Day 1 - Rome

We have all arrived safely to Rome. Marissa went with my parents to the airport in style...

They departed the day before Matthew and I and Olivia was just finishing off her Contiki tour in Europe. She was able to meet up with her sister and cousins at the airport in Paris...they continued onto Rome and headed to the apartment we've rented for this week.

Our nine hour flight to Amsterdam was good and Matthew and I enjoyed a sandwich and cold beer while waiting for our connecting flight to Rome...couple hours later we are here! 

Met our driver and we are off to meet the others...it is HOT here...so we chilled at the apartment before we headed out to dinner at the Campo de Fiori...not the best choice for dinner as they were super crowded and short wait staff...I was not that hungry, tired and feeling not great...not enough sleep on my flights but my bed was super comfy and we all had a great sleep

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Location:Via Giulia,Rome,Italy

Day Six - road trippin'

 Rise and shine, we are packed and leaving Sydney, today we start our road trip up the Gold Coast. For some of the group, they had little sleep and can barely walk...it hurts to sit...why, you ask??...well even though they've been warned that South of the Equator here in Australia the sun is VERY intense...so they thought they covered up well enough with sunscreen...but a few hours into it, they learned differently...and for those of them that didn't re-apply...well let's just say they are regretting that today!!! 

So here starts the 8 hour coach ride...we will make a stop to stretch our legs, have a bathroom break and a bite to eat every several hours or so...first stop though was the yummiest!

This spot off our route was a 'must stop' because of their pies! Sweet and Savory, so Matthew and I had some of both with a chocolate milk...super yummy!

I might have made a mistake when ordering and we ended up with a Beef and Mushroom pie, a Beef and Onion pie and Matthew wanted the Apple and Blueberry pie...so he devoured that and helped me sample the other two Savory ones...the crust was awesome, just sayin'

 

This is the first Koala I've seen so far...it's an art instalment in front of the McDonald's for our actual lunch stop...

We've reached Cobb's Harbour and are making our way through town, spotted the largest banana and some banana fields and sugar cane fields

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day Four - Sydney Sights

Always remember to click 'save'!!!

I've typed a complete summary of our fourth day and I didn't click save...so lets try this again!

It's raining this morning,  so we are quite happy to start our day on the coach with a tour of some more of Sydney's sights...

First up are the apartments and homes around the harbour which are referred to as 'the Rocks'...its a designated Heritage area as the homes were all made by convicts.  The bricks were literally hand picked and you can see the pits in them still...

The real estate for this area as you can imagine is very rich...apartments are valued starting at 5 million for the refurbished warehouse apartments on the water in the harbour.  The homes around the harbour are currently used as low income and welfare housing...of which the current residents are fighting to stay there. The government is trying to sell off the housing in that area because its worth big bucks.

At Mrs. McQuarrie's Point we got off the coach to check out the view.  From this vantage point we can see the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Bridge...still a spectacular sight in spite of the rain...

We discovered some disturbing and interesting facts about our next stop at 'the Gap' which is a cliffside park with a well known story.  

Don Richie, a 30 year resident of 262 Dunbar Street, lived directly across from the park and observed the visitors. 

Unfortunately this location, because of the allure of the cliffs, has become a frequent site for jumpers and suicide attempts. Mr. Richie was called 'the angel of the gap' because he used to observe the visitors and often could detect those contemplating suicide...would approach them and start a conversation.  He could usually convince them to come to his house for tea while his wife would call the authorities to get them the help they needed.  What a remarkable story and wonderful man...glad Sladjana told us about him.

Still overcast with sunny breaks but still a sight :)

Mr.Finnigan just foolin' around...

There are so many beautiful beaches in Australia,  as I'm sure you can imagine,  seeing as this country is classified as the largest island; there are plenty of beaches to enjoy...Bondi Beach here we come...a quick visit to dip our toes in the water.

The students had fun jumping the waves and taking pictures...I needed to point out a couple of hunky guys that walked right past the girls though...they were too busy taking selfies to notice the local scenery!!!

Still so much to do today...off to downtown for lunch and the Opal Museum...

And no, I kept my credit card in my bag...no jewelry purchase this trip :)

We did come across some very interesting entertainers on the street as well...

Next up is the Westfield Sydney Tower which happens to be Sydney's tallest building and the third tallest building in Australia. It stands 309 metres ... it gave us a 360degree view of Sydney where Sladjana pointed out all the spots we visited over the past two days. Really high up there so with my fear of highs...I survived though and took in some more stunning views.  

We've still got time before dinner so some of us are going to check out the Sydney Aquarium...sharks etc. and some really cool tunnels to see it all...

Dinner at Blackbird right off the harbour next to the Aquarium for some fish and chips for me and I twisted Matt's arm for the Kangaroo steak dinner with mashed potatoes!  He said he liked it even though it was a new flavour for him...

Time to head back to the hotel AND for me to go to bed...we had a crazy busy day!