In The UK...

Better late than never as they say....  the final leg of the trip....

Getting in to Venice, not so bad.  Getting out of Venice, um....

First off, either we didn't see the signs, the signs are in Italian, or they don't have signs, but, apparently there is a system for when you return to the parking garage in a rush to get your car that you must first go to a line up of people at a wee window and present your parking pass to pay for parking before you exit the garage.  We didn't do that of course. So when exiting with your unpaid ticket you are told by the attendant to go through again to pay for the ticket (no where to park or back up) and to get back in to pay for your ticket you are supposed to use your current ticket; OK, so when you enter again and insert your ticket to get in, it takes your ticket, now you don't have a ticket to pay with to get out again.  So now you are in the garage forever and everyone at home thinks you've decided to check out and never come back....

We have a flight to catch!

So with the parking issue sorted out and a plane to catch we exit the garage to find the line to get out of Venice by car is impossibly long, and slow....  So Edward switches to Italian Taxi mode and decides to barge into the roundabout through the virtually empty taxi/bus lane much to the chagrin of some of the locals who wanted to play chicken....  OK, that's out of the way and now we are on the causeway out of Venice, checking directions to the airport; the signs say one way, the airport is the opposite direction; a quick check of the iPhone suggests we are headed clearly in the wrong direction, however the signs are still present and apparently correct.  It turns out, when you leave Venice, for some inexplicable reason, the signs have you driving about 20 miles, with no clear indication of where the actual terminal or rental car return is, where the iPhone indicates a trip of about 4 miles....

Return the rental car.

We flew into East Midlands airport late that night (Thurs, Aug 4th), landing at around 11pm.  After deplaning, picking up our rental car, and hitting the road it was a 3am arrival in Hereford.  Dropped the girls at the Wadley home and then drove to the nearby home of Heather's mother who had graciously offered to put us up in her one level bungalow each night.  Our plan of quietly sneaking in was not to be, and 82 year old Trixie met us in her housecoat with offers of tea and snacks if we were hungry.  Finally hit the hay a short while later, images of Venice still floating through our minds.

Friday, Aug 5.

Managed a few hours sleep before sharing tea and toast with Trixie and heading over to the Wadley home to check in on the girls and make our plans for the day.  Decided to check out the local cathedral, expecting to find a smaller, newer version of the others seen on this trip so far.  NOT!  The cathedral site dates back to the 8 century, though the current buildings are only 900 years old as the Welsh Army destroyed the original cathedral in 1055 and rebuilding did not occur until 1107-1158.  In 1996 a new library building was added to house the Mappa Mundi (the largest medieval map still known to exist, circa 1300) and the Chained Library (a library where the books are attached to their bookcase by a chain, a practice common from the middle ages to the 18th century to prevent loss of valuable reference books). Topping all this off was a loaned copy on display of the 1213 Magna Carta, one of only four in existence.  All this in Hereford.  There is history around every corner it seems in Europe.

Being the foodies we are there was no better end to the afternoon than a visit to the Marks and Spencer food floor!  Laden with cookies, tea, cheeses, sweets etc we got ourselves out of there so Edward and Kevin could go to the Three Oaks pub for some local brew while Heather prepared a lovely dinner.  Another great day.

Saturday, Aug 6.

Today was all about Harry Potter.  The girls have been itching to see The Deathly Hallows Part II since we arrived in Europe so we set off to Worcester after a lovely lunch and wandered the pedestrian area of town before seeing a late afternoon show.  The town had a lovely feel with wattle and daub buildings lining the street and all the local pubs full of people chatting, watching rugby, and enjoying their Sunday afternoon.  Harry Potter did not disappoint either.  Best one yet in the opinion of some.

Sun, Aug 7.

Today was our last day in Europe :(  Sadly all good things must come to an end though we are looking forward to home and seeing family again.  Visited with our wonderful hosts over a lovely lunch and left mid afternoon for the 3 hour drive to Heathrow.  Made a quick dinner stop en route and were checked into our hotel by 7pm.  Edward returned our rental car and it was an early night in prep for the flight home tomorrow.

Monday, Aug 8

Direct flights home area good thing.  The London Heathrow to Vancouver leg of 9 hours in the air went relatively quickly and we were on the ground in time to make the 3pm ferry home.  It was another great adventure, not without challenges, but a great adventure nonetheless.  Each country brought it's own unique "feel" and experiences and we look forward to sorting through the 5000 odd photos to revisit it all in the weeks and months to come.

Catching up

As most of you know, we are back.  Internet for the last part of the trip was intermittent and now that we are home it's difficult finding the time to post the last few tidbits....  They are coming.  Stay tuned.

Venezia per un giorno ....

Wednesday, August 3

Today we left Tuscany and drove to Venice; an uneventful drive along the Italian motorways, buzzing with a tremendous amount of truck traffic, through mountain passes and along agricultural  zones.  Passing through one city we drove by a massive traffic jam, the result of a significant fire in an industrial area along side the highway.  We arrived in Venice, parked the car, figured out the water bus system, and went to our hotel.

The hotel is in a quiet residential area off the tourist track and decorated with plenty of fabric wallpaper, Murano Glass lighting fixtures, and period "engineered" floor (this is significant for some reason but I don't know why at the moment).  After relaxing for a bit with our friends we ventured out in search of food and found a local restaurant to have pizza and various dishes at; then to the waterbus for a ride along the grand canal as darkness fell.  The next day, after organizing our bags for our evening flight, we followed a similar routine and took the waterbus to St. Mark's square to wander about the sights.


Venice was a great experience if only for a day and a night.  While floating by the buildings at night we saw some of the "living" spaces within and if the interior decor is any indication, some people are living well or the families have been there for a very long time.  A few of the interiors looked like museums with paintings, sculptures, libraries, and chandeliers;  exposed beams and lavish draperies are ever present; and the resident can often be seen seated near a window looking at the computer or chatting with guests....  The evening lights flood across the city and the significant buildings are illuminated; amazing with the shadows and lights playing with each other.  During the day the city is a busy hive with all the economic activity buzzing around the canals.  Some of the buildings are wonderful works of art with statues and sculptures, marble and gilt; different design periods are represented across the city.

Bellissimo Toscano

Quick post for today.  Our friends from the UK arrived late the night of July 30 and we have been enjoying a wonderful visit with them in the warmth of Tuscany.  The sun has been out every day, the scenery is amazing, and the food simple and fresh.  The four girls have been enjoying the lovely pool here at our agriturismo while the parents sip wine and relax. We start and end off each day with a simple meal on the patio of fresh breads, local ham, cheeses, salads, balsamic vinager and extra virgin olive oil.... 

Sunday we walked around old Siena. Got caught up in a crowd of boys and men marching through the streets with drums and banners, wearing medieval costumes.  The crowd following them adorned with red and gold scarves.  Edward asked the concierge at a hotel what the celebration was and he had no idea!  Apparently this sort of thing happens often here!

Wandered around a corner and found this magnificent cathedral, simply outstanding. The cathedral was completed between 1215 and 1263 on the site of an earlier structure. The exterior and interior are constructed of white and greenish-black marble in alternating stripes, with addition of red marble on the façade. Black and white are the symbolic colors of Siena, linked to black and white horses of the legendary city's founders, Senius and Aschius.

Monday, August 1 we were off to Volterra, an ancient hill top town not far from where we are staying....  Volterra is know for it's Alabaster.  In the Etruscan period, alabaster was obtained from the surface quarries close to the city and used for producing funeral urns. These urns were then embellished with alabaster decorations, from the 7th/8th centuries B.C. and many remain on display in the local museum.  These days numerous shops in the town sell alabaster products of all shapes and sizes, the girls each picking up a polished egg.

Then a quick drive by San Gimigiano with it's medieval towers.

Heading back to our apartment, a wrong turn produced a drive by of Monteriggioni just a few minutes down the road from our lodgings... 

So the next day we returned to have a better look at this medieval walled town built between 1213 and 1216 by the Sienese in as a front line in their wars against Florence.

This evening (Aug 3) we have arrived in Venice, but we are now in a bit of a flurry as we have flights late tomorrow to Britain.....  will update more as time allows....

Aggiornamento da Siena

July 27th. 


 Our last full "sea day". Well, what to do on a sea day other than eat....  We lazed about for a bit, the ladies in our group saw a crew talent show which all found amusing while Edward managed to sneak into an invitation only tour of the bridge.  We were on our way to the talent show when the elevator door opened and Edward noticed the security and a group milling about; having passed this way earlier and not getting on to the previous tour, Edward jumped off the elevator to try again.  First you have to sign up and verify who you are, and then you are scanned before being allowed to a secure area. Then they take you into the "nerve centre".  Very impressive wide open area with bridge wings to assist when docking and manoeuvring in close quarters.  All controls are available from the wings and main control center; all computerized of course, lots of radar, radios, systems information centers etc.  The propulsion system consists of two electric propeller pods which rotate 360 degrees at the stern of the ship; there are also bow thrusters for when the ship needs them.  The pods pull the ship through the water, rather than push and produce an impressive amount of power, each consuming 12 megawatts when moving the ship at 20 knots.  There are 4 engines for the ship to produce all the electricity required by all systems; simply amazing, this small town of 4,800 crew and passengers over 1,000 feet long with 14 decks above the water line.  In the evening we attended the Equinox Show which is an impressive event along the lines of Cirque du Soleil with acrobats, jugglers, contortionists, dancers, "air performers", etc.  Amazing entertainment!

July 28th. 


Today we arrived in Salerno and promptly exited the ship to go to Pompeii.  More train antics as we found the platform at the Pompeii station had the elevator under repair and thus was not available; so we partially dismantled the chair to carry Laurel and chair down to the underground passage and up the other side, assisted at the end by helpful locals upon seeing our predicament.  not quite sure where pompeii was we hired a cab to take us there; down a road in one direction, then it seemed up a couple of blocks and back again in the other direction, hmmmm....  we walked back to the train station later and discovered it was "a couple of blocks over, and a couple of blocks down"; about a 7 minute walk....  oh well :-)

Pompeii is amazing and better than you can imagine.  What they have excavated to date is simply wonderful.  Full city blocks with row upon row of houses and shops, no roofing of course but you get a real sense of what it was like 2,000 years ago.  Some plaster and painting is still easily visible in some of the buildings; and of course the sad plaster casts of those who perished during the eruption.  There is an amphitheatre in the city in almost perfect condition and we learned while listening to a guide speak to another group that the project was sponsored by two wealthy men at the time. When you consider the work to build this considering the available technology at the time.....  If you ever have an opportunity to visit Pompeii it shouldn't be missed; most of us read or study about it in school but actually walking the streets really adds to the learning.

After Pompeii and more helpful people on the train we returned to the ship to relax and enjoy our last dinner.  The ladies went to a variety show when we were finished with dinner while Edward focussed on organizing and packing the bags.

working on the blog.....

July 29th. 


Sadly today was disembarkation day and we reluctantly left the ship; what an experience the whole cruise was!  We walked to near the train station and picked up our rental car.  The drive to Tuscany and our agritourismo accomodations was uneventful, except for an amazing lunch in Bagnoregio, a hilltop village; then getting lost thanks to Google maps; then the exciting thunder and lightning storm all around the car; then the highway blocked by a car crash and needing to reroute to the incomprehensible directions of the carabinieri (police); ah but we eventually arrived to the peaceful horse farm that will be our home for the next few days.  The circuitous route to Siena actually provided us with a terrific overview of the Tuscan countryside with all the rolling fields, groves of olive trees, vertical tall standing pines lining the driveways of fortified farmhouses; walled and hilltop medieval towns and the occasional castle here and there.  


Our accommodations are spacious, complete with baby swallows nesting above our patio and who knows what type of small birds nesting in bushes nearby with constant activity and chatter throughout the day.  Charlie, the farm dog, is a mix of something and is very lovable in contrast to the "Attenti al cane" (beware of dog) sign posted at the bottom of the driveway. Edward popped out to the supermercato to get some essentials and we enjoyed a dinner of fresh ravioli with ricotta and spinach, a simple salad, washed down with part of a bottle of 2 buck chuck from Sicily. G'nite!

July 30th. 


Today was a somewhat lazy Day.  Spent a couple of hours shopping at an immense grocery store to stock up as we are self-catered now.  I know we hear stories about food prices going up around the world but we bought an amazing array of goods for less than we can in Canada....  a block of Feta that might be $5 at home, $2.25 after conversion; same thing for the Swiss, Pecorino, Brie, and Asiago cheeses we also bought.  Bottles of full bodied wine $3.50, 6 pack of Moretti beer $4, fresh local source vegetables and fruit, inexpensive.  2 Kg loaf of crusty, chewy bread, 1 euro... Edward loves shopping in foreign cities but he actually had to start suggesting to Laurel that we "had enough"; a rare occasion indeed....

Our accommodations are part of a small family run operation and we are sharing the place with families from Holland, France, Britain, Ireland, Germany, as far as we know so far.

General observations on life in Europe: small cars, lots of bikes, flowers everywhere, pots on window sills and lining stairways; everyone loves a train; laundry drying outside; small fridges; not much value added foods - ie: prepared meals; everyone cooks fresh and, more often than not, from scratch; No aparent borders between countries; many people can speak at least two to three languages; solar panels on roofs in some communities; windmill electric power generation in others; water heated only as you need it.....  


Siena Tomorrow!