Återställ sökningen
Europe with Trisha 2023
  • Fiona Ferrar
  • Trisha Franklyn
aug. – okt. 2023

Europe with Trisha 2023

Our trip in 2020 needed to be postponed but is now going to happen! Läs mer
+3
FöljÖversiktKalenderDelaDelaBucket list
Nyast först
  • Resans start
    30 augusti 2023
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 1 Flying and Frankfurt

    1 september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    After a leisurely start to the day with casual packing followed by a bit of panic and quick packing we were off. John drove us to Auckland airport and we were there at 3.30 for our flight leaving at 8.30. Maybe Trisha will be a good influence on me? Security was no issue except for Trisha leaving her money belt on and needing to be checked by Hayley who happened to be on duty.

    We had booked 2 aisle seats next to each other and it was great for us to have a spare seat each next to us for our first 17 hour flight. Unfortunately the girl 2 seats away was really sick, coughing and looking like death warmed up for all of the flight.

    Had 3 hours in Dubai, only enough time to get off plan go to the loo find some stuffed dates and then on plane for the next 6.5 hour flight. Both of us slept a bit on the plane and were feeling quite good and excited when we touched down in Europe - first time for Trisha.

    I had made a contact with a lady through a fb group called host a sister and arranged for her to meet us at the airport. She had mixed her days up so wasn’t there, but lived close and we had nowhere else to go so just waited for her. Golly that was such a great plan. Frankfurt airport has been undergoing alterations and my plan of knowing where to catch the train would not have worked well as we had to catch a shuttle bus first. We would have worked it out I’m sure but it was so much easier not having to.

    So we took a train into Frankfurt, found our accomodation which is in the city centre. Very basic with 2 beds in a room with shared shower toilets and laundry and a small lounge area. $110 for the night so was perfect.

    So dropped bags and put shorts on because we were both really hot. It was about 18 degrees but NZ has been a bit colder than that recently.

    We walked around the old town went through a market with yummy fruit and veges, cheese, meat etc. I bought 2 granidilla and was very excited to see them there. Unfortunately 1 wasn’t nice and the other had just the hint of the yummyness of the ones I had tried in South America. There was a bit of a loud drunken crowd in the old square and the police were there on horseback to monitor the situation. We just walked around the other way and by the time we got back they had dispersed.

    We went into many bakeries, and chocolate shops just enjoying the great sights and smells. I think both have ideas about what we can eat tomorrow. The last lunch on the plane was very substantial with a main meal as well as profiteroles, cheese and crackers, bread roll, and a quinoa salad. So we didnt think we needed to eat for a while. Walked over the bridge which was pretty cool and then we both hit the wall. I think we had done pretty well though. Had intended to do a walking tour tomorrow but Martina was probably better than that. She is a lovely lady who used to work at the airport and if people were stranded she would offer them a couch in her small apartment. So then went to a ALdi supermarket got some raspberries, blueberries and chocolate - priorities sorted! Then found a really nice salad type place for dinner.

    Then back to apartment where we crashed. Didn’t even manage to have a shower. So that was 8pm and I had hoped for a good sleep. Which I did have until 1am. Trisha woke up at 3am so I took iPad out to lounge to type this blog and hopefully will be able to go back for a bit more sleep now. I have been feeling ok, but still coughing a bit.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 2 Frankfurt and Nurnberg

    1 september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    After quite a few hours sleep it was time to organise the chaos that was our room after just emptying everything out to find what we needed. That took us to about 10am. Nice shower in place with sideways jets so didn’t have to get hair wet.

    So then 2 hours walking around Frankfurt where it was a bit rainy but warm. Went to the mall, interesting that the designer roof had leaks which we noticed when going up the escalator. Went to supermarket bought 1 banana 1 nectarine 1 toothbrush plus toothpaste. Had pretzels for brekkie at Wiener Feinbaker Heberer. And then went back to the Kleinmarkethalle. Bought a few things there including saffron tea with chia seeds and mint. Tasted great at the stall, and first try this evening was pretty nice. Also discovered a really neat wee bookshop which had some fascinating titles. Bookshop was Buchhandlung Walther Konig. Trisha was sorry she didn’t have a big bag to fit some in.

    Then it was time to go back to get our bags and make our way to the train station. Thanks Google for taking through what seemed to be some dodgy streets with lots of strip clubs and dodgy men hanging around. When we got to the station it appeared that the parallel street looked much nicer! I’m pleased I didn’t choose accommodation near this station though, the reviews did not make it sound like a great place.

    We had lunch at the food market at the train station. Sat at a 4 person table as that’s all that was available, but gave it up for a group of 8 later when a 2 person table was available, those people were very appreciative. We both had a salad and I had some roast chicken to go with it, yummy.

    We thought we had our train sussed very early. Got on platform 7, spoke to a lady who said that train was out of service. We thought that might just change when it was time for ours to go. But luckily Trisha read another sign board and it had changed to platform 6. We got on all ok and had a nice 2.5 hours relaxing on the train.

    Arrived in Nuremberg and had decided to walk the 1.8 kms to our hotel. Hmm, didn’t notice the hills on the walk which took us through the old town which looks great, and we had a few rests on the way and finally got here around 7pm. Our hotel is wonderful. Nice separate sleeping areas and we are here for 4 nights so have unpacked everything.

    We couldn’t be bothered going out for tea so have snacked on what we have, did some washing and will be in bed early.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 3 Nurnberg

    2 september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Both had wonderful sleeps and were ready to go at 8.30. We walked down to the square. There is a rather big hill between our hotel and the main train station and the old city area is in between. So good that we are close to it, but always have to walk that hill.

    Breakfast was an apricot, fig and nectarine from the market. The nectarine was divine! Trish had a coffee from the cart, which had long life milk, guess they didn’t have a fridge handy.

    Then it was off to the information centre which was very useful. We bought a train ticket, was 13 euros which is normally for 1 day, but will cover Sunday as well. Also it is a family ticket so will cover both of us for trains, trams and buses.

    Then we wandered around the old town for a while checking out a few shops, visiting a McD's for a pit stop and then had an awesome chicken salad and roast veges plate from a kebab shop.

    Then it was time to try out the trains. We got off one stop early to start with but easy to get back on the next train. Then caught a tram to very near our hotel. Off to the local supermarket for some fresh food. And then for a wee rest for a couple of hours. We have a mini bar fridge which we have emptied out to put salad stuff in.

    Then it was off to check out the castle which was great to walk around with stunning gardens and good views. The wall around was around 2m wide at the top. It took a while to walk around but we had to leave to get our tickets for the dungeon tour - ie we had to walk down the hill again, and the castle was up a big hill too. After getting the tickets we wandered around for a while and checked out a big church.

    The dungeon tour was pretty good. They were actively used for 500 years until the 1800s. One of the executioners had documented his life thoroughly in the 1500s which gave a good insight as to why people were incarcerated there, why they were tortured and the good dinner before they were executed.

    Then we waited a long time for a band to start at the top of the old city area. We initially had seats but the smoking drove us away. The band were pretty good and we stayed for a few songs.

    It was nice to prepare our own dinner at the hotel with some lovely fresh veges and bread.

    20,300 steps and about 24 degees. A shorts and t shirt day all day.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 4 Nurnberg

    3 september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We were up early and out the door by 8am. Took a tram, train then bus to Doku-Zentrum at which we were supposed to find the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. After walking around a bit we found it and followed some of the stations. The one thought I had was that it was all so HUGE. It appears that they started building this massive arena with huge paved roadway to it but never actually finalised or used it. The road was 60m wide and 1500m long, they didn’t finish the last 500m of the road. Since then there has been a lot of discussion about what it could be used for. We also saw the Zeppelin Grandstand and Zeppelin field. This was the scene for mass parades to assemble before the Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. It was a surprise to be standing somewhere that Hitler had once stood.

    There was also some sort of photo shoot with race cars which seemed a bit odd there, but lanes were marked out for races so it must be a normal thing.

    It took us a couple of hours to walk around, and pictures will not do it justice. Then it was time for Trish to have her first beer here - before midday even! She had a sausage dish for lunch while I had a cheese salad. Her beer didn’t cost much more than my glass of tap water!

    Then it was a tram then train to Nuremberg Palace of Justice where the allies held trials against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries and atrocities against their citizens in WW2.. We visited the museum here and courtroom 600 where the actual trials were held. There was a very good simulated video of the actual trials and a lot of different information to be accessed through the auto cues. Interesting for me was that the Nuremberg principals were to be applied for any future genocide or where atrocities were perpetuated. The recent Ukranian war featured in here too. It did strike me that yesterday we were talking about 500 years of executions in the dungeons, and that the Nazi Germany period was just a small fraction of that time, but what has been remembered the most.

    After that we went back to the hotel for a wee rest. Then later went to walk a part of the old town we hadn’t been too with lots of lovely bridges and photo opportunities. We had a gelato and then back to the hotel for our dinner which we ate off the plastic top of the salad container and the empty grape container. We are still using the wooden forks that we got from Trisha’s drawer at home and used with oranges on our flight. We intend to visit Decathlon tomorrow and might find some proper utensils.

    So winning today is our ability to catch trams, trains and buses. Trisha is totally the expert in working that out.

    There are lots of dogs walking around here, most ignore each other but occasionally there is a bit of barking. When we were waiting for a tram, a child went up to a dog which had a bit of a go at the child. Didn’t look like it connected but everyone seemed to ignore it except the father and grandfather who laughed and told the child that he shouldn’t have gone over in the first place. Child was about 4 ish.

    20,458 steps and 24 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    111

    Day 5 Nurnberg

    4 september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Up early again for us and out the door around 8am. We then took a tram and train to the nearby town of Furth. We wanted to go the info centre but we were too early, so after Trish had had a cappuccino we caught a local bus and ended up at my old favourite Decathlon. Trish bought a small pack, my little fold away one which she had borrowed was not that comfortable while walking around. We bought a bamboo cutlery set so we can stop using the wooden forks, and both bought a top.

    Then we popped over the road and went to a really large supermarket as opposed to the small local we have been frequenting (yes, multiple visits over the last 4 days lol). I made up a salad from the salad bar and Trish had a ready made one. I got some sunblock and bagel chips. Our plan was to catch a bus back to where we had come from but got a bit confused about which way it was. Trish wanted to sit in the shade so we were behind the stop perched on a raised garden bed and so we missed a bus going past. Then when the next bus was due I looked over the road and noticed the other bus stop… with a bench seat… in the shade. So crossed the road, got on the right bus and ended up in a nice grassy area near the info centre where we ate our lunch.

    Gotta talk about the smoking here. Just ridiculous the amount of people smoking. It is hard to sit anywhere without smoke wafting over. So in this grassy area there were 4 benches occupied, and people on 3 of them were smoking when we sat down.

    The people at the info centre were really helpful and we went away with a new map. Caught a train for 1 stop and were then in the old city which was just lovely. Took lots of pics of statues which were quite whimsical. We stopped and had a gelato, and then left due to the smoker next door. Then ended up by some fountains and I got some watermelon which I ate sitting on the grass in a park. Then saw another fountain which kids were playing in. We finally ended up in the green area that we had been aiming for and that was really lovely. Fountains, walkways, kid playgrounds, large green spaces. We sat for quite a while just chatting in front of the water area. A little squirrel joined us for a while and then a couple with a border collie sat on a bench nearby. When we left I said something like “hi matey” to the bc, who then proceeded to lunge and growl at me and I was very pleased he was onlead!

    So then more of a walk back to the train station, and a train then tram back to our hotel. We have had a rather busy 3 days here and are leaving in the morning so have decided we are staying in for the evening. We got back here around 5pm so it was a pretty long day.

    Public transport has been amazing and Trisha is a superstar. We often don’t bother looking at a map to work out what we need to catch. Total has been 8 trains, 8 trams and 3 buses. So a total of 19 public transport trips!

    19,000 steps and 26 degrees today.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1

    Day 6. Scenic train on the Rhine

    5 september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We had a casual start to our day. Off at 7.30 to buy provisions for our train day. Then finalised our packing and chilled out until our leaving time of 10am. Catching tram and train was easy to get back to Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof where Trisha had a coffee and we chilled out in a cafe until our train was due to leave at 11.30.

    We knew we had 2.5 hours to Mainz and then an hour wait until the scenic train, but time marched on and we had a couple of nervous moments wondering if we should have got off at Frankfurt and transferred to another train. But a helpful guy allayed our fears and just said our train was running 40 mins late. Then we wondered if we would make our connection, but he said if we didn’t we could just stay on our current train which would take us through to Koln.

    When we got off the train it turned out that the scenic train was also delayed.

    The scenic train was well worth the extra money and time. I had reserved seats in the panoramic carriage which I thought might be at the rear of the train. But Trisha saw it at the front. It was a really long train and we got on the first third, but had to make our way through a few carriages carrying bags and banging people’s shins. Trisha didn’t want to go back through those carriages to find a toilet later as she was worried about those shins she had attacked.

    Then an older man was in my seat so I had to ask him to move, and Trisha and I had seats which backed onto each other. I asked the lady facing me if she would mind swapping and it was lovely that she did and we had the perfect seats and view.

    It really was some amazing scenery we went through and I would highly recommend it.

    Got to our hotel around 6pm. It is very close to the train station and an ok room but not like our last one and no fridge. We dumped our bags and went for a walk. Gee this place is pumping. Lots of people, river is amazing, we walked over the bridge to the other side, sooo many locks on this bridge. There is also a really long area beside the river with stone benches all the way along for people to sit on and enjoy the river and the views of the other side. Our hotel is very close to the river and entertainment section.

    While on the other side we booked a bike tour for tomorrow online so hopefully that will go ahead. We also have been hearing that there are issues with trains from Paris to Milan because of rock fall, and I have now received an email canceling our train, so we are going to have to find a flight which is a bit of a pain.

    Had a shared pizza for dinner and of course a gelato.

    We are both feeling rather tired tonight which is funny as we haven’t walked a huge amount, but the last few days have been quite busy.

    Really hot today, it was 29 degrees, and was 27 at 7pm.
    14,375 steps…    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1

    Day 7 Cologne

    6 september 2023, Tyskland ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    This morning I was busy trying to interpret the email that I received in French about our cancelled train trip. I was quite impressed with my school girl French to realise it was important and then used google translate to work out what needed to be done for our refund. Managed to find the form to complete in English and when the confirmation email arrived I realised it was in French German and English. So I looked back on the initial email and that was also in 3 languages, I just needed to scroll down, duh!

    Also found out that I can call people on our SIM card as wanted to confirm the bike tour that I booked last night. It was all on, and we walked there arriving a bit early so Trish had her coffee at a cafe and I was asked not to eat my pastry there that I had bought on the way.

    The bike tour was brilliant. There were only 4 other people on the tour plus the guide and a guy training to be a guide. We were all pretty competent (really surprised Trisha that she was placed in that camp), so we did some extra things and some slightly trickier parts like very narrow alleyways, and steep downhills. There was only one really hard hill that we both managed to get up. Haven’t ridden a non e-bike for a while, where was the extra assistance!

    So we rode all over the place, stopping to get info about the sights, walked up to a rose garden, stopped and had a snack, and were finished about 3.5 hours later.

    We walked back to the river Rhine and picked up some bread rolls, cheese tomatoes and salami for a picnic lunch and ate that by the fountain, and I soaked my feet in the nice cool water. Then off to the cathedral which was pretty spectacular inside. They took the windows out in WW2 so they weren’t damaged and there was only a small part that was bombed - a lot of the rest of the city was decimated and has been rebuilt.

    We knew we wanted to go to the chocolate factory which was a 1.4km walk. It was so very hot that we took the little city bus there instead. Inside the factory there was lots of exhibits, free chocolate and explanation of how chocolate was made including actual machines doing it. But, it was very hot in there as well. We didn’t buy any chocolate as it would have melted very quickly and we don’t have a fridge in our room.

    So back on the wee bus which took a while to get back to the cathedral which is close to our hotel. We had a rather short lie down and decided we didn’t have many more steps in us so we had dinner at the bottom of the hotel that we are in. Couldn’t be bothered walking a block to get a gelato either! Might be because Trish has a rather large beer and I had a limoncello spritzer.

    So let’s talk about the weather. I knew there had been a heat wave and was expecting it to be cooler. Sarah our bike guide said that it was really cold here last week and she had to lend warm clothes to people doing the tours. I have just received a heat wave warning from the UK government as it is going to get hotter. Paris seems to be hotter than here and is forecasted to be 35 when we arrive on Sunday. But then 23 the next day, we might feel the chill then lol. Trish and I have known each other for a long time and it’s good that we feel comfortable with just wearing a bra and undies in our rooms because it is just too hot for anything else. The bonus is that our washing dries really quickly every day.

    18,761 steps and 30 degrees    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1
    12

    Day 8 Amsterdam

    7 september 2023, Nederländerna ⋅ 🌙 25 °C

    We were a bit too knackered to pack last night and thought we had it down to a fine art so were up about 7 and all ready packed and showered by 8. Trisha had a coffee in the square looking at the amazing Cologne cathedral which gave us a sitting spot. I went in search of something to eat on the train for lunch. We have really missed having a fridge. I found a Rewe to go which had a great salad bar amongst other things and even had fresh milk. So I got a salad and banana and then got lost in train station trying to get back. I was just thinking about googling the cathedral when I worked it out. Then finally remembered my middle of the night thought that Trish and I should share location on snap chat so we can find each other.

    We were at our train platform pretty early, and Trish went and got her salad. No drama on the train today. We hadn’t reserved our seats but no one moved us on so was all good. We switched trains at Utrecht so we could go directly close to our accomodation and had a 1.2 km walk when we arrived and chose not to try the metro to get closer.

    Our room is rather tiny. We are at an Airbnb which is a one bedroom flat. The owner, his wife and their 8 month old baby relocate to the lounge when they have guests. But Peter is really nice and been helpful when I contacted him before we arrived and part of the charm was having free bikes to use.

    So after putting some washing on, didn’t realise the front loader would take 3 hours so my clothes for going out were limited, we were off on our bikes whizzing around Amsterdam. It was soooooo much fun! Trisha did really well, probably didn’t expect it to be nearly as chaotic as it was and also probably surprised that she survived the experience! Bikes, people, cars and trams were everywhere.

    The sights were pretty cool. Lots of boats in the canals, pretty bridges, found the flea market, looked for optician shops, found some lens cleaner and basically just absorbed the atmosphere. Found a gelato shop and mine was limoncello and mango. They also sold hemp cookies, great combination!

    So it just got busier and busier so we decided that we had had enough and started the bike back. Found a spot where lots of people were swimming in the canal which was a bit surprising.

    We have access to a fridge here, so planned a supermarket visit. Trish stayed outside with the bikes and probably wanted to send out a search party for me. For a start it was a huge supermarket and I was feeling the responsibility of deciding what to buy. Then I used the self checkout and my Wise card wouldn’t work. There were several people waiting for assistance which took quite a while. The assistant told me that only European credit cards were accepted, really? But then said cash was ok and there was an atm at the entrance. Of course my Wise card wouldn’t give me cash - found out later that I had disabled it in the app. So it was outside to Trish who also didn’t have the 25 euros we needed. I had her Wise card and she kindly told me her pin which I have forgotten. So got cash out on her card and then had to try and find my shopping. I nearly fell over it on the floor and the lady who had it said do you still want this? At that stage not really! Then back to the cash lane and finally outside to Trish.

    So back to our room and had a lovely dinner with some yummy chocolate for dessert. We had thought about going out tonight but have piked out. Maybe tomorrow.

    30 degrees, 10,836 steps, but several hours of biking too.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 9 Amsterdam

    8 september 2023, Nederländerna ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    This tripping around is rather tiring. We were in bed before 10 and I slept until 6.30. We had a leisurely start to the day and were on our bikes by 8.30 and on our way to Anne Frank’s house where we had booked tickets for 9.30. We got there successfully except an encounter with a thorn bush for Trisha. As we were early I went off to try and find an ETOS chemist for some anti bacterial cream for her, but got a bit lost so returned so I wasn’t late.

    Anne Frank house was very moving, and reading all the stories again just brought it home how horrific that time was for people. There is now a video at the end saying that 30 years ago about 50 % of the world had democratic rule, in 2021 that had shrunk to 30%. So there was quite a message about protecting our democracy which was a sobering message.

    Across the road was the tulip museum so we had a look at their nick nacks which were all pretty cute and then onto a cheese shop next door where we tasted a lot of cheese. On the way to Anne Frank I had noticed fresh stroopwaffles, so then we went in search of those. Biked quite a way before we found one, but while biking down a busy street I spied a croc shop. I have been getting sore spots on my feet from all the walking in the heat. I thought about bringing my crocs from nz but changed my mind last minute. Fur lined wouldn’t have worked here though. I was very pleased to find some bright yellow ones on special and wore them for the rest of the day.

    After our stroopwaffle we realise there was a Hard Rock Cafe in town which is somewhere Trish had been keen to try. We had a really nice lunch there with a cool drink and the best thing was the air con. Then it was off to a local park for a lie down on the grass. Lots of traffic there, foot and bike. The most interesting was the guy walking about 10 large dogs while he was on his bike, just around the corner they all ran off chasing something, no one seemed to care.

    I was pleased that I managed to navigate the 5kms back to our place without the help of google. The canals help a lot with the orientation.

    After a couple of hours rest, we departed on our big night out in Amsterdam! Managed to find our way to the metro station, bought tickets for there and the way back and we were off! There were loads of people around. We did visit the Museum of Secrets which had insights about the prostitution industry which was very interesting. Then we roamed around, saw a few people who possibly had been eating the special cookies. There were some ladies in windows who were ready for business. We didn’t buy anything to eat or drink while we were out and no prizes for guessing how long we were out for! But we managed to get the metro back with no issues and had dinner in our room.

    Packing up time again as we are off to Ghent and some Belgium chocolate tomorrow.

    30 degrees, 12, 094 steps and around 20 kms on the bikes.

    I really enjoyed the biking. I should tot up the near misses…
    1. Trisha getting spiked on her lower leg by a thorny bush after riding into the bushes
    2. Me riding totally into the info centre when I forgot I only had back brakes which didn’t work well
    3. Trisha nearly arsing off coming out of the park when someone biked to close to her and she lost her balance
    4. Motorbike hooning around the corner in the bike lane nearly taking me out and yelling imbecile as he left
    5. Very fast guy on a black bike that I just didn’t see having to take evasive action
    6. Trisha following me when the sign changed to stop and getting abused

     But we lived to tell the tales!    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 10 Ghent

    9 september 2023, Belgien ⋅ 🌙 27 °C

    We had planned our route well last night. Intended to leave at 8.30, and left at 8.29. So a walk, then a short train ride to the main station and then waited there for over an hour for our train to Antwerp. The train was a bit late so we missed our connection, but as it was an open ticket we were fine and just caught the next train to Ghent. The first train was nice and comfortable. The 2nd one was extremely hot. We were sitting over from a man from Palestine who had paid 12,000 euros to get a false passport and get into Belgium 5 years ago. Currently he can’t leave Belgium as he still isn’t legal and wouldn’t be able get back in. He wants to as he isn’t happy with the administration here. It was interesting talking to him.

    We arrived around 1pm and it was very hot. It took a while to find our tram and we weren’t convinced we were going the right way, but all was good. The 350m walk seemed a really long way towing the bags. Last time I weighed mine it was nearly 12 kgs. And that was before the crocs appeared. But when we got to our accommodation it was just amazing. We are in an underground room and it has air conditioning, very exciting! So we rested for a couple of hours just cooling down and I had a shower.

    Then off in search of a good ole Belgian waffle. We walked around for a bit, tried some individual chocolates, couldn’t buy many due to them melting. And then had an awesome waffle with cream and fresh fruit. Yummy.

    The old town of Ghent is just lovely, amazing buildings every way we turned. We took quite a few pics, and then found a spot sitting beside the canal in the shade and were there for quite a while, just watching all the different water vehicles going down the cancel. There were so many different ones, and varying levels of sobriety and noise levels.

    We have both been pretty tired today, moving around in this heat has taken it out of us. So visited a supermarket in the way back, simple ham and salad for tea which was just perfect.

    When we got back our host visited us, Franky. He seems really nice and we sort of wish we were staying here longer. The room is huge as it can sleep 9 and also has a couch and table. We are currently watching game shows in English as it is the only tv channel in English. Quite nice having something playing in the background. Watching Friends in German in Nuremberg wasn’t quite the same. So expecting to have an early night and more exploring in the morning.

    13,413 steps and a very very hot 34 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1

    Day 11 Ghent and Paris

    11 september 2023, Frankrike ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We felt very rested this morning in our huge air conditioned room and lovely bathroom. We rated this our number one stay so far. We had 2 plans this morning, breakfast waffles and castle. The waffles were great, and it was nice sitting down watching various people going past starting their day. Then we went for a walk around the block, and Trisha did an extra walk around another block.

    The castle was open at 10am and we were there ready and waiting. The audio guide was the funniest that I have heard, recorded by a comedian. He brought lots of hilarious asides in, like how worried do you need to be about expired yoghurt. The castle itself was not large having 2 bedrooms and a few other rooms including an execution chamber, but lots of winding stairs up and down and a great view from the top. There was 2 long drops on the 2nd floor, 2 so you could have company. Really loooooong drops which went straight into the canal. The audio cue had some funny tales about the public being able to see how healthy the Count was by checking out his number 2’s on the way down.

    Then it was back to our lovely room to have some lunch, and cool down a bit before heading off. We were 350m from a tram and had got used to walking on the tram tracks instead of the cobbles which were pretty hard going. We were at the main station rather early for our train, so asked if we could catch an earlier one to Brussels which we did. There was a chocolate store there which had a portable aircon unit which I directed under my t shirt for while. Minimum chocolate spend was 10 euro, and there was no point as they would have melted as soon as I left the shop. Train from Brussels to Paris was going 223 kph at one stage so it only took 1.5 hours to get there. Then more train tickets for the metro in Paris to the Chatelet station which seemed to take forever to get out of, and lots of stairs to walk up with bags. When we got out I was starting up google maps to find our accommodation when Trisha saw it across the road. It was 35 degrees and we were very happy to have found it so quickly.

    Our room is small with no aircon but a reasonable fan. And at least the single beds can move around. We unpacked and did some washing the old way by stomping on it in the bath. That was a nice cooling experience! Then went for walk to the Louvre though visited Uniqlo on the way. All the buildings are huge and pretty spectacular. There are boxes there for people, to stand on while taking pics of them theoretically doing things to the pyramid on top of the Louvre entrance. We also walked through to the gardens and sat down for a while. Then it was back to our room with a few sitting stops on the way. There is a supermarket right next to our hotel, but it had shut early on Sunday. So we got a salad from another place and I also had a crepe which we ate in our room.

    It is incredible hot. I didn’t have the energy to write this blog last night. Then I suggested Trish use her cooling towel, and she said why didn’t I use my whole towel. That was a life changing experience! I have never gone to bed before wearing a wet towel. I totally zonked out for about 9 hours and the towel was dry by then.

    Initially it looked like today was the last of the really hot days, but nope we have one more though not quite as hot as today.

    17,987 steps and far too hot at 35 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1

    Day 12 Paris

    11 september 2023, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We both felt a bit jaded this morning after the heat of yesterday. Trish decided she would like to go to the Louvre which I was fine to miss as I have been before. But she had difficulty buying tickets online. So we both walked to the info centre where she bought a ticket and we got train tickets for the next 3 days. We also stopped at a shop and Trisha bought a nice lightweight dress. As we had the free train tickets I went with Trish on her first big excursion on her own and saw her safely to the ticket line. Then I went back to our hotel and had a nice few hours tidying up and reading a book.

    When she returned (under her own steam and using the trains) it was starting to get really hot again. So we had a bit of a chat, I disappeared to the supermarket which is the next shop to the entrance of our hotel, nice and convenient and we got pastries from there for breakfast. Everything is pretty expensive though so it would be nice to go to a large supermarket to compare the prices. Bag of chips was 4.5 euros, so about $8, yummy tho!

    Then it was time to head off to Moulin Rouge. The trains are so easy to get around, we had one change to get there and were there so early that we sat outside for a while people watching.

    So wearing a bra is really optional in Paris, and negligees with jeans is a popular option as well.

    We were one of the first to be seated for MR, which meant over an hour before the show. There were singers for entertainment and lots of people were up dancing to that. Then we had the show which was pretty spectacular. The costumes were amazing. There were 2 different strong men acts whose balance was amazing, and also a couple roller skating on a small circular platform. It was interesting in each act that some of the ladies had their boobs out while others didn’t. We both thought it would have been all out or none. The singers were really good too.

    We were out before 11, and with the 2 trains were back at hotel by 11.30. That is a pretty late night for us!

    14,753 steps and slightly cooler at 31 degrees    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 13 Paris

    12 september 2023, Frankrike ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    The weather forecast was incredibly accurate for today. We got up late after our late night and after watching a crane hoist lift things to the top floor of a neighbouring apartment, we didn’t get out the door until 10am. Then we set off to catch our Toot tour bus from the stop at the Louvre, unfortunately there was a film being made in the area so we couldn’t walk through it at all and the bus couldn’t get in either. So we had to walk a bit further and a bus never came, so walked further and finally got one. We rode up top for a while but then on cue at 11.30 the rain started and it was pretty heavy. So downstairs we went and it seemed to be a good idea to stay on the bus for a while which we did until we got to the Notre Dame stop.

    We were both feeling pretty hungry by then. We had started our day with a banana and pain au chocolat quite some time before. I was also feeling pretty cold as I had crocs on with no socks and only a t shirt. We found a lovely little restaurant with a 3 course meal for 14 euros. The French Onion soup was amazing with a slightly unusual chicken with chips and then chocolate mousse to finish, yummy!

    Notre Dame is not open after the fire but they are working hard for that to happen for 2024. We were not far from our hotel so went back there for me to find some warmer clothes. The reason I have been wearing the crocs is due to blisters I got with the heat. They have gone down a bit and with the cooler weather it was lovely to wear long pants, merino sox and my normal shoes.

    Tomorrow we are doing a bike tour to Versailles, so today worked out the train route we needed to take and had a practice run. After that we visited the Petite Palace which is a free museum which had some interesting things to see. And then off to the Eiffel Tower. I have never been up there before because getting tickets seemed too tricky. But Trish was keen so we went for a look and just walked straight in and bought tickets. We bought them right to the top, but I didn’t realise that meant only 50m lower than the very top. It was very high! When we first got out of the lift we couldn’t see a thing because of the cloud cover, but then it started to lift. It was a great experience and we could see all the places that we have been. We stopped at the 2nd floor on the way down as well. I’m very pleased Trish was keen to do that as it was awesome.

    By this stage we were hungry again as it was about 7pm, so stopped for a quick bite to eat before heading to the Arc de Triomphe. It was much later than we expected, and after climbing the 50 million steps, it was dark when we got to the top. But we had incredible views of the Eiffel Tower being lit up as well as many other things. And of course there was car watching to be done. Just fascinating watching them navigate the lanes of traffic from the 12 roads that enter the roundabout. We could have stayed there for longer but were conscious of our early rising for tomorrow. So then back on the train and straight through to our station at Chatalet.

    We really do have an awesome location here, very close to train station and other things.

    20,262 steps with lots of stairs. High was 20 degrees which was just lovely.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1

    Day 14 Versailles, Paris

    13 september 2023, Frankrike ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    We had a shock to the system this morning and had to set an alarm for 6am, heaven forbid! But were where we needed to be 30 mins ahead of time ready for our Blue Bike tour in Versailles. It was a 40 min train trip there, but nice to not have to think or organise anything for this. We just followed our guide, Vanessa. There were 11 of us with her, all from Canada or the US apart from us, and really nice people. Peter was 83 and was like a spring chicken.

    When we got to Versailles we went for a bit of a walk to find the market where we were to buy our food for the day. It was interesting being taken through and we tried some cheese at a couple of places. But the idea of buying our food for the day there went out of my mind when I saw the nectarines were 28.7 euro per kg. So that is around $50 nzd per kg. We have been loving the nectarines here but that was a stretch way too far. The raspberries were 8 euro. So we went to a bakery and then used google to find a supermarket where we got nectarines for 4 euro per kg which was much more reasonable.

    Then we went for more of a walk to find our bikes. I was pretty surprised at how far we had to walk for the bikes. But finally we were on them and biking through the streets before entering the park. Bikes were a lot more stable that in Amsterdam with thicker tyres. The park is open to everyone, and we saw lots of dogs being walked there. Vanessa gave us a few history talks along the way, and her favourite king was the sun king which was Louis the 14th. And we know a bit more now about kings at that time, the revolution, Napoleon etc. We biked along the paths until we got to the end of the canal looking 2kms back to the Palace. That was where we sat on our ponchos on the grass to eat our lunch. We had a baguette, cheese, tomatoes and nectarines.

    The park will be the venue for the 2024 Olympic Equestrian events. Work is well underway to prepare the grounds and parts are being closed off to do this. It will all be restored after the Olympics are finished.

    We stopped there for half an hour, and then went to the Grand Trianon which was the summer palace of Louis the 14th. The gardens there were pretty special. We had alone time there for a while, then back to the bikes and onto the Petite Trianon which was built for Louis the 15th and the Queen’s Hamlet which was built in 1783 at the request of Marie Antoinette. The hamlet is supposed to be a bit like Disneyland and certainly was rather cute. There were also a number of grape vines hanging above a walkway, and yes we tried some grapes from the queen's garden.

    Then we rode back to drop our bikes off and headed for the Palace and were in there around 4pm. This was a huge museum and there was no way that we could even try to see everything, so we didn’t. We did a couple of floors and then headed out to the garden. We were both feeling extremely knackered by this time and didn’t have the energy to walk down further. We did see the golf carts available for hire and considered it, but we needed to get back and pack for tomorrow.

    So after the long walk back to the train station, and 2 train rides back to our hotel it was 8pm. So a pretty big day. We popped into our supermarket next door and got some bananas and of course more nectarines for our dinner and breakfast, and then it was packing time.

    Our trip tomorrow included a train from Paris to Milan. Trains have beeen cancelled for the next few months due to rockfall. So it was slightly stressful having to try and book a flight on easyjet. But, we managed that, paid to take our bags on the plane as well as checking in blue bag which we hadn't confessed to having! We needed to check on a bag so I could put my collapsible victorinox knife in. The cost was about the same price as the train and we are hopeful of getting a refund. This has meant that we have to sort out liquids again and check what we have accumulated so far. The cabin bags can be 12 kgs so we should be ok.

    26,211 steps plus biking, no wonder we are knackered. But the temperature today was just perfect at 24 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1

    Day 15 Milan

    14 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Alarm set for 6 and planned to leave the hotel by 7.30 and we were ahead of time. Then google maps said there was an accident on the train line which caused some consternation. But the hotel man suggested we check with a train person so we went down a different entrance to the metro, checked with attendant and all was fine. So it took around an hour to get to Charles de Gaulle airport, and then all was quite obvious really so we were through security an hour before we needed to board.

    I had been mildly worried about this flight. Not like me to randomly book flights on my phone while I am in the middle of a trip, but it all went off perfectly. The plane was great, flight was 1 hour and 15 minutes and it actually seemed to be a better option than the 6 hour train ride that we will still hopefully get a refund for. Total cost was about the same with trains to and from the airport.

    Train from Malpensa airport was about an hour and then we caught a local metro for several stops and then entered paradise!

    We are very lucky that Trisha has a cousin who lives in Milan and has an apartment here. He is away currently but we are staying here anyway. It is not large, but just sooo pleasant to be in the calm quiet with air conditioning. We hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and it was then 4pm so we walked around the corner to a local supermarket for supplies, came back and decided we were done for the day.

    Lovely salad for dinner even served on crockery rather than our plastic plates (which we have used heaps).

    Total steps 13,343 (because trains and airports are massively huge and take a while to walk to where you need to be). And a very pleasant 25 degrees, not that we were out in it much.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 16 Milan and Monterosso

    15 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    It was lovely being in separate bedrooms for a night, not that Trish snores at all though lol. We got up earlyish and were going to ride some lime scooters. But the lime e bikes were closer so we used those instead. Had a fun time biking around a park, to a castle and then the duomo while picking up some fresh focaccia on the way.

    It was supposed to rain in Milan so for a change we decided to take a taxi to the train station. We had a bag full of half dry washing in addition to our normal bags and backpacks and a bag of food so it was great to not lug that all around and then it didn't rain anyway. We were at the train station early as per normal so sat around for over an hour waiting for our train which went straight through to Monterosso. We were organised again and made a healthy lunch on the train.

    Our hotel here is really nice. Bedroom is normal size, but a large bathroom down a few steps with an awesome shower.

    We basically unpacked, found swimming attire, grabbed towels and walked down to the beach which is very close. It was still 25 degrees at 4pm and we spent about an hour just floating in the water which was quite warm and wonderfully clear. My crocs have been so very useful, as the beach was a bit stony. They also provided extra buoyancy! We were talking to some Canadian people while we were in the water which was nice.

    Then back to hotel for a shower and out for a walk to find a gelato and some dinner. The gelato was easy and yummy, the dinner took us a bit longer to decide. We walked to the old part of Monterosso, our hotel is near the train station and beach in the new part. We ended up both having spaghetti, but Trish had a lot of seafood on hers. Had sides of roasted peppers and aubergine which was all pretty nice.

    The walk back was in the twilight and we are loving the air conditioning in this hotel! Low of 18 degrees overnight.

    14,141 steps and 25 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 17 Cinque de Terre

    16 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    Up early this morning before the heat and took a train to the next village which is my favourite one - Vernazza. We walked down to the sea and marvelled at it for a while, then walked up the hill a bit for breakfast focaccia and nectarines and then back down to eat breakfast by the sea. A man was washing his boat close to us with a leaky hose connection which was useful for washing hands.

    After eating we felt we had enough energy to walk up a hill to get some good pics of the lovely harbour. It was nice resting at some spots in the shade on the way and also talking to a few people on the way up. Pictures were just stunning at that time of the morning.

    Then onto the train again to the next village Corniglia. We wanted to use the paid toilet at the train station but the sign was out, closed for cleaning for 5 mins. We waited more than 5 mins, but the lady on her phone swiping a wet rag occasionally over a shelf didn’t constitute cleaning so the sign stayed out. We wimped out on walking all the steps to the top with the heat and hadn’t realised there was a bus we could have caught, so then trained to the last town which is Riomaggiore. It was lovely there. The beaches were quite small and rocky but there were lots of people in the water. We asked about the ferry tickets and were told we could buy them in the boat. Hmm, after walking down all the steps to the boat, we’re told we needed to at the ticket office. So up the steps again we went, bought tickets, and then had nearly an hour to wait. But we were in the shade in front of the prime selfie taking spot so it was a great place for people watching.

    The boat ride to Manorola only took 10 mins so was underwhelming, but was nice to have some views from out at sea. We had lunch there, gelato and fries… perfect lol. There were many many people around by that time with a cruise ship docked in La Spezia, disgorging many people so time to retreat back to Monterosso and our hotel. It was lovely there to strip off to our togs, wrap a towel around us, leave the key at reception and walk down to the beach were we spent quite a bit of time floating in the water again. It was a bit more choppy today but totally refreshing. Afterwards I even had a hot shower which I love to do, but have only wanted to have luke warm ones most of the time we have been away.

    Then we took the train in the other direction to Levanto. This is a larger town and where I stayed on my previous visit. We walked down to the beach, visited some market shops and then the supermarket for dinner supplies before catching the train back again. Train ride was interesting with a lady from Australia regaling us with her tales of falling down the steps at her hotel, and seeking medical treatment. I think she was just happy to be talking in English to someone about her experience.

    Packing time again tonight after a nice healthy dinner. We have a tiny TV and Trisha managed to get a NCIS programme to play in English which was a bit exciting.

    17,305 steps and 26 degrees though it felt a lot hotter with the stairs.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 18 Pisa

    17 september 2023, Italien ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    We set our alarm this morning for 5.45, yikes as we had the plan to stop in Pisa on our way to Rome. So we were packed and on our first train by just after 7, then after a second one we arrived in Pisa at 9am. We had booked a place to store our bags, and after 2 false starts for finding the place it was very easy to use - called Stow your Bags. Had a quick toilet stop at a cafe with a croissant (yes they do go together !), and then we had to try out the e-scooters that I had spied in the piazza near the cafe.

    I have been wanting to try out scooters for quite a while and were so pleased that we did that today. It was around a 2km walk to the leaning tower from the train, and while the walk there would have been ok, walking back in the heat was probably not. But we cooled off nicely hooning along less busy streets and were there pretty soon.

    There were a lot of people around the tower. We took a few pics, and watched others taking pics, and then walked around to the baptistery where we could walk on the grass and that was lovely in bare feet. We lay there in the shade for a while. Both of us were feeling rather jaded by the heat and the humidity was very high today as well. Bonus today was that we found some cheap hand held fans to help cool us down.

    So then we scootered back, went to the same cafe and had lemon gelatos, picked up our bags, went to another cafe to try and find something to eat in the train, but it was all made up focaccia. Trisha’s looked good, but I was rather disappointed to find that mine was some sort of tuna paste, yuck!

    We were at the station very early for our train and had booked 1st class this time. It was great to relax for 3 hours in good air conditioning.

    Our host in Rome had contacted me several times and is really chatty. Instead of using google maps to find our public transport, which we have been very successful in doing, we followed her directions and of course we got on the wrong bus. Realised it after a while, got off, and waited nearly an hour for the right bus. So we didn’t get to our accomodation until it was dark. Our hostess Kiara couldn’t meet us tonight but her older mum did and she was just lovely while not speaking a word of English!

    Our place is really nice with 2 large beds, one upstairs and one down. Our beds last night were very small singles, and we both felt like we were falling off them all night. Though I am sitting here wondering if the washing machine is going to break down cos it is pretty noisy. In fact it didn't break down, but didn't spin clothes at all and I suspected not rinsed either, so I did that by hand.

    We did need some food and are staying in Trastevere which is renowned for good food. We had a restaurant in mind, but then went past this awesome pizza place which had chicken legs, potatoes and a nice mixed rice salad. Just the perfect food to take back to our house where we once again have plates and crockery!

    It’s supposed to be 33 degrees tomorrow, so let’s see now far our stamina takes us.

    Steps 15,201. 31 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 19 Rome

    18 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We had a pretty leisurely start to today after feeling washed out yesterday. And then planned to be out for about 3 hours doing Ill Vittorio, Colosseum, Santa Maria Maggiore and then lunch at the Mercato Centrale before catching a bus back home. Well that plan didn’t work that well as we got back around 6pm!

    The first part went well with our walk. We had forgotten that breakfast is included in our accomodation and had walked quite a way before we realised we hadn’t eaten anything. We got a bit distracted by the pop up shops with linen clothes and bags, but then found an awesome cafe. It was tiny, but had great service, air conditioning and a toilet. What more could we want!

    So then back to our walking past a few ruins and impressive buildings until, we got to Ill Vittorio. We thought about walking to the top but that would have impinged on our 3 hour curfew lol. Thank golly we didn’t do that as well with the way our day panned out. Unfortunately the roundabout in front was not accessible, and the front of the building was having renovations, but it was still very impressive.

    Once again it had got very hot so it took us a while to get to the Collosseum with a few rest stops. We walked around the massive structure and saw that the line for tickets was rather long standing in the sun.

    So next stop was the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica. But on the way we walked past the Museum of Illusions. After a brief chat we decided to go in and had a great time taking silly pictures.

    The Basilica was really great. I had been before and remembered how good it was, but I hadn’t remembered the individual parts so it was really good to go again. We stayed in there for a while as there was a lot to see.

    Our final walk was to get lunch at the Mercato Central that we had noticed yesterday by the train station. It was around 3pm by that time, so the breakfast croissant was a distant memory. I had a yummy lunch of chicken ciaccatore with potatoes and lettuce while Trish had a salad. We walked back through the shopping part of the train station and saw a few new types of crocs there. Then we waited for quite a while for bus H again, which never turned up. So we tried another one, changed buses mid route and got off when we were over the river and walked the rest of the way stopping at 2 supermarkets on the way and the same dinner place as last night. We should have enough supplies! Though I was quite amazed at my ability to buy yet another thing with unexpected tuna in it in 2 days, the pasta combo looked so nice but was not!

    The limone dark Lindt chocolate was very nice and is now gone.

    We are staying in Trastevere which is known for its nightlife. We haven’t seen or heard much of that so far.

    18,104 steps and 32 degrees. Was a bit less humid today though.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1121

    Day 20 Rome

    19 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    We remembered our breakfast this morning and were having croissants and Trish a cappuccino at 8am. After Trish escorted an elderly lady across the road, we were on our way walking to the Pantheon. Part way we decided that a bus was a better option.

    Pantheon was massive from the outside. But a really long queue for tickets. But right next door we found a really cool store called Legami, and we got a bit carried away buying some cool gadgets there. The store had only opened on Saturday. We took a few more pics and then headed for Piazza Nervona. It was a shame that the fountains were roped off, maybe to stop people from jumping in. There were a lot of people around today, and sooooo many tours with tired hot people following each other around. Very pleased that was not us!

    We tried some truffle sauces in a shop which was right next door to the cannabis shop which we didn’t try. Had yummy ice creams at a shop with 150 flavours which took us a while to choose. I had pistachio and pomegranate while Trish had Whiskey chocolate and blueberry. Rather nice and great to have a toilet there. Public toilets are a lot less available in Rome than we have been used to, and we have been drinking a lot of water.

    When we got to Trevi Fountain google maps said it was a busy as it gets and that was pretty busy. The colour was wonderful on such a sunny day and it is always good to see that.

    Time for some food by then, and we shared a really nice pizza and bruschetta in a restaurant with aircon. I was told off for removing my shoes tho, it wasn’t a crocs day. Next stop was the Spanish steps, and we found some roasted chestnuts on the way which we tried and they were just ok. The steps were not as large as either of us expected. Police were around to ensure that no one sat on the steps, or took ice creams up there. Some people were quite indignant to be told that they couldn’t.

    We were quite a long way away from our accomodation by this stage, but both feeling hot and sick of the many many people. So we caught a taxi back which was 13 euros and well worth it. Spent a few hours reading books that were available in the Airbnb (Sophie Kinsella), packing and we had a nice salad for tea using up the contents of the fridge.

    Off to Florence early tomorrow morning. Might need a bag for wet washing again, and will hopefully be successful in getting a taxi from here.

    14, 029 steps and 31 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 21 Florence

    20 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    We had heard from our host that taxis sometimes don’t get to Trastevere very quickly these days, so we had planned to get up early enough so that if one didn’t come then we still had time to catch a bus. Of course the taxi was there within 5 mins, there was less traffic around so we were at the train station by 7.40am, and our train wasn’t until 9.10am. I’m not sure that all this being early is going to rub off on me though…

    We had a nice breakfast at the Mercato in Rome, our train was great, went 250kph, our new host allowed us to check in early so we were all unpacked and organised to see the city by 1.

    Our first stop was going to be the Florence Mercato for lunch. We got distracted a bit on the way there by the leather merchants. And then there were so many options for lunch. Trisha minded the table while I ordered mine which was beef ragout with salad and potatoes. It was very yummy and huge, so Trish ended up sharing it. We haven’t eaten a lot of meat in the last 3 weeks so made up for it today.

    So then it was walking time again. We went through a few piazzas, checked out some more leather, bought leather gloves for me, Trisha nearly bought a bag. And then we were at the Duomo which is always a stunning sight. There were lots of artists around and it was interesting seeing their drawings and paintings. There is also a Lindt shop right next door, and we might have bought a few things to sample. Off walking again to see the piazza that the replica of the David is in amongst other interesting statues,

    Then it was past the Uffizzi gallery and over the pont vechio bridge to the pitti palace. Just so many sights in a small area. Lots of people too, but not nearly as many as in Rome and feels a lot more comfortable. We also saw another Legami shop where I bought a small case for my foldable glasses.

    Then it was a slow walk back to our hotel, though it was nice by the river. Our hotel is pretty small and basic, but had aircon and a fridge which is great. It also has a private bathroom for us, but it is in a separate room over the corridor from our room.

    We went out later to the supermarket and had a light dinner in our room.

    20,896 steps, and a much more comfortable 26 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 22 Florence

    21 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    It was supposed to be raining today so we had not made any plans. Before we came here we had thought of a Tuscany bike tour, but wanted to check the weather before we booked. Of course it ended up being fine all day!

    Our first stop on our walk this morning was to the cathedral because it is just awesome to walk past. We decided it was too early for Lindt, so went to Eaterly for breakfast instead and had a lovely stuffed focaccia bread.

    Then I was off on a search for hire of e bikes. Trisha was probably quite relieved that we couldn’t find anyone that would hire us one. So changed the plan to local buses instead. First off was to Michelangelo Piazza which had stunning views of the city without too many people at that time. Then after a couple of dodgy road crossings we managed to get on our next bus to go to Fiesoli which is a town up in the hills on the other side of Florence. We had one bus change and made our first bus faux pas, ie waiting for quite a while on the wrong side of the road for a bus that didn’t come luckily. Once we realised and crossed the road, the wrong bus did come lol. The ride up the hill was quite spectacular in terms of the views.

    Unfortunately there were no markets up there today, but we walked up to the convent San Francesco where there were really great views. It was also slightly windy and we had a shady place so stayed there for quite a while.

    When we got back on the bus there was an American guy complaining to the driver that he had paid 21 euro for his 9 bus tickets to a previous driver and was wanting to know he could complain to. Answer is no-one buddy as tickets cost more if you buy them on board. We paid 1 euro 70 for ours and knew they lasted for 90 minutes after they were validated. Then another woman was talking about validation and I said you really need to do that, and she said yes we know as they got a big fine earlier in the day. Fines start at 50 euro and there were several women in their party. Pleased we have always passed muster so far and have tickets that are in order.

    So we got off the bus near the Mercato and Trisha bought her leather bag that she had eyed up yesterday and it was still her most preferred bag. And then Mercato again for a very late lunch.

    Back to the cathedral where we were treated to a brilliant impromptu opera performance by a singer who has an Insta account called opera on the street. He was really good and must have earned several hundred euros for his 4 song performance.

    I had noticed earlier that there was a Pylone store not very far away so we went and had a look there and managed not to buy anything which was a minor miracle as there were lots of cute small things there. Of course I have a few cute small things from there already at home!

    So once again we were back at our hotel early having dinner here and watching NCI type programs on tv, the last of the party animals! That was after Trish trying out the laundromat that was just at the bottom of our stairs.

    16, 753 steps and 28 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023

    Day 23 Florence

    22 september 2023, Italien ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    We were really tired last night so were asleep rather early. So this morning we woke up pretty early ie 6am and were out the door just after 9am lol.

    It was a tragic day for Trish yesterday as she had been fanning herself with her pretty hat rather than having it on her head, and it chose to stay at some place unknown. So we went back to the Mercato to see if it had been there with no luck. But while we were in the downstairs market we had fun looking at everything and I bought some plain focaccia and mini tomatoes for breakfast along with some yummy fig biscotti while Trish got an olive and tomato focaccia. We tried quite a few things, cheeses, truffle sauce, and a honey pomegranate balsamic glaze that I ended up buying. We are eating quite a bit of salad and have accumulated a couple of dressings, but this one is just lovely and I have a couple of weeks to finish it off.

    Then we had a bit of a walk to the leather school. We ended up in a leather shop with a demonstration which was pretty good, and then sort of realised that we had joined part of a tour group which wasn’t obvious when we first went in. But hearing how to check for the best leather and seeing different techniques was very interesting, and the toilets were good lol. So the actual leather school was a bit further away and we found ourselves in a really peaceful area very close to a bit of tour group madness in the Piazza. The school had some lovely items for sale but we didn’t succumb. Some of the bags were individually designed and decorated and were just fantastic. We have just realised that neither of us took any pics of them, duh!

    Today seemed to be a ‘let’s feel tired day’. So we walked back to our hotel with just a few stops on the way, a nice different leather shop where I nearly bought a purse, a pharmacy for some Panadol which turned out to be double strength, the magic boar which must be touched to ensure that we return to Firenze, the local Pam’s for some lettuce cheese and prosciutto and a few other random stops which made our 21 minute walk from google maps take about an hour.

    We had a nice few hours relaxing eating lunch, watching more NCIS and the Simpsons on tv. Or rather I did with some impressive snoring coming from Trisha’s side.

    We haven’t been out in the evening much but tonight was the night. Back to the cathedral we went, ate out in an actual restaurant with pizza and drinks, gelato from the Lindt shop for dessert and then some more random opera watching. Of course we were still back by dark and packing up for our early departure in the morning for Venice.

    Steps 15,016 and 26 degrees    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • Europe with Trisha 2023
    1

    Day 24 Venice

    23 september 2023, Italien ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

    We had to be out the door a bit quicker today as it was a train day and what a good train day it was! Once we were at the station I popped out to a supermarket and bought some fresh focaccia and we had cheese and tomatoes already. We had business class seats in this train as they were pretty reasonable at 30 euros when we bought them, but if we had wanted to buy the same today they would have been 270 euros each, quite a difference. We had great single seats sitting opposite each other and even had breakfast and coffee served.

    When we got to Venice we put our luggage in another "stow your bag" facility and went for a wander. We managed to visit a few shops, mainly murano glass ones and then found a nice place for lunch. I held the seats while Trish ordered her lovely turkey and roast vege salad. When she came out, I went to order the same thing but couldn’t find anyone to serve me. I went to the toilet, came back, spoke to 2 servers and then got the pip and decided I didn’t need food at all. So we wandered around a bit more, sussed out where we had our next excursion and an hour later when we wanted to use a toilet again we went back, and they served me this time. So maybe it was karma so we could use the toilet lol.

    Anyway, then we did our excursion. Trisha has been wanting to do this since she was a kid and I haven’t done it at all, but today we had a gondola ride with the lovely Luca who took us on a serene journey through various water ways and the grand canal at times. He also sang to us which was pretty special. Trisha was very pleased with the experience which exceeded her expectations.

    After the ride we went back to get our bags which was pretty painless. I was pleased that I had booked because there was a very annoyed man who couldn’t get a locker. There was another man who lad left his big bag there for 3 days while he and his family were in Venice. Then another couple who had just shut their bags in a locker, wanted to reopen it to put something else away and realised that neither of them had recorded the code. We left at that point.

    So then we caught a vaparetto to our accomodation, and found that without much hassle. Several of our hosts have contacted me through WhatsApp to ensure that I have good instructions to get places, and this lady had just messaged to check we were coming around the time I was looking at doors for the right number. She popped her head out the door, took us up our 3 flights of stairs and we were there. This room is similar in size to Paris, ie tIny. There is a weird wee wardrobe room though up 4 steps so we have bit more room for bags and hanging up washing.

    After settling in we went for a walk to St Marks square which is just around the corner from us. It was very spectacular with some lovely views with pink skies and flashes of lightening from the impending thunderstorm. We listened to some music for while, visited a few more shops and the returned to our hotel we we intended to share a pizza at the restaurant recommended by our host. We were really spoiled in Rome with the lovely pizza we had there. Neither of us eat much pizza normally, and the 2 that we have tried since then really have not very good, so we probably won’t try that again.

    It got very windy around 9pm, and we have enjoyed having our window open for the breeze. We have aircon here, but it doesn’t appear to work that well.

    14,915 steps and 24 degrees.    Läs mer

    Se översättning
  • 2025© FindPenguins
  • Hem
  • Om oss
  • Spåra gruppen
  • Press
  • Villkor
  • Integritet & Cookies
  • Hjälpcenter
  • Avtryck