A rainy weekend in Paris

By Quentin

After an early flight from Naples we arrived in Paris feeling tired and not up to much on the first day beyond eating at a local bistro and Declan had a ride on a carousel which wasn't simply round but figure eight track!




That left Sunday for us to squeeze in as much as possible and we certainly did our best. Our first stop was the Musee D'Orsay. We were a little surprised to see large crowds outside as it's usually much quieter but what we didn't realise was that it was free admission on the first Sunday of the month so that was a bonus even if we had about a 30 minute wait to get in.

Declan got to see some of the great masterpieces of Impressionist and Post-impressionistic art up close and personal.




To maximise our time in Paris we got on a "hop on, hop off" riverboat on the Seine and rode the whole way.




The rain had been building all day and it was quite wet by the time arrived at the final stop the Eiffel Tower. It had been a dream of Declan's to touch the tower and we got off intending just to do that but the rain had kept away the visitors and so we thought "why not go up it". The very top was windy and had driving rain but even with the mist there were great views of central Paris.

We came down a bit wet but very excited about our experience. Luckily there was a Metro station nearby which took us practically back to our hotel. We stopped into another very typical Parisian bistro and got to try "Escargot". It was a very French way to finish our time in Paris.

Pompeii.

Pompeii - by Bea
It was always my dream to go to Pompeii.  Since I was a child, the idea has fascinated me - being able to walk among the streets and see life captured frozen in time from 2 and a half thousand years ago - how incredible!
In the shadow of Vesuvius, there it was.

Getting there should have been easy but it was complicated by the random lack of signage in the Napoli train system.  Things are somewhat haphazard in Italy after Germany!  Anyway, we asked a nice couple of women, who were Swiss tourists - and got it sorted.  The train was a bit dumpy and very crowded.  We arrived with thousands of tourists - it was between Christmas and New Year - and most of them seemed to be Italians!  In typical Italian style they had run out of maps - in ANY language. So we were pleased to have the Italian one from the B&B.  Otherwise it's impossible to orient yourself.
We took a guided tour. Which started late (typical!) but was pretty good.  She only showed us 5 main sites, which is barely scratching the surface as Pompeii is HUGE.  It is a town and as such involves a lot walking.

The streets are strange.  They are narrow and mostly huge boulders used as pavers. There were narrow walkways to either side, but a lot of it was boulder hopping.  Apparently carts would trundle up and down these roads - you could see the makes they left behind!  It would have been a very bumpy ride indeed.
On either sides you see the excavated ruins of buildings.  Of all types; residential, commercial and some very fancy villas.
Pompeii has been a tourist attraction for over two hundred years, so the archaeology has been extensive over that period.  Even so, they believe there are STILL things to discover.

We saw an amphitheatre where gladiators fought, a theatre, commercial shops, baths and a bordello.  They make a fair bit of the bordello as there are raunchy mosaics inside indicating what 'services' a visitor could purchase.  Declan loudly declared as we left: 'I don't know how anyone would want to DO that!'
There were something like 25 bordellos in Pompeii, which seems like a fair few given the size of the place...I guess the Roman men had a pretty nice time of it there.  For women, it was either a life or servitude or rich boredom.

So after hours of walking among crowds, we took off into the interior, trying to find a way through closed streets - there's a lot of 'reconstruction' going on. We finally found a quiet area and although I could see a side street was closed off, something made me want to walk up there to look...well it was the best thing I could have done.  At the very end was a gate and it was partly unlocked!  A caretaker fellow was inside with a bunch of keys and only three other people were there!

It was the Villa Frontone, one of the prestigious villas that is roofed and intact.  Where most other villas have had their interior paintings removed for gallery exhibition, the Villa Frontones are in place.  It was incredible to walk among the rooms and stand beside paintings 2 and half thousand years old!  A terrific way to end our Pompeii visit.

 

Naples - Lovely Chaos and New Year's Eve Fireworks!

By Quentin

We took the train from Venice to Naples - it was foggy a lot of the way but we got to see a bit of Tuscany. Naples we lively and chaotic compared to Venice. Every subway car and train, let alone the roads were crammed with people. We stayed at the "Piazza Dante" B&B where all the room names have a "Dante" theme. Our room name was perfect:




We had two balconies to view the constant stream of traffic below and the life in the square across the street. Naples has a reputation of being dangerous, but really the biggest hazard is the traffic. Only about 75% of the motorcycles would stop for a red traffic light below our room.





The first day we explored the waterfront of Naples. There's a lovely castle on a small island in the harbor with great views.


Nearby we found a restaurant for lunch where Declan could indulge his new passion for seafood and we were entertained by a strolling guitarist.




One of the attractions we visited in Naples was the Catacombs of San Gennaro. This was a fair walk up hill but well worth it to be guided through the excavated caves which have been used as tombs since the third century.




If the city of Naples wasn't busy and noisy enough on a normal day it really took off on New Year's Eve! We'd been hearing the odd large firecracker for a couple of days and on the evening of the last day of the year it really built up to a crescendo. We'd decided not to walk down to the municipal display and just watched from our balcony. That was spectacular enough! Fireworks seem to be issuing from every rooftop and balcony. We had some sparklers we'd bought in Germany and we joined in the fun, Declan staying up to midnight for the first time ever.  The noise went on to well after midnight and we were really pleased we could close the double glazed doors and heavy shutters behind them to get some sleep!

Weird things - a collection. Part I

Weird Things
All Photographic Evidence and Descriptions By Declan


Be careful bunny! 




"Men in Black" on vending machines in Japan




Launch Menu???




Eating ice cream with chopsticks!



Emoji stall at German Christmas Markets



Chuck Norris speaking German on TV!



Mime on the streets of Venice




Groovy "No Entrance" Signs





View of football field from the very top of the Eiffel Tower



Weird Words

Geyser [geye-zer] is spelt Geysir [gee-zer] in Iceland.

Christmas in Venice - canals, fog and an postcard view around every corner

By Quentin

We were very pleased to find that our room in the "Villa Igea" was nicer than we expected. We entered though a small private covered terrace (the only downside was that it seem to catch the infamous distinctive Venice smell which was otherwise not very prevalent fortunately) and then had two large rooms so Declan could enjoy some privacy. Decorated in a style very keeping with Venetian grandeur.  Breakfast was at the main hotel only a few steps away and was the European buffet spread we've come to enjoy.

The Christmas Elves were busy on Christmas Eve decorating the room, putting together an improvised tree and wrapping presents. Declan had assumed Santa would not find him in Venice but it seems the old man has GPS!



Christmas Day was quiet and after a long day of travel the day before we were happy to just orient ourselves and walk around to see the sights. Our hotel was very close to the famous San Marco square which on Christmas Day had fewer people than we ever saw it have again. It was grey and cold but the only day we didn't have much fog.




Our first stop for Venice Museums on Boxing Day was the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. This was a pleasant walk away, crossing the Grand Canal at the Accademia bridge. Declan was very inspired by the modern art that the prominent collector had assembled from artists he'd heard about like Picasso and Dali.



Even after one day we were starting to feel at home and realising that getting lost on the way back from everywhere was never a problem as there was always something lovely to see!