Koh Samui, Thailand, Spain & Italy: Feb 2019

Preface

In early 2018, my wife asked me what I wanted to do for my upcoming birthday, still some 10-11 months away. We decided on a function at Chaba Cabana in Koh Samui, Thailand followed by 4 weeks, 2 in Spain and 2 in Italy. Most of our friends have travelled with us to Samui for a relaxing holiday over the years, including my wifes' 50th there some years back.

This is that trip, I hope you enjoy.

January 28, 2019

Chaba Cabana, Koh Samui, Thailand

After leaving Sydney on Australia Day, we landed at Bangkok for the evening at the Airport Novotel. We've stayed there numerous times to break up our travels and refresh. Headed off to Koh Samui the next day on Bangkok Airways.

Nice to be ‘home’. Noppadol Kanyapila met us after Permsak 'Perm' Pikulngam collected us from the airport. Couple of drinks and greetings from our Chaba friends, a swim then PJ & Bernie strolled up. Pre dinner drinks at happy hour then a fantastic meal at the C Front Restaurant.

Early night & a sleeping tablet. Body still can’t work out if I’m in San Jose, Costa Rica, Sydney or Samui as we were awake at 4am reading then drinking tea by the beach at 6 waiting for the sun to come up. Oh well, if that’s all I’ve got to worry about, then life’s good!

Chaba renovations were complete, until last week when king tides washed away lawns, smashed the ocean wall & caused havoc again, but they’re busy renewing them again, you have to love the Thai’s. The tides are really high so there’s no early morning beach walks for Mandy at the moment.

29 January 2019

More friends arriving, Mark & Mel last night, Jenny & my sister Sally today. Magnificent sunrise this morning & a gathering for Happy Hour. Lovely breeze today taking the edge off. Nine more arriving tomorrow, taking over Chaba!

31 January 2019

10 years ago at the Cammeray Golf Club, on the putting green, with 110 of our closest friends (who could attend) Mandy & I finally got married. She keeps reminding me that she married a bloke in his 40's, by 5 hours no less. A wonderful weekend with my 50th the next day & sore heads for days. We've travelled to some amazing places since (and before) & heading off on another sojourn on Tuesday to Spain & Italy for February. So Happy 10th Anniversary by gorgeous wife, best buddy & travelling companion, I love you to death

1 February 2019

I had the most amazing birthday night, arranged by my gorgeous wife & Nop, at the Chaba Cabana Bar overlooking the ocean. The pre-dinner drinks & canapés were fantastic, food was amazing with salads, lobsters, lamb cutlets, curries, tamarind prawns & right in the middle of dinner, Nop decided to give me a fire dancing/juggling show as a birthday present, absolutely outstanding!!! 40 minutes of amazing skills.

The owner of Chaba, Khun Thanes, flew down from Bangkok with boxes of mangoes for our desert, sticky rice and mango, which had us all salivating. He presented me with the most beautiful gold china tea set, something I'll always cherish.

3 February 2019

We had a 'pool recovery party' held 2 days later on Sunday, takes an extra day now that we're a bit older (well that's our excuse) with, again, incredible food and service provided by Khun Nop, Khun Nippon and their outstanding staff. Never was a glass nor a plate empty.

Thanks to all for the most fantastic birthday, here's some pics courtesy of Seb Bird & Cabana engineer K. Sayaeth.

Off to Europe tomorrow night and Madrid for 5 days, looking forward to the next part of our trip, catching up with Scratch & Corrine in San Sebastian amongst plenty of other adventures.

4 February 2019

Last sunset at Chaba for a few months, absolutely gorgeous evening.

7 February 2019

It’s been a long 33 hours but finally settled in Madrid. The flight from Rome to Madrid, with Iberia Airlines was fantastic, great crew and was incredibly scenic; saw the Italian alps, then flew over Barcelona, the country side is really dry but the ruggedness of it is breathtaking, escarpments jag up everywhere, wind turbines adorn craggy ridge lines like inverted festoon lighting. Dammed lakes are very low. The snow capped Pyrenees was a great sight, even hills close to Madrid we’re touched with snow. The weather though is magnificent, but will get down to 1-2 overnight. Checked in at the Dear Hotel Madrid at the end of Calle Grand Via, in the theatre district, the Plaza Espana (park) across the road and the Plaza De Espana Metro station at the front door. Our room was small, 25 square metres, but fantastic with a view over the intersection out front & the park. Headed up to the rooftop bar to relax and unwind overlooking the Palace Real and sunset.

8 February 2019

4:30am central Madrid, we’re right in the guts of Madrid & the theatre area, but slightly quieter this time of day, cup of tea time; please adjust body clock!

I think I should’ve relaxed more in Samui or have I forgotten how hectic we get when we get going? Back at the hotel after a 14km walk, past the Palacio Real & followed our noses to the Museo Reina Sofia to fulfil one of my life’s dreams; to see Guernica, by Picasso. Simply my favourite painting ever & it didn’t disappoint. It is huge! It must be 8 metres wide by 4 metres high. Unfortunately no photos allowed in that section of the museum. Sketches and drawing studies also abound in the anteroom, which are fascinating in their own right.

I could’ve stayed for hours just looking at it, it’s that gobsmacking, even Mandy was impressed. Lots of Dali as well but never was into him quite as much, fully appreciate him though.

Headed onwards to the Parque del Retiro which was beautiful and vast, amazing gardens, great eateries and a lake filled with locals on various sorts of amphibian vehicles making the most of the unseasonal weather. The amazing Glass Palace in the Retiro Park is one of the finest examples of iron architecture in Madrid. Built in 1887 for the Philippines Exhibition, the same year, it was designed by Ricardo Velázquez Bosco & originally planned as a greenhouse to contain tropical plants, but today it housed an amazing exhibition of wire sculptures, the lightness of which was airily beautiful. Some lunch by the lake then a meandering walk back via lanes, streets & plazas taking in the sights of Madrid. Off to the roof now so Mandy can rehydrate. More adventures tomorrow after an early night.

9 February 2019

Up at 5:30am, getting better at sleeping, & a couple of hours of work before breakfast. Then out & about beating the sunrise but 0 degrees. We arrange a day trip via bus to Avila & Segovia. Spent a while walking through a 1st/2nd century enclosed Roman town in Avila, where Saint Teresa came from & started the Carmelite Order, quite amazing, especially for us non-religious folk. But the castle/town was incredible with plenty of time to take in a lot of it.

Then off to Segovia where there was an astounding 1st Century Roman aqueduct, built without mortar, that was 17kms long bringing water from the mountains to the town. Snow capped mountains, not far away, provided a stunning backdrop. Stopped in the main plaza leading to the aqueduct for a lovely lunch, avoiding the bus-designated restaurants & enabling us to spend more time checking out more of the town.

Also checked out (another) cathedral that reminder me of Notre Dame, the Catedral de Segovia, which was really quite stunning. Then the amazing Alcázar of Segovia, a castle dating from the 16th century that was used as the summer home for the king & queen. The tour inside is a must through the Throne Room and the Hall of Kings, where there’s an amazing gilded frieze beneath the ceiling depicting all of Spain’s rulers from the 7th-centruy Pelagius of Asturias to the 16th-century Juana la Loca.

If you have a few extra dollars you can climb the stone spiral stairway to the top for stunning views over Segovia and, to the south-east, the Guadarrama Mountains.

The country side is harsh, I must say. Rock abounds with some amazing natural cairns every now & then, stoic trees have hardened with every winter they’ve lived though marking them not the prettiest of objects. You have to wonder how the farmers make their land fertile, but they do.

The weather, though starting at 0 each day, has been spectacular, having to shed layer upon layer as the day progresses, but grateful we did have the layers to start with. It was only 10 degrees where we were today but the sun felt like 20. It’ll get cold just before sunset though.

Feet & lower legs are aching due to cobble stones & steps, but well worth it. No more touring days here, just lots of walking around Madrid for 2 more days.

It’s now 5pm, as I write this in the bus on the way back to Madrid, & the woman beside me is nearly gnashing my arm off and screaming “wine, give me wine”, thankfully not more than 45 minutes to go until we can be at the roof bar, watching another fabulous sunset with jets trying to play crosses & crosses with vapour trails (awesome song by The Tragically Hip too), & a great view of the Palace lit up.

10 February 2019

We managed to sleep in until 6:30am this morning, getting better. A fantastic breakfast on the 14th floor, I must say it was one of the best I've had. An incredible assortment of pastries, yoghurts, cereals, fruits, and then there's the La Carte Menu which offers around 18 specialities. Absolutely delicious!!

We then headed out & about, walked over to the Museo de Prado only to see the lengthy queue, fail!

Note to self: go back to the hotel tonight & book online for tomorrow!

We kept walking along the Paseo del Prado, turning onto Calle de Alcala taking in the sights. Unbeknownst to me, I apparently stopped a nasty situation when I, inadvertently, went to take a photo of the Puerta de Alcala & put myself between 2 Asian tourists & 3 frumpish local girls. I was told, via pointing, to move on, didn’t understand what she wanted until she told me to ‘f’ off & Mandy told me what was about to happen. They were about to attack the 2 Asian chaps.

Stopped for a cuppa at a gorgeous restaurant overlooking the Parque del Retiro then made our way through Salamanca, very ritzy area, beautiful architecture, then walked back to the hotel via the Plaza Mayor, which was as crowded as it was expensive. Made it to the roof bar for some very late lunch.

11 February 2019

Okay, it is FRIGGIN’ freezing.

Headed out, after breakfast, at 9 to walk to the Museo del Prado, with our tickets purchased online the night before. The queue was nowhere near as bad but building quickly as we entered. Guides flocked to us once inside, hassling to show us around; thank you but no I said as I'd worked out exactly what I wanted to see the evening before. My main aim were the Goya, el Greco & Velazquez works. Must say, I’ve never been a huge fan of 1700-1800’s art; way to much in religious overtones, or ego-driven portraits. BUT, the Goya Black Paintings, 1820-1823, were outstanding. So dark & brooding, absolutely gobsmacking!!!

Unfortunately you can’t take photos inside but I have the memories. I dragged Mandy around so quickly to see what I wanted that by the time we left, the Museo was getting really packed with visitors, great time to leave.

Then strolled back to the hotel via cafes, some shopping for Mandy, after she spoilt me again at the Desigual shop last night.

The temperature has been continually dropping since we left the Museo. Four layers, gloves & beanie & could’ve added a couple. The wind goes straight through you, especially walking along the Calle Grand Via which acts like a wind tunnel. But now sitting inside with the sun beaming through, thawing out.

Bit of work to do this arvo & I’d guess Mandy will have some wines & a siesta. Have to sort our bags as we’re on the train first thing in the morning to Bilbao.

12 February 20

Early start as we left Madrid & caught the train from Madrid Chamartin station, with a great railway track sculpture outside, across the harsh plateau & down into Bilbao on the north coast. Really nice trip on the train, and cheap. 5 hours & only 1-2 others in our carriage.

Got a bit of work done before we descended into the coastal area, the vegetation becoming more lush as we travelled through the passes and wound around the mountains. Checked in at the Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao & what's right outside our window, the Guggenheim, clever wife! The Gran Hotel is absolutely beautiful, though some renovation were being done while we were staying; no big deal, little noise so it was fine.

The rooftop dinning area for breakfast is fantastic as are the culinary delights. Complete with a large outdoor roof terrace, for we filthy smokers to enjoy a cigarette with our cup of tea while overlooking the amazing architecture of the Guggenheim.

I'd been to the Guggenheim twice before, in 1987 & 1988 when I drove & surfed across and down the north & west coasts of Spain.

My relationship with the Guggenheim is like that of my wife & marriages, third time lucky! Both times I never got to go inside, 1997 the Guggenheim had just opened and I went on a Monday, it was closed, and in 1998 the queue was about 600 meters long. So I kept driving.

But this time I had corresponded with the management and they assured me that I will get tomorrow.

We went for a big stroll through town & ended up across the river in the old town, beautiful buildings, but most were closed, bloody siestas! We did manage to pick up some glorious pastries & find a table outside the Catedral de Santiago (St. James Cathedral) which also was closed (hit the link and check out the inside, it's beautiful). Kept going around the Old Town imbibing the beautiful architecture before heading back towards our Hotel. Found a nice plaza and stopped for some refreshments while it rain for 30 minutes. Headed back to the lobby bar at the hotel. Some dinner in the Hotel Restaurant, which was lovely, then off to bed so I could be 1st in line the next morning.

13 February 2019

After a good night sleep we woke around 8am; very foggy outside at first adding to the allure of the Museo, the surround river and hills, but then it burnt off to a spectacular day.

Great breakfast on the rooftop terrace then I headed off to the Guggenheim while Mandy did some chores and relaxed on the bed.

12 pensioners in front of me didn't get in the way as I went to the Guggenheim Followers counter to purchase a ticket & straight up to the 3rd floor for the Van Gogh to Picasso exhibition. Only 1 other person in the space and had it to myself after the first 5 minutes. Some great works by Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Henri Rousseau, Vuillard and particularly Picasso (of course). Took a couple of photos before seeing the No Photos Sign, Ooops!

I managed nearly an hour before the hordes started to interrupt, so I headed out into the atrium to take some photos and stare into its incredible architecture.

The building is actually a structure that nearly overpowers the art that it houses, kind of like the MONA (the Museum of Old & New Art in Hobart, Tasmania in Australia) but way more overwhelming. It is simply STUNNING, no matter where you look it's just gobsmackingly beautiful. Frank Gehry at his finest.

Headed around and saw some Andy Warhol (One Hundred & Fifty Multicoloured Marilyns), Robert Rauschenbergs 'Barge', a stunning Jean-Michel Basquiat then outside for a cup of tea & break.

Back inside and through the Alberto Giacometti sculpture & the Richard Sierra 'Matter of Time' space, huge curved walls in spirals and waves.

On the way back I walked around the river side to take some more photos and was engulfed by fog from the pond, very eerie and stunning.

Picked up Mandy and headed out looking for lunch, after a decent walk along the river and found the Hotel Conde Duque, with a lovely sun-trapped courtyard, sunken right off the road & had a fabulous lunch sitting in the sun; magic chocolate cake with chocolate sauce in the middle & orange ice cream, to die for, well not yet!

14 February 2019

Great bus ride from Bilbao to San Sebastián, beautiful country, steep hills & gorgeous vistas wherever we look.

Mandy has spoilt me rotten all of this trip so now it’s my turn (think I might’ve forgotten to include breakfast, oh well, she can’t have everything). Checked into the Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra, at truly beautiful hotel & with an even better view!

The Hotel was built over 100 years ago and has seen first-hand the changes in the city of Donostia San Sebastián, from La Belle Epoque to nowadays.

The modern renovated glass elevator still retains a lot of it's old features as we made our to our ocean frontage room. Stunning with a large window overlooking the bay and beach-side areas. It is beautiful in every way.

We strolled the Paseo la Chocha (the beachfront promenade) until we found a great restaurant, the aptly named Café de La Concha, with an even better outdoor area with a view over the beach and water. Had a great lunch then a bit of work back to the hotel before meeting up with Scratch, Corrine & Lola in the foyer of the hotel. Awesome to see them all. Strolled around the old town before stopping into a few tapas bars for dinner & chatted for hours. Terrific evening!!

Back to the Hotel foyer bar for one more drink then off to bed.

15 February 2019

Breakfast overlooking the bay & about to head out for a wonder around San Sebastian.. It's a most beautiful city, architecture is awesome.

Continued around to the river, out around the point then back to our Hotel to meet the Archibald-Garcia's for a great long lunch at Restaurante La Rampa, of seafood, drinks and great views over the bay. Absolutely fantastic restaurant specialising in seafood & fresh fish. The Iraregui family has been offering the best fish and seafood in the area for four generations, and it shows with their produce and service. Sitting outside was great, the balmy 20 degrees had us stripping off layers of clothes and trying to stay out of the sun; incredible weather for this time of year, thanking our lucky stars.

We said our good-byes & promised that it wouldn't be so long between next drinks, then headed back to the Hotel de Londres y de Inglaterra where we assumed some lounge chairs in the beautiful front lounge, watched the world go by and Mandy had a nice Gin & Tonic.

16 February 2019

An early rise to get the train from San Sebastian to Barcelona, across the plateau, barren & uninviting with snow dappled mountains in the distance. The land & shrubbery is bleak, I have no idea how they grow anything. Got to the hotel, the Boutique Hostemplo Sagrada Familia, small but really nice & tucked in Passatge Gaiola, a small lane just around the corner from Sagrada Familia. There are a couple of these hotels in the same area, 2 of them just around the corner, in fact we were dropped by the taxi at one of them only to be told we had to walk to the right one. The staff were really friendly, the room modern & had all we needed with a Queen sized bed, nice bathroom and great little balcony overlooking other buildings exteriors; but what the heck, we were only sleeping there. The breakfast, served in the basement, was great; really all you needed for a days outings.

The Segrada Familia is truly gobsmacking structure, but we’ll check it out further another day when the crowds are less. Instead we decided to have a walk around it and the neighbouring streets and get our bearings. Local amenities were great around the hotel area; supermarkets, laundrettes and a plethora of restaurants for lunch and dinner options.

We opted for a restaurant overlooking the Catedral, the Diván Restaurant, a Tapas Bar & Restaurant diagonally opposite on Avinguda Gaudí 17, and just watched the world go by for an hour or so.

We headed back to the hotel via the Plaça de la Sagrada Família, a lovely park opposite it's namesake. An adjustment of clothes for the evening and headed out to peruse the ample selection of eateries, settling in at Jamon Y Vino for an outstanding, but enormous, Paella; absolutely superb.

17 February 2019

Out & about this morning & the allure of the Sagrada Familia was too overwhelming. Simply amazing inside that words can’t explain, so I won’t, see photos below. We purchased our tickets when walked around to the other side to enter, having only to wait a short while. The inside of the Catedral is simply stunning, the light touching the indoor 'trees' filtered through the most amazing stain-glass windows. We stood there simply in awe!! The curves, the spaces and the enormity of it is just jaw dropping. After wandering around inside we took the lift up the Passion Tower to incredible views.

Then 400 odd, somewhat scary steps down, but an incredible sight. Through the foyer and anterooms to egress near the ticket boxes. One of the most incredible experiences we've ever had.

We jumped a Hop-on Hop-off bus and had a look around the City then around via the beaches, however it took a short cut & didn’t take us where we wanted to end up at the beach. But we got the gist with massive cruisers moored everywhere, serious money. Back for lunch at Bar Shang Tung, a Chinese run eatery with amazing Paella, maybe better than the previous evenings & literally around the corner from our hotel. It's on the corner of Placa Sagrada Familia and Carrer de Sicilia in case you're nearby. Some wine, for Mandy, & soft drinks for me while sitting outside overlooking the Sagrada again.

I let Mandy at the hotel and headed out to my self-bought birthday present. A ticket to Barcelona versus Real Valladolid at the Camp Nou. I grabbed a taxi and was dropped right outside, the road into the stadium was blocked by Police however taxi's were permitted entry. Through the front gate then a walk around until I found my entry. Followed the signs and ended up at my seat, 13 rows from the front in line with the 18 yard box.

I think I was the only English speaking person in the area that I sat. Local supporters were clad in Barca colour and attire, the atmosphere was something you can only describe by actually being there. The Camp Nou is enormous with a capacity just short of 100,00 people. The Members area was well supported however considering the game with Real Valladolid, placed near the bottom of the table, the stand I was in was far less occupied. You couldn't see top deck, only the edges of it, but it looked SOOO FAR AWAY.

To be honest, the game wasn't the best I've ever seen; Messi was hacked down whenever the ball came near him and it took Gerard Pique to take the ball from his own 18 yard box, dribble it to the Barca goal area and win a penalty with Messi to score the only goal of the game. But the atmosphere was something to feel, quite unbelievable.

I decided to avoid the crowd upon exiting and left the game with 10 minutes still to play, made my way up the boulevard, a nice 10 minute walk, and hailed a taxi to drive me home. A fantastic night all round.

18 February 2019

After a great night at the Barca game, we actually had a sleep in. Breakfast then an hour or so of work. Headed out and saw this local taking his dog for a ride, check out the bike, it's a cracker, though not really sure if it actually was a Harley Davidson. Mitorcycles enthusiasts would know better than me.

Grabbed a cab, not remembering what day it was, Sunday, to the Parc Guell. Abject failure!!! Magnificent day and the rest of Barcelona was there as well. Got there at midday and the next admittance was 5:30pm!! Some photos of the outside might give you an idea.

It so reminded me of seeing the pantheon chapel at the Palacio de Sobrellano in Comillas, a town on the Cantabrian north coast of Spain. I totally stumbled upon it in 1998 when surfing nearby and was absolutely amazed (Unfortunately all my photos from that trip can't be opened, the early days of digital photo storage).

So we grabbed the bus into town and found a great restaurant, TXAPELA Tavern

Passeig de Gràcia, 58, don't ask me to pronounce it, but great tapas, across the road (diagonally) from Casa Batillo, which was covered with scaffold. We checked after lunch and it was open for visitors though.

Mandy's reclining on 'charge' on the bed, I've got a hideous cold, and I can hear the call of the wine, or whine of the wine, coming soon. She hasn't had a scotch since Thailand 😲. Sacrilege I hear you think, I'm stonkered too.

So tomorrow is a big day of running around.

19 February 2019

Out about 8:30am to the Casa Batllo, which is under restoration work, scaffold on the fascade & in some of the internal rooms, but still, what an amazing building, as the pictures show.

The curves are to die for, they're everywhere, and along with the incredible mosaic work, the building is absolutely astonishing.

NOTE: Make sure that you grab a commentary unit and meander through the various rooms gaining a fuller understanding of the building. We purchased a Gold Pass, so everything was included, beat the queue, commentary & even a visit to the salon replete with some incredible furniture designs.

Then onto La Pedrera, simply outstanding building and particularly the rooftop, covered with chimneys bizarrely shaped, arches highlighting the Sagrada Familia and the other major churches in Barcelona. Thanks so much to my sister, Sally, Mark, Jack, Aimee & Sam Richardson for the birthday tickets, it was awesome!!! I could have meandered through the building for hours. His work with catenary arches highlighted here and again in the Sagrada Familia.

Grabbed a cab to Parc Guell but the queue, again, was long with a 2 hour wait, so decided on lunch back near the hotel. Grabbed an outside table at Bar Shang Tung, the cracking little cafe, just around the corner from our hotel, where the Asian proprietors did up some fantastic tapas and then some paella, great meal. Mandy had a snooze while I drew some floor plans for a South American exhibition and currently repacking suitcases in preparation for Italy & Naples tomorrow.

20 February 2019

Early morning with some work then early breakfast & a taxi to the airport to fly to Rome, via Alitalia. I'm going to be critical now. We travel, mostly, Business Class (it takes a lot of saving), and the service we got on Alitalia was very ordinary to say the least. Business Class has around 12 seats and the staff were far more interested in serving the Alitalia crew sitting with us than looking after us, very poor service and won't fly with them again. Iberia Airlines were head and shoulders better!!! We had a rather interesting experience once landing in Rome, we were going to catch a train to the Central Station to connect with our Naples train, however my wife got chatting to a guy at the airport who could take us there for the same price, in his commuter van. We followed him across the road and through car parks and bends for around 10 minutes, me ever trepidatious about things like this, my wife just chatting away. But we ended up at his van, which was also full of Asian travellers, so we ended up sitting in the front bench seat with the driver. So we're off to Rome and his phone rings, a conversations ensues, and finishes. My wife asked if it was his wife asking to get some shopping on the way home; well that started it. They both chatted the entire way, the Asians having no idea what was going on, and he gave us the full tourist commentary about HIS city, the sites and his love thereof. A fantastic trip, he dropped us off first and we said our good-byes.

Arrived at the station and headed to the nearest cafe as the train was an hour away from departing. The fast train to Naples was obviously a commuter train, it was full however thinned out the further the trip progressed. I really love the train travel in Europe, it's so easy, relatively cheap and the vista's are fantastic, something you don't see from a plane.

We arrived at our hotel, Royal Continental Hotel Naples, just before sunset to the view below, truly stunning, Mandy really did pluck this one out of somewhere. Incredible views over to Capri & Mount Vesuvius, though clouded-in tonight.

The Royal Continental had the styling of a sixties hotel, from the foyer right up to our room; it was amazing. We'd booked a Junior Suite that had a lounge room then a hallway, filled with cupboards, connecting to the bathroom and then the bedroom. Three balconies, one off the lounge and two off the bedroom, being a corner suite. The bedroom was huge and the views were spectacular, the the photos below.

Opposite, across a small causeway, was the Castel dell'Ovo, surrounded by restaurants and bars, a fantastic spot for the evening. We walk across and found a classic little bar/restaurant, Al Barcadero Café tucked below the causeway, down some stairs, overlooking the small harbour more than suitable for a pre dinner drink. The Café dated back to 1890 when the owners great-grandfather rented their small boats to the most famous circles of Saint Lucia's port; four generations later and the Café is still going. Glorious night but you could feel the chill in the air.

21 February 2019

Up early this morning for some work, for both of us as Mandy had a phone interview with someone, then off to breakfast at the Hotel dinner room with views to Capri & Mount Vesuvius. I must say, if the younger members of the dining room staff weren't there, no-one would get any service; the older members just standing around doing nothing while the young ones were racing around providing great service.

A beautiful morning as we'd booked a bus tour to Pompeii. Being the first people collected, we got to see the sights around Naples before heading down the freeway for the 25 minute ride. We met our delightful, & incredibly knowledgeable guide, Andre, who took us through the ruins, simply stunning place & made even better via his insightful &, at times, funny commentary. We ambled through ancient amphitheatres, streets, structures and forums imbibing the details descriptions and explanations Andre exuded; it was incredibly interesting, and with humour.

It's really hard to believe that it was made in the 8th century BC, when it was a port; now the coast is 8 kilometres away. AD79 was a disastrous year with Vesuvius, hovering over us throughout and then swallowed by mist again, exploded throwing 4-7m of ash over Pompeii, effectively burying it. But the reclaimed ruins depict an amazing Roman civilisation.

Back in Naples for a waterfront pizza at Antonio & Antonio & wines in Mandy's case, & now she's having a nap before the Vino & Pastafest continues in about 2-3 hours. Being over the road from the sea is so special & such a treat; the hecticness of the main town area is lost to us. Instead it's quiet, restaurants, cafes & the Mediterranean Sea with pot buoys reminding me of a frenzy at any wave-less beach. Heaven.

22 February 2019

Both feeling pretty shattered today after racing around for the last 3 weeks, so decided to have a quiet day. Up late, breakfast late then across the road to the Castel dell'Ovo, opposite the hotel on the islet of Megaride.

Then walked along the seaside path & up some streets into a huge plaza, a school band playing 'I feel good' & 'Smoke on the water'.

Some back streets and lanes bought us to the top of the hill behind the hotel & trapped by 2 arguing dogs, a doberman and a rottweiler, not fun. After sitting out for 10 minutes while their respective owners separated then, we zigzaged down a really narrow lane, on the edge of the slope, overlooking the sea, tiny houses on every level & back to the hotel. Mandy went on 'charge' while I did some work, then out for a lovely dinner at one of the beach front 'tent' restaurants. Tomorrow the Amalfi Coast.

23 February 2019

Had a fantastic day tour today, unfortunately the third foggy day in a row, small group tour & my 'tinny' wife booked a tour with only 4 of us, how good. Two lovely young Swiss guys with us who had flown in for the Naples vs. Zurich Europa League game last night. Made our way to Sorrento, nice town but no beaches, there were actually but we stopped in the town, so none were visible. We had a lovely walk around part of the town through plazas, small lanes and made our way back to the pick-up point for a cup of tea at the adjacent cafe.

From there we headed to Positano & some seriously windy & high cliff roads. I reacquainted myself with my old nemesis, Vertigo! We haven’t danced for years & I still have 2 right feet. Fortuitously I was able to outwardly control the anxiety of its every torrid insurgency, though nauseating on the inside.

I have to muse about the Italian guy some hundreds of years ago who had the thought, why don’t we build a town here? Positano was gorgeous, windy streets & paths took us down to the black sand beach, only to remind us that the way back to the van was up.

On to lunch a bit further along the windy, very high road to a spectacular restaurant hanging under the La Conca Azzurra Hotel, off a cliff, the Mediteranean a couple of hundred metres below, positively normal situation. Good lunch, popular with the touring crowd too. The Grotta dello Smeraldo is right beside it, however time didn't permit us to have a look, but from web photos it look spectacular.

Back in the van & onto Amalfi, a gorgeous little town, black sand beaches & beautiful architecture.

Onto Ravello further up the mountains with breathtaking views north over the Amalfi Coast.

As we drove towards the village I noticed a weird shaped building below road level, so I couldn't get a good look at it; it seemed familiar by it's roof line though.

Ravello is perched some 1200 feet above the Amalfi Coast, far removed for the other more tourist driven towns along the way. Humphrey Bogart & Gina Lollobrigida (in her first English movie) starred in a movie made there in 1953 and the town has played host to numerous artist, actors & musicians over the years.

Then inland, up & down windy roads while looking down on Naples, waaayyyyyy below us.

Returned to the hotel & now sitting at our lovely little harbour bar, al Barcadero. It’s Friday night & it’s more crowded than usual, usually it’s just us, or 2-3 more. Anyway, finishing now, Kindle to be read, Florence tomorrow.

Oh, that's were I've seen the weirdly roofed building in Ravello before; on a British architecture show about amazing buildings, it was a concert hall. Probably used in conjunction with other venues and stages for the annual Ravello Festival.

24 February 2019

It's been all go here today, 6:30am breakfast & pack. The wind was absolutely howling offshore and the fog was blown out to sea, we could actually see Capri and Vesuvius, intermittently.

Then a luxurious train ride through Rome and onto Florence. Mandy really found the sale of the century this time; huge room with a balcony/verandah basically the same size overlooking the Fuime Arno, absolutely gorgeous!

Settled in, then went for an amble along the river, then through the streets. Unfortunately we picked the street with all the big name shops & price labels, so we ventured off into lanes, plazas, & other lanes.

Florence is truly a beautiful city, and a lot quieter than what we've previously had, through tomorrow remains to be seen if I'll say the same thing.

Made our way back to the Hotel, Lungarno A. Vespucci 50, for aperitifs. Might eat in tonight, a bit tired but some work to do first.

25 February 2019

A very quiet day so far, really nice breakfast at the Hotel & then a trip to the markets; a 10 minute retail frenzy ensued. Mandy was happy though with some bags & I was spoilt, again, with a beautiful buffalo long coat. Mandy calls it 'Bomber (our dog) with a yeast infection'. The feel of it anyway. And about the same cost to get his yeast infection fixed.

Great lunch at Bar La Borsa, in between Vasari Corridor and Piazza della Repubblica, amazing prawn & risotto for Mand's & a glorious fillet steak for yours truly, then made our way back to the river and home for an afternoons' reading in our suntrap.

It is quite chilly today with a strong wind and low temperatures. It's Sunday so the local are out en force, so we'll do some more exploring tomorrow when, hopefully, there will be less people around.

26 Fabruary 2019

Other than a 1/2 hour of rain in Bilbao & a temperature-plummeting afternoon in Madrid, we have been so incredibly lucky with the weather for a Spanish & Italian winter. Another glorious day today & currently a balmy 15 degrees.

Walked up to and over the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence, obviously the jewellery/watch centre of Florence. Then along Via Guicciardini trying to find an entry into Giardino Di Boboli. Made our way into the Istituto d’Arte but that dead ended. Couldn’t work it out so gave up.

Meandered our way back to collect our washing & down to the local laundromat with lunch next door at Bar Cremeria, awesome lunch!! Back to the hotel so Mandy could recharge then out for dinner along the river at Bistro 34r & some fantastic pasta, biggest tortellini with cream & ham sauce I’ve ever seen. Prosciutto & honey dew melon was also exceptional. Bloated & about to go to bed to sleep it off. Train to Rome tomorrow for 1 last night in Italy.

27 February 2019

Up early for a 10am train from Florence to Rome, lovely countryside along the way.

Checked in at Rome Times Hotel, stayed here nearly 3 years ago, lovely hotel not far from everything. In fact there are about 3-4 new ones of the same name nearby, done up old buildings into beautiful hotels. Found our way back to the Trevi fountain, we must’ve been directionally challenged last time as it was very easy. Stopped off for a snack at Caffe Trevi. Shoals of tourists have been replaced by tribes of school children.

Strolled around to the Pantheon, missed it last time, quite amazing as well as stunning. The floor is interesting as it slopes outwards from the centre, not sure that was a BC thing or later renovation AD.

Ambled on via side streets & the forum area to the hotel & now Mandy is whining, sorry, wining in the smoking atrium while Pearl Jam, Pumpkins & Jeff Buckley (so far) & Wilco & Radiohead (update) serenading me over the house music.

Around the corner for dinner at Diadema Restaurant Rione Monti, an old faithful. Only 1 table of 4 when we arrived, bit cool for outside so inside we went. Now the place has 1 vacant table, cracking business & great food & vino. New owner since our last visit but still great! Then bed as we’re flying back to Bangkok tomorrow, & heat & 3 days of not running around.

28 February 2019

We both set our alarms on our phones for 6:07am, however we didn't tell some ingrate in Australia who decided to ring more than an hour prior to that. I got up and started doing some work, went up to the roof for a ciggie, only to be annoyed by the lift, which has a perfect ring-tone of the first 3 notes of 'My,my,my (Delilah), so now the bloody song is in my head, and will be until we walk out the front door in an hours time.

Nice calm morning up there, sun just thinking about whether it would rise or not, no, back to bed it went. Back to the room to work out it wasn't just passed 6am, bugger, so kept on working until Mandy woke. Breakfast and now packing winter & summer suitcases accordingly, so we don't have to open one. Picked up in an hour & off to Bangkok for some rest & warmer climate.

4 HOUR LATER

Slight chaos (yeah, yeah) at Rome airport created by the Pakistan/India border fracas. Our flight has just been cancelled due to no flight paths available past the conflict area & too many other flights taking all the airspace. Bugger, looks like another night in Rome.

Well it seems as though we’ve been in a weird social experiment. Once the announcement was made that our flight was cancelled, the throng raced to the counter to ask questions & demand answers. The local Thai Airways representative was snowed but gave 2 announcements, first in Italian then English about what was to occur. We were being shuttled of to the Marriott, about 1/2 way between Rome & the airport, basically in butt@&$;! And it seemed like 1/2 European train station & 1/2 weird atrium with crass painting on the ceiling & walls.

We thought it was a conference-oriented hotel; it’s vast with 2 long wings & views to Rome with snow-capped mountains behind. Makes the Toyota office building next door look quite small.

But upon chatting with the girl in the foyer tobacco shop, she informed me that no one was ever there. She thought it was time for her to find a new career choice as she was bored senseless all day with no customers.

We checked in and dropped our bags at the room, though nice, were decoratively-challenging to stomach, what you must get if the decorator was asked to use as many finishes as he could. Great views though, then went downstairs for a mass lunch around banquet rounds served by buffet tables. Moved to the sundeck, another magnificent day of sunshine, and mused as to whether an Albanian reality-show host, that no-one knew (sure, we all know Albanian tv personalities) was about to bound from the bushes and start bouncing between groups of travellers asking ludicrous questions. I digest, wrong pills yesterday obviously.

An afternoon doing work drawings, me, & reading, Mandy, pretty much rounded out the day.

Up early with a call saying we were off today. Breakfast & onto the buses, onto the airport &, loved this, the reservation network was down. Took a while but got to the counter to find out that Mandy’s seat, which she’d only reserved in June, was given away. I cringed fearing Vesuvius was about to erupt. So, the manager later, then the hostess on board, removed the interloper & the world resumed normal axis gyration.

Found out we’re going north, over Mongolia & back down over China, so the flight will be a bit longer, who cares!

2 March 2019

Last post. Finally made it to Bangkok yesterday morning after a long flight over Mongolia & China. Left Mandy at the hotel for a couple of hours & took the Skytrain west, across the Chao Praya. I’d never been that way before so decided it was time. Got off when I felt I’d gone far enough, had a walk around, no farangs (foreigners) out there. Had a massage, grabbed a soft drink headed back to walk along the road to the Chatrium, with a hair cut along the way. I love going into barbers where no one speaks English see what I come out with. Always get a good job at a cheap (compared to Sydney) price. We headed to the pool for a few hours, a snack for a late lunch then back to the room where we both crashed out for 3-4 hours. Reading on the balcony rounded out the day before room service & an early night. I was up early on the balcony. I love this crazy city at the best of times, it’s total madness but the mornings I love more, when it’s just waking, getting going. The Chao Praya is devoid of the LED-encrusted party boats banging out tragic music that crowd it every evening, long-tail boats shuttling commuters home, the buildings atopped with their red flashing beacons. It’s calm, nearly serene, with the occasional tiny boat towing empty barges up river to be laden with goods.

The hotel ferries, either from a bygone era, or made to look as such, start to work travellers around. The city retains hints of days gone by when the likes of Conrad, Maugham, Coward, Michener, or other travellers, would have been frequenting the Oriental Hotel, perhaps in white linen suits supping the local delicacies. There is obviously many sides to this city, but I love it at this time of day. It’s going to be a lazy day, we’re seriously disappointed that we lost a day here due to the conflicts nearby India & Pakistan, but we know we’ll be back again soon, as we have been so many times.