Farewell Europe, hello tropics

Yesterday we packed our bags up ready to start the journey home. We seem to have lots of STUFF but I didn't shop toooo much, and most things we packed were used along the way so I think we got it nearly right.

Once ready to go, we took a last wander through the streets and markets at Campo de Fiori, and had a coffee from the shop at the end of our lane. When I farewelled my local barista, he responded with coffee art. Sweet!!!

The airport run went smoothly (even though I had read dire things about the Rome airport) and soon enough we were in the air heading towards Doha then Singapore. Again, the flight was comfortable and we all managed some sleep along the way. I've had to admit to Baz that perhaps the comfy seats were money well spent after all?

Singapore Airport was quiet, the crowds must have cleared after the F1 last week. We were straight through and off to our hotel where we were happy to find our room upgraded to a two bedroom suite- it feels like a mansion after some of the wee flats we've stayed in over the last month. Yay!

The Sentosa Spa resort is lovely, surrounded by tropical gardens and a great view over the sea.

A swim, and Chilli Crab were on the cards. Off to bed now, here's hoping sheer tiredness might mean no early wake ups from time zone confusion??

No crab pics to share, we annihilated that meal! Spice is fabulous!

Crushed in crowds

Enticed by the website that said that tickets booked online (an extra €4 each!) we booked entry for the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel and set off after a lazy morning for our 1pm booking. We think the Pope himself or someone very important was about as much of the forecourt was fenced off and way in the distance a white pope mobile-esque cart could be seen near the steps.

After a confusing walk to find the entrance, we arrive still having to line up for tickets, then proceed to be crushed by crowds through the various galleries and chambers leading to the Sistine Chapel. Amy was so frightened by the heaving crowds she sobbed through half of it, and I felt sick from the sheer volume of people and inability to exit even if you chose to avoid the 'main attraction'. By the time we got to the chapel we were ready to flee and the masterpiece of Michelangelo's work was lost on us. We missed the Varican museum as we were all too upset to brave further crowds. Shame on the Vatican for allowing such an incredible sight to become a circus!

We retreated to the soothing familiarity of Romes cobbled streets, friendly locals and delicious food. We even found a Hawaiian pizza for Jack ha ha!!

We have enjoyed Rome, but I think the crowd hysteria freaked us all a little today. Time to head home, I for one need some time in my 'hood, time with the ladies and the love of a smooth brown hound..... If she hasn't forgotten us!! See you soon!! Xxxx

Monuments, Nasoni, Baccala and Street Art

I packed up the Hillzeez to find the Palatine Hill and Colosseum, and off we trekked! Due to a (very slight) navigator error we ended up walking around the long way but we did see a few more cool ruins and a church the kids fancied, before a short line for tickets to enter Palatine Hill and a walk around in the shade. I found it amazing that we were walking on ground where the early buildings and first settlement of Rome dated back to 600 BC but I do fear it was a little lost on my foot weary family.

We grabbed a quick lunch and Gelati before braving the Colosseum. It was fascinating, and as we'd already got tickets at Palantine Hill we didn't have to queue again phew! The ticket line there was huge.... It was easy to visualize how the stadium may have looked, and incredible that it was constructed well before CAD and machinery to assist with the work.

We've discovered the Nasoni in Rome, where spring water flows constantly and is safe to drink. The Nasone is stopped by putting your palm against the spout, causing a stream of water to shoot up through a small whole at the top to drink from, or you can just refill bottles easily.

It was about 28 degrees today and hot in the sun, so we had a little nana nap while the kids watched a movie then headed out for dinner. We'd seen a super busy restaurant at the end of our lane last night, and wanted to check out what was on offer as we passed it as lunch time and it was shut up with not even a menu on display.

What we found was amazing, they had one main dish- Baccala (salt cod) fried in batter ( and only €5!) complemented by simple starters, fresh salad, crusty bread and wine in carafes- also €5. Simple accounting. There were locals coming in to buy take away, and tables around us turning over every 20 minutes- It was one of the most delicious meals I've had, especially the marinated mushrooms we started with. REAL food!

Finally I can't sign off without the art.... There is so much graffiti I have to at least show you the art that has managed to peek through it all (sometimes literally).

These guys were on the side road from the Colosseum.

We found these chalk drawings near home.... And Amy's leggings were not attacked by a chalk wielding fiend- desigual took care of them!

These are adjacent to our graffiti Jesus just a few meters from our front door.

Finally, this bloke amuses crowds with spray cans and stencils in the Campo de Fiori at night. We saw a few others doing the same sort of thing in Nice too, and many near the Colosseum but the kids both liked this guy and they've packed a picture each for their walls at home.

Ciao!

We woke this morning in Rome and set off after greeting our graffiti doorman to explore the markets in the Campo De Fiori, which is just a few minutes walk from our flat.

I have to say the street art is in danger of bring drowned by plain old tagging and graffiti, it's absolutely everywhere. Such a shame...

The markets had yummy fruit and veg, and pasta galore! I had freshly squeezed pomegranate and a orange juice for brekky and we stocked up on pasta ready for a meal at home one night :-)

Our overdone and tired kids both had whining going full blast, so after lunch (possibly the best pizza I have ever eaten- zucchini flower, anchovies and cheese) I bunked them down to rest for a few hours while Baz took off to explore and get a haircut. He did a good recce for us so later in the arvo turned tour guide and showed us the Altere Della Patria, Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. When I told Jack the Pantheon was over 2000 years old he was amazed it was still standing strong!

Note to Grandy/Grandma- don't be alarmed by the bandage on Amy's hand, she has a bite of some sort that is quite puffy and blistered so I have wrapped it while we are out and about to keep it clean and from getting knocked and Amy is milking it for all it's worth.

After checking out the Pantheon we took seats at a nearby cafe for a drink for us and Gelato for the kids, before fleeing in horror at the prices. It would seem a monument in sight whilst cooling off means you pay 3 times the price! We walked around the corner for the kids gelato then legged it back to the Campo De Fiori square for a yummy dinner, at a reasonable price. Baz is happy to see a little more chicken and seafood on the menu than we found in many places in France, and Jack has started a margarita pizza jag- he may be a tomato hue by the time we arrive home!

Beach Bliss

After packing our bags and storing them with the apartment owner we decided to spend the day at the beach. We walked through the flower markets on the way, I noticed more succulents than we had seen when we were further north.

The day was glorious, and the water clear and calm.

We checked in at a private beach, near the sandy spot we had found earlier and settled in with sun beds and an umbrella for shade.

Amy had it in her head she wanted to try parasailing, so after much convincing Jack and I agreed to give it a go. We kitted up, hung on and off we went- I was pretty nervous especially when he said you may have to run, just follow the boat!! What the? It was gorgeous once we were up and sailing, and he dipped us in the water a few times which made us all scream. The view of the bays of angels was spectacular, and it was an amazing way to end our adventures in France.

Au Revoir France!

It's with more than a wee (oui?) bit of sadness that we will farewell France tomorrow and head on to Rome. I can definitely say I will enjoy a decent coffee Monday morning though one thing Frence does NOT do well!

I didn't post a blog yesterday as we spent the day watching footy finals and hitting the beach- thankfully finding one close by with more sand than rocks making the whole experience much more fun!

Today was much the same!! I have to say though Nice turned on the weather for our last day admirably.

The kids met up with a lovely girl called Alia from California at the beach this morning, and had a fab play with her body surfing and collecting sea glass. Baz went home to watch the dockers play, and we followed him later to witness a great game. Bring on the grand final woot woot. We'll be in Singapore cheering loudly!

After watching the Dockers win, and a bit of celebrity spotting on TV....

.....We walked through town to meet our host and his family at the park for the kids to play. The square near our home has seven figures on posts representing the seven continents- here are a few!

Walking home along the Baie de Ange (Bay of Angels) Amy found a bathing beauty with a swimsuit just like hers!

We also found a car show of some sort, not sure what the common thread was with all sorts there but here was a couple that we liked :-)

The afternoon was so still you can see the bay is like glass- wonderful!!

We stopped for our arvo pint, and I was distracted from my pint pic of Baz by the following- a neon pigeon on the bar roof lights! He was obviously warming his tail feathers as the sun set, but the funny thing was that the lights changed colour every minute or so setting him off in a different glow!

To round out our last night in France, we went the whole hog at... Le Frog!

We had our last feed of snails and tried again frogs legs and they were totally delicious. Even Jack had one, but confessed he liked them Chinese salt and pepper style as we had tried in Strasbourg the best. We disagreed!

Baz did get the last laugh on the local casino, after donating a few euros earlier in the week he had a 20€ chip to cash in (old ploy I know) so he toddled off after dinner.

He returned half an hour later after winning a jackpot on the 2c machine some many Euros better off and even having had to pay tax on his windfall- Hilarious!! He said a crowd had gathered to watch the machine jackpot so as soon as he was escorted to the cashier to settle up he bolted. The one time his phone was on the coffee table at home so he couldn't even take a pic of the flashing lights but here's a glimpse of the aftermath he yar!

Heading for a swanky beach club while we await our flight to Rome tomorrow afternoon methinks. Au revoir indeed!