Bunkered down - checking "crack' network - feeling crook!

Hi folks.
Yes, bunkered down here in rural Holland (well outside Amsterdam). Snow at the door, heater on, hot cuppa and Chris has gone shopping with Terry. A quick blog from me.

Yes, we are grateful to have arrived safely here, given the European weather of late!

Chris told me I needed to be careful with this entry...sensitive audience & all that. But she's gone shopping...so here I am!

We were laughing earlier this morning as we read the "crack trial" report of one new, but very determined manufacturer back there in the Mt Evelyn environs. There have been a number of busts in that area in recent years (that we are aware of )....so beware Fiona H! Your blog comments are probably traceable given our recent big brother experiences....

Very amusing...watch for odd behaviour from the dog!...and "stick" with it. Looking forward to the genuine article when we return.

Chris & I have both been crook. Chris picked up something in Rome & it developed in London...several days in bed. She's now on the mend , but I 've succumbed. since arriving here...sore throat, cold, flu thing....

This is a wonderful place for us to rest. In an earlier life these very buildings had served as a "Leprosorium", when Holland was the colonial power in Indonesia. Lepers were brought here to be cared for. Now as a YWAM centre for Discipleship & Training, (since 1975), the ministry continues. YWAM has about 1000 centres in approx 145 countries across the world (16-20,000 staff!). We feel very blessed by these generous folk.

Chris is now on the mend (thus the shopping) & to her delight she can taste & smell things....I'm still mending!

Please remember us in prayer, as we prepare for the final Thailand chapters of our adventure later this week. Firstly, Chaing Mai with Ongard & Aim's family & then Chaing Rai with Pastor Simon McKenzie & a young Lutheran mission team from Sydney. Then home on the 15th...God willing!



The "Vicks tent"-Chris's mum Rita would be proud!



David & various remedies

White Christmas for the Paechs!

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE AND A JOYOUS NEW YEAR!

The Paechs were able to get out of London via Gatwick Airport to Amsterdam on Christmas Eve. Fortunately Gatwick did not suffer the same problems as Heathrow and because it had not snowed for a few days all the flights were able to depart...so we arrived in Amsterdam and our friend Ed Sherman met us at the Arrival Hall as his flight in from Geneva arrived at around the same time.

We then made our way down to the train station and boarded the train taking us to Zwolle in the countryside (north)east of Amsterdam. The train was fantastic, so quiet and quite fast...and got us there in about 1 and a half hours. I had a good sleep, as I had been under the weather with a respiratory problem and was very tired.

Ed's wife Terry picked us up from the train and drove us to our Bungalow in Heerde a few kilometres out from Zwolle. The bungalow/Guest cottage is part of the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) complex called Heidebeek, see their website http://ywamheidebeek.org/en/ . Ed and Terry are both involved here, with Ed travelling regularly to teach in the various YWAM programs. He had been working in Geneva & will be travelling to Perth, Western Australia, early next year.

We're in Holland & it's Christmas! 

The bungalow is very quaint and cosy, and Terry (our angel) had fullly stocked the fridge and cupboard for our arrival. Outside there was snow covering the ground and on the trees, making it a magical sight. What a blessing to be here for some much needed rest an recovery (for me particularly).

Christmas Eve & the view from our bungalow door!

We slept in quite late on Christmas Day then pottered around, skyped the kids (for an hour) until our chauffeur arrived (Terry & Ed's friend Belinda - also a YWAM staff member) to take us to Ed & Terry's place for Christmas dinner. What a delight beheld us when we arrived...there was a beautiful Christmas energy in this place, beautifully decorated and food as far as the eye could see (unfortunately I could not enjoy the smell of Christmas because of my head cold - aghhhhhh!)

Ed and Terry's two sons (David and Chris - I kid you not!) and David's friend Jeroen, along with us and Belinda, made up the guest list for the evening.

The Sherman's Christmas table - clockwise: David P, Terry &
 Ed, Belinda, Chris & David Sherman, Jeroen.

Dinner was served and we all enjoyed a sumptuous meal together. It was great to gather around the family table of Christian folk here in Holland to celebrate the birth of our Saviour & Lord. Prayer, food, wine & lively conversation, especially about various musicals, in particular Les Miserables. Each of them have seen it several times. It is a favourite of both Chris Sherman & Chris Paech. A timeless story of grace. It was in fact Ed & Terry, back in January 2010, who at our dining table in Mt Evelyn, encouraged us to include a "London jaunt" in our travel plans....especially to see Les Mis at the Queen's Theatre! Chris didn't take much convincing. And it was magnificient...

A winter Christmas view!

Then present opening...we even had something under the tree which was quite a surprise. I opened the card and it was from my dear friend Sue Boonstra (who introduced us to Ed and Terry last January, and who is ably taking over my job while I'm away!). She had travelled to Holland in September and had "squirrelled" away in her suitcase some tea bags from my desk at school and had wrapped them up for me for Christmas. Now this might seem a little strange to you, but to me it brought me unstuck and I had a bit of a cry over these silly teabags. I had realised how much I had missed Sue and everyone at school and how thoughtful she had been. The card even had a Sudoku on it for me to do...which I promptly did! Sue you are a gem...thank you!

The sisterhood! Belinda and Terry!

What to do SNOWED in, in London?

Snow is an amazing thing! It can make life exciting. It can make life very difficult...in London it was the latter. We were actually very lucky to get into Heathrow at all, as they closed the airport the next day. Our friends, Marga and Anders had missed their connecting flights and therefore stuck in London. No hotel room awaited them though unlike us. They had to crash at a friend's place...and I think they are still there (or else on the way home to Stockholm, having missed their Christmas celebrations with their family in Australia.

Anyway, back to us and London. London is cold, wet, and snowy! And I had a touch of  gastro, so spent the day in bed watching the snow fall outside. But I managed to haul myself out of bed to go the theatre that night to see Les Mis. We have been waiting 12 months to see this show and here we were sitting in the audience of the Queen's Theatre watching my favourite musical. And what a performance it was...it was brilliant. The performers were fantastic and we were compelled to get to our feet as they finished the spine chilling last song...we clapped and whistled and clapped for a long time...and then they were gone. It is always sad when the show comes to the end. We floated off to the Tube to get back to the hotel.

What else have we done in London:

D&C and Big Ben...in the freezing cold!

Jumped on the Big Bus - this bus travels around all the well known sights and provides commentary on each of these. It is a hop on hop off affair, so you can get off anywhere on the route, then jump back on later.

Our first stop was the Big Eye - you would have thought that I was over things that were high in the air, wouldn't you???? No, you have to do the London Eye - cos it's there! Well, once you are in one of the pods...that's it...you are stuck there. No way out now!! It starts off being quite cruisy and the view of London at night with the lights is lovely...but it keeps going higher and higher and the pod actually turns as the wheel (looks like a large bicycle wheel) and then you are headed towards the top of the wheel. It was at this point that the panic set in...there are seats in the middle of the pod...FOR GOOD REASON. I sat down with David who also looked a bit pale and tried to find a happy place...happy place...don't look down...happy...happy...once it's at the top it will start going down...that's a happy thought...don't look down. Then I became aware of the pod in front of us. These pods hold 25 folk! Just a well dressed couple & a waitress with champagne etc....At the very top of the wheel, I notice the young man on his knee holding the hand of his true love, proposing! It was very romantic...and took my mind off the stupidity of being that high in the air on a bicycle wheel. She did accept - would have been an awkward 30 minutes back down to the bottom otherwise!

D & C looking slightly terrified at the top of the London
Eye. Thinking happy thoughts...happy thoughts...

What else? We went to the changing of the guards! What a boring, boring thing to watch. The only interesting thing that happened was when one of the guard slipped over...I didn't laugh (much) at his misfortune but it did make for interest in a rather dull 45 minutes. So we can tick that off our list! (PS David here...I found it v interesting!...so much symbolism/ritual  & they are just ordinary guys...some very young & chatty as we observed when a couple came up close...why do each pair of guards come forward to the Palace & kick the gutter? Still don't know...then there is the checking of the box! etc etc..) But Buckingham Palace was interesting and the Queen was in...thought about popping in to say howdy, but needed to get down to No. 10 Downing St via the Horse Guards. So walked around some more and made our way to Trafalgar Square.

(Oh by the way, I have been trying to get photos of all of the Monopoly board properties. I doing okay, but struggling with the light blue properties like Euston Road. I might have to cut them out of the paper, but I'll do my best.)...[David again...many of you will know my Princess has expensive taste and will notice when you eventually see her little collection, that she has focussed on the Red set (Trafalgar Sq... etc) right up to Mayfair! Has 'em all from the wealthier "princess" parts of town!]

At Trafalgar Square we picked up a "Ghosts by Gaslight" night-time walking tour around the past dark "underside" of London. Now this was a lot of fun, going through backstreets and very narrow lanes...even dropped into Sweeney Todd's barber shop, now the actual Vicarage for nearby St Dunstance Church! - (aside...Gog & Magog live in the clocktower next to St Dunstance's...David's Yr10 City trip "CENSUS 10" kids will know these two...they have counterparts in Melbourne). Back to Sweeney...yes, the Barber shop was true, his house was real, the tunnel to Mrs Lovett's Pie Shop really exists...BUT is the story true about the many murders??? We will never know! But the mind boggles!

We also visited the Temple Church where part of the "da Vinci Code" was filmed, which was interesting. Spoiler Alert...the film isn't REAL people. We were told that many people, particularly Americans, visit all the sites in the film only to find, to their disappointment, that it is actually a novel. The vicar at the Temple Church, who allowed filming on site, embraced the attention at the da Vinci Code's release and held lectures to defunct the premises of the novel. Did well out of it. Other churches mentioned in the novel would not have anything to do with the filming, so alternative filming "locations" had to be found. Fascinating!

The Ice Skating Rink far far below the "Eye"...happy thoughts...
happy thoughts.

The next day we spent at St Paul's Cathedral, which was wonderful. We went to a Eucharist service in the afternoon, then pottered around the crypt which included visiting Lord Admiral Nelson's grave and others. Then we stayed on for "Evensong" prayer & worship with the "quire". We were invited to sit in the "quire" stalls for the service which was a real treat. It was a wonderful day in this house of God.
David went back the next day for a Carols service, but realised once he was there (a little late for the 4 pm start) that he had naively left his run and bit late and was not able to get inside as it was packed to the rafters. People had been queuing for 3 hours to get in! So he sat outside with the big screen in Paternoster Square.  He enjoyed it very much with his Starbuck's coffee & BLT...although a wee bit cold out there. (Chris says she saw me on BBC News that evening)


St Paul's Cathedral.


So we are off tomorrow if the weather remains the same - that is NO SNOW! and we will be having Christmas in Holland with our new friends Ed and Terry.

We wish everyone a wonderful Christ-filled Christmas. With our love, Chris and David

PS. I, David, wanted to end this blog with a special blessing...my clip of the magnificient singing of  "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" by the huge St Paul's Cathedral Carols congregation and then the special Christmas blessing by the Bishop...but alas, it looks like copyright restrictions block me uploading. Chris says "they" apparently can identify the location (GPS?!) of the filming/recording...content? who knows?! ....(this also happened with pictures we took of us at the big glass Pyramid at the Louvre!)
Anyway, you will have to imagine that amazing, heavenly, harmony of Charles Wesley's final verse..."Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!..." I can hear my Mum (Betty) in Adelaide & dear sister Marlene Pietsch & the St Paul's choir (Box Hill's that is!) back home...lifting harmonies of praise to the Prince of Peace!
May this Jesus fill your lives with peace and joy!

St Paul's from Paternoster Sq. Big screen, Carols finished. The Bethlehem star? No..a plane. The snow is clearing! We may yet leave London as scheduled!

Did I say we loved SNOW?!!!!

After a lovely lovely week in Stockholm, we were off to London on a British Airways flight arriving in London at 5.30 pm local time.

The flight was slightly delayed leaving Stockholm, and some 30 minutes later we were off! I love flying...and we were actually travelling with Marga, Anders and the kids who were off to Australia for Christmas via London. We arrived into London airspace (the view of London's lights is stunning), which was good, then over the speaker comes "we apologise ladies and gentleman but we are experiencing some delays and we will need to hold for awhile" which turned out to be not too long and we were able to land...safely...with snow everywhere! Thankfully.....

Over the speaker comes "ladies and gentleman we apologise but because of the snow there have been significantly delays with flights leaving and flights arriving and there are no parking spaces available until the current flights have been cleared...there will be a 1 hour wait. Thank you for your patience!" Oh, okay 1 hour won't be too bad...will it?

Speaker "ditto...sorry but we've just been informed that the wait will be 2 and half hours. Huh!!!!!!!!!! Tired, thirsty and hungry...we waited and waited and waited and waited. We read the newspaper from cover to cover; played with the 2 year old to keep her from going nuts (and me for that matter - do you know how much room there is on a fully loaded aeroplane - NOT MUCH!!!!!!!!!!); spoke to the Captain (who had come down the plane placate us - didn't work!); found food; found drinks (tiny cans of fizz - no water!); went to the toilet (lots - although the line up outside was quite long!); moved seats; got to know the people in front and behind and behind them and behind them...and THEN - speaker: "ladies and gentleman...they have found us a parking space and we will be pushing forward (sounds technical doesn't it!!!) but...."

Anyway long and short of it we finally arrived and then had to wait for them to find some stairs to come and get us off the plane, but before we could do that we had to wait for the buses to arrive to take us to the terminal...we finally got there, 6 - 7 hours after we left Stockholm - the flight was about 2 hours.

Now the fun began!!!

We followed the thousands of people toward the passport control and lined up...for about an hour! "Are you here for a holiday?" asked the passport lady. "Well we would like it too be a holiday...still waiting for it to start...can we go now?"

Off to baggage collection with thousands of people...as well as those whose flights had been cancelled...and all their luggage. Which carousel?????? No signs of where our luggage was going to turn up, so David waited with all the hand luggage (I needed a walk very badly! Leg cramps!!!) and I scouted all the carousels and then out of the blue, I spotted it...I could see our pink name tags from a distance...thank you, thank you David for insisting on PINK name tags. There they were...and there I was - it was a joyful reunion. I rang David to meet me somewhere - as there was no way I was getting back through the crowds to find him. Our eyes locked across the room and we found each other (and our luggage!) All was well.

Now where's the tube????

No pics - sorry!

Snow...we love snow!

We farewelled Rome...relunctantly, and headed to the airport to catch our flight to Stockholm (via Frankfurt). This is our third time in Frankfurt so it is becoming quite familiar...it's very big!!!!

We arrived in Sweden at about 3.30 pm and it was pitch black outside (the sun sets early here in Winter) and there was snow everywhere! SNOW! and more SNOW! It was magical! Although I did find out very quickly that my "only" pair of shoes suitable for snow are very very slippery in the snow. Hmmm! This will be interesting.

Two SNOW bunnies??!!!???

Anders picked us up from the airport and took us somewhere about 30 minutes away, and there was Marga (Chris worked with Marga for many years at MECS) and their two children Carl (4) and Anna (2). It was wonderful to see our dear friends again after 18 months or so. They have moved over to Stockholm to follow work for Anders...who is the director of the MC (motor cycle) Collection - for the design of Motor Cycles.

Unfortunately, I had picked up a head cold in Rome, so I was not feeling at all well for the first three - four days, which seriously restricted our activities. Although we did go out for short walks here and there.


Carl and Chris at Christmas brekky!



The following day we were invited to attend Anders parents (early) Christmas celebration breakfast which was delightful, with typical swedish treats...including Marzipan pigs (with chocolate bottoms). I thought Christina (Anders Mum) said Marzipan figs...so when I bit into one I was slightly disappointed that there was no figs to be seen (or tasted), but then the penny dropped when I realised it was in the shape of a pig...duh!!! The other treat that I am now slightly addicted to is Swedish Crack...hello my name is Christine Paech and I am addict. Swedish Knack, translated means Crack, is a toffee...but not a hard toffee, but rather a gooey, creamy, sticky yummy toffee, here's a recipe for you http://annesfood.blogspot.com/2005/12/christmas-candy-swedish-crack.html.

Marga and Ander's home is very close to forests, lakes (now frozen), farms, shopping, train stations and so much more. They "go" skiing or skating any time they get the opportunity during winter. I believe that summer is also very beautiful here in Stockholm. We were thoroughly enthralled by the beautiful environment.


Marga and Anna in their winter playground!


On our last day we took the train into the old part of the city of Stockholm where we wandered around the shops and lovely old buildings. we walked across a very high walkway to a tower which overlooked the city and port which was lovely as the night lights twinkled and reflected off the snow. It was only 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Very eerie!

Getting around in Marga's car...David in the middle with
the kids! Very cool.

Magical forests!

Amazing Roma!

Fountain No.1. Triton fountaing by Bernini!

 Another high speed train trip from Florence to Rome through some magnificent Italian countryside. Again booked an apartment the day before and we had found our cheapest accommodation yet! An apartment close to the railway station...although David complained all the way there as we pulled and pushed our luggage (even though we have our luggage down to a fine art
now) along the very narrow and uneven surfaces that the Italians pretend to be footpaths.

We found our fourth storey apartment...with lift...yay...and settled in quickly. Then out onto the streets of Rome looking for some Roman style action...eg very old and famous stuff. I had for the first time in our whole trip actually sat down with a map and circled all the things that we "needed" to see. The whole map was circled. This could be a problem...so for the rest of this day we would do FOUNTAINS. Rome has a lot of fountains.

Off we go...trusty map in hand looking for our first fountain. Once we found the spot, we also found a group of Lubavitch Jews (very orthodox group based in New York) lighting a rather large candelabra (gas fueled) from a cherry picker (I told you it was big!). It was raining slightly and it was windy and cold, and there was some technical hitches, but finally 7 of the 9 candles were lit (progressively lit over coming days to symbolise living each day to the full, up to celebration of Hannukka). Then they proceeded to say their prayers. David met (& interviewed for his school kids studying Judaism!) Daniel, a young Lubavitch Jewish man from America, who 

Labavitch Jews lighting their candelabra.

was studying in France & helping the local Rabbi here in Italy. Very interesting! Oh, then we found Triton Fountain designed by Bernini in 1643.

Off to fountain number 2. We met a young couple who looked as lost as we were and we decided to find fountain number 2 together. Trevi fountain...yes I know...everyone goes to see Trevi fountain...and yes, we found it...and yes, we threw some coins in the fountain...and yes, we had photo taken throwing coins...and no, we didn't make a wish...we forgot in all the excitement of being at this brilliantly designed fountain, along
with many others in the now pouring rain. We found out, that this fountain is fed by an underground spring which flow 46 kms from outside the city, and has done so for almost 2000 years. Amazing!


Throwing coins into the Trevi fountain...as you do when in
Rome!







It was getting late, so fountain number 3 would have to wait for another day.


Next morning, after a slow start, we hopped onto the Metro and headed off to the Colosseum. Yes I know...everyone goes to the Colosseum...and yes, we found it...and yes, it is big and quite awesome to see.



The Colosseum. The passageways under the floor are
actually 2 storeys high. This is where the animals and
gladiators were held until the battles.

 We found ourselves a local guide (for a price of course!) and trapsed around this amazing building which housed the gladiator games, Christian persecutions, and exotic animal battles. The statistics come out at something like 1,000,000 people and over 3,000,000 exotic animals (many animals are now extinct thanks to the colosseum - including a small breed of elephants!) were killed in the 300 years that the Colosseum was operating as an entertainment venue. Stunningly terrible stats!!

After the Colosseum, our new guide (included in the price!) took us up to Paletine Hill. Not sure if everyone goes to the Paletine Hill but if you
haven't been yet make sure it is on your list of things to do when you are next in Rome. It is amazing. Rome was built on seven hills, and the Palatine Hill is the central hill and is the site for one of the oldest parts of the city. It is in a cave here that (legend says) Romulus and Remus (R&R) were suckled by the famous she-wolf – Romulus being the one who

View from the Paletine Hill. Stunning!

founded Rome once he grew up.

Our guide suggested another story (must inject a "spoiler alert" here) to the she-wolf idea. He "suggested" that R&R's mother was one of the Vestal Virgins (VV) who didn't quite remain faithful to her VV order. Usually VVs who were found to be pregnant were killed immediately, but in R&R's mother's case she managed to talk herself out of being killed (???!!!!) and fobbed the resulting twins off to a prostitute who raised them.

R&Rs home!

Then there's the story about R&R fighting over where Rome should be built...Paletine Hill or the other, not so high, hill next door. They agreed on a competition, whichever hill was visited by the most vultures during the next day would be the winner. Remus come over to Romulus the following day and said he had been visited by 7 crows, Romulus immediately declared himself the winner as he said he had been visited by 15 crows. Remus didn't believe him and demanded a recount. Romulus got bored and killed him and thus Rome (named after Romulus) was built on Paletine Hill. The buildings on the hill once included palaces of Augustus, Tiberius and Domitian, as well as other important Romans of the period, and a temple dedicated to Apollo. Mussolini also built himself a palace on top of this hill...just because he could. There was a stunning view from the top of the hill which overlooks the Roman Forum.

We then walked down to the forum, the house of the VVs, the spot where Julius Caesar was supposed to have been murdered...and then, sat down on a piece of marble and contemplated all that we have seen during the day and rested our feet (I haven't mentioned everything)...it was a BIG day.

The dome of the Pantheon...open to the elements!

But there's more...we decided to go on a night tour and saw a 10 metre high statue of a horse in which 12 people had dinner by entering through it's rear end...then we saw Trajan's 35 metre column built in 113 AD, adorned with continuous reliefs depicting battle victories. Trajan's statue that was on the top of the column was replaced by a statue of St Peter in the 17th century. Then we saw Trajan's markets. Then Piazza Navona...with its three fountains (yes we are back looking at fountains - even though we still need to track down Fountain no. 3). The fountain in the middle of the square was Fontana dei Fuimi, another fountain by Bernini...a very interesting fountain (but I won't go into it now - intrigue, jealousy and poor sportsmanship!)...then onto the Pantheon..amazing to have survived almost intact for 2000 years...diameter is the same as its height 43.3 metres, and Raphael (artist) is buried here...all of this and more, on foot! Sore feet and tired ...but good Italian food & wind at a nearby (recommended) restaurant helps!

Another fountain by Bernini, very controversial at the time!

The next day off to find fountain no. 3 at the bottom of the Spanish Steps...yes, I know everyone goes to see the Spanish steps...yes, we found them...yes, everyone in the world was there...no, we didn't get to see the Fontana della Barcaccia (yes...you guessed it - designed by Bernini) because the Pope was coming. We had wandered around the top of the stairs for quite a while - the view is fabulous and we had also dropped into the church at the top for mass...then we wandered down toward the fountain, but realised that they had cordoned off the square at the bottom (which included fountain no. 3) and people were hanging around waiting for
something to happen. We didn't know it was the Pope at that point in time, but someone informed us that he was going to be arriving in this street (of which we had a great view) at 4.00 pm. It was 2.30 pm...and raining...and windy....and cold...let's get some lunch!

Fountain No.3 cordoned off in preparation for the Pope!

We had a lovely lunch at a swanky restaurant, as it was the only one open on this Public Holiday, all the other restaurants had closed and everyone was "popping" out to see the Pope...in the cold windy rain. Brrr! Stuffed zucchini flowers, seafood pasta, zabaglione and Italian white wine, inside...& warm....hmmm!

Lunch inside where it warm and cosy!
Not outside with the Pope!

Next day off to the Vatican...yes, I know everyone goes to the Vatican...and yes, we found it (and our guide - do you know how big this place is???!!???)...and yes, it is an amazing place to visit. We arrived at 9 am and left and 6 pm.

We started in the Vatican museum...stats: if you visit every item for 1 minute each it will take 12 years to get through all the items held by the Vatican...and then there are the "secret" antiquities (which are not so secret as we saw the "secret" antiquities book in the gift shop!) Our guide took us on a highlights tour of the museum past Michelangelos, Raphaels,
tapestries, statues, room upon room of magnificent artworks, items from the catacombs (where the Christians hid in miles and miles of tunnels under the city - if we had another day we would have visited these!) ceilings, walls, doors, and then...the piece de resistance...the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo (M) is a genius, seriously! He carved David at 24 years old out of a dodgy piece of marble, the St Peter's Pieta at 25 years old and then
these frescoes. The guide informed us that M felt that painting was a little bit beneath him, but he took the job anyway learning the technique from scratch...although he had it down pat by the end. Amazing, amazing
stuff! We sat for a long time first studying the work & then just soaking it in.

This rather large bowl is made out of a single piece of
Pohphyry which is more 10 ten times more valuable than
gold. This would make this piece worth....??????

After lunch and resting of feet, we headed off to St Peter's Bascillica. Another piece of brilliant architecture, and filled to the gunnels with
statues, artworks and dead people (the bones of St Peter are buried deep beneath the altar). It is something to behold. We were able to get some
photos of M's famous Pieta. Beautiful! David was quite taken with the story of one of the (only) 3 women buried in St Peters - Queen Christina of Sweden, an intelligent & cultured woman who in the 1655 publicly relinquished the throne, having converted from Lutheranism to Roman Catholicism. She moved to Rome & was seen as something of a trophy as you can imagine! Her extensive library is now part of the Papal library.
We were quite moved at one stage with the blessing given to us on the commentary on the audio guide- "May Christ's love be with you every step of the way and may it blossom in works of peace" We leave this blog entry (&Rome) praying that this blessing will be yours too, as you prepare for the Christmas celebration of Christ's birth.

St Peter's Basillica!

St Peter's and Christmas tree!



Florence is fabulous!

New experiences seem to be the order of the day for us. We love new experiences, so when we moved from Venice we caught the fast train (the new experience of driving was well and truly "old" - not going there again for a long time!) The fast train got us to Florence in no time at all...well, actually 1 and a half hours...quite comfortably really. We enjoyed the ride, much less stress when someone else does the driving.

Our new hotel in Florence...booked on the internet the day before...was supposedly very close to the train station. Directions to the hotel were sketchy, but we had the general direction. I asked the local postie where the street was, and she pointed down the street and to the right. It was literally one block from the station...lovely!

Our new hotel was quite quaint, and decorated in the "shabby chic" style. Our room was huge with a sitting area and very large bathroom. We were in "two star" heaven. Once settled, we still had time to wander around the streets of Florence. Map in hand, off we went to discover the wonders of this city which was talked about in almost "hallowed" terms.

I must tell you, that we never have a plan when we arrive in a new place...that is, we turn up and wander around. It usually becomes obvious the things that we "have" to investigate. So it was for Florence. We wandered down a street and ran bang smack into the cathedral...a big cathedral, with a Baptistery and a tower...so, while it was too late to investigate right then, we knew what we were going to be doing the next day. So we wandered some more, looked in all the shops...leather goods and shoes were the shops of choice. We stayed in Florence for four nights, and we noticed the change in the shops from just "ordinary" shops to Christmas shops in the space of four days...and the Christmas tree appeared in the square. This was quite strange, as Christmas seemed so far away.

The next day, back to the Cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, better known as the Duomo. It was an  impressive building...with a very large dome built in the middle of the 1400s, which needed to be climbed of course. I am, as I have expressed before quite naive in the ways of the world...so why didn't I equate 463 steps to the top of the dome, with "this is a very high dome"?

See that little pimple on the top of the dome
that's where we were!

Frescos on the dome...see how close we were?????



 Off we go, happily. 1, 2, 3, 4, are we there yet? 50, 51, 52, must be getting close, 149, 150, 151...flip, we must be getting close...hang on, what do you mean that you have to walk out on an overhanging ledge inside the dome and you can see straight down to the ants (people) below??????????? You can't be serious! (I was having an Eiffel Tower flashback!) They were serious of course, and putting one foot in front of the other, sliding along the wall (so if the ledge decided to fall after 500 years I would somehow be able to hold onto the wall and save myself...nuh ain't gonna happen!!!) We were inside the dome, right where the frescos of Vasari and Zuccari of the last judgment were, we could touch them (not meant to of course!) but somehow this did not comfort me, having the "devil eyeballing me from the other side of the dome"! Slide, foot slide!

The devil eyeballing me from across the dome!

The ledge didn't fall down and we moved onto the next flights of steps, which took us up and over the dome itself to the top. The steps from 152 to 463 were very steep  and very narrow, although you were able to stop here and there to catch....your....breathhhhhhhhh. "Whose stupid idea was this to climb this extremely high dome", I muttered under my (remaining) breath...David very rudely suggested that it was my idea! Well when I have another stupid idea, please remind me of this! As we neared the top, my legs turned to jelly, and each flight of stairs became more narrow and more ladder like...it was excruciating as I knew I couldn't turn back as it was only one way traffic.

Finally, step/ladder 463...and out onto the three metre wide ledge that was (outside) on the top of the dome...what an amazing view over the city of Florence. It was magnificent of course and we wandered around up there for ages. Mind you, it took quite a while before we actually work our way to the edge of the edge and looked down. It was wonderful and yes, very worthwhile and yes, it was a very good idea. (Although it struck me as I was going down that I would have to walk on the inside ledge of the dome again...aghhhhhhhhh!! Once down, on terra firma, you can marvel at the engineering and architectural feat of these magnificent buildings.

That was enough for one day...so again we wandered around the streets and lanes and markets before we got back to our hotel.

View over the edge of the dome to the streets below!

Next was the Galleria dell'Accademia, because I had a date with David! Well, we both had a date with David...big David. We were both very excited about our meeting...we had heard so much about him, we had seen lots of pictures of him, but we had never seen him in the flesh. We walked silently through the corridors, then turned the corner and there suddenly... he was there in all his glory. I was overwhelmed, the other David was speechless. We took our time, we didn't hurry our meeting, we wanted to get to know him...intimately! He is stunningly beautiful! We sat at his feet and took in every detail of his body...his feet, his well-defined legs, his buttocks, his hands (beautifully veined), his magnificent torso, his face (so young, yet his brow is slightly creased in contemplation of his future as king), his hair curling at the nape of his strong neck...it was love at first sight. As I sat there looking, the light from the dome above him threw light and shadow across his chest, I couldn't have sworn that he was breathing. It was a 1 hour love fest for me and the other David was equally enthralled.

Mother and dead son...full of emotion!

The following day off to the Museum dell'Opera, across the way from the Cathedral. This museum houses one of Michelangelo's sculptures of the Pieta (he did two). The one in this museum has four characters (we were yet to see the other one in St Peter's Rome) Nicodemus, Mary Magdelene, Mary mother of Jesus and of course, the dead body of Jesus. I was immediately struck by the face of Mary (mother) even in its unfinished state had such a look of love for her son, that I was moved to tears. I was swept up into the movement of the sculpture, and felt the great emotion...the love of a mother for a child. What a genius Michelango is! We stood and gazed at the statue for a long time, noting how Nicodemus was supporting the body of Christ and at the same time having a protective arm around Mary. Michelanglo did not finish this sculpture, and in a fit of "rage" he took a hammer to the sculpture and damaged it very badly by breaking off the left leg of Christ which was never replaced...but it's funny you don't even know it's missing until it is pointed out to you.

Michangelo's Pieta. Beautiful!

And then there was the Uffizzi Museum (which was done in an hour and a half - our usual stays in any museum is at least 3 - 4 hours). I'll explain another day why we only had such a short time. Then there was the Ponte del Vecchio...then there was Palazzo del Vecchio...then....sooooooo much to see and so little time. We had to leave some things to see next time we come the Florence. Did I say I loved Florence? I love Florence and our little two-star hotel.





Our special find in Florence...Dante's Restorante!

Venice is wet and wonderful!

Once we disembarked from our vvvbCs, after having to pack our bags again. It was quite sad having to take our belongings out of the cupboards and drawers that only 8 days before we had so lovingly packed into them. We had said goodbye to our 3 wonderful Bali waiters the night before and farwelled our cabin lady who serviced our cabin twice a day...it was spotless...and I had asked her to dispose of that "wretched" broken suitcase because I had a brand new Turkish suitcase...and she asked if she could keep it for herself, with broken handle, zip and all. We were delighted that she would be able to use it...makes you think, doesn't it?

So as we walked away from the vvvbCs, we walked toward our next destination...Venice...but this time we were wise and "we knew" exactly where we going this time...we are "seasoned" travellers now...ha! We arrived at San Marco Square with some sketchy address for our Monastery stay for the next three nights...and there was water, water everywhere...the square was under water. We had been away for just one week and Venice had sunk.

Soooooooooooo, now we had to drag our luggage along specially arranged platforms (no Venice hasn't sunk yet...although the word is that it is sinking 1mm per year, 1 cm every ten years...etc. It's dicey and there is no solution) about 1 and half metres wide, sharing it of course with people dragging lugguage the other way. It becomes really intersting when people stop to take pictures...and this happens alot, as there are picturable things every step along the way. Did I say I loved Venice? I love Venice...David likes Venice, but after 5 days (we had two extra days here) he was over the water everywhere.

We finally found our Monastery, but couldn't go in because it was home time...huh? Home time for all the "little" Italian darlings who go to school at the monastery, and who were being met by their mums and dads. 20 minutes later we were allowed in and shown to our very austere room. What was I expecting after 5 star accommodation on the vvvbCs???????? What no TV??? Although I do need to be grateful that the bathroom was attached and not down the hall. Twin beds...no chance of pushing them together...sigh!! (Ask us about the alarm button!!) What a contrast! But actually it was quite enjoyable, eating pizza and drinking red wine in our small room!!

But what about Venice itself? There is so much to see and do in such a small area...so much history, again we realised how little we know about this part of the world...

Our first stop was church (Catholic) on Sunday morning...mass in English. We were 2 of 5 worshippers. We listened carefully to the priest and watched carefully the lady in front, who was obviously a local, and we were blessed by the preaching of the word (some of it I got!! About advent...) Once the service was finished we turned around the to greet the other English speaking worshippers...Americans...we lunched together, visited the Basilica together, had wine and cheese back at the monestary together...Christians, yes and wait for it...Lutherans!! We couldn't believe it, 4 out of 5 worshippers in a Catholic church were Lutherans.

St Mark's Basilica is stunning, even when it's underwater. It is jaw droppingly gorgeous...I've lifted this from a website re the basilica because I don't have the words to describe it "inside, the first thing you notice are the gilded mosaics that cover the walls and ceilings — an area of around 8,000 square meters.
The 12th-century interior mosaics recount events of the New Testament, with the message of Christian salvation. The 13th-century mosaics depict scenes from the Old Testament, in particular the books of Genesis and Exodus, providing a thematic preparation for the interior. Interwoven with this main plan are such motifs as the story of the Virgin, the martyrdoms of St. Peter and St. Clement, and events in the lives of St. John the Evangelist, St. John the Baptist and St. Isadore, the great pantheon of saints venerated by the Venetians. But most important of all are the cycles with the legend of St. Mark. The gold background is meant to impress, but also symbolizes the Divine and the light of God himself." Impressed...I've never seen so much gold (real gold) ever...we were impressed.

We went back another day to check out the high altar..again words fail me "over the high altar is a baldacchino on columns decorated with 11th-century reliefs. The altarpiece is the famous Pala d'Oro (Golden Pall), a panel of gold embedded with gems. It was commissioned from Byzantine goldsmiths in 976 and further embellished over the centuries. Napoleon stole some of the precious stones in 1797, but there are still plenty left, gleaming behind protective glass." Very impressive!!

We climbed to the balcony through the museum and found some real treasures, all very old. The horses on the top were spectacular...although copies as the real ones were inside being protected from the weather. I think pics are the best way to show off our stay in Venice. We also did the Correr Museum and the Doge Palace famous for the bridge of Sighs. Love it, love it (like it!)

Side view of St Mark's with the water
drying up!



The horses on the balcony of St Mark's
basilica!




Dinner at a little restaurant on the canal over the
Rialto bridge! Lovely!



Bridge of Sighs under restoration! We
also saw it from the inside. This little bridge
was used to take prisoners over to the
prisons, which we cold, dark and damp!

Looking out over the grand canal from the top of St Mark's.



The gold jewell encrusted high altar of St Mark's.
Stunning!



Cruise excursions - Ephesus, Istanbul, Dubrovnik...

David here...(co-pilot of the blog...under strict instruction to stop watching X-Men, in Italian!)

As Chris has outlined, our "MSC Magnifica" cruise offered different excursions at each port...quite a variety in fact, given 3000 passengers & many language groups...most instructions/announcements given in Spanish, German, English, French,  & of course Italian! Several Cruise staff spoke all these languages fluently!

First 2 ports were Bari (SE coast of Italy) & then Katakolon (Peleponese coast, Greece). We stayed on board, relaxing & resting after the busy tour of Spain, Portugal, Morocco. Of interest in Bari would have been the visit to Sassi, where Mel Gibson's "The Passion" was filmed. In Katakolon the feature was a visit to Olympia (very popular) but we had spent time there in 2002, so saved our money & enjoyed a less populated ship for the day.


Ephesus road toward the Library (facade)
where St Paul frequented! Stunning!



Our first tour was to Ephesus, from the Turkish port of Izmir. We had no idea how large this continuing excavation was.....truly amazing. We were walking on Roman roads where Christians, including St Paul would have walked, buildings they occupied, public toilets they s--t on(!) 

One of my worst nightmares (Chris) of being
on the toilet in public!!! Obviously not a
problem in Ephesus!

At first viewing the area off the road was simply "more ruins"...ancient & interesting, but it was when we walked in further & around corner...down hill...that the remarkable expanse of this excavation opened up. Significant remains of temples, statues, inscriptions, marble everywhere, including marble roads of the "classy" suburbs, merchants' areas, the magnificant facade of the Library, brothels, wells & water pipes, pre christian Roman walls & cemetaries, faint but visible fescoes, tiled areas & a huge Roman sport/gymnasium stadium (where in recent years major concerts have been held...Chris deBurgh, Enrique Ingelsias etc...) Money raisers?

This was unlike most ancient sites we have visited in that we were able to walk among the ruins, touch, sit, even explore a little.....there was a distinct lack of restriction (surprising given the historical significance). Our guide explained that there is still much more to be excavated under the hills, including 100's of noble homes they have identified. We gathered it was a trade off between publicising/getting people in, financing the extensive work (various international Universities involved) and protecting antiquities. We sensed this dilemma in our guide who was both passionate about our future generations experiencing the magnificence of Ephesus & disturbed by the lack of respect some tourists display.

Mary's house!

We also visited (& entered) the home of Mary, mother of Christ, in the hills high above Ephesus. This small, humble, very simple, 3 roomed home is where the apostle John is supposed to have taken Mary to live out her life. This is a major Catholic pilgrimage site, as you can imagine.....fascinating!

On to Istanbul, which we were really looking forward to and where we decided to take the most expensive, but extensive tour, given we were only there for a day. Early start, The Blue Mosque, (very significant in the Islamic world & this secular Muslim nation) then Hagia Sophia (first built by Constantine, 360AD as Christian Church ..destroyed...rebuilt 6th century-1500 yrs ago!.. magnificent... then taken over by Turks at the fall of Constantinople 1453 & used as a mosque... still beautiful & in remarkable condition, well restored, although clearly "labelled" with huge strategically placed Muslim disks around the base of the huge magnificently decorated dome. Now a museum... although I couldn't help but pray in this place of enormous Christian & religious history!

Blue Mosque..so named because of it's blue tiles inside!

Turkish Carpet & jewellery wholesaler....Leather jacket for David....The Bazaar....New suitcase for Chris!....(Whoo hoo - Chris!)

Turkish Banquet for lunch at one of the beautifully restored Royal Palaces on the banks of the Bospherus...

The Blue Mosque's blue tiles, which are "priceless" as the
technology has been lost to make these.

Ferry ride across the Bospherus to the Topkapi Palace....palacial home & headquarters for the many Sultans of the 400 yr long Ottoman Empire...walled palaces, mosques...harems... treasuries (immense wealth, priceless gems & ancient artifacts of great beauty), beautiful archetecture...gardens, views over the Bospherus.... all now museum & open to public. What a day!!

Final port before returning to Venice....Dobrovnik (Croatia)!





 

The marble of the Hagia Sofia...
which has been cut and
becomes a mirror image.
Quiz - howis the marble cut!
There might be a prize!!



Dubrovnik..what a wonderful city!

The final tour of our cruise was in the Croatian port of Dubrovnik on the Dalmatian coast. We knew very little about Dubrovnik except for a bit we had heard of the war back in 1991 with the Serbs. We were taken to the old walled city by bus- a little way from the port. Now we understand why it has been called the "Pearl of the Adriatic".

The guide our group had was "Jack". He was excellent. He spoke of the past glories of this very sophisticated city republic. Founded in 7th century, major Mediterranean sea power from 13th century on, significant destruction during huge earthquake of 1667, and then the war of 1991!! Now a UNESCO World Heritage listed site, this late medieval walled city includes wonderful history- several monasteries, (one includes the oldest running pharmacy in Europe!) ancient churches, a complex water system which brings water underground from a distant river, beautiful old buildings, streets& lanes, and almost all the buildings still bear scars from the Serbian bombardments of 1991-95.

There is even a 30+cm hole in the very thick stone wall of the Franciscan monastery, caused by a Serbian armor piercing missile during one shelling episode in this siege. Both the hole & the damage on the opposite wall have been left by the Franciscans as a reminder of this awful chapter in their recent history-& Gods protection. We could easily see the high hills above the city (often up through the tiny lane-ways) from where the Serbs bombarded the city. A sobering picture.

Our guide Jack served in the "army" to defend Dubrovnik for 3 years-at first with just his own shotgun! We quickly sensed his deep sadness, grief & brokenness as he spoke of this "unfortunate war" & the difficulties of recovery for this beautiful city.

As Jack farewelled us he blessed us and we him, as we pray for the recovering folk of Dubrovnik. Chris & I are keen to return to this "Pearl of the Adriatic" on the Dalmatian coast.


Inside the Hagia Sofia...Cathedral cum Mosque
...cum museum. Christian frescoes alongside
Muslim symbols. Fascinating!



Queen Farouk in the Palace having lunch over looking
the Bospherous! Luxury!!!!!



Topkapi Palace! Huge!