and Clare popped over to Switzerland to visit Jen one last time,

we rendez-voused in Paris.

As far as destinations on our trip went, we really enjoyed Paris. The city has heaps to offer in terms of galleries and landmarks, but the highlights were often just exploring the little nooks and crannies and various neighbourhoods and gardens on offer. Though it was rather tiring – things just looked so much closer together on the map!

Ev and Nat – this one’s for you – cool little bee sanctuary in the Luxembourg Gardens.




Some strange building with plants growing all over it…

Clare even managed to squeeze in some shopping, while Simon lived up to his reputation as ‘destructo’ in this shop…

We did the usual tourist things, museums, Eiffel Tower, etc, but we did it in style, never waiting in a single queue or paying full entry fees (in fact, getting free entry to most places!). The tourists who had to queue 4 hours for each sight must have loved us. There have to be some perks to the wheelchair.

And no trip to Paris would be complete without a night out at the Moulin Rouge, along with a double Absinth aperitif for Simon.

Our original plan was to stay just 4 nights, but we were enjoying ourselves so much, that when we realised it was Bastille day the day after we were due to leave, we chose to stay on two more nights to partake in the celebrations.

We were lucky enough to meet up with Clare’s school friend Prue and her friends Lara and Fleur for a picnic under the Eiffel Tower, to watch the 14th July fireworks.

What a perfect end to an amazing 3 months in Europe.

After 24 brief hours in London and 24 hours in Hong Kong, we’re almost home. We look forward to seeing all of you soon!

We hope you've enjoyed following our adventures almost as much as we've enjoyed living them!

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Clearly Provence was beautiful.

We spent most of our time touring around like a middle aged couple taking pictures of nice villages and pretty flowers. A quick photo diary should tell the story…

Perhaps we had seen too many Roman ruins by this stage;

Whilst not desecrating graves and taking photos of pretty things we (get ready for it) ate. Hence the title of this blog.

One evening the hosts of the guest house put on a superb four course meal for all of the guests. The best of local wine and produce was in abundant supply and it was a great chance to chat with fellow travellers as well as some of the locals.

After stuffing our bellies there was also time to laze by the pool for a day and burn them.

As for why French women don’t get fat;

Not too appetising.

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This is us outside Monte Carlo Casino. The whole place was a bit rich for us.

Q. Where do you park your boat when you’re out at sea?

A. Your boat.

And your helicopter?

And your car?

A. In the nearest disabled spot you can find.

Clare smuggling a cannonball?

We also drove through Portofino.

My advice – don’t bother.

Back in San Remo we headed out for dinner. To our surprise, dad was on the menu:

Upon deciding the gambling was too rich in Monaco, we headed out to the salubrious San Remo casino. We did quite well. Managed to win our money back in no time. (Clare quickly confiscated the necessary chips.) As dinner had now been free we decided to play on with our left over stack. After a little while we thought we’d cut and run. We asked the dealer to cash us in for a $50 euro chip please. He counted it up and did the noble thing and gave us $100.

Next stop Provence…

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Nevertheless, they got us all on the plane, and after we had sat there for an hour and twenty minutes, and listened to a few explanations of the delay being a problem with the airport (not the Spanish airline, of course), we were finally told our delay was caused by a sciopero. Ah Italia. We finally got clearance to take off and we were on our way to Spain.

It didn’t take us long to figure out that to be understood in Barcelona, we just had to speak Italian with a lisp. “Grathiath!” It is so fun to hear Spanish being spoken, always so animatedly. Although it is a little confusing when it’s your taxi driver speaking it as if you should be able to understand, and you have no idea where he’s taking you or what he’s talking about!

We spent our first day exploring the city on foot, checking out the amazing food on offer in the markets.

We headed down to the beach where it was blowing a bit of a gale, but that didn’t stop the tourists packing it out and soaking up the rays (topless!). They even had a wheelchair ramp all the way to the water, pretty cool.

After exploring some funky shops and me even splurging on a new handbag we felt we’d earned ourselves a decent feed and headed to an authentic looking tapas restaurant.

The tapas and sangria was, of course, fantastic.

The next day both of us were pretty exhausted from the first day’s walking and pushing so we joined a bus tour.

This made it possible for us to see some of Gaudi’s amazing architectural designs across the city, including the cathedral which is still being built.

When the bus dropped us off at the stop for Gaudi’s park, we were met with a 350m walk up a very steep hill to the entrance. So much for taking a bus to be lazy! Under doctor’s orders to take it easy, I am not much help to Simon with hills, so I left him to it and he impressively powered up the hill. The park was nice, though after the marathon climb to get there, the next 3 levels of hill climbing were met with groans.

(another bad photo by a fellow traveller)

We were pretty happy to go back down the hill and hop on another bus to continue our sightseeing.

On our last night we followed TJ’s advice and went to see a fountain. Not really knowing what to expect we were blown away by the grandeur and the detail that had gone into this area called Montjuic and its ‘magic fountain’. The fountain does a light show display to music in the evenings which is truly mesmerising! Thanks TJ!

Before heading off for the airport, we thought we’d try and visit a cathedral we’d read was really nice, but had tried on 2 occasions to visit unsuccessfully because of siesta closing time from 12.45 to 5! The main entrance had a big flight of stairs so we were let in a side entrance which they promptly locked behind us.

After wandering through the beautiful building and gardens and taking our photos, we were ready to leave… but no one was to be found to let us out! So we had to sit and wait for about 10 minutes to be let out of the place…

How bizarre being imprisoned in a house of God.

We headed back to Barcelona airport, where our flight was delayed by an hour (guess why...) because of its late arrival from Verona.

Back in Verona for one night only, we filled ourselves with an amazing meal, said goodbye to our lovely landlord, packed up the car, and set off on the long drive to Provence.

And for those belly fans out there, here’s how it’s looking at 6 months… definitely not just gelato!

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We were lucky enough to have our friends from Northside, Shane and Sara, come over for a visit from London.

Unlike our other London visitors, they brought great weather with them, perfect for taking in the sights, even the opera in the arena, and a trip to Lake Garda.

Of course no visit to Italy would be complete without trying out the local cuisine...

(Simon insists the wedges at McDonalds in Verona are the best in the world!)

We said goodbye to Shane and Sara, and goodbye to Verona, and are currently in Barcelona for 5 days. After that we'll be visiting France before heading home via London and HK again. More updates soon!

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Prague is both strange and interesting. Full of history and culture by day and full of party goers by night. A contradiction. A bit like me.

The photos here might best explain.

We stayed in a lovely 5 star hotel on this main square. I thought the pound symbol on the website was a euro symbol. Looked like a bargain.

Rich and I went down to the square for a beer. The clock here is amazing.

and the square by night is rather nice also,

We found a nice bar on the square and had some beers. We met the manager who was very helpful. He gave us a free drink and hooked us up - told us where the coolest night spot in town was.

We met a few people out on bucks nights.

Made it to Mecca and it truly was the coolest night spot in Prague.

Then it was time for Rich to Leave and for Daniel to arrive. Only nine hours late. He missed the first flight.

We wandered the town and found a place where we were able to get two whiskeys and two beers for under five bucks. The night before I had paid more for one beer. We had a rather placid night just sitting by the square sipping beer.

The next day we went on a mission to see everything possible in one day. We started with a tour, something about communism and the history of Prague. Not our first choice but the only easy one for a wheelchair. At first I felt like I had forgotten my textbook or that there might be a test at the end. We did however learn some interesting things about WW1 and WW2 as well as the Velvet Revolution.


(Go to hell.)

Next we made the huge uphill climb to the castle. It was very steep and very long, but very worth the effort.

(The view from the top.)

(Some strange performance art.)

The castle and thereabouts... We both went a little photo crazy.

Next a rest and then the evening.

We found a club. We made some friends. They started throwing up. We ditched them. We wandered the streets looking for something not seedy. We were offered various substances and invited into various venues. We politely declined these offers. Instead we found a seedy pokie place.

We lost our money. We went to sleep. And that was Prague. By night and by day.

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It was a stifling hot day, with no wind, and most of our day was spent trying to find cool places to escape the heat! Luckily Mantova is full of amazing palaces and churches, beautiful and cool!

A local fishing competition was happening on the lake.

The Mantovans must love their food. We had two delicious meals of local specialties, including green gnocchi, ravioli with pumpkin, clam soup... We also spent a few hours in the afternoon chilling at a trendy bar looking over a park, until we felt intimidated by the super cool crowd and had to leave.

Mantova and around Verona remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After spending a couple of hours there, we hopped back on the ferry. Mid way through the trip, the rain came... then the hail! Hail was pelting into the car ferry, as we helplessly tried to get sheltered (unsuccessfully). As we arrived at Menaggio where our cars were, we made a mad bolt through the hail to some shelter. This was the result...

Nevertheless, as much as we hate the weather they inevitably bring, we do love having visitors. This time it was Simon's old mate Daniel, and his girlfriend Robyn and friend Ange. And Sayos came along for the ride as well.

We had a really enjoyable few days in Lake Lugano, picnics, walks on the lake, bike riding for some, and of course the usual shenanigans.

Sayos was up to his usual tricks...

As was Simon...

(what to do when you're stuck in a traffic jam)

Scenery was picturesque as always...

And on the way home we had a day in Bergamo, enjoying some fine food and another amazing church.

Back in Verona for a week now, catching up on veg-out time. Ah, la dolce vita.

It's Raining It's Pouring remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sometimes I like the belly, sometimes it annoys me. It's started to get pretty hot here now, and I'm finding a day in the heat walking around really tires me out. We went to Bergamo the other day and I was unable to help Simon up this hill...

... ok it was steeper than it looks ... luckily this cute little old Italian man was walking down the hill, and when he saw us he turned around so he could help. He was panting at the top poor little thing, I thought he might keel over from a heart attack!

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Rich Say came to visit recently, and as always with The Say things were interesting. First off we were really hungry.

In fact Rich was soooo hungry he could eat a horse. (This joke was used all week)

Now if there are any horse lovers out their this may offend, but let me tell you... As fun as they are to ride, to pat, or of course, of course to bet on, their true potential will only be realised once butchered, stewed and served up on a plate. The Veronese figured this out a while ago and now Cavallo Stew is the local speciality.

It was in fact very tasty, though I did feel a little odd about it at first, the taste soon won me over. Rich didn't need any convincing.

Afterwards Rich was almost as full as Clare's 21 week belly.

We also went clubbing at Verona's famous club, Alter Ego. It's a superb club hanging from the hillside above the city, with spectacular views and tunes.

We made some friends.

And we appreciated the cultural differences.

Whilst Rich was in town we were also privileged enough to meet his friend - Papa.

Clare went to bed and Papa and Rich and I stayed up late, drinking at the pizza shop downstairs.

It was fun but I couldn't play the next day. Sore head.

As always Verona is about the food.

But we did also see some sites.

(how amazing does this look?)

(it's just a building)

Clare and Rich did anyway - I was stuck downstairs.

Brilliantly they have put in a lift for the tower that is only up five steps?!

Next stop Lake Lugano with Daniel and Robyn...

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We were staying in Gravedona, a nice small-ish town in the north of Lake Como, which doesn't attract quite as many tourists as the more southern towns. Our weekend was pretty wet... well, let's face it, the weather was shocking. But we still managed to get out and explore Lake Como and have heaps of fun and plenty of laughs.

The photos will do most of the talking...

Our days started with the best croissants we've ever tasted in a pasticceria in Gravedona...

Gravedona

Why is it that when you ask someone to take a photo for you, they always want to get the pavement, and forget the nice background? Here's a classic:

Tara mastered the self-take

The rain held off for long enough for us to get a boat to Bellagio, for some shopping, pizza, and exploring.

Tara snapped the 20 week belly pic below...

The chicks enjoying a little bit of sunshine back in Gravedona

ER's artiste shot

Plenty of good food was enjoyed by all, and wine by 3/4 of us.

The owner of our agriturismo took a liking to us, and sat with us for about half an hour making small talk. When my entire Italian vocab ran out and we tried to escape, he offered to show us the animals. We went around the back of the farmhouse and discovered them picking cherries, which they said were for us! Score!

We then discovered the extremely well endowed male sheep, that appeared to have just fathered a heap of little lambs. We couldn't stop laughing not only at his enormous balls, but also the bassitone baaas he kept letting out, that sounded so deep they could have been coming from a cow. Our host must have thought we were quite mad the way we laughed at this sheep. Classic. Here he is with two of his wives - he's the one on the right!

After a great weekend of tasty food, good friends, and many laughs, we just managed to get Em and Tara to the airport, and ourselves home to Verona before our beloved VW Trend overheated and died*.

Just as well we weren't planning on going anywhere for a while!

• The Trend only died temporarily - it's back from repairs now much to my disappointment, as I had to hand back the keys to the zippy brand new Polo loan car.

The man with 3 wives in Lago di Como remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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I'm housebound, as I'm waiting for a courier delivery (for the 2nd day), which incidentally just arrived as I typed this. Hurray! It is amazing how challenging it has been trying to receive this courier (which contains Simon's plane tickets to Prague where he's heading in a few weeks - they don't seem to understand e-tickets) - the language barrier meant we ended up having to ask our friend in the bar downstairs to call the company for us and try and set up the delivery. Just when I thought my Italian was improving, you have a phone conversation with a customer service agent who clearly does not make any effort to speak slowly or clearly or rephrase things for you, and you have to give up.

But it's actually given me an excuse to catch up on emails, blogs etc.

In the last week we visited a doctor in Bern, our good friends Jen, Patrick and Elia in Basel, and our London visitors Em and Tara in Lake Como. We are thriving with the enjoyment of having friends around us, although it has meant our Italian skills are diminishing rapidly.

Here are some pics from Switzerland...

First stop was Bern, which was really pretty.

... although some of the statues baffled us a little...

They have these two bears in a park at the entrance to the town, I think the bear is the city's mascot or something. Anyway they were so cute and cuddly (from a distance!) we enjoyed watching them for ages.

The 19 week scan went well, and our baby is growing strongly. Swiss medical technology is so advanced we were watching the ultrasound in 3D projected onto a screen on the wall in front of us about 2 metres wide. Hard to believe the baby is only 20cm big when you have seen it in those proportions! Here's a pic of the little fish...

We then had a few days in Basel enjoying Jen, Patrick, and Elia's company.

Basel is a beautiful place. We were amazed by the differences from Italy in organisation, cleanliness, maintenance of buildings, people actually obeying the road rules, street signs that actually took you where you wanted to go, public transport that was efficient and accessible...

One of the downfalls of Switzerland is things are fairly pricey. So we booked into one night in a nice hotel, then 2 nights in a private room of a brand new YMCA to save on cash. Unfortunately, the YMCA didn't have parking included, and typically, we managed to pick up our second parking ticket of the trip. Kind of defeated the purpose of saving money on accommodation. I was also not entirely happy with having to climb a ladder to get into bed - that's right - bunks. Suddenly my 5 month bump is making me less agile than usual and bunk beds are really not an option. Next time I think we'll fork out for the nice hotel.

Anyway after an enjoyable few days we headed back to Italy to pick up Emma and Tara, stopping at Interlaken to take in the amazing views.

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The shuttle arrives and the man takes one look at the wheelchair and keeps driving. Waiting waiting...

The shuttle comes back. People start getting on, so I (Clare) put the suitcase on and tell the man to put the ramp down for Simon. He says the ramp non funzione. As I get more and more concerned about missing the plane, explain to him in my broken Italian that is was working fine yesterday (didn't know how to say three days ago!), and it really is not that difficult. After much arguing and gesticulating on both parts, and my display of hand clapping, he starts up the bus and as far as we could tell, was about to drive off with the suitcase. So I drag the suitcase off the bus again, only to be told that was not necessary - he was only moving the bus so he could get the 'broken' ramp out - which of course was not broken at all.

With that little episode out of the way, we manage to board the plane quite painlessly and get to Rome safely.

Normally, being the last off the plane (as you wait for the wheelchair to arrive), you get to the luggage carousel just in time to get your bag off before the next plane load of luggage arrives. Not so in Rome. We were of course last off the plane, but when we get to the luggage carousel, it was empty, and surrounded by a crowd of increasingly agitated Romans who we've noticed are not known for their patience. After about five minutes one person decided to go and ask at the lost baggage counter what was going on, we were rather amused to see the entire congregation of passengers head over to the counter together, in an effort to speed up proceedings. Surely an airport can't lose a whole planeload of baggage??

Simon and I sat contentedly people watching - we had seen the bags being unloaded from the plane while we waited for the wheelchair so we knew they were not far away - probably the staff were just taking a coffee break. An hour later, the bags came onto the carousel.

With that behind us, I realise I don't know the details of the hotel I booked for the night in Orvieto to help break up the journey home to Verona. We find an internet kiosk, put some coins in the slot, only to find that once again - non funzione.

Giving up, hoping we might recognise the name of the hotel, we headed off to find the shuttle to the long term carpark where we had left our old, dilapidated VW Passat "Trend", which incidentally seems to have a new creak, squeak, or rattle each time we drive it.

We wandered for about 15 minutes and asked 2 or 3 people directions and then finally saw the shuttle bus stop (we must have walked past 2 on the way). Safely back at the car, we load in the suitcase and get ready to begin our long drive, only to find that we had left the lights on for 4 days. Not surprisingly, the battery was flat. Our car non funzione.

(The reason the lights were left on is that the car was built long before such technological feats as that annoying bing bing bing sound when you open the door, or a light on the dashboard showing the lights are on. It seems it was also built before tape players or CD players, which only leaves Italian radio which consists of a plethora of stations that all play 55 minutes of rapid Italian jabbering each hour, and maybe one tacky love song.)

Could today get any worse?

By this time it is about 7pm (flight having landed at 5) and we are hoping to get to Tuscany for the night.

For once, we are pleasantly surprised. Things start to fall into place. The carpark attendant tells me they can provide a free mechanic service, to come and jump start the car. He turns up within 15 minutes. The car starts, we drive to Orvieto, wander through the beautiful town, find an amazing chocolate shop with internet access to find the hotel details, and at last settle in for the night in our cheap and cosy roadside, freight-train-side, stinking hot hotel room with air conditioning that non funzione.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

The next day was much more pleasant as we drove home to Verona through Umbria, stopping at some beautiful towns and a winery on the way.

After lunch at Lake Trasimeno

Typical little alley in Spello

Views from Montefalcone - the balcony of Umbria

After a midnight dinner in Bologna and such a long day of driving, we were happy to be home in Verona for a few days of chilling out before the next adventure.

The day that non funzione remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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No:
Apart from the pronunciation no explanation needed.

Un altro:
Another one or the same again as in, please pour me another.

Non funzione:
Does not work. Commonly associated in Italy most things; lift, bus, key, toilet, hotel room cards, television in hotels, internet, printers, disabled ramps, disabled stair climbers etc.

Sciopero:
Strike. What you can expect when catching any form of public transport.

Incinta:
Pregnant. What Clare is.

Disabili:
Disabled. What I am.

Chiuso:
Closed. What everything is that you want to be Aperto.

Aperto:
Open. Not used very often.

Maniaco:
Maniac. You should yell this at most drivers on the roads.

Idioto:
Meanwhile every one else is yelling this at you.

Tedesco:
German. What everyone thinks we are in our car.

Pieno:
Full. What you will be after every meal.

Vino:
Wine. The A.

Birra:
Beer. The B.

Pizza:
Pizza. The C.

Zona limitato:
Limited traffic areas where we are allowed due to the wheelchair. Quite a perk in Italy.

If ever in doubt just move your hands a lot and speaka like-a you woulda for saying mamma mia. Also adding a’s, o’s or i’s to the end of each word will often work just fine. Clare’s Italian seems to improve dramatically when she is angry and mine seems to improve dramatically when I have had a few drinks.

We are both enjoying learning quite a lot and it is coming along. I have post it notes all over the house and Clare seems to remember everything she learnt at school.

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Mum and baby both doing well. Had two JW's knock on the door this morning and Clare was asked for the first time if she was pregnant. I thought that was a rather bold question. Clare was annoyed not to have had the presence of mind to look offended and reply, no.

We head off to Switzerland in a few days to visit Jen, Patrick and Elia and to get the 19 week scan.

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Clare’s top 5:

1. Tasty food in San Vito lo Capo.

2. A chance to catch some rays while Simon fished.

3. Seeing an authentic ‘passegiata’ as families packed the streets at 10.30pm, then sat down to dinner in the restaurants with their impeccably behaved toddlers.

4. Improving my Italian with the friendly hotel staff who spoke no English.

5. Pastries and cappuccinos every morning.

Simon’s top 5:

1. The food.

2. Not much pushing and not many cobbles in San Vito.

3. A chance to do some fishing in Italy.

Although this was the catch of the day... no it's not bait

4. Lovely views.

5. People watching. At the beach and seeing old people sitting in front of their houses on the street.

There were also some low lights;

Our bottom 5:

1. Pushing up ridiculous hills in Taormina.

2. Driving through laneways so narrow we had to put the wing mirrors in and were left with about a cm on each side of the car. Meanwhile the car behind was amazingly patient for an Italian, as Clare tried not to look at the walls on either side which were covered with evidence of previous cars’ scraping.

3. Arguing with rude bus driver at the airport who lied about the ramp not working, then after 5 minutes of Clare’s Italian ranting and gesticulating he gave in and spent a whole two minutes turning keys and pressing buttons. The poor soul will never get those two minutes of his life back.

4. The one time we ate non Italian food at a German restaurant and it sucked.

5. Not being organised enough to go up Mt Etna.

Ciao...

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Many people say that Verona is just a mini Rome. To our way of thinking Rome was just a big Verona.

We spent a lot of time walking from place to place which took its toll,

as we tried to cram all of Rome into three days. We did the Lonely Planet ‘Rome in two days’ over three days and still had to skip some things.

The food was, as always in Italy, exceptional and we enjoyed sampling some of the local delicacies;

I could have smoked fragola tobacco all night, though Clare with her chest infection and the bump were good sports to go along in the first place.

The scale and abundance of Roman ruins and landmarks is mind boggling. Sitting under the domed roof of the Pantheon you can’t help but echo the question, ‘how the hell did they build this?’

‘How the hell did they get these columns up?’

I managed to get over the rubble and into the Forum. Once upon a time the centre of the world a vast expanse of temples and monuments, a shopping complex etc, now slowly decaying.

The Colosseum was colossal.

The Basilica was big.

And you could spend a day staring at the paintings in the Sistine Chapel. (no photos as you are not allowed, though that didn’t stop most people.)

We had the car in Rome, though after seeing the way they drive and park we thought it best to leave the car at the hotel and let the experts do the driving. Try getting out of this parking spot;

One last gem of a find is seen in the photo below. The caption reads, ‘Direzione Nazionale Antimafia’.

Next stop Sicily.

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Clare here ... Just a quick one to say we are back on the mainland having survived 3 days of my driving in Sicily (more on that soon), and plenty of other interesting experiences. In Orvieto, Umbria for a night on our way back to Verona.

Have had an amazing week seeing Rome, Sicily, and soon Tuscany (whirlwind tour), will have some good pics posted on the weekend.

Also for those who are interested, my belly has POPPED, I have even noticed my belly button starting to make the conversion from deep innie to outie. Scary stuff. Photo on the way.

Will have to run now (in an internet cafe down stairs and not sure what S is up to upstairs... last I saw he was enjoying a whiskey and a cigarette. We are in this amazing chocolate shop in Orvieto and I had the best hot chocolate so far in Italy.)

Hope everyone doing well.

C
xx

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and drinking

and being silly.

This statue in Verona is of a famous geographer holding a globe (geography ball as Simon called it) and supposedly the first honest person to walk under the statue will have the globe fall on their head. Simon thought it best to carry an umbrella for safety.

We headed off for a day and a night in Venice with Michael and Bronwyn and were lucky to have some amazing sunny weather after half a week of rain.

We had plenty of warnings “Venice will be a nightmare for a wheelchair”, “don’t even bother going”… I think because of this perception the tourist info centre is really geared up for it, we picked up a map highlighting in green all the areas that are supposedly accessible (which is about ½ the island).

Unfortunately all the bridges that have lifts require keys which were either nowhere to be found, or didn’t work at all, but it didn’t really matter because we could see so much from the boats and the area around St Mark’s square which kept us busy enough!

What is the deal with people wanting pigeons all over them? They were actually putting bird seed in their hair so the birds would pick it out. Ewww. Helen you’d love it.

We also had more amazing meals, including lunch at this restaurant where the waiters filleted the fish in front of us, pretty bizarre but the food was delicious.

OK so here is the 17 week belly shot. I think this shot makes it look smaller than it really is, because I’m now at the point of no return on buttoning up my jeans. Have also started to feel some movement going on in there, and of course our afternoon in Venice I must have managed to visit (and pay for) every public toilet there was, with my sudden urgency to go every hour or so! Simon’s sympathetic belly is coming along nicely also.

We have had a request for more photos of us (and I think less of buildings) - I wholeheartedly agree having seen many photos of buildings and found them less than exciting. So this was our first attempt...

Hopefully we can improve on the excitement level of the photos... If I can just stop Simon taking the camera to try and take photos of buildings every few minutes...

We're off tomorrow for a week in Rome and Sicily. (A holiday from our stressful lives here in Verona!) Will have an update after that!

A big hello to all our fans,

C

Visitors in Verona and Venice remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Because of the rain we limited our travel the first day, just visiting Garda and Bardolino. We pinched a couple of bread rolls from our lunch restaurant and went to feed these ducklings.

Simon attracted a crowd of tourists who thought he was part of the show, with everyone taking loads of photos. Very cute ducklings though.

The lake is truly beautiful and looks more like the sea than a lake, it’s so massive.

Simon's been having fun in photoshop with this one...

After speaking to our host at our lovely little hotel we headed off to a local bar for pizza and to watch AC Milan vs Manchester United in the soccer. The bar was absolutely packed and everyone in good spirits especially when Milan won 3-0.

The following day we had intended to get a ferry across the lake to Salo which is supposed to be lovely. But of course our plans had not factored in a “sciopero” (ferry strike), so instead we drove north around the lake, stopping at Monte Baldo to ride up a 1760m mountain on a cable car. Views were amazing of course, although I stupidly forgot to take photos of the lake at the top. Don’t ask… We did get a few good shots from the cable car though.

We then spent some time at a lovely town called Riva, the northern most point of Lake Garda, full of interesting little alleys and old buildings.

Then we headed to Torri del Benaco for a fabulous dinner (although a little confusing with a menu in German!)

Our last day we had planned to try to get to Salo again, but when the rain was pouring again we gave it a miss and came home to Verona, hopefully we’ll get a chance to go there again.

Clare

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What an amazing place. You can’t go two steps anywhere in the town centre without stumbling over something beautiful or ancient or both. The entire town centre is alive with history.

The town is surrounded by a river acting as a kind of moat and fortified walls remain in many places. Some partially rebuilt after earthquakes, wars and age took their toll.

The pavement is even interesting (maybe just to me)? It is either cobbles or pink and white marble – often with prehistoric fossils visible in its surface. The marble is lovely to roll on and despite all the warnings the cobbles have been mostly a breeze in the chair as they are so close together. The pebble cobbles suck but thankfully they are very rare.

The melding of the old with the new is seen all around. Above you can see a block from a some old Roman building blocked into the corner of a shop front, as well as an old Roman archway that bridges one of the city streets. Every now and then you can see four metres below the current level of the city to old Roman baths etc.

In the Piazza Erbe you can see in one view over 2000 years of history from a Roman fountain to a 12th C clock tower to 14th C buildings, Gothic and everything in between with a brand new development currently underway.

There are churches everywhere. One per family I think. The one above is St Anastasia. Below is a blurry shot of its clock tower;

This kind of detail is on every square inch of Duomo Church (sorry – blurry again);

Inside the churches (more blurry images – I’m letting Clare take the photos from now on);

It seems that ancient beauty is such a common commodity over here that it doesn’t get quite the same respect that it might if it were found in Australia (where a two hundred year old building is worthy of a plaque and a viewing platform). Below is a photo of the ‘ancient’ Teatro Romano;

I think I’ve talked enough now so here are the rest of the images;

(gardens)

(Castelveccio – 14th Century castle)

Apart from all that we are both well. Both our bumps are still getting bigger. We are looking forward to some new English speaking company and are planning a few upcoming trips. We both have Italian mobiles now so call us any time, it’s your dime and we’d love to hear from you.

Simon

Verona. A Beautiful City. remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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After driving around Milan for almost an hour and getting nowhere, we headed off on a motorway following a sign to Venice and hoping for the best. At the first petrol station, Clare managed to ascertain from the guys there that we were indeed heading towards Verona.

So I’m trying to learn how to drive with weird hand controls in a crap box that doesn’t like to accelerate very quickly, whilst facing 3 or 4 lanes of traffic (depending on the mood of the drivers) determined to run me off the road. Apparently the speed limits are a rough guide of what a grandma might drive. Indicators seem to be implied by the fact that you are about to be squished into the side barrier by a truck. Compound all this by the fact that our hire car has German numberplates. Does anyone like the Germans? Even off the motorways it seems that driving in Italy is an extreme sport. Try driving round a blind bend at 60km only to have some fwit almost take you head on because he attempted the same corner from the other direction at 120km only to find that he wasn’t able to round it at that speed so he just swung wide into the oncoming lane. This happens daily. We tend to limit our driving to a bare minimum these days.

Still, miraculously we made it to Verona safely and found our apartment really easily.

Enjoying a 'home cooked meal' in our lovely little apartment;

Clare was very excited by the amount of pre-prepared Italian meals in the supermercato - we spent about 3 hours in there buying some amazing ingredients including this lasagne which was better than most we've had in Sydney restaurants, and a 2L bottle of Merlot which cost less than $3! (and actually tasted pretty good!)

Verona is full of beautiful scenery - but we have not gotten around to finding out what it all is yet. This is some old church at night;

And now for a few randoms of the Arena.

Finding internet over here has been fun...

That little bush scene above was some old Roman Ruin as far as we could tell. Lost in the middle of some hospital grounds with no plaque or sign. It seems Roman ruins grow on trees over here.

I have managed to find time to join a local protest. Not sure what I was protesting. Probably the legalisation of cannabis judging by those in attendance.

As promised, here is the first of the belly updates; (15 weeks)

Baby or gelato? You be the judge. (Clare is trying to get through every available flavour of gelato in her time here).

And a balloon.

More to come soon. Hope all are well.

Simon

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I (Clare) thought it would be nice to stay in a cute little country hotel with charm and character… little did I know that this usually means slightly out of date décor, and staff that really don’t care that much (think Fawlty Towers…!) So shortly after checking in to our hotel just outside Oxford we decided to duck into town to explore rather than enjoying the country ‘charm’.

We had been warned parking in Oxford was quite difficult, but given our hotel staff member’s inability to give any useful directions (she didn’t even know the name of the street we were on!) we thought we would just wing it. Eventually we found our way into town and discovered a multitude of disabled parking spots – in fact, the only free parking spots in town were disabled. So we parked in one, put Simon’s Australian permit on the windscreen, and headed up the street, only to bump into a parking inspector. We explained to him where we had parked and that we only had an Australian permit, and he said that would not be a problem. Great! Feeling confident we proceeded on our way and explored Oxford, seeing some amazing college grounds and then having a drink in the sunshine at a nice little pub on the river.

Upon returning to the car, we were mighty pleased to see a parking fine smacked on the windscreen. Thanks parking inspector. We have since written a letter and sent in this picture so we’ll see if we can get off it…

That night we had a meal included at our luxury hotel, which was surprisingly good although they seemed to think we could each manage a whole roast chicken to ourselves! We were told it was a baby chicken. We think perhaps they accidentally killed his parents.

The next day we spent driving through the Cotswolds, taking in the beautiful scenery and amazing old buildings.

And last but not least...

Enough photo's for you?...

Oxford and the Cottswolds remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Since we had brought some respite from the heat and humidity to Hong Kong, we thought the least we could do was bring some respite from the chill in London.

Luckily we had been prepared for warm weather in Hong Kong so we were able to bring out the summer singlets out for a few days in London that topped 25 degrees.

How beautiful is Springtime in London!

A few highlights from London...

We made the most of our week by catching up with friends -

Having drinks outside a classic English pub in the balmy weather with GP, Em, Tara and Caius.

Visiting the Borough markets and tasting some delicious cheeses... Clare was quite distraught when the assistant refused to serve her any more stilton after hearing she was pregnant!

Eating lunch in the church grounds at Borough markets with Georgie, Tara, Em and Jane Don who was on a flying visit through London.

This is Clare and Em checking out the Peacock's lovely garden.

And visiting Daniel and Robyn in Clapham...

We also got to explore some interesting parts of London including the gothic Camden markets - check out these boots...

And enjoyed private box seats at a hillarious musical called Avenue Q...

We also had a great time catching up with the rest of the gang including Jo & Tom, Tinks, Karen, Amy, and Clare's relatives and spent a couple of days driving through Oxford and the Cotswolds - more photos to come soon once we can get our internet up and running.

Verona is going really well - apartment is excellent, Simon is coping remarkably well with Italian drivers and we are slowly discovering our Italian language skills.

Hope to write more soon!

Simon and Clare

Summer in London? remains copyright of the author fishitaly, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Much to our surprise, it was quite cold in Hong Kong. Lucky we were prepared for cold English weather and got the woolies out.

Simon thought it would be good to taste Durian, the fruit reknowned for its bad smell. We all had a try and agreed it tastes like creamy mango custard, with an onion and garlic aftertaste. Thankfully Alex took a liking to it and finished off the whole thing!

Matt and Simon were enjoying the after effects all afternoon, even after another tasty yum cha lunch!

After checking with 3 difference sources including the HK tourist information centre, we were told the Peak tram was DEFINITELY wheelchair accessible, even to the extent of them telling us the width of the tram doorways (26 inches!). We headed there confidently, only to find the tram had 2 steps to get on and off! Simon was lifted up the steps and we climbed the peak - shocked by how steep it was, but rewarded by the great view even on such a cloudy day. (oh, and more yum cha!)

I'm pretty sure the highlight of our visit for Matt and Simon was getting to play with Simon's new toy - a BB gun that looks like the real thing. Must admit I even had a try and it was quite fun.

And we couldn't have been happier when we arrived at the airport to discover Simon's dad had upgraded us to "Upper Class". Here's a pic of us on Simon's seat which flipped down to a flat bed - it will be hard to ever go back to economy now!!!

Will update again soon with some news from London where we're having a great time catching up with everyone.

Clare

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