We know it has been a very long time between posts, but in our defense it has been nearly impossible to find affordable internet in Europe! Definitely in Switzerland, where one hour would have cost us about NZ$20!!!! So here is a quick update on the places we have been to since the Cinque Terre...
Our next stop was Nice, for a spot of relaxation in the French Riveria. We spent our first day exploring Nice - wandering through an amazing market where we tasted beautiful sun-dried tomatoes, breads, olives..all without buying any of them. We walked up to the highest point in Nice, with a wonderful view of the beach, and through the old town, "Vieux Nice", which has a lovely "old French" feeling. We walked along the beach, which was a very popular place, despite not having sand, but large pebbles. We ate many Nicoise delicacies, including socca, ratatouille, stuffed courgette flowers and rich, rich sauces. We visited Monaco, and marvelled at the lifestyles of the rich and famous - saw the casino, the palace and the church where Grace Kelly is buried. We spent a day at a neighbouring fishing village called Villefranche, and enjoyed a lovely swim. We also visited Antibes, which is between Nice and Cannes, and walked around this beautiful town.
Our next stop was Lauterbrunnen, high up in the Swiss mountains. Here we enjoyed the natural beauty of Switzerland. We caught a gondola high up into the mountains, and hiked through the gorgeous countryside, up to a height of above 2000m. This part of Switzerland is exactly what you picture Switzerland to be - cute A-frame houses, huge cows with bells on around their necks, snow-capped mountains in the distance, even down to Swiss people with huge moustaches and funny hats. We hiked up and across the mountain-side for about four hours, and caught a different gondola back down to the other end of the valley. Here we visited some amazing waterfalls, where you climb a stairwell carved out of the inside of the hill-side, to see where the pounding water has carved it's own path inside the rock, and rushes through gaps in the rock with huge pressure. This waterfall drains the glaciers of three of the highest mountains in the area, including Jungfrau, so a lot of water comes though! The next day we hired bikes and cycled from Lauterbrunn down to Interlaken, a 20km trip each way, downhill there but uphill coming back! It was an amazing ride through, cycling past a river with waterfalls coming down from the cliffs above us, and the mountains in the distance. Almost made the small fortune we paid for lunch worth it!
We had a one-night stop in Munich (accomodation during Oktoberfest was too expensive) so we spent the evening exploring the huge extravaganza that is Oktoberfest, complete with many Germans in traditional dress (very funny trousers), and again, many more outrageous moutaches. The grounds are filled with loads of beerhalls, but also a huge fairground, with rides and stalls. We walked around a couple of the huge beer-halls, packed to the rafters with drunk Germans and tourists. We had a tasty German beer, sampled many of the sweets on offer, and had a "one-metre long" (almost) sausage.
After Munich we were off to Paris. We spent our first day walking the streets, first to visit the Notre Dame, and then around the Latin Quarter, visiting a church in the area. We lunched in the Jardin du Luxembourg, a beautiful park in the area. We headed to the Eiffel Tower, where we walked halfway up, and then caught the lift to the top for amazing (and freezing!) views over Paris. After this we walked all the way along the river back to our hostel on the other side of Paris - sore feet by the end! The next morning we visited the Catacombes, tunnels that run under the streets of Paris, and which are lined with bones and skulls removed from overflowing cemeteries in the 1780's. The bones and skulls are arranged into lines and patterns along the walkways, and it makes for a very sombre and spooky experience. After this we headed to the Louvre, where we spent four hours viewing the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo, Napolean's apartments (very extravagantly furnished) and loads of other amazing artworks, sculptures and statues. The rest of our time in Paris was spent visiting the Arc de Triomphe, walking along the Champs Elysees and the gardens in front of the Louvre, and seeing the Sacre Couer lit up at night-time and walking through around this beautiful church. We spent the last day with Robert and Tessa (friends from NZ), having lunch in a park and visiting La Defense, the business district which has an amazing cube structure that can be seen from all over Paris. We spent the afternoon and evening having a picnic at the park in front of the Eiffel tower, and were even treated to a sparkling light display on the tower! A great finish to our time in Paris.
After Paris we were off to Amsterdam (getting lost in Bruges on the way - we got off for a short stop and nearly missed the bus!! ), where we stayed with Robert and Tessa and had a great time exploring Amsterdam. We spent the first night in a bar full of locals, making friends with some very affable and accomodating Dutch people, who even listened to our song requests. Unfortunately the rain disrupted our plans for a cycling trip in the countryside, so we spent our time eating pancakes, scoffing chips with mayonnaise, discovering Febo (a Dutch delicacy - burgers from a vending machine!), and playing lots of games of cards. We also visited the flower markets, Dam Square, a 300-year old pub and Vondelpark.
And now we are in Berlin! So far the rain has put a bit of a dampener on our time here, but we spent about five hours today in the German Historical Museum, exploring Germany's history from 150BC to the present. This museum was fascinating, with amazing displays and an incredibly detailed and thorough account of World War I and II. It was so engrossing, we even skipped lunch! Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow, so we can do a walking tour of Berlin and explore the city more.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Florence and the Cinque Terre
From Rome we headed to Florence, via Ottaviano, a picturesque, walled city situated on top of a rocky outcrop. Everything you imagine from a Tuscan city. It had a beautiful Duomo and lovely winding cobbled streets, lined with shops selling pottery which the village is famous for. After holding up the bus due to our over-enthusiastic sight-seeing, we headed to Florence. We only had an afternoon in Florence, we headed out to see as much as possible, which turned out to be not so much, when you compared it to Rome. However, Florence is a very beautiful and artistic city, home to the famous David, the third largest dome in the world after St Peter's and St Paul's, and many well-stocked art galleries. Unfortunately we saw none of these. We did see the fake David, the Duomo was still magnificent from the outside, and we walked across the famous jewellery shop-lined Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that crosses the river Arno.
After our short stay here; it was off to the Cinque Terre, via Pisa. The leaning tower was not quite as large as we thought it would be, but we took our photos with it and carried on. We were dropped off in a town near the Cinque Terre, and caught a train from there, through the tunnels under the mountains to our destination, and caught a few glimpses of what was to come. After dropping our bags at the hostel, we headed straight to the beach and went for a much needed swim. The next day we headed for the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre, for those who don,t know, is a world heritage site, with five villages spaced out over 9 kms of mountainous terrain. The first three are the most popular, as they are quite a low grade hike, and although they manage to bring up a sweat, are not overly difficult. The next two hikes are about an hour and a half each, and although we didnt know it at the time, are a lot more difficult. We decided (foolishly) that we would start at the easy end and work from there as the largest "free beach" was at the last town. We strolled along, admiring the beautiful view of ancient towns, coloured buildings, sparkling Mediterranen sea and beautiful coastline. All the while, complimenting ourselves on what great hikers we were. This all changed midway through the walk between the third and the fourth town. The sun had reached its peak, and sweat was starting to pour off us, our legs felt like jelly and every step was that bit harder. We carried on the fourth town, where it was worth it to see the beauty of the town. We stopped for a long lunch, where Shaun managed to order the oiliest pizza in the world (perfect hiking food). After our rest, we hit the last and most arduous part of the track. We had been warned by a few hikers on the way that it would be more difficult, but we didnt think it would be much harder than the last section. About ten minutes in, we realised it was, and managed to struggle along. All the while, admiring the beautiful scenery. Finally, we made it to the last town, for a well deserved swim. It was a beautiful walk, with amazing scenery, the likes of which are not to be seen anywhere else in the world.
After our short stay here; it was off to the Cinque Terre, via Pisa. The leaning tower was not quite as large as we thought it would be, but we took our photos with it and carried on. We were dropped off in a town near the Cinque Terre, and caught a train from there, through the tunnels under the mountains to our destination, and caught a few glimpses of what was to come. After dropping our bags at the hostel, we headed straight to the beach and went for a much needed swim. The next day we headed for the Cinque Terre. The Cinque Terre, for those who don,t know, is a world heritage site, with five villages spaced out over 9 kms of mountainous terrain. The first three are the most popular, as they are quite a low grade hike, and although they manage to bring up a sweat, are not overly difficult. The next two hikes are about an hour and a half each, and although we didnt know it at the time, are a lot more difficult. We decided (foolishly) that we would start at the easy end and work from there as the largest "free beach" was at the last town. We strolled along, admiring the beautiful view of ancient towns, coloured buildings, sparkling Mediterranen sea and beautiful coastline. All the while, complimenting ourselves on what great hikers we were. This all changed midway through the walk between the third and the fourth town. The sun had reached its peak, and sweat was starting to pour off us, our legs felt like jelly and every step was that bit harder. We carried on the fourth town, where it was worth it to see the beauty of the town. We stopped for a long lunch, where Shaun managed to order the oiliest pizza in the world (perfect hiking food). After our rest, we hit the last and most arduous part of the track. We had been warned by a few hikers on the way that it would be more difficult, but we didnt think it would be much harder than the last section. About ten minutes in, we realised it was, and managed to struggle along. All the while, admiring the beautiful scenery. Finally, we made it to the last town, for a well deserved swim. It was a beautiful walk, with amazing scenery, the likes of which are not to be seen anywhere else in the world.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Rome -
We are at the end of our time in Rome now, and what an amazing city it is. It exceeded all our expectations, and was truly amazing. On our first day we headed to the Vatican City bright and early, to be in the queue before it even opened. Once inside, we made our way to the Sistine Chapel, which was absolutely incredible, with the paintings covering every inch of the ceiling and walls. We stood staring at this for as long as our necks would allow, and then went to explore the Vatican Museum. With the help of a very informative guide-book (thanks to Julia's mum) we were able to make some sense of the maze-like museum, which has a huge collection of art and treasures, including Greek and Roman items, huge map and tapestry galleries and lots of beautiful religious paintings. We peered out the windows into the lovely gardens of the Vatican City but no sighting of the pope....After over four hours, we emerged from the Vatican City, and raced around the corner to join the queue to get into St Peter's Basilica.
We were wowed again by the size and elaborate decoration of St Peter's. All the paintings, mosaics, immense statues, the dome...it was hard to absorb it all. It is truly beautiful. We wandered around inside, once again getting sore necks as we stared at the dome and the ceiling. After this, we took a well-deserved rest in the St Peter's square, which is also huge, and surrounded by four rows of massive pillars, which are topped by statues. We left St Peter's and walked along the river, past amazing bridges decorated with more statues, past castles and palaces, to the Trevi Fountain. This is also huge, and attracts a huge number of tourists. We had to fight our way through the crowds to get a seat beside the fountain, but it was worth it.
Next to the Pantheon, originally a temple, and later a Catholic church. The Pantheon's amazing feature is the dome, which is an "architectural marvel" (and also huge) with a hole at the top, allowing light in. We then explored some of the squares of Rome - Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori, lively squares surrounded by restaurants. After wandering the streets some more, and discovering various amazing churches (including the church of St Ignatius of Loyola - a very impressive church!) and buildings, we retired to the hostel, to collapse and recover after an amazing day.
The next day we headed first to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill - lots of ruins, of temples churches, triumphal arches and some of unknown origins (we did try to eavesdrop on tour groups, which are EVERYWHERE). After admiring the obvious wealth of history, we headed over to the Colosseum. This was massive, and we really appreciated this when we climbed to the second level and looked down on the arena, and imagined the atmosphere inside when it was full of people. It is interesting to see the extensive network of tunnels that would once have been under the floor.
Once outside again, we started walking around the city again. This was becoming increasingly hard, as the sun was beating down, and it was 34 degrees! But we battled on, to see the Circus Maximus, a long field where they once raced chariots, the Piazza del Campiodoglia, a square with a museum bordering it, and then to the monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle, which again is absolutely HUGE, and towers above Rome, with two sets of horse-drawn chariots that can be seen from all over the city. Up close, everything was a lot larger and very impressive, with numerous statues representing the different regions and cities of Italy. We were even whistled and gestured angrily at for sitting down on a ledge. After all this walking, we had to head back to the hostel to escape the overwhelming heat.
After a rest, we headed out for our first experience of Italian food (travelling frugally means buying most meals from the supermarket) and went to a restaurant on Campo de Fiori, which attracts tourist and Italians alike, to sit around the square and watch all the action in the square, including buskers, performers and many interesting and humourous dogs. We feasted on fried olives stuffed with meat, pizza, ravioli and even tiramisu for dessert. We made our way home via the Trevi Fountain (still as crowded at night) and threw the obligatory coins over our shoulders.
Our last day in Rome was spent tying up loose ends - climbed the dome of St Peter's ( all 500 and something steps) for an amazing view over Rome, and an up-close look at the mosaics on the inside of the dome. We then headed to the Piazza del Popolo (huge square, big fountain etc), the Spanish steps (big set of steps), a few other impressive buildings, and then most importantly, to taste the best coffee in Italy, if not the world! From Caffe Sant'Eustachio, near the Pantheon, we drank it in true Italian style, at the bar, as quickly as possible. It has been producing practically perfect coffee for over 60 years, and getting rave reviews from the New York Times (saying it was the best coffee in Italy) . We were very impressed, and once we had achieved this feat, felt we could leave Rome satisfied. Off to the next Italian city - Florence!
We were wowed again by the size and elaborate decoration of St Peter's. All the paintings, mosaics, immense statues, the dome...it was hard to absorb it all. It is truly beautiful. We wandered around inside, once again getting sore necks as we stared at the dome and the ceiling. After this, we took a well-deserved rest in the St Peter's square, which is also huge, and surrounded by four rows of massive pillars, which are topped by statues. We left St Peter's and walked along the river, past amazing bridges decorated with more statues, past castles and palaces, to the Trevi Fountain. This is also huge, and attracts a huge number of tourists. We had to fight our way through the crowds to get a seat beside the fountain, but it was worth it.
Next to the Pantheon, originally a temple, and later a Catholic church. The Pantheon's amazing feature is the dome, which is an "architectural marvel" (and also huge) with a hole at the top, allowing light in. We then explored some of the squares of Rome - Piazza Navona and Campo de Fiori, lively squares surrounded by restaurants. After wandering the streets some more, and discovering various amazing churches (including the church of St Ignatius of Loyola - a very impressive church!) and buildings, we retired to the hostel, to collapse and recover after an amazing day.
The next day we headed first to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill - lots of ruins, of temples churches, triumphal arches and some of unknown origins (we did try to eavesdrop on tour groups, which are EVERYWHERE). After admiring the obvious wealth of history, we headed over to the Colosseum. This was massive, and we really appreciated this when we climbed to the second level and looked down on the arena, and imagined the atmosphere inside when it was full of people. It is interesting to see the extensive network of tunnels that would once have been under the floor.
Once outside again, we started walking around the city again. This was becoming increasingly hard, as the sun was beating down, and it was 34 degrees! But we battled on, to see the Circus Maximus, a long field where they once raced chariots, the Piazza del Campiodoglia, a square with a museum bordering it, and then to the monument to Vittorio Emmanuelle, which again is absolutely HUGE, and towers above Rome, with two sets of horse-drawn chariots that can be seen from all over the city. Up close, everything was a lot larger and very impressive, with numerous statues representing the different regions and cities of Italy. We were even whistled and gestured angrily at for sitting down on a ledge. After all this walking, we had to head back to the hostel to escape the overwhelming heat.
After a rest, we headed out for our first experience of Italian food (travelling frugally means buying most meals from the supermarket) and went to a restaurant on Campo de Fiori, which attracts tourist and Italians alike, to sit around the square and watch all the action in the square, including buskers, performers and many interesting and humourous dogs. We feasted on fried olives stuffed with meat, pizza, ravioli and even tiramisu for dessert. We made our way home via the Trevi Fountain (still as crowded at night) and threw the obligatory coins over our shoulders.
Our last day in Rome was spent tying up loose ends - climbed the dome of St Peter's ( all 500 and something steps) for an amazing view over Rome, and an up-close look at the mosaics on the inside of the dome. We then headed to the Piazza del Popolo (huge square, big fountain etc), the Spanish steps (big set of steps), a few other impressive buildings, and then most importantly, to taste the best coffee in Italy, if not the world! From Caffe Sant'Eustachio, near the Pantheon, we drank it in true Italian style, at the bar, as quickly as possible. It has been producing practically perfect coffee for over 60 years, and getting rave reviews from the New York Times (saying it was the best coffee in Italy) . We were very impressed, and once we had achieved this feat, felt we could leave Rome satisfied. Off to the next Italian city - Florence!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Venice
So September the 2nd saw us leaving our home for the past year and then some, in search of warmer climates. We arrived at Gatwick airport with 2 hours to spare for our flight, which was promptly delayed for an hour and a half. By the time we finally took off and made it to Italy, there was little time to spare to get the last bus to our accomodation. After a short detour through the aiport carpark, we managed to backtrack and find the bus stand. We waited for a short while, then the bus we wanted almost didn't stop, so we had to chase it down(little did we know it was pulling into another bus stop). After travelling through some countryside and a couple of small townships, Shaun approached the driver to ask when our stop would be. After some furious finger-shaking, we were informed we had headed the opposite way, and as that was the last bus, we hopped off to find ourselves stranded in the middle of nowhere. After walking up and down the road, and some failed attempts at getting Italians to call us a taxi, we had almost given up on everything. We decided to give it one last go, and asked a waitress at a pizza restaurant to call us a taxi. She turned out to be nicest Italian we have yet to meet, with near fluent English. After a twenty minute wait outside, she came out to inform us that the robot that answered the phone couldn't understand her directions, and she said she would keep trying. Finally, at 1am, a taxi appeared, and much to our relief and delight we made it to our accomodation.
The next day saw us sleeping in, and then off to Venice, which was amazing from the first glimpse, driving across the bridge that connects the island city to the shore. It was like stepping into a different world. The heat, the sun, the canals, the architecture, the boats, the gondolas, the hordes of tourists and crazy Italians...We started by catching a water taxi from one end of the grand canal to the other, with an incredible variety of buildings, water-crafts and colours along the way. We got off the taxi at the Piazza San Marco, Venice's most famous square. It is bordered by the Basilica di San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale and a huge bell tower, and filled with lots and lots of tourists and pigeons. We then headed in amongst the cobbled lanes, to what we thought was the shopping district, with shop after shop selling masquerade masks and glass from Murano Island. We wandered through lane after lane, past an endless number of shops and churches. We crossed the Ponte di Rialto, one of the main bridges across the canal. This bridge is large enough to host a shopping arcade through the middle.
The second day we decided to head to Murano Island, famous for it's glass-blowing factories. We took a water taxi out, passing the walled island of San Michelle. Once on the island,we first witnessed a very tourist-oriented glass-blowing display, after which we were herded into their shop. We managed to escape this and later on found some less commercial factories, and were fortunate enough to see a ball of molten glass be transformed into a beautiful swan. We then headed back to Venice, for one last wander through the lanes, and said goodbye to the magestic city of Venice.
The next day saw us sleeping in, and then off to Venice, which was amazing from the first glimpse, driving across the bridge that connects the island city to the shore. It was like stepping into a different world. The heat, the sun, the canals, the architecture, the boats, the gondolas, the hordes of tourists and crazy Italians...We started by catching a water taxi from one end of the grand canal to the other, with an incredible variety of buildings, water-crafts and colours along the way. We got off the taxi at the Piazza San Marco, Venice's most famous square. It is bordered by the Basilica di San Marco, the Palazzo Ducale and a huge bell tower, and filled with lots and lots of tourists and pigeons. We then headed in amongst the cobbled lanes, to what we thought was the shopping district, with shop after shop selling masquerade masks and glass from Murano Island. We wandered through lane after lane, past an endless number of shops and churches. We crossed the Ponte di Rialto, one of the main bridges across the canal. This bridge is large enough to host a shopping arcade through the middle.
The second day we decided to head to Murano Island, famous for it's glass-blowing factories. We took a water taxi out, passing the walled island of San Michelle. Once on the island,we first witnessed a very tourist-oriented glass-blowing display, after which we were herded into their shop. We managed to escape this and later on found some less commercial factories, and were fortunate enough to see a ball of molten glass be transformed into a beautiful swan. We then headed back to Venice, for one last wander through the lanes, and said goodbye to the magestic city of Venice.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Pula, Croatia
For our latest European trip, we decided to go to Pula in Croatia - a combination of finding the cheapest place we could fly to, that wasn't on the Euro, and with the hope of some warm sunny weather - Croatia ticked all these boxes!
We arrived in Pula on Tuesday afternoon, and even though the weather wasn't as nice as we had hoped, we set off to explore the town. We were staying right next to the Roman ampitheatre (literally right next door) , with a view of this and a constant stream of tourists from our deck. We walked into the old part of the town, to see the Roman remains, including a "triumphal arch", built in the first century BC, and the Temple of Augustus (1st century AD) the looks over a large paved square. The old part of the town was very picturesque, with winding walkways with cobbled streets and pretty buildings.
Then we walked up to the Venetian fortress, which had great views over the city. After all this walking it was time for a some dinner at our apartment and a rest..after dinner we walked along the waterfront, looking at some of the beautiful old buildings and the amazingly calm water.
On Wednesday we visited the markets, which had a covered part selling meat and fish and an outdoor part with loads of fruit and flower stalls. and tasty looking cheeses and olive oils. After stocking up on fruit, we headed to the bus station to attempt to catch a bus inland to a village called Vodnjan. Not being able to understand the timetable didn't help, and watching other people being yelled at for asking the wrong question at the wrong counter made us a bit wary - but eventually we got on a bus with all the locals, who looked at these tourists like they were a little crazy..maybe we were.
We made it to Vodnjan, only to find the main attraction - a church containing "an unusual collection of mummified saints" (so the guidebook said) was closed. So we peered through the door and walked around the town instead. We felt like we were really off the tourist track, walking through the tiny deserted streets in the little town. We then waited at an unmarked bus stop, that had no timetable on show, not knowing when the bus was due, while locals gave us funny looks - but we had the last laugh, because eventually the bus came! And we made it safely back to Pula - phew.
Back in Pula, we went to visit our neighbour, the Roman ampitheatre "designed to host gladiator fights and able to hold 22,000 spectators" (guidebook again), it is the sixth-largest building of its type in the world. It was very impressive, still in quite good condition, and we stood in the arena and sat in the seats and imagined being there for a gladiator fight. We also went into the underground halls where there were used to be entrances into the arena.
Then it was time to sample some local cuisine at a restaurant in the old town, where we feasted on beautiful (and cheap!) pizza and meat, with pancakes for dessert..mmmm...
On Thursday we set off on a walk to the beach, about 3km out of the city centre, where the big hotels are. The water was beautiful, sparkling blue and so clear. We walked around the coastline from one cove the next, investigating rockpools (which didn't have much life in them) as we went. As we walked back from the beach we stumbled upon a military graveyard with very large, elaborate headstones.
On Friday we caught a boat to Brijuni National Park, made up of 14 islands, the largest of which is open to the public. Brijuni was the summer residence of President Tito (Yugoslav president 1949-1979) where he entertained many world leaders. We went on a guided tour, first we visited a museum which has a large collection of stuffed animals, all the animals the Tito was given as presents from other countries, including giraffes, bears, a kangaroo, monkeys, lions, tigers - he was given some pretty amazing presents! Upstairs there was a photo exhibit, with photos of all the world leaders and celebrities that stayed with Tito on the island - Queen Victoria, Elizabeth Taylor, Ghandi and lots of others. Then we rode around the island, through the 'green' golf course (not watered in summer, and 'mown' by deer), and on to the safari park, which included zebras, a lonely llama that lived with lots of zebras, two elephants, a few humungous cows (that refused to stand up), antelope, and some goats and donkeys for good measure.
We were also able to wander around the island, and view the roman ruins (the romans used to summer there as well) and see the oldest olive tree in Croatia (many hundreds of years old). We were sad to leave Brijuni, it was a very beautiful, peaceful place. We had the fun of some very drunk, merry Croatians on the boat, singing at the top of their lungs - if only we could have understood what they were singing about.
And that was the end of our time in Croatia - but with just enough time for some more local cuisine - another dinner of huge, tasty pizza and beautiful pasta, and some more pancakes for dessert..mmmm...
Friday, April 11, 2008
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