Day 26 - Rome - Sienna/Florence

We enjoyed the last of the afternoon sun in the town square in Sienna for toasted focaccias on New Year's Day. The big duomo in Sienna. One of the beautiful streets in Sienna, late afternoon and very cold.

Day 25 - Rome

This is just one of many bad parks. I think we could do a whole blogspot on parking. They park anywhere they like.

For our three nights in Rome we ended up having dinner at Princess' Restaurant. On New Years we were very late coming home from sight seeing and went straight to dinner at around 9.00pm. We arrived at our usual without a booking and it was full and there was a line up. As soon as the guys spotted Princess at the back of the line it was a different story. Tables were moved and a new one was set up and there were apologies as we walked straight past the big line! A great night was had. After the restaurant closed we partied with the staff and owner. Kisses, on both cheeks of course, at midnight and Moet champagne. We have some new friends. Ottama on far left (who nicknamed Alexandra) is marrying an Australian girl and moves to Sydney in a couple of months. He is going to visit us in Brisbane!

Day 24 - Rome

We decided to go on a tour when we arrived at the Vatican quite early in the morning and the line up to get in was already snaking around two sides of the Vatican walls. It still took us over an hour to do the bypass! Our guide said it was one of the worst days he has seen for 2.5 years for crowds. This is the pine Cone Court yard inside the Vatican. It was a beautiful day, lots of sun and 12 degrees! Nero's Bath! Just fill with goats milk and relax. Made from purple porphyry, 6 times more expensive than gold. The vatican has 9% of the worlds purple porphyry. Sistine Chapel wow! We had a great lead up before going in about every story on the roof and walls. Nothing can prepare you for this!

Inside St Peter's Basilica. They were setting up for the Pope's New Years mass that evening. The Pope's Swiss Guards. No matter what the crowd did they wouldn't falter in their stance. Six generation Swiss and trained similar to SAS. Here we are outside the Basilica in St Peter's Square. Large crowds already assembling for a good spot for viewing service outside on big screens.

Day 23 - Assissi - Rome

Second day in Assisi. We visited St Claire's Church. This church was built after her death and the convent is connected where her order (that care for the poor and needy) live.

St Francis's Church in Assisi. We were one of the first in at opening at 7.00am but didn't take long to fill up. Lovely church, said lots of prayers and visited St Francis tomb downstairs. First night in Rome. We went back to a lovely Italian restaurant for dinner after the assisted us with directions to our hotel. The tuxedo clad waiters soon nicknamed Alexandra "Princess" and we were treated like royalty. Only the best selection of gelati for Princess!

First stop in Rome was the Colosseum. Nothing can prepare you for the first time you see this structure in real life. The kids couldn't believe it when we walked out of the train station and there it was right in front of us. Photo asoot with our friends outside the Colosseum.

Andrew having a quite moment on a marble column.

Very hard to time preset shots of the whole family with the crowds in Rome. Incidentally the temperature was around 12 degrees for our visit to Rome. Note no coats, gloves, scarves or beanies!

Walk through the Roman Forum. A bit disappointed with the lack of information on site to fully understand and picture before and now.

The Victor Emmanuel Monument is huge (and covered in scaffolding). If you look closely you can see Jeffrey in the red fleece waving to us down below.

Trevi Fountain - Standing Room only. Surrounded by three Gelati shops and a United Colours of Benetton store. I guess rents would be huge here, but watching the crowds on the day, they would all make a good days takings. We managed to make it to the front to throw a coin over our shoulder. So I guess we will be back there some day. It seemed to work for Jeffrey some 20 years later!

Day 22 - Venice - Assisi

I get it. Leave the most beautiful place on the planet, and nothing else matters. Wrong. Travel down the highway 250km through Umbria, and stop overnight in a place called Assissi and you will know you're alive. ( Wake up stupid - Saint Francis of Assisi ) This is a town of 25000 people set on a hill side, and nothing prepares you for the intensity. The intensity of architecture, the intensity of history, the intensity of religion, the intensity of Italian food ( best so far ), the intensity of Walt Disney type hardsell. We stayed in the heart of the old town and the photos tell a story.

The streets of Assisi Shopper's choice

The streets of AssisiQuite possible the largest nativity scene ever scene by the Coombs family

Day 21 - Venice - Day Trip

Staying at a Pension near Treviso on the mainland, we had to make the day trip to Venice. No amount of suspect infrastructure, spaggetti highway, poor sign posting, eratic local drivers, camio German drug induced 180kph Audi drivers, ... can prepare you for the World Kodak Heritage Site, that is Venice. After everyone fleeces you of ever last dollar that they can, you are still left with the most stunningly beautiful place that anyone can imagine. Every street, every canal, ever building, every gift shop, every genuine leather shoe seller tells a story. Enchanting is the word for the day - we arrived by car, travelled along the Grand Canel by water taxi, walked endlessly through small narrow streets, and sadly were made to leave by car in the twightlight - It is hard to believe that there is a more beautiful place on this planet. But wait - stay tuned folks - Rome and Paris to come!

Grand Canal with us on it Coombs family minus Hired Help lapping up the Water Taxi ride along the Grand Canal

Coombs family minus Hired Help lapping up the Venice water front coffee shop scene Coombs family minus Hired Help love a good walk along the waterfront Nice bridge - really cool - "some random dude made it for someone other random dude" S. Marks Square

Jennifer Lopez poses in front of "whatever"

Hired Help ( on the right ) puts in the big ones to enunciate the time for travelling loved ones. Christmas tree made out of Venician Glass of course

What a choice

Lets go shopping!

Day 20 - Vienna - Venice

Day 19 - Vienna - City Carriage Tour - Afternoon Tea at Sashers

Day 18 - Vienna

Christmas Wishes

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends. It is early evening, Christmas Eve and we are staying at the Hotel Astoria in Vienna Austria. We plan to go out at 10.00 PM for a late dinner and then go to Saint Stephen's Cathedral for Christmas Carols by the Church Choir and Midnight Mass. We love and miss you all, and hope for a safe and happy Chistmas for everyone.

Coombs family portrait with Christmas tree in our hotel room

Coombs family relaxing around the Christmas tree the night before Christmas

Earlier, Hired Help uses all his resoursefulness and prior associations with criminal elements to return with a real Austrian Christmas tree

Saint Stephen's Cathedral, where the Midnight Mass is to be held

View from our room in the Hotel Astoria in Vienna Austria, with Saint Stephen's Cathedral at the end of the Mall

Early evening ( it gets dark at 4.30 PM ) and heavy snow begins to fall, raising expectations of a white Christmas