We have one day to really explore Bologna, famously known as the city of the three nicknames: La Rossa (The Red), La Dotta (The Learned), and La Grassa (The Fat).La Rossa (The Red) because it’s historic centre is full of red-brick buildings, terracotta roofs, and warm reddish porticoes. Also because…
The sun isn’t coming up til after 7.15 here at the moment, so I could catch it rising over the hills. Breakfast on the terrace here was a little chillier than in Lake Garda, but the balsamic vinegar drizzled on our eggs and tomato bruschetta was wonderful. We left the…
To quote Shakespeare, “I am arrived in fruitful Lombardy, the pleasant garden of all Italy”. However we took a few hours to get there 😂 We enjoyed our final.breakfast on the terrace , the sun shining this morning. The little Italian sparrows really know a good thing when they see…
Breakfast was another relaxed affair on the terrace, but today under slightly cloudy skies. The lake takes on a dreamy look in the soft, filtered light. The plan for today included some scenic driving – firstly the spectacular Strada Della Forra, best known as “The James Bond Road” ! It’s…
We both woke so early this morning that I could capture the view of the pre sunrise light coming over the mountains. We had plenty of time for a relaxed breakfast on the terrace, another excellent buffet with some amazing looking cakes and pastries. At 9 am we met Jo…
We had a relaxed start in the morning as we didn’t need to check out till 10.45. We had originally planned to go to see The Last Supper for the opening viewing of the day , before coming back to the hotel for a late breakfast. My lousy night ruled…
We were both so tired last night we were asleep by 8.30pm! The hotel is in a surprisingly quiet spot for its location so close to the Duomo so we both slept fairly well, my only problem that the alarm on my fancy new sleep earbus was still on Tokyo…
We had a very late night! The plane didn’t leave til 11.05 pm and after the welcome drink ( I tried Finnair’s signature Blueberry juice) there was then a delay with the dinner service due to turbulence – I dind’t settle down to sleep until 2.15am Tokyo time . However,…
Well here we go again! Because the first flight of the trip was an early one we, once again, decided to spend the night at the airport, to lessen the pain in the morning. However, instead of the Rydges, we were booked in to the Mantra Sydney Airport which is…
Our flight doesn’t leave until 4.40 pm so we had time today to see a little more of Christchurch before heading to the airport. It was only a few minutes drive from the hotel to the Quake City Museum. Like all the others we’ve visited here, it was excellent .…
I’m afraid neither of us slept well last night, these colds are nasty! We slept in a bit this morning to compensate and went down to breakfast feeling a bit bleary. Breakfast helped and we set off shortly afterwards to drive to Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula. Akaroa is an…
Well the weather report was right, it was bucketing down this morning! We had to put our raincoats on to get to breakfast and the view from the restaurant was much greyer than yesterday. Driving down the coast was very wet and when we turned inland to start the climb…