Max returned to the hotel with the important Coke while Chris and I head to the tower in the town centre and climbed the 366 steep stairs to the top to take in the amazing view. It was lovely up there; you can see all of Bruges, which is just like a fairy tale. It was a real hike up to the top, but even more of a pain coming down, the stairs being so narrow and windy made it a little dangerous coming down with not many hand holds to cling too. When we finally made it to ground level we were surprised to see a huge queue of people that snaked out the entry building and out doors. We always seem to have luck in missing the queue!

We then head to the chocolate section of town to sample what was claimed to be ‘the best hot chocolate in town’… and it was SOOOO good!! I don’t think I’ll ever have one as good as that again in my life! We also managed to pick up a few boxes of fresh hand made chocolates for later, and also one for Max and Kora as a thank you gift for the lovely weekend we had.

We all met up an hour or so later and made our way to lunch, which was a quick affair as we had to hit the road again and make our way back to Trier, a 4 hour drive. We stocked up on water and some chocolates and head off, Max driving and making the trip a quick one thankfully.

We all fell into our comfortable seats/beds and put on a film to watch… and decided that the most appropriate to watch would be ‘In Bruges’ and found it fun to be able to sit there and yell out “been there!” or “saw that!” in various sections before putting on another film and relaxing. It was a very quiet night, which was good and we eventually called it a night at around 11pm. Phew, what a day!

written by  Chris and Emily on July 19, 2009 from Brugge, Belgium
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Long sleep in (still recovering from Bruges) popped some washing on, made a potato salad (we have to eat!) and then a day of just lazily lying about playing on the net, with games and reading. Lovely.

We then had to pack our bag once more as tonight we're off to Cologne with Kora to visit her sister (and Chris' other distant rellie) for the night. We will then spend tomorrow in Cologne checking out the sights.

A wonderful, lazy day!

written by  Chris and Emily on July 20, 2009 from Trier, Germany
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Inga once more put on an amazing spread of food that served as breakfast and as we nibbled on these goodies we discussed what the plan would be today.

We made our way to the museum of German history, which only tells of the history from 1945. I guess they don’t want to relive, or have to remember the past before that. We all know what happened then. It was interesting and it did give you a slightly different perspective than what you originally walked in with. It was here also that we learnt that Bonn was once the capital of Germany that was a very interesting fact! While the museum was interesting and educational, it was the museum shops that I really loved! They had very cool, very fun bits and pieces in them; I spent a lot of time wondering about there!

We didn’t go in per say, but we did also stop to look at the architecture of the modern art museum. It was very very impressive. They have a stair case that is in the shape of an hour glass and a very funky water machine that drops water down in such a way that it makes up words as it falls. It was very entertaining!

Inga then took us up to Petersburg. A hill in Bonn that has a very impressive hotel/restaurant on it and apparently all the presidents who visit Germany go up there for conferences, meals and to stay. The view from up there is fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed sitting out side eating the most fabulous cake and sipping our hot drinks.

The day really flew today and before we knew it we were heading back to Inga’s where we met Kora, had another drink and rest before heading back to Trier to meet Max for dinner. After this we went back to Max’s place to watch some of the IT Crowd series, which we LOVE, it was a nice evening to top off what had already been a lovely day!

written by  Chris and Emily on July 21, 2009 from Bonn, Germany
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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It was hard to pack our stuff after having a break from it all for so long. None the less, we were able to cram all our stuff back into the packs with just a little effort.

We wanted to be good house guests, so, to achieve this we decided to clean up Koras apartment, it didn’t take long but it was an effort thanks to the extreme heat we experienced today. To treat ourselves (and award ourselves for our gallant effort) we walked to the local ice cream parlour and brought ourselves a cone each, which melted faster than we could lick. It was a messy outing. We then begrudgingly thought that we’d better go to the supermarket to replace some of the goods that we have used throughout the past two weeks. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to buy these things; it was just the fact that it was sooo hot! We brought a few bits and bobs and carried them home as fast as we could, which, thanks to the thick heat, wasn’t very fast at all.

After this outing we didn’t do much but lie about moaning “aaaaarrrrghhhh, it’s SO bloody hot!” and copy some music to our IPods, then before we knew it Max and Kora arrived home.

We always look forward to them returning home, but this time it was tinged with sadness as we knew that this meant that we would soon have to get going. We’ve enjoyed our visit to Germany so much and it’s all been thanks to Max and Kora. Without them we wouldn’t have seen the things we did, experienced the food and drink, had such a great laugh and been able to relax the way we have. We can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for us; we’ll always remember them, and this part of the trip, very very fondly.
Chris here now. I can’t thank Kora enough for looking after us so well and being such a good host and Max for being so kind to us, cooking for us and showing us around, Max would make a very good tour guide he’s very funny and great at explaining the history of stuff… cool stuff like the Porta Nigra in Trier.

When Max and Kora got home they had something quick to eat then we chatted for a while, exchanged last minute details and jumped in the car. Kora drove us to the train station that we thought was about an hour away turn out it’s more like an hour and a half, time seems to pass differently when you are on the Autobahn doing 160km/h but we made it to the train station with 15 minutes to spare. Max being his usually thoughtful and kind self realized that we really hadn’t eaten anything as we were planning to have dinner at the train station as we thought we would have time so Max ran off to get us some food and made it back just before the train pulled up at the station. We clambered onto the train and Max went up the carriage with Em to try and to find what cabin we are in but the train wasn’t stopped at this station for long and before we knew it the whistle was being blown and max had to run through the carriage, give me a quick man hug and jump through the closing door like in a Hollywood movie. Em and I opened the window and waved to them as the train pulled away from the station, also kinda Hollywood. It was so sad to say goodbye to them but hopefully we will be able to catch up with them somehow before we leave Europe. We are planning on heading back to France to go to a holiday house near La Rochelle the end of next month to stay with Inga and with some luck Max might be able to join us there.

We are now on the train heading towards Italy and at the moment our 4 bed cabin is just Em and I but the conductor said another person is joining us in Frankfurt so no more private cabin.

written by  Chris and Emily on July 22, 2009 from Trier, Germany
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Once we arrived at Roma’s huge main train station “termini” we set about attempting to find our hotel. The heat in Rome was crazy and as it was close to Midday it was about as hot as the day was going to get, this made wandering the streets trying to find the right one really difficult. I made the mistake of not checking satellite view on Google maps before we left so I didn’t exactly know how the streets related to the train station so we ended up a fair few blocks to far north of where we wanted to be. After some serious huffing and puffing we finally found the hotel and where “delighted” with it’s proximity to the train station! The room was ready so we embraced its comfy bed and air-conditioned bliss and proceeded to have a well deserved siesta for 3 hours before finally heading out into the heat again.

The Metro station was at the main train station so at least we didn’t have trouble finding it; we jumped on the train and headed to Vatican City. We grabbed a drink and a coffee at a café near the metro before heading to VC to have a look around. I had a macchiato and am happy to say that Italian coffee is as good in Rome as it was in Venice a welcome change after some of the interesting things I have been served up when ordering macchiato in other cities.

The Vatican is very impressive a huge round square (if that makes sense) greets you when you pass through the arches of its outer wall. There are two big fountains and a tower thingy with some holy person on top; I suspect either the man himself or his mum can’t tell the all dressed the same back in those days. At the pointy end of the round square is the basilica a pretty impressive looking building that reminds me a lot of st pauls in London, after taking the required photos of the statues, fountains and grandeur of the square (the round one remember) we headed to the queue for the basilica dreading what we might find, but in the end we didn’t want at all just a minute to get through the security scan then straight through, Em was wearing a dress that covered her shoulders but didn’t have sleeves and the dude at the gate looked like he wasn’t going to let her in for a minute, they are very strict on clothing for the basilicas in Italy and it made me chuckle a little when the girl in front of us who’s outfit really wasn’t leaving much to the imagination walked right by 2 or 3 signs depicting the dress code and then looked so amazed that they wouldn’t let her in!

The inside of the basilica was very interesting with all it’s painted roofs, statues and stuff but it’s all pretty similar to the other big churches we have seen, I did like the story of the grave of the apostle Peter that was found back in 150AD or something and was the reason the basilica was built there, you can just see the mosaic of Jesus that the tomb is supposed to be behind.

After the basilica we headed back to the Metro stopping for some Pizza on the way, we ended up with way more food then we could manage even though we hadn’t really eaten all day. Then it was a metro ride and bed.

written by  Chris and Emily on July 23, 2009 from Rome, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Now that we have our whine out of the way let us tell you of the things we did like today!

We had planned to get up early and go check out the sisten chapel and then take another train to the coliseum. These plans changed however though when we accidently slept in, despite an alarm being set. Oops. After a very nice and cheap breakfast across the road we made our way to the sisten chapel where we were able to enter the museum with little fuss and queuing. It was wonderful! We did have a look through the museum, you have to as it’s set up in such a way that you have to snake through all the bits and bobs of art and artifacts before you make your way to the infamous sisteen chapel, where you see the art work of the great (and late) Michelangelo. This was AMAZING.

The hall room is jam packed with tourists, you can barely find room to stand, but you don’t mind as the work around you is so breath taking and detailed you forget about everything else. The paintings show so many different aspects of Jesus’ life and ministry and they also show Moses’ story, these paintings are all along the sides of the room.

The roof was made up of all these little paintings showing different apostles, stories, interpretations, all wonderful, and of course, on the roof here is the famous “Hand of David” painting. This painting shows God reaching down to touch David’s. David is weak and limp and Gods hand is strong and powerful and you can tell that by one touch David’s strength will be restored. This is a lovely painting and I took in this one for a very long time!

The biggest and most detailed painting takes up one whole wall. Chris and I interpreted this as being ‘Armageddon’ This painting shows angels above pulling people heavenwards, while others below them blow trumpets and then below them, demons pull at and torment people. Chris really liked this one and appreciated all the work and time that must have gone into painting this masterpiece.

After this (and a few very sneaky, blurry photos) we made our way back out into the blistering heat and made our way towards the Spanish steps. It was very impressive here, huge steps leading up to a grand old building. Chris tried to coax me all the way to the top of the stairs; I only made it half way. Energy had to be reserved I felt as the heat was sapping it straight from me. On the plus side though, we were able to buy a very cheap, not so great looking but practical none the less, sun umbrella to ‘protect’ me somewhat from the nasty rays that would otherwise burn my pale English/Irish skin (can thank my mum for that)

We slowly made our way on towards the Trivi fountain. A HUGE fountain with amazing statues and art work. We were both very impressed by this monument, but so with the amount of tourists! It was crazy how many people were crowding around this semi circle area to take in the site. We had some very quick photos, a very quick ice cream and moved on away from the crush of people and where we could breath.

The pythanon was our next stop. This huge dome is made from marble and has been in use since the day of the Romans, meaning, it’s about 2000 – 3000 years old. Very impressive! It’s rather empty looking inside now, apart from a few catholic statues, an alter and some pews, which we took full use of and sat down in with much delight.

It wasn’t long before we were up and walking again though, making our way slowly on towards the Coliseum. As we walked in this general direction we passed the impressive monument Emanuel II and then past the forum on towards the coliseum.

We didn’t actually go into the Coliseum, but we can say with complete sincerity that this site is HUGE! It’s beautiful and historic and you can just feel the history and past oozing from it! While we would have loved to go in, we just did not have the energy to do so. I know that sounds like a complete cope out but it’s so true. Despite drinking gallons and gallons of water to keep hydrated we were both suffering terribly from the heat with pounding headaches, sore feet and drenched in sweat now. The line up was over 40 minute wait and we near collapsed at the thought of having to line up for that long! We decided not to go in but were delighted when we found a high point while walking around the building that allowed us to see through the ‘windows’ of the Coliseum and into it. While we weren’t able to see everything of course, we were able to get a good idea and feel for it from here. We were a bit chuffed with this discovery as it was in the shade and gave us a free ‘look’ into the site!

We then DRAGGED ourselves back to the Metro, where we stumbled onto the busiest, stuffiest carriage we could find (please note that that is extreme sarcasm) and then made the short ride back to the hotel where we collapsed onto the bed and welcomed the intense air conditioning. We know that with global warming etc at the moment we’re told to take things like air conditioning a little slower, but the professionals suggesting all this have clearly never been to Rome in the summer time. If so they would understand that air conditioning to the extreme is vital for the survival of the Romans and their guests.

A dinner of “pick your own pizza slices to make a full pizza” was had along with a few chilled drinks and we then lazed about the hotel for the rest of the night relaxing and catching up on emails etc. Up early tomorrow to go to Imola and meet some of my wonderful friends!

written by  Chris and Emily on July 24, 2009 from Rome, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Mari, Lidija and I have been writing to one another since the age of about 15 and have continued to write to one another to this very day (though, more by email now though admittedly) and as Chris and I were in Europe it was decided that we would all travel to Maris home town of Imola in Italy and meet up for a weekend. It was a very exciting day to say the least!

Chris, despite only seeing one or two pictures of them in the past, was the first to spot Lidija and Mari, who were waiting patiently for us at the train station. It was like meeting up with your family members you haven’t seen for a while. We knew each other, despite never having “met” per say, before. It was easy to fall into conversation with these two gorgeous ladies and I have to say that I was just over come with joy that we had FINALLY met up!

Mari’s husband Mattia was waiting patiently (bless him) in the car for us, and it was also so lovely to finally meet him after all Mari has told us! We drove to the hotel we were staying in where we dropped our bags off and then made our way to a local little eatery for an Imolian speciality called “padina” This are thick crepe like bases that then have ham, cheese, lettuce.. what ever you like added to them and are placed on a hotplate to melt, then folded in half and presented to you. They are very yummy to say the least!

The F1 track was the next stop of the day. It was the F1 that helped to put Imola on the map. Up until 3 years ago Formula 1 would take place in Imola on a yearly basis, where we’re told, tourists would just flood in in droves to see the event and the town would be buzzing. However, now, thanks to money and business, the F1 takes place in other parts of Europe meaning that there is now a redundant race track taking up a lot of Imola. It appears that where ever you go in Imola you are not far from a part of the track! It is now used for bicycle races and sometimes concerts (with the likes of Robbie Williams and Bon Jovi playing there! Two of my fave artists!)

We then took a stroll through a park which is home to a large statue in memory of a F1 driver
Arton Senna who sadly, died on the track some time ago. The statue is amazing and is very artistic, a lovely tribute to him.

The weather was so warm today, we were all literally melting away. Lidija, Chris and I popped back to the hotel for a bit of a rest and a chance to clean up before all meeting up again and going to dinner.

In true Italian style we went to a really lovely pizzeria for dinner, where we sampled some of the best pizza and pasta we’ve eaten to date! It was so yummy, you just wanted more to appear on your plate! It was a lovely dinner with lovely friends, and after this we head back to the hotel where we fell into a very deep sleep!

written by  Chris and Emily on July 25, 2009 from Imola, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Mattia and Mari then drove us to a nearby town where we visited the medieval castle. It was huge, and, unlike most castles we’ve come across, still in tact and rather glorious to be inside. This castle had so many rooms, and they all had a lovely view of the surrounding country side, you couldn’t help but think of how amazing and glorious it must have been back in the day! The only problem with this castle that I saw was the fact that there were many tourture and ‘murder’ holes dotted around the place. I can’t help but think that the royals who occupied this castle were both more than just a little ‘sick’.

Just outside the bedroom to the royals there was a round circle in the floor, when you looked down this you could see that there were many large razors sticking out of the walls. Prisoners use to be pushed down this hole, which would cut them up terribly on their way down, and then be left to bleed to death in pain (if they hadn’t already died that is) at the bottom of the shaft. To have it, basically in your bedroom, is just a little off putting. The royal bedroom also had a window that looked out right onto the execution grounds, so they didn’t have to leave their room to go and witness the prisoners death. They also had a large prison down stairs that had dates carved into the stone going back to 1667, and last but not least, there was also a large hole in the ground that prisoners would be pushed down (minus the razors) they’d fall perhaps 40 feet, and if the fall didn’t kill you, you were left to starve to death there in pain. There was no way in or out for that matter, other than down this hole. It was very very sadistic.

The views from the very top of the castle, in the look out, were fantastic. It was so lovely to be able to see out over the country side. We were told that there was a ‘tale’ that there was an underground tunnel that lead from the castle all the way to Imola, which was at least 30 kms away, but as Mattia said, it was just a legend… there has been no real proof of this.

After the castle we made our way to a lovely little restaurant that Mari and Mattia use to frequent regulary. The restaurant was closed, but as they knew the owner we were welcomed to eat, and boy was the food ever good!!! I know that we said we enjoyed last nights meal, but todays meal was just devine! I can see why Mari and Mattia went here so often! Apparently this restaurant is also frequented by famous racing drivers, just not today.

After this very yummy, very nice meal, we went back to the hotel once more for a small nap and shower. The weather was once more incredibly warm and tiring. After this, we met back at the hotel where we also got to meet Mari and Mattias 2 year old son Marco, who is, can I just say, adorable. Like all two year olds his favourite word at the moment is “NO!” and he appeared to be shy when first meeting us, but soon warmed to us, smiling shyly and running around us. There was a funny moment when Chris and I walked along Mattia and Marco through the town, we asked Mattia “Would you like more children? Any brothers or sisters for Marco?” Marco looked at us and very defiantly said “NO!” Which made us giggle. We walked around the city of Imola, taking in its old buildings and square, it was quiet being a Sunday night, but it was nice to be able to walk the streets in a relaxed fashion.

You would not believe me when I say this, but tonight we actually had trouble finding a pizzeria in Italy. I know, it sounds like a bad joke or something, but it’s true! The first one we were going to go to was very very busy, which meant that we had to go to plan B, but this pizzeria was closed, which meant plan C… this restuarnt looked busy, but we gave it a shot and to our delight (and stomachs happiness) it was open! Hoorah! The meal was once more, delicious. Italians certainly do know how to make a great pizza! It was here that Lidija, Chris and I presented Mari with a little present for her upcoming birthday. It was so nice that we were able to meet her just before this special occasion!

It was sad to have to say good bye to Mari and her beautiful family tonight. The last 48 hours have been so lovely and happy, and we can’t thank them enough for all their kindness and hospitality, they’ve so welcoming and accommodating. We took last minute photos and said our goodbyes and then reluctantly went our separate ways. We are sure we’ll meet again though!

written by  Chris and Emily on July 26, 2009 from Imola, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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We did rise in time for the breakfast buffet once more where Chris and I pillerged goodies for tonights train trip, before going back to the hotel room to shower and pack.

We checked out just after 12 and took a taxi into the centre of Imola where we found a nice little café and sat down for a quiet drink and chat. It was very nice to be able to relax here and just sit in the shade for some time, as again, it was bloody hot!

After an hour or so we thought that we’d really better make an effort to move, so heaving our bags onto our backs and Lidija pulling hers behind her, we made our way back to the little local spot that made padinas, they were just as yummy as they were the first time we had them! We sat here for a little while before once more heaving bags and trekking to the train station. Mari had pointed out her place of work over the weekend, and it just happens to be right next door to the train station, so we made a quick stop in here to say good bye once more. It was nice to be able to see Mari once more and surprise her at work, though, we must have looked a site, sweaty, puffed and dragging bags with us.

We only had a small wait really for the train, for this we sat in the shade and had a cool drink before the local train came along and took us to Bologna where we were to catch our next trains, Lidija to her home country and Chris and I onto Florence for the night. It wasn’t long at all before our train came along and it was time to say goodbye to Lidija. It was another sad goodbye with big hugs and promises to keep in touch (as if we wouldn’t! We’ve been writing for 14 years, why stop now!)

Chris and I jumped onto our train and in 2 hours were stepping off in Florence. What a beautiful city this one is! We hurriedly made our way to our hostel, which was only a 2 minute walk from the station, had a shower and a little rest before heading out to see the sights of Florence.

It is beautiful!! We walked around until we came across the Dome, and it is AMAZING! So stunning and gorgeous! We spent a long time staring up at these buildings and taking many photos, you just wanted to look forever, but eventually our tummies grumbled and it was time to move on and find something to nibble on. We found a lovely, friendly little café run by some of the nicest men in all of Florence. They were incredibly friendly and even gave us a free dessert, which meant we liked them even more! 

We moved on once more and came across an open air statue ‘museum’ All the statues that are here are replicas of the real thing, the most famous being the statue of David. We took many photos here before once more moving on and coming across the River …It was very pretty here and was swarming with tourists! We spent just a little time here before heading back to the hostel for a good nights sleep.

written by  Chris and Emily on July 27, 2009 from Imola, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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Once inside we took a good look around all the pieces of art and and sculptures that made up the gallery. There were many famous artists’ shown here, Michalangelo, Da Vinci for example, and these works were impressive to look at yes, but it was the smaller ‘unknown’ names and pieces of work that impressed me the most. For example there was one pencil sketch of Jesus with a group of people, it was innocent and to me, just beautiful, it really was, however critics had popped their opinion under the work saying that this picture was not necessarily considered a work of art as it was in pencil and then trying to second guess who all these people with Jesus were. This really upset me for a moment or two, to me the picture was just depicting Jesus with every day man, the underdogs etc, but these critics had gone into much detail stating that person 1 must be Peter, person 2 must be John etc etc, they even had the gall to say that person 3 was Mary Magdaline dressed up as a man so that she could ‘hang out’ with Jesus… really? I think art critics over analize things personally. As I said, this was my favourite piece as it just seemed so innocent and natural and as if the artist had just picked up a pencil one day and begun to just doodle away… he (or she) was probably at some very boring meeting from back in the day (the importance of barting for sheep or something you know? Or how many goats can you get for one camel, that sort of crap) and was bored of it all…

Chris’ favourite piece was the painting of “Venus” This was an impressive piece I must admit. A lot of detail had gone into it and it was very beautiful with its gold edging etc. We spent a lot of time at this, staring at it and appreciating it… we even got a sneaky photo or two (we were later caught when snapping another piece of work)

We spent hours in here, just strolling around, taking things in, relaxing and being impressed, but by 11am our feet were sore, and, as we’d missed breakfast were just a little hungry by now, so we abandoned the gallery and head to our favourite Florence café, the same one we’d visited last night. The food and drink was as good as we’d remembered and the staff just as friendly, we had a quick bite to eat before heading off in the direction of ‘the statue of David’

Lines here in Florence are very long, they snake out doors, around buildings and down streets… we were shocked at the size of this quoue, but couldn’t help ut feel just a little smug… we walked up to the security man and showed him our time reservation ticket and… he opened the gate for us and in we went. Yes, we had been bright and decided to get our hostel to ring ahead and book us a reservation for this gallery, you then get told a time to arrive and a code to give, then, you just walk in. It was fantastic, no waiting in the hot sun, sweating, dehydrating, getting sunburnt… nope, just a code and time and in we go… felt a bit like “Bond”

I have to say, we were both surprised by the size of this gallery, it was tiny really! There are a coupe of rooms with various statues, another room where a very good and impressive photography exhibition was taking place and then you walk into the main hall where you are greeted by a gianormous naked David with a sling shot slung over his back. The work that went into this statue is mind blowing, the detail, the perfection of it all… it’s amazing! Michelangelo really out did him self with this one!! Well… apart for the sisten chapel that is… We sat and looked at this work for a long time for two reasons really, A) it was bloody impressive and B) our feet were bloody sore and we were tired. All around us were other tourists equally as impressed and in awe, just taking in this mammoth statue, one girl near us was busy sketching away, her work was very good too.

It was now getting much later in the afternoon and we were once more thirsty and a bit puckish, so we made our way out and sat in a little park where, after consuming our rolls, fed crumbs to the birds. They’re game little birds here, hopping right up to you and taking crumbs from your palm. Chris was able to feed one and we had to laugh as the bit of bread it was trying to take was almost as large as itself,but it wasn’t going to give up and as Chris held out this crumb the little birds wings were going crazy trying to take off, it was rather cute really!

We wandered about for a time, taking in last minute things, looking at little stalls and markets before making our way back to the hotel and picking up our packs to head to the train for our over night to Paris.

written by  Chris and Emily on July 28, 2009 from Florence, Italy
from the travel blog: Europe 2009
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