Feed the Envy

Photos and other images

2008-04-21T06:22:00.006+12:00

Hi all,

Now that we have more reliable internet I've managed to upload a few more photos to the Dinah album and there are a number in the San Fran post as well, and I've even a couple videos. Here's one:

Scenes from the White Party:

Cuteness at the Vancouver Aquarium:

I left my heart in San Francisco...

2008-04-15T06:46:00.006+12:00

Well not really, but I needed a title.

Next stop on our whirlwind tour of North America's west coast was good old San Fran. We flew from San Diego on one of the few domestic carrier's that hasn't gone out of business recently, Southwest Airlines (as an aside we were both really impressed with Southwest. They had a seamless check in process, a great boarding process and were generally very slick) and landed in Oakland.

After a slightly long winded, but ultimately painless, trip in from the airport we found ourselves in our poky little room at the Dakota Hotel. It was a great location and pretty cheap so we couldn't really complain. My first impressions the city were that it is actually a lot like New York, just on a smaller scale. Especially the part of the city we were staying in. Lots of sky scrapers, yellow cabs and a large number of homeless.

'08 Trip - San Francisco

Day 1:

The next day we got up and made our way down to REI to get Amanda a warm jacket. While the trip didn't end in a warm puffy jacket, it did lead us to a great little cafe attached to a motor bike shop called Moto Java. It was without a doubt the best cup of coffee on the trip so far.

Next on the list was the Asian Art Museum, which was unfortunately closed. Kind of disappointing but no doubt I should have checked out their opening hours before we went. However all was not lost and we jumped on one of the old school street cars and headed for the Castro for lunch.

With rainbow flags everywhere and gay men obviously ruling the roost it isn't that surprising that this part of the city is considered a gay mecca. After a nice lunch and browsing the shops we headed off to find the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA).

The Museum was quite small and has a really good photography collection as well as a nice collection with a number of big names. Well worth a look if you're in the area.

Next it was back on the trail of the puffy jacket for Amanda. We jumped on one of San Francisco's famous cable cars and headed off to parts unknown, armed as always with our trusty map. The cable car was noisy, cold and crowded but worth getting on to, not to mention a living piece of San Francisco's history.

We walked for awhile through a really nice residential area of the city before finding the store that had "The Jacket". It was purchased and we headed back out to the streets to continue our wandering through the very lovely Pacific Height's district of the city. After dinner and finding out that the Ani DiFranco concert we wanted to go to was sold out it was time to head back to the hotel and crash. We'd had a very busy day and felt like we'd walked over most of the central city.

Day 2:

Our second day in San Fran wasn't as sunny as the first. I decided that it would get warmer through out the day so didn't wear my big jacket. Big mistake.

We had a late start and after breakfast we decided to head over to Fisher Man's Wharf to have a look around. It was as touristy as I'd heard and really windy. The cable car ride up there was once again cold and busy but we jumped off at Lombard Street to have a look at what is apparently San Francisco's windiest street. It has about six rather sharp turns which were apparently put in because at the time the cars couldn't cope with the steepness. At the bottom a number of crazy tourists risked life and limb to get a shot of those turns.

We then wandered over to the Wharf and after much humming and haaing over where to have lunch I gave in to Amanda and we went to Hooters. All I have to say about that is that people really don't go there for the food. That being said it wasn't quite as sleazy as I had feared.

Next it was time to go have a look at some of San Francisco's bohemian past so we jumped on a street car and headed up to Broadway to have a look at A Different Light bookshop and next door Vesuvius which is a very seedy bar/cafe where Dylan and Kerouac used to hang out. Unfortunately we didn't stay long as they didn't serve hot chocolate and as I was starting to feel blue by this stage we decided to head back to the hotel.

After a bus ride from hell through the utterly overcrowded China town (it was like Hong Kong on a bad day!) we made it back to the relative sanctuary of the hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon close to home and mostly inside thankfully.

San Francisco was a nice place to visit and I'd like to go back when the weather isn't so dominating so I can see a few more parts. But to be honest all in all I wasn't as wowed as I thought I'd be. Strangely it's a city which has taken on almost mythic proportions in my mind and not surprisingly hasn't lived up to them. I think t might be a place best seen with a local, someone who knows all the byways. I'll be back though, after all I never did see the Golden Gate bridge and Amanda never got to see those Bison!

Days at the Dinah

2008-04-13T05:38:00.005+12:00

We had 4 days of Dinah Shore madness and it went really fast. After our mildly stressful, but ultimately uneventful, drive we headed up to our room to dump our bags and then hit The street (Palm Springs is really small) to get some more "by the pool" appropriate clothes. Amanda was also on the hunt for Burkenstocks which we'd been unable to find by this point. However after a few hours pounding the pavement we managed to find most of what we were looking for and so headed back to our room to get ready for the mixer party at one of the other hotels.

On our way there we met two really nice Canadian ladies who kindly showed us the way to the party, and being Dinah old hands gave us a run down of what to expect.

It was a rather pleasant low key affair with a stand up comic doing the rounds breaking the ice, and a DJ playing loungy house music as the back drop. The breaking the ice seemed to go well as it didn't take long for people to start giving random strangers lap dances to the admiring cheers of the onlookers.

We hung out there people watching for a little while and then went back to our over sized king bed (with 9... yes 9 pillows) for a lovely night's sleep.

The next day was one of pure bliss. We hung out by the pool read our books and generally chilled out in glorious style. I had found a really good swimsuit the day before (amusingly enough I went all the way to Palm Springs to buy a New Zealand made bikini!) so felt that apart from my whiteness I at least had appropriate attire!

There was a hugely funny stand up comic show on that night which we got the best seats in the house at, due to being VIPs of course, and that would have started off a great night if the sun and drinking hadn't caught up with me and I had to go to bed with a headache! Amanda, being the sweetheart that she is, stayed in with me and it turned out to be an earlier night than expected.

Friday arrived and with it the need to finalise our White Party outfits. Amanda had noticed an outlet mall on our way into town (her mind is often on shopping) so we jumped into the car a headed up there. This place was HUGE and packed with all sorts of shops and it was cheap. We spent a lot of time and not to much money there, leaving with many outfits including the all important White Party one.

The White Party seems to be a bit of a tradition at the Dinah and as it was at our hotel we certainly got to see it in all of it's glory. After dinner and a wee rest we put on our glad rags and headed down to our pool side cocktail party. The pool had a rather large fire pit that was roaring when we got there, so we grabbed a couple of seats near by, picked up the first of our complementary cocktails and settled in for some serious people watching.

We spent a few very pleasant hours sipping drinks and chatting to a woman from Philly about gender politics, queer culture in the US and all sorts of other things besides. Eventually it got a little bit chilly so we decided to head inside to the dancing. At this stage we realised just how strong those free drinks were and should have started on the water. However we decided to have just one more... this was not the best of ideas. The go-go dancers started to perform and we watched in admiration but it soon became apparent that the best course of action would be to head back upstairs and call it a night. Which is just what we did.

Saturday dawned bright, hot and sunny. Just the type of weather you don't want when you have a hangover. Saturday was a very low key day spent mostly in bed and by the pool. We managed to rouse ourselves as the sun set and had a very lovely and romantic dip in the spa and a swim. This seemed to refresh us enough to head over to the Palm springs convention centre for the Mardi Gras party. After following a few other women, only to find they didn't really know where they were going either, we eventually made it to the party. The venue was huge and decked out to accommodate 4000 odd parting women. There was a karaoke room, a salsa room, a chill out area, a mini casino (with texas hold'em being played... I was to much of a wimp to sit down though) and of course the main room with a stage for the Go-Gos to play, (a band I didn't know much about other than that Belinda Carlise was in it) as well as mini stages for yet more talented go-go girl dancers. We were still feeling pretty mellow so spent a lot of time up in the VIP section (are you noticing a theme?) watching the gyrating dancing below.

It was with sadness in our hearts that we went do to the Gospel Brunch on Sunday morning, our last morning in Palm Springs. Gospel isn't really the thing that jumps to mind when I think about a hotel full of lesbians but the singers were great, as was the food. It was also a fantastic end to our first visit to Dinah Shore and Palm Springs.

There were a few things we didn't make it to this time, but even if we had made it to every party and seen all the golf we wanted I know that we would still be just as keen to come back. Not next year, but hopefully the year after.

Next stop San Francisco, but I'll save that for another post.

'08 Trip - Dinah Shore and Palm Springs

We're off to the "Golf"!

2008-04-09T05:04:00.004+12:00

The morning of our departure to Palm Springs dawned sunny and bright. We jumped in a cab and headed to the Hertz rental lounge out at the airport. We had everything pre booked and even pre paid so it wasn't long till we were sitting in our little Nissan with a tank full of petrol and detailed instructions on how to get where we wanted to go, courtesy of Google.

The drive was a pretty one. A few hills, some desert, lots of windmills. It took us just under 3 hours and while my experience of driving on the left hand side of the car is pretty limited, I was pretty happy with how it went. We arrived safe and sound at our very swanky hotel, Hotel Zoso (dumb name, nice place).

Palm Springs is a nice town. Full of a fascinating mixture of older retired couples, gay men, and families. The Dinah Shore week sees a huge influx of gay woman as well for all the same reasons that we were there.

We had four days in Palm Springs. Full of shopping, lounging by the pool, people watching, chatting to people from around the States, Canada and Australia and amazingly no golf. In fact the one time we mentioned golf to someone they gave us a very blank look!

I guess the main reason people come here is for the atmosphere. To be in a place where for a few days you are no longer the minority, but instead the majority, was a really great feeling. Palm Springs was a fantastic host and the area is very open in its desire to keep the thousands of woman who spend millions of dollars coming back. I know I will, though the trip from NZ is a rather expensive one.

Interestingly enough, and this might only make sense to people who watch the L Word, the woman were not what I expected. Some were what I'd consider regular types, but a lot of them looked like the models and want to be actresses that they no doubt are. A lot of woman from LA come to this weekend and it was fascinating to see that the type of people portrayed on the show actually exist.

I'll do a separate post for the party blow by blows, but I just wanted to get some thoughts down about the event and place before they faded like a dream.

The sound of silence...

2008-04-06T13:25:00.004+12:00

Hi all!

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. We've been pretty busy but I'll get right on to it now!

We left LA via Union Station and caught the train to San Diego. For the most part the 2 1/2 hour train journey was pretty uninteresting. However once we got back to the coast it was very pretty and easy to see why southern California is so well known for it's beaches.

We pulled into San Diego's Santa Fa train station on a beautiful spring day, though it was still a lot cooler than either of us expected. We made our way to our (thankfully) central hostel in San Diego's Gaslamp district. This is a really pretty part of a pretty city and if any one is wanting a cheap place to stay the HI Downtown hostel is worth looking up (though our mattress was pretty awful!)

After dumping our bags we started wandering around the shopping areas looking for good deals and clothes suitable for our time in the desert. That ate up our afternoon rather well so we headed back to the hostel for a little rest before heading up to Hillcrest for dinner. This well planned little bus ride turned into an hour long mission when we jumped on the wrong bus first, then another wrong bus which took us onto the freeway and to a rather dark transit center. Luckily it was still quite busy and another bus took us back to where we wanted to be, but it was a little more pre-dinner stress than I was after. (I will always pay more attention to buses that say they will make "limited stops" from now on!)

We finally made it to Baja Betty's where Amanda and I partook in two very large margaritas (we needed them by this point!). I decided to take some advice I'd been given and tried a fish taco, and by the end of the evening was glad that I had. (We didn't risk the bus back you'll be glad to hear.) We were also gifted a rather cute cartoon portrait of the two of us.

The next day we headed of to do a little more shopping, (anyone noticing a theme?) before heading out to Old Town. I had been expecting an older part of San Diego, but just another part of the city. However what we found was an almost theme park styled village harking back to the days when San Diego was a mission and the birth place of California as we now know it. We wandered around here for a few hours looking at the old streets and soaking in some much needed warmth before heading out to SeaWorld.

Unfortunately we got out there an hour before it closed, but after a helpful tip from a security guard found out that if we went to the customer service desk and asked for a "shopper's pass" we could look around the park for an hour and then get a full refund. So we grabbed a map and had a whirl wind trip around the park. We managed to catch the last half of the dolphin show and also got to see the largest otter ever! See the photos for more highlights.

We returned to the Gaslamp and had a leisurely evening, having a not overly good Japanese meal and a really nice chill out at a Boarders book store.

The next morning it was up, packing and then heading off to get our car for our drive into the desert!!

EDIT: Thanks to those who pointed out my misuse of the possessive apostrophe!! Sophie

In LA!

2008-03-31T18:39:00.004+13:00

Hi all,

Just a quick post before bed on our second day in the US. So far things have gone pretty well. We didn't miss any flights or get lost. Though getting from LAX to our hostel was a two hour shuttle trip from hell and an experience we could have done with out.

However our hostel room is pretty big and private and while it may not be the world's most central place, where in LA is?

Thoughts on LA... well it's massive. You can't really comprehend it till you've been here and tried to get around. It is easy to see why everyone is always driving here. It's also got a real rough around the edges feel. The few places that are clean and tidy (Bel Air, parts of Hollywood) are a real stark contrast to the rest of the city.

However neither of us have felt at all nervous using public transport or walking around a little so I'm guessing that the crack downs on crime are making things safer in this rather infamous city.

I don't think I'll rush back here (Amanda isn't too sure at this stage, she wants a better look at the Playboy Mansion), but it was worth a look and is certainly a diverse city. If I ever meet someone who lives here I might come back to get a more personal show around.

Here are a few photos from today (click on the photo to see more):

'08 Trip - LA

Tomorrow it's off to San Diego by train.

This post was brought to you by my brand new MacBook!

Location: Banana Bungalow, LA

Tomorrow is the day

2008-03-28T11:52:00.001+13:00

We fly out to LA tomorrow. So feel free to give any handy hints about what to do there!

I'm hoping that the next time I update will be from my new MacBook :)

3 more sleeps...

2008-03-26T16:04:00.003+13:00

With only 3 days to go and a mostly empty house the end is finally in sight! I would show photos but I can't find any good ones... so here are a few from the last trip to keep you interested. Enjoy!

Location: Wellington

A few edits and the start of the count down

2008-02-28T11:43:00.004+13:00

So it's been a wee while since the last trip and Amanda and I are about to launch into the next one! A month away bouncing around the US of A (specifically the West Coast), the UK and a couple of days to chill in Singapore.

It's going to be a really busy time but I'm anticipating a whole lotta fun!

I've made a slight change to the blog layout and the header (which needs more work) but the main thing of note is... 29 days till we fly to LA!!!!!!

Finally some photos!

2006-10-16T23:54:00.000+13:00

In no particular order:

yep... even more

2006-10-16T23:52:00.000+13:00

and some more...

2006-10-16T23:51:00.000+13:00

bored yet?

2006-10-16T23:48:00.000+13:00

Family ties

2006-07-11T02:24:00.000+12:00

The main reason for travelling up to the north of Germany and then on to Copenhagen was in order to meet some distant cousins of mine.

So as to not bore anyone with my family tree I'll just leave the relationship at that, however if anyone wants to know the details feel free to let me know.

So our first night in Hamburg was spent having dinner with all of the cousins, Ester (my grandfather's cousin), Beatrice, Elizabeth and Carlotta (Beatrice's grand-daughter). They are really more my Dad's cousins than mine, but that aside it is always interesting to meet people who are related to you but who you have no other connection with.

Dinner was nice, even though the whole raw fish were give a miss. Family tales were told and conntact with the Hamburg arm of the family was firmly re-established.

The next day was spent with Elisabeth (not my aunt, one of the cousins) who showed us to a garden that my great-great-great-great-great grandfather had designed (it also turns out that he developed the Queen of Denmark rose...). After wandering around that for awhile we headed off to my great grandfather and grandmother's graves.

They were not very easy to find, and when we did find them they were a little over grown. But it was nice to get in touch with that part of my family history, especially as I have heard so many stories through out my life about these people.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in Hamburg proper looking at a few shops, and going to a gallery. Unfortunately I didn't have much time to explore, but I think I will return next time I'm in the area.

Then it was time to head further north and into Denmark.

Germany and football, what a mix!

2006-07-11T01:58:00.000+12:00

Hello all,

Well as I only have few hours left of my trip I thought I should actually finish my blog.

So when I last left you my time in Italy was over and we were about to venture into the land of a number of my forbears, Germany. We left Pont first thing in the morning and headed towards the St. Bernard tunnel. There were very few dogs offering to give me brandy, but then again I guess I wasn't in need of rescue.

To be honest the day was spent in the car and driving long distances on the Autobann. For those of you who don't know the German highways have no speed limit. They are long, straight 2 or 3 lane highways and even when cruising along at 130km/h you are still being passed at regular intervals.

We spent that first night in a smallish town north of Frankfurt called Marburg. It is the home of one of the oldest Protestant Universities in the world. However as we were just passing through we didn't do much touristing. We did get to see the student vibe in action as Germany won one of their World Cup matches that night so everyone was out celebrating.

The next day, after a brisk walk up to the Scloss (castle), it was back into the car and up to Hamburg.

We arrived in Hamburg in good time and in the pouring rain. We arrived at our hotel (amazingly taking only one wrong turn!) and got ready to meet the distant relatives who we had come to visit.

A few points from Pont

2006-06-25T03:19:00.000+12:00

So we arrived in Pont, Northern Italy, on Saturday evening in the pouring rain. It was a very harsh contrast to our idyllic Tuscan hidaway.

However we got settled in the hotel, had a cup of coffee and planned the next few days.

Pont is located in the Gran Paradiso National Park, Aosta Valley and is basically the set off point for climbing and walking in this part of the Italian alps. This was very much a part of the trip that was centered around Dad, especially as he is going to try and climb Mont Blanc in July.

Sunday dawned free of rain so it was into the walking gear and after brekkie up the hill.

All told the walk took 6 hours. 2 up to the Rifugio Vittorio Emanuele, 2 walking along the ridge lines to the Rifugio Chabod and then 2 down to the valley floor. I'm not too proud to say that it was very tough and the altitude (the highest point we got to was 2750 meters) was hard to deal with. The rain that started about halfway between the two refuges also didn't help much.

However despite all that it was a spectacular walk and well worth the effort.

On Monday Dad set off to try and walk into France and Mum, Liz and I decided to explore the valley a little more. It wasn't all that successful and I would have to say that if you are going to the region just do the walking. Aosta was a nice town, but the Roman ruins that we went to see were mostly covered up and the other valley we went to was not quite as nice as the one we were staying in. We returned to Pont about the same time that Dad got back.

After our evening wander near the hotel we returned to find a small group of Ibex grazing near the hotel. They also gave us an impressive display of their rock climbing and head butting abilities.

This was our last night in Italy so then it was time to pack and clear out all of the photos from the camera in preparation for the next leg of the trip, Germany!

More of Italy

2006-06-23T02:17:00.000+12:00

Hello again!

Well I thought I should finish my Italian travels as I am now in Hamburg.

On the Wednesday I headed back to Siena to get another look at a few things and to also just have a bit of a wander. It is a great place to walk around as it is so contained. The highlight of the day would have to be the Basilica of St Catherine. She manged to convince the Pope to return to Rome from France, though also managed to get her head cut off. I never did find out why...

The next day to was time to follow up on yet another saint, St Francis of Assisi (they have a lot of them in Italy). Assisi is a small hill top village that exists as a spot for pilgrimage. The main Basilica is the home to some of the most beautiful frescoes from the Early Renaissances. I won't go into detail for those who aren't interested in art, but it is worth the journey if you are in the area.

The whole town is set up for the pilgrimages of both the religious and artistic kind. You can buy crosses and icons of all shapes and sizes, books, pictures and all types of things. It was very interesting to see so many people who were there to bask in the glory of both God and this very holy place, in it's own way.

Then it was back in the car after lunch and back to Podere Finerri for the rest of the afternoon.

Friday, our last day in Tuscany, was spent heading off to Arezzo. The day had two goals. One was to look at the frescoes in the Arezzo area by Pierro della Francesca and the other was to go to a special restaurant for Liz's birthday.

We went to Sansepolcro first and then to another small town that I cannot remember for the life of me!

We arrived in Arezzo just in time for lunch and headed straight into the restaurant. Then after a very traditional, though nice, lunch it was into the church to look at the frescoes. I won't go into the details, but again they are well worth the look.

By then we were all a little frescoed out and so it was back to the house to pack up and prepare our last dinner.

Then it was off to the mountains in the north of Italy. We had a long day of driving and arrived in a hamlet called Pont.

You asked.. here they are!

2006-06-21T08:26:00.000+12:00

Photos, here for your viewing pleasure:
1. The duomo in Siena
2. The sunset over the Siena hills
3. The view of the Plazza from the top of the tower
4. Felix sleeping
5. The view from my Tuscan bedroom window
6. the family group

I hope they help you visualise where I am.

Back log of Blog posts

2006-06-21T08:06:00.000+12:00

hey guys,

Here are some posts I wrote when I didn't have 'net access. Photos aren't far away.

Podere Finerri, Tuscany, Italy

Getting to Podere Finerri

Amazingly I’ve been on holiday for 10 days already and my head is still spinning a little.

My four days in Melbourne were really nice. I got to meet my lovely nephew and while there were a few ‘gnome face’ moments, he was a joy.

Then it was onto the long haul portion of the trip. The flights were cramped, long and exactly what I expected. 23 hours later I arrived in Nice (France) where Mum, Dad and Liz (my aunt) were there to pick me up. The rest of the day is a total blur of driving, a couple traffic jams and a little sleep.

We spent the night on the Ligurian Coast in a small town called Rappallo. Nothing much of note really, and even if there was I was far too tired to pay any attention to it.

By now it is Saturday morning and it was back into the car and time to make our way into Tuscany. We jumped onto the autostrada and zoomed our way down the motor way. Italians drive exactly how you’d expect them to. Fast and with very little consideration for anyone else on the road. After three crashes in about one hour I’m just glad I wasn’t expected to drive!

Tuscany is beautiful. We got off the autostrada to make our way into Chianti for lunch. The road winds its way up and down the Tuscan hills and through numerous picturesque hill top villages. We stopped for a lunch in a classic Chianti vineyard and trattoria. After lunch (antipasti and these amazing spinach ball things and gorgonzola sauce) Dad and I nipped into the tasting room for a taste of the local Chianti Classico. It was fantastic and so a dozen bottles later (plus one from 1981 to be drunk on my 30th birthday) we made our way back to the car and tried not to get caught up in the traffic around Siena. We managed that successfully and after only one wrong turn and an unfortunate meeting with a small ditch made it to the beautiful Podere Finerri.

It is a beautiful old farm house that has been restored and is perched in the midst of the Siena Hills. The view is spectacular and it gives a new meaning to the term all day sun. The people who own this idyllic spot also happen to live here. I can certainly think of worse spots.

Podere Finerri day 2

Sunday dawned clear, sunny and not overly warm. We had a slowish start and by unspoken agreement decided to have a day of lounging around and reading. We also got our hosts, Malcolm and Daniella, to impart some of their local knowledge so that we can hopefully find a few gems that are off the beaten path.

I also decided to give bread making a go, seeing as the bread we have had in Italy so far as been pretty dire. So if you are interested in having a bready taste of Tuscany give this a go:

Tuscan flat bread:
2 tsp Dry yeast
Warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs Salt
Coarsely chopped rosemary
150ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
400g flour
Extra flour for rolling
Optional – 1kg black olives or grapes

Combine yeast, sugar and enough water to dissolve it in. Stir and set aside until a little frothy. Warm oil and rosemary in a saucepan. Heat it gently and once warm set it aside to cool. Place flour and salt in a big bowl. Form a well in the middle, add the yeast mix and half of the rosemary oil (add 400gm of the olives/grapes if using) and mix well, adding more warm water until the flour is all combined. Then turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes. The dough should be soft and sticky. If it feels too dry add a little more water, too wet a little more flour.

Return to a now clean and oiled bowl for either 2 hours (until twice in size) or overnight in the fridge.

Divide the dough into two large metal dishes (brush with the remaining oil and rosemary first). Flatten the dough into the pan (push remaining olives/grapes onto surface) and rub a little more olive oil, rosemary and salt onto the surface. Allow to rise a little in the pan. Bake for 20 min at 220° then reduce heat to 180° and bake for a further 10 min. Serve warm with a little more olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a fine glass of Chianti Classico!

So after a long, large lunch and a little more sitting around reading we went into the near by village to have a look at the Sunday market. Unfortunately there was not a lot on offer. However I did have my first (of many no doubt) gealato which was just as good as I remember them being. I now feel sufficiently rested and ready to take on Siena tomorrow!

Ciao!

Day 3 – Siena

It was up and out today for our first proper touristy day. We had decided that breakfast would be had in Siena so we set out full of the joys of summer.

The road works and traffic on the motorway certainly did their part is dampening our spirits. However by the time we walked into the Piazza del Campo, which was bathing in Tuscan sunshine, all was well again.

After a quick coffee and Italian croissant it was off across the square to the town hall or the Palazzo Publico. Annie and I decided that the best way to go would be to head straight up the bell tower and have a look at the roof top view of this beautiful city. Once again however queuing got in the way a little and so I spent a bit of time getting into my trigger happy mode.

The tower is 83 meters high and to get to the top there are 400 steps. In some parts it is also only 52 cm wide and 150 cm high, which meant that for my Dad there were a few tight squeezes.

In actuality the climb was pretty gentle and we made it to the top with out much trouble. After looking around for about 15 minutes it was back down to the bottom and over to the museum.

For any one who has studied Italian Renaissance art, the paintings shown in these rooms are utterly a must see. The Allegory of Good and Bad government, in their original context, are just fantastic. As are the paintings by Simone Martine of the Maesta.

Amazingly by now it was time for lunch, and as it was my Dad's birthday we headed off to a lovely resturant for lunch in the sun.

Then it was off to the Duomo which I have to admit I like more from the outside than the inside. It is a spectacular buliding and would have been even better if not for the scafolding on the outside.

We headed into the adjacent museum to look in on Duccio's magnificant Maesta and head up on to the ramparts of the unfinished nave. More fantastic views of the city's roof tops and photo opertunities I just couldn't pass up.

By this stage we were all a little touristed out so it was back into the car to battle our way back to our small slice of Tuscan paradise.

The rest of the week was taken up triping around the local area, spending another day in Siena and also heading sightly further a field to Assisi and Arezzo.

But first some photos!

Siena

2006-06-14T22:24:00.000+12:00

Hello!

Well I know that this travel blog has been rather neglected of late, but I have been taking notes to fill you all in on how I'm going.

Until then just know that Italy is fabulous and I'm in love with Italy. More soon, plus photos!

Ciao!

Melbourne - Day 3

2006-06-06T11:49:00.000+12:00

Well I've been in Melbourne for a day and a half now and have done very little. I've decided that this is the full on "holiday" portion of my trip. So I've read my book, chilled with Felix and generally hide from the cold.

I actually think that it is colder here this week than it is in Wellington.

Today I might just venture out into the cold with Abbie and Felix to do a little shopping, before returning to my book.

A very dull update I know, but more exciting things to come!!

Map

2006-06-03T16:07:00.000+12:00

Ok for those who are interested here is a map of where I'm going. Not the best, but it gives you the idea.

One more sleep!!

2006-06-03T14:36:00.000+12:00

I'm procrastinating right now. I should be packing, but instead I'm playing with my Blog and digital camera. Typical!!

Last day at work.

2006-06-02T17:22:00.000+12:00

Well I the last emails have been sent, and the desk is about to be tidied. I am 10 minutes away from officially being on holiday!!

Check back for updates in the coming weeks!