vancouver journal: Downtown Vancouver

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 23:23:48 GMT

Today we finally had a much needed sleep in. We set off about 10:30am in search of the Tilley Endurable store that Joe was keen to visit. We stumbled across one when we were in Toronto years back and Joe wanted to check out their new adventure/travel clothes. We got directions from the Concierge who said it was a 40min walk. This was fine as we had been eating way too much in the last week and the exercise would do us good.

As we wondered down Hornsby street, we had a chance to check out the shops in the area and the changing streetscape. An interesting thing that I saw was the cement ...

Vancouver journal: Aloha Hawaii, Hello Canada

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 23:21:28 GMT

Todays update is (relatively) small as there was not much action. Our pickup at the hotel was a very early 6:15. It should be a crime to have to get up that early on a holiday. Just before leaving our room, I managed to get a photo of Diamond Head Crater from our balcony, the first time we had set eyes on it since being in Waikiki. It was amazing just looking out and seeing the crater there - and for me was the first real feeling that we were close to volcanos.

We boarded the shuttle bus which took about 30mins to get us to the airport. It was a very quick track through immigration and ...

Oahu journal: Hawaii Island Tour

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 23:14:40 GMT

Today was a long day - starting with a continental breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Here you had to guard your breakfast from the flock of kamakaze sparrows that pearched on nearby ferns waiting for you to leave your seat for the buffet. Sitting at your chair, a sparrow would land on the chair opposite at our table, and just survey what we were eating. One cheeky fellow decided to take a hop closer and ended up with a quick flick of a napkin in his beak.

After this we checked out and met Carl for our personal tour around the Island. He came prepared for a full day of driving, with an ...

Hawaiian Beaches journal: Kona Extreme Adventures

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 23:12:26 GMT

We had a hiccup this morning as we found out that there was not a transfer available from our hotel for our activities in Kona, and that the only way to get there was by Taxi. This would be fine, but the ride was about 30mins away and was going to cost us $85 return. This was my fault as I had booked all of our activities in Hawaii on the net without considering the location of the activies relative to the hotel.

We were picked up by a charming cab driver named Carl, who drove us to Kona. On the way he gave us commentary of places and items along the way, and we thought he had good ...

Hawaiian Beaches journal: Island Hoping

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:18:15 GMT

Today it was up and packed for our short inter-island flight to "The Big Island" - the true Hawaii. With all the security precautions in the US now you have to be at the airport 2hrs beforehand for domestic flights as well, so we had time to spare once we cleared security for a Starbucks coffee and travel blog updates.

On arrival into Hawaii, we connected with our airport transfer driver to take us to our hotel. We had an entertaining trip with our driver recouting his travel experiences on the QEII, the Australian Ghan train, backpacking through NZ etc. Before we knew it we were at our ...

Oahu journal: Pearl Harbour and Luau

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 02:00:57 GMT

Aloha! Today we managed to get a sleep-in with our tour pick-up not until 9:45am. We boarded our tour bus, greeting our driver William for our drive over to Pearl Harbour. We were provided with mildly funny commentary on our route, including the incredible info about the price of housing in Honolulu. What comparitively is a two bedroom beach shack, not on the beach, goes for about 700K!!

We were also provided with a brief lesson in the Hawaiian language. The alphabet contains only 7 consonants and 5 vowels. No letters are silent - pronounce all vowels (muu-muu is actually pronounced ...

Oahu journal: Oahu Circle Tour

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 01:46:03 GMT

Aloha! This morning we set off early for our Polynesian Adventure Circle island bus tour of Oahu. Our driver Leo was a real character and I would happily say a highlight of the day, First we did a drive by of Diamond Head Crater. We did not go in here as there is now a $100 tarrif on tour buses and this was obviously not included in the tour cost.

Next we set off out of the city to Hanaua Bay. This was a scenic drive with much comedic commentary by Leo. At the lookout we took some great photos and could just see ourselves lounging down on the beach with the locals and other tourists.

Brisbane journal: Leaving BrisVegas

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:32:54 GMT

It is a mad time packing bags, locking up the house and making sure we fit in that last coffee at the Coffee Club Bulimba - who knows how long it will be until I get another decent cappa-skinny-weak-extra -hot-chino-in-a-mug! Also, getting my little mate Baz set up in his temporary home/s was something new on last years experience. Hopefully all is set and nothing has been left behind...

Oahu journal: Achy-Breaky Feet

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:28:08 GMT

Today started with a "free" orientation breakfast organised by the company that provided our airport transport. This included scrambled eggs, sausages, pineapple, hashbrown, blueberry muffin and a sales pitch of tours to do in Hawaii (whch was entertaining and informative). They just happened to have the tour agents on hand for you to book your tours. After that we were off on the "free" shuttle to the Maui Divers Jewellery Factory where we got to see a short film on the harvesting of rare coral, then the design and manufacture of jewellery using the rare black, pink and gold coral. After this ...

Oahu journal: DeJaVu-Hawaii Style

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:24:15 GMT

The flight over the pacific was spotted with turbulance making it a rough-ish trip. I found it almost impossible to sleep given we did not have the Qantas Skybeds I was anticipating in business class. We had a fairly smooth trasition through arrivals (given we couldn't find my luggage as the bright pink identifying strap on my bag went missing). We got through immigration and customs quickly then waited for our hotel transfer. Of course we were the last hotel visited by the shuttle, but this gave us a good first look at downtown Waikiki.

On arrival I think we both just wanted to have a ...

The World journal: 2007 World Tour

Wed, 12 Sep 2007 16:58:17 GMT

After much consideration of the cost of flying return to Hawaii for my birthday, I decided it was way for economical to do the round-the-world thing again (to get ones money's worth). So here I go again, Hawaii, Canada (Rockies Train trip), Germany (tour), London (stop-over), then home via 3 days in Perth (Margaret River Region).

Paris journal: That's some old stuff,,,

Wed, 24 May 2006 09:42:00 GMT

Today we decided to brave the queues at the Louvre. We were planning to go the day before but found that the Louvre is closed on Tuesdays! We walked there and arrived at 9:30am and only had a small queue to go through security, and then again to buy our tickets. Another queue to get into the actual exhibit area, then it was on for one and all in the race to see the Mona Lisa. We found that we had got there at a good time as it only took a few minutes to get to the front of the pack and get a close up view of the beguiling smile. Not sure what all the fuss is about. The most amusing thing was ...

Singapore journal: Singapore

Wed, 03 May 2006 19:45:48 GMT

Well we are now in Singapore and not enjoying the rain and heat one little bit! We have a two day stopover here. We went to the zoo yesterday and had breakfast with the Orang-U-Tan. This was not so much with them, but the ability to have a photo taken in front of them. A little bit dissapointing really.

The rest of the zoo was good - they have an open enclosure policy where the only thing between you and the animals are a deep moat. There was one large enclosure you could enter which we were expecting to find birds and butterflies, but were pleasently suprised that there were small ...

Vienna journal: The tour is over...

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:57:03 GMT

Today is a very leisurly day. We get up to say goodbye to those leaving on the 8:30 bus, then head back to our room to catch up on travel journals and just relax. It is still raining and we are not motivated to do too much today but relax.

I decide to wander out to do some final shopping but find that on Sunday none of the shops are open :(. We catch the underground to St Stephans to do our last touristy things like having a Vienna coffee and a cube of rich, rich famous Sacher torte.

We then board the underground again to go across town to visit the Sigmund Freud museum. It ...

Vienna journal: City Tour of Vienna

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:48:02 GMT

Today we had our city tour of Vienna. Unfortunately it is a wet, wet day, so not as many nice photos opportunities. We arrive at the Palace and are told by the local guide that by paying off the ticket people and the door people that we can get in 30mins earlier than the other tour groups so that our tour will not be as crowded. It is amazing when you see how the royal family used to live - the opulance of the rooms, the silk wall coverings and gold guilding on the ceilings is just unbelievable. We then head off to the Treasury to view some of the centuries old royal jewels and crowns, as well ...

Vienna journal: Return to Vienna

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:34:33 GMT

On the bus again for our trip back to Vienna. We stop on the way at the Czech and Austrian border and are waved through without them bothering to looking at any passports. We stop at a small town called Chesky Krumlov. Here there is another castle and we climbed up to it to walk through the courtyards and view the brown bears that are kept there. We stop for a cake and coffee to tide us over until we arrive in Vienna.

It was then back on the bus for our final 2-3hr bus trip. I keep my eyes closed and head on my travel pillow for this time trying to catch up on sleep - to no avail.

Prague journal: Beautiful Prague

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:27:32 GMT

Today we were driven by coach up to the old part of Prague to look at the Palace. We joined our local guide who gave us some information about the ruling family back hundreds of years ago and how they expanded their borders.

We also got the chance to see fantastic sights over the city of Prague, with all its church spires. We enter one of the many churhes to view more magnificent windows and church architecture. We are not allowed to take photos, which is a pity as some of this stuff you you wouldn't believe unless you can see it.

From here we walked with guide down into the centre ...

Prague journal: Travel to Prague

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:18:54 GMT

Today was a very big travelling day with about 5 hrs of bus-ing. We firstly went up the the Castle on Bratislava for a photo opportunity, then boarded the bus for the 2.5 hr trip to Brno.

On the way we stop at the Czech border and were waved through pretty quickly. The tour guide took us on a walk to the town square in Brno (pronounced Bruno), and then left us to our own devices for an hour and three quarters to walk around and get some lunch. We found what we thought was a cafe and ordered some drinks, then found out it was a bar, so then left there and went in search of food.

Thi ...

Bratislava journal: Bratislava

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 13:13:44 GMT

Today we headed for another country - Slovakia. But before this we had three stops along the way in Hungary - St Andreas - a brief stop to wander through this small tourist town and to have a really bad cappucino!

Then it was on to a town where there were ruins that we climbed up to and got a magnificent view of the Danube and one of the two major bends in the river.

The last stop in Hungary was our lunch stop and provided our amusing moment for the day. The tour guide told us of a restaurant where we could get some traditional hungarian goulash. When we got there, Joe noticed that ...

Budapest journal: Budapest

Sun, 30 Apr 2006 12:35:08 GMT

This morning we left early for a city tour of Budapest - first to visit inside the Hungarian Parliament building, then on to St Stephans Cathederal - where they have a box that has inside it the actual fist of St Stephan. After this we all went off to Gundels Restaurant for their famous chocolate pancakes. This ended up being a crepe filled with chocolate walnut creme, then covered with thick chocolate sauce. Very rich, and very yummy.

We then went back to the hotel where we had a free time for the rest of the afternoon. The tour director Roman suggested a walk down to Vaci street - the ...

Budapest journal: Budapest

Sun, 23 Apr 2006 22:40:48 GMT

What a fantastic day. The insight bus has sooo much more room than the last tour bus, making the ride very comfortable. We set off for our 2-3 hr drive from Vienna to Budapest. We stopped at the border and the border guard actually came on the bus and stamped our passports and we were off again within about 15 mins. The guide said years ago they would spend nearly the whole day at the border waiting to be processed. The drive from the border to Budapest was very smooth on their new highway. The sights were just amazing - rolling hills of green crops and quaint villages - beautiful. We first ...

Vienna journal: Vienna

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 13:03:27 GMT

Today we have a totally free day and decide to take it real easy and don't go down to breakky until 10am. After this we put on our walking shoes and walk down to St Stephans Cathederal and join all the other tourists here. There are horse and carriage rides but we opt to keep going on foot. We located the tourist information office and picked up some info, then notice the Australian pub is across the road. We stop here for a softdrink, and although the bartender was german, most of the clientele were young Aussies - backpackers I think. I convinced Joe that we should get on the underground and ...

Rome journal: Rome

Sat, 22 Apr 2006 12:51:46 GMT

After a day of taking it easy and walking around Rome seeing the Spanish Steps and doing some more shopping (one can never have too many handbags!!), we have our last dinner in Rome in a small trattoria and head back to our room. The next morning we pack and after breakfast head for the airport, sharing a car with two other Aussies from Perth who are heading home. At the airport we find that our check-in desk is number 248 - and head that way to check our bags for our Air-Berlin flight to Vienna. The gate is not open yet and we tag on the end of a sad excuse for a line - really just a lump of ...

Rome journal: The Vatican and Colleseum

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:07:30 GMT

Oh boy, a very early start to the day to beat the crowds at the Vatican. We were standing in line by 7:15am and it was a good thing we arrived when we did. Within 10 mins the tour groups were lined up down the street and around the corner. There was one line for individuals and one for groups. For individuals the Vatican Museum opens at 9am, but for tour groups its 8am. If your tour group does not get in the gate by 9am - you have to go to the end of the individual line - which by that time, we are told is a couple of hours wait.

We meet our local guide, Francesco - who is very ...

Rome journal: Sienna, then back to Roma

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 13:00:50 GMT

Back on the bus today for our 4-5 hour trip on the bus back to Rome. We stopped mid-morning in Sienna where we walked into the town square and quickly located a cafe for a cappucino. The stop was only for 45 mins and we were back on the bus. We stopped at an AutoGrill (like our BP stations on the way up the coast) for lunch, before the final stretch to Rome.

We arrived about 3:30pm, where after an afternoon kip, and a drink at the hotel bar, Joe, myself, Paula and Mary from California hopped in a taxi over to where our previous hotell had been when we originally left Rome. Here we ...

Florence journal: The Statue of David

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 12:52:33 GMT

Another early start today to beat the traffic to Florence. This was a day trip from Montecatini where we were scheduled for a tour of the acadamy that houses the "David". This went very smoothly with the obligatory security check with bag xray on the way in. The local guide was very good, giving us lots of detail about Michealangeo and how sculptors worked in those early times. He also gave us informative info on attempts people had made to damage the David, which is now protected by bullet proof glass.

The tour group then walked on to a leather factory where we were shown an example of ...

Tuscany journal: Pisa and Tuscany(Montecatini)

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 12:48:51 GMT

Up early again today for the longish bus ride to Tuscany via Pompora. We stopped at this small place for lunch and a very brief tour around the museum and basillica. This must be a pretty regular stop for the tourist buses as all the souvenier stands are setup there when you get off the bus. We continued on with our bus ride all the way through to Montacatini. This resort township is well known for its "healing" spa. Apparently you can get a referral from your doctor to go to the spa and there they prescribe you an amount of the healing waters that you have to drink over a specified period of ...