We got up quite late and had a leisurely breakfast. Full marks to th Visconti Palace, their so-called Continental breakfast was in fact a feast! It was hard to ignore the fact that the weather outside did not look exactly welcoming, grey skies and rain. We were determined not to waste the day and wrapped up warm in coats, scarves, gloves, boots, the lot. (Is this really Rome??) Once outside it was clear that whatever we were wearing it still wasn't enough. The r...

The taxi picked us up at the fairly civilised hour of 11 am and we were soon at Gatwick, through all the formalities and enjoying a pre-flight drink and snack in the BA lounge. Oh the joys of silver membership! The flight was on time and completely full. We suspect that there were quite a number of other rugby supporters amongst those on board! As we arrived in Rome the sun was setting over the sea, a beautiful, peaceful sight. Once in the airport it was anythin...

After breakfast we got most of Julie's packing done apart from the last few bits. We then drove into Central, parked and walked in the direction of the Mid Levels escalator. We were amazed to see so little traffic around in fact we have never seen Central so empty! We took Julie on the long, steep escalator all the way up from Central to Mid Levels but she didn't seem all that impressed! She did complain bitterly though, about the steepness of the hills as we wal...

We awoke to a miserable, wet, cold day. Time to say Kung Hei Fat Choi, Happy New Year of the Dragon! Today is New Year's Day and it is particularly special because Julie was born in a Dragon year herself so this is the year of her Chinese zodiac sign. The weather had turned a few degrees chillier but we were determined not to cower indoors. We took a taxi to Central ferry pier where we planned to board the famous Star Ferry for the short journey across the harbo...

Another miserable day weather-wise. What have you done to the weather, Julie? We went up onto the roof to check on the plants and at least they are enjoying the rain. The lemons could definitely do with a bit more sunshine though. Mum, Simon and Julie walked down to the Happey Valley tram terminus. As we walked down the hill Julie stopped by the guard house to check on the cats. The guards make a big fuss of a couple of previously wild cats. They feed them, pet ...