Home!

Yes, we are finally back home. After a long, long drive back to Rome from Venice (approx 8 hours actual driving, plus stops) where most of us slept (not Giuseppe), we went out for a final farewell dinner. Went to a lovely little restaurant with this amazing opera singing couple (very, very loud) and some good food. Who am I kidding, we had amazing food all over Italy, not just in Rome. (And we had good Italian food in every other European country, didn't we Bek?) Sadly, we didn't go back to that first restaurant in Rome (the one with Francesco), like I had hoped we would. :(

^^Giuseppe on the left, moi in the middle, and good old Papa on the right.

It was a little on the teary side as we said goodbye to our new family, especially Papa and Giuseppe. We had hugs all round, and swapped emails with everyone - we have a few offers to come and stay with some of our new friends, which is just so cool. We didn't get an offer to come and stay with Papa, but he said next time we come to Italy we have to do his 15 day tour, which covers Sorrento and Naples (where he lives) as well. We said we will definitely go there. We also got an unexpected hug from Giuseppe! Guess he's not so shy when he's saying ciao to the family. We will definitely miss Italy, and of course Papa - have to send him some photos so he doesn't forget - I wonder how many families he has!

The next morning we had to be up at 4am, and out of the door by 4.30 to catch our flight. As the breakfast room wasn't open that early, Papa had arranged for us to have a breakfast box to take with us to the airport so we didn't go hungry. Awww! All the same, it was a very early start, and we slept all day at Zurich. (No Bek, I can't do those little dot things on top of the u in Zurich, sorry) We went out and had dinner at... you guessed it, an Italian restaurant. We were feeling a little 'homesick', and it was nice to be able to use a little of the Italian language that we picked up.

Not so early the next morning, but it was finally time to head home. We caught an 11.5 hour flight to Singapore, where we rested some more for 4 hours, and then a 7.5 hour flight to Brissy. Yay for finally seeing our parents!!! It's been a long 6 weeks, despite at the same time going very fast. It was so, so awesome. Poor Bek had to go into work this morning, but I slept in til 2.30pm (14.5 hours!!!!) and had a luxurious day of unpacking while having the dog and cat follow me around like bad smells, and me of course following mum around the house too.

As for photos of Papa and Giuseppe - they are coming, I promise, just have to get them downloaded. Hopefully tomorrow night, but may be sometime next week.

Thanks to all our loyal fans - we loved writing this blog and loved that you loved reading it. Can't wait to see you all!

Love,

Bek and Belle

Merrily, Merrily, Merrily

(Ok, just so you know there are 3 other blogs that we put up today)

First of all, a weird start to the day as Giuseppe was not driving our bus. Apparently it was his registered day off, and so we went off with Veto as our driver - very disconcerting as he is about 3 feet shorted than Giuseppe. Giuseppe stayed with us anyway, just to make sure we were looked after and got there safely.

Today was just the best day of the tour so far. We spent the day in Venice, with a glass blowing demonstration to start. Bek has seen it before - I haven't. It is officially the most amazing technique I have ever seen! In the space of seconds, the master had created a carafe and a horse, both incredible and strong. The glass they have in Venice is called Murano glass - sold all over the world, but comes from a small island that we went past today, just off Venice city. After the demostration, they showed us all the different colours and told us how they made them, along with the gold leaf covering that just made them so beautiful. We could have bought everything in the shop, but for the price. There were also the most amazing chandeliers that apparently took 6-7 masters to create, using different techniques that they were each experts in. It takes around 25-30 years to become a master. Wow. One of the girls did end up buying a cup and saucer - 260 euros. :O

The glass blowing demonstration finished in time for Bek and I to get some gelati (banana and mint choc/hazelnut for Bek) and then meet the family for the gondolas. This was by far the highlight of Italy for both of us. Not all of the family came (we tried to persuade Papa to come, but he said he had been enough times) but they split us up into 3 gondolas. They put the 2 couples into one (so cute, one of our couples has been married 6 months and they are so beautiful!) and the musicians went in that one as well. There was a singer and an accordion player too (so wish we could put a video on here!). They put 5 others in another gondola, and 6 of us in the 3rd. It was a bit scary getting in, as it rocked precariously every time someone stepped in. Luckily we are in Italy and the Italians love to always be touching you and holding your arm as you get in or out of things, so we felt safe. Our gondolier wasn't wearing the striped shirt, but one of them was, so that was very exciting. We were serenaded as we drifted through the romantic little canals, the envy of everyone that saw us. It was just so... Italy. It was definitely 30 minutes we will always remember. Perfecto.

We had free time to get lost in Venice after the gondolas - we were actually very careful because in every other city Papa has told us it's ok to get lost, he can find us if we ring him, but in Venice if we get lost, 'you are lost to Papa forever'. So we made sure we knew where we were - he did give us 2 different maps and spent a long time explaining the city, so I think he was serious. It was very much a labyrinth and if not for the maps and signs, we would have been lost to Papa forever very easily. But we had a great time exploring the little alleyways and numerous jewelry stores. So much beauty in Venice - they love their glass and their fashion. We went to see the church (just the main one, not all the others) in San Marco square (St Mark's square) which was, like the others, just incredible. This one, however, had these amazing mosaics made from gold - so beautiful. (Right now Bek is playing back the video of Francesco serenading us and it sounds so funny! Very distracting...)

At 1.50pm (We did a lot today, the times were very important) we met Papa and the family to get back on the boat and we toured around the islands and the Venetian lagoon for about an hour. The water was like glass - just incredibly smooth. We passed Murano to arrive at Burano, famous instead for it's S shaped cookies, which we had. And fed some to the seagulls. The normal ones, not the giant mutant scary ones. Burano was very peaceful and pretty, and we saw a lace demonstration there. It was not as much of a demostration as an invitation to buy, much the same as the ladder/letter/leather demonstration. But still very intersting and pretty. They apparently were made famous in Burano for the lace stitch that they invented.

We left Burano to sail into the sunset, and back to the dock to find Giuseppe and Veto waiting for us with the nice warm bus (a little on the cooler side today and yesterday). A night in at the hotel tonight, and tomorrow Papa is evilly waking us up at 6am to make our way back to Rome. Very sad face. We are sad to be 'abandoning Papa', as he calls it, and have really been having the best time. It's a long drive back to Rome, but then we have the farewell dinner tomorrow night to make up for it. And then a very early start in the morning to make our way to Zurich. Papa has very kindly allowed us to tag along with another early starter to get to the airport.

Love,

Bek and Belle

P.S. Embarrassing moment of the day: We have learned a little of the Italian language on this tour, and proudly call out our words to Papa during the day. We also try to encorporate them into our days in Italian cities. Today we were being serenaded by a man with an amazing voice on the gondolas (do all Italians sing like that??) and so we called out Brava! Brava! As we have so often heard Papa telling us. When we got back to the hotel I asked him, 'Papa, I have heard you say brava, and brave (bravee) - what is the difference?' He then proceeded to tell us there was brava, bravo and brave - depending on the gender. That's right - we were complimenting our singer on his lovely feminine voice. :P

Ilene Dover

Today (Friday) we found the tower in Pisa is still leaning. It took us forever to get that iconic photo, but worth it at the end. We were allowed to walk up the tower, which was really weird because it was on a lean, and some steps were easier than others. There were 294 steps (we know because Papa always tells us before we go - wish he would tell us after, sometimes) but we made it! Gasping, of course, but it was an incredible view, as always. One downside to Italy in particular is all of the gypsies, or black street vendors, as Papa calls them. They are everywhere, and always wanting to sell you an umbrella, a genuine leather Gucci bag (for 30 euros) or scarves. We even got asked, 'You pretty ladies want to buy a watch?' Bek and I were in fits of giggles for so long afterwards - Papa kept asking us what was so funny and we couldn't even tell him for ages.

We had a long drive to Venice after Pisa, and took in the sights of Tuscany as we went. After about 3 1/2 hours we got to Venezia (Venice) and it is beautiful. Of course. We are staying in a little town just before Venice called Mestre, because Papa says it is way too expensive to stay actually in the city. We had a brief rest before going out for the night in Venice - so amazing. Apparently if you haven't seen Venice by night, you haven't seen Italy. We've seen Italy. The lights on the water are so pretty, and everything is dark and romantic and peaceful. (Different in the daytime) We had to drive across the only road to Venice, and then Giuseppe dropped us off at the harbour to catch the busboat to the actual city. Papa told us the whole city is built on wooden sticks and natural islands, and sometimes it floods with the high tides - only every so often. It is apparently awful in summertime, as the tide is low and the algae gets cooked by the sun, so stinking out the city. Papa doesn't really like Venice. But we do, just not as much as some places, so we are still his children. Venice has some seriously good gelati, just saying.

We had another 5 course meal, but it just wasn't the same without Francesco. Getting easier to fit it in, though, but not so much fitting into our pants. As Papa loves to say - Italy is the worst place to be on a diet. The drive back was lovely and so pretty - just wish the photos turn out at nighttime. We get to see the city all day tomorrow, so that will be amazing as well!

Love,

Bek and Belle

Firenze (Florence)

Thursday - Florence.


It was a mixture of excitement and disappointment. We started the day off with a ladder... no, letter... no wait. Oh yes, a leather demonstration. This was hard to work out, seeing as we weren't sure what Papa was saying to start out. The 'demonstration' consisted of a man running a hot poker over a strip of gold leaf to gild a leather wastebasket (30 seconds) and a different man telling us how soft the leather was in their particular shop, and so we should buy some. And that was it. 3 minutes. It was all completely out of our price range, anyway. After that, a local guide named Sammy took us for a walking tour. He was very friendly and (easy on the eyes, as Bek says) helpful. He showed us a courtyard full of statues, including Michelangelo's famous David, or at least the original copy. That was pretty impressive. He also showed us many churches (Italians love their churches!) and the beautiful city itself, which we loved. It's also Papa's favourite city in Italy, so we had to like it.

We had free time, in which we had some more gelati (I think we are up to about 6 so far, Papa laughs every time he sees us with another cup - it's become a family joke). We saw Michelangelo's tomb inside one of the duomos (churches), and some very impressive mosaics. We also got a lot of unnecessary shopping done. Oh well. Bek and I took a horse and carriage ride through the city, which was scarier than the taxi ride! Almost. It was so much fun - our driver didn't understand much English, but was happily chatting away to us and the horse in Italian anyway. I think the horse understood him. We trotted through some of the alleys, almost hitting one unlucky tourist! So much fun though - we've been eyeing it the entire trip and finally got our chance.

Getting to know our tour ground really well now - a lovely bunch of people (coconuts). Going to miss Papa and Giuseppe and the rest of the family though!

Love,

Bek and Belle

Under the Tuscan Sun

Wednesday: (Just so you know, it was me that wrote the last one, sorry about that. Just messing around, and we didn't really have time or energy to write anything for a few days)

We packed up and headed to the beautiful Tuscan region. Here we discovered they built their cities on hilltops in order to protect the cities from invading Barbarians. Papa had us take part in some wine tasting at Chianti Valley. The lady explained how they harvested and stored the wine for fermentation. Which was great but everyone was looking forward to the tasting part. She also explained about the government control of some of their wine products and the vigorous process they had to go through. The vineyards were in a beautiful area so it was hard to limit the photo-taking!

They gave us a surprising amount of wine to taste - more than the usual mouthful. We sampled three red wines - a gov. controlled wine, a "super tuscan", and an aged wine (about 35 years). The last one tasted so strong! Poor Belle wasn't able to finish hers. So I helped her out ;-)

The next villiage was surrounded by stunning scenery as well. San Gimignano is known for their towers. Unfortunately only 14 remain. After sampling some of the tasty gelato (choc chip and raspberry), we made our way up the top of one of these huge things. 218 steps later (plus the ones leading up to the ticket office...) we gasped and clawed up the metal ladder but it was worth it. The view was incredible. Belle freaked me out by sitting on the edge for a photo.

Papa took us out for a little bit of Tuscan culture this evening. He described it as a 'wedding feast'. We had a lively DJ who loved to dance and say "look at moi" without actually doing anything. He taught us some awesome dance moves! Belle and I had a go at dancing. Apparently we did okay but some of the ladies there really took the cake and stole the show.

Love Bek and Belle.

When in Rome...

As Riana and Esther have mentioned - the driving is scary. (Bek has nearly died a few times) Our tour guide yesterday told us how you should cross the road in Italy: 1st step is to 'show no fear' - and don't look them in the eye. 2nd step - "close your eyes, and walk". It's worked for us so far. So our tour started yesterday morning at an unrespectable hour - 5.45am was the wakeup call. Our tour guide, Ciro (pronounced Chiro, or Papa as we affectionately call him) is very lovely and takes care of us. We are 'the family' or 'my children'. Our driver is Guiseppe (ok, not entirely sure on the spelling here - it's Joesph in English) is also very nice, although shy, whenever the bus stops they both get out and stand at the doors reaching out with their hands to help the ladies down from the bus. Could so get used to that. They also hold open doors for us, which we like. Take notes, lads. Our tour started early, we were told, because the Sistine chapel was to close at 10am (for some offical popal thing) and Papa didn't want us to miss out. And we didn't. We saw the Vatican - some impressive wallage and paintage there. We didn't see the big man in white, but the chapel more than made up for it. We loved hearing all the history of Michelangelo, but it was a little depressing. The art, however, was so spectacular - there is nothing quite like it. You could have just laid back on the floor and stared up at it for hours on end - if not for the Japanese tourists who apparently will 'walk on your heads' in their hurry to get somewhere.

We went next to see St Peter's Cathedral - the Catholics sure know how to make their churches! Every single one we have seen (and we've seen a lot) has been utterly amazing. This one, however, takes the fanstastically decorated cake. It was very beautiful, and absolutely huge. Words don't quite cut it. What was also incredible was the Coloseum, which we saw next. So amazing - 3 concentric circles of brilliant architecture. The pictures don't do it justice. Inside we reheard all the history, and the arena was extraordinary - huge. (We're running out of adjectives for today) We also saw the Roman Forum - and where Julius Caeser was cremated, which was pretty cool. So much of the architecture remains - pretty amazing when you think about it.

After siesta (that's right, siesta) we piled back on the bus to go and see a little of Rome by night. That's where things got... interesting. We saw the Spanish steps (all 136 of them, although Papa says there are 138) and the Trevi fountain (1 coin over your left shoulder for a wish, 2 for returning to Rome, and 3 for divorce) and then went to dinner. Here we met our waiter, (and remember to roll your r's when you say this) his name is Frrrrrrrrrancesco. From Rrrrrrome. He was very charming, very cute, and he used it well. He charmed all of the girls in our group, including our new friend Bronwyn, whom he serenaded at dessert. (By the way, it was a 5 course meal - the only way to eat in Italy, apparently. Papa Ciro says there are no such things as diets in Italy - we were stuffed!) After dessert, Francesco charmed us all again by handing each lady a rose and a kiss on the cheek. The room was very warm at this point. Note: the reason for the look on my face in this photo was Bek was pretending to take a long time to take the photo, and saying 'hold it, hold it' while he was kissing my cheek. (mmmmmmmmmwah!) So don't judge. It was a fanstastic evening, but Papa would not let us take Francesco back with us on the bus. :( On the bus we asked him what we were doing tomorrow (whilst holding our roses and leftover wine, and giggling like the girls we are) and he said, 'Oh, my girls want to know what we are adoing tomorrow. Well, tomorrow Papa take you to the church to ask for the forgiveness.' So funny! We still have our roses. :)

Today was a little less blush-worthy, with a visit to a couple of amazing Gothic style churches in Orveto (we have left Rome to visit the Tuscany region) which had a unique (unique up on it) pattern of stripes, using 2 different colours of stone. Very interesting. We arrived in Siena in the afternoon and to our hotel - we have a proper shower this time!). We then went out, and Papa dropp-ed us off to have a look around the city. We did a lot of shopping (now have to repack my suitcase) and discovered that Tuscany is as beautiful as you think it is before you go. Everything you imagined or saw on tv or pictures of Italy - it's all in Tuscany. The little alleyways, the flowing green ivy plants on the walls, little shops, rooftops seen over walls - everything. Amazing. We love it. So tonight, a little relaxing (can't have kisses and roses every night, you know!) and some sleep. Side note: most of the men here seem to be very charming and gentlemanly, not just on the tour. :)

Love,
Bek and Bella

No embarrassing moments for today - sorry folks. There's always tomorrow.

Our Swiss family

Riana - ski field was Grindelwald. Everyone else - (and I mean else, because Riana is not included) thanks for the sympathy. Bek's bruise is also looking much more impressive now. :)

This blog is covering the last couple of days, not including today because we want to keep the countries separate.

So, after our somewhat painful skiing experience (not so much for Bek), we headed north past Zurich to Schaffhausen, where the lovely Zimmerman family were so welcoming in letting us stay the night. The mother, Elfried, and daughter, Sarah, spoke excellent english, and Heiri the father understood but spoke very little English. They were very hospitable - treating us to traditional meals including melted cheese (very awesome), which involved a little oven on the table and slices of cheese placed in the oven on individual spatulas. You then add spices, or pickles, or potatoes to your cheese. So yum! We felt like part of the family, especially when they took us to church (I know, twice in one trip!) and even translated most of it from Swiss German. But it's easy to get the idea when you are around brothers and sisters. We even recognised one of the songs - Shout to the Lord, but in German! We had a fantastic time, and were very sad to leave.

The family took us to see Rhein falls - a fantastic waterfall of the Rheine river. So amazing! Very loud, too. But awesome to see, and after we had seen one side you can walk across the bridge to see it from the other side - at this point the fog had set in so heavy you could barely see a few meters away, but it was still very beautiful.

Oh and also the breakfast - a very cool tradition called 3 King bread, which a Swiss family will have for breakfast on the 6th January every year. The bread is baked in sort of a flower shape, with 6 buns on the outside and one in the middle. A small plastic King is baked in one of the outside buns. The tradition is to celebrate the 3 wise men who searched for baby Jesus. Each person gets a bun, and one person will find the King in theirs, which means they are King/Queen for the day! Naturally, the kids love it, as this means they can get out of washing up, or cleaning their rooms. I was Queen for the day, but Bek didn't pack for me or do my chores :(

We flew from Zurich to Rome yesterday, and Rome FCO airport was an experience in itself. There were hundreds of people everywhere, and everyone smokes! We were in a cloud the whole we were waiting for a taxi, which was a while. Taxis came every 30 seconds, but there was a long line. Oh and the driving - it's not so ba.. ARRRRGGGGHHHWE'REGUNNADIE!!!! Well, at least the drivers seem to be somewhat reasonab... BEEEP! BEEEEEEEP! BEEP BEEP BEEP! **#@&^^!! (In Italian) Well, it's just better if you close your eyes. They drive very very fast. It seems to be an insult if you are only going 10km over the speed limit. And they seem to feel the need to park wherever they like, including on the footpath, or in a park sideways because they can't fit the normal way, or just plain old parking in the middle of the road. Not really exaggerating here.

We eventually made it (alive, but definitely ahead of schedule) to our hotel, which is quite nice, but the shower ought to be upsized a little. Definitely not Johnstone sized, it is smaller than a phonebox - not even a metre by a metre. Everyone is very friendly here. Our Italy tour is on the next blog.

Love,

Bek and Belle