Day 54- Hong Kong Day 2

We managed to have a great sleep and didn't wake-up much at all! It was about 8:30am we headed up to the executive lounge for breakfast- we paid to be upgraded which also includes late check-out, gym and swimming pool! It was very basic but enough for us! Once finished we headed out into the heat- a real hot one today! We went to the Harbour Shopping mall which is not far from our hotel. It's not like a Westfield, more like David Jones but more upmarket! We didn't buy anything here as it wast expensive enough for us!!!!!!!!!! (Louis Vuitton, Prada, Polo Ralph Lauren, Versace, Hugo Boss...etc. but is was nice and cool! We wanted to do a harbour cruise  and go up the peak to see the view of Hong Kong, so we checked out the prices and what was available but because it was such a polluted, foggy day, it wouldn't have been worth it for visibility. So instead we booked the 2 hour night cruise to see the Light Show. Mazz wasn't feeling so good (jet lag, heat, stomach cramps not a good mix) so walked along the harour to the "Avenue of Stars".  We wanted to discover why Hong Kong is called the Hollywood of the East.

 The Avenue of Stars features commemorative plaques and hand-prints of movie celebrities. The only 2 celebrities we had heard of are Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan (the boys favourite kung-fu actor). Although it seemed that there were 2 other up and coming celebrities that were quite popular! You can see in the photos! The boys have got a lot of attention since being here and Daniel certainly enjoys it! 

Mazz had a few hours rest once we got back to the hotel and felt a lot better after. Time to go and find something for us to eat that we all would like. Just down the road was a shopping mall and we found the Outback Steak House. It's meant to be Aussie but we thing it's an American restaurant  chain! The boys had their ribs and Mazz played it safe with BBQ chicken and veggies. We all enjoyed it! 

We then went back to he harbour for our 2 hour boat cruise. Hong Kong is very beautiful at night with all the high rises lit up. We watched the Light Show which was lovely! Again Daniel was quiet popular with the girls! He loves the paparazzi! The tour finished just after 8:30pm. A small walk back to the hotel and we were tired!

Day 53 Hong Kong

Our Room

Nathan Road Hong Kong

The plane flight from Paris to Hong Kong wasn't too bad although there was a fair bit of turbulence. Josh actually likes it. The boys have down really well with all the travelling we have done and have not once complained about the pace. They have both been great kids to travel with. After about 3 movies watched by Daniel and Mazz, it was time to tell the boys to get as much sleep as they could. We were arriving in HK in the morning and they wouldn't be able to sleep as they have to get back to Aussie time. I think DJ and Josh got a few hours sleep...better than none at all. The flight didn't seem so long which was good as on the way there it seemed to take forever. We arrived at HKG airport at 7am and needed to find out how we were going to get to our accommodation on Kowloon. We managed to find the right bus that dropped us off 10 meters from our hotel Holiday Inn Golden Mile. We knew we would be early to book-in and hoped we could store our luggage and go walking about, but they offered us a bigger room and upgraded us so we could go straight into our room- it cost us extra. We were happy we took it as we were all so tired and decided to have a 4 hour nap. Once awake we walked to the Night Market and the Ladies market. It is so humid here and the boys are not quiet use to the smells!!!!! They also get a little overwhelmed when every 10th person wants to stop you to sell a copy watch, glasses or a handbag! It's all part of the fun! We weren't sure what to eat as it was getting late, so the Golden Arches (McDonalds) saved us!

Day 52- Goodbye Europe

Woke up early this morning for the final leg of our European Holiday. After a quick breakfast of cornflakes, we finally threw away our plastic picnic bowls, spoons, plastic cups and all the other things that we had carried all around Europe "just in case" and set about making our final packing preparations. Our bags were already pretty much set, so there were only one or two tweaks to our luggage  before we were in the car and heading towards Charles De Gaulle airport to drop the car off.

The drop off point for the peugeot was in Terminal 3 somewhere.  We didn't have any idea where we were going, but we were given a set of GPS coordinates, so we plugged them into the GPS system and away we went. (We called our GPS "Leonie, because she had a woman's voice, was always telling us what to do, and was usually right!).  Once again, the GPS took care of us, delivering us to within 10m of the drop off point.
After 9033km we said a sad goodbye to Leonie and the Peugeot.  The GPS system was fantastic, we are not sure how we would have managed without it.  The Peugeot was also great -  comfortable, spacious and mechanically did not miss a beat. (not ready to trade in the Holden just yet though!).  The drop off process was simple.  We just signed some papers and that was it.  No one even looked at the car!

We caught the shuttle bus to terminal 2A, checked our luggage in and passed the three hours until take off by walking about, browsing in the shops and having lunch.  Finally our plane was ready for boarding, so we got aboard, found our seats, and settled down for the12 hr flight to Hong Kong.

Day 51 - Reims

Awoke early this morning.  No sleep in or casual breakfast this morning.  We finished packing, had a quick breakfast and loaded the car.  At 8:00am we said a sad goodbye to our Chalet in Grindelwald and headed off.  The roads were very quiet.  There were almost no trucks on the road, so the drive was very comfortable.  With a few stops along the way, we covered 700km until we arrived at our destination for the night in Reims.  Reims is only 160km from Paris (CDG) airport, so an easy drive tomorrow morning.

After checking into our room, we headed into the centre of Reims.  We headed towards the Reims cathedral.  Its a very old and spectacular building where all the kings of France used to be crowned.  Other than the cathedral, the centre of Reims was pretty quiet.  No shops were open and only some restaurants.  We found a pizza restaurant, had some pasta, and then headed back to our room for an early night.

Day 50 - First Cablecar

What a crazy night!  We were woken sometime in the middle of the night by a mighty clap of  thunder that semed to shake the house.  A thunderstorm had descended upon Grindelwald, and we spent the next couple of hours listening to the thunder and watching the lightning light up the sky.  It wasn't long before we had a little visitor ocme in to share our bed as well.  Daniel was a little scared by the storm.  For the next few hours we slept on and off, before finally waking up.  Josh however, slept like a log and was barely disturbed by the storm.  In the morning we looked outside and found that fresh snow had fallen on the top of the mountains, making them look even more beautiful.  The sun was out, the sky was blue and there was barely a cloud in the sky.

After another leasurely breakfast we headed off to the chair lift at the other end of the village for our mountain hike. We arrived at the chairlift and bought our tickets to "First"  The chairlift station of first is 2166m above sea level (just below the level of Mt Kosciuszko).  The chair lift takes 30 minutes to get there.  We boarded the chairlift and started on our way.  As we started to get higher, we noticed it was getting colder.  This could be a problem, as Paul, Josh and Daniel were all wearing shorts, and Mazz only had a light top.  Very soon we crossed the snow line, where the snow had fallen the previous night.  Soon after, we were in the clouds and couldn't see a thing.  By the time we reached the top we were already cold and wondering if a hike was going to be a good idea.  So we decided to head into the restaurant for a cup of hot chocolate and discuss our options.  We still had mixed feelings, so after our chocolate we headed outside for a couple of minutes to see just how cold it was. - Brrrrr, about 3 degrees, and too cold for a hike for underdressed tourists.

We headed back to the cable car and caught it to the station of Bort, above Grindelwald, below the snow line and out of the clouds.  After a short play on the playgound we decided to hire scooters (like bicycles without pedals) and scoot down the 5km trail to Grindelwald.  It was very cold, but a lot of fun, and no one fell off!
After another hot chocolate to warm up, we headed back to our chalet to dress in some warmer clothes.

Once we were dressed a little more appropriately, we headed back into town and hiked to the  Gletscherschlucht, or Glacier gorge.  This is a 1000m long trail along a gorge where the galacial melt water runs out.  It took us about 45 minutes to hike to the gorge, and we got there just before closing.  It was a good job that we had warmer clothes, because it was cold and wet, but very spectacular, with water cascading through the canyon, with 75m cliff faces on either side.  After leaving he george, we decided we had walked  enough for the day, so we caught the bus back into town.

Day 49 - Pfingstegg & Interlaken

Another sleep-in this morning! We decided to go for a hike today as we are in a town where there are hiking trails everywhere. After a short walk to the station to catch the gondola up to a place called First, we found out is was closed due to windy conditions. So no walking trail to see the beautiful flowers and Lake Bachalpsee today. Instead we decided to go to another area of Grindelwald to catch another gondola up another mountain. This place is called Pfingstegg.

We bought a one way ticket up the mountain, as it is quiet expensive -32franc (about $35). Once we got there we all went on the Rodelbahn. This is a summer tobogan run that goes for about 725m. It was heaps of fun and at times going aroung the bend Mazz gave herself a little scare in going too fast. It was so much fun, the boys had another 2 turns.

The only way we were going to get back to Grindelwald was to walk down. It was all down hill which was reasonable easy (bit tough on the knees)! The surrounding scenery was beautiful- like something from a postcard. There were small water falls coming off the hills, running into streams, cows with bells around their neck, flowers (no eidelweiss yet!) and we even saw a billy goat with a long beard.  Poor Mazz got too close to the electric fence when she was feeding the goat grass - Ouch.  Once back in town, we caught the train to Interlaken. This is a town between Lake Thun and Brienz (the actual name meaning between lakes) and is the economic and culture centre of the region. It is a lovely town but very expensive. We had a late lunch here and unfortunately it was the worst meal we have had- it was so bad we asked for the bill and left the food. A very expensive lunch- at least the coke was good! We wandered around a little bit longer and took the train back to Grindelwald!

Day 48 - Jungfraujoch

After another leisurely sleep in, followed by a relaxing breakfast, we decided we had better head out and explore Grindelwald and surrounds a little better.  The town itself is absolutely beautiful, situated at the bottom of the Eiger (Ogre) mountain, and surrounded by mountains and hills, and it's too beautiful to just stay inside our chalet.
We decided that today we would lash out and take a train to the the Jungfraujoch train station.  This is the highest railway station in Europe, (and maybe the world!) at 3454m (11,333ft) above sea level.  (In comparison, Mt Kosciziousko is 2229m!).  The train ticket was not cheap (over $150 per adult), but the views were absolutely fantastic.  The train is driven by a rack and pinion system as normal wheels would slip on the steep slope.  As we started off, there were meadows with flowers, lakes and cows with bells.

As we got higher, you could see glaciers and snow.  We changed trains at Kleine Scheidegg, and began the final ascent.  The views of the mountains, and the valley below were magnificent.  As we went higher, the train went into a tunnel, and finally came out on top of the mountain.  The total trip took about 1:30, and the temperature at the top of the mountain was about 3 degrees.

The first thing we did was to have a look at the "Ice Palace"-  this is a gallery with lots of ice statues in it.  Because of the temperature, the statues don't melt.  There were eagles, and penguins, seals and polar bears.  After this, we headed out to the observation platform.  Unfortunately there was cloud covering the mountain, so we could not see much.  We waited around for a while to see if the weather would clear, but unfortunately it didn't so we headed down.  It's interesting that Mazz and Josh both had headaches. - Not sure, but it might be due to the altitude.

After this we decide to head out to the snow play area. We stepped outside, and there was snow everywhere!  Mazz decided to try the zip line ride first.  Its just like a flying fox, but you have to sit in a harness.  The ride goes for about 100m, from the mountain, across a small valley and into the snow.  While we were waiting for her, Paul, Josh and Daniel headed towards the toboggan area, and spent some time sliding down on toboggans.  Fortunately they have an escalator to bring the toboggan and rider back up!  Mazz soon joined us, and we played about in the snow for a while, on toboggans, snow tubes and even a snow bike.  After about two hours we were exhausted, cold and very wet.

Everyone was starting to lose feeling in their hands and feet, so we decided it was time to head back down the mountain.  Before we left, we stopped by the souvenir shop and Josh bought a Swiss Army pocket knife. (Is there a better place to buy one!) We boarded the train, which thankfully was heated, and headed back down the mountain, once again enjoying the spectacular views of the Eiger (Ogre), Monch (Monk) and Jungfrau (Young lady) mountains!

Day 47 - Grindelwald

Our very first sleep-in day. We decided when we planned our trip that when we came to Switzerland, we would have a holiday away from our holiday! We have been on the go most of the time we have been away, so we are relaxing! We had a huge sleepin til 8:30am and by the time we got up, Paul had already been to the shops to get breakfast- bread rolls, cheese, salami and ham! It was a relaxing day in our chalet until we decided to go for a walk to town.

After getting some more money out we decided to havve a round of mini golf. The setting was amazing- green grass and alps everywhere you look (and some of them have snow on them still). It was a challenging course and of course Paul was being his usual competitive self. The winner was.............. Mazz by 6 strokes! Whoo hoo!!!!! And the winning prize for me to choose who cooks dinner! Paul did cook a lovely spaghetti bolognese and fresh salad. We finished the noght off with watching a movie from Paul's Ipod!

Day 46 - Florence to Grindelwald, Switzerland

After a little sleep in, we headed down to the cafe where we had to order our breakfast. The hotel we were staying in didnt provided breakfast in their facilities, instead we were given vouchers to go to the local cafe. We got to choose a hot drink, orange juice, pastry, fruit salad and a sandwich. We werent impressed the day before with the service nor the fruit salad or sandwiches. So instead we chose 2 pastries each. They were filled with custard and were some of the yummiest we have had all trip. We ate one and saved the others for our lunch for later, as we knew we had a long drive ahead of us. We paid for the hotel and took our luggage down into the lobby while we waited for our car to be delivered to us. During that time the owner of the hotel ran down to see us again as she wanted to give us a bottle of Italian wine as a present. Such a nice lady and a nice gesture. Now we have a grand total of 4 bottles to take home with us. Only one is coming home though (Gluwein!) and no we arent going to be drinking the others!
On our drive to Switzerland we passed many trucks. The autostrade was very busy, but we mangaged to get by most of them the further away we got from Florence. It wasnt a very exciting drive, although we did drive passed Milan, the home to famous fashion designers. We didnt have time to stop for any shopping, although it would have been good if we found some factory outlets. Continuing with our drive, the further we headed north west, the pretty the landscape became. The hills were getting bigger and then eventually became mountains with green rolling hills below. We then hit the Swiss border where we had to stop to buy a vignette for driving on their roads. It cost us 40E which will last for a whole year. Looks like we will have to come back!!!!! Its a pity they dont just have tourist ones! Switzerland is already costing us. The roads began to get windier and steeper and down to one lane and the views were getting more amazing! After nearly 8 hours driving we finally made it to our destination- Grindelwald. We werent too sure what it was going to be like-the accommoadation and the town.

The chalet we booked didnt have too many pictures for us to view online, so we werent sure what the standard would be. It was a typical looking Swiss chalet. a bit battered and old looking. We headed up the stairs and found the owner waiting for us inside.  WOW! The chalet is amazing! Low ceilings, wooden interior with a red modern trendy kitchen. We were very happy! It even has 2 bathrooms! The owner was so happy we could understand German as well, as she though her Emglish wasnt great. Once settled, we headed into the town, which was only a five minute walk! It is much bigger than we expected! We thought we would have to drive into Interlaken everyday for a shopping center, but Grindelwald has 2 and lots or hiking and souvenier shops. In winter time, this place becomes a busy ski area and summer a haven for hikers and thrill seekers (base jumpers- crazy people who jump off the side of a cliff and drop until they have to open their parachute). There are alot of other things to do here as well.

We needed to get some Swiss francs before finding somewhere for dinner. So we went to an atm and found this unusual atm where you can change Euro to francs by feeding money notes into it. So we did this as we knew we didnt need alot of Euro left in our pockets. Silly us though didnt realise that when we fed our money in we didnt change it to giving us notes, instead we got rolls of coins! Doh! So then we had the tedious task of feeding it back into the machine and being charged for doing so. Oh well one learns from their mistakes!
We had a lovely dinner! Paul and I had a cheese fondue together and the boys had burritos with salad and rosti (fried potato). It is very expensive here, so it looks like this will be our last restaraunt meal for a while and I will have to remember how to cook!

Day 45 - Sienna, San Gimignano and Pisa

Worlds Oldest Bank

Another early start this morning as we are going on another bus tour.  The tour is called "The best of Tuscany" and takes us around the Tuscan countryside.  We were at the bus station at 8:15.  This was only a 5 minute walk away from our B & B so it was not too bad.  First stop was Sienna, a classic medieval town.  The town is set on top of a hill (luckily we were able to catch 5 escalators up) and still has its medieval town wall.  There is almost no traffic in the town, and all the building are still original from approximately 700 years ago.  

Sienna is famous for the Piazza Del Campo, one of the most beautiful town squares in the world.  This is where they hold the horse race know as IIl Palio every year, where horses run around the square three times in a crazy and chaotic race with very few rules. Siena is also famous for having the worlds oldest working bank, with the banking system having started only a few miles away in Florence (Hence the Florin coin!). There is also a beautiful church adorned with masterpieces from Michelangelo and other renaissance artists.  We were also lucky in that there is a marble mosaic floor which has been covered to preserve it for many years, and it was uncovered two days ago.

After Sienna, we headed to a farm in the Tuscan countryside for Lunch.  The farm is organic and they grow chickens, cows, rabbits, pigs, as well as grapes, olive oil, wheat and honey. Nearly everything we had for lunch was grown on the farm, including home-made spagetti with meat sauce, salami, prosciutto, lettuce, tomatoes and 4 different kinds of wine!  Lunch was bellissimo, and the view of the Tuscan country side from the restaurant was spectacular.

After lunch we headed for a small town called San Gimignano.  This town is famous for having a series of towers, which were houses during the medieval times.  The towers had no front doors. - People would enter by a ladder to the first floor which would then be pulled up afterwards.  This was for security and to keep unwanted neighbours away.  There must have been a lot of unwanted neighbours because originally the town had over 70 tower-houses like this.  Today on 17 remain, but they are still specular amid the rest of the other buildings.

Finally we made our way to Pisa.  The leaning tower is still there and is still leaning.  The tower is now open to vistors to climb, but unfortunately was booked out until 1 hour after we were due to leave.  Never mind, next time.  We amused ourselves by taking silly photos of the boys "holding up" the tower, or "pushing" the tower over.  The tower leans because it has no proper foundation, and actually started leaning from the time the 3rd storey was built.  If you look closely, you can see that the upper stories are actually higher on one side that the other, where the original builders tried to "correct" the lean.  This give the tower a slightly curved appearance.  Soon after we were back on the bus for the drive back to Florence.  We were glad to be back on the bus after a long hot (38 degree) day. Ahhhhh, air-conditioning!

Day 44 - Florence

We got down to breakfast this morning and checked the weather report. 37 degrees in Rome.  Wow, looks like we are in for a touch of Australian summer.   After another luxurious breakfast (Josh has decided it is the best breakfast we have had), we headed back to our room and completed our packing.   We leave Rome with mixed feelings - We have enjoyed what we have done, and have enjoyed the food, but generally the city is run down.  There is litter everywhere, lots of paint and plaster peeling off the buildings and lots of weeds.  Its also a bit tiring to be constantly on the lookout for people who are trying to rip tourists off, from pick pockets, to pushy rose sellers/restauranters, to people who neglect to give the correct change.  We have probably been more stressed in Rome than anywere else on our holiday.  Anyway, onto Florence.
We left Rome and headed down the autostrada to Florence.  A short drive, only about three hours.  As we approched Florence the temperature was 41 degrees.  In Florence  there is a rule that vehicles cannot enter the city centre without a proper permit.  Not knowing where the city centre is, where our B&B is located or where we were going to leave the car, we were starting to feel the stress.  Hot and Bothered!  We finally found a parking garage not far from our B&B and left the car there.

After purchasing a map and a short walk, we arrived at our B&B.  We have a lovely room, right in the middle of the town. And what a welcome we received. A welcome drink, a plate of fruit and tea, coffee and croissants.  We sat back in our room for a while, enjoying a nice cool drink, and relaxing under the airconditioner.  After a while, the stress was washed away and we were ready to hit the town.

First of all we walked to the main town square where the Duomo (Cathedral) is located.  Then we headed down to Piazza Della  Signoria.  This is where Michelangelo's statue of David was originally located.  It's since been relocated to the Galleria 'dell Acadamia, however a life size replica has been installed in its place.  After admiring David, we headed into the Ufizzi Gallery.  This is one of the oldest and most famous art galleries in the world.  There were many sculptures and paintings  including works by Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael.

The most recognisable painting (by us anyway) was "The birth of Venus", by Botticelli.

Next we headed down to the river and crossed the Ponte Vecchio, a medieval stone bridge that crosses the Arno river.We then headed back to our room to freshen up before dinner.  Dinner was wood oven fired Pizza, in a little cafe just around the corner.  The Pizza was excellent, perhaps the best we have had on holiday.  Since it was still very warm, we decided to take a walk and have a gelati for desert.  The gelati was also excellent, thanks for the recommendation Alex (Alex, you are awesome!) It was interesting to see heaps of people out walking about at night, including familes and children. Unlike Rome, Florence is clean, friendly and welcoming.  Mazz says "Sorry Mum and Dad, we should have come to Florence 13 years ago!"

Day 43 - Naples and Pompeii

Well today we went on an adventure! Before we left Australia, Joshua asked us if we could also go to Pompeii on our holiday. We decided we couldnt do everything and didn't plan to go to Pompeii. We had seen all we wanted in Rome and we had a spare day. So we booked a tour to go to Naples and Pompeii.

So we got up early and made our way by bus into town. The bus was full with tourists from all different countries but the tour guide did speak mostly English! After a 3 hour drive (including a toilet and coffee stop- Italians love their coffee), we arrived in Naples. We passed the ancient fishing quarter of Santa Lucia and saw Castel dell'Ovo (a grand castle in the cove). We also drove through the historical centre to see Piazza del Plebiscito, the Royal Palace, the Opera House, Basilica of San Francesco and so many other places.

Once we left the city, we drove passed the fertile valley of Mount Vesuvius.  The volcano erupted in A.D. 79 blanketing the towns and 1000s of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum. Pompeii was buried 10 feet deep in volcanic ash. Mt. Vesuvius had erupted before and continued to erupt about once a century until about A.D. 1037, at which point the volcano grew quiet for about 600 years. During this time, the area grew, and when the volcano erupted in 1631, it killed about 4000 people. During the rebuilding efforts, the ancient ruins of Pompeii were discovered in 1748. Today's population around Mt. Vesuvius is about 3 million, which is potentially catastrophic in the area but people continue to live there cause the soil is so fertile.
We then stopped in the newer city of Pompeii for lunch. This was included in the tour. We had a 3 course typical Italian meal-pasta, meat and potatoes and fruit. The food was absolutely delicious.

Once our tummy's were full, we took the bus to the ruins of Pompeii. Pompeii is now a significant archeological site that provides an amazing glimpse into the daily life of an average Roman town over two thousand years ago. We also got to see 4 human bodies and a dog that had been mummified. It wasnt the lava that killed the people of Pompeii but the thick layer of ash and the gases. The ash cooled and solidified into stone, creating the kind of positions we saw the bodies in. It was all very fascinating!

We had a 3 hour bus trip back with only one stop and then we made our way back to our hotel, ready to wash ourselves from the layer of dust we had all over us from the Pompeii Ruins.