James & Heather Travelogues A log of holidays and the development of psoriases... tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-04:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols 2007-09-13T21:24:41Z jefranklin img/travel-blog-feed.png Planning another holiday tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-09-13:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=47&entryid=78851 2007-09-13T21:24:41Z 2007-09-13T21:21:52Z Heather and I have been thinking about going on holiday late in the year, this year. So we've decided to head away for a week or so, although we are not too sure where. Obviously sunny weather is the attraction, and no doubt Heather would like to get in a few rounds of golf, and we don't want to travel too far. So on the list to consider are: [list] [*]Portugal - should be nice beaches and some golf, weather ... Heather and I have been thinking about going on holiday late in the year, this year. So we've decided to head away for a week or so, although we are not too sure where. Obviously sunny weather is the attraction, and no doubt Heather would like to get in a few rounds of golf, and we don't want to travel too far. So on the list to consider are:

  • Portugal - should be nice beaches and some golf, weather is a bit of an unknown quantity
  • Canary Islands - should be sunny, etc. but not too sure about the golf
  • Morroco - sunny no doubt, but golf and maybe safety may be an issue

Anyway, a friend of ours will be house-sitting either our current place or if we are fortunate in the next couple of days, our new place. Decisions, decisions...

Planning another holiday remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> The end of the holidays (for now) tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=11&entryid=75245 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z Well, our 6 months of travels are officially over. Soon it will be back to job-hunting, finding a new place to live and a return to the normality of a five day working week. However, in the past 6 months Heather and I have been lucky enough to: see waterfalls cascading off Ayers Rock, dived with turtles on the Great Barrier Reef, mingled with other backpackers in Bangkok, relax on the beaches of Phuket, risk life and limb on the streets ... Well, our 6 months of travels are officially over. Soon it will be back to job-hunting, finding a new place to live and a return to the normality of a five day working week. However, in the past 6 months Heather and I have been lucky enough to:

see waterfalls cascading off Ayers Rock, dived with turtles on the Great Barrier Reef, mingled with other backpackers in Bangkok, relax on the beaches of Phuket, risk life and limb on the streets of Saigon, drink snake wine on the Mekong, experience May Day in Shanghai, cruise along the Yangtze as the world sailed by, gaze at the beauty of Rome, wander the streets of ancient Pompeii, meet up with good friends in Slovenia, see the Communist relic of Petrajelka juxtaposed with the beauty of Bratislava, be enchanted by the beauty of Prague, been welcomed by the city of Cologne during the World Cup, spend a fortune in Paris (and nothing to show for it), enjoy the Roskilde Rock Festival, sauna naked at 3am in Finland, pub crawl around Turku, find an English pub in Sweden(!), cruise the fjords of Norway and drink cold beer in the warm Arctic Circle.

We have seen a lot, we have lived a lot and we have loved a lot. We have also spent a lot, but life is there to be lived, isn’t it?

The end of the holidays (for now) remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> You cannot be serious! tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=12&entryid=75246 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z During our stay in Fjærland, I got it into my head that we needed to visit the Arctic Circle. After a fair amount of research, we figured out a route that would get us there (taking about a day and a half) by a combination of bus and train. We looked in to the idea of flying, but unfortunately the cost was too prohibitive – a great pity because the last part of the flight would have been in a ... During our stay in Fjærland, I got it into my head that we needed to visit the Arctic Circle. After a fair amount of research, we figured out a route that would get us there (taking about a day and a half) by a combination of bus and train. We looked in to the idea of flying, but unfortunately the cost was too prohibitive – a great pity because the last part of the flight would have been in a small plane flying at low altitude (also known as a bug blaster).

We caught the bus from Fjærland to Otta (taking around 5 hours) and then a train to Trondheim, before catching an overnight sleeper train to Bødo, one of the main towns in Norway’s part of the Arctic Circle.

On arrival at Bødo, we wandered around checking out the fishing village, the beach and other local facilities (including posting our last set of postcards). However, we still had a few hours to kill before we caught a ferry to the Lofoten Islands, which were our ultimate destination. As such, we decided that an ice cold beer (or a few) was in order. Now, one would normally think that drinking cold beer in a cold environment would not be a good idea (lowering body temperature and all that) and vodka or something similar would be better. However, the temperature must have been around 30 degrees C or so, which wasn’t helped by both of us dressing for arctic weather (heavy trousers & jackets, etc). As such, several beers were more than truly welcome (even at Norway prices, which aren’t quite as bad as Paris but close).
Eventually our ferry turned up and we stumbled on board for the trip to Svolvær, slightly the worse for wear.

On arrival, it was around 9pm so we quickly checked into our cabin (oops, a 6 person rather than 2 person) and wandered into to the centre of town for dinner. Throughout our stay thus far in Norway, we had not really eaten any local cuisine so we decided that we better remedy it; Norway however has whale meat as one of its delicacies. I am quite happy to eat just about anything served up in front of me and will always try new things, however I draw the line at creatures more intelligent than the average human (although given the intelligence of some people, an amoeba could outsmart them) – I was not going to eat whale (by all accounts, it’s a bit like salty beef). Heather plumped for a veal rack (baby cows are so much easier to eat) and I went for duck (Hah! Not even mammalian!). They were both served in Norwegian sauces; we could at least say that we tried.

The following day, we wandered around the beach and the town centre, where the main port is. Another Norwegian delicacy is freeze dried fish, which is made outside during the winter months on wooden A-frames. We saw a number of these, but due to the lack of snow, no freeze drying fish. Also in Svolvær, they have a permanent ice & light show gallery, which we decided to check out. I am sure that the artist tried his best, and he no doubt did a better job than I could have done, but I think his report card at Art School probably said “Could try harder”. Still, it was the only damn way we were going to get cold in the Arctic Circle… Bloody global warming.

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]]> Fjærland tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=13&entryid=75247 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After Oslo, we boarded yet another train and headed north. The first stop was the town of Flåm, on the coast of Songefjord fjord (sort of an appropriate name really). On arrival there, we spent a few hours lazing in the sun admiring the beautiful scenery that one expects amongst the fjords. Eventually, our ferry turned up and we crossed the fjord to Ballestrand, a small village where my father and his partner met us, for the drive to their ... After Oslo, we boarded yet another train and headed north. The first stop was the town of Flåm, on the coast of Songefjord fjord (sort of an appropriate name really). On arrival there, we spent a few hours lazing in the sun admiring the beautiful scenery that one expects amongst the fjords. Eventually, our ferry turned up and we crossed the fjord to Ballestrand, a small village where my father and his partner met us, for the drive to their home village of Fjærland.

Fjærland is a tiny village, consisting of no more than about 300 residents and sits at the end of the fjord of the same name. It was to be our temporary home for a couple of weeks (with a slight break in the middle for a trip to the Arctic Circle), and is a beautifully, relaxing location to hang out in. One of the main features of Fjærland is that there are a couple of glaciers located at the top of the mountains surrounding it, which many people visiting the area go climb up. For the more sloth-full, there is also the Glacier Museum that is essentially a cut-down version of the Science Museum, covering glaciers only. The highlight of the museum when we were there was the wide-angle cinema display (about 140 degrees all around) that runs a 15 minute movie flying over the glaciers.

Other activities that we engaged in were cycling (albeit not very far), berry-picking (Fjærland is teeming with wild raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc) and going on hikes around the surrounding valleys (to the extent that our bodies or more really our laziness would allow us). Our other major activity was to go fishing on the fjord itself. The water was freezing cold (although a beautiful green/blue colour) and the day we went promised rain, however Heather and I borrowed the small boat from my dad and his partner and putt-putted across the 1km or so wide gap. On my second cast, I land a herring that I duly let go (it was too small to keep I thought, although for a herring it was actually quite big). However later, Heather landed a reasonable sized cod and I landed one of similar size followed by a huge one (ok, it was about 12 inches or 30cm long). These we did keep, and they tasted very nice when cooked that night.

Tomorrow is our last day in Fjærland as we catch a ferry to Bergen at around 2pm. Before that, we may try getting to one of the glaciers and touching it just to say we have done…

Fjærland remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Where was A-Ha??? tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=14&entryid=75248 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After our couple of weeks in Sweden, we caught a day-train from Jönkoping to Oslo, arriving at around 7 in the evening (another day of travelling!). We checked in to our hostel, and wandered off to eat a traditional Norwegian meal of pizza. The following day, Heather’s mum was off on her own tour of the Norwegian fjords, however Heather and I decided to spend a bit longer in Oslo to check it out. After all, one night was not really ... After our couple of weeks in Sweden, we caught a day-train from Jönkoping to Oslo, arriving at around 7 in the evening (another day of travelling!). We checked in to our hostel, and wandered off to eat a traditional Norwegian meal of pizza.

The following day, Heather’s mum was off on her own tour of the Norwegian fjords, however Heather and I decided to spend a bit longer in Oslo to check it out. After all, one night was not really enough.

The first place we visited was Oslo castle, which is actively used by departments of the Norwegian defence service. For example, there is the defence logistics service located in a very grand building. Also within the castle grounds, there are a number of museums – one of which is the Resistance Museum that I was particularly keen to visit. At the start of World War 2, Norway (like Sweden) declared its neutrality, however Nazi Germany needed a direct outlet to the North Sea to harass the Royal Navy. As such, Norway’s declaration fell on deaf ears and in a rapid assault by mainly airborne forces, Norway was invaded, surrendering only after France had fallen. The Norwegian Royal Family went in to exile in the United Kingdom (just escaping in time from the SS units that were in pursuit) and the Nazis installed a puppet government to oversee the running of the country.

From the outset, Norwegians in all walks of life resisted the occupying forces by various means. In addition to the attention-getting sabotage, more passive means were also used. For example, the teachers’ union boycotted all lessons when they were told that they had to use German as the primary language, causing mass arrests, deportations, etc. I think the modern British teacher barely has the spine to stand up in a force 3 gale, let alone stand up to a Nazi regime! The museum covers all this in great detail, and (for a pleasant change) actually acknowledged that Britain stood alone for 2-3 years against the Nazi war machine. It was quite surprising to hear an American tourist (on reading the text of one Churchill’s speeches) say "Thank God for Winston Churchill".

The rest of our time in Norway, was spent visiting the Royal Palace, the beach and wandering through the old town. A very pleasant start to Norway.

Where was A-Ha??? remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Jönkoping tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=15&entryid=75249 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z Our final week in Sweden was spent at a campsite in the town of Jönkoping. Although a reasonable-sized town, it does not normally attract much in the way of overseas tourism and as such doesn't even rate a mention in the Lonely Planet Scandinavia guide. As such, I will try to write this in the style of a Lonely Planet entry. About Jönkoping Jönkoping is a small town located almost equidistant from Stockholm and Gothenburg. Its main feature is the large lake, ... Our final week in Sweden was spent at a campsite in the town of Jönkoping. Although a reasonable-sized town, it does not normally attract much in the way of overseas tourism and as such doesn't even rate a mention in the Lonely Planet Scandinavia guide. As such, I will try to write this in the style of a Lonely Planet entry.

About Jönkoping
Jönkoping is a small town located almost equidistant from Stockholm and Gothenburg. Its main feature is the large lake, giving it an almost coastal feel. At the centre of the lake, there is a small island with a castle located on it.

Getting there and away
Jönkoping is served by a railway line, with trains running from both Stockholm and Gothenburg. Buses are the primary means of transportation around town, although a limited taxi service is available.

Where to stay
Hotels abound in Jönkoping as it is a mecca for business conferences. Camping is also available with pitches for caravans and tents, and log cabins for those that need something more substantial over their heads (no guesses needed as to what we stayed in).

Where to eat & drink
For those on a budget or camping, there are a number of supermarkets where produce can be brought. Additionally, the campsite also has a store that can be for the emergency stocking up of provisions (e.g. when the beer supply runs dry).
For those not interested in hard labour, there are a number of eating options available. Particularly recommended, is the English theme pub where a selection of quality beers and “English pub grub” can be bought. It should be noted that opening time is 16:30 and desperate Englishmen with a wild look in their eyes have been known to hang around by the door until it opens, muttering “I need an Old Speckled Hen”.

What to do
Walking around the lake could be considered an activity, but you would want to set aside at least a day to do it (it's a big lake). Other activities include a Troll museum, the world's only safety match museum (a riveting display no doubt) and swimming in the lake.
Due to the long hours of daylight, plenty of reading matter is recommended and a personal stereo if you want to filter out unwelcome noise. TV stations tend to transmit in English with Swedish subtitles; unfortunately they also tend to transmit drivel like Dirty Dancing and When Harry Met Sally. Obviously the stereotype about the Swedes isn't true…

Jönkoping remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Örebro tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=16&entryid=75250 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After arriving by train Örebro, we checked in to our new hostel. It appeared that it was miles from the centre of town on the map, so we ordered a taxi but it only took about 5 minutes. Hmmm, next time we will look at the scale. For our first full day in Örebro, we decided to do a walking tour of the town. The Lonely Planet has about a 3 line entry for the town, so it was left to ... After arriving by train Örebro, we checked in to our new hostel. It appeared that it was miles from the centre of town on the map, so we ordered a taxi but it only took about 5 minutes. Hmmm, next time we will look at the scale.

For our first full day in Örebro, we decided to do a walking tour of the town. The Lonely Planet has about a 3 line entry for the town, so it was left to us to figure out what to do. First stop was the castle and a quick walk through that. Unfortunately, we arrived just after the English language tour had finished so we had to guide ourselves. By all accounts, the tour includes a number of actors re-enacting pivotal moments in Öorebro history, scenes of torture, etc. Could have been fun to watch.

We then explored the old town of Wadköping. Whenever a city is being "modernised", the existing buildings are demolished - usually while the town planner has a manical gleam in his eye which would put the average psychotic to shame. However, Örebro decided to uproot the old buildings and move them to an area just outside the main city and opened it up as a museum. It is something that a lot more towns should consider to preserve their heritage. Cement monoliths may be efficient but they are ugly.

While on our walking tour, we managed to find an English theme pub where I was able to work my way through their English beer collection (and we were meant to be drying out in Scandanavia).

Örebro remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Stockholm tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=17&entryid=75251 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After our short time in Turku, we said goodbye to our friend Dan and boarded the ferry back to Stockholm. Unlike the outgoing leg, this boat was not quite so comfy (air conditioning on overdrive didn't help) and even worse than that, it was full of Moomins! Apparently, they are still big in Finland, to the extent there is even a Moominworld. After 11 long and painful hours, we arrived in Stockholm and went straight to our hostel where we ... After our short time in Turku, we said goodbye to our friend Dan and boarded the ferry back to Stockholm. Unlike the outgoing leg, this boat was not quite so comfy (air conditioning on overdrive didn't help) and even worse than that, it was full of Moomins! Apparently, they are still big in Finland, to the extent there is even a Moominworld. After 11 long and painful hours, we arrived in Stockholm and went straight to our hostel where we crashed for the night.

The following day, we headed to Stockholm airport to meet Heather's mother as she was joining us for our time in Sweden before heading to the centre of the Old Town. This is the most picturesque part of Stockholm and has many side streets, some no more than 1 metre wide. I managed to pick up a decent newspaper as well, so I could catch up with whats happening around the world.

By the next day, we decided that Stockholm (although pretty) didn't have a lot to offer so we spent a day relaxing in the park and planned our next leg. After some head scratching, we decided the following day we were off to Örebro

Stockholm remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> I tried, but 150 was too many... tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=18&entryid=75253 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After Helsinki, we caught the train back to Turku and checked ourselves into a hostel (that's enough camping for now). Turku is the former capital of Finland, and is seeking to be the European City of Culture in 2011. All this was wasted on 2 Australians and an Englishman though, as we had a much better plan. One of the highlights of Turku is that along its river there are a number of boats moored up, which are licensed for sale ... After Helsinki, we caught the train back to Turku and checked ourselves into a hostel (that's enough camping for now). Turku is the former capital of Finland, and is seeking to be the European City of Culture in 2011. All this was wasted on 2 Australians and an Englishman though, as we had a much better plan.

One of the highlights of Turku is that along its river there are a number of boats moored up, which are licensed for sale of alcohol. The 3 of us decided that a pub crawl was therefore in order, working our way through as many of them as possible.

At around midnight, we decided that there was one more place we need to go: a bar that promised 150 different brands of beer. We headed there and read through a beer list that would put most wine lists in 4 star restaurants to shame. I managed a couple that were both English: Spitfire (an old favourite) and another one whose name escapes me (maybe I had too many). Very nice, all up.

Our last day in Turku was spent lying in bed trying to get rid of the drilling noise we could hear. Off to Sweden tomorrow...

I tried, but 150 was too many... remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Helsinki tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=19&entryid=75255 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After attending Jon & Sini's wedding (thanks guys!), we returned the car to Turku (sniff, sniff - I was liking it) and caught a train to Helsinki. We spent a short time with Sarah, Dan & Tommy - wishing bon voyage to Sarah and Tom as they were returning to Australia. The rest of the time in Helsinki was spent doing the rapid itinerary sight-seeing that we have perfected over the last few months so that we could take advantage of ... After attending Jon & Sini's wedding (thanks guys!), we returned the car to Turku (sniff, sniff - I was liking it) and caught a train to Helsinki.

We spent a short time with Sarah, Dan & Tommy - wishing bon voyage to Sarah and Tom as they were returning to Australia. The rest of the time in Helsinki was spent doing the rapid itinerary sight-seeing that we have perfected over the last few months so that we could take advantage of the beaches and the sun.

The main highlight with Helsinki was that it was the first use of the tent we had bought for Roskilde (our friends lent us their's when we there). Unfortunately, we were pretty hopeless without instructions and it took us two attempts to get it up (where have I heard that before?) and when it was up it seemed to shake a bit. Camping in Finland is a treat, the campsites are well equipped and the one we were staying at had a river alongside it where we could sunbake. One pain in the bum is the fact that the sun sets at around 1:30am and rises at 3:30am, at which point the birds think it is very entertaining to serenade the campers. Heather slept with ear plugs in and I buried my head under a towel.

Still good fun though.

Helsinki remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Congrats Jon and Sini tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=20&entryid=75256 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z On arrival in the port of Turku, we picked up our hire car from the rental agency. I had booked a VW Polo or similar as it was the cheapest option, but they gave us a free upgrade to an Audi A3. Nice one! Then it was off for a 300km drive to a tiny town called Siipy in the north of Finland, where our friends were getting married. We eventually arrived at midnight (we had set off at 9pm), however ... On arrival in the port of Turku, we picked up our hire car from the rental agency. I had booked a VW Polo or similar as it was the cheapest option, but they gave us a free upgrade to an Audi A3. Nice one! Then it was off for a 300km drive to a tiny town called Siipy in the north of Finland, where our friends were getting married.

We eventually arrived at midnight (we had set off at 9pm), however as Finland is so far north, it was still broad daylight making us finding our cottage supposedly easier. In reality of course, we had problems and we had to give the bride-to-be a call and ask her where we were. After a number of phone calls, and disturbing a jet-lagged friend who had just flown in from Australia, we found our cottage and slept. And slept. And slept some more.

When we eventually woke up, we decided to head to the sauna with our friends Sarah, Dan and Tommy. The baking heat was interuppted only when we threw ourselves off a pier into the freezing lake - much to the amusement of the spectators we did not know we had. If I had known, I may have worn a cozzie!

The wedding itself was really nice, held in a Finnish church and conducted in two languages for the benefit of those of us whose Finnish is up there with their Swahili. The bride looked stunning and the groom looked appropriately nervous.

The post-ceremony celebrations started with a traditional wedding breakfast, and then the just as traditional revelerie. However, it is a Finnish custom to have a few games to get people in the party mood before hand and also for a couple of men to kidnap the bride. Once these festivities were over, it was down to the serious business of partying...

Music was provided by a live band, who did covers of some popular tunes plus a few of their own (this band has had a couple of gold albums in Finland). However, to keep the party going, plenty of drink was available - one was a lethal punch created by Jon (the groom). My first thoughts were that it was watery, one bite into a piece of apple convinced me otherwise. This was supplemented with a homemade beer called Sahti. This beer was as thick as syrup and was pretty potent.

I think there were many sore heads the morning after...

Congrats Jon and Sini remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Sacre nomme de plume!! tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=22&entryid=75260 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z Just a quick posting to vent: we have just suffered the misery that is Charles De Gaulle Airport. I have been through some dodgy airports (the one in Lanzarote springs to mind) but seriously this CDG is the worst by miles, or more accurately lightyears. On arrival at the airport station, you are presented with 3 choices of terminal to go to but no information as to which airlines fly from each terminal. Not a problem except each terminal is a ... Just a quick posting to vent: we have just suffered the misery that is Charles De Gaulle Airport. I have been through some dodgy airports (the one in Lanzarote springs to mind) but seriously this CDG is the worst by miles, or more accurately lightyears.

On arrival at the airport station, you are presented with 3 choices of terminal to go to but no information as to which airlines fly from each terminal. Not a problem except each terminal is a couple of miles from the station and you have to catch a shuttle bus to each one, except terminal 3. We took a random guess of it being terminal 1, but it turned out to be terminal 3- naturally. We caught the shuttle bus back there and then had about a 1km walk to get to the actual terminal itself. During this walk, I suggested to Heather that the airport has to stop the traffic when a plane takes off because it looks as if they share the same road.

On arrival, we had a queue of hundreds in front of us and the check in staff quite frankly were not only slow but at random intervals wandered off for no apparent reason. When we eventually got to check in, the check in clerk said "your boarding time is now" - and we still had the joys of passport control to get through. However, that was not a problem as there were still people stuck behind us, so they had to delay the flight to get them all processed.

On getting through passport control, we were keen to get something to eat & drink because we had left the hotel at 6am. €19 Euro later, we were the proud owners of a sandwich and a coke each. I was tempted to get them preserved in isopon rather than consume them at the price we paid.

In short Charles De Gaulle airport is terrible and I will never whinge about Heathrow terminal 4 again.

Sacre nomme de plume!! remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Roskilde Rock Festival tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=21&entryid=75259 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z Well, we have just finished a week in Denmark, where most of it was spent at the Roskilde Rock Festival. The fesitval had about 160 bands playing (not all at once) including some famous old ones (Guns & Roses), famous current ones (Franz Ferdinand, the Streets) and some not quite so well known outside Scandanavia (Kashmir). One of the highlights for me were the Bellowheads, which are a group playing English folk music updated to a more modern style - lots ... Well, we have just finished a week in Denmark, where most of it was spent at the Roskilde Rock Festival.

The fesitval had about 160 bands playing (not all at once) including some famous old ones (Guns & Roses), famous current ones (Franz Ferdinand, the Streets) and some not quite so well known outside Scandanavia (Kashmir). One of the highlights for me were the Bellowheads, which are a group playing English folk music updated to a more modern style - lots of crazy dancing for that.

The other was a band known as Kaizers Orchestra, who are a Norwegian band that cross modern rock with that staple of Northern Europe: oompa music. If that is not surreal enough, half the percussion is made up of steel oil drums being belted repeated by steel crowbars - and these guys are wearing gas masks. It was all very surreal, and only attracted a crowd of around 80,000. Again more silly dancing for that, was the order of the day.

After Roskilde, we spent a couple more days just hanging out in Denmark, catching up with good friends. Then it was on to a train, then ferry through to Finland...

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]]> Ils pense que c'est tout finis, il es maintenant! tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=23&entryid=75263 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After our all too brief stay in Germany, we caught an express through to Paris. Although this was not originally in our plans, a good friend of ours had a business trip there and it seemed like a good chance to get to catch up and watch a couple of world cup matches. At this point, let me be frank: France is the capital of love and a cultural & fashion centre etc, however Heather and I had both been there ... After our all too brief stay in Germany, we caught an express through to Paris. Although this was not originally in our plans, a good friend of ours had a business trip there and it seemed like a good chance to get to catch up and watch a couple of world cup matches.

At this point, let me be frank: France is the capital of love and a cultural & fashion centre etc, however Heather and I had both been there before and really there are only so many times you can look at the Eiffel Tower before you long for fish & chips, sticks of rock and seagulls flying overhead. As such, when we were not in the pub watching football matches, we were catching up on sleep or in transit to the pub. As such, our activities in Paris were a bit limited - even more so once we realised that a beer weighed in at €7.50 per pint. It was a bit of a shock after the cheap beer in Bratislava, Prague and Cologne.

One of the most important games that we saw while in Paris was the final group game for Australia. I had two very happy Australians with me after that match, however it was nothing compared to the French game played after that. Once France won the game, the Parisiens went nuts - more than nuts, stark raving bonkers as if they had won the World Cup. After the match, the Champs Elysee was chock-a-block with cars blaring their horns, people leaning out the car windows and everyone hugging each other. If they win the damn thing, it's going end up in a mass orgy - or maybe a riot, as that's what the French are more famous for :)

Ils pense que c'est tout finis, il es maintenant! remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Ciawooo Prague! tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=25&entryid=75266 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After Slovakia, we got back aboard another train and headed to the UNESCO-listed city of Prague. On arrival, our first task after checking in was to find a suitable tavern to watch the next couple of days of football matches, including two particularly important games: England vs Trinidad and Australia vs Brazil. The one we eventually decided on was an Irish bar that had sattelite feeds from the UK, so we were able to get ITV or BBC coverage for the ... After Slovakia, we got back aboard another train and headed to the UNESCO-listed city of Prague.

On arrival, our first task after checking in was to find a suitable tavern to watch the next couple of days of football matches, including two particularly important games: England vs Trinidad and Australia vs Brazil. The one we eventually decided on was an Irish bar that had sattelite feeds from the UK, so we were able to get ITV or BBC coverage for the games. A good result!

When not giving our livers a pounding, we spent our time wandering a round the old town centre of Prague. The variety of architectures that abound in Prague, and the fact that it has managed to avoid being flattened during one of the many wars that have taken place on the European mainland. As such, it is a very beautiful city where even an ´ordinary´street will contain many pieces of beautiful architecture.

The two of the most noteworthy aspects of the city are the Gothic castle on one side of the river, overlooking the main town on the other side. The other noteworthy building is the old cathedral, the best way I can think of describing it is Sleeping Beauty´s castle, as seen on the Disney cartoon.

After too short a time, our time in Prague had to end as we had an overnight trip to Cologne for the final England group game.

Ciawooo Prague! remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Don't mention the War!!! tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=24&entryid=75265 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z We boarded our overnight train in Prague; fortunately we had a sleeper to ourselves so were able to relax a little. By 10pm however, we were both pretty tired having watched the Australia vs Brazil game earlier that evening. We turned the light off and looked forward to a good night´s sleep. At around 2am, we were woken by the noise of our door being repeatedly bashed in and a harsh voice telling us to open up. It was the bundescoppers, ... We boarded our overnight train in Prague; fortunately we had a sleeper to ourselves so were able to relax a little. By 10pm however, we were both pretty tired having watched the Australia vs Brazil game earlier that evening. We turned the light off and looked forward to a good night´s sleep.

At around 2am, we were woken by the noise of our door being repeatedly bashed in and a harsh voice telling us to open up. It was the bundescoppers, and they were probably hoping for a couple of untermensch that they could play with. However, like good herrenvolk we handed over our passports, and seeing that we were both English, left us alone. It was at this point that I noticed the difference in the styles of border police: most glance at my passport photo and wave me through. This bundescopper examined my picture carefully and then looked at me. Unlike in Thailand, he didn´t laugh and seemed to be itching to arrest me. I think if I had not had Heather there, I would have been doing my own remake of Midnight Express.

Eventually we arrived in the town we were staying in (Aachen) and checked into our hotel. It was the day before the England game, so we took the opportunity to explore the town. It´s a pretty small one that was the regional capital under Charlemagne and seems to have an interesting attraction towards horses. Everywhere you look, there are statues of horses.

On the 20th, we headed in to Cologne proper for the game. On arrival at the station, it was a sea of people bedecked in national colours, whether Germany, England, Sweden or whomever. Fortunately, not a single person was in the mood to cause trouble and good natured bantering was the order of the day. We had planned on visiting the stadium before kick off but decided that it was more important to find a decent spot to watch the game. This is where German efficiency really kicked in...

After so many tournaments with fans turning up without tickets and hanging out in pubs before getting in to fights, the German authorities created outdoor stadiums with huge (6 metre or so) TV screens showing the games. Within these stadiums, they provide eating, drinking and toilet facilities and have a DJ playing music and keeping the crowd entertained. That way, fans do not need to get in to cramped pubs, get in each others way or cause trouble. The stadium we were in was along the Rhine and was packed with 35,000 fans - both Swedish and English, plus a few others thrown in for entertainment. The atmosphere was really good and it was nice to see England top their group. What was not so nice was that it was not a win, and Michael Owen´s injury has forced Crouch in to a first team position. England´s chances of winning the World Cup have just evaporated. :(

Don't mention the War!!! remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Slovakia tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=27&entryid=75268 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After Slovenia, we stopped off in Bratislava in Slovakia for a couple of days. We caught the train from Slovenia to Vienna, and then from Vienna to Bratislava, taking about 6 hours all up and arriving on Sunday afternoon. First impressions were not favourable, we were in this dump of a city with no local currency, no where to change any of the Euros we had and our bank account would not let us draw out any money. Never mind, it ... After Slovenia, we stopped off in Bratislava in Slovakia for a couple of days. We caught the train from Slovenia to Vienna, and then from Vienna to Bratislava, taking about 6 hours all up and arriving on Sunday afternoon.

First impressions were not favourable, we were in this dump of a city with no local currency, no where to change any of the Euros we had and our bank account would not let us draw out any money. Never mind, it was only a ten minute walk to the place we were staying, our so we thought. Unbeknownst to us, there are 2 stations at Bratislava and we had exited at the border stop of Petrajelka, miles away from the main station where we were meant to get off. After yomping around for 20 minutes, we decided enough was enough and flagged a cab down and convinced him to take payment in Euros.

We arrived at our apartment, having a brief conversation with the person that was going to let us in via the taxi driver as their English was better than our Slovakian, but not enough for us to explain where we were. Our apartment was in the old part of Bratislava, which is a beautiful city in central European style and much better than the rows upon rows of ugly housing estates that were constructed during the Communist era. Things were looking up, already...

Our second day was spent waiting for Australia to play their first World Cup match in 34 years, with Heather getting more and more anxious as kick off approached. When the final whistle blew, I had an elated Heather to deal with and we celebrated with a little bit more beer (at $1.50 Australian for half a litre, you can imagine how much more was consumed :).

Our third and last full day (today) was spent wandering around the old town, which is dominated by a Gothic castle, until a thunderstorm set in. It was pretty cool walking around a central European castle with thunder and lightning, pity it wasn't night and there were no werewolves out.

Tomorrow, it is back on a train for a trip to Prague and a couple more football matches.

Slovakia remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> One night in Milan tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=29&entryid=75271 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z We had a one day stop over in Milan, in order to see our good friend Audrey. Milan is an interesting city, and pretty expensive to boot. So expensive in fact, pubs in Milan provide free food when you buy a drink, in order to encourage people to drink in town. When I say free food, I do not mean peanuts or similar, I mean salads, chargrilled vegetables, pizza and pasta dishes. May be it's just me, but if they ... We had a one day stop over in Milan, in order to see our good friend Audrey. Milan is an interesting city, and pretty expensive to boot. So expensive in fact, pubs in Milan provide free food when you buy a drink, in order to encourage people to drink in town. When I say free food, I do not mean peanuts or similar, I mean salads, chargrilled vegetables, pizza and pasta dishes. May be it's just me, but if they lowered their drink prices, they may not have to spend so much on food... I am always up for a free feed though :)

It was good to catch up with Auds again. Will have to do Milan again when not a budget though (maybe if Farnborough Town get in to the Champions League against AC Milan?)

One night in Milan remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Slovenia tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-10:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=28&entryid=75270 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After Italy, we headed (by train) in to Slovenia, where Heather had worked for a year when she left University. We were greeted at Ljubljiana station by Heather's friends Darinka & Natasha, along with Natasha's husband Jernejy (I hope I spelled that correctly!); we would be staying with Natasha & Jernejy for the first few days, before staying with Darinka in her apartment. The following day, we drove (or were driven really) to the town of Bled which is north of ... After Italy, we headed (by train) in to Slovenia, where Heather had worked for a year when she left University. We were greeted at Ljubljiana station by Heather's friends Darinka & Natasha, along with Natasha's husband Jernejy (I hope I spelled that correctly!); we would be staying with Natasha & Jernejy for the first few days, before staying with Darinka in her apartment.

The following day, we drove (or were driven really) to the town of Bled which is north of Ljubljiana, and is dominated by an imposing castle overlooking a lake. Unfortunately the weather was not the greatest, and it seemed whenever we stepped out of the car, it started to rain. However, we did get a good chance to explore the castle, as well as visiting some nearby waterfalls.

The second day (being a Sunday) was very quiet in Ljubljiana (the town has a population of about 250,000), so we decided to do a day trip to the western part of Slovenia. Our first stop was at a lake where the water was a shade of blue that can only be described as copper sulphate; it was truly stunning to see. After this, we visited the castle where Natasha and Jernejy were married and a village built into a castle on a hill (sorry, I can't remember the name of the places).

The next couple of days, Heather and I did our own things as Natasha and Jernej were at work. The highlight was wandering around the old town Ljubljiana and climbing the hill where the castle sits. One thing I should mention about Ljubljiana is that it is a city virtually in the shadow of the Alps, so it seems that no matter where you turn, there is a beautiful view in the background. Slovenians are very lucky to have such beautiful views.

Later in the week, we moved in to Darinka's apartment and spent a few days with her. During this time, we headed to the coast (Slovenia has about 33km of coastline, so there's not much!) and spent a day wandering around in the sun. There were some very spectacular views, including seeing Venice in the distance! We also spent a day shopping for camping equipment as we will need them for our stay at Roskilde Festival. Unfortunately, I am now carrying an extra 10kgs in weight (and it's not from the cheap beer!!)

Slovenia remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> The Cinque Terre tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-12:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=30&entryid=75501 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After Pisa, we boarded another train (there's going to be a lot of train travel during this holiday) and headed to the Cinque Terre (or Chinky Terry as I christened it, to Heather's disgust). These consist of 5 villages built along the Tuscan coastline that have been UNESCO listed as they use agricultural methods that were being lost over time; getting the UNESCO status gave them the motivation to keep them. The apartment that we stayed in was located in the ... After Pisa, we boarded another train (there's going to be a lot of train travel during this holiday) and headed to the Cinque Terre (or Chinky Terry as I christened it, to Heather's disgust). These consist of 5 villages built along the Tuscan coastline that have been UNESCO listed as they use agricultural methods that were being lost over time; getting the UNESCO status gave them the motivation to keep them.

The apartment that we stayed in was located in the Riomaggiore and had splendid views over the natural harbour. Being in an apartment, it gave us the opportunity to cook our own meals at night rather than going out to restaurants - although we only did that the one night out of 4.

On our first full day, we did the 8km coastline walk stopping off at the odd cafe to add to increase our caffeine/blood ratios. Fortunately the weather was nice and sunny, so we were able to get ourselves a decent tan in the process.

It was while in the CT, that England played a football friendly against Hungary. Fortunately our apartment had a tv with access to Eurosport, so come kick off we were esconced on the bed with a beer or two for the game to kick off.

The Cinque Terre remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Some tourists tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-12:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=31&entryid=75502 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z We only had the one full day in Pisa, so we naturally spent it looking at the sights of the city. We headed straight to the Piazza Miracali where the famous leaning tower is located, although much like everything else in Italy, it is not the only thing in the piazza and there are generally more impressive (and less well known) buildings, statues, etc. In common with the leaning tower, the 2 other buildings in the piazza are also leaning ... We only had the one full day in Pisa, so we naturally spent it looking at the sights of the city. We headed straight to the Piazza Miracali where the famous leaning tower is located, although much like everything else in Italy, it is not the only thing in the piazza and there are generally more impressive (and less well known) buildings, statues, etc. In common with the leaning tower, the 2 other buildings in the piazza are also leaning although not by as much. I guess this was the architect's only commissioned work, for fear that he would end up levelling the whole Italy. One thing we noticed was that a lot of tourists in an effort to be humourous or original, take pictures of themselves either holding the tower up or pushing the tower down. We didn't however.

The rest of Pisa is pretty much like any other Italian city, with a river running through it. We also realised that a day in Pisa was long enough, especially after visiting so many Italian cities.

Some tourists remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Siena, and on to Pisa tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-12:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=32&entryid=75503 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z Following Florence, it was back aboard another train and off to the small town of Siena. We had intended to stay in Siena, but there was no room in the inn (or hostels). As such, we only spent a day there - leaving our backpacks in a left luggage store (we weren't going to lug them around the town). Siena is generally off the tourist route as it is a small town, with not an awful lot there. It has ... Following Florence, it was back aboard another train and off to the small town of Siena. We had intended to stay in Siena, but there was no room in the inn (or hostels). As such, we only spent a day there - leaving our backpacks in a left luggage store (we weren't going to lug them around the town).

Siena is generally off the tourist route as it is a small town, with not an awful lot there. It has an abundance of medieval buildings with the cathedral in the centre. This cathedral houses the head of St Catherine, preserved in a glass jar for all and sundry to look at. I'm not entirely she would be happy with that state of affairs, it certainly felt a bit macabre to be looking at it.

After Siena, it was off to Pisa and to check into the campsite we were staying.

Siena, and on to Pisa remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> It wasn't the real one, but it was close enough tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-12:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=33&entryid=75504 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z Following our five days or so in Napoli, we got back aboard a train and headed to Firenze, commonly known as Florence. The ride itself was pretty much like the last in that the compartment that we were in was filled to capacity and a few down the corridor, it was empty. Our carriage was pretty cosmopolitan in that the occupants were Alaskan, Argentian, Italian, Australian (Heather) and English (me). We tried having a conversation which quickly degenerated to sign ... Following our five days or so in Napoli, we got back aboard a train and headed to Firenze, commonly known as Florence. The ride itself was pretty much like the last in that the compartment that we were in was filled to capacity and a few down the corridor, it was empty. Our carriage was pretty cosmopolitan in that the occupants were Alaskan, Argentian, Italian, Australian (Heather) and English (me). We tried having a conversation which quickly degenerated to sign language as there was no common language. Very surreal in all respects.

On arriving in Florence, we boarded a local train that took us to the small town where we had booked ourselves into a campsite and a shuttle bus would take us the remaining distance. The shuttle bus however never arrived, so after quick phone call to the campsite, they sent a taxi that they kindly covered the cost of. Then it was off to the (porta)cabin that we had hired. The campsite itself was very nice, having a number of restuarants, pools, etc. It is ideal for families visiting Italy, either by car & caravan or using the trains like ourselves.

The following day, we caught the shuttle bus back to the station to get the train to Florence. We had expected a minibus or something similar, but it actually turned out to be one of those tourist buses in the shape of trains. Climbing aboard that to be driven through the town doesn't do much for the street cred, let me tell you.

On arrival in Florence, our first target was the National Academy where the statue of David resides. One look at the queues disuaded us from that, it would have taken about 5 hours to get in and we were only spending the one day in Florence. We did however have a back up plan: the statue of David originally resided in a piazza along with a number of other works, however the town authorities decided the special attention they were getting from the pigeon population made it necessary to move them somewhere where they wouldn't be 'christened'. The originals were then replaced with reproductions so that the spirit of the square wasn't spoilt. Although it wasn't the original, it was probably more how Michelangelo had intended it to look.

When we returned to the campsite, we found that the German Woman's Harley Davidson group had moved in. Now, maybe it was just me but there seemed to be an awful lot of testosterone in the group (the handlebar moustaches gave it away). Actually, thinking about it: leather trousers, thick moustaches. It was a Village People revival!

The rest of the time was spent hanging around the campsite. Heather was ecstatic when we managed to find a replay of the Australia-Greece football match. I was ecstatic at the range of beers available.

It wasn't the real one, but it was close enough remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Well, there was no sign of Frankie Howerd... tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-12:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=34&entryid=75505 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z Following our all too brief stay in Rome, we caught a train to the Southern Italian city of Naples (Napoli to the Italians). For the train, ride we were in first class compartments (I had bought the Eurail pass before finishing work) and each compartment had took six occupants. A requirement of inter-city trains is that seats must be reserved, so it came as a bit of a suprise to us for our entire compartment to be fully occupied with ... Following our all too brief stay in Rome, we caught a train to the Southern Italian city of Naples (Napoli to the Italians). For the train, ride we were in first class compartments (I had bought the Eurail pass before finishing work) and each compartment had took six occupants. A requirement of inter-city trains is that seats must be reserved, so it came as a bit of a suprise to us for our entire compartment to be fully occupied with travellers with no room for luggage. Even more of a suprise, when 2 compartments along the rest of the 1st class was empty.

We eventually arrived at Napoli and headed to the hotel we were booked in to. It was on a tiny street, and overlooked an even tinier courtyard. After relaxing, we headed out to a pizzeria and had dinner (travelling seemed to have taken most of the day). End of day one.

Day two was spent wandering around the old town of Napoli, checking out the beach, a couple of churches and a couple of castles. Napoli has a totally different vibe to it than Rome, being much more laid back. One thing we did notice was that the people were just as friendly.

Day 3 should have been spent on an island such as Capris, however the night beforehand we had a few too much beer & wine and spent the morning recovering from hangovers. I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time but Italian wine does give pretty good hangovers.

Day 4 was the one I was most looking forward to. The original plan was to travel to Herculaneum, then Pompeii before finally climbing Vesuvious. A quick look at the map revealed that doing Pompeii first would be the best option, then Herculaneum and Vesuvious.

We caught the metro to Pompeii, bought the entry tickets (€18 for joint Pompeii and Herculaneum ones) and hired an audio guide. Walking in to Pompeii, was interesting as initially it looks quite small - however, like the Taris it seems to go on for miles. The map we got with the audio guide had buildings numbered starting at 1 up to about 50, so we started working through each. It was after about an hour, I glanced at the map and it said that the entire walk would take 6 hours to complete. After a quick chat, we decided to limit the number we would visit as we had to fit Herculaneum in. It was a pretty amazing place to visit and well worth your time, if you are in to Roman history.

Herculaneum is much smaller, and in places better preserved. The frescos and mosaics in particular were really beautiful to see. One thing I noticed that did disgust me was the amount of graffiti written by cretins scratching their names in to 2000 year old frescos; some of these had been done as recently as 1999. It astonishes me the behaviour of some people.

After Herculaneum, our feet were pretty tired so any ideas of climbing Vesuvious were cast aside. A beer or 3 would be much better...

Well, there was no sign of Frankie Howerd... remains copyright of the author jefranklin, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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]]> Ciao Roma tag:travellerspoint.com,2007-08-12:/blog/?domain=jamesheatherhols&thisblog_entryid=35&entryid=75507 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z 2007-08-30T07:30:42Z After Nanjing, we caught a train back to Shanghai and then it was straight on to a plane to Singapore, where we had a couple of hours to kill before we got our flight to Rome. We arrived at the hideously early time of 7am after having flown overnight - Heather had managed to sleep, but as we were flying Singapore Airlines there was just too many movies for me to watch so I didn't get that much kip. On arrival, ... After Nanjing, we caught a train back to Shanghai and then it was straight on to a plane to Singapore, where we had a couple of hours to kill before we got our flight to Rome. We arrived at the hideously early time of 7am after having flown overnight - Heather had managed to sleep, but as we were flying Singapore Airlines there was just too many movies for me to watch so I didn't get that much kip.

On arrival, we dumped our bags at the hotel we were staying in as our rooms weren't ready, and headed in to town. First stop was the Colluseum, as seen in the hammy movie Gladiator, and the nearby Forum. As a kid, I had read a lot about Roman history and it was a great experience to walk around the things that I had read about. While admiring the Colluseum, we also got to see the Aquaduct that used to transport water in to ancient Rome for the locals.

The following day, we went on a self-guided walking tour of Rome, looking at countless piazzas and Catholic churches. One such piazza housed the Fontana de Trebi (or something like that), where if you threw a coin over your shoulder into it, you would come back to Rome. Well, we had a couple of Yuan left from China, so they went over our shoulders. We will be coming back to Rome, except next time it will not be backpacking!

The last full day we had in Rome, we went to the Vatican. Neither Heather or I are particularly religious, but we considered it was something that needed to be visited. It was a vast sprawling complex, with a number of chapels inside it - we were fortunate to see a service being conducted in one, although not by the Pope (he didn't have lightning bolts coming from his fingers). One thing we noticed was that the statues of the earlier Popes had them in either very regal poses, or even more inappropriately, Christ-like poses. For instance, one statue had a Pope was carrying a large wooden cross. A bit of a God-complex going on there, I think. While in the Vatican, we also went to the Sistine Chapel where photography is prohibited. I saw someone else taking a photo, so decided that it wasn't enforced so pulled my camera out. Immediately, an official put his hand over my lens and told me to put it away. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valour, I turned it off. When he wasn't looking, I discretely took a picture of the Birth of Man (which actually isn't as big as I was lead to believe). I wasn't going to be beaten easily :)

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