Sometimes you get lucky. On our Milan - Hong Kong flight we enjoyed the luxury of extra space in premium economy seats. It was heavenly and the time went by painlessly. Before we knew it we were disembarking for the next 5 hour transit at Hong Kong Airport where we managed to nab some reclining lounges for some much needed napping. Back to cattle class for the final leg, but we made it safely home, bleary eyed after a good dose of many movies and much good food....

Yesterday we made our final hike to the Firenze train station, bid farewell to the city that had been a perfect home to us for the past month and arrived safely in Milan. Our hotel in Milan was close to the station, so we wasted no time in depositing our bags and nipped down to the Duomo here, another cathedral with spires and pinnacles soaring into the heavens, and only a mere 2.5 kilometres away. This cathedral took almost six centuries to complete and always r...

Our four weeks in Italy have flown by filled with so much fun and packed with so many sights and sounds and tastes that I wonder how we fit it all in, yet feel so relaxed. Having an apartment as a base has been wonderful and we could not have wished for a better home away from home in a more perfect position. Location! Location! Location! For Reg and Tony it has been the Lorenzo food markets just around the corner. For Molly and me it has been the streets lined w...

With another perfect weather forecast for today our plan was to walk the Cinque Terre trail, but our research said the the trail is closed and not expected to re-open until spring of this year. Feeling a bit down-hearted we made an alternate plan to visit Lucca instead. Turns out we hit gold. Lucca is lovely, especially under a crisp blue winter sky. We caught an early morning train and spent the first part of the day walking along the walls of this beautiful l...

Our final day in Rome was highlighted by more blue sky and many more miles as we tried to suck up every last drop of beauty and magic before leaving this magnificent city. We began by venturing back to Capitol Hill and spending more time at the Victor Emmanuel monument. We had planned to take the lift to the top for a spectacular view if the city, but due to mechanical problems it was closed. We were still able to enjoy pretty spectacular views from the level we ...