This weekend we have Aaron and Francesca’s wedding. After 7 years they are tying the knot but as Fran isn’t Australian but Italian she would like to share with her family and friends in her home town of Mantova (Mantua) Italy. So we will depart for Italy via Melbourne and Doha before arriving in Milan.

Well the weekend is over and the wedding of our eldest is done. Aaron and Francesca (Fran) Westlake are officially heading off for their new family reception in Italy next Saturday. The weather held out and all went amazingly well. As mother of the groom I couldn’t be more proud and happy to have Fran join our family and Aaron’s vows had bit extra information than some expected as he announced he is going to be a father. Fran found out just 3 weeks before the wedding she was pregnant. Shocks and surprises all round so we are going from 1 grand daughter to 4 grandchildren over a 4 month period. Our identical twin girls will probably be born sometime in October then Fran and Aaron’s baby early April. What an exciting next 6 months we will have.

For now it’s holiday time for Bryan and I. Currently 11,000 metres high over Bali with just under 9 hours of our 14 1/2 hour flight to Doha. It’s now 0230am, I’ve watched 2 soppy moviesso far and wide awake while Bryan sleeps soundly beside me and not even snoring .... yet 🤪.

We only have a 2.5hr lay over in Doha before we go on the net leg which is 6+ hours into Milan. We aren’t stopping in Milan as we need to check into our hotel mid afternoon and only arrive at 1pm. This is much to Tamiekas disgust that it’s the city of fashion AND the fashion week is this week. Not being much of a fashionista I decided that was even more the reason to get out before we get trampled by all the anorexic models everywhere.

So our challenge today once we arrive will be to find a train or bus into Milan’s central train station then find the train to Verona. I hope there is some English signs around. Otherwise it could be more expense running around.

Exciting times to see how we go. Chat later when I see how’s get on.

Monday the 10th and arrived in Italy. Wow I can’t believe we are actually in Europe. We had 2 very good international flights with Doha. Boy do they keep feeding you. Both flights Melb to Doha and Doha to Milan both came in around 30+ minutes early. When in Australia do we ever get in early?

Anyway all good, thought this would give us breathing room to find our way to the city then out to Verona in plenty of time.

That wasn’t quite what happened. Of course ha ha! We found our way out to the immigration area only to wait not even in lines it was everyone pushing forward for 2 hours to get processed and find our cases. Then we found the city express bus easy and jumped on as it was leaving in 10 minutes. All good for the first 30 minutes then we just stopped. The traffic was 3 lanes wide and no one moving until an ambulance screamed past then police. After a while 2 tow trucks and another ambulance so by now we realised there had been an accident on the highway. We sat there for an hour before slowly moving through past a badly dented car on truck. On into the city for another 30 minutes. Stopped at the Milan central. Found out what train we needed but due to all our hold ups during the afternoon we now had only one train we could catch to Verona. And that wasn’t for another hour. Oops we certainly missed our check in time.

Finally arrived in Verona and taxi to our apartment for the next couple of days. I knew it was in the old quarter but wasn’t expecting so much of it. We dropped our cases off and went walking as we had been in transit 37 hrs. We wandered up and down some beautiful cobble stone narrow streets. So many food places that stay open until about 2am. I took many photos of the streets at night but I’m sure I will look at them differently tomorrow.

The first thing I had to eat in Italy was a coffee gelato and boy was that a lovely flavour. Found where we will go for dinner tomorrow night too down the road.

Did manage to catch one pic of the sun setting tonight in our first night here from the train as we ”flew” because they sure don’t go slow, across northern Italy. I was surprised as we flew in over the north how many long straight roads they have. I didn’t think about is being fairly flat around here. Saw many vineyards as we travelled across from Milan to Verona. There is so many apartment blocks everywhere from all eras. But the old mostly do love a balcony of all different styles. Tree lined streets also make for a beautiful old world charm.

Photos of the area as we strolled around this evening.

Tuesday and our only full day in Verona. When I go somewhere new I like to do a city tour to get my bearings so today we looked at the hop on - hop off buses. There are 2 lines the red and the blue line. Only small areas are the same as they cross paths. So first up this morning we wandered around the streets and found the Arena and where the buses starting point is. The area is wide open with cafes all just opening up around 10am. Only a few tourists around this time of day but as the day went on that changed enormously. We finished the first bus around town snapping away but as Bryan said to me “how many pics of every balcony or street can I have” 😂😂 it was a case of just looking and taking it all in and snapping at what stood out.

It was easy to see this is a very clean green city as they have small garbage skip bins out along the streets so everyone can put their rubbish in the right skip and it’s sorted. Cardboard & paper, glass & metal, plastic, organic. Solves garbage collection issues just need 4 trucks not our 2. But the streets are very clean unlike when we were driving through suburbs of Milan how dirty the streets were with rubbish right along the highways everywhere we went. And on the train I noticed too. Maybe the Verona we’ve covered is so touristy so it’s kept cleaner but it’s definitely a clean tidy city.

After our first bus tour we came back to the apartment for a rest and then headed off to locate Romeo and Juliet’s homes. As they represent families that lived in a certain time and the houses are that of their families that the Story as we know it was writing about. Romeo’s home where his family lived was many things over the centuries but has always had a larger house in the ground floor in part of it I read and today it still remains a pub. Photos will be added. It was tricky to find and had walked past it. But the Juliet home I had seen photos of that balcony and the windows and didn’t realise it was in an area we had past last night several times and today. Not very well sign posted if you can’t read italian. We looked through a gate way and people were writing all over the walls on both side of the opening. I didn’t know why they would be allowed to graffiti the walls like that then I looked past them and straight away in the court yard behind I saw it. From the movie Eat Pray Love. There was the wall everyone came to and pushed a letter or a note into the wall writing to Juliet. As I looked around the court yard where so many people were I looked up and there was the balcony I recognised and the windows. Also a section of wall where the locks are. It’s a “thing” to buy a lock they sell in packets with a marking pen, write your true loves names on the lock then attach it to this wall locked for ever. We had seen earlier walking down by the river a section on the river bank where it was full of locks too. Very romantic locals or tourists ha ha . We found 2 shops that sell all things Romeo and Juliet but the first shop I just thought how tacky it all was. In the second at her home I bought a glass case so I did my bit to keep the tail alive. The only thing we didn’t do is visit the cemetery where Juliet’s body is believed to be and the area where they died. As the book, play and movies are all written about supposed real life characters I’ve learnt that Shakespear was the first to write about them but there had been others including some Poets that had done so before he did the famous play.

After finding all this out we the. Went back to the bus stop to catch the second bus to do this longer wider tour which went over the river and up the hills over looking Verona. We hopped off here and had nibbles and drinks 🍷 then wandered taking pics of the views and the imposing church that was viewed from down in the city everywhere. When the tour finished and took us back to the starting point which is behind the Arena. We wanderedover to see if we could see inside if they do tours. We got in cheap today as half the arena can’t be accessed due to works in progress. And the centre area was being set up ready for a large performance. It wasn’t what I expected and in better preserved condition than the Colosseum in Greece is. It has been many things over the centuries but now back to the performing arts and only the top performers around the world are allowed to access this for their concerts. It was interesting.

By this time it was late afternoon, 30 deg and I was melting. We had walked well over the 10,000 steps today so when we arrived home I layed on the bed and promptly fell asleep. Woke at 7.30pm amd decided we better go find Bryan his Authentic Italian Lasagna. I had gluten free pizza. That was very different than expected. Bryans square of lasagna arrived on a plate by itself. No salad or vegetables just a small square of lasagna. Nice he says but not as flavoursome as he expected. And my pizza arrived on a large platewith cutlery. The pizza comes how it’s cooked not cut up in wedges. You actually eat it with a knife and fork cutting it your self. That was a surprise. The base was very nice and the ham and cheese lovely but again this was bland with no herbs or other flavours. In general our first meal out was nice just not what we had expected. It was lovely sitting outside eating in the cooler evening still around 27deg.

All up it has been a most enjoyable 2 nights, 1 day here and I loved it. Tomorrow we check out at 10 and Roberto, Frans dad and Aaron come and collect us to do some more looking around before we head south to Mantova.

Night from an exhausted Jo and Bryan.

Wednesday today and we checked out of our cute apartment ready for Roberto (Francesca’s father) to collect us at 10am. After meeting up we headed towards Lake Garda. The largest popular lake in northern Italy. We travelled through the agriculture region where wheat and corn grow. Also visiting popular towns on the way that are near the lake region. The village at the end of the narrow long land piece jutting out into the lake is gorgeous with a castle at the entrance to the village. We stopped for lunch after walking around the village with thousands of tourists. It’s a huge popular place to come to. And every second shop is an ice creamery. They call it Gelato but it’s just very creamy ice cream. And so many flavours it’s unbelievably overwhelming. To see what people were buying and trying to eat in 30deg heat was laughable.

After the village it was a long walk back to the car as there were so many people it was a few kms to where the car park was and everyone just walked there. We then headed for Mantova arriving in time to check into the new apartment which was just like someone’s air b&b and nothing like the modern renovated one we just left. Single bedroom upstairs which were steep and narrow to carry a case up. Down stairs is a quaint kitchen/dining area then there was a renovated narrow bathroom. The linen was like from grandma’s cupboard or from the leftover bin ha ha. It was a real miss match of everything but clean and quaint.

We then walked around to Aaron and Fran at her parents apartment which was less than a minute walk so I did well picking this place. We went for a stroll around the Piazza which is like a town square all cobble stoned. The streets here are cobble stoned and very high stones not filled in with dirt. You couldn’t wear shoes with heels on those cobble stones here. The main old 12th century building at the town centre is mostly covered in scaffolding and has been for a few years as they try to rebuild it after an earth quake a few years ago.

Later we wandered into a supermarket to checkout what we needed for breakfasts and look at what they eat. Always an interesting exercise.

After putting groceries away we met the others again and the 6 of us went in search of a cafe we could eat at.

Very hot, exhausted and tired.

Night all. Jo and Bryan

Thursday and another glorious day. After walking just short of 10km yesterday in hot sun today was more overcast and it had a slight breeze at various times that was well received.

Today as on every Thursday it’s market day in the Piazza. So all the square and in the streets surrounding it are large umbrellas with clothes everywhere, shoes, belts, handbags and fresh produce. I couldn’t get over that they were new clothes but so many were as little as 1 euro each approx $1.62 AU. I bought a scarf and a table cloth which was rather random but loved it. There were so many and so cheap but as it’s the start of our holidays I have to watch the case weight ha ha.

After spending a couple of hours with Patrizia- Frans mum, Aaron and Fran and Bryan wandering around we had a break before all catching a bus out to a shopping centre in the suburbs because as the old centre of town is a world heritage UNESCO area they are not allowed to build anything new. We found first a huge shoe shop maybe like factory direct as so very cheap. Then we checked out a clothing store and across the opposite side of the large car park was the actual centre of shops. It’s interesting looking in shops like this in other countries to see what is common and everyday items. I found a gorgeous children’s clothing store so we have our first twins clothes I’ve bought from Italy ready for our new babies. Then caught the bus back into the city centre.

Internet here is strange. We bought an Italian SIM card at the airport on arrival for the iPad to do my blogs as I new where we are staying this week has no wifi. The trouble is these old buildings have such huge thick stone walls and multi storey buildings that the internet can’t get in. Not even phone coverage. So everyone goes to make a call or check data on something they must constantly step out side.

So this afternoon late Bryan and I went for a stroll down to the Piazza town square and sat on the steps of the big white old church among many others sitting there on their mobiles to access the internet. I had done my blog but the photos wouldn’t upload so I sat there and loaded the pics and sent out yesterdays blog. Each day I will send blog out the next morning from that same area. It’s lovely to just sit there surrounded but tourists and locals all doing the same thing and people watching.

Also you can pick a local female by her dress as all ages of Italians dress smartly before going out. No matter the age the makeup is on and outfits smartly accessorised. There has been no sighting of a pair of tracky dacks or fitness attire like in Australia where there is a culture in places of wearing fitness (active wear) all day and to the shops. Never here would you see that Patrizia informed me. And multiple pairs of shoes are common as Mantova is the best place in this area of Italy to buy shoes.

This evening we headed out to dinner with the whole family as Frans brother Manu, his girlfriend Rosie have arrived back from Tassie, her parents and Patrizia’s Father who has now joined us from Milan. What a character he is and speaks no English but you get the raised eyebrow and smirks on his face because he known you can’t understand him. He is 89 I think and such a goer.

So tonight I again took the advice of Roberto Frans dad on what to eat as this restaurant menus had nothing in English so we really had to rely on accurate translation of the menu. Again eating outside under large umbrellas Bryan had crumbed veal cutlets but there was no bone and fries. It was his first meal with no pasta. I didn’t know what I could have gluten free but was convinced to have the potato gnocchi which had spinach in it as well and floating in a cheese sauce. And everything must have Parmesan cheese applied. That was ok it was quite tasty to start with but the more I ate the stronger it became. They forgot to say the cheese sauce was actually very strong blue vein cheese and eventually the flavour became so strong I couldn’t finish. The rest of the table mostly had Pizza. I told Aaron my experience in Verona of ordering a pizza and it came out on a large plate with knife and fork and not cut up. Well all these large pizzas came out on large flat plates again not cut up and you cut it as you go and either eat with the fork or cut into wedges then fold in half and eat like that in your fingers. They only have one size in pizza our large and never ever has pineapple on them ha ha Frans biggest hate in Australia. There is also none with egg on it like our Australian. And you never have it cold after. How uncouth are we?

I have been introduced to italian red Lambrusco. Boy did that take me back some years to the 80s and the boxy red or white Lambrusco in SA with my group of girl friends. I must say the bottles of red here were somewhat more refined 🤪😜😁 and very enjoyable. Think I’ll give my Merlot a break for a while as this is sooo good. Bryan on other hand is enjoying his usual coke but I did try a Diet Coke and yuck that was disgusting. Must be what ever sweetener they use but it was revolting so I’ll stick to the water.

It’s so hot here as day time it’s 30 and nights about 25. It’s like back in SA sleeping on top of the bed as too hot to cover up. The mosquito is bad here as the sewer system is the old antiquated system of drains under ground that everything goes into. So at different times during the day you wander down a street and get “that” whiff. Hmmm not pleasant but they are used to it. The roads can’t be touched as heritage listed so no pipes can be layed. It’s not as bad if it rains as that then flows into the drains and flushes the sewage out into the lake and rivers. It’s not everywhere and not all the time but I think on really hot days it’s just more noticeable. The locals don’t notice at all.

Ok better head to bed as another busy day with some plans already so night all.

Jo and Bryan enjoying our culture change.

Friday and we decided on a down day. I had been busy for 9 days straight and needed to calm a bit. Enjoying sightseeing enormously and learning about the places we’ve visited but needed to give the brain a rest. Lazy sleep in then then showered and walked down to the Piazza to sit on the marble steps of the church it get internet coverage and upload the photos from yesterday then sent out the daily blog. The. We wandered across the Piazza to an outdoor cafe and sat to have a cappuccino and coke. First time ordering ourselves and paying. Not trouble ha ha got this sorted. Then went back to apartment before heading down streets again to find something for lunch. Easy for Bryan as so many cafes and bakeries but not so easy for me. We stopped at a takeaway place we had been walking past known as the potato cafe ha ha ha. They make their own sliced potato chips not peeled and hamburgers and a few other bits and they are mostly gluten free. Bryan pointed out on the wall gf signs. So we tried our first Italian takeaway meal as Bryan had a hamburger which he enjoyed and I had gf vegetable triangles and chips between us. Very popular with the young folks of Italy but not so much with their parents and older Italians who believe in fresh food cooked at home. There is no fast food chains here in the city but a Mc Donald’s we saw on bus yesterday out in the suburb where the shopping centre was. The fast food for an Italian is pizza 🍕.

After enjoying our takeaway we went around to Patrizia and Roberto’s apartment and visited. Chatted here for a while then Bryan and I, Aaron and Roberto went on a guided walking trip around the Piazza and castle showing us which were the old buildings and some are 800-900 years old. Unbelievable and in better condition than our Port Arthur. The history of these towns and the ruling groups is very interesting to hear.

After I found my way back to the apartment by myself I visited with Fran and her grandfather for a while until Patrizia came back. The men decided to take the car and go to the electronics store to look at wifi or Bluetooth speakers. Boys toys. So I chatted with the family then after the guys returned and showed us their toys Bryan and I decided to have an evening alone. So we went off to find a restaurant that had food we could read and have. Up and down streets reading menus as most of the places seat outside so the menu is on the road. We found one and managed again to order food and drinks except orange juice ended up being Fanta and that was a pale comparison to ours and very sweet. Meal good and dida large block around the city to walk it down until back home. The kids have gone out with cousins that have started arriving for tomorrow so we decided the young ones don’t need us around. An early night in order as this heat and humidity \240is very draining.

Night all

Saturday today was the celebration day for the newlywed couple. We woke this morning to hear rain and it had rained quite heavy over night but soon stopped. I couldn’t believe the kids had concerns about the weather in tassie for the wedding then come to Italy and it rains ha ha. But luckily it was finished by 8am and came out very humid muggy for a while after then the usual sunny warm day.

We got organised this morning and by 9am wandered down to the Piazza to sit at “our” cafe for a cappuccino for me and real orange juice for Bryan while I uploaded the photos from yesterday and send off the blog. Then we noticed people gathering for a wedding at the cathedral across the Piazza and they opened the large central doors for the first time since we have been here. Tourists were heading in so off we went to see what it was like inside. Wow every wall and ceiling space was either painted or carved. Marble all over the place. It was architecturally magnificent. Pics added.

After viewing inside the church we headed to the Dina’s (Frans parents) place ready for the festivities to start about 11am. Well the food was fabulous even to the point of getting me gluten free food separately. Very decorative plates of food I had to ask what they were. Platters of savoury food and sweets all in bite size pieces. Some looked like toys Madeline would play with in her toy kitchen they were so cute. Many different wines available but the red I tried was really good so will have to find out what it was. A continuous parade of people came through during the day until it settled with only a few close family friends remained so Bryan and I took a chance to head out into the Piazza for a walk and stretch our legs.

The whole square today had artists and craftsman set up stalls to show their artwork and some was really nice but can’t take home. Tonight they said is the one day/night of the year that it’s called the white moon and music is played all around the streets everywhere and most of the shops stay open until 11pm.

After wandering around we returned to the house for more festivities by 6pm where more friends had arrived. More wine drunk and all the food finished off. Then Bryan went for a walk around the lake with Frans aunt and got some nice sunset pics so tomorrow night we will go down to the lake and hope for a great sunset from Italy before we leave.

After everyone started to go and the young ones had all gone out we decided to leave and went for a walk around the Piazza and nearby streets which were full of people doing same as us. Music playing in different areas and a laser light show on the side of some buildings was going as well. I had my usual ice cream of 1 scoop Pistachio and 1 scoop coffee. The flavours so good. Then returned home to our apartment to crash soon.

The Italians are so friendly and most talk in English as soon as you speak so it’s very easy to converse except the oldest generation that didn’t leave the area and didn’t learn English. We are enjoying this experience.

Sunday and still the tourists are here. Bus loads are in groups doing walking tours of the city. There are literally thousands of them through out the day. Off season must be so much quieter here. We went down for our morning drinks in the Piazza at the cafe and sent off yesterday blog. Came back to the apartment and put a load of washing in before heading around to see what Aaron and Fran and family were planning today. There apartment is literally only 2 min walk from ours. They had plans for lunch so we organised a boat trip on the lakes and river in the afternoon then left to be back at 2.30pm.

We wandered around the cobblestone streets until we found a street side cafe that had gluten free options for lunch we hadn’t been to. After conversations with the waitress I ordered my gf Panini with ham and Camembert cheese. It was very good. Bryan ordered his but after googling what the menu said he thought yep bacon and cheese he’d be safe with that but alas the bacon isn’t as we know it and cured a very different way giving it a flavour not to his liking. It was a change that he was the one having a problem.

After lunch back to the apartment as too many people and I was over the crowds so I went and took the washing out but only have an airer to hang things on up stairs in bedroom so turned the fan on to help air movement to hope it dries faster. It’s warm but too humid so the clothes don’t dry anywhere as fast as I’d expect.

Went back to Frans parents home and collected the kids and the 4 of us went to find the boat. It started in front of the castle the entrance to the city where the fort is. We travelled across 2 of the lakes then up through the old lock that’s not used now and on up the river.

Green algae and Lilly leaves all over the river area then we came across a large area on the side covered with the large lotus leaves which had just finished flowering. They had been introduced by a botanist yrs ago to see how they would grow and now are wild. Mantova now claim them as a symbol of the town. Many wild life around but I can’t really tell one bird from another except yep that was a black one and there’s a white one😂😂😂 but I did pick the white swans.

After the cruise finished we decided on an ice cream and then wandered through the Piazza eating that before arriving back at Frans home. In another Piazza we walked through were many old cars. They had just finished a very famous race that these old cars do every year. Similar to Targa in Tassie. \240We made plans to come back to Dina’s apartment at 6.30pm to go out to dinner as the kids were meeting up with friends for their last night here.

A couple of Patrizia and Roberto’s friends plus Patrizia’s father joined us a rural restaurant outside the city for dinner. What a lot of laughs and I was told to call Patrizia father Nono ( grandfather) which was a real compliment. We have no understanding yet we still connect and he has asked so many questions about life in Australia but memory not what it should be the repetition is constant ha ha.

After a couple of very nice glasses of red we headed home. It’s such a flat calm evening not a breath of wind. The mozzies are biting well my ankles are showing but that’s ok.

Tomorrow we will go and farewell the kids off on their own honeymoon over on the Riviera as we enjoy our last day in Mantova.

Monday our last day in Mantova. Love Italy and the people we have met. We had a lazy start to the day by going to see Aaron and Francesca off on their honeymoon for the next week over around towns on the Riviera.

We came down to the Piazza and did our usual blog sending after adding the photos then met Frans Aunt so went over to the cafe for coffee together and discuss our plans with her and her sister ( Roberto’s 2 older sisters) who were taking us out somewhere different for lunch. We had a lazy couple of hours then met Patricia one of the sisters at 12 then walked down to the lake, along the edge to a foot bridge then over the lake to the first village outside Mantova which is where The Club is. This is members only and we had to be with Helen the other sister as she was the member to be allowed in. It was a buffet lunch and we sat and talked about so much of family history and what they had been through during the wars and the heritage of the area. They grandfather of Roberto and his sisters had left home at just 23yo because their last name was a Jewish name and it didn’t matter that they weren’t of Jewish faith they were interned just if you had the name. So he left the family and went to London to work and live. He was still interned there but was an Italian translator then got out and joined the English army. Just so many interesting stories to tell. I could have sat there listening to them for hours.

You never know an area until you talk to the locals. It’s so lovely to wander the cobblestone roads and admire these beautiful hundreds of years old buildings but it’s the history behind that’s the real interest and story.

We left the sisters at the club and walked back by ourselves over the walkway and through various streets until Bryan found us back to the apartment ha ha I thought he had us going in circles but he did well.

We rested after returning by 3pm as the heat and high humidity was really effecting me. We later wandered down to the Dina’s apartment to check that they were back from taking Aaron and Fran over to nearby city to catch their train. We discussed having our last dinner together tonight then returned to pack our cases ready before returning to them to go for dinner. Patrizia father JanMarie was also coming with us. After dinner it was finalise last blog and shower and bed as it will be a very long day tomorrow as they will drive us at 8.45am back to Verona to the train station to get a direct train to Venice. Where we will spend the day until we go to our airport hotel that night. It will be our last day in Italy.

Tuesday and our last day in Italy. Today we left Mantova early as Frans parents took us back to Verona to the train station. Roberto got our tickets, then took us to the right platform to wait for our train out at 10.21am. It was to be an hour and half trip over to Venice.

Arriving in Venice we disembark from the train then had to find where the luggage left area is which was good value of 6 euro for 5 hours then 1 euro for each hour later. We had 2 cases so that doubled. But a great way to not worry about luggage and leave anything you don’t want to carry all day with you.

We headed off to see the sights. We had been told the water taxis are very expensive so to get a water bus. These are really old ferries that wouldn’t be allowed on Sydney Harbour I’d say. They are cramped as many as they could into the sitting area then full of standing Room only.

We travelled around to Piazza San Marko the St. Marks Square where everyone from all corners of Italy were by the look. So many people I couldn’t get over it. Then as you wandered the alley ways away from the square there were more. No problem with the Italian language there were Americans everywhere. We sat at a cafe area along the waterfront to have lunch first and just take a breath (a hot one) and behind us were a table of loud Americans. At one point I did a glance around as I was shocked at what I was hearing. They were all elderly and one woman was telling the rest of the group about the effects of the full moon. I thought interesting topic right? She could have been a scientist for all I knew until she started talking so much rubbish I nearly exploded with laughter and couldn’t wait to get away to tell Bryan who couldn’t hear them. So apparently in Australia as in some African countries the females go crazy to be impregnated when a full moon is on as it gives a better life or some such rubbish. We are supposed to have a population growth every time after a full moon..... geez I nearly chocked on my lunch and how I didn’t turn around and give this 70+ old woman who was so serious in her “facts” about the female practice in Africa and Australia, the look of are you really serious lady? Well I’ve heard it all now.

After that I couldn’t wait to get away from them. But the more we walked the more of them there were. Must be the Yankees place to visit? Took many photos but due to time constraints we didn’t have anything planned so we were just in this area of Venice that really I was over. If all Venice is like this then I’ve been there done that. I would have liked to go over to the Morano island where the glass is from but every second shop there on island had it where we were. Also I’ve noticed in Italy they are in love with the face masks. Used in pantomime etc. they come in elaborate head pieces with feathers to tiny fridge magnets. I loved them but realistically what do you do with them and where would you put them. So I gave in and got myself a blue and white magnet ha ha. I took a few photos through shop windows but you were not allowed to take photos for some reason?

The only other thing as in everywhere else we had been it the constant gelateria shops with ice creams of multiple unusual flavours.

There is a huge amount of history here but really I’ve found more nicer buildings more attractive than just because they have water around them in Verona and Mantova. The obligatory canal ride on a gondola was ridiculous as the canals were so crowded and the prices of the reputable ones that you see in all the photos were 80-100 euro for a short ride. That’s $130-$160AU. They totally rip off the tourist who were all the Americans and Asians that were lined up for ever to have a go.

We left for the water bus back to where we started at the train station about 4pm because when we made our way back to the square there were even more tourists. The photos don’t really show the extent of people. It took an hour to make our way back then retrieve our luggage and find out where and which way was the best way to get to our hotel. This is the only place I found in Italy where everyone I asked were either unhelpful or down right rude. They didn’t want to suggest or help at all just not their interest. I was really surprised considering the mix of cultures here. But we finally dragged our bags around and Bryan had to carry them up the stairs over a bridge and down again till we found the bus stop and there we soon found out which bus to get that would drop us off outside our hotel. Great nearly out of the heat. I checked with the driver that our hotel was in fact a bus stop and he said yes.....

Well it wasn’t. We followed on map as we went but nothing in English to tell us where to get off and we went past it realising it actually was the stop 500mtrs back. It then went on around to the airport. We got off and I rang the hotel who sent a courtesy bus to collect us. No problem all sorted. Arrived and checked in and collapsed in the air conditioning in our room.

Leave Italy in the morning heading to America through Portugal. 11hrs flying but we lose the day as it’s after midnight we arrive.

Well we had a lovely day yesterday Thursday wandering around Portland. Hasn’t gone as expected but enjoying our first day in US. Taking a bit to get used to those accents ha ha. The weather has been a shock like back in Tassie. Overcast as it had rained overnight and max 16 during the day. Nice for walking around in not hot humid like we had been having. Walked about 12km all over town.

The downtown area is spread out but really like the water front region. The buildings are either what I recognise as the 2-3 storey timber weather board homes or red brick. There are pockets of each but go along the older streets where big buildings it’s all row after row of red brick. Took some government building pics which are sandstone but they are only early 1900s or odd one is late 1890s. Very different from where we have just been. Australia is older than this part of the country ha ha. Portland it’s self isn’t old like I expected.

We wanted a local data sim for Bryans phone but couldn’t find a telco shop anywhere even after asking many people. By shear luck we went opposite direction to see and found it. Way out on edge of city shops. The only one in the city he says ha ha. Not like all our Telstra shops. Got sim and data so now we can have maps to see where we are going. Bryan can’t take calls for next 2 weeks but my number is same. We will just hotspot tablets or my phone to his for data.

We stopped at a Diner for a late lunch and chatted to the lovely lady serving us. She was helpful in answering our questions and explaining some of the menu. We started with drinks and of course no issues with Bryan getting a coke but a cappuccino... no way. So then she said about an iced coffee. I though ok haven’t had one in ages. Not sure I needed all that cream but here goes. Ha ha ha well when it came I just stared at it. Tall big glasses to start with as she hadn’t asked a size but apparently there was only one size. And iced coffee in Australia is either like Farmers Union iced coffee that I love or in cafe made with milk, ice cream and cream on top. Tastes like a milk coffee. Hmm this was a glass filled with ice chips then cold black coffee unsweetened and so strong poured over the ice. Then she brought over a small bowl of tiny little milk pods. Ok first I though black is not usually my thing but I sipped it through straw and saw Bryan laughing at me. It was strong and bitter and disgusting. I grabbed for a couple of sugars off table and poured those in but of course there was so much ice the sugar settled on I had to stir madly it get it through and being cold sugar wasn’t going to dissolve. Well that wasn’t much more palatable so then I took large swigs of coffee to make room for some milk. I emptied all the 6 milk pods into the glass and kept stirring. Ok that worked better. At least I could tolerate it now. So then looking over the menu I couldn’t see any dietary restrictions I needed so went for the sweet potato baked with Feta, nuts and cranberries as a nice light lunch. Bryan had his first American burger 🍔 with fries. He didn’t mind the burger but ridiculous amount of fries that wasn’t eaten. My meal was ok too but didn’t eat it all. They really do serve to excess.

After feet hurting and back aching we decided to take an Uber back to hotel by late afternoon and chill for the rest of the day. Still not sleeping right times but trying to work with the right times here. Chatted to John our cousin who actually lives about an hour away north and isn’t as close as we thought. Hopefully we will catch up today if he can get down to the city.

Another day, more adventures.

Friday and our last day here in Portland. Unfortunately it didn’t pan out as planned as we should have met up with John and his family but this city is lovely. We did a city tour and learnt so much. This state has so much history that’s not evident straight away. I love the timber homes. Many of the large multi level homes have been turned into apartments now. And others made to look similar are huge apartments. After 2 bad fires here as the Indians burnt out the English homes cause they didn’t like them any more our guide told us so the English started making red brick homes. Another bad fire went through after kids playing with fireworks on 4th July burnt out many homes. One of the worst city fires in the US until the big Chicargo fires.

Coastal views are beautiful and the lighthouses great. Saw the forts that were built into the side of the island hills. There is a fort in the harbour that was never used in earlier wars but the navy used it to store torpedos during the 2nd world war. No man ever went over there to fight from there.

We saw the government buildings and the narrow gage train and the carriages that are being restored. I can see dad would have loved to do that type of work but never had the chance.

A cruise ship came in this morning the Crystal Symphony and I had booked the trip on line yesterday which was lucky as the bus filled up from the cruise ship.

After the tour we thought we might do a aqua duck cruise that goes on the water and roads but when we checked the guys had just called off the afternoon trip due to the wind picking up I. The harbour and too strong for the duck. So then it was off to get a late lunch and decided the irish pub would be ok.

Bryan went for an all day breakfast and I had something different but wasn’t gluten free and way double more than I needed. It was a type of French toast with Camembert and cranberry sandwich and dusted with icing sugar, served with diced potatoes which were different colours. And on the side was a jug of syrup and a couple of butters. I asked the waitress after I tried what I could eat, what was the maple syrup for? She said it’s used for everything. And the butter? Well some spread the butter over the top of the French toast then pour the maple syrup over top. Her response was “that’s why we are a country of diabetics”. So maple syrup is used like tomato sauce on everything at home. Weird.... but had a nice glass of red with it that I enjoyed more than the meal.

Took an Uber back to the hotel and had an afternoon nap before chatting with John who lives about 150km up the road.

Decided on a quick little something for tea so went to McDonalds around the corner. Bryan decided it wasn’t as stylish as ours in Aussie and some different things on the menu like grilled chicken, sausage and biscuit.

Early night as we leave at 9 in the morning to fly to Honolulu for the next 2 weeks.

It’s Sunday morning and we were either in airports or flying for 22 hours yesterday. 3 different airports. Same airline. Only flight delay was our last one that got us into Hawaii at 1.15am but after getting luggage and sorting the shuttle bus we finally get to our room at 2.45am. Unpacked case and rested on bed but didn’t have long as the girls arrived at 7am from their Melb flight and joined us as their room isn’t ready yet. Freshened up and all relaxed over breakfast.

Some interesting things that so I’ve only seen in America is dogs allowed on flight in cabins with owners? Several small dogs were in the terminals and rest room area between the men’s and ladies rooms are the pets rest room. A green area with a fake fire hydrant on it for the dog to wee against and a sink to wash their paws and paper towel to dry them. Never seen that in any other country yet ha ha

The other thing that took us by surprise was rocking chairs! Why would you have them sitting around the passageways randomly places then a row of them under real trees in a row beside the travelator in Charlotte, North Carolina. I noticed where a chair was placed in passageway was a Power Point and electronic charging spot. So if you want to sit and plug the phone in you had to sit in the white rocking chairs. Also other waiting areas had charging areas between every group of chairs many more than I’ve seen before.

Coming over across country was beautiful at times and other times just so big, flat and nothing. We saw the Grand Canyon, lakes, mountain and desert regions. LA is very flat from the base of the hills around it.

Not sure the lazy plan for the 4 of us today apart from washing clothes and resting.

Chat soon. Jo & Bryan

Monday today and we decided a free day to use to go to Pearl Harbour for the day instead of Friday. We talked about tours vs taking ourselves and the wait lines etc and decided on a tour that covers a guide and into everything possible. That sorted Sunday afternoon fixed up today for us. Yesterday was a relaxing day after all arriving during early hours of morning. We caught up on some washing clothes too.

Over the afternoon we wandered around the area and down to Waikiki beach ready for sunset then off to find the Cheese cake factory that had been recommended. It has obviously a huge list of desserts but also mains and in general can have up to a 3 hr wait so we arrived early for the dinner rush and had only a minute wait to be seated. Great meal there. Then an early night as the Pearl Harbor trip had a 6.20am pick up time.

On a small bus with about 19 people and a great local driver/guide. He was an Hawaiian native and talked about the natives and how the royal family governed then their deaths and the American take over. Interesting conversations and history. Then of course his knowledge of Pearl Harbor was great.

I have seen the movies a couple of times and learnt about it at school but always wanted to see it myself. It didn’t disappoint and was so interesting hearing the locals talk about it. We visited the Bowfin submarine and toured through that. Pays to be short sometimes ha ha. And went through the Bowfin Museum.

Then viewed 2 other museums on the war and Pearl Harbor. We had to meet for the next tour by 9.20 where we went into a movie for about 30mins on the fateful day Sunday 7th Dec 1941 just before 8am till 10am. After the movie we went out to the naval boat that took us over to the USS Arizona Memorial but due to the work being done on it at the moment it is closed to board only ride around it and hear about what the memorial holds and the meaning of it. We toured around the harbour and saw the \240docking places for the other ships that on the morning were also hit by the Japanese. As this is an active naval harbour there were US naval ships in harbour now too. Returning to the shore we went around to the USS Missouri battleship and toured through that. We had over 1.5 hours here. After that we enjoyed a nice shaved ice experience to cool down as it was over 30 deg and we had already had a lot of sun.

We traveled then on the bus over to the Pacific Aviation Museum where we had lunch first then toured the museum finishing up at Hanger 79 which still has the bullet holes in the glass windows up high. This was to remind the personnel that they are working in a war zone.

We finished the day with a historic Honolulu city tour and up into the surrounding hills to learn more about the Locals buildings, Punchbowl National Cemetery of the Pacific, the Palace, Civic centre and the Kamehameha statue. If your a Hawaii five O fan the you will know the statue. We are doing a tour of Hawaii five O filming sites later in the week.

We returned from Honolulu via all the other hotels first as we were last to drop off. Relaxed for an hour before we met the girls again and headed off to find dinner. Pauline had researched a restaurant that does gf food at the Hilton so we headed down the street to that. Wow none of us finished our meal but Pauline and I had pancakes that we had no hope to finish but gave it a good try. A relaxing walk back to the hotel as it was still 28 and so muggy. Lowest at night here is 24 so not a big change.

Been up since 5.30 this morning so an early night needed but tomorrow will be another big day but a bit later start at 8.30 pickup down the road.

Night all and enjoy the photos of Pearl Harbour.

Today is Wednesday and last night I crashed after we got home from bus tour around the island. Sorry no blog so tonight I’ll do both days.

Yesterday was a Island circle tour that went around some of the island coast. Past Diamond Head which has Amelia Earhart lookout. Then into a town known as Honolulu’s Beverly Hills. Flash very expencive homes and then we came across buses and trucks all together in an area. Ourdriver I formed us there must be filming nearby of Hawaii five O because he recognised the vehicles. I jumped up to see if I saw anyone but alas no. So hoping on Thursday we will see them filming still.

Drove on around some very impressive coastal areas but also around the base of those impressive mountain ranges that were volcanic hills with very interesting shapes. Into Hanauma Bay then stopped at the lookout of Halona Blowhole. It was very different seeing the rock down at the water level is all black. It’s lava rock where the old volcano erupted and the lava ran to the coast. My first view of lava rock. We passed the rim of Kokohead crater, Makapu’u Point where parks tried to put a light house but as the lava rock hills are so unstable a lighthouse would just slide off so the light house isn’t really on the point but around the corner where it would be more stable. We couldn’t stop anywhere near it so it was catch a pic on the move.

Most of our travels were pics on the move because our driver called it a drive by shooting tour 😂😂😂 he thought he was hilarious and kept reminding us. That’s how we would see somethings and then take ourselves back to areas we liked as this tour was an introduction to some of the island features.

After this we drove on around the coast a bit more before coming inland following the volcanic ridge and past a mountain. Next stop was a quick bathroom stop then onto an interesting place of final resting and peaceful. Called Valley of the Temples because as a Cemetery there was a churches, temples, and everything that all different religions use to worship in and bury their loved ones in an area for that religion. It was very beautifully set out. Then at the back is the Byodo-in Temple. Another beautiful place to wander around. Koi fish that were huge in the lake around the temple and a few black swans and turtles.

After leaving here we passed by the ancient Hawaiian fish ponds where stone walls were built hundreds of years ago as the villagers collected their fish to easier catch fresh. These days the walls remain and are used for shrimp 🦐 ponds.

Onto Kualoa Ranch. This huge property has grown over the years as other near by land became available. It was a cattle ranch for years then that changed and now it’s used as film settings when movie scouts decided it has the look they were after. Many films like Jurassic Park, Godzilla, Jumanji, 50 first dates, and tv shows often shoot in areas here like Lost, Magnum PI and Hawaii Five O often go there. Is has so many different tours that they do like a Hollywood movie 🎥 site tour, guided horseback tour, electric mountain bike riding, jungle Jeep expedition, Jurassic Valley zipline tour and so many more things. It’s very well set up and somewhere you could spend a whole day. The property has 3 volcanic ridges that surround 2 valleys that hold all these adventures. There is a room of photos of all the actors and important people that have been at the ranch filming. I found some of the Five O crew and Bryan took a pic of me with them. We also had lunch here before heading off. We had various sightings of a small island just off the coast that depending who you ask is called the China mans hat or the Chinese hat. All comes down to translation and who you speak to.

We passed by the Polynesian Cultural centre and carried on around the North Shore along the top of the island before turning inland and heading to the Dole Plantation which was a pineapple and macadamia farm. My goodness it was huge and full of anything you can think of that can be made into a pineapple shape. The one thing we were told to try was the pineapple soft serve. I had a cup full and it was delicious. I found some gifts and chocolates but they are not what I expected as in chocolate coated pineapple but very sickly sweet and crunchy.

We carried on through the centre of the island and the lush tropical bushland. We arrived at our last stop of the lookout which was a great location to view the coast area where the buildings were. Finally arrived back about about 6pm. The driver was our guide and as a local he had so many stories to tell and knowledgeable but boy did he rave on! He repeated himself constantly like he was talking to children and kept on saying hang on let’s back step a minute then he would go on a different tack. By the afternoon I just wanted to tell him to shut up. He did not stop talking all day no joke. And because he had the mic on his head he just talked while he drove non stop. I hope I don’t come across him as a tour guide again.

Today we had a slower day with a quiet morning doing a bit of shopping looking around then lunch before walking to our pick up spot for the Atlantis submarine tour. I was a bit excited as always wanted to do this. Today the weather wasn’t as calm as it has been as rain and thunderstorms forecast. We had a few showers where you feel a light spray that was like a warning to get undercover thendown came a heavy but fine rain for 5-10 minutes then just stopped. The roads were so hot that the water dried very quickly. Trouble the humidity was on like 85%. Steamy.

Because of some wind out over the water we had confused seas so the guide told all who wanted to take something for sea sickness to do so now. That was a good indication of what was coming. We had to board a cruiser first which was to take us out to where the submarine was going to emerge from the tour it was doing and change over passengers. The water was quite choppy as we went out the channel and watched the submarine come to the surface. Tricky transfering from the cruiser to the top of the submarine then going backwards down the steps through the hatch into the submarine. Packed in on 2 rows of seats with a couple around us vomiting which wasn’t pleasant for them. But once we submerged the water settled and calmed down. We travelled down and down as we travelled further out. We went down to a final depth of 110 feet. We saw beautiful fish, starfish and an old war plane plus a couple of ships and man made reefs. There wasn’t any coral or bright colours that we were expecting ting but our guide told us that was because the water was too salty and too warm! That was surprising that the ocean can be too salty for coral. Also as we watched the ocean floor we saw it was covered with volcanic rock not sand as much as expected. Great trip all round.

Back to hotel to relax for a while before going next door to the open food stalls just like a pop up food stalls or food vans. The food was cheap and very nice. Different to things to try.

Now to select 2 days of pics for you to enjoy our day.

Night all.

Yesterday Thursday was an early morning as our pick up for the half day Hawaii Five O tour started at 8am. The 4 of us were in a small minivan with a very knowledgeable driver/guide who has himself done some extra work on the show and has inside knowledge of the crew and how it all works. Interestingly he explained he can’t regularly be an extra as you can’t be seen too often as being the same person on a show. You only get called up every 3 months approx so you don’t appear to be “regularly” just in the background of scenes. So many things he taught us about how the film industry works. He had an iPad on the dash and as we went around the streets he would show us a film clip from a show that has buildings and scenes where we were. We saw the homes of the fictitious characters that are all but one private homes. When for a scene they need to be inside a home which mostly they don’t as the inside scenes are usually done on sets in the studios but if they do go in then all the family belongings are removed and the studio furniture is brought in. They don’t even use the owners bathroom while there filming that day only their own portaloo. “Steve Mc Garrett’s” home is actually a historic home that’s used for weddings and events. There are photos of what it looks like when “his” furniture is in the home compared to all the antique furniture that we saw.

We spent the morning driving around back streets in quiet leafy suburbs seeing areas that a tourist doesn’t normally go through. We went up to a lookout that is a second crater rim opposite Diamond Head and had lovely views. The grassy area in front of us has been maintained for years as the shrubs/tree on the right is the exact spot Elvis Presley sat and had a picnic with the lead female in the movie Blue Hawaii. Also there have been scenes from Five O that were done up on the lookout. We drove around the Diamond Head area driving through the Millionaire suburb and on through the next suburb. The driver told us to wind the windows down and take a sniff? I wasn’t sure what I was going to smell.... so I sniffed, and sniffed a bit harder again? Ok he says did you smell any difference? Ummm no? It smelt like fresh air the same as home. With that he chuckled because the air was the difference coming from Millionaire suburb into Billionaires suburb and you know there was no difference in homes or anything visible at all. Houses weren’t mansions that I would have expected but some that were on our right had coastal direct views then as the homes went up the hill the higher the house the higher the cost for views but doesn’t mean the homes were any more impressive.

We drove past the Hawaiian film industry head quarters and there were trucks lined up. It was a closed set so no one is allowed on site as they were filming there. The filming can be happening in several locations everyday and it’s potluck if you drive around and their sign is out on a street corner to say there is filming happening. We saw one group of trucks down a street and though we had hit the jackpot but no the other tv show that films here is Magnum PI and that’s who were out there.

After 4 hours of the tour we arrived back at the hotel ready for lunch. We headed off down the street to find food and do some more shopping or checking out little places we hadn’t been into. They really mix it up with no set areas of levels of stores. As you walk along the street back off the beach all the expencive hotels are mixed with food halls everywhere, Hemes, Prada, Jimmy Choo, Macys and so many more top designer brands are there along with ABC stores that are totally tourist orientated and the tourist wanders between them. So many Japanese tourists come here for weddings then the bride goes on shopping spree while the husband head to Vagas to gamble. It’s a fly in fly out quick trip and big business here with these package deals.

Mundane things like doing our washing and drying came in the afternoon after we returned to the hotel before wandering down to the pop up food vans that have set up next door. Great food and colourful characters. We sat eating watching the locals and tourists mix.

Ending another hot very humid day in Honolulu Waikiki. Only one more full day then we leave for our last week.

Today is Sunday. A day to relax, sleep in and take in the new surrounds. We took a taxi with the 4 of us over to the port after a leasurly lunch yesterday. I had gotten a tad sunburnt in the morning standing around a street corner waiting for a very long protracted street parade that we didn’t even wait for the end. How many Princesses on horse back do they have ha ha. All the royal families of the islands are represented with which ever families that have 3rd & 4th generation royalty. The trolley buses were decorated and kids in 30+deg heat walking the long march. Police on pushbikes, motorbikes and cars, marching bands x multiple I lost count. Because the streets were blocked off the tourists trying to get to their tour buses were wandering through the parade everywhere looking for their guides, tourists just arriving or leaving dragging their cases through the crowds heading to or from taxis that can’t get any closer. They just walk through the middle of the parade? I don’t want to say who but a certain race seem to do it more than others. And you know they really are rude. If your walking down the street as the 4 of us mostly were together, they will not go around you they come straight at you and expect that you will part ways for them to get through. So Sheryl said to me when I see a group coming to just look down at something or around and pretend not to notice them and they have to go around but you get a “look” that says move it! While we were standing on that corner we met up with the final 2 joining our group for the cruise as Mandy & Peter had flown in late on Friday night from their tour of Canada ready to join the cruise.

We had a bit of a long line wait to go through check in and standing in the heat in a large room with hundreds of people wasn’t pleasant with no where to sit. But we got through and headed onto the ship. The usual take your photo every time you turn around already happening as they had tried to get us at check in then again boarding the ship. Would be a very costly exercise if you paid for every photo they took would be $$$.

This ship the Pride of America is more luxurious than the P&O cruises we’ve been on. Just the foyer area was a wow moment. We paid for staterooms all of us with balconies for a week of extra luxury. 2 along the back (aft) and 1 along the side not far away all on same level 10. This is our 10th wedding anniversary trip although a few weeks early it’s great to enjoy it with some of our friends that were at our wedding with us.

Our first night on board was dinner and we just crashed. After unpacking and settling in I relaxed on our balcony for a while as it was still very warm as we cruised off into the darkness with a gentle breeze to help cool my sunburn down. Our stateroom is nice but have to manoeuvre that tiny bathroom toilet ha ha.

Enjoy the pics while we explore some more.

Sunday was a relaxing day getting to learn our way around the ship before l aving for the sunset tour. Monday our voyage has been an adventure of different kinds. For one of the Hawaiian differences between our second island to our first was they have differing laws just between their own islands. On Oahu where the Hawaiian capital of Honolulu is, we found out it is not law to wear a seat belt if your over 18. Children and all under 18 must be belted up at all times. On our next Island which is Maui, everyone as we are used to must have seat belts on.

Maui is the island that had the capital as one of the kings lived on that island until it was changed to have Honolulu as the capital. Maui has two volcanic mountain ranges with a rainforest valley through,0 the middle. This island has been through 2 tsunamis and had to rebuild itself. Now they have built back from the sea front and left parks in front of them but last tsunami was 1960. We did an evening sunset tour on Sunday evening over the highest mountain which is a dormant volcano with a pretty impressive crater that looks like another planet with little imagination needed. I can imagine filming moon trekking movies there ha ha. We had 2 stops on the way up of 10-15 minutes each. 1 at a lodge - gift shop which was a bathroom stop then again at the rangers station. These stops are designed to adjust your oxygen levels and make sure as we climbed over 7,000 feet up and higher that everyone could cope. There are a list of health conditions including respiratory conditions like asthma that aren’t allowed to go up to the summit. Personally we didn’t feel any different but we weren’t exerting ourselves either. We arrived up to the summit at just under 10,000 feet above sea level with 25% less oxygen than we are used to. We saw different plants that are endemic to the volcano above certain heights. It’s the strangest mountain surrounds I’ve been on. Everyone lined the paths and some were standing on boulders and being yelled at by a ranger not to step off the paths and get down but a group just kept ignoring her until a few stepped down then an older man just turned around as if to say “me? You want me to get down”? The wardens can fine anyone for stepping off the paths and we felt he was a guy that with his ignorance should have been fined. It was a very long protracted sunset that I expected to go down much quicker. We had telescopes, tripods and all types of flash cameras all around us and just like us the good old smart phone to take these amazing photos. There was a layer of cloud on the way up the mountain so as the sun set on top of this cloud then sunk down through it the colours were beautiful and lasted ages. We left as soon as it had gone down as there were many other buses and so many cars that were going to be heading down. The lasting colour was still there half way down. One of the things as we drove up had been a large cattle ranch on the mountain slopes with free range cattle with grates in 2 places across the road. Our driver explained that you have to drive slowly as these animals of all sizes from a very large bull we passed grazing on the side of the road to calves running, darting across in front of the traffic. \240For holiday makers to Hawaii we have noticed a very prominent group of holiday makers that hire convertibles to drive them selves around the islands and while driving a convertible with the top down around the tight corners with the wind in your hair seems like the way the mountain should be driven, the speed and the overtaking was way too fast and many times our driver said “another idiot that doesn’t know the road” and sure enough as we came down the mountain about half way and it was dark now there was a calf on the road and a little convertible and another car pulled up on the side of the road. Our drive said there was our steaks for tonight’s dinner. Road kill here has a very different take. Hope they had good rental insurance because the town truck coming up the mountain we passed half an hour later was not going to be cheap either.

Our next day Monday was a tour for most of the day, the best of Maui it was called and I was expecting a drive around the island seeing the sights but instead it was 3 stops. The first was across the valley to a tropical rainforest and that was very pretty under the shadow of the volcanic mountains. Then we went on to the tropical fruit plantation where we had a 45min tourist train ride around the farm. After doing this kind of thing in Queensland I was a bit let \240down. They had a large shop that covered foods they make, clothes, souvenirs and jewellery. I found some beautiful sea glass necklaces the guy had collected the glass off the beach each morning and made the jewellery himself because he didn’t want it looking like something from China.

After finishing up here we travelled down the road to our last stop where lunch was to be at the Hawaiian ocean aquarium. That was really well set up and quite nice. Filled with all the sea life around the Hawaiian islands. The restaurant was good sorting out our menu issues. Then we wandered the huge gift shop for a while before having a soft serve cup of Hawaiian gold. The pineapple soft serve. Very nice.

Last night I tried to get a good sunset but too many clouds and just no colour like I get at home.

More to come. Chau.

Tuesday we arrived at Hilo the largest town on the big island called Hawaii. This is where all the current volcanic activity has been happening. We pre booked a bucket list thing for me to do which was see a real live volcano. Because of the recent events we knew we wouldn’t be doing the ground walks or lava tube walks in the National Park so I booked a helicopter flight. Now for those that know me, I’m not always good with heights as the only other helicopter flight we went on it turned out not to have doors and that freaked me out. When we saw our helicopters for this flight they had doors so I was relieved about that. As it turned out it carried 6 + pilot. 4 across the back and 2 in the front. With luck being with us, Bryan and I were the 2 in the front next to the pilot. And I was at the door. What an amazing experience that was with only once having my stomach churned as we tilted sideways my side to turn over the top of the volcano to see down into the mouth of it. I tried to just take photos and not think about that ha ha.

This smaller volcano had been active some time before but had lava just sitting in the crater base not doing anything until suddenly and surprisingly this year it imploded, sucking all that lava back down under ground and along further then up through fistulas (weak areas) as we saw in the media. This happened in the volcanic National Park region and has only just opened limited areas again. We saw so many different shades of greys, browns and black in the lava and layer upon layer of eruptions of lava over top of lava. The lava takes the path of least resistance and at times we saw properties saved because they were on a slight elevation and the lava flowed around them cutting the home off but saving it. The lava is so thick that in places you can’t even see where homes used to be. Locals are starting to be allowed back to their surviving homes if access still there but many still having a home can’t get to it as the roads have been eaten up by the lava with just short spots along a road visible to show where a road used to be. A lonely home in the middle of lava untouched. Because the lava can still be hot or soft underneath, no vehicle is allowed near the new lava. It has a crust over it since stopping flowing 2 months ago but will take a while to set.

As we flew across to the coast where the lava finished into the sea we notice the edge of the island in places is very different from anything I’ve seen before. It has a chunky, thick black edge not like a cliff but also not a gentle smoothing out to the sea. In just a couple of places that are from old eruptions there is now black sandy beaches which are very strange. A few months ago, lava came down to a seaside village where it met the waters edge and where a jetty was located for the locals to access their fishing boats. It crawled along under the jetty and into the water with so much lava that the edge of the island is now further out than it was originally and this jetty now doesn’t even reach the water which looks funny.

One area which was of concern to the authorities is the location of the islands geothermal powerplant. The lava headed straight for it but luckily for the islanders it was saved with only a couple of outer buildings destroyed. Trouble now is that the only way for authorities to access it is via helicopter. This island is the youngest island and is still growing every year with the constant eruptions from a volcano that has been one of the longest active volcanos on the planet but don’t remember how long that is.

We spent the remainder of the day back on board the ship relaxing marveling at the photos and what we had seen.

Today is Wednesday and we were supposed to be on the other side of the island on the left side, at Kona, but due to a hurricane in the pacific running parallel to Hawaii andthen circling around across the top of the islands, now only 700km away the swell would be too dangerous to use the tenders which are the smaller boats to disembark from the cruise ship and go ashore. Therefore we have cruised all night straight up the right hand side of the islands to the top where we are this afternoon cruising around the Na Pali coast before docking tomorrow morning at the island of Kauai. We now have 2 full days there Thursday and Friday so that will be nice.

Well we had a very different day yesterday with a full 24 hours at sea cruising. Due to a nice little cat 4 hurricane that had been a 5 and down graded a bit swirling around the pacific parallel to Hawaii. It was quite a way out not expecting any effects from it until it curved in with in 700km and was causing some swell concerns that would effect us on the western side of the islands where we were supposed to be heading and into Kona on the big island as that was a tender port. Our only one but it would make it too dangerous so our port stop was cancelled and all our tours refunded. So instead of that we travelled from Hilo and went straight up the eastern side of all the islands from bottom to top island all night then abou 5pm Wednesday we arrived at the Na Pali coast where we cruised around the top of the island as no roads around this side of the island and only way to see the views are by sea or air. You can see why the movie makers love coming to Hawaii for sure.

After doubling back across the top we spent over night heading to our next stop on this island by Thursday today arriving at 7.30am. And I did get up to see a magnificent sunrise. I haven’t been too lucky with the sunsets but boy those sunrises are beautiful.

Today was an all day tour of the best of Kauai. We headed off at 8.30 to our first stop.

Hi everyone. Well sadly we are nearly at the end of our month of travels. Thursday we had a full day of travels around the island of our last stop.

Our first point of interest was the Waimea canyon. As the sign says, it’s elevation is 3400 feet or 1036 metres. We stopped here for half and hour to give everyone time to get their best shots as there were about 4 buses full by then. You could just see in a couple of places the Waimea river in the base of the canyon in a couple of places. This canyon was formed from the river which was a larger body of water than it is now and 2 earth quakes along a fault line that just opened up.

After this we travelled back across the island to a small town that was providing our buffet lunch. What a beautiful place. Surprising how many people it holds and gorgeous surrounding gardens.

We visited a blow hope that is formed from a lava tube that has ruptured a hole in the top. The entire beach and coastline was black volcanic rock. They called it the Spouting Horn Park.

We stopped off to see a lovely tall waterfall that was visible road side but a long way away. Then you crossed the road and viewedthe river that we were going to boat ride up next.

We travelled around to a jetty area where many passenger river boats were tied up. We boarded and had Hawaiian singing and dancing as entertainment as we made our way up the river towards our final destination the Fern Grotto.

On Friday our day was ours as others were doing other tours. We collected a trolley bus that is a free shuttle to various shopping precincts around the town. It first took us down to the harbour mall that is really just a collection of little shops out for every tourist $$ they can get. A couple of restaurants and nothing else so we walked up the road to 5e other more upmarket shops near a bigger hotel and found some can’t live with out bits and pieces ha ha. Then we had to catch the shuttle bus back to the port before hopping off then onto another bus that would take us out to another area. 5his time it was what Bryan had been wanting to see. Walmart! Yes we braved it and walked around Walmart. And yes there were very interesting sights. It was like a larger, dirtier, 20-30yr older Kmart. This made Kmart look like Myers ha ha. They have everything including a Maccas. These large American men were lined up along the counter seating facing into the store watching their wives shop while they sat there stuffing their mouths with so much food it was gross.

After this it was getting to lunch time so we decided to head back to the ship and have a relaxing lunch on board then wait till everyone else came back on.

It’s our last night on board so we went to a Hollywood show then had dinner before packing our cases as they had to be out in the passageway before midnight to be collected. We just had our clothes for tomorrow in carry bags.

Arrived back into Honolulu Port this morning early. Breakfast then off the ship. We took taxis straight to the hotel to check in our luggage as the rooms aren’t ready until 3pm. We were here by 10am. We layed on a banana lounge out near the pool under cover for a couple of hours while the phones connected to the wifi and did all their up dates.

We looked around a bit in some different shops and some the same then had a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory before going back o the hotel. Cases repackaged and weighed. Leaving by 5.30am tomorrow, that’s our Sunday morning for an 11hr flight but lose more than a day. Arriving home at 8pm Monday night.

I have a stack of pics of other funny things, some quirky signs and differences from our American part of the holidays. I’ll write them up tomorrow while flying.

I hope you have all been able to read and see what we have through our photos.

Cheers Jo and Bryan

Today is Sunday/ Monday depending which country I’m in and if we’ve crossed the International date line yet. So I thought I’d take the time on the 10hr flight to think about the differences we noticed and the unusual things we didn’t understand.

So let’s talk toilet talk to start with. Many places we travelled to, the toilets are set very low. I go to sit and nearly fall in as it’s further down than what I’m used to ha ha. The water circles the other way to us in Australia and mostly they don’t use round toilet bowls they are really large egg shaped and are so full of water that you feel like you can only do half a wee or you will flood the bowl ewe. Especially first thing in the morning was a worry ha ha. Also many places have the self cleaning model. In a couple of places there were buttons on the right hand side for wash, blow dry and drip dry? Why would you go to the trouble of washing then let it all drip dry? It soaks up in your underwear or you stand around doing a jig in the cubicle waiting for the under carriage to air dry. Hmmm not something I would think was popular. Do I tear out a toilet seat cover to put on before sitting was another toilet issue, only to flush something else into drains? There were a few public toilets that had 3 what looked like taps across one long trough? First one is soap, second is water when you wave in the right direction to activate it and the other is an air drier but no signage to indicate what any of them are for. That was a watch others or wave hands around until someone else shows you what you need. Both Italy and America, mainland and Hawaii had all unusual quirks to work out. I was surprised that some places in Italy had a style of long drop toilet that after my time in Kenya I was not going to try again.

Another topic of interest was the traffic. Of course everywhere was driving on the wrong side to us or is it that we drive on the wrong side? I just aimed for the back seat because I would go to the drivers side instead of passenger side if I went for the front ha ha. Public transport is huge compared to what we are used to in Tasmania. Buses, trolley buses, trains, taxis and Uber’s plus you can hire so many different cars that I’ve never been in like high end expencive convertibles or luxury cars and jeeps. There are the hire push bikes everywhere or in Hawaii you have these cute little cars that look like a child’s or barbie car ha ha but adult size. There’s blue for the guy and white or pink for the girl but I’m sure you can take which colour you like. I’ll add a pic of them outside our hotel to hire. Everywhere are convertibles with the top down darting around between traffic. Also in abundance were limousines. It seems to be that there is one in every block. They just seem to drive around between hotels or along the streets waiting for someone to hale one like a taxi. The cities are noisy but everywhere is when it comes to emergency services. They don’t go anywhere with out their lights and sirens on and it’s an annoying sound. Not what we are used to. And if an ambulance is called then a large long yellow fire truck will also go. It appears the ambos can’t do the lifting them selves so the firies help then hand over to the paramedic crew. Not what I would expect a large fire truck to be doing. It took a few looks to realise there were no indicators on many cars in Hawaii like ours. When you indicate it’s the red break light that flashes? Didn’t think that was a legal thing. The National highway in Hawaii has a speed limit of 45mph (72km) in most areas but occasionally we saw a 50mph. 25-30 is all we saw around towns.

Road signs are different to get used to. It’s the speed limit 25 - 50 signs that took some thinking about. And the ”Stop” then underneath it says “all way”? Begin and End of different highway numbers or an area that was run by the Coast Guard. Another one that I did a double take was “you are now entering a tsunami region” or leaving that region. And along with that is the signs to tell everyone which road to take for higher ground to evacuate the down town areas. Hmm we definitely live in a different world. Also there are terms or ways of giving directions that were a laugh like “no outlets”. We are used to the no through road. If you are turning then yield in various ways. Other signs that we saw were the state law not to smoke somewhere, or a one way direction or even the different toilet signs were a laugh. They shorten words on signs too which was funny. “No Ped Xing” no pedestrian crossing ha ha ha. Or “watch for bikers” we decided was push bikes not bikers on motor bikes.

Fire hydrants in America, are everywhere on every block. They are bright yellow like the colour of the truck and stick out of the ground fairly high like little minions all around.

Crossing the road is different in America as on some busy corners the light to cross go on at the same time in all directions and the line markings on those intersections are not anything I’d seen before. Also you have to be watching and not talking or you miss your turn to cross as there is no sound when the light changes. They go walk then after a couple of seconds they start a count down so you know when the traffic is coming to hurry up.

In Italy it’s flat water or sparking offered at the table but in America it’s a large tall glass of flat water put straight in front of you. Yes those large cups in America got me. Talk about to extreme.... in Italy they drink those tiny little espresso coffees in little baby cups but get to the great USA and my first coffee I had was a disaster in a large glass which was iced, in Maine and we called into Mc Donald’s for a cappuccino from the cafe a day later. Well I usually get the largest in Australia but my mistake was not asking first about their sizes ha ha ha. A large was actually a grande takeaway cup that was about a good half a litre of coffee and the worst coffee ever. Ewe ewe. So no more coffee until I got to Hawaii and found star bucks and looking at their cup sizes. So what I should have said was just a large not the largest as they come in Tall, larger and grande. Hmm why? What’s wrong with small med or large?

Food differences as previously mentioned in posts, were at times challenging and more so in Hawaii where all the tourists go. That was a real surprise. Gluten free has to be asked for and they might tell you no they have nothing for you or they ask what you might like then tell you whether it can be done in GF or not. Cafes we saw don’t do lactose free milk and only a few had soy milk. Dairy free isn’t a concept they understand. Because in America everything has to be over flavoured, full fat, over salted, over buttered or so very sweet. Didn’t find a chocolate I liked really and the Diet Coke or zero coke is disgusting. I don’t know what they use for their sweetener but it’s nothing like ours. Bryan thought reg coke was ok but surprising how many places only have Pepsi and as you know Bryan, that’s a dirty word. He’s drank more lemonade, American lemonade which is like home made non carbonated was on the cruise or juice than I’ve seen in a long time. After our lunches on tours the driver would say we could catch Polynesian Paralysis? The term laughed about as the locals call their after lunch nap time. A very weird fascination in America with Spam. Something we ate occasionally as kids but very rarely seen here. But their supermarkets have it in multiple flavours it a real meal. Gross.

Many sunset or sunrise pics and usually the sunrise was more colourful than the sunset. Enjoyed taking those.

The scenery was amazing everywhere. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Italy and will be heading back there to look around more. Portland in Maine was lovely but need to get out of the city to see more of the state. And Hawaii offered so many cultural differences. We learnt more in the week wandering Waikiki or doing trips around the island. We’ve seen most of the touristy things now so have no plans to return to Hawaii any time soon. The crowds and how busy it is, is not an area I want to return too. I haven’t done such over commercialised first world tourist trips before. Been there done that ha ha.

The state flower was the bright yellow Haw (not sure of spelling) tree which changes colour 3 times in 24 hours. It opens in the morning a bright yellow then by later in afternoon it’s turning orange on the way to red by night time then it falls off. This is a 24 hour cycle. Therefore the flower didn’t last long enough or stay the colour they wanted so the flower was changed to the yellow Hibiscus. Plumeria or the frangipani, the white one is the official flower for the Lai. Boganvillia in multiple lovely colours are everywhere in Hawaii.

Golf is either very popular with Hawaiians or they cater for a huge tourist need as there are golf courses everywhere. Over the road from each other in some cases.

There was a tree that looked familiar as we had travelled around the islands and on our last island visit we were told they were a tree brought from Kenya. But it wasn’t known how much of a water guzzler they were and totally not appropriate so when they were to be cut down to use in furniture etc they would split and cracked open from being so dry. They then became a pest and got out of control until now someone came up with the idea to chop them down and chip them, then send them around the island to the power plant where they can burn them for fuel.

One of the biggest annoying things we came across in America was that the price marked on an item or on the shelf wasn’t what you really paid. And unlike our flat 10%, it’s different taxes in each state. Like Hawaii 4.293%(example). How do you work out that on an ice cream? Prices were never what you thought. So when you went to the counter you just had to wait while they added on sales tax.

Also to do with the money is tipping. Do you or don’t you? Who to and who not to? I have no idea if we gave too much or too little in the end. It was just what ever we had at the time in small notes left in our pocket.

Another very noticeable thing in Hawaii is the chickens, chooks, hens & the roosters. What ever you call them but they are wild free range skinny and some diseased. They can’t be killed at least not in the day light hours and are no good to eat. One bus driver laughingly said to us he knows a couple of blocks down town that didn’t have them around there restaurant..... that would be KFC he goes ha ha ha. And the birds are just everywhere with pigeons coming at you.