It's been a while since my last update. It is amazingly difficult to find Internet access whilst traveling. But we have now left Egypt and are on the homeward journey via Hong Kong. We had a lay over in London for about six hours, so decided we would pay Lizzy a quick visit at home at Windsor Castle. Lovely Lady but very small !
What can I say about Egypt, apart from being very happy to be leaving. It is an incredibly amazing country in terms of antiquities and history, but the best is definitely behind them. The poverty is extreme in much of the rural areas, particularly the West Bank where no one wants to live. We spent the morning yesterday in Cairo Museum and saw King Tuts amazing treasures. It really does rival the crown jewels in London in terms of beauty and opulence. The museum was literally filled with sarcophagus's and artifacts.
We were lucky to find a nice little Lebanese cafe around the corner from the hotel. We ordered three small dishes and didn't get through what we ordered, but the table next to us, with an Arab man and woman, ordered so many dishes they didn't have the room to fit them all on the table. Amazingly, 80% of what was ordered was untouched. The waste was astounding and we couldn't work out why someone would order so much food with the intention of leaving most of it. But of course it was all for show- this person could afford to buy things and then not use it. It is a country of extremes. So much poverty but so much waste.
The cultural differences proved to be a real challenge. By the last night, Tom had requested I actually cover myself in a veil, in an attempt to stop the constant leering. It was incredibly invasive of personal space and freedom. I have a renewed respect for why the women wear such concealing clothing. I would too if I had to put up with that sort of treatment on a daily basis.
The constant requirement to tip is something that we simply couldn't get used to. The final straw was having to give the traffic police £5 so they would stop the traffic so we could cross the road to our hotel. The passing of cash was constant- to drivers, porters, waiters, door men, bag handlers, toilet attendants, police, guards, everyone. It was a relief to see other Australians were just as frustrated as we were.
Anyway, we've had a lovely day in transit in London (we love London!!) and are now heading off to Hong Kong. No idea where we are going and how we are getting there, but I'm sure we will work something out.
See you all soon.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Off to Egypt
Well its our last night in Europe and tomorrow we are off to Egypt. We have really packed it in. Yesterday was an all day tour of ancient Rome with the Colloseum and Roman Forum. This was by far a highlight of our trip so far.
Today was spent waiting in the line to see the Sistine Chapel which I didn't get to see the last time I was here and was determined to see this time. We must say, it was a bit of a let down. We were expecting to see a faded, ancient panarama, but the restoration has made it look like a trashy ethnic mural.
Given our Catholic backgrounds it was of real interest to us to see the centre of Catholicism and we can both say it was a real disappointment. There was very little difference between the wealth amased by the monarchies of England and France and the catholic church in Rome. Not exactly spiritually inspiring.
We are stepping further back in time as we head out to Egypt and are really looking forward to getting some sun. The forcast for the next few day is high 30 degrees. Will keep you posted!!
Today was spent waiting in the line to see the Sistine Chapel which I didn't get to see the last time I was here and was determined to see this time. We must say, it was a bit of a let down. We were expecting to see a faded, ancient panarama, but the restoration has made it look like a trashy ethnic mural.
Given our Catholic backgrounds it was of real interest to us to see the centre of Catholicism and we can both say it was a real disappointment. There was very little difference between the wealth amased by the monarchies of England and France and the catholic church in Rome. Not exactly spiritually inspiring.
We are stepping further back in time as we head out to Egypt and are really looking forward to getting some sun. The forcast for the next few day is high 30 degrees. Will keep you posted!!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Hello from Pergine Valdarno
We are off to Rome but leave our little Tuscan hamlet with fond memories. We stumbled upon the quintessential tuscan village yestrday. A total of 20 people inhabit it on top of a hill overlooking vineyards and olive groves. We sampled local bruschetta and mamma's home made cake- completely yum.
A couple of wierd and unexpected things have occured on our travels but none more strange than the things in Pergine Valdarno. The village was built in 700 AD (the rooms we stayed in were in the basement of a building over 1200 years old) and there are no cars allowed in the village square which is only the size of a large block of land. But last night, we were entertained by the local singers, musicians and actors, in a charity concert to raise money for Haiti. So at 9.30pm on a Sunday night in the middle of Chianti, heavy metal rock was played for 100 of the locals who braved the cool night. Very strange.
But even stranger was the appearance of two black ladies, dressed in "city" attire, sitting on the side of the road on the way to Sienna. At first site, we thought this stange but decided they must be waiting for the bus. When we observed the next person waiting for the bus on the same road was also a dark woman, we thought it strange again. When another two dark ladies were observed 500 meters up the road we were sure something was up. We discovered there was a bikie convention a little further along the road to Sienna. Ah!! now it makes sense (kind of). It was after all, the middle of the day in the middle of Tuscany on a saturday afternoon. Very strange things in this part of the world.
We are off to Rome and then hoping the volcano will calm down long enough for us to fly to Cairo. There is a strong sense of dodging disaster on this trip. We have spent the last three days navigating our way through unmarked streets and driving on the wrong side of the road. We have had to keep our wits about us at all times. But some how, remarkabley, we make it from one spot to the next, still in tact. Turns out Toms' a great driver and I'm a great navigator :)
Sounds a lot like our marriage
Speak soon.
Love to Tom, Lauren and Ash, Rachael, Michael, Ramsey, Anna and Isla
A couple of wierd and unexpected things have occured on our travels but none more strange than the things in Pergine Valdarno. The village was built in 700 AD (the rooms we stayed in were in the basement of a building over 1200 years old) and there are no cars allowed in the village square which is only the size of a large block of land. But last night, we were entertained by the local singers, musicians and actors, in a charity concert to raise money for Haiti. So at 9.30pm on a Sunday night in the middle of Chianti, heavy metal rock was played for 100 of the locals who braved the cool night. Very strange.
But even stranger was the appearance of two black ladies, dressed in "city" attire, sitting on the side of the road on the way to Sienna. At first site, we thought this stange but decided they must be waiting for the bus. When we observed the next person waiting for the bus on the same road was also a dark woman, we thought it strange again. When another two dark ladies were observed 500 meters up the road we were sure something was up. We discovered there was a bikie convention a little further along the road to Sienna. Ah!! now it makes sense (kind of). It was after all, the middle of the day in the middle of Tuscany on a saturday afternoon. Very strange things in this part of the world.
We are off to Rome and then hoping the volcano will calm down long enough for us to fly to Cairo. There is a strong sense of dodging disaster on this trip. We have spent the last three days navigating our way through unmarked streets and driving on the wrong side of the road. We have had to keep our wits about us at all times. But some how, remarkabley, we make it from one spot to the next, still in tact. Turns out Toms' a great driver and I'm a great navigator :)
Sounds a lot like our marriage
Speak soon.
Love to Tom, Lauren and Ash, Rachael, Michael, Ramsey, Anna and Isla
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Florence
We arrived in Florence this afternoon. It's much as I remember it but this time I actually got to see the Statue of David. We have to say it is one of the highlights of the trip and something neither of us will ever forget. It's hard to describe the feeling - it is simply one of the most beautiful objects in the world. It seems to have an energy coming from it. We sat mesmerised over it. Neither of us are particualry 'into' art, but it was one of the most amazing sites we have ever seen. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take any photos but I'm sure you all know what it looks like.
We are both going crazy over the leather goods. Bags, jackets, gloves and did I mention shoes. I will need another bag to bring them all home in. I have SO much trouble buying shoes at home, but every pair I try on here, feels like a glove. I'm in heaven.
We made a bit of a mistake not booking the hire car earlier. All the 'real' car hire places have run out, so we have had to hire one from Dodgy Brothers Inc. Tom's radar went up straight away. But there isn't anything we can do but hope we don't stack the thing.
Anyway, we're heading off to Tuscany tomorrow, so it will be unlikley that we'll find an internet cafe to update the blog. But we are having an amazing time. We are learning so much about each other ie that neither of us knows when to take a breath and slow the pace down so we are constantly running at full throttle until we drop. But we have so far created some fantastic and enduring memories.
Like last night- when the clock up the canal struck 2am, reminding me that half an hour had passed since the last time it had struck. Time is not a stable currency- it has to be seasonally adjusted to understand its true value. Half an hour of laying awake listening to a clock chime in a foreign country, in a hard bed with a hard flat pillow is not the same as half an hour in a day spa. So there are some fun memories mixed in with it all.
We are both really looking forward to some sunshine- its been a touch on the chilly side mixed in with some rain and we need a bit of thawing out.
Ciao for now. we're off to drink some Chianti
PS- pls ignore all spelling erros. this stupid key board is not set up the way it is at home and I cant find half the keys. also, i dont know how to use the spell check on Blogger!!
We are both going crazy over the leather goods. Bags, jackets, gloves and did I mention shoes. I will need another bag to bring them all home in. I have SO much trouble buying shoes at home, but every pair I try on here, feels like a glove. I'm in heaven.
We made a bit of a mistake not booking the hire car earlier. All the 'real' car hire places have run out, so we have had to hire one from Dodgy Brothers Inc. Tom's radar went up straight away. But there isn't anything we can do but hope we don't stack the thing.
Anyway, we're heading off to Tuscany tomorrow, so it will be unlikley that we'll find an internet cafe to update the blog. But we are having an amazing time. We are learning so much about each other ie that neither of us knows when to take a breath and slow the pace down so we are constantly running at full throttle until we drop. But we have so far created some fantastic and enduring memories.
Like last night- when the clock up the canal struck 2am, reminding me that half an hour had passed since the last time it had struck. Time is not a stable currency- it has to be seasonally adjusted to understand its true value. Half an hour of laying awake listening to a clock chime in a foreign country, in a hard bed with a hard flat pillow is not the same as half an hour in a day spa. So there are some fun memories mixed in with it all.
We are both really looking forward to some sunshine- its been a touch on the chilly side mixed in with some rain and we need a bit of thawing out.
Ciao for now. we're off to drink some Chianti
PS- pls ignore all spelling erros. this stupid key board is not set up the way it is at home and I cant find half the keys. also, i dont know how to use the spell check on Blogger!!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
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