Dateline: Rome Saturday 16th April 2011

Fine and Warm
We have the morning in Rome before taking the midday train to Turin.  
Perfect weather yet again.  It is still unusually hot for this time of the year but we're not complaining.

We travel by the metro to the Spanish Steps.  The flowers down the centre of the steps are not quite in bloom but it looks good nevertheless. In the piazza local carriage drivers wait for customers.  This horse is wearing interesting a knitted hat to keep his ears warm I guess.

Trivia: 
* The Scalinata (Spanish Steps) is the widest staircase in Europe
* On June 13, 2007, a 24-year-old man attempted to drive a Toyota Celica down the Spanish Steps. No one was hurt, but several of the 200-year-old steps were chipped and scuffed.



On to Ara Pacis. We locate the new building housing The Ara Pacis(Altar of Peace) which is an impressive piece of Roman work with elaborately sculpted figures.  More than 2,000 year old this masterpiece was lost to civilization for centuries. It's now installed in a new glass and chrome building opened in 2006.  There has been some controversy about the building but plans in place to modify it and provide a wide pedestrian area along the Tiber.

Ara Pacis

Finally to the church Santa Maria della Scala which is one of the oldest churches in Rome.
We gather our belongings from the hotel and board the trains for Turin arriving late that afternoon.  

Train travel between cities and countries in Europe works well.  Fairly easy to negotiate although figuring out which platform can be a bit of a hassle.    The trains are very long so it may mean a sprint along the platform to find your carriage number.   The high speed trains travel at around 300km per hour so they can cover a lot of distance very quickly.


Next:  An amazing experience ... "The Last Supper"

Dateline: Rome Italy Friday 15th April 2011

Victor Emanuel Monument

Fine and warm.

We arrive in Rome and head to the Metro to take the train to the Spanish Steps. Line A of the Metro isn't running due to a strike so we take Line B to the Vittorio Emanuele Monument. We're not having much luck with the metro trains. First Wimbeldon and now Rome. Apart from the strike one metro line is closed after 9pm at night due to work on the extension.

Know as the Father of the Fatherland Victor Emanuel was the first king of a united Italy. The monument is massive and attracts large crowds. It is also a memorial to the unknown soldier with an eternal flame guarded by the Italian army.   Watch out . . . attendants blow a whistle at anyone who makes the mistake of putting down their bag or sitting on the steps. They are very protective of their monument.

From there we climb Aventine Hill for spectacular views across Rome. The white marble Victor Emanuel Monument is clearly visible on the skyline of Rome.
We move on to the church Of Santa Maria in Cosmedin where in the portico is La Bocca della Verita, (The Mouth of Truth). It actually appeared in the1953 film Roman Holiday. According to popular belief it was said that anyone putting their hand in the mouth of this marble mask and swearing falsely, could not withdraw it.


 
After dinner back on the metro to the Trevi Fountain for some night shots. Can't believe huge number of people who are there late at night!  Well, we were there so I guess it's not that much of a surprise :). Back to the hotel by bus since the trains have stopped running.

The Trevi Fountain at Night

So far so good, we can manage the language OK although most Romans seem to have a fair grasp of English.   It's impossible to avoid school groups on excursions, they're everywhere we go.  

 Why do tourists go to the tops of tall buildings and then put money into telescopes so they can see things on the ground close-up?

Dateline: Amsterdam and Rome Thursday 14th April 2011

Fine and warm
Still in Amsterdam for the morning we decide to take a tour on a canal boat.
Trivia:   
*There are 1250 bridges in Amsterdam, 500 of which date from the 1700's
*Traffic jams in the city occurred as early as the 16th Century,  At that time they set up one-way streets for carriages and restricted them to certain streets.
*The Zoo has free entry every September.  This dates back to the time when they regularly laid new stones for the paths.  Many clogs would soon crush the stones to pebbles and poor people would get to visit the zoo.

 Late afternoon and we board the overnight train for Rome.

Next :  Rome, Italy

Dateline: Amsterdam Wednesday 13th April 2011

By 9:00 am we're on the bus to Zaanse Schans, about 50mins outside Amsterdam.  Inside the bus is a sign advising that a video camera is monitoring the passengers.  It says, in Dutch,  ". . . camerabewaking".  I guess that is Dutch for camera surveillance. Don't you just love the Dutch language :).

Zaanse Schans is an area set aside to preserve the era of the Windmills.  Most of the windmills are maintained by volunteers.  It is very neat and well kept. In the past there were literally thousands of windmills along the rivers.   Some of the few remaining windmills and houses have been relocated to this area to create working village as it would have been at that time.

At last a pair of shoes that fit my big feet

 We start at the Clog Maker.  He demonstrates how to make clogs (klompen).  It took many hours to make them by hand, however now a machine can produce them within minutes.  They are actually very practical footwear since they protect the feet from injury.
On to the windmills.  The first one is used for producing chalk for paint, another for extracting oil from nuts and finally the sawmill.  They use this windmill's power to drag huge logs from the water and mill the timber more precisely than modern tools.   In fact there is quite a demand for such precisely sawn timber. The guide for the sawmill tour visits Australia regularly house sitting in Wahroonga and the Gold Coast in January.  Not a bad life!

Making clogs

 We drop into the cheese factory to sample the cheese (Very tasty!) and the bakery before heading back to Amsterdam.

 Late afternoon we make our way to the Anne Frank house.  The line stretches around the corner so we decide to find somewhere for dinner and wait a bit longer.  By 7:30 the number of people waiting is reasonable so we join the line.  Well worth the effort, it is a moving tribute to Anne Frank's family and the 107,000 Jews who were deported to the the extermination camps in Poland during WWII.  Only 5000 survived.


Next:  On the move again.  Amsterdam to Rome.

If people from Poland are called ""poles"" are people from Holland called ""holes?""

Dateline: The Netherlands, Amsterdam Tuesday 12th April 2011

Fine and cool.
Before you can say clogs and cheese we're in Amsterdam.  The city of Amsterdam has slowly reclaimed their land from the sea.  Stakes were driven through mud into the sand layer.  As wooden houses were replaced with stone the stakes needed to be driven further down to support the weight of the buildings.
OMG!  If we thought there was a lot of bicycles in Bruges it is nothing compared to Amsterdam.  The first sight that greets us is thousands of bicycles parked at the railway station.  They even have their own three level parking station which is packed full of bikes.   I have trouble finding my car in Westfield I have no idea how these guys find their bicycle :) They are absolutely everywhere!  

The bike parking station is in the background

There is a local saying that Amsterdam's canals are three metres deep, one metre water, one metre mud and one metre bicycles.  I can believe that.   Despite the massive number of bicycles careering down the roads they somehow mostly avoid running into each other.  Amazing!

The perfect car for Amsterdam

Central railway in Amsterdam is undergoing construction for a new metro line.  There is concern that the work may cause issues with the stability underneath the city so devices are constantly monitoring any movement.  The station itself is a quite spectacular building.   We locate the bus for our trip to the Windmills tomorrow and return to the hotel by early evening.

Below:  Clogs for a special occasion



Next: A trip to the windmills.

Dateline: Bruges Tuesday 12th April 2011

Fine but cold.
Day 2 in Bruges.  We are due out on the 12:35 train to Amsterdam so we set off to see Our Lady's Church and the Begijnhof.  In the Church of Our Lady is a sculpture by Michaelangelo which was the only piece of his work to leave Italy in his lifetime.

Belgians love their fries

Further on is the Begijnhof, a collection of small buildings used by beguines of Bruges.  These women were a sisterhood of the Catholic Church founded in the 13th Century.  At the time there was a surplus of women due to violence and war which took the lives of many men.   Great numbers of women had no option other than to seek accommodation in these places.    It is a peaceful and beautiful place with lawns between tall poplar trees covered with daffodils.

Bruges

Bicycle with a Baby Carriage

Time to leave Bruges for Amsterdam.

Next:  Amsterdam - canals and bicycles.

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown, too?

Dateline: Bruges Monday 11th April 2011

Fine and warm.
Th nexr morning seated at the table beside us in the breakfast room are some fellow Australians taking advantage of the travel allowance given to Qantas employees.  


Bruges old city centre is very small and and easy to find your way around so we head off towards the main square.  Not far from the centre is the Chocolate Factory (Museum).

Here we learn how the ancient Mayan tribes discovered cocoa beans and ground them down to a powder to make a chocolate drink.   They even had tools to to make it frothy.  Just like a chocolate milkshake :)  Chocolate became extremely popular but only available to the well off at that time.  We watch a demonstration on making praline filled chocolates and get to taste one on the way out.  Delicious!

Belgium is famous for its chocolate due to the unique quality of ingredients and an almost fanatical adherence to Old World manufacturing techniques. Even today most Belgian chocolate is still made by hand in small shops using original equipment.  They are everywhere. 

a

Naturally we couldn't resist buying a box of chocolates.  I managed to get this shot just in time.  Shortly after this picture was taken these little chaps met a sticky end.   Very tasty!

Next stop is the Belfort Tower, Bruges' most famous landmark, a 13th-century belfry, housing a carillion of 48 bells.  Sharon and James climb to the top via the 365 narrow, steep steps for a view across the city.  We then wander on through the streets of Bruges.  The architecture is amazing.

Carriage rides in the main square of Bruges

If nothing ever sticks to Teflon, how do they make Teflon stick to the pan?

Dateline: Europe, Bruges Belgium Sunday 10th April 2011

Fine and cool to mild.
From St Pancras International Station  in London we travel via Brussels to Bruges arriving late afternoon.  Bruges is a World Heritage Site with most of its medieval architecture intact.

On the train to Bruges

Out hotel the Ter Rein sits alongside one of the many canals running through the old centre of Bruges.    A very picturesque place with narrow streets and swans swimming on the water. 

The back of our hotel in Bruges

The roads are typical  grey cobblestones.  Bicycles suddenly appear from nowhere.  While motor vehicles are restricted to one way bikes are allowed to travel either direction.   Very tricky when crossing a road!  





How come there aren't any 'B' batteries?

Dateline: York England Saturday 9th April 2011

York England, a walled city with a rich heritage.  Founded by the Romans in 71AD and captured by the Vikings in 866AD.

York Bridge

We decide to "survey" the city via a hop-on hop-off bus.  We pass the statue of George Freeman a former mayor.  Actually the head of the statue is George Freeman's but the rest belonged to a different former mayor who got himself involved in some corrupt dealings.  They recycled the statue by changing the head.   Nothing wasted in this city.  But wait there's more!  Several years ago the bridge over the river collapsed killing some of the workmen.  The city of York then sold the salvaged parts to another town for their bridge.  Strangely this bridge now has the highest rate of suicides in the country.   That's spooky!  
They say that when Queen Victoria visited York she not amused when the hotel owner presented her with a bill for the lunch.

Streamlined vehicles at the Rail Museum

York Minster

We head for the National Rail Museum.   An extensive display of trains and train memorabilia.  Some really interesting things to look at.

Next a stroll through the shambles, a street in the city with buildings dating back to the 14th century.  We do a walking tour past The Merchants House, Yorkminster and other parts of the city.  Plenty of tourists to keep us company.


Trivia:  Several of the buildings had some windows bricked up.  This dates back to the time when buildings were taxed according to the number of windows they had (over 5) as windows let in daylight.  Hence the saying ... daylight robbery.

Next: Chocolate and Fries as we arrive in Bruges, Belgium

If you throw a cat out a car window, does it become kitty litter?

Dateline: London England Friday 8th April 2011

Bit rushed so hopefully not too many mistakes

Off to the Left Luggage at King's Cross Station and onto a train to Knightsbridge.  We arrive at Harrods.  Founded in 1824, Harrods had the first "moving staircase" (escalators) in England installed in 1898.   Sold in 2010 for 1.5 billion British Pounds the shop is now owned by Qatar Holdings.  Not just a shop but and an experience we were told.  Well it certainly has everything and the food hall is amazing.  The memorial to Dodi Fayed and Princess Diana is still there.  Touching or tacky I can't really decide. 

Kew Gardens

On to Kew Garden.   Very extensive grounds so we hop onto the road train for a ride around the gardens.   The driver of the train travels regularly to Australia.  Oh did I mention, that everywhere we go in London we run into Aussies working there.  


Next stop Buckingham Palace.  Around at the back gate we join the group tour.  After a security check to see if  your face matches your passport picture.. a bit like trying to recognise someone from their RTA Driver's Licence I would think  :).     Inside we are greeted by a guide and led through lavishly decorated rooms where the Queen greets and entertains her visitors.  No, she wasn't there to meet us, probably too busy having a fitting for her wedding outfit :).   Finally back in the Lobby we are handed a glass of Champagne and taken out through the main gates at the front.  No pictures allowed.   Well worth the visit.


Trivia:  Buckingham Palace has 800 rooms, 260 of which are bedrooms.
 Marble Arch once stood as the entrance to the Palace but was moved to its present location near Hyde Park London.   The location was once used for hangings and they wanted to improve the image of the area.
Next:   York, a walled city in North Yorkshire.

Why do they call a building a building when it's already built?

Dateline: London England Thursday 7th April 2011

Fine and warm 19 degrees.

Pleasure and action make the hours seem short.
William Shakespeare

An early start to Victoria Coach station.  We locate our coach and head out of London bound for The Cotswolds, Oxford and Warwick Castle.  

On the way we pass Wembly Stadium, the home of the English Football team,  Normally known as the three lions they were labelled the 3 pussy cats after their poor performance in the World Soccer Cup in South Africa.  Ouch that must hurt!
On past the Hoover building an absolutely magnificent example of the art deco era.  We drive by the former Royal Airforce base, Northolt where Princess Diana's body was brought after her death in Paris.  This airport is well known for a rather unfortunate incident some years back.  It is located on the flight path to Heathrow.  In the 1970's the pilot of a jumbo jet thinking he was at Heathrow managed to land the plane at the Airforce Base.  The passengers were hurriedly sent off to London in taxis. The runway is so short that there was no way to fly the plane out so it had to be dismantled.  Later someone climbed onto the Airforce Base hanger and painted a sign on it's roof with an arrow above the words "Heathrow this way",

On to Warwick Castle.   

What an amazing sight!  The castle has been bought by the Merlin Entertainment Group.  It has become a fully functioning castle of that era with people dressed in mediaeval costumes.  The archer is practising on the green, the Falconer training his birds and soldiers fire a Trebuchet twice a day. 

Next stop is Stratford-Upon-Avon, the place where William Shakespeare lived and went to school.  Young Wil's father, a glove maker, worked from the front room of the family home.  Gloves in Shakespeare's time were very fashionable and much sought after so Wil's father made a good living and was able to send young William to a local school.  The building is still mostly as it was when William and his family lived there.  In the garden actors entertain visitors with short performances from Shakespearean plays.

Sharon & James Discuss Shakespeare's Works

Trivia:  
1. William Shakespeare's father hung gloves on a rod above the window to advertise his wares.  He didn't have a sign outside saying ."John Shakespeare, Glovermaker"  Why?
A:  Most people in those days couldn't read so a sign would be of no use.

2. Other than Shakespeare's house and grave Straford-Upon-Avon has nothing of significance.

On to Oxford the University town.  Oxford University is in fact a collection of different Colleges and many well-known people have studied at Oxford.

Inside one College we see the stairs and balcony used in the filming of Harry Potter and the people and symbols which inspired Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland".   The photo opposite shows carvings above an entrance door to one of the colleges which inspired C. S. Lewis's character Tumnus (half fawn half man) in "The Lion,The Witch and the Wardrobe".

Next:  Kew Gardens, Harrods and sipping Champagne at Buckingham Palace  

 Why is it that bullets ricochet off of Superman's chest, but he ducks when the gun is thrown at him?