A quickie

update.... that is.... currently writing from my last port in Paris....the last week has been great...
Florence, the Duomo and Botticelli not as I remenbered....smaller paintings, bigger room?!?....tearful goodbye.... a farm stay in Manbrotta.....Verona, Juliet and the Opera....Lyon, for some summer fetival goodness, featuring Elvis Costello, the brothers Lumiere.... throw in a train strike, a few bushfires and Milan and that was the week that was....
onto the louvre, d'orsay, rodin, la fnac, zara....and then home...actually looking forward to seeing everyone again....

An evening in Verona

Opera ticket: 24,50 euros
Home made sandwich for dinner: 3 euros
Guide to 'la Boheme': 5 euros
Puccini, live at the Arena in Verona, unreserved seats, no cushion: Priceless

Last day in Pomezia

Well, my bag is almost packed... It is getting heavier after every stop and I still have over a week left. I saw the date and freaked out a little today... Time has absolutely flown by! Today has been relatively quiet for us, we are out for a beachside dinner tonight to say goodbye. We went to the pool today and I got the chance to watch the courting rituals of the teenagers here. It is funny how we are pretty much all the same in the end... the boys tease the girls and the girls giggle amongst themselves. It's all very cute :)
Exhausted Rome and many of its sights over the last few days and that has been great. It is a very different experience being here n Summer. They have set up pretty good nightlife on the shores of the Tiber... including art installations, outdoor cinemas, bars and night markets, giving the city a really nice relaxed vibe. This is, however, accompanied by a heavily 80's, early 90's soundtrack featuring mainly Roxette (I still remember the words!), Black Box, Rick Astley (why do I find him everywhere I go? please refer to shanghai post) and 1927 (ok... maybe that was all in my head).
Florence tomorrow... cant wait to get to the Uffizi and hang on Ponte Vecchio and watch life go by.

Bella Roma

This has been my last few days... words can not express the beauty of this city....There was the Coloseum, the Pantheon, Trevi, the Spanish steps, Castel de S'angelo and St Peter.... and much more... Despite all the inefficiencies of the Italians, they do come up the goods when it comes to history.

Commisiare Rex

Yes, ladies and gents, I have seen Inspector Rex in Italian... that means I have now seen Rex in four different incarnations... is there a prize for that? Italian TV is a mix of foreign programs, dubbed in Italian, and glitzy Italian productions featuring a lot of singing and very little clothing... Apart from Rex, I caught Steve Irwin, the Italian voiceover had no charisma whatsoever, Beverly Hills 90210 (Tori Spelling before the surgery), the Fresh Prince of Bel Air circa early 90s... whoa, what a blast from the past! I saw the Italian Judge Judy... who knew that two women at opposite ends of the world could look so similar? No,I havent been watching TV all day, but since we take a siesta here after lunch, I often find myself surfing the channels for these childhood memories. Speaking of which, it is stinking hot over here, and although I am overall very pleased about this, it does get a bit uncomfortable. The sun is up before 5 and sets after 9, making for a long day. It does mean that the running has taken a back seat, and I am cycling instead.
I leave Pomezia in a couple of days... it'll be sad to go. I have had a great time with my aunt and uncle, but the little traveller in me feels like I have been barely hitting second gear these last few days. Onto Florence on Saturday and then.... still being contemplated. I have two weeks left and I want to make the most of it.
footnote: i just read the SMH online, apologies... dont mean to be rubbing it in about the warmth over here... hope everyone is keeping themselves cosy and warm in Oz.

I see Assisi!

Like every good catholic, I must spend some time in Italy hanging out in churches... so it was with this in mind that we sauntered off to Assisi to hang with San Francesco (or Francis to his mates). St Francis is the patron saint of the Italians, although, his competition, Padre Pio is catching up rather rapidly. I am not sure if the Italians are proud of him because he renounced his inheritance or because he was able to build such a powerful order of monks. Assisi is a beautiful, peaceful town full of nuns and tourists. Just a note for those religiously inclined, there are many many nuns here and it appears that they go off on these tours (aka junkets) visiting all these famed sites in a regular basis. I spoke to a Phillipino nun and she informed me that these visits are nice, they get to hang with other like minded individuals and see the world. She has been to 14 countries since joining the sisterhood 20 years ago....mmmm, food for thought. Anyway, back to Assisi... it is a nice, peaceful town, surrounded by an amazing landscape. I think I will let the photos do the talking... I am loosing my grasp of English at a rapid rate!

That's another thing, between the English, French and poor Italian I am speaking, my words are becoming jumbled and I no longer know what language I am thinking in. I am sure I had a dream in Italian the other night...

Happy Birthday Lambrini!

To the Greek goddess of curls, Happy 30th Birthday! Have a great day and a wonderful party, I am sorry to miss it. See you my return!

Vedi Napoli e poi muori

See Naples and you can die (happy?)... well, that's how the saying goes. I have seen Naples, but last time I was here, we started off on the wrong foot and I escaped rather quickly. Not this time... this time, I devoured Naples and all its glory. Naples reminds me of Mumbai, choatic and smelling of diesel, sweat and garbage, but with all the architectural grandeur of the Grand boulevards of Paris as captured in a Pissarro painting, an unlikely but spectacular mix. It is chaotic driving and walking around here, but the city has a real energy about it. Its quaint narrow streets of food vendors, the diverse ethnicity of its inhabitants are juxtaposed by the amazing architecture and the many sites of Italian and Napolitan history.
The Napolitans are a rare breed, they speak a dialect which makes it difficult to communicate (even my aunt and uncle had trouble at times), they walk with purpose, they are a very very proud breed and they are most certainly Napolitan and not just Italian. It is unfortunate to see, however, the poor hygiene and the lax public services, but I suppose without these discrepancies, Naples just wouldn't be the same.

>sigh<

The last few days were spent on the Amalfi coast, visiting the mountainside city of Ravello, then the coastal towns of Amalfi, Positano and Sorrento.

Ravello is tiny and has a cathedral dating back to 1086! It is a music festival city, green and shady with amazing views of both sides of the moutain.

Amalfi is captured in the first photo. Touristy, with a hint of elegance. The town's population has swelled enormously over the last month, but this is likely to decrease with the closure of the only road along this coastline. You see, it gets so busy that they figure it is best to close the road to all bar locals and public transport in the peak summer months of august and september. This ensures that businesses across this coastline do not benefit much. Doesnt make a whole lot of sense to me!
Next photo is one of my uncle and I in Positano (please note the new haircut, i must write a post on this... a haircut in Italy and a wax in Paris, quite an experience.... ). We'd just eaten lunch, a Calabrian panino consisting of fresh buffalo mozarella, basil, tomatoes and oilve oil... best sandwich I have had in a long time. The great thing about Italy is that most places are still highly agricultural, thus they tend to use only local produce. This is ussually fresh and very very tasty (which reminds me, a post on food is a must...). Anyway, back to Positano, smaller than Amalfi but somewhat more touristy. The road is lined with shoemakers and sellers of lemons (another local product). It has a nice feel about it,

though. It would be nice to spend a few days here,

although apart from the beach and the local shopping, there isnt much else to do.

And lastly, Sorrento. My favourite spot on the coast. It is bigger than the others and much more lively. There is a definite buzz about the place. It has a great music festival line up for the summer, and plenty of outdoor theatre events. There are day trips to coastline caves, available... so maybe next time, I will partake.

It's the little things...

like the buskers on the metro, the death and funeral notices signposted all over town, the way you never hand someone money but put it on the counter, the condom vending machines, the way you drink your coffee at the bar, the manner in which you greet someone as you enter a shop, the big men in tiny Smart cars with stereos blasting, the sheer number of motorcycles, the smells of brioche, cornettos and coffee all mixed into one, the lack of toilet paper in public toilets, the tabacs/tabacchi, the speed of speech, the carabinieri and their uniforms, the lack of clothing on many, the attraction to Nutella and all its derivatives, the overwhelming use of the word 'jolly', the three wheeled car/utes, the uses of donkeys in everyday life, the turning off of engines at lights, paying for public toilets... all these and many more that makes us all a little different from the other.

Un giorno alla spiaggia

Today, mia zia e mio zio and I went to the beach and the mountains. That's my aunt in the photo, dipping her feet in the ocean. As you can see it was a beautiful day.

We started the day out in Nemi, a town in the mountians famous for its bush strawberries (fragoline di bosco). They are delicious, and we ate some with some panna and gelato.

Afterwards, we headed for Fiumicino port, where there are plenty of millionaires and their yachts, private beaches and the general smell of money. Unlike Australia, here you must pay for your piece of sand. It may come with an umbrella, or you may upgrade to chairs, beds for your siesta and even a cabin kitted out with shower and day bed.... noice!Ah, la dolce vita!!!

We are off to Amalfi coast in a couple of days... woo-hoo!

All roads lead to...

well, Rome... but more precisiely for me, Pomezia. This is where my zio e zia live, 23 kms south of Rome. It's just one of those amazing urban centres which sits in an almost semi rural wasteland. Very odd, but I love it. More importantly, I love spending time with my family. It's been great... we went to the flea markets in Porta Portese today. Then off to the campagna for lunch, and then dinner at the beach. A brilliant day. Tomorow, it's castel gondolfo, the pope's summer residence and Nemmi, a town on the lake where I've had the best polenta and funghi known to mankind, so I am keen to go back for more. Tuesday, we head down south to Napoli and surrounds.
Rome is hot, 27 degrees today and much of the same expected for a while yet. It makes a nice change from France and England. The food is great, the atmosphere laidback... just the way I like it.
Have many photos to post, but have yet to find my uncle's USB port... one thing at a time, we connected skype tonight and they are over the moon!
I have been running, despite the heat... considering the amount of pasta, pizza, gelato and general medittarenean greatness I have been consuming, I very much need all the exercise I can get!

Le Jour du fnac*

My Dutch mate, Hans (who first featured on this blog back in Chengdu) and I spent a wonderful time in Paris at the end of last week. We ate cheese, drank wine, listened to music, went psycho in book and music stores, and generally had a great time walking the great city that is Paris.
Not one tourist trap was entered, and between our collective English, my French and his Dutch, we kept many amused and probably bemused, also.
It was a shame to have to leave... however, considering we have managed to find ourselves on two continents, we figured it would not be too difficult to rendez vous again somewhere... we figured, Africa, most precisely Mozambique... sometime, somewhere. So between Casablanca and Mika, we are sure to meet again.
*le fnac is a borders like music and book store. It's a long story...

Just a tiny castle...

Backtracking a little... The other day my aunt and I went to Versailles. The castle was once the centre of all political and royal undertakings in Paris. Its grounds span an area greater than 70kms, most of this being manicured lawns and fountains. Most of which are still present today.

The castle, itself, was the primary residence for the royal family. The piece de resistance is the hall of mirrors (above). It is approximately 500 metres long, lined with mirrors from floor to ceiling, with dripping chandeliers and gold encrusted everything. The art and the furnishings have all been restored, providing an amazing feel for the time. However, the lack of bathrooms and toilet facilities did not go unnoticed... life may have been good back then, but they were more than likely quite smelly too!

To punt or not to punt....

Danielle raved about the punting experience she had here, a couple of months ago... so we decided we'd relive it, in style. You see, you have a choice with punting, there is the DIY punting which may result with you slamming into bridges, going for a swim or simply never finding your way back.... then, there's the deluxe experience, complete with chauffeur (in our case a young chap named Jack), a bottle of bubbly (rather sweet) and strawberries... and of course, since we are in England, we added a dash of rain....

Behind me, you can see Magdalene College. It must be the only college in Oxford with its own deer park... I kid you not!

Today has been an absolutely awesome experience. Walking through this town and just seeing , all first hand is amazing. This whole place is dripping with history and old money. Danielle has been a great tour guide and I am most envious of her. The Said Business school where she studies is stunning, the facilities, the lecture theatres and the whole feel of the place really makes you want to learn. We strolled around the various college grounds, I have never seen anything like it before.... manicured lawns, inspiring architecture, the whole place has just an amazing sense of history.

Tomorrow I head back to Paris. Oxford has been great, but I dont know if I could deal with the weather. It fluctuates all day long. Right now it's sunny yet five minute ago there was a thunder storm. Go figure....

The Oxford experience...

This will be a visual post.... you can make up the story line :)

London, calling...

So now, my official duties are over. I am a godmother. It was a great ceremony, with a young wayward priest. A fine meal followed, with an even finer dinner a few hours later. If this godmothering business ensures I maintain this high level of fine food consumption, I'll do it more often!
Jade was great, didnt cry once and was the life of the party afterwards.... she is a real little trooper.
But that was Sunday, and Monday, I heeded the call to London. Onto the Eurostar, and into Waterloo. Two and a half hours of blissful train travel. From London, I made my way to Oxford. Another two hours of snoozing and I think my body clock has now just adjusted. London was grey and so is Oxford.
Danielle greeted me at the bus stop and promptly took me off to see the sights. It's such a quaint town, a true English village, green lawns and pubs on every corner. We went up St Mary's tower, visited the grounds of Christchurch college and went to the pub where Bob Hawke drank his way into the Guiness Book of Records and Bill Clinton didn't inhale... :)
Tomorrow, we go punting while eating strawberries and cream, and drinking Pimm's and Lemonade.... How very English!
Right now I am exhausted. My brain is working in multiple languages... I started to think in French, but now have to revert back. I was having difficulty writing in English, so if anyone gets weird postcards, you know why...
I am leaving Oxford on Wednesday to meet my Dutch bud, Hans in Paris. Rome is now scheduled for Saturday morning. I have managed to go out for two runs so far, an hour each.... both in Paris and along the Seine and under the Eiffel Tower. It was fantastic!
Had a fab dinner cruise on the Seine the other night and a wonderful trip to Versailles. It was nice hanging out with my aunt in Paris... photos will come, but sleep is currently of greatest priority.

Finalement... Paris!

I arrived in Paris in a sea of luggage... Heathrow had managed to delay the passage of 18,000 pieces of luggage in the days before my arrival. I was a little worried by this, but Oscar made it into CDG in one piece. Physically tired and mentally exhausted, I made my way to the wonderful metro and into an overcast Paris...
After 27 hours, a whole lot of meals, some decent entertainment and encountering every British stereotype from ' The bill', 'bend it like Beckham' and 'little Britain', Paris never looked so good!
Still tired, I made my way to my cousin's for dinner in suburban Paris, where I met my soon to be goddaughter for the first time and promptly snoozed at the dinner table... here is a photo of Clemence, my cousin's oldest daughter.... as you can see, she was pretty happy to see me!

Paging passengers McKenna and Higgins

you know, how there are always a few people who just never show up at the gate for boarding... well there were two such folk on my leg from Bangkok to London, the aforementioned McKenna and Higgins. Ussually I don't care about these, however, our delayed departure meant we had lost our rights to enter Afghani airspace. This caused us to take a more scenic route and being at the middle of the night at such high altitudes, I have no idea how we got to London. Anyway, that was about the only real highlight of the flight over here.
I really hate spending 25 hours on a plane with little to no sleep...especially as it seems to have taken the better part of the last few days to get over it.