Wednesday 2 November: Auckland and home

We had planned to have a look at Auckland's "Antarctic Experience" but slept in so late it wasn't possible. We packed up and killed some time at the hotel until the shuttle came to take us to the airport. After having (yet more) words with Air New Zealand about the costs we had imposed on us by their flight changes (more to be said on this subject later) we got on board and headed west. The flight wasn't anywhere near full, so we had a bit of leg and elbow room, and it was generally quite pleasant.

We arrived in Perth, and were met at the airport by our future son-in-law Jan. Home to Kingsley - it's wierd going back into your own home after a time away. Got half unpacked, started sorting the mountain of mail, but gave up and hit the sack.

Well, that's the end of our three months away. Now we have to come back to reality - bills to pay, household maintenance, jobs to go back to. And about 10,000 pictures to sort out and decide which to print. It's been a fantastic three months, with some experiences we'll never forget - as well as a few we'd rather forget. We met some wonderful people in lots of different countries. We saw some beautiful landdscapes, some magnificent buildings and artworks. But after all that it's great to be home.

To everybody who asks which place we enjoyed most, the answer is probably South Africa. But each place was unique and special in its own way. And our next trip (when it happens) will be right here in Australia- there's still a lot of this beautiful country we haven't seen.

Our very sincere thanks to all the people who showed kindness and generosity along the way, and to those who looked after things at home while we were away.

Tuesday 1 November: Auckland

Flying west across the Pacific we lost an entire day, so halloween didn't happen for us. Never mind - the flight had enough horrors of its own. Not really - it was just very boring and claustrophobic sitting in a confined space for 13 hours. Muscles and heads were aching when we finally arrived at Auckland at 4:30am. Who sets these schedules for crying out loud? What's wrong with a sensible arrival time like eight o'clock?

New Zealand has stringent quarantine procedures, and it took quite a long time to get out of the airport. We got the shuttle to the Ibis hotel, expecting to deposit our luggage and be told to come back at check-in time this afternoon. Wonder of wonders the hotel had a vacant room so we were able to check in straight away. We crashed for a few hours.

Feeling somewhat refreshed after a rest, shower and change of clothes, we headed into the city. The lovely girl on reception had suggested that public transport wasn't much good and it's only a few minutes by taxi - more on this later.

Auckland is a vibrant city about the same size as Perth. It's been going through a tremendous renewal, with lots of new hotels, apartments and restaurants springing up along the waterfront. We walked along the piers and had lunch in a waterfront cafe. They celebrate Melbourne Cup day in Auckland too, and there were many women parading around in low cut dresses and fancy hats.

We walked up Queen Street (the main shopping street) and branched off at Karangahape Road for a look at some of the work on "spaghetti junction". (Paul was involved in the planning of the upgrade work). K Road is very salubrious with a number of tattoo studios, strip clubs and porno shops, so after a quick look at the work in progress we headed back to the nicer part of town. We were surprised by the very large number of Asian shops and cafés, especially at the top end of town.

One of the new feaures of Auckland is the Britomart, a very smart new transport hub. The railway station is underground, but this is the only underground part of the system - the trains are all fairly old diesel railcars. We discovered that there is a train line to the vicinity of our hotel, bought a ticket and were soon on our way. Arriving at the Greenlane station we looked around - and saw the hotel less than a hundred metres away! Why had we bothered with a taxi in the morning? Mental note to chastise the receptionist!

We were still feeling pretty jet-lagged, so we had another rest then watched the Melbourne Cup on TV, following which we had a pleasant walk around the race-course which is adjacent to the hotel. Dinner in the hotel restaurant (pricy, but very good) and an early night.

Sunday 30 October: San Francisco - Goodbye USA

Sunday dawned clear and bright, so we decided to head back to the waterfront. This time we took a cable car - a tiny box-like tram propelled by a moving cable concealed in a slot in the road. The cars are always crowded, with not enough seats, so a lot of the passengers have to hang on to the sides. This is great fun, though apparently people do occasionally get knocked off.

Our first stop was Lombard Street - "the world's crookedest street". One block of this street is extremely steep, so the road zigzags through a large number of tight curves. The locals have some very interesting approach angles to their garages, and also a lot of tourits to invade their privacy.

The next cable car took us to the Hyde Street pier, which hosts a number of old ships including a schooner, a car ferry and two steam tugs (one of them a paddle-wheel type). We had a good time looking at the ships and wandering around the local area with its shops and cafes. We visited the very famous Lark in the Morning music shop, with its wonderful collection of musical instruments from all parts of the world. Sue eventually dragged Paul out kicking and screaming, and we returned to the cable car terminal.

The cable car drivers ("brakemen") seem to be selected not only for their skills in the manipulation of the levers necessary to make the little cars stop and go, but also for their personalities and dry wit.
"Can we catch this trolley back to the city?"
It's a free country, Lady.

Or when a Japanese tourist wandered in front of the car: That's how we make Rice-a-riso

We checked out of the Handlery and took a shuttle to the airport. SFO is a very large airport but was very quiet, with a disappointingly small number and variety of shops. As required we arrived three hours before departure, but the check-in and security were quick and efficient. However Paul was required to go through "The Booth" - a new device for detecting traces of explosives. Inside the booth the victim is subjected to a series of air blasts, and then waits for the light to go green. However the light didn't go green, and a second series of air blasts was necessary. Meantime the tough-looking lady operator was donning a pair of latex gloves - things were starting to look dicey. Thankfully the light eventually turned green and Paul escaped a fate worse than death.

At last the flight was called - it was a fully-loaded 747. We settled in and mentally prepared ourselves for the 13 hours of claustrophobia to come.

Saturday 29 October: San Francisco

Saturday started very cloudy, and we weren't expecting a very good day. We caught a "streetcar" (tram) to the world famous Pier 39, where we saw the world famous ice cream shop and the world famous sea lions. (There is very little in this place that isn't world famous). The street cars are 1940s and 50s vintage and are maintained as much for historical interest as for their transportation value. San Francisco has a wide range of public transport options including the street cars, cable cars (like very small trams which are propelled by a moving cable concealed in a slot in the road surface), diesel buses, trolley buses and two separate underground railway systems - the Muni and the Bart.

Pier 39 is much like a more intense version of Sorrento Quay, with cafes, souvenir shops etc. We took a bay cruise which was interesting for what we didn't see rather than what we did - the fog had rolled in, and we only got glimpses of the Golden Gate bridge through the mist. We'll have to go back later. The cruise also took in Alcatraz Island, the Oakland Bay Bridge and the city skyline. We had some very nice crepes for lunch, then decided to head back to the hotel (streetcar again) to get some warmer clothing.

In the afternoon we decided to head back to the Golden Gate bridge for some sunset pictures. We used our "Muni passport" to catch a hot and crowded bus along the length of Geary Street to Presidio. We discovered there are in fact three Presidio streets - Presidio Avenue, Presidio Boulevard and Park Presidio Boulevard. Of course we got off at the wrong one, but another bus came along a few minutes later to take us to Park Presidio Bvd, where we changed to another bus which took us to the bridge.

The Golden Gate Bridge was opened in 1937, at which time it was the longest span in the world. It is a magnificent and graceful suspension bridge, painted a deep orange colour. We went to the main viewing area on the north-east side and got some pretty good photos. We walked under the freeway to see if we could get some images from the sunny side, but the angles were all wrong. Apparently the best views are from the Marin County side, but it was getting too late for us to go over to that side. We walked across the bridge to mid-span, but by then it was quite dark, so we headed back to the viewing area and caught a bus back to town.

San Francisco Transport. In the last couple of days we have used a variety of transport modes around San Francisco - the BART trains, buses (including one trolley bus) and the street car to Pier 39. We must also try a cable car before we leave. The bus drivers we encountered ranged from downright effusive to downright surly. The trains include the normal in-car destination displays and announcements, but we were impressed that the buses have these as well. (GPS navigation perhaps?) However the crowded buses suffer from a repeated and intensely annoying announcement...For the convenience of passengers boarding the bus, please move to the rear of the bus...For the convenience of passengers boarding the bus, please move to the rear of the bus...For the convenience of passengers boarding the bus, please move to the rear of the bus...For the convenience of passengers boarding the bus, please move to the rear of the bus...For the convenience...

Friday 28 October San Francisco & Sacramento

On Friday morning Paul rang two Nikonian friends in Sacramento - Anthony Manansala and David Good. Anthony and David both work in the architectural design section of Caltrans, and Paul was eager to meet them and have a look at their work. So while Sue stayed in San Francisco and checked out China Town and the various shops, Paul caught the train north to Sacramento.

Anthony and David met Paul at the station, gave him a guided tour of the city, and bought a very nice Chinese lunch. Sacramento is a small but pretty city, with lots of trees in every street. The residential areas are very pleasant indeed, though Dave & Anthony explained that property prices have risen considerably in the past few years. We went to look at some excellent photography on show in a local camera shop, and met the proprietor of the black & white laboratory which recently hosted a show of Dave & Anthony's work.

On then to Caltrans, where we saw some of the projects currently under way. Caltrans is different from MRWA in that the great majority of their design work is done in-house. Anthony is one of thirty or so architects and David is a lead structural detailer. They work on everything from bridge aesthetics to maintenance depots to utilitarian roadside structures.

Time was getting on, so David drove Paul back to the station for the train ride back to San Francisco. It was really good to meet these dedicated Nikonians, have a talk about all manner of things, and see their work.

Back in San Francisco, Sue had spent most of the day exploring the city and checking out the shops. When Paul got back, we walked down to the Westfield shopping centre to look at some of the shops and also what are claimed to be the world's only curved escalators. We had dinner at Lori's Diner (very nice 1950s feel and music). We each had a nice healthy salad - followed with apple pie and ice cream.

Thursday 27 October: Yosemite to San Francisco

The clouds which had darkened last night's sunset spread across the sky and dumped rain on Yosemite Valley all night long. It was still raining when we checked out, and we noted that the Tioga Pass (which we had crossed two days ago) was closed. The rain and low grey clouds put paid to any ideas of more photography this morning, so we headed west to San Francisco.

It was a pleasant enough drive, and the weather cleared as we got further west. We got into Oakland around 3:00pm. From there the traffic slowed considerably, and it was a slow crawl over the Oakland Bay Bridge and into the San Francisco downtown area. We found our hotel (the Handlery) with no trouble, and checked in.

The Handlery is in a district called Union Square - full of up-market shops and galleries. The hotel itself is Very Nice, and our room opens onto the pool. (Too cold for swimming, though). The down side of this area is the number of beggars - probably more than we have seen anywhere else on our travels.

We had dinner at a place called Lefty O'Doules, which is apparently something of a local institution. Huge serves of roast meats, pasta, vegetables and salad for a much lower price than anywhere we have been. Excellent food, and excellent value for money. After that we went looking for a laundromat, which we found in a Spanish area of town. Back to the hotel wih a load of clean clothes, and so to bed.

Wednesday 26 October: Yosemite

We had a leisurely start to the day - slept late, had breakfast, checked our emails. We walked the short distance from the lodge to the Yosemite Falls - one of the highest waterfalls in the world. Sadly, it being autumn there was no water in the falls. So we looked at an extremely high cliff, and imagined what it must be like in full flow.

We then drove to the village, bought a torch and some other essentials, and had a look at the art centre. This is basically a photographic gallery, and of course Ansel Adams is the star attraction. There were some really gorgeous prints and books on sale but as we are in a strict weight-saving mode we had to resist.

To the east end of the settlement, where we set out on a very enjoyable walk (about 3km each way) to Mirror Lake. As expected the lake is dry at this time of year, but we still got some great views of Half Dome and the surrounding mountains.

We had a picnic lunch at the lake, then returned to the lodge for afternoon coffee. Interesting note - the "coffee station" at the food court closes at 2pm. All that's available after that time is help yourself flat black (or white) in cardboard cups.

We decided to return to a couple of sites we had noted on the way in yesterday - a lovely section of the Merced River, and the towering bulk of El Capitan. Unfortunately black clouds had covered the sun and the light was very poor. We got a few pictures in the river, then returned to the lodge for dinner.

Tuesday 25 October: Death Valley to Yosemite

Zabriskie Point promises unearthly landscapes, and a wonderful place to watch the sun rise or set. So we got up early (this is becoming a habit) and drove the short distance from Furnace Creek to Zabriskie Point. Unfortunately the eastern horizon was blanketed in dark clouds, so there was no real sunrise light. Never mind - it was a pretty spectacular place and we got some reasonable pictures.

The clouds held promise of a thunderstorm, and there was indeed one almighty crack of thunder just as we were leaving. But that was the extent of it, and the sky soon cleared. We drove north under the hot desert sky, then turned west to cross the Inyo mountains. The road was narrow and twisting, with some very deep cuts and fills. It was also steep - an uphill grade for about 20 miles, always over 5% and in places up to 9 or 10%. On the other side of the mountains the road swooped down into another deep valley. The little Malibu really wasn't cut out for this type of driving, and really struggled up the hills.

We turned north and passed along the foot of the Sierras through the little towns of Lone Pine, Big Pine, Independence and Bishop (where we had a picnic lunch). At length we saw Mono Lake on the right, and turned left into the mountains. Suddenly all was ice and snow as we traversed the Tioga Pass. We were still wearing our t-shirts from the desert, and it was a shock when we opened the car window to pay the Yosemite Park entry fee.

The east-west road through the park offers some great views, but nothing to match those as we entered Yosemite Valley itself. This is a glacial valley with towering cliffs and mountains on every side. It's definitely the most spectacular natural scenery we have visited on our trip. The trees were all turning red and gold, and we had high hopes for some great photos next day. (It was getting pretty late by then).

We checked in at the Yosemite Lodge, got our little talk on being "bear aware" and signed a form to prove it. The room is very comfortable, though (as usual) the lighting is inadequate. The external lighting is extremely poor here, and all guests are encouraged to carry a "flashlight". Unfortunately, ours had broken and we didn't yet have a replacement. After an ill-fated trip to the laundromat (the road was closed) we groped our way to the cafeteria for dinner, then stumbled back through the darkness to our room. And so to bed.

Monday 24 October Las Vegas to Death Valley

From Las Vegas we headed for death valley. Eric had suggested we go via Red Rock Canyon, but our legendary navigation skills soon had us heading in the wrong direction. We turned off the interstate at Baker - a strange little town which consists of one dusty street, five service stations, about 10 fast food joints, and two little supermarkets whose stock seems to comprise of beer, spirits and canned beans.

From Baker we turned north and drove through increasingly desolate country. We stopped at a little place called Shoshone for lunch. We'd been fantasising about a picnic lunch on some green grass under a shady tree. We found just what we wanted - outside the sheriff's office. The sheriff didn't seem to mind, so we had a very pleasant break.

From Shoshone the road wound through rugged hills, then descended for miles down to the floor of Death Valley itself. The lowest point in the western hemisphere is found here, at a place appropriately named Badwater. There had been recent rains (highly unusual in this area) and there was sufficient water to create beautiful reflections of the surrounding hills. We walked out over the salt to get as close as possible to the water for the best pictures. However the crust kept breaking underfoot, dropping us ankle-deep into black mud, so we didn't get as far out as we would have liked.

Our accommodation was at Furnace Creek. This is a surprisingly pretty place, with small cabins under shady trees, a swimming pool and golf course. We had a look around, had dinner at the café and so to bed.

Sunday 23 October Las Vegas

Sunday morning we succumbed to greed and avarice. Lured by the promise of free show tickets and holiday packages, we foolishly agreed to have a look at a time-share property. "We'll just go through the motions as quickly as possible and then get out with our freebies", we thought. To cut a long story short, it took us three and a half hours to get away from these people. The deal looked good but we refused to sign up without further research and consultation, and the charming smiles turned less charming. The price of $16,990 suddenly dropped to $4,990 - too good to be true, and smelled decidedly fishy. Anyhow, we came away with vouchers for a dinner show, and for a two night vacation at one of several resorts. (Which we're sure to use - not).

After lunch we caught up with a bloke named Eric Stefik. Paul and Eric have been email friends for years and it was the first time they had actually met each other. Eric and his lovely wife Susan offered to show us the "other Las Vegas" - the one where real people live and work away from the Strip. The city spreads out into extensive suburban areas, all surrounded by a ring of mountains. Eric and Susan's house is in one of the newer suburbs, which looks like a very pleasant place to live. We went for a walk around the local park and had a good chat about life, the universe and everything. We also saw part of Eric's fantastic collection of model cars (diecast and Dinky types). He has quite a few Australian models, which we found very interesting.

Eric drove us back to the Luxor, and we got ready for our dinner show. On the recommendation of somebody at the hotel, we had decided to see "The Tournament of Kings" at the Excalibur. It promised great food, excellent comedy, brilliant horsemanship, swordfights, jousts and fireworks. Well... the horses were great. The food was very ordinary (slighty under-done whole small chickens eaten with the fingers). The comedy was lame. The fight sequences were choreographed by World Championship Wrestling. It's probably the worst show currently playing in Vegas. If you're tempted to see it - don't!

To salvage something from our night we got out the cameras and took a few good pictures of some of the casinos. Then back to the Luxor, and so to bed.

Saturday 22 October Grand Canyon to Las Vegas

We didn't get a lot of pictures of Grand Canyon on Friday afternoon, so we got up early in the hopes of some good sunrise images. The canyon was still filled with haze and the morning light was weak and lacking in colour. We got a few reasonable shots, had breakfast and checked out.

From Grand Canyon we headed south to link up with Interstate 40. The Interstates are freeway-standard roads which criss-cross the US, and are an excellent means of travelling fast over long distances. The speed limit is 75 miles/hr (about 120 km/h). The country was largely empty, treeless and undulating. We followed I40 to a town called Kingman then headed north to Hoover Dam, one of the engineering wonders of the world. The road goes over the crest of the dam, and all vehicles had to stop for a (very perfunctory) police check before proceeding. A new bypass is currently under construction so that through traffic doesn't have to go through the narrow, congested section near the dam.

From the dam to Las Vegas is a short distance by freeway. We were staying at the Luxor, near the south end of town. But to see as much as possible, we followed the freeway to the north end of town and exited at Las Vegas Boulevard - "the Strip".

Then drove the full length of the Strip - it was a revelation. The north (downtown) section is pretty low class. There are lots of pawn shops and porn shops, strip clubs and massage parlours, cheap motels and ultra-tacky wedding chapels. As we went further south, we saw the "new Las Vegas" - the enormous hotel / casino complexes. Each has its own theme - the Paris with its Eiffel Tower, the Venetian complete with canals and a copy of the Rialto bridge (which looks better than the original), New York New York with its skyscrapers and Statue of Liberty, and many more.

The Luxor is Egyptian themed. You enter under a giant sphinx and make your way into a huge black pyramid. Inside it's all noise, music, hustle and bustle and flashing lights. There are Egyptian columns complete with hieroglyphics, statues and paintings everywhere. There are also more poker machines than you could possibly imagine. The place is layed out in such a way that you can't get from one point to another without passing a large number of slot machines.

We had a look at the King Tut museum (which is quite well done), had a walk up the strip for a look-see, then back to the Luxor for dinner and bed.

Friday 21 October Monument Valley and Grand Canyon

We woke very early, with Paul complaining of sore neck and headaches. However Sue forced him to get up and get moving, with the help of a lot of Tylenol.

We drove to the visitor centre and met Tom who drove us into the valley. He then parked the car (a Chevrolet Suburban 4WD) and we set off through the scrub. Tom bolted ahead, and it was only because of his white hat that we were able to catch glimpses of him in the distance. We used torches to see where we were going, but Tom needed no such aids. Eventually we came to a flat rock ledge with views of several formations. We settled down to wait for the sun - the silence and sense of isolation were awesome. The eastern sky gradually turned grey then yellow, then magnificent shades of red. Some of the formations were silhouetted against the sky, and others gradually became front-lit. Sometimes it's worth the effort to see the sun rise.

Tom then took us to a number of sites, where we got a lot of pictures. Almost before we knew it five hours had passed, and we were finished. We checked out of the motel, paid Tom his fee, and headed off towards the Grand Canyon.

The drive was quite pleasant, through undulating treeless countryside punctuated with the occasional rock formation. We passed through several small towns, and bought some Navajo trinkets from a roadside stall.

Arriving at Grand Canyon, we had a look at Desert View, but the light was poor and the canyon was full of haze, so it was difficult to get good quality pictures. We headed west to the village, found our accommodation at Kachina Lodge and checked in. The room was very comfortable, with two queen-size beds(!) By this time it was quite late, so we managed a couple of sunset shots of the canyon (not particularly good though), and had a cheap but tasty dinner at the cafeteria.

The Grand Canyon is very big, deep wide and long. The rock formations are interesting enough and most people have seen images of it. It's the sort of place that needs a lot of time to get to know, to understand the light and find the best viewpoints. Unfortunately we didn't have enough time and after Monument Valley we were suffering a bit of photo fatigue.

Thursday 20 October Monument Valley

Millions of years ago, the south-west deserts of the USA were covered by sea. Over geological time, the sea deposited layers of silts, which compressed into rock. A sand dune hundreds of metres high was deposited over the rock, then the sea returned, laying down more rock over the top of the sand. This last rock was a very hard cemented conglomerate. Cracks in the conglomerate allowed water to seep down and erode the sandy layers underneath. The result was a number of areas of spectacular canyons, buttes, arches and other formations. Monument Valley is one of the most famous such areas.

We woke long before sunrise and drove through the cold crisp morning to the valley visitor centre, where we met our guide Tom Phillips. Tom is a Navajo who was born and grew up in the area, and knows all the best spots. He was recommended to us by friends in Nikonians, so we were expecting good things.

For the next five hours, he took us from one spectacular location to the next, explained the geology and history of the area, and gave us valuable hints and tips on photographing this amazing landscape.

Back to Gouldings for a quick lunch and to download our pictures, then once more into the valley for an afternoon of shooting. We had dinner at Goulding's restaurant (where else?) and got a reasonably early night - we had to be up before dawn again tomorrow.

Wednesday 19 October Washington to Monument Valley

Up very early, a quick breakfast and a snooze in the long shuttle ride out to Dulles airport, which is approximately half way to Denver.

The joys of air travel in America. On check-in, we discovered a new "refinement" of the American air transport process: you don't get your seat allocation when you check in - this is done at the gate lounge. The check-in person took one look at our bulging suitcases and decided they needed to go through the "special" channel. So we got checked in, then had to tke the cases around to the other side of the terminal, wait in another queue, and watch them go through the x-ray and disappear onto a conveyor. Then through security screening, where we were both "selected" for a more detailed examination of our bags and ourselves.

By the time all this was done, and we got to the gate lounge (in a different terminal building, by bus) our flight had been called.

Sorry folks, you're too late and there are no seats left.
What!!?? We've had confirmed tickets since April!!!
Well, there's lots of other people who didn't get seats either. Never mind, we've got another flight going in an hour - you can have a seat on that one.
We wanted to go on that flight but it was going to cost us an extra $100 each! We're rather peeved by this situation.

The upshot was that we got nice roomy exit-row seats on the next flight, plus two free return tickets for anywhere in the 48 states, valid for one year. It's unlikely we'll be back here within a year, so offers for the tickets will be duly considered.

At Denver airport we located (with some difficulty) the check-in desk for Great Lakes Aviation. The desk is shared with something called Hooter Air. Oh dear!

Your cases are both overweight, I'll have to charge you extra.
OK, how much?
A hundred dollars
!!!
Well, you could buy a new case and spread the load so that none of them is over fifty pounds.

So we dug out an overnight bag we had inside one of the suitcases, transferred some of the load from each case to the bag and saved ourselves a hundred bucks. The actual flight to Farmington was in a Beechcraft 1900, a 20-seater turboprop. Not the most comfortable, but OK for a short trip.

Road movie. Some of the great movies involve a car trip through the south-west of the USA. Our trip is no different, though we travelled by Chevrolet Malibu rather than a T-Bird. We picked up the car at Farmington airport and headed west. A couple of stops for supplies and burgers for dinner saw us arrive at Monument Valley four hours later after a pleasant and uneventful drive.

We stayed at Goulding's Lodge, which is actually a motel of pretty reasonable quality. We later disccovered that Gouldings own just about everything in town including the tour service, restaurant, fast food, trading post, service station and general store. There's also an airstrip adjacent to the lodge, and we presume they also own the aircraft.

Tuesday 18 October: Washington

Tuesday was a day of some frustrations. Our connecting flight from Denver to Farmington the next day was rescheduled, so we decided to take a later flight from Washington to Denver. After much messing about (including Yes US Airways are listed in the phone book at this address, but they haven't been here for at least two years), we got hold of an "operative" who informed us that yes we could take a later flight, but it would cost us US$100 per ticket. We declined. More on this in tomorrow's episode....

We spent much of the day looking at the various monuments in the mall. Some of them are very well done, if a bit jingoistic. The World War II memorial is really good apart from a couple of OTT sculptures. However the central fountain had been drained and there was maintenance work under way, which severely limited our picture opportunities. The Korean war memorial is a group of bronze sculptures representing a platoon of infantry on patrol. It is very effective - our friend Bob Tomerlin has some excellent pictures of it. In contrast the Vietnam war memorial is a simple black wall engraved with the names of all 58,000 American service personnel who were killed in that needless, senseless war. The Lincoln memorial was a bit disappointing. The statue of Lincoln is bigger than we expected, but somehow not as impressive. Perhaps the inevitable scaffolding detracted from the impact of the statue.

In the afternoon we visited the Smithsonian air & space museum. This is most impressive. The main halls include some of the actual aircraft and spacecraft which made history - Charles Lindburgh's Spirit of St Louis, the command module of Apollo 11, one of the original Gemini capsules and many many more. We also visited the planetarium. Unlike the one in New York, this was a no-frills affair which had a live commentator operating the projector and describing the night sky. Simple, but very effective.

In the evening we went monument shooting again. We hadn't yet seen the Washington monument up close. It looks much the same as it does from a distance - tall and white. The fountain at WWII was still out of action, but we managed to get some reasonable pictures.

Got back to the hotel, put a load of washing through the in-house laundromat (gotta love the Holiday Inn) and ordered room service for dinner. We booked a shuttle for 6:20 the next morning (ugh!) and settled down for a short night's sleep.

Monday 17 October: Washington

Some initial impressions: Washington, like Canberra, was designed from the ground up as the national capital. It shares with Canberra the broad green spaces and leafy avenues, the impressive public buildings, and the multitude of government offices. Like Canberra, it seems a rather soulless place, at least in the city centre. The suburbs extend over a huge area, and the locals complain incessantly about traffic congestion. However we had no sense of being crowded, unlike most of the other major cities we have visited.

We walked from the hotel up the national mall for some distance, then turned right up to the White House. As expected, the house itself is buried deep in the grounds, where it can be seen from a great distance. We strolled up to the downtown area and bought a new charger for our phones (ours only works on 230/240 volts). Top marks to the people at Cingular - they didn't have it in stock, but rang their other branches to find one for us.

We had noted that the city seems much cleaner and better maintained than most. However in one location we walked through a park with at least a dozen people sleeping on the benches or the ground. So poverty is at home even here.

The seat of government. On to the Capitol where we decided to have a look inside. Entry is free (as in there is no charge) but restricted. You have to obtain a ticket from a booth, then wait until your allocated time. While waiting we looked through the adjacent botanic garden (it's actually an enormous greenhouse) which was very pleasant.

Back to the Capitol, where we had to apply stickers identifying ourselves as part of the 2:20pm tour. A group of visitors was shepherded up the hill to a security checkpoint, where all dangerous items (such as bottles of water) were confiscated. Then through the x-ray and take a seat while the foreign aliens (ie people from other planets such as Australia) had to produce photo IDs. I suppose the fact that we had Australian drivers' licences made us less likely to be terrorists. Then up a long ramp and up some steps, and finally into the majestic rotunda. It was large and pretty, and we were shown around by a woman with a voice like an air-raid siren. From the rotunda to the hall of statues (a very nice room apart from the statues), and then to the crypt which houses the catafalque on which Abraham Lincoln's coffin was laid. (Whooppee!) That was the end of the guided tour.

We then had the option of viewing the senate and house in session, so we went up several flights of stairs to a room where everything except purses and handbags had to be checked in. As we approached one of the people behind the desk dropped somebody's mobile phone, which made us very nervous about our many thousands of dollars worth of Nikon gear. Anyhow, they promised to look after it for us, but then the phone-dropper picked up Sue's camera from its pigeon hole and started shouting "does this belong to anybody?" With some trepidation, and no confidence we would ever see our gear again, we headed up the stairs to the senate.

Through another security screen, where the phone charger was deemed to be a potentially lethal weapon, and had to be checked in. And finally into the senate gallery itself. Quite often when watching the Autralian Parliament on TV, one is struck by the small number of members actually present. Often somebody is making a speech with only a handful of other members or senators in the chamber. Same thing in the US, except at times there were no other senators in the chamber. Not surprising the quality of the speech being delivered - "wide ranging" would be a kind description. "Incoherent waffle" would be an appropriate one.

Nikonians dinner. Bob Tomerlin had kindly arranged a dinner for us together with members of the Nikonians team in the DC area. Unfortunately, Bob was sick in hospital and unable to make it. However we had the great pleasure of meeting Dan LaRusso and his wife Alice, Steve Johnson, and Dr Albert Coo. Albert was good enough to pick us up at our hotel and drive us to and from the restaurant, which was out in the suburbs. The restaurant specialised in cajun style food which was delicious. The food was great, and the company was even better.

Sunday 16 October: New York & Washington

We packed and checked out of the Beacon, and took a cab to Penn Station. Got our cases down the stairs to the concourse level, checked in and got to the train. At each step of the way we were assaulted by constant reminders to Be careful on the escalator....Hold the handrail...Ma'm that case should be behind you not in front of you...Sir, turn around on the escalator... This may be the land of the free, but from our perspective it's an over-regulated nanny state.

We're going the miss the friendly, smiling people of New York, their pleasant demeanour and helpful ways.

The train ride to Washington was smooth and comfortable, and arrived right on time. We checked in to the Holiday Inn, which is one block from the Mall, and a fairly short walk from the Capitol.

We then caught the Metro system to the end of the line, where Carol Tomerlin met us and took us to the hospital. One of our main reasons for coming to Washington was the meet Nikonian friend Bob Tomerlin (DrJimbob). However, Bob has been very ill, and was in intensive care when we arrived. However, he was in very good spirits when we got there, even showing off his new pressure stockings. They're what all the trendy young men are wearing on this ward.

After leaving Bob and Carol we caught the metro back to Washington, had dinner at the hotel, and got an early night.

Saturday 15 October: New York

When we woke up this morning it had stopped raining, but was still very overcast and threatening. We decided to check out one of the famous museums and see if the weather improved later.

The NY Museum of Natural History is close to our hotel, so we walked up 72nd Street past John Lennon's famous Dakota Apartments and through part of Central Park (which was very beautiful).

The museum itself is enormous, but also complex with a lot of different pricing options. We have to say that the woman at the ticket counter was typical of the New York "service" people we have encountered - rude and unhelpful. We bought a general admission ticket and entry to a show at the famous Hayden Planaterium. The exhibits were generally of an excellent (if old fashioned) quality. The planaterium is housed in a sphere 27 metres in diameter, with the main auditorium in the upper half and the "black hole theatre" in the lower half. Wonderful technology is at work here, but the shows are long on style and short on substance. OK for the "gee whizz" brigade, but of limited educational content.

When we got out of the museum the sun had come out and the sky had miraculously turned blue. We headed back to the hotel, grabbed our cameras and headed to Brooklyn.

Brooklyn Bridge. At the time of its construction the Brooklyn Bridge was the longest span in the world, and is one of the engineering icons of the world. We took the subway to Brooklyn then walked down to the East River between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. We got some good pictures, although we were on the shady side of the Brooklyn Bridge. We then walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, back to Manhattan.

We stopped in at the Virgin Megastore, but didn't end up buying anything. We then headed to Times Square. We had half an idea to have dinner at BB King's blues club. However the queues were already forming by six o'clock, so we gave up on that idea. We bought some food at Fairways market, and Sue whipped up a delicious dinner for us.

Ripped off or pi$$ed off? We wanted to see New York by night from the Empire State Building, so went there after dinner. We got there after nine o'clock, only to be told there was a two hour wait! "However, if you buy a combo ticket to our virtual simulation sky show, you only have to wait 20 minutes." Well that meant the entry fee jumped from US$28 to sixty. Too darn much. Told them what they could do with their combo ticket and headed for home.

Friday 14 October: New York

New York and surrounding states have received record rainfalls in the past week, with widespread flooding and damage. So it was no surprise when we woke to grey skies and constant rain. We caught the subway to Penn Station to pick up our tickets for Washington. Then to Times Square where we picked up our tickets for the Lion King.

The biggest camera shop in the world. Then we went to check out B&H, who are legendary suppliers of photographic gear, professional video equipment and computers. The place is very big, noisy and crowded. Most of the staff are Jewish and wear skull caps, beards and side-curls. With Paul exercising enormous will-power, we limited ourselves to some small purchases only. After that we headed back to the hotel for some lunch.

Walkin' in the rain. In the afternoon it was still raining. We foolishly decided to see the USS Intrepid museum. This has the USS Intrepid aircraft carrier, a Concorde airliner and a Blackbird high speed reconnaissance aircraft. Unfortunately there are no subway stations in close proximity, so it was a long trudge in heavy rain. Of course when we got there all the outdoor exhibits (ie all the interesting stuff) were closed.

With brains totally in neutral we decided to go shopping for shoes. Sue thought Bloomingdales sounded good so we caught a cab to the approximate vicinity. Apparently Bloomingdales is a very famous department store, but they didn't have much in the way of suitable shoes. Maybe a visit to the United Nations would cheer us up? We caught what appeared to be the right train, but ended up in Queens. The area around the station looked pretty rundown, but it was still raining so we didn't explore at all.

By this time we were cold, wet, tired, depressed and jet-lagged so we we got the subway back to the hotel, had a hot shower and hit the sack for a couple of hours.

Broadway: Everybody said we had to see a Broadway show, so we decided on the Lion King. This is on at the New Amsterdam theatre in Times Square - an older style auditorium with ordinary seats and inadequate legroom. The show however was fantastic. An excellent score, lots of African rhythms, great staging and brilliant costumes. It was even better in the second half when the woman with the Marge Simpson hairdo and noisy kid left early.

Thursday 13 October: Belgium to New York

Thursday morning we had a quick breakfast with Philippe, and he drove us to the station, where we said our goodbyes. We had been in Belgium less than 24 hours, but really loved the place. We also loved meeting Phil and staying at his apartment.

From Ghent the regional train goes right to Brussells airport, where we took a BMI airbus to Heathrow. From Heathrow to New York was on a United Airlines 777. Paul's recent experience with American Airlines had been very negative, so we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of service and friendliness of the United staff. An interesting innovation was the ability to hear the pilots' conversations with air traffic control on approach to JFK. Visibility was virtually zero because of the heavy clouds, and we were sent around for a second approach because of the heavy traffic. It was enlightening to hear the amount of chatter and the constant instructions to adjust speed, heading and altidude.

New York has experienced a lot of rain in the past few days, and it was still cold and cloudy and trying to rain when we arrived. We got a taxi from the airport to our hotel and checked in. We're staying at the Beacon - a "budget" class hotel on Broadway in the upper west side. However after some of the budget European hotels we've had, this one is very well equipped. The room is large and includes a small kitchenette with stove, fridge and microwave.

Immediately over the road from the hotel is Fairways market, an incredible shop selling all manner of fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products. It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We went over an got some supplies for the next few days.

New York is six hours behind Belgium, so we're feeling pretty tired even though it's only 8:30 pm as we write this. Time for an early night.

Wednesday 12 October: Belgium

Up at the crack of dawn and checked out of the Hotel du Quay Voltaire. We had come to quite like the hotel and its rather eccentric staff, despite the fact that it's a little tired and run-down.

We took the Thalys high-speed train to Brussells, where we changed to a regional train for Ghent. At Ghent station we were met by Philippe Clement, better known to his thousands of Nikonian friends as Photophil. Phil had very kindly offered to put us up for the night and show us some of the sights of Belgium. We all piled into his Kangoo van (Sue in the back with the cases) and headed off to his apartment.

Regular readers of this diary will know that we've been travelling with overweight cases and camera bags. You can imagine our horror when we discovered Phil lived in a studio apartment on the 3rd floor - and there is no lift. Anyhow, we got everything upstairs (Phil is stronger than he looks) and then set off for a tour of Ghent.

Ghent is a medieval town of great charm, built around a series of squares, a river and canals. It's a little like Venice, but without the crowds and better organised. In some respects it also reminded us of Tallinn. The ancient architecture has been well preserved, but this is a living, working city - not a museum piece.

We went for a nice relaxing ride in one of the canal boats, then walked round the city centre, stopping at the first of several bars and cafes. There are a number of very large churches and a bell tower, which give the Ghent skyline a very distinctive appearance. One of the churches was running a photography exhibition, which was excellent.

Photophil is somewhat of a legend in the Nikon world, known for his obsessive pursuit of excellence, his technical knowledge and his outrageous stories. We found he is also a fascinating character, and an excellent host. We were, however, disappointed to find that his freezer contained only ice cream. No roadkill today.

Phil took us to a restaurant which was more like a library - floor to ceiling books on every wall. We had some excellent Belgian food, and another walk around the city. Unwisely we had left the "real" cameras and tripods at the apartment, and spent some time trying to get the little Coolpix to produce quality pictures under impossible conditions - it was fun trying, though.

We had to leave early on Thursday for New York, so reluctantly we headed back to Phil's apartment and bed.

Again, we have been very generously treated by somebody we previously only knew from the internet. Philippe made us very welcome, and we are greatly in his debt.

Tuesday 11 October: Last day in Paris

It's going to be a busy couple of days for us, with Belgium tomorrow, and New York on Thursday. So time for some housekeeping, which basically meant finding the nearest laundromat and getting our stuff presentable again. While our clothes were washing we found a supermarket and stocked up on the essentials every traveller needs - fruit and chocolate. Then we walked to the church of St Sulpice, made famous (or infamous) in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. The church is very large and rather ugly, but there is a considerable amount of restoration work occurring.

Having got the housework out of the way, we caught the metro to the Eiffel Tower, where we took some pictures. Unfortunately the square under the tower was being resurfaced, so the best angles were closed off. As we had already got some high level pictures from Montparnasse, we didn't bother queueing to go up the tower.

A long walk then past the Ecóle Militaire, and the UNESCO building where we saw the fat cats coming and going. We arrived at Les Invalides too late to see Napoleon's tomb, so we had a coffee instead then walked back to the hotel.

Dinner in a nice little café around the corner, then an hour or so taking pictures around the Louvre pyramid. Back to the hotel to pack everything for tomorrow's train to Belgium.

Monday 10 October: Paris

Our hotel is immediately across the Seine from the Louvre - said to be the largest art museum in the world. So we walked over just on opening time and went in. We used the main entry (under the glass pyramid) but there were no queues at this hour.

As with the hermitage in St Petersburg, the Louvre is far too big to see every exhibit (or even every gallery) in one visit. So we looked at the ancient Roman art, Egyptian antiquities and some of the French and Italian painters. The place was not crowded but there were still a lot of people about. Unfortunately the main drawcards (Venus di Milo, Mona Lisa etc) were very crowded indeed - especially with large Japanese tour groups all pushing & shoving and taking each other's picture in front of these famous artworks. It's really not possible to appreciate these works with such large numbers of people around.

We had really only scratched the surface of this immense collection, but four hours had flown past. Enough - time for some lunch and get on with some other things. We had to reserve our train seats to Ghent so caught the metro to Gare du Nord and stood in queues for an inordinate amount of time. While we were there we checked out which platforms etc so that there would be no confusion on Wednesday morning.

Back to the hotel where we met Ezekial Lopez, a member of Nikonians and one of Jacques' students. Ezekial had very kindly offered to show us around, and it was very pleasant driving around Paris in his open-topped VW Golf. First stop was the Montparnasse tower, the tallest building in the region - almost as high as the Eiffel Tower. Up to the roof for some stunning views. Unfortunately it was pretty hazy and not quite so good for photography.

Ezekial then took us to Montmarte, one of the famous artistic quarters overlooking the city. We stopped at Sacre Coeur, and got some sunset shots. There was a Japanese film crew there with three actresses or models, and it was fun just watching them carry on. By the time we went inside Sacre Coeur it was dark, and the interior was subtly lit - a very beautiful church.

Dinner at a open air restaurant in Montmarte, then back in the Golf to the Eiffel Tower. We parked at the Trocadero, on the opposite side of the Seine, and got some great shots of the tower under lights. By then it was pushing midnight, well past our usual bedtime, so Ezekial took us back to the hotel.

We have been extremely fortunate in Paris, to have received such hospitality from Jacques & Sophie and Ezekial. They have been extremely generous to us, and we are very grateful.

Sunday 9 October: Paris

After breakfast at the hotel, we went for a walk across the Seine to the Samaritane department store, which is supposed to have wonderful views over the city. We didn't really expect it to be open on Sunday, but in fact the whole thing is closed for the duration for refitting "for security".

Later in the morning Nikonian Jacques Pochoy met us at the hotel, and we walked back to his place via the excellent photography exhibition at Jardine Luxembourg. Jacques is an excellent host, and gave us a wonderful commentary on the various streets and public buildings we passed. At his flat we met Jacques' beautiful wife Sophie, and we all went to the local Chinese restaurant for a superb lunch.

Over lunch we solved the problems of the world, then we came back to the hotel for a brief rest.

Later on we walked along the Seine to Notre Dame cathedral and had a good look inside. There was a mass in progress, with the choir singing and the organ playing - magnificent. Notre Dame seems to have achieved the fine balance between the desire of people to see the place, and the need for reverence and respect as a house of prayer.

We then wandered through the Marais district - an old quarter of Paris with lots of cafes and bars, street entertainment and fine old houses. By this time it was getting late. We were still full from lunch so bought some fruit for a very light dinner and headed back to du Quay Voltaire. After a poor initial impression we have grown to like the hotel. It's clean, the bed is comfortable, the staff are friendly and it's very central to many of the attractions - we don't really need much more.

Saturday 8 October: Geneva to Paris

We had a bit of a sleep-in this morning, packed up and checked out of the Warwick. Over the road to the station where we had some breakfast, then on board la traine grande vitesse to Paris.

We're writing this on board the TGV, an hour into the journey. We've just crossed into France, but haven't yet got up to the famously high speeds that this train is capable of. The train is quite comfortable, though there is a horrible child sitting opposite us who is obviously teething and whinging a lot. People shouldn't be allowed to bring children into the 1st class carriage. Or if they do, the brats should be well sedated.

Later: The brat is still whinging. Paul is gritting his teeth, while Sue is making ga-ga noises at it. The train is now moving very fast - the countryside is sliding smoothly past, while closer objects and trees are just a blur.

Paris: Well we didn't murder the child or its idiot mother, but it was a close thing. Found our way out of the station and got a taxi to our hotel the Hotel du Quay Voltaire. As the name implies, it's on the Quay Voltaire, overlooking the Seine, and immediately across the river from the Louvre. The location is wonderful.

The condition of the hotel is less wonderful. Its publicity lists previous guests including Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde and Picasso, among others. Either it was a much better establishment in those days, or they stayed here while looking for a suitable garrett to starve in. It's not quite as bad as the Alta Villa in Rome - at least the toilet isn't in the shower.

We found a little cafe around the corner and had some lunch, then wandered over to the Louvre. It was nearly closing time, so we'll have to come back another day. We then walked through the beautiful Touleries gardens, and up the full length of the Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triumphe.

There was some sort of ceremony going on at the Arc de Triumphe - a lot of soldiers and emergency service personnel parading, with a band. We had a bit of a look and took some pictures, then wandered back down the main drag and had some crépes fromage at a sidewalk cafe, and caught the metro back to the hotel. Our room has a balcony overlooking the river, and we're watching all the cruise boats going up and down with their bright floodlights.

Tomorrow we will have a further exploration, as well as having lunch with our Nikonian friend Jacques Pochoy. We're really looking forward to meeting Jacques and his family.

Friday 7 October: Geneva

Our last morning in Interlaken - we packed up and said goodbye to the wonderful staff at the Goldey. It's about a 20 minute walk to the station, but the day was grey and overcast. We had beautiful weather for the preceding three days, so we can't complain.

Our train to Geneva was an InterCity double-decker. We sat in the top deck which gives an excellent view. The intercities are fast and very comfortable, and the trip took about 1hr 40 minutes.

At Geneva, our hotel was the Warwick, a 4 star establishment just over the road from the station. We checked in, then went exploring. Geneva is built on the shores of a lake, and there are various ferries and pleasure boats operating. We walked across a bridge over the Rhöne to the left bank, had a coffee and did a bit of (partly successful) gift shopping. Sue got herself a nice Swiss watch.

Geneva is very different from Interlaken - it's a much bigger city for a start. The traffic moves faster and the footpaths are more crowded (but not excessively). The biggest difference is that the language has suddenly changed from German to French. We had just got used to saying danke shoen instead of grazzie, we now have to start saying merci.

Back to the hotel, then a long walk in the opposite direction to the United Nations area. Geneva was the home of the League of Nations, and is still the headquarters of many of the UN organisations. Unfortunately it was after 5pm when we got there, so the Palace of Nations was closed to visitors. We walked around the surrounding parks, then caught one of the very smooth new trams back to the Warwick.

Having been profligate in our spending lately, we settled on a Burger King dinner. Mind you - this is still Switzerland, where even burgers are expensive by Australian standards. Back to the hotel for a quiet night, and off to Paris in the morning.

Thursday 6 October: Grindelwald & Fïrst

This morning we caught the bus back to Grindelwald, where we took some pictures of the little farmhouses in the green valley. We then took a gondola (cable car) to Fïrst. This was a long ride - 25 minutes or so, and the climb is over 1000 metres.

At Fïrst, the view was stunning. There is a terrace which overlooks a whole range of major peaks and valleys. We had some coffee to warm us (it was quite cold) and took some pictures.

All the brochures for this area feature a magnificent-looking lake called the Bachalpsee. This is only accessible on foot, and the signposts indicated it was a 50 minute walk (each way). We were initially reluctant until we saw a man on crutches coming back down the path. "I made it, so you should be able to". Off we went - the path was pretty steep in places, but it was not too difficult. It took just on an hour, with one or two slippery areas where snow had drifted over the path. Once we got there, it was worth the effort. The mountain reflections in the water weren't perfect, and there was a big bank of clouds shrouding some of the peaks, but it was still a magnificent scene.

We walked back to Fïrst, and re-traced our path back to Interlaken. Another beautiful day in Switzerland!

Wednesday 5 October: Switzerland - the mountains

Switzerland is all about the mountains, so we decided to get up as high as possible. We took the train up to Jungfraujoch - "the Top of Europe". It's the highest railway station in Europe, over 3000 metres above sea level.

The train leaves from Interlaken Ost and runs up to a place called Lauterbrunnen. From here we changed to another train to Kleine Scheidegg. This is getting up pretty high - 2061 metres (6762 feet) and there is a lot of snow around.

The last section of the train ride is on a rack railway - a toothed wheel under the train engages a toothed rail to provide the necessary traction up the steep slopes involved. Almost the entire length of this section (over 9 kilometres) is within a tunnel under the Eiger. It could be claustrophobic, but there are in-train videos and a couple of stops where you can look out onto the glaciers.

At the top, there's a big complex of restaurants, exhibitions etc. We took a further 100 metre ride in a lift to The Sphinx - the highest point of the complex. This is at 3571 metres (11760 feet), and that's pretty high. It's cold (-5C) and the air is thin. We had some fun in the snow and took a few pictures before heading back into the warmth.

After some time we caught the train back to Kleine Schedegg, then changed to another rack railway to Grindlewald. Here we had a look around (it's a very pleasant little place) and had some very nice coffee and strudel. The railway between Grindlewald and Interlaken was damaged in floods last year, so it was a bus ride back to town.

It was a long day but thoroughly enjoyable. Tomorrow we'll have a look at some different parts of the mountains.

Tuesday 4 October: Switzerland

Our overnight train from Rome was quite comfortable. We woke early to see little wooden houses, lakes and snow-capped mountains - we had arrived in Switzerland!

The train was an hour late leaving Rome, so we asked the conductor if it would be on time arriving at Speitz. "I don't know" (?!!) A train conductor who doesn't know if his train is on time? Anyhow, we assumed it would be late and unhurriedly got dressed and started packing. All of a sudden he was banging on our door - We're in Speitz. You have to get off! Hurry! Hurry! (Did I mention he's Italian?) So it was a somewhat undignified entry to Switzerland.

At Speitz we transferred to a regional train to Interlaken then walked to the Goldey hotel. Interlaken is a small town totally devoted to tourism. It is in a lovely setting on the river between two lakes, surrounded by mountains. There are a large number of hotels, restaurants and gift shops. However there are none of the crowds or gaudy tackiness we have seen elsewhere. This place is a class act.

The Goldey really impressed us when we arrived. The receptionist welcomed us warmly and offered us coffee and something to eat.

Book it to our room.
Don't worry about that - it's on the house.

Although the official check-in time was 13:00, our room was made ready by 10:30. There is a very comfortable lounge overlooking the river, and free afternoon coffee and cake. (Well, not really free - it's a fairly expensive hotel). The place is very much the preserve of the older set - I think we're the youngest guests. But it has a wonderful friendly comfortable ambience. Not cheap but highly recommended.

We spent most of the day exploring the town (didn't take long) and doing our washing (which did take quite a while). We were impressed by the friendliness of the locals - even the laundromat attendant (a very elderly lady) walked with us all the way to the nearest ATM to make sure we found it OK.

We like the place so much we've changed our plans to stay an extra day. We have dropped Nimes and Millau from the itinerary and substituted one night in Geneva. From there we'll take the TGV direct to Paris.

Monday 3 October: Rome & the Vatican

We really wanted to see St Peter's basilica and the Sistine chapel. It seemed the best way to do this would be to book a guided tour of the vatican museums, enabling us to jump the very long queues. Wrong! After the usual Italian farting about, getting people on and off the right bus amid a lot of shouting, we were dropped in a street near the Vatican. At the end of a VERY long queue! Did I mention it was still raining?

Two hours standing in the rain (luckily we had brought our umbrellas) before we got through the doors. The crush inside was enormous, with dozens of tour groups all trying to squeeze through together. The guides did their best to be heard above the hubbub, but it was a hopeless task. We probably heard a third of what our guide said. We would have done much better to go by ourselves and hire an audio guide.

We may be getting jaded, but the collection wasn't as impressive as we had hoped. Or maybe it was just the impossibility of appreciating artworks when you're being crowded through like sheep.

At last we got to the Sistine chapel - the great glory of renaissance art. It was very disappointing. Wall-to-all people, and officious guards clapping their hands, going "Ssshhhh" and shouting "No photo" at the top of their lungs, while being totally ignored. They didn't do anything for the dignity or sanctity of the place. the simple fact is that too many people are visiting the place, and the vatican officials cannot manage the numbers. They need to urgently find a better way of doing things as the experience is a highly negative one at present.

We had intended to leave the tour after the chapel and go into the basilica by ourselves. However, it was still raining, and the queues to go in stretched the full circumference of St Peter's square. Maybe we'd come back later.

How to lose a sale: We've been trying with limited success to buy gifts for family and friends during this trip. We want stuff to be of good quality, reasonably priced, and capable of being carted half way round the world without damage. It hasn't been easy. After the Sistine chapel our tour group entered one of the "official" gift shops facing St Peter's. We found a nice item, priced at 50 or 60 euros - not a major purchase, but not peanuts either. The counter-lady said "I'll get you a new one" and replaced the display item on the shelf. A few moments later she was back and took down the display one to wrap. We insisted on inspecting it very closely to ensure there were no marks on it, before she wrapped it. She then said "Do you want a box?" Of course we did, so she got a very tacky little cardboard box from under the counter and tried to force the item in.

You don't really need a box.
Yes we do - but that obviously isn't the right one. It doesn't even fit.

She then proceeded to remove the bubble-wrap before again trying to force it into the crappy piece of cardboard. At that stage we walked out.

Monday afternoon - still raining. We can't complain too much, as we have had great weather for the past few weeks. But this was starting to get us down. We checked out of the hotel and took our cases to the left luggage office at the station (which was mercifully close to our hotel). There were two very long queues - one of people trying to recover their bags, and the other waiting to have theirs x-rayed before storage. One slow-moving fellow was servicing both queues. Then we saw the price - 3.80 euros per item for the first five hours. We had two cases and two bags each - enough to buy a decent plate of pasta. The queue still wasn't moving so we took our stuff back to the Altavilla (who were very agreeable about storing them for us) and headed off for nice plate of pasta.

St Peter's: By now it was getting late in the afternoon but the rain had stopped. We decided to give St Peter's another try. Down to the metro system (not the most agreeable we've ridden on) and quickly found ourselves back at the vatican. Now it was just a short queue to get through the x-ray, and we were in. There is no charge, and no limitation on photography. (Unwisely, we had left the big guns at the hotel, and taken only the Coolpix).

St Peter's is the big daddy of all the churches - the largest in the world. It is really very beautiful inside - especially at this time of day when the crowds had thinned out. The size is immense, and there are a lot of very famous items inside, such as Michelangelo's beautiful Pieta, and the somewhat less beautiful twisted columns of the canopy over the high altar. There are also a number of tombs, including the embalmed bodies of some popes (a bit macabre). However the whole thing works amazingly well on an aesthetic level.

Goodbye Rome. After St Peter's we picked up our luggage from the hotel and headed back to the station again. Our train was only an hour late, and left from the wrong platform, but by Roman standards that was pretty good.

Italy in retrospect. We had stayed at a number of places in Italy - Venice, Tuscany, Florence and Rome. Venice was beautiful - even the Italians couldn't mess this place up. Our little corner of Tuscany was very pleasant, but isolated and spoiled by a bad first impression of our apartment. It grew on us.

Sue thinks Paul's assessment of Florence as a city in steep decline is a bit harsh. There is no doubt the artistic heritage is very special, but the place is noisy, crowded and very dirty. Certainly not a place we'd like to live in, or probably even visit again.

Rome is too crowded and disorganised by far. The place just can't cope with the number of visitors. We had some really bad weather which didn't help. Again, it's not a place we'd bother to come back to.

Sunday 2 October: Rome

Breakfast at the Altavilla was adequate, but no more. Never mind, we set off for the forum, armed with our big cameras. After some typical Italian efficiency (we were sent to three different locations, none of which was the right one) we eventually got our tickets for the palatine and coliseum and for a guided tour of the forum. Entry to the forum is free, but the palatine and coliseum cost 10 euro for a combined ticket. The guided tour was 3.50 euro, and was quite informative - this was good, because there are virtually no information panels or signs anywhere in the whole complex. We saw all the important sites, including the pile of rubble that is allegedly Julius Caesar's cremation site.

The weather was beautiful, with a deep blue sky and some fluffy white clouds.

After the forum we walked across to the coliseum. The cloud cover had grown thicker - it was now quite overcast. Because we had a pre-paid ticket, we were able to jump the very long queue and walk straight in. The place is quite staggering. It was easy to imagine what it would have been like 2000 years ago, with 80,000 spectators on their marble benches and the spectacular but bloodthirsty "entertainments" in the arena.

As we left the coliseum, the rain started. Like magic, umbrella vendors appeared on every street corner. (How do they do it?) Once gain, we headed up the long hill to our hotel. Of course we didn't have our umbrellas with us, and needed to dry out for a while.

Legendary Italian organisation, and other stories: We decided to reconnoitre the station to make sure we didn't have any trouble tomorrow. We found the left-luggage office, and went to the tourist information office to book a tour to the Vatican museums. Take a number and wait our turn - made sure we got the right number for "bus, train and city tours". We didn't have to wait long - the bored-looking functionary behind the counter just kept pressing his button. 48 - 49 - 50 If you weren't there in 20 seconds or less you missed your chance. 51- 52 - 53 That's us!

We'd like to book a tour to the Vatican, per favore.
We don't do that here.
Comé?
We don't book tours here. You have to go to the tourist office.
Isn't this the tourist office??
No, this is the tourist information office.

Having not learned anything from earlier experiences, we then decided to try the hop-on hop-off bus tour. We waited in the rain (now with our umbrellas) for the big red bus to come along. We had expected to see a ticket seller, but there wasn't one. OK, we'll buy our tickets on the bus, like everywhere else. You can't buy tickets on the bus. You have to buy them at the red box on platform E. So off to platform E, buy our tickets and head back to the bus. Only by now the downstairs section was full, and it was still raining, so we decided not to sit in the open upper deck. We'll wait for the next one. Next one comes along, people get off, but the conductor won't let anybody else on. Much milling around and confusion. An argument in the queue (between a French guy and some Americans) about who had priority. An ambulance screams up, and removes a passenger from the bus. OK, now you can get on board - nobody downstairs, only upstairs. Much loud grumbling. Another empty bus pulls up, and we all move towards that. Nobody can get on this bus until the other one is full.

By this time we had been standing in the rain for over 30 minutes, and the scene was getting ugly. Paul lost his famous reserve and said "by Jove this isn't very good. I think we should get our money back". Back to the red box at platform E, where we asked for - and got - a full refund.

To salvage something of the afternoon, we walked down to Santa Maria Maggiore. From the rear (facing Via Cavour) it's a very attractive structure. The west front isn't so pretty, but the inside is magnificent. One of the nicer churches we have been in. There was a mass under way in one of the chapels - we don't know who was presiding, but there were a couple of cardinals present, so it must have been somebody important.

Then checked out the best value net cafe we've seen (2 euros for about 75 minutes), and dinner at a nice restaurant. Then back to the hotel for our last night in Italy. Tomorrow we hope to tour the Vatican, and in the evening we'll be on our way to Switzerland.

Saturday 1 October: Florence & Rome

Up at the crack of dawn (more or less) once again for an early shoot of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo. This is an elevated plaza on the south-east side of the old town, with excellent views of the city and the Arno. The light wasn't bad apart from the usual brown smog, and we got some reasonable pictures. Unfortunately, part of the cathedral's fabulous dome is undergoing maintenance, and was covered in scaffolding.

Back to the hotel to check out. Paul then headed for an internet cafe to catch up on his much-neglected emails and this diary, while Sue hit the shops. We weren't sure about the train arrangements to Rome, so we headed for the station information offfice. Big mistake. To cut a very long story short, one woman managed to hold up the line for ages. We probably stood in the queue for 30 minutes for a question that was answered in 30 seconds.

The train from Florence to Rome was an "Intercity Plus", which meant it was reasonably fast and very comfortable. We had the usual issues of high steps and low platforms, combined with insufficient luggage space. However it was lunch which made this trip truly memorable. We went up to the restaurant car, where Giuseppe and Luigi greeted us like long-lost cousins. Explaining we didn't want a full meal, just a snack, we accepted their suggestion of prosciutto é mozzeralla. Big mistake. We had anticipated some sort of bread roll containing ham and cheese and maybe some salad - what we got was a tray containing a vacuum-sealed packet of prosciutto crude and a plastic plate with a great big lump of mozzeralla cheese. Yuck! "Twenty euros per favore". Ouch!

Roma: Our first taste of the eternal city was Termini the city's railway station. The place is huge, crowded, noisy, hectic - mindblowing. We got out of there as fast as possible, and found our hotel - the Altavilla, a short walk away. The guidebooks warn that the area around Termini is not particularly safe, but again it appears OK on our brief experience.

A word about bathrooms: The bathrooms we have encountered on our travels have ranged from "adequate but up the hallway" to utter luxury. But nothing prepared us for bathroom altavilla. We have had bathrooms with separate toilets. We have had bathrooms with the toilet in the same room as the shower. But never before has the toilet actually been in the shower! Yes, it's true. Not only that, but this was an ingenious arrangement where the toilet lid doubled as a bidet. Interesting...

On balance the Altavilla is probably the worst hotel we've had so far. The room is small, the bed is just adequte (but there are no extra pillows), the place is very noisy, and the bathroom is a joke. Well, you've got to laugh...

After deciding that we were only there for two nights and it wasn't worth the hassle of finding another hotel, we walked down the long hill towards the forum. A couple of hundred metres from our door is Santa Maria Maggiore a very old and quite beautiful cathedral. A little way further on is the coliseum, and next to that the forum, Palatine hill and arch of Constantine. It was a nice warm, clear afternoon and we wandered around having a good look and snapping photos with Paul's Coolpix. We'd come back later with the "big guns" to get some really good images of all the sites under floodlight. So it was back up the hill to the hotel (seems a lot longer this time), pick up the big cameras, flash, tripod etc, and out again.

It was getting dark by now, and we decided to have a bite to eat on the way. Into the Mary Love Cafe (would I make this up?) for some delicious bruschetta (though quite different from what we have at home) and some fairly average tiramisu. This took longer than expected, and then one of Sue's contact lenses started disintegrating. OK, back up the hill - geez it's a long way - to fix up the lens. By this time Paul called a halt - we'd get the pictures tomorrow night.

Thursday 29 September: Move to Florence

This is our last day at Il Poggio Alle Ville, so we made the most of the peace and quiet. Slept in, had a late breakfast, went back to bed for a couple of hours. Eventually we forced ourselves to pack up, tidied up La Canonica and said our goodbyes. For the last time, we faced the drive into Florence.

We had to fill up the Punto, so stopped into a service station on the way. It was fully self-service, and there was no ttendant. We couldn't make sense of the instructions, so moved on to the next one. This had an attendant, but (of course) it was siesta time, so nobody was available to serve us. We were nervous about inserting the Visa card without being able to understand the instructions, so we moved on again.

Finally got the car back to Avis and checked in to the hotel. It's really quite pleasant, and just over the road from the station. The guidebooks say this is not a very safe area, but it actually looks pretty good.

We decided we'd have a look at some of the artistic glories of Florence and headed for the Accademia gallery. We got there an hour before closing time, but the queue was still over an hour long. Maybe another day. Another exploration on foot, a cheap dinner at the station, then back to the hotel for the night.

Impressions: Florence is usually described as a city of great beauty, with incredible artistic treasures. The "glory of Florence" is a phrase often heard. On the whole, though, the place is not particularly beautiful and certainly not glorious. It's dirty, noisy and smelly. The crowds are oppressive, and the people impatient and rude. There are beggars everywhere, a lot of graffiti, and piles of litter. I doubt if Cosimo Medici would approve of the city as it stands today.

Wednesday 28 September: A visit to Florence

After last night's excellent dinner, we though that maybe we would stay on here after all. Maybe we could still drive to the places we haven't seen? However five minutes after setting out in the car, it was obvious that we're not going to do that. Driving on the wrong side of the car feels completely alien after so many years. Paul is getting stressed and Sue feels unsafe. Paul is getting quite depressed by the whole situation. Decision confirmed: we must get rid of the car.

Once again we headed into Florence. We dropped into the hotel, which is adjacent to the station and has a reasonably classy reception. However this is a seedy looking part of town, so we may not be going out at night. (Still it's only for two nights).

Back to the Duomo. There's no denying the building is magnificent. The huge dome is justly famous, although it is partly shrouded at present. We walked right around the cathedral then inside for a look. For once, there was no entry fee and no ban on photography. The interior is very spartan, with little decoration. It's also quite dark - the windows are few and small. Although there are some large frescoes and a couple of statues, it's only under the dome that any extensive decoration has been executed. We got a few pictures with the Coolpix, and will come back again with the "real" cameras.

The baptistry is supposed to be one of the great highlights of Rennaissance architecture. We aren't so sure. Maybe with a good clean up and removal of the scaffolding it would look better. We'll have a better look tomorrow (including the interior).

The bell tower is very tall.

From there we walked towards the Uffizi gallery and the adjoining palazzo with all the statues. The most prominent is a replica of Michelangelo's David. It's very big, and has a fair amount of pigeon poo on it. We'll see the real thing tomorow.

On down to the Arno, which is brown and sluggish. Enormous crowds jostling to get past all the hand-bag sellers and stay out of the path of hordes of motor scooters. We walked over the ponte vecchio and had a look in the jewellers' windows. (Legend has it that the original shops were all butchers. One of the Medici was so offended by the sights and smells that he decreed only goldsmiths could work there, and this is still the case today).

Back to the agrotourismo (via the supermarket), and Sue prepared a delicious meal. The one great thing about staying here has been the home cooking. A little domesticity after eight weeks on the road has been very welcome.

Tuesday 27 September: More Tuscany

Raffeallo turned up at last - he is a charming, urbane sort of fellow who is much different in person than he sounded on the phone. Still, he wasn't giving anything away, so we will go ahead with our change of plans. We got the washing done, then drove into Florence.

First impressions were not good. The road from Borgo S Lorenzo is hard work, and when we finally caught sight of the city it was shrouded under a layer of brown smog. The huge dome was only just visible. The outer areas are a mess, and of course the traffic is chaotic. We parked in a side street behind the Medici fortress and walked through the adjoining park in the direction of the town centre. There's a lot of litter and graffiti, and a general air of dirt and shabbiness.

We found an internet cafe and booked a hotel that is convenient to both the Avis office and the station. We then walked to the main square to see the famous Duomo (cathedral) with its adjoining bell tower and baptistry. Again, first impressions were not very good. There's no denying the size of these buildings, but they are all in need of cleaning, and the dense crowds prevented us getting a really good look in any case.

Back to the agrotourismo for dinner. Raffaello hosted a "typical Tuscan dinner". The other guests were the Dutch crowd staying at the "villa" - another house on the same property. It was a whole family group of 18 people, and it turns out they are the ones with the loud music. Anyhow, the dinner was excellent, conversation was good, and we all enjoyed ourselves.

Monday 26 September: Around Mugello, and a change of plans

Still no sign of the proprietor, but somebody was cleaning the pool - a lady named Amanda. Unfortunately she spoke no English at all, but did indicate that the boss Raphael would be in sometime late this afternoon. We wanted to use the internet connection, but she knew nothing about that and we had to see the boss. We also asked about the laundry, but couldn't make ourselves understood - that can wait till we see the boss.

We decided to have a drive around the neighbouring towns to see what they were like. First stop was Scarperia, where the Mugello circuit is. There were a lot of motorbikes practicing, but they were too far away for us to see much. Scarperia is notable for its castle and tower, built back in the 1300s. Apart from that, it's just a pleasant little town, with not much happening.

Next stop was Borgo San Lorenzo, the largest town in the area. It's an undistinguished place, and just about everything closes at noon for a three hour lunch / siesta. We got a few supplies at the supermarket and found the tourist information office - which is only open from 10:00 to 13:00. Come back tomorrow.

We had intended seeing some more of the local towns, but Paul was finding the driving more and more stressful, and is having more frequent headaches. Driving on the wrong side of the road (after 35 years driving on the left), on generally very narrow winding roads with heavy traffic, and difficulty navigating was getting to him. Time for a review of our plans. We headed back to the agrotourismo to see the proprietor about our grievances, but he was nowhere in sight. Neither was anybody else. To make matters worse, the people at the adjoining property were having a pool party, with the loudest music this side of a rock concert. (On a Monday afternoon?) We eventually found Raphael's mobile number and gave him a call.

I was there this morning. I'm not coming back today.

We need to use the internet.

You can use it tomorrow.

We need to use the washing machine.

It's locked up - you'll have to talk to Amanda.

Where is she?

She'll be back tomorrow. Goodbye. Click.

We spent the next hour or so looking at our options. This place is not as represented, and is really not giving us the relaxing time we had expected. It's not convenient to anywhere, and the amount of driving is sending Paul nuts. We have decided to get the car back to Avis ASAP, and check into a hotel in Florence - assuming we can get a room at short notice. We will have to try and get our money back from this place, but that's probably a forlorn hope. Looking further ahead, the Interlaken - Nimes - Milau - Paris part of the trip is starting to look like a bad idea as well. Too much driving, too little time to see a number of places. We need to review what we want to see, how much time to allocate, and the best mode of transportation.

Sunday 25 September: Il Poggio Alle Ville

Today was a do (almost) nothing and enjoy it type of day. There was no sign of the proprietor, or indeed any staff at all, so Sue got busy with the broom and duster and made the place respectable. We're still not happy with the accommodation.

We went for a long walk down the road to some nearby farms and just enjoyed the quiet and solitude. Quiet except for the distant sound of engines. A check of the map showed we're about 6 or 8 kilometres from the Mugello racing circuit. After that we updated our diaries and Paul processed some pictures for uploading - we've got very lazy in this regard lately.

Another walk, a sit in the sun, a game of bocce and a few photos.

Sue whipped up some very tasty spaghetti for dinner, and then off to bed.

Saturday 24 September: Venice to Tuscany

Up bright and early for some quick photos without the crowds, then in line for St Mark's cathedral. The main attraction here is the romanesque architecture with its five domes, and the very extensive mosaics. Quite impressive, but of course photography was not allowed.

We then packed up, said goodbye to the lovely staff at Antigo Trovatore, and caught the vaporetto to Piazzale Roma, where the Avis office is.

Our car this time is a Fiat Punto - quite a nice little car, but again the boot is very small. We got onto the autostrada without too much difficulty and headed west. First stop was a toll plaza - we went through a lane that looked like the right one, but was in fact an electronic toll lane. Nowhere to put your money, no ticket machine, and no human to ask for assistance. There was a dirty great semi-trailer behind, blowing his horn and flashing his lights, so we just went through. Within a few minutes we were in Padua, and turned south for Bologna. Traffic in the fast lane was very fast indeed - we were doing 130 or so in the slow lane, and being left well behind.

Feeling the need for refreshment we stopped into an Autogrill. Went up to the counter to buy a coffee, and the woman started shouting at us and pointing in the general direction of the door:

A la casa! A la casa!
Err..due cappucino, per favore.
Si signor - a la casa!

We never did get our coffee.

The road south from Bologna is the A1 - the famous Autostrada del Sol. It's a four lane dual carriageway and pretty good in places. However as we got into the more mountainous areas the geometric standards dropped markedly. There is a lot of new road under construction, so it should be really good in a year or two.

We left the autostrada at Barberino del Mugallo and immediately hit another toll plaza. This time we avoided the electronic lane, but didn't have a ticket to feed into the machine. A furious attendant came out and demanded we produce a ticket. After a flurry of Italian (of which we didn't understand a word) he raced off and another guy came along, who spoke English. After explaining that we had got on without a ticket by accident, and furthermore that we got on at Bologna (we weren't about to admit to driving all the way from Venice without a ticket) we paid the rather hefty toll and were on our way.

A farmhouse in Tuscany

Our route took us to Borgo San Lorenzo, about 30km north of Florence. From here we followed the signs to Il Poggio - only when we got there it turned out to be Il Poggiolo. So we had to re-trace our steps and found the right road to take. It led us up hill and down dale, along lanes that were narrower than anything we had seen in Ireland. Eventually we got to our destination Agrotourismo Il Poggio Alle Ville. It's a little group of former farm buildings converted to apartments, surrounded by olive groves.

We couldn't find the proprietor, but eventually an ancient noña came along and let us in. Let's have a cup of coffee - there was no coffee. No tea. No milk. OK, it's supposed to be self-catering, but surely these minor essentials would be provided? Apparently not. A further check showed that there were no consumables of any kind - not even soap in the bathroom. So back to Borgo S. Lorenzo to stock up.

We had fun trying to decipher the labels of all the unfamiliar products, and came back with some pasta, bread, cheese, salami and steak. Well it looked like steak but when we tried to fry it, it turned out out to be mutton. So we had a nice meal of fried mutton and salad, followed by gelati and some very delicious chocolate. We still wanted a coffee and now discovered there were no filters for the percolator. Evenually we found an Italian-style pressure coffee pot, and got our caffeine fix.

The apartment is a good size, but didn't look much like the one in the brochure. It was also very dirty, with dust everywhere, cup-rings on the bedside tables, cobwebs on the wall. Somewhat despondent, we headed for bed - but the bed hadn't been made up. Luckily there were some clean sheets and a blanket, so we made the bed ourselves. The blanket was filthy, but we found a doona in good clean condition and used that.

We will definitely be having a deep and meaningful discussion with the proprietor if and when he shows up.

Friday 23 September: Venice

Paul's brother Adrian was coincidently in Venice on holiday with his daughter Evie. Adrian had been here before, and became our de facto tour guide for the day. First stop was the bell tower in Saint Mark's square. A short queue, pay your money, then up in the lift. The views from the top were really spectacular. Well worth the six euro each.

Adrian suggested we should look at the interior of St Mark's basilica, but the queues stretched forever, and we gave that a miss. Maybe tomorrow. We strolled to the Rialto bridge - well we actually fought our way through the crowds to the Rialto bridge, which would have been very beautiful if not for the crowds, the huge banner advertising an exhibition, and the graffiti.

We jumped on a vaporetto (no ticket this time) and headed up the Canal Grande to the train station, where we visited the WCs (one euro) and had some pizza for lunch.

Adrian knows quite a lot about glass blowing, so we headed out to the famous "glass island" Murano. This was much quieter than the main part of Venice, and there were no crowds - we could walk along the footpaths without having to fight our way through. We dropped into a number of shops selling glass artifacts of all types. Some of it appealed, but a lot was quite grotesque, and the prices were pretty high. We also stopped at two factories where we were able to watch the craftsmen working. In one place they were making the components for a chandelier, and at another they were making big vases.

Back to the station the long way round on a vaporetto with a very sick transmission, a quick visit to Adrian's hotel, and to a bookshop to get some maps.

We felt like a nice dinner, so went to a nice looking place just near our hotel. We ignored the rather uninteresting menu touristico and ordered some very good scallopini. The price looked reasonable too, until they added the 3.50 (each) cover charge and 15% "service charge". Grazzie but no tip on top of that lot. Ah well, it's all part of the experience.

Thursday 22 September: Venice

After a restless night on the train, enlivened by the experience of learning to use a chamber pot, we awoke to a grey dawn. The conductor revived our spirits somewhat with some nice cappucinos and pastry for breakfast. He even helped us get the cases down from the train!

A quick visit to the information booth, and we were directed to the vaporetto station to catch a boat/bus to our hotel. 3.50 euros each - ouch! "Sorry - you need a ticket for those cases". 3.50 euros for each case! Blippin heck!! Our first taste of the cost of living in Venice.

After a short ride in a very crowded ferry we found our hotel with no difficulty and checked in. Like most hotels in Venice, the Antigo Trovatore is converted from an old house (or "palace" as most of them describe themselves). This means that the stairs are steep and the lift doesn't necessarily service every level. However, the welcome was warm and friendly, even though we were several hours ahead of the official check-in time. The lady in reception stored our luggage, and promised to have our room ready as soon as possible.

We headed off to explore as much as we could on foot. From the end of our street, we turned right and walked up onto a bridge over a small canal. Look right - "Oh, that's the Bridge of Sighs". A few more steps - "Wow - St Mark's Square". Every hotel we researched for Venice claims to be a short distance from St Marks - ours wasn't lying.

Without any particular course of action in mind, we just followed the crowds - throngs of tourists, many in groups that looked like a hundred or so people each. We dropped into a likely looking coffee shop, ordered a cappucino and pastry each and took a seat - big mistake! Eleven euros per favore! It seems the price is about half if you stand at the bar.

We wandered all the way to Piazzale Roma - the main bus station, then back to the other end of the island, a quiet backwater called San Marta. There we bought a gelato each (one euro for the lot - best value ever) and went back to the hotel. By now our room was ready, and it proved to be basic but adequate and comfortable. No TV, but that was not a problem. Also no tea or coffee making facility - these seem to be the exception in the 2/3 star hotels we have been staying at.

A short rest for our aching feet, then we went back to the Academia bridge to see if the light was any good for photography. It wasn't too bad, and we got a couple of nice pictures. After a bit more sight-seeing we had a quick dinner in a cafe near the hotel, and so to bed.

Renovation. Just about everywhere we have been on ths holiday one or more of the attractions have been under renovation, covered in scaffolding and white shadecloth. Venice is no exception, and the famous clock tower is completely shrouded - with a huge picture of Big Ben(!?) There are also a lot of cranes dotted about (five on the new Hilton site alone) which makes it really hard to get decent pictures of some otherwise beautiful scenes.

Wednesday 21 September: Salzburg and the Train

Wednesday did not start off as a good day - the weather was grey and threatening. Worse, Paul woke up with the worst head & neck pains so far experienced on the trip. A nice breakfast at the Centro combined with several large doses of pills rendered him mobile, but not fully functioning. Paul wasn't fit to drive but we had to check out of the hotel. We loaded our gear into the Mitsubishi, locked it up and left it parked right in front of the reception where hopefully it would be reasonably safe.

Salzburg is well known as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The town capitalises on this fact, but not to the extent that Vienna does, where there is a complete Mozart industry. The old town is typical of its type, with narrow winding streets, and squares based around the major churches. It is surmounted by an enormous castle which sits on a rugged outcrop. There are some excellent gardens (and very poor sculptures) around the Mirabelle palace.

It is festival time in Salzburg, and all the squares were full of beer tents, kiddies' rides, food outlets and stalls selling all kinds of tacky stuff. All good fun I suppose, but it did rather spoil the medieval ambience. We walked around for a while and ended up at the castle. It's very big, and quite old, and has some reasonable displays included in the 8.40 euro entrance price. (One of the cheaper ones we've come across). The views from the towers are breathtaking - well worth the price of admition. By this time Paul was protesting that he couldn't face another set of stairs, so he waited in the lobby while Sue explored the state rooms and military museum. After that we took the funicular railway down the cliff-face back to the centre of town. Dropped off the car, took our luggage to the station, and had a quick look at some of the back streets (very quick - it was wall-to-wall sex shops).

Passive smoking. Having a few hours to kill, we went to an internet cafe. The place was a bit stale but not too bad - then the guys on either side of us lit up. Within a few minutes the air was unbreathable. We left.

We decided to eat in a nice-looking Italian place.

"Would you like smoking or non-smoking?"
"Non-smoking, bitte"
"OK, these two tables are non-smoking".
"Only two?"

Austria still has a long way to go in its attitude to smoking.

The romance of rail. Rail travel has always been portrayed as a romantic adventure, especially in Europe. They lied!

It's not romantic when the platforms are so low you have to lug your bags up three BIG steps into the train.
It's not romantic when the conductor disappears at that critical moment leaving you to struggle with the luggage yourself.
It's not romantic when you change trains at some God-forsaken place in the middle of nowhere, where the station has effectively closed down and the only denizens are yobbos and wierdos.
It's not romantic when you're waiting in the freezing cold after midnight and your train turns up 30 minutes late. (Mussolini got the trains running on time....)
It's not romantic when you have to repeat the whole performance with the luggage on the next train, and the conductor only turns up to argue about the validity of your Eurail pass.
It's not....enough!

In our limited experience, rail travel in Europe is not set up for people like us who are carrying a lot of gear. If we just had a small case or overnight bag, that would be fine. But when we're carrying the necessities for a three month trip, including a couple of cameras and lenses each, then it's not a lot of fun.

Our "1st class" sleeper cabin brought back memories of Australian trains from 25 or 30 years ago. Insufficuent room for our luggage. A sink in the corner (but no water in the taps). A fold-down toilet. Wait a minute - that isn't a toilet, it's a chamber pot attached to the back of a cupboard door. Close the door and the contents are decanted onto the tracks. This will be a new experience.

We had finally settled down to sleep, when the train stopped at place called W?gl, and the ventilation shut down. We heard the engine being detached, then felt it re-attach with a nerve-jangling jolt. The train moved forwards a couple of hundred metres. Stop. Back a couple of hundred metres. Stop again. Forward. Stop. Back. Stop. Detach engine. Clang! On our way. This performance was repeated several times durimg the night - it wasn't very restful.