Last day in Pisa, and Italy, and the Ryanair Adventure

Up the leaning tower of Pisa to view the hazy city, a crazy pose in front of the Leaning Tower – a must, apparently after watching everyone else do so - visiting the cathedral, a walk around the Pisa's Cathedral Square and it is time to depart or the Galileo Galilei Airport.

 Uh oh, what a scene – why are the xray machines not working?  Why are there crowds standing around not moving? Delays?  Cancellations ?? Fog???  We never saw any clouds – just distant haze….  Old radar?  Over cautious pilots?  We spoke to many interesting people during our long wait – and heard about lives, families, work etc and the inconvenience.  Very late in the evening we were all informed that there would be no more flights and that there were stretchers upstairs. Really??? Sure enough, a large room was crammed with them, each stretcher accompanied with a thick orange plastic wrapped blanket.  This was not good enough!  Wait, our flight is being called – a bus to a hotel?  That’s better!   After travelling for an hour, at 2.30am we arrived at a Novotel Hotel at an airport north of Florence.  At this striking but very old hotel, we were quickly registered and departed to our warm room of 2 single beds with one small pillow each and a very stained, cigarette butted carpet, for 4 hours sleep before breakfast and an hour’s trip back to the Pisa Airport.  London, here we come 18 hours later – at last!!!!

Monaco - boating paradise in the sun

We travelled by rail from Nice to Monaco. We emerged from the railway station, which is modern, marble paved and set in the middle of the mountain into sunshine, warmth, to a scene crowded with wall to wall boats on the blue waters and wall to wall hotels and apartments piled up against the mountains. After strolling along the waterfront admiring all the yachts we moved on to inspect the Monaco Yacht Club's Racing Mark Laying boat. Instead of using anchors to secure the marks on the ocean floor, we noted that concrete blocks on the end of twine are used. Presumably the twine is cut and the blocks remain on the ocean floor! I wonder what the archeologists in the year 5000 will make of these when researching it for clues of human activities in the year 2009! After retiring to the very modern, classy Monaco Yacht Club for refreshments, we walked to the top of the old town and visited the Aquarium. Built by Prince Albert of Monaco, a passionate ocean and wildlife exporer in the late 1800's, the building hosts many acquariums of unusual and endangered fish and sealife. While inspecting the exhbition, and finding out about the research techniques carried out by Prince Albert and his team, one wonders if these practices would be acceptable today. However the sealife exhibits talk a lot about conservation, preservation and of the aquarium's most successful breeding programme for overseas aquariums. If you ever venture to this neck of the woods, the Aquarium is well worth a visit.

Out into the sunshine again we strolled, and relaxed at one of the cafes near the palace, where royalty still live, to enjoy Monaco's award winning beer. Then, somewhat reluctantly, we wended our way to the beautiful Monaco railway station back to Nice.

Oh, that's right - it is Saturday! Time to watch the New Zealand All Blacks play the French!! And to enjoy the conviviality of the Hotel bar where there is a wide screen TV!

And then, tomorrow, to sunny, exciting Cannes....... uh oh - don't like the look of the clouds - surely that cannot be correct????

London on a Balmy Autumn day but is it balmy for everyone??

Today, Saturday is the latest of a few balmy days in London. As we cruised along on the express train to Gatwick Airport, admiring the disappearing clouds, the black trees with greenish and brownish leaves and looking hopefully at the slowly brightening sky (but for how long, one cannot help but ask) it is hard to imaging that last time we travelled to London it was at New Year, and freezing! Everyone was walking in a hurry, and like me, coughing, snorting, and sneezing. Today the All Blacks are playing Scotland and Twickenham. We had breakfast with son Neil who was kitted out in his AB grear. Nearby some guys in white shirts with red flowers were hanging up their national flag around their breakfast table. In the streets there were several groups of similarly clad people with anticipatory smiles on their faces. The conversations everywhere are not so much that the AB's will win, but about the handball incident in Italy.

It is hard to imagine that up north, a 1000 year flood has altered the lives of so many people and taken one of a very brave policeman. Many people know of folks who live in the area.

However, englist people do keep their sense of humour up. And great to see, in the Daily Telegraph, an add for the all blacks called Longdrop beer.... When I figure out how to, I'll upload it....

Travelling in winter from London to Milan

We flew from London to travel to Milan Italy (and left the last of my cold behind, thank goodness!!!) and had spectacular view over London city before flying into clouds.

Then we flew over the Swiss Alps. What a spectacular view!! There were narrow blue lakes following the contour of the land, snow covered mountain ranges which looked as if they had been combed, sharp snow covered peaks, some of which seemed to have large footprints on them, and snow covered towns nestled in white valleys. As we descended into the Po Valley we flew closer to the alps, as close as we sometimes fly to the Remarkables Mountain Range, in Queenstown, New Zealand.

Then we flew lower into the Po Valley, over many snow covered villages and fields - uh oh -
what is that up ahead? A very large and low bank of thick cloud was smearing its way towards us. We knew the clouds were low because there were several tall chimneys belching out snow through the top of the clouds.

We few into the clouds, and according to the captain, had 20 minutes before landing! It seemed to take a very long time to fly, around and around, just above the clouds. Round and Round. Was the pilot looking for Milan? How would he know when and where to land? After a very long time we slowly descended into this mass of grey cotton wool. It took 20 seconds, because I counted, to go through the clouds, which were as it turned out, at ground level.
Welcome to Milano Italy! And to our next adventure....