Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

Day one of the ' Oh my god's '

Sunday in Oslo is quiet.  If we thought that the centre of town was quiet on other days/nights, this morning was dead. Literally.  Until we got to the railway station about 5 blocks away, we saw the sum total of three people!

The day began with a little scare.  Instead of adding a block to our (read my) walk, we chose to go down the back exit which meant that Donna had to carry the suitcases down a flight of stairs. So far, so good.  Get to the bottom of the stairs and open the heavy exit door, Donna carries the cases out, she is now outside the building and then just before the door closes behind me, we realise that the heavy, huge iron gates - you know the massive ones that you see at the opening of many historic buildings in Europe, were closed and locked with a padlock.  All of them.  On both sides of the building. Its about 07:25 am and the train goes in an hour.  So I jam my foot in the door while Donna checks out the exit. Little scare, not a big one - there is an exit release - phew!!!  Disaster averted.

The road is damp underfoot - it must have rained during the night, but the morning is clear and cool.  Lugging our (getting heavier) suitcases it takes us about 15 minutes to walk to the station and get our bearings.  And, thanks to Murphy's Law, our carriage is the furthest one out.  We finally make the door, lug the suitcases up the steps and find a spot to store them in the luggage vestibule. As we move in to the carriage, we find it filled with the passengers of an Indian tour group AND four of them are in our seats.

One of them wanted an argument, but man, that wasn't going to happen. We stayed firm and it was only a couple of moments before the tour guide came and insisted that the four of them return to their allotted seats.  He took one of the last two and just as the train was due to depart, in rushed the last passenger - Kimberly, a nurse from Venice Beach in California. We hit it off straight away and have made a new friend!

Both Donna and I feel that today really starts the trip of adventure - even though we have now been travelling for a week and seen and experienced some wonderful things. 
Today we are doing a self-guided tour called Norway in a Nutshell.  It involves five legs:

• train Oslo to Myrdal
• scenic train Myrdal to Flam
• boat cruise Flam to Gudvangen
• tour bus Gudvangen to Voss
• train Voss to Bergen.

The train departs Oslo smack on time at 08:25 am. It is not long out of the City Sentrum before we begin to encounter the working day for some, with farmers harvesting cauliflowers in the morning dew.  Its not long before we find ourselves in bucolic scenes from some European folksong.  The streams and rivers are bubbling alongside us in every shade of glacial blue and the open meadows morph into valleys between towering mountains. And yes, we do mean mountains, not the hillmountains we have back home.

And still we have the reach the real Oh. My. God. Scenery. 

We pass by the Geitanosi glacier, near Finse where the snow scenes from Star Wars was filmed - the things you never knew!  Finse is the highest railway station on the entire Norwegian railway system at only 1222 m!  
And pass through tunnels before reaching Myrdal and changing for the the Flåm Line is a 20.2 km long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The line's elevation difference is 866 meters; it has ten stations, twenty tunnels and one bridge. The steepest incline is 1:18 - and without cogs!

Even though the journey to Myrdal takes 4 hours, the time flies. As we pass Finse we see little huts hunkered down hugging the earth as if to protect themselves from the cold winters. Many have moss and alpine plants including flowers growing on their roof, like a blanket keeping in the warmth. Kimberly is not travelling to Flåm today, but going direct to Bergen so before we leave the train, we exchange contact details and make loose plans to catch up tomorrow in Bergen. 

Crossing the platform takes us to the departure point for the Flåm railway. The Flåm railway is considered to be the world's most beautiful train journey and provides a panorama of some of the wildest and most magnificent mountain scenery in Norway at any time of the year. There are rivers carving their way through deep gorges, waterfalls leaping off steep mountainsides with snow-covered mountain peaks, as well as mountain

farms clinging tenaciously to steep slopes. Down at the bottom, you can enjoy the scenic cultural landscape of the Flåm Valley and admire the beautiful Aurlandsfjord.  On the way, the train makes a stop to allow everyone to get off the train to take photos at the Kjosfossen Falls where the Hulda sang to lure us into the waters of the waterfall. Thankfully no-one succumbed!

We continue our journey down the valleys into Flåm railway station. The scenery is jaw-breakingly beautiful and the camera and our two phones get a massive workout today.  If you want to see more of the photos, then ask us to put on a slide show for you when we get back!

At the end of the line, we have arrived at Flåm harbour. We have a chance to catch a breather here and meet three American sisters travelling together for the first time to visit their grandfather's birthplace near Bergen. We grabbed a coffee and an amazing Pistachio biscuits with chocolate and raisins. Crisp on the outside and chewy inside. It was the size of a bread and butter plate!   Mmmmm.
Here we catch a Fjord cruise on Nærøyfjord with Fjord Norway.  You know those times when you say that you couldn't get the whole vista in one photo?  Well, up close this is what the scenery is like.  Mountains tower over you and dwarf elfin little hamlets and villages with perfectly manicured lawns right to the water's edge, surrounded by untamed brutality of the mountains and thundering waterfalls (nice description Donna). Everywhere you look is another view down another finger of a gorge or a fjord. It really is an oh. my. god. day.


The two hour trip is done all too soon and we dash for a bus that will take us up and over the mountain into Voss. We head out the only road into the Gudvangen harbour and then the coach pauses before the driver turns off the perfectly good double lane road on to the old highway that was the only access until 1981 for traffic in both directions.  This is a very steep mountain pass road with 11 switchbacks immediately one after the other.  The bus creeps down most of it in low gear doing about 10 kph. Which is good for anybody wanting photos of the stunning mountain peaks or waterfalls (if you can get a clear view while staying seated in a seatbelt, and vying for window space with your seat partner. Behind us are the other two buses that met the cruise boat.  If one goes,it is likely that we will all go!

Soon enough, we reach the bottom and rejoin the new highway for the remainder of the trip in to Voss where we clamber over makeshift steel and planking walkways to the train for our last leg of the day. Old Murphy obviously thought he had tortured us enough for one day as on the final train trip down to Bergen we are in the second car.  We are travelling through increasing urban areas, although still manage to go through two ski resorts, one complete with Ski Jump. We pass through a multitude of tunnels and by the way our ears are popping, we are dropping in altitude rapidly. In 90 minutes we reach Bergen arriving right on 9 pm, 13 hours after we left Oslo this morning. A distance of 463.9 km in the most direct route and 7 hours by car.  And do you know, I would not have changed a thing.

The hotel doesn't have a restaurant but we passed the fish markets about a block and a half back so Donna heads out to get some fish and chips. The prawns are tiny, frozen and $65 AUD per kilo.  Crab claws were $100 kg and the king crab,well there wasn't even a price on them and you know the saying that if you have to ask the price you can't afford it. 
Lovely fresh white fish (but quite bland) and chips that the seagulls back home would refuse, but washed down with a bottle of Italian Chardonnay, worked a treat. Was definitely a better $60 spend on the wine than the same cost for the takeaway meal! Meanwhile, Bergen by night looks lovely and everything we have read of the old port area sounds intriguing.  Some exploring early tomorrow, perhaps a catch up with Kimberley before we board the Kong Harald to sail north later in the day. How exciting! 

The day that almost wasn't

Last night we came back to our room to book for Doubtful Sound.  Only we can't.  Surely both operators can't be fully booked out? Surely.  And then we are watching the local news and learn that there has been a major slip on the road that goes over the Wilmot Pass after 330 mm of rain in two hours yesterday.  Last night, 400 tourists were airlifted off

the mountain, well into the night!  And another 90 hikers from the Milford walking track when a stream rose 9 m.
Many people had suggested that the Doubtful Sound cruise was better than the Milford Sound one because of the extended trip - by boat from Lake Manapouri, then by coach over Wilmot Pass and on reaching Deep Cove, by catamaran for a three hour cruise that takes in the most dramatic scenery of Doubtful Sound.

However, the next trip is Thursday and even that is not a given and very dependent on the road being able to be cleared. So instead we look to book for Milford Sound.  And many of these tours are fully booked too - crikey! We manage to book a tour with Real Journeys departing at 1:45 pm. Not so bad as it is a three hour drive from Mossburn to Milford.


The hotel does not serve breakfast, and suggests the Dome Cafe around the corner.  We settle in to eggs bennie for Michael and poached eggs for me along with large coffees at 7:45.  We head off from Mossburn having prepared with the Bushmans (midges are well known at the Sound), some fruit and warm jackets.  Despite the weather forecast being for 22 degrees and sunny, it is raining and cool as we leave.  We join the road out of town

behind two coachloads of people - the first of many that we see today.

As we drive down, catching little glimpses of the sun high on the slopes, we wonder again at the forces of nature that can sculpt and create such magical landscapes. This part of the country is heavily grazed. If we thought that we saw a lot of sheep in a paddock yesterday, then it was nothing!  There was at least 1,000 sheep in one hectare. Seriously. And cattle and deer loads are heavy too.  Guess that with great rainfall and supposedly good weather (from time to time) the forage crops grow quickly.  There is certainly plenty of bales of hay around.

The vegetation is really interesting - from red tussocks, to small shrubs, to the occasional eucalypt in the dry sclerophyll forest and forest after forest of firs.  The tree line is really evident as we travel down the slopes into the Fiordland National Park and as the sky gets bigger with the huge stone cliffs, even the grasses and tussocks give up, leaving the rock to mosses, lichens and the odd fern or two.  Turns out that there is even rainforest down in the pockets, complete with ferns and vines and palms. 

Once we are on the southern side of the slopes, the weather magically clears - there is nary a cloud and the sun is beaming down like a real summer day.  Just. Magical.  And the scenery all of a sudden turns even more stupendous - if that is possible. 
There is a heap of traffic both in front of us and coming towards us. And there are many of them who have absolutely no idea how to drive in mountains. The average speed is 70 kph, although there are stretches on the flats that go up to 100 kph.  Corners are advisorily signed between 45 and 75 kph.  But the Asians do 20 kph. At every corner. Without fail. Makes for a frustrating drive.  There are plenty of signs that proclaim 'New Zealand roads are different.  Allow more time.'   From Mossburn to Milford Sound is only 176 kms but we were told by Tracey at the Mossburn Railway Hotel to allow 3 hours.  And it takes 3 hours almost to the minute.  Michael took photos from the car on the forward journey, knowing that there would be time to stop at the various vantage points on the way back.

The Milford Road is claimed to be the most scenic road in New Zealand and we are in no position to argue against that as it sure is a stunning drive.

Yet the whole trip down, behind some very nervous drivers, I cannot but wonder just where it was that Inga and Markus very nearly came to grief on their drive down this road some years ago.

We arrive at Milford Sound exactly as planned.  The literature says to plan for it to take 45 minutes to an hour to park your car, but St Frances continues to sit on my shoulder as a car pulls out in the closest car park as we arrive.  I'll never win the lottery,
but I'll always have a car park!  A 300 m walk to the terminal brings us in just before the 12:15 boat is about to leave, and as it is not fully booked, the staff agree to transfer us to this earlier departure.

There are only about 100 people on the Milford Monarch which is licensed to carry about 450, so there is plenty of space and moving room. We head out under the guidance of Captain Mack who provides just enough commentary to keep you informed without it being overbearing - there is plenty of silence broken only by the sound of the quiet engine, the waves and the birds to sit in awe looking skyward. And the sound of waterfalls.  There are only two permanent waterfalls into the Sound, but after rain like yesterday there can be hundreds of temporary falls.  We are even invited to claim a bit of

immortality by naming one of them today - so please see the M&M Falls!
Milford Sound is wettest place in New Zealand and records a massive 17 metres of rain a year.  Not a real problem until they get 330 mm in 2 hours!  There is quite a bit of debris in the Sound today, courtesy of that rain.  About 9 metres below the fresh water that feeds into the Sound from rain and snow-melts lies the salt water that comes in from the Tasman Sea.  As the fresh water is less dense than the salt water, it just sits atop and the waters never mix -isn't nature wondrous!

At the Bridal Veil Falls you can trace the Pembroke Fault line that runs all the way up the mountain and is responsible for 187 known earthquakes.

The Stirling Falls are very pure and provide the township of Milford with its water supply and also feeds a small hydro-electric power station to provide power.

Milford Sound is one of only two places in the world where in a commercial operation you can easily see a glacier from sea level- here you looking through Harrison Cove through the rainforested Harrison Valley up to Mt Pembroke with the Pembroke Glacier.  The other place is Patagonia in Argentina.

We see lots of birds, juvenile fur seals and very briefly a shy penguin - he was too quick for a photo.  All too soon we are docking back in the harbour and ready to hit the road again.

The trip back is much slower as we stop at almost every one of the many photo opportunities to capture these amazing views.  Can't fit them all here - so come on round when we get home if you want to see more. Our young waitress on the boat, Melissa suggested that we musn't miss the Mirror Pools (too windy for the effect by now) and the Te Anau Glow Worms that Donna also recommended.  Trouble is that they are at the start of the Doubtful Sound and so, there is no way we can get to them today either - maybe next trip!

There is a huge Chinese influence here also,so we opt for an early dinner in Te Anau and stop in at the Ming Garden restaurant conveniently located in Wong Way (true!) for a tasty meal.  Much of the restaurant is devoted to banquet tables - there are least 20 set for up to 20 people and there are a number of Chinese eating here.  Good omen and good food.

Back to the Mossburn Railway Hotel to do some washing and to have a wee dram to warm up while we do the blog.

Off to Mandeville tomorrow - another day that will thrill the boys!!!

Wanaka - wanna what???

Those who know Michael, know that Wanaka is spoken about with reverence every second April.  You see, Wanaka is home to one of the southern hemisphere's greatest air shows.

And so off to Wanaka we go today. We slept in courtesy of a very dark room with the most amazingly comfortable king bed - yes, almost needed that map again! Finally we get away a bit before 9:30 for the 50 odd minute driv
e back over the Range.  Of course, the morning light brings a very different landscape to what we saw last night and as we pull in to the lookout, half of all the tourists in NZ seem to be there as well.  
Michael manages to get this great panorama photo with his phone.  Everyone is excited to see the snow which
hardly ever falls in summer.
We see a number of cyclists at this lookout.  I ask one if they ride it often and he tells me it is a first for him, from Australia.  I thought that it was only mad dogs and Englishmen - guess not!  At this point, they are probably about 20% of the way up!  Crazy people!!

And so to Wanaka.  As I really have no interest in the flying machines, I opt to be the 

warbirds widow and sit out a couple of hours in the Coffee Shop, enjoying a Chunky Beef and Blue Cheese Pie, a cuppachino, and two pots of peppermint tea.  And to while away the time, have a good read of the tourist literature on the areas to the south.  Hmm, a change in plans perhaps- we might not even get to the north of the South Island this trip - so much to see, so little time to see it all! 

"Flying a good airplane doesn't require near as much attention as a motor car." - Charles Lindbergh

The 'Warbirds and Wheels Museum' at Wanaka is a must whether you're smitten with or have an acquired cynicism towards modern transport. This museum is not just about aviation, it is a testament to the evolution of the modern motor car as well.


It is not a large museum but the exhibits which are displayed are of a restored quality. I was pleased with what I saw as there were two of my favourite aircraft on display, the Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a (WW1) and the superlative Hawker Hurricane (WW2).I drooled with awe at the other exhibits as well. As with the automobiles, I was thrilled to find a 1924 Rickenbacker Roadster and a 1938 Packard convertible. 

I returned to the cafeteria and found my Maria at a table reading a tourist guide.
"You've finished?" she asked (Stupid question!)
"Not yet." I replied 

So I sourced some lunch ate it and returned to the inner sanctum. Well, after having my fill of exhibits (sort of), I met Maria at the car to head off for Veronica Lake....hang about...Lake Wanaka!

When Michael is done, we drive a few hundred metres back down the road to the Toy and Transport Museum where I deposit Michael before I head off to the Wanaka Lavender Farm.  After a wander in the garden and a browse in the shop, I settle down for another pot of peppermint tea and a lavender biscuit, while reading Lavender and Old Lace that was serendipitously found on the table I chose to sit at! 

 

"I'm not a builder of buildings. I'm a builder of collections." - Leonard Lauder 
Now, this museum is in complete contrast to the former. It is not pristine or clinical, it is a mass collection dedicated to childhood, aviation, motor transport, fire fighting and military. Encompassing four hangers and each structure dedicated to a particular genre.

The toy exhibits are masterful, and displaying a Meccano section for which to die for. You can keep Lego. Transport is represented by a myriad of automobiles,trucks of all forms. Aircraft types exhibited from a 1934 Astor through to a 1969 MiG 10 - modern by no means, but a couple of rare types. Military exhibits in the form of a 1916 WW1 French Renault tank through to Mark V British Centurion tank. It isn't the most clinical of museums, however, there is a definite passion. The only other museum I can make a comparison with is the Auto and Technik Museum Sinsheim in southern Germany.


With Michael full of his childhood reminiscing, we head back into Wanaka to take in the views of the lake and have a wander through the town. Money here. Lots of it.  The properties are pristine with beautifully manicured lawns and gardens. The lake is stunning on this later summer afternoon and we decide on the spur of the moment to take a tour on it on the MV Dual Image of the Lakeland Adventures Wanaka.  All six of us - hang on here come another two people running up the beach.

Our captain Adam and the aide Rakesh are informative and friendly and with such a small group we get very personalised attention. The trip is a little choppy as the wind is starting to pick up, but nothing that even I can't handle.  Remind me to tell you the story of how Ruby Island got its name when we get home.  Suffice to say, it involves prohibition, sly grog on a bar on an island and a dancing girl in a town where the local policeman didn't have a boat!



 If you are looking for accommodation in Arrowtown, or somewhere within striking distance of Wanaka and Queenstown, lookup Scooter and Grant on airbnb.

The Isle of Capri swimming in azure seas

You should have seen the views we had when we woke at the Hotel & Spa Bellavista Francischiello - oh, hang on a sec - you can! Thanks to the age of the digital camera. Before we went down to breakfast, we watched the sea get choppier and choppier from the other side of the bay. Out towards the Isle of Capri however, it was like a millpond.

Breakfast was served down in the restaurant and was sumptuous. Helen was commenting that it was the first time in ages that we have not had croissants and before we could blink, three were delivered to our table! The coffee was great and there was a functioning toaster so we could have dead set real toast - yum.

Once we had checked out, we got into the car and braced ourselves for the trip down into Sorrento from our wonderful hotel on the hill. By the time we get down there, we need to find a parking station - there is NO on-street parking anywhere for cars - just motorbikes, so it is in to one at €1.50 per hour which is much more reasonable than I expected. We head back to the main square which is really a very small roundabout around which cars zoom from 5 directions and look for the signs to the Porto.

From here we follow the signs that point down one of the narrow shopping streets and then away. Too late, we realise that the way down (and I mean down!) to the Port is via a steep hairpinned road, or a number of sets of staircases. Steep staircases. Too bad we did not have a map before we set out on this leg, we could have known to catch the bus down! So, down those blasted stairs we go. My hip is not happy and Hels has jarred her knee - not a great start to our island day!

Once we are down at ground zero, Michael and Helen head off to buy ferry tickets. Eventually the ferry arrives about 10 minutes late. I don't get a good feeling while watching them try to berth it - 3 goes it takes with the vessel tossing and lurching in the surf that is trapped inside the harbour walls being fed by a large swell! The poor fellow who is tossing the mooring rope has to rescue it, sodden, from the water twice. Not a good look at all! The passengers disembark and then it is own turn to board. There is a long line of people waiting and we slowly inch forward onto the pontoon. Then onto the gangways that have a mind of their own - sliding and jumping on the pier. They are each being held firm by two of the crew who struggle to keep them still while we all clamber to get on board. Once on board, it does not seem nearly as rough as it looks - ah, thank goodness for catarmarans!

The water is very choppy inside the harbour, but once we are outside its walls, it settles to a more reasonable roll very quickly. The trip will take a little longer than the advertised crossing time of 25 minutes as they are taking the boat further along the coast of the island to ensure a safe approach. So a little more than 30 minutes after we depart, we are docking at the Isle of Capri. People pour off the boat onto land. It takes a few minutes for me to get my land legs together and stop the rolling that they had just become used to. The crowd disperses into the island where there are loads of taxis waiting and one lone bus. Along the shore there are a number of ferry moorings and a small fleet of private boats - including some that would have very heavy price tags!

The bus up to the top of the Island is packed with people jammed on like sardines from the bay! There is no way that we can get on, so we wait for the nest one, supposedly sue in 10 minutes. While waiting we check out the cost for one of the taxis. Now, the bus fare is all of €3 and the cabbie wants €25! So you know where he can put that!!!
The taxis are all convertibles - and they must be a joy to ride the winding roads on a warm and sunny day. In fact, today is quickly going from drab to fab as the sun burns off the clouds that had threatened to dampen our spirits. He starts his negotiations for a 2 hour tour at €150, but quickly comes down to €120. He won't budge below €100 though and that is way over Michael and my budget for the day. So, back to wait for the bus we go.

The bus eventually turns up 20 minutes after the last one. A queue has grown again, but we are one of the first on and so manage to get seats on the small bus. By the time we leave about 5 minutes later, it is jam-packed again! Gosh, I know that the main tourist season is over, but in this shoulder season there should still be more services operating. And so, off up the hill we go. Now we have travelled on some narrow roads recently, but this one really takes the cake. At some point, we meet another bus coming down the mountain and things get very very tight - there is literally one inch between the side mirrors of the two buses and the side mirror and the rock wall we are passing - I kid you not. Helen actually took a video to show her kids, but the file is too big to upload here. Ask her to show you (and you will hear her in the background tell how she has been scarred for life while driving the Amalfi Coast roads that are about twice as wide as this road!)

Its only about 10 minutes to the top where we all alight into - streets even busier with tourists. We are hungry and so find a cliff top little cafe and settle in for toasties, pasta and milkshakes - mine was lemon - and don't knock it till you try it - amazing! As soon as we are finished we head over to the railing edge to have photos with the amazing beauty of the island and the Gulf of Naples in which it sits.

Shopping on the Isle of Capri will generally require you to have long arms and filled deep pockets. Especially in the resort town of Capri, the offerings are all up-market and up-price. Lots of high end fashion and jewellery on sale - and lots of Japanese tourists who have bags from these shops walking around here! Helen has been looking for a pair of Capri pants and had an experience much like Julia Robert's character in Pretty Woman (when she quotes "I tried to buy some clothes here yesterday, but you refused to serve me. Big mistake, Huge!") Many of the shop-keepers in Capri have a very disdainful attitude to the tourists. That might not be an issue for them in the summer months, but now that the main holiday period is over, you would think that they would welcome the sales income. So a rude, uncooperative seller who had shirts that appealed lucked out on what would have been a fairly major purchase. And in his place, we found another two shopkeepers in the quieter part of the tourist stretch at the front of the marina who could not have been more obliging. And guess what? They were rewarded with good sales when she found the elusive capri pants - we had assumed that they would be easy to buy here, but they were not! Thanks for being so lovely Vincenzo and Claudia!

Helen had been the one who really wanted to come to the island today with the hope of seeing the famous and beautiful Blue Grotto. But as the sea is so rough, cruises have been cancelled. There is one company who is selling tickets on a cruise around the isand, but as we watch, they cancel that and bring the people who had been waiting on the boat, off. The gangplank was bouncing even more than what it was on our ferry earlier. So, unfortunately, the closest poor Helen gets is to the poster outside one of the sales kiosks! And while we are there taking this photo, I turn to the harbour where we see some amusing warning signs. This one in particular took my fancy!

And all too soon, our time on the Isle of Capri is done. We have tickets to get the ferry at 3:45 pm. It's running late due to the seas, and then when they do berth they are frantically hurrying everyone to get on board - no doubt they are trying to rescue their timetable. The boat is full and we are all separated in finding seats for the trip back across the bay. All too soon, we are back at Sorrento later than we would have liked as we haved a 4 hour drive ahead of us to Roma. So it is a cab trip back to the parking station to save our (my) legs and some time. We leave Sorrento and drive further around the coast to join the motorway to Rome. And back on the motorway we pass again through the outskirts of Napoli - seeing smoke yet again, but this time we are witnessing a house fire.

On the road trip in to Roma, the changing sky tonight is very beautiful after the rain. We watch as the rays first shine on through the cloud layers before later they create an awe-inspiring silver lining on another bank of clouds before the night claims victory over the sun. And then as the lights in the City come on, we join the queues of traffic seeking entry!

We have opted to save some money by staying a little way out of the centre of Rome, but on good transport connections. And our approach has paid off! Our accommodation at the Hotel Domidea is a few steps from a bus that takes us to one of the main Metro lines into the City. They also have a shuttle bus that they use to ferry their guests to and from the station with prior booking. Both are convenient! And our room is a suite! Helen has her own bedroom for only the second time on her trip and we share a separate bathroom. But there is no restaurant on the premises. They suggest the restaurant next door - La Biga. It presents as more of a function centre than as a restaurant complete with tacky decorations, big screen with the ever popular 'booby' Italian game shows and musak blaring. The food is definitely the pre-packaged 'heat-in-microwave' variety. But food it is. Actually, my main course of Tagliolini al Limone is actually very good - ah lemons, one of the best fruits that Italy has to offer!

Off to do the Vatican in the morning, so not too late a night!