The kids visit Paddington Bear
Princess Diana playground in Kensington Gardens
DOZY
Buckingham Palace for changing of the guard
"what? is there something on my face?"
Thursday, 1 July 2010
David, Yvette, Olivia and Zachery visit London
I was very excited to have David (older brother), Yvette (sister in law), Olivia and Zachery (niece & nephew) visit in June. We had a really good time visiting lots of the tourist sites and, once again, eating lots of ice cream.
The kids visit Paddington Bear
Princess Diana playground in Kensington Gardens
DOZY
Buckingham Palace for changing of the guard
"what? is there something on my face?"
The kids visit Paddington Bear
Princess Diana playground in Kensington Gardens
DOZY
Buckingham Palace for changing of the guard
"what? is there something on my face?"
Saturday, 5 June 2010
Rome - 2nd May bank holiday
We stayed at a great boutique hotel/b&b (called Residenza Torre Colonna) which was a converted water tower. There were only 5 rooms (each one taking up a single floor) and it was perfectly located between the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain.
We arrived on the Friday night and on Saturday morning made our way to the Colosseum. There was a huge queue but being heavily pregnant, one of the Colosseum staff picked us out and let us queue jump which was fantastic.
Even in May it was really hot and it made us glad we weren't there in the height of summer. Visiting the Trevi Fountain in this weather makes you just want to jump in for a swim which you obviously can't do but one of the next best alternatives is to have a gelato. So following a tradition we started when we were down on the Amalfi coast,, over Easter we had gelati every day. Our favourite gelaterie was San Crispino, there are a couple in Rome, and the one we went to mostly was near the Trevi fountain (which by a stroke of good fortune was very close to our hotel).
We arrived on the Friday night and on Saturday morning made our way to the Colosseum. There was a huge queue but being heavily pregnant, one of the Colosseum staff picked us out and let us queue jump which was fantastic.
Even in May it was really hot and it made us glad we weren't there in the height of summer. Visiting the Trevi Fountain in this weather makes you just want to jump in for a swim which you obviously can't do but one of the next best alternatives is to have a gelato. So following a tradition we started when we were down on the Amalfi coast,, over Easter we had gelati every day. Our favourite gelaterie was San Crispino, there are a couple in Rome, and the one we went to mostly was near the Trevi fountain (which by a stroke of good fortune was very close to our hotel).
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
Munich
For his birthday, Nick's friends had given him a sports car rental for a weekend. We had a choice of locations in Germany so we chose to go to Munich over the bank holiday weekend. We arrived on Friday night and on Saturday morning went on a self-guided walking tour of the city. It's a really lovely city and I've decided Germany (from what I've seen) is quite under-rated as a place to visit.
On our walking tour - Neues Rathaus, the gothic town hall
Inside Asamkirche - a small baroque chapel built by two brothers who lived next door and used it as their private chapel...
Odeonsplatz with the Feldherrnhalle (a shrine to war heroes) behind.
Urban surfers - in the English Garden there is a spot on the Eisbach where surfers surf on a fake wave. It's quite a strong torrent of water (you can see the last couple of guys being taken down the river by the current) and clearly popular with a queue of people waiting on both sides of the river.
The car we rented was a Porsche 911 cabrio and it was dropped off to us on the Saturday afternoon. We went for a spin around the city and drove to Turkenstrasse where my friend Kate had recommended a good place for cake and tea (seeing as I can't get stuck into stein!).
Saturday night we had dinner at Haxnbauer (another recommendation from Kate) and popped in to see what was going on at the Hofbrauhaus. It's absolutely *h u g e* and was full of people sitting at long tables. There was an oompah band and a huge beer garden. If one were to be drinking it looked like a good night out!
Sunday morning, we hit the road. Nick had mapped out a route based on some recommended parts of the autobahn (where there are many sections with no speed limit). We drove south to Fussen, stopping at a few sights along the way.
This is a little video of Nick driving.... for the weekend overall, our top speed was 248kms!
Fussen is a very pretty little town and it's where we stayed overnight. We had dinner at a local restaurant (called Zum Hechten) where we had great schnitzel and apfelstrudel ;-)
Next day we went past Neuschwanstein Castle, drove around with the top down and made it back to Munich in time to have some lunch and get to the airport.
Neuschwanstein Castle
For more professional photos of our trip, check out Nick's Flickr page... (this is a sponsored message)
On our walking tour - Neues Rathaus, the gothic town hall
Inside Asamkirche - a small baroque chapel built by two brothers who lived next door and used it as their private chapel...
Odeonsplatz with the Feldherrnhalle (a shrine to war heroes) behind.
Urban surfers - in the English Garden there is a spot on the Eisbach where surfers surf on a fake wave. It's quite a strong torrent of water (you can see the last couple of guys being taken down the river by the current) and clearly popular with a queue of people waiting on both sides of the river.
The car we rented was a Porsche 911 cabrio and it was dropped off to us on the Saturday afternoon. We went for a spin around the city and drove to Turkenstrasse where my friend Kate had recommended a good place for cake and tea (seeing as I can't get stuck into stein!).
Saturday night we had dinner at Haxnbauer (another recommendation from Kate) and popped in to see what was going on at the Hofbrauhaus. It's absolutely *h u g e* and was full of people sitting at long tables. There was an oompah band and a huge beer garden. If one were to be drinking it looked like a good night out!
Sunday morning, we hit the road. Nick had mapped out a route based on some recommended parts of the autobahn (where there are many sections with no speed limit). We drove south to Fussen, stopping at a few sights along the way.
This is a little video of Nick driving.... for the weekend overall, our top speed was 248kms!
Fussen is a very pretty little town and it's where we stayed overnight. We had dinner at a local restaurant (called Zum Hechten) where we had great schnitzel and apfelstrudel ;-)
Next day we went past Neuschwanstein Castle, drove around with the top down and made it back to Munich in time to have some lunch and get to the airport.
Neuschwanstein Castle
For more professional photos of our trip, check out Nick's Flickr page... (this is a sponsored message)
Sunday, 18 April 2010
Last supper
The Lyons' family are heading back to Australia after about 5 years of living in London. So we had a weekend of events.... drinks on Friday night, dinner on Saturday night, yum cha and a trip to the park on Sunday. Here's a couple of pics to mark the occasion (Brendan, I hope you are still reading the blog and happy to be featured ;-))
Dinner at The Commander in Notting Hill
The beef.... resting
Hannah & Thomas on their last ride in the park after Sunday yum cha...
Dinner at The Commander in Notting Hill
The beef.... resting
Hannah & Thomas on their last ride in the park after Sunday yum cha...
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Amalfi coast - Easter 2010
From Sorrento, we caught the bus to Amalfi. It takes over an hour and we were very relieved that we weren't driving - the road is narrow with buses and trucks edging their way past buildings and other vehicles on the road... it gets very hairy!
Arriving in Amalfi, we found our way to our hotel, Villa Lara, which was a couple of kilometers up the main street. Amalfi is a small, very quaint town that was an bustling and important maritime capital in the 1200's . There is a very imposing cathedral (Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea) in the square which was built in the early 10th century (parts of it were anyway).
Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea
The very ornate crypt
Inside the cathedral
View from our hotel over Amalfi down to the sea
One afternoon we headed up to Ravello which is a town further up the hillside where all the wealthy shipping merchants used to live. We wanted to visit the Villa Rufalo which has beautiful gardens and views of the coast.
View from Villa Rufalo
This is a picture of a new auditorium we came across as we were walking back down to Amalfi.... it's quite an amazing building with an incredible view.
After two days in Amalfi we moved on to Positano to stay overnight. It's more upmarket and touristy than Amalfi but a lovely town. We stayed just off the main road into the town so had a good view and a pretty easy walk down to the village.
Looking down to Positano
Main beach
View from our room
Next stop Capri. This is a place that I went to with my family when I was 10 and have always wanted to go back. I did think there was a chance it might not live up to my memories of the place but it's still as beautiful as I remember and still seems to have the best gelato in Italy!
View from our hotel (La Tosca) in Capri town but on the piccolo marina side
View of Faraglioni
After walking through Giardini di Augusto - the beautiful public gardens with amazing views, we stopped to enjoy a fresh lemon granita. The island is full of lemon and orange trees.
We did the obligatory boat tour around the island - which is actually pretty good as you get to see so much of the island. A highlight is the Blue Grotto. Access is through a small opening in the rock (see pic below) and to go in you have to get out of the big tour boat into a small row boat. To go in, everyone has to lie down in the boat and when the tide is right the 'captain' rows and/or pulls the boat in using the chain you can see in the picture.
Once inside, you realise it's quite a big cave and between singing the guys rowing the boats point out features of interest (like the pathway Tiberius used to use to get into the grotto). The water is an amazingly bright blue colour (hence the name) which apparently is caused by the reflection off the white sand.
This is a picture going back out of the cave and shows how small the opening is with another row boat waiting to come in.
We caught the bus up to Anacapri which is at a higher point on the island to Capri town. It's a pretty spot with more of a local village feel than Capri town.
On the afternoon we left, Easter Saturday, the town square in Capri was buzzing with people, showing how busy it must get and we're pleased to be able to avoid the summer crowds.
Clock tower in town square
Our favourite gelateria... the best ice cream I've had in Italy. My favourite flavours - pan fragola and straciatella, plus, they make their own waffle cones on the spot so they are still warm when you have your ice cream. Divine!
Nick choosing his next flavours
And finally, our trip ended in Naples with a stop over so we could go to Pompeii. It was quite a warm day and walking around was a bit exhausting as Pompeii is so big however, it was a good to see.
Nick touring Pompeii
For more professional shots of our holiday, click here for Nick's photo diary on Flickr.
Arriving in Amalfi, we found our way to our hotel, Villa Lara, which was a couple of kilometers up the main street. Amalfi is a small, very quaint town that was an bustling and important maritime capital in the 1200's . There is a very imposing cathedral (Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea) in the square which was built in the early 10th century (parts of it were anyway).
Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea
The very ornate crypt
Inside the cathedral
View from our hotel over Amalfi down to the sea
One afternoon we headed up to Ravello which is a town further up the hillside where all the wealthy shipping merchants used to live. We wanted to visit the Villa Rufalo which has beautiful gardens and views of the coast.
View from Villa Rufalo
This is a picture of a new auditorium we came across as we were walking back down to Amalfi.... it's quite an amazing building with an incredible view.
After two days in Amalfi we moved on to Positano to stay overnight. It's more upmarket and touristy than Amalfi but a lovely town. We stayed just off the main road into the town so had a good view and a pretty easy walk down to the village.
Looking down to Positano
Main beach
View from our room
Next stop Capri. This is a place that I went to with my family when I was 10 and have always wanted to go back. I did think there was a chance it might not live up to my memories of the place but it's still as beautiful as I remember and still seems to have the best gelato in Italy!
View from our hotel (La Tosca) in Capri town but on the piccolo marina side
View of Faraglioni
After walking through Giardini di Augusto - the beautiful public gardens with amazing views, we stopped to enjoy a fresh lemon granita. The island is full of lemon and orange trees.
We did the obligatory boat tour around the island - which is actually pretty good as you get to see so much of the island. A highlight is the Blue Grotto. Access is through a small opening in the rock (see pic below) and to go in you have to get out of the big tour boat into a small row boat. To go in, everyone has to lie down in the boat and when the tide is right the 'captain' rows and/or pulls the boat in using the chain you can see in the picture.
Once inside, you realise it's quite a big cave and between singing the guys rowing the boats point out features of interest (like the pathway Tiberius used to use to get into the grotto). The water is an amazingly bright blue colour (hence the name) which apparently is caused by the reflection off the white sand.
This is a picture going back out of the cave and shows how small the opening is with another row boat waiting to come in.
We caught the bus up to Anacapri which is at a higher point on the island to Capri town. It's a pretty spot with more of a local village feel than Capri town.
On the afternoon we left, Easter Saturday, the town square in Capri was buzzing with people, showing how busy it must get and we're pleased to be able to avoid the summer crowds.
Clock tower in town square
Our favourite gelateria... the best ice cream I've had in Italy. My favourite flavours - pan fragola and straciatella, plus, they make their own waffle cones on the spot so they are still warm when you have your ice cream. Divine!
Nick choosing his next flavours
And finally, our trip ended in Naples with a stop over so we could go to Pompeii. It was quite a warm day and walking around was a bit exhausting as Pompeii is so big however, it was a good to see.
Nick touring Pompeii
For more professional shots of our holiday, click here for Nick's photo diary on Flickr.
Sunday, 28 March 2010
Sorrento's best pizza
coast. We had a late afternoon nap after a late lunch which meant we
felt like a simple dinner as it was getting late in the evening. The
Lonely Plant recommended Pizzeria da Franco - very casual dining with
the pizza arriving on their metal trays, plastic knives and forks and
cups... we were told to eat with our hands. And it was one of the best
pizza's I've had. Seemed to be a local favourite as we had to wait
outside for about half an hour for a table.
Sunday, 14 March 2010
Dolomites - first European trip of 2010
Last weekend we spent four days in Cortina d'Ampezzo - host to the 1956 Winter Olympic Games. It feels like the town is living a little in its past... the biggest reminder of the Olympics is the massive ski jump which makes me feel queasy just looking at it. Locals like to tell you how Pink Panther, For your eyes only (Roger Moore as Bond) and Cliffhanger were all filmed here. Another ancient relic seemed to be the women - I have never seen so much fur in my life. Full length fur coats, 3/4 length fur coats, fur hats etc etc. very off-putting. There were also several fur shops in the village. What are they thinking? Also, the village is pretty much closed between 12-4:30 - i suppose so everyone can have lunch. Very laid back Italian.
Olympic jump as you drive into the village...
So, being pregnant and deciding not to snowboard I was looking for things to occupy myself with. Fortunately, Friday was a beautiful day. Although warmer than it looked, it was sunny and a perfect day for pretending to be a professional photographer with Nick's digital SLR. So here are a few I have picked for my folio ;-)
On Saturday I did not do very much. I had downloaded a few episodes from season 1 of Mad Men that I had not seen, spent a bit of time reading and napping. It's hard not doing anything. On Saturday night, we went to a restaurant that you got to by taxi (25mins), chairlift (5mins), ski-do (25seconds).... seriously, the ski-do ride to the restaurant was one of the scariest things I have ever done. It was dark, we were getting air, there was Nick and I hanging on for our lives while the driver screeched to the top of the mountain. After dinner one of the girls asked the waiter how we get back down to the car park and his reply was - "ski-do... all the way down" (!!) Anyway, going down was easier than up (and thanks to Nina and Andy we didn't have to sit in the two seater trailer the driver attached to the back of our ski-do to take 4 people down at once) and we have lived to tell the tale.
On Sunday morning I decided to catch the cable car up to Tofano where I met Nick for lunch. This is the view from the top with the village in the background. The scenery is just amazing and I was so disappointed to not be snowboarding as the snow looked fantastic. Had a great weekend anyway and maybe we'll go back someday.
An action shot of Nick after lunch...
Olympic jump as you drive into the village...
So, being pregnant and deciding not to snowboard I was looking for things to occupy myself with. Fortunately, Friday was a beautiful day. Although warmer than it looked, it was sunny and a perfect day for pretending to be a professional photographer with Nick's digital SLR. So here are a few I have picked for my folio ;-)
On Saturday I did not do very much. I had downloaded a few episodes from season 1 of Mad Men that I had not seen, spent a bit of time reading and napping. It's hard not doing anything. On Saturday night, we went to a restaurant that you got to by taxi (25mins), chairlift (5mins), ski-do (25seconds).... seriously, the ski-do ride to the restaurant was one of the scariest things I have ever done. It was dark, we were getting air, there was Nick and I hanging on for our lives while the driver screeched to the top of the mountain. After dinner one of the girls asked the waiter how we get back down to the car park and his reply was - "ski-do... all the way down" (!!) Anyway, going down was easier than up (and thanks to Nina and Andy we didn't have to sit in the two seater trailer the driver attached to the back of our ski-do to take 4 people down at once) and we have lived to tell the tale.
On Sunday morning I decided to catch the cable car up to Tofano where I met Nick for lunch. This is the view from the top with the village in the background. The scenery is just amazing and I was so disappointed to not be snowboarding as the snow looked fantastic. Had a great weekend anyway and maybe we'll go back someday.
An action shot of Nick after lunch...
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