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  • Italy … finally!
    Dia 5

    The Clock Tower

    26 de maio, Itália ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    The Piazza Maggiore has a number of buildings around it including the local government offices. They started building this building in the 1300s and it evolved over a couple of centuries to be what it is today. The key feature of this building is the large clock tower that overlooks the Piazza and one of the best views in town is from the top so today we climbed it.

    The building was used as the Cardinal’s residence but now it is all administrative and contains an impressive art collection. Being the government offices it also hosts weddings and there were a few of these happening throughout the day.

    We bought our tickets and made our way up and the views are pretty good.

    Afterwards we scored some lunch, wandered around a bit and headed back to the hotel.

    In the evening we did what many of the locals do, sat on the steps of the Basilica and people-watched!

    We met up with the people in our tour group. All are Australians and suffice to say we would be in the younger age group.

    Tomorrow our tour starts!    Leia mais

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  • Italy … finally!
    Dia 4

    Pilgrimage

    25 de maio, Itália ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Overlooking Bologna from the south west is a small hill with a big church on top it is the Basilica di San Luca. This church was founded in the 1200s but not finished until much later. It holds a painting of the Madonna and child which is said to have been painted by St Luke the Evangelist and originally hung in the Temple of Saint Sophia in Constantinople.

    To get to the Basilica there is a long covered walkway called the Portico San Luca which was built in the 1600s to provide protection for people making the pilgrimage to the church.

    So today we ticked off going on a pilgrimage from our bucket list.

    The walk is about 3.8kms and the first bit is nice and flat but the hill and associated steps soon arrive. We started early so it was nice and cool and it took us about an hour all up.

    The view was pretty good. It is popular with the locals with lots of people running, walking, or cycling up the road to get to the church.

    After looking around and viewing the painting we headed back through the old city gate called Porta Saragozza and along the street via Saragozza to the centre of town. The weekend is obviously when the locals get out and about as some of the main streets are closed and people everywhere.

    We wandered around for a bit before stopping at a restaurant on Piazza Maggiore for a couple of drinks and some lunch - pizza! Really good.

    After a bit of a rest at the hotel (going on a pilgrimage is tiring) we went out to a cafe for another drink and some lasagne.    Leia mais

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  • Italy … finally!
    Dia 3

    Walking in history

    24 de maio, Itália ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Today was one of our free days in Bologna. The tour doesn’t start until Sunday so we have a few of these so we can scope out the place and recover from the trip.

    We walked down to the Piazza Maggiore early and looked around. The Tourist Information Office is in the Piazza so we scored a map for a self guided walking tour.

    There are so many Basilicas in Bologna. The first we went to on our tour was the Basilica di San Domenico. They started building this church back in the 1200s and has the toomb of Saint Domenic inside - very ornate. A young Michaelangelo did some of the artwork.

    One thing of interest was a piece of sheet music in a frame which was actually written by Mozart when he was 14. It seems Mozart performed in this church in 1770. The piece of music included some edits by one of his teachers. Google Translate is very useful in these situations.

    We then walked up to the Basilica di San Stefano which is four churches joined together.

    Then it was across to the other side of town past the two towers to one of the canals in Bologna. It looks like Venice.

    We then came up the main shopping strip to the Piazza again.

    After lunch we went outside the old town into the Giardini Margherita for a walk. This is a bit of open space and felt like Centennial Park in Sydney with lots of playgrounds for kids.

    There seems to be a bit of a pattern with the weather. Bright and sunny until about 3pm then an afternoon thunderstorm rolls in complete with small hail. This lasts for about 30 mins then is clears up.

    Dinner was a small restaurant across from the hotel. Ramon told us (among many other things) that in Bologna we should try the tortellini, tagliatelle ragu, and the lasagne so we started ticking them off. The food so far is, of course, excellent and very cheap.    Leia mais

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  • Italy … finally!
    Dia 2

    Bologna

    23 de maio, Itália ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

    The flight out of Dubai was right on time and wasn’t as full as the flight from Sydney. It was an uneventful trip except for the route, it avoided flying over a few of the Middle East hotspots by flying up the western side of the Persian Gulf then over Iraq to its border with Turkey then a left turn to Italy.

    To say Bologna is a second tier airport would be accurate. There are no aerobridges and we had to get a bus from the plane to the terminal. The terminal itself was small and one section was actually an inflatable building (not kidding)! It took an age for the luggage to come through but immigration and customs was very quick.

    We found our transfer and made our way into the city. Our driver was a Cuban called Ramon and his hands weren’t on the steering wheel for much of the time as they were needed for talking!

    Our hotel is in the old part of town which once upon a time would have been within the walls of the town. The streets are very narrow and cobblestone. The hotel is small but very nice.

    We went for a walk up into the old town to the main square of Bologna the Piazza Maggiore. Wow it is old! There were lots of people around, a busker doing a reasonable job of Guns & Roses, some cops, people on bikes, lots of cars, and some buses. Chaos!

    The square is dominated by the Basilica di San Petronio. This unfinished building was started in the 1300s and is massive, you could fit St Mary’s in Sydney in this church and have lots of room to spare. It has a Meridien line running through it so every day at 12 noon the sun shines through a hole and falls on this line.

    We walked around town for a bit and stopped at a cafe for a a beer and a spritz before heading back to the hotel.

    After little sleep for 36 hours we didn’t even make it out for dinner.    Leia mais

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  • Italy … finally!
    Dia 2

    Stopover in Dubai

    23 de maio, Emirados Árabes Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    After 14 hours we have made it to Dubai. We have about 3 hours here then board a 777 for a 6 hour flight to Bologna.

    The flight from Sydney was absolutely full but the airline was fantastic, can’t fault Emirates.Leia mais

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  • ViajanteCairns and Port Douglas
    Dia 10

    End of the fun

    24 de março de 2023, Austrália ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Today we had half a day in Cairns before our flight left just after lunch. We had a nice breakfast in town and then went for another walk along the waterfront.

    There is a cruise ship in near Hemingway’s Brewery. Cairns is on a not-very-big creek called Chinamans Creek but it is very busy with yachts, trawlers, Navy patrol boats, big tourist boats, and cruise liners. This wasn’t a big cruise liner but still it took up a bit of space.

    The plane trip home was a little delayed as we were flying an S shaped course flying around big thunderstorms.

    Overall this has been an excellent holiday. So nice to be travelling again. A couple of comments:

    - Yes it was warm and the humidity was high but you do get used to it (sort of), keep in mind they are going into the cooler dry season
    - The rainforest is a fascinating place and needs to be protected
    - The food is seriously good!
    - Everyone is very friendly
    - It is a nice place to visit but I don’t think I could live up here, it would be very hot in the wet season
    - Snorkeling the reef and sailing were the definite highlights
    - The scenery up here is stunning
    - It is dangerous, toxic trees, killer jellyfish, man eating crocs, deadly snakes, and massive spiders!

    Until next time!    Leia mais

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  • ViajanteCairns and Port Douglas
    Dia 9

    Back to Cairns

    23 de março de 2023, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    This morning in Port Douglas it was raining. Not a big issue as today marked the beginning of the end for our holiday. We had a quick breakfast and our shuttle picked us up to take us back to Cairns.

    One thing I haven’t mentioned is the sugar cane. Based on the amount of sugar cane being grown around Cairns and Port Douglas we are not going to run out of sugar any time soon.

    They still have the narrow gauge (2ft) trains that bring the cane from the farms to the mill. The track runs everywhere even through the middle of Mossman. The trains aren’t running at the moment and I expect they are diesels and not the classic steam trains of the past.

    We were dropped off at the Novotel and went for a bit of a walk around town. Oddly enough we ended up at the Hemingways Brewery again.

    Dinner was at a nice restaurant on the esplanade.

    Tomorrow we head back to Sydney.    Leia mais

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  • ViajanteCairns and Port Douglas
    Dia 8

    Low Isles

    22 de março de 2023, Austrália

    We booked in to go on a day cruise out to the Great Barrier Reef. There are a couple of cruise options, you can go all the way to the outer barrier reef which is a two hours cruise there and back or to one of the inner island reefs which is a bit over an hour. Given past experience with sea sickness we opted for the closer cruise.

    The Low Islands are just off Port Douglas and were described by Captain Cook when he sailed through. There are two islands Low Island and Woody Island with a sand bar that emerges at low tide connecting them. The islands shelter a coral reef and given the wind and waves running today it was just as well.

    The boat was a 56 foot catamaran and there were 14 customers and 4 crew. It was a beautiful boat.

    We left at 8.30 and sailed out to the island. It was a rough trip. At the islands we tied up and retrieved the glass bottomed boat they leave tied up out there. We had to get suited up. There are no crocs but there are stingers so we had the usual flippers and goggles which were worn with the head to toe stinger suit. Very cool! They ferried us to shore and we started snorkeling around. The day was a bit cloudy and showery so the colours weren’t that great but you could still see loads of coral, giant clams, damsel fish, and loads more. There were a couple of turtles and a small reef shark hanging around as well.

    After a snorkel we went for a bit of a walk around the Low Island. It is mainly used for research of course. We were then ferried back to the boat for lunch followed by another drift and snorkel. All up it was excellent and the crew were very helpful. The sail back was a bit rough but it was just fantastic sailing back to the marina.

    After lunch it was a delicious Chinese meal and an early night.

    Tomorrow we head back to Cairns.    Leia mais

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  • ViajanteCairns and Port Douglas
    Dia 7

    Quiet one

    21 de março de 2023, Austrália ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Today our tour officially ended. We are spending the next couple of days in Port Douglas before heading back to Cairns on Thursday.

    We had our last breakfast with our tour group. In all there were 13 people on the tour, a couple from Ireland, 3 Americans, 6 from the UK, and 2 Aussies. There were three couples everyone else was a solo traveller, and only 4 males.

    We were dropped at our new hotel - Mantra in the Village - and settled in. We are right in the middle of town so easy to get anywhere.

    We are in the wet tropics and today we had the wet part. It rained. A lot. Can’t complain too much though as we have been very lucky with the weather. All up today we had 103mm of rain so it was pretty heavy and constant.

    So we stayed in and read a book.

    Dinner was an excellent restaurant in town called Melaleuca.    Leia mais

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  • ViajanteCairns and Port Douglas
    Dia 6

    Mossman and Cooya Beach

    20 de março de 2023, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Today we went up to the town of Mossman for breakfast and then up into the hills to visit Mossman Gorge.

    Mossman Gorge is really beautiful. Lots of water rushing over big granite boulders. We have been so lucky with the weather, given we are in the ‘wet tropics’ it hasn’t been that wet. This meant Mossman Gorge wasn’t as dangerous as it can be. People have died swimming in the gorge as the currents are very strong and it is prone to flash flooding.

    We caught the shuttle bus up to the walking track and headed into the rainforest. There are a number of lookouts and while you can go swimming in the lower part of the gorge it is not recommended for the reasons above.

    Our guide took us on a walk higher up in the rainforest to another swimming hole that is a lot safer and just as scenic.

    This rainforest was a lot denser than the section of the Daintree Rainforest we visited but just as humid. After a couple of hours walking and a paddle in the river we went back down to the office for lunch and then over to Cooya Beach where local indigenous man Linc took us for a walk and showed us how the aborigines used a number of the plants and creatures that inhabit their area.

    Linc was really interesting and passionate about his people and his culture. He tried to teach us how to throw a spear, lucky we weren’t relying on that for our dinner!

    Next stop was an art gallery in Mossman where we had an art lesson with local painter Binna. We painted aboriginal style on a couple of Burnie Beans - so called because if you rub them and put them on your skin they burn.

    After a big Italian dinner our tour effectively came to an end. We now have a couple of days in Port Douglas to ourselves before heading back to Cairns and then home.    Leia mais

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