15 December 2007
Dinner was at the Sydney Rowing Club, Abbotsford.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Friday, September 21, 2007
World DB Mixed Races
Friday 21 September 2007
We went to see the 500m DB Races today. Perfect day, unlike the day before which was raining. The sun was out and the conditions were ideal.
Got there around 10am, and it was deserted..only a few volunteers around setting up...huh..how come..shouldn't they be racing already. Found out they were holding a IDBF meeting, and the races wouldn't start until 12noon. So we waited around the Aus Squad camp. Evan took a lot of photos.
When the races were about to start we made our way to the start line, where he took a number of photos of the many teams from all over the world.
For lunch we had Thai Massamalum Beef and rice, Chicken satay sticks as well as chips with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce..mmm hmm....very yummy...felt like I had done a hard days work of rowing...NOT.
After lunch, more photos were taken at the finish line and the marshalling area, before we made our way back to the car which was on the other side.
Germany took out the youth races, with Canada 2 and 3. Usa won the premiers with Canada and Aust coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
We went to see the 500m DB Races today. Perfect day, unlike the day before which was raining. The sun was out and the conditions were ideal.
Got there around 10am, and it was deserted..only a few volunteers around setting up...huh..how come..shouldn't they be racing already. Found out they were holding a IDBF meeting, and the races wouldn't start until 12noon. So we waited around the Aus Squad camp. Evan took a lot of photos.
When the races were about to start we made our way to the start line, where he took a number of photos of the many teams from all over the world.
For lunch we had Thai Massamalum Beef and rice, Chicken satay sticks as well as chips with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce..mmm hmm....very yummy...felt like I had done a hard days work of rowing...NOT.
After lunch, more photos were taken at the finish line and the marshalling area, before we made our way back to the car which was on the other side.
Germany took out the youth races, with Canada 2 and 3. Usa won the premiers with Canada and Aust coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
World Dragonboating Opening Ceremony
Wednesday 19 September 2007
Went to Parramatta to see the opening ceremony of the World Dragonboating Championships with Evan, who went to take photos.
Got there at 6pm and had to wait around till 7.15pm when the ceremony started. They had the Salvation Army playing to begin with, then some Chinese music. The stage was on one side of the river and the audience of paddlers on the other. Teams from all over the world, such as Canada, China, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, NZ, Slovakia and the USA were all there as well as the Aus Squad - you couldn't miss them..they were the loudest bunch of all. Such as buzz.
Evan found his picture perfect spot and was not budging. I went for 2 strolls down the path to have a look at who and what was happening.
The stage had a big screen which had projected on it the people on the stage. Needed to otherwise you couldn't see them. They had Chinese lion dancers, aboriginal dancers, a Kylie Minogue lookalike who performed most of her songs, and someone who'd won a Mo award doing a Peter Allen number. The dotting of the eye ceremony was too far away for us to see it happen.
We left at 8pm...parking was only paid up till then. Went to Outback Steakhouse in North Strathfield for dinner. hmm yum.
Went to Parramatta to see the opening ceremony of the World Dragonboating Championships with Evan, who went to take photos.
Got there at 6pm and had to wait around till 7.15pm when the ceremony started. They had the Salvation Army playing to begin with, then some Chinese music. The stage was on one side of the river and the audience of paddlers on the other. Teams from all over the world, such as Canada, China, Great Britain, Germany, Hong Kong, NZ, Slovakia and the USA were all there as well as the Aus Squad - you couldn't miss them..they were the loudest bunch of all. Such as buzz.
Evan found his picture perfect spot and was not budging. I went for 2 strolls down the path to have a look at who and what was happening.
The stage had a big screen which had projected on it the people on the stage. Needed to otherwise you couldn't see them. They had Chinese lion dancers, aboriginal dancers, a Kylie Minogue lookalike who performed most of her songs, and someone who'd won a Mo award doing a Peter Allen number. The dotting of the eye ceremony was too far away for us to see it happen.
We left at 8pm...parking was only paid up till then. Went to Outback Steakhouse in North Strathfield for dinner. hmm yum.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Amsterdam, The Netherlands to Gare du Nord, Paris, France. Thursday 21 June 2007
Thursday 21 June 2007 Amsterdam, The Netherlands to Gare du Nord, Paris, France
Day 28 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wake up.
7.00am Breakfast.
8.30am Check out and go for drive along Amstel river to Windmill photo stop.
9.30am Cheese and clogs. See how they make cheese. Lady talks us through process - milk from cows put into huge vat, which is stirred through with culture and bacteria until small chunks of cheese is formed. Cheese is then scooped into moulds and pressed to get water out. Then sealed with parafin wax. The longer it dries, the smaller it gets. Fresh cheese used for sandwiches, next stage is used with wine and harder cheese is for pasta, like parmasen - can only be grated. Next Clog making demonstration. Clog Man is funny, has an eye for the girls. Clogs made from poplar trees. Used to be hand made - takes 4 hours to make a great clog. Now use a machine to cut clog template and then feet is hollowed out. Take photos.
11.15am Cross border into Belgium.
12.00noon Pee break 20 mins. Back on bus and continue to France.
2.30pm Lunch break after crossing French border. Have packed lunch. 30 mins break.
3.00pm Back on the coach.
5.00pm Enter Paris and crawl to Gare du Nord. Traffic really bad as soon as we hit Paris city. Takes half an hour to travel down boulevard to station.
6.00pm Wait to checkin at Gare du Nord. Decide to go in on our own instead of waiting for Julia. Go through checkin, passport control
7.19pm Board Eurostar back to London. Depart.
End of our tour!!!!
Day 28 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wake up.
7.00am Breakfast.
8.30am Check out and go for drive along Amstel river to Windmill photo stop.
9.30am Cheese and clogs. See how they make cheese. Lady talks us through process - milk from cows put into huge vat, which is stirred through with culture and bacteria until small chunks of cheese is formed. Cheese is then scooped into moulds and pressed to get water out. Then sealed with parafin wax. The longer it dries, the smaller it gets. Fresh cheese used for sandwiches, next stage is used with wine and harder cheese is for pasta, like parmasen - can only be grated. Next Clog making demonstration. Clog Man is funny, has an eye for the girls. Clogs made from poplar trees. Used to be hand made - takes 4 hours to make a great clog. Now use a machine to cut clog template and then feet is hollowed out. Take photos.
11.15am Cross border into Belgium.
12.00noon Pee break 20 mins. Back on bus and continue to France.
2.30pm Lunch break after crossing French border. Have packed lunch. 30 mins break.
3.00pm Back on the coach.
5.00pm Enter Paris and crawl to Gare du Nord. Traffic really bad as soon as we hit Paris city. Takes half an hour to travel down boulevard to station.
6.00pm Wait to checkin at Gare du Nord. Decide to go in on our own instead of waiting for Julia. Go through checkin, passport control
7.19pm Board Eurostar back to London. Depart.
End of our tour!!!!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Wednesday 20 June 2007
Wednesday 20 June 2007 Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Day 27 Kumuka Tour
7.00am Wakeup.
8.00am Breakfast - Just a bit better than a nothing breakfast, but I have no appetite.
9.00am Meet in lobby and on the bus to have a short orientation and then drop off at Victoria Hotel.
10.00am Walk to floating flower market which is called Bloemenmarkt. It is a street along the canal that has the shops backing onto the canal. Mainly florist and plant shops. Some sell cannabis starter kits.
Then walk to Van Gogh Museum as it is furthest away from drop off point. On the way take photos at IAMSTERDAM where we see Roy and Casey. Apparently the meeting point for Mike's Bikes is near the Rijksmuseum. Go into Van Gogh Museum for Euro10.00 and up to 3rd floor to work our way down. Has works from the latter part of his life on 3rd floor. 2nd floor, mainly works of other artists which influenced Van Gogh, as well as an exhibition of a Dutch cartoonist Multati. First floor has history of Van Gogh and early paintings.
Next is Anne Frank's House, but the queue is too long, so we go to Tulip Museum which is just on the other side of the canal. It is a shop with the museum below. Because Janet has advertising card, 2 for price of 1. Euro1.00 each to go in. Watch a dvd on the production and selling of bulbs. Has history of tulips in pictures. Drop my map as I watch dvd.
Walk past Anne Frank's house again, still queue too long. So decide to go shopping, but realise I don't have map, so need to backtrack, lucky map is still where I dropped it.
Walk shopping district, looking for place to eat, but nothing good.
2.46pm Go to Anne Frank's House, queue not too long. Get in and do own tour. Hard to believe that family hid in that place.
3.30pm walk Nieuwezijds Voorburg back to bus pick up. Looking in souvenir shops along the way, but nothing to buy. So tired and legs/feet are sore.
4.45pm Bus back to hotel.
5.00pm At hotel. Nap and get ready to go out again.
6.30pm Coach to Leidseplein for dinner in Asian Restaurant Tong Ah. Have prawn crackers, chicken sweet corn soup, fried rice, noodles and onion, sweet and sour pork, duck and cabbage, Chicken and cabbage, beef and vegies. Ice cream for dessert.
Walk to canal cruise at 9.00pm. Party boat, drinks and music and cruise the canal, sights pointed out. Dancing houses, red light district, seven bridges, Nemo, Floating Chinese Restaurant. one and half hour cruise.
10.30pm Back on bus, back to hotel.
Day 27 Kumuka Tour
7.00am Wakeup.
8.00am Breakfast - Just a bit better than a nothing breakfast, but I have no appetite.
9.00am Meet in lobby and on the bus to have a short orientation and then drop off at Victoria Hotel.
10.00am Walk to floating flower market which is called Bloemenmarkt. It is a street along the canal that has the shops backing onto the canal. Mainly florist and plant shops. Some sell cannabis starter kits.
Then walk to Van Gogh Museum as it is furthest away from drop off point. On the way take photos at IAMSTERDAM where we see Roy and Casey. Apparently the meeting point for Mike's Bikes is near the Rijksmuseum. Go into Van Gogh Museum for Euro10.00 and up to 3rd floor to work our way down. Has works from the latter part of his life on 3rd floor. 2nd floor, mainly works of other artists which influenced Van Gogh, as well as an exhibition of a Dutch cartoonist Multati. First floor has history of Van Gogh and early paintings.
Next is Anne Frank's House, but the queue is too long, so we go to Tulip Museum which is just on the other side of the canal. It is a shop with the museum below. Because Janet has advertising card, 2 for price of 1. Euro1.00 each to go in. Watch a dvd on the production and selling of bulbs. Has history of tulips in pictures. Drop my map as I watch dvd.
Walk past Anne Frank's house again, still queue too long. So decide to go shopping, but realise I don't have map, so need to backtrack, lucky map is still where I dropped it.
Walk shopping district, looking for place to eat, but nothing good.
2.46pm Go to Anne Frank's House, queue not too long. Get in and do own tour. Hard to believe that family hid in that place.
3.30pm walk Nieuwezijds Voorburg back to bus pick up. Looking in souvenir shops along the way, but nothing to buy. So tired and legs/feet are sore.
4.45pm Bus back to hotel.
5.00pm At hotel. Nap and get ready to go out again.
6.30pm Coach to Leidseplein for dinner in Asian Restaurant Tong Ah. Have prawn crackers, chicken sweet corn soup, fried rice, noodles and onion, sweet and sour pork, duck and cabbage, Chicken and cabbage, beef and vegies. Ice cream for dessert.
Walk to canal cruise at 9.00pm. Party boat, drinks and music and cruise the canal, sights pointed out. Dancing houses, red light district, seven bridges, Nemo, Floating Chinese Restaurant. one and half hour cruise.
10.30pm Back on bus, back to hotel.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Berlin, Germany to Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Tuesday 19 June 2007
Tuesday 19 June 2007 Berlin, Germany to Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Day 26 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wakeup.
7.00am Breakfast, sit with Casey and Shirley. Have meatballs for breakfast
7.45am Checkout and on the bus. Leave at 7.55am Doze on the bus.
10.00am Pee break. 20 min. at rest stop/Cafe. Janet uses toilet. Has to pay Euro0.50, gets a voucher which can be redeemed if you buy something in the shop.
12.15pm. Lunch stop. Eat our packed lunch outside. 30 mins Go to toilet and pay Euro0.50, get voucher, but don't redeem.
12.45pm Back on the bus. Watching dvd Cars..and dozing in and out. Sitting on the sunny side of the bus.
3.00pm Pee break after crossing border into Netherlands. 15mins then on our way.
5.00pm Check into Tulip Inn, Room 201. Big room overlooking river. No wifi.
6.00pm Meet in lobby for group outing to Amsterdam centre. Take the coach in. Drop off at Victoria Building opposite Central Station. Walk down Damrak, past Sex Museum. Given 2 hours free time, before having to meet up for "Cultural Show". Casey and Co go to Anne Frank's Museum. Janet and I decide to eat first. Go to Maccas and get Big Mac Meal. Express Maccas..no toilet, and sit on stools, which are bolted to floor. After Maccas, walk to Information Centre to get map. Centre is closed but have a map dispensing machine for Euro2.00. Get a map. Walk to Singel street, see if I can remember hotel I stayed in years ago..yep it's still there, the Singel Hotel, and I remember the awnings. Walk along canal and then back towards Dam Square. Walk back up Damrak to Maccas.
7.00pm and shopping centres and clothes shops are closed. Walk to meeting place, but still have 1 hour to go, so go into Red Light District, through it and into Chinatown street. Past lots of Oriental restaurants. Also walk past a lot of Sex shops, erotic toys etc, marijuana shops, coffee shops, even walk past the Marijuana and Hemp Museum. Walk past a shop which has disensing machines that dispense fast food. Walk past the Cassa Rosso, Live Sex Theatre...this is where we are going to be at 9.00pm for our cultural evening.
8.45pm Get to meeting place 10 minutes early. Kasey and other girls are already there. Seems they've visited a Coffee shop and had hash brownies...very giggly. When all have gathered there, we go for a walk through the Red Light District, past window doors with red neon lights above them. Some have curtains, others with curtain open and displaying their wares. Some ugly, some not, some look so anorexic...all wearing bikinis with neon lighting. The ugly ones scare Roy, puts him off from looking into the windows. Walk into a very narrow alleyway which is door after door of prostitutes. Like looking at animals in a zoo.
9.00pm get to Cassa Rosso. Go in as a group. Casey, Shirley, Roy, Janet and myself. Sit separately. We sit in second row of back seats. Theatre is small. First act we see is a male stripper in naval uniform, performs dance and calls on female member of audience up to help him, once he has stripped, gets her to rub some cream or moisturiser on his chest and then on his bum cheeks. Goes so far as to take his g-string off but no full frontal.
Then a female dancer who looks very bored with choreography that leaves a lot to be desired comes on and performs a dance with strip tease. Has very small boobs and pulls some beads out of her vagina.
A couple then perform live sex act. Blow job, missionary, doggie on a stage that goes up and revolves. Nothing new.
Another female dancer comes out and performs dance...very boring. Wearing long black dress, she looks so bored out of her brains. Finally her strips off and gets a cigar, which she lights up. Sticks it into her hoo hoo and to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, she puffs away. That is something I haven't seen before.
Then another couple come out and perform sex act. She's very flexible, can do splits and he performs pushup style while in midst of sex act. Still nothing new. Except she can do bridge and splits.
Then girl that performed cigar act comes out again, does a little dance before the annoucer gets males from the audience to get on stage. Gibbo, from our group gets called up, the rest are from Contiki group. They are required to dance with girl, each individually and then as congo line and then a man in monkey suit appears on stage with an erect penis. They are ten required to eat a banana which is half peeled and stuck in her vagina. Supposedly, each guy is supposed to take big bites so there is nothing left for the end guy but to give her a blow job, but doesn't happen. Guy in monkey suit turns out to be bus driver from Contiki group.
Next couple perform sex act...same same, lots of butt slapping and our hour is up.
10.00pm Given option, can continue to sample nightlife and take own transport back to hotel or follow to bus drop off. We walk to coach and take coach back to hotel.
11.00pm typing up diary.
Day 26 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wakeup.
7.00am Breakfast, sit with Casey and Shirley. Have meatballs for breakfast
7.45am Checkout and on the bus. Leave at 7.55am Doze on the bus.
10.00am Pee break. 20 min. at rest stop/Cafe. Janet uses toilet. Has to pay Euro0.50, gets a voucher which can be redeemed if you buy something in the shop.
12.15pm. Lunch stop. Eat our packed lunch outside. 30 mins Go to toilet and pay Euro0.50, get voucher, but don't redeem.
12.45pm Back on the bus. Watching dvd Cars..and dozing in and out. Sitting on the sunny side of the bus.
3.00pm Pee break after crossing border into Netherlands. 15mins then on our way.
5.00pm Check into Tulip Inn, Room 201. Big room overlooking river. No wifi.
6.00pm Meet in lobby for group outing to Amsterdam centre. Take the coach in. Drop off at Victoria Building opposite Central Station. Walk down Damrak, past Sex Museum. Given 2 hours free time, before having to meet up for "Cultural Show". Casey and Co go to Anne Frank's Museum. Janet and I decide to eat first. Go to Maccas and get Big Mac Meal. Express Maccas..no toilet, and sit on stools, which are bolted to floor. After Maccas, walk to Information Centre to get map. Centre is closed but have a map dispensing machine for Euro2.00. Get a map. Walk to Singel street, see if I can remember hotel I stayed in years ago..yep it's still there, the Singel Hotel, and I remember the awnings. Walk along canal and then back towards Dam Square. Walk back up Damrak to Maccas.
7.00pm and shopping centres and clothes shops are closed. Walk to meeting place, but still have 1 hour to go, so go into Red Light District, through it and into Chinatown street. Past lots of Oriental restaurants. Also walk past a lot of Sex shops, erotic toys etc, marijuana shops, coffee shops, even walk past the Marijuana and Hemp Museum. Walk past a shop which has disensing machines that dispense fast food. Walk past the Cassa Rosso, Live Sex Theatre...this is where we are going to be at 9.00pm for our cultural evening.
8.45pm Get to meeting place 10 minutes early. Kasey and other girls are already there. Seems they've visited a Coffee shop and had hash brownies...very giggly. When all have gathered there, we go for a walk through the Red Light District, past window doors with red neon lights above them. Some have curtains, others with curtain open and displaying their wares. Some ugly, some not, some look so anorexic...all wearing bikinis with neon lighting. The ugly ones scare Roy, puts him off from looking into the windows. Walk into a very narrow alleyway which is door after door of prostitutes. Like looking at animals in a zoo.
9.00pm get to Cassa Rosso. Go in as a group. Casey, Shirley, Roy, Janet and myself. Sit separately. We sit in second row of back seats. Theatre is small. First act we see is a male stripper in naval uniform, performs dance and calls on female member of audience up to help him, once he has stripped, gets her to rub some cream or moisturiser on his chest and then on his bum cheeks. Goes so far as to take his g-string off but no full frontal.
Then a female dancer who looks very bored with choreography that leaves a lot to be desired comes on and performs a dance with strip tease. Has very small boobs and pulls some beads out of her vagina.
A couple then perform live sex act. Blow job, missionary, doggie on a stage that goes up and revolves. Nothing new.
Another female dancer comes out and performs dance...very boring. Wearing long black dress, she looks so bored out of her brains. Finally her strips off and gets a cigar, which she lights up. Sticks it into her hoo hoo and to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, she puffs away. That is something I haven't seen before.
Then another couple come out and perform sex act. She's very flexible, can do splits and he performs pushup style while in midst of sex act. Still nothing new. Except she can do bridge and splits.
Then girl that performed cigar act comes out again, does a little dance before the annoucer gets males from the audience to get on stage. Gibbo, from our group gets called up, the rest are from Contiki group. They are required to dance with girl, each individually and then as congo line and then a man in monkey suit appears on stage with an erect penis. They are ten required to eat a banana which is half peeled and stuck in her vagina. Supposedly, each guy is supposed to take big bites so there is nothing left for the end guy but to give her a blow job, but doesn't happen. Guy in monkey suit turns out to be bus driver from Contiki group.
Next couple perform sex act...same same, lots of butt slapping and our hour is up.
10.00pm Given option, can continue to sample nightlife and take own transport back to hotel or follow to bus drop off. We walk to coach and take coach back to hotel.
11.00pm typing up diary.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Berlin, Germany. Monday 18 June 2007
Monday 18 June 2007 Berlin, Germany
Day 25 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wake up.
7.00am Go downstairs to lobby with laptop. Chat with Evan. Lots of people going in and out, also lots of smokers. Finish up just before 8.00am...too many people smoking in lobby.
8.30am Go down to breakfast. Casey and Shirley join us. We have chicken nuggets - spicy chicken wings...now that's a breakfast. Yesterday they had meatballs.
10.00am Meet back in the lobby. Walk to Franz-Neumann Platz. Catch metro U8 to Alexander Platz, and change to U2 line for Potsdamer Platz. Walk to Sony Center and take photo of giant giraffe made of lego. Walk around centre..looking for shops...apparently they had the premier of Die Hard 3 or is that 4 last night. Packing up the red carpet.
Go underground looking for the shops, only come across a small arcade with little shops. Casey buys stuff from a gadget shop. I buy a ring for Euro8.00. We then walk through to Leipzeiger Platz, but still no shops...End up catching bus #200 to the U - Sbahn + Zoo.
Get off at the Europa Centre. Walk through the centre, ground floor. Then through arcade of shops that Nathan would probably like. End up out on main street. Walk into Nike shop...nothing to buy. Cross the road and walk to "Ka de Wa" Kaufhaus des Westens. Big department store like Harrods or DJs. Expensive. Go up to Food Gallery...so many variety of chocolates, drinks, cheeses, meats, seafood, etc. Use toilet in Ka de Wa Euro0.50
Walk to McDonalds for lunch. Have a Big Mac Meal for Euro5.15. Eat upstairs in lounge..near McCafe counter.
Walk back to Ka de Wa...look for Hobby/Haberdashery which should be on -1 level...get pointed to go outside and turn left and into P1...however end up in P2...go back in and ask for directions again. This time a man points out how to get there, follow walk bridge across and take lift down. We find it. They have scrapbooking stuff...also a lot like Lincraft or Spotlight. Lots of beads, materials, etc.
Casey and Shirley have had enough, and go back to hotel. We continue looking. Go back upstairs to find Jim. Janet and I head up to level 5 to look at stationery. Roy goes to Menswear. Use toilet up in level 5 pay Euro0.50.
Nothing much to buy...look at other floors as we come down escalators. Too rich for us.
4.00pm Head back to Alexander Platz by catching the bus #100. Catch underground back to Franz-Neumann Platz. Hoping to buy stir fried vegies from Chinese cafe, but it is closed. Walk back to hotel and then to grocery shop...a bit like Aldi. Buy water and choy to go with our 5 min noodle.
6.00pm Back at Hotel and Janet is cooking our noodles. Need to heat up water in microwave, then put noodles in and choy. Have very salty chips with our noodles.
7.30pm Head down to Roy's room. Apparently his room is close to the wireless antennae. He is having his microwaved dinner. Set up laptop to check email. Jim and Tracey also join us. After I've checked my email, Janet checks hers, and after she checks hers, Jim wants to check his. Tracey doesn't have an email account...so once Jim has finished, I help her set up a Hotmail account.
Roy uses laptop after we finish our email lesson. In the meantime, Janet chats with Tracey and Jimmy.
10.00pm Back in room typing up today's events. Up to coughing stage. Hopefully be a lot better tomorrow.
10.30pm Time for me to have shower and get ready for tomorrow's checkout.
Day 25 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wake up.
7.00am Go downstairs to lobby with laptop. Chat with Evan. Lots of people going in and out, also lots of smokers. Finish up just before 8.00am...too many people smoking in lobby.
8.30am Go down to breakfast. Casey and Shirley join us. We have chicken nuggets - spicy chicken wings...now that's a breakfast. Yesterday they had meatballs.
10.00am Meet back in the lobby. Walk to Franz-Neumann Platz. Catch metro U8 to Alexander Platz, and change to U2 line for Potsdamer Platz. Walk to Sony Center and take photo of giant giraffe made of lego. Walk around centre..looking for shops...apparently they had the premier of Die Hard 3 or is that 4 last night. Packing up the red carpet.
Go underground looking for the shops, only come across a small arcade with little shops. Casey buys stuff from a gadget shop. I buy a ring for Euro8.00. We then walk through to Leipzeiger Platz, but still no shops...End up catching bus #200 to the U - Sbahn + Zoo.
Get off at the Europa Centre. Walk through the centre, ground floor. Then through arcade of shops that Nathan would probably like. End up out on main street. Walk into Nike shop...nothing to buy. Cross the road and walk to "Ka de Wa" Kaufhaus des Westens. Big department store like Harrods or DJs. Expensive. Go up to Food Gallery...so many variety of chocolates, drinks, cheeses, meats, seafood, etc. Use toilet in Ka de Wa Euro0.50
Walk to McDonalds for lunch. Have a Big Mac Meal for Euro5.15. Eat upstairs in lounge..near McCafe counter.
Walk back to Ka de Wa...look for Hobby/Haberdashery which should be on -1 level...get pointed to go outside and turn left and into P1...however end up in P2...go back in and ask for directions again. This time a man points out how to get there, follow walk bridge across and take lift down. We find it. They have scrapbooking stuff...also a lot like Lincraft or Spotlight. Lots of beads, materials, etc.
Casey and Shirley have had enough, and go back to hotel. We continue looking. Go back upstairs to find Jim. Janet and I head up to level 5 to look at stationery. Roy goes to Menswear. Use toilet up in level 5 pay Euro0.50.
Nothing much to buy...look at other floors as we come down escalators. Too rich for us.
4.00pm Head back to Alexander Platz by catching the bus #100. Catch underground back to Franz-Neumann Platz. Hoping to buy stir fried vegies from Chinese cafe, but it is closed. Walk back to hotel and then to grocery shop...a bit like Aldi. Buy water and choy to go with our 5 min noodle.
6.00pm Back at Hotel and Janet is cooking our noodles. Need to heat up water in microwave, then put noodles in and choy. Have very salty chips with our noodles.
7.30pm Head down to Roy's room. Apparently his room is close to the wireless antennae. He is having his microwaved dinner. Set up laptop to check email. Jim and Tracey also join us. After I've checked my email, Janet checks hers, and after she checks hers, Jim wants to check his. Tracey doesn't have an email account...so once Jim has finished, I help her set up a Hotmail account.
Roy uses laptop after we finish our email lesson. In the meantime, Janet chats with Tracey and Jimmy.
10.00pm Back in room typing up today's events. Up to coughing stage. Hopefully be a lot better tomorrow.
10.30pm Time for me to have shower and get ready for tomorrow's checkout.
Emails from Berlin, Germany
Sent: Monday,18 June 2007 5:37 AM
Hi all,
How goes the tennis...hope it hasn't been rained out? Heard the dams are filling up.
Well we got into Berlin today around midday, and had a tour guide jump on board and tell us about the historic sites of the city. Visited sections of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and other sites which have been developed since WWII. We have 2 free days here, so will probably go back to see some of the sites highlighted.
The last couple of days we've been to Budapest and Prague. Both great cities to visit, although very hot during the day, temperatures reach 30s. Lots of historic sites, churches, palaces, castles...I'm at the stage where I don't want to see another church or dome. Taken lots of photos.
Hopefully do some shopping in Berlin, looks like there are lots of shopping centres here, may be able to get some new additions to my wardrobe after all. Haven't been shopping much at all.
Next stop is Amsterdam."
From: M Tsui [mailto:megan128@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, 17 June 2007 3:39 PM
To: Susan Hoy
Subject: RE: So jealous
Hi Sue
We are currently in Berlin, Germany, towards the end our of tour. Have 2 days here, then drive to Amsterdam, then Paris and Eurostar back to London, before we fly back home. About 6 days left.
I also have come down with the flu...but not as serious..just my usual..hopefully this means I won't get it when I get back to Sydney. I'm popping Codral and Panadol. With a bus full of coughing people, I was bound to eventually get it :(
Warm weather here is helping, although it seems to be raining everytime we get into a new city.
Don't know where I was when I last emailed, but last few days we've been to Budapest and Prague. Stopped in Dresden for a short time before heading to Berlin. Hopefully will be going shopping here. Haven't bought much stuff..no room to put it. Would need to buy another bag, but then would have to pay excess luggage. Very strict with the amount of bags you can take on a plane these days. Have to be selective in what we buy. Seen so many nice things though.
Probably see the Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie, maybe do some memorials and historic buildings but am a bit over churches and monuments.
Hope problems at work aren't too big...but as you said they can wait. I guess with all that rain over there, it was bound to happen.
Won't be long before I'm back at work.
Hi all,
How goes the tennis...hope it hasn't been rained out? Heard the dams are filling up.
Well we got into Berlin today around midday, and had a tour guide jump on board and tell us about the historic sites of the city. Visited sections of the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the Brandenburg Gate and other sites which have been developed since WWII. We have 2 free days here, so will probably go back to see some of the sites highlighted.
The last couple of days we've been to Budapest and Prague. Both great cities to visit, although very hot during the day, temperatures reach 30s. Lots of historic sites, churches, palaces, castles...I'm at the stage where I don't want to see another church or dome. Taken lots of photos.
Hopefully do some shopping in Berlin, looks like there are lots of shopping centres here, may be able to get some new additions to my wardrobe after all. Haven't been shopping much at all.
Next stop is Amsterdam."
From: M Tsui [mailto:megan128@hotmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, 17 June 2007 3:39 PM
To: Susan Hoy
Subject: RE: So jealous
Hi Sue
We are currently in Berlin, Germany, towards the end our of tour. Have 2 days here, then drive to Amsterdam, then Paris and Eurostar back to London, before we fly back home. About 6 days left.
I also have come down with the flu...but not as serious..just my usual..hopefully this means I won't get it when I get back to Sydney. I'm popping Codral and Panadol. With a bus full of coughing people, I was bound to eventually get it :(
Warm weather here is helping, although it seems to be raining everytime we get into a new city.
Don't know where I was when I last emailed, but last few days we've been to Budapest and Prague. Stopped in Dresden for a short time before heading to Berlin. Hopefully will be going shopping here. Haven't bought much stuff..no room to put it. Would need to buy another bag, but then would have to pay excess luggage. Very strict with the amount of bags you can take on a plane these days. Have to be selective in what we buy. Seen so many nice things though.
Probably see the Wall, and Checkpoint Charlie, maybe do some memorials and historic buildings but am a bit over churches and monuments.
Hope problems at work aren't too big...but as you said they can wait. I guess with all that rain over there, it was bound to happen.
Won't be long before I'm back at work.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Berlin, Germany. Sunday 17 June 2007
Sunday 17 June 2007 Berlin, Germany
Day 24 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wake up and get dressed and take laptop down to lobby. Chat to Evan and Dazzer.
8.00am Breakfast. Shirley not feeling well. My nose is still running, but at least not feeling clogged.
9.00am Meet in lobby. Discuss where and what we'll be doing. Walk to Franz-Neumann Platz to catch underground metro to Alexander Platz. Casey and Roy buy group tickets 2 @ Euro14.50. We pay Roy Euro8.40. Surface at Alexander Platz and walk past Nikolikirche to the Luther St. Marienkirche in time for 10.00am service. Casey and co and Roy go in. Janet and I not allowed in...apparently looking more like tourists than worshippers. We walk around outside. Take photos of the church and the Altes Museum.
When they come out, we take the bus #100 to Wilhelm Str. Walk to the Holocaust Memorial. Go inside. Need to go through security check. They xray my bag twice. The Memorial was erected to the murdered Jews of Europe. It was built between 2003 and 2005. The underground Information Centre has rooms about the extermination of the Jews. The memorial itself is a field of 2711 stelae of differing heights but same dimensions. As you walk through them they tower over you.
After Holocaust Memorial, we walk to Hitler's Bunker, which is now the site of residential apartment blocks and a parking lot. Only a sign outside reminds us that this was the site of Hitler's bunker and is where he was found dead with his mistress, Eva.
From there we make our way to Checkpoint Charlie, but stop at the Topography of Terror an open air exhibition focused around a preserved section of the wall and the former headquarters of the SS and Gestapo. Torture and suffering is documented with photos and text.
At Checkpoint Charlie, where people crossed from West to East, we take photos of a replica checkpoint...not as big as the original. Has men dressed in US and USSR uniforms...paid money for photos.
Have lunch in a small food court opposite Museum. Roy buys hot sour soup for Euro1.00, but is nothing like anything he has tasted before.
After lunch, we buy postcards, etc in souvenir shop next door to Museum. Then we pay 9.50 euro to go into Museum. Have to put backpacks into lockers with Euro2.00, refunded on return. The Museum is 41 years dedication to peace in freedom, founded in 1962 beside the legendary Checkpoint Charlie border crossing, the geographical focal point of the Cold War, where two worlds split apart and joined again. It documents history and incidents, has original objects from successful escapes under, over and above ground. Takes a while to walk through, as you need to read every photo which is captioned in different languages.
We split from Casey and Co, and with Roy we walk the the Museum of Communication...can't find entrance, so we give it a miss. Walk to the U. Stadmitte and catch the underground to Friedrich Str. Walk along the river to the Reichstag. Take photos outside, and then line up to go into the Dome. Need to go through security. They only let a number of people in at a time. Take a lift that will fit the group into it up to the dome. Then we walk the circular walkway to the top of the dome. It is very warm at the top. Made of glass, and it's a warm day. Takes panaramic pictures of the city views. Make our way back down. Also need to go through 2 doors to exit.
Take bus #100 to the Zoo. Past the freedom statue at Groberstern and to the Zoo station. Walk to the "lipstick and compact" and take pictures of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedanchtniskirche. The "lipstick" tower has a glockenspiel chiming away as it is 6.00pm.
Walk streets and catch bus #100 back to Alexander Platz. Take the underground back to Franz-Neumann Platz.
Decide to look for somewhere to eat. Roy spies Asian restaurant..but is very small. He asks if they speak, English, no, Mandarin, yes, Cantonese..only can understand, not speak. Apparently lady is from Taiwan and cook, her husband is Malaysian.
I have fried chicken with mixed vegies, Janet has pork with bamboo and asparagus, Roy has tofu with mixed vegies. Chicken is very salty. Lucky all dishes come with rice. Dinner costs Euro6.30.
After we've finished eating, Cook continues to talk to Roy telling him about life in Berlin. They've been here for over 20 years.
8.30pm Walk back to hotel. Have shower, Roy borrows laptop, write postcards and diary entry.
11.32pm Time for bed.
Day 24 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wake up and get dressed and take laptop down to lobby. Chat to Evan and Dazzer.
8.00am Breakfast. Shirley not feeling well. My nose is still running, but at least not feeling clogged.
9.00am Meet in lobby. Discuss where and what we'll be doing. Walk to Franz-Neumann Platz to catch underground metro to Alexander Platz. Casey and Roy buy group tickets 2 @ Euro14.50. We pay Roy Euro8.40. Surface at Alexander Platz and walk past Nikolikirche to the Luther St. Marienkirche in time for 10.00am service. Casey and co and Roy go in. Janet and I not allowed in...apparently looking more like tourists than worshippers. We walk around outside. Take photos of the church and the Altes Museum.
When they come out, we take the bus #100 to Wilhelm Str. Walk to the Holocaust Memorial. Go inside. Need to go through security check. They xray my bag twice. The Memorial was erected to the murdered Jews of Europe. It was built between 2003 and 2005. The underground Information Centre has rooms about the extermination of the Jews. The memorial itself is a field of 2711 stelae of differing heights but same dimensions. As you walk through them they tower over you.
After Holocaust Memorial, we walk to Hitler's Bunker, which is now the site of residential apartment blocks and a parking lot. Only a sign outside reminds us that this was the site of Hitler's bunker and is where he was found dead with his mistress, Eva.
From there we make our way to Checkpoint Charlie, but stop at the Topography of Terror an open air exhibition focused around a preserved section of the wall and the former headquarters of the SS and Gestapo. Torture and suffering is documented with photos and text.
At Checkpoint Charlie, where people crossed from West to East, we take photos of a replica checkpoint...not as big as the original. Has men dressed in US and USSR uniforms...paid money for photos.
Have lunch in a small food court opposite Museum. Roy buys hot sour soup for Euro1.00, but is nothing like anything he has tasted before.
After lunch, we buy postcards, etc in souvenir shop next door to Museum. Then we pay 9.50 euro to go into Museum. Have to put backpacks into lockers with Euro2.00, refunded on return. The Museum is 41 years dedication to peace in freedom, founded in 1962 beside the legendary Checkpoint Charlie border crossing, the geographical focal point of the Cold War, where two worlds split apart and joined again. It documents history and incidents, has original objects from successful escapes under, over and above ground. Takes a while to walk through, as you need to read every photo which is captioned in different languages.
We split from Casey and Co, and with Roy we walk the the Museum of Communication...can't find entrance, so we give it a miss. Walk to the U. Stadmitte and catch the underground to Friedrich Str. Walk along the river to the Reichstag. Take photos outside, and then line up to go into the Dome. Need to go through security. They only let a number of people in at a time. Take a lift that will fit the group into it up to the dome. Then we walk the circular walkway to the top of the dome. It is very warm at the top. Made of glass, and it's a warm day. Takes panaramic pictures of the city views. Make our way back down. Also need to go through 2 doors to exit.
Take bus #100 to the Zoo. Past the freedom statue at Groberstern and to the Zoo station. Walk to the "lipstick and compact" and take pictures of the Kaiser Wilhelm Gedanchtniskirche. The "lipstick" tower has a glockenspiel chiming away as it is 6.00pm.
Walk streets and catch bus #100 back to Alexander Platz. Take the underground back to Franz-Neumann Platz.
Decide to look for somewhere to eat. Roy spies Asian restaurant..but is very small. He asks if they speak, English, no, Mandarin, yes, Cantonese..only can understand, not speak. Apparently lady is from Taiwan and cook, her husband is Malaysian.
I have fried chicken with mixed vegies, Janet has pork with bamboo and asparagus, Roy has tofu with mixed vegies. Chicken is very salty. Lucky all dishes come with rice. Dinner costs Euro6.30.
After we've finished eating, Cook continues to talk to Roy telling him about life in Berlin. They've been here for over 20 years.
8.30pm Walk back to hotel. Have shower, Roy borrows laptop, write postcards and diary entry.
11.32pm Time for bed.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Prague, Czech Republic to Berlin, Germany. Saturday 16 June, 2007
Saturday 16 June, 2007 Prague, Czech Republic to Berlin, Germany
Day 23 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wakeup.
6.30am Breakfast.
7.45am Checkout and on the coach. Doze on and off.
9.25am German border crossing. Checkpoint man collects passports and stamps them. Group ask if they can go pee, so they get off the coach.
10.00am Leave checkpoint.
10.30am Get to Dresden. We have 1 hour free time to walk city and take photos. Buy 2 mini porcelain cats for Euro14.00. Also buy postcard for Euro0.80. Take photos of most of historic buildings. Mural on wall of one building has all the kings.
11.45am Back on bus and off to Berlin.
1.00pm Have lunch on the coach. Packed ham and cucumber roll.
1.45pm Pee break at service station. Euro0.50 to pee, I don't have to go.
2.30pm Berlin. A guide Tatiana hops on the bus at Alexander Square. Visit both sides, east and west berlin, crossing wall several times. Wall is up for certain portion, otherwise it is marked by cobbletones in the road with markers saying it is the Berlin Wall.
Photo stop at Checkpoint Charlie: raining but stops as we leave. A section of the wall, which outlines history and is fenced off. Brandenburg Gate, which is a part of Paris Square. Also drive past Reichstag, National Library, Muesums, new Railway Station, the Zoo, Postdamer Platz (shopping district) and Jewish quarter.
5.30pm Check into Quality Hotel.
6.25pm Meet in lobby for walk to dinner.
6.30pm Dinner, which is less than 5 min walk away, just across the road from the hotel. Sit with Tristan and Jody. Have broccolli soup, roast pork/beef with potato and saurkraut. Dessert, chocolate bavarian? chocolate sponge with cream and cherries. Drink - coke Euro3.20.
7.30pm finish dinner. Walk back to hotel. Hotel has laundromat in basement. Euro2.50 to wash Euro2.50 to dry. Need to get tokens from reception. Decide to wash clothes in room. Have quick shower and take laptop downstairs to use free wifi. Send some emails. Lend laptop to Roy and go back upstairs to wash clothes.
10.00pm Download photos and type up diary.
11.00pm Sleep.
Day 23 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wakeup.
6.30am Breakfast.
7.45am Checkout and on the coach. Doze on and off.
9.25am German border crossing. Checkpoint man collects passports and stamps them. Group ask if they can go pee, so they get off the coach.
10.00am Leave checkpoint.
10.30am Get to Dresden. We have 1 hour free time to walk city and take photos. Buy 2 mini porcelain cats for Euro14.00. Also buy postcard for Euro0.80. Take photos of most of historic buildings. Mural on wall of one building has all the kings.
11.45am Back on bus and off to Berlin.
1.00pm Have lunch on the coach. Packed ham and cucumber roll.
1.45pm Pee break at service station. Euro0.50 to pee, I don't have to go.
2.30pm Berlin. A guide Tatiana hops on the bus at Alexander Square. Visit both sides, east and west berlin, crossing wall several times. Wall is up for certain portion, otherwise it is marked by cobbletones in the road with markers saying it is the Berlin Wall.
Photo stop at Checkpoint Charlie: raining but stops as we leave. A section of the wall, which outlines history and is fenced off. Brandenburg Gate, which is a part of Paris Square. Also drive past Reichstag, National Library, Muesums, new Railway Station, the Zoo, Postdamer Platz (shopping district) and Jewish quarter.
5.30pm Check into Quality Hotel.
6.25pm Meet in lobby for walk to dinner.
6.30pm Dinner, which is less than 5 min walk away, just across the road from the hotel. Sit with Tristan and Jody. Have broccolli soup, roast pork/beef with potato and saurkraut. Dessert, chocolate bavarian? chocolate sponge with cream and cherries. Drink - coke Euro3.20.
7.30pm finish dinner. Walk back to hotel. Hotel has laundromat in basement. Euro2.50 to wash Euro2.50 to dry. Need to get tokens from reception. Decide to wash clothes in room. Have quick shower and take laptop downstairs to use free wifi. Send some emails. Lend laptop to Roy and go back upstairs to wash clothes.
10.00pm Download photos and type up diary.
11.00pm Sleep.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Prague, Czech Republic. Friday 15 June 2007
Friday 15 June 2007 Prague, Czech Republic
Day 22 Kumuka Tour
6.00am wake up and throat is not so sore anymore. Type up diary entries for last 2 days
8.00am Breakfast. Meet up with Roy.
9.06am Catch bus #115 from Mestsky Archiv to Chodov. Catch Metro to Malostranska and catch tram to top of hill. Prague Castle.
10.00am Outside the Loreta, entry fee - decide not to go in. Look for Carpucine Monastry, but can't find, so we go to a Church nearby.
10.40am Visit the miniature museum 50 crowns, Not big museum, but very interesting. Paintings on seeds, trains on hair, zoo on antennae of flea, etc.
After we make our way to Prague Castle. Past the Sternbersy Palac. Take photos of front of Prague Castle and Gate. Go in and buy short unguided tour ticket for 250 crowns. Bump into Casey and co, they have just finished and are going to watch changing of the guards. We decide to see changing of the guards as well, get position outside the gates, so crowded, people already in position, with 10 mins to go. Wait in sun. At 12.00noon, see changing of guards. Roy and Janet have better position so they take photos.
12.20pm Line up for St Vitus Cathedral, Where tomb of King Wenceslas lies. Climb the tower and the 287 steps although Roy and I only count 284 steps.
1.15pm Have lunch in courtyard outside church.
1.45pm Number I on our ticket. The Royal Palace.
2.00pm Number III on our ticket.
2.11pm Number VI on our ticket. The Golden Lane. Apparently Franz Kafka lived in Number 22, but I don't take photo.
3.15pm We wait in Maccas, while Roy visits St Nicolas church. Buy large coke for 30 crowns, Janet gets water.
4.00pm Walk across Charles Bridge, taking photos of each on the statues, but clouds gather, thunder and lightning, stop to buy Prague glass earrings 290 crowns, and then it starts to rain. Get to other side and it starts pouring down with torrential rain, so much so that roads flood and some shops also flood. We take shelter in souvenir shop...end up buying postcards 50 crowns. Then as rain starts to stop, we make our way to Old Town Square and Anatomical Clock.
5.00pm Stand and wait for clock to do its thing. 12 saints appear in windows, and then the cock crows. Then gong sounds. Very anticlimactic.
5.30pm Walk through markets. Stalls selling fruit and vegies as well as souvenir shops...puppets, beads, etc.
Continue walking into souvenir shops, Roy buys T-shirt for his brother.
6.30pm Decide to get something to eat before we head back to hotel. Find a Chinese Restaurant. Jin Yan Jiu Jia Chinese Restaurant. The lunch menu entices us in..cheap prices, but dinner menu costs more. Decide to stay anyway. End up having Chicken fried rice 88 crowns, while Janet and Roy have Fried noodles with vegetables 68 crowns. Roy orders an extra plate of fried rice with pork.
7.00pm walk to metro station Muzeum, continue to look in souvenir shops. End up buying a t-shirt for 230 crowns.
7.45pm Catch metro back to Chodov, meet up with Mark and Selena.
8.15pm We go shopping at Chodov for water and fruit. Then catch 8.30pm bus #115 back to Top Hotel.
9.00pm Shower and wash hair. Hear lift alarm go off several times, seems other people are getting stuck in the lift.
11.00pm Type up diary.
11.30pm Go the bed.
Day 22 Kumuka Tour
6.00am wake up and throat is not so sore anymore. Type up diary entries for last 2 days
8.00am Breakfast. Meet up with Roy.
9.06am Catch bus #115 from Mestsky Archiv to Chodov. Catch Metro to Malostranska and catch tram to top of hill. Prague Castle.
10.00am Outside the Loreta, entry fee - decide not to go in. Look for Carpucine Monastry, but can't find, so we go to a Church nearby.
10.40am Visit the miniature museum 50 crowns, Not big museum, but very interesting. Paintings on seeds, trains on hair, zoo on antennae of flea, etc.
After we make our way to Prague Castle. Past the Sternbersy Palac. Take photos of front of Prague Castle and Gate. Go in and buy short unguided tour ticket for 250 crowns. Bump into Casey and co, they have just finished and are going to watch changing of the guards. We decide to see changing of the guards as well, get position outside the gates, so crowded, people already in position, with 10 mins to go. Wait in sun. At 12.00noon, see changing of guards. Roy and Janet have better position so they take photos.
12.20pm Line up for St Vitus Cathedral, Where tomb of King Wenceslas lies. Climb the tower and the 287 steps although Roy and I only count 284 steps.
1.15pm Have lunch in courtyard outside church.
1.45pm Number I on our ticket. The Royal Palace.
2.00pm Number III on our ticket.
2.11pm Number VI on our ticket. The Golden Lane. Apparently Franz Kafka lived in Number 22, but I don't take photo.
3.15pm We wait in Maccas, while Roy visits St Nicolas church. Buy large coke for 30 crowns, Janet gets water.
4.00pm Walk across Charles Bridge, taking photos of each on the statues, but clouds gather, thunder and lightning, stop to buy Prague glass earrings 290 crowns, and then it starts to rain. Get to other side and it starts pouring down with torrential rain, so much so that roads flood and some shops also flood. We take shelter in souvenir shop...end up buying postcards 50 crowns. Then as rain starts to stop, we make our way to Old Town Square and Anatomical Clock.
5.00pm Stand and wait for clock to do its thing. 12 saints appear in windows, and then the cock crows. Then gong sounds. Very anticlimactic.
5.30pm Walk through markets. Stalls selling fruit and vegies as well as souvenir shops...puppets, beads, etc.
Continue walking into souvenir shops, Roy buys T-shirt for his brother.
6.30pm Decide to get something to eat before we head back to hotel. Find a Chinese Restaurant. Jin Yan Jiu Jia Chinese Restaurant. The lunch menu entices us in..cheap prices, but dinner menu costs more. Decide to stay anyway. End up having Chicken fried rice 88 crowns, while Janet and Roy have Fried noodles with vegetables 68 crowns. Roy orders an extra plate of fried rice with pork.
7.00pm walk to metro station Muzeum, continue to look in souvenir shops. End up buying a t-shirt for 230 crowns.
7.45pm Catch metro back to Chodov, meet up with Mark and Selena.
8.15pm We go shopping at Chodov for water and fruit. Then catch 8.30pm bus #115 back to Top Hotel.
9.00pm Shower and wash hair. Hear lift alarm go off several times, seems other people are getting stuck in the lift.
11.00pm Type up diary.
11.30pm Go the bed.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Budapest, Hungary to Prague, Czech Republic. Thursday 14 June 2007
Thursday 14 June 2007 Budapest, Hungary to Prague, Czech Republic
Day 21 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wake up with sore throat.
7.00am Breakfast on our own.
7.45am Bags down and checkout.
8.00am On coach, but Suzanne forgets her jacket, so wait till Peter gets it.
8.30am On our way. Dozing on bus. Can't keep my eyes open. Didn't get a good night's sleep because of sore throat. Definitely have coughing bug.
10.10am Pee stop. 15 mins to stretch legs.
10.25am Back on bus and on our way.
11.15am Slovakia border control. No need for passport check. Quick stop for Julia to pay road tax.
11.30am Stop in Bratislava by the River Danube. Lunch 1hour stop. Have lunch by the river. Others walk into town. Walk down river to take photo of Upside down table castle and bridge which has ufo on top.
12.30pm Back on bus. Doze on and off.
1.30pm Cross Czech border. Lady boards bus to check passports, no stamps, just looks at all passports and then we're off.
2.00pm Pee break at Czech rest stop. Group has problems using toilets...need to pay using crowns, but no one has any so they have to walk a distance to service station WC.
2.30pm On our way again. Play movie the Italian Job, original old movie. I sleep through it, think Janet does as well.
5.00pm Get to Top Hotel in Prague and check into room 721. Have to walk a mile and a half to get to another hotel lobby for Julia to give our keys to us, then need to back track to the lifts. Mumbling and grumblings from people with heavy luggage.
6.00pm Meet in lobby for group outing to City. Problems with ticket machine at hotel, so we all board the #115 bus illegally. Get to Chodrov Centrum where we catch the Metro. Here Julia needs to buy enough tickets for all of us. She uses the ticket machines, has 3 people feeding money into the machines and pushing buttons to get us tickets, when she could have gone into shop and bought the whole lot.
We all board the metro to Muzeum station. Get off at New Town Hall. Walk down to Old Town Hall. Then walk to Charles Bridge. Given 1 hour free time. It's raining. Meet back at Old Town Hall square for walk to dinner.
7.50pm Walk to dinner. Pub Restaurant with lots of crude, rude comics on the walls. Dinner consists of Vegie noodle soup (very salty) Spicy beef with bread (not very spicy) or Sweet Beef with bread (comes with Jam and Cream on a slice of lemon) and crepes with peach and cream. Two free drinks included. My throat is definitely killing me - like razor blades when I drink. After dinner, walk to bridge to take night shots of the Charles Bridge and Castle.
10.00pm Take Metro back to Chodnov. Have to change stations at Muzeum, from green line to red line. Just miss the 10.30pm bus back to the hotel, so have to wait for the 11.00pm bus. Holly also turns up at the bus stop relieved to see us there.
11.00pm Catch bus #115 back to Mestre Archiv, the bus stop outside the hotel. A bit of horror when we think we should have gotten off the bus at a stop, but its ok, the next stop is ours.
11.26pm Get stuck in the lift. Casey, Shirley, Tracey, Jim, Janet and I all try to squeeze into one lift. The doors close, but it doesn't go anywhere. We are trapped, Shirley pushes panic button. Voice booms over intercom, HELP!!! sending service. Wait 5 mins or so before pushing panic button again. He is doing his best. While it is getting hotter and hotter in the lift. Finally the serviceman prys the door open. Doesn't speak a word of english. We're just relieved to get out, but hesitant to go back into lifts. I climb stairs to Roy's apartment (he has a huge room all to himself) to get some Codral tablets. Get back into lifts to go up to 7 floor.
12.00midnight Sleep.
Day 21 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wake up with sore throat.
7.00am Breakfast on our own.
7.45am Bags down and checkout.
8.00am On coach, but Suzanne forgets her jacket, so wait till Peter gets it.
8.30am On our way. Dozing on bus. Can't keep my eyes open. Didn't get a good night's sleep because of sore throat. Definitely have coughing bug.
10.10am Pee stop. 15 mins to stretch legs.
10.25am Back on bus and on our way.
11.15am Slovakia border control. No need for passport check. Quick stop for Julia to pay road tax.
11.30am Stop in Bratislava by the River Danube. Lunch 1hour stop. Have lunch by the river. Others walk into town. Walk down river to take photo of Upside down table castle and bridge which has ufo on top.
12.30pm Back on bus. Doze on and off.
1.30pm Cross Czech border. Lady boards bus to check passports, no stamps, just looks at all passports and then we're off.
2.00pm Pee break at Czech rest stop. Group has problems using toilets...need to pay using crowns, but no one has any so they have to walk a distance to service station WC.
2.30pm On our way again. Play movie the Italian Job, original old movie. I sleep through it, think Janet does as well.
5.00pm Get to Top Hotel in Prague and check into room 721. Have to walk a mile and a half to get to another hotel lobby for Julia to give our keys to us, then need to back track to the lifts. Mumbling and grumblings from people with heavy luggage.
6.00pm Meet in lobby for group outing to City. Problems with ticket machine at hotel, so we all board the #115 bus illegally. Get to Chodrov Centrum where we catch the Metro. Here Julia needs to buy enough tickets for all of us. She uses the ticket machines, has 3 people feeding money into the machines and pushing buttons to get us tickets, when she could have gone into shop and bought the whole lot.
We all board the metro to Muzeum station. Get off at New Town Hall. Walk down to Old Town Hall. Then walk to Charles Bridge. Given 1 hour free time. It's raining. Meet back at Old Town Hall square for walk to dinner.
7.50pm Walk to dinner. Pub Restaurant with lots of crude, rude comics on the walls. Dinner consists of Vegie noodle soup (very salty) Spicy beef with bread (not very spicy) or Sweet Beef with bread (comes with Jam and Cream on a slice of lemon) and crepes with peach and cream. Two free drinks included. My throat is definitely killing me - like razor blades when I drink. After dinner, walk to bridge to take night shots of the Charles Bridge and Castle.
10.00pm Take Metro back to Chodnov. Have to change stations at Muzeum, from green line to red line. Just miss the 10.30pm bus back to the hotel, so have to wait for the 11.00pm bus. Holly also turns up at the bus stop relieved to see us there.
11.00pm Catch bus #115 back to Mestre Archiv, the bus stop outside the hotel. A bit of horror when we think we should have gotten off the bus at a stop, but its ok, the next stop is ours.
11.26pm Get stuck in the lift. Casey, Shirley, Tracey, Jim, Janet and I all try to squeeze into one lift. The doors close, but it doesn't go anywhere. We are trapped, Shirley pushes panic button. Voice booms over intercom, HELP!!! sending service. Wait 5 mins or so before pushing panic button again. He is doing his best. While it is getting hotter and hotter in the lift. Finally the serviceman prys the door open. Doesn't speak a word of english. We're just relieved to get out, but hesitant to go back into lifts. I climb stairs to Roy's apartment (he has a huge room all to himself) to get some Codral tablets. Get back into lifts to go up to 7 floor.
12.00midnight Sleep.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Budapest, Hungary. Wednesday 13 June 2007
Wednesday 13 June 2007 Budapest, Hungary
Day 20 Kumuka Tour
7.00am Wakeup.
8.00am Breakfast with Shirley's parents and Phoebe.
9.00am Meet in lobby. Roy is playing tour leader. Casey and co, Phoebe, Roy, Janet and I. Walk to metro, which is just outside the hotel. Roy buys book of 20 metro tickets for all of us, 2 each and 4 left over.
Take metro to Deak ter, Central terminal, and walk to Erzsebet hid (Elisabeth Bridge - white) looking for night cruise tickets. Find one, but they don't take bookings, just need to show up for the cruise and pay then, so we continue walking through Vaci ut, with all the souvenir shops. Buy 2 postcards. Walk through the Folk Art centrium to Szabadsag hid (Green bridge) and Nagyvasar csarnok which I think is the Markets.
Split up here. Lots of fruit and vegies and butchers, and spices, etc. They are into their paprika (capsicum or chilli). Upstairs is a lot of folk art shops, souvenir, russian dolls, leather bags, cotton table cloths, peasant tops, fur, etc. Roy buys a Budapest T-shirt. We buy nothing...all dust collectors or no use.
Meet back in the front entrance at 12.00noon. Casey and co decide they want to do shorter walk - Visit Basilica and go back to hotel. Roy, Phoebe, Janet and I go for longer walk. Follow Roy who leads the way. Go to Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum (National Museum). They have a Genghis Khan exhibition which you need to pay for. We opt for the free exhibition - permanent display. Have to get free tickets and stow our bags in cloak room. Spend an hour in here, looking at history of Hungary. Phoebe opts not to go in and stays outside in park, writing postcards and having her lunch. We have our lunch and then continue our walk.
1.30pm Continue walking to Zsinagoga (Jewish Synagogue) Pay 1600ft to go inside. Need to cover shoulders and guys need to wear a cap (head cover) Roy has his hat, so doesn't get one, but on way out, decides he wants a photo with a skull cap. Also includes entry to Jewish Museum (has jewish artefacts, lots of gold and silver) and Memorial Gardens. Have a look at Jewish Museum, but not the gardens.
2.30pm Walk to Magyar Allami Operahaz (State Opera House) Don't go in, just take photos, also photos of Elisabeth's Palace. Then continue walking Andrassy ut (main avenue) to Szt Istvan Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilica). Stop to buy icecream. Janet has cornetto, Roy and I have Calipo and Phoebe has gelati. Finish eating icecream before going into Basilica. Free to go in. Visit a chapel which houses the right hand of Szt Istvan...stored in a little jewelled encrusted container. Try to take photo, but not tall enough, get Roy to take it. Decide to go up the tower, Roy doesn't have enough money, so only Janet, Phoebe and I go up. Pay 500ft each. Go up in lift to outside of dome, but inside tower, take stairs up to tower, while Janet and Phoebe take lift. Great views of the city. Very flat and very big.
4.00pm Get back down, and Janet and Phoebe have had enough, so Roy directs them to the Metro, while he and I continue walking to the Chain Bridge (Lions) - oldest bridge in Budapest. Take photos, and then we also head back to hotel.
6.00pm Have a nap, but I think I'm coming down with coughing bug. My throat is hurting and I keep coughing. Have a quick shower. Janet has already dyed her hair and had a shower. Heavy sun showers.
7.00pm Meet others in lobby for night cruise. Shirley's parents not coming. So only Casey, Shirley, Roy, Phoebe, Janet and I head out. Catch Metro again, but we buy own tickets. Get to Deak ter and look for place to have dinner. We end up having dinner at Comme Chez Sol while Casey and Shirley go somewhere else. I have the Veal special, while Janet has Spaghetti Marinara, Roy has pizza and Phoebe has mixed pasta. Huge portions and I'm not that hungry..sore throat. Roy asks for takeaway. Pay our bill which totals ft17,700 and hurry to get to the cruise boat.
8.45pm, Just get there in time to buy tickets ft2100 and board before we head out on the Danube River. Takes us up past Chain bridge to another bridge which is close to our hotel, before it turns around and heads back up river. When we start it is still light, but as we are in the middle of the cruise, night falls. The lights are stunning, but there are so many little bugs, moths?? that keep flying into our faces. Can't really hear the commentary from where we are sitting, up the top front deck.
9.45pm cruise ends and we make our way back to metro station. Casey, Shirley and Phoebe have gone ahead, while Roy stops to take some night shots. So we make our way back. Get to metro station and just our luck, Janet doesn't validate her ticket, she couldn't find it until she was on the escalators going down. We get to the bottom and there are ticket inspectors. She is fined ft5000. Not even allowed to go back up and validate it.
10.00pm Back at hotel. Too tired to do anything. Try wireless but no luck, so pop some pills and go to bed.
Day 20 Kumuka Tour
7.00am Wakeup.
8.00am Breakfast with Shirley's parents and Phoebe.
9.00am Meet in lobby. Roy is playing tour leader. Casey and co, Phoebe, Roy, Janet and I. Walk to metro, which is just outside the hotel. Roy buys book of 20 metro tickets for all of us, 2 each and 4 left over.
Take metro to Deak ter, Central terminal, and walk to Erzsebet hid (Elisabeth Bridge - white) looking for night cruise tickets. Find one, but they don't take bookings, just need to show up for the cruise and pay then, so we continue walking through Vaci ut, with all the souvenir shops. Buy 2 postcards. Walk through the Folk Art centrium to Szabadsag hid (Green bridge) and Nagyvasar csarnok which I think is the Markets.
Split up here. Lots of fruit and vegies and butchers, and spices, etc. They are into their paprika (capsicum or chilli). Upstairs is a lot of folk art shops, souvenir, russian dolls, leather bags, cotton table cloths, peasant tops, fur, etc. Roy buys a Budapest T-shirt. We buy nothing...all dust collectors or no use.
Meet back in the front entrance at 12.00noon. Casey and co decide they want to do shorter walk - Visit Basilica and go back to hotel. Roy, Phoebe, Janet and I go for longer walk. Follow Roy who leads the way. Go to Magyar Nemzeti Muzeum (National Museum). They have a Genghis Khan exhibition which you need to pay for. We opt for the free exhibition - permanent display. Have to get free tickets and stow our bags in cloak room. Spend an hour in here, looking at history of Hungary. Phoebe opts not to go in and stays outside in park, writing postcards and having her lunch. We have our lunch and then continue our walk.
1.30pm Continue walking to Zsinagoga (Jewish Synagogue) Pay 1600ft to go inside. Need to cover shoulders and guys need to wear a cap (head cover) Roy has his hat, so doesn't get one, but on way out, decides he wants a photo with a skull cap. Also includes entry to Jewish Museum (has jewish artefacts, lots of gold and silver) and Memorial Gardens. Have a look at Jewish Museum, but not the gardens.
2.30pm Walk to Magyar Allami Operahaz (State Opera House) Don't go in, just take photos, also photos of Elisabeth's Palace. Then continue walking Andrassy ut (main avenue) to Szt Istvan Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilica). Stop to buy icecream. Janet has cornetto, Roy and I have Calipo and Phoebe has gelati. Finish eating icecream before going into Basilica. Free to go in. Visit a chapel which houses the right hand of Szt Istvan...stored in a little jewelled encrusted container. Try to take photo, but not tall enough, get Roy to take it. Decide to go up the tower, Roy doesn't have enough money, so only Janet, Phoebe and I go up. Pay 500ft each. Go up in lift to outside of dome, but inside tower, take stairs up to tower, while Janet and Phoebe take lift. Great views of the city. Very flat and very big.
4.00pm Get back down, and Janet and Phoebe have had enough, so Roy directs them to the Metro, while he and I continue walking to the Chain Bridge (Lions) - oldest bridge in Budapest. Take photos, and then we also head back to hotel.
6.00pm Have a nap, but I think I'm coming down with coughing bug. My throat is hurting and I keep coughing. Have a quick shower. Janet has already dyed her hair and had a shower. Heavy sun showers.
7.00pm Meet others in lobby for night cruise. Shirley's parents not coming. So only Casey, Shirley, Roy, Phoebe, Janet and I head out. Catch Metro again, but we buy own tickets. Get to Deak ter and look for place to have dinner. We end up having dinner at Comme Chez Sol while Casey and Shirley go somewhere else. I have the Veal special, while Janet has Spaghetti Marinara, Roy has pizza and Phoebe has mixed pasta. Huge portions and I'm not that hungry..sore throat. Roy asks for takeaway. Pay our bill which totals ft17,700 and hurry to get to the cruise boat.
8.45pm, Just get there in time to buy tickets ft2100 and board before we head out on the Danube River. Takes us up past Chain bridge to another bridge which is close to our hotel, before it turns around and heads back up river. When we start it is still light, but as we are in the middle of the cruise, night falls. The lights are stunning, but there are so many little bugs, moths?? that keep flying into our faces. Can't really hear the commentary from where we are sitting, up the top front deck.
9.45pm cruise ends and we make our way back to metro station. Casey, Shirley and Phoebe have gone ahead, while Roy stops to take some night shots. So we make our way back. Get to metro station and just our luck, Janet doesn't validate her ticket, she couldn't find it until she was on the escalators going down. We get to the bottom and there are ticket inspectors. She is fined ft5000. Not even allowed to go back up and validate it.
10.00pm Back at hotel. Too tired to do anything. Try wireless but no luck, so pop some pills and go to bed.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Vienna, Austria to Budapest, Hungary. Tuesday 12 June 2007
Tuesday 12 June 2007 Vienna, Austria to Budapest, Hungary
Day 19 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wake up and chatting to Evan. Update on Aunt Cathy's trip - also pickpocketed, and view new website.
7.00am Breakfast with Casey and Co. Later joined by Roy who is always late for breakfast, or maybe we're always early.
8.15am Bring bags down to checkout and wait in lobby.
8.30am Checkout and on the bus. If you can get to the bus earlier to get your bags on, then you get the best pick of the seats.
9.00am Friedrich Fischer Schnapps Museum. Told to meet back at the bus at 9.50am. Janet and I don't pay the 5 euro to go in, instead we go for a walk up the street and discover a shopping centre with a SPAR supermarket. So we buy bottles of water, strawberries and 3 mini bottles of Mozart creme liquer for 6.24 Euro. Back on the bus at 10.20am.
11.15am Get to border control and have to hand our passports over to get stamped. We wait on the bus until 11.35am when they hand the passports back to Julia. Don't get them back immediately, instead we have a pee stop and people can change their money...at a "Change Restaurant Pizzeria Cafe" which is just on the other side of border control. So many Exchange banks in the one spot, but exchange rate is better in the city. Welcome to Hungary.
11.55am Back on the bus.
2.00pm Arrive in the center of the city where we are given 1 hour lunch. Dropped off under New Bridge (Elisabeth) - Erzsebet hid. Walk down Vaci U, which is a pedestrian mall which has souvenier and shops, like Pitt Street Mall. We find a public bench and sit to eat our lunch...watching a juice vendor ply their wares...juicing Oranges manually with an orange press. Then we walk to find a WC, looking for the nearest McDonalds. Get there and they charge ft0.70 to go in to pee. Roy and I decide not to go...no change.
3.00pm Start of Guided Tour. Our guide, Katalin joins us on our bus, which drives along the river, pointed out attractions on the Buda (hilly) side as well as buildings on the Pest (flat) side. Drive down the Andrassy ut, which was modelled on the Champs Elysee. It is 2 1/2km long and is divided into sections, Entertainment section, Theatre section, can't remember the others, but it leads to Heroes' Square. Behind a huge statue of the Archangel Gabriel and the tomb of an unknown soldier is a semicircular ornamental colonnade with statues of Hungarian Kings and other great historical figures, such as St Stephens, Kalman - was into books, but against witches.
Also drive to the Liberation Monument and the Citadella which is on the Buda side. Great views of the city, but the only way up the hill is by bus tour, walk or taxi, no public transport goes up the hill.
Next we drive to the Castle District. Once the site of an actual castle, but today houses several important buildings and the Royal Palace. Also give panaromic views of Pest. Take photos of the Castle, as well as the Matthias Church which is undergoing renovations.
6.00pm walk to bus stop, for pick up and drive back to Hotel. Our guide leaves us here at the top of the hill. The hotel is located on the Pest side and is the Hotel Ibis. Also we get our room keys 505 first, we are the last to get into our rooms. The keys aren't working. Have to go down 2 times, first time, Julia is still down in the lobby, so gets reception to sort it out. Sent back up with new keys..but still don't work, so go back down. This time, the man at reception comes up to check the electronic lock as well...still no luck, so he goes down and is back up with another set of keys. Third time lucky, we finally get into our room. Have shower and change for dinner. Good view as well as a balcony. Rooms not too bad, but no net access. Lots of free hotspots, but can't connect.
7.30pm Meet back in to lobby to head out to dinner. Back on the bus and drive to the Buda side. Dinner is at Csarda Restaurant, Start with a beef and potato soup...with paprika oil, followed by side dish of salad and main dish of rice and chicken with paprika, tomatoey sauce. Not bad. Dessert is an apple strudel topped with icing sugar.
Also given a "Gypsy Folk" show...dancing, singing, whip cracking, stick dancing and audience participation. Casey called up to dance with girl. Janet has bottle balanced on her head. I manage to escape.
10.00pm Back to hotel. Discussions on what we are doing tomorrow.
Day 19 Kumuka Tour
6.00am Wake up and chatting to Evan. Update on Aunt Cathy's trip - also pickpocketed, and view new website.
7.00am Breakfast with Casey and Co. Later joined by Roy who is always late for breakfast, or maybe we're always early.
8.15am Bring bags down to checkout and wait in lobby.
8.30am Checkout and on the bus. If you can get to the bus earlier to get your bags on, then you get the best pick of the seats.
9.00am Friedrich Fischer Schnapps Museum. Told to meet back at the bus at 9.50am. Janet and I don't pay the 5 euro to go in, instead we go for a walk up the street and discover a shopping centre with a SPAR supermarket. So we buy bottles of water, strawberries and 3 mini bottles of Mozart creme liquer for 6.24 Euro. Back on the bus at 10.20am.
11.15am Get to border control and have to hand our passports over to get stamped. We wait on the bus until 11.35am when they hand the passports back to Julia. Don't get them back immediately, instead we have a pee stop and people can change their money...at a "Change Restaurant Pizzeria Cafe" which is just on the other side of border control. So many Exchange banks in the one spot, but exchange rate is better in the city. Welcome to Hungary.
11.55am Back on the bus.
2.00pm Arrive in the center of the city where we are given 1 hour lunch. Dropped off under New Bridge (Elisabeth) - Erzsebet hid. Walk down Vaci U, which is a pedestrian mall which has souvenier and shops, like Pitt Street Mall. We find a public bench and sit to eat our lunch...watching a juice vendor ply their wares...juicing Oranges manually with an orange press. Then we walk to find a WC, looking for the nearest McDonalds. Get there and they charge ft0.70 to go in to pee. Roy and I decide not to go...no change.
3.00pm Start of Guided Tour. Our guide, Katalin joins us on our bus, which drives along the river, pointed out attractions on the Buda (hilly) side as well as buildings on the Pest (flat) side. Drive down the Andrassy ut, which was modelled on the Champs Elysee. It is 2 1/2km long and is divided into sections, Entertainment section, Theatre section, can't remember the others, but it leads to Heroes' Square. Behind a huge statue of the Archangel Gabriel and the tomb of an unknown soldier is a semicircular ornamental colonnade with statues of Hungarian Kings and other great historical figures, such as St Stephens, Kalman - was into books, but against witches.
Also drive to the Liberation Monument and the Citadella which is on the Buda side. Great views of the city, but the only way up the hill is by bus tour, walk or taxi, no public transport goes up the hill.
Next we drive to the Castle District. Once the site of an actual castle, but today houses several important buildings and the Royal Palace. Also give panaromic views of Pest. Take photos of the Castle, as well as the Matthias Church which is undergoing renovations.
6.00pm walk to bus stop, for pick up and drive back to Hotel. Our guide leaves us here at the top of the hill. The hotel is located on the Pest side and is the Hotel Ibis. Also we get our room keys 505 first, we are the last to get into our rooms. The keys aren't working. Have to go down 2 times, first time, Julia is still down in the lobby, so gets reception to sort it out. Sent back up with new keys..but still don't work, so go back down. This time, the man at reception comes up to check the electronic lock as well...still no luck, so he goes down and is back up with another set of keys. Third time lucky, we finally get into our room. Have shower and change for dinner. Good view as well as a balcony. Rooms not too bad, but no net access. Lots of free hotspots, but can't connect.
7.30pm Meet back in to lobby to head out to dinner. Back on the bus and drive to the Buda side. Dinner is at Csarda Restaurant, Start with a beef and potato soup...with paprika oil, followed by side dish of salad and main dish of rice and chicken with paprika, tomatoey sauce. Not bad. Dessert is an apple strudel topped with icing sugar.
Also given a "Gypsy Folk" show...dancing, singing, whip cracking, stick dancing and audience participation. Casey called up to dance with girl. Janet has bottle balanced on her head. I manage to escape.
10.00pm Back to hotel. Discussions on what we are doing tomorrow.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Vienna, Austria. Monday 11 June 2007
Monday 11 June 2007 Vienna, Austria
Day 18 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wake up and power up laptop. Chat to Evan, Missy and Mare before it cuts out.
8.00am Breakfast. Sit with Casey, Shirley and Phoebe, later joined by Roy.
9.00am On the coach for city tour.
9.50am Drop off point outside Museums and statue of Marie-Therese.
Take photos of the Museums, two identical buildings housing Museum of Natural Arts and Museum of Fine Arts.
Walk to Hofburg Palace from Museums.
10.00am Tickets to Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum and Silver Collection Euro9.90 with audio tour.
Start with Silver Collection or Silberkammer. After the end of the Habsburg monarchy the objects held by the Court Silver and Table Room passed into the ownership of the Republic of Austria. These precious services of glass, silver and pocelain are on display as well we cooking utensils from the Court Kitchens. Lots of Centrepieces and candelabras.
10.50am Sisi Museum which explores the personality and life of the unusual empress, Elizabeth. No photos allowed. Highlights include: a copy of her dress she wore at the ball given before her wedding. Jewellery copied from famous portraits of the empress, the empress's death mask. She was assassinated in Geneva in 198, stabbed with a small filing implement.
11.00am Imperial Apartments - tour through the 19 state and private rooms of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth.
11.54am Leave Hofburg Palace and walk to Stephansplatz, past St Peter's Church, past Deo Patri Creatori statue, to St Stephens Cathedral.
12.10pm Go into Cathedral...they have a choir and service.
Look for place to have lunch. Sit on public seats in Karntner Strasse and eat our lunch. Roy and Jimmy buy their lunch from Nordsee.
12.56pm walk to Kapuziner-Kirche. Go into church, take photos. But it is the Kaisergraft which is what Roy is interested in. Apparently it houses the crypts of the Habsburgs and is where Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth now lie. He goes in, while we go shopping. Go into Maccas to use their toilets and then hit the souvenir shops.
1.30pm Buy crystal jewellery from Oberwalder souvenir shop. Then continue to the Opera House past the Albertina.
1.40pm Staatsopermuseum. We arrive in time to join a 2pm tour for 10 euro, but all not interested in going in, so we continue on our way. Walk to Karlsplatz underground and come out Resselpark, walk to Karlskirche 2.30pm. Karlskirche is a baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. They have a panaromic lift, which takes you up into the dome for Euro6.00...don't go in. So continue on our walk to the Naschmarkt, walk past the Secession memorial, to the markets.
2.40pm Walk through markets looking at fruit and vegies, also lots of doner kebab and food shops. Several chinese (oriental) shops. We buy cold drinks (Euro1.00 each)...me grass jelly and Janet - chrysanthemum tea, Roy, Aloe Vera. Also end up buying chinese takeaway from a shop - Saigon Beef and Rice and Wok Gesum (stir fried vegies) with noodles (4.90 euro each) to have for dinner tonight.
3.30pm continue walking past back of Schiller-platz to Museums-Quartier, where the loo comes in handy for Jim and Tracey. Also houses the Leopold Museum, Kunst Hall and MUMOK.
3.45pm walk past Volkstheatre and reach back of Justiz palast. Walk to front of Justiz Palast and continue to Parlament - Greek influenced, copy of the Parthenon.
4.00pm Leave Janet, Tracey and Jim in the Parlament building, while Roy and I walk to the Rathaus. Lots of tents being set up as well as a huge pavilion right in front of the Rathaus. Take photos also of the KK Hofburg Theater. Walk back to Parlament and wait in airconditioned foyer killing time.
4.35pm Walk back to coach pick up area. The bus is already there and some of the people from the tour group are there already.
5.00pm The coach takes us back to the hotel.
6.00pm Have our chinese takeaway. The noodles and vegies are ok, but the saigon beef is very salty. Have to eat a cucumber as well.
7.00pm Typing up diary, hoping wireless will work.
Day 18 Kumuka Tour
6.30am Wake up and power up laptop. Chat to Evan, Missy and Mare before it cuts out.
8.00am Breakfast. Sit with Casey, Shirley and Phoebe, later joined by Roy.
9.00am On the coach for city tour.
9.50am Drop off point outside Museums and statue of Marie-Therese.
Take photos of the Museums, two identical buildings housing Museum of Natural Arts and Museum of Fine Arts.
Walk to Hofburg Palace from Museums.
10.00am Tickets to Imperial Apartments, Sisi Museum and Silver Collection Euro9.90 with audio tour.
Start with Silver Collection or Silberkammer. After the end of the Habsburg monarchy the objects held by the Court Silver and Table Room passed into the ownership of the Republic of Austria. These precious services of glass, silver and pocelain are on display as well we cooking utensils from the Court Kitchens. Lots of Centrepieces and candelabras.
10.50am Sisi Museum which explores the personality and life of the unusual empress, Elizabeth. No photos allowed. Highlights include: a copy of her dress she wore at the ball given before her wedding. Jewellery copied from famous portraits of the empress, the empress's death mask. She was assassinated in Geneva in 198, stabbed with a small filing implement.
11.00am Imperial Apartments - tour through the 19 state and private rooms of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elizabeth.
11.54am Leave Hofburg Palace and walk to Stephansplatz, past St Peter's Church, past Deo Patri Creatori statue, to St Stephens Cathedral.
12.10pm Go into Cathedral...they have a choir and service.
Look for place to have lunch. Sit on public seats in Karntner Strasse and eat our lunch. Roy and Jimmy buy their lunch from Nordsee.
12.56pm walk to Kapuziner-Kirche. Go into church, take photos. But it is the Kaisergraft which is what Roy is interested in. Apparently it houses the crypts of the Habsburgs and is where Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth now lie. He goes in, while we go shopping. Go into Maccas to use their toilets and then hit the souvenir shops.
1.30pm Buy crystal jewellery from Oberwalder souvenir shop. Then continue to the Opera House past the Albertina.
1.40pm Staatsopermuseum. We arrive in time to join a 2pm tour for 10 euro, but all not interested in going in, so we continue on our way. Walk to Karlsplatz underground and come out Resselpark, walk to Karlskirche 2.30pm. Karlskirche is a baroque church located on the south side of Karlsplatz in Vienna, Austria. They have a panaromic lift, which takes you up into the dome for Euro6.00...don't go in. So continue on our walk to the Naschmarkt, walk past the Secession memorial, to the markets.
2.40pm Walk through markets looking at fruit and vegies, also lots of doner kebab and food shops. Several chinese (oriental) shops. We buy cold drinks (Euro1.00 each)...me grass jelly and Janet - chrysanthemum tea, Roy, Aloe Vera. Also end up buying chinese takeaway from a shop - Saigon Beef and Rice and Wok Gesum (stir fried vegies) with noodles (4.90 euro each) to have for dinner tonight.
3.30pm continue walking past back of Schiller-platz to Museums-Quartier, where the loo comes in handy for Jim and Tracey. Also houses the Leopold Museum, Kunst Hall and MUMOK.
3.45pm walk past Volkstheatre and reach back of Justiz palast. Walk to front of Justiz Palast and continue to Parlament - Greek influenced, copy of the Parthenon.
4.00pm Leave Janet, Tracey and Jim in the Parlament building, while Roy and I walk to the Rathaus. Lots of tents being set up as well as a huge pavilion right in front of the Rathaus. Take photos also of the KK Hofburg Theater. Walk back to Parlament and wait in airconditioned foyer killing time.
4.35pm Walk back to coach pick up area. The bus is already there and some of the people from the tour group are there already.
5.00pm The coach takes us back to the hotel.
6.00pm Have our chinese takeaway. The noodles and vegies are ok, but the saigon beef is very salty. Have to eat a cucumber as well.
7.00pm Typing up diary, hoping wireless will work.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Munich, Germany to Vienna, Austria. Sunday 10 June 2007
Sunday 10 June 2007 Munich, Germany to Vienna, Austria
Day 17
6.30am Wake up.
7.00am Breakfast, Phoebe sits with us.
8.15am Checkout. Send postcards. Say goodbye to Amanda (girl from US)
8.30am On the bus to Vienna.
10.05am cross the border back into Austria and pass Salzburg.
10.30am Stop at Mondsee. Apparently the church used in the wedding of the Sound of Music is here. Euro1.00 donation to go in and take photos.
Parade is taking place and comes up the main street as we wander down to the lake. Apparently celebrating 300 year anniversary of the church.
11.40am Leave Mondsee to go to Mauthausen.
1.00pm Mauthausen is a former concentration camp. It was the last one to be liberated in Austria. Apparently thousands died in the gas chambers here. It was a working labour camp, with internees forced to carry huge rocks up 200 odd steps and a rocky path to the top. Go to museum first where there are photos and artefacts on display while others go to toilet. After we all sit through a 50min film outlining history of the camp. I only walk 3/4 of the way down, had enough of climbing up stairs and hills. Take photos of the quarry and steps and head back to the main concentration camp. Go through the main gates and check out the barracks, gas chambers and crematorium as well as halls and chapel. This is also our lunch stop but no time to eat with too much to see.
3.00pm On bus going to Vienna. Eat vegemite roll on bus with chips.
5.30pm Get to Hotel Kavalier. Check into room 121. Discover wireless connection and chat to Evan, but doesn't last for long.
7.30pm Meet in lobby for group dinner at 8.00pm. Back on the coach which takes us out to the city. Stop at Schonbruun Palace for quick photo stop. Dinner at Salm Brau, vegie soup, wiener schnitzel and potato salad with a leaf of lettuce and a quarter tomato.
9.00pm back on the bus to go to Prater...big fun amusement park. Arrive 9.40pm We have 1 hour here. Lots of rollercoasters and dodgem cars. Casey and Shirley go on first ride, Dizzy Mouse. Roy and Casey go on a Roller Coaster, then another one which has them lying face down called the Voltare. Janet and I just watch...getting too old for rollercoasters, plus they make me dizzy...especially ones that spin.
10.40pm Back on the bus to go back to hotel.
11.15pm Back to hotel. Pass Red Light district coming back and it's just up the road from us.
Day 17
6.30am Wake up.
7.00am Breakfast, Phoebe sits with us.
8.15am Checkout. Send postcards. Say goodbye to Amanda (girl from US)
8.30am On the bus to Vienna.
10.05am cross the border back into Austria and pass Salzburg.
10.30am Stop at Mondsee. Apparently the church used in the wedding of the Sound of Music is here. Euro1.00 donation to go in and take photos.
Parade is taking place and comes up the main street as we wander down to the lake. Apparently celebrating 300 year anniversary of the church.
11.40am Leave Mondsee to go to Mauthausen.
1.00pm Mauthausen is a former concentration camp. It was the last one to be liberated in Austria. Apparently thousands died in the gas chambers here. It was a working labour camp, with internees forced to carry huge rocks up 200 odd steps and a rocky path to the top. Go to museum first where there are photos and artefacts on display while others go to toilet. After we all sit through a 50min film outlining history of the camp. I only walk 3/4 of the way down, had enough of climbing up stairs and hills. Take photos of the quarry and steps and head back to the main concentration camp. Go through the main gates and check out the barracks, gas chambers and crematorium as well as halls and chapel. This is also our lunch stop but no time to eat with too much to see.
3.00pm On bus going to Vienna. Eat vegemite roll on bus with chips.
5.30pm Get to Hotel Kavalier. Check into room 121. Discover wireless connection and chat to Evan, but doesn't last for long.
7.30pm Meet in lobby for group dinner at 8.00pm. Back on the coach which takes us out to the city. Stop at Schonbruun Palace for quick photo stop. Dinner at Salm Brau, vegie soup, wiener schnitzel and potato salad with a leaf of lettuce and a quarter tomato.
9.00pm back on the bus to go to Prater...big fun amusement park. Arrive 9.40pm We have 1 hour here. Lots of rollercoasters and dodgem cars. Casey and Shirley go on first ride, Dizzy Mouse. Roy and Casey go on a Roller Coaster, then another one which has them lying face down called the Voltare. Janet and I just watch...getting too old for rollercoasters, plus they make me dizzy...especially ones that spin.
10.40pm Back on the bus to go back to hotel.
11.15pm Back to hotel. Pass Red Light district coming back and it's just up the road from us.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Munich, Germany. Saturday 9 June 2007
Saturday 9 June 2007 Munich, Germany
Day 15 Kumuka Tour
Can't sleep too noisy. At least the bed is nice and firm. My neck is getting better.
7.00am Wake up and have a shower..wash my hair.
8.00am Breakfast...nice spread, so much better than the "Nothing " breakfast. But not very hungry. The ham and cold meats seems to be off, so stick with the cooked stuff, scrambled eggs, sausages and boiled egg.
9.00am Meet in lobby for walk to Viktualienmarkt. Markets with lots of stalls selling vegies, fruit, flowers, etc.
On the way back to hotel, buy 2 postcards Euro1.60.
11.00am meet Roy in lobby to go do laundry. Casey and co have already left.
Take short cut using underground, and finally get to the laundromat, nowhere near the x marked on the map. There are so many other people doing their laundry as well, most of our tour group is there. There is a man there who helps and shows people how to use the machines...must work there. He directs me to a machine that is about to finish it's wash cycle in 5 mins. After the wash cycle finishes, no one seems to claim the clothes, so he comes along and puts them into a basket, and directs us to put our clothes in, waiting to start the machine for us. They work on tokens, we've chosen a smaller sized one to fit our clothes and Roy's...sharing the wash. Takes approx 35-40mins to wash. As we wait for the wash cycle to end, others are complaining that the drying machines aren't hot, and clothes are not drying, Kasey and Dana have been there since 9.00am and are still trying to dry their clothes. We decide to just use the centrifuge (spinner) to spin our clothes as dry as can be, and take them back to the hotel to hang up and dry.
On way back to hotel with our damp clothes, we look for a post office, need to buy stamps to send postcards written at the laundromat. Instead we find an Aldi as well as a Rewe (also supermarket) one other as well, in huge complex. Buy water and Aldi pringles. Real cheap.
1.20pm Get back to hotel and hang out laundry using every hanger and line space. At least rooms are hot, no problem,in drying.
2.00pm Head out for lunch with Roy. Have Vietnamese Pho Euro6.90 at Cafe Bistro Asia.
3.00pm Head out to drop Roy off at Mike's (cycle) tours meeting place.
3.45pm Janet and I head off on our own walking tour. Check out map of Munich for details.
Walk down Maximilian Str. Pass the Museum for Volkerkunde (Ethnology), take photos of the Max II statue and the Maximilianeum (too far to walk to), make a left heading towards the Hofgarten. Check out St. Anna Platz with it's unusual monastery or church. Get to an intersection and take photos of the Bayer Nationalmus (National Museum). Head towards the Englischer Garten, check out some guys surfing in the river that runs through it. Garden is too big and we don't have time to explore it all. Head back towards Hofgarten, smaller garden next door to the Odeonsplatz. Spend some time here checking out the architectural buildings. Give the lions a rub for good luck outside the royal residences. Catch our tour group riding through the streets. Decide to check out the Obelisk in Karoliner Platz. Walk to the end of the Brienner Str. and take photos of the Propylaen, Glyptothek. Come across some gardens with a huge "O" statue. Although it's still light, we head back to the hotel.
7.00pm Shopping for dinner at Herte's Roast chicken wings, packaged ham, and salad. Cut up pineapple for fruit.
8.30pm Shower and wash hair
9.00pm Write up diary
11.40pm Better get to sleep.
Day 15 Kumuka Tour
Can't sleep too noisy. At least the bed is nice and firm. My neck is getting better.
7.00am Wake up and have a shower..wash my hair.
8.00am Breakfast...nice spread, so much better than the "Nothing " breakfast. But not very hungry. The ham and cold meats seems to be off, so stick with the cooked stuff, scrambled eggs, sausages and boiled egg.
9.00am Meet in lobby for walk to Viktualienmarkt. Markets with lots of stalls selling vegies, fruit, flowers, etc.
On the way back to hotel, buy 2 postcards Euro1.60.
11.00am meet Roy in lobby to go do laundry. Casey and co have already left.
Take short cut using underground, and finally get to the laundromat, nowhere near the x marked on the map. There are so many other people doing their laundry as well, most of our tour group is there. There is a man there who helps and shows people how to use the machines...must work there. He directs me to a machine that is about to finish it's wash cycle in 5 mins. After the wash cycle finishes, no one seems to claim the clothes, so he comes along and puts them into a basket, and directs us to put our clothes in, waiting to start the machine for us. They work on tokens, we've chosen a smaller sized one to fit our clothes and Roy's...sharing the wash. Takes approx 35-40mins to wash. As we wait for the wash cycle to end, others are complaining that the drying machines aren't hot, and clothes are not drying, Kasey and Dana have been there since 9.00am and are still trying to dry their clothes. We decide to just use the centrifuge (spinner) to spin our clothes as dry as can be, and take them back to the hotel to hang up and dry.
On way back to hotel with our damp clothes, we look for a post office, need to buy stamps to send postcards written at the laundromat. Instead we find an Aldi as well as a Rewe (also supermarket) one other as well, in huge complex. Buy water and Aldi pringles. Real cheap.
1.20pm Get back to hotel and hang out laundry using every hanger and line space. At least rooms are hot, no problem,in drying.
2.00pm Head out for lunch with Roy. Have Vietnamese Pho Euro6.90 at Cafe Bistro Asia.
3.00pm Head out to drop Roy off at Mike's (cycle) tours meeting place.
3.45pm Janet and I head off on our own walking tour. Check out map of Munich for details.
Walk down Maximilian Str. Pass the Museum for Volkerkunde (Ethnology), take photos of the Max II statue and the Maximilianeum (too far to walk to), make a left heading towards the Hofgarten. Check out St. Anna Platz with it's unusual monastery or church. Get to an intersection and take photos of the Bayer Nationalmus (National Museum). Head towards the Englischer Garten, check out some guys surfing in the river that runs through it. Garden is too big and we don't have time to explore it all. Head back towards Hofgarten, smaller garden next door to the Odeonsplatz. Spend some time here checking out the architectural buildings. Give the lions a rub for good luck outside the royal residences. Catch our tour group riding through the streets. Decide to check out the Obelisk in Karoliner Platz. Walk to the end of the Brienner Str. and take photos of the Propylaen, Glyptothek. Come across some gardens with a huge "O" statue. Although it's still light, we head back to the hotel.
7.00pm Shopping for dinner at Herte's Roast chicken wings, packaged ham, and salad. Cut up pineapple for fruit.
8.30pm Shower and wash hair
9.00pm Write up diary
11.40pm Better get to sleep.
Friday, June 8, 2007
Venice, Italy to Munich, Germany. Friday 8 June 2007
Friday 8 June 2007 Venice, Italy to Munich, Germany
Day 15 Kumuka Tour
6.15am Wake up and neck is still stiff. Bed must be too soft.
7.00am "Nothing" breakfast. Only have croissant, and bread roll with vegemite..hmm yum and orange juice.
7.30am Checked out and on the bus. On our way to Munich.
9.30am Pee break. Take photos of mountains and grapevines. Our last Italian service station.
After 11.00am we go through the Brenner Pass and reach Austria.
12.15pm Lunch stop at a roadside diner/cafe...only given 30 mins. Eat packed lunch of vegemite roll and croissant with bag of chips bought in Rome. Take photos of great views.
12.50pm We leave..some people late. But traffic is slow. Not moving at all in the outside lane, which we sit at for like 20 mins. People are getting out of their cars. What's the hold up???
1.30pm We finally are moving...reach a toll booth which has a lot of lanes, but this converges into only a few lanes, so traffic chaos again. Discover that the delay was caused by an accident in a tunnel which we drive through...chalk marks still on the road and some debris, but cars have been taken away...so nothing to see.
As we drive along, the rain comes down, it's bucketing down. Don't think it's going to let up, and looks like out castle tour may be in doubt. Me I would personally cancel it.
3.30pm Arrive at Ludwig's castle, Snow white castle. Apparently because we've been delayed by traffic, we miss our English tour of the castle. We can still go up, either by bus or by walking (told it's 40 minute climb), but we only have 1 1/2hour to spend here. It's still raining, not heavily thank god. Queue for the bus, but as one has already left full of people, have no idea when the next one will be. So we decide to walk up. Casey, Roy and Shirley also walk up, they overtake as at their breakneck speed...helps that they have longer legs. While Janet and I lag behind. Janet has to stop and rest to catch her breath, so I stop with her. We come to a junction, one way to the castle, the other to a bridge with lookout of the castle. I head towards the bridge up a very steep hill, while Janet makes her way to the castle. I don't reach the bridge, I get to a point where I think Jacq took her photo, and take mine there as well...don't bother heading onwards...looks like more uphill climbing. Janet sms's me that she is at the entrance, so I sms back saying ok..I'm on my way. Get to the castle, and Janet's face is all red, so is mine, I find out when I go to use the WC. Wearing a raincoat and hiking fast up a hill, sure does bring the blood to your cheeks. Take photos of the entrance and views and then head down, as it is coming to 4.30pm. Others lag behind and are late getting to the bus. No time for shopping for souvenirs.
5.00pm As we leave Ludwig's Castle, the clouds clear and the sun comes out...trust that to happen. Not enough time given to enjoy it. As we go, we reach a detour, so we travel through little towns and villages. Some of the gardens are decorated with big plastic christmas balls (what is the significance?). We are given 15 euro each back since we didn't get our tour of the castle and this includes our dinner for tonight.
7.00pm We finally reach Munich and guess what, it is raining again. Every one helps with the bags, carrying others if not their own. Check into Hotel Ludwig. There is a stuff up with the keys as we are one of the last waiting for our name to be called. Seems someone else may have taken our room. Anyway, alotted room 607. The shower is disgusting, be we have no time to use it, we have to meet back down in the lobby at 8.00pm.
8.00pm Follow Julia and walk to the Hofbrauhaus which is past Karls Platz and Marienplatz. She takes us the back way. When we get to the Hofbrahaus, we're told that they don't cater for large groups, so we have to go in ourselves and try to get tables in small groups. Casey and Co manage to find a table so we join them. We have to pay for dinner. I have the escalope "Vienna" style with potato salad (Pork schnitzel 3 pieces), while Janet goes for the Roasted pork knuckle as a small mixed salad. Roy opts for the sausages, so we can all try each other's dishes. They order large steins of beer, while Janet and I stick to the soft drinks. We all marvel at the waitress's strength in carrying up to 7 steins of beer in both hands. It's hard enough to carry one. Dinner costs 12 euro
10.00pm Walk slowly back to hotel, so that the beer drinkers can clear their heads. Look at shops. When we get closer to the hotel, Roy suggests we go look for the laundromat that the hotel as well as Julia has recommended. Seems they marked the wrong spot on the map...we look and look, even so far as going around the entire block, but don't find one.
11.30pm Make our way back to the hotel. Get to our rooms, and all I want is a shower and bed. Run the water to wash our smalls, and try to clean the shower recess...so euww. But the water won't drain...it's just sitting in a pool of scum...definitely not showering it that, so Janet rings reception and asks what they can do about the situation. Can they give us single rooms. As all their doubles are fully booked. Yeah we can have 2 singles. Pack up our stuff and head on down to exchange keys. We are now in rooms 321 and 322. Get to our rooms, I go to have a shower, and wash my stuff and when I finish I remember that I took out all our hangers and hung them in the wardrobe. Oh oh...better head on down to reception (in my pjs) and ask for the key back. Get down, explain the situation, get the key, go up, get my hangers, head back down to reception, and then back to my room.
Don't get to bed until well after 1.00am. The rooms have no air con and it is so stuffy with the windows closed, so I keep it open. Bad mistake. So noisy...don't they sleep in the city. The noise doesn't stop until well after 6.00am in the morning.
Day 15 Kumuka Tour
6.15am Wake up and neck is still stiff. Bed must be too soft.
7.00am "Nothing" breakfast. Only have croissant, and bread roll with vegemite..hmm yum and orange juice.
7.30am Checked out and on the bus. On our way to Munich.
9.30am Pee break. Take photos of mountains and grapevines. Our last Italian service station.
After 11.00am we go through the Brenner Pass and reach Austria.
12.15pm Lunch stop at a roadside diner/cafe...only given 30 mins. Eat packed lunch of vegemite roll and croissant with bag of chips bought in Rome. Take photos of great views.
12.50pm We leave..some people late. But traffic is slow. Not moving at all in the outside lane, which we sit at for like 20 mins. People are getting out of their cars. What's the hold up???
1.30pm We finally are moving...reach a toll booth which has a lot of lanes, but this converges into only a few lanes, so traffic chaos again. Discover that the delay was caused by an accident in a tunnel which we drive through...chalk marks still on the road and some debris, but cars have been taken away...so nothing to see.
As we drive along, the rain comes down, it's bucketing down. Don't think it's going to let up, and looks like out castle tour may be in doubt. Me I would personally cancel it.
3.30pm Arrive at Ludwig's castle, Snow white castle. Apparently because we've been delayed by traffic, we miss our English tour of the castle. We can still go up, either by bus or by walking (told it's 40 minute climb), but we only have 1 1/2hour to spend here. It's still raining, not heavily thank god. Queue for the bus, but as one has already left full of people, have no idea when the next one will be. So we decide to walk up. Casey, Roy and Shirley also walk up, they overtake as at their breakneck speed...helps that they have longer legs. While Janet and I lag behind. Janet has to stop and rest to catch her breath, so I stop with her. We come to a junction, one way to the castle, the other to a bridge with lookout of the castle. I head towards the bridge up a very steep hill, while Janet makes her way to the castle. I don't reach the bridge, I get to a point where I think Jacq took her photo, and take mine there as well...don't bother heading onwards...looks like more uphill climbing. Janet sms's me that she is at the entrance, so I sms back saying ok..I'm on my way. Get to the castle, and Janet's face is all red, so is mine, I find out when I go to use the WC. Wearing a raincoat and hiking fast up a hill, sure does bring the blood to your cheeks. Take photos of the entrance and views and then head down, as it is coming to 4.30pm. Others lag behind and are late getting to the bus. No time for shopping for souvenirs.
5.00pm As we leave Ludwig's Castle, the clouds clear and the sun comes out...trust that to happen. Not enough time given to enjoy it. As we go, we reach a detour, so we travel through little towns and villages. Some of the gardens are decorated with big plastic christmas balls (what is the significance?). We are given 15 euro each back since we didn't get our tour of the castle and this includes our dinner for tonight.
7.00pm We finally reach Munich and guess what, it is raining again. Every one helps with the bags, carrying others if not their own. Check into Hotel Ludwig. There is a stuff up with the keys as we are one of the last waiting for our name to be called. Seems someone else may have taken our room. Anyway, alotted room 607. The shower is disgusting, be we have no time to use it, we have to meet back down in the lobby at 8.00pm.
8.00pm Follow Julia and walk to the Hofbrauhaus which is past Karls Platz and Marienplatz. She takes us the back way. When we get to the Hofbrahaus, we're told that they don't cater for large groups, so we have to go in ourselves and try to get tables in small groups. Casey and Co manage to find a table so we join them. We have to pay for dinner. I have the escalope "Vienna" style with potato salad (Pork schnitzel 3 pieces), while Janet goes for the Roasted pork knuckle as a small mixed salad. Roy opts for the sausages, so we can all try each other's dishes. They order large steins of beer, while Janet and I stick to the soft drinks. We all marvel at the waitress's strength in carrying up to 7 steins of beer in both hands. It's hard enough to carry one. Dinner costs 12 euro
10.00pm Walk slowly back to hotel, so that the beer drinkers can clear their heads. Look at shops. When we get closer to the hotel, Roy suggests we go look for the laundromat that the hotel as well as Julia has recommended. Seems they marked the wrong spot on the map...we look and look, even so far as going around the entire block, but don't find one.
11.30pm Make our way back to the hotel. Get to our rooms, and all I want is a shower and bed. Run the water to wash our smalls, and try to clean the shower recess...so euww. But the water won't drain...it's just sitting in a pool of scum...definitely not showering it that, so Janet rings reception and asks what they can do about the situation. Can they give us single rooms. As all their doubles are fully booked. Yeah we can have 2 singles. Pack up our stuff and head on down to exchange keys. We are now in rooms 321 and 322. Get to our rooms, I go to have a shower, and wash my stuff and when I finish I remember that I took out all our hangers and hung them in the wardrobe. Oh oh...better head on down to reception (in my pjs) and ask for the key back. Get down, explain the situation, get the key, go up, get my hangers, head back down to reception, and then back to my room.
Don't get to bed until well after 1.00am. The rooms have no air con and it is so stuffy with the windows closed, so I keep it open. Bad mistake. So noisy...don't they sleep in the city. The noise doesn't stop until well after 6.00am in the morning.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Venice, Italy. Thursday 7 June 2007
Thursday 7 June 2007 Venice, Italy
Day 14
Wake up with a stiff neck, don't know whether I slept funny, the bed was too soft or what, but hurts to turn my head both ways..can only face forwards.
8.15am Breakfast...pretty late. But it's a "nothing" breakfast. Croissants stuffed with marmalade or honey, bread rolls- at least they are soft, and orange or grapefruit juice.
9.00am Depart hotel on bus to Port of Venice to catch a ferry across to Venice city. Lots of other tour buses as well all doing the same thing, but we have a ferry waiting for us, so we file on. Also have a group of Japanese tourists on the same ferry. Most of us go onto top floor of ferry...later joined by the Japanese when they find out its a better view. Pretty chilly, and overcast, can see the rain clouds coming in.
Get to Venice and we're off, following Julia, who points out the Bridge of Sighs, then to San Marco Square.
10.00am Glass blowing demonstration. Taken to a place behind the San Marco Square, up lots of steps (a bit like climbing a bell tower) into a room which has a hot furnace. A guy gives us a demo of making a glass jug...nifty how he does the handle. Then we are taken up some more steps through several showrooms, to a small room, can't really fit us all in, and the guy shows us all the different glass products they make. Looks nice, but so expensive. Don't buy anything from them.
Julia gives us a free map - not up to date and out return bus tickets. We're told to catch bus #5 at Piazzale Roma when we want to go back to hotel. Free time for us, most of the others have booked a gondola ride at 12.15pm.
11.00am Line up for the bell tower, campanile. Starts to rain while we are in line, so out comes the raincoat. Need to leave backpacks downstairs. Have to wait while tour groups go first. Finally get into tower and pay Euro6.00 to go up. Have to give tickets to guy in lift. Get to top, rain is coming in one side of the tower, other side is nice and dry. Try and take what photos we can. Then its back into line to come down.
Casey and Co have prepurchase tickets to the Doges Palace, so they go off to see that, while Roy, Janet and I wander around San Marco square shops. Walk towards info center. Apparently no free maps Euro2.50 for map and guide...decide against buying it. Go shopping instead...just about walk into every glass shop we see. Roy is buying presents for mum, sister and girlfriend. We are just after anything that catches our eye.
1.00pm After passing streets of food shops, starting to get hungry, also the rain is falling again, so we look for somewhere to have lunch. Come across a cafe, Planet Pleasure, which seems to be busy, lots of Japanese coming out of it, so must be ok, anyway, have to wait for table, Janet wants to go somewhere else, but we wait, finally get our table. We order a pizza and a calzone. Pizza is called Patatosa Pizza, and when it arrives, is a pizza with fries scattered on it. Calzone looks like a big stuffed fish. Has ham, mushrooms,and an egg. While waiting for the pizza's Roy pops out to buy postcards.
After lunch we head to the Rialto Bridge. Take photos,head over the bridge and on to the otherside, but walk the outside of the bridge. Pass a lot of restaurants and decide to walk to the other big bridge. Roy is our map reader. Walk down a dead end and have to back track, walk past statues and churches. Buy murano glass pendants from Italian lady in shop. She rattles off in Italian and all we can do is smile, and shake or nod our heads...can only understand one or two .
Get to a Piazza and spy Casey and Co. They direct us to grocery store and gelato but we walk a big square looking for gelato shop. Janet wants to buy fruit from fruit stall, but too expensive. Man is selling vegies from a boat. Go grocery shopping. Gelato shop is directly opposite grocery store, only Roy and I buy gelato for Euro1.80 for 2 flavours and small cone. I get a nutty and melon, while Roy gets melon and mint. Big scoops..worth it.
Eating our gelato we head back on track looking for the big bridge. Cross lots of little bridges. Lots of glass shops. Once we get to the other Bridge, we head back towards the Rialto, as we walk we pass many Italian Restaurants...pizza??? nope still full, don't feel like eating.
Get to Rialto Bridge and this time walk down middle of bridge where gold and jewellery shops are, just like Ponte Vecchio in Venice. Keep walking down and there are little stalls set up, like markets, selling fruits, souvenirs, bags, t-shirts, etc. Heading towards Piazzale Roma, Janet and Roy spy a Chinese Restaurant, have a look at the menu out the front and decide why not, we all feel like soup, so we get a table for 3 and order our soups as well as a plate of vegies. Roy orders in Manderin as they speak Manderin. Handy having Roy around. While we drink our soups, Janet has hot and sour...more sour than hot. Roy has a bamboo and mushroom soup, and I have chicken sweet corn soup, we wonder whether we can get take-away as we aren't yet hungry, but maybe we might be later on, so Roy asks one of the waitress if they do takeaway and they do...woo hoo. We order takeaway, Roy orders Ma Po Tofu with white rice, and I order Pork with Bamboo and Black fungus (mushroom) with white rice. Roy sms's Casey to see if they would like takeaway, but no reply. Takes them a while to get our bill, but finally we get our takeaway and we're off to find Piazzale Roma to catch the bus back to the hotel. Have to walk a long way, weaving in and out of narrow streets, over bridges, following the yellow signs to the Piazzale.
Finally get there and see Bus #5...it's still there, hasn't gone yet, quickly board, get our ticket validated and find seats. Discover that others from the tour group are also on the bus. So we're on the right bus. The bus waits until its full of passengers before it moves out. While we're on the bus, Casey sms's Roy that "it's ok, they've bought bread". We're the first stop, but as the bus goes past our hotel, we hear the others yell out to the bus driver to stop...even though we have already pushed the button. The bus stop is further down the road and not exactly in front of the hotel, so we all walk back single file beside the main highway.
Get back to hotel and check Julia's update sheet. Apparently we have to leave very early the next day, but no sign of when breakfast is. Others there also asking.
8.45pm, Roy joins us in our room to eat the takeaway, we're all feeling pretty hungry now. Maybe we should have ordered more, anyway, we feel so much better for having had a chinese meal.
After our dinner, we look at Janet's purchases for the day, after hearing how expensive the Murrine glass is, Roy and I decide to head on down to the boutique shop in the hotel to buy some more. While down there, bump into Casey. Also catch up with Julia in the Hotel bar, and find out that breakfast will be at 7.00am. Roy buys 2 big pendants, while I get 3 different sizes as well as a star glass pendant.
Go back to rooms, and this time, Roy brings over his purchases for us to look at, so we're all having show and tell.
No time to download photos or write up diary.
11.30pm Get to bed.
Day 14
Wake up with a stiff neck, don't know whether I slept funny, the bed was too soft or what, but hurts to turn my head both ways..can only face forwards.
8.15am Breakfast...pretty late. But it's a "nothing" breakfast. Croissants stuffed with marmalade or honey, bread rolls- at least they are soft, and orange or grapefruit juice.
9.00am Depart hotel on bus to Port of Venice to catch a ferry across to Venice city. Lots of other tour buses as well all doing the same thing, but we have a ferry waiting for us, so we file on. Also have a group of Japanese tourists on the same ferry. Most of us go onto top floor of ferry...later joined by the Japanese when they find out its a better view. Pretty chilly, and overcast, can see the rain clouds coming in.
Get to Venice and we're off, following Julia, who points out the Bridge of Sighs, then to San Marco Square.
10.00am Glass blowing demonstration. Taken to a place behind the San Marco Square, up lots of steps (a bit like climbing a bell tower) into a room which has a hot furnace. A guy gives us a demo of making a glass jug...nifty how he does the handle. Then we are taken up some more steps through several showrooms, to a small room, can't really fit us all in, and the guy shows us all the different glass products they make. Looks nice, but so expensive. Don't buy anything from them.
Julia gives us a free map - not up to date and out return bus tickets. We're told to catch bus #5 at Piazzale Roma when we want to go back to hotel. Free time for us, most of the others have booked a gondola ride at 12.15pm.
11.00am Line up for the bell tower, campanile. Starts to rain while we are in line, so out comes the raincoat. Need to leave backpacks downstairs. Have to wait while tour groups go first. Finally get into tower and pay Euro6.00 to go up. Have to give tickets to guy in lift. Get to top, rain is coming in one side of the tower, other side is nice and dry. Try and take what photos we can. Then its back into line to come down.
Casey and Co have prepurchase tickets to the Doges Palace, so they go off to see that, while Roy, Janet and I wander around San Marco square shops. Walk towards info center. Apparently no free maps Euro2.50 for map and guide...decide against buying it. Go shopping instead...just about walk into every glass shop we see. Roy is buying presents for mum, sister and girlfriend. We are just after anything that catches our eye.
1.00pm After passing streets of food shops, starting to get hungry, also the rain is falling again, so we look for somewhere to have lunch. Come across a cafe, Planet Pleasure, which seems to be busy, lots of Japanese coming out of it, so must be ok, anyway, have to wait for table, Janet wants to go somewhere else, but we wait, finally get our table. We order a pizza and a calzone. Pizza is called Patatosa Pizza, and when it arrives, is a pizza with fries scattered on it. Calzone looks like a big stuffed fish. Has ham, mushrooms,and an egg. While waiting for the pizza's Roy pops out to buy postcards.
After lunch we head to the Rialto Bridge. Take photos,head over the bridge and on to the otherside, but walk the outside of the bridge. Pass a lot of restaurants and decide to walk to the other big bridge. Roy is our map reader. Walk down a dead end and have to back track, walk past statues and churches. Buy murano glass pendants from Italian lady in shop. She rattles off in Italian and all we can do is smile, and shake or nod our heads...can only understand one or two .
Get to a Piazza and spy Casey and Co. They direct us to grocery store and gelato but we walk a big square looking for gelato shop. Janet wants to buy fruit from fruit stall, but too expensive. Man is selling vegies from a boat. Go grocery shopping. Gelato shop is directly opposite grocery store, only Roy and I buy gelato for Euro1.80 for 2 flavours and small cone. I get a nutty and melon, while Roy gets melon and mint. Big scoops..worth it.
Eating our gelato we head back on track looking for the big bridge. Cross lots of little bridges. Lots of glass shops. Once we get to the other Bridge, we head back towards the Rialto, as we walk we pass many Italian Restaurants...pizza??? nope still full, don't feel like eating.
Get to Rialto Bridge and this time walk down middle of bridge where gold and jewellery shops are, just like Ponte Vecchio in Venice. Keep walking down and there are little stalls set up, like markets, selling fruits, souvenirs, bags, t-shirts, etc. Heading towards Piazzale Roma, Janet and Roy spy a Chinese Restaurant, have a look at the menu out the front and decide why not, we all feel like soup, so we get a table for 3 and order our soups as well as a plate of vegies. Roy orders in Manderin as they speak Manderin. Handy having Roy around. While we drink our soups, Janet has hot and sour...more sour than hot. Roy has a bamboo and mushroom soup, and I have chicken sweet corn soup, we wonder whether we can get take-away as we aren't yet hungry, but maybe we might be later on, so Roy asks one of the waitress if they do takeaway and they do...woo hoo. We order takeaway, Roy orders Ma Po Tofu with white rice, and I order Pork with Bamboo and Black fungus (mushroom) with white rice. Roy sms's Casey to see if they would like takeaway, but no reply. Takes them a while to get our bill, but finally we get our takeaway and we're off to find Piazzale Roma to catch the bus back to the hotel. Have to walk a long way, weaving in and out of narrow streets, over bridges, following the yellow signs to the Piazzale.
Finally get there and see Bus #5...it's still there, hasn't gone yet, quickly board, get our ticket validated and find seats. Discover that others from the tour group are also on the bus. So we're on the right bus. The bus waits until its full of passengers before it moves out. While we're on the bus, Casey sms's Roy that "it's ok, they've bought bread". We're the first stop, but as the bus goes past our hotel, we hear the others yell out to the bus driver to stop...even though we have already pushed the button. The bus stop is further down the road and not exactly in front of the hotel, so we all walk back single file beside the main highway.
Get back to hotel and check Julia's update sheet. Apparently we have to leave very early the next day, but no sign of when breakfast is. Others there also asking.
8.45pm, Roy joins us in our room to eat the takeaway, we're all feeling pretty hungry now. Maybe we should have ordered more, anyway, we feel so much better for having had a chinese meal.
After our dinner, we look at Janet's purchases for the day, after hearing how expensive the Murrine glass is, Roy and I decide to head on down to the boutique shop in the hotel to buy some more. While down there, bump into Casey. Also catch up with Julia in the Hotel bar, and find out that breakfast will be at 7.00am. Roy buys 2 big pendants, while I get 3 different sizes as well as a star glass pendant.
Go back to rooms, and this time, Roy brings over his purchases for us to look at, so we're all having show and tell.
No time to download photos or write up diary.
11.30pm Get to bed.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Rome, Italy to Venice, Italy. Wednesday 6 June 2007
Wednesday 6 June 2007 Rome, Italy to Venice, Italy
Day 13
6.30am Alarm to wake up.
7.15am Breakfast
8.15am Checkout - apparently overhear that some people on the tour have had their rooms broken into and stuff taken, such as cameras and mobile phones last night. Rooms were on the same floor as us. Lucky we locked everything up as well as didn't stay out till late.
Departure delayed as they file reports and wait for police.
8.40am Leave Rome for Ovieto.
11.00am Get to Orvieto. Euro2.00 per person. Julia buys group ticket to go up and individual ones to come down for the funicular and bus ride. We all get into the funicular. At the top we wait for the bus that picks up to take people to the main square and Duomo. It's less than 5 min ride, 10min in total. Get to top and we are told to meet back at the bus at 12.45pm.
Have a look inside the Duomo, then we split up. Janet and I roam the streets of Orvieto, Walk the cross, main roads to the different piazzas, then make our way back to the funicular station. There is a lookout there which has views of the countryside. We have our packed lunch in the park, then we catch the funicular back down with 10 mins to spare.
We have to wait for stragglers...they get told off for being late and keeping people waiting.
1.00pm Depart Orvieto. Watch The Gladiator on the coach trip to Venice. It's raining heavily...pretty foggy too, lucky I don't have to drive. Pee break at 3.00pm. Given 30 mins. Buy water which costs Euro1.75. Traffic is pretty heavy and it's slow going. Another pee break at 5.20pm - this time hop off and back on.
7.00pm Get to Mestre, Russott Hotel. Check in to room 137. Ground floor, but a trek from the main lobby.
8.20pm Meet back in lobby for group dinner. Told we were going to bus it, but because it's stopped raining, we end up walking. Have to walk along the main highway, pass a river and over a walk bridge to the other side of the highway to get to the restaurant.
We sit at a table for 3...sharing with Roy. Don't get served any bread...others on the other table, pass us their bread, the drinks take long to come. At least we get a bowl of mixed salad each. Seems there is only one waitress serving us all. We order 3 pizzas, Capricciosa (Ham, cheese, tomato and artichoke), Funghi (Mushroom) and Margherita (Tomato and cheese). They are huge, but we slice them up in thirds so we can all try some. Not use to eating a whole pizza. Very oily too...from the cheese. All so full, we don't eat the crusts. Roy finishes off our leftovers. Dessert is tiramisu..very heavily soaked in alcohol. Pay for our drinks separately and make our way back to the hotel after dinner.
Need to walk back the way we came. On the way we pass 3 hookers all plying their wares on the main highway...didn't realise we were in the seedy side of town. The hotel is located between the Port and the Airport.
11.30pm Go to bed.
Day 13
6.30am Alarm to wake up.
7.15am Breakfast
8.15am Checkout - apparently overhear that some people on the tour have had their rooms broken into and stuff taken, such as cameras and mobile phones last night. Rooms were on the same floor as us. Lucky we locked everything up as well as didn't stay out till late.
Departure delayed as they file reports and wait for police.
8.40am Leave Rome for Ovieto.
11.00am Get to Orvieto. Euro2.00 per person. Julia buys group ticket to go up and individual ones to come down for the funicular and bus ride. We all get into the funicular. At the top we wait for the bus that picks up to take people to the main square and Duomo. It's less than 5 min ride, 10min in total. Get to top and we are told to meet back at the bus at 12.45pm.
Have a look inside the Duomo, then we split up. Janet and I roam the streets of Orvieto, Walk the cross, main roads to the different piazzas, then make our way back to the funicular station. There is a lookout there which has views of the countryside. We have our packed lunch in the park, then we catch the funicular back down with 10 mins to spare.
We have to wait for stragglers...they get told off for being late and keeping people waiting.
1.00pm Depart Orvieto. Watch The Gladiator on the coach trip to Venice. It's raining heavily...pretty foggy too, lucky I don't have to drive. Pee break at 3.00pm. Given 30 mins. Buy water which costs Euro1.75. Traffic is pretty heavy and it's slow going. Another pee break at 5.20pm - this time hop off and back on.
7.00pm Get to Mestre, Russott Hotel. Check in to room 137. Ground floor, but a trek from the main lobby.
8.20pm Meet back in lobby for group dinner. Told we were going to bus it, but because it's stopped raining, we end up walking. Have to walk along the main highway, pass a river and over a walk bridge to the other side of the highway to get to the restaurant.
We sit at a table for 3...sharing with Roy. Don't get served any bread...others on the other table, pass us their bread, the drinks take long to come. At least we get a bowl of mixed salad each. Seems there is only one waitress serving us all. We order 3 pizzas, Capricciosa (Ham, cheese, tomato and artichoke), Funghi (Mushroom) and Margherita (Tomato and cheese). They are huge, but we slice them up in thirds so we can all try some. Not use to eating a whole pizza. Very oily too...from the cheese. All so full, we don't eat the crusts. Roy finishes off our leftovers. Dessert is tiramisu..very heavily soaked in alcohol. Pay for our drinks separately and make our way back to the hotel after dinner.
Need to walk back the way we came. On the way we pass 3 hookers all plying their wares on the main highway...didn't realise we were in the seedy side of town. The hotel is located between the Port and the Airport.
11.30pm Go to bed.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Rome, Italy. Tuesday 5 June 2007
Tuesday 5 June 2007 Rome, Italy
Day 12 Kumuka Tour
7.45am Breakfast, say goodbye to Casey and Co..they are off to Pompeii - optional tour Euro35.00.
8.30am Janet, Tracey and I set off for our second day out in Rome. Walk to bus stop and catch bus #889 to Metro station Cornelia at 8.54am. Use tickets which we bought yesterday at metro station on way back to hotel. Catch metro to Cipro - Musei Vaticani and walk to Vatican Museum entrance.
9.35am Get to Vatican Museum. We see a queue, so get Janet and Tracey to line up, while I go check it out..discover that it is the group tour line that have reservations, so we go to the end of the line of the other entrance for individuals and other tour groups. As we are walking down the line, it just seems to go on for ever. All the way down the Viale Vatican and snakes around the corner, we round the corner and the line is never ending, it goes down along the Vatican wall and around another corner...as we're heading down, Tracey just nudges her way into the line, between a Korean tour group and a Japanese tour group, we try to blend in, but they all have audio ear pieces with the tour guide talking away to them in a mic. One of the tour guide tries to tell us off, but we plead ignorance..sorry, not in your group. Anyway, line begins to move and it inches towards the entrance.
10.00am We finally get to the entrance. Have to go through security checkpoint, but can bring our backpacks with us. Buy our tickets up the stairs for Euro13 and then head up the escalators. Get to the audio tour desk Euro6.00 each. Decide to go ahead and get that so we know what we are looking at. Have to leave an I.D. with them, the other two haven't bought any, so I give them my driver's license, which I can collect back at the end of the tour when we hand the audio pieces back.
Walk through Egyptian museo, several rooms, the Etruscan bit, all the other rooms, down long corridors, a tapestry room, a miscellaneous room - candelabra room, a map room, another tapestry room, all these rooms are very long with painted ceilings and walls...such an array of colour, never too sure what to look at.
12.00noon Get to the Sistine Chapel. Sit a while to take in the entire room...but not enough time, have to go. Walk through the biblioteque (library?). By the time we finish, it's 12.40pm...when we buy some postcards, sit on some side of a walkway and write them up, so we can send them from the Vatican City. Catch the lift down and make our way to St Peters square.
1.30pm By the time we sit down and have lunch.
1.45pm Line up to get into St Peters. Have to go through security checkpoint again, as well as clothing check..as I am wearing a sleeveless top, I get pulled up. I pull out a scarf which I put into my backpack just in case this was going to happen. We walk into the basilica at 2pm. It is huge, with lots of sculptures and painted domes or are they mosaics. Apparently the writing around the bottom of the dome is 6 feet tall.
2.45pm We line up to go up to the dome. As we near the entrance, there is a sign which says that after the elevators, there are 320 steps, so not for the faint hearted. Tracey bails out, so waits for us inside St Peters. We buy our tickets for Euro7.00 each, to take the lift both ways...no way are we climbing stairs plus the 320 to get to the top. It's 3.11pm when we get out of the elevator. Walk into the inner rim of the dome and it's caged off, but allows you to see the dome at closer level, the sides are decorated with mosaics.
3.18pm We climb the steps in the dome to the top. It curves around and as you near the top, you need to climb a circular staircase, which gets smaller as you get closer to the top. Definitely need to rest half way...and am huffing and puffing when we finally emerge out on the rim of the top of the dome. Great views of the city sprawling as far as the eye can see. But it's very crowded up the top, with people jostling for prime positions to take photos. Circle all around the top, taking photos and then have to queue to get down. Someone must be slow walking down the steps. But it's on the other side of the entry. So in fact one way up, one way down, but free for all up the top...not one way traffic. Janet buys some souvenirs in the shop that is up on the level you walk down the steps to. Also take photos of the statues which are on the top of the roof, which look so small when down below, but are huge in reality. The clock sounds as we're up there, it's 4pm. So we make our way down, and queue to get into the elevator. Lucky it's not a long wait, but only limited to small groups of 10 people? Get down and the exit is inside St Peters, just left of which Tracey is waiting for us. We exit and walk out the left side and spy the Swiss Guards..take photos, and walk to the very front of St Peters Square to take photos.
4.15pm From here we need to catch the Metro to the Spanish steps, so we walk towards the Ottaviano Metro station. Get to the station and catch the metro to Spagna station. Get to the Spanish Steps at 4.47pm. Take photos, but the steps are crowded with people just sitting around or taking photos. Walk up to the top and take photos, then walk to the Villa Medici, and decide to have a gelato..very hot.
Buy gelato Euro2.00 for cone and one flavor...doesn't heap it on like the one in Prato. Can't sit and eat gelato, so we take it outside the Villa Medici and enjoy our gelato. Then we decide to walk to Piazza del Popolo. As we head in the general direction, we come across another lookout. Then we come across the Borghese Gardens...walk through some of it, before hitting the Piazza Napoleone, which also has great views of the city.
As we head on down to the Piazza Popolo, we spy some markets, so we make our way down..get to the Piazza Popolo and take photos of the Via Del Corso and the buildings on either side of it. Also of the obelisk and lion fountains.
Catch the Metro at Flamino. Get to the platform in time to see a train and need to run to hop on, just as the doors close. Take it back to Cornelia at 5.50pm, by the time we get back to Cornelia it is around 6.00pm. Wait at the crowded bus stop and see several buses stop which are so crowded..it's like we may have to do the same when our bus gets here. Wait at least 20 minutes before the bus arrives. It comes up behind another bus, so we need to squash in, and be squashed in by other people catching the bus. Traffic is horrendous.
6.30pm We manage to get back to the hotel. The others get back soon after us and we head to to dinner.
7.30pm Back to the same restaurant as last night. I order a fettucine with gamberi and zuchini (Euro8.00), while Janet orders a large tuna salad (Euro8.00). We share, also order soft drinks (Euro2.50). Roy orders pizza, Shirley - pasta, Tracey - Scampi risotto, Jim - fried prawns and calimari, Casey has clam pasta. Our part of the bill we pay Euro24.00.
9.00pm Finish dinner and backto hotel. Shower, pack and type up diary.
Day 12 Kumuka Tour
7.45am Breakfast, say goodbye to Casey and Co..they are off to Pompeii - optional tour Euro35.00.
8.30am Janet, Tracey and I set off for our second day out in Rome. Walk to bus stop and catch bus #889 to Metro station Cornelia at 8.54am. Use tickets which we bought yesterday at metro station on way back to hotel. Catch metro to Cipro - Musei Vaticani and walk to Vatican Museum entrance.
9.35am Get to Vatican Museum. We see a queue, so get Janet and Tracey to line up, while I go check it out..discover that it is the group tour line that have reservations, so we go to the end of the line of the other entrance for individuals and other tour groups. As we are walking down the line, it just seems to go on for ever. All the way down the Viale Vatican and snakes around the corner, we round the corner and the line is never ending, it goes down along the Vatican wall and around another corner...as we're heading down, Tracey just nudges her way into the line, between a Korean tour group and a Japanese tour group, we try to blend in, but they all have audio ear pieces with the tour guide talking away to them in a mic. One of the tour guide tries to tell us off, but we plead ignorance..sorry, not in your group. Anyway, line begins to move and it inches towards the entrance.
10.00am We finally get to the entrance. Have to go through security checkpoint, but can bring our backpacks with us. Buy our tickets up the stairs for Euro13 and then head up the escalators. Get to the audio tour desk Euro6.00 each. Decide to go ahead and get that so we know what we are looking at. Have to leave an I.D. with them, the other two haven't bought any, so I give them my driver's license, which I can collect back at the end of the tour when we hand the audio pieces back.
Walk through Egyptian museo, several rooms, the Etruscan bit, all the other rooms, down long corridors, a tapestry room, a miscellaneous room - candelabra room, a map room, another tapestry room, all these rooms are very long with painted ceilings and walls...such an array of colour, never too sure what to look at.
12.00noon Get to the Sistine Chapel. Sit a while to take in the entire room...but not enough time, have to go. Walk through the biblioteque (library?). By the time we finish, it's 12.40pm...when we buy some postcards, sit on some side of a walkway and write them up, so we can send them from the Vatican City. Catch the lift down and make our way to St Peters square.
1.30pm By the time we sit down and have lunch.
1.45pm Line up to get into St Peters. Have to go through security checkpoint again, as well as clothing check..as I am wearing a sleeveless top, I get pulled up. I pull out a scarf which I put into my backpack just in case this was going to happen. We walk into the basilica at 2pm. It is huge, with lots of sculptures and painted domes or are they mosaics. Apparently the writing around the bottom of the dome is 6 feet tall.
2.45pm We line up to go up to the dome. As we near the entrance, there is a sign which says that after the elevators, there are 320 steps, so not for the faint hearted. Tracey bails out, so waits for us inside St Peters. We buy our tickets for Euro7.00 each, to take the lift both ways...no way are we climbing stairs plus the 320 to get to the top. It's 3.11pm when we get out of the elevator. Walk into the inner rim of the dome and it's caged off, but allows you to see the dome at closer level, the sides are decorated with mosaics.
3.18pm We climb the steps in the dome to the top. It curves around and as you near the top, you need to climb a circular staircase, which gets smaller as you get closer to the top. Definitely need to rest half way...and am huffing and puffing when we finally emerge out on the rim of the top of the dome. Great views of the city sprawling as far as the eye can see. But it's very crowded up the top, with people jostling for prime positions to take photos. Circle all around the top, taking photos and then have to queue to get down. Someone must be slow walking down the steps. But it's on the other side of the entry. So in fact one way up, one way down, but free for all up the top...not one way traffic. Janet buys some souvenirs in the shop that is up on the level you walk down the steps to. Also take photos of the statues which are on the top of the roof, which look so small when down below, but are huge in reality. The clock sounds as we're up there, it's 4pm. So we make our way down, and queue to get into the elevator. Lucky it's not a long wait, but only limited to small groups of 10 people? Get down and the exit is inside St Peters, just left of which Tracey is waiting for us. We exit and walk out the left side and spy the Swiss Guards..take photos, and walk to the very front of St Peters Square to take photos.
4.15pm From here we need to catch the Metro to the Spanish steps, so we walk towards the Ottaviano Metro station. Get to the station and catch the metro to Spagna station. Get to the Spanish Steps at 4.47pm. Take photos, but the steps are crowded with people just sitting around or taking photos. Walk up to the top and take photos, then walk to the Villa Medici, and decide to have a gelato..very hot.
Buy gelato Euro2.00 for cone and one flavor...doesn't heap it on like the one in Prato. Can't sit and eat gelato, so we take it outside the Villa Medici and enjoy our gelato. Then we decide to walk to Piazza del Popolo. As we head in the general direction, we come across another lookout. Then we come across the Borghese Gardens...walk through some of it, before hitting the Piazza Napoleone, which also has great views of the city.
As we head on down to the Piazza Popolo, we spy some markets, so we make our way down..get to the Piazza Popolo and take photos of the Via Del Corso and the buildings on either side of it. Also of the obelisk and lion fountains.
Catch the Metro at Flamino. Get to the platform in time to see a train and need to run to hop on, just as the doors close. Take it back to Cornelia at 5.50pm, by the time we get back to Cornelia it is around 6.00pm. Wait at the crowded bus stop and see several buses stop which are so crowded..it's like we may have to do the same when our bus gets here. Wait at least 20 minutes before the bus arrives. It comes up behind another bus, so we need to squash in, and be squashed in by other people catching the bus. Traffic is horrendous.
6.30pm We manage to get back to the hotel. The others get back soon after us and we head to to dinner.
7.30pm Back to the same restaurant as last night. I order a fettucine with gamberi and zuchini (Euro8.00), while Janet orders a large tuna salad (Euro8.00). We share, also order soft drinks (Euro2.50). Roy orders pizza, Shirley - pasta, Tracey - Scampi risotto, Jim - fried prawns and calimari, Casey has clam pasta. Our part of the bill we pay Euro24.00.
9.00pm Finish dinner and backto hotel. Shower, pack and type up diary.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Rome, Italy. Monday 4 June 2007
Monday 4 June 2007 Rome, Italy
Day 11 Kumuka Tour
7.15am Wakeup.
7.45am Breakfast, a lot better than yesterday's "nothing" breakfast. Better cereal, hot breakfast, with a lot more choices..but still the same scrambled eggs and ham, croissants, rolls, yoghurt. Join Jim and Tracey for breakfast. Later joined by a chinese lady who is doing her own trip, but sat at our table.
8.45am meet up in lobby with Julia, Jim, Tracey, Phoebe, Peter and Susanna. At 8.50am the 7 of us head off to the bus stop to catch the #889 bus to Metro Cornelia. Get the Metro to Termini and change to catch a train to Colosseo. Meet up with rest of tour group outside the Colosseum.
9.00am Guided tour of the Colosseum - exterior, walk through the Roman Forum, with stops to talk/take photos along the way. Very hot, the sun is shining and every shady spot is sort out by all whenever the giude stops to talk. Pass the Vittorio Emanuel monument - which was covered due to renovation work...also lots of roadworks in the Piazza Venezia. Walk to the Minerva obelisk, back of Pantheon. Stop at portico of Pantheon, talk outside as cannot inside. Go inside to take photos. Group splits up. Julia takes group to Vatican Museum. Tracey, Janet and I do our own tour.
12.00noon After going to toilet at Maccas (Janet and Tracey), we have lunch on the front steps of the Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Watching the many tour groups file past, either going to the Pantheon or away from it.
1.00pm Walk to Piazza Navona, using tomtom. On the way we walk through the Chiesa Di Sant'Ivo Alla Sapienza. Take pictures of the fountains (Neptune Fountain). Unfortunately the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is undergoing renovations. Discover there is an information centre close by with the tomtom, so make our way to it, but, tomtom can't make up it's mind. Finally find the information booth - a one man booth. Ask for map and directions to Trevi Fountain. Head in the direction he points us to, but make a loop, passing the Piazza Del Parliamento (1.37pm), Parliament House. Walk down the Via Del Corso...window shopping, then need to do a loop back as tomtom loses his bearings. Back on track we pass a grocery shop, so pop in to buy cold drinks and bananas. They have a basket which you can wheel like a trolley..they should have these back home. Tracey discovers her bag has been slashed while waiting in the Supermarket queue. Lucky nothing has been taken. Can't figure out when it would have happened.
2.26pm Finally get to Trevi Fountain. Take photos and each throw a coin in. As I try to work out where to go from here, Janet and Tracey walk into a Benetton shop for the air con. Did I say it was hot..yeah stinking hot. Anyway, decide we should go visit the Quirinale gardens, end up in the Piazza Del Quirinale. See a lot of men in uniform, soldiers taking group photos. Also a lot of video and film cameras and photographers...something is going on, so we hang around to find out what is happening. Turns out it is the changing of the guards. The Piazza is cordoned off and we wait. It is until past 3.15pm, that we hear a marching band, they are coming up the path we just walked, but they circle around and into the Piazza. Following the marching band are more naval seamen/officers, different uniform to the soldiers already in the piazza. As we watch them march in, the soldiers stationed around the piazza salute them, Tracey also salutes, although she is actually shading her eyes from the sun...so hilarious. Janet ends up videoing them.
It's past 3.30pm and we're aware we need to meet Julia at Barberini at 4.30pm, so we leave half way through the ceremony...also getting hot standing in the sun. We make out way down the Via Del Quirinale to the Via Delle Quatro Fontane, where there are 4 fountains at each corner and walk down to the Piazza Barberini...look around trying to find a spot to sit at wait out the last 1/2 hour. Spy a shell fountain, and walk to that corner, people are sitting on the sides, and other people are filling drink bottles with the water from the fountain. As people get up to catch their bus, we grab their seats on the fountain. But have to be careful not to sit in the water.
I look up my guidebook and spy the Capucine Crypt, maybe this is where Julia is to take us, it's beginning to spit with rain, so we head to the crypt to have a quick look. Entry is by donation, so we each donate 1 euro each. The crypts are lined with bones from long dead monks. It was a project started by 3 monks. They use all the bones to decorate the walls. There are also mummified monks in their robes on display. No photos allowed. Cameras make sure as while we were in there, someone must have taken out their camera, because an annoucement comes amplified out of the blue...no photos.
Afterwards we head for the Metro to catch the train back to Cornelia station. Not sure which exit to take, and with our luck, we end up taking the wrong exit and need to walk a mile and half just to get back to where the supermarket is. Buy fruit and drinks, before heading to the bus stop to catch the bus back. Not too sure whether our tickets are valid so we're thinking we might have to walk. But the bus comes, we get on, and because it's full, we don't validate our tickets, but who's going to check. Anyway get off on the stop before our hotel and need to walk on the road single file like last night with Roy.
6.00pm Get back to hotel. Feels good to put the feet up. We eat some fruit and carrots, and I download the photos and begin to write/type up my diary. Roy sms to say they are on the bus coming back. I sms...what's for dinner. He sms back...can we scout out a good pizza place. So I send Janet down to the lobby to look at the information cards on display. She comes back up around 7.00pm, saying they're back and wanting to go to dinner. Shirley is tired and sugar low...she just wants to eat now. So quickly shutdown and pack everything away.
Meet Roy on the way to meet up with them. Supposedly have to walk 300 metres to a traffic lights and turn left. It's actually the second set of traffic lights and it feels like more than 300 metres till we get to the Restaurant. Apparently it has been recommended to a few of the people in our tour group as they all walk with us, as well as turn up a few minutes after us. Table for 5. I order Seafood Linguine, while the rest order pizzas. Talk about the day and what they got up to. A visit to the Vaitcan museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peters, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps. Roy orders a calzone. Anyway, the meal ends up costing us Euro60.80.
9.30pm Walk back to the hotel.
10.00pm I have a shower, wash my hair and type up this entry.
Day 11 Kumuka Tour
7.15am Wakeup.
7.45am Breakfast, a lot better than yesterday's "nothing" breakfast. Better cereal, hot breakfast, with a lot more choices..but still the same scrambled eggs and ham, croissants, rolls, yoghurt. Join Jim and Tracey for breakfast. Later joined by a chinese lady who is doing her own trip, but sat at our table.
8.45am meet up in lobby with Julia, Jim, Tracey, Phoebe, Peter and Susanna. At 8.50am the 7 of us head off to the bus stop to catch the #889 bus to Metro Cornelia. Get the Metro to Termini and change to catch a train to Colosseo. Meet up with rest of tour group outside the Colosseum.
9.00am Guided tour of the Colosseum - exterior, walk through the Roman Forum, with stops to talk/take photos along the way. Very hot, the sun is shining and every shady spot is sort out by all whenever the giude stops to talk. Pass the Vittorio Emanuel monument - which was covered due to renovation work...also lots of roadworks in the Piazza Venezia. Walk to the Minerva obelisk, back of Pantheon. Stop at portico of Pantheon, talk outside as cannot inside. Go inside to take photos. Group splits up. Julia takes group to Vatican Museum. Tracey, Janet and I do our own tour.
12.00noon After going to toilet at Maccas (Janet and Tracey), we have lunch on the front steps of the Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Watching the many tour groups file past, either going to the Pantheon or away from it.
1.00pm Walk to Piazza Navona, using tomtom. On the way we walk through the Chiesa Di Sant'Ivo Alla Sapienza. Take pictures of the fountains (Neptune Fountain). Unfortunately the Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is undergoing renovations. Discover there is an information centre close by with the tomtom, so make our way to it, but, tomtom can't make up it's mind. Finally find the information booth - a one man booth. Ask for map and directions to Trevi Fountain. Head in the direction he points us to, but make a loop, passing the Piazza Del Parliamento (1.37pm), Parliament House. Walk down the Via Del Corso...window shopping, then need to do a loop back as tomtom loses his bearings. Back on track we pass a grocery shop, so pop in to buy cold drinks and bananas. They have a basket which you can wheel like a trolley..they should have these back home. Tracey discovers her bag has been slashed while waiting in the Supermarket queue. Lucky nothing has been taken. Can't figure out when it would have happened.
2.26pm Finally get to Trevi Fountain. Take photos and each throw a coin in. As I try to work out where to go from here, Janet and Tracey walk into a Benetton shop for the air con. Did I say it was hot..yeah stinking hot. Anyway, decide we should go visit the Quirinale gardens, end up in the Piazza Del Quirinale. See a lot of men in uniform, soldiers taking group photos. Also a lot of video and film cameras and photographers...something is going on, so we hang around to find out what is happening. Turns out it is the changing of the guards. The Piazza is cordoned off and we wait. It is until past 3.15pm, that we hear a marching band, they are coming up the path we just walked, but they circle around and into the Piazza. Following the marching band are more naval seamen/officers, different uniform to the soldiers already in the piazza. As we watch them march in, the soldiers stationed around the piazza salute them, Tracey also salutes, although she is actually shading her eyes from the sun...so hilarious. Janet ends up videoing them.
It's past 3.30pm and we're aware we need to meet Julia at Barberini at 4.30pm, so we leave half way through the ceremony...also getting hot standing in the sun. We make out way down the Via Del Quirinale to the Via Delle Quatro Fontane, where there are 4 fountains at each corner and walk down to the Piazza Barberini...look around trying to find a spot to sit at wait out the last 1/2 hour. Spy a shell fountain, and walk to that corner, people are sitting on the sides, and other people are filling drink bottles with the water from the fountain. As people get up to catch their bus, we grab their seats on the fountain. But have to be careful not to sit in the water.
I look up my guidebook and spy the Capucine Crypt, maybe this is where Julia is to take us, it's beginning to spit with rain, so we head to the crypt to have a quick look. Entry is by donation, so we each donate 1 euro each. The crypts are lined with bones from long dead monks. It was a project started by 3 monks. They use all the bones to decorate the walls. There are also mummified monks in their robes on display. No photos allowed. Cameras make sure as while we were in there, someone must have taken out their camera, because an annoucement comes amplified out of the blue...no photos.
Afterwards we head for the Metro to catch the train back to Cornelia station. Not sure which exit to take, and with our luck, we end up taking the wrong exit and need to walk a mile and half just to get back to where the supermarket is. Buy fruit and drinks, before heading to the bus stop to catch the bus back. Not too sure whether our tickets are valid so we're thinking we might have to walk. But the bus comes, we get on, and because it's full, we don't validate our tickets, but who's going to check. Anyway get off on the stop before our hotel and need to walk on the road single file like last night with Roy.
6.00pm Get back to hotel. Feels good to put the feet up. We eat some fruit and carrots, and I download the photos and begin to write/type up my diary. Roy sms to say they are on the bus coming back. I sms...what's for dinner. He sms back...can we scout out a good pizza place. So I send Janet down to the lobby to look at the information cards on display. She comes back up around 7.00pm, saying they're back and wanting to go to dinner. Shirley is tired and sugar low...she just wants to eat now. So quickly shutdown and pack everything away.
Meet Roy on the way to meet up with them. Supposedly have to walk 300 metres to a traffic lights and turn left. It's actually the second set of traffic lights and it feels like more than 300 metres till we get to the Restaurant. Apparently it has been recommended to a few of the people in our tour group as they all walk with us, as well as turn up a few minutes after us. Table for 5. I order Seafood Linguine, while the rest order pizzas. Talk about the day and what they got up to. A visit to the Vaitcan museum, Sistine Chapel, St Peters, Trevi Fountain, and Spanish Steps. Roy orders a calzone. Anyway, the meal ends up costing us Euro60.80.
9.30pm Walk back to the hotel.
10.00pm I have a shower, wash my hair and type up this entry.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
Prato, Italy to Rome, Italy. Sunday 3 June 2007
Sunday 3 June 2007 Prato, Italy to Rome, Italy
Day 10 Kumuka Tour
7.13am Wake up call. We sleep in today, because our breakfast isn't until 8am. Go down for breakfast at 7.50am...and breakfast room isn't open yet. Casey and Shirley are already there. So is Kasey and Dana. A few of the early birds (the 9 that were caught yesterday are down early again). As we check out the breakfast room. It is true, our breakfast is nothing. The tables are set with one hard boiled egg each, at least it's warm and not cold or frozen. There's a choice of cornflakes or coco pops, day old bread and a selection of spreads, jam, honey, nutella. Fruit juice - pineapple and grapefruit. On the table are jugs of hot water, coffee and hot milk. Not very appetising.
8.45am Board the coach to Rome.
9.30am Take the Poggibonsi exit heading to San Gimignano.
9.45am arrive at San Gimignano, coach parks and we need to walk 15 mins to the old town. We are given over an hour to spend here. We climb the Torre Grossa first to get a birds eye view of San Gimignano, it costs Euro5.00 a person. There are over 218 steps to climb. When we get to the top there are two bells. Take photos of the spectacular views of the surrounding Tuscan landscape. The Castel San Gimignano is the middle of Tuscany. Spend a bit of time up in the tower which has a museum as well, so we skip the gelato and head to the Torture Chamber, for Euro10.00 you get to visit 2 sites, but we only have time to do the torture chamber, no photos allowed inside. After that we head back to the coach, hoping to buy some water at the Co-op supermarket at the parking lot. The queues are long, it seems like everyone has decided to come shopping. It is 11.20am and we need to be at the coach as it leaves at 11.30am. Janet panics and says we better go, so we leave our stuff and head on out. Roy follows us. Casey and co manage to buy their stuff. Get to the parking lot and the rest are waiting, the coach is still to arrive.
12.00noon Lunch is at Tenuto Torciano, a traditional Tuscan winery where we have wine tasting with a plate of 2 types of salami, cheese, oiled bread and chips. Get to try 7 types of wine, only 1 white wine and the rest red. Also sample a traditional Tuscan dish which is made of bread that is 7 days old. It is cooked for 7 hours with over 9 herbs and spices (vegies as well), a generous amount of olive oil is added to it and it is again cooked for 3 more hours. When served, you need to mix it thoroughly before eating. Very tasty but can be filling. We sample truffle oil with this dish, very yummy - no wonder truffles cost so much.
1.45pm back on the coach and on our way to Roma. A dvd movie is put on, Eurotrip, sleep during the first bit, but remain awake to watch the rest.
There is one 15min piss stop at 3.10pm and we are on our way again.
6.00pm Get to the hotel. We congregate in the parking lot waiting for Julia to check us in and collect the keys. Apparently there are several separate buildings and we are all over the place. Our room 259 is in the San Giovanni building with Casey and co. Roy is in another building.
We also say goodbye to 4 of our group. Kim and Vaughan and Pedram and Christine leave us to do their own thing.
After freshening up we go and check out the main building which has a huge reception area. It is also a function centre. There are internet work stations, but you need to pay Euro5.00 for 1 hour. Pick up a map from a free magazine, apparently reception has run out of maps of the local area.
Sms Roy to meet us in the lobby to go for walk. Seems he has been spending his time watching tennis on tv. We go for a walk to check out the place. Cross a few roads trying to find a safe way to get to where Julia pointed out the Metro station. Ultimately have to walk on the road for a small section before there is a footpath. Get to within cooee of the metro, but spy a supermarket, so decide to go in and buy some supplies. Get water, chips, apples and need to pay Euro0.05 for the plastic bag. Time to head back to the hotel...make it back just in time.
8.20pm They are already gathered in the lobby and so, Roy and myself drop the stuff off in our rooms and have to make a run to catch up with the group. We walk 5 mins to the Restaurant. Sit at a table for eight, our group and a newby, Phoebe, retired lady from NZ. Meal consists of gnocchi with pesto sauce, chicken cacchiatore again, and a cake, which is too sweet and dry. Drinks are optional, but water is free, even though it is mineral water. Soft drinks are Euro4.00 a bit too much.
10.15pm Walk back to hotel. Wash clothes and charge up tomtom, GPS. Write up diary.
11.00pm Sleep.
Day 10 Kumuka Tour
7.13am Wake up call. We sleep in today, because our breakfast isn't until 8am. Go down for breakfast at 7.50am...and breakfast room isn't open yet. Casey and Shirley are already there. So is Kasey and Dana. A few of the early birds (the 9 that were caught yesterday are down early again). As we check out the breakfast room. It is true, our breakfast is nothing. The tables are set with one hard boiled egg each, at least it's warm and not cold or frozen. There's a choice of cornflakes or coco pops, day old bread and a selection of spreads, jam, honey, nutella. Fruit juice - pineapple and grapefruit. On the table are jugs of hot water, coffee and hot milk. Not very appetising.
8.45am Board the coach to Rome.
9.30am Take the Poggibonsi exit heading to San Gimignano.
9.45am arrive at San Gimignano, coach parks and we need to walk 15 mins to the old town. We are given over an hour to spend here. We climb the Torre Grossa first to get a birds eye view of San Gimignano, it costs Euro5.00 a person. There are over 218 steps to climb. When we get to the top there are two bells. Take photos of the spectacular views of the surrounding Tuscan landscape. The Castel San Gimignano is the middle of Tuscany. Spend a bit of time up in the tower which has a museum as well, so we skip the gelato and head to the Torture Chamber, for Euro10.00 you get to visit 2 sites, but we only have time to do the torture chamber, no photos allowed inside. After that we head back to the coach, hoping to buy some water at the Co-op supermarket at the parking lot. The queues are long, it seems like everyone has decided to come shopping. It is 11.20am and we need to be at the coach as it leaves at 11.30am. Janet panics and says we better go, so we leave our stuff and head on out. Roy follows us. Casey and co manage to buy their stuff. Get to the parking lot and the rest are waiting, the coach is still to arrive.
12.00noon Lunch is at Tenuto Torciano, a traditional Tuscan winery where we have wine tasting with a plate of 2 types of salami, cheese, oiled bread and chips. Get to try 7 types of wine, only 1 white wine and the rest red. Also sample a traditional Tuscan dish which is made of bread that is 7 days old. It is cooked for 7 hours with over 9 herbs and spices (vegies as well), a generous amount of olive oil is added to it and it is again cooked for 3 more hours. When served, you need to mix it thoroughly before eating. Very tasty but can be filling. We sample truffle oil with this dish, very yummy - no wonder truffles cost so much.
1.45pm back on the coach and on our way to Roma. A dvd movie is put on, Eurotrip, sleep during the first bit, but remain awake to watch the rest.
There is one 15min piss stop at 3.10pm and we are on our way again.
6.00pm Get to the hotel. We congregate in the parking lot waiting for Julia to check us in and collect the keys. Apparently there are several separate buildings and we are all over the place. Our room 259 is in the San Giovanni building with Casey and co. Roy is in another building.
We also say goodbye to 4 of our group. Kim and Vaughan and Pedram and Christine leave us to do their own thing.
After freshening up we go and check out the main building which has a huge reception area. It is also a function centre. There are internet work stations, but you need to pay Euro5.00 for 1 hour. Pick up a map from a free magazine, apparently reception has run out of maps of the local area.
Sms Roy to meet us in the lobby to go for walk. Seems he has been spending his time watching tennis on tv. We go for a walk to check out the place. Cross a few roads trying to find a safe way to get to where Julia pointed out the Metro station. Ultimately have to walk on the road for a small section before there is a footpath. Get to within cooee of the metro, but spy a supermarket, so decide to go in and buy some supplies. Get water, chips, apples and need to pay Euro0.05 for the plastic bag. Time to head back to the hotel...make it back just in time.
8.20pm They are already gathered in the lobby and so, Roy and myself drop the stuff off in our rooms and have to make a run to catch up with the group. We walk 5 mins to the Restaurant. Sit at a table for eight, our group and a newby, Phoebe, retired lady from NZ. Meal consists of gnocchi with pesto sauce, chicken cacchiatore again, and a cake, which is too sweet and dry. Drinks are optional, but water is free, even though it is mineral water. Soft drinks are Euro4.00 a bit too much.
10.15pm Walk back to hotel. Wash clothes and charge up tomtom, GPS. Write up diary.
11.00pm Sleep.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Florence, Rome. Saturday 2 June 2007
Saturday 2 June 2007 Florence
Day 9 Kumuka Tour
6.30am wake up for 7.15am breakfast, we arranged to meet up with Roy in breakfast room.
We were one of the first to enter the breakfast room, with 2 other guys, not from our tour. Started eating breakfast. Not long after joined by Pedrom and Christine and then Roy. Afterwards, Kasey and Dana join us as well as Casey and Shirley. We're busy eating away when the Clerk at the reception desk comes in and tells us that apparently we should not be eating this breakfast. Our breakfast is being served in another room and is suppose to be at 8am. We don't move and continue eating. Not long after an Italian lady with a sour face comes in and looks at us, keeps giving Dana and Casey looks. Then she comes to our table and asks us for our room numbers and says in her own way...that we are not suppose to be eating this breakfast, we are to have a continental breakfast which is "nothing" in the other room. Kasey pipes up and says that this wasn't explained to us, to which she replies, well then the tour leader will need to pay for us having the breakfast and starts getting our room numbers. Oh well...I'd already finished eating and was just waiting for Janet and Roy to finish. As if we were going to move now. We asked her if she wanted us tp move into the other room, but she was like, I suppose not, now that you are already eating. Oh boy...are we in trouble...no one feels like eating now. By the time Julia gets to the hotel...just about everyone on the tour group has heard the story. She manages to sweet talk the manager and doesn't have to pay...it is after all partly her fault for not making it plain to us where we were to have breakfast.
8.00am Walk to shops to buy water supplies, but unfortunately the shop is closed, huh??? Isn't it suppose to be open. Shirley asks a lady who has approached the shop, and she confirms that the shop should be open. It is until after another man arrives on a moped, an old man, with long thin legs and beer belly with short shorts on euww, that she points out a sign to us that says the shop is closed due to public holiday and will open on Sunday. We are beginning to feel cursed.
8.45am Board the coach to go into Florence.
9.00am Stop at Piazzale Michelangiolo for our group photo. Not given any time to take our own photos of this spectacular view of Florence. Need to sneak shots. Back on the bus and drive down to Florence. The coach parks at the Bus Turistico stop...where most tourist bus need to stop to drop off their passengers, then it's a 20 min walk to the Piazza S Croce. From there we walk to Piazza della Signoria where the Italian guide (Alessandra) takes us around on a guided tour of the sights of Florence. Starting at the Piazza della Signoria, she starts with the history of Florence, and the Statue of David, the Town Hall (old castle), points out the balcony, which was used in the film - Hannibal. Tells us about the other statues in the square. Perseus, the Rape of the Sabine women, etc. Next we head pass the Piazza della Republica and to the Piazza del Duomo. The Duomo is closed, due to public holiday, will reopen at 12.30pm. Next we go to the Ponte Vecchio which is the oldest bridge, only surving bridge, didn't get bombed by Hitler.
Then it's back to the Leonardo's Leatherworks. Need to wait until 12.00noon. Given tour of leatherworks, and told how to recognise real leather by a trainee who is so nervous and not very prepared. Shown the original florentine leather box - jewellery box. Also shown their jewellery showroom. I end up buying 3 charms, Big Ben, Statue of David and a Beer Stein.
12.30pm. We line up to go inside the Duomo. Take photos inside and afterwards have lunch on the front door steps, watching the many fake bag traders ply their wares.
After lunch we break up, and let Casey and Shirley go their own way. Roy leads the rest of us to the Museum which has minor works of art by Michelangelo and Donatello, then after towards the post office. Unfortunately due to holiday it too is closed, so we continue on our way to the Ponte S. Trinita...take photos of Ponte Vecchio from this bridge. After which we walk down towards the Uffizi Gallery. Pass a Tabac shop and I tell Roy stamps can be bought here, so that's where we buy stamps for Euro1.00 each, I buy 2. Roy ends up taking photos of each of the famous Florentines in the Uffizi Gallery outside.
Next we head in search of the public toilet WC. Need to pay Euro0.60 each to pee. After which we head to the Ponte alle Grazie. Walk over the bridge and back towards Ponte Vecchio. Buy postcards from souvenir shop. Walk over Ponte Vecchio and Janet needs to sit and have a rest, so we look for a Gelati shop, to have gelati and sit. Buy gelati for Euro2.00 small cone and only one big scoop. I get banana flavour. We sit, eat and then write postcards, whiling away the hours.
5.30pm After which we head to post office to mail postcards...walk towards Piazza della Republica and then down the Via del Corso and the down Via Verdi, heading towards the meeting place at the Piazza S. Croce. Sit there and wait. I buy bookmarks 2 for Euro1.00, Roy buys keyring.
6.50pm Meet up with rest of group and Julia for walk to restaurant. We backtrack to street we had just previously walked down to get to the Piazza. For dinner we have bottle of Cianti, and water, Pasta is entre...spaghetti in tomato sauce and a large ravioli with a cheese filling. This is followed by Chicken cacciatore and salad. For dessert we have a slice of tiramisu, which doesn't look impressive, but tastes divine.
8.30pm Walk back to Piazza S Croce, then down Via de Benc towards the river. Leave half the group to celebrate at a pub, while the rest of us catch the coach back to the hotel. Need to walk very quickly, as Julia has only given us like 10 mins to get to the coach, which is parked like 20 mins away. Lucky for us, Coco waits for us.
9.00pm Leave Florence for Prato.
10.00pm Back at hotel. Shower, download photos and write up diary.
12.00midnight. Sleep.
Day 9 Kumuka Tour
6.30am wake up for 7.15am breakfast, we arranged to meet up with Roy in breakfast room.
We were one of the first to enter the breakfast room, with 2 other guys, not from our tour. Started eating breakfast. Not long after joined by Pedrom and Christine and then Roy. Afterwards, Kasey and Dana join us as well as Casey and Shirley. We're busy eating away when the Clerk at the reception desk comes in and tells us that apparently we should not be eating this breakfast. Our breakfast is being served in another room and is suppose to be at 8am. We don't move and continue eating. Not long after an Italian lady with a sour face comes in and looks at us, keeps giving Dana and Casey looks. Then she comes to our table and asks us for our room numbers and says in her own way...that we are not suppose to be eating this breakfast, we are to have a continental breakfast which is "nothing" in the other room. Kasey pipes up and says that this wasn't explained to us, to which she replies, well then the tour leader will need to pay for us having the breakfast and starts getting our room numbers. Oh well...I'd already finished eating and was just waiting for Janet and Roy to finish. As if we were going to move now. We asked her if she wanted us tp move into the other room, but she was like, I suppose not, now that you are already eating. Oh boy...are we in trouble...no one feels like eating now. By the time Julia gets to the hotel...just about everyone on the tour group has heard the story. She manages to sweet talk the manager and doesn't have to pay...it is after all partly her fault for not making it plain to us where we were to have breakfast.
8.00am Walk to shops to buy water supplies, but unfortunately the shop is closed, huh??? Isn't it suppose to be open. Shirley asks a lady who has approached the shop, and she confirms that the shop should be open. It is until after another man arrives on a moped, an old man, with long thin legs and beer belly with short shorts on euww, that she points out a sign to us that says the shop is closed due to public holiday and will open on Sunday. We are beginning to feel cursed.
8.45am Board the coach to go into Florence.
9.00am Stop at Piazzale Michelangiolo for our group photo. Not given any time to take our own photos of this spectacular view of Florence. Need to sneak shots. Back on the bus and drive down to Florence. The coach parks at the Bus Turistico stop...where most tourist bus need to stop to drop off their passengers, then it's a 20 min walk to the Piazza S Croce. From there we walk to Piazza della Signoria where the Italian guide (Alessandra) takes us around on a guided tour of the sights of Florence. Starting at the Piazza della Signoria, she starts with the history of Florence, and the Statue of David, the Town Hall (old castle), points out the balcony, which was used in the film - Hannibal. Tells us about the other statues in the square. Perseus, the Rape of the Sabine women, etc. Next we head pass the Piazza della Republica and to the Piazza del Duomo. The Duomo is closed, due to public holiday, will reopen at 12.30pm. Next we go to the Ponte Vecchio which is the oldest bridge, only surving bridge, didn't get bombed by Hitler.
Then it's back to the Leonardo's Leatherworks. Need to wait until 12.00noon. Given tour of leatherworks, and told how to recognise real leather by a trainee who is so nervous and not very prepared. Shown the original florentine leather box - jewellery box. Also shown their jewellery showroom. I end up buying 3 charms, Big Ben, Statue of David and a Beer Stein.
12.30pm. We line up to go inside the Duomo. Take photos inside and afterwards have lunch on the front door steps, watching the many fake bag traders ply their wares.
After lunch we break up, and let Casey and Shirley go their own way. Roy leads the rest of us to the Museum which has minor works of art by Michelangelo and Donatello, then after towards the post office. Unfortunately due to holiday it too is closed, so we continue on our way to the Ponte S. Trinita...take photos of Ponte Vecchio from this bridge. After which we walk down towards the Uffizi Gallery. Pass a Tabac shop and I tell Roy stamps can be bought here, so that's where we buy stamps for Euro1.00 each, I buy 2. Roy ends up taking photos of each of the famous Florentines in the Uffizi Gallery outside.
Next we head in search of the public toilet WC. Need to pay Euro0.60 each to pee. After which we head to the Ponte alle Grazie. Walk over the bridge and back towards Ponte Vecchio. Buy postcards from souvenir shop. Walk over Ponte Vecchio and Janet needs to sit and have a rest, so we look for a Gelati shop, to have gelati and sit. Buy gelati for Euro2.00 small cone and only one big scoop. I get banana flavour. We sit, eat and then write postcards, whiling away the hours.
5.30pm After which we head to post office to mail postcards...walk towards Piazza della Republica and then down the Via del Corso and the down Via Verdi, heading towards the meeting place at the Piazza S. Croce. Sit there and wait. I buy bookmarks 2 for Euro1.00, Roy buys keyring.
6.50pm Meet up with rest of group and Julia for walk to restaurant. We backtrack to street we had just previously walked down to get to the Piazza. For dinner we have bottle of Cianti, and water, Pasta is entre...spaghetti in tomato sauce and a large ravioli with a cheese filling. This is followed by Chicken cacciatore and salad. For dessert we have a slice of tiramisu, which doesn't look impressive, but tastes divine.
8.30pm Walk back to Piazza S Croce, then down Via de Benc towards the river. Leave half the group to celebrate at a pub, while the rest of us catch the coach back to the hotel. Need to walk very quickly, as Julia has only given us like 10 mins to get to the coach, which is parked like 20 mins away. Lucky for us, Coco waits for us.
9.00pm Leave Florence for Prato.
10.00pm Back at hotel. Shower, download photos and write up diary.
12.00midnight. Sleep.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Nice, France to Prato, Italy. Friday 1 June 2007
Friday 1 June 2007 Nice, France to Prato, Italy
Day 8 Kumuka Tour
7.30am Breakfast.
8.30am checkout.
9.00am on the bus and on our way to perfume factory. Someone forgets to hand their key in...um ah!!
9.30am Tour of Fragonards perfume factory. Shown where perfume is made...a "nic" or nose is the guy with the best sense of smell..they can smell more than 100 scents, but can only work 1-2 hours, otherwise they lose their sense of smell. Shown how soap is made, also their cosmetics section. Then given sales pitch and free time to shop. Buy middle set of 5 perfumes. Roy, Janet, Casey and Jim go in together to buy pack of 5 large perfumes.
10.30am Back on the bus and on our way to Pisa. Julia gives us a competition to see who will stay awake on the bus. Count how many tunnels from Nice to our first stop for lunch. I count 126 tunnels.
12.50pm Stop for lunch. Given 40 mins for lunch. Stop at a petrol, rest stop near a tunnel. Under renovations though and no tables or chairs, and inside the restaurant/cafe is full of other tourists. Sit outside and eat our packed lunches (taken from breakfast).
1.30pm Back on the bus and on our way. Each of us who was awake and counted slips Julia our pieces of paper with the number of tunnels we think is right. Turns out we have a tie. Myself and Pedrom...have a quickfire question to decide the winner. The question??? What is the percentage of artists in Florence? I don't even hear the question. Pedrom answers 40% and wins the bottle of wine that was up for grabs, oh well, lucky I don't drink heh. As a consolation prize, I'm given the task to pick a DVD for the rest of the trip to Pisa. Decide on Charlie's Angels Full Throttle. Have a few problems with it starting, but then we are on our way.
3.45pm Arrive in Pisa. Movie is only 3/4 way through. The bus needs to park a mile away, so we have to walk to Miracle Square where the leaning tower is. It's a 15 min walk. Get to the tower and we all take silly photos.
4.30pm We all meet back at the entrance to the tower. Get harrassed by people trying to sell cheap bags, belts, sunnies, etc.
4.45pm Back on the bus.
6.00pm It is raining as we pull into Prato...oh well...resigned to a wet night, so out comes the raincoat again. Surprisingly, the rain clears up.
6.15pm Check in to Room 503 at Art Hotel Italy. Have difficulty opening the door. Have to call Casey and Roy to help out. Roy figures it out.
6.40pm Meet in lobby to head out for dinner. Walk to Piazza Mercatale...and look around...decide to eat at the first place we see, a pizzeria, restaurant called I'Rifullo. I order Spaghetti al Gambini, Janet orders Spaghetti al Vongele, Roy orders a Risotto dish, as does Shirley, Tracey orders a Risotto Marinara and Casey and Jim order pizzas. We also order side dishes of steamed vegetables and mixed salad. The meal costs under Euro90.00 for 7 people.
8.00pm Finish dinner and head off to buy gelati. Given choice of 3 flavours and different sized cones or cups. A piccolo (baby cone) costs Euro1.50, but is pretty big. Try the coconut, amarigio, and biscotto flavours.
Walk with the others back to the hotel, but Roy, Janet and I decide to go for a walk around town. Walk back to the Piazza Mercatale, but via the river and main entrance to the city walls. From the Piazza we head to the Piazza Duomo, and then go up and down side streets looking for the Castello d' Imperatore, finally find it..but it's not very grand, so we head back to the hotel.
10.00pm At hotel. Shower, repack, etc.
11.00pm Sleep.
Day 8 Kumuka Tour
7.30am Breakfast.
8.30am checkout.
9.00am on the bus and on our way to perfume factory. Someone forgets to hand their key in...um ah!!
9.30am Tour of Fragonards perfume factory. Shown where perfume is made...a "nic" or nose is the guy with the best sense of smell..they can smell more than 100 scents, but can only work 1-2 hours, otherwise they lose their sense of smell. Shown how soap is made, also their cosmetics section. Then given sales pitch and free time to shop. Buy middle set of 5 perfumes. Roy, Janet, Casey and Jim go in together to buy pack of 5 large perfumes.
10.30am Back on the bus and on our way to Pisa. Julia gives us a competition to see who will stay awake on the bus. Count how many tunnels from Nice to our first stop for lunch. I count 126 tunnels.
12.50pm Stop for lunch. Given 40 mins for lunch. Stop at a petrol, rest stop near a tunnel. Under renovations though and no tables or chairs, and inside the restaurant/cafe is full of other tourists. Sit outside and eat our packed lunches (taken from breakfast).
1.30pm Back on the bus and on our way. Each of us who was awake and counted slips Julia our pieces of paper with the number of tunnels we think is right. Turns out we have a tie. Myself and Pedrom...have a quickfire question to decide the winner. The question??? What is the percentage of artists in Florence? I don't even hear the question. Pedrom answers 40% and wins the bottle of wine that was up for grabs, oh well, lucky I don't drink heh. As a consolation prize, I'm given the task to pick a DVD for the rest of the trip to Pisa. Decide on Charlie's Angels Full Throttle. Have a few problems with it starting, but then we are on our way.
3.45pm Arrive in Pisa. Movie is only 3/4 way through. The bus needs to park a mile away, so we have to walk to Miracle Square where the leaning tower is. It's a 15 min walk. Get to the tower and we all take silly photos.
4.30pm We all meet back at the entrance to the tower. Get harrassed by people trying to sell cheap bags, belts, sunnies, etc.
4.45pm Back on the bus.
6.00pm It is raining as we pull into Prato...oh well...resigned to a wet night, so out comes the raincoat again. Surprisingly, the rain clears up.
6.15pm Check in to Room 503 at Art Hotel Italy. Have difficulty opening the door. Have to call Casey and Roy to help out. Roy figures it out.
6.40pm Meet in lobby to head out for dinner. Walk to Piazza Mercatale...and look around...decide to eat at the first place we see, a pizzeria, restaurant called I'Rifullo. I order Spaghetti al Gambini, Janet orders Spaghetti al Vongele, Roy orders a Risotto dish, as does Shirley, Tracey orders a Risotto Marinara and Casey and Jim order pizzas. We also order side dishes of steamed vegetables and mixed salad. The meal costs under Euro90.00 for 7 people.
8.00pm Finish dinner and head off to buy gelati. Given choice of 3 flavours and different sized cones or cups. A piccolo (baby cone) costs Euro1.50, but is pretty big. Try the coconut, amarigio, and biscotto flavours.
Walk with the others back to the hotel, but Roy, Janet and I decide to go for a walk around town. Walk back to the Piazza Mercatale, but via the river and main entrance to the city walls. From the Piazza we head to the Piazza Duomo, and then go up and down side streets looking for the Castello d' Imperatore, finally find it..but it's not very grand, so we head back to the hotel.
10.00pm At hotel. Shower, repack, etc.
11.00pm Sleep.
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