Apr 2007

Departed Florence by train, arrived Venice approx 1pm, without incident. As you walk out of the station, you are greeted by the magnificent view of the main canal, with its many ferries and gondolas. After asking directions, we boarded a ferry which travelled along the main canal, to our hotel. After alighting we climbed many steps up then down, luggage in hand. Sandra remained with the luggage and I endeavoured to locate the hotel. It turned out that it was directly across the canal, so after a few more steps, we arrived.
The hotel was small, but very venetian in its decor. Only issue no lift and we were on the 3rd floor. After booking in, headed out to discover what was on offer. Located in the various lanes were the most shops that I have seen outside of Roma, focus upon local glass creations and leather. We had dinner close to our hotel, right on the waterfront, watching the world go by...beautiful.
Next day we headed off to book our passage to Nice, as system broken the first day. We were informed that all trains full on the 28th from Milan to Nice. Plan b....plane, all booked. Plan C..bus. After some frustration we had to discover where to book the bus, eventually having to travel back into Venice mainland to book. A story in itself. Result being travel to Milan by train, then a 5 hr bus ride to Nice. Only problem, is that the bus did not leave until 7pm. Once booked we headed off by ferry to St Marks Square, to enjoy the magnificent Cathedral and Palace. Enjoyed some lunch and drinks in the sunny square, people watching then travelled back to hotel to get luggage and move to our next hotel. Back on the ferry to the central area, then a 30 min Gondola ride. very enjoyable and scenic.
Dinner then back to next hotel, which was closer to the station as we had a very tight timetable.
The trip continues.......

The story continues.
We caught the train from Venice to Milan without incident.(First time that we had to share our cabin, train was completely full).
Arrived at Milan station, huge building, massive actually and extremely busy.
Again asked directions, finally understanding that we had to go downstairs to the underground, and travel on one line for about 7 stops, then change to another line for a further 7 stops to reach our bus terminal.
No problems quite straightforward in the end.
Arrived at bus station at 2.30 with bus leaving at 7.00pm.
Luckily we had lunch at the main station, as not much on offer.
Bus Ok but seats not very comfy, stopped at Genova for 45 mins , so had something to eat.
Encountered the French Police at the border checking passengers and passports, no issues. Finally arriving in Nice at 12.30, with the help of a local obtained a taxi, and found hotel.
Hotel in a very good location, in between the sea and station.
No trains to Monaco today only buses, but fully booked with many tourists, due to long weekend, so we will go tomorrow.
Weather beautiful, clear blue sky, lovely city.
Heading for lunch and some local sightseeing.
Bye for now......

Hi again,
The last page should obviously have been titled Napoli. Silly me jumped ahead. Anyway to finish off in Napoli, we arose early on the 23rd and caught a taxi to the station, although my better half at a moment of weakness suggested that we walk with our luggage. (Yeah right). We caught train, however was late departing and had to change at Roma, making our arrival in Firenze an hour late. Luckily with the assistance of our booking office in Glen Osmond, (SJ & Jenna) our hotel was within a hundred metres of the station. Upon arrival we were initially informed that we did not have a booking. However the desk staff were helpful and advised that a room was available and that we could sought out the $$ later. By the time we completed the paperwork, confirmation of our booking appeared.
Room was comfortable and much larger than Roma, however we dont think that it makes the 4 star grade.
After dropping luggage we headed off to do the proverbial on/off bus trip to familiarise ourselves with the city. What a beautiful place with the tour taking in the narrow streets full of tourists and then over the bridge to the more scenic larger historical gardens and buildings. We then alighted and booked for a Tuscany Tour the next day. Many shops were then visited (predominately shoe shops for you know who), with a purchase being made. We then enjoyed a beautiful dinner in a piazza, walked home past markets markets markets.
A small sleep in, followed by a satisfactory Italian breakfast, then into the I`Net cafe and attempted further acc bookings. Then followed the bus tour to Tusacany...Chianti.
There were approx 50 on the tour / double decker bus, and a guide providing much information re the history of the area. We stopped at a castle which produces its own wine and olive oil. We toured the underground cellars and then enjoyed a wine tasting of 4 varieties.
Following a scenic route and more information, we alighted to walk up a very steep drive to a church with magnificent views of the surrounding countryside.
At this point we were all ready to eat, and our next stop was a family restaurant, where we enjoyed various pastas, pork, beans and sausages...with a terimi sui ???? for desert. This was aided by some red wine from the region.
An hour more and we were back in town, many asleep on the way. A very enjoyable outing.
This morning, breakfast, then onto the train destined for PISA.
The trip took approx 1hr 15 minutes, followed by about a 30 min walk to the "Tower" and surrounding historical buildings..one of course being a church of the large variety.
Mandatory photo`s taken of holding/pushing the tower although the tower must have moved as ours did not quite work out.!!
Back on the train, phone call to the girls (accom booking office), then went looking for the Museum to see the Statue of David.
After another long walk we located the non-descript building and I must say a very impressive statue indeed. There were many other works by Michelangelo both finished and unfinished, apparently he is on leave.
We then tried to make our way back to update our "blog", but yes I got us semi-lost again. Nevermind we are still ...speaking.
Many more markets along the way.
Dinner next, then off to Venice in the morning.
Catch you later with more snit bits. Ciao.

Hi its my turn.
Well to say we are having a ball would be an understatement.
We left Roma via a taxi heading off on a freeway, caused concern for a moment as we were only a 20mins walk from Termini. Anyway it turned out to be OK. At the station, we were only advised of the platform 15 minutes before the train arrived. Nothing like Aus. When boarding the handle broke on the larger bag, Sandra's extras. When we arrived at our compartment, there was a sign saying NO ENTRY.
A guard appeared and tried to move us to another compartment. We (Sandra) waved her hands about and finally he removed the sign and we stayed put. It would appear that he wanted the comp for himself.
Otherwise a safe journey to Napoli. Arrived, first impression dirty, after a friendly driver engaged us, we located acc about 30 min walk from station in an old apartment building (hotel) with a cable lift. Very quaint.
We jumped on a train and went to Pompeii, absolutely wonderful experience.
Next day we went by train to Salerno, then the bus from hell to Amalfi. Beautiful, had a great lunch and returned by ferry.
Times out will update soon. Ciao

Hi,
We have been in Rome 3 days and leave by train for Naples tomorrow morning. We have really enjoyed our time here and have spent the days walking, walking and walking!!
Our hotel is a 10 mins walk to the Spanish Steps and a 20mins walk to the Colosseo so you can see we are very central to all the major sights.
Our plane was delayed leaving Hong Kong due to bad weather. Instead of leaving at 12:05am we did not leave until 3:30am. After a 12 hour flight we were feeling very tired but made ourselves keep going. We booked into the hotel around mid day - the coach ride from the airport is another story!! Then we found a hop on hop off bus service that we used to get a feel for the city. This kept us going and after having dinner we fell into bed around 9:00.
After a good nights sleep we had breakfast and then began to walk. We walked to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Collosseo, Old Roman ruins and other historical buildings along the way (lots of them!!)
After reserving a seat on the train to Naples we thought we had a straight walk back to the Pantheon for dinner. A wrong turn on the way led to us getting lost and seein more of the city under lights. We finally made dinner at 10:00pm and enjoyed the atmosphere especially the time to rest our weary legs.
Today we spent our time at the Vatican. Certainly know how to build! St Peters Cathedral was spectacular.
We have had lots of laughs and near misses with the local traffic and lack of road rules! Jennas car with its dents would go well here!!
Hope you are all well.