Holiday Post 7 - Paris

We flew to Paris from Venice, our final stop on our Italian tour. Was great to finally see this famous city, but overall wasnt as impressed as expected cause some of the charm had warn off and it has become quite modern. Where were all the piano accordian players and men in berets I was expecting? lol Here are some photo highlights from our Paris trip. I spent a couple of hours in the world famous Louvre below... got lost, going round... and round... and round.... looking for the mona lisa! lol

What an amazing structure as an entrance to the metro. Gorgeous!Dont know much about this gold statue below... but it was funny cause all I could think about was how someone might want to scale the tall building dressed in gold body paint at night to try and steal it! lol

Was very interesting seeing all of these bikes for rent in Paris. A great system which is good for the community and the environment. Lots of people seem to use them. They were all around the city and you can rent them from one and return to another spot.

Holiday Post 6 - Rome

Our Italian tour started in Rome where we met our tour group. Was great being part of a small group and everyone was really friendly so made the train and bus journeys together enjoyable.Of course we saw the many famous sites in Rome, like the Trevi Fountain, Vatican City and the Colosseum. Rome was much like any big city in one way with crowds, smog and traffic.... however you cant help but be in awe of its history when walking around and seeing so many famous buildings with so many stories. Quite awe inspiring. Was also our introduction to the perils of being a tourist cause we witnessed our first pick pocket in action at the Trevi Fountain below. There are so many people and everyone is quite distracted from their personal belongings, so its not hard to see why its a pick pocket's haven. It was also our introduction to the local culture and how it differed from our own. Was great to see nice delicatessons and craft shops.

Of course there was the obligatory souvenier stand on every corner. Damn! I forgot to buy that minature Statue of David. Every girl needs one on her desk! lol

The pizza in italy was great as expected, and I also tasted the best spaghetti bolognaise ever, but overall was not as impressed with the local food as expected. And whats with the pastries every day? Im more a fan of eggs on toast but throughout our 2 week tour all we seemed to be getting was crossaints. Talk about carb overload! lol

This was my first coffee in Italy... was ok... but again, not overly impressed with the coffee, cause I had to settle on either cappuccinos (which have too much froth and God forbid you might want to order a "breakfast cappuccino" after 12! lol), or macchiatos, which are those small shots of coffee with milk that are over with before you can say "aghhh". lol

I hear that there is a cafe in Venice which makes amazing coffee.... but alas, the machine was out of service :-)

Holiday Post 5 - Florence and Lucca

Lol, started writing all this and then realised that some of my photos are of different things and places to what I remember. So, as friends, I ask you to bear with me re the vagueness of details. If I say that the below structure is of the Eiffel Tower THEN IT IS! lol

Going from Rome to Florence was a nice change cause Florence is a city on a much smaller scale and also less urban. From Florence we got a day trip to visit the Eiffel Tower below (also known colloquially as the Leaning Tower of Pisa! lol).

One thing I noticed about Florence as well as many other Italian towns was that nearly everyone rides a motorbike rather than car. They were parked EVERYWHERE in Florence and Rome.Florence had fantastic markets and I was constantly tempted to buy leathergoods, but kept holding out for what I considered would be the "holy grail" of handbags. I couldnt decide whether I preferred to buy a purple bag or a tan coloured one, let alone decide on style, so in the end I didnt buy something until the last day of my travels in Venice. And btw - I decided on TAN!
Heaps of souveniers in Florence and my mum was constantly searching for postcards to send to people. She sent some to people every day and sometimes asked me to help... In the end I was writing so often I had to say things like... discovered where the local toilet was today. Got a little tedious. lol

I took many, many photos of windows throughout Italy. The only thing I seemed to take more photos of was bicycles! There were so many bikes across parts of Italy that it was near impossible NOT to include one in photos. So below are a collection of my "bike shots". I can see a 2009 Bikes of Italy Calendar coming along! lol.

The above photo was lovely cause our guide told us that someone had put the ribbons on the house to congratulate the owners who just had twins. It was an old tradition.

Lucca was an amazing town and we stayed 3 nights in a lovely apartment. My mum and I shared with 2 other guys in their 20s. Lucca is all contained within tall brick walls that you can walk and cycle on. Its quite small, quaint and usually quite, HOWEVER... the time we were there was the annual Comic Book Festival which brought 1000s of tourists into town. Was so funny to see people all dressed in costumes during our stay. I was even stopped from walking one day to allow for the Storm Troopers procession below! lol

Was tempted to buy a costume of my own.... very tempted.... lol

Above is a photo of the "wall" that we intially went bike riding over. Its such a wide wall that its hard to imagine it as such. We then set off from the town to the tuscan countryside where we rode for about 10kms. Was fantastic getting out in the country and a pity I didnt take more photos of the amazing scenery. I did, however take the below few second video.

After riding through the countryside we were heading back through the main roads when alas, I lost my balance and fell from my bike - aghhhh. Managed to escape with bruises and minor cuts, but did freak me out about falling near cars, cause I only ride offroad in Sydney.

We also visited one of the most reputable producers of wine in Lucca and had wine sampling. I am certain now that I just dont have a taste for wine when after tasting the "cream of their crop" which was about 7 samples of award winning wine, I couldnt differentiate the taste. All tasted like sour grapes to me. And whats with the rediculous descriptions people give to their wine. The lady running the vineyard tour was saying... "you will note the woody textures....." what the hell.... I dont note anything between one and the other. They all taste bad to me! lol

Holiday Post 4 - Cinque Terre, Portofino and Levanto

We spent 2 nights in a lovely coastal town called Levanto. From there we set out to explore the Cinque Terre. The above photo is the beach 5 mins walk from our hotel. Not quite the same as a Sydney beach cause the sand was really dark and looked more like dirt, but nice to finally see the coast nonetheless.

One of the most memorable experiences on our trip was the pesto making class I took in Levanto. It was in a little shop run by a lady who spoke no english. She demonstrated how to make pesto with a mortar and pestle and then let us take turns making our own for each person to taste test. I was first up, and am pleased to report that through her interpreter, she said... "I dont think I need to run these classes anymore... she can run them!" Eat your heart out Jamie Oliver! lol

One of the most disappointing things on our holiday was that it rained on the day we were supposed to be hiking around the Cinque Terre coastline. It was a stunning view and would have been amazing to see however cause of heavy rain our boat ride was cancelled and we could only walk one of the 5 walks we were planning. Instead we just got the train to each stop and had to use our umbrellas to shelter us from getting drenched.
Unfortunately too, the colours in these photos are considerably dull cause the weather is overcast. We are told that when the sun is out, the colours are vibrant and the sea a crystal blue. Damn.... another reason I have to go back to Italy... to see this place in sunlight! lol

Below are some photos of our visit to Portofino... the town where the rich and famous do coffee. Only designer boutiques here, and the coffee was very expensive.


On the one walk we were permitted to do around the Cinque Terre, we walked through a tunnel which has been devoted to lovers. It was quite lovely to think that this place allowed couples to come from around the world to graffitti their words of love and passion for their loved ones on the tunnel walls as there is poetry and drawings. Also of interest was the tradition of couples attaching a lock on the below railing and throwing the key into the ocean. This was meant as a sign of eternal committment to your loved one. Makes me wonder how many people have since fished off the coast in an effort to retrieve their key and unlock their 'committment' made years prior to some random love from their not so rational youthful years. lol

The below cafe was our haven from the rain and cold. They also made one of the best cappuccinos in Italy.