Europe & Asia Trip 2007

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Itinerary

• Osaka - Great shopping city, a bit freindlier than Tokyo. Fashion is also better. Great place to buy accessories, given that the clothes don't fit.
• Hemeji Castle - Some distance from Kyoto on the bullet train, this magnificently preserved Castle was well worth the visit. If fact give all the others a miss and just visit this one.
• Kyoto - Beautiful old capital of Japan. Lovely Temples, palaces but most of all friendly people.
• Shinjuku – Tokyo, hip suburb for the young in Tokyo. Lots of shops filled with latest from all over the world. Narrow streets with eating places that I'm sure look good to Japanese but looked a little dodgy to us.
• Ginza - Famous shopping district in Tokyo - nice but expensive.
• Tokyo - Big, busy, and Lots of people. Very clean but a bit hot when we were there.
• Paris - so much to see, visited - Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Montmatre, Le Fayette and Prenton shopping galleries. Numerous coffee shops, the left bank, Latin Quarter and many streets in between. still missed a lot of museums and monuments.
• Louvre Museum – Paris, Probably the best museum we ever visited. Huge, no queues, fantastic exhibits and eating places. Arrived 9 am left 3 pm - didn't see it all!
• Chateau de Versailles - took us 7 hrs to see the Chateau and the gardens. Obscene opulence - no wonder there was a revolution!
• Troyes – France, Really nice little stop over for two nights. Good hotel and Very restful before Paris.
• Nancy – France, Stopped off for lunch on the way to Troyes. Not very nice wouldn't come again.
• Kayserberg – France, Discovered quaint little town on the way out of Colmar. Very picturesque little town.
• Frieburg – Germany, Day visit to city over the boarder from France, near Alsace. Great shops, neat clean and Very organised city with trams.
• Strasbourg – France, Site of European Parliament´, Strasbourg is a Big city about the size of Brisbane. It has an old city called Petite France which is Very picturesque. Reminds you of Venice.
• Colmar – France, Regional centre of Alsace, canals run through the town making It a pleasant place to stroll and dine.
• Eguishiem – France, Picture book village in the wine region of Alsace.
• Dijon – France, Very pretty old city, capital of Burgundy. Charming streets, good shopping with current French fashions. Very few tourists, great market pavilion. Great food!
• Geneva – Switzerland, Day visit to city, met helpful local called Jack. He showed us around the old city. Saw the jet and all the Swiss banks - Jack was an accountant. Quite nice but glad we stayed It Fribourg.
• Como - Italian / Swiss border, Border between Italy and Switzerland, 1 - 4 June. Shopping at outlet stores over the border - ok nothing to rave about. Lake Como was great, its was raining, the first day. On the second day went on lake cruise to Bellagio - fantastic little town.
• Gruyere – Switzerland, Great castle, pretty town, Gruyere cream with meringue fingers, yum. Museum of HR Giger - very Alien!!. Well worth the visit.
• Fribourg – Switzerland, Medieval centre, close to Bern the Capital.
• Milan – Italy, Very large city with corresponding traffic problems. Lives up to reputation of Great shopping mecca with Great prices. Found local delight, similar to Aussie pastie, but actually a cross between a pizza and a panini. Better to visit by train than car.
• Bologna - Italy 30may - 1 June. Great little stop over - next to no tourists or tourist shops. Really great food, and a city of porticos. No one gets wet in Bologna. One black spot too much graffiti.
• Florence - Italy, 29-30 May. Fantastic antique city of art and culture. Well worth a visit although spoiled by so many tourists. Like us all want to relive the wonders of the past.
• Colle Il D'Elsa - small town we visited on a Day trip, old fort with battlements, Great restaurant off town square, food exquisite. Got lost looking for it.
• San Gimignano - 25 to 28 May, beautiful town in Tuscany.
• Siena - 25 May, half day visit. Great square, Duomo was fantastic, had coffee and biscotti.
• Perugia - Passed through very nice square, couldn't find a park, great shops, (clothing and shoes).
• Spoleto Umbria - Ok last hilltop town, but had Roman ruins and good beer!
• Trevi Umbria - Yet another hilltop town, didn't stay long - siesta time.
• Spello Umbria - Hillside township, good panini in main square, arrived 1pm just as school finished.
• Assisi 22 May - 25 May Home of St Francis - Animal Saint
• Oriveti 21 May Beautiful Cathedral
• Rome - 3 nights from 18 May - 21 May. Fantastic historic city, sightseeing and dining out
• Hong Kong - 4 nights from 13 May - 17 May
• Lantau Island - HK, 16 May day trip, Off the beaten track in HK. Saw some locals living traditional lives. Refreshing not to buy anything.
• Shenzhen - China 15 May, day visit, Shopping and more shopping
• Cairns 13 May - Tropical North QLD

Food Reviews 2007 Trip

• Stick Restaurant - Kyoto, Great little restaurant under the station at Kyoto. Family run affair, very cheap and friendly. Served a host of deep fried or grilled meats and vegetables all on individual sticks. Nice salad also with Tofu instead of fetta cheese.
• Cafe Renard - in the gardens in friont of the Lourve
• La Crete - Paris
• La Table de Bacchus – Nancy, Great lunch main and desert for 10.50 Euro, good value especially when you get steak or roast duck.
• La Mignardise - Troyes
• Le Gruber - Strasbourg
• Auberge des Trois Chateaux- Eguisheim
• Heu Haus Restaurant - Equishiem
• Osteria Enoteca Italiana - Dijon
• Le Chabrot Restaurant - Dijon
• Auberge du Chasseur – Fribourg, Couldn't go to Fribourg and not have the Fondue. Went to a highly recommended place, traditional, with gingham table cloths. As advised we ordered the 'half and half', (two types of cheese), one is always Gruyere. Not bad, wouldn't have it again.
• Cafe' du Midi - Fribourg
• Beachside cafe - Bellagio
• Vecchia Tavernola - Como
• Annamaria Tratoria - Bologna
• Rose Rosa – Bologna
• Lasagne and four types of cheese salad. Lasagne was to die for.
• Pizzeria in Florence, Mushroom soup (minestrone style), spaghetti Ragu (bolognaise style). Very filling.
• Trattoria Givannio – Florence, Near our Hotel. Sampler of appertisers including fried zucchini flowers stuffed with anchovy, deep fried ricotta balls, Seafood risotto, Fried Lamb Chops, Rabbit and Chicken also deep fried. Primo was nice mains were disappointing.
• Ristorante Terrazza Panoramica – San Gimignano
• Ristorante Bel Siggirono – San Gimignano, Cream and asparagus Soup, Sliced fillet of Beef with chips and spinach, rose, Mango Moose and Chocolate moose. Beef a bit tough.
• Ristorante Cisterna – San Gimignano, Really nice local food -Roast Lamb white beans in Olive oil, Chicken in lemon sauce, chips and spinach, rose and a cheese platter.
• Trattoria Degli Umbri Assisi
• Cafe Pantheon
• Roman Pantheon Square - expensive but entertaining
• New Mary Ristorante
• Via Genova Rome - Great Italian food and reasonably priced
• Laurel Restaurant - Shenzhen Markets, Believe it or not this was the best authentic Chinese food we had. Peking duck at its best, beautifully cooked Asian vegetables, seafood dishes and pork rolls. Feeling generous to our new found friends I decided to shout them dinner. Six People 140$AUS!
• Peak Deco Cafe - Victoria Peak HK, WOW what a view, and the food was great all types at reasonable price. Don't order Australian wines $100 and up, cheap French stuff was fine.
• Deli France – HK, If you want French pastry with your coffee why walk past.
• Pacific Coffee Shop –HK, Great little chain of shops, buy a coffee and get free internet access - works for me!
• Royal Pacific Palms - Thai Restaurant
• GREAT VIEW of HK harbour, but food very poor. Really a case of Chinese cooking Thai food - not good and expensive.

Hotel Reviews 2007 Trip

• New Miyako Hotel – Kyoto, a vice hotel. We were in the West wing room 1509. It was well appointed with two single beds that were nearly double in size. We had no toiletries but the rooms came fully equipped with everything from razor to toothbrush. A great stay.
• Shinagawa Prince Hotel – Tokyo, Large hotel with three towers very near the rail station of the same name. Very helpful staff who never quite know what you're saying. Free internet when you buy a coffee. Rooms clean and basic not overly large. Plenty of eating places nearby.
• Holiday Inn Heathrow (Bath Road) – London, stopped over because of missed flight, nice and quiet, clean, spacious and good food (all complementary).
• Hotel Cardinal Rive Gauche – Paris, good hotel, quiet but a bit small (standard for Paris). Very near Moufftard - great market and restaurant street. Les Gobblens subway easy walking distance. Friendly staff booked Moulin Rouge for us.
• Hotel Le Relais Saint Jean – Troyes, Nice hotel centre of old town in Troyes (Twa), friendly couple run it, he's Irish and she's French. Clean convenient and cheap. Nice stay.
• Millen Hotel – Bologna, Pleasant staff, good breakfasts, comfortable room, big bathroom with nice big shower recess (but no bath). Short bus trip to main square, could walk in 20 mins. Car cost extra 13 Euro a day to park, bit of a catch.
• Grand Hotel Di Como – Como, Superior room (king bed), huge bath in nice marble bathroom, a bit out of town especially if its raining. No view of lake disappointing, breakfast was very poor for such a large hotel which takes bus travellers. Expensive and could have done better.
• Hotel Hostellerie du Château - Eguisheim Colmar, Oh the Chateau! Very nice little village in Alsace. Hotel on main square. No Air-con so had to open windows which made sleeping hard with the bells, and street light. Bonus was a Stalks nest right next door and friendly host. Great restaurants.
• Hotel Chapeau Rouge - Dijon
• Hotel du Faucon - Fribourg
• Hotel Jane – Florence, Just a little bit too far from town, ok if you catch the bus, mozzies if you leave window open, another concertina shower, free internet - but have to go across the road to use it. Free car parking in the street. Coops supermarket one block away.
• Hotel Belsoggiorno - San Gimignano
• Hotel Fontebella – Assisi, Great little hotel only 500m from St Francis Basilica, clean a little old but friendly and old world charm. Restaurant too expensive. No internet but "Internet Point" 100 m up the road. Manual elevator - close the door.
• Hotel Galatea - Rome- Very Central only metres from Via Nationale, on 3 floor of grotty looking appartment building, inside fully refurbished, very modern, glass and marble, clean no smoking smell. No internet but available across the road. Very friendly.
• Royal Pacific Hotel - Hong Kong, Hotel has many towers, various classes, superior room was fine, reasonable view. Close to central Kawloon, easy reach of shops and markets. Wireless internet in rooms, cafe downstairs more convenient. Beds hard ask for non smoking room. Would stay again.

Memorable Moments 2007 Trip

• Eating at the stick restaurant in Kyoto
• A bullet train passes through our train station - The wind nearly knocked us over and the sound was awsome. Jo-Ann's eyes light up with excitement. Speed is her middle name.
• An American tourist at the Buddhist Temple
• Eating Sashimi - Oh yes raw fish has never tasted so good! Not to mention the Tempura Hmmm!
• Jo-Ann walking past a restaurant that sold Whale meat - yes it took all my energy to get her out of the street. Lucky for them she didn't have a weapon of flammable liquid on hand or they would have been toast.
• Arriving in Tokyo with no clothes - then walking for two days trying to find something to fit. A Japanese large is a medium or size 10.
• Sweet and Sour moment - told by air hostess that our luggage was missing - then telling us that to make us feel a bit better she was upgrading us to Business Class!!
• Missed connection to Tokyo - the flight from Paris delayed 1 hr, sat on tarmac another 20 mins, security in London 30 mins, re-ticketing BA 1 hr, Nippon Air refuse us - not enough meals!, have to go back through security at Heathrow again, miss JAL flight, had to stay overnight -AHH!
• Montmartre, Sacre Coeur - If you're sick of the pace of exploring Paris, this is the place to go to unwind, sit, sip a coffee and watch the Artists and the Tourist go by. Special moment for us.
• Notre Dame de Paris
• Arc de Triomphe
• The Louvre - There are museums and then there is the Louvre. It took us 6 hrs to see about half. And when I say 'see' I mean we passed by most exhibits. Missed an entire floor. Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo and the coronation of Napoleon, are all memorable.
• Champs Elysees
• Eiffel Tower
• Dinner in Rue Mouffetard, Paris
• Visit to Versailles
• Tool Museum in Troyes
• Visiting Kayserberg
• QUIZ ANSWERS the first three; USCITA, AUSFAHRT and SORTIE all mean - b. exit. This is not easily understood when your travelling on an Autostrade (Autoroute or Autobarn), at 130 km/hr. AUFZUG is - c. elevator and TOUTES DIRECTIONS means - d. All directions.
• Getting booked for speeding (lead foot) - You can travel as fast as you like on European roads unless there is a sign that says you can't. Travelling back from Gruyere the fash went of on the side of the road as I passed at 100 km/hr in an 80 zone. Who knows how I'm going to pay this.
• The market pavilion in Dijon
• Beef Burgundy in Dijon
• Meeting Jack in Geneva
• Gruyere Cream and meringue fingers - Thick spoon it out cream (double thick), on meringue soft in the middle- yum, yum, yum!
• The Alien Museum at Gruyere
• Going through the Gotthard Tunnel
• Outlet shopping in Switzerland
• Boat trip on Lake Como
• Strolling in the open air market in Bologna
• Best Caffe Latte in Europe - in Bologna, the GALLERIA CAVOUR 1 BAR & WINERY. It was a make your own experience, coffee on the side, hot milk in a glass. Biscotti were free!
• Continental breakfasts
• Melt in the mouth lasagne - in Bologna the birth place of the Bolognaise Sauce!!!!!
• Lunch at Autogrill on A1 to Bologna
• Riding a mini bus in Florence
• Jo-Ann's Florentine cake
• Having a stand-up argument with a queue jumper
• Seeing the original Michelangelo’s David
• Dinner on the terrace overlooking Tuscany
• Coffee, biscotti and juice 'fresca' at Marcellas - Marcella (pronounced Marchella) is everyone's mother in San Gimignano. She deserved a Koala.
• Stephen does the washing Jo-Ann does her block - so everything shrunk a bit!
• Dinner over looking Tuscany
• Coconut and Chocolate scoops of Gelati - a great combination, as is mango and vanilla, as is cappuccino and yoghurt, as is ............
• Jo-Ann has her candle fix - lights 5 candles in Siena's Cathedral.
• All roads do not lead to the car park in Siena - took us 45 mins to find central car park, roads go in a curve not straight lines.
• Got lost in Foligno - who cares where it is just get out of it, signs in Italy not helpful. Found out "tutte le direzioni" means "all directions".
• Tour of Colosseum - Found out only 15 Christians killed, 1 eaten by lion.
• School's out in Spello - sitting in the square at 1 pm drinking coffee, we noticed many buses parked round about. Without warning hoards of children exit a building we would not have picked as a school and surrounded us. As yes kids are the same the world over.
• Espresso and biscotti - coffee at a table in crisp morning air, looking out over the Umbrian country side, bells from St Francis chiming in the background, pigeons cooing, smell of freshly baked bread filling cafe - FANTASTIC!
• Silencio in the Basilica - Guard with a PA in St Francis Basilica, announced "silencio" every 5 mins or so followed by a long "SHHHHHHHH", good grief!
• Bird poos on Jo-Ann in centre of Rome - 6 million tourists, what are the chances. That's luck!
• Walking Assisi streets by night
• Jo-Ann's mini at St Francis - Quote "a little bit down is better" ha ha!
• Driving up a oneway street in Assisi
• Drinking coffee on Pantheon Square
• Watching the tourist crush go bye and enjoying a pizza
• Drinking Chianti - How the memories come flooding back
• Walking the streets of Rome - Each turn revealed a new and exciting vista.
• The shower cubical in Assisi - Small does not describe it, getting the two concertina doors to meet was a challenge.
• Petrol Price in Rome - 95$AUS a tank AHHHH!
• Lunch with George and the Girls - Swanky Restaurant on Hong Kong Island
• Lunch at Victoria Peak – HK very nice after harrowing ride on Peak Tram at 45 degrees
• Shopping at Stanley Markets – HK Jo-Ann bought nice belts and pashminas, I bought a book. 
• Shopping at Shenzhen – China, Really cheap watches, clothing and leather goods
• Beggars at Shenzhen Station – China, Very disconcerting
• Huge Tiantan Budda - HK Lantau Island, Towering bronze statue on mountain top.
• Train Station Toilets – HK, Hole in the ground. Jo-Ann didn't know which way to face
• Getting our mobile phone to work! Thank you Judy Corser!!!! No thanks to Telstra!
• Peking Duck – Shenzhen, Complete with head hanging off plate, Jo-Ann's reaction was very memorable.
• Meeting George our new HK friend, Very generous and helpful friend
• Meeting Desley and Jodie friends from Australia, Great dinner together
• Janelle's comment ......... 8May07- Janelle Williams leaves us our first ever comment on our website, THANKYOU Janelle.