Best and Worst

Most interesting accomodation- Tuscany farmhouse
Most luxurious accomodation- Venice Hotel al Ponte Mocegnigo
Worst accomodation-Hotel Marignan Paris- though we did become fond of it after a while and it
was in a great location
Coldest weather- London 6 degrees
Hottest weather- Venice on the boat trip to Murano and Rome in the Colosseum (felt like high 30's)
Most wonderful views-Austria everywhere, followed closely by the view from our accomodations in Tuscany and Amalfi
Best bit for Joel- snow
Best bit for Carlie- Capri
Best bit for me- Remembering Egerkingen, making friends at the tuscan farmhouse & not having to cook.
Best bit for Jim- I haven't asked him yet
Most surprising things-the size of the Trevi fountain- bigger than I expected and the lack of beach space in Amalfi
Worst experience- being asked to pay a fine for not validating our train ticket (we managed to get out of it)

Flight Home to Australia

Our flight was due to leave at 8.45am so we had an early departure from our english pub with some packets of cereal to take with us for breakfast.We arrived at Heathrow bought some milk and ate our breakfast. I aslo bought a travel pillow which I hoped would help me sleep on the plane (it was very comfortable but I still didn't sleep much).The plane was delayed by an hour due to the 'luggage loading being a complete shambles'(the pilots words) at least we have a 4 hour wait at Banda Sari so we should be able to make that time up. Arrived at Dubai and had a quick stop with a little window of time to do some computer work ie blogging . It is weird seeing people dressed in full arab garb and women completely covered in black cloaks with only their eyes showing. On the flight to Band Sari Joel started to feel ill and threw up once during the flight and once as we were walking off the plane. The paper sick bags they have actually work .They must be made of some sort of water tight paper? As a result the air hostesses got him a wheel chair and insisted we see the doctor at Bandi Sari. As I said we had a 4 hour wait so this was achievable and free and would help us get him in at customs in Australia so they said. Joel was a bit afraid that the doctor might mean needles but we asured him it wouldn't and he was only required to take some medicine and we were on our way.We still wheeled Joel around in the wheel chair with many staring at us . We also lay down for a rest on the airport floor/seats to try anhd get a bit of sleep .We also got preferential treatment and were issued through security first and onto the plane first, so it wasn't all bad. Joel did pick up a little but did another small chuck on the final leg and then slept the rest of the way. Ben was there to meet us as well as a group of Carlie's friends with flowers cheering as we came through the gates. Joel rode the luggage trolley instead of a wheel chair this time as he was still not up to walking. A wonderful holiday has come to an end. It is good to be home.

Legoland Windsor

We had breakfast in the Inn. This was Joel's favorite place for breakfast as it had about 20 different packets of cereal to choose from. He chose crunchy nut cornflakes and coco pops. We had the day in Legoland . Joel was in heaven .It drizzled a couple of times but did not interupt us too much and the day was not too hot or cold. On one ride we got quite wet but we dried out in the sun. There were heaps of people and the queues were long but we gave it a good serve and caught the bus home.We hadn't eaten much during the day but the Inn had a great meat and vegie carvery for tea that we indulged in . It was the first time we had had a normal aussie style meal in 4 weeks.

Amalfi to London

Another travel day today. A bus ride to Naples airport that took over an hour but turned out to be quite interesting as we followed the coast most of the way.Then a flight to London Heathrow stopping at Milan for a stopover.If I had to change anything about our holiday it would be to reduce the number of travel days and do an open jaw flight ie fly into London and fly out of Rome instead of having to go back to London.It would have been dearer but we would have had an extra day of holiday and not had to pay for flights back to London. Our flight to London went via the swiss alps and I lucked out with the window seat. The flight was delayed by about 45min due to strong winds at Heathrow and it was a wonky ride as we came in to land. Everyone clapped and cheered after the tough landing. Once in London we caught a taxi to our accomodation which is in an english pub. It was cheap so we didnt have high hopes but it was nicer than expected . We then watched some TV in english which is very nice for a change and hit the sack. It is getting close to the end and I thought a lot about home and am looking forward to going back there.

Capri

Today we had booked a full day tour to Capri on a boat on another sunny day.They picked us up at 9.15am and drove us down to the marina down a winding road that had corners so tight themini bus driver had to do a 3 point turn at each corner. We then boarded our boat with 7 other people, a family from denmark and a honeymoon couple. We were dropped off at Capri town and had some free time to wander the overpriced town. We then boarded the boat again and went around the island stopping for a swim and lunch at the white grotto ,then on to the green grotto and the blue grotto. We got to swim into the blue grotto as all the boats had stopped taking other tourists for the day(usually you have to pay a row boat to take you in ) .We got home at 7pm. It was a great way to do Capri.

Sorrento

Today we slept in and went down for leisurely breakfast.They have a juicing machine for fresh orange juice which is really delicious.You throw the oranges in one end and the juice comes out the other. ...so we get our dose of Vitamion C for the day.the hotel is surrounded by orange groves so we know they are fresh. Also lovely pastries, bacon and eggs, hams, cheese,cereals, yoghurt and fruit.I was hoping all the extra walking I'm doing would help me trim up but the breakfasts don't help! Today was a rest day so we hung out in the Hotel until 11am then went down into town to wander the shops .There is a lemon grove in the centre of town where you can sample limoncello and yes we did. There was also a gelati shop with 90 different flavours to choose from and Yes we did...we tried fig, peach and lemon flavours. We found a shady park and sat and ate some fruit and croissants. We found a leather shop and Jim got a wallet and Carlie a purse.We also found a clothes shop and bought a couple of shirts. We then went back to the hotel to chill for the afternoon. There is quite a summer haze here which is common in europe in summer and we can hardly see the other side of the bay today.

Amalfi

Breakfast at this hotel is the best so far. We then caught the bus that takes you along the Amalfi coast past Positano to Amalfi and it is suppose tobe the most scenic bus trip in the world. It is also the scariest with narrow roads clinging to the cliffs edge with drop dead(literally) gorgeous views to the ocean way below.the trip took 1hr and a half and unfortunately all seats were taken when we got on so we had to stand but this did enable us to see the view quite well. We dismounted at amalfi and walked down to the beach .Most of it was private beaches but a small section about 5 metres wide was for public access and we had a swim.Very cold compared to aussie but the kids and I went in while Jim minded our bags.
We then walked up into the square and wandered around the shops .Carlie bought a white dress and we got some lemon chocolate.Lemons are BIG here literally.We then caught a boat back to Sorrento where we are staying.The boat took 2 hours and most Italians seem to think nothing of sitting out in the decks chairs in full sun for the whole trip tanning.The sun must not be as intense here?? We arrived at Sorrento with 10 minutes to catch the earlier shuttle bus back to the hotel and when we saw the waterfront at Sorrento we realised we would not make it as it was a huge cliff we needed to scale before reaching the bus meeting point. We took our time and caught the next bus an hour later. In the evening we had dinner at the hotel, the food is the best we have had so far.