Finishing off the trip through 17 October

Emirates is very pleasant flying. We were in the preferred seating section at the front of the plane, much like a Premium Economy in other aircraft, although the seats are standard Economy. I didn’t sleep an awful lot on the way to Dubai. I’d decided to switch to the Western Vegan diet for the meals and they were very tasty indeed. 

Walking around the Dubai airport we had a bit more of a look at the shops and I bought the chocolates I had been planning to get – the same ones I got a couple of years ago.

Our remaining flight to Sydney took off about 30 minutes late; unlike my usual easy settling and getting a bit of good sleep, I was only able to rest quietly, with little sleep. I watched a couple of movies and still didn’t feel too bad when we got into Sydney. Jenny’s bag came first so she headed straight off to get to her Virgin connection. Although we’d picked up time and were pretty much on schedule arriving, she was aware that she needed to move quickly to get to bag drop and through Emigration to Departures. The plane ended up taking of 1hr 38mins late: very stressful for Jenny and she missed her Taupo connection as a result. She had let me know she was looking like missing it, so I booked her on the Rotorua connection because there was no way she could have managed to stay overnight in Auckland.

I had a quick train ride back to Engadine and Al picked me up at Maccas where I had messaged him from the only lifeline I had – my laptop. Jane wasn’t here when I arrived, but she had left a lovely thank you card. She knew I was expecting her to be here because she had promised to wait for my fridge delivery while I went to get a new phone in Miranda. She soon came back, with her current house sit being a few streets away in Engadine. I found out the fridge wasn’t coming till late afternoon, so we said our good byes and she left again. I went to Miranda to get a replacement phone and did some unpacking before the fridge arrived.

Last event for the day to finish off the trip – I went to Ballroom class as a help to keep me awake until normal bedtime. It worked! I fell asleep sitting up in bed, having my supper and reading my Bible!

All thanks and praise to our Loving God who kept us both safe and gave us lots of wonderful memories. Thank you to all those who followed us on this blog - it was nice to have your company and I hope you enjoyed a little taste of Italy and France!

Tuesday 15 October –Musée d’Orsay and Leaving

We woke early this morning; a good thing because Jenny’s phone was down on volume and we didn’t hear the alarm when it went off.

We had plenty of time to pack, take the garbage down and get our bags downstairs to wait for the cab from Bolt (Uber) to the train station luggage drop (in a backpacker hotel opposite the station).We bought our ticket for the airport train so we wouldn’t have to do it later and then caught the metro to the Musee d’Orsay. There was a short queue of about 15 minutes, because of security. After being closed yesterday it was quite crowded but we really enjoyed the Renoir exhibition and then the Impressionists on the 5^th Floor. It’s changed a bit, with there being no access to the outside rooftop walk anymore. 

We loved our time there, about a couple of hours, and then went across the road to a café for lunch.

By the time we’d finished, it was time to make our way back to pick up our bags and work our way to the train, quite a feat with finding elevators (ascenseurs). We stood up for the trip to Charles de Gaulle 2, about 25 minutes and soon found our way to the Emirates check-in, which took quite a while. Even though we were 4 hours early, the check-in was open and there was a bit of a queue. We were through security and found our gate area before too long and settled at Maccas for some food to keep us going until the flight (a snack and then breakfast on the plane).

So now a last walk through the French shops before we leave Europe.

Monday 14 October – Tour Eiffel and Musée de l’Orangerie

We wanted to get early morning light on the tower, so we left home at 7.45am; there were very few people around and we found out why – it didn’t open till 9.30! However, we got a poor coffee at the only stand open early, walked around, got lots of pictures and because the whole of the ground area is so restricted we decided that we were happy with being there and getting the pictures. 

We went down to the waterbus (Bateaubus) stop but they didn’t start running till 10.00, so we walked towards Musée  d’Orsay. As we were also wanting to go to l’Orangerie and that was closer to we went there first. It probably took about 45 minutes and we enjoyed the walk.

To get to l’Orangerie, we went into Tuilleries Garden; the pond has a number of submerged umbrellas! Is that an artwork related to water lillies? The pond is surrounded by metal chairs, both upright and reclining. Because we were so early, it was virtually deserted but by the time we came out, all the chairs were occupied.

Musée de l’Orangerie contains an enthralling collection of Monet’s water lillies: very long mural paintings around the slightly curved walls. Whoever recommended to me that we should ensure we don’t miss l’Orangerie – thank you so much! It’s my fourth time in Paris and the first time I’ve seen this exhibition. 

We found out from a staff member that the Musée d’Orsay isn’t actually open on Mondays, so that saved us some time! We caught the boat at the d’Orsay stop and did the circuit around to Notre Dame. It was so sad to see the Cathedral so badly damaged.

We had a lovely lunch in a café on the bank, opposite Notre Dame and then walked around the souvenir shops, buying a few last minute gifts. We caught the metro from close by and were glad to get home to rest, armed with some fresh produce for dinner. We’ve booked a luggage locker at Gare du Nord for tomorrow so we can leave our bags and go to the Musée d’Orsay and Arc de Triomphe before we catch the train to Charles de Gaulle for the late night long trip home.

Sunday 13 October Sacre Coeur

We were up early and caught the 6 metro to the exchange, then the 2 to Anvers for the walk up to Sacre Coeur. Jenny had her first view of the Eiffel Tower on the way. 

At Anvers we went into an organic café and had coffees and some delicious food, the first time here Jenny had been able to get stuff that wasn’t bad for her. We walked at a leisurely pace up to the Cathedral, to find that it was actually the last day of a week-long Portuguese festival of food, so there were lots of people there. We joined a queue to get into the church, only held up by a security screen point and it only took us about 15 minutes to get in. We had aimed to be there for 11.00am Mass because that’s when the nuns sing; we were about ten minutes early and got a seat close to the front. It turned out to be a High Mass with about eiht priests concelebrating and the singing was beautiful; the congregation sang lustily, which was inspiring too.

After Mass, we went into the gift shops and by then, walking down to the metro station, it was time for lunch, so we went back into the same café. This also meant we had clean toilets to use, as the ones up near the church were portables. It’s not often you find nice, clean toilets here.

We left Anvers and walked to the Opera House, not quite directly but we got there, then it was an easy couple of metro’s to get home. 









We bought a baguette and cake at the local boulangerie and that meant we had some nice bread and cheese and wine pre-dinner, followed by leftovers from last night and a yummy chocolate slice creation for dessert. Early to bed!

Saturday 12 October – Venice to Paris

This morning our hosts had arranged for a porter to come up and get our bags and take them to the Rialto Bridge stop to catch the ferry to the airport. That was a big help; it was very foggy and the waterbus took quite a while. 

Marco Polo airport is very big; the bag drop queue was very long and then after security we had to work out where to go. Finally we got to the gate lounge about 40 minutes early only to find that the flight was delayed; we ended up taking off almost 2 hours later than our scheduled time. Train from Charles de Gaulle was pretty easy, after find the lifts tucked away In odd places. Then we had to get the Metro and that’s where things started to get very difficult; carrying bags up and down stairs (with an occasional offer of help or directions). In the process of ups and downs and ins and outs, to my shock I found that I must have dropped my phone somewhere and it’s gone. How dependent we are on our devices! We have wifi here, so that’s a blessing. Jenny has her phone but wasn’t using roaming because it’s very expensive for her and we were using my GPS constantly.

So now we need a miracle  - God can do that! Otherwise, He obviously has a reason in allowing this to happen, but it would be such a blessing to get my phone back. Tomorrow being Sunday we still may not find anyone who can point us in the right direction for lost property on public transport. It does have my driver’s licence in it, so that will identify the phone

So now we are settled into our BnB in the Glaciere area of the Latin Quarter. Quite comfortable and very quirky décor. A quiet spot, even on a Saturday night. 

We’ve had a walk around the area and tomorrow will hopefully get to Sacre Coeur – there’s a marathon on through the city, so some of the Metro’s won’t be running. Probably we’ll also go to the Eiffel Tower and through Champs Elysee etc, as well as maybe the Orangerie.

Wine and cheese, dinner and off to bed!

Friday 11 October – Venice

Happy Birthday, Therese! We were just leaving for breakfast in the morning and closed the door when we realised the keys were inside! No way to get back into the building or the room. Just as we left, the man who worked in the tiny office downstairs arrived. We rang the doorbell and he walked us across to the building on the opposite side of the alleyway (street). He helped us get a key from the owner!

We've been to the same breakfast place around the corner a couple of times. The owner showed thought a Kiwi was pretty good to have in his shop and showed us pictures of his three dogs!

We went to San Marco on the ferry and after sitting in the shade and having lunch (including tiramisu and chocolate gelatos) we went on our cruise to Murano and Burano. 

On Murano, the glass was nice but having seen so much of Lava Glass, price-wise it’s not advantageous – just a local status symbol that has a reputation around the world.

Next was Torchello, with an old church which was quite a way along a walking track. We decided to stop at the recent addition (added since 2005 when Graham and I were there) and get some food. Jenny bought a couple of polenta cakes and a couple of fried olives – delicious! It was such a lovely place to sit and have a coffee and the food; A lot of people did the same thing. We had less than ¼ hour before the boat left in each location, so it was all a bit rushed. 



Burano was filled with beautiful laces. It was also the most amazing town – buildings painted in all sorts of bright colours. 

We got back to Rialto about 8.00pm and went home for leftover pizza and wine for dinner, plus a couple of little cakes to celebrate Therese’s birthday.

Each day we've enjoyed yummy gelatos and/or cakes or croisants of some sort! Inidentally, coffee in Italy isn't hot unless you get a small cap or espresso or americano. Their latte's are always barely lukewarm for some reason!

Thursday 10 October – Venice

Had a great night’s sleep, accompanied by mozzies. For breakfast we went around the corner to a little café where they had a toast, eggs, coffee deal and took half the delicious toasted sandwich for lunch, along with some fruit we bought at a small greengrocer. We found a co-op and got some mozzie repellent for tonight. We also stopped at a few clothes shops, bought a couple of things and took them back to our apartment. We headed towards Pzle Roma and ended up catching the ferry from Marciola, getting off at the Piazzale and walking around to the café on the smaller canal where Graham and I had coffee in 2005. We spent ages sitting there and then, embarrassingly walked off, forgetting that we hadn’t paid! We were well on our way walking towards Rialto when I suddenly realised what we’d done. Hopefully we’ll get back to that side before we leave!

Walking for quite a while towards Rialto we got lost; a kind local gentleman showed us how to get to the local ferry stop, Basileo. This ferry took us around the outside past cruise ships back in to Rialto, so it was really interesting to do the circuit. We had a quick look at the shops and went home.

Wednesday 9 October – Rome to Venice

Our taxi turned up about five minutes before time. It cost 10 euros less than the trip from Roma Termini station to the bnb on Sunday, so we realised the driver took us for a ride at 30 euros! He certainly didn’t go on the direct route we went today. We were rather early for the train, so we had a coffee (always almost cold over here!!) with a pastry and we bought some delicious looking slices of pizza for lunch on the train. Back in the terminal, we browsed a couple of shops, Jenny bought a handbag and we headed for our train.

The digital ticket worked and soon we were on the train. Luggage is a problem on these super fast trains – no luggage compartment, so a sixth angel, an older gentleman was kind enough to lift our heavy bags up onto the overhead luggage rack. In no time we were relaxed and enjoying the scenery flashing past at 250 km/hour. The trip was comfortable and a very pleasant few hours and before we knew it, we had arrived at Santa Lucia Station in the lagoon city of Venice. I had a wonderful feeling of anticipation as I led the way out of the station to that first view of the Grand Canal – Jenny’s first taste of the canal city: magic!

 It 

was lovely cruising along on the ferryat 11kph (max allowed for ferries and for boats it’s 7kph), enjoying seeing Jenny taking it all in. We met our host at the Rialto stop and he walked us around to the bnb, up and down steps and bridges with our bags! The entrance led us up a narrow, winding staircase of about 20 steps, which was very difficult with the bags. Gabriele helped and has promised to come back on Saturday to help with our exit.

We changed and after grabbing a few things from our bags went out to look around the near streets, going as far as the other side of the Rialto Bridge. We looked at lots of shops and decided where we will buy a canolo (for me) and some produce tomorrow. We also found a nice bottle of wine to accompany the pizza we had left over from Rome Station. Dinner was yummy, the wine had quite a kick, even with a small glass, followed by dessert of Holy Chocolate! and soon it was bed time. We’re looking forward to a lovely day of exploring tomorrow.

Tuesday 8 October - St Peters, Markets and St Paul Outside the Walls

When we got to St Peter’s the queues were very short and within about 15 minutes we were inside the Basilica. We had planned to try for 8.30 Mass but were told it had started at 8.00 and was in French and almost over. So we walked around, absorbing as much of the overwhelming beauty as possible. It’s incredibly ornate but this church is obviously a place of worship. They have priests hearing Confession in lots of languages, so we went to Confession, then we went to the 9.00 Mass which was in Italian.

This is the tomb of Pope Saint John Paul II.

We walked round looking at so many different altars, monuments to Popes, looked through several souvenir shops and I bought a silver cross and chain. After a couple of hours we left and headed for the Giordano Bruno statue for a daytime look. It was very different in the daytime with lots of market stalls; we had our first restaurant meal – lunch at a pizza place. We had a glass of merlot and it was very yummy; of course we brought home a doggy bag. 

From the Vatican we caught a tram and then two trains to get to the Colosseo stop to walk to St Paul Outside the Walls. I saw it briefly in 2017 and decided it was a must to go back and spend a good visit. It’s not as ornate as some basilicas but again is a house of prayer. St Paul’s sarcophagus has been excavated and the church is built around it. We spent some time praying in the little area beside St Paul’s tomb. It was a shame that several tour groups turned up while we were there but I guess that’s tourism! There was the obligatory gift shop which also stocked wines and edible items made by the monks. We bought a block of 70% chocolate and have dubbed it our Holy Chocolate – ready for the right moment to be consumed!

 

By now we were weary travellers and left there about 5.00pm to make our way home on the metro, stopping for a few fresh supplies at a little co-op supermarket. Our fifth angel opened the apartment complex door for us. Another lovely day! Tomorrow we head for the train from Termini to Venice.