Europe trip part 22

Wednesday 18 September

Today we went on a train to Pisa. On the train dad, mum, granny and I played Uno all the way there. Granny somehow won! The train took 1.30 hours to arrive at Pisa Centrale.

When we got out of the train station, we got a taxi and headed for the leaning tower which was built between 1174 and 1350. It leaned because the ground under the tower started to sink. The tower is also famous for the experiments that Galileo did to prove gravity. He did this by dropping balls from the top of the tower and seeing which ones hit the ground first. In the 1990’s the tower was closed as they had to straighten it up by 38cm in order to stabilize the leaning.

We then hopped on a horse and carriage ride for a trip around the city. It was a bit of a squash because we had to fit 5 people in. I was a bit grumpy but then I cheered up when we had Subway for lunch, plus I got another football top – a Ronaldo one this time which I have worn heaps already! We then headed home on the train, had a swim in the pool and watched “Coach Carter” after tea.

Europe trip part 21

Tuesday 17 September

Today we headed off on a ferry to 5 different regions of Cinque Terre. We travelled 1 hour south to see the last of the villages called Riomaggiore, then we turned around and sailed past Manarola and Corniglia before docking at the second village called Vernazza.

After getting off the boat we walked through the harbor which was jam packed with tourists! The buildings were very run down, most had plaster missing or crumbling which was sad to see – I think the humidity makes it difficult to maintain them.

We eventually found somewhere that offered something other than pizza and pasta - I had bacon and egg but the bacon was very burnt!

We then went up to a derelict castle where we took some nice photos of the beach and ocean. After an hour we went back on the ferry and sailed to Monterosso, the last village. Dad and I walked through a tunnel which lead to a big beach and I went swimming!

The current was so strong it pulled me towards the waves and… BOOM the wave hit me and exploded me upside down - it hurt, plus the water was very salty.

 We spent two hours in the sea then after dad and I got changed we treated ourselves to a nice gelato. I got caramel and chocolate which was delicious.

We then went back home and had dinner. I had a fabulous day.

Europe trip part 20

Monday 16th September

Today we left Donnini 3 days early because it was a nightmare! The house was like a cave as it had no proper lighting, just floor lamps, so it was very dark especially the lounge. The beds were very uncomfortable beds. As well, there was a barking dog annoying everyone all night long, crazy robot music and a baby crying all time – no sleep at all. Luckily, we were able to rearrange the following two bookings so that we could go to Cinque Terre early and stay a little longer.

On the way we stopped in Lucca and had a little walk around. We saw there was a massive wall surrounding the old part of the city, just like Arezzo. We stopped for lunch at a café and had a delicious pizza and then looked around the old walled city. It was hot so granny and granpa had to walk slowly.

After a couple of hours, we set off again for Sestri Levante which is on the Ligurian coast. This is close to the famous village attractions of Cinque Terre. Tonight, we had dinner at a restaurant with a view of the beach and watched the sunset.

Europe trip part 19

Sunday 15th September

Today we went for a 1.5 hour drive to Arezzo, a Tuscan hill town. After we parked, we walked up to the old part of the town and there were some beautiful old buildings. It was still surrounded by the original wall which was quite cool.

Arezzo was one of the cleanest places in Italy we have visited so far. They had very steep and narrow streets. We walked up a very steep street to get a nice gelato just for granpa. We had to tow granny up the hill! After lunch, we headed back to the car for a long drive home as we went the slow road back so we could see some nice towns etc.

We drove up a very windy road and climbed 1200 metres above sea level into a national park and saw lots of hikers walking through the nature around them. We saw people picking truffles and mushrooms, the roads were really windy and narrow and when we got down the other side there was a playground with swings and a slide.

When we got home Dad and I jumped in the pool and we had a nice dinner to end our day.

Europe trip part 18

Friday 13th September

Today we drove to Florence and the traffic was chaos! Florence is a famous city in Tuscany and millions of people visit each year. Today was incredibly busy and the pavements were packed with tourists.

After we finally found a carpark building, we took a tram into the middle of the city. We were heading for the world famous Duomo, which is the main catholic cathedral. We had lunch first then walked through some street markets where I eyed up a football top that I wanted. Then we walked through a piazza (square) and finally turned a corner to see an amazing sight – the Duomo was absolutely stunning The church was massive.

It had really cool detail, sculptures, paintings and colours. It had 3 big domes and a big bell tower with a viewing platform on top. It was a 450 step climb to the top. Dad saw a man who had done the climb and he looked really sweaty and tired. There was so many people waiting for tickets to then only queue to get into the church, that we decided to just enjoy the view from the outside.

We spent some time in the markets and Mum bought me a small football and football top of Mbappe's number and club so I was happy.

It was so hot (33 degrees) that we decided that a shady place for something to eat and drink would be good. Granny bought me a massive piece of cake! We then caught a taxi back to the car park and drove home again through the crazy traffic!

Once home it was time for a long swim to cool off and get ready for dinner. After that, Mum and I went for a nice walk up the hill behind the house we were staying in.

Europe trip part 17

Wednesday 11th September

Today we had our first chill day in three weeks! I caught up on a few days of my holiday diary then Dad and I went in to the pool to do catches with the handball and to have a few games of Marco Polo. We were in for over 2 hours.

After that, I came in and finished the rest of my holiday diary, then we went for a walk in the neighbourhood (called Lazio) where we are staying. We had yummy spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and strawberries for dessert. It was nice just to stop for a day and chill out. Mum started packing later on as we are heading to Tuscany tomorrow.

Thursday 12th September

Today we set of for Donnini which is in Tuscany. I was stuck in the middle seat between granny and granpa for two and a half hours. We stopped in Chiusi for a very posh lunch (we thought we were getting sandwiches!) I got spinach and ricotta dumplings in a sage butter, then I got a plate full of beef which had been cooked in a wood burning oven. It was a little bit smoky but delicious, to finish I shared a tasting plate of ice cream with mum. The one with olive oil and pepper was a little strange!

After another hour and a half, we reached Donnini. The gravel road up to the house was really bumpy and steep and caused mum to spin out! After we unpacked, dad and I had a long swim and a game of Marco Polo. After dinner we watched Cars 3 – this was the only time the TV worked for Netflix which was a bit weird!

Europe trip part 16

Tuesday 10th September

We set of back to the city on the metro to visit one of Rome’s other major attractions, the Colosseum. This was a venue where ancient gladiators fought each other and with wild animals. This was entertainment in ancient Rome! Gladiators were much like today’s boxers. They only fought 3 or 4 times a year, they trained very hard between matches and they were very popular. The venue was so well designed that most of it is still standing now and the capacity of 80,000 people it held could leave the stadium in 12 minutes.

We took the bus for some more sightseeing of the city and had some nice lunch. I had some good pizza (again).

It was time to head home and we had an adventure driving to the supermarket in the crazy traffic as the Romans don’t appear to follow proper road rules about staying in their lanes or letting other drivers in or out!! Mum cooked a lovely dinner, then we started watching a sad movie about the Mauthausen concentration camp. It was a bit grim but it was what we saw and learnt when we were there. I went to bed and slept for 12 hours!

Wednesday 11th September

Today we had our first chill day in three weeks! I caught up on a few days of my holiday diary then Dad and I went in to the pool to do catches with the handball and to have a few games of Marco Polo. We were in for over 2 hours.

After that, I came in and finished the rest of my holiday diary, then we went for a walk in the neighbourhood (called Lazio) where we are staying. We had yummy spaghetti and meatballs for dinner and strawberries for dessert. It was nice just to stop for a day and chill out. Mum started packing later on as we are heading to Tuscany tomorrow.

Europe trip part 15

Monday 9th September Today we went to see one of Rome’s highlights – The Sistine Chapel, which is in the Vatican City. This city state is inside Rome and is the home for the Pope and the Catholic church.

We had “skip the line tickets” so we quickly entered the Vatican museum - it was very busy! In the museum there were many things to see including beautiful sculptures, paintings and tapestries. I have never seen mum take so many photos! The ceilings in every room were magnificent – amazing how someone could paint the detail so beautifully.

We did an audio walking tour and learnt about the history of the church and the Popes. I didn’t know that at one time the papacy was based in France! There was a beautiful map room full of paintings of Italy all over the walls.

Inside the Sistine Chapel you weren’t allowed to take photos because it would damage the paintings. The ceiling of the chapel is famous for all the figures (over 300) painted by Michaelangelo, which took him nearly four years!

I also learnt that after a Pope dies, the cardinals come from all around the world to meet in the Chapel where they elect a new Pope. The new Pope has to get 67% of the votes (plus one). Once the Pope has been chosen, they burn some wood with special chemicals that make the smoke white, not black. Once the people outside see the white smoke they rush to Saint Peter’s square to see the new Pope who is introduced to the people.

After the Vatican museum, we walked into Saint Peter’s square where there was 2 fountains and the church was massive! To end the day, we had a yummy dinner at a restaurant not far from the Vatican. After that we had a crazy taxi ride across Rome back to the train station and then went home.

Europe trip part 14

Saturday 7th September

Today we drove to Lazio which is in Rome. We stopped at a little shopping mall and had lunch as well as getting a new tablet, because dad broke mine. We also went shopping in the supermarket, Carrefour, for food. When we got to the house we put all the shopping away then dad and I went into the pool. After we got out of the pool, granny and granpa flew in from Scotland and that was a happy ending to my day as I was pleased to see them.

Sunday 8th September Today we caught the metro from Laurentina and went into the city centre to look around. Our stop took us right in front of the Colosseum which was amazing. We bought tickets for the tour then we got lunch, I got a Margarita pizza which was nice. The café toilets were stinky and not very clean – this is quite common unfortunately.

After lunch we jumped on the hop on hop off bus and we got off at the Spanish steps. There are 174 steps that connect the Trinita dei Monti church at the top and the Piazza di Spagna at the bottom. We walked down them after taking photos at the top, which is one of the highest viewpoints in Rome.

Then we walked to the Trevi Fountain which was spectacular – it was covered mythical figures and wild horses. There were hundreds of people taking photos and following the tradition of throwing a coin in to ensure their return to Rome one day. I threw a coin in, over 3,000 euros get thrown in every day.

By this point we were all hot and bothered so we walked back to the bus stop which wasn’t easy to find and headed home.

Europe trip part 13

Thursday 5th September

After a tasty continental breakfast with Marcello we headed to Venice. We drove the slow route so we could see the little villages after 2 hours we drove in the car park building as you cannot drive in Venice.

This is due to there being no roads there! Once we got our car to the 10th floor we got the lift down and walked into the city centre.

 After a quick lunch we found the hop on hop of boat and went to the area of San Marco to look around there. There was an amazing church called St Marks and a beautiful Piazza San Marco which had beautiful buildings surrounding it.

We then went for a walk in Castello, another area of Venice. We walked beside lots of canals and over small bridges and through tight alleyways, packed with little shops and cafes with people eating and drinking. The gondolas were massive and really detailed with nice painting and decorations. They had comfortable cushions at the back to sit on. Our guide spoke really good English and he said that Vence is sinking, the water is rising and therefore most of the ground floors are not lived in as they can flood.

People who live there have boats as their cars. There are only 5 gondola factories left in Venice. The gondolas cost 30 – 80,000 Euros each and are made of 8 different types of wood. They last for 30 to 40 years! There are 118 islands that became joined with canals and bridges. There are also 120 churches and most of them are Catholic.

 Some parts of Venice are 2,000 years old! It also used to be it’s own country. We then went to Murano to watch the glass blowing demonstration which was cool. The guy made a horse and a flower vase. The furnace to make the glass was 1300 degrees Celsius! To finish our long but lovely day, we went to dinner and met a Bangaldeshi waiter who knew victims of the mosque shooting in Christchurch.

It is a small world! I got the same meal as at Marcello’s house and it was also very nice. Finally, we walked back to the car park via a few more alleyways and took some nice photos of Venice at sunset. We drove to our apartment in Mira, a suburb of Venice about 30 minutes from the city centre. The apartment was very nice, cool and clean. I slept very well!

Europe trip part 12

Wednesday 4th September

 After we packed the car, we looked around Ljubljana. We crossed the Ljubljana river then we went to the castle to learn about the history and some battles. I saw a suit of armor and then the more modern chainmail suits that protected the soldiers in the olden days. It must have been very heavy and uncomfortable to wear in battle!

The castle was restored through the effort of a local man who also helped rebuild lots of different castles in Slovenia. This is due to the owners removing the roof to avoid paying taxes a long time ago. We also walked into the St George’s chapel and discovered a man doing calligraphy so we got some book marks made for us with our names on it.

 We then walked down the hill and went into a market. We got a lovely lunch and set off to just across the border in Italy, where we stayed in a village called Aiella de Fruili with Marcello and his lovely wee dog Argo for one night. After we arrived I straight away cuddled Argo and dived into the pool I spent 2 hours in the pool jumping and diving about.

Then we went to a guitar recital from a local musician. He was really good. Afterwards, we went back to the house and had a yummy dinner - I had Ragu pasta, mum had tomato soup and dad had the same as me. We also had homemade bread, plus tomatoes and zuchinni from Marcello’s garden. Dad said that the tomatoes were lovely! And Marcello offered us a nice glass of white wine. We ate dinner Italian style - at 9:00pm!!!