Europe July/Aug 2009

I enjoyed a visit to Europe this year. Mum, Kelly and I left 25th July and headed to my birthplace, Christchurch in the county of Dorset in the south of England. First we had a stop-off in Singapore for 2 days of shopping and pampering. Singapore is so clean and we felt incredibly safe there. The people are very friendly and service oriented. Our first night there we went to the famous Raffles Hotel for a meal in one of it's many restaurants Doc Cheng with it's colourful interior and lush cuisine. And we naturally had to have a Singapore Sling. Mum was quite excited to be there. It was very enjoyable. We wondered around the shops which stay open very late in the shopping centres there. It was very humid being a tropical country. It was quite funny on a couple of occasions we asked the locals what the season was, and they looked at us quite strangely. Not having done our research beforehand little did we realise there is only 1 season all year round. Bloody muggy! We took respite in the shopping malls which are air conditioned. Probably why they're open so late at night. Kelly was in shopping heaven. The prices are very good for perfume, jewellery and clothing.

After 2 days of shopping and a nice massage we are off to London for a few days of sight seeing. What an incredible city. So vibrant and alive. I was amazed at how big the city is yet how incredibly easy it is to get around on the tube and rail system. We were able to negotiate our way around for the 3 days we were there without any problems at all. Arriving at 8.30 in the morning Mum thought it was a good idea to head for the pub for a good English breakfast. Hey that doesn't look like breakfast to me! Ah well we had to try one of the ciders didn't we. And mum doesn't even drink. Mind you she manged to polish off the large pint before stumbling onto the open topped Red London bus fora four hour bus ride around London seeing the much loved and well known landmarks of the city. Whilst in London we managed to fit in 2 west end shows. The very popular Grease musical was a hit, as was Chicago which we also saw. It's amazing how much cheaper it is to see a west end musical than it is to see a show here in Sydney. I think it cost us 25 pounds to see Grease and about 30 pounds for Chicago. It would be so much more accessible for the average person to enjoy these shows here if it wasn't so expensive. We also took a visit to Harrods for some more shopping. Also The Tower of London and Tower Bridge was a must see. So much to see and do in this city. Cant wait to go back.

Now the time we've all been waiting for was to take the bus ride down to my hometown of Bournemouth to meet up with Simon and his family and take the journey back to my birthplace of Christchurch.

My time in Christchurch was a highlight, to be able to go back to the house that I was born in, with Mum who brought us out here when I was only 4. I remember very little about living in England naturally as I was so little, but the smells and places that we frequented when we lived there were recaptured on our visit. What a blessing it was to be able to share this experience with Mum and my beautiful daughter Kelly. We met family for the first time and also re-acquainted ourselves with family not seen for many years. My Uncle John and Aunt Di who I'd not seen since I was 4 were lovely and actually just as I remember them.

Simon and I caught up in my hometown, as he was visiting his mother and brother and family who coincidentally come from the same town of Bournemouth which Christchurch is a neighboring village. That was lovely to be able to share this experience with him also. We went to the beach and walked along the promenade fed the squirrels in Bournemouth Gardens.
Mum, Kel and I took a ride up in the Bournemouth Eye which is a hot air balloon in the gardens. It gives you a great view of the area and up the coast line. Another place I'll definitely be heading back to.

After a week Kelly and I said goodbye to Simon, mum and the rest of the family as we headed on our 10 day adventure to Europe on a Cosmos tour. This started at our hotel in London and we ventured by coach through the English countryside towards the White Cliffs of Dover, before heading across the English Channel by Ferry to the French town of Calais.

From Calais we travelled through France to Paris. Oh my goodness, we were so excited. As we ventured on this holiday we were like a couple of school girls. We had the best time visiting Paris. We saw a caberet show at the famous Lido on the Champs Elysee and after the show we were treated to a night visit to the Eiffel Tower to see it in all it's spectacular glory. I had to keep reminding myself that this was actually happening. At 47 to finally see all these wonderful places that were just a dream at one point in my life. To know that with planning and saving anything can become reality.

Paris really is a city of wonder. Visiting the Louvre and it's many beautiful exhibits including the most famous painting of all, the Mona Lisa was definitely worth a trip. Kelly and I climbed the Eiffel Tower although I only managed to make it to the first level, Kelly ventured to the second level which is the highest you can climb. There you can see the entire city of Paris, including the Montmatre district where the bohemians come to play and it's also the home of the magnificent Basilique du Sacré Coeur the most famous church in Paris and the architecture is breathtaking.

Visits to the Notre Dame and Palace of Vasailles were also on offer. So much to see in 2 days. A wonderful taster though. We'll definitely go back to visit and see more of this beautiful city full of history.

Lucerne Switzerland was our next visit. What a surprise was Switzerland with it's clean crisp air and gorgeous landscapes. We went shopping for watches and pocketknives and a cruise on the most beautiful lake in Switzerland, Lake Lucerne. Kelly and some of our younger travelling companions took a midnight dip in the Lake. Although it was summer, they all came out of the lake shivering. Not for this little black duck. I'll stay on the banks and watch thanks. We took a drive to Alpine Engelberg to take the Titlis-Rotair, the worlds first revolving able car up to 10,000ft with it's panoramic view all the way up with 360 degree vistas of glaciers and ice falls. An incredible ride to the top where we went tobogganing. That was lots of fun, before heading back down the alps to our hotel then out to a traditional folklore evening of yodelling and alp horn blowing done by real experts as well as some novices having a go.

The next morning we left Lake Lucerne and headed into the mountain ranges that surround the massive St Gotthard. Driving through the great tunnel we started our decent into the warmer climate towards Lugano then stopping in Verona to a visit to see Juliet's balcony where it's supposed to be good luck to touch the breast of Juliet. As the sun was over the balcony Juliet's statue is in park shadow, but you can see Kelly with Juliet. It was a very crowded courtyard where the balcony and statue of Juliet reside.

Venice was next with it's gondolas and famous arched bridges and quaint piazzas. It was extremely hot for the 2 days we were there in August this year and being peak season it was teaming with tourists just like ourselves. Notwithstanding the crowds and heat Venice was a site to behold. Quite a surreal experience.
We watched as the Venetian glassblowers worked their magic and strolled through the island of Burano to see the lace makers with their brightly coloured houses. The story goes that the women of Burano were tired of their husbands going out drinking and coming home to the wrong house. So they decided that if they painted their houses bright colours the husbands may not have as much trouble finding the way to their own home. Not sure how true that story is but I thought it was quite a novel idea.

Venice was fun but I managed to lose my camera equipment and mobile phone while dining at the hotel restaurant the night before leaving Venice. I had 3 weeks worth of photos and videos of our trip. Fortunately Kelly was taking pictures as well but the videos of family and my hometown were irreplaceable. Never mind, after quite a few tears and much angst rummaging through luggage we decided that it was definitely gone and we'd have to make the most of what we had. Leaving Venice we headed further south across the Apennines into the gentle countryside of Tuscany, to Florence and it's many Piazzas and leather merchants. I couldn't resist, I bought myself a lovely long red leather jacket with black trims.

We finished our afternoon in Florence and headed back to the hotel for 1 night before making our way to Pisa to see the famed Square of miracles and the Leaning Tower. It's a lot smaller area than I first imagined with with square of Miracles and some restaurants and a few shops. I couldn't resist trying a pizza in Pisa. Probably one of the best pizzas I've had. The Italians don't overload their pizzas, very simple but fresh and delicious.

From Pisa we head further to Rome where we will stay 2 nights and explore this amazing city. A visit to the Colosseum left me wide eyed trying to imagine the whole stadium in white marble. We also were treated to a tour of one of the many catacombs in Rome where the early Romans were buried. These go down quite some way deep into the earth. Quite fascinating. The Trevi Fountain was a beautiful sight with it's magnificent scultures. We threw our 3 coins in the fountain sending off wishes to the heavens.We also visited the Pope's summer residence of Castel Gandolfo in the Alban Hills where the Swiss guards stand outside the palace guarding the Pope in their brightly coloured uniforms. Such a peaceful village with stunning views across the lake.



We had many memorable dinners with our travelling companions including eating escargot and frogs legs in Paris.

The next morning we said goodbye to some of our new found friends and we decide to go into Rome by bus to see St Pauls Bassilica at the famous St Peters Square. What an impressive site with it's huge columns and beautiful sculptures. We lined up to go into the Bassilica. The line was an hour wait, but well worth the wait to see such masterpieces of architecture and scultputes inside. As we'd already seen many of the touristy sites with the group we thought we'd head back to the hotel for the afternoon. Well that wasn't as easy as we thought as there are many one way streets in Rome and trying to find the right bus and the right bus stop proved to be quite a mission. After 2 hours lost we thought we'd head inside an internet cafe which we passed and killed an hour there before trying our luck again to find the bus back to the hotel. 3 hours later (this is now 6 hours from the time we started looking for the bus) we think we found the right bus stop so sat down to wait. By this time walking around in the heat I was starting to have a sense of humour failure however Kelly thought it was appropriate moment to capture this. We finally made it back to the hotel with our relationship in tact and the following morning said goodbye to the rest of the gang as Kelly and I head out on our own to Sorrento for 4 nights. We took the train from Termini train station in Rome to Sorrento about a 2 hour train ride changing at Naples. Naples isn't a city you stay in for very long. It's dirty and very busy. People pushing and grabbing at your bags. Well known for its organised crime. We did stay for 1 night after leaving Sorrento, only so we could be early for the flight back to London.


Arriving in Sorrento we made our way by foot from the station to our hotel Conca Park on the Via degli Aranchi. It was a longer walk than we first anticipated, so by the time we arrived tempers were frayed and the cool room with a balcony was very welcome. The hotel was a short stroll from the main shopping street of Corso Italia where night and day there is activity. People shopping and eating. We ate there 2 out of he 4 nights. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from and the staff are always ready with a smile and a friendly comment. We felt very safe wondering around both at night and during the day. The first night Kelly ventured off on her own to explore while I rested in the hotel. The following night I joined her for a meal and a look see. We were amazed that at 10.00pm at night it was still a hive of activity with retail shops still trading as were the restaruants.

You can take all your day trips from Sorrento to visit Pompei and Mount Vesuvius or take a drive down the Amalfi coast to Positano or as we did a boat ride accross to the island of Capri for lunch and another boat ride to the beautiful Blue Grotto. It was a perfect day as we headed down to the jetty and off for our trip out to the grotto.
I'd been looking forward to this the whole holiday. The sun was shining, and the water glistening. I love being out on the water and it looked so inviting. We stopped in Capri for lunch and look around. Once again very busy. Bought our tickets for our boat trip out to the grotto. It was about a half hour boat ride before waiting for 40 mins on the boat to be able to transfer to a small rowing boat to enter the grotto. Everyone waits in their boats of which there were about 7 or 8 large boats waiting. Once you transfer to the smaller row boats you go inside this small opening that you see in the photo. To go through, the rower has to wait for the fall of the wave and we lie down in the boat to get through the small opening.
Once inside though it opens up to this beautiful blue grotto where the water is irredecesant blue. Have a look at the link above to experience what it's like inside. We head out of the grotto the same way we come in. Only 3 or 4 boats at a time in the grotto and only for a few minutes for about 15 euro I think but worth it. Outside we board our vessel back to Capri for some icecream and a bit of shopping before heading back to Sorrento.

The bus ride from Sorrento jetty up to the main shopping area was a hairy one to say the least. A stinking hot day and as soon as the doors on this little bus open everyone cramms inside waiting for departure which wasn't for another ten minutes. And when I say crammed inside I mean you couldn't fit a toothpick between any of us. Kelly got off after 5 mins of waiting and decided to walk back. Then the bus ride up this hill, narrow streets and sharp corners with all us little sardines inside. It wasn't a pleasant ride let me tell you. Nevertheless we arrived safely. Our stay in Sorrento was an absolute treat and I will definately be going back some day.

The next morning we head off from the hotel with our luggage for the bus back to Naples where we will stay the night. On our walk we were stopped by a car offering us a lift. To my surprise Kelly is accepting the lift. After my mothering warning about accepting lifts off strangers she informs me that the driver is Ivan the waiter at the restaurant where we have been dining in Sorrento. A lovely chap who I think quite liked Kelly. He dropped us at the bus with us promising to send him a postcard from home as he doesn't like emails. The bus ride up the coast to Naples was just gorgeous. Almost at the end of our holdiday it was sad to be leaving but after nearly 4 weeks away from home we were glad to be on our finally couple of legs.

Naples was everything I'd heard it was. Dirty and busy. We didn't feel terribly safe arriving at the bus station not knowing which bus to get to go to the hotel. It was difficult to be understood but we did eventually get directions and one kind gentleman made sure we got off at the right stop right outside our hotel. We stayed in a nice hotel called H2C Hotel Napoli not too far from the airport. The hotel was very modern and clean. However, the area was awful. This is the view from the upstairs balcony.
And another view from outside our hotel window.
We didn't venture outside the hotel after arriving and we had a driver pick us up at 4.30am for our 7.30am flight back to London the next morning. The flight back to London Gatwick was a reasonable quick flight of 2 3/4 hours before having to go across town to Heathrow for our flight back to Singapore.

Singapore we stayed at the same hotel as on the way over which was the Penninsular Excelsior in the centre of Singapore. I had some clothes made for me on the way over which I was able to pick up on my return home. Very happy with them as being a larger woman, Singapore is full of tiny ladies so it's difficult to buy ready to wear items. The garments I had made fit perfectly.
We're very much looking forward to getting home now and back to our loved ones to tell of our adventures. Looking back at these photos and the many many more we took has whetted my appetite for more travel. I'll have to keep myself healthy so I can keep going on more travels. Something I believe everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime.
Happy travelling
Paulette xx