All good things must come to an end…

Our last day in Rome. 

In 34 degree temperatures, we marched over to the Vatican museum to see the Sistine Chapel.  Things are far more organized than they were when we were last here.  It’s all set up  so that you end up doing a self guided tour rather than wandering aimlessly.  Much better, as you see alot more.  We actually found that most of the museums are set up this way now. 

Inside the Sistine Chapel - the last judgement

 

Inside the Sistine Chapel - creation of man

 

It’s been a great trip, a wonderful experience for our family.  None of can believe that we’ve been away for 3 weeks – it went by so quickly! 

Like all good things, this too must come to an end.  We’ll be back….

Something happened on the way to the forum…

We’re off to the colliseum and forum today. 

I woke up early to go out to get some things for lunches and dinner (we’re eating in tonight).  The market was in full swing in Campo dei Fiori!  Vendors were selling everything from fresh vegetables, cheese, meat, oils and vinegars, to spices and national drinks (aka limoncella).  Will insert pic later today.

Came back to the apartment (just 200 mt) from the square in a building built in 1700′s.  We would definitely rent this one again!  It’s a bit bigger than our place in Mexico, with one master bedroom, a small single bedroom, queensize pullout couch, a dining table for six, and a separate kitchen area.  I’ll take pics before we leave.  This is our front door from the inside!

More to come after our treks through the streets today…..

We walked for 5 hours in total in 30 degree temperatures.  It is hot but the trip to the colliseum and the forum were amazing.  They’ve done alot of excavation work on both since Iwas here 16  years ago.  The colliseum now has alot of documentation posted describing roman life and identifying different parts of the colliseum.  The forum has gone through a 20 ft excavation exposing much more than what I remember.  Mike was really taken with the sites and wants to come back again! 

guess what this is...

inside the colliseum

view of the forum from the colliseum

inside the forum

inside the forum

inside the forum

Last time I was here (16 yrs ago) the ground was at the bottom of the pillars.  They have excavated about 20 ft since then to uncover a ton of ruins!

We’re off for the nightly Ranfam stroll – like we don’t already do enough walking???

• 

  Piazza Navona at night

Ciao Bella

When in Rome, do as the Romans do…

It’s Sunday morning, and the Ranfam is off to church – at the Vatican!   The pictures really don’t do it justice, but I’ll give it a try.

St. Peters square and the Vatican

 

INSIDE THE VATICAN

 

light shining through the Vatican roof - divine intervention???

 

Pope John 23 - yes, he's real, but the face is a mask

 

St. Peter

 

Sunday Service at the Vatican

 

Unfortunately the Sistine Chapel is not open on Sundays, so we’ll have to plan that for another day. 

Instead, we decided to go to the Castel Sant’Angelo.  This is the castle where the Popes go when the country is at war, and where the book Angels and Demons (Dan Brown – really good book if you haven’t read it) takes place.

There is a private walkway that provides a direct link between the Vatican and the castle.  Unfortunately we had to walk around the Vatican to get to the castle….they didn’t think we were important enough to provide direct access!

Castel Sant'Angelo

 

View of the Vatican from the top of Castel Sant'Angelo

 

she's not bored yet!

 

Enough churches and castles, it was gelato time!  We walked back to Campo dei Fiori (close to the apartment).  I had white chocolate and strawberry.  I’m sure I’ve gained about 10 pounds.  We’ve had gelato every day since our first day in Paris! 

After a much needed nap, we headed over to Piazza Navona, the Trevi fountain, and the Pantheon.

Piazza Navona

 

Trevi fountain

 

Pantheon

We finally sat down to dinner at  a restaurant in Campo di Fiori.  The food here is sooooo good. 

Off to the forum and the colliseum tomorrow!

Arrivaderci Fierenza, Buon Giorno Pisa!

We woke up early because we had a 10:00 reservation at the Academia museum where we saw Michaelangelo’s David.  We also saw a photographic exhibit by a famous New York photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe (www.mapplethorpe.org. )  He gained much of his inspiration through Michaelangelo’s works.  Many of his photos are of nude African American males, usually body builders, and one of the first female body builders, Lisa Lyon.  If we had more time, I could have spent hours trying to sketch one of his models.  His work is truly beautiful, he has a unique ability to capture the human form in all It’s glory!

Michaelangelo's David

The Firenze Duomo, and view from the top!

 

LAST LUNCH IN FIRENZE

Will she finish?

He da man, aka 'cool dude in new white linen shirt!'

Now, she was cute!

Our train to Pisa was once again through beautiful countryside.  Huge fields of sunflowers and rolling hill lined with terra cotta houses. 

 

I would love to rent a villa in Tuscany some day – Lizzy, are you reading this?

Pisa, in comparison to the other cities we have toured is pretty small.  We went to check in to our hotel, and they had no record of our reservation, so we ended up with a family room at a hotel down the road.  It was a great room with a bedroom with 2 single beds for the kids, and a separate bedroom with a queensize bed for us.  We had a window right in front of our bed that overlooked a beautiful garden!

view from my bed

Like all good tourists, we took pictures of the kids holding up the leaning tower, as we strolled through the gardens and market stalls.

 

 

 We didn’t know that Pisa was originally a walled city!

Dinner was at a small restaurant with pasta, salads and veal, and then off to bed so that we could catch the 11:00 am train to Rome tomorrow.  We’ve taken over 1000 pictures so far, and Rome will be chapter 6 in our European vacation story.

We love hearing from everyone back home in your comments.  Keep them coming!!

Ciao, Ciao

We’re off to the Uffizi….

We chatted with a Mom (aka Melissa) and her two boys over breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to the Uffizi museum to see Botticelli and other famous italian artists.  We spent about 2 hours touring the museum, and then stopped for lunch at one of the many restaurants in the square. 

Breakfast at hotel Bavaria

Boticelli's Venus

After lunch, we strolled through the streets and met up with the friends from yesterdays train ride.  Michael and Colin are touring Europe with their grandmother, and then Michael will head back to Utah, and Colin will spend another two weeks with his grandmother who lives in Helsinki, Finland.  It is a right of passage in their family when they turn 13 to visit grandma. 

 Our afternoon stroll took us to the market where we made some purchases.  Becky bought a cotton/silk blend dress, Rob bought some linen shirts and a leather briefcase, and I bought a small purse. 

With tired feet, we decided to head back to the hotel for some r&r before dinner.

Leaving Venezia, hello Firenza!

Mike and I woke up early to tour the Doges Palace (home to the elected leaders of the former Venetian Republic) before hopping on the 11:43 train to Florence, and I have to say, it was well worth it! 

The Doges Palace houses the worlds largest oil painting, stretching 27 meters across one whole wall. 

The palace ceilings are covered in bright coloured frescoes that are framed by hand carved guilded frames.  They are truly beautiful, unlike anything I have ever seen. 

We also toured the dungeons in the basement.  Many of the cells had the prisoners names (self carved) into the stone.  Unfortunately, we could not take pictures, so to see it, you will have to travel to Venice yourself! 

 

The train ride from Venice to Florence gave us a chance to sit back and enjoy the rolling hills of Tuscany.  We met a family Michael (17), Colin (13)  from Utah, and their grandmother from Finland.  They have been doing a whirlwind tour of Europe.

Michael, Colin, Becky and Mike

We felt like we were truly experiencing the countryside, as the air conditioning in our train car was broken, and the temperature hit 32 degrees celcius, although we got some relief when we used the washroom in the car next to us! 

The good news is, when we reached Florence, we felt cool, because the outside air temperature was only 29! 

 

We took a cab to our hotel,  dumped our bags, and proceeded to walk the streets, check out Del Signora square and the Ponto Vecchia.  Becky found a pair of gladiator sandals (the real reason she traveled to Italy)!

Arno River, Firenze

 

The Duomo

Starving Artist

 

Dinner was at a great restaurant with delicious salads and assorted pasta dishes, and then home to bed to rest our weary feet.

dinner in Firenze

 

Second day in Venice

Today we set out to Piazza San Marco, to see the Basillica, the bell tower and the Doges Palace.  We all agree that Venice is our favourite city so far.  We haven’t seen a car since we arrived.  We’ve fallen love with the canals and the narrow streets (4 feet, more like alleyways.)  The city is very old with a lot of charm and rustic beauty. 

 

They even captured the bubbles!

This one is for Jan, Tara, Lindz, and Alex

Murano glass

Piazza San Marco

Basillica San Marco is stunning.  I think the most impressive site within the church is the golden alter screen.  It houses hundreds of rubies, emeralds, garnets, amethysts and pearls.  The floors and ceilings are all done with intricate mosaic tiling, and lots of gold.  Unfortunately we cannot take pictures inside.   Mike and Becky are really taken with the churches due to their size, stature, and artwork.

 

Basillica San Marco

Our next stop was the bell tower in Piazza San Marco.  It  is the red brick tower next to the Basillica and stands 80 meters high.  The view of Venice from the top is breathtaking.  The photos don’t even begin to describe it.  We got up to the top of the tower just as a storm was rolling in and watched it as it descended upon the city. 

Bell Tower, Piazza San Marco

Becky at the bell tower

 

Mike at the bell tower

Veiw from the bell tower

Our first rain since we arrived on June 25!

 We ended up getting caught in the rain at the bottom of the tower, and ran for cover (it was  lunch time anyway).  By the time we got to a covered restaurant, we were drenched, but didn’t mind because it was a relief from the heat and humidity.

 After lunch, we walked over to the Museum Academia where we spent a couple of hours viewing period works of art by the masters of Venice.

 Out last stop for the day was the Doges Palace, but by then it was 6:00 and it required 3 hours to go through it properly.  We decided to get up early the next morning and tour it then.

 

Our Italian relative....This is where Mike got his passion for music!

 

We arrive in Venezia

We arrived in Venice at 9:30 am on July 6, and navigtated our way through the maze of streets to our hotel.  It’s hot and we have air conditioning!!!!  We ditched our bags at the hotel (a small family run place, where the bathroom is almost as big as the bedroom), and ventured out to tackle the city. 

The streets of Venice

What a beautiful place.  As a lover of water, I think this is my favourite city so far.  Full of canals, narrow streets (aka alleyways) great food, and great shopping if you like murano glass and soccer shirts!

We have some soccer fans

View from Rialto bridge

After some exploration, we ventured out to find a place to eat and rest our feet.  We found a great little bistro where we could sit outside and enjoy the free rock band.  The homemade gnocci was to die for!   Did I tell you that we really like Italian food?                                                                                 

Rock 'n Roll in Venice

Canal at night

Ciao Bella….

Last tango in Paris….

Our last day before moving on to phase 3. 

Thank goodness our apartment has many windows and we are able to get a cross breeze.  The heat has lifted somewhat, but without air conditioning, we can still feel it!

Our last day included packing up and navigating our way through the Bercy station where our train was leaving from to the Gare de l’Est station where we had to store our luggage.  Apparently Bercy is only a satellite station and does not have luggage storage.  It took us a while to find the storage lockers, but once found, we were pleasantly surprised that a large locker would accomodate all of our suitcases (rememer we only packed carry on size for a reason!).

We ventured out from Gare de l’Est over to Notre Dame for the big climb to the top.  I decided to find a quiet park and read my book while the others got thier exercise.  I’ve done it before, and I really felt like some      r & r time on my own.  The view from the top of Notre Dame is magnificent, and it’s really neat to see the gargoyles up close.

Gargoyles at the top of Notre Dame

 

 

After the trek up to the top of  Notre Dame, the Ranfam reunites for one last exploration of the streets of Paris before heading off on the overnight train to Venice.

Rooms with a view!

Saturday in Paris

Today was our last full day in Paris!  The heat let up a bit, but still quite hot. 

After a late start, we decided once again to go separate ways.  Rob and Mike journeyed over to la Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysees, and L’arc de Triomphe, and Becky and I ventured out to find the Picasso Museum.

The Arc

 

The latest at the Peugeot dealership on the Champs Elysee

Becky and I spent about an hour in the museum trying to get inside Picasso’s head.  He was one very weird dude!  His early paintings are quite normal, but later in life his work becomes very different.  He seems to be preoccupied with distorted figures and faces, with a focus on women, the beach and string instruments.  We both really had to wonder what was going on inside his head when he created his later works.  They are totally bizarre.

We headed down to the Latin Quarter again for dinner – great value for a family of 4! 

Rob & Becky at in the Latin Quarter

Came back to the apartment early so that we could pack up and get organized for tomorrow. 

We are hoping that we can find storage lockers at the train station, and then head over to climb the 500 plus steps to the top of Notre Dame.  We’ll have dinner before we board the train, and then we have an overnight journey to Venice. 

 We’ve taken over 800 pics so far, and we’re only half way through our vacation.  You’ve gotta love digital cameras! 

14 Rue du Perche - our apt - blue door is the entrance, we're on the 4th floor

Will post photos and another blog segment once we’re in Venice with internet access.

Day 5 in Paris

Bonjour mes amies,

Au jour d’hui nous avons regarde (pardon, mais mon computer n’avez pas les accents francais!) les museums et les galeries.   La premiere museum a ete un histoire de Paris.  Il a ete tres interessant.  Apres l’histoire de Paris, nous avons marche a la maison de Victor Hugo.  Il est l’author de Les Miserables.  Nous avons regarde les scriptes et les peintures.  A la fin, nous avons alle dans le metro a la Musee d’Orsay.  J’ai regarde les peintures de Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Manet, et  Cezanne!  Apres la Musee d”Orsay, nous avons marche dans le jardin Tuilieres. 

OK, ma francaise n’est plus bonne, j’espere que tu comprends!  Maintenant, l’anglais…..  High school french was a long time ago, but it’s amazing how quickly it comes back to you.  For those of you that are bilangue, I apologise for my mistakes.  The good news is, the Parisiennes actually think our french is pretty good.  I guess they’re used to the Americans!  For those of you that cannot read my french, well you’ll just have to look at the pictures for today!

History of Paris museum

 

Garden at the history museum

 

Entrance to Victor Hugo's house

 

Victor Hugo

 

Cosette

 

Fountain at Jardin des Tuilieres

 

A very famous Renoir

 

Les Chats Noir

 

Cezanne - one of my favourites. I love how he captures the folds in the tablecloth

The heat goes on….

Wow, a whoppin 91 degrees in the shade yesterday in Paris.  We’d be ok with this as long as we had an air conditioned apartment, but alas, those travelling on a budget, do not get air conditioned apartments!  The good news is, that we have plently of large floor to ceiling windows and we are on the 4th floor, so they are wide open day and night.  We actually got a cross breeze last night, and everyone slept well.

Onto more important things…..like what we did yesterday.

We took the train up to Sacre Coeur.  Got off at a station in a very seedy part of town and walked up to the bottom of the church steps.  A very interesting walk, I must say.  We had a woman (probably a drugged out hooker) walking in front of us with a very short mini skirt and no undies. 

We walked part way up the steps to Sacre Coeur, stopped and sat on the grass to eat lunch.  Great view of the city.  We could see Notre Dame, and La tour Montparnasse in the distance.  After lunch we continued up the stairs to the church.  Inside the church we admired the beautiful tile work on the floors, the mosaic pictures on the walls, and the unbelievable mosaic on the ceiling!  Quite a treat.

Sacre Coeur

 

View from Sacre Coeur

 

Our next stop was Montmartre to view the artists at work.  This area was once very bohemian, home to many starving artists.  Today, you can go into the square and observe the artists at work as well as purchase some original works.  Obviously there are many talented people with lots to choose from.  I could easily have spent a couple of days perusing through the art work.  We ended up getting a charcoal portrait done of Mike and Becky.  It really turned out well, and I can hardly wait to get it framed when we return to Toronto. 

Becky's sitting

 

Mike's sitting

 

I also purchased an original, done by a student at L’ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts.  Can’t wait to frame it, but you’ll have to wait to see it.  I didn’t think to take a picture before I had it rolled and put into a tube for transport.  Below are some interesting pics from the square.

Montmartre

 

Montmartre

Day 2 in Paris – Happy Canada Day!

Becky with her new longchamps bag

We continue to battle the heat wave!  Drinking lots of water and wearing as little as possible.  Our apartment, in the heart of the Marais (3mme arrondissment) is working out well. 

Today Becky and I did a little shopping and the guys went to the Louvre.   The last time I was at the Louvre, the pyramid was under construction, so it was great to see it finished.  Mike got some great pics that we will share with everyone when we get back.   We walked over to the Louvre together, and then separated for about 3 hours. 

Decided to eat dinner in, but we’re going out for gelato and a walk about soon. 

Notre Dame viewed from the Seine

 

La Tour Eiffel

 

An evening cruise on the Seine

 

Mike in front of the Louvre

 

Guess Who??

We’re in Paris!

Hello All,

The EuroStar ride from London to France was great.  Very smooth, with only a slight delay because only one of the tunnels was open, so we had to wait for another train to come through.  The french countryside on the way into Gare du Nord was beautiful.  We arrived about 1/2 an hour late.  As a result we had to rush to get to our apartment, ditch our bags and meet Lynda and Maddie for dinner.  Little did we know, that the metro station we agreed to meet at was probably one of the busiest in the city, so it took us about half an hour to find them.  We always seem to meet up though, which is really unbelievable, given that we are not using phones or blackberry’s.  Just an email here and there! 

Visited the Eiffel tower yesterday and then took a boat ride down the Seine to Notre Dame.  We walked around the Latin Quarter, visited our favourite street (St. Severin), and then back over to Notre Dame to look around.  The view from the top of Notre Dame is beautiful, and we decided to climb the stairs another day, because I (aka Mom) was just too tired and really didn’t think I could make the climb without alot of complaining!

We ate dinner at a little french bistro in the Latin Quarter last night, and then took another boat trip down the Seine before walking back to the apartment. 

Today we plan to divide and conquer.  Rob and Mike are going to the Louvre, and Becky and I are going to Longchamp’s and for a stroll down the Rue de Rivoli and Champs Elysees.  Hmmm, I wonder who will end up spending more money????  Oh well, on that note, I’d better get over to the patisserie so that I can buy some bread and cheese for lunch! 

Will try to post later with some photos.

Warwick Castle

Warwick Castle

A visit to the country…

/Saturday afternoon was delightful as we took in Les Mis at the Queen’s theatre .  Mike was totally overwhelmed by the performance, and could have easily watched it again!  Becky loved it as well which surprised me, I though she might have found it a bit long, but no, she was really into it.             

We spent Saturday evening and all day Sunday with friends John and Sue from Sollihull (northwest of London).   Had a great day a Warwick castle and Stratford on Avon.  I’m having a bit of a problem uploading photos to the site.  Will try to fix once we get to France.

Second day in London….

Hello All,

Our second day and we haven’t seen a drop of rain yet!  We huddled over to Buckingham Palace this morning to meet Lynda and Maddie and watch the changing of the guards.  Got some great pix.  It really is a spectacular site, and the Guard band played a tribute to Michael Jackson.  Thriller and a couple of other songs.  We walked down to the mews to see the horses and royal carriages, but unfortunately they are closed on Fridays.  Oh well, maybe tomorrow if we’re in the area. 

After the ‘Buck House’ we walked over to Westminster Abbey.  They have a new program where you can listen to an audo tape as you do a self guided tour.  Saw the tombs of Chaucer, Handel, Sir Laurence Oliver and a whole bunch of Royals.  It was a great tour, as it explained alot of the history and had recordings of some of the services and organ music.  I still remember Diana walking down the aisle on her wedding day! 

Ate lunch at a cute spot in Leicester Square and then Rob and Mike went back for Robs conference call, and Becky, Maddie, Lynda and I did a bit of window shopping and stopped into the Apple store to use the free internet to re-book Lynda’s room in Paris.  The one she originally booked ended up being a pretty seedy area over by the Eiffel Tower. 

Lynda and Maddie are off to Paris tomorrow.  We have a date with Madame Tussaud in the morning, and Les Mis in the afternoon.  After that we head off to the country to meet up with John and Sue Howse for some touring of Warwick Castle, Stratford, and Oxford or is it Ogggsford?

Westminster AbbeyMike reaches out to touch the top of Big Ben

First day in London

Guess where we played today!

dinner at the Swan with Lynda and Maddie

Becky’s Beefeater buddy

We arrived at our flat last night around 11pm, checked in, and then walked the streets until midnight.  We’re staying in a really cool area, with lots of restaurants and little shops.  Our flat is at the north end of Hyde Park.  Today we walked along Bayswater to Oxford street and then down Regent Street to Picadilly Circus to pick up the kids Oyster Youth cards.  We then took the tube over to Tower Hill where we stopped for a couple of hours to tour the London Tower.  Had a great tour given by one of the Beefeaters aka Adam, who took a fancy to Becky!!  After our tour, we went to see the crown jewels before heading back to our flat.  Met up with Lynda and Maddie for  a pub dinner at the Swan, had a walk through Hyde Park, and now after a long day of walking and sight seeing, we’re off to bed!

Here’s a pic of our London apartment

We’ll be there tomorrow night!

Countdown….

3 more days and counting…. The bags are out, lists are made, we’re almost there!  Happy fathers day to all the Dad’s out there.

We’re getting ready…..

Exams are done, and we’re starting to get ready.  Take off date is June 24.  Stay posted for details!