Tuscany

What a beautiful place! So peaceful and relaxing. Everywhere is picturesque and the only down side to it is the haze. It ruined every photo!! But that's what Photoshop is for.

The villa we stayed in was perfect. Paul and I stayed in the apartment under the house and the size of it was about the size of our house! It was great. Every morning we woke up to birds and wind blowing in the trees. The day we arrived it was freezing! But the day we left was boiling.

The first day of our time in Tuscany we made a day trip to greve which is a lovely little town about 30 mins from San polo (where we stayed) then headed to monteriggoni where there is a big castle on a hill. Was very lovely indeed! However the windy roads disagreed with and made me a tad car sick. Was then on dreading day trips in the back seat!

Wednesday we made a day trip to cinque terre. Made the mistake of following the oldies as it took 5 HOURS to get there!!!!! Lucky Paul, Bec, Stephen and myself were staying the night. We had a great time walking between towns, getting some sun watching the beautiful seaside views. I loved it so much! All I can think of is amalfi now, so bring on the beach part of the holiday!!

On the way home we stopped for lunch and went to Pisa. With 2 stops on the way it only took 2 hours! Funny that. Next day we headed to San gimingano. Great place! Very tall buildings and an entirely walled city. Tried great gelato here and enjoyed strolling the old almost medieval streets.

Saturday we ventured to sienna. I loved it there also! Very similar to San gimingano with some beautiful squares and churches. Overall Tuscany and surrounds was a great part of our trip!

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Bologna

Well! What can I say about bologna. Not a whole lot actually. We were supposed to stay 3 nights and within a few hours I decided we were only staying 2. I really disliked the city. There was no historical feel about the place as it just felt like one dirty city! However the lifestyle in bologna is very interesting. Full of uni students (all very grungy) so the culture is very young. Would be more fun if they spoke English!!! I think to make the most of bologna you have to stay for quite some time to really take it all in and see it for what it really is. The food however was fantastic and is meant to have the best cuisine in all of Italy. There was plenty of shopping to do which killed some time, but as for monumental things, not so much. We met an Aussie guy that was studying over there who loved the place and said it has great atmosphere but it really wasn't for me. So basically I wouldn't recommend going there unless that is your thing!


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Verona

Yesterday we arrived in Verona. What a beautiful city! Only here for two nights then off to bologna. I didn't know what to expect when we arrived but it is just spectacular. Everything is very clean and neat. It said in the lonely planet it is like a little Rome, and it really is. Right next to the piazza is the arena which is like a mini colloseum. At the moment it is opera season and they are setting up for an egyption themed show. The stage so far looks awesome! We went to juliet's house yesterday and it was nice. The balcony is small though!

Today we went out to Sermione. It's a little coastal town that lies on the coast of lake Garda. However, the bus ride out there we were hit with a huge storm! Started out as a nice sunny day that turned black! So yes, sermione was quite miserable, cold and windy. We met a lovely couple from the gold coast on the bus so we had coffee with them until the rain died down. It is a beautiful town to visit so I highly recommend even though the weather was bad.

It's been so weird with the people we have met on this trip! Sitting in a bar in Venice and we met a lady that lives near my parents and knows the same people my mum knows then after we went to a restaurant and met another couple from Brisbane who was one of paul's clients at work and their sons also went to the same school as Paul. Very weird!

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Venice

We are now in Venice! I absolutely love it and it is so nice and hot. Everything is such a mystery and it doesn't matter if you get lost as that is how you stumble across things. We sat in a great bar last night watching that horrendous game played by the socceroos! We had two pizzas, beer and dessert and only got charged for the drinks. That was a bonus to the night!

We went on a gondola ride today and it was certainly peak hour on the canals. It was expensive but it's something you have to do! We have not had a bad meal and the gelati has been awesome. I am in love with pistacchio!

Finding our hotel was horrendous! Pulling your luggage over cobble stones and bridges through a maze is the worst thing I have done. Finally we arrived to a lovely hotel with a very welcoming host. Our room is small but very quaint and boutiquey with a little terrace we can sit out on. It doesn't matter where you stay here as there is always something to find. Tonight we are going to eat at a restaurant called Rosa Rosa which the hotel manager recommended. I hope it's nice!




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Jungfrau

Well I am trying to make the most of this free wifi. Paul and I went up to the jungfrau yesterday. Was a magnificent train ride looking at all the alps but unfortunately did not get to see anything up there. it was cloudy and very windy! We did go into the ice palace though which was an ice tunnel filled with lots of ice sculptures. Paul enjoyed sliding his way to each one.

In the afternoon we strolled up to trummelbach falls. Absolutely amazing! Massive series of waterfalls straight from the glaciers so the coldness from the off spray was freezing! We got this on video and it's very loud!

Today we might head up to Murren. There is a cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain to this tiny town consisting of only 450ppl. Wow they must know how to party! Then we might head into Interlaken and go to hooters for lunch. There is a big punk festival on called greenfields with Prodigy and Ramstein so I am hoping most of the festival goers will be at the festival.

Leaving for Venice early in the morning. More time on trains!! But I'm sure it will be worth it.


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Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Well after 2 1/2 days of transit we have finally been able to kick back and relax. I have to say i hated Milan and found it very overwhelming. We were only there for one night as a stopover but that was enough for me! We had to jump on a train from the airport into the city, then find our way to the metro train (absolutely horrible!) where there are beggars at every ticket booth looking for tourists that need help getting places. Then they demand money! Paul nearly got caught up but I quickly dragged him away. Finally we hopped on another train that took us to milano centrale to then hop on another train that took us to Spiez. But the travel doesn't end there! We had to hop on another train to take us to interlaken and we got talking to a lovely local. She gave us some good tips! When we arrived in interlaken we then hopped another train to lauterbrunnen. But you have to make sure you get on the right carriage as the carriage splits. Front part takes you to lauterbrunnen and the back takes you some place starting with g. The name reminded us of the Grizwalds from the vacation movies with chevy chase. SO after our trip of trains we found a nice cafe run by a lovely Canadian drinking beer look out to the mountains, waterfalls, jungfrau and lush greenery. And it certainly isn't cold here! Around 25 - 30 degrees. Today we are hoping to head up to the jungfrau but it's been cloudy so might not be able too. Anyway I best be off!





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Last Day of Work!

So peeps this is my last of work. Bye bye.