A Happy Place

Our city tour yesterday focused on Hong Kong Island, with the first stop being the Peak Tram. We were lucky to have an unobscured view of the city when on Victoria Peak - whilst the view was a little hazy, it was still better than the fog bound view last time I was in Hong Kong. We took the chance to have a sampan ride on Aberdeen Harbour which nowadays is mostly filled with expensive pleasure boats and fishing vessels. Having seen the back of the Jumbo floating restaurant (where the kitchens are), neither of us is inclined to eat there!

After a stop at Stanley Markets we headed back to Kowloon. In the evening we watched the light show and had a late Sukiyaki dinner.

Barbara has been for a walk this morning, however, I played lazy and sat in Starbucks out of the extreme humidity. We leave this evening for home, so this will be our last post. We are looking forward to catching up with family and friends.

As for a happy place, our city tour guide says it is what that call the toilet! Personally, I'd call it anywhere with air conditioning - the last three days have been hot and very humid.

View from Victoria Peak:

Residential high rise:

A traditional Chinese style mansion:

Aberdeen Harbour:

Light show:

Two Queenslanders in Hong Kong

Our flight to Hong Kong from Rome landed on time at 6:30am this morning and we eventually arrived at The Langham Hotel Kowloon at 8:30am. The first thing you notice is the deliciously cool interior scented with fresh roses. The concierge and desk staff were amazingly efficient, helpful and pleasant.

We had an easy day today catching the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island for a Chinese lunch and returning the same way for an afternoon rest and to watch the State of Origin. God only knows what the other guests on this floor thought the cheering was for! We were decidedly happy that Queensland won so emphatically!

We ventured closer to Nathan Road this evening and found a nice Shanghai style Chinese restaurant tucked away on the 6th floor of a shopping mall. We were the only ones of European descent in the restaurant where we had enough for dinner at a cost equivalent to $15 aud per person.

Tomorrow morning we have a city tour booked.

Langham Hotel Stationery:

Hong Kong Island skyline and Star Ferry taken from Harbour City in Kowloon:

The bright lights of Kowloon by night:

And yes, we have heard that Julia Gillard is no longer Prime Minister.

Three Coins in the Fountain

We finished our day in Rome with an after dinner walk which took in the Spanish Steps, Gelateria Valentino (thumbs up from both Barbara and I), the Trevi Fountain, the Temple Adriano and the Pantheon. The people walking and eating along the route were lively and plentiful, even well after 10pm at night.

Naturally both Barbara and I threw 3 coins in the fountain.

We fly to Hong Kong for a two and a half day stay before heading home.

Spanish Steps (at about 9pm at night:

Trevi Founatin:

The Pantheon:

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum ...

Well, we made it to Rome and spent 3 hours walking up the Palatine Hill, then down to the Forum and across to the Colesseum, which we circled twice on the top and lower levels. Then we had to walk back to the entrance to the Palatine Hill to catch our ride back to our hotel. Needless to say, I was in good need of a rest before dinner - Barbara went shopping!

Our hotel is the Hotel White, 77 Via in Arcione, Rome. Whilst small, we do have a small separate sitting room and the location is brilliant. We would highly recommend it.

We're sitting in the street outside our hotel, drinking Pinot Grigio (well I am) and about to eat pasta for dinner. Then we start walking again. Catch the results in our next update.

The one and only:

Views from the Palatine Hill:

A Farewell to Sicily

After spending a relaxing day yesterday visiting the local beach area of Giardini Naxos, we went back to the hotel to relax, launder and repack.

Giardini Naxos:

Our last day included visits to the hilltop medieval village of Castelbuono and its interesting church, particularly the original church in the cellar:

We saw the Strait of Messina and Calabrese in the distance before we drove to Cefalu - yet another old town centre of narrow cobbled streets. The square outside the cathedral was a nice place to stop and have gelati, cassata and granita:

So it is now time to say our goodbyes to Sicily as we head for Rome early tomorrow.

We looked at clouds...

First clouds today - over the summit crater on Mt Etna.  It was a fantastic trip to the top by cable car and jeep.  We went to 2,930 metres.

We followed with a visit to the lovely hilltop town of Taormina in the afternoon.

Mt Etna:

In and around Taormina:

Ahhh Granita!

The supposed cooler change failed to materialise and the sun was still beating down. It made for hot walks through the stone built cities of Noto and Syracuse. Nevertheless, the old sectors of these two cities were the loveliest we've seen in Sicily. Both are built in lovely pale stone.

We had a brief respite from the heat at Cafe Sicilia in Noto eating home made pastries and refreshingly delicious fruit granitas.

We were also jealous of the fish, meat, fruit and vegetables available to the people of Catania with a bustling market operating daily.

Catania Markets:

San Francesco Church in Noto:

Cafes lining the main plaza in the Ortigia area of Syracuse:

The Ear of Dionysus in the Syracuse Archaeological Park has extraordinary acoustics:

And the Roman Ampitheatre impressed more than the Greek Theatre which had modern seating temporarily covering the old stone for spring performances of Greek tragedies. Apparently we were a week early as it gets dismantled next week:

Under the Sicilian Sun

Yet another cloudless and hot day for our visit to the Valley of Temples at Agrigento - the Temples of Hera, Concord, Herakles and Zeus - which were all built hundreds of years BC. It was a hot and dusty walk made easier through the local knowledge of our guide. We were dropped at the top of the hill and picked up at the bottom.

We never realised the extent of Greek ruins in Sicily, nor how well some have been preserved.

A 2 hour drive took us to Piazza Armerina and the nearby Villa Romana del Casale, a Unesco World Heritage site of a roman hunting villa recognised as having the most extensive and best preserved set of roman mosaics in the world.

Temple of Concordia:

Byzantine burial chambers in the city walls:

Villa Romana del Casale mosaics:

Hotter than ...

It was even hotter today and we walked in the sun quite a bit, but the sights were worth it. We'll let the pictures tell the story.

Golfo di Castellammare:

Erice- a beautiful hilltop medieval town full of narrow cobblestone streets:

The view from Erice:

We had a very tasty lunch of Sicilian dishes and wine at an Agriturismo farmhouse. The view of the fields from the farmhouse:

The last stop of the day was the Greek ruins at Selinunte:

Caldo, Caldo, Caldo

Hot, hot and hot - the weather today in Palermo. We toured the Monreale and the Palermo Cathedrals as well as the Cappella Palatina. We then got dropped off in town where we got a bite to eat and wandered the streets. I managed to get 5 donut peaches in a street market for 1 Euro!

Of the churches visited, we preferred the Monreale and the Cappella Palatina for their incredible mosaic work (so you can appreciate the scale, Christ's hand in the Monreale picture below is two metres long). These churches date back to the Middle Ages.

The Monreale:

Monreale interior mosaic:

Statue outside Monreale:

Cloisters and fountain at Monreale:

Capella Palatina interior:

Palermo Cathedral interior:

Market fruits: