A Scots Life...

All in all we spent just under a week in Scotland, and of course we wished we could stay longer.

Our first stop was Glasgow, in which we arrived with blossoming head colds, and were generously looked after by John and the Coles. Having lived in a tropical country for a year, we are particularly wimpy when it comes to the Scottish 'almost summer', and so rugged up everywhere we went. John took us for some lovely walks beside the river, and also to visit the Kelvingrove museum. It was a pretty crazy and interesting museum. They have the expected things - stuffed animals and artifacts of the region - but then you look above the giraffe, and there's a Spitfire. Beside Dali's painting of Christ on the Cross there is armour from Kiribati made out of puffer fish, shark teeth and coconut fibre - very strange! Also saw our very first 'haggis' there - probably a distant relative of the Australian bunyip...



We also took the opportunity to go to the pub for a wee bit of trivia - one of the best we've seen. Very cosy and friendly, and there was even one question on Australian wines!

The next day we caught a train to Linlithgow to catch up with some family friends (Mora's sister Marcy for those in the know). We had a great time with them and were taking for a drive around a quarter of Scotland in one afternoon (a very strange concept for those of us from the land downunder). We visited the farm as well, and had a cup of tea with another family member, Sandy. The countryside was amazing - from the lochs to the hills. And also a wee bit cold when the car was making mysterious noises and we were stuck on the side of the road for an hour.

After only one night we had to move on, and we were sad to say goodbye to all - including the dalmation called Mack that Jane became immediate friends with!



Next stop was Edinburgh, and we both fell in love with the city. It's just so beautiful, and clean and lovely. Lots of nice architecture, and beautiful little pubs - we particularly liked 'The World's End' where Jane tried (and liked) her first Haggis! We looked up the tartan making places, and learnt about the Mackenzie clan, and of course Cam did a some whiskey research! We walked up Arthur's seat (which our local guide Anne made look easy), and admired the view from the top.



All too soon we had to depart, but we had a great time. Thanks to all of those who looked after us!

Sorry about the lack of photos - just trying to fit in internet time where we can!

Castles and Cheese in Normandy...

We are now in Scotland and slightly sick, but we thought we'd update you on our adventures after Paris...



After Paris we caught a train to Normandy to continue our time with the Leger family. We met Ans and Christian at the station, and the first thing they did was to take us to their beautiful old house (built in 1767, before Australia was first 'discovered') and feed us delicious food.



They had caught wind of the idea that Cam was fond of cheese, and so they introduced us to many cheeses during our stay with them, including one from their area Coutances.



We were incredibly lucky to be so well looked after. They took us to see some old castles and manoirs - apparently there are many for sale around France, but the heating and general upkeep cost a fortune. Regardless of their various states of repair, they were all pretty impressive.



And a little theatrical too.



The next day we went to explore the D Day sites from World War 2. We visited a great little war museum at St Marie Eglise, where the paratroopers first landed.



In town they still have a dummy paratrooper hanging from the church in memory of the guy who hung there for hours going slightly deaf from the church bells. We also drove to the crater-studded Point du Orc where the German battalion once was, as well as the American cemetary above Omaha Beach. It was a beautiful and solemn place, containing 10,000 graves.



We must thank the Legers for taking such good care of us, and for feeding us amazing food including duck and lamb roast (food becomes more significant when it can be so hit and miss while travelling), and of course plenty of cheese!

A Parisian Time...

Upon arriving in Paris we couldn't help but notice just how grey, wet and gloomy it all looked. But we decided not to let that stop us seeing as much as we could of this lovely city. So every day we have been rugging up in jumpers, jackets and beannies (it's supposed to be spring!) and getting out there.

We've been to the churches in Montmartre and Notre Dame (we liked the mosaic at Montmartre, and the stained glass at Notre Dame), and of course to the Eiffel Tower, and Champs Elysees (although we didn't go up any of them as it seemed to cold and windy to expose ourselves to more of it as we got higher).



We also had lots of fun going to lots of museums, most notably The Louvre, The Great Gallery of Evolution, and the Comparitive Anatomy Gallery. We spent the better part of a day in the Louvre, and still only managed to see half of it - it's absolutely huge! But we probably had more fun in the two natural history museums. One involved lots of cool skeletons and fossils, and the other fantastic displays of insects and animals of all shapes and sizes.









And today we are off to the French countryside of Normandy, where hopefully the weather will be much better! Big thanks to Nicolas for putting up with us and being such a generous host!

The City of Glass and Water...

We only spent a couple of days in Venice, but we enjoyed every second!



After spending almost 5 hours on the train from Rome, we found our little hotel surprisingly easily, and got ourselves sorted out. It was a beautiful day, so we got changed into our best summery clothes and went out to explore Venice in all its glory. We wandered around trying not to stop in every glass or mask shop, and eventually found ourselves at the Academy Gallery, with many of the best religious artworks Italy has to offer (including artists such as Bellini, Carpaccio and Verenese). We also walked to Ponte Rialto where we ate the biggest slices of pizza we've ever seen sitting on the rails of a monument.





The next day we bought our 24 hour vaporetto (the boats that ferry everyone around Venice) pass, and took full advantage of it. There is not a car to be seen in the centre of Venice, and the only ways to get around are by foot or boat. We caught the vaporetto to the Doge's Palace (the ruler in Venice from the 13th century until sometime in recent history), and admired the collection of weapons and armour, as well as the grand meeting chambers. There are incredible artworks just about everywhere, except perhaps the prison, which is reached by walking over the Bridge of Sighs.

We checked out St Marks Square, but didn't stay there too long as it was just packed with tourists and pigeons. In the afternoon we decided to take a break from Renaissance art, and went to the Peggy Guggenheim gallery of contemporary art, featuring works from artists such as Picasso, Pollock and Margritte. It was really interesting, and renewed our interest in modern art.



We spent the rest of our time in Venice eating yummy pizza and gelato, riding vaporetto's around, looking (and perhaps buying) at glass shops and trying on masks a plenty. We didn't even get lost too much thanks to Cam, our trusty navigator.



We could also have spent a lot more time checking out the different boating styles in Venice, but we got a pretty good idea in the time we were there. This guy wins the prize for best wedding transport!

Picturesque Places in Italy...

We managed to get out of town again this week - to the hillside town of Assisi. Anyone who remembers anything about saints will know that this was the home of St Francis, the patron saint of animals (as well as others). We managed to pick one of the best days of good, sunny weather yet - perfect to poke around the town in.





We walked and explored through the winding streets, ate pizza and drank wine by a fountain, and of course visited the churches of Assisi.



This week saw us eventually visiting the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel - we couldn't leave Rome without stopping by here. Our favourite room was probably the 'Map Room' where they had maps of Italy painted all over the walls. Pretty amazing.



Jane also liked all the sculptures of animals.



The Sistine Chapel was fantastic, but would have been more fun if we weren't squashed in with hundreds of other tourists talking and stumbling into each other as they looked up at the ceiling. But perhaps that's what tourists do best. We are pretty sure that we've seen more tourists than Romans here - which can be quite a shock when you think you've eventually found a true Roman and they start speaking in a broad American, British etc accent.

Other highlights of the week included:

*Cam's haircut. It had to happen. Jane found it quite fun to watch Cam (with no Italian) and the little old Italian barber (with no English) communicate about how he wanted his hair cut. When the barber said "Si, si. Normal-ly!" we weren't sure whether to be nervous or relieved.



Anyway, the haircut was a success, and Cam even enjoyed an old fashioned shave with the straight razor and everything (there are no good piccies of this as Jane didn't want to distract the barber too much).

*Revisiting the Trevi Fountain - both in the early morning (the guy on the fountain had just turned it on),



and at night. It's such an amazing place, and probably one of our favourite monuments/fountains/sculptures.



*Visiting the Leonardo Da Vinci exhibition where many of his drawings had been built and could be played with. Very fun, and of course, educational...

*Going to the Non-Catholic cemetary in Rome. This is where Keats and Shelley (the English poets) are buried. It was a beautiful place, and very well-looked after.

Of course, there were many other cool and interesting things, and we obviously enjoyed spending time with Cam's family. Big thanks must go to them for their hospitality, good company, and of course great food! And tomorrow we are off to Venice!

More of our Roman Adventures...

As stated before, there is just so much to see in Rome!!! We have been busy trying to fit as much in as possible before we move out of Italy and into France.

This week we took the kids (Nico and Isabella) out to a museum (Musei Capitolini) and the zoo.



We continued the toe-biting tradition started by Emma and Anna (just to get scale), and saw some pretty awesome statues and exhibits, including the original tribute to Marcus Aurelius (think Gladiator).



The zoo was fun, especially since we seemed to arrive at feeding time, and Jane thought that the swimming bear was the cutest thing ever.





One of our favourite things so far has been the Galleria Borghese. The Borghese family is one of the oldest families in Rome, and have been major patrons of the arts for a long time, most specifically through the Renaissance period. The Villa Borghese is a show room for paintings, sculptures, mosaics (of gladiators, mostly), and all things amazing. Not being able to take pictures we can't really display them for you here, but the Bernini sculptures were just something else - our appreciation for sculpture has reached another level.



We have also visited St Peters Basilica, and the Colosseum this week. The day we went to St Peters was wet and rainy, but the inside was enjoyable, and also opulent and enormous.



True to Jane's theory, we paid money to walk up a lot of steps. This wasn't nearly as bad as walking down the steps however, as they were slippery, wet and narrow, and generally considered (by Jane and Cam) to be life threatening. But we got through it, and will live to climb more steps (and probably pay for the privelege). And it was worth it - even on a wet and rainy day the view was great.



The Colosseum was another higlight, helped by the fact that we visited it in the late afternoon when the light was just perfect.







Even though it's been pillaged and mined for materials to make other buildings in Rome, it is still pretty amazing. As are some of the stories about the things that used to happen there (think of a huge model of a whale opening it's jaws to release 50 bears - which were then probably killed. By Gladiators).



The other important event of this week, was of course, Jane's birthday. Cam took her to a lovely night of opera in an old church. Also he gave her a beautiful Venetian glass necklace. On Sunday, there was a birthday lunch, courtesy of Peter and Tanya, as well as some lovely gifts. We really appreciate their hospitality and generosity.

As Requested...

...here's a photo of Cam's fabulous new shoes. Although we were told that shoes are the most important fashion accessory for men, we haven't noticed anyone with shoes as nice as Cam's. Maybe we aren't looking in the right places.

Our First Week in Roma...

Well, first things first we have received our bags!!! Such a relief, especially after 4 days of waiting and worrying about what we might have lost...

Anyway, we've been having a lovely time in Italy so far. The first week has had us doing a lot of walking and finding our way around the city of Rome itself. There are so many wonderful things to see! So far we have been to the Pantheon (2000 years old and still an amazing and awe-inspiring piece of architecture), the Spanish Steps,



the Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori (see our happy beer and pizza photo), and many, many churches - each more spectacular than the last.







For those interested in poets and poetry, we stumbled across the Keats (and Shelley, Byron et al) museum, which was a pleasant surprise.

We have also been lucky enough to get out of Rome and stay for a night in a hillside town in Tuscany called Montepulciano. It was so picturesque - exactly what a Tuscan hillside town is cracked up to be.



Cam and I accompanied his sister Tanya and family for a weekend, wandered the streets, bought Cam some Italian shoes (apparently that's what Italian women notice on men first - we had to get Cam up to par), drank a 15 year old wine on the balcony of our hotel room, enjoyed a delicious Italian meal...did you know that Italians have 2 courses and a side dish before thinking about dessert? So the pasta dish is often first course. Something that would have been nice to know one night when I asked for seconds of pasta, and then had to eat another two courses (to be polite of course). Also using a spoon to eat spaghetti is just not done, and cappucino (or any other milky coffee) after dinner is purely embarrasing.

Anyway, we also went to a carnivale in Montepulciano after dinner. You'll be glad to know that the rides are the same, and the colours as garish as in Australia. Cam was pleasantly surprised to see that there were still shooting games though (unlike Australia), and he and his nephew bonded over this.



Cam has even tried his hand at negotiating the streets of Rome on Peter's (his brother in law) Motorino. He is still in one piece, which is relieving, and despite getting very lost, seems to have enjoyed himself. We all thought he cut a very dashing picture, and looked mostly Italian.



It's so strange walking down the streets of Rome and then coming across ruins, or an amazing church tucked away. We are convinced that you could spend years here and still not see everything. But we are going to do our best over the next couple of weeks. Tomorrow we are going to the zoo and a museum, and are in the process of organising trips to Venice, Florence and Assissi. Whew!