August
8. We got up and had breakfast before walking up
and catching the Metro to the main train terminal and caught the train to
Firenze (Florence).
catching the Metro to Roma Termini
lots of Vending machines in Italy also
Italian scenery whizzing past
Heading to Firenze (Florence) at 247km/hr
Hot again at 31
degrees by 10am and we found our way to the Hotel Abaco and managed to
get up the 52 narrow spiral stairs to the main doors of the hotel, checked in
and then went out to investigate Firenze.
opposite the Hotel entrance 😀
What an amazing town. We loved it
and would really have loved to have more time in this town. Unfortunately, we didn’t have that luxury.
We went to see the Duomo [A huge cathedral in
the CBD] – but the line to get in was about 1 km long and we overheard people
saying they had been in line for over an hour and still NOT at the door.
a street in Florence out of the train station
a Piazza
cobbled street
Duomo
Duomo
out front of Duomo
magnificient doors
beautiful
The side of Duomo
We were going to climb the tower but this line was just as long
We decided to keep wandering and had lunch in
a lovely little café and then walked up a very steep road to Fort
Belvedere. There was a great solo
exhibition on display and both Beckie and I had a great time wandering
around.
top terrace
arty-farty shot
Islam Museum
old stone
Pont di Vecchio from a distance
bikes of all sorts
Pont Vecchio from another pont
upward street
studded door
lunch Firenze style, Beckie had Brochetta and I had pear, walnut and cheese salad
start of the steep hill to the Fort
and it keeps going up
and the downward view
at the Fort
View from one level of the fort
The Fort buildings
looking down into the courtyard
looking towards the Piazza Michelangelo 
looking over the Boboli gardens
I was told to rest and drink water as I looked too red and hot. It was 38 degrees out.
Duomo from the Fort
A tiled roof on one of the out buildings at the Fort
We then walked through Bardini’s
gardens and down to Ponte Vecchio.
We
were amazed to find all the shops on the bridge are Jewellery stores.
looking towards Ponte Vecchio
A vine covered restaurant on the river
Ponte Vecchio from the East
Ponte Vecchio from the West
a Ivy covered building near the Ponte Vecchio
Grabbed a gelati once across the other side
and wandered to another Piazza where there were lots of statues and massive
crowds. The Neptune fountain was
undergoing maintenance and replacement of all the brass pipes for the
fountain.
David
Neptune
loved the look of this wall
but what did they attach to these rings????
On return to the Hotel we went
across the road to a very small café and had some dinner before retiring for an
early night.
our room in Hotel Abaco
August
9. We were up and out early to catch the train
to Pisa (to see the Leaning Tower) and then catch another train to Monterosso
Al Mare where we were to meet our friend Nick.
It was expected to reach 35 degrees today, and for the next week we are
expecting the same and about 24 degrees overnight.
When we got off the train in Pisa we unfortunately went out the wrong exit, we couldn’t get back in so then had to walk for ½ hour around to the very front of the train station. Once there we put our bags into the luggage storage and then bought a map to the Tower. We were told it would take about 20 minutes to walk to the tower. It took us 30 minutes of power walking to get to the tower, took our photos and then power-walked back to the station. We then had 10 minutes until our train to Monterosso was due to depart.
A building in Pisa
The Duomo cathedral at Pisa
The leaning Tower
Beckie didn't want her photo taken 😘
The Duomo Cathedral
River at Pisa
Chapel on the Lugarno at Pisa
A painter using a brush on the end of a pole
Once on the train we then relaxed for about an
hour before disembarking. Whilst we
waited and tried to decide which way to go, Nick arrived to collect us. We headed in the opposite direction to which
Beckie and I thought we would be going, but it took us about 15minutes to walk
to the apartment that was to be our home for the next 4 nights. The 85 rough stone steps up to the apartment
was an interesting introduction.
These
steps form part of the path that links the Cinque Terre (5 lands) and is a very
popular walking trail along the coast-line.
Once we arrived we were greeted by Claudia and
little Annie; and Holger and Bastian; Carole (Nicks Mum) and Jamie (Nick’s
step-father); and his sister Saffron and her boyfriend Owen.
We all had a great chat until it was time to go
and meet the rest of the wedding guests at dinner in Lapo’s restaurant. It was a great night with up to 30 people.
The view of 'Old Monterosso' Bay
Nick and I on the balcony of the apartment
The two umbrellas in the almost middle of the photo are on the terrace at Buranco Winery - location of the wedding
'old Monterosso' harbour
old Monterosso
scenes from the village
gelati in Monterosso
beautiful bougainvillea
Monteroos by night
we actually had waves crashing instead of gentle ebb and flow
pomegranates outside the apartment
August
10. Beckie and I were up by 7.15am and made our
way down to the ‘Old Village’ harbour and went for a swim in the ocean. It was a very gentle ebb and flow of the
water and very easy to float in. We then
returned to the apartment and were preparing to move the bridal party to the
vineyard, where the wedding was to take place.
According to the maps program it was a 250m walk and would take
5minutes. WELL --- it took us 30 minutes to make our way up the steep sloping
path to the Buranco Winery. I had to
have 7 stops on the way up. It was quite
steep and proved how unfit we were.
looking fromt he Winery back down to the village of Old Monterosso
the path back down to the village
ants carrying a toothpick to put it under a pot plant
geraniums
pots to decorate a wall
The Winery terrace
towards the village
the hills of the winery
Once we were there, the male members of the
bridal party and wedding guests got in and started putting up all the fixtures
for the wedding, a white jumping castle, a big shade tent with tables and
chairs for guests to relax in. At the
same time the caterers and winery staff were setting up tables etc for
preparing the food for the wedding feast.
Beckie and I stayed there until about 7.30 and
then made our way down into the village again and had dinner at a little
pizzeria near the Town Hall and not far from the apartment.
August
11 Wedding Day. Beckie and I again went for a lovely swim until
about 8am before making our way through the old village to find breakfast. We then got ready to go to the Town Hall for
the ‘official’ wedding with the Italian Town official and English interpreter.
When Nick and Claudia started planning their
wedding they were allowed to have the celebrant do the official paperwork BUT 9
months before the wedding the government changed the rules and the couple HAD to
have the official paperwork done by the Town Official.
When they came down from the second floor there
was quite a big group of us waiting to cheer them and toast them with
champagne.
After the 'Official' ceremony at the Town Hall
a toast to Mr and Mrs Scaife 😘
We then went back to our
various accommodations and prepared to make our way back up to the wedding
venue.
This time I managed to walk up with only 4
stops on the way. I was using 2 walking
sticks which made a huge difference and they came in VERY handy for the walk
back down the hill at 1am on my return to the apartment. Whilst we were waiting there was a wind that
blew up that kept the humidity and temperature down a little.
When we arrived at the venue there were to
be slushies for everyone, but the caterers had started them too late and
put too much syrup in them, so they had to be altered and adjusted and we all
waited.
They wedding ceremony was due to start at 4pm,
but the celebrant was running late. She
finally arrived at 4.30pm and all the guests made their way across to the Olive
grove where the ceremony was to occur.
It then wasn’t long before the beautiful Bride and her attendants made
their way to the Grove and the ceremony began.
It was a very moving ceremony in English and German.
Groomsmen
Claudia and her father, Horst, arriving
Flower girl and ring bearer - Annie
Beautiful bouquet
groomsmen
'Man of Honour' with the bridesmaids
beautiful train
Everyone then adjourned to the Winery terrace
for canapes and drinks, and then group photos with the Bride and Groom over in
the Olive Grove.
We then made our way
down to the lawn terrace for the wedding feast and dancing and
celebrations.
lawn terrace for the wedding feast
slushies for all
gifts from the Bride and Groom
Jumping castle
a toast to the Groom
Nick making a speech
Best man Lee making his speech
Oma taking a photo of Annie
Gluten free pesto pasta
trying to take a photo with a selfie stick
bubbles
Bridal dance
now everyone dances
bubbles
instead of a cake we all had Gelati after the Bride and Groom cut the ice-cream
At 12.45am it was time for
me to make my way back to the accommodations.
Beckie escorted me home and then made her way back to the
reception. She got back to the
accommodation at 5.30am.
August
12. I awoke at 9.30am but did not go down for a
swim. Beckie and I made our way down
into the village and had breakfast and then went for a walk into ‘new
Monterosso’ and down to the Neptune statue (which was also being renovated)
looking towards 'new' Monterosso
the water was sooo clear
rows and rows of umbrellas. these were rented out at 25 Euro for the day with 2 recliner chairs under them.
gelati
Neptune under repair
a photo of what he looked like
and
headed back to ‘old Monterosso’ before meeting up with the bridal party who
were having a very late brunch.
We went back to the apartment before heading up
to the vineyard to meet up with everyone for a last get together before heading
back to Rome in the morning.
Beck and I headed down through the village at
9pm and packed our bags ready for the morning.
Our train was just after 9 and Nick was coming to escort us to the
train.
August
13. Nick arrived at the apartment about 8.30am and
escorted us to the station, we said our farewells and awaited the train.
Once on the train we travelled for 6 hours to
Rome and immediately went to our accommodation and checked in.
We then went out and travelled to the Spanish
steps,
At the Spanish steps
walked to Trevi Fountain,
the crowds were HUGE
then past Piazza di Pietra
we passed a celebration of Pinocchio as the author was from Rome
to the
Panthenon.
We spent a little while here
amazed by the interior of the Panthenon
before walking to Piazza Navona and its
three fountains.
cobbled roads that aren't really coping with the weight of the present day cars on them
tiny narrow bricks
Piazza Navona
We wandered on and went past the Argentine Ruins
We then wandered off to Mussolini’s Palace.
Then following the
‘map’ we headed towards our accommodation – only to find that we were actually
heading away from it rather than towards it.
We managed to find our way towards the Colosseum and then onto the
correct direction for the accommodation.
We were planning on having pizza for dinner but the pizzeria was closed,
so we had some awesome Indian food instead.
August
14 We were up early and out to
the Colosseum. It took us an hour to get
our tickets and then 10minutes to get in.
now THAT is a cobble path with HUGE stones
waiting to get our tickets
WOW.
What a fantastic building. We
spent about 4 hours here at the Colosseum before making our way out and
meandered back to the accommodation.
marble
We
stopped a couple of streets away and enjoyed lunch at a café on the
streetside.
Oleanders lined the street
a tree lined street. We didn't see many of them
Awaiting our lunch
beautiful architecture
We then went back and
collected our bags. Our hostess very
graciously offered us the use of the bathroom before we made our way back out
and to the Metro
escalator DOWN to the metro
to go to the Roma Termini and catching the ‘Leonardo Express’
train to the Airport.
on the Leonardo Express
The first train
was cancelled so the second train had twice as many passengers to take. It was only about an hours journey and we all
arrived safe and sound.
Our flight to Munich took just over an hour and
we landed at Terminal K. We then had to
go to terminal H. We had 1 hour 5
minutes before our connecting flight.
This was the easiest airport transfer that we had on the whole
trip. We had to go through immigration
and Security/customs and it was all so smoothly done and effortless. We arrived at H44/45 with almost 30minutes to
spare and then the boarding of this flight was so easy it was great. Our flight to Singapore wasn’t too bad but
again I was starting to fidget about half way through due to a numb
bottom. We were 20minutes late landing
in Singapore [We left Singapore on the 14th and arrived late pm on
the 15th ], which was causing some people concern about their
connecting flights to Jakarta, but the airline staff were waiting to get them
to their aircraft.
August
15th We caught a
taxi to our hostel, arriving 10 minutes before the reception staff were due to
leave, only to find they had already departed.
We had to wait for a guest of the hostel to open the door for us, so we
could get in and thankfully the reception staff had left our room key and
instructions for us on the reception desk.
Once we put our things in our room, we then
headed out with a ‘tourist map’ from the airport.
We walked up to the main road and found a Starbucks
and had a coffee and frappe before walking into the CBD. We came across a huge group doing Zumba
Happy 53rd Birthday Singapore
Group Zumba
Fullerton Building
Marina Bay Sands Hotel
and then made our way the Merlion
Merlion
and then around past the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (which looks like it has a giant surfboard on top of it).
Orchid
Marina Bay Sands from the end
We found our way into the Gardens by the Bay, and on our way to the ‘Super Trees’ for the nightly performance, Beckie and I got separated and it wasn’t until after the performance of Rhapsody began that we ‘found’ each other in the spectators.
Super Trees lit up
dragon fly sculpture
Super trees during 'performance'
Once the performance finished, we caught a taxi back to the hostel and then found some lovely Singapore noodles for dinner.
Singapore noodles for dinner
We had a reasonable sleep before getting ready to go out.
August 16 We left our bags in reception and went to Clark Quay and down to catch the MRT to Orchard road to check things out. The MRT is very efficient and has glass walls between commuters and the trains. There is no way anyone can fall in front of the train. You must wait at the sliding doors to board the train and again there are specific places to stand and wait your turn, permitting the disembarking passengers easy egress.
inside the looong train
instruction on how to wait for entrance to the train
abseiling window washers
a sculpture outside the ION centre
glass panels down Orchard Road
a small Boost and the smallest McDonalds that we have seen
a monument to the four nations people that were harmed during World War 2
Singapore Flyer
Marina Bay Sands Hotel from the end during the daylight
architecture in Singapore
pyrostegia
Singapore skyline
Tang building. the first department store in Singapore (very much like a Myer store in Australia)
Top is Beckie's Laksa. bottom is my Tom Yum
a Sculpture in the CBD
We then caught the MRT back to Clark Quay and
then walked back to the hostel.
Collected our luggage and waited for the Taxi to take us to Terminal 3
and awaited our flight. We were here
early but the terminal is HUGE, so we found a table with power points and
plugged things in to charge and Beckie managed to do some of her Uni work. Our departure gate changed twice whilst we
were waiting.
August
17 00.45am we were on the plane
awaiting our turn to fly. We were 20 minutes
delayed in our take off but managed to make that up plus another 20 minutes
with a tail wind of up to 100 kms/hr. We
arrived in Brisbane 20 minutes early but had to sit on the tarmac waiting the
plane at our gate to leave so our plane could get in – so we got to the gate at
10.35am – our E.T.A.
We were through immigration and customs in good
time and contacted Ben and told him where we were so he could pick us up. Stopped at DFO to get a take away coffee
(currently 11.10am) and we headed for Toowoomba. We stopped at Plainlands for lunch and then
arrived in Toowoomba just after 1pm. We
had a short period to chat before Beckie and Darryl went to collect the
children from school.
It is now 27th August and it has
taken me most of this time to get over my jetlag. We have caught up with quite a few people and
we start our trip to Western Australia next Saturday morning. We are heading to Denmark WA for our Caravan
Club National Muster in October. We are
then heading to Perth to see relatives and friends before heading inland and
heading to Port Hedland. We then head to
Darwin to see relatives and friends before heading south to Wagga Wagga for
Christmas.
We are to farm-sit a friend’s property from 5th
January 2019 and then moving in to Toowoomba to house-sit for friends.
Will update you as we go.
No comments:
Post a Comment