New York City (by Tom)

The Big Apple was busy and buzzing! We took a train from Larchmont (Kieran’s house) to Grand Central Station. The taxi took us to the site of the 9/11 disaster. It was very sad. I was only three when it happened but it is still sad today. The Statue of Liberty was pretty big. By that time of the day we were hot so Rob and I went in a water fountain! We also went to the United Nations Building. I saw all the flags of the member countries. It was very colourful. My favourite part of the day was seeing the T-Rex at the Natural History Museum, and eating a hot dog in Central Park. A great way to end the day was a sail on Kieran’s boat in the Long Island Sound.

Washington (by Rob)

We went to Washington and saw the guards at Arlinton sematry. We saw the graveyards where the soldiers died. The guards look smart. They have big guns. We went to the Lincoln Memoril. It was big and well made. We saw the White house where the President lives. We went to the [Smithsonian] Space Museum and saw things about Buzz Aldrin. He went to the moon. We also went in a rocket. I loved the Lincoln statue and the solders, but my legs were a bit tired from walking.

...and now for something completely different...

It only seems fitting, after the world cup has kicked off in our former homeland (and Aus and RSA continue to excel!), to talk (yet again!) about soccer. We’ve hit another jackpot here. The boys are playing at another great club (http://www.dougmillersoccer.com/). Doug was a very successful professional player in his own right (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Miller) and is a lovely guy with a great attitude. The amazing thing about the US is just how very easy everything is (particularly when compared with Italy). The coaches, parents and kids are all super-friendly and see us as something of a (pleasant) novelty. After only one week we are already car-pooling, borrowing shirts and being invited for plays (the boys that is). Tom played in a tournament last weekend and Robbie has played two matches. As with AC Santa Lucia in Italy, we will be very sad to bid farewell to all at Doug Miller soccer!

Boys’ toys

Kieran and Barbara are great hosts and the boys are in their element. The property has everything a boy (of any age) could desire: a big backyard (perfect for soccer and MX), motorbikes galore (5 at last count), bicycles, scooters, a basketball hoop and a pellet gun!

Adding to the excitement are a yacht on Lake Canandaigua, a canal boat (see pic), Playstation 2, a big screen TV and an outdoor spa round off the excitement. So, we don’t need to go to Disneyland – but continuing with the dirt bike theme, we are going to the 5th round of the AMA motocross championship at Budds Creek (Maryland), just south of DC this weekend.

We are also going to spend a day in DC and two days in New York city. Both boys have lists of what they want to see in both cities and Mike has a few meetings in NY.

On an unrelated note, yesterday we took a drive to two of the fingerlakes (Canandaigua and Penn Yan) and admired the Amish and Menninite quilting work (we thought of you Jan and Bron). We also popped in to visit Cassidy's grandparents (Jake and Anne) and the beautiful lakeside cottage where we spent our first sabbatical in 1999.

Extended family

Kieran and Mike have been friends for going on 40 years (i.e. from first-year kindergarten). Best men at each other’s weddings, god fathers to each other’s first born (see pics). So, there has been plenty to reminisce about, a lot of stories beginning with “let me tell you about your father...” and much fun and frivolity all round.

The boys get on very well with Cassidy (they even told her she was ‘like a sister’). They went to school with her for a day and enjoyed it so much they wanted to go back the next day. Highlights included playing ‘American Football’ in gym (with ‘Coach Williams’), class question time (they were in the hot seat!), having jello in the school cafeteria and riding home on a (classic American) yellow school bus.

Positively Pittsford

The little village of Pittsford in upstate NY (near Rochester) is our ‘home’ for the final month of our “big adventure”. First settled in 1789, on the banks of the famous Erie Canal, it really is picture perfect. Nestled amongst huge walnut trees (crawling with squirrels and chipmunks!), surrounded by lush green lawns, is Kierans’ 140 year-old ‘cottage’ . The streetscape is very, very American: white wooden houses, big front porches (with rocking chairs/adirondacks/ swinging benches), dark grey roofs/shutters and, of course, the stars and stripes flying proudly. It’s great to be back in the gentle rhythms and routines of home life (i.e. not living out of a suitcase and rushing to catch a plane). Mike is working hard to meet a few deadlines and the boys and I are filling our mornings with schoolwork, cycling along the canal (see pic) and shopping at Wegmans. Yip - food features yet again! Wegman’s is like no other grocery retailer we’ve ever seen – we go there every day (I never thought I would say that!). Kathleen (Cassidy’s mum) has also very generously lent us a car. What a wonderful place to spend our last month!

Portland and Seattle (by Tom )

When we were in Portland we visited the Nike World HQ. When we arrived we went to a talk by the head of Running for Nike. Then we went on a tour around the Nike campus. All the buildings were named after famous Nike athletes. We got to go inside the Michael Jordon building and the Tiger Woods building. We saw their shoes and t-shirts and even their old school photos! There was a soccer tournament on so we got to watch a bit. There was a golf hole where Tiger Woods hit the golf ball into the hole from 300 yards away! In one of the buildings we saw from outside where they designed the gear (but we weren’t allowed in!). We then took a train to Seattle. We went there on Memorial day. It was the Folklife Festival. We looked around, went on rides , drank homemade lemonade and ate cotton candy. It was right under the Seattle Space Needle. After that Dad and I went to the experience music museum (www.empsfm.org). We got to play the guitar, keyboard and drums. We got to experience what it is like on stage. We sang ‘I Love Rock ‘n Roll’ and we sounded terrible! It was a fun day. Next we are off to Rochester.

Canada (by Rob)

In Canada we stayed with friends for 5 days. We went to whistler for 2 nights where they had the winter olimpics this year. We also went on a cablecar to the snow.

We played in the snow and we had a coffee. We even went on another cablecar. When we were going up and down we saw 2 bears. I played trivial pisoot with Leyland. I like Leys dog called Blossom.

Vancouver: worth Whistling about!

Before going to Portland in the US (for a conference) we planned our flights so that we could spend a long weekend in Vancouver with our old friends, Leyland and Lise Pitt. We were very good friends with Leyland’s parents in Pretoria in the early 90s and have known Ley, Lise, Linda and Christine since then. Leyland also supervised Mike’s Masters thesis in '93 (at Henley - see earlier blog) and helped us to go to Australia in ‘96. Joined by Wade Halvorson (our oldest Australian friend - from Perth) and Nic Terblanche (from Stellenbosch), we all spent a glorious weekend up at Whistler: British Columbia’s famed resort and recreation complex and home to many events at the 2010 Winter Olympics (see below). Whistler is like no ski resort we’ve ever been to – it’s simply spectacular on every level. The highlight was a ski-lift trip to the very peak of Blackcomb (mountain) and then a cable car across the valley to the peak of Whistler - on the longest unsupported cable car span in the world (3km). See www.peak2peakgondola.com.

As always, meals were a particular highlight (Ley is a sensational cook) and the wines consumed were not overly modest – demonstrating that Italians don’t have a monopoly on ‘la Dolce Vita’! Another highlight from Whistler was seeing black bears in their natural habitat (see above) – and before you ask, no, they don’t always ___ in the woods.

Creating new memories with old friends

A great part of this trip has been catching up with our many old, dear friends scattered around the world (the ‘upside’ of the South African diaspora)! We have already mentioned Mike’s schoolmate, Sean, whom we spent time with in Italy and Germany, and the Reids. We then spent a great day/evening with another of Mike’s school friends, Colin Makin (top left). Mike and Col were in the same boarding house at Kearsney (1981-1985). Colin and Kieran (Tom’s godfather - who will no doubt feature heavily in future blogs) also shared a flat in Durban during their undergraduate days (in a block where Chris and Ann Beath once lived).

We then enjoyed a wonderful evening in Wimbledon with one of Lee-Ann’s oldest childhood friends, Cath Michell, her husband Charl and their two boys, Dan and Joe (top right). Lee-Ann and Cath spent many (if not most) school holidays together at Palm Beach on the Natal South Coast (where Lee's parents now live).

Finally, we had a lovely lunch (at Epson Race course) with Luke Jackson, his delightful wife, Suzanne, and their children, Erin and Rory (above). Luke and Mike began their working careers together as graduate trainees at Ford Motor Company in Pretoria almost 20 years ago. Luke also drove the bridesmaids at our wedding and spent a few months with us in Perth before Tom was born. It's been amazing seeing our boys playing with all our friends children and hearing (i.e. being bored by) many stories from their parents ‘good ol days’. Of course, it also makes us forty-something-year-olds fell old! On a less cheerful note, the only disappointment in the UK was not being able to see Mike’s cousin Gavin, who, along with his son Alex, had chicken pox!

Henley: steeped in family history

On a glorious spring day we took the boys to the beautiful Oxfordshire town of Henley-on-Thames to show them some of their family history. The picturesque Business School (bottom pic) is where Mike completed his Masters thesis in 1993 with our dear friend Leyland Pitt (see forthcoming Vancouver blog). That trip was the first overseas trip for both M + L (and included an engagement in Paris - see earlier blog).

In 1999 we returned to Henley (from Perth) for our first overseas sabbatical: an ambitious trip which involved taking a nine-month-old (Tom) around the world (literally). In fact, Tom took his very first steps in the cottage at Henley where we stayed in’ 99 (top right pic) and spent his first birthday at Heathrow airport. In addition to London and Henley, we also visited Oxford, Wimbledon, Kew Gardens, Reigate and Brighton.

The Reidbucks

One of many highlights of the trip so far has been spending time with two of our oldest friends, Craig and Marijke Reid. The four of us go back more than half a lifetime: they were with us the night we met (!) and we attended both of their 21sts. During our Uni days we went camping with them in Lesotho, Zimbabwe (not something we’d do now!) and the Drakensburg and ‘Craigie’ was a groomsman at our wedding. Needless to say, we did a lot of late night reminiscing around the kitchen table during our stay: listening to 80s music, enjoying the odd bottle of red, and even walking like Egyptians (a la Bangles) after a spot of routine deer stalking in the woods with the neighbour (as one tends to do in Surrey!). The little Reidbucks (Josh and Dan) and our two got on famously and the mix of different accents in the house was an auditory delight! We all miss the Reidbucks terribly, particularly Smokey Reid, the cat:)

London (by Tom)

Here’s London for you. When we arrived (by train) we got on a hop on, hop off bus that took us to the Tower of London. There we got on a river cruise up the Thames to Big Ben and the house of Palament. The commentator on the river cruise was really funny! Big Ben was smaller than I expected, but it was really cool. We got off the boat and back on the bus, which took us to Buckingham Palace where the royal family lives. We were at the front gates when we saw Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband, drive out in his Land Rover! We had a picnic in the park and then went to Trafalgar Square, South Africa house and down Whitehall to Downing Street. Where we saw the house of thenew prime minister of England David Cameron. It was his first day as prime minister. London is a really nice place to visit.

The best day of my life

Last weekend we stayed at Chelsea Football Club’s hotel at Stamford Bridge. It was a very emotional two days for me and it has been hard for me to write about it! On Saturday we went on a tour of the stadium, the press conference room, the Chelsea and opposition dressing rooms and the dug outs were they sit during a game. Then I met most of the Chelsea team! John Terry (left pic), Frank Lampard (right pic), Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Alex, Michael Ballack, Florent Malouda, Pedro. Lamps is one of my favourite players which is why, I chose no. 8 for my club shirt. The game was a stunner! The singing was loud and never stopped and there were some funny songs! Chelsea beat Wigan 8-0. There were lots of records broken at the match. 103 goals for the season, Drogba hat-trick and golden boot, biggest winning margin in Chelsea’s history. If Chelsea can win another FA cup tomorrow it will be the first double in the clubs history. This was the best moment of my life!

“We love Paris, in the Springtime....”

After returning the campervan to Munich with 3,350km’s on its clock, we took an overnight train (last Tuesday night) to Paris. Mike gave a seminar at ESSEC and they kindly put us up in a nice furnished apartment for two nights, right at the Arc de Triomphe, a 100m from the top of the Champs des Elysees. On Wednesday we had a massive day (walking >10km), down the CdE, to the Louvre (Tom was desperate to see the Mona Lisa), then we tried in vain to find the restaurant where we got engaged (on 18 Dec 1993), but unlike our marriage, it does not appear to have endured! So, after lunch, we continued down the Seine then crossed over to Notre Dame (which Rob declared was the last church he is visiting on this trip). On Friday Mike spent the day at ESSEC and Lee-Ann and the boys had a picnic under the Eiffel Tower. On Friday evening we flew to London where we were greeted by our old and dear friends, Craig and Marijke (and Josh and Dan), with whom we are staying. So, after nearly 3 months its Au Revoir to continental Europe and if the BA strike gets called off at some stage, it might be gidday USA a week from now....watch this space!

...and then back to France...!

From Barca back to France. We spent our 8th night on the Med again, a few metres off the beach, at Marseillan-Plage (just north of Narbonne). But, it was a different Med to the cote d’Azur (days 4 and 5). Windy and rough seas, but still charming (a bit like Cape Shank in winter). The next day we headed off for Lyon, but somehow got pulled towards the mountains and stumbled across a charming little village, Les Abrets (just north of Grenoble). The campsite was called Le Coin Tranquille, and it will no doubt return to being tranquil after we've left (www.coin-tranquille.com). We even had to order our baguettes the day before, and they were delivered fresh in the morning. We took a long walk in the countryside in the late afternoon and it was just so very, very rustic, authentic and ‘French’ (sounds lame, but true). Its not hard to see where Monet drew his inspiration from.

Breathtaking Barcelona

Barcelona!! (think of the Queen song). How does one describe this stunning city? We weren’t sure what to expect, but were literally blown away by the place. It’s a really impressive, liveable city on every level. Climate, public transport, gardens, museums, history (>2,000 years of it), great buildings, beaches, friendly locals - they seem to have it all. They are also fairly partial towards soccer. See pic (below) of the boys at Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s 100,000 seat home ground. We were in the city on the day of the UEFA semi-final (Barca v Inter), but unable to find a spare $4,000 for last minute tickets, we watched the game live in a restaurant with big screens and dozens of obsessed locals. Quite an experience in itself (and yes, we did have Paella for dinner!).

And as an added Catalan bonus, our campsite was 5-star (literally and figuratively: http://www.vilanovapark.es/). The pic above is Mike outside Santa Maria de la Mar, the 15th century church to which Ildefonso Falcones international bestseller ‘Cathedral of the Sea’ (great book – highly recommended!) is written as a homage.

Fabulous France

.....after a pretty ordinary second day, we bounced back on 'day 3', with 48 glorious hours at ‘Bormes-les-Mimosas’, on the gulf of St. Tropez (roughly between Nice and Marseille), on the cote d’Azur. Our camp site was 2m off the beach and 20m from the gentle, crystal clear waters of the Med (Tom's right arm is pointing at our camper van), see: www.campdudomaine.com. Tom was initially a little surprised that “the ladies take their bras off on the beach”, and that this “would not happen in Australia”, but we’ve all agreed to continue to try to respect different cultures. We’re all learning a lot on this trip....

PS croissants for breakfast, baguettes for lunch and a cheeky Bordeaux with dinner...let the culinary crusade continue!

Munching in Munchen

After a spectacular alpine train trip from Switzerland to Munich, Sean (Mike’s school friend) took us straight to the Munich ‘Springfes’ (basically, Oktoberfes without the crowds). Sean was dressed in traditional Bavarian attire and looked quite the native (and not the boy from Durban North).

Much of the blog has focused on food and this theme seems set to continue. The roast pork, sauerkraut, dumplings and beer where all out of this world (see above pic: is Lee-Ann literally drooling over Rob's spare rib)? The next day we picked up our campervan (after a false start!) and spent the first night in Sean and Lidia’s parking lot. Our trip from Munich took us through Austria (past Innsbruck) and back into northern Italy. Night two was spent at Arco (on Lake Garda). The campervan is a joy to drive on autobahns and autostrada – thanks to its 6-speed, multijet, Turbo–diesel engine. But on tight, windy roads the Italian Rivera it was nothing short of a 7m long, 3.5t nightmare to drive! As a consequence, Day 2 was pretty stressful and we ended up spending the night in a campervan ‘car park’ in San Remo, with no facilities. 6 heart attacks later, we managed to get back on an autostrada headed for France....

Switzerland and beyond: a road trip awaits...

Surrounded by snow-capped Alps, on a stunning lake, Lugano is scenically quite breathtaking. Our hotel is literally right on the lake and we have a top floor room with panoramic water views. In terms of visual feasts, it doesn’t get much better! We can see Italy across the water, but we’re in Switzerland. The people all speak Italian, yet we’re definitely not in Italy. Everything is super-organised, super-efficient, super-neat .....almost to the point of being too perfect. Yet ironically, compared with the rest of the country, we’re told that the Swiss consider Lugano to be pretty laid back and relaxed! Obviously, these things are relative not absolute! After four wonderful days here (Mike had a conference), we head off today (by train) to Munich (via Zurich). We’ll spend the night with Sean and Lidia (whom you ‘met’ in a previous blog), then on Thursday we pick up our campervan (motor home), and head for who knows where (possibly France and Spain). Don’t expect much blogging until we get to our hotel in Paris on about 5 May. Arrivederci!

PS check out our new home for the next 2 weeks: www.ideamerge.com/motorhomes/germany/mrent/group7_T6911_4_specs_2.html

Rob reminisces

From the Stefanos (left) we get salami ungheresi and prosciutto toscana for lunch. We also get milk and bread and biscuits. Tom gets Bionda to drink. We get gelato from Carli (right) every single night! We get amarana (cherry) for Mum and Dad and limone for Tom and I. My favourite is limone. We get breakfast every morning at Cafe Bacchina or Betti. I like Bacchina and Tom likes Betti. The Stefano’s give us free stuff also and we can come and go through the back door!

Tom’s Turin

Turin (Torino) is located on the banks of the river Po and circled by the Alps. In 2006 it hosted the Winter Olympics. It lies in the centre of Piedmonte. After we checked into our hotel, we went to see the Shroud (see pic). The shroud is the cloth they wrapped Jesus in when he was taken off the cross. Then we went for a long walk. We went to an authentic restaurant for dinner. The food was great! On day 2 we went on a hop on hop off tour bus around Turin. We saw all the sights to see in Turin. There were two lines (blue and red). We went on both. The red line took us to the big sights and the blue line took us to the Olympic sights. My favourite line was the red line because it showed more of the real Turin. At night we went to a Serie B Soccer match - at 'Stadio Olimpico di Torino'. Thats where they held the opening and closing ceremony for the Winter Olympics 2006. The match finished as a 1-1 draw. On day 3 you will never guess what happened ...my mum turned 40! When we woke up mum opened her presents and then we went to the Torino del Valentino gardens and Medieval village. We had coffee on the River Po and then went to the Medieval village. It was really cool in there because we got to see how they used to live. After that we went to the gardens and Mum told us what the different flowers were. Then we had a nice lunch and went home for gelato! We had a fantastic time in Torino!

For-tee 4 Lee

Dear family and friends: I am now a 'foxy 40' (and feeling great!). Thank you so much for all your kind messages, texts, e-mails, blog postings etc. I felt very spoilt (and loved). Mike and the boys made it a beautiful day for me. We spent the morning strolling on the banks of the river Po on a glorious spring day in Turin. I miss you all! love, Lee-Ann

Emotional farewell to A.C.Santa Lucia

This week the boys said goodbye to their team mates and coaches. Our Club back home (Peninsula Strikers) kindly sent over gifts and certificates of appreciation. Tom said his goodbyes on Thursday to his team and two assistant coaches and Rob bid farewell on Friday. Every one of Robbie’s team mates gave him a hug - causing his parents to choke up on the sidelines!

Then on Friday Tom said goodbye to his head coach (‘il Mister’), who promptly gave him a bear hug and kissed him on both cheeks. It was a very quiet bus ride home...

Pasqua in Prato

After farewelling Bids on Friday, we fell into a wet and quiet Easter weekend. “Our” little English bookshop in Florence has kept us well-stocked with some great reads. The boys were delighted on Sunday morning to discover that the ‘Easter Bunny’ had not forgotten to stop in Italy! The Fiorentina-decorated eggs were a hit. The church bells called everyone to Mass at about 11am, and we joined the crowd crossing the piazza. The service was beautiful, even though we could not understand anything that was said. The ‘weekend peace’ came to an abrupt halt a few hours later when we heard shattering glass – the boys had kicked the soccer ball through their bedroom window!!! Luckily for the boys, our landlady Simona was much calmer about the incident than their parents and she kindly replaced the glass without fuss. Prato is buzzing again and the weather is really warm. We are starting (hesitantly and with heavy hearts) to pack and consolidate. Mike is busy finishing up at Monash and the boys are enjoying their final soccer practices this week. What new adventures await us? We leave on Monday for Turin and perhaps Milan; then Lake Lugano (Switzerland) for 4 days – and then we really don’t know where we’ll be until May 7 when we fly from Paris to London. Watch this space!

Cruising the Chianti Valley

On Wednesday we rented a car and drove to San Gimignano, the “Town of Towers” (also known as the “Manhattan of Tuscany”). We all climbed the Torre Grosso (yip, the tallest one) to view the breathtaking Tuscan countryside from a height of 54m! Rolling, green hills and olive groves formed a patchwork to admire (see pic). At the base of the tower is the “world’s best gelateria” – officially! (Tony Blair, Dame Judi Dench and the Ewings concur). After a picnic in the park, our quest was to find the birthplace of the great Leonardo da Vinci. The town of Vinci is described in guidebooks as ‘nondescript’, however, we were charmed by the place - nestled in a valley of olive groves (Mont Albano). The museum is fascinating with drawings and models of da Vinci’s designs on display. His actual birthplace is a modest little stone house on a hill about 2km outside of Vinci. The boys played “tiggy” through the long grass at the base of the olive trees, and as Robbie commented, “we are running in Leonardo’s playground”. It was a special day indeed. Followed by an equally lovely ‘early’ birthday tea and cake presented so thoughtfully by Biddy. Forty candles (!!) to decorate a traditional, Italian, Easter chocolate and spice cake! Lee-Ann felt very blessed to celebrate with the lads and Bids. On that note, Buona Pasqua to all our family and friends. Hopefully the bunny will be good to you!

Venerable Venezia

Lee-Ann’s sister Biddy left today after spending 10 days with us. Last weekend we all headed off together for wonderful weekend in Venice. We arrived on Friday morning to find the city under a mysterious mist. As the sun broke through, we were amazed at the beautiful old palaces lining the Grand Canal and the smaller canals weaving their way through this unique city. Murano, the island famous for glasswork, was a highlight. This ‘mini Venice’ was full of tiny shops displaying amazingly creative glassworks and masks. As per usual, the fruit and veg. market in Rialto was a highlight for Lee-Ann: grapes the size of plums, plump artichokes stacked into wooden crates and bright citrus. The Grand Canal is central to life in Venice, with the candy-striped wooden poles used to moor gondolas and wooden water taxis. The arched bridges, doorways and windows soften the angular square structures of the buildings and the water laps against the doors leaving strips of seaweed at the base of entrances. The highlight for the boys (and adults) was the “awesome gondola ride”. Our gondolier was a very expressive chap who navigated his way through the canals, ducking under bridges and steering us past the other water traffic with great skill - while also serving as tour guide. We found the city very peaceful as the water has a lulling effect on everyone and the pace of life adjusts to the lack of cars and rush. The Bradjolina circus was also in town, but fortunately our paths never crossed. As with all adventures, one can’t escape the odd challenge or two: Mike’s VISA card was ‘swallowed’ by an ATM at San Marco on Saturday afternoon! Problem solved quickly by Visa (in the US), but after a week we’re still waiting for our NAB ‘personal banker’ (!) to respond to any one of the three e-mails we’ve sent!

Catching up with an old mate

After the intensity of our Roman sojourn, we took it a little easier over the past week. Sean, a high school friend of Mike’s who he hasn’t seen for 25 years, and his girlfriend Lidia, drove down from Munich to spend the weekend with us (see pic). We had coffee together on Friday afternoon, lunch in Florence on Saturday and lunch at home on Sunday. It was great to see them and we appreciate the HUGE effort they made to see us. On Saturday evening we went to support ‘our team’ in what turned out to be the best match we’ve ever seen. A resounding 3-0 win over Genoa. Click on this link ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsE0ietO-6M ) to experience the Fiorentina ‘fight song’, sung when the teams march out. See also the opposition in their ‘cage’ in the right foreground, burning something! Lee-Ann’s sister Biddy will be joining us for 10 days.

Robbie’s Rome

First we got on a train to Firenze SMN. Then we got another train to Roma Termini. We got to our hotel and had lunch. I had spaghetti bolonese and then we walked to the Colosseum. The gladiators used to fight in the sand with other gladiators. They had unusual clothes and good weapons. Also lions came from Africa on ships. The gladiators tried to stab the lions and kill them. We went to a 3D museum and I got dressed in gladiators clothes. That was fun! On day 2 we had breakfast at the hotel then we walked to the bus and travelled around Rome. I chose the seats upstairs at the front of the open bus! We stopped at the Vatican to get tickets for the Pope and then we saw some Swiss Guards and the Swiss Guards let my Dad in to the Vatican. The Swiss Guards have spears and guns and swords. One uniform is all blue and the other uniform has blue and yellow stripes. I liked the Sistine Chapel too. On day 3 in the morning we got on an underground train to the Vatican and then we got to our seats and we saw the Pope in his Popemobile. The Pope spoke in front of the audience. We saw some more Swiss Guards with spears. I would like to be a Swiss Guard because they have weapons and look after the Pope. The last thing we saw was the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. I threw a coin in the fountain.

Audience with the Pope

On Wednesday morning we returned to the Holy See to attend a general audience with Pope Benedict XVI. It was the first outdoor Papal audience of the year (in St. Peter’s square) and the weather was perfect. There were people from all over the world in the huge crowd. To our right across the aisle were two rows of Irish ladies wearing traditional looking green and white dresses. Behind us were Spanish pilgrims shouting “Viva Papa” at every opportunity. We had Germans in front of us and Poles and Indonesians to our left. The Pope then entered the square in his ‘Popemobile’ and drove up and down through the crowds. Mike got to within 2m with Robbie on his shoulders. Various Papal Prefects and Cardinals then introduced large groups in the crowd in their native tongues and the Pontiff gave fluent addresses in seven languages. Click on the link below and then click on [ Video ] to experience exactly what we did. www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100317_en.html

...off to Rome for 3 days...

Hi Bloggers

We're off to Rome for 3 days. Can one of you please feed the gold fish (bottom of blog) while we're away? Left clicking you mouse will dispense food for them. We had a busy week and a pretty quiet weekend: went to Pistoia (and Florence) on Saturday and kicked a soccer ball with the boys all day (!) Sunday. Perfect Spring weather (a few days after snow!). If you need to contact us while we're away, please use SMS.

Ewings

Pisa, snow, more soccer

As I type this, it is snowing gently outside. The boys spent the morning (in between lessons!) gazing out the window and then sticking their heads out to catch the snowflakes in their mouths!! We’ve decided to put our Rome trip “on ice” (ha! ha!) for a few weeks until the weather clears up. Home-schooling is good fun (if there are no distractions!) but it is also a challenge. Robbie told me this morning (after I thought that I had competently explained something) that he “would rather do it the old-fashioned way, thanks”! On Saturday the sun shone brightly so we decided to go to Pisa (about 90 minutes from Prato). Our response to our first sight of the Leaning Tower delighted our taxi driver! It is spectacular. As you can see in the photo, I tried to straighten it (like every other dopey tourist)! The “Field of Miracles” is home to the tower, Italy’s largest baptistery and yet another stunning cathedral. After lunch, we took a ride around the old town on a 4-wheeler “bike” (quadcycle?), going the wrong way down one-ways and generally causing a bit of havoc on the roads (getting our own back). A gelato later (by now a daily occurrence), on our way home on the train, we took a family ‘vote’ (3-0, with 1 abstention) and decided to drop by the soccer stadium (of all places!) and chance our luck for tickets to the big match: Fiorentina/Juventus (according to Wikipedia, Juventus is Italy’s most successful soccer team ever). We managed to get great seats and I must admit, the crowd, the atmosphere and of course, the soccer was incredible. The stadium was a haze of purple, red and white and the chanting was deafening. I was entertained by the “older lady” behind us who yelled the entire match, “Madonna, Madonna, Mama Mia @#$%”. After a wonderful day, we trained back to Prato: happy, weary, a bit down-heartened (Fiorentina lost 2-1) and slightly deaf!! Another tough day in Toscana...

Rob's ramblings

Last weekend we went to Siena. We saw the Duomo and heaps of paintings by Michealangelo and Leonardo Davinci. For lunch I had Tuscan sousege and gelato. Then we went to Florence on Wednesday and we saw Spandau Ballet. It was very good. We are eating heaps of pizzas and pasta. Also me and tom have started playing soccer in Prato. It is really fun. The club is called AC Santa Lucia. Yesterday we saw the lening tower of Pisa then we saw Fiorentina play Juventus and Juventus won 2-1. We have also seen Ac Milan play Fiorentina and Livorno play Fiorentina.