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Adamson's Christmas Vacation
  • Debbie Adamson

Adamson's Christmas Vacation

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Farewell Germany

    28 Disember 2016, Perancis ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    Today we packed up our gear, returned the car and caught a DB train from Duisburg to Cologne then the French train from Cologne to Paris. So we have spent most of our day on the train & hauling our luggage around. We sat across from some other aussies on the train. It was nice to chat to someone from home. We arrived in Paris a bit after 4pm. It is a very different world we are travelling in now, a lot different from 2013. Today we had armed police board the train at Brussels walking through looking at everyone. There were a lot of police at the Paris Nord railway station. It was daunting to see a couple of police with big guns in 2013, but now getting off the train they were everywhere.
    We found our apartment easily enough and shops near by. The apartment is a little strange as they must live here some of the time as their clothes drawers and cupboards have their gear in it. We can't turn the heating down so we have the windows open. We are all a bit flat so we won't be far out of bed.    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    A chilly day in Paris

    29 Disember 2016, Perancis ⋅ 🌫 -1 °C

    A bit of a late start today, let the kids have a sleep in. Dave and I walked down to the bakery to pick up a baguette and croissants for breakfast. We had a bit of entertainment out our window this morning, a guy hanging in the trees giving them a trim. We headed into the city by metro, had a problem with our tickets. Kellie's was the only one to work. We found out after, Dave had put them in his mobile phone and this does something to them - it was ok in The Netherlands and Germany. Luckily they replaced them for us. We decided to go on the hop on hop off bus as this gives you a good overview of the city. Well to say the least we were frozen in our seats. Don't be fooled by the pictures of blue sky & sunshine. I saw the sun at one stage I really thought it was the moon as there was no warmth coming from it. Unbelievably cold! Dave was shivering that's how cold it was. We hopped off near the Eiffel Tower for a coffee but it was so expensive around there we just had a look around. By the way the Christmas markets are still on here. We looked at the ones at the Eiffel Tower, we had our bags checked before we could go in. It is the same under the Eiffel Tower. In 2013 we just wandered around there. We hopped back on the bus & went back into the city and eventually found a place to eat. By this time it's about 3pm. From there we went on a Seine river cruise which left at 5pm so it was just getting dark. Once again we had our bags checked. A metro ride (2) back to our apartment, on the walk home we found a butcher selling rotisserie chickens and roast potatoes, so that was tea. Along with a french red wine & a warm apartment we have thawed out.
    Photo 1 - Enlarge to see the guy hanging in the tree
    Photo 2 - Notre Dame
    Photo 3 - Arc de Triomphe
    Photo 4 - Us frozen in seats but still smiling
    Photo 5 - Christmas Markets at the Eiffel Tower
    Photo 6 - Eiffel Tower at night    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Them Bones!

    30 Disember 2016, Perancis ⋅ 🌫 -2 °C

    We had another late start to the day, maybe because it's minus 2 outside when we woke up. A brisk walk down to the bakery to get our breakfast. The people are getting to know us and teaching us a bit of French. We set off for the day with extra layers, feeling like a womble. We caught the metro out to the Catacoombs only to find the line goes around the block. We line up as we tried to visit the last time we were here but it was closed. At one stage we had tiny snowflakes falling on us. While waiting, we see a homeless man sleeping on the street. I can't imagine how cold he would be. A few people buy him a hot drink & food but he doesn't move. No he's not dead, little movement, may be frozen.
    I started this at 11am while waiting in the line it is now 3.30pm & we are still waiting. Amazing I thought we would have weeded out the weak but no they are just like us, cold to the core & still waiting. It took us close to 5 hours to get in. Was it worth it??? Well it was something we wanted to see I'm glad we have seen it, no not worth a 5hr wait. Then again I don't think anything is worth that long of a wait in the freezing cold. I don't think it got past 0 degrees today. By the way, we had Brodie entertaining us with his whinging for 5 hours. He would have rather been at a Christmas Market! That was our day gone, but in that time you do chat to the people around you in the line. We are going out tonight on a night bus tour. At 9pm it's meant to be -4. Great, just loving this cold weather.

    Photo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, - Catacoombs
    Photo 6 - A of the quarter of the line    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Paris by night

    31 Disember 2016, Perancis ⋅ 🌫 -2 °C

    We ventured out after tea, to catch our night bus tour. It doesn't start until 9.15pm, we are usually heading to bed at that time. Layered up and hopped on the open deck bus. We sit up the top, for the best photos. It is very beautiful at night and there was a heavy fog over the city that hadn't lifted all day. We froze our butts off, but stuck it out. The trip took about 2hrs. In bed by 12.30am.

    Photo 1 - Eiffel Tower
    Photo 2 - Louvre
    Photo 3 - ????
    Photo 4 - Light display along Champs-Elysèes
    Photo 5 - Champs-Elysèes    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    A day in the country

    31 Disember 2016, Perancis ⋅ 🌫 -3 °C

    Early start to the day, minus 3 here this morning. Our usual walk to get our breakfast. Today we are heading out of Paris with a private tour guide. He picked us at 9.30am in his van. We get excited see a bit of ice then the further we head out it is just white everywhere and a shower of snow. It is how you would imagine a white Christmas. We can't see too much of the countryside for the heavy fog. After a 2hr drive we arrive in the Loire Valley. We visit Château de Chenonceau (Ladies Castle) which Kellie & I are excited as it's all about a TV series we watch. After that we went to an old town Amboise and had lunch which was a bit challenging not much English spoken. Then we went to another castle Amboise Château Royal and had a look around. This is where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. When we arrived at Amboise the town thermometer display showed minus 6. Up on the hill at the castle it was a lot colder. When we came down it was minus 5.5, so it had warmed up a bit. We bought a few macaroons which were delicious. We got back about 7.30, it seemed a long drive as it was dark and heavy fog.
    We are now waiting to go into the city to see in the New Year. We don't want to go to early as it's so cold.
    Happy New Year everyone. xx

    Photo 1 - Our view along the way
    Photo 2 - Château de Chenonceau (Ladies Castle)
    Photo 3 - The grounds and chapel at Amboise Château Royal
    Photo 4 - A frozen poppy
    Photo 5 - Our dessert at a local bakery.
    Photo 6 - The temperature reading in Amboise    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    New Years Eve in Paris

    1 Januari 2017, Perancis ⋅ 🌫 -3 °C

    None of us felt like going out after our day in the country, but we knew we would regret it if we didn't go into the city. We all layered the clothes on and didn't take any bags or my camera for security reasons. On a side street we had to go through security then on Champs-Elysèes we then had to go through security again. Opening up our jackets and vests. People started pushing and I was glad to get away from that. Once in it was a nice atmosphere with families etc. It soon filled with people. All side roads were blocked and plenty of police around. Dave went and talked to a couple of them. It was truly spectacular show to watch and felt very privileged to be there.
    Getting home was intetesting to say the least, everyone trying to get on the subway at once. We witness a lady get robbed. Two people on a motorbike knocked her over and stole her bag. Sad way for her to see 2017 in. We eventually made it home about 1.30am.

    Photo 2, 3 front & back view from where we are standing    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    2017 in Paris

    1 Januari 2017, Perancis ⋅ 🌫 0 °C

    We had a very lazy start this morning. We didn't get to bed until 2.30am. The bakery was closed today so we had our aussie breakfast of bacon & eggs for Dave's birthday. We didn't set off until after midday. We went and had a look where we have to catch the train tomorrow as its always harder loaded up with luggage. Then Kellie wanted to pick up a few souvenirs. We stopped and had a bite to eat and warm up. When we came out it had dropped a few degrees. We had miniscule snowflakes las we walked to the Eiffel tower to get our last pictures but once again heavy fog. So Paris only showed us blue sky and the sun on our first day and we couldn't get over how cold it was. If only we had known that it was going to be our best and warmest day! Took a few pictures by this time it's after 5pm. As Brodie & I have head colds we headed back to our apartment. Unfortunately I can't cook steak for Dave's birthday so it's chicken again. We are all starting to grow feathers. He does have a french red wine to drink. Tomorrow we catch the train to Italy with a stopover at Turin.Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Farewell Paris

    2 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ ⛅ 2 °C

    Today we had to pack up and catch a train to Turin, Italy. Once again lugged our luggage on and through the metro. Boarded the train at 10.40 for a 6 hour train trip. We decided to go first class for this leg of the trip. A bit more leg room and for the scenery. First hour was heavy fog but then it did clear for the rest of the way. It was funny because we packed our lunch and took our drinks. We are just having a stop over as it's too long of a trip to Florence in one day. While waiting at the train station I was taking photos of the Christmas decorations and the military accidentally photobombed. The
    police boarded the train in a town in France and checked our passports. In 2013 not once did we have our passports checked. David our tour guide said they have tightened up the border security and since then there haven't been any attacks. Before you could go anywhere in Europe without being checked. Whilst there were a lot more police, military & security checks not once did we feel unsafe. It's just a different world we live in now. When we got off the train it was nice not to get that instant brain freeze. It's cold but not like Paris was. Meant to be the coldest winter for 2 hundred years. Would like to visit Europe when it's normal weather. We found a restaurant for tea and we all had pizza, which was really nice for Italian pizza. Dave order a dessert that he saw on the next table. A cake filled with cherries and custard. The guy bought 4 forks over he must have known we would all try it. Brodie and Kellie dived into it and it was laced with rum. It was so funny, it made the waiters night- they couldn't stop laughing.
    He bought a little bit of cake over without the rum for them try. We could have done with that in Paris to warm us up. Brodie has been a bit giggly after his mouthful.
    We had nice night out, with Kellie taking us a shorter way home except she missed the street and ended up being longer way home.

    Overview of Paris:
    We found Paris a lot more expensive than Amsterdam and Germany. Really miss the street food we tried from both places. Street food in Paris is just to rip the tourists off.
    Didn't like dodging dog poo all the time and all the little streams from the building walls.
    Where we stayed in 2013 the streets were pristine clean, but where we stayed I thought the streets were dirty. David our tour guide said it was a posh area. Too posh to clean up after their dogs.

    Photo 1 - My photo bombers
    Photo 2 - Our first class lunch
    Photo 3 & 4 - Scenery on the way
    Photo 5 - Birthday tea
    Photo 6 - Baba cake    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Florence

    3 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ 🌙 5 °C

    We are off to Florence today. A buffet breakfast was included in our accommodation. That was a nice change to walk down and have it all laid out for you. Turin (Torino) is a very architectural town, it is called the royal city. In the earlier days Royals used to live here, hence the lovely buildings. Today I'm not wearing thermals and I won't go into a description of how good that feels. The sun is shining and beautiful blue sky, it instantly makes you feel good. A quick walk to the train station and we boarded at 11.30.  It is always interesting getting on the train. Everyone has luggage and you have to lift it up on luggage racks above your seats. They really need one way traffic as it's every man for himself. Kellie and I need Dave or Brodie to lift our luggage up, but people are so impatient they expect you to haul yourself and luggage out of the way. Today a man shoved us out the way then proceeded to tell us we were in his seat. It's all good fun.The train temp gauge said it's 11 degrees outside, a warm day .We traveled at 300km/h so the countryside whizzed by. We arrived in Florence about 2.30pm and had a short walk to our apartment. We did our grocery shopping, once again always challenging in a new country. I will never complain about our checkouts. Here in Europe you have a job to keep up with putting the groceries up, then they literally throw them on the other side and you have to quickly pack your own bags. By the time we leave we are all frazzled. Cooked tea and resting, ready to explore a new city.

    Photo 1 - Breakfast
    Photo 2 - Building in Turin
    Photo 3, 4- View as we left Turin
    Photo 5 - Speed of train
    Photo 6 - Packet of chips, flavour tomato and they tasted just like hot chips and sauce.    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Wandering the streets of Florence

    4 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C

    A wander down to a new bakery. We ordered a baguette and some brioches which are similar to croissants but heavier and sweeter. After breakfast we met a private tour guide who took us on a walk around the city and to see the Statue of David. She was just amazing; her knowledge and passion for the city had you engaged the whole time. We learnt so much about the city that will help us in the next few days. It was well and truly after lunch when we finished with her so we went to a place she recommended. So hungry we forgot to take a picture. After lunch we went to look at the leather shops that Florence is renowned for. She had told us where to go for the genuine leather products. We looked in one of the three she had suggested. The other two were high end. The man tried to sell Dave a leather jacket. We left the shop and then Dave was keen to go back and look at the jackets, so we go back inside and I must say he was a good salesman as Dave walked out with a jacket. Brodie's comment was 'we would be licking an apple for the next few nights', because that would be all we could afford! It was Dave's birthday present. After that we crossed the river and hiked up the hill to get a view of the city. We thought it would be a good day to get the sun setting but the clouds came in. We had a gelati up there. Then we walked back down and meandered back to our apartment. We cut through the train station to get to our apartment. There is always plenty of military there patrolling. We have well and truly walked our leggies off today. I have done over 20,000 steps, in Paris we were averaging over 15,000. We will all sleep well tonight

    Photo 1 - Statue of David
    Photo 2 - Streets of Florence
    Photo 3 - Gelati time
    Photo 4 - The quirky signs around Florence
    Photo 5 & 6 Arno river    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Tuscany for the day

    5 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    I did the bakery run on my own this morning. One by one, we've had a head cold. It's Dave's turn so I let him stay in bed. Today we had a private tour guide (Graziano) pick us up and take us out of Florence for the day. Our first stop was Siena which was about an hour away. The places we visited today were towns inside walls and only local traffic was allowed in. The wind was a bit chilly today and all these places have narrow streets and tall buildings so the warmth of the sun is a bit scarce. We meandered through the streets for an hour or so. Then we headed to a very small village Monte Riggioni where we climbed up on the walls. It was very picturesque and a quaint village. Graziano had asked us earlier if we would like lunch at a winery so of course we said yes. We went to a small family run winery, which is what most of them are. We were greeted by Jessica who looked after us. We went upstairs to a private room and the view was spectacular.
    1: We started off with a light white wine with bruschetta. Toppings: artichoke, olive paste, chicken liver pate, a smoother chicken liver pate, tomato, olive oil. By the way, Brodie was included in the wine tasting as it's legal for him to drink beer and wine. Kellie doesn't like wine but had a taste. Dave usually finished their's off.
    2: Then we had a light red wine with a fresh tomato sauce pasta dish.
    3: An intense red wine with sliced meat and cheeses.
    4: Another red wine, by now I'm confused about all the red wines I have lined up because I'm still on the first. With this wine we had bread and about six different flavoured olive oils to taste.
    5: A dessert wine serve with biscotti. You dip the biscuit into the wine. With this one it was served in a shot glass. Brodie drank it like a shot and turned the glass upside down. It was so funny. By the way this wine 15% alcohol. Hence a little bit giggly. Well it was something we wouldn't really do, but it turned out to be a good experience and will be a highlight. We walked out with 2 bottles of wine and a bottle of olive oil.
    Then we went into the town of San Giminiano for a quick look. The sun was just setting; a beautiful sight. We arrived back in Florence about 6.30pm.
    All in all, a lovely day in the country.

    Photo 1: Siena
    Photo 2 & 3 Monte Riggioni
    Photo 4: Wine tasting
    Photo 5: A picture with Jessica, San Giminiano in background
    Photo 6: Streets of San Giminiano    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Epiphany Parade in Florence

    6 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ 🌙 0 °C

    Today on the 6th of January is Epiphany for Florence. The 12th day of Christmas where the three wise men present their gifts.

    Another late start, sometimes you need a catchup morning. I walked down to the bakery, but not too hopeful of any being open as it's a holiday day here. It wasn't open but we had bread and some left over brioches from the previous morning. We ventured out after 10am and headed to the river while the sun was out. We had our thermals back on today, the temperature has dropped again. It is extremely cold again, expected to go up to +2. Brain freeze cold! On our way down to the river we come across an old car parade, so we stopped and watched the cars for a while. We wandered around the streets and we found a place for lunch. We had lovely pasta and pizza. Then Brodie ordered a cheesecake yum yum. Kellie & I shared a bit after tasting Brodie's. Not like our cheesecakes. After lunch we headed back for the Epiphany Parade that was starting at 2pm. We had left our map home so didn't really know were it was. It just happened that we ran into the start of it. The period costumes were just beautiful, but you could tell they were cold. After the parade we headed back to our apartment as we were all bit flat and cold. Called into the shops to pick up something for tea. We were back in our warm apartment by 4.30pm.

    Photo 1 - Streets of Florence
    Photo 2 - Car parade
    Photo 3 & 4 - Lunch
    Photo 5 & 6 - Epiphany Parade    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    A day at Cinque Terre

    8 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ 🌙 1 °C

    A very early start today. We had another private tour guide again today Alessandro. He picked us up at 8am and we headed of to Pisa. We climbed up the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was just beautiful the tower and the climb. Climbing up was an unusual experience, I felt a bit motion sickness. One minute you lean one way and the next you are going the other way. The grounds were very well kept and we were there early and it wasn't too busy.
    Back in the car and we head to Cinque Terre which means 5 towns close together and is a national park. A little different to our national parks. Alessandro takes us to the most picturesque town first Manarola, unfortunately the clouds came over so there sun to make the photos pop. We caught a train to the next town which takes 4 minutes and you are in a tunnel the whole time. Then we decided to have lunch before a walk. Alessandro booked us into a restaurant and because we were on the coast seafood was on the menu. Octapus, clams, mussels, calamari, prawns and fish. We all have pasta dishes, Brodie had tomato sauce, Kellie pesto, Dave prawns and mine was spicy tomato. Daves prawns were like skinny yabbies, he wouldn't suck the shells so I did. After lunch we walk to the next town. There were a lot of steps and if you weren't going up you were going down. The walk was along the coast line through peoples backyard and farms. I am amazed I don't have holes in my jacket I hugged the rock face most of the way and if we met someone coming the other way I made sure I wasn't near the edge. Along the way there was a ledge of rock were cats lived and you feed them and give a donation for food if you want to. We only saw one cat, so we had our Millie fix. The walk took us about 2hrs and my joints are now seized. Alessandro once again picked us up, by this stage its 4.30 and we had watch the sun set at the end of the walk. He tells us he will take us to Lucca on the way home were we can either bike ride or walk around the city wall. We are all wondering how we were actually going find the energy for another walk. Before we get to Lucca we say that we have had enough as it's dark and we won't see much. It was another long drive home, and the Italians certainty have a different style of driving. We get home abot 7pm and it's hard work climbing the stairs. My fitbit is reading 22525 steps, 15.74kms and 160 stairs. It's time to crawl into bed.

    Photo 1 - Leaning Tower of Pisa
    Photo 2 - Manarola
    Photo 3 - Train staion at Manarola
    Photo 4 - The cats on the walk
    Photo 5 - The walking track
    Photo 6 - A view from the walk    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Farewell Florence

    8 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ ⛅ -1 °C

    This morning we packed up once again and caught the train to Venice. We boarded at 11.30 and arrived in Venice about 2pm. The first part of the trip was in tunnels which was causing havoc with the ears. I think Dave and I are showing our age as we enjoyed the peacefulness of first class on thr other train journey last week . We were around a couple of families which means constant chatter, luckily they left on the next stop. The scenery wasn't much today, bare fields and colourful houses. Venice was very chilly but the sun was shining. Our apartment is very very nice and spacious. By the time our host finished welcoming us it was time to do some shopping. Always an interesting chore trying to find things in European shops and then google translate whilst dodging everyone. When we get home to Australia a big juicy steak will be on the menu along with a schnitty parma. Chicken on the menu tonight again. We are just having a relaxing evening as we are all trying to get over coughs and colds. Decided to try our €42 (Euro/$60) bottle of Tuscan Chanti red wine tonight.

    Photo 1 - Countryside on the way to Venice
    Photo 2 - Inside of the train
    Photo 3 - Coming into Venice, the light colour blue is the sea iced up.
    Photo 4 & 5 - Main Canal of Venice
    Photo 6 - Red wine for the night    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Day out at Murano & Burano

    9 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    Sunrise is late here in Venice which makes it hard to get moving in the morning especially when its -2 outside. We decided to head out to the islands to have a look today. Our apartment said today would be our best day but once again the clouds came in about 10am. We caught the water bus out to Murano first, this is famous for it's glass work. It was a little chilly as the sun disappeared. We had a cuppa to warm up. The kids had hot chocolate and it's completely different from home. It is really thick and rich looking and not made with milk. After a cuppa we visited the glass musuem and then had lunch which was more pasta. It was nice but not as good as what we have had. After lunch we caught the water bus to Burano which is well known for its lace and colourful houses. This is why we wanted the sun to take photos of the houses. Well they were bright without the sun. The main income for Burano is fishing and is often covered in heavy fog, hence the brightly coloured homes for the fisherman to find their way home. It's not a very big Island but it was just delightful walking around the canals and looking at all the houses. The lace museum was closed today, which Brodie was pretty happy about, but he was the one who wanted to visit the glass museum. By now it's 4pm and the night air is coming in so we headed back to the water bus as it takes over an hour to get back to Venice. On our way back we saw the most beautiful sunset at 4.30pm. I have never seen such a bright pink sunset and was surprised to see the sun setting as we hadn't seen it since 10am. We didn't feel like we did much today but we are all tired and won't be long out of bed.

    Photo 1 - Venice at 10am
    Photo 2, 3, 4, 5 - Burano
    Photo 6 - Sunset over Burano, the bright pink came later    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Snowflakes and canals

    10 Januari 2017, Itali ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    I went out early this morning to take some photos. I was surprised how busy it was with workers around the city. We had a friendly cat near our apartment then later we saw the same cat inside a bookstore near us, so of course the kids had to go in and give it a pat. Today we had no plans except to wander the streets. We went to the fish markets- always interesting looking at all the different seafoods. It is also fresh fruit & vegetable markets and specialty food shops. We stumble across a butcher shop that only sold horse meat. (No Annette I wasn't that hungry). Kellie wasn't impressed. It was cold today, as we were walking we had light snowflakes falling on us. It was time for a coffee to warm up, after we come out the sun was shining. It is amazing how much warmer you feel with the sun out. It didn't last long though. The pigeons in Italy are extremely friendly. Here in Venice you are nearly tripping over them. Then they fly straight at you and you have to duck out of their way. We saw some walk into a chocolate shop. After a bit more of wander we headed to a restaurant that our host recommended. When we found the restaurant the menu was mainly seafood that we don't eat and a little pricey. So a bit more walking until we found something else. We all had pasta again as we leave Italy tomorrow. We walked a bit more and got some supplies for tonight and tomorrow. It was only 3.30pm but the night air had come in. It is warmer at 7am than 3pm. As our apartment is very central we rested for a 1/2hr before heading out to look for the sun setting. We didn't find it, perhaps it was too overcast today. We strayed into a very expensive street. Had fun gasping at the prices. On our stroll back we found a bakery and a fruit & veg shop right around the corner of our apartment. I wished we found that on our first night. We are now tucked up in our apartment drinking our other expensive bottle of wine, so we don't have to cart it around any further. Well, good excuse to drink it.

    Photo 1 - Fish Market
    Photo 2 - Butcher shop
    Photo 3 - Pigeons in the chocolate shop
    Photo 4 - Cat in the bookstore
    Photo 5 & 6 - Canals of Venice    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Farewell Venice, Farewell Italy

    11 Januari 2017, Austria ⋅ ❄️ 0 °C

    Today we packed up again to head off to Innsbruck, Austria. We had to catch a regional train a bit after 11am to Verona. Our host had organised a private water taxi to take us to the train station. Well, we don't know if we were waiting in the wrong place but we never found our taxi. Luckily we were right next to a water bus staion so we bought a ticket and hopped on. Venice was extremely cold this morning, but on the bright side the sun was shining. We had a 1 1/2hr train ride to Verona then we caught an Austrian train to Innsbruck. We were travelling in first class as they say the view is spectacular through Brenners Pass. I thought it would be a bit easier as first class isn't as hectic. First class had individual compartments and ours already had two people in it and there wasn't enough room for six bags and no luggage storage anywhere else. We just sat two of our bags out in the passageway. It all worked out in the end. We didn't have the window seats but on the passage side we looked out the window which ended up the better view and we stood there and took pictures. Once again near the borders we had the police hop on, but they only checked certain people's identification. We had other Australian families and a New Zealand family on the train. The view on the train was beautiful and exciting to see. We arrived in Innsbruck about 4.30pm. I was surprised it was still daylight. Innsbruck is surrounded by the snowy alps. It was about a 15 minute walk to our hotel. The kids kept touching & knocking every bit of snow they passed. You had to be careful that you didn't slip on the sludgy snow. We have a nice hotel room and we are all looking forward to not grocery shopping, or think of another way to cook chicken. We head out for tea and went to a place the hotel recommended. It was a quiet and charming place. Dave had a steak and I had veal schnitzel and of course the kids had chicken dishes. The food was amazing- it tasted so good. There was really probably nothing special about it, but so good to eat red meat. We have only had mince twice, other than that it's been chicken. In Italy there isn't much red meat on menus, mainly seafood. Dave and kids finished off with apple strudel. I was too full for dessert. When we walked to the restaurant it was snowing a bit then when we came out it was snowing quite heavily. The kids made a few snowballs and threw them. Brodie wants to eat, sleep and poop in the snow. By the way, crossing over the bridge we saw yellow snow, hopefully from dogs!

    Photo 1 - View from the train
    Photo 2 - Walking through Innsbruck
    Photo 3 & 4 - Tea tonight
    Photo 5 - Kids playing in the snow outside the restaurant
    Photo 6 - In the light you can see snow falling    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson
    11

    On top of the world

    12 Januari 2017, Austria ⋅ ❄️ -4 °C

    Photo 1 - Hafelekar, Highest point of the Nordkette
    Photo 2 - Hafelekar, kids chilling out
    Photo 3 - Hafelekar, an ussie
    Photo 4 - Hafelekar, Brodie enjoying the snow
    Photo 5 - Seegrube, view while eating lunch
    Photo 6 - Seegrube, Kellie tucking into her chicken burger.    Baca lagi

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  • Debbie AdamsonAdamson's Christmas VacationDebbie Adamson

    Snowmen and snowballs

    12 Januari 2017, Austria ⋅ ⛅ 1 °C

    Through the night I think we all looked out the window to watch the snow falling. We went down and had a lovely breakfast. After breakfast we walked along the river to catch the Nordkettenbahnen up the mountain. Brodie was in his element playing in the snow closely followed by Kellie. There are three stages of the Nordkettenbahnen so we stopped off on the second stage Seegrube for a look around. Surprisingly Innsbruck is warmer than Paris and Venice. We watched little kids leaning to ski, they were so cute. You couldn't see Innsbruck for low cloud but we were above the clouds and the sun was shining. We headed off up to the last stop, Hafelekar. There was hardly anyone around as the ski slopes this high up were closed. It was very peaceful and a spectacular view. There was a worker clearing snow from the path which was spraying us with snow. We decide to have a coffee and we ordered something to eat. Brodie and Dave had apple strudel with vanilla sauce. Kellie had sacher torte which is the famous chocolate cake and I had cheesecake. The serves were so huge we could have shared. We went back outside and ventured a bit further now the path was clear. We were not sure how far to venture, there was an Asian guy who headed up to the summit, but we were not sure about following him as they are crazy where they walk. Gradually a few more people came up and we got more adventurous. The whole time I'm nagging Brodie to get away from the edge. We saw another guy head for the summit so we set off up to the top. I didn't stop to look around as I would have lost my nerve. I wasn't very relaxed up there, but glad we ventured up there. It was a bit hairy coming down as it was slippery. After the kids have a roll in the snow and Brodie's clothes were quite wet, we headed back down to Seegrube. The sun was dissapearing and it wasn't as nice as when we first got there. We went in and had some lunch. When we came out from lunch, it was a lot colder, but the cloud had lifted over Innsbruck. We headed back down to the first stop and wandered about the town. We found a basketball court covered in snow. The kids built a snowman, then we had a snowball fight. Dave won as he could throw the furthest and the hardest. We headed back into Innsbruck and the kids headed back to the hotel. Dave & I had a look around the old town and climbed the town tower. We could see our hotel so we phoned the kids to look out the window. They got us to 'dab' so they could recognise us. We had a rest before heading out for tea. We are all tired tonight, playing in the snow is like walking in sand. We will sleep well.

    Photo 1 - The clouds are starting to lift
    Photo 2 - Not sure how you get to your car
    Photo 3 - Making a snowman
    Photo 4, 5, 6 - Snow pics    Baca lagi

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