Homeward bound (boo!)

Well, it's almost over again for another year. In less than 7 hours we will be back in Southampton and back to reality. Neither of us can believe how quickly the last 2 weeks have gone, so with the help of a last ginger beer (and Tom Jones), here are our lasting memories of our voyage to the Med.

Favourite port: Ajaccio (Andrew, because it was such a surprise port) and Monaco (Victoria, because it was Monaco).
Least favourite port: Gibralter. This is unanimous.
Single favourite bit: waking up every morning to a sea view and walking round deck even in the wind and spray and seeing whales and dolphins.
Least favourite bit: being permanently told we're too young for cruising by rude old people that should know better.
Funniest moment: Andrew being called a geek in front of the whole ship!!!
Roughest sea: Force 8/9 in Atlantic off Portuguese coast on the way home, but not as bad as the sea on the Baltic cruise last year so we've been lucky.
Best meal: the Italian lunch in Rome since it was the same restaurant and meal we ate on our honeymoon. Aaah.
Books read: Wicked by (Victoria) The Story of the Von Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp (Victoria) and Arabian Nights (Andrew).
Best thing on ship: plenty of places to sleep and read, lunchtime rollmops, ginger beer, sky deck sun loungers (!) and afternoon hot chocolate in the Piano bar.

A special mention should go to our table mates: David and Jeanette the butchers-come-property magnates from Poulton-le-Fylde, Jim and Wendy from Farnborough and Pam and Kath the wild Welsh women from Caerphilly. They were all fabulous company and it was a pleasure to dine with them, go to the show or watch the football.









Lloyd and Ariston our waiters, of course, looked after us very well!

It's just unfortunate that N Italy, S France and Corsica (and E Austria!) have since been hit by freak rain, flashfloods and landslides. Jeez-we're not even home yet. Disaster was quick this time.

17 months and 3 days until we set sail for our next cruise to the Canary Islands! We've bought a P&O piggybank to start saving our spending money. Since we still want to do Norway/Iceland cruise and now also want to do the Eastern Med cruises we might need more than 1 pig!

So, very shortly it'll be off to bed and when we wake up we'll be back in Southampton. Just like last year, this cruise has been so much fun and gone far too quickly.

Au revoir, adios, & arrivederci!


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Location:The English Channel

Rampant patriotism breaks out in Barcelona!

The Great British sail away, P&O style!



Not sure about the "Dad's Army" theme or Chas 'n' Dave!



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Bodies in the Sun

Today is our final port day, and we are in Barcelona. To be honest, after Ajaccio, Santa Margarita, Florence, Rome and (of course) Monaco, today has been a bit of a letdown. Barcelona is just too big and crowded to really get a feel for it in 8 hours, especially when the traffic is so awful! Our plans to do the hop on/hop off bus were rapidly altered.




We went along to the Joan Miro Foundation (somewhere Victoria has wanted to go to for some time) and despite an early scare (a sign saying "closed") we managed to get in just after 10am. This was a fantastic gallery full of Miro's work, together with some installations by Calder (he of mobiles fame). We wandered around for just over an hour before deciding to try and see the rest of Barcelona.

By this time, everyone else semed to have decided to use the city tour buses so there were no spaces on the upper deck. After passing Camp Nou, we evetually arrived at La Pedrera, Gaudi's famous apartment block. The queue to get in was huge (way past the sign denoting a 60min wait), so after a quick bite to eat, we tried to head towards Gaudi's other famous building, La Sagrada Famila.




Big mistake. Over 30min later we were sat on the bus no more than 500m from where we started, so
after several anxious glances at the time, we decided to cut our losses and head back to Arcadia for a spot of sun bathing. One waffle (with chocolate sauce) later, we were back on board and heading for the sun deck to top up the tans.

Right now, I am sat on the promenade deck cooling down while Victoria has dozed off next to me. The lack of breeze on the sun deck together with the roasting sunshine made it just a bit too hot for comfort. We may have had glorious weather on this holiday, but it can still get a bit too hot!
Hopefully we will be going to the final sail away party at 5:15, before we set sail for home (boo!), and of course the football later on (we are forsaking dinner for this match, so it had better be worth it!)
This has been a great trip which seems to have flown by. Although we are ready for a couple of sea days, it seems a bit sad that our next port of call will be home. I just hope we can bring some of the Mediteranean sun with us!


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Location:Promenade deck, Arcadia in Barcelona

More Monaco

Today was fabulous but it nearly wasn't. Villefranche is a tender port and the swell was very high so disembarkation took a long time. Our "Monaco on your own" bus was therefore running late and our time in Monaco reduced. To make matters worse, we were dropped off on Mont Monaco (by the royal palace) at 11am and told to be back on the bus at 1pm. Needless to say we were not pleased, especially when told it was to transfer us to Monte Carlo (casino); all of 1km away but 20min in traffic!

So, rather than set off into the heart of Monaco, we stayed in the area surrounding the cathedral (stunning in itself) and the (surprisingly ordinary) palace. The view across the harbour to Monte Carlo was fantastic, we liked it so much we stopped at an estate agents on the way back! Might be a while before we can move here though!



After a spot of souvenir shopping, it was time for our "transfer" across town. We drove along the start/finish straight for the GP, and after passing through "the tunnel" we reached our second drop off point. This was almost next door to the famous hairpin bend



From this point we carried on around the course, albeit going backwards. Victoria did express some concern at how narrow the streets were and wondered what happens if an F1 car crashed into the Gucci or Prada shops! We next reached Casino Square (where the rich &
famous go to lose money) and after a brief stop, descended the steep bank down towards the harbour & town.



After walking along the straight towards La Ratcasse, we continued round towards the Swimming Pool, stopping to admire the blue waters and expensive yachts moored in the harbour. We soon reached the tunnel again; having grabbed an ice cream (pit stop of sorts) we carried on back to our meeting point.


We are now back at picturesque Villefranche for the tender back to Arcadia. It's been a lovely day, but it could have been so much better if not for the over-protective (and fairly useless) 'tourguide'. Oh well, just have to console ourselves with a cocktail on deck followed by the World Cup!

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Location:Boulevard de l'Impératrice Alexandra Feodorovna,Villefranche-sur-Mer,France

Nice? No! C'est Monaco!

WOW! We've walked the F1 circuit! Monaco/Monte Carlo is fabulous! Not picturesque but an experience! We've got lots of photos to show Jon (lucky him) but you can't imagine what the circuit is like unless you visit. It's steep, narrow and expensive! You should see the cars here! Tutlewax must sell out fast!
On our way back to the ship now so we'll post this with a Monaco location for you to be jealous.





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Location:Boulevard du Larvotto,Monaco,Monaco

Hot

Just to confirm it was 31 degrees in Florence at 4pm. Just seen UK weather on Sky News.....wish you were here?


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Location:Back on board, cooling down

How the other half live

Today we have our first tender port so we've dropped anchor in the bay at Santa Margharita, northern Italy alongside some exclusive yachts. We took the tender (remember these are also our lifeboats) to the harbourside and jumped straight onto the waterbus to take us to Portofino.


One word can be used to describe Portofino - wow! Coming into the harbour on our water bus, you could see not only how beautiful the village is, but also that this is home to some seriously rich people!


We wandered up to the 2 churches either side of the village: St Martins and then St Georges (where Wayne Rooney supposedly got married). From S Georges, we carried on to the lighthouse and a great view over the Ligurian Sea. After a spot of souvenir shopping (and queuing) we returned by waterbus to Santa Margharita. It was also very beautiful but there wasn't very much to do, so after an hour we returned by tender to the ship in time for afternoon tea.


Note from Victoria: Portofino is very like my favourite welsh place Portmeirion. Makes sense since Portmeirion was modelled on this riviera. Therefore not sure why the Rooneys (Roonies?) didn't just have a welsh wedding!!

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Location:At anchor in Santa Margharita

Dodgy discos & awsome Ajaccio

(sorry for the delay, lost my network & only reconnected in Rome!)

Last night was another formal night, with the added bonus of an 80s & 90s disco at the onboard nightclub (Electra). However, this is the first disco we've ever been to where the dance floor cleared when Kylie was being played! We had some classic 80s cocktails and danced away (when the DJ wasn't playing non-dancing music). In the end, it was just us on the dancefloor and after one slow song too many, we decided to call it a night.

We woke up to find we had already arrived at our berth in Ajaccio. After breakfast we ventured out to discover more about the birthplace of Napoleon. Sadly, the house where 'Boney' was born was closed, so we decided to head to the Fesch museum (Corsica's main art gallery housing artwork collected by Napoleon's maternal uncle, Cardinal Fesch). However, that too was closed for renovation work and not due to reopen until late June. In the end, we decided to walk to the main statue of Napoleon at the far side of town.



From here we dropped down to the beach and walked back towards the port. By this point the temperature was soaring and we had to take shelter under several palm trees! At this point, the beach & water looked really tempting!



We came back onboard for some lunch before heading to the one Napoleon museum open. This was in the town hall and as it housed several Napoleon portraits, it was well worth the €2.30 entrance fee! After a spot of souvenir shopping & a photo stop in the fishing harbour, we came back on board ready to set sail. Ajaccio is really pretty and we both really liked it; the contrast to Gibraltar was amazing.



We are now off the Corsican coast (watching the stunning mountains pass by) heading towards the Straits of Bonifacio and ultimately Civitavecchia (our port for Rome). Not sure what our plans are for tonight, but I doubt it'll include the disco (love songs & ballads? How do you dance to those?!?)

Update: just entering the Straits, we have Corsica to our north and Sardinia to our south! At this rate, well reach Civitavecchia by nightfall!

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Location:Sailing down the west coast of Corsica

We came, we saw, we ate pasta

Today we arrived on Civitaveccia, our port for Rome. We were up early and on the coach by 8 & it took 1.5hrs to get into Rome itself. It's hot today-very hot.

We were dropped at St Peters square but as we've been in the Vatican before, we just used this as a photo stop.


We then headed into the centre and revisited the Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain.


By this point it was midday and the sun was getting hotter so we re-found our favourite restaurant in Rome - La Scaletta on the Piazzo della Maddelena. Victoria had her long awaited bucatini alla amatriciana. Yumm.


We've headed to the Roman Forum, but since we were last there they've introduced an entrance fee so we're not bothering. We walked the extra 200 yards to the Colesseum and the Arch of Constantine.


We've retreated to the shade again to cool down before a slow walk back to St Peters square to be picked up.

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Location:Piazza del Colosseo,Rome,Italy

Geek fest

We went to dinner tonight as normal and on the way back to our cabin we noticed a quiz in the Globe Theatre about TV theme tunes where 2 teams had to be first to identify the theme (like name that tune). It had already started but we took a seat as part of a team (50% of the room). Oh my god.
I answered the first one we got -knight rider- but from then on Andy answered ALL OF THEM! No one else got a look in. He even identified programmes I'd never heard of. It was so embarrassing and the bloke hosting it couldn't believe it, made jokes about him not getting out enough and called him a GEEK!!!
Andrew is very happy.

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Location:Ashamed in the Tyrrhenian Sea

Sun, sea and sleep

After setting sail from Gibraltar at 5:45 last night, we've made good progress towards our next port of call Ajaccio on Corsica. Last nights sea conditions were fantastic: not a ripple to be seen and glorious sunshine.
Today has been trully relaxing, a leisurely breakfast followed by a bit of sunbathing on the top deck. We're now sat in the Piano bar before heading for our respective afternoon activities: cricket and dancing. Tonight is another formal night, with the added bonus of an 80s & 90s themed disco which we are both looking forwards to!

Here are a couple of images I managed to take on leaving Gibraltar.






Next time we see thus will be on our way home, but we're not thinking about that yet!!

We're now passing Majorca, Victoria has waved but so far we haven't seen any sandcastle messages or stranded tutors/students!

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Gibraltar

Last night was the captains welcome reception - our first formal night. After an argument in the queue because I let a woman in a wheelchair to jump in front of us we made it in unscathed -yes some people are that rude. We got our free g n ts & the captain came to talk to us so we put in a request for a choppy return through the bay of biscay since the way out was so calm.
Dinner was lovely and it was one of our table-mates birthdays so we got cake! Afterwards we had a pina colada and went to the show which was a really excellent male singer who did opera/rat pack etc. Very michael buble.
Today we got up and headed for our 2km walk and gym before breakfast. We watched as we sailed into Girbraltar. It was clothed in cloud but the sun came put just as we dropped anchor. As I warned andrew, Gibraltar is a dump. In fact it's so hot it's like hell- lots of shops full of English people and nothing else. We walked a mile to the cable car only to find we didn't have enough money or a credit card so that was the end of seeing the rock or the monkeys. We had a 99 with monkeys blood though!
We headed back to the ship after less than 2 hours in gibraltar and since then we've been sat on deck sunbathing and drinking Ginger beer. It's v hot so factor 30 slapped on but I'm nearly cooked so will be heading in soon. Andrew is asleep though:


We leave Gibraltar at 6 then have another sea day before Ajaccio in Corsica. Long may the sunshine continue!

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Location:Gibraltar on a sunbed

Rest & relaxation

I don't know what rest & relaxation Andrew is on about. We walked 2 miles while whale watching!! I went to a beginners tap class this afternoon which was very basic but there were plenty if tap springs to get the blood pumping. In all honesty I could have taught that lesson and although there are other lessons over the cruise she said they are all the same. Boo. So we went try try ballroom again.....lasted 5 mins into the tango, so I didn't ever get to learn the jive - v dissapponted but not unexpected.
When Andrew went to play cricket I sat on deck reading then sneaked to afternoon tea for scone/jam/cream. I discovered the "party dance" class so watched a bunch of 60yr olds do ghe timewalk. Very funny.
Andrew played cricket and said he did well. Based on his previous performances this is doubtful! LOL!
We've just been to the gym and cooled down with another walk round deck. The sun has really come out and its baking on deck.


Now I'm knackered so we're relaxing before our first formal evening and the captain's welcome reception.
Btw we don't have any reception in the Atlantic so we're building up these posts!

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Plain sailing

It's our first full day onboard and we are making good progress across the notorious Bay of Biscay towards northern Spain. So far it's been fairly smooth with only the occasional pitch or roll. Despite a fairly strong breeze, the sun has been shining and the sea is blue. What more could we ask for!
Being a sea day, we've taken things easy. Our plan was to get up moderately early, have a walk round the deck, go to the gym and then head for a leisurely breakfast. All it needed was for the alarm clock to be on the correct time zone (mentioning no names, Andrew!)
So after waking up at 6am, we ventured out onto the Promenade deck and walked 6 laps (equivalent to 2 miles). Then it was up to the gym where we stayed for about half an hour before heading back to our stateroom/cabin (further to yesterday, we may be heading for the Spanish main, but no cannons are needed on this voyage!)
Since then, we've taken it very easy, including a hot stones massage in the onboard spa! We're now getting ready for dinner and thinking what to do tomorrow! Hopefully the sun will keep shing, the breeze will drop and we can spend some time on deck!
Btw - our cabin TV has Tyne Tees regional television! We've just seen an ad for furniture village in Sunderland!



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Location:Bay of Biscay

Having a whale of a time

Wow! Our second sea day has really started off on a high note. After a brief lie in, we ventured out on deck for our morning walk and were surprised to see two pods of minke (we think) whales passing to starboard. Being already on deck, we didn't get caught in the mad rush as people came out from breakfast to see them.

And the marine life didn't stop there. 10minutes later, a school of dolphins came leaping towards us - neither of us has ever seen whales or dolphins at sea before, so this was a real treat, and all before breakfast!

Since then it's been a case of reading and relaxation, although this afternoon the energy levels really step up. Victoria is about to take part in a tap lesson, while I'm planning on seeing exactly how bad I am at cricket (very bad if my last experience is anything to go by). Later, it's the Welcome Aboard party, our first formal event of the trip so it's our opportunity to get dressed up. Oh, and the drinks are on the Captain!

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Location:Off Cape Roca, Portuguese coast

And we're off!

We left MK about 10.30 and got to the dock 2hrs later. It was much busier so there was some waiting around in the departure lounge. 5 mins though for check in & sercurity instead of 1.5 hours at Heathrow can't be beaten!

On board we could get into our stateroom (canon immediately and the luggage turned up piecemeal over the next hour. We had lunch in the Belvedere restaurant and headed to muster for our practice drill. There Andy bumped into someone he knew from work. Typical!
We set sail at 4.30 following the Oriana out of port and followed by the Aurora - p&o flotilla! We had our obligatory champagne and watched the scenery start to change.


We headed to try our luck at the spa giveaway again- last yr Victoria won a free G-form treatment. This year she won a free teeth whitening worth £200! Good start! We also got a discount for a hot stone massage which we're both having tomorrow!

We're sailing by the Isle of Wight now- we remembered binoculars this time & Andy claims to see Osbourne House. Weather is beautiful & we hope it continues!! We have 2 sea days now until we reach Gibraltar on Saturday lunchtime.

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Location:Leafy Ln,Wickham,United Kingdom

Kiss goodbye to Vienna

It's our last day in Vienna, and after checking out of the hotel this morning we've come by underground and tram to the Schloß Belvedere. This is the permenant home of Gustav Klimt's "The Kiss" together with some more of his works. Victoria hot this view of the gardens from inside



We've been round the galleries and seen the paintings and are now sat in the gardens. The Schloß is beautiful and with the sun in just the right place we've taken some pictures:




Now all that remains to be done is head back into town for some lunch (before our travelcards expire) and then prepare for the flight home later this evening.
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Location:Prinz Eugen Straße,Vienna,Austria

A little night music and politics

What a last night in Vienna! After a day at the conference and catching up with folk there, Victoria met up with the lone ranger and we headed back to Stephensplatz (the centre). It was still hot -been about 22 deg today and no rain- it was a shame to not take advantage of it so we walked back to the hotel rather than take the underground. 15 minutes Andrew said it would take.....that's 15 minutes on Planet Andrew.

Anyway it turns out our street (Mariahilfestraße) is a bit like Oxford Street with miles of shops. Great! The hotel is just at the cheap end. When we got back we went to the restaurant beside the hotel (the Mariahilfebrun) and had the best meal so far in Austria: Andrew had garlic soup for starter (yes it was smelly), then pork fillets with sauerkraut & dumpling and Victoria had beef soup with Austrian croutons (balls of bread) then goulash with potatoes (potato goulash with some sausage). We were stuffed, but the bill was miniscule! The beer was huge!


We then headed back to the Schönbrunn Palace Orangery for our Mozart & Strauss concert. Disappointingly, the Radesky March wasn't on the programme so Victoria was a bit gutted. But the Orangery is one of the only places where it is known that Mozart definitely played, so it was authentic.


In the first act the orchestra played Mozart and Haydn and included pieces from the magic flute, don giovanni and the marriage of figaro. Andrew likes opera so this suited him but even Victoria the opera-hater enjoyed some of this! There were two dancers who appeared to have seen better days, but if you closed your eyes it was ok. Second act was Strauss so a mix of waltzes and polkas. If Mozart is Michael Jackson, Strauss is definitely Pete Waterman-churning out loads of toe tapping tunes. It finished with the Blue Danube-what else-which was lovely to hear here in Vienna. But wait! Is this an encore? Yes - the Radezky March. Smiles all round and Victoria managed to resist the urge to get up and do her ballet number from the show! Brilliant!!

We've headed back to the hotel for the election coverage and have bought some crisps and chocolate to see us through CNNs coverage. Polls have just closed so we're expecting the Sunderland South result any second!

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(very) Blue Danube

No travel blog to Vienna would be complete without the obligatory photo of the Danube. So, here it is....



Off now to pick Victoria up from the conference. Hope this glorious weather holds for another day!


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Location:Donauinsel, Wien

Vienna solo

Well, Victoria is doing her EGU talk today so I'm "flying solo" until this evening. So far, I've taken a tram round the Inner Stadt (old town) and had a wander round the streets. Ironically today is the best day weather wise, the early morning storm has cleared to leave blus skies and bright sunshine.
Right now I'm having a coffee at the Keinen cafe on Kärtnerstraße before heading off to check about tickets back to the airport tomorrow.
I'm also finding the 'extra' characters on the iPhone - very useful for german words!


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Location:Keinen cafe, Kärtnerstraße, Wien

At home with the Habsburgs

Today was our first full day on Vienna. We started with the hotel breakfast buffet which kept us going most if the day and was worth the €10 each!

As we had a reasonably early start we headed on the underground to the Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens the former home of the Habsburg dynasty. It was originally intended to be bigger than Versaille but is just smaller. It was built by Maria-Theresia and painted her favourite colour yellow. In all honesty the Hermitage in St Peterburg was so much more impressive.


We took the "grand tour" around the 40 accessible rooms that cover the lives of Emperor Franz-Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi), plus a previous generation of Maria-Thesesia and Franz-Stephan. We got an audio guide but after a while we came upon an English tour guide so stuck with him!

Turns out Empress Elizabeth's eldest was married off to King Louis XVI of France and was none other than Marie-Antoinette. With the number of Cafe Konditoreis (tea rooms) around Vienna no the wonder she was obsessed with cake!

Empress Elisabeth had a special bed made like a throne as she was permanently pregnant from the age of 19 to 39 and by law she wasn't allowed to get put of bed for the last 3months of each oregancy but still needed to meet and greet!!

We next headed it to the Privy Gardens:


Then we took a walk around the maze and labyrinth then up to the Gloriette which was built to commemorate something, but it was all in German.....We climbed to the top anyway.

We had used up our Classic Pass Light ticket which covered all this (and was good value for money and cheaper than nirmal cos of our Vienna card!). We headed towards the Danube in search if a boat trip, but were rather disappointed with what was on offer (and the price!) so headed back to the city centre. We had another sausage from Franz's Wurstel Stand just off the Karntnerstrasse - highly recommended.

We went to the Albertina art gallery, part of the Hofburg Palace complex. In here was an Andy Warhol display of his car pictures and on the top floor an excellent permanent exhibition of modern art: Monet, Cezanne, Durer, Renoir, Picasso, Miro (hoorah!), Braque and loads more. Well worth the entry fee.

Yet again it was pouring and we wandered aimlessly through Vienna's centre. Lo - a sweet shop called Dumel's. This wasn't any old sweet shop-this was a proper chocolatier. The assistants even had black & white uniforms.


By now we wanted so e dinner and found a restaurant called Diglas where Victoria had (mire) sausage and sauerkraut and Andy had Scnitzel. We finished it off with the best cake so far.

Victoria needs to run through her talk for the conference tomorrow so we've headed back to the hotel for the night. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day - not just at the conference but we've got tickets to hear a Mozart & Strauss recital at the Schonbrunn Palace Orangerie tomorrow night!

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Rock me Amadeus

Well, we've now arrived in Vienna and checked into our hotel. To say our room is big is an understatement; we must be staying in a spare ballroom as we only occupy a small portion of the total space (and that's with a reasonable amount of furniture). What's worse, there are no tea & coffee facilitites in the room!
After settling in, we headed on the U-bahn (underground) to the main square - St Stephens. Here we were not at all surprised to find the cathedral encased in scaffolding, it happens everywhere we go!
We walked in a loop down towards the imperial palace (Hoffburg) and then back up to St Stephens. On the way, Victoria got a couple of books (she's nearly finished Heidi) to keep her going. One of the books is about a family known as the von Trapp's (they sound familiar)....

We eventually made our way to Mozart's Viennese residence (just behind St Stephens). Here we not only learnt about 18th century Vienna, but also about how prolific Mozart was here. In fact, we also found out about his death! Sadly, it seems he worked himself to an early grave, although the copious drinking and gambling probably didn't help...

With the rain coming down, we decided to grab some dinner, eventually finding a small restaurant off KartnerStrasse. Here we both had a soup (really tasty) followed by beef goulash (served with a single, large dumpling). This too was really tasty and filling, leaving us with no room for dessert (despite the abundant temptations on offer).

We are now back at the hotel relaxing and planning our day tomorrow. We may head to the imperial palace (yep, more than 1 here) at Shonbrunn, and will also attempt to find Haydn's residence. Of course, our plans all depend on what the weather does....

Location:Mariahilferstrasse, Vienna, Austria

Auf Wiedersehn Salzburg

We're now on the train heading back to Vienna. It'll take about 3 hours but we've got a compartment to ourselves (like on old UK trains) with electric sockets, air con and 6 seats. Ample room for luggage. We're keeping an eye on the news with the new ash cloud but if anyone has news please text so we have a heads up.



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Location:Giselakai,Salzburg,Austria

Is Mozart dead?

Today we gave the Sound of Music a break (not entirely) and concentrated our efforts on Salzburg's classical music heritage. It was still raining first thing so museums were a good plan.

After a breakfast of last night's sandwiches (which we didn't eat as we zonked out again at 6.30!!!) and an apple pretzel, we headed into the old town. First stop was Mozart's birthplace.






It was very obvious that they were not poor. His father Leopold had written the "how to play violin in 3 easy lessons" of it's time and made a wad of dosh. On realising that his son Mozart and daughter Nannerl were pretty good at playing piano he touted them round to make another load of cash. Think of Michael Jackson being touted by his dad -same deal. Made him tour lots, raked in the cash to pay for houses, was annoyed when he went off on his own, ditched sister when it was clear a solo act was more plausible....etc etc.

We saw his original instruments, some of his letters and belongings including locks of his hair. There was no mention of his death though so we decided to use our combined cheapo ticket to go to his residence on the other side if the river near yesterdays do-re-mi Mirabell Gardens.

The residence was bought on the proceeds of Mozart being pimped around Europe. It was pretty big with a ballroom, and we learned more here about his life. After a 20 minute video there was still no mention of his death. We can only conclude that, like Elvis, he did not die.



Now the science bit. Right next door was the birthplace of Christian Doppler, which probably means nothing to you. He theorised about light and sound-the Doppler effect is when a fire engine siren sounds different as it goes away from you compared with it coming towards you. Space does the same thing with light so we know it's expanding blah blah.

We headed back into the old town to the Salzburg Museum to find it's closed on Mondays so we found a little cafe for lunch. We both had 3 sausages (diff types), sauerkraut and potatoes. Yumm. We finished it off by trying Sachertorte - poor man's black forest gâteau really. Andrew liked, Victoria didn't.

By now the Haydn museum was open so we headed there-only to find it was shut!! Boooooo. So we wandered round the old town a bit more and visited St Peter's cemetary where we had been told the scenes of the von Trapps hiding in the gravestones were filmed. Victoria is not so sure -it didn't look quite right:


We headed back to the hotel via the do-re-mi bridge from the movie-definitely legit:


We rested a while watching TV and reading; Victoria has finished Les Mis and highly recommends it!

We got a bit peckish so we strolled back into the town and bought a Kasekrainer sausage each from a street vendor. It came with a bun and more Ikea-style mustard. We ate it sat on the banks of the River Salzach and headed back.

Tomorrow we are going to head into Vienna on a mid-morning train. Salzburg is really lovely and we're glad we made the detour!

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A few of our favourite things

We have had a brilliant day today, mainly focusing on the Sound of Music. To recap. We were picked up from our hotel at 9am, so we ate the rest of our sweet pretzels for breakfast (but like Danish pastries). We both went to sleep at 6.30ish last night and didnt wake until the alarm at 7.15!! The hotel breakfast is €15 so we aren't trying that at all.

We were dropped at the coach pick up point where we met our Glasweigan driver (!). The Austrian tour guide joined us and we set off at 9.30. We had a massive coach but there was only 14 people!

The first stop was the Hellbrunn Palace, more specifically the gardens, where we saw the gazebo from "you are 16 going on 17". It wasn't originally here-it was at the Palace of Leopoldscron but they moved it to be a tourist attraction. It was locked though so we couldn't try it-it was much smaller than imagined! See photo from Andrew's post this morning.

We were shown a long tree-lined walkway which was where the children played in the trees in their curtain clothes and Maria sang "I have confidence". We weren't able to go, but at the end of this walkway and visible from the road was the house used as the front of the von Trapp house.

The next stop was the Palace of Leopoldscron which wax used for the rear of the von Trapp house in the movie. Only the gardens and lake were used, the actual house wasn't and the rear of the other house was used instead. So on the shot of Maria and the Captain talking, Maria is at the other house with a building as backdrop and the Captain at the Palace of Leopoldscron with the lake backdrop. You can't go in the Palace today as it is owned by Harvard university. This is why the gazebo was moved!

The real von Trapp family (not the Hollywood ones) lived elsewhere closer to Salzburg, but again you can't go in their house as it used by Himmler and then sold to the catholic church.

We then went on a drive through the mountains to a place called Mondsee. This was a pretty lakeside village which was the site of the church where Maria and the Captain married. Andrew posted a pic earlier. We wandered to the lakeside where Andrew had a hotdog and Victoria a brunwurst-another spicy sausage with Ikea-style mustard.

We headed back to Salzburg and drove passed the Nonnberg nunnery - the one used both in the film & real life. The bus dropped us at the Mirabell Gardens where they filmed do-re-mi. It was very very pretty and Victoria played on the steps (see earlier photo).

Now, the tour was over and the sun was blazing, so we decided to head up to the fortress which us the furthest point if the old town, ie a long walk. On the way we had desert of an Apple Strudel (andrew) and braunkapfel (sweet bread bun warned & covered in icing sugar-victoria).

We elected to take the fernicular railway up to the fortress (good move) and got a combined ticket to see everything. This meant we could get a free audio guide when wanderng. Not a good move-it was very boring- but it did mean we got excellent views of Salzburg from the top of the ramparts. After a wander around the state apartments and a boring collection of army uniforms we walked back down the VERY steep cliff path towards town. Halfway we say a sign for the Nonnberg nunnery so we detoured and saw the gate where the children came to beg Maria to return and where the Nazis came to search. Cool.

We were knackered by now so decided to head back. Most restaurants (including the hotel one) are shut on Sundays so we've bought sandwiches and pringles for tea and are chilling in our room now. Like yesterday, come 5pm the sun went in and rain started, but we didn't get as wet as yesterday. Looks like a storm brewing. Erm yes-right as I type the mist torrential rain just started. And thunder & lightning. Cool!

Tomorrow we're going to do a few museums and have a classical music day.

If someone can tell us the final score from today's game that would be great.

Whoa really really really heavy rain!!!!! The telly has gone off!!! V loud thunder!! Good move with the hotel picnic decision. Auf Wiedersehen!



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Location:Hotel room in a thunder storm

Do-re-mi

In the Mirabel Gardens at the end of the tour. Is this Victoria or Maria on the steps?




Now taking a wander round Salzburg and possibly going up the hill to the fortress


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Location:Bernhard-Paumargartner-Weg,Salzburg,Austria

Sound of music tour (3)

The Mondsee (Moon Lake) church used for the wedding in TSOM.




We've wandered down to the lake itself (5min from the village) for a borewurst and hotdog. Now back to the bus for the trip back to Salzburg. Weather is perfect, not too hot and not too bright.
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Sound of music tour (2)

Leopold palace. Used as outside (rear) of von Trapp house. Fortress visible on hill in background.




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Location:König Ludwig Straße,Salzburg,Austria

On the sound of music tour (1)

On our sound of music tour by the gazebo.




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Location:Hellbrunner Allee,Salzburg,Austria

Stiegal, wurst & pretzels

So we arrived in Salzburg at about 2pm after a smooth train ride from Vienna. The views was fabulous. We managed to get on an earlier train than planned so once we'd walked to the hotel we still had a full afternoon to look around.

Neither if us has had any substantial sleep since Thursday, but the sun was shining and we didn't want to waste the time we have.

We're about 15 mins walk from the centre of Salzburg, but it seems very safe and very clean!! We headed into the centre and familiarised ourselves with where things were. We found the tourist information office and after some deliberation (about 5 seconds) we booked onto a Sound of Music tour for first thing tomorrow. We get collected from our hotel first thing then taken to all the sites. VERY EXCITED!!

We're also going to get a Salzburg card that gives us free entry & transport for 48 hours to other places such as the fortress on the hill.

Salzburg is Mozart crazy. However the Haydn museum is only €2 and Victoria prefers Haydn.

We found a restaurant for tea in the centre. Andrew had bernewestl (saugages with bacon & cheese) with chips; Vuctoria had rotbratwerstl (sausages) with saurkraut and potatoes. Both were delicious, but as we were eating, the clouds descended and it got very very dark. We paid and made our way back to the hotel stopping to buy some sweet pretzels for desert. This was a good move because as we walked back a thunder storm emerged. A bit bedraggled we made it back to the hotel var for a beer.


We're tucking into the beer (stiegel is the local beer) and pretzels in our room as we're going to flake out very soon ready for tomorrow's excitement!

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Location:Bayerhamerstraße,Salzburg,Austria

Wilkommen aus Vienna

We've landed at Vienna and 10 minutes after disembarkation, we are on the shuttle bus to Westbahnhof (for the train to Salzburg). Weather is fine and it's nice to have terra firma underfoot.flight was ok if a little bit bumpy, fairly quiet (most people slept) and Andrew decided against the breakfast pannini (cheese & mushroom). Landing was perfect, even Victoria approved!
On the book front, Victoria is halfway through "Les Mis" which reminds her of "A tale of 2 cities". At this rate we will run out of books!

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Location:7. Haidequerstraße,Vienna,Austria

Departure lounge

So we checked in pretty close to 4am-most check on was via the machines so not entirely sure what's the point of the check-in girls. Andy had got a bit of sleep in the terminal but victoria started reading Les Miserables and was gripped!

Then we headed to security where we waited over 30 mins for them to open. Fantastic. Then all the palarver of coats off, belts off, laptops out of bags.

An hour after check in we're finally in the departure lounge where most things are closed. Excellent. We think we get breakfast on the plane though. Boarding starts in 20 mins. So that wasn't a lot of time to get any sleep on the comfort chairs.

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The Terminal

It's 2.10am and we're sat in the Heathrow Terminal 1 abyss. Everything is closed, and there's an automatic door on overdrive so we keep getting an icy blast. Not that we can complain-we got to the car parking and found the first bus transfer was not until 4am, so we were going to have to sit in he car for two and a half hours. So much for on demand 24 hours a day! Luckily for us, another couple arrived who bizarrely had to get to Heathrow by 2am to catch a bus to Gatwick. Amazingly 2 blokes & a transfer bus turned up and brought us in. There are about 15 other people in the terminal-mostly sleeping, plus a vacuum cleaner tuck operator. There's nowhere for a drink or food either.

We don't know how Tom Hanks managed it. Bored already.


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Location:Inner Ring W,Hillingdon,United Kingdom

Test post from Andrew

Hello!


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Le shuttle

Couldn't tell you what le shuttle was like as I was asleep - but we're BACK IN THE UK!!!!

Plan is to drop some folk at Maidstone, then back to MK!! Then Abs & I to the theayre'n

So that's it for now! Next priority is the show!

Next installment in a weeks time when we head to Austria-hopefully by train!!


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Location:Sellindge,United Kingdom

Border crossing

Currently at Calais euroshuttle check in. Can't get on a train until 10.05 so we've had breakfast here. For some unknown reason we're currently watching the coach drivers wedding photos on the DVD player along with the wedding music. Feels a bit Phoenix Nights. Bring back Gavin & Stacey!

It's all country & western.

The girls are fine, and Abs is determined to get to the theatre with me this afternoon to get practising.

We apparently have to bail out to go through passport control. When we crossed from Spain to France it was like entering Wales from England-just a signpost, no border control. Something to be said for that.




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Location:Boulevard du Kent,Coquelles,France

Morning

I managed to sleep on the coach thanks to a cushion I bought in a service station. Only a couple of hours at a time on various creative and unflattering positions, but it was dark.

I woke to find the most beautiful red sunrise over a BP filling station. We were only allowed a loo stop, but the driver is making us tea on the coach!

61 miles to Calais. Seems we're getting on the shuttle not the ferry so no opportunity to practice dances. Bummer. But we should be back in MK at lunchtime!!!




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Location:L'Autoroute des Anglais,Fouquières-lès-Béthune,France

Bonjour

We've just stopped for dinner somewhere south of Lyon. The motorway services serve caraffes of wine with dinner, so we shared one between 2 (obviously I didn't count the girls in this). Gillian & U also sneaked a little bottle fir the journey too.

Typical French though- you could only have wine if you had a hot dinner, not if you had bread and cheese. Despite that being typical French fare!

We're dropping someone in Lyon then it's time for sleeps. I've already finished Phantom of the Opera now, so we're watching Gavin & Stacey series 1. Result.





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Location:Sauzet,France

Lunch

We've just stopped for lunch in a service station and now we're on for another 4 hour drive to the next break. ETA in Lyon where we drop someone is 9pm.

Here's us and our coach:



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Location:Autopista del Mediterrani,Maçanet de la Selva,Spain

Carry on Jack

We've been driving for nearly 3 hours now though I've slept for most of them. Our coach drivers are Chris from Yorkshire, and another guy from the west country. They are very funny, but I guess more used to a different clientele.

We've just passed Salou where they pointed out the fuertaventura theme park. Useful. We were promised DVDs and they were true to their word. We've just watched Carry on Jack, which is one carry on movie I hadn't sern-but now I know why!

I did think Bernard Cribbins looked like Michael Schumacher though.

Trying to make progress trading Phantom of the Opera now since I should be able to finish it over the next 14 hours!


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Location:La Pobla de Montornès,Spain

Wet weather

We're leaving at about 11 today so I headed to find some snacks and drinks for the coach. Nothing opens in Spain until 10, so I had to make do with a petrol station. It's raining and breezy, do it's not going to be too hot on the coach thankfully.

The hotel room was sweltering last night-even with the window open. But here's the view from the 10th floor:



Yes, it was very noisy with the window open but I slept right through until Alrxis woke me with a text. Thanks.

Shame the first face I saw on TV was Aamon Holmes. when did he move to Sky News?

Breakfast was a buffet but I do like continental breakfasts so I tucked in to stock up.

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