Our family backpacking trip through Italy - by car, train and cruise

We undertook this trip with our two teenage children.  Megan turned 17 during the trip, and Reid had turned 14 right before Christmas.  For the first time we decided to try a bit of backpacking, because it seemed to lend itself well to a Europe trip, where the stairs and cobblestones could make wheeled suitcases unwieldy.

Day 1 – 27 December 2018

Our flight from Brisbane to Taipei left at 11pm last night. The new security rules were confusing and Reid's deodorant was confiscated. We will know about it later. Luckily it is not hot.

It was our first time on China Airlines. Out of interest, I thought their premium economy section looked better than the Virgin international premium economy. Sadly we had to walk straight past that section. If planes had nosebleed seats, we were in them. I found the food a bit hit and miss. They have a decent in-flight entertainment system but the sound in my seat was not working.   I had ordered the vegetarian meal.  The good part about this is that your meal comes first.  I found it pretty bland though on this flight.  The meals on the subsequent flights were better.  I was tired so after the evening meal I tried to sleep. I didn't feel like I had a solid sleep but neither did I feel like I sat there awake for six hours, so I likely got a few hours of sleep. Reid was really struggling to wake up in the morning and actually fell back asleep as he was eating the bread roll from his meal.

Once we landed in Taipei we headed for immigration and customs. This was all very straightforward as our big bags were checked all the way to Rome.

As soon as we exited customs we ran right into the tourism desk, where we signed up for free "city wide" WiFi (on reflection I am not sure what city wide actually means as we struggled to locate spots where we could use it) and picked up some maps. All you need is your passport and they register you on the system so you can log in to the WiFi network.

After a couple of false starts we found the MRT which is the train into the city.

Turns out they only accept cash for these train tickets.  We first headed straight for the ticket machines but quickly realized that the machines only accepted cash for day tickets.  I had brought $2000 Taiwan dollars with me intending to use it for food etc., but had to spend the first $600 on the train tickets. This is about AUD$30. They give you a little round purple token. On the way in, you touch it to a sensor to open the gate. On the way out, you drop it in a slot.

Megan was dozing off on the train and Reid was already talking about turning around and going back to the airport so I was a little worried about how our day would go.

The first order of business was some food, and what did we see as we walked into the main Metro station? McDonalds! In Vietnam we discovered that the fast food outlets seem to have local menu modifications so we grabbed a second breakfast there. Much pointing and hand signals were required to order five hash browns, some hotcakes and a breakfast muffin. Turns out the local modification is that the hotcakes are so tough you can't cut them, and they also only take cash. That was about another $300 of our money.

So lesson 1 was that much of Taiwan is a cash economy. Later on I did some online research and learned that Taiwan is very safe and most people think nothing of carrying large amounts of cash on them. 

Lesson 2 was that things open much later here. Everything was closed when we started looking around.

Lesson 3 was that they don't like to provide places to sit down! There are no chairs in the train stations or the shopping malls. We went hunting for somewhere to sit down to eat our McDonalds and finally found a few chairs outside a Starbucks. As Megan attempted to hack into her pancakes Reid was eyeing off the menu at Starbucks, so Dallas went and investigated.  They accepted credit cards so a few hot chocolates secured us seats inside the cafe.

We originally intended to purchase one day MRT tickets so we could explore parts of the city that were too far to get to on foot. Based on our level of tiredness, the rabbit-warren like nature of the main train station, and the rainy weather, we changed plans and decided to walk to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial and then take it from there.

This was about a twenty minute walk away. Although it was raining I enjoyed the opportunity to have a look around and see the city. Those who read their packing list had a rain jacket. I am not sure if this is a typical day but we didn't see hardly any other westerners walking around. Megan, being tall and blonde, tends to stand out a bit.

The memorial area is expansive. It was built in the late 1970s and contains a very large bronze statue of Chiang Kai Shek housed in a massive blue and white building, the national theatre and the national concert hall. Between them is Democracy Square. We caught the end of the ceremony of the changing of the guard and spent some time wandering around. The guards stand flanking the bronze statue on little plinths. I thought it was interesting that after they stepped up there, another worker fussed over them and adjusted their uniforms so they were absolutely perfect.  They then stood completely still, like the guards you see in London.

From here we walked over to the Red House and the shopping district.

On the way we were tired and took the opportunity to rest at the only dry seating around - a bus stop. I was starting to smell myself so did a little deodorising.  We even got to watch a taxi driver pull over to relieve himself on the traffic island. This is the thing about walking everywhere - you get the local experiences that you would miss on a tour bus.

At the Red House I enjoyed seeing all of the artisans and their creative work. The shopping district reminded me of those futuristic movies where there are flashing neon signs, huge video screens, music coming from every store, lights strung overhead, big pillars with anime characters on them. It was something else.

We spent another $180 on a box of potato gems and loaded fries at a potato restaurant. I tried to convince Reid to try some noodles but he was not having it.  I have to admit, it is daunting trying to purchase something edible when ordering from a menu that is not only in another language, but does not even use the same alphabet.

The walk back to the main train station seemed much longer than it did in the morning. We were all dragging. With another $600 we purchased our tokens to return to the airport on the train. I wondered how they ended up using such large numbers for their money.  Was there a period of rapid inflation at some point that caused the smaller denominations to become worthless?  Or has it always been this way?

I enjoyed our day in Taipei. It seems to be a city of many contrasts and sometimes contradictions - like having gigantic tv screens as ads on many buildings but then not accepting credit cards. I thought the people were very polite and helpful.

We do not know our gate yet for our flight to Rome but we got very lucky and found an empty gate lounge that contains 4 reclining lounge chairs with charging ports on them. If we could just raise the temperature a few degrees it would be perfect. We may have to abandon the chairs soon due to frostbite. Only six more hours until we get to board our 14 hour flight. Not looking forward to that one at all.

Dallas went hunting for food while Reid and I guarded the chairs, and came back with a bowl of noodle soup for me.  It is not the type of thing that I would have chosen for myself, but was still quite good and hit the spot.  He then took the kids up to a restaurant where Reid had mozzarella sticks.  Sweet boy that he is, he brought me back his last one.

By this time our actual gate number had been posted and Dallas did some reconnaissance to learn that it also had 4 reclining chairs.  We packed up super quick and relocated to the new lounge, where we waited for our flight.

Every lounge also had a water refilling station.  I had been puzzled as to why the line in front of it was so long, until I went to fill my water bottle.  It took forever.  Turns out it runs very slowly.  And when I finally got to the front, the water that came out of the cold tap was warm.

Day 1 update from Dallas

We arrived in Taipei around 5:30am. China Airlines flying a Boeing 777-300ER (3 × 4 x 3 configuration). I managed a few hours’ sleep I think, but in and out and felt pretty smashed. Managed to listen to some podcasts. 8hr flight overall went fairly quick. The food for dinner last night (for me) was Pork pieces with potato salad, bread roll and kit kat for desert. I enjoyed it. You get a choice between two. Alternate option was chicken and rice. Breakfast was frittata and a small sausage with yoghurt. Juice provided last night not long after boarding plane but not offered with breakfast. 

Overall the food was good. Seats were ok, enough leg room but an inch wider would have been welcomed. Not uncomfortable though. Service was fine, not great, did what needed to be done.

After going through customs, which was quick and straight forward, we headed to get Wi-Fi access for across Taipei at the service desk, then headed into Taipei on the train. It was a Ghost town in Taipei when we arrived around 6:30 as they start late and finish later in the day. Cash is used predominantly and some places don't support eftpos/credit cards. The sausage and egg from maccas doesn't taste like it does back in Brisbane, more spicier back home and a bit more tasty.

We walked around Taipei amidst constant changing Weather. Rain, overcast, wind, cold, sometimes warm, jumper on and off at different times. Our first stop of historical interest was Chiang Kai-shek memorial (former ROC president) which is a large Temple like structure of amazing design and architecture. The land is expansive and includes the concert hall and theatre, two additional buildings also of amazing design and architecture, with a large open concrete area between called democracy square. These two buildings weren't open to the public.

We spent time at the Red House which is now a small shopping centre with art and craft type stalls. It has an interesting history including hosting Japanese soldiers in WW2 for a few years. The shopping district was large with many alleyways and lots of small shops and food establishments along with some larger well known International brands like Zara, H&M, Rolex, Air Jordan shoe store (which had a large line up). It was very interesting. I think I saw Mos Burgers more than any other shop in Taipei. There was a lot of variety. Pillars with anime characters, large electronic billboards for advertising, very busy with people everywhere and you had to dodge delivery and maintenance cars going through the small streets. Horns beeping a lot. Reminded me of Vietnam in so many ways. Also a bit like Times Square in NY. Reflecting on the residential areas and even central city, I saw a contrast between old and new. Areas run down versus newer areas. It seems that infrastructure hasn't been maintained well over time and many older buildings in disrepair. Again, very similar in Vietnam.

We eventually made our way back to the train station and headed back to the airport as we were all a bit worn out. We have just had dinner at the airport which was nice, at Bistro D. Terminal 1. We leave 11:40pm tonight.

Day 2 – Rome – 28^th December 2018

The 14 hour flight from Taipei to Rome was not fun but was also not as bad as it could have been. The food was much improved from the previous flight. It took off just around midnight so after the meal we all went to sleep. I woke up with about 7 hours to go. The others slept for much longer.  I found on both of these previous flights that a sleep mask has made a big difference to previous long haul flights that I have done.  It doesn’t make me any more comfortable, but at least removes one barrier to sleep – the light.

Despite the presence of heavily armed security, the arrivals process in Rome was very relaxed and after our bags finally arrived we sailed through customs and immigration. We are finding as the kids get older that they are expected to behave like adults when we go through immigration points, so they are getting used to figuring various passport readers and presenting themselves in front of immigration officials on their own.

Our hotel had arranged a shuttle so we were dropped right at the door of the "Zefiro Home".   The shuttle driver wanted to be paid in cash, which I later figured out is quite standard.  It cost €58, which was €10 more than the standard fee for a taxi, but this way we had a guy waiting with our name on a sign and knew that he knew exactly where we needed to go.  I arranged it because I knew that after 2 days of flying we would be exhausted.  Our accommodation appears to be an old building that has been converted into modern apartments.  There is a small lift that we barely fit in with our bags.  

There is a courtyard in the middle of the building and the inside balconies contain flower planters which make it look quite charming and very quintessentially Italian. Our rooms are small but well equipped and breakfast is included.

We were not able to check in immediately as it was only 9am, but were able to leave our bags and start exploring Rome.  Checking in meant that the front desk lady had to take photos of all of our passports.  This is a requirement in Italy.  They have no luggage storage room as the reception area is very small.  There was nowhere to get changed so the boys were therefore stuck wearing shorts in 3 degrees Celsius. Megan had lost one glove somewhere in Taipei so our first purchase in Rome was a new pair of gloves.

I ordered SIM cards online from SimCorner before we left, so we took a few minutes to install those in our phones. Except for Dallas' which took a few hours, these set themselves up automatically within a few minutes and we were ready to go. This way if we lost anyone, we could easily locate each other, and we can search for information about the sites that we visit.  These proved to be an excellent investment.

First order of business was breakfast, as the last meal on the plane was hours ago. Google told us the closest breakfast cafe and it was a great pick. They don't have Western style breakfasts but the paninis were delicious. The hot chocolate was so thick and creamy that it required a spoon.

We then visited Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the biggest Catholic churches. The interior is stunning. 

We spent quite a bit of time there. There are several side chapels, then smaller side chapels off those side chapels.

We also stopped at the St Peter in chains church, which holds not only the chains that bound St Peter in Jerusalem, but also contains a massive tomb for Pope Julius II designed by Michelangelo. It is also unique in that it contains sculptures of skulls and skeletons.

We were able to get into our rooms after this, and took some very welcome showers and rugged up a bit better. I had purchased thermals for Megan and I from Aldi when they had their snow sale and they were also a good investment.  [Over the coming days we discovered that they were great not only for keeping warm through the day, but also made very comfortable pyjamas.]

I am literally falling asleep writing this, so the short version of the afternoon is that we set out for the Pantheon and tripped over a bunch of other historically significant buildings as well.

Pizza for dinner and at 6pm I am just about ready to crash.

Edit: it is now 3:30am and I am awake which is probably inevitable after going to bed at 6, so I will add some more detail about the afternoon.

On the way to the Pantheon we stopped in at a tiny eatery and grabbed some french fries to go - 3 Euros per serve. The kids are trying out some Italian phrases but Reid's attempt at thank you came out as gracias. We also found what looked like a small grocery store from the front but it extended quite a way back, and got Reid some new deodorant (since his was confiscated at the airport. You could argue that he is more dangerous without it).

We also came across the Altar of the Fatherland on the way. It is massive and the tourist info I read said it is described as either the typewriter or the wedding cake. It is apparently a monument to an early king.

The Pantheon is massive. It has no windows but there is a 9m wide hole in the ceiling that provides natural light. Directly under the hole is a drain for when it rains. It can't rain too heavily here or the whole place would flood. I am imagining a good old Queensland storm that could turn the floor into a lake in 5 minutes. I also read that it is exactly as tall as it is wide, so a perfect sphere could fit inside. It was originally a monument to all of the pagan gods but was later converted to a Christian Church. 

The Pantheon was very busy with tourists. I can't imagine what it is like here in the summer. We have taken the warnings about pickpockets seriously. There are signs everywhere. Reid was asked to remove his hat inside, but not our beanies, and apparently making out inside is ok as the couple doing so were not asked to stop.

We were getting pretty tired after the Pantheon, but the church of St Louis of the French was nearby and it holds three Caravaggio paintings, so we kept going a little longer. I noticed that most places have signs asking for silence but it doesn't last long. In here at one point a bell rang and we heard a loud "shhhhh". That worked for about 30 seconds.

Megan was fading by now - she and I both have a cold that we picked up before leaving, so we headed back to our hotel, stopping at a little pizzeria to grab some dinner to go. They were small but had a large selection of pizzas and pastas and also some delicious potatoes. We learned by watching others that you tell them how many people the pizza is for and they cut a chunk off and weigh it. The kids tried a potato pizza after the girl told them their first selection was very spicy. Good on her for saving them!

Dallas wanted to seek out something more exciting for dinner so he left as we went to bed and went wandering. I woke up briefly when he got back but I have no idea what time that was.

I really love Rome already. You can't walk one block without tripping over another building or statue that has seen centuries or millennia of history. Today we will visit the Vatican.

Side note, we accidentally went to the basement in the elevator yesterday and it looked like a dark concrete serial killer cave with accompanying musky smell. We closed that door again pretty quickly.  I stepped out to take a photo and the kids were frantically pressing the buttons trying to get the door closed because it looked so freaky down there.

Day 3 – Rome – Vatican – 29^th December 2018

We clocked up 10.88 km in Taipei, 8.28km yesterday and 8.64km today. Hopefully it counters all the bready food we are eating.

Breakfast was included in our hotel booking and it was quite impressive. They don't do the same kind of hot breakfasts here that we would get at home, but we received a tray full of pastries, muffins, cereal, yoghurt, fruit, bread, juice and more. We were very impressed.

We had a booking for the Vatican for 9am. Booking in advance is a must. The line for those just wanting to walk in on the day was long. You have to go through security scans to get in. We had pre-purchased the audio guide. We didn't know beforehand that they have headphone jacks so you can plug in your own headphones. Megan was prepared. I will say that I didn't find the audio guide that great. It was a bit dry and not very engaging.

The Vatican museums on the other hand were unbelievable. When they say museums they really do mean multiple museums.

I loved the Egyptian museum as I find their history fascinating. We spent a long time in there and then realised that we really couldn't spend the same time in every museum or it would take us three days to get through the whole place.  I was amused to see various depictions of ibises and posted a few photos for people back home of “Egyptian Bin Chickens”, since that is their slang nickname at home.

Other highlights for me were the gallery of tapestries (absolutely massive), the gallery of maps (120m of maps painted on the walls), the mosaics on the floor, the ceilings EVERYWHERE, the Raphael paintings, the Van Gogh, Gaughin, and Dali pieces, and the carriages pavilion. Of course then there was the Sistine Chapel. No photos or talking in there. It was very crowded and Reid had just about enough of people and walking by then.

We had lunch at the pizzeria there. I tried the potato croquettes. For tourist food they were pretty good.

The museums are kind of like a very extravagantly decorated Ikea. Once you are in, you have to follow the path through every room to get out. You get a sense for the kind of wealth and power that has been amassed by the Vatican over the centuries though after seeing it all.

After leaving the museums we had to walk around the entire city to get to St Peters Square. I could show you a hundred photos of this square and you would still not feel what it feels like to stand there. It is impossible to show in a photo how immense the pillars are and how imposing the Basilica is. They also had a nativity there made out of sand - it must be sprayed with some sort of glue as it is very intricate. The square is also full of people selling tours of the Vatican. We were constantly approached by them. On the road on the way in there were heaps of guys selling fake Gucci bags and the like.

By now Reid was very ready to return to the hotel for some Netflix but it was only 2pm. We agreed that we would see a couple more things before returning.

They do not have regular Uber here, only the Black Uber, but I looked it up this morning to compare it to the four of us taking the train, and we decided to use it. So today we travelled in style - in Mercedes to get there and a BMW to get back.  For both trips, the actual amount charged was about 5 euros less than the estimate on the app.  I have no idea why.

The BMW dropped us at the Museum and Crypt of the Capuchin Friars. The museum was interesting and I learned a lot about their order. They lived simple and humble lives and spent a great deal of time and resources in helping the poor and sick. It was funny though to read about squabbles in the 1700s about the correct shape of the hood that they wear, and the pedantic nature of the rules governing clothing. I found the reliquaries interesting as well. These are containers that hold tiny fragments linked to saints. I couldn't tell what the fragments were - they looked like chips of rocks. Apparently sometimes they can be bits of bone or fabric. I also loved seeing the very very very old books. It must have been extremely painstaking work producing these books and accompanying pictures.

Once finished in the museum, you enter the Crypt. Oh my. I have never seen anything like it. There are a series of chambers that are entirely decorated with the bones of 3500 monks. When I say decorated, I mean that they have been arranged into patterns, flowers, pillars, crosses, chandeliers and more. There are also some intact skeletons still dressed in monk frocks, some with the skin still there. We were not allowed to take photos in there. One guy did and was immediately approached by the staff and asked to delete it in front of them. There are photos on the internet.

Here is a photo from the internet that shows what it looks like.

The Trevi fountain was a short walk away. The square was packed with people. This is another monument that photos do not do justice to. It is massive.  It seemed like everyone was just there to get the perfect photo, and I suppose we were no different – just checking off the list of things we were supposed to see in Rome.

On the way back to the hotel we happened to pass the state government offices when they were doing the changing of the guard. We have seen some quite unique uniforms here and many of the security officers appear to be heavily armed. My favourite is the guards at the Vatican - they look like musketeers.

We have now returned to our hotel for some down time before we have to go and seek out some dinner. Tomorrow we see the Colosseum and Roman Forum and then head to Amalfi.

Day 4 – Rome – Colosseum and Roman Forum – 30^th December 2018

Our neighbours decided to arrive home at 12:30 last night and let everyone know about it. I did not get back to sleep again between the jetlag and the snoring next to me in bed.

Another delicious breakfast by our host at the Zefiro Home. Made sure the neighbours could hear how much we were enjoying it and watched a documentary about the Colosseum while we ate. We left our bags there and headed for the Colosseum.

It was bitterly cold this morning. We understand now why nothing opens until 10 or 11. No one wants to go outside in those temperatures. Unfortunately it was cloudy so there was no sun to warm things up. We have been spoiled with the beautiful skies over the previous few days.

The process of getting into the Colosseum seemed very disorganised. It opens at 8:30 and if you have purchased tickets online you still have to pick them up at the ticket office. There were lines everywhere with no clear idea of what was what. We got in eventually. It is bigger than it looks in the photos.

One of the things that I learned was that they had a system to cover the roof with these canopy things that could be pulled out to the middle. The attendees were given numbered tickets like we get today. Seating levels were based on status, the higher status the closer the seats. Senators got their names engraved on their seats.

It was used for animal fights, gladiator battles and public executions. It was sobering to imagine the arena full of people baying for blood.

Evidence suggests that later they added ducts to allow for it to be flooded to conduct naval battles.

Apparently in the middle ages they decided that the materials were more valuable than the building and started stripping it out to use the materials elsewhere, so that is why there are lots of holes in the walls.

We were all thoroughly frozen so after finishing there we went in search of a cafe intending to get some hot chocolate. Once seated we decided to make it an early lunch instead. I tried a cream of artichoke savoury crepe and it was fabulous. Megan had carbonara, Dallas also had a savoury crepe and Reid stayed safe with a margherita pizza.

After lunch we went back to see Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Some of these ruins date back to a few centuries BC. As we walked through the remains of the buildings I tried to imagine the people that lived and worked there. Before leaving I had purchased a small "then and now" book with transparent overlays that showed various buildings as they would have been. This was great as it helped us all to imagine what it looked like at the time. The sun had come out so we were more comfortable in the afternoon.

After picking up our bags from the apartment we made our way to Hertz at the Termini station to pick up a rental car. Megan was very tired and had sore feet and was keen to take an Uber.  We didn’t think that all of the bags would fit in one Uber though, so the boys walked up to the train station, and Megan and I ordered an Uber.  He dropped us on the wrong side of the train station which meant we ended up having quite a walk to find the office anyway.  The online description of the car that we ordered was obviously unclear because they had allocated us a 2 door Fiat. That could have been cosy. Luckily they had something a little bigger - a Renault capture. We then had to walk right up the road with all our bags to a parking garage where the cars were located to pick it up.

I thought the parking places at home were tight - the turns were very tight in this one.

Getting out of Rome was an adventure.  After a few near misses at intersections on the way out, I searched for some online info about driving in Rome, and learned that that main rule is to never hesitate.  They do not appear to pay attention to lane markings as we have seen plenty of people just driving right down the middle of them. They also do not believe in indicators. We have seen maybe three people indicate in the last hour. As we are driving along the highway people are speeding past us and cutting in front of us with very little clearance.

We are heading to a little town called Vietri Sul Mare for the next few days. It is right at the start of the Amalfi coast. Hopefully we can slow down a little bit in the next couple of days.

When we arrived in Vietri, we were supposed to meet our host at a bar in the main square.  I was expecting a sleepy little village but instead found a bustling hillside town with a stream of traffic through the main street.  We took a wrong turn and ended up on the road to Amalfi, and found it difficult to turn around again.  Eventually we got pointed in the right direction and stopped right outside the appointed meeting place.  The lady came out of the bar and said she would get in our car and show us the way to the apartment as it was difficult to find.  She directed us through a series of twists and turns along tiny streets around a number of apartment buildings until we arrived at ours.

Thankfully our building had a private car park behind a gate so we would not have to fight for a parking space each day.   [Barone Vivì Holiday Home]

Again she took photos of our passports and we paid the city tax in cash. 

This apartment is spacious and comfortable.  It has a master bedroom, a second bedroom with a queen bed, and a pull out couch in the lounge room for Reid.  He wasn’t the most excited about his bedroom being the thoroughfare for everyone else, but it was preferable to sleeping next to his sister.  

We were exhausted so the kids and I were ready to head straight to bed. I ate a couple of bananas for dinner.

Day 5 – Paestum – 31^st December, 2018

Not wanting to take any chances, I took some melatonin and then a sleeping pill and managed to sleep until just before 5am. The bed was very firm and I thought I would be uncomfortable but was fine. Thankfully we have not found anything as hard as the beds in Vietnam.

I was keen to look at the view so as soon as the sun rose I went out on the balcony and was rewarded with spectacular views of the town on the hill, like the postcards you see of the Amalfi coast.

We had no food besides a bit of fruit so we showered and started a load of washing and headed off to towards Paestum. I thought we would take the coast road, expecting that we might pass through some pretty seaside villages and pick up some food along the way.

Expectations were flattened by reality.

It was kind of intriguing actually. The whole road along the coast was full of run down properties with piles of trash out the front. There were a few restaurants but nothing looked open. There were heaps of caravan parks and "beach resorts" but it all looked very dingy.

It wasn't until an hour later as we drove into Paestum that things started to look a bit nicer. About ten minutes before the archaeological park we found a small cafe.

I get the feeling they don't really do breakfast here. We did buy 7 filled fresh croissants and 4 delicious hot chocolates for 13 euro which was a bargain. The hot chocolate was even thicker than the first time we tried it. As the guy delivered it to us he gestured that I should take a selfie. People speak less English than I expected but have all been so nice about trying to communicate with us. We have to remember that we are the visitors here.

Reid was not feeling very good at all this morning but after a dose of nurofen, panadol and hot chocolate he started to perk up. It pays to be a travelling pharmacy (I always pack a LOT of medication).

There was a small supermarket behind the cafe so we stocked up on some cereal, snacks, and tissues as Megan and I have both been very sniffly.

Paestum has a ZTL (limited traffic zone) right in front of it but there is parking along the side of the road before it. Figuring out the parking meter was quite the challenge but we got there in the end with a little help from an Italian lady who was also trying to pay. It made me feel better that she also had to fiddle with it to figure it out but at least she could read the words.  It was 50c per hour to park.

Paestum is an archaeological park and I loved it. It used to be called Poseidonia, after Poseidon. There were a number of Greek colonies here in southern Italy that left the remains of their temples, shops, meeting houses and residences dating back to 300-500 BC.

There is a museum there that we visited first that contains many of the artefacts that have been discovered in the area. I was very proud of us as when we saw the pottery we remembered what we had seen at the Vatican museums and said to each other that it looked Etruscan. Later we learned that there were Etruscan influences on this civilisation.

The museum contained heaps of artefacts from pottery to jewellery to armour to large slabs of painted walls.

The top level documented the history of humans in this area and I was very excited to be able to see Palaeolithic stone spear tips from 35,000-100,000 years ago. I have recently done an online course with ASU about human origins and had read about this stuff but had no idea I would get to see some in this museum. It had a far larger collection than I had expected.

After the museum we headed out to look at the ruins and they were also far more expansive than expected. The temples were massive - the temples of Hera, Neptune and Athena. In a way it was hard to imagine what the area looked like but then in spots it was obvious what was there - houses, water pools, amphitheatres, wells etc. These ruins were far more accessible than the ones in Rome as you can climb all over them and really get up close to everything.

We spent way longer there than we thought we would. We were of course starving again by the time we finished so we headed to the local pizzeria for sustenance.

It was well after 3 as we headed back towards Vietri Sul Mare. This time we took the inland road and avoided the dodgy coast road, and as it happens we practically fell over the Cilento Outlets. They were mostly empty and we were able to find Megan a warm jacket that she liked as the one she had brought from home was not working for her.

It is now 7pm on New Year's Eve and we are back in our apartment. About half an hour ago we heard fireworks and were able to see them from our balcony. So there we go, New Year's fireworks done, I can go to bed now. Except that the bells outside are going nuts and I have no idea how long that will go on for.

We were actually going to go and have a wander through town when we got home but it is dark and it is COLD and we all chickened out except Dallas, who has gone for a walk. Tomorrow is New Year's day and nothing will be open so it will probably be a more quiet day for us.

Midnight

I had thought I would sleep through the New year's festivities. The locals had other ideas. I woke up thinking we were under attack. It is too cold to go outside for more than a minute or two but I knew I would regret it if I did not at least take a look. It is incredible. The entire sky is lit up with fireworks. They are firing them off from everywhere, including from the car park right under our balcony. It is 12:20 and there is no sign of stopping. It is so loud!

Day 6 – Vietri Sul Mare and Amalfi – 1^st January 2019

What a beautiful little town Vietri Sul Mare is! I feel like we made an excellent choice of location accidentally.

We slept in this morning after the midnight fireworks display.

After breakfast Dallas and I went for a walk through town. Reid was not feeling good and Megan wanted to stay in bed. We messaged Megan while we were up there because we knew she would love it, and went and collected her to join us.

The centre of town is a series of walking only streets that are full of mainly ceramics studios and eateries. The pottery is beautiful and it would have been nice to be able to take some home but that is near impossible.

As well as the shops, there is ceramic work everywhere - on the walls, on the ground, on the roof of the church. It gives the town quite a unique feel.

There is a small square that has views out to the ocean and a brass band was playing music there. It felt so very stereotypically Italian.

We picked up some food and treats to take back to the apartment and ate lunch there with Reid.

It was such a beautiful day that we decided to take a drive around the coast towards Amalfi. After doing it, I certainly wouldn't recommend it in busy tourist periods or in bad weather. The road is very narrow and constantly twisting and turning. No one seems to like to hug the edge of the road and there are even people parked on the road so you have to go out to the other side to get around them.

The views are stunning and it is fascinating to see how the people live.

There were many orchards as well growing oranges and lemons.

As we approached the last kilometer before the town of Amalfi, the traffic slowed to a crawl. We turned around in Amalfi, which was about an hour's drive from Vietri. There were cars and people everywhere and the parking lots were all full. It is definitely a popular destination, even in winter. In the middle of Amalfi we had a police car with sirens go past us, only to literally scrape bumpers with the car in front of us to get past them. I was feeling glad that we opted for the full insurance on the rental car.

Tomorrow we hope to see Pompeii and then head to Venice.

Day 6 update from Dallas

Trip day 6 update. Vietri Sul Mare in the morning and Amalfi Coast in the afternoon.

After sleeping in (given we were up late last night entertained by fireworks near our apartment) Cassie and I decided to go for a walk in the local area given there is a bit to see. I was unsure if any shops would be open given it was new years day, however it was very busy with people out and about. The eateries were open and many shops that haven't been open the past couple of days when I have gone for walks in the evening. There are about 10 ceramic shops in the area selling beautiful pots, plates, souvenir magnets etc. There was a brass band playing in front of some restaurants that look out over the ocean (It was a small public gathering place). We knew Megan would enjoy seeing the shops and area so we went back and collected her and did the walk around the main town circle. 

We picked up some lunch from a couple of different shops and took it back to eat with Reid.

After lunch we went for a drive around the Amalfi Coast road to Amalfi. It took a couple of hours return due to the winding slow road and amount of traffic. I would hate to be on the road in summer time as it was bad enough today. A very dangerous road particularly given the way motorists are here, they are all over the road, don't hug the edges. I was really keen to drive this stretch of road having seen photos of the Amalfi Coast and the buildings on the side of the cliffs. I was amazed at what I saw. I was contemplating how these buildings would have been built, the logistical challenges and how people get to the buildings as many of them didn't appear to have any road access. Cassie looked up some of the history of Amalfi, it dates back to being a trade route and port in the 6th century. A maritime area. It was affected by a Tsunami in the 1300s which destroyed the bottom part of the town and it never regained its significance. In modern times it is a thriving tourist destination. We saw plenty of terraced areas for growing produce, mostly lemons and oranges. Dad indicated to me in an email that when he and Mum were here they saw huge lemons. The ones we saw were normal size. In comparing the Amalfi Coast road to the Road to Hana in Hawaii (which I have driven twice) I would say the Amalfi road is worse to drive on, more dangerous. It is pretty much impossible to stop also on the Amalfi road and parking in the towns is very limited. We couldn't stop today, had to just turn around and head back. As we got close to Vietri Sul Mare on the way back we were able to stop but this is not near the towns where the best photos are. Cassie took some photos while we were driving and I took a couple while we were stopped on the road waiting for traffic. Also got some video footage to show how crazy the road is. One day I will perhaps drive Death road in Bolivia. Might do that one though on a motorcycle.🤔

Will have an early night tonight, which is good, given the past few days have been pretty full. Tomorrow we are off to Pompeii and then catch a train from Naples at 5pm to Venice (5 hr journey at night).

Day 7 – Pompeii to Venice – 2^nd January 2019

Our power went out in Vietri last night. It was actually quite interesting as there were backup lights that came on in a few places and the radiators still appeared to be on but none of the regular lights or power points. I had just turned the oven on to heat up some left over potatoes. I texted the property manager who said she would come right over. In the meantime I put the tray of potatoes on the radiator to try to warm it up.   They warmed up but weren’t that great after reheating.

The property manager arrived about half an hour later. The fuse box inside the apartment had looked fine but there was another one downstairs that had tripped. She said something about the neighbours having the air conditioning on so perhaps that plus the oven overloaded the circuits.

This morning we packed up, locked up the apartment, left the keys inside as instructed, loaded up the car, then stopped in front of the gate as we realised that the key was needed to open the gate, even from the inside.

Given that it had taken the property manager 30 minutes to arrive the night before, we didn't want to try to summon her again. I went back inside and tried to find an apartment where someone was obviously awake. I could hear children in one apartment so I knocked on the door but no one answered. Then I heard someone downstairs and a dog barking so I ran back down 2 flights of stairs to find an elderly Italian gentleman. He didn't speak English and I have no Italian but with much sign language I managed to communicate that we could not get out. He had a clicker in his car and kindly came outside and opened the gate for us.

It was about a 30 minute drive to Pompeii. The parking is at a camping ground so there were lots of campervans in there. It cost us 12 euro for about 4 hours. Kind of pricey compared to the 50c an hour at Paestum.

I had read lots of reviews around leaving luggage in cars. Most said not to do it. But the area looked well trafficked, we were parked very close to the entrance, and when I draped my black scarf over the bags in the back of the car you could not even see them, so we decided to take our chances.  The alternative was to haul the luggage up to the ticket office where there was a luggage storage area, and we were not keen to do that.

Pompeii was awesome. Reading about how big it is cannot prepare you for quite how large it is. It was an entire city I suppose. It is broken into regions and then spots of interest are marked within each region. The regions are things like the public areas, the commercial area, the aristocracy etc. As we walked around we marvelled at the streets and buildings and stores and baths and wondered what the people felt as the ash rained down. I was surprised to see that people were allowed to bring their dogs in. I have noticed that dogs appear to be welcome just about everywhere here.

There were a number of "bodies", but it is important to know that they are not actually bodies. After the city was covered in 4-6m of ash from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius, any organic matter decayed over the centuries, leaving empty body shaped cavities in the ash. When excavating the site, they developed the technique of filling the cavities with plaster, this creating plaster casts of the bodies.

After a few hours of wandering we were hungry and tired and made our way back to our car, which thankfully was undisturbed. As we left we noticed that the line to get in was now massive and were grateful that we had arrived early. We decided that we would probably get better food in Naples than right outside Pompeii, so we headed in that direction.

We only saw a little bit of Naples (Napoli) on the way in, but what we did see was pretty dirty and there were piles of rubbish everywhere. We had to fill up the car before dropping it off. The petrol stations are just pumps in a little pull in area on the side of the road. The first one waved us off saying they had no diesel. The second one had it but it cost us 40 euro for a little over half a tank.

Dropping off the car at the Hertz drop off point was a nightmare. The traffic as we approached the station was crawling, with lots of people beeping at each other. The drop off is actually in a parking garage across the street from the Hertz office. There were cars and buses three lanes deep trying to go in and out of the garage. A police woman was waving cars past the entrance and we had no idea what was going on. Finally a guy in a fluoro vest caught my eye and I said "Hertz?" And he waved us through saying "inside". We made it into the carpark but it took a lot more tricky driving and asking to try to find the actual spot to drop the car.  We accidentally went into an area where we had to pay to get out again, before going through another boomgate, and stumbling across a small area with Hertz painted on the wall behind it.

Inside Napoli Centrale Station was insanely busy as well, with people everywhere. We saw lots of people just gazing up at the departures board and at the time we did not understand why they needed to look at it for so long.

Megan and Dallas went to find where we could get food and located a table for us above Burger King. We were grateful to eat something besides pizza, even if it was onion rings and fries.

As we sat there we were watching the entrance to the bathroom. There was a girl sitting there with a box containing coins and covered in "thank you" in many different languages. We couldn't figure out what the required amount was as people seemed to be dropping different coins in there. Sometimes she would go somewhere else and while she was gone, no one would pay.  I have to confess that rather than trying to figure out how much we were supposed to pay, we waited until she left to go do something and let ourselves in for free.

It soon came time to look for our train and this is when we figured out why people were starting at the boards for so long. The platform does not appear on the board until about ten minutes before departure. As luck would have it, we were standing in front of Platform 17 and that is where our train would depart from. The platforms are very long and it took us ages to walk all the way to carriage 8.

We are now on the high speed train to Venice. Our seats are comfortable and there is a small table between us where the edges fold up to give more space. We downloaded a speed tracking app and watched as the speed approached 300km/hr. It didn't feel that fast except when another train passed us going the other direction. Interestingly, our ears have been popping when going through tunnels. The train ride is 5 hours long and stops in Rome, Florence and Bologne.

Dallas went looking for food and found the food car and picked up a few things.  A man also came through the carriage selling food and I grabbed some sandwiches and drinks for the kids.

On our train an elderly gentleman got off at Padova but forgot his cane. He got back on to retrieve it and didn't make it off again before the doors closed so he was stuck on the train until Venice and would have had to get back on another train going in the other direction. There is no time for messing around on these trains.

When we arrived in Venice we were excited to walk right out of the station to see the canals, with the buildings lit up across the main canal.

Here unless you want to drop a lot of $$ you settle for a smaller room. We have a quad room at Casa Burchielle and it is perfect and only a ten minute walk from the train station. We did have to walk over a few bridges to get there though, but otherwise it was very easy to find.  Our first job as usual was signing in to the WiFi.

Day 7 update from Dallas

We packed up the apartment this morning as it was out last day in Vietri Sul Mare and we were checking out. We went to Pompeii and arrived there about 8:40 prior to 9am ticket booths opening. Lucky we were there early as the line was huge by the time we left around 12:30. Pompeii was fascinating, a huge city which housed around 11,000 people. We could have spent a full day but time didn't permit. As we walked around we could see the stone roads stretch for hundreds of metres in every direction. The city was divided into regions and we explored the main sites in each region such as residential areas, the forum, aristocracy, a hotel, bathing area, forum (main square), Temple, amphitheatre, and arena like the Colosseum which seated 20,000 people. As the hot ash fell over the city many were buried. There were plaster casts made from the cavities under the ash to show the final position and expression of those people. The city would have been a thriving place in its day and was very advanced with furnaces to heat water in bathing areas. Looked like there were a few pizza ovens around too.

We left around 12:30 and headed to Naples (Napoli) where we had to return the hire car and catch the train to Venice. The traffic was crazy with three lanes deep of cars trying to get into the transit centre, people dropping off, etc. Police women were using whistles to wave cars on, to try and deter cars from stopping and blocking the road. We had to cut across two lanes to get into the right entry point to the hire car return. Plenty of horns going off, it was crazy. The signage was poor and no information provided by Hertz. It was a bit of a nightmare. We eventually found where to return the car and grabbed our bags and headed into the transit centre which was huge and like other places was full of people. We managed to find a spare table above Burger King and we then took turns heading out to get food. I initially stayed with the bags while Cassie and the children went to get food. They were happy to have burger king, it was a welcome change from pizza. I then went and got a slice of vegetarian pizza, a slice of tuna and tomato bread, and a fresh orange juice. It was quite nice.

We noticed the toilets above Burger King near our table were "guarded" by a women who had a donation box in front of her. People would toss in a coin on their way in. More about this later.

I went for a walk to explore the train station given we had some time to fill. Cassie and the children relaxed at the table and made that our base. There were a few stores at the transit centre like MAC and a pastry shop, sweets shop, technology shop, and a fancy store that looked like it was selling large lipstick tubes, I couldn't quite tell. It was empty though with three staff standing around chatting.

After heading back to the base, it was time to get ready to head down to the platforms to get the train. I decided to use the nearby toilet (mentioned earlier) so tossed in 50c and entered. 2 of the doors were showing red (ie. occupied), one out of order, the other green (vacant). So i went into the door that was green and found there was no toilet paper. So i went out and waited for a couple of minutes to use one of the other 2 stalls that were occupied (red). Well after a couple of minutes i thought perhaps no one is in these stalls and the door is showing red when it shouldnt be. So i gently pulled one of the doors, it opened, and was vacant. It also had no toilet paper. So I tried the other red door. It was also vacant and had no toilet paper. At this point I was thinking how do I get my money back? Something strange is going on here. Was this a social experiment? Was I on TV? The hand dryer was out of order too (something I have found in a few public toilets now on this trip). Nothing worked except the water. About 30 mins earlier the women was inside cleaning the men's toilets so I am unsure how all the stalls managed to have no toilet paper. Public toilets in Italy have made for interesting experiences. Most of them have no toilet seats.

At 4:10 we went down to the platforms and eventually saw the specific platform for our train come up on the departure boards. Platform 17. We were right In front of it which was handy. We walked along the platform as the train arrived and our tickets were checked. We then boarded the train (carriage eight) and stowed our luggage and found our seats. They were pretty comfortable, 2 sets of 2 seats per pod with a table in between. The train ride was quite smooth reaching speeds of over 290 km/hr which Cassie and I both tested using a GPS speedometer app on our phones.

After arriving in Venice we walked to our accommodation which is a quad room about 10 min walk from the train station. Right next to hotel olimpian. Coming out of the station we saw a canal with hotels on the other side, a large church like building, and street lights creating a lovely ambience along with led lighting in dome streets. Walking over bridges helped make the feel of Venice immediate and different to our stops so far in Italy. Tomorrow we explore Venice then head to Florence via train in the evening.

Day 8 – Venice – 3 January 2019

We arrived late last night and had a sort of easy ten minute walk to our accommodation. I say sort of easy because it was easy to find but we had to go over a number of bridges and that means stairs, and lots of them.

Venice is tight on space and can be expensive so we had a single quad room but did have a private bathroom at least, which many places did not when we were looking to book.

My bed was next to the heater and although it was freezing outside I found that I was way too hot and it was hard to sleep. The room was very comfortable though and had very Venetian decorations.

They offered breakfast for 5 Euros which was a bargain. It was a small but well stocked buffet with a huge variety of foods. We ate till we could not eat any more, checked out and left our luggage in storage, and started the long walk around the island to the San Marco Plaza.

The hotel had given us a map but it was actually very easy to see where to go - just follow the crowd. There were hordes of people all heading for the same destination and they have done a great job of funnelling you past as many shops as possible along the way. It is a beautiful island and it was fun to observe the houses and people along the way. There are no cars so it looks like everything is done with people power. We saw many people pushing carts around to transport goods or take away rubbish.

We went over many bridges and saw lots of tourists taking gondola rides but the prices are extortionate and we were not going to drop that sort of money on a gimmick.

We arrived in the plaza just before 11. I had booked us on a "Secret Itineraries tour" at the Doge's Palace for 11:35 on what was billed as a "skip the line" ticket. The line, or what appeared to be three lines of unknown purpose, were massive so we walked around to the front, expecting to be allowed to walk right in. There we encountered a number of other people, also with printed tickets, trying to catch the attention of completely unsympathetic staff who kept indicating that we should all join the end of the growing line. We went to join the line but knew that we would never make it inside in time to join our tour. I went back to the front a few times, commiserated with other frustrated ticket holders, and tried to talk to different guards. I found another family that was supposed to be on the same tour as us. Finally one lady indicated that we could come in, but even as she did so, another guard came charging over and told her off. At about 11:20 they let us skip the line to get in as we would clearly miss our tour if we waited.

As we walked through there was a booth that said pre-paid tickets, but they said we actually had to go join another line for the ticket desk. So again we were in a line with some people on prepaid tours and some people just buying tickets. With a few minutes to spare we got to the front, where the lady exchanged our printout for tickets and tour stickers and sent us back to the pre-paid booth to enter.

It was an absolute mess. Thankfully once our tour guide arrived, she was awesome and we had a fantastic behind the scenes tour of the Palace.

Apparently Palazzo just means big building, so it wasn't actually a residence, but was the place from which the republic of Venice was governed. We learned lots about the history of Venice and the building. Much of the governing was done by the nobles who were simply born to it. In the early days the government was very concerned about spies and external threats and the prison in the building had many political prisoners. There were many staff involved in writing top secret documents.

As we walked through the various cells it got colder and colder and I feel very sorry for those that were in there during winter. The guide said that some of the cells are unbearable in the summer too.

The guide told us many entertaining stories about the early nobles, Napoleon, and Casanova, who was a prisoner there. Casanova in particular sounded like quite the character. In the end he escaped with a Roman Catholic priest, who our guide said had six children (which is six too many for a Roman Catholic priest, she said).

After our tour finished we browsed through the public areas of the building, and walked through the bridge of sighs, which is the last glimpse the prisoners had of the city before they headed to their cells after sentencing.

We were absolutely frozen so we sought out a small heated cafe for lunch. I am a bit over pizza and moved on to pasta, which was delicious.

We decided to stroll back towards the hotel slowly so that Megan could stop in shops along the way. They got sucked into the Captain Candy shop, where they have a ridiculous number of different lollies and chocolates which you can put in bags and pay by weight.  We spent way too much.

In one clothes shop Reid and I were exhausted as we are still not well and tried to sit in a quiet spot. We got told off for that. Then I stood leaning on the wall and got told off for that as well. I told Megan we were done in that shop!

We arrived back at the hotel just before 5, planning to get our luggage and head back to the train station in time to catch our train to Florence at 6:25. Megan started to put her purchases into her bag and discovered that her purple shampoo had exploded all over her bag.

The next 30 minutes was a revolving circus of Dallas and Megan and I taking clothes into the lobby bathroom to wash them out, using copious amounts of paper towel to clean her bag, and searching for as many plastic bags as we could find in order to re-pack her bag in a way that would get us to the next stop.  I’m sure the staff were puzzled by what was going on but they all just walked around us. We ended up walking extremely fast to the train station and arrived with ten minutes to spare. Turns out we were in carriage 11 which was the last one, and it seemed like it took just as long to walk all the way to the end of the platform as it took to get to the train station.

We are now on the train to Florence where we will spend the next 2 nights. Dinner has been Captain candy. This train has far less passengers than the one on the way here.

When we arrived in Florence we stopped in the food court at the train station to pick up some snacks, then started walking towards our AirBNB.  We had a spectacular walk past a beautiful cathedral and we managed to pick another awesome place to stay. They have provided everything we could ever want. Megan wants to move in permanently.

They have left a large basket full of pastries and snacks, and have stocked the fridge with juice and milk among other things.  There was a washing machine and dryer, and we immediately put all of Megan’s purple clothes into the washer.  The dryer was interesting as it is not ducted – it has a tray that collects the water that you have to empty into the sink.

Day 9 – Florence – 4^th January 2019

Took a stroll around Florence, then picked up some cold medicine and went back to bed for some rest. Another city where you can't walk 30 seconds without falling over an amazing building. Can see the famous Duomo from the bedroom window.

Reid stayed in the apartment and did not join us for the walk as he was not feeling well.  I believe he watched a lot of Netflix during our two nights in Florence.

While we were out, Megan wanted to visit a number of clothes shops.  Dallas and I went to get a hot chocolate while she was in H&M.  As usual, seating was hard to come by and we stood outside the shop to drink it.  We had people trying to sell us bracelets etc.  It seems that these are often sold by people of African heritage.   Many of them mentioned that they were from Kenya.  I am not sure whether it is a refugee situation or something else that causes this.  They always start with the same spiel, coming up to you and saying “black and white?”, and then trying to strike up a conversation in order to get you to hold whatever it is that they want to sell you.  We also had a lady begging for money and Dallas gave her some change.

Day 10 – Pisa – 5^th January 2019

Megan was able to celebrate her 17th birthday today in Pisa.

We left our apartment in Florence around ten and caught the 11am train to Pisa. It took just under an hour. Kind of expensive though at over 8 euro each.  I had not booked this train in advance because research indicated that it was unnecessary.  We first tried to buy the tickets using the ticket machine, but ran into trouble because the selections were showing the final destination of the train, not all the stops along the way.  Pisa was not the final destination, so it was hard to see which one we wanted as Florence is such a busy station.  I had an app on my phone and used that to book the tickets instead.  Doing it this way we did not have the validate the tickets before boarding either.

I had pre arranged to store our luggage at a hotel right outside the train station - Hotel La Pace - through Bagbnb. It costs 5 euro per bag. They also had nice clean toilets that we could use before we set off across Pisa. The lady at the desk gave us a map and a list of the highlights.

We had a booking to climb the leaning tower at 2pm so we sort of wandered through the streets towards the leaning tower. It was not as busy as I thought it would be and there were lots of restaurant owners trying to entice us into their establishments.   It looks like there is room for plenty of tourists in the high season, but things are a bit quiet in winter.

Megan found a nice handbag and Reid bought it for her for her birthday.

We arrived in the main piazza around 1pm. I was feeling awful so I sat down on some freezing marble stairs while Dallas and Megan tried to get some cheesy tourist photos of the tower. Once they were done we dropped our bags at the cloak room as you cannot take any bags up the tower. The lockers are free and you just have to show your ticket.

There are 297 stairs on the inside of the tower. I took it slow. The lean was obvious when climbing the stairs and they are well worn so you have to tread carefully.

At the top we took in the spectacular views and Dallas looked up the history of the tower. I think he said it was started about a thousand years ago and stopped and started a few times over the years as they tried to deal with the lean. It was built on clay which was unstable. In recent times they have engineered a counter weight system so it will not fall over.

We also had a look through the cathedral next to the tower which is massive and very impressive.

Using the bathrooms here cost 0.80 and the tap water for washing your hands is still hypothermic.

We finished our afternoon in Pisa with a late lunch/early dinner at a restaurant with inside seating as we were absolutely freezing. Apparently they are having a cold snap. Despite the temperatures we have been very lucky with the weather as it has been mostly clear and blue skies.

We are now on the train to Civitavecchia where we will spend the night and then get on the cruise tomorrow. Here's hoping we all wake up healthy.

Afternote: At this point I was quite afraid that they were going to deny me boarding to the cruise the next day as I still had a cold.  I had not experienced any fevers so I didn’t believe it was the flu, but I still didn’t feel good and could not stop my nose running all day in Pisa.  I spent a good amount of time googling cruise boarding health questionnaires trying to figure out what was going to happen.  The best information that I could find was that they were usually only worried if you had a fever PLUS cold symptoms.  I did not want to pass my cold to others, but neither did I want to miss a cruise that I had flown halfway around the world for.  I was happy to limit my movements around the ship to reduce exposure to others, as long as I could get on.  I had to just hope for the best.

Day 10 addition from Dallas

We headed to the train station and hotel to pick up bags and made our way back steadily admiring the night lighting and looking in a few shops. The river was very still and picturesque with reflections of the houses. There were people everywhere at this point, about 5pm. Very busy. And very cold still, about 1 degrees. See video footage of the people.

We picked up bags and used the toilets and then headed over to McDonald's at the train station as it was warm there and a place to hold up for 45 mins or so before we needed to go onto the platform to get the train. Earlier in the day while walking through town I noticed an older man sitting on the side of the street with his hand out. A lady came out of a shop and while walking past gave him a few coins. It appeared she knew this man in some way. He looked battered, perhaps some mental challenges/disability. I wondered how he arrived at this situation, most likely homeless, destitute. Now later in the day I see this same man walk into McDonald's, as though he was lost, wandering around waiting for something to happen, looking for someone to assist him. I had a spare muffin that Reid didn't want so I walked up to the man and gave him the muffin. He had a puzzled look on his face, as though the muffin was of no benefit to him, and he continued to wander in this small area with a somewhat desperate look about him. I felt that he wanted cash so after observing him for a few minutes I walked over and gave him 5 Euro. He was more animated at this offering and quickly made his way out of the building, having not said a word through the whole experience. I wonder where this man is now and hope he is ok. I have noticed many people on this trip begging for money and trying to survive however they can. Some appear in genuine need, others more scammers who look to make a buck off tourists. As a foreigner it is difficult to understand what situations or choices have led people to these positions in life in this country.

After a small bite to eat at maccas and killing time we then went to the platform around 6:40 for a 7pm train. The train was delayed so we had to stand in the cold for a further 15 minutes until 7:15. The 2 hr trip went fast. I listened to a podcast. We arrived in Civitavecchia and made our way by foot to the Airbnb apartment which was only about 650m away, a great location and close to the port for us to board the cruise tomorrow on the MSC Meraviglia, the 4th largest cruise ship in the world, built about a year ago. This accommodation is certainly not up to the standard of the last place we stayed which was excellent. Always hard to tell from photos and sometimes location and price win out over other factors. We are all looking forward to being on the cruise, a stable base for the next week and opportunity to explore ship and various ports. We Head to Palermo, Malta, Barcelona, Marseille, Genoa (Italy) and finish back at Civitavecchia just South of Rome.

Day 11 and 12 – Civitavecchia and Palermo

It was almost 10pm by the time we got into our Airbnb in Civitavecchia. It was nowhere near as well set up as the last one, and had strange décor (weird photo of a man smoking in a bath, and a bong), but was clean and was fine for a night. It also had the added benefit of a 12 noon checkout time.

I woke up at 1:20am to a very loud party but then had a nice sleep in. We left right on 12 to have a late breakfast/early lunch at McDonalds. We discovered that they do freshly squeezed juice at Maccas here.

We found some stone benches near the port and made that our base for a couple of hours until our check in time at 3:45. It was right in front of a huge fort called Fort Michaelangelo. Reid and Dallas went for a walk around the port and then Reid and Megan went back for more Maccas.

Just before 3 we walked all the way through the port with our backpacks to board the ship. It was a pretty painless process. We dropped our bags, then went through security screening, stopped at the check in desk to pick up our cruise cards, then we were on the ship. In the end they did not ask ANY health questions at all.  Once on board I noticed that there were people coughing and sniffing everywhere, so perhaps they know it is a losing battle in the winter in Europe.  The cruise card can't have a hole cut in it so the lanyards we brought with us are useless. Only ones that contains a pouch for a card are of any use.  [I note now that we didn’t see hardly anyone wearing them on lanyards the whole week]

The ship is massive. Dallas says it is the 4th largest in the world - the MSC Meraviglia. We are on Deck 13 in room 13195. As soon as we entered they tried to sell us a drinks package. I had already looked online and decided it was not worth it. 19 Euros per person per day for the unlimited non alcoholic drinks alone. 80 Euros per day for drinks is ridiculous. So no.

Our room is pretty good. There is a queen bed and bunks. The bathroom is a good size for a cruise ship. They give you two pillows - a hard one and a soft one so you can choose. The bed is firm but not too hard. The only thing is that there is not a lot of storage space for four people.  We hung some clothes in the closet but otherwise Megan lived out of her bag under the desk, Reid put his in the corner, and I slid mine under the bed and pulled it out when I needed something.

We went and had a look at the buffet, and activated our cruise cards for purchases, then went to the mandatory emergency briefing. This was long and drawn out because everything was explained in six languages. This is good because it means we will be able to understand everything but it means things take a long time. I am finding that because they just roll straight from one language into another it takes me a few moments to figure out that they are speaking English again.

We have been assigned the 6:30 dinner slot which is the early one. Our restaurant and table number is printed on the cruise cards. Dinner was delicious but we have learned that you even have to pay for water when eating in the restaurant. Many of the staff seem to be from Indonesia but one of our waiters is from South Africa.

The ship is one of their first to have a complete digital overhaul. There are huge touchscreens everywhere with ship information on them, and they have ship WiFi with an app that you can use to see the schedule and book tickets to things. We accidentally figured out when messing around with the app that although the evening shows are free, you have to book the tickets so we have gone ahead and booked those for the whole week.

There are smaller automated machines that you can use to activate your cruise card for purchases.  You touch your card to the machine, then insert your credit card, and select which passengers in your cabin the card can be used for.  We activated all of the cards but warned the kids they were not to buy things without talking to us first.

They have an entertainment deck with a bowling alley, and F1 simulator, video games etc, and we went and had a look at that and found that those all cost extra too. Bowling is 30 Euros for 30 mins.

We haven't explored the whole ship yet but will slowly get around it.

We went to the evening show last night called Virtual. It was so oddly hilarious and entertaining. I was kept guessing what the next costumes would be. The announcer at the beginning rattled off the spiel in five languages. I wish I could speak 2, let alone five. The premise was - what would it be like to be stuck inside your smart phone. The scenes that followed were about what it would be like inside certain apps. My favourite costumes were the emoji ones. On top of a black leotard, the selected emoji would be shown in raised bubbles, in a large shell on top of their back, and also on wires sticking out from them. The person would also be acting out the emotion, so we had one guy pretending to puke, another with his tongue stuck out and one eye closed, another girl looking super happy, one looking super angry etc. They also did a Pacman app, a health one, a dating one and a few others. It was so cheesy but also so entertaining.  Turns out this was similar for the rest of the shows – wacky costumes but entertaining.

We also saw the dome show, which is where they do a themed presentation in the huge screens that cover the walkway in deck 6. Last night the theme was outer space.  It was nice to see once but we didn’t bother trying to make it back to see any of the future dome shows on other nights.

This morning we hit the buffet for breakfast and it had a pretty comprehensive selection. Juice is also free in the buffet for breakfast so I think we may be using the buffet more often than the restaurant.

At 9am we were able to disembark to explore Palermo, Sicily. After running the gauntlet of local taxi drivers, bus tours and horse led carriages, Megan led us first to a local makeup store to buy eyelash glue. Thanks to her we saw some of the back streets of Palermo. We then did a walk around some of the streets to view the local historical monuments. We saw a statue of Charles V and looked him up to learn that we was the nephew of Catherine of Aragon (wife of Henry viii) and was the ruler of a empire so vast that the sun never set on it. Wikipedia is a great tour guide.

Unfortunately we received some sad news of a death in the family while we were exploring what looked like a popular square with another impressive cathedral.  We took a little time to communicate with family before continuing back to the ship.

We came back to the ship around 1 for the buffet lunch and will do some ship exploring this afternoon before dress up night tonight.

My first impression of the ship is that the staff are great, the food delicious, and the facilities extensive, but they seem to charge for a lot of things that do not cost on other ships.  No on board credit was offered when we booked the tickets either, so we feel a little more like penny pinchers on this cruise than on others where water is free and we had a little on board credit that covered a drink at each meal.

Late in the afternoon we heard an announcement that there had been a change of plans. 6m seas mean we were skipping Malta and instead going to Palma, Mallorca. This meant that instead of going to Malta tomorrow, it will be a sea day, and then Palma the next day. I am sad to miss Malta as I was looking forward to the war history there but I am sure Palma will also be amazing.

Day 13 – Sea Day – 8^th January 2019

Had a quiet day at sea with a couple more interesting shows.  We had a welcome sleep in.  With the curtains closed it is very easy to do so as they make the room very dark.  I spent some time sitting in the Carousel lounge at the back of the ship.  From here you can see the water being stirred up by the powerful propellers.  We saw a more traditional opera but still couldn't make sense of it. Also a rock and roll show that would have had the Beatles and Freddy Mercury rolling in their graves, but still very entertaining and intriguing costumes.

Day 14 – Palma, Mallorca – 9^th January 2019

Today we stopped in Palma, Majorca, Spain. My first time in Spain. Palma is a beautiful city. It seems very clean and tidy and is an interesting mix of old and new. We did the hop on hop off bus (rather chilly on the top deck and Dallas should have brought a jumper) and ended up at Bellver Castle on the hill where we had a great time exploring and learned a little history. The island had Bronze age occupants, the Romans were here, and in the 900s the capital was established by Muslims and has Arab influences in some of the buildings.  Bellver was well worth a stop.

I thought the hop on hop off bus was overpriced and we had to wait quite a while for it when we wanted to go to the castle.  I also found the sound didn’t work on one leg, and the channel wouldn’t change to English on another leg, so I missed a lot of the commentary.  It was very full, even in the winter.

After getting back on the ship we tried out the high ropes course on the top deck and the boys hit the water slide. We will be leaving soon and heading for Barcelona.

Day 15 – Barcelona, Spain – 10^th January 2019

Last night was the first time we actually felt like we were on a boat - the seas were a little more choppy. The show last night was songs from musicals and I thought it was excellent. The kids have decided the shows are not for them and are usually skipping them.  They are also avoiding the teen club, I believe mostly because they feel that no one else would speak English.

We docked in Barcelona at 8:30 this morning. We had already decided to get off a bit later as we were all quite tired. The breakfast buffet was still madly busy at 10am.

Thanks to a little research we knew to skip the cruise shuttle and catch the port shuttle for half the price (4 Euros return). We spent about an hour wandering the streets, where Megan found many vintage and second hand shops luring her in.

McDonalds provides a great bathroom stop in every port. Here they have nocilla shakes which is like their version of Nutella. Reid has enjoyed those in Palma and Barcelona.

We decided to try the Barcelona underground metro and found it to be excellent. For 10.50 we bought a ten trip card. You can use it for multiple people. So the first person goes through the turnstiles, then hands the card back to the next person and so on. The stations are clean and well lit and the trains on line 2 come every 4 minutes. The stops are well signed on the platform and on the train. We jumped on and took it to the Sagrada Familia. (Side note, a man jumped on with a speaker at one point, played music, then asked for money).

The Sagrada Familia is the crazy looking Basilica that is synonymous with Barcelona.  It is a Gaudi design - he spent the last twelve years of his life doing nothing else. It is like nothing else you have ever seen. I have heard the inside described as looking like a spaceship. In actual fact, it has a lot to do with nature and the columns represent trees. The name Sagrada Familia means holy family. The exterior contains 4 facades representing the life of Christ. There is symbolism all over the place like winter and summer fruit, cool coloured glass on the east and warm coloured glass on the west.

We had tickets to go up the elevator to the nativity facade. This takes you 50m up and then you can climb a little further and go out on to a small bridge connecting two towers. We could see some of the sculptures up close. Then you make your way down a never ending tiny spiral staircase to exit.

The building began in 1882 and they are hoping to finish in 2026, 100 years after Gaudi was killed by a tram.

It must be difficult to have a building be under construction and a major tourist attraction at the same time. One thing that I thought was interesting is that from the time of Gaudi, plaster (and now 3d printed) models have been used to plan new work. In fact Gaudi left so many diagrams and models that a lot of the new work has continued from his plans.

After a detour to Taco Bell, we hopped back on the metro and back on the port shuttle to return to the boat. Many people had warned us about thieves and safety in Barcelona but we felt very safe. Maybe it is too cold even for the pickpockets.

Day 16 – Marseille, France – 11^th January 2019

Last night we booked to see the Cirque du Soleil performance on board. They are popular so the only tickets we could get were at 10:15pm. They came with a drink, so at 10:15 we were allowed in and shown to our table. On the way through you pick up your drink. They had 3 choices of cocktails and one mocktail. It was some sort of grapefruit juice concoction. Some pre-show music was playing. Shortly after we arrived, a woman came on and started singing, I think in French. She was good but not what we came to see. There were three mimes running around through this performance as well. We had the opportunity to watch those eat who had purchased dinner and a show. Theirs was supposed to start about 45 mins before so I don't know why they were only just being served main course while we were sitting there. At 10:45 the show actually started. It wasn't quite as elaborate as I expected but some excellent performances by jugglers and acrobats. It is hard to describe but a curved tv screen undulates across the back of the room and animated backdrops were shown on these screens. At one point two people even came out attached to cables and walked across these screens, meaning their bodies were parallel to the floor. It finished around 11:40.

It was hard to get up this morning. We are all tired and still not at 100% health. Dallas is now getting the cold that we have all had too.

We are docked in Marseille, France. Although we probably could have all slept another few hours, we hopped off to have a look. The port is as usual not right in the city. MSC offers a shuttle for 16 euro per person. We opted to walk ten minutes to the free shuttle that they of course do not mention. It was nowhere near as convenient but spending that much to get into town was ridiculous. It appears to be a single bus that goes back and forward and comes every 30 mins. Unfortunately it was departing just as we arrived and was packed like a sardine tin. We had to wait another 40 mins for it to come back. It was bitterly cold. The weather app said 5 degrees, feels like -2 due to the wind chill. It was not wrong.

In town we had a wander and saw the big cathedral. We saw the Notre Dame of the town on the hill but didn't make the effort to get up there. After a bit of looking around the kids had had enough and we were all chilled to the bone. We returned and had a browse through a large shopping mall just next to the bus stop.

Many of the shops and brands are the same as at home but there are also clearly a large number of European chain stores that we have seen in many places.

Shortly after we entered we noticed that security guards were now on every door and were checking bags as people entered. Then we saw groups of police coming in with big guns. They did not look alarmed, and were just strolling through the food court but we thought that might be an opportune time to leave as something had clearly changed between then and when we first arrived, as we were not searched.

Location of the free shuttle

We went back to the bus stop and had to wait another 20 mins for the bus to arrive. There was no real queue. Like everything else here, it is the quick and the dead. Move quick or you miss out.

We have noticed that although people smoked more in Italy than at home, it has been far more prevalent in Spain and France. I can't find a path to walk on without walking behind someone who is smoking, and many felt free to light up while we were all huddled in the queue at the bus stops. It is not as wide spread as when I came 20 years ago, but is definitely more common than in Australia. 

Maybe they need the heat in their frozen fingers.

One last stop tomorrow in Genoa and then we will be on our way home.

Day 16 Update from Dallas

Last night we left Barcelona headed to Marseille France. After dinner Cassie and I watched the show called Paz, a spanish Flamenco dancing themed show. Again it was another good show and a credit to the performers who have to learn multiple shows. Later in the evening at 10:15pm we attended the Cirque Du Soleil at sea performance which is exclusive to MSC. We paid 15 euro each for this which included a cocktail/mocktail. The option existed to have a special dinner with the show (I forget the cost) but we didn’t opt for this. It was a slow start but there were some very good acrobatics and performances through the show. A juggler, acrobat using lace/ribbon?, acrobat using a ring, a guy climbing a ladder and standing on it then juggling. A lot of the show was filled in with acting, clowning around kind of stuff, a bit too much of this perhaps, given it was only a 40 minute show. They used the theatre well. It includes a large LED screen that wraps across the front of the theatre. Wires allowed bikes and people to come across the theatre in the air although I wasn't sure of the point of this as there wasn't any acrobatic element related, I was waiting for something to happen. The centre of the stage revolved around along with the apparatus above in the ceiling which allowed acrobats to swing around in a circular motion. They did well to do all the tricks with the boat moving, there is a bit of a rock.

Today we got up around 9am and had breakfast. We have all been sick at different points in this trip and a bit worn out now, so sleep ins are welcomed, especially after the late night last night. We have all been waking up through the night though, usually due to my snoring or Megan's. I've had a few pillows thrown at me on this trip. As I'm not well at the moment I think that didn’t help, I was waking up quite a bit last night.

We got to the free bus around 10:15 I think. We walked quite a distance, maybe 800m, to get to the bus stop. We just missed the one that was there as it was full. So we had to wait 30 mins for it to come back. 2 buses would have been really handy with the number of people needing transport. The bus was completely full including many standing.

We took a walk around Marseille, unplanned, and found the cathedral Le Major, a large cathedral. Then walked down to a large open area near the water where there was a museum and views up to castle Notre Dame and other old buildings. We had limited time today and didn't have anything specific we wanted to see so just wandered around for a bit. We went to a large shopping centre near the main tourist area which was very modern, 3 stories, with lots of shops and food court. It was the first time on the trip I think we found a large shopping centre similar to what we have back in Australia. There were security guards searching bags as people came in, and 4 armed police that came in while we were there. The security and police presence was certainly greater here than we had seen elsewhere. There has been a lot of unrest in Marseille and it is considered the most dangerous city in France. I certainly didn't feel the place was dangerous today. It may be because it is so cold at the moment no one is going out causing trouble. It was very cold today, 1 degrees celsius when we got off the ship. The wind though is like ice.

We have just left Marseille, now heading for our last port, Genoa Italy. The following day, Sunday, we disembark at Civitavecchia.

Day 17 – Genoa, Italy – 12^th January 2019

The award for prettiest port to sail into goes to - Genoa. It is the picture of an Italian coast, buildings in cream, pink and orange colours rising up the hills that surround the port. As the sun rises on the east side of the city, it illuminates the buildings on the west side.

I loved Genoa. It is such a walkable city and it helped that the temperature was much nicer today (13 degrees).

The port is right in front of the city so no shuttle was required. We walked about 15 minutes to get into the heart of the city.

Genoa seems to be consciously trying to be more tourist friendly. I saw a signposted parent room that looked like it was part of a city wide program. There are also small signs on the walls with QR codes that give more information. For example, we stopped at a fountain and learned about a guy in the 1600s who was disgraced after working against the republic of genoa. His house was torn down and a column mocking him was erected. Years later his descendants were allowed to build a fountain in front of it to redeem his memory.

We walked down via garibaldi. If you were anyone worth talking about in Genoa in the 1500s you built a palace on this street. I have never seen so many on a single street.

There were many squares with markets or buskers, and plenty of artists and people selling souvenirs.

San Lorenzo cathedral was a little different - it is zebra striped. It was bombed during the war but the bomb did not explode and is apparently still sitting at the front. We could not get to the front to find it though.

The waterfront was pretty and looks like it would be very popular in the summer time. I think this was my favourite city for walkability and overall atmosphere.

Back on the boat we tried the formal restaurant instead of the buffet for lunch. This means they give you a menu and you choose a starter, main and dessert like we do for dinner. They had no vegetarian starters and only one main so that's what I got. It was quite tasty luckily - pakoras.

We disembark tomorrow so it is time now to start packing. As with most cruise ships, you leave your luggage out when you go to bed and see it the next day when you get off.

Dallas is at the peak of his head cold, where his nose is really runny. We got more meds yesterday at a french pharmacy. The best strategy is just to put the box of the last stuff you had in front of them and they find something that matches the ingredients. No drivers license needed here for pseudoephedrine.  We have been using the hand sanitiser diligently around the ship but unfortunately he is also having a skin reaction to it.  It must be stronger than we have used on other ships.

Day 18 – Civitavecchia – Rome – 13^th January 2019

Well that was fun. We disembarked from the ship this morning in Civitavecchia. We knew there was a free shuttle out of the port from when we embarked. We were directed to board it and watched Google maps in dismay as we drove in the opposite direction to the train station. We eventually stopped at a car park. We asked the driver if he would be stopping at the stop we had seen before getting on, and he said no, he would just go back to the ship. He directed us to a green bus which was happy to relieve us of 2 Euros each for the trip to the train station.

At the train station we used the automated machines to buy tickets to the 10:44 to Rome. It offered me first class tickets for an extra 2 Euros each. The station was very busy and I thought why not, and purchased them. The train arrived and we could only see 2 on all of the carriages that we saw, so we hopped on and walked up and down the train until we found a conductor who informed us that there is no first class carriage on this train. So happy that they sold us tickets to a carriage that does not exist.

In any case we are on the train to Rome, ready to head home tomorrow.

At the station in Civitavecchia there were several heavily armed guards with very large guns. I asked Megan the other day what people would think at home if soldiers with big guns came into the local train station or shopping centre. Some things here are just the same as at home and some things are so different.

Evening

It is our last night in Rome. We caught the train to Rome earlier and had a 20 minute walk to our accommodation - Domus Real Cardello. It is a comfy quad room just up the road from the Colosseum.

After a trip to the supermarket to stock up on plane snacks, we stopped in to a local restaurant to get some lunch. We had a rather confusing conversation with the proprietress after which we figured it might be a surprise what came out of the kitchen, but amazingly we got exactly what we asked for. The pasta was delicious.

I had one last adventure planned for us and I think we found the best value tour in Rome. For 14 Euros, on the weekend only, you can take an archaeologist led tour of the Domus Aurea. In the first century, Nero was rather self absorbed and took advantage of the destruction after the fires of Rome to claim huge swaths of public land to build himself some obscenely opulent buildings. This was one of them. After Nero was removed, they wanted to get rid of all trace of it, so they stripped out all of the marble, gold, gems and statues, filled the entire thing in with soil and built the Trajan baths over the top of it.

Location of the entrance to Domus Aurea

In the 15th century they rediscovered it and at first thought it was caves. Painters like Michelangelo crawled in to view the frescoes on the ceilings and even left their names etched on the walls. There is a distinct change in their painting style after they discovered these "caves".

By now they have removed a lot of the soil and it is an active archaeological site. There is a lot of scaffolding inside and we had to wear hard hats.

They have done a fantastic job using technology to enhance the tour. At the beginning they project introductory information up onto the walls. In one room you sit on a box and put on a virtual reality headset and you are shown what it would have looked like in all its glory. It also takes you out into the gardens and you can see what the view from the hill would have been.

I loved this tour and found it fascinating walking through a 2000 year old underground palace. Incredible.

Day 18 – update from Dallas

The magician last night on the cruise ship had a very basic act initially, using ropes, string coming out of his mouth, balls coming out of his mouth, joining rings together. The second half of the show was different and quite clever, he used his hands and a light projector to create images and tell a story to music or voice over. One of the songs was what a wonderful world, I believe this can be found on YouTube but not sure if it is the same guy (Antoni Visini I think his name was). I included a photo of the green apple drink I had with dinner a few nights. I've not seen this before. I asked the waiter how they get the green colour, he wasn't sure. It was very nice. They never fill the glass full either. Price 2.5 Euro.

We packed last night and put bags out for collection. Woke at 7am and had breakfast at 8am. Went to the carousel lounge then around 9am to wait to be called to disembark, which was around 9:30. We got a free bus to the main car park at the port, then had to get a bus to the train station (2 Euro each). We bought tickets and caught the 10:44 to Rome. Cassie Woolley purchased first class tickets as she was given this option by the ticket machine for only 2 Euro extra per person. We boarded the train, along with many others from the cruise, and couldn't find the first class carriage after walking through a few carriages with our packs on. We found a staff member and he said there is no first class carriage on the train. So interesting that we were given the option to purchase something that we couldn't use. We had to write that off, nothing we could do about it. The trip to Rome from Civitavecchia was 50 mins and the train was packed. We sat wherever we could, we weren't all together, but were in the same carriage.

After arriving in Rome we walked to our accommodation, through booking.com. A large room that sleeps 4, a double bed and 2 singles, and a bathroom. There appear to be lots of these rooms here in room, apartments that have been converted to support tourist accommodation. We walked about 20 mins and arrived at the property, Domus Real Cardello. Only 1 flight of stairs to climb, my legs were thankful. It's a nice today room with unusual ceiling that looks like pavers.

We went and grabbed some lunch from a nearby restaurant and some snacks at a supermarket. We weren't sure whether we would get what we asked for in this case as the language barrier was a challenge. To our surprise we did get what we ordered and Cassie was very pleased with the cannelloni that she shared with Megan. The pizza I ordered was ok. It was a thin pizza and I thought I was getting 4 toppings however it turned out that there was a different topping on each of the 4 pieces. This has happened a couple of times now. I'm not sure why they do it over here. There is a clear difference here between really good pizza and not so good. The fresh, thick pizzas are the really nice ones, the mozzarella melts in your mouth. They are usually square slabs and have a thicker and crunchier base. The not so good pizza is thin, flops when you try and pick it up, and has little topping, often not fresh ingredients.

After a bit of a rest, we headed out to attend our last booked activity of the trip, a tour of the Domus Aurea, Nero's palace, built around 64-68 A.D.

Cassie loved this tour and found it fascinating walking through a 2000 year old underground palace. She though it was incredible as did I.

We took some photos of the Colosseum after the tour as it was now night time and the Colosseum was lit up with lights. It looked great and plenty of people were out enjoying the sights and decent weather.

We catch a shuttle to the airport tomorrow at 7:15am. This trip has been jam packed but also had down time. It's been well balanced. We have seen and learned so much more about history and people. Cassie has done a great job as the travel planner and getting us around. We are all a bit worn out (sickness hasn't helped) and it will be good to be back home. I have a head cold which is improving slightly (taking medication) but I suspect the plane flight won't be fun.

Day 19 – Rome to Taipei to Sydney to Brisbane

What were we thinking???

Getting home was not fun but actually not as horrendous as it could have been. 

Our host had arranged a shuttle to the airport for us in the morning.  Again, it was more than a taxi but he did the communication and it was at our door ten minutes early.  He again needed to be paid in cash.

I thought that parts of the security and immigration procedures through Rome departures were well organised and parts of it was painful.  I thought their security line was good in that they provide much bigger bins to put stuff in to put it through the scanner, and they also have it set up so you can fill your bin and then push it backwards onto the belt, meaning you don’t necessarily have to stay in line behind slow people.  The bad part was that there were pictures showing what to take out of your bag but no words, so they were open to interpretation.  It was clear that phones had to be taken out as well as tablets and computers, but after my bag went through, it had to go back through again with nothing electronic in it at all.  I had to take out things like my charging pack and cables.  There was also a picture of shoes, but it turns out they just wanted boots.

I liked the departures area of the Rome airport.  They have a large upstairs areas with food outlets and a pharmacy and a lot of tables with charging points.  We stopped at the pharmacy to buy some lozenges for Megan as she had started to deteriorate again the day before we left.  Turns out they were not lozenges but little capsules that you bite into and the liquid then shoots out into your mouth and throat.  They were rather strong.  The perils of buying medication in Italian boxes.

I bought Megan a sleeping mask at the airport with some of our remaining cash so that she would have the best chance possible of sleeping on the coming flights.

The first flight was 14.5 hours long from Rome to Taipei.  I got a little sleep.  I found the food on this leg was more Italian in style than the original flights and even Reid was OK to eat it.  I watched the entire first season of Young Sheldon on the entertainment system.

We had a couple of hours in Taipei before our next flight.  We were in a different terminal this time and it was much nicer than the one we had been in last time, although the lounges were still absolutely freezing.  We snagged a couple more recliners and I think I slept for about half an hour.  None of the food shops were open so we had to just hope for the best on the next flight.

They started with breakfast on the next flight thankfully, so I didn’t get hungry.  This flight was almost 9 hours long – Taipei to Sydney.

In Sydney we had to collect our bags and clear customs and immigration before switching to the domestic terminal.  This turned out to be a very stressful experience.  We landed on time but it took a long time to get off the plane.  Once inside, we cleared immigration very quickly, but then stood waiting for a very long time for our bags.  The belt stopped at one point but there were still a lot of people clearly standing around waiting for their bags.  Finally they announced that there had been a malfunction on the belt and they were fixing it.  Eventually we were able to collect our bags and exist through customs.

After leaving customs, we had to walk a few hundred metres very quickly to the qantas domestic transfer desk.  It was late, and we were all tired and smelly and just wanted to get home.  We walked into the transfer area to find only one person staffing the desk and a group of 8 people in front of us.  We were running out of time to get to our next flight and were getting rather stressed.  The lady on the desk went out to get another staff member, but instead of helping us, two of the people in the group of 8 split off to her desk, and then they proceeded to try to check in half of a group each, trying to figure out whose luggage was supposed to go with each person.

We made it to the desk just as the screens indicated that baggage was closed for our flight to Brisbane.  I asked the lady what that meant and she just said that it meant we needed to get it down there quick smart.   After taking our bags, we were then directed to a lounge to wait for the shuttle to the domestic terminal.  That took another ten minutes to arrive.  We managed to arrive at our departure gate just as they started boarding.  We were so relieved.

In Brisbane we called Gateway Parking to pick us up, collected our car and headed for home.

Despite being completely exhausted, we were also in entirely the wrong time zone to go to sleep.  I don’t think Reid slept at all.  I unpacked everything and then tried to sleep for a bit.  It took me a good week to start feeling normal again.  I think that I did not have a decent nights sleep until the weekend.

Costs

For those who are planning their own trip and are interested in costs, here is what we spent:

Accommodation (excluding Pisa, which was paid for using 175 euros cash): $2495.69
Currency from Travelex (750 euros and 2000 TWD): $1330.29
Transport (Cruise, Flights, Train, Uber, Rental Car, Travel Insurance, car parking): $9634.76
Expenses (Sights, Food, Medicine etc): $3669.24
Bank Fees: $282.34

Total spent AUD: $17412.32

Conclusion

I loved all of the history that we learned on this trip.  It is true that all of the cathedrals do start to blur together after a while but they are truly magnificent.  There is nothing quite like walking in the footsteps of those who went thousands of years before and imagining how they might have lived and died.

I would like to have had more time to spend in some cities like Florence, Pompeii, and Rome, but I am glad that we were able to experience them.  I think that overall we had a good balance of busy time and down time.  Before leaving I was very nervous about the rental car section of the trip, and it did turn out to be more expensive than anticipated, but the stop in Vietri was beautiful and we would have missed that without a car.

It is hard with trips like this to know whether you are just seeing what they want tourists to see, or whether you are seeing “the real Italy”, but either way we enjoyed getting a sense for each stop and found it interesting to compare them.

I also loved seeing the kids spend time together.  At home they don’t usually actively seek out time together.  On a trip there is not much choice, but they appeared to have a good time together.  They were also able to increase their knowledge of currency conversions, communicating with people who speak another language, locating things that you need in supermarkets when none of the packages are readable, navigating busy airports and train stations, and keeping safe in big unfamiliar cities.  These experiences are invaluable for them.  Over our years of travel I have seen them develop greater independence and resilience as a result.  It is my hope that they are also able to see themselves as global citizens who are part of a much bigger world than they see each day at home.