Home Again, Home Again - Jiggity Jig

7th July

Well, yes, finally on the way back home.  This time the car and man that collected me from my hotel were on time andin a Mercedes.  Luffly - with Air conditioning.
Got to the airport in decent time, checked in - and my bag went from 19.1 kg's when I left Melbourne, to a modest 32 kg's now I am coming back home :-)

Didn't buy that much, I promise!!!

Took about a hour to get through the luggage check, and then roamed around the Duty Free before heading into the Business Lounge - that DID NOT have WiFi access.  WTF?????  (I am typing this in Bangkok airport, and THEY have WiFi!!).  ANYWAY, got on the plane and off we headed.

Now the plan WAS to sleep on this leg, and stay awake for the next leg so I am able to sleep tonight in Melbourne.  Pfffffffff - someone forgot to tell my body and brain that, and even with a sleeping tablet - I only got about 30 minutes.  YAWN!!  Hopefully it will all work out on this next SHORT 9 hour leg.

I will be heading out soon to peruse the shops here in HUMUNGOUS Bangkok airport.  Wonder if I will find anything?

Nearly home.  C u all soon :-)

Luff
Me

Vatican and Catacombs

6th July

Loved the Vatican – but Sistine Chapel you can keep, I’ll take St Peters Basillica any day!!! I love Baroque churches, that is what I have decided. All I will remember about the Sistine Chapel is “shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” from the bloody guards. Every 5 seconds, Shhhhhhhhhh, even if you were NOT talking. What a crock!!! However the Vatican Museum is amazing. I was so impressed that I bought the book on the Vatican. You know that my Dad will be turning over in his GRAVE at that – but I think he would have understood how much it was about the art!!

Was an extremely hot day when we did the Vatican tour, and OMG the queue to get in was amazing @ 8:30am – but when we got out at around Noon, it was over a kilometre long. I can honestly say, if I had not booked tours, there would have been no way in hell I would have stood in a queue for ANYTHING that long. I hauled ass in a cab back to the hotel to re-charge the cameras and sit in the air-conditioning before heading out again.

The Catacombs this time, and whilst we only toured ONE Catacomb, and then two churches, the Catacombs are amazing. To think that in 3ad these things were dug by HAND, up to 4 storeys deep as as a cemetery. There were a few saints and popes buried here, but the main burial place was for the homeless or those people who died in the street of Rome. What an amazing thing. The Guide mentioned that the sizes of the burial areas in the wall were different as there were many children buried here. How sad .....

Did two churches – which were Baroque. The guide said that Baroque must mean OMG in any language, as that is what you say when you see it. Very very true.

Got back to the hotel around 6pm, showered and sat in the aircon before heading out again – this time back to Wine & Grill for my final dinner in Rome. I was told by someone who lived here for a few years, that the traditional dish of Rome is Spaghetti Vongole (Clams), so that is what I had. One thing I don’t understand is that you get no food with Vegetables!!! You get bread and pasta ..... hello TUBBO!!! I must say tho, that I think I might be the only person to come to Italy and NOT gain weight because of my bloody dodgy stomach. I even bought “Travel” pills to help my stomach cope – which probably did help, but not much. I ate, and then the food left. That’s it. Oh well, not a BAD thing – my pants still fit:-) TMI, I know ...

Heading home tomorrow, so packed the cases and am ready to hit the road back to Melbourne.

More then

Milan - San Marino

4th July 2010

Milan here we come. Got to Milan around 9:30 and headed off to La Scala – OMG never in my life did I think I would get to be here. Awe inspiring. They say no photos – pffffffff to that shite. I got some, might not be the best as had no flash, but you betcha I was taking some. Hide my camera in my handbag and snapped as I walked around, keeping out of sight of the security guards.

We also saw the Diomo??? Church that took 500 years to build – can you see the detail and understand why? It is massive. Unfortunately the sun was behind the church so the pics are not so great.

Headed off to have lunch at an AutoGrill – these places are everywhere. You can have ANYTHING there – they have a buffet!!!! John would have LOVED it.

Drove for 4 hours to get to San Marino – and whilst the history and place is amazing, I am underwhelmed by the place. All the shops are cheap shite you could buy at Victoria Market in Melbourne. I think there are about 6 or 7 shops I saw that were worthwhile going into, but otherwise, just Chinese looking imported crap. I had to walk around for about 45 minutes before I found a bloody postcard!!!

Now tomorrow, the GROUP has to decide whether to go to Perrugia or not. Apparently, looks just like San Marino. So I think NO, as I will get to Rome earlier and will be happy with that. I had dinner with 3 other Aussies who were complaining that we didn’t go to Bologna and THEY PAID FOR IT!!! We didn’t go to Bologna as apparently it had been removed from the tour as it took 2 hours to get there plus another hour of walking around, and all the shops are closed on Sunday!!! I am still saying Noooooooooooooo Thanks to Perrugia. Let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Sirmione ROCKS (and Verona and Lake Como too!!)

3 July 2010

Well left Venice at 8:30 in the morning, to get to Verona nice and early. Only takes about 1h30. Lovely square there, and they were performing several operas there from June until November – how fanastic would that have been!!
So we headed through the little streets to get to Juliet’s balcony. They don’t even take you to see where Romeo lived! All about Juliet. I rubbed the statue for good luck, however it is weird to see women standing next to the statue, hanging off her boob .... weird-o-ness!!

We then went and saw a medieval church. Was really lovely and in such an unusual style compared to the others in the place. We had about 50 minutes to wander around the place. I found the SWATCH store – yeee haaaaaa, and I bought a new watch. It is a tri colour bangle looking swatch – latest design for summer. Really nice, and I finally know what time it is. I left my watch at home, so have been using the iPhone for time. I also found the Disney store, and bought two Mickey Mouse T-shirts. They are tighter than I usually wear (yes, I know that WOULD NOT be hard), so will have to make sure I wear them. I mean, they have Mickey Mouse on!!!

Then the guide said we would be going to Sirmione – which is where Lake Garda is. This lake is bigger than Lake Como, and absolutely stunning. Germans, Swedes, everyone goes there on holiday. Awesome, and I will so go back there. We paid to get on a speed boat that took us around Sirmione from one side of the castle that is there to the other. They have a thermal spring there, in the middle of the lake – so the boat stopped, off with the engine and we sat for a few seconds, and there was water bubbling up!!! 28 degrees it is (the water) Beautiful!!!

After we had lunch there – which we (being another Australian woman travelling on her own, Bianca) had a bottle of La Garda Castillino (rose wine). That was lovely.

Off to Lake Como – and sadly, George had to leave early and was not available to meet me this time. However, I did some MORE shopping. Lake Como is “apparently” know for Italian Silk – I didn’t know that, so I went in hunt of the elusive stuff. You would think there would be stacks of shops with material ......... I found ONE – Trompetto – and proceeded to buy material and scaves. There are no words to describe the patterns and designs on the various silks in the shop!!

The hotel we stayed in was the best so far of all my tours. Hotel Grand Di Como. Not in the heart of Como, but near a beach. Rooms were massive, and THEY ARE PET FRIENDLY!!! OMG – yes indeed, this is a hotel you can take your DOG too on holiday with you. I asked what the doggie deal was – they only stay on the 5th floor (you and the dog), and you can bring 2 small ones or 1 large one. Absolutely stunned. I got in the lift going up accidently, and happily had a couple and their dog join me in the lift to go to Breakfast.

When we pulled up at the hotel the night before, there was a yellow Lamborghini in the driveway. When I went down for dinner, the NEW Ferrari was parked there too. Of course, I went outside, and found 3 guys hovering – and they all spoke English. One was the “delivery guy”, and the other two were Germans that HIRED the Lamborghini for one day, and were now swopping it for the Ferrari!! Oh YES INDEED, you bet I asked to open the door and look about!!!!

Anywho, off to Milan and San Marino tomorrow. The bus pretty much empties at Milan. All but 3 of us get off, and we pick up another 13 for the trip back to Rome.

The bus driver said San Marino was more beautiful than Lake Como ..... let’s see.

Venice Venice Venice - I am in Venice!!!

2nd July 2010

I got up nice and early, and headed to the little ferry taxi thing to get to Saint Marcos square for my tour of Doges Palace. Interesting place St Marcos square – massive, with so many shops around it, and hidden in the back of it are Versace, Chanel, etc .... however, there are many cafes located all around the square – and the guide pointed out one called Cafe Florian (been here since 1720!!). Apparently where Casanova used to meet his lady friends.

Entered into the Doges Palace – and the square is the only place you can take pictures. You have to leave all backpacks or large bas in a locked luggage box, plus your camera. There are guards everywhere watching to see if you take any pictures. So, of course I did not, but OMG, no picture could do justice to the place. What an awesome awesome sight it was. Guilded everything, with paintings on canvas on the walls and ceilings. Absolutely magnificent. I know I was standing with my mouth open, gawking, gaping at it all. I would go back in there tomorrow. I will try and find a book on it as well. It was really interesting historically too.

Venice is a really interesting place historically too. Never had anyone try and overthrow the government of the day – the one guy (Doge) who tried was beheaded, and buried with his head between his knees! Hmmmmmmmmm, there is incentive NOT to try that again.

After my tour, I had a few hours to waste between tours, so I headed to Cafe Florian. Yes, it is expensive, but what a lovely place to sit and watch people go by. They have a band with a violinist, pianist, accordion – which you get charged 6 Euro to enjoy – but so work it. They play waltzes and requests. Stunning.

My next tour was Murano, Burano and Torcello – so Glass, lace and church. You can only get there by boat – and all up, the trip is 3 :30 hours. Saw some glass blowing – which I remember seeing in Australia when I was little. It used to be all the rage – anyone remember the glass figurines you could buy everywhere? I bought myself some Murano Pandora beads for my Pandora – I know you can buys the beads in Australia, but certainly not the many varieties you could get IN Murano.

The handmade lace was fantastic. There was a woman giving a demonstration. She must have been about 80 years old – really, and could still thread the eye of the minute needle she has to use to do this intricate work. I had my FIRST Gelato here – now I know Melisa is falling over herself with shock, but I was never a big fan of the Aussie version of Gelato, but the stuff here is magnificent. I might have to have a Gelato everyday from now on. However, I was told by gelato “afficiandos” that I must not have Gelato from the franchise stores, but from the little places that make it themselves. OK, I will do that!

La Gondola ride was amazing – I HAD to do it, and was in the Gondola with an Amercian woman, her Mum and kids. Was great as they take you through all the little canals, and there is one Gondola that has the singer and Accordian player in it, and you get serenaded as you go around the canals. Fabulous!

There is a hotel here in Venice called the Pritti Palace – when or if I come back here, I think I want to stay there. It looks stunning! I caught a water taxi from there back to my hotel – just because I wanted to! John has already been here, so not sure if I would come back unless to do a stopover on my way to somewhere else. It was stunning, and I am so glad I came. Dream 2 fulfilled! (Dream 1 was the Colloseum)

I have bought a few bits and pieces in Venice and surrounds, but of course, I only brought my teeny tiny case with me. Which means I cannot fit everything in it – so I bought myself the latest greatest fashion coloured hardcase – LILAC. I LOVE the colour. Did I mention Lilac is the biggest colour here? I MUST buy something clothes wise in that colour, as I do love it. I do like my Lilac case, and it is officially the PRESENT case – or the gifts for others and for me case.
Off to Verona and Lake Como tomorrow.

C U Then

Ola Vincenze!!

1st July 2010
Let’s just remind everyone that in 20 days time it is my birthday!!!

OK, so got up bright and early this morning – only because I couldn’t bloody sleep again.  *sigh*

Checked out of the Sheraton, and surprisingly my bill was not as bad as I was expecting.  Bearing in mind that everything at the Sheraton is almost double the price and you can’t have a cheap dinner!

Got a cab to Hotel Tritone, as that is where I am coming  back to after this trip.  As I previously mentioned they are more than happy to look after my BIG ASS case, and squished 4 days stuff in my little case.  I have been thinking and I think I am going to purchase a lovely lilac hard case.  I have seen them here and I think that is the colour for me.
So, got to the station at 7:30am!!! And my train is only at 8:45!  No matter, am being very Italian and had a scoliorie? For breakfast (which is a pastry filled with custard – didn’t realise that when I bought it!)  I can already see Karl’s face light up with GLEE with all the exercises he is going to make me to to work of that ONE bloody pastry.
Rude Rude Italian man at the coffee shop as well – decided I should have been rude the entire time I was in Rome.  I might has fit in more.  Trying to be nice and use my “sunny personality” just doesn’t work.  Although I am now on the train, opposite me is sitting a Canadian man, and he is a rude prick too.  So, perhaps I am being to harsh on the Italians?  Errrrrrrrr, no! Don’t think so.

The train is the Eurostar 9404 and stops Firenze, Bologna, Rovigo, Padova, Ve Mestre and finally Venezia - @ 12:35.  Got the iPoddy in and doing boogie woogie in the chair again – listening to Lilly Allen getting my attitude on!!!!.  Beautiful countryside, lovely train, good music – all seems good right now.  I was getting abit nervous travelling on my own, as everyone on every tour had said “wow, on your own”.

OK, got the the hotel, which seems quite nice, although the guy who checked me in made a HUGE deal about “you on the single”.  YES I AM!!!  Bloody hell.  Anywho, grabbed a map as the guy said “oh about half an hour” to get to Saint Marks Square – My ARSE!!!!  In Rome, I was able to walk here and there with no map, generally did the map ONE day and then was pretty easy to get my bearings.  Not in Venice – I ended up nowhere near Saint Marks, actually over the other side looking at it from the lighthouse!!!  Talk about walkabout.  So for 4 hours I tromped around, and eventually when I got near it I went “stuff it” look at it tomorrow, tired now.  Then walked alllllllllllllllllll the way back again.  Got to my hotel all hot and bothered only to be dismissed by the new guy on the desk – I think I must have had my invisibility cloak on as he just ignored me WHILST looking at me.  WTF???  I was so over it, and eventually the other guys realised how upset I was getting ............

Nevermind, I now found a travel agency and we have booked 3 tours for tomorrow – morning – WALKING tour around landmarks of Venice; afternoon – trip to Murano glass; evening – Gondola serenade.  Job done!

Off to hopefully go to the restaurant Michael B recommened to me.  They open at 7pm and do not take bookings.

Colloseo ...

30 June 2010

Colloseum!!!  Yes Yes Yes, I finally managed to get myself onto a tour.  Of course, the fact that it was 35deg, and took place in the afternoon made it DAMN DAMN hot.

The Hotel has a shuttle bus that takes you into Rome.  It drops you off miles away from anything it seems – but it took me over an hour to walk to where the tour was, so I was HOT and BOTHERED by the time I got there.  You get on an air-conditioned bus, so I was OK before we headed off

This was a walking tour.  I guess no-one told the big fat ass Americans that got on our bus LATE that.  They complained from the very first step we took off the bus!!  They went on and on and on ......... bloody hell.  WALKING TOUR – means WALKING, not sitting, not resting, not lying down.

ANYWAY – the tour I did was Imperial Rome, so did Colloseum, Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum.  Truly amazing.  I am so glad I did not have to stand in the queue to get in – My GOD!!!   I took tonnes of pictures, and am so happy I did it.  I was overwhelmed I think as it has not really sunk in.

Got back to Sheraton at 6:15 – took a cab.  Well, they don’t put the air con on in the cabs.  They have all the windows open, so you melt abit but still have a breeze.  So, there I am, sitting in the cab with this young driver, and he heads off the main road, onto a dirt road ........... and I am imagining being murdered.  No really, stop laughing, I was driving through the dirt with paddocks on either side, and suddenly my heart stopped ...... then he hit a left, up a hill, and popped out on the bloody freeway!!!  Jesus!  I think I must have sighed, as he suddenly realised what I must have been thinking, and he apologised all the way back.  It was a shortcut to the freeway – takes about 15 minutes off the trip.

WHEW – got back to the hotel, all OK.  Jumped into my costume, jumped in the pool – so hot!

THEN, got back to my room, getting ready to pack to head to Venice tomorrow – opened the fridge door for the Champagne I had placed inside – to find NOTHING.  The bloody cleaner had chucked out my Champagne.  Bloody Hell!!!  All sorted now – chatted to the lovely Room Service people.

I ordered room service tonight, to relax, etc.  The room service food is better that the restaurant food – the menu is different!!!  Yum Yum.  I then popped out to put the tray in the passage, and the door shut.  No problem – I had the key, but it didn’t work.  There I was in the passage – DID I MENTION I WAS IN MY PYJAMAS???  *sigh*.  Had to find the phone near the lift and explain to the little “Antonio” on reception that NO, I could not come down as I was in my jammys .... :-)

Finally back in the room, charging all the things in preparation for my trip.

Venice, here I come.  I truly hope it is everything I am expecting.

Conference & Sheraton here I come!

27 June 2010

Today got up bright and early – not because I wanted to but because I could not sleep. Had breakfast for the first time in my hotel (as I am usually on a bus going somewhere by 7am). Then headed out to see and buy stuff. BUT Nooooooooooo – Rome did not want to play along, as all the bloody shops were closed!!! Damn it! So I walked around some more and found even more things that I had not seen before, which was great.

The Lovely Roberto at my hotel kindly pointed me in the direction of the Kappa store, as John wants an Italia Rugby jersey – that shop was open, so now he has one.

The lovely Roberto also ordered me a cab to take me to the Sheraton – which OMG, what an experience. Remember I was collected by a DRIVER when I landed (albeit a LATE driver). Good grief – interesting describes it. Got to the Sheraton and checked in – but got no offer of help for my luggage, which is strange for the Sheraton. Anywho, unpacked my ENTIRE case for the first time of this trip, got in the cossie and headed for the pool. The room was a trifle hot, but the aircon was on, so I presumed all was OK.

After I had burnt my skin, I got changed to head over to the conference venue – that you can only get to by CAB!!! HUGE HUGE HUGE place. There were about 5 others things on, I have never seen anything this huge before – almost the size of Melbourne airport – Domestic and International – and even abit more. I registered, helped out some conference check figure out the printer ......... see even on holiday, I am being a HELPER!!! Bloody IT! :)
Cabbed back to the Sheraton, and went back into the room – it was HOT as HELL. It was actually cooler outside. I reported it to maintenance ........ an hour later someone turns up, checks this and that, says “got to check main board” and pisses off. I wait another hour – mind you, waited outside on the step!!! He didn’t return, so I had an early dinner. Got back to the room at around 8pm – still HOT. I phoned reception, they said “we sended someone” I said “YES, but still not working”, they say “OK, send again”. Half an hour later I am still outside on the step ....... and I had enough. I went to reception, and instead of blowing my stack I simply said “I reported my airconditioning over 3 hours ago, and it is still not working. I want to move to another room”

OK says helpful lady, so sorry, so very sorry, I will give you new room. I said thanks and rushed to re-pack my entire case again. Funny how when you in a rush, nothing fits and the case seems heavier! They sent a concierge to help me with my bags (about bloody time!!!) and he say “sorry” when I mentioned the airconditioning, and apologised for making him come out to where I was staying.

Now let me make this clear, the room I had I thought was lovely – nice, big, lovely bathroom. As we are walking back to the main hotel, he hands me my new room key and says “this is better”. I say “HUH”, and he said “you now in main hotel, and we refurbished it last August. Your new room is much more beautiful”. Oh, OK .....

Well, OMG. I have my own lift to the 4th floor – well, I share it with the 10 other rooms on the floor, but this room is OMG – a deluxe suite room – doesn’t have a lounge, but has a terrace overlooking the golf course. My original room would fit in the bathroom of this room!!!!
So apparently at the Sheraton, if they can’t fix it, and you complain, they upgrade you. (well, that has been MY experience).
Go ME!!!