Roma!

Allora, where were we? Mid Friday afternoon we arrived in Rome. We immediately lined up to book our seat reservations back to Germany on the Tuesday, however after half an hour of waiting and over 100 ticket numbers in front of us we decided to come back in the evening when it was perhaps less busy. We took off for our accommodation down Via Cavour, which was described as only a 15 minute walk by the hotel. With heavy backpacks and assorted luggage and 37C, it did feel closer to half an hour. However, just as we were getting disheartened, what's that peeking down a street to our left? The colosseum! I had completely forgotten that we had booked a hotel close to the old city. The hotel itself was a little piece of bliss, we had forked out a little extra on this last stop and had our own ensuite, huge bed, tv, but most importantly: air conditioning. Oh man, I was in heaven. I finally got to rest somewhere in under 30 degrees. Paradise. They supplied breakfast for us every morning to our room, usually croissants, fruit, yoghurt, toast etc. The place gets 5 stars from me, minus one half-- the toilet was squeezed so close to the shower in the ensuite you had to sit diagonally! Mind you, the bidet had prime position... You'd think they could have designed that one slightly better! The man at the front desk was extremely helpful though, so extra points for that. He immediately gave us a map and pointed out all the things on a tourist's checklist, as well as bus information to the Vatican. He pointed out good places to eat, places to shop, and places that were too expensive and should be avoided. Exactly what you want on arriving in a new city.

After resting in the hotel and getting refreshed, we headed down to a lookout over some ruins at the end of our road. Completely oblivious, we were actually looking out over the Roman Forum, Rome's ancient civic centre. Getting hungry, off we trotted to find something for dinner. In Italy all the waiters stand outside their restaurant, and if they catch you even peeking a sideways glance at their menu, you're practically ushered in the door before you know what's happened. We held out until we found a small place that seemed in our budget and pretty cute. This place made us laugh the entire way through our meal. First we chose to sit inside, where we sat down at a table with what appeared to be rickety outdoor furniture. Our serviettes were a piece of paper towel. While we were waiting for our food, the couple outside got harassed by a piano accordion player and his accompanying tambourinist, the kind of stint where they play until you give them money. Now the girl of the couple made the mistake of pulling out a €100 note, claiming she had no change, but headed into the restaurant to see if they could change it. They couldn't, but offered to run to the bank to do it for her. The troupe saw the note and thought JACKPOT, and assaulted the whole restaurants ears for 5 or 6 songs with what was only mediocre playing and an even worse voice, while they waited for the change to arrive. I had to laugh at the poor couple, they couldn't enjoy their food or even hold a conversation with that awful music blaring right behind their heads! Very funny to watch inside though. Then, the power went out. The cook appears out from behind a curtain from the kitchen (yes, a curtain was all that separated us), runs off quickly and fixes it. "Bene, bene, all fine," the waiter assures us. Food was great anyway, and we head to the counter to pay. After paying at the cashier, The waiter turns to us, brazen as day and says, "Tip not included, ok?" and stands waiting expectantly with his hand outstretched. Now tipping is the norm, but at your discretion, and Harry and I had been pretty good about leaving a couple of euros if we particularly enjoyed a meal or the service was terrific. But never had we been asked outright for money by a waiter! Always a first. Turns out anyway that this place gave Harry an upset stomach, the poor fella spent all the next afternoon with his head in a toilet. But even Harry agrees he would never have traded that humorous experience at that quirky little place, for all the laughter it gave us.

Saturday morning we had planned to do the colosseum and the roman forum, which are included in one ticket over a 2 day pass. Some genius on TripAdvisor (seriously, that website is gold) tipped us off to get our tickets at the forum and do that first as the line is much shorter than at the colosseum. Sure enough, after a 10 minute wait we had our tickets and had arrived just in time for an English speaking tour. The forum was fascinating, even though it takes a fair bit of imagination to envisage these huge marble buildings from the pile of rubble that was left. The tour guide was great though, she took us through the history of the place from its time as a cemetery in the middle of a marsh to the civic centre and powerhouse of one of the most advanced civilisations in the world. We then spent a further two hours exploring the Palantine Hill (the centre most hill in Rome, recent excavations show people have been living there since 1000BC! Also the place where all the famous roman emperors built their palaces), however by 2pm it was so hot we were no longer taking anything in and it was time to find shade. Poor Harry was feeling crook by this stage too from our dinner last night, so we headed back to the hotel and there we stayed for the rest of the day. Sleeping, reading, watching the Olympics, it was nice to kick back a little (even if it was amongst Harry's impression of the exorcist).

Sunday he was feeling better and we got up early to hit the colosseum before the heat of the day. The best advice ever was getting those tickets at the roman forum the day before, it felt so good to waltz past lines of people ticket already in hand and head straight through (it was over an hour and half wait by that stage, in the full sun - boo yah!). Quick line up for the audio guide, and we were in. The colosseum is something else, not just for its sheer size (it held approximately as much as the MCG), but for its gory and bloody history. These people watched people and animals slaughter each other for fun! What surprised me most was its advanced techniques as a THEATRE; a giant canvas shade wing to shelter people from the sun, a complicated system of pulleys, elevators and switches that could create trapdoors, or allow gladiators and animals to appear in the centre of the stadium as if by magic. The audio guide was great and very informative, well worth forking out the extra money just to understand what you were looking at. Quick lunch back at the hotel (kebab pizza, amazing) and then were set out on foot to circle the city and see the typical tourist checklist; Piazza Novena, the Pantheon, the Spanish steps and the Trevi fountain. We got around them all in a couple of hours, as there wasn't much to do other than take a photo and keep moving. The Trevi fountain was packed, naturally, but we still managed to find a space to throw in a coin or two, to make a wish and guarantee our return to Rome. Footsore and sweating like mad, we trudged back late evening, pretty pleased with what we'd accomplished that day. Dinner and amazing gelato to follow (gelato was so good we went back every night after. I don't think I'll be able to eat ice cream in Australia again).

Monday was the day for the Pope! We hopped on a bus to St. Peters square, which is beautiful in itself. It is overshadowed by the magnificence that is St. Peters Basilica, which we immediately joined the line for. Thank god I had done some research beforehand, and knew that they wouldn't allow women to enter with bare knees or bare shoulders, regardless of the heat. I came prepared with a longer skirt and a scarf for my shoulders, but I saw many women get to the head of the line only to be turned away for being dressed inappropriately. Now Harry and I have seen a lot of famous churches, cathedrals and basilicas in our time, but this church is the seat of Catholicism for a reason. It is utterly gorgeous inside, decorated, frescoed and painted to within an inch of its life, and so full of art, you hardly know where to look. I saw the shrine which sits above where St. Peter himself is buried, and got to go down into the first level of the crypts. All I kept thinking was now I want to read Angels and Demons again! We decided against climbing the cupola, I really couldn't face another church climb after the Santa Maria de Fiore. Jumped in line for the Vatican Museum, as I really wanted to see the Sistine Chapel and Michaelangelo's famous frescoes. Here's what they don't tell you in the guidebooks: the museum is huge. And it's a one-way design. Also, the Vatican owns a LOT of art and artefacts. We walked over an hour just to get to the Sistine Chapel, being herded like sheep for kilometres of corridors, only to almost punch someone with people-hatred when the crowd would bottle neck at a narrow point and you were crammed together like sardines. People get so pushy, and were snapping photos in the middle of doorways and being overall irritating. Art overloaded, we finally reached the Sistine Chapel after over an hour. It was beautiful, everything you imagined... Minus the people. Still, we got a quick look at the chapel before hightailing it out of there (they just kept cramming and cramming more people in...), even got a couple of photos, even though you're not meant to, everybody else was so I couldn't resist! Headed for the exit, thinking this was it, but NO. They made us walk kilometres back again, and just when you would think you'd finally made it out, you would turn the corner and there would be another hundred meters of art to absorb. I'm going to say something here that might make me sound very uncultured, but art museums bore me. I appreciate art in the sense that it aesthetically pleases me, not just because it's by this-and-this famous artist, or it depicts this-and-this famous scene in history. After awhile, it gets to much to take it, and we just barrelled as fast as we could away from all the Madonna's with Christ and busts of famous people. Dinner and gelato (again!) and then it was time to pack the miscellaneous mish mash that were our belongings for our early train back to Germany.

After 12 hours+ under way, from Rome-Milan-Basel-Mannheim-Schlierbach on a train, we finally arrived back at my grandmothers house (mum, you can breathe a sigh of relief now). We slept in this morning, at a fabulous lunch and am now chilling on the balcony. If you're lucky, you may get one more blog out of me before we head back to Australia on the 18th of August. See you all soon!

Firenze

Hello! Again! Harry and I have had lovely, albeit sweaty time in the city of art. I will include a weather forecast below from our time in Florence so you get an idea. 37C at 65% humidity and we were walking around sightseeing. Madness! Harry can't understand my urge to plunge myself into cold water with this weather (my brain is trained to think "hot weather = jump in mums pool". It's confused), thus to satiate this unfulfilled desire I've been taking cold showers three times a day.
Now where did I leave off? Oh yes, about to have amazing pasta...

... And amazing it was. We found the place on trip advisor (the app has been a godsend) and it was also suggested to us by our hostel, so it seemed a go. Likewise, it was literally just around the corner. We didn't have a booking, but thankfully Italians eat at ridiculous hours so all the bookings were for 8:30, 9pm and we were given a table under the proviso we were finished in two hours. Easy! We started off with tomato bruschetta... Oh. My. God. The tomatoes here taste like they were sent from the gods, not the watery, too hard crap we get in Oz from Woolies. Out of this world. Nothing but the tomatoes, fresh basil and drizzled in olive oil and I practically asked to marry the bruschetta right there and then. Pretty sure we could have lived happily ever after. But then came dinner. I had gnocchi in a sweet roast peppers cream sauce, Harry had parpadelle with wild boar in a red wine sauce. Both were utterly divine, and I'm pretty sure it's the best gnocchi I've ever had, let alone the sauce that smothered it. Had to be mopped up with complimentary bread, naturally. Harry devoured his with as much gusto. Even though I thought I was full, the waiter suggested tiramisu for dessert and I said yes (I have a weakness for it, okay?). Good again, but cream to coffee ratio was all wrong. Need to try mums again when I get back (hint, hint). Yummy all round, and very well priced as well.

Strolled down to the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in the morning (you can literally walk from one side of Florence to the other in 40 minutes). Passed a ticket office on the way, straight away booked tickets for that afternoon for the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michaelangelo's David. Anyway, arrived at il Duomo, and the line was huge. And it was hot. So when a lady came round and offered us priority passes for €15, we jumped at it. Normal entry was €8 anyway, and this allowed us to jump to the head of this line for the dome and also for the line to get inside the cathedral, which was already snaking far too long in the sun. Saved us time too, as we were booked in for David at 3pm. Well worth it, walking passed all those hundreds of people and flashing my card at the guard and going straight through. Now to begin the 463 stairs to the top. I was prepared though: water bottle in one hand, fan in the other and legs well trained after London, Paris and Heidelberg. Was quite easy as you could only go as fast as the slowest climber anyway. Got mildly claustrophobic as you paused on a narrow winding staircase, but we were soon moving again. You got to walk right around the top on the inside of the cathedral right near the frescoes on the inside of the dome, great way to see the detail and huge amount of work that went in. The climb up between the walls to the top of the dome was insanely steep, more like a ladder in incline in spots. But well worth it. Arrived sweating and puffed out on the roof, to a great view over the red tiled roofs of Florence and the Tuscan hills beyond. The dome itself is an absolute feat of architecture, it literally is holding itself up in the air. Kudos to you, Brunelleschi! Back down again (that almost hurts your legs more), skipped the line again and entered the cathedral itself. The cathedral began construction in 1296 (I can't even comprehend how they would have tackled something this huge without modern day resources), designed by the prolific Arnolfo di Cambio, who was also supervising construction of Santa Croce and Piazza della Signora at the time (busy guy). After his death, the project was taken on by architect after architect, who made several modifications. Last but not least the famous dome was finished in 1436 after 16 years of construction. Inside, it is quite minimalist in comparison to the Notre Dame or Saint Paul's, with the exception of course of the frescoes on the dome, depicting the Last Judgement. Now that is some serious artwork. Tried to get a picture on the iPhone below so you get an idea.

Then off to a market that runs around the Medici Chapel, picked up something for the boys and a leather belt (small, nothing impressive and more out of necessity as the tie to my black shorts was left in Switzerland). On the way to our time slot at the Galleria dell'Accademia we stopped at a Gelato place suggested to us by the hostel. I think I've had one every day so far, and will continue to have one every day until I leave Italy. This stuff is gold. Anyway, this place was clearly a family run, homemade place, well worth the visit. I had a nice tangy lemon, while Harry, being brave, chose something called Sicilian Spirit. We ended up switching, Harry couldn't quite cope with the taste explosion that was his. It was like eating a mandarin that had been grown in Zeus' garden, picked by Aphrodite and then frozen between the legs of a virgin. To me, anyway. Harry said it tasted like the pips of a mandarin grown in Hades' garden). Sure there were some bitter bits that reminded you of accidentally biting into a mandarin pip, but it was all part of the experience. I thought it was amazing, anyway. Harry polished off my lemon. Onto the Accademia, shuffled in the entrance, through security, round the corner and then... Bam. David. Now I am no art connoisseur, sometimes I don't even understand it. But David is Michaelangelo's masterpiece, and this is obvious even to the uninitiated like me. He is a sight to behold, 17ft high and a wonderful specimen of a man. All carved out of marble to such incredible detail down to the veins standing out in his arm and hand. Great ass too. Very impressive and had to sit down just to fully soak him up for a couple of minutes. No photos allowed, but I did get one of the less-impressive copy that stands in Piazza della Signora, for those completely artless souls who have no idea of which statue I am talking about. The rest of the Accademia was a bit of a miss for us, all religious paintings (well termed on trip advisor as "a one-hit wonder with David"), but we both agreed it was still worth the entrance fees just to see David :) Back to the hostel to recover our feet and legs, found €4 pizzas for dinner (like large size each, bargain!), and attempted to sleep through 28C heat with only a fan...

Thursday we walked to the Piazza della Signora which is a square filled with beautiful sculptures and with quite the history. Back in the 15th century, artist and religious zealot Savonarola successfully kicked the Medici's out of power, and created a massive bonfire in the square to purify the city. He burned anything deemed immoral or erotic, including books, furniture, art and cosmetics. However this pissed off the Floretians, and his over-zealousness somehow or another pissed off the pope and he was banned from preaching. But good old Savonarola wouldn't listen and was eventually hung and burned at the stake in the same square he staged his purification. Italian irony at its best. Anyway, this great square also houses the Vecchio Palace (which looks like it was created out of Harry's dreams), but murphy's law would have it that it closes early on Thursday's, so we made plans for an early visit the next morning before our train to Rome. We moved on to the Ponte Vecchio, a very famous old bridge that used to have a fish and meat market on it. However, the offal and scraps used to fall into the river and travel downstream to Pisa where it fouled their water, so in the 1600s it was decreed only jewellery was allowed to be sold on the bridge. Italian logic at its best. Extremely expensive things only, but fun to look at! We then headed to the Boboli Gardens. However, we were there in the hottest part of the day, so this made for a tough trip. Find shade in one tree, sit and cool off. Find shade in another grotto, sit. The garden itself was very beautiful, if not dry and a little thirsty. The heat made walking around particularly hard, I'm sure it's better in its fully glory in spring when everything is green and the weather cooler.

That night we caught a bus up to Piazza Michaelangelo, which is high on a hill overlooking the city, to watch the sunset. This was incredible, the red sun sinking into the Tuscan hills and lighting up the Santa Maria del Fiore with incredible colour. And cost us only €2.40 in bus tickets!! Can't wait to show you photos. By the time we got back down the hill all the restaurants were closed, so it was yet another emergency trip to Maccas.

Up early to pack, and off the Vecchio Palace. Very cool, actually not a palace built privately, but originally built when the republic began for parliament-like gatherings after the Medici's were exiled. This didn't last long though, and the Medici's were back and took it over again. Great building, with absolutely every room frescoed. Spent most of your time with your neck craned backwards looking at the ceiling! Quick stop at a leather market mum vaguely mentioned from her memory of 30 years ago, then off to our train to Roma...

Canals and Bridges: Venice

Getting more creative with my titles. See what I did there? Hehehe. Ok, so we left my uncle's in plenty of time on Saturday morning, settled in for our train to Milan- which I initially read as three hours, however soon realised 10 minutes in it was actually a five hour train trip, plus another 3 to Venice! Lucky we like trains- in my mind, they still beat airports, customs and shuttle buses. We are so lucky we booked seat reservations, it was very full and there were so many people who sat in free seats only to find at the next stop that someone had booked that seat and be kicked out. It happened to one woman over 5 times, and after three hours there were already dozens of people having to stand-- it's a bit of hassle constantly booking these seats, but man am I glad we did! Our trainto Milan which means we missed our connection to Venice (and our booked seat reservations), however luckily there was another train half hour later, and plenty of free seats for the stretch :)

Arrived at Santa Lucia mid afternoon, turns our our hotel was only 500 meters down the road which was lovely as we didn't have to drag our stuff far in the heat (great suggestion again, Lola!).  Hotel was on a busy street, but somehow didn't bother us as it's not the sound of cars and traffic and construction as Paris was, more of people chatting, the clink of wine glasses and last night even the serenade of a piano organ. Only a fan to keep us cool (Europe is under prepared for summer), but the hotel was clean, and the Signora who owns it was funny, informative and took good care of us :) I walked in one afternoon waving a hand-held fan around my face, and she told me the way I was waving it indicated I was a woman looking for a good time! She then proceeded to show me different waves and actions with the fan that mean different things, who knew an inanimate object had a veritable a veritable dictionary of meaning! When I told her perhaps I WAS a woman looking for a good time, indicating at Harry she said "Si, Signorina, but maybe don't wave it like that in front of him!" Needless to say Harry is contemplating confiscating my fan.... 

We then wandered through Cannareggio, the neighbourhood where we stayed, inspecting the thousands of Venetian masks and Murano glass for sale. Ate an amazing gelato, and walked to the Rialto bridge, which gives the gorgeous view of the canals in the picture below. Stopped at a restaurant on the way back, Harry satiated his need for fish with a marinara, while I tried some fresh made ravioli, yum! Tiramisu for dessert (like yours better, mum). 

Slept in on Sunday morning. Fruit for breakfast, roadside market stalls selling mixed fruit salad for €2, cheap, yummy breakfast! We walked around the narrow winding streets until we arrived at San Marco square, just like the movies! The basilica is so beautiful from the outside, and all of this right on one of the most beautiful waterfronts I've ever seen. We wound our way back to our hotel to avoid the strong afternoon sun for a couple of hours, and then went in search of food. We found this cute little restaurant with a garden out the back, where we had amazing pizza. Their pizza is so much simpler over here, they would probably spit on the Country Special from Town & Country, confused by all the toppings! However very tasty tomato base, melted cheese to die for and fresh basil (plus toppings) make for a great pizza. They serve it with this chilli oil which I so delicious I was so sad at the thought of all the chillies we let go to waste from the veggie patch last year...

At this point I would like to be telling you about our grand plan for Monday, which was climbing St. Mark's basilica and taking the Vaporetto (water taxi) out to the islands. However, disaster struck. I woke up Monday with an intense sweating fever and chronic headache, nausea, sore muscles and extreme exhaustion. I tried to go out in the morning but couldn't cope, and came crawling back to the hotel. The lady at the front desk was extremely helpful, apparently I was suffering from extreme dehydration (I really didn't drink enough considering the heat and how much I sweat, silly me) and sent Harry out with directions to the nearest pharmacy to pick up Hydralite while I curled up under the blankets despite the soaring temperature. I slept on and off all day, even pain killers didn't help the headache, with noise and light making it infinitely worse. I thought I would sort myself out with a couple of doses of Hydralite, but apparently dehydration really stuffs up your body! Who'd have known? :p Tried to go out again for dinner and almost fainted in the street, couldn't even eat my tortellini carbonara (I could have cried, it was that delicious). Another night passed though and I seem to have woken up better, and am now drinking water by the gallon, mixed with Hydralite every couple of hours because it's hard not to sweat in this heat. I was so devastated we had missed riding in a gondola, but thank god I woke up perkier this morning and we were able to get one in before we caught the train to Florence. Cost a fortune, but obviously a must-do when in Venice. Train to Florence went smoothly, am now waiting for a restaurant renown for great pasta to open. Will tell you if it was any good in the next blog :)

Write us some emails, we want to hear from you!

Switzerland

This is going to be a relatively short blog, as our time in the wonderful country was way too short (and also this is the second time writing this, as I accidentally deleted my first draft...). So, arrived in Basel with minor delays, with my uncle Dirk ready and waiting for us. It was blazing hot there too, around 35 degrees... Mahh I am not coping well, the humidity feels like far north queensland and leaves you sticky only seconds after a shower. And the Europeans are not well equipped for heat, no houses have air con or even a fan... However, on the up side I am getting browner and browner! Boo yah! Spent the evening out on his terrace drinking and eating ice cream, enjoying the balmy weather in shorts and a singlet :)

First day we decided to play it easy after the rush that was Paris, slept in and had a leisurely breakfast. Drove into Rheinfelden (where my uncle lives, on the German/Swiss border) to organise our train to Venice (despite the Eurail pass we still got slugged €40 for the seat reservations!- Ouch!) we then had a walk around the beautiful old town and around the river. The Rhein is so blue it's almost a joke, I'm so used to the muddy browns of the Yarra, Murray and Barwon... But this is pure water from the Alps in a rocky bed, so pristine. Was so tempted to jump in, it doesn't feel right to be so hot and not go swimming... Spent the rest of the day lazing around the house, eating and nibbling and eating some more (Dirk says this whole overeating thing is a definite Braus trait, so I blame you, Mum!). Went for a post-dinner walk to burn off some excess calories, to a small castle down the road for Harry's pleasure (number 17 and counting, Haz). Had great fun playing with my little cousin Annika in the evening, so cute and adorable she mildly satiated my longing for my boys (born on exactly the same day! Miss you Cooper-bear and Mr. Hayden). Heat sapped it out of us so to bed at a decent hour, early start for Friday.

MOUNTAIN DAY! We were off to Mt. Titlis (tehehe) in Switzerland to see some proper mountains, 3000m up. The lift up was amazing, what a view. But at the top, on the glacier there was still snow-- bam, stunning sight! Harry was beside himself with excitement, these mountains are the real deal and make Hotham and Bulla look like hills. See pics below. A flurried snowball fight later (which I like to think I won) and some awkward walking on snow later (that shit is slippery! Unfortunately I think my uncle got video footage of my embarrassing gait) it was time to head back down those 3000m and head off to stop 2: Lucerne! It is known as the prettiest city in Switzerland, and certainly lives up to its reputation. Situated next to a big lake, it is full of cobbled streets, ancient architecture and art. Again, stinking hot so we did little other than slowly wander around (and eat döner, Nat and Dad) and soak up the sights. A must-visit, and definitely could see myself spending a couple of days there! Trundled home for more drinks on the terrace, watching an incoming storm and enjoying life in general. To bed early now, for an early train from Basel to Milan. Too short a time in this gorgeous, picturesque country, next time definitely putting aside a week or more to see this place properly.

Will hear from us soon,
Love Liss & Harry xox

Au revoir, Paris! Part 2

Three days in Paris and we were exhausted. It was decided, Monday was to be a relatively relaxing day-- after all, we were on holiday, and the weather was too good to spend it inside looking at more monuments! We slept in, then made our way to a local market where we put together a quintessentially French picnic: baguettes, croissants, cheese, sandwich meat, crackers, dips, cherries, tarts for dessert and a bottle of wine to top it all off! We then made our way to the park under the Eiffel Tower to soak up the glorious weather (it really was phenomenal) and eat our meal like all the other tourists there doing exactly the same thing. Délicieux! (except for the cheese we bought, that tasted like a metro station... I didn't think the French could stuff up cheese...). The Eiffel Tower itself, while prettiest by night, is still a sight to behold during the day from up close. Only when you get right underneath it do you realise how stupendously huge it is. Apparently when first built in 1889 for the World Fair, the Parisienne's absolutely hated it, calling it ugly and fearing it's collapse... And now look how much tourism it brings them, they love it! After our scrumptious lunch, we lay in the park for awhile before taking a cruisy walk back along the Seine. We then took our leftovers back to the hotel where we curled up, munching away and watching New Girl. Nice to rest our our poor broken feet for a day!

Tuesday dawned ridiculously hot and sunshiny yet again, we were off early to the Catacombes. They opened at 10, but after a quick TripAdvisor check, advice was to get there early as the lines got huge, so we aimed to get there at 9:30. Sure enough, the line stretched all the way around the block even half an hour before opening. The wait could often be over three hours (for an only 45 minute visit), and Harry and I had decided 1.5 hours waiting would be our cutoff. However, we had come all this way, and there was an Australian couple from Melbourne in front of us who helped us kill the time very quickly, and even though we waited for two hours (!!) we were at the front before we knew it. The Catacombes are a fascinating place. In the 1700s the city of Paris was using mass burial graves to bury those who could not afford a proper plot, but with poverty and disease rife, they soon became overcrowded with decomposing bodies. With Paris' main water source coming from wells, something had to be done to stop the infection and sickness the cemetery caused. In 1786 it was decided to move the bones from the cemetery to the former underground mines on the then-outskirts of the city, some 6 million skeletons. Upon entering Les Catacombes, you descend down far below the city, and after walking over 2km of twisting hallways, you come upon a sign that says "Halt! This is the Empire of the Dead". The bones and skulls are stacked up in walls, twisting pathways and in decorative columns. Seriously, wikipedia this place, it's crazy. Over with quite quickly though, and soon emerged from underground again into the blazing sun. Despite my abhorrence of the idea of eating Maccas while in a culinary capital, we were running behind to get to Versailles and Harry wanted to get a royal with cheese (a quarter pounder to you and me. I guess now is not the time to admit I've never seen Pulp Fiction...). Tastes better in Australia, however you can choose to have a Heineken instead of coke!

Off quickly to the train station to head to Versailles. When we got there, it was over 30 degrees, no shade, real frying weather. When we saw the huge line snaking around the square we were glad we had pre-purchased tickets! However, once we got to the front of the line, we were informed this was the line for people who already HAD tickets, it was just the bloody entry line! 40 minutes later, I was fried like a potato. Sunburn, ouch. Versailles itself is other-worldly, so opulent and decadent you can't even imagine people seriously living there. No wonder they chopped Marie Antoinette's head off. It is utterly massive too, we only saw the minutest bit and it still took almost three hours. Would definitely love to do this again in winter, it was so hot inside and crammed with so many people it was distracting. When we got out of the château, the gardens were closed... We still got to wander the main garden, but all the little individual gardens, and those of the Trianon's and Marie Antionette's palace were all shut. Supremely sad, this is definitely on our revisit list for next time. However, the parts we could go in (open to public) were also stunning, and we had a perfect evening and sunset there. Back to Paris where we went to Montmarte to find ourselves a restaurant to have a slap-bang up meal courtesy of my mother's generous euro donation. French onion soup to start, mussels for Harry. Some kind of amazing creamed chicken with fresh pasta for mains, steak for Haz, and crème brûlée all round for dessert! It came out flaming!! Fun. Thanks mum! We really ate only delicious food the whole time, I think crap food is a sin over there! Exhausted from the heat and the huge kilometres covered, we collapsed back at the hotel for our last night in Paris. Up bright and early on Wednesday for our train to Basel to my uncle's, with only a minor delay (who knew Basel in French was Bâle?!?). Have had a nice relaxing day today, but will tell you all about Switzerland in the next blog, funnily enough entitled "Switzerland".

Peace out xox

Bonjour from Paris! Part 1

Hello, hello from the city of lights and looooove! I have a fair bit to fill you in on, so bear with me if this goes for awhile. When did you hear from us last?... London?

So we had a nice couple of relaxing days with John in Bournemouth on the weekend before we flew out. Made it to Germany in one piece (after almost narrowly missing the plane at Heathrow, I was buying perfume), where my cousin Nina was ready and waiting for us at Stuttgart. With traffic it took us around 2 hours to get back to our home town of Ziegelhausen. Very glad to see my grandparents, it was so nice to be spoiled -- Harry and I got wurst salat for dinner (I don't expect you Aussies to understand a salad made of meat) followed by quark with boysenberries (again, this is all for the understanding of my family... Just realise that this is food in an orgasm for me!) So nice to be back again in the room we always stay in, feels so familiar, nothing has changed since I was a child! Check out the photo of our little village from our balcony below. Had a walk around Opa's extensive vegetable garden after dinner. It always amazes me that despite Harry knowing no German, and my grandfather no English, they still manage to talk vegetables. Maybe gardening is the universal language.... And of course, "Bier ist gut," sounds an awful lot like "Beer is good," anyway!

The next day, I had asked Opa if we could go for walk in the forest... I thought a casual little stroll, but I forgot the man never does anything by halves. For those that get the geography (ie, immediate family), we drove up to Peterstal, where we walked from the carpark to the big tower (which we climbed), back to Langekirschbaum, on to the Weiße Stein and all the way back to Oma and Opa's down via the Rosensteige. For those in English, that's a 4 and a half hour hike through the forest... With a stop for a beer of course! My legs were dead on return. Our room is on the 3rd floor too... Ouch. Complaining aside, the forest was gorgeous and so green, we really have nothing to compare it to. We have our own little piece of European greenery at the farm, but I can understand why my mother always says she misses those trees! Found some mushrooms on the way home too, Harry was more than willing to scramble up banks and steep inclines to pick the tiniest of mushrooms, so he's totally in with my grandpa ;)

Next day we went into Heidelberg to organise our train tickets to Paris. Even though our Eurail pass is a ticket essentially, in europe you also have to buy a seat reservation to guarantee yourself a spot. Naturally, we had left it too late, and the only train left on Friday to Paris was a crack of dawn train from Mannheim at 6:30am, meaning a very early start! After sorting all that (lesson learnt, book earlier), we then walked through the old city in Heidelberg, to a very old famous bridge... And then despite our sore legs, decided to walk the hour+ back home again! Seen it all before on our last trip, but was nice to get out of the house and enjoy some warm weather. Caught up with some family in the evening, and then off to bed at a decent hour for our early start to Paris!

Time: crack of dawn. Place: Schlierbach train station. Temperament: excited, and confused at trying to remember the last time I was up before 5am. Paris, on our way! (aside from a 45 minute wait at Mannheim). Train ride easy, 3 hours, and I slept most of it! Boo yah! Managed our way smoothly to our metro stop as indicated by the hotel, as the metro system is virtually identical to the tube in London. Easy, big maps with direction and all stops indicated at station, and stop indicators IN THE TRAIN. Melbourne tram system, get with it. However, we did get mildly lost on arrival in Wagram (17th arr., where we're staying) as the street map outside the station was orientated completely wrong... This had NOTHING to do with our map reading skills... Nothing. Anyway, found our hotel at last. Quiet street, beautiful room, clean and best of all our own ensuite. Some difficulty with the key to our room (in that our door card was broken, so we had the maids key... which she knocked on the door for every morning... And then we had to retrieve back everytime we wanted to get back in. Bit of a rigmarole, but fixed now). (Long sentences in brackets seem stupid). Okay, where were we? So, arrived at the hotel early, before check in time and even before lunch, so we ditched our bags, and went walking. Out hotel is located in the 17th arrondissement, right next to Montmarte. It didn't look far on the map. Wrong again. Anyway, lovely way to get closer acquainted with the city. We went through the Montmarte cemetery which was beautiful and austere and also very macabre all at the same time. Lots of feral cats too.... Then onto our point of destination: the Sacre Coeur! Gorgeous basilica high on a hill. Utterly stunning inside (no pictures allowed unfortunately guys, will have to see this one for yourselves). Made the decision to climb to the top... The third climb of over 200 steps that we had done in a week (and not the last. HOLIDAY OF STEPS. My ass better look good after this). But what a view! Check out the black and white photo below for a doesn't-do-it-justice picture. Back to the room and out for dinner, found a cute little restaurant on Boulevard des Batignolle. Wasn't feeling brave with my French and my ability stomach French food after an early day, and settled for a cheeseburger. But oh my god, imagine Hungry Jacks was taken over by a 5 star Michelin chef. Out of this world. They even asked me how well done I wanted my hamburger, like it was a steak... Yum. Harry had some kind of amazing peppered duck, being much more adventurous than I. Couldn't miss dessert, and what better than a crème brûlée? Crack. What a great sound. Washed down with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, and I was ready for bed.

Up and at 'em with a breakfast provided by the hotel (croissants, baguettes etc) and off the Arc de Triomphe, only a 40 minute walk from the hotel with gorgeous weather to boot. The Arc itself is absolutely massive, and what a sight to behold. A "triomphe" of architecture. But one does not go to the Arc de Triomphe to admire it from ground level. No, one climbs another 300 steps to get one of the best views of Paris. But totally worth it, Harry and I have agreed it is a top 10 thing to do in Paris. Pictures below of the Arc itself, the Champ Élysées and the Eiffel tower (however all the photos are out of order, so go fetch). On down the Champ Élysées itself, very fancy, dahhhling. And also set up for the Tour de France victory lap for the next day, glad we timed that well. By the time we hit the Tuileries, we were hot and bothered and escaped down to the Latin Quarter to sit in the Luxembourg gardens for a bit. Nice and cool and quiet, but ironically you can't sit on the majority of the grass. Quick look at the Pantheon on the way home. Footsore, day two down.

Ok. Sunday. Day of rest? No. Day of churches! First stop, Sainte Chapelle. This was a small chapel I hadn't really heard of (other than in a brochure titled "Paris in 7 Monuments" from our hotel), but was in the close vicinity of the Notre Dame and seemed to fit the theme of the day. And boy, was it worth it. It was built by Saint Louis in 1242-48, in the heart of the then-royal palace to house the relics of the Passion of the Christ. Just for facts and fun, the most famous of these relics was the Crown of Thorns, acquired for for an amount that cost more that the building of the chapel itself! But anyway, whoa. The downstairs entrance chapel is pretty impressive enough too, colourfully painted and sumptuous architecture. But then... You head up some small steps and... BAM. Holy Moley. 30 ft stained glass windows on all sides, flooding the chapel with light. I swear I heard choirs of Angels singing. Pictures don't do it justic, I'll put one in for kicks anyway. Amazing.

Next up, the Notre Dame. Paris' jewel of Gothic architecture, it took over 200 years to complete the face it has today. And what luck! While we were there the Sunday service was on, and we were serenaded by choirs and the ancient organ. Way to add atmosphere! Very grand and impressive on the inside, however we couldn't face more steps so we avoided climbing the tower. Even the lure of following the hunchbacks steps couldn't entice me. Hunger spurring us on, we walked to the Latin Quarter where we had amazing crêpes, and onto a market the gorgeous Lauren Chester suggested we visit on Rue de Mouffetard. However, being Sunday and quite late, a lot of the food stands were closed (dinner plans dashed!) but a great Parisienne vibe and I bought a cute dress (or two), so not all was lost!
After a bit of a relax at the hotel, we headed down to the river quite late, for a night time cruise down the Seine. NUMBER ONE THING TO DO IN PARIS!!! The city was even prettier by night (I guess they don't call it the city of lights for nothing) and the Eiffel tower was stunning from the river, all lit up. A must-do. Tour guide was funny and informative, and gave a lot of information on the impressive architecture around the river. Warm evening, a boat ride, beautiful city... Bliss.

And now, this has taken me over two hours to write, it is late, and I bid thee adieu. XoX, A&H.

London, baby!

Hello all!
Returned from three nights in London yesterday, and am here to update you on our escapades in the great city. We trained it up to London on midday Tuesday, and found our way to the outskirts in Hammersmith where our accommodation was. Clean, which is all you really want, but with funny quirks, like instead of having the toilet paper in the loo, they supplied rolls of it to you in your room... Which was crap because in the bleariness of the morning you would often stumble to the toilet only to find you were missing the essentials! But otherwise nice, close to the tube station and only a quick ride into the centre of London. By the time we settled in we had a quick dinner at a local Italian restaurant and back to the room.

Wednesday morning we went to Westminster Abbey, and did an audio tour. The abbey was founded in 960, and has been the coronation church of Britain since 1066, which is just mind boggling as parts of it are almost 1000 years old... It is stunningly glorious, and full of so much history...everyone is buried there, from Catherine and Mary, the battling Tudor sisters, to Charles Darwin the creator of evolutionary theory. A must do for fans of English history! The abbey is right near the iconic houses of parliament and Big Ben too, so got a couple of snapshots of that too below :) quick lunch and a bit of a sit down in St. James's park and then on the train to the Warner Brothers HARRY POTTER STUDIO TOUR! I thought I was going to piss myself in excitement. When you go in, the first room is a cinema where you sit down and watch a quick movie where Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint introduce the tour and tell you a little bit about production of the movies. At the end of the short movie, they say something like "follow us into the world of Harry Potter," and disappear through the doors of the great hall. Then the cinema wall LIFTS... And you're looking at the actual doors of the great hall, which they then open into the fully standing set. I almost cried, it was so dramatic and so damn cool! They invited us in, and you get to walk in the actual set as it was, tables all set, decorations... Oh god it was amazing, like being sucked into the world of HP. The rest of the tour was phenomenal, we got to see sets like the Gryffindor common room, the potions classroom, the Burrow, Diagon Alley... And much much more. Not only that but they had lots of props, costumes and set pieces, and showed you the making of it all-- it really makes you appreciate the amount of effort and detail that went into the making of these movies. But enough blabbering about Harry Potter, for those of you interested you can see all the video footage I took when I get back :) You should have seen the souvenir shop at the end of the tour though, you could tell there were people spending hundreds of dollars on robes and wands, honeydukes sweets, you name it, they bought it. I did purchase Hermione's time turner for myself, can't wait to display that on the mantelpiece when I get home! Moving on...

Thursday we met up with the esteemed J.C. Cornwall at Piccadilly Circus (London is like walking around a monopoly board), where we had a terrible lunch in a pub, but enjoyed talking shit and catching up. We then headed over to Madame Tussaud's, where I have several photos of Harry and Josh doing disturbing things to celebrities, and more fairly normal ones of me kissing everyone from Henry VIII to George Clooney (got that one for you, mum!). The place was incredibly crowded and there were several waxes you couldn't even get close too, however I did elbow my way through teenage girls to get photos of myself with Justin Bieber for you, Michaela!! That took a couple of hours, and then off to Covent Garden for a quick drink before Josh had to catch his train home. Harry and I weren't ready to end the evening yet, so we tubed over to Knightsbridge to visit the ever-famous Harrods. To be honest, it is the most upscale, posh place to shop, and entirely intimidating. The majority of women wandering around were in burqas, and I just know underneath all that those women are wearing expensive Chanel clothes, buying Gucci sunglasses and Prada handbags! It certainly was an experience to have though, just for the icon that is Harrods itself. Back to the room, dead tired so maccas for tea (which is not as good as in oz) and into bed.

Friday morning we only had a couple of hours to kill before our train back early afternoon, so we decided on the museum of natural history. We got there right on opening which was lucky, as it just got busier and busier as the hours wore on. Great collection though, their dinosaur exhibit was amazing, definitely worth a visit. The building itself is a piece of architecture to behold, not old on the scale of the abbey but certainly beautiful. We only had two hours there, which was enough after pushing through hordes of school groups, but you could definitely waste a whole day exploring all the exhibitions. Trained home from Waterloo (I was defeated you won the war... Sorry, had to) back to John's, and collapsed exhausted on the bed. But onward march, quick trip to the supermarket to pick stuff up for tea, eat, and on to a gig of John's down in Bournemouth with his old bandmate Stuart. Fabulous live! Had a couple of drinks with housemates Cat and Captain, lovely time all round. Collapsed into bed and spent all today doing nothing but sleeping and eating. Bliss. Winding down now, and looking forward to the next stage of our trip in continental Europe, which begins Tuesday. You may not hear from us for another week or more, off to Paris on Friday, there for 5 days. Will definitely endeavour to do a post at least half way through so as I don't forget it all! Please keep emailing us and letting us know what you're up to xoxox

Rachel's!

Hello all! I know it's been long and far between posts, but it's really only worthwhile posting something when we've actually been somewhere or done something. Ok, so where we left off...

Returned from Scotland on Monday afternoon. Woke up Tuesday morning to my BIRTHDAY... Thankyou all too for the Skype calls and messages, a special shout out to Michaela who even sent me flowers! My darling Harry surprised me with a bottle of Pimms and fresh fruit in the morning, and received lovely (!!!) cards from John and Harry both. Was taken out to lunch by John, Harry and Angela which was great, and received a gorgeous silver and peridot bracelet from my favourite dynamic duo. Then went shopping with Harry in Bournemouth. Visited the Pandora shop to pick out a birthday present (check instagram, alissa_anna) and then went to the Body Shop and drooled a little, you should see how cheap it is over here! Message me with requests. Was taken out for Chinese dinner too that night, which was dericious, and also great because we didn't have to cook/clean up on my special day!

Thursday went to Salisbury as John had a quick job to do, had a fab time just rambling through the countryside in the van-- England really does fulfil its cliché of tiny roads and hedgerows! Thursday afternoon we got to pick Percy up from school and have a mini party belatedly for his birthday, as he was away in France on the actual day. We packed up a picnic and headed down to the beach, where miracle of all
miracles the sun actually shone! We have been having awful weather for summer, not terribly cold at 18 or 19C, but persistent drizzle, rain and overcast skies. I JUST WANT SOME CONSISTENT SUNSHINE!!! Straight after Percy was dropped off at his mums we headed straight to Rachel's in Devizes (again, google maps it). Had some delicious dinner (our entire time with Rachel was marked by glorious food!) and off to bed. Woke bright and early Friday morning, first stop; Farleigh Hungerford castle. Old ruin, not much standing but in a very picturesque spot. By my record, this is castle number 14 on my lifetime tally, but I don't think I'll ever get sick of seeing Harry's smiley face :) Onto Glastonbury for lunch, site of the famous music festival, but also a weird little town full of hippie, pagan, alternative shops and people. Very quirky, very fun. Enjoyed my first experience in a vegan cafe and ate a delicious meal. Stomachs full and the crappy weather still not deterring us, we climbed Glastonbury Tor (or BIG ASS HILL in English), on top of which sits a very stoic and ancient tower. This has been a religious spot for over a 1000 years. At the top you can look over three counties. On a clear day I'm sure you can just see for miles and miles, however it was rather rainy that day, but made for amazing atmosphere. A must do if you are over here. On the way home we passed Westbury white horse. The white horses are a specialty of Wiltshire, giant equine pictures carved into the side of the chalky hills of the county. They look amazing from a distance, some hundreds of meters tall and wide, and very old. Drove to the top (looks a bit wonky up close), and experienced some very blustery weather from the top of that hill. Cold, wet and tired from our busy day we headed back to base to light the fire (not for cold, just for comfort), a glass of mead and curled up to watch Death at a Funeral. Bliss.

Saturday morning we went to the little town of Lacock (pronounced lay-cock, rather than la cock, you dirty bastards) where we wandered around a very old abbey, or what was left of it. It was sold by Henry VIII during the dissolution of the monasteries to one of his courtiers (Tudor fans put yo' hands up!), who proceeded to build quite a large house, but thankfully didn't tear down the majority of the abbey. Parts of the abbey were used in the filming of Harry Potter, and I almost pissed myself with excitement when I got to hug Snape's massive cauldron, actually an original from the abbey kitchens. We also got to wander around the house that the courtier built, very big but not very grand in parts, but still occupied by the same family from the 16th century up until January this year-- pretty cool. Lacock itself is a very medieval, untouched looking town, and was also used to film the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice. Double score!!
After Lacock we headed back to Rachel's to wait for her boyfriend Jack to pick us up. We had tickets to a music festival called Avebury Rocks, where Harry's other sister Esther lives and his nephew George was opening the show... Even though we were late and missed him playing-- Smith time strikes again! :P It was a little miserable to begin with, we had a sludgy field and pouring rain competing with the bands. We spent the first three hours huddled under an umbrella avoiding the rain. I was surprised there was still a turnout at all, this kind of weather in Australia would have most people hiding inside, but the English don't let rain deter them (they really can't, or they would do nothing all year!), slap on some gumboots, raincoats and an umbrella and you've got yourself a wild night out! The weather did clear up for the final and headlining act, The Levellers. Very big over here and the crowd went off. Hard not to get infected with a party crowd like this, and soon we were all dancing a jig in the mud too! They were very Celtic festival, would have fitted in a treat. Think Mumford & Sons cross Gaelic Storm for those in the know ;) Crowded back to Esther's for a cup of tea to warm up and dry off. Had the most amazing pork sausages from their own pigs. Amazing the difference from the crap you buy at the supermarket. We then went back to Jack's for the night.

Dawn breaks on Sunday for a walk in the Savernake Forest with Jack's dog Doodle (called so because he has one). A big BBQ was planned that afternoon, a bit of a family reunion. Harry's sister Esther and her three boys, Harry's nephews George, Arthur and Felix came... Little weird thinking of them as his nephews as they are only 5-10 years younger than us! John also came up with Percy, so we had the full lot. Bit of sunshine, and more food and drink. Good to catch up with everyone properly. Monday (today still by our time) we went to Longleat House, a manor house of EXTRAORDINARY proportions. When I say massive, I mean... Massive. And grand. And... Think Pemberley and Mr. Darcy. We got to walk through this amazing house, or rather part of it. The rooms you are allowed in I'm sure only scratch the surface, and the Marquess of Bath still lives there besides. HUGE. What on earth anyone needs that many rooms for, I'll never know, but sumptuously decorated and furnished. Just... Gobsmacking. One of my highlights!!! And that brings us to now. We are tucked up in bed frantically trying to finish this as we head to London tomorrow and I'm sure I will have forgotten everything if I wait til we get back on Friday. Wednesday we are booked in for the Harry Potter studio tour (I think I'm gonna wee) and Thursday we are catching up with the J.C. Cornwall for a sly trip to Madame Tussaud's. I'm going to have my photo taken with all the celebrities, woo! No other real plans, going to play it by ear and fill in some of the gaps we missed on our last trip to the great city. Suggestions welcome!

Scotland

Hello everyone! I want to apologise in advance for the lack of photos, I have no way of getting the photos off my SD card onto a computer to upload here! If you wait another two weeks when I hit Germany, I'm sure Gunther will have an SD card reader and a computer where I can upload all our UK photos for you then. Ok, so...SCOTLAND!

We arrived in Edinburgh late Wednesday morning, after a very quick flight (due to the fact that we both slept through it!). We found our hostel, the High Street Hostel, with ease. It was nice enough, we had a private room but still had to share the bathrooms, which wasn't bad as everything was very clean and tidy. Things did get a bit noisy in between though, the Euro Soccer cup was on and every evening we would hear the Italians or the Spanish going off in the common rooms. You should have heard the party on Sunday night! Anyway, when we arrived we weren't allowed to check in until 2pm, but we were allowed to dump our luggage and the guy behind the counter gave us a map of Edinburgh and suggested a free walking tour that started soon. We were a bit hesitant as we were buggered, but it turned out to be the best thing we could have done! It went for THREE hours, and our tour guide was an Irishman (go figure), but was a great way to orientate our way around the city. Our tour guide told us many colourful stories about the bloody and violent history of Edinburgh, and showed us the highlights and some things to do that we hadn't even considered. We saw the cafe where J.K. Rowling wrote the first three Harry Potter books, which looks over a graveyard where a Tom Riddle and several McGonagall's are buried. Ring a bell? The cafe also overlooks a beautiful school in an old medieval building that undoubtedly was her inspiration for Hogwarts. Major highlight for me! Edinburgh itself is a beautiful old city, full of old medieval stone buildings, cobblestoned streets and green parks, and all overlooked by Edinburgh Castle (a highlight for Harry!). In the evening we went out for dinner, and tried to settle down in a pub for some drinks. However, the soccer was on that night, blaring loudly on every television and being cheered in loudly by all, so we bailed early back to the hostel.

In the morning we got up and wandered the tourist shops up and down the Royal Mile (the main street in Old Edinburgh, hundreds of years old- called so because there is Holyrood Palace at one end, and Edinburgh Castle at the other). Full of tartan, kilts, bag pipes, whisky and Harris Tweed. Harry bought himself a fabulous old man tweed hat, keep an eye out for a photo on Facebook! We then went to the castle, which had a terrific view of the city, and was full of great history... That place has changed hands so many times, stolen back and forth from the English and the Scottish and the Jacobites for hundreds of years, it made your head hurt trying to keep the story straight. Not the most ancient castle we've ever visited, but still standing so great to walk around all the buildings. For lunch we visited the Jolly Judge pub (threw this in for you Meli, Harry loved the Belhaven Best too!) and then headed to the national museum. All museums and galleries in Scotland are free, which is nice. Had a lovely time there wandering around the exhibits, then walked back through the drizzle (which appears to be permanent in Scotland) and got some dinner and drinks. To bed fairly early as our highland tour started the next morning!

Got up bright and early on Friday morning and joined our tour at 8am. We had two lovely Scottish blokes running our tour, both cracking jokes as fast as a whip and telling historic stories along the way with plenty of drama and flair. First stop was Loch Lomomd (yes, Harry and I did sing the song, for all you Celtic Festival goers). Glen Coe, Ben Nevis (where I caught sight of the Hogwarts Express, Michaela! It's right near that scene where the train goes over the aquaduct!) and then up to the misty isle, the Isle of Skye... The most magnificent place, known as Jurassic Scotland, as the island is 218 millions years older than the rest of Scotland. Our first nights stay on the tour was in a tiny town called Kyleleakin on Skye at a B&B run by a lovely little Scottish lady, Mrs. McCrae. Up early for a full day driving around Skye, experiencing the Scottish highlands at their best. Not the tallest mountains I've ever seen, but some of the most beautiful. It was so remote (scenes from Skye have been used in Star Wars and Prometheus, Adam!), so rugged and so.... Old. It's barely changed in thousands of years, you could just imagine the Scottish clansmen running around the hills! Can't wait to show you all photos! Spent all day wandering the hills, and then headed off to Eilean Donan Castle. You'd all know pictures of it, one of the most photographed spots in Scotland (google it!). It belongs to the McCrae family, and they rebuilt the castle ruins early last century, and have made it liveable. Not medievally decorated considering how old the original castle was, but still very cool being able to walk through grand halls and banquets halls and bedrooms in a castle. Then onto our second night at Loch Ness! Aside from the tale of the monster, a picturesque place. Had the meal of the trip at a pub called Fiddlers in a little town called Drumnadrochit (say it with me now; drum-na-drock-it). In the morning we had a boat trip out on the loch monster hunting, but then were very quickly hustled back onto the bus. I was a bit disappointed as I wanted more time to look at the museum and walk around the loch, but I guess the one downside of a tour is a tight schedule! Onto Culloden, the last stand of the highlanders against the English, visited some ancient cairns older than Stonehenge and then headed back to Edinburgh. Back to the hostel for another night, then out for our last dinner-- sucked it up and tried Haggis! It was great! Because of food hygiene laws it's no longer able to be made from offal (thank god), but still cooked in the pigs stomach. It was actually delicious, all spicy and served with the traditional neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes!). Last wander around my beloved streets of Edinburgh in the morning and then back out to the airport. Tear. I think I left my heart behind in Scotland... Missing you all a lot, please email us with your latest news, we want to hear from you! Again, apologies for the lack of photos. Xoxox Liss and Harry

Wales

Hello All!
John had Percy for the weekend, and with an invite for a summer solstice party in hand, we all jumbled in the car and headed off to Wales! After a two hour drive we arrived at Meli & Steve's place just outside Newport, a supremely gorgeous house on even more beautiful gardens, very typical cottage-garden, a riot of plants and colour, textures and scents. Nat, you would have loved it! See photos below. When we arrived the weather was pretty ballsy (ironic for a summer solstice party), but our hosts had a marquee set up with plenty of alcohol and a whole lamb roasting on a spit- so we were set, regardless of the rain! About a dozen of us were there, all lovely people, but such a mish-mash of people! As John pointed out, we sounded like the start of a terrible joke "A Scotsman, a Welshman, an Englishman, an Australian and an Indian walked into a marquee..."

We had a fabulous night eating food, drinking, listening to music and meeting new people. Percy had the typical Enid Blyton escape-- he mushed around in gumboots all weekend, collected eggs, rode horses, played with dogs, climbed tree houses and ran around the garden -- oh, to be six again! After saying a sad goodbye to our two lovely and generous hosts, we followed Meli's directions to Raglan Castle, just on the off chance we would enjoy it... She obviously hasn't met Harry. It was actually one of the best castle ruins I've seen (and I've seen a LOT thanks to H), quite a bit still standing and plenty of atmosphere to ignite the imagination! Meli called it quite a "new" castle, but then she's an archaeologist so I suppose the medieval times are relatively new in her persepective! At one point as we were coming back up some stairs, John says "wouldn't it be great if when we got to the top it was the 15th century again?", and I could just see Harry's eyes go round as saucers at the thought...

We had a quick cream tea (scones and tea) before hitting the road again, dropped Percy off back at his mums and now the boys are watching the soccer (which seems to be all consuming over here right now-- some kind of tournament that I'm sure is occupying dad just as much in Australia!) Resting on the bed now recovering as I have actually been quite sick the last couple of days and these things leave me a bit exhausted. Not sure why your posts aren't working on the blog, just leave them under the Facebook link of send us an email! Hope you all are well, will probably post again on my birthday after we get back from Scotland!

Arrived!

After a long haul flight and limited sleep, we have arrived in the Queen's land! 14 hours to Abu Dhabi and another 7.5 to London, I was so goddamn ready to get off that plane. John and his smiley face was ready and waiting for us at the gate, and we were back in Bournemouth a couple of hours later. John's place is in Boscombe/Southbourne (google maps it), a rather large and very cool double story house he shares with four other people. All housemates seem lovely and very accommodating to two Australians taking over their house! Dinner, shower and now chilling on the couch watching some "very important" soccer game... Jet lag hasn't set in yet, the fact that's it's 9pm and still daylight is throwing me and I feel pretty perky. Will keep this updated once or twice a week (depending on how interesting our schedule), so keep checking in :)