The Grand Finale: Part 2: Italy!

ITALIA

First stop: VENEZIA!

A sinking city stretching over 117 small islands, connected by 455 bridges and 177 canals in a marshy lagoon, welcoming 50,000 tourists a day. Venice is without doubt the most unique & mysterious city I have ever visited.

Leaving the train station you are welcomed immediately by the Grand Canal and its multiple water taxis (or vaporettis)- as there are no cars in this city boats & your two legs are the only forms of transport. Although being a huge tourist trap & expensive city to live in, I fell in love with this romantic city from first sight: this is a big deal by the way as I have only ever said that twice in my life- the other city being Sevilla. I don't think my camera left my hand that first day- I just couldn't get over the beauty and uniqueness of the city with its picturesque and winding streets lined by canals. And don't forget to GET LOST IN VENICE! It's easy to do as most street signs seem to lead to different places than they claim and at times you will see arrows pointing in two directions for the same destination.

It's no wonder Shakespeare, Thomas Mann & Ezra Pound found this city so inspiring & enchanting that they based novels, plays and poetry on it; I too fell under its spell the moment I left the station.

The Gondoliers certainly take advantage of their famous city by charging 80 euros for a 30 minute ride in their velvet seated narrow boats with persian rugs. This city entrances you & you part with your money without a second thought; whether it be paying a Venetian to serenade you along the Grand Canal or purchasing that must-buy Venetian mask souvenir- this city eats your centimos! But its such a unique & enrapturing experience. Our Gondolier, Diego, was well informed on & proud of the history of his city and as Christen quizzed him he began to take us back in time whilst cruising down the narrow canals and shared some of his knowledge with us. Furthermore, he not only discounted our ride to 50 euros but allowed Christen and I to have a go at rowing the gondola- which is actually extremely difficult & requires a lot of skill. The oar was heavy and the tight, winding canals made maneuvering the Gondola almost impossible. However our reliable hero Diego held on to us and assured us that he wouldn't let go & guided us through it...how sweet of him ;p -He certainly enjoyed it when Christen was up there with him haha!

St Mark's Basilica and Piazza San Marco were fun places to hang out with a gelato or ice cold drink. NB: If you're looking to sit in the square's cafes you should come prepared to pay the steep prices. 20 euros for a slice of cake and a coffee wasn't really within my budget! It wasn't until the evening when we went for a late night stroll that we realized that it floods at night when the tide comes in!

Although we didn't have time to visit the glass blowing factory, (which is a huge part of their economy with hundreds of shops selling glass-made products) we DID shop for Venetian masks. The humorous thing was that, whilst chilling in Piazza San Marco one afternoon trying to cool down from the intense heat, Kate interviewed me (on camera) about my 'ideal' mask. My description was along the lines of: I want a woman with pert lips, you know, not one of those scary masks or joker mask things, and I would like her to have a hat with feathers, and some sort of music theme, perhaps musical notes on her cheeks or something...I think colour-wise I'd go for something neutral, like beige.

Well, 5 hours later I stumbled across 'the one': I think it fits the description quite well!

My only other souvenir was a beautiful painting by a student who attends the University of Venice. Hundreds of artists line the streets of Venice displaying their work. Christen too invested in some art work earlier that day, and finally I found an artist whose work was different, quite like Monet & so I committed & purchased this painting:

The colours and brushstrokes were what caught my eye and his flirtatious, Italian mannerisms persuaded me to part with my dinero. He actually seemed a little sad to see this particular painting go. He explained to me that it was one of his favorite & most unique works. I assured him I would take good care of it! After exchanging emails I paid him the discounted 30 euros, thanked him and waved goodbye only to hear him mutter 'Bella Bella!' as he watched us walk away & get lost in the crowd. Oh Italians!

Day 2 in Venice was a scorcher and so we took a boat over to Lido for the day. A beach island- we stayed out relaxing in the sun and swimming in the sea for a few hours before returning to the historic island feeling sun-kissed, tired from the intensity of the sun, with windswept, dry and salted hair from the Adriatic sea & skin smelling like a mezcla of sunscreen & sweat...sounds gross but we were left feeling so relaxed. One of those 'Life's so great' moments.

One amusing observation whilst at the beach for the day was the vast quantity of speedos that could be spotted: some more welcoming than others! Kate and I childishly sneaked some photos discreetly & compared. This guy won the award for 'best speedo of the day':

So our short but sweet trip to Venice was incredible & I would certainly recommend this breathtaking, but expensive destination to any lovers out there....just save up for it!

FIRENZE

Capital city of Tuscany and considered as the birthplace of Renaissance, it is home to Michelangelo's masterpiece 'David' & the Uffizi Gallery which displays two of my favorite works of art: Botticelli's 'La Primavera' (which has been displayed on my bedroom wall in Chester since my last visit to Florence at the age of 10) and 'The Birth of Venus'. The impressive & gothic Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, built by Filippo Brunelleschi and the Campanile offer the most incredible views of the city. However be warned that it's quite the climb with its 463 steps and steep ladders to the summit, not to mention the breathtaking (literally as Kate and I suffer terribly from vertigo!) view of the 'Ceiling Fresco' painted by Giorgio Vasari

& Frederico Zuccari depicting The Last Judgment.

I naughtily sneaked a photo of David and was scolded for it by the observer lady. Here it is:

The 5.17 meter (17 feet) marble statue portrays the Biblical hero David during a moment of contemplation. The most widely accepted interpretation is that the statue represents David immediately before his battle with Goliath, unlike previous depictions which portray the hero after his victory.

Firenze is a beautiful, medieval-style city boasting some of Europe's most important and impressive art and architecture from the Middle Ages & Renaissance. Its artistic, historic and cultural heritage are what make this city the art capital of Italy & gives it the name of 'la culla del Rinascimiento'. (Cradle of the Renaissance).

Walking across the Ponte Vecchio (and over the River Arno) with its numerous jewel shops that appear to be held up by stilts, took me back in time and I remember feeling as if I was in a King Arthur film set. The bridge also carries Vasari's elevated corridor (built in the 14th Century!!!) linking the Uffizi Gallery to the Medici palace.

Aside from doing all the cultural 'touristy' things, we also managed to meet some fun locals. Our first night brought us to a little Italian restaurant near our hostel. We showed up rather late (well, our body-clocks were still on Spanish dinner time-10pm and apparently the Italians eat a little earlier at 8ish) so we almost had the restaurant to ourselves. The only other table was a party of 10 middle-aged italian men, feasting and drinking leisurely, filling up their well fed bellies. After our main meal of tasty pasta we decided desert would break the budget and were about to ask for the bill when one of the italians from the other table offered us some champagne and cake! It was his friends birthday and so we joined in singing happy birthday to him and accepted with gratitude the slice of fruit cake & a glass of deliciousness. After a little chatting (half in Spanish and half in English, as half the table understood a little spanish and the other half enjoyed practicing their english on us), they wished us an enjoyable stay and went outside to smoke. We sat and waited for our bill and after 15 minutes we were informed that it had already been paid for by the birthday boy! What gentlemen- I mean, their 'feast' probably came to over 300 euros and so our skimpy 30 euro bill was little extra to add to theirs but still we were so grateful and actually found ourselves lost for words! A nice surprise & great first impression of Firenze!

The following evening we decided it was about time we went to a club! So we hit the streets and asked a group of guys where to go for a disco. One of them spoke good english and informed me that he was a cop and would be starting his shift in a couple of hours so had time to walk us to the best club in town- we weren't sure if we should trust him but he turned out to be genuine and once we arrived (having walked 20 minutes to get there)he wished us a good evening and left- two good encounters. The nightclub was a little different from Spanish clubs that we were used to; the music being much more techno & less latino, but we still had fun. The drinks turned out to be a rip-off though and so we danced the night away sober! We met some cool people in that club, especially one guy who told me he was from Verona and would be my Romeo for the night haha. He was sweet though and fun to talk to. He even ended up paying for our hotel room for the night as we lost Christina half way through the evening (carrying the one and only set of keys for our flat that we were in). What a gentleman!

Legend has it that by rubbing this boars nose & dropping in a coin you will return to the city one day.

PISA

Aside from Florence we also took a train to Pisa for the afternoon to take those typical tourist shots of the tower! Here is how ours turned out....

MONTEPULCIANO and Vino Noble!

One of the highlights of the trip as a whole was our day trip to Montepulciano- a small medieval Tuscan hilltop village in the middle of nowhere, 2 hours drive from Firenze, famous for its wine cellars & vineyards. We spontaneously rented a car for the day (manual Fiat panda- so I drove!) and took off with Jane, our Sat Nav, to the hills! Jane and our little panda got us safely to the town (although we were convinced Jane was a little tipsy as she often got confused, having us go round in circles at times!) and we spent a few hours wine & cheese tasting! I know, aren't we classy! The town is impossible to reach by public transport and so we were surprised to find it was rather touristy. Lunch there was probably the best meal i've ever had in my life! Delicious pasta, salad, wine, cheese and bread followed by chocolate mousse. I died and went to heaven. The surrounding countryside and general 'oldy-worldy' atmosphere of the place was enchanting.

Twilight fans: Did you know that part of the New Moon film was shot in this small village in the heart of Tuscany? It's easy to see why it was chosen, with its old churches, piazzas, hills and medieval narrow streets that made driving even our tiny panda a challenge. Although the book was actually set in the nearby town of Volterra (which caters for tourists by offering Twilight tours!), the producers of the movie felt that Montepulciano was a bit more scenic.

Before leaving we all purchased a bottle of wine and some cheese to take home as memories. On the way home we stopped off in Siena to see the main piazza and cathedral.

Well that basically sums up our time in Tuscany. Our final stop was Naples... needless to say all the locals in Florence tried to persuade us not to go... we soon found out why. However we kept our spirits high as we had had an incredible adventure up until this point and so having the last couple of days not go quite to plan didn't bother us too much... I'll explain shall I?

NAPOLI

Capital of Campania with a population of about 1 million people and home of the Mafia, Pizza and Vespas, this historic but dirty & busy city was our 'base' for the final part of our trip. From our hostel by the port we were able to take trains to both the historic and fascinating town Pompeii and exotic town Sorrento along the Amalfi Coast.

Naples is one of the oldest cities in the world and offers both Greek and Roman influence. I'm sure the city can be fun and fascinating, but our experience was far from both of those things. We arrived from beautiful Firenze at the main train station and entered what it said to be the dirtiest and most dodgy part of the city: Piazza Garibaldi. We were welcomed by the stench of garbage, piles and piles of rubbish, bins overflowing with waste, hundreds of black people searching through the piles of clothes left on the side of the roads with blue bin bags, and a bus station that had no ticket office. We enquired about this and finally worked out that we had to buy a ticket at the tobacconist or news-agents. This ticket said 'valid for 90 minutes'. What we then had to do was validate it on the bus itself and then we were good to go. However when there are crowds of people on the bus, feeling nauseous from the stench of dozens of stinking men and trying hard to breathe, squashed against the bodies of strangers, nearly fainting, the last thing you think about is trying to get across to the other side of the bus to validate your ticket. So the ticket guy found me and made me cough up a 37 euro 'penalty'. I wasn't best pleased and found the man intimidating, arrogant and probably not legit. Not the best start to our stay in Naples and later (when stuck on the broken down train to Sorrento in 35 degree heat) Kate took a video of Christen and I summing up our opinions and experience of the city: enjoy. Oh, and when I mention a guy called Carlos, I'm referring to the guy on the bus who gave me the penalty!

(Video soon to be uploaded)

Pompeii

Pompeii was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days in 79 AD. The eruption buried Pompeii under 4 to 6 meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery around 1592. Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, this UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy, with approximately 2,500,000 visitors every year.

It was a fantastic and fascinating day trip; experiencing the italian driving, was breathtaking & exhilarating haha! The sun beat down on us that day with no mercy and so walking around the ruins was quite tiring but well worth it. Although there was less to see than I'd thought there would be, I still found some fun stuff like the 'Casa del Fauno' (House of the Faun) where Kate & I began singing our hearts out to the Spanish 2010 Eurovision song 'Algo pequenito..wooooh, algo chiquitito wooooh!' You can probably make the link for yourselves!

This house was built in the second century BC and was said to be one of the largest residences in the Roman Republic, housing many grand pieces of art. Although the 79AD volcanic eruption was devastating, the layers of ash covering the tow

n conserved some art like the mosaic and Latin message 'HAVE' found at the entrance; a greeting for both departing and arriving.

The next day we visited the Archeological museum in Naples to see the majority of the artifacts and the 'original' señor pequenito, otherwise known as the dancing faun ;p

A day trip to Capri was cancelled as we were told the touristy island was a rip-off, although beautiful, and the 40 euros crossing by ferry again wasn't in our budget! So we headed off to the 'beach' of Naples. This entailed a 30 minute bus ride, a 20

minute walk and a lot of steps! When we finally arrived the sun had practically set! We did chill out for a bit on the tiny beach and amused ourselves by observing all the italians. We felt rather out of place to be honest as it was clear we were the only guiris there! Again we delighted in all the hilarious speedos out and about and this one guy who was playing catch in the water- he was very into sweeping his hair off his face in the wind like he was in a movie and flicking it up. We had a good giggle watching him!

Sorrento 'beach'.

Our last day was getting up at 4.30am to catch a taxi to the train station. We arrived a few hours later at Rome Ciampino airport, tired and emotional. We had to say goodbye. Christen & Kate were catching the Ryan-air flight to Ibiza and I, well, I was heading back to scouse land. So it was an emotional moment as I had to join a different line. The queuing took forever and so when we finally got through security we had to run to catch our flights, meaning the goodbyes were stolen from us. Maybe this was for the better though. A hug and promise to keep in touch parted me from two of the most incredible friends I've ever had in my life. It was only when I sat at my gate that I felt tears rolling down my face. An end of an era, the most amazing year of my life and it had now officially come to an end. Again, I was reminded of the nature of my life; TRANSIENT.

And so this marks the end of my 'ERASMUS PLACEMENT IN SPAIN SEPT09-JUNE10 BLOG'. It's been quite the year for me; i've experienced new cultures, traditions, languages, people and been blessed with the opportunity to do lots of traveling. This is the first time i've ever kept a blog and so I hope you enjoyed reading it! Hopefully i've inspired you to take a year out and live in Spain or abroad? If I had the choice I would be back there next year! So thank you to all my readers out there and who knows, maybe i'll feel inspired to continue with another blog sometime. As for now, I'm trying to learn some french before heading back to St Andrews University in September to continue with my 5 year MA Spanish-French degree. After that I think I'm going to pursue my passion of teaching...vamos a ver!!!

I guess all that is left to say is BESOS Y ABRAZOS, CUIDADOS Y ADIOOOOOOS! x0x0

The Grand finale! Part 1: Austria

Vienna, Salzburg, Venice, Florence, Naples.... 17 days, overnight trains, Ryan-air, Germanwings, kaputt buses & trains, drunken sailors, the Opera, Sound of Music tour, Mozart's Balls, Pizza, pasta, gelato galore, sauerkraut, poisonous dumplings, Montepulciano wine tour, Pisa, Michelangelo, Uffizi, Botticelli, museums, palaces, Klimt, Pompeii, garbage in Naples, dancing, discos, beaches, gondolas, heat, sweat, tan, laughter, tears, friendship....goodbyes....the end of an era.

My european adventure with Christen and Kate was immense. Throughout the 3 weeks we travelled miles; covering three countries/6 cities, all the while soaking up what each country had to offer; its smells, cuisines, history, landscape, traditions and of course- its people- probably the most interesting & entertaining category for me! Read on to hear about my whirlwind & final adventure of my Erasmus Year Abroad.

The journey begins... our trip from Valverde del Camino to Vienna... and of course our final experience and frustrations with the Spanish public transportation!

Valverde: Monday 31st May 2010, 21:45.

As mentioned in my previous blog, some of our closest, and dearest friends came to wave us off at the bus stop in our wee town. A little concerned that the one and only overnight bus to Madrid wouldn't show up was in the backs of all our minds. However, it did and we were quite relieved and impressed! Tears were shed and final embraces exchanged; these were the faces that had been a part of our daily lives in Valverde and were soon to become friends 'a la distancia'... although for me this wasn't out of the ordinary: my life summed up into one word is exactly that situation: TRANSIENT. However this doesn't make me alien and exempt from emotion...my heart SANK when we drove out of the town and began our 10 hour journey to the countries capital. As we sat quietly, reflecting on our year it dawned on me that we had really been blessed and that we would miss our friends in the small countryside town. So we sat on that bus, starring into the distance, watching as we travelled further into the hills of La Sierra and further away from what had been our life for 8 months. Tears were slowly building in our eyes. I looked up at the stars in the beautiful clear night sky and thanked God for bringing these people into my life and felt comforted as I remembered that He is unchanging- constant, absolute, eternal- and my sadness left me and was replaced by peace. I smiled as I was reminded that this chapter may be over but God has a plan for me, for Kate and for Christen and my spirits lifted.

(Psalm 139)

	¿Adónde me iré de tu espiritu? ¿Y adónde huiré de tu presencia? Si subiere á los cielos, allí estás tú: Y si en abismo hiciere mi estrado, he aquí allí tú estás.
	Si tomare las alas del alba, Y habitare en el extremo de la mar,
	Aun allí me guiará tu mano, Y me asirá tu diestra

I think we all fell into a light sleep as the bus cruised down the freeway at a slow but steady speed. At 5am I woke up to feel the coach swerve and jerk. My (by then) deep sleep left me immediately and I sat up wondering what had happened; it wasn't long before I realized that the driver was falling asleep at the wheel. I began fake coughing loudly. Kate and Christen were sleeping alongside me and I wondered whether I should wake them to tell them but before I could the bus suddenly let off a banging noise and the driver (now awake) began cursing in Spanish and pulled over in the middle of the freeway. We came to a complete stop and trucks began to hurtle past us, rocking our coach in the process. Everybody woke up, confused why the engine had shut off and I found it amusing to watch their expressions as our situation suddenly became clear to them: We were without fuel in the middle of the freeway at 5am, still 2 hours from Madrid. Wonderful. And so the adventure began. A replacement bus eventually arrived (spanish time-i.e 2 hours later) causing many people to miss flights and connections. We however were not in

a hurry- our flight was not until midday.

Vienna

On arrival in Vienna (after two flights with a connection in Germany) we lugged our bags over to the 'DO STEP INN' youth hostel (excellent hostel btw!), showered and hit a local pub to enjoy the delights of the Austrian cuisine: Oh yes- Sauerkraut, potatoes and meat...lots of meat. And so began my week of stomach pains. My body, having spent a year eating Mediterranean style: fresh, light and healthy, had quite the shock when I began trying to shovel heaps of meat and potatoes into it and left me feeling bloated, heavy and tire

d after each meal! Austria is a beautiful and fascinating country but the food was not for me. Infact, a day later I went down with food poisoning. I would love to make up some extravagant story as to what the culprit was...but it was a simple dumpling with undercooked red meat inside that left me chucking up for 12 hours the next day. Nice. And here is me in the process of poisoning my body (unbeknown to me at the time!)...

On a positive note, we visited the Leopold museum in Vienna's Museum Quarter and I found myself quickly becoming enticed by the work of Gustav Klimt and even Schiele whose work I would never display in my house (As mentioned in a previous blog, I tend to go for the pretty, colourful, happy images) but was captivating and I did buy some postcards! I also invested in an oversized poster of "Der Kuss" (The Kiss) that I then had to lug around trains, planes and rucksacks for 2 weeks but it was worth the bother! Here are some examples of these two famous Austrian's work:

The Opera.

One cannot visit Vienna without a trip to the Opera whether or not one appreciates or enjoys the experience it is without doubt imperative. Now, we assumed we would have quite the formal and 'pijo' experience at an opera- how we were wrong!

Outside the doors of the Vienna State Opera House were many men trying to sell discounted tickets for seats for that nights performance. These tickets ranged from 40-150 euros depending on the proximity to the stage. As we were on tight student or general travelling budgets, we decided to check out the 'standing seats' option (which I found quite a confusing concept as surely there is no seat if one has to stand?) So we joined what seemed to be a line forming outside the building. It was 4pm in the afternoon, a little chilly and we weren't really sure what we were doing. After 15 minutes of people watching we gathered that we were in the right place- not only were there a few tourists like ourselves in the line but many locals standing by themselves looking alert and as if they knew what they were doing (unlike us). This gave me confidence that 1. We were waiting in a random line in the chilly wind for a reason. And 2. We were not likely going to get ripped off.

After 'un ratito' the line (that had remained stationary) started to move quickly inside the building. It was at this point that I realized this wasn't a polite, wait your turn, get in line kind of queuing system; this was an every man for himself, stand your ground, elbows out and all kind of line. As we entered the building, desperately trying to keep our positions in the queue, the doors suddenly closed behind us boxing the 60 people or so that had shuffled in like sheep into a room. The locals began to pull out fold down chairs from their bags, made themselves comfy and opened up the daily newspaper. It dawned on us that we were about to be in this room for quite some time. So we made ourselves comfy, or as comfy as we could on the marble floor, and began to look through our photos from the trip so far.

THE SAILOR.

It wasn't long before we attracted some unwanted attention from an old, bearded, rather chubby man wearing a sailor hat. He began talking to us animatedly and pointing at the camera and then us. Despite not understanding a word of his Russian we understood that he wanted to take a photo of us. Not wanting to offend we gave him our camera and posed for a photo. However he couldn't seem to work out how to use the digital camera- a simple click of the top button would have been quite fine but even after pointing and demonstrating he still seemed confused by the piece of 21st Century technology. We were about to give up when he suddenly plonked himself in between Kate and myself and demanded that Christen took a photo of us! He was quite a character and seemed to find everything hilarious. By this time other people in the queue were starting to watch us and one Austrian woman was becoming increasingly impatient with the noise and drama that the Russian was making so we quickly put the camera away and tried to ignore him. This was quite impossible considering we were unable to move from our position in the line and he was making himself at home only inches away from us; opening his rucksack and pulling out all sorts of random items. After offering us shots of Schnapps, crackers, coffee, yoghurt and some undeciphable items, he looked confused and offended when we sternly replied "NIET" and finally became subdued, leaving us in peace. This is when we began our conversation with an old spanish man sat across from us on his chair. Christen and I sat for half an hour listening, completely mesmerized by his perfect Castillian and Asturian accent, as he explained the whole process of queuing for the stand up tickets and gave us advice on how to obtain the best 'non=seats' seats in the theatre! For 3 euros we were able to buy a ticket for the Opera! Incredible! So the old, but very wise man, became our master and we followed him like ducklings as doors began to open, people began to run up flights of stairs, through corridors, around corners, stopping at the top of every stairwell until we were given permission to continue up up up to the highest row. For such an old man he was quite sprightly; infact we girls found ourselves panting by the time we reached our 'non-seats seats' in the theatre. The idea is that the process works on a first-come-first-serve basis and once you find your 'spot' on the bar that pans across the final row in the theatre you simply tie a scarf around it which 'marks your territory'.

And so we acquired a fantastic position on the back row thanks to an old wise spaniard. :-)

The Opera itself (Eugene Onegin, by Tchaikovsky) was sung in Russian and consisted of a young girl falling in love with a slightly older man who rejects her. Later in his life he meets her and finds that she is married and wealthy. She has moved up the social ladder and is respected and admired for her beauty and status. Due to her now respectable position in society, the man declares his love for her, only to be rejected by her this time. Girl power ! Although opera is not my 'cuppa tea', I must say I totally enjoyed the story line and my slightly feminist 'power to the women' side came out passionately!

Another stop on the Vienna trip was at the Spanische Hofreitschule (Spanish Horse Riding School). Christen explained that the horses are very unique and agile creatures; the white stallions or Lipizzaner stallions were beautiful and despite having to run off to vomit every half hour like clockwork (this all happened on my food poisoning day!), I really enjoyed watching them practice.

We also took a day trip to Schönbrunn Palace: One of the most important cultural monuments in the country, since the 1960s it has been one of the major tourist attractions in Vienna. The palace and gardens illustrate the tastes, interests, and aspirations of successive Habsburg monarchs.

SALZBURG

Taking the train to Salzburg, the next stop on our journey, we were excited to see some of the scenery where Robert Wise's oscar winning 1965 production 'The Sound of Music' was filmed; such as Mondsee Cathedral, Mirabell Gardens, Nonnberg Abbey and the Conservatory where the classic "Sixteen going on Seventeen" featured (which is now kept in the grounds of Hellbrunn Palace). As we drove through the hills of Salzburg on the 'Sound of Music Tour Bus' I sang along merrily to "Do-Re-Mi, "My Favorite Things", "Edelweiss" and of course the opening song: "Sound of Music" because as we drove it became crystal clear why Salzburg was chosen as the film set: The Hills were really ALIVE! Mountain ranges climbing high, hills covering the landscape as far as the eye can see, lakes and rivers, small cute towns and farms. It was breathtaking. I'd never seen so many miles of unspoilt, green land. Our guide for the tour was Gary; an Austrian by birth but a resident of Florida, USA and quite a character! He had a fixed grin on his face and seemed to find his jokes hilarious- well at least somebody did! He certainly added to the whole experience and successfully entertained us on the 4 hour tour and to be honest, I secretly liked his cheesyness! The trip entailed a stop at the Von Trapp Family's house overlooking the lake where the famous scene in the canoe is filmed. We also stopped at Wolfgangsee (home of Mozart's mother and where he gets his name from) and after a half hour drive through the hills listening to the sound track, we arrived at Mondsee; famous for its cathedral where Maria marries the Captain. Gary informed us that this countryfied and pretty town is deserted for 364 days of the year, but today of all days was the annual marathon! So thousands of people were out running in the heat, draining liquids and the town smelt strongly of beer and bananas! (Yes, the Austrians like to rehydrate with beer!) Nevertheless it was a fun stop and a good way to end the tour. The girls and I also walked around Mirabell gardens and reenacted the song "Do-Re-Mi" by the famous fountain and steps.

Here are some photos from our Sound of Music Tour, including me proposing to Kate outside Mondsee Cathedral, eating Mozart's Balls, at the '16 going on 17' gazebo, the lovely ladies at the lake district, Leopold Palace and Mirabell Gardens:

Having seen the mountains from the comfort of the bus, we decided we wanted to climb every mountain and view the city from above....none of us had suitable hiking gear and so we took the Cable Car. I have NEVER been so scared! We were SO high up and all the way to the top, up the steep incline the Austrians in our cable car were crying out "Oh mein Gott! Oh mein Gott!' And yes, I was thinking along similar lines. The worse part was hitting the pile-ons and rocking from side to side screaming and holding on to each other! At the summit a chilly wind meant we dashed out, took some photos, and ran back inside again. The hills are certainly alive and blustery! Here is a video of us heading back to the safety of the ground:

Finally we visited Hellbrunn Palace and its impressive zoo. The palace was a baroque style summer day house built by the Archbishop and Prince of Salzburg in 1613. The 'Schloss' is also famous for its water gardens. Here is a quick overview of the impressive and magical palace: These games were conceived by Markus Sittikus, a man with a keen sense of humour, as a series of practical jokes to be performed on guests. Notable features include stone seats around a stone dining table through which a water conduit sprays water into the seat of the guests when the mechanism is activated. Other features are a mechanical, water-operated and music-playing theatre built in 1750 showing various professions at work, a grotto and a crown being pushed up and down by a jet of water, symbolising the rise and fall of power. At all of these games there is always a spot which is never wet: that where the Archbishop stood or sat, to which there is no water conduit and which is today occupied by the tour guide.

We certainly got a little wet! Sound of Music lovers: The gazebo/ pavillon where Lisel is 16 going on 17 is now in the grounds of Hellbrunn (see photo above). Unfortunately it is closed now because last year a 70 year old lady thought she was 16 again and started re-enacting the song by leaping over the benches, fell and broke her hip. Oops.

So Austria was a great start to our trip, however I think we had had our fill of Sauerkraut and Mozart's Balls by the end of the week and were all eager to get back to Mediterranean land.

Read on in my next blog (The Grand Finale: Part 2) to hear about our fantastic stay in Italy; including a day trip to the wineries of the beautiful rural Tuscan town of Montepulciano. Goodbye Sauerkraut, hello Gelato!

Just for a laugh:

Here is a funny looking guy we met at the zoo:

"Don't upset the camel, he's already got the hump!" hehe