Italian Treasures - Tour of Rome

Waking in Italy! YES! Down for a scrumptious breakfast with everything you could imagine and more... My absolute favourite was the orange, lemon and carrot juice!  Onto the bus by 7.30 and off to Vatican City! Already Grant and I have decided that travelling in a tour is the only way to go as we bypassed the enormous queue to Vatican City at this hour of the day. 

We toured the Vatican museum, wowed by art works, sculptures, tapestries hearing the story of it all through our whisper headsets. Next we visited the Sistine chapel.... Wow!!!!!!! Speechless... 

Then even more speechless as we tour the Basilica! It is incredible to believe that it seats 55,000 people! The perspectives and the grandeur are somewhat overwhelming. There is just so much to see and absorb... Then out into St. Peter's square! Wow!!! Our entire tour group had our photo taken in the square - this will be an awesome memento of the trip!

A short time for shopping in the Basilica and I purchased for mum a set of rosary beads made by the nuns in Vatican City out of rose petals! They are gorgeous! The perfume is amazing! I also purchased a set of rosary beads for myself and a necklace! They were all sent over to the sacristy to be blessed and delivered to our hotel room later! Back out to the bus and we travelled to the roman forum... Oh my goodness, it is just so hot... Well over 30 degrees... The history here is mind blowing. 

We are walking down roads paved in the year 65BC. The ruins of the roman forum are still incredibly intact! So many photo opportunities! We even visiting the burial place of Julius Caesar. The Collosseum was our next visit! Oh my goodness what an incredible place! The tour guide almost has us imaging gladiators in the arena!  The heat is cruel... We really do need to find shade and water! 

Many are the ways to make money from tourists in Rome and there are the most incredible array of gladiators awaiting payment for photos with them, gypsies begging, vendors selling everything from water, to Gucci, to trinkets....

Next stop on our tour was one of my favourites so far... Visiting the Trevi fountain. 

In keeping with the local legend I threw one coin in to ensure that one day I retune to Rome, one coin in to find love in Rome, but did not throw in the third, which is to divorce...

Our tour continued on around the baroque area visiting the pantheon, churches, plazas, the Spanish steps and sooo much more. The food highlight of the day was the cremed iced coffee by the pantheon, really hard to describe just how good and how cold it tasted but it is worth returning to Rome for!

Back to the hotel to shower and change and out for a traditional dinner of lasagna for Grant and cream salmon spaghetti for me! Agh Rome, what a MAGICal day!

Off to Rome - Day one of Italian Treasures Tour

Up early for our last breakfast in Paris then a shuttle to Orly airport. A stunning short (2 hour) flight to Rome where we were met by Globus! 

A long wait ensued as we awaited a number of tour members whose flights just didn't arrive. Eventually we set off and checked into hotel Una! Mamma Mia, after Paris, this hotel is like a grande palace with a beautiful room and a stunning marble bathroom with a sunken bath!!! Time for a shower and a quick change and off in the bus for our tour welcome dinner! Wow, I have never experienced anything like this in my life... I think there were 7 courses and flowing wine, beer and juice! Our wonderful tour guide Aida welcomed us all and told us a little about the tour and the way of life and expectations in Italy! 

I just love the little foil cover on the top of the can.  I wonder why we don't have this all over the world.  What a wonderfully simple way to keep the top of the can clean.

There are 32 of us in all, Grant and I from NZ, 10 from Australia, two from Canada and the rest from all around USA! At the end of the evening all the ladies were presented with a gorgeous long stemmed rose... What a lovely touch!

Last night in Paris....

After a totally MAGICal day out in the country we arrived back into Paris at Gare Saint-Lazare! We asked for directions and headed off to walk to the centre of Paris shopping on the way! Can you imagine our surprise when about 40 minutes after we set off we rounded a corner to be right back at Gare Saint-Lazare! I have absolutely no idea how it happened but I found it hilarious! Grant - not so! 
Anyway off we set again and meandered our way through the streets enjoying our last walk along the rue and the boulevards! Many, many photos on the way and eventually we arrived at Champs-Elysées, walked along past the Louvre, then along the banks of the Seine arriving at the bridge Montmartre! 

What a hilarious event unfolded there. We attached our love locked padlock to the bridge and as we went to throw the keys on the count of 3, 2, 1... Grant's hand bumped mine and my key landed not in the Seine but on the extended ledge of the bridge. I giggled and a couple next to us also giggled as it looked as if I had not fully committed to the tradition but had left myself hanging so to speak. Not to be beaten I was determined to problem solve... Borrowing an elderly lady's walking stick to complete the passage of the key! Phew, totally committed!

From here we walked into the heart of Rue St Michel where we dined in style in the pavement! What a MAGICal last night.... 

A tribute to a very special man...

Today on the CORE blog there is a tribute to a very special man, whose vision shaped and continues to shape my journey!  Thank you Vince for a dream that became a reality... and lives on through your scholarship...