More Adventures - Russia Unplugged - October 2008.

Once again Hello everyone from Kevin & I. Our latest travels saw us spend 9 days in Russia.

October 3rd Friday. We had a day in London tidying up things prior to heading off to Russia. We were staying at Kensal Green hostel 639 in Harrow road for a couple days before our Russian trip. We visited Bellerbys College to pick up our mail and used the internet & caught up on some chores there too. We had tea at Weatherspoons in Greenwich & got home by 9 pm. That was after delays on the Bakerloo Underground line.


October 4th. Saturday. We were up at 4.00 am showered & dressed & packed up and heading off to the Kensal Green Tube Station at 5.30 am to catch the train to Heathrow Terminal 5 for our flight out at 9.00 am to Moscow, Russia.

There were no delays and we arrived at 3.30 pm (Moscow time) ( The flight was 3 1/2 hrs long ). We met our "On the Go " guide & went by van with 7 others to our Hotel. We dropped off our gear & headed off to have some tea ( pizza & coke) and back by 8.00 pm for a meeting with our Tour Director - Katya. There are 12 of us altogether - 2 South Africans, 1 English girl, 7 Aussies & 2 Kiwis Thats us.

After the meeting at 9.30 pm we all headed off via the Metro into the Red Square to see the Kremlin at night. It was amazing & quite beautiful. We had a beer in a local Russian Restaurant altogether. We chatted with one another making friends, then again caught the metro home again. To bed by 12.30, a very long day today!


October 5th Sunday. We got up at 7.30 am after a lovely sleep. We went to brekky and met the others at 9.30 am, where we all caught the metro into Place Revolutsil - Red Square. We stood in line for a short while to view Lenin - he is embalmed in a Mausoleum and you file past to view him. Next we saw the Tomb & Memorial to the Unknown Soldier, Gum - the largest department store, St Basil's Church & the Kremlin.

We walked along the Moscow River also visiting Kitay Gorod, viewing the K.G.B. building, the Treasury building and Teatralnaya Place. We took off on our own after this short guided tour while the others had lunch. We explored the Moscow River again & walked along & saw the beautiful Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

We crossed over the Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge and walked down to see Peter the Great's statue. Its really very beautiful. We walked back up to Bolotnaya Park - very nice in its autum colours. Next we walked back to the Red Square by 6 pm to meet up with the others for our excursion to see the Moscow Circus. This was an excellent show which we both enjoyed. It had acrobats, gymnasts, jugglers, trapeze artists, horses, magicians & motor cyclists too. We got back to the Hotel by 11 pm.


October 6th Monday. We were up at 7.00 am for breakfast and after this we met up with the others at 9.30 am. We went in to Red Square again via the metro to meet our local guide - Irena for a detailed tour of the Kremlin. (10.00 - 12 midday ). Its very interesting cause its like a small town inside a wall.

We took off on our own again and took the metro to Smolenskaya stop & saw a small Cathedral and another one of the 7 Sisters ( a group of buildings styled on the Empire state buildings of the USA. The Communists ( USSR ) wanted to do one better ( More like 7 better) than the yanks so decided to build 7 of these buildings to outdo the good ol USA ) and these are scattered around Moscow.

We walked past several Embassy's including the British Embassy with a statue of none other than "Sherlock Holmes & Dr Watson". A photo was necessary here before we walked over the Movocerbatsky Bridge over the Moskva River ( Moscow River) and saw Sister No 2 then looked the other way and saw Sister No 3.

We walked along beside the river till we got down in the Kievskaya area. There was a huge Fountain here , which was very nice. It was a lovely warm day here today - 20 degrees.
We got the metro again and got off at the Oktyabraskaya stop - we saw another church & also Corkey Park ( made famous from a spy movie by Hollywood), there was also a huge statue of Lenin here.

Again we carried on the metro to the Komsomolskaya stop near the Kazansky Railway Station. We saw another 2 Sisters - 4 & 5. Also there was a huge flea market and lots of homeless people here as well. Again we got the metro to meet up with the others by 5.30 pm.

Katya our guide took us to Smolenskaya to walk down a famous shopping street - Arbat Street. We stopped and had tea & a beer in a typical Russian Cafe. Then we got back on the metro to go & view several stations with their fabulous art - Mosaics & Candalabras etc... They were very nice but really elaborate. It was to promote how marvellous the Communists are! We arrived home by 10.30 pm.

October 7th Tuesday. We slept in today only getting up at 9.30 am & to brekky by 10.00 am We had a relaxing time in our room & decided not to look at anymore flea markets & plus it was raining today. We met up with the others at 12 noon and went off to the " Great Patriotic War Museum" - not intending to go in, but because it was so wet we bought a ticket each. We went round on our own as the others had paid for the local guide and we did this for a fraction of the price offered.

It was very interesting seeing the events of the Soviet ( or Russian) history of the 2nd world war and how influential they were in halting the Nazi invasion of Russia. We saw the Hall of Memory with the names of Russian Hero's. Also the famous Katusha - Tanks, Cannons, Mortars & Military Vehicles.

There was a wonderful Monumental Memorial outside the complex as well. We caught the metro back to the Hotel and had something to eat prior to meeting up at 5.00 pm with the others - ready for the transfer by bus to the Leningradsky Railway Station to catch the overnight train to Pscov at 7.30 pm.

October 8th Wednesday. We had spent an interesting evening together sleeping in tiny bunks on the train - 6 of us to a cabin. " A good Communist Experience" ha ha ha.... We arrived at our Pscov Hotel at 7.45 am and had brekky & a shower before heading off to visit Pechory Monastery & then on to a Russian Banya ( sauna).

The Monastery was very beautiful, it even had caves which were working churches to. Pilgrim's by the thousands gather here on Holy Days. The Banya was terrific! We had some food first then went into the sauna (hot+++) then out into an Ice Cold Lake then back into the sauna. Then we were beaten with silver birch leaves, then into the sauna again & out into the Ice Cold Lake. It was certainly a great experience, way out in provincal Russia off any kind of tourist location.

Next we had our 2nd course of food - chicken kebab's delicious!! A wonderful day was had by everyone. We got back to the Hotel at 5 pm and had a relax till 7.30 pm. Then we went out for tea at a traditional Russian Restaurant with Russian singing and dancing. Home by 10 pm tired out!

October 9th Thursday. Again up early because we were departing Pscov for St Petersberg by 9.00 am. We just had a drive drive day today arriving in St Petersberg by 2.30 pm. We drove past plain flat unused farmlands with pretty delaperdated buildings and an uninteresting landscape.Once at the Hotel we had a rest. We got some money changed, used the internet for 1/2 hr, & got some food from the supermarket.

At 5.00 pm we caught the minibus into the city with the others who were going on a Cossack Show excursion, that we had decided against. Caroline also was not doing it , so the 3 of us explored around the St Petersberg River Neva & crossed the Dvortsovyy Bridge over to Varilevskiy Island.

We happened upon 2 weddings, as we wanderd around seeing all the fine architecture, walking along the Universiteskaya where we saw alot of policemen & cossack's all dressed up. Spotlights & cameras etc.. so asked what was happening - apparently "Interpol" was having a celebration there. We found a cafe & had a cup of tea then met up with the others for the bus ride home again at 8.15 pm. We arrived at our Hotel " Pocchr" at 9.30 pm.

October 10th. Friday. We were up and off by 10.00 am by coach for an included city tour. We saw the famous Church of the Spilled Blood, St Isaac Cathedral, Nevski Prospekt ( famous shopping street), Vasilevskiy Island with there universities. ( St Petersberg has 104 universities), The Winter Palace, The Hermitage & Dvorcovaja Square. Also the " Aurora" cruiser & Gostinyy Dvor ( or the great Bazaar)

We stopped for 1 hour to grab some lunch, then met up again for a more detailed guided tour of the Winter Palace & the Hermitage with Katya our "on the go " guide. We saw the Palace interiors - all amazing. We saw Russian, French, Spanish, German, British, Flemish, Dutch, Italian, Byzantium & Egypt works in the Hermitage.

Its next to the Louvre in its size of its collections. We had free time from 4.30 pm onwards. We walked around St Petersberg some more. Dekabristov Park was very beautiful in its autumn splendor. We wandered down Nevskiy Prospeki and had a look in the shop windows. We got tired and and met up with Simone & Erica ( the South Africans) and since it was drizzly and cold decided to catch the metro home, which we did.

We got some food from the supermarket & had our tea in our room. It had been a rainy overcast day & a little cooler in temperature today.

October 11th Saturday. We got up at 9.00 am as we had all day to explore under our own steam. We headed off to the St Peter & Paul Fortress. It was where the 1st city was settled & is now a State Museum of History of St Petersberg. The city was founded by " Peter the Great" in 1703 and was the capital of the Russian Empire. The Fortress has not been the scene of an actual war and while we were there we saw some Russian soldiers marching and doing all kinds of tricks with their rifles on a parade ground.

It also has the famous Cathedral Of the Saint Apostles Peter and Paul. We spent quite a while wandering around here, we saw a parade with band, flags and even rifle juggling - very impressive. Next we walked across the River Neva to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and on to Nevskiy Prospekt. It was drizzling and quite cool so decided to head home, it was 2.30 pm now.

We had some lunch & then did some internet catch up. We got back to the Hotel by 5 pm & changed as we had to meet at the "Church of Spilled Blood" at 6.30 pm for the excursion to the Russian Ballet. We got changed into our No.1's and used the metro to meet up at 6.30 pm as arranged and then we walked to the teatre to watch the Ballet. The ballet was just superb. It was a ballet about 'Spartacus' and it involved some great choreography and fight scenes as well as the usual elegant stuff.

We arrived home by 11 pm and we all got together for drinks as it was our last night together. We were trying different drinks ie; Vodka, Sherry & Champagne & Beer... a good time was had reliving funny moments on our tour. To bed by 12.30 am.

October 12th Sunday. We slept in till 8.30 am - lovely. Then up & farewelled Simone & Erica off to South Africa and Ross to Estonia, then we had breakfast. We lazed the morning away - tidying up & repacking our bags again. We headed off at 2 pm to catch our flight out at 5 pm.

We arrived in London at 5.30 pm due to Russia being 3 hours ahead in time. We caught the tube train to Shepherds Bush where our Hostel is & lugged our gear up 2 floors to our room for the night. We dropped our bags & went out & found a Aussie Pie Shop and had one. - Delicious!!

We had a walk aroumd Shepherds Bush before heading back to the Hostel and bed. Our room has its own shower & toliet & hand basin so is fine! We are booked in at this hostel for just one night. Tomorrow we pack up and go to Acton Town where we are booked in for a week so we can establish a base for more work.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Russia & learnt heaps & had a wonderful guide in Katya to teach us about the Russian way!

We are now going to be based in London for a couple of weeks where we will be looking for some supply work.

We will then be heading off for a 13 day tour of Southern Spain / Portugal from Oct 28 until Nov 9. After this it will be back to London and more work until we depart on our homeward journey on Dec 2.

Its a nice area Acton Town, with several food outlets, internet cafes, a swimming pool nearby, a couple of Laundrettes and is also close to Shepards Bush so we will probably base ourselves here till we return home.

We will be seeing the All Blacks play Ireland in Dublin ( Nov 15 ) and are in a ballot for the NZ V England match on Nov 29 as well so are hopeful to see that match also.

Until next time Cheers

Our European Discovery Adventure.

Howdee everyone here I am again at long last. Our travels this time take us on a 30 day tour of several European countries.

Wednesday 3 Sept. We commenced our European Discovery Trip today by meeting up with everyone. We enjoyed the drive to Dover and enjoyed the Channel crossing on the ferry to Calais, France. We carried on down to Paris. This was our first stop.

We enjoyed going out for a walk to see Notre Dame, Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Place de la Concorde, up to the Troccadero and seeing the Seine. We were with Anne & Peter, Craig & Jeanie and Nicky & Phil.We found a lovely Thai restaurant for our meal. We enjoyed our evening very much & its great to be back in beautiful Paris again!

Thursday 4 Sept. Today we had Paris at Leisure. We independently explored Paris again with our Aussie friends Peter & Anne. We visited Madeline ( a wonderful church) the Opera House, Moulin Rouge, Montmartre, Sacre-Coear, Place-de-la-Republic & Place-de-la- Bastille. We had a great day walking round seeing the Artisans at work in the markets of Montmartre.

There were lots of fascinating narrow streets & outdoor cafes which give a real flavour of Paris life. In the evening we went to the La Novelle Eve for a traditional cabaret show of French Entertainment & Dinner & a glass of French Champagne (similar to the Moulin Rouge).It was great with wonderful acts and the world famous "Can-can".We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Friday 5 Sept. We drove to the Loire Valley & at Tours we viewed its famous Cathedral. It was a long bus journey today. Next we continued on to Cognac to visit the distillery producing Cognac in an original French Chateaux. Then we arrived at Bordeaux our Destination for the night.
We had dinner altogether. Kevin went for a walk & found an internet cafe here.

Saturday 6 Sept. We continued on to Biarritz a lovely sea side resort. We bumped into some N.Zers from Mt Maunganui there for some S.L.S. Boat Races & chatted to them. Next we carried on to Pamplona, Spain. After arriving at our hotel we went out for a walk to see the running of the bulls route.

We visited the Plaza de Castillo, Basilica St Ignacio, The Monument a los Fueros, and we saw the Plaza de Toros (bullring) We also saw a Medieval Festival & Markets in Plaza St Francisco & Plaza Consistorial.We really enjoyed ourselves mixing with the locals and attempting to speak Spanish with them.

Sunday 7 Sept. We were up early and off to Madrid today. We passed through very dry country side. On the way we visited Segovia which has an Old Roman Aqueduct there which is quite spectacular. We arrived in Madrid & had the evening free, so we caught the Bus 53 in to explore the city.

We saw the Alocha Train Station, Cathedral Notra Sara de la Almundena, Plaque de Sol & Plaque Mayor.We had gone out with Peter & Anne again as we all get on well together. We enjoyed finding a little restaurant with the locals who spoke no english, so tried out what we had learnt.

Monday 8 Sept. We had a full day in Madrid today. First off we went on a morning sightseeing tour with a local guide. From 10.00 am onwards we were free. So off we went & caught the Speed Train for the 30 min trip to Toledo - a walled city and ancient Castilian Capital by the Tagus river. El Greco the painter made famous .

On the way home we found another back street restaurant for local foods & again used our little Spanish to order our meal.

Tuesday 9 Sept. After brekky we crossed the spanish Meseta & next the Gorges of Jalon. We continued past vineyards of Catalonia & the mountains of Montserrant to arrive at Barcelona.

We went on a tour with a local guide & saw Gaudi's Sagrada Familia Temple & Casa Batlio, La Pedrera, the Old Town, the Plaza Espanya & the Palace d'Alfons.

Then we had free time so we visited the Ancient Gothic cathedral in Old Town, La Ribera, La Rambla, El Raval& its famous Historic Monuments & narrow streets and Bohemian Atmosphere & lots of Antique Dealers, bookshops, restaurants, a city hall & the Palace de General. What a fantastic city to explore!!! We both really loved it.


Wednesday 10 Sept. We had Barcelona to ourselves all day long!! The Temp today was 34 degrees- rather nice !! We took off to Placa Espanya via underground train and walked up the long hill passing Museum of National Art which is now in the Palace. We continued on up to the "Hill of the Jews", up to the" Estadi Olimpics"(held in 1992) with fabulous views over Barcelona.

We got back on the underground to Parc Guell with the fabulous Gaudi creations everywhere. Escalators were in the street going up to the Park as it was so steep!!!

Again back down via the Metro to Plaza Catalunya. We checked out this Plaza and walked the Rambles - A very colourful street indeed!

We got back on the Metro and headed for the Christopher Columbus statue next to the waterfront. We walked round Rumbla de Mar & marina. Lots of fantastic boats moored here belonging to the rich & famous. We walked along to their beach- Platja Barceloneta. It was very nice so I paddled my feet in the sea.

We got back onto the Metro again to see Gaudi's "La Pedrera" & "Casa Batllo" buildings. La Pedrera is apartments, full of surprizes, the ground floor is free of walls & the balconys have unusual artwork for the rails. Casa Batllo is a house located in a famous area called "Apple of Discord". Gaudi liked to create artworks out of his buildings in a very creative way.
We got back on the Metro & headed for home, arrived at 6 pm & straight in to the pool for a swim.

Thursday 11 Sept. Up & away as we crossed the French border passing Perpignan into wine producing country. Next we arrived in the Cote d' Amethyste ( the French Riveria) for our stay in Cannes. We had a city tour then were given 2 hours free time to explore Cannes on our own.
We saw the yacht marina & the famous Film Festival Venue. We both had a swim in theMediterranean sea. So warm but really salty.


Friday 12 Sept. We enjoyed a city tour in Nice this morning which included the Promenade des Anglais & the Place Massena & the Avenne Felix Faure. Then we had 4 1/2 hours free to explore Nice. We visited the La Colline du Chateau & Park for a fantastic panorama view of Nice. We walked through Old Town & went for a swim in the Mediterranean sea & sunbathed. The relaxing was just great.

We met up with the others at 3 pm for an afternoons excursion to one of the oldest fortified Villages on the Riviera, perched high above the coastline - Eze Village. We walked to the very top to see a fantastic view along a beautiful coastline. We passed the 3 Corniche roads enjoying a spectacular view along the way. This excursion we had originally not decided to do but Trafalgar had decided to allow all of us to do this for free after having experienced an earlier night in a substandard hotel in Cannes so we gained a freeby.

Next we visited a Perfumery to see how Perfume is made and Kevin bought me a small bottle at factory prices- very nice. Then we enjoyed dinner altogether in a local village restaurant & back home on the bus to Cannes for the night. This was all for free and it was enjoyable.

Saturday 13 sept. We were up early today & our first stop was Monaco & Monte-Carlo. We visited Old Town and saw the Palace & Church with Princess Grace & Grimoudi's tombs and the fabulous Yacht & Boat Marina. From here we headed into Italy. We went past Genoa and on to Pisa where we had 1 hour to explore the Square of Miracles and the Leaning tower of Pisa (la Torre Pendente). At 5.30 pm we arrived at our Hotel in Montecatini. We again had dinner altogether, then went for a walk and a coffee along the street.


Sunday 14 Sept. We went off to see Florence from a fantastic high point, then went on down into the town itself to the Leather & Gold shop. And no we did not purchase anything!

We had free time to spend so went to see the "Duomo Cathedral" with its amazing Dome, the Bell Tower by Giotto and the lovely Pont Vecchio Bridge with the houses on top and the beautiful Signoria Square & the Arno River. We carried on through the Tuscan Vineyards to Rome. Our Hotel was on the North East side so we hitched a lift in with the bus to explore Rome in the evening.

We visited the "Spanish Steps", the "Trevi Fountain", "Victor Emmanuel Square", the "Forum", the "Colosseum", the "Pantheon" & "Piazza Navona". We had a pizza & Beer at a Trattoria nearby. We met up with our Bus and caught a lift home round 9 pm. We had an enjoyable evening out in Rome.

Monday 15 Sept. A full day in Rome today!

We were up early to go on a guided tour - "Highlights of Rome". We visited the Colosseum, really amazing. Next to it is the "Arch of Constantine" a magnificent triple arcaded Arch. We carried on to visit the Vatican City - St Peters' Basilica, the Vatican Palaces, the Vatican Museum & the Sistine Chapel - all amazing with people everywhere! and also a long day on your feet which is quite tiring. Some great sights though and well worth it.

We got home by 4.30 pm and relaxed and had a swim in the Hotel pool. Then we walked round to a Pizzera nearby for tea. While we were in here it poured with and it was quite heavy. It stopped in time for us to walk home again.

Tuesday 16 Sept. We slept in today, just leaving at 9.00 am.
It was a bright sunny day after last night. Our first stop was Monte Cassino for a coffee and then on to Sorrento - Napoli.

We explored here the Piazza Tasso, the Sorrento Port and Marina, the Old Town, the Piazza Antonino and had a great time for 6 hours exploring. At 5 pm we met up with the others and headed off to our Hotel (The Crowne Plaza, an upgrade due to a poor Hotel in Cannes - very nice indeed!! ) We had a swim in the Hotel Pool and the Meditearranean Sea too.

We had dinner altogether tonight as well. Anne, Peter,Kevin and I shared a bottle of French Wine we'd bought and carried from Cannes - we needed to drink it!


Wednesday 17 Sept. We were up early and our morning journey took us to Pompeii. We did not do this excursion as we had done it on our Amalfi Trip, so we explored the town of Pompeii instead. We visited a Basilica and the Pompeii Town Square.

We met up with the others at 11.00 am. We also bumped into our Italian guide - Laurie, we had hugs and kisses and a chat, it was lovely to see her again. We crossed Italy and arrived in the port of Bari at 4.30 pm to catch the overnight ferry for the sea crossing to Greece. The time went forward by 1 hour.


Thursday 18 Sept. We crossed the Ionian Sea and arrived in the Port of Patras at 1 pm.We slept in till 9.30 am, not bothering with brekky. Then we got up and out on top of the ferry at 10 am and had a cuppuchino and relaxed till we arrived at Patras.

Next we had an uneventful drive to Athens, passing the beautiful Rion Antirion Bridge ( built in 2004) and also passing over the Korinthos Canal ( a huge deep canal to enable ships to pass through). We arrived in Athens at our hotel at 5 pm. Kevin went off to use the internet for 1 hr. Our Hotel was in Omonia Square with lots of shops, restaurants, and cafes surrounding it.

We went out for an explore and caught the Metro outside the Hotel to Akropoli Stop to see the Acropolis all lit up at night, the Parthenon and the Theatre of Dionysos. We next caught the Metro to Monastiraki Square (but due to lots of restoration happening here) we hopped on the Metro again for home. ( all for 80c each - good value ).


Friday 19 Sept. We got up early and departed at 8.00 am off to Piraeus harbour( Athens) and cruised to Mykonos.

We went ashore via shuttle boat to explore Mykonos. Its only 10 miles long, & 7 miles wide. Its very popular and expensive and its beautiful with the white washed streets , houses and churches with the sky blue doors and domes - it is classic architecture here.
We spent 3 hours here exploring before we caught the shuttle boat back to our ship - the M.S.Aquamarine.

We had dinner aboard at 9.30 pm while our ship cruised to the next island we will visit.


Saturday 20 Sept. We arrived in Rhodes at 8.30 am. We got up and breakfasted and off to explore Rhodes by 9 am, by walking down the gangway. Its called the "Island of Roses" and is the 4th largest Greek Islands. Rhodes is divided into the Old Walled City and the New Town. It has excellent beaches , fine old buildings erected by the Knights of St John.

We had the day to explore here seeing the Palace of the Grand Master, the Street of the Knights, the Suleimen Mosque & the little Old Town shops & cafes.

The closest beach is Elli Beach & another attractive one is Faliraki Beach.We returned to the ship at 2 pm and had some lunch. Kevin had a swim in the ships pool ( Its only but he swam a fair few laps ) & we relaxed till dinner at 7 pm, then cocktails at 8.30 pm & then a Greek Show at 9 pm, meanwhile the ship is cruising to the next Island.


Sunday 21 Sept. We were up early and over to the Island of Patmos by 7.15 am via ferry boat. We took a nice walk round the wee island. The port is called Skala, a very popular call for cruise ships in the summer.

They have strict building codes to retain the traditional architecture. The Monastery of St John is the famous landmark, but we decided on a walk instead along the waterfront chatting to the local fishermen was more fun for a change.

We went back to the ship by 9.15 am via boat. Our next port was Kusadasi, Turkey at 2 pm.
Kevin went for a swim in the ships pool again & then we grabbed a hamburger for lunch.
There is so much food available on this cruise that you can eat whenever you wish and its a realtemptation. We walked off the gangway into Kusadasi to explore till 6 pm when we are due to sail.

We enjoyed browsing the Bazaar's here & bargaining with the locals. We walked along the waterfront and found a delightful sandy beach, where we had a swim in the Aegean Sea. It was delicious as it was hot & sunny here! Back to the ship again & into dinner at 7 pm. ( a formal sit down affair), then a Show at 9.30 pm ( good Value). Our ship continued on back to Athens while we slept.


Monday 22 Sept. We disembarked from the "Aquamarine" by 9.00 am and headed off for a morning of sightseeing in Athens. We saw the Parthenon, the Acropolis, the Temple of Zeus, Constitution Square & the Olympic Stadium. Its a very nice city but extremely crowded!

Next we headed back to Patras where we boarded our ship for the Aegean Sea / Adratic Sea trip to Ancona Italy where we arrived at 5 pm. We had dinner on board with everyone at 7 pm.


Tuesday 23 Sept. We arrived at the port of Ancona at 2 pm Italian time again. We had a lazy day on board - reading, relaxing & chatting with the others. At 2.30 pm we met up with our coach & Patrizo (driver) for the long long drive up to Italy via Bologna to Venice. We arrived at 8.30 pm & went straight in to dinner at our Hotel, which was an hour out of Venice.

Our Hotel was a 480 year old building and very spectacular. Our room was very large, Airy & lovely!


Wednesday 24 Sept. We were up early and off to the Tronchetto Port to catch our Vaporetto to cruise by canal to St Mark's Square to visit a traditional glass blowing factory. The remainder of the day we were free to explore which we did! We walked through the narrow streets behind the Piazza St Marco toward the Pont di Rialto( bridge over the Grand canal). We went for a 20 min gondola ride with Graham (Aussie) and it cost us 20 Euro each. We also saw parts of where a James Bond movie was filmed along the way and thehouse where casanova spent some time. Very nice and relaxing.

Next we got a ticket on the local water bus and travelled around the grand canal & saw several cathedrals. We walked down to Biennale di Venezia Park and also saw the bridge of Sighs and just had some relaxing free time to explore Venice. A very pretty city on water.The city is actually sinking but there are plans in place to try to halt this from going too far.

We met up with everyone at 5.45 pm to catch the Vaporetto back to the port and then catch the bus back to our Hotel, arriving at 7.30 pm. Dinner with everyone again at 7. . A very buzy day !


Thursday 25 Sept. We were up early and left Venice at 8.15 am. It was a straight driving day today. Through the Northern Italian Alps and the Southern Austrian Alps and into Austria. Passing their lake district, the Semmering Pass & the Vienna Woods. It was very beautiful scenery!

We arrived at our Hotel in Vienna at 5.30 pm. There was no dinner provided tonight so off out to a little local restaurant nearby with Peter & Anne and Phil & Nicky. Kevin & I shared a pizza and had a beer each then went back home afterwards.

Friday 26 Sept. We were up & off to the city at 9.00 am for a city Tour with a local guide. Then we had free time to explore the classical beauty of Vienna. The city lies in the Danube river Valley that has been inhabited for thousands of years. We walked up the Open Ring Road to see the Hofburg Palace, the Parliament Building ( a Greek influence) the Rathaus and the University of Vienna.

Next we caught a tram round to Stadt Park and hopped off to walk round the canal to Kegelg Strassue to see the Hundertwasser Village. The architect / designer was: F.Hundertwasser who creates works where the straight line is alien to mankind! - its a unique and impressive architecture. ( he created a restroom in Kawakawa N.Z.) and so all of his designs are based on curves and it is very appealing to the eye.

We next hopped on a tram again to get to the Opera House stop to meet up at Albertina Square for a lift home with the others. We got back to our Hotel round 3 pm.


Saturday 27 Sept. Again we were up early and off by 7.30 am another long driving day via Melk and Salzburg to Innsbruck. On the way we went on an excursion into Germany and visited Kehlsteinhaus - The Eagles Nest! ( 1834 metres high) It was built as a gift for Hitler's 50th birthday. Some really amazing engineering was required to build a road and tunnels and escalators up to this site and alot of workers were required at much cost.

It had been snowing & was very picturesque. It was Hitler's mountain retreat and he lived lower down at Obersalzberg where all his devious plans were hatched but here at Kehlsteinhaus ( Eagles Nest ) the building was only used for meetings. Hitler was also afraid of heights..ha ha...

We carried on to Innesbruck arriving at 5.00 pm. We had dinner altogether at 8 pm. Kevin went for a swim prior to tea.


Sunday 28 Sept. we were up a little later than usual - departing at 9.00 am to Innesbruck for an explore of the town. We had 2 1/2 hours here which was great as its a delightful spot.

We saw the Golden Roof, cobbled streets, Old Town, St Jacobs Cathedral & walked along the banks of the glacial waters in the river & over a couple of bridges & listened to a folk show and even sampled a sacre tort ( chocolate cake speciality of the area)

Then next we drove on and arrived in the small principality of Liechtenstien - the capital is Vaduz - for a lunch stop. We had an hour to explore here. We stopped and posted a card & used a special stamp from here , for both our Mom's.

We next enjoyed the scenic drive through Switzerland to lovely Lake Lucerne. We stopped here and viewed the Lion Monument and then on to our Hotel in Kriens. We had dinner altogether at 7.30 pm.


Monday 29 Sept. Today we had Lucerne at our Leisure! We had brekky at 7.30 am then left via the bus into down town Lucerne. We've been here before on our Swiss by Rail Trip, so wanted to see Mt Titlis which we arranged on our own rather than do theoptional Mt Pilatus trip.

So off to the train station we went & bought a ticket to Engelberg & return & up to the top of Mount Titlis ( Euro 90 each) We left at 10 am, it took one hour to reach Engelberg. It is a delightful ski-ing spot, carefree shopping area, & it has a Benedictine Monastery & a Casino & heaps of sporting facilities for all kinds of tastes.

The trip to the summit took approx 40 minutes. 1st, we boarded a 6 person gondola up to Trubsee the halfway station (1800 meters up ) Next was by stand up glacier cable car and finally was the Rotair car ( the floor of this cable car rotates around its own axis).

We arrived at the top for a breathtaking panorama view 3020 meters high. We spent 3 hours up atop Mt Titlis, it was just wonderful! The weather was superb and there was plenty of snow around. We got plenty of sun as well.

We headed down again & looked around Engelberg prior to catching the train back to Lucerne.
Got back at 4 pm and spent some time looking round Lucerne also. We met up with the others for the transfer back to our Hotel at Kriens. We had dinner with everyone tonight again.


Tuesday 30 Sept. We left Lucerne at 8 am today & drove to Zurich & then on to Schaffhausen. We stopped to view the Rhine Falls. An amazing sight with heaps of water racing down! Next we drove over the border into Germany & went through the Black Forest, past Lake Titisee & arrived to have lunch at Freiburg. We saw all the Cuckoo clocks made & sold here which was an interesting place and saw how these were made.

Next we headed to Heidelberg with its ancient castle for 2 hours to explore. Its a university town with many different faculties. We waked around and saw the castle as well that overlooks thecity. Its a very pretty little place.

We then carried on & arrived at our Hotel in Mannheim round 7 pm.We all had dinner together at 7.30 pm, then headed for a rest as we have an early start tomorrow.


Wednesday 1 Oct. We were up early as we headed off by 7.20 am. Today we drove through the Rhine Valley which is a lovely tranquil place & we went for a relaxing Rhine River Cruise. We grabbed some lunch along the way & continued on to Cologne. The boat trip on the Rhine was fun and next we visited the Twin Spired St Peter's Cathedral which was quite spectacular!

We crossed into the Netherlands & carried on for Amsterdam arriving at 6 pm. We were given 3 1/2 hours to independently explore Amsterdam. We visited Anne Franks house, wandered about narrow cobbled stoned roads, crossed bridges over canals, & visited the famous red light district.

We had dinner & met up with the coach at 9.40 pm for the transfer to our Hotel, arriving just after 10 pm.We dropped our gear in our room then met in the Bar for a glass of wine to farewell our friends departing tomorrow. Finially to bed at 12.30 pm very tired indeed!



Thursday 2nd Oct. We were up early for the long drive home today, leaving at 7.45 am. We passed through Utrecht & Breda then left the Netherlands for Belgium. We passed through Antwerp, Gent, Brussels & Oostende. Then we crossed the border into France again.

We passed Dunkirk & arrived in Calais at 1.30 pm.Here we went through customs & boarded our ferry to Dover. ( 1 1/2 hour trip) We had some lunch on board so it would be a straight drive up to London. We arrived at 4.30 pm. We said our farewells & lots of hugs and goodbye to everyone.


Kevin & I caught the underground direct to our Hostel Accomodation at 639 Hostel, Harrow road, Kensal Green. Its's quite basic, but we do have our own shower & handbasin & its handy to the tube station. Well our 30 day trip is over but what an adventure we had!!