MyNameisBrunoB!

This is what you call a 'Rest Day'

2016-06-16T00:20:00.000+10:00

So, yesterday was 'out-of-control' busy. We resolved sleep in and maybe venture out to do something in the afternoon.

Do you like that 'maybe?' Well, it was more of a DEFINITELY. You see, the day we went to the Champagne Region for the bike tour, one of the ladies on the tour was telling us about the Paris Opera House. She said - 'You MUST visit this place and you MUST take a guided tour!' So, while we were waiting for something yesterday, we looked the building up on the net, and very quickly got interested and booked a tour. Good thing we did as when we arrived, English tours were sold out.

But, back to the sleep-in....

When you are staying in a studio apartment, a sleep-in only works if everyone is on the same page. Unfortunately, when on vacation I simply cannot sleep in. I try – and fail. This day, I forgot to take off my fitbit and was awoken by the ‘silent alarm.’ And, let me tell you - if you ever have trouble getting out of bed, then a silent alarm on a Fitbit is the answer for you. The ‘alarm’ is a vibration on the band around my wrist and is controlled using an app on the phone. So, as normal – the alarm ‘sounded’ and I was wide awake. We were sleeping on a double bed, so the tossing and turning wasn’t appreciated. And, so I got up. I tried to keep the noise down. But, I was tripping over things, dropping things ……. I tried to be quiet and failed. So, Kylie didn’t have as much of a sleep-in as she would have preferred.

So, on the subway (we are professionals on the Paris subway by now) and we come out and are greeted with THIS

What a spectacular building! And, guess what – THIS IS WHERE WE ARE HEADING! I was very excited! But, first, we were in need of a coffee. So, we filmed it.

So, this building we are visiting - here is a brief intro;

The Palais Garnier is a 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It became known as the Palais Garnier, in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier. The Palais Garnier has been called "probably the most famous opera house in the world." This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and, especially, the novel's subsequent adaptations in films and Andrew Lloyd Webber's popular 1986 musical. Another contributing factor is that among the buildings constructed in Paris during the Second Empire, besides being the most expensive, it has been described as the only one that is "unquestionably a masterpiece of the first rank."

Thanks Wiki!

But, stepping into the building is simply awe-inspiring at every turn! We started the tour in the 'Members Entrance' and met our tour guide who was full of life and interesting stories about the building.

Can you read the message in the ceiling? No? Either could I.

This entrance was fascinating as it was opulent and decorated beautifully. But, it was not grand. But, as one progressed into the building, the decoration was getting grander.

Up to this point - we were amazed. The detail in this was just mind blowing. We weren't ready for what was to come.

This isn't my photo (thanks Google). The lighting is really difficult (thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

As if our minds were not already blown, we were taken to an area that was originally designed as Napoleons entrance (he never lived to see the building complete and as such, it was left in a raw state) but has now been converted to a library/museum section. One of the exhibits we saw here was (again) mind-blowing.

I know - it doesn't look very impressive.

Our guide explained that the round painting that we are now looking at was the original ceiling of the auditorium, painted by Jules Eugène Lenepveu. I expected to hear that it was damaged due to the roof collapsing or by fire or something like that. No - nothing like that. It was just decided that a change was needed. So, in 1964, a new ceiling painted by Marc Chagall was installed on a removable frame over the original. It depicts scenes from operas by 14 composers – Mussorgsky, Mozart, Wagner, Berlioz, Rameau, Debussy, Ravel, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, Adam, Bizet, Verdi, Beethoven, and Gluck. Although praised by some, others feel Chagall's work creates "a false note in Garnier's carefully orchestrated interior."

Here is a closer look at the original ceiling;

And, here is the new ceiling;

What is my verdict? I like the new ceiling - i really do. But, in the setting, I don't think its appropriate. Having said that, it is a much loved piece of art. When we were looking at it, Kylie said to the lady next to us something along the lines of 'Such a shame, isn't it?" to which she responded 'Unless you are a Chagall fan, like I am.' Eeeek! Lets get out of here quickly!!!

Here are some pics of the interior of the auditorium;

The controversial ceiling is directly above this....

So, how impressive was that building? But, the most impressive part was yet to come. We were shown the parts of the building as we would have experienced them if we attended the opera back in the day. We would enter, go up the grand staircase and be taken to our seats. But, the whole idea of going to the opera back then was to see and be seen. The best time and place to do this would be at the Grand Foyer during intermission. And, let me tell you - it IS grand! The photos simply cannot convey the opulence.

The floor, the walls, the ceiling, the decoration - it was just mind-blowing. Some on our tour even made the suggestion that it was more 'over-the-top' than the palace at Versailles. The tour guide agreed.

The most amazing interior I have seen ...... To date. We visit Versailles tokorrow and that honor might go to another building.

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on Jun 3, 2016 at 9:15am PDT

Kylie and I both loved the tour so much that we booked tickets to come back the next night and watch the ballet. One of the ladies on our tour told us that they sell 10 Euro tickets with obstructed view. It wasn't really the ballet that we were going there to see - it was the AMAZING building again.

Home again ..... but, it was just to get ready to go out again. For some reason, when we have been travelling between cities, we have been travelling on Sundays. So first thing we did when we arrived in Paris, was work out when we were going to get to the midweek meeting for an English congregation in Paris. And, as it turned out - it was tonight. And, the congregations name was Paris Anglaise Opera.

Its such a wonderful feeling to walk into a place on the other side of the world and immediately feel at home, among family.

Since it is an English speaking congregation, we met people from all over the world. We met a brother who is a need-greater from New Zealand (who happened to know some Kiwi's from my home congregation), we met a couple from Las Vegas who were also visiting that night 'spying out the land' for possible future plans, and we even met a sister originally from Melbourne who met her husband of four months Metro Witnessing in the Melbourne CBD.

Another big tomorrow - our Bike Tour of Versailles. So much for the rest day today.....

Today, we visited the pyramids!

2016-06-15T00:46:00.000+10:00

Yes, we visited the pyramids. And, NO, we didn't go to Egypt. The pyramids that we visited were made of glass and are found at the Louvre. Have you been to the Louvre before? The Louvre is the largest museum in the world and the second most visited museum in the world. It is overwhelming.

Fortunately, we had a tour planned.

Nathalie was our guide. Her and her husband (Jean Claude) offer tours of the museum focusing on artefacts that strengthen faith in the bible. It was amazing! I can give you the details of the company if you are ever in Paris and want to take this tour.

Kylie took some notes and I should have taken some too because as I look at my photos, there are a lot of things I can't remember about these artefacts. Having said all of that, here are some cool pics I took and hopefully over the coming weeks, Ill be able to check out KJs notes....

Gives meaning to placing enemies as a stool for feet

One of the many artefacts with the SUN

Kylie said that this statue could pass as someone 'famous' today

See the 'Imitate their Faith' publication RE: Esther.

Kylie is pointing at the tetragrammaton on the Moabite Stone. I think this is a replica

A common way of impaling criminals in Roman times

Venus de Milo. The second most famous piece of art in the Louvre. Runner up to.....

The Mona Lisa.

LOTS of people were there to see it. It was bigger than I expected.

Our two guides.

We had lunch with our guides and this family from the UK, also on our tour. We'd never met any of them before, but we share a faith and immediately were like family.

As you would have heard on the news (and on my blog), the rain was pretty heavy in Paris. So much so, that the Louvre closed its doors the afternoon we visited. We were not there when it closed but heard about it. So glad we got to visit!!!

Seriously, this is an AMAZING place!

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on Jun 2, 2016 at 6:17am PDT

Next stop - the Eiffel Tower! We had tickets to go up and we were SOOOO excited about that. But, the weather was not so good! Oh well - at least we were rugged up for the event. We had pre-purchased 'skip-the-line' tickets. But, of course, because one of the lifts was not working, we still had to wait in line. But, we still had time for some fun pics.

We're here.....

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on Jun 2, 2016 at 7:16am PDT

You can't even tell that the weather was so bad!

I don't think either of us expected the view from underneath. It is spectacular to behold.

I said to Kylie 'Lets try to get the most unflattering photo of ourselves.' This was the result.

As I mentioned, we were waiting in line....because I was taking pictures and taking videos, rather than being right up near our tour guide, we were the last ones in the line from our group. Behind us was this nice family with two small children from an English speaking country. We were chatting nicely. But, one thing about waiting in lines is that people are close up against one another. So, while I was chatting to Kylie, I felt someones hand in my pocket. Let me rephrase that - I felt the flap of my jacket move. Immediately, I turned around and rather than being the family right behind us, it was another guy who somehow just appeared. I said 'WHAT DID YOU JUST TAKE FROM MY POCKET?' And, brazenly, he just said 'I am here waiting in line - leave me alone.' It was the strangest experience. He was caught in the act - and yet stayed there directly behind us. And, very close. So close that he would come up behind us and Kylie would just say 'CAN YOU PLEASE BACK OFF!'

We had nothing in our pocket - but it didn't stop me from being super-paranoid. Kylie brazenly took photos of the guy. When we got to security, we immediately reported him for queue-jumping as well as for attempted pick-pocketing. But, nobody at the security checkpoint spoke english.

Smile!

It was the most bizarre sequence of events. He stayed right behind us for the whole time - he even rode up the elevator with our group. He would get too close to people from our group and Kylie would ask them 'Do you have your phone?' because he would start speaking on different phones (I think I counted that he had three phones in his hoodie.'

When we got to the top, we were finally able to tell the tour guide. She said 'I was watching the lady in the hat.' Seriously, placed like this are a pickpockers paradise. Everyone is excited, distracted, crammed into tiny little spaces - and forget. We would see people put their iPhones into their back pockets and we would go to them and tell them not to. There are signs everywhere warning, but i guess everyone needs reminding. If he took something from me - it was a receipt or a brochure. I had nothing for him to take.

So, it put a bit of a dampner on our visit. But, when we were at the top - we resolved to not let it spoil our visit. We were, after all, at the EIFFEL TOWER! And, what a view!

Lets not forget - it was SUPER-COLD!

The funny thing about being pre-occupied with the fact that someone is going to pickpocket you is that you tend to forget that you are are going up really high really fast. It was pretty high. And, once you have waited in line to go up, then it goes without saying that you had to wait in line to go down too. Our guide left us at the top but suggested that if you walk down the stairs from Level 2 to Level 1, you can get in the lift there. So, thats what we did.

So, as our guide suggested - we were waiting for a lift from Level 2 to stop at Level 1. Im not sure that the guide has ever done what she suggested that we do because when the lifts arrived from Level 2 they were jam-packed. We waited a while with no-one able to get into the lift at Level 1 so we made the decision to walk DOWN from Level 1 (recall that we also walked from Level 2 down to Level 1). Level 2 is 115m from the ground and Level 1 is about half-way.

We had such an AMAZING time at the tower - Kylie posted this video of us talking about our experience there.

There was one more thing that we had to do on this day. In planning, I was very good in that I had scheduled that we were going to be having 'rest-days.' But, in reality - these 'rest' days didn't end up being too much of a rest. And, sometimes, as I was 'living' the days that I had planned - I had to think to myself 'WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?' Some days were just too jam packed. Maybe not jam-packed but, why did I book dinner at 8:45 when dinner at normal time of 7 would have meant that we would get an early night?

But, before I tell you about what we DID that night, let me tell you about something that I planned for that night.....

So, I was looking at a friends trip photos on Facebook and they did something that I thought would be amazing - have dinner ON the Eiffel Tower. There are a few options for this based on how much you are willing to pay. What I was 'willing' to pay was to buy a bucket of chips from the fast food outlet at Level 2. But, as a special occasion, I thought I would book a dinner at the mid-level restaurant. I say 'mid level' because its the only restaurant between the super-high exclusive 'Le Jules Verne' and the Fast Food buffet. Having said that, there wasnt anything mid-level about the price of the restaurant. lol! It was ALOT of money. And, I didn't feel comfortable about spending all of that money without at least discussing it with Kylie. But, I didn't want to spoil the surprise.....

I framed the question very carefully. I said something like ..... 'I want to organise something very special when we are in Paris, but I can't tell you what. And, its going to cost a bit of money, but i can't tell you how much.' If you were asked that question, what would you say? Of course, she asked 'How much? Where?' I held out for about five minutes but then I caved and told her what I had planned.

She said 'Can you SEE the Eiffel Tower?'

I replied 'No - you are ON the Eiffel Tower.'

And she replied 'Its a really nice thought, but I think I would prefer to have a really nice dinner LOOKING at the Eiffel Tower.'

I was completely dumb-founded. But, after I got over the shock, I thought to myself 'Its actually a really good idea.' So, I set out to find a restaurant that had amazing views of the tower. There is ALOT to choose from - after all it is a MASSIVE tower. And, thanks to Trip Advisor, we can find out that location aside - what is the restaurant REALLY like?

And, this is the view from the restaurant I found;

View from dinner....

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on Jun 2, 2016 at 11:10am PDT

There aren't a lot of high-rise buildings in this part of town. But, even so, this restaurant (called Les Ombres) was on the rooftop (Level 5) with an unobscured view of the tower (and a glass roof). It was SPECTACULAR. It was better than I imagined. And, Kylie loved it!

And, so did I! The food was amazing, the service was great. We had a glass of Pommeray which was awesome. The view ...... just amazing! And, good thing I booked for that time because we were still there when the tower started sparkling! Its so amazing to see.

In fact, I loved it so much, it wasnt until our Uber was more than half way home that I realised that I left my bag under the table. Yes, the bag with our passports in it. So, with a taxi driver, you just tell him to turn around and the meter keeps running. Not so easy with Uber (and, not so easy with a non-English speaking Uber driver). And, with a phone that is flat. So, what we had to do is;

Charge the phone
Tell the Uber driver to STOP.
Use the Uber App to call for another Uber to pick us up form our present location
Enter the address of the restaurant because the driver didn't understand what 'Please take us where you picked us up' means
Hope that the driver of the car that we are in get the job before anyone else gets it

After all of that had been sorted, we called ahead to the restaurant (again, with very limited English speaking hosts) to let them know that we had left a bag there. We got back there and the women said 'No, sorry. We cannot find it.' She gestured as though she was looking for a ring. Then, I gestured back and said 'No, Im looking for a BAG.'

Aaaah. I understand now. She took me in the store room and showed me the bag. I was relieved ..... until I realised that it wasnt my bag. Then, another bag ..... nope. Not mine. I said 'Can I just look under the table?' and THERE IT WAS!! I was so relieved!

And, THAT was our day! Thanks for reading.

Did someone say 'Champagne?'

2016-06-09T07:00:00.000+10:00

It has been raining since we arrived in Paris. But, we didn't want it to rain today.

Why not?

We booked a bike tour of the Champagne Region and we did NOT want it to rain. We simply were unprepared for rain. True, we could have bought a poncho. But, have you ever worn one? Its basically like wearing a plastic bag (because you ARE wearing a plastic bag). Add the fact that we would be cycling - it would be humid and cold at the same time. Even better - no rain would mean NO PROBLEM.

We caught an uber to our meeting point. We waited for about five minutes and it took us three minutes to get there. We could have walked there but it looked heaps further on the map. Our meeting point was Gare de L'est. Who would know that it is a train station! HAHAHAHA

Today's adventure..... Bike Tour of Champagne Region

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 31, 2016 at 10:22pm PDT

Our meeting time was supposed to be 8:45am. But, the night before, we got an email advising us that due to strike action, the meeting time was 7:45am. It was still quite chilly and all I could think of was that I was going to be cold. So, I was looking for a mens clothing store that was opened that could have something that would be useful for me. Nothing was open at the time. Shops don't usually open till about 10am (except cafes which always seem to be open).

I don't know why, but all of a sudden, I felt like buying an Apple Watch

Im not sure if you have ever booked a tour and worried that the reservation would be lost or there would be some problem. Its always a relief when you arrive where you are supposed to be and your name is on the list.

The city we were visiting was Epernay (it immediately reminded me of Kim's daughter from Kath and Kim). It was about a 1.5 hour train ride. It was early, but that didn't stop the tour guide from talking for 1.5 hours when all we wanted to do was sleep.

Im sure I have seen contestants from the Amazing Race on this station platform

This is a pic of Epernay station when we arrived. The clouds look very ominous.

Our small group of 4 were meeting up with eight more in Epernay. Epernay is a beautiful small town with narrow roads and cool shops. I would like to come back here and stay (hint hint Kylie). The company has a storage garage filled with bikes behind this building;

Unfortunately, I wasnt listening when the guide told us what this building is. Its probably the local council building or some chateau or something like that. It looked really nice.

This is the bike that we were going to be using for the day. The seat was comfy, which is good. But, even better was the little motor (can you see it?) just behind the seat. It was a 'power assist' bike. In real terms, this means that you start pedalling and then the power kicks in. We rode it around the grounds on this building for about ten minutes just to get used to it and hilariously, one of the ladies turned the power assist on and started pedalling and went right into the hedge. I wish I had it on video!!!

So, the plan on this trip was to buy something from town to eat, store it in the small pack on the bike, ride to a few places for tasting, ride somewhere for a picnic lunch and then ride back. But first, lets take a selfie....

And we're off....

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on Jun 1, 2016 at 12:33am PDT

While we were in Epernay, we stopped at what we thought was a quaint little bakery.

I say 'thought' because as it turns out, it is a chain of bakeries. But, we aren't talking 'Bakers Delight' chain - we are talking real patisserie type bakeries. They were each amazing and each time we visited one, there was another delectable pastry we ordered.

The first hill arrived quickly. Hagged with anticipation, I was keen to see if the power-assist bikes worked on hills. And, amazingly, they did. Don't get me wrong - you still had to pedal hard. But, nowhere near as hard as without it. I want one of these bikes at home. I might even ride to work.

At the top of the first hill, we stopped for the first time. Can you see the dog looking out the window? He was very excited to see us.

A bit further up the road and we stopped again - this time we walked through the vineyard and actually looked at the vines. It was really cool.

A little further (actually, ALOT further) and we stopped at our first winery.

We did an extensive tour of all of their facilities. It was really cool. We even went in their underground store.

This was really interesting. I never really thought how bubbles get into champagne so the explanation of Méthode Champenoise (the traditional method by which Champagne is produced) was really interesting. Here is the wiki article about it.

No visit to a winery would be complete without a tasting;

These glasses are not made for noses like mine.

This was our group! True story - two others from this photo are also from Werribee. Shortly after this photo was taken, I was talking to them because Tracey was very familiar to me. This is how the conversation went (my comments in RED);

Where do you work?
Synnot Street.
No way! I work in Watton Street.
Watton Street? Which building?
You know where Bafetti's is?
Yes
In that building.
I know that. I have done some work with the accountants. In fact, Im working on an apartment project with them.
Apartments? Watergum Apartments?
Yes
I have been working on that for more than a year. Did you go to a meeting where there was about 20 people crammed into a meeting room?
Yes
Thats the office I work in.

It was hilarious!

Time for lunch, so back on the bike to the lunch spot.

The clouds are still looking VERY ominous. But, the clouds held out. This is the AMAZING place we stopped for lunch.

This photo was taken with NO FILTER! It really was as beautiful in real life. Sooooo amazing!

This was the view from our picnic table.

There is always one in the group (though, its usually me).

This was our whole group. Back on the bikes and off to the last winery. The previous one was in comparison quite small. This one was a much larger scale.

When we got out of this winery, it was raining. Most of the day without rain was good. So, all we had to do was ride down the road about 15 minutes in the rain and drop the bikes off. As we were riding, I started giggling to myself. Kylie said 'What are you laughing about?' I said 'I just thought that it was good that no-one had fallen off their bike.' And, about 10 seconds later, Kylie fell off her bike. It was really funny timing. And, she didn't hurt herself. Of course I was laughing (after checking if she was ok) - BUT SHE WAS LAUGHING too! You would have laughed if you were there.

It was a LONG and EXHAUSTING day. We started one hour earlier and due to the strikes, we missed the train we were supposed to catch so we had to catch the train one hour later. Then, the train was delayed by 45 minutes so we didn't get home until about 8:30. But, did we enjoy the day? Absolutely! If you are even in Paris - you MUST do the tour! We took pics. But, we were both consciously trying to enjoy it in real life not on a 7-inch screen. It was the most amazing feeling riding up and down those green hills.

Kylie and I are not bike riders. We have bikes and we know how to ride them. But we don't do it much (read - at all). We enjoyed this experience so much that we vowed we would get them out and use them. Were not talking wearing Lycra because nobody wants to see me in Lyrca (in fact nobody wants to see ANYONE in Lycra) but I've publicly vowed that its something we would like to do.

Thanks for reading!

Yep - its STILL raining!

2016-06-08T07:24:00.000+10:00

Its amazing how the rain makes you feel like ...... not doing much. It might also have something to do with the fact that we have been on Fast-Forward for the last week and a bit. We didn't pack for cold, wet, rainy weather. And, while the area that we are staying is good for food, its not so good for clothes. So, we had to make do with what we have (which isn't much).

Have you tried this? This works on mobile devices (not on desktop as far as I have been able to see).

Open Internet Browser
Type Paris Vacations into Google (or any city)
Scroll down until you can see this

Click on Travel Guide. You should see this;

Scroll down to Suggested Itineraries

How cool is this feature of Google Search? Here is a video about it.....

Anyway, Im telling you all of this because we hadn't really planned anything for this day. It was supposed to be a 'rest day' but we were getting a bit stir-crazy inside the apartment. The heavy rain had stopped so it was down to a light shower. We grabbed our umbrellas and walked.....

I looked on the 'Suggested Itineraries' and looked what of note was close to where we were. We definitely wanted to walk as our step count was down for the day. So, this is what was within walking distance....

But, first ..... we were STARVING!

I had an omelette for lunch (surprisingly, I didn't photograph it). It had the first cheese in France that I didn't love.

Everywhere you turn in this city is architectural beauty.

Wait - BEAUTY? What is that big pipe sticking out of the ground? And that scaffolding? No, its not scaffolding - its the building I referred to in a previous post (Pompidou Centre) in context.

Just down the road from this - we stumbled upon the Notre Dame. I say stumbled upon because one cannot simply 'stumble upon' this ENORMOUS church. You can see it from everywhere.

The rain continued so on to the next item on the list - the Conciergerie. Funny story - whenever we mentioned to Parisians that we visited here (or wanted to visit here), they didn't really know what we were talking about. We had to say 'Where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned' and sometimes they knew where. So, the Conciergerie - what is it? This information was taken from their website;

HISTORY OF THE MONUMENT

A splendid Gothic palace. The Salle des Gardes (Guards Room) and the immense Salle des Gens d'armes (Hall of the soldiers), built under King Philip the Fair, still remain from the days of the medieval palace, as do the kitchens built under King John the Good.

From a Royal residence to a Palace of Justice. The Kings of France abandoned the palace at the end of the 14th century to settle in the Louvre and in Vincennes. It then took on a judicial role, and part of the palace was converted into prison cells.

Revolutionary prison. The Conciergerie became one of the principal places of detention during the French Revolution, with the installation of the Revolutionary Court. Its most famous prisoner was Marie-Antoinette. During the Restoration, a commemorative chapel was erected on the site of her cell.

Continue your visit to the Sainte-Chapelle and be dazzled by the 1,113 stained glass windows in this radiant jewel of Gothic architecture.

Ill be honest - I knew nothing about French history. I still know very little, but after this trip, I at least know SOMETHING about the Revolution. But, please don't test me about it until I read 'French History for Dummies.'

The Conciergerie prison, also known as the "antechamber to the guillotine", became the central penitentiary of a network of prisons throughout Paris, and was the final stop of over 2,700 people, who were summarily executed by guillotine.

So, the prison was interesting. But depressing. But, the Sainte-Chappelle was completely unexpected. As a building, its really weirdly sited. Its basically connected to the jail/former royal palace.

From the outside, it looks like any other Gothic Building desperately in need of a clean.

Inside, it was much the same - very dark, dusty, depressing. Then we noticed some people walking through a tiny little doorway. We followed and this is what we saw;

Pictures simply cannot describe what we saw. The light streaming into the room was amazing. Here is a detail picture of the ENORMOUS stained glass windows.

This building was completed in 1258. Living in Australia - that date is difficult to comprehend. I just think about how the building stands - let alone the glass. Its so tall and there doesn't seem to be any major lateral bracing.

Then the rain came again. We had had enough by this stage.

Thanks for reading.

Bonjour Monsieur

2016-06-07T07:50:00.000+10:00

Of course, the flight from Barcelona to Paris was delayed.

Adios Barthelona! And, adios beard!!!

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 30, 2016 at 3:31am PDT

I decided that having a beard gets you too much attention by security at the airport. So, from now on, Im clean shaven while flying.

We were sooooo looking forward to some beautiful weather in Paris. Im sorry, but that was not going to happen....

Bienvenue à Paris Not the weather we were expecting....

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 30, 2016 at 7:24am PDT

We caught our first Uber from the Airport to the City. We caught Uber once on the Gold Coast and never since then. And, as you might know, its a LONG way (the fare estimator for taxi is 60 Euros) and Uber was cheaper so we went with that. It was a FANCY car that picked us up. He packed the bags into the car in the rain, asked if our phones needed charging, asked if we wanted WiFi, gave us a bottle of water, lollies.....I totally felt hipster (for using Uber) and like a Celebrity with a driver. It was awesome!

Speaking of hipster - our AirBnB was in a totally cool area. If you know Paris, it was in the 3rd/4th Arrondissement. It was an apartment that was one block from the Pompidou Centre.

Our Apartment for the week

The Pompidou Centre

Have you ever booked with AirBnB? Do it! It such a good alternative to staying in a hotel. Ive explained why I love it in previous posts so I won't go into it again. But, one thing people ask is 'How do you get the keys?' Good question.....

In New York, the directions were 'Go to the bakery on the corner and ask 'Can I please have the keys to X address?'
In other cities, the host has met us.
This time, here were the directions we received;

ATTENTION : the keys will be available for you in the Security Office (in red), just in front of the bulding. (door number 6 of the street) You have to ask the keys of the apartment XX (ou XXBN) of the 7 Bernard de Clairvaux.

French pronunciation :  "Bonjour, c'est pour les clés de l'appartement XX du sept bernard de Clairvaux s'il vous plait"

With the keys, there is a green magnetic badge that allows to pass the 2 main doors of the building.
Wait - what? Do we have to ask someone for the keys - IN FRENCH? Yeah, Kylie, this ones for you!

Kylie went in to get the keys and.....

Somehow, the guard understood what she said and she came out with our keys! Lol!

On thing about this apartment that I loved (read - NEEDED) was having a washing machine! Man, Ive never been so excited to see a washing machine.

The entry of our apartment building

Our street in the rain

We had a supermarket close by so Kylie popped down to have a look. She messaged me this photo;

In the message she asked 'Can I buy them all?'

This was our first lunch in Paris;

So, with the preceding week, the weather, the flight and delay - we needed sleep! But, it wold have to wait. I had booked a dinner cruise for us that first night.

It was a great introduction to the city - and we were yet to cast our eyes on the Eiffel Tower, so we were looking forward to seeing it on this cruise. The view was simply spectacular. There is so much history in the city, so much to see on the river cruise. But, there is always time to check Pinterest.....

Kylie is going to kill me for posting this picture. I have a collection of photos of her in different places around the world using Pinterest. Is there such a thing as 'Pinterest Anonymous?' hahahah!

We started chatting to the couple next to us - they were visiting from the US. The 'official' photographer came around and took pictures in really dumb poses. We had fun posing for her but of course we didn't buy any of her '$20 per print' photos. When she was taking pics of the couple next to us, I took a sneaky pic.

Taken on my iPhone..... which they also had so I air-dropped it to them. They loved it more than the pics she took of them.

So, we were on this cruise and Kylie said to me 'I don't think we will be going past the Eiffel Tower - we would have seen it by now.'

And then ...... we saw it!

This was our first view of it! It was simply breathtaking. I have to admit - I had tears in my eyes. It is simply a beautiful sight to see (particularly at night). Weirdly, the music on the cruise was timed based on location and at this particular moment, Alicia Keys and Jay Z 'New York' was playing. I get the connection - but it was just weird.

We got closer and here are some more pics from our first viewing;

And, then, just as we were passing, THIS happened....

It was amazing! And, on that note - we were finally able to get to sleep!
Thanks for reading!

7 DAYS - come and gone so fast....

2016-06-06T08:04:00.002+10:00

I can't believe that the cruise has finished! Like really finished. It seems like yesterday that we were boarding but seven days later, the cruise is over. But, as you have read, we fit some JAM-PACKED activities into those seven days. Its so funny that we planned to relax on the cruise - but when you are visiting some AMAZING ports, you have to take advantage of them.....

So, after getting off the ship, we arrived back in Barcelona. We got off the ship pretty early, but our check-in wasnt until 11am. So, we had some time to kill looking for free wifi (all you travellers know service in unimportant, but FREE WIFI is KING).

Cafe con leche Back on dry land....

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 29, 2016 at 1:06am PDT

This was an interesting place ..... we didn't stay here for long. It was early Sunday morning and there had just been a soccer match the night before and everyone was talking about that (from what I could understand). We were our on the street and the place seemed to be popular with regulars (older men), one of which kept looking at us as if to say 'You are sitting at my table.' Or maybe, we were making his internet run slow......

We had arranged an AirBnB apartment, which was cool. Here is a pic of the apartment;

It was very accurate. Though the photo was obviously professionally shot. lol. It was great to have a normal sized bed. If I could make one comment about the bed on the ship it was that it was wide enough - maybe even King Size width. It was SUPER comfortable. However, it was weirdly shaped at the bottom of the bed (i.e. rounded at the corners). I am by no means 'tall' - either is Kylie. But, at times, both of our feet were hanging off the end. I tell you this story because this bed was amazing!

Our final night in Barcelona, we asked our AirBnB host for a recommendation for Tapas and Sangria.

I promise this wasnt all my food.....

One of the reasons we went to this place was that they have a white sangria;

White Sangria with dinner.

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 29, 2016 at 10:25am PDT

We had never heard about it and the Catalan speaking waited had no idea what we meant. So, we googled it and found out that its Cava and he knew exactly what we wanted. Cava (not the Cava from Fiji) is basically a white sparkling wine from this region. The verdict? It was AMAZING! But, then again, so is the red sangria!

We had an early start the next day, so back to our accommodation. One last thing - I saw this and had to take a sneaky-pic....

A timeless, ageless universal language. Not sure if you can make it out but this older couple are sitting the in the street in Barcelona both playing Candy Crush. Made me totes lol!

Where to next? Paris!!!! Yay!

Sorry, did we just visit French?

2016-06-01T07:32:00.002+10:00

Before you tell me - I know its wrong. I was highlighting the point that after the first four days of the cruise, we are SOOOOOO exhausted! Three days of FULL-ON excursions compounded with our rapid aging along with doing Karaoke most nights are not a good mix. But, yes, we did visit French ..... I mean France.

The ship was stopping twice in the south of France - Cannes and Marseilles. And, Kylie and I were not planning on getting off the ship and planned to just lounge around and relax. But, both Kylie and I have a serious case of FOMO so both days, we got off the ship and had a wander.

CANNES

This was beautiful. We had to take a tender vessel to get on shore as there isn't a port per-se. By the time we got down to the gangway, there was no line so we were able to hop on and catch the small boat to shore (about ten minutes).

Like my new Stampin' Up! cap? I love it! Thanks Shelli/Sara!

Was a VERY nice town on the water. Lots of luxury yachts!

So, oddly enough, it had been a few hours since we ate breakfast. So, we had a feeling that we hadn't felt for about four days on the cruise ...... hunger! We didn't know where to eat - which is where Trip Advisor is AWESOME!!!

The place that we ate was called L'Epicurieux and met all of our expectations (and more). We arrived and then two more groups from Stampin' Up! arrived at the same restaurant and said 'Trip Advisor told us to come here.'

Lunch with my honey in Cannes, France

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 27, 2016 at 5:05am PDT

We thought we would order a small lunch. We ordered a salad with camembert, a meat plate and wanted to try something really French - steak tartare. A small lunch was what we THOUGHT we were getting.

Rather than being a salad with Camembert, it was a salad and an entire round of baked Camembert (with honey and pine pine nuts drizzled). It was delicious. But, I felt like a contestant from the Biggest Loser eating it. And, the meat platter was big enough for us to order it alone.

The steak tartare was absolutely delicious. We saw the chef make it. It was hand cut using a slicer and seasoned to perfection. I really didn't think I would enjoy it - but I LOVED it.

We left a lot of our lunch because we simply couldn't fit it in. If you know me - I never admit defeat and leave food on my plate. But, I simply could not finish it. I needed to walk .....A LOT! But, we went past a Macaron shop that I couldn't pass up.

Everything about this shop was beautiful.

I still needed to walk so we walked to a lookout to see all of Cannes. It was well worth the effort - it is a stunning city.

Kylie tried on some shorts (and we ended up buying them). So, then we started walking to the beach and decided to take a photo with the cruise ship in the background. We wanted to use the camera and we were going to ask someone to take it.

Kylie says 'Do you have the camera?'
I didn't. And, either did she.

Oh no! Twice in one holiday?

'I must have left it in the change room' Kylie said. So, I raced back to the store and there it was. Close call.....

So, then, after all that - we took this picture.

Before we got back on the ship, we did a casual stroll along the main street.

McDonalds has prime position in town. I understand that its a cheap meal - but it boggles the mind that people can be on the French Riviera and eat McDonalds. I suppose they will be ordering French Fries.....

We walked past this florist and thought 'Patty would love these flowers!' I loved them and wished that we could take some plants home with us.

MARSEILLES

We had an extra long sleep in today ..... AND, the 'ALL ABOARD' was extra early. So, we didn't have much time at all in Marseilles.

It was another beautiful city by the water and lots more luxury boats/yachts. One thing we spotted from far away was this;

So, without thinking too much about it, we went on.

How did that go Bruno? Wanna see?

As terrifying as it was for me - lets be clear it was only when the wheel STOPPED..... at the TOP. Kylie - not so much. She happily snapped pictures of the beautiful view.

I managed to take my hands of the sides for long enough to take this pic of KJ.

We weren't too hungry, but there was always time for Gelati. This was spectacular. The flavours were awesome but what was even more impressive was the way that the icrecream was presented. It was like each flavour was a separate quenelle.

And, then, back on the boat..... I can't believe that its all over tomorrow. Sad.

But, last thing we did on the boat was go to the Ice Bar. As the title suggests, its pretty cold in there (-12 degrees celsius in fact - which is 10F). Thats why we were issued the coats.....

Ice Bar on the Norwegian Epic

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 28, 2016 at 11:47am PDT

Here is a Google pic of the room;

And, here are the crazy peeps that were in there at the same time we were....

And, thats all that happened on the cruise. Next stop .... Barcelona.

Thanks for reading.....

Florence and Pisa in one day......

2016-05-31T03:30:00.000+10:00

This was the third day in a row that we had excursions planned. As such, it was even more difficult to get up, knowing that we had a full day of walking and sightseeing ahead. But, get up we did.

First dilemma of the day ..... Kylie purchased a WiFi hotspot that we could use in Europe. So, I was making extensive use of it. So much so that within the two days we had been touring, I had already used 2 Gig. Look - I used a lot of data. But, there is NO WAY I could have used 2 Gig. I had this sneaky suspicion that there was some sort of update happening on my phone and I was right. I clicked on Settings, then Photos and Camera and noticed that iCloud Photo Library was ON. For both of us. What does this mean? Here is the description immediately below "Automatically upload and store your entire library in iCloud to access photos and videos from all your devices."

So, I immediately think 'No, I don't want it to do that.' So, I turn it off. Then a warning message pops up and tells me that all of my photos will be deleted from my phone. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Fortunately, every night, I have been moving all the pics from our phones to my computer (which we brought with us). But, Im not ready to have ALL of the pics deleted. Ill sort it out when we get home..... and we will have to deal with Kylies 18,000 photos soon too. lol

Anyway, now that we worked out why the phantom data was disappearing, we were ready for the day ahead. Pisa up first. Wait, first..... the tour we booked today was with the same company as the tour from the day before in Rome. Our guide from yesterday had called ahead and said 'There are some crazy Australians on your tour that you need to look after.' And, so our guide for today was Eliza and she was also awesome.

We had some time to get a coffee in the port building, so we did. I was just amazed at EVERY cafe/bar there is ALWAYS a large selection of Amaro. What is Amaro? Amaro (Italian for "bitter") is an Italian herbal liqueur that is commonly drunk as an after-dinner digestif. Many of the varieties on show I have sampled at my parents place.

Hahahahaha - Fonzies.

On with the day.... have you been to Pisa before? From the bus, it is a bit of a walk to the 'Field of Dreams' or 'Field of Wishes' or whatever the thing is called. And, as soon as you step off the bus, there are people there to sell you hats, sunglasses, selfie sticks, water, handbags ......

Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city's cathedral), the city of over 89,940 residents (around 200,000 with the metropolitan area) contains more than 20 other historic churches, several medieval palaces and various bridges across the River Arno. So, I expected to see a tower. But, was amazed to see how many other buildings in this area.

This is such a spectacular sight! It really is leaning (as the title suggests). The weather was beautiful! There were thousands of people there to share the day with us.

Here are some interesting facts about the tower (thanks Wikipedia);

The height of the tower is 55.86 metres from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m. The tower has 296 or 294 steps (no, unfortunately we didn't have time to climb). Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 metres from the centre.
When we were planning, Kylie always remembered a photo of her mum at Pisa taken 44 years ago when she visited. It was the obligatory shot at Pisa. So, we recreated it (or attempted to)

'Not even close Bruno!!!!'

It is not as easy as you think ....... 'Move your left hand, rotate it, move it up, down ...... no - the other direction. NO!!!' Eventually, we got it.

Like I said, we weren't the only ones there. Everyone else had the same idea. And, its hilarious watching other people take the obligatory photo.

It reminded me of a page I saw called 'Travel Expectations VS Reality'

Expectation

Reality

Another day, another famous monument

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 26, 2016 at 12:58am PDT

As we walked to the bus, we saw some more familiar faces;

'Do you know them?' asked the guide. 'No, but we have the same father.'

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 26, 2016 at 2:06am PDT

Back on the bus and onwards to Florence. Sadly, later on we came to know that a few from the Stampin' Up! group over the course of the day had bags taken, wallets taken and money taken from their pockets from active groups that visit here. One demonstrator told us that she had separated from her husband for a moment and then later said she saw him telling off a 'pregnant' lady whose hand was in his pocket. Fortunately, nothing was taken from them, but I feel terrible knowing that such people were active while we were there.

By this stage, it was about 11am. Our guide also does a Food Tour in Tuscany, so she was talking about food. The guy I was sitting next to was a chef from New York and he was asking about where to get certain foods. So, as you can imaging, I was STARVING very quickly.

But, first, we saw Il Duomo di Firenze. Also known as the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (in English "Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flowers") is the main church of Florence, Italy. It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style with the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris.

It is VERY impressive!

Our FIRST view through the streets

Wow!!!

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 26, 2016 at 3:56am PDT

But, even more impressive was the work of art directly across from this dubbed by Michelangelo as 'The Gates of Paradise.'

Here is a pic I found from Google;

But, after all this talk about food, it was time for lunch. We asked for some recommendations from our tour guide of where to eat, and WHAT we should eat. We were not disappointed. Throughout this trip, we have ordered what we thought would be small meals that turn out to be feasts. This was no different.

The tour guide said that this region is famous for Chianti - so of course we ordered it

Our 'small' antipasto plate. Afterwards, we realised that we had Chianti, Fava beans and Liver pate. EEEEEEEEEK!!!

I ordered artichoke pasta

Kylie ordered Black Truffle Pasta

We felt thoroughly obese after this meal. The only way to fix this is to have an amaro to settle the stomach.

And, then everything was ok. We met up with the tour group again..... but before we did, we did a quick video for you.

Florence is such a nice city. It just amazes the both of us that whenever you turn around, there is something beautiful. Here is a spattering of what we saw;

The 'leather markets' - Im sure another name of this market is 'Foreigners - Please come here and give us all your money.

A famous movie was set at the top of this tower

We FaceTimed Jessie while we were here - can you see her on the screen?

At one location, our guide stopped us and explained that she had been instructed to not mention what happened here because 'nobody needs to hear about this.'

Here is the Wikipedia article about it. There was a terrorist attack here. The mafia took responsibility for it. Six people were killed and parts of the nearby Ufizzi Gallery were destroyed.

An olive tree has been planted in honour of the victims.

We walked down to the Arno River and saw the amazing Ponte Vecchio. Kylie said 'Don't laugh at me, but it reminds me of when we went to Tokyo Disney.' It made me laugh - but I wasnt laughing AT her. At Tokyo Disney, there is a replica of the bridge and judging by the fact it reminded her of it, it must be a good replica.

Above the colonnade, this was apparently for the Medici family to walk because they didn't want to walk with the commoners. Hitler also used this walkway.

Lots of others had the same idea of going there today. It used to be full of butcher shops but now every store is exclusive jewellery.

Apparently, Leonardo DaVinci lived here for five years

So, it reminded me of the photo I took of myself an applied a filter to make myself look like one of his works of art.

Can you guys which work of art?

One thing that we noticed around all of Italy was the presence of both Polizia and Carabineri. What is the difference? Hmmmm - Im not quite sure. Not even after reading this on Wikipedia. If you know, please let me know.

After another MASSIVE day, on the way home. Of course, I fell asleep on the bus. And, Kylie had fun taking pics of me.

If you follow my Instagram, you will know that we are now in Paris. We have AWESOME internet in the AirBnB apartment we are staying in, so hopefully Ill be able to catch up.

Thanks for reading.

Rome wasn't built in a day ..... but we had less than a day to see it!!

2016-05-27T19:12:00.000+10:00

I would love to take credit for that quote - but I can't. One of the Stampin' Up! husbands said it (thanks David Taylor) but is so completely true. This place is just out of control - EVERY place we visited we could spend a few days exploring.

There were just three things I DEFINITELY wanted to see in Rome; 1. The Trevi Fountain, 2. The Colosseum and 3. The Pantheon. So, I found a tour that could take us to all three. We had an AWESOME tour guide (in fact, we haven't had a dud guide yet).

Our tour guide Daniela

She was super-cool. She had an Italian accent (of course). And, we had ear pieces listening to her commentary and it was hilarious listening to her go from speaking english to us to yelling at someone in Italian telling them to get out of the way or even stopping a protest to allow us to pass through (true story).

Our first stop was the Colosseum. We had to get there as early as we could because there was an industrial strike and it was going to be closed in the afternoon. So, she warned us that it would be EXTRA busy. Our bus pulled up and we walked the rest of the way. As we were walking, this is what we saw;

Im not sure if you can make it out but there is a large group of protesters gathered in front of the large arch which is next to the Colosseum. Looking in the other direction, we noticed that the roads had been closed. So, we just got in in-time.

In fact, the other bus that was running with us was not allowed in. Kylie took some video that I posted on my instagram feed.

Protest in front of the Colosseum.

A video posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 25, 2016 at 2:21am PDT

High security everywhere. But, lets be clear - this is what we came to see.

What I wish we had more time to explore was the Arch of Titus. It was constructed in c. A.D. 82 by the Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE).

This is as close as we got. But, this is definitely on the 'when (if) we come back to Rome list.

Wow!!! We're here! Unbelievable!

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 25, 2016 at 1:12am PDT

We live in Australia which has a very short history. So, when we come to places like this - actual places from history - its really quite mind-boggling to comprehend (well, it is to me anyway). This was an ACTUAL place that Christians were slaughtered. This was an actual place where gladiatorial games happened. Here are some pics from our tour;

Because of the world that we live in, it always fascinates me how a building so old needs to be modified to allowed for modern society. Metal detectors, shops, toilets handrails - all things that are required. But, all things that didn't exist at the time of the construction.

Wow!

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 25, 2016 at 2:15am PDT

The guide told us that the higher up the building, the lower the class of person. Apparently, in case there was a fire it wouldn't matter if they were lost. Charming! But, these steps would not meet moderns standards. I would say that each riser was about 350-400mm. It was hilarious. Let the lower class people climb these. Totes lol (that was for you Jake). We climbed the steps to see the view.....

I think lots of others had the same idea.

But, it was worth it. I stood on my tippy-toes and took this above my head (my selfie stick would have been great, but it broke - ;-(

This was my last pic! Im still without speech that we actually were here. Hopefully we can come back one day and spend more time in the Roman Forum.

Have you been to Rome before? There are many street vendors everywhere you go. Mostly Indians in Rome, but also Sudanese and other nationalities. Some view it a pest. I think its great. Whenever I feel like a water - someone is there to give me a drink. Its really quite cool. So, as we were exiting the Colosseum, I was approached by an Indian guy who offered me a selfie stick. I was SOOOOO excited! He wasn't the first (and DEFINATELY wasnt the last). Started at 15Euros. So, we started speaking Hindi to him and eventually we paid 5.

So, I mentioned earlier that our tour guide stopped a protest march to allow us to pass.

I was just without speech. What were they protesting? Im not sure. Probably wages. Or work conditions. Or something else.

Yay! My selfie-stick works!
Next stop - the Trevi Fountain! We stopped the bus and had to walk. Honestly, we didnt mind walking. Everywhere we turned was a photo opportunity. Whether it was well dressed school kids or a beautiful cheese shop or listening to someone arguing with someone on the phone and madly gesticulating - it was just a fascinating place.

Wow! Once more I say ..... WOW!

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 25, 2016 at 2:49am PDT

Strangely enough, we weren't the only ones who were there.

It was lunch time and we didn't have long. So, we had.....

It was such an beautiful place. We sat on the ledge and ate Pizza while drinking an Italian beer. The sun was shining brightly. It was an experience we will remember.

Next stop - the Pantheon.

One thing about Rome is that you walk up these tiny little roads and then, you turn the corner and you have this ENORMOUS building. Its so amazing! The Pantheon was one of these. Originally built as a Pagan temple, its was then converted to a church. It was spectacular inside.

See that roof window in the middle? Its not a window. Its OPEN! But, what about rain? Good question - there is drainage in the floor.

How beautiful are the coffers in the ceiling?

How cool is this fact - under the ceiling of the Pantheon a 43.3m sphere can fit exactly.

By derivative work: Cmglee - This file was derived from Baukunst Etrusker Römer.jpg: , CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20162546

We then went to Pizza Navona which was where I drank my first 'stand-up' espresso. I felt very Italian!

Home again, jiggly jig......

Tomorrow, we are heading to Pisa and Florence. DEFINITELY looking forward to that one.

Thanks so much for reading.

We almost didn't make it.....

2016-05-26T15:06:00.000+10:00

Hey there! Sorry about the delay in this post. I had complaints last time about how long between blog posts, so I will try to keep them regular. But, you don't understand how TERRIBLE the internet is on the ship - and you pay for the privilege. So, I just logged on to see how what it was like at the moment and it is bearable so here I go.....

Today, it was our first day in port - Naples. I had booked a shore excursion to the Isle of Capri and this was going to be our first experience of 1. Pre-booking an excursion and particularly 2. Booking it NOT through the cruise company.

In case you haven't been on cruise before - when you are planning a cruise, the company scares you into thinking that you MUST book through the company because if you don't, the cruise will leave without you. I wasn't prepared to pay twice the cost for the same tour, so I sourced a tour through another company. I woke up early to make sure we were are the rendezvous point (which was listed as 'Terminal'). Having said that, it didn't really matter how early I woke because someone else didn't wake up as early.

Anyway, we went down for breakfast and ordered the EXPRESS breakfast. We stressed to the waitress that we were in a rush and we had to eat very quickly. She nodded in understanding. Out breakfast-mates also ordered and they weren't in as much of a rush, so they ordered normal food from the breakfast menu. They ordered some yoghurt/cereal etc. which came out first. Ten minutes, fifteen minutes, twenty minutes ....... 'Excuse me - can you tell us how much longer our food will be?' we asked in exasperation. She replied 'Oh, its just here - do you want it now?' Deep breath, one, two, three, four......'Yes, that would be great.' I assume she figured that the yoghurt/cereal that the others ordered was an entree/appetiser for breakfast and that the hot breakfast would be the main meal. We scoffed and scoffed and then the food that the others ordered arrived and it was the express breakfast, which was ours. lol

So, immediately following this, we ran onshore and through the terminal. I was worried about how we were going to find our guide. And, walked out to find a sign with BERTUCCI written on it. Couldn't have been more easy.

Just beyond this, we were greeted by our brothers;

Arrived in Naples, Italy and who did we meet?

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 24, 2016 at 12:15am PDT

The couple that we were with said 'Do you know them?'
I replied 'Yes, we share the same father.' And, we laughed....
It reminded me of my fave new song 'Joy of Conventions' with the lyric 'We are sisters, we are brothers, sons and daughters and more, And, I love you even though Ive never met you before.'

What was cool about this trip is that we were going to catch a Hydrofoil across to the island. What is a hydrofoil? Well, since you asked, it is a boat whose hull is fitted underneath with shaped vanes (foils) that lift the hull clear of the water to increase the boat's speed (thanks Google). TBH, Id never heard of this before. Our guide broke the news to us 'Because'a of'a the weather'a, we'a maybe'a not'a be'a able'a to'a go'a today'a.' I was sad.....and then minutes later, the guide said 'We'a must'a go'a now'a' and we rushed onto the Hydrofoil.

The ride usually takes about 20 minutes from Napoli to Capri. Today, because of the weather, it took close to one hour. And, it was not pretty. When we started out, it was bumpy. And, then it got worse. And, worse. And, worse. One of the staff stood up the front with sick bags. And, i would estimate about 40% took one. Two ladies sitting in the row in front of us were heaving for most of the journey. It was a barf-o-rama. But, we got there. Interesting fact - the same tour booked through the cruise company was cancelled because of the weather. Hahahahahahah! Vomit aside, one of the first things I noticed was what was on TV on the Hydrofoil - can you see?

In case you can't - its McLeods daughters (or in Italian Le Sorelle Mc Leod - which actually translates as the McLeod Sisters). I really don't know why Im writing about this show because I never watched it. But, it was funny to come to the other side of the world and see a TV show that hasn't been on australian TV for years.

So, if the sea was rough, you can imagine that the sun wasn't shining when we arrived. Of course, I wasn't dressed appropriately. So, for about twenty minutes, I was shivering. But, then the clouds moved away and the sun started shining. And, we had the most amazing day! We met our tour guide and he explained what we were up to for the day. Very excited we were, hoping that the weather would hold out.

We are here in Capri

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 24, 2016 at 2:11am PDT

We drove to the other side of the island called Anacapri. That was an experience. I did a Facebook live video from the mini-bus ride but I can't work out how to embed it here. So, if you have an account, log in and watch the video. You simply cannot describe what driving on this island is like. Yes, they drive crazy, yes, the streets are crazy-narrow, yes, you almost drive off cliffs, yes, there is another tour bus coming in the opposite direction, yes, we nearly hit that girl on a scooter. Put all of those together - we have an experience to talk about.

One of the places that he pointed out we were visiting was a 'street' (I call it more of a ledge) that we were going to be driving on. He called it the 'Mamma-Mia' street. It commands awesome views.

This is me taking a picture from our bus.

We arrived in town and we were given some free time. Our guide suggested that we take a chairlift to the top of the mountain. I was keen - until I saw the chairlift.

Its only big enough for one person. And, it was long. And VERY steep. So, it was a definite 'Yeah, nah' from me. It was a definite 'NO!' from Kylie from the start but she was willing to go on it for me. Fortunately, it was closed due to the same weather conditions that caused the barf-o-rama on the hydrofoil.

During the spare time, we visited shops and lookouts. Here is a sampling of some pictures we took.

Everywhere we looked - blue skies. We were so happy.

OK, so, i took a photo of this couple. They decided that this was the appropriate time to FaceTime their young son while we were waiting for a picture at this spot. The husband, while we were patiently waiting could be heard saying 'Where is your nose? Where are your ears?' Then, the person they were talking to said 'Where are you?' and when they replied Capri, the person said 'Where is that?' It made me #lol

Eventually they moved. And this is the pic we got.

And, this one....

And, this one was taken by an Indian gentleman whom we showed jw.org to and practiced our Hindi on. Imagine - they travelled from India to Italy and were greeted in Hindi by two Italo-Australians.

Just beautiful.

So, this was interesting. Usually, there is a button to press to make the ATM in English. This one didn't have that facility. So, i just guessed what I was doing. And, I got some money out.

Mum - I'm sorry, but the Limoncello I tasted today was better than yours. It was so delicious. Like SO SO SO delicious. And, this was even nicer....

Yes, its Limoncello Gelati. Because of the alcohol, it wasn't frozen but more of a thick cream. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO delicious!!!!

Since we were in Capri, we had a Caprese Salad (or this restaurants version of it). I never made the connection between Capri and Caprese before....

This is where we ate for lunch. But, there were no red-heads in sight. Back into Capri and we went to Augustus Gardens. The gardens were nice - but the views were AMAZING. It kind-of reminded me a little of the 12 Apostles (minus the rugged coastline).

We aren't here in high tourist season. But, there were people EVERYWHERE! Tour guides were speaking English, Chinese, German, French ...... and LOTS of them.

See what I mean about the 12 Apostles? Back in town and saw this....

Death notices advertised.....

So, we were given the option of free time or going on a boat tour to the blue grotto. Because of the weather, we weren't able to go IN the caves. But, we could go close to the caves. So, we all JUMPED at the chance.

The photos do not do it justice. Having said that, despite the fact that we are taking hundreds of photos, I am making a conscious effort to enjoy these places LIVE and not through a small screen.

I had the most AMAZING day with my honey today!!!

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 24, 2016 at 10:36am PDT

Back again on the Hydrofoil - it was VERY calm on the way home (and quicker too). And, to welcome us back to the ship, here is who we met.

......at the end of the day....

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 24, 2016 at 9:20am PDT

So, thats about all i have to share with you from Capri/Naples. If you follow me on Instagram, you can get more up to date stories about what we are doing. And, you will probably already know that we have been to Rome as well. Wow! Mind Blown!

Ahoy there!

2016-05-24T14:36:00.001+10:00

This trip is just happening VERY fast.

Before I knew it, we were on board of the Norwegian Epic. Sorry the posts have been rather sporadic. The internet on board makes me want to poke my eyes out. Right now, I'm up at 6am because the internet is best at this time....

The last cruise ship we went on was the Allure of the Seas, which as you might remember was MASSIVE with thousands and thousands of passengers. As you can imagine, the check-in process for that ship was horrendous. So, as we appraoched the port, I was expecting much the same. But, it completely didnt happen. This ship isnt as big. And, the check-in was similar to being at an airport. And, then we went onboard. It took about 25 minutes. It was super easy.

So, what was the first thing we did? Of course, eat!

We had the safety drill and then it was time for the sail-away party on the pool deck. We have a ‘no-lift’ policy on cruises. We find that inexplicably, we tend to eat alot on cruises. So, we find the constant walking up steps partially offsets the amount of eating we find ourselves doing.

We walked up about ten flights of steps to get to the pool deck and the skies were decidedly grey. This was very ominous. So, we went towards the music. And then - the skies opened. So, what were we to do?

Dance in the rain.

That was really fun. It reminded me of this quote;

LIFE ISNT ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS - ITS ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.

Wanna see our room? Here are two pics of it;

Im glad we took the pics before we 'destroyed' it. Well, we didn't destroy it - it just looks a little 'less-tidy.' The pic below was taken from our balcony.....

We are here because of Stampin' Up! Kylie sells craft products and this trip was a reward for her doing so well. On the one and only sea day, there was a meeting for all of the achievers and their guests showcasing some new products etc. This pic was taken shortly afterwards;

The lady on the left of Kylie is Shelli Gardener. She is the co-founder and board-chair (and former CEO) of SU. The lady on the right of Kylie is Sara Douglass, the current CEO. It was nice chatting with them.

So, this ship has something that we have never experienced before on a cruise ship - water slides. And, OF COURSE we tried them out.

I have a video of me going down that I shot on my phone using the waterproof cover. Ill share it with you when we get some good internet. Sadly, we didn't take many pics the first two days on board. However, we are pulling into Naples today and we will be visiting Capri so hopefully there will be some awesome pics to share with you.

We miss you you - are you missing us yet? Thanks for reading.

Never ending day ...... ends in sleep!

2016-05-22T06:48:00.001+10:00

Why hello! Thanks so much for stopping by.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, likely you have seen briefly what we are up to. We are having a blast!

First things first (Im a realist!) - we have arrived in Barcelona. If you live in Australia, you know that it takes AGES to get anywhere. And, this was no exception! We flew out a 21:45 and we arrived in our hotel room after 22:00 the next day. It was an EXHAUSTING day!

Dubai looks like a really interesting place. But, after a 13 hour flight and the prospect of another seven hours, the only thing that is interesting is a chair. Or a BED!

This is us just about to get onto our final leg.

Have I told you about my new Travel Jacket? Ill save that for another day. Anyway, this was the first outing for the jacket. And, the verdict? I LOVE IT!!!! Like, really, really, really love it!!! One of the features that I love is the hood with the built-in neck pillow and eye mask. So, Kylie took a picture of me wearing it

And, before you ask - YES, that is really how I looked on the plane. And, YES, it was amazing. And, NO, I didnt care.

Hotel

Wow! And, once more I say - WOW!

Kylie found it on a discount website. It was AMAZING! The name was Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel.

How to describe it? Two towers joined together with stairs and walkways and gardens. Here is a video Kylie posted to her Facebook account.

And, here are some pics I took with our Sony NEX5N from our front door.

And, to explain a bit better, here is a google 'borrow.'

Inside the room - wow! Lots of clean lines, white and the most amazing detail of the windows.

Yes, that is a window. But look closer.....

The shape is created with off-form concrete. Ive NEVER seen anything like it!

As much as all we wanted to do was sleep, we decided to go to sleep normal time locally. So, grabbed a bottle of water and off sightseeing we went.

Adventures

We decided to catch the metro. Awesome adventure. While we are on the train, she said 'what's that dripping on your foot?' It was water. It must be dripping from the ceiling. No, it's dripping from our bag. Annoying! Wait a second, isn't that the same bag that our camera is in? Our Sony NEX5N? Yes, it is.

We madly dried it off and waited a while before giving it a go. Nothing. Dried a bit more, waited a bit more. Nothing. Waited a bit longer.....NOTHING. So, wherever you are, can we have a minutes silence for our dear trusted companion/camera - the Sony NEX5n. Funny story - we hadnt even taken one photo using it after leaving the hotel.

Weird aspect of this story ..... while we were packing, Kylie was looking in a drawer and found our old digital camera. She said 'Remember this?' and of course I did. It was a trusty camera and we only stopped using it because the Sony camera was so awesome. Inexplicably, I suggested 'We should take this camera with us.' So, we did. And, as a result of this - we still have a camera to use on this trip.

Here is whats even weirder .... before we left, I made sure everything was charged and we had the chargers packed. Turns out, I didn't pack the charger for the Sony NEX5n. So, it would have been useless anyway without the charger.

Where was I ..... thats right, on the tram. Just reaslised that our camera got wet. So, we arrived in town and went to La Rambla. Its so ..... Eurpoean. Such an awesome area. We are in Spain, so what did we have for dinner? Sangria and Paella.

So, since we are in Spain..... Almost as good as yours @carolinaaherrera72

A photo posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 20, 2016 at 8:17pm PDT

And, then - as the title of this post suggests .... the never ending day ends in sleep. Apparently, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was snoring....

Gaudi Architectural Appreciation Day

When we were flying, Kylie was expressing to me how awesome it will be to sleep in on Saturday. Hmmmm - did she say Saturday? And, sleeping-in? Yeah - sorry Kylie, not going to happen. 'Did you forget that we are going on a tour on Saturday?' I asked her. I considered not reminding her that the tour I booked had a meeting time of 7:45 am.

I set the alarm at 6 and we made it. It wasnt really a stretch either. Here are some pics from the day;

I forget the architect of this buildings name. He was a contemporary of Gaudi. This was such a beautiful, beautiful building.

We checked into a new hotel tonight. The guy that checked us in saw that we lived in Melbourne. He used to live in Melbourne and loved Melbs so much that he gave us an upgrade. Gracias!

Onto the Norwegian Epic tomorrow. Wow! Cant wait for that......

It's happening!!!

2016-05-19T20:25:00.001+10:00

Finally, the day has arrived!!!!

We fly out tonight on Emirates to Dubai and onward to Barcelona.

I broke the news to Kylie that I've booked a tour on Saturday, which starts at 7am. She wasn't happy to find out about the early start. We will be seeing some Gaudi architecture along with the amazing Parc Guell. I can't wait to share some pics with you.

So, unless I have wifi in Dubai, I'll see you in....

BARCELONA!!

2016 - A European Odyssey!

2016-05-10T15:26:00.000+10:00

So peeps - its happening again!
We set off soon - cant believe this is happening again!

Of course this trip is thanks to my amazing wife Kylie - she works very hard and has achieved this trip as an incentive through her work (thanks Stampin' Up!). I'm not complaining - free trips are awesome!!!

Over the course of four weeks (or so) we will be doing a Mediterranean cruise on the Norwegian Epic, visiting Paris and London. The last few months have been a flurry of activity so we're not quite ready to go.....but I'm sure it will work out over the next week or so.

The Norwegian Epic

The cruise has three stops in Italy, two in France and then back to Barcelona.

Paris - CANT WAIT!!!

Cruise begins in Barcelona, home of the most Gaudi projects

London

So, if you dont want to receive these emails, just unsubscribe.

Thanks so much and have an AWESOME day!

WE DID IT! We snorkeled at Hanauma Bay!!!!!

2015-06-12T12:30:00.000+10:00

I spent a while in the last post talking about how we were going to get to Hanauma Bay and the decision was that we were going to take a taxi and it was going to cost $30-$40. So, we walked down to the street and found a taxi. We told the driver where we were going and his smile went from ear to ear. Hmmmmmmm...... So, I thought I would asked how much the fare would be. He said "Close to $50." Add a tip and this was going to be an EXPENSIVE expedition. We haggled for a moment and there was not going to be any letup. So, we got out of the cab, unaware of how we were going to get there. We thought that we would walk the streets looking for shuttle buses but it was 6:15am and there was not much movement on the streets. We conferred for a moment ..... I was tired, Kylie was tired ...... it was a moment of weakness ...... we walked past a taxi and said 'Take us to Hanauma Bay.' He also smiled from ear to ear.....

We got there. We knew that we didn't have to watch the video because we had already watched it a few days before. But, what was THE COOLEST was because we got there so early, we got in FOR FREE!!!! There was hardly anyone there, so everything worked out as planned (well, almost everything).

One thing that wasn't planned was the snorkel. The snorkel isnt really suitable for my enormous nose.

But, we did great! And, we saw some amazing stuff.

But, first, lets take a selfie.....

All of these pics were taken using the waterproof cover in this earlier blog post.

In a few hours, the beach is packed. We came at a great time.

It was so cool to have fish just swim past you like this.

When we watched the video the few days before, it had this song that they had written which was very powerful in message. Why do I say its powerful? Well, if you are singing the song for the next few hours, I think they got their message across.

Here are a few more pics....

Because we woke up so early, we were REALLY tired. Like, really really tired. So, I lay down on my new towel (purchased at the ABC Store) and slept. Then, Kylie saw me sleeping on the beach, so she also lay down on her towel (also purchased at the ABC Store) and slept. I think we were out of it for about an hour.

We were not going to use our snorkels again. So, we approached someone at the sign for snorkel hire. It followed the same pattern;

Person walks up to hire place excited about snorkelling
Person reads sign
Person realizes that it will cost them $20 each to hire
Person is disappointed
Person realizes that there is no other option
Person pays $20

So, Kylie hovered around at the hire place and people watched (something we both love doing - and, yes, its different to stalking). She sees a couple perform steps 1-4. Then she approaches them and says 'Would you like these?' They were VERY excited!

One thing I forgot to mention was that to get down to the beach, there is this path which is fine on the way down. But, on the way up ...... hmmmm ...... not so much. So, we dragged ourselves up the path. We were NOT going to pay $50 for a taxi fare. So, we asked where the public bus is caught from. We followed the path, not knowing when it was going to come, where it would take us or how much the fare would be (given the link on trip advisor was so out of date). So, we saw the sign for the bus stop, we walked towards it and within 20 seconds, the bus arrived. It would take us right into Waikiki. It was $2.50 each. It was SOOOOO easy. Oh well, we know for next time.....

So, next on the agenda was going to the Waikele Premium Outlet centre. We had heard that this was good. Kylie usually isn't really interested in shopping, but I am. I get it from my dad. Those of you that know my dad ...... you understand. His philosophy is 'Why buy one when you can buy thirteen?' I'm not that bad.

Its about an hour from the centre of town. There was no way that we were going to catch a taxi (we learned our lesson that morning). When you are walking in downtown Waikiki, you get handed flyers; one flyer is to buy guns (yes, real guns) and the other one is for a $10 transfer to the Waikele Outlets. We had taken one a few days before, we knew where the pickup point was, so we headed in that direction and bought tickets. The bus arrived and it was a converted American school bus which Im spewing that I didnt get a picture.

Had a great time at the shops! Kylie bought a handbag that she has wanted for ages (on sale of course). I was happy because my fave shop is Tommy Hilfiger. But, in Australia, its prohibitively expensive. At the outlets, its extremely affordable. So, I was happy.

One thing we were looking for in Hawaii was our favourite confectionery - Peanut Butter M&Ms. Our friends were in Hawaii in November and brought back a 1kg bag for us. We love them! Have you tried them? You will love them too!!!! Every ABC store, we would look for them. Some of them had the small packs, some of them didnt have any. While we were at the premium outlets, there was another section which had normal shops, including Walmart. So, we figured we could get some from there. None! For some reason, there is a shortage of Peanut Butter M&Ms. Incidentally, this other section of the Mall had my new favourite store called Old Navy.

We went to where the bus was supposed to pick us up - we ran because we were running late. There was this HUGE line to get on the bus and there wasnt any room on the bus for us. Fortunately, there was a mini-bus for overflow passengers, which was also quickly filling up. The attendant said 'Two seats left at the back.' This was my seat.

Yes, that is a dining chair. And, this happened everytime we went around the corner....

I survived. And, I have a story to tell.

I told you that ABC Stores have everything.

See ..... its true.

Thanks for reading!

So long Sheraton Waikiki.......

2015-06-10T22:45:00.001+10:00

Sadly, we left our beautiful accommodations at Sheraton Waikiki. Stampin' Up! generously provided us with five nights accommodation. But, we were staying on in Hawaii, so we had made additional accommodation arrangements. Have you tried AirBnB before? We have stayed in properties sourced on AirBnB in Brisbane, New York (twice), upstate New York (whilst visiting Patterson and Walkill and this has been my favourite place thus far) and now Hawaii. We were put onto AirBnB through Travis and Annette who stayed in accomodation sourced through AirBnB across Europe. Why is it so great? You are living among locals. You are not staying amongts the thousands of visitors. You go to the local stores. You are often staying in peoples places - and often with Kitchens (not that we have ever used them). And, the best part is the price! Give it a shot!

Anyway, we had to check out by 12. And, we were going to the meeting at 1:30 (Sunday). So, we dressed for the meeting and hung out in the lobby of my fave hotel just down the street (Moana Surfrider).

This picture doesn't do it justice! It is an amazing OLD building. Believe it or not, it was built in 1901. Here is a link to the Wiki if you are interested in learning more about it. When I first walked past, it looked to me that it was a new building built in the old style. It is termed as 'Hawaiian Gothic' style. But, then to find out that it was almost 100 years old - I was just staggered!!! It has a classical style to it. If we are ever in town again, I'd love to stay here (Kylie - Hint! Hint!)

Its obviously undergone a number of renovations and restorations. But, I was happy to note that the building the $50 million restoration in 1989 restored the building to its 1901 appearance.

Something that we saw quite alot was this;

I think while we were sitting in the lobby, there was three or four Japanese weddings that appeared to take photos. And, over our stay in Waikiki, we saw Japanese weddings every time we went out of our accommodation. Kylie speaks Japanese 'skoshi' (a little) and it always floors people when she says 'yoi itchi nitchi oh sagoshi kuracye' (it means 'Have a nice day' politely). I'm not sure what the fascination is - but the Japanese getting married are not locals. And, we didn't meet any of them that spoke English. So, there must be a roaring trade in Japan selling Western style weddings.

It has this awesome Banyan tree in the rear planted in 1904. Here is a panorama I found showing how magnificent the tree is.

The time came and we went to the meeting with the local Waikiki congregation. It is an amazing experience - we went to the meeting twice here in Waikiki and we felt at home. Anyone can walk in and feel at home; I knew the format of the meeting, I know the article that will be studied. It makes me warm and fuzzy thinking about it....

Interesting story - my new bestie (from Instagram nickhawaii) was not at the meeting as he was involved in a convention planning meeting (it was tied in to a meeting given to all involved in convention planning across North America). So, Nick texted me and told me that he saw me on a convention video. My friend Greg (from Vancouver) was tied in to the same meeting and told me that he saw me on a convention video. So, unless its my doppelganger, I guess Im on a convention video! News to me - but, how cool? You all know how camera shy I am.......NOT!

So, after the meeting, Kylie just casually said to me 'Lets go back to Hanauma Bay tomorrow.' Well ..... ok then. But, my proviso was;

We had to be there when it opens
We were going to Waikele Premium Outlets (shopping) in the afternoon.

She was OK with both of those provisos which surprised me (particularly the one about getting up early). When we got back to our accommodation, we lazed around. I was playing my game at the moment and when I looked across at Kylie, she had fallen asleep. Not just napping, but asleep! Poor thing must have been tired. So, I woke her up. lol!

'Why did you wake me up?' She asked.

'Well, 1. Im hungry and 2. We need to get organized for snorkelling' I replied.

'Let me wake up slowly.......' she replied and about an hour later, she was awake.

So, we went down and looked for something to eat. Didn't know what we felt like. Every restaurant we went past, we'd look at the menu and nothing we saw really appealed to us. We even considered McDonalds, but turned that down. They have some weird localised options of the menu at McDonalds, involving spam of course.

So, like every time we left our accommodation, we ended up at ABC Store.

This is my FAVE store in Hawaii - it should be because its almost on every block. You think Im joking?

Just to give you an idea of scale - to walk from one end of this map to the other will take about 25 minutes. So, as you can see - the ABC store is on every block - literally!

Aside from being everywhere, whats so good about it? It sells EVERYTHING! At the front, it has sunscreen, towels and other touristy things. But, it has EVERYTHING in the store - check out the description;

"We carry everything from daily needs, beach needs, groceries, fine wines & spirits, drugs & cosmetics, gifts, souvenirs, local apparel ~ add fresh gourmet deli sandwiches, crisp salads, island inspired entrees from our Island Deli division."

Added to this, its quite reasonably priced.

So, back to the story ......since we were going Snorkelling the day after, we bought snorkeling gear from ABC store for $12 for both of us (it is $20 to hire at the bay EACH) so we were totally impressed with our bargain. And, since we hadn't found anything to eat on our travels that evening, while we were there, we looked at what we could find to eat. By this stage, I was just over it and I ended up buying a pack of Salt and Vinegar Chips for dinner (I think Kylie ended up with a salad for dinner).

I'd googled how we were going to get to the bay first thing. Since we had a local sim card, I put my Googling skills to good use. We knew we had to be there when the place opened because we didn't want to miss out again. We had learned from locals that even if the carpark is full, they still allow the local bus and taxi's to get through.

The most helpful post on trip advisor was this one (note the date). We had heard that most tour operators arrive at the park by 8am, and bring the crowds. Everyone we spoke to told us that the crowds 'kick-up sand' and make it more difficult to see the coral and the fish. According to that link, there was a public bus which cost $2, but it didn't get there until 9am and the cost of a taxi was $30-$40. It was alot in comparison, but we absolutely were not going to miss out again or be put off by the crowds. And, we reasoned 'We didn't pay for flights, and most of the accommodation.' It was decided - we would catch a taxi there.

I'm loving Hawaii!!!

2015-06-02T12:10:00.003+10:00

I'm loving being in a place where the weather doesn't change.

Today - this is what I did (and, by today, I mean May 16) .....

There was nothing planned from Stampin' Up! for the 'Plus 1.' So, I took advantage of this and spent as MUCH time here in the infinity pool.

A few days before this, we went out to Diamond Head (shown in this photo). According to Wiki;

"Diamond Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu and known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi, most likely from lae 'browridge, promontory' plus ʻahi 'tuna' because the shape of the ridgeline resembles the shape of a tuna's dorsal fin. Its English name was given by British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook calcite crystals on the adjacent beach for diamonds.^"

I looked that up because I thought that the mountain was supposed to look like a diamond, but I didnt think that it did.

I could easily transport myself back to this place now. Its FREEEEEEEZING today here in Melbourne.

Id love to take credit for these pictures, but I have to thank Google for these.

Everytime we went down there, the view was interrupted by the hundreds of people (including me).

And, finally, using the selfie stick, i took this picture from our balcony. And, yes, Im kidding.

That night, there was a Stampin' Up! dinner at the Battleship Missouri. This ship is docked within the naval station Peatl Harbor (yes, I spelled it that way on purpose). Aside from the 2001 film, it's been interesting to learn more about what happened here.

So, funny thing happened while we were waiting in line to get on the bus to get out to Pearl Harbour. As many of you know, I do not celebrate birthdays, including my own, which incidentally was that day. So, I heard a group of people a few people behind us in line starting to sing a particular song that is sung every 365 days. I thought to myself 'Who told them?' Apparently, the colour departed my face. I hadnt even remembered that I was born that day 38 years ago until lunch time. Turns out - it wasn't for me. But, it made lol!

Sorry about that.....

2015-05-27T10:05:00.000+10:00

Hi All!

Many of you receive these updates via email (as you had subscribed or been subscribed by me). I also receive these emails in my inbox.

The email received today inexplicably contains weird sized pictures, missing pictures and missing links and videos. Its inexplicable because the online version is fine.

So, if you wanted to see the post as it should appear, here is a link to the post.....

http://brunobertucci.blogspot.com.au/2015/05/did-i-forget-to-blog-wait-there-was.html

Thanks,

B

Did I forget to blog? Wait, there WAS more to the holiday....

2015-05-26T13:06:00.000+10:00

It must be annoying when the blog updates just stop ......... Like when your spouse stops talking mid sentence.....

I write the updates for two reasons; 1. To remember cool things that happened and 2. There is a feeling that people MIGHT be reading. You have no idea how excited it makes me feel when we return back to our normal life and people tell me that they enjoyed the blog posts. So, thanks for reading. And, thanks for letting me know that you have been reading. Enough about that....

One thing I forgot to tell you about the last blog post - I mentioned the following;
"That night, we went to the local Waikiki Congregation meeting. We carpooled with Brandon and Halina (also from Melbourne) whom we bumped into in the food court the night before."

Nice recap. I mentioned that we carpooled. But, did I mention what car we carpooled in?

This is Kylie and I in the backseat of the car with the 'ragtop down so my hair can blow?'

We were so excited. Our friends Brandon and Halina had hired what Halina termed a 'midlife crisis for the day.'

This was a pic we took after the meeting.

Where were we? Oh, I remember. So, as you might be aware, we are home. We dragged our camera (Sony Nex5n) with us on this holiday. But, never once did the camera leave my bag. We both took our iPhones and took aweome pics. I bought a $16 waterproof case (almost like a ziploc bag) and it was awesome! Took pics underwater, in the pool and no water damage. Funny thing about this $16 case is that on the last trip we did, I bought a waterproof case from the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in NY and spent more than $100 ...... and it wasnt waterproof.

This is similar to the case that I bought.

So, the last blog post, I ended with "So, then and there, we planned what us four Aussies were going to do the next day. And, let me tell you - it was a spectacular day!" Spectacular? Let me tell you all about it.....

We four Aussies were in search of adventure. We planned to go to Hanauma Bay, famous for the beach and snorkelling. But, first, lets take a selfie (or a groupie) - note the disdain on the face of Brandon (who incidentally is a photographer)

We excitedly drove towards Hanauma Bay. Siri told us that the entry was just at the top of the small hill. But, we were greeted with this sign;

We knew that this might be a possibility. But, we really didnt plan on it happening. There are 300 parking spaces and all 300 were taken by the time we arrived. We were totes disappointed. But, we kept on driving and planned on going somewhere cool that we would find along the way and planned to return later in the day. First stop was Lanai Lookout. We stopped in the carpark, still dejected about missing out on snorkelling - we hadnt even noticed the majestic shoreline. We got out of the car to explore.

We watched these people swimming - the water looks still in the photograph, but it was treacherous. Those people were almost smashed against the rocks a few too many times.

We continued our drive along the coast to a lookout called Halona Blowhole.

Id love to say that this was my photo, but the spray was nowhere near this impressive. Thanks Google.

Like almost everywhere in Hawaii, there was always a few hundred other tourists.

Time to move on to the next spot - but first, lets take a selfie. I used the selfie-stick for this picture, which caused a few eyerolls.

We kept driving along the coast as we heard that there was a lighthouse with an awesome beach close-by. We found both of them.

This beach that you can see at the foot of the mountains was where we swam. It was, quite literally, the nicest beach I have even swam at.

Here is a pic I took of the lighthouse with the selfie stick.

So, if you are ever in Hawaii, the name of the beach is Makapuu Beach. It was awesome. Here are some pics/video I took there (yes, I was using my new waterproof case).

The water was crystal clear. The waves were awesome yet still wiped me out a number of times. The water droplet on the case makes Kylie look angelic.

Love this place Thanks @nickhawaii

A video posted by ब्रूनो (@mynameisbrunob) on May 15, 2015 at 3:08pm PDT

After spending a few hours at this awesome beach, we stopped in a town for lunch. But, before we did, we sampled 'Shaved Ice' - otherwise known as a chunky slurpee.

Turns out, Barack Obama comes to this shaved ice place when he is in town.

We worked our way back to Hanauma Bay. The carpark was open again. We were VERY happy! We went through - we were even happier because after a certain time, you no longer have to pay to gain access to the beach. We had to watch a 9 minute video, which basically said 'Dont step on the coral.' We got down to the beach and they were no longer hiring our snorkel gear. And, the hire fee was ridiculous, so we probably wouldn't have hired them anyway.

Again, we were so close, and yet so far. No snorkeling for us that day! But, we did get to see the awesome view....

Home again, jiggety-jig. Man, were we tired!

Waikiki and beyond.....

2015-05-15T08:59:00.001+10:00

I don't often take pictures of toilet signs - but I loved this sign so it's gotta be the main picture for this blog post.

Sorry it's been a few days..... I'm in Hawaii. Places to go, people to meet.... Including a Polynesian cultural centre. Here are a few pics from the show at the centre.....

We had a nice time. One thing about Hawaii is how much it caters for Japanese tourists - restaurants, stores and hotels. We love it! There is this awesome store we first visited in Kyoto called Lawson's - there just happens to be one in our hotel here in Hawaii. How can u describe it? It's like a 7-11, but with way, way, way more interesting stuff. So, I was looking around and I found this;

Here is a description;

Obvious question - what is the Ume fruit? Good question....

Kylie tried it first and said 'You will love this' while trying to keep a straight face. The verdict - The first sip was a little eyeball splitting. But, then - I loved it! Further to our love of all things Japanese, we had Okonomiyaki (basically, savory pancake). Amazingly cooked right in front of us on a grille with nothing more than what's shown in the pic below;

What an amazing treat!!! And, NOTHING LIKE the Okomnomiyaki I get from the food court at Werribee Plaza.

So, this hotel is huge! It continues to amaze me how many people we see coming and going. There are 32 levels with a total of 1636 rooms (thanks Wiki). I went to front desk yesterday, I overheard them saying that the hotel is at full capacity. But, is still branded to welcome the Stampin' Up! Achievers.

This entry area constantly is filled with people waiting for buses or tours, looking at the shops, meeting people ..... Such a melting pot of nationalities too.

We went on a trolley to Diamond Head. Here is a pic I took with my selfie stick;

Its a volcano or something like that (I wasn't listening to the tour guide). The view from there (as well as the view along the way) was amazing. The trolley is basically an open air bus with seats that face outwards.

Here are some pics we took;

So, as we were driving back into town, Kylie made use of the opportunity and started pinning....

It was too good to miss out on that pic....

That night, we went to the local Waikiki Congregation meeting. We carpooled with Brandon and Halina (also from Melbourne) whom we bumped into in the food court the night before. We also met Monica and Adam (who live about 25 minutes from us) at the meeting. It's a small Kingdom Hall with an older population. But, the singing was something I won't forget. I met one of my longtime Instagram friends nick_hawaii. Nick and DeAnna came to Melbourne for the convention. The meeting is at 7, so we grabbed a bite to eat afterwards.

Nick and DeAnna were super-helpful to us and gave us some awesome local tips about places to go. So, then and there, we planned what us four Aussies were going to do the next day. And, let me tell you - it was a spectacular day!

Keep Calm and ...... Visit Waikiki

2015-05-13T17:31:00.001+10:00

CChecked into the hotel - Sheraton Waikiki.

Wow! Just wow!

For a hotel that's older than me - it still looks pretty good.

We got a 'pillow gift' from Stampin' Up! It was a pair of Maui Jim sunglasses ..... Each. Admittedly, I'd never heard of them. But, after a quick google, was very happy. We selected and picked them up later that night.

Look out for some pics with our new glasses.

This is the view from our balcony.

No filter! And, yes, I used my selfie stick.

So, if you have been to Hawaii, you would know that there is ALOT of stuff for Japanese tourists. Including this .....

It's shaved ice. It was oishi. It was coconut and mango flavored. And, I'm going back and having another one soon.

Another weird thing about Hawaii is a fascination with Spam. It's EVERYWHERE! It even comes in different flavours. Whatever flavour it is - it's still gross!

We went into a shop and saw this;

It's a mould so that you can make sushi the perfect size of a spam tin. Hilarious!

Further to yesterday's post, I'm still tired, so I'd better be off. But, before I go, here is a pic of the outdoor dinner SU put on for us. It was delicious.

Mahalo for reading!!

Aloha Hawaii!

2015-05-12T16:24:00.001+10:00

So, we're here!

It's weird - we left Monday night. And, having crossed the date line and the equator, we arrived Monday 11am. Felt like I went for a ride in the Delorean.

After a very tight connection in Sydney (which we didn't think was enough to time, but we were assured it was ok), we made it onto the flight. If you have done an international connection in Sydney - seamless is not the way you describe it. The international and domestic airports are accessible to each other via a bus. We checked into our international flight in Melbourne, and we didn't have to collect our bags until the final destination. But, we had to clear customs in Sydney. Anyway, we touched down in Sydney and made our way out to the bus. Got the at 7:28 and the 7:30 bus had already left. For some weird reason, the bus between the international and domestic shuttle ; a) Is not free (but it's ok, we had vouchers) and b) is advertised that it only runs every 20 minutes.

I was not happy. But, the new me had taken over - I resolved to be a cool and relaxed traveller as opposed to the stressed and obsessive traveler I've been in the past. But, it didn't work so well.

Back to Melbourne for a sec - First of all, pre booked the parking online. What you usually do is pay with credit card online, then you use the same credit card to gain access to the carpark. Drove in, inserted the WRONG card. And, then parked. Then, drove out quickly and drove in again using the correct card. Took about 10 minutes extra. OK, that's sorted out now, park the car, wait for the bus to take us to the terminal, get on the bus. Think 'Where are our passports?' They were safely in the backpack. The backpack, however, was rather inconveniently in the back seat of the car in the long-term carpark. Get off bus, walk to car, walk back to shuttle bus, wait for bus, get on bus. And, think 'What is going on?' I think this 'calm, relaxed' traveller is not going to work?

Where were we? Oh, yes, arrived in Sydney and transferring from domestic to international terminal. Because we had missed the bus that wasn't due to have left by that time, we were going to catch a cab, but the cab line was enormous and literally not moving. And, then, inexplicably, the bus came and took us away.

Got there, cleared customs (I was about to take a pic for you, but I got in trouble getting my phone out in the customs hall. And, as soon as we cleared security, I heard our names being announced. I said 'Hey, Kylie - did you hear that?' Her response? 'Hear what?' Made me lol. I always make fun of Kylie because she doesn't tend to say read signs or listen to announcements. 'They just announced our name.' On the shuttle bus, we had just talked about going duty free shipping and how we always miss out because we are running late and we never know how much liquids we can carry and where we should buy it and if we can bring it back or blah blah blah. And, now, because our name was being announced, we were going to miss going duty free shipping again. So, we legged it to the gate - of course it was one of the furthest gates. And, when we got there - the plane wasn't even boarding. They just wanted to confirm that the boarding pass given to us in Melbourne was correct. I ran for that?

Our plane left at 9:30 and there were LOTS of kids around us. Apparently, nighttime flights are popular for families. But, surprisingly, they were very well behaved. And quiet. Must have had some Phenergen. But, doesn't mean that I slept - maybe I should have borrowed some Phenergen from the parents around me? With people snoring all around me, I started watching a movie and then fell asleep. I will have to find out what happens in the end. Then, I dozed off and woke up and Kylie was making cards on the tiny tray table. I wish I took a photo.

Touched down in Honolulu and again, I wanted to take a pic of the airport. Some of the areas of the airport look like they haven't changed since the Bradys were there. Our shuttle took us to our accommodation. For our first night, we found a place on AirBnb.

This is the building we are staying in on the 19th floor. So, dumped our bags and we were determined to stay awake until nighttime. So, we walked into Waikiki proper. This place is like Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast on Steroids. LOTS of Steroids. So many holiday apartments, so many tourists.

We were STARVING. So, we ended up here.

Have you eaten here before? You know why we were excited then,

I had a food coma afterwards.

We headed down the beach. There is a story about the last time I was this beach, but I'll save it for another day. Moments after Kylie took this pic, she reminded me how tired she was. And, despite our best efforts, at 4:30 in the afternoon, we ended up sleeping. Kylie will able to sleep until the morning. Me ..... Not so much. It's now almost 9pm and I'm wide awake blogging, trying not to make any noise, having a delicious beer I bought from the corner store.

Well, thanks for reading.

Really????? Its been almost a year since I blogged?

2015-05-11T00:29:00.003+10:00

So, apparently, its been almost a year since I last wrote a blog post. Ive been meaning to do it. But, it seems that I only tend to write them when we are on holidays.

Soooooo much has happened since the last post.

But, the reason Im writing this on is that we are off again. Where to?

Well, Ill give you a clue ..... the Brady Bunch went there.

And, believe it or not, we are staying at the same hotel that they stayed in (though, hopefully it has undergone a renovation or three since then).

This is what the hotel looked like back then (believe it or not, it was in 1972, which YES, was before I was born).

I can hear some of you Gen Y's ask 'Whats the Brady Bunch?' First of all, wash your mouth out. Secondly, Google it! How did this post become about the Brady Bunch? Lol! It must be late......

Anyway, if you havent guessed, we are off to Hawaii. Cant wait! Next post will be when we are there! Stay tuned......

If you arent already following me on Instagram, here is a link. If you want to search, my Insta handle is 'mynameisbrunob.'

Did we just visit Mexico?

2014-05-19T13:50:00.001+10:00

Its just amazing how quickly time flies - it seems like yesterday that I was madly rushing about at work trying to get things finished ready for me to be away from work for three weeks. Im back at work now (yes, we are back in Australia). But, there is still a weeks worth of activities to cover, so If you are still interested in reading about our trip, read on.....

Up early. Though, admittedly, not as early as planned. I set my iPhone to wake us up at 6:30 as we were due to meet the tour group at 7:30 to ready ourselves for the MASSIVE trip ahead of us for the day. At 7am, Kylie nudged me and said 'What time are we supposed to be meeting them?' I quickly jumped up and it took me a while to work out what had happened. You see, as we were cruising, and my phone was set to update time automatically, and since we were almost in Cozumel, Mexico, the time on my phone had automatically switched. Despite the local time, the time on the cruise ship never changes. So, we madly rushed around getting ready and made our way to the meeting point. Our day consisted of the following;

1. Arrive in Port, 2. 45 minute ferry ride to Playa del Carmen, 3. 3 hour bus ride to Chichen Itza 4. 2 hours touring the ruins and then the same in return. It was about a 10 hour day. I was most concerned about the 45-minute ferry ride. I dont suffer from motion sickness - but Kylie does. So, even though we had to meet at 7:30, I made us late and made sure that we found the Drammamine (for motion sickness).

So, we arrived at the ferry and boarded. Very quickly, I was happy I had made the time to find the tablets.

I knew that when they were walking around armed with water and 'barf-bags' that the journey ahead was going to be pretty bad - and it was! The woman seated directly in front of me was heaving. The young child across the aisle was sick. And, a gentleman on the other aisle wanted the entire ground floor to know that he was heaving. Very quickly, the odor filled the cabin (well, according to my super-sensitive smell it did). Kylie popped the tab as we were leaving and she put her head on my shoulder and didn't move. And, she was fine. Phew! Though, the girl standing behind us in line was sick as we were exiting to boat. When we arrived, someone else that was on the tour described where they were sitting as a 'Barf-a-rama!' I think you get the drift.....

First leg over successful - now all we had was a three-hour bus ride ahead. Even though, I was tired, I couldnt sleep on the bus. Kylie, on the other hand, had no problem.

This was taken at the start of our journey.

This was about ten minutes later. It might have had something to do with the Drammamine. lol. She wasnt happy to see that I took this photo and she wont be happy that you all have now seen this picture either. But, it was the first of many photos that we took of each other sleeping. Dont worry - she got payback. We received our tickets and were VERY excited!!!

We arrived at the same time as about seven other buses and all of the tour guides said; 'When you arrive, use the bagno (toilet).' At times like this, I appreciate being male. Using the bagno is an easy affair - no waiting required. The amenities at the ruins were like grand central station at peak hour. There was pushing and shoving, people cutting-in lines - it was nuts!!!! We had been given headsets and a meeting point. So, after the three hour bus ride and after using the bagno, we were ready! Ready for what? For this......

We have to admit, that we really knew nothing about Mayan culture and history. We had a very informative tour guide (Patrizio) who schooled us on all things Mayan.

One thing about Patrizio - he had a headset and we had headphones. And, he never turned off his microphone. So, we heard him breathing in our ear the whole time. And, it was not pretty to listen to.

Here are some of the pics we took that day;

People still speak the Maya language. In fact, according to Wikipedia, "In the Mexican states of Yucatán, some parts of Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas, and Quintana Roo, Maya remains many speakers' first language today, with approximately 800,000 to 1.2 million speakers." Interestingly, look what is also available in the Maya language;

It was stinking hot there. We were happy to get back on the Air Conditioned bus and the three hour bus ride home. And, then the 45-minute ferry ride home. And, then we were on-board and off again.

Our stateroom attendant like to leave us with Towel origami.

Thanks for reading.....

Cruise - you are ALLURE-abundant!

2014-05-15T13:44:00.001+10:00

This is part 2 of the cruise journey. The last night I wrote about in the last blog post was to the end of the first of 2 formal nights. Formal Night is a loose description. I wore a tie and thats about as formal as I got this night. But some people really go all out - particularly because of the photographers on board.

So, this post starts with our first port of call - Labadee, Haiti. When I first saw that the ship was stopping at Haiti, I wondered why on earth we would be stopping there, particularly because of the widespread devastation in the country caused by the earthquake. In our planning meetings (by our planning meetings, I mean when I was talking to Kylie about things that we would be doing), I flagged the idea that I didnt want to get off the ship in Haiti. However, in our discussions with Daniel and Louise from NSW who were travelling with Stampin' Up! also, my fears were allayed. You see, prior to travelling, they visited their doctor to see which shots they should receive to ensure their good health. According to their research, the Australian Government will not allow you back into the country if you have traveled to Haiti without a stamped certificate that you have had the Yellow Fever immunization. The EXCEPTION to this is if you have travelled to the port of Labadee. You see, in simple terms, the port of Labadee is owned and operated by the cruise company. It is a gated community. Food is available by showing your cruise card, free of charge - the food is prepared on board the ship and transferred to a buffet on shore and you are served by cruise staff, with their names tags and all. For all of the activities available, you pay with your cruise card. So, we (and by we, I mean I) felt comfortable going on shore.

It was stinking hot in Haiti, so we spent time relaxing by the beach. A lot of the cruisers went snorkeling. Kylie found some French Stampin' Up! ladies in the water and they talked about the restrictions placed on them by the French Government (sounds familiar, doesn't it?)

But, something that we did was the Zip Line. It was wholly over water and it was an amazing experience.

As we re-borded the ship, we were reminded of the enormous size of the ship. Being onboard, you forget that you are floating. To this point, we couldnt feel any indication that we were actually floating, so it was just we were in a hotel. But, we were not.

For those of you that know me well, know that on occasion, I enjoy doing Karaoke. And, I was very happy that the daily cruise diary had Karaoke available. I partook ..... several times. So much so that I had numerous randoms approach me knowing my name, but I insisted NO AUTOGRAPHS.

The next port of call (next day) was Falmouth, Jamaica. You would think we were in the Caribbean as it was stinking hot in Jamaica as well. Go figure. We had nothing planned in Jamaica and to be honest, I would have been happy to just stay on the Allure. From our balcony, we could see a small shopping strip at the Port.

Whenever you get off the ship, there is a photographer from the ship who takes your picture (which you can buy for a $25). So, we got our pic taken by him. Then we asked him 'Can you take one with our camera?' and to our suprise, he said YES!

very quickly, we discerned the 'hard sell' on the part of the locals. So, we learned that if we weren't interested in something, we wouldn't look at it, let alone touch it because if we did, the shop assistant would launch into a ten minute pitch to get us to buy it. I guess they are making a living so Im not complaining. But, it was annoying. There was a sign on one of the windows saying welcoming Stampin' Up! customers and that they could obtain a free gift. So, in we went to obtain. We were served by a nice Indian man who did his best job to sell some jewelry to Kylie. The stuff was nice, but she was not interested in buying anything. In fact, it always amazes me to see how many cruisers actually buy stuff from these shops - are there not jewelry shops where they live? Anyway, the guy was Indian, so in usual fashion, I asked him 'Kya aap Hindi samajte hai?' Like everyone, he was completely shocked to hear such 'perfect pronunciation' coming from a westie. Of course, he asked the usual questions 'Where are you learning? Why are you learning?' and we mentioned that we have many Indians in our area so we like to learn Hindi to be able to preach to them. Then, he mentioned that one of their employees was also a witness so we met him and had a nice chat with him and exchanged details.

One of the popular shore excursions on board was a trip to Dunn River Falls. But, we didn't want to spend $150 pp on it, so we thought we would investigate getting there ourselves. We found a taxi driver who would take us there for $100 return for the both of us so we were totally stoked. He told us where his car was so he directed us to where he would pick us up. The port area is behind a large fence and is a restricted area and there was no taxis in this area. On the other side of the fence, it was wild. People everywhere offering to drive us wherever we wanted, offering to sell us their goods - it was intense. But, wisely, he had warned us of this and said 'Dont talk to anyone.' I was more than happy to oblige. So, we waited a minute or two and this american guy with massive guns (any by guns, I mean muscles) came up behind us and excitedly said 'Hi Guys, where are you going?'

The place was a sensory overload so it took us a few minutes to register who it was. It was Rick and Courtney from the ship. We had met them a few nights earlier and they were memorable because he had just asked Courtney to marry her the night before we met them (she accepted).

They also were heading to the falls and they had found a driver that would take them for $120, so we agreed to go together and split the cost of the ride. We met our driver a few minutes later and he was driving a people-mover so we there was no issue with space to fit all four of us. And, to be honest (sorry Rick if you are reading this), I was more than happy to have someone the locals called 'Rambo' with us. It was about an hours drive. I wouldn't call the real Jamaica a developing country, but the areas that we drove through were small fishing villages and then a large resort would appear on the road. The disparity was very evident. The women were all immaculately dressed and everyone we saw always wore a smile. On the drive to the falls, I asked the taxi driver to point out any Kingdom Halls that we drove past. As it turns out, our taxi drivers wife is a lapsed witness. He called her while we were in the car and Kylie had a nice chat with her.

We got to the falls. Out the front of the falls, they were selling $10 water shoes. And, then we passed four or five shops that sold the shoes. I had seen pictures of what was in store, but Kylie hadnt. Kylie thought that we would go and see a waterfall, similar to (but not as impressive as) Niagara Falls. This is what we saw;

We were not dressed to climb the falls and I don't think either of us were in the mood to do it either. Im not sure what the Australian Government would think either as the immigration form asks the question 'Have you been in an open stream in the last 30 days?' Added to that, the falls don't meet the DDA either (there are no handrails, no tactile indicators) - lol. I crack myself up. Having said that, we saw about a thousand people climbing the falls and didn't see anyone slip and injure themselves, which surprised us.

After the falls, you literally have to run the gauntlet of sellers selling their wares. Like most shopping centres, the places is designed for you to get lost in. Its completely nuts. And, they are all selling the same things (wooden untreated items that would not get through customs in Australia, T-Shirts with 'Yah man' or a picture of Bob Marley, or something in in the colours of black, green, yellow and red). I heard one Australian say to them 'You know, you would sell a lot more if you just left people alone to look rather than pressuring them to buy.' Very true.

On the way back, we stopped at a restaurant for a local specialty 'Jerk Chicken.' While we are adventurous travelers, neither of us partook of the chicken. It was a beautiful setting.

What I did try was a Red Stripe.

It was probably the coldest beer I have ever tried. And, was DELICIOUS! And, thgood thing was that it was also served on board.

This place was also famous as a place that Christopher Columbus stopped in Jamaica (I didnt know he stopped there, and I am yet to to confirm this).

Back to boat, but, first, lets take a selfie....or two. Actually, its not called a selfie if there is more than one person, so its more like a groupie ...... or two.

Wait! One more thing! I saw someone drinking directly out of a coconut - gotta try that.

Wait a sec! Did you just pour rum into the coconut?

Next day was a sea day. One of the items on our Stampin' Up! itinerary was what is called a 'Service Project' - its a way that the company gives back to the community. This year, since we visited Haiti, the service project revolved around raising money to build houses in Haiti. The way that we did this was doing a walk-a-thon around the ship. I dont know how long one lap is but for every lap that we did, Stampin' Up would pay towards this cause. Here is a photo of the Stampin' Up! group, most of whom took part.

Here is a pic of Kylie and I during the walk

Nice vista? Enough was raised to build homes for three families whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake. It helped me because there is a lot of food on the ship and this counteracted the damage done by this. For the rest of the day, we spent our time in the pool. There was an area at the front of the ship that is exclusive to those over 16. It was fun to have kids around. But, when relaxing, it was fun to not have them around. Here is a pic I took with my iPhone using my brand new waterproof case.

I was gloating about how cool my new case is until someone pointed out that they could see some water underneath the case. Not happy Jan. So far, my phone is OK.

I had a turn at the surfrider simulator later in the day. It was a little disconcerting because in front of the surfrider pool, there is a audience stand and people inevitably laugh when people fall over. So, later in the day, everyone had gone for dinner, so I had a turn. This is me!

This night, it was the second formal evening. We had decided to go for dinner at 150 Central Park. This is one of the specialty restaurants on board (there is a $40 charge per person for a 6 course meal). It was amazing. This was our group of diners for the evening;

I was HANGRY that night (ie. so hungry it made me angry). Our dinner reservation was at 8:30 and it took ages for the waiter to explain the food, so it wasnt until the third course that I felt normal again. Kylie knows me well - she knows when I need food.

Next day, we had a BIG day ahead in Cozmel, Mexico. The flight is about to board so I best leave that for next time.....

Hope you enjoyed this post.